Chapter Text
He seethed from where he stood in his bright-orange-sorry-excuse-for-shorts shorts. He knew somehow, someway, this was some kind of punishment for him, whether it’s Endeavor who's punishing him or God himself. Why couldn’t he have been positioned as a bouncer like Kirishima, or disguised as a guest like Kaminari? Nope, he got to go undercover as a stripper.
Yep, a fucking stripper.
He better at least be getting paid extra, much extra. Or at least be allowed to keep the money people are throwing at him. Either way he better be getting rewarded for resisting the urge to blow the face off every man or woman who dares to make grabby hands at him. He made it a point to exclaim that if he was getting into those skimpy degrading shorts then they sure as hell better be bagging the target.
The fact that he was willing to act as a stripper in order to catch their target speaks volumes of their target. Their target ruled the seedy underbelly of society with ruthless efficiency and merciless execution for anyone who got in his way. He was the head of the snake when it came to organised crime and villainy, and he was an extremely important target to bag, but he was also the most dangerous. This was a very high risk high reward mission, and if they manage to pull it off successfully and capture the target alive…. Their status as heroes will easily shoot to top ten, and that is something Katsuki wants more than anything, enough to walk around in booty shorts and get hooted at by lowlifes.
The current club that they were infultraing was an establishment owned by the target, but seeing as the man had a lot to do, running the drug trafficing industry amongst many other things, he usually delegated jobs like overseeing night clubs to his men. The man who was in charge of this particular club was a man that went by the name of Mineta. Mineta was a conniving little man, but even the police chief was surprised when the man showed up to the station saying that he had a tip on the target’s whereabouts and that he would give it in exchange for a chunk of the reward money on his bosses head.
They had all been surprised, before him many others had been too afraid to say anything about the mysterious Deku, only saying that they would rather die than betray their boss, because if they did they would bring a fate worse than death to them. So it was indeed surprising that this shrimpy man had the nerve to say anything, let alone give the police a tip that could potentially get his boss captured; but the reward was larger than any and this was a tip that the heroes, who didn’t even have a description of the man, desperately needed.
His earpiece vibrates to life with the sound of Kirishima’s voice. “No sign of the target yet.” Altogether there were three heroes in the building along with a few others stationed nearby with the awaiting police. Their target is a strong one, but if he arrives tonight there is no way he’s slippery enough to escape. Once the trap is set there is no getting out. He finds his palms prick with a familiar excitement, adrenaline running rampant through his system. He may be wearing tiny shorts, but it was moments like these that made him glad he became a hero.
Katsuki was also curious to see their infamous target, a man who instills such a piercing fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere to the point where they won’t even give a description of the man when interrogated. The only information they have to go off of is that he has green hair and green eyes. The man himself is like a myth. They know next to nothing. No pictures, no identity, just that he goes by the name Deku.
“HE’S HERE. HE’S HERE.” Kirishima’s over excited voice explodes through the earpiece. Katsuki winces and brings a hand up to protect his now probably bleeding eardrum. He moves to yell at Kirishima to stop fucking yelling into his ear when Kirishima’s now hushed voice errupts once more.
“Oh my… wow the target, he’s so…” Young. Attractive. This man couldn’t possibly be the target, he doesn’t look any older than Katsuki.
As one of the first pro heroes to get a good look at the fleeting wraith that is the ruler of the crime syndicate, it’s his duty to memorize every feature he can. It’s his duty, not because the guy’s hot, which doesn’t hurt anything. He had a boyish but firm angular face with a long scar running from his eyebrow to the corner of his mouth. Beneath the scar is one of his two very green, very deep eyes that seem to efficiently scan the room as the man walks in. His hair, the same deep green as his eyes, is somehow wild but trimmed simultaneously, giving him a controlled messy look almost. Besides him is his muscle and right hand man Shoto. Shoto had just as scary a reputation as Deku did. He was known for being loyal only to Deku, and willing to torture and use his strength at his bosses will.
He was known for having a powerful quirk, the ability to manipulate both ice and fire somehow. He was also known to be somewhat of a sociopath, showing hardly any emotion and no empathy for the people around him. It’s rumored that Deku is the only one who has seen him express any emotion.
He was also very young, and what most would call a pretty boy. He was heterochromatic, with one blue eye and one gray. His hair is short and straight and also different colors, red and white. He looked relatively tall with a few inches on Deku, but didn’t possess quite as much muscle as the other did. Katsuki had never expected this to be the evil duo, but there was no doubt in his mind. This is it, the moment they’ve been waiting for.
Deku walked with an easy swagger while Shoto was more rigid and alert. They both wore suits, Deku was missing his jacket so he wore his white undershirt rolled to the elbow beneath black suspenders, while Shoto had a navy Jacket. They both wore short leather gloves, most likely to avoid leaving potential evidence and fingerprints. They both looked as if they belonged to the mafia in the 1930’s, which was actually somewhat fitting, and Katsuki had to admit it was a good look for them.
It was only the two of them, no extra backup or any extra muscle that the hero’s had planned for. They didn’t seem too worried about it though, cocky, but that will only make capturing them easier for Katsuki. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were missing something, something crucial.
