We tied the guys up with the hair-rope I'd cut off one of them. Oddly enough, after it was cut off, it stayed a rope.
One of them started blubbering, until I threatened to hit him again.
A few minutes later, the police showed up. I stood guard over the pile of bodies while Endeavor spoke to one of the policeman. Wait a minute. I know that guy...
They came over and the policeman-No. He's that detective from the USJ incident!
He held out his hand to me. "Detective Tsukauchi."
I nodded. "Yea, I know. Uh, you were at the USJ Incident."
"Ah, yes! You're one of the students. Kitia, right?"
"Rune, but yes." How did he know my name?
"Right. Sorry. We've been investigating disappearances from this area. Both male and female workers have been going missing for a while. Some have been turning up again, but..."
"...Dead?"
The detective nodded. "A couple are still alive, but they were so traumatized that they have no memory of what happened and who took them."
I glanced over my shoulder at the men on the ground. "You think this lot are involved somehow?"
"It makes sense. They were about to take two women, weren't they?"
I nodded. "Yea. Makes sense." I wonder if they were taking them as guinea pigs for these drugs...
"I have a hunch it's something."
"Hm?" I turned back to the detective. Endeavor had gone off to tell the other policemen to corner off the area, so he was shouting orders.
"Trafficking."
I raised my eyebrows. "Trafficking? As in...Human trafficking? In this society? How?"
"I understand why you'd be surprised. I can't talk about it here. I'll meet you and Endeavor back at his office later to discuss the details so far. I'll see you then." He waved and walked off to talk to another police officer.
I turned to the men. The blubbery one was the only one conscious.
"Trafficking, huh?" I glanced around to make sure I wasn't being watched, then squatted down in front of him. I looked him right in the eyes. "You're going to tell me everything you know about it, and you're going to do it quickly."
The man stared at me.
I looked around again, and then summoned a small blade. I twisted it in my fingers, then pointed it at his throat. "You're going to tell me everything. Right now."
The man widened his eyes and nodded.
"These are the areas people have been going missing."
I held up my hands. "Ok, but question. You said trafficking. I still don't quite understand how people can be trafficked if they have ways of defending themselves. Quirks, I mean."
Endeavor, Detective Tsukauchi and I all stood around the table in Endeavor's office, looking over a map. Bits of paper with information written on them, also covered the table.
They looked at each other as I studied the bits of paper.
"What they're trafficking is that exactly."
I looked up and frowned. "What?"
"Quirks." Endeavor said bluntly. "They are trafficking quirks."
My mouth dropped open. "What? How...?"
"Now, that we don't know, exactly." The detective scratched the back of his neck. "It could be anything from selling them as slaves, drug testing, to selling their skills to someone who needs them. Manipulation plays a massive part in this, that we already know."
"Possibly an amnesia drug, as well."
I nodded. "The people who can't remember anything...Ok, so what else do you know about it? Who's doing it? Where are they going?"
"If we knew that, it wouldn't be still happening."
I dead-panned. "I'm obviously aware of that..." I sighed. "I just meant, is there a middle man, or do they just go straight to the boss?"
The detective and Endeavor looked at each other.
"We do think there's a headquarters, of sorts." The detective said slowly.
"A storage facility where the culprits can start the brainwashing process, start administering the amnesia drug and audition quirks. We've narrowed it down to somewhere near the industrial area." Endeavor pointed to it on the map, which was circled in blue. I looked over the industrial area, then the area circled in red where the most people had been taken from. Looked over the other areas, circled in orange and green, and shook my head.
"No. They're not there."
"What?"
"How do you know that?"
I pressed my finger to the green circle, then traced it to the blue circle. I did the same with the orange and red circles.
"The distance is all wrong. Red is the most people, right? Then is goes orange then green?"
The detective nodded, while Endeavor glared at me. "Make your point."
I sighed. "They won't be able to get far with a body to carry unseen, regardless if they're conscious or not. And those guys in a group of six with two girls is conspicuous, no matter which way you look at it. The base, or even a half-way house would be nearby." I leaned on the table, studying the map. I frowned when I spotted something. "Hey."
"What?"
