"So, Tanaka Hato was the one who initiated the fight? And Piper only told you all to wait for police to arrive." In front of the detective Hirano nods, confirming the statement. "And you didn't see him use any kind of quirk during the fight?"
She shakes her head. "No sir."
Naomasa sighs, another dead end then. He begins pushing himself up to leave. "Well, if there's anything else you remember please feel free to contact us."
"Actually, um..." The girl trails off, looking nervous. The detective stops, lowering himself back into his seat. "No, nevermind I-"
The detective eyes her quizitively.
"It's just... They... I don't want them to..." She frowns, playing with her hands.
"Hirano-san," Naomasa says quietly, debating how to continue forward. I need her to trust me. "We suspect that Piper is a kid your age."
The teen looks up, startled by the revelation.
"What he's doing," Naomasa continues on carefully, "It's dangerous. He's helped put a lot of bad people behind bars, but doing so comes at a big risk for anyone. It gives him a lot of enemies... Hirano-san..." he ventures, "I'm honestly thankful that Piper is helping us put away the people that need to be, but... I'm more worried about his safety than anything else. If there is anything that you can tell me that could help us prevent anything from happening to him, then I need to know."
The girl bites her lip. "I... I don't know if it'll help or not, but..." She pauses, this is to help him. "He was... He was using this type of martial art called Muay Thai... It's, um... this specific type of martial arts, it's not seen much outside of Thailand anymore. Tanaka and I used to be enrolled in a dojo that taught it, that's the only reason I recognized it," she explains.
Tsukauchi's thoughts race to connect the red strings strung across his mind. "How many places do you think still teach it in Japan?"
Hirano looks up, surprised by the question. "Um... I'm not too sure. Regional competitions were always rather small though seeing as there's only a handful of dojos in the area. But, Nationals were always a decent size, you'd get people from all across Japan there."
"So it's a pretty tight knit community then?"
"Well... I wouldn't necessarily say tight knit," the sixteen year old mumbles, "It's not like everyone knew everyone. But, you knew who your competition was. Tanaka has actually been to nationals a few times and... since Piper was able to beat him like he did then you're at least looking for someone who's good enough to make it there as well."
The two talk for a moment longer before the detective pushes himself up, gathering his things. "Thank you very much for this information Hirano-san. We'll make sure to put it to good use. If
you remember anything else please feel free to give me a call." He slides a business card across the interrogation table to the teenager. "Thank you for your time, Hirano-san. You've been a great help."
The girl quietly nods, studying the number with a small frown etched into her face. "It's the least I can do."
"You'll be fine. When the police get here just tell them the truth. They'll believe you. I promise."
I hope he'll be safe. I did this to help him, I don't want him to get hurt because of it.
When the man pushes open the door Tamakawa and another officer there to take the girl to her parents are waiting for him, he speed-walks past the two, the feline hot on his trail. "Narrow that dojo search for Piper to Muay Thai ones. This could finally give us a lead," he pauses, "We got lucky with that girl," There's a lull of silence between the two as Naomasa continues turning the possibilities over in his head. "There's a chance that Piper learned to fight outside of a dojo, from a family or a friend maybe, or even outside of Musutafu or Japan. But, this is the best lead we've had so far and we can't pass it up."
Sansa nods. "If there really are as few dojos as that girl made it out to be then it's possible that we could find Piper within the next few days," Tamakawa muses, whiskers twitching.
Naomasa lets out a non committal hum, "At the very least I'm hoping for a few suspects. Get me a list of all the local dojos and the times that they're open, I'll try to visit some as well."
Midoriya is late again, after having fallen asleep on the roof during lunch there'd been no one to wake him up and he'd ended up sleeping through the last half of the day. He blamed the two perverts from last night. He'd been two on one against some peeping toms. It should have been an easy clean up, but one had managed to use their quirk to escape and the boy had spent an extra hour chasing the tiny, purple-haired idiot which had left the vigilante far outside his normal patrol area.
He still feels a little dazed from his nap, even with the adrenaline high he has after sprinting from school to the dojo. He glances at his reflection in the windows making sure the foundation covering the fading bruise on his cheek is still there before he bursts through the door. A "Sorry I'm late!" on his lips. He rushes towards their small bathroom, blazer already stuffed in his backpack and half tugging his shirt off before he even reaches the door.
"Shoes!" Chee Sensei barks.
"Shit." He stops trying to pull his shirt off and instead turns to his shoes, half hobbling, half jumping just to get them off before chunking them back towards the door. "Sorry!"
Everyone pauses to follow his journey across the room, two too many sets of eyes tracking him.
