FIC - "Kill the Ghost" Chapter 6

They ended up at the train station. Against Sero’s protests, Katsuki searched again for traces of Eri’s magic. The effort left him pale and

A/N: Posting on Friday! Yay! XD I know this story is moving REALLY FAST but there's so much to cover, and we're barely 1/4 of the way through. And bkdk haven't even started kissing yet. Yeesh.

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CHAPTER SIX

They ended up at the train station. Against Sero’s protests, Katsuki searched again for traces of Eri’s magic. The effort left him pale and sweating, his lips pressed into a flat line. 

He pointed them toward a platform, just in time to see a man carrying Eri cradled against his chest, the messy drape of her hair spilling over his arm. Izuku shouldered through the crowd, hands tearing past disgruntled bystanders, but he lost sight of her as they disappeared into the flow of boarding passengers.

A second later, the doors shut, and the train sped away, taking Eri with it. 

Izuku tunneled his fingers through his hair before clenching his fists around the messy curls. "Where's that train headed?"

"Sapporo," Sero said. 

Izuku buried his face in his hands and made a strangled sound. "I don’t understand. Why would they take her to Hokkaido?"

"And why only now?" Shoto asked. The accusation in his voice was hard to miss.

Izuku dropped his hands, meeting Katsuki's annoyed glower. "He's right. Why only now? When did you say your security cameras caught Eri being taken?"

"Right before noon," Katsuki said, sharing a brief but curious look with Sero.

"That was almost six hours ago," Izuku said. "What were they doing in all that time that they're only now getting her out of the city?"

"And right after Hawks was informed of her disappearance," Shoto pointed out.

"How many seekers are as strong as you?" Izuku asked Katsuki, which earned him a slight narrowing of those red eyes.

"In Tokyo, there's only me." He didn't even sound boastful, just stating a fact. "Sero's not half bad either."

Sero rolled his eyes.

"So Eri gets taken, but her kidnappers wait until Hawks gets news of it and tells the one seeker able to track her?" Izuku said.

"Wouldn't that mean it was an inside job?" Shoto asked.

"Don't make it sound like this is some kind of shitty spy movie," Katsuki said, sneering.

Sero placed a hand on Katsuki's shoulder, which he immediately shrugged off. "Hate to admit it, Bakugou, but it makes sense. We should get back and let Hawks know."

"Like that birdbrain doesn't already know," Katsuki said, pulling up his phone to check the train schedule. "If we figured it out this quickly, that asshole likely knew the moment he got the call."

"But you know what this means then," Sero protested, gesturing broadly. "They're expecting us to follow."

"Listen, you think these two dumbfucks are gonna go back to UA with us?"

Izuku wanted to take issue with that, but Katsuki was right. Even if it was a trap, Izuku couldn't sit back and wait for UA to talk about what they should do. Everything by the books, meet and treat or whatever, right? Izuku wasn't waiting that long, especially given that Midnight and Iida weren't even in the city at the moment.

Eri was his responsibility. He wasn't going to leave her again.

"We know it's a trap, so we can go in prepared," Katsuki said. "You coming or not?"

Sero dropped his head back and let out a sound like a tortured cat. "Fine! Oh my god, why do I let you talk me into these things?"

"Fuck off, you know you wanna impress–"

Sero slapped his palm over Katsuki's mouth, and to Izuku's surprise, rather than getting angry, Katsuki let out a muffled chuckle before elbowing the boy away.

Unfazed by their argument and bizarre mood shift, Shoto calmly asked, "Now what?" 

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "Looks like we're going to Hokkaido."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Shoto muttered.

As they waited for the next bullet train to Sapporo, Katsuki's phone buzzed. His conversation was short and clipped, but when he hung up, Izuku didn't hesitate to ask who it'd been.

"Iida," Katsuki said. "He's still in Sendai with Midnight but said he's been investigating rumors of a sieve in Ishikari. He thinks that could be where they're taking Eri."

"Iida's going to tell Hawks, isn't he?"

"Obviously. But Iida's information can be trusted."

