He's about halfway when he hears a distant cry from one of the side alleys, cutting off almost instantly. The street falls back into silence, but Katsuki is already sprinting towards the source of the noise.
His suspicions are confirmed. When he enters, slowing down to quiet his steps as he grows nearer to the dark alley, he finds Stain's familiar form, hunched over a crumpled figure on the floor.
Stain looks different like this, scarves fluttering slightly with the night breeze. He'd been creepy the day Katsuki had met him, sure, but now… Now there's an air of danger about him, dark and insidious in a way that has Katsuki's heart dropping. There's a katana at the man's side, blood dripping off the tip rhythmically and soaking into the gravel below.
Just as Stain raises the katana above the fallen figure, Katsuki steps out of the shadows.
"Stain," he calls, fighting to keep the desperation out of his voice.
The katana is lowered again, and Stain turns slowly to face him.
"Bakugou Katsuki," he observes, voice low and tinged with surprise. The recognition is clear in his eyes, but he looks strangely composed.
As Katsuki draws nearer, he can finally see the person lying on the ground. It's Native; a pro hero who's been climbing the ranks recently.
"You should leave, Katsuki-kun," Stain says quietly. He watches, unmoving with his katana still suspended over Native's chest precariously, as Katsuki steps towards him.
The teenager eyes Native, who's subtly shaking his head at him.
"Go," the hero is mouthing desperately, limbs locked unnaturally still at his sides.
Katsuki swallows, raising his gaze to meet Stain's calm red eyes.
"What are you doing?" he asks quietly.
Stain tilts his head, watching him intently.
"I think that's quite evident, isn't it?"
Katsuki stares at Native's prone form, at the slow drip of blood, tipping from the edge of the katana onto the hero's unmoving chest.
"Why are you doing it?" he murmurs. His hand is trembling imperceptibly at his side, brushing the hilt of the knife hidden at his thigh.
The vigilante—no, the villain —smiles.
"He's a fake," he says simply. "Fake heroes… the scum who sully the sanctity of heroism. They have to die."
The way he's watching Katsuki has goosebumps rippling up the teenager's body. It feels like he's being tested, somehow, like he's being assessed by his actions right now.
"Stain," he says slowly. "heroism has no sanctity anymore. It's an industry. Surely you understand that?"
"Ah," the villain says. There's a disappointed lilt in his tone that signals that Katsuki has possibly fucked up majorly.
"I expected more from you, Katsuki-kun."
He says it condescendingly, like Katsuki is a puppy who's just pissed all over his carpet. But the disappointment in Stain's eyes is tangible, dark and heavy as it weighs on Katsuki's gaze.
"I expected you to understand. It seems I was mistaken."
He stares at the blonde for a moment longer, kata unwavering as it stands suspended in mid-air.
"I do," Katsuki says, maybe a little too quickly. "I do understand."
Native is still staring at him, wide-eyed and futilely trying to signal him to leave with his eyes alone. Katsuki ignores him, powering on bravely.
"And it sucks. But that's what it is, now. People become heroes for the wrong reasons, but… this won't fix it."
He steps closer shakily, grip closing around the hilt of the knife and shifting it slightly so it's freed of the barrier of his costume, just in case.
The other hand is held out in front of him cautiously.
"I understand," he says again. "But you're only ruining your own life by trying to fix it like this. Killing people will never make it better."
Stain chuckles, something low and bitter.
"You think I'm a villain," he muses quietly. Katsuki's heart drops into his stomach, stopping in his tracks.
"I—" he begins, unable to argue but unwilling to agree.
"It's okay," Stain interrupts him smoothly. "I'm willing to be the villain. I am a necessary evil. If society is to be fixed… I will make the sacrifice."
Katsuki sucks in a shallow breath, before moving towards him again.
"Stay back," Stain says sharply, voice suddenly devoid of all the previous mildness.
"Stain," Katsuki says quietly. His eyes flicker down towards Native, who's still watching them
helplessly.
He holds eye contact with the unmoving hero for a long, long moment before his gaze flickers to Stain, who's still watching him sharply. Then, he swallows thickly.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs sincerely to Native.
