"Who is down there?" Cradling his phone against his ear, Akio sat down squinting at the monitor. Uchiyama wasn't lying, there was a black-haired man passed out in one of the beds. A woman wrapped in a blanket was curled in the corner staring at him. "What the hell did you do?"
"The goons!" Nana seethed, her voice shaking, she clutched her phone tightly. "He saw them, saw them dragging some woman down the hall," she ran a trembling hand over her hair.
"Fuck bitch, why not put a damn sign above the building and invite the whole world in there!"
"No one saw us," she hesitated for a moment. "Well, the minister was on the stairs but he thought I was by myself."
"Kezu! Dammit, you stupid-" he growled in frustration, "he fucking saw you there?!"
"NO!" She yelled too quickly. "I - I mean yes," she covered her eyes. "Shit, yes, he saw me, but it was at the end when I was leaving. Actually, it was lucky he ran into me, he was about to go down and check everything out."
"The locks would have stopped him idiot."
"Really? Really, Akio? What would've happened when he couldn't get in!" She slammed her hand on the desk, "he would've come to me asking for the code."
"And you would make the same fucking excuses dumb shit," Akio grabbed his cigarettes and fished for a smoke. "Fuck," he looked inside the empty pack and smashed it, tossing it into his trash can, he patted his pockets looking for more.
Panic crawled through Nana's mind, what now? Choking down a sob, she battled fresh tears, why did she have such bad luck? "It's already done, Akio, stupid or not." Tapping on the desk worriedly, she bit her lip, "Kezu needs that space soon, he thinks I'm building him a lab for studying quirks." Akio chuckled softly, the menacing sound sent shivers down her spine, she hugged herself. "What's so funny?"
"It's already a lab researching quirks, but in a whole new way," he laughed harder.
"I'm not telling him that!" The light on her phone blinked. "Shit, I have another call."
"Nothing more important than me bitch."
"Yes, Akio, I have to do my job." There was a soft knock on her door, "hang on." Nana covered the phone, "come in Matsuno." The young woman poked her head into the office, her eyes were wide with worry.
"Sorry ma'am there's a call on line one, the police."
Casting a quick glance at the blinking light, her stomach twisted. "Thank you, I'll take it in a moment." Nana noticed she was hovering in the doorway not moving, she tipped her head, "anything else?"
"Well, um, by any chance have you seen Lida Tenya? Our new employee?"
"No, I haven't, why?" The lie flipped off her tongue with ease. She cringed inwardly at how much she had changed these past few months, what was she capable of now?
"It's strange," Matsuno stepped further into the office. "He isn't here and I know he would never come in late without notifying me. I called him twice but his phone just rings." Fidgeting with the handle of the door, she cast a furtive glance at his desk. "I'm worried, do you think he's hurt or something?"
Waving her hand in the air, Nana sighed heavily and frowned. "We have too much to do to worry about undisciplined employees, Matsuno. If he's the type not to show up to work without notice maybe he's not the right one for our team." She gestured for her to leave the office. "I think it's best to replace him."
"Assistant Defense Minister! Give him a - a day at least," she stammered. "What if it was an emergency?" Uchiyama reached for the phone without acknowledging her, she'd been dismissed. "Leave it to me ma'am, I'll track his butt down." Matsuno muttered, closing the door. Spinning around she stared at Tenya's workspace. His desk was clean except for a coffee mug sitting dead center of the desktop. Pulling back his chair, she sat down, her feet brushed against something firm. Bending over, she saw a bag tucked into the back corner. Reaching as far as possible, she managed to snag the strap and pull it out, setting it on her lap. Flipping it open, she stared inside. Keys, paper, a book and his wallet. She picked up the wallet and fingered the soft leather. "He was here?" Where the hell could he be? Her heart pounded as fear bloomed in her mind. She looked over her shoulder at Uchiyama's office door, why were the police calling her? She'd been here early too, they both had checked in with the guard, did something happen? Did they fight? Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she jumped out of his chair. She was crazy to think like that. Hugging his bag, she raced to her office and stashed it under her desk. Clicking on her computer, she chewed her nails trying to think of what to do next.
"I've got the police on the line calling for me, I have to go," Nana rubbed her forehead, a headache was starting to form at her temples.
"Take it, I wanna hear you talk to them."
"What, don't you trust me?"
"Of course, I do honey, I'm just curious what the heck they dug up on you."
"You're such a jerk!" Picking up the phone, she pushed the button. "Assistant Defense Minister Uchiyama here." Akio chuckled in her ear.
"So fucking professional."
"Hello Uchiyama Nana?" A man's voice echoed on the other side, "my name is Captain Aizawa, I'm part of the criminal investigation unit. Assistant Defense Minister, I'm very sorry to ask but I need you to come to the station."
"Why?" She snapped. "Your team already interrogated me in my office, I don't have time to come down there."
"Calm the fuck down," Akio grunted at her.
She gritted her teeth, he was so damn annoying. Forcing a smile, she lightened her tone. "I'm sorry Captain, I apologize for my tone, so much is happening at once today. Could you repeat your name?"
