Police officers in a corner opposite to Izuku, one of them – A lower ranking one, if his insignia was what Izuku thought it was – was handing some sort of report to a superior officer. He was then given another order, and then left. The superior officer scanned over the report, drinking from a flask as he read.
He then turned around to lean against the wall. When he did, he saw a teenage Hero intern looking at him. He saw an anxious person, who couldn't keep his right leg still, it constantly bouncing up and down on his toes, and him biting into his left nail, over and over again. Calling him nervous or anxious would be an understatement. Apprehensive was more appropriate.
The two of them locked eyes for a second, and in that second, Izuku paused in his jittering. The officer gave him a slight nod, and then left, deciding to give him some room.
Izuku sighed. The officers had been here for at least three hours now. How long was this going to take? What exactly was even going on?
He began to bounce his leg again, and bit into his thumb once more. He felt warm. Warmer than was comfortable. Sweaty. He felt like he was thirteen again – Anxious and afraid of pretty much everything that would happen.
Then, his cheek felt ice cold.
"Gah!" He yelped and jolted slightly, moving a few inches to the side as he turned to look at the source of the sudden cold.
"Yo." He was greeted with a smirk from Mina, holding out a bottle of water for him. She must have gotten it from one of the fridges from the rest room from the kitchens of the building.
"Mina – Urgh." Izuku sighed, calming down, and taking the bottle from her. "You're… Never going to get tired of doing that, are you?"
"Probably not." Mina said with a grin, before sitting down. "Besides, you looked like you needed to stop thinking too hard."
"You always say I'm thinking too hard."
"'S'why I'm never gonna get tired of doing that." She nudged him slightly with her elbow, and that managed to pull a smile out of Izuku with her playfulness. She waited until he actually took a drink of the water – It would have been easier to get him soda, but given the state he was in, sugar was probably the last thing that he should be drinking. The same for herself, honestly – before she asked, "…Any updates?"
"Nothing." Izuku answered once he finished his gulp.
"That last officer still in there?"
"Yeah."
"He's been in there for nearly an hour, hasn't he?"
"Yeah."
"…You think Eri's okay? I can't imagine having a bunch of cops come around after finally talking can't be easy."
Chisaki….
The looks on the faces of the Pussycats when Izuku and Mina told them that Eri was finally talking was a series of glowing smiles and lightness that hadn't been seen in any of them since the child arrived. The weight and the worry from everyone. Progress had been made after days of feeling like they were just hitting their heads against a brick wall. The mood was lighter. Brighter.
Then the name Chisaki came out. And that mood died on the spot.
Next day they came in, and there were police all over the place, and Heroes keeping watch on the building from outside, like it was some sort of bunker that needed to be defended from an incoming invasion. And the two of them had to be briefed on just how significant the name Chisaki was.
Overhaul. Some sort of mafia Villain that the Heroes had been trying to capture for a while now, responding to incidents where his Quirk seemed to have been utilized, but not being able to capture him, only able to clean up the mess he invariably made.
And they now guessed Eri had some kind of connection to Overhaul – To Chisaki.
It made Izuku wonder how elusive this guy turned out to be. Were the police and Heroes that lacking in information about this guy that Eri just mentioning his name was worth all of this? Even if that was the case, this didn't sit well with him. He didn't know what was going on behind the door to Eri's room. He didn't know if the police were being kind to her, or if they were accusing her of being the mastermind behind the advent of the extraordinary – He had no idea.
That made him nervous.
He didn't answer Mina. Instead he tried to take another sip of water. He couldn't though. It was like his body rejected it outright, forcing it back into the bottle it came from. Water normally didn't taste of anything. On the first sip, it hadn't either.
But now, water tasted like oil, somehow.
He had to be overthinking it. There was no way the police were sending actual professional interrogators to interrogate a six-year-old, surely? This had to be given a different approach, didn't it? Shigaraki was just as wanted a criminal as this Overhaul, but no one had yelled at him for answers after he'd been taken hostage by him, both at the Kiyashi Ward and after the training lodge. He was overthinking it.
