Hello! I'm back to try my hand at a multi-chapter fic for the My Hero Academia fandom! I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while. I thought it was about time to make it a reality! This will take place just after the Provisional License Exam Arc. As far as length goes for this story…well…I'm honestly not quite sure, but I guess we'll find out together. I sincerely hope you all enjoy it!
I do not own My Hero Academia.
"Thanks again, Eraserhead!"
Shouta mumbled something close to "you're welcome" as the plucky young police officer escorted one of the two handcuffed criminals to the car, his elder partner following close behind with the other. The older man chuckled.
"I was beginning to think you heroes wouldn't see any action tonight," he said as he turned and waved at the erasure hero. "Have a good rest of your shift, Eraser."
Shouta nodded and watched as the two officers put the young boys in the back of the car and drove off. He took a deep breath before throwing his scarf to nearest warehouse and catapulting himself to the roof. The cool night wind whipped his hair back as he walked to the other side, crouching down and scanning the surrounding area.
He'd be lying if he said he hadn't had the same thoughts as that police officer. Much to his surprise, it had been a relatively quiet shift. The only action he'd seen occurred just minutes ago.
Not that a drug deal could really be considered action. Well, not until one of the perpetrators tried to stab him without even considering the possibility he could be attacking a pro hero. Subduing them both hardly took any effort on his part. Overall, it had been a relatively uneventful patrol.
However, he couldn't get himself to regret picking up this extra shift.
*two days ago*
He trudged down the hall toward the conference room. He paused just outside the room, already hearing the multitude of voices just beyond the door. He sighed and opened it. His colleagues filled the chairs set up throughout the room, and from the looks of it, he was one of the last to arrive. He looked around, spotting the familiar bird-like hairstyle almost instantly. As expected, there was an empty chair right next to Hizashi. The man beamed at him as he sat down beside him.
"Shouta! Good to see you so bright and chipper this early in the morning! Did you listen to—"
"Looks like we're all here," Nezu announced as he stood up.
Internally grateful that Yuuei's principal had saved him from Hizashi chatting his ear off about last night's radio show, he turned his attention to the front of the room.
"As I'm sure you remember from our staff meeting last week, Yasunari Umeji was spotted leaving Heathrow Airport in London."
He could feel Hizashi tense next to him, his usual grin fading from his face. A suffocating blanket covered the entirety of the conference room at the mention of the man.
"I received a call from Ketsubutsu Academy last night," Nezu continued. "Two first-year students never showed up for class yesterday morning. Both had transformation quirks. Their parents saw them leave, so the police have concluded they were abducted on their way to school."
His blood ran cold, the story seeming all too familiar. Hizashi leaned in close to him.
"Do you think it's Yasunari's ring?" he whispered.
As if the principal heard him, he spoke up again.
"The police are still conducting their investigation on the matter. Until we're certain who's behind this, we will be postponing all school trips until further notice. The students won't be permitted to leave campus except in the event of an emergency, in which case a teacher will escort them. Are there any questions?"
*present*
Yasunari Umeji.
That was a name he hadn't heard in a while. Years actually. Though he was certain every single hero in that room wouldn't forget him. He knew he and Iida Tensei definitely wouldn't.
He was responsible for their first major raid as pro heroes, after all.
Tensei took a deep breath and smiled, finally putting on his helmet.
"You ready, Eraserhead?"
He almost grinned when he recalled Tensei's enthusiasm before raiding the warehouse. Having just graduated and signing on with their agencies only a couple years previously, there hadn't been an instance where either hero had been specifically requested by name.
Sixteen kids across Musutafu had been reported missing, ages varying from six to seventeen-years-old. They each had very different quirks, but he remembered the majority of them had either emitter or transformation quirks. No bodies had been found, so the public kept holding on to hope that the children were still alive. The longer the children were missing, the more heroes the Musutafu police roped into assisting with the investigation.
No one had the slightest idea where the kids could be until the police got a tip from a couple of warehouse workers from an industrial park on the far east side of the city. The two had gotten off late one night and saw one of the overhead doors to the warehouse next to theirs open and a truck drove in. While that normally wouldn't have been anything worth noting, but their company hadn't used that warehouse in the last two years.
It seemed to be the perfect place to hide a bunch of children.
