CW: blood, gore, violence, torture, death, manga spoilers
The reaction was almost immediate. As soon as his brain processed the words written on the window he started to shake. Her palms were suddenly sweaty, and his entire body felt warm. He throat was dry, his tongue like sandpaper in his mouth. Next to him Flashback and Fallacy appeared as equally frozen.
Until they suddenly weren't. Both of them leapt forwards simultaneously, pushing at the glass door, momentarily leaving Katsuki behind. The door was already unlocked as the sidekicks burst into the foyer of Genius Office. Katsuki wished he'd waited outside.
The floor was stained red with pools of congealed blood, brownish stains up the wall like the liquid had sprayed everywhere. Red footprints and drag marks lead to the door.
Two bodies were in the reception.
Seiichi sobbed underneath his bed, clutching his button close to his chest. Tears made tracks in the blood staining his face, but he didn't notice. His hands felt tacky with the dried substance but again, he didn't care.
"Seiichi-chan, come out." Roku called softly. "You can't hide, you're all dirty."
"Leave me alone." Seiichi whimpered.
"What happened?"
People shouting, choking gasps filled with moisture. Hot liquid splattering against his cheeks. Sir's hand was slippery when he had grabbed him. Getting red all over him.
"Close your eyes, if you can't handle it." Sir had grunted. But that didn't stop the sounds or the steady drip, drip of blood falling from his chin.
Seiichi curled in around himself, only crying harder.
There was movement behind him as Roku climbed underneath the bed, wrapping an arm around his waist, pulling him close.
"You don't have to be alone."
"It's always me." Seiichi said. "Why's it always me?"
"Because of your Quirk?" Roku said. "He likes moving around. He wants me to fight against the heroes when they come?"
"Will you?" Seiichi asked.
"I don't know. Sir says the heroes are bad." Roku said.
"How are they? He's the one who took us?"
"I don't know. I hope they're good." Roku said. "When you came and got me I was with my brother. I hope good heroes found him and took him back to Mommy and Daddy."
"I hope so too." Seiichi replied in a small voice. "I want to go to sleep now."
"I'll keep you safe." Roku said, pulling a blanket off of the bed and awkwardly wrapping it around Seiichi underneath. He didn't point out how there was no such thing as safety, not when people like Sir existed.
Katsuki's legs shook as he took a step further into the room. Flashback and Fallacy were braver than he was, each rushing towards one of their fallen friends. Flashback didn't seem to care he was kneeling in a pool of blood, the liquid soaking through his jeans, cold and sticky.
Everything, truly everything, was stained red. The white of Thimble's desk was covered in splatters and splotches. The leaves of the monstera deliciosa plant was dripping a pool onto the floor. It took a long time for recognition to kick in.
Thimble and Needles.
Flashback let out a whine as he rested his head on Teruo's forever still chest. Katsuki could see what had killed the man, one long hard slice through his throat. His windpipe and vocal cords savaged by a blade. His white shirt was soaked through with his blood, his face frozen in shock, his eyes half open.
"Bakugou call an ambulance. Thim's still alive." Fallacy called, but Katsuki didn't move. "Katsuki!"
"What?" Katsuki turned to face her, wishing he hadn't. A knife was sticking out of Thimble's shoulder, steadily oozing blood. The blade had lodged into the bone, Katsuki learnt later, getting stuck and preventing further attack. His phone was next to him, dead and covered in blood, as if Thimble had attempted to ring someone before losing consciousness.
"Call an ambulance." Katsuki fumbled for his phone, dialling 119 immediately.
"What do I say?"
"Give it here, you press down on the wound, don't take out the knife." She took his phone with bloodied fingers in time for the operator to answer. He knelt down besides Thimble, trying, and failing to avoid the blood. He pressed his hands against the wound, immediately becoming coated with blood as he tried to convince himself Thimble was sleeping
Fallacy's frantic rattling off of details blended with Flashback's sobbing, wet squelches filled Katsuki's ears along with Thimble's laboured breathing. Tears burned in his eyes and without permission they fell onto Thimble's chest.
