"The equipment is in the forensics lab with the other evidence," Mina stood with her hands on her hips glaring at Bakugou.
"We need those pieces," Katsuki glowered back at her.
"Go moan to Aizawa, I can't just give out evidence," she huffed. "You'll have to wait until they finish with the lab work."
"Kat," Shouto tugged on his sleeve.
Mina shot a look at Todoroki, "Kat?" A wicked grin cut her face.
"Yeah, it's a fucking nickname, Raccoon Eyes."
"Ass!" Mina snapped. "Still not getting that stuff," turning on her heel, she stormed back into the lab.
"Let's go," Shouto pushed Katsuki out of the lab. The sharp crackle of the dispatch division echoed down the hallway.
"All units, all units, house fire in the northern ward."
Walking past the radio room Katsuki slowed by the doorway. Several dispatchers were calling urgently into their radios about a house fire. As they began to repeat the district and block of the house, he stopped. Then they gave the house number. "Shit!" He grabbed Shouto, who was looking at his phone. "That's Kaneko's place!"
"What?" Shouto looked up, almost tripping into him.
"The fire, that's Kaneko's house!"
"Seriously?" He turned to look back into the dispatch room but lurched sideways as Katsuki yanked his arm racing down the hallway. Shaking himself loose he slowed, "Where the hell are we going?"
"To his house," Katsuki didn't stop, "c'mon we need to get over there fast." Hearing Shouto finally catch up, he dug the car fob from his pocket and rushed to the garage. Jumping into the car, he slid on his glasses and pulled out into the street. He pointed to the dash, "put on the light."
"No," Shouto crossed his arms. "We're not emergency. We don't have to be there."
"Put on the damn light!"
Glancing back, Shouto raised his brows, Kat flicked a quick look at him.
"We need to get there to make sure he's okay."
Sighing he pulled the light out, "fine." Jamming it on the dash, he flipped the switch. A jarring light flashed like a strobe as a high pitch electronic wail screamed. Settling back, he noticed Kat stealing more looks at him. "What now?"
Tipping his head towards the siren, a blush racing up from his neck. "Can, uh, can you video me?"
"What?" Shouto leaned closer, he must've misunderstood him over the siren.
"Get a video," Katsuki picked up his phone. "I've always wanted to drive a car with lights and sirens going." He laughed shyly, "ever since I was a kid."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah," he dropped the phone in his lap, "I am." He gave him a pleading look, "please?"
"I can't believe I'm doing this," grabbing the phone, he angled his body sideways to get him into the frame with the siren. He bit his lip to keep from laughing.
"Are you filming?" Katsuki eyed the camera, turning a brighter red.
"Yeah, are you gonna say something stupid or drive so we actually get there?"
"I'll drive," he wiggled back into his seat, casting glances at the camera. "Thanks," he smiled.
Chuckling Shouto turned off the video and looked out the window, the rain had stopped and turned into a dense fog that was starting to lift. In the distance he saw a black plume rise in the air. "Look," he pointed to the black smoke coiling up and mixing into the rising fog.
"That's a big fire." Katsuki leaned forward to see the height of the plume. Traffic was heavy as rush hour clogged the streets but they still managed to get to Kaneko's district in good time. The street was completely blocked off. Pulling up to a police officer redirecting traffic, Katsuki showed his badge and was waved through. Parking as close as possible, they walked towards several fire trucks wedged into the street. People were standing watching, many still in their pajamas. The firefighters had managed to put out most of the flames but the house was gutted, thick charred beams stuck straight in the air.
"Do you think he was in there?" Shouto looked worriedly at the ruined house.
"I hope not," Katsuki frowned. "But why just his house?" He looked down the street at the other intact homes.
An older man turned to look at them both, "are you police?" He pulled his robe tighter around his body.
"No, we're criminal investigators," Shouto flashed the man his badge.
"Investigators?" He paled. "Do you think this was arson?"
He shook his head. "We're only here because Kaneko was advising us on a case, we heard his address on the dispatch and came to see if he was okay."
"I doubt he was in there, he left late last night."
"He did?" Surprised by the statement, Shouto quickly pulled out his notebook. "Did you see him leave?"
"I did, I fall asleep on the couch sometimes," the man laughed self-consciously. "I get home and just pass out, you know? Anyway, I woke up last night probably around ten. I got up to close the blinds on my windows and was watching the rain come down when I saw him pull his mom's old car out of the garage."
"His mom's old car?"
"Yeah, an American car, really expensive, a 1955 Thunderbird. One of those big convertible boats, it's a beauty. She was crazy about that stuff and bought it from a collector years ago but never got around to fixing it up. After she passed away Kaneko moved into the house and kept the car, but," he frowned. "He let it get rusty, it was really bad."
"So, he took this old rusty car out in the rain?" Katsuki clicked his tongue, "doesn't sound like Kaneko."
