Reo's somewhat embarrassed to say that he also tears up after a while of Midoriya's incessant apologies. His shoulder's still wet from his friend's tears and his knees ache from kneeling on the floor beside him. They pop and crack as he stands. He offers the other a hand up.
Izuku croaks out a rough thank you as he too finally gets to his feet.
Reo doesn't want the boy to leave, but he catches Midoriya reluctantly eyeing the window.
"I should go," he finally murmurs weakly. Finals week starts tomorrow."
Reo sighs lifting a hand to rustle the younger teen's mess of shamrock curl. He gives him a small smile. "I know you'll do great. Make sure you text me when you get back."
Midoriya laughs weakly. "I will."
Once he's slipped out the window he goes up instead of down. He tests out the grappling hook Reo had given him, using it to make his way up to the top of the building. He'll need to practice using it if he wants it to be useful in high adrenaline situations.
Midoriya hauls himself over the lip of the apartment's roof, dusting himself off and shoving the grappling hook into his backpack with the rest of the vigilante gear Reo had made. The rooftop gives him time to gather himself. Even after his talk with Reo the vigilante still feels a crushing amount of guilt swirling in his chest. Reo wasn't really the one he needed to apologize to.
The boy sighs, cool night air biting at his cheeks. "Tomorrow then."
Naomasa is tired. He's so very, stupidly tired. Not necessarily physically tired, but mentally so. There had been a lot of public backlash against the vigilante after their last encounter and because of that the station had been unusually busy with reports on Piper's supposed whereabouts. There were more people eager to see him behind bars. And, with Tsukauchi having been gone for the last while while recovering, the investigative team handling the kid's case had been short staffed,
quickly falling behind. Even the hero commission had been asking after the vigilante's whereabouts. That'd been a phone call that'd left him with a pit of dread in chest.
Sansa doesn't have eye bags that give away his exhaustion like some of the others on the team, but the angle of his ears and the dragging of his tail is enough to clue the detective in. Tsukauchi hangs up the phone from this latest report, leaning back in his seat for a brief moment of respite. "Sansa," he calls after a few seconds.
"Yes?"
"Go home."
The feline glances at the nearest clock. "It's only 5, sir."
"I know. That's why I'm telling you to go home. You need more sleep than most people right? Just be prepared to work hard tomorrow," the detective says, looking his way.
The officer's whiskers twitch in amusement. "Yes, sir. Make sure you get a proper eight hours yourself."
"I'll try my best," he laughs, watching as his friend packs up his things and clocks out.
"Goodnight, Detective," Sansa calls as he heads towards the elevators.
"Goodnight, Sansa."
It's not even a few minutes later that the phone on his desk rings again, drawing his attention. He can only pray it's not about Piper.
"Quirk crimes division, Detective Tsukauchi speaking."
"Yes Tsukauchi-san, this is Tokage. Someone dropped some food off for you at the front desk."
The man immediately relaxes. "Oh? Was it my sister?"
"No, a teenager. They didn't give a name."
The man chuckles. "Probably my nephew then. Misaki must've sent him with leftovers. Alright thanks for giving me a heads up, I'll be down soon."
"Mhmm. I caught Yū eyeing it so best hurry."
Naomasa huffs a laugh. "Tell Yū to keep their paws off. I'll be there in a sec."
The detective rubs tiredly at his eyes as he hangs up. The food has come at just the right time. He hauls himself up, stretching for a moment before heading out towards the front desk.
As soon as he's made it down to the first floor Tokage passes him the bag of food to him with a smile. "That's a nice nephew you've got there. He's the one in that support course right?"
Naomasa nods, checking the food. "Yeah." Instead of a few of Misaki's spare tupperware containers he finds a large box of takeout. He's surprised but certainly not disappointed. Yū's head peeks over his shoulder, their mouth watering. "That's from that really nice restaurant on block 12 right?"
"Is it?" He grins, shooing the officer back towards his post. "They must have felt bad for me."
