Entering his office, Nagai absentmindedly tossed the two documents onto his desk before settling into his charcoal-coloured office chair. As someone who held the rank of detective inspector, Nagai was privileged enough to have his own office, not needing to share a cramped space sectioned by cubicles like the rest of the Violent Crimes Unit's detectives.

When he first moved in, his office was decorated with sterile, institutional furniture that lacked any personal touch. Some of his colleagues encouraged him to transform the place into something that was more of his own. In a debatably ironic way, he did. Over time, the sterile space was spoiled by a mix of paperwork, notes and records, scattered around in thick stacks that created an "organised mess". Despite the mess, Nagai knew where to find what he needed, most of the time at least.

The first of the documents was a sheet of paper listing five detectives, including himself, that were assigned to the Kaihoko case task force. Among the four other detectives, he'd only worked with one of them before, that being Detective- no, Detective Sergeant Tsuruga.

He's a detective sergeant already? He'll be my right hand then. Wonder when he got promoted though.

Outside of interrogating suspects or interviewing witnesses, Tsuraga was a man of extremely few words, but said man excelled when it came to the more physical and practical aspects of being a detective, in part to his large physique and quiet demeanour that made him both intimidating and effective in most scenarios. He was the type of detective that everyone wanted when things got violent, possessing a quirk that was well suited for physical altercations. Despite his size, he moved with surprising agility too.

While his investigative skills were second to his physical abilities, Tsuraga made up for it with a tireless work ethic. Once the man set his mind to something, he was scarily persistent. Nagai appreciated that about him.

Nagai recognized the names of the remaining three detectives, but he wasn't personally acquainted with them. He'd heard accounts of their exploits from other colleagues. Still, they were almost complete strangers to him.

Reaching for the second document , Nagai's hands opened the paper dossier containing the compiled scene report. He filtered key information from each page of the report, his obsidian eyes scanning sentence after sentence.

The officers and forensics team had done an acceptable job compiling everything they could find within the storage facility into roughly a dozen pages worth of information, much to Nagai's convenience.

Reading or writing reports were seen by some colleagues as one of the most boring parts of working in force. Nagai understood their point of view, but personally he didn't hold any strong opinions towards the task. It was nothing to about, as it was a basic step that was required to move things along.

There was one thing however, that currently cast a light shade of dissatisfaction onto him.

That being the recent decision made for his case.

With that many casualties involved in such a case, it was inevitable that the incident would become a headline for the local news networks.

In Nagai's humble but "apathetic" (so his colleagues claimed) opinion, it was preferable to keep the entire incident hidden from the public or media, or at the very least have it kept under an embargo. Letting news of the incident spread would tell whatever person responsible that their deed was under the police's radar, acting as a sign for said person to operate less brazenly or even go into hiding.

Being less brazen potentially meant less evidence, and less evidence meant a tougher case to solve. A tougher case also meant more time he'd need to solve it.

Just great.

Despite Nagai's reasoning, the higher ups and some HPSC representatives insisted on releasing the news. The public had to be aware for safety purposes they said, lest this unknown new villain cause another incident in a more public area.

He wasn't entirely against the decision, but the problem was that no one even knew who or what they needed to watch out for, authorities included.

Based on the reports, there wasn't much to go off from the initial on-scene investigation. Almost everything regarding the incident still remained shadowed by unknowns.

Just as he dreaded, even the forensics team hit a wall. Any blood, fingerprints or hair they found and tested all belonged to the traffickers. The team did discover things that the police officers weren't able to, but there was nothing crucial enough to make a breakthrough in the case.

Shit. They found nothing foreign. No residuals that could've come from the perpetrator.

As for Kitamura himself, a background check revealed that he was the heir to what was once one of the richest construction companies in Shinjuku. By the time Kitamura was born however, the company had crumbled from years of scandals and mismanagement, leaving Kitamura to grow up with virtually nothing but rags .

As an adult, he mostly wandered around Shinjuku working all kinds of odd jobs. Consequently, he barely had any connections on record. It made tracing his prior activity next to impossible.

Kitamura's phone wasn't much help either. Going through the phone, it was revealed from text messages discussing their trafficking operation that Kitamura was the ringleader, and that his men were composed of local thugs he'd recently hired, rather than the entire group originating from Shinjuku.

Unfortunately, the phone was very new, containing very little data, having likely been bought just a week prior. Other than the context from the messages, the phone didn't contain any significant information such as Kitamura's other associates, enemies, the specifics about his plans or anything of the like to build off on.

Adding insult to injury, the number that Nagai found also led to a dead end. The phone was inactive, its last known active location being some train station in Jaku City. Local police were sent to investigate, but nothing turned up.

Then there was the matter of the perpetrator's motivation.

It would've been easy enough to point fingers had everyone in that facility died. There were a few villains with cutting or slashing based quirks and the mindset to cause the carnage at the storage facility.

The fact that only one person died however, created more issues than Nagai would have liked. None of Nagai's suspects were the type to spare anyone.

Kitamura's death was unlikely to be a coincidence, considering that the lighter cuts on the rest of the traffickers in contrast to the deathblows received by Kitamura indicated a certain level of restraint.

