AN: Thanks for the interest and comments! Hifumi, while lacking a combat-capable quirk, absolutely has a quirk that, with proper (physical) training and honing of her quirk, would make her an excellent hero/villain who specializes in data collection / extraction. Much like her sister in that regard!
fencer29 - to be fair, the only person who really has a problem with Emi's jokes are Aizawa. Eri as a 5 year old girl probably will love them!
SwordOfTheGods - it was mentioned a couple times that Aizawa and Emi were dating, but this is the first time I've really had a good chance to put them on screen together, as it were.
Chaoscontrol85 - guess we'll have to see what happens with the rest of the LoV
Now then, onto the raid!
"Mom, Himi, I'm off," Izuku called out from the entryway as he slipped on his shoes.
"Have a good day Izu!" Inko called out from the living room, and Izuku felt the familiar twisting in his gut as he shouldered his duffel bag.
As far as she knew, he would spend the day with Ochako. What she didn't know was that their day consisted of heading to UA, where they would then be driving to Tokyo with several of their teachers and participating in a raid on the Shie Hassaikai Compound in mere hours.
The fact that he was keeping something this dangerous a secret weighed heavily on Izuku as he walked to his meeting spot. Even if they would be stationed away from the action and were not supposed to enter the compound themselves unless something goes horribly wrong, he couldn't help but remember what happened in the first raid. Mirio lost his quirk. Nighteye died. Almost every member of the raid team was injured in some way. And Izuku reminded himself as he looked at his undamaged right arm, he very well could have died if it wasn't for Eri.
Despite the precautions that the heroes were taking, he couldn't help but worry that something might happen again.
As he arrived at the meeting spot, he noticed that Ochako also looked sadder than usual.
"Worried about the raid too?" Izuku asked quietly.
"Yeah," Ochako admitted softly, "while it worked out in the end, it wasn't an easy mission."
"Hey." Izuku took her hand in his and squeezed gently. "It'll be ok. We know what to expect now, and All Might will be there!"
"Of course you'd say that," Ochako giggled, giving Izuku a soft look to Izuku as she squeezed his hand back. "Thanks."
The two proceeded in comfortable silence to the train station, where they finally broke apart. After they boarded the train and sat down, Ochako leaned into him as she pulled out her phone, and Izuku instinctively snaked his arm around her shoulder. As he glanced at her, he thought about how easy it was for the two of them to draw strength from each other, even from the simplest actions. Which made sense - they were partners after all.
As he examined the soft features of her face up close, he felt an increasingly familiar thought working its way into his brain. A desire to not let this second chance go to waste.
Izuku shook his head to clear the thought away. He knew his brain was trying to distract him and ease his nerves, but for now, he had to focus.
Eri was depending on them.
When they arrived at UA, they spotted Midnight and Snipe already dressed in their hero costumes. Seeing them approach, Midnight frowned. "You sure we can't talk the two of you out of this?"
"Nope," Ochako affirmed, determination burning brightly in her eyes.
"I already was on one mission with you guys," Izuku defended.
"Yes, but that was different," Midnight pointed out. "We were going up against one half-starved girl who was armed with nothing but a boxcutter. And, if I may point out, you still managed to get hurt during that."
"Yeah but—" Izuku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "—this time we aren't even going into the action!"
"Kid, you're a terrible liar," Snipe bluntly replied.
"It's true, though!" Ochako insisted. "We know we're not going to be allowed to use our quirks except in case of an emergency!"
"And who is going to judge that emergency?" Snipe asked pointedly.
The kids merely stood there silently as the two heroes looked at them, waiting for an answer.
Eventually, Midnight broke the silence. "Look, I don't want to have to tell either of your parents that I didn't protect their children to the full extent of my abilities. I know that both of you, given the chance, are going to dive headfirst into danger. You wouldn't be good heroes if you didn't feel that way. But these criminals are dangerous. A lot more dangerous than even Himiko was. I know you think you're ready. But please, for our sake. Do not engage unless it is an actual emergency."
Izuku looked over at Ochako. She had told him in private that facing Overhaul was one of the few times she had actually broken herself going all out with One For All, and he shuddered at the thought of her getting hurt again on the raid. "Yes ma'am."
"Good." Midnight offered them a satisfied smile. "Now let's get you changed."
Midnight escorted the pair into UA, where they entered their respective locker rooms and quickly changed clothes. Gifts from All Might, they were little more than close-fitting black bodysuits, with no markings or distinctions, and black boots. For accessories, they were given a pair of gloves: Izuku's were full gloves, while Ochako's were fingerless to allow the use of her quirk. In addition, both also had matching black helmets that were reminiscent of motorcycle helmets, designed to hide as much detail as possible.
