Chapter Text
When Katsuki Bakugou gets the call at 3 AM on a Thursday, he was honestly expecting a more gruesome crime scene to be awaiting him. It seemed reasonable that if a case would interrupt his carefully monitored sleeping schedule, it should also be horrifying to look at.
Judging by the scene before him it seemed he got his wish. However, instead of horrifyingly gruesome, the scene was just horrifyingly creepy.
“Shitty hair, what the fuck is this,” He groans, looking towards one of the only people on the police force he could tolerate.
Eijirou Kirishima looks up from the scene he’d just been grimacing at; an altar set up as if mourning a deceased family member. Lit candles were strewn about in clusters and dead flowers petals were scattered in such a way that Katsuki couldn’t understand why they hadn’t ignited and set the entire altar aflame.
In the center of the altar, where the deceased’s picture would normally be displayed, was a simple note showcasing a phrase that had been haunting the police force and Katsuki himself for months now.
‘you hid him’
“Ah, Bakugou, sorry for waking you!” Kirishima hands a notepad to his fellow officer and jogs over to Katsuki, passing the yellow tape and sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, “I wouldn’t have normally, but it looks like our serial vandal made another move.” His hand comes away from his head and he seems to absentmindedly jump at the gel he’d rubbed off his normally spiky red hair.
Katsuki scoffs at the understatement, “Have they ever been so tacky? I thought they were just fucking around, not trying to scare the shit out of bystanders.”
“I’m not sure the goal is either of those things, Bakugou,” Kirishima chuckles, “Actually, isn’t your job supposed to be finding out what this guy wants?”
Katsuki casts a side-eye at his friend. If only the job were so easy.
Although Katsuki wasn’t officially part of the police force like Kirishima was, he was often tasked with finding out the motives behind the most notorious of the police forces nuisances. Specifically, Katsuki felt like the outsourced brains of the police force.
However, the creep they’re referencing currently had been a thorn in the police and Katsuki’s side for six months now. Before this he’d been very discreet, leaving only vaguely disturbing things on various police officers’ doorsteps or office desks – the later being the catalyst for Katsuki’s involvement in the case – and never being publicly overt in their vandalisms. They left small dead animal corpses most of the time, a rat usually, tied with a bow in a box with a note attached. The note only ever contained one accusation, ‘you hid him’.
Katsuki thought this assignment would be much fucking simpler if anyone had a single fucking clue what this freakshow was talking about.
“Alright, smartass, what’s so different about this scene? Other than the public showing, obviously. You wouldn’t have called me at assfuck o’clock in the morning if this was it.” Katsuki had no patience normally, but at 3 AM his patience went into the negative.
Kirishima only chuckles at Katsuki’s attitude, seemingly quite used to it after a decade of knowing each other, “Ah, yeah, there is something else. Follow me, please.” With that Kirishima leads Katsuki past the yellow tape and closer to the creepier-the-more-he-looks-at-it altar. He taps a silver-haired officer that Katsuki can’t be bothered to remember the name of on the shoulder, “Hey, Tetsu, can I see that evidence bag we collected?”
The silver haired officer nodded and quickly sorted through the collected materials to pull out a large baggie containing what looked to be crudely made figurine.
“Thanks, Tetsu.” Kirishima takes the bag and turns to gently place it in Katsuki’s hands. “This is the first time he hasn’t left a dead animal. Instead, it looks like he left a homemade wooden sculpture.”
Katsuki turns the bag back and forth to get a better view. The thing was ugly as fuck, but Katsuki could see what the design was supposed to be. A crude humanoid figure was shaped with Fae-like wings, its face was formed into an angry expression, and flames licked around the entire figure, spreading into the base of the figure.
“Fucking – what is this guy trying to say?” Katsuki grumbled. If the guy personally made this thing then it wasn’t some one-off junk he was trying to pawn off onto the police. It meant something. But what? He liked the legends of the Fae? He liked woodworking? He liked fire? Katsuki looks back up to Kirishima to see the man looking at him with the same clueless look he assumes he himself had when staring at the statuette.
“Is there anything else I should know about this scene? Or can I just take this fucking thing and go?” Katsuki shakes the baggie in front of Kirishima’s face to get rid of the blank face he was getting uncomfortable with.
“No, that’s it. As for that thing, I’ll loan it out to you. I assume you’ll be dropping by Midoriya’s to see if he can pick up anything with it?” Kirishima inquires.
Katsuki closes his eyes in annoyance. He was hoping to keep the amount of times he visited Deku less than two this week. A pipedream, like it always is.
“Yeah. I might as well. That fucking nerd is going to flip when I show up ahead of my usual visit.”
Kirishima chuckles while rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “Maybe if you weren’t so soft on him, he’d be less excited to see you.”
If it wasn’t nearing 4 AM in the morning and Katsuki had more energy, he would’ve punched Kirishima in his dragon-hard face. Screw the consequences of the action that would only affect him, the thought of being soft on Deku was laughable.
“I can’t believe you just suggested to me that I care about fucking Deku. You trying to start a fight with me?”
