At the beginning of his confinement, Shigaraki's assaults were always followed by a visit from the body suit guy. Katsuki was cleaned, given a drink of water, then injected with the suppressant. All in sterile, infuriating silence.

Katsuki had attempted to talk to the guy, at first inquiring about Deku: where he was, if he was ok, what had happened to him. But Twice said nothing. Never met his eyes, never even acknowledged him as a human being.

Katsuki's questions quickly devolved into angry, venomous cursing and demands for the man to "Just look at me, Damnit!" and "Fucking say something!" but Twice always left just as silently as he'd entered.

By then, Katsuki's entire perception of time was well and hopelessly skewed. Did Shigaraki visit him daily? He didn't think so as the spaces between visits seemed drastically varied. Perhaps it was because his sleep schedule was so fucked.

During his alone time Katsuki had discovered the truth behind Deku's words; that counting and math were valuable in keeping the mind sharp. That and reciting tongue twisters and poetry he'd memorized in middle school. All the while he'd test and retest his quirk, timing to see how long it took for the effects of the drug to diminish. He was never very successful.

The 9th assault was when the status quo changed. This time, Shigaraki was angry. This time, Shigaraki had taken to greeting Katsuki by pissing on his face. He was more hateful than condescending as he took his time beating the teen into the ground.

Katsuki struggled to catch his breath as his position was switched. This time, he was taken from behind, his knees and chest and face scraping against the concrete with every thrust. Shigaraki held him down by the back of his neck, crushing him against the floor, his pace brutal and punishing. Katsuki could barely breathe.

Gone was Shigaraki's typical banter, the joy he took from raping the blond was absent as well. This rape didn't seek to 'teach' or 'break' him as Shigaraki had clamed before. Instead, the villain regaled all of the disgusting, terrible things he'd done to Deku, filling Katsuki's mind with Deku's suffering as he took his body apart.

This was a hatefuck.

Shigaraki never even came. He simply ripped free from Katsuki's body with an enraged snarl, kicked Katsuki square in the face, then left.

Katsuki had knelt there, gasping, face covered in blood and the villain's piss until Twice entered the room. The flashlight on his cellphone lit up the space for the first time since Deku had been taken. This was new and Katsuki realized this was an entirely different room than before. He didn't have long to dwell on the differences as Twice knelt before him bearing three words that made Katsuki's chest swell with unexpected emotion.

"Izuku is ok," Twice whispered and his other half stayed surprisingly silent.

"Wh-what?" Katsuki panted. Twice unchained Katsuki's ankles and wrists, leaving him free and stunned. The villain helped him into a sitting position then took to wiping his face clean with a warm, soft rag. Katsuki let him. It felt…good and for the first time in his life, he leaned into another person's touch.

If Twice noticed, he didn't mention it.

"I didn't answer you before because his recovery was…uncertain. I didn't trust the other parts of myself to be quiet." His voice was gentle, honest, and full of concern. Katsuki's left eye was already swollen shut, surrounded by a nasty bruise. The bridge of his nose was split and obviously broken. Like before, Twice was quick to set the break, the click reverberated around in Katsuki's head as he cursed.

With shaking hands, Katsuki massaged his wrists, gazing at his right hand in the light. He wished he hadn't. Two of his nail beds looked infected, swollen and discolored, no doubt full of pus. The others had scabbed over and seemed to be healing fine.

"Swear to me…" Katsuki growled, staring at the floor, past his toes that fared no better than his fingers. His vision blurred behind a wall of unshed tears.

Twice drew the damp rag across Katsuki's cheeks again, wetting the skin so his tears could fall somewhat unseen. It was a small dignity he could give the boy suffering before him. "I swear to you that Izuku is fine. Better than fine, even."

Katsuki didn't react, like he couldn't bring himself to believe it.

"Kid, look at me," he hooked his fingers under Katsuki's chin and raised his gaze from the floor. Tears bulged from the blond's waterline, threatening to slip over the edge if he so much as blinked. "Want to know why Shiggy was angry today?"

His question was met with a silent, pleading stare.

"Izuku punched him."

Katsuki blinked.

"Izuku finally woke up yesterday. I convinced the boss to lay off him for a day. But when he went in today, expecting to pull his usual stunts, Izuku punched him."

"You're lying."

"I swear to you, kid. Izuku is probably beating himself up right now, because the boss promised to beat the shit out of you. But physically, he's ok, Katsuki."

Katsuki said nothing, his throat too full of a sob to speak. He pressed his palms to his eyes, hiding his now steadily falling tears. "Fuck…" he breathed, voice wrecked and thick with relief.

Twice gave him a moment to process, watching as he swallowed fiercely around the emotions caught in his throat. But he couldn't spend much more time here. "Katsuki. Look at me."

After a moment of hesitation, Katsuki sniffed, then obeyed.

Twice held a syringe in his hand. Inside, the liquid was black as pitch. Katsuki's eyes widened, darting between the quirk suppressant and the villain. A villain! Of fucking course, how could he be so stupid!? A snarl began to curl his lips and panic thundered in his chest.

