Chapter 7

The next words that came out of the detective's mouth seemed to blur in Izuku's mind. Even Katsuki himself felt dumbstruck after hearing what the detective had to say. It has been a little over four months since Izuku's mother decided to end her life. At least that's what they had been informed was what happened. But now, as Tsukauchi stared at the two of them, it turned out to all have been a lie.

"What do you mean...that Auntie Inko was murdered?" Katsuki growled out. His rage was escalating to dangerous levels as the palms of his hands started burning up.

"I have been working on a secret investigation ever since the incident. It is very confidential, whatsoever, which is why you haven't been informed until now." The detective said calmly, already expecting Katsuki's temper.

Izuku's mind was in a frenzy. His eyes were wide as he stared ahead, unblinking, and trying to take every piece of information he was being given. His hands were pressing down on his thighs as he unconsciously began to scratch them ever so slowly. Finally, he blinked.

"Why until now?" he whispered, focusing his wide eyes on the detective. His chest constricted painfully as he tried his best to keep his breathing under control.

"During Inko's autopsy, we found out signs of struggle along with unidentifiable DNA under her fingernails," Tsukauchi explained, feeling sympathy for the greenette. "We believe that we have found a lead, which is why you were called up here today."

Izuku nodded absentmindedly, biting down the inside of his cheek. It was all surreal for him. Was he having another nightmare? He had to be. That's all that his life was. A never-ending, painful nightmare.

"So you just simply fed us lies?! What kind of sick bastard tells someone their mother took their own life as a fucking cover-up?!" Katsuki shouted, bolting out of his chair and reaching over to grip the detective's collar. All Might, who had been silently watching by the sidelines, stepped up and placed a firm hand on Katsuki's shoulder.

"Young Bakugo, getting riled up will get you nowhere. We ourselves don't have enough evidence to completely confirm that she was, indeed, murdered. Please, take your seat and try to calm down." He said grimly. He himself felt devastated by the information, but he had to keep himself together and help his students.

The blond slowly let go of the detective's collar, clicking his tongue as he sat back down in his chair. His heart was pounding erratically inside his ribcage, and oh did he want to blow up everything and anything that his eyes landed on. He didn't know how to take in all that information, and he was sure that Izuku was having an even harder time than he was.

Casting his eyes to his right momentarily, his suspicions were proven to be correct as he noticed Izuku mumbling quietly under his breath. He looked alarmingly pale, his big green eyes being covered by his overgrown bangs of curly green hair. Even though Katsuki would never admit it, he felt sympathy towards his childhood friend. He knew how much Inko meant to the boy, and after finding out that the events from that day still haunted him, Katsuki felt the need to comfort him in some way.

"There are some questions that I would like to ask you, but you don't need to answer them right now," Tsukauchi said, directing his words to Izuku.

Taking a deep breath, Izuku lifted his gaze to meet with Tsukauchi's dark ones yet again. "What is it that you need to know?"

For some reason, neither he nor Katsuki liked the look the detective was giving them. It was as if he was thinking of a way to deliver the question without triggering an alarm. Izuku was beyond anxious, to say the least.

"What do you know about your father, Hisashi Midoriya?"

If triggering an alarm was what he was trying to avoid, then he had failed miserably.

Izuku's body went incredibly tense. Faint memories of the man that had abandoned him swirled through his mind all at once. The crippling anxiety bubbling up in his chest finally gave out and the air was knocked out of his lungs in an instant. The more he tried to keep his feelings under control, the harder it was for him to breathe.

"Oi, Deku!" Katsuki snapped, noticing the alarmed state Izuku was in. Strings of blackwhip slithered out of the greenette's fingertips and swirled over his arms, catching everyone's attention. Negative thoughts invaded Izuku's mind as he recalled the last memory of his father, right before he walked away from his life.

"A quirkless bastard such as yourself can't be my son!" the white-haired man shouted, his hands encasing Izuku's four-year-old's small neck.

Katsuki rushed to Izuku's side as he noticed the black tendrils slither their way farther up the boy's arms. All Might quickly informed Tsukauchi that he would get Aizawa before running out of the room. "Bastard, snap out of it!" Katsuki growled.

Izuku was scared as he felt his father's hands tightening around his neck. Tears cascaded down his pale cheeks; eyes wide as he took in Hisashi's enraged expression. Inko was standing a few feet behind him, hands over her mouth as she took in the scene.

"Hisashi, dear, please calm down." She pleaded.

"I will not accept this! I've waited four years for his quirk to manifest, only to find out that he has none! He is not my son." Hisashi sneered.

"Midoriya!" Tsukauchi spoke, getting in front of Izuku to try and get his attention. His green eyes were clouded over, the black tendrils of his quirk now encircling his neck. He couldn't breathe.

"Deku!" Katsuki pushed aside the detective, gripping Izuku's shoulders and shaking him violently. "Oi!"

Izuku started clawing at his father's hands, whispering apologies as the man's grip got even tighter. He gasped for air, more tears falling helplessly down his cheeks. He couldn't breathe.

