Incinerate

by KyuukaKoinu

Bakugou Katsuki is a workaholic hell bent on never dating because it's too much of a 'distraction'. Enter Midoriya Izuku: A walking contradiction that is giving Katsuki an actual lethal goddamn migraine along with a mysterious set of arson crimes that walked right into town with him. But the most frustrating part is that Katsuki can't seem to get his fucking mind off either.

26. Wildfire

Hello! Welcome back! :D This is a pretty dense chapter and it packs a big punch! If you love sloppy drama then this is the chapter for you! First up, big thank you and ofc I love you to the lovely beta nmatthews on AO3 for editing this monster chapter and giving great feedback per usual!

Now let's get started, I'm cranking up the heat full pun intended. This is the final chapter before I lean into my final form :D

Warnings: Mentions of past abuse, Pettiness

Song: Wildfire - SYML

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Chapter 26 - Wildfire

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Three weeks passed by with nothing.

It was nothing in more than one way as Izuku bitterly came to another dead end with Shouto despite getting access to the emails. There was nothingness in the way that they had made a list of possible suspects for the Hero Killer case, but it was near endless. But most of all, it was nothing in how Izuku had not a sprinkle of contact with Katsuki for three whole weeks.

He saw the blond in passing at the courthouse, being ushered in by Toshinori and Mirio in various colored suits with blue ties. Izuku would arrive last when no one was looking, trying his best not to draw attention. He sat in the back row next to Shouto with full intentions of being discreet, but no matter what, the two of them were subjected to all the prying whispers and stares from the people around them.

"Ignore them," Shouto would say protectively, not sparing a glance to the 1B officers on the other side of the room. "Rumors catch like wildfire in this city."

Izuku would only respond by casting his eyes downwards because Shouto was right.

News of the video had spread around like wildfire amongst the policemen when they learned Monoma had planted a bug in Katsuki's office in hopes of trying to catch him red handed in a federal crime.

But the only thing he had caught Katsuki in was rough sex with his trainee.

After that, Izuku felt exposed. Vulnerable. Almost as if there were eyes watching him at all moments.

The video leakage flipped everything in the court in both good and bad ways. The trial had been dragged out as Mirio relentlessly fought against the usage of the video since it was obtained rather illegally, while the prosecution fought back equally as hard to say it was needed to show Katsuki's true nature. But no matter what would happen, the jury saw that video.

Their opinions had been formed one way or another and it was a mess, to say the least.

Sometimes Katsuki would wave to him across the room during recesses with red eyes full of longing. He would mouth 'how are you' and in return Izuku would give an unconvincing thumbs up.

In the meantime, Shouto and Izuku started to grow glum in their hopes of finding out who was behind the emails as late-March approached. It was now officially warm in the city causing the two detectives to shed their jackets as they worked at the precinct and tried their best to solve the mystery behind the Hero Killer.

The pair made their way down an incredibly long list of possible suspicious officers but there was no one who seemed to know anything of the emails. Then when it seemed like they did, the individual would turn Izuku and Shouto away aggressively and tell them to 'stop digging before you lose your job.'

They were presented with nothing after nothing after nothing.

The dead ends started to make Izuku feel almost lifeless inside. Despite now having gained access to the emails, it was clear whoever gave out the hit list made sure there wasn't anything tying back to them. Coupled with that, the trial was too much of a coin toss to leave it to the jury.

But with the way Kayama Nemuri was bulldozing through all of Katsuki's credibility, it felt like she would end up getting her way.

Things were beginning to be bleak in Izuku's life.

Toshinori kindly told Izuku that until further notice, hanging out with any higher ranking officers outside of work would come off as a bad look for the precinct.

But Izuku understood what it meant: he was currently radioactive and risked putting an indentation on another officer's reputation if some nosy reporter saw them out together. He would call up Denki, Ochaco or Sero and have them come over, but they had their own lives and it left Izuku alone more often than not.

But out of everything, the bleakest aspect of Izuku's current situation was the motel he was stuck in. The small cerulean colored motel had a disquieting atmosphere to it that the freckled detective couldn't shake.

The more he stayed inside of it, the more it felt like the walls were closing in on him. The single window was his only small saving grace as he watched all the people come in and out of the motel's parking lot. He would count how many times the 'M' in the pink neon sign that read 'Shizuoka Motel' would flicker on and off and try to guess why the owner hadn't fixed it yet.

But what bothered him most was sleeping alone in the queen sized bed.

It was big enough for the ghosts of his past to join him, whispering the echoes of Makinohara's gunshots and screams into his ear. It tested the little bit of recovery he had done within the last several months more than Izuku would've guessed.

He unwillingly dreamed of the Shigarakis coming back from the dead and taking everything from him again. He saw their decayed hands reach for Katsuki and ripping down everyone from U.A slowly. These visions only made his paranoia stronger when he would wake up in the middle of the night.

Some nights, he could swear he felt a cold shadow cast over his sleeping figure and he could hear a hand jiggle the metal handle on the door. The rattling sound in his dreams would cause him to jolt awake, grab his gun and carefully look through the peephole to see who or what was on the other side of the door.

But each time he was met with nothing, and it was beginning to make Izuku feel as if he was truly going crazy.

He knew deep down he didn't have anything to fear anymore. The Shigarakis were six feet underground and the roses from his 'stalker' had officially stopped. Part of Izuku was wrestling with that fact, but Toshinori kept telling him it was no coincidence that the roses ceased the same day as The Red Dawn.

The Captain made the conclusion that it was the Shigarakis sending the roses along.

But Izuku couldn't help how his gut felt odd. It was as if eyes were always watching him every time he was alone. Just like in Yaizu.

The nighttime solitude would make Izuku's heart rate elevate and his anxiety made him close his blinds along with sleep with his pistol under his pillow.

He was alone and the Shigarakis were gone.

They're gone. They're gone. They're gone.

The burn victim repeated this to himself countless times in hopes of feeling secure, but as time trickled away, the more he noticed all the tiny details of the blue room that made him feel anything but. The motel was too opposite of the warmth he had experienced with Katsuki.

The dull desaturated sapphire wallpaper was peeled and cracked in certain places. The bathroom was rusted red around the shower drain, and there was an underlying scent of nicotine that he couldn't air out, no matter how much he politely asked for a change of sheets every day.

But Izuku didn't want to voice too many complaints to Mirio, with all the commotion going around. If living here temporarily meant he could stay close to U.A and help Katsuki's case, then it was fine. He would gladly embrace the sullen colored room to protect his lover after everything Katsuki has done for him.

No matter how it affected him.

Mornings in the blue room weren't bad, but nights were a different monster. His sleep was derailed for the first time since he met Katsuki and he tried his best to push it down.

Which brings him to now, the end of another unsuccessful day when the next hearing for Katsuki's trial was in a week's time. Mirio had hinted something grave about how it seems like while the Judge may rule a mistrial, it didn't seem like the prosecution would ease up—especially not on the abuse of power.

They were aiming for Katsuki's throat.

And while the murder charges may get pushed to the back burner, the sexual misconduct would without a doubt cost Katsuki his job.

Izuku's heart wept for the man silently.

He felt more than responsible for the mess that had occurred and he couldn't stop blaming himself for the fact that the one thing that kept Katsuki together all these years was about to be stolen away.

Because of him.

The green-eyed man held his head down as he looked at the orange digital clock. The weight of shame made his shoulders hunch forward as he tightly gripped the dark blue sheets underneath him.

When Izuku went to sleep that night, for the first time since he met Katsuki, he dreamed in black and white.

It started off as a soft, gentle dream of Katsuki and him floating together in water. The blonde smiled up at him in a way he hadn't seen in three weeks and all the love from Izuku poured out in colorful ribbons. Red, blue, green all streamed from the cavity inside of his chest and floated away inside the ocean.

But as the colors leaked into the ocean engulfing them, they drained from the dream as well.

Soon it was as if they were in an old, silent film as Katsuki held him. The blond spoke words Izuku couldn't hear and soon Izuku's voice was snatched painfully from his own body. The inaudible exchange felt distant, like their love was growing lifeless and it caused Izuku to wake up the next morning with a heavy weight pressing against his chest.

Green eyes gradually opened, and Izuku thought he would be met with the beautiful visual of Katsuki next to him on this Saturday morning. He could feel the phantom of his lover kiss him awake and whisper into his ear—but when he fully opened his eyes, Izuku was met with nothing.

Again.

Izuku sat up slowly on his forearms and looked down at the carpet floor quietly, unsure how to feel. But the loneliness inside of his heart made him reach for the phone. His eyes looked at the clock that read close to 8:00am, indicating the start of another day without Katsuki.

Maybe one phone call won't hurt, Izuku reasoned with himself when the pain in his chest became too much to handle this particular morning. He pressed the dial quickly before his logic could catch up to his actions. In the back of his mind, he imagined Mirio screaming at him, but the lonely orphan pushed the cautionary visual all the way back in his mind.

I can say I just wanted to know what time the next hearing was.

Izuku sat up fully and swung his bare legs to hang off the edge of the bed in silence as the dial tone rang in his ear. He eyed the photograph of Katsuki on the dusty wooden tabletop and quickly a vision of Katsuki behind bars bombarded his mind.

What am I doing? He quickly corrected himself. With a sharp snap, the greenette tore the phone away from his ear and hung up before someone could answer. Stupid. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid—

He gritted his teeth at his lack of self control and gripped his phone tightly in his hand because he was frustrated. He knew he shouldn't be calling Katsuki—it would only make the blond look worse at the moment and yet here Izuku was, desperately trying to reach out for a fragment of affection.

The greenette groaned out loud and tossed himself backwards onto the spring mattress out of exasperation with a light bounce. He raked his hands down his face and gave a short sigh before resigning back into his perpetual sullen mood.

Green eyes looked outside the window to see the bright, sunny day and Izuku decided to try and go clear his mind.

. . .

When he returned back to the motel room that night, Izuku had no idea what to do next until his next shift on Monday. He had gone out for a walk, tried to call Denki and Sero but they were out of town for the weekend visiting old university friends. Izuku even made the decision to try sleeping bills because he was at his wits end.

After buying the maximum strength tablets, he sat on the shore front by himself, watching the waves but all his mind kept coming back to ember eyes and soft blond hair.

Izuku missed Katsuki to the point it hurt and the apprehension that his lover might be jailed before he could see him again didn't help anything.

The freckled detective returned back to the motel feeling lost.

He sat down on the edge of the bed with the news running as white noise in the background. He carefully opened the notes he had on who could be the second Hero Killer and glossed over all the odd evidence they had gathered.

Izuku took note of all the signs pointing to it being someone high up because of the comments from other officers warning them they may lose their jobs if they go further. Was it a politician? Someone who was running for office? Or was it someone who worked closely with higher ups?

Green eyes landed on a very taboo name sitting at the bottom of the list that Shouto had hesitated writing down.

Right when his thoughts dived too far, a sharp knocking on his door interrupted him. He walked to the blue door confused, wondering if it was the motel owner or maybe his noisy neighbors. A single green eye peered through the peephole to see a fish-eyed view of an aggravated looking Mirio.

