You Keep 'Em Guessin', That's Your Game (Your Charade)

"Sit down and assess yourself. Don't lose your mind, girl, get it, get it. Habits on repeat, living life as if you were sleeping…"

('Night Vibe$' by 'Happy Hour')

That was how Izuku found himself in a nightclub called 'Crimson Reef' that Saturday night with Denki Kaminari - who was, notably, already three drinks in.

"Ugh, it sucks dude," Denki whined to Izuku's right. They were both sitting at the bar; they'd arrived earlier when the club had just opened and gotten prime seats that Izuku planned to keep as long as he could. "I just wish she'd make up her mind what she wants, you know?"

The music was starting to pound louder the later it got and each song progressively reminded Izuku why he was too boring to go out to clubs in normal circumstances. Izuku turned to the electric Hero and his former classmate with a bemused expression on his face, processing the story he'd just heard.

"Have you considered just talking to her?" There was a brief silence as Izuku considered, then he continued innocently, "Didn't she break up with you?"

He never really understood Denki and Kyoka's relationship as it had progressed through the years. Certainly he knew that they loved each other on some level, but they also… bickered, and he didn't get that part. He figured it wasn't his place to judge, but he just found it strange. Then again, they'd been together in some capacity, off-and-on, since their second year of high school, which was perhaps an achievement on its own.

Denki groaned; Izuku couldn't hear it well over the music, but it was clear in his facial movements. Izuku worked to keep his expression neutral, not wanting to betray how minorly amused at his friend he was. Suddenly he could understand why Shouto gave him so much shit all the time.

"Yes! This isn't the first time, though, so I know she didn't mean it," Denki said with more confidence than Izuku quite thought was warranted. Denki rubbed his hands on his face, then added, "and yes, I have tried talking to her, but it's not that easy!"

"Your relationship doesn't sound very healthy right now, Denki," Izuku said, not really sure how else to reply. He was not exactly relationship counselor material and he knew that quite well. Denki gave him a very wounded look and Izuku felt a bit bad, like he was actually picking on him.

"I love her, though!" Denki insisted as he reached for his drink again.

"Love isn't the only important part of a relationship," Izuku responded, trying to sound profound; it was hard with the pounding of the music in his head. Denki just scoffed at him.

"How would you know, you pure angel?" Denki shot back, although there was no malice in his voice. He had a dopey grin on his face, and Izuku smiled softly back.

"I'm not a complete novice, Denki."

"Sure you aren't. Anyway, since Kyoka and I are on a break, now Hitoshi has been talking to me too, and I don't know what to do!" Denki groaned again and planted his face firmly on the bar. Izuku blinked slowly, feeling confused. Denki's relationship problems were much more complicated than anything Izuku dealt with regularly, and he had a crush on a villain.

"Maybe you three could all work something out? Isn't that what Kyoka is mad about in the first place?" Izuku didn't think very hard about his answer, but that was something he knew some people did. He didn't see any reason why the three couldn't chat about it, anyway. Denki whipped his head up and narrowed his eyes at Izuku.

"What, just date both of them? I can't do that!" Denki looked back at his drink and had the look on his face that Izuku knew passed as his 'deep thinking' expression. "Wait… maybe- Izuku, you're a genius!" Denki exclaimed, suddenly turning and shaking Izuku's shoulders. Izuku let him, swaying back and forth like a bobblehead. He was only a drink and a half in, but the motion did not help his sense of balance. After Denki composed himself, Izuku frowned at him.

"You shouldn't take relationship advice from me," Izuku said, completely sincerely. He was just trying to throw out ideas and be helpful. Denki gawked at him for a moment, then he scowled at his drink, grumbling something he couldn't hear. He turned and pointed an index finger at Izuku's nose.

"Why the hell did you ask me to come out with you, anyway, Izuku? You don't like clubbing," Denki pointed out in an accusatory tone. Izuku shrugged, knowing Denki was entirely correct. He'd only been to a club once before, for Kacchan's bachelor party a year previously. It was very awkward, and although he'd ended up going home with a very attractive lady, it wasn't something he enjoyed much.

(he wasn't willing to admit that was the last time he'd had sex, either)

"Maybe I just wanted to catch up," Izuku replied neutrally after a moment, sipping his drink.

"Your poker face sucks, Izuku," Denki said teasingly. "Besides, you wouldn't have told me to bring support gear and be ready for a fight if that were true."