“Sorry, Bakugou, I forgot you hate being reminded that you have a heart.”
“Holy shit, shut the fuck up Kirishima.”
“If it means I can go home, deal.”
Katsuki gives a sharp laugh at that. He looks at Kirishima’s tired expression one last time before scowling and biting out, “Hey dumbass, come to my place this weekend for dinner. And bring those other idiots we call friends with you.”
“Bakugou! Are you serious?!”
“Get the fuck off me, jackass!”
---
On a good week, Katsuki could limit his house visits to Deku. Once per week was his record, any less than that and Katsuki was legitimately fearful the wizard would die of his poor diet.
Despite his flaws, it took a lot of skill to be as successful as Deku was at only age twenty-two. To be an extremely popular wizard in a city as big as Yuuei, while also maintaining an environment well suited for the nature spells he focused on was nothing short of miraculous. Katsuki would never say any of that to Deku’s face, however. Although, to Katsuki’s eternal shame, because Deku was his childhood friend he often didn’t need to say anything for Deku to understand.
The arrogant little shit. Why the fuck could he accomplish all of this and still forget to feed himself three times a day?
Which is why Katsuki finds himself at Deku’s shop on a Thursday afternoon. Katsuki grips the evidence bag in his right hand and a few grocery bags filled with food in his left. He walks past the gate to Deku’s shop and waits silently at the door, knowing Deku’s alarm system would announce his presence.
Not a minute later, the door labeled ‘One for All, Midoriya Izuku’, swung open violently to reveal a freckled face framed by a head full of curly green hair.
“Kacchan! You never call ahead of time; I had no idea you were coming today!” Deku cries, moving to embrace Katsuki.
Katsuki moves to fix the most intimidating scowl he has to try and deter Deku, but he knows it won’t work. It never works. He instead grips the groceries and baggie tight and braces for impact.
Deku uses his height and strength to grab Katsuki by the waist and drag him inside the shop, ignoring Katsuki’s snarling, “What the fuck, Deku! Let me down you beast! Can’t you fucking see I’m holding shit?!”
Deku continues to carry Katsuki to his kitchen, past the mess of magical objects and potions lying haphazardly all over the floor, “If I don’t capture you quickly, you might run, Kacchan!”
“I won’t fucking run, I have shit I’m holding for your dumb ass, I was obviously gonna fucking stay!” Deku seems to pause, clearly seeing the truth to Katsuki’s words, and sheepishly laughs in response.
“Ahh, you’re right Kacchan, I guess I was too excited to see you to let you run away.” Despite the admittance, Deku does not release Katsuki and instead carries him the rest of the way like Katsuki never said anything.
“What the fuck ever, nerd. You better let me go in the next ten seconds or I’m seriously going to throw you into a vat of your own mystery potions.”
Deku sprints the rest of the way to the kitchen, clearly recognizing the truth to his threat.
Katsuki grumbles to himself when he’s finally set down in front of Deku’s large kitchen, “I come all the way here to cook you fucking dinner for a favor and I’m accosted immediately, what the fuck.”
Deku merely smiles at Katsuki unloading the groceries like he’s done many a time before. He does pause when he spies the figurine, and turns a questioning look at Katsuki.
“Kacchan? What is that thing? And why is it inside of an evidence bag?” Katsuki grunts to show he heard.
“After lunch, nerd. Shop talk waits until I’m sure you won’t keel over when I’m speaking to you.”
Deku turns a bright red, “That only happened once! It was a special case! I was awake for three days straight!”
Katsuki laughs haughtily, “Excuses! The point stands, moron. Sit the fuck down and let me fucking cook.”
Deku does what he’s told, but not without pouting.
While Deku remains pouting, Katsuki unloads the bags filled with fresh vegetables and noodles, along with all the spices he KNEW Deku didn’t bother to stock. Unless it was for his products, it would not be found in his home. It was easy enough to organize the longer kept items he brought into Deku’s empty cabinets and to start the preparation for the lunch he was planning.
“Alright, nerd, what shitty concoction have you been making that made your cabinets this fucking empty?” He grumbles while setting the vegetables onto a cutting board and placing a pot of water into the stove.
“Ahh, Kacchan, it’s not shitty! It’s a new remedy that gets rid of odors associated with emotions. It’ll be a hit with the local lycanthrope pack, I bet.”
“Tell me about it while I fix up lunch, loser.”
Deku proceeds to fill the silence as Katsuki quickly makes a lunch fit for a king. If there was one thing Katsuki was most confident in, other than his mystery solving skills, it was his cooking. It had even spread among the police and magical supply sectors how great a cook he was, so much in fact that he regularly got offers to become a private chef. The letters always put a smile on his face before he promptly tears them up and chucks them into recycling.
Before long the lunch is finished and plated. Katsuki wishes, not for the first time, that he had set a timer for how fast Deku scarfs down the food.
“Mmmm, Kacchan, your cooking is so good, I might barf.”
“Eat slower next time, jackass.”
