Katsuki blinked awake as his phone buzzed with his alarm. He reached over Eijirou's body to turn it off before settling back into the pillows. Katsuki had rolled into Eijirou in his sleep, their unconscious bodies seeking each other out.
Eijirou didn't stir at the movement or the alarm, instead he snuggled closer. Katsuki stared at his sleeping form. Eijirou looked peaceful, younger even. Katsuki brushed red hair out of his face, making Eijirou hum lightly.
Katsuki's heart ached, wanting to stay curled up together for the rest of the day, but he knew he had to get up to go to work. Hoshi jumped up onto the bed, walking along the wall until she reached Katsuki, placing a paw on his shoulder.
Katsuki smiled, if one day, his alarm didn't go off and his internal clock didn't get him up, Hoshi would. He reached out and pet her. She rubbed up against him and she vibrated with her purrs. Katsuki sat up, kissing her forehead before climbing out of the bed, careful not to wake up Eijirou.
He went through his morning routine, getting dressed and feeding Hoshi. He put on his neckerchief, the one Jeanist had made for him before getting his bag together. He then grabbed a post-it note and wrote a message.
I had to go to work. I love you. – Katsuki x
He left it on the bedside table, next to where his hearing aid had been, before leaning down and kissing Eijirou on the forehead. Katsuki grabbed the cat carrier before leaving a rather confused looking Hoshi and an asleep Eijirou.
He went downstairs to where Shouto and Iida were in the kitchen. They were talking quietly between themselves. Shouto held Cashmere in his arms whilst Iida made tea. There were three cups out on the side and three bowls of egg and rice.
"No." Shouto said as soon as he saw Katsuki. "You can't take him."
"I have to Sho'" Katsuki said. "He has a home."
"But I'll miss him."
"I know, but Jeanist says you can visit sometime." Katsuki said, "And you still have Hoshi for cuddles."
"I know, but Cashmere is different." Shouto said, cuddling the cat closer.
"Here." Iida said, holding out a mug of tea and a bowl of food.
"Thank you." Katsuki said, taking them. "You didn't have to make me food."
"As I have said many times, breakfast is important." Iida said, "And I thought you wouldn't have time to make yourself something."
"I was just going to grab some toast or something." Katsuki shrugged, taking a drink.
"Well now you don't have to." Iida smiled.
"What are you planning on doing today?" Katsuki asked.
"I'm going to visit my Mother." Shouto said. "Because I can't really go and see her on Saturdays anymore."
"I was going to help Uraraka with her homework." Iida said. "We're going to this little café for lunch."
"Oh, that's nice." Katsuki said.
"Yes, It'll be nice, just the two of us." Iida said. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Is it a date?" Shouto asked and Iida went bright red.
"No, nothing like that. We're just studying." Iida shook his head.
"Studying, hah? That's how Ei and I started, study dates." Katsuki smirked. "They're safe."
"How?" Shouto asked, cocking his head to the side.
"You can hang out, one on one, test the waters, see how things go. You can get to know each other a little better, privately, without having to put the pressure of dating and stuff on it."
"It's just studying." Iida replied.
"So you don't want to get to know Round Cheeks better?"
"No I do it's just…"
"It's cool, Iida, we won't tell. I'm dating Ei and he's got a thing for Momo, but he's too much of a coward to do anything about it."
"Hey!" Shouto exclaimed.
"So props to you for actually talking to the girl you like." Katsuki said.
"I don't want to make her uncomfortable or anything." Iida shrugged. "She needs help studying and I thought we could just hang out a bit after. I think she likes Midoriya, anyway."
"I don't know about that." Katsuki said, "But good luck."
"It's nothing about luck. My feelings are irrelevant if she does not feel the same." Iida said. "It doesn't matter."
"Have confidence in yourself, you're like, fourth hottest guy in the class." Katsuki said.
"Fourth?" Iida laughed.
"Behind, me, Katsuki and Kirishima." Shouto said, "In that order."
"Debatable." Katsuki said.
"We're yet to decide on first." Shouto said. "We should do a vote."
"No, we shouldn't vote on things as trivial as looks, people may be upset at where they place, we don't need to promote an unhealthy environment." Iida said.
"Yeah, Shouto., stop promoting an unhealthy environment."
"You're an unhealthy environment." Shouto frowned.
"Whatever, I need to take that cat." Katsuki said, washing his empty bowl and mug and placing them on the drying rack.
"You're such an ass." Shouto said as Katsuki took Cashmere from him.
"I know, I'm the worst person in the world." Katsuki said, petting Cashmere behind his torn earn.
"My life is meaningless." Shouto said, picking up his cold food.
"You'll see him again." Iida said.
"Apply to intern with Jeanist when you get your licence or something." Katsuki said.