"There's the sweet bitch I know so well." Akio fished through his drawers for more cigarettes.
Shouta raised his brows, the woman had gone from snarling to nice so fast he had to think for a second. "My name? It's Aizawa Shouta and please, don't apologize to me. I'm sorry to be bothering you at work but it's protocol to call the next of kin." He heard a gasp as she went quiet. "We believe that your son's body is in the morgue and we need you to give us a positive identification."
The words hit Nana like a hammer straight to her head, triggering a keening so sharp it felt like a steel hand crushing her throat. Taking in a strangled breath she tried to keep her composure.
"What's going on, they get you for forgery?" Akio teased, finally locating a new pack of cigarettes. He wondered if Kaneko was out blowing the whistle, he ground his teeth, damn idiot. Too many fucking loose ends this time. He pulled out a cigarette, it felt like things were slowly going sideways. He'd warned Sensei but had been brushed off. Finding his lighter, he spun the flint wheel, he had a bad feeling about everything this time.
"Captain, I -" Nana paused, her thoughts spinning. She needed to separate from the drowning grief, needed to stay in control. "Wait a moment please, Captain." Hitting the hold button, she focused on the cell phone in her hand, listening as he inhaled a thick drag of poisonous smoke. It was him, he'd killed her boy, she knew it. Fucker! Anger raged through her, she wanted to reach through her phone and pull his corroded lungs out of his body.
"Well?" Akio blew out the thick smoke.
"They need more information on the missing pieces." She scrambled for an answer, anything to throw him off and give her time to decide what to do, "more bullshit, I have to go." Ending the call, she dropped her cell phone and pushed her fingers into her hair tugging hard at the roots, her mouth working open and closed in silent screams. The picture of Sawa on her desk swam as tears blurred her vision. It had been taken last year when they'd gone to Hawaii. He was smiling wide, a flower lei around his neck, his shock white hair blowing back in the breeze. The crash of loss flooded her disengaged mind violently as the tears coursed down her cheeks. Panting, she sucked in air, her head spun. She picked up her main line and pushed the flashing button.
"Captain," she managed to find the words to say. "Where do I need to go?"
Walking into Captain Aizawa's office Shouto listened as the group discussed Boots, who was currently being checked in over at the intake unit. Kat sat in the corner staring at the floor. "Coffee?" Shouto stood over him with a cup in his hand. Giving him a quick look, red eyes were slightly unfocused, he nodded absentmindedly at him. Holding the coffee out, Shouto smiled, "I recognize that look," he sat down next to him. "What's up?" His mind was working through something.
"Everything," Katsuki took the coffee. "This kid, Uchiyama's son, shows up wrapped in a rug with a bag of what are most likely the same eight counterfeit items she denied knowing anything about when we talked to her."
Shouto sipped his coffee trying not to taste the foul liquid. "And you think she had a hand in it?"
"That's what's got me spinning." He leaned back, hitting the back of his head on the wall. "What's the angle? What does she get out of it? She's got a hell of a good job to screw around with shitty counterfeit stuff."
"Maybe Sawa stole the items from his mom thinking they were real? Found them in her office during the clean up?"
"Then he tries to sell them on the street?" Katsuki's brows raised, "someone figures out they're fake and kills him?" He sipped the vile coffee keeping a straight face. "Why kill him and leave the stuff with the body then? Why not pawn them off?"
"Maybe it's to send a message?"
Frowning Katsuki looked at the tiled ceiling. "That would mean we're dealing with yakuza or some kind of gang?"
"It would be their style."
"Too fucking obvious."
Shouto snorted softly. "Hunch?" Kat looked at him with a lazy smile on his face.
"Yes, Icy Hot," he teased out the nickname.
"So, Sparky," a smile danced on his mouth, "what's your theory?"
"Bakugou's gotta theory?" Kaminari slid in next to Todoroki leaning across his legs including himself in their conversation. Red eyes glared at him menacingly, he sat up quickly. "I mean we're all bouncing ideas around! Right?"
"Yes, I have a fucking theory," Katsuki ignored the interruption. "It's connected to Kaneko somehow. He's caught somewhere in the middle of all of this."
"What about Uchiyama?"
"The mom?" Katsuki ran a finger thoughtfully around his coffee cup. "Don't know about her, she seems fucking oblivious. What I do know is Sawa died the same night Kaneko went to that bar and disappeared in the back where he ended up getting so soaked that his suit dripped water on the floor while he put his jacket on." He took another small sip, "then he hightails it out of town while his house lights up like the main shrine at a fire festival. Something went down that night between the two of them."
"What night?" Kaminari glanced between the two. They both looked at him for a moment.
"We have a person of interest that we've connected to our counterfeit case." Shouto explained.
"He went out last night and I tailed him to a bar. Something happened. We just don't know what, rattled our guy so badly, he vanished leaving his house burnt to the ground."
"Oh shit," Denki's eyes widened, "you think he killed the rug person?"
"Him?" Katsuki considered the question, shaking his head. "No, no way."
