Chapter Text
A solid whack to the head jolted Katsuki awake. He blinked and let out a reflexive groan that transformed into a growl to show his irritation, his mind at first thinking it was his mother giving him a rough awakening. His eyes didn’t focus right away and left him feeling disoriented through the pain in his body. He only had a few seconds to register how he felt completely like shit that had been run over repeatedly. His head and body were throbbing. He registered a couple of sensations of stinging pain and a light-headedness that he knew came from blood loss. Some time must have passed since he had been out, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out how long. He must have been running on adrenaline towards the end of their battle a long while ago.
His eyes focused and he saw first his hands bound in heavy metal cuffs. They covered the lower half of his forearms as well as his hands in thick plating that made it impossible for Katsuki to even use his quirk. He flexed his arms and found he could lift the metal cuffs, but they were heavy and chained to the floor. His body was strapped to a chair by leather bindings around his upper arms, torso, and legs. Katsuki’s breathing picked up as his heart rate increased. He almost dreaded looking up, but he wasn’t one to back down from it either. He gritted his teeth and glared at the first person his eyes found when he lifted his head up.
Shigaraki was sitting almost casually at what looked to be a bar. The floors were wooden and old, but the counter was clean. The portal-making asshole was standing nearby watching Katsuki. Bun Bitch was sprawled half across the counter from the other side of the bar, her eyes sparkling as they pierced through Katsuki. The guy in the full bodysuit that had fought Todoroki was also there hanging near the wall with the blue-flamed patchwork skin guy. The rest of the villains - the ones Katsuki didn’t know the names of and didn’t care - weren’t to be seen.
Katsuki said nothing to any of them as his rage boiled deep in his stomach. So he had been taken as well. It must have been that magician fucker with his weird quirk. Taken the same way Deku had probably been taken. But where was Deku? He didn’t see him anywhere. If he was here, then Deku must be as well. Unless they had taken him elsewhere?
“Bakugou Katsuki, the hero in training…” Shigaraki said, his voice drawling as it dripped with contempt. He leaned more on the bar, but his body was facing towards Katsuki. His face was mostly hidden by one of his freaky severed hands on his face. “It’s about time you woke up. Missing something?”
Katsuki bared his teeth at him but still said nothing. He hated the fear that was actually in him. The fact that Deku wasn’t there wasn’t right. That meant Deku could be anywhere. This dinky shithole would in no way be where Deku had been tortured and trained. Was this some kind of holding place? A hideout? Why would they separate the two of them?
No, that question could be easily answered. Deku was someone that they wanted. He was their weapon. Their tool. And Katsuki was Deku’s “weakness”. Katsuki felt like an idiot for not making the connection before. He was the weak point in Deku’s armor. One of them, anyway. He was a pressure point. And Katsuki had thrown himself into the line of fire when Deku had been trying to hide him away. Now they were both captured. Katsuki had failed even after trying his damndest. Katsuki held little doubt that there would be consequences for this. Maybe he would be killed. But what had been stopping the villains from killing Katsuki before he had been captured?
“Not going to speak?” Shigaraki asked slowly, his voice crawling with revulsion as the bar’s lights caught and flashed across his one eye hidden in the shadows of the hand upon his face. Now wasn’t the time to think on this, Katsuki thought.
“He’s got some pretty nasty wounds.” Staples said with something coating the underside of his words. It sounded almost like amusement. “Covered with burns too. Surprised he’s awake with that blood loss. Probably won’t last the night without medical care.”
“He got messed up good!” Bun Bitch giggled. “It looks good on you, Bakkun!”
“Quiet.” Shigaraki commanded them. The room fell silent. Katsuki’s eyes slid around the room, counting the enemies he could see and what quirks he knew that they had. Staples used fire like Todoroki. Shigaraki could disintegrate things with a touch. Bun Bitch could transform. Portal bitch could teleport. He didn’t know the bodysuit guy’s power. Katsuki knew these weren’t the only villains. There was no way just these few had managed it. Where had the magician guy gone? Unless he was behind Katsuki?
Five villains with Katsuki alone in the room. On top of that, Bun Bitch was there. She was the one who regularly trained with Deku. She had been absurdly fast when Katsuki had chased her. Katsuki had doubts that he would’ve been able to even take her alone, let alone with all of the others in the room. He was too out-numbered. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to fight them anyway. If he got the chance, he was going to escape.
