The police aren't credited for a lot of the things that they do. Even Midoriya, an avid hero news
follower, had been clueless to this fact until taking up his title of vigilante.
More often than not it was the police that came to arrest the criminals he'd apprehended. And it was the police he had to watch out for more so than heroes while he was patrolling.
While the heroes had yet to discover his existence as a vigilante, he'd been gaining a steady reputation within the police department since his second week. Naomasa flips through the case file of the new vigilante. While it had been steadily gaining thickness, the vigilante's personal information hadn't gone past a general description. No known quirk, no clear pictures, and no name beyond his vigilante one 'Piper'. Red eyes, dark hair, short, but muscular. Dark clothes, face mask, and his trademark pipe. Naomasa sighes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Being a detective in the Quirk Crimes Division more often than not left numerous cases of vigilantism on his desk. Most of the time the situations were one off cases involving good samaritan complexes, but every once in a while a case like Piper's would show up. A person who, for whatever reason, decided to ignore the law and take matters into their own hands on a regular basis.
The man leans back in his seat, the chair creaking as he does so. "Sansa."
Tamakawa's ears twitch and he pauses mid coffee refill, head peeking around the breakroom wall. "Hmm?"
Tsukauchi rolls his head to look at the officer. "Is there anything new on the Piper case?"
The tabby pauses for a moment, thinking. "Actually, an officer called in another tied up criminal, it fits their m.o." Sansa walks back over towards his own desk, taking a sip of his coffee as he picks up one of the reports there. "It was a known Yakuza member, Ogami Tsukiru, quirk: scissor hands." Sansa's whiskers twitch. "Someone zip tied him to the police car of an officer who was responding to a call near Toyomi Park." He catches the detectives dark eyes. "If it's him then this the first time he's delivered someone to us so directly, I'd bet that there's a bit of history there if you'd like to check it out."Another sip of coffee, a few drops clinging to the officer's fur. "He's in lock up waiting to be interrogated, no sign of a lawyer yet."
Tsukauchi pushes himself up with a grunt, accepting the file that Sansa hands him. "Let's go then. Have him brought into room three. Hopefully this is about Piper and we can get him to talk."
Ten minutes later Naomasa steps into the interrogation room, eyes skimming the man's paperwork. "My name is Detective Tsukauchi. I was hoping you'd be able to help us with something."
"I'm not saying shit."
The detective doesn't pause in his stride, instead settling down in the chair opposite the criminal.
"Rest assured this has nothing with any crimes you may or may not have commited. I just want to know about the vigilante going by the name 'Piper'. He was the one who did this to you correct?" The criminal gives him a minute nod. "Then considering the way you were found an assumption is being made that there's a bit of history between the two of you. You were..." Naomasa flips through a few of the pages Sansa had handed him. "Hogtied? To the bumper?" The detective glances towards the one way mirror to his right, looking for confirmation, but only receives his reflection's confused face.
Behind the mirror Sansa's whiskers twitch with amusement.
He sighs, turning back towards the criminal. There's a long moment of silence before the man finally speaks. "It's not much of a history."
Tsukauchi sets the file to the side. "Anything helps."
Ogami frowns. "First off everything I did was in self defense. He attacked me. I don't kill kids and I don't like hurtin''em either, so I just cut him up a bit while we were fighting and ran the first chance I got."
His quirk doesn't register a lie so Naomasa remains silent, waiting for him to continue.
"I climbed up to the top of this building and jumped to over to another roof to try and lose him but the lil shit followed me. I jump over, he jumps over. So, I jump to the next roof thinking he'll stop. I'm already halfway across the second roof when I hear this loud bang and when I turn around he's gone."
Naomasa's brow rises.
"A week later he tracks me down again complaining about falling off a roof and needing stitches." The man scowls. "And then I'm wakin' up tied to the front of a car. That's it."
Throughout the telling of the tale Tsukauchi's quirk never once registered a lie. But, despite all that the man has said of his adventures with the vigilante, Naomasa has to remember that there's a reason the man sits before him. He'd done something to be put on Piper's radar, and thus far they'd managed to successfully jail all but two of the people Piper had left for them. "So, you don't kill kids."
Tsukiru leans back as far back in his seat as his cuffs allow. "That's right."
