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.
I know I usually update on Wednesdays, but between my struggle with getting the chapter right and my 3-day headache (Thank you COVID vaccine!), it is late, so you are getting this on a Sunday, and it isn't quite as long as I'd hoped. Enjoy.
Constructive Reviews welcome. Flames will be flushed.
)_O_(
CHAPTER 16
Tokyo General Hospital, the next morning…
Enji stepped into the morgue, suppressing a shiver of dread. The last time he'd been here was to identify Touya's body, something he'd been unable to do as severely burned as the body was. His heart clenched in sadness. He wasn't sure where he'd gone wrong with the boy. Had he been too harsh, or too lenient? Whatever the reason, his wife and youngest son had paid the price. Stepping up to the counter, he requested the coroner's report for the date of All Might's fight. Skimming the names gave him nothing. He turned to the intern. "I need to see the body that was brought in on July first, the one with the severe facial damage," he told the man.
The twenty-something intern nodded his tentacled head and leaned forward, typing something into the computer. "That's odd…" the boy muttered, typing something else into the computer.
"What's odd?" Enji asked, moving behind the counter to look over his shoulder.
"It appears Doctor Daruma checked the body out for autopsy on the second, but it's not here."
"What do you mean 'it's not here?'" Enji asked.
"I mean, the body is registered as being in bay eight, but up until yesterday, bay eight was occupied by Daitan-san's body. I know because I cleaned the bay after she was removed for burial." The man scratched his head, causing the blue tentacles to bounce and flop with each motion of his hand.
"Can you open the bays? I need to confirm the body is here." The temperature in the room increased by several degrees as Endeavor's flames doubled in size.
"Y-yes, sir. Right away, sir." The man keyed a few more strokes on the keyboard and the sound of decompression could be heard through the closed doors beyond. "I-I'm required to record this, sir." He stuttered out, intimidated by the fiery pro.
"That's fine. Can you bring a list of who should be in which bay? I'd like you to identify the bodies as we open each bay. You are familiar with them aren't you, Tanaka-san?" He squinted at the man's badge.
"Y-yes, sir." Tanaka stuttered, grabbing a clipboard and following the Pro Hero through the door.
He ticked off the names of the inhabitants as they examined each bay. Sure enough, bay eight was empty. When they finished, Endeavor turned to him. "I need access to the security footage from the first through today. Have a copy of it sent to my agency immediately and get me a photograph of this Doctor Daruma." Enji ordered, barely waiting for the stammering intern to acknowledge his orders before he stormed out. Toshinori was a fool to think his enemy was defeated, they needed to prepare for the future.
)-O-(
Toshinori's apartment, same time…
Toshinori read the letter for a second time, cheeks blazoned with anger at his helplessness. That anyone calling themselves a pro-hero should turn their nose up at looking for a missing child just because they were quirkless made him question the state of hero society.
All Might,
My name is Bakugo Katsuki. Please help us. Three days ago, some bitch claiming to be my girlfriend took my little sister. I don't have a girlfriend. The police are investigating, and we requested the help of a pro hero, but the bastard told us he was too busy to investigate a missing quirkless girl. She has been missing for three days now and we are all getting really worried. She means everything to us. Mom has not been mom since she went missing. I'd go after the bastards myself, but I don't know where to look. Please find my sister since the assholes won't.
Your number one fan,
Bakugo Katsuki
Toshinori reached for the phone. "Hello, Hitoshi-kun, is Eraserhead around? He's not…I see. Thank you." He hung up the phone. Eraserhead was out of touch on police business. He dialed another number.
"Tsukauchi-san, what can you tell me about an ongoing missing person's investigation?" He listened intently for a moment. "I'm not sure if it is the same one or not, but I have an email here from a young man about his missing little sister who is quirkless." Rubbing his sore side, he sighed, "boy's name is Bakugo Katsuki. I tried to reach Eraser, but…" He rubbed at the crease in his forehead, frustration mounting. "I understand there is nothing I can do in my condition. Can you at least keep me informed? Thank you." Another two phone calls later and he was satisfied he'd done everything he was capable of to help the Bakugos get their little girl back. Best Jeanist and Edgeshot would be reporting to Naomasa within the hour to lend any aid they could. He leaned back in his chair just as his mentor stomped into the room and plopped a bowl of warm soup in front of him. "Breakfast time, boy."
