I Can't Lose You Again - KiriBaku

Delicious info things:
Violence
Gore
Language
Maybe NSFW later, I dunno what I'm even doing here
MCD - but it's complicated? Parallel worlds exist, they both lost the counterpart from their world.
PH!Bakugou, Villain!Kirishima

“You’re going to have fun Ground Zero.” The voice is menacing in a way that makes his skin crawl. He doesn’t like it, he needs to create distance. An aimed blast should work but he can’t move. Why can’t he move? There’s no time to think when sharp pain floods his side.

The voice just laughs at him. Cold and calculating. It’s the last thing he hears before the world he knows swirls out of focus. It’s snapping back at lightning speed and it’s disorienting.

At a glance he’s standing in the center of a city, tall familiar buildings frame the area. It’s similar and yet somehow, very different. This wasn’t where he was before. He was in a warehouse, he had cornered a villain. He was doing his job. “What the fuck?!”

People are gathering around him. Whispers turn into something more. What starts as faint murmurs are now a cacophony of cheers and jeers. It’s hard to make out at first, clearly the uproarious behavior is directed at him but why. Where is he? What’s going on?

Why does everyone seem to hate him more than before? How was /that/ even possible?

The chanting gets louder, even harder to understand than before. Once again he’s given no time to think before a flurry of red is rushing towards him,

knocking him to the ground with a snarl. He’s being straddled and a claw-like hand is pinning his arms above his head while the other is dangerously close to his throat. “Who are you?” The voice growls. It takes several moments before recognition hits him.

There pinning him to the ground, with a look bordering on murderous is Eijirou. His unbreakable form is unmistakable. The jagged edges, the fierceness in his eyes. How he longed to see those eyes again.

The blonde wiggles beneath him, desperately trying to free one of his hands

It’s impossible. Ei’s gone. He’s been gone for years now. Yet here he was, moments away from killing Katsuki. He felt tension building like a tightly wound spring in the hand around his throat. But hidden underneath it all, he could feel the hesitation too.

He had to do something, say something. Anything. But the words were caught in his throat. Trapped beneath the hand holding him in place.

This wasn’t his Eijirou. Somewhere deep down he knew that. But the desire to touch his face only grew.

The physical need to pull him close building with each passing second. Were they still close here? Did this version of Eijirou love him? He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes at the thought. “Ei…” He finally managed to choke out.

The body holding him down tensed at the nickname, a flash of something behind the eyes staring holes into his head. “Ei, it’s me.”

The grip around his throat tightened, the clawed tips of Eijirou’s fingers drawing blood from his skin.

“Impossible!” He’s growling again, low and guttural, like an animal backed into a corner. “My Katsuki..” There was a brief pause and the blonde could see the sadness behind those beautiful ruby eyes. It hurt so much to see him like this.

He could feel it down to his core, tragedy had struck here too. “My Katsuki is gone.” The redhead’s voice cracked on the last word, tears threatening to break free.

He struggles again, somehow more desperate to get free than before but it’s no use.

The grip on his throat is tightening and it’s getting harder to breathe. “Eiji..” His voice is raspy and it burns to talk. It’s not long before the world shifts out of focus again and everything fades to black.

Just a little writer's note that I forgot to include at that top. QRTs fuel me. I love hearing feedback and would appreciate all comments be done in that format. Please don't break my thread with your enthusiasm. :(

As he drifts in and out of consciousness, sounds start trickling in. It starts with the sound of water.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Splashing against cement and telling him they might be in some kind of warehouse. Next is a faint buzzing, kind of like static. An old television perhaps? Did they leave it on to drown out their conversations?

He's vaguely aware he's surrounded but he's not sure by how many. Are they armed? They would be stupid not to be. But then again, he doesn't know who they think he is here. And what about their quirks? Could he take them on alone?

Katsuki struggles where he sits. His body feels heavy, like his limbs are filled with lead and his mind is still fuzzy. He couldn't fight now even if he wanted to.

