Chapter 34: Sinister Pursuits
"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red."
― Clive Barker, Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three
Ochako
'It will be fine, it has to be fine.' She reminds herself.
Her heart thrums in complete opposition to such an idea though, beating matching the drum of the rainfall upon her umbrella. The sky has remained a tired gray all day, sunlight only cracking through briefly before being covered by a blanket of thunderstorms once more.
She wishes right about now that she had Tsuyu's ability to camouflage herself into any environment to give follow after Izuku or Momo's lucky bag that could give her the items necessary to somehow maybe be two places at once.
Nishimura nudges her gently along, shiny white smile barely helping to calm the roiling of her stomach.
"Don't worry, nobody here is going to give you any trouble on my watch!" He cheers, assuming her fears are for this dinner and not Izuku.
It nags at her, Izuku is walking into danger on purpose!
'He has Infliction. Sir Nighteye will be keeping track of his every movement.' She recalls, though that only quells the pounding of her heart by a fraction.
'If worse comes to worse, he can always heal any injuries he gets.' And at this, she feels her heart and mind finally start to truly relax.
Nishimura guides her into the entrance, taking in the array of sharp black suits and dresses shades of deeps reds to bright yellows that make her feel doubly out of place in her plain borrowed dress despite how much her make up and hair have been touched up by Ayame.
"Don't worry, you're going to do well! You've faced bigger threats then a policeman all dressed up." He encourages by her side.
True as that may be, she's sure not everyone is happy to have her here. She's made too many mistakes that botched up missions that had been in the work for weeks, caused people to assume she isn't fit for any Hero agency let alone working with a legacy Hero like Nishimura.
"It's easier said than done." Ochako chimes back weakly as they finally enter through the main entrance hall.
Eyes glance their way, bile creeping up her throat seeing some eyes narrow, lips contort in disgust before looking away.
Nishimura squeezes at her hand before her gaze can linger on them, guiding them to their assigned seats.
A woman across from them nods in greeting, Ochako glancing towards her gold badge to get her name: Sugiwara
Lips stained a scarlet red curve upward catching her gaze, steel blue orbs brightening.
"Ah, so you're the infamous Ochako Uraraka, huh? I honestly pictured someone more...grungy looking going by all the stories I've heard." She starts.
'Um, thanks?' Ochako thinks, not sure if that's meant to be a compliment.
It sounds far from one.
Her lips purse, wondering what to say. She's sure all these officers have heard some story about her whether it be good, bad, or just a wild rumor the media has come up with.
Surely they're listening in now, curious as to how this interaction is going to go.
Sugiwara leans in towards the table, swirling at her amber cocktail at her lack of response. "Oh, where are my manners! I'm Himari Sugiwara; the captain of the division for the monitoring of drug trafficking and counterfeit goods operations for Musutafu and the neighboring districts. I suppose you've seen my name along with my lieutenant's come up in the news in regards to this Shie Hassaikai group and the drugs they've somehow got moved from the streets into actual reputable hospitals and clinics."
Ochako nods slowly, her name did ring a bell now that she was hearing it fully.
But then, it's impossible to forget the way her icy blue-gray eyes can pierce into a criminal's face and get them to spill all their secrets and connections.
"It's a honor to meet you." Ochako finally finds her voice, bowing in respect.
Himari's eyes narrow then and Ochako briefly considers if she's about to get one of her trademark interrogations.
"So, tell me a little bit about yourself. And not one of those generic 'I'm a 1st year student at U.A., love the school and classes' answers. I want to know if all the rumors swirling about you and that green-haired boy are true or just popping headlines the media is using to make a quick buck or garner attention/views." She starts.
Ochako swallows, deciding to begin with her country life back in the Mie prefecture. It's something few people know about after all unless they grew up around the area.
"The grass in the summer can grow as tall as your head, usually changing from a forest green to a dusky yellow by late July/early August. Oh, and it always smells of the sea, the wind carries it from the coastline up into the mountains. My Gamps and Gamma would often take me to the beach to gather seagrass and shells to make necklaces. My parents own a construction company there too, though business has been slower than usual which gave me more interest in going towards the city." Ochako goes on, stopping herself realizing she's blabbering.
"Sorry, this is all probably very boring too you!" She squeaks out, sliding herself down in her seat.
Himari only laughs, shaking her head letting the pin out of her hair letting auburn locks fall against her neck. "No, no it's always nice to hear about someone's life who didn't grow up in the city like me or in the suburbs right nearby."
She clasps her hands together then, eyes clouding over in a way that reminds her of the sea fog that always rolls in after a rainy night.
