Hello all! Welcome back to another chapter! Before going into this chapter I want it to known that I did about 2 weeks worth of research on how the court process and investigations processes work in Japan specially and what the difference are from where I live (USA) so I can make sure I stay accurate in the setting of this fic.
That being said, first, holy shit between the US and Japan the court processes need reform. Last, according to everything I've read, In Japan, it is NOT a given for the defense to know what evidence has been compiled against them until they arrive in court in. This fully allows things to be sprung in the moment by surprise. The defense may file a petition for a summary statement of what evidence has been found before hand and build their defense around that, but even then, the summary document's requirements are extremely vague. (I.E What Media is it, what crime does it support and when it was retrieved.)
This is extremely terrible for human rights in real life since it gives the prosecution a leg up over the defense versus going in equal footed and allowing for both side to have proper preparation. However, this in turn makes juicy fiction. So enjoy the drama unfolding!
Buckle in!
Song: Paramore - Conspiracy
Chapter 25 - Incendiary
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.
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"Name?"
"Bakugou Katsuki."
"Age?"
"Twenty seven."
"Height and weight for me please."
"One hundred and ninety centimeters and eighty six kilograms."
"How do you plead?"
"Not fucking guilty."
Izuku watched the scene unfolding in front of him as if it was one of his darkest nightmares. Katsuki was standing behind a glass wall against the black and white line up in the downtown Shizuoka City precinct. He was given a sign to hold up that listed his name, inmate number and the date. The camera clicked, and snapped a shot of Katsuki's tired, pissed off face in his black sweater.
"Turn to the side for me," the woman asked through the glass screen. "Hold up the information as well please."
Katsuki huffed as he did as he was instructed. Painful humiliation washed over the ash blond's face when the shutter of the camera went off. The blinding white light snapped and the camera captured Katsuki's mugshot. Without warning, the lieutenant was dragged out to be fingerprinted and his anger was palpable.
. . .
NHK Japan: Shizuoka City
Breaking Story: Hero Killer becomes Hero Killers.
In a stunning twist of events, Shizuoka City's shining Symbol of Victory has been accused of working with the Hero Killer himself. An interview with the Hero Killer this past summer triggered the case to be reopened. He disclosed he was indeed working with a police officer on the Shizuoka City force, despite not naming who. But new evidence has come to light that this officer was giving sensitive information out to him as a hitman to help elevate his status in the ranks.
Investigations and all available evidence seems to point towards Lieutenant Bakugou Katsuki being the culprit and the motive appears to explain his quick rise in the rankings. This appears to fit exactly how quickly he soared through the rankings post-Hero Killer tragedy. The Symbol of Victory's name might've been gained by trading in comrades' blood however it is not confirmed…
...Read more
Izuku sourly looked at the article on his phone in the midst of all the chaos. Several hours had passed; the news of Katsuki's arrest undoubtedly must've reached everyone by now.
Shouto, Yagi, and several other U.A officers followed after the squad car holding Katsuki all the way downtown to the holding cells. Now they were all sitting outside the downtown precinct office area in dusted chairs after watching Katsuki be stripped of his personal belongings and isolated in an investigation room until further notice.
"This isn't right," Kirishima hissed underneath his breath, leaning against the wall. "I'm going to strangle that fucking Monoma."
"Not if I do it first," Izuku mumbled under his breath. The irritated green eyed man flicked through several other articles that contained photographs of Katsuki in silver handcuffs. The journalists were eating up the potential story of the golden Symbol of Victory being tainted with blood. It was one of the biggest scandals ever to rock the city.
"That's fair," Kirishima chuckled. "I think Katsuki might be rubbing off on you a bit, green bean. I've never in my life seen anyone berate Monoma like that. I honestly didn't think you had a mouth like that—but damn."
"He had it coming," Izuku mumbled, tired.
After the arrest of Katsuki, the green eyed man had a very long list of choice words for Monoma. It caused a scene as Shouto physically had to pull Izuku away from the blond man when things ended up becoming too heated the second Izuku called Monoma a 'filthy fucking liar.'
"I'm worried about how long they've been keeping him in there," Shouto commented from beside Izuku, hands neatly folded, staying level headed. "What if they're trying to pressure him into confessing?"
"Katsuki knows to keep quiet until he has a lawyer present," Toshinori said with a stern face. "He's not going to incriminate himself any further."
They all sat in silence, waiting and making calls. Toshinori excused himself to make a private phone call around the corner. The second the blond captain was out of view, the next thing Izuku heard was the loud clicking of powerful heels coming straight their way down the hall.
All heads turned in the vicinity to see Miruko looking as fierce as a raging hurricane.
Her nostrils were flared and her hand was clutching her brown briefcase as if any second she was ready to swing it on someone. She was dressed in a crisp white power suit and her long hair was pulled up neatly in a long, high pony tail.
Her blazing red eyes scanned the bodies in the room until she settled on Izuku's hunched over figure.
"Izuku. I came as soon as I heard," she said quickly without stopping her powerful stride. "Now excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back with Katsuki." She turned the corner and gave a quick wave to the stunned sitting U.A officers.
The platinum blond woman walked straight up to the front desk of the precinct and slammed down her briefcase with a snarl on her face. The brown haired officer sitting down jumped slightly at the loud bang and even Izuku admittedly was taken aback by the sheer force that was Miruko.
But then again, she was Katsuki's cousin.
"Who the hell do I speak to in this dusty precinct about posting bail for Bakugou Katsuki?" Miruko spat out unkindly. She looked down at the shocked man with darkened ruby eyes.
The nervous officer shuffled in his seat, looking at Miruko wearily. "His bail was posted not too long ago but—"
"—but nothing," Miruko cut him off fiercely. She leaned in over the desk and her intense eyes bored straight through the man's soul. "Get me whoever is in charge immediately. If someone isn't there within the next two minutes, you don't even want to know what type of absolute shit storm I will stir up here."
Izuku watched, amazed, when the officer quickly muttered out an apology and sat up. He shuffled away and bent to the immovable aura of Miruko. In the blink of an eye, he returned with several other officers. One elder officer around Toshinori's age returned with the young man. His salt and pepper hair was neatly combed to the side and he approached the fierce prosecutor like he was stepping on needles.
"Hi, ma'am," the officer in charge answered. "Bakugou Katsuki's bail came out as 53,825,000 yen—"
"—Done," Miruko said while she threw up her hand. All the eyes in the precinct went wide at the lack of hesitation for such a large amount of money. Izuku felt relief quickly rush into his body as he let out a shaky breath.
"Now, somebody move your ass and get my cousin out of holding."
. . .
Katsuki was escorted out of the small room in the back, rubbing his wrist where the all too tight handcuffs had bruised him. There was a deeply demeaned expression across the lieutenant's face as he walked towards the large group waiting for him.
Green eyes connected with red and Izuku felt himself overwhelmed by a tidal wave of emotions. He whispered the blond's name as he quickly stepped towards his tired lover who welcomed the embrace. Katsuki gripped Izuku tightly and whispered 'sorrys' over and over into green curls.
"It'll be fine. Just a rough patch," Katsuki hoarsely whispered, even though his voice was unsure. The two lovers pulled back and Izuku wiped his face quickly of tears pouring over while Katsuki kept his arm slung around his shoulders. "Once this passes over I'm fucking suing Monoma the second I get the chance."
"Good," Miruko interjected, coming up beside the two embracing lovers. Her arms were crossed and she sported a matching frown as deep as Katsuki's. "I'll be happy to help sue whatever bastard is responsible because this is outrageous."
"Thanks for coming to get me," Katsuki said as he turned to her. "I'll pay you back as soon as possible for the bail money."
"No need. Keigo and I already decided to go halfies, we'll discuss monetary issues later," Miruko said, waving him off. "But first you need to start getting you ready for your trial."
"Are you going to represent Katsuki, Miruko?" Izuku asked.
The red-eyed woman gave Izuku a sad look and shot Katsuki a grimace.
"Unfortunately, I can't," Miruko whispered reluctantly. "I really wish I could but I specialize in criminal prosecution. Not defense. I wouldn't exactly be the best bet for this especially considering what's on the line. Conspiring with a serial killer is an extreme accusation."
