Toshinori frowned as he looked down at the papers spread over the table before him. He was sitting in one of the private conference rooms of the police station, going over Izuku's files while Noamasa retrieved coffee for the both of them. Even though a full day had passed since Toshinori had seen Izuku at the park, he had been unable to stop thinking about the boy since.

Despite not being officially on the case, it had been easy to hear things about it. weather as All Might or as a concerned citizen he seemed to have a knack for stumbling into information. Hell, he had almost hit a new lead with this car the day before.

Now there was something perplexing. Endeavor and many of the others were busy stressing over the fact that Izuku had been seen as far as Musutafu, despite the bodies being found all the way in Kamino. Or, not Izuku exactly. The people on the case were still referring to him as 'the suspect'. Toshinori had asked Noamasa to point out that the attacker bore a striking resemblance to a missing person's case from five years ago, but the connection had been shot down.

Toshinori figured it was just as well. He might not have any reasons to be sticking his nose into the Kamino case, but he had been in charge of hunting down Izuku five years ago. The case had gone cold many years ago, but he still had access to anything he wanted. And after what he had seen the day before...he was sure of it. Izuku Midoriya, the boy from all those years ago, was the one that had killed those people in Kamino.

But why?

And more pressingly, why was Shoto Todoroki involved?

Toshinori had brought it up with Naomasa the moment he'd had the chance. He hadn't told Endeavor in the moment but that didn't mean that it might not be crucial information. The idea that a future UA student was running around with a killer was one thing, but the fact that he also happened to be the son of the number two hero made things much worse.

When he'd first admitted that he hadn't mentioned Todoroki's appearance to Naomasa, Toshinori half expected to be scolded, but the other man had turned uncomfortable instead.

"What's wrong?" Toshinori had asked.

"It's nothing," his friends said, not meeting his eyes, "just, maybe it's not such a bad thing that you didn't tell Endeavor."

Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "You know something I don't?"

"Nothing concerning the case," Naomasa said, "it's just...there's been some reports."

Toshinori swallowed, knowing that he probably wasn't supposed to be hearing this, "reports?" he repeated.

"Nothing we have evidence of but there has been...calls for a few welfare checks, on the Todoroki children I mean."

A pit was growing in Toshinori's stomach, of anger or heartbreak he couldn't be sure. But, "I see." was all he had said. The memory of the words left a bitter taste in his mouth even now.

Toshinori broke out of his revelry when Noamasa opened the door, stepping in with two steaming Styrofoam cups. "Any luck?" he asked.

"Nothing yet." Toshinori sighed. He had been looking through Izuku's files for nearly an hour, searching for any semblance of a clue that might explain how he had ended up in Kamino that night.

But the longer he looked, the more it seemed like a lost cause. Everything here was five years old. For five years Izuku had been away from the eyes of the public. There was no telling what had happened to him in between sightings. Much less where he was now, still-

There was a knock at the door.

Toshinori raised an eyebrow at Naomasa, but he only shook his head. He hadn't been expecting anyone. "Come in?"

One of the station's secretaries opened the door slowly, as soon as they could see her face, words began tumbling out of her, "Detective, you won't believe this it's like-"

"Slow down," Noamasa smiled, "What is it?"

The woman took a deep breath. "The cold case that you've been looking for though, well a boy just showed up saying that he has a lead on it."

Toshinori nearly dropped the photograph he had been holding. "You're sure it's the same case?"

The woman nodded, "he said that he had information on Izuku Midoriya. That's the same one right?"

"Yes," Noamasa said, "Yes, can you send him in here?"

"Of course."

She closed the door behind her, and Toshinori began shoving the files back into their folder. A day after he had seen Izuku in Musutafu, someone had come forward with a lead? It couldn't be a coincidence.

Naomasa appeared at the other side of a table, pulling up a chair for their incoming witness and setting down an audio recorder. Toshinori wasn't sure if he was exactly supposed to be in the room for this kind of thing, but Noamasa hadn't asked him to leave. And he was burning with anticipation to see if there was any new information to be had about the boy.

Before he had time to think of who it could be coming to see them, there was another knock on the door. "It's open."

The secretary appeared again, this time with someone else in tow. "Let me know if you guys need anything." she used the person behind her inside, and then shut the door behind her, leaving them alone.

Toshinori took in the boy before him. He seemed to be about fifteen, thought his sour expression made him seem older. His hands were shoved carefully into his pockets, making his shoulders hunch in a way that hid his muscular arms. His crimson eyes scanned the room under unruly bond hair, as though he were expecting an ambush. As though he regarded their mere presence as some kind of attack. Maybe to him it was.

"Please," Noamasa gestured to the chair, "sit."

The boy moseyed over to the table and sat, maintaining a posture that made Toshinori's back hurt just thinking about it. His eyes were still darting around the room, looking for details in anything that wasn't a human face. That, combined with his slouch made him almost seem like a school boy called into the principal's office for misbehaving.

"I should tell you before we start that our conversation is being recorded," Noamasa said, snapping into his investigation mode. "And it might be used to help further investigations. Do you understand?"

The boy nodded once, his eyes still not settling.

"I need verbal conforma-"

"I understand." the boy said.

Toshinori was a bit surprised at the sound of his voice, but he had to admit it matched the boy's exterior, sounding as though the sound waves had been dragged through a few gravel pits on their way to his lips.

"I'm Detective Tsukauchi," Noamasa said, "and this is…"

"Yagi Toshinori," Toshinori said, "I've helped in some cases here and there in the past."

The boy regarded him carefully, "Are you retired now then?" he asked.

