Wish Fulfillment

"That went better than I expected it to," Keisatsu Shocho commented, sitting back, and finally relaxing for the first time that day. Keisatsu was the Police Commissioner and had been in charge of organising security for the State Funeral of Representative Imoku Kakurete. It had been a nightmare she was honoured to be given.

Kakurete had done so much for Japan, and the world. He was… He had been the best statesman the country had ever seen. That much was certain.

But he had secrets, secrets which had only come out with his death. Secrets she wasn't sure what to feel about them.

"They did warn you they were coming," Meina Dobaiza pointed out.

"That doesn't make it any better," Keisatsu snapped.

"Be thankful they warned you," Meina pressed.

Keisatsu just glared at Meina for that. Meina grinned, he knew what the glare was for, and truthfully he couldn't fault Shocho's reaction. It wasn't every day that several very high profile members of the underworld told you that they would be coming to the State Funeral. It wasn't every day that they actually showed up, in the same type of limo as any of the other VIPs, and dressed in mourning.

It was the reason they came that was frustrating Keiatsu. The underworld representatives had said quite clearly and frankly that they were there to honour the former Head of the Underworld.

The Head of the Underworld. The man (or woman) Keisatsu was meant to catch. And the underworld was claiming that it had been Imoku Kakurete. A man the entire country honoured.

"What do you think the press will say?" Keisatsu asked, attempting to change the subject slightly. It was too difficult to think that Kakurete had been the Head of the Underworld, and the politician who had near universal approval.

It didn't help that off the record, several of those from the underworld had approached her after the funeral to assure her that the Underworld would not devolve into chaos with Imoku's death. He had apparently set up a strong succession plan, and had been semi-retired for years. The acting head, someone they refused to identify, had been leading them for the past few years, taking Imoku's advice at times but generally learning the ropes.

"They won't say anything," Meina replied firmly. "Pimiko won't let them."

Pimiko was Kakurete's daughter. She had taken over much of his commercial empire and had proven to be as economically astute as her father. She had been at the funeral, standing to one side of her mother, Himiko Kakurete, Imoku's much younger wife. There had been a bit of a scandal when they married. Many had accused Himiko of simply being after a sugar daddy. They had accused Imoku of being just a dirty old man, especially as he hadn't married until his mid-fifties and then had married a woman half his age. Yet they had both gone to 'until death do they part' with not so much as a whisper of scandal. As far as anyone could tell, Imoku had been devoted to Himiko, and she had been equally devoted to him.

Himiko had been supported by both of her children at the funeral. Koshaku had stood on her other side. Koshaku hadn't entered Imoku's businesses. He was still at university, completing a Masters of Law. He was expected to become a lawyer, though he would probably get quite a boost from his sister.

Meina knew Keisatsu had thought about the possibility of Koshaku being the new Head of the Underworld. It would make some sort of sense, that Imoku had left his legitimate businesses to his daughter, and his illegitimate business to his son, but in the very brief time Keisatsu had known the information, in between organising the security for Imoku's funeral, she had confirmed that Koshaku had absolutely nothing to do with the underworld. And there had been a lot of eyes on the underworld figures at the funeral. They had not even looked at Koshaku. There would have been some indication there if they knew each other. There wasn't.

"That's illegal," Keisatsu reminded Meina. Freedom of the press was one of the things the country relied upon.

"She's not going to let anyone tarnish her father's name," Meina repeated.

Keisatsu sighed. She couldn't really blame Pimiko. And if she was honest, it would be so much easier for her if no one asked questions as to why the underworld figures had been there. It would be better for all involved if they were just reported as being there simply to honour a great man.

But… She sighed. With what she knew now, she wasn't sure she could ever think of Imoku as great again and that was a very uncomfortable feeling. He had been her enemy, but he had been an enemy she hadn't even realised existed.

Or rather, she had known the Head of the Underworld existed but Kakurete had never ever been on the list of suspects. She felt like she had been played. Keisatsu felt… She didn't know what she felt. Used. And there was nothing she could do about it. If it was a game, then Kakurete had won in such a way there was no possibility of her ever making it up.

And now she had to continue the hunt in the Underworld knowing that Kakurete had trained his successor, and knowing that she had never found Imoku. As the Police Commissioner, it made her feel sick.

"I'll have a chat with Pimiko at some stage. She can cover this up, but I will want all the information she finds about the underworld." Reporters heard a lot, and Pimiko practically ran the press. For the good of the country, Pimiko had to tell her.

Meina nodded. "Don't think about it," he advised her.

"Don't think about it?" Keisatsu questioned, her voice full of disbelief.

"Do you really trust those from the underworld that much, to be telling you the truth about Imoku?" He asked.

Did she? That was the real question. She wanted to answer no, she didn't trust them but… There was a note of truth when they told her that and one of the burdens of her quirk was that she had a feeling when people were lying to her. There had been no feeling when they had spoken to her. But Keisatsu recognised the point of Meina's question. It was the other reason Pimiko wouldn't let her father's name be tarnished.

But… But…

Keisatsu sighed heavily. She didn't know what to think. For now, she put it out of her mind. It was making her tense again, and there would be time enough over the coming days for her to process. She had, after all, known the Underworld people were coming today. She had just held out the hope that they had told her that as a joke or some sort of sick way to tarnish Kakurete's reputation. But their presence lent credence to their words.

"How do you reconcile that?" she asked.

"Reconcile what?"

"Reconcile that Imoku was possibly both the best public servant this country has ever seen, yet the Head of the Underworld?"

Meina shook his head. "I don't," he admitted. "I look upon it as making him even greater. He controlled them, remember that. If he truly was the Head of the Underworld, he controlled them, which means that they were acting as he wanted, which means they were not running wild. That means he was still a great public servant."

Keisatsu nodded. That made sense but… Did it make him great, or did it make them stupid?

She was afraid of the answer.

-afop-

This is titled Wish Fulfillment for a number of reasons.

Way back, I jokingly said I'd enjoy writing a scene at Izuku's death, where he is being praised as the greatest Statesman of all time, when the underworld shows up to show their respects - to the boss, and the surprise that causes to the establishment.

Many people liked the fluffy moments between Izuku and Himiko, and while it's true Izuku is closer to Himiko than others, and she does like him, for the marriage/publically known relationship to happen between Himiko and Izuku, you have to ignore the following:

1. The 20 to 25 year age gap between them. While Izuku was aged up and Himiko's age is unclear, there is that much difference between them, which while I know can work, isn't really that romantic.

2. The scandal the age difference would have caused. Gold digger, sugar daddy, cradle robber… oh the list is almost endless for them both.

3. Himiko's very established criminal record which includes whatever she did before she got into the League and a very long history with the League which includes assault, murder (Tomura, Ujiko and Sir Nighteye), conspiracy to murder (Kamui Woods) and a host of other charges, such as using her quirk without a license. Tomura and Ujiko might have been bad guys too but it's still murder. Short of having Himiko come forward, prepared to spill the beans on every other League member, in exchange for amnesty, I can't see a way of pardoning her, and every other League member would include Imoku which defeats the purpose. And I'm not sure that would be enough to get her amnesty but that's a purely academic discussion.