"Oh, no, no, he had it redone about five months ago. I'd been pushing him to get it taken care of before it ended up in the junkyard and lost all its value. My friend is a collector too. He found someone that moved into the area a few years ago, Watanabe Akio. He's a damn genius when it comes to cars."
Writing down everything he was saying, Shouto looked up, "and you're sure he didn't come back?"
"Oh, not sure," the old man grimaced, "but look," he pointed at the far end of the house. "There's no car in there."
Seeing the gap that was once the garage, Katsuki grunted, "you're right." He hoped Kaneko was okay. They really needed him to confirm those eight items sitting in the lab were the counterfeits sent to the museum. "Anything else you can tell us about him?"
"Kaneko?" The man thought for a moment, "odd guy, only got to know him because he helped me when my dad passed away, estate law was his thing."
"Yeah, he mentioned that." Katsuki unbuttoned his jacket, the morning was warmer now that the rain had stopped.
"Do you know when the fire started?"
"I woke up to the sound of someone pounding on my door. The neighbor's kid from down the street was warning everyone to get to safety. I guess not that long ago, maybe around 6:30 this morning? The house was engulfed in flames and firefighters had just started to show up at that point to evacuate everyone." The man turned back watching the now smoldering home belch clouds of smoke.
"Let's wait until they're done and go talk to the fire captain," Katsuki saw one man with a different helmet color directing the rest of the crew. "I bet that's him there. Maybe he's got an idea of how it started."
"Sounds good," Shouto noticed the police were letting people back down the street to their homes. The man waved at them and wandered to his own house right across the street, he stood on his front porch continuing to watch. As the firemen began to wind down and put their equipment away, the last few were still working through the home looking for hot spots. The police started to set up boundary fences with hazard signs. Shouto and Katsuki made their way over to the captain, who was squatting down rolling up his equipment.
"Excuse me," Shouto lifted his ID. Seeing his badge, the big man looked up at them surprised.
"Criminal investigators already?" He huffed looking back at the house, "this was a clear case of an old breaker box that was overloaded."
"Oh, you already know?" Shouto followed his gaze.
"Well," he snorted, "I gotta have a full investigation done, but I'm usually right." He gave him a cool look, continuing to pack up his bag. "What's the deal with the crime unit here? Don't they usually wait for our report before sending you?"
"No crime, just a person of interest lived in the house, we heard the call at the station and headed over to see if he was okay."
"There's not a body in the house, at least not that we saw right away, so maybe your guy is on vacation or at a friend's house."
"That's what we understand from the neighbor, he left late last night."
"Smart guy knew trouble was coming his way and headed out in the nick of time."
"Possibly, at least we hope," Shouto thinned his lips. "When do you think the final report will be ready?"
"You guys always push us," he glared at Shouto. "You know protocol, wait the normal fucking time frame asshole," he bit out, "you're all so damn annoying."
"Oi!" Katsuki stepped between them, bending down, he pushed into him, his red eyes snapping fire. "We don't know shit, Captain," he looked at his badge, "Torvold Oye." The captain jerked back as Bakugou leaned into him. "We've been fucking thrown to the wolves on our first case and have no clue what protocol is or what the hell you're talking about, so cool it." He thumbed towards Shouto, "tell him you're sorry and let's try this shit again." Pausing a moment, Katsuki gave him a hard look before standing back up and crossing his arms.
"New guys, huh?" His face softened as he stared at Todoroki. "Oh shit," he stood quickly, "you're fucking Shouto." Snapping his gaze back to the big blonde, he laughed, "of course, Dynamite." Holding out his hand he waited as Bakugou took it begrudgingly. "Could've used your quirk today," he nodded to Shouto. "Sorry about that, I thought you were one of the snot head investigators that come at me sometimes." He grinned big, "I didn't know you were the real deals."
"Thanks," Shouto smiled, "can I ask what you mean by the usual snot heads?"
"Oh," he waved his hand, "some of these guys come around thinking no one else knows how to investigate anything, considering this is my specialty." Grabbing his bag, he swung it on his shoulder. "So, they threw you to the wolves?"
"Well," Shouto blushed, "that might have been an exaggeration."
"Right," Katsuki rolled his eyes, "like we have a fucking clue about protocol."
"It could be in the book," Shouto replied calmly. The captain barked with laughter.
"They gave you a damn book?" He threw his head back laughing harder. "Oh, oh, you two were thrown to the wolves." He wiped his eyes, "the law can be real shits even to their own people." Winking, he grinned, "should've come to the fire squad, we take care of ours."
Bakugou let out his own laugh. Lifting his hand, he popped off a couple of sparks, "I'm thinking I'm the wrong person for the fire brigade."
"Hell no! You know fire, it's in you," he nodded to Shouto, "and you. You have to know fire to fight fire." He wiggled his brows, "when you get tired of being treated like crap, call me, I'd take you two in an instant."
"Thanks," Shouto smiled, "that's appreciated, at the rate we're going you may get that call soon."
