My Hero Academia: Katsuki's Secret

Rated M for cursing, trauma, adult themes, and language.

Chapter 5

The air was so heavy with the scent of blood that he could literally taste in on the air as he came to a stop beside a destroyed entrance gate. A cough rose up his burning throat and felt the world stop turning as within the small blaze of fire beside him several droplets of crimson spewed from between his lips to sizzle within the greedy tongues of fire that sought to reach for him. He clutched his shoulder that was screaming with pain. Smoke billowed everywhere he looked from the ruins of buildings and vehicles turned on their hoods, rubble of concrete covered in shards of glass that crunched under his foot as he sprinted towards the UA High.

There, as if waiting for him, was a figure with long flowing hair and duo colored eyes who had a tight hold on the limp figure he instantly recognized as Izuku Midoriya. Surrounding the pair were the fallen members of his classmates and several others who had probably risen to face the threat that was now staring him down with cold emotionless eyes. The heart in his chest clenched painfully as the freckled teen was tossed to join their fallen comrades, landing a short distance from another familiar classmate who wore a pink body suit. And yet she didn't speak a word but her gaze remained fixed on his as he came to a halt several feet from her.

A misstep nearly caused him to trip but he planted his feet firmly upon a slab of concrete. Be it the smoke or the emotions swirling within his chest, he couldn't breathe either way and struggled to relieve the burning of his lungs as several recognizable pro heroes appeared from the school's collapsing building.

Their target: her.

He shook his head as one-by-one she seemed to dance around each attack so as to lay a hand on each hero that resulted in their quirk nearly obliterating their user, until they too had fallen to lay motionless on the ground until he was the only one left. He should be angry at her for causing all of this destruction, for hurting his fellow classmates, but all he felt was shame as if he had failed. The shadow of his bangs fell over his face as she crossed the remaining space to stand inches from his being. "…sorry…" He grunted as her hand took firm hold of his throat, forcing him to his knees with calculated precision of tension to his pressure points until he was seeing dots, eyes threatening to roll back as every cell in his being felt as if they were swelling.

"…help…me…"

He blinked as a water droplet fell from the brown eye to splatter against his cheek, vision clearing just enough for him to see her watering eyes as the statue-like expression of indifference gave way to horror and sorrow. The voice that had just filled his ears was like ripples across a water's surface, causing gentle waves that brought with it visions of a scenic pond surrounded by flowers. "Aurora?"

Her fingers that were around his throat were trembling, as if they wanted to release him yet something was keeping them in place. "…don't…want…"

One of his hands rose to take hold of her wrist but didn't remove himself from her hold. He had no strength to do so, he barely had enough to stay conscious, but he clung to the last string of it as more tears fell from her glaze eyes. The hold she had on his throat threatened to cutoff his chuckle yet it somehow found its way from between her lips. "So he's making you do it, huh?" Blood seeped from between his lips as heat began to bubble from within his core. His quirk was activating but instead of using sweat it was the very blood in his veins that was being used. "Some sort of mind control…right?"

The sadness within her gaze tripled as his hand moved to cup her cheek, catching a few tears on his skin. "…Kat…suki…"

"You finally said my name," he offered a small smile as a light coming from an unknown source caused his vision to blur. "And I finally heard your voice." And the world vanished into white.

With a deep inhale as if he had just been released from a vacuum, Bakugo sat upright while quickly tearing the clothing from his being to toss them against the nearby basket to reveal that every pore on his body was open and oozing sweat profusely. "Damnit," he groaned, raking a hand through his soaked blonde hair while moving towards the window to open it, spotting the body outline in the sheets; he'd have to wash them again. "That's the fourth time this week." The window sill wasn't deep by any means but he managed to maneuver himself within it to lounge in a position so that his back was against one side and a bent leg kept him braced and from falling through, the other foot providing enough weight to keep him balanced inside the room as he gazed up at the dark night sky.

Their class's late night sparring had ended a bit earlier than usual due to the fact that they all had upcoming exams and papers due in the morning but that hadn't stopped a few from continuing their private activities. Several have come a long way in just a week, Uraraka and Mina being the first to come to mind, yet that same dream kept haunting him as if warning him that it wasn't enough.

Maybe it never would be.

Stop it! He shook his head. Doubting everyone's efforts was not going to help one bit! Keep it together!

