It was the weekend. Finally. After draining all his hours dry with school and work studies, Eiji felt excited to go home and do nothing. Heck, even janitor work at Auntie Mina's studio sounded relaxing. As Eiji dragged his feet to his front door it swung open, with his dad standing in the entrance.
"You're late."
"Maru and I missed the first train." Eiji yawned, not escaping a hair scruffing as he walked by.
"So, you wanna eat out? Tell me about your week?" Bakugou asked as he opened the door for the tired boy.
"I don't know, I'm feeling really tired from my internship," Baachu yawned, "rain check?"
"We got all weekend."
"Okay, I'm going to sleep for twenty hours..." He said as he dragged his feet up the stairs.
"If you're sleeping I'm going to see if this lady can sign these papers tonight."
"'Kay..." And with the soft click of Eiji's door, he plopped on his bed and didn't move a centimeter. Sleep was a hard thing to come by these days so Eiji was going to soak in as much as he could.
"Oi! I'm leaving!" Shouted Bakugou up the stairs with no response. "...Nothin? Yeesh, sleeps like a rock I swear." And with that Bakugou slid his motorcycle helmet on and left.
And the house was peaceful and quiet... For barely ten minutes. A sharp ringing woke Eiji up with a snort, groggily fumbling at his phone.
"I'm up, I'm up! Hello?"
"Eijirou, did I wake you?" Shouto asked on the other side of the line.
"Oh, uh no you're fine Mr. Shouto."
"Something last minute came up and we need you to accompany my team in Hosu," Todoroki stated calmly. "We need to leave immediately. Meet me at the agency. Jiam will be here, as well as my other staff."
"...We're leaving tonight?"
"Yes. Grab a bag and begin packing." Oh man, this was an immediate mission, wasn't it?
"Uh- yes! Yes— Wait... I can't..."
"Is something preventing you?"
"...I'm a janitor on the weekends..." Eiji's reason was pathetic, and there was a moment of silence for the poor kid. Todoroki almost sighed out loud.
"Ignore that problem, I'll fix it. Can you arrive at the agency in under twenty minutes? We should be gone no longer than four days, pack accordingly."
"What are we doing? Is there a mission?" Struggled Eiji as he threw his gear onto his bed.
"I will personally fill you in once you arrive. I apologize for the late notice, Eijirou."
"It's fine! Let me just pack real quick and- Wait dang it, I left my bags in the dorm. I'll just grab something for the weekend!" Eiji said as he ran into his dad's room and grabbed a random bag from a shelf in his closet. Stuffing all his things in it as quickly as he could, the teenager jumped downstairs with a single bound, snatching his coat up. "Okay, I'm on my way Mr. Shouto!"
"Good. See you in fifteen." Without another word, Shouto hung up. The teenager was so excited and pumped full of adrenaline- this was his first time getting called to a last-minute mission! As he was about to dash out the door he quickly turned back. "I almost forgot to leave a note!" And with a little scribble on a sticky note, Eiji left the house without looking behind! This was an adventure he couldn't wait to go on!
## Meanwhile...
By a food cart on the pier, Bakugou sat on a bench rudely rubbing his chopsticks together, looking at the time. He knew that meeting her here today was flying by the seat of his pants, but he was ready to improvise. He just needed to A) discover if this Juni lady was the vigilante and B) stop her before some other hero did. Because if she did go to jail, her kid would be going through some real villain backstory crap and Bakugou didn't want that for the kid.
Soon enough, the shorter woman came dashing in and running up to Katsuki's bench.
"I'm here! Sorry I'm late, Mr. Bakugou." Juni panted with a smile, "I was surprised when you asked to see me again so last minute, but I'm glad it worked out! Now about fixing those papers—"
"You hungry?" Interrupted Bakugou. She couldn't just sign and leave again- he needed to interrogate her! He needed to know she was this Dielectra person with 100 percent surety before accusing her! And once he acquired solid evidence, he'll figure out a way to stop her before she does something stupid...
"Oh, well um, I didn't have it in my budget today to eat out." Juni said awkwardly, not sitting down.