"And as for protocol, we'll have an investigator out today and it usually takes 2 - 3 days, then another day to type up the report. We're given five days," he pulled out a card and handed it to them. "Call me the day after tomorrow, if I can get the raw data for you, I will."
"Shit, thanks," Katsuki grabbed the card, "Oye?"
"Nah, call me Thor, that's my nickname."
"Thor," Katsuki tucked the card in his pocket, "you can call me Katsuki, you know Shouto, we'll call you soon." He looked up at the two trucks now packed up and ready to go. "Have a good one, thanks."
"You too," Thor jumped into the cab and the trucks headed down the street, disappearing into the main flow of traffic. Walking slowly down to their car, Katsuki chuckled to himself
"Hey!" They turned to see the old man coming down his porch, still in his bathrobe. "Did they say? Was it arson?"
"Um," Shouto looked at Katsuki, he wasn't sure what they were allowed to divulge, he just shrugged at him. "No, they think it was an old breaker box."
"What?" His face scrunched up, "but he had it replaced last year."
"He did?" Katsuki stopped and looked over his shoulder at the house.
"When was that?"
"I'm not sure, at the end of summer? It was still really hot but I'd come back from my house at the beach, so it had to be the end of summer."
"House on the beach?" Katsuki drawled sarcastically.
"Yeah," he smiled mischievously, "everyone around here is loaded. This is one of the rarest districts in the prefecture, ever seen this much space and still be in a city?"
"No," Katsuki replied flatly.
"We're not rich snobs though," he whispered looking around at the others still standing out in the street. "Most of us inherited these homes, so we're all still regular people, a few new rich families own down there," he pointed to bigger homes at the end of the street. "Most of us got these as hand me downs and we keep them the same."
"Hell of a hand me down," Katsuki snorted.
"Yeah, sure is," he laughed, "well if you need anything else, let me know."
"By any chance do you recall who did the work on his breaker box?"
Pulling on his chin, he furrowed his brow. "It was Daiwa something, can't remember."
"That's a start, we can look up Diawa and see what we find out," Shouto closed his notebook, "thanks." Waving, the man walked back to his house and went inside.
"New breaker box?" Katsuki shoved his hands in his pockets looking at the burnt shell of the house. "Something happened last night, that's for sure," he chewed his lip. "Kaneko went out in the rain at that bar and whatever he saw scared him so bad he left and burnt down his house?"
"The timeline doesn't work."
"It doesn't?"
"The neighbor said he left around ten, which was about an hour or so after you left him at the bar, right?"
"Yeah, he headed out around 8:30."
"He goes home, spends an hour or so putting things together and leaves? Did he come back and set fire to the house this morning? Unless he tampered with the breaker box and make it look electrical."
"I doubt Kaneko even knows what a breaker box even does," Katsuki ran his fingers through his spikes as he studied the house.
"Once we have the report we'll know."
"Yeah, you're right." Wrapping his arm around Shouto's shoulder, he started back to the car. "Right now, I'm hungry, let's get some breakfast, we never ate."
"Something fast, I wanna catch up with the others and see if they've found any clues from where our counterfeit stuff was found."
"Okay, convenience store bento boxes?"
"Ugh," Shouto made a face, "I'm not in that big of a hurry."
Kiri walked into the hospital waiting room with two cups of coffee, Ochako was leaning against the wall, her eyes closed. Kicking the bottom of her chair, he chuckled as she lurched awake.
"Ha ha, funny Eijirou," she grumbled sleepily, taking the offered hot coffee from him. "Anything yet?"
"The nurse said they were finished and the doctor should be out soon."
"How about her family?"
"Captain called the kids but could only leave a voicemail, he's hoping to hear back soon."
Ochako's phone vibrated, she answered. "Momo? Any luck?"
"No one's even seen Boots," she looked down the now empty alleyway, Denki's ass sticking out of the soggy cardboard structure they'd visited the other day. "Everyone agrees that where he goes, Candy follows."
"Okay, and no one knows where he went?"
"I could barely get that outta people, this place is shuttered, no one wants to talk." Denki ducked his head back out, frowning. "And it looks like the guy we talked to last time is gone too," she grumbled. "Well, I guess we'll wrap up here, what did you find out?"
"We're waiting on the doctor's report and then we'll meet you back at the bus stop. Based on what Suguta told us, it's possible Boots is holed up near there."
"Alright, we'll try the last few alleyways and then text you when we head over."
"Investigators?" A nurse walked into the waiting room.
Kiri and Ochako shot to their feet, "yes?"
"Doctor Na has a few minutes to talk if you have a moment." Following the nurse to an office, a slender woman sat behind a desk, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She pointed to two empty chairs. "Close the door and please sit down, I'm Suguta's doctor." Waiting for them, she clicked on her computer.
"Thank you doctor," Ochako sat across from her.
"I just received permission from the children to release their mom's medical diagnosis, sorry you've been waiting but I couldn't talk to you without that."
