Lifeless

Chapter 27 - si vis pacem, para bellum

(TW!) This chapter contains very slight eluding to bullying and fighting! I'm kinda all over the place right now for some reason, so I hope this chapter makes sense : P

si vis pacem, para bellum - (Latin) If you want peace, prepare for war.

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Bakugou scoffed at Nezu, completely disregarding any type of authority the principal had. The boy saw Nezu as a large mouse, an animal, even more below him than any other human. Of course he didn't express this, only thinking it, knowing that this kind of disrespect would get him expelled.

Aizawa stared down his student, hoping that Bakugou would start explaining without prompt. He didn't. Instead, Bakugou ignored the obviously pointed look in favor of crossing his arms. A silent show that he wouldn't bend to Aizawa, no matter how small the task.

Aizawa sighed, realizing that the boy was in enough trouble already and adding on petty accusations would hinder his point. Aizawa turned to look at Nezu, waiting for the motion to start talking before leaning back in his seat. "You know about Izuku, don't you Nezu?" The mouse nodded, already having been informed of the boy and how Aizawa was involved. "We had found a break in the case, but failed in the extraction process, as you know. We lost Izuku and are unable to find where The League currently has him."

Katsuki's head lowered at the mention of Midoriya, but his eyes widened. He pierced together the information he had just received, knowing he was in no place to ask for more information. Had Deku been kidnapped? And the heroes couldn't get him back? Katsuki scoffed at his own worry, it wasn't any of his problem, Deku had gotten himself kidnapped.

"We thought that was the end of the case. We couldn't pinpoint a school Izuku had gone to and his house was abandoned. That was until today, at least. I was out in the field to gauge the student's fighting ability when Bakugou had over exceeded the limits of force, narrowly missing injuring, and probably killing Ms. Heart. Aizawa motioned towards Jackie while Katsuki scoffed. "He went on to mention something about 'even Deku being able to take it' and when I asked who Deku was, he responded Izuku Midoriya."

Nezu's eyes widened, the dots connecting immediately in his mind. He spoke up slowly, looking directly at Katsuki. "Bakugou, did you bully Midoriya?" Katsuki scoffed in response, tucking his chin onto his shoulder facing away from his teacher. That was a yes. Nezu nodded at Aizawa before looking at Jackie. "Ms. Heart I promise to do everything I can to find Midoriya, I know you are invested in this case too and will have you updated every time something new happens. For now though, I recommend visiting the nurse, just as a precaution." Jackie nodded, leaving with tears gathering in her eyes.

Nezu turned to Aizawa, "you can go back to your class. Keep an eye out for any other students who may have information. I will inform Tsukauchi so that he can interview Bakugou." Nezu then turned to Katsuki, "Bullying a peer is absolutely unacceptable, so don't think that his kidnapping is the only reason you are being pulled out of class. Depending on the severity of your damage, I will consider whether you should be expelled or suspended. Tread lightly until then."

Katsuki scowled, knowing that he had absolutely no choice but to obey until his name was cleared.

The two of them sat in tense silence, only broken once when Nezu asked Tsukauchi to visit one of his students, along with a brief explanation of the situation. The man agreed immediately, more than eager to make progress on Midoriya's case.

No more information other than Izuku's previous location with the league and his old house had been a dead end. No one in the area agreed to talk to the police, even with rewards, and they couldn't force information out of anyone, so the case had sat silent for longer than anyone would like.

Tsukauchi arrived not more than ten minutes later, opening Nezu's door panting, sweat running down his face. It was obvious to Katsuki that the man had run, and with the information he had just heard, it made sense to him as to why. If he had lost a lead in a case with an innocent kid, Katsuki knew he would be ashamed, though he was lost as to why the police and U.A. would make such an effort for someone as useless as Deku. Maybe they didn't know he was quirkless?

It didn't matter either way now. In Bakugou's mind, he was being set up by his teacher for something that was greatly exaggerated! Now, they call in a detective! Katsuki was sure that the explosion he used wouldn't have been lethal, he had used it on Deku everyday of the loser's life. If this is what the hero course was scared of, maybe Katsuki should have just skipped up a few years! He was probably just too powerful for this class. He would explain that to his mother later when she gets called about this, she always understands these kinds of situations.

Detective Tsukauchi nodded quickly at Nezu, sitting down across from the mouse and facing Katsuki. "So, Bakugou, tell me about how you met Izuku." Tsukauchi pulled out a notepad, writing down words unknown to Katsuki.

Bakugou was slightly ticked off at the lack of introduction from the man, thinking that someone of his status, with his quirk, deserved the maximum amount of respect. He voiced this through a scoff, not ballsy enough to verbally announce his qualms with the man sitting in front of him. Instead, he gave himself another awkward moment of silence as a small form of retaliation before starting.

"I knew the nerd when we were kids. He lived down the street but moved a few years later, right after they found out he was quirkless." Bakugou emphasized the word 'quirkless', hoping to see some sort of shift in either his authority figure's gazes. When he found none, he continued with his eyes down on his lap. "We weren't friends after that. Couldn't be friends with someone like him." He ended with a shrug of his shoulders, casually skipping over the parts of the story he knew the detective wanted.

Tsukauchi sighed, leaning forward and resting his face in his hands. If he were to interrogate the boy like he wanted to, he would have to go through this with a parent or guardian, but that would take more time than he wanted. Originally Tsukauchi thought that he would just get the basic information of Midoriya from this Bakugou kid, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that the boy was more involved than a simple classmate, and if the teen kept up with his resisting attitude, it would have to be assumed that he needs a proper interrogation than a few passing questions.

"Bakugou, I'll probably have to take you into the station to interrogate you as a witness." Tsukauchi looked back up at the boy, "From what I've seen, not only do you have extensive personal information about Midoriya, you could possibly know something about his disappearance. Keeping you any longer here and asking you questions could be taken as an infraction of your rights, but I simply want a witness statement from you."

Tsukauchi looked at Nezu, ignoring the grumbling from Bakugou. "Do you mind contacting his guardian? I'll bring him to the station, so tell them to meet me there so that I can take a witness statement." Nezu nodded, already picking up his phone to contact the Bakugous, though he didn't know how the explosive boy's parents would react at the news.

With that, Tsukauchi motioned up a disgruntled Bakugou, leading the teen out of the door.