He didn't know how long he knelt over Thimble, applying pressure to his wound. But eventually he was pushed back by a paramedic. Fallacy stood on shaky feet as they began to work. Katsuki tried to follow, but he stumbled falling on to his hands and knees.
When Higuchi Teruo was pronounced dead on arrival, Flashback wailed, clutching on to Needles' lifeless body, fabric fisted in his hands. Katsuki thought for a moment, and only a brief moment, about the man's wife, his children. They'd never see him again.
Katsuki whined. Pushing himself back so he was pressed against the wall. He brought his knees up to his chest and left his blood-stained hands dangling free. He leant his head on his knees and he started to cry in earnest.
Dabi was sat on the hood of his car, idly flicking through his phone. Well, he said his car, and it technically was now. But it hadn't always been. But a quick paint job and new number plates, it looked like an entirely new car.
"Tenko, get your ass out here."
"Do I have to come?" he asked, moving out of their secret base and into the bright light of the winter morning.
"Yes, we're meeting Shouto in half an hour."
"Touya, I'm sure your brother is lovely and you're going to have a wonderful time. But why do I have to come?"
"You like Shouto." Dabi frowned.
"Yeah but Twice and I just got to level 90 of Bubble Bobble. There's only ten more left."
"Ten you can do when we get home. Now get that ass into the car." Tenko scowled at Touya's words.
"I liked you better when you were trying to burn me."
"That can be arranged, Love, if you're into that."
"Gross." Tenko wrinkled his nose as he got into the front passenger side whilst Dabi got into the driver's seat.
"What you not into kinky shit?"
"What the hell happened to this car?" Tenko said, changing the subject, there were several large dents all over the body of the vehicle and the inside looked worse than any bin Tenko had ever seen.
"I don't know, Spinner uses it the most, but I don't go out with him. His driving makes me feel sick."
"Everything makes you feel sick."
"I have a weak constitution." Dabi said in his best Endeavour impression.
"Idiot." Tenko shook his head.
"You love me though, right?" Tenko rolled his eyes, leaning across the centre console, pressing his chapped lips against Dabi's scared ones.
"Unfortunately."
"Ditto." Touya snorted, starting the car. "You feeling okay?"
"You don't have to keep asking me that." Tenko said. "I'm fine."
"You were in a weird comma for months getting god knows what pumped inside of you." Dabi stated.
"True. But I feel fine." Tenko shrugged. "I don't remember much of being under. Just a lot of dreams about when I was little. But like good dreams, none of my Dad. But like my Mom, my Grandparents and Hana were all calling for me to come with them."
"And did you?"
"Hm?"
"Did you go with them?"
"It was just a dream Touya."
"I'd go." Dabi said. "With my Mom and siblings."
"I did." Tenko said, resting his head on the window, the glass cool against his scalp. "It was nice, I miss them."
"It was an accident, Tenko."
"I know but it makes me feel weird. Like I'd blocked out most of my memories of them. I… I didn't remember what happened to them… not for a while at least." Tenko shrugged. "It doesn't matter, they're dead, and there's nothing that can be done about that."
"We have a new family though, right? Me, you, Toga, Twice, Mister, Spinner?"
"Yeah. We're a family." Tenko said. "Come on, let's get going. I can't believe you're making me spend hours with cats. You know I'm a dog person."
Katsuki clutched the porcelain bowl of the toilet with a loose grip. His entire face was sweaty, his stomach flipped uneasily. Every time he caught scent of the rusty metallic tang of the blood he would heave again, he had long since thrown up everything he could, and was now forced to continue dry heaving.
Thimble's blood covered his hands, crusting under his nails. It was in his hair, it was everywhere. Katsuki let out another whine of distress as a fresh wave of tears came. His heart hurt, Teruo had been a friend. Maybe they hadn't been exactly close but Katsuki knew he could always turn to the man.
