Peach

Touya smiled to himself.

Himiko had done a good job, studying the students' schedules and where they'd be on specific days. It was amazing what one could pick up about somebody just by stalking them for a singular day. His first targets: Red and Pinky, or Kirishima Eijiro and Ashido Mina, would be at the arcade for most of Tuesday night.

Those particular students were always so eager to make friends and therefore their friendships progressed faster than average. He would have to make his move now. If he waited too long they would be too close to Katsuki by then and he knew the emotional impact would be far too large for his liking. It was now or never. For Katsuki's sake.

After he'd said good night to his family, Touya dressed in all black, besides his gray hoodie, with two layers of grocery bags over his shoes and made his way to the Duck Duck Arcade at 22:42. It was sandwiched between a 24/7 Konbini and Suwarochen Kitazawaten Dry Clean. It was surprising how often a couple of honor students broke the curfew, but hey, he wasn't complaining.

It made his job easier.

Himiko also managed to gather that Kirishima had a necklace he never removed. A necklace he happened to match with Ashido and Katsuki. When asked nicely, Ashido was more than happy to show it off. The only difference in hers was the pink and red heart beads on each side around the tooth, otherwise, they were perfect matches. Strong wire cord and a large shark tooth.

He had a lab set up in his classroom that will be used to dispose of the grocery bags he was using to hide his footprint and the gloves he stole from the gardening club to avoid any of his DNA being left on the murder weapon. The shark tooth necklace. He didn't know if his feet would be sinking into any mud or trash, so the grocery bags were necessary. It wouldn't hide his shoe size, but it was rather average, so he didn't care.

Along with the gloves, he also clipped some red tulips from the school garden and made a bouquet. A toast to the relationship between the two and a toast to his own future relationship with Katsuki.

He loitered by the door, careful not to touch anything that would leave threads from his clothing or particles of food/dirt behind. He made sure if anything got left, it would be too standard to trace to any singular person, and he had an alibi with his family.

"Hey, babe, my phone's dead, do you know what time it is?" Touya heard Ashido's voice as she exited the arcade, the sound of her shoes skipping along the pavement softly.

"Hm, let me check," He heard Kirishima fiddling with the zipper of his jacket pocket, "It is- ah, shoot- I must have left mine at school-..."

Ashido sighed exasperatedly, "Classic Eijiro…"

"We probably broke curfew, let's take an alley so we don't get caught, okay-?" The redhead took Ashido's hand, swinging them back and forth.

She giggled, "Ooh, sneaky! Eiji, when did you get so sneaky?"

He shushed her with a smile, "It's a secret."

Touya followed the both of them into the side alley, where he went completely unnoticed as the two were only focused on each other. He wanted to laugh at how easy this was. Ashido dropped Kirishima's hand and skipped ahead.

"Eiji~ look! It's a stray kitty!" Kirishima chuckled in endearment as she squatted down to pet the cat.

He took that opportunity to strike, grabbing the necklace around Kirishima's neck and pulling it tight, using the force to quiet his attempted shout while Ashido was distracted. The teen fell limp in his grasp after struggling for a few moments. He kept the necklace where it was, ensuring that the boy was well and truly dead.

There was a gasp.

Touya looked up quickly to where Ashido was staring at him with wide eyes, stepping back slowly, her hands actively shaking as she pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"D-d-d-d… D-dabi-S-s-s-... Sensei…" She tripped over a spilled trash can before stumbling and catching herself, turning to run. It seemed she was too shocked to scream for help, only running.

He cursed under his breath, dropping the body in his grasp and wiping the gloves against one another. He figured there was no point in chasing her, in case she ran into a populated area, as that would lead to more witnesses and would require leaving the body unattended, where it could be found. It wouldn't be worth it in the end.

Though it did warrant a change of plans.

He'd originally edged on sitting the two adjacent to one another on the bench by the lamppost, hand in hand with the bouquet tucked in between. He knew if they were dead their hands wouldn't have any grip, so he'd devised to pulling out their small intestine and using the unraveled strands as a rope to tie their hands together. The remaining length would be tied around each of their necks. He would use the necklace to carve out their eyes, draw a singular teardrop on opposite sides of their face, and draw upward lines from the crease of their lips to mimic a smile.

