Shigaraki's fingers clutched tightly onto the rust and decadent surface of his skin, gloomy eyes trained to the monitor that read 'sound only'. Shigaraki recounted all those efforts he'd spent on those two, only to be thwarted due to his men's incompetence. Particularly that contemptible man with the surgical scars. Shigaraki would see to it that he was discarded, but the Master won't let it. He didn't understand. A weak link in Master's grand plan should not be kept.
"They should be giving me the report by now," Shigaraki said as a matter of fact, running his fingers through the desk in front of him. "Why aren't they reporting?!" the blue-haired man screamed to himself in the vacant office.
It was getting annoying.
Shigaraki felt like blowing something up at the moment. The silence was deafening, and he couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand the prospect that he wasn't in control.
He was supposed to be.
"Master won't be proud of me," Shigaraki said to himself.
It was true.
He was going to be discarded again. The way his father did. The way his grandmother did.
A voice interjected from the monitor, "Turn that frown upside down, Tomura."
Shigaraki's body suddenly went rigid as he stood straight up, greeting the voice, "M- Master! This is a surprise. You haven't..called since a year ago."
"Indeed, I have not," the voice coughed as it spoke again, "I was preoccupied with something. Ever since that nasty business with the..ahem..Ferocious Protectors all those years ago, I had been dedicating most of my time to recovering my body. After all, adding One For All into my already decaying body has it's fair share of tolls, you see."
"I see..." Shigaraki muttered.
The voice laughed as it continued, "And I heard that you've been trying to develop a formula that could help someone attain immortality? My, my, I wonder who you're going to use that for."
Shigaraki find himself smiling a little bit, "It's obvious, Master."
"And you did splendidly well! Those two you've experimented on, they were one of the first subjects that you've successfully applied this formula on," the voice praised.
Shigaraki's voice turned bitter as he said, "And they escaped. I wanted to perfect this formula more."
"No need, no need, after all, it's already perfect enough for me," the voice reassured.
Shigaraki gasped, protesting, "M– master? Are you sure? What about the potential hazards that it will pose to your body?!"
"You worry too much, Tomura," the voice bemused. "But I'll be fine."
"So you want the experiment to be conducted on you..?"
"It would be preferable," the voice said. "Regeneration powers are the only thing that can bring me back to my glory days, the days before that buffoon All Might put me in this pitiful state."
Shigaraki's stomach churned at the mere mention of that bastard.
"Yes, Master. If you wish, I will arrange the experiment in a few days time," Shigaraki said.
"Why a few days, exactly?" The voice asked.
"Because I'm currently trying to get two of my lab rats back. They are my properties, after all, and potential soldiers," Shigaraki replied. "What do you think I should do? Should I use their loved ones against them? Make them comply under duress?"
The voice hummed. Then, it began, "Would you like my input?"
"Yes, your advice is always welcome," Shigaraki nodded
The voice began, "I would suggest that you focus on Dynamight first and foremost," The voice asked.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Master," Shigaraki admitted.
The voice gleefully laughed as it continued, "The bigger picture is there, Tomura. The seed of doubt has always been planted in his mind, fragmented as it is. Without the need for further expenditure of resources, you can break him apart as he is the easiest one that you could turn over to your side."
"What should I do?" Shigaraki said.
The voice then spoke again, "Get his memories back, enforce the idea that everything that had happened, the deaths of his allies, the loss of One For All, all of them, they were all his fault. Destroy the very foundation of what made him who he is: the belief that he's a hero destined to win and persevere. When all of it is done and settled, bring him to the light. Show the world for the monster he is. Show them all that their supposed symbol is nothing more than a blissful lie, eloquent on the outside, rancid on the inside. Then, especially then, he'll be ripe for the plucking."
Shigaraki took in the words of his master solemnly. Then, he asked, "What about the mercenary?"
"The mercenary is but an instrument from his past," the voice said. "Use him to truly break Dynamight. Beyond that, he is of no consequence to your cause."
Shigaraki was silent for a moment. Then, his lips crossed upwards, his eyes glinting with untold sadism. "Thank you for the advice, Master."
