Izuku couldn't catch a wink of sleep that night when he and his mom got whisked away by Diner. Too much had gone down in the last 24 hours, and his brain was all over the place trying to process it all. It had to be one of the craziest days he'd ever had, and no matter how much he wanted to pass out, it just wasn't happening. So, instead, he decided to wander around the little building. Partly because he was curious, and partly because he wanted to figure out what on Earth was going on.
As he ventured through the dimly lit corridors, he stumbled upon a young woman seated at the kitchen table, holding a glass of water. Startled, Izuku stammered, "O-oh, Yuki, I'm sorry, I was just..."
"It's alright," Diner replied calmly, her eyes fixed on some distant, unseen horizon.
Izuku thought about making his exit, allowing her some solitude. But an overwhelming sense of concern compelled him to turn back and join her. He spoke softly, "Is everything okay? I don't really understand everything that's happened, but if you ever need someone to talk to…"
Diner released a quiet sigh, her emotions once again bubbling to the surface. "I suppose there's a lot I haven't explained properly, I'm sorry for that."
"You don't have to apologise!" he reassured her as he took a seat at the table, "You must have been through so much!"
A faint, appreciative smile crossed Diner's lips, which she tried to hide by taking a small sip of water. "Thank you. I suppose I am having some difficulty with the situation," she admitted, her eyes dropping to the surface of the table. "This life is all I've ever really known. The concept of leaving it is a lot for me to process."
Sympathy washed over Izuku. Whatever The Market was, the clandestine group to which Yuki Haro belonged, he knew it was a dark and perilous world. It had to be, for her to go to such lengths. And though she didn't show it outwardly, he could tell that "having difficulty with the situation" was the understatement of the century.
"How did you get involved with all of this?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
Diner sat silently for a moment, as though forcing herself to recollect the past. "I wish I could give you a simple answer," she began slowly. "The truth is, I'm not even sure what my real name is. I've been Diner for as long as I can remember, I was raised in this environment. High Street found me when I was just a child, abandoned."
"That's… That's unimaginable." Izuku whispered, his heart heavy with sympathy. "But do you, um, mind if I call you Yuki or Haro instead? I think I like that side of you more…" he asked quietly.
Diner nodded sadly, "I'm starting to think the same. As Diner, I've done things I'm not proud of. I've hurt people, taken lives, all in the name of some greater good."
Just then, another voice joined their conversation. Inko, who had been quietly listening at the doorway, stepped forward with a reassuring smile. "But, Yuki, there's more to you than that. Maybe there are greater goods for you to be a part of."
"Oh, Ms Midoriya, I'm sorry if we were being too loud," Yuki began to apologise with a bowed head.
Inko walked in the room and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You're not alone anymore. We'll find a way out of this together. Who knows, maybe you can start fresh and discover the person you never got the chance to be." she finished with a smile.
"You saved our lives, Yuki." Izuku nodded in agreement. "We'll figure this out."
Yuki hesitated for a moment, "I appreciate your willingness to help, but I need you to understand, it's dangerous," she said softly, trying to dissuade them. "I don't want to put either of you in harm's way."
Smiling warmly, Inko put a hand in the middle of the table, "Well, as far as I'm concerned, you're a Midoriya now! Which means we're standing by you every step of the way, no matter how dangerous!"
Izuku put his own hand on his mother's, "Yeah, absolutely!"
Tears welled up in Yuki's eyes, her heart touched by the warmth she had long since been deprived of. In this cosy kitchen, hidden from prying eyes, with Inko and Izuku by her side, she felt like she might have found a family she never knew was missing.
"...Thank you," Yuki whispered, placing her hand on top of theirs.
Detective Kiko Omasuba had been relishing a well-deserved day off, having just cracked a very demanding case that involved a crate of fireworks, a light absorption quirk, and a disappointed crowd. With her feet kicked up on the couch and the TV remote in hand, she decided it was high time to unwind.
The television blared with non-stop coverage of the UA Sports Festival. "Alright, we get it. Go sports, sheesh." Kiko muttered, rolling her eyes.
She flipped through the channels, hoping to find something more engaging. Eventually, she stumbled on a show where a woman in a chef's hat confidently tasted dishes and tried to guess the secret ingredient. If the chef failed, the contestant walked away with a cash prize.