Toshinori eyed the soup warily. Last time he'd eaten anything his mentor cooked; he'd spent a week in the hospital with food poisoning.
Torino shot him a dirty look. "Don't worry, it's leftovers from last night. I'm not going to poison you when you are too weak to fight it off."
Unsure whether to believe the man or not, Toshinori took a small spoonful. An explosion of flavor burst over his tongue and he sighed, thankful it was Kiku's soup and not the old man's pitiful attempt. Eating slowly, he flicked through another twenty-five emails, discarding several that were offers of sexual favors. His mind drifted back to the day before. Midnight was much more attractive in normal clothing, he decided. He'd caught himself admiring her figure several times while she was playing hostess to his uninvited guest. That pencil skirt she wore hugged her curves in a very complimentary manner. He shook his head. What was he doing daydreaming about a young woman half his age? Sure, she'd flirted with him several times, but she flirted with everyone, didn't she?
He forced his mind to think of something else. Endeavor. He'd sworn him to secrecy about Kiku before he left, but it was only a matter of time before his enemies found out about her. Maybe it was time to take a different stance on the matter. He hummed thoughtfully as he ate, ideas running through his mind.
UA Highschool, Training ground Beta…
"Kiyaaah!" The super-powered kick shattered the foot-thick concrete like glass, sending chunks of broken concrete flying a thousand feet in all directions. Cementos felt the tremors as the earth resettled itself and wondered what Power Loader's seismographs had registered that at. Kiku stood panting in a small crater at the base of the wall, the remains of thirteen other walls of varying material and thickness surrounded her. The entire training ground looked more like a disaster zone than it did the city it once was. Hizashi stood beside him, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Three-point-five, I'll bet money on it," the blond man said.
Cementos shook his head. "A thousand yen says it is Four at the least. She's getting stronger. You want to try her on the tungsten?"
"Not today. I think we should call it good for now, she and Hitoshi are scheduled to meet with recovery girl here in a few minutes. Same time next week?" Hizashi replied, stepping forward to the intercom. "Take a cooldown lap and then you can call it a day, Kiku." He watched the greenette nod and begin her cooldown lap.
Hitoshi slipped into the room, coming to stand beside them. He let out a whistle as he surveyed the damage his sister had caused. His training with the specialist was going well. She had been teaching him how to elicit a rise from even the dourest of opponents. She'd challenged him to try it on Papa-Shouta, but he didn't think he was that brave. He still hadn't figured out which underground hero Fukukado-sensei was, but he was betting Kiku would know.
The walk to Recovery Girl's office was swift and Kiku soon found herself seated on the exam table while the nurse performed her routine after-workout exam.
"Any sore muscles or stiffness?"
"No."
"What percentage were you using today?"
"Sixty-five."
"Any progress on the project you've been working on?"
Kiku shook her head. "No. I feel like I should be able to do something with all of that extra energy. It makes me jittery to keep it contained for long and we both know what happens if I try to keep it suppressed too long," she replied, remembering back to shortly after she'd started suppressing her quirk the first time. The buildup of excess energy had forced its way out in an explosive blast after a few hours, injuring her and destroying the top floor of the apartment building. Luckily there had been no casualties. Shouta and Hizashi had not been thrilled about paying for the damages to the building and Kiku was fairly sure her father had helped cover expenses for that incident. Shouta and Kiku had spent the next two weeks at UA with recovery girl figuring out a way to safely allow the excess energy to slowly bleed off over time.
"I want you to try something. Next time you are meditating with Shouta, I want you to try and focus all of that excess energy into your hands and only your hands. Don't do anything else with it, just see if you can do that," Recovery Girl instructed, picking up a fat syringe with a large tip and turning toward Kiku.
"Er, w-what is that?" Kiku asked, a slight tremor in her voice.
"It's a microchip syringe. Toshinori is worried someone might try to kidnap you or Hitoshi. He asked me to put a tracker in the both of you so you can be found quickly in case the worst happens," Recovery Girl explained as she pressed the syringe to the back of Kiku's shoulder.
There was a loud *THUMP* and both of them looked over to see Hitoshi passed out on the floor. Kiku winced at the feel of the chip being inserted as she looked at her brother with concern. As soon as the injection was finished, Recovery Girl picked up the next syringe and while Hitoshi was still unconscious, implanted his tracker in him.
