(Sin)namon Rolls

Chapter 2: kAcChAn

The room was silent except for the whir of the air conditioning and the sound of my foot tapping against the floor. Uraraka had instructed me to sit in the chair on the side of the table farthest from the two-way mirror. She told me I wasn't going to be interrogated— that they "just wanted to have a little talk with you, Izuku. That's all." How the League of Villains managed to perfectly replicate a police station's interrogation room, I didn't know. But that was what it was: an interrogation room, not a "little talk" room.
I was anxious to find out who my questioner would be. Asui was the only person I thought I could handle. That was only because she hadn't given me any reason to fear her over the course of the month I'd spent with the League. I'd been scared of Shoto since the first time I saw him. Iida wasn't quite as overt with his intimidation, but his enigmatic nature made him all the more a menace. Uraraka... I couldn't even put the feeling she engendered in me into words.
The door opened. Asui walked in. I breathed a sigh of relief. She sat down, folded her arms atop the metal table, and smiled at me.
"How's it goin', Deku?"
The tapping stopped. I stared at her in bafflement. All of a sudden I felt like I was going to cry.
"How... how do you...?"
"How do I know the nickname Kacchan gave you? Long story short, we do our research. Ribbit."
"What did you do to him? Is he here? Is he hurt? Is... Is he..." I cut myself off when I noticed that a smirk had crept onto her face.
"You sound worried."
I couldn't tell if that was a question or a statement.
"I-I'm not. I just... I..."
I blenched. I knew they were analyzing me. This wasn't an interrogation, it was a test of my emotional restraint. I wasn't expecting Kacchan to be brought up. Moreover, I wasn't expecting to be so shaken when he was. But I needed this. I needed to prove to them that I was capable. I blew out a sharp breath through my nose.
"I'm not worried," I said.
"Oh? Well, let's say, hypothetically, that Kacchan was here. And we hypothetically had him locked up somewhere. Somewhere dark... somewhere cold. And, uh... I don't know, maybe he was being hypothetically subjected to a vile smorgasbord of torture. Maybe his hypothetical earsplitting screams were of your name. Maybe his hypothetical clothes were soaked through with a hypothetical amalgamation of his own blood and tears. And maybe the only hypothetical rule his tormentors had to follow was that he be kept alive just enough to ensure each agony inflicted on him was felt as acutely as the one before it. ...Then, hypothetically, would you be worried?"
My shoulder blades were digging into the tinny back of the chair. My hands clenched its armrests with white knuckles. My chest rose and fell in short, irregular beats. I could hear my breaths coming out in tremulous puffs. I wasn't blinking. I couldn't speak. Nor did I need to. She knew very well what my answer was. Nevertheless, she raised her eyebrows expectantly, prompting me for a verbal response. I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and took another.
"No," I lied. "No, I wouldn't be worried."
I wasn't even fooling myself. My voice came out wobbly and fragile. I was holding on to the chair as if I'd be launched into the stratosphere if I let go of it. My eyebrows knitted together as I tried to concentrate on concealing my weakness from Asui. She visibly cringed.
"Yikes," she said. "Well, what happens next is your fault. Just remember that. Ribbit."
She pushed her seat away from the desk and stood up.
"Wait... wait, what's going to happen to me? What did I do? I'm sorry. I'll try again. Please, just let me try again. I'll do better. I promise. Asui, please!" I begged as she walked towards the door. She opened it and stopped.
"I told you to call me Tsu," she said without turning around. She walked out and closed the door behind her.
I turned my gaze down to the silver-colored surface in front of me. A warped reflection of my face looked back at me. My hair was a mess— more than it usually was, at least. I was pale. My lips were chapped. I scowled at myself and slumped back in the chair with crossed arms. There was a knock at the door.
"Uh, come in...?" I answered dubiously.
I shot out of my seat when I caught sight of the person who entered the room. I stared at them, breathless and emotional.
"Kacchan..." I said in a quivering whisper.
I covered my mouth when I felt myself beginning to tear up. I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could.
"Kacchan, I'm so sorry. I- I miss you. I really miss you!" I was crying, loud and ugly. "I wanna go back. I'm scared. I'm so scared. I miss Mom. I miss her everyday. And-and you..." I choked on a sob. "Please, Kacchan... get me out of here!" I wailed.
Kacchan let out an eerie laugh. My eyes widened. I lifted my head from his chest and looked up at him. He was smiling maniacally. His eyes were devoid of rage. His cheeks were flushed.
"K...Kacchan?"
"Hey, Deku," he drawled.
He grabbed my waist and yanked me closer to him. I fumbled to catch myself. A very un-Kacchan look of lust overcame his features. My heart was pounding. I was at an utter loss.
"Wh-wh..." I cleared my throat. "What are you doing?"
He chuckled and forced me even further forward.
"Just having a little fun."
He tried to kiss me. I shoved my hand over his face and pushed him backwards. His back hit the wall. He tilted his chin up at me with a pleased grin.
"You're not Kacchan! He would never do that! Never! So, who are you?!"
The imposter sighed in defeat. They started to... melt? I yelped and reached out for the edge of the table.
"It's a Quirk," I mumbled to myself in awe.
A girl with sandy-colored space buns revealed herself. She didn't appear to be much older than I was.