The fallen hero has just enough time to realise what's about to happen, mouth opening slightly before the hilt of Katsuki's knife is coming down on his temple, and he slumps back, eyes slipping shut.
Then, Katsuki straightens to meet Stain's eyes again. The other looks from Native's unconscious body to Katsuki with open disbelief.
"Chizome," Katsuki tries again, holding the other's gaze steadily.
"You can still leave. It's not too late."
Stain watches him with open fascination. The coldness from his eyes is gone, replaced with that dissecting look again.
"You would let me go," he voices, question clear in his tone.
Katsuki tilts his head to look down at Native's knocked out form, before his grip on his knife loosens slightly.
He's going to hell, he thinks. He's done so many fucked up things, but letting go of the man who ruined Ingenium's hero career would take the cake. He's not going to be able to look Iida in the eye ever again. But for some reason…
"I would," he whispers.
Stain's expression shifts into something unreadable.
"I've killed people," he says quietly, lowering his katana finally in favour of stepping closer to Katsuki.
"And you would let me go anyway?"
And for a brief moment, Katsuki's not standing in the alleyway anymore.
The gravel and cracked walls fade away, moonlight morphing to something hazier. Murmured words fill his head like cotton, staticky and distant.
"It's not too late for you."
Grey eyes, corners crinkling.
A gentle smile, blonde hair shaved clean at the sides.
An outstretched hand; mercy.
"Come,"
Warmth.
Katsuki tilts his gaze upward to meet Chizome's.
"I would," he says again. The words weigh on him even after they've passed his lips, sinking to the bottom of his stomach like stones. But still, he can't bring himself to regret them.
Stain's head tilts, coldness slowly seeping from his eyes in favour of something a little heavier, a little more real. His katana is lowered to his side, and suddenly, he looks a lot older.
"Most heroes wouldn't," he states simply.
Katsuki swallows a bitter, acrid chuckle.
"I'm not most heroes," he whispers.
There's a distant explosion from the other side of the city, and Stain finally tears his gaze away in favour of tucking his katana into the sheath at his back.
Then, he raises his head slightly, appraising Katsuki. The blonde barely fights the urge to shrink back under the weight of his gaze.
"There's something about you, Bakugou Katsuki…" Stain says finally.
For the briefest of moments, the man's gaze falters into something that Katsuki could almost kid himself into calling soft, and he opens his mouth to say something more when he's cut off by the crunch of gravel from the entrance of the alleyway.
They're both tensing instantly, backing away from each other as Iida stumbles into the alley.
He has no eyes for Katsuki, glaring straight at Stain.
"A scarf as red as blood," he breathes, chest heaving with exertion as he slows to a stop in front of them. "carrying blades all over your body… You're the Hero Killer. Aren't you? I've been chasing you."
There's a dark look in Iida's eyes, cold and almost predatory. His hatred is worn like an ill-fitting cloak, ugly and unfamiliar.
Almost immediately, any trace of softness disappears from Stain's gaze.
"Your eyes," he murmurs icily. "Are you here for vengeance?"
Before Iida can open his mouth to respond, Stain's hand lifts to the katana strapped at his back again.
"Be careful how you respond. Depending on the situation, I am not opposed to targeting children."
Katsuki's heart drops into his stomach, but Iida's eyes only seem to harden further, lip curling up into a twisted snarl.
"Are you saying," he spits, hands trembling at his sides, "that I'm not even a target ?"
There's something like indignation cutting across his face, wild and furious.
"Iida—" Katsuki tries, unable to tear his gaze away from where Stain has unsheathed his katana once again.
"Stay out of this!" his classmate barks, not even turning to face Katsuki. At this, Stain's eyes harden further, as if he's solidified his decision, and he pulls his katana away from his back to hold it at his side. Katsuki's mouth goes dry, but Iida has already directed his words back at Stain fearlessly.
"I am the younger brother of a hero you attacked. Remember the name, villain. Ingenium. It's the name of the hero who will defeat you."
To this, Stain is silent. He stares at Iida for a long moment. And then he throws his head back. And
he laughs.
