"Oh? You must be the detective we've been expecting." Captain Ito's voice boomed throughout the tiny police station. Everything about this man was large and loud, and reminded Tsukauchi of the friendly giant from his childhood story book. "Though we were thinking you'd be a bit earlier."
"Heh, sorry about that." Detective Tsukauchi rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment. The plan for that morning when he and Eraserhead had parted ways was to go home and grab a quick nap, afterwards cleaning up and heading out to the police station. What had ended up happening however, is as soon as his head hit the pillow he may as well have been dead to the world for several hours. "I guess my lack of sleep finally caught up to me."
"Not to worry!" Ito let out a boisterous laugh as he smacked Tsukauchi on the back, causing the detective to stumble forward. "You're here now and that's all that matters."
"Right." The detective cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Let me show you to my office and we can discuss your case. I must say we don't usually get visitors of your pedigree around here, your reputation precedes you Detective" Ito's voice carried a light heartedness about it as the large man held out his hand guiding the detective through the small set of offices, to a glass office at the back of the room with the words "Captain" printed across frosted glass upon his door. "You're in luck as it's directly on the way to the coffee machine here too! While we may not have most of the toys of say, the Mustafa headquarters, we definitely have routed our budget to some rather good coffee, If I do say so myself." The man chuckled as they began walking.
Detective Tsukauchi's eyes flitted around, taking in his surroundings as they continued through the small station, noting idly the habits of the officers and detectives in the small building. A small stop at the obviously well used coffee machine had him a minute longer to put together some thoughts in his head; he wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion that was slowly fading from his mind but there was something scratching at the back of his mind attempting to gain his attention to it. It wasn't an obvious thing, and it took him a bit longer than it should have to realize what it was; every person in there was eyeing him as he walked by.
Not the usual side glance of the new rookie in the station, but a serious casing and glance taking in a possible threat. Once that thought finally slammed into place the rest of the inconsistencies around the office suddenly rang too loud for him to ignore; the rather carefree officials here looked wound tight, almost as if ready at any moment for a villian attack to happen here inside the station, their actions were measured and without much movement wasted, their eyes were always sharp and perspective. Originally he had assumed it was laziness and perhaps even incompetence preventing the investigation into Whisper, but clearly there was something else going on.
He should have been paying attention to whatever Captain Ito was saying - Tsukauchi knew this- but as his booming voice was making small talk with two beat patrol officers at the coffee station he couldn't help but voicing aloud.
"Why are your officer's not looking harder into the vigilante Whisper?" The second the words left his lips he knew a mistake had been made, for the already debatably tense atmosphere in the office suddenly wound tightly to a whole new level that would've made him reaching for his sidearm had he not known he was safely in a police station. He looked back as he saw Ito motion the two now frowning almost glaring patrol man away, the smile and friendly look on the captain's face once open and glowing was nothing more than a mask, still present but the man's amethyst eyes had once shown jovially now took an almost glacial sheen.
"A conversation, better for my office, detective." His open hand leading towards his doorway was less inviting now and more guiding. Tsukauchi moved forward to the captains office without delay, accepting the cup of coffee Captain Ito still placed into his hand as he moved into the office. He found himself almost startled at the sound of the door closing immediately behind him thinking he was being locked inside until he noticed Ito already in the room with him.
For such a large and boisterous man the giant was incredibly quick and quiet. Tsukauchi smiled to himself at the thought.
Flipping a switch beside his door the clear glass overlooking the rest of the desks of the precinct suddenly frosted over making it impossible to see outside or in. Captain Ito sighed loudly before moving to his desk, offering the open seat upon the other side to his guest that Tsukauchi was more than happy to accept.
Regardless of whether or not asking the previous question was essentially setting off a bomb, Tsukauchi was a veteran detective that wouldn't be bullied, he came here for answers and he would get them.
"Whisper is an unknown suspect that is currently believed to be multiple people using the same alias to disguise their clever use for committing illegal Quirk Use Crimes. Our detectives on the case have had no new information in the last seven months and the case was moved to a cold case, there has been no witness's nor further information for my detectives to go on, so you see Detective minus the unintentional question of my precincts abilities, there has been little to go on." Ito's face had turned firm in his relating of the speech that had almost seemed prepared ahead of time. Tsukauchi eyed the man for a moment.
