By the time Aizawa finished reading the report for the most recent drug trafficking case, he felt ready to clock out and have some hard liquor coffee to keep him sane. Not only had his investigation of Izuku Midoriya drawn a blank but now this?

"So, let me get this straight," he glanced up at the three officers in front of him and then back down at the folder, "you think the streets are haunted at night?"

I can't believe I just said that out loud, Aizawa thought with an exasperated sigh. He reached for his coffee mug and took a large swig.

"And you think the ghost helped you take down the traffickers?" Tsukauchi asked, flipping through his own copy of the case. He sat on the edge of Aizawa's desk, one leg folded over the other.

"Yes," Takeyama and Nishiya said at the same time. The seriousness in their faces was shocking, especially Takeyama. Aizawa wasn't used to seeing her this way. He wasn't used to seeing her at all. She was definitely not a morning person, just like him, except Takeyama came into work late all the time. Come to think of it, Aizawa wasn't even sure any of them had slept since they caught the traffickers.

Were they actually serious about this?

"Well, okay, when you phrase it like that it does sound a little weird but we're telling the truth. Shinji saw it, tell him, babe," Takeyama said while pushing her fiancé forward.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him and Nishiya automatically turned red.

"H-hey. We were all there when it happened. Wasn't just me," he mumbled under his breath, before shooting Takeyama a slight glare. She batted her eyelashes at him and pouted.

"You too, Kamihara?" Aizawa turned to the shorter male in the middle. Kamihara hadn't said a word since they arrived, but Aizawa could tell the report had been signed and written by him.

"I expected more from our top officer."

"With all due respect Mr. Aizawa, sir, I don't know how else we could explain the floating traffic cone that fell from the sky and stopped the getaway car," Kamihara said simply, never taking his eyes off of the folder. While he would have had a harder time believing Takeyama and Nishiya because they could both be dramatic sometimes, Kamihara was one of the best in the precinct. Enji himself had requested for him to be transferred to Tokyo in the next couple of months. A lie like this could jeopardize that. And yet Aizawa still had a hard time believing them.

"Toshi, what do you think?" Tsukauchi asked suddenly. Aizawa held back an eye roll when he remembered Toshinori was listening too.

"Hm?" The scraggly blonde looked up from his chair by the window, giving them all a cheery smile. Was he even paying attention? He looked too happy for someone who had come into work at seven in the morning. It was suspicious and annoying and Aizawa hated it.

"Well, my specialty is dead bodies but not the ones that levitate!"

Was that a chuckle? Dear lord, Aizawa could feel his headache getting worse every time Toshinori opened his mouth.

"But, hey, I'd say anything is possible unless you're a skeptic," Toshinori winked and Takeyama snickered.

"Or delusional," Aizawa muttered when he realized the last part was probably directed at him. Then, he chugged the remainder of his coffee and stood up to get a new one, only to find the pot empty.

Wonderful.

"So, what do we do then?" Tsukauchi asked. Aizawa could feel him staring but he didn't turn around. "Enji expects these reports by tomorrow and we can't just make something up."

"Never said we would," Aizawa finished cleaning out the filter and expertly refilled the pot. "The traffic cone was there all along. Simple explanation. Did you check the cameras?"

"Someone broke them," Kamihara said.

"Or some thing," Takeyama whispered and Aizawa heard Toshinori stifle a laugh. Even Tsukauchi seemed to be trying his hardest not to smile.

"Dr. Toshinori," Aizawa narrowed his gaze at the man, "don't you have an autopsy to perform or something?"

Toshinori blinked and then turned a little red. "Ah, well, probably. Guess I should go check on that."

"Yeah. Yeah, you really should," Aizawa said. He didn't continue speaking until the blonde exited the room. Although he was sure if he opened the door, he would find the doctor listening in.

"How long were you following the traffickers again?" Aizawa walked back to his desk and picked up the file, leafing through it until he got to the page of the report.

"Five hours, sir," Kamihara said.

"And what time was it when you caught them?"

"Four a.m., sir," they all said together.