"Her kids? Glad they can see their mom," Kiri leaned forward. "So, what happened? Why'd she pass out?"
"We took several CT scans and unfortunately, Suguta Ren is suffering from a very advanced case of brain cancer."
"Oh," Kiri sat back heavily. "Poor lady, is that why she had trouble remembering stuff?"
"No, not to the extent you mentioned."
"Wait? I'm not sure I understand." He scratched his head, "then why was she having so many memory problems?"
"Hang on," Chito clicked on two files and gestured behind them, "take a look at those images." Turning, they both saw two black and white outlines of a human brain flash on a large screen.
"Which one is Suguta?" Ochako looked back at the doctor.
"Her brain is on the right, the one on the left is a typical brain of someone with the same advanced cancer she is suffering from right now." Standing she came around her desk and pointed to the brain on the left. "See the fissures and abnormalities?"
"Yeah, kinda" Kiri squinted, he wasn't quite sure.
"Now on her brain, she has the same fissures, but see these black spots," she indicated several dark areas. "These are not usual for brain cancer."
Ochako leaned forward, "what is that then?"
Straightening, she crossed her arms, "officially, we're not sure."
"Officially?" Kiri paused, "what would be unofficially?"
Pausing a moment, she pursed her lips and stepped to a nearby bookcase pulling down a thick volume. Setting it down on her desk, she flipped to the back, finding the right page, she pushed it towards them.
"Oh, hey, I know this book," Kiri laughed, lifting the book and looking at the spine.
"You know this book? Are you studying to be a doctor?" Ochako teased.
"No, no," Kiri shook his head, "Midoriya had this, it's a book of quirks." Ochako paled visibly.
"Oh," she said quietly.
"Right," Chito leaned against her desk. "This is the most comprehensive work on quirks that has ever been published. Although a few years old, it's an official record of every quirk that's been identified."
Kiri began reading the page, pushing the book over so Ochako could as well. He let out a soft whistle, "I've never heard of this quirk."
"Is that even real?" Ochako frowned, "a memory quirk? What is that?"
"Well," she shrugged, "we're not sure. No one's officially claimed to have the quirk, yet, it appeared in this book. According to interviews, the author swore he knew of its existence but since there were no known cases it is widely disregarded and many in the community openly ostracized him."
"So why do you think those spots are related to this quirk?"
"Because of this," Chito sat down and clicked on her computer, two new images popped up on the screen. "See these?"
"Those have the same black spots as Suguta." Ochako gasped, "who are these people?"
"Two unrelated patients that visited here over the past year. They both had head injuries which is common enough. When the first patient came in and I saw the spots on the CT scans, I had the imaging machine cleaned." She stood and traced the second image's dark spots with her finger, "I didn't think of it again until the second patient showed up about six months later. I immediately recognized the pattern. If you notice, these spots are exact matches to Suguta's scan.
"Did you ever report this to anyone?"
"No, like I said I filed the first one away assuming the machine had made the error. When I saw the second one, thankfully I remembered and pulled the old file." She walked back to her desk, pulling a folder from the drawer. "When I made the connection, I began to do some research on the patients, thankfully they were very responsive and I was able to get detailed reports on their activities and life. I also reached out quietly to other doctors that are personal friends. I didn't want to make any waves until I knew for sure what I was seeing."
"What makes you think these spots are from a memory quirk?"
Flipping through her notes, she shook her head. "I'm still not completely sure, but both the patients did seem to have some unique issues around their brain functions."
"What do you mean, unique issues?"
"They had both suffered head trauma, one was a recreational soccer player and collided with another person." She motioned to the left image. "The soccer player mentioned she started having strange dreams after the accident."
Kiri's hair stood on end, "strange dreams?"
"Yes, she mentioned it was an event at her work, in the dream things would shift or change. There was another person and his face would be someone she recognized, but then it would morph back into someone she didn't know." Tapping the second image, she continued. "This patient had a similar story, they had fallen at home, tripped on their child's toy and fell down the stairs. During the interview they mentioned having weird dreams after the fall, the same situation, the dream changing from one person to another and then back again." She flipped to the last page of her notes, "they also both stated that if the images came to them while they were awake, they would get a severe headache." She looked up, closing the folder, "the soccer player said she would even get nose bleeds occasionally."
"The same as Suguta," Ochako whispered. "So, two people with head injuries were both having conflicting memories and had the same spots." She picked up the book, "how did that link to a memory quirk?"
"The author described how he believed the quirk worked."
"Oh," Ochako read the passage further. "It says that the quirk can only really work if the new image is overlaid into the original memory or at least a very similar scene."
"This matches up with my patient's statements, both had a memory of someone that was familiar, a co-worker in each case. Then there was another face that kept emerging during the dreams, one they'd never seen before, and they had the same exact story."
"A familiar face was lodged into their memory to override one that someone wants them to forget?" Kiri let out a long breath, "that's a pretty powerful quirk in the right circumstances."
