A BNHA fanfic.
My Hero Academia/BNHA is owned by Horikoshi-sama and all affiliated Media. I make no profit from playing in their universe.
Updates on Wednesdays…usually. I struggled a bit with this chapter, so it is shorter than I wanted it to be. Anyway, today's update is on Thursday. I hope you enjoy it.
Constructive Reviews welcome. Flames will be flushed.
)_O_(
CHAPTER 15
Toshinori's apartment, Musutafu Japan…
"So, what brings you here?" Nemuri asked as she placed a steaming cup of tea in front of the current number two hero.
Endeavor looked up at her as she placed a second cup of tea in front of Toshinori. "I heard he'd gotten his appendix removed. I came here to find out how it was possible to have one's appendix removed twice," he stated dryly, taking a sip of the tea, grimacing internally when he realized it was Jasmine tea. It had been one of Rei's favorites, he remembered, but he couldn't stand the stuff. It tasted like perfume to him, cheap perfume. He set the cup back on the saucer and set it aside.
Toshinori whispered a 'thank you' to Nemuri and stirred his tea. He not looking forward to the prospect of drinking it without sugar, but between the gastrectomy and the medications he was on, sugar was a no-no.
Kiku glanced from her father to Endeavor and then over to Nemuri, sensing the adults were uncomfortable discussing hero work while she was present. She picked up her cup of tea and stood. "I'm gonna go read over some of your fan mail for you," she stated, moving toward his office.
"Just remember to let me know if you find something that should be brought to my attention. Flag the messages from children high priority and I will answer them first." Toshinori instructed, proud of her for volunteering to sort through even a few of the hundreds of fan emails he received every day. When she had first offered to do it, he'd set down some important rules. One, she couldn't reply back. He felt a hero should answer their own fan mail and made time every day to address it. Due to his injury, he was several weeks backlogged. Two, any emails containing threats or inappropriate subject matter she was not to continue reading, but to immediately move to a folder titled 'the black book.' It was a folder containing any emails that needed to be either thrown out or the threats investigated. He had been adamant that she was not to click on any link or attachment that came with an email. The third, and final rule, if she ran across any email requesting urgent help, she was to bring it to his attention immediately so he could assign a hero or heroes to look into it.
He waited a few minutes until he was certain she was distracted before returning to the conversation they'd been having when she arrived.
"No other pro heroes arrived beyond the lower tier heroes and sidekicks that were already on scene. I never got a chance to meet young Lite Bright. The moment I arrived, both gangs joined forces and turned on the heroes there. I was in the process of dealing with them when HE showed up."
"You mean All-for-One?" Endeavor asked, still uncomfortable with talking about the heroes' boogeyman.
"Yes. I didn't even have time to call for backup. I was trapped between a gang of villains and my master's killer. As you can see, it didn't go so well for me." Toshinori explained, gesturing to his injured left side.
"How did you manage to survive a fight with that monster?" Enji asked, his mustache igniting again at the thought of missing out on a great fight.
A shrill beeping erupted from above them and Enji suddenly found himself doused in flame-retardant foam as the emergency fire protocols kicked in. Nemuri shrieked, surprised from the sudden chemical bath and Kiku came running into the room.
"Kiku, please go to the security box and type my pin number in to shut this off. It's the same one you use to unlock the computer." Toshinori instructed his giggling daughter.
Unable to answer from laughing, she hurried into the entryway. Moments later the alarm cut off. She wandered back into the room, looking around at the disheveled adults. Her father was sitting in his wheelchair, blond hair and most of his lap covered in white foam. Aunt Nemuri's indigo hair was plastered to the sides of her face, streaks of white foam still visible where she'd attempted to remove it and Endeavor, the man known for his lack of humor, was still perched on the sofa, smothered in foam and glaring at her like Yuki after a bath. She snapped a picture with her phone and darted into the pantry, returning a couple minutes later and passing out towels to each of them while removing the undrinkable tea. After everything had calmed down, she returned to the office, bowing and apologizing to each of the adults for laughing at them.
Toshinori snorted in amusement. "Sorry about that. We don't usually have to accommodate for fire quirks here." He straightened in his wheelchair, smoothing out the wrinkles in his damp shirt. He would have Hizashi-kun check his bandages when he returned, but he didn't think the chemical foam had penetrated the thick gauze. "A civilian saw the battle going on and called it in. Young Edgeshot arrived with the police just as I struck down my foe. By that time, he'd already stabbed me through the stomach with some blend of quirks he'd merged together. If he hadn't arrived when he did, I would have died right there in the middle of that warehouse district." His tone was somber. "We need to call a meeting of the Top Ten. I'm concerned about the fact that someone was able to impersonate a sidekick in one of the top-ten agencies."
