Suzumi remained invisible as she followed Shota out of the building. She was so silent that he worried that she had fallen back and had gotten lost, or had vanished completely from the face of the earth. Even the sound of her footsteps were gone. She refused to reach out to him or hold the hand that he extended back to her. He peeked back a few times over his shoulder to make sure she was still behind him with the use of his quirk and he bit at his cheek nervously when she didn't lift her head to look back at him. She didn't even bring forth any effort into putting that smile on her face. As fake as it would be, he yearned for that kind of assurance right now. The worry grew in his chest as they exited the police station, and he led her around the side of the building before he finally stopped and turned around to face her.

He only used his quirk one last time to make sure she was really there before letting her vanish once more out of respect. She still wouldn't look at him. He took a deep breath and exhaled, pausing before opening his mouth as he heard Suzumi do the same. "I'm sorry about tha–"

"Did you know that was going to happen?"

Even though he couldn't see her, he could feel her glaring daggers at him. She didn't necessarily sound angry but she did sound scared. He felt a tinge of pain at her accusation but quickly buried it as he understood how difficult it was for her to trust anyone, especially on the topics of her family or the Gokudo.

It was like they were back at the compound and alone in that room again. She was so bruised and defeated and the look of betrayal in her eyes absolutely crushed him. He could see it all in her eyes, that look that said; 'I can't trust anyone, not even you.' She had thought that her safety with him had been false and that he had been hiding his real identity from her that entire time. He could see her world shattering around her and he did everything he could to break her out of that delusion. It had taken a while for him to earn her trust again even though he was never really a Gokudo member to begin with.

It pained him to feel like he was back at square one with her again in this moment. He was worried that his earlier fears would come true and that she'd fall apart. That this whole day would fall apart. Would that blissful smile vanish and never return? Would she give up completely on everything she'd been working so hard on?

Shota could see the heavy rain clouds roll in, threatening to swallow the layers of blues in the beautiful sky and suffocate the light of the sun. He felt that urge to run creep into his bones.

"I didn't." He tried to plead his case, his eyes searching the wall of the building for her. "I wouldn't have let you go if I knew he was going to interrogate you. You have nothing to do with–"

"I have everything to do with all of it!" She said firmly through her teeth, holding back her voice to keep from making a scene on the street. "It's my family and my quirk!" She looked down at her hands and even though they remained invisible she could see the blood they were covered in. She could feel them shaking. "What if what he said is true…?"

"It's not!" He put his hands on her shoulders with a bit of difficulty. He could feel her turn her head away, but she didn't push him off. He stared firmly at her. "You haven't left the house until today. I've made sure to know where you were at all times. You always keep your phone on you despite not having anyone but me to talk to–"

"I've been talking to Hizashi…." She confessed, fumbling nervously with her fingers.

"What…?" Shota loosened his grip on her shoulders, not realizing how firmly he'd been holding onto her until now.

"He's been talking with me and helping me with my quirk…"

"When did you get his number..?"

"He came over a few days ago to check up on you.. But you were at work.. He's been worried since you haven't been returning his calls or answering his messages. We talked for a bit and before he left I gave him my number."

Shota remained silent, his mind connecting the dots. That's why Hizashi had stopped reaching out to him. He'd been watching him through Suzumi. The fleeting thought of her cheating on him faded from his mind. He didn't think she would be capable of doing that, but at the same time he wouldn't blame her. He could tell especially now how much he had been neglecting her. She was alone at home every day and he did worry about her and make time for her, but it wasn't enough. His work was absorbing all of his focus. His mind wandered to Ame, but he quickly pushed it away. That was the last thing he needed to be thinking about today.

"I'm sorry I got our phones taken away…" She sighed and he could feel her turn her head back to face him. She was beating herself up too much about all of this.

