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Katsuki knew the world wasn’t simply black and white. There wasn’t good and evil. There was always gray and everyone had the capacity for doing good. But that also meant everyone had the capacity for doing bad.
And that was true for some people more than others.
He didn't consider what he was doing evil. He knew in the eyes of society at large he was a criminal. A despicable person who used fear and violence to exploit others for his own gain. But that wasn't how Katsuki saw himself.
It was simple. He protected what was his and he offered his services to those who could afford them. He used his reputation and resources to make people drop out of elections, close down their businesses, and sometimes, if necessary, even disappear. But that was the last resort and most of the time his particular reputation was enough to get him what he wanted.
He had come to power at a young age which only showed his cunning and ruthlessness. He had set his eyes on a goal and had chased after it with a single-minded determination that had scared even some of his peers. Most of them were not a part of his organization anymore. He had weeded out the weak and only the strong and most trusted of his underlings had remained.
Because of this, the hierarchy in his order hadn't been questioned in years and all of their efforts could be concentrated on the several businesses they were running and the shops and districts that were under their protection.
But in his mind, none of that made him a bad person. He was a businessman, no more good or bad than the CEO of a major company. And he was a good son, a trusted friend, and an excellent husband.
He made sure his husband wasn't lacking anything. Izuku had never cared about Katsuki's business. He knew about it, of course, since Katsuki didn't keep any secrets from him. A good and stable marriage was based on love and trust after all. And his husband had never been anything but supportive of Katsuki's endeavors.
He had been adamant, however, about not wanting to be a part of the family. He knew Katsuki's underlings and they knew Izuku, but that was the extent of their interactions. Katsuki respected his husband's wishes and his desire to live a separate, more simple life.
Since they'd gotten married Katsuki's life was pure bliss. He got to wake up with the love of his life in his arms, the two always took the time to have breakfast together and to talk about their day, and in the evening they would meet in one of Katsuki's many fancy restaurants that he either owned or protected and have a lovely dinner date. For some, it might seem excessive but Katsuki only wanted the best for Izuku.
So when one day Izuku didn't show up for dinner, Katsuki immediately knew that something had to be wrong.
They had agreed to meet at Izuku's favorite restaurant. It was their 2 year anniversary and they wanted to celebrate. Katsuki's original plan had been to take Izuku on a vacation but there was an important deadline coming up at Izuku's work and Katsuki didn't want to stress him out. They settled for their usual dinner date and then some quality time at home. The vacation had still been booked, but more than a month later. It could be for their anniversary and the completion of Izuku's work project.
But now Izuku was already running twenty minutes late and didn’t pick up his phone. All alarm bells in Katsuki’s head were ringing and he motioned to his second to follow him out of the restaurant. He shot off a quick text to Mina to send out some people to search for his husband while he and Kirishima got into his car and started driving towards Katsuki and Izuku’s home.
Izuku’s plan had been to work from home today since there was construction work going on in his office and the noise was too distracting for him. He should've come straight from there for dinner, but Katsuki wasn’t taking any chances.
He tried calling Deku again but was sent right to voicemail. The alarms in his head multiplied. Izuku never had his phone off. Never. It was an agreement they made early on in their relationship. Izuku was apart from Katsuki’s business but the threat of other people trying to exploit him was still there. For Katsuki’s peace of mind Izuku always answered the phone. It didn’t matter where he was or what he was doing he always answered.
It had led to some awkward or embarrassing moments in the past but it also helped Katsuki to keep focused on work and not worry about Izuku constantly.
He pulled up the tracking app on his phone and entered the code for Izuku's device. That was another reason for the phone agreement. Izuku didn't like the thought of Katsuki tracking him. It had led to a long debate between the two of them that ended up with Izuku carrying the tracker with him at all times and Katsuki promising not to check it if Izuku answered the phone.
Today was the first time that Katsuki was forced to use it.
The loading screen finished and instead of a location, Katsuki was shown an error message.
'The device you are searching for has been disabled.'
Katsuki could feel the frantic, anxious pulse of his heartbeat through his whole body. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to rage and destroy something.
Instead, he took a deep breath to calm himself and he pushed all that fear and rage to the furthest part of himself. He didn't have the time to panic, not when Izuku needed him.
"Drive faster," he pressed out from between gritted teeth and Kirishima accelerated the car without question.
The way home would've taken them twenty minutes. They made it in ten. It was a good thing Katsuki and the local police had an agreement.
From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Katsuki didn't bother with the parking garage. As soon as Kirishima had slowed down the car, Katsuki had opened the door and thrown himself out of the still moving vehicle, already sprinting towards the house as soon as his feet hit the ground.