Did he really think that the detective would buy that blatantly obvious lie?
"But that's not true" he voiced aloud.
"No it's not. Unofficially what we know is that Whisper appears to be a single suspect between eighteen to twenty-nine years of age, a non-mutation quirk, that we believe lives in the area. We've had multiple witnesses to the case however most if not all of them have immediately refused to testify should a case push forward to court proceedings, and above all else we know the suspect has some sort of mind control quirk, with a time limit between three and eight hours." The Captain's face had drained away to a picture perfect image of a man who could have been sculpted out of marble. His eyes trained on the Detective harshly.
"Then why has none of this been updated in your records, or any of the case's attached to the majority of your arrests recently? Mind control quirks involved in admittance of a crime require specialized Quirk Doctors to ensure that the suspect is admitting to things they have actually done." The detective watched as the man's eyes had barely left his own, not even trailing to the coffee cup in his hand that occasionally would rise and fall as he drank. "I have additional details to update the case notes with, brought in from the underground hero Eraserhead who has had a recent run in with Whisper."
"You can create a case of which to follow up with, however I will tell you upfront that it will not be looked into. From what you've inferred, I can guess that you checked into our area's notorious reversal of our arrest numbers." Ito seemed to be waiting for an answer and sighed as Tsukauchi nodded. "What you and it seems no one else bothers to look into additionally is the other numbers listed before those two years, three years ago we were leading Japan single handedly in triple digit crime stats, homicide, extortion, robbery, drug dealing, gun running...you name it and this is where it was found to have a happy little home Our arrest numbers were getting killed because no witnesses came forward, the citizens were scared and couldn't trust the police. I had cops on the take, and above all else, I had the largest amount of dead cops in all of Japan." Captain Ito's voice had moved to a sharp almost whisper, even with his voice still filling the room the man's presence commanded attention. But the last statement had shocked Detective Tsukauchi, how could such a precinct so close to Mustafa be so bad, and how had the department not sent help? Those questions whirled around in his head as he tried to make sense of what the Captain was saying to him. "I can bet I already know what you're thinking; 'Why did Mustafa not send help, heroes, or even more Police to help enforce the area?' Well because we had a large amount of cops on the take, raids ended up going nowhere, we had tipsters in our ranks so bad that the criminals knew about upcoming raids before half our staff did."
The man took a sip of his coffee almost left forgotten upon the desk, placing it back upon his coaster with a small thump he sighed and looked back up at the detective, his sharp eyes looking tired as he recalled the precinct's past.
"I'm explaining to you what it was like so you can maybe understand what's happening and why this precinct is currently running the way it is. Headquarters decided to keep sending the trouble causes my way; cops who were in trouble and needed to be shuffled around, or ones with police brutality complaints suddenly disappearing in the bureaucracy suddenly showed up on my doorstep, with easy invitations into paydays and getting on the take. Heroes didn't bother showing up because there was no publicity for a raid that wouldn't amount in arrests, doesn't get their numbers up so why bother patrolling a back alley neighborhood." The man looked to his right and Tsukauchi followed his eyes to a small memorial plaque on his wall, list of over two dozen officers listed. "Those men and women out there are wound so tight and ready to spring at a villain attack because that's what those days were like. Until one night we had three armed robbers come in, they admitted to their crimes, turned themselves in along with their hardware, their fence who was going to be laundering the money, and the names of several police officers who were assisting them in keeping police away from the bank they were going to rob. We did the procedure, had our on staff doctor show up and run them through the ringer, but they were legit. Detective, in one night we did what we thought was to be the impossible and bagged twenty-seven bad guys. Sure the three who started it were from Whisper, but they gave us intel that we were able to carve out an entire gang in one night, most flipped on the others and we were able to get away putting most of them away for a long time."
"Now picture that every night for two years. After the hell we had, I refused to turn it away, as far as we were concerned and as far as this community was concerned someone was finally doing it right. I had officers going home to their families instead of in body bags. I was able to clean up my precinct and get rid of the trouble cases and the dirty cops, and this community was safe, safer than it's been in almost fifteen years. Detective, you're not from here so you wouldn't understand, but we look after our own here, and this person turned a place of death and misery into a community again, one that I have the absolute pleasure of protecting and serving." Captain Ito stood up and moved to the door, his hand moved to the switch to remove the privacy barrier as Detective Tsukauchi pondered over this big reveal.