"It is," she agreed, "and who would know? These people came to us because of an injury they sustained, most people wouldn't get a CT scan for strange dreams." Pulling another folder off of a stack on her desk, she looked at them both intently, "that's what makes Suguta so special."
"Special?"
"Yes, neither of these two had the memory loss Suguta is experiencing." She flipped through some of the pages, "but she has the complication of a brain tumor, which makes me wonder if the quirk didn't work the way it's designed because of her brain's illness."
Kiri snapped his fingers, "when she was having her seizure, she yelled 'don't shoot', maybe she was seeing something that was supposed to be erased!"
"I really think it's possible," Chito tapped her file, "if given enough time, she could be the link to finding the person that is using this quirk." Closing Suguta's file, she pinned them both with a hard look, "what I have not shared with you or anyone else is that all three patients do have something in common that I thought was interesting," her voice lowered. "All three worked in government positions at the ministry compound."
"What?" Kiri and Ochako rang out in unison, their mouths gaped.
"That was my reaction too, especially when I saw Suguta was a guard there."
"Who were the other patients?"
"I can't tell you," She closed her files. "Confidentiality issues, this is all I can say without a formal subpoena on your behalf."
"Shit," Kiri winced, "we'd have to have a solid reason for that."
"And you can't cite these images," she flipped off the screen. "I've shown you too much already."
"Got it," Ochako sighed, frustration mounting. She felt like they were so close to something, a whisper of the truth, but it was slipping away faster than they could grasp at it.
"Okay, okay," Kiri thought through the facts. "We can't cite these cases, but we can use Suguta's situation, right?"
"Well, yes, her family did give permission to share the details of her prognosis."
"And you think that she may be able to remember the information that the quirk was designed to remove?" Chito nodded again, her lips clamped together.
"Okay," Kiri stood, he could see she was done sharing. "Thank you, this has been really helpful."
"What has been helpful?" She cocked her head.
"Oh yeah, thank you for sharing Sugata's case materials," he shook her hand. As they walked out the door, Kiri stopped and turned around, his mind on the conversation he'd had with Bakugou. "Hey, how hard would it be to get one of those CT scans?"
"Uh, well," she stammered, "did you have a head trauma?"
"No," Kiri blushed, "I have a friend that's been having strange dreams, recently he mentioned it changed, he was seeing one thing and now he's seeing something different."
"I can't randomly order a CT scan but if he's an investigator on the force and complains of issues from taking a blow to the head, he'd be able to set something up." A group of nurses walked by laughing, she looked worriedly at the open door.
"Right, I'll talk to him, although he's a bit of a hothead, so not sure if he'll do it," he laughed, "but thanks." Stepping out into the hallway, Ochako was waiting.
"Bakugou? What about that hothead?" She teased.
"I'll tell you back at the office." Pulling out his phone he saw a text from Todoroki. "Oh, they want to join us at the bus stop where the body was found."
"They?"
"Todoroki and Hothead."
Ochako giggled, "why are they joining us?"
"That bag of Pro Hero stuff links back to their case."
A sudden chill rushed through Ochako's body, she swallowed hard, "Kiri?" She whispered.
"Yeah?" Her soft voice caught his attention.
"Do you feel like we're pulling back the lid of a volcano?" She grabbed his hand and squeezed.
Kiri laced his fingers in hers, "yeah, it sure does."
Captain Aizawa sat down across from the commander and handed him the report from both teams.
"They actually found her?" Imai gave him an incredulous look as he opened the first file.
"They did, she's in the hospital though, had some kind of attack or seizure, waiting to hear back from Uraraka and Kirishima, they went with her. Yaoyorozu and Kaminari went to see if they could track down the man supposedly with her when she found the body. Todoroki and Bakugou reported they're investigating a house that burnt down, which belongs to their person of interest. Now they're all heading to meet at the bus stop to see if they can determine where the body may have come from."
"What the hell?" Imai stared at him, flipping open the second report, "your team has dug up a damn mess."
"In a good way though," Shouta cocked a smile.
Snorting, he just shook his head. "Their hunch about the homeless camp appears to have been right on," he read through the reports.
"Hate to see a Pro Hero actually be a decent investigator?" Shouta let the challenge hang in the air. Imai glanced up at him, his expression turned hard.
"Did they tell you?" He glared at him.
Shouta paused, the commander's face was flushed, his dark eyes sparking with anger and humiliation. He tried to think of what the boneheads might have said to him that he forgot. "Tell me what?"
Waving his hand, he looked back at the file. "Your blonde boy pegged me as the one that messed up the Sora case."
Black eyes squinted as recognition crossed Shouta's face. "Yeah, Bakugou has a way of remembering every detail."
"Fucking elephant."
"Big as one."
Imai chuckled. "Okay," he threw the reports back at him. "You said you needed something?"