It couldn’t be this man, whose smile was sweet and charming at their waitress despite the scars running up his forearms into his shirt. His eyes were too large and expressive to be the same ones from the stories told in the streets, stories of the spiraling madness you could see from in their depths as he drained the blood from his enemies.
He couldn’t see it, not in this man who sat next to Shoto on a bench seat near the stage with an animated smile and bright applause for each dancer. This man shone bright like a flower growing between the cracks of concrete; Deku on the other hand was a deranged monster who ruled with fear and maliciousness. Despite appearances, he couldn’t take a chance on it. He needed to do the job he was there for, this man was still his target.
First he had to get as close as possible, which shouldn’t be a problem because he’s supposed to be a dancer and all he has to do is walk over to him and dance on him. Easier said than done, but he is Katsuki freakin Bakugo and he can do anything. He gathers his courage and does his best to strut over to where the target is seated, but that courage drains the closer he gets, and nearly evaporates entirely as two sharp intelligent eyes evaluate him.
Katsuki’s steps don’t falter, but the man still seems to sense his sudden uneasiness. He leans back in his seat with an inviting smile, one that has no right to be so endearing, and Katsuki continues, silently relieved that he doesn’t have to degrade himself further by asking to grind on this man's lap. The man gestures to his lap with an encouraging smile, and that’s all the prompting he needs.
Katuki can feel his gaze like a physical touch, and his body heats beneath it as he uses all his agility training to crawl onto Deku’s lap as gracefully as possible. He doesn’t know how long he can stay like this, with each leg on either side of this man's thighs, close enough to the murderous villain that he can see each delicate freckle on his cheeks.
He rolls his body anyway, avoiding eye contact and eagerly awaiting the signal. He gyrates his hips to the beat of the music in the room, his nerves are still in the forefront of his mind, but the way Deku appraises him with those appreciative deep eyes and that smirk… It gives him a surge of confidence. Not that he didn’t have any before, he knew he was hot, but just the look in this man's eyes, as if he were something worth praising, it made him tingle with new warmth.
A gloved hand moves to rest on his thigh as Deku turns his head to whisper to Shoto, who looks displeased, more so than usual, and rises from his seat with a pointed look at Deku before he walks into one of the backrooms. He didn’t catch what was said over the music playing in the room, but what he did hear was Kaminari’s voice over his headset.
“I’ll keep an eye on Shoto.”
From the corner of his eye he saw the shape of his friend rising from his seat a few seconds later, and let out a relieved sigh when Deku’s eye kept firmly on him and not on the new movement. The hand on his thigh turned into two on his hips and Katsuki stilled his movement as his heartbeat picked up its tempo. The man below him leaned up towards him, bringing with him the subtle scent of pine along with lips to his ear.
“You smell sweet, like nitroglycerin. What’s your name, beautiful?”
Katsuki didn’t know what shocked him more, having a homicidal criminal call him beautiful, and be genuinely flattered by it, or the fact that Deku could identify the smell of nitroglycerin and could pick it up off of him. He was shocked silent until the question hit him. They had given him a stripper name to go by just in case but Katuki’s pride simply wouldn’t allow him to say it.
“Kats- uh Kat.” Deku’s head pulled to the side along with his playful smile, one that made Kastuki feel like he was being teased but he didn’t know what for.
“Cat huh? Do you think you could unbutton my shirt for me? It’s getting hot now that you’re here.”
The man smiled at his own cheesy line, and Katsuki had to repeat in his mind that this man was a ruthless criminal over and over because this man should not be so damn endearing. The mantra in his head quickly became more desperate as buttons gave way to pale, toned skin beneath his hands. This is not how this was supposed to go, Deku wasn’t supposed to be young and charming, and Katuki wasn’t supposed to be acting like an idiot with a crush.
He was a hero damn it, one of the pro’s, he could get laid any time, and now was not that time. Nomatter how much he wanted it to be.
“You’re a very attractive man, perhaps in another life I would have asked you on a date.” Deku’s smile was longing despite the hungry look he was giving Katsuki. Perhaps in another life they would be having passionate sex right now , Katsuki thought wistfully.
His burning curiosity was fighting his lust for control inside of him. Curiosity won out for now.
“Why couldn’t you in this life?”
He only just realised that his sensual movements had stopped. Now he was just sitting on this man’s lap half naked as they caressed each other, it was oddly intimate.
“I wouldn’t trust you with my other side, you deserve better than him.” Deku’s voice was soft and his smile mournful as his eyes burned into Katsuki’s brilliant red ones with longing, that of a new kind. He didn’t understand, but in his heart he felt a stab of empathy despite himself, but empathy for what? This man was a murderer.
His earpiece rang in his ear with the signal, pulling him out of the moment. He was Ground Zero Explosion Hero, and that overcame all feelings he felt towards this man. His hands snap and secure the wrists of the villain in an iron grip, rapidly heating with the threat of potential pain if his prisoner were to struggle.
To his surprise, because this man would never stop surprising him, Deku wasn’t struggling at all. He just sat peacefully in his seat, as if he was enjoying the force that Katsuki was using on top of him. He remained still with a tilt to his head once more, evaluating Katsuki with a curiosity that you would give an exciting puzzle rather than a powerful hero trying to restrain you.