"Wish someone felt that bad for me," Yū mutters under their breath, walking away.
He and Tokage laugh at the other's plight before Naomasa thanks the two and heads back up. He sets the bag down on his desk, falling back into his seat.
There's a small note that flutters out as he pulls the food out of the bag it'd come in. The man assumes it's just a receipt before flipping it over.
For: Tsukauchi Naomasa
Take care of yourself, don't forget to eat.
(Sorry about before.)
A furrow forms between the detective's brows. "Sorry? What's Reo sorry for?" Naomasa pulls the container open, suddenly very aware of his hunger. He cracks a set of chopsticks open, shoving a piece of steak into his mouth. The detective melts into his seat. "Oh that's good," he mumbles around the food. He smiles to himself, taking another bite of food. "I don't know what you're apologizing for kid, but apology accepted."
With Midoriya's last year of middle school finally over, Izuku is set free from the chains Aldera had bound him in. There's no part of him that will miss the memories of that place. The wrinkled pages of his newest notebook is proof enough of that. And though he and Bakugou will still be going to the same school he doubts they'll hardly cross paths. Gen Ed and the hero course reside within two separate worlds of their own. The prospect of new bullies appearing has crossed his mind, but he knows they wouldn't hold the same power over him as Bakugou did.
Katsuki Bakugou had carved himself into Izuku's life like a gruesome scar that still aches when prodded. Midoriya was determined to make sure that 'Kacchan' would be the only one of his bullies to do this.
But graduating had indicated more for the vigilante than that of simple freedom. With the beginning of their spring break two separate occasions are marked for him. The first of which is his two week notice before his first day at UA. The second of which is Midoriya's revamped hunt for Tanaka. His revitalized search for the older teen leads him to somewhere he should've been looking at long before.
Midoriya doesn't use social media often, at least not in the local sense. He doesn't use it to keep up with what's happening to family or people at school, instead using it to get info on recent hero fights and crime busts. It helps him feel out the current climate when it comes to hero work and as a vigilante info like that is always important to know.
Of all the social media accounts that Midoriya has, only one of them is attached to his legal name. And, of all the accounts he follows on there only three are people he knows personally: Reo, Gamon, and Hirano.
It's Hirano's account that leads him straight to Tanaka.
Hirano follows a lot of people, but if it means tracking Tanaka down everything he's done until now will be worth it. It takes Midoriya scrolling through at least three fourths of her following tab
just to find Tanaka's smug face, but once he does there's a bead of triumph that settles in his chest. The vigilante quickly taps on the profile.
The newest post is from 3 hours ago.
tnk_ht
[Video: Loud music can be heard blaring as an unknown man climbs on a kitchen table. In the background someone shouts, "Break that table and I break your face!" The unknown man stands, dancing along to the music before he slips, toppling both him and the table to the floor. A roar of laughter breaks out within those gathered. "Oh shit! Think he broke his face on his own Haddo!"]
Liked by .AppleHat3r. and 5 others
tnk_ht the vibes at @Haddo3's place are wild view all 3 comments
Haddo3 If anyone else shows up I'm charging entry to buy a new table tnk_ht and a new toilet seat
Haddo3 WHAT HAPPENED TO MY TOILET SEAT
The post gives Midoriya a place, but not an actual location he knows how to find. Tanaka's at Haddo's place, but who the hell is Haddo? He reloads the page, but nothing changes. He checks Haddo's account as well but as expected there's nothing to indicate where the guy might live.
For the next week he continues checking on the account almost obsessively, searching for any clue where he might be able to track the older teen down. More importantly, searching for a clue to track down any possible connections to the yakuza group Hirano mentioned Tanaka had been hanging around.
It isn't until the final few days of March that Midoriya finally gets the lead he's been looking for.
tnk_ht 20m
[image: exterior of a somewhat decrepit looking karaoke bar, the neon sign outside reads, Kanaria.
