Chapter 3

The Truth

Hitoshi didn't let himself glance up at the cameras. He wasn't going to take enough to be noticed, the only way he'd be suspected when the rolls were short is if he acted suspicious.

The bank had just opened moments ago, and as such wasn't very busy yet, but wasn't totally desolate as a few other early birds had been waiting. He'd been counting on that balance.

Two tellers opened stands on opposite ends of the row of booths – excellent. No chance of being overheard. He let himself fall to the back of the line, and patiently waited his turn. He checked his phone – no notifications. That was worrying. "I can help you over here, sir," one of the tellers said sweetly, and he put his phone away.

"What can I help you with today?" A quick glance at the other teller said she was busy, and someone had come in behind Hitoshi who'd go to her and keep her occupied.

"I was wondering about your interest rate for students?"

"High school or college?" she asked, and immediately froze.

"Put six hundred eighty thousand yen in an envelope and give it to me. I don't need to sign for it. Then once I walk out the door, forget I was ever here."

"How do you want that back?" she asked, professionally required cheer still seeping into her voice despite how mechanically she spoke.

"It doesn't matter, any denomination is fine," Hitoshi answered politely.

She emptied out her drawer to give him the money, but she had enough. He mimed signing for it on the electric pad for the benefit of the security cameras, then left as quietly as he could while she went in the back to get more money, like any teller would after a large withdrawal.

He left the bank, the teller forgot he'd ever been there, but wondered why she hadn't started out with a full drawer of cash.

The brush hit a snag, and a sharp pain stung Eri's scalp. "Ouch!" she said involuntarily.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Ms. Namura said gently. "You have such a tender head."

"What are we learning today?" Eri asked eagerly. In the mornings, Ms. Namura taught her reading and writing and numbers, in the afternoons Mr. Aizawa taught her about how to control her power. There was so much to learn!

"You've got a day off today, Mr. Aizawa and I are going to be running some errands for your uncle."

"About the boy from yesterday?" Eri asked curiously, and from the way Ms. Namura frowned, she knew that she wasn't supposed to know too much about that, so she didn't say anything else. Ms. Namura had said, many times, that the most important thing about growing up a girl in the Organization was to know when to stop asking questions.

"Can we do extra lessons on Saturday then?"

Ms. Namura chuckled. "All right, if you insist, you little bookworm," she said, and kissed the top of her head. "I can't speak for Mr. Aizawa, but I'll be happy to teach you Saturday."

Ms. Namura finished brushing Eri's hair, then dressed her in a kimono and wrapped a headband around her head to hide her horn – did that mean she was getting to go out again, even after what happened?! And she only got to wear her kimono on very special occasions. Eri's heart brightened.

"Is everything in order?" Uncle Kai asked from the door. Eri's heart lightened even more. She ran to the door to throw her arms around his legs. He patted her shoulder.

"Yes sir, we should have answers for you by tonight."

"Excellent." He looked down to Eri. "Eri! Looks like you're stuck with me today."

This was the best day ever! Usually Uncle Kai was so busy, even when Ms. Namura had to leave, usually she spent the day with one of his guys. Ms. Namura's brother was her favorite, he was almost as kind as his sister but he was goofy and he let her get away with anything. "Yes yes yes! Can we go to the movies?"

"Maybe, we'll see how the day goes. We're going to go see Grandpa first." That was even better!

"I should go now, have fun with your grandfather, Ms. Eri," Ms. Namura said softly as she excused herself.

Eri clung to her uncle's hand, eager for the day ahead.

"Rise and shine, Midoriya." The boy stirred and sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Ms. Namura will be here in thirty minutes. You'll be meeting with the girl during her morning break." Shota had been up for a couple of hours, but had let the boy sleep. He didn't know how long he'd stayed up watching the news after Shota fell back asleep after the boy's revelation about Tenko Shimura.

"Yes, of course!" Midoriya said excitedly, and scurried out of bed, more cheerful than any freshly woken teenager Shota had ever known in his long career as unofficial quirk tutor.

Quirk. He liked the word. It felt more fitting than "power," somehow.