He sat up a few minutes later rubbing the small lump on his forehead. He looked at Recovery Girl in concern. "You're not really going to stick me with that thing, are you?" He asked fearfully.
"Nope," the old nurse grinned at him. "There's no need, I got you while you were passed out."
Hitoshi's eyes grew wide and he began feeling his arms trying to figure out where she'd implanted the tracker. Kiku giggled, vowing never to tell her brother exactly where the chip had been implanted.
"Alright you younglings, off with you now. Hizashi-kun should be here soon to pick you up. Why don't you go pester Lunch Rush for some lunch while you wait," Chiyo shooed her two favorite younglings off with a smile.
)-O-(
Toshinori's apartment, a short time later…
Sir Nighteye was not expecting the door to be answered by the same Gray-haired old man who'd invaded Might Tower several years prior. He and Mirio toed their shoes off and followed the old man into the hallway. Gran Torino stopped and whirled on them. "Who is this young man?"
"This is my little brother, Togata Mirio." Nighteye explained, motioning the boy forward. Mirio bowed to the elderly pro hero.
Gran Torino looked the boy up and down and grunted. "What you are about to see does NOT leave this apartment," he led them into the living room where Toshinori was napping on the couch. Nudging the injured pro, he hissed, "you've got guests, Toshi."
Toshinori sat up on the sofa, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The green and blond blurs before him resolved themselves into his former sidekick and a young teen he'd never seen before.
"Hello, Mirai, who's this?"
"This is my younger brother, Togata Mirio," the foresight hero introduced the teen who bowed again.
"Togata? Adopted?" Toshinori asked, his curiosity perked. Last he was aware, Mirai was an only child.
"No, he's a half-brother on my father's side. I've been asked to take him in hand and have him ready for the UA heroics exam," Mirai explained, adjusting his glasses as he sat down in a chair, careful to avoid the over-sized wheelchair that dominated the living space.
Mirio plopped himself in the wheelchair with a grin. "So, what happened to you?" He addressed Toshinori, gesturing at the bandages visible under the edge of his dark blue t-shirt.
"A villain. I'd rather not discuss it at the moment," the number one hero replied. Why had Mirai brought the boy with him?
Mirio's eyes wandered around the opulent living room, noting the old comic book sitting on the side table. He picked it up and began to peruse it, tuning out the conversation around him.
Toshinori leaned toward Mirai. "Why did you bring him? I thought the idea was for as few people as possible to know."
Sir Nighteye leaned in, sunlight reflecting off the silver frame of his glasses. "I had a vision while you were sleeping, Toshi."
"You used your quirk on me, without asking?" Toshinori growled. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the edge of Gran Torino's cape peeping around the doorway to the kitchen. Surprisingly, he felt nothing at the thought of the older man overhearing their discussion. Nighteye appeared not to have noticed him, so Toshinori decided not to bring it to his attention. He was still more than a little bitter about the younger man's high-handedness.
"It was an accident, but I saw your death, Toshi." Nighteye whispered back.
Toshinori saw the slight tilt of head that indicated to him the boy was listening. He leaned in closer. "How long?"
"Five years, give or take a couple of months. Have you thought about passing it on?" Mirai indicated Mirio with his eyes.
Toshinori sat back and cleared his throat. "You and I both know that's not possible. It's also not something we should be discussing right now." He indicated the teen who was struggling to seem as though he couldn't hear what they were saying.
"Are you sure? Have you tried yet?" The younger pro asked.
"I said I am not discussing this right now." Angry at his former sidekick's persistence, Toshinori turned his attention to Mirio. "It was nice to meet you, young man. I hate to seem rude, but I have an appointment in just a few minutes, so I'm going to have to ask you to visit again another day." He hated being rude, but he was not having this discussion, especially with some unknown kid in the room.
Mirai sighed. Hardheaded as usual, he should have assumed as much. Toshinori was obviously irritated about him bringing Mirio along as well. He'd be sure to leave the boy home next time. As much as he wanted him to meet Kiku, now was clearly not the time. The old former pro followed them to the door wordlessly. The man's face giving no indication whether or not he was privy to their discussion or not.
