Enjoy.
Izuku forces a smile as Tsukauchi brings Bakugou into his office. Tsukauchi is wrinkled with age, a sheen of gray hairs among his black. His sunken skin pulls only slightly when returning Izuku's polite smile, "Midoriya-kun, this is Bakugou as you know, and he's going to be shadowing you for two weeks. Show him the job, you know the drill."
Midoriya nods at Tsukauchi's introduction, watching his supervisor for a moment before turning his attention to Bakugou. The green haired detective heard that Tsukauchi was friendlier in his youth, but something happened when the big fight in Kamino occurred. His fellow cops gossip that Tsukauchi must've lost someone very important that day. They all did though, since their number one hero died so valiantly defending citizens from the evil of All for One.
Cops and heroes, government officials in general, have all had a much harder time maintaining peace ever since their symbol was lost.
Tsukauchi leaves with a gruff salutation.
Bakugou frowns as he steps inside and takes a seat in one of Izuku's guest chairs. "So, where do you wanna start?" He cracks a small smile, trying to be friendly, though his smile is more akin to a sneer.
Izuku meets Katsuki's eyes for a moment before shifting to the computer in front of him. He hums, "Well, there's not much excitement to be had right now. I'll just give you the rundown of the job to start with and lay the rules out for you. Generally I would start with introductions but since I know you, you know me, and we've already discussed why you're here, I'm gonna skip all that. My primary job title is as a detective, that's my position. What might that entail?
"Let me put it this way: my job consists of collecting information, sorting it, getting statements from witnesses or informants and the like. I put the story together of how crimes occur basically. Then according to how that story plays out, I find the villain and help get them convicted. Sometimes I get to bring them in myself, but it's not always the most action-packed job that you're probably more used to…" Izuku pauses to look back at Katsuki with his work smile, "Any questions?"
Katsuki's smile twitches before he lets it fade. They don't need to play at being best friends, he asks, "Yeah, you said your primary job title implying you have more jobs other than detective work. Care to elaborate?"
"Yes, I'm also called as an advisor for recommending heroes for certain cases. If there's a big operation that requires multiple heroes then I'm usually called on to direct them. I mean, I also do grunt work too sometimes, though the uniforms are technically responsible for the legwork."
"I see, so you've given the job description, but you mentioned rules?"
Izuku smiles, "Yes, there may be cases that I can't share with you. There's also the whole don't get in my way schtick, which you might not appreciate since you're a hero, but it still applies. If you're out in the field with me, you have to listen to what I say because you may make a wrong move that might jeopardize my work. Understood?"
"That's fair."
Izuku nods, "Okay, now that that's outta the way, let me see what cases I'm working on that I can share with you." He pores over his emails, scrolling through the various threads. While searching, he asks, "What type of cases do you work? I know we're technically all collaborating with each other, but what does the hero end of law enforcement look like?"
Katsuki sighs, "Sometimes we stumble onto cases and have to report to the police, keep everybody aware of what's happening. If I find a case, then it's mine to solve along with the police who help out. Sometimes I get requests from various offices from heroes, government, and normal citizens. It is a lot more action since I can order my sidekicks to do the boring work."
"I see." Izuku archives a couple cases on his email. "I think you'll find most of my work is the boring kind."
As the week drags on, Katsuki couldn't agree more. Izuku truly doesn't leave his office very often, or it's a slow week. Most of his work is done from his computer, sending emails, watching videos, reading statements. Katsuki went with him on one case to watch an interrogation in person regarding a kidnapping. Izuku just hung back and watched.
Things had been quiet between the two as the first week of shadowing concluded. Katsuki could tell that Izuku was keeping him at arm's length, strictly professional. On one hand he could appreciate that, but on the other, Katsuki expected more from this experience. He was hoping for inspiration and a revitalization of his own work ethic. Instead, he found himself drowning in the monotony.
Izuku felt bad about it, but to some extent he does have a choice on which cases he helps out with and to what degree as well. He doesn't want to show Katsuki all the excitement he can get into for fear of drawing more of the hero's attention to himself.
The start of the next week makes this venture damn near impossible.