His head lolls to the side as he inhales slowly. He can hear voices approaching from behind and he wills his body to relax. He needs to gather information, but he needs to play opossum to do it.

As the voices get closer, he starts to recognize them. The first sounds familiar but hey can't place why. They feel like some distant memory. The second he knows all too well to be Eijirou's voice. Even after 3 years, it's not one he can forget.

“Are you sure this is Katsuki?”

“Yes. I mean kinda? I know he’s not /my/ Katsuki. But you should have seen the look on his face, Mina. He looked like he knew me, like he was about to cry just seeing my face. Most of all he looked like he had seen a ghost.”

Ah, that makes sense. He hasn't heard her voice in just as long.

There’s a faint hum of acknowledgement that he now recognizes is coming from Mina.

“Aura says he doesn’t belong here. That there’s something different and out of place about him.”

“She says that about everyone.

He hears shuffling before a hand delicately grips his face, tilting it from side to side like someone is inspecting him. His eyes open slightly. The lighting is dim and he’s just barely able to make out the person in front of him, much less where anyone else is.

The hand tilts his head back and he catches a glimpse of bright teal colored hair.

“How bad is it Aura?”

“Well he’ll have some bruising on his neck for a while but you managed to avoid any long lasting damage and it doesn’t appear like any of these cuts will need stitches. I’m still impressed with your level of control Riot. You could have killed him.”

Aura drops her hand and his head falls forward. He wants to respond, to scream or yell, but his tongue feels just as heavy as his body; like it’s thickly coated in molasses and stuck to the roof of his mouth.

“Since there doesn’t appear to be anything else wrong with him, go ahead and put him back under Sandman. He seems coherent enough to understand what we’re saying.”

There’s a firm grip on his shoulder and somehow his body feels even heavier than before. The sweet embrace of sleep takes hold again and he drifts.

/“Mr. Ground Zero sir, there’s a call for you on line one.”

He grunts his acknowledgement while reaching for the phone. He isn’t even supposed to be in the office today. He’s supposed to be at home preparing for his anniversary dinner with Eijirou.

A gruff “Hello?” fills the air, followed by eerie silence. He tries again, “Hello? This better not be some punk ass kid trying to pull a prank.” He’s met with more silence and decides he’s just going to hang up.

His thumb is hovering over the ‘end call’ option when he finally hears it. “Kat?” Eijirou’s voice is soft but unmistakable. Something is wrong. He sounds… Pained. “Kat, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” There’s a wheezing cough and the line goes dead.

He’s staring at his phone, a look of complete shock has flooded his face. He’s not sure at what point he started shouting for the sidekicks but they’re staring at him expectantly. “Something’s wrong. Has Riot checked in?”

A small framed girl with wild magenta hair and matching eyes shakes her head no. “We haven’t heard from him all morning, sir.”

He doesn’t like this, Ei always checks in. It was one of the few rules they had. Check in and keep the other informed.

“What was his last mission?” He’s trying desperately to keep the panic he feels out of his voice.

The girl speaks again. “Just a routine check at a warehouse over on 6th.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing else?” Keep calm. Breathe. It’s not their fault Eijirou went alone, he always does this. Katsuki can’t go snapping at them now. They probably insisted on going and the redhead shot them down. Flashed a sincere grin and put on a good show.

“We tried to send someone with him, sir. He refused.” The words just barely invade his thoughts and he nods before shoving his way out of the room. “Send me the location I’ll go check this shit myself.”

The warehouse is exactly what he expects. Run down and in shambles. Why would Ei have come here of all places? There hasn’t been any villain activity in this area for weeks. Something must have caught his attention or a tip had been called in.

Those are the only reasons he can think of that his partner would be in such a shithole.

The inside reeks of mold and bleach. He makes a brief note of the bizarre combination before carefully venturing further in.