"You know, sleep deprivation is a real bitch," Aizawa settled his gaze on all three of them before handing Kamihara the report back. He took it but looked a little confused.

"It can make you cranky, leave you with less patience, and make it really hard to deal with the bullshit that goes on every day when you get to work." Aizawa made sure to say that last part a little louder in case Toshinori was eavesdropping.

"Sometimes though," Aizawa reached for his eyedrops and applied a generous amount to each eye, "sleep deprivation can make you see things that aren't there."

"You don't trust us?" Takeyama blurted out.

"Correction. I don't trust your brain. Now, see if you can access any other camera in the vicinity and rewrite the report."

"B-but the cone was in the air—" Nishiya stepped forward a little bit.

"Did I make myself clear?" Aizawa asked with a raise of his brow.

"Yes, sir," he mumbled, standing back. Takeyama linked arms with him and the two continued looking at the floor. Kamihara said nothing else and was the first to go.

Aizawa watched the others follow as he slumped back into his chair.

"What's got you all stressed?" Tsukauchi asked, moving from his point on the desk. Even with his eyes closed, Aizawa could tell he was grinning. "Don't tell me you let something like that get to you?"

"No. It's nothing." Aizawa waved Tsukauchi off with his hand. And it was true. There was nothing that could connect Izuku Midoriya to his old name. Nothing at all. And distractions like these certainly didn't make his search go any faster. If anything, it made Aizawa less likely to want to approach the boy in person, but it seemed like he would need to soon if he wanted to get the answers he needed.

Unfortunately, the 'ghost' kept him too busy to proceed with the investigation. The trio who first presented the idea weren't the only ones to encounter strange things while out on patrol. Throughout the week, other officers started coming in with reports about floating trash bags tripping robbers, boxes falling over, and setting off alarms that led them to a criminal, along with a plethora of various unexplainable phenomena that seemed to help them solve crimes.

But worst of all, everyone was talking about it. There was not a day that went by that Aizawa didn't come into work and someone wasn't using the 'g' word. He didn't even want to say it in his head because it sounded so ridiculous. It was yet another thing to keep him up at night and jeopardize the little amount of sleep he got on a daily basis.

The only thing Aizawa could do now was to make sure this didn't spread. Because the last thing he needed was for all of Japan to find out about this mysterious entity or whatever it was.

—

Izuku was waiting in line with Bakugou for some ramen when he heard them. He didn't even need to look up to know who they were, although in Izuku's head they would always be Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, and Edgeshot. It's how he labeled all the officers in his journal. And if they didn't have a hero name, he would make one up for them. It was one of the many ways Izuku tried to stay connected with his timeline.

"So," Takeyama began, putting her hands on her hips while she talked, "what do you think its intentions are?"

Izuku leaning in a little bit when he realized they were talking about him.

"I don't know but it better not turn on us. We deal with enough crap already," Nishiya grumbled.

Kamihara stayed quiet and continued reading the menu. Izuku thought it was funny that he wore a mask everywhere he went. It really completed the whole Edgeshot look. Sometimes though, Izuku did find it a little strange how similar the officers were to their pro hero personas back in his world. But he tried not to question it since it did help him with his analysis of the officer's schedules and their patrol habits.

"Honestly, I don't think it will. I mean it really helped us out this week. Do you think it's a friendly ghost?" Takeyama asked, her eyes sparkling. Izuku flushed red. He had come to appreciate Takeyama's over-the-top expressions but hearing someone he used to know as Mt. Lady praising him that way was just awesome. It made him feel a little better about his quirk too. Maybe they wouldn't think he was a freak after all.

"What, like from that cheesy American movie, Casper?" Nishiya grinned.

"Don't let Mr. Aizawa hear you say the 'g' word. It drives him crazy," Kamihara said out of nowhere, making the other two jump slightly. He hadn't stopped observing the menu however and simply angled his body towards his partners to speak.