Tsukauchi calls Izuku regarding a manhunt, the villain kidnapped the daughter of an important figure. He orders Midoriya to take over the position of overseer and direct the search. Izuku wants to decline but he can't exactly refuse Tsukauchi, his superior.
As Midoriya heads into the debriefing, he's acutely aware of the blond hero following behind. He desperately wanted to keep any excitement out of Katsuki's sight, but as they both take a seat and files upon files are dropped in front of them, Izuku feels a smile creeping on him.
The criminal's name is Celestine Warren with the quirk Cobra. She has a cobra's head, specifically the black-neck spitting cobra where she can spit venom into the faces of her enemies. This venom has multiple properties depending on how much is administered. When it comes from herself, a slight amount ingested can paralyze, but it can blind if shot into the eye. She's laced her fingernails with a killing version of it. Her crimes are not limited to just murder, she's also been known to sexually abuse her victims, both premortem and postmortem. She's a thief and has even acted as a mercenary for hire.
Izuku has her whole life laid before him. Her quirk was the result of a mutation, and Izuku guesses the girl's parents, who had human features, just couldn't stand the difference between them. She was a foster kid, tossed around from home to home. It's sad but sometimes this is just how a person's story plays out. She wasn't exactly the best student in school and found her crowd with the rough and dangerous. Her life of crime started when she killed a girl she liked in high school. She's been on the run ever since.
Izuku mutters, "Poor kid."
Katsuki raises a brow and spares a glance at the detective beside him. To an extent, Katsuki agrees that the woman's life wasn't easy and probably didn't help in how she turned out, but everybody has a choice to make. She's made the wrong choices and now she has to suffer the consequences.
Of course Izuku would tend to agree, but he also understands that in the absence of love or a positive force in a person's life, sometimes all they can reflect is what they know: apathy. Apathy toward everything because who cares? Izuku has seen this type many times in his career. They just make him sad, but that has never stopped him from bringing them to justice.
Katsuki watches as the sadness that Izuku expressed for the girl before she became the villain morphs into a calm determination. He sees the critical eyes as Izuku continues reading the files.
Izuku finally looks up from his reading after finishing the last page about her most recent crime. "Who compiled all this?"
The young detective directly across from Izuku raises his hand, he's a little unsure as he says, "I did, sir." He's worried about what Midoriya thinks of his work.
"This is good work, Detective-?"
"Oh, uh, Detective Aki, Aki Fudo."
"How long have you been a detective, Aki-san?" Izuku smiles.
Before the younger can answer, the older detective next to him grins, throwing an arm around him, "He's hasn't even passed his first year yet, Midoriya-san, we keep telling him to have more conviction."
Fudo laughs nervously, slightly embarrassed, but how could he not be a little flustered? Detective Midoriya Izuku is seated across from him and just praised his work.
Midoriya nods, "I can see how that might be something to work on, but he's only in his first year. Confidence tends to come with experience."
Katsuki wants them to move this conversation back to the issue at hand, but he's more of a silent watcher than an active participant.
Midoriya asks, "Do you guys have her location narrowed down?" Celestine was in town and kidnapped the daughter of a political pundit at a charity benefit, which is why there are more resources available to them.
Aki responds, "We know she grabbed the woman from the benefit last night, but she could be anywhere by now. She doesn't exactly have a usual haunt for us to check out, which is why they brought you in…"
Izuku smiles, "How far away have her victims' bodies been found from the places they were last seen?"
Aki is quick to reply, "It typically varies, sometimes they were gone for months or mere days leaving her time to either dump them in the city of their disappearance or a couple cities over."
Izuku nods, "Using that logic, it's unlikely she's left the city with the lady yet. I say we start small and increase our search radius as it goes."
Izuku stands and the three others follow his lead. He tells the two detectives across from him, "I want a team meeting at noon, everybody assigned to this case thus far. Once I've determined the heroes we'll use for this case then I'll have them debriefed and assigned to tasks. Until then I have to go make some calls." He bows and parts ways with the two assigned to get him up to speed.