The two students watch in silence, Katsuki apprehensive and Iida livid, as the villain laughs for what feels like hours. Finally, when his chuckles subside, he lowers his gaze to meet Iida's, smile disappearing.
"I see," he says. "Then die."
Katsuki doesn't even have time to open his mouth before his classmate's expression contorts into one of utter fury.
There's the rough purr of Iida's engines firing up, bathing the alley in gold.
"Like I would!" he spits, charging towards Stain. But before he can make impact, faster than Katsuki can follow, Stain is launching over the boy's head, landing behind him.
"Ingenium," he muses, completely unruffled. "You're brothers, then."
Iida doesn't even have time to turn to face him before he's being shoved into the floor, face crunching against gravel. Stain slams a foot down on top of his arm, tilting it until the spiked toe of his boot pierces flesh through the boy's armour.
"You're weak," the villain murmurs conversationally. He leans down, crouching slightly and driving the spike further into Iida's shoulder. "Your brother was, too. You're both fakes."
Then he raises the katana in his hand, and plunges it into Iida's pinned bicep, earning a guttural yell of pain. Iida twitches under his grip, but the spiked toe digs deeper, and he sinks back against the floor with a grunt.
Stain smirks, pitching forward until he's pressed to the teenager's back, lips against his ear as he whispers, "That's why you'll die."
Blood pools under the duo as Stain carelessly yanks his katana out of Iida's arm with a wet shlick, before raising the bloodstained blade to his lips. A long tongue flicks over steel, and suddenly the boy under Stain is stiffening sharply, limbs locking and eyes widening.
He looks just like Native, Katsuki thinks. His body is trembling imperceptibly, entire body unnaturally stiff and unmoving. The blonde's gaze flicks over to the open wound in Native's abdomen, sluggishly oozing blood onto the ground.
"Your quirk," he breathes. Stain's gaze snaps to him, something like satisfaction rising up in the depths of his expression.
"Correct," he says.
Katsuki ignores the acrid nausea that rises in his throat at the way Stain looks at him, in favour of eyeing the blood that lines the man's katana, some dried and crusted and other parts fresher and still dripping.
It's the blood, he realises. He hadn't arrived in time to see when Native had been immobilised, but Iida had been rendered motionless the moment the blood had met Stain's lips. He must need to ingest someone's blood to paralyse them. But surely it's not permanent?
Stain is still watching him curiously, and he swallows under the gaze.
"How long does it last?" he asks finally. He's not stupid enough to expect an answer, but it's evident that Stain's got some type of soft spot for him, for some stupid fucking reason. Worth a shot, he guesses.
He's not disappointed.
"It depends on the person's blood," the man divulges easily, drawing circles over Iida's armour with his finger and smudging crimson over white. "Take a guess."
"Blood type," Katsuki translates numbly, earning an approving nod.
He doesn't have time to say any more when another figure arrives at the mouth of the alley.
"Endeavour," Katsuki breathes. This is quite possibly the worst timing possible, but something deep in the blonde's stomach unfurls slightly as he realises he's no longer alone with Stain. A moment after this thought, he berates himself mentally; Endeavour isn't much of a step up, in terms of morality. But nonetheless, he can't help the relief that courses through his body at the sight of the flame hero.
"Bakugou," the man huffs. "You are my responsibility during this internship. You are not at liberty to leave when you please, especially during such high—"
"We don't have time for this." Katsuki interrupts impatiently, turning to glance back anxiously. Surely Endeavour knows better than to lecture him when Stain is—
Katsuki's heart drops.
Stain is gone.
All that's left where he'd been standing moments ago is whirling dust. Iida and Native still lay immobilised at the side.
"Fuck," the blonde breathes.
"What?" Endeavour demands. Then the hero's gaze falls to the two unmoving figures.
The alley is eerily quiet in Stain's absence, and even with the flames of the bigger man's costume bathing the entire alley in orange, it still feels cold, somehow. The hairs at the back of Katsuki's neck prickle, and his hand curls around his knife instinctively.
"Come," Endeavour barks, clearly not having the same reservations. "We need to move them."
"Wait—" Katsuki says.