Izuku found himself wondering about their favorite type of ramen while they continued to talk. It was something he was totally going to write down in his journal when he got home. He had a special page dedicated to the three officers after all. Izuku called them 'The Lurkers' because they were always doing stakeouts together and knew how to conceal their cop cars really well in blind spots and alleyways. They were also the first group of officers who had seen his quirk in action and Izuku loved watching them take down bad guys together. Their teamwork was pretty extraordinary even if their personalities sometimes clashed.

"Poor guy," Takeyama whined as she threw her arms around Nishiya and ran her hands through his brown coils. The movement allowed Izuku to notice the matching golden band around her and Nishiya's fingers. His heart skipped a beat when he thought about Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods ever being together in his world. "All he wants is some sleep. Do you think he's been having nightmares?"

"No way," Nishiya shook his head, swatting her hand away gently and redoing his man bun. Izuku took notes, he had been meaning to grow out his hair too.

"He can't be afraid of ghosts."

A pause.

"Whoa, what if he's afraid of ghosts?!"

"Please! It's more like the ghosts are afraid of him. Have you seen his eyebags lately?" Takeyama flicked Nishiya on the nose and giggled. Even Kamihara laughed at that, most of his face now concealed within the mask. Had he pulled it up even further?

Izuku found himself grinning at the floor and Bakugou finally took notice.

"What're you smiling about, nerd? Got a secret admirer or some shit?"

"Hm?" Izuku looked up and felt his cheeks go red. He quickly shook his head and tucked a green curl behind his ear.

"N-no. It's just that I'm really excited to eat with you today, Kacchan!" And for the first time since they had started hanging out together, Izuku actually meant it. Not only was he in a good mood because his week and a half of patrolling had been super successful, but Bakugou was proving to be a pretty nice person after all. When he wasn't yelling at Izuku to do another lap or repeat another set while they lifted, of course.

But even when Izuku fell behind during their kickboxing classes or literally fell on his face during parkour, Bakugou never left him behind. He simply repeated a move or ran through the course again so they could finish it together. Izuku always laughed when he tried to justify it too, saying he wanted to prove that he was the best and show off his skills even if what he was doing was obvious.

It was strange and different and weird, and maybe Izuku would never really accept it, but it was still nice and he had to give the blonde some credit. Plus, if it hadn't been for Bakugou, Izuku would have never been able to build up his stamina. And even if he could barely squat his body weight at the bar, he was starting to get stronger, and soon he would be able to do more on patrol.

Izuku had yet to run into Red again but he hoped that when he did, he would be ready to take them down and turn them in.

"Hmph, whatever. Damn nerd, always mumbling," Bakugou grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest but he didn't yell at him this time.

Izuku continued smiling.

—

Now while Izuku had never meant to become the friendly, neighborhood ghost that helped cops take down criminals, he started using that to his advantage. Today was no different.

"Ichimura, stop that!" The short and round guy hissed as Izuku used his quirk to fling a tiny rock at him.

"What, Asano?" Ichimura looked up from where he was trying to hotwire the car. "I'm not doing anything. I swear."

"Ugh, whatever," Asano waved him off as he took another bite of his mochi. "The sooner we finish this job, the sooner I can get back to banging my—"

Izuku flung another rock, this time at Ichimura. He meant to knock the mochi out of Asano's hands but this worked too.

"Ow! Asano, what the hell?! I said I didn't do anything," the brunette stood up and gave a little pout. He looked genuinely hurt as if Asano had betrayed him or something. Izuku had to cover his mouth with his left hand to keep from laughing.

"What do you mean?" Asano asked, still very much glaring at him. A bead of sweat had started collecting in the folds of his forehead.

Meanwhile, Ichimura rubbed at the back of his neck.

"You hit me. Just now. With a rock."

Asano rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did," Ichimura crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking the other's stance.

This seemed to piss Asano off even more so he puffed out his chest and stuck his chin up in the air.

"No, I fucking—"

Izuku threw two rocks this time and successfully hit them both.

"Ow!" They said at the same time and Izuku couldn't hold in his laughter any longer.

"Hey!" Asano turned around suddenly and their eyes met. "That kid's been messing with us the whole time. Fuck the car, let's go beat his ass."