Needles had stuck up for him when Hawks had been a jerk. He'd helped him learn the Genius systems and had always been a friendly face around the office. A face Katsuki would never see smiling again. He was Tsunagu's childhood friend, he'd be distraught when he found out.
"Kouhai?" Junichi's voice called. "Are you in the stall?" Katsuki whimpered again. "Kameko has gone to the hospital with Raiden."
"Is he going to be okay?" Katsuki asked, his voice hoarse.
"I don't know." Junichi replied. "The police are here, they're checking the scene and now they're taking evidence and shit."
"It was Pulse. You know it was Pulse." Katsuki mumbled.
"Yeah, but the police need evidence."
"Is Teruo still here?"
"No." Junichi said softly. "They've taken him to the coroners."
"This shouldn't have happened." Katsuki said, gagging again.
"Katsuki, come out here." Katsuki nodded to himself. He stood on shaky feet, flushing the toilet and unlocking the door. He went to sink immediately, rinsing out his mouth, spitting into the sink. Junichi rubbed his back. "Are you okay?"
"I've just… I've never seen anything like that before." Katsuki said, Junichi pulled him into a hug.
"Of course you haven't." Junichi sighed. "I'm sorry it had to be like this."
"What about his family?"
"I called Buttons. She's going to tell them. She's friends with Mimi."
"Teruo's wife?"
"Yeah."
"What about Tsunagu?"
"He didn't answer his phone. I got through to everyone else. I called Tsunagu's brother, so he wouldn't bring Bobbins, so he's going to go over to Tsunagu's apartment."
"What about Hawks?" Katsuki asked.
"He didn't answer either. But he's most likely asleep." Flashback shrugged. "They probably both overslept." Katsuki nuzzled into Flashback's chest.
"What do we do now?"
Shouta portioned out raw food for his cats. There was a hollow feeling in his chest at the lack of a fourth bowl. He knew it was silly. It had been almost a month since they'd had to put Sora to sleep. And he was over it mostly. Well, over it was the wrong term. He'd never be over it. But the loss wasn't as crippling.
But it would hit him suddenly, he half expected to wake up with his black and white baby curled up on his chest. But that would never happen again. He sighed as Sponge leapt up onto the counter, trying to eat the food as Shouta put it in the bowl.
"Move, you silly boy." Shouta said, pushing him back. Sponge meowed in protest.
"But he's hungry." Asami said from him other side of the kitchen.
"We're all hungry. He can wait." Shouta said, moving the three bowls to a mat on the floor. Chamomile, Macha and Sponge leapt towards the food.
"Well if you'd gotten up earlier, I would have made breakfast earlier." Asami said.
"Mom, give me a break, I had patrol until three, I'm allowed to sleep in on my day off."
"It's not like you always go straight to sleep." Asami said, her tone teasing.
"Mother, I'm allowed to have sex with my partner of 15 years." Shouta said, turning to face her as he washed and tried his hands. "You walked in, that's not my fault."
"I know you can. There's nothing wrong with being in a sexual relationship with the person you're married to." Asami laughed. "I just wanted to check you were okay, I wasn't expecting to see that."
"Just forget you saw it then." Shouta blushed.
"I can't wait to tell your sister. She always said you were a bottom."
"Mom." Shouta said, grabbing the nearest thing and throwing it at her.
"Aizawa-Yamada Shouta, don't you throw a fucking cheese grater at me." Asami said, smacking him on the backside of head.
"Don't tell her then." Shouta scowled.
Footsteps ran down the corridor and Eri soon came into view. She ran straight to Shouta with her arms outstretched, he picked her up.
"Daddy, Papa wants coffee." She said, slightly out of breath.
"Oh he does, does he?" Shouta smiled.
"Yep. He said you won't let him get out of bed." Eri said.
"Well I don't want him falling down the stairs." Shouta said. "Do you?"
