Chapter 5

Left with nothing but to keep his head down and go back, Izuku retreated back to his agency to give everyone the bad news. That Kotone Momozono had been arrested and uncovered as the villain Psyren, and therefore, would not be returning to work anytime soon. Understandably, they had all been shocked.

"That's insane! Momozono has always been so nice," Kaminari yelled, the electric blonde always the first to voice an opinion.

"Maybe it's all been an act," Kira-Kira suggested. "Who would suspect some middle aged housewife trying to turn her life around would end up being a villain?"

"It can't be that simple. There has to be an explanation, a misunderstanding," said Kaminari.

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Do they know why she did it?"

"Not yet, though a lot of people suspect it's because of the money selling museum artifacts on the black market."

"But why would she do that? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to work at the museum and then steal from it after applying to be a sidekick? Why go through all the trouble only to jeopardize everything?"

"We can't understand everything that goes on inside a person's head. People have worse done things for less," Aoyama said, and Izuku couldn't help but share a look and feel a mutual wince at the memory nine years ago. How Aoyama had enrolled into UA because his family had asked All For One with a Quirk given to him, how he had leaked information to the League of Villains and nearly risked all their lives, all because he wanted a Quirk and his family had asked All For One to give their child the one thing he had always dreamed of. Izuku had thought during many moments that came after that, had he not met All Might, if he had found out that someone could give him a Quirk, how he could have been in the very same predicament Yuuga had been in.

"Still though… that doesn't explain why she worked here first. It doesn't make any sense."

Izuku hummed in agreement. He had also thought about this on the way over. It was one of the reasons why the whole thing didn't set right with him. Why go through all the trouble of applying to a hero agency as a sidekick when your target was something else unrelated entirely? It sounded so unnecessarily complex.

"Maybe neither have nothing to do with the other, or maybe she saw an opportunity and decided to take it," said Izuku, repeating the theories Kacchan had overheard from the lead detectives. "I'm still not convinced that Momozono is… was an entirely a bad person when she worked here. Regardless, we've been told officially to stay out of it and leave the case to the detectives to figure out."

Another outcry from Kaminari. "That's insane! Kotone was one of us! We can't just ignore it and pretend it didn't happen."

"I know, but," Izuku bit his lip, barely stomaching the next part, the part he had been mulling over and hated that he had to relay it as he says it, "Kacch- Ground Zero says it's because Momozono was one of us that we're a liability to the case. We're compromised now, so we'll be under investigation for the next couple of weeks or so to make sure there wasn't any leaked information or missing paperwork."

"So because you hired some sketchy middle-aged housewife turned villain, we now have a huge spotlight on us now and have to work that much harder to not appear like some two-bit corrupt hero agency so we don't lose our jobs?"

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned. "I know it looks bad. I'm sorry that I've put you all in this difficult position. All we can do now is do our best to push past this indiscretion and hope that this whole thing blows over quickly. I'm not saying it's going to be easy. We're going to probably have the eyes of every officer and pro-hero on us because of this. I'm talking double checking our paperwork and some potential overtime. We're not leaving anything to chance," he explained, lowering his head in apology for the next part, "However, if any of you feel like you don't trust how things are being run or don't want to risk your jobs, I understand and promise I'll try and make accommodations so that you can be transferred to another agency."

There was a moment of silence, the walls absorbing the words he said. Then, like usual, Kaminari broke the silence first. "Don't be stupid. We're not going anywhere."

"Oui, mon amie," Aoyama chimed in, "You only did what you thought was right. You wanted to reach out and give Momozono a chance to fulfill her dream of being a pro-hero, no? What's wrong with that?"

Izuku felt the coil inside his chest start to loosen as hope spread into the dark corners of his thoughts. All eyes were now turned to Kobayashi, who despite not being able to see her eyes, were clearly averting their gaze.

