Well, I've returned with another chapter! I hope you all enjoy it!

I sadly don't own My Hero Academia.

"Kaminari?"

Denki picked his head up from his folded arms and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his eyes. Naomasa entered the room but didn't return to the chair he'd been occupying for the last few hours. Instead, he stopped at Denki's side.

"Sorry, Detective, I just—"

"We appreciate your cooperation. From what you've told us, this couldn't have been easy for you. I know you must be tired. I've got a couch in my office if you'd like to get some rest. Present Mic can stay in there with you if you'd be more comfortable."

Denki nodded.

"Thank you."

He pushed back his chair and stood, needing to lean against the table when he realized how stiff his legs were. Denki blinked and rubbed his eyes again.

How long have we been at this?

Naomasa guided him out of the room. Hizashi was waiting for him just outside, still out of his hero costume. He offered Denki a small grin and put an arm around his shoulders. Naomasa led them down the hall and around a few corners before they arrived at his office. He opened the door and gestured for them to walk inside.

"Take as much time as you need."

Naomasa closed the door, leaving the two alone. Hizashi patted Denki's shoulder.

"Get some sleep. Vlad said you've been answering questions since the second you got here. Midnight didn't even get to see you while she was here. I can't imagine how exhausted you are."

Denki's gaze drifted to the window. Dark orange light filtered in through the blinds.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

He plopped down on the couch and kicked his shoes off. He didn't waste another second, laying down across the couch and closing his eyes. A soft creak echoed through the nearly silent office when Hizashi sat down.

"How's Aizawa-sensei?" he couldn't help but ask.

Not that you deserve to know.

A quiet chuckle answered him.

"He woke up an hour ago. He's still tired, but that's not exactly new. He's been trying to get Recovery Girl to let him leave the infirmary."

A grin spread across his face for a moment, but it disappeared just as fast.

"What about Shinsou?"

"His ribs are healed. He slept most of the day and started the work he missed the second he woke up. He's been staying in the infirmary to stay away from your classmates."

They're not my classmates anymore….

Denki swallowed.

"How are the others taking…."

He couldn't get himself to even finish the question. The chair creaked again, and he could sense Hizashi's presence over him.

"We haven't told them yet."

Denki's eyes flung open to find Hizashi smiling down on him.

"Why?"

"Nezu hasn't come to an official decision yet," Hizashi started. "An officer searched your dad's phone and confirmed our suspicions that you were being manipulated. Once you moved into the dorms and were away from his influence, you didn't give him any more information and ignored his calls. You've been fully cooperating with us. Nezu will talk with Chief Tsuragamae once all the interrogations are over to determine what we do next, and none of us see a reason to tell Class A until we come to a decision."

Denki relaxed back against the couch.

"I see."

Hizashi's phone buzzed. He checked it, and his eyebrows shot up as he read the message.

"I guess Recovery Girl finally caved. Looks like Eraser will be here in a couple hours. Get some rest, Kaminari. I'm sure we'll have some more questions that you'll need to answer."

Denki nodded and let his eyes close again. It only took a couple minutes for him to drift off to sleep.

*break*

"Slow down, Shouta!"

Shouta stopped for a moment with one foot on the steps leading up to the Musutafu police department and looked over his shoulder. Nemuri slammed the car door shut and raced to catch up with him. He continued up the steps. He reached for the door, but Nemuri had just beat him to it and opened it for him.

"Will you at least wait until I park the car next time?" she huffed.

Shouta rolled his eyes and entered the building.

"Did Tsukauchi get that autopsy report?" he asked.

Naomasa rounded the corner at the end of the hallway, perking up when he saw the two heroes. He motioned for them to follow him. Shouta strode ahead with Nemuri right on his heels. Naomasa fell in step with them once they reached him.

"I've got that report you requested, Eraser," he said, leading them down the hall. "We got Kaminari Akashi transferred here, but he hasn't answered any of our questions. He wants his son to be present for any interrogations."

"You can't be serious—" Shouta started, but Naomasa put a hand up.

"We haven't even considered it. Denki's been cooperating with us all day and is currently resting in my office. We haven't told him about Akashi's demands yet. It will be his decision, and we will respect it completely if he doesn't want to see his dad again."

Shouta let out a sigh. The three entered a room with a couple other officers already waiting. One of them was holding a file and handed it to Naomasa. A massive window gave them a view of Akashi sitting alone at a table with his hands cuffed in front of him. Shouta froze at the sight.

He's smiling…how the hell can he be smiling? Is he really that confident that the police will give in to his demands? Whatever his reasoning is, Kaminari needs to stay the hell away from him.