It did lend some credence to his assassin hypothesis, even if there wasn't much to support it in the first place.

What was the purpose behind only killing Kitamura though? Could we expect to see such an incident again, and how soon?

If he wanted to solve the case fast, he needed answers to those questions.

Killing one person, but to brutally maim the rest? Why?

The entire case didn't fit into the typical outline for gang hits. Call it intuition or a gut feeling, but Nagai somehow knew that the perpetrator possessed an oddly twisted moral compass.

Mercy?

He would never admit it to anyone, but he'd probably do something similar to the traffickers if he had the chance.

Nothing as brutal as the actual thing, of course.

As villainous as that sounded, he was still a morally sound person that believed in doing things the right way. It was just that some people deserved "more" than what the law was allowed to deliver.

Nagai leaned back in his chair, letting the details from the report settle into his head He rubbed his temples as frustration brewed within him.

Interrogation of those traffickers better provide some answers. Even better, a face for me to find.

Mulling over the reports for a few more minutes, Nagai came up with several explanations that were shakily feasible.

To send a message.

What kind of message? For what? From who and to who?

A personal grudge.

No doubt someone like him would be hated by many. If so, why weren't the others killed along with him?

A vigilante.

Could be that some vigilante just stumbled into their base and got into a fight with them. Then again, if this 'vigilante' had no issue killing one person, why not kill the rest?

As he pondered, there were a few soft knocks to the door of his office, before it was gently swung open.

"Um… Detective Nagai?" a younger, more modest voice called out, followed by the sound of the door closing and light footsteps on the linoleum floor.

Eyes still fixated on the report, Nagai acknowledged the visitor in his office.

"Yes?" he replied in a dry tone.

"The autopsy is done, you can go talk to the pathologist now," the visitor informed.

Raising his head, his eyes made contact with the visitor.

The visitor was a young man with a lean build, probably in his early twenties. He was rather handsome, with sharp features akin to a model. Further enhancing his appearance was his messy but silky white hair, along with shining lemon eyes that contained slit shaped pupils. His garb was composed of a black turtleneck and similarly coloured slacks, overlayed with a light grey jacket.

Looking past his facial appearance and clothing, what really stood out was the presence of fox ears that sat on top of his head. The ears were mostly white, tipped by a fading orange tone.

Contributing to the fox-based appearance was a bushy tail that too ended in faded orange.

Looks like some kid my girl would fawn over.

"Which pathologist? The department has five of them," Nagai pointed out.

Realising his sudden mistake, a light blush spread over the fox-eared youth's face as he hastily bowed and apologised. "Eh?! sorry! Sorry! It's Miss Sanada. She's in the autopsy room on the first floor."

Yup, definitely someone my girl would fawn over. The kid looks like he'd fit in some stupid shoujo manga she would read.

"Kid, you should also introduce yourself," Nagai bluntly suggested.

Flustering once more, the fox-eared youth bowed again and introduced himself. "Ah! S-sorry again. I'm Detective Yamikumo. I was assigned to the task force for the Kaihoko case"

"You seem awfully tense for a detective," Nagai commented, placing the report back onto his desk.

"Sorr-"

"You don't need to keep saying sorry"

"It's just… It's my first time meeting a top and renowned detective like you. I'm honoured. I truly admire the work you've done"

Mentally, Nagai raised an eyebrow.

Do people really think that highly of me? I thought I kept a low enough profile.

Attempting to ease the mood, Nagai half-heartedly softened his expression. "Just remember to be clear next time. I know a few people who'd make a lot of noise for such a mistake. Lucky for you, I don't get paid to make a fuss over little things like that."

After hearing Nagai say that, Yamikumo appeared less tense.

"So you're the rookie I've been hearing about. I take it that you were recently promoted?"

"Just last week actually, this is my first official case as a detective," Yamikumo clarified.

"Nice to meet you. Heard that you're pretty good at deduction. If I'm not wrong, you were key in solving the Shin Hiraoka incident and the Ura family case, even though you were just an officer at the time."

Yamikumo rubbed the back of his neck, flattered by the praise. "It's nothing to brag about really. I just did what I could to help."

"It is impressive that you figured out that Ura lady's motive with what little info we had at the time," Nagai complimented, mildly informed about Yamikumo's achievements from overhearing his colleagues' discussions.

"Small talk aside," Nagai stood up, "Since you're already here, do me a favour and gather the other three detectives in the task force in the V-1 meeting room. I'll be there once I have the autopsy results,"

Yamikumo obediently nodded. "Alright."

Nagai stepped into the autopsy room, a familiar sight to him considering how often he visited the place.

The room's layout was mostly unchanged throughout his years as a VCU detective.

To the left of the room was mainly a series of cupboards, filled with all sorts of tools and chemicals. On the right of the room were two autopsy tables, surrounded by steel mortuary chambers built into the walls.

On one of said tables lay a body covered in a white sheet, presumably Kitamura's corpse. Next to said table sat Sanada, slouched on a stool and absent-mindedly sipping a mug of coffee.

She seems… a little too comfortable.

