Naomasa hadn't expected to be woken up at four in the morning by the sound of someone rummaging in his kitchen. He cautiously peeked around the corner before spying Midoriya making a pot of coffee. He'd forgotten that the kid was staying with him for now.

"You're up awfully early." The kid whipped around; nearly dropping the bag of coffee beans he'd been putting away.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I just couldn't sleep, and—"

"Relax, Midoriya. I said make yourself at home. You're free to use whatever's in my apartment." Naomasa reassured as he took two cups down from the cabinet and handed one to Midoriya. He waited until the two were seated at the kitchen table before he spoke again.

"So, trouble sleeping?"

"Nightmares." Midoriya nodded, a haunted look in his eye that Naomasa was used to seeing in his coworkers and heroes. He realized abruptly that this kid had likely seen just as much as they had, what with his five-star ability to find trouble before it starts.

"You've seen a lot, then."

"More than you know." He shuddered. "There was more than once I saw somebody die because I wasn't fast enough."

Truth

"It's not your fault, kid." He frowned.

"We'll just agree to disagree, then." Midoriya's voice was quiet and subdued, and Naomasa hated hearing it. He decided that he'd revisit this topic with the boy after he'd calmed down from the nightmare. Pushing things now wouldn't help anybody.

"I'll start breakfast. Any requests?"

"Pancakes?" He tilted his head and Naomasa felt like he was looking at a puppy. He felt a small smile stretch across his lips.

"Pancakes it is."

The morning flew by for the detective, and before he knew it, he was at his desk and Midoriya was at school. He felt oddly suspicious of how quiet and uneventful the trip to the kid's school was, considering the car thing the other day… plus the robbery. He was going to be prepared today.

But surely his luck isn't that bad every day, right?

"Worried about the kid again, nya?" Sansa asked with a knowing smile.

"Oh, go play with some yarn." Naomasa muttered.

"Only when you stop drowning yourself in coffee~" The feline-man quipped back.

"Yeah, I'll stop drinking coffee when Eraserhead does." He snorted. As if the underground hero would ever give up coffee.

He heard the door open and watched Sakamura and Tirogune walk in with an internal groan. Tirogune's monkey tail was held high and proud as his yellow-gold eyes sparkled with mischief. Naomasa knew he'd have a headache today.

"We found some footage yesterday." Sakamura said, wolf ear twitching as he turned to Naomasa. "I sent you the e-mail last night, did you get it?"

"Yeah. So that places the time of death between 1:30AM and 2AM, a much narrower window than we had earlier." Naomasa took a nice long swallow from his coffee. He paused a moment before pulling out his phone.

Tsukauchi: We have an open investigation regarding a murder. Suspect uses a katana, and struck on the morning of the 12th between 1:30 and 2 in the morning. I'll send you the location and details in an encrypted email. Please let me know if you find anything.

Eraserhead: Got it.

"Texting your shadow again?" Tirogune teased.

"Eraserhead's an invaluable underground hero." Naomasa glared.

"He's practically a member of our team, nya." Sansa chuckled as he took a sip of his own coffee.

"You just like him 'cause he's always got catnip for you." Sakamura teased.

"Ah, I just remembered I need you to do some extra paperwork for me, Sakamura." Sansa grinned, and the wolf-eared man cowered, his tail twitching between his legs a bit as a small canine whimper passed through his lips.

"But I finished it all!"

"Then you should've thought twice about teasing your superior." Sansa grinned.

"Are you sure you're a wolf and not a mouse, Saka?" Tirogune chuckled.

"You're a dirty traitor." Sakamura pouted, sending a withering glare towards Tirogune.

"Nope~! I'm a monkey!" Tirogune laughed, showing off his sharp fangs.

"You're disruptive." Naomasa corrected with a mild glare. "I'm going to go work in my private office instead. I've got a headache."

"When don't you have a headache?" Sakamura asked.

"When I'm not dealing with idiots." He gathered up his papers and moved his things to his private office. Why had he scheduled Tirogune and Sakamura together when he didn't have Aikure around to keep them in line?

He sighed as he closed the door behind him. As the head Detective of the Musutafu PD, he was allotted his own private office—a nice perk. But Naomasa was a man who strongly believed in working together with his team, so he had another desk by theirs that he typically worked at. Today, though, he didn't have much patience. His mind still wandered back to that look Midoriya had worn this morning—the look of someone who'd seen too much. To see such an expression on a face so young was jarring, to say the least.

"Are you okay?" Sansa asked quietly as he shut the door behind him. "You've been staring off into space for nearly half an hour."

Naomasa startled a bit and glanced at the clock. He'd been in his office for longer than he'd thought. "Yeah, just…"

"Midoriya?"

"Midoriya." He agreed. "The kid's seen things, Sansa. He's got that look in his eyes… that same look we've got."