Crap, Izuku chewed on his bottom lip but still found that he was smiling. Better start running, Izuku.

"Catch me if you can!" the greenette called over his shoulder, his laughter echoing through the empty parking garage. It felt so good to stretch his legs since he had been watching the two guys attempt to break into the car for what felt like hours. They didn't seem to know what they were doing though so Izuku figured he would have a little fun. He had learned how to somewhat gauge the danger levels of who he was dealing with after being out for so long. Izuku did this by assessing how many weapons the criminal had, their party size, their physical size, and their intelligence.

Asano and Ichimura had scored way low. All Izuku had to do now was take them to where he last saw the patrol cars. Even if they were gone by now, he had memorized the routes too. Someone would be passing through the area soon.

"You little brat! Get back here!"

Izuku's shoes squealed on the pavement as he made a sharp right turn and stepped out into the night. He used the shadows to his advantage and ended up slipping into a bush near the garage's entrance. If he waited here, he would be able to see when and where the two thieves passed him. He was also close enough to slip into the alley down the street. Izuku frequently used the area behind the dumpster as a hiding spot even though it made his clothes all smelly.

This time though, he didn't think he'd need to go there.

Asano proved his point as he ran right past Izuku and didn't see him at all. So, before he could go any farther, Izuku quickly knocked a trash can over with his quirk and watched as Asano tumbled to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" the thief asked out loud, as he clumsily scrambled to his feet and looked around with clenched fists.

"Asano!" Ichimura came running after him. Izuku debated tripping him too but waited instead. The most harmful of the two was definitely Asano anyway. He was the one with the knife. "You okay? Where's the kid? I didn't see where he went."

"I-I don't know what happened I must've tripped somehow," Asano squinted down at the trash can and then up in the air as if the answer was somehow above him.

Izuku held in another laugh and then knocked over a construction street sign.

Ichimura screamed suddenly and jumped into Asano's arms.

"Hey, get the fuck off me! I ain't gay, shit," Asano grumbled, looking around nervously.

"D-do you think it's that ghost?" Ichimura asked through a whimper.

Izuku's eyes widened and he let out a tiny gasp. No way. Had they heard about him too? Well, now he certainly had to leave a lasting impression!

Asano smacked Ichimura across the face. "No, you idiot! Ghosts. Ain't. Real. The police are using 'em as a scare tactic to keep us away. They're just stories. Now focus. We have to find that kid and teach him a lesson for fucking with us. Then, we go back and finish the job. And finally, I can go home and see my sexy little—"

Izuku lifted up the lid from the manhole and slammed it down back on the floor before Asano could finish talking. This time, both men screamed and hugged each other.

"Y'know," Izuku called out through a chuckle. He let his voice get carried with the wind and the men jumped again, still holding onto each other and shaking.

"Wh-who's there?" Ichimura asked, voice trembling.

"It's not nice to steal."

"Y-you," Asano glanced around nervously. "Are you the one doing all of this, eh? I'll… I'll kill you. I'll make you p-pay—"

"That's not very nice either," Izuku sighed.

"Asano," Ichimura hissed, "shut up. You're going to make the ghost angry."

"What? Is it gonna send its ghost buddies after us?" Asano let out a shaky laugh.

"Maybe," Izuku found himself grinning again. It wasn't every day he ran into these kinds of criminals.

"W-wait, what?" Asano blinked.

And then, came Izuku's favorite part of the night. Since his quirk had gotten stronger, he was now able to tug at various parts of people's bodies. It made the ghost thing a little more believable.

Ichimura immediately screamed when Izuku started tugging at his arm.

"H-help! Help me, Asano. Look, it's got my arm, it's got me— WHOA!"

Izuku tugged a little harder and watched as Ichimura's face landed in the dirt by his shoe. When he looked up at Asano however, the plump man was already backing away.

"Ah, hell no. You're on your own for this one, Ichi. I ain't getting involved with no freaky ghost shit."

"GAH, F-FUCK YOU ASANO," Ichimura lifted up his face and looked back on shaky arms, "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE WITH—" And then he saw Izuku crouched behind the bush and his face went pale.