"What's that?" I pointed to a little island just off the shore of a lake.
"That's just an empty island. It doesn't have any buildings on it, and it's privately owned..."
I looked up at the detective as he registered the information.
"It's still to far from the areas. How would they get them there?"
I scanned over the map and traced my finger down a narrow river. "All they would need is a simple fishing boat..."
"You're forgetting that there's nothing there." Endeavor sounded annoyed. I didn't care.
"There's nothing on the island. Has anyone bothered to check underneath it?"
The detective widened his eyes. "I think I need to make a few phone calls. Excuse me." He headed out of the office quickly.
Endeavor stared at me.
"What?"
"Don't get cocky over this little achievement."
I scoffed. "I wasn't planning on it. In fact, I thought you would have figured that out by now. You know, being the new number one hero, and all."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "You need to watch what you say, girl."
I opened my mouth, but just then the door opened and the detective came back in. "The earliest we can organize this for is tomorrow morning. We're going to send a someone to subtly check out the place, and if Rune is right, we'll go first thing. I suggest getting some rest and keeping your phones on you. Both of you."
I thought for a second that Endeavor was going to argue, but he said nothing. The detective bowed to us and he left.
I looked up at the man on fire. "We're not resting, are we..."
"Real heroes don't take a break. We're going to search around the area."
I shook my head. "Bad idea. If any scouts see us, well, you, they'll contact the person in charge straight away, and the whole set up will be cleaned out by tomorrow morning. The orange area. We've already patrolled the green area. If we do this area next, they'll assume we'll go here next, so if they're planning anymore abductions, they'll go to the green area, thinking we won't go back."
"What would be the point?"
I internally face-palmed. I could see now where Todoroki gets his impatience from.
"The point, sir, is to let them think we haven't figured anything out yet, except the areas they're kidnapping people from."
He stayed silent for a moment. "Then you will."
"Huh? I will what?"
His eyes shifted to me. "You will scout out the area, later tonight. That man you let escape will most likely head back to that island, if it is what you say it is, and that's where you will catch him."
"By myself?"
"I'm sure someone with your...abilities can handle a simple search and capture mission." He walked over to his desk. "Dismissed."
Without turning to look at him, I left. Where did he get off speaking to me like that? And what did he mean 'someone with your abilities'?
My chest tightened. What if he found out about my quirks? I hope not.
I went into my room and closed the door. I sat on the bed and pressed the button on my wrist, and a map popped up.
"Where are you...?"
I searched the map and found the little green dot. "There you are..."
I watched as the dot as it bee lined for a remote dock, in the same direction as the island.
"I knew it!" I got up to open the window. "I don't know if this'll work, but...It worth a shot." I flicked my wrist and a tendril appeared. It flittered away, towards the green dot.
I watched the green dot for ten minutes. It got to a bridge just before the dock, then stopped. A minute or so later, the dot shifted and headed to a remote area, which I knew to have abandoned warehouses. The green dot stopped and didn't move even after a few minutes of watching it. Good. I pressed the button on my wrist again.
I'll collect later. Right now, I need to prepare for an interesting next 24 hours.
I knocked on the office door, then opened it.
"Are you ready?"
I nodded.
"What do you need to do?"
I closed my eyes and recited what Endeavor said to me earlier. "Search and capture the criminal I 'allowed' to get away. If he is already at the island, call in to either you or Detective Tsukauchi, and stay out of sight. If I can't find him, assume he's already at the island and call in to you or Detective Tsukauchi. If I see any scouts, immobilize them so they can't run and tell their boss." I opened my eyes. "Satisfied?"
"You have a real goer on your hands here, Endeavor." Detective Tsukauchi seemed impressed, though Endeavor didn't.
"She needs to learn when to keep quiet..."
"You asked!"
He glared at me. "...In certain situations."
I pouted and the detective laughed. "Alright. Let's get this over with."
"Rune, are you sure you can handle this by herself? I can send someone with you..."
"She'll be fine, Detective. This is a work study, not an internship. This is how real heroes work, and she needs to learn that."
"Maybe so, but she still is only a child..."
I nodded to the detective. "I'll be fine. Worst case scenario, I won't find the guy. This isn't an overly dangerous mission."