"Whatever. I don't get paid either way. What's the point in dwelling on it now? It's not like I got into any of the other agencies I applied to. The only reason I got into this one was because my cousin vouched for me," she huffed, arms folded over her sparkly red dress and faux-fur fox coat. "Besides, it gives me the chance to work on my PR skills. I've been dying to take a surgical knife to your social media page and do a real PR ad campaign blast on it. It will give me more experience in my business class."

Izuku felt liquid start to pool in his eyes as he hastily swiped the gathering moisture with his thumb. He had been so grateful for his team wanted to stick by him, but he still couldn't help but feel a little guilty too. After the meeting had dismissed, he had pulled Aoyama aside to ask if he wanted him to step down and pull out as a partner in the agency, but Aoyama just shook his head. "We all make bad calls at times. It doesn't make you a bad person or a terrible boss. I still believe in the boy who loudly proclaimed to the world that he wanted to be a hero who saves everyone."

The whole incident had left Izuku with conflicting feelings on the whole matter, which was why he had nearly scrubbed a hole into the brick of the gate surrounding the Torihito residence. Aiko Torihito, the small elderly woman who had come by to visit his agency the most to voice her complaints, was back to complain. So far, the vandals hadn't been caught yet, but if he doubled his patrols in the area and played his cards right, Deku would be able to apprehend the culprits should they come back to the scene of the crime. Mei Hatsume had recently gifted him with some mini spy cameras to help catch the vandals. They had been specially modified with the help of La Brava to help maintain the privacy of the connection so the private security camera footage couldn't be hacked into, all while being able to motion capture images of the people who walked by the camera. Something he had failed to mention in previous meetings due to them being under development, to which now he had been grateful for all things considered. Then again, maybe if he had them, Momozono would have been caught and the agency wouldn't have been put into this situation in the first place.

He felt the pouch of thumbtack sized cameras burning a hole in the pocket of his utility belt as he continued scrubbing the wire bristled brush that scrubbed over the rock and harsh chemicals like steel wool. All he had to do was stick them into the surface of the building. That was if he managed to get all this graffiti off. His costume came with a mask and gloves, but the chemical fumes were starting to burn his eyes if he didn't take a break soon. He might have to power wash or sandblast the rest of this away, though he didn't want to go through that option unless it was absolutely necessary, especially since power washing might make it worse and sandblasting sometimes harmed fragile structures and would cost him extra money to hire someone to. Maybe the homeowner association would let him paint over it?

"Be careful!" Aiko snapped, breaking Izuku out of his chemical hazed thoughts. "I barely have a home as it is without you punching a hole in it!" The elderly woman's pale seafoam hair rose around her face like a cat that had puffed up after seeing a threat, or like one of those Studio Ghibli characters Alyssa liked to talk about. His girlfriend had managed to wrangle him into sitting down long enough for them to watch Howl's Moving Castle in increments during one of their lunchbreak dates, though it had been mostly in English. Ironic since, despite having come from Japan, this had been the first time he had seen the film. He had thought the movie was good, Howl's flying abilities reminding him of the Float Quirk and that the message about moving, though it wasn't his favorite film. No, that had been reserved for the made for TV movies involving All Might and other blockbuster superheroes. A bit cliché and one-note of him, but hey, he liked what he liked.

"S-Sorry!" Izuku pulled back the steel brush and moved to another spot, working his way over the fingers of another hand graffitied onto the wall with the number and word for 'five' written in katakana script in large, gratuitous script. Izuku had taken a picture of the graffiti for his report with his phone, wanting to document any tags. So far most of it was junk, a bunch of scrawling letters and squiggles along with the occasional drawing of a penis. There was just one notable picture drawn on the wall- a hand with cartoon face in the center of the palm made up of three dots, along with a second hand facing palm down on the ground. The first hand's wrist sat in the second hand's wrist, like the second hand was a glove that the rest of the first hand's wrist (body?) was hiding in. It could have been just a random doodle, but Izuku decided to make a mental note to look for similar tags in the future. He scribbled in the air onto his palm as the second person to interrupt his thoughts stopped by.