Deku smiles with his head resting on the dining room table, his eyes closed in bliss, Katsuki assumes. Katsuki takes the silent moment to get up and grab the evidence bag from the kitchen island.
“Alright, time for business, Deku.” Deku straightens up and opens his eyes, his face taking on a much more serious tone.
“Let me guess, is this the mystery vandal Kirishima is having problems with?” Katsuki can’t be too surprised at Deku’s perceptiveness. If he had applied himself better in high school, his grades might’ve matched Katsuki’s at the top of the class.
“You got it. He left an unusual gift last night.” He drops it right in front of Deku, “We were hoping you could pick something up on it with your witchy powers.”
“Hm, maybe. Tell me some theories you guys were tossing around so I can get a sense of what to look for.”
Katsuki nods in understanding. Well, as close to understanding a normal human like himself could get with a bunch of magical friends surrounding him, “The same phrase keeps popping up. You hid him. So, the guy is obviously looking for someone.”
Deku motions for Katsuki to follow him to his spell casting floor, the only place in his shop that is meticulously kept clear and free of clutter.
“So far, the only people that have been bugged by this guy are members of the police force. This thing was found at a scene in front of Officer Shinya Kamihara’s place. He has no idea what it could refer to, just like all the other officers.
“On top of that, this thing is obviously handmade, but Kirishima says it had no odor of previous owners. Like it had been made with a machine.” Deku looks shocked at that, and Katsuki could relate to the feeling. An object that was handmade would automatically be imbued with an odor from the maker, showcasing the makers emotions while they were making it. The fact that Kirishima’s nose, a dragonborn nose, couldn’t sniff out an odor on something manmade was preposterous.
Deku starts arranging a few relics around the bag, looking lost in thought. He motions for Katsuki to continue speaking though, so he does.
“The figure resembles a man with Fae wings. Kirishima has tried contacting a Fae ambassador, but they’re hard to reach and basically worthless as help anyway.” The Fae never let themselves be seen, there was no way they would offer their help on a measly case with no casualties. The suspect was a nuisance and nothing more, currently. “The fire around the body might mean a magic power. Maybe a weak connection to Chief Todoroki? He hasn’t been targeted by this guy yet.”
Deku furrows his eyebrows as if to disagree with Katsuki, and that movement grates on Katsuki’s nerves.
“Alright, smartass, what are your fucking thoughts?” He pouts, though he would deny doing such a thing to anyone that asks.
Deku snaps out of his funk to gape up at Katsuki, quickly bringing his hands up to try and placate him, “No no no! I was just thinking is all! This guy seems to be giving you and Kirishima a lot of trouble, huh, Kacchan.”
Katsuki blows out a puff of annoyed air, “Understatement, Deku.” He yawns into his hand after. “Do you think you can do something with this?”
A hand lands on Katsuki’s shoulder, and he opens his eyes in shock, unaware he had closed them. “Yeah, Kacchan, I got this, you go home and rest, okay?” A bright smile overcomes Deku’s face, “Thank you for lunch, I really appreciate it.”
Katsuki nods, and with a small goodbye exchanged, he exits Deku’s shop and makes his way home.
---
When Katsuki told Kirishima to bring their squad over to his house for the weekend, he knew very well what a clusterfuck it would be. On a good day, his friends were dialed to eleven, and they were goddamn lucky he liked them enough to endure the inevitable headache.
However, he also knew they could clear out a small grocery store if they were hungry enough, and they always made sure to be hungry enough when he invited them for dinner. Cooking for them was usually an all-day job. He feels he could feed a small country with the amounts of curry, meat, noodles, and rice he cooks by the kilogram.
So, when Saturday morning rolls around and Kirishima texts him with a warning for 3 PM he knew he would be doing little else on his Saturday. Ashido would want okra, Kaminari would want beef, Sero would want any vegetables, and Kirishima would want any meat under the damn sun. Katsuki groans while gathering every ingredient from his pantry and fridge. These damn assholes were fucking needy.
And just like clockwork, with Katsuki taking in the soothing smell of everything cooking, his front door rumbled like someone was trying to play the drums on it.
“It’s unlocked! Just come in, assholes!” He shouts at the door.
The sound of approaching voices quickly followed as the door opens and shuts. Kirishima was the first around the corner to the kitchen, giving Katsuki a disapproving look, “Unlocked? Bakugou that’s dangerous!”
“It’s not like I’m a cop, who the fuck wants to start shit with me by breaking in?” Katsuki retorts.
Mina Ashido shows her face right behind Kirishima, her pink hair just as messy as it always is, “You might not be a cop, but we are, Blasty! It’s our job to make sure you stay safe!”
Katsuki pauses in his stirring to aim a glare in her direction, “I don’t need protection, dammit! Now go make sure those other idiots aren’t destroying my living room.”
She giggles and pats Kirishima on the shoulder as she heads in the direction of the increasingly loud voices.
Kirishima approaches Katsuki’s kitchen, thankfully being smart enough to stay on the other side of the counter as to not get in Katsuki’s way.
