THE RED THREAD
Chapter 1: strange sensations
Shinjuku's night sky lit up one more night with a huge explosion as a figure flew over the tall commercial buildings. The sirens of the patrol cars echoed in the silence of the early morning. Katsuki descended to the ground, slowing his fall with explosions of his hands, and weighed the bag that he grasped with his right hand. He put the weight on his back and walked down a dark alley, putting his left hand in one of the pockets of his pants.
In the distance, you could still hear the screams of the police and firefighters, who were surely at that moment fighting to put out the fire that he had caused in the bank to mislead. He showed a crooked smile. Those clumsy bastards could never catch him. He was too fast for them and he always ended up giving them a slip. Not even those stupid heroes were able to stand up to him.
"Tsss… Extras," he murmured.
He kicked a can that bounced several times until it collided with a garbage can. A rat came out of it and hided in a nearby sewer. He laughed. Not even those hideous animals dared to stand in his way. He was beginning to wonder if there really was someone who could stand up to him without making a fool of himself.
He left the alley onto a main avenue making sure there were no patrol cars nearby and walked down the street. He checked his wristwatch to see that it was his favorite time: three thirty in the morning. At that time he could walk quietly down the street without having to push himself against each other to be allowed to pass. Shinjuku had always been a fairly crowded city, but since some of the country's best heroes had settled there, tourism had increased considerably. People flocked to see some of Japan's greatest heroes in action.
He smiled again. What these people didn't know was that most of those idiots had been sent there because of him. The police had been unable to capture him despite the fact that he had been the cause of numerous robberies and altercations in the city. Overwhelmed, she had decided to ask for the collaboration of heroes very well classified in the ranking, hoping that they would be of help. Unfortunately for them, they had not been. It was obvious: he was still free, walking the streets at will.
He was about to turn a corner when he heard a noise behind him. He looked over his shoulder curiously. A few steps away from him stood a masked man of strong build and average height. Another one of those pathetic heroes with their pathetic costumes.
"Are you Bakugo Katsuki?" Asked the hero.
Judging from his voice, which was muffled by the metal shield around his mouth, Katsuki could have assured him that he was young, possibly of a similar age to his own. Through the hood that seemed to simulate strange species of ears, he caught a glimpse of bright green eyes.
"And who the fuck are you?" Katsuki asked.
"You have not answered my question".
"Do I really need to answer that?" He replied with a certain swagger in his voice. The truth was that everyone knew him in that damn city. Anyone could recognize his spiky hair and red eyes anywhere. The only reason why someone would ask something like that would be because ... -. I know. You're a rookie, right?
The masked young man decided to ignore his question and pointed at him with his index finger.
—Bakugo Katsuki, you are under arrest for robbery, public disorder and damage to public property.
Katsuki raised an eyebrow and started clapping with a crooked smile.
"Wow, fucking awesome, nerd!" You know all the charges. However, you must be either very unconscious or very stupid to believe that I will surrender without resistance. Are you sure you want me to kick your ass? I would not like your stay in Shinjuku to begin in such a bumpy way.
He exaggerated an extremely sweet and mocking tone. The hero clenched his fists and Katsuki inwardly celebrated his reaction. He always managed to piss off these clowns.
"That will not happen!" The hero exclaimed as he threw himself at him.
"You, moron".
Katsuki pulled his left hand out of his pocket and pointed towards the young man who was approaching at him at high speed. From the palm of his hand came a controlled explosion that would be more than enough to hold that rookie. A cloud of black smoke clouded the mission for a few seconds. He decided that he would give his opponent a chance and retreat before he had a chance to attack again. He turned, ready to leave, when he felt a change in the air above his head. He turned his gaze to the sky and his eyes widened when he saw that the hooded young man had avoided his explosion by floating above him.
"A quirk that lets you float, eh?" Katsuki muttered. "And how will that gift help you stopping me, nerd?"
