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CHAPTER 2 – SOUND THE ALARM

"So… that friend of yours wouldn't happen to be All Might would it?"

Naomasa choked on his coffee as he inhaled sharply in surprise. He set his mug down, shooting a baleful look in the direction of his guest. Nishikawa stood in the doorway leaning against the frame casually. She stepped into the room and shut the door gently behind her. He watched her as she pulled a small packet of tissues out of her pockets and chucked it at his head. He caught it a moment before it smacked into his nose and shot her another not-so-convincing glare. He dabbed at his face distractedly as she shuffled further into the room and dropped onto his couch.

"Sorry… forgot you startle like a goat."

His mock glare returned full force. "I do not." And then, as an afterthought catching the clock out of the corner of his eye, "You're late."

"There was an issue with a bag snatcher at the train station. I took a detour on my way in."

"Of course you did."

His partner shrugged playfully spreading her arms out in a helpless gesture. Naomasa frowned as he registered the black gloves on her hands; a half-assed attempt to reassure people that she was not actively fishing through their heads. Years ago, when they were first introduced as partners, she never went anywhere without them. The Chief had refused to explain the strange habit, but a few months into their association Naomasa had already witnessed the problem first-hand more times than he could stomach. With time their friendship had solidified, and he had managed to convince her that hiding was useless if not totally unnecessary. Or so he thought. He shook himself back into the present. He watched as she settled further into the plush couch, worming her shoulders down between two cushions. He settled behind his desk, pulling a stack of work towards him in an attempt at nonchalance.

"So what started your theory about my friend?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm good at my job?" He levelled an annoyed look at her and she continued with a strained smile. "I ran into him yesterday on my way home. If he'd been in the city for more than a day everyone would have known about it, and you mentioned your friend arriving sometime yesterday. Plus, who else could possibly make our jobs more hectic, realistically speaking."

He nodded slowly. "I take it the incident at the convenience store?"

"That'd be the one. I'm a little disappointed, to be honest, you'd think the Symbol of Peace wouldn't be a prejudiced jerk. But then I guess Endeavour can't be an isolated case of soulless glory hunting."

Naomasa frowned. "Did something happen?" And then, "And leave Endeavour alone. I don't have the kind of firepower necessary to pry you out of that kind of fight."

She sighed dramatically. "Nothing I'm not used to. He asked about my quirk then got real uncomfortable when I told him."

"Is that why you're wearing your gloves again?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "You noticed that, huh?"

"Of course I did, I've known you, what? Three years now? Four?" She shrugged, and he continued without pausing. "Long enough, is my point. I'm sorry he made you uncomfortable, he's normally Mr Do-Good."

She laughed, pushing to her feet. She eyed the stack of papers on his desk as he pulled a file from the top and busied himself with it, only half paying attention. It was smaller than the workload he had had the past few days, with the Trigger case more or less set aside until new leads arose, but Nishikawa still wondered if he would manage it all by the end of the day. Not that she was in any position to judge. Thinking of the monstrous pile of work sitting on her desk, some left over from the day before, she winced and made to excuse herself. She stopped with one foot in the doorway, shooting him a playful glance over her shoulder as he glanced at her curiously.

"You were right by the way." His brows furrowed in confusion and she laughed a little as she continued. "I totally get the worrying now."

He rolled his eyes. "Get back to work, if I remember correctly you had a decent load to get through."

She snorted. "And who's fault is that?"

They both laughed and she excused herself, marching over to her office and shutting the door behind her to avoid distractions. She prayed for a relatively uneventful day to work through the ridiculous stack of case files. She settled in to work, fully expecting not to move until the end of the day.

. . . . .