"Well, with that ability of his to find trouble, I have little doubt he's been in some terrifying situations."

"I get the feeling that there's more to it, though." Naomasa shook his head. He reached into his shoulder bag to grab a bottle of headache medication when his hand brushed a notebook. "Oh yeah." He blinked at the book titled 'Hero Analysis for the Future: Vol. 10'.

"What's that?"

"It's the kid's. I asked him to borrow a version of his analysis notebooks to show Tsuragamae. I think Midoriya could help us a lot with his Quirk analysis."

"Really, now?" The cat man blinked in surprise.

"Just take a look." Naomasa opened the notebook to the page on Death Arms, a relatively new hero that had only recently debuted. By all means, the kid shouldn't have been able to get so much information on the guy.

"Wow." Sansa made a chirping sound—his equivalent to a whistle, as his feline features made whistling nigh impossible. "That little kitten made this?"

"He sure did. Should've seen the kid's face when I praised him—I don't think anyone's ever bothered to look at his notes before."

"With a mind like that… maybe we should recruit him when he's older?"

"He's got his heart set on being a hero."

"Eraserhead appreciates a sharp mind." Sansa hummed, closing his eyes in thought. "Maybe he could…?"

"He also has a full time job as a teacher." Naomasa reminded him. "He doesn't really like to deal with kids unless he has to."

"I'm just pointing it out as an option. I'd rather keep this little kitten to ourselves, in all honesty. It'd be a shame to lose him to heroics."

"That's not our choice to make, Sansa. Besides, we don't even properly know Midoriya. He's just a charge right now."

"Say that all you want, but we both know you're growing attached, nya. You wouldn't bother showing this to Tsuragamae otherwise." He gave Naomasa a knowing look as he handed back the kid's notebook. He hated to admit it, but Sansa was right. "Let me know when you've finally adopted the kid into the family~" He teased.

"I won't be adopting anyone into the—wait, family?"

"It's also mid-morning. You should eat today." He gave Naomasa a grin.

"Right." He went to put the notebook back in his bag, when he saw a neatly wrapped bento that he certainly hadn't packed for himself. Curious, he pulled it out.

'Thank you for everything, Tsukauchi. I noticed you hadn't packed yourself anything to eat, so I made this for you. Hope it's edible… I did my best. –Midoriya Izuku'

Naomasa sighed with a fond smile. "Damn kid."

"Though you might not get the choice. It seems the kitten's taken a shine to you." Sansa chuckled as he left the room.

Tsuragamae would be busy with work out of town until Friday. Today was only Wednesday. Naomasa figured he could wait until then. For now, he had a case to work on.

Midoriya trudged out of the gates several minutes after the rest of his peers. He seemed downtrodden and anxious, and Naomasa had noted that the blond kid from the other day had looked rather smug.

"Are you hurt?" He asked as they started walking to his car.

"No."

Lie.

"Remember my Quirk?" Naomasa reminded him, causing the kid to wince.

"Are we heading back to your apartment?"

"No, we're heading back to the station. I've got a report I need to finish writing up, but we can head out to the mall after that. As an apology for making you sit in my stuffy office, I'll buy you some ice cream."

"You don't—"

"Please let me?" Naomasa sent the kid a pleading look, and the boy sighed.

"Fine."

"Thank you."

Naomasa waved to Suki at the front desk as he walked into the station. "Welcome back, Detective." She eyed Midoriya for a moment. "Oh! I didn't know that you had a son! He's so cute!"

Midoriya stuttered for a moment and flushed a deep red. Naomasa chuckled. "He's not my son, Suki. You know I'm single."

"Ah, sorry. Nephew, then."

The kid's blush was even more pronounced, now, and he looked like a walking Christmas ad with his green hair. Naomasa was so entertained by the kid's embarrassment that he forgot to correct Suki.

He led Midoriya back to his office area, where Sakamura was bent over his desk, whispering to Tirogune. Naomasa felt himself pale a little.

"I swear to god, if you two are planning another prank war…"

The two officers jumped a mile high as Naomasa spoke. "S-Sir! We were just… uh… talking about the case!"

Lie.

"Yeah, the case!"

Lie.

"You'd think you'd know better than to lie to the man who has the Lie Detection Quirk." Sansa spoke up from his own desk, amused.

"If I see so much as a speck of glitter in my office again—"

"N-No sir! No glitter!" Sakamura reassured quickly.

Truth.

Naomasa gave them a suspicious look. "Whatever it is, it better leave me out of it." He warned.

"Prank?" Midoriya asked quietly, drawing the attention of the other three.

"Ah. You brought the kitten along."

"Kitten?" Midoriya looked rightfully offended.

"He calls every kid that, don't take it personally, pup." Sakamura laughed.

"Pup…" Midoriya's gaze zeroed in on Sakamura's ears. He opened his mouth like he was going to ask something, but quickly averted his action. Naomasa recognized the gleam in his eye, though.

