Katsuki grunted in surprise more than pain when he hit something significantly more solid than a leafy forest floor. He rolled to his feet quickly though, hands sparking off as he took in his surroundings-a dimly lit room with a counter, a bunch of stools, a jukebox, and that creep with all the hands, Ninja Gecko and Miss Magnet staring at him like he'd just dropped out of the sky.
Which, admittedly, he essentially had done.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be here!" Ninja Gecko yelled, suddenly regaining his senses and whipping out no less than three knives from somewhere on his person, readying them to throw. Katsuki snarled, instinctively launching himself towards the villain with a pair of explosions as a counterstrike, only for some weird blue glow to surround both him and the villain and an invisible force to fling them apart.
"Like hell you will!" Miss Magnet growled, lifting an oversized magnet onto her shoulder like some kind of bazooka as Katsuki skid backwards, barely retaining his feet.
The hero-in-training growled and forced himself to think.
He was fighting alone against a crowd in enemy territory. He couldn't afford to get tied up here. To hell with pride or anything else; just like in the final exam, you can escape to win, too.
He had to get out of here.
Unfortunately in the chaos, the villains had managed to get between him and the portal that led back to the camp.
"How the hell did one of these brats manage to get here?!" Handyman snarled, hands flexed.
"I dunno, maybe through the open door?" Katsuki scoffed, eyes flicking from one to the other, trying to assess his opponents. The hand guy had a disintegration quirk, right? Best to keep at a distance then. Ninja Gecko fought with knives, but those could be just as easily long range as short. That probably meant the weird blue light and repulsion had come from Miss Magnet. Hell, the magnet probably had something to do with her quirk. Was she able to magnetize people? Wouldn't be the strangest quirk he'd come across. Honestly, that would probably be the biggest issue getting back to the portal.
A moment later, three new figures appeared from the swirling inky circle: Act-Turd, the red-haired barbie doll, and a blond, cat-eyed girl holding a knife in each hand. A moment later, the portal vanished, replaced by that smoky bastard from the USJ, dressed in slacks and a formal vest of all things.
Dammit!
Was there any other way out?!
"Where's the hero bitch?" Handyman hissed.
No windows.
"We weren't able to collect her," Barbie admitted.
There's a door left of the jukebox.
"What?! How!?"
Looks like the only exit besides Old Smoky.
"That kid, some girl, and that vigilante from Hosu managed to get in our way."
They're distracted; now might be my best chance.
"Then what was the point of any of this?!" Handyman shrieked, scratching furiously at his throat before he turned manic red eyes on Katsuki. "You're gonna pay for this, you brat!"
Katsuki cursed, using an explosion to leap aside just ahead of the villain's outstretched hand.
"Hold on!" Ninja Gecko cried, not that Handyman listened to him.
Miss Magnet was the next one to attack, that stupid blue light appearing around Katsuki and dragging him towards that oversized magnet. He wouldn't be able to break free of the magnetic force in time, so Katsuki used his explosions to correct his angle instead, landing so that his foot struck the magnet instead of his head. It sent a sharp pain up his ankle, but it was better than getting his skull bashed in. He quickly 'dropped' into a crouch at a ninety degree angle to the villain's body and sent an explosion directly into Miss Magnet's face before taking a 'front flip' over her shoulder and landing behind her, wincing against the twinge in his leg.
Katsuki noticed a flash of movement to his right and leaped aside just an instant too late to avoid a cut down his arm. It was shallow, but Knife Bitch still squealed like some kind of middle school girl at a boy band concert. "You're fun!" she giggled wildly. "I think I might like you!"
Yeah, hell no.
With a low snarl, Katsuki launched forward on his uninjured foot and drove an explosion-powered punch into the bitch's stomach, sending her flying into the jukebox.
Two down, five to-
Darkness.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't see.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Katsuki felt like he was resurfacing from an ocean, gasping and disoriented as he tried to figure out where he was and what had happened. There were hands on both his arms, wrenching him backwards, and though he struggled, he knew in the back of his mind that he was not at his best.
"Get offa me!" he heard his own voice yelling, then someone else shouting an order, then something sweet and pungent was shoved into his face, and the next thing he knew, darkness crashed over him like a wave and he knew nothing more.
.oOo.
Katsuki's head was pounding when he woke up again. Is this what a hangover was supposed to feel like? Like a hammer slamming at the base of his skull? Seemed vaguely similar at any rate.
"…the hell did you bring 'im here for anyway?!" a raspy voice snarled.
His fingers twitched involuntarily at the sound of Handyman's voice, but he kept his eyes closed and his head bowed. If there was one thing UA and more specifically Aizawa-sensei had taught him, it was the tactical advantage of surprise. It was worth faking weakness for a little while to gain strategic information.
Oh hey, whaddaya know.
Maturity.
"Quit your bellyaching, Shigaraki; it's not like I meant to bring him back with us!" a woman's voice growled back at him. Not high-pitched and girly, so it was probably Barbie.
