Files
The rain didn't let up. Izuku felt the emptiness of the room, the silence broken only by Tokoyami's breathing and the rain hitting the window. The weather had covered their tracks, but it also kept him trapped inside—too risky to use the phone, no reception on the television, nothing but static on the radio.
Afraid that the government agents' car might be traceable, Izuku had crushed it down to a lump and left it in the freshly emptied dumpster. He'd the same to the briefcase in the backseat, fearing that it was bugged, but the chance at the information inside was too tempting and he'd opened it regardless. With the lamp at his side so as not to wake Tokoyami, he spread all of the folders out on the floor, finding each folder labeled and carrying photographs of several students.
Ministry of Heroes Affairs
Academy Subject Files - Classification Level 4. Authorized for identification use only.
Dossiers lay before him, folders full of students most radically altered from their quirks—children who could no longer pass for human. Several students from the business and support departments were also there, and at first Izuku wasn't sure why. Then he noticed the notes at the bottom of each page.
Maximixed gunpowder output 100% comparable to a nuclear device. In contact with Americans.
Crafted long range sniper scope with 3D printable blueprints. Superior to current military models. Would not divulge methods.
Created instantly lethal phosgene gas. Destroyed chemical marker when pressed to divulge.
"But why kill them?" he wondered out loud. "The government could have hired them instead. They could have confiscated the work. They didn't have to..."
A chuckle came from behind him. Izuku rushed to dim the light.
"Sorry, sorry," Izuku said, looking over his shoulder. "I didn't mean to be so loud."
"S'all right," Tokoyami breathed. "'m not trying to sleep. You're more interesting than staring at nothing."
"Oh..." Izuku glanced back at the dossiers. "Um...should I keep working, then? If it's not really disturbing you?"
"Sure." Tokoyami turned his head slightly, enough to see the papers on the floor. "Hate just lying here useless."
"You're not useless. You're alive," Izuku said. "You have to rest and get better. I can't...I don't want to do this alone."
"'This'...?"
"...I don't know yet," Izuku admitted, trying to scrub the frustration from his face. "But something has to be done. They killed our classmates. They killed kids."
"Heroes in training," Tokoyami whispered. "Soldiers."
"Heroes aren't soldiers," Izuku said too loudly. Tokoyami winced and the shadow stirred. With a grimace, Izuku lowered his voice. "And the support students, they can't fight like we can."
Tokoyami lay still, breathing so softly that Izuku turned and sat on the edge of the couch. A few of his friend's feathers lay askew over his eyes, and Izuku gently smoothed them back down. With a faint groan, Tokoyami turned his head toward him, encouraging him to continue.
"I heard them talking," Tokoyami whispered. "In the bus. They were scared. Thought they were being arrested for...lots of things. Poison gas. Spy stuff. Things they said online. Things they...didn't say."
Izuku frowned. Tokoyami saw his look and managed a strained laugh.
"You should read the news more," Tokoyami said. "Everyone's scared of heroes. They're scared of us."
"Our classmates weren't vigilantes," Izuku said.
"Control." Tokoyami breathed deep, settling more comfortably on the pillow. "People want control, and we...we don't act like we're under control."
"That..."
How could heroes show complete obedience? Izuku winced. The very act of speaking out against the Hero Restrictions proved the government right. Heroes refused to be completely controlled.
His gaze fell back to the dossiers on the floor, the names and faces of the dead.
"They can't kill everyone," he said.
"Won't have to," Tokoyami said. "Restrict heroes...keep things safe. Anyone argues...they disappear. Everyone else obeys...like how no one but heroes use their quirks."
Realizing his friend was finally drifting toward sleep again, Izuku sat back on the floor and leaned the lamp over the papers again.
Subject: #1-A-14
Name: Fumikage Tokoyami
AKA: Jet-Black Hero
Species: Bird Human miscegenation
Gender: Male
Height: 158 cm
Eyes: Red
Age: 15 years
Other Physical Traits: Black feathers, beak
Blood Type: AB
Quirk: Phantom bird appears out of his shadow. Power limit unknown.
Recommendation: Priority Removal
"'Miscegenation'?" he whispered, not knowing the word.
"...mixing species." Tokoyami's whisper was barely there, trailing off to nothing. "It's...not a nice word."
Izuku winced. "I guess you've heard that one before."
No response. Tokoyami was asleep. Izuku watched him for a moment, then turned his attention to the rain. In the distance, he could just make out the highest lights of the academy.
The pile of dossiers were enough to fill a briefcase. There were more names than could fit on a bus.
He had to get word to his friends. Before they was another bus.