"Does anyone know a good lawyer then?" Katsuki asked the rest of the group who were all wincing. "I never exactly took up getting to know someone because I don't do dirty shit."
Everyone looked awkwardly between each other, waiting for another to speak up but no one did. It wasn't until Toshinori rounded back from making his call did they get a lifeline.
But it wasn't what Izuku was expecting.
"I actually called Mirio a while ago and he agreed to represent you. He'll be in town tomorrow," the blond captain informed and simultaneously both Izuku and Katsuki's stomachs knotted. "I don't trust anyone outside of our circle to handle this. Ten accounts of murder and tampering with evidence is too serious to hire someone we don't know—especially since this is probably a case of falsified evidence."
Izuku and Katsuki cut their eyes towards each other at the mention of the freckled detective's childhood friend. The same childhood friend that refused to talk to either Izuku or Katsuki after the wedding because of their, er, consummation.
Izuku hung his head when a situation he didn't think could possibly get more complicated suddenly did.
"No offense Toshinori, but I don't think your son is exactly fond of me at the moment," Katsuki grumbled and crossed his arms. "He's been fairly pissed off at both Izuku and I for the last few months and actively ignores Izuku's texts and calls."
Green eyes glanced downwards when all the U.A officers looked at him. Their gazes were confused and it made an embarrassed heat rise underneath Izuku's collar because it was true.
Ever since the wedding, Mirio had been avoiding him after Izuku had been honest when the lawyer asked if he was sleeping with Katsuki. Izuku remembers how harshly that phone conversation went due to the piercing silence when the information dropped. Mirio had hung up the phone with a soft 'I hope he makes you happy' and that was the last the two friends had spoken in months.
"I'm well aware," Toshinori sighed with a hardened expression. "But he's a professional who can separate between work and personal feelings and if he doesn't I'll make him. This is far more important than a little love triangle spat and Mirio has never lost a case in his life."
Izuku and Katsuki looked at each other hesitantly before the blond resigned. Truly, what else could be done? Izuku knew Katsuki didn't know any lawyers and with the current witch hunt happening right now, trusting any random person to represent Katsuki wasn't a good call—like Toshinori said.
The ash blond made a sour face but quickly buried his emotions.
"Alright. Mirio it is, I guess."
. . .
Shouto dropped Izuku and Katsuki off at the blond's apartment as everyone started to leave back out. Toshinori stayed behind with Miruko to advise Katsuki on what to do next. Until further notice, due to the nature of his charges, the lieutenant couldn't go back to work and would have to remain at the apartment.
Izuku watched Katsuki's shoulders sag at the information. The workaholic flexed his hands unhappily but nodded regardless. Katsuki's jaw stayed clenched tightly as Toshinori reassigned the arson case to Momo who, unfortunately, already had a full plate with several other investigations. The dark haired woman tried her best to reassure everyone that she would try to keep up on planning a way to narrow in on Nine and Dabi but they all knew what was going to happen.
The investigation was going to be slowed.
Momo had other pressing missing persons' investigations she was in charge of, but out of every one she was the next most senior and capable of handling everything.
That night when Katsuki unlocked their apartment, the quietness sitting inside felt different.
The atmosphere was all too still and there was too much hanging in the air after what had happened. The pressure of what was to come hung heavy on both men's hearts when they realized what it meant for the future. Katsuki was going to trial for conspiracy to commit murder which was the equivalent of being just as guilty as the Hero Killer himself.
Izuku watched how the blond ignored Akira, threw his keys carelessly across the small table by the door and aggressively kicked off his shoes. He didn't bother to neatly place them in row with the rest, and Izuku quietly bent down to fix it as his lover went up the stairs. The green eyed detective fed their dog quietly, and went to quickly take her for a walk. When he returned the apartment was as still as when he left.
When the greenette reached the top of the stairs of the bedroom he watched how Katsuki began to strip himself of his clothes, but half way through it seemed like he lost energy. The blond man sat on the edge of the bed, staring wordlessly at the ground.
The aura around the frustrated blond was potent yet stale. Izuku didn't know where to even begin or how to approach his boyfriend who had just been accused of murder. Ten accounts of it.
The same ten deaths he blamed himself for already.
"That was fucking humiliating," Katsuki rasped out. "I've never been that down right humiliated in my whole goddamn life." His voice quaked as if he was holding back a sea of tears.
Slowly, the hardened exterior of Katsuki became unraveled as he clenched his teeth and his fists tightly, trying to hold back a strained sob. When the first audible weep was released from the tense man, Izuku quickly sat down and tried his best to hold the other who clung back.
"It'll be okay, like you said," Izuku hushed, and held the gently sobbing man more. Izuku's green eyes darted around unsure of what to say, trying to think on the brightside because there was no way Katsuki could be found guilty. It was an absurd thought.
"Try to think of this as a mini-vacation of sorts like the one we had before," Izuku supplied. He reached out to hold Katsuki's hand, but his lover loosely held it back, too lost in his own thoughts. "A long vacation but maybe you can get some relaxing time in?"
"It's not the same," Katsuki hissed, red eyes growing more dejected and distant. "Last time I knew when I was going back. This—this is indefinite."
They fell into a silence as Katsuki squeezed his hand.
"I don't know what to do without work, Izuku. It's been my whole life."
Green eyes looked down to the floor as well, unsure of what to say.
"We'll figure it out," Izuku whispered.
. . .
The next day Izuku stayed back from work to help settle Katsuki who had fallen victim to his busy body ways. By the time the green eyed man woke up, Katsuki was already awake, cooking, trying to busy himself with something. He showered, cleaned, walked Akira and even did an at home workout. All before sunrise.
Izuku worried immensely because he could tell Katsuki was trying his best to remain confident and strong like he always did. But anyone would be nervous when up for the chopping block like this and anxiety was clearly manifesting within the blond lover in its own Bakugou Katsuki way.
Later that evening when the sky was dusk colored, Mirio arrived at their door. The attorney greeted them with a professional air, blue eyes bitterly absorbed in the sight of Katsuki and Izuku together side by side. Toshinori and Shouto came as well, both expressing how they wanted to help with straightening everything out after they finished their shift.
Izuku remembered how he froze for a brief moment after answering the door. The sight of Mirio after so long almost felt surreal, especially considering how their last several conversations went. In the quietness, the two childhood friends regarded each other as everyone else said hello between each other. Mirio's sky colored eyes raked Izuku's appearance up and down with an unspoken litany of words still between them.
"Hi, Izu. Nice to see you after so long," Mirio greeted with a distant yet soft look in his eye. "You look like you're doing well."
"Nice to see you too, Miri," Izuku replied with a small smile. "Er, thank you again for everything and helping Katsuki out on such short notice."
"It's no problem at all. We're all still on the same side at the end of the day." Mirio gave an understanding smile and Izuku stepped to the side and gestured for the three men to come into the apartment.
Izuku greeted the other two officers like he always did. Shouto gave him a small hug and asked how Katsuki was when the blond in question walked ahead towards the dining room table. Izuku shot him a wordless expression that said more than he could ever that made the youngest Todoroki wince.
As they all filed into the apartment, he watched how both Toshinori and Mirio looked at the different colorful frames on the wall and noted the photographs inside. Toshinori seemed radiantly joyful at the sight of all his officers pinned on the wall while something distant grew in Mirio's eyes at one particular photo of Izuku kissing Katsuki's cheek.
They all gathered around the dining room table and Mirio sighed as if he was carrying a ton of bad news in his black briefcase. He placed it on top of the wooden surface and immediately pulled out a thick stack of files from inside before clearing his throat.
"I'm going to dive straight into this," Mirio started with an air of strict professionalism. He shuffled through several papers with visible tension in his brow. "I filed a motion to obtain a summary on what evidence they have. Unfortunately, the summary documentation I received back a couple of hours ago is both vague and concerning to say the least."
A lump swelled in Izuku's throat as he took a seat next to Katsuki.
"What did you find?" Toshinori asked, looking deeply troubled.
"As you know they can't disclose the exact evidence to me, but, with the petition I found they have evidence files from the Hero Killer on him exchanging emails between a secret account by some Shizuoka City Officer. Only issue is the account didn't have a name on it. It was under an alias."
"So why the hell do they think it's me if it's anonymous?" Katsuki grumbled, leaning back in his chair.