"I think my father would kill me." Shouto said.
"Ignore him, who cares about what he thinks?"
"If I didn't care about his opinion, I would have a cat." Shouto said.
"Why do you give a shit?" Katsuki asked. "He's an ass."
"Yeah but he's still my old man." Shouto shrugged. "I don't know with him. Do I want his approval or do I want to be free of him? I don't know. He's trying to be better, but I can't just forgive all the shit he's put me through."
"Well I hope you figure it out." Katsuki said, putting Cashmere in the carry case. "I've got to go."
"Have a good day, Bakugou-kun." Iida said with a wave.
"You two, too." Katsuki said, picking up his bag and the cat carrier. "Hoshi's in my room, Shouto, but if you go up, be quiet, Ei is asleep in there."
"Okay. Thanks." Shouto said and Katsuki left the dorms.
Cashmere was fine with being in the travel cage and didn't seem to give a shit about being on the train. In fact, he fell asleep 5 minutes in, much to the disappointment of the small boy who was sat next to Katsuki and was trying to get the cat's attention.
The boy's mother smiled apologetically and tried to redirect his attention, but he kept coming back to tap Cashmere's cage. The cat didn't wake up but Katsuki couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when his stop came up and he could leave.
When Katsuki got to Genius, he waved to Thimble who was sat at his desk typing away at his laptop, He stood when Katsuki walked in, a large smile on his face.
"Bakugou-kun, you're back." Thimble exclaimed.
"Yeah, Jeanist convinced Flashback to let me come in." Katsuki replied.
"Yeah, I thought you wouldn't be back until next week. Hakamata-san isn't supposed to be back until Wednesday."
"He's at home now, right?"
"Yep. Ezume-chan said that Hakamata-san has moved in with them for a while."
"So his brother can look after him?"
"Make sure he doesn't get out of bed, more like." Thimble laughed. "He keeps calling and asking how things are going, I can barely get any work done because if I don't answer he thinks the place has burnt down in his absence. But by the sounds of it, he's really into designing the winter collection."
"Oh, that's good." Katsuki nodded.
"You brought Cashmere back? He misses him." Thimble smiled, looking down at the carrier.
"Yeah, he asked me to. Ezume is going to take him."
"Nice." Thimble said, "Well, things are kind of weird here, Hawks and Edgeshot are here, working with Flash. Nobody really knows what's going on, they're still looking for those kids."
"Any others gone missing?"
"No, still at five." Thimble frowned, "Still, that's five too many children."
"We'll find them. The Number Two, Three and Four heroes are on it." Katsuki said. "I should head up."
"Okay, It's good to see you, Bakugou-kun, you've been missed around here."
"I've missed being here."
Katsuki went up the stairs and headed towards his desk. Fallacy was at her own desk, on her office phone, no doubt talking to someone who needed her help. Spectre, Sleuth and Transcript were missing, presumably on patrol and Katsuki could see Flashback in the conference room with Hawks and Edgeshot.
Katsuki put the cat carrier on his desk, undoing the latch, letting Cashmere out of it. The cat stepped out, stretching his back out before sitting on his desk. Katsuki rolled his eyes, putting the carrier on the floor.
"Cashmere!" a voice called out. Katsuki turned to see Ezume running up to his desk. He scooped up the cat and cuddled him. Cashmere allowed the action, used to being picked up in such a manner. "You don't know how much Uncle has missed you."
"He's a popular cat." Katsuki snorted.
"We've missed you too, Bakugou-kun." Ezume said, a smile plastered on his face. "I wanted to visit you in the hospital, but my Mom said to leave you alone." Ezume shrugged.
"You could have visited, but I was mostly unconscious whilst I was in there."
"That's what Uncle said." Ezume said. "You are better, right?"
"Yeah. I've got some new hearing aids, I'm fine." Katsuki said.
"Oh, good." Ezume smiled.
"Oi, Bobbins, back to work." Flashback said as he emerged from the conference room. Ezume squeaked before running off, back over to where Buttons and Zipper were working.
"Hey." Katsuki said.
"Hi Bakugou. I'm glad you're back, we could do with a fresh pair of eyes." Flashback said, pushing his hair out of his face.
"Is everything okay?" Katsuki asked.
"Same as always." Flashback said. "What I need you to do today, is look through these… sites."
"Sites?"
"Yeah, websites that are know for… selling children." Flashback looked pained as he forced the words out. "Edgeshot and Hakamata think that we might be able to find the missing children there."
"Fuck, really?"
"Yeah. Obviously it's all on the dark web and we're not exactly active there. And people like that are… well they have some kind of community. I know we're not just going to stumble across them. But we thought, if we had a couple of people working in chat rooms or stuff, talking to people, maybe we could get a lead or something. It's a long shot, I know. But I don't know what else we can do."
