Yu's words about this peculiar duo were enough to get the gears turning in Shiozaki's head. 'Hero Hunters?'
Come to think of it, she had heard about these people before. From what she could recall, Tetsutetsu had a run-in with them not too long after they graduated from U.A.. She couldn't remember everything that the 'steel' quirk user had said. But based on what he told her and the rest of their friends, the Fatgum agency was working on a drug trafficking case when their entire operation was uprooted by one of these Special Investigations Units.
But that was only one part of her now growing curiosity. She wanted to know more about these supposed "Hero Hunters". More specifically, what they were doing here and why they were all taking part of this briefing. And that went double for her new neighbor who was apparently a part of one of the illustrious groups.
Based on her initial impression, Izuku Midoriya seemed to be a pretty run of the mill kind of person. Which obviously didn't matter since she knew next to nothing about the man besides his name and the fact that he lived only a few doors down from her. But she hardly expected him to be some kind of government agent. He wasn't exactly what came to mind when you thought about stuff like that. She didn't want to sound rude, but he was rather plain looking.
'I guess that actually makes sense. People like that might not want to stand out too much.'
"Now then…I'm not one for taking longer than I need to. So let's get right to the meat and potatoes of why we're all here!" Chief Inspector Kaniko then said in her very noticeable Osaka accent, regaining the vine haired woman's focus. "First things first, as you all would expect…everything said in this room is sensitive information. So we ask that you keep the details about this on a 'need to know' basis."
Pretty much everyone in the room nodded before the woman continued.
"Excellent!" The woman cheered as she then grabbed the remote from atop the nearby desk and turned on the projector. For someone who was a part of some top secret government agency, it was pretty odd to see how casual and relaxed she was behaving.
"Our bureau has been keeping tabs on a specific group of criminals in this area that are known to participate in everything from drug trafficking to movement of illegal weapons. For the past ten months, we've been monitoring their movements and our director has come to the conclusion that it's time to act. Many of you know them by the name, 'High Point'."
"Ah yes, our department has been dealing with them for quite some time." The police chief interjected.
"That is correct sir, which is one of the reasons why we decided to reach out to you for this operation. We believe that a joint venture would be more efficient. And we think it would best not to impede on your jurisdiction."
"I see."
"As I said before, they have been on our radar for some time now. And one of our other Inspectors has successfully managed to go undercover and infiltrate their group. The information that he's given so far has provided us with substantial evidence that they are participating in various illegal activities. Along with the names and identities of their leaders."
"Question!" One of the detectives in the room raised his hand. "Isn't this a little bit too small-time for you people? From what I've heard, you usually take care of bigger fish."
That seemed to be the million yen question on everyone's mind. As far Shiozaki could tell, this 'High Point' group was your typical local gang. Heroes and police handle this kind of thing all the time.
With that, Chief Inspector Kaniko saw fit to turn things over to her assistant.
"That is a very good question, sir." Inspector Midoriya stated in a calm but confident tone of voice. "There are a few reasons as to why our director saw fit for us to come to you all for assistance. First, is that our team is newly formed and we currently lack the manpower for an operation such as this. Second, this will help streamline things for both of our departments. Time is obviously another factor seeing as we want to take care of this as quickly as possible. And finally…"
The orange haired woman then pressed the button on the remote to reveal a number of different faces and profile shots on the screen. Most of the people on there were pretty much unrecognizable to Shiozaki and the other heroes. However, there was one face that she definitely knew.
"This is the pro hero, Takeshita. Our investigation has revealed to us that he is one of the leaders of 'High Point'. I'm sure that many of you recognize him seeing as he's rather popular in this area." Midoriya then stated.
Shiozaki would be lying if she said that she wasn't absolutely shocked by what she just heard. Takeshita, a hero with a bamboo quirk, was one of the better known local heroes in the prefecture. He was generally well liked and you'd be hard pressed to find a single person who had anything negative to say about him. Someone like him being a part of a criminal organization was practically unthinkable.
"Oh my goodness." The vine haired heroine whispered.
"Well I guess now we know why they were called in for this." Shinji commented in a low tone.
"Are you absolutely certain about this, Inspectors?" The police chief questioned the duo. Obviously these weren't the kind of allegations that you would throw around lightly.
