A day before Eijirou Fully Recovered
Abandoned Building
Chiba, Japan
Aizawa can be seen investigating an empty building with a frown. He looked down at the ground and saw signs of blood on the ground. He narrows his eyes, thinking about the current condition.
Not long ago, Aizawa has heard rumors flying around in the underground. mentioning Lizard's Tail. Of course, the moment he heard that, he pulled the bastard and started to interrogate them, with a healthy dose of 'encouragement' via hanging them upside down above several stories building.
When the man started talking, Aizawa couldn't believe what they had just said. It's something that not even Aizawa could've predicted. He even made sure to interrogate other men who gave him the same reply.
Lizard's Tail has been hiding underground for a long time ever since the raid on their base, and they said they have somehow gained a quirk evolution, ruling the small part of the underground in a matter of days. They somehow gained tons of rare materials and sold them at high prices.
'It explains why over the years, the crime rates rose slightly. They grow too bold after managing to get powerful weapons from the black market.' Aizawa thought in disdain, annoyed at how a group of scums could rise in power under his nose after he severely crippled the group. 'But, I'm more worried about the second rumor.'
The second rumor that spreads like wildfire is that the Lizard's Tail got massacred by a monster. Aizawa would've scoffed at the idea if not for one of his quotes, quirks are bullshit.
Aizawa always believed in logical thinking, but the existence of quirks always made him question what was logical and what was not. He didn't even fully understand the science behind his quirk! Aizawa concludes that whoever kills the Lizard's Tail, must be a guy with a mutant or transformation quirk but is unable to get a clear view on their appearance. But, the term 'monster' could be used for something else.
He looks around before noticing something. He wears a glove and picks it up. It looks like a piece of flesh, but he doesn't know who it belongs to. He puts it in a plastic evidence bag, before grabbing a bindle of paper for the blood sample and placing it on a biohazard bag.
'There's not much evidence, but I suppose I have no right to be picky...' Aizawa muses before he notices a footprint made out of blood. 'Whoever is responsible for this, they sure are sloppy.'
Aizawa takes a picture of the footprint before he walks out with all the evidence he can find. He gave the evidence to the police before he went back for more investigation.
'Let's make sure I didn't miss anything.' Aizawa thought as he walked around the building, noticing an unsuspecting car near the building. He would've dismissed it, thinking it belonged to the neighbor. But, for some reason, the car looks too suspicious.
He decided to take a peek and sure enough, he found there were weapons inside the car. There are also suspicious looking boxes inside the car. Aizawa frowns before he calls one of the police.
"Try to investigate this car, we might find more clues in it." The police looks a bit hesitant before noticing the items in it and agrees. "I'll take my leave now, there are more villains to capture."
Aizawa left without waiting for the police to reply.
Musutafu, Japan
Yagi mused as he walked on the street while holding a business card. He thought he knew a lot of things in life, but apparently, he merely scratched the surface of the world.
A mysterious phenomenon where a portal appears out of nowhere and whoever enters will go to a place full of monsters and said monsters will appear if they didn't conquer the area? That's sound like something straight out of video games. But, what he saw that night is enough proof that all of that is real.
Then, there's the fact that HPSC is involved in this matter. Yagi didn't know much about HPSC, but he knew they had a hidden agenda despite all of the things they did for society. Yagi feels something off whenever HPSC is involved, especially with one of the heroes, Hawks. Whenever he was near the young man, he felt something tingling in his spine, and keeps him on edge. It's like the man was preparing to kill him whenever he made a wrong move, like an assassin stalking their target. It unnerved him to no end.
And how could he forget what Gang Orca told him and Naomasa that day? A secret organization full of people knowing the secrets, including a few pro heroes. The files Gang Orca gave to them provide information, but at the same time, it also keeps a few things from them. He also remembers the offer made by Gang Orca.
"I want you two to join us, to figure out who's behind this madness, and we can't let HPSC continue to sweep all of it under the rug. Your publicity and your investigation skills will be a huge help to us."
Yagi can't help but be disappointed by Gang Orca. He wants him to use his publicity? No matter how selfless their goal is, it's still wrong to use him like that. But, on the other hand, he can't help but think about the civilians. From what he and Naomasa saw in the file, HPSC had done all of these for years now. He wonders, how many families have not found out the truth. How many villains got wrongly accused of something like this? Never in his life, had he felt so conflicted.
