for it's something that we lost

by TheGraveyardChild

Katsuki's life had taken a drastically different turn than Izuku's. He'd moved away two years after graduation, got hitched, and had a happy little life. Or so everyone thought. For the first time in five years, Katsuki was moving back home. But he wasn't bringing his wife with him. Only the golden ray of sassy sunshine that was his three and a half year-old daughter, Etsuki.

13. Chapter 13 - The Pied Piper

A/N/: Alright guys. There's fight scenes in this, and honestly, I'm not very great at them. So. They may suck. Just. Don't mind meeee.

Also, we're going to jump back and forth between Kacchan and Deku a lot cause I thought it would be dramatic. Hope you enjoy. Please give feedback!

Katsuki

---

Two weeks passed without so much as a whisper of information. After he'd pleaded with them for help at the press conference, the general public had tried their best. They'd called in numerous tips of information, but none of them had come back fruitful. They were just as empty-handed as they had been at the start of the case. Katsuki was getting desperate, and with his desperation came a certain neglect for things he deemed unimportant.

On his list of unimportant shit sat eating and sleeping in exchange for more time to scour through databases and maps of Musutafu. He was searching for possible places that the PLF could be hiding these kids. So far, he had the entire warehouse district and several other places across the city. They were all big enough to house twenty kidnapped children. And this whole process of finding a base of operations really banked on the idea that these kids were being kept together. If they weren't, then he was right back to the drawing board.

He sat on the floor of Deku's living room, scrolling through those databases on Deku's laptop. He frowned at the page he was on. It didn't make sense. Where could these kids possibly be that the police hadn't already checked? He assumed that they were still in Musutafu, but in reality, they could be fucking anywhere.

"Hey Kacchan?" Deku asked him softly.

Katsuki looked up from the computer at his boyfriend. He stood there with a worried look on his freckled cheeks. He sighed gently and ran a hand over his face.

"Yeah?"

Deku took that as an invitation to sit down across from him on the floor. He was dressed in his standard athletic clothes that he worked when he was going into the agency. His gym bag was slung over his shoulder. Deku had work.

"Don't you think you should take a break?" he asked tentatively.

Katsuki looked at him with an eyebrow raised and said in a deadpan, "No."

"It's six in the morning. You didn't come to bed last night."

"And?"

"I really think you should get some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Kacchan," Deku said with a hint of warning to his tone.

Katsuki scowled. He hated when Deku treated him like he was a kid. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He'd taken care of Etsuki- Nope. He was not going there. He immediately halted that train of thought and switched gears, answering Deku's stupid question instead.

"Yesterday morning when you made breakfast," he replied, looking back at the computer screen.

"Yesterday morning?" Deku clarified.

"Yeah. Didn't realize I was speaking another language, nerd," he said.

He clicked to the next screen. He furrowed his brows at the screen. Apparently Nakamura was finally available for questioning. Her quirk had gone into overdrive right after she'd been apprehended, and if she was being transferred to a prison, that meant doctors were able to stabilize her.

Honestly, Katsuki didn't expect her to survive long there. She was an accessory to this whole plot that was kidnapping kids. He wouldn't be surprised if she was killed within the first few nights. He needed to get in there to talk to him before anything happened to her… but how? He was off duty for hero work. He'd made several calls to the Commission, but they'd told him the same thing each time. He couldn't come back until he was cleared by one of their psychologists. They didn't trust his anger not to get the best of him during this stressful time. They wanted him to stay home and allow himself to grieve.

But his daughter wasn't dead. Why the fuck did everyone want him to grieve? Did they really think that they weren't going to find these kids? He had to admit that for the first few that had disappeared, the situation was looking kind of hopeless. They were halfway through November, and those kids had gone missing in August and September. It had been months. But had the Commission really given up hope?

Fuck that shit. Katsuki wasn't going to give up that fucking easily.

"Kacchan, are you even listening to me?" Deku asked, arms crossed over his chest. He was irritated. Katsuki could tell just by the way the muscles in his arms flexed.

"Huh? What?"

Deku groaned. "You need to get off of this computer and get in the shower, Kacchan."

"Why the fuck do I need to shower?"

"You stink," Deku said as if it were obvious.

Katsuki shrugged. "Don't bother me."

"Kacchan!"

Katsuki sighed tiredly. "What do you want from me, Deku?" he asked lamely.

"I want to trust you to take care of yourself when I'm not here."

"I am taking care of myself."

"Eating once a day isn't taking care of yourself. And when was the last time you slept?"

He furrowed his brows at that one. He couldn't exactly remember. Had it been two or three days since his head hit his pillow? He took a nap on the coffee table on Monday… it was Saturday now. Had it really been that long?

"What does it matter?" he asked as opposed to admitting he really didn't fucking remember.

"Your bags have bags, babe," Deku said gently. "I'm worried about you."

"What's the point of doing any of that shit? It's not like I have shit to do. The Commission won't let me work, and the second I step out of your apartment, I'm getting swarmed by the press. I have no reason to go anywhere, so I might as well just fucking do what I want."

"Kacchan, you can't do this to yourself. You know she'd be having a fit if she smelt you."

Katsuki snorted. Deku wasn't wrong. Etsuki would yell at him to get his ass in the shower because he was the worst couch snuggler when he smelled bad.

"She's not here, Izuku."

Deku pursed his lips. "But she will be. Do you really think she'd want to see you like this?"

"She's three. She wouldn't understand."

"She's old enough to tell you you look and smell like shit, Kacchan. I know she's got the vocabulary to tell you at least that much."

"Izuku-"

"Please, just eat, shower, and take a nap. I don't care if it's twenty minutes. Some sleep is better than none at all," Deku pleaded.

Katsuki sighed wearily and shut the computer. "Fine."

A smile spread onto Deku's freckled cheeks. "Thanks, Kacchan. Breakfast is on the counter. Don't worry about the dishes. I'll get them when I get home."

"Kay."

Deku's scarred hand gently cupped Katsuki's cheek. The blond leaned into his touch.

"Wish you didn't have to work."

"I know, Kacchan, but with the Commission keeping you home, someone has to protect the city."

"Make Icy-Hot do it," he groused. "I need you more."

Deku smiled warmly. "I need to go to work, babe. But I'll be back later."

Katsuki frowned but nodded reluctantly. "Whatever."

"Do you want me to bring home carry out?"

He contemplated this. Deku wasn't exactly the best cook out there. Katsuki had fucking leagues on him in that department. He trusted him to make breakfast because thus far he hadn't fucked it up. But dinner was a completely different monster. He didn't trust Deku within ten feet of the dinner plans. Ordinarily, that was Katsuki's job... But he couldn't exactly remember the last time he cooked, either. Fuck, his life was a mess.

"Yeah. Can you go to that place we grabbed when I first got back?"

Deku nodded as he stood. "Sure, Kacchan."

The greenette leaned in and gave him a light peck on the lips. "I gotta get going, but I'll see you tonight, okay?"

Katsuki nodded. "Yeah. See you."

---

Someone pounding on the door of Deku's apartment woke Katsuki from his dead ass sleep. A low, long groan echoed from within him. He was getting real fuckin' sick of the paparazzi sneaking their way upstairs disguised as residents. This'd be the third time this week that they'd come to hound him, and quite frankly, he knew that if he went and answered the door, he'd chuck someone over Deku's balcony. And sure, it wouldn't look good to the general public, but it would definitely make him feel a little bit better.

He buried his head under the pillows in some vain attempt to get back to sleep, but the pounding on the door kept going. Whoever the fuck what out there wasn't giving up easily, and Katsuki was about to fucking throttle a bitch. He sat up in bed and looked at the screen of his phone. It was only nine in the morning. He'd fallen asleep only two hours earlier after downing a quick breakfast and forcing himself into the shower. Who the fuck had the audacity to wake him up after two fucking hours?

Katsuki dragged himself out of bed and stomped across Deku's apartment. As soon as he got close to the door, he started yelling.

"You better have a fucking good ass reason to wake me the fuck up!" he roared as he undid the locks. "Cause I've had two hours of sleep and-"

He threw open the door, and behind it stood Aizawa with an unimpressed expression on his face. "You look like shit."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Like I give a fuck."

The older man shrugged his shoulders and stepped into the apartment before shutting the door behind him. "To each his own."

"What do you fuckin' want Aizawa? I'm not in the fucking mood," Katsuki growled, rubbing a hand over his face.

"You have a custody hearing soon. You need to be prepared."

"Yeah. I know," he said as she shuffled to the living room. Katsuki threw himself down on the couch and gestured for Aizawa to take a seat. "Do you really think I should do this?"

Aizawa furrowed his brows. "Do what?"

"Get custody of Katsuo."

"You're having second thoughts?"