"Not him," Shouto agreed. "Too-" he searched for the word.
"Timid," Katsuki finished, "doubt he's seen death up close, let alone able to deal it out himself."
"Timid? But he burnt down his house?" Denki tipped his head questioningly.
Thinking through the meeting with Kaneko, Katsuki backhanded Shouto in the chest. "Damn, he's right. No way Kaneko burned his house down, no matter how scared he was, remember he inherited it from his mom according to the neighbor. I have a feeling he was pretty close to her." He let out a grunt, "shit, that makes it worse."
"Why?"
"Well, who fucking burnt down his house?"
"Think he was being blackmailed maybe?" Shouto started to take another drink but changed his mind.
"Yeah, maybe, the gig at the museum, it's his only real connection to everything. Someone on that list? One of the mucky mucks?" Katsuki kicked his heel into the linoleum. "Wish we could get him in here, talk to him again. I know he's got all the fucking answers."
"Track him," Denki shrugged, leaning back in his chair.
"What do you mean? Track him?"
"His cell phone, if he has it on him, it's basically a tracking device for us. There's this equipment, Matsuura showed me, you can track anyone you want if you have the cell phone information."
Both men jumped up at the same time, Katsuki grabbing a fistful of Kaminari's shirt, he pulled the smaller blonde to his feet, shoving him to the door. "Show us what you mean."
"Um, sure," he shook loose of his grip, smoothing his shirt.
"What the hell?" Momo stepped in front of her partner, pulling him away from Bakugou. "Why are you dragging him off?"
"He's got a good idea. Can we borrow him?"
"He's not a dog," Shouto chortled.
"You sure?"
"Hey!" Denki crossed his arms, glaring at them both.
Patting his blonde hair affectionately, Momo smiled wickedly. "Yeah," she laughed, "you can borrow my brilliant bird brain but only if I get to come along."
"Come on," Katsuki opened the door, "you heard her, show us what the hell you're talking about."
"Captain?" Ochako waved her hand in front of his face, he was staring at the others arguing.
"Oh, sorry, what?"
"The video feed?"
Blushing slightly, Shouta shook his head, "Arisu hasn't gotten back to me on it and the Commander had no clue."
"Can we get the patrol logs for that night?"
"Patrol logs?"
"We'd like to see who was supposed to be at the front gate that night."
"Why?"
"Well, Candy," Ochako paused, "I mean Suguta, made a comment that there were no patrols that night. Boots specifically said that to her."
"If we can find out who was supposed to be there that night, maybe there's a connection?" Kiri tugged on her sleeve.
Ochako smiled at him, "that was my thought exactly, we just need a place to begin."
"Good enough for me," Shouta logged into his computer going into the police assignments. "Here are the patrols assigned for last night," he pulled up the dispatch log. "There are several Kobans that are around that area," he hit print. "There's no specific patrol but it looks like five are responsible for the blocks that are edged by the camp." Pulling the paper off his printer, Shouta handed it to Uraraka. "It's a start."
"More walking," Ochako groaned.
"First, we have to talk to Boots, then the Kobans," Kiri started mapping out the Kobans on his phone.
"Oh, and Boots asked to see Suguta too, any chance we could take him to the hospital?" She rounded her eyes pleadingly.
"Probably not."
"What if Suguta gives permission when she wakes up?"
Shouta shook his head, "don't push it."
"Fine," she nudged Kiri, "let's see if Boots is checked in yet. It's been longer than forty minutes, I'm surprised they haven't contacted us yet, he should be finished by now." She dragged him out of the office and through the lobby into the main police division. The in-take area was being manned by a young woman. Leaning on the counter, Kiri flashed his badge.
"We're here to check out our homeless pick up that we brought in earlier." He pulled out his paperwork, "Identification is CSA4234." He passed the page to the woman who typed in the information. She looked up, confused.
"He was checked out by criminal investigation already."
"Checked out?" Kiri leaned across the desk trying to see the screen. "When?"
"Uh, about twenty minutes ago," she edged away from the large man crowding her computer.
"Who checked him out?"
"Neito Monoma," she squeaked at the contorted look on his face, "he's in your division according to the information."
"Monoma!" Kiri grabbed the screen, "where'd he take him?!" He scanned the jumble of information on the computer.
"Here," she pointed timidly.
Following her finger, he saw the substitute station listed. "Where is that?"
"It - It's our sister station, we use it for overflow when we get crowded."
"That fucker!" Kiri fumed, "all the way across the city!"
"C'mon, we need to get him and fast," Ochako started for the door. "Bakugou and Todoroki still have their car in the main garage. They can take us."
"Yeah? Shit, think they will? It'd be a hell of a lot faster."
"I don't care what they want to do," she began running down the hall, "they've got no choice."
Flying back into their division they raced into the double doors just as Commander Imai stepped through. Ochako jumped sideways at the last minute as Kiri barreled into him, knocking him off-balance, the Commander reeled backwards.
"Watch out!" Imai yelled, his arms flailing helplessly in the air as Kiri's solid body slammed into him. Falling backwards onto his butt, his papers spilled across the floor.