"Suzumi…." He sighed hopelessly, softening his voice as he moved his hands from her shoulders down her arms to hold her hands. "I'm not upset. They'll go through them and we'll get them back. There's nothing for us to hide and I know that it will be enough to prove that you're not a suspect. I've been working on this case and never once did I suspect you–"

"But the tracker…?"

She watched as his eyes dropped and an embarrassed guilt grew across his face, his lips pulled back into a fine line. He had hoped that she would forget that part as he assumed she would find it to be creepy. "I…." He took a moment to arrange his thoughts before forming an answer that hopefully wouldn't drive a stake into their relationship. He held her hands tighter, worried that she may let go. "I want to make sure you are safe when I'm not at home. I'm afraid that something may happen and you'll be either forced to leave the house or if you're abducted again…. It's just so difficult to find something that's invisible…"

Suzumi squeezed his fingers within her hands and smiled softly, becoming barely visible enough to make out the outline of her skin. It was touching to be reminded how much he worried about her safety and she felt comfort in how much he also worried about her being stolen away. It made her feel less crazy. These past few weeks she had been so worried that he was overlooking her and being way too focused on his work. She didn't realize until now that she'd been so scared that he'd start treating her the way everyone else in her life did... Just an afterthought. Only having value during certain activities or if she did something for them.

"Honestly…" He continued, choosing to speak his mind. "I'd rather you just forget everything you heard in there. That's not your family anymore and you shouldn't let them drag you down and hold you back more than they already have. It doesn't matter what happened in the past. What matters now is how much better you've gotten." He let go of one of her hands to tuck a loose hair behind one of her ears. "Remember the Suzumi from this morning? How sure of herself she was and how happy she was? She was strong and brave and she stayed visible the longest I had ever seen her be. I don't want this to ruin the day for you..."

Shota couldn't help but smile as his words caused her to become just a bit more visible. He could finally see her lavender hair, rounded face, and soft smile. No tears had fallen yet today and he added that to his list of wins. She surprised him, suddenly shoving her face into his chest and wrapping her arms around his back for a hug. His back straightened, finding surprisingly that he was more worried that she'd feel his utility belt underneath his clothes than anything.

"I'm sorry…" Suzumi's voice was muffled by his shirt.

He reached up and plopped his hand down on top of her head, placing the other on her back. "You don't need to apologize."

She lifted her head to look up into his eyes and Shota felt himself fall in love with her all over again. The sun had come out from behind the clouds and shone again on her face in full view. He could see the clear blue sky mirrored in her eyes. He would've stolen a kiss if they weren't standing just outside the police station in plain sight.

Suzumi took a step back and covered her stomach with her hands as it audibly grumbled, letting out a soft and embarrassed laugh. "Now that the crisis is over I guess I'm hungry!" She tried to laugh off her earlier panic but quickly stopped as she saw how serious Shota's expression remained.

The corners of his mouth crept up into a small smile and he held his hand out to her once again. "We can still go to the cafe."

She took his hand and held on tightly, smiling back brightly as he led the way. Suzumi had never thought that she would ever get to this point. To be able to walk down the sidewalks in Tokyo fully visible to the world. She never dreamed of having someone by her side that treated her so nicely. Someone who loved and understood her and wanted to protect her. To truly want to know who she was and support her through everything she did. This was a true family. This was real love.

Suzumi was pulled out of her thoughts as they stopped outside of a corner shop, the rich smell of coffee wafting through the air. On one side was an almost empty patio. It was enclosed in an ornate black iron fence that was lined with an assortment of greenery. Black iron tables and chairs sat under multicolored umbrellas. Shota led them inside through the door that was propped open.

A handful of feminine voices greeted them from different places around the cafe along with the heavy smell of coffee mixed with an array of food smells from the kitchen. There were a few tables inside but all were occupied. To the right, against the wall, was a long counter that held a display case full of baked goods and chocolates with a large register right on top. The room buzzed with the sound of conversations mixing together and the workers rushed around with a comfortable, upbeat urgency.

