Chapter Text
Chapter 11
Izuku tried to focus on something other than his shoulder. It screamed at him, probably because his weight was on his elbows, and Izuku wasn't going to be moving until his target reappeared. It was inconvenient he'd disappeared into another room the moment Izuku's rifle was ready and loaded.
Putting aside the pain, Izuku focused as Snipe finally exited his bedroom and could be seen in his kitchen through the window. Izuku shut one of his eyes, looking down the sight of the rifle he had braced against his good shoulder, and lined up the shot perfectly. Izuku then pulled the trigger without hesitation. One round into the torso to down the Hero, and then Izuku discarded the weapon to jump across the roof and through the kitchen window.
Izuku never liked jumping through windows, the glass was unpleasant to land on and left little stinging sensations even through his thick and protective Villain costume. He also knew the tiny bullet hole in previously mentioned glass wouldn't make much of a difference either. Nevertheless, Izuku dove through the window, shattered the glass fully, and rolled to standing.
On the floor of the kitchen lay the Hero with a bullet hole in his right lung, exactly where Izuku wanted it. Not a shot that would kill him immediately, but bad enough that he'd be dead after just a few minutes.
"Oh my dear Snipe, you fucked up." Izuku whispered. He took off his mask and hood, showing off the Shifted face he wore specially for the occasion. The same one he'd used when he'd accidentally showed Eraserhead and Tsukauchi that one time.
His eyes were a ruby red, and his hair hung by his ears in messy blue strands. Across his face were the same marks of the skin condition that plagued Tomura's face but worsened, making Izuku look like a younger and softer version of Tomura.
"You–" Snipe choked, blood wetting his lips as he quickly found his lungs filling with blood. Izuku grinned, widening his eyes to achieve the same crazed look Tomura produced naturally.
"Nobody hurts my brother and gets away with it." Izuku stated. Snipe choked again, writhing as life left him, and Izuku pulled out a knife. "May your death be more beautiful than your life, Hero."
Izuku drove the knife straight into Snipe's right eye, digging it in with a ruthless laugh as Snipe started screaming. With his punctured and blood filled lungs, Izuku found the sounds the Hero who shot his brother made were beautiful. The way the blood from his bullet wound poured across the flooring and the gore from his punctured eye that was thrown everywhere as Izuku yanked the knife out was deeply satisfying.
He was covered in blood and gore, they both were, and Izuku couldn't help the delighted laugh that bubbled up and out his throat. There wasn't anything better than being showered in an enemy's blood. Well, except maybe Todoroki's Quirk.
Tossing the knife on the floor, Izuku didn't even care that he'd wasted a perfectly good knife. The Heroes would appreciate having the main murder weapon right in hand, and Izuku was nothing if not considerate.
He left then, taking his rifle with him, and left only Snipe's mangled body, the knife, and a note.
Justice has been served.
— — — — —
"How many times do I have to remind you that you're grounded?" Inko put her hands on her hips, and Izuku wilted in the face of her disappointment.
"Once more, I think." He muttered.
"You know this means Quirk Suppressants, Izuku."
"But Snipe deserved it!" Izuku protested vehemently, "I won't leave the base again, I swear! I won't use my Quirks either!"
"You're right, you won't." She sighed, and Izuku clamped his mouth shut as his Mother went to retrieve the Quirk suppressants from the closet. He hated Quirk suppressants!
"How long do I have to wear them?" Izuku asked with a scowl as she returned.
"Until you're dropped off at the station after your 'kidnapping' is over." Inko replied, and with a beckoning gesture Izuku trudged closer so she could bend down and lock it around his left ankle.
"This isn't fair." Izuku crossed his arms, looking away. His Mother sighed as she straightened.
"This is fair." She said, "Tomura is grounded too, and he's been wearing his Quirk suppressant bracelet since yesterday, after Tsukauchi left."
"That's different!" Izuku exclaimed, "He only has one Quirk anyway!"
"Izuku, we let you remain without them because you promised not to use a single Quirk. You broke that promise, and on top of that you left the bar. That's not okay, Izuku." Inko gave him a stern look, crossing her arms, and Izuku sighed in frustration. "Oh Izuku, I know you hate them, but it's only a few days. Tomura has to wear his for two full weeks for staging the kidnapping, remember?"