"Apparently they also have several incriminating photographs of you tampering with evidence and a video of you abusing your power," Mirio said and everyone's eyes went wide. The blond lawyer looked at Katsuki who was sitting across from him with a serious expression. "Do you have any clue what that could be before this goes to trial? We need to best prepare our defense."
"No, I have no damn clue," Katsuki exasperated, fed up. "I don't understand what this could even fucking be about. I didn't email that serial killer, abuse my fucking power and I didn't tamper with any evidence—"
Katsuki stopped mid sentence and Izuku felt himself run cold. Red eyes quickly glanced to Izuku and the realization sunk in slowly to both lovers. Katsuki had tampered with evidence—evidence that Izuku was a criminal.
The green eyed detective felt his stomach do a leap that was sickening when Katsuki looked downwards and he wanted to scream.
"What?" Mirio eyed them both suspiciously, not understanding the sudden wave of silence to wash over the table when Katsuki didn't finish his sentence. Izuku's eyes darted between everyone at the table, wondering if he should speak but before he could, Katsuki discreetly placed his hand on Izuku's jittering leg as a warning to stay silent.
This is wrong. This is so wrong-
"Bakugou, if there is anything I need to know now," Mirio gently pushed and leaned across the wooden table to give the lieutenant a soft understanding look. "I'm not going to judge you. It's my job to get you off scot free and I think that the one thing we all can agree on at this table is that you don't deserve to go to jail. I know we've haven't talked in a while, but I would never want to see you incriminated. You're a good cop but these types of charges will sentence you to life without parole."
"Nothing," Katsuki whispered with his head down. Izuku watched as his face hardened expertly to hide his emotions. "I didn't tamper with anything."
Mirio made a disapproving face before taking in a deep breath and leaning back. He picked up the sheet of paper that had the summary of the evidence against Katsuki and slid it across the table for the accused man to see.
"Okay, well, I can tell you now what this trial is going to be like," Mirio said in a hard tone. "It's going to be a smear campaign since the emails were anonymous. If they can convince the jury that you're a crooked cop to the extent that you would work with a serial killer, then the jury will convict you."
"I feel like that can't be enough to convict him," Shouto muttered. "What else is their angle? They can't only go on speculation."
This time Mirio gave a saddened look when he pulled out another sheet of paper and slid it across to Katsuki.
"They're going to use Bakugou fumbling those coordinates as a smoking gun because it aligns too well," Mirio mumbled in a regretful tone. "The prosecution is going to say that because the emails were sent that same day in the morning, Katsuki supplied coordinates that didn't even exist on purpose. They're going to frame it and say he sent other officers on a detour to allow a window for the murders. It unfortunately is highly plausible in the eyes of a jury that is convinced he's crooked."
"So what's the defense?" Shouto asked. "Katsuki isn't a dirty cop and we all know that, but how do we convince people who don't know him personally?"
"The defense is character witnesses and debunking the evidence to the best of our abilities," Mirio said. "We need someone from Katsuki's past to attest to how he was always a bright, clean cop. Someone who has seen him progress in his career. Then a long-term colleague and maybe someone who hasn't worked that closely with him."
"I'll testify. I've known Bakugou since he interned with Enji," Toshinori spoke up, a dutiful expression fanned across his face. "I'll ask Kirishima and Iida as well to testify because they fit that bill. We could also get Enji to attest for Katsuki in the past. Katsuki did work an internship with the man—"
"—No," Mirio put his hand up to cease his father from going further and shook his head. "Absolutely not. We're not trying to align Katsuki with someone like Enji. The Chief of Police has enough speculation and problematic themes surrounding him. We want to keep that away from Katsuki as much as we can for this trial. Er, no offense, Shouto."
Mirio gave the Todoroki at the table an apologetic face.
"None taken," Shouto murmured under his breath and awkwardly looked away to rub the back of his neck. Izuku could tell the comment on his father bothered the youngest Todoroki but Shouto kept his level head, as always.
"I'm sorry. I'm just trying my best to make sure Katsuki is proven innocent," Mirio explained with a saddened smile. "Because of that I will ask, as a safety net, for someone to be working on figuring out who was actually the officer to send those emails with the hit list in them. It's going to be a neck and neck trial and we don't know what's in those photos or in the video. If we can uproot the real person responsible before the end of the trial, Katsuki is free to go."
"I'll do it," Izuku voiced, leaning forward. His chest ached with need to help Katsuki out after everything, especially with the fact the blond had covered up for him yet again. Determined green eyes turned towards his officer friend with a pleading gaze. "Shouto? Will you help me figure this out? Together?"
Mix-matched eyes glanced up slowly to look at Izuku and the green eyed man could see a sense of duty trickle into them.
"Together," Shouto spoke, straightening out his back. "We'll track down how all this started and figure out what's going on before there's a conviction."
"Thanks," Katsuki said, looking at everyone. The lieutenant looked at Izuku lovingly, then turned his eyes gratefully to the three men but settled on Mirio a little longer. "Really. Thank you. I know this is a mess you don't have to get involved in but...thank you."
"It's no problem," Mirio said and returned the smile with unspoken words. "I'll always make sure to have my friends' well being in mind."
. . .
When the next day came Izuku could feel Father Time start his stopwatch counting down to an unknown deadline. The court had set the trial to begin in two weeks to give time for a jury to be selected and time for Katsuki to prepare and think about what the video and photos could possibly be.
Izuku put on his plain pink button up and dress pants for the day to start investigating who was behind the emails. As he did this, Katsuki gave him a sweet hug and a light kiss, red eyes looking at him thankfully. The elder man squeezed him extra tight that morning before he left out and adjusted the collar on Izuku's peacoat protectively.
While there was nothing but affection in his eyes, Izuku could sense a sadness radiating from his lover as he headed out to go work while Katsuki was stuck at home.
The morning was bright and the temperature was mild as a light breeze followed his pace through the busy streets. Izuku could feel the winter winds starting to dissipate slowly as he and Shouto sought off to get to the bottom of who was the real person behind the Hero Killer case.
"Let's start at the source," Shouto said with a serious expression. "I suggest we head over to the 1B precinct."
Izuku nodded in full agreement and the two detectives were on their way with determination filling their cores. Izuku noted all the busy businessmen and women bustling about in their suits and professional clothes. Plain black heels with briefcases flooded the downtown streets more frequently the further into the dense sky rises of Shizuoka City area the two U.A officers walked.
They arrived at an older stone building that had '1B district Precinct' engraved into it. It was several stories high and caged in between two taller glass buildings. On the glass front doors of the building, the Shizuoka City Police signal was printed on the front, showcased proudly for the world to see.
Izuku's green eyes glanced around, taking in the part of the city he had never seen. The first thing his fresh eyes noticed was a small ice cream shop lit up by neon colors across the street that had several officers stationed outside laughing with a relaxed air surrounding them. He smiled a bit to himself thinking that it must've been a normal lunch break stop for the people in the area.
When the duo walked through the doors, officers were bustling around on the first floor of their office space taking calls and chatting with each other. Men and women in plain detective clothes and decorated fully in blue were stationed all around while the sounds of a busy office space filled the atmosphere.
One particular officer with dark, shaggy hair and deep brown eyes caught sight of them while walking past. Izuku's eyes glanced down to his badge and caught the sight of a golden name tag with 'Kaibara Sen' printed neatly on it.
"Hey! Excuse me," Izuku quickly rushed out as he stopped the slim built man. "May we talk to one of you for a second?"
The brown eyed man quickly cut his eyes down to Izuku's and Shouto's shining Uchimizu Ave Department Police badges dangling from their necks. A flip was switched, and he gave a tired, unimpressed look to the two officers.
"We have nothing to say to U.A officers," Sen spat in an accusing tone that surprised both Izuku and Shouto. "Your whole squad is probably as dirty as that grimy lieutenant of yours. You guys have been covering up for him for years."
The harsh words caught both Shouto and Izuku off guard and without warning Izuku felt his anger boil again at the slander of Katsuki. He wasn't like that so why was everyone so damn convinced he was? What the hell was in that evidence pile?
The freckled detective calmed himself down as he reminded himself this was for Katsuki. Dutiful, protective, Katsuki who had stuck his neck out for him on several occasions.