"So you just want me to talk to assholes who should be in prison all day?" Katsuki asked.
"Pretty much, I know it's a weird request, but… well it would really help us out. If you don't feel comfortable, I can find you something else to do. I won't force you."
"I can talk to scumbags, it's fine." Katsuki shrugged.
"All right, let Hawks show you how to get places, he's got more of a covert background than any of us."
"He's done this kind of thing before?"
"Apparently." Flashback shrugged.
"He's always seemed like the kind of guy who would pretend to be a little girl online." Katsuki muttered.
"Hey, if pretending to be a little girl lures some villain out into the open, I'll happily do it." Hawks said, coming up to Katsuki's desk. The blond blushed slightly, not expecting the other to overhear. "I'm a hero, that means doing whatever it takes to keep people safe and villains in prison."
"No one is questioning whether you're a hero or not." Flashback said. "If you can get Bakugou set up that'd be great."
"No problem." Hawks said as Katsuki logged-on to his computer. Flashback patted Katsuki on the back before heading back to the conference room, where Edgeshot was working, leaving Katsuki and Hawks alone.
"Move over." Hawks said, pushing Katsuki wheeled chair to the side. He leant over Katsuki's desk and began typing on the computer. "How've you been?"
"Fine. You?"
"Yeah I'm good." Hawks shrugged. "Must be hard on you, failing the exam, being behind everyone else." Katsuki frowned at his words.
"I wasn't the only one to fail." Katsuki said.
"True, Endeavour's son failed too."
"And Shinsou."
"I don't know who that is." Hawks said. "But you're the only one who Aizawa tried to defend. Why do you get special treatment?"
"I didn't ask him to do anything." Katsuki said.
"I never said you did, I just think it's funny that the man known for expelling students would risk his career for you." Hawks said.
"I don't know, ask him." Katsuki scowled.
"Just wondering." Hawks snorted. "You don't need to be so touchy."
"Stop asking stupid questions then." Katsuki said. Hawks shook his head.
"Tah dah, you're in." Hawks said, leaning away. "Just be careful, there's all kind of weirdo's on there."
"Is this legal?"
"Probably not." Hawks said. "All kinda shit goes down on there. You could probably even get in contact with the League of Villains is you tried."
"Why would I want to do that?" Katsuki frowned. "They don't have anything to do with the missing kids, do they?"
"We don't think so." Hawks' wings twitched. "You probably have contacts within the League anyway." He said turning back to the conference room.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki asked but the bird hero ignored him. Katsuki frowned, turning to his computer, trying to navigate the mess of links and pop ups.
He didn't really have any idea what he should be doing. Flashback dropped a file off on Katsuki's desk, full of the photos and information of all of the missing children. He smiled reassuringly and took his own seat at his desk and presumably began to do a similar thing.
Katsuki clicked about aimlessly, having brief conversations with online scumbags. He felt dirty and unclean, pretending to be looking to buy a child. Part of him hoped he would find the children, that he'd be the one to find them, however a larger part of him hoped that they were nowhere near this mess, that they were safe somewhere else. He knew it was a long shot, but the other options were too horrible to think about.
He felt awkward speaking to people, trying not to blow his cover and tell these people what he really thought about them. Villains were easy, they were out in the open, something physical Katsuki could fight. Online people were behind a screen, hiding behind something Katsuki couldn't reach.
"Hey Bakugou, you're back." Katsuki looked up to see Sleuth walking over, she came and sat on the edge of his desk.
"Yep." Katsuki said. Sleuth nodded, before reaching out and poking Katsuki's forehead.
"Nice scar."
"Don't touch me, weirdo."
"You want me to teach you how to fill in your eyebrow?" Sleuth asked, poking him again.
"No, it's fine. I kind of like it." Katsuki shrugged.
"Badass." Sleuth snorted. "Well, I'm glad you're alive. I didn't want to lose my dance buddy."
"I bet it would have been a nightmare to find another one."
"Exactly." Sleuth winked, "I don't have time for that shit."
"Bakugou doesn't have time for your shit, Sleuth. He's working." Flashback said from his desk. Sleuth stuck her middle finger up at him. "You should be working."
"I am working, I'm checking on the assistants."
"Trying to put off doing your report more like." Katsuki replied.
"Okay, you little rat, go fuck yourself." Sleuth snapped, but there was a smile on her face. "I can't believe I was worried about you."
"Aww you really shouldn't be. I can take care of myself."
"Pff, damn kids, thinking they're invincible." Sleuth said, pushing herself off of Katsuki's desk and returning to her own.