The lights in the house were dark, which made it look like no one was home, but the security system wasn't set. There were no visible clues for a forced entrance, so either Izuku had forgotten to set the system when he left or the people responsible were smart.
Katsuki knew his husband. He knew the second option was far more likely.
He opened the door and had to hold back a scream of anguish and rage as soon as he turned on the light. Their perfect home had been vandalized. The floor was filled with broken glass, furniture had been upturned and books were thrown from their shelves.
There was blood on the carpet.
Katsuki felt weak in the knees when Kirishima appeared behind him at the front entrance.
"Call Jirou," he rasped out, his voice full of fury. "I want to know what happened. Why the fuck do we have a state of the art security system if no one is notified if some fucker breaks into my house and kidnaps my husband?!"
The last part of his question turned into a roar and Katsuki grabbed the nearest thing to him, an overturned vase, and threw it at the nearest wall. It burst into a thousand pieces and joined the mess on the floor.
Katsuki was sure his heart was down there somewhere as well.
The headquarters of their organization was underneath one of Katsuki's casinos. The original base had been in an old, traditional house, but Katsuki found it too obvious and exposed and decided they needed to get with the times.
He had made several decisions that angered a lot of people when he had risen to power but it hadn't bothered him. In fact, he had welcomed it. That way it had been easier to see who was actually loyal to him and their organization and who was weak-willed and needed to be cut out of the hierarchy.
He had replaced all of them with trusted new members. Everyone was vetted carefully before he was allowed to join their ranks. Katsuki knew what kind of people were trying to join the Yakuza nowadays and he was having none of it. He didn't want thugs, he wanted business people who were willing to do whatever it took to reach their goal. Violence was the last answer, but not one that Katsuki was afraid to use.
Still, his influence and the presence of their members at a place were enough most of the time. People were more than happy to pay him for their protection if it meant it kept common thugs, troublemakers, and drug sellers away from their shops and houses. The districts that were under Katsuki's protection were some of the safest in the country and he took pride in that fact.
Of course, other groups were unhappy with his way of doing things and with the influence he had. There had been several attempts to overthrow him or take over his districts, but no one had been successful.
Not until today.
Because today someone had managed to invade Katsuki's most guarded sanctuary and steal what was most precious to him.
And there had been nothing he had been able to do about it.
The casino floor was full as always, but Katsuki paid no mind to it. He and Kirishima went straight to the elevator. Katsuki swiped his key card and put in his code and the elevator went down, past the kitchens, the storage, and the garage. Only the highest-ranking members of the organization had access to this floor. Most meetings and instruction happened in the upper levels of the casino, while the sensitive matters were discussed below ground.
The separation was necessary since Katsuki never fully trusted the newer members of their family. Only once they had proven themselves could they gain access to deeper levels, in both literal and metaphorical sense of the word.
Jirou was already in her seat when they stepped into the main conference room, typing away on her laptop. She looked up when Katsuki entered and from the look on her face he could already see how bad the situation really was.
"Tell me," he demanded while taking his seat at the head of the table.
"Whoever it was, they were smart. And probably had some inside knowledge."
His eyes snapped to her.
"What makes you say that?"
"The security system wasn't hacked," she explained while turning her laptop to show him the screen. "It was disabled manually from the inside, so whoever it was, Izuku must've let them in. The only thing that has been tampered with are the cameras, but it was done in such a subtle way that my sensors didn't pick up on it."
The look on her face darkened.
"That's not going to happen again though, I already updated all of our protocols."
"So, Izuku must've known whoever was on the other side of the door," Katsuki said slowly. The fury coursing through him felt all-consuming and was threatening to burn him alive.
"Are you telling me that someone betrayed my trust?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation and Katsuki believed her. She wasn't his security specialist for nothing. He trusted her instinct and she had proven herself over and over again. Every one of his members had. The thought that someone had betrayed him, after everything they had done together, left a sour note in his mouth.
If he couldn't trust his officers, who was left?
"That can't be!" Kirishima yelled in outrage and slammed his hands on the table. "No one here would betray the boss like that!"
"I'm just stating the facts," Jirou answered calmly and turned her laptop back around and continued typing. "Either someone switched sides on us and is working for a new boss now, or they were paid off to give up the information. Maybe threatened. Either way, there was no way to pull off such a clean job without inside knowledge."
"How do you know they haven't hacked your systems?" Kirishima countered, his face almost as red as his hair in his anger. He wasn't quick to anger, but Katsuki and the family were important to him and the only thing that managed to make him lose his cool. Having Jirou say someone in their midst wasn't loyal to Katsuki and was willing to betray them seemed to upset him greatly.