"But you'll kill adults?" There's a moment of silence as the detective watches Ogami's eyes narrow.
"I don't kill people period." Lie .
Naomasa lets out a deep sigh as he pushes himself up from his seat. "Rest assured we'll figure out who it was. Piper hasn't left us any innocent people thus far and I'm inclined to believe that you, Ogami-san, are no exception."
Tsukiru leans forward, fingers splayed across the metallic interrogation table. "You calling me a liar?"
"Unfortunately." With that the detective slips out of the room, followed shortly by Tamakawa.
"So, Piper's a kid?" Sansa asks, tailing the detective.
Naomasa falls into his desk chair, ten times more tired than when he'd gotten out of it. "Not necessarily. Ogami wasn't lying about not killing kids so at the very least it's possible he believed that Piper was one. I doubt that he'd have run otherwise unless he was actually worried about losing, but he seems too cocky for that. So, whether or not that's actually the case, I'm not sure. For now we'll treat it as a possibility." He flips open Piper's casefile again. "From what Ogami said he got stitches from some injury. But, I'm afraid I blew it on getting any specifics, so that's probably a dead end unless we can get him to talk to us again. Though I doubt he'll want to speak without a lawyer anymore." The detective sighs, a mild headache starting to form behind his eyes. "Pass Ogami's case to Detective Soto. She's been trying to take down the remaining yakuza clans for years, so I'm sure she'd love to put him behind bars. And, try to see if there are any missing persons reports that fit Piper's description, child cases as well. There's a chance that he could be a runaway." Naomasa pauses, thinking. "Ignore anyone with flashy quirks for now. If no one's seen Piper use one yet then I think it's safe to say that his quirk either won't be a noticeable one or it won't be useful in combat. I'll keep an eye out for any civilian vigilante cases as well. Piper doesn't seem the type to let something go just because he's out of uniform." Naomasa turns to look at his friend. "Sorry, I know it's a lot to ask for. It's just..."
Sansa picks up for him, "If it really is a kid you want to find him as quickly as possible?" Tsukauchi deflates a bit, dragging a hand through his hair. "Yeah."
"From here it's really just a game of chance," Sansa says, walking towards his own desk, "But, there are ways to increase our chances. Your plan is one of them. Don't stress too much Detective, if it's a kid we'll catch them soon enough. They're bound to slip up somewhere."
Two weeks after his initial encounter with his new level barrier Midoriya finds himself in a rather peculiar situation. He'd been lucky thus far, there weren't many heroes around so late into the night, so to begin with there was a small chance that he'd run into one unwillingly. Usually it was him tracking them down to enlist their help on the occasion that he found someone he couldn't protect by himself.
But, he'd never stopped to think during these last few months about the fact that these heroes, who were certified by the law, saw him as nothing more than another villain. He'd never stopped to think about what being a vigilante actually meant.
He'd been in the middle of subduing some mid tier drug dealer across from a slummy nightclub when there's a shout for him to stop from the mouth of the alley they're in. His head whips towards the sound, only able to take in a gaudy hero costume before he's forced to roll to the side to avoid a large hand reaching for him. There's barely enough room to do so in the alley and his head narrowly escapes a painful collision with a nearby dumpster.
Death Arms, Midoriya's mind supplies, pushing himself up, Strength enhancement, usual hero hours, nine to five.
To his left the drug dealer groans. "Sir, are you okay?"
Izuku curses under his breath, the hero thought he was attacking civilians. He moves slowly, trying not to draw the man's eye as they helps the dealer sit up. Midoriya's pulse is racing, heart playing a staccato beat in his chest. He'd dealt with plenty of low level criminals, and recently more mid range ones as well, all of which had rather low level quirks. But, he'd never gone against someone with pro hero capabilities.
His pipe scrapes quietly across the concrete as he picks it up. The noise drawing the hero's eye, but by the time he can make to do anything to stop the boy, the end of his staff is slamming into the back of the drug dealer's head.
The vigilante physically flinches when it makes contact, but he knows that it has to be done. If he's unconscious they'll escort him to the hospital. There he'll at least have a chance of being found with any incriminating evidence he has on him. Midoriya leaps back, dodging a swing from the hero's fist. If he's conscious they'd just him let go.
His heart is in his throat.
I'm fighting a hero.