Obviously, since Mina ran away, he couldn't do that. He knew there would still be a way to send a message and a new plan had already formed itself in his mind. Yeah, that would work.

With a smile, he grasped the necklace by the tooth and gouged out Kirishima's eyes. Right for looking at Katsuki, and left for not cherishing Katsuki's presence. He cut away Kirishima's lips. Top for smiling at Katsuki, and bottom for talking to Katsuki. Following the original plan, he carved a wide smile from the crease of his now nonexistent lips and a fat teardrop. Touya had to keep himself from giggling. Even though this plan was last minute, the entire thing was far more exhilarating an experience than he thought it'd be.

He cut deep 'X's all over the teen's body, each one for words spoken to Katsuki. Katsuki was his. His and no one else's. No, they didn't deserve his attention.

Despite his best efforts, a giggle escaped his throat, more breaking through the surface in a maddening symphony until it was all he heard. He knew he was insane, but he was smart enough to pass psych-evals with no issue. For Katsuki.

For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki. For Katsuki.

For Katsuki.

Touya cut a slit through Kirishima's abdomen, pulling out bits of his small intestine in ropes before tying it around the teen's neck. He used the remaining length to drag his body towards the sidewalk, glancing both ways and noticing nobody. He didn't care if bits of the glove got on Kirishima. The gloves in question were going to be burned, and all the tiny threading would give the Forensic team was the material used to make the gloves, perhaps the manufacturer, and fluvic soil from the school garden. Which was one of the top three most common soils in Japan.

He knew what evidence he would be giving them and he also knew it wouldn't help them one damn bit.

Tucking the bouquet of red tulips into the pocket he'd made in the boy's abdomen, he gathered himself to tug again. Touya dragged Kirishima out the remainder of the way and threw the length of the guts over a lamp post, grabbing the end on the other side and pulling Kirishima up to where he was hanging limply. He tossed the intestine over a few more times, each tightening the hold- all while being careful of nobody around- before he knew he was done.

He wasn't going to take the time to admire his work, he knew it wouldn't be the last time, and headed straight for the school to burn the gloves and bags on his shoes. He took the first pair of bags off so any evidence from the scene wouldn't be tracked back to the school. It didn't matter that Ashido had escaped.

Nobody would believe her.

In the chemistry lab, he tossed the gloves and the grocery bags onto the pan he had prepared beforehand. The school security system was faulty at best, half of the cameras were novelty fakes for intimidation purposes and he knew the blindspots of the real ones. He easily repeated the same experiment that got him the name Dabi-Sensei. It again left nothing but ashes. The heat made him sweat, so he took off his hoodie and placed it in his messenger bag along with his grade book.

The next early morning he was greeted by his siblings watching the news with horrified looks on their faces. Even Shouto looked mildly disturbed. Touya pretended to be tired, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he sauntered over.

"What're you guys watchin'? You look like you've seen a ghost," He slurred his words easily with little effort.

Shouto stood slowly, walking up to him and wrapping his arms around from behind, his face pressed between Touya's shoulder blades. He didn't have to feign looking worried- he was. Not for what was upsetting his brother, since he already knew the reason, but for how Shouto seemed to be taking it. Shouto was easily stressed by social situations and had few friends, so losing a classmate like this must've been hard. He needed to pick better-

"I know it was you," Shouto mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.

He felt his eyes widen likely imperceptibly as he slowly turned to face him, "Sho, what're you on about?"

His little brother raised his head, looking completely unbothered to the untrained eye, but Touya knew better and saw the somber look in his gaze. The pale mocha of his mom, quietly disappointed. The bright teal of his dad, avid with worry, "I won't tell. I just want to know why…" he whispered.

He took a deep breath and sighed, "... Later, okay?"

Shouto looked like he wanted to protest, but nodded slowly instead, swiftly hugging Touya again and burrowing his head into his shirt. He could barely register as the fabric wet, but it made him feel a pang of guilt that had been entirely absent when he'd actually killed someone. He always knew he'd never regret taking a life, only the pain it caused those close to him in the aftermath.

So he hugged Shouto back, resting the side of his head atop his hair. Closing his eyes and inhaling the faint way his brother smelled like how he'd imagined lightly toasted pine would smell. There was a hint of peppermint if you focused on it. No, Touya lied earlier, he knew he would regret taking certain lives. He was grateful his parents managed to intervene in his attempt at murdering Shouto when he'd been just a baby. He was only six at the time, an obvious sign that something was psychologically wrong with him, but his parents made little move to set him on the right path.