The police finally had their first lead. He and Ingenium were called for the raid along with All Might, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist, just to name a few of the pros they were joining. He couldn't deny that he'd been a bit honored to be called in on this mission.
*ten years previously*
"You two better keep up."
He glanced at Tensei and they both followed Endeavor around to the back of the warehouse. His friend's hands clenched into fists, but he remained silent. As much as the comment was unnecessary, Endeavor was right. This may be a dead end, but it was the first chance they had of finding any of the missing kids.
They couldn't afford to screw up.
Endeavor held up a hand when they reached the back. The trio was silent until they heard a massive bang from within the warehouse. Without hesitation, Endeavor incinerated the overehead door, the two young heroes rushing in only a second after.
It was silent.
Stacks of boxes and crates lined the walls and were scattered all over the floor. He could see All Might's group coming in from the other side of the warehouse. No one attacked them as they made their way across the floor.
Whoever had been here was gone.
Despite the unexpected development, he followed Tensei when his friend bolted toward the offices. He stopped at one of the doors while Tensei continued down the hall. Twisting the doorknob, he was surprised to find it unlocked. Erasure activated, he entered, but quickly found his quirk unnecessary. The previously abandoned office was completely bare except for a mattress against the back wall. A tray containing a half-eaten sandwich sat by the door, indicating someone had definitely just been there.
"Dammit!"
He ran to the next room, again finding the door unlocked. Like the last room, there was a single mattress against the back wall, but a small figure was sprawled out across this one.
"I've got one!" Tensei called.
"I do too!" he answered back.
He rushed to his knees and turned the young girl on her back, careful not to knock over the makeshift IV set up beside her mattress. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady and even. He glanced to the bag of fluid, assuming it to be some sort of sedative considering the girl didn't even stir when she was moved. He removed the needle from the crook of her arm, but froze when he got a good look at her.
She wasn't one of the kids from the news reports or pictures he'd been shown during the briefing.
That didn't matter. He had to get her out of here. He slipped his arms under her knees and back and quickly exited the room, nearly running into Tensei as he zoomed by with another unconscious kid in his arms. Endeavor and All Might rounded a corner and ran toward him. He motioned down the hall with his head.
"Check the other offices. That's where they're keeping the kids."
Both heroes nodded and rushed down the hall. He carried the young girl out of the warehouse. Grateful that the police had an ambulance on stand-by, he handed her over to the medics. More pros emerged from the warehouse, only a few carrying children.
He sighed and lifted up his goggles to rub his eyes. As the last of the pros joined them outside, he only saw seven children recovered, and they don't even know who abducted them. He snapped his head up when he heard someone approaching him.
"Follow me."
He didn't have the chance to protest before Tensei grabbed his arm. The two snuck away from the other pros and police officers, his friend waiting until they were a few buildings away before speaking again.
"Get on the rooftops. Whoever was in that warehouse left in a rush if they left some of the kids behind. There's a chance they might still be in the vicinity."
He nodded before throwing up his scarf and swinging up on top of the nearest building. He silently ran and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, having to move quickly to keep up with Tensei. He paused when they reached the last building. Scanning the area one last time, he saw three figures sprinting toward the fence surrounding the industrial park. His eyes widened when he saw the gate opening.
How could he nearly miss them?
"Ingenium, north gate!"
Even from the roof, he could hear the blast from Tensei's engines. He wrapped his scarf around the closest telephone pole and swung himself down. Eyes wide and quirk activated, he sprinted toward the gate without taking his eyes of their targets. He saw one of them look to the side, seeing the turbo hero coming in from his left. He stuck his hand out.
"What the hell?" he heard the man shout.
The man had obviously been banking on using his quirk. Unable to slow down, Tensei tackled the man and the two tumbled across the ground. He was now close enough to throw his capture weapon to the men still running, wrapping them up instantly. He blinked before activating his quirk again. Tensei dragged his catch back into his line of sight. His eyes burned, but he forced them to remain open. He had to. They couldn't risk any of these men escaping.
They had to get some answers and find the rest of the missing kids.
*present*
Shouta grimly remembered leaving the police station after the three men he and Tensei caught had been interrogated. Unfortunately, they weren't as helpful as the two heroes had hoped. He wouldn't go as far to say their efforts to capture them had been in vain; however, the information the police discovered was far from anything they or any pro hero wanted to imagine.