He doesn't get the opportunity to finish his sentence, because moments later Endeavour is sent flying into the wall with a sickening crack.
He doesn't get back up.
Stain straightens from where he's hunched over the hero's unconscious form, rolling his neck out slowly.
"Thank you for the distraction, Katsuki-kun," he muses lightly. "That was far easier than I'd anticipated."
Katsuki's heart starts to pound in his ears. He's currently trapped with a villain who just took out the number two hero with one hit.
And it doesn't seem like Stain is going to be letting this go anytime soon. Before everything had gone to shit, when it was just the two of them talking, he'd had hope. With the way Stain had looked at him, dissecting and warm somehow, he'd almost believed the man could listen to him. But after Iida had arrived, the man seemed to slam his walls shut again, eyes growing cold and hard.
Still keeping one hand curled around his blade, Katsuki uses his other to dig in his pocket for his phone.
Then, clumsily, he manages to unlock it. He's unable to tear his gaze from Stain's long enough to get a good look, but he manages to send a GPS link to one of the contacts at the top of his list.
Distantly, he prays it got sent to an actual hero, and not someone random, like his mother. He has no doubt that the woman would probably kick Stain's ass or die trying, and he's not sure which of those possibilities is more terrifying.
"Now," Stain sighs, "I kill them."
Katsuki is just starting forward when he's interrupted by a shuffle from the side of the alley. Getting interrupted seems to be a common theme for him tonight, it seems.
"My brother," Iida spits, trembling from his spot but still unable to move, "is paralysed from the waist down because of you. He can't be a hero anymore."
"Hm," Stain murmurs, tilting his head to examine the other.
"Tensei was… an excellent hero!" Iida grits out. "There was no reason for you… for you to…"
He falls back on the gravel limply, eyes shining with unshed tears.
"I'll kill you," he whispers finally, hollowly. "I'll kill you."
Katsuki swallows, mouth suddenly feeling dry. Beyond the sheer despair in Iida's gaze, there's sincerity. He says the words like he means them, with enough conviction that the blonde doesn't doubt for a moment that he'll do it for real.
And there's something about that fact that's utterly terrifying to Katsuki.
Stain seems to pick up on the paralysed boy's emotions, too, because his lip curls into an ugly scowl.
"Save them first," he growls, eyes stony as he gestures to Endeavour and Native's unconscious bodies. "Reflect on yourself. Heroes work to save others. Giving in to the hatred before you… trying to fulfil your own desires… you are the furthest thing from what a hero should be."
The man spares Iida one last disgusted look, before turning on Endeavour's slumped form.
"Him first," he mutters. "I have seen enough… I have heard enough to know that he is the worst of them all."
At the words, a sick, half-hysterical laugh bubbles up in Katsuki's chest. They don't pass his lips, dying in his throat at the irony of the statement. Stain probably doesn't know the half of what Endeavour has actually done. He's probably talking about Endeavour's shitty treatment of civilians, or his prioritisation of arrests over saving.
The man probably doesn't realise exactly how right he is in this moment, and Katsuki thinks, quite
despicably, that if anyone were to deserve to die at Stain's hands, it would be Endeavour. It's a grim idea; one that he tries (and fails) to banish from his mind immediately after it rises.
And then Todoroki Shouto sprints into the alleyway, chest heaving and puffs of icy, frost-tinted air leaving his mouth as he skids to a stop.
Great, Katsuki thinks. It seems, judging by the phone clenched tightly in Todoroki's hand, that he was the one that received Katsuki's location link. Just in time to witness his father's murder, too.
Lovely.
"Endeavour's son," Stain notes, amusement colouring his tone. "Just in time for the show."
"What?" Todoroki demands, fists already swirling with sharp coolness.
Then his gaze falls on the figure that Stain is leaning over. Almost immediately, understanding flickers in his gaze, and he straightens, hands uncurling at his sides.
"You're going to kill my old man," he says quietly. His expression is unreadable, but there's something dark in it, akin to Iida's expression, that has Katsuki shrinking away instinctively.
"I am," Stain says, observing him curiously.