Privately, Katsuki agreed with Kirishima. He knew his people, he knew they wouldn't betray him like that. But he couldn't simply dismiss Jirou's claims just because of his gut instinct. Even though he trusted himself, he wasn't someone who didn't listen to facts. As a teenager, he might've, but he had grown since then and had learned the value of patience. If the facts were there, Katsuki wasn't going to just ignore them.
If he did, he wouldn't be where he was today. His position required more than just brute force.
"Call a meeting," Katsuki said while leaning back in his chair. "Just the highest-ranking officers who would have had access to that information. Everyone else stays out and about and searches for Izuku. No one rests until my husband is back at my side."
Jirou and Kirishima both nodded and stood up. They knew what they had to do and they also knew Katsuki well enough to know he needed some space. He needed to organize his thoughts and center himself. He couldn't lose himself in his fury and anguish, not if he wanted Izuku back.
And he did. No force in this world would stop him. He would burn the whole country down if he had to.
It only took thirty minutes for all of Katsuki's officers to arrive. He didn't call these meetings lightly, so everyone realized just how important the cause had to be.
Next to Jirou and Kirishima, there were Kaminari, Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Shinsou, and Sero. They were Katsuki's most trusted people and had been with him for years. He looked at each one of them and he knew they wouldn't willingly betray them. But still, he needed to be sure. Izuku's life was too precious to simply wager it on a feeling.
"There has been a breach in our security," Katsuki started to say when everyone had taken their place. "I want all of you to speak with your people. Find out what everyone knows. I want to know who they talked to, who may have paid them so find out information and I need to know who betrayed me."
He let his eyes wander over each of them. He knew the look on his face was as cold as ice, a frigid and all-consuming fury behind it.
"Whoever betrayed me will be made into an example. Understood?"
Everyone in the room nodded.
"What happened?" Yaoyorozu asked, efficient and straight to the point as always. She was in charge of their finances and had her hands in all parts of their business.
"Someone broke into my home and took my husband."
It was like a bomb had exploded in the room. Several loud voices yelled at the same time until Katsuki slammed his fist on the table.
"Shut the fuck up!"
"How?" Shinsou demanded to know after the commotion had stopped. He was their intelligence officer, responsible for gathering information. It didn't matter what it was - a business, a person, a company, a politician. Shinsou was the best at what he did and he was discreet too.
"Apparently, they rang the doorbell," Jirou answered Shinsou's question and Katsuki could see the confusion in everyone's faces.
"Izuku wouldn't open the door for someone he didn't know. And deliveries are handled through the door camera. Every delivery business has been instructed. Every single one," Sero said, especially stressing the last part. He was in charge of their members' presence at different businesses and places in their district. He had a friendly, non-threatening face that made it easy for him to blend in, but as soon as he flashed the insignia of the Bakugou family, everyone was cowering before him. And the ones that weren't afraid changed their minds after getting acquainted with Sero.
"Izuku knows all of the higher-ranking members of the family," Kaminari said, for once a serious look on his normally easy-going face. "It can't have been one of ours. It simply can't."
Kaminari was taking care of the new recruits. He showed them the ropes and what was expected of them. He told them what kind of behavior would and what wouldn't be tolerated with them. And he took care of the ones who didn't make the cut in the end.
"Are we sure he was taken by another family?" Ashido asked, her bright pink fingernails clacking against themselves when she laced her fingers together. "Maybe it was an act of revenge, not a try to overtake you. Have we gotten any kind of demand yet?"
Ashido worked closely with all of them. Her responsibility was their outward presentation and the managing of their legal businesses. She had a keen eye for people and their motives and was an excellent negotiator.
"Not yet," Kirishima answered in a grim voice from where he was sitting at Katsuki's right. His fists were clenched in his lap and it had been a while since Katsuki had seen him this agitated about something. Kirishima was Katsuki's right-hand man and in charge, if Katsuki wasn't available. He overlooked all of their operations and took care of things in the rare moments when something escalated. Katsuki would trust him with his life, and even more importantly, he would trust him with Izuku's life.
"I'm still going over the whole tech in your house. I'm trying to piece something together from hacking into the camera systems of the surrounding houses but it's hard. There's a lot of distance and the angles aren't 100% correct. But I'll let you know as soon as I have something," Jirou explained and Katsuki nodded to show he agreed.
"We need to take action," Yaoyorozu said and looked around the table. "From what I heard the lower ranking members are already on the lookout and some of Shinsou's and Ashido's people are working on it too. I suggest we send someone over to the districts of the nearest rival families as well. They should see if they can find out anything. Discreet and subtle of course."
Shinsou and Ashido nodded and pulled out their phones to send off the orders.
"Kaminari," Katsuki said and his officer looked at him expectantly. "I want you to talk to the recruits. Talk to anyone who might've had an opportunity to learn something they weren't supposed to yet. Let Jirou help you and control their communications of the last few weeks."