He was always sure of his choices. He was sure to be Japan's Symbol of Peace to reassure the civilians. He was sure he'd fight the world's greatest villain alone without help. He was sure that he would continue to be a hero despite his injuries. He was sure to cut ties with Sir Nighteye for breaking his trust by using his quirk on him, despite he told him not to do so.
But now? He is unsure. On one hand, Gang Orca admits that he's asking for All Might because he needs his publicity. On the other hand, the civilians will remain oblivious to the world and the danger it brings.
"I need some advice..." Yagi mutters before chuckling. "Look at me, I'm a 54-year-old man, yet I still need advice from the elderly."
Yagi pulls out his phone and starts to scroll through his contact lists. He paused when he looked at the contact he was looking for. He bit his lips as he started shaking like a leaf. He felt his legs losing their strength to stand up, cold sweats dropping from his head, and his skin turned pale. He gulps before he presses the call button and places his phone on his right ear.
...click
"A-a-ah...M-master? I need-!"
"TOSHINORI, YA FOOL!!!"
Yagi did not squeal like a girl.
Musutafu Police Department
Musutafu, Japan
"*sigh* Great, more paperwork..." Naomasa mutters while holding a bunch of papers. "Seriously, how does a detective like me have to deal with so much paperwork? It doesn't make any sense!"
Naomasa grabs his cup of coffee and drinks the whole thing in one gulp, leaving no traces of black liquid. He then rubs his forehead in annoyance while dealing with all the paperwork.
"Agh! This is bullshit!!" Naomasa angrily tosses the papers into the wall. He sighs before looking at the business card given to him.
Naomasa didn't want to admit it, but he hated his job as a detective in the police department. Out of all the people in the department, only he and Sansa did their job seriously. He always saw the police didn't bother to do their jobs seriously, thinking what's the point of them doing it when the heroes deal with all of it?
Naomasa wanted to scream at them so badly. Did they think this is a comic book world? Where heroes simply catch the bad guys, police drag the bad guys to jail, and done? Reality is more disappointing than those idiots expect.
They have to deal with casualty reports, collateral damages, the investigations, keeping civilians from getting too close to dangers, and paperwork (Naomasa shudders at this one), there's so much work that those idiots pretend it didn't exist. He also couldn't forget what the files say about the police department, especially the one involving the gates.
"Ah, sorry, Naomasa." Said man snaps out of his thoughts before looking at a fat man in a police uniform. He didn't remember who this man was but he didn't like the look that the man gave to him. "I was hoping that you could help me out with this section of the work. I'll tell the chief to increase your monthly salary, so don't-!"
"No." Naomasa was done. He gets up and walks towards the man before politely pushing the man back and slams the door. He sighs tiredly before his mind starts to remember who that fat man was and groans. He'll get fired for this.
Naomasa's Apartment
Iwate, Japan
"Wow, you look like hell." Naomasa sighs when he hears the familiar voice as he walks out of the bathroom. His detective outfits are now replaced with casual shirts and shorts.
"Works." He was too tired to give a proper reply as the voice scoffed.
"Didn't I tell you to just quit? I know those bastards will work you to the bones due to how earnest you are towards your job. And with how popular heroes are, it's only a matter of time." The voice said as Naomasa sighed before putting a towel on his head.
"I know," Naomasa replies before grabbing a frozen pizza, putting it in the microwave as he turns it on. He usually cooks food for himself, but he's just too tired today.
"I know-! Wait, did you just agree?" The female voice asked in disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother!?"
"Just because I agree doesn't mean I'm an imposter." Naomasa deadpans as he looks at the young woman with long black hair and a pair of black eyes, wearing a loose shirt and shorts typing something on her laptop.
"You always dismiss me for calling out how the police will take advantage of you." Naomasa sighs.
"Yeah, and I'm sorry for that," Naomasa mutters as Makoto's expression turns worried
"Did something happen, Masa-nii?" Makoto asked in worry.
"...how do you feel if your life is full of lies?" Naomasa asked as Makoto was caught off guard by his question.
"Well...I simply investigate the truth." Makoto said before looking at Naomasa. "Did something happen?"
"...a lot." Naomasa sighs before pulling out the pizza from the microwave and bringing it to the table next to his sister.
"Wanna talk about it?" Makoto asks before grabbing one of the slices and eating it. Naomasa sighed before he did the same.
"...HPSC is hiding something from the society." Makoto choked when she heard this and Naomasa tried but failed to hide his amused smile.