This isn't what he'd wanted when he decided to do what he does. I didn't want to fight with heroes.
"You knew it'd happen eventually," the voice in his head hisses,
"Heroes and vigilantes aren't friends."
Yeah, but that doesn't mean they have to be enemies.
Death Arms throws another punch at the boy, stepping in front of the drug dealer's unconscious body.
The vigilante throws himself back, dodging what he's sure would be a crippling blow when taking into account the man's quirk. He blinks and there's a strike of fear that races through him when the vision in one eye goes blurry. He curses, swiping at it. He feels something give way beneath his hand and roll down his cheek before he recovers just in time to dodge another blow.
"Make this easier on the two of us and turn yourself in peacefully!"
Midoriya throws up his guard, using his staff as a deterrent to keep the hero away if only for a moment. "What kind of cliche line is that? I hope you don't say that to all the criminals you try to take in! By the way! You do realize that he's the actual criminal here right? I wasn't the one selling drugs, that's all on him. I was just trying to stop him."
"That doesn't give ya' the right to keep whalin on 'em!" The hero shouts, slamming his fists together in what Midoriya assumes is supposed to be intimidating.
"What did you expect me to do? There wasn't anyone else who was gonna stop him. I'm a vigilante, this is my job ."
Death Arms scowls, his figure illuminated by the red neon lights of the club behind him. "No. Actually, it's my job."
The fifteen year old doesn't respond, instead making a dash for the opposite end of the alley. There's a grunt from behind him, and Izuku glances over to his shoulder to see the hero pick up one of the alley's dumpsters in a display of strength that Midoriya would normally stop to marvel at. But, in the position he's in now he only has enough time to drop his staff and get a running start
at the wall, using it as leverage in a desperate attempt to reach the fire escape that he spies hanging just out of reach above him. His hands latch around the lowest rung on the ladder, but even up here he can't completely escape the dumpster's spiral through the small alley. One of the dumpster lids fly up in the mayhem, at such a velocity the usually harmless plastic is able to slice through the exposed skin of his lower back. The vigilante flinches at the sudden pain. But, he has to force himself to keep his grip on the ladder and finish hauling himself the rest of the way up as the dumpster lands in a deafening screech of metal against concrete.
The vigilante's heart pounds relentlessly in his chest and if he looks down at this hands he's sure he'll find them shaking. His legs tremble. "You threw a dumpster at me?!" Midoriya yells, voice cracking ever so slightly. His hand goes to cradle the new wound on back, hissing when his fingers come back stained crimson.
"You resisted arrest!"
His gaze jerks away from his bloodied fingers and towards the hero below. His hands find a tight grip on the railing. "And, that gives you the right to try and kill me?! " Izuku had been scared at first, maybe even a little giddy somewhere in the middle of everything at seeing a pro up close. But, then he'd been terrified, his whole 'life flashing before your eyes moment' nothing more than a whelling of guilt and regret on behalf of his mother. But now, now that he's escaped immediate danger he feels tar-like rage bubbling up beneath his skin, clawing at his epidermis, howling to be let out, to be set free. "The hell kind of hero are you!" The tar spills from is mouth with absinthe words, and he can't even stand looking at the man as he slinks back to check on the downed drug dealer, keeping an eye on the boy's form all the while. Piper turns away, stomping up the steps of the fire escape towards the roof, each step sending out a resounding clang of metal. When he reaches the top, fire burning in his eyes, he leans over the edge and calls down to the hero out of nothing but pure spite. "Has anyone ever told you that your little bracelets are stupid and completely unnecessary?! Because they are! And they slow your shitty punches!"
The vigilante sulks on top of the roof for another fifteen minutes waiting for the hero disappear with the unconscious drug dealer. When he's sure the man is gone and he won't have to look at him again, he slinks back down the side of the building to retrieve his staff that Death Arms had simply left for Izuku to retrieve.
Midoriya walks out the opposite end of the alley, having to squeeze past the damaged dumpster, still muttering curses and one hand keeping pressure on the gash carved into his back.
It really is the last thing he wants to do at two in the morning when he's absolutely exhausted and still fuming at the hero. But, he know that the injury from the dumpster runs across an area on his lower back that he wouldn't be able to patch up on his own.