"Sir!" Kiri knelt down scrambling to grab his papers. "I'm so sorry!"
Lumbering to all fours, Imai braced his hand on the floor and stood slowly. "Dammit, Kirishima, what the hell are you doing?!" He snatched at the paperwork he held out to him.
Jumping between the two of them, Ochako held out her hand. "Sir, we brought in the homeless man that Suguta Ren identified and Neito Monoma stole him! We're going to get him."
Imai steadied himself and stared hard at Uraraka, "he stole a person?"
"He did, Sir!" Kiri flashed Ochako a quick smile of thanks. "His name is Boots, he's the one that helped Suguta with the dead body that was found in a rug. According to the log, for some unknown reason Monoma took him to our sister station. We're going to get Bakugou and Todoroki to drive us over there."
"Are you sure? Neito?" Imai straightened the papers in his hand, thinning his lips as they both nodded.
"That's what was in the computer."
"Alright, go ahead," they sprinted past him. "Dammit no more running!" He yelled as they disappeared down the hall. Staring down at his papers, he backtracked to his office. Picking up the phone he made a call.
"Katsuki!" Ochako yelled, she could see him talking with Mina and Sero as they rushed into the forensics office. "Where's Todoroki?" She looked around frantically.
"Oi, what the fuck?" Katsuki was annoyed at the interruption, he was finally going to get the information on their counterfeit items. "Don't fucking run around here and stop barging in on conversations."
"He's right," Mina looked at Kiri raising her brows, "you're gonna knock someone over."
"Already did," Kiri panted, "we need a ride to our sister station, Neito took Boots there," he dropped the last line like a bomb.
"Monoma?" Katsuki flicked a frustrated look at Mina, "damn, we'll finish this later." Running out into the hall, he motioned them to follow him. "Shouto's with Denki and Momo." Finding the computer lab, he popped his head into the room, "Hey!" Katsuki grinned at them as they turned around, "the ultimate asshole, Neito, ran off with Boots, who's up for chasing his ass down?"
"Hell yes!" Denki jumped from the chair. Shouto pushed him back down.
"We're getting Kaneko's location," he glared at Kat, "do you really need all of us?"
"Yes, Todoroki," Momo slapped his hand off Kaminari's shoulder. "We're all taking that prick down." Pulling Denki back up from the chair she dragged him with her as they chased after Bakugou, who'd started running for the garage.
"How are we getting there?" Shouto gave up and ran after them.
"Your car!" Ochako took the stairs down to the garage two at a time.
"Our car? You know we're not gonna all fit!"
"Denki's only half a person and Ochako can float on the ceiling," Momo teased as they burst into the parking area.
"I'm floating where?" Ochako pushed her, "why don't you make a motorcycle and follow behind us?"
"I can't make a motorcycle!"
"That's because you're actually wearing clothes!" Ochako sniped.
"What the hell? What does that mean?"
"Hey! Cut it out." Katsuki opened the door to the car, "there's plenty of room, get in and shut up." Sliding into the driver's seat, he started the car glancing at Sho then down at the siren. Ignoring him, Shouto crossed his arms and stared straight ahead.
Putting on his glasses, Katsuki sighed audibly and took off out of the garage. "Where am I going?"
"Left here," Kiri handed his phone to Todoroki to navigate. Looking at Bakugou he let out a loud laugh, "when did you start wearing glasses?"
"When I realized I might crash the damn car because I couldn't see," Katsuki clicked his tongue, "sit back."
"Fine." Sitting back just as a huge seat belt pulled tight over his lap, Kiri lifted his hands. "What's this? Where'd this come from?" Momo looked out the window as Denki, perched precariously on her lap, clung to the seat in front of him.
"Good idea," Ochako murmured, adjusting the seat belt.
"Don't know what you're talking about," Momo bit out. "Wasn't me, I've got clothes on."
"Your quirk-"
"The camera is on!" Shouto jerked around, "mouths shut and be good passengers or I'm tossing you all out."
"You sound like Bakugou," Denki grumbled, trying to touch as little of Momo's body as possible while the car weaved through the heavy traffic.
"He does!" Katsuki glanced in the rearview mirror, "my partner is learning the best way of getting the point across."
"Shut it and drive," Shouto gave him a death glare.
"Even me?" Grinning he winked at him, enjoying the soft blush that crept up his face.
"Hey, I think you need to turn right up here," Kiri called out.
"Oh shit, hang on," spinning the wheel, he weaved into the right lane. "C'mon," he coaxed, staring pointedly at the siren again, "just for a few minutes? We need to get there fast."
"No," Shouto focused back on the map, "go right and then get off the main drag, too much traffic, take the side roads." He hung on to the dashboard as he zig zagged through the traffic. "See, you're such a good driver you don't need the siren."
"Lame," Katsuki snorted as he watched for open spots to leap frog through the cars and bikes.