"Without a doubt, sir." Kaniko answered. "We never take action unless we've already built a mountain of evidence against a particular person or party. And this time is no different."
"So what's your plan?" Another unnamed detective asked.
"We plan to begin an operation in ten days to capture everyone involved in this group. That includes Takeshita himself. Based on the information that we have, that's when they'll have their next big meeting. Like my assistant stated before, we're currently short on personnel so we would like for you to participate in this raid well. Our chances of success are significantly greater if we have heroes and law enforcement on our side."
"So why call our agency specifically?" Shinji a.k.a. Kamui Woods inquired. "We're not the only heroes around that could help out with this."
"I asked Inspector Midoriya to put together a list of local heroes and agencies in the area last night. His research has concluded that your group would be perfect for the job."
"And why is that?" Yu was the next to speak.
Now it was Midoriya's turn to explain his reasoning. "'High Point' will have their next meeting in an area located near the forest. There aren't many heroes around who have quirks that would blend in to the scene. And my research showed that you have two heroes with plant based abilities that blend in very well. Which would improve the overall stealth and success of the operation."
"My lovely assistant here is a bit of genius when it comes to putting things like this together!" Kaniko smiled, causing the green haired man to blush slightly.
"I see." Shiozaki nodded in understanding. With her and Shinji's quirks, an operation in a heavily forested area would be perfect.
"We don't have any jurisdiction over what esteemed heroes such as yourself do. So this is merely a hopeful request. If you want, we can give you a day or so to think things over. To be honest, I was hoping to build strong ties with the local hero community since we're new to the area. And this seemed like a good opportunity to do so."
"I think they're trying to butter us up." Yu deadpanned.
"Why do you say that?" Shiozaki then asked.
"These guys hunt down heroes for a living. Which means that they have kind of a reputation with us. So they want to come off as friendly as possible."
Well, that does make a lot of sense. Shiozaki could understand how they think they must look to pro heroes. Especially asking them for help. But in her opinion, that was pretty irrelevant right about now. If the goal was to take down villains, then their occupation shouldn't matter. Besides, it was against her nature, and her faith, to judge people for things as insignificant as they're occupation.
The three heroes look at each other for a couple of seconds before they all nod their heads in affirmation. Even though it still felt a bit odd to team up with these guys, it wasn't without its own benefits. Networking and expanding your connections was an important part of the job. And it would be smart to get in the good graces of NPSC. Not only that, but if a fellow hero had truly decided to go rogue then it was their duty to do whatever they could to get him off the streets.
"You can count on us." Shinji stated confidently.
"Awesome!" Kaniko beamed.
"We thank you for your support." Midoriya said sincerely.
Now that everyone was officially on board, it was time for the group to begin laying the groundwork for their impending operation.
"Thanks again for agreeing to help us. We know this probably throws a pretty big monkey wrench into your schedule." Chief Inspector Kaniko said to the hero trio.
"Think nothing of it. We're glad to help." Shinji replied.
"Yeah, what he said." Yu shot a thumb towards her husband.
"In the meantime, I think it would best if we keep in contact with each other until the day of the operation. Izu-cha- I mean Inspector Midoriya here will be in charge of keeping you guys up to date. So you can just call him whenever you'd like. I'll be working with the police chief in the meantime."
"Actually, that works out pretty well." Yu interjected while smirking towards the younger woman. "Vine is already acquainted with him. So keeping in touch should be pretty easy, right?"
"I suppose so." Shiozaki simply answered.
"Really?" Kaniko turned her head towards Midoriya. Giving him a look of confusion, among other things that neither of the heroes could really tell.
"Yes." The green haired man nodded.
"Well, we'll leave you two to exchange contact information." The blonde haired woman continued before grabbing Shinji's hand and leading him towards the lobby. "Meet us at the car when you're done."
"Come see me when you're free." The other woman with the crab-like hairstyle said before disappearing into the hallway.
And just like that, the two young adults were now alone. Abandoned by their respective superiors to bask in the momentary silence before Midoriya decided to be the first to speak up.
"I apologize for contacting your agency on such short notice, Vine. Chief Inspector Kaniko made me put that list together late last night after we got our instructions." The green haired man said in an apologetic tone.
"It's no trouble at all, Midoriya-san. From the way you explained yourself in the conference room, contacting us seemed like the proper choice." Shiozaki responded politely.
