Chapter Text
The air felt thick and suffocating. Silence dominated until Mikumo shifted and caused the chair to creek. He winced at the sound and glanced at the two men across the table. Mister Aizawa had a serious expression that told him nothing. The teacher sipped on the coffee in front of him silently as the smell of the bitter drink filled the room. The other man was a detective named Tsukauchi. His face was more focused, but still did not give anything away.
Mikumo glanced around the room. An interrogation room and he was on the wrong side of the table. A drop of sweat dripped down the side of his face despite the chilly air. “I don’t understand why I’m here. I already was interviewed after the incident at Kamino,” Mikumo said.
“We have some follow up questions,” the detective stated. He clicked his pen and scribbled something on the clipboard in front of him that Mikumo could not read.
Aizawa rested his folded hands on the table and leaned in. “Let’s start with when was the last time you had contact of any kind with Izuku?”
“Before the training camp. I tried texting and calling since then, but nothing has gone through.”
The two men on the other side of the table glanced at each other as if sending some sort of secret message. Mikumo gripped his hands together hard under the table. His fingers ran over the scars there from breaking his hands during the sports festival. The rough texture was almost enough to distract himself from the tightness in his chest. Detective Tsukauchi asked the next question. “Were you aware that your brother was part of the League of Villains?”
“Of course not!” Mikumo protested loudly. The men’s faces remained stony. “If I had known I would have told someone. I would have tried to save him.”
“You believe he needs saving,” Aizawa stated with a tone of disbelief. “He looked like a willing enough participant during the raid. Can you really say you don’t believe he wanted to be there?”
“I-“ Mikumo cut off. He remembered all the things Izuku went through. The bullying and neglect. Plus there was the fact that he was turned out on the street with no where to go. Perhaps all it had taken was the villains offering him a home. Mikumo could not bring himself to admit such doubts. “Izuku is not a villain. He always wanted to be a hero. I don’t believe he would willingly join them unless he had no other choice.” He kept his voice steady despite his own doubt in the statement.
Something shifted in the face of the detective. He gave a meaningful look to Aizawa and the teacher’s eyes narrowed. Mikumo swallowed hard and tried to sit still. Did he say something wrong?
“Izuku has been through a lot,” Mikumo quickly added. “He’s quirkless and that led to a lot of people hurting him. He probably just felt like there was no where else to turn. I’m sure he would never hurt anyone.”
Aizawa and the detective still did not look convinced. “Why would he not turn to you or your mother?” Tsukauchi asked.
Mikumo could not meet their gaze. He looked down to his fidgeting hands as he continued to trace over the scars he got from his quirk. “I was gone. With all the time I spent at UA for training and everything, we barely saw each other.” His brows pulled together in a frown. “As for my mother, things changed after I got a quirk and Izuku didn’t. She didn’t really pay attention to Izuku any more and...” He trailed off, not wanting to tell the rest, but they really should know. “Izuku stopped going to school because of the bullying and eventually dropped out due to lack of attendance. When that happened and they notified Mom, she kicked him out of the house.”
Silence returned to the room. Mikumo did not dare to look at the faces of the men across from him. He did not want to know what their reaction was to his quirkless brother being kicked out on the street.
A long sigh broke the tense atmosphere. Detective Tsukauchi clicked his pen and spoke with a tone of finality. “We will contact the proper authorities to investigate your mother’s parenting. If you have any contact with Izuku in any way, we need you to contact us and tell us.”
“Of course, I will!” Mikumo nearly yelled in response. “I want to get him out of there and I want to save Kacchan.”
“We will also be keeping a close eye on you,” Aizawa added.
“Yes, Sir.” Mikumo muttered as they all stood from the table. Something told him this was not the end and it would take a lot more than one talk to prove they could trust him.
————
Weeks. It had been weeks since the heroes failed to rescue Katsuki and he was starting to give up hope. Maybe Deku was not so crazy after all when he claimed that the heroes would only keep looking as long as it was in the news cycle. Deku had shown him some of the stories that criticized the heroes for their failures. None of them mentioned ongoing efforts. Of course that might just be the articles that the nerd selected. Izuku was smart like that.
“Good morning, Kacchan,” Deku called out as he entered the dingy little room Katsuki was kept in. He reached down and unlocked the cuffs that encased Katsuki’s hands and forearms. With his new freedom of movement, Katsuki stretched his hands up over his head bringing a satisfying pop. He rolled his shoulders and allowed his muscles to relax.
It was a fairly new development that they gave him this freedom and Katsuki was not sure how to feel about it. On the one hand it gave him a chance to try and escape. On the other hand he could tell that the reason he had this freedom was because Izuku was starting to trust him again and Katsuki did not want to break that trust. At least, not unless he had a definite way to escape.
