The station was as busy as ever - constant calls from dispatch on small-time robberies, a concerned citizen giving details on some sort of incident, or the barrage of various conversations going back and forth. It was invigorating to see such a lively police force so adamant about staying active.

Makima's eyes roamed over the various desks where her fellow peers worked tirelessly on new assignments, their smiles ever-present on their faces. It was the model police station, one that served the people and stayed true to justice. Every visitor's concern was handled in a professional manner, and she observed how happy these officers appeared to be whenever they solved something as trivial as getting an old woman's cat down from a tree.

The true eye-catchers of her time here at the station had to be the heroes who turned in criminals or helped with a case. They worked in tandem with one another at times and she couldn't help but stare at each one, remembering their smells and the unique costumes they wore. There was a fireman named Backdraft, a hero who worked with the Fire Department and his quirk sounded…

Proficient, but not as useful as All Might's or Endeavour's, Makima thought. She considered sacrificing Gyu and letting him run a little rampant in a store so that she could see how fast heroes respond to a scene and if, at all possible, time a potential ambush for a hero. Since she's gotten to this world, there appears to be a Pro Hero patrolling system that goes in place for various sections and districts of the city.

Little by little, she would trickle her influence throughout this department and gain information on all sorts of things. The routes that a hero may take, the timing and schedules of the various police officers here, and anything they feel extremely attached to.

Humans were fickle like that, and she utilized that specific aspect of humanity as best as she could. In the face of villainy, most would put on a bravado act and say that nothing will deter them from enacting justice upon all forms of evil. However, dangle something precious in front of them then that all falls to pieces. No longer would Makima see a brave human willing to sacrifice tooth and nail to fight what they considered evil. No, what she would see after she was done showing a brave soul their child or lover's eyeballs is a mewling and pathetic little thing. They would grovel on their knees with their heads buried in the ground. They would cry out in despair, their noses filled with snot as they pleaded for mercy. They would stop in their tracks and bow down in the face of something that has absolute control over their lives.

And just like in her previous world, the humans who put on faces of heroism here were no different. All that mattered, in the end, was that they were flimsy and emotional creatures with an interesting viewpoint on justice.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, making a loud buzzing sound in her left pocket.

'Remember to come by the usual place. Our new friends are finally ready to meet with you.'

A text from the letter G popped up on her phone and she made sure to make a note on attending in her 'villain 'attire as Giran puts it for the two clients. He insisted and told her that she was going to be dealing with dangerous people. It was more for her safety and to keep her from being recognized out in public.

Did he really think that little of her? It made her a bit happy to have fooled the infamous info broker himself, and she showed it by putting on her best altruistic smile for her new occupation as a detective in the Musutafu Police Force. Ever since she first arrived, everyone had been on their best behavior, even going so far as to flatter her on the most basic of things. At first, it was adorable. There were so many compliments going her way and she, as a top-class manipulator, could take advantage of it all.

Fast forward to a week at the job and her desk was constantly filled with gifts, notes of thinly veiled confessions and love letters, or other types of things that would make any other sane woman want to get in touch with Human Resources. Makima didn't mind, though. It just meant more potential voices to back her up when the time came to get rid of Tsukauchi.

Her plans depended on him taking the bait from the soon-to-be-found doppelganger. She could already imagine the sheer look of despair on his face when he figures it out all at the last moment.

A polite knock snapped her out of a calculated thought process, and she glanced to see Sansa with a binder in his arms. This feline was another creature that really fascinated Makima besides the dalmatian chief of police. It wasn't a devil or a fiend whatsoever. It was a human with a cat quirk.

"Hayakawa, I was asked by Tsukauchi to give this to you. It's all the information we've compiled on the control quirk user and potential leads that he's had when the incident happened." He heaved a heavy binder onto her desk, making a loud thump as it dropped. "As you can see, Tsukauchi doesn't dare leave details out when it comes to his cases." He did a smile and waved his goodbyes, leaving Makima to look at the humongous thing.

She flipped it open to find pages organized in neat dividers and various sections highlighted with annotations and notes taped to the sides. The level of detail in this was absurd to the point that Makima had to give credit to Tsukauchi. He really wants to find this 'control' user so badly that he even started looking into the Yakuza - specifically the Shie Hassaikai. It was a name Makima heard tossed around when she was spending time with Giran, but she had no use for them right now. Until she'd dealt with both this snooping detective and Giran's favor, she'd put the Shie Hassaikai and other Yakuza groups into her plans later.