"Bakugou didn't do anything and we're not dirty," Izuku reasoned with a pleading look in his eye. "Please, we only want to understand what is going on. We're all shocked."
"Yes, like my partner said, we all just want to know where this came from," Shouto emphasized but the brown haired man didn't seem like he was budging.
Izuku could feel several other 1B officers catch a glimpse at the badges around their necks and the reaction was instantaneous: their noses turned up, lips curled with repulsion and quickly turned away as if both Izuku and Shouto were diseased. It didn't take too long for Izuku to make the connection of course that's how they would feel. Monoma was the Lieutenant in this precinct and he probably let his distaste for Katsuki fester deep in his subordinates' minds unchecked for years.
"Oh, please," Sen spat, crossing his arms unimpressed by the defense. "You're starting to sound like Shinsou."
At this both U.A officers made a confused face.
"Hitoshi?" Shouto questioned to be sure. "The fireman? He was here?"
"Yeah, he was visiting when we received all the evidence," the brown-eyed cop muttered. "He said the same thing you're saying about Bakugou being innocent. Even though the evidence all points to him being a fucking sleaze."
"Why would you say that?" Izuku defended, hurt and baffled by the crude language. "He's not a sleaze."
"Not from what I saw on that tape." The dark eye man's gaze settled on Izuku a little longer than needed before studying him up and down. Quickly a flash of recognition flashed across the man's face when he assessed Izuku a little longer and he shook his head in pity. "Can you two please leave our precinct? I would rather not be caught talking to two dirty U.A officers."
Shouto and Izuku exchanged a silent stare between each other before backing out from where they came. The heaviness of the unwelcoming room nearly suffocated them both and all the glares practically pushed them out the door.
As his back was turned, Izuku felt small goosebumps rise on the nape of his neck. The intensities of what felt like a hundred eyes crawled over him causing him to glance over his shoulder. As they were exiting through the glass doors, there he saw several officers' prying eyes glued to him whispering.
But they were only looking at him. Not Shouto.
"I guess we should go pay Hitoshi a visit," Shouto spoke up tiredly. "He might be more receptive to us asking questions. Everyone inside there seems convinced Bakugou is guilty and they're not going to help try to prove he's innocent."
Izuku eyed the closing glass doors behind him, unsure of the way most of the officers had stared after him. His skin crawled with odd premonition.
"Y-Yeah," he whispered unease. He quickly stood his thick head of curls before refocusing. "Alright, next stop is the downtown fire station."
. . .
They arrived at the fire station by mid day. The blue sky was full of fluffy white clouds and falsely alluded to a calm relaxing day, but Izuku knew better. He could feel each second pass by painfully quick and he wanted to scream out for it to stop.
When they arrived at the red and grey fire station it was nearly all smiles, completely opposite to the 1B precinct. All the firefighters seemed to be relaxing, watching out for any calls and keeping up with the news on the large flatscreens overhead as they welcomed the pair of detectives without an issue. The duo walked into the main office area and the first thing they saw were indigo hair and eyes. Shinsou smiled and waved them over.
"Hey there, you two," Hitoshi called out as he walked towards the two detectives heading his way. Izuku and Shouto greeted him back before the uniformed fireman crossed his arm tiredly and offered up a sympathetic expression. "I had a feeling someone from U.A might stop by. Sorry to hear about Bakugou by the way, that was a true mess."
"So I assume you don't need us to explain why we're here then?" Shouto sighed, shifting on his feet.
"I can make a pretty good guess."
"We heard from one of the 1B officers that you were there when the evidence against Katsuki surfaced," Izuku asked, fidgeting slightly. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's in the emails, photos and the video by any chance? Or if anything in the emails stood out to you to hint towards it being someone else?"
"Not going to lie, Bakugou's in deep shit," Hitoshi deadpanned, and it only made Izuku feel worse. "I didn't get to see everything, but I saw the emails when they went through them. They seemed harmless at first, but when the encryption was unlocked it became really grim. Every single person the Hero Killer murdered was inside of those files."
At the drop of the more detailed information Izuku's gut sank. It was worse than a couple emails exchanged—it was a hit list.
"Is it possible that was falsified?" Izuku pushed because it didn't make sense why it was coming up now after so long.
"No," Hitoshi said in a hushed tone. "Someone came by on Monday last week and dropped off the Hero Killer's laptop that has been missing for ages on the doorstep. I don't know how, but someone dug it up and then delivered it straight to the 1B precinct along with a drive containing photos of Bakugou. It had a message on it that read: 'Anonymous tip per your investigation. Start looking in the right place'."
"Do you happen to know what the video and photos are?" Shouto asked. "It would help us a lot to know because Katsuki doesn't even know what it could be."
"Well, no. There wasn't a video in the package, which makes me assume Monoma had it before all of this," Hitoshi said with a small shrug. "I didn't get to see the photos because Monoma asked me to leave when we got in a small spat about him proclaiming that it must be Bakugou immediately after going through the emails."
"He had a video of Katsuki? Why is he so hell bent on thinking it's him who worked with the Hero Killer?" Izuku huffed, fed up. "He has no other suspicions on anyone else?"
"You two have to understand Monoma is hurt," Hitoshi reasoned with his dark purple eyes fixed downwards. His voice grew soft in tone as he ran his hand through his hair. "He's been hurting deeply for four years after that day. I know Bakugou doesn't know this entirely, but Monoma was planning on proposing to his patrol partner, Yanagi Reiko. She was one of the people murdered that day when the coordinates got fumbled."
Izuku stopped thinking for a moment at the information.
Monoma had lost more than his team. He lost someone he thought he was going to spend his future with as well. The green eyed detective glanced at Shouto who seemed to soften with the new knowledge as well.
"I didn't know that," Shouto whispered. "That's really tragic. I'm sorry to hear."
At this Hitoshi only casted his eyes away.
"It's okay. But just understand, hurt people sometimes won't rest until they get their version of justice to fill that void of hurt. Even if it's not Katsuki, Monoma needs someone to blame."
. . .
"Well, what now?" Izuku asked as they exited the fire station. The two detectives looked at each other and a scratch of suspicion raked its way across at what Hitoshi had said. "Who could've dropped off the evidence? It seems rather odd the actual evidence was coupled with whatever photos they have of Katsuki. Like the person wanted Katsuki to be framed."
Shouto nodded in agreement as they made their way down the street, passing by all the various city people.
"Someone must've known that Monoma was investigating the case and also knew of his distaste for Katsuki...but then again, Monoma doesn't exactly keep it hidden," the sergeant grumbled. "Anyone who does some light digging could find out how the 1B precinct officers are not Katsuki's biggest fans. It's not that hard."
"Maybe we can ask for security footage from the 1B precinct? See who dropped it off?"
"That'll take a week to file a motion for," Shouto huffed. "They're not going to be cooperative with us."
Izuku felt himself grow distant at the thought. Of course they would make it more difficult for them to prove Katsuki's innocence, especially when they thought he was responsible for a hit list of officers. The green eyed detective kept mulling over what to do next when he looked up and saw a small child eating ice cream.
A visual of the ice cream shop appeared in his head and an idea clicked into place.
"I think...I think I remember seeing a small ice cream shop across the street from the 1B station," Izuku whispered, turning to Shouto with hopeful eyes. "Maybe they have a clear shot in security footage and filmed who dropped off the evidence?"
Shouto stopped walking when he realized it too.
"I guess to go get ice cream we go."
. . .
The ice cream parlor was painted in welcoming pastel colors of pink, lavender and baby blue all along the walls. Everyone inside seemed to be ordering the frozen treat despite the weather, and Izuku could smell the thick scent of warm fudge filling into his nostrils.
They greeted the jolly looking man who had naturally reddened cheeks and was wearing a sunny yellow apron. Izuku recognized several 1B precinct officers inside on break, talking happily with each other as if there wasn't a trial about to ruin Katsuki's whole life.
After showing their badges, they politely asked the store owner if they could see the security footage and when they were led to the back, it was a surveillance gold mine. There was an entire back room dedicated to several televisions watching the front and back along with the police precinct across the street.
Shouto gave a low whistle and Izuku made a mental note that ice cream was taken very seriously by this man.
"Thank you so much for letting us see the footage," Izuku smiled sweetly at the store owner. "This is a huge help, you have no idea."
