"I don't know if we should be more concerned for Little Midoriya when he gets here or the detective," Saito said as she filed papers.
Tamakawa looked up from polishing his bell collar. "Why should we be worried about the detective?"
Saito glanced around, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Nakamura told me she found a receipt for like twelve bottles of antacids. You didn't hear this from me, but Tsukauchi might be on his way to another ulcer."
"But he hasn't had one since-" but the cat-headed officer was interrupted by the door opening to reveal the smiling face of Midoriya Izuku. "Good morning, Saito, Tamakawa. How are you two today?"
"Little Midoriya! We're-"
"CHINESE FINGER TRAPS?!" Tsukauchi roared, emerging from his office. "You nearly died at the hand of the leader of the League of Villains, and you bet your life on Chinese finger traps?"
"Yes?" Izuku squeaked.
"Let's calm down, Detective," Tamakawa said gently. "It was actually brilliant on Midoriya's part."
"Brilliance doesn't do anything if it pisses off someone enough to kill you," Tsukachi said, shaking Izuku by the shoulders. "It wouldn't matter if we had kept him in custody, but he never even made it to police custody. He disappeared before anyone could arrive on the scene."
A woman Izuku had never met before appeared from Tsukauchi's office, smacking the man. "That wasn't the kid's fault, he did more than his part. Just tell the kid he did a good job."
"I have every right to worry, I don't know what I'd do if-"
"Naomasa, shut up," the woman said, menacingly adjusting her incredibly thick-lensed glasses. "I know exactly how you feel, it's called being a parent. But you're turning into a helicopter parent, which is not healthy. Now tell the kid he did well."
Izuku frantically waved his arms. "Oh, that's not necessary. Detective Tsukauchi is right, I can be reckless and-"
"Midoriya, it was well done, I just can't help but worry about you," Tsukauchi interrupted, gently placing a hand on his shoulder once more.
The boy stared at the detective a few moments before promptly bursting into tears.
"Saito told me the kid was a crier, but I didn't expect it to be this bad," the woman said. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you. Midoriya. I'm Detective Kimura. I specialize in investigating homicides, but I'm currently away on maternity leave. Tsukauchi just wanted a second opinion on a case, though I'm glad I got to meet you."
"You've heard of me?" Izuku asked, eyes still watering.
"Oh, I feel like I already know you. Everyone has told me so much about you, all of it good except what Mori says. But I've never liked him anyway."
"You too, Kimura? Seriously?" Mori called from his corner.
"Anyway, I look forward to working together. I've got to go, and Naomasa has some things to talk to you about," Kimura said with a kind smile. "Saito, you can accompany me to my car and clean up the vaseline you smeared under the door handles."
"How did you know?" Saito demanded.
"I'm a mother. I see all."
While Saito squabbled with Kimura, Tsukauchi waved Izuku into his office. Once inside, Tsukauchi ran a hand through his hair. "Kimura is right, you did incredibly well at the mall considering the circumstances. It just bothers me that it happened at all. You shouldn't constantly be in danger like this. But I need to learn to accept that it will only get worse from here."
Izuku bit his lip, worries he'd pushed down coming to the surface. "Tsukauchi? When Shigaraki was talking to me, he… he said some things I didn't say in my report."
"Oh?" The detective straightened, his eyes serious. "I'm sure you had good reason."
"It was just a feeling…" Izuku said hesitantly, and Naomasa was instantly concerned. In his time with the boy, he'd been happy to see how confident he'd grown. It had been obvious, in the beginning that this strange, wonderful boy had been hurt beyond what he should have been able to handle. And in that one sentence, they were back to square one.
"I trust your judgement," Naomasa said firmly.
He bit his lip before nodding. "Shigaraki said we were the s-same, we were both looked down on by society and forgotten… forgotten by heroes. He wanted me to join him, and he… he offered me power and a quirk. I know that's not possible, but for a minute it sounded really good."
Tsukauchi felt his heart stutter at the boy's words. It couldn't be - no. They weren't sure that All For One was alive, it was just a suspicion because of those Nomu things, and he refused to entertain the idea that All For One was so close to Midoriya.
"For a moment. I wanted it," Izuku confessed, tears overflowing. "I wanted to show everyone that I wasn't just a useless Deku, prove it to my classmates and teachers, and even the heroes that told me I could never be one of them."
He was crying in earnest now, and the detective didn't know what to do other than to embrace the boy. Now more than ever he wanted to take away Izuku's pain, make the people who had hurt him realize the full extent of what they'd done.
But he couldn't do anything about that now. "I don't know everything about your past, Midoriya, but anyone would have felt that way. But I know you would never do anything like that, Midoriya, you more than anyone are motivated by the simple desire to help people. You're already more of a hero than everyone who told you these things."
The boy's tears had already soaked through Naomasa's shirt, but it was of no consequence. They stayed like that until Izuku was composed again. He pulled back, discreetly wiping his eyes. "What did you need to tell me, Tsukauchi?"
"So this is sudden, but Tsuragamae has decided on your next training placement. He wants you to get a more holistic view of policeword, so he's sending you to a rural station on Monday. We've already gotten permission from your mother, by the way."
"How rural are we talking? Like, do I need to finish all of my assignments before I go because I won't have internet?"
"Not quite that rural. Besides, they're going to start training you to properly shoot a gun, so please actually sleep, don't stay up all night doing homework. But the area is just rural enough to pack carefully, because you won't be finding any stores close by. Their crime rate is nearly zero, which means you only have a fifty-percent chance of getting involved in villain activity," Tsukauchi said, only half-joking.