They weren't the flashiest costumes, but they weren't supposed to be. Instead, these were designed to conceal their identities as much as possible, much like the hero costumes used when All Might was a child himself.
Bags in hand, they returned to Midnight who looked them over. "My, you two really do look the part of a pair of young vigilantes now."
"H-hey now," Izuku weakly protested. "We would never do that."
"Of course you wouldn't," Midnight remarked dryly.
She escorted the two back to the car, where they stashed their bags in the trunk before everyone piled in. Finally, they began their journey to Nighteye's agency.
A little over ninety minutes later, they reached their destination. In addition to the heroes already assembled, Detective Tsukauchi was there, coordinating the police effort with All Might. As the four approached the assembled crowd, All Might spotted them and pulled the detective aside, indicating Izuku and Ochako should follow them.
"It's been a long time," Tsukauchi said to the two.
"Good morning, Detective," Izuku responded politely.
"I hope everything's been well," Ochako added.
"It has been, although Nezu and All Might have been keeping me busy tracking down information."
"Sorry," Izuku apologized, hanging his head.
"Don't worry, young Midoriya!" All Might assured him. "You are just saving him from having to do the work later, after all!"
"I guess that's one way to put it," Ochako deadpanned.
"Indeed," All Might agreed. "However, there is something we do need to clear up. You two are aware of the quirk and vigilante laws, aren't you?"
"Yes sir," both responded simultaneously.
"Well, in case of emergency, I am giving you full authorization to use your quirks," All Might declared, looking at Tsukauchi. "I hope that they won't have to use it."
Tsukauchi looked at All Might and then at the two teenagers. "I know you two are more skilled than you look, but given the number of heroes involved, I hope it won't come to that."
"Yes sir." Ochako grabbed Izuku's arm and squeezed it.
"Good, with that formality clear, let's get back and go through the final briefing."
The four returned to the other heroes, waiting for the last to trickle in. While Nighteye explained the layout of the compound as best as they knew, they saw several vans and police vehicles begin pulling up, and Tsukauchi left to talk to the commanding officer.
Ten minutes later, the heroes broke off into their designated groups, each entering the back of a different van. Tsukauchi, meanwhile, escorted Izuku and Ochako to the command vehicle they would be sitting in. Stashing their helmets and gloves, they buckled into the chairs and were now seated in front of a bank of monitors.
"From here we will watch through the officers' body cameras," Tsukauchi explained, "and hopefully you two can tell me anything important that you remember as they breach the compound, which I will relay to the heroes."
"Sounds good," Izuku remarked, although he found himself filled with nervous energy. Something about sitting in a vehicle just felt wrong to him. It didn't take long for Ochako's hand to find its way to his knee, and when he looked at her she gave him a reassuring smile.
"Why are you nervous? This isn't your first mission."
"I just-" Izuku sighed. "I feel like I should be going in there."
"I know how you feel," Ochako sympathized, "but if this is what we need to do, we'll do it."
"Yeah, you're right. As long as Eri is safe that's what matters."
"Yep! And then we'll introduce her to all of our friends and teach her how to smile!"
"That sounds nice."
They spent the next twenty minutes driving to the Shie Hassaikai compound, while Tsukauchi continued to explain the details of how the equipment worked and what they would oversee. Without windows, they didn't know how close they were until they felt the vehicle stop, and moments later, the back of the vehicle opened, two officers standing there ready to join them in the back of the vehicle. Unbuckling themselves, Izuku and Ochako let the officer take up their positions, while they joined Tsukauchi outside the vehicle.
Ryukyu followed behind a small contingent of police officers dressed in riot gear, waiting for them to issue their formal warning. As of right now, they had enough evidence to link the Yakuza organization to the rise in Trigger sales across Tokyo, and if the kids had it right, the organization had numerous B- and C- ranked villains in their ranks, which would allow them to investigate further.
Normally the way this would go down is that Nighteye and maybe one or two heroes would be on the scene to assist, and if villains attacked, they would call in support from additional heroes. They knew time was of the essence, however, and had already prepared a team of heroes. While she and Nighteye were the two on scene, there just so happened to be a group of heroes stationed a mere block away, including All Might.
"This is the police, we have a warrant to search the compound on grounds of illegal drug trafficking." She heard the officer in charge announce. "Failure to comply in sixty seconds will lead us to assume you are resisting and will breach."
Hearing the words, the hero began her mental countdown. She's been on several of these raids before. Usually not against Yakuza but minor criminal organizations. They almost always came out swinging, which is why it was standard practice to have a hero on the scene.
It took almost fifty seconds, longer than Ryukyu was expecting if she was honest.