"Nope." Eri said. "Grandma, can I have apple juice please?"
"Yes sweetheart, of course." Eri nestled her head on Shouta's shoulder.
Still carrying his daughter, Shouta started to make his husband coffee. He made it to his liking before heading upstairs. Hizashi was sat in bed, his glasses on but he was still under the covers. Shouta handed his husband the mug, putting Eri on the bed. Shouta leant forwards, kissing Hizashi chastely.
"Thank you." Hizashi said. "Babe, did you know we're trending on Twitter?"
"Why?" Shouta sighed.
"Something about us being some of the only openly queer heroes. Which I don't think is true…" Hizashi trailed off. "But now I say it I can't think of anyone."
"I guess heroes don't really talk about sexuality and stuff." Shouta shrugged, settling on the bed next to Hizashi as Eri sat between them, cuddling into Hizashi's side. He kissed her head, wrapping his arm around his daughter.
"I suppose so." Hizashi said.
"Grandma's making eggs." Eri said, looking up at Hizashi.
"Yeah? You like eggs, right?"
"Yeah." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Yours are better though."
"Grandma's are nice though."
"Yeah." Eri said, nuzzling into his side. Eri had settled in with them quiet well. She wasn't as shy about asking for physical affection, she liked kisses and cuddles, holding hands and being carried. Whenever she was sat with them, she'd try to climb on to one of their laps or snuggle up next to them.
Shouta's work phone buzzed on the dresser. Hizashi's work phone did the same, Eri mimicked the sound, making Hizashi laugh as he squeezed her. Shouta picked up his phone, assuming it was just a message from the hero chat.
The Hero Network:
Edgeshot:
Does anyone know what's going down at Genius? Best Jeanist.
Miruko:
What's going on?
Edgeshot:
I don't know. There was an ambulance there and now the police are there.
Miruko:
Go over.
Edgeshot:
I did. Police just told me to move along, that there was no need for a hero?
They just removed a body.
Gang Orca:
A body? Do you know the identity?
Edgeshot:
No, but they looked too short to be Jeanist.
Eraserhead:
Edgeshot do you know if Bakugou is there? He was picked up this morning by one of Jeanist's sidekicks.
Edgeshot:
I don't know
Shouta went over to the tracking app on his phone, opening it and looking at the locations of his students. Only two of them were off campus, Todoroki, who was making his way to the cat café he frequented, and Bakugou, who's location was registering as at Genius Agency.
"Fucking hell." Shouta muttered under his breath, going back over to the chat.
"Shouta." Hizashi said, shocked, gesturing towards Eri.
"Read the chat."
Eraserhead:
His tracking bracelet is showing he's there. Please keep an eye out. I'm on my way.
Edgeshot:
I don't think the police will let you in.
Eraserhead:
Until I hear from Best Jeanist, I'm the closest thing Bakugou has to a guardian. I'd like to see them try to stop me.
Katsuki and Flashback moved back into the foyer, tyring not too look at the pools of blood. Flashback took his hand and squeezed it, Katsuki looked up at him. The sidekick's eyes were red and swollen, shining with more tears.
"Flashback." Detective Naomasa approached carefully. "We're done with the scene."
"Okay thank you." Flashback said.
"We found some prints, we'll rush them for you. But you said you already know the villain that's done this?"
"We believe it was down to a villain called Pulse. He's been taunting us a while." Flashback said.
"Have you been able to contact Best Jeanist?"
"I left a message telling him to call me back but nothing yet." As the words left Flashback's mouth his phone rang. He took it out. "It's Hawks. They live together." Flashback said, answering.
"Flash." Hawks said as soon as he answered. "Tsunagu's brother just told me what happened. Is it true? Higuchi is dead?"
"Yeah." Flashback said. "Someone broke in… We think Pulse."
"I'll be there in ten."
"Wait, is Tsunagu with you?"
"No?" Hawks said. "He's not with you?"