After they left, Torino came back in and hoisted himself into Toshinori's favorite chair. Toshinori flopped back on the couch, careful not to jar his wound.
"A bit high on himself, isn't he?" The old man complained, pulling a taiyaki out of his pocket and biting into it. Toshinori didn't want to know how long it had been there.
"He's always been high maintenance. It was worth it when he first started out. He was a good sidekick while it lasted. Toshinori sighed. "I don't know why he thinks he has the right to use his foresight on me without permission though; he knows I don't like it."
"Five years, huh?" The old man polished off his Taiyaki with one large bite. "Have you given any thought to it?"
"Passing it on? Not really. I've been hoping I could wait a bit longer, but I suppose I should start looking," Toshinori mused. "I was shocked when Chiyo-san suggested it was possible. Personally though, I'm kind of glad. It's lonely at the top, it would be nice for Kiku to have some company when she takes my place."
"What did you think of the boy?" Sorahiko asked, referring to Mirio.
"He was trying a bit too hard to act like he wasn't listening," Toshinori replied. Something about the blonde unsettled him but he couldn't define the reason.
"I noticed the same thing. You think he told him?"
"I wouldn't put it past him. I think I'll look at the Hopefuls first. It will give me a few years to observe and search. I'll know when I've found the right candidate." Toshinori reached for the glass of water on the end table and took a large sip.
)-O-(
Keihin Industrial Zone, 48 hours later, shortly before midnight…
Shouta counted eleven kids in total between the three iron cages lined up against the wall. The varied in age from four to twelve, that was several more kids than Naomasa had record of, and…did that one have wings? He mused, gazing at one rotund pre-teen boy with bright red bat wings. Another child was curled in a ball in the corner and from the distance he was observing, he was unable to tell if the child was injured or just sleeping. A little girl, the Bakugo girl, was sitting next to the child, stroking its hair.
He slipped quietly out the skylight and pressed on the tiny transmitter concealed in his ear. "I count five perpetrators and eleven kids. Not all the kids are quirkless either, at least one of them I saw has wings."
"Wings? Red bat wings?" Naomasa's surprised tone crackled over the transmitter.
"Yeah, why?"
"Tsubasa Akiji, age eleven. Assumed to have died in the same house fire that killed his parents and sister. Grandson of the renown quirk doctor Tsubasa Uji. We were never able to fully identify all of the bodies in the fire, but the description is similar to him. There was no reason for us to suspect the two cases might be connected."
"Give me a few minutes to get into position. One of the perps is Lullaby and I've confirmed Toga is also with them. There's also a strange misty guy with them. They seem to be haggling over the price. I think he works for the buyer, whoever that is."
"Give us the signal when you are in position. I have Jeanist and Edgeshot ready to move at your signal and I can have Endeavor here in five if we need him."
Eraserhead grunted and moved into position, tuning out the radio chatter in his ear. Three minutes later, he clicked the earpiece in a two-pause-two pattern and activated his quirk just as the cage containing the winged boy and two other pre-teen children was opened. That was the moment all hell broke loose. The tallest of the three boys lowered his head and charged at the villains bulldozing into the first man who went flying much further than a person could normally fly. He dented the wall and slid down, already unconscious. The boy's momentum carried him directly into the mist man. The boy did not reemerge on the other side.
Eraser swore silently and flung his scarf at the misty man as he whispered hastily into his transmitter, "they have a warper." He watched in shock as the warper phased through his scarf, seemingly unaffected by erasure. The mist expanded, encompassing the other two boys in the cage and beginning to seep through the bars into the cage beyond. Shouta swung down, entering the fray just as Jeanist bound three of the perpetrators together with his threads and Edgeshot immobilized the warp villain.
Shouta made his way over to the cages and rallied the children, ordering the older ones to assist the younger and scooping up the prone child and the Bakugo girl in his arms. It was as they were hurrying out of the building that he could feel the warmth seeping into his shoulder from the older child's body.
He hurried over to where the ambulance was waiting, a stream of children flowing around him as they rushed with excited cries to meet their rescuers.
)-O-(
Bakugo Residence, Musutafu prefecture, midnight…
The sound of the phone ringing tore Mitsuki from troubled sleep. Fumbling on her nightstand, she finally managed to grab the phone and hit the answer button. "Whoever the fuck this is better have a damned good reason to be calling at midnight or I'm gonna whoop your ass," she snarled into the phone.
