Chapter Text
“Deku, on your right. Two in the alleyway headed East.”
“Copy. In pursuit.”
Green lightning crackles along his skin as he darts away from his partner. This was supposed to be a simple mission; infiltrate, gather information, perform a swift takedown. From there the police would handle the arrests. And sure, maybe asking Izuku and Katsuki, two of the loudest heroes with two of the flashiest quirks, to take on a mission that largely required stealth wasn’t the best idea. But Aizawa taught them well. They had been doing perfectly fine. Silent communication mastered by a lifetime of companionship. Subtle cues. Quiet whispers into their comms. It was going well. Perfect even. Until it wasn’t.
Izuku quickly reaches the end of the alleyway, breaking out onto the street in a blur of green. It’s late so there are fewer pedestrians in the area. The few stragglers unaware of the fight only a few streets over look at him with a mix of curiosity and excitement. He wishes he could stop and say hello. Offer up his signature smile. But he can’t. He has to focus. He turns to the left, making his way down the street, brushing past civilians in a haste with mumbled apologies as his analytical gaze sweeps the area.
There. Another corner. A dark car parked precariously. Something is tossed in the rear as the driver's door is flung open. With an ease Izuku didn’t realize he’s perfected he’s in front of the car in an instant, Blackwhip gently pushing nearby civilians further toward safety while Smokescreen provides a thick cover from the fight about to ensue. He slams his hands on the hood of the car, lightning flaring as he presses down until he feels the metal dent and hears the front two tires pop under the weight of One for All.
“Leaving so soon? I thought we were having a good time guys. Was it something I said?”
A fist breaks through the purple fog, a punch aimed for his nose. Izuku blocks it with an arm and grabs the offending wrist, twisting painfully. A quick kick to the shin has the villain on the ground, Izuku descending in a flash. He still doesn’t know where the second villain is, squinting through Smokescreen to try to get a location. He didn’t hear any hasty retreat or shouting. And danger sense is still shocking through his system despite the villain pinned under his knee. He reaches for his cuffs with one hand, the other rising to flick away some of the smoke for better visibility. But before he even feels One for All in his fingers a cold hand grips his face from behind and a slow blink later, his world fades to nothing.
–
“Clear. Deku, status report.”
Katsuki grumbles into his ear piece. He folds his arms as he waits, glaring down at the unconscious villains at his feet. He ran out of zip ties soon after using both his pairs of quirk cancelling cuffs and by then he still had five more villains dumb enough to fight him. It’s nearly a full forty minutes since he pointed out the runners to Izuku and he hasn’t heard a peep from his partner since. Katsuki can reluctantly admit that he’s worried. Deku is hard to beat even when he’s fighting quirkless but nobody is invincible, not even Katsuki himself. And with the severe lack of knowledge they had on all quirks involved it’s not impossible to think that his nerd could have gotten seriously injured if his chase turned physical.
“Oi, Deku. Answer me you jackass.”
He waits again as an officer finally approaches to deal with the downed villains Katsuki has been begrudgingly babysitting. He helps, more out of obligation than anything else, before brushing past the kind looking officer and approaching the nearby emergency vehicles. A quick check of the ambulances shows no sign of Izuku. He isn’t hovering near the cruisers, chatting with officers when he should be easing Katsuki's worries. The radio silence forces dread into the base of stomach, making him feel just a bit nauseous.
“Oi, True Man!” Katsuki shouts.
Detective Tsukauchi turns toward him, a small but exhausted smile in place. “Ah, Dynamight. Good work tonight. Any word from Deku?”
“I was gonna ask you that. Tried reaching out. Got nothing but radio silence.”
“Hm. That's not like him. Do you know which way he went?” Tsukauchi asks, a furrow to his brow.
“Yeah. Come on. Just us. Don’t wanna make this a thing if it turns out to be nothing.”
The two head down the alley, following the trail of little lightning marks left by Izuku’s quirk. They break through to the street quickly enough, both scanning the area. Katsuki turns left, picking up on the familiar, though faint, smell of ozone and lavender. The smell of One for All and Smokescreen. He follows, noticing the suspicious lack of civilians. Deku must’ve evacuated the area in a hurry, likely using Blackwhip to relocate people without getting distracted. Damn nerd.
On a corner at the end of the street he spots a dark colored car, two doors left open and hand shaped dents in the hood. The front two tires are blown up from force. On the ground nearby is a bit of blood next to a broken earpiece and what Katsuki immediately recognizes as Izuku’s scuffed mouth guard. He bends down, picking it up and staring at the chips along some of the grooves. Deku could probably use a refresher of his equipment. He’s been getting better at keeping his clothes on his body during fights at least.
“I’ll call this in. We’ll start with a sweep of the area and go from there. If we don’t find him by morning I’ll file an official missing persons report. We’ll try to keep this hush for as long as possible but I trust you to communicate with your agency. It won’t take long for people to notice the sudden lack of their number one hero on patrols and online.”
“Yeah yeah. I’ll handle it.” Katsuki whispers.
A gentle hand lands on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “You gonna be ok, Bakugou. I know you and Midoriya are-”
“I’ll be fine. Get out of my business and find Deku.”
Tsukauchi sighs softly above him and offers a nod. He steps away to speak over the comms, calling in for a search team and giving out orders to who knows who about who knows what. It’s all background noise to Katsuki, still kneeling on the ground beside that ruined car and clutching the abandoned support gear in a tight fist. This was supposed to be a simple mission. Fast and effortless. They were supposed to get it done quickly and finish their reports. And then they’d go home together. Fight over who showers first until they inevitably just decide to share. Katsuki would maybe tease a little just to hear Izuku's tired irritation and whines for Katsuki to stop, not in the mood. He’d steal Katsuki’s shirt with a giggle before crawling into bed beside him, safe in each other's arms.
Not this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This empty feeling of worthlessness. This fear. This unknown. Katsuki isn’t supposed to go home alone tonight, not knowing where Izuku is or if he’s ok. If he’s even alive. He’s not supposed to wake up in the morning and call UA just to tell them that their newest teacher won’t be in for a while on account of being a literal missing person. He’s not supposed to spend his days in silence, wondering when he’ll see his boyfriend again. He squeezes his eyes shut and brings the mouth guard up to his face, breathing deeply and hoping that when his eyes open again Izuku will be there with a smile and an apology on his tongue. He isn’t. And somehow that hurts more than dying did.
“I’ll find you, Zuku. Just wait for me, kay?”
–
When Izuku next opens his eyes his first thought is ‘When did Kachaan get out of bed?’ He blinks a few times, eyes adjusting to the light, or rather the lack of. The room he’s in is small, smaller than even his bedroom at home. There are no windows that he can see, only a large steel door across the small space. The smell of mold and iron taints his senses but he ignores it as he stands. Taking a step toward the door proves fruitless when he hears the sound of chains rattling behind him, a heavy weight on his wrist only just now registering in his still foggy head. He calls on One for All but nothing happens. No sparks or creaky bones. No shift in air pressure. Not even an ember warming his chest.
‘Quirk suppressants then. Not good. I have classes in the morning.’
Heavy metal scrapes against the floor in front of him and he lifts his gaze to a thin woman, hands covered by altered gloves similar to ones Ochako often wears when she’s off duty. He recognizes her from the fight he had earlier. Yesterday? How long has he been asleep? Behind her is the man he had pinned beside the car, arm wrapped tightly where Izuku remembers twisting it. Izuku can’t help the satisfaction in his chest at the sight. At least he’s not the only one that walked away from that fight compromised.
“You’re awake. And on your feet no less. That metabolism must be amazing. Let’s talk, shall we?”