"Okay turn up here, just past that sign and then it's a straight shot to the station." He could see the government buildings coming up quickly as Katsuki flew down the street into the parking lot. Pulling into a visitor spot, the six of them tumbled from the car and raced through the front doors. The lobby was dominated by a counter running along the back. A large muscular man was standing in front of the desk as they entered.
"Kirishima Eijirou?" He studied the large red-head who slowed at the sound of his name, so this was Red Riot. His eyes wandered over the group, his mouth went dry, it was fucking all of them.
"Yeah," Kiri stopped.
"I'm Commander Taro, I heard you were on your way here looking for a transfer?"
"Yes," he nodded, "a homeless pickup, Investigator Monoma brought him in?"
Taro hooked his thumb towards a set of double doors, "I already have Boots cooling his heels in one of our interrogation rooms." He smirked as Kirishima's eyes glittered with anger.
"And Neito?"
Commander Taro's mouth curved in a wide smile. "Turns out he likes to box. He decided to head down to the gym." He crossed his arms. "I heard he was hoping to find someone to go a few rounds with him before he headed out."
Kiri leaned forward blinking, "he wants to do what?"
"Kiri," Katsuki grabbed his friend's shoulders, laughing, "weren't you just saying you needed to practice boxing? Maybe the Commander will let you spar with Monoma."
A mischievous smile lit up Eijirou's face, "Sir, I would love to take him on!"
"Looks like it's your lucky day then, follow me."
Shouta stood quietly as the woman stared at the body on the table, tears rolled down her face. She nodded, "that's my son, Uchiyama Sawa."
"I'm very sorry ma'am."
"Thank you, Captain," Nana gripped her handbag tightly. "When can he be released to the funeral home?"
"Within 48 hours," Shouta escorted her back to the main lobby. "We do need you to fill out some paperwork, if you can step into the office there?" A tall dark-haired woman darted from her chair in the waiting room, her eyes swollen red.
"Assistant Minister?"
"Matsuno," she nodded, "it's him."
"Oh!" She let out a choked sob, "I'm so so sorry."
Shaking off the constricting grief, Nana followed an orderly who handed her a clipboard of paperwork and sat down. She tried to focus on the feel of the pen in her hand, the smoothness of the paper, anything to distract herself.
Watching helplessly, Matsuno turned and bowed. "Thank you very much, I'm Matsuno Fumiko, Uchiyama's assistant." She smiled gratefully through her tears, "I can't imagine having your job, I don't envy you."
"Ah, thank you," Shouta coughed at the hitch in his voice. "Have you worked with the Assistant Minister for a long time?"
"Yes, for a few years, I'm one of her assistants," she smiled weakly.
"Oh! Maybe you know an old student of mine from UA who works in your division now, Lida Tenya?"
"Yes - yes, he works with me. You were his teacher?"
"I was," he laughed sheepishly. "He was our class representative, one of my best students."
"Right? He was the best employee too!" She grabbed his arm desperately, "he came from another department with a perfect attendance and great recommendations. I just don't understand." Jerking back, she covered her mouth, "Sorry, I - I said something I shouldn't have." She sat down hunching over.
"Matsuno?" She looked back up at him, her eyes wide with fright. "Is there something wrong?"
"Um," she whispered almost to herself. "It's probably nothing, a misunderstanding," she tugged on her skirt.
"What's a misunderstanding? Is it something with Lida?" Shouta sat down next to her.
"It's just, well, today," she dropped her voice low. "I know he came into the office. I found his stuff under his desk."
"And?"
"He's not there, he never showed up. It's like he vanished."
"That doesn't sound like him."
"I know!" She whispered hoarsely, glancing where Uchiyama sat. "I asked the Assistant Minister but she didn't know anything and was ready to replace him. Just like that," she snapped her fingers. "He worked so hard to get this position, I'd hate for him to lose it so suddenly. It just isn't fair"
"That does sound sudden," Shouta agreed. "You're sure he didn't leave for the day? Maybe he forgot his stuff? Didn't tell you?"
"This morning a coffee cup was on his desk, dead center," she made a circle with her hands. "It had been taken from our coffee station but," she leaned closer, "no coffee had been made. He went somewhere to get coffee and his mug came back but not him?"
"And you're sure he even came in? A janitor could have moved it. Maybe he left his stuff under his desk last night?"
"No," Matsuno's long silky hair shook over her shoulders with the vehemence of her denial. "I checked the log, he came in early today, really early." Her voice dropped low again, "and so did Uchiyama."
Shouta studied the young woman. Her face was pale, a plain face but the spray of freckles and wide eyes that gave her a sweet childlike expression. "That is strange," he murmured.
Popping her head up, Nana stared at the two of them talking quietly, her mouth pulling into a deep frown. "Matsuno," her tone sharper than she intended.
Leaping to her feet, she bowed. "Yes, Assistant Defense Minister?"
"Don't bother the poor Captain, I'm finished, we need to go."
"Of course, ma'am."
Standing Shouta patted her shoulder, "I'll check on him," he murmured quietly. Turning to Uchiyama he bowed and held out his card. "Assistant Defense Minister, I'm sorry for your loss and to meet under such terrible circumstances. Take my card and call me if you need anything, my team is at your service."