"It's no problem at all! Always happy to help," the kind man responded with a loving look on his face. "What can I show you two young men?"
"Could you please show us the footage of Monday evening?" Shouto politely asked.
"Of course, no problem at all!"
The ice cream shop owner logged on his computer and pulled up footage from the entirety of Monday. Part of Izuku wished that they had gotten a specific time from Shinsou but left it as they scrubbed through the footage.
Green eyes watched as the busy people in the film float in and out of the film like ghosts. Countless people walked past the precinct, inside of it and out of until the day bled into the night. It wasn't until the footage showed 11:30pm did they see anything dropped off at the front door by an easily missable shadowy figure.
"—There," Shouto quickly said as he pressed the slow button.
On screen was a dark silhouette bent over, leaving behind a note and a brown box on the doorsteps. The person was tall and wrapped in a black hoodie. The anonymous person kept their face down, concealing their face from the precinct's security cameras but when they began to walk across the empty street, the suspect lifted their head ever so slightly to look down the street.
"Zoom in," Izuku whispered as Shouto paused the video on the three-quarter view of the person's face. When the camera became closer and closer the first and only thing Izuku saw were burns.
Disfiguring purple colored burns underneath blue eyes and burns wrapped tightly around the man's neck. Both Shouto and Izuku froze at the grainy image they saw on screen as if they had seen a ghost.
Izuku opened his mouth, a loss for words until Shouto hushly said the man's name out loud.
"It's Dabi."
. . .
"It was fucking Dabi?" Katsuki yelled into the apartment furiously. His voice boomed off the walls unforgivingly as his temper boiled over. "That god forsaken pyromaniac is responsible for all of this!?"
They were all currently sitting in Izuku's and Katsuki's shared apartment with Toshinori, Mirio and Shouto. The five men were absorbing the new, but disturbing information that Izuku and Shouto reported. The news of a legitimate encrypted hit list and that it was Dabi to expose the new evidence was both useful and dreadful all at once.
Shouto looked wearily at the standing blond man who was shooting off a line of colorful curse words from his mouth. "Katsuki, calm down—"
"—Don't fucking tell me to calm down right now, Shouto," Katsuki cut him off. The Lieutenant whirled around, fire eyes fully ignited with irritation. "Not a goddamn person in this room better tell me to calm down when that psychopath is setting me up! He knew we were closing in on him so he fucking removes me from the picture and tries to send me to jail. That's so goddamn typical!"
"He must've pulled some strings and got the Hero Killer's laptop specifically for this," Shouto sighed. "I guess that makes sense with the intense amount of connections he now has at his disposal."
The quiet green eyed man didn't know what to do as he examined his frustrated boyfriend that was deeply affected by the news. The weight of a hitlist coupled with the fact that Dabi, now the most powerful drug lord in their region, was the one to unearth the buried information was disquieting for a multitude of reasons.
One being that it was clearly a set up for Katsuki to be imprisoned.
"Doesn't this make the evidence less legit?" Izuku asked softly, turning to Mirio. Green eyes were wide and pleading for a solution. "Surely, evidence dropped off by a drug lord we know has it out for Katsuki can't be taken seriously?"
"It doesn't matter who dropped it off, unfortunately," Mirio said carefully with remorse thick in his tone. "What matters is what's on those files. But the fact that we did find out Dabi dropped it off means we can undermine whatever they present to the jury. It gives us a leg up."
This explanation seemed to calm Katsuki, who stopped his pacing to take a deep breath. His temper slowly climbed away from plunging over the ledge and he looked at the other four men in the room. Izuku could see the stress riddled over his lover's body. Dark circles under his eyes were already starting to accumulate and his brow was as tense as his scowl.
"A leg up is good I guess," Katsuki whispered, red eyes looking out the living room window.
"Izuku and I will keep looking in the meantime and try to dig further into who the officer to send the emails could be," Shouto supplied and Izuku nodded in agreeance.
Katsuki gave them both a grateful expression.
. . .
The next two weeks passed by and Shouto and Izuku found out more about the possible list of officers and why they were targeted. With more questioning around the various Shizuoka City Police branches, they found that the officers taken out by the Hero Killer were all officers that were rapidly moving up in their positions and seen as golden gems of the city.
Izuku felt his heart pang when he learned that Monoma's almost-fiancé was a volunteer at a homeless shelter and was advocating for better housing for those in need. But when they asked who would have wanted them all put down it was always the same dead end.
"It had to be someone with motive to either want to protect their position or someone who wanted to clear a pathway for their rise to the top. Eliminate the competition," one officer said with a sympathetic smile. "I don't know Lieutenant Bakugou very well but I do know everyone in the force was always so amazed by how quickly he went from ranking Detective to Lieutenant in four years."
The motive fit.
It fit too well for someone like Katsuki who flew through the ranks quickly but Izuku knew that wasn't the case. Katsuki had just had tunnel vision for four years—like he said so himself: his work was his life. He hadn't cheated, lied or bribed anyone—much less asked for people to be killed so he could look better.
During the two weeks that had passed, time pushed the city into early March and the beginning of spring. The birds were chirping happily and the small flower buds on the trees gave way to a happy atmosphere, however inside their apartment it felt like anything but happy new beginnings.
Without a doubt, Izuku could feel Katsuki's confidence gradually chip away like old paint. Every time the couple turned on the news, Katsuki's mugshot was plastered as the headlining story and the rumors were running rampant like irreversible wildfire.
The blond would hug Akira closer to himself sometimes as he sat on the couch and helplessly watched his reputation be torched to the ground.
Izuku felt his heart nervously ache when the first day of the trial finally arrived and they had no new leads.
Jade colored eyes stared at the dejected, distant expression enveloping Katsuki's face as he prepared himself for the courtroom. His silent lover dressed in an ash grey suit with a blue tie to come off as more neutralizing for the jury per the suggestion of Mirio. Izuku pulled out Katsuki's reading glasses and carefully placed them on Katsuki's face and smiled at him, despite it not being fully returned.
Izuku noted the way Katsuki nervously fiddled with his golden cuff-links as if they were shackles. Red eyes stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror as if trying to identify the woeful man starting back at him. It almost felt morbid that Katsuki was dressed so well for his own witch hunt.
"Don't worry, we both know the truth. You're innocent," Izuku said with a smile. He walked up behind his boyfriend and rubbed his shoulders to ease the tension. "Mirio is going to prove it to everyone else and this will be in the past."
Katsuki stayed silent as he finished tightening his tie. Red eyes met green through the mirror.
"What if this gets dragged out?" Katsuki whispered. "Some trials go for months. Several long months."
"The average trial only lasts for a week. In a week you'll be allowed to go back to normal."
"Or I'll be in jail," Katsuki quipped.
Izuku frowned and squeezed Katsuki's shoulders reassuringly. "Kacchan. Don't talk like that. Today will go fine."
Or at least that was all they could hope for.
When they arrived at the downtoward courthouse with Toshinori, Mirio and the select U.A officers it was a chaotic swarm. Story hungry reporters formed what felt like a sea around them the second they all stepped out of the white car. Izuku winced when one reporter flashed a bright flash directly in his face while intrusive questions were shoved down Katsuki's throat.
"Bakugou! Is it true you cheated your way into your Lieutenant's position?"
"Did you really get to where you are through the blood of your fellow officers?"
"Do you think you deserve the title of Symbol of Victory after this has come to light? Are you responsible for the officers' deaths?"
Pain struck like lightning across Katsuki's face and Izuku practically felt the gut punching effect the questions had on Katsuki's image of himself.
By the time they made it into the courtroom, it was quiet between all members of their party. The courtroom was made of wood and had a chilled air to it. The walls were painted in a thick layer of dull beige that did nothing to bring life to the environment.
Toshinori, Iida and Kirishima were idly wading in the thick silence as everyone inside took their proper seats. Mirio and Katsuki sat in front at the wood defense table with the defense attorney whispering and coaching the accused man on what to say and not to say.
In the front of the room, sitting high above them all embedded onto the wall, was a golden statue of the symbol of justice. The figure of the woman was looking down at all them with a blind fold across her eyes, holding a sword and scale righteously.
Izuku quickly felt out of place like a sinner in a church.