"So it's possible that this isn't actually a trap? Maybe they were just waiting to get her out of Tokyo until they had more information about where the sieve is?"

"Tch. Unlikely but not impossible," Katsuki allowed.

To keep himself busy, Izuku inspected a map of Hokkaido. Ishikari was about 15 km north of Sapporo, which was a short 30 minutes by car. But before then, the journey to Sapporo would take over three hours. Izuku felt impatient just thinking about the wait.

"So this Iida is really well-informed," Shoto suddenly said, head tilted thoughtfully. "Is it because he's Midnight's assistant?"

"It's because he's UA's Record Keeper," Sero said. "Well, Apprentice Record Keeper. The current Record Keeper doesn't really surface from the archives much."

"Record Keeper," Izuku mumbled. "Is that like a librarian?"

Katsuki laughed. The sound always startled him, harsh but buoyant somehow. And brief, like it wasn't a thing Katsuki did much of. Izuku was unwillingly rapt.

"I wanna see Glasses' reaction if you say that to his face."

"It just means he keeps detailed records of UA's history in Japan, as well as the magi community at large—important events, alliances, deaths and births, that sort of thing."

"Then he must have an idea of who kidnapped Eri," Izuku said.

Katsuki shrugged. "If he did, he didn't say."

"Did it have anything to do with that seeker today?" And, in turn, with Izuku? It seemed a sure thing that Eri's connection to him had put her at risk.

"Listen," Katsuki said, "every fucking magus out there will be sniffing around for you. There's no helping that. The seeker today could've been anyone—a servant from another guild, a nosy passerby, some dumb extra hoping to make a name for himself." He hesitated. "Or sent by the Commission."

Above them, a screen displayed a list of departures and arrivals. Only ten more minutes before their train arrived.

"Oh," Izuku said softly. "Uraraka told me about the Commission."

One pale eyebrow rose. "When'd you meet Round Face?"

Izuku frowned. "Round Face? I guess it was round, but I mean, she had really pink cheeks and big eyes, and her hair really emphasized the shape–"

"Oi, shut the fuck about what she looks like," Katsuki said, leaning into Izuku, his gaze intense and annoyed. "What'd she tell you about the Commission?"

For some reason, Katsuki then leaned back and kicked Sero's shin. Sero immediately stopped smirking, instead hobbling away with a string of curses.

"U-um, she didn't say much, but I got the impression they're like a, uh, magi governing kind of thing?" When Katsuki only responded with a grunt, Izuku continued, "What would it mean if the Commission sent him?"

"Means they think you're a threat," he said. "We'll have to keep you hidden until we find out what you are and what you can do."

"And if they're behind Eri's kidnapping?"

"They wouldn't resort to that. They'd come to us directly and demand her."

"What about exorcists?" Shoto asked. Izuku lifted his eyebrows at him. "What? They said they hunt them. Makes sense that exorcists wouldn't like them much."

"Nothing, I'm just surprised you remembered."

"There aren't enough of them to pull that off," Sero said, having found his way back. He limped a little and gave Katsuki a dirty look. "And I doubt they'd bring this much attention to themselves just for one little kid."

Katsuki scoffed. "I think it's clear she's not just a kid." 

None of them had a response to that.

+++

The trip north passed in relative silence, with Shoto dozing off and gradually slumping against Izuku only to jolt awake every half hour or so. Katsuki and Sero spoke in quiet tones for a while before falling quiet as well.

Izuku tried not to brood—that was more Shoto’s thing—so he watched the countryside pass in an ever darkening blur until the interior lights flickered on, and all he could see through the window was his own somber expression.

Well, and Katsuki. Their eyes met in the reflection and held, the silence growing equal parts awkward and heated as neither looked away. Izuku couldn’t muster the shame to feel embarrassed, which was rather refreshing actually.

For once, he let himself study Katsuki’s face—the sharp cut of his eyes, pale eyebrows perpetually pinched, angular jaw, and lips that looked soft and pouty when they weren’t screwed up in irritation. But even then, he was unreasonably pretty.

And also surprisingly… honorable? Hearing him share responsibility for Eri’s kidnapping had been a surprise, and now he was here, helping Izuku to find her despite the very real likelihood they were walking into a trap.