Izuku choked on his drink a little bit. He'd kind of forgotten he'd told Denki that.

"Maybe I just always expect trouble?" Izuku attempted. Denki shook his head.

"You do, but I think you're here for work," Denki said, sarcasm in his tone. Izuku sighed in defeat and finished his drink.

"Alright, you might be right," Izuku admitted, deflating. Denki gave him a very smug grin.

"Well, are you too busy for that pretty brunette that's been eyeing you from the other end of the bar?" Denki asked mischievously. He shifted so that Izuku could see more of the bar and jabbed his thumb over his shoulder.

Izuku tilted over a bit and saw her, smirking at him from the end of the bar. Ochako was wearing a pink blouse and black skinny jeans, and her hair was down. She leaned suggestively against the bar, and she gave him a cute little wave when their eyes met, fingers wiggling at him unapologetically. Izuku swallowed thickly and leaned back so that Denki was hiding him again.

"Ah, yes. I am definitely too busy for that," Izuku said nervously, and Denki blinked in confusion at him.

"Do you know her?"

"It's a long story," Izuku replied awkwardly, twirling his fingers in his lap as his eyes darted around the room. Denki just laughed at him.

"C'mon, man. How bad could it be? At least you aren't a walking disaster zone like me," Denki said, trying to be encouraging in his own way.

"You would be surprised," Izuku said evenly, trying not to let his expression turn into a small scowl, and Denki smirked at him in response. They both turned when someone came up behind them and tapped on Izuku's shoulder. He turned and found himself face to face with Ochako, who had an absolutely evil shit-eating grin on her face. Izuku leaned backwards and kept his eyes firmly fixed on her face.

"Hello, boys. Would you mind if I borrowed this cutie for a dance?" She asked innocently, looking at Denki but with her hand still on Izuku's shoulder, squeezing for emphasis. Denki wiggled his eyebrows at Izuku before turning to her.

"Of course, beautiful. But I'll still be here if he's a wet blanket for ya," Denki said, and Izuku closed his eyes to suppress an irritated groan. Ochako giggled and started pulling Izuku towards the dance floor. When he resisted slightly, hoping to preserve his dignity, she fluttered her eyebrows at him and tugged him right off his chair.

"Wait, er- Uh, I'm not sure this is a g-good idea!" Izuku tried to stammer out, but Denki just waved at him as she pulled him away.

Suddenly they were in a sea of bodies, bouncing and twirling to the dance music. Izuku wore a red and black Edgeshot t-shirt with a green and black checkered flannel long-sleeve over it. He had dark blue jeans and his red high-top sneakers, and as he observed the people around them he quickly realized that he was not dressed appropriately for this, at all. He looked back to Ochako and found her very close to him. She pressed against him and put her hands around his neck, pulling him down. For a fleeting moment he thought she was going to kiss him, but instead she whispered close into his ear.

"Don't just stand there, dance. We need to blend in until it's time." Her voice was low and playful, and it made Izuku really nervous. He turned red but tried to comply, awkwardly resting his hands on her sides and trying to bounce in time with the music on his feet. She was a natural by comparison, as she bounced and moved like water with him. He was mesmerized, and between her and the alcohol he almost forgot why they were there entirely.

Ochako spun and danced with her back to his chest. He wasn't brave - or rude, in his mind - enough to grind against her, so he just tried to keep time with her and bounced along stiffly with his hands still on her hips. After a song she spun back around and fixed him with a cat-like smirk. Then she pulled him in close and whispered again.

"You look like you're about to throw up. Relax."

"How am I supposed to relax when we're doing this?!" Izuku hissed back, feeling very foolish. His brain was in overdrive and he willed the blood to stay in his brain and not stray.

"Just breathe. See that guy over by the door, to your right?" Ochako said, her tone suddenly turning all business. He glanced over and followed her direction to see a very large man with metal knobs and bolts sticking out all over his skin. "He's the head bouncer. It'll be him and a bunch of goons when we start."

"What are you going to do?" Izuku whispered urgently.

"I'm going to sneak off and change into my gear, then pull the fire alarm. They know that someone is coming, but they don't know who, so I expect their reaction to be very confused. That's where you come in, Superhero," she said. Izuku nodded, but didn't feel very confident about it.

"You know, it would've been a lot easier to coordinate this if we stayed at the bar," he said glumly. She abruptly stepped a lot closer to his face and Izuku thought he was gonna melt. He could feel her breath, warm and husky, against his chin.