He once more pointed the palm of his hand at the young man, but before he could launch his attack, the hero pointed his right hand at him in turn. His index finger was flexed and resting on his thumb as if he wanted to hit a marble.
"Smash!" He exclaimed, pushing his finger forward.
A superhuman force dragged Katsuki back several meters, causing him to drop the bag with the money so that he could stop his body by placing both hands on the ground. The blonde cursed as he wiped his hands on his pants.
"Got more than one fucking quirk?" he asked himself.
His gaze flicked to the loot he had been forced to drop, and he saw his opponent gaze upon it as well. He sprinted toward the bag. He was about to catch up with it when some kind of black whip gripped the bag tightly and shot it out of range. The hero took it and positioned it behind his back as the black whip made its way back to his right arm. Katsuki screamed in exasperation. How many quirks did that jerk possess?
He lunged at him with his hands ready to unleash all his explosive fury. The masked man settled back into a position with slightly bent legs and outstretched arms, ready to launch another attack.
"Die!" Katsuki yelled, launching increasingly emotional and less controlled explosions.
"Smash!" Exclaimed his rival.
This time, both were propelled several meters back. Katsuki's explosions had shattered the right half of the hero's hood, revealing a green curly hair. The Smash, meanwhile, had hit the villain squarely, bruising his arms and leaving his black T-shirt in tatters. They both charged back against the other one. This time, Katsuki clenched his fists, ready to deliver a blow to his opponent's face that would knock him out of action. He was taller and bigger than him. He was sure that he would knock him down with a single punch if he was capable of reach him. However, the hero dodged the blow by ducking very quickly and kicked him in the ribs. The blow left Katsuki breathless momentarily. He put his hand where he had been hit and roared in frustration.
"Who the hell are you ?!" He asked before returning to action.
"My hero name is Deku," he replied, dodging Katsuki's blows again.
Deku ...
Katsuki frowned.
"You're going to regret sticking your stupid nose into where it doesn't belong!" he roared, launching another attack.
In this case, Deku received the blast head-on, slowing the impact with his forearms. The sleeves of his suit were turned to ashes in a few seconds. His expression twisted in pain as the explosion burned his skin. Katsuki raised his hands again to attack, but suddenly a blinding light illuminated him from the sky. The sound of a helicopter propeller drowned out the sirens of the police cars heading there.
"Bakugo Katsuki, surrender without resistance!" You are surrounded!" A voice spoke from the helicopter through a megaphone.
Sure enough, he was surrounded. In just seconds, several squad cars had arrived on the scene, blocking all possible exits. All but one: the one that stupid hero was occupying.
"You heard that," Deku told him. "You do not have an escape. You better give up".
Katsuki smirked. That idiot still didn't know him. He didn't know what he was capable of.
"There's always a way out," he said, raising his hand toward the helicopter.
Deku's eyes widened when he understood the villain's intentions.
"Do not do it!" He yelled, but it was too late. Katsuki had launched an explosion directly at the helicopter's propellers. The machine lost control in a matter of seconds and began to spin, plummeting into the void. Deku thrown himself towards the tail of the vehicle without hesitation, using his force to counter the propeller's of. The police chief ordered all units to clear the place in case the helicopter crashed. Katsuki took advantage of the chaos to escape by the path that Deku had left, leaving the bag with the loot forgotten in the floor.
When he got home, it was almost five in the morning and yet several lights were still on in the building. He entered the hall slamming the door behind him and headed for his room. In the downstairs living room there were several colleagues playing cards and drinking. Seeing him arrive, they encouraged him to join the party, but he was definitely not in the mood to put up with those extras.
He took the elevator up to the sixth floor and walked for a long corridor to his room: a large suite with a full-size bed and its own bathroom. On one side of the room, a comfortable four-seater sofa was directed to an 80-inch television. He kicked off his shoes with his own feet and walked across the carpeted floor to the bed. Before lying down, he took off his shirt and put it in the trash can.
