Learning to Trust


"Our lives have a countdown clock that we can't see. Mine reminds me to only do work that matters."
-Donald Miller


Chapter 31: The Final Countdown

"Shifter is targeting heroes from UA. He's starting with Mic, Midnight, and Eraserhead… and we just sent them to him!"

Naomasa stood abruptly and reached across the counter, tearing the entire file out of Toshi's hands, nearly knocking his half-filled coffee cup over in the process. He actually did accidentally bump several other files from his overcrowded desk onto the floor. He ignored them, his eyes skimming the information Toshinori had just pointed out.

The taller man stooped to pick up the scattered papers as his friend slapped the file down on his keyboard and began flipping from page to page, muttering quietly to himself in a frustrated voice just slightly too quiet for Toshinori to hear. It didn't matter though. He knew his friend well enough to understand anyway.

"Please tell me I'm wrong, Naomasa," he replied quietly, stacking the mixed up files as best he could on the edge of the desk as far from the coffee as possible. They looked like they could tip over again at any moment.

"Shit," was the detective's only response—not exactly the most promising reply.

"That's what I was afraid you'd say."

Naomasa's head snapped up and he locked eyes with Toshinori. "When was the last time you heard from either Midnight or Mic?" he asked, lowering his voice and casting a glance back at the boy in the back of the room.

Toshi tugged the phone from his pocket and glanced down. "About forty minutes ago, give or take."

"And Midnight said she'd check in every twenty?"

"Yeah, but she's been late once already. Apparently service wasn't too great when she started making her way to UA…"

There was a long silence, broken only by the ominous ticking of the wall clock and the soft stirring of Tetsu on the sofa behind them as he shifted in his sleep to a more comfortable position on the hard sofa.

Finally, Toshi spoke. "Naomasa, if we can't get ahold of Nezu or the others, I'm willing to—"

But the detective cut him off before he could even finish his thought. "No. First I need you to try to contact both Midnight and Mic. Try both texting and calling. I'm going to try Eraserhead this time in case he's fine and just avoiding all of you." He sighed, muttering, "Wouldn't be the first time," under his breath before continuing in a somewhat louder voice. "Then I'll try Nezu again to confirm none of them are at UA."

"Naomasa, listen. Nezu hasn't responded in hours. I really think it would be best if I just—"

Again he was cut off by Naomasa, who sent him a warning look. "No, Toshi." He glared as fiercely as he could to the Number One Hero. "If you fight now, you'll die. It's as simple as that." He winced even as he said it, but forced himself to continue. "You're too sick. I'm not willing to lose you, too. Not when we still have options."

Toshinori held his hands up in mock surrender. "I was just going to suggest you let me call Recovery Girl if we can't get anyone else." He glanced at the utilitarian wall clock over the sofa. "Nezu has been impossible to reach, but it's possible he's just a heavy sleeper. I've never actually tried to call him at night like this. But Recovery Girl—she usually does rounds around this time, so she'll be up, and her cell phone is always on her." He sighed. "And if I'm the one to make the call, she's bound to answer. She knows I wouldn't contact her unless it's an emergency." At Naomasa's surprised silence, he added with a guilty smile, "Look, I made you a promise. I may not always be completely honest with you, but I've never once lied. I don't intend to start now."

He broke eye contact at that, and began texting first Kayama and then Hizashi.

"I—Toshi, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have—"

But Toshinori would have none of it, simply smiling one of his blindingly fake smiles and holding up a silencing hand, replying in a hushed voice, "Think nothing of it, Naomasa. I'm fine." He continued to avoid eye contact though.

Standing, he pushed in his chair before the detective could speak. "I've sent the texts, but I think I'd rather make the phone calls in another room, so we don't disturb the boy any further. Would you mind if I used Sansa's office?"

Naomasa simply shook his head.

"Thank you." Toshi glanced back up at the clock and motioned to his friend. "You'd best make your calls, too. I've never wanted to be wrong so badly before, but If we are right, then the clock is ticking. We need to get ahold of someone at UA if we're going to call in any reinforcements. Most of the other hero agencies in town have already refused to have anything to do with this case anymore. A handful probably won't even answer the phone if it's coming from me at this point." He smiled sheepishly. "All Might has to stay on good terms with everyone, but Yagi… he's allowed to tell off heroes once in awhile…"

"I can call them. We have a lead now, Toshi—"

But Toshinori just shrugged. "We had leads then, too. Problem is that they were all false leads. I think we may have accidentally called wolf on this case too many times to try them again, but it's worth a shot. There are only a handful of pros I know that won't immediately say no, or be incapacitated completely by Shifter's fabricated quirk marriage. I'll try them once I'm done with the others—just in case. You can try Gang Orca's agency, though. He's one that probably won't answer my call…" That guilty half-smile twitched his lips once more.

