Both his family and his coworkers wanted to throw a "real" celebration for his promotion, but it wasn't meant to be. His being appointed as a detective coincided with ah spike in crime the likes of which hadn't been seen since the days before All might. Between his schoolwork and detective work, Izuku's days were full.

And it appeared that they were only going to get fuller. About a month into things, Naomasa called Izuku into his office with that pinched look he got whenever upper management wanted to send Izuku into a highly dangerous situation.

"Please, sit down, Izuku," Naomasa said, kneading his temples. "I'm sure you've noticed the unrest in town lately, it's pretty much impossible to miss. Two rival gangs are particularly concerning to the upper management, and they want to send you undercover among them."

"So am I supposed to join the Viper Gang, or Dead Eyes?" Izuku asked, barely even blinking at the information.

"We're sending an undercover agent to both, but this will be the other candidate's first mission, so he'll be going to Dead Eyes. If you go-"

"So Viper Gang for me. That's probably for the best, that would be a lot of chaos for a newbie to deal with. So how long do we think this mission is going to be? Eri has-"

"-a dance recital next month, I know. The whole station has known for weeks. Things are heating up quickly, which makes it risky. We just want you to get enough information to be able to take them down before things escalate too far. And neither gang is as… centralized as the Shie Hassaikai were, so you'll have a lot more wiggle room than you did then."

"So I could probably do some home visits this time around?" Izuku asked.

"Yes, you'll be able to visit your family this time," Naomasa said with a sigh. "I suppose it would be no use at this point to tell you that I personally recommend taking this job."

"You would be correct. But don't worry about me, I'll make sure that I stay as safe as I can."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Tsukauchi snorted. "But please do try to limit the damage you take this round. Think of your mother's heart."

"Your guilt-tripping has gotten a lot better. If you had brought up Eri I might have actually hesitated to take the job." Izuku drummed his fingers on the desk between them. "So is there anything unusual about the job I should know?"

"The officer assigned to Dead Eyes is a rookie, he's only been out of the Academy for a few months. Ordinarily we wouldn't put someone out with so little experience, but he's our only willing participant that's in the right age demographic. He'll be here shortly so you can give him some pointers and plan on how you're going to coordinate your efforts."

Izuku took his time flipping through the file. "I hate seeing someone so young being put on the front lines like that. He looks like a baby."

Naomasa stared at him flatly. "The fact that you see no irony in that statement means it's time for you to get out of my office."

Snatching the file, Izuku smiled angelically. "Blame it on Sir Nighteye, he's the one who got me in too deep. I can't just stop being Deku."

"But you can care more about your well-being. Now shoo, you have detective duties to attend to."

Saluting, he strolled one door over into his own office. Even though he'd only had it for a few weeks, it was fully decorated, courtesy of Eri and Inko collaborating with a number of the officers. Stain's sword was proudly hung on the wall, only outshone by the numerous pictures Eri had drawn for him. Inko had gotten him a coat rack specifically to hang up the coat the station had gifted him. There were a number of other chairs for when he had to speak to others, but they were usually covered in quirk analysis that he needed to mail off.

Speaking of analysis, he had some requests piling up. The other precincts had caught on that he was a sucker and would frequently send them analysis if they were really stuck on a case.

He took enough time to clear of one of the seats of files before diving in. He was eyeballs deep in one said case when there came a light knock on the office door.

"Midoriya, he's here for you," Kondo said, shoving an unfamiliar police officer inside before abruptly leaving.

The officer was young, and twitchy enough that there was no doubt he was barely out of the police academy, even if Izuku hadn't gotten a look at his file. He could appreciate that Takane seemed to take his job seriously - he was the image of regulation dress code, from the exact degree he hung his holster on his best to how immaculately his blond hair was groomed. Like Izuku he had a plainer face, which would be perfect.

"Um, sorry to bother you, but I think I'm in the wrong place. I'm looking for Detective Midoriya."

Izuku stood, silently wishing that he would have put more effort into actually cleaning up his office. It was kind of a disgrace without this officer doubting that he was actually a detective. "No, you're in the right place," he said, holding out a hand. "Detective Midoriya Izuku, at your service."

The officer froze, brown eyes impossibly large. "M-Midoriya? The Midoriya Izuku? I hadn't heard that you'd made detective, sir, my apologies."

"No, no! There's no need to bow," Izuku said, frantically waving his arms. "I definitely don't look old enough to be a detective, I'm not offended. I promise!"

He snapped out of his bow, his back ramrod straight. "I am Officer Takane Sei. If I may be so bold, detective, the stories of your perseverance are what got me through the academy. I had not realized you were so accomplished at a young age."

"Really, you don't need to be formal around me. We're going to be working on this case together, so we need to be comfortable with each other. Please, sit."

Takane relaxed slightly, but only slightly. He was pale, and he didn't seem fully in control of his speech. "You're actually the reason I became a cop, Detective. I always wanted to be a hero to help people, but I couldn't pass the entrance exams. I was discouraged, but then I saw you and everything you did during the Hozuki incident, That helped me realize that I don't have to be on the hero billboard to achieve my dreams."