"Hello~! Please take a seat anywhere! I'll be right with you." A waitress greeted the two as she walked past them to get behind the counter to the serving window.

"What do you think?" Shota turned back to her. "Inside or out?"

"Outside looked nice!" She led the way with a repressed excitement, still holding his hand in hers.

They passed through the side door, which was also propped open, and she took a moment to decide which table to sit at on the patio, choosing the one in the back corner that was pushed up against the iron fence. When she sat it was about shoulder length in height. She looked around excitedly, taking in the experience to the fullest and watching the people walk past them on either side of the road to her right. There wasn't much wind today and the large umbrella they sat under shielded them from the sun. Despite being out by the busy street it wasn't too noisy. Suzumi found it to be cute and cozy.

"Sorry for the wait!" The waitress rushed over to them, placing menus down in front of each of them before clasping her hands together in front of her green apron. "Do you know what you'd like to drink or do you need more time?"

"Black coffee for me." The way Shota knew what he wanted immediately sent Suzumi into a spiraling panic that only grew worse when the waitress turned her head to smile patiently in her direction. Shota could read her expression by the grimace she was unable to hide on her face and decided to speak up for her. "She needs more time."

"No problem! I'll be back!"

Suzumi watched the girl rush back into the building, her long black hair swishing back and forth in her ponytail. She looked young and seemed to be the sporty type… possibly highschool or college age..? Suzumi shook her head and picked up the menu remembering that she should be analyzing that rather than the waitress. She peeked up to see Shota looking around the street before focusing back down at the menu.

The menu was small and had limited options, but most of it looked good. The drinks were mostly coffee and teas and the food ranged from small things like parfaits to meals like sandwiches, soups, and interesting brunch creations. It wasn't long until the waitress rushed back to their table and set the coffee cup and saucer down in front of Shota.

"Have you decided yet?" She smiled, looking between the two with a patient excitement.

Shota looked over at Suzumi which made her suddenly remember that she had to speak. He could see her shrink in her seat and hide behind her menu as her eyes fell back onto its contents. Her visage faded slightly as she finally spoke. The waitress had to lean closer to hear her correctly, but that kindness still didn't fade from her face. She took Suzumi's menu before turning back to Shota.

Suzumi exhaled heavily, trying to settle her nerves. She folded her hands together over the table, silently celebrating the fact that she had been able to remain visible the whole time they'd been at the cafe so far. Even though she was slightly see-through at this point, she considered it a huge success. Still, she caught herself holding her breath as Shota finished ordering and the waitress took his menu and walked away. Before she could start to fully relax herself, the table vanished underneath her hands and she immediately raised them to allow it to re-appear.

"Whoops!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide as she froze, floating her arms above the table.

Shota's eyes widened as well and his expression went through a transformation of surprise, into panic, and finally settled into something more humorous. He broke out into laughter, a tinge of nervousness layered underneath his chuckles. "Are you okay? I've never seen you do that before!"

Suzumi looked over at him blankly, finally remembering to move her hands back down into her lap. He had surely seen her turn objects invisible before. He must have seen the look of confusion on her face as he continued talking to explain.

"Your body stayed visible while you did that." He grew more serious, trying to remove his laughter from the situation as he leaned closer. Although he was successful with that, his amusement was still written all over his face, nearly overriding his worry. "Are you really going to make it?"

She couldn't help but drop her head in defeat, her shoulders shrugging forward as she held back her own embarrassed laugh. She shook her head as she straightened back up to face him. "I don't know." She groaned.

The two sat back in their chairs in silence, their eyes wandering out into the crowd of people walking by on both sides of the street as they composed themselves.

"I'm sorry…. You probably can't work until the investigation is over… can you…?" She changed the subject, trying to shift the focus away from the embarrassing thing that just happened.

"No, but that's okay."