"I say we just kill the brat already!" a deep-ish, unfamiliar voice whined in obvious irritation. "Didn't you see what he did to my face?!"
Ah. Miss Magnet.
"Just a moment there, Mag-neesan," a different voice countered. "When deciding who lives and who dies, we must be certain that we are adhering to the principles Stain provided."
Stain fanatic's probably the Ninja Gecko, Katsuki mused, subtly flexing his arms and legs to get a better idea of his situation. He was sitting in some kind of hard-back chair, and he definitely had some sort of restraints around his wrists and ankles. Felt like there was something across his chest, too. The arm Knife Bitch cut stung, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. The sore ankle might be a bigger problem, but he didn't think it was broken. Sprained at worst; he could push through that long enough to get to a police station.
"Come on, Spinner! It's not like we need him for anything! Keeping him here will only cause us more trouble!"
"Deku has forbidden that anyone harm the boy," a rumbling bass countered calmly. There's Old Smoky.
"All the more reason to kill 'im in my opinion," Handyman's raspy voice hissed.
"Calm yourself Shigaraki Tomura. The boy could still be useful."
"Useful for what?" the crusty villain scoffed. "Like Magne said, keeping the brat around would only cause trouble for us! We should just dispose of him while we have the chance!"
"Now just a moment. I don't believe it's time to let the curtain fall for this boy just yet."
Okay, I'd know those stupid stage puns anywhere. That's gotta be Act-Turd.
"Whaddaya mean, Compress?"
"Well, as you all know, the world tends to be just a bit fanatical when it comes to their values. What if we showed this young man that there are other ways-other paths to follow? Because kids today, sad to say, tend to have their values chosen for them."
He is not implying-
"You wanna try recruiting him?" Handyman rasped away like a frickin' rusty saw.
What the actual hell.
"Precisely," Act-Turd replied, sounding far too smug for his own damn good. "Just imagine the headlines: 'UA Hero Student Turned Villain: The League of Villains' Grand Ideology'."
"Yes, I suppose you do have a point-"
"He does," a new voice interrupted, accompanied by the low creak of a door hinge somewhere behind him. "And that's why every last one of you needs to leave."
Katsuki's breath hitched.
He'd know that voice anywhere.
Izuku…
"Back the hell off, Deku!" Handyman spat venomously while a girl's voice giggled and simpered in the background-was Knife Bitch crushing on the Handyman, or Izuku? Either thought was disgusting enough on its own, but somehow, it was even more disturbing to recognize how similar the crusty villain's tone was to Katsuki's own back in the bad old days.
"I know Katsuki better than any of you," Izuku said coldly. "If anyone's going to convince him to shift his loyalties, it's not going to be you, Tenko."
"He does have a point, Shigaraki Tomura," Old Smoky soothed as Handyman growled. "Why not give him a chance?"
"Fine," the villain hissed eventually through what sounded like gritted teeth. "Everyone clear out!"
"That means you too, Toga," Izuku ordered as various voices grumbled and shifted through the room.
"Deku-chan, I told you to call me Himiko-chan~!" Knife Bitch's voice pouted like some overeager middle school girl with a crush. "And I wanna stay and help! I've missed you~!"
"Come on chickadee, you can flirt later," Barbie huffed. Judging by the yelps and whines of protest, Katsuki could only guess that Knife Bitch was being man-handled from the room.
Finally, the door closed and Izuku released a long, weary sigh. "You can stop pretending now, Kacchan. Torikabuto's spores don't knock people out for that long."
Katsuki stiffened momentarily, then, slowly, he raised his head.
For the first time, he fully took in his surroundings. It was a bar, dimly-lit but surprisingly well-maintained. He was strapped into a chair next to the jukebox, which had a bit of charring on the casing-it must have been caught up in one of his explosions when he first fell through that portal thing. There were a series of stools with low seat backs situated along the counter, behind which a lit-up display containing various fancy glasses and bottles of alcohol filled most of the wall.
And on one of the bar stools, turned to face him, sat Izuku.
He looked almost exactly as Katsuki remembered him. Wild, curly green hair, vibrant green eyes, and freckles.
So why did he seem so different at the same time? Was it in his posture, in the way he sat with a poise and confidence he'd never had back in middle school? Was it the baggy, black and gray sweats he wore over black boots instead of his ever-present red high-tops? Was it the dark, exhausted circles under his eyes? Was it his guarded expression?
Was it the way his eyes were literally glowing?
Katsuki felt more than a little sick to his stomach. Glowing eyes… Was it true then, and Izuku really had had a quirk all along? All the bullying, all the cruelty…
Had he really driven Izuku away over nothing?
Had he really been so blind and thoughtless as that?
The blond boy swallowed hard, forcing his usual gruffness into his tone in what was likely a vain attempt to hide his discomfort. "Well? You called my bluff. Gonna untie me so we can have a casual chat, Izuku?"