"Oh come on, it's obviously her quirk! This is so rigged!" The great detective confidently told the television through a mouth full of half-eaten sandwich. She was on the verge of settling in and committing to another twenty episodes of this stupid program, when a loud series of knocks on her door reverberated through the apartment.
With a sandwich in hand, Kiko let out a sigh, got up and glanced through the peephole on her apartment door. Expecting to see someone she could easily ignore, like an uninvited salesperson, she was surprised to find her sister Rosa standing there, dishevelled and clearly distressed. Without hesitation, she unlocked the door.
"Rosa? What's going on? Why are you here so late?" The detective asked, ushering her sister inside.
"Kiko, I'm really sorry for showing up like this, but I…" Rosa began, her voice trembling as she wiped away tears.
Worry washed over Kiko, and she asked with concern, "What happened? Is something wrong?"
Rosa stopped for a moment. She knew she had to fabricate a believable story, even through the stress of seeing a coworker killed in the field. "It's my boyfriend! He… He broke up with me!" Rosa said, her voice cracking as she fought back fake tears.
"What?! I had no idea you were even seeing someone!" Kiko exclaimed in surprise, before her expression shifted to anger. "That big jerk! How could he do that to you?!" She embraced her sister.
"I don't know, he just, he just packed his bags and left! He told me he didn't love me anymore!" Rosa said, her lies flowing smoothly.
"Who is this loser?! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" Kiko was already cracking her knuckles and ready to head out for a good old fashioned ass-kicking.
Rosa stopped her sister with a hand on the shoulder, "Don't even give him the satisfaction, it's not worth it…" She said with a shake of the head. "I had to get out of the house, everything reminds me of him!"
"Oh, Rosa! Don't worry, you can stay with me for as long as you need."
"No!" Rosa blurted out, shaking her hands, "Uh, I mean, I couldn't impose! Do you remember grandma's cabin? The one we used to visit as kids? You still have the key, right?"
"Yeah, I still have the key, but I can't really take time off work right now..."
"That's okay. I think I'd like some time alone," Rosa said, her vulnerability surprising Kiko. She had always seen her sister as the strong, independent type, but now, she seemed so lost and in need of support.
"Of course," Kiko said, her concern deepening. "The key's in the kitchen drawer. Take it, but promise me you'll call as soon as you get to the cabin, okay?"
"Thanks, sis. You're a real lifesaver," Rosa said gratefully. After one more heartfelt hug, she swiftly retrieved the cabin keys and bid her sister goodbye, hoping it wouldn't be their last encounter.
If Diner had indeed betrayed The Market, Rosa Omasuba was High Street's last remaining ally, the one person holding the organisation together. She was confident he would understand her sudden disappearance, she was doing this to help the both of them!
It certainly wasn't out of fear.
"No way, pal! If Izuku and his mom are in trouble, there's no way I'm sitting on my ass!" Mei stood defiantly outside the Midoriya's empty apartment, jabbing a finger in her teacher's face. "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not!"
Power Loader looked at Mei with a serious expression. "It's not safe, Hatsume. This is hero work now, leave it to the professionals."
"But you've seen what I can do! I can help you, I can-"
"No, Hatsume! That's final!" Her teacher's voice boomed, stopping her in her tracks. "You need to Go. Home . We're going to handle this."
Mei almost opened her mouth to protest again, but she knew it wouldn't help. If she was going to help Izuku, it was clear she was going to have to rely on others. "...Fine, but I'm not happy about it!"
"Good choice, Deputy," Snipe said, spinning the barrel of his revolver before clicking it back into place. "Let's roll, PL. The Snipemobile's itchin' to get a mosey on."
Power Loader nodded and then turned to Mei once more. "If you hear anything at all, you can get on the UA teacher's private network with this." He tossed her an old-fashioned flip phone. "We always keep spares on us for times like this. You can contact any member of staff through that on a secure line."
Mei opened the phone and scrolled through. It was a basic phone, not even in colour, but sure enough, it had contacts for anyone she might need. "Thanks," she said with a stern expression. "If we don't get Izuku back, I'm burning the school down."
"I'll give you the matches." And with that, Power Loader and Snipe jumped into the car and peeled off down the road.
Closing the apartment door behind her, Mei wasted no time. Flipping open the phone, she urgently found Aizawa's number and called. "Come on, come on, pick up…" she muttered, cradling the phone between her head and shoulder as she quickly pulled herself up the fire escape of the opposite building, leading to the roof.