"No." Flashback said.
"He said he was going to see if he could get Cashmere in at the vets for a check-up. I can't see him, so maybe Tsunagu is there?" Hawks said.
"Okay, thank you." Flashback said. "See you soon." He hung up, turning back to the detective. "Hawks thinks Jeanist had gone to the vets with his cat. Which would explain why he hasn't been answering his phone."
"Alright then, he should be here eventually then?"
"Technically his shift doesn't start for another 20 minutes." Flashback nodded.
"I'll wait then. Would you like me to order a clean-up?"
"You have everything you need?"
"Yes, we have pictures and samples." The detective said.
"Then please order a clean-up. I don't think Ezume will show up, his father agreed to keep him away, but if he does, I really don't want him to see this."
"Of course." The detective said, stepping away to make a call. Katsuki leant on Flashback's shoulder. The sidekick wrapped his arm around the teen. The stood, both staring at the pool of blood on the floor, right where Needles had lay.
They looked up when Sleuth walked in. The woman came in looking furious, but she slowed to a stop when she saw the blood. Her eyes followed the splattering up the wall. She clenched her fists by her side, taking a large stuttering breath in.
"We're going to make this bastard pay, right?" She asked.
"As soon as Tsunagu comes in, we'll destroy him." Flashback said. Sleuth navigated her way through the pools of blood, approaching her friends.
"You okay, kid?" She asked.
"I'm not the one who was murdered, or stabbed." Katsuki said.
"Any word on Raiden?"
"Fallacy went in the ambulance with him. She text, he's gone into surgery." Flashback said.
"Okay." Sleuth nodded. "What about the others?"
"Ozuru, Ren and Takami are on the way. We have no idea where Tsunagu is. Takami thinks he's gone to the vets."
"Okay." Sleuth nodded. "Have you used your Quirk to see what happened?"
"I was waiting for everyone to arrive. CCTV is completely fried." Flashback said. "I didn't want to be deaf and blind, leaving Katsuki to deal with the police."
"Understandable." Sleuth nodded.
"Excuse me." The three of them turned around to see the police officer, Sansa. "Does this little guy belong to any of you?"
Katsuki's heart sunk at the sight. There, curled up in Sansa's arms was the bloodstained body of Cashmere.
"Is he dead?" Katsuki asked bluntly.
"No." Sansa shook his head, the bell on his collar jingling. "It's not his blood. He's just scared."
"Can I?" Katsuki held his arms open. Sansa passed Cashmere over to Katsuki. The cat dug his claws into Katsuki's shirt as soon as he was in his arms. Katsuki stroked his hand down Cashmere's body, down his tail. "Tsunagu wouldn't have left him." Katsuki said.
"Use your Quirk Flash. Find out what fucking happened." Sleuth growled.
"I'm just saying, a jean jacket with a floral pattern would work great for the Spring line." Thimble said, swinging his legs as he sat on top of his desk.
"You've been suggesting that all year, give it up Raiden." Needles laughed, he had paused hallway across the room to look back at his co-worker, between the desk and the door.
"We already have a floral-patterned jean jacket." Jeanist replied, cradling Cashmere to his chest.
"No, we have one with roses on it. Roses are so last century. Come on. There are so many beautiful flowers and leaves, you could make amazing patterns."
"I'll think about it." Tsunagu said, putting Cashmere on Thimble's desk.
"Aww if you're doing floral jackets for him you've got to do a tie-dye line for me."
"That's horrific." Tsunagu snorted. "You're lucky I love you, because I might have disowned you for that."
"You can't disown me. We made a pact, remember. Brothers forever." Teruo said.
"Yeah, yeah." Tsunagu laughed. "Brothers forever."
The front door to Genius opened and a man walked inside, holding a small child hand. Tsunagu took a step forwards as he saw the child, he was filthy, and he wore no shoes. It was dark outside, raining heavily, so the two people came in dripping water everywhere.