The day passed slowly, relatively uneventful in the wake of the morning's excitement, and the hours droned by monotonously with each case file she completed. By mid-afternoon, Nishikawa had made decent headway. She pushed back from her desk with an audible groan and stretched out, popping her back as the door to her office creaked open softly. Naomasa poked his head in with a grin, behind him she could just make out a floppy head of brown hair peering around him. He pushed his way fully into her office when he noticed her reclining in her chair. Behind him, his companion came into view; Tanaka Kurosawa, the junior detective in the office adjacent Naomasa's. Nishikawa felt her concentration evaporate as her partner and the station's troublemaker stepped in.

"Did we catch you on a break?"

She nodded. "First one I've taken all day."

From the doorway, Kurosawa's eyes swept the desk and the expression on his face morphed into surprise. "That's quite a bit of headway you've made."

Nishikawa glanced at the pile of completed folders. "Yeah, thankfully the day's been slow. I doubt that will last though."

Naomasa interjected cheerfully. "Then we should grab lunch now while we can."

Nishikawa agreed lightly, rising from her desk to meet them at the door, opting to leave her jacket where it was. Outside, the morning's chill had faded into the warm sunny afternoon typical to the time of year, all evidence of the storm the night before gone. They wandered into a ramen parlour a few buildings down from the station, situating themselves in a booth by the window and chatting idly while they waited for their meals to arrive. Their food arrived, and conversation slowed almost to nothing as they each tucked into the meals heartily. As they approached the end of their respective dishes conversation resumed, and Nishikawa found herself sighing at the inevitable turn it took.

"The whole station's buzzing about your run-in with All Might yesterday." Kurosawa said between mouthfuls.

He had obviously been waiting for the chance to bring it up, as Naomasa elbowed him sharply causing broth to slosh from Kurosawa's raised spoon into his lap. Nishikawa laughed as the two exchanged bitter glances.

"It's fine. I figured it would come up eventually. It's not every day you meet the number one hero."

Kurosawa looked triumphant. "Exactly! So? What's he like?"

She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant as she stirred her ramen around looking for any meat left. "He's… pretty much what you'd expect. A mountain of a man with very little volume control."

Naomasa snorted into his broth, splashing some of it back up into his face. He dabbed at his face with his napkin, trying to smother the snigger still fighting its way up from his chest. Kurosawa looked nonplused.

"I meant as a person. You of all people should be able to give a definitive answer about the guy."

"You know I try not to do that to people."

Kurosawa's face looked sceptical. "And you managed to resist when it was a celebrity? Not even just a celebrity but the celebrity of the decade?"

Nishikawa's mouth twisted with mischief and she leaned back away from the table. "It's called self-control. You should try it sometime."

Naomasa's soup broth exploded out of his bowl a second time as he erupted into full-on laughter. Kurosawa's face had stayed carefully neutral at the comment, but the pink slowly rising on his face and ears gave him away.

"Anyway," Nishikawa continued once the giggling had died down, "you'll have plenty of opportunities to make your own impression. He's in the city, after all, he's bound to cause a stir somewhere."

Naomasa made a sound of agreement in his throat as he swallowed down the last of his soup. "Honestly, I'm surprised nothing's happened yet today."

As if on cue, Nishikawa's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, watching Naomasa mirror her actions as he pulled his own phone out. Kurosawa watched them idly, eyebrows raised as he watched them both open their texts and visibly deflate. He nodded at Nishikawa's phone when she looked up.

"Something happen?"

She shot Naomasa an accusing glance. "Yeah, All Might and some sludge villain."

Kurosawa chuckled at the baleful glance Nishikawa was throwing at her partner. "You guys head on out then. I've got the tab."

Naomasa, who was already sliding out of his seat, shot him a worried glance. "You sure?"

Kurosawa waved them off. "Yeah. Tell you what, next time you can treat me."

The two thanked him, and he watched them go with amusement. He could hear them bickering as they made their way to the door. He barely caught Nishikawa's comment about 'jinxing them' before the door swung shut behind the duo and they stepped out into the street. He watched through the window as they made their way back to the station to claim a cruiser.

. . . . .

