Congratulations! You've been selected!
"What does this even mean," Shimomura Kai frowns.
As a Pro Hero, he receives two kinds of missive: his sidekicks' business reports or any articles related to him. What he was holding in his hands, however, was neither. He considers throwing it away without even opening it but curiosity gets the best of him. It's addressed, after all, not to the man Shimomura Kai but to the Pro Hero since it's his Hero alias that's scribbled in cursive letters on the front of the envelope.
Shimomura tears it opens and takes the letter. He unfolds the paper, its grainy texture rough under his fingertips, and his eyes narrow as they struggle to read the message.
Dear Elemental Armor,
Congratulations! You've been selected!
One of our agents will come and collect your soul within twenty-four hours.
Make sure your last day count.
Shimomura blinks then bursts in laughter, one hand clutching his chest. He should've known it's a prank but this funny, this unoriginal? Kids these days had little to no imagination. It seems like they were trying to replicate the menacing mood of an old yakuza movie or those shinigami ones. Your soul, of all things, will be collected. Kids these days sure had a lot of time to waste if they went as far as sending him this letter.
Shimomura crumples the letter, wiping the tears in his eyes.
It's too funny, he thinks as he tosses the letter in the trash bin.
"We have a case, Midoriya-kun."
Midoriya startles as Tsukauchi drops a binder on his desk. Skittish, Midoriya hovers on the edge of his desk, looking down at the name written along the spine.
Elemental Armor. Shimomura Kai.
"What crime?"
"Homicide."
Midoriya's mouth spasms. "He killed someone?"
"No," Tsukauchi replies, his features drawn, "he was killed."
Midoriya gapes down at the binder. With trembling fingers, he opens it and comes face to face with a picture of Shimomura Kai's round face. The picture is cropped at the shoulders but Midoriya has no trouble recognising the messy buzzcut hairstyle, the scar starting from his right ear and following his jawline down to his chin and the two pugnacious eyes glaring at him.
They did it.
"It's your first murder case, isn't it, Midoriya-kun?"
Tsukauchi's staring at him, a benevolent smile curling his lips. He must mistake Midoriya's jitteriness for apprehension, perhaps even raw fear, but the detective is wrong. Midoriya feels nothing but a strange exhilaration as he studies the Hero's picture.
"Yes, sir," he manages to croak.
"You don't have to be afraid. We won't send you on the field."
Midoriya resists the urge to snort. He knows that already.
Instead he bows his head, murmuring, "Thank you, Tsukauchi-sensei."
"You'll still be on the case by being our informant. I want you to come up with everything you can on Elemental Armor and when I say everything, I mean everything. His cases, the criminal he arrested, his family, his background, his favourite anime, everything."
"Yes, sir," Midoriya nods but doesn't mention he already did the research. He has to be thorough when finding his candidates, after all. "I'll start now."
Tsukauchi's smile widens as he hands another binder to Midoriya. Unlike Shimomura Kai's, this one's empty except for a few loose sheets. It doesn't even have an identification.
"What's this, sir?"
"This will be our goal," Tsukauchi declares as he writes down something on a strip of paper that he slides along the binder's spine. "This is the criminal's file."
In other words, Midoriya's goal is to ensure it stays empty. It's an innocent black binder but the longer Midoriya stares at it, the faster his blood pumps. If Shimomura Kai's picture is on the victims binder, then Midoriya's belongs to the criminals', according to Tsukauchi and the Police Force. But Midoriya knows it's not supposed to be this way. Shimomura Kai doesn't deserve to be called a victim as much as he doesn't deserve to be a called a Pro Hero.
Beside him, Tsukauchi's waiting for his response.
"It's ingenious, sir," is all Midoriya answers.
It hopefully satisfies his superior who pats Midoriya's shoulder. "We'll catch him together."
Midoriya would rather not.
"Tell me, Midoriya-kun, what do you know about Elemental Armor?"
He wants to tense but knows Tsukauchi would notice it. Midoriya forces himself to relax and releases a feeble laugh, closing his eyes in false cheer as he looks at the the detective. He's so glad Tsukauchi's Quirk isn't mind-reading.
"Why are you asking me of all people, sir?"
"When I did your first interview you told me you had numerous entries on Pro Heroes so I was wondering if you had one concerning Elemental Armor."
"Ah, yes, of course. Uhm, Elemental Armor's Quirk is Elemental Exoskeleton, which allows him to create an armour around his body and shape it at will using elemental forces at hand. He's able to deflect attacks but also to absorb them if they're made of elements and send them back. Depending of the element composing his armour, Elemental Armor can have enhanced strength, speed, and durability. His weaknesses are numerous, such as reverting back to original form if knocked unconscious or being limited to elements from already existing sources."
