A/N

Summary: Daisuke talks with Tsukauchi, Tensei, and Yagi, and comes to a decision.

Chapter 38: The Questioning

It wasn't the first time Daisuke had seen these guys, but it was certainly the first time it was at a point where he wasn't out of his mind with relief or trembling uncontrollably in fear. The last time he'd seen Detective Tsukauchi, he'd been feeling both the pain of the loss of his quirk and the terror that the monster who had kidnapped him was still out there.

Now, he'd (mostly) come to terms with both those concepts.

He took a deep breath and straightened in his bed. It felt awkward being in a hospital room and facing an… interview, but since he was still kinda supposed to be under watch in case that very previously mentioned monster thought to grab at him again, the police had insisted.

Tensei, standing next to him, reached out to place a kind hand on his shoulder, and Daisuke felt himself relax the slightest bit. Having the older man here really did help, honestly. He hadn't known it would be when he asked, only hoping to push off the situation until he could find the mental strength to deal with it, but when this day had finally arrived, Tensei being there was a relief.

Daisuke sent him a tremulous smile, then turned back to Detective Tsukauchi and the tall, hunched man at his side, who'd introduced himself as Yagi Toshinori. He didn't look like a detective, but Daisuke didn't really know what detectives were supposed to look like beyond Tsukauchi, so he decided to take it as it was. Besides, Tensei wouldn't let the man be here unless he knew who he was, and right now, Daisuke trusted Tensei's decisions.

Hell, he was probably the only one he did trust in this room.

"O– okay," He said out loud. "I'm ready."

Detective Tsukauchi smiled kindly, holding up a recording device in full view. "This is just a follow-up to get the full details of the situation," He said soothingly. "I know it's been a hard time for you, Takahashi-kun, so please, take all the time you need."

Daisuke gave a small nod and then said, "Okay," for the record.

Yagi shifted in his place but didn't speak. Instead, Detective Tsukauchi led most of the conversation that followed, which was mostly just another reiteration of what had happened to Daisuke. He got through most of it with sheer will and hours of practice mumbling the story to himself the day before, but when it came to the stark loss of the man taking away a part of his soul–

Daisuke broke off.

Tensei grabbed his hand and squeezed, saying something in a low, warm voice that Daisuke couldn't hear.

But the hand–

He held on to the hand and gasped, his lungs feeling like they were choking without air, the memory of that tear-away of his Quirk, of getting it back only to lose it again and again and again and–

He blinked as a hesitant hand rested atop his head.

He blinked again, the world coming back into focus.

"Breathe, Young Takahashi," Yagi said, his eyes glistening with an understanding that Daisuke had no idea how to deal with. Because, for once since this entire thing had happened, he had the startling feeling he wasn't alone.

His friends, Tensei-san, even his mother – every single one of them had been there, trying. But none of them could have understood; none of them knew the horror that he felt every single time he thought of– of the monster. Every single time he remembered his quirk torn away and the villain's whispered promises and that horrible, horrible voice in the back of his head that told him to give up to this man for there was no other way, no other answer, no other future.

But the look in Yagi Toshinori's eyes wasn't pitying or confused or even sympathetic – no, it was understanding. Understanding in a way which made Daisuke think that maybe, just maybe, he'd experienced something like Daisuke had. That he'd met this villain and lived to tell the tale but couldn't without hyperventilating, like Daisuke was doing.

(But could because he wasn't hyperventilating like Daisuke was doing. Could he…? Some day?)

Daisuke sucked in a large breath.

Yagi stepped back.

"I think that should be enough," Tensei said with clipped tones.

Detective Tsukauchi inclined his head. "It should," He agreed. "We'll update the file and restart the search according to these parameters."

Yagi grimaced. "Naomasa–" He said, almost under his breath, except he was in a nearly silent room, and it carried.

Detective Tsukauchi mimicked the expression. "We can speak of that later," He said stiffly.

Daisuke frowned but, despite his curiosity, didn't ask.

The detective turned back to him, openly putting away the recorder. "This is no longer on the record," He said. "But we do have a few other aspects to discuss."

Daisuke straightened. "... Like what?" He asked, his heart speeding up in an instinctive flash of fear.

Tensei noticed. "I talked about this with you as well, remember?" He said lightly, keeping his tone calm. "The choice that the Hero Commission is offering you."

Daisuke inhaled sharply.

"There's no hurry," Detective Tsukauchi said easily. "I am not asking you for a decision, so there is no need to decide on anything too quickly. There's time before you get discharged."

Daisuke swallowed, but his hands relaxed, and he immediately let go of Tensei's hand, which he hadn't realized he was still holding.

Tensei said nothing.

"It's to give you more information regarding your options," Tsukauchi continued. "This is a fairly sensitive situation, so the Commission wants you to know all the applicable details." He pursed his lips as if he wasn't sure he wanted to dump this on Daisuke.

Daisuke, who was already feeling overwhelmed, didn't blame him. "The witness protection," He said quietly. "Right?"

Tsukauchi inclined his head. "It's… straightforward," He admitted. "If you choose to accept this offer, you will be assigned a new identity for both you and your mother and be set up in an undisclosed location. You can start a new life, though, of course, you may have nothing to do with anyone or anything from this one."

Daisuke swallowed.

"This option has the best chance of protection," Tsukauchi continued. "Because not even the Commission or Law Enforcement will know who or where you are. Only the underground hero and the agent assigned to your case will know, and they'll be the ones keeping you out of the system. A government-assigned operative will wipe everything related to you from both government records and the web as well."