"Maybe I just wanted to dance a little. Besides, Chargebolt over there still needs to figure out how he's gonna apologize to his girlfriend and maybe-boyfriend. Figured I'd give him some time to stew."

"Aren't you nice," Izuku said, his whisper dripping with sarcasm.

"I can be," Ochako replied suggestively, but then she made a motion with her elbow and Izuku looked over. He saw Rip Tide, walking along the edge of the room towards a side exit with about a half dozen goons in his wake. "He's going to where we wanna go. It's down in the basement levels, so once you clear up here, you'll have to get down quick. I'll keep you informed via radio. Got it?"

"We're on the fifth floor!" Izuku whispered frantically, bemoaning the situation he knew he was about to get into.

"I thought you and Ground Zero specialized in property damage, Superhero," she replied sarcastically. Izuku groaned; he worked hard to dispel that reputation from early in his Hero career. Taking cases with Kacchan right after graduation had been a mistake.

"Just make sure the building is clear of civilians, this will probably be ugly."

She nodded against his neck, then leaned over and kissed the edge of his chin. Izuku recoiled, turning beet red from neck to ear, but she was already gone, disappearing into the mass of people. He reached up and touched his chin where she kissed him and scowled, before moving back towards the bar. When he reached Denki, the blonde looked like a cat who had figured out how to open the bag of treats.

"You know, for how awkward you looked, I think that's the sexiest thing I've ever seen you do," Denki said suggestively, and he gave Izuku a thumbs up.

"Yeah, well, get ready for things to go south in a minute here," Izuku shot back sourly, and Denki was taken aback.

"Is she in on it?" He asked, utterly confused. Izuku looked around pensively and tried to gauge where things were likely to happen and what direction the villains would come from.

"Kind of. The fire alarm is gonna go off, and this place is gonna turn into a free-for-all slugfest as soon as it does," Izuku replied, tapping his wrists one after the other. The red armored metal of Melissa's support gear expanded around his hands and under his sleeves. Then he activated the one on his neck, followed by the ones on his ankles, so that most of his body was covered under his clothes by the armored pieces. Denki shook his head and looked thoroughly dejected.

"I didn't even get to dance with anyone!" He moaned as he comically slapped his hand to his forehead.

"You've got two people to dance with at home," Izuku replied simply, his body tense in waiting. The bartender came over and gave him a questioning look, but Izuku just shook his head. Drinking was over for the night.

In the corner of his eye he saw that Denki had shifted to business mode and was readying himself for fighting. He pulled his support hand covers over the back of his hand, covering his palms but leaving his fingers open. The metallic gloves were meant to let him more easily shock opponents in close quarters, another piece of gear designed by Mei at UA when they were all still in school.

Denki gave him a nod, completely serious. He was Chargebolt now, and Izuku was Jade Rabbit, and they were ready for a fight. Izuku counted calmly to three, waiting. Nothing happened, so he repeated it.

1… 2… 3…

Some of the bouncers were moving around and he saw confusion and angry panic in their expressions. They weren't armed with firearms, though he couldn't tell yet what their quirks were from his vantage point. The crowd didn't notice anything yet.

1… 2… 3…

He saw the big bouncer guy, the head bouncer with the metal knobs on his skin, point over to where he and Chargebolt were standing. Izuku turned to Chargebolt and clenched his fists. Chargebolt mirrored his motion, and the two of them turned slightly away from each other, covering their sides.

1… 2… 3…

The fire alarm went off. The sprinklers all turned on at once, soaking everyone in the room. Izuku blinked to keep his vision clear and accepted he was just gonna be cold and wet for a bit. He was glad that his phone had a waterproof case, at least. There were screams of surprise, panic and anger, and all at once the crowd was stampeding towards the exits. The bartender hurriedly ran off to a door that probably went to a kitchen-type area. Bouncers moved towards them, swiftly pushing through the crowd and shoving people out of the way.

"Chargebolt," Izuku hissed under his breath. Chargebolt leaned over to hear him better. "Everyone is wet, don't use your electricity yet."

Chargebolt frowned but nodded, adopting a low stance and preparing to fight in simple hand to hand. The music was still pounding even though the club lights had been replaced with normal yellow lights. The sprinklers went out soon after. Most of the crowd had made their way out, and the head bouncer openly pointed to the two Heroes.