Katsuki frowned. "I'm not sure. I just... I lost Etsuki, didn't I? Do you think I'm fucking worthy of a second kid that I can't protect."

Aizawa sighed wearily. "You're stupid if you think leaving him in your ex wife's custody is better than with you."

He looked sharply at his former teacher. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what I said. Your son will be safe with you than he would be with Hasaki. I've seen her criminal record since you've divorced. It's not good."

"She's got a record?"

"How do you not know the criminal record of your child's mother?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that hearing her name gives me fucking anxiety?" he said, sarcasm lacing his tone.

Aizawa frowned. "I never pegged you to be the type," he said.

"We all have our demons," he replied. "Now, do you have anything useful to tell me or can I go back to bed?"

"Nakamura is being moved to a small prison just outside of Musutafu today," he said.

Right. Katsuki had seen that this morning before Deku nagged him off of the computer. He'd completely forgotten about once he'd allowed himself a few minutes of selfcare. But now that it was back at the forefront of his thoughts. Fuck. He planned to get any information out of Aizawa as possible. Might as well if the man was sitting in front of him, fessing up about it anyway.

"I don't think she'll make it a week in there," he said.

Aizawa looked at him grimmly. "Neither do I," he said. "But I think she's also our ticket to finding the rest of the kids."

Katsuki leveled his gaze on the man sitting on the opposite end of the couch from him. "What are you gonna do about that?"

"I figured we'd head over there and ask questions."

"We?" Katsuki asked.

"I don't need to bring you along if you don't want to go, problem child," he said. "I just figured you wouldn't be the type to sit on the sidelines and let lower ranked heroes find your kid."

A predatory smile curled onto Katsuki's lips. This was their first real shot at a lead since they'd originally gotten this case. How in the hell could he pass this up?

"Nah. I'm coming. I need to have a chat with my daughter's teacher."

Aizawa chuckled. "Time for your first parent teacher conference. Now you'll know how your mother felt whenever I had to talk to her."

"I was not that bad."

"You and Midoriya were my problem children for a reason."

---

Katsuki's footsteps echoed loudly as he walked through the halls of the prison. Anticipation coursed through him. This was the first time he'd had a chance at answers since this entire mess started. He didn't know a lot about Nakamura aside from her profession prior to the last two weeks. Apparently she had a quirk similar to Aizawa's. That tentacle mist she had was her way of neutralizing other quirks. It was the reason Etsuki hadn't been able to pop off her quirk and fight against the woman. The bitch had taken a quirk ideal for working with children and used it for fucking kidnapping. Fucking cunt.

Aizawa walked in front of him, leading the way. The man had been the one to pull the strings, to be able to get Katsuki there in the first place. The Commission had no idea he was here. Had they known, they'd have put a huge block on his name for visitation. He knew they wouldn't trust him around the woman who had handed his daughter to the Piper. He could understand why. His temper was volatile and explosive, but Katsuki had control over himself. He could handle seeing this bitch.

Aizawa stopped in front of a door and glanced back at Katsuki.

"I'm trusting you to act like a hero in there," he said, eyes firm. "Don't disappoint me."

"I wouldn't be the number four hero if I were a disappointment," he replied as Aizawa pushed open the door.

Katsuki walked in behind him. Aizawa didn't step very far into the room. He stood by the door, silent and sentient until he was needed. Katsuki took in deep breath, and looked ahead of him. There she was, right in front of him. Nakamura sat with both of her wrists handcuffed to the table in front of her. Her face was schooled into a neutral expression. She didn't look at him or even acknowledge his presence. That didn't deter him.

He swung himself down into one of the chairs across from Nakamura and offered her a smile.

"Glad you could make it to our conference," he said.

Nakamura didn't answer.

"Awe, c'mon, teach. I'm sure you've got somethin' you can say," he said.

"What do you want from me, Bakugou?" Nakamura asked tiredly.

The smile that was on his features morphed into a snarl. "You know what I want from you."

"I can't give her to you," she replied.

Those words alone made Katsuki's blood boil. This broad right here was the ticket to all twenty of those missing fucking kids, and here she was denying him. Fuck her. Fuck the Paranormal Liberation Front's agenda. Fuck them all.

Katsuki sucked in a deep breath, attempting to reign in his temper.

"Why not?"

Nakamura wrinkled her nose. "Why would I?"

"Aren't you a teacher? Aren't you supposed to care about these kids?" he asked.

"I do care."

A humorless laugh sounded from the blond. "That's a damn lie if I've ever heard one."

"How would you know that?" she asked. "My actions are to protect those kids."

"How I'm the fuck were you protecting my daughter when you handed her off to the Piper?"

"I was saving Etsuki-"

"Don't fucking user her name. You don't deserve to call her by her name," he snarled.

"I was saving her from growing up in a society where her quirk isn't appreciated and where it is suppressed."

"The fuck do you mean suppressed? I have no intention of suppressing my daughter's quirk!"

"But you'll turn her into a hero," she said.

"She's three, dammit. One day she wants to be a fucking hero and the next, she wants to be fucking Elsa. She's a kid, and she's gonna be what she wants. It ain't my decision," he argued.

"In a hero society, what do you think she'll become?"

"Well, right now my daughter is nothing but a pawn to that sick fuck you handed her off to," he said. "The fuck do you think he's going to do to them?"

"We're all actually really curious about his intentions with our city's children," Aizawa interjected, stepping forward. "Tell us, Nakamura, what is his plan?"

Nakamura's eyes shifted between the two of them, but she didn't breathe a word. Katsuki could tell, though, that something was making her uncomfortable. And considering how well he'd managed to control himself thus far, he didn't think it was his fault. No. Something about the PLF's plan had to be eating at her.

"What's wrong? You don't like their plans?" Katsuki asked, raising a singular brow.

She didn't speak.

"You're in a lot of trouble, Nakamura," Aizawa said. "And a lot of people in this prison won't be pleased that you're here. Children are a line that most villains don't cross."

"I'm not a villain," she snapped.

"Maybe you weren't before, but the second you made your decision to hand off my kid, you made your decision," Katsuki said. "You won't last a week in this prison with what you've done."

"Is that a threat?" Nakamura asked.

"No. It's a warning," Katsuki replied.

"I'd rather you not die within the prison system, either, considering it will make it all that much harder to get the kids back."

"It's not like you can stop them. The prisoners here, or the Liberation Front," Nakamura said bitterly.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki asked.

"It's only a matter of time before they send someone to kill me," she said.

Katsuki shrugged her off. "We have plenty of time to stop whatever those sick fucks are doing."

Nakamura smiled wryly at them. "No, you don't."

"Hah?!" Katsuki roared.

"What is their plan? When do they plan to move?" Aizawa asked.

"If I tell you, you need to promise me something."

"We ain't making any promises," Katsuki snarled. "Why should we when we can't trust you?"

"I think this one is an easy one," she replied.

"What do you want?" Aizawa asked.

"I want you to protect those children. Get them out of there safely," she said.

"Why the fuck do you want that?" Katsuki asked. "You're the one who handed them off in the first place."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to protect them. Not turn them into… The Piper's ideals don't line up with the best interest of those kids," she said, brows furrowed. "And I didn't realize it until it was too late."

Katsuki was stunned. Sure, Nakamura was a teacher and all that shit, but he didn't expect her to have any human emotions let alone sympathy. He wanted desperately for her to be this evil villain. It would make her actions so much more explainable than they currently were. But here she was, admitting she was wrong and that she fucked up. It didn't make what she did right by any means, but it made it harder to hate her. Only a little bit, though. He still fucking hated her. Especially since her actions would undoubtedly make Etsuki's trust in most adults and teachers unattainable.

"We will do our best," Aizawa said to her before Katsuki could find the words to bitch her out.

Nakamura nodded. "I don't agree with what he plans to do. That's the only reason I'm telling you any of this," she said.

"Well, why don't you get the fuck on with it."

She looked at him peevishly before nodding. "He's building an army."

Katsuki pursed his lips. Isn't that what he'd speculated only two weeks earlier just after his daughter's kidnapping?

"What kind of army is only twenty kids large? It's a death sentence."

Nakamura snorted dryly. "It's more than twenty. It's more like five hundred."

"Five hundred?" Aizawa asked sharply.

"Where the fuck did this bastard get five hundred kids from without us noticing?!"

"They're the children of the Front members."

His jaw almost dropped. It almost dropped straight down into the cold metal table as he narrowed his gaze on Nakamura.

"You're fucking kidding… You mean to tell me that these fuckwads willingly handed their children over to fight in some- some army?!"

"Did I stutter, Mr. Bakugou?" Nakamura asked.

"But why take twenty when they have hundreds of children of their own?" Aizawa asked.

"Simple. The kids they took have powerful quirks with high potential. It's all a power game."

