Learning to Trust

"The way to reason with a predator is to make it aware that it can live in a cage, or it can die, but it can no longer prey upon us."

-Massad Ayoob

Chapter 37: To Reason with a Predator

"Anything yet?" Toshi asked, dropping his damp towel onto the back of Recovery Girl's chair. He grabbed his undershirt that had been casually draped over the end of her desk to dry after it had been rung out as much as possible. It was still cold and wet, but it was the only thing that wasn't still literally dripping, so it would have to be good enough. He tugged one of her lab coats from a hook on the wall next to the desk and slipped it on. It was snug across his shoulders, but otherwise didn't impact his mobility much if he kept it unbuttoned. Plus, it would keep him warmer than just the undershirt, even if it was just thin cotton.

"Eraserhead must still be in the stairwell," Nezu replied shortly, fiddling with his phone while monitoring the grainy image on the screen in front of him. "He hasn't appeared on the cameras I can access."

"And you still can't make out who it is?"

The principal shook his head. "No, I'm afraid. I'm trying to access the cameras from my phone, but with such limited service, I'm having trouble pulling up the security application." He glanced up at Toshi for a long moment before looking back at his phone. "Tell me, All Might. Is there a particular reason you're changing into Recovery Girl's clothing? Should I be concerned?"

"Just needed something warmer, sir. Everything I have is still wet." He carefully replaced his borrowed oxygen apparatus where Aizawa had found it, on a shelf that contained several small canisters of oxygen, portable units, tubing, cannulas, and even a full oxygen mask. He sighed, suspecting strongly that these were a recent purchase specifically made for him.

"There are more towels behind you, All Might. There are even blankets if you need one." At Toshi's awkward silence, he continued, "I see… You have no intention of following Eraserhead's instructions, do you, All Might?"

Toshi just sighed. "I'm not going to do anything stupid, sir." He approached the computer to stand next to Nezu, and leaned forward to squint at the screen. After a long moment of silence, he added, "I've been in the business long enough to know that a wounded hero only puts everyone else at risk."

"That's very true, All Might." Nezu turned his dark eyes to his friend, studying him until Toshi found himself breaking eye contact under his scrutiny. "But you've been fighting as a wounded hero for five years now. Why the sudden change of heart?" He smiled faintly, adding, "And why do you need Recovery Girl's lab coat?"

Toshi chuckled softly. "I'm being prepared. If Aizawa manages to neutralize her, I need to be ready." He sighed. "And something feels off about this. I just want to be prepared in case he needs help."

Nezu's ears twitched at that. "Off? How so?"

"Where is Young Tetsuya?"

"Hopefully hiding somewhere safe. We've seen no signs of him, so it would stand to reason—"

But Toshi shook his head forcefully. "No, sir. That's the problem. It would stand to reason for anyone else, but not this boy. He knows who she is. He left the police station where he was safe to come here after he found out she was targeting UA. If he wanted to hide and be safe, he'd never have left police protection."

"All Might…"

"He plans to confront her." Toshinori balled his hands into tight fists. "He came here to positively identify her with his support item and, I'd suspect, try to talk her down." He began pacing nervously as he spoke, giving up on the nearly useless image on the screen. "But if that's the case, we should have seen him. He's a smart, reckless kid who's lost his sister and mother, and basically his father as well. He has nothing else to lose."

"There's always something to lose, All Might."

Toshi nodded, staring at the shape standing awkwardly in the lobby. There was something strange about the shadows in the room. His mind idly wondered about it as he answered, "Of course there is, sir."

"And there are always people who will feel the loss."

"Yes, I know. Of course I know. I just understand how he feels. I'm worried he'll do something desperate." His brow furrowed. "And Aizawa said she got in using Mizutani Kokoro's face?"

The principal sighed. "It would seem so."

"Can the Barrier be fooled, sir?"

"Fooled?"

Toshi nodded. "For instance, if All Might came in… would the barrier allow it on my account, or would that face also need to be programmed in?"

Nezu shook his head. "No. It would recognize him." He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "And to answer your next question… yes. I've wondered what it means that a dead girl has appeared on campus. The Barrier does read more than basic images, however, what it can process depends on exactly how this Shifter's quirk works. If she borrows more than just appearances with quirks—if it's more than just an illusion—then perhaps she could trick the Barrier… especially being related…"

"And if not?"