Izuku opened the door confused and wondered if Mirio came by with news about Katsuki but instead the blue eyes of his friend were steeped deep in disapproval. The attorney was still dressed in his beige pinstripe suit and blue tie that indicated he recently left the courtroom. In his hands he was holding his black leather satchel and what looked to be a single plastic bag of grocery.

"Izu," Mirio said in a low tone. "I don't know how many times I need to stress this: you can not call Bakugou like that."

The detective froze in the doorway surprised. "Y-You know? Did he tell you?"

"No, he didn't tell me. You called while we were with higher ups in the Police Department hashing out sexual misconduct in relation to that video. Bakugou had his phone on the table and Judge Shimura saw your name before Katsuki could hide it. It wasn't a good look when we're arguing that your relationship isn't inappropriate in front of several higher ups in the police department."

Izuku visibly winced at the mistake. Shit.

"I'm sorry," Izuku said silently as he hung his head. "I'm so sorry. I-I hung up when I realized what I was doing. I'm sorry I slipped with my self control for a moment—"

"It's okay. I know it's hard for you two right now, but I'm only trying to do my job," Mirio said with sympathy laced in his voice but it only worsened how Izuku felt.

Green eyes swelled lightly with tears at the thought he had just somehow made the situation worse.

"I actually have some of your favorites, if you'll let me in," Mirio said quietly and drew Izuku's attention back in. The saddened freckled man looked at his friend in his doorway and the blond held up the plastic bag with a small understanding smile. "The entire collection of All Might DVDs, Shochu, and some snacks as a truce of sorts. To hash over whatever awkwardness we're in. I figured you might be a little down with everything that's going on."

Izuku looked at his estranged friend carefully before the loneliness in his heart made him step to the side.

"An All Might marathon does sound great right now," the detective laughed, trying to look at the brightside. "I could use a pick me up."

The freckled man shuffled to the side and gestured for his friend to come inside. Mirio smiled at him like he used to in Yaizu and it made Izuku feel better to have some inkling of company outside of work and the court processes. The TV played the news in the background as the two old friends got comfortable with each other in a way they hadn't in a long time.

Izuku welcomed the bottle of Shochu handed to him with a hum as they sat down on the carpeted floor. They both leaned back on the foot of the bed and spread out their limbs as Mirio shrugged off his blazer. Izuku noted how exhausted the blond seemed and how he was extremely tense in his broad shoulders.

The attorney gave a rough sigh as he pulled out his silver laptop and inserted one of the DVDs into the side. The bright colorful images filled the dimly lit room as Izuku sipped casually on the sweet tasting alcohol in his hand. He studied his estranged friend out the corner of his eye with a small laugh when Mirio took several large gulps of the drink and forcefully undid his tie.

"Long day?" Izuku asked with a smile.

Mirio glanced back at him with a chuckle and shook his head. "You have no idea. This is the most trying case in my entire career thus far. Kayama Nemuri is ruthless. It's actually pretty inspiring how passionate she is about imprisoning dirty cops. Too bad she has the wrong one."

"How did the other hearing go? For the sexual misconduct," Izuku whispered as he took a small sip. He thought of how tired Mirio was and how fatigued his distant lover must be.

"Not great, but not terrible," the attorney said truthfully while watching the anime on screen with sad eyes. "I think Judge Shimura is having some sympathy for Katsuki but it doesn't evade him from the standards and guidelines."

Izuku made a pained face when he realized what that meant. He muttered the one thing he didn't want to be true, but it was ultimately unavoidable.

"Katsuki is going to lose his job...isn't he?"

Green eyes stayed glued to the screen in front of him, listening to the silence that filled in the blank. Mirio didn't need to answer, his hesitation said enough and it caused all the nerves in Izuku's body to jitter wildly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. He is," Mirio whispered, looking down at the carpet. The attorney let out a shaky breath before crossing his arms with a thoughtful gaze. "It's a messed up set of circumstances but with the way things are being handled due to the video being taken against both of your rights, it seems like the only way for Bakugou to keep his job is if you no longer worked at U.A."

Izuku froze. "What?"

Mirio took another long swig of his drink.

"They gave an ultimatum," he whispered while he gazed at Izuku in a sad manner. "Either you or Katsuki need to leave U.A because, right now, the Commissioner can't say with confidence if you weren't intimidated or threatened into a sexual relationship with him. But even if you weren't, your relationship is still against Shizuoka Police Department guidelines."

"That's...gracious."

"Considering everything, it is. It's either that or he goes to trial to try to fight against the sexual misconduct allegations and attempt for both of you to keep your jobs. He'd be presented in front of a jury again after all the slander Monoma has done. And I can tell you now, two back to back trials centering around Katsuki's character isn't going to go well."

Izuku felt the weight on his chest push down at the thought.

"The jury would reject it immediately because his reputation is already ruined," Izuku finished for Mirio and the attorney nodded slowly.

Izuku groaned heavily before taking the last swig of his Shochu and scrunching his face at the bitter taste. He looked down at his empty glass bottle and shook his head while setting it to the side.

"Pass me another please," Izuku whispered, thoughts running wild in his head.

Mirio handed him the next drink without hesitation and the two friends sat in silence, watching the movie in front of them attempting to mentally escape from the hell-like situation they all were trapped in.

. . .

Time warped with several hours passing. The bright white moon outside rose fully to shine into the small motel room and gradually several glass bottles of Shochu stacked up between the two stressed out men as they caught up on each other's lives.

Izuku learned Mirio was quickly working his way up in his firm and getting Katsuki off would hopefully boost him all the way. In exchange, Izuku told his estranged best friend all the details that led up to him and Katsuki adopting a small Shiba Inu.

The blond attorney smiled and soon Izuku felt his heart full and repaired in a way he didn't know was broken while he listened to Mirio's laugh.

"Why are you always getting into trouble with animals?" Mirio chuckled, downing another sip of the alcoholic beverage.

Both of their faces were flushed pink and giggling between each other as they sat on the floor next to each other. Blue eyes were half lidded while staring at Izuku, and Mirio playfully pushed the other's shoulder.

"Because you were always there enabling me!" Izuku laughed, resting his head against the edge of the bed frame. "Do you remember that time you jumped into the neighbor's pool to avoid getting caught by the neighborhood police for trespassing—how did you even hold your breath that long?"

Izuku snickered and Mirio rolled his eyes with a smile on his lips as he took another sip of his drink.

"Hey, now. I only jumped in because you coaxed me into helping you break into that abandoned house with you. All to save that dog giving birth inside."

"The puppies needed shelter from the winter and the local authorities didn't understand," Izuku said sternly with a slight slur in his words. "I will never apologize for giving a creature in need a helping hand."

They laughed between each other, losing track of time until Izuku took a moment to appreciate the light air in the room. It was void of any resentment, negativity, and it felt exactly how it used to be between them. The joy made Izuku's lonely heart hum with familiar happiness.

"I miss us being friends, Mirio," Izuku said quietly with a distant smile. The blond paused and turned to look at the greenette next to him with a soft gaze in his eyes and Izuku in return gave a sad look. "I'm so sorry I fucked up our friendship. I fuck up everything. First us, then Katsuki."

Mirio sighed and leaned his head back and shifted to turn his body to Izuku next to him. "You didn't fuck up anything, especially nothing with Bakugou. There shouldn't have been a camera in his office in the first place."

"Yeah, but...it was my idea, you know. To have sex in his office. I wish I could tell him I'm sorry," Izuku confessed. Green eyes flickered down and leaned into the warm feeling in his chest that he couldn't tell was from the alcohol or the need to fix everything he made a mess of. "And I want to tell you that too, Mirio. I'm sorry for using you whenever I was lonely."

The wind blew against the window and the white noise of the movie played in the background as the old childhood friend searched Izuku's freckled features.

"I'm sorry too—for everything," Mirio said after several beats. "I guess I always...had a picture of the future in my head. It was always me and you, living happily together just like how we grew up."

Izuku stayed silent, unsure of what to make of the words. The heaviness in Mirio's shoulders kept him from speaking as he watched his drunk friend continue on with a hint of sullen nostalgia flickering in his eyes.

"I never knew my mom, and my dad always worked but your family was always super welcoming anytime I wanted to go over. You were always there waiting for me with that cute, sweet smile to play or hang out," Mirio whispered, looking past Izuku like he was lost in a memory.

Izuku felt his heart clench at the topic that was always skated around in the Yagi household: the loss of Mirio's mother. He knew of it but his parents always hushed him and scolded him to never pry or ask questions as a child. The older Izuku became, the more he realized why when he watched Mirio and Toshinori interact.

"I love my father but he's always used his job to cover up losing my mother when I was born. I think there's a part of him that always hurts looking at me because of it. I guess it makes sense that's why he moved to an entirely different city the second I turned seventeen."

"Your dad loves you, Miri," Izuku quickly supplied with a soft look. "He's really proud of everything you've done."

"I know but I guess I'm just getting at, you've always been a constant for me, like the sun," Mirio revealed as he turned his eyes to Izuku fully. Izuku's body was both shocked by the amount of raw emotion sitting inside of sky blue eyes and taken back when Mirio reached forward to hold his hand. "And I guess there's a large part of me that still hopes you'll stay a constant...always."

Without warning, Mirio drunkenly leaned forward to capture Izuku's lips with his own and green eyes stretched wide. The smaller man snatched his hand from Mirio's firm grip and shoved him backwards, effectively breaking the kiss.

"—Miri, no," Izuku said as he leaned fully away, putting a large amount of space between them. They both stared at each other, DVD in the background completely forgotten as pained expressions fanned across their features.

Izuku opened his mouth in disbelief as the mood between them shattered.

His heart rapidly thudded inside his chest as he heard Mirio curse under his breath. The childhood friend ran a shaky hand through his hair like he was frustrated and Izuku didn't know what to say.

"I-I want you to be a constant in my life too b-but not in that way," Izuku tried to reason but the look on Mirio's face quickly drained from loving to hurt. "I miss my best friend, and I'm so sorry for everything that happened between us but I can't return your feelings like that. Especially not now, I'm taken." Izuku whispered the last part feeling oddly ashamed.

They waded in nothingness and Izuku let it happen. Green eyes took in the several empty bottles of Shochu laying discarded across the floor, forgotten. He realized his mistake and the weight of a ton of bricks slammed into him.

Piece by piece, he accepted he could possibly never repair things back to the way they were because like Mirio said: his friend had always been in love with him long before Izuku even knew. It hurt him in a cruel way to know he couldn't reciprocate the romance Mirio wanted and he bitterly accepted it would take more than a handful of months to have anything restored.

Izuku felt foolish.

They sat there, not staring at each other until the last of the movie ended. Neither man moved as they stayed quiet in fragile silence.

"Why him?" Mirio's voice rasped out all too softly.

Izuku felt his heart shatter at the tears he could practically hear threatening to spill over.

He turned away from Mirio and pulled awkwardly at the beige carpet underneath him because he was unsure of how even to answer such a question. He mulled over all the reasons he loved Katsuki. He was kind. Dutiful. Had a great work ethic. Helped people. Listened to him and pushed him to strive for greatness. Katsuki's smile was as radiant as the sun and his smirk was alluring.

But the green eyed man decided he would never voice that to someone who was so clearly love-stricken for him. Izuku could never twist the blade in Mirio's heart like that willingly.

So instead he settled for whispering, "Love is weird that way."

He was met with the gentle sound of the breeze blowing through the window.