"Really? The Hozuki incident? Most people have never even heard of it," Izuku said, amazed.

He looked down. "I'm… I'm kind of a fanboy. I follow Edgeshot really closely."

Izuku stuck out a hand. "Officer Takane, welcome to the force. I think we'll get along famously."

The two shamelessly talked about heroes for a good hour. Takane was deeply passionate about the more obscure, underappreciated heroes, so Izuku didn't even have to try to steer the conversation away from All Might.

"And that is exactly why Mr. Brave should be ranked higher than he is!" Takane said, slapping the desk between them.

"I'm not saying you're wrong," Izuku said, holding up his hands. "I'm just saying that he needs to do something a little more to set himself apart from other heroes if he wants to boost his rank."

"He makes a sword out of his hair, Midoriya. I only wish my quirk were half that cool!"

"Well Stain made a much bigger name for himself using that sword," Izuku said, wildly gesturing at the katana hanging on his wall.

"No," the officer hissed, looking faint. "Say it ain't so. You're also the Midoriya that took down Stain? You're the Midoriya that started the quirkless movement?"

"I started the what?" Izuku squawked.

"You don't know about it? Most people forgot about how Stain was taken down a month or so after it happened, but it started an uproar in the quirkless community. It started with one girl selling quirkless pride t-shirts online, but now it's a whole movement. I think they're planning something big this year, something public."

"Okay, now you're just messing with me."

Takane's eyes caught the Save My Fanny Pack and a stupid grin spread across his face. "Is that the fanny pack that started it all?"

"That's actually fanny pack number four. After the first two we learned that we needed to special order them with the most durable material we could find."

"Then what happened to the third one?"

"Yeah, Little Midoriya. What happened to the third one?" someone shouted from their desk. "Remind us."

Izuku exhaled slowly in an attempt to fight the redness creeping up his face. "It was a… casualty in one of my previous undercover operations."

"A casualty?"

"I was fighting a villain that wouldn't be affected by my sword, so I threw the fanny pack at them."

Takane looked confused. "And the villain stole it?"

"Ate it, actually," Tamakawa said, slipping into the office to set a file onto Izuku's desk. "The villain ate the entire thing and earned Midoriya his first and thus far only formal reprimand."

"Et tu, Sansa?" Izuku asked.

"The Don't Rape Me Kit ain't cheap!" Kimura yelled.

Kneading his temples, Izuku said, "Let's go elsewhere to discuss undercover tactics. It will be quieter there."

Throughout the rest of the day, Izuku was repeatedly impressed by Takane. He had the makings of an excellent police officer, and he picked up on what Izuku taught him with no problem.

Before they realized, their shifts were over and it was time for Izuku to go pick Eri up from her weekly quirk training with Aizawa.

"Here's my phone number if you think of any more questions," he said in way of parting. "You'll have a little more time than me before you get sent out. Just remember what we've planned together and that you're not alone."

Waving goodbye, Izuku turned his back on the officer, completely unaware of the lengthy journal entry that would feature him that night, one not dissimilar to his own multitude of analysis notebooks.

He hadn't gotten his jog in that morning, so Izuku decided to run to U.A. Besides, it would give the staff a few extra minutes with her, something they never complained about.

This time, when he made it past the gates, he heard familiar voices in the courtyard. It wasn't the voices he was expecting, but they were all drowned out by an exuberant, "Dadku!"

Izuku managed to catch Eri solely out of reflex, but his already good day got ten times better just from seeing her smile. "How was your lesson, pipsqueak?"

"Great! Mr. Aizawa didn't have to stop my quirk at all!"

"That's amazing! We'll have to celebrate at home tonight!"

"Also Uraraka told me she would stay to talk to you," Eri said in a truly abysmal attempt at a whisper.

Izuku felt his face flush, and he glanced over to see where none other than Uraraka stood. Thankfully, he was safe from making a fool of himself; Shinso, Ojiro, and Iida waited for him as well.

He shifted Eri only his hip, carrying her like he always had, no matter how big she was now. "Hey guys, how are you?"

"Busy, but good," Ojiro said, wagging his tail for Eri's benefit, noticing how her eyes glued to the appendage. "Aizawa has threatened us with expulsion three times today, but I think he's mostly sick of senioritis."

"Well you guys need to stick it out, you just started this school year," Izuku teased.

"Speak for yourself, Midoriya," Shinso yawned. "You're already exactly where you want to be, I don't think you can talk to us about senioritis."

"Shinso, you must be respectful to him!"

"It's fine, Iida," Izuku said. "Besides, my third college degree disagrees with you, Shinsou."

"Touche."

"How are you, Uraraka?" Izuku forced himself to ask, his cheeks only slightly flushing.

"Oh! I'm good, just busy like everyone else," she said.

"Eri and I need to get going soon, but before I leave I have something I wanted to warn you guys about. That goes for you too, Aizawa."

A few of the students began, "Wha-" before cutting off with a scream as Aizawa appeared, dropping down from a nearby tree.

"At least one person has taken my teaching to heart," the teacher grumbled. "Did you all really think that I would leave you in charge of Eri without an adult?"