Text says: let's gooooo ]
tnk_ht 9m
[video: Tanaka holds up a can of beer towards the camera, lazy grin on his lips. Behind him are Haddo and a few others. Two unknown people are shown loudly singing off key to some English
pop song.]
tnk_ht 1m
[image: shaky photo of Haddo singing. Text reads: HELP HADDO IS KILLING US LMAOOOO]
It's way too early for Midoriya to head out as Piper, but it's also too late for him to wander around as himself. Inko's still awake, busy cleaning up after their late dinner. So, he uses the only excuse he can think of to use in this situation.
The fifteen-year-old makes his way down the hall to the kitchen, peeking out from the behind the corner with a forced sort of casualness. "Hey, Mom. Is it okay if I spend the night at a friend's house tonight?"
Midoriya Inko looks up at him in surprise. It takes approximately seven seconds for her to burst into tears.
"Make sure to pack a toothbrush! And pajamas! Oh, and an extra pair of socks just in case!" Inko calls as the boy slips down the hall. He can hear her nervously pacing in the kitchen. He doesn't pack any of the items she tells him to though, instead filling his backpack up with all the vigilante gear that'll fit and wearing as much of it as he can get away with. He throws on the pants and the bullet proof vest and slips an oversized all might hoodie over it all to draw attention away from the fact that he's wearing pants Inko doesn't know he owns. Everything else goes into the bag, though the spikes on his boots are on the verge of stabbing through the back of the bag. He doesn't know how he'll sneak his staff out, or if he even should. He knows how to fight without it, but he knows he'll still feel naked not having it.
He doesn't really have a choice in the matter though and leaves it tucked safely beneath his bed. When he steps out of his room again Inko is standing by his door. She looks like she's tearing up again. "Promise me you'll call as soon as you get there, okay?" she whispers, walking towards him to take his cheeks between her hands.
He offers her a soft smile, placing one of his hands over her's. "I will."
Inko watches the boy leave with a teary smile on her lips. "I should invite that boy's family over for dinner soon." She swipes at some of the gathering tears. "I hope they're nice enough people."
Midoriya finishes donning the rest of his gear in a nearby alley, checking for any possible cameras beforehand. He shoves what civilian clothes he wore out into his backpack. And uses the mirror- like window of a nearby building to put his contact in before scaling the nearest building with his new grappling hook to hide his backpack on the roof. He types the building's address into his notes so he doesn't forget it before pulling up Tanaka's story again so he can look up the name of the karaoke bar. The teen's bread crumbs would lead the vigilante directly to him.
He's been waiting outside the Karaoke bar for almost an hour, already having had to call Inko
about 'having made it to Reo's'. Several people have come out at this point, but none of them have been Tanaka. The vigilante has already begun settling in for the long hall when he catches sight of Haddo coming out, Tanaka following close behind him. He thinks they're both leaving until the two of them make a turn into a nearby alley. Midoriya glances down the street, checking for both cars and people before he jogs across, hiding behind the corner. The stink of cigarettes greets him along with drunken laughs.
"-'re tellin' me that you fell for some recruitment scam a friend dragged you into?" The voice belongs to Tanaka.
"I'm tellin' you it's not a scam. These guys are gatherin' up a lotta~ people. Well over a hundred fighters, ya know? And I don't know what they're planning, but I know I wanna be on their side when it happens."
Midoriya slips out his phone, using it as a sort of mirror so he can see what the two are doing. Haddo has a cigarette between his lips, Tanaka waving off his offer of one.
"You don't even know what they're planning?"
Haddo takes a long drag of his cigarette. "Not anything specific. But, I know how to fight and that's the kind of people they're lookin' for."
Midoriya can hear the grin in Tanaka's voice. "Fighting's always exciting."
He curses under his breath. I was right to be worried. The Precepts are the only yakuza group I
know that're big enough to pull in so many people like that. The vigilante scowls.