Katsuki follows him out and they make their way to Izuku's temporary office. The emerald detective heads right to his computer, informing Katsuki, "I just need to send this email out to tell everybody about the meeting and schedule a meeting room really quick…" Once finished, his eyes meet Katsuki's, "I should tell you beforehand that this is gonna be one of those cases where I won't be able to narrate my every action to you and explain what I'm doing. I have to make some calls to some heroes."
Katsuki leans back, "Do your thing, I'm fine just watching." Katsuki can't explain what he's seeing. The professionalism has always been there, but now that there's a high stakes case in front of Izuku, there's more to it. Katsuki can see Izuku becoming enveloped by the case, every single thought is directed toward the current case. It's obsession in its purest form, but Katsuki can't tell if it's a positive form of obsession yet.
A couple calls later and Izuku has marked a couple heroes that specialize in search as part of the crew. The reason this is such a difficult case is the same reason why Celestine hasn't been caught yet. Facial recognition software haven't developed enough to account for the variations of animal quirks. A couple species are recognized by the software but snakes can be especially difficult for the software to recognize. As such, in a developed society, this criminal requires old school techniques of policing to catch her.
Now that a political figure is involved, everyone is hoping this will be the last chance she gets to victimize someone.
Katsuki is silent as he watches Izuku call people, Izuku's personable and professional self shining in the interactions. Izuku moves from making calls to sending emails, sometimes doing both at the same time. The printer is going left and right, and Izuku is putting together files within files. It's a massive amount of paperwork he's generating.
At one point, the green haired detective has Katsuki getting files ready for the big meeting. They're expecting at least thirty people, from detectives to police officers, to heroes and those of similar search and rescue specialists. Izuku snagged one person with a technological quirk to begin poring over camera feeds quickly. Katsuki wishes he could be a hero on this case, but he did sign an agreement form that he wouldn't act in an official capacity.
It is kind of weird to see this side of Izuku for Katsuki. Katsuki just really hasn't seen him in his element before. It's almost comforting for the blond hero to see the detective working like a well-oiled machine when it comes to his job. It eases some of his misgivings about Izuku being in harm's way.
The meeting time finally arrives and Izuku has Katsuki pass out the files to their designated recipients. Depending on their occupation, they may receive variations of forms. He debriefs them on the situation and lays out his plan.
"Before anything can happen, we need a direction. I've had one of my good friends on the case looking at camera feeds so we can see in which direction they went." He shows the camera feed of the car's meanderings through town. "I want one team to find that vehicle. Another team has been given a list of the partygoers with highlighted names that likely interacted with the victim. They're in charge of getting statements and putting together a story of the party. I want to know everything that happened. Another team is going to shake up the criminal world in the area, knock down doors, and rattle some cages. Somebody knows something. How did Celestine choose Akina-san? Where was the Cobra staying before the party?"
Izuku takes a short breath, smirking slightly at the nods he's being given. "I want someone watching the minister in case there's a ransom. Needless to say, I want to know everything you guys know when you know it. Any further questions or clarifications?"
When there are none, he continues, "Okay, let's get this girl back and catch the bad guy. Dismissed." The group proceeds to carry on about their jobs.
Izuku has a couple of his fellow detectives and some police officers stick around. They're on his team, the headquarters of the operation.
The hunt is officially underway and this is where the fun really begins. Of course, there's a period of quiet before the information begins pouring in. It's all at the tips of his fingers.
The blond notices the cohesion and efficiency of the team with Midoriya at its helm. The detective is quick to internalize information before issuing a new directive. There's not many who can operate this well, especially when a woman's life is at stake. Sure, Izuku may derive some kind of adrenaline or high from his position, but there's more to it. There's an urgency in his movements. There's something else driving him.
If Bakugou can determine what drives Midoriya to pour himself into his work, then that may give him an example to follow.
The muffled crying is her only solace. She sits on the mattress as her prisoner sinks away from her, moaning in fright. Burying her scaled face in her hands, she sighs, "I may have made a mistake taking you as my prize."
She didn't think the cops would narrow down their location so fast. It was a grave miscalculation on her part. They shook down some of her associates and they were quick to sell her out. Everybody is only trying to save their own skin in the end. She can't really blame them for pointing the cops in the right direction. It's only a matter of time now.