The breath in his chest caught as the glaze of her eyes in the dream rose to the forefront of his mind combined with that he saw when with Hawks. It's couldn't just be a coincidence that they matched, that unfocused way her eyes seemed to blindly meet his at first. Almost as if she was hypnotized or something but the tears she'd shed were genuine despite that weird slack expression on her face. Blood pounded in his ears. Or was it possible?!

Bakugo practically sprinted down the hallway until he came to a sliding halt at a door, his fist banging against once loudly that it probably woke the entire dorm but he didn't care. "Deku! Roof! Now!" He was about to turn away when his fist met the wood once more, a smirk raising his lips when he heard a soft voice. "And tell Round Face to sleep in her own damn bed!" Returning to his room, he quickly donned a new tee and gym shorts then slipped up to the roof in time to see a barely awake Izuku wearing an All Might pajama set struggled to find secure placed for his hands so as to pull himself up. The blonde hoisted up the freckled teen by the collar of his button up shirt so that the half asleep user of "One for All" was laid on on his stomach. "You're pathetic. Look alive, nerd and this won't take long!"

"Kaachan, it's four in the morning and we have a test later…" he groaned, yawning so widely that a telltale crack was heard from his jaw but it wasn't enough to hide the subtle pink hue in his freckled cheeks. "…and Uraraka wasn't with me, she was-"

"I didn't call you up here just to hear your bullshit, Deku." A knowing smirk raised his lips. "And I've known about you two sneaking into the other's room for weeks now."

Red instantly took root across the freckle teen's nose. "We don't! I mean, it's not every night! H-how did you even?!"

"Focus, nerd, I think I know his quirk."

"Whose?"

"Black Trident's."

As if a triple espresso had been directly injected into his body, Izuku perked with wide eyes that shone with curiosity. He had a bottomless well of knowledge from backgrounds to quirks to costumes so it was a no brainer that Bakugo had called him to the roof of all people to discuss this with. He probably was the only one who would be capable of distinguishing if the theory was possible or not. There was something that needed to be addressed before this conversation continued. "Kaachan, did you have the same nightmare again?"

Bakugo bristled visibly. "None of your business."

"This isn't healthy by anyone's means." Izuku made to shift closer but decided against it when fixed with a narrowed glare. "How much sleep did you manage to get this past week?"

"Don't know, don't care."

Of course he wanted to press the blonde for answers but he'd known the explosionist for long enough to recognize when the subject should be dropped. This may be something he would bring up to Tenya or possibly Kirishima later. A sigh was Izuku's only indication that he had picked up on the hint and directed the previous subject back to the forefront of the conversation. "So Black Trident's quirk. What do you think it is?"

Bakugo sat with crossed legs so that they were facing. "Is there any hero or villain known to have a quirk that forces another to act against their will?" One of his hands rose as Izuku's lips parted. "Not the 'Brainwashing' one from that other guy in the other class. I'm talking like complete takeover that the victim has no choice but is fully conscious of their actions but can't do anything about it."

The forest haired teen gasped. "Are you saying that Black Trident might be capable of controlling other people?"

"I don't know if she recognized me, but the fact that she was crying while attacking us was as good a hint as any that she didn't want to." Bakugo's arms crossed. "She could barely kill a spider when we were kids and now she's out there just attacking people? It doesn't add up."

"You would know her best out of any of us here, Kaachan, but maybe something happened to her that caused her to change." Izuku held up his hands as ruby eyes flashed with warning. "I'm just saying that if the theory is correct of her being kidnapped from the hospital when she was a child, any number of things could have happened to her." A thick cloud of tension filled the space between them as he grew serious. "For all we know, he might have tortured her or worse."

His eyes narrowed. "I'll deal with that when it comes. What I want to know is it possible or not for someone to have a quirk like that?"

"Kaachan-"

"Is it or not?!"

Izuku took a deep breath through his nose as a breeze swept by, causing their clothing and hair to wave subtly for a moment. "There's no indication that it's not. But you said that Dabi, Todoroki's brother, was with Black Trident. I can't see him falling under anyone's control. Quirks can be almost anything though-"

"What about someone with two?" The question had leapt from his lips before Bakugo himself had realized it himself. One of his hands rose to stroke his chin. Her eyes were supposed to be brown yet there was that blue left eye she had. "What if someone took a body part from another person whose quirk was something else and then implanted it into another? Would part of that quirk transfer?"

"Kaachan, what you're suggesting is straight out of a fiction novel!"