"Those two! Get 'em!" He yelled, then he ran towards them in a sprint. Metal knobs broke out across his fists and forearm, ripping his suit apart, and he pulled back his arm to strike Chargebolt.

Chargebolt ducked the punch and rolled forward out of the way, catching another goon right in the chest with a hard elbow thrust. The second guy went down, throwing up, and the head bouncer crashed right into the bar with his fist, and appeared to be stuck.

One for All flared around Izuku and he smirked at the head bouncer, who looked horrified when he realized who he was dealing with. The water on Izuku's body began to heat up and sizzle away.

"Wrong move, buddy," Izuku said, then he hit the bouncer in the chin with a quick jab. That was all it took, and the man was out like a light.

Then Izuku gripped his suit at the shoulder and lower back and heaved, ripping him right out of the bar and sending the man flying like he didn't weigh anything at all. The head bouncer sailed through the air and nailed three other bouncers like a bowling ball. None of them were in a hurry to get out from under the large man's dead weight.

Izuku turned as all the hair on the back of his neck stood up and deftly backed out of a wild, hard punch by a man with a boar for a head. He dodged another left hook and the boar man tried to smash Izuku with his face, attempting to gore him with his tusks. Izuku just put his arm up and the boar man's tusks shattered against his gauntlets, shredding his shirt sleeve in the process. Izuku then spun and kicked the boar man, sending him flying backwards.

Izuku ripped his long-sleeve shirt off and flicked an air pressure wave at a man with giant magnets on his shoulders who was about to strike Chargebolt from behind. The air was loud, and Chargebolt ducked the blast on instinct from hearing the noise. Years of practice together paid off. The villain wasn't so lucky though, and went sailing into the far wall. Then Chargebolt stood up with a grin, giving Izuku a thumbs up.

Izuku didn't get a chance to react. Instead, he was knocked backwards into the bar by a long, stretchy arm from the side. An unnaturally proportioned man stepped into his view, his body twisting and stretching like taffy.

"That's all you've got, Hero?" The stretchy bouncer sneered.

Izuku hated to admit it but he was a little dazed. He dropped down off the shattered shelves to his feet, and broken glass and alcohol ran all over the floor. He only felt a dull pain - most of it was absorbed by his armor, even if it tore his shirt up - and he regarded the stretchy bouncer with a curious look.

"Rubber quirk?" Izuku asked sincerely, and the stretchy bouncer was taken aback.

"Yeah, why? Shut up and fight!" He replied, but Izuku just smirked and reached out like a blur, crackling green lightning singing the air around him. The stretchy bouncer yelped as Izuku grabbed him and stretched him out in front of him like an umbrella as he huddled behind the bar.

"Chargebolt, blanket the room, now!" Izuku called out, then he tucked his head back under the rubber villain again. Chargebolt didn't even hesitate, immediately slamming his hands into the ground, and the room was bathed in yellow light as the remaining goons yelled out in surprise and pain.

Once the light went away, Izuku let the stretchy bouncer go. He started to back away, heavily dazed, then Izuku stood up and hit him with a quick jab to the nose. He fell over limp, blood gushing from his face. Izuku turned around and saw that the room was now clear except for Chargebolt, who gave him another thumbs up surrounded by unconscious men.

"Not bad, Jade Rabbit," Chargebolt deadpanned, and Izuku smiled. He jumped over the bar and walked over to Chargebolt and his earpiece came to life.

"I'm down in the lower levels. I've got the lab open, but Rip Tide's men are sweeping the room. You should probably move, Superhero."

Izuku started to reply but he saw Chargebolt looking at him with a confused face and remembered only he could hear her.

"Dammit… Hey, Chargebolt, we're going downstairs," Izuku said. Chargebolt just tilted his head, looking thoroughly confused.

"Why? We took out all the guys in here."

"Because I just got a message from the police, they suspect there's a drug lab downstairs."

"I didn't get any message from the police…" Denki said, considering as he tapped his earpiece in confusion to check if it was working. He scratched his chin with his index finger. "I guess you are the number one Hero. You should've told me you've got a special line," he then grumbled, and Izuku silently thanked his lucky stars that his friend, though he loved him, was not the most observant person on the planet. "Okay, so how are we gonna get down there?" Chargebolt asked, back to Hero mode.