He was overthinking it.
"Midoriya!"
Izuku blinked a couple of times before he realized he was being called over. He looked over to the source, expecting it to be one of the Pussycats.
Instead he was Mirio approaching him.
"Togata?" Izuku blinked another couple of times as he registered that it was, indeed, Mirio approaching him. He was in a Hero costume, which made Izuku take a second to double check that it was who he thought it was. He couldn't help but smile slightly – A friendly face was always good to see.
"So this is where you ended up." Mirio said with his usual smile, extending his hand for Izuku to shake, which he took. He then glanced at Mina, and offered her a handshake as well. "You're Ashido, right?"
"I'm surprised you picked up my name after you knocked me and everyone else out." Mina said, accepting his handshake. She remembered how much of a scarily effective fighter Mirio was and how absolutely worthless her Quirk had been against him.
Mirio just laughed – Not in a condescending way, but in a more light-hearted manner that didn't bely any arrogance or animosity towards either of them – More like he found the comment actually funny. "Midoriya mentioned you after we met up with All Might to discuss internships."
"Ah." Mina nodded, giving Izuku a smug smirk as she glanced towards him.
"No, I wasn't bragging about you." Izuku said, not returning the look, or even looking at Mina at all. "I was trying to see if the Pro-Hero Mirio works for would be willing to intern both of us."
"Spoilsport."
"What're you doing here?" Izuku asked.
"I'm here with Sir Nighteye!" Mirio said, proudly. "We've been looking into Chisaki for a while now, and this is the first sign of a lead we can actually work with." He folded his arms and grinned. "Either with us, or going out on your own – Looks like you're involved in this situation either way, Midoriya."
"Looks that way." Izuku muttered. He looked over Mirio's shoulder, to try to spot anyone else who stood out amongst the crowd of people in suits and police uniforms. Obviously, the Pro Heroes did, but aside from the Pussycats, talking to various officers, they were all outside. So was Nighteye too? Curiosity got the best of him. "Togata, uh…. Where is Sir Nighteye?"
Interning under him or not, he was a former sidekick to All Might. Izuku was curious what sort of person All Might saw fit to work alongside. Plus, maybe he could make a good impression, and who knows how that would play out in the long run. Networking was important, he'd come to realize.
Glancing behind him, Mirio seemed to spot Nighteye in a sea of similarly dressed individuals. "Sir!" He called out, grabbing the attention of one suit-wearing individual in particular.
Wrapping up a couple of conversations he was having, the tall individual walked towards Mirio, and looked down at Izuku and Mina. He was virtually indistinguishable from every other salaryman in a crowded street that Izuku had seen in his entire life. He was taller, and his hair was green with streaks of lighter green, but that was about as much a standout feature in the world they lived in as his freckles and black-and-green hair was.
To call him… Intimidating would be an understatement. Overwhelming seemed more appropriate. Just from his expression alone, Izuku could tell this person didn't care for him in the least. He'd gotten more friendly looks from strangers in the streets.
"These are the two I told you about." Mirio said, apparently oblivious to the tone already set between the two of them. "This is Izuku Midoriya – The one All Might was helping out, and that's Mina Ashido, his partner."
For whatever reason, Izuku was glad Mirio had left it at 'partner'. Somehow he felt this would become even more awkward if the word 'girlfriend' had been thrown out. Partner implied professionalism – At least in this context.
Nighteye didn't seem to budge in his expression though. He hadn't even blinked since he came over. The old awkwardness that Izuku had felt every day of his life, but had finally started to overcome since attending Yuuei, made itself known again.
Then Nighteye simply nodded. Then he turned to look at Mina, extremely briefly. He nodded at her, seemingly far less interested in her, and then he made his way away from the pair of them, heading towards speaking to the officer that was blocking the way to Eri's room.
"Well that was…. A thing." Mina stated, plainly. "That was a thing that just happened."
"He seemed interested in you, Midoriya." Mirio said, a smile still on his face.
Izuku couldn't exactly disagree. But he wasn't sure he liked this sort of interest. Nighteye was…. Absolutely nothing like he expected. He expected… Anything other than someone who looked and… Did whatever the hell that was supposed to be.