Naomasa simply nodded. "I'll see what I can do." He hesitated before adding. "Toshi, I really am sorry for jumping to conclusions."

But Toshinori finally looked up at him, a bit of genuine warmth back in his smile. "Don't worry about it, Naomasa. Really. I'm fine. I always am. Now, let's get these calls made."

With those words, Toshinori turned and opened the door, stepping smoothly out into the chaotic cacophony of the station's main office.

Naomasa watched in silence as the door shut with a final click behind him.


"Nezu, I'm sorry to bother you again, but I'd appreciate it if you could give me a call back at the station. We have one of your students under our protection, a Mitzutani Tetsuya. All Might brought him in, as we suspect he could be in danger from a recent villain attack." Naomasa took a deep sigh as he paused his pacing of the soundproof interrogation room he'd chosen to make his calls, and approached the door to confirm it was still firmly closed. Even with the knowledge that no one could hear into this room, he still lowered his voice a bit. "We have reason to think that the Shifter is going to target UA. All Might noticed a pattern in the shifted quirks that has led us to believe that Shifter is going after UA heroes next—specifically Eraserhead, Midnight, and Present Mic. I need to know if any of them are with you. Please call back as soon as possible…" His brow furrowed. "I'm not sure how much danger they are in, but I'm running out of options. If you get this, we could use backup. Thank you."

He hung up, muttering to himself, "I hope you had better luck with Recovery Girl, Toshi."

Unlocking the door, he strode into the busy office. Even at this ungodly hour, it was still loud and chaotic. Petty criminals and minor villains were being booked, paperwork was being filed—his eyes darted over to his office door, which he'd kept half open—and a frightened high schooler was trying to sleep.

Sansa's office door opened just then, causing Naomasa to jump. This was what happens to me after nearly twenty-four hours without sleep. I've got to get a grip. He turned the rest of the way to see Toshinori watching him, concern clearly written across his face. "Are you okay, Naomasa?" he asked quietly.

Naomasa nodded, stifling a yawn and motioned Toshi over. "I'm fine. Just tired. Still no answers on my end. I left a couple more messages." He studied his friend carefully. "It doesn't look like you had any better luck either, huh?"

Toshinori shook his head. "No, unfortunately." He rubbed absently at his chest. "I honestly didn't expect to actually get a hold Kayama or Hizashi, but it worries me that Recovery Girl didn't answer either. Radio silence is never a good sign." He stared thoughtfully at his friend, though his eyes appeared unfocused. "I suppose she could just be busy. Or maybe the opposite—no one in the hospital ward, so she didn't have reason to make rounds. It happens, though not often. In that case, she may have just silenced her phone so she could get some sleep for once."

"And the heroes?"

Toshinori sighed. "No luck. Like I said, most of the pros don't have quirks that are suited to this. I'm not willing to throw more people into this mess—especially people who have quirks that Shifter could benefit from—unless I know they can actually help. The handful that had a chance were already working other jobs."

Naomasa raised an eyebrow at that. "All of them?"

His friend laughed harshly. "Not quite. Jeanist was willing to come, but he's recovering from a pretty serious injury, and I didn't want to risk him being injured worse. And Endeavor…"

Naomasa's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. Told you to jump off Might Tower?"

"Told me to call in my 'boss', since, and I quote, 'All Might's the only one stupid enough to believe this nonsense and waste his time.'" He brushed aside the hanging oxygen tube, rubbing again at his chest.

Naomasa scowled, but chose to keep his opinions to himself. "Fine," he bit out. "Hopefully we hear back from UA. Otherwise, I'll be phoning more heroes myself. If they aren't going to listen to you, they sure as hell are going to hear from me…" He trailed off, suddenly noticing the way his friend was clenching his jaw. His voice softened. "Toshi, do you need more Advil?"

Sharp blue eyes finally focused on his. "What?"

"You're rubbing your chest like it hurts. Do you need more Advil?" Another thought struck him, and he added, "Or did you need any other medications?"

Toshi's eyes danced to the clock on the wall. "I'm too late to take my evening medications, but I should be fine as long as I take the morning dose in the next couple hours. I'll let you know when I need it."

"Toshi…"

"I promise. I—"

He didn't get to finish the thought as a young heteromorphic officer with slitted yellow eyes and a shiny, greenish tint to her skin approached. Her metallic green hair was pulled back tightly into a gleaming bun. She bowed respectfully. "Officer Naomasa. Yagi-san. I was asked to let you know that we received a phone call from UA."

Toshinori visibly brightened and stood straighter. "Principal Nezu?" he asked with so much enthusiasm that he startled the poor girl.

Naomasa put a gently staying hand on Toshi's arm. Sending the young woman a tired smile. "Please excuse him, Dokuryu-san. It's been a long night for both of us. Who from UA called? Was there a message?"