"You sound like a textbook," Tsukauchi chuckles.
Midoriya turns red but he himself doesn't know if it's from pride or embarrassment.
"You're a hard worker," the detective continues, "and I'm sure one day I'll have the pleasure of working with you on the field."
Tsukauchi leaves before he can see Midoriya's crooked smile.
Tsukauchi's team comes back a little after seven in the evening. Midoriya's still sitting in front of his computer, browsing through lots of websites to look for information he already knows. His research is deliberately slow so he wouldn't arise suspicion, so he only amassed half of the data he's aware of.
"Here, Midoriya-kun, we got you dinner," Tamakawa Sansa tells him as he gives him a sushi package. "How was your day?"
"Uneventful," he confesses, then indicates Shimomura's binder. "I have some information."
Tsukauchi grabs the binder and sits at his desk, rummaging through it. The rest of the team settles around the round table where they held their usual morning prep talk, unwrapping their sushi assortment. Despite their joyful facade, they're slouching on their seats and their eyes are glum.
Midoriya remains silent but listens to their conversation. Early in the morning, Tsukauchi and his team were dispatched to Shimomura Kai's house to investigate the circumstances revolving the Pro Hero's murder. In a way, it was better that Midoriya remains at the office. With Tsukauchi's Quirk to detect when someone's lying, he could've slipped without realising his mistake before it's too late.
"Did you learn anything new?" Midoriya asks the officers.
"Not much," one whose name escapes Midoriya shrugs. "Elemental Armor looked like he struggled quite a bit before his death. Only further analysis will tell us where exactly he died because there were bloodstains in every room."
"Look, the killer was kind enough to leave a message."
Tamakawa shows Midoriya one of the snaps he took. It's a beige wall devoid of any frames and in the middle, written in capital letters dripping of crimson is the word 'guilty'.
"We took a sample of blood in every room but we doubt we'll find the killer's among them."
"It would be too easy, right?" Midoriya replies.
Tamakawa lets him look through the snaps although his eyes trail on him. The elder officer probably expects Midoriya to be sickened by the bloodstains, the crimson trails, the puddles, the handprint and the few scattered droplets, but Midoriya doesn't as much as twitch as he examines them, going as far as eating his meal without feeling any nausea. He was studying one shot of Shimomura's back, apparently slashed with blades, when Tsukauchi spoke.
"Midoriya-kun… What is this?"
Midoriya stills, one sushi halfway through his mouth. He puts his chopsticks down, already knowing what Tsukauchi was talking about in the report's outline. Papers shuffle as the detective uncovers the truth about Shimomura Kai, page after page. The detective's team is quiet, waiting for their leader's next call.
"Where did you find this?"
"On a website I occasionally consult for my reports in case something like this occurs," Midoriya reveals. "It delves around unsolved cases surrounding Pro Heroes. Most of them are rumours but a rumour's root always is near the truth."
"But it's still a rumour. We're police officers and detectives. We need facts."
"We can investigate. What if what happened is true?"
"I don't think you understand."
The detective's chilly tone makes him shiver. Midoriya swivels on his chair, realising that everyone's staring at him solemnly, as if he's committed the gravest offence.
"You're sullying Shimomura's name by bringing up these rumours."
"You told me to search for everything. I did what you asked."
"Everything factual," Tsukauchi sighs through his nose. "I thought you'd understand something so simple and logical."
"But sir, what if—?"
"We don't solve crimes with assumptions. Besides, Shimomura-san was a Pro Hero. He knows the law almost better than us."
Midoriya watches the ground, clenching his jaw.
"With all due respect to Pro Heroes, sir, they're still humans."
They still sin, is what he wants to add but he fears that defending his way further would only increase his in-office stay. He's learned it the hard way that once the Police Force judges you acted out of line, you regress back to working in office. In Midoriya's case, six supplementary months had been judged as necessary for him to understand his wrongs.
"If any Pro Hero acts out of line, I'll know it."
Arrogant, Midoriya seethes inwardly. Tsukauchi's Quirk, while incredibly useful for his profession, doesn't give him clairvoyance or an all-seeing telepathy. He can sense when one person's lying to him. Midoriya bets Tsukauchi and Shimomura had only talked once and not because they wanted to meet but because they had to. Once a Pro Hero receives his permanent license, he has to meet the Police Force's board.
Tsukauchi can't talk to every Pro Hero in Japan once in a month to control corruption within their ranks. It's unrealisable. Still, they have to cleanse Japan of monsters parading with a Hero license, monsters like Shimomura Kai, or else the core of Japan itself would be rotten. The Law system would crumble, no matter how steadfast Tsukauchi would fight to maintain it.
