Tap!

"I'm sorry that I couldn't do more about that cut, Midoriya-kun."

"Don't worry about it, it's not bleeding anymore, so it's fine."

Tap! Tap!

Izuku ran his fingers along the gauze on his forehead.

Before they got on the road to get to Shizuoka, Tsukauchi was adamant that Izuku at least let him clean and bandage the cut he had gotten from his earlier scuffle.

Izuku felt fine and wanted to get going immediately, but the detective wouldn't budge.

It didn't take long for him to cave.

It took even less time for Tsukauchi to get the boy mended and on the road.

And there they were, an hour away from Shizuoka.

An hour away from mom.

It would be great news if they weren't stuck in traffic with Tsukuchi incessantly tapping his finger on the steering wheel. They had just over two hours left.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

It would've been faster by train.

We should've gone by train.

Why didn't we go by train?

"Midoriya-kun."

Tsukauchi snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you go back to your apartment?"

"Hm?"

"You knew where you had to go, and I know for a fact that you knew how to get there from the precinct. So why'd you head back to your apartment? You know, the active crime scene."

Didn't feel all that active.

It was almost embarrassingly easy for him to slip in and out. The few cops on the scene didn't notice a thing.

Okay, that's a lie, he did end up getting grabbed by an officer who happened to notice him on his way out.

He elbowed the guy in the nads and ran, before the word could get out.

It would probably be a bad idea to mention that to Tsukauchi-san though.

"I had to go grab a couple of things before I took off."

"And those things were...?" He started to tap his finger even more quickly on the steering wheel.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!

Izuku sighed, opening his stajun and pulling two items out of the inner pocket.

Seeing that it would be a while before the congested traffic on the highway began to flow again, Tsukauchi stopped tapping on the steering wheel to see what Izuku had pulled out.

"Okay, an amulet and an old lighter. What do you need those for, exactly?"

Pocketing the items once more and buttoning his stajun again, Izuku scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, I don't exactly need them. Something just didn't feel right about leaving them behind. Some really important people gave them to me. I feel safer having them than not."

At the end of his explanation he patted the pocket where he put the amulet and lighter, smiling softly as he did it.

Tsukauchi didn't broach the subject any further, simply nodding and turning back to the still congested traffic ahead.

"Ne, Tsukauchi-san?" Tsukauchi turned his gaze towards Izuku to see the boy fidgeting slightly.

"Something wrong? If it's the bathroom, I'm afraid you'll have to hold it." He gestured to the road ahead.

"N-no, I just wanna ask if I could take another look at that file on Akatani?"

"Oh yeah, sure."

It was lucky that he had the presence of mind to throw the Yamikumo Clan files in the backseat of the car before he went to cut off Izuku at the station.

He handed the thick file to Izuku, receiving a thanks from him, before turning back towards the road.

The still heavily congested road.

Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!

"What the hell is this traffic? Is there a thirty car pile-up down there or something?"

Izuku ignored his neighbor's grooming frustration in favor of reading the file in his hands.

"Mikumo "Yamikumo" Akatani, Age 23. Patriarch of The Omi Alliance's Yamikumo Clan. Indicted for several different charges of assault, fraud, public intoxication, kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and…"

"Murder." Izuku felt his blood run cold.

Tsukauchi quickly moved to reassure the boy, "Don't worry Midoriya-kun. I'm sure she's fine. The boys at the lab indicated that none of the blood on the scene was her's. And her fingerprints were the only set on that knife."

"Thanks, Tsukauchi-san." He began to read again.

"All charges but the assault charge were dropped."

He was only ten, but his mom had kept up with enough court cases for him to understand that getting even one of those charges dropped was a big deal.

Who was his lawyer, Ryūchi Naruhodo?

All that aside, there was something he needed to know.

He flipped one page, skimmed that and repeated the process when he saw that it wasn't what he was he was looking for. He continued on with this for about ten more pages, but he still couldn't find what he was looking for.

Where's his…?

"Ne, Tsukauchi-san?"

"Yes, Midoriya-kun?"

Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!

Izuku could swear that the detective's finger was starting to smoke at the speed that he was tapping it against the steering wheel.

"I can't find his Quirk Registration Form. Did the record guys forget it?"

"Quirk Registration Fo…?" His voice tapered off as he seemed to understand the question he was asked.

"Midoriya-kun, maybe you should check the first page again. Really take a look at the bottom of it."

The bottom?

Flipping back to the first page of the file, Izuku's gaze shot to the bottom.