"Just before the pro heroes arrived, it felt as though everything in my body was being squeezed to death. That is the opposite of what Eri described. How can one person be capable of multiple quirks?"

The blood in Izuku's veins ran cold. "There was someone, a long time ago, who was reported to have the quirk 'Minimize' that had blue eyes but she disappeared so long ago that your friend would have to be much older than you say-" his words halted. "Unless they somehow preserved one of the eyes then later transplanted it! What is her family name, Kaachan? If it's a blood relative then it might just be possible! The compatibility between the two would work in favor-"

"Yamashita." Silence fell for several seconds, Bakugo squinting his eyes in attempts to better see through the shadow that had fallen over Izuku's face. Had he fallen asleep? Somewhere nearby an owl hooted but neither moved an inch as the clouds above their heads lazily drifted past the moon. A twitch settled in his right eyebrow when still no answer came.

"Are you serious?!"

His hand instantly appeared over the freckled teen's mouth in response to the sudden shout that echoed within the night air, his body haunched over Izuku's from his rush to quiet him. The young successor to "One for All"'s back was flat against the roof, the slight chill of the shingles quickly seeping through the fabric to cause the thin hairs beneath to rise, but was quickly released his hold when he gave a nod of understanding. "Trying to wake the whole fucking world? Keep your damn voice down." Bakugo settled back in his original position with a huff as Izuku sat up. "Why the reaction though?"

"Asuka Yamashita wasn't a hero but she used her 'Minimize' quirk to help in hospitals when cancerous patients no longer responded to treatments. She traveled all over the world back in the day! People used to call her the 'Healer of Tumors'. That's how she met her husband, Ezekiel, actually. He was diagnosed with terminal spine cancer with no known cure when she happened to be visiting the town he was in. I think it was somewhere overseas but rumor is that they fell instantly and were married as soon as he was given a clean bill of health!" The glitter in Izuku's gaze dulled. "I think they said his quirk was 'Animal Transformations' but the pair said to have disappeared five years after their wedding. No one really knows what happened to them but there was no mention of them having a child. Are you sure that's her last name?"

"That's what the dude said, the one that always brought her to the park in the afternoons so we could play." Ice slipped down his spine. "You said they vanished how long after their marriage?"

"Five years."

Their eyes widened in horror as they both reached the same conclusion, gazes meeting as the cluster of clouds that had hidden the moon drifted away so that a direct bean illuminated the pair. Husband and wife must have been kidnapped when she was pregnant and then forced her to give birth in captivity. Whatever had caused their deaths meant that their child had been left defenseless within the grip of whoever was responsible. If that wasn't bad enough, they had taken one of the mother's eyes after preserving it until the child was old enough then transplanted it!

"It makes sense but doesn't at the same time." Bakugo held up a hand. "Why would they let her go to the park where we played? Wouldn't that be too risky of someone recognizing her?"

"The public wasn't aware of her existence. They probably felt comfortable with it because of that fact then that whole fiasco where you quirks activated at the same time-" Izuku gasped. "That's why they stole her away from the hospital! If they had run tests and lab work, they would have been able to trace the parents!" The freckled teen felt a chill down his spine as the blonde across from him's gaze darkened several shades, a sure sign that his temper was rising. "Do you remember the man who brought her? Was it the same person every time?"

A bite was delivered to his bottom lip, the adrenaline and pain giving his mind a jump start. "Looked like a normal dude everyday, just different colored suit and shades is all." Bakugo blinked then shot to his feet as his hands buried within the blonde tresses atop of his head. "Damnit! How did I not realize that it as him?!"

"Kaachan, quiet! You'll wake-"

"It was that fucking bastard Black Trident! I didn't recognize him because of the shades but that annoying and pompous voice of his is the same! He would always talk down on us, always reminding her of the privilege that him bringing her to the park was as! I'm such a fucking idiot!" Clenched fists fell to his sides as he roared furiously out into the sky that was lightening with the coming sunrise.

Just as Izuku was about to reach out to the quivering teen, he caught sight something moving within the nearby tree that was tall enough for the other students to climb up to the roof without using the building. Tension filled the air as both stiffened from the strange bird's approach. The hand he had raised clenched into a fist as a a raven hopped from the branch it had been roosting on to patter across the roof until it came to a stop a short distance from the pair leaving a pair of red tracks behind it. "Kaachan."

