CHAPTER 7 – DIALOGUE OF THE DEAF
"So, let me get this straight; you let my partner stay at your apartment? You? Mr. Big-Secret? Mr.- "
"I get it. I took a risk."
Yagi sank back into the couch with a grunt. The morning had passed uneventfully. Mercifully, Nishikawa had left early in the morning, borrowing his key to lock the door behind her and sliding it back under the door. Yagi had woken in a panic with blood bubbling up his windpipe and laid in bed a good fifteen minutes struggling with the issue of his guest before realizing the apartment was silent as a grave. He had pulled himself out of bed, dressing quickly before wandering out into the living room to find the couch and blankets folded up neatly. A note sat on a corner of the coffee table with thanks and a brief explanation for Nishikawa's early departure. Yagi had elected to wait a few hours before rushing over to the station in his hero form to speak with Naomasa. The pleased look now sliding across the man's face was enough to assure him that that had been a bad idea. He leaned forward again, propping his elbows against his knees and threading his fingers together.
"I don't think you're really taking this as seriously as you should."
Naomasa sighed. "Not this again."
"It's a legitimate concern, at this rate it's not improbable she will begin to suspect. She already knows there is a secret- "
"And she's already assured you she won't pry."
"Not on purpose. But-"
Yagi cut himself off at Naomasa's displeased look. He shook his head, holding his hands up placatingly.
"That isn't why I'm here, anyway. There's something going on with her. She was worked into a panic when I ran into her in the elevator."
Naomasa furrowed his brows, carefully going over the explanation she had given Yagi the night before and Yagi's account of her demeanor. His mind flashed back to the previous morning, remembering finding her asleep on her couch with years old case files. He frowned.
"You think she's caught up in something?"
Yagi shrugged. "I don't know. But I know someone in distress when I see them."
Naomasa leaned back into his chair, fiddling with the open file on his desk. He tapped it a few times, looking anywhere but at the hero. Finally, he sighed and scrubbed his face with both hands.
"I'll watch her back as much as I can. I can't exactly just walk over there and ask about it without giving you away."
Yagi nodded solemnly. Standing to excuse himself as Naomasa made his way around the desk to escort him out. He walked him to the elevator, catching Nishikawa's inquiring look as they wandered past her door. When Yagi was safely in the elevator, Naomasa looped back around to his partner's office. She was reclining in her chair when he walked in and shut the door behind him. She raised a brow but said nothing until he dropped heavily into her couch.
"Something wrong?"
Naomasa glanced up at her questioningly and she made a vague motion toward the elevator.
"Star-spangles doesn't usually show up unless there's a debriefing."
"You do remember that part about us being friends, right?"
"Friendly meetings don't usually leave both parties looking worried."
Nishikawa pulled the mug of tea from the corner of her desk, watching him carefully over the rim as she sipped her drink. Naomasa struggled, seeming to decide how much or how little to tell her. She set the drink back and went back to working on the file in front of her as she waited. When nothing was forthcoming she sighed.
"Is this about that secret again?"
Naomasa cringed. "Uh… sort of…"
Nishikawa ran a hand through her hair. "Alright, well… can you at least tell me if it's something serious? You know you can tell me if something's wrong… even if you can't give me details. I don't want you getting hurt if I can help it."
"No! No, nothing dangerous. You know me, I just worry a lot."
Nishikawa nodded, shoving down the temptation to reach out with her quirk and 'fix it'. She turned back to her work, fully expecting that to be the end of the conversation when Naomasa spoke again.
"Would you?"
She blinked. "Would I what?"
"Tell me? If something were wrong, I mean."
She shoved the file in front of her aside, leaning back to consider him. Her ankle brushed the duffle bag she had hidden beneath the desk, and memories from the night before flashed briefly in her mind. She forced herself to smile at him reassuringly.
"Of course."
"So, you won't mind me asking why you've been coming in early the last couple of days."
Nishikawa cringed, opening her mouth to wave away his concerns when he cut her off.
"And don't tell me it's nothing."
"It is nothing."
Naomasa shot her a dubious look and she relented with a sigh.
"I've just been having some apartment trouble. Should be fine soon."
"So you've been sleeping in the station? Yana- "
She waved him away gently. "I stayed with a friend last night. I came in early because I took yesterday off and got nothing done."
Naomasa relented, pursuing a different angle. "And tonight?"
"Everything should be fixed by now, so tonight it's home."
"Well… let me know if it isn't fixed. I don't like the idea of you sleeping on couches, you took a nasty beating a couple of days ago."
Nishikawa rolled her eyes but smiled at him. Naomasa smiled back. Feeling the conversation was over, he stood and made his way to the door. Nishikawa felt her ankles brush her duffle bag again, feeling guilt creep dully into her mind before she remembered the sealed file. Naomasa stopped in the doorframe when she called out to him.