“I don’t want a lecture, Kirishima. I knew you guys were coming over, so I left the door unlocked.”
Kirishima sighs at that, “I know. I wasn’t going to lecture you, just remind you that I worry, y’know?” Katsuki can’t hide his smile at that.
“Alright, softy. Do me a favor and grab plates and utensils if you’re so worried.” Kirishima makes to do just that. “Also. Don’t worry so much. That bullshit was five years ago. Whoever decided I was worth their time is long gone by now.”
Katsuki can’t see Kirishima’s face, but he can imagine the face he’s making. If Kirishima had his way, Katsuki would be under protective surveillance 24/7 with dragonscale armor to boot. Even though Katsuki was the one to get kidnapped five years previous, Kirishima seemed to be the person who carried the most trauma over it. Katsuki couldn’t say he appreciated the concern, but he at least understood why Kirishima felt this way.
Katsuki starts piling food onto the plates Kirishima sets out on the huge dining room table.
“Yeah, both Commissioner Yagi and Chief Todoroki beg me to take a chill pill every time I get too involved in something I can’t change. Maybe it’s time I accept that you can protect yourself much better now than you could when you were seventeen, huh?”
Kirishima and Katsuki lock eyes over the table and give each other matching grins, “You’re damn right I can.” Katsuki gloats, “Now go grab the morons, dinner’s ready.”
Kirishima barely moves a muscle as he belts out, “EVERYONE, FOODS UP!”
The sound of thumping feet vibrates the floor, and three bodies struggle through the only entrance to the dining room. The headache Katsuki had been dreading was already making itself known.
“Wow, Bakugou! You outdid yourself!”
“Food, fuck yeah! I’m starving!”
“Don’t starve yourself all day and you won’t be idiot!”
“But I want to eat as much of Bakugou’s cooking as possible!”
“Holy shit, sit down and stuff your noise holes with food you loud bastards!”
“Thanks for the food, Blasty!”
Katsuki pinches the bridge of his nose and prepares for a lengthy loud dinner, and a fun night with his best friends.
--
When Katsuki plans a weekend with his friends, he often plans a relaxing day right after to decompress and forget he ever bothered having friends in the first place. Currently, his decompression goal involved going over every facet of the case he and Kirishima had been pouring over for the past six months.
Although Katsuki wasn’t an official member of the police force, he had earned an honorary position just be being requested by them so often. Katsuki often blamed his recurring requests on Kirishima, but lately Commissioner Yagi had been asking after him just as often. Katsuki found the requests an excellent use of his detective skills that he unfortunately couldn’t give to the force in the first place.
More than an angry fuck like himself could ask for, he bitterly thinks to himself.
Flopping down on his living room couch with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand, Katsuki shakes his head of uncharitable thoughts and begins by mentally sectioning off all he knew of the case so far.
Six officers have been targeted, four at their offices in the police department, and two at home. Of the two, only one had an elaborate setup. All cases had the same tagline, and the same animal dropped dead at the scene. What did 'you hid him' and a dead rat have in common? Was there a traitor to this person who hid away someone important? Additionally, did the vandals actions have more to do with requesting assistance, than dishing out punishment? Why else would the person target officers? They had to know the bulk of investigation would go into this case.
No identifying information had been collected at the scenes, other than the most recent scene, with the figurine. No fingerprints, no odors, no auras. All the officers had been low-ranking, the highest ranking had been Officer Kamihara, who had the altar. The other officers – Yu Takeyama, Shinji Nishiya, Yawara Chatora, Kugo Sakamata, and Tsunagu Hakamata – had only been gifted the bare minimum.
Katsuki groans and covers his eyes with his hands. What the fuck was this guys goal? To make every fucker in the police force mad as fuck? And why only the low rank members of the force? Was it too hard to get to the captain or the chief?
Although - Katsuki furrows his eyebrows - the chief was questionable all on his own in this case. From the beginning, Chief Enji Todoroki had been dragging his feet on the launching of the investigation. It took three officers to be targeted before he had assigned Kirishima to the task force, and another one after that to allow him enough freedom to bring Katsuki into the case. Katsuki just assumed the chief thought the entire thing was an unfunny prank, but what if he considered the uncharitable implications?
Katsuki can easily remember the scandal that followed the chief four years ago. Because Katsuki’s life was such a mess at the time, he took any story or excuse to distract himself and the story of the missing son of the police chief was the hottest topic of them all. He doubted anyone was as well versed in the story as himself. A son who had run away, whispers of abuse, a wife in a mental health hospital, and another son already declared dead previously. It all formed a very unflattering picture that even Katsuki could admit made the guy look like a jackass.
However, the chief kept his position, and no further mess was made of the personal life struggles he seemed to have.
But, Katsuki squints his eyes, a missing son? Could this be that abstract? Was this guy sending a warning to the chief? The fire surrounding the figure could represent the son that died, rumors indicate it was a magic accident with fire that caused it. The Fae wings could represent the fragility of the son? Destroyed by magic fire that both the dead son and Enji Todoroki possessed.