"Heya there, Deku!" The voice had belonged to a tall, rotund man in a yellow hoodie and a black eye mask. The man was easily over eight feet tall and shaped a bit like an egg, reminding Izuku of another Studio Ghibi character that he couldn't place because Alyssa had never gotten to showing him that movie yet.

"Fat Gum! What are you doing here?" Glad as he was to see the jolly orange giant, Izuku was shocked to see him in Koreria. Fat Gum's agency was all the way in Hosu, far away from his usual patrol around it and its neighboring districts, and while kind to him and his former Class A classmates, Izuku rarely worked with pro-hero outside of team up missions.

"I heard from old Eraserhead that you've been a bit swamped lately, so I figured I'd stop by and bring you some helpers for that community youth outreach program of yours." Izuku's face gradually lit up, not only because someone had finally signed up for his outreach program, but because he started to recognize the two individuals that had been tucked into the back fat of Fat Gum's hoodie. A teenage girl with violet hair and dark skin and a permanent scowl muttered a low 'gross' as she was released from Fat Gum's Fataxi move and helped a little slip of boy down to the ground, an eleven-year-old with ash blonde hair and pale skin. Only after she had helped the boy down to the ground did he realize they were the Shirogane siblings, though they were nearly unrecognizable now. Hitachi had actual baby-fat in his cheeks while his older sister, Amaya, while still a bit tired, appeared to have a glow about her, like she no longer felt like she had to retreat to the shadows. Probably because both of them wore clothes that actually fit.

"Holy whoa! You two look great! I barely recognized you," Izuku exclaimed. Rather than acknowledge him, Amaya took one look at the bucket and rubber gloves and turned to give Fat Gum a scowl.

"If I had known this was what you had meant by community service, I wouldn't have traded my dinner shift for the lunch rush."

"You're lucky they gave you that much. Most people wouldn't be so kind if you were a few years older. Pickpocketing can get you some serious jailtime," said Fat Gum, wagging a finger at her. "Keep an eye on these two while I'm gone."

"You're not staying?" Izuku asked.

"Oh no. Believe me I would, but Eraser's got all of us working double-time on some cases and wanted my input on one. Frankly, I'm all for having the meeting in person and not dealing with emails, but I guess I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to hero work." He then leaned down and handed to two wards their bags and a couple of lollipops. "You two be good while I'm gone, alright?"

"We're not five," Amaya scoffed but took the lozenge anyways. Hitachi was already biting into his by the time.

"He's so cool…" Hitachi gushed, reminding Izuku when he was young and idolized All Might.

"It's good to see you too, Hitachi," Izuku smiled.

"So what are we going to do today? Stop some bad guys?" Hitachi asked.

"Not this time. Today we're going to help Mrs. Torihito's house."

Hitachi deflated. "Aww… but I wanted to go do hero stuff."

"Being a hero isn't just about fighting villains. It's about doing service and helping the people, and not all of that is glamorous or reported on the news."

"Oh yeah, we're really living the dream now. So fun to be cleaning some cranky old lady's wall when we could be doing literally anything else," Amaya said, a hard edge of sarcasm and an eyeroll in her voice, "Seriously, what's the point? It's just paint, and it's probably just going to be tagged again. All places are like that here."

"If you lose the ability to care, then what's the point in feeling joy or happiness? What's the point of living if not for others? You care about your brother, right? You wouldn't stop just because he did something you didn't like over and over," Izuku stopped only because he could feel Amaya's eyes on him, unlocking that weird of being watched by a woman he still hadn't quite gotten over. "N-Not that I know what your relationship with your brother is like! I don't really have any siblings or anything," he rambled before he channeled his nervous energy into scrubbing the brick and mortar.

"I thought it was just because we got stuck with community service," she grumbled. They scrubbed in silence for a few moments before her gaze flitted back to the can-do hero. "So, when do you think they're finally going to let me and my brother go?" Amaya asked in a grouse. "It's been over two weeks since he's been in protective custody, and they still won't let him out of their sights."