"The team mentioned they saw cameras when they were in the homeless camp, they're asking for footage so they can review it to see if they can identify the person that took care of Candy, I mean, Suguta." Shouta opened the folder, "his name is Boots. They think he's either behind the death of the body in the rug or may have witnessed something."
"Cameras? In the homeless camp?" Imai shook his head. "That's the first I'm hearing of that, are you sure?"
"Yes," Shouta pulled out the blown-up photo from Ochako's phone. "See that red light in the broken window?"
Taking the picture, he frowned. "Hell, I'll ask but no one's even commented about anything like that. What about Nakama? Could she help you?"
"I'll ask, but I don't want to step over you every time I need something."
"Appreciate that," Imai smiled slightly. "In this case go ahead, in the meantime I need to track down Neito and Nishi and assign them to a new case."
Shouta stood slowly, "a new case?"
"I'll give this one to your team, they've done the heavy lifting at this point."
"Thanks," Shouta bowed, gripping the files tightly, "this will mean a lot to them." Heading out the door he pumped his fist, grinning wide. He couldn't wait to tell the team.
"Here?" Katsuki pulled into an open spot and looked into the rearview mirror, he could see the bus stop across the street. Someone darted out from the shop in front of the car, waving like a lunatic, it was Kaminari. "Oh, yeah, here," he pulled off his glasses, throwing them on the dashboard.
"Hey guys!" Denki knocked on the windshield making a goofy face. Getting out, Katsuki ignored him, leaning on the car door waiting for Shouto.
Sidling up to Bakugou, Denki leaned on the car next to him. "We struck out at the camp, I mean everyone was gone today." He bounced his butt on the car, "I sure hope we find him here."
"According to the shop owner, this is the only bus stop near this area." Momo came out of the same shop as Denki. "Sounds like the bus doesn't run here anymore. The active one is at least two kilometers or more the other way." She glanced down the street at the long row of commercial shops and warehouses.
"This one isn't running?" Momo shook her head as Katsuki eyed the bouncing blonde next to him.
"I mean wouldn't it be great if we could find him?" Denki grinned. Katsuki's hand shot out and held him still.
"Oi, stop hopping around or you'll dent our car."
"Sorry," he blushed, "I'm just excited."
"Well if he's around, we should be able to find him between all of us," Shouto pulled off his jacket, the heat was thick and wet today, the cool weather having changed suddenly. Walking to the front of the bus stop, he could see the marks on the cement from the forensic team.
"Hey!" Kiri and Ochako called as they walked up to the group.
"Any luck?" Momo squatted down as she took a few pictures with her phone.
"Actually yes," Kiri nodded, four heads popped up and stared at him expectantly. Glancing at Ochako he hesitated, "although, it's kind of a long story, let's catch up afterward."
"What is it?" Momo bit out, she was hot and tired, another long morning of trying to get people to talk to them was wearing her nerves thin.
"She has brain cancer," Ochako replied quietly.
"Oh, wow," Denki gasped, "so the memory thing! Makes sense."
"Well not really."
"What do you mean, not really?" Momo growled, pulling at the thick shirt sticking to her skin.
"It's a lot to explain," Ochako elbowed Kiri, mouthing 'later' to him. "I think it would be better if we sat down after we're done here." Fanning herself she wiped the sweat off her forehead, "at least somewhere cooler."
"Definitely," Kiri pulled out a picture from the case file he was holding. "Here's a photo from the forensics team." He held it up for everyone to see, "looks like the rug was shoved under the bench, the head on the left side."
"And she admitted that they moved it here?"
"She did and our theory is that they were escaping from some unknown threat in the camp. They managed to get to this area to hole up with a friend, who goes by the name Mac. She says they found the body and that's what we're assuming, but we can't throw out the possibility that they may have found Sawa alive and killed him, or witnessed his death. Then afterward tried to hide the body here.
Squatting down, Katsuki stared at the space under the bench, standing, he backed up looking at the structure from a distance.
"What's up?" Shouto watched him, he could see his wheels turning.
"Wide open area, even from back here," he moved back under the overhang. "There's a light, not sure if it works but if you kill someone, this isn't exactly the place I'd choose to hide the body."
"Maybe they didn't have time. They could have been confronted by him, a sudden fight that resulted in Boots or Mac killing him. Panicked, they stuffed the body under the bench?"
"They were panicking but they had time to roll him in a rug?"
"Yeah, guess that doesn't really make sense."
"Plus, they're homeless, at least Boots and Candy are, where'd they get the damn rug."
"Okay," Shouto nodded, "if we assume she's telling the truth and they found the body rolled in a rug, why move it?"
"She recognized him," Ochako came up beside them. "Before she passed out, she said that she knew who he was when they unrolled the rug."
"It's possible that Boots made her come here with the body when he realized she had a connection." Momo leaned against the structure.
"That's what we think too," Kiri agreed.
"Either way, we have to find Boots or Mac to confirm the story and make sure he didn't actually witness the murder."
"You think he's hiding out around here?" Denki tucked around Shouto snapping a picture of the bus stop with his phone.
