Encounter

"My apologies, young heroes," he says, turning his gaze toward Izuku. "My daughter and her friends get carried away sometimes, the two of them are quite the pair of little troublemakers." His eyes shift to the two girls. "It's time to go back now."

Eri clutches onto Izuku, refusing to go. Eri's small hands grab the fabric of Izuku's hero costume tighter, and she keeps her face deliberately turned away from the alley. Her arms are wrapped neatly in white bandages. Glancing down, Katsuki sees that her legs are similarly covered, from her ankles to the hem of her skirt. 

The other girl, turns half around, the frame of her body visibly shaking. She takes one hesitant step toward him and then another, but looks back over her shoulder at Eri. 

Katsuki wants to stop her. In his head, he knows it's dangerous, and making the wrong move could arouse suspicion. But without thinking, he starts to shift into a fighting stance. Togata drops a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He gives Katsuki an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Katsuki forces himself into a more casual posture.

"You three are new faces," plagueface comments. "Which agency are you from?"

Katsuki opens his mouth to say something in response, but Togata cuts him off, which is probably for the better (he wouldn't have been able to keep the anger out of his voice).

"Yeah, we're pretty new–just a bunch of young grasshoppers." He laughs, and it only sounds a little forced. "We should get back before we get in trouble," he says.

Plagueface looks away from him, his attention turning to the girls once again.

"Come to me." His voice is unsettlingly cold, and the fingers of his right hand twitch. His left settles on the other girl's shoulder. It's only then that Katsuki notices the heavy black gloves he's wearing. 

Slowly, Eri turns to look at him. Her eyes widen in terror. She still clings onto Izuku, but her hands tremble. "No," she says in a small voice. "You can't. You wouldn't–not Nao-chan–"

"But without you, I have no reason to keep the other children from their parents."

It's just barely noticeable, but he squeezes the girl's shoulder. Katsuki knows Eri sees it, too. It's such a small gesture, but Katsuki's blood runs cold. He knows what a threat looks like, and he can only guess what the man is actually threatening to do.

Almost immediately, Eri lets go of Izuku. She hesitates for just a moment before joining the other girl by plagueface's side.

Katsuki watches them disappear back into the darkness of the alley, hating himself for every moment he stands still but knowing that going after them now would do more harm than good. When they arrive back at Nighteye's office, he barely remembers walking the last couple blocks to get there. His mind is desperately trying to put the pieces together–the two girls, the other children. How many are there? And what the fuck is plagueface doing to them? 

They report the incident to Nighteye. He release Katsuki and Izuku without further questioning and tells them to be cautious on the way home. It's probably his form of expressing sympathy. Togata stays behind. As the door closes behind them, Katsuki hears Nighteye begin to ask him something else.

The sky is still bright when they leave the office, but the warmth of the sun is gone. Izuku falls into step beside him, but he feels distant. The encounter took a toll on him as well, and he was the one that Eri clung to. He was the closest to saving her and still couldn't do anything. Katsuki doesn't envy the feeling.

They remain silent all the way home. The air feels heavy, and Katsuki doesn't know any way to lighten it. Izuku heads for his own apartment automatically without saying a single word. No see you tomorrow. No glance over his shoulder and a wave. No acknowledgment that Katsuki even exists. He watches Izuku's back recede. Even though he is preoccupied by the incident earlier, he feels jilted.

His gaze lingers on Izuku for a moment longer, before he turns toward his own apartment. He goes through the motions of unlocking the door and kicking off his shoes on autopilot. He barely hears his parents' voices as they greet him.

His mother smacks him on the side of the head as he walks by. "What the hell happened to you?" she asks.

It takes a moment to register he's being spoken to. He turns to look at her. "Nothing."

"Bullshit," she says, but lets him go to his room in peace.

When he leaves for school in the morning–even with the internship, there are days they have to go to class–his parents tell him to be safe instead of the usual don't start too many fights.