He spoke without thinking, immediately forgiving her despite the fact that this had been nagging at him since they left the police station. As if he wasn't so invested in the X murder case. As if this whole time he hadn't been looking at the people on the streets trying to find familiar faces rather than paying attention to Suzumi. As if he wasn't wearing his gear underneath his clothes. The more the day went on, the more and more guilty he felt about it. Was it always going to be this way? Could he really balance the two things that meant the most to him on the same pedestal? Part of him worried that he would someday have to make a choice… and he knew that time would be coming very, very soon. It filled him with such terrible shame and dread.

"It'll be your birthday in a few days…" He decided to change the subject as well. "What do you want to do?"

Suzumi put a knuckle underneath her bottom lip. She hadn't really remembered to give it any thought at all. Her birthday was always something that came and passed without making it a big deal. She never really had someone that wanted to celebrate her life before… She had nearly forgotten that it was something that was supposed to be regularly celebrated. Just a few months ago she would have just let the day come and go without much of a thought… but now she had people to celebrate with. People that would want to celebrate her life with her.

But what would she even want to do? She wanted to get out of the house but where would she go…?

"I…" She paused, trying not to overthink. She let her feelings guide her to the answer rather than spiraling into the endless whirlpool that was her thoughts. It would just cause her to shut down anyway. Shota was giving her permission to be selfish after all. "I want to go to the beach… I miss it."

He nodded and took a drink of his coffee, giving it some thought. "Want me to get you anything?"

"No, you don't have to do that…" She drifted off, automatically reaching above her shoulder to run her fingers through her hair, but she stopped as she remembered it was tied up. "But… I'd like to… cut my hair sometime… maybe."

Shota looked over at her and tried to hide his surprise as his eyebrows rose. That was a big change to make, not that he cared much about what she wanted to do with her hair.

"Makes sense… Hair can hold memory after all…" He found himself repeating the words Midnight had told him as he sat his coffee cup back down.

'Let me cut your hair Mr. Mopey!' Midnight whined, coming at him aggressively with a pair of scissors. 'Your hair is a mess! Ugh! It'll make you feel better!'

'No! Get away from me! You're crazy!'

He recalled nearly breaking Nemuri's arm trying to wrestle the shears out of her hands. What she considered a gesture of kindness quickly broke out into a heated argument that resulted in a week-long fight between the two. Come to think of it… the majority of her acts of kindness resulted in that sort of outcome.

"What?" Suzumi leaned forward curiously, unsure of what he was talking about.

He rested his cheek in his hand, his eyes drifting back over to the passing crowds beside them. "A friend told me that hair can hold memory... It may make you feel better if you cut it all off… but you don't have to if you're attached to it."

"I see…" She leaned back, considering the thought as she stared at his long black hair. "I'd like to get rid of it."

Shota's eyes moved back to her face. He could see her decision was absolute. "I can take you somewhere to get it done." He offered, but her expression fell into uncertainty.

"I…. I don't think I can keep myself visible long enough with a stranger…" 'especially with something sharp in their hands'

"I can use my qu–"

"No….!" She groaned, continuing to feel more and more unsettled. "I'll think about it…" She gave in, not wanting to keep going on about the subject.

'Maybe I'll ask Hizashi….'

"Oh!" She spoke back up. "Why is it you haven't reached out to Hizashi since the mission ended…?"

She regretted opening her mouth the second she saw him shrink in his seat. "I…" He sighed, trying to find the answer.

'You were keeping all of your emotions locked away, weren't you?' She thought, remembering Hizashi's words. 'Just pretending everything was back to normal… Maybe you can't reach out to him because you don't want to be lying to him.'

"I don't know…" He grimaced. "There's a lot of answers to that question I think. One is that I just haven't sorted everything out yet. I'm getting there though. You want him to come with us to the beach, don't you?"

She nodded softly, feeling her own sort of guilt. "And Franklin if he can come too…"

She expected him to reject the idea completely, but his expression softened. "Alright."

"So sorry for the wait you two!" The waitress finally returned, setting their plates down on the table. "Oh! I forgot your drink! I'll be back!"