Todoroki opens his mouth, and then closes it again. His eyes cloud with something heavy, before his lips thin, pressing together tightly until they turn white.
"Do it," he breathes finally.
Katsuki's jaw drops.
At the words, Stain actually straightens in surprise, eyes widening. Then, a grin spreads across his cheeks, almost crazed.
"You want him dead!" he cries, delighted. "You want your father dead!"
Todoroki looks apprehensive at the almost fervent joy that seems to have overtaken Stain, but his eyes remain serious.
"With all my heart," he responds gravely.
Stain chuckles, wiping a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye.
"So be it," he says, still smiling wildly as he turns back to Endeavour, unsheathing his katana.
Todoroki watches, unmoving and almost enraptured in his anticipation.
"Are you seriously going to let him do this?" Katsuki whispers incredulously, struggling to process the fact that he's the only one in this damn alleyway who doesn't want to commit murder.
His classmate turns dark, intent eyes on him.
"Yes," he says simply.
Katsuki staggers away from him slightly, feeling unease rise in his stomach.
It's odd, how he'd almost been willing to see Endeavour die mere minutes ago, yet now he can't fathom it.
Seeing the man's own son, standing in the flesh and wishing it so desperately, makes bile rise in the back of his throat.
"You can't," he says.
He's speaking to Todoroki, but the panic filling his chest makes his words louder, and Stain straightens.
"Why not?" he asks carelessly. "When even the man's own flesh and blood wants him dead, what reason do I have to spare him?"
Katsuki opens his mouth, before closing it again. His heart pounds against his ribs.
"You can't," he says again, this time to Todoroki. "Are you really going to let this happen?"
Todoroki's gaze, when it returns to him this time, feels almost accusatory.
"You know why the answer is yes," he says sharply.
The blonde swallows under the two heavy gazes that are pressing into him.
From the ground, Iida watches the scene in utter confusion, staring at Todoroki like he's a complete stranger.
Finally, Katsuki straightens slightly, grip tightening around the hilt of his knife.
Then, slowly, he takes a step. And another. Stain watches him intently, unmoving as Katsuki moves to stand over Endeavour's body, placing himself between the unconscious pro hero and the two who want him dead.
"You can't kill him," he says. "I won't let you."
At his side, his knife is unsheathed fully, held low but ready in front of him.
The tension that rises in the air is almost palpable; Stain looks disappointed, and Todoroki so betrayed that Katsuki can't meet his eyes.
"I see," Stain murmurs, looking irritated but wholly unsurprised by the development. There's a bitter resignation in his eyes when he looks at Katsuki, now.
"Please," Katsuki tries desperately, knife trembling imperceptibly in his grip. "you can still leave."
The man shakes his head, scarves swaying slightly with the movement.
"They must die," he says simply. "The hero, and the boy, too."
With the words, he gestures towards a still-immobilised Tenya.
"You have proven yourself worthy to me, Katsuki. I ask that you do not force me to kill you, too."
Katsuki shakes his head, loosening his grip on his blade and sucking in a deep breath. His arm stills, finally, knife held low and firm. Todoroki watches the exchange, his betrayal somewhat dulled with the shock that Stain seems to know Katsuki.
"You'd kill a boy?" the blonde asks in lieu of addressing whatever the fuck that last part had meant. He's not sure what traits he possesses that he'd qualify as worthy in Stain's eyes, and he's not sure that he wants to know, either.
"You'd kill a teenager?"
Stain sighs, jaw flexing.
"If I must," he mutters, looking very put-upon, as if he's being forced to go on his regular murder sprees. "This one has proven to me that he is a fake."
"I never said he did the right thing," Katsuki says. At this, Iida makes a noise of protest from the side, but no one gives him a second glance. "I think he's an idiot for coming out here just to seek revenge. But he doesn't deserve to die for it! He's just a stupid kid!"
Stain's lips curl into a snarl, completely unphased by Katsuki's desperate reasoning.
"He's unworthy of being called a hero," he spits poisonously.
"Maybe." Katsuki admits, with enough ease that actual hurt flickers across Iida's face. Katsuki ignores it in favour of powering on stubbornly, distantly surprised at how little remorse he feels over the cold dismissal.