Aiko knocked on the door at exactly the time she'd said she'd be there. Midoriya was ready, badly oversized clothes and all. Aiko was so strikingly beautiful that Midoriya, teenage boy that he was, stared for a moment, but her attitude put a quick stop to that. Aiko looked at him with barely concealed contempt, obviously sharing Chisaki's assessment of the situation. As such, Shota took over the introductions. "Midoriya, this is Aiko Namura, Eri's nanny. Ms. Namura, this is Izuku Midoriya. Let's go meet this young lady."

"Of course, Mr. Aizawa. Mr. Midoriya, come with me," she said, managing to convey a lot of steel in her tone while being perfectly polite.

They were being driven by Mr. Namura, which meant that the icy silence his sister clearly preferred was not allowed to stay. "Kid, I'm really hoping you're not crazy. Because that was really damn ballsy, I gotta say," he said, a few minutes into said icy silence.

"Daichi," Aiko said warningly.

"What? It was!"

"I um … thank you?" Midoriya said nervously.

"How long did you know the girl?" Shota asked the nanny, cutting off every possible avenue of this conversation.

"I watched her for five years, her family was the first family I worked for. She's a sweet girl." She shot a look at Midoriya, almost a warning glance.

"Can you tell us more about her talent?"

"It's absolutely incredible. It was limited by her artistic ability, but she drew well for her age even when she was small and she gets better every year. It's an unmatched experience, seeing something you remember drawn out by someone else. Sometimes it's slightly different from the way you thought you remembered it … somehow, she gets to the truth, I really believe that."

"So she can't be fooled just because the target believes what they're saying."

"You'd have to ask her for sure. But sometimes … sometimes she'd say, 'I don't think that's how it really happened,' if you tried to make up a story. No, I believe she'll get the truth out of Young Midoriya." There was not an ounce of warmth in the last statement.

"How are the memories chosen? I take it there's no risk we've gone out of our way just to get drawings of what happened yesterday."

Aiko shook her head. "She gets flashes of memories with strong emotions attached, anything that's brought up while she's talking to the person. So, we'll have to give the boy some prompting – I'd rather you do that, through a phone or something she doesn't hear, so we can be sure the drawings aren't influenced by said prompts." That would work best anyway – he did not want to show Chisaki anything from his part in Midoriya's tale yesterday. That could only lead to disaster.

"Very good." Shota began formulating questions to prioritize memories that would highlight the differences between this reality and Midoriya's – the existence of pro heroes, the hero school, the fight with All For One. Midoriya sat quietly, avoiding meeting Aiko's gaze.

Aiko was very fond of Chisaki – probably a little bit too fond – and knowing what Midoriya had said about the other reality would destroy her, if she accepted it at all. Another reason to keep that between himself and Midoriya for now.

They pulled up to a middle school in a very wealthy part of the city, and Ms. Namura stepped out to motion to one of the students. Almost as soon as she was out of the car, a freckle-faced, tall-for-age girl in a third year uniform came barreling towards her. "Ms. Namura!" she shouted, and threw her arms around the young woman.

"Emi!" Aiko brushed her former charge's short hair, ruffling the tomboyish cut. "Oh I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too! Whatever kid you left me and my dopey little brother for is super lucky."

"Thank you," Aiko answered, uncharacteristically awkwardly. She didn't dare tell the kid anything about her new charge, or her new boss. Or that, more than likely, the only reason she'd left is because, since her brother and father were also in the syndicate, taking on Eri had probably been a personal request by either Chisaki or his father.

"Is this the boy?" Emi asked as she climbed into the car and Aiko climbed back in. "Why did you want me to talk to him?"

"I can't tell you too much, it's a favor to a friend of mine," Aiko answered smoothly. "Thank you for spending your break on this."

"No worries! I didn't want to study for my English test anyway," the girl said easily, and Aiko sighed her disapproval but didn't say anything. Emi turned her attention to Midoriya. "Wow! You're a cutie! Nice to meet you!" she said eagerly. Middle schoolers.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Izuku Midoriya," Midoriya said, somewhat nervously. Which was a key tactical error, the key with middle schoolers was to not let them smell fear.

"Ms. Namura, may I call your phone to speak to the boy?" Shota asked.

"Yes, that will work best," she agreed.

"Mr. Namura, take us a few blocks away and let me out." He didn't want to be prowling around in front of a school on his phone.