Needles glanced back at the man, watching as he walked closer to the group. The child limped forwards, stumbling, only being help up by the grip on his wrist.
"Can I help you, Sir?" Tsunagu asked.
"Yes." The man said, he slipped a hand inside his jacket,
Without hesitation he pulled out a knife and sliced through Teruo's unsuspecting neck. Needles gurgled as blood welled up from the wound, dropping down to the floor, gripping his throat. Tsunagu yelled out in shock as the boy started to cry.
The boy was covered in Needles blood, it ran down his face and soaked into his grubby clothes. He took a step back, whining.
"Close your eyes, if you can't handle it." The man snapped.
Thimble moved suddenly, reaching back for the panic button on the underside of his desk but the man was quicker. He leapt towards Thimble, aiming his knife for the younger man's neck. He drove the blade down, but Thimble kicked out at him.
The knife lodged into his shoulder, Thimble cried out in pain but before his attacker could pull the blade out, threads of fabric wrapped around his wrists. Tsunagu pulled hard, yanking the attacker back. Thimble slid down to the floor, gripping his shoulder.
"Kaneko Fudo." Tsunagu growled.
"Oh, so you do know who I am?" Pulse smirked. "You're closer than I thought,"
"You're under arrest." Tsunagu was practically shaking with anger, glancing back at his two friends on the floor.
"No, no, you misunderstand. I'm taking you." Pulse said. "You're going to pay for what you've said about me, what you've taken away from me."
"I've done nothing to you." Tsunagu snarled.
"You have no idea." Pulse snapped, activating his Quirk and making the room go dark.
Tenko rested his head on his folded arms, feeling like a third wheel as Touya and Shouto spoke. He idly played with several sugar packets. His skin itched, that annoying tickle that grew stronger the longer he tried to ignore it. His mind wondered to his mother, loosely remembering the times she would take his hands in her own, before anyone knew how dangerous they were.
She would kiss his dried, scarred skin and lovingly apply moisturiser to his problem areas. She would always stop him from scratching, claiming it would scar worse than it already did. He remembered the white cotton gloves she had gotten for him, stopping him from clawing his skin off. She would always try and distract him, inventing games for him and Hana to play together. He hadn't remembered any of this until recently. He couldn't help but wonder if Sensei had used one of his many Quirks on him. Did All for One have a memory altering Quirk? He didn't know.
His own Quirk felt funny. The itching was under his skin, making him want to claw at his own flesh until he reached bone. He felt like he could hear whispering voices in his ears, making him turn around, expecting to see someone.
"Tenko, Tenko, let's play heroes." He'd hear Hana's voice, a voice he had though he'd long since forgotten. He'd turn around and she'd not be there. Of course she wouldn't be there.
Last night even, or early this morning, he'd been curled up with Touya in bed. Their legs entwined, Touya's head on his chest, sleeping peacefully when he'd been startled awake by a dog barking. He sat up suddenly, shocking Touya who woke up with a groan.
"Mon-chan?" The name fell from Tenko's lips before he had time to think. Of course it wouldn't have been his childhood dog, but he still looked around for him.
"Go back to sleep, Tenko. It was just a dream." Touya had mumbled, coaxing the man back against the pillows. It could have been just a dream, but it had sounded so real. It was frustrating, ever since Sensei had been arrested these memories had been coming back to him, especially since his surgery. He wanted them to stop.
Suddenly the table Tenko was leaning on disappeared. Touya leapt back and Shouto squeaked as Tenko had to stop himself from falling to the floor. The three of them were covered in dust, as was a small three-legged kitten who had been chewing at his shoelace.
Touya and Shouto stared at him, Tenko put his hands up in surrender, confused as to what had happened.
"Tenko, what the fuck?"
"I'm wearing my gloves." Tenko protested, gesturing to the gloves that covered two of his fingers. "How did it even happen? I wasn't even touching the table."