"How can he even control that many kids at one time?" Katsuki asked.

"The vast majority act on a hive mentality. They can obey simple commands, and their subconsciousness will do the rest of the work for them. When he has his sights on one or two, however, he can control individual attacks."

"That's insane..." Aizawa muttered.

Nakamura smiled wryly. "He's been perfecting his quirk for the Front for a long time. Practice and devotion have made him incredibly powerful."

Beside him, Aizawa had a hand covering the lower portion of his face. He sat back in his chair, his posture slack as if he were in utter disbelief. "Using children to fight their battles? I never imagined…"

"Best wrap your head around it, Eraserhead," Nakamura said. "Because they're coming."

"When?" he and Aizawa asked simultaneously.

"What time is it now?"

Aizawa glanced down at his watch. "Quarter after two."

Nakamura hummed, eyebrows shooting upward. "It's later than I thought."

"Hah?! What's that supposed to mean?" Fuck, this cryptic broad was really starting to grate on his nerves.

"You've about an hour, give or take."

"An hour?!" Katsuki roared. "The fuck!"

"Give or take," she said again.

He stared at Nakamura, lips slightly parted in surprise. She was the type of condescending woman he had wanted to tell off the second he met her for her audacity to tell him how to parent. Right now, sitting in this interrogation room, Katsuki didn't know if he wanted to buy Nakamura a drink and wish her good luck dealing with her fellow inmates or throttle her himself right then and there. Neither of those things he could actually do, but fuck. If only he could. Fucking bitch was wasting time!

"Where?" Aizawa asked.

"All over the city. They plan to infiltrate UA."

"What?!" Katsuki asked, tensing. "Haven't these fucking villains learned that attacking UA is useless?"

"How far does the Pied Piper's quirk reach?" Aizawa asked with a sort of coolness to his voice that Katsuki wasn't expecting. He focused his gaze on his former teachers, brows furrowed.

"He's got a fifteen mile radius on any child that he's touched," Nakamura said. "Sometimes, with the younger ones who are more malleable, he can go further."

"Fifteen miles..." Aizawa said, stunned. He stood abruptly from the table, his chair scraping back against the concrete floor. "I'm calling the Commission."

Aizawa strode from the room without another word, the door slamming closed behind him. Katsuki whipped his attention back to Nakamura, fixing her with a confused look.

"What the fuck?"

"You know, I always did think you cursed too much," she said.

"Not the fuckin' point. What's going on?"

"I'm assuming it's a teacher's intuition. He feels as though his students are in danger. He is going to protect them," she said.

"Protect them? They're just kids!"

"Tell me, Bakugou. Are you prepared to activate your quirk against your own child?" Nakamura asked.

Katsuki stilled, his heart stuttering in his chest. Are you prepared to activate your quirk against your own child? These weren't just villains that would be attacking UA. These were kids. Kids of all fucking ages based on the twenty that had been taken. And none of them had any idea what they were about to do. They were going to attack UA and get inside and do what...?

"What's the Piper's goal?" Katsuki asked, slamming his fist on the table.

"I thought it would be obvious," Nakamura taunted.

Fuck. If he was better prepared, it would be obvious. But he was running on two hours of sleep and not nearly enough nutrients. His stress levels were through the roof, and quite frankly, he was fucking depressed. So no it wasn't fucking obvious. Not that he'd admit all of those weaknesses to the bitch in front of him.

"Just answer the fucking question, dammit! You're wasting time! Do you want us to save these kids?!"

Nakamura sighed. "If the Pied Piper gets inside, he'll have full reign of the students at UA."

"Anyone he touches will be under his command. He'll take the school by using its own students against it," Katsuki concluded, leaning back in his chair. "Fuck. And we only have an hour..."

Nakamura tilted her head to the side and shooed him away with both of her cuffed hands. "Best get moving then, Mr. Bakugou."

---

After Aizawa's call, the Hero Commission sent out a prefecture-wide alert to all on and off-duty heroes, asking them to convene within the borders of Musutafu. Despite his current leave, they sent Katsuki that very same message. By the time the alert went out, Katsuki had made it from the prison to the agency, got himself suited up, and was on the streets patrolling in around forty-five minutes. The Commission was a joke. How the hell did they plan to stop an attack that could happen at any minute.

Katsuki was perched on the top of an apartment complex, eyes scanning the streets below. He was in the neighborhoods surrounding UA, waiting for this damn attack. He had no idea where to even begin his search. There were children all over the place considering school was just letting out. The students that went to the smaller schools surrounding UA were already flooding the streets. How could he discriminate between the ordinary citizens and the kids that were a part of the Piper's plot? Fucking hell.

Hero work was never easy. He hadn't taken it because it was easy, though. He became a hero because he wanted to protect people no matter the challenge. Well, these last few weeks were definitely a new level of challenging.

As Katsuki scanned the streets from his perch, he caught sight of familiar blonde curls. His heart lurched and before he could comprehend what he was doing, Katsuki was launching himself off of the building and barrelling toward the ground. His landing was explosive to say the least. He was Dynamight, the explosive hero, for a reason. Students rushed to get away from the five foot crater he'd created around him from his landing alone.

But he didn't have eyes for any of those extras. No. His gaze was locked on the little girl holding the hand of a tall, dark-haired man. Katsuki felt the heat before he saw the flames. His chest grew tight, and his eyes flicked to his daughter, who was now turning away from him and melting into the crowd with that very flammable hair of hers.

"Etsuki!" he roared, but she acted as though she couldn't hear him. Considering the strength of the Pied Piper's quirk, that was likely true.

He tried to go after her, tried to reach for her tiny shoulder, but a wall of blue flame separated him from her in an instant. His vision was blinding by the flash of light for only a second, but that's all it took for him to lose all visuals on his daughter.

He turned to the quirk user, his eyes hardening. He'd have to find her later. He couldn't risk the flammability of her hair. She'd get hurt, and honestly, his heart wouldn't be able to take it if she got injured. For now, he had to take care of his immediate threat. He'd have to take care of Dabi.

Izuku

---

Patrols weren't the same without Kacchan. Sure, Izuku had done it for seven years without his other half, but looking back on it now, he wasn't sure how he did it. Kacchan was his perfect foil. He was able to make up for the areas that Izuku lacked without a conscious effort. He was able to fill in the holes of Izuku's defense and offense like water filtering through sand. It was so natural and organic, and it made Izuku's work life all that much easier.

And it wasn't to say that he didn't like working with Kirishima as his temporary partner. Kirishima was great! He was strong and brave and heroic. And his quirk was so cool! He was a great defense to Izuku's offense, but…

"But I'm not Bakugou," Kirishima said, shocking Izuku from whatever thoughts he'd apparently been muttering out loud.

Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh, how much of that did you hear?"

"Patrols aren't the same without Kacchan," he said with a quirked brow.

Izuku groaned. And here he thought he'd outgrown the vast majority of his muttering. But in reality, he was just inadvertently insulting poor Kirishima.

"Still doing it, Midoriya," Kirishima said.

Izuku groaned. "I'm sorry. I'm just stressed."

There was a sudden tug on the hood of his hero suit. He turned around immediately, ready to fight whoever had snuck up behind him. He stopped short when he saw a pair of bright brown eyes and blonde hair.

"Utsushimi!" he yelped, taking a step back. Crap. She'd almost scared the piss out of him. That wouldn't have been good. "Please don't sneak up on me like that!"

Utsushimi Camie just laughed a loud, bubbling laugh. "Two things. First, call me Camie. Second, you need to chill, Midobabe," she said. "Grey and green are not a good color combo."

Izuku blinked owlishly at the woman while Kirishima just chuckled beside him. He was used to Camie's antics. Izuku was not. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Stress is gonna lead to grey hairs," she said slowly. "And grey and green ain't a good color combo."

Izuku's hands flew up to his curls. He tugged on them slightly, trying to get them into his line of sight. It was a futile attempt that had Camie laughing once again.

"Relax, babe. There's nothin' there yet. I'm just saying if you don't chill there will be."

Izuku groaned and turned around. He started down the street again, and from the sound of their footsteps, Camie and Kirishima followed after him.

"Midobabe, what's got you sproutin' greys?" Camie asked.

"Bakugou," Kirishima said before Izuku could answer.

Izuku's mouth opened and closed like a fish. He stammered out a few half-witted words before he finally settled on, "How'd you know?"

"He's living with you, Midoriya. It's kinda obvious."

Izuku sighed. "I just don't know what to do, Kirishima. I love having him around, but I can't help him."

Camie hummed lowly. "Not an easy dude to help, really. Doesn't accept help even on a good day."

"Don't I know that," Izuku said.

"How's he doing, bro?" Kirishima asked.