"That way, let's go." Izuku gestured to the door that Rip Tide had gone through. It looked like it went to a service elevator. One for All crackled around him and he rushed over. The doors were locked, but he twisted the handles with his super strength and the locking mechanisms shattered. Chargebolt was quick behind him and they moved forward, only to find that the elevator was powered down when the fire alarm went off.

"Shit," Chargebolt said, but then he gestured off to the side. "Over there, emergency stairs!" Izuku nodded and ran over. He kicked the door open and started bounding down the stairs three at a time. "Hey, wait for me!" Chargebolt exclaimed, but Izuku just shook his head as he called back.

"Cover the exits on the main floor and make sure they don't go out that way. I'll go ahead and see if I can secure a path forward, and the police will be here soon." Izuku tapped a red button on his armored cuff as he spoke, which sent out an automatic call to the police for his location. He figured they'd probably been called already, but better safe than sorry.

"Alright, but you owe me another night out!" Chargebolt called back indignantly. He sounded far away now, his voice echoing in the stairwell, as Izuku cleared the second floor and showed no signs of slowing. He passed the first floor and started to descend to the basement levels. There was a sign hanging up that said 'Employees ONLY,' and the floors were dusty. It didn't look like anyone actively passed through there…

He skidded to a stop as he came to a dead end at the bottom of the stairs. He looked around and didn't see any clues, and started to feel very annoyed until he noticed something subtle: down on the ground, in the dirt and dust, there was the tell-tale mark of a door swinging out and disturbing the grime. Izuku grinned and walked up to the wall, tapping on it with the back of his hand. He didn't hear anything on the other side, but it sounded off - like it was hollow.

This must be the back exit into the club, and they have a main entrance somewhere else, he thought. Then he drew his leg back, One for All crackling around him, and kicked forward, shattering the wall. When the dust cleared he saw that there were a number of hallways on the other side - and a goon sitting pathetically in a pile of rubble straight ahead, out cold. He must have been waiting in ambush on the other side - and he wouldn't be standing up any time soon.

"Chargebolt," Izuku whispered into his earpiece, "any sign of movement up there?"

"Nah, but the cops are on their way. I see lights outside the windows."

"Good, come down here. I found a secret entrance."

"On it, see you in thirty seconds."

Izuku slowly stepped into the dingy hallway and assumed a fighting stance. He flicked his right wrist and the emergency flashlight on his armored gauntlet turned on as he looked around. There were three ways to go - straight ahead looked like a dead-end, as the goon had hit a wall. To the left, Izuku thought he saw a supply closet. And to the right-

His earpiece crackled to life, surprising him.

"You'll want the right hallway, Superhero."

Izuku grumbled but didn't reply, knowing that it would sound silly to Chargebolt. Speaking of which, the electric Hero came skidding to a halt somewhere behind him, then stepped gingerly into the secret hallway.

"Damn dude, you really can't just open a door can you?" Chargebolt said teasingly. Izuku rolled his eyes and pointed to the right.

"We're going that way. Keep your eyes peeled."

"Roger that," Chargebolt said sarcastically, then they were off in a brisk jog. The hallway twisted and turned, but curiously there were no long offshoot hallways. Izuku looked down the various side passages as they went but they were all empty - not even with doorways.

Probably decoys, meant to slow down intruders, he thought.

The two Heroes skidded to a stop as they came to a set of double doors. There was nowhere else to go, and there was bright light shining through the cracks in the doorframe. Izuku turned to Chargebolt and nodded, then both assumed low stances as Izuku kicked the door down. They were met with a bright laboratory, with various workstations and vials of unpleasant looking liquids suspended over tables. Most of the liquids were clear or vaguely yellow, but Izuku noted that towards the end of the room, there were a lot of vials of liquid that were distinctly crimson.

He looked up and saw that there were two metal walkways, one on either side of the room. A door to the left walkway crashed open and goons began filing in, carrying handguns. To the right he saw Stratosphere in a crouch, shadowed at the end of the walkway in the dark of a doorway. The glowing part of her helmet was turned off and Izuku knew he was the only one who'd noticed her yet.

He snapped his gaze forward when Rip Tide dropped down from the left walkway, right in front of them. The ground groaned under the villain, and the tile cracked. Rip Tide was a big man. He also had a vial of Trigger in one hand, and an injection gun in the other.