Mr. Namura did as requested. "I'm going to ask Midoriya a series of questions, and you can draw what inspiration you can. When can you have drawings to us?"

"I can make super rough sketches while we talk. It won't be my best work, but it'll tell you what you need to know," Emi answered easily.

"Very good. Thank you for your assistance," Shota said, and let himself out of the car as it came to a stop.

"Is that the friend you're doing the favor for, Ms. Namura?! He's handsome!" he heard as he shut the door. Middle schoolers.

He dialed Aiko's number. "Hello?" Midoriya answered, his voice still a little shaken with the nerves of being in the presence of a hormonal middle schooler who had managed not to have any of Aiko's reserve rub off on her.

"Think about the villain fight where you first saw the giant woman."

"Okay, uh …"

Distantly, he heard Emi's young voice. "Whoa!" That was good enough confirmation for him, but he kept going.

When their time was up, they'd hit all the highlights he'd wanted to. Mr. Namura picked him up again. "Shota, look at these!" Aiko said, shoving the sketches into his hands as soon as the door shut.

"This was amazing! If you let me hold onto them, I can have better sketches for you by this afternoon, I'll work on them during my art period," Emi said proudly as Shota examined them.

"Don't work on them at school, or anywhere public. Let me take pictures, you can work on them at home," Shota said quickly, snapping photos with his phone.

"Oh, sure thing. It's just … the flashes I got were so cool, I want to work on them!"

"Ms. Namura mentioned that you have some ability to discern the truth in what you see. Can you elaborate on how?" he asked. He hadn't wanted to ask, but he knew Chisaki would.

"If someone believes it to be true, I can draw it, but … I can tell the difference. Delusions or lies you've convinced yourselves of have a … this sounds dumb. They have a very blue or yellow or some other really fake look to them. You know like in movies that have bad filters. Old memories are fuzzy, with dull colors. The truer and more recent the memory, the clearer the images I get are, the better paintings I can make. These were super clear."

"That doesn't sound dumb at all. That sounds as though you have an excellent intuitive understanding of your talent." The young girl beamed a little. "Thank you, Emi, I hope we haven't made you late for class." By now they were back in front of the school.

"Whatever sir, it's fine, this was worth it. I can't even believe the things Izuku has seen!" She surprised the boy with a hug before exiting. The boy blushed a little. Emi hugged Aiko too, and then she was gone, as exuberantly as she'd come.

Shota looked through each of the sketches he'd photographed as he sent them on to Chisaki. Looking at them caused the same little lurch of hope that Midoriya's story yesterday had provoked – this is what the world could have been. Maybe even what it can be. "Midoriya, you had some luck looking up your counterpart's social media, correct?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, why?"

"That will be good, if the sketches aren't enough. But I think they will be."

"I think so too," Aiko agreed, and she probably had a better read on Chisaki than Shota did. But then again, maybe her own enthusiasm was biasing her prediction. "He won't be home yet. Let's get you some proper clothing, Young Midoriya."

"Will you be in trouble for that?"

"If he's being stubborn, I'll let him take it out of my pay," she said with a handwave. Shota was entirely sure she wasn't being paid enough for that, but it wasn't his business.

As they made their way to a nearby mall, it was clear that the sketches had completely defrosted Aiko's attitude towards Midoriya. "Thank you for your patience, Young Midoriya," she said, in the warmest voice she'd used to speak to him yet. "How did you know sweet Eri in your world?" Shota didn't let himself visibly tense.

"Oh I … she was … at one point she was being held captive by a villain, and I was part of the team that saved her," Midoriya answered vaguely. Good boy.

Aiko inclined her head. "I am in your debt, then, even though it wasn't my Eri."

"Oh I … thank you. It was just … my job, as a hero. I had a lot of help."

"Even so, thank you." Mercifully, Aiko was satisfied with that level of detail, and for the rest of the trip, she asked about general world facts – how many people had quirks, was there really no tax at all on them, were heroes really paid by the government? Midoriya seemed uneasy, whether that was because of Aiko's earlier coolness or fear she would return to the topic of Eri's rescue, Shota couldn't say.