Another brief moment of silence passed before the Inspector fumbled around with his jacket and pulled out a small, black business card with his contact information on it. This may have only been their second actual conversation with one another. But Shiozaki was immediately able to tell the difference in how he was acting when he was leading the briefing and how he was now. Back there, he was sturdy and confident. Right now however, he seemed a bit more tense.
"You can give me a call whenever you'd like. I always have my phone near me. If you or the other heroes have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me."
"Thank you." The vine haired woman accepted the business card.
"Well then, I suppose that I'll be seeing you around. Have a wonderful rest of your day, Vine." Midoriya then bowed one last time before turning on his heels and making his way towards where his superior said that she would be.
"You as well, Inspector." She said to him politely.
With their brief conversation now over, Shiozaki followed the man's lead and headed to the parking lot where her agency partners were waiting on her. And with no hesitation the woman hopped into the car so that they could begin the short journey back to their office. Even with this change in their schedules, they were still on the clock. Which meant that they needed to hurry up and get started on their patrols.
"Have a fun chat with your neighbor, Ibara-chan?" Yu asked her.
"I wouldn't exactly say that it was fun." Shiozaki replied. "But I do look forward to working with him in the future. This seems like it would be a valuable experience."
"Now that's the spirit, Ibara-kun!" Shinji said with a short laugh.
Later that evening once they were officially done with work, Shiozaki and Yu met up to embark on one of their weekly outings with their friends. It was typically something that they saved for the weekends since they all mostly worked during the week. But today was one of the few times where the group of heroines didn't have a mountain of paperwork to sort through at the end of the day. So there was no harm in having a bit of fun before packing it in for the night.
Thankfully, everyone was pretty good about restraining themselves and making sure that things never got too out of hand. However, to be perfectly honest half the reason why Shiozaki even came out to these kinds of things was because it was usually her responsibility to make sure that Yu got home safely. Mainly because the woman had a habit of drinking a little more than what she could handle.
"So, Ibara-chan…" Yu leaned towards Shiozaki with her hand on her cheek. "How're things going with that cute, secret agent neighbor friend of yours? Have you called him yet?"
Those words were more than enough to pique the curiosity of everyone at the table. More specifically, a certain green haired woman with sharp teeth and a propensity for deviousness. "What's this now?"
"Yu-san!" The vine haired woman shot her a disapproving glance.
"What are you talking about, Takeyama-san?" Kendou asked.
Itsuka Kendou and Setsuna Tokage were two of Shiozaki's former classmates from her time when she was still a student. After they graduated from school, they were all fortunate enough to end up working in the same area. Tokage was one of the rising stars of Edgeshot's hero agency, while Kendou was doing pretty well for herself working under Death Arms.
"Ibara-chan here has a new neighbor. He's an NPSC Inspector that's around your guy's age. And he is definitely quite the looker if you ask me. The two of them will actually be working together for a little while."
"NPSC Inspector?" The orange haired woman further questioned. "You mean like one of those guys that Tetsutetsu told us about?"
"That's right~."
"Now this is the kind of gossip that I live for! What's he look like? And why didn't you tell us about this sooner?" Tokage immediately began her inquiry.
All the vine haired woman could do was let out an exasperated sigh before deciding to answer her friend's questions. After having to deal with the 'lizard tail splitter' user for the better part of six years, she knew that it was best to just get in front of everything before she started getting any strange ideas.
"He just moved into our building yesterday actually. And I've only talked to him two times. Like Yu-san said, we're going to be working with him for a short while. But that's pretty much it."
"So you guys are going to be working with one of those…what did Tetsutetsu call them, "Hero Hunters"? Geez, is everything alright? I heard that they're not the kind of group you want to run across."
"We can't really say too much about it for obvious reasons. But yeah, only for a short while though." Yu clarified.
"So Ibara's getting some alone time with some super cool government agent? I don't know whether to be jealous or scared. What's this guy's name again?"
"Izuku Midoriya, I think. If that's even his real name."
And just like that, Tokage's fingers were flying across the screen of her cellphone fast enough to make you believe that she had some sort of speed quirk. It was only after about a minute of searching did a sour expression suddenly emerge onto the green haired heroine's face. "Weird, I got nothing. I guess this guy doesn't have any social media accounts."
"That's not really surprising, now is it?"
