This was both how he expected his evening to go, yet also how he didn't expect it to go.

Rumours had been swirling through the underground about a group of robbers targeting grocery stores in the area close to where he lived. They were small-time, mainly targeting places with little security or that had very few heroes near them. It had worked out fairly well for the robbers since they had survived this long.

Then Eraserhead had gotten a lead. Eraserhead had tipped off Shinsou. Which led to Shinsou's current predicament.

The robbers had struck again. This time, a sidekick had caught wind of the developing situation and what should have been a simple robbery had turned into a hostage situation. One that Shinsou was now caught up in. To his credit, he felt he was doing a fairly good job of playing the scared hostage, trembling and acting afraid of the villains around him.

He was doing so well that the villains, as arrogant as they had become, hadn't noticed he was observing them.

The first of the villainous trio was a woman with multiple spider-like eyes on her face. Everything else about her seemed normal, so her Quirk was likely spider related. Not webbing, most likely to do with her vision.

The second of them had a tail like Ojiro did. One of his arms was covered in fur and elongated into a claw, bigger than the normal human arm that dangled uselessly at his side. Half of the man's face was also covered in fur, while the rest looked human. His Quirk was related to the claw and the tail, Shinsou thought.

The third and final member of the trio looked more human but had gauntlets on their wrists that looked similar to what Gunhead had. They wore a look of disdain as they walked around the hostages, sneering at Hitoshi to make him look away. He couldn't really tell what his Quirk was.

But then these robbers had made several mistakes. For one, they'd started operating in Hosu, home to the newest branch of the Idaten Agency. A group of small-time crooks were exactly the kind of villains the new head of the Agency would go after.

The second was not bothering to tie up any of their hostages. Tying up Shinsou wouldn't have stopped him from being able to stop them, but it would have suggested at least some level of competence. How had they not been caught sooner?

The third one was not taking the exit in the back of the shop when the police had shown up. Instead, they'd taken hostages and tried to exchange their safety for them going free. The only reason the police hadn't just tried to storm in was that there was a mother and her child in the store, along with Shinsou and the store clerk. That had worked out in favour of the robbers, at least.

The fourth was failing to recognise Shinsou. The fifth mistake was not abandoning everything and running when the rumbling of an Engine Quirk came from down the road.

Shinsou shook his head. They had chosen to hit a store within the patrol route of the new Ingenium. That Quirk? That was Iida Tenya's Quirk.

Which meant it was time for phase two of Shinsou's plan.

The practised look of fear slid off his face as Ingenium's voice echoed from the megaphone he had been given. "Attention, villains. You have nowhere left to go. Surrender peacefully, this does not have to end in violence!"

By the book as ever. Shinsou nodded to himself. That was his cue.

"Well?" The girl with the eyes, their leader, turned to look at him. "Aren't you going to answer him?" he asked.

"Shut up," she hissed. "You're a hostage, don't say a w-"

The spider woman stilled, looking at him blankly. That was one. Shinsou turned around to speak to the man with the gauntlets. "What about you? Someone should answer him, shouldn't they?"

"You shut your mouth. Maybe we'll rough you up-"

The man with the gauntlets gained a faraway look in his eyes. Two down. Shinsou stood up to get the attention of the man with the clawed arm. "This is the worst group of thieves I have ever seen. How did you manage to last this long?"

"Well, we only ever targeted stores that didn't have some dude with witchcraft skills-"

The final man went still. With all three of them under his control, bringing an end to their attempted heist was a cinch. "Walk outside the store. Now."

The trio, thanks to his Quirk, did not resist his order and milled out of the shop with the grace of a pack of sheep. As the police moved to arrest them, Shinsou let out a sigh of relief and began to stretch his back and arms out.

A quick check on the rest of the hostages, the mother and child as well as the store clerk, confirmed that they were fine. Shaken, but unharmed.

Now he needed to step out and explain the situation to Ingenium.


"Aizawa-sensei gave you the information regarding their attack patterns?"

Shinsou nodded and sipped at his water. Iida had requested he come back to the agency to explain why he just happened to be in a store that the Grocery Bandits ("Did they choose the name themselves?" "Yes. I am unsure as to why they wanted such an obvious name." "Arrogance." "Perhaps.") had decided to hit, refusing to accept that it had been a coincidence. Shinsou, who knew Iida could be trusted, simply admitted the truth.

"That would explain why several underground heroes recently became active in Hosu." Iida sipped at his orange juice as he gestured across the map. "Before, their patrol routes were in areas such as the Musutafu Ward and Jaku City. Aizawa-sensei must have requested the aid of them to track down this group."

"Why? They were small-time crooks."

"Even so, they cannot be allowed to run around freely. That is our duty as heroes, is it not, Shinsou-san?"

Shinsou waved his hand. "Not what I meant. But they weren't that strong. Why would so many of us be needed for this?"

"Perhaps he believed that the villains needed a reminder that the daylight heroes are not the only heroes Japan has." Iida smiled. "Heroes such as Deku may be seen more than you or Hagakure-san, but all of us are just as important to keeping everyone safe."

"I know." Shinsou rubbed at his eyes, stifling a yawn so Iida could not lecture him about improper conduct in a conversation. "I need to get going. My patrol isn't finished yet."

"Very well. But return here when you are finished. We will have a room for you should you need it, Shinsou-san."

Considering Shinsou's other choice was finding a warm alley to stake out due to his insomnia, he didn't need to think about it. "I'll take it."

"Good. You remember which room it is?" Shinsou nodded. It was the one on the second floor, between the two sidekicks who frequently argued over rice ball flavours. "Then do try to get some rest when you are finished. There will be paperwork to fill out regarding this case in the morning!"

That? Shinsou answered that with a groan. Because it was the IdaTen Agency, and they liked their paperwork to be done punctually and perfectly.

Maybe he should have run out of that back door instead.


Author's Note: this was a gift fic to Demyx on AO3. I'm posting it over here for the benefit of FFN readers. Hope you enjoyed it! This was my first time writing Shinsou and Iida.