First of all, three of the seven rescued children were from Tokyo and were just reported missing a couple days prior to the raid, so twelve kids were still missing from Musutafu alone. Second of all, they weren't dealing with just a couple of villains.
Yasunari Umeji, previously wanted for drug and arms trafficking, had been the mastermind behind it all. He'd apparently decided to expand his empire to include quirk trafficking. He offered his services and resources to villains and underground organizations to provide them with children to recruit or experiment on as his clients demanded. Just a few months before the raid, he'd moved his ring's base to Musutafu. From a business stand point, that was a smart move. Some of the greatest hero schools in all of Japan were in this city. There was certainly no shortage of children with powerful quirks.
It made Shouta sick to think that someone would rip these children away from their families just for money, even to this day. It didn't surprise him, though.
The three men they'd captured were just hired as guards for their base, so they had no connection or information on any of Yasunari's clients. They weren't even aware the ring leader had abandoned the base before the raid. Aside from a few names and basic descriptions, they couldn't give the police anything to identify the other members of the ring. They had no information on where Yasunari or the rest of his men could have gone. They had no information on where the rest of the kids could have gone or who bought them.
And ten years later, they were still missing…but so was the ring.
Assuming Yasunari would try to flee the country after nearly getting caught, every airport in Japan doubled their security, but that did nothing to stop the man from leaving. He was spotted in the United States before disappearing. From what Shouta gathered, increasing security didn't stop him from re-entering the country either.
Until the staff meeting earlier this week, the rest of the ring had been thought to be disbanded; however, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that they might return. More villains—both new and old—had been gaining more confidence in the wake of All Might's retirement. Despite having his usual patrol the previous night, he didn't hesitate to step up and take another in one of the industrial parks several kilometers south of Yuuei. It might have been inconvenient, but necessary. Since two students from Ketsubutsu have already gone missing, the police needed as many heroes on patrol as possible to cover the entire city.
A small clang got brought him out of his thoughts. He looked to his right, just in time to see a figure disappearing around the corner of another warehouse. His brow furrowed.
Was there another dealer?
He threw his scarf to the next warehouse and jumped. He swung through the air, blinking as the rush of air caused his eyes to water. Even for that brief moment, he almost missed it. A silver flash caught his eye, and another followed right after.
Then his stomach lurched into his throat.
He barely saw the tatters of his capture weapon before hurtling into the side of the warehouse. He grunted upon impact and tried to ignore the agony exploding from his right shoulder. Desperately, he threw what remained of his scarf toward the roof, but it came up just short.
Nothing could stop him from plummeting to the ground.
He fought the urge to clutch his shoulder as he relaxed his body. Landing on the balls of his feet, he tucked and rolled forward on his uninjured shoulder to his back. He only had the briefest moment to be grateful that he escaped this fall with only a dislocated shoulder when he heard footsteps.
He didn't even have the chance to get up before someone forcibly turned him onto his stomach and perched himself on his back. He tried to turn to look at his attacker and activate his quirk, but a strong hand forced his head down on the pavement. Unable to bite back a groan as his injured shoulder was jostled, his wrists were wrenched behind his back and handcuffed.
"Cover his eyes," he heard someone order, the voice not belonging to either man holding him down.
How many of these people are there?
Dread pooled in his stomach when the hand on his head yanked his goggles from his eyes and a dark cloth replaced it. A second later, the weight on his back disappeared. His utility belt and remains of his capture weapon were confiscated before a pair of hands pulled him to his feet and dragged him further into the industrial park. An onslaught of footsteps followed them.
From what I can hear, there's a lot of them. They knew to blindfold me. They took my belt and capture weapon. They have to know who they just caught.
That definitely wasn't a good sign, but he couldn't dwell on it. Not now.
The iron grip on his arms didn't give in the slightest when he tried to twist out of his attackers' hold. He next tried digging his heels into the ground. That slowed them down for a moment, but he heard two sets of footsteps quicken their pace. They grabbed his legs, the four men resorting to carrying the struggling erasure hero.
He heard the metallic grating of an overhead door opening, but the sound only lasted a few seconds. If he had to guess, it was only open enough for the group to enter one of the warehouses. The door was quickly shut. He listened closely, surprised to find the place relatively quiet.
"I see you were successful!"
Shouta automatically turned his head toward the voice. Suddenly, the men carrying his legs dropped them and he was forced to his knees.