Eri loved her grandfather so much! He was so kind, and she liked the clothes he wore, and they always had either tea or a very nice meal with him, and he had a pretty garden. And usually when they were there, Uncle Kai's friend Mr. Kurono was usually there as one of Grandpa's bodyguards, and he was very nice.

When they arrived, Mr. Kurono was the one who let them in, so they were off to a good start. "I'd hate to see the other guy," Mr. Kurono told Uncle Kai in a teasing tone. Eri looked up curiously.

Uncle Kai motioned to the bruise on his face where the boy from last night had hit him. "The fate of the other guy is yet to be determined."

"It was a mean boy! He chased me and Uncle Kai had to protect me! It was so scary," Eri added, understanding now.

Mr. Kurono shot Uncle Kai a curious look. "Eri, we're not talking about that right now. We're waiting until Mr. Aizawa can tell us more about where he came from," Uncle Kai said firmly.

"Sorry Uncle Kai!"

"That's okay. Let's go see Grandpa."

"Grandpa!" Eri called and ran to hug him, forgetting for a moment she should be really proper and serious, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Eri, my little darling," he greeted her and kneeled to embrace her.

"I was so happy when Uncle Kai said we were going to see you," she said.

"And I am very glad to see you!" He stood to embrace Uncle Kai – he was the only person Uncle Kai really touched without getting upset. "What happened there?" he asked, noticing the bruise.

"It's being handled. Eri, tell Grandpa what you've been learning."

"Over tea, if you please," Grandpa suggested.

"Oh, yes please!" Eri said enthusiastically. She could show Grandpa some of the things she'd learned from Ms. Namura, not just tell him!

The tea was very good, and Eri felt like a real princess being able to drink it so properly. She'd thought when Uncle Kai said to talk about what she'd been learning he meant everything, but when she started to talk about how she could write her name and read picture books, he said, "That's great, Eri, we're very proud of you. Tell Grandpa about what you've been learning from Mr. Aizawa."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to talk about that," she said cautiously.

"It's okay, everyone here already knows," Uncle Kai said and put a reassuring hand on her back.

"Okay well … for a little while now, we've been practicing on plants."

"Practicing?" Grandpa asked and … was the look he gave Uncle Kai kind of mad?

"So I know what it feels like and I can practice stopping," Eri explained brightly, very much wanting Grandpa to not be mad at Uncle Kai. "We use plants since plants can just grow back. I've gotten pretty good at stopping right away."

"She hasn't had any 'accidents' in a long time," Uncle Kai added. Except last night, Eri started to mention that, but Uncle Kai had said they weren't talking about it … was Uncle Kai lying to Grandpa?!

"I don't like the fact this man has her using it on purpose, Kai." Eri thought about her goldfish, and suddenly felt very anxious. She didn't like keeping secrets from Grandpa, but he would be very upset if he knew about Mr. Gold.

"I didn't either, at first, but it makes sense. It's not like mine, I have to use mine purposefully. Hers can just … happen. Learning to stop it is imperative."

"Mr. Aizawa's very nice, Grandpa, you would like him," she added eagerly. "He's very proper." But he'd have to shave first.

One of Grandpa's men walked into the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, sir. But Hiraoka is here."

"Here?" Now, Grandpa was mad. So was Uncle Kai.

"Yes, sir."

Uncle Kai stood up. "What kind of punk dares to show up at your home uninvited?" he asked. One hand was a fist, the other folded over it. This was suddenly very scary.

"Kai, take Eri and leave. Now."

"My driver can take Eri home, I'll stay and show them …"

"Kai. Take the girl and go."

Uncle Kai gave Grandpa a confused look. "Uncle Kai, we should do as he says," she said meekly.

He nodded, and reached to take her hand.

He didn't say anything the entire way home.

The boy was very considerate of Aiko's kindness, only picking out a few days' worth of clothes, all of them inexpensive, despite her insistence the price didn't matter. "How is this possible, Shota?" Aiko asked, while they waited for the boy to try something on.

"I don't know. Well, not the details. He was with a young lady with a space warping quirk, and that's obviously related. It could take physicists years to unravel it, if they ever can. Or maybe the girl who sent him here will come looking for him. I can't say at this point. By the way … I'm his teacher in that reality, I'd appreciate if we referred to each other by surname in front of him."