He worries for a moment that the Tsukauchi will have changed his mind and refuse to help him anymore. Midoriya knows he doesn't have to worry about having the police called on him, the teen hadn't ratted him out last time and he's sure he wouldn't do so now either. But, helping again and playing snitch were two different things entirely. The vigilante taps quietly on the window, the light is still on.
He hears shuffling inside the room and there's a split second where the vigilante thinks of making a mad dash for it because ' what in the actual hell am I doing' . But, then the window is sliding open and Reo's head peeks out, amber eyes staring at him.
"Piper?"
Midoriya gives him a small wave and sheepish grin that's hidden behind his mask. "H-Hey Tsukauchi."
The teen scowls at him, the look startling the younger boy and he fears for a moment that his worry hadn't been misplaced.
"You're injured again aren't you."
The question surprises him, the vigilante only able to let out a strangled noise.
"When I told you to come back in a two weeks this is not what I meant."
Reo waves him in, Midoriya pausing only set his staff down outside and slip off his shoes.
"Didn't I tell you not to do anything until you healed?" Tsukauchi lays out an old towel on his swivel chair before motioning for the vigilante to sit. "And, unless you have some healing quirk I doubt your first injury has finished healing yet. And , if it has then taking out those stitches are going to be more painful than when I put them in. By the way," he says, catching the boy's eyes with his own, "What's up with the heterochromia? I didn't take you for such an edgelord."
The vigilante blinks at him, surprised. "What."
Reo pulls at the skin beneath his eye, "One's green."
Izuku's hand comes up to cover the left side of his face. "Mine?"
"Yeah."
Midoriya's eyes widen as he thinks back to his fight with Death Arms, the moment his vision had gone blurry. He curses, rubbing at it. "This is what I get for buying cheap contacts."
"So are they normally green?"
The fifteen year old nods silently, a little lost in his own head as he moves to straddle the seat the older boy offers to him.
"Anyway," He starts again, changing topics, "I'm glad you came back." Izuku looks over his shoulder at Reo in surprise as the boy pulls his hoodie up to reveal the new wound. It's smaller than the first one, not as deep, but it's jagged, not as cleanly cut as the last one. The teen continues speaking as he checks it, "I was worried you'd try to take out your stitches on your own."
The vigilante feels a small welling of shame in his throat and he quickly looks away from the older boy.
Tsukauchi looks up, noticing the shifted mood. "Tell me you weren't thinking about taking them out on your own. Tell me you didn't take them out on your own."
"I-I didn't!" Midoriya stammers, clenching the hem of his hoodie in his hands. "I-I only thought about it!"
Tsukauchi lets out a sigh deep enough to rival that of a tired, old man as he pulls away from studying the new injury. "Well, the wound doesn't look too bad. It'll need stitches, but I think you'll be pleased to hear that I found a less painful alternative."
"Less painful gives me the distinct impression that there will still be pain involved."
Reo grins at him. "You were out cold the last time I cleaned your wound, so yes, there will still be pain involved. But, stitches wise, no. I did some research online and found out that they have these things called butterfly stitches. They basically just tape your skin together, no needles needs."
The vigilante lets out a relieved sigh as Tsukauchi cracks open the door to his room before disappearing into the darkness of his apartment, coming back a minute later with a first aid kit and a wet washcloth.
He spends a moment sifting through the items in the kit, pulling out the things he'll need to clean the wound and setting them aside on his nightstand. A comfortable silence falls over them, an experience that is entirely foreign to the fifteen year old with people other than his mother. It's a nice feeling, the teen is one of those people that it's easy to fall into conversation with despite whatever situation you find yourself in him with. He's easy to trust and Midoriya finds himself wondering if it could be a hidden second quirk he has from his mother's side.
Tsukauchi tucks himself into a cross legged position on the edge of his bed as he pulls the vigilante's seat closer. Reo grabs the washcloth and starts by gently wiping away the blood smeared around the wound.
"So, are you gonna tell me what happened?"
Midoriya grunts when the rag drags across the wound. "It was just this random drug dealer that I was taking care of, but then this hero shows up. Completely off his patrol route and totally off his usual hero hours. And, he just assumes that I'm the bad guy," Reo can hear the contempt that slips into the boy's voice as he speaks.
Tsukauchi sets the washcloth aside and pulls out a bottle of premade solution his mom had put together, pouring it over the wound. The vigilante immediately jerks away, cursing. "What the hell was that!"