Or of when storms brewed in the distance, coming in swirling bundles of dark clouds.
A storm in a sense, is coming towards her now at Himari's next question.
"Tell me about your connection to Izuku Midoriya. I know he's one of your fellow classmates at U.A., but I'm sure you're aware the recent negative portrayals and behavior he's done as of late. Incidents where you've unfortunately been involved as well. Do you happen to know if he's still up to 'no good and getting in the way of the police and Pro-Hero's work' as the media would say?" She pries.
Instantly she thinks of what Sir Nighteye has asked him to do, that he is currently dining with the very criminal Himari Sugiwara's team has been after.
"No, I mean Izuku has been working with police and Pro-hero agencies more as of late. He's trying to move past all the negative stories now that he has better control of his quirk." Ochako answers.
It's not a lie, though even to her own ears she sounds a bit unsure.
And of our course Himari catches this, lips flattening.
"You don't sound very confident Uraraka. Is Midoriya the type of person to normally cause mischief? Bully others into going along with his plans? What exactly is he to you? Because I would hate to see a rising young woman like yourself be caught up in a mistake, boys and men no matter their age can be cruel." She pressures.
'No, now you're just thinking of Bakugo.' Ochako frowns.
Izuku is many things to her, he was in the beginning during their first examination periods merely an anxious, plain boy who had such a geeky knowledge of all heroes that it made her giggle.
But then they became classmates, completed assignments together...
That plainness became cute, his nerdiness endearing, and gone were his fears of dealing with their upperclassmen to the villains that threatened their school life and goals.
Her heartrate speeds up again, putting into words what she rarely says aloud.
"Izuku is my boyfriend, he's important to me no matter what is said about him in the media or about his quirk. And soon enough Sugiwara, you will see that too."
Sugiwara hums at her mini speech, eyes turning cold.
"I hope you learn soon that words mean nothing in the grand scheme of things Uraraka. It'll need be proven via actions, hopefully before the end of the month. I'm sure Nishimura updated you."
No, he most definitely hadn't.
"W-What do you mean?" Ochako stammers and Sugiwara smirks.
"There's been talk of getting that boy truly dismissed from U.A., the school can only cover up so much bad press and publicity before that bubble bursts. Though you vouch for him, you're not looking at things from an outsider's perspective. Most of the officers and representatives here see Midoriya as dangerous and a boy who still has no control over his quirk, lets his emotions control him."
At her silence she goes on, nodding to a nearby waitress to refill her glass.
"You should know that we have some undercover investigators looking into Shie Hassaikai closely. A rumor has swirled around through the underground clubs and bars where criminals and petty thugs like to frequent that the leader is holding an interest meeting tonight. In an hour's time if all goes well, they should bust through the meeting and hopefully capture the main guy." She explains.
Her heart hammers fretfully, Ochako biting her lips looking down into her water as a waiter comes by with the menus. At this moment, Izuku's working undercover under Nighteye's orders at that very meeting so that shouldn't be an issue. Though to someone like Sugiwara it will only look like he's meeting with a rising criminal organization with the interest of joining them himself despite Nighteye's direct involvement.
'I need to excuse myself, find Izuku.' She realizes.
Her appetite is gone now anyways, stomach curling at the thought of even trying to partake in any of these meals when all of these people think so little of Izuku.
Sugiwara leans back in her chair, smirk widening at her falling composure.
Ochako scoots back from her seat, sending Nishimura an apologetic look as plates of crisp prawns, creamy bisques, and salads are set out in front of them.
"I'm sorry." She mouths, Nishimura mouthing back to ask if she's feeling sick.
She nods as Sugiwara finally looks away from her to greet another captain, excusing herself for the restroom.
But eventually her eyes turn back to her, searing on her back as she calls out to her just loud enough for a few other officers and guests to here and look their way.
"Clock is ticking for him, though I'm sure Midoriya will do something to get his name in the news. I know it will somehow end up at the top of my paperwork once again distracting me from other cases too. Even you can agree with me that seeing his file constantly come up over and over again will make it eventually become a nuisance you want squashed once and for all, right Uraraka?"
Izuku
'Okay relax, just look him in the eye comfortably like everything is fine.'
He must be sweating bullets, feeling Bakugo's tense glare to his side that he's somehow already screwing things up without even saying a word yet.
"Stop fucking looking at me!" He mouths to him when Izuku glances his way again for probably the third time in the past hour, stomping on his foot.
"You're supposed to be helping me!" He mouths back in frustration.