"It's an honor to meet you, Eraserhead!" the voice continued. "I'd never even heard of you until you and Ingenium captured some of my guards, but you've grown quite the reputation over the last few years. I couldn't believe my luck when I heard you were patrolling the area. This isn't a part of your usual route, is it?"
Yasunari Umeji.
It had to be.
His heart sunk as his earlier suspicions were confirmed when the man called him by name. He was targeted and he definitely didn't want to think about the reason why.
"I'm afraid I need—"
"No."
He heard the slap before he registered his cheek stinging and his head whipping to the side. A firm grip on his chin turned his head forward again.
"As I was saying, I'm afraid I need something from you," he continued. "My clients were ecstatic to hear that I'd returned to Musutafu, which sure as hell wasn't an easy feat. They've had their eyes on some of your students for quite a while now. Until the pro heroes raided my warehouse ten years ago, I dutifully exceeded all my clients' expectations and I'm eager to keep up my reputation. This would be much easier if your students weren't living on Yuuei's campus, but we're nothing if not flexible."
The grip on his chin tightened, enough so that the erasure hero had to fight to hold back a wince.
"We know Yuuei increased its security once the students moved into the dormitories and that you played a major role in its design. You're going to tell us the location of every security camera and how to disarm every alarm between the gates and the dorms. We're also going to need a layout of Heights Alliance as well as all information you have on your students' quirks. We may have seen them in action at the Sports Festival, but I know there's much more to them that we don't know and it's common courtesy for us to provide our clients with all the information we have available on their purchases."
"No," Shouta declared, his voice slightly louder than the last time he spoke.
He didn't know how Yasunari knew he helped design Yuuei's new security system. He didn't care. All he knew was that there wasn't any chance the man would lay a hand on any of the students.
Yasunari chuckled. He could feel his captor leaning in close enough for the man's breath to ghost over his face.
"Being stubborn will only delay the inevitable, Eraser. I will get the information I need. I'll even make your job easier for you and narrow down the list of students. As much as I'd like to hear more about them all to advertise potential products for my clients, I'm afraid we don't have that kind of time."
How dare he talk about my students that way?
"We need everything you know about Bakugou Katsuki, Uraraka Ochako, Tokoyami Fumikage…."
He barely heard the man over the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. His hands clenched into fists behind his back, palms stinging from his nails digging into the flesh.
"…Iida Tenya, Asui Tsuyu…"
Despite being blindfolded, he shut his eyes.
"…Todoroki Shouto…."
He doesn't actually believe I'll help him abduct my own students, does he?
"…Yaoyorozu Momo, Kirishima Eijiro…."
Blood streamed down his palms. He forced himself to take a deep breath.
"…Midoriya Izuku…."
He tried to pull his head away, but Yasunari's grip remained firm.
"…and Shinsou Hitoshi. Feel free to start with whoever you'd like. We can get into security detail later."
He remained silent, his body tensing as the rage continued coursing through his veins.
He doesn't have any right to even mention their names. He's not getting any information from me.
He's sure as hell not getting my students.
He heard Yasunari sigh, the man finally releasing his chin. A foot collided with his stomach a second later. He couldn't stop the pained grunt from escaping him, slumping over as much as the men holding his arms would allow him to and desperately trying to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him. A hand fisted in his hair and yanked his head back up.
"You've caught me in a good mood, Eraser. You've got one more chance before—"
Yasunari was interrupted by the overhead door opening once again, only for a few seconds. A new set of footsteps as whoever entered made their way further into the warehouse.
"I was wondering why you requested my presence at this hour," the newcomer chuckled, "but I suppose my question is already answered."
The erasure hero tensed and his blood froze in his veins, his eyes widening behind the blindfold. Yasunari released the grip on his hair and stepped back from his captive. The footsteps came to a halt at his side and he felt a hand on the back of his head.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Yasunari asked.
"It's fine. Trust me, he's only dangerous if you're going to rely on your quirk."
The knot was untied and the blindfold was then removed. He almost wished it was put back on. He recognized Yasunari despite never actually seeing the man in person before. The shoulder-length brown hair was fairly memorable, even just from what few photos the Musutafu police had of him. Even though it had been ten years, the man looked like he hadn't aged a day.