"Always a pleasure."
Shigaraki was about to exit the office, but the voice called out once more. "Wait. Tomura. Before you go."
Shigaraki stopped and said, "Yes, Master?"
The voice said again, "Since you're dead set on accomplishing this task, I have just the quirk for you."
Shigaraki only smiled.
Bakugo's eyes opened groggily, the dim moonlight greeting them with its enticing glow. He went to check where he was being put in, and sure enough, he was back in the car. "Where...?"
"We're on our way home, peanut," Izuku said from the driver's seat.
Bakugo groaned. "Home? But shouldn't we—?"
Izuku shook his head and interrupted, "We gotta lay low for now."
Bakugo was about to protest, but couldn't find it in him to do it. Izuku was indeed correct. They needed to lay low after everything they'd been through, for they had a target on their backs. "So what now? We hide in plain sight? Can't say I'm on board with the idea."
"Until Sir Nighteye contacts us, we're staying put," Izuku replied. "He'll get the drug for us. Somehow."
"Is that so?" Bakugo raised his brow. "I'm surprised he's willing to help, considering our apparent bad blood with each other."
Izuku snorted. "He's not gonna turn a blind eye to this. He's a hero, after all."
"Touché," Bakugo agreed. After that, he asked, "Where'd you get the car?"
Izuku replied, "Well, after much consideration, I've come to the conclusion that I'm an innate expert at Grand Theft Auto-ing."
Bakugo looked at him as if he had just said something outrageous. "You stupid piece of shit, you want us to work with a pro-hero while adding one more bleak to your already brimming criminal records?"
"Oh you want me to be more subtle with my tendencies?" Izuku winked.
At this point Bakugo was ready to ram the claws straight through this fucker's thick skull.
Izuku rolled his eyes as he spoke again, "Sir Nighteye lent us his car. That's it. Clean and untainted. Just like you wanted, peanut."
"You just saved yourself another round of thrashing, asshole," Bakugo remarked.
Izuku's eyes squinted as he retorted, "Who said anything about me not enjoying it?"
Bakugo grunted, scowling as he said, "Fuck you."
"Is that an invitation?" Izuku smirked.
"I'm gonna throw myself out of this car," Bakugo said, clearly fed up.
Izuku put the brakes on the jokes for a bit, keeping his mouth shut. The ride went on with the uncomfortable silence, and by the minute, it was growing to be tiresome already for the mercenary.
Bakugo was content with the silence, though. However, all of that contentment was thrown out of the window when the mercenary decided to open his damn mouth again.
"Hey," Izuku started.
"What?" Bakugo said, startling Izuku a bit with how abrupt the response was.
Izuku frowned at that, but brushed it off regardless. "What's up with you earlier?"
"What's up with what and when?" Bakugo reiterated.
"Earlier. You lost your cool," Izuku asked.
Bakugo's expression shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to talk about it."
"I respect that," Izuku replied.
Silence again.
Until Izuku said something, "But you know, sometimes it helps."
"What helps?" Bakugo asked.
"This. Talking it out," Izuku made a gesture with his hands.
Bakugo side-eyed him. "I'd concur if the person weren't you."
"Ouch," Izuku said, feigning hurt. "Understandable. I'm still an open book though."
Bakugo looked at him for a moment, then at the highway. After a few moments of consideration, he decided to speak, "I remembered something. Although it's still ambiguous."
"Oh?" Izuku's eyes perked up.
"One of the guys who were after us said something about a brown-haired girl," Bakugo continued. "And I remembered seeing a person with the attributed descriptions on the posters. I'm familiar with her, but at the same time, I'm not. I can't quite put it into words."
"Was it fifty shades of muscles who mentioned her?" Izuku asked.
Bakugo nodded. "Even made some derogatory comments about her too."
"And it set you off," Izuku added. "I gotta say, that muscular piece of shit deserved every bit of pain you inflicted on him."
Bakugo laughed, uncharacteristically so, and said, "Yeah he fucking did."
Bakugo then ran his fingers through his temple; lips pursed and jaws clenched. After a while, he spoke, "I just hope I had a good reason."