But first, he needed to find out where Deku was. He refused to ask though. He wouldn’t give the villains the satisfaction.
“I had told you didn’t I?” Shigaraki continued, “Next time I met you, I would kill you.”
“I’m so fucking scared.” Katsuki said, and spat the blood that had been on his tongue to the ground as close as he could get to Shigaraki’s feet.
“You should be.”
“You get that from a movie?”
Shigaraki didn’t rise to the bait, but his fist did clench. Katsuki knew he was digging his own grave. He didn’t particularly care. “You really want to sass me considering your circumstances? When we have you and your friend both?”
“I only see me here.” Katsuki responded while hoping it would be enough to get them to reveal Deku’s location. It took everything Katsuki had in him not to blow a gasket. He contained himself. He had to bide his time. He didn’t even know how long he had been captured. He didn’t know where he was. He was in a ton of pain. Even if he got out of his bindings, he doubted he would make it far with his injuries. He was in a shit position. He had to figure something out.
“Try looking harder then.” The man said, and then Katsuki was spun a little in his chair to look beside him. His chain only let him turn so far. So there was someone behind him as well. Six villains.
Deku was revealed from beside him, slumped in his place and bounded to the floor as well. His eyes were open and bright with awareness despite the injuries he had on him. His mouth was gagged and his limbs chained to the flooring. He was definitely in better shape than Katsuki was. Some part of Katsuki was relieved to see him. At least he was nearby.
Deku’s eyes glanced around the room without any fear on his face. His gaze was dark with repressed and controlled fury. He was doing better than Katsuki was with holding himself back. His fists were curled tight under his shackles as his eyes met Shigaraki’s and held them.
Shigaraki sounded amused. “Hi Midoriya.”
Deku didn’t react to the greeting.
“What do you think, Midoriya Izuku?” Shigaraki asked as he stood up to approach the boy. He kneeled down and gripped the boy’s jaw, forcing him to stay looking at him, “All this hard work...Did you enjoy your couple years of freedom? Does it feel nostalgic being in chains?”
“Don’t fucking touch him, you sick bastard.” Katsuki snarled, and Shigaraki’s head snapped to face him. He pushed Deku’s face away hard enough to send the boy tumbling a little, but he caught himself. Shigaraki stood up and carefully removed the hand from his face to reveal a sinister glare. He placed the hand on the bar counter and then held out his own hand and crooked a finger. Bun Bitch moved around the bar to meet him.
“‘Don’t touch him’?” Shigaraki asked as the girl moved to stand next to him. She was still smiling, but it was softer and less manic. It didn’t feel as genuine. “He’s mine. I can do whatever I want with him.”
For a moment Katsuki was more sickened than before. Was this some kind of sexual thing? A crush or whatever? He certainly hoped it was only in terms of considering Deku his ‘tool’ and not anything more than that. Katsuki would blow this place sky-high with everyone in it if Shigaraki even thought about touching Deku like that in front of him-!
“He’s been mine since he had been given to me.” Shigaraki continued, unaware of Katsuki boiling, disgusted rage, “And I’ll show you that now.” He didn’t look away from Katsuki as a smile, twisted smile appeared on his face. “Kill him.” He commanded.
Katsuki jerked instinctively, prepared for someone to attack him, when Bun Bitch moved towards Deku instead. A knife was slid from her pants - the one that Deku carried around with him and she had stolen - and into her hand as her smile widened. Deku’s eyes showed fear for the first time as his eyes darted back and forth between her and Katsuki and he struggled away, shaking his head.
“NO!” Katsuki yelled, and his chains rattled loudly as his body shouted at him as he strained against his bindings. Bun Bitch’s hand reached out and snatched up Deku’s hair, grabbing a fistful of it before yanking his face to look at her. “LET HIM GO! DON’T YOU GODDAMN DARE -!”
“Sorry Izu-kun.” Bun Bitch said as she tilted his head back to expose more of his neck. Her foot stomped down on the chain binding his wrists to the floor so he couldn’t throw her off. Katsuki could see the boy’s chest rapidly expanding and contracting as he didn’t break his stare with Bun Bitch. Katsuki couldn’t look away if he tried even as he still struggled. He could feel his wounds steadily bleeding again from his struggles as he continued to scream, but his words were simply more noise added to the air for how little any of the others in the room acknowledged him.
