The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

5

The tension in the air between Katsu and the woman remains palpable, despite neither one of them caving in and saying anything since their last exchange. Even with just that short exchange, Izuku can't help but feel the tiniest bit upset that Katsu never mentioned he had a fiancee. Stop it. We're just co-workers. He doesn't have to tell me about his personal life if he doesn't want to. Co-workers don't pry. Co-workers aren't jealous of their co-worker's fiancees. Co-workers mind their own business. "I think I'm going to go," Izuku mumbles, setting the bags down.

The woman looks over at him and tilts her head. "Who's this you got here, hon ?" She says the word almost as if she intends for it to be venomous, but Katsu doesn't seem to notice or care.

Katsu sighs loudly, "This is Izuku, he's a... friend. "

"A friend, huh? You're making some already? I didn't know you had it in you," she teases. "Come in, we need to talk." She turns on her heel and walks toward the living room of her apartment. She walks over to the kitchen and grabs a couple of cups of tea, handing one to Izuku and the other to Katsu, who immediately sets his down on the counter. She looks to Izuku and smiles, "Feel free to make yourself comfortable, I just need a moment to speak privately with my fiancee, if that's okay."

"Yeah," Izuku smiles. "Whatever you need. Thank you for your hospitality."

The woman takes Katsu's hand and Izuku finds himself having to look away as she takes him back to her bedroom. Moments later, the door shuts behind them and Izuku is left with nothing more than the sound of the tv playing.

***

Katsuki locks the door behind them as the woman turns on some music in order to deter anyone who might be listening on the other side of the door, not that Izuku would do such a thing. He mumbles to himself furiously before pointing his attention to the woman. Sparks ignite from the palms of his hands briefly before he speaks, "What the hell was that, Kyoka? Fiancee? Really? What are you doing here?"

Kyoka sits on the edge of her bed, twirling her earphone jack around her finger as she chews on a piece of gum. "Don't get your panties in a twist, I wasn't happy with the cover story either," she sighs. "I mean, you and I engaged? I don't think we'd really suit each other all that well. We do well enough as friends."

"What did Kaminari have to say about all this?" He grumbles, taking the seat on the far side of the room. "With you going undercover and all?"

"He wasn't too thrilled since we have an actual wedding to plan and all, but he knows what we got ourselves into. No big deal as far as the job itself is concerned. He has something coming up too," she explains. "Anyway, the commission sent me ahead to kind of help you out, I guess. They say you're taking too long to start gathering intel."

"It's been less than a week, they can't be serious," Katsuki groans. "What else did they expect? They sent me out here with basically nothing to go off of. It's not like it's easy to just find someone who doesn't want to be found, small town or not."

"Like I said, that's why they sent me," she answers. "Have you gotten anything on this guy yet?"

Katsuki frowns, leaning into his seat. "Not really, I have a general idea of where his head of operations might be, but it's hard to say. There are several places in town with the potential to be running something nasty under the table. Regardless, even if it wasn't too many, it's kind of hard to narrow in on one place with only one person here. If I go to the wrong place without the proper preparations in place, I run the risk of Shinobu getting smart and hauling ass."

"Yeah, I don't think the commission was really thinking too clearly when they sent you this way," she sighs. "In any case, I just wanted to let you know I was around. By the way, who is that guy, really? Izuku, you said?"