The waitress turned to leave, but froze as Shota jumped to his feet. His chair groaned across the patio floor and he stood there, his gaze zeroed in on something far off across the street. His hands were balled up into fists and his breathing grew heavier. When Suzumi followed his gaze, she couldn't see anything suspicious in the busy street or on the sidewalks. Her heart beat nervously, his actions setting her on edge. She stayed frozen in her chair, her eyes darting quickly between the people on the sidewalks.

Was it a Gokudo member? Would they have to start running? Was she in danger?

"Stay here!" He finally jumped into action, hopping the fence with ease. "I'll be back!"

Suzumi watched as he weaved through the cars on the street and disappeared into the crowd on the other side. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to relax now or not… Did he see someone in trouble over there? As she turned back to the table she noticed the waitress was still standing there, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Is….. he okay…?" She wore the same frozen look of panic and worry on her face.

"Ah…." Suzumi realized that she now had to come up with some sort of explanation. She couldn't outright tell her that Shota was a hero.. he wasn't in his uniform! In her eyes a crazy customer just hopped the fence and left his date to foot the bill. This looked so bad! She forced an apologetic smile and did her best to explain. "He forgot his wallet! He'll be back so that we can pay! Thank you for your understanding!"

She bowed in her seat, praying that the waitress would just accept it and leave her alone to compose herself.

Shota slipped through the crowd on the sidewalk, dodging and weaving around bodies as fast as he could. He needed to get to the alley he saw from his seat. He had to get to the woman he saw getting pulled inside! This could be his chance! This could be an X murder in process! A real break in the case!

He turned down the narrow alleyway, thankful to finally have enough room to run at full speed, and unraveled some of his capture weapon from his left forearm, clutching it in his fist. He passed a purse that had been discarded without rummaging through the contents, careful to notice this detail before pressing on as fast as his legs could take him. It was unnaturally quiet as he rounded the corner. No screams coming from the victim. No sounds of struggle.

The alley here opened up into a much larger, rectangular dead end and Shota's excitement grew as he caught the villain in his act, lifting a sharp knife into the air that was aimed for the stomach of the woman he had stolen from the street. He was kneeled right next to her unmoving body that lay on the concrete.

"Stop!" Shota yelled out, brandishing his own knife from his back as he advanced towards the murderer. He activated his quirk for extra insurance, his eyes darting across the long coat that covered his body. He was hoping to identify any other weapons the man may have been carrying, but he could only see the knife in his hand.

Before he could get any closer, the man jumped to his feet and bent his legs. Shota eyed him carefully as he seemed to be deciding between fight or flight. He was unable to see the man's face from behind the popped collar of his brown trench coat, but his eyes were heavy and dark, barely visible underneath his brown spiky hair.

The X murderer seemed to choose flight quite literally, a pair of large leathery wings sprouting through his coat before he leaped into the air to fly away, bouncing between the walls of the buildings to get away faster. Shota shouted once again for him to stop, throwing out his left arm to send his capture weapon flying in his direction, but he was too high up by then for it to reach him. With a flick of the wrist Shota sent his knife up in the next spot he assumed the villain would go, aiming for his leg in one last ditch effort, but it missed as well, hitting the concrete side of the building with a loud clang before it fell back to the ground.

By that time Shota had dropped to his knees next to the woman who was paralyzed on the ground. Her eyes were wide with fear and her body shook. This seemed to be the work of the X murderer's quirk as the effects were quickly wearing off. He helped her sit up. Every fiber of his being wanted to follow the villain up onto the rooftops and pursue him until he was captured, but he followed his training, remaining with the victim.

"Are you alright?" Shota asked, already looking her over from head to toe. From what he could see there were no cuts on her skin yet. He had arrived just in time.

She nodded, trying to pull herself together and catch her breath. Her hands shook so violently within his own as he helped her up.