Bun Bitch’s attack was swift and efficient, her knife slicing through Deku’s throat and scattering blood in a small spray. Katsuki felt the attack as if it was to his own chest, his eyes widening as he saw Deku’s eyes squeeze shut against the pain, before Katsuki’s head was yanked backwards by a fistful of his own hair. It forced a scream of agony out of him that had been trapped in his chest as his gaze was ripped away from the sight of his best friend’s murder and he was forced to face the horrid, grinning face of the Masked Boy.
Katsuki couldn’t breathe as he heard the thump of Deku’s body hitting the floor. His body felt like static as white noise filled his ears. He stared sightlessly at the Masked Boy as he tried to comprehend the reality he was now facing. He wanted to deny that any of it was real, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even scream as his lungs constricted. The image of Deku’s neck slit open was frozen with vivid colors in his brain.
The Masked Boy released Katsuki. Katsuki’s head fell forward and dropped against his chest. He couldn’t remember how to breathe.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Katsuki heard Shigaraki say over the muffled sound in Katsuki’s ears. “I can feel your glare from here.”
Whoever he was talking to didn’t respond. Katsuki struggled to get a single thought through his head and to remove the image that was burned into his mind’s eye. His body remembered instinctually how to pull air into his lungs, but he still felt like he was choking and drowning. He could taste blood in his own mouth, and it made his stomach roil in preparation to vomit. It didn’t come, though, as instead a different intensity built in his chest. Pressure expanded from his lungs and a sharp trill of white noise rang loudly in his ears, obliterating any sound that tried to reach him.
What the fuck. What the fuck?! Rage unlike anything Katsuki had ever felt raced through his veins, lacing them with fire that burned him from the inside out. His body bowed forward as he let out a scream of fury, his throat tearing a little from the force of it. There was absolutely nothing in his mind in that moment except the need to tear and destroy as he fought against his shackles and tried to yank his arms from the bindings on them. His hands burned from the heat of his own sweat attempting to ignite. Katsuki knew he would probably blow his own fingers off if he did, but he didn’t really care at that moment. If it gave him the chance to beat Shigaraki and Toga Himiko and everyone else up in that room, he didn’t care. He would blow them all up along with himself if he had to for what they had done to Deku after everything the boy had gone through. Slaughtered like a goddamn dog without any kind of fanfare by someone he had considered a friend. Katsuki would make it his final action to avenge Deku if he had to.
“Holy shit.” One of the villains said as Katsuki continued to scream. He flung his arms out and attempted to hit the person closest to him, but between the chain binding his metal cuffs to the ground and the leather straps across his body, he didn’t get very far.
He threw his head back and howled again as angry tears filled his eyes. They ran down his cheeks as his eyes fell back on Shigaraki and he shouted, “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! I’LL KILL YOU!!” If it was the last thing Katsuki did before he died, he would get his revenge. He may have failed Deku again, but he would destroy those who had hurt him. Damn everyone and everything to hell!!
Shigaraki looked unphased, watching Katsuki without remorse even as Katsuki’s chair thumped from Katsuki’s struggles and threatened to topple over. A hand forced the chair down and then another grabbed his hair again to hold his head still. Katsuki saw from the corner of his vision the black coat and knew it was the Masked Boy again. His arms strained as he tried to fling them at the boy before the chain caught his movement. He wasn’t strong enough to break the binding and his arms screamed at him for trying.
“Crying over your friend?” Shigaraki asked as Katsuki’s screams tapered off as he tried to catch his breath back. He could feel his head and body throbbing with the previous agony piled on now with whatever injuries he had exacerbated with his wild movements. His head felt a little floaty, dizziness loomed like a thunderstorm on the edge of the horizon of his mind as it attempted to coax him into unconsciousness. Katsuki knew he couldn’t fall unconscious again. Not yet. “I had told you he was mine to do whatever I wanted with. It’s almost laughable how predictable you two are.” Shigaraki stood and moved around to stand directly in front of Katsuki, but out of what little reach he had. Katsuki couldn’t see Deku anymore. The Masked Boy had moved to block any body that had been there.