Mirio hung his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess it is."

"Um, if you want to stay here until you sober up you can. I don't want you drunk driving," Izuku offered while he began to quietly close his friend's laptop. "I can sleep on the floor and you take the bed."

"No, it's okay. I'll take the floor, don't worry."

"Okay," Izuku said in an apologetic tone as he stood up with a slight drunk wobble without looking at the other man in the blue room. "I-I'm going to go to shower and then head to bed. Feel free to grab one of the pillows and rest for a while."

Mirio only nodded and didn't dare look at him.

"Goodnight, Izuku."

The usage of his full name hit home hard. It shattered the glass like moment as if hearing Mirio use his full name was a brick thrown against his gut. It was the first time in a long time that Mirio hadn't uttered his given nickname in an affectionate tone and it admittedly felt like a slap in the face.

The green eyed man didn't need to glance behind him to know his friend was silently crying. Izuku tiredly grabbed the new bottle of heavy dosage sleeping pills he had bought earlier and decided he was going to take an extra pill to put him under for the rest of the night.

"G'night, Miri."

. . .

Katsuki didn't know where to even begin.

Everything was an absolute damn mess. A shit show beyond his control and it was the first time in years that he had no say. And he fucking hated it.

How did he go from nearly closing in on Dabi to having to listen to Mirio, of all damn people, not to have contact with Izuku? It made him grit his teeth in frustration because he didn't realize how important the green eyed man had become in his life in such a short amount of time.

But he was—Izuku was his Symbol of Love in the chaotic storm of everything and he filled his life with warmth and joy. He wasn't ready to give that up—not after everything. He'd do anything to keep Izuku by his side.

Including burn evidence to keep him out of jail and then proceed to boldly lie about it in court.

There was no way he would ever let anything happen to Izuku—he cared about him too much. He'd protect the freckled man no matter what was on the line.

But now he couldn't even fucking call him.

"It's better if you stay away from him, like I told you months ago," Mirio had said. "If someone catches you two talking, they're going to think you're influencing him on what to say to defend your reputation." There was a clear hint of apology in his attorney's voice and he could tell the other blond man was regretting what happened.

But there was a veil across blue eyes that Katsuki noticed when it was just them alone.

Mirio smiled and talked when they were all in the group, and it was clear the other blond didn't want him to go to jail. There was extended kinship, but it only extended so far. Katsuki saw straight through all the polite shit the second it was just them alone in a room.

Mirio would turn away, click his tongue and be short as fuck with him. Any time the attorney was in the apartment, those stupid ass blue eyes of his would look bitterly at all the photographs on the wall. It didn't take a genius to know Mirio wanted it to be him in all the happy loving photographs with Izuku.

Especially with how Mirio was trying so damn hard to play the white knight of Izuku's life and showboat how he was proving Katsuki's innocence.

But Katsuki kept his mouth zipped tight and glowered to prevent his words from biting himself in the ass. He couldn't afford to piss off his lawyer right now.

Especially after the video dropped—which was an ordeal on its own.

Seeing himself caught on film with Izuku twisted his gut until he felt sick—past sick to be truthful. It took everything Katsuki had not to vomit then and there when he realized the entire world he had built with the man he loved came burning down.

He remembered how horrified Toshinori's face looked, how disgusted the Jury was, but most of all he remembers hearing the broken sob that escaped past Izuku's lips. He had turned back in that moment, ignoring how eye contact with Izuku already somehow felt taboo, to see tearful green eyes staring wide at the screen.

Izuku had rushed out of the courtroom when everything twisted into chaos. Shouto spared him one sorry-filled glance before chasing after the greenette and Katsuki could see all the burning gazes of everyone around him judging what they had witnessed. Mirio was yelling over the prosecution and Judge Shimura was banging her gavel repeatedly trying to get everyone gasping and talking loudly to settle down.

But it was too late.

The damage had been done and he was slapped with sexual misconduct allegations for abusing his authority. The footage of him fully dominating Izuku looked extremely bad from the outside perspective—especially to someone who didn't understand a very specific sex dynamic.

But worst of all he knew what it meant for Izuku: isolation.

It was something Izuku had confided with him that he struggles with deep in his core. Too much solitude allowed Izuku's demons to manifest into nightmares that crept in his mind and reminded him of his past traumas.

"Please. Please. Don't make me leave. T-There has to be something else," Izuku had cried in front of him. Sparkling green eyes were screwed shut, and Izuku was nearly buckled over sobbing uncontrollably. "I don't want to leave Katsuki—t-there has to be another way."

It broke Katsuki's heart to helplessly watch the person who had brought so much love into his life be ripped away. The ache inside of chest screamed, pulled and begged him to do fucking something—

—but he restrained himself because he knew there wasn't anything he could do. Monoma had burned their relationship to the ground and Katsuki was going to fucking strangle his skinny throat the second he was able to.

But despite having that to possibly look forward to, Katsuki couldn't shake his own feeling of dread about his future. According to Shouto there were no more leads on the Hero Killer case and Izuku had bled every possible clue dry.

"We don't know who it could be," Shouto had said to him one day while with Toshinori and Mirio. "We made a list and we're making our way down it—but it doesn't seem like we're narrowing in on anything."

Which meant there was a fifty percent chance of him going to jail.

Watching the city he dedicated all of his life to turn on him viciously did something to Katsuki's heart that he couldn't even describe. The same reporters who had praised him endlessly for years were now spewing conspiracy theories. Only a few people who had come to his defense in the media.

"Lieutenant Bakugou isn't like that! He worked overtime to solve my daughter's murder a year ago and caught the guy within three days. I don't believe you're giving him a chance."

"He let my son stay in the station after school when I was working overtime to make ends meet. He gave him a safe place to go when I couldn't afford childcare."

"I'd like to see you all get out there and solve these arson attacks if you're going to lock away the man who was trying to solve them. My house was burnt down and it was Bakugou on that scene, not you."

But those individuals were few and far between.

All of this left him alone, isolated, and sitting in the cold empty apartment with remnants of Izuku's love.

He watched Zazen Ave burn down by Dabi's hand and Katsuki felt like screaming off his balcony when more lives were lost—in an attack he could've prevented. Katsuki didn't understand anything the more he stared at the puzzle in front of him.

What the fuck was Dabi's end game?

What the hell did he want and why the fuck wasn't there a pattern in the building he was torturing in Shizouka?

Katsuki tried to repeat them in his mind over and over to see if a pattern clicked.

The bank on Kaze Ave. The three houses on Ichirizuka Street. That entire fucking block on Uchi Street and now two full rows of houses on Zazen Ave.

It was beyond boggling. Dabi was a man of method and if he was someone who waited out both the Shigarakis and Yotsubashi—Katsuki could safely assume he didn't do shit without reason. There had to be something calculated in the way he was terrorizing the city.

But Katsuki couldn't figure it out.

And it sunk the workaholic puzzle solver into a depressive slope as the next three weeks passed by. There were no more new clues on either the Hero Killer or Dabi and Katsuki felt himself beginning to drown in all his worries. At this rate he was going to be imprisoned for life without parole and never fucking see Izuku again before that could happen.

His anxieties spiked at the thought: never see Izuku again.

He would clench his hands and the thought would nearly make him say fuck it. He was a second away from throwing all caution to the wind just to see Izuku again. Because the longer he was away from the rose-smelling beauty, the more his heart ached for just a tiny piece of contact.

Which is why when he saw Izuku's name flash on his phone screen, his heart did a full stop.

He was currently sitting in the middle of getting an ultimatum for not going to court a second time when he saw the smiling picture of his distant boyfriend appear on his phone. It rang loudly with the upbeat personalized ringtone at exactly 8:00am sharp that Saturday and Katsuki damn near forgot where he was for several seconds. Was he dreaming?

"Mr. Bakugou could you please silence that?"

And he was now sharply reminded he was definitely not in some daydream.

He glanced around at all the different kinds of stares from the people deciding his fate. The inquisitive one from Judge Shimura. The saddened one from Toshinori. The aggravated one more Mirio. The avoidant one from the Chief of Police himself, Enji Todoroki. Then finally, the disappointed one Commissioner of the Shizuoka City police, Nezu.

"Sorry," Katsuki muttered to all the high ranking people in front of him.

He quickly snatched the phone off the table and tried his best to hide the identity of the person calling, but failed miserably. He could plainly see the thoroughly unimpressed stare the Judge was giving him and it made Katsuki wince.

"As I was saying," she started up again, giving both Mirio and Katsuki a pointed expression. "I fully do believe that you and Mr. Midoriya are in a consenting adult relationship and you didn't use your authority to pressure him into sex. The only issue is with you holding power over his career, there is no wiggle room."

"I'm very sorry, Bakugou," Enji spoke in a sympathetic tone. "Even the Symbol Of Victory is not immune to the guidelines of workplace ethics. Along with what we saw in your phone records, it is very clear this thing between you and officer Midoriya has been going on for quite some time."

Katsuki glanced his eyes down and swallowed thickly because he knew what was coming next.

"But…" Judge Shimura started. She exhaled roughly and folded her hands on top of the table. "The way the prosecution handled the video makes the evidence dismissible, since it is against your rights to have been filmed in such a manner. Because of this, I'm willing to make a compromise to avoid you getting fined."

Katsuki lifted his head, shocked. He stared at the kind-hearted woman in front of him, eager to hear that there may be a slim chance of him possibly getting his life back to normal.

"After talking it over with the Commissioner, we decided that either you or Detective Midoriya need to resign from working at U.A," she said evenly, glancing once towards the white haired man next to her.

"We all decided that we need one of you to resign by the end of the week no questions asked," Commissioner Nezu said softly. "I truly cannot have you two in the same environment ignoring sexual misconduct protocol because it would undermine other cases. If this was brought to my attention outside of this whole fiasco, the decision would be the same."

Judge Shimura spoke up next with a sympathetic look in her dark eyes. "If you want to proceed to fight against either you or Midoriya losing your positions, you may but I can tell you now this would be a swift ruling against your favor unless Midoriya is suddenly a Lieutenant in the next seven days."

Katsuki felt his world stop at the ultimatum.

"Deal," Mirio said quicker than he could think. "We will discuss things over and figure out a way to avoid a second trial."

But Katsuki didn't say anything.

His hand tightened around the phone in his hand as his red eyes stared at the woman in front of him. He realized she had extended an olive branch, but it was an olive branch he couldn't take. There was no damn way he was going to have Izuku resign his dreams over his. Not after everything Izuku had gone through.

The bleeding heart buried deep down inside of Katsuki refused to even let him fathom walking up to the doe-eyed man and informing him of such a thing.

Which only left Katsuki one option: he was going to lose his job no matter what.

. . .

"There's no other option?" Kirishima asked, staring at him with wide eyes. "Dude, you don't deserve to lose your job and neither does green bean. This isn't right."

"No other option. It's standard protocol for higher ups being caught sleeping with their subordinates." Katsuki shook his head with an irritated sigh. "Especially subordinates they both command and submit payroll for. I'm going to resign at the end of the week and start clearing out my office after the spring festival next week. Y'know, depending if I'm proven innocent for fucking murder and all."

He was currently sitting in his living room graciously drinking down copious amounts of beer to forget the absolute mess that was now his life. Mina was staring at him empathetically and while Shouto had his legs crossed on the love seat trying to find anything in the emails he and Izuku had obtained.