"Hi! My name's Toga!" she exclaimed with an enthusiastic wave. "I like you - you're real stupid," she said thoughtfully.
She strolled up to me with her hands behind her back. She got so close that I bumped into the table.
"...and cute," she added.
I squeaked.
"That's enough, Toga. I can take it from here," I heard Iida say.
"Aw! But we're having so much fun!"
Toga pouted, adjusted the hem of my shirt, and skipped past Iida out of the room. Iida stepped in. The door shut behind him. I sat back down slowly, trying to prepare myself for the consequences of my actions. Iida took the other chair. I did my best to mimic his exemplary posture in the hope that it would make me feel even the slightest bit more confident. Surprisingly, it did - just barely, but it was something.
"So, you don't want to be here anymore, Midoriya, is that right?"
My heart skipped a beat. I felt the blood drain from my face.
"No... No. I was just saying that. I didn't mean it. I thought... Kacchan was here, and I... I wasn't thinking about what I was saying. It was nothing. Just a slip up. I want to be here. I do. There's nothing I want more."
"It seems an awful lot like you want Katsuki Bakugo more."
"No! I don't! He's..." I straightened up in my chair. "He's the enemy," I said. "He's a hero. And therefore, he is my enemy. That's what he is. Nothing more."
Iida hummed indifferently. "I would appreciate it if you stopped lying, Midoriya."
"I'm not lying."
"Mm. There you go again."
"I'm telling the truth! Kacchan is... he's nothing. I don't care about him. Honestly, I don't."
"If he walked through that door right now, and I told you to kill him, could you do it?"
"I... I..." I winced and grunted in frustration. "I don't know! Okay?! I don't know! I don't know if I could kill my childhood best friend! I'm not sure! Is that what you wanted to hear?! Is that truth enough for you?!"
Iida propped his elbow up on his forearm to stroke his chin. He looked upwards in thought.
"...'Childhood best friend,'" he mused. "That doesn't line up with my intel at all."
I stared at him in confusion.
"I was under the impression that he was your childhood bully."
"Well... he-he was, but—"
"Then why is this so difficult for you? You're acting like he wasn't already your enemy to begin with. What was your reason for coming here again? Wasn't it that you... 'lost your will to live'? And whose actions led you to that point, exactly?"
"Kacchan's..." I meekly admitted.
"Who was it that told you to kill yourself that day? Forgive me, I'm blanking on the name."
The pieces began to connect. Reality was unraveling.
"...Kacchan."
"At whose hands did you suffer without end for fifteen years?"
"Kacchan's."
"Who denied you the happiness you were owed?"
"Kacchan."
"Who stripped you of your worth?"
"Kacchan."
Iida stood and slammed his hands down on the table. "Who sought to undermine your prosperity at every turn?!"
"Kacchan!"
He circled around the desk, hands authoritatively clasped behind his back. "Who is at fault for your fall from grace?!"
"Kacchan!"
"Who ruined your life?!"
"Kacchan!"
Iida stilled behind my chair. He clasped my shoulders firmly.
"And who will pay for the injustices done unto you?"
I smiled at the prospect of retribution. "Kacchan."
•••
[4 YEARS LATER]
"Ground Zero saves the day yet again! The number one hero spoke with reporters after a successful rescue this morning to give a glimpse into the life of the new Symbol of Peace."
"Ground Zero! Tell us: how much pressure is there on those broad shoulders of yours?"
"Pressure? Pfft. I could do this job in my sleep."
"Oh, of course, of course! Zero, I have to ask... is there a special someone you'll be meeting under the mistletoe this holiday season? The world is dying to know!"
"I'm allergic to mistletoe. And don't call me Zero."
I clicked the TV off.
Since our base's relocation following the discovery of the League of Villains' hideout, I'd been living in an apartment on my own. We were forced to set up shop in a rundown warehouse on the outskirts of town. HQ wasn't so much a base of operations as it was a dump. Uraraka found a place to live nearby, but the rest of the League's members were pretty evenly dispersed throughout the city.
I felt someone's hands wrap around my abdomen and a chin rest itself on my shoulder. It was too early for me to physically react so I simply muttered, "Fuck off. I'm armed."
Their breathy giggle brushed against my ear.
"You're not armed."
An extravagantly manicured hand held up a knife in front of me.
"...anymore," they said.
I craned my neck to look at the brave soul who not only dared to hug me before 8 A.M., but also managed to disarm me without my knowledge. I frowned at the woman's face. I had never seen her before in my life.
"Are you trying to, like, mug me or something?" I asked.
"What? No, it's me, Himitsu," she said.
I waited for her to elaborate on that.
"From last night...?"
"Oh! We slept together! Yeah, I remember you! Eh, six out of ten. Give me back my knife and get out of my apartment. Please."
She stepped away from me and handed me back my weapon. She picked up her shoes from beside the door and shot me a vexed look as she opened it. I gave her a sardonic smile and a tired wave. She flipped me off and slammed the door. I jumped a little at the noise.
I dropped the knife on the coffee table and collapsed onto my living room couch. I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed Uraraka.
"Requesting permission to commence Operation Defuse," I said immediately after the ringing cut off.
"Permission granted."
I grinned. "Finally."