"I agree. I'd also like to see the body, give me the satisfaction of knowing we don't have to worry about him again," Enji replied, pulling out his phone to check his calendar.
"It should be in the morgue at Tokyo General. I don't think he has much face left though, I hit him pretty hard," Toshinori stated. He'd expected to feel a sense of satisfaction at having finally avenged his teacher, but all he felt was the same unease and guilt he always felt when he was forced to kill a villain, something he was glad rarely happened.
)-O-(
Iwate Precinct, Iwate Prefecture Honshu…
"Thank you for coming," Naomasa addressed the gathered underground heroes as placed a steaming cup of black coffee in front of Shouta. The others had already been served their non-alcoholic beverage of choice.
The underground hero took a sip of the coffee and hid a grimace. Cop coffee always tasted like a blend of mud and manure well boiled.
Detective Tsukauchi slid a file in front of the gathered pros and clicked a button to turn on the projector. With the hand that wasn't holding the coffee cup, Shouta skimmed through the pictures and profiles of half a dozen children. "What are we looking at here?"
"These six kids, all between the ages of five and twelve have gone missing in the last two weeks in or around Musutafu prefecture, three from the same daycare center. The only thing all of them have in common is that they are all quirkless."
"How did this get brought to your attention?" Shadow Cat asked, thumbing through another file folder.
"They needed someone who could get to the truth of the matter. It turns out the principal of the daycare center has been taking money on the side to identify quirkless kids and turn a blind eye when they disappear. They brought this to me because the mother of one of the quirkless kids is rather well known and was making a big stink about the whole thing," Naomasa explained, taking a sip of his own coffee. He pointed to the picture of a small brown-haired girl. "Bakugo Mieko, daughter of Bakugo Masaru and his wife Mitsuki."
"Pro heroes?" Aizawa asked, picking up the picture for a closer look.
"No. The Bakugo's currently own one of the most lucrative fashion design studios not sponsored by a pro hero. Five days ago, Bakugo Mitsuki arrived at Corusca Childcare Center to pick up her daughter. When she arrived, she learned the girl disappeared at lunch, but no one notified her. Her teacher and several of the students thought the son's girlfriend picked her up, but I have spoken with young Katsuki-kun and he doesn't have a girlfriend. He recently spoke with one of her friends who said a girl came up to them at lunch with a picture of young Katsuki and claiming to be his girlfriend. She coaxed Mieko-chan into a green van driven by a dark-haired woman she claimed was her mother. From the descriptions we were able to get from the kids who saw her, we were able to come up with this sketch." He passed over a picture of a pre-teen girl with buns and fangs.
"Isn't that the girl wanted for questioning regarding Nakmura?" A gray-haired woman in muted browns spoke up. Shouta thought he vaguely recognized her but couldn't recall her hero name.
Naomasa acknowledged her question with a single nod. "From the sketch, we were able to narrow it down to several possible suspects. We think this girl is most likely the "Himi-chan" described from the kids' stories." He clicked on a projector remote and a photograph came up of a young blond girl several years younger than the sketch.
"Toga Himiko, age fourteen. Quirk: Transform. By consuming the blood of another, she can take their form for a period of time. How long is unknown. Reported missing at the age of eight, shortly after her parents divorced and her father remarried. According to Toga Himeji, her father, Toga-chan attacked his new wife after they informed her of a coming addition to the family. She fled before authorities could arrive and hasn't been found since, though she is suspect in several brutal attacks and is wanted for questioning in several other criminal cases." Tsukauchi finished his explanation. "We need any and all eyes and ears in and around Musutafu and surrounding areas on the lookout for information regarding this child ring."
The gathered underground heroes all nodded and began passing around files and discussing information. They slowly trickled out one by one until it was only Tsukauchi and Aizawa left. Naomasa sighed and rubbed his temples where a stress headache was forming. "I hate to pull you away from your family, but we think this girl is working with a rather nasty group of human traffickers. Tips have suggested they might be holed up somewhere in the old Keihin Industrial Zone. I was hoping you would do a bit of snooping for us."
Shouta grinned. It had been a while since he'd had a challenge. "My pleasure. I just need to let the family know about the change of plans. I will contact you when I have something more." The black-clad hero slipped out the back door of the precinct and merged almost seamlessly with the shadows.
"Safe hunting, my friend," Tsukauchi whispered as he pulled on his trench coat and headed out into the rainy summer evening.
Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo, Japan, later that evening…
"Breaking News. After a thorough investigation by the Japanese Secret Service and affiliated agencies, the death of Daitan Chikako, head of the Hero Public Safety Commission, has been ruled a murder. Details are being kept under wrap, but this station has discovered she was poisoned in her office sometime between 8pm and midnight on the night in question. Police are investigating any and all leads related to her demise. In other news, Number One Pro-Hero and Symbol of Peace, All Might is taking a temporary hiatus from hero work due to a ruptured appendix. Sources from All Might's agency stated they expect him to be back up and defending the country in no time." The news announcer's voice carried into the kitchen from the small television in the living room.