"Did he say anything to you? Did you see his face?" He pulled her to her feet, begging for more information.

"N-no! He…." She looked up into the empty blue sky before looking back down at him. She shook her head, her eyes widening again with fearful tears as she began backing away slowly before running around the corner and out of sight.

"Wait!" Shota was about to rush after her, but he held himself back.

He wasn't in his hero uniform.

Even though he had saved her life, she felt too scared to stay with him. After all, he was a stranger who rushed in throwing knives at someone else who was about to kill her. He hurried over and picked up his knife from the ground, sheathing it on his back before running out of the alleyway. Shota lifted his head to the sky and squinted his eyes as he wrapped his capture weapon back around his forearm. He was forced to return his focus to the streets as he started immediately bumping into the people walking on the sidewalk as he scanned the sky for the killer. He needed to find a phone and he needed to find one fast.

He stumbled across a pay phone but it was currently occupied. He put his hands in his pants pockets and tapped his foot, impatiently cursing Tsukauchi under his breath as he tried to listen in to see if the person was almost finished.

'Of all the days to not have my phone! Dammit Tsukauchi!'

Shota considered running off to find another payphone or begging someone on the street for theirs, but the occupant slid open the door and exited. Shota entered, lifting the receiver to his ear and holding it in place with his right shoulder while he dug into his pockets for change. After putting in the correct amount he quickly pressed the keys and finally breathed out once the dial tones rang through his ear.

Before the operator could finish their intro, he was already speaking. "It's the hero Eraserhead! I just interrupted an X murder in progress." He listed off the street name and tried his best to explain where the alley was before listing off the possible directions the man could have gone.

"I'm sending teams out now!" The woman assured him. "Do you have a description?"

"Male, messy brown short hair, large brown leather trench coat, long black pants, brown boots, and about 170 centimeters in height. I believe his quirk is hetoromorphic as I was unable to erase it. He sprouted dark, leathery wings and escaped by flight but I doubt he's still in the sky. The woman seemed frozen and unable to move… almost like her body was paralyzed. I assume it was the work of his quirk as she started moving not long after I used erasure on him."

"Got it. Did you see his face?"

"No…." He exhaled a heavy sigh. "I wasn't able to get any contact information from the victim either. She ran off before I could question her. I did stop him in time before she got hurt though."

He heard the operator exhale in relief. "That may just be the first victim that's gotten away. Hopefully we hear from her soon so that we can make sure she isn't hunted down.."

"I don't think he's killing specific targets. I was lucky to catch her being pulled off of the street and by the look on her face before and after I arrived I don't believe she knew him. I'm sticking by my assumption that the victims are random. Can you make sure Detective Tsukauchi is notified?"

"Yes."

"Thanks."

Shota hung up the phone and leaned back against the booth, his adrenaline rush finally gone. His body reminded him how exhausted he was. His mind was still racing.

'Hopefully that woman went straight to the police… If she does then we may finally get some answers… and if we can get a face description then it will be so much easier for us to catch him…' He stepped back out into the busy sidewalk and heard the police sirens moving nearby. He reached back and tied his hair into a ponytail, all the action causing him to break out into a sweat. 'Now what was I doing…?'

Shota turned around and started running back the way he came in a panic.

'Shit! I left Suzumi all alone!'


note.

Guys… I'm just so proud of Suzumi's development. She's doing her best and shes doing so well T^T I had a lot of fun writing this one and found it to be really sweet and funny. I'm really excited to write Suzumi's birthday chapter soon as well! It's gonna be great!

I've never written a murder mystery before so I'm hoping i've seeded enough possibilities into the mix on who the X murderer could be. I don't want it to be too obvious and hope it's a surprise :3 Could it really be Suzumi in a frenzy? A missing Gokudo member? Someone we haven't met yet? Another Sakamoto? Ame's father? :0 Keiji back from the dead? Franklin!? :O Or could it be Oba? There are so many options to choose from…