"You're going to get off," Shouto said in a plain tone without looking at him. "Izuku isn't going to rest until you're proven innocent. He practically demanded that these emails be shown to everyone—and somehow got his way when he pressured Captain Aizawa into it."

"Yeah, Shouto is right," Mina said with a sympathetic look in her eye. "Izuku's been arguing with other officers trying to get to the bottom of it. He really dislikes dirty cops."

"It's because a dirty cop had a helping hand in his parents' deaths," Katsuki said quietly. "He started the uprooting of the whole police branch of AFO after he found out who was responsible. So I guess this hits a little close to home for him."

"Well, damn," Mina said and gave a low, impressed whistle. "Looks like you're dating the right detective."

"He called me," Katsuki said quietly into the room. Everyone's eyes turned to him as he took a small sip of his drink. "During the sexual misconduct hearing with all the higher ups. But around two rings he hung up. Is he okay?"

"He seems okay. I think he's just as stressed as you are," Kirishima tried to reassure him but it failed at making him feel any better. "It's obvious he hasn't been sleeping correctly these past few weeks. But he seems to be holding up fine."

Katsuki nodded absently and let the conversation drawl out to some other topic.

He didn't really bother paying attention to what his friends were saying as the day bled into night. All he could think about was Izuku struggling to be alone in some dirty ass motel by himself.

Soon the married couple of sergeants left until it was only him and Shouto around dinner time. The two waded in silence as Shouto raked through all the files with his detail orientated eye. Part of Katsuki missed Izuku a little more than usual. The loneliness inside of him was fueled dangerously by the knowledge that the greenette had called him.

That meant it had to be an emergency of sorts, right? Something was wrong.

He thought about all the times he'd been in the same bed with Izuku when the trauma victim would startle awake from nightmares. The frightened look in those emerald tinted eyes would be so raw—as if Izuku was surrounded by a circle of fire. He could still feel the way his lover would cling to him, trying to downplay his insecurities but Katsuki would know better. Izuku wanted to be held so he would do that without question and help banish all of Izuku's dark thoughts back into the past.

"Ah, it's nearly 8:00pm. I have to go," Shouto announced into the quiet room. He shut his laptop with a tired sigh and offered up a friendly smile. "I'm having dinner with my family at my parents' place tonight."

Katsuki nodded and clicked his tongue, feeling neutral about being left alone with his thoughts about Izuku.

"Alright, I'll see you Shouto. Be safe out there."

"You too, Katsuki. Get some rest and try not to think about the trial too much."

His comrade left him by himself and Katsuki felt time slip away from him quickly. He tried to occupy himself with Akira, taking her for an extra long walk around the neighborhood park. The accused man did his best to ignore the blatant stares from the other people around who recognized him. He had half a mind to yell at them 'take a goddamn picture it lasts longer' but knew better. He had to be Shizouka City's fucking sweetheart right now.

As he watched the news that evening, the lieutenant felt himself grow glum. It was just more slander after slander, and it was beginning to drown him.

Part of him didn't blame the city. They had been fighting against dirty cops for ages, and now that they had one outed, they were crucifying him without an inkling of hesitation. Katsuki understood it because seeing those emails even pissed him off. He wanted whoever was fucking responsible behind bars too.

But there were no leads and it made him anxious. What if Mirio couldn't work whatever legal magic and what if the next hearing was the last?

Katsuki cursed under his breath when he realized time was not on his side right now.

Red eyes glanced down at the lock screen on his phone of him and Izuku smiling under fireworks on New Year's.

. . .

Katsuki tried to sleep. Really, he did.

He tried his best to roll over in that cold bed and ignore the sky high number of problems wrong with his life but it was damn near impossible. All he could think about was what the aborted phone call from Izuku could be about.

And the longer he stared at his puzzle piece bracelet that was missing it's other half, it made him do something absolutely bat shit. Red eyes glared at the green clock on his nightstand and before his logic could catch up with him, he was throwing on the nearest black shirt, black sweatpants and his white gym shoes at nearly 2:30am.

The ash blond grabbed his black and white biker jacket that had the number '0' on it in bold, orange lettering and snatched his orange helmet off the wall. He put on his biker jacket without an inkling of regret because he was too focused on the possibility of Izuku struggling by himself.

Consequences be damned. He'll deal with the repercussions later.

Katsuki repeated to himself that he needed to make sure Izuku was okay as he got onto Ground Zero and started up his motorcycle for the first time in a long time. He punched in the address of the motel on the GPS attached to his bike and securely put on his orange and black helmet.

Without so much as looking back, Katsuki kicked the stand back and drove into the night.

. . .

When he arrived at the motel downtown, the first thing that caught Katsuki's eye was the flickering 'M' on the bright pink neon sign. He frowned at how downright sullen the atmosphere was. The building was sitting off in the corner like it was forgotten and it was painted a really depressing shade of blue.

No fucking wonder Izuku had called him after spending three weeks in this goddamn dump. Was this the best Mirio could find? Katsuki 'tch'd to himself thinking about his attorney as he pushed his kickstand in place and took off his helmet.

He recalled the motel number Toshinori had revealed to him on the basis of 'an emergency and an emergency only.' But Katsuki considered this to be an emergency of sorts. Emergency cuddles were a thing with someone with Izuku's mental state. Katsuki jogged up the black metallic stairs and found himself in front of the door that read '202' in rusted silver numbers.

He knocked on the wood loudly and was already picturing a sleepy, cute Izuku answering the door. He could already envision the stunned but relieved expression on his lover's face and could feel the kiss they were going to share.

But when the door swung open, he was greeted with the exact opposite. Standing there was a shirtless fucking Mirio looking as equally confused to see him.

"What the fuck? Mirio?"

"Bakugou?" Mirio hissed and looked behind him quickly.

Katsuki's eyes followed Mirio's line of vision and immediately he saw Izuku sprawled out, dead asleep, underneath a dark colored comforter. The sleeping man stirred slightly before rolling over, and there Katsuki was able to see the scene inside the room fully.

Izuku was shirtless, his left arm hung out from on top of the covers and his white bandages wrapping up his entire left arm were clear as day. But what stood out to him most were the several empty bottles of Shochu all around and how the thick smell of alcohol filled his nostrils.

Katsuki frowned.

Mirio rapidly shut the door, being sure not to make a noise. He stepped outside completely barefoot in his black boxers and his blue eyes were flickering with protective energy.

"Have you and Izuku been sneaking around like this despite all of us saying not to?" Mirio accused in a whisper.

"What? No. I—" Katsuki started but stumbled because he was still baffled by the visual he was greeted with. His brain was struggling to catch up because out of all the things he expected—this—sure as hell was not one. "I got worried when he called," he said finally, focusing on the question asked. "It's been three weeks and I wanted to check in on him and make sure he was okay. I know he gets really bad nightmares."

Mirio put his hands on his hips and shook his head like he was scolding a toddler. Katsuki frowned deeper, the child-like treatment only added to his growing irritation.

"So you decided to come to his motel at nearly 3:00am in the midst of me trying to prove you didn't intimidate him?" His attorney said slowly. Katsuki grimaced because...well yeah, this wasn't the best decision. "What if there's a private investigator following you? Do you know how that will look in a murder trial being built on tearing down your character, Bakugou? Do you want to go to jail?"

"Of course fucking not—" Katsuki hissed loudly and Mirio shot him a look to keep quiet. "I only wanted to see Izuku," he said in a lower tone. "He called me and I know how he gets sometimes. I figured a check up wouldn't hurt anyone."

The desperation was thick in his voice because it had been a full three fucking weeks. He just wanted to know how Izuku was doing—or at least hear his voice. Anything to dull the ache in his own chest at the fact his life was falling apart.

He told himself this was for Izuku, but deep down he needed it too.

However, when Mirio only shook his head and started to head back inside, Katsuki frowned at the dismissal. His thoughts stopped for a long moment as he studied the near naked man in front of him.

Then he thought of the shirtless Izuku inside.

"...What are you doing here?" Katsuki questioned slowly. His eyes narrowed as he straightened his back out. Mirio stopped with his hand on the handle, and turned back around to him with blue eyes full of envy.

"He didn't want to be alone," his attorney said in a low, challenging tone. They maintained heated eye contact as Mirio leaned in to whisper his next words. "So I did what I do best: made sure he wasn't alone."

The implication dropped in the air and it caused Katsuki's heart to beat fast. His handsome face twisted into a scowl.

"Don't fucking do that," he hissed.

"Do what?"

"Insinuate shit that isn't true," Katsuki said in a threatening octave.

He stepped closer to the man in front of him, red eyes blazing while his mind mulled about his shirtless lover inside. His lip curled as he met the challenging glare Mirio gave him with tenfold the intensity.

"I know damn well you still like Izuku, Mirio. Don't fucking play with me," Katsuki warned darkly. "Him being in this motel away from me is probably your biggest wet dream. You can pull those fake ass plastic smiles in front of everyone else but I know, deep down, you're still jealous that Izuku chose me over you. And Izuku will always choose me."

He watched a small inkling of hurt flicker in blue eyes before it was covered up with anger.

"So what? You've done nothing but make his life harder. Your temporary relationship isn't going to hold up," Mirio spat unkindly. "The two of you are too impulsive together—that tape proves it. Maybe he's choosing you because that's what he thinks he wants right now but I'll be what he needs in the end."

Katsuki let out a dry laugh and rolled his eyes. "Is that what you tell yourself when you can't get any further than you have?"

"You really think someone with Izuku's lack of self control lets me not go far?" Mirio hissed back, his grip on the silver handle tightened.

Unwillingly, the image of Izuku laying in bed shirtless with Mirio appeared in his mind but Katsuki shook his head to push it away.

No. There's no way, he repeated to himself as he studied the angry blue eyes in front of him. Several beats passed by with the wind blowing between them and slowly Katsuki's heart rate inclined.

"You know what? Fuck you for saying that," Katsuki finally hissed with his face twisted in disgust. "I'm not going to entertain this pathetic pity party anymore. I'll see you next week and when all of this is over, Izuku is moving back in with me. And you'll be back in Yaizu—miles away because I'm his partner not you."

Katsuki huffed and shot the most hateful look he could conjure towards Mirio before he turned away. He gripped his motorcycle helmet tighter in his hands trying to kill the visual in his head of Izuku and Mirio together because there was no damn way that would be true. Not after everything—

"We kissed."

Mirio's deep voice carried in the night and Katsuki felt both his feet and heart come to a halt. The image of Izuku softly closing his eyes and leaning into kiss Mirio appeared in his mind.

Katsuki whirled around with rage twisted on his features. Red eyes locked with blue and the same emotion was mirrored right back at him from Mirio.

"No," Katsuki rejected immediately. He stormed up to the other male, temper flared and his voice strained. "You fucking bastard, you're lying. Izuku wouldn't kiss you—"

"You're right—we didn't only kiss. Why do you think I'm here?" Mirio implied as he let his jealousy fully boil and take control. "Do you really think Izuku let me in without the intent to fuck him? Ask him next time and watch him downplay it to spare your feelings. Then maybe in between the hearings we can discuss his cherry Chapstick and the heart shaped beauty mark on his right thigh."

