A/N:
Hey, been a while. A note before reading this and you notice anything off, my phone broke a couple weeks ago and I lost about 30 pages of notes I had saved on there. That included all my bullet points about what had happened in the story and where it was going to go. Nightmare! I tried my best to remember everything, but if anything seems wrong, just assume it's a retcon. Or, I don't know, a time traveler screwing with canon. Either way, here's a nice long chapter.
Hosu! Home of the world-famous Hosu Hotdog, the Idaten agency, Fatgum's dad, and dozens of buildings which failed every fire inspection the past 6 years running! Truly, Hosu lives up to its reputation as "a city"!
One other thing of note for this jewel of a city is its uncanny ability to be directly in the centre of anything untoward. If there's a serial killer on the loose: Hosu. Demons are attacking: Hosu. Hotdog eating competition devolved into a brawl: Hosu. Was it due to the city's central proximity, placing it slapbang in the middle of every other major metropolitan area, or were there supernatural forces at work? Detective Tsukauchi's working theory involved time travelling fascists, but he was still on the lookout for anything to corroborate that. Some day, perhaps he'll find it!
"What a wretched hive of scum and villainy." the venerable Gentle Criminal declared, lowering his opera glasses with disdain. Balanced impractically atop a lamppost like a particularly dapper crow, his coat billowed dramatically in the wind.
Detective Tsukauchi tilted his head up at his unlikely mission partner and said dryly, "My parents live here, you know."
"My deepest sympathies."
"And just so we're clear, If you fall from there, I'm not taking you to the hospital." The detective added, before pulling out his phone to search for something. The pair had travelled to Hosu to investigate the area around Ingenium's attack, now finding themselves in a relatively quiet spot with little foot traffic, perfect for formulating their next steps.
Gentle crouched down on the post, as if to prove a point. "Worry not for my safety, for I -w-woooa~" he began, his voice trailing off as he lost his balance and tumbled off his perch, landing in a heap on the ground below.
Springing to his feet with surprising agility, Gentle dusted himself off and adjusted his moustache. "Where first on our excursion?" he asked, as though nothing had happened.
Giving him a quick disapproving side-eye, Tsukauchi showed Gentle the map on the phone. "Take a look," he said, pointing at various areas of the screen. "The alleyway here connects to these roads, and there's an exit southward and a residential area to the northwest. Any direction he chose, he would have bumped into someone."
"Not necessarily so, detective." Gentle said, sipping on a tea he had gotten from somewhere, the steam curling around his face. "As you're no doubt aware, my small jaunt with dear La Brava took place in the dead of night - a foolish decision of mine! For we discovered rather quickly that the lighting in Hosu is more than inadequate. The cinematography of our video paled in comparison to our usual schemes…"
"Hm, I see." The detective noted, deciding to skip over the casual admission of past crimes and focusing on the substance. "So he could have slipped away in either direction. Did you see him escape?"
"Regrettably not," Gentle admitted with a wistful sigh. "The scoundrel vanished while I was preoccupied with the hero. But fear not, for we meticulously scoured the area beforehand. A quick getaway plan is indispensable! Our intel favoured the northwest exit for its simplicity compared to the labyrinthine south. Rather too many turns and whatnot for our taste."
Tsukauchi chewed his bottom lip in thought for a moment, nodding, before returning to the phone. With a few quick swipes, he continued. "I've gotten up the hero patrol routes for the area, we should be able to find some which coincide with the alleyway where the attack took place."
"Far be it from me to meddle in police affairs," Gentle began, his words drawing a snort from Tsukauchi, "But why on Earth was Ingenium here? Without backup, I might add. Team Idaten is renowned for their teamwork, yet I saw no one else around when the attack occurred… Especially at such a late hour."
"It's not my place to say," Tsukauchi attempted to deflect.
"Detective, I can't assist further unless I have all the details," Gentle raised an eyebrow. "I can't be held accountable if crucial information were to... slip my mind."
"It's not relevant to the investigation," the detective stated firmly. "What Ingenium does in their free time is none of our concern. Now, let's focus on the task at hand."
Gentle took another sip of tea, his expression thoughtful. "The tone of your voice suggests his activities were rather romantic in nature, an interpretation I'm inclined to embrace. Adding a touch of romance always enhances the story, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hm," Tsukauchi grunted in response, largely disregarding Gentle's comment as he dialled a number. After a few rings, a voice answered. "Manual, Tsukauchi. We need to chat. Meet me on Bespan Street."