Izuku didn’t know what to make of him.

“You should sleep,” Katsuki said, breaking their weird stalemate.

Izuku turned in his seat so he could face him directly. “Too anxious.”

He nodded, like he’d been expecting that answer.

“Uh… thank you, by the way. For… seeking?” He drew a deep breath, searching Katsuki’s features for signs of his earlier fatigue.

Katsuki was still too pale, but his skin was no longer clammy and his nose had stopped bleeding a while ago. As if he knew what Izuku was thinking, Katsuki crossed his arms and gave him a flat look.

Izuku tried very hard not to stare at the way the action made Katsuki’s biceps bulge beneath the t-shirt clinging for dear life to his upper arms. He definitely failed, but thankfully, Katsuki simply acknowledged his thanks with a noncommittal grunt.

“But please don’t do it again,” Izuku continued, earning him a narrowed look from Katsuki. “I get why UA would rely on you and Sero for tracking people, but it clearly costs you.”

Katsuki scowled, and his voice was practically a growl as he said, “Don’t fucking tell me what to do. I’m not some shitty extra who can’t control his magic.”

Izuku cringed at the dig but didn’t interrupt.

“I know exactly what I can do and what my limits are. You, on the other hand, don’t know shit, so unless I fucking ask for your opinion, keep it to yourself.”

Blinking stupidly and slightly taken aback, Izuku stuttered, “W-well, that-that’s kind of impossible. I ramble when I’m nervous or when I’m thinking really hard about something, and I try to control it but I don’t even realize I’m doing it half the time, and my mind just works a lot more efficiently when I’m talking out—”

“Holy shit, you ain’t kidding.”

Izuku snapped his jaw shut with a wince. “Sorry.”

“Fuck. Whatever.”

Silence settled again. At one point, Izuku glanced at Shoto who was no longer asleep and was instead giving him “I’m judging you” looks. So he’d heard that whole embarrassing exchange then. Cool.

When they arrived in Sapporo a while later, it was nearly midnight and sleep had finally taken Izuku in the final hour. He rubbed his eyes as they left the station, Katsuki's magic a warm, prickling sensation across his skin. In his pocket, his phone vibrated.

Apprehension seized him as he checked the contact, and sure enough, it was Sasaki. With a fortifying breath, he answered.

"Where are you?" Sasaki demanded before Izuku could even mumble a greeting. His voice was rough, an unfamiliar hitch in the syllables of his name.

"Spending the night at Shoto's," Izuku lied. "I left a message."

Sasaki made an indistinguishable sound. "I forgot to check." 

He never forgot anything. Something was definitely wrong. 

"What happened?" Izuku's grip around his phone tightened as his other hand dug into his thigh. "Is it Dad?"

"Toshinori is missing."

His awareness of Katsuki's magic faded into a low hum. Izuku could hear nothing but his own breaths, thin and gasping. "W-What do you mean missing? How is that possible? He wasn't supposed to be left alone. How can he be missing?"

"Calm down," Sasaki snapped. Izuku swallowed down any other frantic questions. "Tanaka-san fell asleep while Toshinori was reading. When she woke up, he was gone."

"Wait, wait, wait," Izuku said, slumping against the station wall. "This happened before you got home? That… that was hours ago! Why didn't you call me?!" Those weeks spent in restless motion were nothing to the urgency rearing up inside him, frenzied and helpless. 

"There was no need to alarm you in case he was found before you got home. Seeing as the police have yet to locate him, I felt you should be informed."

Izuku clenched his jaw hard enough that his temple throbbed. "I-I'll come home—"

"It's midnight. You'll stay put. Besides, there's nothing anyone can do but wait until the proper authorities find him."

"But—"

"I'll call if anything changes."

The line went dead. Sasaki had hung up. 

A storm of emotions battered him, and he curled over, a scream of frustration barely contained behind the cage of his teeth. His hands shook as he clutched the phone to his chest.

"Izuku?" Shoto asked, tentative. "Your dad…?"