She nodded, handing him a note. "Officer Sansa took it. He told me to let you know that it was hard to hear, as there was a lot of static and background disruption before they were cut off, but he did the best he could. He's trying to return the call now to see if he can clarify anything. When he's done, I'm sure he will be able to tell you more." With those words, she bowed and quietly took her leave.

Naomasa skimmed the note, his brow furrowing. His lanky friend stepped forward peeking at it as well. The message was pretty short.

"UA called. Sounded like Nezu, but something was disrupting the connection. Attempted to call again, but was immediately cut off twice. Will try again later unless you have another number I can use. Was only able to solidly make out the word 'help.' Sorry it isn't much to go on. I'll drive out there if you want. Let me know. For now, I'm trying the UA staff numbers I know. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Toshinori met his eyes. "We have to do something, Naomasa."

Naomasa just gritted his teeth. "It was an incomplete message, Toshi. He could have been saying anything—even just apologizing that he couldn't help the bad connection. You can't just go running in every time something seems off." It's going to kill you one day…. He turned to the coffee pot and grabbed a fresh mug, pouring himself a cup, and turning his back on his friend.

"But you agree that Midnight and Mic are in trouble."

"I agree that they are at risk, Toshi. I'm not calling in the big guns until I know they're needed."

"I won't go unless you agree to it, but we're running out of options."

Naomasa set his cup down hard next to the coffee pot and turned to Toshi, shooting him a silencing glare. "Dammit, Toshi. No. Do you have no self-preservation at all?" He hadn't meant to shout that part, but obviously he had, because several officers glanced up before busily pretending they had heard nothing. He lowered his voice to a low growl, "You yourself just said that you refused to call in heroes unless you were certain their help was needed. You just said that you wouldn't let Best Jeanist help because he's too injured. So help me, Toshi. You would sacrifice your own life to save a million people, while stopping anyone else from doing the same. You can't protect everyone all the time. Unless I know for a fact that All Might is our best option, I refuse to call him in. Do you understand me?"

Naomasa's uncharacteristic hushed tirade stunned the old hero into silence. It was a long moment, during which Naomasa began drinking his coffee again, before Toshi finally found words to speak.

Of course, it was Toshi and what he said made no sense. Briefly Naomasa was tempted to just shake him.

"'One life to save a million…' I'm no different than that dead statesman am I?" His voice had a sort of hushed stunned quality to it.

Naomasa did not even bother trying to answer that. Anything else he said at that moment, he knew he would likely regret. Instead, he nearly burned his tongue on the coffee while he let Toshi process through whatever new nonsense was in his head.

Toshinori didn't have much time to do so, as at that moment Officer Dokuryu, looking a bit more frazzled approached, bowing quickly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but we have a problem."

Naomasa just set the coffee down, and ran his hand over his eyes. "Of course we do," he muttered. "What is it, Officer Dokuryu?"

"The boy you brought in earlier needed to use the restroom over thirty minutes ago. I just sent Officer Hinata in to check on him, and the kid is gone. We can't find him anywhere. When we checked video footage, we lost sight of him. Seems he used his quirk to send out some sort of smoke screen to block our cameras."

Toshinori didn't even wait for her to finish talking before he stepped past the police officers in the room.

By the time Naomasa entered, Toshi was already at the sofa, holding a piece of paper that had been left there. Naomasa quickly approached.

"Toshi?"

Toshinori silently handed over the note for Naomasa to read. It was straight to the point.

"Yagi-San, this mess is my fault. I'm going to fix it, so you don't have to. If I offer myself, maybe she'll give back everyone else. I don't want anyone else to get hurt, and I don't want you to die.

Thanks for everything, and I'm sorry.

Tetsu"

"It's been at least thirty minutes… he could be halfway to UA right now—if that's even where he's going."

Naomasa was silent, running every possible scenario in his head. No heroes currently available. He could send a force out, but who knew how long that would take… He needed someone who had an actual sense for these things… If Shifter got ahold of the kid, who knows what she would do. They just didn't have any more time…

"What's the plan, Naomasa?"

I feel like I'm trading a life for a life…

"How long do you have?"

"Naomasa…?"

"How long, Toshi?"

"Thirty minutes. Maybe an hour if I push it. I can't promise more than that."

The detective met his friend's eyes. "Get All Might," he whispered. "I'll get backup as soon as possible if I have to drag heroes out of the agencies, myself. Go."

Toshinori just nodded and hurried out of the room.

Naomasa's eyes skipped up to the clock.

"The final countdown…"


Author's Note: Thank you so much to lolo popoki for betaing this work. Thank you to granny_griffin for doing writing sprints with me to actually be able to start the chapter. And thanks to all of you for your patience in waiting for this. Things have been crazy and chaotic since July, so I appreciate you for not giving up on me. Thank you for reading and any reviews you may feel inclined to leave.

Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Sirius:)