Nezu sighed. "If not, then we aren't facing the boy's mother."

Toshi was absentmindedly watching the screen again. "That's what I'm afraid of—" He broke off just then, squinting carefully at the pixelated image as something drew his attention again. Taking a few quick steps toward the screen, Toshi leaned in with narrowed eyes. "Sir," he began cautiously, drawing the principal's gaze immediately, "where exactly is this camera aimed?"

"The main lobby, All Might. Just between the main entrance and the stairs."

"Have you been monitoring the door itself?"

"With our current limited resources, I can only access a handful of cameras at one time. With the silent alarm activated, it seemed most prudent to allow it to monitor the door. Why?"

Toshi tapped the screen near one edge. "This shadow. Do you see it?"

The principal leaned in. "Yes."

"Where is it coming from? Our intruder's shadow is over here." He tapped another spot. "There is only one source of light right now, so two shadows from one source are impossible. And this one is moving. Could it be Eraserhead?"

"He hasn't come out of the stairs yet. I've been watching for him."

"Shit," Toshi hissed. "Then our guest has company."

Tetsu snapped open a panel on the smooth side of the device in his hands, pausing a moment to glance behind him for the tenth time. Shivering, he manually reactivated its wireless connection, snapping it shut once again. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Not that he should have been surprised. The Medical Building had been unlocked. With the rest of the campus clearly on lockdown, there was no way the principal had simply forgotten this one building—especially since it had power.

That meant it was unlocked for one of two reasons: the heroes had left it unlocked to lure the villain in… or the villain had gotten past the locks they'd set.

He set his mouth in a thin line. Either way, it meant that she could appear at any moment.

His stomach did a nervous little flip flop, simultaneously nauseating and irritating him.

Idiot, he chided. Do you want to run into the villain that targeted UA? What kind of nutjob would actually want to find a villain?

But to his irritation, he found that he couldn't shake the feeling of hope.

A little voice in the back of his mind answered the question for him.

The kind of nut who wants to see his mom again…

I'm pathetic…

Tetsu gritted his teeth and edged further into the room, scanning for places that were likely to have a functional computer he could hack into. This idea had seemed so much more brilliant back at the dorms. Now, he couldn't even understand what had made him think this would work. Who in UA would keep a computer unlocked and ready for use after hours?

He heard a soft swish behind him and a quiet click, just perceptible in the otherwise stifling silence. Whipping around, he squinted through the half-light and shadows that crisscrossed the lobby. It was difficult to see if any shadows didn't belong.

The feeling of being watched intensified, and instinctively he moved himself away from the center of the room, so his back was flat against a wall, and he could better see anything coming. His eyes scanned the tiger stripe of shadows cast by the emergency lights. He suddenly felt distinctly like the prey in one of those nature documentaries he used to watch with his dad years ago, and the only thing he could think of was to copy the terrified gazelle from that old footage: freeze in the shadows, don't move a muscle, try to blend in.

Another soft sound—this time accompanied by a light metallic clinking—swished across the outer edges of the room. It seemed to come from some space opposite him.

What if she was brainwashed? What if it isn't even her? I could be wrong. This is a real villain, and she wants to kill All Might and Eraserhead and the other teachers. What is going to stop her from killing some kid in her way?

What if I die…?

Suddenly he desperately wanted his father to be there with him. Tears sprung to his eyes, but he was too terrified to wipe them away. Despite all of their fighting and silence and pain the past few years… he missed his father, and he wanted to go home.

What if I die and never get to say I'm sorry?

Suddenly he heard a soft chuckle and the light clink from the shadows directly across from him.

This time as his eyes scanned, he could see a shift in the shadows and a brief flash of red and white as the figure shifted into the light for a brief moment.

"Come out. I was sent down to help you, Tetsu. I know you're in here. I saw you come in."

It was Midnight's voice. His heart filled with hope for a second. Maybe I'm safe! She can take me to Nezu. I'll give him my device. It was stupid of me to try to do this alone! The tears that had been threatening to fall finally spilled out. I don't have to do this alone.