"I have to say I wasn't expecting to run into you here, Eraser," came the voice from his right.
Shouta clamped his eyes shut and forced himself to breathe. Yasunari laughed and moved next to the newcomer, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
"I had a feeling you'd be a bit stubborn, but I knew the right person could get the information out of you. And who better than a familiar face? I knew Yamada—or Present Mic, I should say—would be perfect for the job."
Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and looked to his right. Despite hearing the distinctive voice, his stomach dropped when he saw Hizashi standing next to the notorious ring leader.
This can't be possible.
His friend had abandoned his usual flamboyant clothing for just a pair of faded gray jeans and black long-sleeved shirt, not appearing much different than Yasunari. He wasn't even aware Hizashi owned anything so dull. The blond had settled for taking his hair down from its usual style and replacing his sunglasses with a pair of simple black frames.
He wasn't sure any of the students would recognize their English teacher like this. Hell, if he hadn't been Hizashi's friend for fifteen years, he wasn't sure if he'd recognize him.
This has to be a mistake. This has to be a huge misunderstanding. He can't be a part of this.
Hizashi shrugged off Yasunari's hand and squatted down so he was eye-level with the erasure hero. He flashed Shouta a grim smile.
"Looks like we've got a lot to talk about, don't we?"
"This isn't you," Shouta whispered.
Hizashi wouldn't have anything to do with this ring. He would never even consider putting our students in danger. This has to be a misunderstanding.
The voice hero shook his head.
"I was hoping you wouldn't get dragged into this, Eraser, but I'm afraid it couldn't be avoided. I know you don't want to hear it, but it's in your best interest to cooperate."
Hizashi isn't really one of them. He can't be. Did he manage to infiltrate the ring? That's the only logical explanation….
…but Yasunari would know better than to trust a hero.
Hizashi straightened up. Yasunari nodded to the men holding his arms.
"Take him to one of the holding cells," he instructed. "We'll be there in a few minutes to start a more formal interrogation."
It was Shouta's turn to shake his head.
He's not really part of Yasunari's ring. He couldn't have been ten years ago. He can't be now.
"Mic, this isn't you."
He's just playing a role. I have to make it believable. Hizashi wouldn't delay calling the police or other pro heroes without a valid reason, would he?
He was yanked to his feet. Ignoring the pain blossoming from his dislocated shoulder, he railed against the arms dragging him away.
"Mic, I know you! You'd never do this to the students!" he yelled as two of his captors struggled to maintain their hold on him.
His wrists may still be cuffed behind him, but now he could see. One of the other men made to grab at his legs, but he lashed out and landed a kick to his attacker's ribs. He twisted his body to aim another kick to the man at his left. Someone else wrapped their arms around his waist from behind. He flung his head back and heard the satisfying crunch of a broken nose and swearing from whoever was behind him.
Hizashi sighed and stalked over to one of the numerous stacks of crates and grabbed a syringe.
"Hold him still," he ordered.
One of the arms around Shouta's waist moved to wrap in a tight hold around his neck, cutting off his air supply. He could feel drops of blood landing on top of his head, but the man maintained his grip on him. Someone else managed to get a hold on his legs as he struggled to breathe. He watched with wide eyes as Hizashi approached and didn't hesitate to plunge the syringe into his shoulder. The blond leaned in close to his ear.
"Save your strength, Shouta."
It was so quiet that the erasure hero wasn't sure if he'd imagined it or not. He could feel the contents of the syringe coursing through his veins. The arm around his neck disappeared, finally allowing him to catch his breath, but it didn't matter. Whatever was in that syringe took affect instantly. His limbs grew heavy and his head fell toward his chest.
Since he could no longer put up a struggle, his captors were easily able to drag him away.
He fought to lift his head one last time. He saw Hizashi turn back to Yasunari, who slung an arm around his shoulders and steered him toward another stack of crates.
"Mic…." he mumbled.
The man didn't hear him, or couldn't be bothered to acknowledge him if he did. His friend never looked back.
He couldn't fight against the sedative any longer. He completely sagged in his captors' arms and his vision went black.
This has to be some sort of mistake.
Well, there's chapter one! I certainly hope you all enjoyed it. As always, constructive criticism is welcome as this is my first time writing some of these characters and I would love to know where I can improve. Hopefully next chapter will answer some questions that may have arisen in this one. Until then!
