Don't Be Afraid of Shadows (BakuDeku)

◅ Chapter 5 ▻

'Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings'
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

After asking a few more unanswered questions, the planchette laying still on the board, the Squad all carefully withdrew their hands and sat numbly in the heavy silence that surrounded them, Tokoyami blinking blankly from his seat by the closet as he took in the reality of what had just occurred. 

Shadow - Or Katsuki guessed it was 'Inko' now - didn't seem able to communicate with the Squad any further and the darkness usually held in the corner of Katsuki's room seemed to have disappeared in all the commotion.

"It's not there." Katsuki husked out lowly.

"What if... what if she's moved on?" Mina said just above a whisper, wiping her tear stained face and turning slowly to follow Katuki's gaze back into the now truly empty corner.

"It's-," Katsuki corrected himself, voice somehow horse despite not being overused, "She's moved before. We should look around the house."

As they all made to stand, limbs almost numb. Tokoyami addressed the elephant in the room.

"Is no one going to address the fact that the occult arts actually yeilded results? Or that there is the spirit of a murdered woman dwelling in your room?" He said calmly, despite his wide eyes.

Everyone looked to Katsuki for his response, his eyebrows pinching together as he stepped towards the shorter teen.

"You were the one who thought this shit would work, if you don't know why it worked then none of us fucking do," he growled lowly, "And honestly, with the emtotions seeping out of her all this time - anger, fear, despair, loss - need I go fucking on.... No, I'm not gonna stand here and be shocked that she was murdered here, because I'm not shocked. I'm fucking pissed actually, that we could've saved me and her years of pain if we'd only done this shit sooner. I'm pissed that I could've told the Squad sooner. I'm pissed that someone murdered a woman and no one seems to have even known about it. I'm pissed that-" 

He cut himself off, raising a hand to massage his temple, as he watched all of his friends look on empathetically. He was slightly overwhelmed by the fact that years of being surrounded by this otherworldly presence and being affected by its suffering had made him so sympathetic to it's unfortunate circumstances. Katuski had always had a strong sense of self. His moral compass may not always point true north, but he didn't like unfair fights and he always stood up firmly for the things he believed in or cared about. The way Inko had died may have been a mystery, but the fact that it was at the hands of her husband, that there was a son left behind to suffer the loss, really made Katsuki's blood boil because without a shadow of a doubt he knew this could not have been Inko's fault.

He lowered his raised hands to his hips, letting out a tired sigh. 

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. I won't be able to let it go. It's not just about getting rid of her anymore. If you guys don't wanna be involved, I get it, but fucking leave now."

No one moved a muscle, even Tokoyami simply stood resolute to indicate his continued involvement. 

"Ground rules," Katuski said, crossing his arms as he stepped back to glare at them all, "This isn't some fucking freak show, or a shitty joke. This shit is serious and we're gonna treat it that way. Which means no one tells anyone outside this room without my say so. Anything you discover you share with the group, and we don't half-ass this shit. Inko's son is out there somewhere with unanswered questions, her husband is still walking free, and I'm betting both factors are involved in getting her some kinda closure so she can move on."