"I remember." Izuku huffed. He took a deep breath, blew it out, and then sighed. "I'm sorry for sneaking out."
"Thank you, Izuku." She smiled, "Now, I'm pretty sure your Dad wants to check your shoulder in case you reinjured it. That rifle has some harsh recoil." Izuku winced, and she gave him another stern look. "Kurogiri!"
A whirling portal appeared, and Izuku stepped through in resignation. He stepped out into his Father's study, his Dad sitting on the couch. He patted the seat next to him, and Izuku reluctantly headed over to sit beside him.
"Because you've already spoken with your Mother, I'll say nothing on the topic of your little escapade last night." Hisashi said with a little amused smile. It made Izuku wilt slightly anyway. "Now, show me your shoulder."
Izuku sat still as his Father unwrapped the wound and rebandaged it, checking that it hadn't worsened. Izuku had been lucky; he hadn't needed any stitches. Still, the bandaging process was obscenely complicated. Because it was a shoulder wound, they had to wrap the bandages around Izuku's shoulder, torso, and partly his collarbone to keep everything in place. Izuku hated it, but there wasn't a more effective way to wrap a shoulder. When they were finally finished, Izuku sighed.
"Thanks." He mumbled.
"Of course, Izuku." Hisashi wrapped an arm around him, and Izuku leaned into the side hug, dropping his head on his Father's shoulder. "Even if I don't approve of you breaking your grounding, I will say I'm proud of you."
"What?" Izuku straightened, looking up at his Dad with wide eyes.
"You defended your brother." Hisashi smiled, but it was coupled with sadness. "That's something I never learned how to do. Not properly, at least. I'm glad I was able to raise you two to care about each other as siblings should."
"You have a brother?"
"Had." Hisashi corrected, and Izuku inhaled sharply.
"I'm sorry." Izuku whispered.
"Don't be, it was a very long time ago." His Father sighed, "Apologies, I shouldn't be digging up the past. Tomura's watching the news again, would you like to join him?"
"No thanks, I want to go to my room." Izuku wanted to be alone for a while.
"Alright." His Dad smiled, "Kurogiri, Izuku's room at the bar, if you please."
"Of course." Kurogiri nodded slightly, and a portal opened.
"See you at dinner." Izuku waved briefly to his Dad, and he stepped through the portal.
He hated being grounded.
— — — — —
Tomura grinned at the TV, leaning forward over the bar as if it would help him absorb the information better.
"This is great!" Tomura laughed, "Zu, have you seen it?"
"Is it more of the same woman or something new?" Izuku asked, glancing up from his puzzle. It was a rainbow gradient with a thousand pieces, and he was only halfway done. When he looked up, he found that the TV showed Nezu making an announcement about the break-in, new security measures, and the exact number of arrested criminals; but he was also making sure to talk all about the League of Villains. "Oh, it's UA. Nothing about my supposed kidnapping?"
"Must be because of the deal." Tomura shrugged. "They'll probably wait to see if I give you back. If I don't, then they'll admit to losing a student."
"Interesting approach." Izuku nodded, "When am I going back? It's been two days, right?"
"Ah, now's fine." His brother shrugged. "Kurogiri!" A portal opened directly behind Izuku, and Izuku shrieked as Tomura just shoved him through without warning.
Izuku slammed into a floor, but he didn't know where. They hadn't discussed it because Izuku was sure he'd have another day, maybe even two! He immediately groaned in defeat.
"Can you stop with the portals!?" Izuku yelled at the purple mass as it dwindled. "Jesus Christ that was mean. Where the hell am I now?" He rubbed his bruised hip and looked around, freezing when he recognized his surroundings.
"Midoriya?" There was a mummy standing in the middle of the police station.
"Aizawa-sensei??" Izuku exclaimed, recognizing what little he could see of the man. "Jesus, are you alright?" It hadn't occurred to Izuku that the man wouldn't have been healed by Recovery Girl after the USJ. Evidently, her Quirk must have a limit, and Aizawa's injuries must've exceeded that limit. By quite a lot, if the bandages were any indication.