It piqued her interest that Tsukauchi was even looking into that fight she got into at the Capitol bar and that love-struck girl she met was a potential lead that the detective highlighted in his notes.

Still, the only hurdle since she came here was the fact that their evidence room was under lock and key, protected with so many other irksome devices that are probably far more advanced than the ones she had experienced back in her own world. Things like finger scans, face scanners, and the like were especially irritating to her. She had to infiltrate someone's mind and have them get the piece of hair for her.

The Chief of Police sounded like a wonderful subject for that, but no. It was far too obvious and people would question why he, of all people, would want to take a gander into it. The only other option was Tsukauchi or a forensic scientist - one who could take it for her and ask to re-analyze it again for her as a cover.

She was going to replace her hair with a doppelganger's, accusing it of potentially being a proxy hair and say that the murderer was using someone else to commit the crimes for them, and then claim it was a ploy to throw off herself and Tsukauchi as they find a new lead. To anyone else, they'd question it brutally. But with Tsukauchi's affirmation, it would become fact. After all, no one would dare question Musutafu's best detective. But that idea may change with this Hinata girl...

She wished she could've been done with him much earlier by using her powers. She only needed to get into his mind once to make it work. However, the illustrious detective had a stalwart and unique mind.

Every time she was with him as he explained the situation of the case, his mind was like an impregnable fortress. Forever alert and constantly building up theories, scenarios, and deductions. All her efforts to slip inside, lay her presence within, and leave it for later were shot down by a barrage of awareness, paranoia, and sheer willpower. With each attempt, her control was blocked. It was like trying to pick a steel padlock when compared to others who usually left the door to their minds wide open, like Gyu. It was rare to find a human with such a complex and impervious mind.

Individuals like that were troublesome because it meant that either Tsukauchi feels like an equal to someone like her, which was vexing to Makima, or he doesn't feel as though she is superior in a certain way. The others here clearly did with some of the women and men here already thinking of her as a young prodigy who is blessed by great intelligence and beauty, who emphasized that fact and felt beneath her in terms of said attributes. She had to figure out what would make him feel inferior to her, or, if possible, break his guard down and assume direct control that way.

She thought continuously of Tsukauchi, a whirl of plotting ideas brewing in her mind while she looked through the details of a gigantic binder.

The sun was already gone, and it was getting dark.

Shigaraki was getting impatient; he didn't like last-minute changes. The sooner he got to All-Might with his Nomu, the better. He scratched his neck for the fourth time, clearly getting more upset at how late it was getting. It was agreed that they would meet at a place that Kurogiri's buddy designated at seven-thirty. He begrudgingly reared his head at the clock that clearly displayed it had been two hours past that. Two hours and this control quirk user was not here yet. She was starting to get on his nerves, and he hadn't even met the damn girl yet.

"You told us she'd be here by now. Where is she? I'm getting really sick and tired of sitting around here doing nothing." His irritated question went over deaf ears as Giran did nothing but shrug.

"Be patient, Tomura. I'm sure she'll be here any minute."

"You told me that two hours ago and she still hasn't shown up, Kurogiri. I'm starting to think we should just bail. It's obvious that your new character will not join my party."

A doorbell rang and Kurogiri immediately walked to the door to let in a woman with black hair in a matching denim coat and jeans. He was relieved that she finally showed up that he audibly sighed in relief.

"Please pardon my tardiness," She took off her coat, hung it up on a coat rack, and sat right next to the sleazy broker.

She sat in a way that was carefree too like the damn girl couldn't be bothered to be here. Why come at all then? Shigaraki wanted to leave already. He didn't like players who didn't give any effort into the game. They were a waste of time and he felt like this was too.

Giran quickly got up from his chair and placed his elbow on the bar counter, taking a puff of his usual cigar, "I'm glad you finally made it, Makima. We were just beginning to want to play a game of Yahtzee while we waited for you."

"You're late," Shigaraki added with great irritation. "We waited almost three hours now for you to show up. What took so long? We all got things to do here, and I don't like long loading times."

Shigaraki got more than a little furious when she leaned a bit towards him with a smug and confident smile on her face, "I was busy."

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes, "Busy doing what?"

The girl thought about her answer, "Busy working."

"You-" Shigaraki almost wanted to grab her throat and disintegrate her, but Kurogiri interfered and brought himself into the conversation.

"Are you the one with the quirk?" Kurogiri sat down with Shigaraki.