It was a completely far-fetched idea, but until he obtained more information on other theories it was all Katsuki had.
A shrill ringtone interrupts his further musings.
Katsuki moves from his couch to grab the phone from its perch on the coffee table. Kirishima’s name flashes on the screen next to the time declaring half past 5 PM and Katsuki feels his heart drop.
“Yeah, Bakugou here.” He greets.
“Bakugou, sorry, but it’s about the case.” Kirishima’s voice crackles into his ear, sounding more exhausted then it already had been, “It’s bad this time. There’s a body.”
Katsuki shoots off the couch, grabbing everything he thinks he might need for a long ass night in the cold city streets, “Where?”
“Same place as last time. Officer Shinya Kamihara has been murdered.”
--
The atmosphere surrounding the building is as cold and dreary as the fall weather they’d been getting recently. Kirishima is standing past the yellow tape line that hadn’t even been disassembled yet, obviously waiting for Katsuki to show up. His face was withdrawn and somber, which isn’t surprising to Katsuki in the least.
Kirishima always felt too strongly for everything he did. It was usually an asset to his character, and something Katsuki could admit he liked, but when it got bad, Kirishima felt it twice as much.
Katsuki considers his first mode of attack to be knocking some sense into him, “Hey. This wasn’t anything we could predict,” is his opening line, and something he knew wouldn’t be accepted.
As expected, a scoff is his answer and a pair of red eyes stare disbelievingly at Katsuki, “You don’t believe that. I don’t believe that.”
“Asshole, don’t tell me what I do or don’t believe. This is not in the guy’s MO. He’s never hit the same person twice.”
Kirishima grimaces but can’t deny Katsuki’s point. There was no reason to suspect Officer Kamihara had been in any more danger than the other officers already targeted.
So why the murder now?
“How are we so sure it’s our guy again? It’s too soon, and murder is not his MO.” Katsuki begins to ask as Kirishima once more leads him past the yellow tape and through the front door.
“His note is here again, and another figurine was left as well. Same non-odor, same skill level.”
Katsuki stares at the scene. All-in-all, it isn’t that gruesome. The body is placed in a position that resembles a peaceful slumber rather than a premeditated murder. The officer’s cause of death isn’t obvious until he looks towards the torso. A large area of his shirt has been disintegrated and the skin it was covering has melted away leaving a hole leading directly to where the heart was. Was. As far as Katsuki can tell, there is nothing left inside.
“Fuck, this guy must be getting angrier if he’s escalating this fast.” Katsuki gripes, covering his nose at the stench of murder.
Kirishima says nothing, but he does grab the newest figurine. It was wrapped in an evidence bag just like the first, and he hands it to Katsuki with the same clueless expression as the first time.
The figurine is the man with Fae wings once more, but this time he is kneeling at the base, holding his head in his hands and seemingly crying. The element has been swapped, no longer a raging fire, but this time a frigid glacier.
Like a light bulb going off, Katsuki can recall one more detail in the case of Enji Todoroki’s missing son. Not just fire magic, but ice magic as well.
Shouto Todoroki was a sorcerer with fire and ice magic.
Clutching the bag with his hands, Katsuki turns a wide-eyed stare to Kirishima, “I have a lead, Kirishima. Let me take this to Deku, too.”
The naked hope in Kirishima’s eyes shines through, and Katsuki knows he’ll get the approval before he voices it, “Yes, absolutely. Will you meet me tomorrow for a check-in?”
Katsuki nods easily. If he plays his cards right, he can get Deku to locate Shouto Todoroki without Todoroki senior finding out, and hopefully stop this fucker before bodies start to pile.
He turns to leave for Deku’s shop but pauses before he reaches the entrance to the house. He turns to a forlorn looking Kirishima and bites his tongue before forcing out the compliment, “You’re a great detective, Kirishima. Don’t let his guy beat you.”
Katsuki turns and rushes out the door before Kirishima can get in another word. Fuck this cheesy shit, he just hated seeing his friends so defeated when they weren’t down yet.
--
Deku must’ve gotten the heads up from Kirishima, because he’s at the door faster than Katsuki can knock.
“Kacchan, are you okay?” He hears distantly, but he can’t be bothered with pleasantries at this point. He thinks he’s onto something, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t follow this thread to the end.
“Deku, this new evidence, I think it points toward Enji Todoroki’s missing son.” He rushes his explanation before he’s fully closed the door behind himself. He holds the bag up to Deku, expecting him to take it.
Deku grabs the object and carries it to where he must’ve placed the other one. Katsuki follows him to a section cordoned off on Deku’s experimentation floor where there are stations set up with their own burners and sigils.
He places the bag into a light mist where the other rests and turns to Katsuki, “Missing son? Shouto Todoroki?”
“Yeah, the fire on the first figurine and the ice on this one, they both can be references to Todoroki’s dual magic, I think. Maybe the guy thinks the chief hid Shouto Todoroki instead of the story that he ran.”
Deku hums, “It could explain why this guy has been targeting Enji Todoroki’s precinct and not any others.”
