The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

16

"Someone is feeling rather snappy tonight I see," Kyoka muses from the other side of the room where she's been sitting and listening, occasionally checking her phone and sending texts to Denki. She's now staring pointedly at Katsuki with eyes that seem to bore into him with unmatched intensity.

He scoffs and rolls his eyes, averting his gaze back to the report. "I'm just stressed is all," he murmurs, crossing his arms.

Shoto appears to be genuinely surprised as he shifts his gaze to look at his friend. He frowns and tilts his head, "I didn't realize the mission was that big of a deal to you. Is it really stressing you out that much?"

"No, you idiot. It has nothing to do with the mission, although I really am curious as to why we handed my alias out to the enemy like a fucking Christmas present, so can someone please just start talking about something that matters?" he grumbles.

All of his friends remain silent looking at one another as if to find out if one or the other might have any answers as to what's going on. If he had to guess, he'd say that the only one who might have anything close to an answer would be Kyoka. Eijiro and Shoto haven't really had the opportunity to see him interact with his newfound friends, aside from that dinner a few weeks ago. He doubts that even Kyoka would be able to make the correct assumption, but if anyone could at this point it would be her. Eijiro clears his throat, cutting through the silence. "It was brought to my attention the night of the attack that Shinobu has people rooted in one place or another all over town. He has them at the police station, schools, and even the local hospital. I didn't consider that to be anything major, more a reminder to just keep our guards up. Long story short, I went home to start writing a report on the situation and ended up at the hospital with everyone later that night. The entire time we were there, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I mean, there was nothing else to be done, we needed a hospital and there's only one in the area. I didn't see too much that felt off, but I figured it would be better to be proactive in this situation."

Kyoka nods, "So, it was more of a contingency plan?"

"Yeah, that's it. I had no way of knowing if anyone at the hospital at the time would be associated with Shinobu, but I figured it'd be better to cover those bases rather than be forced into an undesirable situation because of it later... not that this is ideal, either," Eijiro closes his eyes and exhales slowly, sinking further into his seat. "I just had a bad feeling about the whole thing, so I wanted to cover our asses is all."

"What if it backfires?" Katsuki asks, idly. "I mean, what if they get actual information out of that? I mean, they will, but what if we're not ready?"

Shoto rests his elbow and places his head in the palm of his hand. His eyes wander to Eijiro and watch him briefly before looking to Katsuki. "If I'm honest, I don't think that would be such a terrible thing," he answers. "I mean, think about it. He already has the upper hand in the fact that we have no way of identifying him yet. Not to mention that he has eyes all over town that we don't know about. I'm sure if we hadn't been found out at the hospital, it would've happened someplace else. Then, he has an actual way to control E and me. I know it's only so many samples, but that alone makes me feel sick. That night..." Shoto grows quiet, his hand falling from his face and clenching in front of him.

The redhead beside him reaches out for his boyfriend's hand and rubs over it soothingly with his thumb. Katsuki can see Shoto visibly relax, if only slightly. Shoto sighs, "My head is finally starting to feel clear although the effects of his quirk wore off at the hospital. I don't remember anything that happened during the time I was under his control. All I know is that I didn't use my quirk and that I was more of a distraction than a threat. The only reason I even know that is because of your report, Bakugo. Regardless of if he knows who you are or not, I don't think circumstances could get any messier than they already are."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Katsuki grumbles. "I don't like that they had Ena on their list of targets. It makes me wonder who else we're in connection to that may be on that list. Depending on that answer, things could get much messier. We need someone to find out more information on all of that."

Kyoka crosses one leg over the other and leans forward. "Got anyone you're particularly worried about?" she asks.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do," Katsuki quips. "I don't want them going after Ena, Akasuki, or Izuku. I don't want them going after anybody in town for that matter. What does he even want with these people?"

Eijiro finally moves his hand away from Shoto's, who has seemed to completely relax in comparison to the state he was in earlier. "Well, I don't think anyone knows exactly what he wants with Ena, but he's already started making moves on several others, and the reason for capture has been listed in all of those reports. Some people are priorities due to their quirks or access to resources. Others are liabilities and might be considered threats. But, Ena was only wanted for 'unspecified reasons.' Do you really think he'd go after her friends?"

"It's hard to say based on that information," Katsuki frowns. "I just don't like the feeling I have about all of it. It feels wrong like we're missing something and it's right under our noses."

"What do you suspect that might be?"

He shakes his head, trying to dismiss the swarm of thoughts that are threatening to distract him from the matter at hand for the time being. If he's honest, he's not entirely sure what he thinks it could be. It could be any number of things really, but no matter the case he just knows something is off . His eyebrows settle into a hard line above his eyes as his mouth twists into a sour frown. Focus. What's the real shocker here? What surprises me more than anything? What's been bothering me more than any of the rest of it all week? His eyes trail back down to the report and he sees it, Ena's name. He lifts the report reading over it meticulously trying desperately to knit-pick the information there. He tilts his head, "Do you really not know why he wanted Ena?"

"No, why?" Eijiro answers.

He grumbles, dropping the report back onto the table. "I don't like that he went after Ena. It makes me wonder, what if he's coming for Izuku too?"

"Why would you think that?" Shoto asks.

"Well, you heard Izuku the other night, he used to know Shinobu. What if Shinobu never took his eyes off of him? What if he's trying to get his hands on him, too?" Katsuki asks,

"What does that have to do with Ena, though?" Kyoka asks, looking up from her phone again.

He sighs. At this point, it just feels like he's forcing himself to make sense of it all, but he still can't shake the feeling that they want Ena because of Izuku. "I don't know it just makes sense. What if it's not just Ena, but Akasuki and his mother too? What if he's trying to rid himself of obstacles that would prevent him from getting his hands on him?"

The room falls silent, everyone trying to wrap their heads around the possibility of what Katsuki is saying. "What would he want with Izuku though?" Eijiro asks.

"Hell if I know, but I intend to find out."