Even with light filtering in through the windows, the atmosphere is dimly lit. Shadows cast in various directions, obscuring at least half of the open space, allowing for plenty of hiding places. He probably should have brought a sidekick or two with him but it’s too late now.

His instincts keep telling him to leave, that something is very wrong and he shouldn’t be here, but this is Red Riot’s last known location. He can’t bring himself to leave without knowing why.

A rustling in the corner gets his attention and his eyes search the area. A rat scurries out from behind a box and quickly scampers out of sight. One hesitant step closer and his body visibly recoils.

There’s a peculiar smell coming from the corner and the closer he gets the more he understands what it is. The bleach from before had been used to mask the scent.

Either someone had done a botched job while cleaning or they purposely doused the area in bleach to mask the smell in case anyone wandered in. There’s no mistaking it.

Blood.

Warning! Graphic depiction ahead

Given how strong the smell is, there’s a lot of it, or there was. He can’t tell with how bad the lighting is. Another step forward and he feels a squish beneath his foot.

His stomach drops at the thought of a body being so close and he can’t see it. In a matter of seconds, he’s fishing out his phone to use as a light.

It takes all of his willpower not to drop his phone once he finally turns the light on.

Before him in a crumpled heap is what remains of the love of his life.

Eijirou’s once sparkling ruby eyes stare lifelessly before him. One hand outstretched clutching what Katsuki can only assume is his phone.

He’s dropping to his knees with no regard to his own safety; emotions hitting him all at once along with the thought that breaks him more than seeing Ei’s body.

Eijirou had called him before he died. He knew he was going to die and he apologized for it.

The tears flow freely as he takes in the sight before him. Eijirou’s body has been beaten. Chunks of flesh hang from his arms, showcasing the obvious fight he tried to put up after unbreakable fell. He’s missing fingers on his left hand and his face.

That poor beautiful face. Even in death, crusted over and caked with blood, he’s still somehow beautiful.

Katsuki cries, his whole body shakes from the force of his sobbing. He can’t hold it back, he doesn’t even try. /

Warning Over

He can hear screaming in the distance as the world slowly comes into focus. A voice nearby is calling his name but he can’t quite make out who it is over the sheer volume of the scream. It takes a moment to process that he’s the one screaming.

His voice is even more raw than before and his throat burns enough that he starts coughing.

“Hey, open your eyes and look at me.”

There’s that voice again. Why does it sound so much closer now?

His body sways in the chair and he tries desperately to open his eyes.

“Katsuki, look at me.”

He tries, he really does. But everything is so heavy and he’s still so tired.

There’s a hand gripping his face again, firmer this time.

“Open.”

He doesn’t even question, he’s too out of it to care. A straw slips past his lips and his tongue pokes at the strange intrusion. “It’s water.” The voice says quietly. Almost too quiet to hear.

He tries to nod despite the hand gripping his face and slowly sucks in water. It’s refreshing and helps soothe the burn in his throat. Finally letting go of the straw, his eyes open and he comes face to face with Eijirou once again.

The redhead drops his hand and Katsuki can’t help but miss the warmth. He fights the desire to chase it, doing so would only bring back painful memories and he’s not in position to deal with that right now.

Instead, he trails his gaze over the familiar man before him. He’s definitely bigger than the blonde’s version. He has a few more scars too; the one over his right eye extends down his eyelid to his cheek, like someone tried to overwrite the original

and there’s a fairly severe one that travels up his collarbone to the left column of his throat. His torso is littered with smaller scars and the hint of a tattoo peeks out from beneath one of his shoulder gears.

Katsuki casually wonders if he’ll ever learn the story behind each new scar, or if his life is doomed to end in this warehouse. If they were going to kill him, he feels like they would have done so already.

They wouldn’t have checked his vitals, wouldn’t have cared what his condition is. Admittedly, there are fates worse than death. He knows this. They could just be luring him into a false sense of security, just to string him up later.

Torture him just shy of death, only to stop and repeat the process once he’s healed.