“It’s the best lead we have right now, and if I’m the only one to go then the police department can focus on the killer here without thinning out people wherever this runaway asshole is.” Katsuki stares Deku down, mentally telling him to argue with him, to tell him this is a bad idea.
Deku never disappoints, “So you’ll be the only one in the line of fire? You expect me to help you when you’re putting yourself in a suspected killer’s line of fire?” It’s the angriest Deku’s sounded in a while, but Katsuki can’t bring himself to back down.
“I want you to help me get ahead of this asshole so no one else dies!”
“And what if I say no? What if I refuse to let you go on a suicide mission?”
“You couldn’t stop me even if you wanted to, fucker! I’m going whether you fucking like it or not, I was just hoping you’d point me in the right direction so I’m not too late!” Katsuki feels like he could start a fire with how hot his blood is running. He generally tries to keep ahold of his emotions these days, but Deku seems to always bring the worst out in him.
Before steam can quite literally rise from his flesh, Deku takes a step back and breathes deeply.
“I’m sorry, Kacchan. I understand what you’re saying, I really do, but I can’t let you gamble with your life like that.”
Katsuki scoffs, “Gamble? Deku, you know as well as I do that this guy can’t do shit to me.”
Deku is clearly unimpressed by Katsuki’s insistence.
“Fine. If you’re so worried, give me one of your fucking amulets you keep trying to foist on me. It’ll give me protection, right?” This finally jolts Deku into action. He quickly runs to another corner of the shop and rustles through a huge chest of trinkets.
“Yes, yes, Kacchan. Thank you, this is good. I’d feel so much better if you had magical protection.”
In spite of the previous argument, Katsuki can’t help but roll his eyes. Deku had been trying to get Katsuki to wear all sorts of trinkets, of course he would fold immediately if Katsuki finally agreed to wear one. Kirishima and Ashido have even sworn up and down that Deku is trying to court him with how much jewelry the man offers.
If they saw how decorated Uraraka and Iida were they would clearly abandon their assumptions.
Deku makes his way back to Katsuki carrying a small earring. Although it didn’t seem like much, Katsuki knows how powerful the smallest objects can be when imbued with enough magic. And Deku had magic to spare.
“Here, Kacchan. This will protect you from physical damage and will allow us to assess your physical condition, even if it’s removed in a hurry.” Katsuki takes it and quickly presses it into the ear he pierced as a rebellious teenager, and never bothered to buy more earrings after his phase ended.
“Okay, nerd, done. Do you think you can track Shouto Todoroki for me, now?” He had little doubt Deku could do it.
Deku nods his head, “I just need a picture of him. I assume you know what he looks like?”
Katsuki takes his phone out while absently nodding. The picture wasn’t quite up to date, it was used during the initial reporting on his missing status, but a guy with his striking features wouldn’t be easily mistaken for someone else.
A quick search grants him a picture of a boy with split colored hair, white on one side and red on the other, offering a blank look at the camera with mismatched eyes. It was a wonder no one had seen this boy in four years, he was so recognizable.
He passes the phone to Deku and is unsurprised when the other’s eyebrows rise. Figures he would remember Katsuki obsessively talking about him in the aftermath of his own trauma.
“Oh, Kacchan… this is the boy who-?” Katsuki cuts him off before the embarrassment grows.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. What a fucking coincidence, right?”
Deku chuckles, “It’s something alright.” He closes his eyes and mutters a few words under his breath. Katsuki can’t make out the jumbled Latin, but he at least hears the words ‘Shouto Todoroki’ and knows they’re on the right track.
Deku hurriedly hands the phone back to Katsuki and grabs a map from the wall of his study. A few more Latin phrases are tossed around and Deku turns back to Katsuki.
“I won’t know any locations until tomorrow, Kacchan. Why don’t you go home and get some rest in the meantime? I know Kirishima asked for an update tomorrow anyway.”
Katsuki groans, “How fucking much did you two talk before I got here? You make it a habit to talk behind my back?”
“You know we do, Kacchan!” Is the cheeky response.
Katsuki can at least respect the honesty, “Fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.” He pauses, “Oh, and keep the figurines, I’m sure you’re the only one that can do anything with them anyway.”
Deku gets up to walk him back to his front door, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, Kacchan!”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t let it go to your head, nerd.”
Deku grabs him before he makes it past the doorframe and hugs him quickly, “Be careful Kacchan, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Katsuki snarls and yanks himself free of the hold Deku has on him, “Dick! I can hear you just fine without this horseshit!”
A chuckle is all he can hear in response as he makes his way back to his home, a feeling of foreboding starting to creep in his veins.
--
Before Katsuki goes to see Kirishima the next day, he packs all the essentials he’ll need for an extended stay in whatever location Deku gives him.
He also prepares himself for some more arguments about his safety which will be ten times harder to roll his eyes at than Deku. Katsuki has always been careful with disregarding Kirishima’s concerns after he seemed to completely take the blame for Katsuki’s kidnapping in their second year of high school.
It was no one’s fault but the kidnappers, as his therapist had beat into his head after five years.