Daisuke's throat went dry. "It'll be like I never existed," He concluded.

Tsukauchi inclined his head.

"And the other option?" Tensei asked for Daisuke's benefit because he had to know what it would be.

"Your other option is to remain in Musutafu," The detective continued. "We can assign a temporary protection detail until a reasonable amount of time or the threat passes, and you can do as you wish regarding your enrollment in UA. You won't lose everything you've built this way, but you do incur a higher chance of…" He trailed off, his eyes landing on Daisuke's trembling fists.

Daisuke immediately pushed them under the blanket and out of sight.

"Kid…" Tensei murmured.

Daisuke looked down. It had been days since his friends had asked. More than a week since Tensei had offered. So much more time since he'd gotten out.

And still he felt like he was choking, still he didn't know how he was supposed to decide. He didn't want to face this villain, even as the other part of him, the one which had thrown him in this situation in the first place, which had zipped his lips shut even when the monster had offered an out at the expense of a single name – that part of him did want to face this villain, this monster, and clock him in the face as he took back his quirk.

It was impossible.

It was inevitable.

"I don't know," He whispered, still looking at his lap, the white of the starch hospital blanket glaring into his eyes. "I don't–" He swallowed. "I want to be a hero," He said, and, suddenly, it felt real. He did want to be a hero, he realized. He wanted to be a hero so that no one would have to face someone like this, something like this ever again. He wanted to be a hero so that he wouldn't have to go without seeing Quirky again. He wanted to be a hero so his friends wouldn't be disappointed in him, even though they'd talked it over and they weren't.

He wanted to be a hero because that monster had stolen the thought of it away from him. Because he made him cower and tremble and dream of a time where he had a part of his soul and then wake up to a reality where it had been cruelly ripped away. And Daisuke couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't step back in the face of that horrible smile which almost tricked him into thinking that all he needed to do–

He looked up to all three adults, looking at him with apprehensive expressions. "I want to be a hero," He said again. This time, his voice was stable. "But…" He took a deep breath. "I don't– I don't know how."

Tensei's expression shifted to a sympathy Daisuke didn't want to look at for now, no matter that this was exactly why he'd wanted the hero here in the first place, and, instead, he turned to Yagi, who hadn't.

Who wasn't.

The man was, in fact, looking at him as if he'd had a revelation, his smile self-deprecating and distracted.

"There hasn't been a quirkless student at UA before," Daisuke continued, just to get the conversation going, drawing on the memories of the facts that Quirky had told him. "I'm– I'm pretty sure there hasn't even been a hero in UA's heroics stream who's ever had a quirk not useful for heroics, whether it's combat, rescue, whatever."

Tensei opened his mouth to say something, but Daisuke continued, wanting to complete his piece.

"I don't… I don't know if I want to be the first," He said, and, agonizingly enough, he had to admit to himself that it wasn't for the selfless reason of wanting Quirky to have that honor. No, it was because he didn't want to face the people who knew him with one, who would always remember him that way, who would see him with a quirk and know he didn't have it anymore. Who would look at him and see him as less, as pitiable, as loss. Who would look at him with that look in their eyes and he would remember, every single day, of the part of his soul that was gone. "Not in UA."

Tsukauchi pursed his lips in thought and Tensei tilted his head. "There are other hero schools," He pointed out, but his voice was trailing off, as if part of him knew that wasn't something Daisuke wanted.

And then–

"I… I may have a solution," Yagi offered, his voice low.

Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow and they seemed to have a silent conversation, only for the detective to acquiesce to whatever they were discussing because Yagi opened his mouth again, addressing Daisuke.

"If you're amenable," The man said. "I have a… contact in America who may be willing to sponsor you in a hero school there."

Daisuke blinked. "I'm sorry?"

A small smile flickered across Yagi's lips. "America may have its shortcomings," He said. "But there is certainly a little bit more freedom there concerning the quirkless. In fact, I have heard of a few heroes who preside over the scene entirely with support gear and learnable defense techniques." Tsukauchi grumbled something under his breath that started with 'Iron-' but Yagi was louder. "I do not doubt David would be happy to help, and if you're–" His eyes flickered to Tensei. "Once you've taken the chance to see what there is to offer, built up experience and strength, you can come back."

"Like All Might," Daisuke said because he was the only one who came to mind.

Weirdly enough, Yagi's ears turned red. "Ahem, yes, like that." He coughed then, something wracking and horrible, his hand rushing to cover his mouth, but even then, Daisuke caught the glistening of a red that didn't feel real but was far too much so, and his breath caught, the understanding of earlier feeling far more insidious because the monster had taken his quirk from him, and Kami knew what he did to others. If that was the consequence of Yagi's experience with– with him, then Daisuke…

Maybe, Daisuke realized, he'd gotten out of it fairly okay.

Yagi waved away the concern of Tensei and Tsukauchi; his eyes trained on Daisuke.

Daisuke looked back, his mind whirling with possibilities and laden with limitations. Everything he chose would have a con, he knew. And nothing he could do would fix it. Not for a long, long while.

He took a deep breath.

If he wanted to do this, if he wanted to be able to move past everything that monster had inflicted, if he wanted to stop immediately depending on his quirk and then remember he didn't have it and face that instant breakdown that could one day be possibly catastrophic, if he wanted to be able to hold his head up high and return one day, proud of being himself and able to face Quirky without the guilt that the kid would undoubtedly notice and blame himself for, if he wanted to be a hero–

"Yes," Daisuke said.

A/N

Up Next: People learn about Daisuke's decision.