"I'll pay. Sit."
"Oh, um, you don't have to—"
"You like pork kabobs?" He said without looking her in the eyes. He needed to act nonchalant...
"Uh, I do." She quietly said as she sat on the far side of the bench. "Good, I already ordered them." He brashly said. Something about this was odd and she knew it. "You don't have to buy me food to sign some papers."
"Why so stubborn against free food?"
"...Alright." Slowly looking around the pier, Juni slowly put her purse between them. "So... how is the internship going from your viewpoint?"
"Good. Now tell me- your quirk? You can heat objects up, right?" He asked, abruptly switching subjects.
"I, erm, yes. I can make things warm from the inside out."
"How warm?"
"Just slightly... wha-why do you ask?" The way he was asking made her on guard.
"I'm trying to understand your kid's quirk better, so I gotta know yours." That made some sense. Not a lot, but some. "Can you heat up all things? Food? People? Metal?"
"Uh, yes. You know, Ba-Ba's quirk is truly amazing and terrifying. The first time he got it he imploded a—"
"You take parkour?"
"Erm, I-I did, actually... A few years ago..." she glanced at him skeptically through the side of her eyes.
"You're pretty toned," Bakugou said with a squeeze on her bicep, "I bet you could take down a guy twice your size."
Eyeing Bakugou up and down, Juni began to feel awkward.
"A man... *twice* my size?"
"Especially if you had a basic understanding of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. You travel to Korea often, yes? You know taekwondo?" Oh, he was actually talking about fighting. Of course, why else would he say that?
"I took a kickboxing class. Um, how did you know I travel to Korea often?"
"I remembered you're a flight attendant." Okay. He definitely took the time to remember certain details about her for no reason. "Are you a night owl because of your schedule? Are you a fan of dark alleyways?"
"Mr. Bakugou, where are the papers you need me to sign?"
"In my motorcycle."
"Ah-!?" She gawked at the audacity of this man. "You don't even have them on you?!"
"My bad. We'll get them after food." Now Juni didn't know much about Bakugou, but she did not take him for the kind of guy to admit a mistake so nonchalantly. As she squinted at him, eyes brimming with suspicion, the food vender finally yelled out,
"Pork kabobs for the lovely couple."
"Oh, uh we're not-"
"You travel during weekdays? Or are you staying in Musutafu for longer durations? What about this week? There's no chance I could accidentally run into you, correct?"
Now Juni understood what was going on. Asking about her quirk? The sudden fascination in her life? Buying her food and not denying anything was between them to the vendor? Not to mention his curiosity about her future plans! Yes, she believed she knew what was happening here...
"Mr. Bakugou, I'm going to ask you to grab the papers and let me be on my way."
"Eat first—"
"No." Dammit. Bakugou messed up. She knew he suspected her of being Dielectra! "Something that I admire in people is straightforward communication, and you are not clearly telling me what your intentions are." Dammit again. She was totally right, and somehow Bakugou felt like an asshole! Not a new feeling for him, to be fair. But still! "Bakugou, why did you *really* bring me here?"
This was no good... Bakugou was about to be found out, and then he'd get nowhere closer to discovering if she was the vigilante or not. No, he needed to think of what to say, and quickly...
## Train to Hosu
Eiji tapped his legs as he looked around himself. Todoroki sat in front of him with a serious expression plastered on his face, not acknowledging him yet. This was not a comfortable train ride at all.
"Ahem, so Jiam! You seem to be in a good mood."
"Well yeah! I'm with my favorite boss and my new friend! Why wouldn't I be?" Smiled the young man, his smile brighter than a toothpaste commercial. Eiji didn't share his eased attitude.
"Um, yeah hey, what will we be doing in Hosu, exactly?"
"Not yet." Todoroki said with his head down towards the paperwork. It was technically a public train, so Eiji was okay with waiting. Even if the suspense was killing him. But Shouto said not one word as the rest of the ride. Or as they left the train. Or as they entered the Hosu hotel. Not one sound. The darkness outside and the quiet inside the building as he walked the stairs with his bag over his shoulder produced a harrowing vibe. It gave Eiji the inkling that this was going to be something serious.
