Katsuki had woken up while it was still dark outside, roused from his sleep by the uncomfortable vertigo of a half forgotten nightmare full of flashes of silver and red and green. Sleep had evaded him even after he'd settled back down, the lingering unease of dreams clinging to the edges of his mind and making his heart pound too heavy in his chest until he eventually gave up on the idea of getting any more rest altogether.
Creeping quietly out of his house has become routine by now, and his mind races as he runs along his usual route to the beach. His feet and his heart keep time against the pavement, echoing through his head and helping his mind to settle just the tiniest bit. The first rays of morning light are creeping over the grey horizon, casting an array of ghostly shadows over the massive piles of junk that litter the foreshore. Katsuki breathes a sigh of relief that fogs the air around him, already anticipating the feeling of relief that trashing the garbage piles will give him. As he gets closer, though, the indistinct figure of a man crouched among the towering piles comes into view. Katsuki slows his pace, surprised to see anyone else at the beach, before that confusion quickly morphs to a hot flash of annoyance. What the hell was some random guy doing at this dump of a beach so early in the morning?!
"Oi, meathead!" he shouts, his run slowed to a walk as soon as he's close enough for the asshole on his part of the beach to hear him. "Can't you see that this spot's already being used?" His arm jerks in a wide arc, encompassing the area surrounding the man which was covered with the burnt remains of trash – the unfortunate victims of Katsukis previous visits to the beach.
"Oh," the man says, rising slowly to his feet until he dwarfs Katsuki. Then he keeps going, up and up like some lumbering giant until his massive bulk blocks out the meager sun. Katsuki stands his ground, though his hands have begun sweating a little bit. "My apologies, young man."
And then he turns, and Katsuki's righteous indignation (not fear, never fear) fades somewhat as he recognises the face scarcely illuminated in the gray pre-dawn light.
"Hah? What the hell are you doing here?"
He sees those blue eyes squint down at him before a bright smile creases his face. Despite that, and the freezing early morning air, Katsuki could almost swear he sees a bead of sweat form on the man's temple and trickle down his cheek. "Ah, young Bakugo! What a surprise to see you here!"
"I come here all the time," Katsuki snaps before he can think better of it. "Why are you here, though?"
"Funnily enough, so do I!"
The man has always been unendingly cheerful, the handful of times Katsuki's met him. Nothing but smiles and fluff in that big fat head of his. It would be infuriating if he didn't have the muscle to back it up. Katsuki rolls his eyes and stomps past him, heading deeper into the maze of trash piles. Toshinori shuffles along behind him, keeping just enough of a distance that Katsuki doesn't feel his hackles rising just yet.
"Are you the one who's been clearing this section of the beach?" Yagi calls after him, and there's genuine curiosity in his tone.
"I'm not clearing shit," Katsuki snaps, and without letting himself pause long enough to think about it, he pulls off his gloves and lets sparks snap to life in the palms of his hands. He can feel the heat on his face as he holds them close, letting the bursts of crackling light illuminate his wide grin as they warm his cold nose and make his eardrums pound. Yagi stares wordlessly back, his big mouth hanging open and the hint of a smile still lingering on his features. He looks stupid as hell.
Katsuki smirks to himself, already knowing the man is too much of a softie to report him to the police for illegal quirk use. The only thing left to see was how fast those oversized muscles of his would let him run once Katsuki started having his fun. He meets Yagi's eye, smile growing wider at the baffled look he sees there, and whirls upon the closest pile of trash. The explosion he levels at it scatters the debris in all directions. He whoops as the ratty old armchair fragments into a thousand flaming pieces, feeling just as delighted now as when he was four and figuring out his new abilities for the first time.
The second tower of trash goes down in flames in much the same way, remnants of much bigger messes thrown to the wind. When he turns towards the third pile, this one containing a microwave stuffed full of children's toys, he notes that Yagi is nowhere to be seen. He takes the time to scoff, somehow a little disappointed that the giant of a man had been sent scurrying away like a little mouse when confronted with loud noises. He pops off a few more explosions in his hand, no longer bothered by the sound, before he continues his favorite method of stress relief.