"Fuck!" Katsuki screamed, reluctantly placing his right hand over Izuku's face. His palm felt incredibly sweaty, but he had to try in order to make Izuku snap back into reality. He concentrated on igniting small explosions, just enough to inflict some pain, but not to burn him.

Izuku let out a gasp, the slight pain of the explosions snapping him out of his thoughts. Katsuki immediately retracted his hand and Izuku's wide eyes met his. Lifting his hands, Izuku watched as blackwhip swirled around his arms and felt the pressure in his neck. The flashback of his recent memory struck him like lightning as the black tendrils tightened around his neck, and he panicked.

"Step aside!" Aizawa instructed as he charged inside the teacher's lounge, his long hair floating around his head as he activated his quirk. The tightness around Izuku's neck dissipated as blackwhip vanished back under his skin. He coughed up a little while he used the tip of his fingers to rub on the tender skin. What happened?

"Young Midoriya! Are you alright?" All Might asked, concern written across his facial expressions. Katsuki stood behind him, processing what had just happened. He noticed from his peripheral view how Tsukauchi noted things down in a notepad before putting it away.

"I-I'm fine," Izuku said, trying to ease his nerves.

"I thought you had better control over blackwhip. What happened?" All Might frowned. Izuku didn't like that look. The look of disappointment masked as concern.

"I-I don't know." He whispered. "I guess that being asked about my father triggered an old...memory. I'm sorry, did I hurt anyone?"

"Luckily, no. But it seems as if blackwhip backfired on you. We'll have to talk about this later, okay?" All Might sighed. Izuku nodded slowly, and the clearing of a throat caught their attention.

"It seems that now is not a good time to continue with our previous conversation. I'll be coming back again tomorrow." Tsukauchi said. "Thank you for your assistance, Eraser Head."

"It's what I do." Aizawa sighed tiredly, grabbing the small container of teardrops from his pocket and adding a few drops to his dry eyes. Tsukauchi nodded before walking out of the teacher's lounge, Aizawa following close behind after eyeing Izuku briefly.

Having many eyes on him made Izuku feel trapped. He wanted to run away from the attention. He wanted to run away from All Might's disappointed expression. He wanted to run away from Katsuki's piercing red eyes. It was as if those ruby red orbs were seeing straight into his soul, uncovering every little secret he had tried so hard to keep hidden. He couldn't let Katsuki see his broken mess.

"Young Bakugo, please accompany Young Midoriya back to the dorms. I will excuse you both with your teachers." All Might told Katsuki, who clicked his tongue before nodding briefly.

"Move it, nerd." Katsuki huffed, picking his bag from the floor and walking outside. Izuku scurried to grab his own bag, excusing himself from All Might and following behind Katsuki. The greenette held his bag tightly against his chest, staring at Katsuki's shoes as the blond walked ahead of him. Izuku couldn't believe that he had let himself be vulnerable in front of Katsuki once again. Just how many mistakes can he make?

The silence between them was unsettling. It led to both of their minds wandering through dangerous territories. As they walked, Katsuki couldn't help thinking back to a distant memory. To the day he found out Izuku didn't have a quirk. He thought he wouldn't have to recall such events, but there he was, letting his mind dig into the depths of his memory.

An angry Katsuki stomped behind his mother, furious that he had been dragged along the old hag. Today they would find out what Izuku's quirk was, and Mitsuki was ecstatic. Inko had invited them to dinner the day before, and now they were making their way to her house.

"Stop whining, you brat. We both know that you are also curious to find out little Izuku's quirk." Mitsuki chuckled, earning a huff from the four-year-old. Truth be told, he couldn't wait to hear about his friend's quirk, but he wouldn't say that out loud.

The good atmosphere between them soon turned dark as they neared the Midoriya's apartment complex. Shouting could be heard from beyond the door, alarming the two of them. Mitsuki tried knocking, but the sound was drowned out by all the shouting. Katsuki wasn't sure what to expect once his mother barged into the apartment complex, but he sure wished it wasn't what he saw.

The man he was used to calling Uncle had his hands wrapped around Izuku's neck, shouting hateful words at him. Mitsuki didn't waste any time in running towards the man and punching him across the face. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Hisashi!"

"Izuku!" Katsuki shouted, running to the greenette's side and pulling him away from the two adults. He was coughing and shaking like a leaf, while Inko only stared.

"What the fuck are you doing, you stupid bitch?!" Hisashi seethed, pushing Mitsuki off of him.

"How dare you lay your hands on your own son?! What's wrong with you?!" Mitsuki screamed, clearly confused and infuriated.

"My son?! That useless, quirkless kid is not my blood." Hisashi sneered, looking at Izuku with utter disgust. After that, he stomped out of the apartment complex, leaving everyone utterly dumbfounded. He didn't show up again after that afternoon, and Katsuki could only watch as his friend mourned over his father's abandonment.

There was no doubt in Katsuki's mind that what had happened with Izuku's quirk was related to that day. He knew that he would have to bring it up eventually, but first, he had to wait until Izuku felt more at ease. So, he didn't say anything. Even after walking inside the dorm building, he simply made his way to his room. Although not without sparing one last glance towards his childhood friend.