Not too far away, in the penthouse suite at the heart of Hosu's financial district, a statuesque man known as High Street was engaged in a tense conversation with his primary physician. The dissatisfaction on the villain's face was palpable.
The room was, until recently, a private gym rarely used by the previous tenant. Evidently they had bought a large amount of equipment during some mad urge to keep fit and then neglected to use any of it. Now, much like the tenant himself, the equipment had been tossed to the side like a filthy rag.
Now, the room was filled with various low-grade medical equipment, the majority of the more advanced items being lost during the Doctor's constant moving from safe house to safe house. All he had now was anything he could steal or buy online, a case of cell samples, and copious amounts of notes.
"Doctor, I can assure you, the tests aren't necessary," High Street insisted, begrudgingly rolling up the sleeve of his tailored shirt. Despite his dismissive tone, the tremors in his hand told another story.
Doctor Garaki seized High Street's wrist harshly, twisting it to reveal the palm. The sight was ghastly: cracked and bloody skin surrounded a coin-shaped hole in the centre, looking painfully raw.
"The quirk wasn't ready, this was a mistake." Garaki remarked, probing the injured hand and causing High Street's muscles to tense involuntarily. Sliding his desk chair over to a clipboard on his desk, he asked, "How many quirks have you taken?"
"Two." High Street replied, quickly rolling his sleeve back down, trying to mask the discomfort.
The doctor paused for a moment, gears turning in his mind. "You have only taken quirks from THE DEAD?!" he bellowed.
"The dead have been the only ones to offer their quirks willingly, Doctor! Taking quirks from the living doesn't work. I can feel their willpower denying me, it's like trying to punch through a steel wall every time," High Street shot back, frustration evident.
Doctor Garaki's expression hardened. "That would explain the state of your hand, something you should have brought to my attention sooner," he said, clearly irritated. "The quirk factor is killing you. It's breaking down your body faster than it can heal." Bedside manners were never Garaki's strong suit, and he gave the diagnosis as seriously as one might deliver a weather report.
High Street considered his hands carefully, tensing them rhythmically, watching how the holes opened and closed. "What would you have me do then, Doctor?" he eventually asked, looking up. "I need quirks for what I have planned."
"You have told me nothing of your plans. I agreed to this foolish operation because you promised me greatness! So far you have delivered nothing we agreed upon!" Garaki barked, sniffing derisively. "Has Potential given you anything more?"
High Street stood to his full height, towering over the shorter man. "You agreed to this operation because, if you hadn't, you would be dead. Don't pretend otherwise, the only reason you're still breathing after this debacle is because Potential led me to you." His eyes narrowed, and he closed the distance between them, his presence suffocating. "This mess is your doing, and don't make me remind you," High Street continued, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper as he loomed over Garaki, "I don't need a quirk to kill you."
Garaki's face tightened with fear, the tension hanging thick. "Understood," he managed to say, swallowing hard. "But threats won't solve your problem. If you want to survive this and achieve your goals, you'll need my help."
High Street held his gaze for a long moment before stepping back, allowing a small measure of space between them. "Then fix it, Doctor. I can't afford any more mistakes."
Garaki adjusted his glasses with trembling hands. "There may be a solution."
"Is there a risk?"
"Experimentation always comes with a level of risk." The doctor scoffed. "Quirk-erasing bullets. There have been rumours of their availability on the black market."
"No," High Street snapped, his tone brooking no argument. "Out of the question."
"It wouldn't be permanent," Garaki explained. "We'd use it strategically, to remove the instability temporarily. Then we can stabilise your condition before reintroducing a refined copy of All for One."
A beat of silence followed as High Street weighed his options, contemplating the risks and benefits. "And if it doesn't work?"
"If we do nothing, you die. This is the only viable option."
High Street turned away from Garaki, as he felt that gnawing, disgusting feeling of desperation looming over him. The idea of relying on someone as volatile as the doctor filled him with unease. Relying on anyone wasn't something High Street was forced to do often, especially when it involved a reckless gamble like this.
The only comfort he had was if Potential had led him here, there had to be a reason for it. Until it pointed him in a new direction, it was here he would stay.
