Searching

After lunch the boys sat down in the living room and pored over the complaints and reported sightings of the villain. Each one gave a different description of the sea creature villain.

"Ah!" Bakugo screamed, throwing up the papers he held in his hand. "This is stupid! And boring! We're not going to get anywhere reading these stupid things."

"Calm down." Midoriya picked up the papers from the floor. "We have to start somewhere."

"Perhaps we should head out and start talking to some people before meeting up with Fuji at the police station." Todoroki placed the file he was flipping through back into the box.

"That seems like a good idea." Midoriya stood.

They left the house.

"Think we should split up?" Todoroki asked.

"We could cover more ground that way." Midoriya looked towards the town. "I don't think we'll get lost. There's only one town on this island."

"Whatever. I'm out of here." Bakugo stalked off on his own.

"Bakugo, don't just take off like that." Midoriya sighed. "Let's meet up at the police station in about an hour."

"Okay." Todoroki nodded. The two separated.

Todoroki scanned the fields that lined the road leading into town. The town appeared to be about a fourth a mile away from the Tanaka household. If it weren't for the overwhelming reports of the attacks on this island he would have thought it to be a quiet little town with no trouble at all. But then he knew better than to judge things, and people, by appearance. He's had years of experience of that with his dad.

His thoughts were interrupted at the sight of a small family loading up their truck. "Excuse me."

The family looked up.

"He's so cute!" The girl, who looked a couple years younger than Todoroki, clapped her hands together.

"Kala! Mind your manners!" the mother scowled.

"Can we help you?" the man asked.

"I'm from UA. My friends and I are here investigate the reports of the sea monster villain attacking." Todoroki stepped closer to them.

"UA sent children to stop that villain?" The man eyed the boy with disdain.

"Honey, please. I'm sure UA knows what they are doing." The wife placed his hand on his arm.

The husband scoffed.

"I assure you we are capable of handling this," Todoroki said.

"I, for one, am glad you're here." The girl stepped closer to the dual colored boy. "Look at his eyes! And his hair! I love the look. It's so nice to see a hero here to protect us."

Todoroki took a step away from her. "Is there anything you can tell me? My friends and I have already been going over the police reports. But anything you can give me that might have slipped your mind will help."

"I know it's a creepy thing! I've seen it walking around at night. Seaweed is dripping from it's body. And it's an ugly green color." The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Not stylish at all. Oh!" She leaned closer to him. "If you ask me I think the villain is Kai Tanaka."

"Why would you say that?"
"She's just as creepy as the villain. She's always walking to and from the ocean. And she never speaks."

"Those are not signs of a villain."

"You should still be cautious of her."

"Right." His eyes shifted to their truck. "Are you going on vacation?"

"No, we're moving away from this island," the woman said. "That villain is always attacking stores. Food is being shipped in from the mainland, but it's not enough. People are tired of this."

Todoroki knitted his brow. All those families he saw at the airport. Was things really that bad that so many people are leaving?

After a few more minutes of talking with them he left.

Todoroki continued to seek out people to talk to. Half an hour into his search he spoke to three more people before pausing. A soft song floated on the wind and slipped into his ear.

Cold wind blows. I am shivering. My body aches, as my heart is breaking.

A strange calm settled over his body. Eyes falling half closed his feet started moving again, following the song.

Why is life making me hollow? Why is happiness casting me in the shadows? In the shadows. Hold on, don't turn and walk away. Save me. And I cried these words but nobody came.

Todoroki blinked, finding himself outside of the town. On a ledge jutting out over the ocean was Kai. He blinked again, thinking he was seeing things. But he wasn't. Somehow he had walked out of town without realizing it.

The song continued. Though he couldn't be sure where it was coming from. Other than Kai he couldn't see anyone else around. Yet the song continued, soft, sweet, sad. A deep, dark coldness settled around him.

I'm all alone, running scared. Losing my way in the dark. I tried to get up, stand on a prayer. But I keep crashing down hard.

Sadness, loneliness settled into his chest. He felt as if he had jumped and swam down into the darkest depths of the ocean. His heart thumped. Kai. Why would she come to mind? For that matter, why would she be out here all by herself? It was still school hours. That's where she should be.

Todoroki shook his head. The song stopped. Kai was gone. He glanced around. Seeing only the farms, trees, and animals.

"Where did she...?" Todoroki wondered how she could have disappeared so fast. There was only one way off the cliff. If she had walked down it then he would see her.

Concern flooded his chest. What if she jumped off the cliff?

He darted over to it. Looking down he saw only water. "At least there's no sharp rocks. But did she jump?"

Todoroki drew in a breath, ran his fingers through his hair, and headed back to the town.

"You're late!" Bakugo snapped upon his arrival in the bustling police station.

"What have you been?" Midoriya asked.

"Just looking around," Todoroki said. He parted his lips to tell them about Kai but something stopped him.

"Okay, let's get down to it," Midoriya said. "So far I haven't found anything new about the villain."

"Well, that should be obvious!" Bakugo growled. "This a small town, a small island. Whoever this villain is, they're someone local."

"That's the strangest thing." Midoriya cupped his chin. "You'd think that someone would know who this person is."

"Maybe they do but don't realize it," Todoroki said. Kai came to his mind. Why would I think about her? Well, at the moment it makes sense. Everyone has to be a suspect until we can narrow it down. "Fuji, we need to see the registration files for everyone's quirks."

"We've already been through them, but okay." Fuji nodded then stepped away.

"First things first. We need to narrow down everyone's quirks," Todoroki said.

Midoriya nodded while Bakugo scowled.

They worked through the files, narrowing down to those that might fit the crimes being committed.

Before long the day ended. They headed back home with Fuji. The older man started cooking.

Several minutes after they had arrived home, Kai came wandering in. Todoroki watched her. Her clothes and hair were dry. Though that didn't mean anything. She had plenty of time to dry off since he saw her last.

"Welcome home, Kai." Fuji smiled.

Kai nodded before grabbing a plate from the cabinet. She scooped food out of their pans, grabbed a drink, and disappeared upstairs.

A thought came to Todoroki's mind. They never found what Kai's quirk was. For some reason her documents were missing that information.

Todoroki looked at Fuji. "Kai's quirk wasn't listed."

Fuji didn't stop cooking. He remained quiet for several minutes. "Yeah, her quirk files are currently not filed." He turned and smiled to them. "But don't worry. I guarantee it's not her."

"What is her quirk?" Midoriya asked.

"Ah!" Fuji turned back to the stove. "Shoot! I almost burned it! I hope you're all hungry!"

Todoroki watched Fuji carefully. Did he purposefully sidestep the question?