He shifts in the chair, his eyes finally drifting up to meet the blazing crimson set that no doubt has been staring back at him.

Probably doing the same thing he’s been doing, taking in every little detail, every little difference. Reminding himself this is not the man he lost but someone else with the same face.

The silence is finally broken with a sigh, Katsuki watches Eijirou scrub a hand over his face before he seems to find the words he’s looking for.

“Why are you here?”

That’s the million dollar question isn’t it, why is he here? Better yet, where is here? He knows when he landed in the city that things seemed different. The buildings felt the same but there were little details that didn’t match with his recollection of the area.

Plus the whole, duplicate Eijirou thing felt like a dead giveaway that he was someplace else.

He shrugs in response.

“What were you doing before you showed up in the city?”

He’s not sure if he wants to answer any of these questions but there’s a nagging voice telling him to be honest. This is Eijirou and despite his reaction initially, he doesn’t seem to want to hurt him now. Plus, he’s pretty sure the redhead can tell if he’s lying.

“Fighting some low level asshole who kept causing trouble in the neighborhood.”

“Let me guess, you ran in with no knowledge of his quirk.”

A scowl falls over his features, is he that predictable?

“What’s it to you?”

God he sounds so bitter. He sighs and tries to apply a neutral expression. “He was supposed to be some shithead I could take out with one punch. Reports said he was quirkless or at the very least, had something passive and non-combative. I don’t even know what he did to me.”

“Describe him.”

“Hah?”

“You heard me. What did he look like?”

He thinks back to the fight. The guy was so nondescript that it’s hard to recall anything useful. “Kinda tall? Lanky as hell.” His brows furrow as he tries to remember more.

“Think his hair was grey? It was pretty long, I remember that much and he had this smug ass grin I wanted to blast off his face.”

There’s a long pause that causes him to get restless. He’s shifting in his seat again, pulling at the handcuffs that keep his arms in place.

Eijirou knows something, he can /feel/ it.

“Sounds like Regret.”

“Who the fuck is Regret?!”

“It’s not his official name, just what everyone has taken up calling him over the years.”

He stares expectantly at the redhead, fitting him with a scowl that reads ‘get on with it.'

For some reason that nets him a laugh and a genuine smile. “It’s uncanny how similar the two of you are.”

The laugh fills him with a familiar warmth that causes his heart to ache. He can’t keep this up much longer.

Can’t keep looking at Eijirou’s face, can’t keep interacting with him like this. Being in close proximity like this, being so close and yet so far away has emotions and memories rushing in from all sides. He needs to get out of here, he needs to get free.

He doesn’t even care that he has no place to go, he just needs to /go./

“As I was saying,” Eijirou’s voice is muffled, like he’s trying to talk while underwater. Katsuki tries to focus on what’s being said, but it’s no use, he’s getting lost in his own spiral.

Images of their life together flash in his mind. Early morning breakfasts, lazy Sundays, silly debates over who still has their chores to do. The little things he took for granted that he’ll never have again. The domestic life he had always secretly wanted.

He doesn’t even realize how much he’s crying and struggling against his restraints until a sharp pain shoots through his wrist where the metal cuts in. He finds the pain keeps him grounded and he presses his wrist against the metal a second time.

“It’s hard for me too.”

“Huh?” It’s like the words are on a delay, taking several extra moments to reach the part of his brain that can make sense of them.

“Seeing you. It’s hard for me too.”

He tries to scoff but it doesn’t sound quite right. His head is spinning and he needs to change the subject back to the villain.

“Focus Red, what’s the asshole’s quirk, does it explain why I’m here?”

Eijirou scratches at the back of his neck and sighs again. “It might? I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like his name suggests. People who have confronted him seemingly vanish and turn up somewhere else.”

How does that have anything to do with regrets, how is he teleporting people? How has he not been flagged as dangerous?

The redhead must sense his confusion because he’s trying to get Katsuki’s attention again by talking.