The black-haired girl in denim nodded and spoke, "I am, and you must be Kurogiri. A real pleasure to meet you," She made to shake his hand and he obliged.

"Same to you as well."

"This right here is Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri continued and gestured toward the young teen who grunted his displeasure in response. "I assume you know what we plan to do. Are you willing to go through with it?"

Makima nodded, "Yes, I'll help you. But I cannot control opponents like All-Might." She continued, "I can keep any opponents off you, but my quirk cannot pierce the mind of a person like him. It works on awareness and the level of someone's perception. If they're fully aware of the danger they're in, then I can't control them. Its limit also changes depending on the person, so even if I did manage to get him, it won't last long enough for your weapon to kill him."

"I see." Kurogiri looked a little disappointed with the way he folded his arms, "That is unfortunate. I was hoping we could've used you to let our Nomu deliver the final blow to him while he was under your control. But we can still have you assist us in dealing with other pro heroes."

While the two of them exchanged words, Shigaraki listened. He watched and knew that this woman was holding back on something. She wasn't telling them everything. If there's one thing he hated the most, it was secrets that his party withheld until the final battle. He scratched at his neck again, with each minute that passed, he already began hating this black-haired woman. Making him wait for hours in a crummy bar and acting so smug with her answers. It even made it more infuriating when she questioned their plans of approach.

He made sure to remember her face when all this was said and done. If she made them fail this mission, or worse, she bailed on them early on for the final boss, then he'd make sure to have her killed.

All For One was counting on him to kill All-Might. That took priority over everything. If this girl didn't make the cut, then that was okay. He had a game-changer tank with him that will for sure get the job done. This girl is just a throwaway party member; she was nothing special. He tuned back into their conversation to see that it was near its end.

"Then it is settled, in a few more months, we will defeat All-Might."

That young child's eyes never left her, she felt them on her ever since she walked into Giran's bar. All that rage, irritation, and anger fueled the boy. If she were any other devil, Makima would've thrived on all of that negativity. He was a piggy bank of raw emotion, and she already could see the horrific deaths that the boy is probably imagining on her.

She paid him no mind despite the glares coming from him. Her focus was on the boy's companion - the mist-man Kurogiri. Where the boy was impatience incarnate, the man was his complete opposite with his calm composure. He had a polite way of speaking and was very well-spoken.

"If I am to help you with your plan, I expect a favor."

"After being so late, I don't think-" Kurogiri stopped his young charge's refusal with a wave of his hand.

"What is it that you want? If it's money, we can provide that for you."

Makima shook her head, "I want something simpler than money. I need you to acknowledge a false lie for me in the future."

Kurogiri looked confused, "What?"

Makima elaborated further, "I am working on shaking off Detective Tsukauchi's leads on me and I have need of a person to take the fall for my crimes. I need you to create a lie and say that my doppelganger was in league with you. That they were using a proxy, a woman to be precise, to commit the incidents and other crimes while staying hidden in the most inconceivable place imaginable. Make the lie believable, like one of you two or a low-level thug starting a rumor that the control quirk user is working with you all, and have them utter it 'accidentally' in front of Tsukauchi's undercover agents." She walked over to where her coat was and pulled out a folder from its inner pocket, "This is where I found out where one of their very best undercover agents, as I'm told, frequents in hopes of getting information on villains." Makima rested her chin on her hands and stared happily at Kurogiri as she sat back down while the villain looked at its contents.

"The public will be shaken by it and doubt Tsukauchi's previous findings, clamoring with anger that he is losing his edge and costing people their lives and safety with his incorrect deductions. The detective will be ripped apart by both the media and the Pro Heroes at the same time. Giran here has already found me a suitable scapegoat and a woman to be the proxy." She tossed them a picture of a young teenager in a U.A. outfit.

"A U.A. student?" Shigaraki started giggling as he snatched the picture with two fingers, "That's actually a pretty good idea, lady. If word gets out that one of their own heroic students was actually killing people, society will go nuts at them!" He looked at Makima once more, a gleaning shine of approval in his eyes. His giggling stopped with a low wheeze, "Kurogiri, make this happen for her. If it does ever come to a game over for us, then maybe her little scheme could help us in the long run too." He handed the photo to his companion to hold onto.

Kurogiri shared the same sentiments as he gathered everything up gently, "We will make it happen. Our investor might like this idea of yours. It doesn't only serve you, but us as well." A portal was swirling to life behind him and Tomura, "This meeting has held great merit. Thank you for giving us some of your time, we will be in touch soon."