Pushing away his distaste at the idea of drinking any sort of beverage next to a corpse, Nagai made his way closer to where Sanada sat. She was a woman in her thirties or forties (Nagai wasn't too sure), working as a forensic pathologist under the MCPD's employ for roughly a decade. Her quirk was obvious to anyone who saw or met her, said quirk being hair that glowed in almost otherworldly fluorescent blue, akin to some species of exotic jellyfish.

Other than her hair, Sanada's facial appearance or physique didn't stand out much, her features being attractive to some but nothing to gawk at.

The way she carried herself was far more laid back compared to the other four pathologists. Nonetheless, that didn't diminish her worth. Nagai didn't doubt her abilities. Per his experience, she was undeniably competent in her field of work.

"Sanada," Nagai greeted.

"Nagai, Still looking as stern as ever."

"A little late to be sipping on coffee."

Sanada smirked, rising from her slouched position. "I expect a long night. I'm slated for four more autopsies today. The next body's probably coming in soon."

"I presume that the only murder victim is mine?"

"Yeah, the rest are accident victims."

Having said that, Sanada placed her coffee mug onto a nearby metal desk before grabbing a hold of the white sheet that obscured the corpse

"Shall I?" she requested.

"Go ahead."

Receiving Nagai's consent, Sanada yanked the sheet away to reveal Kitamura's disfigured corpse. The corpse was completely naked and cleaned of all the dried blood, allowing Nagai to more clearly see the darkened, dried mutilations that marred Kitamura's figure.

"He died from a mix of asphyxiation and hypovolemic shock stemming from severe haemorrhaging. His respiratory tract was filled with blood, an outcome of his right lung being essentially destroyed. Coupled with the shock from how much blood he must've lost, he died within seconds after getting these injuries."

"His injuries have consistent width and size. Most people who have quirks that can cut or slash aren't skilled enough to create such clean cuts, so it's probable that the killer used some kind of weapon. If I had to guess, probably a katana, based on corpses I've seen before."

"My thoughts as well," Nagai agreed.

"The two lacerations in a cross shape are nothing special. Anyone with a pair of eyes can figure out what happened there."

"But…"

Pausing to point a gloved finger at the gap in Kitamura's torso, she continued. "The gap between his neck and shoulder was a little trickier. Took me longer than usual to figure out how that was made. It's barely noticeable from all the damage to his tissues, but there are signs of a puncture wound at the base of the gap.The flesh pattern also indicates an upward cut instead of a downward one. Can't say for sure, but what could've happened was that the killer pierced him through the back, then forced their weapon upwards to cleave through the right of his thoracic region."

"Why specifically the back?" Nagai queried.

"His muscle tissue surrounding whatever that remained of the initial puncture wound pushes outwards towards the front of his body. It's a sign that the weapon was forced in from behind."

"So he was impaled in the back and slashed at the front?"

"Pretty much."

Whoever this perpetrator was, they had their fun.

"His injuries aren't the only thing to take note of. A blood test found traces of Trigger in his bloodstream. The point of injection is that tiny red dot on his neck, a sign that he shot that stuff straight into his jugular vein. It's also why his pupils are more dilated like crazy, 37 percent more than a usual corpse."

"Interesting."

That explains those strange glass and metal fragments the forensics team found. The syringe must've been crushed during the fight.

Just as luck would have it, his phone rang.

Answering the call, Nagai listened briefly to the caller before giving his reply. "Got it, on my way. Call Detective Tsukauchi. Tell him that I need him to be at the hospital for the interrogation."

Ending the call, Nagai turned to Sanada. "I need to go. One of the traffickers is stable enough for interrogation. Anything else you need to tell me?"

"That's all the major stuff, the finer details are in the papers," Sanada clarified as she handed the file containing the autopsy report to Nagai, before slipping on a fresh pair of latex gloves to prepare for her next autopsy session. "Happy hunting, Nagai."

Thanking Sanada and exiting the autopsy room, Nagai made one last call before making his way to the hospital.

"Tsuruga."

"Yes?" A flat voice answered back.

"Tell everyone in the room that we're heading to the Musutafu General Hospital. I'll give further instruction on what we need to do once everyone's there"

"Noted."

Ending the call, Nagai pocketed his phone. As he made his way out of the station, he could only wonder what kind of person would go to such lengths to kill Kitamura while sparing the rest of the traffickers.

Long time no see. I apologize for ghosting this fic. Apparently working part-time for 12 hours a day ,followed by starting university is pretty draining. Couple that with a lack of idea on how to progress the fic, and I regretfully left the fic in the dust for months

Fortunately, I've managed to figure out a general outline for the fic, or at least a plan for me to connect the scenes or plot points that I want to write together. Bit by bit I've been writing whenever something pops into my head. Just know that the fic isn't dead yet, just growing slowly.

Talking about the chapter itself, I know that some people will be dissapointed that the chapter (after so long) is OC-centric instead of focusing on Izuku's perspective. Just a heads up, the next chapter is OC centric too. I apologize for that, but I can promise that some of these OCs are key and play a big role to the overall story that I intend to tell in this fic.

As for the OCs themselves, there's more than meets the eye for one of the OC's introduced in Nagai's scenes, so feel free to guess.