"I found out about it through an old highschool friend of mine. He runs this insta account where he posts all the times and locations of meetings and stuff like that. A.L.B.T.M," he spells out, "Short for 'a little birdy told me'. Clever, right?" Haddo smirks. "Course, everything's all coded, but it's easy to figure out if ya' know what you're lookin' for."
From the reflection in his phone screen Midoriya can see Haddo showing Tanaka something on his own phone.
"Every post has these keysmashes, right? But, the letters correspond to numbers to make up coordinates."
"What is it just a,b,c,1,2,3 or something?" Tanaka asks sarcastically, huffing a laugh.
The other man gives him a toothy grin that Midoriya catches through his phone's reflection. "Smarter than you look, huh?"
"Okay—" Tanaka says suspiciously, dragging out the word. "But, then what about the times 'n stuff?"
Haddo waves him off. "I'll tell you about that later. Once I'm sure they'll let you in. I'm probably not even supposed to tell you about the location stuff yet," he laughs, "but I doubt they'll turn you away. I heard you won a lot of those martial arts tournaments so I'm sure you'll be fine." He smiles, sticking his phone back in his pocket and roughly patting Tanaka on the back with the hand that's still holding the cigarette. "'S gonna be a lot of fun."
Midoriya can feel exhaustion creeping up on him as he slips his shoes off on the fire escape, knocking quietly on Reo's window. There's a click and a soft knock in return letting the vigilante
know the window's unlocked. He slides it open, batting curtains out of the way as he squeezes through.
Reo's sitting at his desk, working on something he has beneath one of his mobile magnifying glasses. Midoriya decides against disturbing him and instead changes out of his vigilante gear, slipping his All Might hoodie back on. He tucks all the gear that won't fit in his bag beneath his friend's bed for safe keeping.
"Is it okay if I crash here for the night?" Midoriya finally asks, collapsing onto Reo's bed. His friend only grunts in acknowledgement.
"Are you actually listening to what I'm saying?"
Another grunt.
"Sometimes I shower in my vigilante gear because it feels like a warm hug."
Reo starts to vocalize another grunt before he pauses, turning towards the vigilante with a confused look. "You what?"
Midoriya only laughs, smothering it with a hand. "I was asking if I could spend the night here but you weren't listening," he chuckles. "I needed to leave early so I told my mom I'd be staying at a friend's house."
"Ah, yeah that's fine. Why'd you need to leave early though?"
There's a moment of silence, a furrow forming between his brows. "I was doing some recon, a friend of mine from the dojo was worried about someone she used to hang out with. He's been messing around with people he shouldn't and I... I think it's the Precepts."
Reo reacts exactly the way Midoriya had been expecting him to. The teen's eyes darken, but he doesn't say anything, waiting for Izuku to finish.
"Someone's gathering up a bunch of people for something and my money's on Overhaul." Midoriya whispers. "I don't know what they're planning, but it's evidently something big. I managed to get info on where they meet, but I don't know when any of the meetings are." The boy throws an arm over his face, the backs of his eyelids painted a cherry red.
Somehow he knows Reo understands what, who, he's thinking of. "Let the police handle it."
Midoriya pauses, thoughts grinding to a halt. He pushes himself up to stare at the other teen. He starts to respond, but there's a hard look that he catches in Reo's amber eyes and for a moment Midoriya can only see gold eyes and hair that lengthens at the edges of his vision, suddenly more brown than black. The illusion only lasts for as long as it takes him to blink, but his heart still pounds wildly in his chest, sun roaring for him to stay away from his hands. The boy does his best to shake off the feeling, but when he finally speaks all that comes out is a broken, "Yeah."
The conversation from their last argument rises, memories he wishes he could forget.
"Damn it Midoriya!"
Reo's right. He's always been right. He's too close to everything, he's been letting his emotions
control him and emotions were the enemies' best friend. That's why he'd died the last time.