"Mr. Shouto?"
"In the meeting room." The Pro Hero said, not letting up his pace. With a shrug Jiam turned to Eiji and reassured the 15 year old, "It's fine. I don't understand what's going on either, but Mr. Todoroki has my full trust! You can trust him too, okay?" He grinned with a thumbs up. Giving a hesitant nod and a polite smile, Eiji followed them as they entered the meeting room.
The sheer number of heroes in this room made Baachu gasp. There were so many different heroes from so many different districts! And recognizable ones! Like the Jet Black Hero: Tsukuyomi! And Jirou-Sensei! And-
"HAHA! Flower boy!" The centaur slapped him on the back heartily!
"Kenta-OOF! Ouch... Centauria who did you come with?"
"I'm interning with the Tentacle Hero: Tentacole!" She gestured to the threateningly tall man with six arms and a terrifying smile who waved pleasantly at Eiji. Suddenly, a hesitant tap tapped Eiji's shoulder.
"Huh?"
A meek boy smiled up at him, tugging on his puppy ear! "H-Hi Eiji...rou—"
"KOTEKI! You're here too! Yeahaha!" Eiji hugged the poor guy a little too heartily. "There's gonna be friends on this mission?! Alright! This just became AWESOME!"
"Hehe~ y-yeah. J-Just working with Mr. S-Sugarman..." Hoshi stammered as Sato passed him some snacks. With a hearty laugh, Kenta smacked them both on the back and bellowed,
"Do you guys have any clue what's going on here? Because I sure don't!"
"No idea, I just got here with Jiam and Mr. Shouto—"
"Attention." Todoroki's voice commanded the meeting room to silence. Standing at the head of the table, he stared each and every one of them down, beginning slowly...
"...Currently, as we speak, there is a bomb being planted in Hosu."
"..." The blood drained from the UA student's faces. Underneath them, somewhere, was a bomb...
"We discovered through interrogating smugglers that large shipments of explosives were being delivered to Hosu, to the escapee Jigen Yaku."
"How much?" Inquired Shoji.
"They claimed at least 15 shipments were made to Jigen Yaku in the last two weeks alone. Which means we've made a terrible miscalculation..." Eiji didn't like the sound of that... nobody liked the sound of that! Looking up at the table full of heroes, Shouto spoke, "This explosive is large enough to flatten Hosu."
Suddenly, the room broke into a commotion of chaos and panic!
"Wh-Why are we here?!"
"We need to evacuate!"
"This is madness!"
"STOP!" A gust of wind scattered papers into the air as a tall, muscular man stood from his seat. "Excuse the interruption!" He shouted very loudly and bowed so hard he smacked his head against the table. "Shouto is a capable hero with good ideas! Please listen to his plan! Thank you and continue!"
"Thank you, Gale Force. I did not bring you to this city for no reason. You see, based on our calculations the bomb is not to be completed for another two weeks." That let Eiji sigh slightly, but he was not at peace in the slightest. "Time is not on our side. We have to discover the whereabouts of the bomb and put an end to it immediately. If we do not stop it before it is set off, the effects are irreversible, and many will die."
Folding her hands in front of her face, Jirou mumbled,
"So we need our best out there looking for the bomb? I understand why myself, Tsukuyomi and Tentacole are part of the search team, but shouldn't we invite Deku or Ground Zero onto the team as well?"
"Agreed," the gothic bird man said with a deep voice, "can we not evacuate the area?"
"I have already talked with Deku and Ground Zero, and after a great deal of communication, we came to a conclusion:" Said Todoroki as he leaned against the table, "They must continue their routine as usual to not alert Jigen Yaku. That is also why we cannot alarm the public. Even if we did our best to clear out the city, we wouldn't be capable of rescuing them all before Jigen notices..."
"..." With everyone thinking in quiet contemplation, Inasa finally bellowed, "Then we should begin our search immediately! I will do everything I can to support us all!"