"If you say so..."
I bowed and left.
I looked at the map in the palm of my hand. I was close now. About three blocks away. I closed my fist and kept walking.
Now that I had my provisional licence, any crime I saw while on the way I felt obligated to help with. It was annoying, but necessary. If I did nothing, it would be suspicious.
I finally reached the bridge, and made a show of looking around. I didn't think I was being followed, but I didn't want to make the mistake, just in case. Satisfied, I jumped from the bridge to the tunnel underneath. I followed it until it came to an opening where there were clusters of small containers and warehouses.
I looked at my map again and followed the green dot. It brought me to a small warehouse, barely visible in the shade of a larger one. I opened the door a tiny bit and slipped through, closing the door behind me.
I looked around until I found a small office. I walked in and saw the man from earlier, Sharps. He was asleep on an old mattress, wrists bound by my tendril still. He obviously had struggled, because the tendril had cut into his wrists. I watched him for a moment, fascinated that he hadn't woken up yet. He wasn't a bad looking guy. Decently built, but not huge. Dark blonde hair. Long legs.
He was wearing jeans and a loose shirt. I looked closer and noticed a chain around his neck. I reached out to touch, but his eyes opened slowly and spotted me.
He sat up quickly and tried pulling at the tendril again. Did he look...Frightened?
I squatted down in front of him. "I can take that off you."
"And why would you do that?"
"Because...I'm nice."
He scoffed. "You hesitated."
I smiled. "Mainly because I always get told how evil I am."
Sharps stopped struggling and looked at me why an odd look. "You are a hero, aren't you?"
I shook my head and sat down. "Not yet. Work study. What about you? You are a villain, aren't you?"
He hesitated, then sighed. "No. I mean, not really. I just want a normal life, but..."
I shifted forward and put my chin in my hands. "But?"
He smirked. He had really pretty, dark blue eyes when he was amused. "This life...It chose me, not the other way around. Someone like you wouldn't understand..."
I tapped my chin. "What if I told you...I know exactly what you're on about?"
"Huh?"
I sat up straight. "I'll tell you what. I'll take that off you, if you tell me your story. Deal?"
He didn't look convinced, so I leaned forward, reaching around to his collar. I subtly removed the tendril as well as the tracking device. I sat back and showed him the device. At the same time, he noticed the tendril was gone.
"Ok, so let's start with your name." I put the device back into the glove.
"I told you. Sharps."
"Your real name, genius. What's your real name?"
I looked up and he had a dagger sitting on his lap, gripping it. "Why do you want to know?"
I smiled. "Because we need to acquire some kind of trust between us."
"Then you tell me something about you."
I shrugged. "Like what?"
"How did you do that? That flying thing-"
"Tendril."
"-I thought you could make people use their quirks."
I sighed. You won't be able to hide forever.
"Look, I'll tell you what. I'll tell you my secret if you tell me one. It's only fair, and we clearly don't want to hurt each other. Deal?"
He widened his eyes. "You have multiple quirks, don't you?"
I lifted an eyebrow. "You're quick..."
He shifted, then got rid of his dagger. "Tojo. Tojo Gaku."
"Gaku, huh? Well, what about a secret? I told you mine."
He shook his head. "I guessed. And...That is my secret. That is my real name. You can pull it up on any system, and I'll come up."
"But...How is that a secret?"
"Because...This...What they're doing..."
I shifted closer. "It's on your file..."
He nodded. "Years ago, I was caught. I was only a kid, so I spilled hoping I'd...get out. It didn't happen. It made it worse. Everything got worse."
I frowned. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
I tried not to show my surprise. I mean, he looked young sure, but to be running with people like this...
"You're surprised?"
I blinked. "Uh, yea. Because...Well, I'm sixteen."
Tojo 'Sharps' Gaku smiled. It was a relieved smile. Somehow, it showed his true age. And how attractive he actually was. "I know."
"Huh?"
He grinned. "I'm like you. Well, not exactly like you, but similar." He shifted. "I don't want to be in this anymore. I never did. I...Can you get me out? Without the heroes involvement?"
