Naomasa Tsukauchi sorted through several sheets of paperwork. His several days away made it pile up quite a bit. He had ten total cases and needed to sort everything before he could move on. It was menial labor, so he let his mind wander.
The biggest event that he missed in the last few days had to be a news article about Endeavor. Multiple claims were in it, including child abuse, neglect, domestic violence, forced marriage, and worst of all, being responsible for the death of his eldest son. The last part was only a rumor, though. It was the biggest tell-all article he'd seen about the number 2 pro hero. It was most likely done to boost ratings. But one thing seemed off about the whole thing.
The main source of the article was Mikumo Akatani. The writer at several points calls him out by name. It made no sense. Tsukauchi met with him several times, and he didn't seem like the kind of kid to do that. It could've meant one of two things. Either the writer found all the information by themselves and said he was the source for unknown reasons, or Mikumo Akatani, an aspiring pro hero and good friend of Todoroki, sold out sensitive information for a few bucks.
But still, no matter how pressing this issue seemed, it wasn't his concern. Slander was illegal, but that would only lead to something if Endeavor wanted it to. Even then, no rational hero would do anything. His trying to sue would only bring more attention to it, and confirm the rumors for fact. The investigation would also force even more information out. Endeavor wouldn't want that. Even so, as a public figure, any information on Endeavor committing a crime would be in the public interest. He would lose the case before it left preliminary.
He finally finished filing away all of the cases and was gonna open the first one. It was a simple armed robbery. They had his police sketch. He just had to find him and everything would be great. He needed an easy arrest to get over his months of failure. He moved his hand to open the case file.
"Detective." Tsukauchi heard an angry voice to his left. He looked over to find Enji Todoroki, AKA Endeavor, in his civilian clothing. He wore a black shirt and jeans. His face was gruff. It was easy to recognize him even without the fire.
"Yes, do you need anything sir?" He put the file away. This could take a while.
"I want criminal charges brought against Shoowaysha Publishing and Mikumo Akatani. The accusations in that article are libel and slanderous." He looked serious, it didn't help that Tsukauchi smiled. "What's so funny?"
"Sorry. It's just. You immediately assumed I would know what you were talking about. Like you're the one thing I'm thinking about. I mean, I only heard of that article this morning."
"So you do know about it." One track mind much? "Bring up charges for slander now." He started smoking a little. It mildly scared Tsukauchi. Mostly because the sprinklers could ruin multiple case files.
"Careful, the last guy to use a flame quirk in here had to pay almost a million in water damage. Insurance got some of it, but he had to pay the rest. Our insurance plan sucks."
"Focus. Do your job," interrupted Endeavor. A small flame was the fist he placed on Tsukauchi's desk.
Tsukauchi put the flame out with a handkerchief. "I don't want to keep you so I'll skip to the end. I won't be taking this case."
"Why?" Endeavor somehow got angrier without going up in flames. Tsukauchi was impressed. He made it a point to get the fire extinguisher from under his desk. He got it after the last incident with a fire quirk.
"Do you want a list? You know what, I don't care enough to do that. Just know that it won't lead to anything. Mountains and molehills, you know what I mean?"
"How is this not an issue? My reputation is on the line." Endeavor calmed down significantly. He finally got a hint.
Tsukauchi put the extinguisher away. "Have you heard of the Streisand Effect?" Endeavor shook his head. "Essentially, if you try to censor the information. It'll spread around more. You aren't very popular already, this will do you no favors."
"But what of the criminals who lied about me?"
"Shoowaysha did it for views and the writer did it for a paycheck, they don't have a vendetta. It's safe to ignore them. I'll have to look into Mikumo Akatani. That'll be a favor from me. I'll update you when I get to it."
Endeavor was angry again. "Get to it now or I'll have your badge." He wasn't lying.
This didn't intimidate Tsukauchi in the slightest. "That's not something you can do. You won't be the first to say that and far from the first to try. Me not doing something while threatened got me promoted to detective." He remembered that time, there was a gun to his head, but he knew the guy was bluffing. Things were so simple back then. "Go ahead, I might become a chief." He grinned at Endeavor's snarl.
"Do you know who I am?" That line, Tsukauchi heard it a few times before. It never led to anything significant. People tried to pull rank on him his entire life.
"Yes. I am a detective after all. It's hard not to recognize the number two hero."
Tsukauchi could see Endeavor's discomfort. Several interviews had a note about him being annoyed by hearing 'To,' 'too,' and 'two.' It was one of the many things people criticized him for. Surprisingly, the article didn't mention it.
"It must be hard being number two. There are several expectations of being that influential. You have to be an effective force of the law. Even one controversy getting too big can destroy all of it. You're lucky that hasn't happened for you yet."
The Endeavor article may seem to ruin his reputation forever, but that may not be the case. Most of the time, articles about that stuff are ignored even with a media frenzy. The person it addresses will disappear for a while and by the time they return, the world has moved on. They just need to do it right.
"I don't want this to be a big thing," Tsukauchi said seriously for the first time. "Don't make a big deal out of this. I can't stress it enough. Do nothing." He got his files out and opened them.
Endeavor took this as the end of the conversation. "I understand," said Endeavor. He left in a hurry.
Tsukauchi sat back and took out a box of cigarettes. He smoked for the first time in a year because Endeavor had lied to him. He wasn't excited for the next few weeks.