He calls ahead of time to Kirishima before arriving at his apartment and is predictably greeted by an excitable face of hopefulness.
“Theory time? What’ve you got for me, Bakugou?” Kirishima bleats as soon as Katsuki is through the door.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high, shitty hair. It’s a theory for a reason.”
“What else do we have? I trust you’ve thought this through, Bakugou.”
Katsuki braces himself and shares his ideas on Enji Todoroki’s connection to the victims, and Shouto Todoroki’s connection to the figurines. By the time he’s gotten to the end of the story, including the rumors around the missing son case, the both of them are sitting on Kirishima’s couch in the living room. Kirishima seems to be following along perfectly fine until Katsuki shares his ideas on how to catch the killer.
“I’ve already asked Deku to track Shouto Todoroki, and I’m gonna go protect him in case the killer makes a move.”
Predictably, Kirishima objects, “Absolutely not! That’s way too risky, Bakugou. You’re not even part of the police force, I can’t ask you to do this.”
“You don’t need to ask,” He responds, “I’m just telling you about this new place I’m visiting that happens to have a resident named Shouto Todoroki. I’m just asking you not to tell your chief about this, because he would absol-fucking-lutely not let this happen.”
“I still don’t like this, Bakugou,” Kirishima grits through his teeth, “Not because I might get in trouble, but because you might get hurt.”
“This is the best option we have, and you know it,” Katsuki reasons, “With the death of an officer, this case is about to go hog wild, I am an independent agent that can go investigate avenues the force might not agree with.”
Even Kirishima can’t respond to that, Katsuki can guess he’s already gotten calls upon calls demanding answers he doesn’t have yet.
“Also, I want to borrow your truck. Who knows where I’m going, and I need something that’ll cart my stuff and not break down five meters out of the city limits.”
“Oh, is that all you’re asking for?” Is the exhausted chuckle Kirishima responds with, “Silence in the face of Chief Todoroki and my whole truck too?”
“I don’t need half your truck, idiot, so yeah. Too tough to handle both things at once?”
“Too scared to handle both those things and the thought of you getting hurt without me there to help you again.”
The mood drops and Katsuki is left wondering how Kirishima can be so honest with what he feels. For years now, he had hoped that honesty would rub off on him, but no such luck so far.
“I’m sorry Kirishima,” He begins, “I’m asking you to let me handle it, even though I might get hurt.”
Kirishima’s face twists and he opens his mouth to voice more frustrations Katsuki assumes. But he isn’t finished with what he’d planned on saying.
“I got a protection charm from Deku, I promise to call both you and Deku every day with updates, and I’m even taking your truck which I know has a highly advanced tracking charm on it.”
Kirishima’s mouth shuts for a second, and the stormy cloud of discontent starts to dissipate from his posture. A weak chuckle escapes him, “You’re just assuming I’ll give you the truck then?”
The joking atmosphere is interrupted by Katsuki’s ringtone piercing the air. He can hear Kirishima give a groan of annoyance at the sheer volume next to him.
“Why is your ringtone always so loud, Bakugou?”
Katsuki ignores him and answers the call, “Yeah, Bakugou here.”
“Kacchan, it’s me! I have some directions for you.” Deku’s voice comes through.
Katsuki nods even though Deku can’t see, “Fuck yeah. Can you send the coordinates to my phone? Is it far?”
“Yes, I can, and no, not far. It’s a shock, but Todoroki is only one hour west, in a town called Shiketsu.”
“Shiketsu?” Katsuki looks to Kirishima, who clearly doesn’t know the town either by the shrug he responds with.
“It’s a small town from what I can tell. I’ve only heard of it in passing, but it seems to be protected by some sort of light barrier that turns away those with ill intentions.”
“How convenient.” The sarcasm drips from his tongue, “Hopefully the barrier lets me the fuck through then.”
“It should, it doesn’t seem to be that powerful. Just a warning, I think. I recommend stopping by their police station, so you don’t raise any red flags.”
“Okay, thanks, nerd.”
“Ahh!! A thank you from Kacchan! It’s a mir—” Katsuki cuts the call before his blood reached boiling point again.
Kirishima chuckles next to Katsuki, “He’s right though, you thanked him, it must be a miracle.”
Katsuki glares at him, “Don’t you start this shit, too.”
Kirishima throws both hands up in a surrendering gesture but doesn’t say anything.
He takes the silence as agreement to save his own pride, “So, can I borrow your truck or not? I need to cart my shit one hour west apparently; I would love to take more than the clothes on my back.”
Kirishima doesn’t need to think too hard after that, he goes to grab his keys from the entrance hallway and hands them over without much fuss, “Just be careful, I don’t want my baby getting hurt.”
“I’m not gonna crash your truck, idiot.”
“I was talking about you, Bakugou,” He snickers, and Katsuki really does punch him this time.
“Holy fuck, dipshit, I’m gone. See if I ever come back.”
Although he starts to storm out, Katsuki knows he doesn’t want to leave Kirishima on a fake angry note when they likely wouldn’t see each other for a few weeks, if not months.