"Sir, why tell me this? They would remove you and they'd get a task force started for Whisper if any of this were to get out." The detective waited as Captain Ito seemed to consider his words.
"Because I've read your file the moment I heard you were coming here. You're a man who finds the truth, a man who knows it when he hears it. So when I say Whisper is good for this community and its people; you'll know I'm not lying. As for the other stuff? The union would protect me and I've got a pension - to avoid the scandal it will most definitely cause, they'll ask for me to retire quietly. You're a good man Detective, anyone with a brain can see that. You'll make the right call." With that the Captain flipped the switch and opened the door, gesturing for the detective to take his leave, the conversation clearly done.
Tsukauchi hesitated only for a moment before reaching in the worn leather satchel he carried, and pulled out the files he had collected from his desk, all new information and an updated sketch on the vigilante in question.
He left the room in question, Ito followed quickly on his heels, and while the older man made light conversation as they walked yet again through the precinct, Tsukauchi knew that the friendly demeanor was nothing more than an act. He was being escorted out of the building, his presence no longer tolerated.
"Thank you for taking time out of your day to see me." Tsukauchi stopped in the entranceway and bowed slightly to the Captain who returned the gesture, his large smile not quite meeting his eyes. "Before I forget.." he stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out his business card, handing it to Ito. "In case you need to get in touch with me for anything at all."
Captain Ito took the business card, hastily shoving it into his pocket, and bid the detective farewell, walking away before Tsukauchi could properly leave.
His mind is reeling, trying to process the new information he had received from Captain Ito as he walked down the near-empty street. He had not realized the history this small community had held. Yes, he was aware of the crime rates and such, but it came as a shock to him to hear Ito reveal just how dark a past this place held.
Absentmindedly, Tsukauchi kicked at a loose pebble as he walked, watching it bounce in front of him along the heavily cracked sidewalk. The neighbourhood he strode through was in need of an update as the buildings were in various stages of rundown with cracks spider webbing along the sides and even chunks of brick and cement missing in some places.
You'll make the right call.
The captain's voice reverberated in his mind causing the detective to sigh tiredly. Sometimes he hated his job with a passion, and this time was no exception.
Tsukauchi continued to press forward, in search of a store where he could not only buy another cup of coffee - at this point, he mused, he'd be no better than the erasure hero himself - but also a pack of cigarettes. Did he smoke often? Not at all. In fact he found it to be a filthy habit, but it was one he indulged in on occasion whenever things in his life became too stressful.
At least it's not alcohol. He reassured himself stepping in through the automatic doors and being greeted by a cold blast of air that chilled him to the very bone.
He nodded his head in greeting towards the petite, blue haired cashier who leaned forward with her elbows on the counter she stood behind. She had looked about as tired as Eraserhead generally did - something Tsukauchi didn't think was even possible. How on earth do these people even function? - with her dark blue hair pulled into a rather messy bun, loose strands framing her freckled face while her bangs hung past her eyebrows, hiding some of her dark eyes.
She was looking up at the young man that stood on the other side of the counter, barely awake as he spoke to her animatedly while his glasses slipped down his nose as he waved his hands at her.
Tsukauchi took his time as he walked, deciding on if he wanted just the coffee and cigarettes or if he was going to be a responsible adult and grab something to eat as well, all the while catching snippets of their conversation.
"You don't need to pick a fight with everyone Mira!" The young man scolded what the detective assumed to be his friend, who in return rolled her tired eyes.
"Shouldn't you be in school right now or something? I'm too tired for this Zero."
The young man - Zero clicked his tongue at Mira and frowned. "I didn't hear from you for twenty-four hours idiot, and if you recall the last thing you said to me was that you were heading home and you'd text me when you got there before you completely disappeared! Of course I'm going to skip my class to check on you, and I know you'd do the same."
Mira shrugged her shoulders lazily, seemingly unaffected by her friends outburst. "Nah. I know you'd be fine."
"Well excuse me for being the better friend."