"As good as anyone could expect, Kirishima. He's barely eating or sleeping. Heck, I had to guilt him into showering."

"The hell is he doin'?" Camie asked.

"Researching. He's been glued to my laptop for days."

Kirishima pursed his lips. "It's not healthy or manly for him to be doing that shit."

"But considering the circumstances..." Izuku trailed off.

"I'm hella sure we're all takin' Etsuki's abduction hard," Camie said softly. "Gremlin didn't deserve that bogus shit."

"Etsuki's only three," Kirishima added. "What could they want with her?"

Izuku shrugged. "It's tearing Kacchan apart, though, and I don't like it. I've never seen him like this."

"Poor babe's been through a lot," Camie said. "This is just the-"

Before Camie could say another word, Izuku's phone chirped in his pocket. And alongside his went Utushimi and Kirishima's. Ordinarily, he'd ignore it considering he was on patrol. But the fact that both Kirishima and Camie's phones went off at the same time... It couldn't be a coincidence. He pulled the device from his pocket and stared at the screen.

It was an alert from the Hero Commission.

Izuku furrowed his brows as he tapped on the notification. The secure messaging system that the Commission worked through opened on his phone, and he typed in his password. After a moment, the message opened on his screen and he scanned through it.

The Hero Commission currently has reason to believe that there will be an attack on UA High School and the surrounding areas at approximately 1300 hours. Heroes in the Shizuoka prefecture must be on high alert. All heroes in the areas surrounding the school and Musutafu must report to that immediate vicinity. Take extra precaution when engaging in combat. The attackers are believed to be children under the Pied Piper's control.

The message stopped there. Izuku stared blankly at his screen, shock running its course through him. An attack on UA High School. All heroes in the areas surrounding the school must report. The attackers are believed to be children. And it was all of the information that they were going to get considering the track record of the Hero Commission. They wouldn't send anything more. They never did in dire situations like these. They were brief and to the point.

Holy shit, this was a lot of information to take in. Izuku glanced at the time. It was 12:45. This alleged attack was only fifteen minutes away.

"Are you two reading the same message that I'm reading?" Kirishima asked quietly.

"Uh. Totally. What the actual fuck is this shit?" Camie asked.

But before Izuku could even think, the ripples of One for All were activating beneath his skin. He crouched down before vaulting himself into the air. Float kept him suspended in the air as he made his way across the city toward UA at breakneck speed. The wind whipped through his hair and battered his cheeks, but he wouldn't stop. He couldn't stop. There were twenty children out in this city that had been failed rescues, and one of those children was Kacchan's little ball of sunshine. He refused to let Etsuki slip through his fingers again. Not when her life was very easily in danger.

He made it to the neighborhood surrounding UA with only minutes to spare. He felt bad for leaving Kirishima and Camie behind, and in hindsight, it might have been better to wait so he'd have those reinforcements. But really, he needed to get here.

Izuku sat perched on one of the apartment complexes just outside of the campus. The cool, late fall breeze was the only sound he heard. And considering there was supposed to be this sudden influx of children. There was a problem, though. The memo about this attack apparently hadn't been passed to the schools surrounding UA. How the Commission had messed that up was beyond Izuku, but there were students everywhere as they began their commute home.

He found it nearly impossible to tell any of the kids apart. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. But the haystack was Musutafu's student population and the needles were twenty missing kids, half of whom Izuku only knew by face alone.

His viridian gaze flicked across the neighborhood and immediately latched onto a thin layer of wispy smoke. It was too convenient for him to ignore that smoke and the booming sound that reached his ears not a moment after. And then, like clockwork, a bright blue light erupted. What the hell was going on over there?

Izuku was about to head that way when the street just to his right exploded, sending chunks of asphalt everywhere. The smoke and the light were quickly forgotten as Izuku jumped into action. There were screaming children and teenagers all around him. They were running away from the giant crater that had suddenly formed in the middle of the road. He very quickly darted around, snatching up kids and hauling them away from this sudden, black abyss. There were shouts of surprise at his actions and several exclamations of 'It's Deku!' as he worked. This was just another disaster. He needed to evacuate the immediate area before he could look into the rest of this threat. And when all of the students were deposited safely away from it, he approached the crater.

It was enormous, the diameter spanning the entire intersection. It was deep, too. He could hardly see the bottom of whatever utility tunnel was probably down there. The students around him creeped toward the hole, but Izuku threw an arm out and gestured for them to stop.

"Don't get any closer! You don't know what could be down there!" he shouted in an authoritative tone.

The students looked at him with wide eyes, but before they could back away, long, red tentacles shot out from the center of the abyss. They hovered there for a moment before whipping forward and taking hold of several of them. Screams erupted from the students as they were ripped from the ground in the tentacle's bruising grip. Those long arms pulled them back toward the hole and Izuku sprung forward, sending One For All in Shoot Style at the red tentacle holding the nearest student. It severed, and once again, he was on the move, grabbing hold of the girl before she could crash to the ground. He set the girl down and sprang back into the fray of red tentacles that just kept coming from the center of the abyss. He severed tentacle after tentacle, catching each student - some in his arms and others with Blackwhip - before they could get hurt. He deposited them safely to the side, but in the time it took him to grab each student, the tentacles were snatching up more.

The tentacles didn't seem to feel any pain when he severed them from whatever quirk user was down in that hole. They just kept coming. If it was a tentacle quirk, then it had to have insane regeneration speeds. He couldn't see the user-

"Deku!" a familiar voice called, interrupting his analysis of this quirk as he caught yet another student.

He glanced to the side. "Cellophane!" Izuku called, relief crashing through him

While he knew he could handle this on his own, having the backup in Sero Hanta would be a relief.

"What's going on? I got the message from the commission, and I got over here as fast as I could!" he called as he brought himself closer to Izuku with the use of his tape.

"I think it has something to do with the disappearances of all of those kids over the last few months!" he said as he sent another blast of air at the red tentacle.

Instead of shooting out the grab the student like he had before, though, Sero's tape was whipping out to grab the falling student. He brought the young boy close to him before sending him off toward the group that had been accumulating further down the street.

"And whatever's down in that hole wants to take more kids!" Izuku added.

"Do you have an analysis for me?" Sero asked as he wrangled in another kid.

"Not much. The villain isn't feeling pain from what I can tell, and the tentacles are regrowing at insane speeds!" he called out.

Just then, one of those red tentacles came barreling at Sero.

"Cellophane!" Izuku shouted. Once again One for All coursed through his body as he used shoot style to sever the limb from whatever was down in that hole. It broke off, and Sero landed on the ground beside him.

"Thanks, man," he said. "That thing is fast!"

Izuku nodded and was about to agree when he saw the remnants of the tentacle on the ground. He crouched down and picked up a piece of it. Much to his surprise, it wasn't fleshly like a tentacle at all. It was actually stringy and more like... hair? His brows furrowed for a moment before his eyes snapped back to the hole.

His brain was going at a thousand miles a minute as he attempted to analyze this new information. This villain was currently using their hair to attack. Grappling onto students and pulling them close. He wondered what else they could do with their hair alone, but he had some suspicions. And considering that he only knew of one other person, one small girl, who had a quirk similar to this...

Suddenly, from the center of the hole, a woman emerged, her hair holding her aloft. She was tall and languid, and honestly, if Camie were here, she would probably think she was beautiful. She had smooth features and a dangerous smile on her lips. Her eyes, which were encased by a black mask, were her most striking feature. The resemblance to Etsuki's was uncanny. They had that same bright spark to them, but where Etsuki's were kind and gentle, this woman's were cold like ice.

When she spoke, her voice was deep and sultry like honey. "Well, if it isn't the little tramp my ex-husband is fucking," she said, her venemous words directed to Izuku..

His eyes hardened. So, his suspicions were correct. "Hasaki Kiruka," he said just as coldly.

"I prefer Slice," she said with a sneer.

She landed on the outside of the crater before she, and without any pretense, sent shards of her hair spiraling at Izuku and Sero. Izuku launched himself out of the way as those red spikes came at him. One for All Full Cowling encased him in those bright, green sparks as he launched himself out of the way. He missed them by a fraction of an inch as they lodged deep into the asphalt. A look of annoyance crossed the woman's features.

"You're faster than Katsuki," she noted, her scowl still fixed firmly on her lips.

A snarl formed on Izuku's lips as she dared to mention Kacchan so casually. Especially by his given name. "Don't you dare talk about him!" he shouted as he launched himself at her feet first. Kiruka used her hair as a shield to block him off, and instead, Izuku

"I'll call the little fuck what I want to call him! Neither of you pose much of a challenge!" she shouted back. Once again, Kiruka attacked.

