From the Shadows || Katsuki Bakugou x OC

Chapter Seventy-one

"What? When did you- why are you here?" Izuku asked, lowering his phone slightly.

"Don't be like that Izuku. I've missed you."

"That doesn't explain why you're here."

"Thats his father?" Shoto whispered to me.

"Yeah."

"He doesn't seem like-"

"I know- shocker he isn't All Might."  Shoto smiled ever so slightly while rolling his eyes.

Izuku's father breathed out a cloud of smoke, "Listen, Izuku, I had to leave due to some... work complications. I wanted to come back to you, but it was nearly impossible!"

"Then how come you never told us that!?"

"I tried, but your mother changed her phone number shortly after I left for that trip."

"I find it difficult to believe you wouldn't be able to come back to him for over 12 years." I remarked.

"If you really missed me, then come over here. Let me see you."

"Yeah," Ochako called out, "Kinda dumb to say you missed him and then refuse to let him see your face."

"Oh dear. Keiko, you've grown quite a bit too.", He said, completely ignoring Ochako, "I can understand what you're saying, but I just don't want my son to judge me."

Izuku laughed, "How could I possibly judge you more than I already have? You leave without a word for twelve years, and then come back expecting me to still think of you as my dad? What kind of an excuse could you possibly have for that?"

He signed. "I suppose you're right. But I promise there's a good explanation." He dropped his cigarette and stomped it out, then walked a few feet closer. He has gray horns on his head. He sure as hell didn't have those when we were younger.

"As you can see, I don't look the same as I did all those years ago." He gestured to the horn. "On that work trip, our plane crashed onto a small island in the middle of nowhere. Of course the company, being the big corporation that it is, covered up our disappearance so that it never got out to the public." He laughed sadly, "They couldn't let anyone know how irresponsible they are."

"Wouldn't they have at least come to look for you? And what about all of the people on the plane with you? Wouldn't the families get suspicious?" Izuku asked. "I mean, we got a letter from you saying that you enjoyed the U.K. so much that you decided to stay!"

"I- I never sent a letter. None of us did. The island we landed on had a small village of quirkless people. They didn't have contact with the outside world, so quirks were extremely rare for them." He took a small step towards us. "They treated their leader as a God, the only one of them with a quirk. So when they found me and the only two others that had survived, they treated us at gods too, come to help them."

"There's no way you're telling the truth!" Izuku shouted, "And that still doesn't explain the horn! Or the letter!"

"Well, their leaders quirk was enhancing the strength of others. Their hunters could lift a seal over their heads with one hand. It was incredible. Of course, we were afraid. Their leader decided to help us by enhancing our strength, which just so happen to be our quirks." He knocked on a horn, "Your grandfather had a dragon quirk, and I had only gotten the fire breathing part of it. Now, I have the horns as a physical symbol of my improved power, just as the villagers gained muscle mass."

"It took years, but we were finally able to get back to Japan. We discovered that the company had forged our handwriting to send to our families."

"Then couldn't you have sued them?" I interjected, "Reported them? Or at least found someplace that could tell your story on the news?"

His stance faltered for a second. He looked down, then back up. "We wanted to. We really did. But corporations like that pay big money to keep people quiet."

This entire situation has been extremely awkward. Only Izuku, Katsuki, and I have met Hisashi. Plus, he seems to be trying to only talk to Izuku, and mostly ignoring the rest of us. We're all just kinda standing here.

"Lair..." Izuku whispered.

"Did you say something? I'm quite far away, so I can rea-"

"LAIR!" His fists tightened.

"Now what makes you say that Izuku?"

"Theres no way that could be true! You said that your plane crashed. But that business trip... I vividly remember seeing you off on a boat. "

"Oh Izuku, I know it's been a long time so it's hard to remember, but we boarded a plane once getting to the mainland of Russia, remember?"

"Something feels off." Himiko whispered. "It felt as if something was watching us earlier, but I saw a rabbit and assumed it was just that." She kept her voice low as Izuku and his father went back and forth.

"Yeah I agree, this just doesn't seem right." I replied, matching her quietness. "I'm going to search the area with some shadows."

She nodded, and I secretly sent out three small rope-shaped shadows to lightly prod around the structure. I can't find anything below us or in front of us. We must be paranoid. But I should still check.

One of them hit something weird. It's soft, and it keeps moving. It's too big to be a bird. Wait.

"But if you were headed to Russia, and then the UK... How could there possibly be islands that's no one could get to? It's not like its the middle of the Indian or Atlantic ocean."

"It really is a shame you and your friends don't believe me Izuku." His father said with a smile.

We're not alone. There's more than one.

"I really thought..." There's... ten, twenty, how many are there?!? "...that we could be a happy family again."

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!"