His team effectively infiltrated the building, surrounding them with quirks at the ready and weapons raised, but it was unnecessary. Their target went willingly.
Katsuki took a sip of his coffee in order to cover up his smile at Kaminari’s excessive shivering. After they had secured the target his friend had been found in the back frozen solid, but alive and pouting in a giant block of ice as he explained that he had tried to stop Shoto but the man had escaped. After taking a few pictures to hang around the office, those with fire and heat quirks thawed him out and he had been shivering inside one of their customary comfort blankets ever since.
“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you Bakugo since you had your buttcheeks out on display only twenty minutes ago.” Katsuki internally groaned, there was definitely going to be pictures of him in his shorts around the office too.
“Shut your face or being cold isn’t the only thing you’ll have to worry about you idiot.”, he snarled. He’ll bet an explosion will warm him up real good, that fucker.
He contemplates setting the moron's blanket on fire as a lesson to never mention his buttcheeks ever again, when one of the police department detectives that had partnered with them on this case came rushing in.
“They are about to question Deku! Come quick.”, the detective said, almost out of breath with his excitement. The feeling in the air was electric. Katsuki could feel the gathered excitement from everyone around him. What a victory this was, catching the ghost haunting the streets of their city. He’ll give it to them this time. They truly had a reason to be excited.
Deku was sitting alone at the interrogation table, he adorned a soft private smile despite the straight jacket and muzzle weighing him down. His eyes were soft as he waited quietly, his posture was relaxed and carefree. The sight made Katsuki uneasy. Deku carried an air of eerie calm, which was strange considering he was facing charges that could result in his execution.
Come to think of it, everything seemed too easy. Why wasn’t he fighting? What if he was some sweet innocent man caught up in this mess because he shared the vague description they had of Deku. Katsuki hadn’t even gotten a name from him in the club.
Lucky for them they had a supposid witness, someone who could confirm this man's identity. Mineta. Katsuki’s problem with that was Mineta was a slimy man, he could be betraying his boss, but he could just as easily be duping the police and framing this innocent man to get the heroes to quit breathing down the real Deku’s neck. They were missing something, something important. Katsuki just knew it.
His uneasiness grew as the two leading detectives on the case walked in the room with mineta between them. Mineta looked through the glass with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
“Y-yep. That’s him. That’s Deku.”
The only thing that made sense to Katuki at this moment was the slight tremble in Mineta’s voice. If that truly was Deku, Mineta should be scared shitless. Even if his apparent boss couldn’t see him through the one sided glass.
Mineta’s statement was enough evidence for them to hold Deku long enough to drag a confession out of him. The two detectives double check the camera’s to see if they are recording before entering the interrogation room. A hush falls around the twenty or so people surrounding the otherside of the one way glass as Deku’s head snaps up upon their entry. The female detective (no Katsuki didn’t bother learning the extra’s names) sits across from the villain as the male detective removes the muzzle, before backing away as if Deku was going to viciously bite him if he remained near.
Instead of turning on him like a rabid animal, Deku offers him a small smile in return for removing the uncomfortable muzzle. It makes Katsuki’s stomach clench for many reasons, but mostly because how could a face so sweet, despite the ragged scar interrupting it, be the evil everyone claims? It didn’t feel right. He heard his thoughts reflected by a few others in hushed murmurs around the room.
“That couldn’t be him. He’s just a boy.” and “Did you see that smile?”. They didn’t help Katsuki’s screaming conscience.
Deku didn’t ask for a lawyer like he probably should have. He just sat there respectfully in his straight jacket awaiting their inquiry as the female detective read him his rights.
It was the male detective who finally broke. His voice was hard and loud, probably meant to intimidate.
“Is it true that you are known as the man Deku?” Deku blinked, tilting his head as if contemplating the question.
“I suppose some people call me that. Would you mind telling me why i’m here?” The villain spoke in a soft tone that was soothing, clearly throwing off the male detective and several others who were expecting a fight paired with cruel unforgiving words.
It was the female detective who spoke up this time. She turns the clipboard in her hands around in one swift movement for Deku to see.
“We have reason to believe that you have committed the following crimes.” Deku’s eyebrows lift as his eyes scan the sheet attached to the clipboard, seemingly impressed with his own rap sheet. Katsuki reluctantly admits to himself that it’s an adorable expression for a homicidal criminal.
The soft “oh wow” he mutters under his breath only the cherry on top.
“Do you remember committing any of these crimes? If you take responsibility now and confess your sentence will be lessened.” Deku tilts his head with a larger smile than before with new interest sparkling in his eye.
“You can detect lies with your quirk can’t you?” He easily evades the question, unnoticed by many because of his sharp wit and charming smile. The detective sputters while the other one gapes from where he stands across the table. Unsettling whispers crescendo from the small audience just outside the glass.
She blinks, as if to get a hold of her bearings,”I-Yes, how did you know?” Deku sits up straighter in his chair, a newfound excitement alight in his handsome face.
“It was just a calculated guess. I thought it was off that I wasn’t hooked up to any kind of polygraph.” Impressive. Most people who were questioned in such a way were too focused on finding the right words to say rather than paying attention to detail. Those eyes weren't just for show, not only were they distracting, but they were sharp. Observant.