Panic closed around Izuku's throat. A hundred different scenarios flashed through his mind, each more devastating than the last.

Strong hands gripped his shoulders and gave him a shake. "Izuku, breathe," Shoto demanded quietly. "I'm sure the police will find him."

"B-but what if he walks into traffic? What if he's hurt, and there's no one to help him? What if he runs into some stupid kids like we did?"

"And what if he comes back to his senses and goes home? Catastrophizing isn't going to help here."

"Shoto, I have to—" He gulped in lungfuls of air. "I-I need to go home."

"The last train to Tokyo left hours ago," Katsuki said, the low rumble of his voice jolting Izuku back to his senses.

He looked around, having somehow completely forgotten why they were here. Right. Eri. She needed help… but what about his dad?

"Shit," he hissed. "Shit shit shit shit." He should have stayed in Tokyo. He should have called home again to check on Tanaka. His dad had needed him and instead of being there for him, he was a thousand kilometers away in fucking Hokkaido.

"Izuku," Shoto said. "There's nothing you can do right now."

"I know," he gritted out, unable to listen to another person tell him how useless he was when it came to taking care of his dad. "But I should have been home with him and now he's missing, and why the hell didn't ojisan call me sooner?"

"Because he's an asshole. But you already knew that. The police will look for your dad while we find Eri."

He sucked in a sharp breath. "Wait, what if Dad was kidnapped?"

"That's the opposite of calming down." 

"If your dad went missing hours ago, then it's possible it happened around the same time Eri was taken out of Tokyo," Katsuki said. "This whole day has been a shitpile of coincidences."

"We don't know that," Shoto said angrily. "Toshinori-san has an early on-set form of dementia. It wouldn't be the first time he's wandered outside because he was confused."

Izuku squeezed his eyes shut. "This isn't happening," he whispered. "This can't be happening."

Warm, strong fingers gripped his shoulder where Shoto's had been a moment before. To his surprise, Katsuki stepped in close enough for Izuku to catch the faint scent of something sweet—maybe the gum he'd been chewing on the train.

"This is a shit situation all around," he said, voice quiet despite his harsh words, "but half-and-half here ain't wrong. The only thing you can do right now is channel your frustration into finding Eri. We came here to save her—that hasn't changed."

Izuku swallowed thickly, squeezing his eyes against the sting of tears that wanted to spill down his cheeks. The guilt returned, a hundred times worse for the reminder he'd briefly forgotten about Eri in his panic.

"You're right," Izuku croaked. Then, sounding more confident. "You're right. Eri needs help." Unlike with his dad, no one knew, or cared, that she'd been kidnapped except them.

Sero, who had observed them without comment, gestured toward the exit. "Let's go. The longer we wait, the farther away Eri gets."

+++

Navigating the city was something of an adventure on its own. With both Sero and Katsuki seeking, they managed to track Eri to a quiet street in one of the less populated districts.

The buildings here were drab and industrial, converted from abandoned warehouses into affordable housing. The darkness stripped them of any color except the dull gray of moonlight. Katsuki skimmed his fingertips over a rusty metal door and tipped his head back to peer up at the bricks. A flickering sconce above the entrance provided the only source of immediate light and tinted his pale skin a tired yellow.

"Maybe they're done moving for the night?" Izuku suggested.

Katsuki made a soft, skeptical sound but didn't offer his opinion. Izuku hadn't known him for long, but he'd picked up on the fact that, even though Katsuki gave off a rough, chaotic kind of energy, his thoughts were anything but. In the part of Izuku's brain still capable of focusing on anything except Eri and his dad, he found Katsuki's unexpectedly analytical brain just as attractive as his pretty if standoffish exterior.

Katsuki pointed at one of the uppermost windows, his magic a charged current through the air. When he tested the door, though, it was locked.

Izuku was going to suggest they pick the lock (no, he didn't actually know how to do that), except then Katsuki flattened his palm against the seam where the door met the frame. Magic rippled around them, emanating from Katsuki and the point of contact. The metal began to steam before briefly flaring a brilliant orange.

The door swung open. Smirking, Katsuki jerked his chin for the rest of them to follow as he headed inside.