The two disappeared into nothingness, leaving Giran and Makima all alone, with the latter falling into a chair and wiping some sweat off his brow. "I can't believe you've gone and made such a friendly impression on them! Hell, you even got the little shit a bit giddy with your fucked up idea. But I bet it's going to take a lot more to make you rise in his eyes."

"People like him seem to enjoy causing chaos in this hero society, I just took that into consideration."

Giran chuckled a bit, "And was it wise to lay out all the cards at your disposal to them? I don't think they're the kind of people you should be showing your ace to."

"I only wish to see a plan go through thoroughly."

"I feel like you're dodging the question…"

"I have to get going. There's someone I'm going to visit and I'm sure they'll be very happy to see me after so long."

"You're not going to… y'know." Giran dragged his thumb across his neck as a gesture.

Makima just smiled at him in response. She sat up and went to put on her coat and left the bar.

Of course, Makima wouldn't tell anyone who was in that meeting that she had her own plans for Japan's mightiest hero. She'd seen the videos of him blasting away opponents with his punches — that power alone was incredible. She had to have his quirk all to herself. If she could get him alone, without the rest of his gaggle of fans and friends, it would be perfect. A brand-new Golden Retriever with so many connections to Japan's Pro Hero Agencies. What more could she ask for in a newly adopted dog? She would have him on his knees in due time.

They all will, sooner or later.

Once she left the bar, Giran sagged into his chair like an ooze. He was worried that Makima would somehow piss off the little brat and cut ties with his potential money-maker right there and then. If only he had met this woman a lot sooner, he would be a hell of a lot richer.

Then again at the same time, he sort of wished this woman would have never found him at all. She scares the living hell out of him, and he really didn't like dealing with people who gave him those kinds of vibes. He had to make an exception for Makima. She was bad news, and he knew her type right away when she did that messed-up display of power back then.

A master at manipulating people and a keen eye for analyzing them too. It didn't help that she had a busted quirk to go with it. Hell, that quirk was made for her. A literal match made in heaven.

He made sure to keep recordings of himself in his house, at work, and someone to give him affirmation that he was himself. He put contingencies in place just in case he somehow falls under her control.

Giran let out a little scoff, "I can't believe I'm getting paranoid because of her." He scratched his head and reaffirmed himself that everyone has a weakness. He just had to find out what hers was before she got too carried away with using him like that. Telling him to find this person and that... He wasn't anyone's errand boy and he sure as hell wasn't Makima's. Giran laughed a bit, "It's just one quirk. You probably get tired, or it makes you weak the more you use it."

On that night, Giran promised himself that he would find a way to keep Makima from turning on him when the time came. She needed him and without his connections or his free will, he would be useless to her. He just had to figure out how to stay in her good graces.

As the man laughed with a cigar in hand, so too did the perched crows on a telephone pole who cawed in response.

His computer screen flickered to life, and it displayed a commonly used green landscape with blue clouds as a wallpaper.

Tsukauchi took a deep breath and pulled up another report made by Mashiro Hayakawa in an email he recently received. The noises of the police station were slightly drowned out by the thin walls he had in his office.

'Greetings, Detective.'

'I've compiled a list of things that you haven't investigated throughout your research and sent it as a readable document. The main thing I want you to take a look at is your investigation into a drunken murder gone awry recently and look at the file I made about a young woman named Hinata Fujiwara. You seem to have overlooked her statements regarding her meeting an individual prior to the incident that happened not too far from the murders between two drunken friends. I also wish to analyze the hair sample you got from the first scene of the crime. I've been thinking up a hypothesis and want to test it to be sure.'

'I would also like to join you in meeting with this Hinata Fujiwara once more and getting an accurate statement about someone she met or saw while at the Capitol Bar.'

I hope this email reaches you shortly.

Sincerely,

Mashiro Hayakawa.'

Tsukauchi pulled up the document and read through it. He was impressed by the amount of work she put into revising and adding her own bits about his case. Everything from looking at it in a different manner, looking further into using young Koda's quirk and the interpretations he wrote down from the animals who witnessed the quirk user.

Working with Hayakawa herself was relieving. Not a lot of people could keep up the pace with him in terms of detective work like her and this thorough document she just sent him reflected that. Her ability to adapt and offer solutions to his inquiries about the case showed why she was probably a pro in this field. He felt a bit of happiness knowing he had found an equal in this work of justice.