Deku continues, too excited in his mumbling to notice the hush around him.
“Does it affect all of those in a certain area of you? Or do you need to hear them speak to activate it. I have a friend with a quirk similar to that, his is also voice activated. I’ve always thought quirks were fascinating like that. And heroes. Well, not so much heroes anymore.”
An absent thought hits Katsuki, Would Deku still look at him with praise in his eyes knowing that Katsuki was on opposite sides of him? Because he was a hero?
The male detective seems to find his tongue again, but his voice comes out less threatening now. It seems Deku has put him at ease.
“Do you not like heroes anymore because of your life of crime and villainy? Because it’s their job to stop you?”
Normally Katsuki would step in because they were venturing off of questioning protocol, but he was just as curious as they were. A quick glance around the room confirmed that nobody else was making a move to correct the detectives, each one of them as enraptured by the criminals words as he was. Alarm bells went off in the depth of his mind, they were carefully becoming wrapped around this man’s finger, and if he really was Deku, this could be the beginning of the end of them all.
The excitement on Deku’s face had fallen, leaving only the faint feeling of disappointment that emphasized the scar cutting over his eye. It left Katsuki feeling nervous and he didn’t know why.
“A villain am I?... To be a hero you must understand your ‘so-called villains’ better. Most don’t choose their path, they merely follow it for survival, because without it they would’ve perished long before…” Deku trailed off, body stiff and gaze far away.
“You couldn’t imagine the things a quirkless orphan has to do to survive. Things that most people would consider bad or ‘villainous’.”
The dark look in his eye told Katsuki that Deku did not have to imagine, he knew all too well. He couldn’t help but think, if Katsuki were in that position would he have turned to crime and violence in the name of survival? No. Of course not, he was a hero after all he would be able to find an alternative solution without falling into crime, he told himself, but in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but doubt his own resolve.
The dark look remained on Deku’s face. It left the atmosphere around them heavy, and made the hair on his arm stand on end. It spoke of troubling memories, of things that could turn a sweet boy into a monster.
Deku’s voice broke through the smothering silence like a blade. His voice remained soft, but it’s softness was not what it was before. Now it was deadly and deceiving.
“That’s the problem with you heroes these days. You don't stop to think if the villain you’re chasing is truly evil, or if society has forced their hand. You let your definition of villain suit you best. Are your morals truly good or are they good for you? For society? You’d be surprised by the morals of your fellow heroes, but the light will shine through all darkness eventually. It always does.”
Both detectives were on their feet now, postures stiff and uneasy. Like prey when it hears a faint rustle in the dark. The feeling of uneasiness made itself known by the shuffling of heroes around him. Katsuki felt his own uneasiness grow, but quickly reminded himself that this was only one man, and even if there weren’t over a dozen heroes beside him, Katsuki could take this guy. He had the training, and he graduated as the best of the best from the hero academy. He told himself this over and over until his insides matched the cool exterior he displayed. He knew the others were looking to him for comfort, and if he remained calm so would the rest of these idiots.
“But In our society aren’t you the metaphorical darkness essentially?”
Deku’s smile returns, wistful now, and with it his relaxed posture. The two detectives also relax at his returned state, and everyone around them seems to let out a collective sigh. Katsuki couldn’t help but marvel at the power this man held over them with just the use of his expressions. He had the ability to make them fear with just a change of face.
The longer this interrogation goes the more convinced Katsuki is that this is their target. Looks can only charm for so long.
“Ahh yes. My demise is inevitable. The light will shine on me too when my time comes.” The smile on the villains face is genuine despite the topic. He is well aware of himself and is accepting of his fate, which is either a sign of advanced maturity or complete insanity.
This man is far too young for either.
The detectives seem just as baffled by his response.
Deku continues, and now his voice takes on a more serious quality.
“But before the light brings its wrath down on me I will bring down this social injustice. Your definition of villain is pitted on the lower class, but I will change that. I will expose to the world the corrupt faces amongst the hero’s and the flaws of your way of thinking. I will knock down the pedestal you so proudly sit upon because you are no more deserving of it than I am. Who are you to say who is deserving of the title ‘hero’ when half of you spandex wearing bigots are only in it for money and recognition? I may be a villain by definition but at least I’m honest about it, while you heroes lie like snakes in the flowers and society praises you for it at every turn. But no more, soon they will see the truth.”
Throughout his rant Deku remained calm and collected, not once raising his voice, but that did not cushion the impact of his words. In fact, his calm reflected the glint of steel beneath the surface of his speech. This man was dead serious, and they would all be fools if they didn’t treat him like the threat he was.
The villain's words seemed to strike a nerve in the detective, she leaned into the table as her voice raised dangerously.
“What would you know about what it takes to be a hero? You thrive off of the suffering of others like a parasite. There’s no honor among criminal’s. Even your most loyal man left you behind. You wouldn’t know the true qualities of a hero because you’ve never seen them once in your miserable life.”
Katskui steps forward, ready to step in because the detective was jumping far out of line, yelling at a criminal, despite how infuriating they could be (Katsuki would know he has gotten in trouble several times for getting into screaming matches with the crooks he brings in), was where their professionalism ended. At least that was his intention before a shaky hand on his shoulder caused him to pause. He looked to see Mineta, with a single fat bead of sweat running from his purple hair, giving him a pleading look.