Tsukauchi had meandered his way throughout the store starting at the back, browsing through the various aisles hoping that something to eat would jump out at him though nothing did, and now he found himself standing a little bit behind the young man who was stills colding the cashier, unaware of the detective's presence.
He cleared his throat after a moment garnering the attention of the cashier, her dark eyes idly flitting over to him. "Ah sorry, but coffee?"
"Just over there," she gestured to the small coffee counter that sat hidden behind a magazine rack.
He smiled tiredly and muttered a thank you, before shuffling over in the direction Mira gestured and she couldn't help but think of how cute the sleepy patron looked.
Tsukauchi focused intently on his coffee, stirring in a pack of sugar and one cream, watching as the dark liquid turned a lighter brown. He was so fixated that he almost didn't hear Zero resuming his conversation with Mira.
"I can't believe you gave him two black eyes!" The young man furiously whispered at his friend.
What a coincidence. The detective thought obliviously, retrieving a lid and pressing it onto the cup.
Mira spoke through her yawn, stretching her arms above her head wincing as she did so. Early this morning when she finally stumbled in through her front door, her shopping bag of ice cream swinging along with her, Mira had discovered that Earserhead did manage to dislocate her shoulder, and not wanting to bother Auntie, she decided to reset it herself. Never again. "Not like I had much of a choice."
"You could have not done that to Eraser-" Zero cut himself off when he noticed the rather sleepy patron standing behind him, patiently waiting. Stepping off to the side he bows slightly to the detective. "-Ah sorry about that."
Tsukauchi smiled weakly at the rather tall young man before setting his coffee on the counter. "Just this and a pack of your lightest cigarettes."
Wordlessly Mira pulled out a pack from underneath the counter and rang it through, telling him the price.
"And the coffee?" Tsukauchi raised a questioning eyebrow.
Without missing a beat Mira leaned in, a grin tugging at her lips and a teasing glint sparking in her onyx eyes. "There's absolutely no way I'm making you pay for that crap."
He returned the smile easily feeling his heart stutter at the sight of her. "Oh?"
"It's really bad, and I don't even drink coffee."
Bringing the cup hesitantly to his lips, he inhaled deeply letting the dark scent fill his nostrils before taking the smallest of sips. Almost immediately Tsukauchi was reduced to a sputtering mess as he forced himself to swallow the poisonous liquid, his cheeks turning a bright red as he struggled to catch his breath. "That is really um…"
"Really not good, right?" The blue haired cashier supplied as a small laugh spilled from her lips.
His grimaced trend into a chuckle as he pocketed the cigarettes before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah it is really not good. Um, thanks for the coffee-"
"Mira." Her cheeks were dusted pink causing her dark freckles to be seen more. "Um, anytime-"
"Tsukauchi."
"Tsukauchi."
Zero watched their interaction with arms folded tightly across his chest. Something was...off about this man, and for some reason it made Zero want nothing more than to stand between them and protect Mira with everything that he is. Why is she even looking at him like that?
Tsukauchi broke the gaze him and Mira were sharing, the tips of his ears turning a bright red and bid goodbye as he took his leave, the coffee he knew he wouldn't drink even if he was offered a million dollars still in his hand as he left the cold store, stepping into the warmth of the outside once again.
"Oi," Zero leaned forward across the counter so that he was face to face with a blushing Mira, and poked her in the forehead. "What's with that look on your face? You like him or something?"
With a cat-like grin she pinched his cheeks hard, and pulled them a bit to stretch his face out. "You must need new glasses Niko."
"Don't call me that, dummy!" Zero groaned at the sound of his given name.
Even though it's been two years, Mira was still unsure as to why her friend chose to go by Zero rather than Niko, and any time she had tried to ask he would mutter an excuse about a gamertag or some sort of coding thing. Whatever the reason was, all she knew was that he hated his name which meant that she relished in calling him Niko whenever possible.
"Aw Niko, that's not a nice thing to see to your only friend." Mira laughed loudly and continued to prod at his red cheeks.
"Dummy." Zero caught her hand and held it against his cheek - and though he's done this numerous times before, there was something about the way his golden eyes stared at her from behind his thick glasses with a look Mira couldn't decipher, that made something in her stomach flutter.