"Easy…" Twice said, holding up his other hand as though he meant no harm. "From here on out, things are going to change," he said calmly. "Probably for the worse…" his other half added.

Katsuki made to shuffle back, to get away from the syringe but Twice looped a gentle hand around his wrist. The blond was not proud of the sound that came from him, a sound mere days before he would have rather died than let out. "I need you to trust me. Please…" Twice pleaded, nothing but honesty and concern in his tone. "I know you have no reason to, but please Katsuki, for Izuku…"

Katsuki cursed the kindness that poured from this man and he let the villain take his arm. He made to look away but Twice let go of his wrist and caught his chin, forcing him to watch as his thumb pressed the plunger allowing the suppressant to drip slowly onto the floor…

Crimson eyes snapped to the villain's face.

"5 days," he said. "I will help you keep track." His voice was hushed now, speaking faster and leaning in close. "5 days and this," he held up the syringe, "will be out of your system. You must lay here, take whatever he throws at you, and be patient. Then," Twice paused and Katsuki could see the man's smile beneath his mask, "it's time."

"5 days…" Katsuki repeated, barely audible. Excitement and dread roiled beneath his skin. "You swear?"

Twice took him firmly by the shoulders, "5 days, Katsuki."

"Does…does Izuku know?"

"No."

Katsuki nodded, then asked, "How- How long have I…been here?"

Twice hesitated. "Since capture, a week. Since confinement, 5 days."

Katsuki swore, his sense of time crumbling entirely. "It…seemed longer."

"That's the point," Twice said sadly. "Depriving you of your sense of time means he can break you faster. Or so he says."

"Twice…the hero's, they were sup-," Katsuki began, but Twice was already shoving a bottle of water into his good hand then he stood.

"Next time, tell me next time," He said and meandered across the room to a hose attached to the faucet of a basin sink. Twice turned it on and began hosing the filth from the floor, including the suppressant, into a drain.

Katsuki drank every drop of the water given to him, the burn in his throat subsiding. Without a word, Twice threw him a granola bar which he caught and held as if it were made of glass or gold. A part of him wanted to save it, but his stomach was already screaming at him to devour it. Katsuki ripped open the wrapper, careful not to drop it with his clumsy fingers and took a small bite.

As if learning Deku was alive and fighting wasn't enough, here he was, munching on actual food. His body wanted to cry but he sniffed stubbornly and downed the rest in two large bites. The taste of chocolate lingered on his tongue pleasantly.

"Things might be rough from here on out. If Izuku keeps fighting, you will likely catch the backlash."

Katsuki steeled himself and a hint of a smirk played about his lips. "Bring it on…"

Three days had passed since then, and since then, he'd eaten those words.

Here, hope proved to be a slippery beast, one to which he clung with a stubbornness that would make his mother proud.

Concrete dug into his back, his hips, his shoulders; his body covered in cuts, scrapes, bite marks, and bruises. Katsuki laid there, staring up at the strip of light that came with the villains' exit. It disappeared as the cell door slammed shut. It seemed somehow a fitting end to what had become his reality. This marked the 13th time Shigaraki had come and gone.

Pun absolutely intended.

Though this time, there had been two Shigarakis. He had no doubt that one of them had been Toga, based on the way she talked about his blood and playfully toyed with his body, decorating his left arm and chest with a plethora of small, deep cuts. He'd lost a lot of blood, Toga having drank deep from each wound and stored some away for what she called "later use".

Katsuki wasn't in pain, per say, no more than had become his 'baseline'. His throat burned and his body ached and his… hole clenched and unclenched around nothing. He knew his ass was bleeding, every twitch of his rim stung. Even after learning what to expect, it still felt so indescribably wrong. He desperately tried to ignore it, that and the fluids rapidly drying on his face and stomach.

Quietly, Katsuki cursed and tried to readjust, but with his ankles and wrists secured against the floor, there was little he could actually move. He turned his head and wiped his face on his clean arm, hoping to be rid of at least some of Shigaraki-Toga's cum, but it was mostly wishful thinking. He shifted his attention to his hands, taking a few moments to will his quirk-laced sweat to form on his palms. He could feel his quirk activate, though it was sluggish. It felt as it had when his quirk first surfaced all those years ago. Now, it was almost as if his body needed to relearn how it worked.

This was something he was almost thankful for, however.

It gave him something to do as he bided his time. And according to Twice, his wait was almost over.

46 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds…

23…

22…

21…

Then the door opened and Twice stepped through.

"Katsuki." Twice said, something in his voice made the blond's hair stand on end. Twice closed the door and in an instant he was beside Katsuki. "Katsuki there's a change of plans…" He spoke as if haunted.

"What do you mean," Katsuki growled as the maybe-villain unlocked the shackles on his wrists and helped him sit up.

"Can you use your quirk?"

"I- I don't know…its not like I can test it without-"

"Can you. Use it?" Twice enunciated the words deliberately, his tone dark.

"Look what is this about!? What's going on?"

"They're breaking him, Katsuki."

Katsuki felt as if dunked in ice water. "What?"

"His mind, Katsuki! They're breaking his mind! Using you."