"Katsuki," Eijirou said with a frown. "You don't think anyone betrayed you, right?"
"I know the people in this room are loyal to me and this family," Katsuki said and he could see the pride in everyone's eyes. "But I also know something has gone wrong. And because of that, my husband has been taken. I will take no chances when it comes to his safety."
Kirishima didn't look happy, but he didn't protest. He knew how shitty people could be and he wouldn't defy Katsuki's direct orders like this.
Kaminari nodded.
"I'll take Monoma too," he said and Katsuki considered it. Monoma was part of the latest batch of members that had gained access to the deeper and restricted levels. He was working as Denki's second in command now and knew the recruits inside and out. He often worked with Shindou's and Ashido's second in command, Hagakure and Aoyama. The three of them had joined Katsuki's family at roughly the same time, three years ago. They had proven themselves and were a good team, even if Katsuki hadn't worked with them much.
He gave Kaminari a nod in agreement. He opened his mouth to give more orders when there was a knock on the door. At once, the whole room was on edge.
It was an unwritten law that these kinds of meetings weren't to be disturbed, except for the direst of circumstances.
The door opened and Hagakure entered the room, a single letter in her hand.
"I'm sorry for the interruption," she said and held the letter up. "But this was just delivered to our back door. I think you need to see this."
"Who delivered it?" Shinsou asked immediately, while Jirou was already checking the cameras they had installed. The back door wasn't the back door to the casino. It was the hidden entrance to their base, one of the few escape routes they had that connected with an underground tunnel system of dormant subway stations. Whoever had delivered something there had to know about how their organization worked. It meant that Jirou's theory about someone betraying them was correct.
Hagakure shook her head.
"I don't know. We send someone down there to check out loud noises near the door. We wanted to make sure the tech didn't malfunction. But we found this letter taped to the door."
She walked over to Katsuki and tried handing him the letter. Katsuki didn't budge and only raised her eyebrows at her.
"It has already been scanned for bugs and possible detonation," Hagakure said without missing a beat and Katsuki reached out to take the letter.
"If I blow up because you didn't do your shitty job I'm taking you down to hell with me," he remarked casually while reaching for the letter opener next to him.
"Duly noted, boss," she said before turning around and walking out of the room again. Katsuki scoffed, but not in a mean way. He liked it when his subordinates had a backbone.
The case of the letter split open and out fell two sheets of paper. From the looks of it, one was a photo. Ignoring the letter, Katsuki picked up the photo and turned it around.
Katsuki held back the roar of fury that was threatening to unleash from his throat.
The picture showed Izuku, sitting on a plan chair. He was wearing his favorite set of loungewear, an oversized shirt he stole from Katsuki, and loose sweatpants. His feet were bare.
His legs were tied to the chair with zip ties, his hands disappeared behind the chair and were probably tied as well. Rope wound around his body and there was a gag in his mouth. The high-definition photo picked up several bruises poking out of his bloodstained clothes and the tear tracks on his cheeks. his lip was split, and there was dried blood underneath his nose. His right eye was swollen shut and there were several cuts all over his face. His hair was dark and matted and hung over his eyes. From the slump in his shoulders and his head, it was obvious he hadn't been conscious when the photo was taken.
"It's a list of demands," Kirishima said from Katsuki's right. He had grabbed the letter and skimmed over it quickly. Katsuki seemed to see everything through a red haze, the only coherent thought in his brain being 'Izuku, Izuku, Izuku' . Kirishima's voice seemed to come from far away. "They didn't sign it."
"I don't care what you have to do," Katsuki said as he stood up slowly, his eyes never leaving the picture in his hand. "Find my husband now!"
Katsuki was holed up in his office, trying not to destroy everything in his rage. He had taken Izuku's photo with him and it only fueled his anger even more. It had been three days since Izuku was taken and Katsuki felt helpless. He had massed all this money and power but when it counted that meant nothing. No one had seen anything, no one had talked to anyone and no one had a clue what had happened that day.
His officers were working around the clock and Katsuki was ready to tear out his own hair with frustration. He hadn't been able to go home, even though Kirishima had told him everything had been cleaned and replaced.
Katsuki could only laugh at that. The most important thing was still missing and could never be replaced. If he didn't get Izuku back Katsuki's life was over. Without Izuku there would be no reason to keep on living. None except for taking revenge.
His days were filled with different ways of torture that he could inflict on the people who had taken his husband from him. That and the drive to get Izuku back were the only things keeping him sane right now. But as more time passed Katsuki wasn't sure if he could hold on.
There was a frantic knock on the door and Jirou ran inside without waiting for his permission.