She stepped into the light, just enough for him to better see her. Her red smirk was clearly visible, and for a moment the emergency lights flashed off the lens of her glasses. She didn't move fully into the light, though, instead remaining as far into the shadows as possible.

Tetsu narrowed his eyes, his heart sinking as he felt Midnight's broken glasses poking into the leg of his pants pocket. She'd never call you Tetsu, anyway, idiot. She always calls you Mizutani-kun…

He remained still as the gazelle, frozen in terror on the windswept Serengeti, clutching his device tight to his chest, and hoping none of the light was glinting off of its dull, metal exterior. He tried to forget the fact that at the end of that documentary, his father had wound up consoling Tetsu because the gazelle had died.

"Tetsu?" She reached out her hand in his general direction, but he noted that she was not looking his way. Her eyes were scanning the shadows for motion.

She's guessing where I am. I must have slipped into the shadows when she wasn't looking. She might not even be sure that I'm in the room anymore.

"Tetsu. Let me help you."

She stood, silently waiting for another moment, before her fist clenched and snapped stiffly back to her side. Midnight's lips twisted into a scowl. "Fine," she hissed in a voice that now sounded like Midnight's in quality, but nothing else.

He flinched, expecting her to just launch herself into the shadows to search, but to his surprise, she stepped back into the shadows across from him.

"I can wait, too. I know you're still here somewhere. It doesn't matter what shape you're in, really. You're in the building, and they have cameras. I'm sure they're watching us. They know we're together now. It's only a matter of time before one of them comes down here to save you. They can't help themselves." She chuckled again, but this time there was a strange coldness to it. "As long as you're alive, you're bait. That's all that matters, Tetchan."

Tetchan? Mom never called me that… Dad did, but he's back home. The only other person who called me that was…

"Kochan?" The word slipped out without his meaning to, but he didn't care in that moment. It was impossible. It couldn't be her. "You're dead…"

She laughed again, that cold, bitter sound. "Am I?"

Her voice was hard, but suddenly he recognized the cadence. It wasn't their mom. Of course it wasn't. He'd have realized if he'd been thinking properly. If he'd have even known this was an option.

"You died two years ago. Mom was at the funeral. She even has your—"

But he stopped himself there. No. She didn't have the necklace. Kokoro still had it. This had been Kokoro all along. It suddenly made a sick kind of sense—so much more sense than it had ever made for his mother. Kokoro had always played the villains in their games. She'd always come up with elaborate puzzles for Tetsu to solve as the hero. Kokoro had been brilliant, and she'd been proud of it. She'd do anything to make sure everyone knew how smart she was. If she'd survived and been given that drug they'd been talking about, then her upgrade quirk probably would mirror their mother's… and if it really did drive people crazy like they said, then this was exactly the sort of thing she'd have done…

But how was any of it possible?

It was too much, and Tetsu couldn't concentrate on any of it. He couldn't focus on who she really was or what that meant for his mom. If he did, he'd fall apart. Remember what your therapist told you when mom disappeared. Focus on one thing at a time. Everything will drown you. But you can do one thing. I know how she thinks. I can distract her until someone can get here. Because she's right. They have to be watching. One of them will come down.

Aizawa-sensei is smart enough to best her probably. Yagi, too, but he's not here. Nezu is a genius, but he can't fight… He briefly considered Present Mic, but just as quickly discarded him. No… he'd fall for her tricks immediately. And Midnight might not even be able to fight. She's already faced Kochan. It's going to be Aizawa if it's anyone…

His eyes widened. Of course it is. She knows it will be Aizawa. That's why she's staying in the shadows. If he can't see her, he can't erase her quirk. I just need to keep her talking, listen for Aizawa, and if I think he's here, get her into the light. He just needs to see her long enough to erase her.

He took a deep breath. I can do that much. I won't let her take us down.

I don't have to be the prey. And Yagi's right.

I can be a hero, too.

Because I'm not fighting alone.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has continued patiently waiting for updates, reading the story, and interacting with it. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks also to lolo popoki, granny_griffin, and Quisanne for betaing this chapter. And thanks to fencer for your consistent reviews… they keep me motivated and are one of the main reasons I keep posting here!

Sincerely,
Sirius:)