By the time they arrived on the scene All Might and the sludge villain had both disappeared. The officers on site informed them that the villain had fled with All Might in pursuit, but no one knew of their current whereabouts. Nishikawa pretended not to notice Naomasa's face tense up, or feel the sudden spike of worry that shot through his system. She sent the officer away with orders to get as many witness reports as possible and ensure any and all injuries were attended. She waited until he was well out of earshot before turning to her partner with a reproachful look. He feigned innocence, scanning the scene for the seventh or eighth time.

"I'm not going to ask what you're so worried about. Clearly you know something I don't, and that's fine. Just promise me it isn't putting someone in danger right now."

"Heroes are always putting themselves in danger."

Nishikawa shot him a flat look. "You know what I meant."

Naomasa sighed but nodded, still looking around the scene as though waiting for All Might to jump out from around the corner with the villain in hand. Nothing appeared, however, and the two spent the next few hours sorting through dozens of witness reports and coordinating the other officers on the scene. Nishikawa was beginning to feel anxious, as the time elapsed crept up on nearly three hours with still no sign of the villain or the hero. Her head snapped up as an explosion erupted in the distance, the mushroom cloud of debris visible over the buildings. She refreshed the police feed on her phone several times, hoping for an update until eventually, news arrived. She went pale as she read the hastily formulated update, yanking Naomasa into the cruiser and giving him hasty directions before even bothering to explain herself. When they were well on their way Naomasa finally shot her an expectant look.

"Well? You going to tell me what the update was?"

"The villain reappeared across town in a shopping district. Apparently, he took some kid with an explosion quirk hostage. It's a mess. There are heroes on sight, but they can't do much with the kid in the way."

She felt the cruiser lurch as Naomasa pushed his foot down a little harder. He looked more worried than she'd ever seen him, and she had to fight down the nausea that rolled in her stomach from his own anxiety. Somewhere in both their minds, they wondered where All Might had gone. It only took them a few more minutes to arrive at the scene, by which point the place was surrounded by curious bystanders.

Stepping out of the cruiser, Nishikawa took stock of the situation. A handful of heroes had shown up but had been forced to back off, stationing themselves on either end of the alley where the villain was. Mount Lady, Kamui Woods and Death Arms were busy trying to keep civilians at a safe distance, while Backdraft worked to contain the flames. She could still hear explosions going off, small enough that they drew the concerned crowd in closer instead of frightening them away. Distantly, she noted Naomasa moving off to the other end of the alley. Nishikawa pushed through the crowd, trying hard not to elbow anyone as she wormed her way through. It was difficult, with so many people pressing in to get a better look, and more than once she stumbled into someone as she squeezed through the press of bodies.

She was nearly to the front of the crowd when she felt an elbow dig sharply into her rib cage, sending her staggering into a light post. She huffed, annoyed, but offered a small 'thank you' as she felt someone steady her from behind. She blinked in surprise when she straightened, recognizing the skeleton man from the convenience store. 'Stronger than he looks' she thought grimly, offering him another brief thanks. The nervous look on his face remained as he nodded shortly, and she turned back to the situation at hand.

By the time she managed to force her way to the front, the situation had barely changed at all. Out in the centre of the alley, the villain's slime body was writhing around as the form of a middle school boy struggled in his grasp. He was struggling less now than before, the explosion dying off as, she assumed, exhaustion took over. She turned to one of the heroes closest to her, Kamui Woods, to try and get a clearer sense of the situation but was distracted when the sludge around the boy cleared enough for everyone to get a clear look at his face. She felt her quirk buzz at the back of her skull and vaguely registered the pleading look on his face as the emotions filtered into her mind. Fear and anger settled in her bones, harsh enough to leave them feeling brittle and hollow. Her jaw clenched against a scream.

The next moment, before anyone could fully register what was happening, another middle school boy had flung himself from the crowd and raced towards the villain. The heroes beside her lurched forward to try and grab him, missing narrowly as his small form raced past, pivoting and throwing his backpack as a distraction to get in close. She could see him clawing at the villain futilely, realized that he was talking but could not hear the words over the pounding in her ears, and felt her adrenaline kick into overdrive as the villain aimed a blow at the boy. She moved to run after him, felt Kamui Woods and Death Arms both do the same, but froze in the next moment when a familiar form appeared from nowhere between the boy and the villain.