“Don’t go. You don’t want to be in there if he flips.”
He stared back with a piercing glare and at least nine questions on his tongue when Deku’s raspy chuckle drew his attention once more.
“Ahh Shoto. I imagine he is quite angry with me still. I practically had to threaten him to get him to leave. You see, he is very protective of me.”
The silence that followed his words was deafening. The only reason Deku would order Shoto to leave is if he knew they were coming, so he could stay behind and purposefully let himself be caught. The male detective seems to come to a similar conclusion.
“You let yourself be arrested?”
Deku says nothing, but his cheeky smirk speaks volumes. It became abundantly clear to all at that moment that the lone man in the straight jacket was the one in charge here. Not the heroes, not the police. After a beat of silence, as if he was politely giving the detectives time to digest their realization, he speaks up once again.
“What can I say I'm a sucker for a pretty face.” He glances up and locks eyes with Katsuki, which should logically be impossible through the one-way mirror, and makes Katsuki practically swallow his heart.
Could he see them this whole time?
This time it was the male detective’s turn to lose his cool. “Enough of this. Did you commit any of the crimes or not!”
Now Deku seemed content to sit in a silence only comfortable to him, and when it became clear he had no intention of answering the female detective sighed.
“We’re getting nowhere with this. I’m going to give him a psych eval while we have him here. Now Mr.Deku, if you would I’d like you to answer some questions for me.”
Katsuki had to applaud her quick thinking. Performing a psych eval now would distract from the current tension, and give each one of them the chance to de escalate and reevaluate themselves, without giving the person being questioned a break from questioning. Not only that but if they have a recorded psych eval they would be able to prove in court that the person in question was sound in mind, thus making it easier for them to throw the book at him without the criminal being able to claim mental instability.
She took his small smile for the conformation it was. She flipped around the papers of her clipboard until she was ready, signalling the start of her questioning with the infamous click of a pen.
“Tell me about your family growing up, Deku. What were they like?”
Mineta made a choked noise off to his right. In the corner of his eye he could see the tremor in the small man’s movements. Katsuki didn’t see the problem. To perform a proper psychological evaluation you needed information on the subjects background. This question was standard protocol. Besides him Mineta’s panicking only seemed to worsen.
“Someone needs to stop her. Now. Before she can ask anymore questions.”
One of the other onlooking detectives whispers a harsh shush to him,”Your job is done now so be quiet.”
Both Kaminari and Katsuki keep a wary eye on Mineta, who looks to be on the verge of wetting his pants. Something in Katsuki’s gut was telling him to listen to the man.
“You don’t understand… memories from his past are one of his triggers.”
Red flags were springing up like weeds in Katsuki’s mind and he had no choice but to listen to his gut. He adopts his commanding tone of voice to say, “We need to stop this. I’m going to-”
“Family..?” The crack in Deku’s voice was enough to stop him cold in his tracks. He looked back into the glass in time to see the fascinating way the villain’s eye rapidly darkened, like an accidental spill of ink in water.
The detective seemed to pick up on his shift in behavior. “Deku? Your family, what was it like at home?”
There was a harsh twitch in Deku’s neck, and Katsuki took an unconscious step back at the motion. If there was anything that he had learned from the hero academy it was that your instincts know danger before your brain recognizes it, so when Katsuki’s entire body stood on end with the urge to flee he listened to it. There was an impending darkness coming from within Deku, and it loomed over them all like a shadow they could feel but not see.
“I think anyone who isn’t a hero needs to leave; get those two detectives out of there!” He pointed towards Kirishima who nodded his agreement. It was that moment that Deku’s voice drifted through the glass and danced along his skin like frost. It was his voice, but it didn’t sound like the charming intelligent man anymore.
“Yes. Deku, Deku,Deku that’s what they called us when we lived outside. Isn’t that right Izuku? Yes they did didn’t they?. Deku, Deku.”
The twitching was becoming more frequent by the time Kirishima had evacuated the two detectives safely.
“They’re all dead aren’t they Izuku? Yes. Yes.”
If Mineta looked like he was ready to piss himself before, now he looked as if he was about to start coughing up his internal organs at any second. He was talking to himself, but Katsuki heard it all.
“This wasn’t part of the plan. He wasn’t supposed to switch in here like this. He’ll kill us all.” Katsuki, who had never been good at dealing with fear and emotions in general, let his anger overwhelm him instead of being afraid. He grabbed two fistfulls of Mineta’s shirt, eyes blazing, with his wrath threatening to bear down on this tiny man like a vengeful god.
“What fucking plan? Did you trick us? You little weasel, I’ll kill you once we get out of here!”
Mineta’s cowardly whimper did very little to quench the fire of his anger. “He didn’t tell me much. Only that I was supposed to turn him in because he wanted easy access to these files that are kept in the station.”
Files?
“But why wouldn’t he just break in to steal them? Why go through all the trouble of being arrested?”, Katsuki snarled because he was frustrated, and he hated not understanding. Neither one of them acknowledged the tears running down Mineta’s face.