"Aww man, that's a total let down…" Tokage practically deflated before popping right back up in her seat. "Well…I guess the only option now is to go over to Ibara's place and get a good look at him myself!"
"Absolutely not!" The vine haired woman admonished. "I would prefer that you not disturb my neighbors with your usual antics."
"Fine, fine, I'll back off for now. But I definitely want to hear more about what you guys are doing working with the NPSC whenever you get the chance."
"We'll definitely try to keep you guys in the loop. But don't count on anything major." Yu replied.
While the ladies were having a good time drinking and enjoying some mildly unhealthy fried foods, Midoriya and Kaniko still had yet to leave their newly criscended office for the evening. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Inspectors to pull long shifts every now and then. They ended up staying late at least one night out of the week on average. But considering the nature of their latest job and the fact that it was only the two of them for now, both of them were left to pick up the additional slack.
"Ugh…." The crab themed woman groaned dramatically in her seat. "I seriously can't believe we have to do all this work when we're not even finished getting settled in."
"Well, it's not like we have much of a choice. This is probably the only chance we'll get to bring those guys in for at least another month." Midoriya replied calmly while scrolling through his computer.
"I just hope that we won't have anything else come up before everyone else is here. It's not a good idea to stretch ourselves too thin this early in the game."
"Don't worry, Kaniko-senpai. I'm sure that the two of us will be able to hold down the fort until the whole team is together."
Currently, the newly formed "Unit Nine" was comprised of five members, including themselves. One of their Inspectors was still working undercover with 'High Point', so contact with him was kept to a minimum for the sake of safety. Another was in the process of moving to the city, so she wasn't going to show up for another few days. And the final member of their group was on vacation, however he was set to return in a couple of weeks.
"Still, 'spretty crazy how we have to work with heroes on this job. I'm surprised that the director told us to do things this way. This is the first time I've ever had to do a seize operation like this."
"Same here."
"Oh yeah, good job on putting that list together on such short notice. I think that Kamui Woods and Vine will be perfect for this. Can't say the same for Mt. Lady though. Her quirk is way too loud for this."
"I'm not going to argue with you there." The green haired man chuckled. In truth, he didn't really have a job for her yet in their plan. At best the gigantification heroine was only going to be backup.
"So, Izu-chan~…" Kaniko then shot her assistant a sly smile. "You have some history with that girl with vines on her head?"
"I wouldn't say that." He answered. "She just lives in the same apartment building as me. I only found out about it when I was moving in. I was actually pretty surprised by it myself."
"And then you just so happen to call her agency to help us out with this? 'Yer quite the sly dog, aren't ya?"
Midoriya was quickly able to pick up on what his boss was getting at. Obviously that's nowhere close to what he was thinking when he put in that emergency request. But that sure wasn't going to stop her from trying to get a few jokes out of it in the meantime.
"T-that's not the case at all." The man slightly blushed.
"Ah…I still remember when you couldn't even talk to a girl without getting all flustered and turning as red as a tomato. That awkward little boy I met back when he was still a student has finally grown up and turned into a ladies man. I'm so proud." She continued with a couple of fake tears in her eyes.
It was difficult for Midoriya to not flat out roll his eyes at what the woman was saying. But something like this was pretty much par for the course for the infamous Monika Kaniyashiki. Thankfully he was already used to her special brand of teasing by now. The green haired man still had quite a few questions on how she was picked to be the Chief Inspector of their newly formed team. But what she lacked in professionalism and tact, she more than made up for with her skills. Ironically, that personality of hers was probably what made her such a stellar undercover cop before being recruited into the NSPC.
"Anyways, how're things going with that other assignment of yours?" The woman then changed subjects.
"I'm just waiting to get the green light. Given his quirk and overall skills, I should be able to bring him in without any issues. I won't even need any back up." Midoriya said confidently in reference to his other assignment that he was given to him by their director.
"That's just the kind of thing that I want to hear from my lovely assistant. I'm sure that little pervert won't be any trouble for you. Just let me know how it goes. Ya' know I hate havin' to send people out on their own."
"I'll be sure to be as detailed as possible in my final report."