"Maybe now. But what about a year from now? Or three? You can't judge someone's potential over a stupid mistake they made when they were fifteen —people change! Can you honestly tell me you're the same person you were twenty years ago?"
At the words, Stain finally falters, katana lowering slightly as his expression shutters, turning unreadable. It's all the confirmation Katsuki needs to solidify a theory he's been mulling over the past few months, one he's seen floating around the internet during his research into Stain.
"You of all people know how people change," he breathes, tentatively, "don't you, Stendhal."
Stain's katana falls. His entire body stiffens, gaze widening at the name the moment it leaves Katsuki's lips.
"How did you…" the man breathes, suddenly looking ashen. His eyes stare somewhere to the side of Katsuki, as if he's looking straight through him and into something else entirely.
"It's not too late," the blonde tries again, quieter this time, as if sensing the chink that's finally been revealed in the other's impenetrable armour. Stain looks smaller like this, jaw trembling ever- so-slightly. "You still have time."
"I am different," the adult murmurs, more to himself than Katsuki. "but I am a necessary evil. To preserve the betterment of society…"
"That's what you want?" Katsuki asks. "A society without fake heroes?"
Stain's shaky gaze turns to him.
"Yes," he breathes.
"But how many worthy heroes do you even know of, by your standards?" Katsuki demands.
The man swallows.
"Two," he says.
"All Might," his eyes bore into Katsuki's, "and you."
Me.
At this, Katsuki falters, taking a step back at the swirling emotions in Stain's eyes.
Me?
Any part of him that would have felt pride at the declaration, at being put on All Might's level, is absent. All he can think about is how absolutely delusional the man before him is, and wonder what must've happened to disillusion him so.
He fights down the hysterical, disbelieving giggle that rises in his chest, wrestling his expression into a more neutral one lest it betray the absolute incredulity that he's feeling right now.
"That's not enough," he says carefully. "You realise that, don't you?"
"I do," Stain says.
"But it's a necessary sacrifice—"
Katsuki is so sick of this man's bullshit. Spewing words like necessary and worthy like it's his job. Half of him is utterly disgusted at the lengths Stan is willing to go to push his sick, twisted ideals, but the other part feels nothing but hollow, bitter pity.
"What sacrifice? " he demands. "The civilian lives that'll be lost when there are no heroes left to save them? Is that a necessary sacrifice to you?"
Even Todoroki takes a step back with wide eyes at the vitriol in Katsuki's voice this time, clearly unused to seeing the blonde lose his temper.
Katsuki sucks in a deep, shuddering breath, closing his eyes tightly for a long moment.
"Why does intention matter," he continues, a tad calmer this time, "when lives are being saved? At the end of it all, a life is a life, is it not?"
For the first time of the night, Stain is rendered completely speechless.
"Why does it matter ?" Katsuki pushes on, distress making his voice strained. "Who gave you the right to fucking choose?!"
He probably looks hysterical, a look of crazy frustration overtaking his features as he paces back and forth in the alley restlessly.
Finally, he spins to face Stain once again, red meeting red.
"Look me in the eye," he spits, "and tell me you would rather let innocent civilians die than have them be saved by someone who doesn't fit your arbitrary image of heroism."
The adult gapes at him, crimson eyes wide and shaken.
"Say it!" Katsuki demands. "Tell me you value your morals over actual human life!"
For a long, terse moment, the alleyway is completely silent.
Todoroki and Iida stare at Katsuki in open surprise, while Stain looks stricken. Iida has propped himself up to his elbows now, seemingly finally free of his paralysis but still too shocked by the situation to make any move to stand.
Then, before he can receive an answer, there are sirens in the distance.
There's confusion for a moment before the noise registers, and then Stain is stiffening instinctively.
The man's gaze flickers to Endeavour for the briefest of moments, and Katsuki tracks the movement instantly.
"It's not too late," the blonde says again, one last time. "This is all the leeway I can give you, Stain. It's not too late for you."
Stain, to Katsuki's utter surprise, actually sheathes his katana after a moment's hesitation. His expression is closed-off, lips pressed tightly together.