He stumbles out of the bathroom a few minutes later, not completely put together but more so than when he'd first run in.
"Midoriya." He looks up at Chee Sensei's call. Now noticing the two men standing at her hip, one who looks strangely familiar.
"Fujimori-san?" There's a sharp spike of fear at seeing the police after what he'd been up to the
last few months. Why are they here? Did they sniff me out? Izuku tenses slightly, ready to make a dash for the door if need be.
But, the officer only smiles, easing the boy's nerves. "Midoriya-san, I thought that was you. You rushed by too quickly for me to be certain though."
The fifteen year old flushes, nerves still on edges. He tries to hide the fact with a short bow as the other man and Ji-woo eye the two.
"You two know each other?"
Fujimori turns to the man by his side. "Detective Tsukauchi, this is Midoriya Izuku. He helped in a kidnapping case a few months ago. He the one who found Hogai's daughter."
Izuku's eyes snap up to look at the Detective. I wonder if Reo's related to him?
"This is the boy that saved her?" Naomasa asks, surprised as he turns to meet the boy's eyes. He's
surprisingly muscular for his age, though his figure is more lean than stout.
Midoriya opens his mouth to protest, but he's cut off by Fujimori's quick reply of, "Yes."
A smile pulls at Naomasa's lips. "What a small world we've found ourselves in. I know Hogai-san sends his thanks for saving his daughter. You did a good job Midoriya-san."
Izuku nods rather reluctantly, thinking back on all of the things he'd done wrong in that situation. He mumbles a half hearted, "Yeah."
Naomasa says nothing when his quirk registers the lie, only gives the boy a small smile before he continues speaking. "I'm glad you're here though. We were just about to head out, but I'd like to ask you a few questions before we leave if that's fine with you young man."
Midoriya casts a wary glance at Chee Sensei. Her pitch eyes are unreadable, but her freckles are flared just the slightest bit brighter than usual, hinting at a seed of agitation.
"Do you know anything about a vigilante by the name of Pied Piper?"
Izuku freezes up immediately, completely blindsided by the question. "What?" He stares at the two dumbly, his previous fear crawling back up his throat.
In his mind the creature rears its head, maw opening with a caustic grin and acidulous words. "They've found you. You were careless and they found you," it hisses, "It's only been a few months and yet you've already been caught. Useless. You've never stopped being useless."
Midoriya clamps down on the voice, trying desperately to shut it up. He can see the detective's mouth moving, forming words that he can't quite understand over the blood roaring in his ears and the voice hissing in his mind. But, he knows no matter what he does he won't be able to answer. So, he lets Piper answer instead.
"Sorry about that Detective, could you repeat that? I didn't get much sleep last night so my brain's still a little fried." He feels like he's on autopilot, and the easy smile on his lips feels like it's made of crumbling sand.
Chee Sensei scowls at the boy. "How many times have I told you, take care of yourself first Midoriya. Missing one day isn't going to ruin you."
The fifteen year old scratches shyly at the back of his head. "I took a nap during lunch," he explains, "I thought I'd be fine."
When Naomasa's quirk registers the small lie he can't help the minute downward tick of his lips. The lie reminiscent of something Yagi would say. The detective gently clears his throat, trying to lead the conversation back to the situation at hand. "Nevermind that first question. Can I ask what you what you were doing last Saturday at around 11:30 pm?"
Midoriya gives the question some serious thought, trying to remember for himself what he'd been doing. Obviously he'd been out patrolling by then, but... He freezes up again, the thoughtful expression he'd taken on quickly dissolving.
The change is a noticeable one.
"I was sleeping," he blurts out, panicking as Piper's facade begins to crumble.
Naomasa's quirk reacts, rearing up at the obvious lie. The detective's lips tick downwards. Chee Sensei's eyes narrow, pitch boring into jade. "That's a lie Midoriya."
Hurdles weren't an unusual sight on Izuku's race track. They had become everyday occurrences after he'd taken the name Piper. Every night, with every criminal encounter, he was forced to, once again, face the hurdle of his quirklessness. Despite this he continued to push himself, continued to run faster, jump higher, continued to pass all of the peers who had looked down upon him. Continued to pass all of those racing just ahead of him under the assumption that he'd never catch up. But, now he fears he'd encountered a hurdle that he simply wouldn't be able to jump, and for once it wouldn't have anything to do with being quirkless.
Suddenly he feels like throwing up, his sun flickering beneath the gravity of Chee Sensei's words. He wants the floor to heave upwards, splitting the ground under his feet. He wants the earth to consume him.
The boy opens his mouth to respond, but it only closes again with an audible click. He doesn't know what to say.