"Boo," Izuku whispered but couldn't stop the giggle from escaping his lips.

Ichimura didn't even get a chance to scream as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped forward again. Izuku blinked and watched him in silence.

Oops. He didn't mean to make Ichimura pass out, but it would probably be easier this way.

Izuku could hear the police sirens in the background as he stood up and started jogging towards the park. He liked to hide there while any of the arrests happened and occasionally let the police know he had been the one to help by making the swings move 'on their own'. This time though, he climbed a tree with the last of his strength and simply waited. They would catch Asano eventually and then discover Ichimura too. All he had to do now was ride the waves of nausea from his quirk and be patient. Hopefully, he didn't get too tired and fall asleep. He still had class in a few hours after all.

—

"How do you know the kid you saw in the parking garage was the Musutafu ghost?" Detective Tsukauchi asked, looking up from his notebook on the desk. They were currently in the interrogation room with one of the robbers, Hiroaki Asano. Apparently, he claimed the Musutafu ghost had 'attacked' him and his buddy. It sounded real so far, but that was maybe because Tsukauchi was obsessed with the idea that this ghost truly wanted to help them fight crime. Still, he didn't let any of that seep into his words. He knew it would make Aizawa, who was standing behind him, really mad.

"Maybe you imagined the whole thing."

"I swear I'm telling the truth," Asano pleaded, leaning forward slightly. His eyes kept shifting around as if the ghost was going to come out and attack him. "It was the same voice but he disappeared. He had red eyes and started controlling Ichimura's body, like… like he was possessing him or something!"

Tsukauchi was pretty sure if Asano's hands weren't tied up he would've been making grand gestures to emphasize his points. He seemed like that kind of guy. Still, the detective made a note about it in his notebook just in case.

"Mhm. And was this before or after the attempted car robbery?" Aizawa asked. Tsukauchi could hear the annoyance in his voice without turning around. "Or did this 'ghost' child possess one of you during that, too?"

"Uh, yes? Hehe," Asano rubbed at the back of his neck nervously and gave them a sheepish grin.

"Tsukauchi, we're done here," Aizawa said before stepping out.

The detective sighed and knew Asano had just lost his case. So, he quickly closed his notebook and followed Aizawa to the door.

"N-no wait," Asano stood up too and stumbled towards Tsukauchi, slightly blocking his path. "You can't leave me here. He might come back, he's probably after me. PLEASE!"

Tsukauchi gave him a sympathetic smile but then gestured to the guard at the door to take him away. He watched the poor man's body disappear down the west wing that led to the prison cells and then rushed after Aizawa.

"He wasn't lying, you know," Tsukauchi said with a small sigh, watching as his boss refilled his coffee mug. "Well, about what he said first." Ever since Aizawa started coming into the office more, he had set up coffee stations at every corner.

"So, you believe there's a ghost after all," Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him.

Tsukauchi quickly looked away to hide the smile forming on his face when he noticed the cat on Aizawa's mug. It was curled up in a position that made it look like a heart. Sometimes he wondered if his boss really was secretly a softie.

"Not necessarily," Tsukauchi gave a little shrug as he leaned back on the counter. "I'm just telling you how I feel. My gut's never wrong. It's why you hired me in the first place, remember?" This time he let Aizawa see the smile.

His boss simply rolled his eyes though and turned towards his door. "No, that's why I was forced to hire you. I can get rid of you whenever I want."

"And yet you haven't," the detective's smile grew.

"Too much paperwork."

And then Aizawa slammed the door in Tsukauchi's face.

Okay but tell me why I listened to Genshin music while I wrote this chapter. PLSSSS I don't even play the game XD

Ugh, I have had a field day reading all of your lovely reviews though! I can't wait to reveal more and more of this world to you. Some changes might not make sense at first, but I promise they exist for a reason.

Oh, and yay! More pro heroes who aren't heroes anymore but Izuku still calls them by their hero names because he's secretly afraid that if he stops doing that, he'll forget all about his past for good. Trauma! We love it here, folks. Plenty more coming right up. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you next time!