Izuku's hands clenched in his lap, and for a brief, wild moment, Katsuki thought his old friend might be considering it. Then he huffed softly, "Come now, I can't give you special treatment just because we have a history together. I'd rather wait until I was certain that we saw things eye to eye. Oh, and it's 'Deku' when I'm on official business, please," he corrected calmly, lightly tapping his finger two times against the back of his opposite hand.
Katsuki clenched his jaw. Took in a slow, shaky breath. "You're not Deku, Izuku," he countered quietly. "You never were."
"So that's your play, huh," the green-haired boy smiled faintly, tapping again. "I wondered, when I heard you chose Kacchan as your codename. You always were stupidly stubborn."
"You're one to talk about being stubborn," Katsuki scoffed, straining slightly against his bonds. "You said you still wanted to make a difference-that you wanted to help people. I know you're still in there, Izuku! Not even joining those sick bastards could take away your drive to save people-you can still be a hero!"
He saw it happen. A flash of surprise in those vibrant green eyes. Surprise, pain, and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of longing.
Izuku tried to cover it up, uttering a short bark of laughter as he glanced away rubbing his hands against the legs of his pants. "Like I said: stupidly stubborn," he smiled weakly, tapping his finger on his knee.
Katsuki's eyes flicked towards the movement, a frown creasing his forehead for a moment.
Two times. Always two times and dammit why did that feel significant?!
Izuku watched him with an intense gaze, almost as though waiting for something, and Katsuki-never one to be intimidated-glared right back.
There was… something there, in his former friend's eyes. Past the bright glow of his quirk and the sickly sweet smile that was so familiar and yet rang so false. Something… urgent. Intense. When the hero-in-training didn't say anything, Izuku continued, "Reminds me of when we were kids, when we dreamed of opening an agency together, certain that we'd always find a way to save the day."
Tap. Tap.
And suddenly, it clicked.
All at once, memories flooded back to Katsuki of the dumb secret code they'd stolen from that dumber anime when they were kids. The idea had been they could use it when he became a pro and Izuku signed on as his sidekick (since in his mind there'd been no way on Earth that they were in the same league; what an idiot he'd been).
He forced himself to breathe.
"You know it's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that to convince me, don't you?" he scoffed, tapping his forefinger two times against his chair in turn.
Relief swept across Deku's features. He didn't relax, nor did he release whatever he was doing with his quirk, but the false sweetness drained from his eyes, replaced with something far more genuine. Warm almost, even layered as it was with that renewed look of urgency. "Well then, I'd better not lose this chance," he replied softly. "All Might lost his chance with me, you know." A.
"That right."
"Mm. After Fumine-sensei's class. When you and Omura suggested a… creative way for me to become a hero."
Katsuki winced. Why don't you take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a better quirk in your next life. "You had to bring that up," he grumbled. F. O.
"Don't worry. I don't hold it against you."
"And why's that?"
"Well to start, you weren't special. I've been hearing death threats and suicide baits since we were kids. I never kept track of the exact numbers, but if I matched the average, then I was told to die at least two hundred fifty-two times."
Numbers. Numbers are important, too. Two hundred fifty-two. What does that mean?
"So then what made me the breaking point?"
"Well Kacchan-" K. "-you actually weren't the breaking point. All Might was." A again.
"You keep mentioning All Might. You saying you actually met him?"
"Perceptive as ever," Izuku chuckled. "I'm sure you can imagine what a shock it was for me; I mean, from childhood I was coming up with future hero names inspired by him-Mighty Man was a favorite. But I found out that day that I really was just plain old Izuku." M and I.
"Can you just get to the point?"
"Fine, fine. He rescued me from some no-name villain, and I had a chance to ask him if I could be a hero. But he told me the same thing you did: I couldn't be a hero without a quirk. I left that conversation absolutely heartbroken-more so than after anything that Nagata or Omura said to me."
N and O.
"But just then, Warpgate-" (Izuku gave Katsuki a pointed look and he cautiously added W to his mental list of letters) "-appeared in front of me, and out of it stepped All for One."
A.
"And who the hell would that be?"
"He's my sensei, not unlike Recovery Girl or the others are to you. He's the one that showed me the power I already possessed and granted me more, so that I could fulfill my wish."
R. "And what wish would that be?"
His old friend smiled, but it looked strained. "To change the world, of course. To create a place where even someone with a name like Deku can be someone. Can become something." He tapped one knuckle to the bar two times before he'd finished speaking, and Katsuki added D as the final letter to his list. Izuku hopped down from the bar and walked towards him. "But in order to achieve that dream, I need your help, Kacchan. I need your strength and your conviction. I need you to help me declare my message to the world. To help me save it."
He was sincere. He was completely frickin' sincere. Katsuki could feel it in every word and it almost made him sick as he sensed the underlying desperation, the frantic plea in Izuku's voice. He could practically hear it, as loud and as constant as the ringing in his ears: helpmehelpmehelpmehelpme.