"Um," Izuku whispered, confused and a little turned on. "Do you have a familiar?"

Katsuki scoffed. "As if I'd need one."

"But you guys said you only have—"

"I said seekers only have defensive magic," Sero cut in, "which is true. But when they're as strong as Bakugou, the rules of magic tend to bend. Don't compliment him too much, though, his head's big enough as it is."

"Fuck you," Katsuki said easily. Sero snickered.

Inside the building, they found a short entryway leading to an elevator. Katsuki and Sero crossed the checkered linoleum with little more than a whisper of air. The only noise came from his and Shoto's footsteps. He made a conscious effort to step lighter. 

They took the stairs four floors up to the top level, mindful of the noise the elevator would make. On the landing, Katsuki indicated a door halfway down the hall.

"Can't tell how many are with her," he said, voice so low Izuku had to strain to hear. "We're too close. They'll sense me if I seek them."

Before anyone could respond, other voices filled the quiet hallway. The walls were so thin they had no trouble overhearing the conversation. 

"The brat is waking up," a man said.

"Give her another dose before she starts screaming again."

Izuku's hands curled into fists. They were drugging Eri? She had been limp in the man's arms on the platform, but he hadn't wanted to consider it could be due to anything more than mere sleep.

"She gives me the creeps," another voice said. "I kept having disturbing dreams on the train. She was in them."

"You too?"

"Can't wait to get rid of her."

They crept up to the door, Katsuki reaching for the dagger Izuku had spied on the train. It was tucked into his belt at the base of his spine. Izuku touched his wrist, snagging his attention.

When those red eyes fixed on him, questioning, Izuku dampened his dry lips and whispered, "Don't stab anyone."

Katsuki's pretty mouth twisted into a sneer. "What, should I just wave around my knife and hope they're intimidated enough to hand her over?"

"Yeah. Sounds good."

Sero looked far too entertained considering the situation, especially as he seemed more likely to do any stabbing. He'd pulled a whole damned sword from the bat bag he'd been carrying on his back.

With a nod at Shoto, Sero said, "You should stay back."

Shoto gave him a look that suggested he find a nice fire to die in.

"It might be dangerous," Sero continued, "and the only defense you have against magic is the amulet."

"So do you," Shoto whispered furiously.

Suddenly, pins and needles shot down Izuku's limbs. He only had a heartbeat to realize what that meant before Katsuki flung himself on top of Izuku, knocking him over just as the door blew outward, ripping the hinges off the wall. He gaped at the splintered slab of wood as it crashed to the floor, leaving a crumbling fracture where it'd struck the wall. 

Katsuki was up in an instant, darting through the hole where the door had been, a flash of steel indicating he'd drawn his dagger. Izuku scrambled forward, dodging Sero's grasping hand that tried to hold him back.

The moment he stepped into the apartment, the amulet scalded his thigh through the pocket of his pants. The air vibrated, hot and thick, but while drawing a breath made his throat burn, the magic didn't touch him. 

Nearby, Katsuki was already in motion, fending off two men by doing little more than waving his knife around as he'd said. He moved between them, silent and elusive as a whisper. Magic scored the walls, peeling paint and gouging plaster. Izuku was riveted.

Katsuki dodged a kick, his heels digging into the carpet before he sprang forward, blade catching one of the men's legs. The man toppled, his cry cut off as Katsuki's palm slammed up into his jaw. 

Shaking himself, Izuku scanned the apartment for Eri. He found her behind the sofa, restrained by one of her captors. Her hair wrapped around her like a blanket, and she was still wearing the clothes she'd taken from Izuku's room, wrinkled and travel-worn. 

When their gazes met, her drowsy eyes lit up. She surged towards him. "Izuku!" 

Large hands gripped her hair. She cried out as her captor jerked her back, her feet slipping out from beneath her. 

Izuku's body moved on its own. He lunged, catching the guy around the waist as he plowed his shoulder into the larger man's ribs. They tumbled over, the back of the man's head hitting the wall on their way down. Eri backed into the corner with a cry.