Did he have something against him? He'd literally never even heard of the guy, never mind met him. What could he possibly…
Shaking his head, Izuku just blinked.
"Lemillion." Nighteye suddenly said clearly and firmly. Turning to look at him, the officer on guard had stepped aside for the Pro-Hero, and whoever was in there beforehand also moved out of the room and out of the way, giving the Hero a nod like they would any other.
"Yes Sir!" Mirio responded, standing up and about to his way towards the door.
"H-Hold on." Izuku said, quickly, before Mirio was up and away. "I – I found Eri. Mina and I have been looking after her these last few days – I want to make sure she's alright."
"You're the one here on internship." Mirio said, a tone in his voice like he understood the loophole he was implying. "I don't think anyone can really stop you from going wherever it is you want to go. It's your building, after all."
The police could – But if a Pro Hero and his intern allowed them in – Well, Heroes outranked the police in situations like this. If they just went along with Mirio, it wasn't likely they'd question it.
Mina smiled. "Thanks, Togata." Izuku smiled as well, nodding his thanks.
Mirio just nodded back, and led the way. As expected, none of the police questioned it when Izuku and Mina went past them. They held the door open for them, and shut it once they were inside.
For some reason, Izuku had half expected everything in the room to be a complete mess – Clothes thrown around the floor, the bed unkempt and undone, and other such indications of…. Some sort of struggle? He had no idea why, but he was glad to see that wasn't the case.
Eri was fine. She looked…. A bit tired, but given what was going on, that was to be expected. She didn't look like she'd said a word, like she was right back to where she was before Izuku and Mina had managed to pry a few words from her. It made him bit the inside of his lower lip, paranoid that all the effort they had spent trying to get the child to open up had been spent and was now thrown aside in the hope of dragging a few answers out.
Thankfully though, she seemed to react to their presence, and he could swear he saw the smallest glimpse of a smile threatening to break through. She wasn't regressing quite yet, thank God. None of the officers had been callous with how they had treated her then.
Nighteye finally noticed Izuku and Mina in the room, but he didn't seem to care all that much. He gave the two of them a sideways glance, before he turned towards Mirio. Wordlessly, he seemed to convey the message that he wanted his intern to do the speaking in this situation, apparently either uncomfortable dealing with young children himself, or recognizing he wasn't exactly the most approachable person on Earth.
On the other hand though, Mirio was quite approachable, and was fine interacting with kids. He knelt down, so he was eye level with the child."Your name is Eri, right?"
Eri blinked, but nodded.
"I've heard about you. I wanna ask you some questions, if that's okay." He spoke gently and was friendly, while still making it clear that he needed answers.
Maybe it was a product of her being alone that she hadn't said anything, but Eri looked to Izuku and to Mina first, like she wanted to know from them if it was okay to say something to this stranger.
"Go ahead." Izuku said, nodding. "Togata's a…. A friend of mine. And a strong Hero. I trust him."
That seemed to be enough for Eri. She nodded softly, and turned back to Mirio.
"You mentioned the name Chisaki." Mirio said. "You're referring to Kai Chisaki, right?"
Eri nodded.
"Did you ever hear anyone refer to him as 'Overhaul'?"
Eri nodded.
Basic questions, Izuku noted. And more or less confirmed already. There wouldn't already be police here if they didn't already guess it was this Overhaul person.
"Do you remember where it was you ran away from?"
Eri shook her head.
"Do you…. Remember any street signs, or anywhere you went?"
Eri gulped. She looked over to Izuku and Mina again, to see that they were still there. They both gave her a reassuring smile and a nod.
"…I…. I - I remember Shiri District on a street sign…"
That seemed to make Mirio blink, and look shaken for just a few seconds before he carried on. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Like, where you went, or anyone else you saw?"
Eri shook her head.
"…Can you tell us why you were kept inside Chisaki's compound?"
Eri didn't move in the slightest.
"Okay…" Mirio nodded, and stood back up. He offered her a smile – A bright one. "Thank you very much, Eri."