Reo pulls the boy's chair back towards him from where he'd rolled away. "It's a mild saline solution."
"Salt?!"
Tsukauchi grins, shushing the vigilante with a laugh. "The data says that hydrogen peroxide isn't good on deep wounds, it isn't discriminatory on what kind of bacteria it kills. This will help clean everything and keep the good bacteria that'll help you heal. I also hear that it's rather painful, a good deterrent for getting yourself hurt again wouldn't you say? Now sit still."
The vigilante mutters a few more curses as the pain fades. "Anyway, this hero showed up ready to let the drug dealer go thinking he was some civilian. And, obviously I couldn't let that happen so I knocked him out."
Tsukauchi looks up, startled. "The hero?"
"No! The villain!" The vigilante lets out a quiet laugh as Reo spreads some antibiotics in and around the wound. "I figured he'd be taken to the hospital or something for treatment, maybe even the precinct to take his statement. That way there was at least a chance of them finding whatever incrimiating stuff he had on him. But then the hero just! He just yeets a dumpster at me! I literally could've died!" He feels his previous fury boiling back up.
"Sue him."
Midoriya splutters, anger fizzling out in favor of surprise, "S-sue him?"
"Yes. Reckless endangerment, unnecessary force, lots of way you could win in court to be honest." With the vigilante's attention fully diverted the older boy finally pulls out the butterfly stitches, holding them out for the vigilante to look at. "Now. You see these beauties? They saved you from your nemesis Doctor Needle. Say thank you~"
A small, surprised laugh bubbles up through Midoriya's lips as he thanks the package that Reo's waving around before the boy rips it open and starts placing them over his wound. "Once I finish with this one I'll need to have a look at the wound on your ribs. How's it healing been healing up?" Reo allows only a moment of silence before he quickly starts speaking again. "You know what? Nevermind. I actually don't want to know what you've done to it against my suggestion. At this point I'd be surprised to find out that you haven't broken all of your stitches." Reo pulls out a guazepad and carefully sticks it over the wound. "All right, let's see rest of the damage then."
Midoriya is certain he'd ripped at least a few of the stitches out. He'd caught it bleeding one too many times after getting back from either patrols or the dojo over the last two weeks. The boy pulls his hoodie the rest of the way up, grimacing when Tsukauchi manages to get a look at.
"Where are the bandages?" Reo's eyes flicker up to meet the vigilante's red ones.
"We ran out?"
The wound itself is stained in an palette of angry monochromatic pink colors, and a few darker red pigments from some dried blood he hadn't had the time to clean off. It's puffy in the places where his stitches had come out. But, overall, the older boy thinks that it's not as bad as he'd expected it to be.
"Well, you managed to keep some of the stitches intact. And some of them at least had a chance to help you heal a bit before you popped them. It'll leave an ugly scar now though since you didn't take a break to let it heal." Reo looks back up at the boy again, frown in place. "Did you even rest a full day before fighting again?"
Midoriya grimances, thinking back to how he'd trudged his way to the dojo not even twenty-four hours later, completely dead on his feet. Chee Sensei had been ready to send him home the moment he'd walked through the door. But, he'd convinced her otherwise, his mind too wrapped up in all of his mistakes the night before to miss any training.
"I'll take your silence as a no. I'm not going to take the stitches out yet. With the way you've been treating it, it wouldn't hurt to leave them in for several more days." The teen pulls out a few more butterfly stitches, placing them over the half healed injury. "I don't know if these will help or not, but they certainly won't hurt and they're easily replaceable." Tsukauchi slips a few extra into the younger boy's hoodie pocket. "Buy some more bandages and keep the wound covered you don't need it to get infected. You at least kept up with the antibiotics right?"
The vigilante nods, trying to peek at the wound.
"Good, and don't stop until it's fully healed, that goes for both of them." Reo finally lets the boy lower his hoodie. "That should do it then."
"Thank you," Midoriya says, "Again. I'd probably be dead or in jail at this point without you."
"Oh, dead most definitely. Probably from blood loss, or infection. Maybe even a dumpster," he says, grinning, "Who knows. Depends on how kind fate is to you."
The vigilante huffs a laugh, pushing himself up from his seat. "I don't think fate and I have ever
been on good terms."