"Fine," High Street eventually said, his voice a low growl. "Make the arrangements."
"Understood."
Outside the room, Skullcap's back was against the wall, his breathing as quiet as he could make it, with a bony hand clamped over his mouth. Making a panicked decision to flee before anyone saw him, he bolted down the corridor, already making plans for his next step.
"Just go in! Just push open the door and head inside!"
Izuku stood as straight as he could, trying to muster a sense of control as he hovered a foot away from the closed door to the Nighteye Agency training room. He knew that "just" statements, when used by others, were about as effective on him as a clock with no hands, yet here he was, repeating them to himself.
As his mother had tried to tell him, "if a stranger walked up to you on the street and said nobody is going to like you, you'd think they were an asshole. So why, when it's you saying it, does it sound like the voice of reason?" Something he had to remind himself sometimes when the anxiety reared its awful head.
'Just' as he was about to take that proverbial giant leap forward, a smiling oval face appeared on the door, nearly giving him a heart attack and making the journey another foot foot longer.
"Hey! We've got all the monitoring equipment set up. That's what you were waiting for, right?" The face (Togata?) said cheerfully .
"Oh! Uh, yeah, yeah, that's right! I'll be in in a moment!" Izuku stammered, grateful for an excuse to cover his hesitation. He suspected Togata had provided it on purpose. The few-second chat was just enough to dissolve the barrier keeping him in place, so now Izuku had no issue walking inside.
To his surprise, the only other people in the room were Mirio Togata and Kuri Kuri. Izuku had expected a whole team of sidekicks, lab technicians, engineers, computer scientists, and physical trainers! The room was filled with equipment - computers and heart rate monitors among them - but there was no agency supervision. Was that standard procedure?
Apparently, his face revealed his confusion without him needing to speak, as Togata grinned at him and said, "Only us three today! Sir wants us to get better acquainted before we go on patrol." He chuckled nervously. "Well, what he actually said was," Togata continued, trying his best to imitate Nighteye, complete with the stony expression, "'I believe camaraderie between you would be advantageous.' Which I think is his way of saying we should be friends!"
"Well in that case, I look forward to working with you!"
Kuri Kuri finished repositioning a webcam connected to a series of increasingly more complicated monitoring equipment, and made his way over to the others. The chestnut boy had only been part of the hero course for a few weeks, but Izuku couldn't help but notice how he seemed to carry himself with a newfound confidence. The nervous jitters were still there, but they were definitely losing their grip.
"Do agency heads usually care about that kind of thing?" Kuri asked. "Maybe it's because we're first years?"
"I have no idea!" Togata said, laughing. "To tell the truth, I never usually have much to do with the support engineers, so he probably just thought we'd get along."
"I guess so, yeah?" Izuku said with uncertainty. Was this a test? This felt like a test.
"Anyway!" Togata chuckled, smoothly steering the conversation in a new direction. "Introductions first! I'm Mirio Togata, hero name: Lemillion! Because, well, I aim to save a million lives, obviously!"
"Okay, so nothing to do with lemmings…" Izuku thought to himself.
Togata continued, "My quirk is Permeation. Basically, I can walk right through solid objects."
Taking a deep breath, Izuku stepped forward. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, first-year support student specialising in gadgets and engineering. My uh… my quirk is…" He hesitated, the weight of the moment hitting him. This was essentially his debut, the first time he could openly share his quirk without dancing around the topic, without the usual probing questions or the awkward avoidance of the elephant in the room. Since it manifested, his quirk was something others discovered in action; this was his chance to define it on his terms. The significance of it all was unexpectedly overwhelming.
Izuku cleared his throat, realising he had trailed off, "It's uh, it's called Mechanize. It lets me turn my hands into…stuff, and things."
Stuff?! And things?! Great going Izuku, first time getting to introduce a quirk and you totally botched it! Togata probably thinks you sound like an idi-
"Cool!" Togata beamed and gave a thumbs up, "How about you?" he asked, turning to Kuri. "Let me guess…. Super strength?!"
"Wuh!? No, no nothing like that!" Kuri flustered, missing the joke. "I'm Kuri Kuri, dual course support and hero, but I haven't really done much heroics yet. My quirk is chestnut. It uh, lets me…yeah." He said, choosing to form the green chestnut casing around his head rather than trying to explain it. "Do this."