"Previous evidence suggests I am invincible." Katsuki said back, watching her as she went. "I haven't died yet." Sleuth let out a bark of laughter before sitting down.
"You've got a nerve Bakugou, a real nerve." She shook her head, getting out her computer.
Katsuki rolled his eyes and turned back to his work. He continued to explore the Dark Web, not having much luck, just being exposed to things he never wanted to see and would probably never forget. Katsuki picked at his lunch, curtesy of Flashback, having lost his appetite.
Looking through sketchy websites got old pretty quickly, and Katsuki soon found himself longing to go home. The multiple sudden pop-ups were giving him a headache and he couldn't seem to focus on anything. That was until:
[Pulse191512 wants to chat]
Katsuki clicked on the link, preparing himself for another porn bot or some sick pervert.
Pulse191512:
I hear you're looking for me
Bakugou Katsuki
NebulaSparkle:
Who are you?
Katsuki asked, once again scowling at the random generated username.
Pulse191512:
I told you, the person you're looking for.
NebulaSparkle:
I'm not looking for anyone.
Pulse191512:
Oh Katsuki, let's not play games.
You were looking for me, I was looking for you.
We found each other.
NebulaSparkle:
How do you know my name?
Pulse191512:
How would I have found you if I didn't know your name?
NebulaSparkle:
Why would you want to find me?
Pulse191512:
It's a shame about you failing your exam.
Don't you think it's stupid that you need a licence to use something you were born with.
Imagine having to pass a test to walk, to breathe.
NebulaSparkle:
Breathing and walking doesn't hurt someone, Quirks can.
Pulse191512:
Would you use your Quirk to hurt someone if you had free Quirk usage?
If we normalised Quirk use, they wouldn't be used as weapons.
NebulaSparkle:
Aren't villains just people who use their Quirks without licences.
Pulse191512:
What are vigilantes then?
NebulaSparkle:
Vigilantes protect people.
Pulse191512:
With free Quirk use they could protect themselves.
Without fear of being arrested for illegal public Quirk use, the crime rate may go down.
Villains would be less likely to attack if the people could fight back.
Don't you think?
NebulaSparkle:
I guess so.
Why do you care?
Pulse191512:
It's something I believe in. Freedom.
NebularSparkle:
Who are you? Why am I supposed to looking for you?
Pulse191512:
You're looking for the children, aren't you?
NebulaSparkle:
You have the 5 children?
Pulse191512:
I have a lot more than 5.
I thought you knew that.
I work a lot wider reach than just Tokyo.
NebulaSparkle:
Prove it. Prove you're the guy taking the kids.
Pulse191512:
Okay, I will.
I'll be in touch, Katsuki.
By the way, don't blame yourself.
I was going to do this either way.
NebulaSparkle:
Do what?
As soon as Katsuki pressed send his monitor went black. There was a series of clicks and beeps, shocked noises and the silence of the central heating turning off. The distant humming of the electricity and whirring of cars passing by stopped.
Sleuth punched her computer as the room fell into darkness. Flashback immediately got to his feet as Hawks and Edgeshot came from the conference room.
"I really need to learn to start saving as I go with these reports." Sleuth frowned.
"Is it a power cut?" Ezume asked.
"The backup generators would have kicked in." Thimble said, coming up the stairs. "The emergency lights aren't even on."
"The cars have stopped." Fallacy said as she came from the training room, sweat sticking her baby blue hair to her scalp. "And all of the billboards are down too."
"Everything is down, everything is off." Edgeshot said.
"Do you think it's the Snatcher?" Hawks asked. "This is his M.O. isn't it? Take out the power, take a kid."
"We should get outside." Flashback said. "Maybe a hero presence will deter him."
"I doubt it." Edgeshot shook his head, moving towards. "This is no accident. He knows we're here."
Katsuki looked back at his black computer screen. It couldn't be a coincidence. Pulse191512 had to be, in some way, linked to the missing children, he had to be. What was going on?
Edgeshot, Hawks, Flashback, Sleuth and Fallacy moved towards the stairs, Katsuki got up and followed them, stumbling over the cat carrier as he did. They hurried out onto the street below to the seas of confused people.
All vehicles had stopped, all of the buildings were quiet. Phones didn't work and strangers exclaimed to one another, asking if they were experiencing the same. People mumbled about power cuts and villain attack. No one knew what to do, they all stood around, ready to run at the first sign of a villain.
"Flashback, can you try and see what happened?" Edgeshot asked.
"Where from? Where do you think he would have took the kid?"
"Outside the office." Katsuki said. "If this is to taunt us, he'd do it right on our door."
"Bakugou is right, this guy is getting off on this. He wants to prove he's better than us." Edgeshot said.