"Hey, do you know what AMD means?"
"AMD?"
"Yeah, I was going over some old files for research and I came across that."
Naomasa frowned. "It means the file's been amended. One copy with the 'fixed' version of the story given to the press, another 'unofficial' copy with the full account. It's usually for cases with loose ends."
Now Nishikawa frowned. "Do they keep the unofficial copy?"
"Usually. The chief keeps them since there aren't that many."
Nishikawa felt her stomach turn. Vaguely she considered sneaking into the chief's office and stealing the file before she realized how crazy she sounded. She sighed, pressing her knuckles to her eye sockets. Naomasa watched her from the doorway, concerned.
"Everything alright?"
Nishikawa startled. "Wh- Yeah. Just… another dead end…" She made a show of looking around at the files on her desk. "I should get back to work, this'll set me back a decent chunk."
Naomasa nodded, shooting his partner one last concerned glance before wandering back to his own office. He dropped heavily into his own seat, leaning forward to rest his chin on his hands as he considered everything he had learned in the last few minutes. Nishikawa was definitely up to something, vaguely he worried that she was looking into the All Might secret but cast the notion aside quickly. He trusted her, even if Yagi stubbornly insisted on his own prejudices. And besides, he reassured himself, she did not have nearly enough information to go on. No, something else was happening. Naomasa could feel it in his gut. Resigned, he pulled out his phone to shoot off a quick text.
YOU WERE RIGHT. SOMETHING'S UP. -T.N.
He shut his phone into his desk drawer with a snap, feeling his gut turn with worry. His phone vibrated as a response came in. He chose to ignore it, pulling a file from his stack and diving into his work instead.
. . . . . . .
Nishikawa stood up from her desk at the end of the day, stretching her arms above her head and feeling the pull in her spine. Naomasa was still working away in his office, so she made a point of swinging by to check in with him. He switched off his desk lamp and stood up as she entered. Nishikawa smiled ruefully.
"Guess I don't need to ask if you're done then."
Naomasa chuckled. "Just finished. You feeling like dinner?"
Nishikawa smiled and nodded just as another head poked around the corner. Floppy brown hair burst into view around the opposite side of the doorframe.
"Did I hear dinner?"
Naomasa visibly deflated at the appearance of the other junior detective. "Kurosawa…"
Nishikawa laughed. "We did. And if I remember correctly you owe us both dinner for last week."
The younger detective's smile slid from his face. Naomasa, on the other hand, smirked triumphantly. "Actually, I seem to remember that too."
Kurosawa relented with a sigh. "Fine, you win. But I'm picking the restaurant."
Fifteen minutes later found the three police officers seated at a ramen bar down the road, each slurping happily at their meal. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon and, hunger sated and ready to call it a day, the three officers sat in relative silence. Eventually, Kurosawa shifted and ordered the check. He paid the bill with a disheartened look but bid the other two good night with a cheerful smile and wave. Nishikawa took this as her cue to leave, offering her partner a smile as she stood and collected her coat. Naomasa did the same, pulling his phone out to check the time and smiling more brightly when he realized he still had time to catch the train instead of taxiing home. Nishikawa waved as they parted, heading in the general direction of her apartment building until she was well out of sight, then looping around to take the long way back to the station. She slowed her pace, seeing the beach come into view ahead of her.
She leaned casually against the concrete wall, looking out over the beach. She realized belatedly that the beach seemed less cluttered than she remembered. In some places, the endless piles of trash gave way to reveal pieces of shoreline and water. At the far end of the beach, she could make out two figures in the twilight steadily making their way toward the steps. Nishikawa hurried to meet them at the bottom of the steps. The duo looked more the startled when she appeared around the corner. Yagi, looking increasingly nervous as she approached, while Midoriya greeted her with a smile.
"Hello again!"
Nishikawa smiled at his enthusiasm, happy that the fearfulness she had witnessed before seemed to let up. "Hello. You're out late again tonight."
Midorya nodded. She eyed his hands, noting the fresh scrapes and bruises as well as a layer of mud and sand on his palms. Realization struck her out of the blue.
"You're clearing the beach."
Another sparkling, exhausted smile from the boy. She returned it, eyes sweeping over the beach before swiveling back to settle on Yagi. He seemed intent on shrinking into the background, though he covered it up hastily when he felt her eyes turn on him. He offered his own, half-nervous smile. Suddenly Midoriya made a startled noise, exclaiming about the time before offering a brief goodbye and running off. The two adults watched him run off for a moment, an awkward silence descending. Nishikawa cleared her throat awkwardly.
"He seems like a good kid…" Then, when no response was forthcoming; "I hope I didn't offend you running off this morning without a word. I had to get into work."
Yagi forced himself not to start. "No, of course not. I understand completely. Is your apartment fixed?"
