Fuck You, Pay Me!

17. Nostalgia

Shouta and his son share a look with one another to which Hitoshi shrugs and avoids his father's narrowed gaze.

"My son hasn't disclosed any of this to you?"

"Are you kidding me? It was like pulling teeth just to get him to tell me his favorite color."

It's expected, Shouta thinks to himself. Hitoshi has been trained to be as secretive as possible and it's nearly impossible to simply drop habits like that from memory. Katsuki must really be special to have gotten any info out of him at all. Shouta himself doesn't even know what Hitoshi's favorite color is.

"Well...I guess I kind of have to tell you now." The mercenary sighs, reaching down for his pockets for a cigarette when he remembers that he's still in his underwear. "Alright, well. The girl we're after is, uh, what people in Chisaki's business like to call exotic merchandise. It's sick, yeah, but there are a bunch of sick fuckers willing to pay top dollar for her. She's fifteen years old so if we don't get to her now, we won't be able to save her." He begins,"Same with you. You fall right into that category. So does your friend Shouto but he's, ah...protected. You were supposed to be protected, too, but Midoriya fell short on his end."

"This about that disgusting, sex-trafficking bullshit? What do you mean exotic ? I was born and raised right in the next few towns over---"

"Your parents weren't. More specifically, your mother. Same with Shouto's mum. And our target's mother as well. You don't know much about your family history, baby, but you're born from rare blood."

And just like that, Hitoshi drops a bomb on him and continues on without even giving him a moment to absorb and consider what he's being told.

What the fuck does he mean by rare blood ?

"I've been hired to save the girl by eliminating the Hassaikai but that in itself is a job unable to be done---not by one man. But I can kill Chisaki and that's just as good. Without a leader, they're useless and they'll fall apart on their own. I just have to make sure the girl is rescued first. As long as he has her, he has the upper hand. Leverage."

"Didn't take you as an altruist." Shouta comments and Hitoshi huffs out a cynical laugh.

"Altruist? I've sacrificed enough for this job and it's gotten way too outta control for me to stop now and walk away empty handed. I want my check."

"Hitoshi, are you fucking serious? You want your check ? This is a human being; she's more than a fucking meal ticket." Katsuki points and Hitoshi groans in annoyance.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Kat. The fuck you want me to do, put on a cape and save every poor damsel that needs saving? It's not my fuckin' job and even when it was, I knew that I couldn't save everyone. I know you have this complex about doing the right thing or fuckin' whatever but you're gonna learn really quickly that shit just doesn't work that way, alright?"

Katsuki's jaw snaps shut, tense as Katsuki tries his best to stop his trembling. He's breathing heavily through his nose, unshed tears stinging at his eyes as he glares angrily in Hitoshi's direction.

"Really fuckin' convenient for me then, huh? I'd be in her shoes right now if you hadn't decided you wanted to keep me as a fucking pet."

Hitoshi sighs, resting his palm in his hand as Katsuki hastily stands from the table.

"Kitty Kat..."