He's just a kid, he doesn't understand.

Touya scoffed lightly at the thought, still hugging Shouto while Natsuo and Fuyumi continued being abducted by the news, because those were the same excuses they used on bullies. Even in high school. He had gone to UA Academy, too, and still managed to be the odd one out amongst the class of kids entirely dictated by the fact they were different from others.

They're still learning, you can't blame them for what they don't know.

It's like the phrase 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks'. There were two sides to the same coin, really, because you also can't teach a defective dog new tricks. Even if it seems like they learned the tricks, deep down they're still defective.

Deep down they still have the urge to tear you limb… from limb… from bloody fucking limb. Deep down they still imagine what your eyes would look like as the life inside slowly withered and faded. What your lips would look like as you coughed up your own blood. What your hands would look like after scraping against the concrete and the metal for hours and hours and hours trying to escape.

Deep down they still want to see what face you'll make when you realize that any and all hope is entirely lost. Fear? Sadness? Would you cry? Would you laugh hysterically, because you spent all that time in your capture realizing exactly what got you here? Realizing how easily you could have avoided your own demise?

Would you be angry? Defensive? Would it break you?

What would it take to break you?

A defective dog may learn your tricks, but deep down he's still just a defective dog. He'll never fit in with the other dogs, never qualify, because he would never be functional.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you have one vase that's different from the rest, even if you broke it and pieced it back together from the ground up, it would still be different from the other vases. The pieces will still fit the way they did before and it will never be the vase you want. He felt a few tears trickle sideways down his face and across his nose, softly landing in Shouto's hair. Shouto hugged him a little tighter.

"Touya," Fuyumi's voice broke his train of thought. The news was no longer playing, ironically in its place was an ad for a family-owned butchery, "Was… was he in your class? In… in Shouto's class?"

Shouto didn't budge or show any sign of wanting to talk, so Touya sighed and mumbled, "...Yes," he swallowed thickly, his line of sight hazy and slanted.

Natsuo threw himself up from the couch angrily, Fuyumi still sitting rigidly next to him with a shaky hand over her mouth and tear streaks obvious on her cheeks. The sudden movement made Touya flinch; his brain was still foggy from the thoughts cycling through moments prior—the mix of sorrow and regret. The simmering darkness lying just underneath, already beckoning him to execute the ways he could kill those who dare get close to Katsuki. It was so distracting.

"What kind of sick bastard would do shit like this?! He was a good kid, do you see this bullshit?! I hope they find the monster that did this! I hope that motherfucker gets sentenced to death by electric chair knowing nobody will defend him!" Natsuo shouted angrily, his lip quivering, as he tended to do when he felt strongly about something.

Touya tried not to let it affect him. Natsuo didn't know what he was talking about, he didn't. Shouto turned his head a little to face Natsuo, so Touya lifted his own so as to not tug his hair, "Natsu, the electric chair is widely outlawed as cruel and unusual punishment, it's inhu-"

"I don't care if it's cruel and unusual, dammit!" His voice raised an octave as he cut him off, to which Shouto's grip grew stronger around Touya until it was almost vice-like, Natsuo pointed to the news screen which had come back, "That shit is fucking cruel and unusual! That cunt-"

"Enough!" Fuyumi snapped, catching all their attention, no longer in her previous stupor, "Enough. That's… that's enough, okay? We're all stressed, just stop-…!" She took in a shaky breath to lower her voice, "Stop making it worse. … Please."

Shouto turned to rest his head in the crook of Touya's neck, tugging at his shirt, "He didn't mean it, Touya," Shouto whispered.

"I know, I know. I'm not going anywhere, Sho," He whispered back, placing a soft kiss on his little brother's temple in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

Fuyumi walked over to them and joined their hug, Natsuo followed ensuite to encase them all in his signature bear hug, "Stay safe out there… please," he whispered as he pulled them tighter. Touya let out a shaky sob when Natsuo grasped his sleeve, willing it to stay close like a rope he had used to tether them together. Meanwhile, Natsuo tied the rope unknowingly around his neck each time he condemned the killer. Each knot hurt Touya because he knew when the trap door fell the only pain he'd feel was the look of betrayal on his younger siblings' faces.