When he told her that, Tsukauchi took note that she disliked that. Like a lot. To anyone else, they would still see a smiling Hayakawa, but being a detective meant that he saw things more differently and efficiently than others. Everyone had small ticks that indicated when they weren't happy about something — tiny twitches of the eye, mouth, or a slight furrow in their brow. Since his time with her, Tsukauchi took to account that this was the first real bit of the hidden Hayakawa that anyone at the department has seen.

It was slight and almost instantaneous — if Tsukauchi hadn't spent years doing this, he wouldn't have noticed it either, but he did. Hayakawa tends to change her smile ever so slightly as a form of reaction. He didn't comment on it and knew that Hayakawa would only hum at the mention of it. She really was a no-nonsense type when she worked on the job. Most of her smiles were based on a chart he devised himself for figuring out how his new partner felt. Of course, he would never ever deign to show her that because she may think he was creepy or analyzing it too deeply.

A tiny upward smile with her eyes directly on someone meant that she was actively listening and giving them her full attention. This is the smile that Tsukauchi had seen whenever he was talking with her or to the Chief himself.

A small downward smile with her eyes looking a little bit behind you meant that she was not happy like he just saw now. That type was often directed at some of his fellow officers who tried to smooth talk their way with Hayakawa.

He had a few more expressions of Hayakawa that he cataloged, but it helped him understand his partner. She was someone that he attributed as a person who took work more seriously than anyone else should. Her dedication was pretty scary and he was happy that at least another person was inclined to solve a hard case like this just as he was.

Tsukauchi started writing her an email, asking her to come along with him to eventually meet this woman that she mentioned earlier.

"How are you doing in Musutafu, dear?" An old lady appeared on a tablet and was soon joined by an old man with a thick mustache.

"I'm doing great, Mom!" She waved at them with a polite wave and did a peace sign to her father. "Hi to you as well, Dad."

"So, I heard some interesting gossip lately and cute Nozomi was telling us you met a fun someone at your favorite bar not too long ago. When can we meet her, sweetie?"

"Mom! Nozomi wasn't supposed to tell you about that!"

The older man laughed, "We're sorry. Nozomi couldn't keep quiet about it. We heard she was really pretty and had an amazing smile." He wiggled his eyebrows and winked.

Her blush was deepening and Hinata deeply regretted telling her old-time friend since elementary school about that encounter. "She was nice… I promised to meet her again when I could and I think you'll like her. She was super kind and very thoughtful about things." The two parents showed their happiest grins. "I was going to try and find her again and get things going."

They both laughed, "That's our girl. Keep up the nice work in Musutafu, sweet pea. Your mom and I love you very much. We'll come to see you on Friday."

"Can't wait! Love you!"

"Love you too, dear." The two elders waved their goodbyes and the call ended. Hinata felt a bit better knowing that her family was coming to see her soon. She was a bit nervous to tell them that she hasn't actually seen that red-haired woman since then, though.

Hinata was also a bit dismayed at the fact that nothing fun was happening for the past couple of weeks. Well, that was a lie. She was a bit more saddened to not see that amazing woman she met back at the Capitol. Whenever she went back, her usual bartenders shook their heads, probably knowing full well that her new 'friend' whom her parents are excited to meet would never show up again.

Hinata couldn't recall the woman's name, but her face was definitely coming back to her. Those eyes and her beautiful red hair. It was like God himself sent an angel to her that night at the Capitol bar, and she tried to bank on everything she could on getting to know more about the woman. Alas, she must have drunk far more alcohol than ever because her memory blanks anytime she tried to recall that night with that babe.

Hinata whined into her cushion as she lazily sat on her couch, putting on a random channel to watch as she tried to think of 'what-if' scenarios with that beautiful woman.

What if she asked for her number? What if she asked if the woman had any socials? Hinata could only fantasize about what could've been. That woman may have changed her life in the best way possible.

Hinata kicked at the end of her couch more irritably, getting a little frustrated at missing a prime opportunity to meet someone special in her life, and she was doubly sure that woman might have been the one. She was so kind and understanding with her that she sat at her table! Her table out of all the other ones! It made her cheeks darken a little with red and she hid her blush under her couch cushion.

Her doorbell rang and she grunted and pushed herself off her couch, "Coming!"

Was it more of those Mormons who swing by, offering their tales about God and all that stuff? It wasn't Sunday, so that wasn't likely to happen. Maybe her neighbors? She wasn't making any noise…

She peeked into her door viewer, and she had to rub her eyes twice to confirm what she was seeing outside her apartment.