"Wow!" Togata said, entirely sincerely. "I can tell I'm going to have my work cut out for me if we're gonna be training together! Speaking of which," All of a sudden, his eyes turned serious, but with that same charming smile. "How about we use this room for what it's here for? We've got the equipment all set up, so lets give it some data!" he ended by putting up his fists in a battle stance.
Izuku stepped back and waved his hands in protest, "You guys go ahead, I'm here for the stats, thanks."
Kuri, on the other hand, had a contemplative look on his face. "The computers are only really set up to focus on one person at a time, but maybe we could get a baseline on our physical fitness levels before moving into more strenuous activity…" he said, already keying some info into the computer.
"Good stuff!" Togata smiled again, or rather, he continued to smile. The support students got the impression it was hard to break the guy's spirit. "Hey by the way, what's your hero name?"
The sound of hands abruptly clanking down a keyboard came from Kuri's direction, "I'm still deciding really. But I have one I like."
Izuku and Togata waited, but it seemed he needed an invitation. Izuku spoke first "If you're willing to share. I'd love to hear. Hero names are a great way to know which direction to take a design."
"I'm all ears!" Togata added. "Not literally, obviously! I only have two! Hahaha!"
Somehow, that garbage joke worked to get Kuri to open up. "It's a little silly, I don't really look like the name suits me yet, but… I was thinking of calling myself Oak."
"OAK!" Togata erupted, immediately throwing both fists in the air in celebration and making Izuku jump for the second time that morning. "Now that's the name of a hero! 'The Arboreal Hero: Oak. Standing tall and unyielding!' Wow, I love it!" He then turned thoughtful, stroking his chin, "Do you think it's too late to change my hero name…"
"...What to?" Izuku asked.
"Beats me! What other cool trees are there?"
"Redwoods are cool." Kuri answered, a smile on his face.
The trio burst into laughter, mostly at Togata's attempts at miming being a tree. Izuku realised he was going to enjoy this internship; Togata was effortlessly pleasant to be around, like he could ease the tension with barely any effort - like everything was going to be fine now. Because he was here.
It reminded Izuku of someone, though he couldn't quite place who.
Meanwhile, in his office, Sir Nighteye observed the training room feed through the screen on his desk, a hint of satisfaction on his face. As he steepled his fingers, a subtle but unmistakable smile began to emerge. With his plan in motion, he closed the screen sat motionless for a full 25 minutes. Being a pro hero was demanding work.
"Crap crap crap crap crap!" Miki yelped between paintball barrages, the pellets thumping relentlessly against the makeshift barrier that stood between her, Mei, and certain doom. Fifteen minutes into the war game orchestrated by Snipe, they had made zero progress in building any weapons to fight back. The main problem was the near-impossible task of escaping the saloon! Each attempt to step outside was met with a fresh volley of paintballs.
Mei, her back pressed firmly against the underside of an overturned poker table, adjusted her goggles over her eyes. "I'm gonna do some recon, cover me," she said, poking her head up.
"Cover you how?!" Miki shouted.
As soon as Mei's head went above the side of the table, SHUNK SHUNK . Sheepishly, she came back down, her goggles now sporting two red paint splotches. "Okay, I got a good enough look. There are four sidekicks in here, two on the balcony, two on the floor. I'm guessing everyone else is in other parts of the town, I reckon - sorry, Snipe is rubbing off on me already - I think they've been told not to pursue us, but to attack if we go to certain areas. So, no worries about anyone sneaking up on us."
Miki shook her head in astonishment, "Mei, how the hell did you get a good look?! That was barely a second!"
"Quirk." Mei answered offhandedly. "Anyway, there's a chandelier under the balcony with eight bulbs, if we can get ahold of those and some copper wiring, I have an idea."
"Ideas are good, that's for sure… But there's one flaw I can see in the plan."
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"How are we going to get LIGHT BULBS out of a CHANDELIER?!" Miki shouted.
A toothy grin on her face, Mei answered with no hesitation. "I'm gonna knock you out!"
The manic look on Miki's face immediately dropped, to make way for a look of confusion. "You…huh?"
"I'm gonna knock you out. Then I'll wake you up, and you can use your quirk." Mei explained, as though it were the most obvious solution. "Your base range is about 10ft, right?"