Katsuki opened his mouth but was speechless at what to say.

He shook his head before slowly backing away, trying to drown out the image in his head. He kept trying to push it back over and over but it fought its way to the forefront the more he thought about Mirio replacing him that quickly.

Katsuki seethed as he got onto his black motorcycle. He tried to tell himself repeatedly not to believe that bastard. Mirio was a dick. He was jealous that Katsuki came in and Izuku had fallen for him and he was lying. That son of a bitch was lying.

Red eyes glanced up one more time to see Mirio walk back inside the blue door. Something ugly bubbled at the low end of his mind and all Katsuki could think about is how that should be him instead. He had more than half a mind to storm back up there, kick down the door and drag them both out of bed as he demanded to know what the fuck was going on.

But he trusted Izuku.

Mirio had to be lying because Izuku would never do that. Izuku would never cuddle with Mirio of all people and let things go too far. No matter how sad and alone he was feeling. No matter the fact they used to have sex for three years.

No matter how many times he told Katsuki sometimes his nightmares were only pushed down with the presence of a body.

"I used to sleep with people because it helped me feel less alone," he heard Izuku's voice in his head. He recalled the dejected look in green eyes as Izuku told him everything about his past. "It got out of hand a lot because I could never really fight the urge—it's why I was at that bar when we met."

Katsuki felt himself burn with a trickle of doubt by the time he arrived back home. When he walked through the door, he paused. He gazed upon what felt like a museum of happy memories in the world he built with the freckled artist. All the smiles and laughter suddenly felt too bittersweet to gaze at now because he was going to lose it all.

He was a hair away from going to jail and there was a sliver of chance Izuku was in bed with Mirio cuddling for comfort.

Katsuki couldn't control the tears that prickled his eyes.

He thought about his job. His reputation. He thought about how the city he thought he loved so much strung him high. Then finally he thought about his lover.

"Fuck!" He screamed as he threw his helmet hard against the wall.

The orange helmet crashed into the white wall hard enough to leave a large indent and shake the photo frames on the wall. He let out another painful yell when his chest felt like he was crumbling inwards and he cried unrestrained.

Katsuki knew deep down he hadn't driven to the motel only to comfort Izuku—he needed comfort too. He needed to be told everything was going on to be okay from the one person he fully loved because he was alone again.

But he didn't get any reassurance and now everything was about to be taken from him—one way or another.

. . .

When Shouto left Katsuki's apartment that evening, the winds were howling loudly. The spring breeze was both harsh and comfortable as it covered him in a warm breeze. The tired man wanted to take the time out to enjoy it but knew he had no real time.

Katsuki's next hearing was in a week's time and after seeing both Izuku and Katsuki nearly break down, he felt like he had to add in overtime.

After Izuku had come clean about why he was avoiding him, Shouto found himself drawn closer to him in an odd kinship. He enjoyed hearing about Izuku's misadventures as a child, and the stories about the small city of Yaizu.

Shouto liked the sound of Yaizu, especially since it was a city that was more aware of its possibly crooked cops because of Izuku. The precincts there were more aware of the shortcomings in the justice system unlike Shizuoka City. It sounded lovely to Shouto.

Izuku's eyes always sparkled with life whenever he talked about his hometown and it had made him question something one day.

"Why did you leave? You seem to love it so much and it sounds like it's the perfect fit for you," He had asked, completely harmless. It was the week after The Red Dawn and long before Katsuki's arrest. The green eyed man had fixed Shouto's favorite meal one evening when his blond boyfriend was working late.

The question had Izuku pause in silence. The detective's happy expression slowly drained into a solemn one.

"Well, I actually left Yaizu trying to escape from the Shigarakis," Izuku whispered while he glanced down at his plate of rice. "I...I never thought I would be able to go back. I kind of gave up hope of ever seeing my hometown ever again. But, they're gone now, huh? I could go back."

There was a beat of silence as Izuku stared at the ground.

"There's nothing stopping me now," Izuku continued, looking more confident. Shouto watched as green eyes lifted up and glanced around the large luxury apartment that was Katsuki's. Izuku's face twisted slightly as he stared at the walls. "But...Katsuki's here and U.A. I really love Katsuki and I want to be with my friends."

"...You look conflicted, Izuku."

"I'm not conflicted," the green eyed man had rejected instantaneously. "It's just settling in. We only got the Shigarakis last week and with everything going on, I didn't think about the fact there's nothing stopping me from going back. I could go back home now and see my parents resting grounds like I used to."

Shouto felt his own heart pull at the thought, not considering how Izuku had been barred from ever visiting his parents' graves because of a drug lord.

"Maybe we can all three take a weekend trip to Yaizu?" He had offered, and the reaction he got back was more than elated. Izuku's eyes sparkled to life and leaned in with a sunshine bright smile.

"Really? You want to take a trip there?"

"Yeah, of course. I would love to see it with you."

Shouto remembered how he had been on the side planning for their weekend trip to Yaizu when it was terribly stolen away by Monoma. The other blond lieutenant had come in like a whirlwind and completely wrecked their peace and left it shattered on the ground.

Shouto felt burdened as he could do nothing to help his friends. He painfully witnessed Izuku and Katsuki spiral during this time. They both tried so hard to keep it in until it broke like a dam when Izuku was forced to move out.

The accused man had sat alone on his couch that night, holding Akira with his head down. Shouto could hear the litany of small sniffs escaping Katsuki as the other tried to cover his face and hide the fact his eyes were shedding tears. It had made him worry.

"Katsuki, are you okay?" Shouto remembered he asked after Izuku had been sent away in Mirio's car. "It's okay if you aren't. I'm here to talk."

"I'll be fucking fine," Katsuki had hissed defensively, covering his emotions. "You can go now. I want to be left alone."

Shouto hesitated leaving because he realized his long term comrade was bottling himself in tightly. Like he always did. As the weeks had passed and the trial progressed, it was more than a nightmare. There was a small glimmer of hope after Izuku petitioned against keeping the emails private information when the whole of the department should be seeking to find out who sent them.

The green eyed man had acted like an immovable wall with the support of Toshinori, and when they got the support of Captain Aizawa, Monoma was made to release the information. Shouto and Izuku spent hours searching through the emails, trying to scope out anything that would point them in the right direction—but every direction was a dead end.

Soon Shouto watched Izuku break down too. But unlike Katsuki, the green-eyed man let his emotions run freely like a river.

Izuku had sat down on the stairs in front of their precinct tiredly after another long day. At this time it had been nearly two weeks since he had been put in the motel and Shouto could tell it was getting to him.

"I think I'm going crazy, Shouto," Izuku had whispered privately. "My gut is telling me something isn't right."

Shouto remembered how he paused. "What do you mean?"

"Please don't judge me, but I can't help but feel like someone's watching me when I go places," Izuku confessed with a weary look. "I keep telling myself it's not real because I have a history of having intense paranoia because of the Shigarakis. But...I keep feeling eyes. I-I don't like being alone like this."

Shouto didn't know how to respond to that.

It was worrisome and he started to realize maybe Izuku was coming undone slightly. He would watch how Izuku curled into himself and how green eyes always looked over his shoulder. But Shouto pushed it to the side because like Izuku said, he had a history of intense paranoia.

He focused all his concentration on going down the list of possible crooked cops up until he came down to the very last name on the list.

A name he hesitated to write.

Todoroki Enji.

He thought about all the rumors that constantly surrounded his father. The lies. The politics. The payouts and coverups. All the things Touya would rub into his face unkindly when preaching about the system being corrupt. His older brother always seemed to know things he didn't about their father, and it caused a firestorm of tension between them.

It was no secret but Shouto never saw the proof himself—if there was any. Touya had never shown him anything tangible, only reinforced rumors that fueled his deep hatred for cops all the way up until his death according to Izuku.

His father was complex, and his family was even more complex. Shouto knew this and it's what made him mildly dread the family dinner that was about to happen soon. His mother had wanted to see everyone and asked for all of them to attempt to make a meal together and Shouto would do anything for his mother.

"Ah, it's nearly 8:00pm. I have to go," Shouto announced into the quiet room when he realized the time. "I'm having dinner with my family at my parents' place tonight."

Katsuki had nodded and clicked his tongue. "Alright, I'll see you Shouto. Be safe out there."

"You too, Katsuki. Get some rest and try not to think about the trial too much."

He had told Katsuki this as he walked out of the luxury apartment. He pushed all the thoughts about the current situation to the back of his own mind but when Shouto walked to his car that evening, something odd happened.

He paused dead cold on the sidewalk when he arrived at his car because sitting on the front windshield was a small white piece of paper. The sergeant glanced over his shoulder quickly but was met with nothing but the dense crowd that always flooded Shizuoka City.

He hesitantly opened the piece of paper that was folded neatly and sitting inside was a printed message.

Answers are always closer to home.

It's him.

Shouto frowned. An eerie shiver ran up his spine as he felt the notion of someone staring at the back of his neck. His duo-colored eyes narrowed and scanned the thick crowd, trying to find a face of someone who might be suspicious.

But he found no one but happily smiling people.

His gut twisted as he glanced down at the oddly specific note in his hand.

. . .

"So how is everything, Shouto? I hear you're working with Detective Midoriya on that Hero Killer case trying to get Bakugou off," His father asked him at the dinner table. All five of them were sitting around happily enjoying a meal his mother made at their glass table.

His siblings were chatting about work and the students in their respective classes and his mother was quiet.

"Not trying to get him off, we're trying to prove his innocence," Shouto correctly quietly, picking at the rice on his plate. "I've been looking over the emails, but I haven't really found much that can tie it to anyone."

"That's a shame," Enji muttered. "I hope this whole mess clears up soon."

Shouto only hummed in agreeance. The conversation was swept away into something else as his mind mulled over the strange note he was given. He thought about why it was left on his car and what it could mean.

But a tiny voice in the back of Shouto's head told him what it meant really.

It's him.

It was oddly specific for someone to hand this straight to him: the son of The Chief of Police. Shouto knew it was no coincidence but as he stared at the decently happy picture of his broken family in front of him, a large part of him didn't have the heart to break it further.

The Todoroki family finished up dinner that ended with a large spat between Natsuo and their father. Shouto only winced slightly when his silver haired bother slammed the door on his way out. It was only a matter of time with the amount of short comments from the second youngest son.

Shouto watched quietly while he was on his laptop looking through files from work. He watched it all unfold in front of him like a movie he already knew the ending to. His mother hushed his father and Fuyumi quickly chased after Natsuo who was probably already long gone down the street.

But Natsuo would be back, he always came back to apologize halfheartedly. He would have his temper chilled by Fuyumi's calming nature. Their close knitted relationship always helped even him out in a way that Touya never had.

So Shouto kept his head down until then, ignoring the string of curses from his father. He could hear Enji in the other room going off on a rant about all of his 'ungrateful children.'

Then without warning the entirety of Shouto's computer screen went black and unresponsive.

He blinked once and clicked the space bar several times on his laptop, but nothing happened. Shouto cursed under his breath when he realized he had let his computer die without realizing it. His mind was so heavily distracted that he hadn't even noticed the blinking red battery in the top right corner of his screen.

When he stood up to search his black satchel for his charger, he was both unimpressed and unsurprised with himself to find his charger was missing. Shouto huffed in annoyance.