Naomasa opened the file and flipped through a couple pages before pulling one of them out and holding it out to Shouta.

"Kaminari Mayumi's body was found almost two hours away in Lake Ashi. The reports say she was on vacation with her friend, Kondo Aoi. Kondo called emergency services claiming Mayumi slipped off a rock, hit her head, and fell into the lake. When first responders arrived, she said she tried save Mayumi but she had sunk too low for her to find. It took hours of searching, but they ultimately recovered Mayumi's body. Cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, so even if Kondo had gotten there in time, it wouldn't have made a difference."

Shouta's eyebrows scrunched together as he scanned the document.

"So, there are no signs of Mayumi being electrocuted?" Naomasa shook his head. "Kaminari implied he was responsible for his mom's death."

Naomasa looked back down at the file and flipped through a few more pages.

"I don't see how. I doubted the cause of death at first, but after looking at the photos and seeing the rocks, I suppose it checks out if she fell hard enough."

"But you don't think that's the case, do you?"

Naomasa looked up, met Shouta's gaze, and shook his head again. A pair of hands slammed against the doorway. Everyone's heads turned, and Shouta's eyes widened when he saw Denki standing there, breathing heavily. His hair was sticking up on one side, and he wasn't wearing any shoes. He yawned and took a couple steps into the room.

"I heard he won't talk unless I'm there, so let's get this over with," he announced.

Denki headed to the door leading to the interrogation room, but Shouta moved in his way and gripped his shoulders.

"Kaminari, you don't have to—"

"Please, sensei, I don't want to put this off any longer. The police still need answers."

"Sorry!" Hizashi apologized as he walked into view. He leaned against the door frame. "He heard a few officers talking and sprinted here before I could get up to stop him."

Denki shrugged out of Shouta's grip and made his way to the door. He paused in front of it, his hand just about to touch the handle.

"Would you like me to go in with you?" Shouta asked.

Denki nodded. Naomasa opened the door and motioned them both inside. Akashi smiled when Denki entered, but it faltered when Shouta trailed in right behind him. Denki crossed his arms and took a seat on the opposite side of the table. Akashi's eyebrows furrowed until Shouta sat down next to him, then they rose so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. Any traces of his smile completely vanished.

"I thought more of you, Denki."

Denki didn't say a word. Naomasa dragged another chair into the room and joined them, dropping a stack of files on the table.

"Denki was kind enough to comply with your request, so I hope you'll keep your end of the deal?"

Shouta could've sworn he heard Akashi's teeth grinding together. Akashi shifted his gaze to Denki before nodding.

"Denki has given us as much information as he had about your men, and we're looking for them as we speak. Three have already been arrested in Nagoya." Akashi's eyes narrowed at his son. "We know you had more contacts than he was aware of, but we can discuss that later. We need to know how you got your contract with the League of Villains?"

Denki's leg bumped into Shouta's. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he could see his student clenching the fabric of his pants. His knuckles started turning white the longer Akashi spoke. He slipped his hand under the table and gripped one of Denki's. Denki's shoulders sagged at the contact despite Akashi's gaze never leaving him while he answered the questions. Naomasa shut the file on top of the stack and set it aside.

"Was Denki aware of your intentions when you ordered him to cut off communication to the USJ and asked for his location during the training camp?" Naomasa asked.

Akashi shook his head, but the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile yet again.

"No, and if he did know I don't think he would've cooperated. However, since you didn't have any problems sharing information, Denki, I suppose it's only fair for your teacher to know about your mom. She passed away just over ten years ago. Would you like to explain why?" Denki's nails dug into Shouta's hand. "You lost control of your quirk and electrocuted your mom. I tried to resuscitate her, but you did too much damage. There was nothing I could do."

"It was an accident—"

"You're lying."

Akashi and Denki whipped their heads to Naomasa who smirked at the villain across from him. Akashi's mouth opened, closed, then opened again.

"No, I'm not—"

"Do you really not remember that I made you completely aware of my quirk when I introduced myself when you arrived? Or did you think we wouldn't comply with your request so it wouldn't be a concern?" Akashi's mouth snapped shut again. "I can tell when you're lying, Akashi. I was going to question you about Mayumi later, but since you brought it up, I guess I can go ahead and ask about what exactly happened that day."

Akashi swallowed. Shouta glanced at Naomasa before he grabbed Denki's arm and stood up.

"Maybe we should wait…." he started but trailed off when Denki didn't budge.

"No, I need to know," Denki said.