After a few impatient rings, Eraserhead's voice crackled through the line. "Who is this?" he curtly asked.
"Eraser, it's me," Mei replied quickly, "Listen, I don't want to hear any crap about this being too dangerous, Izuku is missing and you're going to help me find him, got it?"
"I'm busy on another case, go hom-"
"Don't you daretell me to go home!" She snarled down the line, "You're the only person who knows Mayhem's connection to Izuku, so like it or not, you're my partner in this! Got it, you greasy haired chump?!"
Eraserhead sighed on the other end. "Fine. I'm texting you the coordinates, meet me there in fifteen minutes. And for the record, I shampoo my hair twice a week."
With those begrudging instructions, he ended the call.
With a quick snap, Mei disassembled her phone, pulling out the SIM card and inserting it into the Mayhem helmet. She slid the helmet onto her head, her transformation into the vigilante complete in mere moments. Grapple launchers adorned her wrists, and an electrical baton rested securely on her back.
"I'm coming to get you, Izuku."
Yuki stood in the centre of her makeshift training room, previously the spacious basement of her safehouse, now decorated with wooden mannequins, targets and many racks of cutlery. Her hair was neatly pinned back, and she sported a sleek black gym outfit. Izuku, on the other hand, had been outfitted in borrowed clothes, and his heart raced with anticipation. Yuki had agreed to teach him some combat basics after his insistence.
With an air of casual confidence, Yuki began her lesson, addressing Izuku. "The first hurdle of quirked combat is recognising your limits," she said to her new pupil, who watched curiously. "Find the apex of your capabilities, the moment where your body is screaming at you to stop."
Yuki demonstrated her own quirk, Tablesetter, causing a dozen knives and forks to float gracefully in a spiralling formation around her head. She appeared as calm and composed, as though she were doing something as simple as breathing. "Then," she continued, "you tell your body to be quiet."
With a flick of her wrist, she sent all the cutlery hurtling towards a target across the room. The metal embedded itself in the wood with a satisfying series of shunk-shunk-shunk sounds that made Izuku flinch.
His nerves were obvious as he asked, with a swallow, "I... I see. But how do you get past the, uh... screaming part?"
Yuki offered a sympathetic half-shrug. "Time, resilience, and patience," she sighed. "It's hard work, but you have to remember that your quirk answers to you. You're in control of it, not the other way around."
Izuku nodded, but he didn't look convinced. "I don't feel in control of it that often," he admitted. "Sometimes I transform without even knowing about it."
"When I first started my training I would sometimes attract forks just by walking past them, like my quirk wanted to be used. It was… Embarrassing." Yuki shook her head at the memory of cutlery pinging against shop windows.
"So what did you do?"
"I just got there first," Yuki explained. "I told Tablesetter to be quiet before it got any other ideas."
"So, I have to anticipate when Mechanize is about to kick in, and get there first?" Izuku asked, trying to wrap his head around the concept.
"Yes," she confirmed. "And when your quirk acts on its own to save you from danger, how does it usually help you?"
Izuku looked a little sheepish for a moment before admitting, "Most often, a grappling hook."
"Oh, yes," the assassin said with a realisation, "I believe I may have seen it in action once before."
"I'm really sorry about that Yuki! But well, I mean, you were trying to kill my friend's teacher, and all…"
Yuki gave a reassuring smile, which she wasn't sure delivered the message she intended. Genuine emotion was still new, so hints of her undercover personas kept bleeding through instead. "You needn't apologise, you fought well. But I admit, I have been curious as to what you're capable of since then."
Suddenly, Yuki assumed an offensive stance on the training mat, her demeanour shifting swiftly. Alarmed, Izuku blurted out, "Wh-what are you doing?"
"I want to see your quirk do something new." Yuki challenged, her movements fluid, and without warning, she swung a powerful kick towards Izuku's head.
Izuku narrowly dodged the attack, feeling it brush against his cheek, as he instinctively fired a grappling hook to the other side of the room. His feet planted firmly against the concrete wall before he safely landed, his arm reverting to its previous state.
To his surprise, he couldn't help but smile.
"Again." Yuki commanded, pulling a collection of cutlery toward her, before firing them at Izuku like bullets.
Mei twirled her electrical baton between her fingers, tapping her foot impatiently. She'd reached the location Eraser had pointed out in record time, but now she was stuck playing sentry duty while he wrestled with a stubborn lock on an apartment's maintenance access.