The doors opened again, drawing Izuku's attention and green eyes spotted Monoma in plain business casual clothes walking into the room. Dutifully behind him were several other 1B officers in the same type of clothing, ready for what was to come. Their gazes were sharp and unforgiving towards all the U.A officers as they sat to the side of the prosecution.
Izuku gazed his eyes upwards towards who was sitting at the prosecution side to see a woman in a clean cut black blazer and red dress shirt. Her dark colored pencil skirt matched her long obsidian hair and her red heels seemed to be the exact color of her blouse. She smiled and talked with all the officers from the 1B precinct but the energy surrounding her was intimidating.
"Kayama Nemuri," Shouto whispered from beside him in the wooden benches. "She's the top prosecutor in Shizuoka City. Specializes in convicting dirty cops to help keep the city clean. She takes a lot of pleasure in weeding out the force to the point people call her 'Midnight' because she closes the case usually in a single day."
The attorney in question turned around at the sound of her name and specifically gave Izuku a sickening sweet smile.
Suddenly Izuku's last bit of confidence went out of the window when a gleam of savagery was ignited in her blue eyes.
One by one every person in the jury filed in with neutral expressions in plain clothes and a woman with ash black hair and kind dark eyes entered into the room draped in judge robes. She had an air about her that was both the energy of justice and equality.
"Everyone please rise for the honorable Judge Shimura Nana," the bailiff said sternly. Every individual in the small courtroom rose in synchronization while the kind woman took her seat beneath the symbol of justice. She smiled nicely at both Katsuki and Nemuri in an equally respecting manner.
When everyone took a seat, the trial began and time slipped through Izuku's fingers.
It all began to blur together as the strong midnight-haired woman strutted across the room, presenting a very convincing opening statement against Katsuki. She built the narrative of Katsuki being power hungry, unkind, and known to have a temper to the point several other officers reported working with him was difficult. She presented the incriminating emails and pointed out how the email asking for the execution of the ten officers was sent the same day Katsuki messed up giving the coordinates.
Mirio then gave his speech on how Katsuki was the opposite: he was a man with a heart of gold who only had a stern exterior. The defense attorney painted the picture of Katsuki as a dedicated officer who devoted countless hours to his work and focused to saving and protecting those who are unable to do so themselves.
When the witnesses began taking the stands both Shouto and Izuku could feel themselves hold their breath.
The first one up was Katsuki himself and Nemuri was relentless.
A television connected with a laptop was rolled out and the first thing she showed were pictures of the pins of evidence leaving Ground Alpha. There were several close up slots of the files, making sure the jury knew exactly how they looked.
Izuku felt his stomach sink down into the darkest pits when he realized what was happening.
"These are the files from the bust at Ground Alpha correctly? Bins full of red folders?" She asked directly, pointing to the photo blown large on the screen.
"Correct." Katsuki said it as carefully as if he was walking on nails. "Those are the folders we were able to confiscate from the Shigarakis."
"And is this not a photograph of you leaving the U.A precinct holding one of these red folders?" She asked next and pressed a single button on the silver MacBook.
Quickly shuffled in several long-distance shots of Katsuki leaving out at the U.A precinct extremely late at night holding one of those exact red folders but the name was obscured by Katsuki's hand. Izuku put his head down as his heart twisted.
"Why were you leaving out of the precinct with it the same day that they were transported back?"
"Sometimes I bring files in to look over," Katsuki said in a tight tone and Izuku squeezed his eyes closed, trying to push back tears. Katsuki was protecting him again, even with his own future on the line. "It's a common practice amongst police officers to look over their case files at home."
"And this one needed your special attention? What file was it?"
"It was a file pertaining to a particular criminal involved in All For One. I wanted to cross check it because I thought I saw a hint that could lead on to the arsonist case."
"And you can confirm that this folder made it back to the precinct in the morning?"
"Yes," Katsuki said neutrally, hiding all emotion in his voice. Red eyes glanced downwards to avoid looking at Izuku. "It made its way back."
"Is it not true you were the only one outside of your captain authorized to say who is authorized to investigate which files?" She questioned, backing away with her hands behind her back.
"Yes. I am fully authorized to look at evidence and assign my subordinates which evidence to look over," Katsuki said eveningly despite his face becoming slowly twisted in anger. "If anyone from the precinct wanted to bring back a file after I gave them clearance, they are fully eligible to. I do not need to give myself clearance being second in command."
"So your position would make it easier for you to tamper with evidence," She concluded. "Since you don't need your own permission."
Katsuki's jaw tightened as he glared at the woman in front of him. His hands tensed trying to control himself.
"I do not tamper with evidence," Katsuki hissed. "I devote both night and day to making sure people are safe and the correct people are behind bars."
Nemuri's icy gaze locked with Katsuki's trying to get him to relent but Katsuki held the challenging glare.
"That'll be all," she said but there was an unknown weight to her words as she turned around, long black hair flowing with her. Izuku let out a shaky breath loud enough that Shouto turned to him and asked what was wrong but the young detective waved off his friend.
Toshinori took the stand next and Mirio displayed the footage from the ice cream shop's security footage on the television. It showed the buffering footage of the people in front of the 1B precinct until it came to the night-time when the package of evidence was dropped off on the footstep.
There on the screen was the dark, grainy view of Dabi's partially obscured face. Mirio then minimized the footage to pull up Izuku's detailed portrait of Dabi on screen, showcasing the likeness of the two visuals.
"Captain Yagi, can you identify the man in this video for us?" Mirio asked, a red laser pointer in his hand.
"His name is Dabi, the man we believe is responsible for the recent arson crimes and The Red Dawn based on witness testimonials," Yagi said confidently and immediately there was a whispering amongst the courtroom.
Izuku watched how Nemuri scrunched her face and then turned to shoot Monoma an undermining look.
"Do you think it's fair to say this seems oddly convenient that the second Lieutenant Bakugou was closing in tight on the case suddenly Dabi decided to anonymously hand over a smoking gun to Lieutenant Monoma—someone who also has an open dislike for Lieutenant Bakugou?"
"Yes. It makes me question if Lieutenant Monoma took a second to really think with a level head before jumping to file for an arrest warrant," Yagi confirmed in a clipped tone. His blue eyes unforgiving as they stared into Monoma. "Maybe with a little looking around he would've found out who his anonymous tip was."
"Thank you Captain, that'll be all," Mirio said as he safely removed the thumbdrive from the laptop.
Izuku could tell the shift in gazes as the jury looked at Katsuki, weighing the strangeness in what was just said. Nemuri rose from her seat next and straightened out her back. She made a confident stride up to Yagi's position on the witness stand before offering him a kind smile.
"Hi Captain Yagi, lovely to see you again," she greeted as if they were friends, and Toshinori greeted her back as well. Izuku briefly wondered what this must've felt like for their captain, trying so hard to defend his top officer after such a long, clean career.
"Likewise Nemuri. Always great to see an old friend."
"I have a couple questions to ask you pertaining to how your Lieutenant has operated over the years," she probed, all the friendliness disappearing from her voice to be replaced with pure professionalism. "How long have you known Lieutenant Bakugou?"
"I've known him since he was nineteen, so for a little over eight years now," Toshinori answered easily. "I first met him when he was doing an internship here in the city and when we met he was very enthusiastic about joining the ranks. He made it very clear he wanted to always help people in need. It's always been his core."
"Within these eight years, have you ever known him to make a mistake?"
"Bakugou makes very little to no mistakes. He is highly attentive and careful in everything he does."
"When you say little to none, would you say he makes a mistake once per week?"
"No," Toshinori reiterated confused. "Like I said he's not one to make mistakes."
"Not even when he entered coordinates to stop the Hero Killer that didn't exist? Was that not a mistake?" She suggested with distrust in her tone.
Izuku could see Toshinori frown deeply, completely offended at the implication.
"Of course that was a mistake, but that is the first and last one he made. He learned his lesson about the consequences of actions in our type of field and adjusted accordingly."
"Right. But don't you think it's a little odd that the one mistake he's made while on the force just happened to be directly after these emails were sent to execute the 1B squad?" The dark haired woman pushed, turning around to glare at the accused man. "How could someone as capable as Bakugou possibly make such a drastic mistake so conveniently—"
"Objection. Completely speculation," Mirio quickly said in a loud voice glaring at Nemuri.
