Learning to Trust
"Trust is earned when actions meet words."
—Chris Butler
Chapter 27: When Actions Meet Words
Meet me in front of UA in twenty minutes. I have a message for All Might.
Toshinori stood just inside the smudged glass doors in the darkened entranceway to his old apartment building, looking down at his phone once more.
Who could this be?
He had received the message five minutes ago, and had immediately returned the text, asking for further information, but he'd received no response. He'd then tried contacting Naomasa, and then Midnight and finally Yamada, but none of them had answered the phone either.
The one time I actually try to call in backup, no one is around. Figures…
He lived close enough to UA to make the walk and probably just make it, even with his body as worn down as it currently was, but Toshinori hadn't survived in the hero business this long by acting without any thought at all, and the time limit set off warning bells. Sure, it could be an ally with a time crunch—how many times had the Police Force given him no warning at all? But in that case, he would recognize the number. And they would have responded to him. He had every local emergency agency programmed into his phone along with national and international leaders, most major heroes, Might Tower, and Naomasa's personal cell number.
Anyone who knew that Yagi Toshinori was also All Might was programmed into his phone, and then some. Which meant this likely wasn't one of the good guys.
And they texted me looking for All Might.
His brow furrowed. Probably gave me a time limit in the hopes that I would act before giving it much thought. He paced the small entryway, glancing at his watch thoughtfully. I could sweep in as All Might, but my time will be extremely limited, and if they are just guessing that we're the same person, then I risk confirming their suspicion. Better to arrive as Yagi. The idea of not showing up at all didn't even present itself as a valid option. If there was even the slimmest chance that this was someone who needed his help, he had to do what he could, even if it meant merely arriving at the rendezvous point to scope out the scene.
But how? He didn't have a car, and if he walked, certainly he'd make it, but at what cost? He'd need to haul oxygen along if he wanted to go that far…
He had actually been tempted to try Nezu or Recovery Girl next, but he already knew how they would respond. Toshi twitched reflexively at the mental image of Recovery girl taking a swing at him.
He rubbed the back of his head absentmindedly.
I suppose I could try Aizawa… I have his cell number from the staff directory…
But he quickly shut that idea down, too. The man had been very clear that he wanted nothing to do with Toshinori anymore, and Toshi wasn't going to make matters worse by texting him late at night for a meetup with who-knows-what.
And that was the real problem. Toshinori had no idea what he was walking into. Maybe an ally really was in danger whose phone had been damaged, forcing him to use someone else's. Maybe now he was too incapacitated to respond.
But the sensible little voice in the back of his mind whispered, It's a trap. Shifter wants your quirk next…
Toshi's eyes darkened. And that was one of the big reasons he had been so fixated on this two-bit enemy from the beginning. Shifter could borrow quirks, and had begun taking people. And tonight he had finally received a list of the victim's quirks from his office.
Every one of the victims had a quirk involving strength, invulnerability, or regeneration. Every one of them felt like a facet of One for All.
And every time the Police Force had received a hint or a clue from Shifter, teasing them into action, it had been delivered—regardless of the site of the kidnapping—to Detective Tsukauchi, who was well-known to work closely with Might Tower.
What would happen if Shifter touches All Might? How much of One for All could be borrowed?
He'd begun absentmindedly tugging nervously at his bang again as he glanced once more at the time on his phone. He needed to make a decision now: call for a ride or lose his window. For the first time since arriving in Musutafu, he missed having his own car to rely on.
Gritting his teeth, Toshi opened his contacts and scrolled to Aizawa's name. He was about to hit the button, hoping the man would answer, when an incoming call suddenly registered on his phone.
"A PHONE CALL IS HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HERE!"
Toshi almost dropped the phone, fumbling with it for a moment as he processed where the call originated from.
Tsukauchi's office.
Toshi answered immediately. "Tsukauchi?"
"Sorry to bother you so late, Yagi-san," a familiar voice replied. "Detective Tsukauchi is on his way to the station. He asked you to meet him here. This is Officer Sansa. There has been an update on the Shifter Case. He said you might have information that could help us out."
Toshi's eyes narrowed. "Of course," he replied quickly. "I'm happy to help. Is Detective Tsukauchi all right? Usually he calls me himself."
After a moment, Officer Sansa replied, "He's fine. He just asked me to call, so he could get back. Many hands make lighter work."
"So I've been told," Toshi replied. "I don't have a car here. Can someone pick me up?" He quickly gave his address, and then paused a moment before adding, "Actually, can I ask a favor?"
"A favor?"
"I'm supposed to meet a contact in about five minutes. I may be able to get us a little more intel. If you have an officer nearby, could I catch a ride to UA before we go to the station? Preferably someone who might be able to help if the meeting goes south."