Izuku blinked. That was all they were going to ask? He was surprised – He honestly thought that there would have been a hell of a lot more questioning.
"Midoriya, come with us." Mirio said, turning towards Izuku. "I think I should fill you in."
Glancing between Mina and Eri for a moment, Izuku hesitated, before Mina put a hand on his shoulder. "Go on. I'll stay here and keep her company."
He looked towards Eri once more, and she was now looking at him. The look she was giving him was obvious – She didn't want him to leave. He gave her a smile in an effort to reassure her. "I'll be back in a few minutes, promise."
The door opened, and he followed out Mirio and Nighteye. Behind them, the door was shut, and the officers who stood guard outside were dismissed by Nighteye. Izuku blinked. What information was he being given that the police themselves weren't privy to?
Attempts to keep up his sunny disposition fell apart immediately once the doors were shut, and Mirio wasn't being looked at by onlookers. He looked visibly…. Not shaken. More… Aware, Izuku would say. "The Shiri district is on my patrol route…"
"Huh?"
"The route I normally patrol when I'm on duty." Mirio explained. "I go through Shiri pretty often. I might have run into her if I'd been just a few seconds behind or ahead of schedule…. She must have run right past me."
"I-Isn't it more important that she's safe?"
"Yes… It is." Mirio agreed, nodding and standing up straight again. "But it's still disturbing to think about. It means for a fact Overhaul is still active around the area."
"Overhaul's group are from the old mafia, but they aren't active enough to be considered active Villains, so legally there's not much to be done about them by us." Nighteye explained, heavily yet dully at the same time. "We've been keeping an eye on his activities for the last few months. There's been an increase in their activities, and we're trying to figure out exactly what it is they're trying to do."
"You think Eri is connected to their activities?" Izuku asked.
"We aren't sure yet." Mirio admitted. He glanced around for a moment, before his expression became…. More serious. "You have a classmate called Red Riot, right?"
"Kirishima? What about him?"
"There was an incident yesterday. Kirishima was fine thanks to his Quirk, but…. Tamaki was hit by a bullet that…. Seems to have erased his Quirk."
Izuku blinked as he tried to allow that to set in. For a minute, it seemed like his brain just refused to accept it. A bullet that erased Quirks?
Not like it was the most outlandish thing he'd ever heard, especially considering his own Quirk. When he put it into perspective, it seemed to settle in better. He gulped. "H….How?" Was all he could ask. "What sort of technology lets… Anyone do that to a Quirk?" He blinked again. "I…Is it something to do with someone's Quirk? The only times I can think of Quirks being stolen were All for One." He shuddered slightly, remembering his encounter when held hostage by his group.
His blood suddenly went cold.
"He – He didn't – "
"No, he didn't." Mirio said, quickly, realizing where Izuku's mind was going. "All For One is still in the Tartarus prison, don't worry. That was one of the first places we checked. We're not entirely sure what the situation is, but we believe the incident involved Overhauls group."
Letting himself calm down, Izuku inhaled briefly. "H… How is Amakiji?"
"He's fine." Mirio said, smiling. "Apparently he just needed to rest it off, and his Quirk came back to him."
"Not a permanent thing then…" Izuku muttered to himself. Then he blinked. "What's this got to do with us though?"
"As you said earlier, Eri may be connected to their activities." Nighteye said, plainly. "Perhaps she's Chisaki's daughter. Or maybe she's some child that they dragged in out of the streets for whatever reason. And we don't have any information on these Quirk erasing bullets either. What we do know is that after she ended up here, Overhaul's group started to be more active than they already were. They seem to be looking for her."
"….You think she's somehow involved with these Quirk erasing bullets?" Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We aren't sure yet." Mirio said, though the look on his face told Izuku he was as concerned about the possibility as he was himself. "But we don't know Eri's Quirk either. It's a lead that we can't rule out."
"I want to put her into protective custody." Nighteye stated.
"You what?!" Izuku reacted instantly, turning his head to look directly at the taller man. "You can't do that – We've just managed to get her to start talking! She's only just getting comfortable with this place!"