This time, instead of her spikes, she sent multiple strands of her deep, red hair at him. His speed alone was the only thing keeping him from getting stabbed. But Kiruka was relentless. She kept coming at him until his heart was thumping in his chest. He ricocheted off of the walls of buildings, and she followed in hot pursuit. And with each moment that he spent on the defensive was another chance for Sero to evacuate the students to safety.

"Run, run, run little bunny!" Kiruka shouted with a laugh of excitement. "Be careful or you'll get caught in a snare!"

"Why are you doing this!" Izuku roared as he dodged yet another one of her attacks.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "We need an army, and your future heroes really make the best soldiers."

"You'll never get into UA!" Izuku roared. "The rest of the heroes are on their way. You won't get past the front gates!"

"Won't we just have to see about that?" Kiruka asked, a wicked smile stretching across her face. She looked back to the black abyss behind her and called, "Come along, brats!"

At her words, something stirred within the crater. Izuku watched in horror as creatures dragged themselves from the depths of the crater to the surface. They moved stiffly and slowly. All of their movements were in sync, too. It was if they worked in a sort of hive mentality. What were these little creatures? Izuku wasn't exactly sure at first, but the longer he stared at them, the more he realized just what they were. Izuku squinted his eyes at the horde, and a horrified look washed over his features. These monsters weren't really monsters at all. From the depths of the underground, covered in grime and dirt, were children of varying ages. They all had this zombified look on their face as they pulled themselves from the darkness into the light. They all look malnourished and thin. Based on the commission's message, he'd been expecting the twenty missing children from his and Kacchan's case, but it wasn't only them. No. Instead, there were hundreds. And they just kept coming.

Katsuki

---

"You know, you heroes really get on my fucking nerves," Dabi droned as flames burned brightly in a circle around the two of them.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, Fire Fucker. No one gives a damn about your whining," Katsuki growled.

"Considering how whiny you were on television the other night," Dabi said with a smirk. "I'd say you've got me beat."

Katsuki let out a low growl of frustration. He really did not have fucking time for this bastard, not when Etsuki was so damn close! Lucky for him this bastard's flames were fueling Katsuki's quirk. He was coated in sweat, and in this weather, that was advantageous.

He sent off an experimental blast toward Dabi, but the fire user easily dodged.

"C'mon, number four! You can do better than that, can't you?" Dabi asked, that dangerous glint in his eyes.

Katsuki had already been burned once by this bastard in the name of protecting this city's children. He didn't plan on getting burned again. He couldn't just go wildly into this battle. He had to think about this smartly. He sent another explosion his way. Katsuki used those few seconds where Dabi's piercing, blue eyes weren't on him to put some distance between them. His quirk was best suited for distance combat.

"Nah, Fire Fucker! I'm just getting started!" he shouted back.

He blasted himself up into the air and landed on top of an apartment building. His eyes scanned the ground for Dabi. He was so damn good a disappearing right when Katsuki wanted him. But he couldn't be far. The circle of flames hadn't been extinguished. Although the bastard did have the tendency to walk through those scorching flames... Which is exactly what he was fucking now. By the time he found Dabi walking through the northern part of the circle, a ripple of blue flames were barreling toward Katsuki at the top of the apartment complex. He blasted his own explosion at the flame to disperse them before they could get to the building.

He had a fucking trackrecord for acruing insane amounts of property damage when he wasn't careful, and even though he knew he'd save the day at the end of all of this, he really didn't want Iida to give him an earful for his carelessness.

He launched himself off of the room and into the air. He sent a few more shots at Dabi in an attempt to weaken his defenses, and Dabi shot his own flames back at Katsuki. It went on like this, back and forth blast of orange and blue. Their attacks lit up the sky. And while it should have been exhausting, Katsuki was only just getting started. Sure, he was running on fumes, but he had a penchant for murder. On the top of his list was Fire Fucker.

"Why won't you just fucking DIE already?!" Katsuki roared as several more explosions popped off at Dabi. The stupid fuck only countered them with more flames.

"I'd rather not. I think I like washing you boil," Dabi said with that intensity Katsuki was familiar with. It made sense that he and the fucking Half-and-Half Bastard were siblings. They both had this d

Holy shit. It was fucking scorching. Sure, it gave Katsuki the ability to build up a decent sweat. But that only helped if he wasn't fucking cooked in the process. He could handle heat. That wasn't the problem. He was gonna get his ass incinerated if he didn't end this shit - and fast.

He launched himself higher into the air. He had a bird's eye view while Dabi was on the ground. This gave him a perfect opening. The streets were barren. The civilians had long since evacuated once the fight had begun. And considering they were in the middle of the street, he could be a little more careless. So long as he didn't damage any of the apartments surrounding him, he'd be fine. Katsuki's bright red eyes were alight with excitement as he sent several concentrated explosions toward the ground where Dabi stood. He heart thumped wilding in his chest with the thrill of battle as light and smoke filled the air. And when it all cleared, all that was left was a scorch mark where Dabi once stood. He landed on the ground and turned around once in a circle. Dabi was nowhere to be seen. But he wasn't naïve enough to believe that those little explosions had taken Dabi out. He was too damn good at being a villain. He had years of evasion under his belt that Katsuki was only just mastering on how to pick up on. He knew he was hiding somewhere around here...

Once again, he felt the heat before he saw the flames. Dabi's quirk, cremation, was wild and untamed as he sent licks of blue flames barrelling toward Katsuki. This time, he didn't allow himself to get burned. He blasted himself skyward once more. And when he was coming down from the apex of his flight, he aimed the Howitzer Impact upon Dabi. As soon as he had eyes on the fuck, he let the blast go.

A feral growl exploded from him along with the bright light from his quirk.

"FUCKING DIE!"

He only saw the look of surprise on Dabi's face before he was blasted back, skidding across the pavement. Before the Fire Fucker had a chance to recover, Katsuki landed with a bang! and pounced on the guy, sending one last blast into his face for good measure. It might have been slightly overkill, but this guy was notorious for being hard to take down.

The ring of flames around them died out, leaving Katsuki in the sunshine of late fall. Dabi was out cold.

"Dynamight!" he heard Aizawa shout. Katsuki turned to face him. With him, he had Cementos. "We'll take care of him from here. You go help Deku."

"Deku?" he asked, brows furrowed. "I don't even know where that green fuck is at!"

"He's a few blocks over. Hasaki just came out of the damn ground with a battalion of kids."

"Fuck."

"Go. Eraserhead and I can handle this one," Cementos said as he touched the ground. Dabi was quickly encased in his quirk. Satisfying to finally see that fuck subdued.

Katsuki nodded sharply before taking off. As soon as he was out of the heat of his own battle and high above the apartment buildings surrounding the UA campus, Katsuki saw it. Or rather her. Kiruka's hair was going wild. He could see it from several blocks away, those bright, red locks battering whoever the fuck she was fighting against. And apparently, there were a bunch of kids there, too?!

Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!

Why the fuck did Kiruka have to get fucking caught up in this shit? He could handle villains like Dabi and the Pied Piper. But his ex-wife becoming a villain in this plot? FUCK! Why couldn't this be fucking easy? He could already feel his anxiety building. The last time he'd gone up against Kiruka, she'd fucking battered him. He should have gone to hospital, but He had refused to go up against her then because she was a civilian. And now he was suddenly supposed to change that mentality all because she'd decided to be a fucking villain?!

He couldn't turn back now. He couldn't fucking allow himself to get caught in his fucking fears. He had a damn job to do! But when those fears were so damn crippling..? He already had to fucking face her in court. Why now?

His thoughts short circuited. If Kiruka was here fucking fighting for the Paranormal Liberation Front, where the fuck was Katsuo?! Why the fuck did his ex-wife do this shit? Couldn't he have one child at least marginally safe?! Etsuki was in these streets with the front. Somewhere the fucking stupid ass higher powers only knew about, and his son- Well, who the fuck knew who was watching Katsuo!

Katsuki careened across the sky. Kiruka was going down, and it would be at the hands of Katsuki. She's finally crossed the last line. She was no longer his ex-wife. She was a villain through and through, and he wouldn't excuse her actions because of the woman she used to be. That woman was dead, and in the ashes of her former self, a monster had arisen.

Izuku

---

The children stood on the edge of the crater preparing to attack. They were silent. They didn't even look like they had brains of their own. They were probably under the control of the Pied Piper, wherever he was hiding. And apparently, he could order them to obey the commands of others because Kiruka had ordered them out of the freaking hole in the ground!

Izuku looked around him. More heroes were showing up with each passing moment. While he desperately wanted to go after the orange and blue flashes of light a few blocks over that he knew were Kacchan and Dabi, he couldn't. He had business to finish. Kiruka wasn't just some villain. She was Kacchan's abuser. He couldn't let Kacchan face her again. Not when he wounds were so fresh on his memories. He'd take this crazy fucking bitch down. He'd do anything to protect the man he loved.