"Okay." Flashback nodded. "Kyoso." He held his hand out to Fallacy who took it, squeezing it lightly before Flashback leant back on placed his hand on a lamppost. His pale blue eyes glowed as his stare became distant.
Hawks moved about the stalled cars, talking to people as he went. Sleuth went in the opposite direction, she went to reassure an elderly man, who appeared quite startled. There was nothing any of them could do whilst waiting for Flashback to see the past.
Katsuki walked down the road, checking on people as he passed. Everyone seemed okay, they were all a little confused bur Katsuki reassured them that the power would come back soon and that everything would be okay.
He was several feet away from the Genius office when he heard a small sniffling noise. He slowed his pace and turned towards a dark alleyway. He stared down the alley, at first not seeing anything. However, after a moment, his eyes adjusted to the low light, he saw the source of the noise.
"Hey." Katsuki called in a soft voice. "Kid, are you okay?"
"Stay away." There was a little boy, no more than four, curled up against a dumpster. Tears ran down his face and his knees were tucked into his chest.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm with the heroes." Katsuki said, crouching down to appear smaller. "Do you want to come out? I can take you to Hawks, you know him, right?"
"Hawks?" the little boy asked, looking up.
"Yeah. My name is Katsuki, I'm friends with Best Jeanist." Katsuki said, "Hawks is just over there." He pointed further down the road. Although the boy didn't move, he craned his neck to try and see.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Katsuki said. "We can help you find your Mommy and Daddy."
"I know where they are. They're at home." The boy said, "I don't know how to get home. I need to find Roku."
"Who's Roku?"
"My big sister. She was here, but the man took her."
"The man?"
"He was here, then he wasn't. Roku was gone." The little boy shrugged.
"What's your name?"
"Kinoshita Yuki."
"Come on, Yuki-chan, let's go find Hawks. You can tell him about Roku and the man." Katsuki held out his hand. Yuki edged forwards, taking Katsuki's hand in his tiny one.
"You were on TV." The little boy said. "You were fighting."
"Yeah, I'm a hero in training." Katsuki replied.
"Can you carry me? My knee hurts."
"Sure kid." Katsuki said, bending down and picking up the boy. He rested Yuki on his hip as he walked as the boy grasped the back of his shirt in his grubby little hands.
He carried Yuki back to where, Edgeshot, Flashback and Fallacy were waiting. Flashback was holding Fallacy's hand as he spoke. His eyes were white and he seemed unsteady on his feet.
"He grabbed a girl." Flashback said. "He emerged from the wing mirror of a parked car, he had a boy with him, Ueno, the first boy, I think. He grabbed a girl's wrist and pulled her back through the mirror." Flashback said. "You get that?" Fallacy tapped him twice on the back of the hand.
"The girl, she was with another child, a boy, younger than her. We have to find him." Fallacy tapped Flashback's wrist and he nodded.
"He wore a hood, I couldn't see his face." Flashback said. "That's all I've got. I'm sorry."
"Let him sit down for a while, until his senses come back." Edgeshot said. Fallacy nodded, taking both of Flashback's hands and guiding him back inside the offices, he stumbled slightly as he was blindly led.
"Edgeshot, I found this boy, Kinoshita Yuki, he says his sister was taken by a man." Katsuki said, Hawks seemed to hear his words and flew over.
"Hawks!" the kid yelled, right next to Katsuki's ear, making him wince.
"Hey there, Fledgling. Where are your parents?"
"There at home. Please, you've got to help me, I have to find my sister." Yuki said, wiggling in Katsuki's grip.
"Hey, why don't we go inside, you can tell me everything that happened, huh?" Hawks said, his voice was playful and excited, clearly trying to make the kid relax. It was the first time Katsuki could see him as a real hero, and not the weirdo that stared at him for a little too long.
"Okay," Yuki nodded. Hawks took a step closer to Katsuki, holding his arms out to take Yuki. Katsuki passed the boy over without a word. Hawks nodded at him. "Thanks Katsuki." The boy called.
"No problem, kid." Katsuki nodded. Hawks at the boy disappeared inside, leaving Katsuki and Edgeshot standing outside and Sleuth coming back towards them. As they stood there, things began to come back on. Car engines spluttered back to life, as billboards flickered on. Sound once again erupted in the city as lights illuminated the streets.
"7 minutes." Sleuth said.
"Well done, Bakugou." Edgeshot nodded. "A witness is invaluable to us right now."
"You'll find his parents, right?"
"Yes, we have his name. We'll be able to find them and reunite them. We'll obviously continue to search for his sister and the other children." Katsuki nodded. "Come on, let's go back inside."
The three of them went back inside, making their way back up into the offices. Hawks and Yuki were in the conference room, Yuki sat on a too big chair, swinging back and forth. Flashback was up and about, his senses having returned, talking to Ezume, who cradled Cashmere.
