A/N Thanks for your reviews and support.
DiamondRose-413: thanks for your review, my friend. Omg, thank you so much. We got that fixed. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Tsukauchi's POV
Exhausted he walked through the streets. Normally he would be in either his work or home office right now. Due to unforeseen circumstances aka his boss finding out he had not had a break in over a year. He had his paperwork confiscated. It was annoying that they didnt trust him to take care of himself. Though he did have a pretty good idea of who told the chief. When he got back to the office on Monday he would give Sansa a piece of his mind.
So instead of taking it easy as he was asked cough ordered to. He was walking the streets to try and keep his mind off of things. Unfortunately, it wasnt meant to be as his mind kept trailing back to the next major raid they had planned. It was set for next week and it was a drug raid. There was nothing more dangerous in their line of work than a drug raid. No one knew exactly what the villains took or if they had more. All the planning in the world could go down the drain in mere seconds. That would mean someone didnt get to go home to their family.
It was that very reason that Naomasa never sought out his soulmate. He was afraid that whoever they were they would be used against him. Or that as part of revenge they would be killed because of his job. It would break him if either were the case. So he kept his distance despite the prodding from his partner. It was better to be alone than to be the reason why someone you loved died.
That was always on his mind right up until a green-haired child ran straight into him. The child wasn't strong enough to knock him over. Still, it was a surprise that shocked Naomasa out of his thoughts. Before the child could run off he grabbed them by their shoulder.
It was only then that he got a good look at them. The child was a boy who couldn't have been older than five and even that was pushing it. Were his parents not feeding him enough? Did they have financial problems? Did they need help?
Mumbling apologies the boy tried to twist out of his grasp. Tears were running down his face and it tore at Naomasa to see that in a child. Someone had obviously hurt this child deeply.
Naomasa soothed gently, "Hey there you're okay. What's wrong?"
Fear crossed green eyes as they looked up at him. It made his heart clench painfully at the sight. No child should look at someone like that. The boy tried to pull away from him. Naomasa kept his grip firm but not painful.
He explained gently, "Hey don't do that now. I'm a police officer with Musutafu Police Department. I want to help you. Can you tell me what's wrong?"
Resolutely the boy shook his head and tried to pull away. Internally he wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose. There was something wrong here he could feel it. This child was out alone in the middle of the day. A school day nonetheless. It was only during spirit awakening days had half days. Was this one of them? Looking over the boy again he spied a mark on the back of his hand.
With that, he had to revise his earlier thoughts. This child was at least six years old. That mark was just as dark as the one on his shoulder.
The boy said quietly, "I'm sorry for running into you. I can't say. I'm sorry."
Oh no. Naomasa wasnt going to let him go with just that. He wanted answers and he would get then. Tsuragamae could get angry at him for working on his off day later. The first priority had to be this child. Keeping his grip firm Naomasa bent to a knee. This put him at eye level with the greenette.
Slowly he pulled out his detective badge with one hand and showed it to the boy. Maybe if he was lucky it would alleviate his fears. Or not. Absolute terror went through the green eyes. They began to scan the alleyways looking for an escape. Damn it. This was not going at all like he thought it would.
His thoughts went to a grinding halt though as he listened to the mumbles. It seemed the boy had a nervous habit of mumbling whatever was in his head. It was only thanks to his police training that Naomasa was able to keep up with the world vomit. If he thought the tears broke his heart for the boy the words crushed it into dust.
Quirkless. This boy was quirkless and he thought he was going to be put in jail for it. Or worse. He thought that he might just disappear from the world. What was one more statistic after all? No one would miss a quirkless freak.
Before he could really think about what he was doing Naomasa pulled the child into a hug. No one especially not a child should think themselves a freak. The boy froze in his arms not accepting the hug but not rejecting it either. It seemed as if he didnt know how to respond.
Naomasa said tiredly, "Listen to me, kiddo. My name is Naomasa Tsukauchi a detective with the Musutafu Police Department. I am not here to arrest you or harm you in any way. Nor do I care that you are quirkless. A quirk does not define who you are or who you are meant to be. Understand?"
Slowly the boy nodded but he could see there wasnt any acceptance. He was just being placated to end this conversation as soon as possible. It would have to do for now not all problems could be fixed immediately. The first trust would have to be built between him and the child.
"Now are you safe at home?" He questioned softly, "Can you tell me your name?"
"Izu... Izuku Midoriya, sir," whimpered the child, "What do you mean safe at home?"
Naomasa thought for a moment before asking, "Do your parents hit you?"
There was a flash of fear and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded.
"Often?"
Another nod. Damn this was turning into an abusive household situation. Once again noting how thin the boy was he questioned, "Do you get enough to eat?"
This time there was a shake of his head in reply. Neglect and abuse then. That was something to go on if he could get the boy to come with him to the station. There was no telling what lies parents had told him about being quirkless or the police.