"There's a lot of places in this area they could have tried to hole up in," Momo could see several larger businesses dotting the street. "This place is packed with warehouses. Let's split up, Kaminari and I will take the lumber yard. Eijirou, Ochako, take the furniture store. Shouto and Katsuki, maybe interview all these smaller businesses?"
"Sounds good," Katsuki shrugged out of his jacket, sweat pouring down his back.
"Good luck and may the best team win!" Denki teased and followed Momo who was setting a fast pace down the street. "That'll be us of course, right?" He elbowed her as he caught up to her.
"Don't be that way Kaminari," Momo flicked him an irritated glance, "it's not a damn competition."
"What? What did I say?"
She bit her tongue, it was no use. "Nothing."
"You think I'm dumb," he pouted, kicking a rock.
"No, you say stupid shit sometimes, but you're pretty smart."
"You think so?" He watched as her long stride caused her ponytail to swish across her back, he had a flash of her at UA racing between classes. "You know you've worn your hair like that for as long as I can remember." Momo stopped short, Denki swung around, her black eyes narrowed on him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Mean?" Denki blinked. "Just, that," his face crumpled, "I'm saying stupid shit again, aren't I?"
"Yep," Momo retorted, continuing to the lumberyard. Looking at his frown, she grumbled, "not that stupid, sorry." She tugged on her hair. "I've been thinking of cutting it off, but it scares me, so I'm extra sensitive. It's been this way since middle school."
"I think it'd look good."
"Really?"
"Sure! You've got such a pretty face, anything would look good." Seeing her blush, Denki's cheeks turned bright red. "Sorry, not trying to be creepy, just, you know, you're pretty!" He shouted defensively.
"Okay, okay, thanks," Momo laughed. Hooking Denki's arm in her own she dragged him along into the lumberyard. "Remind me to be nice to you now and then." She bumped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Okay," Denki's gold eyes twinkled, "that I can do anytime."
Kiri sat heavily on the bus bench, Ochako leaned against the old washed-out advertisement. "Now what?" She was wilting under the oppressive heat and so far, no one had found out any information. Her phone lit up with a text, "Kaminari said there's a convenience mart down the street, he wants to get something to drink. Do you want anything?"
Standing up, Kiri tried to smooth his sweaty shirt, "let's meet them there, I'm not sure what I want." As they crossed the street Katsuki and Todoroki emerged from a hardware store. "Hey, any luck?"
"No, they have active cameras that they review daily, but no sign of any homeless people. How about the others?"
"Nothing," Ochako lifted her hair off her neck, "we're heading to the store to get some cold drinks, it's too hot."
Katsuki looked up at the cloudy sky that was trapping in the moist heat. "Good idea, its like a fucking sauna." The store wasn't too far away and going into the cool A/C of the convenience store felt amazing. "I'm getting some coffee," he beelined to the back of the store. Kaminari had his head inside of one of the coolers, two cans of coffee already in his hand. "Any more of those?" Katsuki pulled the door open wider looking inside, the rush of cold air chilled his wet skin.
Denki jumped up startled, the coffees flying from his hand, he juggled them as they flipped in the air. "Look at that!" He grinned as he came up with both of them, he winked at Bakugou.
"Thanks," Katsuki grabbed them out of his hand, laughing. "Exactly what I wanted."
"Hey!" Denki yelled as Bakugou bolted for the counter. "Thief!" He called playfully as he turned back to grab two more coffees.
"Hello," a woman ran up to the register adjusting her apron.
"I'll take these," Katsuki pulled off a few bills to pay for the drinks. Shouto set his water on the counter and pushed it towards the woman. Pulling off another bill, Katsuki threw it on the counter, "I'll pay for the water."
"Here," Denki put his coffees on the counter next to the other drinks, "he'll pay for these too." He ran off giggling.
Glowering at his retreating back, Katsuki shoved the coffees towards the woman, "these too." He peeled off more bills.
"You don't look like the typical crowd that comes in here," she smiled watching as Denki hid behind a candy display.
"It's our first time here."
"Shopping in the district?"
"No, we're criminal investigators, we're looking for a person of interest."
"A criminal?" She stopped counting the change and looked up at him startled.
"No, just someone we're looking for to ask a few questions." Handing Shouto his water, he took his coffee.
"Well, that's a relief," she laughed nervously, "ever since this became a business district, we don't see much crime around here, especially after the bus stop was officially taken off the route." She looked out at the street, "the train station is a good distance away, so unless you are here for something specific, not a lot of foot traffic."
"When did the bus stop shut down?" Shouto opened his water.
"Hmmm, maybe a year now?" They put in a new stop closer to the main street, about two kilometers from here."
"No homeless that live around here?" Kiri wedged in between Todoroki and Bakugou, setting down his drink. Katsuki looked at the drink and pulled his money back out.
"I can get this blondie, no worries," Kiri pushed his money away.