"I'm not sure. I'm not really in charge of your case," Izuku shrugged. "But it can't be all bad. You both look great," Izuku said, though Amaya sneered at him like his compliment had a second meaning to it.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. There was nothing wrong with how we used to look."

"You just say that because you didn't get stuck with all the baggy hand-me-downs," Hitachi

"Whatever. I happened to like our old clothes," Amaya huffed, pulling at the long scarf she wore like a cloak around her, one of the few things Izuku had noticed from her original outfit when he had first met her. He thought about pointing out the fact that their old clothes had been full of holes or severely stained but he thought better of it. Amaya Shirogane was very much well aware of what she looked like and their situation, and him pointing it out would probably only be temporary would likely make things worse.

So instead of that, he said, "Well, regardless of what you're wearing, it's nice to see you two doing so well."

"I don't get you."

Izuku paused, noticng the unshakeable scowl starting to waver a bit on the teenage girl. "What do you mean?"

"Most people who 'try to help us' give up by this point. Fat Gum has already passed us off to you because we're such a problem. Why don't you all just leave us alone? What's your angle?"

"I don't have an angle. I just like to help people," Izuku said, adding, "And I'm sure Fat Gum feels the same. I'm just helping him out."

"Oh, because you're so benevolent and perfect."

"Amaya," Hitachi growled, like he didn't want his big sister to ruin the one good thing going on in his life.

"I've never thought that about myself," Izuku admitted. "Honestly, even where I'm at right now, I feel like I should be doing better, doing more. You're not the only one who feels like they're being left out."

Amaya paused at that and then resumed scrubbing the wall. "It's ridiculous…" she muttered, not turning to look at him. "The only reason we got stuck with the big guy is because it's far away from all of the action, like that will somehow magically fix us by forcing us to move to a city we don't even know."

"Do you not like Hosu? I thought Fat Gum was taking good care of you guys."

"He's fine and it's fine, I guess, but it's not home. I don't get to see any of my friends and all my free time is spent commuting on the bullet train for my job that barely pays the ticket fees to ride. Not that he hangs around all the much. We're mostly watched by his sidekicks, probably because he's too busy being tied to some big drug case."

"'Some big drug case'?" Izuku parroted back.

"Yeah, the one me and Hitachi are supposedly involved in? The… what was it called? 'The Backslider Case' or something. That's why Fat Gum is here. He's supposed to go over it with the other pros in the area, something about tracking ledgers about some missing lab equipment or something."

Izuku's ears pricked up at that. That was case Kacchan was supposed to be involved in. Maybe if he found a bit more information, maybe they would let him back onto the case, then his agency wouldn't be in jeopardy. Then he paused. Contacting the authorities about the new development would be the smart thing to do, but then he recalled the words Alyssa had told him two weeks ago when he had visited her in the hospital to get her statement, about why she hadn't called for help right before her assault. 'The kid said the police weren't safe because there was some dirty pro-hero involved.' Hitachi didn't trust the police enough to come forward with his issue.

Then there was the thing Fat Gum had talked about meeting with the pro-heroes in person. Most heroes contacted each other through the shared network for team ups to help share information. Perhaps emailing Mr. Aizawa might not have been safe, but what did that mean? Was there a leak in the system or was there a Quirk involved? There were too many unanswered questions and circumstantial evidence.

"Those friends of yours, the ones you and Hitachi used to hang out with… do you happen to still be in touch with them?"

The brush Amaya held paused, her gold irises flicking a glance in his direction before flitting back towards the wall. "…I might be," she offered before resuming her scrubbing. "I'm not sure they're up for visitors. They live in a bad part of town, and they might scare if someone in uniform shows up to ask questions."

Izuku held the words, the sidelong look she gave him, and then nodded to himself. "Of course. That makes sense. Sorry I asked."

"It's fine. I don't talk much with them anyways."