She had been just as reclusive as he had been for the last few days. She was analyzing all of the contact data of the different family members on top of trying to piece clues together from scraps of leftover camera material. The rings under her eyes couldn't even be concealed with make-up anymore and the look in her eyes was manic.
Distantly, Katsuki wondered just how much caffeine she had inhaled in the last 72 hours.
"Boss!" she almost yelled, which was unusual for her. "I think I found something!"
His eyes widened and he beckoned her closer.
"Show me!" he demanded and she plopped her Laptop down onto his desk.
"The camera systems of your neighbors turned out to be a bust," she said while she showed him several short clips of a dark van driving past houses before disappearing out of the frame. "I checked the license plate and it's a rental. One of the anonymous kinds that we also use. They used a false name and a disguise and paid in cash. They cleaned it themselves, so there's nothing we can do with that."
"I thought you had found something that was fucking useful," Katsuki growled out and Jirou made an impatient movement with her hand.
"I do," she said and opened another video file. This one showed their hidden backdoor. It was just a few seconds long and nothing of interest happened.
"What the fuck, Jirou," Katsuki said. "I think you're starting to see things."
"No!" she protested. "This is a loop that replaced our cameras, something similar to the ones in your house. The difference is, that this one is way more sloppy. Whoever did this wasn't 100% sure what to do. It looks almost as if they just copied a code from a different loop. There are small mistakes in it."
"And how does that help us?"
Jirou grinned.
"One of these mistakes was that they didn't completely delete the original video file. And I was able to restore it."
She clicked a button and another video opened up. Katsuki watched with rapt attention as someone opened the door from the inside and stepped out. The person tapped the letter to the door before using an old wrench to hit the pipes running past the walls and making a cacophonous amount of noise. They quickly disappeared inside again and closed the door behind them.
The blond hair had been unmistakable.
Katsuki's grin was feral and dangerous.
"Get him," he said and Jirou's answering grin was almost as unhinged as Katsuki's was.
"He's already waiting for you, Boss."
"What the fuck is going on?" Kaminari demanded to know, his eyes confused and hurt when they looked between Katsuki and Jirou. Next to him, Kirishima put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"We found our mole," Jirou answered and nodded her head towards the interrogation room.
"Bullshit!" Kaminari almost roared back and Katsuki was taken aback by the intensity of Kaminari's outburst. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Anything you want to fucking say to me, Kaminari?" Katsuki asked, low and dangerous and Kaminari suddenly looked less like an angry lion and more like a scared housecat.
"It's just... it can't be him," he said, his voice weak and full of doubt.
"Let's find out," Katsuki said and kicked open the door to the interrogation room. Inside sat a waiting Monoma, face relaxed and hands loosely folded on the table.
"Ah," he said. "I was waiting for someone to come and explain things. I've already had my interrogation. Was there something else you wanted to know, Boss?"
"I do," he agreed and pulled out the chair opposite Monoma. Behind him, he heard Jirou, Kaminari, and Kirishima also enter the room. Monoma's eyes flickered to each of them but seemed to spend more time on Kaminari. Katsuki took in these details with interest.
"What I want to know," Katsuki said and pinned Monoma with an intense stare. "Since when you've been sleeping with Kaminari here."
The heads of all three of his officers turned to him at once.
"Excuse me?" Jirou said, clearly confused.
"You heard me," Katsuki said and his eyes slid over to Kaminari. "Or do you want to answer the question?"
"It's not what you think," Kaminari answered and Katsuki knew he had struck gold.
"Oh?" Katsuki said. "So you haven't talked to Monoma about things that are way above his pay grade after he slept himself into your good graces?"
"No!" Kaminari cried out. The distress in his voice seemed real enough, but Katsuki was done believing things without proof. "Our relationship didn't start until after he had proven himself and became my second! I swear to you, I would never tell him things he wasn't supposed to know!"
"But you did talk about things with him."
"Yes, but only after he was already part of the restricted access!"
"Then let me rephrase my question," Katsuki said and looked back at Monoma. "For how long have you been planning to use Kaminari and his attraction to you to your advantage?"
To Monoma's credit, he didn't even blink.
"From the beginning," he answered and Kaminari let out a noise that sounded like a wounded animal. "I was told to infiltrate your family and gain access to the lower levels, no matter the time or cost. I could see he was attracted to me, so I used it to further my goal."
"You," Kaminari started but stopped himself with gritted teeth. His eyes were full of tears. "I loved you."
Katsuki saw a flicker of something in Monoma's eyes. He immediately attacked.
"That wasn't part of your plan, right? To have feelings for him as well?"
The something in Monoma's eyes hardened into fear and uncertainty and Katsuki decided to push.