“The knowledge we have is vague and to be honest, I don’t know how much of it I trust. But from the handful of people I’ve talked to, they all say he forced them to face their biggest regret. Usually a person they’ve wronged.”

He slumps over while he thinks about the regrets he has. There’s no shortage of them; he’s been an asshole to a lot of people. Even more so since Ei died. The warpath he went on after his sabbatical wracked up quite a few all by itself.

But only one of them stands out among the rest; with every fiber of his being, he regrets not being there for Eijirou. He regrets letting him patrol on his own, he regrets not being there to hold him. Most of all, he regrets not being able to /save/ him.

“I guess it makes sense why it sent me here then. My Ei is dead and it’s my fault.”

Eijirou gives him a puzzled look. “What do you mean it’s your fault?”

This isn’t a conversation he wants to have but there’s no backing out now. He tells the redhead about the tip that had been called in, about the call Eijirou had made.

Everything about the warehouse and how he’s the one who found Eijirou. He even remembers to mention the message they later found scrawled on the wall overhead. The one telling him to ‘back off’ and that this was the price he had to pay for meddling in villain affairs.

Every painful little detail he can think of comes spilling out of his mouth before he can stop them and the more he talks, the wider the redhead’s eyes get.

“He called you as he was /dying?/”

He gives a solemn nod while staring at the floor. He’s too tired to continue talking but he can feel the questions bubbling up out of the redhead and he knows he won’t stop until he has answers.

“I don’t get why you think it’s your fault though.”

Katsuki stares at him in disbelief. Of course it’s his fault. He could have been there! He could have stopped it! Had he just caught the villains beforehand and not after, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“Katsuki, I know how I would have reacted in that situation and it wouldn’t have been any different from what he did. You can’t blame yourself, he was just doing his job. You both were.”

“But I-”

“Stop it. You’ve been carrying this guilt for what, 3 years?”

“Yeah, but I could have-”

“No. No buts. Shit happens that we can’t control but that doesn’t mean you failed him. It’s not your fault.”

They settle into a comfortable silence while he considers Eijirou's words. This isn't the first time someone has told him it wasn't his fault and he doubts it'll be the last.

Like the redhead had pointed out, he’s been carrying this guilt for 3 years.

That’s 3 years he's spent blaming himself. 3 years worth of nightmares and self doubt. 3 years of striving to be a better hero; one people can count on, one that can protect everyone. It doesn’t suddenly go away because of a few kind words.

He sighs and tries to roll one of his shoulders. “Let me out of the cuffs.”

His words seem to shock Eijirou out of whatever thought he is having because now he looks confused. “What?”

“Let me out of the cuffs. If you’re going to kill me, you don’t need to keep me restrained. I won’t fight it.” He’s too tired mentally and physically to fight. If this is his fate, he accepts it.

“Why would I-”

“You’re a villain right? That’s what villains do.”

“What makes you think I’m a villain?”

“Secrecy. Disgusting warehouse. Followers. Take your pick.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Then explain it to me, Shitty hair. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

“It’s a long story.”

He levels the redhead with an annoyed expression.

“You act like we don’t have time.”

Eijirou is silent for a moment before he stands and motions for the remaining people in the room to leave. The one Katsuki recognizes as Aura tries to question the decision but the redhead insists they’ll be fine.

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

The blonde grunts his response while holding eye contact.

“Katsuki.”

“What?”

“Promise me.”

“Fuckin’ fine. I promise. It’s not like you can’t take me anyway.” The last bit is quietly mumbled while he follows Eijirou’s movements.

Soon the cuffs are removed and he’s wiping blood off on his pant leg. His skin aches where the cuffs cut in and he finds himself absentmindedly rubbing at his wrists while Eijirou sits back down. He wonders just what kind of story he’s about to hear.

Tossing in a warning, things get a little intense coming up and a good bit of the dialogue is Eijirou recalling what happened to his Kat.

What could possibly justify turning to a life of villainy? He’s not given much time to dwell before the redhead is speaking.