"Oh, of course. But … 'quirk?' You've certainly taken to his language very quickly."

"He makes an impression."

The boy emerged with a plain black suit folded over his arms. "This one's good, that should be the last thing I need."

"Are you sure?" Aiko asked.

"I'm sure, Ms. Namura. Thank you very much for all of this."

"It's no problem, for Eri's sake." Let's hope Chisaki agrees, Shota thought.

Eri had finally tired herself into a nap, and slept peacefully curled up on the sofa, already in her pajamas (she hadn't wanted to change into normal clothes after taking off her kimono). Kai brushed the little girls' white hair gently with one hand, the cup of cold sake he was nursing in the other. Some of his tension had left when he got a text back from Hari. "It was tense but they're gone. Can't say more."

"Take the girl and go." "Can't say more."

Sending Eri away was obvious. But there were only two reasons to send him away too, and block him from further information. Kai didn't like either one.

It was always a gamble to get into a fight with someone you didn't know. You didn't know what powers they might have up their sleeve. More than a few rival gang members and a police officer or two had made a very bad bet on whether they could take Kai – Pops knew that better than most. So why hadn't he kept him nearby?

Either the unexpected visitor was someone that Pops couldn't play his hand to, and there was really only one organization that could account for that, or he didn't trust Kai to hold his own.

The one possibility sent a cold thrill of creeping dread through his body, the other upset his stomach with anger. Both of them were making his skin itch.

If it was the first, why, what had brought the shadows' attention, and why wasn't he trusted with the information? If the second, that was bullshit. He'd been loyal, he'd broken his back, he'd spilled blood, including his own, he'd tended the Boss's precious flesh and blood like his own daughter.

They won't ever accept you, Pops knows it, a voice in the back of his head said. His men don't respect you, they don't respect the adopted kid that can't stand dirt and filth, that falls back on his weird power to win in hand-to-hand, that plays house with a little girl. That is how they see you, a kid, they know that …

The front door opened. "Mr. Chisaki? Are you home already?" Ms. Namura called in.

Eri stirred. Kai set the sake down and carried her to the door, where, sure enough, the boy from yesterday stood. At the sight of him, Eri buried her face in Kai's shoulder. The boy looked crestfallen at this. He was wearing clothes that fit, which meant that Ms. Namura had already taken the liberty of using his money on the boy. If it were anyone else, he would have been furious at the presumption.

"Did you review the evidence we sent you?" Aizawa asked, right to the point.

"I did. And I believe you." Some of the rigidity went out of the boy's body – as usual, Aizawa gave nothing away. Kai set Eri down gently, and bowed.

"It appears I'm in your debt."

"Your … debt …"

"Even if it was in another world, you saved my niece. I'll extend my protection and support until you're able to return home or you find your place here. Mr. Aizawa can help you make arrangements for a place to stay."

"Did you save me, sir?" Eri asked timidly. The boy's eyes were filled with tears, and he nodded.

"Thank you, sir," she said and bowed. She hadn't even been coached to do that! The boy really started to cry as he bowed in acknowledgment, and Aizawa quickly shepherded him away.

Midoriya stared back at the house for a long while as they walked away, and Aiko stayed and waved the whole time. "She's very beautiful, but you shouldn't stare," Shota chided softly when they were out of earshot.

"Oh, oh it's not that," the boy answered, blushing bright red. "I … I didn't recognize her at first because I don't know international heroes as well and she looks so different but … at home, she's a pro hero in the US."

Shota blinked. "Excuse me?"

Midoriya took a deep breath, and launched into his full informational mode. "Yeah, she's a US hero called Calico, based in Los Angeles … I think? Maybe somewhere else. She mostly fights street level criminals and does some rescue work. She's pretty low in the American rankings because she's not powerful, but a lot of people like her because she's pretty and elegant, and she's good with children she saves and that bumps her up a bit. There's a really cool video of her that went viral, of her saving a baby from a burning building – she jumps from several stories up, but lands so that neither of them get hurt. That bumped her rating for a while! I only knew her because she did some interviews with Japanese radio about how important her heritage was to her and how grateful she was to be able to visit. She spoke Japanese pretty well, a lot better than I speak English, that's for sure! Some people said her family only moved there because her father was a Yakuza and they fled when heroes started going after them, I never … I just thought it was because Americans think there are way more Yakuza than there are, so I just assumed it was something wild that came from the American forums …"

Shota was actively fighting laughter now. He hadn't even realized Aiko had a quirk, and the image of the very traditional, very loyal Yakuza daughter as an American superhero was so bizarre. "She looks different, you said?"