"Thank you, Captain, if I need anything I will contact you." Waving at Matsuno she walked out to her car waiting at the main entrance.
Watching as the two women left, he noticed Matsuno glance up one last time before she ducked her head into the black town car. Pulling out his phone he dialed Todoroki.
"Captain Aizawa?" Shouto tried to move back from the noisy crowd covering the mouthpiece of the phone.
"Where the hell are you?"
"You don't know?" Shouto smiled as Kiri landed another solid right lead hook to Monoma's head, the face gear wasn't helping him much as he wobbled unsteadily under Kirishima's barrage of blows.
"Why the hell would I know?" Shouta sighed as he walked back to the precinct. "My quirk isn't a locator device."
"You didn't arrange this fight?"
Shouta stopped mid-stride. "Fight? What fight!?" His voice climbing in panic. "Who the hell are you fighting?"
"Not me," Shouto laughed. Monoma fell into the ropes as Kirishima found his side with a two-punch combo. Katsuki was standing in Kiri's corner coaching him but he obviously needed no help as he rained blows on the other man. Hearing the Captain swearing, he focused back on the conversation. "Kirishima is fighting. We're at our sister station getting that homeless person, Boots, and he's going a few rounds with Neito Monoma."
"Rounds!?" Shouta exclaimed, confused. "Sister station? What the fuck is going on?" A few investigators glanced at him as they walked by. "Shit," he muttered, hightailing it back to his office, he could hear the crowd hooting in the background of the phone.
"If you don't mind Captain, I'm enjoying watching this jerk get his ass pounded." Ochako and Momo were screaming now as Kiri landed a solid uppercut. Monoma stumbled back two steps as his body began to slowly fall sideways. "Timber," Shouto chuckled as he landed face first on the ground. "The Commander here has ordered a transport for Boots back to our station, don't worry, looks like we'll be back sooner than I thought."
"Sure!" Shouta snapped sarcastically, "do whatever the fuck you want, you all do anyway!" He hung up and sat down heavily at his desk, sliding his hand down his face trying to rub out the frustration. The phone rang, jarring him. "What?" He answered sharply.
"Shouta?"
Nakama's surprised voice echoed on the line. "Arisu?" He straightened up. "I'm sorry," he leaned back in his chair.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah," he grimaced to himself, "my team seems to always surprise me." Arisu's soft chuckle made him laugh at himself.
"Captain? Losing control of your students already?" Laughing at her old friend Arisu propped her feet on her desk, sighing heavily.
"Everything okay?" Shouta teased back, she sounded tired. "Losing control of the police force already?"
"Ha! As if, I'm not some UA flunky high school teacher." Smiling, Arisu could almost hear him rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, just a straight up UA flunky!"
"Hey!" She slapped her desk, "just because I failed the entrance exam does not make me a flunky!" Arisu huffed. "I told you that in confidence, don't spout that to anyone."
Shouta's black eyes gleamed, he loved when he got under her skin a bit. "You told me that after too much soju if I recall Commissioner."
"Shouta!" Arisu pressed her phone closer to her ear. "That is even more confidential," she whispered conspiratorially.
"Okay, your secret is safe with me." He paused for a moment thinking about those nights together. "Would it be a breach of protocol for the head of National Police to have dinner with a lowly captain?" The sound of her taking in a sharp breath made him regret his question immediately.
"No, I don't think so."
"Really?" Sitting up Shouta almost choked in surprise.
"What? You thought I'd say no to you?" She hummed softly. "You are a dumb flunky teacher," she licked her lips. "Why do you think I was at your doorstep the other night?"
"I thought my crew had screwed up."
"That's something I could have handled on the phone, Shouta." They both grew quiet. A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. "I gotta go, another big meeting. I called to let you know I sent a squad and you were right, there were cameras in the camp. I had them disconnected and we confiscated everything. Unfortunately, the video loop was being linked outside the camp. We're trying to track it now."
"Dinner then?" Shouta ignored her last statement focusing only on her confession. "My place tonight?"
"Make my favorite?"
"I will."
"Then, yes." Arisu hung up the phone, a thrill pulsing through her body. She'd finally told him. Standing, she grabbed her portfolio for her next meeting. The last two months being around him again, she'd been feeling, well, lonely, and Shouta Aizawa had been occupying her thoughts more and more. He'd always been there for her over the years, encouraging her when she never thought she'd get the appointment for her position. There was another knock, shaking her head she pulled herself back to the present, smiling she looked forward to tonight and seeing what would happen. Opening the door, her assistant stood waiting with another stack of paperwork for her to review.
Sitting in the interrogation room, Kiri pushed a cup of coffee and some packaged bread to Boots. "Sorry, this was all there was in the machine." The man was large, more burly than overweight, his face covered in a thin beard that he scratched at every now and then.
"Thanks," he pulled open the bread and pushed half into his mouth, he took a large swallow of coffee. "I'm starving," he muffled around the food. "I missed the food when you came and got me."