And when Katsuki ignores that, he twists his hand in response, watching as his steak flops back on his plate will a dull thud. It'd be nice if he could've ordered a simple katsudon instead of having to pick from a list of fanciful foods and dishes he's never even heard of, something less complicated and refined as the lobsters and grilled sea bass that he would only eat for special occasions or holidays.
The demon mask Katsuki wears to help hide his identity from the other villains and as his supposed 'bodyguard' as Best Jeanist put it really is matching with how his personality has been so far tonight.
" I must say, I'm glad you made an appearance here, I'm sure all that negative press finally got to you. So tell me, you go by Deku, right? Or should I refer to you as Midoriya? Ah, anyways tell me what you currently think of today's current Hero Society? How have you enjoyed your time at U.A. so far? I suppose it's gone terribly considering it's brought you here." Chisaki begins casually.
"Hero Society?" Izuku parrots back, what did he mean?
Chisaki nods, swirling at his amber cocktail.
He's strangely barely touched any of his food, sanitizing his hands every time he so much as picks up his fork or spoon.
"Yes, it's changed quite a bit from when I was your age to now. The idea of Heroes now seems so glamorized, something more akin to being a celebrity than actually caring about helping protect the everyday citizen." He explains.
"Well, my time at U.A. so far has been good, though I'm only a first year student. Or at least I feel it's been okay despite some setbacks. There's much more opportunities to become a Hero now more than ever before with the variety of Hero Schools, internships, class types, and mentoring at a Hero agency students can do before graduating." Izuku relates excitedly, Bakugo scoffing under his breath for him to calm down.
But he can't help it, this is one subject he knows well at least.
"Your feelings have changed though, haven't they? All that passion has turned to hate for this school that whispers about you behind your back." Chisaki remarks.
Izuku sours, right he's not going to get much out of him praising U.A.
"I...I came here because I was curious to see if I could further grow Infliction under a different teacher." He lies.
The tips of his ears burn, lying has never been his forte.
Chisaki hums thoughtfully, unimpressed. None of what he's said seems to have made an impact from the way his golden orbs harden.
"Interesting, we'll I can teach you must about the different ways you can use Infliction to kill or manipulate others. What U.A's done hasn't been enough, don't you think?" He presses.
Izuku swallows, nodding slowly.
"I mean, surely you've seen the slow rise in crime building back up as soon as All Might announced his retirement. On top of that, you've seen for yourself the way Heroes can have their names dragged through the mud, most people don't feel assured Endeavor will do a proper job as the new number 1 hero. Villains are teaming up with each other at a rapid rate to commit mostly petty crimes without thinking on a grander scale the way I have." Chisaki muses proudly.
Izuku frowns, taking in the underlying meaning of his words.
'Grander scale in what sense?' He wonders.
"What exactly do you mean; what does Shie Hassaikai do that makes it a step above the average criminal or even the League of Villains?" He questions.
A man at the table next to them raises his hand in agreement overhearing them, face obscured with a crow like mask.
"I second the young man's point. Shie Hassaikai hasn't shown itself to be a cut above the League of Villains except in starting petty fights and acting more like a Yakuza gang than a proper criminal organization." He voices.
Despite his own beak-like mask, he can tell Chisaki is smiling, most likely having been waiting for this question to come up from somebody in the room.
"How about I prove it? I'll show you all here and now the latest product I've been working on and mastered!" He announces, rising from his chair to move towards a podium that's been set up for him at the front of the room.
Izuku follows his gaze as he gestures to someone behind the curtains, verdant eyes widening as a girl with curled ivory locks pokes her head out nervously.
'Eri.' He realizes in shock.
Scarlet orbs look around the room, cheeks becoming a flushed pink. "I-It's time for me already?" She squeaks out.
Kai nods, waving her forward, eyes digging on her to follow his command when she shivers in place.
Eri straightens, crimson eyes glazing over in realization the punishment if she disobeys, walking forward mechanically.
"Everyone, what I'm about to show you will be what puts Shie Hassaikai above all other villains and organizations no matter how infamous!" He explains eagerly.
The stage lights fall upon them then, bathing them in a white glow, Eri squinting against the sudden influx of light and the dozens of eyes upon them.
Izuku moves to stand to get a better look, eyes sharpening.
"Don't make any moves just yet." Katsuki warns in a hiss, gripping at his arm but he hardly hears it over the rush of his heart in his ears.
They watch as Eri blankly stretches out her arm in acceptance, see the glimmer of a scalpel in Chisaki's hand as he guides it to her skin.
Briefly Izuku's gaze twists to the other prospective villains watching, gut clenching at the pure gleams of curiosity and excitement in their eyes.
The scent of blood pours into the room like a wave; pungent. Metallic.