What the hell…
He held her hand against his cheek for a moment longer, appreciating the coldness of it before letting go and shoving his hands deep into his jeans pockets. "I'm glad you're okay. Even if you did beat up my favourite hero."
Mira was quick to hide her hands underneath the counter, her fingers twitching with an ache to fidget with something. "To be fair, he started it all."
"Uh-huh, sure he did."
"Is it really so hard to believe that I didn't start this fight with him?"
"Yes."
Mira opened her mouth to argue with him - just because she was often the one to start fights did not automatically mean that she started this one with Eraserhead - when Zero took out his
phone to check the time. "I should probably try and make it to one class today."
"Yes go!" She urged him. "Please you need to go to class Zero. You're too smart to be stuck here forever."
His face screwed up as he gave her a funny look. It wasn't the first time she had been adamant on him attending classes, though her reason for it was so that he could get a job far away from this black hole of a neighbourhood, and get himself and his family out of here before he ended up like her; stuck. But hearing it this time, it left a sour taste in his mouth, but he chose to not act on it, and instead bid his friend goodbye with the promise of texting her later on that after he finished the raid him and his team had planned in one of the numerous online games he played.
She settled into her daily routine of greeting the customers, making small chat with the regulars and soon enough she found her shift coming to an end, her coworker Yumi coming in early to relieve her of her shift.
With her newfound time and nothing else better to do before going out on her patrol that night, Mira made the adult decision to go and buy real food as Zero puts it, instead of buying more packs of instant noodles and frozen dessert pastries - he was going to be so proud when she told him later on. She chose the market she and her mother used to frequent when she was younger and a wave of nostalgia sucker punched her as soon as she stepped through the threshold.
Nothing had changed, and if Mira wasn't completely aware of that fact she was twenty-four, she would've assumed she was no more than four again. Yellowed posters with their ends curling were still hung on the walls, the green and white checkered linoleum was scuffed and scraped - probably even more so now that the years have passed - and her shoes still unintentionally squeaked across the floor as she walked down the aisles while memories she thought to be forgotten flooded back into her.
"Mama!" Five year old Mira excitedly ran down the aisle towards her mother, her blue pigtails bobbing as she did so. She was carrying a small bag of apples and was proud to show her mother that she was able to finally help out like a big girl.
Present day Mira smiled and grabbed a few apples, placing them in her shopping basket. I haven't spoken to mom in awhile…
She continued on with her shopping, grabbing a small bag of rice, some vegetables, some fruit, and some protein, tearfully avoiding the instant noodles despite that they basically called out to her and whispered sweet nothings in her ear about their deliciousness.
Stop that. Mira scolded herself with a shake of her head. You'll live without instant noodles.
"Mira?" An elderly woman stepped out from behind one of the displays and smiled warmly at the woman. She was at a loss for words as the elderly woman wrapped her in a strong, warm embrace. "Oh it is you! How long has it been sweetheart? You never visit anymore!"
"G-Granny!" Mira managed to stutter out from beneath the woman's strong grip, and hugged her back awkwardly with one hand. "Ah I didn't think you'd be here anymore!"
"Tch, what do you take me for? Old?" The woman scolded Mira with a chuckle and smile that warmed her from the inside out. Gods, when was the last time she felt this much serotonin?
"Apologies," Mira laughed along with her and allowed the woman to link arms with her as she pulled them along to the counter. "I should've known you'd still be here keeping this place in order."
The conversations continued on as Mira placed her items onto the counter, chatting easily with the woman as if no time had passed. That is until the topic of her mother was brought up.
"How is your mother doing? I don't see the two of you anymore."
Mira faltered only slightly before pasting a strained smile on her face. "Ah, mom is doing good. She's actually living overseas with her new husband."
"Overseas huh?" The woman raised a poised eyebrow. "When did that happen?"
"About six or seven years ago now?"
"Tch! You should've come in sooner Mir; I would've helped take care of you while she was gone!"
"Sorry sorry," she rubbed the back of her neck as sweat pooled at the small of her back. How desperately she wanted to leave her things here and run out of the store to the safety of her home. She'd rather do anything than have this conversation. "Between finishing up high school and work, I guess I just sheltered myself away from everyone."