"Something like that." He didn't look that old did he?

"I'm Bakugo." the boy said, then as if an after thought he added, "Katsuki."

The name hovered on the edge of Toshinori's recognition. He had heard it before, he was sure of it. He tightened his grip on the vanilla folder in his lap. That name was in there somewhere, along with this boy's connection to Izuku.

"I'm told that you came here because you have information on Midoriya Izuku?" Noamasa asked.

"I saw him," Bakugo nodded.

Noamasa blinked a few times. "You-you're sure it's him?"

"I'd know him anywhere."

There was something in his eyes then, a kind of darkness that seemed a little too real to belong to someone so young. Toshinori's heart was twisting in his chest. He had to resist the urge to try for some words of confront.

"Did you know Midoriya before his disappearance?" Noamasa asked.

"We were…" Bakugo hesitated just long enough for it to be noticeable, "we were family friends." he said.

Scraps of memory are coming back to Toshinori now. Half information from the case files and half his own recollection. This boy had been Izuku's closest friend. His only friend even. If he said he had seen the kid, then it was big news. And the fact that it had happened the same day that Toshinori himself had seen Izuku in Musutafu...well there was no reason to doubt him.

"Can you describe how you saw him?" Noamasa asked, "What he said...anything you can remember."

Toshinori could tell from the change in his friend's voice that the man next to him had also realized the importance of the witness before them.

"I'll do my best," Bakugo grunted.

And then he told them about how he had seen Izuku and the Todoroki boy at a corner store, the strange conversation there, and then the confrontation in the alley way. As well as the portal.

When he had finished he looked back down at his lap. There was a kind of resolve in him, Toshinori could see it in his eyes, in the set of his shoulders. But it was starting to crumble. This hadn't been easy for him. Perhaps it felt like a betrayal. Perhaps it was.

But it had been a wealth of important information. Now they knew that Todoroki and Izuku hadn't really known each other. And more pressingly, that Izuku was working with someone else, the person that he had offered to introduce to Todoroki. And it wasn't hard to guess that their intentions may not be as pure as Toshinori would have liked.

"Thank you for sharing," Nomasa said. Toshinori could practically hear the gears turning in his head. He was itching to get back on the case as well. "Would you mind giving us some contact information in case anything else comes up?"

Bakugo nodded, he looked utterly exhausted. As if the story of how he had seen Izuku had sucked all of the confidence out of him. The boy and the detective exchanged numbers, and they said their goodbyes. Bakugo rose from his seat in a rush, as though he had been dismissed from a mandatory meeting rather than leaving a questioning that he had asked to have.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Toshinori dumped the contents of the folder back out on the table. "We have work to do," he said.

Izuku opened his eyes to the muffled sound of the default phone alarm going off under his pillow. Today was the day that he would return to Musutafu. And he wasn't looking forward to it.

Izuku knew that it had been more than twenty four hours since he'd last left the bar. So there was proof that Endeavor and the rest of the police didn't know where he was hiding. But that didn't mean that they won't be waiting for him to appear again. Not to mention if Kachan had ended up talking to them after they ran into each other. Even then...Izuku didn't think that it was extremely likely that anyone would be able to put two and two together, but it was better for him to avoid any spots that he might be expected to frequent.

The night before Izuku had picked his location. A convenience store in Musutafu that he had never been to before, that was the opposite side of town from his old apartment. It was a little close to the middle school for comfort. But Izuku himself had never actually been there, and he knew that even then it was unlikely that he would run into Kachan, since the area was in the opposite direction from his house.

With that taken care of, all he had to do was manage to stay under the radar long enough to get the cash and get out before the cops or heroes showed up. That would be simple enough. He'd retrieved a different sweatshirt than he'd been wearing during his last excursion to his hometown, and pulled the hood up to hide his hair. That, plus a face mask and disinterested demeanor should be more than enough to make people pass him over.

Izuku took a deep breath and walked downstairs. In the bar, a handful of villains were sitting in corners or talking in hushed voices. Izuku nodded to Shigaraki, assuming that he could get by without a conversation. But before he made it to the door the older man beckoned for Izuku to come closer. Reluctantly, he obeyed.

"What?"

If Shigaraki was annoyed by Izuku's harsh tone, he didn't show it. "You remember what I told you to do if you ever get arrested?" he asked.

Izuku blinked, whatever he had been expecting hadn't been it. But the words did bring up a memory, one of the first things he had learned after being taken in by the luggage. If he got caught he wasn't to rat out the others, no matter what.

"Yeah, I remember."

"Good." Shigaraki nodded, "Don't let it come to that, but keep it in mind."

Izuku opened his mouth only to close it again. He had been assuming, perhaps foolishly, that Shigaraki simply didn't understand how dangerous it was for him to be out on the streets right now. But this warning was proof that he did know. So then….why was he still making him do this?

"There won't be any portal to rescue you this time," Shigaraki said, "We can't risk being seen with you."

Something about his tone made Izuku glad that he hadn't brought up the fact that Kachan had seen him step through it last time.

"Just stash the money somewhere good and I'll have Kurogiri come get it once it's clear." he said, "You know the drill."

Izuku nodded.

"Good. now hurry up.'' With a flick of his hand the conversion ended, and Izuku went for the door.

He took a deep breath as he opened it and stepped out into the cool spring air. With any luck this would be the last time that he would go to Musutafu. The thought of it would have broken his heart a few days ago, but not any more. Now he was ready to be done with the past. Ready to throw himself head long into being a villain. And it all started with this job. All he had to do was not screw it up.

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