"You went to Izuku and delivered him to your employers, just as planned. But you have doubts now. Doubts whether you did the right thing, about betraying me, the family, and of course Kaminari. I can see you don't care about being punished, but how will you feel if I decide to punish him instead?"
"Why would you," Monoma answered calmly, but Katsuki could see the cracks in his facade. "It's not his fault that he's a trusting idiot who makes decisions with his dick."
"Do you think I care about that?" Katsuki asked and let some of his fury and mania slip into his voice and eyes. Opposite him, Monoma tensed. "You took the love of my life from me and hurt him. I don't give a fuck about Kaminari. Kirishima," Katsuki snapped, and next to him Kirishima hesitated for just a moment before pulling out a long knife from his jacket pocket and handing it to Katsuki. Katsuki took it and casually pulled it out of the wooden sheath. The knife gleamed and reflected the lamplight from above and without looking at him, Katsuki handed the knife to Kaminari.
"You know what to do," Katsuki said and Kaminari took the knife with shaking fingers. "Making me lose Izuku is worth at least three knuckles."
No one dared to defy him, even though Katsuki knew they all wanted to. But it spoke of their loyalty and trust that they didn't.
Kaminari took a deep breath and lowered the knife towards the first knuckle of the little finger of his left hand.
"Call for the medic," Katsuki said, his eyes never leaving Monoma's face. "I don't want him to bleed out. He's not done paying off this debt after we're done with his hand."
His eyes slid over to Kaminari.
"Do it."
"Stop!" Monoma yelled out, his face white and his eyes terrified. "It's not his fault! Punish me, not him!"
"I don't give a rat's ass about you," Katsuki said, his eyes not leaving Kaminari. "You're trained to resist pain and torture. It will take ages to get anything useful out of you. I can't punish you with the usual methods, but making you watch while Kaminari hurts himself for your mistakes? That's something that you weren't trained for. It's your choice really."
Monoma's breath came hard and fast while he was looking from Katsuki's emotionless face to Kaminari's resigned one.
"I'll talk," he whispered out, tears falling from his eyes. "I don't care what happens to me. But don't hurt him. It's not his fault that he's an idiot."
"Rude," Kaminari choked out, tears rolling down his cheek.
"Kirishima," Katsuki said and Kirishima took back the knife.
"Now," he said and leaned over the table. "Start talking. And don't think for a second that I'm done with you after this."
Izuku wasn't sure how long he had been in this cell. There were no windows and even though someone was bringing him food there was no rhythm to it. He wasn't sure if it was a strategy of his kidnappers to keep him confused or if they just didn't care about him all that much.
He honestly thought it was the second option. After they had taken him, he had woken up in this cell and except for food no one talked to him yet.
Izuku still couldn't believe that one of Kacchan's men had betrayed him, but there was no mistaking what had happened.
Monoma was a fairly new recruit, but Izuku had seen him before. He knew he was Kaminari's right-hand man and in charge of the new recruits. Kacchan tried to keep Izuku out of his business just as he had asked, but there were still things Izuku needed to know for his safety and things he simply picked up from conversations.
So he had been surprised by Monoma dropping by, but it wasn't something out of the ordinary. Sometimes Kacchan sends some of his more trusted men to pick Izuku up for a dinner date, especially if there had been a commotion with one of the rival families or the police. Izuku hadn't recognized the people who were with Monoma, but since he didn't know every single recruit he hadn't been alarmed by it. That had changed quickly when they started grabbing at him and trying to tie him up.
Izuku wasn't a trained fighter, but Kacchan had taught him how to defend himself and how to fight dirty. Izuku clawed and bit at them, poked into their eyes, and kicked them in all their sensitive parts. In his struggle, the house had become a casualty and Izuku had gotten cuts all over from the flying glass.
But in the end, they overwhelmed him with their sheer number, and Izuku was knocked out cold. He wasn't sure what they had done to him while he had been out, but when he woke up there was rope burn on his hands and legs and he was laying in a small cell. No windows and the wall with the door was made up entirely of glass. A camera was pointed into his cell and was filming his every move.
He tried to keep his guard up. Even though he wouldn't be able to tell them much, they could still try to use him to hurt Kacchan. And Izuku would do anything in his power to stop them from trying.
He knew what Katsuki did wasn't legal. He knew he hurt people. But he also knew that at the core his husband was a good man who wanted to help people. He protected the weak and punished the ones who deserved it. Yes, he took money for it, but the police did the same, even without giving the extra protection that Katsuki promised. Izuku would never fault him for that.
And if he ever did stray too far from the path, Izuku would pull him back. He would remind Katsuki what was important in life and make sure he didn't exploit his power.
But for that, he needed to stay alive. He needed to wait for Katsuki to come for him.