The mattress molded to his body as soon as he dropped onto it. He put his hands to his head and tugged at his blond hair angrily. It was the first time in a long time that a robbery didn't turn out his way; the first time in a long time that a hero had been able to stand up to him the way this Deku had.
Deku…
His name was strangely familiar. He reached out and reached for the Tablet that rested on one of the nightstands. He opened the search engine and typed the name "Deku" into it. Soon, the server was filled with news that mentioned the aforementioned hero. He opened the first one and read over it:
«Deku, the young promise of Japanese heroism, reached the 19th position in the ranking of best heroes last Thursday, June 2. With just 20 years old, this young man has been climbing positions at a dizzying pace until he is among the best twenty heroes in the country.
One photo showed the young man in the same uniform he had seen that night. This time too, his face was covered by that ridiculous hood and mouth guard. Further down, there was a second photo showing his face. It was a bad photograph taken from afar as the hero soared through the skies with his float power. He was about to open it when a knock sounded on his door. He turned off the tablet and tucked it under the pillow.
The door creaked open and a man in his fifties with gray hair and a strong build entered. Despite the hour, he was still dressed in an elegant black suit trimmed with a maroon tie.
"I see you're coming back empty-handed," he commented in his deep voice.
"Good observer," Katsuki replied wryly.
"Something has happened?"
"Things got a bit complicated and I had to leave behind what I had stolen."
"Should I be worry? It is the first time that you do not fulfill one of the missions that I send you."
"Easy," Daddy, "he replied with a tinkle in his voice. It will not happen again. It was just… a miscalculation.
"I hope so. I'll let you sleep. I don't want the lack of sleep to affect your performance."
"Then don't come visit me at five in the morning, you crazy old man."
The man closed the door behind him, ignoring Katsuki's disrespectful comment. The young man grunted and got out of bed to go to the bathroom. The shower tray was almost as big as her bed and was lined with a transparent screen with silver trim. He turned on the hot water tap, dropped his pants into the laundry basket, and stepped under the stream. He selected a different option on the control panel and the water began to fall directly from the roof like rain. The steam soon caught on the glass of the partition and flooded the room. The water boiled on his skin, just the way he liked it. Really hot to make him forget the shitty day he'd had. Very hot so that it would relax his muscles and allow him to rest properly the few hours that were left until dawn.
That night, he dreamed of a boy. A boy who called him in a particular way. He couldn't see his face. He could only see his silhouette outlined in the shadows. And he called him… over and over again. He asked who he was, but the young man never answered. He only spoke his name.
Kacchan…
Kacchan…
The next morning he slipped into the first jeans he could find, put on a random T-shirt, and pulled on a hooded sweatshirt to walk down the street without being recognized. He put on sunglasses and went out on an empty stomach. He stopped at a store and paid like any other citizen for a bitter coffee and a cream pie that he ate as he moved through the crowded city. He took the train to avoid arousing suspicion and got off three stops later. He walked toward a little-traveled area and entered some lonely alleys that led to a discreet and dilapidated house. He pounded on the door with a clenched fist and waited for an answer from within.
"Who is it?" Asked a man's voice.
"It's the police, asshole! We come to requisition your porn movies!"
The door was slowly ajar, and through the crack he could glimpse an eye hidden behind bottle-butt glasses. The man sighed when he recognized his visitor and opened the door. He was about thirty years old. Extremely tall and fucking fat: that was Katsuki's description of anyone who asked him about Chaos, whose real name no one knew.
"Damn it, Bakugo! You almost scared me to death "Chaos spat, letting him pass. You haven't come to see me for a long time. Where have you been?
"Tsss, you know. From here to there." he answered as he entered a little lightened house that was also so messy that it was easy to guess the reason for its owner's name.
"You are a fucking mess. You sure have your used boxers lying around".
"You can be calm. I just put those in a washing machine" he assured.
They walked to Chaos's room. Katsuki would have defined it as an alternate space where nothing made sense and everything was disturbing. The shelves were littered with strange collectors' items (a wooden eye floating in formaldehyde, sharp fangs….). Some comics here and there, action figures and posters that included symbols that he couldn't tell if they were satanic or part of some strange fictional series.