“Like I said he didn’t-” The end of his sentence is cut off by a fearful scream. The man in his grasp violently flinched away from the glass beside them, and if Katsuki were anyone else he would have too.
Only a few feet away, standing only an inch from the glass on the other side was Deku, who was suddenly a lot closer than before, with his eyes zeroed in on them with an intense and predatory look. He didn’t look like Deku anymore, he shared his face, but it was clear this man was different. His eyes were big, black, and dead, like those of a shark. Green lightning began to run down his scarred arms as gibberish seemed to flow from his mouth.
“Look Izuku! The pretty man and the rat. Oh yes the rat. Scurry scurry rat. It thought we wouldn’t notice Deku, Deku. But we did yes we did. We saw the rat scurry scurry yes we did.” Katsuki felt frozen to the spot by Deku’s deranged smile, it seemed to have too many teeth in it.
“We don’t like rats do we Izuku? No Deku, no we don’t.”
He just barely had the sense to jump out of the way of the bricks and glass shrapnel falling as the wall crumbled beneath the force of a single punch. As the debris and the dust settled around him, Katsuki opened his eyes to find one room where there was once two. The wall between the two rooms had been completely annihilated, but that was not Katsuki’s concern at the moment. His main and only concern as of now was the fact that both Deku and Mineta were nowhere to be found.
“Kirishima? Kaminari? Is everyone okay? Answer me you idiots!”, he yelled into the room. The powerful blow to the wall managed to knock the power out, either that or it was cut in time with the blast. The sound of coughing and shifting ruble answered him along with Kirishima’s weary voice.
“Yeah we’re alright.” He didn’t say it outloud but he was glad they were okay. “Holy shit. What is that guy? I don’t understand, wasn’t there rumors he was quirkless? That isn’t any quirk I’ve seen before. It looked like electricity but I didn’t sense any from him.”, Kaminari exclaimed. He had lost his blanket in the commotion by the looks of it.
“We don’t have time to think about it now damn it. Kaminari, you look into getting the power back on. Kirishima, you evacuate the building. If either of you find him call for backup.”,he snarled in his authoritative tone of voice he only used for these kinds of situations.
Luckily they were all trained to work well under pressure. His friends nod. The firm looks on their faces told him they would get the job done without question.
“Right. Now I’m going after this bastard.”
He resists the reflexive explosion on his palm at the feeling of a halting palm on his chest. People should know better than to touch him in tense situations.
“Wait!” He stops, lips at the ready to threaten anyone who tries to slow him down, but the look on the female detective’s face makes him hold his tongue.
“Please listen”, she says. “That man is not stable. It’s likely that his perception of reality is altered at the moment due to the psychotic episode he’s having. He showed signs of severely untreated schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, probably manifested from traumatic experiences as a child. There could also be several other illnesses at play but those are the two he shows most. My point is, you can’t approach him as you normally would. It’s likely that he’s hallucinating, or possibly not in control. He is extremely unpredictable and violent, and you must exercise extreme caution. If you see him you must not hesitate to subdue him.”
There was an unfairly good looking, inhumanly strong, uncontrollably insane man on the loose, with a hostage no less.
And he said this was too easy.
“That’s great lady but we don’t have time for this. That man could be harming innocent people for all we know we need to move. ” He let the urgency bleed into his voice to drive the point home. The heroes were gone off to their respective missions before she could respond.
She did anyway with a sigh,”Just be careful is all.”
No light was offered through the windows considering it was still the early hours of the morning, or the late hours of the night technically. Katsuki used small silent explosions to navigate through the empty halls of the police department. It was eerily quiet, Kirishima must have made quick work of evacuating the people, and Katsuki hated that he could hear his own shaky breathing. He had to stay focused, Deku was looking for files, and all of the files in the police records were kept in a room up ahead. This had to be where Deku was headed.
The whispers started as the room came near. Katsuki froze, halting his explosions and halting his movements in fear of tipping off the monster in the dark ahead. The whispers became louder the closer he crept but he refused to be cowed. It was his job as a hero to put a stop to villains like this man, he won’t be stopped now. It was just a man after all. A very sick one.
“...we noticed yes we did. We did Deku Deku. Nothing gets past us. Scurry Scurry rat we know what you’ve done.” As Katsuki’s eyes adjusted to the dark he saw the two figures. They both looked about the same height, until Katsuki realized that one was Deku and the other was Mineta, who was being held up by his throat, feet dangling, so that he was eye level with the other man. Deku’s twitching was violent enough to be perceived through the dark.
“P-please Deku. I did everything you wanted. I-”
The pleading was cut off by what Katsuki assumed was the tightening of the grip around the smaller man’s throat.
“It speaks? Yes it does Deku. It lies, yes it does.” Katsuki flinches at the gut wrenching crack that echoes around the hallway. There’s a heavy thud, and only one figure left standing in the dark. It giggles,”Come look Izuku look! Look what Deku has done! Come Come Come Izuku look!”
The harsh breathing evens and becomes deeper, more controlled. The twitching becomes less frequent until after a minute or two it stops completely. The hallway becomes dead silent without the whispers, without the pleading. After a few more seconds of deep breathing the figure straightens and turns in one graceful movement. Footsteps steady and confident lead directly to the room of files without faltering once. Deku knew exactly which room it was, destroying all doubt that this was planned.