"Thank you. Earphone Jack, you are the expert in search and find- take the floor."
As Jirou stood up in front of the team and began to present the different locations they were to search, Eiji felt a lump rise in his throat. By the looks of it, his classmates were feeling similar fear. But for some reason, the amount of trust that Jiam was putting in Shouto gave Eiji a sense of calm. He had reason for that, right? Gulping down his fear, Eiji put on a facade of confidence and peace. He could do this. He could be a hero now. They needed him.
## Musutafu pier
Thinking for a moment, Katsuki folded his hands in front of his mouth. He sat besides Juni who awaited his answer. What were his true intentions? He couldn't just admit to her that he thought she was the vigilante, but he couldn't say nothing! Having her sign the papers and leave would be a sign of defeat, and then she would definitely never see him again.
"I also prefer straightforward communication, and I respect that boundary," he said to bide the time, "so I'll tell you why I needed to talk to you."
"...Good."
Waiting for him to proceed, Juni watched his sharp, red eyes turn to her with a piercing intensity.
"I'm here to s—"
*BOOM!*
A rumble shook the vendors! It's patrons and employees gasped and ran away from the noise! Spinning towards the resounding boom, Bakugou and Juni looked outside and down the street-
Smoke was billowing up from a warehouse!
"Shit!" Katsuki said, his body bolting toward the building. People booked away from the warehouse, panicking and screaming as yet another boom tumbled the air! "Fuck! Get out of the area! Clear out! Move move mo-" Bakugou had to double take as he watched Juni dash past, "Not that way!" But she didn't listen. She barreled through the smoke, looking back and forth for injured people. The smoke was hard to see through, but she kept on looking- there had to be people in danger!
Suddenly, a loud crackling of fire snapped a telephone poll above her head! Right before she could roll away, something shoved into her side! It hit her like a truck, and she went tumbling down! Trying to push herself up, she felt as if a boulder was crushing her to the ground!
"Hngh-!" Quickly, she realized this weight was a person! He pulled them up to their feet together, lifting her like she weighed nothing!
"What the hell are you thinking?!" Bakugou scolded as yet another boom sounded with screams in the distance. She shook his arm off and ran towards the building once again. "Stop—"
"Let go-!" Juni immediately froze as she saw him holding her purse, reaching inside. And through ground teeth, he hissed,
"If you're going to do something stupid, don't let them see your face..." And slowly, he pulled out a mask. Like a punch to the gut it hit her...
He knew.
But if he knew, how come it felt like he was... helping?
"That said— STAY!" And he ran off into the smoke. She was so stunned at what he just said that she did stay for a moment before shaking her head and putting on the mask.
She looked in through the smoke towards the direction of the scream. Sure enough, there was a middle schooler stuck under a wooden pole! She squirmed under its weight, but her leg was broken! Another rumble echoed from the building, and Juni knew what to do.
Her legs moved on their own. She jumped right through the fires.
"Help! I'm stuck I'm stuck—"
"I got you!" Juni reassured, lifting the solid, wooden pole and rolling it to the side! "I'm going to carry you out of here, okay?" She said with the sweetest of smiles that could be seen through any mask. But the comfort did not last.
The rumbling in the building grew, foretelling doom. Scooping up the preteen, Juni ran as fast as she could away from the building! But they weren't going to get to safety in time!
So, without a second thought, Juni curled over the kid! She faced away from the building, waiting with gritted teeth for the inevitable pain! The sounds of explosions grew closer and closer! She squeezed the teen closer until—!
*Boom! Bam-Bam-BAM-! CRACK-!*
"..." Shrapnel landed all around her, but...
...she was unharmed?
"That's not right..." Gawked the woman, releasing her hold over the poor girl. Everything had calmed down now, with only a soft rumbling of tiny fires littering the street. Slowly, she noticed a shadow casting over her. She looked up...
And a contorted, ugly face looked down at her.
"Fuuu~" Bakugou moaned and uncurled as best he could.
"Mr. Bakugou! Are you okay?!"