He's only just heard about how many people they're planning on gathering, and yet he was already preparing to do things by himself again. "You're right," he murmurs, more in control of himself this time.
Reo looks surprised.
"You told me once to work within my means, but I couldn't drag myself out of my head long enough to actually go through with it. It was... It was selfish to think that I had to be the one to save that girl. I'm only one person," he whispers, studying his hands. "The police... they have procedures for stuff like this."
"Thank you," Reo says quietly.
This time it's Midoriya who looks up in surprise.
"My uncle's a cop, Midoriya. So naturally my mom worries about him a lot," he explains, "I worry about him too, but I don't think I ever fully got what she was going through until you and I met. We're friends, Izuku. It's only natural that I'd worry about you and get angry when you get hurt or when you put yourself in even more danger than you usually are." Reo bunches the fabric of his shorts beneath his fingers, brows furrowed low over his stormy, amber eyes. "You said it yourself... It's selfish to think that you have to do everything alone." His voice drops to a whisper, "You can't save people if you're dead."
The words strike the fifteen-year-old like a physical blow. What would his mother do if he died? There's a long moment of silence where neither of them say anything, a swirling of guilt hanging between the two.
"I'll try and get some more info from Giran and then tell your uncle," Midoriya tells him in a hushed voice, "I don't want to have to contact them several times over. It could be dangerous for me."
Reo nods. "Good idea. Nice to see you still have at least half a brain cell."
Izuku lets out a somewhat strained chuckle, "Rude. You've got a futon in the hall closet right?"
"Take the bed," Reo tells him, "I doubt I'll be sleeping tonight. With us out of school for the next two weeks I've got big plans." There's a glint in teen's eyes as he turns back towards his project. "Big plans," he murmurs.
The day after his talk with Reo the vigilante heads to the only person he knows who might be able to tell him what's going on. He shows up at the broker's warehouse unannounced, sneaking past what people mill around the first floor.
The vigilante creeps up the steps and slips through the office door to find Giran already waiting on him.
The man smiles at him. "It's my job to know who comes in and out of this building. I don't guess anyone saw ya' comin' in did they? If you know, tell me quick."
Piper sighs, the noise distorted by his mask. "If anyone saw me I doubt I would've made it in here as quietly as I did."
"Take a seat then." "I'll stand."
The broker leans back in his chair, eyeing the vigilante. "That's a nice mask you've got there. Don't think I've seen you with it in person til now. A nice piece of tech..."
"I'm not telling you who made it."
Giran laughs, "Course you wouldn't. At least compliment the designer for me."
"I won't."
"Still so wary of me? After all the times I've helped you?"
"You're still a villain Giran."
The man peaks at the boy over the rim of his spectacles, pink eyes calculating. "In the eyes of the law, so are you."
Blood stained shoes. Skull cracking against tile. The vigilante folds his arms over his chest, shifting his weight to a more causal position. "Someone's gathering up people. I know you know it and I need to know what it's for. What'll it cost me?"
If the broker picks up on the fact that he's deflecting he doesn't show it, merely holding up a hand up to stop the vigilante. "I can't say nothin' 'bout that."
Piper blinks at him for a moment in surprise, all thoughts of negotiation suddenly throw out of his head. He had prepared for the wrong type of conversation. "What?"
"I can't give you what you're lookin' for," Giran tells him again.
There's a roaring in the boy's chest that's all noise and emotion. His sun vibrates. Hirano set him on this trail to check on Tanaka, to make sure the older teen stays out of trouble. But, for Midoriya he always saw this as another way to find Eri. The girl is constantly at the back of his mind, bandaged arms outstretched towards him in his nightmares, eyes redder than Bakugou's pleading him for salvation.
He'd been too weak. He is still too weak, but he can't let that stop him from trying. This could be his clue to finally finding Eri, but Giran has suddenly become an obstacle. He became so used to the broker being part of his supporting cast that, even after calling him a villain, he'd forgotten who he was dealing with.
