Trouble (SeroDeku)

Chapter 14

"Damn, I was almost hoping you were dead." Shigaraki had barely looked up from the glass in his hand as Izuku entered the room. "You took an awfully long time, dog." 

Izuku had swung by his apartment on the way, needing to switch his sweatshirt out for one without a hole. Shigaraki and Chisaki weren't aware of his resurrection quirk and he'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible, indefinitely even. It had cost him a few minutes, but he was already running so late he didn't think it'd matter. 

He shrugged, feigning indifference. "I wasn't sure how long you would need to get out, I was just buying time." 

Shigaraki's piercing red eyes flashed to the shorter man, a sarcastic smile plastered on his cracking lips. "I don't believe you." 

Chisaki released a drawn-out sigh at his partner's words. "I don't have time for your petty rivalry. I assume you're here for a girl, yes?" he asked, turning to Izuku. 

"Obviously," he responded through gritted teeth. He never lost control of his temper like when he was around those two. He had to constantly remind himself why he was there, why he was doing it. 

"Well, we wouldn't want to keep you waiting," Chisaki said with an air of authority to him. The villain felt untouchable and Izuku wanted nothing more than to prove him wrong, but not yet. That would come after he made sure Hanta's family was safe. 

Chisaki waved a hand toward one of his underlings, who disappeared through a side door. "It'll take a moment, why don't you sit and make yourself comfortable?" 

"No thanks," Izuku said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Chisaki's brows lifted at the answer, his mask crinkling from the smile Izuku knew hid behind it. "Oh, did that sound like a question? It wasn't." 

Shigaraki nodded toward the couch in front of them. It was new after Izuku torched the last one. "Sit, dog."

Instead of taking a seat, Izuku leaned his forearms against the back of the couch, keeping the furniture between him and the other villains. "You're certainly getting comfortable, Shigaraki," he pointed out, at least faintly amused by how invincible the man thought he was. Both of them were getting too cocky for Izuku's taste. 

"You don't scare me, Deku," Shigaraki said with a croaking laugh. "You forget I had front-row seats to all your lessons." 

Izuku's eyes narrowed into slits. The reminder of Shigaraki seeing him so weak was unsettling, but ultimately that's all it was. He would never again get to watch as Izuku fell apart because there wasn't a person alive who could manage it. Shigaraki hadn't been the one with the power to imprison and torture him, and Izuku had made certain that the one responsible was dead and gone for good.  It would never happen again and one day Shigaraki would pay for the role he played in it. That thought was what allowed Izuku to keep going. 

Izuku studied his hands and the scars that marred them. They were a physical reminder of everything he'd done and gone through in his short life. 

"There's been exactly one person who has ever successfully held my leash, Shigaraki, and even he ran out of time. You should keep that in mind as you move forward with whatever it is you're planning," Izuku said in a dull voice as memories of those lessons with his father surfaced. They weren't pleasant by any means, but they brought him a sense of peace. They reminded him that there was an order to things, an order he could exploit and take advantage of, just like he had before. 

Shigaraki's deranged cackle rang through the otherwise silent room. "Oh, trust me, I'm well aware of what happened to my master and don't intend to repeat his mistakes." 

Izuku internally cringed at hearing the word master. The title was all anyone used when referring to his father while he was growing up. It had been years since he'd heard it. 

"And what do you think his mistakes were?" Izuku pushed, curious about what Shigaraki's twisted little mind had come up with. 

The side door opened once again and the same thug appeared, this time pulling Emiko with him. The girl's frightened eyes searched the room before landing on Izuku. The villain had expected relief from her, like Haru, but instead, all he saw was dread. 

"It seems your treat has arrived," Chisaki mused, watching Izuku carefully for any reaction he may have. 

He didn't give the other men the satisfaction, just stood up straight and held a hand out toward Emiko. The meeting had already lasted longer than he thought it would and he knew that Hanta had to be losing his mind. 

Izuku's temper flared as he watched Emiko turn toward Chisaki while looking uncertain. The villain gave a short nod before the girl took hesitant steps toward him. Akira and Haru had both been relatively unaffected by captivity, but that didn't appear to be the case with Emiko. 

Just another thing for Izuku to add to his ever-growing list of things to kill the men for. 

Emiko reached her hand toward him, pausing just before the two made contact. Her dark eyes flashed up and Izuku felt his stomach drop. Something was wrong. 

"We all missed you after you stopped coming to the house with Hanta," she whispered, looking so sorrowful Izuku found it hard to swallow. "Haru and I wanted to look for you after we graduated, did you know that?" 

He couldn't figure out why she was telling him that now. They were still in the heart of the compound, Shigaraki and Chisaki watching their interaction like hawks. "You can tell me about it later, I have to get you home first," he mumbled, hoping she'd understand the severity of the situation. She was only in her first year of high school, maybe he'd been too optimistic about her ability to handle the trauma she'd been through. 

"I'm sorry, Izuku," she said before taking his hand. 

Izuku's eyes widened a fraction as he realized her quirk had been activated, locking their hands together. His instincts kicked in and his flames sparked to life, heating his hand rapidly. Haru and Emiko had almost identical quirks, if heat had worked with Haru there was a good chance it'd work on Emiko. 

Before his temperature could climb high enough to mess with the glue, Emiko pulled his arm toward herself, shoving a needle in his shoulder and pushing the plunger all the way down. 

"I'm so sorry," she repeated, tears forming in her eyes as Izuku felt his flames sizzle out with a soft hiss. "They were going to hurt Hina, I had to. I'm so, so sorry." 

Izuku's eyes widened in panic, not being able to call his fire. He reached for One For All, but couldn't even find it or any of his other quirks. This was nothing like when Aizawa had erased his quirks in the paste. He could still feel them, they were still there, just locked away, but now... 

They didn't even exist. 

"What were you saying? Something about not being able to hold onto your leash?" 

Ugh I'm so madly in love with this fic. Sorry for not updating yesterday, but I worked an opening shift and then smoked right when I got home and I cannot write this fic stoned.