The older woman reached out across the small counter and rested a gentle hand on Mira's shoulder, and while the gesture was sweet she had to physically stop herself from recoiling away from the touch. Idiot. Nothing but burdening others with your problems. "I am here if you ever need anything Mira. You and your mother were always the highlight of my day whenever the two of you came in and I want to help you if need be."
Mira swallowed drying and forced herself to nod her head in agreement. Though what she was agreeing to she wasn't quite sure.
After paying and grabbing her bags, she hightailed it out of there as her vision blurred and the tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
Contrary to whatever Zero believes, Mira is actually a more than half decent cook and has the innate ability to whip something up with seemingly little to no ingredients - something she greatly attributes to the fact she grew up in a single income household and was relatively poor growing up. No, it wasn't that she couldn't cook actual healthy meals for herself, she just chose not to as she often was too tired to even begin to struggle to function during the day, let alone make herself a meal.
Because of this, Mira relied heavily on instant noodles, things she could 'cook' in the microwave, or whenever Auntie fed her and gave her leftovers to take home.
As she stirred the pot of curry, the fragrant aroma filling her tiny apartment Mira felt more of the nostalgia hit her unsuspectingly; before her mother left for Canada to pursue her new life with her new husband, she and Mira would cook all the time together. It was how they showed their love to one another, by making food and being sure that they were both eating properly.
But that was a long time ago and things were different now.
Mira turned the heat down to low allowing her meal simmer as she eyed her phone warily, half expecting it to come to life and attack.
The conversation with Granny from the market made her acutely aware of how little she and her mother have spoken in the past six years. For all Mira knew, her mother probably changed her phone number and was living her life to fullest, not having to worry anymore about whether or not she would pay the rent or buy groceries.
Or maybe her number is still the same…
She chewed at her lower lip, still staring at the phone before sighing and grabbing it. Wouldn't hurt to check, right?
With shaking fingers Mira scrolled through her contacts, only hesitating for a second before hitting the green button and holding the phone to her ear, listening to the number dial automatically followed by a harsh ringing.
This is pointless.
"Ah, hello?" Her mother's voice cut through startling her.
"Um, h-hey mom…" Mira swallowed and tried to calm her heart before it exploded from her chest.
Her mother's voice is shrill and she has to pull the phone away from her ear. "Mira honey is that you?! It's been so long since you've called! How are you? You're not hurt are you?"
"Ah, no mom. I'm okay...I just...I just wanted to call…"
"Oh honey I'm glad you did call, you know how much I love hearing from you!"
You say that and yet… "H-How are you doing?"
"Things have been good, sweetheart. Oh just give me one second," her mother haphazardly covers the phone and Mira can hear the low voice of her husband - Julian talking to her about some sort of party or whatever they were running late to. Her heart sank to her stomach, and her mind started to race before she could stop it. See? Bothering her again when you shouldn't be. That's all you ever do Mira, bother bother bother.
"Hey mom?" Mira found herself saying quietly. "If you have to go somewhere, that's okay. We can talk another time."
"Nonsense! I want to talk to my only daughter." Her mother's voice was sharp but Mira knew that she didn't mean the words she spoke.
Her nails dug half moons into her palm as she insisted it was fine, reassuring her mother again that they would talk later, though knowing that she wouldn't make the effort to reach again for another few months.
There's a pause at the other end of the phone that makes Mira want to simultaneously sigh with relief that she won't have to argue with her mom anymore, and also scream because she wanted nothing more than to speak with her mother freely with no interruptions. "...if you're sure Mira, we can talk later."
Ah, there it is.
"Yeah I'm sure!" Mira forces herself to be bright and cheerful, to match her mom's energy. To pretend that everything is fine, that this is the outcome she truly wanted.
"Well talk soon then? Love you!" Her mom doesn't wait for a response before hanging up the phone.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Mira was supposed to be over there with her mother and stepfather right now, she was supposed to go after graduating from her high school, but...things had changed. She couldn't bring herself to leave the only home she'd ever known and now she was stuck here.
She sniffed back the tears and scrunched up her face. "Shit!"
Of course when she actually took the time to cook for herself it would burn.
This is why I don't fucking cook anymore.