"Someone get Tsukauchi, tell him Midoriya's back." Aizawa said to a random officer, and he immediately knelt down at Izuku's side. It was awkward with his bandages, but apparently determination to be on the floor won over his injuries. "Are you injured?"
"Sir, I could ask you the same thing." Izuku grinned, but he sighed when Aizawa gave him a disapproving glare. "Fine, yes, my shoulder is fucked up."
"Midoriya!" Tsukauchi appeared, and he also knelt down where Izuku was still sitting on the floor, leaning back on his uninjured hand. "Can you stand?"
"Yep." Izuku accepted the hand Tsukauchi held out to him, and was pulled to his feet promptly. His shoulder twinged at the movement, and he didn't bother hiding his wince.
"I'll call Recovery Girl." Aizawa said firmly.
"Midoriya, with me." Tsukauchi beckoned, "We're going to an interview room. I'd like to talk about what happened during your kidnapping."
"Okay." Izuku sighed. He followed Tsukauchi down a few hallways and through the station. They didn't speak as they walked, so Izuku thought over what he'd say and how he'd answer the questions. Obviously whatever he said would become the truth, but what that truth was mattered.
Izuku recognized the room he was eventually led to, and he had to resist a grin. It was the same interrogation room he'd been brought to when he was arrested as Drop Off. Tsukauchi seemed to realise it too as Izuku sat down and gave him an innocent smile. The man shuddered.
"Can you state your name and Quirk for the record in the presence of my Quirk: Truth?" Tsukauchi prompted as he set the red blinking recording device on the table. Izuku double checked that Quirk Immune was activated before he replied. The Quirk Suppressant was only so powerful, which meant he could slip most mental Quirks past it. Otherwise his parents would've had it removed before shipping him off to be interrogated.
"Midoriya Izuku, Quirk: Push and Pull." Izuku replied easily, looking down to fidget with his fingers as if he were nervous.
"Can you tell me about the USJ?" Tsukauchi asked. Izuku nodded, still looking at his hands as he started picking imaginary dirt from under his nails.
"I was thrown into the Water Zone with Tsu, my classmate. I… don't actually know her full name. Anyway, she saved me right away." Izuku said, trying to remember clearly. They'd probably interviewed her already, so he couldn't get anything wrong. "We got to the boat, and we made a plan for me to be a distraction so she could take out the Villains."
"Okay, thank you Midoriya." Izuku looked up, confused as Tsukauchi interrupted him, but the man waved him off. "We already have her full statement, so we just needed to check your memory of the beginning before moving on. What happened directly after you disappeared, calling for Shinsou Hitoshi?" Izuku frowned, looking back down at his lap.
"I landed somewhere. I hit the ground pretty hard, and my vision was spinning from hitting my head."
"How did you hit your head?" Tsukauchi asked for clarification.
"Shigaraki was holding me by my hair, which hurt by the way, and when his hand was shot he released me." Izuku explained. "My neck was at a bad angle, so when he let go my face just slammed into the ground." Izuku pushed back his curls to show then the scabbed-over injury, which looked worse than it was. Abrasions always scabbed badly, no matter how serious they were.
"Thank you." Tsukauchi nodded, jotting something down on his notepad. "What happened next?"
"They put Quirk suppressants on me. It's an anklet, which I'd like very much for you to remove." Izuku said it a little pleadingly, and he didn't even have to fake how much he hated it.
"I'll make sure to do that after the interview." Tsukauchi assured him. "What happened next?"
"I was in some kind of bar." Izuku frowned in thought. "There weren't any windows, just wood floors, a bar, a liquor wall, a TV, a couch, and two doors. People came in and out one door, so that one must go to the rest of the building, and the other was definitely an exit." He felt bad for telling the truth, but his Dad had said it was okay… it wasn't home, and it wasn't the apartment, so supposedly Izuku was allowed to talk about it. Still felt like he was betraying his family though.
"Did they keep you there for all three of your days there?"
"It was two days." Izuku corrected, making Tsukauchi blink. "One full day, which was Wednesday. It's Thursday, probably some time after noon. The USJ was on Tuesday, a little before noon. That's two days. Shigaraki probably thought it was three because it was Tuesday to Thursday."