Katsuki was jolted into action at the sound of a thundering boom only seconds after the man disappeared through the door. Katsuki rounds the doorway, palms raised and sparking, when the lights above him flickered to life unexpectedly. Deku stood frozen, filing cabinet raised above his head as if it weighed nothing, with a look of surprise on his face at suddenly being bathed in light once more. There was a massive hole in the wall leading to the outside. Katsuki guessed he must have given it similar treatment to the last wall that was in his way. He looked every bit like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
With the female detective’s words echoing in his head to basically attack on sight, he raises both palms with the intention of leaving a decent sized crater in the ground where Deku is standing.
“Wait! Wait! It’s me! It’s me.” Deku’s voice was panicked, begging Katsuki to understand, and he did. This was the Deku that he had met in the club at the start of the night, not the Deku that had snapped Mineta’s neck without a second thought.
The man lowered the filing cabinet slowly until it hit the ground with a shaky thud. When his scarred hand rose once more it held a few sheets of paper in it.
“I have something for you. It’s very important.”, he said, voice soft and eyes earnest. He began to make his way over to him with the papers held out like an offering. It was only reflex to let off a warning explosion in response.
“Stop right there! Don’t come any closer. You’re under arrest Deku. Set the papers down and hold your hands up over your head.”
Deku did as he was told all while eyeing Katsuki with a soft smile and a soft look in his eye. Katsuki didn’t like it. Katsuki walked over as confidently as he could and put on what Kaminari called his ‘angry face’. He picked up the papers, not once taking his eyes off of the villain. Although a quick glance at the top paper was enough to draw his attention away.
There was a picture of Deku, he looked young, maybe when he was about 15 or 16 years old. His hair was wild and his grimace was aimed coldly at the camera. The scar running down his face looked more defined, more recent. Beneath the picture was a name.
Izuku Midoriya.
He looked up to find Deku’s eyes already on him, studying every detail of his reaction.
“Izuku?”
He understood now. This man was Izuku, the charming man with the sweet smile. Deku was the monster inside, the alter ego that he couldn’t control and was held prisoner to. So when his face became soft with relief, and those green eyes filled with gentle warmth, he understood why.
“It's been so long since I’ve heard that name come from anyone else.”, he said softly. His gentle look was lighting a flame beneath Katsuki. The warmth was new and it felt good, but if he stayed long enough it would burn him.
The hand on his cheek did not burn him however, but felt cool and gentle. Even softer lips touched his tentatively, and then once again much firmer but just as sweetly when Deku realized he wasn’t going to get blasted into next week. Katsuki wanted to weave his fingers through green hair, to pull and tug until he was dominating the kiss. Until Deku, Izuku, knew exactly who was in control here. He was already breaking so many rules so he might as well give into his desires. So he did, and swallowed every groan that Izuku gave him in return for his efforts.
He pulls away abruptly, simultaneously cursing his weakness and wanting to dive in for more. Every second of looking at Izuku’s flushed cheeks and swollen lips made the fight with himself all the more feudal. Izuku leans close, bringing with him his soft pine scent once again to Katsuki, but this time instead of kissing him his lips brush the shell of Katsuki’s ear.
“You’re one of the good ones Katsuki. I hope one day you’ll be the one to drag me from my throne into the light.” He pulled away with a soft promise to meet again soon, and just like that the man was gone with only a flash of green to signal his departure.
Izuku’s plan revealed itself to them throughout the chaos of the next day. Izuku’s escape from police custody had been loud and destructive, drawing lots of eyes and attention, attention that quickly turned to scrutiny of the police department and the heroes involved. Izuku had successfully made them all look incompitent by escaping on his own, instead of having one of his men use their quirks to warp him away or make his escape easier. Having been outwitted and overpowered by one man was embarrassing enough, but that wasn’t the sole reason Izuku let himself be arrested.
Somehow the footage of his interrogation had been leaked to the public. His rant of the unjust society turned many heads, and the footage quickly went viral. Suddenly there were posts from random people saying they stood with him, people liking and sharing his ideals. People were even making fanart of him, as if he were a member of a boyband and not an infamous murderer!
His mugshot had even made its way onto T-shirts and merchandise. He was gaining a fanbase, and rapidly too. It was easy for people to get caught up in his good looks and his powerful words, but that wasn’t all of it. The majority of his fanbase were teenage girls of course, but the other part of it was truly dangerous. Other criminal’s who felt the same way and were looking to unite underneath him, wanted to fight alongside him for the sake of this new ‘just society’. There were people like the vigilante named ‘Stain’ who were actually skilled and dangerous that claimed to fight with Deku. The situation was becoming more dire for the heroes by the day, but that’s exactly what Izuku had planed.
It was really ingenious. Izuku had essentially used his vandalism of the police department for publicity, as well as Mineta’s death, who had been later found out to be tucking a fraction of the clubs profits away for himself, and used their own tools and their own footage to get his message out to the world.