She cut her razor sharp eyes to Mirio and Judge Shimura banged her wooden gavel loudly once time.
"Sustained," the kind Judge in a tight tone. She looked at Nemuri in a mildly disapproving manner. "Please get back on topic Ms. Kayama."
"Of course, sorry," Nemuri said sweetly. She turned to the jury as she gestured to Katsuki. "I just wanted to point out that if Lieutenant Bakugou is as capable as everyone says he is, him making this one mistake that cost ten officers their lives is not only sad but suspicious.
"Maybe he was working with this arsonist, Dabi and they had fallen out over a dispute. Maybe it was Dabi's file that he was tampering with to help cover up. But if there was a disagreement between them, ultimately that could result in Dabi becoming spiteful and finally turning him in—"
"—Objection! More speculation!" Mirio all but yelled, gesturing wildly to the black haired woman. "There is no proof on record that Bakugou and Dabi have any connections to each other."
Izuku stared at the jury whose faces were twisted with both confusion and unease. All their frowns made Izuku realize what Nemuri had done.
She planted a seed.
"Sustained again," Judge Shimura said again with a swift hammer. "If you keep this up Ms. Kayama I am afraid I will ask you to take a seat."
"No need, that'll be all your honor," Nemuri said as she smiled to the jury.
The next to the stand was Kirishima, who had nothing but praise to give Katsuki. He told the story of how they became close friends and was a first hand witness to how hard Katsuki worked night and day. The loyal redhead untwisted the narrative that Katsuki obtained his position by corruption through his kind expression. He talked about how Katsuki slept in the station sometimes and how he solved cases quickly due to him dedicating all his free time to protecting the city.
Izuku felt himself smile when Iida took the stand and echoed the same thing. Mirio asked all the right questions and was able to practically pin a halo above Katsuki's head.
It made Izuku's heart twist with warmth watching his childhood friend in action. He smiled happily watching the attorney.
The judge called for a short recess, and when Mirio took his seat he gave everyone that award winning smile but Izuku didn't miss how his estranged friend's eyes lingered on him as if wanting to say something. Everyone in the room took a small break, catching well needed air.
Katsuki seemed a little bit at ease when the jury's expressions seemed fairly split on his case. It was possible for things to remain inconclusive unless somehow Katsuki's name magically appeared in those emails.
But when they came back from recess with Katsuki, Izuku could hear Monoma whispering loudly with Nemuri.
The prosecutor's face had a hardened expression on it as if she was torn. But when Izuku walked by, both of their eyes cut towards him. Monoma's face was twisted with disgust while her's held a trickle of sympathy.
Everyone resumed their positions, and Izuku took a seat next to Shouto quietly. He felt the peculiar weight of all eyes from the otherside of the room on him and couldn't help but feel off about it.
"Why does everyone keep looking at me?" Izuku whispered to Shouto, his paranoia about his past kicked in. The duo-colored man took in Izuku's words and carefully glanced around to find several people quickly turning their heads away.
"I don't know," Shouto replied back with a disapproving frown.
The hairs on his arms stood up when Monoma's heated blue gaze caught his line of sight. They were full of both jealousy and a sour bitterness. Izuku opened his mouth to voice concern again to Shouto but didn't get a chance when Nemuri cleared her throat.
She walked up to the dutiful Iida resuming his seat at the witness stand. There was an odd weight in her shoulders as she took one deep breath and buried whatever qualms she seemed to have as she stared at Iida.
"Sergeant Iida, you've been serving on the same team as Lieutenant Bakugou for how long now?" She asked right away, a new confident air was radiating from her that was different than the last several witnesses.
"I joined about three years ago," Iida said with a smile. "I came in as a sergeant to the squad and Lieutenant Bakugou has been nothing but kind and respectful to all of us. He pushes us all to grow and be our best selves. I couldn't ask for a better second in command."
Izuku and Shouto nodded in agreement as she turned towards the TV and inserted a thumb drive inside. She kept her head turned as she clicked open a folder and suddenly a picture of Izuku's policeman headshot opened and appeared on screen.
The freckled man's feet suddenly went cold.
Shouto's brow furrowed with confusion at the image. "What's going on—"
"Can you identify this person for us?" Nemuri asked again in a tight tone. Iida looked between the picture and the perplexed Izuku sitting behind Katsuki.
"That's Midoriya Izuku," the sergeant said in a careful manner.
"The young man sitting right there, correct?" She asked, pointing straight to Izuku and the greenette went stiff. The crawling of eyes washed over his body as everyone in the vicinity stared at him, but both the expression on both Mirio and Katsuki's faces were the most ghostly.
"Correct. That's him."
"What is Midoriya's ranking and when did he join?"
"He...He is a beginning rank detective and he started about eight months ago," Iida answered confused. He glanced his eyes upwards towards Judge Shimura. "I'm sorry but what does this have to do with anything?"
"Getting there." Nemuri put her finger up with a small smile. "But he's fairly new. Did you train him?"
"No, Lieutenant Bakugou did."
"So Detective Midoriya was Lieutenant Bakugou's trainee and ultimately had to obey everything he was told to do while he was in the six month probation period?" She clarified and the sinking feeling in Izuku's stomach got worse. "Their power imbalance is rather plain and straight to the point."
In that moment Katsuki turned to look at Izuku over his shoulder with the palest expression Izuku had ever seen.
"That is usually what the protocol is, yes. It is standard. Bakugou ultimately had the higher authority so yes, Midoriya would have to do what he said. He is second in command under Yagi."
"Did Bakugou have the power to fire Midoriya if he ever saw fit?"
"Yes, but he never threatened anyone's job for self gain if that's what you're getting at," Iida deflected, offended. His proud expression looked at Katsuki as if he was a brother. "Bakugou would never abuse his power in that way because he's not that type of authority figure to intimate others."
Nemuri nodded her head and then backed away from the witness stand.
Izuku watched with fearful eyes as she spared him an apologetic glance before walking over to the computer again and taking a deep breath in.
"The video I'm about to show is both vulgar and the jury may find it disturbing in some ways," she said slowly and then pressed the space bar on the laptop.
All eyes zoomed in on the screen and soon the television revealed a clear shot of Katsuki's office in the depths of night.
But what was sitting on screen made Izuku's heart drop to the blackest pit.
The lewd visual of himself bent over Katsuki's desk, with his pants down, shocked everyone to their core. They were dressed still in their uniforms, lower halves blurred out but the clear jotting movements made it clear what was happening on screen.
One of Katsuki's hands gripped tightly in his hair, holding up his head while the other held his arms behind his back tight in a submissive position by the wrists. The elder man's body was dominating him fully as Katsuki took him from the behind relentlessly and all eyes went wide at the hushed moans that spilled into the courtroom.
"A-Ah, K-Katsu—"
"—It's Sir when I'm fucking you like this, Bunny." The hand gripping his hair yanked hard, and Izuku heard his own voice whine desperately as he was helplessly fucked into the wooden furniture until he came with a choked cry. "Now, what do you say to your Lieutenant for letting you cum all over his desk?"
"Thank you for f-fucking me, sir."
"There's my good boy."
The whole courtroom erupted into chaos.
. . .
Sexual Misconduct.
"Katsuki. Izuku. You can't have contact until this trial is over."
Izuku could barely focus on the words. He didn't even know who out of Yagi, Mirio or Shouto said them. He heard the request, but it was muffled as though he was hearing it with his head being held underneath water.
His entire world felt as if he was drowning in the reality of what had occurred as he sat next to Katsuki on the couch in their apartment.
"No contact?" Katsuki rasped out, voice hoarse. "Not even phone calls?"
"None. I'm sorry, again," Mirio's voice whispered, full of regret and sadness. "I'll make sure that video doesn't leave the courtroom and I will get it stripped from the record for it being incendiary. Monoma had no right to bug your office like that."
Izuku hung his head with little hope because he knew the damage had been done.
Even if Katsuki got off from the Hero Killer case, he was going to be served with sexual misconduct directly after. A step below aggravated sexual assault.
"Izuku, you have to move out until further notice. The higher ups in the police department want to pull Katsuki's phone records to investigate your relationship further and they will weaponize your living situation if you stay here any longer. Especially if they find out that you haven't been paying rent."