Sir Nighteye clicked off the news. He wondered which idiot was responsible for coming up with the 'muggleworthy excuse' as a character from an ancient pre-quirk novel once stated. He was fairly certain it wasn't Toshinori who had come up with the excuse. Given the severity of the man's injuries, it was going to take more than a few weeks for him to be in any shape to do more hero work, even if they were able to get the UA nurse to speed things along. He made a mental note to drop in on him in the next few days to have a discussion with him about the future of his career and the vision he hadn't understood at the time and which, he had to admit still made little sense to him now. What he'd seen wasn't possible was it?
He glanced up as his brother wandered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Mirai-Oniisan, what's for dinner?" the blond boy whined, pulling a bag of leftover fried chicken legs from the refrigerator . Mirai shuddered as the thirteen-year-old began consuming the chicken legs cold. Sure, they were fully cooked, but eating breaded chicken cold was just nasty in his mind. He shot a glance at the muscular teen. "I was thinking Ramen. There's a new place in Shibuya I thought we'd try."
"Mmmm, can I bring Tamaki with us?" his brother mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Mirai winced at his brother's manners. "Perhaps if you ask me again when you are finished eating and for the hundred and eighth time, don't talk with your mouth full," the older man demanded barely resisting the urge to pull his hair out.
Mirio chewed quickly and swallowed the large mouthful of chicken. Tossing the rest of the uneaten bag back into the refrigerator he turned back to his elder brother turned guardian, "can we please invite Tamaki to dinner with us?" He asked in his most formal manner.
"Yes, I suppose, however, you must first make a visit to the tickle machine as punishment for talking with your mouth full and then spend an hour working on the exercises, I assigned you for your quirk."
A resigned sigh escaped the boy. He knew better than to argue about punishment. At least it was mild compared to what their father would have done if he had been the one to catch him ignoring his manners. Mirio headed down the hall to the training room, glad he was already in his workout gear. In the last couple of weeks, oniisan had upped his training regime. Mirio wondered what the rush was; they still had two years until he could apply to UA.
Mirai watched his brother as he practiced phasing through various objects. He was coming along nicely with his quirk training. He would be ready when it was time to apply to UA.
"One leg and half the body," the blonde boy mumbled under his breath as he focused on trying to make only half his body intangible at once. He grimaced as once again his entire body became permeable. Phasing back, he reached down and pulled his pants back on for the fifth time. That was the part he hated most about his quirk, not being able to move through objects without losing his clothing. He tried again, crowing with joy as he managed to make his arm intangible while leaving the remainder of his body solid on the other side of the cement wall. He focused on how the different parts of his body felt. Slowly his shoulder and the left side of his body became impermeable as well.
"That's enough for today Mirio, let's go pick up Amajiki-kun."
Mirio's concentration was broken with his brother's words and he suddenly found himself completely solid with most of one arm trapped within the concrete wall. "Wha-aa. Mirai, help!"
Mirai sighed. He hadn't meant to startle the boy, but this would be a good lesson on learning how to focus while distracted, something they would start incorporating into future lessons, he decided as he moved closer to his brother.
"Take a deep breath and think back to what you were just doing a moment ago. Don't panic. If you panic, you won't be able to focus on getting free."
Mirio nodded and took a slow deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He turned his attention back to his arm, just now realizing he couldn't feel any sensation from the part of his arm stuck in the wall. Concentrating hard, he watched as his shoulder and upper arm slowly became permeable. Visualizing the rest of his arm, he concentrated on pushing the permeation sensation down into the portion of his arm he couldn't feel. A few moments later, he managed to slide his arm free of the cement block. He rubbed the appendage which was now registering all the pain he couldn't feel moments ago. Tears trickled down his cheeks as he tried not to scream.
Mirai pinched the bridge of his nose and moved to the cabinet for the first-aid kit. "I think we should make a quick stop at the hospital before dinner. I will call Amajiki-san and let her know we will be late picking Tamaki-kun up." He carried the kit over and withdrew a sling which he helped Mirio place his arm in.
)-O-(
*CREATI HAS ENTERED THE CHAT*
INGENIUM 2.0: Good evening Creati. How was the shopping trip?
CREATI: It was great. Val and I got to go to Onsen Josei before Kayama-san and Shuzenji-san took us to the Ginza.
ALIEN QUEEN: No way! Ginza? The most expensive shopping district in Tokyo? I knew your parents were loaded, but I wasn't aware Val's were.