"Sorry about that," Ochako apologized. "I ordered something but I'm not sure when it'll come."
"No, no" he shook his head, "you kidding me? Rather be hungry with you than full with him."
"Him?" Ochako pulled out her book to make notes.
"The asshole who dragged me outta here. Real prize, treated me like I murdered that kid." Shoving the rest of the bread in his mouth he finished off the coffee. Wiping his lips with the back of his hands, Boots brushed the crumbs off his overcoat. "I'm just glad Candy is with her family."
"Yes, they've been reunited and she's safe in the hospital."
"The brain cancer thing," he spun his finger over his head. "Did they say I can see her when I get out?"
"Not yet, Boots." Kiri could see the worry on his face. "If you can just tell us what you remember, that's all we need and then you'll be released and I promise we'll help you see her."
"Okay," turning he saw the huge mirror to the right.
"That jerk back there?" He pointed to the two-way mirror.
"That jerk? Do you mean Monoma?" Standing Kiri flipped the switch, turning on the light. The rest of the group were crammed in the adjacent room. "Meet the rest of our team," he smiled, flipping off the light. "I figured too many people would be intimidating but definitely not the jerk."
"Sure," Boots sprawled out in his chair, "this is better."
Edging closer to the speaker to hear them in the room, Katsuki gruffed, "why do we have to stand the fuck in here? He knows we're here now."
"Shh!" Momo whispered as she listened to his statement. "Sounds like he lines up with what Suguta said."
"Yeah." Katsuki mulled over the story. "They heard the crashing of the pipes which led them to the bag."
"Then Candy found the body when Mac fell and his flashlight flew into the tubs." Shouto leaned on the wall.
"Then they decided to take it to the bus stop so Candy would be found when Boots figured out she knew the kid."
"So, you and Mac carried the body to the bus stop?" Ochako finished taking notes.
"We did and it was a real pain too, whoever put him in that junkyard must've been strong as shit! That soaked rug weighed more than the body!"
"Soaked in the fucking rain," Katsuki grunted as he pulled his phone out of pocket, opening up the photo of the puddle in the bar left by Kaneko. "The rain," his voice trailed off, suddenly he jumped up and darted out the room.
"What?" Shouto spun around startled. "Katsuki?" Shouto chased after him into the interrogation room.
Hearing the door open Kiri leapt to his feet, Bakugou stormed in with Todoroki chasing after him. "Hey guys, I said to wait in the other room." He stood with his hands up. "What the fuck are you doing in here?"
Katsuki peered around Kiri, "Boots, the rug, was it wet on the inside by the body?"
"I'm not sure, um," Boots stared at the frowning blonde, the memory of the boy flopping out of the rug. "It was dark and we couldn't really see. We left him there when Candy remembered the kid. When we managed to roll him back up later it was so wet it was almost impossible to carry."
"Soaked in the fucking rain," he ran his hand through his spikes.
"Well, it'd been raining all night that night." Boots shivered at the memory of the cold wetness that had seeped into his bones.
"Soaked in the damn rain!" Slamming his fist on the table Katsuki laughed.
"Is he okay?" Boots pointed to the crazy man pounding on the table.
"No, he's like this all the time," Ochako waited to figure out what Bakugou was spouting about.
"Katsuki?" Shouto grabbed his arm.
"Boots, thank you for your help." Dragging Shouto out of the room he closed the door behind him as Denki and Momo poked their heads out of the viewing room staring at them.
"What the hell was that?" Boots murmured.
"What the hell was that?" Shouto punched Kat in the arm.
"We're just missing a murderer."
"A murderer?" Shouto tried to keep up with him. "Where are we going?"
"Oh crap," spinning around he pointed at Denki, "Dunce Head, we need you to finish tracking Kaneko." He smiled at Shouto, "he's our man, not the murderer but I'll bet every damn cent of my stipend that the rug wrapped around Sawa came from that dingy fucking bar and that Kaneko helped carry it to the junkyard."
"You did say he was gone over an hour," Shouto nodded, "that could've given them enough time. How far is the junkyard from the bar?"
"You want me to finish tracking that cell phone?" Denki raced up to catch them.
"Yeah, can you?"
"Sure, it's easy," he grinned.
"Kaneko could've easily gone to the junkyard," Shouto held up the map on his phone, "it's only twenty minutes away from the bar."
"Sawa gets killed and wrapped in a dry rug, twenty minutes tops. Kaneko helps the murderer get the body to the car and take it to the junkyard, that's forty minutes round trip. He's soaked by the time he gets back leaving the puddle on the floor."
"Or there were more people, you're assuming only two right now."
"Yeah, you're right, there could be others." He tipped his head, "maybe the bartender? There was a woman that grilled me when I left, she probably knows who met with him. She sent Kaneko to the back."
"Okay, we'll pick her up for questioning and then see if we can get Kaneko."
"I bet afterward the murderer circled back to kill Kaneko but he was gone, so they burned down his house." Walking into the IT lab, Katsuki pushed Kaminari into the chair. "How does this work?"