Nishikawa weighed her options quickly, before settling on a response. "Yeah, all good. I was just heading back now actually."
Yagi nodded sagely, looking relieved. "That is good to hear."
The two stood awkwardly for a moment before Yagi made a vague motion to the stairs. "Shall we get going then?"
"Oh, uh…. Actually, I need to swing by the grocery store again. My food sort of… didn't make it."
Yagi watched her carefully for a moment, and Nishikawa wondered vaguely if she had offended him. She hoped not. She found she was quite fond of the odd man. He shrugged a moment later though, and she released a breath she had not realized she was holding. He offered her a tired smile as they both moved to climb the stairs. They parted ways with amicable smiles, and Nishikawa hurried off toward the grocery store without looking back. Yagi turned to watch her go halfway down the street. He held his breath as he watched, praying his gut was wrong. He was relaxing, about to turn away, when at the last moment he saw Nishikawa duck into a side-street that most definitely did not lead to the grocery store. He frowned, wrestling with himself before sighing and jogging down the street. By the time he reached the mouth of the alley, Nishikawa had disappeared. He sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He toyed with the idea of texting Naomasa for a moment but decided against it. He shook his head, worry creeping through him as he stowed the phone back into his pocket.
. . . . . . .
Nishikawa returned to the station as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. She offered the police on duty in the main station a flimsy excuse about overtime as she walked past. Their shift nearly over, they hardly offered more than a tired nod as they waved her through to the elevator. Nishikawa formulated her plan as she jammed her thumb against the elevator call button. She would sleep in the station, in her office, and wake up early to shower. After, she would leave the building to get breakfast and show up again at her regular time. Nishikawa stepped into the elevator as it arrived, casting a glance back over her shoulder at the guards on duty. She frowned as she struggled to remember the shift change times, resolving to look them up upstairs. She would need to time her departures around the shift rotations to disguise her comings and goings.
She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she stepped out of the elevator. The bullring was deserted, and a quick glance up the split level revealed the detective offices equally unoccupied. Relaxing, Nishikawa walked toward her office only to walk straight into the janitor as he came around the corner. She stumbled, quickly steadying the man as he wobbled and threatened to tip over. He looked young, in his late twenties or early thirties, with a mess of sandy hair that curled around his face and reminded her vaguely of a poodle.
"I'm so sorry about that."
The janitor shook his head. "No worries. My fault, really. I thought the floor was deserted."
Nishikawa laughed nervously. "Yeah… sorry. I stepped out for dinner."
The janitor waved away her apology good-naturedly. He stepped past her, heading for the elevator as he dragged his trolley behind him. Nishikawa considered this new hurdle as he pressed the elevator call button.
"Are you the only janitor here? I've never seen you around before."
He looked surprised at being addressed again. "Oh… yes, actually. The old janitor just retired, they're still looking for his replacement so I'm on my own for now."
"That seems like a lot…"
"It's not too bad actually." He gave her a reassuring smile. "I usually just empty trash cans. They only vacuum once a week here."
Nishikawa nodded, trying for sympathy even as she fought a smile. She cast a glance around the room considering. The elevator dinged open and she took her chance.
"Hey, listen… I'm going to be pulling a lot of late nights for a while and I'd hate to be in your way. Why don't I empty all the trash bins on this floor into the main bin by the coffee machine at the end of the day? Make things easier for you."
The janitor looked startled. He pushed his trolley into the elevator doorway to stop it closing as he considered the offer. The station was five floors, each densely packed with offices and more than a single janitor could hope to get through in reasonable time without help. The man nodded slowly, before seeming to remember something and frowning.
"No, I couldn't possibly… You've got plenty of work on your own."
Nishikawa pushed a friendly smile onto her face. "It's no problem really. It'll remind me to take breaks."
He hesitated one last time, before offering her a tired, thankful smile. "Well, if you're sure."
"Of course. Anyway, I'd better stop distracting you. Have a good night."
He bid her goodnight and stepped onto the elevator. Briefly, Nishikawa felt guilt tug at her core. She shook her head against the thought, maneuvering around desks toward her office. The janitor was overworked, he could benefit from the help. She was hardly putting anyone in harm's way, just her sleep schedule. She stepped into her office, shutting the door gently behind her, resolving to get her stalker situation under control as quickly as possible. No one would have to know. With a self-satisfied nod, Nishikawa shut her door with a quick flick of her wrist and marched back over to her desk. She pulled the sealed file from her duffle bag and wandered back over to the couch to read it one final time before settling in for the night.
Outside the station, a middle-aged man watched the windows of the upper floors with annoyance. He yanked his coat tighter around his frame, turning abruptly and stalking away. Frustration bubbled beneath his skin, the camera around his neck bouncing painfully against his sternum with each step.
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