“For the longest time I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be someone kids could look up to and others could rely on, like our mentors and the greats that came before us. I believed in the justice system and the heroes that kept us safe. It wasn’t until later that I realized, -

- I believed in an imperfect system that let bad guys slip through the cracks.”

“Kat and I had just come back from America. We spent days fighting off reporters trying to get the inside scoop about what we were doing. It wasn’t even anything major. -

- I wanted a vacation and he wanted to check out foreign heroes. They stalked us for weeks before he finally lost his temper and told them all to eat shit and die.”

A smug grin threatens the blonde’s face and he has to inhale deep to fight it off.

“Definitely sounds like something I’d say.”

Eijirou nods and smiles fondly. “He could be so rude and people still loved him. He had fans. Not as many as some of the other heroes, but they were devoted to him and his brand of rude insults and his explosive personality. -

- It took us a while to realize how devoted some of them could be.”

He pauses and gives Katsuki a curious look. “You ever get that feeling that you’re being watched but when you look over your shoulder, there’s no one there?”

He nods and urges the redhead to continue.

“Kat kept telling me, even with the reporters gone that someone was out there, watching us. I didn’t really believe him at first but then I started noticing it too. It didn’t matter how much we looked, we couldn’t find anything. I even suggested we file a report.”

“Let me guess, he told you he would handle it.”

“Mhm. A few weeks went by and the sensation only grew. It felt weird to be home, so we started staying with Denki and Hitoshi. Even a few times with Mina and Tetsu. Then the first package showed up. It looked pretty harmless, -

- kind of like a birthday present. The contents were nothing to write home about, mostly homemade things. Like someone had made cheap versions of his merch. I remember Kat blowing it to pieces because he ‘didn’t need some shitty extra’s gifts.’”

“We went a few weeks before another one showed up, this time at the agency. It was neatly wrapped with Kat’s name on the box and no return address. I still don’t know if it was hand delivered by a courier or the stalker. It had more of the same things from before, -

- like they were trying to impress Katsuki with their level of devotion. Once again he torched the box.”

“I’m beginning to sense a theme here.” He’ll never admit he would have done the same thing.

“I kept him from blowing up the third box. -

- I had to, the contents were disturbing and we needed proof that things were getting out of hand.”

Katsuki holds his hand up to stop Eijirou from continuing. “What do you mean by disturbing? Don’t tell me they sent you a fuckin’ pigs heart or some shit.”

Eijirou shakes his head and lets out a small chuckle. “Nothing that intense. The box had been filled with candid pictures of Katsuki. Hundreds of them, ranging from just walking down the street to some of our more .. intimate moments. I had never been so paranoid in my life, -

- so I took the box to the police station. You know what they told me?”

He huffs a humorless laugh before he speaks again, “They told me they couldn’t do anything about it. It was Kat’s call to file a complaint, not /mine./ Even though I was clearly in the pictures too -

- and it concerned my safety just as much as his.”

“That’s some serious bullshit, Ei.” The nickname slips out and they both pause. “‘M sorry. I didn’t-”

“It’s fine. It’s nice to hear if that makes any sense? Anyway, they told me a prohero should be able to handle their -

- own problems and that we didn’t need to involve local law enforcement. I knew it was complete bullshit, we were citizens just like everyone else and had just as much of a right to file a complaint.”

He pulls at his hair while he recounts the story.

“They even tried to convince everyone we were crazy, that we just wanted to stir up drama to increase our rankings. Can you believe that? Who in their right mind would risk their own safety for something like that?! Something as trivial as a /rank./”

“Then we started getting love letters in the mail. The person kept insisting they were the only one for Katsuki, that he’d love them back some day and it wasn’t long after that, that he went missing. He had gone out for groceries and never came back. -

- I spent weeks trying to find him. Trying to track down the person that took him. I dug up as much information as I could, even started doing questionable things just so I could find answers.”