She straightens and turns her hazel snake eyes on the woman, Ishii Akina, a beautiful brunette with the sweetest curves. What to do with her? Should she get rid of her and make a break for it?
Destroy the prize so they won't really accomplish anything? It's a valid question. She's not exactly an upstanding citizen or a good person. She takes what she wants when she wants, and throws it away after she's done.
Is Akina going to live through this?
Celestine scoots herself closer to the brunette, eliciting more crying. The cobra-headed woman confesses, "You're beautiful." She reaches out to rest a hand on Akina's foot, gripping it so she can't pull away. "Remember what I said about the poison in my nails? Don't make me accidently scratch you." Akina stills, though she shivers.
Celestine sighs, "I've never been able to have pretty things, not without taking them for myself. That's what this is, Akina-chan. I wanted you so I took you, but I see now that that was a mistake. So, I'm struggling with deciding whether I'm going to kill you or not before I respond to the cops. They're on their way here now, I just got word. I do have a plan, but I just don't know what I'm going to do with you?"
Celestine pets Akina's foot, "You're so soft and warm…" Celestine sighs again and stands. She decides, "Your death wouldn't really benefit me right now, but in case I get myself out of this. I'll probably pop in for a visit sometime, watch your back. I'll have to remember to kill your father first." Celestine laughs as Akina sobs more violently at her words.
The cobra-human walks out of the room, into a much larger venue where her crew waits. She smiles at them, "We've been through thick and thin together, guys. Let's give these boys in blue hell while we still can. Let's move." They cheer in agreement and begin to leave the main building. They're in an abandoned theme park. The flashing lights greet them as they walk outside.
Celestine hangs back and watches them go out to meet the uniforms. She veers off away from the group. She's getting the hell out of dodge. Every man for them self.
There's no honor among thieves. Izuku and his associates happily exploited this. They brought in some of Celestine's affiliates and it only took a little pressure for some of them to start talking. They gave a list of locations and from there it was only a matter of time before the team pinpointed where Celestine's crew are holing up. Their operation is set for the second night after Akina's kidnapping.
Izuku watched from their base of operations, resting his chin on his fist. His eyes dart from screen to screen of bodycam footage of the raid. The breath he had been holding is finally released when all the screens go black. This, right here. This moment when everything starts to fall apart is when he feels himself rise to the challenge. He always welcomes it.
Barking orders, he growls, "I want those feeds back up in five. Call the Lieutenant and tell him to send in backup. Starting the timer right now. Somebody get me the situation."
One of his subordinates calls, "We've lost all power and signal to the area, Detective."
Some sort of electric pulse quirk? They're so rare that he didn't think to account for an information blackout.
He digests the information quickly, "I'm going over there then. This is my operation and I'll be damned if I take the blame for any screw ups when I can't even lead the damn thing." He begins briskly walking out, a couple officers follow him.
Another stays at the computer, calling, "I'll keep trying to get us back online. The Lieutenant said that reinforcements are on the way, eta 15 minutes."
Midoriya responds, "Okay," and continues to a patrol car outside.
Once they're seated, the cop pulls away. They're only five minutes from where the action is happening. On the short drive, however, Katsuki asks, "Are you sure about going there? Don't you think they'll be fine?"
Though Bakugou can't see, a haunted look crosses Izuku's face. Everybody is so gracious to have faith in people until those people let you down. Izuku has seen it many times throughout his career. Assuming the best outcome will occur can be one of the most dangerous assumptions a first responder can make. No, he needs to be sure, because people's lives are at stake.
"I can't be sure until I know the situation." Izuku turns around in his seat to look at Katsuki, he reminds him, "When we get there, I want you to remember our conversation when you first started shadowing me. Don't interfere unless I tell you to."
There's a hardness in Izuku's eyes that Katsuki wonders about. He nods gravely at the detective. He understands.
Izuku dashes out of the car, drawing his handgun and sprinting into the amusement park. Katsuki and the officer that drove them there jog behind him. He talks via his headset, "I'm onsite, any changes?"