"You did this on purpose, did you?" Naomasa shrugs.
"No, but it's something I would love to see again. It's not every day I get to surprise my rebellious little sister." Makoto grumbles before eating her slice of pizza.
"So, what did the HPSC even hide?" Makoto asked.
"Remember the Galewind Agency Incident? That whole thing is a lie fabricated by HPSC itself, even the whole video of heroes defeating the villain." Naomasa said as Makoto's eyes widened in shock.
"How are you so sure?" Makoto asked.
"My friend was there, he saw the whole thing." Naomasa said as Makoto frowns.
"And you trust him?" Makoto asked.
"He told his biggest secret, of course I would." Naomasa said as Makoto sighs.
"So, let's say what he said is true-,"
"He is."
"I rather have a proof instead of a witness. What did he even tell you?" Naomasa sighs and start to repeat what Yagi has told him.
"...did he consumes any drugs?" Naomasa deadpans at his sister.
"I would think so if he's not my friend and the strange events occuring around Japan similar to that several years ago." This pique Makoto's interest. "Remember all the strange attacks on civilians I try to investigates but the chief decided to close the investigations without finding the real culprit?"
"Yeah...?" Makoto replies in confusion.
"Then, the case with Midoriya Izuku?" Naomasa asked.
"You mean the quirkless boy who got brutalized by a villain and somehow remain intacts? Yeah, it's been a hot topic, saying 'he unlocks his quirk after almost die' and what not." Makoto said.
"All of them are actually from an incident similar to my friend's." Naomasa admits as Makoto looks at him like he grew a second head before saw his serious look.
"You're serious?" Makoto asked as Naomasa nods.
"Very." Suddenly, Naomasa receive a message. He opens his phone and saw Aizawa sent him a private file. "What's that?"
"Dunno." Naomasa mutters before he opens the file and looks disturbed by what Aizawa has sent. He sent a message to Aizawa.
Naomasa
have u seen it?
Aizawa
no. dealing wit villains rn
Naomasa
read it, it's something u would like 2 know
"Seriously, what is it?" Makoto asked.
"You know that this is a classified information, right?" Naomasa asked.
"I can just 'look into it'." Makoto grins teasingly.
"Fine. It's a murder case. No idea who's the killer is, and there's no bodies on the crime scene." Naomasa mutters. "But, they somehow manage to take a sample of the body, a piece of a human's brain."
"..." Makoto places down the half-eaten slice of pizza. "Thanks to you, I lose my appetite." Naomasa chuckles.
"It belongs to one of the members of Lizard's Tail, a group of villains that has been hunted down years ago," Naomasa said. "They have managed to get themselves in the majority of heroes' target lists. Especially when we found out that all the supplies for Trigger were from them."
"Just how dangerous those groups are?" Makoto asked.
"In strength wise, not so much. Any skilled hero could beat them with ease. But, they make up for their cruelty. When we catch them, they will abandon one of their teammates and escape. The next time we meet them, they have a new member to replace the old ones." Naomasa said.
"Geez, I hate those kind of people." Makoto mused.
"But, it all ends when a hero raids their base and crippled their forces, or so we thought." Naomasa sighs. "Some member manages to survive and escape from custody. We found out more from one of the boss' journals."
"What does it say?" Makoto asked.
"...after they escape, they face another crippling attack that leaves them only with 13 members," Naomasa mutters. "And said 13 members were all there in that building, all of them got killed."
"...oh god." Makoto mutters in shock.
With Eraserhead
"..." He grips his phone tightly as he reads the files. All of the information about the investigation has been compiled into PDF files and he went to the police station to request special permission to get one.
He didn't bother to read it since he always did it later. But when Naomasa told him to read it, he didn't know why but he complied. He finally understood why.
The Lizard's Tail has died out.
"...this is a bigger problem than I thought..." Eraserhead mused before looking at the files once more. It shows a bloody footprint, but that's not all. Aizawa knows that particular model of shoes, as it was custom-made for Quirkless People due to their extra toe joints.
And given how rare Quirkless people are, he might need to take a long time to figure out who's the culprit.
"..." Aizawa puts back his phone. He didn't want to admit it, but he was somewhat glad that someone managed to stop Lizard's Tail. He just wishes whoever did it, shouldn't resort to killing.
"I'll find whoever did this..." Aizawa mutters before he starts swinging away from building to building.
To be continued