Chaos pointed to a sofa next to the computer table where Chaos used to spend most of his time.
"Sit down if you want."
Katsuki looked suspiciously at the grimy upholstery of the sofa and declined the offer.
"Who knows what you do there."
Chaos shrugged and took a seat in his desk chair.
"As you like. So tell me, what brings you here?"
"I need you to look up some information about a guy," he explained, leaning back on the desk with his arms crossed.
"A guy?"
"A hero" he specified.
Chaos raised an eyebrow.
"A hero!" He laughed. "What that poor bastard has done to you?"
"Stick his nose where it doesn't belong."
"Well, he doesn't know what he has done" he commented amusedly, before pouncing on the keyboard and typing in various codes. "Tell me his name".
"Deku," Katsuki muttered.
"Deku… The truth is that it sounds familiar to me."
He entered his name in the search engine of a page with a black background and green letters where everything was symbols, strange letters and codes of different types. For a moment, his fingers merged with the computer keys. A bluish color ran through the veins of his hands and entered the innards of the computer. The screen was filled with numbers that danced in the dark background and seconds later the information of the young man they were looking for appeared along with a photo of his face. The upper right corner of the website displayed the Shinjuku Police Badge.
"There you have it: Midoriya Izuku." He scrolled down with the mouse, his gaze flicking over the most relevant information. "20 years. Graduated with honors from the UA of Musutafu. It seems to be quite a promise. Since he began working as a professional hero, he has been climbing the ranks without stopping. In the past month, he went from 35th to 24th. Not bad at all."
Chaos talked and talked, commenting on the hero's amazing abilities, but Katsuki couldn't help but stare at the photograph in the upper left corner of the screen. Those green eyes, that curly hair, those freckles… he was sure he'd seen that boy somewhere else.
"Anything about his quirks?" he asks.
"Quirks?" Chaos repeated.
"Yes, that son of a bitch has several of it."
"Mention only one: One for all."
"One for all?" Katsuki repeated. "What the hell is that?"
"Who knows. Maybe with a little more time, I could look into it" suggested Chaos.
"Nah, it doesn't matter. I'll find out for myself. Do you know where I can find that idiot?
"Let me access his patrol schedule… Here it is… Ha! You won't believe where he is right now.
Katsuki leaned over the desk to read the address he had written on the guards and patrols dial. Her eyes widened and she ran out of the room.
"You're welcome!" Chaos exclaimed, returning to his work.
Katsuki returned to the street completely forgetting to put on his sunglasses and hood. Every step he took, everyone followed him with their eyes, but he had more important things in mind to worry about. If what the dial said was true, Deku should be with a partner a few blocks away. He used his powers to go through the streets as quickly as possible, running down from time to time a clueless pedestrian who crossed his path and finally reached the area indicated by the time.
Once there, he decided to put on his hood so he could follow Deku in case he found him. It wasn't long before he glimpsed in the distance the young man in his ridiculous costume along with another hero in an even more ridiculous outfit. His mask was down and hanging around his neck, and he spoke quietly to the other young man as they walked down the street.
Katsuki left enough space between him and them to make sure they didn't see him, but tried not to lose sight of them for an instant. They turned right onto a street and Katsuki waited patiently at the corner until they had moved a few steps away. Suddenly, a mobile phone rang. Izuku stopped and took the device out of his pants pocket. He checked who was calling him and motioned for his partner to go ahead without him. Katsuki approached discreetly and took out his own phone. When he was close enough to hear the conversation, he leaned against the wall of a nearby building and pretended to see something on the screen of his device.
"Uraraka-san, how nice to talk to you!"
Katsuki's heart raced. That voice ... Where had he heard that voice?
"I wanted to know how you were doing at your new job, Deku-kun!"
"Very well. My new colleagues are very nice to me. They are treating me very well."
