Today was the moment for truth.
Knuckleduster would never forget what he had witnessed that dreadful day. The bomb that exploded and took Pop-Step's life. He had hoped that somehow, someway, she had used her Quirk to escape the blast, but the police found charred remains scattered amongst the debris.
And yet, he held on to hope. Koichi must have gotten to the bottom of everything he thought, because that boy never gave up and he was extremely persistent. He was also keen on picking up details that most would miss, so perhaps he had valuable information that he would be willing to share.
It would be unfortunate that Knuckleduster would have to tell his comrade in arms that they had lost their close confidant and partner, but together the two of them could work through it. They could move on.
Then the news hit him.
The coffee shop that Koichi had went to was taped off by police officers. Two bodies were wheeled out of the coffee shop on top of a gurney and sheets were draped over them. Dismay was plastered over Knuckleduster's visage and he barged his way through the yellow tape and demanded that one of the first responders allow him to verify the body.
"But sir we-"
Knuckleduster shoved him out of the way and took a look.
To his horror, it was Koichi's decapitated body, his head had been placed where it should have been, but it clearly had been severed from the rest of his body.
It didn't take long for him to realize that if Koichi had been killed at the rendezous point where he was supposed to meet up with Makoto then….
In order to confirm his suspicions, Knuckleduster shoved the first responders out of the way (even the one that attempted to tackle him at his waist) and took a look underneath the sheets of the other gurney.
Unfortunately, he was right.
Makoto had also been decapitated.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Knuckleduster fell onto his knees and banged his fists against the pavement until blood dripped from his knuckles. Although the first responders attempted to bring him onto his feet in order to bandage his hands and escort him off of the premises, Knuckleduster was inconsolable.
And yet, the worst news was yet to come.
Several hours later, the local news reported that the charred remains of a female had been found. A DNA test proved that she was none other than Tamao Oguro….
Knuckleduster's daughter.
The Naruhata Vigilantes knew that Kuin, also known as Queen Bee, used Knuckleduster's daughter as a host. They wanted to extract the bee from her body in order to save her, they would never get the chance...because two of the members were killed, and the host body had been burned alive.
Or so he had thought.
The breaking news was that it was discovered that the remains that had been positively identified as Tamao Oguro, had suffered a death due to strangulation, and not as a result of smoke inhalation or the result of her burns. Furthermore, a vaginal swab found that the female victim had likely been sexually assaulted before she was killed.
The developing story which school the Naruhata Ward to its very core was enough to turn Knuckleduster to the one person who held all the answers….
"Izuku Midoriya."
Knuckleduster's voice was a low growl. His jaws were clenched together as if he was doing everything he could to hold himself back from snapping.
"Tell me everything. Tell me where the bastards responsible are."
Izuku's eyes wandered a bit as he appeared to have been nervous and on edge.
"I...I can't."
BOOM!
Knuckleduster slammed his fist on the table with such force that it broke in half and rattled against the floor of the interrogation room. Before Kenji could attempt to diffuse the situation, Knuckleduster picked up a chair and placed it underneath the doorknob so that it could not fully turn to effectively keep Kenji from interfering.
The Naruhata vigilante then took a step forward and picked up Izuku by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Stop playing games with me! Where are they?! Where are the ones responsible?!"
"I-I told you! I d-don't know anything!"
Kenji as well as several other police officers began to bang on the door as hard as they could. From inside Knuckleduster heard Kenji order one of the officers to get a battering ram.
"I don't have time for this!" Knuckleduster placed one hand on Izuku's shoulder and the other on his wrist.
"You have five seconds to tell me something valuable or else I'm breaking your arm."
"What?!"
"One."
"I told you already I don't know-"
"Two."
"You can't do this! Aren't you supposed to be a hero-"
"Three."
From outside of the door, Kenji and his men were prepared to use the battering ram.
"I barely escaped them with my life! Why won't you believe me?!"
"Four."
Kenji and his men used the ram against the door, causing it to fling open with a loud thud.
"Knuckleduster! Stop it!" Kenji called out to him.
"Five-"
"All For One used me as bait!"
There was a slight pause as Knuckleduster released Izuku from his grasp.
"All For One used me as bait to draw the Naruhata Vigilantes out as well as Kuin, but I swear that I didn't know! They change hideouts frequently, so I don't know where All For One is now, but I already told Kenji about their next move!" Izuku spoke frantically and pleadingly. He got on all fours and bowed his head down to the ground.
"Please! That's all I know!"
Knuckleduster seemed satisfied with the answer, but the darkness that shrouded his visage remained ever present nonetheless.
Without uttering another word the Naruhata Vigilante exited the interrogation room, brushing past Kenji as well as the remainder of the officers that had barged in just in time to hear Izuku's confession.
Kenji approached Izuku and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
Izuku smacked Kenji's hand away before standing up on his own two feet.
"You knew about this, didn't you?! Why would you leave me alone with him?!" Izuku snapped.
"No I-"
"I gave you your information already! So leave me alone!" Izuku snarled as he stormed out of the interrogation room, however, Kenji called out to him before he left.
"Where are you going to go? You don't have anywhere to hide and you are being hunted by extremely dangerous villains. Let me enroll you into the witness protection program," Kenji said.
Izuku stopped dead in his tracks. His plan was to use Knuckleduster's harsh interrogation as an excuse to leave and rendezvous with the rest of the League in order to watch All For One's plan blow up in his face. But without reliable transportation he'd never make it.
"Okay," Izuku turned to face Kenji.
"Take me to All Might."
Late update I know, I apologize profusely. My new job requires me to travel a lot so I'm away from my fiance and I'm constantly working and I'm on the road. It's been hard but I have to do what's best for her and my unborn child.
Very short chapter in comparison to the others but I didn't want to squeeze it in for what's to come next - which will be an all out brawl. Three chapters left until this arc is concluded.
Also, I would like to give a couple of brownie points to two of the reviewers.
Shadow The Jedi - You are absolutely correct that I used the dialogue between Spider-man and Tony Stark on Homecoming when Izuku was interrogated by Tsukauchi in Chapter 11. Good catch.
thisguydavid - And you are correct. The bomb scenario in chapter 18 was a reference to my favorite Detective Conan episode. A shame that I couldn't use my favorite line - "I'll tell you...in the next world."
I'll definitely update more frequently now that things have settled down a bit.
I'm also happy to announce that my page and my Fanfic blog is up and running!
It's professorseuss com .wordpress . com [without the spaces]
It is still under construction but I shall place the link in my profile if I can. I decided that once this story is complete I'll post it in full on my blog and continue to post on primarily. I just honestly love the format of this website.
All I ask is that if you wish to donate that I do not wish it to be over $5. Weird request I know, but I'd rather have 100 people donate $5 than 1 person donating $500. I don't want to take advantage of anyone, I just want to write stories that people enjoy and build a cult following at best since my content is very niche.
Anyways, thank you so very much for all those who are sticking by this story. Seriously, the amount of positive feedback that I've received has been amazing and it spurs me on every day.
More content coming soon!