"There's no other way?" Izuku heard himself say, his mouth felt like it was moving on its own.
"No, I'm sorry, Izu. If you stay, I can't fight against the future sexual misconduct claim that will be filed against Katsuki. My best shot at making sure Katsuki isn't labeled as a predator is to make sure it comes off as if you were just staying with him temporarily."
Somehow, out of all the charges Katsuki was faced with, this was the one to land a devastating blow to Izuku's heart.
"This is what's for the best right now."
Katsuki didn't look at him as the bags were packed.
The two lovers had stared sorrowfully at each other for what felt like a split second before red eyes became overcome with tears. Katsuki turned away with a pained expression the moment his tears began free falling as he choked back a frustrated sob.
Izuku's heart squeezed hard enough in his chest that he couldn't breathe. It felt as though Father Time had finally snapped his fingers and decided to punish them both for the reckless actions.
But there was nothing either of them could do but accept the crumbling of their world.
The ash blond man sat on the couch wordlessly. His hands cradled his head watching bitterly as Izuku's belongings were packed into three red suitcases and his yellow backpack.
"Can't I stay with Shouto? Or with Toshinori and Mirio?" Izuku whispered into the all too quiet room.
The three other figures in the room grew silent, shuffling unsure looks between each other.
Shouto was the first to finally look at him and discomfort was written across his face so plainly.
"You can't stay with any of us unless we're of equal rank to you at the moment, Izuku," his friend whispered in the softest tone. Mixed colored eyes were weighed down by sadness as he hesitantly finished the rest of his statement. "It'll look incredibly bad going forward and put everyone up for questioning if you've been possibly taken advantage of by multiple higher rank officers. We have to wait until all of this is settled."
No one is taking advantage of me is what Izuku wanted to say. But as he looked around all the wreckage his throat clamped up as if someone was choking him.
Katsuki had his head in his palms, body stiffer than a statue. Shouto's own face was painfully twisted in worry and Toshinori looked as if he was blaming himself for the mess entirely.
Green eyes dejectedly studied the suitcase full of his work clothes that Shouto zipped up tight.
"But there's no one else the same rank as me besides Denki or Sero," Izuku whispered, his vision beginning to blur with tears. "They both live too far away by train and I want to stay close."
I want to stay close to Katsuki.
"I'm sorry, son," Toshinori apologized gently. He laid his hands on Izuku's smaller frame in a fatherly manner. "Until further notice, there's a motel in the downtown area that Mirio can put you in if you want to stay nearby."
"It's only temporary," the childhood friend tried to console. "Until we figure out things. Then you two can move back in together once the spotlight is off Katsuki."
Izuku nodded weakly and worked himself upright like a robot. He grabbed a duffle bag from Mirio as he was ushered out silently. Katsuki's heavy footsteps trailed behind as he walked everyone out of the apartment.
When Izuku turned around one last time he was waiting for Katsuki to say something—but nothing came.
Red eyes were full of both regret and shame as he looked at Izuku, tears running over in a silence that translated 'I'm so sorry'. At that moment, Akira came running to the door to paw at Katsuki's foot. She gave a short whine and tried to run towards Izuku but the blond quickly picked her up to prevent the puppy from going further.
Staring at the image in front of him of Katsuki trying to hush the small animal, Izuku felt all the bottled-up emotions break past his weak facade of trying to keep it together.
Izuku broke down in loud sobs.
All the men froze in place and eyes widened at the loud, wrecked cries that poured over from Izuku's shaking body. The greenette hung his head and began hiccupping trying to stop himself but he couldn't. Everything was too much. He clutched the red duffle bag closer to him and shook his head furiously in denial.
"I-I don't want to leave—" Izuku begged between loud sobs and Yagi tried his best to calm him down but the freckled man just snapped himself away from the caring touch. He whirled around wildly searching for an answer that wasn't there.
"Please. Please. don't make me leave. T-There has to be something else," Izuku cried, fingers digging into the cloth in his hands. "I don't want to leave Katsuki—t-there has to be another way."
But there wasn't.
Katsuki gave him one last loving hug and kiss on the forehead and Izuku cried harder.
He doesn't remember when but soon he was being led out to the attorney's car by Shouto, Toshinori and Mirio all together. The three men placed Izuku's luggage in the back of the white car and Izuku couldn't stop himself from begging for another solution. It took the combined efforts of Toshinori and Shouto's gentle convincing to make the crying Izuku take a seat in the passenger seat.
The dread of loneliness started creeping under Izuku's skin as he took in the familiar scent of Mirio's cologne in the car. He heard the three men exchange words but the distracted young adult didn't register it because all he saw was the devastated look on Katsuki's face when the video dropped.
Mirio climbed in the passenger seat and the car ride was quiet. Izuku didn't say a word and he couldn't hold himself back from softly crying the entire ride.
When they pulled into the small, outdoor motel everything was tinted in a dark blue hue. Izuku bitterly took in the small, two story sapphire colored structure that was lined with tiny rooms. It sat directly next to a police station and was lit with yellow spotlights and a pink neon sign that read 'Shizuoka Motel.'
Izuku didn't look up at the kind lady as Mirio checked him in and handed him a small key that was engraved with '202' on it, indicating he was on the second floor. They walked upstairs in silence with Mirio carrying two of Izuku's suitcases until they reached the outdoor balcony area outside of his current sleeping situation.
"Do you...do you want me to stay with you?" Mirio asked carefully as Izuku opened the blue door to the dusty room. "I can leave staying with my dad so you won't be alone. I-I don't mind. I still care about your well-being, Izuku."
A flash of bloodshot red eyes flashed in his mind and Izuku shook his head.
"No," he said quietly through his hoarse throat. "I'll be okay."
They both placed down the tiny bit of Izuku's belongings in the room and Mirio said his goodbyes, leaving Izuku alone in the room to take in his new surroundings.
There was a large window directly next to the door with white shutter blinds and a single bed pushed against the furthest wall. The full, lonely moon shone its bright white light inside the dark room to shed luminesce on the dark blue comforter. Izuku bitterly looked at the generic printed painting of the ocean hanging directly above the bed that gave a false sense of home.
He walked around and noted all the dust that had collected in the wind sill and studied the older model of a television across from the bed. He could hear a couple next door to him through the thin walls of the motel arguing and he decided he hated it.
Time wrapped unwillingly as he sat down alone on the edge of the small bed.
He unpacked his yellow backpack in the blue room numbly as he pulled out a single framed photograph of him and Katsuki at the baseball game and placed it on the desk next to the bed. Green eyes gazed upon the single photograph of his happy life like it was beckon of hope in all the chaos. But as he laid down in the lonely, cold sheets, his tearful green eyes glanced up to study the blank white ceiling.
He hated the way darkness cradled him in a familiar, cruel way. He wanted it to stop.
Quickly, he turned on the television to have some noise and chase away the cloud of impending loneliness as a remedy. He anticipated either to see Katsuki's mugshot or even something cheerful about the upcoming spring lantern festival—but instead he got the opposite.
When his green eyes settled on the screen he was met with bright, orange burning flames.
"Another deadly arson attack has struck the city as two full rows of houses on Zazen Ave have been targeted," the anchor woman reported, standing at a safe distance from what looked like the pits of hell swirling behind her. "The flames consumed the buildings and the people inside quickly, showing no mercy. Many think The Cremator is using this as his time to strike while the lead investigators handling the arson crimes have been occupied in court."
The detective stared in disbelief at the TV and let himself sit in darkness, shocked.
Dabi had struck again. The very thing they were trying to prevent before this whole ordeal happened and now more lives were lost.
The news flashed Izuku's sketch of Dabi and the arsonist's cold eyes stared directly back at him. Like a firestorm, Izuku's nostrils flared when sudden anger flickered in his heart. He stared resentfully at the picture of the man who set all of this up and felt his rage simmer as his tears clung to the edges of his eyes.
His world was burning down all around him because of Dabi.
Izuku yelled out a frustrated curse as he threw the remote at the wall with all his strength and let the flimsy plastic shatter into pieces. He hung his head in his palms to cry alone, unaware of the shadow that passed by his window.
*hides behind rock*
Thank you all so much for reading and please take the time out to leave a comment! I really love the songs linked so please be sure to give those a listen and come scream at me :D I love you guys!