The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

13

The door swings open, Ena leaning through the threshold. "I'm about to take the trash out. I'll be back in a minute."

"Yeah, sure," he waves dismissively. He takes a moment to appreciate how peaceful the store is with no customers and no coworkers in the room next to him hastily washing dishes. He hears the printer finally start putting out the report, bringing him back to reality. He stands up and walks out of the office, preparing to start working on the stock, as the report will take a little bit of time. He closes the door softly behind him as he hears a muffled voice calling out from somewhere outside the store. His body stiffens as he tunes in to the sound of the voice, trying to listen for it again. He starts to make his way toward the front, about to walk out to the area behind the counter in time to hear the voice again. "Katsu! Get your ass out here!" it yells, shrill and panicked.

He runs through the store and outside to the sidewalk to see someone dragging his coworker into the alley on the other side of the store. He rushes to the place where they struggle immediately grasping onto one of them tightly and punching the other one square in the jaw. It knocks him back a few steps, enough for Katsu to shove the other one away with ease. He can see the other one start making their way back toward him. Ena and he realizes that they've come with a goal in mind. Dammit. Just perfect. "Ena, get your ass inside and lock the doors now! Find my phone and call Enmei, tell him what's going on!"

"Are you crazy!?" she shouts.

"Are you!? I told you to do something, just do it!" he yells as he feels someone's arms wrap around his neck, placing him in a chokehold. Fucking amateurs don't know who they're dealing with.

He feels his body being dragged back into the alley as his captor shouts at his accomplice to go get the girl. Where have I heard that voice? His desperate attempt to try and place the voice costs him a few precious seconds, the opening to the alley more distant from him than it was before. He juts his arm out, propelling himself back with a blast. The body behind him slams into the wall at the back of the alley. His captor releases his hold on Katsuki, giving him the opportunity to make his way back to his friend. By the time he makes it upfront, there's a huge break in the glass. He's gotten in , he realizes, rushing inside through the break in the glass that was left behind.

His pace quickens as he makes his way to the back where he's sure Ena has holed herself in. He turns the corner to find the culprit kicking the office door in. There's a loud yell resounding from within the office as Ena shouts profanities toward them. Katsuki runs toward the masked figure and tackles him to the ground, trying to refrain from using his quirk too much, as to not give himself away. The two ram into the wall on the other end of the room, Katsuki moving quickly to pin the person beneath him. His fist rears back, preparing for impact. "I hope you're paying for my overtime, bastard!" he shouts, bringing his fist down only for it to make an impact with the ground.

Within the instant that his hand meets the ground, he finds it covered in ice. What the hell? He pulls his arm back without hesitation, trying to land another punch only to have it stopped with the strong grasp of the bastard who'd tried to pull him into the alley. Goddammit. Eijiro should be here by now. What the hell is taking him so long? "Let go of me, you cocky shit!" he fumes, trying to pull his arm away.

"That wouldn't be very productive, now. Would it?" the stranger beneath him taunts. "Just let us grab what we came here for and we'll be on our way."

A shiver runs down Katsuki's spine at the realization that overcomes him. That voice, I know it. Why the hell does it sound so different though? Why does it sound so numb, so empty? Surely, I'm imagining it, right? There's no way because if I'm right that must mean... Shit, this is bad. This is really bad.