“Weakness.” Shigaraki sneered. “He’s your weakness just as much as you’re his. Look at how you act at the sight of his death. From what I heard, he didn’t even react like this the first time he saw you die.” First time? What the fuck was he talking about now? “I wonder how you would’ve reacted if you had known the truth about him, Bakugou Katsuki?”
The truth? What a goddamn joke. Katsuki already knew the truth. And the villains had no clue how much Katsuki knew. It was on the tip of his tongue to sneer back and show how much he truly knew - after all, Deku was already dead. And Katsuki was probably going to die here anyway. He would rather tear them down with him - but he held back. Instead he demanded, “Truth? About what?”
“You already know some of it, I’m sure. Considering you’ve seen Izuku for who he was at least once. I wonder how many of his lies you actually believed? Izuku is an awfully good liar, after all.” Shigaraki paused and then said, “Or should I say, Deku is a good liar?”
“What?” Katsuki demanded hoarsely, “How the fuck do you know that name?!”
“You mean the name you had called him so much in the past?” Shigaraki asked, sounding amused despite everything. There was vicious glee in his face, no doubt taking delight in Katsuki’s confusion. It was just another slap in the face. “Don’t like it?”
How much did the villains know about Deku’s past? Or about Katsuki? Why would they want to know that stuff? The fact that they had called Deku “Deku” as well just made the name taste horrible on Katsuki’s tongue. It tasted like the blood. Why hadn’t Deku stopped him from calling him that name if the villains had also called him it? Mocked him with it?
Shigaraki didn’t wait for Katsuki’s answer. Instead he looked to someone behind Katsuki. It was them he spoke to as he commanded, “Come here.”
The Masked Boy released Katsuki and approached Shigaraki. He stood next to the man with his shoulders and limbs loose. He didn’t move whatsoever the moment he was in place. He could’ve been a statue. His mask exposed nothing of the person or personality behind it. Katsuki knew this had to be the real one and not a clone like the last one had been. He was just as silent as the clone had been though.
“Take off your disguise.” He was commanded next. The boy pulled back his hood then. He pulled off his mask next, exposing green eyes that stared at Katsuki without any emotion to them. Katsuki felt something seize in his chest as next the beanie he wore underneath was pulled off and the medical mask on his face was pulled down. Green curls, messy from being contained under the hat, were exposed to the air. And Deku stood before Katsuki without a single emotion on his face. He let his arms drop to simply hold his mask and hat before he once again fell motionless.
Katsuki felt the world drop out from under his feet. His first thought was that this was a trick of some sort. The actual Deku was dead and this was some kind of clone. It was a trick to use against Katsuki and make his trust in Deku shatter. This was a cruel prank to stab Katsuki once more. Maybe make this fake be the one to kill Katsuki rather than anyone else because the villains were sick, twisted monsters.
But all of that cleared as the curtain that had been hiding away Katsuki’s inner suspicions finally pulled back. And all of the puzzle pieces came together as Katsuki slammed into the bottom of the rabbit hole he had fallen into without the graceful landing that Alice had been awarded on her trip downward. Everything Katsuki knew came into perspective then. Deku was a tool for the villains. He had been trained. He was a weapon. Iida had said that Deku had similar moves as the Masked Boy, but it wasn’t because he had trained with Toga. The reason Toga had been so close with the Masked Boy and had hugged him like she did Deku. The way the villains had known how to attack the school. The reason the villains had somehow known about the change in location for the training camp even though nobody knew until the day of. The reason Deku had managed to escape the villains. All of his secrets. His warnings for Katsuki to stay away. It wasn’t just because Deku was a tool.
Deku was one of the villains.
“You…” Katsuki breathed, trying to speak around the comprehension filling his mind. “You’re... You’re the goddamn spy!” He finally yelled, his anger coming back again. His voice was rough both from his emotions and from tearing his throat earlier. But he didn’t care about that either. “You fucking piece of shit! After everything, you’re fucking working for them?! The bastards that kidnapped you?!”
Deku said nothing, seemingly ignoring Katsuki even though he didn’t look away from him. He didn’t even twitch at Katsuki’s accusations. His face was completely void and empty. His eyes were attentive, though.