I narrowed my eyes, searching him. He seemed genuine, but I had to be cautious.
"You suspect me of lying."
The way he said it was a statement, not a question.
"The situations I've been in...Safe to say I'm cautious."
He nodded. "I understand...Kitia."
I widened my eyes. "How do you...?"
"If you help me, I'll tell you. Deal?"
Intrigued, and if I'm honest, a little excited, I nodded. "Sure. Sure Tojo 'Sharps' Gaku."
He grinned and laughed. "Don't call me that. Tojo is fine."
I tapped my chin. "How well do you know the city?"
"Well enough. Why?"
I shifted so I was sitting next to him and showed him the map on my glove.
"Whoa!"
I smiled. "Yea. Whoa. Now you see here?"
He nodded. "Yea?"
"We're here. The investigation has led us here. The island." I watched for his reaction. He tried to keep a straight face, but his eyes gave him away. He was afraid. "Don't worry. Nobody will find you if you stay here. We don't need to come this way. If you don't feel safe here, I can call a friend, and he'll take you to my house."
"You mean your warehouse?"
I blinked. "You really gotta tell me how you're doing that...Anyway, Doc will look after you, but he'll be...uh cautious as well."
"'Doc'?"
"Yea. He's a literal doctor. My guardian. So, do you trust me?"
He hesitated only for a second, then nodded. "Call your doctor friend."
He tried to sound tough, but his voice wavered. That's how I knew he was honestly more scared of these people than trusting a complete stranger. I nodded and took out my phone to call Doc.
"Hey."
"What's wrong?"
"We have a situation. I need you to meet somebody and take him to my place."
"Him?"
"Just trust me. You can handle him if he tries anything funny."
He sighed heavily. "How badly?"
"We're investigating a trafficking ring." The words made Tojo tense up. I put my hand out and he took it, squeezing slightly.
"Trafficking? That happens?"
"Apparently. Please, Doc."
He sighed again. "Fine. Where am I meeting him?"
I took him and then hung up. "Alright. You better go now. I have to call in and let them know I haven't seen you. They'll be coming soon."
Tojo nodded. "Thank-you. I mean it. I wasn't sure if I could trust you, but..."
I nodded. "I get it." I pointed to my scars. "Not self inflicted. People suck."
He nodded, then turned and left. I waited a few minutes, then followed, heading towards the island.
The docks were quiet, and I saw no one. Doc had called to say he had Tojo and they were home. He had mentioned that Tojo seemed afraid around him and wouldn't get too close. Other than that, he had stayed polite and respect. Also grateful.
My phone buzzed and I answered.
"Anything?"
"No. Quiet. I expected at least security if there wasn't any scouts, but there's nothing." I peered around. "Hang on. I think there's a speed boat."
"You think, or you know?"
I ignored the comment and watched as a fast moving boat; No it wasn't a boat. Someone's quirk? I saw legs kicking and hands up like a steering wheel. The girls head was up the front, her hair acting like a shield from the wind in her face. So. That's how they were transporting the abductees...The girl sped through the mouth of the river and towards the island.
"Boat."
"Passengers?"
I squinted and counted. "Looks like...four. No, five. They have someone in the bottom. Covered. Another abduction?" I narrowed my eyes. "You didn't go where I said, did you?"
There was nothing but silence on the other end of the phone and I scowled. "Well, at least we know where they're going. Do you want me to call Tsukauchi?"
"No. I'll do that. I'm sending a few sidekicks over. Don't do anything until they get there."
I stayed quiet.
"You hear me, girl?"
"Yea, yea! I hear you! Keep your flames on!"
The line went dead, and I put my phone away.
Yea, like hell I was going to sit around and wait. I stood up straight and looked around for a boat.
I got to the island unseen, then looked around for boat girl. I couldn't find her, but I found footprints and followed them.
They stopped just before the base of a massive tree. I looked around. What made this tree so special? There were heaps on this island just as big. It was already dark, so I had to squint to see anything.
I shifted some tree roots out of the way and saw a glint of metal. Frowning, I reached down and found a metal ring. I tucked it and a trapdoor silently opened.
"Well." I murmured. "That's not creepy at all."