"Well, yeah, that's my lowest. Longer I sleep the further the range extends, but if it's not a restful sleep I can't summon anything bigger than my hand. But either way, how are you going to knock me out? You're not gonna karate chop me on the back of the head or anything, are you?"
"Pressure points!" Mei announced cheerfully. "It's something I've been learning about for a side-project. A couple years ago there was this pro-hero called Slingshot - terrible name - whose quirk let him know exactly where nerve clusters are on the human body. He started off, y'know, doing hero shit, until he hit this bad guy in the back of the neck in just the right way it completely cleared his sciatica. Dude stopped doing crime, just like that! So Slingshot opened up a clinic, realised all this other stuff about pressure points, and wrote a book about it!"
"That's cool and all," Miki said, still lost. "But what does that have to do with me sleeping?"
Mei cracked her knuckles in preparation. "There are five points on the human body, very specific areas that induce immediate sleep. They're really, really specific, so most people can't hit them accurately enough."
"But you can?" Miki asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No harm in trying!"
Miki frowned, "I mean, I think there's some harm in trying, like us never getting out of hereeee~" Mei had moved so quickly, jabbing a knuckle into the crook of her arm, that Miki was asleep before she even knew what was happening. Her head lulled to sleep, being caught by Mei's hands and placed gently on her lap.
"Okay, cool, so that's something that works…" Mei mused to herself. "Now where the hell was the point to wake someone up?"
Mei frantically tried to recall the mental pages of the book she'd read, wishing for the millionth time that mind palaces were a real thing. At least, a real thing for anyone who wasn't TV Detective Christian Crispin - Genius Sleuth, but Mei hated that show either way and- She was getting off track. With paintballs continuing to splatter against the barricade, she closed her eyes tight and tried to remember.
"Oh, duh!" Mei slapped herself on the head as the memory resurfaced. She gently positioned Miki's head and moved the girl's hair to the side. "Sorry about this, Miks." and sharply flicked a point just behind her ears. There was a brief moment of silence, then Miki's eyes snapped open.
"Gah!" she gasped awake.
"Did it work?" Mei asked, her face inches away from Miki's, scanning her eyes back and forth.
Blinking to clear her head from the fog, she nodded. "Y-yeah, it worked." Miki confirmed, a little embarrassed by the sudden close proximity between them. "I need you to tell me the rough position of the bulbs, and their general shape."
"Perfect! Okay, they're about seven feet off the ground, classic round bulbs, probably about 4 inches in diameter." Mei rattled off the details, excited to see the plan moving forward.
Miki nodded, and slowly took a breath. "Okay, I'm gonna have to do this one at a time," she muttered.
Placing her hand out, palm facing upward and fingers splayed, Miki felt her quirk activate. With a distant clink, a bulb vanished from the chandelier and immediately reappeared between the two girls. A few moments later, all eight bulbs were theirs.
"Nice work!" Mei exclaimed, carefully placing the bulbs on the floor. "Now for the copper wiring…" She glanced around the saloon hoping to spot something, when Miki fished something out of her pocket and handed it over. It was a spool of copper.
Mei's eyes widened with excitement as she grabbed the spool. "You're a lifesaver, Miki! Do you just carry this around with you?!"
"Well yeah, of course I do. You never know when you're gonna need copper…" Miki tried her best to sound nonchalant, but couldn't help grinning near the end. Especially after Mei tackle hugged her.
"See, this is why I like you!" Mei declared.
"Oh well uh, you know, I like you too." Miki bashfully stated, trying and failing not to make a big deal out of it. "So, what were you going to make?"
Mei grinned, laying out the wiring. "If we can overload the bulbs with a surge of-"
"Ah I get it, a flashbang. That's a good idea, but how were you going to power MEI WHY DO YOU HAVE A TASER?!"
Mei shook her head in astonishment, "You don't? You should totally get one, they come in handy way more than you'd think."
"Why don't we just use that to fight the sidekicks?!"
"What, and be cheaters? No thanks." With quick, nimble fingers, Mei worked on the wiring, connecting the bulbs into a haphazard cluster. At last, the device was ready to go. "Alright, it'll take a sec to warm up, so once I zap this thing, cover your eyes. The bulbs should generate enough light to temporarily blind anyone in the room, but it won't be as powerful as a real flashbang. Should give us the window we need to escape, though."