"Dad, my computer died," Shouto called out to the kitchen in a tired voice. "I think I left my charger at Bakugou's apartment. Do you happen to have yours?"

"Yes, of course, Shouto," his father's voice rang back instantaneously in an affectionate voice like always. His father was always loving towards him. "It's upstairs in my office on top of the bookshelf to the right."

"Thank you," he called out, placing back down his bag.

Shouto made his way up the carpeted stairs into his father's large study. He heard the door open behind him that cued that Natsuo and Fuyumi had returned and he could already hear Natsuo begin to deliver his absolutely rehearsed apology.

Shouto briefly wondered if their father ever truly cared if every apology was always the same fake remorsefulness.

When he arrived in his father's office, it was as pristine as always. It was heavily decorated with awards of gold, silver, and bronze hung on the maroon walls. Pictures of their father shaking hands with mayors and politicians were hanging everywhere with his award winning smile taped to his face.

His dark wooden desk was a shrine to all the different expensive office gifts he had been given over the years. Golden pens, different decorative pins. And sitting as the pride and glory next to the expensive desktop was a photograph of him with his father the first day he was promoted to be a sergeant.

The look on his father's face was so proud and smiling as he pinned Shouto with his new rank. It was a happy memory that Shouto did hold dear to him because it made his heart feel warm. The sergeant inhaled tiredly as he walked fully into what was basically his father's trophy room to the mahogany bookshelf.

There on top he could see the white computer charger and he reached for it with a mild stretch.

But when Shouto pulled it down from the high position, the cord accidentally knocked forward a small metal container that was sitting pushed back at the top as well. A rattle echoed into the quiet room that called for Shouto's attention and he glanced up confused.

There he caught the sight of a container that was black in color and had a lid on top of it sealed tightly with a small silver lock.

The detective paused in that moment as he thought more about the note.

It's him.

Shouto glanced towards the door as he reached up towards the container as if it was the apple that damned Eve herself. His hand shook a bit when the cool surface touched his fingertips. He eyed the small lock, and then rotated the item in his hand before seeing a large strip of duct tape at the bottom of it.

Shouto held his breath as he peeled back the grey colored tape and underneath revealed a small silver key. Compelled by the voice of suspicion in the back of his head Shouto unlocked the black box, unknowingly finishing the piece of the puzzle someone else wanted him to solve for himself.

There sitting inside was a single black thumb drive.

. . .

Shouto stayed quiet after he went through the encrypted files he had found. There were no words in the entirety of mankind to describe the type of sick feeling he was experiencing. He slyly separated himself from the rest of the family watching TV in the living while he worked in the kitchen.

Every name.

Every single name was on those spread sheets along with precomposed emails.

The same emails that were sitting on the Hero Killer's laptop.

He listened to his father's hearty laugh and the sound was distorted darkly in his mind. The detective couldn't bring himself to glance back at his family as they chatted between themselves about what was on the television. When Shouto felt his chest tighten he realized what the reality was and decided to go sit on the porch for fresh air.

He walked straight past the other four members of his family, ignoring his father's question if he was alright. He pushed it aside with a quick reassurance before yanking open the door. The night engulfed him fully as he took in the smell of freshly cut grass from their large lawn.

Their home was always so large and luxurious—built on the success of their father's career.

Shouto took one deep breath in before he sat down slowly on the red-wood porch steps and folded his hands. He held on tightly to the black thumb drive as his thoughts spiraled. He listened to Fuyumi's laughter from inside and Natsuo actually agree with something their father said.

The soft sound from the silver wind chrome above his head calmed him down as he weighed in everything.

The door opened behind the troubled detective and a figure slowly sat down next to him. Shouto turned and there he saw the kind gaze of his mother awaiting him. Her soft white hair blew in the wind while the light colored grey eyes were full of love.

"What's on your mind, sweetie?" Rei asked her son.

Shouto took in a deep breath before glancing backwards at the glass door behind them. He turned back with a trepidation in his eyes.

"Mom, do you love dad after everything?" He asked softly. Shouto thought back to all the times he heard his parents' fight and how sometimes he heard a loud slap followed by his mother's soft crying. "After all the issues, why do you still love him?"

Rei sat quietly at the question. She glanced down at her youngest son's fist that was balled up tight. A distant look appeared in her face as she took a deep breath of air in.

"The love we have is hard," Rei confessed, not looking up. "It's difficult to explain why I stay, because it's complicated. I knew he only really pursued me because your grandfather was one of the top politicians and it made him look better in his career...but I could tell your father does love me deep down just as much as I love him."

"So that's it?" Shouto frowned at the explanation, not feeling like it was enough. "A strained love?"

"No. I admired how hard working your father has always been," Rei added. "He came from nothing and always strived to have it all. He's a slum's success story and I like what message that sends. But I do realize along the way he lost sight of how the pathway to his success is just as important as his success."

Shouto didn't say anything as he mulled quietly over the reasoning his mother was giving him.

The thumb drive in his hand burned as Rei continued.

"But above all, I love him because he gave me you all," she finished with tears in her eyes. "I wish Touya was still with us because I love my children more than anything in this life."

At the mention of his deceased elder brother, Shouto felt his heart weigh down. He could tell the same grief had reappeared in his mother as he watched her face twist with regret over how things ended with her first born.

Shouto then opened his fist slowly like a flower that was slowly blooming to reveal the black thumb drive in his palm to his mother. The detective waited for a look of confusion to take over his mother's face at any second—but it didn't.

It looked as if she recognized exactly what it was and the pained gaze in her eyes only hurt Shouto more.

"I told Touya a long time ago that working inside a corrupt system to make it less corrupt is helping people," Shouto whispered, turning his face away from his mother. The burden of murder stung against his skin. "I want to help. Bakugou doesn't deserve to go to jail...but I never thought my duty would put me in a crossroads like this."

The warm breeze blew between the mother and son before Rei leaned in closer to her youngest. The comforting smell of her expensive perfume cloaked Shouto as she laid a tender hand on his shoulder.

"I've always been silently waiting for your father's tactics to catch up with him...I know that our castle is made of glass," Rei said with a gentle, saddened smile as if she already had accepted what was possibly to come. "But you're not like him. You're different and always have been. It's why I love you so much. You've always known what's right in the end, and you care about doing right by everyone."

"...Even if it means breaking up family?"

"Or protecting family," Rei comforted and squeezed Shouto's shoulder lovingly. "I think the officers you've been working with these last several years at U.A have been as much as your family as me or your brothers and sister, based on how you talk about them."

Memories of Izuku and Katsuki happily laughing with him over dinner flooded his brain.

His mother rubbed his back and spoke her next words strongly.

"Protect your family, Shouto."

. . .

A week passed and it was oddly quiet to Izuku.

Shouto had been rather distant at the station and Izuku could sense a peculiar sense of contemplation from his friend but nothing occurred for seven days. Everyone was talking about the Lantern Festival that was upcoming and preparing for the official celebration of spring.

Ochaco tried to cheer him up by going shopping for Yukatas. She loved dolling him up and Izuku tried his best to smile as she did his hair and told him that it was going to be okay. But it was hard to focus.

He still hadn't had any contact with Katsuki within this week, making a full month go by. Mirio hadn't talked to him again after the kiss, and in fact, his friend left before Izuku could even wake up. The attorney left the grip of awkwardness hanging in the air again.

He didn't know what else to say though, Mirio had kissed him and he rejected his feelings.

Yet again.

Because of the estrangement from Mirio, Izuku had to get all his information back from Shouto, who was off in his own world. From what his friend said, Katsuki seemed strangely quiet as well. Shouto noted how during their meetings with Mirio and Toshinori, the atmosphere was tense with something the Todoroki didn't understand.

That thought alone made Izuku feel like maybe Mirio and Katsuki had gotten bad news. Maybe they knew how the case was going to go and they just weren't telling him or Shouto anything.

Katsuki is going to go to jail.

Izuku threw up that night before the next hearing. He sobbed quietly over the porcelain toilet as the realization that he might lose another person he loves all too quickly. He picked up working an extra half shift that Saturday morning so he could keep himself busy before the trial began again.

He left out of U.A in his patrol uniform at 1:35pm that morning completely unaware that it was the last time he'd ever clock out again from the Uchimizu Ave precinct.

Izuku said goodbye to Ochaco and Momo with a bright smile, keeping a close eye on his watch to make sure he could be on time for the 2:15pm court hearing. He jogged lightly in his navy blue patrol uniform all the way downtown, wondering where Shouto had been off to this whole week.

The other officer had told him he'd meet him down by the courthouse because he was finishing up with something that required his full attention.

When Izuku got to the downtown courthouse it was swarming with news reporters like it always was but he pushed through all the crowds like per usual until he made his way inside the courthouse. Waiting for him there was a calm looking Shouto, as if almost at peace with himself.

His friend caught sight of him and gave a bright smile and Izuku returned it. They walked into the room silently and sat down in the back per usual. Izuku watched how Shouto had an unexplained aura around him and almost didn't seem phased about being in court again.

"You seem calm," Izuku commented. He tilted his head at the other plainly dressed officer who just shrugged in return.

"I have a good hunch that things are going to be alright," Shouto replied with a soft smile. "Trust me."

Izuku was about to ask him what he meant when the bailiff announced Judge Shimura and the introduction of her began. But this time she was holding a large stack of white files in her hands. Izuku eyed the back of Katsuki's stiff shoulders curiously.

"You may all remain standing," she began with a stern look in her eye. "As of an hour ago, a proper arrest has been made regarding the Hero Killer's accomplice in the police force. An anonymous tip gave way to lead a special task-force onto who was actually responsible and Todoroki Enji has been proven to be the person who sent the emails. With this, the anonymous tip went back and got a second confession out of the Hero Killer identifying Todoroki Enji as his accomplice. Because of this, Bakugou Katsuki's case is officially dismissed."

Izuku's eyes went wide at the same time Judge Shimura banged her gavel and the courtroom erupted in scandalized gasps.

Izuku's head whirled around to his comrade next to him who gave him a small, sad smile.

"I told you I have a feeling," Shouto whispered and everyone's voices got loud.

Izuku watched how Mirio's face dropped in utter surprise, how Monoma's mouth hung in shock and how Toshinori eyes were bulging out of his skull. All eyes turned to the now Ex-Chief of Police's son as Shouto politely told Izuku goodbye for the day.

"I'll catch you later, Izuku," Shouto whispered and gave the greenette a hug. "I'm going to go spend some time with my family and I'll see you and Katsuki at the festival later?"

"Y-Yeah," Izuku whispered, still stunned to his core. "I'll see you at the festival."

Shouto gave him a small two finger salute before turning away and leaving the courtroom with his shoulders slightly hunched.

All the 1B officers' faces were equally as both dazed and sickened by the information: it was Enji.

This entire time it was Enji and he was going to allow Katsuki to take the fall for him. Izuku felt a weight fall off his chest when he realized that his distant lover was indeed not going to jail and it made him let out a relieved smile. He watched how Monoma's face twisted in confusion, shock and then finally a deep apologetic expression settled on his features.

Izuku turned his head to see the back of Katsuki in another grey suit but furrowed his brow in confusion when he saw Katsuki slap Mirio's hand away unkindly. Katsuki stormed straight past his attorney and all the people trying to stop him to say sorry and talk to him.