Honestly, Tomura was an idiot.
"I see." Tsukauchi cleared his throat, eyes flicking from Izuku's eyes to his notes, "So, what happened in that time period?"
"They treated me like… a criminal on house arrest?" Izuku tilted his head in thought. "If I asked for food, or water, or the bathroom, they let me have those. They let me walk around that one room, the bar, but they didn't really speak to me or acknowledge me otherwise. It would've been completely unremarkable if not for the Villain in black."
"Tell me about the Villain in black." Tsukauchi said, narrowing his eyes.
"He came and went a lot, going in and out of the bar room and only stopped to really check on Shigaraki." Izuku paused when Tsukauchi pulled a file out of his coat and opened it.
"Midoriya, is this the Villain in black?" Tsukauchi prompted, sliding them over to Izuku.
There were mostly blurry images of him, as Drop Off, from street cameras. A few of them, however, were higher resolution images from the police cameras set outside. In those shots, Izuku was dropping Villains off at the front door.
"Yes." Izuku nodded. "How did you know?"
"You're sure?" Tsukauchi pressed, making eye contact with Izuku.
"I'm absolutely sure." He said firmly. Tsukauchi narrowed his eyes, but he nodded and collected the photos again. "So you know him? The Villain in black, I mean."
"We've been calling him Drop Off." Tsukauchi answered. "What can you tell us about him? Every little thing is important, don't skip anything."
"Well, when he first showed up it was to help Shigaraki with the bullet wound." Izuku said thoughtfully, "He wrapped it, and he wrapped my shoulder too."
"That was the injury you got from Nomu?" Tsukauchi clarified, and Izuku briefly deactivated Quirk Immune.
"Yes." Izuku lied. Tsukauchi narrowed his eyes.
"That's a lie, Midoriya." Izuku pretending to shrink back a little.
"Well… really it was All Might." Izuku admitted, fauxly sheepish. He ascribed Quirk Immune again after that. "I don't like him, so I figured, if I said he did it, you'd be angry with me."
"I'm not angry." Tsukauchi sighed, "Alright. Continue. Did you see Drop Off again after he bandaged your wound?"
"Yes." Izuku said, "He came back covered in blood one night, and he said 'Justice has been served' to Shigaraki. He seemed… happy."
Tsukauchi paled considerably, which meant they'd already found Izuku's little mess he'd left them at Snipe's apartment. How marvellous!
"Thank you, Midoriya." Tsukauchi nodded, swallowing thickly. "Is there anything else you can remember?"
"Oh!" Izuku exclaimed, "Shigaraki called the Drop Off guy his brother. He was talking to the portal guy, Kurogiri? He mentioned 'his brother' who I think is Drop Off. I could be wrong, but I don't think so."
"I appreciate that." Tsukauchi nodded, but Izuku could see his fingers trembling slightly as he jotted something down. "Okay, I have one more question for you. When you arrived, you were complaining about portals. Were you portaled around a lot?" Izuku faked a shudder.
"Whenever I asked to go to the bathroom, Kurogiri would drop me through a portal onto the floor of the bathroom so I didn't see how I got there."
"Can you elaborate on your dislike of the portals?" Tsukauchi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Was it unpleasant? Painful?"
"It was mean." Izuku huffed. "He'd drop me several inches off the floor. It wouldn't hurt me, but I hit the floor hard, like, every time, and never landed on my feet." Izuku didn't even have to fake his annoyance. Kurogiri had been doing it for years. Tsukauchi just sighed.
"Is that everything?" Tsukauchi asked with a frown.
"I think so…" Izuku said after a small pause. He was pretty sure he'd covered everything.
"Thank you Midoriya. Stating for the record, Midoriya Izuku remained honest the entire duration of the interview, apart from the one called out incident." He reached forward and clicked the button, deactivating the red light, and pocketed the device. "Follow me please."
Izuku was led out of the room, and Izuku blinked when he saw Aizawa and Recovery Girl step out of the room next door: the viewing room behind the mirror.