By the time the sun has set the horizon ablaze in shades of pinks and yellows and the creeping edge of blue, Katsuki has destroyed eleven piles, two refrigerators, and one old tv. Every breath is heaved through his grinning mouth, and the fire that is constantly blazing through his mind and in his chest has burned down to the warm glow of embers. He straightens from his hunched position and shoves his hands in his pockets, feeling his expression begin to soften to something a little less manic as he prepares to go home. If he's lucky, his mom won't have even noticed he was gone and he can slip back into bed for another hour of sleep before school.
"That was very impressive, young Bakugo!" a voice booms, and Katsuki jumps like a startled cat. He whirls to see Yagi grinning down at him from his seat at the top of the stairs. "Your quirk is strong. Am I remembering correctly that you intend to pursue a career in heroics?"
"What's it to you?" Katsuki demands, trying to hide the way he wants to preen at the praise.
"This beach is important to me." Yagi's attention is fixed somewhere on the horizon, a soft smile on his face as he watches the cresting waves and changing sky. Katsuki wants to scoff at the sentimentality, but instead finds his attention drawn to the gauntness of the man's face. He wasn't that skinny last time they met, was he?
"Your quirk and your control over it are impressive," he continues, eyes sharpening as he pulls them from the scenery and instead turns their burning gaze onto Katsuki. There's an intensity there that roots him to the spot as Yagi continues. "—but that won't be enough to earn you a spot at UA."
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?"
"It's only the truth, my boy! You have raw talent, but so will the majority of the other applicants. If you really want to stand out, then I'd suggest you do something about it!"
"What would you know about getting into UA?" Katsuki spits, already halfway up the stairs and looming over Yagi for once. The man just smiles back, unconcerned, and this close it is easy to see how thin he is, half the muscles and any clinging softness gone from his frame.
"I graduated from UA," is all Yagi says, but it is enough to freeze Katsuki in place. "And if you want any chance at earning a spot there, I'd suggest you listen."
For a long moment, they just stare at each other, neither one willing to break eye contact. The seconds tick by, filled only by the gentle crash of waves lapping at the shore. Yagi's smile, smaller than Katsuki is used to but sincere all the same, never once wavers. How do his cheeks not ache from it?
Katsuki is the first to look away, frowning into the distance and scratching uncomfortably at the back of his neck. He cants one shoulder up, half a shrug and half some ingrained way of hiding his discomfort. He's never once considered that he might not get into UA, but now he is turning Yagi's words over in his mind, examining them with a hateful curiosity.
"What would you suggest?" he grumbles at last, forcing himself to drag his eyes back towards the man's still sitting form. Slowly, moving like every measly twitch hurts him, Yagi rises to his feet. He is grinning broadly despite the pain in each movement, the blue flames of his irises nearly disappearing as his eyes squint and wrinkle around the edges with his joy. There is a scar Katsuki's never noticed before on his forehead, nearly hidden behind his limp hair.
"You, my boy, will be helping me clean up this beach!" he declares, voice booming as he pulls a fistful of garbage bags out of nowhere. "Making the world a cleaner, safer place is the heroic thing to do!"
"HAAAH?!"
.
The lobby of the Ingenium Agency is quiet. Usually there would be quiet music playing over the speakers, but Tenya had asked if they could turn it off so he could focus. The secretary, a woman named Viktoria who was scouted for her speed-related quirk a little over a year ago, is flipping through a file and the whisper of paper joins the sound of Tenya's pencil as it scratches across his homework. His usual babysitter (nanny) had been in bed with the flu the last two days and his parents have other business today, so he's been given permission to join his brother at the agency headquarters with the promise that he'll stay quiet and out of the way, and that if there's any type of emergency he'll let the secretary do her job and escort him to a panic room without any fuss.
From her desk, Viktoria-san clicks her tongue and mutters something under her breath in a language Tenya's been telling himself he should learn since her position at the agency was secured. He wonders which file she's looking at. Whatever it is, she doesn't seem pleased with the contents. Her long nails tap a quirk-enhanced staccato against the desktop, too fast for most people to be able to make out that it's an actual deliberate pattern and not just a steady thrumming sound. He thinks it might be morse code.