The two continued on like this for the better part of an hour before it was finally time for them to go home. It had certainly been a long day for Midoriya. Especially with the new intel that they had concerning the 'High Point' case. But now the only thing on his mind was grabbing a bite to eat, getting back to his apartment and putting the finishing touches on decorating the place. And since he had the foresight to get his internet set up in advance, he would definitely be able to do just that.
It didn't take long for Shiozaki and her friends to finish up their fun for the night. It was still a workday after all, so it wasn't like they could stay out for longer than a few hours. But the fact that the woman didn't have to carry her boss' wife back to her house was definitely a plus. Which meant that she was able to make it back to her apartment building a lot sooner than what she had planned.
After getting off of the train, the woman wasted no time in making the short journey back to her residence. And she was on the main road in practically no time at all. It was only when she was about twenty or so meters from the front door when Shiozaki finally noticed another figure approaching the entrance. One that she had recognized.
"Hello, Shiozaki-san." Midoriya said to her in a polite tone as the two young adults both entered the building simultaneously.
"Good evening, Midoriya-san, it's nice to see you again. I trust that the rest of your day wasn't too strenuous." Shiozaki replied.
"Not at all. Thank you for asking." He simply stated.
"That's good to hear. I know that I didn't get a chance to say this earlier. But I look forward to working with you and your partner to bring down that group of villains."
'You can't really consider them villains the same way as those clowns you see on television. But heroes tend to lump everyone in the same category like that.' The green haired man thought to himself. "Well I'm happy to hear that you're so enthusiastic about it. I don't get many opportunities to work alongside pro heroes."
"I would imagine so."
The two then entered the elevator together and patiently waited to arrive on their floor. And with this time, Shiozaki took the liberty to keep the conversation going. Mainly because of the slightly uncomfortable silence between the duo as they waited to exit. "So have there been any new developments in the case?"
"There have been actually." Midoriya then said. "I was hoping that we can arrange a meeting sometime tomorrow to discuss them."
"I have no issues with that. I'm available tomorrow in the afternoon if you want to come by my agency."
If Shiozaki was looking directly at him in that moment, she would've noticed the slight twinge on the man's freckled face. For various reasons, setting foot in a hero agency wasn't something that the man was too enthusiastic about. But his office was nowhere near in acceptable condition to be having guests over just yet. Besides, part of his assignment from Kaniko was to make sure that everything went smoothly between them and the heroes. So it would be in his best interest to take her up on the offer.
"That sounds like a good idea. We can sort out a specific time later."
"Wonderful."
Thankfully, the elevator door opened at that exact moment. Which for Midoriya meant that the end of this interaction was now at hand. With one final bow, the two adults said their goodbyes before walking into their respective apartments. Agreeing to work out the details of their impending meeting in the morning.
Once she was inside her home, Shiozaki placed her bag on the coffee table and instantly went into the kitchen to fetch herself a jug of water. One of the downsides of her quirk was that she got dehydrated rather quickly depending on how much she used it. And today was a rather eventful one for her.
'I wonder how tomorrow is going to go?' The vine haired heroine wondered as she walked over to her balcony to also water her plants before getting started on her nightly routine.
A/N: Second chapter is officially in the books! This one was pretty much some world/character building for Midoriya and Kaniko, but not anymore than what I wanted this early in the fic. Obviously they have a more stronger relationship than just simply "colleagues", but more will be revealed in time. If you've read any of my other fics, you'll know that I like giving everything in pieces.
1. Midoriya and Shiozaki will be spending quite a bit of time together even after the whole 'High Point' thing. But I enjoy slow burns too much. Which makes a lot of sense given their characters in canon.
2. Even though Kendou/Shiozaki/Tokage/Tetsutetsu are my default group for stories like these, I'm willing to throw in a few more characters from the story that you guys want to see. I already have a flew planned cameos/appearances, but I'm fine with mixing it up.
3. Since this is an AU fic, there were some pretty big changes to the overall events of the canon storyline. And a lot of those will be revealed as the story progresses. I know everyone is curious about what certain characters are up to these days.
4. It's officially been decided, Midoriya will have a quirk in this fic. I was on the fence about it, but a lot of you in the reviews/replies/DM's made some good cases for both options. It won't be anything "flashy" since that would conflict with what I'm trying to do with this version of his character. And it will be a rather "situational" ability. But I promise that it will be an interesting one.
Like always, thanks for reading and don't be afraid to leave a review/comment. Have a wonderful day.