Naomasa said, "Come. You're coming to the police station with me. There we can continue and find you a safe place for tonight."
Green eyes watched him warily considering each of his words. It almost seemed as if he was analyzing what was said looking for any untruths. This kid would make a good officer one day. Then to his surprise and relief, the boy nodded.
Izuku's POV
Following the police officer to the police station was nerve-wracking. He heard stories from his mother about how the police would treat him because he was quirkless. That they would throw him in juvie without a reason. Or that he would just disappear because no one cared about the quirkless.
He didnt know what made him believe that Tsukauchi would protect him. The way he held himself reminded Izuku of heroes. This man was a protector and he would not let harm fall upon Izuku.
It took about fifteen minutes to get to the police station. Standing outside of the doors he gripped the man's trenchcoat tightly. He repeated that the man would not let him be hurt. It helped ease the fears somewhat. Onyx eyes looked down at him curiously but gently led him into the station.
A middle-aged woman was working at the reception desk. Upon seeing Tsukauchi she declared, "Detective you are supposed to be on vacation. What are you doing here?"
Tsukauchi replied pushing Izuku to stand in front of him, "I ran into this young boy. I need to talk to him. Do you know if Sansa is still here?"
The women's eyes flashed with recognition as she said, "I believe he is still at his desk unless he left while I was on lunch."
Tsukauchi nodded solemnly as he started walking again. They passed by several desks that were empty. One thought held a man with a cat quirk. Warm eyes fell immediately upon Izuku. He tried to hide behind the detective fearfully.
Sansa questioned carefully trying to get a look at him, "Tsukauchi what are you doing here? Who is this?"
"Izuku will go sit at one of the open desks for me?" Asked Tsukauchi instead of answering.
Grateful to be able to get away he scurried to a free desk far away from the two men. He watched them as they spoke in hushed tones. Every now and then Tsukauchi would glance over at him. It was only a few minutes later that a man with a dog quirk entered the room from an office. Izuku hid himself the best he could as the man went straight to Tsukauchi.
The detective's shoulders tensed ache was approached. Angry and indignant words were exchanged but he couldn't hear what exactly was said. Then the dog man turned to look at him. He flinched expecting to be yelled at. Dark eyes softened as they looked him over.
The dog man ordered, "Find out what you can, Naomasa. If his home life is criminal we can start on getting him into protective custody immediately. Would you take him?"
Tsukauchi replied his shoulders straightening, "I would sir."
"Good. Now ask the questions so we can get this resolved."
"Yes sir."
With that Tsukauchi followed by the cat-headed man came back to his side. Izuku watched as the cat man pulled out a recorder, notebook, and pen. After clicking on the recorder he nodded to Tsukauchi showing that he was ready.
Tsukauchi said after he gave the date and time, "I have to inform you that I have a lie detector quirk. So during this be sure to tell me the truth. Okay? I know this must be scary for you but can you tell me what happened. Tell me why I found you on the streets."
With briefest of hesitations he started, "Today school let out early because it was our spirit essence awakening day. I thought mamma would be proud of me. That she wouldn't hurt me anymore because I have spirit power. I can become a hero with spirit power even though I don't have a quirk. When my spirit essence awakened he called it spirit har... harmon..."
"Harmonization," supplied the cat man with a small smile, "It means you awakened with the highest amount of spirit power possible. That's good kid."
Izuku looked away as he mumbled at their confused looks he tried again, "Momma didn't think so. She yelled for me to get out. That she would not allow another "him" to live with her."
The two adults exchanged angry glances. Instinctively he flinched away expecting to be struck. His breathing began to speed up and it felt like he wasnt getting enough air again.
Tsukauchi soothed gently, "Hey there bud. You're all right. Remember my promise?"
"You aren't going to hurt or arrest me?"
Tsukauchi praised giving him a small smile, "Yes well done. Whether it is here or anywhere else I promise to protect you," his breathing began to slow again, "There now. You think you can answer a couple more questions?"
Izuku gave a shy nod. Tsukauchi began again, "All right does your mother hit you?"
"She says it's because I'm worthless," answered Izuku ducking his head, "I'll always be worthless because I don't have a quirk."
A warm hand touched his shoulder and he found the cat man looking at him. There was something warm and kind about his eyes. Izuku felt as if he could trust him just like he could trust Tsukauchi.
Tsukauchi praised, "You're doing so good Izuku. What about your father?"
Izuku shrugged as he said, "I haven't seen or spoken to my dad since momma told him to get out. I don't know why she did that."
The adults exchanged uneasy glances at that. The dog quirked man looked at the detective. Tsukauchi gave an ever so slight nod. It must be a signal Izuku realized. To show that he was telling the truth to them.
Tsukauchi then turned his head back to Izuku and said, "Okay Izuku that's it. No more questions about your mom I promise. How about some hot chocolate?"
Izuku's face split into a huge smile as he nodded. He wasn't allowed to have it normally but this man was nicer than his mom.