"Ngh—" He was still on his feet, but as he turned himself away Juni caught a glimpse at his back. It was completely littered with shrapnel cuts. It looked like the most uncomfortable pain in the world. "HoOoly SHIT."
"Bakugou! Oh cuss!" Juni covered the middle schooler's eyes from the blood. "Let me help! I-I can—"
"Get out."
"But—"
"Out." He shakily pointed through the smoke where police cars and ambulances came filing in by the dozens. Realizing what this meant, Juni looked to the child and back at Katsuki before dashing off into an alleyway.
And with that, Bakugou let out a little sigh of relief. She really needed to be more careful with this whole vigilante stuff, especially if she was just going to run out there to get hurt like that.
"Jesus ChrCK-!" He froze in amazingly uncomfortable pain. This... was not going to be a fun doctor's visit...
## Hosu
"That is all. Meeting dismissed." Todoroki said with a stoic nod, the ounce of tentativeness still lingering in the UA student's eyes. The heroes in the room were not in better shape- everyone understood their time limitations...
"This... is kinda crazy..." Eiji mumbled to himself.
"Ha! Nothing UA's finest can't help!" Kenta bellowed with fake confidence. But by the looks of it, Koteki did not feel that same amount of confidence... Walking away from the podium, Shouto gestured for his students to follow him. "Gotta go guys. But we've got this. We're going to be heroes, right?"
Quickly hugging his bag and sharing a reassuring smile with his classmates, Baachu trotted after Jiam and Todoroki. His heart was going a million miles an hour as they calmly walked down the hall that felt like it was spinning. This was big. There were lives on the line...
"...My students, I did not bring you here for you to go into life threatening situations." Said Shouto with a little exhale, "This just reminds me why I did not have children of my own." Jiam patted Todoroki's back and smiled,
"It's fine! We know Hosu needs all the help it can get and—" but he was cut off as Todoroki continued to over share,
"When Momo asked me about having children, I feared I would make mistakes similar to my father. Not that I would beat my children, but rather I would not be able to invest in them as being a hero in the top three."
"Your father beat you?!" Eiji gasped in horror as Todoroki handed them card keys to a room they approached. But Todoroki did not answer that and went on.
"I realized that my goal was to become a hero rivaling the number one hero spot, and my children would not receive the care and attention they need. Not to mention the danger Momo and I would put them in by being related to us." He said as he opened up the door to a large hotel apartment. Eiji tried to reassure Shouto, but Jiam kept him from interrupting. "However, as I get older, I wonder if I had made a mistake in not having children. It may be too late now..."
"..." Eiji was never before put in such an awkward position. What was he supposed to say?! This was not a situation he was prepared for! "Uh, I uhh—"
"Mr. Todoroki, is this the room we will be staying in?" Jiam switched gears with a smile.
"Yes. I will be across the hall. You two shall stay here, and sleep well. I have scheduled you for these patrol shifts. Tell me now if you have any questions." Todoroki pulled out two folded papers and held them out to the boys.
"Oh, okay. Can you hold this?" Eiji handed Shouto his bag as he opened the paper and looked it over.
As the two high schoolers looked over the paper, Todoroki spotted something nearly falling out of the bag.
Something faded... crumpled.
Curiously caught him, and he opened it.
"Mr. Shouto, when you say go east do you mean through the market or around it?" Eiji puzzled a moment, but got silence as an answer.
"..." Shouto gently and gingerly lightened his grip on the paper, turning it towards Baachu. "Eijirou, do you know what this is?" Suddenly, Jiam smirked and nudged his friend.
"I see ~glitter pen~! Is it a note from a cute girl? Or a secret admirer?"
"I don't think anyone likes me right now..." Eiji cluelessly said with a puzzled look, reaching for it. "What is it, Mr. Shouto?" He asked with innocence and a little tilt to his head. It almost made Shouto fold the paper away, but he let Eiji look it over.
"..." Baachu read it slowly. Todoroki was unsure if he should meddle with this affair, so he waited and watched. If Eiji made the conclusion on his own then he wouldn't feel like he was ruining Bakugou's and his friendship.