That realization dawned on him so suddenly. He loved Kacchan. He loved him so damn much that he was prepared to go to battle for him to protect him from his crazy ex wife. He'd move mountains for that man. He made his heart do somersaults in his chests and smiles brighter than the sun crack across his cheeks. Kacchan was doing what Kacchan did best. He was fiery and ferocious, but he was passionate, and Izuku loved everything about him. And sure, he'd dated others in the past. He'd had other boyfriends. But no one held a candle to Bakugou Katsuki. It had always been Kacchan, and it always would be. Izuku loved him so damn much. Even his children. How could he not? Etsuki was just like her dad as a kid. She was smart and kind and funny, too. Her quirk was amazing, and she came from Kacchan. What more of a reason did he need to love her, too?

Which is whu stopping Kiruka was so personal. She wouldn't hurt the people he loved anymore. He wouldn't stand for it. Kacchan and Etsuki deserved the world. No some bitch who hurt children.

Speaking of children. They really just needed to stop these kids from attacking. And to do that, they had to take out Kiruka. She was in command here. If he could take her down, then it was one small part of this battle won. Really, it was a win-win situation in his books.

"Deku!" Kirishima called from behind him.

Izuku glanced back at him. Kirishima wasn't alone. With him, he'd brought Camie, Ashido, and Todoroki. Now this was looking more like a team. He and Sero could have held their own for a while, but eventually they would have been overrun by the sheer numbers of the crowd of children in front of them.

"What's going on, Deku?" Ashido asked as she jogged up to him. "Who are all of these kids?"

"They're being controlled by the Paranormal Liberation Front and the Pied Piper. I think he-"

"Holy shit! Is that Kiruka?" Kirishima suddenly asked.

Just then, the red head shot off sharp missiles of hair toward the little party of heroes. They all darted out of the way to avoid being hit.

"Yep! Definitely that psycho biotch!" Camie shouted from ten feet away.

"I'm not a psycho, darling," Kiruka said from her position behind the army of children. "I'm a visionary."

"Yeah, one who gets off sending literal kids to fight her battles!" Ashido shouted.

Kiruka smirked above them. "They make good soldiers, don't you think?"

Izuku wanted to scream at her that no! Children did not make good soldiers! They weren't supposed to be soldiers at all! But this crazy woman wouldn't listen to him.

So, instead of listening to the load of crap coming out of her mouth, Izuku used the distraction to launch himself at her feet first with Full Cowling backing him. Kiruka had other ideas. Or rather. The children under her control did. A wall of stone dirt blocked Izuku from reaching Kiruka. He used his momentum to bounce off of it, instead landing back outside the perimeter of the crater.

"So bold, little tramp," Kiruka said with a chuckle. "Don't think you're going to get past my defenses so easily."

Izuku's eyes hardened as he glared at her. He'd take her down.

"Children. Attack."

All of hell broke loose as those words were enunciated into existence. Some of the children came barrelling toward Izuku and company while the majority broke off and went toward UA. He knew the school would be fine. They had an amazing staff to keep it safe. He also trusted the teachers to put the children's best interests at heart. They wouldn't hurt any of them. They were loyal teachers unlike some.

Izuku didn't bother to stop them. Instead, he focused on the twenty or so that were heading toward him. Them, and Kiruka. He had eyes for the red haired hellion. He wanted to stop her above all of the others in front of him. She'd caused so much damn pain in the last seven years. She'd hurt Katsuki. She'd hurt Etsuki. And she was hurting each and every single one of these kids by ordering them into battle. Izuku wouldn't stand for this. He couldn't.

"Can you guys handle the kids?" he asked.

"Yeah, man," Kirishima said. "We're not gonna let those kiddos get hurt."

"What are you going to do, Midoriya? Todoroki asked.

"I'm going to take on Kiruka."

The others nodded around him.

"Pinky, I need you with me. I have a plan, but I'll need your acid."

The pink woman nodded. "Gotcha! Tell me what you need me to do!"

He gave her a curt nod and gestured for her to follow him before he launched himself up and away from the children running their way. Ashido followed. Not a moment later, the kids were going head on with the heroes. The heroes remained strictly on the defensive while the kids were running a hard offense.

"What do you need me to do, Deku?" Ashido asked as she landed beside him on the rooftop in which he now stood.

"Kiruka uses her hair to fight. We need to get rid of it, but Shoot Style can only sever one arm of hair at a time."

"So what you're saying is you need me to melt a bitch's hair."

"Exactly! Can you do it?"

Ashido smirked. "Easy. Can you get me closer to her?"

Izuku nodded firmly. "If you don't mind being thrown."

"I'm up for a good thrill," she said."

And that's how Ashido managed to get herself launched across the battlefield. With the aid of One for All, he threw her toward Kiruka.

Izuku watched in silent anticipation as Ashido sent spurt after spurt of acid toward Kiruka. Several globs hit the woman's hair, reducing it to a foul smelling goop. And this time, it didn't regrow. And when she tried to regrow it and send those very strands back at Ashido, nothing happened. Kiruka gave a howl of frustration. The unmarried strands sent off small darts of hair at Ashido instead.

Izuku stepped in. He shot a gust of air at the darts with his Shoot Style. They scattered. Green lightning crackled to life around Izuku as he darted to Mina's side.

"She's really pissed off, Deku!" she said as she shook out her limbs.

"Yeah she is," he replied. "Ready to make her even worse?"

Ashido grinned a feral grin that rivaled one of Kacchan's. "Hell yeah! Let's go!"

Izuku lifted Ashido and once again hurled her toward Kiruka. This time around Kiruka was expecting them. Mina didn't get half of the acid coverage that he had before. He cursed.

Instead of sitting there idly, he launched himself at Kiruka once more. She had less hair this time around, sure but that didn't mean her defenses weren't any less impressive. She sent her hair at him in a long arm this time. Izuku was ready for her.

"Blackwhip!" he roared as the black tendrils burst forth from his hands.

Blackwhip latched around the thick strands of hair, holding them taught. Each time Kiruka sent another strand, he captured it. And Ashido was right there beside him to melt off the ends that he'd caught

The anger on Kiruka's pretty face was explosive. She had a snarl twisted onto her lips and her eyes were hard. She attempted to free her hair from Izuku's hold, but his ability to wield Blackwhip had improved greatly since his UA days. He was in control.

What he wasn't in control of were the children fighting around him. Just when he thought that he and Ashido had a system down, the air was literally stolen from his lungs. Izuku gasped in surprise as it suddenly became harder to breathe. It was like the oxygen was being stolen from his lungs. Izuku looked around wildly for the source as his hand touched his throat.

Not ten feet away from him stood Mori Akio, one of the first children that was taken. Izuku looked at him horrified as he remembered what exactly his quirk entailed. He could manipulate the oxygen in the air. Apparently, under the control of the Pied Piper, he could concentrate his quirk so much better. He couldn't have been more than eight or nine years old. He shouldn't have had nearly much control, but then again, there was an adult mind working behind each child's quirk.

Izuku wanted to move, to stop Mori-kun. But his head was getting all fuzzy, and he had a very real fear that he would be able to gauge his strength. He couldn't risk hurting the boy. But he also couldn't die here. Not when everything he loved was on the line. Black spots crowded around his vision. He felt himself getting wobbly on his feet. He clawed at his throat now, desperate for someone around him to see how he was struggling to breathe. He wouldn't be surprised that in the chaos of battle, someone would miss this fight for oxygen that he was having. His lungs were on fire. He wanted to calm them with a large intake of breath, but there was nothing to take in. It was almost as if he were drowning but without the water. He always wished there was water. It would cool the burning he felt at the very least

But just when he thought he'd pass out, air came rushing back to Izuku's lungs. He collapsed onto all fours, coughing. His eyes watered as he gasped in that sweet, sweet relief for his lungs.

"Midoriya! Are you okay?" Camie asked, hauling him to his feet.

Izuku nodded. "Y-Yeah," he stammered out. "How did you-?"

"Stop him? I created an illusion of you, and he chased after it. You need to move before another one of these kids attacks you!"

"Where's Ashido?"

"She's attempting to fight Kiruka, but without you, she ain't doin' too hot," she said as she dragged Izuku across the battlefield.

Izuku nodded. "We kind of have a system, but she's caught on quick so far!"

"I have an idea," Camie said. "You're not gonna like it though."

"I'm desperate for anything right now!"

She nodded. "I'm going to make an illusion of Bakubabe and distract her with it."

Izuku stopped in his tracks. While he wanted desperately to tell her that it was a terrible idea, he knew she had something going there. Kiruka's hatred for Kacchan has the potential to be blinding, and they could use that to their advantage. He'd been selfish to tell her no because he simply couldn't bear to even see the illusion of Kacchan facing her.