Izuku tilted his head to Bakugo, silently gesturing for him to continue.
"For abandoning them, I mean," Bakugo said delicately, his tone softer than before.
Hah. Who the fuck was he kidding? Never was there a good reason for abandoning people. Bakugo just hoped that it was understandable and rational.
Izuku's eyes softened at that, though he didn't have anything to add to that.
Bakugo didn't blame him. His issues were too convoluted for anyone to come up with a viable solution.
Because there was no solution at all.
At the moment, he didn't have anyone that he could fall back to, so that was...not reassuring at all. How could fare to face the demons of his past all by himself?
But then, his eyes instinctively moved to Izuku's direction.
The radio played another song in the queue,
[Time is going by, so much faster than I]
Bakugo took the initiative to say, "Hey, dickhead."
[And I'm starting to regret not spending all of it with you]
Izuku coughed as he replied, "I have a name, and it's not 'dickhead'."
[Now I'm wondering why I've kept this bottled inside]
Bakugo ignored that and continued, "I don't know if you have ulterior motives in doing this, and frankly, I don't give a shit. But if you've been sincere since day one, well, I just wanna say, thank you. This is the most I've been aware of my past since a month ago, and you played a big part in it."
[So I'm starting to regret not telling all of it to you]
Izuku shook his head. "You're kidding. I hardly lifted a finger in this one."
[So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know]
"Bullshit. If you hadn't dragged me all the way to Shizuoka, I would still be the clueless dog I'd been before you came along," Bakugo countered.
Izuku was silent momentarily, processing what he'd just heard. Then, he replied, "Don't sweat it, peanut. It's what friends are for."
[You're never gonna be alone]
"Yeah, yeah, don't fucking get ahead of yourself just yet," Bakugo said, back to the gruff tone that he usually sported.
[From this moment on]
"I mean, we drive together, we kill together, we fuck together—"
Bakugo chimed in, "We don't fuck."
[If you ever feel like letting go]
"—the point is, we're kinda past the acquaintance territory, dontcha think? Putting aside the state of our previous... relationship," Izuku said.
[I won't let you fall]
Bakugo stared at the mercenary with a look of...fondness? Jesus, when did he get so fucking sappy?
[You're never gonna be alone]
Bakugo couldn't afford to let his guard down even if Izuku did help him more than anyone ever had for the past month.
[I'll hold you till the hurt is gone]
But what could be so bad about that? Maybe it'd be good if Bakugo had someone who had his back.
Someone who he could rely on. Someone whose shoulders he could crash to whenever he felt like it.
Izuku then spoke in a tone that contrasted his usual one, lifting a fist in the air, "So...friends?"
[You're never gonna be alone]
Bakugo stayed silent, his lips unmoving. After a while of trying to make a decision, Bakugo finally spoke, "Friends."
[From this moment on]
Izuku's fist was left hanging in the air. "Hey c'mon, bump it."
[If you ever feel like letting go]
"What?"
[I won't let you fall]
"Bump it," Izuku reiterated.
"Why?"
[When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on]
"It's a sign of— you've never fist bumped someone before?" Izuku asked with a raised brow.
"I lost my fuckin' memories, dipshit, how should I know?" Bakugo retorted.
"Oh. Right," Izuku then shoved his fist further in front of Bakugo. "Still not out of the woods yet."
[We're gonna take the world on]
"Is this really necessary?"
"It's a show of our newfound friendship," Izuku said.
Reluctantly, Bakugo did likewise and bumped his fist to Izuku's. "Atta boy," Izuku smiled.
[I'll hold you till the hurt is gone]
Bakugo relaxed against the back of the seat, hands slumped to each side. Tender as the moment was, Bakugo couldn't help but shudder at the lingering thought at the back of his mind.
That somehow he'd turn his back on the only person who'd ever helped him. It was a distant cry from what little he could make of his past.
Katsuki pressed the doorknob tightly down, pushing the door forward as he met the gaze of a sickly, fragile old man laying helplessly on the bed.