"Dear, let me see your shoulder." Recovery Girl said, and Izuku pretended to be a little embarrassed as he pulled his shirt off. In truth, he didn't particularly care. "This is a professional wrapping job. Whoever did this is skilled."
"It was Drop Off." Tsukauchi said flatly, "When did you join us?"
"Near the end, when Midoriya was talking about the possibility of relation between Shigaraki and Drop Off." Aizawa replied tiredly.
Izuku was paying more attention to Aizawa than Recovery Girl, so he jumped a little in surprise when her lips stretched freakishly far to kiss his shoulder. He shuddered as exhaustion hit him.
"Ew, what a drawback." Izuku complained, but when Aizawa reached over to completely unwrap the bandaging, Izuku felt no pain when he rolled his shoulder. "Nice Quirk though." Might be worth picking up, someday. Hopefully he could get it before she died of old age. He couldn't Steal from dead bodies.
"Let's get that Quirk suppressant off you." Tsukauchi cleared his throat.
"Oh yes please." Izuku exclaimed, and Tsukauchi bent down to take it off. He knew his Dad used the same kind the police station did, buying them from the same production company, so Tsukauchi's key fit the lock and unlatched it. "Thank you."
"Midoriya." Izuku looked at Aizawa, who was glancing at his phone. "Your family is here." Izuku gasped dramatically and turned on his heel.
He didn't wait for their permission, Izuku sprinted down the hallways he recognised to return to the lobby. The two men followed him, but Izuku didn't care as he caught sight of his green haired brother.
"Mura!" Izuku yelled dramatically. His brother whipped around with a grin.
"Zu!" Tomura opened his arms, and Izuku jumped at Tomura without hesitation. He buried his face in his brother's chest with a sigh, like he hadn't seen him in days instead of an hour ago.
"Police are exhausting, kill me now." Izuku muttered. "Much less fun than last ti– OOf!" Inko joined the hug, wrapping one arm around Tomura and one around Izuku. Both boys laughed as their mother teared up.
"Thank you for coming." They broke apart to look at Tsukauchi, Aizawa standing a few feet behind him.
"Of course, Detective." Inko smiled, wiping her eyes. "I'm glad Izuku can come with us back to the apartment." Izuku was glad she hadn't said home, that would've been a lie. The apartment wasn't home.
"How the hell did you get out?" Tomura exclaimed, mockly interrogating him. "Which irresponsible Hero made up for losing you in the first place?"
"Actually… the League sort of let me go?" Izuku laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head with false sheepishness. "They kept me for one half day, a full day, and this morning. They laughed about being on the news, and then just shipped me off to the station." Izuku shrugged.
"It was very generous of them to give you to the Heroes." Inko said, kissing his head. "Do you want to go home?"
"I'd love to go home." Izuku smiled sadly. Tomura put a comforting hand on his shoulder, knowing exactly what Izuku meant, and their mother's sad smile matched Izuku's.
"Can we go back to our apartment, Detective? Eraserhead?" Inko asked, glancing at both men.
"Yes, Midoriya has already given his statement." Tsukauchi nodded. "Thank you again, Midoriya. You're exceptionally honest." It had a suspicious undertone that made Aizawa sigh, and Izuku deactivated Quirk Immune with a grin.
"I'm an angel, Detective Tsukauchi. Obviously." Izuku stated. Three things happened all at once, and each was equally amusing to Izuku; one, Aizawa choked on nothing and hid it with a cough; two, Tomura immediately put a hand in Izuku's hair to ruffle it with a scoff that made Izuku pout; three, Detective Tsukauchi tapped his thigh twice in signal of a lie with a heavy sigh.
"So it would seem." Tsukauchi sighed out. "Have a good day, you three." Izuku waved happily and then headed out with his family.
The doors of the station behind them closed firmly, and Tomura snickered quietly all the way to the car.
"Tsukauchi really hates you." He grinned as they climbed into the car, making Izuku pout.
"I know." Izuku groaned, "Can't he just forget he ever saw my face? Like seriously!? I'm minding my own business and this man dares to correctly accuse me of Villainy? Harassment!"
Tomura's cackles filled the car, and soon enough they were all laughing messes. It wasn't home, but it was definitely the next best thing.