That had been his plan all along. Katsuki suspects that Izuku figured as he was escaping, he might as well grab the hero files while he was there, but by using that he fooled Mineta into thinking that was the main reason he wanted to get himself arrested, knowing that there was a possibility that Mineta would talk if put under the right pressure. Not that the hero files weren’t important. They contained the name and quirk of every pro hero and sidekick. With information like that at his disposal, Izuku could easily create a defense and plan an attack against each and every hero specific to their quirks. And if that wasn’t bad enough there was even more to it than that.
The metaphorical cherry on top of Izuku’s plan was the sheets of paper he had handed Katsuki before leaving. There had been three in total, all the same with just a picture and a name on all three. One with Izuku’s full name and picture, and two others that each had the same thing for two other high ranked villains. One being Shoto Todoroki and the other being Touya Todoroki. Also known as the two of the top ten most wanted villains Dabi and Shoto. Upon further investigation it was discovered that both villains were actually sons of the number two hero, and his boss, Endeavor.
This caught to the news like wildfire. Endeavor had run not one but two of his sons off, pushing them both to become powerful villains, because of his abuse towards them and his wife when they were children. As the dark nature of his personal life and past ‘were brought to the light’ as Izuku would probably say, his reputation and career as a hero tanked.
The news of Endeavor only made Izuku’s philosophy all the more popular with the public, which Katsuki suspects was the entire reason for Izuku wanting to reveal their identities in the first place. The news of a hero, especially one as popular and respected as Endeavor was, essentially fitting all of their standards for a villain was enough to make Izuku’s words as powerful as a physical blow.
“ Who are you to say who is deserving of the title ‘hero’ when half of you spandex wearing bigots are only in it for money and recognition? I may be a villain by definition but at least I’m honest about it, while you heroes lie like snakes in the flowers and society praises you for it at every turn. But no more, soon they will see the truth.” Even Katuki was questioning the heroes and the so-called ‘good guys’. He had worked for Endeavor’s agency for three years now, and had highly respected the man. He had no idea the former hero was hiding such evil.
Essentially, Deku’s actions from one night were enough to set in motion social unrest and the potential downfall of their carefully structured society. This man was far more dangerous than the rumors they’ve heard. Izuku was the perfect villain. He was handsome, with charm and the charisma needed for people to follow him, while being a brilliant strategist and analytical genius. On the other side of the coin he was Deku, who was powerful and mentally unstable enough to scare potential competitors away, while being ruthless enough to mercilessly take out threats and carry out Izuku’s plans at any cost. It was terrifying, and it gave Katsuki a headache just thinking about it.
Katsuki had some much needed time off. With all of the investigations going on into Endeavor, the police had shut down his agency. Thankfully, Katsuki wasn’t out of a job, it was only temporary. He spent his time cooking, working out, or simply just relaxing the stress away. He tended to avoid the news. Lately it was all Deku this, and Deku that. That was a topic he was really trying to avoid thinking about, not that he has been all that successful avoiding it. It was like torture to think about, but he often caught himself doing it anyway.
He thinks of the kiss, of the feel of Izuku’s surprisingly soft hair between his fingers. Then he has to immediately remind himself with how wrong it was, how he had literally watched him commit murder. He reminds himself again and again that behind the pale chiseled chest beneath his fingers in his fantasy’s is the heart of a psychopath. It doesn’t always work, and his mind immediately wanders back to inappropriate thoughts. He wonders if Izuku thinks of him too.
His unconscious question is answered one day by a knock on his door. He opens the door, still adorned in robe and slippers, to find an unmarked package. He isn’t that perturbed. Sometimes he gets one of his idiot fans coming through with gifts like this one, or sometimes looking for an autograph. He is quick to put the fear of god in them so they never bother him at home again.
He tears it open and is greeted by a note written in green marker on plain notebook paper
“ Hello Kacchan!” Kacchan?
“Shoto says that maybe if I write to you I might get rid of my ‘unhealthy infatuation’. Or so he says.”
Katsuki’s grip on the paper is suddenly a lot tighter.
“ I am very much looking forward to seeing my favorite hero again, and I’m sure you miss me as well. I figured I would give you something so that you wouldn’t miss me too much”
The dork even drew a winky face. His brain unhelpfully supplies an image of Izuku’s playful smirk to go along with it.
Katsuki puts the note down carefully in order to turn his attention to the contents of the box. The first item was a signed copy of Izuku’s mugshot. In the picture his shirt was still open from when Katsuki had opened it at the club. He was giving the camera a smirk from behind his number card. It was unfair how good he looked, he couldn’t really blame people for putting it on T-shirts.
Speaking of. The second item he pulls out is a t-shirt with the same picture on it, also signed. This time he fondly rolls his eyes, but pauses at the faint scent of pine coming from it. The guy must have worn it beforehand to get his smell on it. That was… surprisingly thoughtful. The thought of him doing that for Katsuki was enough to spark that warm feeling in his chest again, and then the thought of Izuku wearing a shirt with his own mugshot on it was enough to make him chuckle. The last item in the box was enough to bring a blush to his cheeks.
Orange booty shorts.
“P.S I may be a little optimistic here, but a guy can dream can’t he? I can only hope to see you in these again. Perhaps the next time we meet. ;)”
That motherfu-
Flustered, Katsuki jams everything back into the box with a huff. He truly doesn’t know whether he’s excited for the next time he meets Izuku, or dreading it. God help him.