But, the three are silent, waiting on him to answer the accusation.
Eventually he forces his vocal cords to respond. "I was training?" he murmurs half-heartedly. Not
technically a lie.
Ji-woo's freckles flare , brighter than he'd seen them in over a year. The woman wasn't one to show many emotions. And, if Midoriya hadn't been around her as long as he had been and wasn't as observant as he was he's sure he wouldn't have seen the anger residing on her face.
She makes a swipe at the back of his head and he ducks away from it on instinct alone, eyes wide as he stumbles back, the woman following him. "Training is reserved for the dojo," she seethes, "If you're so insistent on overworking yourself then join a damn competition once in awhile!"
"I-It's not what you're thinking! I-I was just feeling restless!"
Lie.
All eyes in the dojo are trained on the student and teacher, the others dumbfounded by the woman's outburst.
Naomasa eyes them as well as Fujimori goes to try and defuse the situation. Ji-woo lets out a sigh, the boy watching her freckles dim as she reins in her anger. "That's all of my students that are here today Detective. If you're done I'd like to make the most of what they're paying to be here for."
The man startles somewhat, "Of course, thank you for your time Chee-san, Midoriya-san." He tips his hat to the two of them before motioning for the other man to follow him out.
"Why were they here?" Izuku asks warily eyeing the woman after Fujimori and the Detective had bid their goodbyes. The two watch the duo slip out through the door, climbing into a police cruiser parked on the curb that Midoriya's brain had conveniently decided not to register on his way in.
"A friend of mine who runs another gym across the city called me yesterday to tell me that the police were doing rounds on the local Muay Thai dojos. Evidently they were asking questions about that Pied Piper character. I'd assume they're looking for suspects, but I don't see how questioning a bunch of middle schoolers and high schoolers like you all will help."
Midoriya's thoughts immediately snap to Hirano and Tanaka. He curses internally, one of them must have let it slip.
"But, don't think I'll forget about our earlier exchange Midoriya." He looks over at her, worry seeping into his jade eyes. He's unable to tell if she's actually looking at him or still watching the two men as they climb into the patrol car. "If I so much as suspect that you're staying up late just to train like I think you are I will go to your mother about it."
The boy pales. "I-I swear it's not what you're thinking. I've just been having trouble sleeping every now and then and training helps tire me out." He's lying straight through his teeth at this point, but he meets Ji-woo's gaze with a look that must convince her otherwise because all she does is let out a long sigh.
" Please take care of yourself Midoriya. You'll end up sending your mother to an early grave if you keep this up."
The boy tenses, guilt seeping lead into his limbs. "Hai..."
The next week goes by smoothly and he does try to take better care of himself for both Chee Sensei and his mother's sakes. He'd been staying out later than usual in the weeks leading up to that point, usually pushing his patrols an extra hour or just talking with Reo until three. So, he tries to be home by two from now on during school nights.
But, there are of course exceptions to this rule. Such as when he's mid chase or say... when he's been cornered by a hero.
He must have gotten too close to the nice part of town while he was chasing the unconscious thief at his feet. He hadn't meant to knock the man unconscious, the vigilante had merely tripped him with a foot, but his head had collided rather harshly with the pavement. Midoriya can't say he regrets it too much at first. But, once Snipe makes his appearance Piper supposes that he could've been a better hostage if he was awake and standing. But, as it is the man is out cold on the concrete and much too heavy for Izuku pick up and use as a shield to keep the hero from firing on him.
He's frozen, a deadly cocktail of fear and adrenaline pulsing through him at the thought of having to face yet another hero after his last two encounters.
"Drop the weapon."
Midoriya does so without hesitation, letting the pipe fall to the concrete with a loud, hollow clang. His hands rise on their own, hovering at the sides of his head.
Snipe doesn't miss, his mind informs him. Even through his fear seeped mind his hero analysis notes come back to him. Drifting up to him like a dream. If he doesn't miss then...
"Turn around, hands behind your back." The vigilante does as instructed, watching from the corner of his eyes as the hero slides his gun back in its holster. A lead weight settles in the pit of his stomach when he feels a pair of cuffs snap around his wrists.
Stay calm, it's part of the plan.
Piper bites the corner of his lip as the hero moves his grab to the boy's forearm. His hands sweat, he'd never tried pickpocketing someone before, but surely this would be easier. After all, he wasn't having to reach into the hero's pocket.
All he had to do was grab the gun.
Snipe was a good hero. But, he, like everyone else, had weaknesses. Snipe was a teacher, because of this he didn't underestimate per se, but he let his guard down around younger criminals when they seemed to be showing no signs of resistance.