“Oh my god!! Who saw that coming?!” The bodysuit villain cried, sounding legitimately stunned before suddenly he seemed to realize something and put his knuckle his mouth in thought as he said, “Oh wait, I knew that already.”
Deku still said nothing. Did he have nothing to say about any of this? Katsuki didn’t know this person in front of him. He was nothing like the normal Deku. Not even like the mask (was it even a mask? Or was that all a lie as well?) that Katsuki had seen on him occasionally. He was like...a doll. A mannequin brought to life. It sickened Katsuki.
“What the fuck, Deku?!” Katsuki yelled again.
“You can speak, Deku. There’s no point in trying to disguise yourself anymore. We’re all in the loop now.” Shigaraki said, patting Deku once on the shoulder before he moved to sit back on one of the stools at the bar.
That touch seemed to bring Deku to life. His face transformed into a surly glare that he shot at Shigaraki before he shook his head. He ran a hand through his curls to fix them a little before he went for the zipper of his jacket. His eyes went back to Katsuki. His voice was heavier than it usually was, but this was a person familiar to Katsuki. At least, more familiar than his quiet self had been, “Surprise.” He took off his jacket and revealed the thin sweater underneath of it. He hooked his mask onto his belt and tucked his hat into his back pocket before depositing the jacket onto the bar. Portal fucker clicked his tongue at the sight. Deku ignored him and made jazz hands. “Bet you weren’t expecting this, huh?”
Katsuki bared his teeth. His chest hurt from the pain of his wounds and from the utter betrayal. His mind was swirling with the new knowledge. He was still recovering from Deku’s gruesome murder - another fucking clone - and now he was dealing with this. His head was throbbing.
Deku regarded Shigaraki without waiting for Katsuki’s answer and asked, “Why did you want him as well?”
“To kill him, obviously.” Shigaraki said without any hesitation. Katsuki stiffened and his jaw clenched. So he was right. The villains plan to kill him. And Deku was probably going to help them too. All of Deku’s words about protecting him... were those lies as well? The story about Katsuki being a weakness? The torture? The threat to his loved ones? Bun Bitch had said that Katsuki was actually Deku’s weakness and Shigaraki had confirmed it too, but wouldn’t a villain want to get rid of their weakness? Katsuki wouldn’t go down without a fight, though.
Deku’s frown only became deeper. Angrier. “Why?” He demanded. “What have I done to deserve punishment?” Punishment? Katsuki’s death would be considered punishment to Deku?
“He knows your secret.” Shigaraki said, his voice seeped with irritation as his gaze fell to Katsuki and then back onto Deku. His hand came up to scratch at his neck. “He can’t be let go after that.”
“You’re the one who fucking revealed it to me, you dumb piece of shit!” Katsuki snapped at him.
Deku’s fist clenched at his side. His eyes sparked with electricity as he ignored Katsuki’s outburst and said, “Stop bullshitting me. His death would be a punishment for me and you know that. What’s the real reason you’re trying to get rid of him?”
“I don’t like him.” Shigaraki said simply. He waved his hand at Katsuki but didn’t break eye contact with Deku. “Out of everyone you know, he would be the one to see through your lies. Your acting and lying are good, but you’ve always been weak when it comes to him. Trial and error with Zeroichi has proven that.” Katsuki frowned. “And, say, if Bakugou Katsuki were to discover the truth in a place other than this... You wouldn’t do what needs to be done now would you?”
Deku didn’t respond. Katsuki’s eyes darted to him. The anger was still hovering there, mirroring Katsuki’s own, but it was contained. There was also fear, so subtle that Katsuki knew he could only see it in the tiny details of Deku’s body. Were Deku’s words from before not a lie then? Was he actually concerned for Katsuki? Even though he was a traitor?
“Which is why I’m going to take care of it for you. It may not be the outcome that you want, but you know as well as I do that certain things are necessary for the sake of our goals, right Deku?” Shigaraki’s gaze was intense.
Deku’s eyes slid to Katsuki. Whatever he was feeling seemed to be unreadable. The golden yellow lights of the bar they were in cast sharp, dark shadows across his face. Only his eyes reflected some of that light. Katsuki wasn’t holding his breath, but he felt like the room was in that moment.
“Killing him... I understand.” Deku finally said. “Kidnapping two students and then killing one off would shine the heroes in an even harsher light as well. But I think you’re being too hasty, Tomura.”