At 1:42pm, the entrance doors swing open and a woman walks in. She looks nervous, chewing her bottom lip as she takes in the wide, white space. There are deep bags beneath her eyes and the hems of her cardigan are all stretched out like she's been tugging at them. Her gaze sweeps across the sitting area, pausing briefly on Tenya, before it moves on to the secretary's desk. The woman takes a deep breath and pulls her shoulders back, heading towards the desk like she's marching to war. Viktoria greets her with a detached smile.
"I have a 2 o'clock appointment," the woman says after the two have finished exchanging their brief pleasantries.
"Name?" Viktoria asks, though she has the appointment book open in front of her.
"Midoriya," the woman says. "Midoriya Inko."
Viktoria hums and her smile softens a little bit. Tenya thinks it looks kind of sad, weirdly enough, and Midoriya Inko's shoulders dip under the weight of that look. Tenya, on the other hand, can't help but perk up as he recognizes that family name as the source of his brother's recent melancholy.
It has been four months since he last saw his brother truly smile. Sure, he's seen the occasional grin or gentle expression make Tensei's mouth turn up at the corners, but nothing like the glowing joy he's used to, and always tempered by the sadness lingering behind his eyes. He's trying his best to hide it, but Tenya knows his brother better than he knows himself and it's painfully apparent to him that the very public loss to a villain is wearing on him more than he wants to let on. He's found him sitting in his office, staring contemplatively at the boy's paper file more times than he can count, a picture of Midoriya Izuku's face or the video taken on that fateful day dominating the computer screen.
The woman he assumes must be the missing boy's mother makes her way to the sitting area and settles into one of the overstuffed seats, sinking into the plush cream colored cushions. She tucks her hair behind her ear and smooths out her skirt. Her purse is settled on her lap, resting just under her folded hands. Tenya appraises her with narrowed eyes, not sure how to settle the sudden twisting in his stomach or the strange prickling anger crawling its way over his scalp. When she catches him staring, she smiles, and Tenya feels his face go red all the way up to the tips of his ears. Her gentle smile chases away his anger just as quickly as it had appeared, slipping like the grating of hot sand through his fingers.
He ducks his head, shamefaced at being caught doing something so rude, but before he can open his mouth to stutter out his apology the door leading deeper into the building swings open and one of the interns is calling Midoriya's name. She gives him a little wave as she stands to leave. He watches her disappear further into the back, and waits for the echo of the door swinging closed to cease before he stands from his seat.
"I'm going to use the restroom," he announces in response to the questioning look Viktoria levels at him. He manages a smile, though he knows it is mechanical and probably too wide. Viktoria makes no move to stop him, though, so he must be convincing enough!
More secure in his espionage abilities and ignoring the welling sense of guilt at his imminent betrayal of his brother's trust, Tenya marches through the doors and into the back halls of the agency. He looks left, right, then straight ahead, and realizes with a shock that he has no idea which way they went. Without much else to go on, he turns towards Tensei's office and begins walking, hoping that none of the passing sidekicks question his presence. He tries his best to look like he's supposed to be there, moving with a purpose and only slowing as he reaches the office. He casts one more look around the hall to make sure no one followed him, then presses his ear to the seam of the door. A familiar voice filters through.
"—for joining me," he hears Tensei saying, his tone pleasant. It sounds strange, though. Empty in a way Tenya isn't sure he knows the name of. Too formal, maybe, instead of the friendly tone he usually uses when speaking with civilians?
"Of course," a woman's voice answers. He can only assume that it must be Midoriya-san. Though her tone is polite enough, there's something venomous in the way she says, "After four months of trying to schedule a meeting with you, there's no way I could have said no when your assistant finally returned my calls."
