Of all the things that Mina had found difficult to look at that day, Eijiro was the last one she expected to be so. As they sat together before a wide table in an interrogation room facing a mirror, she couldn't help but let her eyes be drawn to her boyfriend's gauze wrappings and the hints of pink seeping through their edges. In every single location that Eijiro had been hit during their daring stand at the convenience store, a very real wound had reared its ugly head when his skin had reverted back from its hardened form. Though Mina subconsciously knew that the rocky bits of flesh flying off of Eijiro likely came with some sort of pain or damage, she hadn't expected quite such extensive wounds.
Two shallow dents were on the right side of Eijiro's pecs, where the initial bullets from the villain at the front of the store had shot him. What would otherwise be potentially fatal holes were instead half-inch deep craters in his skin, thanks to his Quirk. A long scratch from metallic claws ran from the opposite shoulder all the way down to the boy's navel, necessitating a length of gauze wrapped around his waist in a sort of upside-down 'T' formation. Though the boy's chest was heavily scarred, what Mina found most horrific was his fingers.
Where it appeared that Eijiro had punched through a bullet on his way to render one of the villains unconscious, the bullet had just as much punched through him. Upon his right hand, the middle and pointer finger had enough flesh torn off below the first knuckle to reveal bone. Mina had almost thrown up as she watched a medic clean out and bandage the gaping wounds upon Eijiro's shaking fingers, and she noticed that his hand was still twitching uncomfortably. In the awkward silence of their holding room, she finally managed to raise her eyes to meet Eijiro's and swallowed hard.
"Are you… feeling any better?" Mina tried.
"…I'll heal," Eijiro said, his voice somewhat strained.
"I never would have asked you to charge in and take hits if I knew it would… do this to you," Mina confessed as she gestured to her partner's bandages.
Mina jumped slightly as Eijiro put his uninjured hand atop hers beneath the table.
"…we saved lives, Mina," Eijiro reminded with a pained smirk. "It was worth it. Don't blame yourself for any of this."
"Yeah," Mina agreed wistfully as Eijiro leaned in. She sighed as their lips met briefly, only for the sudden opening of the door to the room to jolt them apart.
"…Eijiro Kirishima, 17, and Mina Ashido, also 17," a well-dressed man wearing a blue pressed shirt and darker tie said in a stern tone as he walked into the room. He paused to close the door behind himself before moving to sit across from the teens and folding his hands atop the table. "You're both lucky that you're not legally adults."
Mina squirmed in her seat as Eijiro gave the man a sharp nod, looking equally nervous.
"…yes, sir."
"My name is Detective Tsukauchi," the man began as he narrowed his eyes. "What you two did at that convenience store was risky, reckless, illegal, and incredibly brave."
Mina perked up slightly in her seat as Eijiro's eyes widened. Detective Tsukauchi's narrowed further in response as he leaned in, leading the couple to shrink down in their seats once again.
"That wasn't praise. The important part wasn't, anyway," the man emphasized. "Society has laws. Hero society has more laws- ones that you two are going to need to follow if you want any chance of attending U.A. in the near future."
"You know about that?" Eijiro asked, his cheeks losing color.
"It's not hard for us to search applications," the detective explained. "U.A. has us filter them, actually, and anyone with the slightest hint of criminal record is generally blacklisted."
Mina's face fell as she began to clench her fingers tightly around her knees.
"…Mr. Tsukauchi, please…"
"I did say usually," the man reminded. "You're both aware that according to Japanese hero bylaws, unregulated and unlicensed Quirk usage in anything but self-defense in a life-threatening situation where a Quirk has been used against you first is illegal?"
"…yes, sir…" Eijiro answered again, his muscles tightening horribly.
"Good. Then you're going to tell me that when the two of you squared off with those villains, they made the first move with their Quirks in each and every situation in which you engaged them, right?" Detective Tsukauchi pressed.
Eijiro found himself paralyzed as he looked into Detective Tsukauchi's eyes. The man stared at him, unblinking, and Eijiro got the distinct impression that saying anything that didn't amount to perfect agreement with the detective's words would be a bad move.
"…right," Eijiro lied.
Detective Tsukauchi's gaze shifted to Mina, who looked equally unnerved under the pressure of his gaze.