That soft tone, that warmth when he spoke… He was sure. He had heard that voice before. But why? Why was his heart racing like that to the point where he couldn't breathe? He put his hand to his chest, trying to calm himself. He took a breath and blew it out slowly. What was happening to him?
"And the new house?"
"It's very pretty and bright, but right now it's a mess. I have asked for a couple of days off work next week to get everything in order."
Katsuki glanced at the young man. Once again, that unruly hair, those bright eyes, that freckled face… they were so familiar. How did he know that boy?
"I'm glad that everything is going well. Have you already had the opportunity to face that villain they called you for?"
Katsuki frowned assuming it was him they were talking about.
"Yeah, last night. I was able to get back what he had stolen, but at the last moment he got away. He seems to be very elusive.
"Is he as imposing as he is painted?"
Deku laughed sweetly.
"Well, you won't believe it, but he's a boy our age. When they explained the situation to me, I thought it was someone older. He was quite a bit taller than me and very strong. Yes, he intimidates a little. Oh, and he is very loud!" The girl laughed and Izuku did the same. "It almost made me deaf."
"I'm glad you're taking it with humor" the young woman commented. "When you announced to us that you were being sent to Shinjuku to capture a dangerous criminal, I was a little scared for you."
"I'm fine, Uraraka-san. What's more…"
"What?"
"It will seem silly to you" he warned with a shy smile.
"What, Deku-kun?"
"Well… when I fought him, I had a strange feeling."
"What kind of feeling?"
"A feeling like ... I don't know ... It was like I knew him before. Perhaps that is why I was not afraid at any time."
Katsuki's eyes widened and his heart raced again until it hurt inside his chest. He put his cell phone in his pocket and got away from there as soon as possible. Suddenly he felt nauseous, an inexplicable feeling in his body. His mouth had gone dry and his hands were shaking. He went into a store and bought a bottle of water, which he drained in just a few seconds. Afterward, he used his power to get home as quickly as possible.
He went straight through one of the windows in his room so he wouldn't have to deal with anyone, but it looked like he wasn't going to be that lucky. As soon as he arrived, the door opened and the man who had visited him the night before re-entered. That damn guy seemed to have a sixth sense that detected when Katsuki was in the building.
"What do you want now, Arata?" he snapped, his eyes red and her breathing altered. Now I'm not in the mood.
"I can see it" Arata commented. "But I could assure from your appearance that what happens to you is not only a temporary bad mood. You seem… desperate."
Katsuki clenched his fists, sat on the edge of the bed and put his hands to his head.
"It's none of your business," he growled.
"It is if it affects your work," he remarked in a serious, almost dangerous tone, "and judging from last night's result, it does."
"I don't know what's wrong with me, okay?" He muttered. His tone was a mixture of anger and sadness. "I don't know what has me like this."
Arata approached him solemnly until he was right in front of his protege. He placed his hand on Katsuki's spiky hair and stroked it almost tenderly.
"Maybe if you tell me…" he suggested.
"I have a strange feeling," the young man explained without removing his mentor and boss's hand from his head even though the mere contact repulsed him. "As if I had forgotten something important ..."
"I understand," Arata replied. An almost imperceptible glow emerged from the palm of the hand that was still on Katsuki's hea. It lasted only a few seconds, then dissapeared. "I think I've made you work too hard lately. Maybe you are just tired. I'll give you a few days off next week so you can rest. But for now, why don't you get some sleep? You will see that when you get up, you will feel much better."
"I'm not sleepy," the boy countered even though his eyes were starting to close against his will.
"Are you sure? I'd say you barely slept a few hours last night. Come on, it'll do you good."
Arata's voice grew farther and farther away. He did not know when he stopped hearing it and lost himself in the world of dreams. When he woke up, the sun had almost set on the horizon, and just as Arata had said, he was feeling much better. He no longer felt nauseous or shaky. His throat was not dry, nor was his heart pounding at the thought of this Deku guy. Maybe it was because he no longer felt the feeling that he knew him from before.
To be continued…