Tenya doesn't have to be in the room to know that those words would have made his brother flinch. Hot anger scrambles its way up Tenya's back, burning at his eyes as he wonders how this woman could possibly have the gall to be so rude! Tensei has been agonizing over the whole mess with the Midoriya boy. He was seriously injured and has been stuck behind a desk and in hours of physical therapy each week in part because of that boy! Tenya's read all the comments on the news articles and has heard the whispers around the office and at school about how the boy and the man with the swords were probably in cahoots, planning some ambitious ambush in order to take out a high profile hero like Ingenium. It's the only thing that makes sense, the only thing that could explain why a hero as excellent as his brother could ever be taken by surprise by a man without a speed quirk of the same caliber as the Turbo Hero! If anyone is at fault, it is most certainly not Tensei. Tenya wants nothing more than to burst into the room to tell Midoriya-san just that, but doing so would make Tensei disappointed in his eavesdropping, so he forces himself to bite his tongue and stay rooted to the spot.
"I'm very sorry it took so long. There were some…technicalities that came along with your son's case. It's been a delicate situation."
"So I've been told," comes Midoriya-san's curt response.
Tenya adjusts, ducking lower, and through the ornate keyhole in the door he can make out the back of a head of green hair. Tensei's somber expression hovers just beyond it, blurred by the distance and the small frame. Tenya wonders vaguely if he should speak with his mother about setting up another optometrist appointment, because now he's worrying that his prescription might be changing. He can only barely make out the way that his brother's lips twitch into a strained smile, obviously trying to placate the woman.
"If you were hoping for more information, I'm afraid you may have wasted a trip. At this point, the majority of what we know has already been leaked to the press, and I don't have anything new to share. It was determined that I was too personally invested…that is to say, too close to the matter at hand, to be able to make any significant progress. Your son's case was transferred to another hero," Tensei says, and Tenya's brow furrows in confusion. He hadn't known about that. He's seen his brother flipping through Midoriya Izuku's case file time and time again, scrolling obsessively through the police database for any mention of the boy. Is he lying to the boy's mother? Or is he disregarding the commission's decision to transfer the case? Tenya isn't sure which scenario would be worse.
"Who?" Midoriya-san demands, her slender shoulders squared beneath the gentle fall of her long hair. She looks so small, seated before a hero like Ingenium. Even so, Tenya watches his brother shrink with every passing moment spent under her scrutiny.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid I don't know."
Midoriya-san is frozen stiff for a long moment, silence blanketing the office. Tensei's gaze is steady as he waits for her next move. His hands, usually ever-moving as they tap and fidget and telegraph his thoughts and moods, lay folded and silent across the smooth wooden top of his desk.
"Thank you for meeting with me," Midoriya-san says at long last, sounding like she means it this time, and as Tenya watches he sees her become a different woman. Her squared shoulders slump, her raised chin drops to her chest, and her primly folded hands raise to cover her face.
"I suppose you were right; this was a wasted trip. I knew it would be," she confesses, voice muffled by her hands. Tenya has to give up his view through the keyhole to press his ear to the door again, trying to hear exactly what is being said. "Everyone told me not to come, but—"
Her voice breaks mid-sentence with a sob, quickly bitten off.
"What can I do for you, Midoriya-san?" Tensei asks, his voice the same gentle cadence he uses when he's trying to stop Tenya from crying.
"Can you just…tell me whatever you can? About what he was like?"
"Of course," Tensei says. The office chair creaks, loud enough that Tenya knows that his brother must have been leaning back, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling as he thinks about his next words. Tenya can feel the heavy thumping of his heart in his chest, and over the rush of blood in his ears he just barely hears his brother sigh before he speaks.
"The time I spent with your son was very short. A friend of mine had had a run in with him before, and had mentioned to me that he liked heroes and might want to meet me if there was ever a chance. There was also…. Well, he had a suspicion that something wasn't right at home, though I think the reality was nothing like anyone could have imagined."
There's a hint of wry humor in his tone that makes Tenya frown. He wonders what Midoriya-san must look like right now, listening to Tensei's words.
"I'd seen a picture of him before we met in person, and something about his face struck me as familiar. The details are classified now, but I found something that made me wonder if maybe this "Yudai" I'd heard about might actually be Izuku."