Miki nodded, a smile creeping on her face. "On your mark."
Positioning the taser against the draped wire at the end of the flashbang, Mei began to count down. "Three… Two… One… NOW!" With a zap, she tossed the device over the table, where it landed with a clatter in the centre of the room.
The bulbs flared to life, emitting an intense, blinding light that filled the saloon. Hoping to preserve their eyesight, the sidekicks dropped their guns in an attempt to shield themselves from the brightness.
"Go, go, go!" Miki urged, grabbing Mei's hand and pulling her towards the door. Bursting through the saloon doors, they found themselves outside in the cool open air of the town.
Directly in front of around a dozen sidekicks pointing their weapons, and Snipe central among them, a stern aura emanating off of him.
"Ah, crap." Mei muttered, before putting her hands up. "We surrender…"
"Yeah…" Miki agreed, "We surrender…"
Taking a few big, purposeful steps forward, the spurs on Snipe's shoes clinked as he walked… "Hoowee!" he yelled suddenly. At the same time, the crowd of cowpokes surrounding him started firing their guns in the air, hooting and hollering.
"That was some'a the best gadgeteerin' I ever did see! Ladies, y'all are the first interns we ever had who got outta that there saloon! I ain't never seen nothin' like it, ya got yaselves prepared, ya had the right technique, and y'all executed it perfectly. I'm mighty impressed!" Snipe excitedly said, tipping his hat in admiration.
The girls exchanged confused glances, their hands still raised in surrender. "Wait, so… We passed?" Miki asked cautiously.
Snipe snapped his fingers, "With flyin' colours! Ya showed true grit and ingenuity. I'm proud to call y'all my interns, welcome to the team!"
Miki and Mei sighed as they finally dropped their hands, faces beaming with pride. "Thanks, Snipe," Mei said, catching her breath. "Couldn't have done it without my class pres!"
Face turning slightly red from the praise of the girl standing beside her, Miki nodded. "We're ready for whatever comes next."
"Y'all better be, because the real work starts now. But if today's any indication, I reckon y'all will do just fine."
"Remind me again, old chap," Gentle said casually, inspecting his moustache in a small pocket mirror. "What was the name of this fellow we're seeing? Manuel?"
Tsukauchi shook his head. "No, it's Manual. The normal hero. He runs an agency around here. His quirk involves water, so he's usually handling fire rescues."
Slowly, Gentle turned his head to look at the detective and frown. "What… in the world, does that have to do with a car's transmission system?"
It was a rare moment in Tsukauchi's career where he didn't have an answer. Luckily, Manual was approaching - joined by a young man dressed in a suit of armour. Either an intern, or a cosplayer who had gotten lost.
"Morning detective, what did you need?" The pro hero asked, extending a hand in greeting.
"Manual, thanks for coming so quickly. I just had a few questions about-" Tsukauchi began, but Gentle interrupted, stepping forward.
"Sir, where were you on the night before the UA sports festival? Please be aware your answer may be used against you in a court of law!" Gentle declared with a dramatic flourish of his arm.
The armoured boy beside Manual started chopping the air vigorously. "You are addressing a pro hero! Show some respect!"
While they argued, Manual put a hand up against the side of his mouth and whispered, "hey uh, who is this guy?"
"This is-"
"Danjuro Tobita, freelance investigator and junior detective." Gentle burst in once more, giving Tsukauchi a not so subtle wink.
"He is, and he's not." Tsukauchi said. "We had some questions about the attack on Ingenium. Off the books."
"Is the answer not obvious?" The knight in shining nerd asked pointedly, flipping back his visor to reveal the unmistakable likeness of Tensei Iida. "My brother was attacked by that fiend, Hero Killer Stain!"
Tsukauchi gave him a scrutinising look. "And what makes you so sure?"
"My brother is a renowned hero, beloved by many! Who better for Stain to target?" the young man insisted.
Manual placed a hand on his hip and sighed. "Iida, is this why you took this internship?"
"I simply wish to be instrumental in the villain's eventual defeat, would you truly a deny me the chance to-"
Finally, it was Tsukauchi's turn to interrupt someone for once. "Kid, it wasn't Stain."
"Indeed!" Gentle added, "The perpetrator we hunt is dastardly, yes, though Stain is not he!"