Iida's eyes widen as he realises what Katsuki is saying, and he struggles sluggishly to rise to his feet.
"You can't let him go!" he cries, staring at the blonde in desperate disbelief.
Katsuki averts his gaze, guilt pooling in his stomach.
He can't imagine the grief Iida is feeling right now at the loss of his brother.
But all Katsuki can see right now, burned into the back of his eyelids, is an outstretched hand and kind grey eyes.
"Go," he says quietly, glaring at the ground.
This earns a cry of protest from Iida, and a quiet, unreadable noise from Todoroki.
Katsuki ignores them both.
From the corner of his eye, the blonde sees Stain turn to him and nod once.
Then the man is crouching low and launching into the air, leaving dust and blood-soaked gravel in his wake.
When the police finally arrive, there's chaos. All five of them are loaded into the back of an ambulance, medical professionals fussing over their injuries quietly.
And now, without the threat of imminent death looming over them, there's nothing left to shield Katsuki from the weight of his two classmates' relentless, accusatory stares.
Chapter End Notes
so!!! i am back!!! i hadn't realised how long it'd been until i checked and saw that the last update had been around four months ago? so sorry for the wait y'all but uni has been kicking my ass :')
anyways i finally finished my first year and got some time to get out another chapter!! this one took so long mainly because of a combination of the amount of research it took, the sheer length of it, and also just some general stress i had about uploading it, the hosu arc is one that a lot of wonderful authors have done beautifully so i was a little anxious about writing it, i'm still not 100% happy with the results but alas, i didn't want to put off updating for any longer. stain's characterisation is a little different from canon, anyways i'm sorry it kinda sucks but yeah
bonus points for anyone who can figure out what/who that flashback was about, i know i kept it pretty vague :) i also slipped a very vague half-reference to bbc merlin in there so BONUS bonus points for anyone who can pick out THAT one.
anyways, i hope you're all coping well with the pandemic! stay safe and hydrated!!
lol this note got pretty long but anyways if you're still reading this, comment who your favourite LoV villain is and why! i'm curious :D
nine
Chapter Notes
welcome to 2021!! i hope you're all doing wonderfully, and apologies for the two month wait on this one!!
a bit of filler, and this chapter marks the beginning of the fun stuff :)
warnings for a very brief mention of blood in this chapter! i think that's about it, but if i miss anything, apologies, and please let me know so i can add it up here!!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Why did you let him go."
Ah.
They've been sitting in the hospital room for all of fifteen minutes when Iida hits him with the question.
Honestly, he's surprised the taller boy had even held out for as long as he did.
After the checkups had finished, the three teenagers had been left to 'recuperate' in the hospital, which Katsuki thinks is more than a little stupid considering that of all of them, Iida is the only one with any injuries. But protocol is protocol, so he sulks on his stupid hospital bed and pretends not to notice the fact that Todoroki and Iida have been glaring holes into the side of his head since they left Hosu. The two of them aren't acknowledging each other either, but it seems that for whatever reason, they've decided to ignore whatever qualms they have with one another in favour of ganging up on Katsuki.
At the very least, none of them have been called in to give statements or be questioned yet. The paramedics said that wouldn't be happening until they were discharged from the hospital, so as of yet his two companions have not been given the chance to tell the police exactly how cozy Katsuki had been getting with the Hero Killer.
Small victories, right?
"Well," he begins awkwardly, refusing to look at either of his classmates. "That is a great question, actually."
He grimaces at the icy tension that has settled over the room.
"Hm," he stalls, fiddling with a loose strand on his coarse hospital bed sheet. "It's kind of complicated."
"Uncomplicate it." Todoroki spits icily. "I fail to think of anything you could possibly say which would justify willingly harboring a known villain."
"Well," Katsuki shoots back, a tad indignant, "it's not like I'm the only one in the wrong here."
He turns to glare at Iida.
"You went off to fucking murder him without a license or support, and you—" he whips around to point at Todoroki, "wanted to let Stain kill the number two hero!"
"He's my father," Todoroki snaps back, and Katsuki bites down a hysterical giggle. "Right. Your father—you wanted to let Stain kill your father. That's so much better."