Behind him, Shoto said, "Have I taught you nothing?" and then he was being yanked to his feet. "Just get her out of here!"

As Shoto took over grappling with the man, Izuku spun around for Eri, who was struggling against another magus. How many of them were there? This one hauled her against his chest, an arm around her neck. With a wild shriek, Eri sank her teeth into his forearm.

The man roared in pain. Izuku snatched her away right before Katsuki barrelled into the man, slamming him up against the wall hard enough that cracks bloomed around them. The man made a choked sound, bloodshot eyes staring down the blade of Katsuki's knife. 

Breathing hard, Izuku gathered Eri to him, and her thin arms latched to his waist, squeezing tight.

"You came for me," she breathed into his shirt, voice thin and high with fear.

"Oh hell," Shoto said from behind him. Izuku looked over his shoulder.

The magus Shoto had been fighting was now crouched on the ceiling, clinging upside down with talons that gouged wood and plaster. He bared sharp canines at Shoto, a guttural sound issuing from his throat. Then he leaped from the ceiling.

Izuku's feet were already moving, hands reaching for Shoto who was too far away. Something metallic sung through the air, whipping past Izuku. The magus crashed to the floor at Shoto's feet, a small knife jutting from under his collarbone.

With an animalistic growl, the magus gripped the knife and ripped it free. Blood spattered the floor in a grisly spray. Shoto flinched away, his face draining of color. The magus's gaze snapped to Izuku. The blade was a streak of red as he attacked.

Izuku flung both himself and Eri sideways, bracing as he hit the floor first to cushion Eri's slight weight that fell against him.

"Izuku!" Katsuki shouted.

A severed lock of silvery hair showered down like tinsel. Before Izuku could recover from the pain that shot through his shoulder, Eri was wrenched out of his grasp. He shouted as the window exploded, the magus bursting outside with Eri tucked under his arm. Shattered glass and splintered wood showered the concrete below as Eri's scream reverberated into the night.

Rushing to the window, Izuku gripped the sill and peered down into the empty street. Brick dust plumed around his face. He waved it away and looked up.

The magus was scaling the wall, his talons clawing through the weathered stone. Eri, now slung over his shoulder, screamed Izuku's name again before the magus bounded over the ledge and onto the roof, disappearing from sight.

"They're on the roof!" Izuku yelled.

Near the exit, Sero stood with two unconscious men slumped around his feet. Beneath their bodies, symbols had been drawn in white chalk onto the floorboards, messy and uneven as if done in a hurry.

Izuku took quick note of the odd marks before rushing out into the hallway. A staircase at the end led to a metal door on discolored hinges. Izuku rattled the knob and shoved with all his weight, but the door didn't budge.

Behind him, Katsuki bellowed, "Move it!"

He made room just as Katsuki's foot drove against the metal. It burst outward, the hinges shrieking and spitting rust. 

"How the...? Never mind. Thanks," Izuku said, and dashed out into the warm night.

The roof was a forest of iron chimney pipes, baked black from years of heat and smoke. There was no sign of the magus or Eri.

"Stay here," Katsuki said. He moved soundlessly into the murk, Sero close on his heels.

Beside Izuku, Shoto scanned the rooftop before he pointed at something. "Look." 

A wet splotch stained a nearby chimney stack. The huge pipe churned out gray clouds that lingered over the rooftop in a choking haze. The smoke stung Izuku's nostrils and clung thick and oily to his throat. He bunched the hem of his shirt and covered his mouth, taking shallow breaths through the cloth as he inched forward.

A whimper broke the silence and Izuku stilled. They listened for a few tense seconds but heard nothing else. The night and the smoke transformed everything into distant amorphous shapes, and no amount of blinking could pull them into focus. 

Something swung out of the dark. He threw up his arms and Shoto yanked him back, but that only deflected the blow. The pipe struck Izuku's shoulder. Pain speared through him as he flew backward, skidding across the cement roof. His side smashed against the ledge, gasping as the momentum carried him over.

TBC

A/N: SOMEONE TELL ME THEY'RE ACTUALLY READING THIS? XDDDD