And it hurt that he'd never noticed it before; that all he'd done up until now was blame himself, without ever considering that Izuku had been trying to reach out to him all this time. "If you really mean that," Katsuki muttered, in carefully crafted sullenness, "then I don't know how I'm supposed to refuse."
Izuku beamed at him, and his stomach twisted with guilt once more. "Glad to hear it," the shorter boy murmured, then stepped forward and began to undo the straps binding him to the chair.
"Just like that?" Katsuki quirked an eyebrow at him.
"I did tell you I'd release you once I was certain we understood one another, didn't I? And anyway, I can't very well keep my newest ally imprisoned just because he might be lying, can I?" Izuku replied lightly, and the double meaning was not lost this time when he shot a pointed look towards the brick wall to Katsuki's left.
As he loosened the final strap, Izuku suddenly froze, his head snapping up and back towards the door leading into the bar itself, the glow in his eyes abruptly faltering before he mumbled something under his breath in what sounded like French (Katsuki'd spent enough time around Twinkle Toes to recognize the language at least). When he turned back to Katsuki, all of the warmth and relief had gone from his eyes, instead replaced by something fearful and somehow resigned.
"Izuku?" Katsuki frowned in confusion as the shorter boy roughly seized his hand and hauled him to his feet.
"Time's up," the shorter boy mumbled. "Tsuru. Don't forget."
"Izuku, what-?"
"DEKU YOU BASTARD!"
The door to the bar burst open as a series of figures rushed inside. Katsuki barely had an instant to recognize Knife Bitch, Act-Turd, Ninja Gecko, and Handyman before Izuku whirled around, his hands snapping up and green light blazing in his eyes as his mystery quirk threw all four of them across the room.
"Go, Kacchan!" Izuku yelled, shoving him towards the brick wall.
"Deku-chan~!" the girl's muffled voice cooed in a sing-song tone. "You've been a baaad boy! But don't worry; I like that~!"
Katsuki wasn't quite certain what was going on, but it was at least obvious that he was not the only one that had come to a realization about Izuku's true loyalties. With a low growl, he swung around and braced himself. Summoning all his strength, the hero student fired off a Howitzer Impact. The explosion shook the entire building as well as every bone in Katsuki's body, but at least it also served its purpose of creating a massive hole in the wall leading directly to the outside.
"Izuku, come on!" he shouted, whirling back towards the green-haired boy, only to discover that he was already engaged with all four League of Villains members at once, dropping into a crouch to dodge Knife Bitch's attack even as he swept his leg around to knock Gecko off his feet and flicked a hand outward to throw Act-Turd across the room. To make matters worse, Katsuki could hear more voices down the stairs, rapidly growing louder as reinforcements approached. The hero student growled in the back of his throat, ignoring the throbbing in his wrists as he sparked off, ready to dive in and help when Izuku's bright green gaze locked with his.
His lips moved silently, yet somehow Katsuki knew exactly what he was saying.
Please, Kacchan.
Izuku wanted him to run. To leave him behind again.
He looked desperate. Terrified.
Alone.
Katsuki threw himself into the fight without another moment's hesitation, roaring in fury, catching Ninja Gecko by the face and flinging him towards the open door of the bar with an explosion that was probably much more powerful than was strictly necessary for self-defense. Someone shrouded by the shadows beyond the doorway yelped in surprise and Katsuki spun back towards the main fight and the shrieking, blue-haired idiot charging at him with one splayed hand.
Five point quirk.
Suddenly grateful for all the times he'd sparred against Round Cheeks, Katsuki deflected the bastard's touch with a quick smack and smashed an explosion-powered uppercut into the guy's chin, sending that nasty hand flying across the room and its owner sprawling across the floor.
"Father!" the idiot shrieked, scrambling towards it.
Now's our chance!
"Come on!" Katsuki snarled, grabbing Izuku's wrist and yanking him towards the hole he'd blasted in the wall.
"K-Kacch-!"
Katsuki didn't let him get in a full word of protest, leaping straight out of the building with a suped up explosion to launch them both across the street's gap. They landed far more gently on the adjacent rooftop than they had any right to-probably because of Izuku's mystery quirk-and both of them immediately took off running, leaving the villains' screeches of fury behind them.
"Don't use your quirk!" Izuku panted as they sprinted to the next gap, his eyes glowing once again.
"Tch, I know that!" Katsuki snapped, grimacing against the pain in his ankle. His quirk was too flashy; it would light up the night like a signal flare. Still, it was almost strange how instinctively he found himself trusting Izuku to pick up the slack, following him straight out onto what was apparently thin air and feeling an invisible bridge under his feet like it was a no-brainer; of course Izuku would never let him fall, or at least he would be there to pick him back up if he did.
Just like that day at the log bridge, all those years ago.
They ran for what felt like hours before Izuku finally staggered to a stop, leaning against a brick wall and grimacing as he held one hand to his temple. "Shit," the green-haired boy hissed under his breath in English.