Tenya hears a sharp inhale, like the name alone is enough to drive a knife through the mother's heart. There is a long moment of silence and Tenya ducks back down to the keyhole just in time to see Tensei slide a packet of tissues across the desk to Midoriya-san. She murmurs her thanks and wipes her face before gesturing to him to continue his story.
"It was by chance that I saw him at all," Tensei begins again, his words slow and measured, eyes never leaving the woman's face as though checking to make sure she wasn't about to faint dead away at his words. "He was slipping through the crowd, no coat on, and something about that caught my attention. He was wary of me when I finally got his attention. When he looked at me, I could feel him analyzing everything he saw. Your son is very smart."
Tensei pauses, his eyes searching for something on Midoriya-san's face before he offers a gentle smile. Tenya wonders if he is thinking about how much he can tell her without getting either of them in trouble.
"Smart, quiet, and very kind. Izuku is a good kid, in spite of everything he's going through. I could tell that from the first words out of his mouth, when he asked if I needed anything. He was willing to set aside his own needs just to help a stranger. You should be very proud."
"I am," she whispers, so soft that Tenya almost doesn't hear it. "I'm so proud of him for still being so kind after he's endured…." She trails off with a shuddering gasp, shaking her head abruptly before she continues in a shaking voice, "But I'm also so scared for him. Do you think that man has been hurting him?"
Tensei frowns, considering the question carefully before he speaks. Tenya can feel the pressure rising, his heart pounding heavier in his chest as a sudden chill sweeps through him. He pictures the smiling face of the boy that's been drawing his brother's attention away, the way he has been nursing a quiet resentment for the last four months for the duo that had been responsible for his brother's injuries and distraction, and realizes that he doesn't want the boy in that picture to have been hurting for however long he's been with the man with the swords. White noise fills his ears and he frowns, unsettled that he's only now realizing something that should have probably been obvious all along. How much of a cruel fool can he be, to not have considered that there may be more to the story than he had initially assumed?
Lost in his thoughts and the slow moving tide of self flagellation, Tenya missed what his brother's response had been. He curses himself for that, because he knows that the question will haunt him now, too.
"You seem like you could use a drink," Tensei is saying, his voice soft and strangely urgent. "There's a cafe nearby that serves some of the best chai I've ever had."
"Ah, thank you, but I don't know if I'm in any mood for that. I think I might be sick if I try to drink anything right now." Her words are punctuated by a wet sound that could have been a sob or a laugh.
"I think it would be good for you! The best barista gets into work at three, so I'd suggest checking it out right when their shift starts."
Tensei slides a scrap of paper across the desk, pushing it into Midoriya-san's hand and wrapping his fingers tight around hers. His hold seems to linger for a moment too long, his gaze intent as he stares into the woman's face.
"I don't…okay. Okay, I'll go."
"Right at three?" Tensei confirms, voice still pitched lower than Tenya's used to hearing, and Midoriya-san slowly nods. The long strands of green hair splay and twist where they catch on the rough cable knit of her cardigan but she does not reach to fix them. Instead, her free hand comes to rest on top of Tensei's own, looking delicate and small against his larger one. There is a strange sort of reverence to her voice as she thanks him, a deeper meaning that Tenya can't parse out.
When she stands from her seat, Tenya quickly ducks away from the room, hiding just behind the corner where he knows his brother won't be able to see him. When she passes by his (admittedly not very good) hiding spot, he spots a piece of paper just barely sticking out of the top of her purse. The words scrawled across it look like much more than a cafe address, but he doesn't get a good enough look to read what they actually say. When Midoriya-san sees him, she pauses just long enough to give him an unsteady smile, before she hurries on.
Heyyy again guys and gals and my fellow nonbinary pals. I missed my December update because December is the hell month at work and I couldn't keep up lmao. So here you go, have a nice short chapter. Sorry. :')
Three guesses for who is going to make another appearance next chapter!
Feel free to find me on tumblr at daboyau if you ever want to ask questions or anything! I'd be happy to chat. You can also join the the discord!
A massive thank you to to my awesome beta, Shaegal! Go check out her wonderful writing on ao3 if you're craving some angsty bakudeku content.