“Finally got a lead on who it was. -

- A human trafficker by the name of Laz had helped some girl smuggle Katsuki out of the country. He was paid extra to look the other way and not say anything about Kat being a prohero. I’m not proud to admit I beat that man within an inch of his life.”

Katsuki’s eyes go wide at the implication. “You never asked the other heroes for help?”

“I tried. They thought he walked out on me. All of the faith I had placed in these people had evaporated in a matter of days. The public began treating me like a villain. -

- They caught wind of everything ‘illegal’ I had done trying to find him. My friends, my family. Everyone I had ever counted on had abandoned me. Except Mina.”

“A few months later, we found the girl. She had followed us from America just to get close to Kat. -

- Everything about her had my internal alarms blaring. She had been listed with the quirk gene, but her file said one never manifested. And we later found out she had relatives in the police force that she had been bribing to keep everything quiet and make us -

- look like the bad guys. When Mina and I finally managed to corner her, she claimed if she couldn’t have Kat, then neither could I.”

A long tension filled silence falls between them while Eijirou prepares for the next part. Tears threaten to spill down his cheeks when he speaks. “I never found his body. Just a knife with his blood on it and enough blood splattered in her kitchen to suggest he was dead.”

Katsuki’s stomach rolls and he stares at his hands. He can’t imagine living with the uncertainty. At least having seen Eijirou’s body, he knew for sure. He knew his love was gone, there wasn’t any room for false hope.

“So when you saw me in the city.. You thought he came back?"

Eijirou gives him a sad nod and sighs. “Some part of me knew it wasn’t possible. There was too much blood for anyone to have survived, even with his will to live. I knew he was gone.”

There’s still so much to process. Someone had managed to get the drop on his counterpart, something he had thought was impossible and it all led to more questions than he had answers for. He needed to start small, start with immediate concerns.

“I have a few questions. -

- First, what happened to the stalker bitch?”

“She’s in prison. The evidence against her was damning enough that they finally had to believe me. Kidnapping, assault, murder, bribing the police force. She’s looking at a life sentence behind bars. Next question?”

“Are you actually a villain or more of a vigilante? I know you Eijirou, doesn’t matter what version sits before me, I can’t see you just killing people for the fuck of it.”

The redhead hums quietly while he contemplates his answer. “I guess it depends on who you ask? I won’t hesitate to defend or protect my friends, but I’m not going to needlessly rampage and kill swarms of people.”

“Have you killed anyone?” The question spills from his lips in a rushed breath. He’s not even sure he wants the answer but something compelled him to ask it and now he can’t take it back.

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“Do you really want the answer to that?”

No. He doesn’t but he nods his head anyway.

“Four.”

That’s both higher and lower than he thought it would be. He wants to press further, he wants more details, he wants to know just what those four had done to deserve death but he has another question in mind.

“What do you plan to do with me, now that you know I’m not your Katsuki?”

“That’s entirely up to you.”

“Hah? It’s not like you’re going to let me walk out of here. So what, I get to choose how I die?”

Eijirou snorts, he actually /snorts/ and Katsuki has to fight the urge to lunge at him and punch him for it.

“Do you really think I’m going to kill you? After everything we just discussed?”

“Fuck if I know. You could suddenly decide to have one of the extras do it.” He dismissively waves in the direction of the door.

“No. No one is going to kill you, but you’re right. I can’t let you roam around freely. I can’t risk you getting picked up by anyone or worse.”

“Then what Red, gonna lock me up in some shitty dungeon?”

“It’s more of an observation room? Either that or I take you home and…” His voice trails off. They both know the risks that come with the second option.

“Unless you wanted to come home with me?” Katsuki notes the small glimmer of hope in the question. As much as he wants to say yes. Good god, does he want nothing more than to spend time with Eijirou in a setting where he’s not being watched. He knows better, it won’t end well.

“No. Just take me to this observation room or whatever, I just want to sleep, this shit has been exhausting.”