“Hasty?” Shigaraki demanded.
“Yeah, hasty. As in you’re going about this too quickly.” Deku turned back to Shigaraki. His body had relaxed and was more open. He shook his head. “I get what you’re saying. But even if you did kill Kacchan off, it would only hurt rather than help.”
“Because you like him more?” He asked darkly.
“You already know where I stand when it comes to you wanting to kill Kacchan.” Deku snarled, abruptly angry in a way that startled Katsuki because he had only ever seen that kind of anger on himself and his mother. He had seen it so few times on Deku that it still got to Katsuki. This was part of his mask? Or was this Deku now? “Stop asking obvious fucking questions and put aside my feelings and listen. I’m here to help you plan, after all.”
“With bias towards him.” Portal fucker pointed out.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious, now shut the fuck up and let me speak!” Deku snapped at him. Bodysuit’s hands covered his mouth with shock while Staples let out a low chuckle. Deku turned back to Shigaraki, “Besides pulling me out of the school, the kidnapping of Midoriya Izuku was meant to show that once again the famous and revered U.A. High School for heroes has failed to protect their students. But you guys not only grabbed one, but two students - famous ones considering we got first and second place in the Sports Festival as well as my...infamy. By succeeding, I'm sure the public will be pissed. There will be doubt, along with the doubt that Stain had stirred up along with your attack at the USJ. Right? You’re all with me? That was the plan?” He looked around with raised eyebrows.
“Yes, go on already. Freaking show-off.” Staples said.
“Get to the point, Deku.” Shigaraki demanded.
“You fucking planned your own kidnapping?!” Katsuki demanded, pissed. Why the fuck would he plan his own kidnapping as well? Especially since he went through the effort of trying to make the heroes on guard and more prepared? “Why-”
“Kacchan,” Deku turned to him then and his face held nothing except annoyance and contempt. Like he was watching a stranger’s child act like a petulant brat but there was nothing he could do about it. He stalked forward slowly before grabbing Katsuki’s hair and forcing his head back against the back of the chair. Katsuki’s already addled mind shuddered from the impact, making him blink a couple times. Deku’s foot stomped down on the chain binding Katsuki’s hands to the floor, jerking Katsuki’s body forward by the arms while his head was still yanked backwards. It strained his already-injured neck more. Katsuki bared his teeth at him and glared back as Deku’s eyes bore into his. Hidden behind his curls, something desperate flashed across his face. It made Katsuki pause, recognizing silent fear in Deku, before the boy growled, “For once in your very short, very stupid life, shut your fucking mouth.” He stepped off of the chain and used his grip on Katsuki’s hair to hit his head against the back of the chair one more time before releasing him roughly. The desperate look had disappeared, returning back to its previous anger. “Goddamn noisy bitch.” He grumbled.
Katsuki wanted to snap back. It wasn’t in him to stay silent. But Deku had given him a warning. Not just the overt warning, but the silent one as well. He wanted to ignore it, but he also knew better than to do so. He could remember his own words about Deku knowing these villains better than anyone else. It looked like Deku was trying to preserve Katsuki’s life rather than end it. And as much as Katsuki hated to get help from a villain - especially from the bastard who had betrayed him - he wasn’t stupid. He didn’t plan on dying here. He would wait for his opening.
He shut his mouth.
“Oh goodie, he learns!” Toga said, grinning as well. That was the second time she had said something like that.
“Haha, it’s like he’s trained!” Bodysuit said. “How lame.” He added in a different tone. Katsuki had to bite his tongue to stop himself from snapping back.
“As I was saying,” Deku continued, eyes lingering briefly on Katsuki before they skated around to look at everyone else in the room before reaching Shigaraki again, “the thing society hates more than anything else is senseless murder and violence. Especially towards children. We’ve already accomplished our goal. But if we kill one of the ‘prisoners’... or if the heroes find out that one of the children has been killed without much reason... then society will quickly turn against us once more. We will just be psychopaths in their eyes. Our point will be lost the moment we resort to just murdering him.”
There was a beat of silence while the others considered this. Then Shigaraki said with irritation, “Stain was able to murder plenty and still had his adoration.” He was scratching furiously at his neck. Deku walked over to him and slapped his hand away.