Hinata looked into it again and did another double take. She took several deep breaths, and her heart was racing like never before.

It was that woman whom she saw back at Capitol! What was she doing here?! Oh, jeez, Hinata looked at herself and noticed a distinct lack of pants or a shirt. She had to bolt back to her room and slip on something presentable!

"Is anyone in there? I feel like I may have the wrong house…" Ahh, there was her gorgeous voice again! She cannot waste this chance!

You can't muck this up, Hinata! Hinata gently opened her door to someone she never thought would show up at her apartment.

She was wearing a white blouse with bright blue jeans and converse shoes and her hair was down this time. The woman looked surprised when Hinata answered the door and did that heart-warming smile once again at her.

"Did I come at a bad time? I can come back later—"

"No!" Hinata raised both her hands up, "I mean, I just was a little shocked that I got a visitor today." She backed up and gestured for the red-headed wonder to come into her apartment. "Come in! I can make some tea or something! But, uh… what brings you here? How do you know where I live?"

The woman brought out a card in-between her two fingers. "You left your ID with me accidentally and I wanted to stop by to give it back to you. I didn't have time because of my new job, so I couldn't come by sooner. My apologies." She made to bow, but Hinata stopped her.

"No worries! There's no need to do that! I was the one who lost it and you went through the trouble of coming all the way here and…" Her mind was blanking on what to say at this opportune moment. She was, as her best friend Nozomi called it, choking at the worst moment.

"Can you tell me your name!" She squeaked out and her blush was probably getting more noticeable each second. "I was probably blacked out by that time and I'm so sorry for forgetting it!"

The woman smiled again and asked if she could sit, to which Hinata obliged and made to sit close but not too close to her. Her hands fidgeted with her messy hair as she looked at her and back to the tv.

"Makima. And it is good to see you again, Hinata."

Ahhhh, she remembers my name. Hinata was in heaven, no she was in heaven and experiencing nirvana at the same time.

"Is that all you came by for? I mean, not in that tone! You know what I mean!" Hinata frantically shook her head, "I didn't want to sound mean, but I meant that if you want, we could sit and chat more about stuff. Maybe even go out for coffee or link up again." Hinata's face cheered up as she remembered, "Oh, and if you don't mind, could you add me on social media? I'd like to see you again and hang out."

Makima nodded, "Yes. But that's not all I came here for. I came because I really need help with something. Can you do that for me?" She was scootching closer to Hinata and her heart was racing badly. Hinata wouldn't fault herself for going into cardiac arrest for this. She pinched herself to make sure this wasn't a dream. It thankfully wasn't and she was slowly getting a strange fuzzy feeling in the back of her head while Makima started talking to her. Like something was rubbing it gently and kneading the back side of her brain like a massage.

Hinata's vision started to darken like last time and she couldn't allow that to happen again! She'll black out and lose out on this chance! Was she fainting?! She can't!

Hinata suddenly stood up and stumbled to the floor. Her muscles weren't reacting to her commands and her eyes really wanted to close for some reason.

"Oh, my. Are you sure you're feeling all right? Don't you want to sit with me?"

Hinata waved a hand away, "I'm just feeling a little woozy. I just need some water. Can we talk about that favor later?"

Makima's beautiful and understanding smile slowly went away, and her face distorted into a glare. No, Hinata was imagining things. That smile returned a second later and Makima said something to her, but she couldn't remember what it was.

Darkness encroached onto her vision and the last thing she saw was Makima placing a firm grasp on her head as she slumped to the ground.

"I read your email the other day, Hayakawa," Tsukauchi said in a proud tone as his hands held a firm grip on the steering wheel.

His partner was looking out the window and she nodded. "I'm glad you did. So, are we meeting this young lady, then?"

Tsukauchi grinned, "Yep. If your guess is correct and the lead works, then I owe you a drink or two."

The drive from the Police Station to the Musutafu Apartment complex wasn't too far and he was lucky that traffic was pretty small today. If Hayakawa's lead works out, then this will be a nice way to end the weekend.

They arrived at their destination and had to get to the fifteenth floor to meet Fujiwara. He had hoped that the timing was good and that she wasn't gone or asleep. They took the elevator up and waited in silence for a while.

"May I ask a question, Detective?"

"Ask away, Hayakawa."

"Are you wearing perfume?" She was covering her nose with both hands.

"No, I don't, oh," Tsukauchi was sniffing his coat, "I think you probably smell my sister's perfume on the car. My apologies, I should've asked if you could smell it or not while we drove here."