"What's wrong?" Katsuki asked him, attempting not to put too much weight on his rapidly-swelling ankle even as he glanced around, instinctively searching for any pursuers. He couldn't see anyone, but a number of the villains had already demonstrated impressive stealth capabilities; it would be idiotic to let down his guard too quickly.
"Migraine," Izuku replied shortly. "Happens when I overdo things."
"I'd imagine you get them a lot, then. You always were a reckless jackass."
"Yeah, like you're one to talk, Bakugou 'I-Never-Back-Down-From-A-Challenge' Katsuki," Izuku huffed in reply, glowering at him with sharp, emerald eyes. "The hell were you thinking back there; I told you to run!"
"Idiot, like hell was I gonna leave you behind back there!"
"And what if you had been caught too, huh?!"
"Then we would've fought our way out!"
"Ugh, I swear you can be as bad as Tenko! You can't fight your way out of every problem, dammit!"
"Yeah, well you can't keep making damn sacrifice plays! We aren't little kids on a playground anymore; they would've seriously killed you!"
"You think I didn't know that?! Getting myself killed was better than letting you die!"
"Well maybe I'm not worth dying for!"
"Well I obviously thought you were!"
Stunned out of a comeback, Katsuki stared at Izuku for a long moment, watching as realization dawned across his old friend's face and the green-haired boy flushed a bright shade of red, dropping his face into his hands. "Dammit, I just said that out loud, didn't I?" he groaned in humiliation.
Katsuki couldn't help it: he snorted.
"Y-You really haven't changed a bit, have you!" he spluttered breathlessly as what remained of his composure completely broke down. After a moment, Izuku began laughing too, releasing all of the tension and stress of the last however-long-it-had-been.
"I-I guess n-not," Izuku spluttered between breaths. They were both probably a little hysterical from their escape, but what the hell.
They'd done it.
They were out.
Izuku was out.
Then Izuku's smile softened into something more familiar. Something bright and sweet and in an instant it seemed that their four-no, twelve-years of estrangement were swept away, and they were kids again, marching through the woods on a sunny summer day where the sky was the limit.
"Kacch-"
Izuku choked as what looked like a glob of black tar suddenly spilled out of his mouth.
"What the hell!?" Katsuki exclaimed, initially recoiling. The gunk smelled awful; where the hell had it come from?!
Izuku's emerald eyes snapped up, and all Katsuki could see in their depths was abject terror.
"Izuku!" Katsuki cried, instinctively reaching towards his friend as that black goop enveloped him and vanished.
Izuku was gone.
His friend was gone.
"DAMMIIIIIT!" Katsuki screamed, explosions bursting from his palms as he vented his fear and frustration before he collapsed to his knees. Think! Come on, think dammit! There's gotta be something you can do; some way to help him!
He couldn't go back to the bar; Izuku had been leading the way across the rooftops; Katsuki doubted that he could find his way back in time to help him. There had to be something though, something that he had said or done or-
The code.
Of course, the code!
Katsuki scrambled to his feet, barely even registering the stab of pain up his injured leg as he paced, alternately running his hands obsessively through his hair or clutching at his bangs with a grip that was far tighter than necessary as he struggled to recall the string of numbers and letters that Izuku had given him. Eventually though, he had it.
D.
A F O meant nothing to Katsuki, but the last set of letters-
Katsuki turned and leaped off the rooftop, using his explosions to control and slow his fall and tumbling into a roll in a narrow alleyway before sprinting towards the nearest main street. "Oi!" he snapped, panting for breath as he skid to a stop and grabbed a random woman by the arm. She flinched, her dark eyes terrified as she wrenched away from him, jabbering something unintelligible about manners and harassment and villains that Katsuki really couldn't be bothered to care about. "Where am I?!"
The woman paused, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Are you drunk?" she frowned, gaze flicking over his flushed face.
"The hell-?! No, I'm not drunk, dammit, just tell me where the hell I am!" Katuski snarled at her.
She still looked suspicious, taking a careful step away from him, but replied with a cool stiffness, "You're in Kamino Ward, Yokohama Prefecture."
D. KAMINO WARD.
"2-5-2 Kamino Ward. Where is that?" Katsuki gasped, his voice still ragged and his chest still heaving, although at this point he couldn't tell if it was from shock, exhaustion, fear, or a combination of all three.
"…Just a few blocks from here. Why?"
"I don't know why; goddammmit, just tell me how to get there!"
"…Take a right down that street…"
Katsuki took off at a dead sprint the moment the woman finished giving him directions, barely avoiding getting hit by a car along the way. The journey was probably only a few minutes, but it still felt like it took way too long. He burst through the doors without really looking to see where he was, an instinctive, terrified part of him knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Izuku was rapidly running out of time. A college-ish aged girl with a punk haircut and dye job, way too many piercings, and four arms startled at the front desk before giving him a bored, nonplussed look.