You can talk about justice all you want but if no one listens to you, you're wasting your time.
Tsukauchi was wasting his time. The Police Force was wasting their time.
"Redo your report, Midoriya-kun," Tsukauchi orders. "I want facts."
Midoriya himself was wasting his time.
But he rises soundlessly, grabs the white binder and sits back in front of his computer. He doesn't complain as he rips the pages from the binder and tosses them all in the recycle bin. He would've preferred watching them being shred one by one, perhaps for more dramatics. They should know he spent the entire day working on this report, polishing his language, piling up footnotes and references just to have it rejected because the report lacks of facts.
And here lies my hard work. In the trash.
Tsukauchi's unspoken words ring in his head. Where you belong.
Midoriya snatches what's left of his sushi and shoves it in his bag, bowing stiffly.
"Thank you for dinner. I'll take my leave."
He doesn't wait for their answer since he shuts the door behind him, hands curled into fists.
Midoriya opens a new tab, clicking on the all-too familiar hyperlink. He occasionally consults the website for his reports for the Police Force, it's the truth. What he omitted to Tsukauchi, however, was that he's the one who created the website.
Shimomura Kai
Pro Hero name: Elemental Armor
Quirk: Elemental Exoskeleton (allows user to shape an armour around body using elemental forces)
Crime: Duty to rescue
Explanation: As a Pro Hero, Shimomura Kai known as Elemental Armor is bound to rescue people in need (Click link for definition). On April 4 2007, Shimomura Kai neglected to rescue Yamane Eri who was calling for help from villain Reaper. She succumbed to her wounds inflicted by Reaper at the hospital on the same day.
Since the Law states that the most effective rescues are made by people with skills, Shimomura, by his profession as Pro Hero, was bound to help Yamane. His profession as Pro Hero also entails that he can endanger his life rescuing civilians thus invalidating any excuse of protecting his own life.
What happened is even more tragic since Yamane died from her injuries due to no aid having been provided by Shimomura Kai.
Verdict: Guilty
Status: Alive
He hasn't touched Shimomura Kai's page since its creation. He never thought the day would come he could update it. Midoriya's fingers slam on the keyboard at the speed of lightning, his heart thumping against his ribcage.
Status: Eliminated
Shimomura Kai's body has turned cold now. Yamane Eri's soul has been avenged, and whoever Elemental Armor could've also failed in the past. He wouldn't neglect his duty anymore.
"He didn't deserve to be a Pro Hero," Midoriya chirps. "Now, who else doesn't?"
"Many don't."
Midoriya glances over his shoulder, staring at the scrawny man who spoke behind him. He's not accustomed yet to working with partners who have a similar goal as his. Similar doesn't mean the same, for Tomura Shigaraki had been quite clear on what his ultimate goal was. Killing All Might certainly wasn't Midoriya Izuku's ultimate goal.
"Many don't, I agree. Should we wait a week before the next operation?"
"You're the one who tells us about our next target," Kurogiri notes, "and the one working in the Police Force. What have they said of Elemental Armor's death? Are they suspecting us?"
"They don't let me near anything too important. Remember, I'm lacking the skills," Midoriya chuckles mirthlessly. "But I wouldn't worry too much."
"I think we should and I am," Tomura drawls from the couch. "You're on Tsukauchi's team. His Quirk's all about unraveling lies and deceit. What if you get caught?"
Midoriya beams at him, head tilting on the side, "I assure you I won't."
"Remember our agreement," Tomura merely replies before rising and leaving the room.
Midoriya's eyes shift to Kurogiri who was wiping the bar counter. "You're not following him?"
"He can take care of himself."
"Could've fooled me," Midoriya scoffs before turning to his computer.
He spent the last six months gathering data. Six gruelling months where he did nothing but obeying like a dog to the Police Force's orders. Six abhorring months where he sat on the same seat every day in front of the same computer screen. Six tedious months where he was constantly reminded of his own Quirklessness as everyone around him evolved towards something greater while he was at the same place as the first day he entered the Police Force.
Today was different. Today was the end of those six powerless months. Today was the beginning of Midoriya Izuku's usefulness, the realisation of his dreams, the fruits of his determination.
Today, I'm enough.
Midoriya lets his website chooses a page randomly. Every entry, after all, is about a Pro Hero who failed, who neglected, who sinned, and they're all undeserving of their title. Once a new name appears, Midoriya leans back on his seat, steepling his hands under his chin.
"Congratulations, Native, you've been selected."