"No problem, I was just curious. That is interesting, I never knew you had a sibling, Detective."

"It's a well-known fact around the station, she's a bit of a character, I'll tell you that."

The music inside the elevator continued its piano tunes, "I imagine you get along with your sister pretty well?"

Tsukauchi laughed, "You could say that. She's always asking about leaks I can offer her on criminals or a Pro Hero like All-Might, and I staunchly tell her that those are confidential. Can you believe that she supports vigilantes?"

Hayakawa smiled, "I cannot. Vigilantes are criminals, too. Does she not understand?"

Tsukauchi threw his hands in the air, "She doesn't! I believe we were always born complete opposites to one another, but regardless, she's my sister. You always got to love your family, at least, that's what I think."

The elevator dinged and opened to the floor that they needed to get to, "I guess we can talk more about this later. Let's get to miss Fujiwara's room."

The two detectives walked down the hallway, taking in the view overseeing the rest of Musutafu. It was probably a sight to see at nighttime. Tsukauchi knocked at the door with his right hand and a notepad in his left.

The door opened up to reveal a woman in an oversized t-shirt and blue-patterned pajamas. Her black hair was a mess, and her eyes were narrowing on the two. "Can I help you?

"Sorry for the intrusion, ma'am. We are with the Musutafu Police Force, and we were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us."

Fujiwara looked around, "This isn't going to be super long like last time, right? I answered all I could about that bar thing that happened a couple of weeks ago."

Hayakawa stepped in, "It's related to something else. I'm sure you've heard of the control quirk murderer running around, yes?"

Fujiwara scratched her head, "Yeah. What about it? You guys are still working on that?"

"Yes. We believe you came into contact with an individual matching the user's description and we want to know if you saw anything suspicious or heard anything this person said to you at that bar."

"Oh, you mean the woman I was with?" The two detectives nodded their heads in unison. "Uh, yeah, sure. Come on it, I'll tell you."

Her apartment stunk of sake and ramen. It was obvious this woman had an interesting lifestyle. There were pictures of the girl looking happy in her graduation gown with a loving older lady and an older man with a nice mustache were probably her parents. A degree in Computer Science hung up right next to it and there were articles of clothing laying around. Next to the couch were more pictures of a happy couple holding a little girl. It was nice to see a glimpse of this girl's life, even if she lived it a little too casually.

Fujiwara slumped onto the couch and yawned, "So, what do you guys wanna know?"

Tsukauchi sat next to her, a face filled with determination, "Did you see what the person looked like? What did she do prior to meeting you?"

"I remember red hair and she was wearing denim clothes…. Um, oh, I remember her taking a phone call at one point while I was with her."

Tsukauchi's eyes widened, "What!?" He yelled before apologizing, "Sorry, can you repeat that?"

Fujiwara sighed, "As I said, she was taking a phone call before she sat down with me. Though, she acted kind of weird afterward. Her eyes looked—"

"Blank? Like she wasn't all there for a while?" Hayakawa added. "Did she answer it with a reply at all?"

"Yes… How did you—"

Tsukauchi was writing a lot of things down in his notepad in a quick manner, "Do you know if she said a name or anything?"

"No, but I thought I heard a man's or a young boy's voice while I was close to her."

Tsukauchi looked as though he hit a jackpot once more. Eight weeks and finally there was something solid coming up. "Hayakawa, I think we're done here." He shut his notepad, "Can you swing by the station for a while? I need you to see one of our quirk specialists who can help sketch out the person's face for us using their quirk on your memory."

"I can do that. Can you give me a bit to get showered and dressed?"

"Of course. We'll meet you down at the lobby."

The girl nodded her appreciation and the two decided to leave the building, sliding their shoes back on and excusing themselves from the woman's apartment.

"A proxy then? It must be voice activated or the victim has to reply in order for it to work." Hayakawa said, looking at Tsukauchi's notes as they waited for the elevator. The sun was out bright today, and a few crows circled around the building.

"Yes, and did you hear her? She said it was a man or a young boy. So, this murderer is probably a long-distance type of user who uses her as a means of killing people. Though it doesn't explain how the proxy is able to use the quirk as well." Tsukauchi was the first inside and pushed the lobby button on the elevator. That same piano tune coming on again.

"Do you think it's possession quirk maybe? The user perhaps takes over our victim's body and uses his quirk from afar?" The elevator's dings sounded off as they slowly reached the first floor.