"Who is it?" The voice of her husband mumbled sleepily from beside her.
"Is this the right number for Bakugo Masaru or Bakugo Mitsuki?"
"This is Mitsuki. What the fuck do you want?"
"Mom, what's going on?" Katsuki's voice came from the doorway.
"I don't fucking know, I just answered the phone, go back to bed, brat."
"This is Stitch, I'm a sidekick at Best Jeanist's agency. We found your daughter, Mieko-chan. I wanted to let you know she is okay. They are taking her to Naru-Hutta General. You can pick her up there after they've cleared her…" The sidekick didn't even have a chance to finish as Mitsuki hung up the phone and turned to Masaru with shimmering eyes, "they found her. Oi, brat," she bellowed, knowing Katsuki was still lingering in the hallway. "Get dressed, we're going to get Mieko."
It was shortly after six-thirty in the morning when they arrived at the hospital, Masaru having managed to convince his family that the hospital would not allow them in to see anyone at that time of night. Mitsuki and Katsuki had waited impatiently, pacing the floor, until Five-forty-five before refusing to wait a moment longer, even though visiting hours didn't start until eight a.m.
Detective Tsukauchi intercepted them as they stood arguing with the security guard. "It's alright, Officer Juzo, I'll take it from here." He led the three of them down the hallway to a bank of elevators aligned on a wall beside a pair of vending machines.
"We rescued your daughter and eight other children. She's not physically harmed, but she will need counselling. One of the older kids there gave his life to protect her. I can recommend a good trauma specialist if you need one," Tsukauchi offered as they waited for the elevator doors to open. Katsuki was bouncing up and down, holding himself awake with pure adrenaline.
A short elevator ride later, Katsuki found himself staring down at his baby sister who was currently being smothered by the three Bakugos all of whom had tears running unashamedly down their faces. Finally freed of their mother's stranglehold, Katsuki curled up around Meiko on the hospital bed as the two slipped into the arms of Morpheus.
Mitsuki sighed down at the sight of her two sleeping children. "Come on Masaru, let's go get some coffee."
)-O-(
Unknown location, somewhere in Japan…
Darkness was all around him as he awoke. The sound of multiple monitors beeping and a strange *shwooshing* sound overwhelmed his senses as he tried to determine where he was. The last thing he remembered was that pest's entrails hanging from his drill-hand, and then pain, overwhelming pain. The sound of feet shuffling had his head turning in the direction of the movement.
"Ah, you're awake. I was wondering how long it would take," the gruff tones of Doctor Garaki sent relief through him. He was alive and safe.
"Where are we? Why can't I see?" Genten asked, attempting to touch his eyes, only to feel the pull of IVs at his elbow joints as he tried to move his arms.
"Careful, old friend. We are in my laboratory. You can't see because the Eighth did massive damage to your face and your frontal lobe with his punch. I was barely able to save you. You are on life-support and unless I can find someone with a quirk that will reverse the damage done, it will be a long time, if ever before you are able to be off." The old doctor explained, thankful his friend was slow to anger.
"Did he die?"
"Unfortunately, not. My sources have informed me that he lives, injured, but recovering, though from what I hear, he may never fully recover."
"That is…unfortunate, but workable," Genten sighed, wishing he could scratch his nose, it really did itch. And that infernal beeping was becoming quite distracting.
"The boy has been asking about you. He seems antsy and unfocused, not knowing how you are. On the other hand, it seems to have focused his anger at All Might," Doctor Garaki explained as he fiddled with some of the buttons and dials on the extensive life-support machine.
"Good, good, he's coming along quite nicely. I suppose we should allow him to see the 'damage' All Might has caused soon. Anything more on Shimura's other grandchild?"
"I haven't heard anything yet. Our contacts are laying low for a while. One of the shipments was recently raided and we lost most of the cargo, though the bit we were able to save seem to be shaping up quite nicely," the doctor reported.
"Good. Send my sons to me, starting with Tenko and tell Urashiki to report in too," the man known as All-for-One ordered the doctor.
…A.U.T.H.O.R.S..N.O.T.E…
Thank you to TodoBakuDeku2108 for their help with names and quirks. I am your #1 fan.