It gave Izuku pause because when Katsuki fully turned around and headed towards him, there was a deep expression of hurt and anger.

It was not the look of a man who was just proven innocent.

"Kacchan?" Izuku called out as Katsuki pushed past him too and headed straight for the door.

In a brief split second, red eyes cut towards him unkindly. They were cold and void of any affection and they were fully blazed with hurt and unchecked temperament. Izuku felt a chill shoot up his spine because it was one of the most heated expressions Katsuki had ever given him.

Izuku stuttered briefly, caught off guard but he quickly followed out of the brown wooden doors ignoring all the on-lookers. He caught Katsuki storming off around the corner. The angry blond was angrily ridding himself of his blue tie as he threw it aggressively to the ground before turning the corner out of sight.

"Katsuki!" Izuku called out, following him quickly around the corner confused. "Katsuki, w-what's wrong?" He asked and only then and there the blond finally stopped his movements.

They stood alone in the hallway two feet apart until his lover whirled around angrily. Izuku felt his chest swell with concern at the tussled image of the man in front of him. Katsuki's eyes completely bloodshot and his rage looked as if it had been festering for a week's time, catching fire slowly.

"Did anything happen with him this last month, Izuku?" Katsuki hissed, hurt laced in his voice as it cracked.

The green eyed man paused unsure what was happening as he tried to think about what was possibly going on. Why wasn't Katsuki focused on the fact he had just been proven innocent for murder?

"Who? What are you talking about Kacchan—"

"—Mirio. I'm talking about fucking Mirio!" Katsuki yelled and Izuku's eyes widened. "Did you fuck the guy you had been sleeping with for years the second I wasn't around?"

"N-No, of course not. Where is this coming from?" Izuku hissed back, straightening his back.

He didn't receive an answer from Katsuki, only a pointed stare.

Izuku stumbled for several moments, trying to search his brain because it boggled him. He couldn't understand why did Katsuki think he slept with Mirio of all people? Then quickly the small kiss from a week ago appeared in his head. Izuku winced when he realized he had nearly forgotten about it, but didn't give it too much thought considering there were more important things at stake.

"I-I mean we did kiss," Izuku whispered, looking away. "But he kissed me and I pushed him away so it's not a big deal—"

He was cut off by Katsuki giving a loud 'tch'. "Of course."

Izuku frowned. "What do you mean of course?"

"I mean of course that's so goddamn convenient that's the explanation, Izuku. This isn't some dumbass movie and I'm not some goddamn idiot," Katsuki accused and it only added to the building pressure in Izuku's chest.

"Are you saying I kissed him intentionally?" Izuku glowered slightly at the accusation. "You should know me better than that, Katsuki."

"Well excuse me for not knowing what to think when I opened that fucking door and the smell of alcohol slammed into my nostrils!" Katsuki yelled, waving his hand dismissively. "Then I see you lying in bed shirtless and him damn near naked suggesting to me all this shit happened between you guys. Then he didn't fucking retract it once this past week."

Izuku furrowed his brow trying to piece together what was happening quicker than lightning in front of him and it fell into place at the mention of Katsuki smelling alcohol.

"Wait," Izuku paused. "When did all of this happen? You came by the motel that night?"

"Yes, Izuku. I came by to check on you and make sure you were okay after you called. I was worried and I wanted to see you," Katsuki answered quickly with an angered look in his eye. "But by the time I got there, Mirio was already fucking inside saying he had everything handled. Tell me, are you that weak that the second I couldn't fuck you silly you go running to the next person you knew would do it for you!?" Katsuki nearly yelled, stress completely boiling over.

"No!" Izuku quickly snapped back, offended. "You need to calm down. You're stressed—"

"Yes, Izuku. I'm fucking stressed," Katsuki's agreed as his voice cracked. Red eyes were full of bottled tears that had been sitting dormant at the bottom of his heart. "In case you didn't notice I have gone through the shittiest fucking month of my life! Knowing that you even so much as kissed him and didn't tell me fucking feels like a stab in the chest.

"You could've found a way around it! You could've told Shouto or someone to relay a message to me! But instead I'm sitting in that apartment being fucking crucified by the entire city—alone. And now I'm going to lose the one thing that's important to me in my whole life because of you!"

The last sentence cut Izuku in the heart deeper than he ever thought.

The one thing important to Katsuki: his job.

Izuku's face twisted in pain as the ash blond kept going.

"It doesn't matter that Enji fucking did it—I'm not even surprised on that front. That man deserves to go to jail, but I'm going to lose my goddamn job because I loved you. Because I do love you and I have stuck my neck out for you countless times, over and over and over against my better judgement all for you to give into your goddamn weakness the second I'm not there!"

"Katsuki—"

"—I'm never going to be a Captain after this," Katsuki spoke over him, fully crying now. "I really fucking doubt I'll get hired at another precinct as a lieutenant because everyone thinks I'm going to fuck my trainees! I have been drowning over here without you and you cut and run to the nearest fuck buddy to cuddle you like I was some place holder."

Izuku shook his head furiously and stepped forward desperately, trying to calm the rapidly spreading wildfire that was quickly catching.

"But that's not true—none of that is true," Izuku pushed, eyes wide when he realized that his childhood friend had just possibly sabotaged him. "Mirio is lying. He kissed me and I pushed him away. We didn't go further than that. He slept on the floor! Sure, h-he came over, yes and we drank but nothing happened."

Katsuki paused his thought and took a shaky deep breath and shook his head some more. Red eyes glanced up to green and a river of betrayal was sitting inside of them.

"But why him, Izuku?" Katsuki whispered as calm began to settle into him. "Why have him over in your room? You didn't think how that would make me feel after he's made it so obvious that he doesn't like the fact we're together?"

Izuku quickly realized his mistake and reached out for his lover's warm hand.

"I'm sorry," he apologized fully in a hushed voice when Katsuki clenched his teeth. "I-I get now that it wasn't respectful to you—I get it. I wouldn't feel great either knowing you had gotten drunk with someone that you had been previously having sex with for years. I-I was lonely, like you said. I only wanted company and I thought maybe I could fix things between me and Mirio to the way they were before we stopped talking. I grew up with him—it's complicated."

But Katsuki didn't look at him and the silence was strangling Izuku around his throat.

"Please say something, Kacchan—I'm sorry," Izuku pleaded as he felt his own tears start to form.

"I'm sorry too, Izuku," Katsuki whispered, retracting his hand and the action felt like it wretched Izuku's insides. "Everything is falling apart and I have to resign tomorrow. This isn't how I imagined this going this last month. Being pinned as a goddamn predator then finding out my partner, who I sacrificed my job for, got drunk with his ex-fuck buddy. Now I have to sift through what's real or not."

A lump swelled in Izuku's throat.

"Katsuki, I said I'm sorry. I swear I was going put up boundaries between Mirio and I for good after that—"

"—It's fine. No point in doing that now," Katsuki snapped quickly and turned his head away from Izuku. "We weren't even together that long so it doesn't matter."

Everything stopped as Izuku felt his heart incline in speed.

"Katsuki," he spoke carefully and slowly. He held back tears as he looked at the equally hurt man in front of him. "You don't mean that."

"...I don't know what I mean anymore," Katsuki mumbled regrettably.

Red eyes turned to look at him again and this time there was less anger, but more hurt and confusion. The warm ember eyes Izuku loved flickered to his face and then to the floor as Katsuki searched for an answer that wasn't there.

"I want to be alone right now so I can go clean out my office," Katsuki said in a near inaudible tone after a long stretch of silence. "I don't know what to think right now. We can talk more after I turn in my badge tomorrow, okay? I'm going to go enjoy the festival later to unwind and I'll be less irritable tomorrow. My head is killing me and I think I need some space after all of this mess."

Space.

"Okay," Izuku agreed despite the pull in his heart telling him not to. "We can talk tomorrow."

He hung his head away as Katsuki turned around and began to exit out of the private side door of the courthouse, avoiding all the press outside. Izuku didn't dare look up to watch him walk away or attempt to follow him out.

Izuku let out a soft sob as he was left alone in the barren hallway of the courthouse. He waited several beats, completely alone with his spiraling thoughts until one caught on fire and burned with anger.

Mirio.

What the hell had Mirio done?

Izuku's tear filled face twisted in anger as he turned on his heel around the corner back towards the front. His viridian eyes were pointed, sharp and full of wrath as he searched the dense crowd that had gathered in the lobby. Everyone in the 1B precinct was still congregated and Izuku could hear Monoma trying to issue an apology all around but all that passed straight over Izuku's ears.

Instead he narrowed in on the happily smiling blond attorney talking with Kayama Nemuri and stormed up to the chatting lawyers.

"What the hell did you say to him?!" Izuku nearly screamed as he shoved his childhood friend in the nearest wall, temper flared.

Mirio's eyes stretched wide as he stumbled backwards, dropping his briefcase. The loud yell and clattering of the bag dropping to ground caused everyone in the vicinity to gasp and grow silent. All eyes stared at the hurricane that was Izuku, whose face was red and full of tears.

Izuku waited, teeth clenched tightly as he tried his best to control his breathing.

But he was only met with silence when Mirio's blue eyes scanned all the bystanders. The lack of explanation made Izuku shake his head disappointed before backing away from the person he thought was his friend.

"You can't even answer, can you?" Izuku whispered appalled.

"Izuku," Mirio whispered, trying to catch himself. He bent down quickly to grab his briefcase and he shook his head desperately. "I can explain, I was going to tell you after the trial. I was angry and still drunk. I didn't mean to say what I said and I didn't know how to tell you—"

"—Bullshit! You should've corrected it!" Izuku hissed, ignoring the weary stare from the black haired woman beside them. Slowly it all came to a peak as Izuku felt betrayal soil his mind. He straightened his back and looked at Mirio with green eyes full of pain.

"Do you want to know why I chose Katsuki and not you, Mirio?" Izuku seethed. "I chose him because he let's me grow and he loves me because of who I am and not because I fit into this vision of the future he has planned out.

"He wants to grow together—love together, and you'll never be like that because you're so focused on the idea of me versus what is actually in front of you!" Izuku yelled, stunning everything. "Your grip has always been too tight and I tried for years to avoid this conversation to spare your feelings but this—you went too far! You had no right to try and ruin my relationship like that!"

His chest heaved heavily as his heart ached with a dull pulse. Silence waved over every one and Izuku only then became aware of all the eyes on him, including the person he just berated in front of him. Izuku watched as multiple sorrys began to form on the attorney's tongue with pleas of forgiveness as he reached out for Izuku.

"Izuku, I'm so sorry—I'll go clear things up with Bakugou, I swear. I'm sorry—"

But the young detective rejected the apology immediately and quickly turned away from Mirio, snapping his wrist away from his childhood friend when Mirio tried to stop him from leaving.

Izuku pushed past the sea of stunned individuals surrounding him. He ignored their pity filled stares because all he could focus on was the feeling of hurt that was burning through his ribcage. He shoved his way straight past a Monoma who was looking at him in a completely new light.

Sympathy and apology trickled onto the 1B Lieutenant's face as Izuku walked out the door.

When Izuku opened the doors there was an even thicker crowd of reporters swarming the courthouse, news of Enji's arrest must have made its way through the entire city by now. But the second all those reporters caught Izuku they saw another story.