"Oi, I already got my money out." He thrust his money at the woman, who smiled wide.
"You sound like you all know each other pretty well."
"Unfortunately, yes," Katsuki frowned at Shitty Hair.
"We went to high school together," Kiri added, leaning forward and grabbing his drink. "So, do you get a lot of homeless here?"
"Hmmm? No, not really," she tipped her head thinking. "Well, besides Mac, he lives over at the junkyard, more like a watchdog for the old man that owns the place," she chuckled to herself.
"Mac?" All three of them voiced together.
"Um," she jerked back nervously, "he, uh, he comes in now and then buys some stuff."
"Has he been in recently?"
"Not lately, but I work the day shift, so it's possible he's come in during the evening."
Looking at the ceiling behind her, Shouto pointed to the camera, "could we look at some footage? We're hoping to see if he was in here last night."
Spinning around, she looked up. "Oh! I forget that thing is there half the time. Hang on, let me pull up the feed."
"Did you say Mac was at a junkyard?" Katsuki threw his can in the recycle bin.
"Behind the bus stop, cross through the open field and it's on top of the hill."
"Behind it?" He looked at the others.
"Don't worry about that footage ma'am," Kiri grabbed his drink, "we'll just pay him a visit."
"Okay," she fidgeted with her apron. "Listen, Mac's a nice guy, you're not gonna arrest him, are you?"
"He's not who we're looking for, we're trying to find someone he knows."
"Oh," she mumbled, "okay, I really like him."
"We just need information, I promise," Kiri finished his drink and headed out of the cool store and into the oppressive heat. They walked to the bus stop and up through the open field, the huge junkyard loomed in front of them.
"Careful, this is a muddy mess here," Katsuki kicked the mud off his shoes.
"I can't imagine there are a lot of homeless people named Mac around here." Shouto studied the high fence.
"I guess we're at the right place then."
"Is it open?" Ochako peered at the thick chain link, "where's the entrance?"
"Over off the street," Momo pointed to a road that wound off the main drag. "It looks like it would be easier to go that way." She shook off the thin layer of mud that was already forming on her shoes and started towards the sidewalk, everyone followed her except Bakugou. He was moving slowly towards the fence, scanning the ground. "See something?"
"It was raining last night," Katsuki walked slowly, "the path here has a lot of footprints."
"Where do they go?" Shouto stepped carefully to the place where Kat was looking.
"That way," he gestured further down the fence. "I think we should follow this and see where it leads."
"How about we go around front and you two go that way, just in case this Mac person tries to get away?" Denki looked at the sidewalk longingly as the wet mud squished around his shoes.
"Good idea," Momo gave him a quick smile.
"Really?"
Ruffling his blonde hair she laughed, "I promised to be nicer, right?"
"I'm gonna go with them," Kiri started after Todoroki and Bakugou.
"Me too," Ochako waded through the thicker grass off the path to stay out of the mud. "See you inside," she waved, following the three men as she studied the high fence. It was about four meters high with chain link and corrugated metal, stacks of junk packed the yard inside. Bakugou yelled out ahead of them.
"A hole," he bent close, fingering where the chain link was split, grabbing one side he was able to peel back the fence and create a space large enough for all of them to squeeze through. Once inside, they saw a footpath that led in two different directions. The entire area was lined with old machines and rusted parts.
"I wonder who comes here?"
"Spare parts or recycled pieces for older machines not made anymore," Shouto looked down the endless rows that held bay after bay of old equipment.
"Which way should we go?" There was a myriad of footprints, "they go in both directions, pretty evenly."
"Look," Shouto walked down a few feet and squatted, peering at a large divot in the mud. "Someone fell here," he pulled out his phone and took a picture.
"Carrying the body? Maybe Candy fell because it was too heavy?"
"No, she was clean when she came in with the body, her clothes were just wet." Kiri bent down next to Shouto looking at the depression in the ground. He heard Bakugou begin to walk to the left of the fence towards the back of the junkyard. Looking in the opposite direction, he could see mounds of old wash tubs.
"Oi!" Katsuki's voice echoed from around the bend, both of them jumped and ran down the muddy path. He was standing in front of an old wooden storage shed, white paint peeling from the wood. Trying the handle Katsuki shook his head, it was locked. Knocking on the door, they waited, everything was quiet, the sounds of the cicadas singing from the lot next door filling the air. He knocked louder.
Stepping up next to him, Kiri leaned close to the door. "Mac?" A sharp scraping noise sounded inside. Taking a chance, he called out again. "Boots?" Everything went silent again. "Boots? We found Candy and the body. She's with her family."
"Yeah, that's right," Ochako chimed in, "she's in the hospital, she had a seizure but they're taking really good care of her now." There was a soft thud of feet hitting the floor inside the shed. "Boots? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you but it turns out that she's sick." There was another scraping noise, the lock clicked and the door swung open. A man in a large overcoat filled the doorway, his eyes reflecting a deep sadness.
"Candy's sick?"