Because there was no doubt in his mind that his Kacchan would come for him.
The next time someone came to Izuku's cell it wasn't one of the usual guards who brought him his food. No, Izuku could see from the clothing alone that this person was different. His stance spoke of confidence and power and Izuku could feel a cold shiver run down his spine. He was afraid of what would happen next but he refused to show it. He needed to be strong and endure whatever was thrown his way.
"So, you're the famous Bakugou Izuku," the man said, his face hidden behind a medicinal mask, his eyes cold and calculating. He adjusted the white gloves on his hands before he continued to speak. "Are you aware that you're the reason for your husband's downfall?"
Izuku refused to answer and simply stared back at the man in front of him.
"Our spy tells us that the Bakugou family is already in the process of meeting all our demands. I knew he wouldn't live up to his reputation, but I hadn't anticipated just how easy he was to give in. How does it feel knowing that you're responsible for turning such a strong man into a puppet whose strings can be controlled by just anyone?"
He could feel his anger boiling to the surface, threatening to erupt, but still, he was staying silent. He knew this man was only trying to push his buttons, make Izuku spill something that he could use against Katsuki. He wouldn't let him win.
"But just to be sure he actually does comply with our wishes we're going to send him another photo of you. The last one has proven to be very effective after all."
His eyes traveled over Izuku's body and the bruises and cuts that had slowly started healing over.
"What should it be this time? Another beating to refresh your bruises? Or maybe we'll go a step farther and cut off a finger and send it to him. That should get him moving."
His eyes traveled lower.
"Or maybe I'll just let some of my men have you and send you a picture of the aftermath. You are pretty enough I suppose and I can imagine Bakugou wouldn't like sharing you one bit."
He could taste bile in the back of his throat at the thought of anyone but Kacchan touching him, of someone violating Izuku in such a way. But still, he didn't respond. If it came to that he wouldn't go down without a fight.
He couldn't see the face behind the mask but Izuku knew the other man was smiling. But before he could continue to torment Izuku, he was interrupted by something else.
A loud boom sounded through the hall and Izuku could feel the walls and floor around him shaking. He almost lost his balance but managed to catch himself at the last moment.
"What the-?" the man asked before an alarm sounded through the whole building. He hastily pulled out his phone and pushed a button.
"What the hell is going on?" he screamed into the phone and whoever was on the other end answered. Izuku couldn't understand what he was saying, but he could hear he was screaming. The man's eyes snapped over to Izuku and for the first time since he had stepped in front of his cell, Izuku could see fear in them.
Izuku felt a smile pulling at his lips.
"Are you having fun pulling my husband's strings?" he asked just as another loud explosion rattled the building again.
With Monoma on their side, it was laughingly easy to get everything for their plan into position. He fed false information to the enemy and no one batted an eye when walked into the mansion of the Shie Hassaikai. They didn't search his body and because of that, no one found the explosives he had hidden on himself.
The first explosion was the signal for them to make their move. Katsuki didn't care about what happened to Monoma or how he set up the explosion. He couldn't care less if the other man had blown himself up to do it. If he hadn't and made it back to them Katsuki would make sure he paid in some other way for what he had done.
While the Shie Hassaikai were busy trying to find out who had just blown up their base, Katsuki and his men were taking one of the side entrances to make their move. Like he had predicted the guards were all running towards the commotion and he and his men found no resistance while infiltrating the other base.
He nodded towards Kirishima who nodded back. His right-hand man knew what to do. They both cocked their guns and split off in different directions. Kirishima and the other would make sure to give the Shie Hassaikai a nasty surprise from behind and to teach them the lesson that you didn't cross Katsuki and his family.
Not without severe consequences at least.
Katsuki had a different goal. Monoma had given them an outline of the Shie Hassaikai mansion and had told them where they would most likely be holding Izuku. Katsuki was going to take back his husband and he would kill anyone who was going to get in his way.
There weren't a lot of guards left in this part of the house, but the few people that he did find were dispatched quickly and efficiently, either with his guns or with his knife. His suit was soon soaked in blood, but he didn't slow down. From behind him, he could hear the screams of the rest of the guards being taken care of and he felt a vicious grin tugging at his lips. All of them could burn in hell.
Finally, he burst through the door that led to the small cell track.
"Deku!" he yelled out, uncaring if that would alert any of his enemies to his position. He needed his husband to know he was coming for him.
"Kacchan!" Izuku's voice answered him. He followed the voice like a beckoning siren song, unerringly and determined.
He ran past a row of glass cells, but when he went around a corner there was a loud bang and a sudden, bright spot of pain in his shoulder, radiating out from there. He ducked back around the corner and pressed a hand against his shoulder. Thankfully, the kevlar vest he had worn had taken most of the damage but the shot had still hurt like a bitch.