"What are you two talking about? Simon talks to you almost every week," said another voice. Izuku startled at the sudden appearance of the younger Shirogane sibling, nearly dropping the brush into the bucket of chemicals. How long had he been there listening to them?

Amaya hissed, her dark cheeks being the only thing hiding the blush and embarrassment reaching her face. "Shut up, he does not."

Hitachi's nose scrunched up, giving his older a puzzled expression, like she had inhaled too many fumes from the turpentine. "Yes, he does. He's always got that weird dopey expression on his face anytime he comes to visit you at the maid cafe."

"That's because he's blind, genius. And besides, you're the one who can't stop staring at Kousuke or his sister Asahi anytime they come by to hang out."

"No, I don't!" Hitachi argued. Unlike his sister, Izuku could see the blush on his pale pink cheeks. Barely a moment later, the siblings were in a spontaneous wrestling match, Hitachi trying to grapple onto his sister while Amaya just shoved his head into her side and gave the back of his neck a noogie in lieu of his head and most of his left side being stuck in her void, her Quirk allowing her to pull organic material into her body. It was how the sibling duo had been such an effective team of pickpockets. One would steal from some unsuspecting bystander while the other hid the runaway thief before they had discovered their wallet or purse had been missing. Most people wouldn't think to look inside a person for a suspect. Izuku thought about breaking up the fight, but the next thing he knew Hitachi was tapping out on his sister's arm in surrender before being released and left gasping for air.

"That's an effective method of sedating someone," Izuku hummed, impressed at the efficient and fast working chokehold Amaya had executed so effortlessly. It made him wonder why she hadn't tried that tactic on him the first time they had fought.

"It's the only way to calm him down when he gets worked up like that. Or to steal."

"Only because I let you win," Hitachi huffed, which cause Amaya to ruffle his platinum blonde hair, showing one of her rare smiles.

Izuku considered for a moment and then said, "How would you like a job at my agency?" leaving Amaya and Hitachi in shock and awe. "Not right now, obviously," the can-do hero added hastily, "We're kind of going through a bit of a uh… hiring freeze at the moment, but if you're interested, I could hire you once you two are up for work studies. You know, once you finish the junior pro-hero training program, maybe help give you some experience for future internships."

"Does this have anything to do with the friends I told you about?" Amaya asked, eying him with suspicion.

"No. Like I said before when I first met you, I think you and your brother have a lot of potential. I didn't even know Hitachi was there until he revealed himself." Just like Himiko Toga, Izuku added, the memories of the shape-changing villainess and how effortless she was in sneaking up behind him without giving herself away, a technique he had never mastered himself no matter how hard he tried. "I could use a couple of sidekicks like you at my agency.

Hitachi beamed, his face lighting up like the crystals his Quirk could produce from his palms. Amaya's face, however, only darkened like the pitch color of her cloak she wore over the new clothes they had been given. "Awesome! Does that mean we can get hero names and costumes?" he said, eyes sparkling with zeal before they grew larger still, as if remembering something. "Wait! I have some drawings of my hero costume I want to show you."

Before either of them could stop him, Hitachi was already sprinting to the far end of the block where his backpack had been dumped, a picture of Fat Gum designed on the bag with a Suneater keychain hanging off the side. Most likely some promo merchandise that had been sent to the agency for approval. Only once he was out of earshot did Amaya's gaze narrow on Izuku. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. Like I told you before, I'd honestly love to have you both as sidekicks at my agency," he said before realizing that, while true, his motives leaked so easily into the statement that he didn't even sound convincing to himself. Then he pressed his hands together in a plea. "I do have a small favor to ask, but regardless of whether you do it or not, it won't change my mind about wanting you two as sidekicks."

"Of course you do…" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "What is it?"

Izuku paused, not quite sure how to word it in a way that didn't incriminate himself or his agency. "I'd like to meet with some of your friends about some intel. I'm not asking for you or your brother to get involved, just that you help introduce me."

"Does this have to do with the crew that tried to take my brother?"

"It does."