Does he think I couldn't afford to pay him? Is that what this is?
The vigilante needs whatever information the broker has. Giran has helped him before, he was the one who gave the boy the clues he needed to track down the house Kogane Gizō was being held in. And while the vigilante had finally been able to take Kogane's face off the back of his closet wall, Eri's name remained, hanging in the dark with threads connecting her to blurry images of her abusers.
"I don't care how much it costs Giran. I need to know what they're doing."
But the broker only shakes his head. "I told you. I can't say anythin'."
The noise in his chest gets louder, vibrations more violent. His sun sings a wordless song of
desperation. He can't afford an obstacle like this.
Piper's eye's darken. "That's a dangerous statement coming from a man whose career I could destroy by word of mouth alone."
The broker eyes him over the rim of his spectacles. "I'm more scared of these people than I am of you, Piper. Businesses can be rebuilt, people cannot." There's an easy smile on the man's lips.
The vigilante scowls. "I thought you didn't work with the Precepts."
Giran raises his hand in a defensive manner but doesn't dispute the claim. "Like I said, these are dangerous people."
There were few things the broker had ever denied him, weapons, a name or two, the video evidence of a few crimes that'd been committed. But this, this was...
"Don't hold it against me, kid. I really can't help ya' this time."
It's been another long week at the precinct, but as time drags on the reports on Piper have started falling back to a more manageable level. Naomasa's still tired all the all time, but it's nowhere near the extent that it had been before. The reprieve gives him the chance to finally thank his sister for the food.
He dials the woman's number on the way back to his apartment. Riding the elevator up as he fishes his keys out of his pocket.
"Nao? What's going on? You're not hurt again are you?"
The man lets out a strained chuckle, "No." He tucks the phone between his head and shoulder, unlocking his apartment's door. "I just forgot to thank you for that food you had Reo drop off last week. It was really good," he laughs.
"What are you talking about?" He can hear the confusion in her voice.
"Reo dropped some take out for me at the precinct last week," tells her, pushing open his door. "I figured you were the one who asked him to do it."
"Reo didn't leave the house last week, Nao. He's been working on some new project like his life depended on it."
"Are you sure?" the detective asks, brows furrowing.
There's a rustle off some sort that filters through the speaker as he slips his shoes off. "Reo! Did you drop any food off at the precinct for Uncle Nao last week?"
Reo's voice filters through more quietly, barely audible, "No, was I supposed to?!" "He said no."
The detective shifts the hold on his phone. "The people up front said a teenager had dropped it off," mutters to himself.
"Well, either way it wasn't us. By the way, do you want to join Reo and I for dinner this week? That Midoriya boy, you know Reo's friend? Well his mom invited us to eat at their house and wanted me to ask if you wanted to come as well."
But, Naomasa is only half listening at this point. "Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to make it."
"Some other time then."
"Yeah."
"Yeah," she mocks, parroting his voice back at him, "What's with that voice? Anyway I gotta start dinner so I'll let you go. Take care of yourself, and—"
Naomasa cuts her off, finishing the sentence in a haze, "—don't forget to eat."
"Well that too, but I was gonna ask you to say hi to Sansa for me. You should invite him around to dinner sometime. It's been–"
He tunes her next words out.
(Sorry about before.)
"Misaki I've gotta go."
"Alright then. Remember to invite Sansa sometime. I'll talk to you later Nao. Love you."
"Love you too." He hangs up in a daze. Who dropped it off? Who'd left me the food? Who was it that apologized?
You're a good man, Detective... C̃ ̵al̷l a̵n̵ a̷͙m̚ b̊ ̴ula̵͌nç̷̛e̵... Ma̸̬ḱ e̵̐ sů ̴re̵̍ h̴e̵s̶̓ ta̷k̳ e̷n͔ ̇ ̵ c̷̓a̤ ̵̈́re o̷̕f͓ ."
(Sorry about before.)
He curses under his breath.