"You have the choice, Bakugou," an unfamiliar voice called out and Katsuki automatically tensed in response to the clear threat he could hear in it. "You can either come out and let me shoot you or you can stay in hiding like a bitch and listen while I kill your slut of a husband."
"How about neither, you motherfucker!" Katsuki screamed back before pulling the pin of the grenade he had pocketed earlier and throwing it around the corner.
There was a scramble of footsteps and curse words before the explosive went off and Katsuki dived out from behind the corner. The person who had shot at him was laying on the ground, groaning, his back a burned, bloody mess. He tried standing up or crawling away, but Katsuki didn't give him the chance. He quickly approached and put his foot on the other’s back to stop him from moving away. The man whimpered in pain, but Katsuki didn't even bat an eye.
"Rot in hell," he spat out before he pulled the trigger of his gun.
"Kacchan!"
Katsuki whirled around and came face to face with his husband, who was looking at him through the singed and cracked glass. Just like Monoma had said the glass had been thick enough to withstand most of the grenade's force.
Izuku was still in the same clothes that he had been abducted in, his face was bruised and swollen, and his body was littered with wounds, but he was alive and smiling and Katsuki felt like he could breathe freely for the first time in a week.
"Take a step back," Katsuki rasped out and lifted the butt of his gun. He started hitting it against the cracks in the glass until finally, it caved in under the strain. Ignoring the glass shards that were raining down on him and cutting his clothing, Katsuki worked quickly to widen the hole he had made until it was wide enough that he could step through.
Immediately, he had Izuku in his arms and he pulled Izuku closer to rain kisses down on his face.
"Careful, idiot," Katsuki whispered between kissing Izuku's freckles. "You're going to cut your feet on the glass."
"I knew you would come for me," Izuku said, completely ignoring Katsuki's warning and pressing even closer.
"Of course, I would," Katsuki said before finally leaning down and kissing Izuku for real.
Time didn't seem to matter while they were wrapped up in each other and everything else fell away. The only important thing was that Katsuki finally had Izuku back in his arms, right where he belonged.
They were ripped out of their bliss by another explosion going off and shaking the building.
"Alright, time to get out of here," Katsuki said and hosted Izuku up into his arms to carry him over the sea of glass shards. Once it was safe to stand again, he lowered Izuku down and unclipped another kevlar vest from his belt.
"Put this on and stay behind me at all times, understood?"
"Yes, Kacchan," Izuku nodded while quickly pulling on the offered safety gear. Katsuki checked and reloaded his gun before quickly walking back down the corridor. Izuku did as he was told and stayed close to Katsuki's back.
Thankfully they met no one on their way back towards the exit and Katsuki felt a vicious kind of glee at the thought that everyone was already dead.
Their Van was still waiting outside, Jirou behind the wheel.
"Police are still ten minutes away," she said while handing Izuku a pair of socks, shoes, and a jacket. "Good to have you back, Izuku. Kirishima is on his way back."
Katsuki nodded to show he had heard her and pulled Izuku down onto the bench with him. He couldn't take his hands or eyes off of him, too afraid he would disappear right from underneath Katsuki's nose again.
"Did you contact the medic?" he asked and Jirou gave him a thumbs up.
"She's ready and waiting for us."
At that moment the doors to the van opened and Kirishima and the rest of their men climbed in.
"Did you do it?" Katsuki demanded to know and Kirishima gave him a sharp grin in answer. He handed Katsuki a remote.
"Everything is set up, Boss. You just need to push the button."
Katsuki grinned.
"Perfect."
"Kacchan?" Izuku asked warily. "What is that?"
"It's a message and a warning," Katsuki answered before pressing a gentle kiss into Izuku's matted hair. "Do not mess with me, my family, or you ever again."
Jirou drove off and Katsuki pressed the button on the remote. Behind them, the Shie Hassaikai Mansion went up in flames as the bomb that his men had placed inside went off.
"Don't you think that was a bit much?" Izuku asked, a slight frown on his face. "What if the surroundings catch fire?"
"Nothing is too much for you," Katsuki answered and squeezed his hand. Izuku squeezed back without hesitation. "And the fire brigade is already on their way."
With a sigh, Izuku leaned on Katsuki's shoulder and closed his eyes. Katsuki dropped another kiss on his hair and relished in the warmth radiating from his husband.
Katsuki knew the world wasn’t simply black and white. There wasn’t good and evil. There was always gray and everyone had the capacity for doing good. But that also meant everyone had the capacity for doing bad.
And that was true for some people more than others.
He knew he wasn't exactly what society viewed as a good person. But when he looked at Izuku's happy face he couldn't help but not regret a single thing he had done in his life.