“Would you like a shower?” Deku asked.
Katsuki’s head snapped to look at the other boy, his mouth open in shock. Katsuki had not been able to shower since he came here. The best he had gotten was a wet rag to wipe himself down with and a clean, though worn, change of clothes.
Izuku noticed his obvious surprise and chuckled softly. “I was able to get permission for you just this once. Though if you don’t cause trouble they will probably let you do it more regularly.”
“How’d you manage that?” Katsuki asked softly. It was weird how he rarely felt like yelling at Deku these days.
“I promised to take full responsibility for you. I will have to stay right outside the curtain to make sure you don’t try anything. Sorry I couldn’t get them to agree to more privacy.”
Katsuki just nodded. He could deal with not having total privacy. At least they did not require him to be literally watched the whole time. Unfortunately, Izuku taking responsibility meant that Katsuki was not willing to run. Doing so would likely get the nerd killed and Katsuki would never be able to forgive himself for that.
It was amazing how much difference something as small as being clean made. The warm water helped Katsuki to relax and having clean clothes allowed him to finally stop feeling gross. Deku escorted him back to his room as soon as he was finished.
“How are you doing really, Kacchan?” He asked as soon as the door was shut.
Katsuki shrugged. “Better now. Any chance I can get some fresh air?”
Regret and guilt were written clearly across Deku’s face as he answered. “I’m sorry, Kacchan. I don’t think they’d let that happen unless you were an actual member.”
“Are you an actual member?” At this point it was hard to tell what role Izuku played in the League.
Deku shrugged. “I still have not committed any acts of villainy, unless you count being there during your capture. On the other hand, since I was seen there with them, everyone assumes I am a member. I’m sure the heroes would love to arrest me and lock me away.”
Guilt settled once more in Katsuki’s gut. He wished there was a way to make things right with his former friend. For now maybe he just needed to be here for him.
————
When they arrived at the empty warehouse, Izuku tucked himself away in one of the dark corners. He knew they were here to meet some potential new member that Twice had found, but Izuku did not really want to be here. He wanted to be back at the base with Kacchan. He knew that his friend was close to giving up on hero society. He just needed a few more pushes.
The door opened and Izuku frowned. Twice walked in with some guy in a weird mask that kind of reminded him of drawings he’d seen of plague doctors from the middle ages. But that was not what bothered Izuku. He could feel others in and around the building. It seemed that this visitor did not come alone. If only there was a way he could signal that to Shigaraki.
Shigaraki recognized the man. “He’s what you call ‘Yakuza’. The young leader of the Shie Hassaikai,” he informed them. Shigaraki and the apparent yakuza leader talked back and forth and tensions were high. Izuku did not need his quirk to feel the hostility in the air.
Overhaul, as the man in the plague mask was called, was going on about the supposed strengths of each group. “Put yourself under me. Make me your new leader and I’ll show you exactly how to use the right tools.”
No one liked that plan. “Leave,” Shigaraki ordered.
Then things snapped. Magne leapt forward and attacked Overhaul.
With a single touch the magnetism user exploded in a mist of blood.
Izuku felt his breath catch in his lungs. He could not move from his corner. As the other League members moved to attack, Izuku was frozen. Even after months with the villains, he had never seen anyone die in front of him.
Compress lost his arm and yelled. Shigaraki attacked but was blocked by a different yakuza member jumping in-between them. The new man turned to dust.
The walls were broken down and all those other people Izuku had sensed were standing in the room ready to fight. But the fight didn’t happen. “Killing each other isn’t productive,” Overhaul stated far too casually. Izuku felt no regret in him for killing Magne or loosing his own man. “A death on both sides. Let’s take a breather. We’ll cool our heads and try again later. I owe your side an arm.”
The others wanted to chase after the yakuza villain, but Shigaraki stopped them. Izuku knew this was the right choice. Their opponents were far too calm and confident. They knew they could beat the League if it came down to it right now. On top of that they did not seem to value the lives of their companions. Attacking might take out a few of the lowlifes, but Overhaul would get away. They needed to wait for a better opportunity.
Just before they left the building, Overhaul paused and looked back to where Izuku still sat in the corner. The disgust that boiled under the surface when he looked at others was missing as he looked at Izuku. Instead there was a strange interest. It caused a terrified shiver to run down Izuku’s spine.
As the League of Villains finally left, Izuku heard Shigaraki mutter, “I’ll make you pay.” It was a sentiment Izuku shared. It may take time, but they would make Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai pay.