I Z U K U

"Ah, finally."

I kept my gaze narrowed on his figure, watching him intently. The dark room made it hard to see him, but there was faint outline from the dim glow of his machinery, so I could make out where he was standing. It hadn't taken long to make it to All For One's den, which didn't give me much time to prepare for the encounter. What exactly do I need to prepare for? Well it sure as hell isn't what he wanted me for in the first place. It is purely the pauses. When with me, he will suddenly stop talking; waiting. I haven't got a clue why he does it, but he better fucking quit it. A huff; he didn't move to acknowledge my presence, and just simply spoke.

"It's not like you to keep me waiting."

"I'm sorry," I answered quickly, "I was caught up-"
"Yes," He interrupted, pointing to a monitor hanging on the wall, "I saw."

I looked down as he turned to face me. Of course - he wore that damn mask, so predicting where he was concentrating on was a challenge and, to be honest, rather creepy.
"You'd best tend to that wound," He added, "It would be...an inconvenience if it got infected."

I rolled my eyes.

"Y'know, you're not the first one to tell me that," I muttered.

"I'm aware of that, too."
"Is there anything that happens around here that you don't know about?" I snapped without thinking. I resisted the urge to cover my mouth - like it was going to stop another outburst.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't catch that snide comment because I know you're going through some things right now, but in future Midoriya I suggest you watch that sharp tongue of yours, or it will surely cut you."

"Oh please, I don't need your pity. I'm doing just fine with my own," I assured. He fell silent.

"You're going to have to get over what happened to Danny at some point, you know that, don't you?"

I plastered a twisted smirk on my face and flicked my hair from my eyes.

"I'll get over it when they're all dead," I declared, "When the last one falls, then I'll be satisfied."

He didn't speak for a moment; just watching. He crossed the space, placing his hand firmly on my shoulder as he towered over me.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

o ~ Timeskip ~ o

K A T S U K I

"He's so handsome~"

"Ah! There he is! In the flesh! Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming!"

I rolled my eyes as I walked through the crowd, my hands balled into fists in my pockets. Lines miles long of people willing to praise the very ground I walk on when they know next to nothing about me. I have money, and I'm a Pro Hero - that's reason enough to fawn over me apparently.
"Move," I grunted to a police officer blocking the door to the agency.

"I'm sorry sir, but only authorised personnel are allowed past this point," He replied timidly.

"Are you blind, or just stupid?" I asked seriously, "I fucking work here. I think that makes me 'authorised'. So move it or lose it, dickbag."

His eyes narrowed slightly and his eyebrow raised a fraction, as if he didn't believe what I was saying. I sighed in frustration, fishing my hero licence from my pocket. His eyes scanned the card; widening.

"M-My apologies, Ground Zero," He mumbled awkwardly. He was practically sweating bullets at this point, "I-I'm a transfer-"
"Yeah, no shit," I shot back, walking past him. With crime rates through the roof, I guess they're getting in recruits for the force from other countries. That would explain why he wasn't confident with his speech. He was scared of getting the language wrong. I shook it off and pushed open the glass doors into the agency, only to be met with a flash of red hair.

"Shitty Hair?" I called.

He whirled around, a bright smile appearing on his face when he saw me.

"Broski!" He beamed, "What's new?"
"I could ask you the same thing," I replied drily. Now that I actually looked around, various Pro Heroes littered the lobby - completely out of place. Worried glances, mumbles and paper exchanges.

"Everyone's on edge," Kirishima spoke, as if reading my mind, "After this morning, everything has turned on its head. And especially after the fingerprin-"

He shut his mouth quickly, looking down at the folder clasped tightly between his fingers.

"Fingerprints?" I finished, "What fucking fingerprints?"

As far as I knew, there was no evidence left at the scene except the blood on the sidewalk. And even that came back as inconclusive. There was too many different strains of blood in the mix to identify it.

"U-Uhm..." He flashed me a weary look, "..I'm not supposed to tell you."

"What? Why the fuck not?!"
"Because..." He looked around and sighed, "It would mean kicking you off the case."

I tilted my head in confusion, "Hah?"
"Just trust me, it's best if you didn't know. You didn't hear anything from me," He smiled, "It was nice seeing you, Bakugou."

Now I'm really starting to regret forgiving this dipshit.

I watched as he rushed towards the door, grabbing someone by the arm and dragging them behind him. All I could catch was a flash of blonde hair, and assumed it was Pikachu. I was kinda relieved when they told me they'd got together. I mean, it got that idiot off my ass and it made the blonde bimbo happy. I could see how much he liked Kiri, but the fool was too busy watching me to realise it. I'm glad to see it worked out for them in the end.

I made my way upstairs to All Might's office, knocking harshly on the door until he yelled, "Bakugou, stop it! You're gonna break my door!"

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked as I pushed it open, closing it behind me.

"You're the only person that seems to be dead set on turning it to matchsticks," He retorted.

"Matchsticks? No, I'm more precise than that," I shrugged, wandering over to the window to peer down at the bustling street below. So many police cars...What do they know that they aren't telling?

"What did you need, anyway?" All Might asked, "I'm kind of busy, so whatever it is it needs to be quick."
I glanced over at the wimpy looking man behind the desk, considering my words very carefully.

"I heard some cops talking earlier," I began, looking back out at the clouded sky, "Something about fingerprints.." All Might visibly shrunk back in his chair, "..There isn't anything that I'm not being told, is there?"

I didn't expect it to affect him so bad. It was like his whole demeanor had changed - a storm of uncertainty raging behind his tired eyes.

"....Of course not," He answered, "I'd never keep something from you."

Bullshit.

"Fair enough," I muttered, still staring aimlessly out the window. I narrowed my gaze at a building a few blocks away. On the roof, a portal was open. Red flags instantly went up, so I motioned to All Might.
"Look at that," I spoke quietly, as if my lips were afraid of being heard by the person behind the portal. All Might made a sound of confused suspicion; he must've come to the same conclusion that I did.

This can't mean anything good.

Suddenly, a hooded figure stepped out of the portal, followed by another much shorter one. The taller of the two turned to the other, speaking something that I couldn't hear from this distance. The shorter person nodded and rolled up his sleeves, taking his hood down. My heart stopped for a moment. Even from so far away, I knew exactly who I was looking at. And from the startled gasp All Might made, I'd bet that he knew it too. I watched with wide eyes as the shorter boy took something from the taller one, something too small to make out. The shorter boy stepped up on the ledge of the rooftop that faced the side alley. I prayed for what could possibly going through his mind at that moment. His quirk surrounded him with flickers of mint, and as quick as he came, he was gone. The taller man shook his head, stepping back into the portal before it closed.  

"What in the god damn.." All Might hissed under his breath, "What was that?"
"I don't know," I replied, "But I'm sure as hell gonna find out."

I didn't even make it to the door before I was thrown to the ground with a deafening boom.

▪*:･°✧°･: *▪

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ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ: 19/06/2019