"It's easy, if you have the number, which you do and I got the IP address earlier today." Denki flipped on the computer.
"We don't need a warrant or something?"
"Not here," Shouto chortled, "I heard some western countries are requiring them now, but we can still access tracking without permission."
Looking at his phone Katsuki slid it in his pocket, "I guess I need to be careful."
"Here," Denki pointed at several lit-up circles. "I'm limited because of the way our system is set up, but it looks like he pinged these cell towers about an hour ago.
"Where the hell is he going?"
"The ship port," Shouto leaned forward studying the screen, "look, he's on the main expressway, if he continues Northeast, he'll hit Tohoku. Ishinomaki port is one of the few ports that runs ships in the late summer."
"How do you know?"
"I was really into ships for a while," he blushed. "I wanted to do one of those cruises when I was a kid, but," he shrugged, "life changed."
"Yeah, it sure did," Denki pushed back from the computer. "Are you going to go get him?"
"Hell yes!" Katsuki hit print on the keyboard. "He's the main link in our case."
"We need to get permission from the captain first." There was a knock on the door.
"Hey guys," Sero stepped inside the room, "I saw you in here, we're ready with your report."
"Perfect timing!" Katsuki folded up the paperwork and thumped Denki on the back, "this was great!"
"What do you have for us?" Shouto followed him out of the office to the forensics area. Sero held up masks and lab coats.
"We need to keep this area as clean as possible to avoid contamination." Pulling on the gear they went into the lab where the eight items were spread across a table. The rug was laid out on another table and Sawa's clothing on a third. Mina was turning on a large screen. "Sawa's clothing and your equipment definitely came from the same place." Sero walked over as the monitor lit up with multiple charts.
"Yeah," Mina pointed to two graphs, "take a look at the chemical composite of the loose material."
"The material list looks similar. What does that mean?" Katsuki moved closer to see the detail better.
"This list is material lifted from Sawa's clothes and this one is material lifted from the eight pieces, over eighty percent match."
"So, these were in his possession?"
"Absolutely, he definitely had contact with them at some point."
"Your theory sounds solid Shouto," Katsuki crossed his arms, "most likely he stole them from his mom or the ministry and tried to pawn them off."
"What if Kaneko figured it out? Then somehow, he and Sawa got into a fight? Maybe he hired another person to take care of him?" Shouto chewed on his lip.
"That's possible."
"What about the rug?" Shouto pointed to the large dark brown rug.
"Well, the rain really deteriorated the evidence but we found some standard debris but that didn't link it to anything else."
"That's all?"
"Some animal hair," Mina gave them the list, "a cat, black fur."
Shouto looked up at Kat, "don't suppose you saw a black cat at the bar that night?"
"No," he shook his head.
"Well, this is good, at least we know we're on the right track with Sawa having these pieces."
"We're doing some deeper tests on the rug to see if we can pull anything but so far, we think it's going to be a bust based on what we have already. Sorry, this was the best we could do on that."
"This is good," Katsuki nodded, "we do need to confirm that those eight pieces are counterfeit, but this is a great start."
"What kind of investigators do you think we are?" Mina grinned and picked up the large zipper that lay with the Pro Hero items, "this is definitely a forgery."
"Seriously?" Shouto studied the big piece of metal, "that's from Fat Gum's suit, right?"
"Yep, it's his zipper, but this is made from standard cheap metal, like any commercial zipper."
"And his zipper isn't made from that type of material?"
"Nope, we called him and he has his zippers made in a special workshop in Europe and they use Tungsten, it's the strongest metal in the world."
"You called him?" Katsuki gave Shouto a knowing glance.
"Yeah, we thought they could give us insight into these objects and help us figure out if they were real or not. The zipper isn't real and neither are these," Mina motioned to four other pieces of equipment. "Based on conversations we had with Mt Lady, Ectoplasm, Gang Orca and Shishido." Mina picked up the cloak, "according to Ectoplasm he only had his coats made with a special type of fabric, so we were able to determine this was a forgery too."
"So," Katsuki stared hard at Shouto, "you called them and discussed the items and were able to determine they were forgeries from that conversation."
"Uh, yeah, that's what we just said Bakugou," Sero looked at him questioningly, he was glaring at Shouto, whose face was bright red. "Did I miss something?"
"No," Katsuki slapped Sero on the back, "that was a smart decision, really genius, wish I'd thought of it myself." Laughing, he headed towards the door, "thanks you two, this was really helpful. We need to go talk to the Captain about Kaneko and see if he'll approve of us tracking him down, he's our missing key." He winked at Shouto, "you coming?"
"You're welcome!" Mina smiled, "how about drinks when you get back?"
"Let's do that and Todoroki said he wanted to pay next time we went out."
"Wow, thanks, that's great."
"Sure," Shouto coughed, "see you when we get back," pulling off the lab coat and mask slowly, he sighed. "Kat, I'm - I'm so sorry! I was totally wrong."
"No worries Sho," Katsuki hung up the lab coat, a cocky smile on his face. "I just won't ever let you forget it, now let's go solve this fucking case."