At first, the doors opened and a double handful of yakuza, no doubt low-ranking members, poured out. But then a portion of the wall collapsed, and a mountain of a man in a bird mask appeared.
"Ugh, why did the police have to show up so early?" Rikiya Katsukame complained as he stretched to his full height. "I hadn't even had breakfast yet!"
"Well, time to call for backup," Ryukyu called out theatrically. As she watched, the behemoth of a man grabbed a police officer and began absorbing his vitality, knocking the policeman unconscious.
Charging in, Ryukyu leaped into the air and transformed into her draconic form. As she watched, Rikiya grabbed another police officer and used his unconscious body as a projectile, knocking over several of his fellow officers before Ryukyu dove onto him. She knew she had to be careful because of his quirk, but she was able to use her claws to drive him into the ground before she took off, not giving him a chance to retaliate.
"That was annoying," Rikiya complained as he stood up and leaped into the air, trying to swat down Ryukyu. She dodged gracefully but found he came too close for comfort.
As the behemoth fell to the ground, she saw a yellow streak come flying in as Gran Torino kicked Rikiya in the side, sending him flying into the wall. "What are heroes made of nowadays? You're letting an old man embarrass you."
"Not all of us can travel at Mach 1," Ryukyu snarked back, "but thanks for the assist."
"You sure you can handle him on your own?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Ryukyu landed, using her tail to swat at Rikiya.
"Alright, then I'm heading in." Torino shot towards the door, kicking an emerging yakuza member in the face as he flew.
Kai Chisaki sat with the Boss, explaining how the last few days they had been getting closer and closer to unlocking the secrets of his granddaughter's quirk to create a serum that allows them to temporarily suppress someone's quirk. It wasn't the secret of eradicating quirks forever, but it was an important first step.
That was when he heard the police announcing the raid for Trigger smuggling. He stood up, angry. Were his people so incompetent that the police already tied the Trigger sales back to his organization? They assured him that wouldn't happen!
Of course, that led to a bigger problem. They could survive the raid. Sure he would lose some men, but they were replaceable. He could find other sources of income for the organization.
However, if they found the lab and Eri, everything was lost. He had to ensure that the lab was hidden and that Eri, as well as his key research, was moved elsewhere for the time being. Standing up, he let out a sigh as began to come up with a plan.
"Rikiya," Overhaul called out as he walked down the hallway toward the catacombs' entrance.
"Yes, boss?"
"Take the men and greet our guests," Overhaul commanded, "don't be gentle."
"Ugh, it's too early."
"Tell that to our guests. If they were more respectful they could have come at a decent hour."
"You're right, as usual. Guess I'll deal with them so I can go back to bed."
Overhaul didn't have to look to see his faithful servant carrying out his orders. Continuing onward, he reached the hidden entrance and entered the lock sequence. While he trusted the path to be well-hidden, he didn't know what kind of quirks the police, or any heroes who decided to show up, would possess and if they could uncover the entrance.
He entered the catacombs and secured the door behind him before he quickly made his way to where his men were going about their morning routines. "Mimic, grab as much Trigger as you can carry and meet me at the lab. Nemoto, go retrieve the girl and bring her to the lab."
"What's going on?" Hekiji asked as he placed his tea down.
"We have uninvited guests." Overhaul frowned, "Police discovered our Trigger operations, and we need to keep them from discovering any other secrets."
"I understand." Hekiji stood up. "I will retrieve Rappa."
"If they find the entrance to the catacombs, make sure they go no further."
"It will be done."
Overhaul turned to leave. He knew Chronostasis was probably already in the lab, but he needed to give orders to the rest first.
"Ugh, you're annoying," Rikiya grumbled as he stood up. "Guess I'm going to have to use it."
Reaching into a pouch on his belt, he retrieved a small syringe. He moved to inject himself when a shot rang out, shattering the vial.
"Sorry partner, but no funny business allowed," Snipe said as he holstered his gun.
"Thanks for the assist," Ryukyu called out as she jumped again and used her legs to ram the villain into the ground, finally pinning him in place.
"Not a problem, good thing we were in the area."
"Indeed!" the voice of All Might rang out. "Once I heard my old Sidekick was on the case, I knew I had to help! Everything will be ok now that I am here!"
Nighteye rolled his eyes at the theatrics but still smiled at All Might. He had to admit, despite what happened over the past five years, it felt good working with him again. "I'm glad you're here. This is only the first of eight dangerous yakuza defending the compound."
"Well, far be it for me to take charge of your investigation, lead the way!"
With Rikiya being contained by Ryukyu and the police gaining the upper hand over the yakuza, Nighteye assembled several police officers and pushed inside with the newly-arrived heroes.