"You too Katsuki." Flashback said.
"What?"
"I'm sending you both home." Flashback said. "I don't know what's going on here, if that guy is coming back or what. But our systems are completely down, everything has been wiped out. Our security system has gone to shit and I'm not comfortable with having three children on the premises."
"I'm not a child." Katsuki countered.
"You're a teenager still in school. In this instance, you are a child." Flashback said. "I rang Jeanist briefly, and he agrees with me so don't argue, Kohai." Katsuki scowled but said nothing. "Ezume, your father is on his way to pick you up, and as soon as we find that boy's parents, we'll take him home. Katsuki, someone can give you a lift too."
"Don't bother, I'll take the train." Katsuki shrugged. "You need all the people you can get here, and I can look after myself. The station is only, like, five minutes away." Flashback sighed heavily.
"Fine, but you call me as soon as you get to the dorms, okay?"
"Yeah, whatever." Katsuki shrugged. "You want me to go now?"
"Please, Bakugou." Flashback said.
"Whilst I was on the computer, I was talking to this guy—"
"I need to focus on finding the kid's parents, text me about it, okay?"
"Yeah okay." Katsuki nodded.
"You've been a real help today, you're well on your way to becoming a hero in my book." Flashback patted him on his back before heading over to Edgeshot.
Katsuki went over to his desk, packing up his things and handing Ezume the cat carrier for Cashmere. He could help but stare at the blue screen of his computer as it tried to restore itself. Needles, Zipper and Thimble were hopping between them all, trying to get them up and running again.
"Come on Sleuth, you know you've got to save every 15 minutes." Needles sighed as he fiddled with Sleuth's computer.
"Yeah, but you know me, I get into the zone."
"Get out of the zone and click the little floppy disk button every now and then."
Katsuki slung his bag over his shoulder and headed throughout the office. He said goodbye to those he passed and before he knew it he was back out on the street.
He paused for a second, it was as if nothing had happened. People walked about, chatting happily as cars sped by. Horns honked and the hustle and bustle of city life carried on, everyone oblivious to the fact yet another child was missing.
Katsuki scanned the crowds, his eye being drawn to one lone figure on the edge of the shadows. He stood near another alley; hood up and his hands in his pockets. For a second, their eyes met, turquoise blue connecting with vermillion red. Katsuki took a step back as he felt a chill run down his spine.
Dabi.
He blinked, only for a moment, as a van drove past. When he opened them, the villain was nowhere to be seen. Katsuki's chest tightened as he forgot how to breathe. Turning harshly, he hurried towards the train station.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, it took several attempts thanks to the sweat covering his fingers. He unlocked it quickly and dialled a familiar number.
"Please pick up." Katsuki muttered as he pressed the phone against his ear. It rang twice before the call was rejected. What the actual fuck, Eijirou? Katsuki received a text seconds later.
From Eijirou x:
At work. Call in an hour. Busy.
Katsuki scowled at the phone before glancing behind him. Fuck, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't see Dabi either. Had he imagined him? Had he been there at all. Katsuki growled, dialling another number.
"Bakugou-kun, what can I do for you?" A familiar voice answered on the second ring.
"Iida, sorry. Look I didn't know who else to call. Ei didn't answer and Shouto's visiting his mom, and Shinsou is most definitely asleep." Katsuki rambled as he pushed his way through the crowds. "Fuck, you're with Round Cheeks, aren't you? Shit, I'm sorry."
"Yes, I am with Uraraka." Iida said, matter-of-factly. "What's wrong, you sound out of breath?"
"Listen. I've been let out of work early, top secret shit I'm not allowed to talk about right?"
"I understand."
"But on the way out… I think I saw Dabi. Like the burnt one from the League." Katsuki said. "Fuck, he looked right at me. I don't know what to do. I think I lost him, I'm on my way to the train station. But I… I don't want to get kidnapped again. I can't do it again."
"Bakugou-kun, the best thing to do it remain calm. I will remain on the phone with you and if anything does happen I will contact the authorities immediately." Iida said before the phone became slightly muffled, like his was covering the microphone with his hand. Katsuki still heard though. "Uraraka, call Aizawa, tell him Bakugou thinks he's being followed by a member of the League."
"He was fucking here, man. Right across the street. He just deadass stared at me." Katsuki said, his words were coming quick as he tried to breathe in at the same time. "What if he comes at me? I can't use my Quirk in a built-up area."
"Are you at the train station?" Iida asked.
"Not yet, but I can see it." Katsuki said, looking behind him again. "Gods, why am I so scared." Katsuki muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Iida replied anyway.