Where had the time gone?

He remembered when they were little, round little faces feigning innocence while he took the fall with their parents. The cookie crumbs would be all over their cheeks but big brother Touya insisted he was the one who stole from the cookie jar.

There was no big brother Touya to take the fall this time.

The family cuddled with one another drinking warm cups of green tea for breakfast, basking in the other's presence. Touya received an email on his phone regarding the murder of Kirishima and how he was expected to make home visits to the affected students. He decided to get Shouto's over and done with first, pulling his youngest brother to his study.

"Why?" Was Shouto's choice of first word once the door had shut, "I knew you were bound to kill somebody eventually, I'm just- confused, I guess- I don't know-"

Touya pulled him into a hug, effectively shutting him up, "I'm sorry- I know this is hard, I know, but I just- I need to do this. I'm not sure why but I do, okay?"

Shouto sniffled, "It's the new kid, isn't it?"

"...Maybe," He chuckled, "Thoughts?"

The teen gave him a blank look before shrugging, "And prayers, bitch. I don't know what you want from me."

"Your blessings?! Or something? I don't know, I expected more from my little brother!" Touya flailed his arms expectantly.

He just looked unimpressed, "He has the personality of a walking hand grenade. I know you like blondes, but seriously?"

"He's a bombshell blonde, like sexy dynamite."

"Why are you quoting a song? I hate you," Shouto tried to push himself out of Touya's hug, "I wish you'd killed me as a baby!"

He gave an overdramatic gasp, "Don't say that! I'm glad my weak noodle arms hadn't succeeded in spawn killing you."

"Wow, thank you, that makes me feel so much better," Shouto successfully wiggled free and fled out the door.

"Boo!" He called after him, not making any real effort to continue the conversation as he grabbed his teacher messenger bag and made his way to each student's house. He made little point to dress formally, though he did uphold wearing all black in grievances.

As he reached Ashido's door, her parents gave him weary looks. The girl herself sat blearily on the living room couch surrounded by used tissues and looking like an empty shell. She screamed upon seeing him, shouting expletives among her tears and yelling for him to stay away. She called for her parents to call the cops but they ignored her in favor of smothering her with a blanket and weakly making shushing noises.

Her mother apologized and said she'd been like that since the morning news. When Ashido had arrived home the night prior she was stock-still and wouldn't speak to anybody. All she said was 'The necklace' over and over again, tears flowing freely from her eyes and her gaze unfocused.

Next up was Katsuki's house. Neither of his parents was home and Katsuki was cuddled on the couch much like Ashido had been, swaddled in a monotone tie-dye blanket with a bloody skull on it that read 'Howl-O-Scream'.

Katsuki wordlessly opened the side of the blanket in a quiet invitation for Touya to sit next to him, which he hesitantly accepted.

"...Maybe I just bring bad luck," He'd whispered.

Touya gave him a side hug, "Don't say that, it's not your fault." It's mine.

"If I had gone with him, maybe he'd still be alive-" Katsuki had tears in his eyes though none dare fall.

"And what? You'd be dead instead? Katsuki, look at me, there was nothing you could have done differently that would guarantee he be here, okay? Am I clear?" Katsuki nodded minutely, one tear breaking the dam, the rest following quietly after. "Please don't talk like that, it won't help anything. Would Kirishima want you to be sad? No!"

Katsuki sniffed, nodding.

Touya took his hoodie from his messenger bag, just now noticing a small blood splatter on it. Whoops, "Here, when you're sad wear this and remember what I said, okay?"

Katsuki nodded again, his fluffy blonde hair falling over his eyes. Touya brushed some of it back to make sure the blonde saw what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He smiled back, it was faint but it was there.

"Also, don't mind the stain, Himiko spilled her stupid pig's blood on me and not even hydrogen peroxide could get it out," Katsuki tittered in response.

The moment didn't last when the news blared with Ashido Mina's apparent suicide. They skepticized it was grief.

Like a game of hangman, really.

If you say the wrong thing too many times it costs somebody a life.

He knew it was because nobody believed her. Even if her parents looked at him wearily, they didn't truly take her word for it. He knew nobody would.

He knew the answer to 'Who killed the boy with red hair?'

It wasn't a name.

No, just a two-letter word.

'Me.'