“Stop scratching; you’ll open your wounds.” Shigaraki glared, but did drop his hand to instead tap his fingers on the bar top. “And we’ve talked about Stain before. He was making a point with his killing. There was reason behind his actions. Other than your personal vendetta and my connection to Kacchan as a weakness, there's no viable reason to kill Kacchan. At least, the public has no idea why the League would kill off Bakugou Katsuki, the hero-in-training. He hasn't even done any kind of hero work yet besides interning with Best Jeanist.”
“He has a point.” Staples said. “People hate child killers. We’d have to have a public reason for wanting Bakugou dead, and we don’t have one.”
“So what do you propose, then?” Portal fucker asked. “Bakugou Katsuki cannot be freed.”
“Why not keep him as a prisoner, then?” Bun Bitch suggested. She was running her finger slowly up and down the knife that she had slit the clone’s throat with and kneeling with Bodysuit near where the clone used to be. There wasn’t any sign of the clone now. Did they get bored partway through or something?!
“A prisoner?” Shigaraki asked, voice trailing a little as he considered it.
“Yeah! Like,” she hopped up and waved her knife around casually as she spoke. Bodysuit leaned away from her when she swung the blade a little too close, “we keep him trapped here. And we can maybe send some broadcasted demands. Like an actual kidnapping? Then we can threaten to kill him!”
“Himiko-!” Deku started, and then stopped abruptly. “...Actually, that’s not too bad of an idea.” He nodded at her with a pleased smile and turned back to Shigaraki, “We show off that Kacchan is still alive. Give the heroes a ‘chance’ to try to save him. Get the hopes up of the heroes succeeding, and then let them succeed... after we’ve already killed him.” Katsuki’s eyes widened.
“And what if we don’t have that kind of time?” Staples asked. “The heroes aren’t idiots. And they’ve got plenty of manpower.”
“Then we’ll think of a plan B.” Deku said simply. “Tonight they’re not going to do anything. We just got kidnapped. The media doesn’t even know yet. We have at least 12 hours before any kind of counterattack plan from the heroes and police will form. And we’ll use that time ourselves. We’ll need to see how the heroes respond before we can do anything anyway.”
So Deku was still going to try to kill him. So much for preserving him. Was his training (or was it brainwashing? A quirk? How much of what he told Katsuki were lies? How much of this person in front of him was actually Deku? And how much of it was a mask? Where were the lines drawn? Katsuki didn’t know what to believe) so strong that his desires were overwritten? Or was this all just an act? Katsuki wished that he knew. He wished that he wasn’t dizzy and that his body wasn’t crying out for relief. He could barely think. His shackles felt even heavier. They wanted to keep him overnight, but Katsuki wasn’t completely sure he would survive his injuries.
“We’ll finish planning tomorrow then while we wait for the news to break.” Shigaraki decided, cutting through the hazy thoughts in Katsuki’s mind. “Deku’s idea isn’t half-bad. But I’m tired and I want to wait to see how the heroes react.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Portal fucker asked.
“There’s nothing else we can do tonight.” Shigaraki said. His eyes narrowed as he watched Katsuki. “We’ll store him somewhere for now and meet back here again tomorrow with the others. Let’s all watch the news together after we plan some more. Deku,” Deku straightened a little at the call of his name, “you and Himiko are watching over our... guest... tonight. And remember,” he stood up and approached Deku. Deku didn’t move from his spot as Shigaraki grabbed the boy’s chin, his other three fingers threatening to touch as well. Deku looked unphased and even a little bored at the threat, “if he causes any trouble, you’re the one that will suffer for it. And we don’t want that, right?”
“You know how much I love pain.” Deku drawled sarcastically before pulling his chin away. “I already know.”
“Himiko.” Shigaraki called, “If Bakugou tries to escape, you know what to do.”
“I hate guard duty.” She whined, but nonetheless got up. Portal fucker came around from behind the bar as Deku and Bun Bitch approached Katsuki. Darkness was already threatening his mind. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer. He didn’t struggle - knowing that any struggle now would be fruitless; it was better to save his energy - as his chains were pulled from the floor and held tightly by Deku. Deku’s eyes didn’t leave him as the black mist of the Portal fucker villain swirled and enveloped them. Katsuki closed his eyes.