"Do you really think she'll fall for it?" Izuku asked.

Camie nodded. "With as much hatred as she has for him, I think it'll be perfect."

He nodded. "Okay. Do it. If you can get her distracted, I can get Ashido in there to destroy the rest of her hair."

Camie smirked at him. "I got this, Midobabe. Don't you worry."

With those parting words, she ran off to get herself situated. It was only moments later that her illusion walked onto the scene. It was Kacchan in all of his proud glory. It looked exactly like him, right down to the winter gear he had already begun to wear. He looked pretty beaten already. He was covered in soot and dirt and there were some spots of blood on him. He was battleworn, and considering the flashes of light that had stopped since he saw him earlier, it was likely how he really looked. He approached Kiruka with a snarl on his lips. Immediately, her eyes were glued to him.

"You've really crossed too many damn lines today, bitch," he said in that way that Kacchan only could. Deep and guttural and full of passion. Camie really knew Kacchan well if she could master his voice and mannerisms like that. As much as Izuku has obsessed over Kacchan and his work growing up, he hadn't thought to pay that much attention to those details. But that was the nature of her quirk, wasn't it? Attention to detail? SO cool!

"And you're yet again a thorn in my damn side," Kiruka snapped back. "So why don't you just lay the fuck down and die?"

That's when Kiruka attacked. Izuku didn't wait to see how Camie's illusion fared against Kiruka's tirade of hair. He got to work on his end of the fight.

"Pinky!" he shouted, running toward the pinkette who checked over a group of kids that had been wrangled together. Sero was taping them together with his quirk.

"Deku!" she shouted back, gesturing for him to come over.

"How are the kids?" he asked, looking at the little group.

They looked totally zombified. Blank expressions. Slack limbs. Glassed over eyes. It was eerie. It was as if their separation from the hive had severed whatever connection that they had to the Pied Piper. Could that be how the quirk worked? The slightest interference set the kids into this zoned-out state?

"They're not even fighting back, Deku," she said. "And honestly, it feels wrong tying them up like villains."

Izuku frowned. "It's either this or they get themselves hurt trying to attack others."

She nodded forlornly. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"We're helping them by taking out Kiruka and the Pied Piper, and considering Camie's illusion won't hold up against Kiruka forever..."

Ashido nodded firmly. "Tell me what you need me to do."

The next few minutes were a blur. Izuku couldn't remember much of it. Kiruka's attention was still solely on the illusion of Kacchan, outside of her primary focus. It allowed them to easily get into position. Izuku was on the top of one of the taller apartment complexes just outside of UA, and Ashido was right beside him. They looked down on the battle that was being waged between the illusion and Kiruka. He was surprised that Camie was able to keep up with how fast the battle was going. But then again, she'd been perfecting her illusions since she went to Shiketsu. They were her specialty.

"How big do you think you can get Acid Veil to be?" Izuku asked after a few moments of analyzing the fight.

"About a twenty by twenty foot square."

"How many times do you think you'll be able to do it?"

"Once, maybe twice if necessary. But after all of this, my skin is already pretty tapped," she said.

Izuku nodded. "I think once is all we'll need," he said, looking back out at the battlefield.

"What's the plan, 'Zuku?" she asked. "I can see the wheels in your head turning."

He hummed thoughtfully before looking back at her. "I want you to use Acid Veil on her hair. If I can get you in close, do you think you can do it?"

She nodded firmly. "Yeah. Just. How am I gonna get in and our of there without getting skewered? I'm sure if we threaten her, she'll turn her attention back to us in a heartbeat."

Izuku already had that answer. "I'll use Blackwhip. That should be fast enough," he said.

Ashido clapped her hands. "Alright. Let's do this thing."

He nodded and concentrated on summoning Blackwhip. He felt the dark energy coursing through him as his anger toward Kiruka swelled to the forefront of his mind. It burst forth from his hands and he looked toward Ashido one last time.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked her.

She nodded firmly. "It's now or never, baby."

With those words, Izuku wrapped Blackwhip around Ashido. "Three, two, one!"

On one, he shot Ashido toward Kiruka. His pink friend, just as she hovered over the unsuspecting villain, unleashed Acid Veil. The thick And once it was gone, he dragged Ashido back toward him and away from the danger. He could smell Kiruka's melting hair from here. The vast majority of her hair, save for the strands that she had been using to strike at the illusion of Kacchan, melted away into that gross goop that Ashido had been creating this entire time.

The pinkette gave a roar of triumph. "YES!" she exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air. "It's basically all gone, 'Zuku! I can get rid of that easy!"

But Izuku couldn't pay attention to her. No. His eyes were glued to an enraged Kiruka. Having realized that her hair was in shambles and her chances to utterly annihilate Kacchan were growing slimmer and slimmer by the moment, she used the last of her hair to stab at illusion Kacchan. She was wild and untamed and utterly ferocious. It was only a wonder that Camie was able to keep up through the battle thus far. He couldn't blame her for being unable to keep up now that Kiruka's moves had become unpredictable. One of those powerful strikes struck the illusion straight through the abdomen.

That was when Izuku realized everything was all wrong.

Camie's illusions typically disappeared as soon as they were hit. They didn't spurt out blood. And they most definitely did not let out roars of pain. No. They usually just disappeared into the same smoke that they were created from. It was then that Izuku realized in absolute horror that it wasn't an illusion at all.

Katsuki

---

Katsuki was aching all over. His arms were sore from the extensive use of his quirk. His legs ached from having to catch himself from falling so many times. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. And now, Kiruka's hair had stabbed straight through him.

The sound that came out of his mouth was inhuman. Sure, he'd been stabbed with shit before in his lifetime. But there was something about the thick strands of hair stabbing through his abdomen that was particularly painful. Especially fucking combined with the soreness in his muscles. And he was sure this wasn't even the worst of it considering he was all fucking hyped up on adrenaline.

Kiruka retracted her hair, poising it once again to strike. "I can't wait til you're fucking dead, Katsu-"

Before she could get the words out, Katsuki sent out one last ditch effort into his defense. He gave it all that he had, one arm raised toward Kiruka and the other clutching at his wound. The small ball of light formed in his hand. And once it had enough power behind it, Stun Grenade went off. It blinded Kiruka and effectively stopped her attack. She stumbled back, her arm shielding her eyes.

Much to his surprise, not a moment later, Deku came barreling in in a torrent of green lightning and anger. Mina clung to his back like a goddamn spidermonkey, a glob of acid waiting in her hand. Deku's feet collided with Kiruka's body. She was knocked from her feet like a goddamn ragdoll. There was something satisfying about the way she flung to the side, something that Katsuki couldn't name. Maybe it was because Kiruka was finally getting a bit of the fucking karma that she deserved.

Deku landed on the ground, and Mina jumped down from her back. She used the glob of acid to melt away the last of Kiruka's hair, not that she could have used it. Deku's use of One For All had knocked the monster she-devil bitch of a woman out fucking cold.

Camie came out of nowhere, her arms crushing Katsuki in her tight embrace. He didn't bother to fight her off. He figured she'd do more damage if he tried. Nah. He just let her take in her hug while she yelled at him for being reckless. He wasn't really listening to her anyway.

And while he was in one of his best friend's arms, Katsuki let out a deep breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was over. Kiruka was taken out. He was sure she was still breathing where she lay crumpled on the pavement, but she'd be put into prison for this shit. She'd get sentence to whatever time she deserved, and Katsuki could just be fucking free of her. Finally, after seven fucking years, he'd have his goddamn life back...

A slow clap sounded behind him, shaking away his celebratory thoughts. His body and head felt so damn heavy from the loss of blood. But slowly, he turned to face the sound. He half expected it to be Aizawa and all of his sarcastic glory congratulating him on his win. The other half of him expected something so much worse.

And of course, it was the worse half that won out.

The Pied Piper stood not twenty feet fucking from him, his hands clasped in front of him.

"My, my. That was quite the show!" he exclaimed, a dark smile spreading across his plain features.

Katsuki, Camie, Mina, and Izuku all tensed at the sound of his voice. Despite their evident exhaustion, they were not going to let this fuck get away. Katsuki was determined to power through this. This sick fuck had turned his life upsidedown, and he wanted to regain his fucking control.

"I'm quite surprised you were able to take her down," the Piper said. "Slice's quirk was one of the finest in my artillery."

Katsuki snarled. "You're talkin' like you're some big fuckin' general."

"Oh, Dynamight, that is because I am. Have you not seen my army?" he asked.

Katsuki looked around him. The rest of the heroes - Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Cementoss, Aizawa, and so many more were attempting to subdue and stop the hundreds of children that were fighting to get to UA.