"Your body was presented with a threat, forcing you into a fight or flight response, It appears you have chosen flight, so all of that extra adrenaline is telling you to run away. Logic and reasoning is telling you to be calm and get to the station. It's confusing your brain and all you're getting is scared."
"That was rhetorical but thanks." Katsuki said, barging through people to get inside the station. "Okay, I'm here. The train leaves in like two minutes."
"Okay, so remain calm and head towards the correct platform." Iida said. "You are most likely safe in such a crowded area. Someone would surely spot Dabi before he could get close to you and they would alert someone with the power to do something."
"You think so?" Katsuki asked.
"Of course I do." Iida said. "I wouldn't lie. It is merely statistics."
"Okay." Katsuki said, weaving his way through people. Thankfully, either the trains had been out of the power cut's range or they had managed to get the trains up and running in rapid time, because there were no delays to Katsuki's train and he was able to get onto it with little fuss. He found a seat quickly and took it.
"I'm on the train." Katsuki said.
"Brilliant. Uraraka and I will meet you at the station and walk back with you." Iida said. "Aizawa-sensei said he can either meet us at the station or the dorms, but he wants to speak to you."
"At the dorms, I just want my cat. I can't imagine Dabi would have managed to get on the train."
"I doubt that too. I would assume you are safe, but I will remain on the phone with you nevertheless. Just to be sure."
"Thanks Iida, sorry if I ruined your study date." Katsuki said.
"We were leaving anyway." Iida replied, Katsuki could tell by the background noise that he had started walking. "You didn't interrupt anything."
"Okay. If you're sure."
Katsuki never thought he'd be relieved to see Iida Tenya, but when he got off that train and saw him standing there, he could have burst into tears. Uraraka stood by his side, with a concerned but determined look on her face, the kind of look that reminded Katsuki of his Auntie Inko.
"Bakugou-kun, it's good to see you." Iida smiled, patting Katsuki on the back.
"You too." Katsuki mumbled, pink tinging his ears as embarrassment crept in. "Sorry again for bothering you. I… I didn't know what else to do."
"It's good to call someone." Uraraka said. "If I'm ever walking alone and feel unsafe, I usually ring my Dad. It makes me feel better and he stays on the line with me until I'm wherever I need to be."
"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea." Katsuki nodded. "I think Mina did that with me once. She just rang me at like 10pm and just asked me to talk to her for a while. She woke me up, but I still did it."
"It just makes everyone feel a little better." Uraraka said as they began to head towards U.A. "I think Kaminari did it with Kyouka once. It was late and we were having a girly sleep over at Momo's house, this was before the dorms. And then Kaminari calls out of the blue."
"Could have done." Katsuki mumbled.
"I too, on occasion, have rang Tensei when I have become unnerved by something." Iida said. "There's not much he could do. Especially now, but it's good to hear someone's voice."
Aizawa was waiting for them at the gates, he was in his workout clothes, hair in a high ponytail. He looked as tired as ever but his concern was still clear.
"Are you hurt?" He asked as soon as they were in range to hear him.
"No." Katsuki replied. "Mainly tired."
"That'll be the adrenaline wearing off." Iida supplied.
"Come on then, let's get you into the dorms. We'll talk there." Aizawa said, Katsuki nodded.
"I would advise you eat and drink something." Iida said.
"Oh, I'll text Momo, she can make you some tea." Uraraka said, pulling out her phone.
"No, I don't want to drink any of her dead flower water." Katsuki groaned. Aizawa snorted but said nothing. "I've got protein bars and water in my room, I'll have that. It's too early for dinner."
"Make sure you eat something." Aizawa replied. Katsuki nodded.
Once inside the dorms, everyone relaxed a little.
"Where do you want to talk?" Aizawa asked.
"My room. Hoshi's there."
"Aww man, Aizawa gets to see your room but I still don't." Uraraka exclaimed. "Unfair."
Katsuki didn't say anything, changing out his shoes for slippers before trudging up the stairs. He didn't wait for Aizawa, knowing the man would easily keep up. When he reached his room he simply pushed the door open and threw his bag at the foot of his bed.
He took off the neckerchief and began to unbutton his shirt. He managed to pull a t-shirt over his head before Aizawa came through the door. Katsuki threw the clothes into the laundry basket before scooping up Hoshi from her pink blanket.
Aizawa looked around the room, a smile on his face.
"Wow. I haven't been able to see what any of you had done with your rooms. This looks amazing." Aizawa said.
"Thanks. Ei did the stars. My Dad designed the cat boxes, I just built them."
"They're brilliant. I've been trying to convince Hizashi to build something like that for years but he won't let me drill anything into the walls." Aizawa said, taking a seat next to Katsuki on the bed, reaching out to pet Hoshi.
"You want to tell me what happened?"