Getting Eri to open up had taken days – Days! And when she finally spoke, her words were tepid, nervous, and short. And then she was swarmed with police officers and Heroes, and somehow she only seemed to manage through it because she was around… Him and Mina.
And even assuming that he and Mina had nothing to do with it – Something about this place had finally made her talk. Who knew what it was, and who could be sure that taking her away from this environment wouldn't cause a relapse either?
Taking her away from this place, away from them – That would only put her progress back, wouldn't it?
"I never said we'd be taking her away from this place." Nighteye said, adjusting his glasses, as if that had been obvious from the second he started talking. "So far we have no evidence that Overhauls group knows that she is here. In case they do figure it out though, I'm going to request that a group of police officers be stationed here. I've already clarified it with the Heroes you're interning with. The child will be remaining here for now, unless major developments convince us to otherwise move her."
Mirio pumped up his fist. "And we'll be coming by every other day to see how she's doing, and we'll be in touch with the Wild Pussycats in case of any updates!"
"A…. Oh…" Izuku acknowledged, realizing he had reacted far too soon. He felt somewhat embarrassed now.
Sort of.
"It would appear that one way or another, you and I will be working together on this situation." Nighteye looked at Izuku from above the frame of his glasses, looking down at the student in front of him. The full foot difference in height between them now seemed much wider. "Izuku Midoriya."
There was… Something about Nighteye that just made Izuku shiver. What it was, he couldn't put a pin on. He wasn't… Intimidating, so to speak. After being held hostage by serial killers, lunatics and murderers, it was difficult to feel intimidated like that anymore. But there was something….
….Cold, about Nighteye. Like he had made up his mind about Izuku long before having even seen a picture of him. Like he already knew everything about him. Like he already had enough to judge him.
He was All Might's former sidekick – Maybe that was playing a part into it, and Izuku hadn't realized it. Maybe it was the fact Izuku had turned down an introduction at his agency and maybe he'd taken it personally. Maybe –
….Had All Might told him about One For All?
Sir Nighteye turned around, and called Mirio to follow him. Mirio said something in farewell towards Izuku, but he didn't particularly hear it. Was he thinking too much about this?
Probably. If he'd learnt anything these past few months, it was that he overthought things way too much. Hell, just fifteen minutes ago, he'd been going over some patently absurd ideas as to what was going on with Eri and the police during their questioning.
Quickly though, he ran through all the new information he had been given.
Eri escaping from this 'Overhaul's compound. Kirishima being involved in some sort of Quirk-erasing bullet incident. An increase in Overhaul's group's activities.
Aside from Eri, it was all second-hand data. Nothing he could figure out unless he knew the specifics. He ran through things in his head though. There could be a thousand different reasons why they wanted Eri back. Chances were good she knew something about their operations that they really did not want exposed. The idea of her being somehow directly responsible for the production of these Quirk erasing bullets… Even the idea of those was one he couldn't quite make heads or tails of. Certainly, it wasn't the most out there thing he'd heard, but…
…How would that even work?... That would have to be such a specific set of Quirk requirements. Quirks could be pretty much anything, true – Hell, Aizawa's Quirk let him cancel them out for a while, so Quirks cancelling out other Quirks wasn't all that outlandish, but for it to be usable on an object that would then non-lethally take away someone's Quirk? Wouldn't that be… Bigger news? That seemed like it would be a Quirk he could have heard about by now.
Could it be technological? Was that even possible? Could technology create something to cancel out Quirks, even temporarily?
Before he realized it, he was texting Kirishima, asking him if he was alright, and if he had any information on what the deal was with those bullets. His mind was still racing as he typed though. He didn't stop thinking for a moment, his hands acting on autopilot.
Could Eri's Quirk be somehow related to this? It wasn't like they had any real idea what her Quirk was…
So much had just been thrown at him. He didn't know what to make of it all.
Eri was connected to some major issues though. That was undeniable.
But what was important was making sure she was safe. That was…. Honestly, the only thing Izuku could think that was most important.
