Crossroads (An Evil Deku Fanfic)

Chapter 24: Somehow

So at first, I intended this to be the final chapter but turns out there're going to be a couple more. Thanks, you guys, for reading and (hopefully) enjoying the story so far! ~Author-chan

Katsuki POV:

It was all over the news for weeks.

YOUNG ASPIRING HERO, RED RIOT, CAPTURES NOTORIOUS VILLAIN DEKU!

DEKU FINALLY DEFEATED?! RED RIOT TO THANK!

LEARN ALL ABOUT RED RIOT, THE BRAVE YOUNG HERO WHO APPREHENDED DEKU!!

As his boyfriend, I have to say that I was proud of him. We didn't know how he did it, and he couldn't tell us. He was too busy being interviewed. I was proud of him, but I also felt empty. I should have been the one to defeat him. I should have been the one to arrest him. But I wasn't. I didn't care about the fame, but when I wasn't mentioned at all when they talked about Deku, it stung like crazy. I had been the reason he was a villain. I wasn't proud of this, but I was a tremendous part of his life and was a huge influence on Izuku.

We were able to go back home and leave the shelter, so I was back in my room, scrolling through news articles. Yesterday, I asked Eiji if he wanted to go on a date, and he said no to go to an interview. When I found that interview, I wanted to watch it.

"You were present during a lot of Deku's severe attacks. Did he know you personally? Did you two have a certain beef with each other he'd want revenge for?" an interviewer asked.

Eiji, hesitantly, told him, "U-um... No. In fact, I hardly knew anything more about him than anyone else. My um... friend, though, knew him. The two of them grew up together, and Deku might've had some... bad experiences from being quirkless in this society we live in. Um, he wanted to take his revenge on my friend, so that's why I was present during his attacks."

...Friend? Is he afraid to admit to our relationship? Eiji, you missed our date to do this interview, and all I'm credited as is 'Friend'?! Thoughts raced through my mind as I watched the interview.

"Is this friend of yours some kind of bully that was mean to Deku?"

"...he might've been. In the past. But he's a good person now! He's a really good, kind person. When he changed and became the good person he is, Deku realized it and stopped his revenge."

Eiji won't even say my name...

"Katsuki?" His voice crackled over the phone, "Hey, listen, I'm really sorry about the interviews. Everything feels so crazy now. I know that you actually have a lot to do with his story, but it's hard to tell them. Also, Deku wants to speak with you, according to the police, so you and I can go whenever you're free, okay? Katsuki? You there?"

"Yeah."

"...Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I gotta go, okay? Bye."

"Okay, I lov-"

I hit END CALL before he finished. I didn't know if I could keep listening. I laid back on my bed and stared up at my ceiling. I took a deep breath and sighed, trying not to think about everything, but couldn't help it. The Villain Deku had been contained and Eijiro was my boyfriend, so why wasn't I happy? I felt so... insignificant all of a sudden. Everyone's still making a big deal out of Deku and his allies, and everyone's making a big deal out of Eiji. I'm just... nothing anymore. I was going to be the big hero who stopped the villain, I was going to be... well, at least something. Something more than just the other guy. Izuku proved to me how different the world would be if one small thing changed, but what would really happen to the world if I were gone? Not much.

Not much at all.

Well, maybe some things. But I'll never be the 'main character'. That'll always be Izuku. Always be somebody else. Somehow, it's always somebody else. No matter how much I stand out, somebody always shines brighter. I just set the bar that they fly past. Isn't that right?

"Katsuki!" Eijiro ran up to me, grabbed my face, and kissed me. "Katsuki, you haven't answered your phone in forever! I keep calling you and texting you, but you don't respond. Are you okay?" He rubbed my cheek with his thumb, but I took his hand off my face.

"I'm fine," I brushed past him and buried my hands in my pockets, "Let's go see Izuku."

"...a-alright..." He said. 

We walked into the ominous prison Tartarus, escorted by a guard. Eijiro tried to hold my hand, but I kept them both in my pockets, so he just walked next to me. The prison was a giant, black building with no windows. It was made of metal all the way to the top and we had to cross a long bridge to get to it. When inside, it was a maze of ominous steel and cold shivers that felt like whispers. It was almost scary, just the thought of all the villains that are in this one building. But the thought of little Izuku being the most heavily guarded made it seem easier to deal with.

"Katsuki..." Eiji whispered, "Can I hold your hand?" He sounded scared. I cursed myself for having been ignorant toward him because he had been a better hero than me. I held his hand and he practically squeezed the life out of mine. He was shaking.

"Look, are you a man or aren't you?" I sighed, "If you're really a man, then this is nothing more than just a metal building with some people in it. Okay?"

"Mmhm..." He nodded, still shaking.

I wasn't good at making people feel better, so I just bit my lip and held his hand tighter. It, for some reason, made me feel needed and special. I stood a little straighter and walked a little swifter as if leading Eiji along.

The guard led us into a side room that was locked. "There he is." The guard told us in a deep voice, aiming his weapon at a window. There was Izuku, as promised, on the other side of the glass. He had a muzzle thing, wires and cords all over his head, a blindfold around his head and eyes, and cuffs chaining him to the walls. He was dressed head to toe in an off-white robe that fell to his knees and off-white pants. His hair was longer and not as wild as it simply slumped over his face. He looked like... he had spent all of himself on his evil life and not saved anything for what comes after. The guard told us, "He's immobilized. But even though he is, don't go in. It's too risky. There's a microphone right there if you want to speak to him, and his thoughts will show up on that monitor." He pointed to the monitor in front of us and the microphone above it.

The guard left the room and stood outside the door. Eiji and I stared at the monitor. Two words popped up:

Hello Kacchan.