Following the instructions that the kids had given him, Nighteye led the group to the alcove that contained the hidden door. Feeling around, he found the pressure plates and tried the sequences given to him. Unfortunately, neither Izuku nor Ochako remembered the precise sequence, so he was forced to guess from several. While it would be easy for All Might to simply make an entrance, he would prefer if they didn't announce themselves quite so violently.
Fortunately, the kids were smart, and the third sequence was correct. Nighteye stood up as they heard a click and a panel slid into the wall. "Now the real mission starts."
"We're coming, Eri!" Mrs. Joke fiercely exclaimed from the back. "We'll save you!"
Several murmurs of agreement could be heard from among the heroes as they descended the stairs.
As the heroes descended into an open room at the base of the stairs, they heard a roar as a door slammed open.
"Nobody's getting past - All Might?!" the voice of Kendo Rappa rapidly changed to one of excitement as he recognized the number one hero. "Yeah! I get to fight All Might!"
"What?" the heroes asked, looking at each other in confusion.
From behind the large man, they heard a sigh as a man in a simple robe came out. "Rappa now is not the time. The boss gave us a mission. We have to focus."
"I hate to agree with the bad guys, but he's right! There's a little girl down there! We don't have time for these bird brains!" Mrs. Joke declared.
"Little girl?" Rappa asked in confusion.
Looking awkwardly at his companions for a moment, All Might stepped forward to speak to the villain. "You didn't know? Your boss is conducting experiments on a little girl, torturing her to further his research."
"Rappa, don't listen to them!" Hekiji protested.
"You knew about this?" Rappa turned one eye to his companion as he asked darkly.
"I knew that the Boss had a little girl in the catacombs, but I didn't know what-" Hekiji's voice was cut off as Rappa punched his companion, sending him flying into a wall where he slumped over, unconscious.
The heroes were forced to watch in stunned silence as Rappa turned back toward them. "Look, I didn't sign up to hurt little girls. I just care about fighting the strongest opponents I can find." He leveled a weighty finger toward All Might. "And you can't get much stronger than Japan's number one hero. If he stays to fight me, then maybe I'll just get a little too excited, and the rest of you can slip past me."
"No, we can't do that!" Sir Nighteye insisted.
"Tch, I guess that's too bad," Rappa exuded a menacing aura as he charged at All Might.
"How about you pick on someone else instead," Gran Torino yelled as he interrupted Rappa's charge with a boot to the head. "Like the guy who taught All Might? The same guy he is scared of?" He gave a feral grin to his former student as he hovered in the sky.
"Listen, if you turn yourself in, perhaps we can arrange a match at a later date?" All Might asked awkwardly as he looked at the police officers, who simply nodded in stunned silence. "As much as I adore my fans, we really don't have the time right now."
Rappa stood up, but rather than being slowed down at all by the blow, he seemed even more fired up. "Fighting the guy who trained All Might and the promise of fighting All Might?"
"We know plenty of other heroes too!" Joke added in. "If they found out that you helped us, maybe we can convince them to spar with you as well!"
"But there are limits of what we can allow to happen-" One of the police officers began to protest until they were cut off by the glares of both Eraserhead and Nighteye.
"I know this is unorthodox, but I'm sure something can be arranged on behalf of the number one hero?" Nighteye asked pointedly.
"I-I think so," another officer joined in.
"That sounds amazing!" Rappa roared. "I don't have to look for strong heroes to fight. I can just have them come to me! I'm in!"
"Heh, so you can use your head, Toshi. I'm impressed," Torino praised as he adopted a savage look. "I haven't had a proper workout in a while, so don't expect me to go easy on you!"
"I'll kill you if you do!" Rappa bellowed as he charged at Torino.
With a heavy sigh, Nighteye pointed towards the door. "We should get going and leave Gran Torino to handle this."
While one police officer stayed behind to cuff Hekiji, the rest all left, trying to stay out of the way as Torino zoomed around the room.
AN: In her room, Eri heard a commotion from above. She didn't know what was going on and simply hid under the covers of her bed when she heard the door open.
"Eri, be a good little girl and come here," the voice of Nemoto called out.
"What's going on?"
"We have uninvited guests and plan to keep you safe."
Safe.
The word was a sweet lie, and she knew it. The phantom sensations on her arms and legs were more than enough to remind her of that.
"Come on now, be a good girl. You don't want to get in trouble now, do you?"
Eri knew that she didn't have a choice. Slowly, she crawled out from the covers of her bed and began walking across the room.
"That's a good girl," Nemoto said as he picked her up and held her in his arms. "Let's go."
Through the suffocating darkness of Eri's emotions, a small flicker of hope began to appear. Even though she knew that that man would make them pay for coming here, part of her hoped that these intruders, whoever they were, would find her.