There, he saw a box with words "Noted Proficiencies And Behaviors" typed just above it.

It read, "Akatani shows lack of empathy for most human beings, often mocking and belittling those that he assaults. Though, as shown from his disposition during his detainment and succeeding trial, he is a well-spoken individual, capable of taking control of a situation with a few well placed words and a smile. Physically, he has been shown to be adept in hand-to-hand combat, skilled enough to defeat a well known vigilante while being quirkless."

Izuku didn't even feel the need to read anything after that.

Quirkless. He's quirkless? But, there's no way he's quirkless. No way at all.

And as he came to grips with the thought of someone so monstrous being quirkless, traffic began to move again.

They had an hour and thirty minutes before the day was over.

Shizuoka Chou Police Station

"Why are we here?"

"Because we're out of my jurisdiction and The Yamikumo Clan is a few hundred men strong."

"We're wasting time. We only have thirty minutes left and we're here, we need to-!"

"We need some backup before walking into what I'm almost sure is a trap."

"But-"

"Midoriya-kun, you're ten. Admittedly it would be shocking that you made it this far without someone with you, but I'd imagine that a nutcase like Akatani would jump at the chance for some easy pickings, and if I lost you and your mother on my watch…"

"Tsukauchi-san…"

"Please, just trust m-"

VVVRRR! VVVRRR!

The sound came from Izuku's pocket.

VVVRRR!

Izuku pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking at the caller ID as he did, and his eyes widened.

He showed it to Tsukauchi and his eyes widened as well.

Because on the little LED display, it read, "Mom."

Tsukauchi quickly got control of the situation, "Answer it."

"What?"

"Answer it, I'm going inside to grab an officer."

"Why can't I come inside with you?"

"Because if that's who I think it is, we won't wanna make it obvious that we're at a police station."

Izuku didn't question the man any further, simply flipping the phone and pressing the answer button.

"Moshi Moshi."

"Midoriya-chan! How are you doing?"

"Akatani."

"Aw, so cold. I figured I'd give you a call. Time's just about up, after all."

"You got your facts wrong. The shogun wasn't laid to rest under Hollyhock and Tamaryu."

"Bah! You understood my meaning at least. The spirit of the shogun lies here at least. So, I assume you've made it into Shizuoka okay?"

"..."

"Glad to hear it! For that much, you deserve a reward. So, if you'll just wait a moment, I have someone here who'd very much like to speak to you. Someone who I'd imagine that you very much want to speak to, as well."

There was a bit of noise from the other side of the line. Footsteps, a door opening, two voices speaking to each other, before it suddenly settled and there was a new voice speaking to him.

A far more familiar voice.

"Hello?"

"Mom!"

"Izuku. Izuku, is that you? Is that really you?"

"Mom, it's me. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Where are you? Are you safe? Please tell me you're safe."

"I'm safe. I'm with Tsukauchi-san. He's inside, grabbing a police officer. We'll be there soon."

"What do you mean you'll be here so-"

She was quickly cut off, as the sound of the phone switching hands was heard.

"Midoriya-chan. I am shocked and hurt, right now."

"Put her back on."

"You know, I don't think I will."

"Give the phone back to my mother, Akatani!"

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands of me, Midoriya."

The playful lilt to his tone had disappeared completely.

"This game was between you and I. The rules were clearly laid out before you and there no mention, I repeat, no mentionof you getting outside in this game."

"..." Even if he wanted to speak, he couldn't. The words kept getting caught in his throat

"So… it seems, I'll have to incur a penalty."

Izuku didn't like the sound of that.

Click!

He recognized that sound.

He'd heard it in his training with both his uncle and Kiryu.

He didn't like the fact that he was hearing it then.

"Midoriya-san, I'm sorry about this. But I'm afraid that your son's broken the rules of our game, so I have to punish him. Please don't take this personally."

"What are you-"

Bang!

Izuku could feel his heart drop into his stomach.

No. This can't be happening.

"This is what happens when you don't follow the rules. A hero hopeful should know better."

Mom?

"I'm not so cruel as to leave you out in the cold without a consolation, so I'll say this. If you get here quick enough, you might be able to bring her body back with you. Feel free to bring your friends, I'll be bringing mine. "

And the line went dead.

And Tsukauchi, with a local officer in tow, arrived back at the car to see Izuku holding the phone to his ear, tears streaming down his face, and a single word on his lips.

"Mom…"

I'm sorry.