"Should I be worried, Yagi-san?"
"No more worried than usual. I just like the idea of a little backup."
Sansa sighed. "That isn't comforting, Yagi-san. You realize that, right?" At Toshi's lack of response, he added, "I'm assuming there's a reason that All Might can't help."
At Toshi's silence, Sansa continued, "And I'm assuming that I won't be hearing that reason."
It wasn't a question, and all Toshi could think to do was stammer out a sincere apology. "I'm so sorry to bother you. I wouldn't ask if—"
But Sansa just sighed and continued as though Toshi's apologies were both expected and unnecessary. "You remind me of Detective Tsukauchi, you know. I see why you two are friends. I can get someone there in two minutes. We can give you maybe five at UA. Then you need to come to the station. Detective Tsukauchi won't be here right away, but be ready. The detective was pretty clear that he wanted you here ASAP. "
Toshi sighed in relief, finally releasing the strand of hair he'd be fidgeting with. "Yes. Of course. And Officer Sansa?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"Of course, Yagi-san." He then lowered his voice and added, "Anyway, Detective Tsukauchi needs you to get here in record time and in one piece. And, you've been a huge asset to the Force, whether you realize it or not. For one thing, you're the only one who manages to get the detective to take lunch breaks."
Toshi snorted, "I hardly think—"
But Sansa was apparently having none of it. "Not to mention that All Might's agency is the only one we have worked with that treats the Police Force with any kind of respect. This began when he first started meeting up with you. So, I'm going to assume you have more influence at Might Tower than either you or Tsukauchi will admit to. Whatever it is you've said or done there to open up channels for us… thank you. You just keep doing whatever it is that you're doing and I'll help where I can on my end. I'll see you soon, Yagi-san. Officer Hinata is on his way to pick you up. He's happy to."
"Thank you…" Toshi responded, stunned.
Naomasa… He stared blankly at the phone. All this time he'd been worrying about overworking his friend, but was it actually possible that his presence was a positive thing for the detective?
Was I wrong?
He didn't get time to dwell on it, as Officer Hinata's car pulled up to the curb, but Toshi stored away that information to unpack later.
Perhaps when this was over he and Naomasa were going to have to get lunch and have a
Toshi arrived at UA grounds in record time. Officer Hinata parked a short distance away, his quirk, amplify, allowing him to park far enough away to be hidden while still able to monitor the situation. From this location, Toshi walked to the gate, checking the messages on his phone for the hundredth time. Still no response from Naomasa, Midnight, or Present Mic. Other than the reference to All Might in the text, there was no real red flag in the initial message.
This is probably nothing. You're just blowing it out of proportion, desperate for some lead in the case. It's probably just a crazy fan. One of the kids from Yamada's class is probably just trying to get me to meet for All Might's autograph or something…
Only this was obviously not the case. It was after midnight. And it was too coincidental that this message came minutes before the Police Force had called him in about Shifter.
Toshi stopped across the street from UA and carefully surveyed the area. No unusual sounds. No one there.
He glanced down at the time on his phone. 12:28. I'm late, but only by a few minutes. If this were important, why leave? His brow furrowed. Something wasn't right…
Toshi's eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze scanning the area once more. Nothing.
"I'm approaching the gate," he whispered for Hinata-san's quirk to pick up. "It's probably nothing, but keep an eye on me if you can." With that, he carefully crossed the street.
While he walked, he texted again. Who is this? Still no answer, not that he was surprised.
He stopped just outside the gate, near the main entrance, intentionally standing under the security camera. If someone were to join him, Nezu would at least have a visual.
A cold gust of wind swept by, cutting through his coat and whipping his hair into his face. Toshi pulled his coat more tightly around him as he shivered. He would give the mysterious texter five minutes. Nothing more.
He needn't have bothered. To Toshi's surprise, a small shadow appeared from behind one of the decorative trees at the edge of the fence. Toshi squinted to see better, but the figure was in shadow, far enough from the main security lights to be partially obscured, motioning for Toshi to approach.
He hesitated a moment before he saw a flash of indigo, and a relieved smile cracked his serious expression as he quickly strode to the now familiar figure. He whispered to his temporary partner, "Hinata-san, I'd appreciate if you could give me privacy for a few minutes. I'll be back soon. This isn't what I expected."
It only took a few of his long strides for him to arrive. By then, he had already schooled his expression back into one of serious consternation. "Young Tetsuya," he immediately greeted, his voice concerned. "What are you doing out here? You should be inside the gates. This area is dangerous, especially with its proximity to UA. What if a villain found you…?" He trailed off when he got a good look at the boy's face though.