"They won't get offended, kid. You can ask." Naomasa smiled as he went over to his office to bring his stuff back out into the main room.

"So what's your Quirk?" Midoriya asked hesitantly. "I-I don't mean any offense, I just really like Quirks, and…"

"Don't worry about it, pup!" Sakamura grinned, showing off sharpened canines. "It's called Werewolf. I can shift."

"Is it willful? Only during the full moon? Can you control what parts you shift, or is it all of you at once?"

"I can shift at will. It does hurt quite a bit, though, but nothing I'm not used to." He smiled. "Though I do get stronger around the full moon. I can do smaller shifts at will, like my hands or my legs if I need to, but I have to be careful not to hurt myself."

Tirogune leaned back in his chair, tipping it on two legs. "Mine's called 'monkey'!" He chimed in happily. "I can do whatever a monkey can do. I've got a tail, monkey's feet, and even improved balance and flexibility."

The kid's eyes gleamed and shone with excitement as he bounced between the two of them and grilled them about the ins and outs of their Quirks. And once Sansa called attention to himself by chuckling, the kid latched onto him, too. Naomasa would admit that it was incredibly amusing to watch the kid interact with his team.

And when Aikure came in halfway through, she seemed just as excited as Midoriya was.

"You didn't tell me your son was so cute~!" She pulled Midoriya into a hug, startling the boy.

"He's not my dad." Midoriya corrected, and Tirogune laughed.

"So you're an uncle, too?! Never would've guessed. Still not as cute as my nephews and nieces!"

"This is Midoriya Izuku. That kid from the possible vigilante case?" Naomasa was done with these idiots.

"So you're not related?" Aikure asked, disappointed.

"Nope." Midoriya confirmed.

"Well, with how the two of you get along, it's no wonder everyone's assuming that you're related. Half the station's already talking about it." Sansa chuckled, and Naomasa internally groaned. Of course. Suki was the biggest gossip in the precinct. She'd have spread rumors of Midoriya being his nephew to everyone on shift within the hour.

"Well then, since you've got plenty of experience with your nieces and nephews, why don't you entertain Midoriya while I finish up this report?" Naomasa smirked as the monkey-Quirked man nearly toppled his chair over.

"I-I'm okay. I don't need…" Midoriya trailed off when he saw the excited gleam in Tirogune's eyes.

"Oh, don't you worry! Midoriya, right? You said you like Quirks?"

"Yes! I find them fascinating! Almost as much as heroes!" He bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet.

"Lemme show you my family!" He pulled out his wallet and the dozens of photos he had of his three sisters and their kids. "See, Yira has four kids, and their Quirks…"

Naomasa tuned it out, having heard it a million times. The guy was such a family man. If he ever found a spouse of his own or had kids of his own, they would never hear the end of it.

With a sigh, he turned his attention towards his computer. Namely, the camera footage of the alleyway just beyond the murder. Sansa watched over his shoulder. They were missing something… There had to be something… A shadow… a slip up… anything…

"What's that?"

Naomasa startled badly enough to nearly spill his coffee, and he wasn't sure he'd ever seen Sansa's fur stand on end quite so dramatically. He turned towards Midoriya in surprise. When had the kid slipped away from Tirogune?

"K-Kit, you scared us!" Sansa smoothed down his fur a bit.

"Kid, what're you doing over here? This is confidential footage of an ongoing murder investigation." Naomasa sighed and Midoriya pointed to the screen.

"I know that place. That's right outside Siggy's, right?"

"Yeah." Naomasa nodded slowly.

"There's a camera that faces that alley, though." Midoriya said, and Naomasa felt his brain freeze.

Truth.

"We went to the alleyway. We didn't find any cameras." Sansa frowned.

"No, it's private. Someone set it up illegally for whatever reason." The kid corrected. "Hid it in a hollow brick. Hold on a sec…" He moved Naomasa's computer closer to himself and opened another tab. He was so surprised by the sudden confidence in the boy, that he didn't even try to stop him. Midoriya then proceeded to hack the frequency of the hidden camera and bring up live footage of the very alleyway where the murder occurred. "I don't think it has sound, though."

The two stared at him, dumbfounded, as did the other three that had been doing nothing at their desks.

"How the hell did you do that?!" Tirogune asked, floored.

"How did you even know that camera was there?" Sakamura chimed in.

"I get bored at school sometimes."

Truth.

"I taught myself how to hack. I try to keep track of all the cameras and hidden cameras around town in public locations."

Truth.

"What for?" Aikure raised an eyebrow.

"I just get bored."

Lie.

"Hm…" Naomasa sent him a look, and the kid had a flicker of realization, likely remembering his Quirk. "At any rate, this is beyond helpful. Thank you."