"Yeah in … in my world she has a tail and her ears are pointed like a cat's …" The laughter died in Shota's chest. "Do people get surgery to look normal here?!" Midoriya asked, saving Shota from having to answer beyond a nod.

"Oh that's … that's so sad. But I understand, given everything."

"Midoriya, do me a favor. Never mention a word of this to Ms. Namura. Or anyone in this reality. That's a can of worms I don't want to open."

"Of course, sir."

Tenko stepped into his apartment after a very, very long day of damage control. It hadn't been the SDMR who vandalized the police station last night, therefore the police had absolutely zero evidence they had, and yet a half dozen officers had said they did to the press, who'd of course reported it unchecked. The thought was hardly heroic, but days like today, he wished he still had his talent.

As soon as he closed the door, he was aware of another presence in his home. Miyake, the head of security, had practically begged him to upgrade to a more expensive but easier-to-secure place, but it hadn't felt right as long as his rent was paid by a nonprofit. Tenko tensed, even now his hands instinctively getting ready to clamp down even though it would be useless. But a glimpse of red feathers told him the identity of his visitor, and fear faded into annoyance.

"Was the police station last night one of your kids, Hawks?" Tenko asked coldly.

"I can neither confirm nor deny. But if it was, it was more than one," the man who'd managed to keep his wings said with a grin. "Come on, you can't say it wasn't funny."

"No, I can't say that," Tenko admitted, letting himself grin a little. "At least there were no casualties this time."

Hawks shrugged. "They don't care about ours."

"No, they don't, but it can't be open season and you know why. Why are you here, anyway?"

Hawks handed him an envelope. "That family on your website, that needed money to help with six hundred eighty thousand yen in back mortgage payments?"

Tenko didn't have to open the envelope to know exactly what was inside. "Did one of your kids steal it? You know we can't accept …"

"Me, contributing to the delinquency of minors? I'm hurt by your implication, Shimura. This is just a generous donation from an acquaintance that wishes to remain anonymous."

Tenko sighed. He shouldn't take it, if it could be proven it came from some kid Hawks had put up to stealing, it'd be a shitstorm of epic proportions. But Hawks and his little band of Robinhoods were untouchable so far, and there was a family who'd already lived through a child abduction that were on the verge of losing their home without this money. He put the envelope in his front pocket. "You could have just dropped it in a donation box, then we'd have more plausible deniability. I know a peace offering when I see it. Why are you really here?"

"I've got an in for the Shadow Underworld. More than a lead, I've got someone on the inside."

A chill went down Tenko's spine at the very mention. "Please, please tell me you don't have a child attempting to …"

"No, not a child. I don't know if she's going to get very far but … I thought you ought to know we've gotten that far."

Tenko had had his hopes raised too many times for any residual hope to outweigh the worry that the winged vigilante had just made a bad mistake that was going to cost lives. "Nice to know you're thinking of me as you run around doing whatever it is you do, but if anything comes of this it'll be a miracle."

"O ye of little faith," Hawks said with a tone of mock holiness. "Just you wait."

"What do you need on my end? That's not an offer."

"Nothing, yet. But if anything does come of it, you know more than anyone in this nation about who has what powers. You know the real numbers."

"You want me to help find a bunch of metahuman civilians to put in a meat grinder up against a devil, assuming you find proof he exists? Not likely."

"You're such a pessimist, Shimura. All I'm asking is, if my girl," he caught the withering glare Tenko gave him and corrected himself. "My woman, finds out enough useful information, you give certain individuals the choice to fight for their people, if they're willing."

"I'm not making any promises."

"I didn't expect any." Hawks opened the window and slipped out, as quietly as only he could. "Have a good night, Shimura. Make sure that family stays in their home." And with that he took off into the night.

Next up: Carry On, Young Man!

Deku attempts to gather information about the world he's found himself in while Shinso searches for a missing friend.