Tetsuya clutched what looked like a small package of some kind, about the size of a beach ball, crammed into a fabric shopping bag. His face registered near panic. He was breathing hard and already looked close to tears.
Toshi's expression softened ever so slightly as he added, his voice still firm, "I'm assuming you're my mysterious contact? What possessed you to message me like that? You do realize that I could have called the police and left this to them to deal with?"
The boy went ashen at Toshi's words. "I know. I'm sorry…"
"You need to think before you act, my boy. What if I had called the police? Or worse, what if I hadn't arrived at all and a villain had attacked you while you were outside of the gates? This area is dangerous!"
Tetsu refused to make eye contact, but now, as near as he was, Toshi could see the boy's eyes appeared red and glassy. Tetsu nodded, fidgeting nervously with the package. "I didn't know what else to do. You're right. I know you are, but I panicked. I'm sorry for being so mysterious, but I wasn't sure if anyone would be able to track my message, so I didn't want to say too much and risk getting anyone in trouble. It's a simple matter to hack into a phone." He seemed to be trying to play it off as no big deal, but Toshi noticed that Tetsu sniffled a bit after that and shakily raised his hand to quickly swipe at his eyes.
The older man sighed, remembering what it was like to be so young and impetuous. "You were afraid you'd get into trouble?" Toshi asked more gently this time.
But Tetsu shook his head firmly, frightened eyes meeting Toshi's. "No. I'm already going to be in trouble, Yagi-san. I'm out past Principal Nezu's curfew. But it was important. I just didn't know if your boss would be angry with you for being in contact with me like this… And I didn't know if he tracks your work phone."
The kid was worried about getting me in trouble with All Might? He almost laughed, but then a sudden realization struck him, sobering him up immediately. "How did you get my work number anyway?"
"I… kind of hacked it."
Toshi could feel his blood pressure escalating enough to give Recovery Girl a fit. "You hacked Might Tower's security system?" he sputtered. "That agency has the top security system in Japan!" He was already mentally reviewing the list of people who were going to personally explain to him how it was possible that a fifteen-year-old boy had accessed the Might Tower staff database.
Tetsuya's eyes shifted away guiltily, and he cleared his throat. "Okay, maybe hacked is the wrong word. More like I… well, my dad works for Might Tower… So I figured he would have access to the staff directory. He uses the same password for everything else, so it wasn't very hard to get into his email and access the HR files they emailed him... I figured if you were here for work, I assumed you would have your work phone on you."
Toshi coughed hard in surprise at that. So the kid technically didn't hack our email system… but he managed to access files from his computer at UA? He was impressed, even while making the mental note to get better encryption on work emails, and maybe mandatory password changes...
"That's—"
"Illegal, I know," the boy burst out quickly, interrupting him. "I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone. I don't want my dad to get in trouble. But I have something that I needed to give to you."
"It couldn't wait?"
Tetsu shook his head and thrust his package at Toshi. "No. I want All Might to have this. It's—important."
"Is it?"
The boy nodded frantically as Toshi took the bag. It was heavy. "I—Did you listen to Present Mic's show tonight, Yagi-san?"
Toshi merely shook his head, waiting patiently, but something tightened in his gut.
The boy pulled his phone out and opened up an app. "You have to listen to it." He thrust his phone into Toshi's hands, activating an online recording of the radio show. The recording began just as a song ended, and Yamada's voice brightly cut in. The recording was short, but as Toshi listened, he realized where this was going. His free hand tightened into a nervous fist as he passed the phone back to young Tetsuya. It's a declaration of war on heroes. This has to be why Naomasa called me in…
Tetsu took a deep breath, nervously clenching and unclenching his hands. "Do you realize what this is?" he asked, his voice shaking.
Better than you do, I'm sure, he thought. Still, the man put a hand on the boy's shoulder, forcing a smile to put him at ease. "It could be anything, my—"
"No! It's a message to heroes. Someone is angry with heroes and wants to take them down. My mom was obsessed with science and math. She and I used to always play with things like the Fibonacci sequence. That's why I recognized those numbers. You were looking at a Fibonacci sequence the other day, right? Well, that countdown at the end was with your numbers."
"Yes," Toshi replied quietly. "It was."
"I thought maybe you could use my device." He motioned to the bag in Toshi's hand. "Because I'm pretty sure I know who made that call. And if I'm right, All Might may need it."
Author's Note: Thank you so much to lolo popoki and Haptronym for their beta work! This chapter has improved immensely due to their dedicated help and motivation! Also, thanks to you for your patience in waiting for updates, for reading, and for comments and feedback. I appreciate it!
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Sincerely,
Sirius:)