"Reinforcements are right behind you, Detective."
Izuku stops for a moment to listen and hears gunshots; he turns to nod at the officer and direct him, "Go back them up." He turns to Katsuki, "Wait here to direct the reinforcements. I'm going to sweep for any stragglers to the right.
The blond's shoulders sink. The detective is going to be alone? In this dangerous place? The hero's fingers itch to go with him, but he agrees tersely, "Fine."
Izuku breaks away to begin searching for any other skirmishes or runaways. He jogs, stopping every once in a while to listen. He hears the distant sounds of fighting, but his instincts are telling him that there will be people this way. He hears running and is quick to intercept them.
It's a party of three that don't notice him until he bursts in front of them with his gun drawn, "Stop, police! Hands in the air!"
One of them chuckles, stepping forward, "Waving a gun around is like begging to get your ass beat. You a wimp or something?"
Izuku smirks, "Try me, asshole."
The man makes for a quick motion but Izuku fires on him, nails him in the shoulder. The guy steps back as blood spills from his wound. Izuku makes eye contact with the other two, "If anybody else here isn't bulletproof, I suggest putting your hands in the air and getting down on the ground."
They comply and Izuku holds them there until a couple officers relieve him. He continues checking the area for stragglers. The main fight is further away, but there are plenty of heroes that were called in. Izuku was notified of a couple injuries, but no casualties.
He makes his way to the far side of the park and stops at the gate. If anybody made it through then they're long gone. He sighs and continues walking, dropping his guard slightly.
"Midoriya!"
Izuku turns and sees Katsuki down a path to his left. He lowers his gun, "Bakugou, you should've waited." Izuku begins to walk toward him.
Katsuki sees a shadow drop from a ride above and calls, "Midoriya! Watch out!" Explosions build in his palm as a figure lands on Izuku. Katsuki propels himself forward but slides to a stop as green lightning crackles about them.
Izuku grits his teeth as the viper woman sank her fangs into his neck. He's also a little discombobulated from being slammed to the floor. Her snake eyes widen as the electricity concentrates around her teeth and she feels as if her teeth are being pushed out of Izuku's body.
Izuku feels a burst of energy, strangely. He begins to straighten to a stand, steadily pushing her off of him as strength pours into his muscles. She frowns, wrenching an arm free of his hold before clawing his face. He stumbles away from her, a hand going to his cheek.
She watches in wonder as her claw marks disappear and the electricity rolls across Izuku's body before waning into small crackles. They stare at each other and she asks, "Aren't you the type to go into hero work? How did the boys in blue land themselves a guy with a quirk like yours?"
Izuku frowns before he orders, "Get on the ground with your hands behind your back."
She smiles, "Not before I kill you. I've heard of you, Detective Midoriya Izuku, and everybody tells me that I don't want you on my trail."
She moves to tackle him again with a similar strike, but Katsuki is beside her with his palm in her face, small bursts of light crackling in his palm, "That's enough. Have you heard of me?"
She narrows her eyes at the blond, it is dark. Izuku smiles, "Ground Zero happens to be around as well."
"Fuck," is all she can mutter before sighing and complying with Izuku's previous orders.
Katsuki watches Izuku with a skeptical eye and a very serious expression. What the fuck did he just see? Something like rage begins boiling inside him. Did he just see Izuku's quirk!? The damn liar.
Izuku passes off Celestine to some other officers for booking while he oversees some of the other criminals and gives direction. The energy that flooded his system before crashed all at once and he feels sick, like he's going to pass out. It feels like his whole body is cramping too.
Katsuki's seething aura is also giving him grief, but he's just trying to perform his job to the utmost. Katsuki hasn't said anything, so he's not sure what to address with him yet. The guy must be thinking Izuku has partnered with Shigaraki after all this time.
The work for the night finishes and Izuku is a dead man walking. Katsuki doesn't notice though, he's so focused on his anger and the betrayal. Once they get in the taxi back to their hotel, Katsuki growls, "We need to talk."
Izuku merely murmurs, "Right."
They reach the hotel and Izuku steps out as the world starts spinning. He takes a couple steps forward as Katsuki joins him before losing his strength.