"So what did you need to tell us, Midoriya?" Iida asked.

"I'm going on another undercover mission soon," he said, bouncing Eri slightly. "I realize most of you haven't worked with my undercover persona, but he's gained… notoriety. Deku cannot be compromised, or there will be a lot of trouble for a lot of people. If any of you end up working with this case, or any of them, for that matter, I need you to act like you don't recognize me at all."

"That's been the agreement from the start," Aizawa said. "I feel like you're not saying something even more important."

"If it feels natural, do mention that we've got an undercover agent," Izuku said seriously. "Don't act like you know the agent, either, but acknowledge their presence. There needs to be an explanation for why all of these organizations keep getting busted, and Deku can't be the common thread. I need to be arrested with everyone else."

"Are you… Are you sure?" Ojiro asked.

"That's how it has to be. The police are already well versed on how to handle the situation, but Deku needs to be secure."

"You can trust us," Aizawa said seriously.

Kit's Korner

Takane left Midoriya's police station feeling a bit numb. His mind kept replaying certain scenes and stories. The most frequent, however, was the first time he had ever seen Midoriya.

He was just an officer at that point, barely noticeable among the swarm of other officers. Honestly, the police had always been sort of invisible to Sei, he was just there to see Edgeshot in action. The fight was exciting until the heroes started to falter, and the whole situation seemed hopeless. Then, at the last moment, this tiny police officer rushed forward, bringing the villain to his knees with a well-aimed pitcher of lemonade he'd commandeered from a nearby stand some neighborhood kids were running. Somehow he'd figured out that the acidity from the lemons would counteract the villain's quirk, and then it was all over.

A number of people rushed to thank or congratulate the officer, but he ignored all of them, vaulting over a chain-link fence to assist the family that the villain had been using as hostages. Sei had been so interested in this officer that he stayed and watched even after Edgeshot had left. The officer talked to the family for quite a long while, and they visibly relaxed. He helped them to a police car before vaulting over the fence once more, pulling out his wallet and handing what was likely far too much money to the children still occupying the stand.

Six months later when he found himself beginning at the Police Academy, the Hozuki incident was brought up in class. The teacher looked weary as soon as it was brought up.

"Listen, the officer responsible for that is… unusual. Midoriya has a gift for quirk analysis beyond anything we've seen before. While he is gifted and has been instrumental in a number of cases, clever tricks are no substitute for experience and technique. Open your books to page…"

The instructor rarely had anything kind to say about Midoriya, but Sei was quickly finding himself a role model. The tales of Officer Midoriya were traded amongst the trainees, some with derision, some with awe.

When he'd been assigned as a Detective Midoriya's partner for this mission, he'd assumed that the detective was the infamous officer's father, but no. His partner was the Midoriya. There were a handful of other infamous officers at Midoriya's station as well, but Sei didn't think he had the brainpower to deal with it at the moment.

His reaction on first meeting the detective wasn't… great. He felt like he had made a fool of himself on several levels, but somehow Midoriya made it far less embarrassing. In a rare turn of events, somehow the detective was even more of a fanboy than Sei.

But the final and potentially biggest shock came when they began planning. Not only was Midoriya his role model, the kid who took down Stain, but he was also Deku, the cryptid of Musutafu. He himself had an extensive notebook trying to piece together any and all information about the man. He wasn't a villain or a vigilante, really, but he was dangerous, and no one could agree on any specifics, not even what he looked like. All that was known for sure was that he had a scar through his eyebrow and he carried a katana. Hair color, eye color, face shape, no one could ever agree. It was just assumed that you would know him when you saw him.

Takane looked across his various notebooks in dismay. How? How were they all the same man? And how was he younger than Sei?!

A/N: Thank you all so much for your support on the latest chapter, and throughout this fic as a whole! I can't believe so many people have stuck it out with me, it warms my cold, dead heart. I am alive, I have not had Coronavirus. What I have had is the last round of finals for my bachelor's degree, submitting my application for grad school, stressing out about getting accepted to my program, and a massive case of writer's block.

Anywho, big things are happening! I want to spend a little longer than usual with the upcoming chapters, but I don't want to keep you guys hanging like I have been for the past month. So, we're having a Kit Takeover! She would like me to inform you all that she doesn't actually write anything, she just "gives really bad ideas." Her words, not mine. Those are a lot faster for me to write, so I've got a bunch of little stories to keep you guys entertained. I also wanted to have a Q&A portion, asking questions to either me or Kit. Leave any questions you have in the comments. They can be about the fic (although don't expect spoilers), or about our lives in general (within reason).

In the meantime, I really hope all of you are okay. This is a scary time, both because of the pandemic, but also because of the mental effects of the quarantine. We need to stick together now, and I want to be here for you guys. I'm going to be trying to update more often now that I don't have schoolwork, and I might be starting a new fic. I've mentioned it before, it's a found family type story with Izuku, Inko, and Aizawa. Feel free to talk to me through my tumblr, or if you can think of any other type of communication, I would be happy to talk. And with that said, I will talk to you all next time!