"Stupid Heroes!" Rip Tide yelled. His quirk began to activate as his muscles stretched out and tore his clothes open, and his skin paled and became more scale-like. His eyes turned pitch black, and his face elongated and his teeth exploded out of control into rows and rows. By the time he was done, he towered over them, all muscle and teeth. "You walked right in here without a plan? Fools! By the time I'm done with you, they'll be picking you out of my teeth! With this Trigger, I'll even be able to kill-"

He was silenced by the viridian blur of Izuku shooting forward at high output of One for All. His foot connected with Rip Tide's massive head, launching the villain backwards and breaking the sound barrier. He crashed into the back wall and the air pressure wave shattered all of the glass in the room and knocked the goons on the left off balance.

"Chargebolt, go!" Izuku exclaimed as he landed on two feet, but Chargebolt was already moving. He jumped from a workstation to a suspended light, swinging on it like a rope. It broke under his weight, but gave him enough momentum to reach the edge of the walkway with his hand. He grabbed on, and the entire walkway was immediately electrified. Every goon on it got zapped like a cloud of mosquitoes, and fell over, out cold.

Izuku rose, his breathing heavy, and surveyed the room. The villains were all down, near as he could tell, and the lab was pretty thoroughly destroyed. He looked up to the other walkway, and saw that Stratosphere was gone.

"Figures," Izuku muttered. Chargebolt dropped to the ground and gave him another grin and another thumbs up.

"Good job, Jade Rabbit! The villain was gonna monologue though, you interrupted him so rudely," he joked.

"Yeah, well, they always drop their guard when they monologue," Izuku replied with a shrug. He learned not to let villains monologue after dealing with Shigaraki one too many times. Stratosphere spoke in his earpiece again, interrupting his ruminations.

"The thing I came for isn't here. I took out the last few guys, though, while I was at it. The building should be secure, and the cops are here. See you around, Superhero."

Izuku whirled around and started to give an angry reply; she didn't tell him what the target was or who it was for, dammit. But he turned and saw Chargebolt giving him a funny look, and held his tongue.

"Er… the police let me know the building is secure," Izuku said meekly, mentally kicking himself. He wouldn't have enough time to bring in the little thing on his earpiece to Melissa and Mei, but he kind of wanted to.

"Right," Denki said, over the situation based on the silly smirk he had on his face. "Well, might as well get on out there, then. They'll want a report."

Izuku nodded and started mentally preparing himself on how he was going to explain exactly what happened to Detective Tsukauchi. He also reminded himself to tell Denki that he really didn't want to go clubbing again later on.

Izuku sighed as he sank into Tsukauchi's guest office chair.

It had been a few hours since the fight at the nightclub had wound down, and Denki had been debriefed along with Izuku, giving the 'official' story: that they had just been out as civilians when the drug lab tripped the fire alarm and Rip Tide and his crew attacked them unprompted. It was what would be fed to the press later on, and there wasn't anybody in a position to really argue with it. Izuku was immensely grateful that Denki had zero issue going along with this story, for 'a bro like Izuku.'

Once Denki called it a night, Izuku was left alone with Tsukauchi, who gave him a very tired look as the door shut.

"So, let's start from the beginning," Tsukauchi said, with the type of tone that implied he was not interested in jokes tonight. Izuku nodded and placed his chin in his right hand.

"I made contact with her. She asked me to meet." Tsukauchi made a motion with his hand to indicate he wanted Izuku to continue, so he took a deep breath in preparation. "I met her at a restaurant. She proposed that I work with her on a job because she's trying to get 'out,' and in trade I would be able to take down Rip Tide and his gang." Izuku looked at Tsukauchi, who was frowning. "She also told me he was making Trigger based on an American recipe, sourced from their underground."

Tsukauchi's frown deepened, and he didn't look pleased at all.

"Well, that tracks with what we found. Unfortunately, most of the lab was destroyed, but the compounds we did find are what are used to make Trigger. Rip Tide and his thugs are going away for a long time," he said. Izuku nodded, feeling unsurprised. Trigger was one of those things the police focused a lot on, especially in the wake of Overhaul.

"They knew someone was coming, but not that it was us specifically. They were surprised when they realized who I was."

"I see. So maybe whoever she's working with - or for - is making some kind of move in the underground?"

"Makes sense," Izuku said, though really it was just a guess. He kind of didn't think she was working for the mob, based on what she said, but that was conjecture on his part. He rubbed his eyes with his left hand, feeling absolutely exhausted. "She said she was there to steal something specific, but she did not tell me what. Whatever it was, it wasn't there."