Chisaki's works diligently with ease, a practiced scientist as he mixes her blood between blue and black bottles filled with powders set up on a nearby table before finally pouring the mixture all into a small vial.
"Eri is the basis of my newest creations: a quirk enhancing pill and a quirk destroying bullet. Now this sample I've made for you all now is only the fundamental first step of creating my pill or quirk bullet. The pill however has already made its way across multiple hospitals and clinics in the greater Musutafu area already." He explains coolly.
The same pill in his Dad's system, running already through his body with unknown side effects to come once the drug wears off. The joy upon his parent's faces won't last, this burst of health is going to fade and may make his Dad even sicker in the end.
This is all because of him...
"What about the bullet? Can I put it in the brain of a Hero who arrested me last month for a robbery I didn't even do?!" A man yells from somewhere in the back of the room with a tiger mask.
"I'll sweeten the deal for you; you can take away his quirk while you slowly kill him! These pills and the bullets together will revolutionize the way villains attack, will always keep the Heroes on their toes knowing how much we as a society rely on our quirks. Shie Hassaikai will soon be at the forefront of any Heroes' mind should they dare try to cross us!" He answers back to a rise of cheers.
Anger digs into him like thorns, bristling across his body as he moves to stand, verdant eyes aglow.
'I can crush his hand in, break one his legs before he gets any closer to Eri again.' He scowls.
"Damn it, don't use Infliction! Not now; you'll blow my fucking cover and this freak will find a way to twist it against you!" Katsuki snaps, crushing at his arm.
But Izuku brushes him off and Katsuki can't be sure he's even heard him. His eyes remain completely focused on Eri and Chisaki, watching the dripping of Eri's blood onto the stage into mini puddles of red...
Katsuki
'I need another distraction; now.' Katsuki thinks quickly, glancing around.
He steps back from Izuku, raising up his hand letting heat build up.
He'll just fire off a series of blasts to the overhead lights, trigger a blackout and get this idiot out of here in the chaos before he does something without fully thinking it through.
CRACK!
Turns out, he won't need to do anything after all, the sound of glass shattering pierces across the room like thunder, lights flickering once before diving them into complete darkness.
"Police are at the entrance! Everyone scatter!" A woman's voice screeches from somewhere to his left, Katsuki tugging Izuku to the ground as a chaotic flurry of footsteps, shoving, and punching rises around them.
"We can't leave, we'll lose sight of Chisaki and Eri!" Izuku clenches his teeth, adjusting his eyes to the pitch black of the room, seeing the outlines of their figures moving hurriedly towards backstage.
He moves into a crouching position and Katsuki knows then he's gathering energy to his legs, prepared to blast himself forward to prevent their escape.
'I'm sure that Aizawa regrets being unable to save Shirakumo that fateful day. His death affected all of their graduating class and lingers into their work as both teachers and Heroes today.' Best Jeanist's words pop into his mind.
Ugh, this stupid nerd.
"No, I'm not letting you rush into shit that you aren't prepared to fully handle! You and I both know you don't fully understand how his quirk works yet, clearly it's strong enough from the way he handles himself." Katsuki snaps, pulling him out of the way of a tornado of a man swirling glass and metal trying to create his own exit while keep any officers at bay.
Anger drains out of Izuku as his shoulders relax hearing that thankfully, but still he can practically feel the rage lingering on him, ready to flare to life at a moment's notice.
"There has to be something we can still do Kacchan. This is the closest shot we have to getting to Eri." Izuku mentions.
Katsuki grits his teeth, like he doesn't already know this. His only objective was to protect Deku from outright killing himself and from hopefully giving him any more bad press and it seems he's going to fail in both tonight.
A hand reaches for him from his side through the darkness, fingers tapping along his back and he quickly retaliates setting his hand aflame nearly blasting off the stranger's arm.
"Ouch, what the heck are you attacking me for?!" A familiar voice snaps as he feels himself going airborne.
Zero Gravity.
Ochako is much gentler with Deku, lightly twining their hands together before moving them into a corridor out of sight as a flood of police lights showers the main dining area in a mix of gold and yellow lights.
"Ochako; what are you doing here?!" Izuku sputters, reddening taking in her dress. It's rare to see any of their classmates in anything but their gym or school uniforms Katsuki realizes dully.
"Shh, stay quiet! The police don't know I came here! We're getting in the way of their plans!"She commands.
"But we're here on Sir Nighteye's orders." Katsuki points out.
Though from what Best Jeanist told him, he doesn't seem to get along with the police in differing modes of attack or really many other Heroes besides the ones at his agency.