"Um, like, can I help you?" she frowned, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"AFO," Katsuki gasped, his voice ragged, leaning against the desk to take his weight off of his now-throbbing leg. "What the hell does that mean?!"
"Uuuuhhhh, whaaat?" the girl gave him a face straight out of one of Dunce Face's memes.
"2-5-2 Kamino Ward! That's the address of this place, right?!"
"Um, yeah…?"
"Come on, you have to know; there has to be a reason, so what the hell does AFO mean!?"
"Uh, are you drunk…?"
"Why the hell do people keep thinking I'm-?!"
"Is there a problem here?"
Katsuki twisted sharply towards a tall, young-ish man with blond hair, light green eyes, and a bemused frown walking towards them, a 'manager' tag pinned to his tanktop. Vaguely, Katsuki's brain registered that a tanktop seemed to be a weird fashion choice for a manager, but he had far more important things at the forefront of his mind.
"-dunno, he just burst in and started yelling about-"
"AFO," Katsuki snapped.
"AFO, huh? Now where would you hear a thing like that?" the manager laughed lightly, but Katsuki wasn't fooled. It had only been there for an instant-if Katsuki hadn't been watching, he would have completely missed it-but as it was, he clearly saw the way that the guy's eyes widened slightly and his expression stiffened at the mystery acronym.
"Deku sent me here; there's gotta be a reason!" the blond boy tried desperately. "Please; he's in trouble!"
This time, the way Mr. Manager stiffened was much more obvious. "Did… Did Deku say anything else to you?" he asked cautiously, while Miss Four Arms glanced between the two of them in obvious bewilderment.
"He… He told me 'AFO' and then gave me this address."
"Anything else? Anything after that?"
"I…" Katsuki hesitated, wracking his brain as he tried to remember through the panic and desperation of their escape. "He said, 'Time's up,' then… He said, 'Tsuru. Don't forget'?"
Mr. Manager took a slow breath, his face suddenly stony. "Come with me," he ordered sharply, marching towards the 'Employees Only' door at the back of the lobby. Katsuki stared for just a moment before limping hurriedly after him. He pushed through the swinging door just in time to see Mr. Manager grab hold of the fire alarm pull and yank on it, setting the whole building squealing before he strode over to the computer, where he shook the mouse briefly before his fingers flew across the keyboard.
"What the hell is going on? Who are you?" Katsuki asked, growing frustrated.
"Call me Padlock," the man replied shortly, hitting the enter key and pausing for a moment before leaving the computer entirely and marching to a rusty old employee locker in the corner of the room. He pressed his hand against it, a slight blue glow briefly seeming to pass between his skin and the metal before he wrenched the door open.
"The hell kinda name is that supposed to-?"
"Take these."
Katsuki grunted in surprise, blinking down at the stack of notebooks that Padlock had unceremoniously dumped into his arms. "The hell are all these?" he frowned, shifting slightly to read the title written across the one at the top of the pile.
Then he froze.
Analysis No. 42: UA year XXXX (Kacchan's year).
"What the hell…?"
"There will be time for questions later. Right now we need to move," Padlock ordered, tucking a second, smaller stack of notebooks under his arm and closing the locker door once again before leading the way out of an employee entrance into a back alley. He then took a sharp left and strode over to a compact little blue sedan, pulling keys out of his pocket and hitting a button so that the lights flashed and they heard the click of a door unlocking. "Get in."
Katsuki hesitated, staring at the car. Padlock hadn't made any aggressive moves so far, but still…
"No," the blonde growled at him. "Not without some answers. Who the hell are you? And why would Izuku send me to you?"
Padlock paused by the driver's side door, an odd look on his face. "Izuku?" he repeated slowly. "You're not… like me, are you?"
"The hell is that supposed to mean?"
Again, the taller blonde frowned at him, something cautious and curious in his eyes. "Who are you?"
"The hell?! That's what I just asked you, remember!?"
"Definitely not like me then," Padlock's frown deepened. "Why did Deku send you here then? Why would he have me shut down the facility on your word if you aren't one of us?"
"One of who?! What the hell are you talking about!?"
"Are you with the League?" Padlock asked sharply, something dark and dangerous flashing through his green eyes.
"No, I'm not with the frickin' League!" Katsuki shouted in frustration. "I'm a UA student; Izuku just helped me escape from them before some black goop came out of his mouth and he just disappeared! That's why I said he's in trouble, dammit!"
The older blonde's frown deepened. "Get in the car," Padlock repeated, pulling open the driver's side door. "If what you've said is true, then I'll explain on the way, but right now there's no time to waste."
Katsuki hesitated for a long moment, then finally climbed into the passenger side. Part of his brain knew that it was supremely stupid of him to obey the order, but the rest of him was actuely aware of the fact that the longer he hesitated, the more likely it was that Izuku would get hurt. It made him more than a little reckless in his desperation.