Todoroki's expression contorts, and he pushes up from the bed with a vicious snarl.
"You know why!" he spits.
And Katsuki falters, because amidst the fury, there's a hint of hurt in Todoroki's voice. It's the same betrayal that had painted his features in the alleyway, when Katsuki had stood in front of Endeavour's unconscious body. And Katsuki—he doesn't like Todoroki, but he knows how hard it would have been for him to open up about this, and he doesn't want the idiot to think he doesn't care or something.
"I know," he placates quickly, deflating. "I'm not saying I don't understand. You had your reasons."
He turns around to meet Iida's dark, hollowed out gaze, and adds on a quieter, "both of you."
He sighs, softly, before tilting his head back until it hits the wall.
"But I had my reasons too. And I'm not really under any obligation to discuss them with you guys, considering everything."
He gives them both a pointed look, under which they seem to finally deflate. The message is clear: after everything that has happened tonight, Todoroki and Iida really don't have any right to chastise Katsuki for what he did. It seems they're all equally fucked up.
"Okay," Todoroki relents, sitting back down slowly. "But you're not… working with him?"
Katsuki can't help the somewhat hysterical chuckle that slips out of his mouth.
"I don't even fucking know the guy," he mutters wearily.
He doesn't, not really. He'd met him once before, had talked to him for all of five minutes in a shitty back-alley convenience store.
So why did he let him go?
He can attempt to rationalise it all he wants, can argue that protocol indicates he shouldn't have engaged in combat or tried to stop him in any way, but… he had willingly let him go.
Katsuki knows that if it had been any other villain in Stain's shoes, he wouldn't have given a second thought to protocol.
So why the fuck did Katsuki let Stain go?
He purses his lips, deciding to shove the disconcerting thought to the back of his mind lest it give him a migraine from stress.
About ten minutes after the conversation—ten minutes of blessed silence, to Katsuki's relief—Iida pushes himself up from the hospital bed, tearing the IV cannula from his elbow carelessly.
"You probably shouldn't do that," Katsuki says mildly.
"I have to call my brother," the taller boy replies gravely. He sounds far more personable towards the two of them than he has been all night, but it's a small victory when considering the harrowed, weighed-down look in his eyes as he leaves the room.
Not even a minute after the door is sliding shut behind him, Todoroki is turning to face Katsuki again.
"Why didn't you let him kill my father?" he asks.
Katsuki wants to repeat the same answer he'd given him before, but there's something different about the way the boy says it. Where before he'd been accusatory, voice venomous and cold, now he just sounds tired.
"I wouldn't have let him do it no matter what. The fact that it was Endeavour didn't really change anything for me."
Katsuki's half-hearted when he says it, not really paying attention to the conversation, which is why he jolts when Todoroki visibly flinches at the words.
"It… didn't change anything?" he echoes, a crestfallen look in his eyes.
Shit.
Katsuki fucking sucks at this.
"No!" he backtracks hastily. "That's not what I— shit."
He straightens, turning his body to face Todoroki fully and look him in the eye.
"I didn't mean that," he says seriously, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly guilty. The other looks like a kicked puppy, and shit, Todoroki is annoying as all hell but even Katsuki isn't that much of an asshole. "Sorry. I just—I suck at words."
He sucks in a deep breath, trying to sort his thoughts out before he speaks this time.
"What I meant," he begins carefully, "is that I don't think I would have let myself stand by and allow Stain to kill anyone. But I'm not—ugh. Fuck, man, what I'm trying to say is that the shit Endeavour did to you is terrible. I'll be honest, when Stain first went after him, I wasn't gonna do anything. I wanted to let him die."
At the admission, Todoroki seems to relax infinitesimally, which in turn makes Katsuki relax too.
"We're hero students," Katsuki continues slowly, with a measured tone. "That means that we have to be ready to put aside our feelings and save people."
Hypocrite, his mind screeches at him. Was 'saving' Stain worth forgiving the dozens he'd killed? You're a fake.
He ignores that particular thought with no small amount of difficulty, attempting to focus on the conversation at hand.