What once was an unstoppable behemoth that took the criminal world by storm, was reduced to nothing more than a shadow of his former self.
"Young Katsuki," the old man greeted. "It's nice to see you."
Katsuki approached the bed that the old man was laying on, crouching down to his level as he spoke, "How're you holdin' up, old man?"
"Never better," the old man spoke, coughing as he did so. "I should be asking you the same thing."
Katsuki sighed. "I'm alive and kicking, what's there to ask about?"
"What you've been up to," the old man clarified. "Can't this old man be curious about what his pupil does nowadays?"
"Nothing interesting. Just your average day of dealing with pests and extras," Katsuki scowled.
The old man let out an amused chuckle. "I'm surprised that you still think of them as, in your parlance, 'extras'."
Katsuki huffed as he replied, "They're not without their merits, but they're still extras."
"I know you don't really think that," the old man affirmed.
Katsuki furrowed his brows; he spoke, "It's not important anyway."
"Young Katsuki," the old man decided to press further into the matter. "You shouldn't be so closed to your allies. They're your teammates for a reason."
"They're work colleagues, nothing more," Katsuki denied.
"Are they now?" the old man smiled.
Katsuki scoffed, saying, "Fine. They're acquaintances."
"Try again," the old man said.
"Why do you care anyway?" Katsuki dropped the question suddenly like an anvil. "It's not like you to butt your head into my social life."
The old man shrugged. "I didn't take you in merely as a student. Young Katsuki, you're the closest thing I've ever had to a son, the same way Nana was the closest thing I've ever had to a mother figure. This thing we have, it extends beyond a simple relationship between a mentor and a student. I want you to be happy, young Katsuki."
Katsuki's eyes softened at that, but he didn't say anything further.
The old man then continued, "I just don't want the drudgery of everyday's work to get in the way of what you actually want."
What he actually wanted?
"And I know better than everyone what you want," the old man then continued, "A connection with others. You've been lonely for so long, haven't you?"
Well, Katsuki couldn't really deny that.
"Listen closely, Katsuki, being a hero is not only about formality and saving people," the old man said with a solemn expression. "It's about building connections with the people around you. Not just the citizens, but the heroes you work with."
Katsuki was about to interject, but the old man cut him off, "I've learned it the hard way. Ever since Nana died, I couldn't let myself be vulnerable and let people close to me. But you've changed that. Drastically so. And I regret my decision everyday, because now, I won't ever be able to get any of my chances at that back."
The old man smiled as he continued, "This is what life looks like, young Katsuki. People who love each other. A home. You should take a moment, feel it, savour it, cherish it. Don't take your young age for granted. You still have time."
Katsuki looked at the old man with a thousand yard stare, processing everything that he'd just heard from his mentor.
Maybe he was right.
But who was he kidding?
He couldn't have them thinking that he wanted to be there.
With a melancholic expression, Katsuki replied, "You'll get that chance."
The shift caught the old man by surprise. "How do you mean?"
"The top scientists at my agency's laboratory are working on something. Something that can give you your damaged respiratory organs back," Katsuki said.
The old man's widened a little. "W- what do you mean by that?"
"I mean," Katsuki smiled softly as he pressed his hand tightly against the old man's. "You'll have a proper retirement this time. When they give you the cure, and they will, I'll have my sidekicks send you somewhere quiet. You don't have to shoulder the burden of the world anymore."
The old man was speechless.
"Maybe you could revisit the states, relive your glory days," Katsuki smirked.
The old man was a stammering mess. "Y- Y- Young Katsuki, you really don't have to! I just told you to focus on yourself instead of-"
"It's fine, old man," Katsuki gave the old man a pat on his shoulder. "I owe you more than you could ever imagine."
Before the old man could object further, Katsuki stood up and walked to the exit door. "I got some things to tend to. I'll see you tomorrow then?"
The old man was silent for a few seconds. Then, he smiled with tears sliding down his cheeks. "Thank you, young man."
Before closing the door, Katsuki replied, "No problem, All Might. Thanks for the insightful talk too. I'll keep what you said in mind."
With that, he was gone.