"I don't see an army. I see a bunch of kids you've mind controlled into doing your fucking bullshit bidding!" he roared back.

"Isn't that exactly what an army is?" the Piper asked. "A group of mindless people fighting for a cause that a higher power has deemed relevant."

"Children are not soldiers!" Deku roared as he came to stand on Katsuki's right.

"You're hellacious as fuck for making these poor kids do this. Didn't you even think about what this would do to their poor baby brains?!" Camie asked as she stepped up to his left.

"Oh, I did," he said. "But I just didn't care."

Just then, Katsuki's world exploded. Everything was a flurry of motion. He saw sparks of green amidst the colors of the explosions. Deku had shielded him from the brunt of whatever attack had jostled the three of them. He managed to stay on his feet, but the power behind it had his head reeling. He hadn't been expecting it. Who the fuck else had an explosive quirk like-

All of Katsuki's thoughts short circuited when the acrid scent of burning caramel reached his nose. His head whipped up. He searched for the source of the explosions and the source of the smell. His eyes fell on her moments later. Etsuki. His light. His daughter. She looked just the same as the day he'd lost her. She was barefoot despite the cool temperatures. She wore her Mirko pajamas, but they were dirty and stained after two weeks away from home. Her long, blonde hair was poised and at the ready. She stood at the end of the street with one of the girls from the orphanage. It was the girl with the water quirk. Both girls had blank looks on their faces as they approached him. It was as if his own daughter didn't recognize him.

Katsuki shoved past Deku and took a step toward his little girl.

"Etsuki! What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice strained.

She didn't answer him with words. Instead, she shot more hair missiles at him. Katsuki jumped back to dodge them, his eyes wide with horror. The gash in his abdomen burned with the movement.

"Gremlin! Stop!" he shouted, desperation leaking into his voice. He needed to get through to her, to break whatever trance she was in.

"She's not yours anymore," said the Pied Piper in a chilling tone. "She's not yours. Not Slice's. She's mine.

"No!" Katsuki roared.

"Yes," the Piper said with a tone of finality. "She's mine, and she's such a good little doll, too."

The Pied Piper. Katsuki saw red. This fuck had the audacity to call his daughter his?! The actual fuck?! He wouldn't fucking stand for this shit!

"Why the fuck do you even have her here?!"

"She makes the perfect little bodyguard when you have control over her quirk," he said. "You are my perfect little bodyguard, aren't you, Etsuki?"

Much to Katsuki's horror, his daughter responded. It was her voice, but the monotone in it didn't sound anything like his little ray of sunshine.

"Yes, Sir," she said quietly.

"She's not yours, you bastard!" Katsuki roared as he took a step toward the Piper.

Fuck, his heart couldn't take this. It couldn't take seeing his daughter turned against him. But apparently, that's exactly what the damn Piper wanted all this time.

"Sure she is," he said. "Watch. I'll prove it to you. Etsuki. Attack."

Once again, the world exploded. With her quirk under the direct control of the Piper, Etsuki's power had amplified one hundred fold. Her explosions rivaled that of Katsuki's. It struck the three heroes like a fucking missile. Katsuki was blasted backward and landed flat on his back. He let out a low groan of pain as his landing seriously aggravated his injury from Kiruka. But he forced himself back to his feet along with Deku and Camie.

The other two heroes made a move to step forward, but Katsuki immediately sent them a snarl of opposition.

"Don't you dare think about fighting her," he said in a dangerously low tone.

Deku looked at him hopelessly. "Kacchan, if we don't stop her, she'll kill you."

"No, she won't!" he snapped.

"Yes, she will," the Piper interjected. "If I tell her to kill you, she will kill you."

Katsuki's attention snapped back to the man who had started this. The man who was turning his own daughter against him.

"Fuck off, you stupid mind-control freak!" he roared. He glanced back at Deku and Camie. "Take care of the Piper."

The other two heroes nodded and made a move to attack, but Etsuki was faster than them. He saw her hair poising to strike this time. Just in the knick of time, Katsuki managed to dodge the attack. She sent more strands of her explosive hair at him, and again, he dodged. He refused to fight his daughter. There would come a day where he would spar with his daughter in earnest. It would be a day when she wanted to fight him, to test out her skills. But today was not that day.

"Gremlin!" he shouted. "Stop! This isn't you!"

She didn't acknowledge his words, and instead, sent more sharp missiles of hair at him. He was too slow to dodge some of them. They stabbed into him, and then moments later, exploded. He was sent sprawling backward away from the little girl who was quickly advancing on him once again.

"Etsuki!" he called out, his voice cracking.

He couldn't stand to see this. He couldn't stand to see his daughter turned against him, turned into a pawn for this fucking villain. It shattered what little composure he had fucking left. Tears welled in his eyes.

"Firecracker, you have to stop," he shouted as he dragged himself back to his feet.

Another blast quickly sent him sprawling once more. But Katsuki wasn't going to lay down and give up. He couldn't. If he did, he'd allow Etsuki to become the villain that the Pied Piper desperately was trying to turn her into. He wouldn't allow it. He'd already failed his daughter too much in losing her to this asshole. He wouldn't do it again.

"You can't let him control you, Etsuki!"

Again, she didn't hear him. Her hair sent him flying backward once again. This time, his back connected with a hard, brick wall. The air was knocked from his lungs. His head spun from both the collision and the blood loss he was experiencing. Fuck. He was in horrible shape. His body ached all fucking over. His chest ached. His heart was in shambles. Everything was fucking falling apart aroung.

Etsuki stomped toward him with those little bare feet of hers. Her hair was once again poised to strike. He had a deep, dark feeling that if this attack landed, it wouldn't end well. He was literally backed against a wall. With the power that she was exhibiting, it would come crashing down upon him. Katsuki didn't have the strength left to blast his way through that.

"Etsuki, sweetheart. I don't want you to do this, but he's making you," he whispered as tears slowly trailed down his grimy face. He glanced at the greenette who was not ten feet from him. "Deku will tell you, it's not your fault, though. He'll tell you just how much daddy loves you."

Katsuki closed his eyes, waiting for the next blast to come. He waited for this final blow that would surely end him. But it never came.

"Only villains make heroes bleed," a tiny voice whispered.

Katsuki's eyes snapped open, and he looked at his little girl in front of him. He wanted to say something, anything - but the words were lost in his throat as a heavy sob sounded from deep inside of. There was clarity in Etsuki's bright blue eyes. There was both clarity and anger.

She whirled around to face the Pied Piper, and stomped toward him. She pointed her tiny finger at him. "You made me hurt my Daddy!" she shrilled.

Etsuki's hair stood on end, and once again, she was firing off her little explosive missiles. They weren't nearly as powerful as the explosions from before, but they were effective nonetheless. They were the perfect distraction.

"Deku! NOW!" Katsuki roared as he collapsed to his knees.

The green, glowing lightning that was the trademark of One For All illuminated the area that they were in.

Katsuki wasn't exactly sure what happened next. His consciousness was fading in and out too quickly. It felt as though he closed his eyes for only a second. When he opened them again, his vision was hazy. He attempted to take in the multitude of sights in front of him. The Pied Piper was on the ground unconscious. Deku was busy cuffing him. Aizawa his his quirk activated as he looked at the fucker on the ground, nullifying his quirk. A small body collided into him, throwing their little arms around his neck.

Katsuki was shaken from his hazy wanderings as his daughter engulfed him in a hug. He held her close, using the last of his strength to wrap his arms tightly around her. Katsuki inhaled her scent. Etsuki. She smelt the same as she always did. Burnt caramel, just like him.

"Fuck. I missed you, Gremlin," he whispered softly.

Etsuki didn't say anything. Sobs wracked her little chest as she clung to him. Katsuki cried, too. How could he not? He finally had Etsuki back. She was finally here. Those two weeks had felt like an eternity, but finally, she had his little bundle of hope back in his arms.

"Daddy, you're stinky," Etsuki said in her tiny, warbly voice.

He chuckled lightly as he squeezed her tighter. "You don't smell good, either, Gremlin."

"You're worse."

"Yeah, baby, I am," he whispered.

He didn't give a damn if there was utter chaos around them as children were finally released from the Pied Piper's spell. He didn't care that he needed serious medical support. He didn't give a damn about any of it because Etsuki was here, and he knew that everything would be okay.

Beta: I'm gonna smack that stupid ass teacher in to next year and then build a time machine to smack her back to now and kill her.

Author: I was *reaaaally* trying to make her irritating. Did it work?

Beta: No I just want to kill her cause I'm so happy with how she is as a character. OFC I AM! I'M GONNA MURDER THE TWO OF YE. She pissed me off and you pissed me off by making her piss me off (Kacchan logic).

Author: Succeeeessss