"I see it." Ruby eyes locked onto the bird as it ruffled its feathers, matching his volume to Izuku's whisper that was barely above a breath. "If it disappears in blue smoke it's the same one that led Dabi and that sick bastard to where Hawk had taken me."

"Close enough for a strike?"

"For me. You come from around or above."

Silently, they counted down in their head with unified timing, then launched towards the raven; Bakugo in a frontal attack while Deku had launched himself over their heads and was coming from behind.

"…help…her…"

They froze, each inches from colliding with the bird who now looked as if it were attempting to flatten itself against the rooftop to show it was submitting. The voice that came from it was deep, masculine, strained as if they were speaking through a straw or funnel. Bakugo's hands that had been sparking and reaching to crush the small animal instead lifted it so that their eyes could meet, finding a human hazel brown staring back at him that were full of desperation and blood seeped from between the feathers covering its being to pool within his palms.

"Please…I managed to…escape…I can lead…you there…"

Izuku's eyes widened, relaxing out of the attack stance he'd taken and covered his mouth with a hand for a moment before letting it fall. "You're Ezekiel, aren't you?"

" I heard you…just now…you are…her friend…help…her…" Large droplets seeped out from its eyes as its wings gave snaps that earned finches from both teens. "My daughter…please…"

"We have to get you to a hospital, sir, you're in rough shape-"

"Shut up, Deku, there's no time for that." The darkening of his gaze dimmed farther as the raven gave a choked squawk that caused more blood to spill across his skin. "Tell me where."

It shivered violently, almost so much that it nearly fell from his hold. "…Chimera Corp…caged experiments…basement four…farthest building west on property…" Another crack sounded, this time from its back. "…your…name…"

"Katsuki." He took a deep breath, fiercely biting his lip when it struggled for breath. His heart clenched painfully as if it was trying to crush then tear itself into pieces, the backs of his eyes burning with the tears he refused to shed. "Katsuki Bakugo."

A bubbling chuckle caused another small splatter of blood to cover Bakugo's fingers. "She can't speak…and cries a lot…but you were…her friend …" If it were possible, the teens thought the bird offered a small smile. "…Thank you…Katsuki Bakugo…"

The air rang with a sickening crack, the raven bending backwards at an impossible angle, then fell limp.

Izuku took a reflexive step backwards. "If your theory is right and Black Trident can control people, then he must have found a way to breath the control long enough to escape but it didn't matter the distance between the two. Somehow, someway, Black Trident was still able to manipulate Ezekiel's body against his will." He blinked, realizing the muttering of words that had just come out of his mouth, but the apology that rose died on his lips when he caught sight of his friend's rage filled expression.

"Watch your back, you sick bastard, I will find you! You'll pay for what you've done to her, you fucking sadistic psychopath! You hear me?! I! Will! Kill! You!" Frustration radiated off his being as he collapsed back onto the roof, knees bending until they were tucked under his chin as the muscles in his jaw twitched and bloodied hands still cradling the deceased man whose quirk allowed him to undergo animal transformations began to quake.

A soft sound drew Izuku's attention to the left in time to see All Might approach with Aizawa and the principal in tow. None spoke a word nor did they dare speak as the blonde teen silently fought back the hurricane of emotions they could practically feel coming off of his trembling form. Both adults wore mirror expressions of stoic calmness but their eyes blazed with hidden fury as they watched the sun slowly peek over the horizon to bathe the rooftop in its golden glow.

It was as the noise of the students beneath getting ready for the coming day rose that Bakugo stood, lip twitching as he wordlessly turned and walked to stand before the two adults. "Fuck class." His voice was raw as if it had been rubbed with steel wool.

"Fine." Aizawa nodded. "Let's take him somewhere private before anyone else sees."

"W-where are you going to take them?" Izuku made to follow but was stopped by All Might who shook his head.

"Best to let them go, Midoriya, Aizawa will ensure that Bakugo will return in one piece." The once Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace now rendered a husk of his former self found each droplet of blood that fell from the young teen's hands as the student and teacher effortlessly descended from the roof to begin walking in the direction that would be the principal's office. They had been notified of a security breach but never in their wildest dreams had either expected to find the scene that waited for them at the end of the bloody trail. "Not even I would be capable of recovering quickly from something like that. It would be best to leave him be for now." He turned his attention to the successor of his quirk when Izuku hummed softly. "What's this I hear about sneaking into another classmate's room?" The weak attempt of humor earned him a sputter from the teen. "Just don't get caught and always use protection."

"All Might!"

See you next time!