Amaya crossed her arms to her chest, shifting side-to-side as her head fell back in contemplation. Then she let out a soft puff of hair that blew back the dark jagged bangs on her forehead that had escaped her ponytail. "Fine. I'm in… but leave my brother out of this. I don't want to get him involved more than he already is."

"Deal." Izuku was about to shake her hand and then stopped. "One last thing," he said, wanting to add this single caveat, "I don't want you or Hitachi putting yourselves in danger for my sake. If it's too dangerous, if you find out your friends or people they know aren't trustworthy enough, I don't want you jeopardizing your lives on my behalf. I'm here for information and that's it."

"Looks like we've got a bargain." Then instead of waiting for his hand, Amaya's gloved hand clasped his hand and shook it. Rather than let go, her fingers gripped tightly around his, squeezing the disjointed fingers of his hand in a way he could feel through the protective gloves. "But screw me, my brother, or any of my friends over, and you won't need to worry about your agency," she hissed low in his ear, leaning in so that he could feel her predatory eyes lock onto his, "because I'll make sure there isn't anything left to save."

A dull ache spread through his hand as she dropped it, like it had just been released from the jaws of a wildcat that had grown bored the bird it had killed and was moving onto playing with something else. Izuku ignored the shiver that raced his spine at her words, trying not to take it as anything but a mindless threat. It was just her acting out of the interest of protecting herself and her own. Before he could have a moment to rethink that maybe doing this was a bad idea, Hitachi came back, shoving a mini campos notebook with a doodle of a boy wearing a hoodie with a ninja costume into his face. Then the warm sensation ebbed back into him, the rush he felt at helping others and making other smile.

Deep down he knew he shouldn't get himself involved, risk his hero license and put his agency at risk all for the sake of finding answers, wanting to rationalize why Kotone Momozono had done such horrible things, lying to him, stealing, attempting to kidnap Hitachi, and hurting Alyssa in so many different ways, but this whole thing was much bigger than him. This was no longer just about Momozono and Alyssa and finding justice for her. It was about Hitachi and Amaya and the heroes at his agency and everyone that had been a part of it and the youth program and community programs he had created that were being put in jeopardy because of circumstantial evidence, because Izuku had wanted to give someone a second chance.

Kaminari had been right about one thing. Momozono was one of them, and he would not rest until all of them were all safe. Regardless of what happened to him, he was getting down to the bottom of this, pro-hero license be damned. No one else would have to suffer because of his mistakes. It would be what All Might would do, after all.

A/N: References today are Macross Frontier and the movie Songbird (2020).

Hero/Villain Profiles

Name: Aiko Torihito
Quirk: Hair Shape – Her hair can freely express emotions by moving and changing shape, though it is not sentient.
Fun Fact: Her name is somewhat a dig at her short stature (4'8) and her Quirk is a reference to Ranka Lee's Meltrandi heritage, while her last name is a reference to her song from Macross Frontier called "Aimo ~ no Tori Hito," which translates into 'Aimo – Bird Human,' or my rough interpretation, 'Love – Bird Person,' since 'tori' and 'hito' mean 'bird' and 'person' in Japanese, while the name Aiko means 'little loved one.'

Name: Nico Torihito
Quirk: Songbird – Through his bird-like attributes (like having a syrinx), Nico has an impressive vocal register and can sing notes faster than most musicians can play as well as harmonize with himself by singing two notes at once, all without having to take a breath, but that's about all he can do.
Fun Fact: Despite the fact that people referred to him a 'pigeon' due to his part-time job as a courier, he is actually based on lovebirds. Due to his heteromorphic appearance and his natural wild, red hair, people were not thrilled with Nico and Aiko's relationship and eventual elopement. When he passed away, Aiko had become bitter from her broken heart and disillusioned with humanity. His name means "victory" and "bird person." It is also based on the NicoNico video sharing program in Japan that often features Vocaloid videos, and a reference to the above reference to "Aimo ~ no Tori Hito."