Reo hums, "Their loss, throw them in jail next time will you? I hear that's what Piper does to the criminals he crosses." The seventeen year old smirks, his remark drawing a smile from the other.
"Technically I already have, three weeks ago, just a few blocks from here. Some chick with a mood ring quirk, she was literally red in the face when I caught her trying to rob an atm." Midoriya slips back out the window, picking up his shoes from where he'd left them on the landing.
There's a moment of silence as Midoriya undoes his laces. "You know," the older boy starts, leaning on the windowsill. "You don't have to be injured just to drop by." The vigilante pauses in pulling on his shoes, turning to look at the older teen. "Maybe it's strange for me to say. But, you're surprisingly easy to talk to and we get along well. So, I wouldn't be opposed to getting to know you outside of your whole vigilante persona." Reo says, elbows coming to rest on the window's ledge, hands propping up his chin. "Oddly enough I trust you, and considering that you're even back here at all says that it's the same for you."
There's a strange welling in the vigilante's chest. "I—I think I'd like that. It'd be nice to have a friend like you for once." It'd be nice to have a friend at all .
"What'll he do once he finds out you're quirkless?" Again the sickening voice prys open it's maw, words like molten tar sticking to the
insides of his skull. "He'll abandon you for sure."
Tsukauchi smiles. "I guess I'm not allowed to run around saying I'm friends with Piper now?"
Midoriya laughs, burying the voice as he pulls his shoes on the rest of the way, lacing them back up. "Not unless you're looking to get us both arrested. I can see it already. I come back to you complaining about some injury or the other, bleeding all over the place and when I get here an officer lets me in. Like, "Okay I get it, you're arresting me, but my lung, it's punctured, I need him to fix it.""
Reo lets out a quiet wheeze of laughter. "Please , whatever you do don't come to me with a punctured lung I will call an ambulance."
The vigilante picks up his staff, standing up again. "Your opinion on punctured lungs has been noted. Now, can I ask about broken limbs?"
Reo swats at him from the window, missing the boy's pant legs by a few centimeters. "At this point you just need to have a line up of excuses ready for when you're forced to go to the hospital. Or, a butt load of cash to pay people off."
Midoriya snaps his fingers, shaking one at the seventeen year old. "That's not a bad idea actually. Drug dealers carry way too much cash on them, and as long as it doesn't hinder the investigation." The boy shrugs before grinning. "I could always pay you for your medical services as well."
The older teen wears a matching grin. "I like where this is going. That could help fund some of my bigger projects."
Izuku's brow rises. "Projects?"
"What? You think those desks in there are just for show? I'm in the support course at the school I go to you know."
Midoriya's christmas colored eyes widen. "As in hero gear support course?"
"As in hero gear support course." Reo's grin widens. "Maybe this can be our always."
"I'm trying to be home before three," the vigilante states, "but if you think the next time I come over I won't ask about every single one of your projects you are absolutely wrong ."
The older teen can only smile. "I'll be looking forward to it Piper." _
Vigilante Piper takes down Villain!! Hero stops him!!!
1,621,318 views
3,012 comments
the-database-says-ur-stupid - 7 hours ago
This is literally the most unconventional version of Pied Piper I've seen in my life and that's saying a lot after that disaster of a DC movie remake three years ago.
trash - 10 hours ago
HOLY SHIT HOW IS HE EVEN ALIVE????
plutoisgay - 6 hours ago
I can't believe that hero thought Piper was the villain That other dude looks so obviously shady
pear_on_a_boat - 3 hours ago
3:12 DID Y'ALL SEE HIS EYES IMDAKJFL SJKF
stanmirk0 - 7 hours ago
You KNOW Death Arms is gonna get SO much shit for this
dablzawa - 5 hours ago
I wonder if those eye colors are real 0-0
moonwavez - 2 hours ago
lmao at 2:23 did you guys see the face that hero made Sksksksksk
oof123456789 - 6 hours ago
AKDGJALDSFJLAKSDF HE THREW A W H O L E DUMPSTER DOESNT HE KNOW THAT CAN K I L L PEOPLE
xxallmight34xx - 4 hours ago
Did anyone see if Piper used a quirk?? I've been trying to figure it out, but there's not a lot of info on them yet and the video doesn't give it away.