After that, it didn't take him long to find the footage from the night of the murder. And while they didn't catch the man's face on camera, they did get a good build and description. They also realized something important; this man's Quirk had nothing to do with the katana that killed the woman, which is what they'd expected. This man had a light-creation Quirk of some kind. Now they could look into people in Japan matching the man's general build and description who had light-based Quirks.

They'd have this case closed soon.

"Wanna join the Musutafu Police Force, Midoriya?" Sansa asked, tail flicking excitedly behind him.

"Yeah, kid! It'll be great!" Tirogune grinned.

"You do realize I'm twelve, right?" Midoriya raised an eyebrow, unamused. "I'm not even old enough to be a police trainee."

"Don't you slackers have work to do?" Naomasa narrowed his eyes at Tirogune and Sakamura. "At least Aikure knows the importance of her work."

Midoriya snickered at that as he curiously watched Naomasa work.

"Don't you have homework?" He raised an eyebrow at the boy, who flushed a bit.

"Y-yeah." He coughed a bit before settling down at Ikibara's desk and pulling out his schoolbooks.

Naomasa sighed as he made several copies of the footage, encrypting some of them and sending a quick update to Eraserhead.

It was a lot later than Naomasa would've liked when he and Midoriya finally left the station. "Come on, still up for that ice-cream?" He asked, and the kid perked up.

"Yeah!" He grinned, before immediately simpering down. "I-I mean if you're still okay with it."

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't." Naomasa reassured.

And the detective would admit; seeing Midoriya bouncing excitedly from one flavor of ice-cream to the next as he tried to decide what he wanted was pretty cute. He briefly wondered if this was how parents felt when they looked at their kids. Suddenly it didn't seem quite so annoying anymore.

"Oh my, your son's so adorable." An older woman smiled, and Naomasa sighed.

"He's not mine, but thank you." He smiled softly. "His mother's in the hospital so I'm watching him right now. Though I'll admit—I've no idea how to handle a child."

"Ah. Nephew, then?"

Why did everyone assume they were uncle and nephew once they were told they weren't father and son?! Maybe he should take that as a sign to just stop denying it—not like he really cared what people thought, anyways.

"You seem to be doing a fine job." The woman patted his shoulder as she gave him a smile. "Hope your day is good."

"Me too." Naomasa muttered as the older woman left. It looked like Midoriya had finally decided on a flavor—mint chocolate chip—and was happily enjoying the cone while the cashier gave Naomasa an expectant look. He quickly picked out something for himself—some caramel with nuts—and paid.

"Thank you~!" Midoriya practically sang. He'd never seen the boy so exuberant or happy, and it honestly made Naomasa feel a little excited, himself. The kid's good mood was infectious.

They walked around the outdoor court and enjoyed their sweet treat. Midoriya's was gone twice as fast as Naomasa's was, and he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that realization. Come to think of it, when was the last time he'd gone out and had ice cream like this? Naomasa was about to suggest they go home, when Midoriya suddenly lost his happy attitude.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. As far as he knew, kids didn't just stop being cheerful like that.

"We need to get out of here." He glanced around in a paranoid fashion that put Naomasa's own senses on high alert.

"What do you see?"

"Nothing… I just feel…"

He recalled that the kid seemed to have an instinct for trouble. He quickly whipped out his phone. The line picked up before the first ring had even ended.

"Sansa." He was taking no chances this time. "Send a team out to the mall ASAP. Call it a hunch."

"Right." The line went dead as Sansa hung up. Thankfully, his team knew not to question him.

"Come on, let's head home, all right?"

"No… not enough time. We need to hide." Midoriya insisted, and pulled Naomasa towards the closest door and then over towards a nearby closet. He picked the lock and slipped the two of them inside just as an explosion rocked the building, followed by a cacophony of screams.

The mall was being attacked.

"Your luck again?"

"I told you guys—my luck is terrible." The kid huffed quietly.

"I'm shocked you lived to be twelve with luck like this." He thought he saw the boy flinch in the darkness, but couldn't be certain. He kept his hand near his gun just in case the villains tried to get into their hiding spot. He would protect this kid.

After a bit, the mall started to become eerily quiet—likely because the villains were gathering up the patrons as hostages.

Normally, it would take 10-20 minutes for heroes and police to start arriving, but due to Naomasa's earlier call, it was only five minutes into the attack that they broke onto the scene. The villains hadn't been expecting such a fast reaction, and whatever defense they'd had planned fell through immediately.

Once things started to calm down again, Naomasa allowed himself and Midoriya to leave their hiding spot. The mall was a mess, but there were very few casualties.

He didn't make any pit stops on the way home thereafter. He'd seen more action in the last three days than he normally saw in a week. This kid's penchant for finding trouble was insane.

Tomorrow, he decided, he'd bring whatever he could and be ready for whatever the kid's luck would throw his way. He'd be ready.