"Speaking"

:Thoughts:

'Signing'

...

Tapping his finger on his desk Naomasa considered his options. It had been a week and a half since the drug bust. In front of him was the file on the vigilante. Normally he was annoyed by vigilantes but this one was different somehow. This vigilante Hawkeye was a good man. If he wasn't he wouldn't have come to up Naomasa because Shouta asked him to.

Hawkeye helped them occasionally. Usually, it was just him showing up to raids that would need him. There wasn't much known about him. His height and eye color were the only things they knew for sure. A quirk wasn't even something they could speculate on.

The only thing he really had to go on was the chat he and Shouta were invited to. A chat that allowed them to keep in touch with Hawkeye. Though it was quiet most of the time unless Hawkeye was working on something important.

Naomasa hoped that the quietness of the last two days was just his usual brand of quietness. Though deep inside he knew it wasn't. Hawkeye hadn't been on patrol in several days. This was not normal. Ever since his debut, he would take down every kind of criminal he came across. There might be one day at most two that he gone. It had been 4 since the last confirmed criminal was brought in by the vigilante. This made him nervous.

Suddenly his phone rang and Naomasa answered briskly, "Tsukauchi."

"Nao," came Shouta's voice sounding odd, "I need you to come to my location. Bring crime scene."

A ping announced that Shouta sent him the location. He asked worried about the odd tone of his soulmate, "Sho what's wrong? You sound odd."

Not only that but he couldn't feel anything from Shouta. That was extremely unusual. He normally could at least feel the other in the back of his mind. He must be masking the bond somehow. Not unusual if he was doing something confidential. But he was asking for the crime scene. It had to be something bad. Something he didn't want Naomasa feeling off of him.

Don't let it be a kid. He could take almost anything else but he could not take that.

Shouta replied, "Just get here."

It took them twenty minutes to get to where Shouta was. The hero was leaning against the wall outside. He looked paler than normal his onyx eyes were glazed as if he was looking for off.

Naomasa went straight for Shouta as the crime scene investigators entered. Shouta's eyes flicked over to him cautiously. Then they went to the door a shudder ran through him.

"What happened?" He asked.

Shouta meet his eyes as he said, "Ronin is back."

Oh. Oh no. Naomasa glanced around but Sansa had followed the crime scene investigators inside. He did not envy his partner. If Ronin was back that meant whatever the dead had been doing it involved some kind of trafficking. It was the only thing that would draw him back to Japan.

...

Izuku leaned back against his sleeping bag his eyes were on the ceiling. It was always difficult to sleep after killing as Ronin. No matter if it was justified killing or not. The most recent killing as Ronin had been by sex traffickers. He had been too late to save the victims. Many had been killed. Others had already been sold off.

If only he had been faster. Then maybe he could have saved someone. Even saving one life would have made the killing easier to bear.

Ping. That was his phone. A groan escapee him. If that was Giran again he was going to have a very unpleasant conversation with the man.

Izuku turned over. As it turned out the message was not from Giran. It was from the detective. What did he want?

Hawk's nest:

Pantsonfire: Hawkeye are you around?

Hawkeye: Why?

Pantsonfire: We need your help.

:No shit, Detective. Otherwise, you wouldn't be messaging me.:

Hawkeye: What is it, detective? I do not have all day for this?

Sleepyhobo: There is someone stalking our streets. We thought he was out of the country but tonight he proved that he was back.

Hawkeye: Who?

Sleepyhobo: The Underground calls him, Ronin.

Hawkeye: The assassin? You want me to hunt down an assassin? I didn't realize you believed in my skills so much, Eraser.

Sleepyhobo: It's not your street skills we are looking for, Hawkeye. You are just as good with a computer as you are with that bow of yours.

Hawkeye: That's a first. While you accept the files I send you have never asked for one. Do you want me to track them down, Ronin?

Do they want him to track down himself? That would be interesting? Possibly someone to take the fall? The Swordsman was still in Europe. With enough incentive, he was sure that he could arrange a showdown. Besides he owed the man for nearly killing him.

Pantsonfire: No. Can you make a working profile on him? We can take things from there.

Hawkeye: I'll get started on that.

Hawkeye is now offline.

Pantsonfire: Blunt as always.

Sleepyhobo: Did you expect anything else? It's Hawkeye after all.

Pantsonfire: No I guess I didn't. But...

Sleepyhobo: But?

Pantsonfire: It's nothing.