I left the trapdoor open, leaving it leaning against the tree trunk. I put my hand against the wall while I walked slowly down the steps. The steps and the wall were all stone. Not man-made? That means there was a cave down here this whole time... I wonder how long they've used this cave? I shuddered at the thought.
When I got to the bottom of the steps, there were fiery torches lighting the way further into the cave. I followed, listening for other noises.
I followed the torches for about five minutes, though it felt like longer, and came to a big, open cavern. I ducked behind a big stone pillar and looked around. There were people chained to the stone walls and locked in cages, but no one was speaking, though I saw a few moving around. I counted and got to eighteen. Eighteen people? Where were the rest?
"Hey!"
I stiffened.
"It's about time you lot got here!"
"Sorry, Boss. We had to shake Endeavor. The guy isn't as smart as he let's on." I heard the group laugh.
"Were you followed?"
Yes.
"No. The number one hero went back to the District." I heard more laughing.
"What number is this?"
I saw a man shove a woman in her 20s forward. She managed to stay on her feet, but she swayed a little.
"And what is your quirk?"
The woman muttered something I couldn't hear, and the man in front of her, shoved her over. "What? Answer the question!" The woman whimpered and the man sighed. "Just show me then!"
The woman shivered, then stood up slowly. She lifted the back of her shirt, and something that looked like a birthmark shifted and moved. It unfolded and spread out by her sides. Wings.
The man, Boss, circled her, studying her. "Can you fly?"
The woman nodded and muttered again. Boss stopped in front of her. "So, if you wanted, you could fly away?"
The woman shook her head, muttering.
Boss stared at for a second then lunged forward, grabbing one of her wings. I blinked and she was screaming, blood everywhere, one of the wings in the Boss's hand, the woman on the ground.
"Well, now you either can't get away, or you regrow another, stronger one." He pointed to a cage and the woman was dragged into it. He tossed the wing in with her and locked the cage door.
"I said I wanted 20. Why did you only bring me one?"
"We figured you'd rather one than none, since Endeavor was tailing us for a bit. I'll take responsibility for that judgement."
Boss nodded. "Alright, but I'm only letting you off this once. Fucking Endeavor...He's been on us for weeks! Has he found us yet?"
The boat woman shook her head. "I don't think so. I didn't feel anything tailing us from the water."
"Good. Good. It's probably a good idea to move soon anyway. Just in case."
I felt a hand over my mouth and I tried to hit out, but long arms pinned mine to my sides and I was hauled up.
"Look what I found! You'll have your 20 after all, Boss!"
I was stopped, stilling dangling, in front of this Boss. He wasn't massively tall, grey-green skin, thick goggle-looking glasses. His body looked like a patchwork doll, or something like out of a Frankenstein movie. His clothes were patched into his body. His quirk? Or something else?
The Boss stared at me for a minute, then grinned. I widened my eyes. His teeth were filed so they were all sharp as needles.
"Well done, Snake-Arms. I'm happy with this one! Everyone is off the hook!"
Everyone sighed with relief, except me. What was he going to do?
Boss gestured to a table that I only just noticed. It had wrist and feet binds. Surgical tools littered the table next to it and there was old and fresh blood everywhere.
I tried to struggle as Snake-Arms carried me to the table. They bound my feet first, then my wrists. The table was upright, so it was like I was standing. Snake-Arms never took his hand off my mouth. I tried to summon a blade or even a tendril, but I couldn't.
"Once you're in this area, your quirk doesn't work, I'm afraid." Boss stepped into view, cleaning a scalpel. "It's the binds. I worked out a way stop our...Guests, from using their quirks unnecessarily. The cages, the chains, these binds." He looked at me with pond water-green eyes. "There's no point in screaming either. You're too far from the city." He nodded and the hand was removed from my mouth.
If he expected me to scream, he's sorely mistaken. I narrowed my eyes at him.
His eyes gave away his interest, even as his face stayed blank. "Hmph." He placed the scalpel down and walked away. I didn't know where he went, but I wasn't going to show him anything but annoyance and indifference.
I lifted my wrist slightly, looking at it. What was he going to do?