Kirishima seems to feel the same way, he walks up to Katsuki and holds out a fist, “Check in every day. Don’t ignore your instincts. Be safe.”
Katsuki returns the fist, “No shit, dumbass. Don’t let Todoroki convince you you’re fucking up. This’ll be fine.”
They both chuckle at the absurd statement.
--
Even with precise directions to the shitty off-road town of Shiketsu, Katsuki still finds himself escaping getting lost by the skin of his teeth. Who the fuck builds their shitty town so fucking far off the main road? Why the fuck did shitty Todoroki junior decide to run away somewhere so close yet so inaccessible to the rest of humanity? How did these fuckers get their fucking mail? This road was impossible.
Another pothole threatens to upend the truck he borrowed from Kirishima, and he finds himself losing his sanity by one more metric.
Finally, blessedly, the ‘Welcome to Shiketsu’ sign greets him.
The road finally pans out into a two-lane street and buildings start forming past the trees that seemed to form a barrier around the town. Deku’s advice rings in his head to stop by the tiny police building in the town, to make sure he wasn’t stepping on any toes, and he quickly looks for the tell-tale signs of a police insignia.
Not that it took long, as soon as Katsuki thought of it the building pops up past the quant looking inn. Did this place have enough visitors to justify an inn?
Parking takes barely a minute, and Katsuki makes his way to the front door of the police building. Time was of the essence after-all and the townsfolk living here had no idea the danger they might be in if the psychopath thought anyone here was harboring Todoroki.
Upon opening the door, a tall black-haired woman standing in front of the reception desk looks to him as if expecting his arrival.
“Katsuki Bakugou. How wonderful, you seem to have made it without any complications!”
Katsuki pauses in confusion, as far as he knew this arrival was meant to be a semi-secret, he even had Kirishima hold off on informing the station before he got there. The woman seems to understand his confusion because she continues without missing a beat.
“Do not worry, no one told me you were coming, I just take it upon myself to know who enters this town. I’m Momo Yaoyorozu, the town’s pseudo ambassador.” She holds her hand out for a handshake.
Katsuki accepts. She must have some magic that keeps tabs on the town. It wouldn’t be that hard for a town this size, and nearly impossible for a city as big as Yuuei. Maybe this is the magic-user responsible for the light barrier?
“I’m here for a reason,” Katsuki begins, glancing around for an officer of any kind, “Is there someone I can inform of the situation? There might be something coming for one of your residents.”
Yaoyorozu nods with a grim expression, “Yes, I have sensed an odd aura permeating the area recently. Someone has ill intentions for this place. As for any officers, unfortunately this town has no such system, this building is all but abandoned.” Katsuki must have shown his shock because she elaborates, “There’s next to no reason for police here. With all the magic present the problems are resolved resident-to-resident.”
“Well that’s a fucking problem, because a fucking murderer is on his way to kill one of your residents.”
Yaoyorozu gives a look of shock, clearly not used to Katsuki’s language or blunt way of speaking, but he’s not here to fucking beat around the bush.
“Shouto Todoroki; where can I find him? He’s the one with a fucking target on his back.”
She finally seems to understand the urgency of the situation, because in a split second she’s past Katsuki and heads toward the entrance and out the door. Katsuki swears to himself and follows.
“I’ll provide you with directions if you would kindly explain the situation to me on the way.” Katsuki leads her to the truck and doesn’t bother to open the door for her, she can figure it out her own damn self, they’ve got places to be.
“Yeah, sure.”
The truck roars to life and Yaoyorozu provides directions while Katsuki explains the case. He recounts the story all the way to his suspicions that Shouto Todoroki, the son of the police chief Enji Todoroki, is the prime next target. She nods in grim acceptance of the incidents and the projection.
“Very well, I will make sure Shouto gives you a fair hearing. He is understandably suspicious of outsiders, and I fear he will only slam the door in your face if you mention his father.”
Katsuki can’t blame him, if he ran away from someone, he would expect the common courtesy would be no one mentions them ever again.
Using Yaoyorozu’s directions they arrive at a small house with a sign out front. ‘Shouto Glassware’s’, it advertises. It comes as a slight shock to Katsuki, but he supposes it would be a good use of fire and ice magic.
He hears a chuckle to his right and hears his passenger remark on the unusual career choice, “Shouto is our money-making prodigy, people from around the world pay high prices for his fantastic creations.”
Katsuki pulls the truck into park and grunts his acceptance of that fact. It would make finding the killer harder if Shouto was famous, but at least he seemed to arrive before anything bad happened if Yaoyorozu is as in tune with her town as she appears to be.
They both exit the vehicle and Yaoyorozu stops him from going too far, “Please, let me do the talking first. He won’t take kindly to you forcing his hand.”
A vein of impatient annoyance grabs Katsuki before he can force himself to remain calm. However, he nods his head in acceptance to her terms and follows after.
Hopefully Shouto Todoroki would accept his protection. If not, his whole town might be in danger.