"So is there anything special I need to bring?"
"Definitely the fanny pack, but just bring the normal stuff."
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "So you won't take a stance on the whole Don't Rape Me Kit versus the Save My Fanny Pack controversy?"
"I think Save My Fanny Pack is incredibly clever, but I also have a healthy fear of Saito."
"Fair enough. If that's all you have to tell me about, why don't you fill me in on Detective Kimura? I've only heard stories from Saito and Sasaki, but she didn't seem as… intense as they made her out to be."
Tsukauchi paused, surreptitiously glancing around his office. It didn't appear that Kimura had bugged the room again in her short time there, but he better choose his words carefully regardless. "Kimura is quite possibly Japan's best homicide detective, and unlike me she doesn't have a quirk that helps in investigation. When she officially comes back, you should definitely ask her about her quirk. You'll love it.
"But I'm getting sidetracked. She already likes you, which is good, because she'll be able to teach you some of the most valuable things you'll ever learn about police work. Just never, and I repeat never get in between her and Saito during one of their prank wars. They will team up and then we'll never hear from you again."
Izuku swallowed, slowly nodding. The two chatted for a while longer, but the boy's news still weighed heavily on the detective. When the boy left, he was smiling again, saying, "I better get home now. We're having Kirimi and her mother over for dinner tonight."
Naomasa watched him go before lowering his head into his hands. He stayed like that for a few minutes, processing, until he finally picked up his phone. It only rang a few times before the other person picked up.
"What can I do for you, Naomasa?"
"Toshinori, we need to meet somewhere discreet, I have some important information."
"As in, state secret type of information?" Toshinori asked hesitantly.
"That would be the type."
"Let's meet at the school. The only person that might overhear is Nezu."
When Tsukauchi left his office walking with a clear purpose, even Mori knew not to question him. To work at their station meant a quiet acceptance that Tsukauchi knew things and people he never talked about. It wasn't very common, but the man was known to rush to random places with little to no warning. It worried his subordinates. They had gleaned a bit of information over the past few years, and it was just enough for them to worry about whether or not the detective would come back alive.
Naomasa had similar feelings about Toshinori. He desperately wanted to yell at the man, force him to be at least marginally less reckless. But if he did that, he knew Toshi would simply shut him out, just as he'd done to Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye.
His friendship with Toshi was one of his most treasured relationships, but it wasn't an easy one. Naomasa internally acknowledged this as he waited at U.A.'s gates for someone to let him in.
A few minutes passed, and then none other than the number one hero walked up, his emaciated face serious. "What is so urgent, Naomasa? What have you found?"
The detective ushered Toshi forward - he refused to have this conversation anywhere there was even a chance of being overheard. Toshinori understood the concept of a state secret, but his life consisted of them. Besides, years of being the most powerful had made him somewhat lax, or perhaps overconfident. The hero didn't tell him everything, but it was obvious to the detective that All Might needed to find a successor sooner rather than later.
They found themselves in something not dissimilar to an interrogation room. It felt a little odd to sit across from Toshinori in such a setting, but there was no time to dwell on that.
"He's back, and he's active," Naomasa said point-blank. "The League is almost definitely affiliated with All For One."
"What makes you so sure? What have you found?"
"We've managed to keep it out of the news, but when your students were at the mall, so was Shigaraki Tomura. Before you ask, no, he didn't target or harm any of them. Instead he targeted Midoriya Izuku, the boy who took down Stain."
Toshinori's hands clenched into fists. "Is the boy alright? What happened?"
"Midoriya is fine, he's got immense amounts of luck and intelligence. He actually captured Shigaraki, but the villain escaped from mall custody. I'm more concerned about the fact that Midoriya says that Shigaraki was trying to recruit him, and he even went so far as to offer the boy a quirk."
Toshinori gasped. "Do you think the boy would join them? He made such an impact in taking down Stain, if the boy joined the League of Villains, public opinion of heroes would take a hit."
Naomasa felt an unusual spark of anger at his friend's question - his mind flashed to an injured Midoriya babbling about people telling him he could never be a hero. "I am more likely to join the League of Villains than Midoriya ever would be. But you need to get serious, Toshinori. Your time as the Symbol of Peace may not be gone, but it's winding down. You need to find a successor soon enough that you can train them before it's too late."
"Naomasa, I-"
"I trust your instincts. I won't try to tell you who to choose as your successor, but right now, All for One and Shigaraki are doing whatever they please." Naomasa paused, a small smile gracing his face as he thought of Midoriya, the joy and energy that he brought to the station.
He knew the kind of life All Might led. He had once seen it as inspiring, but now he saw the overwhelming loneliness his friend had trapped himself in. "When you do find that person, Toshi, do me a favor and let them in. I've only realized just how lonely I was, and how much a better person I've become from having someone really close to me. Besides, the chances are that they need you almost as much as you need them."
A/N: This is probably starting to sound old, but sorry this latest chapter took so long. I just started a second summer job and then there was a bunch of family stuff that came up, as well as some major writer's block. Thank you all so much for reading, and your wonderful comments on the last chapter! The comments I got were literally the only thing that motivated me to keep writing, so keep them coming! Kit still hates the fact that I used Chinese finger traps to take care of Shigaraki, FYI. I don't think she's going to warm up to the idea like she did with the Save My Fanny Pack.
But on a different note, I did make a Tumblr account! My handle on there is the same as on here, so just look up Rogueptoridactyl and I shall appear. I'd love to hear from you on a slightly different platform, and who knows, I might post some sneak peeks of chapters I'm working on!
-Rogue