Piper's hands slowly wrap around the grip of the hero's weapon. His other weakness was that he only had one gun.
Midoriya rips his arm from the man's hold, dragging the gun with him as he takes off, tearing around the corner of the alley. He can hear Snipe cursing behind him, reaching for a gun that's no longer there.
He's too scared to feel giddy, but there's still the undeniable sound of choked laughter that bubbles past his lips as he runs.
"I need backup! We have a downed villain and another that's getting away! Pin my location and send someone to collect the unconscious one! I'm going after the other!"
Piper blindly slips down an alley, the hero hot on his trail.
There's fear in his lungs and in his heart and in his limbs, pushing him to run faster, pushing him to keep going.
I don't want this to be the end.
"Useless little doll. Everyone's least favorite plaything. If only you had
a quirk, none of this would have happened." In his head the voice fills his skull like muddy flood water, drowning out everything else. It's maw pulls itself into a cheshire grin, sharpened teeth dripping tar.
"How unfortunate for you."
The boy barrels out the end of the alley into a street full of people bar hopping. "Stop him!"
But, no one does, no one even so much as reaches out a hand to try to slow the vigilante down. In fact they clear a path, wide eyed at the handcuffed teen tearing through the streets. Several pull out their phones, recording the chase over the heads of those in front of them.
Neon signs line the buildings, all of them blurring together in a nauseating kaleidoscope of color. Behind him the crowd closes like a sea, further separating him from the hero.
But, he keeps running, slipping down another alley as fast as he's able to after making sure Snipe's direct line of sight had been broken. The sounds of nightlife fade behind him and he can't hear a second pair of steps following him. But still, he keeps running, keeps ducking down alleys and cutting through construction sites, not knowing where he's going until he finds himself alone outside a familiar convenience store. The vigilante wheezes as he comes to a stop, too tired to run any farther. His lungs spasm in his chest, each breath scorching through him on it's way in.
He can see Reo's apartment building up ahead, and it takes a moment, but he forces his limbs to move again. It's slow going and his legs shake beneath him but eventually Midoriya ducks down the building's side alley, collapsing into the wall for support as he tries to steady his breathing.
His wrists are still bound uncomfortably behind his back, the area around the cuffs now raw from being joseled during his escape. The fifteen year old lowers himself carefully to the ground, setting Snipe's gun to the side and letting his head fall back against the brick wall behind him once he's firmly planted.
"This is the first time I've been in cuffs before," he mutters to himself.
He manages after a moment to maneuver himself into a position where he's able to slip his cuffed wrists underneath his body, bringing his hands back in front of him.
It's the last thing he wants to do. But, Midoriya knows he'd never be able to make it up to Reo's window with the state he's currently in. He wouldn't be able to make the jump to grab onto the ladder, let alone haul himself up it unassisted with his hands bound the way they are.
"Tsukauchi!" His throat is hoarse, and the name comes out scratchy, but it's enough.
In his room Reo startles, looking towards the window. The teen had taken to leaving it cracked as of late, not only had the weather been nice enough for it, but it also saved him the trouble of having to let Midoriya in everytime he dropped by for a visit.
"Tsukauchi!" the call is a little louder this time.
Reo pushes himself up, dragging the window open the rest of the way.
"Midoriya?" His voice is much quieter, calling out to the other boy with a whispered shout. The seventeen year old hauls himself out the window, peeking over the rails of the fire escape to look down at the vigilante.
Izuku simply holds up his hands, showing off the bulky cuffs clamped around his wrists. He gives the older boy an exhausted and wobbly smile. "Help?"
Pied Piper Chased By Pro Hero Snipe *GOT AWAY*
1,938,849 views
4,182 comments
yadixkp - 10 hours ago
What did this Pied Piper dude even do this time? The last time he had a video like this blow up he was just trying to stop some sleaze bag
softhawks - 8 hours ago
I wonder how he's planning on getting those cuffs off lmao
clownfuckery - 3 hours ago
BRO IS THAT SNIPE'S GUN IN HIS HANDS??!?!?!?? IM AKJD;SHFAJ'KSDF
reonhatoo - 5 hours ago
I love how literally no one is doing anything to stop him dskl;ajf
Glitxd_observer - 2 hours ago
There are obviously going to be people who say differently but Piper is actually a really good hero, even if he's doing it illegally he's saved quite a few people and has helped put away a lot of /actual/ criminals
ElectroSambouwo - now
THIS GUY IS REALLY OUT HERE JUST RUNNING AROUND
WITH SNIPE'S WEAPON WHAT A LEGEND WHAT AN ABSOLUTE MADLAD