Katsuki almost doesn't catch him in time. His anger fizzles out as concern fills his voice, "Midoriya? What's wrong?" Katsuki registers Izuku's burning skin as he awkwardly tries to hold him up. "Hey, what's happening? Are you injured?"
Izuku can't even speak, like his brain is mush. He can't focus and he's out of breath. He breathes out, trying to say something, but instead passes out. All at once his symptoms changed to his blood practically boiling.
Katsuki shakes him, "Hey, Izuku!?" He grabs his phone to call for an ambulance. A couple valet attendants rush over and Katsuki tells one of them to bring him some ice. They're pressing bags of ice to Izuku as the ambulance pulls up and some EMTs shuffle Izuku inside. Katsuki rides with them and watches one start a fluid drip. They assume some kind of infection.
Katsuki isn't much help because he doesn't have a full grasp of the situation.
The hospital staff are quick to get Izuku set up with ice packs and the full treatment. His fever breaks in the early morning and Katsuki is left to worry and wonder about what the fuck is happening with Izuku.
Izuku's green eyes blearily open in the afternoon and he sits up with a groan, slightly groggy. He asks, "What happened?"
Katsuki tells him, "That's what I'd like to know. You had one of the highest fevers that anybody's apparently ever seen. They don't know what caused it..."
Izuku sighs, resting his face in his hands. Quirks actually suck, don't they? Izuku frowns, murmuring, "I know what caused it."
Katsuki leans in closer, "What?"
Izuku quietly tells him, "As you probably already guessed, Shigaraki gave me a quirk while I was captive with him. I didn't have any idea what it was until last night. The fever was probably the side effect."
Katsuki lets out a long sigh, "I see." He should've guessed it. He should've given Izuku the benefit of the doubt. Instead, he just assumed Izuku had been lying ever since they were kids or that his quirk developed while they were apart and Izuku just never mentioned it to anyone.
Izuku continues, "I thought that if I notified people of what happened to me that they would question if I asked for the quirk in return for something. He just randomly gave it to me… I was hoping that it might never show up or wouldn't be as flashy as it was… And, I get it if you don't trust me and want to inform my superiors."
Katsuki watches Izuku's polite smile before shaking his head, "No, I won't tell anyone. I'll leave that up to you." Katsuki frowns. He wants to apologize for doubting Izuku, especially now that he sees his laden shoulders and the struggle in his eyes. He doesn't want to pack on more worries for the guy.
"Thanks," is all Izuku can muster.
Tomura's chuckling filled the dinghy living room. He laughed outright, "Ha ha ha, what's his move gonna be?"
He was just informed by one of his spies that Midoriya's quirk finally manifested, and in front of the number one hero. It's sure to be a scandal.
The panther woman, Masha, frowns at him, "What's your interest in this guy, Tomura?"
How can the leader of the underworld explain it? He has a morbid interest in the guy, and he's always happy to groom more followers. Power corrupts, as they say.
"It's not your concern. Have we heard anything from Eri? Or is she still throwing her little tantrum?"
Masha grits, "No, she's still missing." Eri tends to run away whenever she's upset. This time it was because she found out that Shigaraki left Dabi to his fate in the hands of the heroes. It's usually a culmination of things though. Shigaraki has the policy of waiting till she just shows up, because she has nowhere else to go.
Masha really feels for the young woman. She could've had a chance in normal society if her quirk wasn't so sought after.
Tomura sits up from the couch he's resting on and pinches the bridge of his nose. "She'll be back. I have a feeling Midoriya will accept me too. It's only a matter of time."
A/N: Yeah, so I am alive and did not mean to be gone so long. I had some health issues creep up that I had to deal with then my final college semester is now done, college gradumate baby. Despite all this, I also had to do a big brainstorm in regards to the direction that I want to take this story. I just feel that the story is lacking a bit and I'm considering what spices to use. I'm in a weird transition period since I've graduated and don't have as much time as I would like to write, so I can't promise I won't be gone for another extended period, but I'll try to let you guys know beforehand. In the meantime, I hope y'all are enjoying, shoot me some feedback :)