"You were, with one finger." Shouto said. Tenko bent down to pick up the three-legged kitten but stopped at the last minute.
"Can one of you clean that kitten off? I don't want to hurt her." Tenko sighed. Touya bent down, picking up the kitten, dusting it off.
"There we go." Touya cooed to the kitten as Shouto was offering to pay for the damaged- non-existent- table.
"I didn't mean to." Tenko said.
"I know." Touya said. "It was an accident. I get that your Quirk has been weird recently. What were you thinking about? What triggered it?"
"Sensei, and my past. I don't know." Tenko shrugged. "I'm sorry."
"It's just a table."
"It could have been a cat."
"Well, Shouto would have killed you if you hurt a cat." Touya said.
"Who hurt a cat?" Shouto asked, coming back into the conversation.
"No one." Tenko shook his head. "Just a hypothetical thing."
"You ever think of getting a cat? Either of you?" Shouto asked.
"I prefer dogs." Tenko said simply. "He wants a rat."
"Rats are cute." Touya pouted.
"I guess it makes sense, rats are vermin, so are you." Shouto said with a smile.
"You're lucky that there's no table, because I would have thrown it at you." Dabi replied with a scowl. Shouto opened his mouth to reply when Dabi's phone started to ring. "If this is Natsuo again, so help me god. Oh…" Dabi said as he pulled out his phone.
"Who is it?"
"Bakugou?" Dabi said, he answered the phone, putting him on loudspeaker, it's not like the café was busy. "What's up Spitfire?
"You better have Pulse's fucking address Dabi." Bakugou answered, Shouto frowned at the sound of his friend's voice.
"Temper, temper." Touya teased.
"I'm not fucking around Dabi." Katsuki growled.
"Yes I have a possible address. I was going to give it to Shouto today so he could tell you." Dabi replied.
"Come to Genius and give it us now."
"And get arrested, no thanks."
"You won't be arrested Dabi, I fucking need that address."
"What's going on Katsuki?" Shouto asked. Bakugou paused.
"One of my friends is dead, another in the hospital, we don't know if he'll make it or not, and Jeanist has been kidnapped. I'm done playing Pulse's games. I want him gone."
"We'll be right over." Shouto said.
"Thank you." Katsuki said.
"Are you okay?"
"No." and with that Bakugou hung up.
"I guess we're going to Genius then." Dabi sighed.
"If we go, we might be able to join them, go get Giran back. Or at least avenge him if he's dead." Tenko said.
"True." Dabi sighed.
"Let me stop of at UA and get my costume." Shouto said, "Just in case."
"Shouto I—"
"Please Touya. Katsuki's my friend, if he's going after Pulse I'm going with him. He targeted me too in the beginning, remember? It's the whole reason you got involved. Pulse ordered hits on Katsuki's parents, right? He could have easily done the same on Fuyumi and Natsuo, even Mom."
"Ugh fine." Dabi growled. "Fucking puppy dog eyes. Let's get this over with."
"What are you going to do, drive onto UA's fucking campus?" Tenko asked.
"If I have to."
A mixture of tears and blood ran down his cheeks, his arms were stretched back, chained to a metal pipe, probably some kind of plumbing. The cuffs around his wrists blocked his Quirk and the position he was in put pressure on his already damaged lungs.
His denim coat and shirt had been torn from his body revealing his white tank top underneath. Well it had been white, once upon a time. Now it was stained with blood. His own, Raiden's, Teruo's? He didn't know.
A fresh wave of tears over came Tsunagu at the thought of his employees. His friends. He whined, they'd died because of him. He'd asked the two of them to stay a little later to go over the new admin system. If he'd just waited until the morning, they wouldn't have been there. Raiden would have been at home, talking to his plethora of plants, telling them about his day. Teruo would have been at home with his wife and children. Children that would never see their father again.
Tsunagu would never see them again. He'd never have to tell Raiden off for listening to music while he should be working again. Teruo would never again pop into his office and ask if he wanted to grab a drink after work.