"First things first, open the glovebox," Padlock ordered as he pulled away from the curb and joined the flow of traffic.
"Okay…" Katuski frowned, lifting the latch and discovering a mass of miscellaneous papers and a nondescript black phone.
"The code is 2-7-2-6-3. Pull up the contacts and find 'Phoenix'. Then hit call and put it on speaker."
Katsuki shot the man a look, but he didn't seem to notice, his eyes fixated on the road and his next turn. Not knowing what else to do, Katsuki obeyed his instructions, flipping through the contacts until he found the appropriate name.
The person on the other end of the line picked up after only two rings.
"Who is this?" a tense, middle-aged male voice said without preamble.
"Just a couple of cranes passing in the night," Padlock replied, although a frown did twist his lips and he shot a strange look towards the phone in Katsuki's hand.
"Shouldn't it be ships in the night?"
"Only if you're Henry Longfellow."
"Code in."
"K-4-W-1-N-0."
"Padlock, thank God. Do you have any news?"
"The Yokohama safehouse has been shut down; I'm on my way to deliver the notebooks to the Musutafu police station as previously ordered."
"Is Deku-kun with you?"
"No. He sent a message through a nonmember. Where's Phoenix?"
"Phoenix is currently in the midst of trying to organize a rescue team," the man on the other end of the line replied, his worry bleeding into his voice.
"So Deku really is in danger," Padlock frowned.
"Yes. He sent us the code around half an hour ago indicating that he'd been compromised, but we have no idea whether he made it out safely or not, nor even for certain where he might be-"
"He's at the League of Villains's bar in Kamino," Katsuki cut in quickly. "Or at least he was; one of the villains-"
"Bakugou Katsuki?" 'Katsu' breathed, a new intensity entering his voice.
Katsuki froze, his hands sparking off involuntarily. "How the hell do you know my name?"
"Katsu, you know this kid?" Padlock frowned.
"He's… a childhood friend of Deku-kun. But that doesn't matter right now. Bakugou-kun, you're certain that Deku-kun is at the League's Kamino headquarters?"
"I… I don't know," Katsuki replied, still shell-shocked. "We escaped from there together, but then suddenly this black gunk came out of Izuku's mouth and the next thing I knew he was gone."
Katsu swore, and judging by the startled expression on Padlock's face, that was not a regular occurrence. "Padlock, get Bakugou to the Musutafu Police Station-"
"What!? No, I wanna help!"
"Bakugou-kun, this is the best way you can help. We'll send a team to investigate the bar in the meantime, but if Izuku was indeed taken by the quirk I think he was, then it's likely he was transported to a different location. We'll need all eyes on the ground to find the League in time to save him, and that includes the police, but they'll be far more likely to listen to you, a UA student, than to us. Get them the notebooks. Tell them what happened. And Bakugou-kun, as soon as you hang up, you need to call Aizawa-san and have him place your parents and the Midoriyas under protective custody."
"What? Why-?"
"If they know Izuku has been working against them, they'll want collateral in order to find out how much he's revealed about their operations. Understand?"
"Y-Yeah, but I don't have sensei's phone number…"
"I'll send it to you. Contact him immediately, you hear me?"
"I- Yeah. Okay."
Katsu hung up on them directly after that, leaving Katsuki staring at the phone in absolute confusion. "How the hell did he know who I am?" he mumbled, more to himself than anything.
"Katsu and Phoenix are closer to Deku-san than most of us who knew about his true loyalties," Padlock replied quietly, flicking his turn signal. "It's possible that he told them about you."
"That doesn't explain how he recognized me by just my voice."
"…I have a guess, but it's not for me to say."
"I'm not an idiot; obviously 'Katsu' knows me somehow," Katsuki snapped, glaring at the man as the text came in with the contact information of one Aizawa Shouta. "Just who the hell are you people? Password phrases, codenames, rescue teams, the private phone number of a notoriously reclusive underground hero; you're way too organized for this to be some slipshod operation! Who the hell are you!?"
Padlock shot Bakugou a contemplative look out of the corner of his eye. "Haven't you guessed yet?" he asked quietly. "We are the Vigilante Network."
Outtake:
More than one person had questioned Midoriya Hisashi's sanity for opening up a quirk counseling clinic that catered equally to both the quirked and the quirkless, but after what had happened to his Izuku, he refused to let any child think they were worthless again. Sure, he had to alter his approach somewhat when working with quirkless children, but Kira-chan had proven that it was worth the effort to try. Perhaps, in some ways, he felt that helping children like Kira could make up for his failure to save his own child.
Perhaps that was why he'd scheduled his appointment with Kira-chan today of all days.
The fifteenth of July. Izuku's sixteenth birthday.
Inko made katsudon for dinner that night, and they ate in a subdued silence. Hisashi wondered if, wherever Izuku was, he still considered katsudon his favorite.
They were in the midst of cleaning the kitchen when Inko's phone rang a short while after 20:00. Since Inko's hands were covered in soapy water, Hisashi was the one to take the call.