Shouta sat back down, and Denki clucthed his hand again. Akashi's eye twitched, and his cuffed hands clenched into fists.

"Denki—"

"The autopsy report didn't show any burns or blisters on Mayumi's skin, so she wasn't electrocuted. The cause of death was ultimately ruled as blunt force trauma to the head." Akashi stiffened. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Akashi stared at the table. He inhaled deeply through his nose. Denki clutched Shouta's hand harder.

"She was one of my partners. She understood the business and she rarely questioned my decisions. I never wanted to hurt her. I wouldn't have, but when Denki's quirk manifested, she tried to take him and leave."

"She didn't want you using your son in your contracts?" Naomasa assumed.

Akashi shook his head. Denki started trembling.

"I couldn't let her go. One night, I came home early and found her packing a bag. She was going to take Denki away from me."

Akashi stopped speaking after that. The room was silent. Shouta winced as Denki's grip became nearly unbearable, but he didn't pull away or utter a complaint. Naomasa broke the silence.

"What happened after that?" Akashi didn't answer. Naomasa raised his voice. "What happened after that, Akashi?"

Akashi finally looked up from the table and back at his son.

"You had so much potential, Denki. You need to understand I did what was best for you."

Denki let go of Shouta's hand and stood up, his palms slamming against the table.

"What did you do to mom?" he screamed.

"I had to get rid of her. She didn't want this life for you, and she wouldn't have stopped until—"

Akashi never got to finish because Denki reached out and bashed his head against the table. Shouta wrapped his arms around Denki and tried to drag him out of the room, knocking over the chairs in his efforts.

"You killed her!"

Shouta's chest ached at the wail coming from his student, but he didn't relinquish his grip as Denki struggled. Hizashi opened the door to the room for him, and the other officers parted for them to get through. Nemuri led them down the hallway and gave them a clear path to Naomasa's office. Denki's struggles grew weaker the further they made it down the hall. Once in the office, Shouta sat him down on the couch and gripped his shoulders. Denki's hands were trembling. His breathing was shaky.

"Kaminari, what do you need right now?"

He wouldn't make eye contact. His hands shook even more.

"Can I be alone?"

It was so soft Shouta almost didn't hear it. He reluctantly let go of Denki's shoulders and took a few steps back.

"Of course."

Denki moved to lay across the couch while Shouta left. He closed the office door, clenching his eyes shut and leaning back against it at the muffled sobs that followed.

*break*

Denki sat on the couch with his knees drawn up to his chest. He rubbed his eyes. His cheeks were sticky, but he couldn't get himself to care.

At least I've finally stopped crying.

Someone knocked on the door to Naomasa's office. It cracked open, and Shouta peeked into the room.

"Can I come in?"

Denki nodded. He straightened up when Shouta entered the office and pulled up a chair to sit across from him.

"It took a lot of convincing on Chief Tsuragamae's part, but we've reached a decision on how to move forward." Denki stiffened. "For the time being, you're a ward of Yuuei. Due to the fact that Akashi's actions impacted the staff and students of Class 1-A, we're telling them the truth; however, we're presenting them with all the evidence we have of your cooperation and the recording from this interrogation. Only with your permission, of course. We'll then let Class 1-A decide if you remain in the hero course. If not, we'll arrange for you to either transfer to another department or to another school of your choosing if you would like. You'll be staying at Yuuei in the teacher's dorms until your classmates make their decision."

It took Denki a second to register that his mouth was hanging open.

"You…y-you're not expelling me?"

Shouta shook his head.

"No. You don't have any other relatives, so it's only logical that you stay with us."

"After what I did—"

"You only did what your dad asked you to do."

"But I should've known…."

Denki's voice cracked, and Shouta joined him on the couch.

"He's your dad. Kids should be able to trust their parents, and he took advantage of that. He did everything he could to make sure you thought you couldn't be a hero. You had no reason not to believe him. You shouldn't be punished for that."

Denki leaned against him, so Shouta didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around his back.

"Thank you, sensei."

He couldn't stop the yawn that followed. Shouta stiffened.

"Do you want me to leave so you can get some sleep? Midnight's wrapping a few things up, but we should be taking you back to campus in a couple hours."

Denki wrapped his arms around Shouta's waist, clinging on so tight he was pretty sure it was hard for the hero to breathe.

"Please stay," he whispered.

Shouta leaned back against the couch. Denki relaxed his grip and closed his eyes.

"Of course."

Denki fell asleep within seconds.

Only one more chapter until this story's wrapped up! Until then!