*VALKYRIE HAS ENTERED THE CHAT*
VALKYRIE: I2, sorry about the question I asked you after the fight in the park.
INGENIUM 2.0: What question...OH, OH! That's OK. We can pretend like it didn't happen.
CREATI: What are we talking about?
VALKYRIE: Remember last night I told you I asked I2 a question about something a kid at the park said and he wouldn't tell me? Well, I asked my dad and he tried explaining it to me. Most awkward moment, ever. I am sorry I ever asked.
ALIEN QUEEN: Now I've got to know. What could possibly be so horrifying the fearless Val is afraid of it.
VALKYRIE: Some boy at the park used a term I didn't know. I2 refused to tell me what it meant.
INGENIUM 2.0: Rightfully so.
VALKYRIE: So...I asked my dad, and I got a very confusing and very embarrassing explanation about anatomy and body parts and boys and girls and it was just gross, and I don't want to talk about it like EVER again. I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or dad. Even the conversation last night with Auntie Nem was super embarrassing.
CREATI: Tell me about it! I can't believe my mom foisted a conversation like that off of her. That was soooo embarrassing.
TAIL MAN: Dad? Don't you usually refer to both of your dads as 'Papa?' When did you start calling them 'dad'?
VALKYRIE: Uh, just a slip of the tongue. Anyway, I'm being called for dinner, gotta go.
*VALKYRIE HAS LEFT THE CHAT*
ALIEN QUEEN: You ever get the feeling she's not telling us everything?
SHOTO: How so?
TAIL MAN: Didn't you notice how she just totally dodged the question?
*RED RIOT HAS JOINED THE CHAT*
RED RIOT: Hey, what are we all talking about?
SHOTO: We think Kiku has a secret.
CREATI: Correction, we know Kiku has a secret.
INGENIUM 2.0: I think we should leave well enough alone. Some people have reasons for keeping secrets.
ALIEN QUEEN: We are her friends; she should be able to trust us.
CREATI: Exactly.
TAIL MAN: I think she must be in touch with her biological father, whoever he is. That's the only thing that makes sense.
CREATI: Wouldn't she have told us?
SHOTO: Not necessarily.
TAIL MAN: What does that mean.
SHOTO: It means maybe she hasn't said anything for a reason.
INGENIUM 2.0: He's right, it's possible she isn't allowed to talk about her bio-dad. There could be several reasons for this.
ALIEN QUEEN: Maybe he's a government agent.
RED RIOT: Maybe her father is a villain.
SHOTO: Perhaps my theory is correct after all.
ALIEN QUEEN: Theory? What theory? Time to spill.
MIND BENDER: Perhaps people keep secrets for their safety or the safety of others. This discussion is over. Please don't discuss any of these theories on a public chat.
*MODERATOR CAT MAN HAS ENTERED THE CHAT*
CAT MAN: This is an unsecured chat forum. Some topics are closed for discussion. I am closing the chat for the evening. Please take this evening to think about the reasons why a person may choose not to share a secret with their closest friends. Good Night problem children.
*CAT MAN AND MIND BENDER HAVE LEFT THE CHAT*
*UA HOPEFULS CHAT HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY CLOSED*
)-O-(
*INGENIUM 2.0 HAS CREATED A SECURE CHAT*
*INGENIUM 2.0 HAS INVITED SHOTO*
INGENIUM 2.0: Seriously? Why would you bring THAT theory up in the group chat?
SHOTO: I still think it's a possibility.
INGENIUM 2.0: As the son of the #2 hero, you should know just how dangerous it would be if what you suspect ever reached the ears of the public, or his enemies.
SHOTO: How long have you known?
INGENIUM 2.0: Since we were five and Tensei took me to that Heroes gala. Your dad brought you and your older siblings. I think your mom was there too. You are the only boy I have ever met who has hair perfectly split between red & white.
SHOTO: You aren't going to tell the others, are you?
INGENIUM 2.0: No, but I don't think it will be long before Val figures it out.
SHOTO: I don't mind if she knows.
INGENIUM 2.0: Anyway, your theory is probably correct, I've suspected the same for years, but think about how much danger she would be in if the truth were to become public knowledge. There is a reason the heroes in pre-quirk comic books and manga keep their identities secret. Oniisan suspects too, but he explained just how dangerous his enemies are. Imagine how much MORE dangerous the enemies HE has must be.
SHOTO: You are right. I think we all owe her an apology. We shouldn't have been talking behind her back anyway.
…A.U.T.H.O.R.S..N.O.T.E…
Name Drop, well sort of, "muggleworthy" is a term from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series.
This next Arc will take us up through the next few years until we meet up with the Canon timeline, though this story will be NOTHING like Canon.
Thank you to TodoBakuDeku2108 for their help with names and quirks. I am your #1 fan.