"Hello, you've reached the Midoriya household," he answered.
"Hisashi, it's Masaru."
"Masaru? It's not like you to call so late; is something the matter?" Hisashi frowned, glancing worriedly towards his wife. She met his gaze with an equally concerned look, quickly wiping her hands on a tea towel and moving to join him.
Hisashi switched to speaker mode so that she could listen in.
"Yes, we… We just got a call from UA," Masaru continued, sounding tense and exhausted. "Apparently, there was an attack on the training camp. Katsuki… Katsuki's been kidnapped."
"What?!"
"There are no details yet; apparently it just barely happened and they wanted to inform us as soon as possible. They said they'd be sending police over to tell us what they know shortly. I hate to ask this tonight of all times, but would the two of you come over? Mitsuki's beside herself and I-"
"Of course we'll come over," Inko cut in, using her quirk to tug her phone out of Masaru's hands. "Just give us a minute to throw on shoes, okay?"
"Yes, of course. Thank you."
"What are friends for?" Hisashi smiled, although it was somewhat strained with worry.
Masaru hung up and he and Inko hurried to put themselves together. In a matter of minutes, they were knocking on the Bakugou's door. Masaru answered and ushered them inside, at which point Inko quickly rushed to Mitsuki's side, hugging her best friend tightly as she rocked back and forth on the couch, her fingers threaded desperately through her blond hair. For his part, Hisashi joined Masaru in the kitchen, where there were already two cups of green tea steaming on the counter. They sat together at the kitchen table, nursing their mugs and taking silent comfort in one another.
There was a knock on the door some fifteen minutes later.
Masaru lifted his head, a bemused frown touching his mouth. "That seems rather quick," he mused. "They estimated there wouldn't be any new information for another half hour at least."
"I suppose they were just giving a generous estimate then," Hisashi smiled encouragingly, following his friend to the door.
"Good evening, is this the Bakugou home?" the man standing on the front porch asked. He was wearing a police uniform, the stern lines of which seemed a strange contrast to his bright orange hair and matching eyes. Still, in an age of quirks, it was hardly the strangest thing Hisashi had seen. The man probably had an emitter quirk of some kind, likely energy-related, or perhaps associated with heat-
"Who are you?" Masaru frowned, eyes flicking over the man. Hisashi frowned at him. What was he getting at?
"Ah- I'm Officer Ka-"
"Don't lie to me," Masaru cut in, his eyes narrowing. "You don't have the uniform for this precinct. So who are you?"
The man stared at him for a moment too long, then sighed deeply. "Alright then, guess we're doing this the hard way."
Hisashi swore and stumbled back alongside Masaru as the man pulled a gun from somewhere on his person. He quickly shoved his way inside, brandishing his weapon at all four of the adults inside. Mitsuki instantly leaped to her feet, a ferocious snarl on her lips, while Inko squeaked in surprise, instinctively recoiling from the weapon. The man smirked and leered at them, brandishing the weapon. "Alright asshats, nobody make any sudden-"
"Gently Trampoline!"
The villain yelped in surprise as the ground beneath him suddenly rippled, seemingly losing its coherency and throwing the man into the air. He further swore as Inko activated her quirk, ripping the gun from his hand and reminding Hisashi of why he'd fallen in love with her all over again. A moment later, another man in a long black trench coat appeared at the door, jumped into the air and caught the villain's wrist, flinging him to the more solid floor and throwing something on top of him-some kind of object that caused a distortion in the air.
"Gently Sandwich!" the man in the trenchcoat declared as he did so. "I dislike piling layer upon layer, but it is more important to keep you trapped."
Some sort of solid air quirk? But that doesn't quite make sense since he also apparently was able to cause such a change to the floor. Likely a touch-based quirk that alters the composition or structural bonds within the substances he affects-
"Muttering," Masaru chided automatically even in his dazed state, cutting off Hisashi's train of thought.
"That was amazing, Gentle-sama!" a woman's voice squealed, causing Hisashi to startle as he turned to the door, where a petite woman with magenta hair and pink eyes stood, practically bouncing on her toes with excitement, holding a pink video camera in one hand.
"Gentle-sama…?" Masaru frowned. "Isn't that the name of that vigil-"
"W-Wait," Inko whispered, blinking at the woman. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
The magenta-haired woman squeaked, flushing and ducking back behind the doorframe.
"Yes, that would be me!" the man quickly declared, striking a pose as though trying to redirect their attention back to him. "The Gentle Criminal! Do not be alarmed, dear friends, but it would seem you have come under the target of the League of Villains! I would advise you to inform the police right away! Anyway, we must be going now! Come along, La Brava!"
The pair left just as quickly as they had arrived, leaving the villain groaning on the floor and Inko still holding his gun, stunned.
Mitsuki was the one who accurately summed up what everyone was thinking.
"What… What the frick just happened?"