Squinting at the note, Eiji was thoroughly confused. "Uhh, Ground Zero, this is for you, do what you like, blah blah blah, from your biggest fan. I don't really underst—" Eiji stared at the bag. It was probably the oldest, ugliest thing his dad owned and he never saw him use it. "Uh..."
Slowly, very slowly, with all the brain cells his mind could muster, Eiji began to connect the dots. He knew his history. He knew his origin, where he came from. ...What he was found in.
Something clicked.
Immediately, a ghostly feeling sank into his stomach. This wasn't some dusty duffle bag!
"This is—! Oh crap!" Baachu gently set it on the bed and stepped back. "This is— oh my God I took a priceless family treasure on a mission!"
"A priceless treasure?" Jiam asked with reasonable confusion. But Eiji felt a mixture of horror and embarrassment- like he had accidentally taken his grandparents ashes camping! Like he let a family heirloom roll on the floor of the train!
"Oh my God- this is the-? This is the thing! The-the thing he told me about and..." But something stopped Eiji. And he turned back to the note. "...He never told me about this."
"Eijirou. There might be a reason about him not telling or showing you." Todoroki rationally said. But Eiji was quiet. "May I take a look?"
"..." Baachu handed him the note silently, staring at it as Todoroki's eyes widened. "I, uh... I need to call my dad real quick..."
Meanwhile, swears fluttered through the air as Bakugou sat on the hospital bed, his shirt on the floor and the doctor at his back, much to his disgruntlement.
"Shit- SHIT! Watch it!" Bakugou snapped as his usual doc stitched him up.
"S-Sorry, Bakugou-San!" Stuttered Katsuma as he finished up the knot. "Only a few more, then I can start the cell repair acceleration..."
"Tsk. Just hurry up I gotta get home eventually. My kid's probably wondering where I went—" right as Bakugou said this, his phone began to ring. "Speaking of the devil's spawn... Oi? *Shit!*" Bakugou winced as another row of stitches got started. "Bub I'm coming home soon-"
"Dad? Do you know that bag that was in your closet?" Eiji asked as he clicked the bathroom door closed.
"...Was? Were you looking through my stuff?! *Fuck-*"
"I used it for the trip and there's this... this note?" That caught Bakugou's attention. Immediately he could tell this was going to be an *interesting* talk.
"*Shit-* A trip? Where—"
"We said no secrets, right? This isn't a big deal. I just wanna know why you didn't tell me!" Eiji tisked and sat on the sink counter.
"Gag- dammit!" Bakugou swore at the alcohol swab's sting.
"Why are you yelling at me?!"
"I'm not! Okay listen- I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was important!"
"Then why are you so angry about it?!"
"I'm not! Why are *you* so angry about it?! If it's that important to you then let's talk!" Katsuki yelled.
"Stop yelling! It's not that important to me!" Yelled Eiji back. "It's just important that you tell me stuff!"
"You want me to tell you right now?! Because it's important to you?!"
"I already said I don't care that much, so stop making a big deal about it!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Right!"
"Hmph."
They both sat on the other end of the lines in silence before Eiji mumbled aggravatedly, "I just think it funny how—"
"Oh Christ..."
"—I feel like when I learn anything about where I came from it's always because I ran into it by accident!"
"Just bring that bag home. *Now*. And bring yourself while you're at it." Scoffed Bakugou.
"Oh so it *IS* important to you!"
"*Dammit-* Where the hell are you?!" Bakugou changed the subject as another row of stitches began.
"I can't leave, I'm on a mission."
"A mission?! With the half and half bastard?! Where?!"
"Don't call him that." Eiji was getting more ticked off every second his dad spoke. His dad had no right to be mad at him or Mr. Shouto! "I'm in Hosu."
"Hosu?!" That was a dangerous place to be. Especially with this Jigen Yaku guy there! Now that the explosion happened at the pier he's bound to speed up his plans! "Get your ass home right now!"
"No."
"Eijirou-!"