"Miss Ashido?"
"…right!" Mina agreed. "Every time. We acted in self-defense."
"Good," Detective Tsukauchi said with a nod before leaning back to sit up straight in his chair. "If you don't stick to that principle in the future, then you can let go of any dreams of U.A. this fall. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," Eijiro agreed. "I… sorry, w-"
"I think the less you say, the better off you'll be," Detective Tsukauchi advised as he rose from his seat and walked to the door to hold it open. "Go home, both of you, and think carefully about where you go and what you do between now and auditions. Your names won't be released to the public, and you won't be getting any glory from this little event. Keep your heads down. You're on thin ice."
Eijiro and Mina both rose and moved to exit the room. Mina was the first to make it out into the hallway, and Eijiro paused briefly to give Detective Tsukauchi an uncertain look. The man merely tapped one of his ears before nodding slightly toward the mirror within the interrogation room, and Eijiro nodded in understanding before following Mina into the hall. Within seconds, Detective Tsukauchi had walked past them and made a turn deeper into the police station, heading in the opposite direction of the exit.
"…do you also get the feeling that we just got really lucky?" Mina asked in a low voice.
Eijiro looked over his shoulder to try to catch sight of the other man, only to find nothing.
"…yeah, I do. Let's just… let's head back to my place. It's closer, and we can… I dunno, just crash on the couch or something. Maybe get some ice cream."
"Ice cream sounds incredible right now," Mina affirmed as she took Eijiro's good hand in her own and began to walk toward the front of the station. "C'mon. Let's not stay here any longer than we have to…"
Tamaki Amajiki remained mostly silent throughout the meal, focusing solely upon his food as he and Taishiro sat within their usual private booth. Though the two men had gotten to know each other fairly well over the few months that they had worked together as mentor and student, it was for precisely that reason that Tamaki elected to remain so quiet. He had known the professional hero Fat Gum for long enough to pick up on some of the man's mannerisms and habits. Tamaki knew that something was off, and he also knew that it was something Taishiro wasn't particularly happy about. Nearly a full hour passed before the behemoth of a man finally let an elbow crash to the table as he took his forehead in his hand, rubbing firmly.
"…Amajiki… I've got something I'm supposed to deliver to you. I don't really know much about it, but it's… I have a feeling it's not something you're gonna like."
Tamaki could feel his throat closing as he gripped his teacup a little more tightly.
"…oh."
"Here, kid," Taishiro grumbled as he pulled a bulging envelope from the folds of his hoodie. "I haven't seen it, but… I'd suggest you read it. Thoroughly."
Tamaki furrowed his brows as he gingerly accepted the blank envelope and placed it upon the table in front of himself. He took several deep breaths before unsealing the paper packet, and the top of the envelope flopped backward as though it had been under incredible strain. As Tamaki fished the contents out and began to lay the sheets of paper onto the table side by side, he quickly realized that there were far too many to fit upon the wooden surface.
"I… what is this, Mr. Toyomitsu…?" Tamaki asked, his anxiety increasing by the second.
"It's an N.D.A.," Toyomitsu answered with a scowl.
"…N.D.A.?" Tamaki asked, his pointed ears wilting slightly as he looked over the first page. The text upon it was so small that he could barely read what it said, single spaced, and incredibly complicated.
"Nondisclosure agreement," Toyomitsu answered. "Basically, a set of documents that act as a gag order, once you sign them. It's a list of things you're not allowed to talk about in exchange for privileged information."
Tamaki took several breaths before turning his eyes up to Toyomitsu. The man's face was furious, and his jaw was set.
"…these aren't from you," Tamaki said slowly.
"No, they're not," Toyomitsu agreed. "They're from Sir Nighteye."
"Sir Nighteye…?" Tamaki asked as he shook his head and finally began to read the first sentence.
This document acts as a binding agreement between the parties TAMAKI AMAJIKI, NIGHTEYE DETECTIVE AGENCY, and TOSHINORI YAGI.
"Toshinori Yagi?" Tamaki read. "Who… is that?"
"All Might," Toyomitsu answered. "The N.D.A. was given to me by Sir Nighteye, on All Might's behalf. He wants to meet with you, tomorrow, in place of the usual work study stuff we do. Togata and Hado got one, too."