"You better hope she didn't steal any of the Trigger itself," Tsukauchi said, shaking his head and looking thoroughly irritated. Izuku gave him a sheepish expression.

"I'm not sure. But… I doubt it. When you questioned the thugs earlier they pointed out that Rip Tide didn't have the recipe; he was working with some third party, and only acting as a manufacturer and potential distributor." Izuku looked at Tsukauchi knowingly. "They said Rip Tide wasn't happy about this. It could be a brewing gang war - or maybe outside interference."

"That's possible, but Rip Tide was still new to the game. In the power vacuum Overhaul left, there's bigger fish in the pond, proverbially," Tsukauchi pointed out, his expression becoming thoughtful for a moment. Izuku groaned, though, when he gained a shit-eating grin and Izuku registered what he'd said.

"You and your damn puns," Izuku said ruefully. Tsukauchi's smirk softened into a smile.

"You have to find some way to keep yourself going in this line of work, Midoriya," he observed. Izuku rolled his eyes, but did not argue. He knew that was fair. Instead, he realized something.

"She said this Trigger was coming from the American underground, but also that it lasts hours instead of minutes. How is that possible?" Izuku asked. Tsukauchi reached over and pulled out a manila folder, opening it on his desk. Izuku saw a lot of photographs and papers there but couldn't read them upside down.

"Trigger in the States is used by the military, mostly, so it's a lot stronger because the R&D has government backing. I haven't heard anything about a security breach for the American military, but that isn't exactly my department," he admitted. Izuku nodded, a grim expression on his face. He didn't like things that involved the military, because they tended to be distasteful and unpleasant.

"That would be very bad, though," Izuku pointed out, "if this is going to hit the streets, we probably need to pull in the Hero Commission and blow the whistle on it."

To Izuku's surprise, Tsukauchi scowled.

"The Hero Commission was already alerted to the potential of this years ago - when Overhaul was taken down, even. But the current government wants better relations with the Americans, so it was hushed up. I doubt they'd do anything until there's an incident bad enough that they can't cover it up," Tsukauchi said ruefully. Izuku hummed in response. Politics. He was no good for politics.

"So we're on our own?" Izuku asked in a resigned tone. Tsukauchi shrugged, looking very tired.

"Maybe. I think she's currently our only lead on what's going on. I don't think she's the mastermind - that's not her style. She's just a retrieval and delivery person here," he replied. Izuku nodded, already knowing where things were going.

"So I need to talk her into telling me more, then," Izuku concluded. Tsukauchi gave him a bemused expression.

"If you're up to that, that is," he said. Izuku just scowled, already annoyed at both his life and his lack of coffee.

"I have to be, this is bigger now. It's not about catching just her anymore, is it?" He asked, letting the irritation seep into his tone. Tsukauchi stood up then and moved over to a filing cabinet. He opened it with a key and searched through it a bit, pulling out another file. Then he moved back to his desk, neatly put away the Trigger file, and set down the new one.

"About three weeks ago, there was a breakout at Tartarus," he said, looking at Izuku meaningfully. Izuku paled at that.

"Was this covered up? Did… did they get out?"

"It was, unfortunately, and I don't have a lot of info for you. And no, the remaining major League of Villains members that I'm aware of are still locked safely away. A number of small- to medium-level villains were released and the perpetrators wiped out the entire server of records. They're still trying to get a proper hold on who got out and what their quirks, motives, and crime patterns are."

Izuku buried his face in his hands, stifling a desire to yell in annoyance.

"They're supposed to warn us about these things!" He bemoaned when he looked up.

"This is me warning you," Tsukauchi replied matter-of-factly. "This is top secret, to the highest level. Officially you don't know anything. I don't think I'll find out any more, either."

Izuku nodded, feeling concerned at how high up things must have gone.

"Understood," Izuku said gravely. Tsukauchi closed the file and fixed Izuku with a hard stare.

"This is real bad. You're gonna need to get serious about this. She's in deep, and I'm not sure she knows how deep," he noted. Izuku just scowled in response.

"She'll be safe in prison, I'm sure," he said with a small huff. Tsukauchi snorted, but decided not to comment further.

"Go get some sleep, Midoriya. You'll need it," he said, his tone a bit softer. Izuku waved goodbye as he left the office, but felt immense dread; the kind he hadn't felt since preparing to raid the Yakuza and take on Overhaul.

He felt like it wasn't his feeling, either, and that made it worse.