Maybe the answers would come out diegetically. Maybe they wouldn't. Any information would be helpful, yes…
…But Eri was more important. That was what Heroes did.
…That was what was right in this situation.
"Why is it that you keep getting dragged into nearly every single freakin' incident that goes on in this country?" Mina asked, raising her eyebrow. "You sure you don't have a "attracting trouble literally everywhere you go" Quirk?"
"That would explain a lot, wouldn't it." Izuku shrugged, allowing himself a single huff in amusement.
"I'll say." Sighed Mina, leaning against a wall. "Its like the entire planet has it in for you."
"That or I just have terrible luck."
Once more, Mina sighed. "….If it makes you feel any better, I'd've probably reacted the same way."
It had been about an hour since Nighteye had left, and had told Izuku about the various incidents going on in the outside world. Mina had been relayed that information once she and Izuku were away from Eri, giving the Pussycats an update on her status and acquiring a few minutes to themselves. Getting her away from Eri seemed like a good idea to Izuku. Saying all of this in front of an already stressed child wouldn't do any good.
"I wouldn't want her to be taken away either." Mina carried on. "She…. She just seems unsure right now…. She'll get there though."
"You think so?"
"She's not exactly the first awkward dork I've pulled out of their shell." She smirked, and winked at him.
This time, Izuku sighed. "That is… Incredible. You know that, right?"
"Hm, what is?"
"That… Ability you have to just flirt in nearly every situation we're in. How do you even manage that?" He looked at her, and he gave her a tired smile. "I swear, you could have flirted back when the League of Villains had me hostage."
"I'd've made an effort."
"I'm sure you would have."
"It keeps the tone light." Mina said. "I like keeping things light. Better than letting the existential dread kick in."
"Where were you five years ago? I could have used you then."
"And where's the adorable dork I first met?" Mina smiled, poking one of the freckles on his cheeks. "That Izuku wouldn't be knocking jabs back and forth like this with me. Or have we reached the 'I'm too tired to care what I say' stage of this relationship?"
"Maybe." Izuku smirked. That faded though once Eri's room door came into view. That smile faded quickly. Heavy words came out very easily now. "…Or maybe I'm just using it to…Cope with everything…"
The implications of what were going on weren't ones that he liked. If Eri was involved in this deeply, he wondered what had happened to her from her time in Overhauls compound. It was hard not to imagine what was going on in there. What made it worse was not knowing.
Not knowing if he was worrying over nothing, or if he was right to be concerned.
He didn't want to push Eri, but would she open up on her own?
"…So 'too tired' then?" Mina asked.
"…Maybe…"
"…We'll look after her, you know that, right?" Mina said, her voice becoming lower and more serious. She took hold of his hand, and held it in front of him, clasped into hers. "We're team Awkward Energy."
Mina was… An enigma, to say the least. Even after dating her for as long as he had, there were things Izuku felt he didn't know about her, little secrets that he had yet to learn about her. Sometimes the things she said and did made him blush, and she always worked to keep him on his toes.
Their relationship had evolved a lot over such a short amount of time. Both of them had changed. Their dynamic had changed. Sometimes they would slip back into their old habits, going back to being an awkward boy and a hyperactive girl. Sometimes they were more like they were now, throwing light shots at one another, with the undercurrent of care.
They were…. Honest with each other. Especially after Izukus' return from the League of Villains. They didn't hide anything anymore. When they needed to, they spoke. A few months ago, Izuku couldn't have been sure that he'd be comfortable talking to Mina about what had just happened with Nighteye. The way he thought about what he needed to tell Mina and what he didn't… These days, he struggled to make sense of how he thought back then.
Making him smile seemed to be the thing she did the easiest. She just did that without even trying, but when she did try, she never failed.
It was like this when they got nervous or when they were thinking too hard, it seemed. These little backs and forths. These little talks. These conversations. This retrospection.
This reassurance.
He smiled. "…Right."
"I mean we did just practically just become parents at this point didn't we."
"Wha – " Izuku's face exploded bright red and felt like it burned underneath his skin.
"There's a blush." Mina smirked.