"I don't understand," Tamaki said as he continued to read. "What does All Might want with us? You had mentioned something about this work study being an 'audition' before, but…"
By accepting this agreement, I, TAMAKI AMAJIKI, agree to the following:
1)All personal information disclosed by TOSHINORI YAGI is to be considered confidential. Violation of this tenet in any form can and will result in legal action.
"I've got no idea," Toyomitsu admitted. "And trust me- I tried to find out. That's why I was a little late this morning- Nighteye and I had it out. It's too soon for something like this… whatever it is, and demanding that you sign an N.D.A. is ridiculous. You're all students, and barely adults. The fact that he's making Togata sign one is even more worrying. It sends a message that he doesn't trust his own intern."
Tamaki paused his reading to skip to the last page, only to find that the final stipulation was numbered as '54'. The sight caused his stomach to drop even farther into his intestines, and he nervously bit his lip.
"Did… he make you sign one, too?"
Toyomitsu inhaled deeply before picking up his cup of sake and taking a long, slow drink. The man set the implement back on the table with a bit more force than necessary and cracked his knuckles.
"…I didn't get one. I'm not allowed at the meeting, and neither is Ryukyu."
Suddenly, the text of the papers blurred within Tamaki's vision, and his breathing quickened. The words seemed to swim about upon the page as an incomprehensible mess, and his mouth felt incredibly dry.
"You… but…"
"I'm not happy about it, either," Toyomitsu explained. "Whatever's going on, he only wants you three and Nighteye present. I was told it's more about Togata than you and Hado, but it's important enough to disrupt our flow of work. I didn't want to upset you until the end of the day, so here we are."
Without another word, Tamaki pulled out his phone and began to tap away at the screen.
Do either of you have the N.D.A. yet? Are you signing it?
Tamaki had to wait only seconds before two replies came, and the contents filled him with dread.
I have it. I don't know if I should. I can't stop staring at it. Ryukyu doesn't know what to make of it. – Hado
Yeah. Sir Nighteye is really insistent that I sign. I'm looking at it right now, too. I don't think he'd be happy if he saw me with my phone out. – Togata
Tamaki's fingers twitched as he tried to think of what to write in reply, only for Toyomitsu to shake him from his thoughts.
"Amajiki… I really don't know what to tell you on this one, and I hate that. All I can really say is… do what you think is right. I know you've got a lot going on, even if I don't know exactly what you've been up to with Mirko and Hawks. I do know that you've got pretty good intuition, though."
Tamaki nodded softly and began to type once again, with no new messages in the chain.
Togata, this is apparently about you. If you choose to sign, I will sign as well, to show up and support you. Hado- if you are uncomfortable, you can just leave it to me. I am willing to do this alone.
No. If we're doing this, we're doing this. If we're not, we're not. We stick together. We're The Big Three. – Hado
Tamaki waited with bated breath for Mirio to reply. After an agonizing thirty seconds that felt more like as many minutes, a new text came through.
I've read it through 3 times. Whatever this is, it's serious. The way it's worded and the way Sir Nighteye is behaving, it almost sounds like All Might is sick. I think he needs our help. I'm signing it. – Togata
Then I'll sign it, too. – Hado
Tamaki let out a ragged sigh as he reached into his pocket and grabbed a pen.
"…not even gonna read it, huh?" Toyomitsu asked with a frown.
"…at this point, it doesn't matter," Tamaki answered as he put his signature on the final page. "I'll read it later, in my dorm. Right now, this isn't about what I'm agreeing to. This is about supporting Togata."
Toyomitsu merely nodded and gave Tamaki a grim smile.
"I had a feeling you'd say that. You're a good man, Amajiki. Paper's just a paper. Don't let it stop you from doing the right thing."
"I don't plan to," Tamaki answered confidently as he stuffed the agreement back into its envelope. "No matter what it says."
Author's Note:
In case it hasn't become obvious by now- I'll be putting EINE chapters up on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday moving forward, once per week. It seems to work for me so far, and I have no intention of changing it. I swear Bakugo is the main character of this story- he'll be getting a lot more focus and special attention at UA.
-RD