She staggered to a halt. She caught a glimpse of Naomasa across the alley frantically waving for her to get back, and the next moment the updraft from All Might's punch sent her stumbling backwards. Around her, the heroes protected the civilians from the air pressure as best they could. When the wind finally subsided, there was a moment of surprised stillness, before it began to rain and the people around her erupted into awed exclamations. Nishikawa pushed herself to her feet, running over to where All Might had set the boys down. She checked them over carefully, Naomasa jogged over from the other side and struck up a conversation with the hero. From where she was crouched with boys, she could only just make out the tone of his voice, realizing quickly that he was lecturing the hero.

She snorted, turning her attention back to the two victims. When she was sure both boys were relatively unharmed, she stood up to usher over the other first responders who were still crowding around the alley's entrances. The heroes, who had disappeared quickly to gather the sludge, reappeared with dozens of bags, and Nishikawa set about helping the other officers load them into the back of a van. Naomasa joined her as reporters flooded into the alley as well, circling around All Might and kicking up a racket.

"What was that about?"

Naomasa flushed. "Just reminding him not to be reckless."

Nishikawa raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be telling him that?"

She pointed with her chin at the boy with messy green hair who had run into the line of fire. He was already surrounded by several officers, as well as a couple of heroes, all talking over each other as they admonished him for his actions. Naomasa rolled his eyes.

"I think he's getting quite enough of that without my input."

Nishikawa smiled lightly. Eventually, the two went back to the alley entrances and went about collecting witness statements from the onlookers that still lingered and the heroes still helping with clean up on the scene. No one tried to breach the ring of reporters surrounding All Might, and Nishikawa hoped her partner's connection to the hero would prevent them from having to explain to the chief why the main hero involved had been excluded from their report. She was just finishing up with the last witness when the green haired boy wandered past her looking satisfied but glum. She thanked the witness hastily and jogged to catch up with him.

"Hey! Kid!"

He stopped, looking frantically around himself like he was expecting someone else to appear on the near vacant street.

"I'm talking to you, messy hair."

"U-uh… O-o-oh, I've already been told off and I should really be getting home?"

She laughed when his sentence stumbled out as a question. "That's fine, I'm not going to tell you off again. I just figured someone should tell you that what you did was brave. It was stupid, ridiculously stupid, don't get me wrong, but it came from a good place and I don't want you to forget that."

He looked startled and mortified all at once. "T-t-thank you."

She smiled. "Anyway, you should get home. Your mom will be worried, you were on the news after all." She turned to walk back, calling over her shoulder. "Stay safe kid!"

Nishikawa wandered back to the cruiser, leaning against the hood. Across the alley, she could see Naomasa talking to one last witness. Backdraft and Death Arms were still assisting with clean up at one end of the alley, while Mount Lady and Kamui Woods worked at the other end. At the heart of the scene, All Might stood still surrounded by reporters. The sun was slowly beginning to set, and Nishikawa wondered how many questions they could possibly have about one incident, but she supposed they were probably only using the incident as an excuse to interview him. Naomasa finished up with his witness and jogged over, glancing back over his shoulder when he noticed his partner's distracted look. He slowed to a stop in front of her, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Not fawning over him already, are you? You were calling him a bigot this morning."

Nishikawa sent him a flat look. "I was wondering how long they plan to keep mobbing him. It's been hours already."

"Believe me, this can go on for ages."

Nishikawa shook her head, mind wandering back to the events of the afternoon. "Is he always so… much? He might level the city if we have an incident like this every day."

Naomasa laughed. "I did warn you."

Nishikawa turned to the passenger door, pulling it open and glancing into the alley over the roof of the car. "…How long did you say he was staying for?"

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