"A case we've been working on, there was a development. Flash didn't like the idea of me and Ezume, Hakamata's nephew, being on the site. So he sent us home. I saw Dabi outside."
"I know you can't tell me anything but is Dabi linked to your case?"
"No. He's been seen around a couple times, but he's never come up in relation to the case. It's always separate reports of him just being around. Transcript thinks he might live in the city or something like that."
"Why'd you call Iida, I didn't think you were that close?" Aizawa asked.
"We're friends." Katsuki shrugged. "Ei didn't answer and I knew Shouto would be with his mom. I don't like ringing Shinsou, because I always seem to wake him up. I wanted someone who wouldn't panic with me. Iida was the logical option."
"Smart choice." Aizawa nodded. "Do you think Dabi was actually there?"
"You think I imagined him?"
"Did you?"
"What the fuck—"
"I'm not asking to doubt you. All I'm saying is clearly today has been a hectic day, are you sure it was him?"
"I… I don't know." Katsuki sighed, resting his head on his palms. "He was there one minute, gone the next. I guess I could have imagined him. But… but he felt so real. I could feel him looking at me."
"So all your instincts told you he was there?"
"Yeah." Katsuki said. "I think. He disappeared so quickly. I only looked away for a second. Do you think I'm going crazy?" he asked quietly.
"No." Aizawa said. "I think you're a 16-year-old with PTSD. Sometimes people hallucinate things. You could have been already anxious so your mind decided to show you something that would make you even more so. It's difficult."
"You don't think he was there?"
"I don't know. I think it's always better to assume yes, he was there, you did the right thing by getting to safety. But I think you should also acknowledge the possibility that he wasn't. If he was, why was he there? What does he want?"
"I don't know. He felt real."
"Then keep an eye out. But remember that you're safe here, okay?" Aizawa placed a hand on Katsuki's spine and rubbed up and down in a soothing manner.
"Yes. Thank you Sensei. I know you probably had better things to be doing." Katsuki said.
"Not really. I was sparring with Midnight. She cheats, always going for the balls." Aizawa snorted. "You probably did me a favour." Katsuki breathed a laugh, barely there and quiet, but enough.
"Get some rest, Katsuki. You sound like you've had a rough day." He said as he got to his feet. He gave Hoshi one last pet before heading to the door.
"Thank you." Katsuki said again and Aizawa nodded.
Once he left Katsuki got up and changed into some sleep pants. He locked his bedroom door and filled Hoshi's bowl with food before getting a bottle of water from his mini fridge. He drained half of it in one go and put it on his bedside table. He then lay on his bed, stroking his idle cat.
He felt like he was going mad, insane even. His brain flipped and flopped, unable to deicide whether or not Dabi had been there or not. The blue in his eyes had been so vivid. The recognition in them striking. It was too much to be made up. But then again, Aizawa was right, what would Dabi want with Katsuki? He'd never been that invested with him when Katsuki had been their captive.
In fact, Dabi ignored him most of the time, except when Shigaraki had wanted him hurt. He'd taken notice of him then. But that was it. Why would he turn up at his work?
He was grateful Iida had picked up the phone. He didn't know what he would have done if he hadn't. It had never crossed his mind to ring a teacher, or his parents. Only classmates had sprung to mind. Realistically, he could have even gone back inside the agency and asked Flashback for that lift after all. Yet his first thought had been to ring Eijirou.
Who didn't answer.
Katsuki was hurt by that. Logically, he knew he was busy. But in that moment, Katsuki had needed him more than ever. And he had been ignored. Katsuki sighed as he ran a hand through Hoshi's fur. Suddenly, his phone rang, making him jump. He looked down. Speak of the devil.
He answered it.
"Hey Kats, sorry I couldn't answer. I was super busy. We had this Villain with an elephant mutation, it was so cool—"
"I needed you." Katsuki said simply.
"I can't drop everything just for you Katsuki. Your work isn't more important than mine. I can't ask a villain to hold on because my boyfriend wants to chat."
"I didn't want to chat, I—"
"Look, why don't we talk when I get back? You're clearly in a foul mood and I don't want to fight."
"Oh fuck you Shitty Hair. Fuck. You." Katsuki growled, hanging up the phone. Hoshi meowed at him and Katsuki sighed.
His phone began to ring again, Eijirou was calling him back. Katsuki snarled at the device, ripping out his hearing aids and fling them onto his drawers. He grabbed the phone and threw it across the room. He thudded against the wall, making Hoshi jump.
Katsuki simply lay down in bed, shaking with anger as he pulled the orange fleece blanket close to him.
Later, when Eijirou knocked on Katsuki's door, unable to get in thanks to the lock, Katsuki couldn't hear him. But it didn't matter. He probably wouldn't have let him in if he had.