Time Without You // kiribaku

Without You Part 5

Katsuki's leg was bouncing up and down as he heard Deku walk into the lounge room of the police station he was sitting in.

"Kacchan. I got you some tea to drink. It's supposed to be calming-" Deku was quickly cut off by Katsuki downing the glass of tea I one swig, wiping off his mouth and staring right at the other man.

"Alright then." He hesitated before sliding his own tea over to Katsuki, as well, and sitting down.

He watched as the other man took a few small sips, and rubbed his eyes again.

"Kacchan. Can you tell me what happened exactly? I mean, I know what you think you saw, but what happened before that?"

Katsuki hesitated for a moment, but started to recount the story. "I... after I flew off alone, I heard someone ask for help on one of the top floors of the place. It was faint, but I heard cries for help while I was running up the stairs." Katsuki shuddered.

"I just wish I got there sooner. Half of them were either dead, or knocked out. I couldn't tell..." he took another sip of his tea.

"I took out some of the lower level thugs in the main part of the floor. They weren't too much of a challenge, but what I saw next is the hardest to process, still."

Deku fiddled his thumbs, waiting for Katsuki to go on after he sipped his tea again.

"I saw another guy. Spiked black hair. Heavy duty uniform. Pretty much what you would expect a higher level thug to look like. But here's the kicker.

He was wearing the same mask as the villain that took Eijirou in the first place."

Deku sighed, placing his hands in his lap. "Kacchan... that probably wasn't the same mask..."

Katsuki stopped drinking his tea, shorting him an empty glare. "No, Deku. That was the same mask. I couldn't forget it if I tried." He trailed off, gripping his cup just a bit tighter.

Deku sadly looked at the man in front of him. "Well... then, was it the same guy that took him?" He knew that he probably shouldn't be indulging in Katsuki's grief, but something definitely happened up in that room before Deku got there. He remembered just how sacred Katsuki looked as his hands fell limply at his sides while he stared out the window to the building, his cheeks wet with tears under his mask.

"That's just the thing. It wasn't the same guy that took him." Katsuki explained, pausing to find how to phrase his next words.

"It was Eijirou."

"Wait. I thought you said this villain had black hair, though?"

"Yeah. He did. But trust me. That was Eijirou. One I didn't know, but still." Katsuki looked down at the tea in his trembling hands.

"...and it was like he didn't know who he was..." He wiped his eyes with his palm when he felt them well up again.

"Or who I was..." his voice trailed off as he thought. He felt some tears running down his cheek. Ones that he was too scared to catch.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I swear. It was him." Katuki's voice caught in his throat.

Deku sadly looked down at the table they were sitting at. "Kacchan. I don't think you're crazy. But this whole thing, it..." he trailed off.

He didn't want to get Katsuki's hopes up, but it hurt to see him like this.

Breaking down and crying in front of him.

He sighed again, smiling at the other man. "Hey, did you ever think about going to that party Yaoyorozu invited you to?"

"I- What? What does that have to do with anything we're talking about, right now?!" Katsuki asked, trying to yell at him, but his voice was simply too soft for his liking.

"It might get your mind off of everything. Kacchan... Kirishima went missing over a year ago. He probably wouldn't resurface now... unless he was flowing down that river..." Deku said, more bluntly than he wanted. He stood up and placed a hand on Katsuki's shoulder.

"Just... think about going?"

Katsuki angrily stared up at him as he thought about the other man's words, his eyes welling up a bit more than they had already.

"...fine..."

(Hey guys! Sorry for the short chapter, I just wanted to get something out. I'm sorry. I just hope this makes up for it, lol. Thanks for reading!)