"Dad, I'm pissed off at you right now." Baachu said with an exhale, "It wouldn't have taken you long to tell me 'son I found you in this'!"
"I was going to tell you—"
"This weekend? Was it going to be today?" Eiji tisked, knowing the answer already. "Of course not! You don't tell me things!"
"Eijirou, that isn't a priority right now! You come home right now! Where are you staying— *Shit!*" Bakugou finally pushed the boy over the edge.
"Look- If you don't see this as a priority then I don't wanna talk to you right now!" Scoffed Baachu before flicking off his phone.
"Eijirou! EIJIROU! God dammit! Grrrahh!" Screamed Katsuki, getting a strange look from Katsuma. "What are you looking at?!"
"N-Nothing!" Stuttered the man as he went back to stitching.
Eiji dragged his feet out of the bathroom and sat on the bed in front of Todoroki and Jiam. His posture showed that the phone call did not end well at all.
"I'm guessing by the 'lively' look in your eyes that that convo went sour..." Jiam said with a wince. Eiji just shrugged before dumping all his clothes out onto the floor and putting the bag on his lap. It wasn't very big. Stroking the inside lining he wiped up some dust. He couldn't help but imagine seeing a little baby in there. He wondered how he would react...
Todoroki analyzed the note, Eiji stared into the bag, and Jiam awkwardly patted his legs. "Wow. You come with some lore, don't you, Eiji? Heh..."
"I guess."
"Eijirou," Todoroki started, "would you mind if I took a photo of the note?"
"Huh? I guess it's fine, why?"
"I want to run it by someone." Was the only response he gave before taking a photo. "I should leave you two. You need to rest before your patrol tomorrow."
"Yes, Mr. Todoroki!"
"Yeah..."
With the soft click of the hotel door behind himself, Shouto walked towards yet another meeting.
"So… what is that?" Jiam prodded, brimming with curiosity.
"Um, it's… this was the bag… that my dad found me in. On his front porch." Said Eiji slowly, as if it hadn't registered quite yet.
"What?! No way! I've only heard about that happening in movies!" Gawked the older teen. "That's pretty crazy, right?!"
"It feels pretty normal now. But yeah…" Eiji shrugged, robotically picking his clothes off the floor.
"Man, I'm trying to imagine what I would do in that situation… Although I don't think that would happen to me, I don't even have a girlfriend."
"Dad didn't either."
"Oh, was he a womanizer?" That led to a glare from Baachu. "Oop! Sorry! I shouldn't assume things! Forgive me!"
"It's fine. Our case is pretty unique, I think."
"Oh okay. I was just trying to think how this could have happened to anyone, and what would I do in that situation." Stretched Jiam before changing into his pajamas. That comment left Eiji staring blankly at the bag once more, deep in thought.
"...It could have. And I don't know…"
Swiftly passing down the hall, Todoroki waited for his wife to answer, staring at the image he took. "Momo. I sent you an image I'd like to look after our current mission. I would like your eyes on the handwriting, it is familiar to me..." He said hollowly, looking at the image once more.
"Frighteningly familiar..."
## Bakugou Household
Quiet and desolate, Bakugou creaked into his empty home. There were no pancakes this evening. Or getting to hear about Eiji's week. Wobbling like an old man, he threw Meiwaku's acceptance papers on the counters, as signed as they ever needed to be in the first place. And despite knowing for certain who Dielectra was, he didn't feel any ease about it at all.
Gently sitting himself down at the couch, he almost turned on the news but decided against it and pulled out his phone again.
But Eiji didn't pick up when he called.
He'll continue calling. Maybe trying Half-n-Half's phone too, if he grew desperate enough. As he listened to his phone ring away, he caught a glimpse at a sticky note. A steady, quiet ring continued as he read the messy message,
"Dad-
I'm going on a crazy mission with Mr. Shouto! Be back in four days- I guess I'll go back to school then so I'll see you next weekend.
Love ya!"
"...Next weekend." Bakugou sighed. Crinkling the note and putting it to his chest, Bakugou called the void once again. No one was going to pick up...
This was turning out to be a fucking sucky weekend.