Izuku pauses before nodding, motioning with his fingers he's zipping his lips while Katsuki merely rolls his eyes.
'Great, now I'm dealing with two nerds.'
Riverbank Steakhouse Backstage- Chisaki & Eri
It shouldn't be this painful.
Not after Chisaki has done this to her hundreds of times before, broken and ripped apart her skin until bone and muscle is visible only to put her back together again a minute later as if it never happened.
But she can't turn this sting off, this sensation of fire that crawls up her body like a snake, burns at her until tears fill her eyes.
Chisaki twists at her arm until dark spots flicker into her vision, scoffing at her dazed look.
"Don't act like you don't know what you did wrong Eri. Embarrassing Papa like that...are you the one who tipped off the police? Didn't Papa tell you the police are scary and will lock you away in an even smaller cell?" He sneers loudly over the commotion.
"Everybody down! Nobody moves unless you want to get shot!" What must be one of the chief officers yells out. A man beside him acts as a lantern, fingers lit forming a candle like shape.
It won't be long before they get the generators up and running bringing the lights completely back on.
He drags them further away from the stage, intending to find the nearest emergency exit or create one himself.
Her voice is stuck, refusing to come out and Chisaki tears deeper into her arm, splotchy violet-red bruises becoming coated with her blood.
"I-I didn't; I never called them Father; I swear!" She whispers out frantically as he forces her along.
"What was that? Speak up, Papa wants to hear your voice loud and clear on why you ruined his big event he's been planning for weeks." He emphasizes with a hiss.
Eri bites her lip feeling her whole body start to tremble, rushing through her thoughts trying to think of something to say to appease him, to prove she's never disobeyed him.
At her silence his anger only festers, pausing to snap on his gloves.
"Fine, don't want to talk? I guess I'll just toss you into the basement once the police are out of the way, right into the hole until you can actually give me a proper answer." He promises.
Her eyes widen frightfully, stomach swishing fiercely pushing up the little food she managed to eat from this dinner.
'No, anything but there!'
To go to the basement means to do the harsher experiments, to crack, burn, and melt her body over and over testing the seemingly endless supply of his imagination and ideas.
Chisaki recoils back in revulsion, turning his head away as the scent of bile and juice wafts up between them.
"Throwing up isn't going to get you out of this." He remarks, side-stepping the mess.
His amber orbs pierce into her with hate, reaching a hand out towards her and Eri steps back, searching through the little in the way of the emergency lights for anything that can prevent her from being caught in his hold, being forced into the pure darkness of the basement.
'Blood. Blood. Papa hates getting dirty.' She knows.
So she turns her eyes to the spray of her blood not yet dried against the wood, kicking just a bit up enough to splash at his legs.
And like she expects his eyes widen a fraction, disgust and rage marring his features bringing up a cascade of hives and blisters as Eri twists into a run.
'I have to hide, have to get to the police if they're truly here!' She clenches her teeth.
"You'll regret doing that to Papa." Chisaki threatens, footsteps pounding behind her as she haphazardly skids and moves around fallen chairs and broken glass.
She turns a corner and runs into something soft, familiar scent of sea salt and blossoms filling her nose.
'The girl from before!'
"Eri?" Ochako asks as Izuku clicks on his phone's flashlight to confirm, Eri only squeezing tighter against her curling into a ball shape and it's then she can truly her erratic breathing, the fast beat of her heart like when they first met.
This time it's far worse though, skin an ashy white with crisscross patches of brushes and flecks of dried blood sticking to her arms and legs.
"He's coming." She manages to murmur out just as Chisaki's form appears upon them out of the shadows.
He takes in the trio, though his gaze lingers on Izuku the longest as he moves to stand, blocking his view of Ochako and Eri.
"...I had such high hopes for you Midoriya. Are you really going to side with the Heroes on this? Think of all that you could do if you changed paths, the good that I've done for family; for your Dad" Chisaki relates.
His eyes only flare to life in response; a burning jade green, fists clenched together and Chisaki sighs knowing he's made his choice.
He cracks his fists, tapping a finger to the ground making everything rumble and deconstruct, Ochako hurriedly floating them up out of the way.
"You'll regret your decision." He warns, glint in his gaze turning far more vicious.
-x-
Don't have much to say, I thought of adding in All Might's section to this chapter but I realized it doesn't really fit in with the theme of this chapter being that he's newly retired and wouldn't really be participating in any fights or the stakeout right now. Trying to change up the fight scenes and canon interactions have been the hardest things to write and always slows me down. I want to keep things in the realm of my alternate universe ideas, but also not stray too far from what canon has already put in place.
Let me know your thoughts as always!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!