"It's possible, we'll have to ask the forensic team and check out that hair again and search our databases for a quirk that's similar to this. This is good, we're making progress." Tsukauchi patted her on the back, "Thank you for coming along, Hayakawa, and offering your expertise. I really do owe you a drink after all this."

When they reached the bottom, the lobby was in disarray. People looked shaken and a bearded man with glasses was calling 911 with a look of fear in his eyes.

Kids were crying and holding onto their parents. A large crowd was beginning to form outside.

"What's going on?" Tsukauchi was the first to ask the receptionist who was trying to not vomit into a bin as they were standing by the receptionist's desk. "Please, what happened?"

It was an old lady who answered. "It's the young lass! She… Dear god, she jumped."

It couldn't be…. Tsukauchi's consciousness couldn't accept it. We were there! We just saw her!

Tsukauchi and Hayakawa rushed outside to where the commotion was and saw a body splattered onto the solid concrete.

It was Hinata Fujiwara. The woman they were just talking to a few minutes ago had suddenly decided to jump off of her balcony while they were probably still in the elevator. Her head was split open and there were bits and pieces of her brain splattered across the window of the main lobby. The rest of her body was elsewhere at the scene.

People's cars were stained by some of the side splatters that Fujiwara's corpse left behind and both Tsukauchi and Hayakawa assumed that those people were going to the car wash after this.

"Detective, can we analyze her home phone? Maybe the killer called her?" Hayakawa was the first to ask. "She probably got called while we were waiting in the elevator."

Tsukauchi fell onto his knees, still unable to accept the fact that the murderer had finally resurfaced and probably made this innocent woman kill herself. He stared at what was left of her corpse. It just wasn't possible. How did this happen? She gave them valuable information and she suddenly decided to do this... It didn't make any sense. Why did this woman, who became their prime suspect and lead, die so suddenly?

Was it time-based? Did the killer tell her to do this at a certain time of day? Maybe when they met at the bar? He had to pull up any security or camera footage from this apartment complex and take down witnesses who saw it. He had to scrub this place clean and find out when she got put under this quirk.

He sighed in frustration. It was without a doubt that the media would feed on this like a frenzy and say that he and Hayakawa failed to keep this poor girl safe.

"Detective," Hayakawa was by his side, trying to shake him out of whatever he was in, "The rest of the team will be here shortly. We got to get this under control."

"You're right," Tsukauchi said. "I'm going to go get the crowd inside while you make that call."

"Right away, Detective." Hayakawa pulled out her phone.

Tsukauchi vowed to avenge this poor girl and anyone else under the spell of this wicked human. No, he couldn't call this person that. They were beyond being called human. They were a monster, just like the animals at the first crime scene had told him and Koda. He began to get off his knees and steadied himself, taking a few deep breaths, and started to wave down the crowd, ushering some of them inside so that they don't have to see Fujiwara's corpse.

Hayakawa, or rather, Makima, tilted her head a bit upwards to the fifteenth floor and back to the remains of Fujiwara, an indifferent smile appearing on her lips.

I really don't like cutting loose ends like this, but your death was necessary. I'm thankful that you did your part wonderfully to the end. Don't worry, Hinata. I'll apologize to your family on your behalf.

It was the least that Makima could do for a useful tool that helped Tsukauchi take the bait. All that was left was her hair sample. Once she dealt with that, all she had to worry about was Giran's silly little job and getting underneath Tsukauchi's skin. It was nice to know that he had a sister. She assumed at first that he had a lover because his perfume was really messing up her sense of smell, but she struck gold without even trying. The man went ahead and told her about this nosey sibling. She'd have to look into this sister of his. It sounded like he really loved her.

She looked back to Tsukauchi, who was easing the crowd and calming them down.

How cute. I think I may have found the opening in your impenetrable armor, Tsukauchi.

AN:

Poor Hinata... She only wanted some Makima booty and a proper relationship. :(

Her horrific death aside, I'm happy that you're all liking this story. When I was thinking of ways to hide her identity, I just thought of - what if she pulls a Clark Kent and just changes her hair color and slaps on some glasses? Lol.

Glad it's doing well and I enjoy seeing your comments and such, so don't hesitate to tell me what ya like! XD

Also word of note, I'm aware that this story sometimes shows up as 'Not available,' and I really have no way of fixing it. I don't know if it's a bug on my end or the site itself, but my story is indeed still here. Apologies for that inconvenience.

Until we meet again.