"How can you be sure?!" Iida insisted.
"Because " Tsukauchi continued unabated, "Stain has been in Tartarus for the past eight years. He's part of the prison's table tennis team, I saw him playing against the Elysium prison league two weeks ago."
Iida's face dropped. "That…cannot possibly be true? He is a vicious killer, with dozens of victims…"
"He was a vicious killer with three victims. The man barely slept, had a terrible diet and no enhancement quirk. He was easily captured the first time we cornered him. It wasn't Stain."
Pouring a drink (out of his sleeve?) to offer the young man, Gentle added "There are far more interesting villains to pursue, my boy. Such as I! Gentle Criminal!" He looked over to the wide eyes and deep frown of his compatriot, "Eh, Stopper. Gentle Criminal Stopper. Indeed." He finished with a cough.
"Then… I have been a fool." Iida stood up straight and announced, accepting the responsibility.
"Uh, yeah, do you think?" Manual said sarcastically. "Listen, we're gonna have a proper discussion about you using me to pursue vigilante activities, but we'll save that for later."
"PLEASE, ACCEPT MY HUMBLEST APOLOGIES." The boy yelled at the top of his lungs, before slamming his head into the concrete in the deepest bow he could muster. "I HAVE SULLIED THE GOOD NAME OF HEROICS THROUGH MY SELFISH ACTIONS."
Tsukauchi rubbed his temples, wondering if everyone in this town was nuts. "Okay kid, that's enough. Stand up, will you? We're not here to judge, we just need information."
As Iida rose, dusting off his suit, the detective turned back to Manual. "Now, about the night before the UA sports festival. You were patrolling near here that night, right? Do you know about the area?"
"Yeah, this is my usual patrol route. It's a loop of about 8km around the city, I tend to hit this place at around 11pm." Manual answered.
"The attack upon Ingenium occurred at roughly 10:15pm," Gentle added. "Perhaps the villain is aware of the patrol routes and was able to avoid detection!"
Tsukauchi asked, "Does that sound about right to you, Manual?"
Manual scratched his head, in thought, "Well, maybe, but I'm not the only person who intersects with this route. 10:00pm I'm pretty sure Native is usually down this way, and he didn't call anything in… It depends how busy everyone is, but there aren't many blocks of time where there's nobody around."
"Hmm," Tsukauchi nodded, making a mental note. "Ingenium lost a lot of blood that night as well, someone would have seen a 6 ft 6 man covered in blood wandering around."
"Sirs," Iida interjected. "May I offer a hypothesis?"
"Go ahead."
"The villain did not leave the alley."
"Interesting theory," Tsukauchi prompted, raising an eyebrow.
Iida adjusted his glasses and nodded, "If the villain was aware of the patrol schedules, it would imply they had a deeper understanding of the heroes' routes in Hosu. Therefore, either the attack upon my brother was premeditated, or it was a simple case of Tensei being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps, the criminal was using that small space of time in which the alleyway was unsupervised in order to move from place to place unhindered."
The two and a half heroes all looked at Iida with quiet respect. Quiet at least until Gentle spoke up. "What fascinating deductive reasoning! We could use a lad like this on the force, wouldn't you agree, Naomasa old chap?"
"Okay first of all, you're not on the force. Second of all… You make a good point, Iida. But if they never left the scene of the crime, it begs the question: Where did they go? Manual, thoughts?"
"Well," Manual looked thoughtful for a moment, "Hosu's an old city, there are a lot of nooks and crannies that nobody knows about, old abandoned basements and the sort. It could be a blindspot for us, it's possible the villain could have slipped away through there."
Tsukauchi nodded, "That could be a lead. Gentle, we're going digging. Manual, stay on your patrol but keep an eye out for anything unusual. I'm sorry I can't give you anything more to go on, but you know how it is."
"What should I be looking for, exactly?" Manual asked, looking between the detective and his unlikely partner.
"Anything out of place. Movements, signs of recent habitation, anything that suggests someone has been hiding out or passing through recently," Tsukauchi clarified.
"Understood. Come on, engine boy." Manual saluted slightly before turning to continue his patrol, the diligent Iida on hot pursuit.
"Do you know, Detective," Gentle said as the others left their sight, "I dare say we're about to 'bust this case wide open', as they say."
"Ugh…"