"I don't get it, Eraserhead. How's this gonna help Izuku? We should be out there, kicking ass! Taking names, cracking skulls!" She punctuated herself with a fist-to-palm punch.
Sliding a slender piece of metal into the lock, Aizawa kept up his calm attitude - which only made Mei feel more restless. "Principal Nezu is working on city-wide surveillance. All Might and Midnight are patrolling the West. Present Mic, Thirteen, and Vlad King are covering the East. Power Loader and Snipe are following their own lead. Practically every hero in the city is on standby, and most of them are on the hunt for Midoriya," he explained.
Mei scowled, still itching for action. "I should still be out there helping! I can only see so much from here. If we could just get to the TV station's tower, I could scope out the whole city."
The underground hero paused, his lock-picking still uninterrupted. "It's unlikely Midoriya and his mother are still in the city."
"What do you mean?! Then what are we doing here?!" Mei threw her arms up in frustration.
"Think about it. If you were going to kidnap a UA student, would you keep them in the heart of a city swarming with heroes, near the biggest hero academy in the nation? If Midoriya's been taken, they'd want him out of the public eye, and fast."
Mei's face dropped, "So he could be anywhere by now…"
Aizawa shook his head. "Not if the kidnappers were smart. A car was reported stolen near Midoriya's apartment this morning. I still have access to the police database, remember. The smart move would be to ditch the vehicle as soon as possible. I see two possibilities: either he's hiding so deep underground that not a single hero in this city knows to look there, which would be illogical to assume, or he's out in the suburbs on the city's edge." Just as he said that, the lock clicked open, revealing their entry.
"One down, one to go. You stay out here and keep a lookout for anything suspicious." Aizawa instructed, before he stood up from his crouched position and fixed Mei with a stern look. "And don't go anywhere. If you see anything, you call me immediately. Got it?"
"Sure, sure, I get it. I won't go anywhere," Mei replied impatiently.
His expression remained the same. "Mayhem, I'm serious."
"Alright, alright! I promise I won't leave this spot for any reason!"
With a final, scrutinising look at the young vigilante, Eraserhead finally relented. "Alright. I shouldn't be long," he said before disappearing into the apartment complex.
As soon as he was out of sight, Mei wasted no time. She abandoned her post and sauntered over to the edge of the building, perching herself on the wall. Determined, she activated her quirk and began scanning the city, ready for anything that might catch her attention. This, she thought, was what they should have been doing all along - using their quirks to their fullest potential, not wasting time on what felt like nonsense, like breaking into someone's apartment. Eraserhead wouldn't even tell her how his actions were relevant to finding Izuku, and it was driving her crazy.
As Mei continued her scan of the surrounding streets, it became increasingly clear that this was what some would call the bad side of town. Trash littered the streets, the distant wail of sirens filled the air, there were a few too many broken windows, and an enormous spray-painted message on a nearby wall read 'Hereoes Go Away.'
"Hm, not exactly main street…" She thought to herself, continuing her search. Then, she spotted something that caught her attention down an alleyway - a man in a black leather jacket and sunglasses hauling a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder. If they were handing out awards for shifty looking people, this guy would probably steal the trophy from the winner. Mei didn't think he could look any more conspicuous until he turned around, lowered the sunglasses, and darted his eyes back and forth.
Mei shook her head, "Okay, that dude is definitely a criminal." Her curiosity got the better of her as she watched him push open an inconspicuous wooden door and slip inside the building.
Without a second thought, she fired her grappling hook toward a nearby billboard, the mechanism whirring to life. With a graceful swing, she soared over to the building. It would just be a quick detour, a chance to drop a listening device, and then she'd swing back to her post. Eraserhead would barely even notice she was missing!
Mid-swing, Mei's eyes widened in sheer horror as she realised the entire roof of this building, which turned out to be a warehouse, was completely made of glass. "Oh crap, crap, crap!" she exclaimed as panic surged through her. Desperately, she scanned her surroundings, searching for anything to which she could fire a grapple and make a hasty escape… There were no taller buildings! And she's not moving quick enough for the wingsuit to work! It was too late!
With a sinking feeling in her gut, Mei braced herself for the inevitable crash. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the shattering impact… but it never came. Slowly, she dared to open one eye, then the other. To her astonishment, the glass ceiling remained intact.
For a moment, she dared not move. Slowly, she exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "Phew…"
Then the glass broke.