Izuku's emotions were overwhelmed with hurt, anger and sadness as he tried to shield his face from unwanted photographs. He wanted to be left alone but all the journalists pushed into his privacy and made his anxieties spike.

Soon the unrelenting questions attacked him from every angle as he tried to make his way out of the downtown area.

"Detective Midoriya! Is it true that Bakugou threatened to fire you if you didn't sleep with him?"

A soft image of Katsuki tucking him in bed with a smile appeared in Izuku's mind.

"How often did you engage in sexual acts within the precinct with him?"

The memory of Katsuki tenderly caressing his burns and telling him was beautiful played in his head.

"Is it true he asked you to move in and paid all the expenses as a sort of sugar daddy arrangement?"

Izuku clenched his teeth as he tried to make his way past the intrusive people, ignoring them all. He just wanted to be left alone. Alone with having to deal with how he was going to handle the heartbroken lieutenant that was probably off crying by himself because the city ate him alive.

"How long has Bakugou Katsuki been weaponizing his authority to abuse you?"

This time Izuku stopped walking.

The young detective turned around slowly, stunned by the question and set eyes on the male reporter who had yelled the question over the crowd. Bright lights and cameras set on his face but Izuku didn't care.

"Excuse me?" He whispered; face twisted in resentment. "What did you just ask me?"

"I asked how long has he been abusing you?" The male reporter with dark hair asked again.

Abuse.

Izuku's nostrils flared and eyes narrowed.

"Is that what you think?" He hissed. "You think he's been abusing me?"

His heart clenched and his anger boiled again. Burning green eyes turned to the reporter and the cameraman behind him tired of all of this. Izuku was so damn sick of watching the man who taught him to love again be publicly humiliated for things he wasn't even guilty of. He thought of the warnings Mirio told him not to speak to the press about the trial but threw it all out the wind.

Izuku was done letting Katsuki burn.

"Katsuki has never in his life abused anyone," Izuku spat back, holding back tears as he thought about how he might possibly lose the person he loved because of stupid rumors like these running rampant. "He is kind, strong, and one of the most dedicated people I know. He protects me fiercely and I have never known anyone to do that for me to the extent he has."

"So what really is the nature of your relationship with Lieutenant Bakugou?" The reporter asked, the crowd growing quiet to eat up what Izuku was saying.

The beating of his heart pounded in his ears as Izuku thought about it. He reflected on the last several months of his life and how despite all the chaos, Katsuki was always the calming ocean that soothed him.

"Katsuki is...he's the love of my life," Izuku whispered full of affection, ignoring the camera on his face. "I have never loved someone as much as I love him and I would do anything to let him know how much I care for him in the midst of all this chaos. He's not bad—he has a heart of gold. His job has always been something he loves and he loves all the people of Shizuoka City as well. All the citizens are lucky to have someone like him watching over them."

"But is it not true he's losing his job for violating policeman guidelines? The city no longer will have a Symbol of Victory."

Izuku heard Katsuki's hurtful words replay like a dark record in his mind.

"I'm going to lose the one thing that's important to me in my whole life because of you!"

The freckled man sighed, looking away from the camera.

"No, Katsuki is not losing his job," Izuku muttered, settling into a split-second decision. "He's worked too hard for it."

"What does that mean, Mr. Midoriya?"

Then Izuku did what he always did, unknowingly tipping the scales and escalating a dangerous wildfire that was going to start: he put someone he cared about before himself.

"It means I quit. This is my public resignation."

. . .

When Izuku made it back to the blue motel he felt numb. He had tried to call Katsuki but his phone was turned off, which came as no surprise. His lover was known to isolate himself in times of heartache and Izuku wished he could reach out and explain that Mirio had just wanted to throw a wrench in their relationship because he was bitter.

The realization that he had given a public resignation was still settling in with Izuku and it felt like a surreal daydream.

The now ex-officer was waiting silently in the room as time slipped away from him. He laid on the bed exhausted in his navy blue uniform and watched the notifications from everyone flood into his phone: Denki. Sero. Ochaco. Mirio several times. Even Kirishima and Mina.

But none from Katsuki.

Izuku felt hollow.

He watched the news app give three notifications about several breaking stories on the Hero Killer's accomplice finally outed. Various outside investigations surrounding The Chief of Police were launched to dismantle the corruption that was rooted deep in the Shizuoka City Police Department.

Izuku waited for Katsuki's name to pop up on his screen as the day turned to night, but nothing came and it made Izuku's heart shatter with each passing moment.

He couldn't find the energy to move as he laid alone on the bed letting the hours go by. With his back turned towards the open window, he watched the light fade from the room until the only source of luminescence was from the neon pink sign outside. The bright light shone in through the small window as he laid curled up on the bed staring at the blank wall.

Izuku counted all the shadows casted over his bed of people walking by with a sad hum. He figured they all were probably getting ready to go to the Spring Lantern festival and realized he should be getting ready to go as well.

But he couldn't find it in him.

So he stayed curled up, studying all the passing shadows casted inside his small room until one didn't.

Izuku frowned when he waited for what seemed like the silhouette of a tall man to pass by but it never did. Instead the figure stood in front of his window blocking the neon light like an eclipse. Watching him.

Izuku clammed up when the shadow slowly moved out of the window and the next sound to occur was the harsh rattling of the lock on his door. The green eyed man shot up and grabbed his gun, paranoia flared as he went on the full defense. He couched low out of sight of the window to the other side of the room as the handle shook continuously.

The rattle became increasingly more violent until several hard kicks slammed against Izuku's door.

Izuku watched the blue door quake under the sheer force of whoever was on the other side as the kicks became stronger and more powerful. The silver flimsy lock on the door was tested as Izuku cocked his gun and his brows creased deeply.

He steadily approached the door, remaining low to the ground until he slowly rose, handgun lifted ready to fire. He leaned in slowly to stare out of the small peep hole to see who was trying to break in.

But what he viewed on the other side caused Izuku's heart to stop.

He saw the distorted, blurry fish eyed image of Dabi's unmasked burned face drenched in fury. He was wearing a dark hoodie, his nostrils were flared and his blue eyes were ignited full of pure wrath. But what unnerved Izuku most was how Dabi's eyes were the same unique turquoise as Enji's—as Shouto's.

And the rage inside of them was the same firestorm he had only ever seen in one other person.

"Hey!" The call of a man's voice outside yelled out. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Then quickly Dabi's figure spun around, startled as a man with a metal bat came into view and swung on him. Izuku watched as his heart threatened to jump out of his chest as the arsonist dodged the surprise blow and quickly tried to make his exit. A loud voice of a woman boomed as she came into view holding a cellphone, announcing she was calling the cops bringing the attention of several others in the area.

Izuku quickly unlocked the door to run outside. He had his gun gripped tightly in both hands as he watched the retreating dark figure reach the ground level and disappear into the dark shadows behind the motel.

The world stopped and all Izuku could hear was the harsh shaking of the leaves in the wind.

His mind reeled in confusion over what he just saw until a soft hand rested on his shoulder.

"Hi, are you okay?" The soft voice of a woman called to him, pulling his attention back. "I'm so sorry for that. We're your neighbors and we've seen some guy in a black hoodie looking through your window several times this month. We've been trying to find you to tell you, but we could never get a hold of you. Someone kept taking our notes off your door."

Izuku's whole world stopped when he realized he had in fact not imagined the sounds of someone trying to get into his room.

"W-What did he look like?" He asked, trying to tell himself he was hallucinating over the image he saw in the peephole. He blinked several times but each time his gut sank further and further the more he compared the furious expression to Dabi to the one person he knew it couldn't be.

But Izuku knew that livid expression all too well because it played repeatedly in his nightmares for the last three years straight.

"We only now got a good look at his face, but he had blue eyes, burns, black hair and silver piercing all up and down his face," she said. "He matched the description of that arsonist I think."

Izuku stopped breathing.

The tall man with the bat came back, looking at Izuku with an apologetic expression.

"Sorry about that. We heard the kicking and got scared for you," the deep voice of the neighbor said. The man swung the metallic bat over his shoulder tiredly. "I think I chased him off but he dropped this while he was trying to get away."

Izuku's green eyes trailed down to the palm of the man's hand and the small item that was sitting inside of it. It was a regular black lighter, but it was a lighter than Izuku had seen several times to the point he knew it like the back of his hand. All the scratches and the wear and tear all were familiar.

He reached forward slowly to take the lighter from the man convince himself that it was just a regular object that could be purchased anywhere, but it clearly was old.

Almost as old as the grief inside of Izuku's chest.

He thought back to the exact livid expression in Dabi's eyes and suddenly this all felt too surreal for him to ignore.

"A-Are you two going to the festival?" Izuku asked quickly as he shoved the lighter into his uniform's pants pocket and quickly pulled out his phone. "I need to go talk to someone down there."

"Yeah, we are. Do you need a ride down there?" The woman asked kindly. "We'd be happy to make sure you're safe and don't go alone."

"T-Thank you so much," Izuku stuttered out.

"Oh wait, aren't you that Detective Midoriya?" The man questioned, tilting his head. Izuku froze, completely baffled by the identification and it seemed like the man picked up on the confused expression he gave him. "Sorry, I recognized you from the TV earlier. Your confession about Lieutenant Bakugou is all over the news."

"Oh, it is you! My name is Sina!" The woman smiled, her bright eyes full of admiration. "That was such a sweet statement you gave. I really hope it works out for you two, y'know? People let rumors run wild around here. That whole case was a mess."

Izuku gave a strained smile because he couldn't focus on anything besides the black lighter in his pocket.

"Thank you. Um, I'll be right back. I need to grab some things," Izuku rushed out.

The couple nodded in return as the young ex-detective turned around into his motel room. Izuku couldn't sift through all his thoughts as his vision blurred together and heart pounded. He quickly shoved several items in his yellow backpack, realizing he couldn't come back here. Something was wrong and he was too fearful.

This time he dialed Katsuki's number for an entirely different reason. But the line was still out.

Shit. Izuku's hands shook violently as he zipped up the bag and quickly tossed it over his shoulder and locked the door with no intention of returning.

He followed the couple out to their car looking over his shoulder repeatedly as he kept his hand on the loaded gun on his uniform's holster. He climbed into the back of the small car, only half paying attention to the loud bass that filled the combat vehicle. The words of the couple drowned out as he kept trying to dial different people from U.A who were probably too busy at the loud festival to answer now.

Izuku clutched the phone against his ear in a grip so tight as his hand nearly went as numb as the feeling in his chest. As the car drove off, Izuku pulled out the black lighter from his pocket. Green eyes stayed unmoving, too trained on double checking the old lighter over and over again.

His other hand shook terribly holding the black metallic piece of the puzzle in his hand.

He stared at it as if it had somehow fallen out of one of his nightmares into the palm of his hand. It felt like it burned with a truth he didn't want to believe—but everything was beginning to add up and point to a single direction.

When Izuku hit another voicemail he left one with a shaky breath.

"Shouto," Izuku whispered in a ghostly manner. "I need someone from U.A to call me immediately…something's not right."

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I hope you enjoyed! I'm soooo excited for the next two chapters. Especially the next one because it FINALLY unveils what this story has built up for basically the last 400k words :D

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think!