"Are you okay?" There was another man here, one Tsunagu didn't recognise, but he assumed from the missing finger that he was the one Katsuki had told him about. The League member who had been kidnapped or something.
"He made me watch as he killed my best friends." Tsunagu replied. Both of their voices were hoarse, neither of them had drunk anything in the past 12 hours, possibly longer.
"That's rough man. You're a hero though right? The one with the denim."
"Yeah." Tsunagu replied.
"So other heroes will come looking for you?"
"I don't know. We had no leads to find where Pulse was hiding."
"I have a tracker. But I don't know if the bastard's Quirk fucked with it or not." The man replied.
"I wasn't wearing mine. I was going home." Tsunagu sighed.
"The name's Giran, by the way. Or at least that's what I go by."
"Hakamata." Tsunagu said.
"Bonding are we, boys? And without me." Pulse was at the top of the stairs leading down into the basement they were being held in. "So very rude."
"Fuck you asshole." Giran snapped.
"Hakata Tsunagu, AKA Best Jeanist, 1005190." Pulse rattled off as he came down the steps one at a time. "You don't know how long I've wanted to get a hold of you."
"Fuck off." Tsunagu said, but his heart wasn't in it. Instead it was shattered into a million tiny pieces, being trodden on by Pulse step by step.
"You kept my Katsuki away from me. You're the reason he stopped talking to me, cut me out of his life. So now you're going to be the reason he comes to me, ready and willing, straight into my home."
"If this is your home, you need a better realter." Giran muttered. Pulse ignored him.
"So I'm bait?"
"The best kind of bait." Pulse said. "He looks up to you, and you control his impulses. He always waits to see how you act, he follows you. Without you there, crushing him with your hierarchy and your morals, he'll be the free spirt he was before."
"Free spirit?"
"Wild and courageous. Even when they had him chained and gagged, he was still fighting. Look at you two, you lost your fight the moment those cuffs went on." Pulse hissed. "He was unstoppable. I knew the moment I saw him, flying through the sky, that he was the one who would make my dream come true."
"What dream?" Tsunagu asked incredulously.
"A dream of a world made free. Free of the stupid constraints of this society. I want a world where everyone can use their Quirks whenever they want. Why should I need a License to use part of me? Huh? Why should people like you get to use your Quirk whenever you want, but if I use mine I automatically become a villain?"
"You became a villain the moment you took a kid." Tsunagu said.
"Katsuki proved the importance of being able to use your Quirk without a License. He saved himself, fought back against the League. By your standards, those actions would be villainous."
"Self-defence is different." Tsunagu said.
"Why did neither of you friends use their Quirks to stop me then?" Pulse cocked hi head to the side.
"Teruo was Quirkless you bastard, and Raiden's wasn't an offensive one."
"Oh that's a shame." Pulse said. "But I suppose if they didn't have powerful Quirks then they were just wastes anyway."
"How dare you, you fucking bastard?" Tsunagu pulled against the restraints, the pipes whined in protest at the movement and Pulse took a step back.
"Maybe my Katsuki has rubbed off on you after all." Pulse said. "You couldn't suppress him without some affect."
"He's not yours. And I didn't supress him, I just taught him how to be a hero."
"How to be a fake." Pulse snapped, punching Tsunagu in the face. The hero's head whipped around with the force of the blow.
"You're delusional, he's a child." Tsunagu said through gritted teeth.
"He will come for you, and he will stay with me." Pulse said in a low voice. "He will become the leader of my army and he will show the word how irrelevant a license is."
"He won't come. You're right, he doesn't have a license, and that means no one would let him come on a raid." Tsunagu said with a smirk. "People will come. But Katsuki won't be one of them. You will lose."
"No I won't." Pulse snapped, lunging towards Tsunagu. The hero didn't know where the knife came from, he hadn't even seen it.
But he definitely felt it when it was plunged into his abdomen.
