Chapter 6: Something's up with Aldera
Sitting at his desk surrounded by mostly All Might related Hero merch, an eight year old Izuku was muttering to himself while sketching the Third Eyed Hero: Triclops in a notebook titled Hero Analysis for the Future, No. 4. He had spent the night going over a few videos Nezu sent him, listing the mistakes the Heroes made and suggesting how they could have better utilized their quirks or countered the villains'. While some might think it strange for someone so young to spend his sleepless nights doing research, Izuku was always a strange kid. Though he'd denied it for so long, he'd always been a quirk nerd and for the past four years, Nezu had helped him refine his analysis hobby into a skill that even impressed his dad, a professional quirk analyst.
He was adding the finishing details to a piece of support equipment that could theoretically help focus Triclops' psychic abilities when an alarm went off. Izuku looked over at his electric Present Mic alarm clock and sighed as he stretched and shuffled over to the nightstand by his bed to turn it off and get ready for school. As he looked in the bathroom mirror, the heavy lidded bloodshot eyes that stared back were not those of an eight year old child. Honestly, he felt like he hadn't been a child since before he got his quirk.
He'd developed the routine of staying awake for the whole school week and resting on Sunday after getting home from UA. While he didn't need all the strength he gathered over the week during physical training, Uncle Sho wanted him to practice restraint while fighting others. At first, he was excited to finally start really experimenting and pushing the limits of his quirk. Unfortunately, to say such a schedule left Izuku feeling numb would be an understatement.
Thanks to the side effect of his quirk, he couldn't enjoy most of the simple things he used to take for granted, like the smell and taste of his mom's cooking or the cooling feeling of a dip in the pool or a nice summer breeze. He wasn't devoid of all emotion, still giddy at the mention of a new quirk or meeting a Hero, but he was certainly not the ball of energy that he was when he was four. He was much more reserved and his uncle had compared his disposition to that of a teenager, which his mom agreed with. She had tried to talk him into a more "reasonable" schedule, but despite how red and dark-lidded his eyes now were, she still couldn't say no to them.
As he was brushing his teeth, Izuku noticed a couple of his hairs had started to turn white. Despite knowing his mom would eventually notice during his monthly haircut, he tried burying them in the wild, untamable forest on his head. Unfortunately, this resulted in uncovering more and he groaned at the thick streak of white hair near his right temple. 'Mom's gonna freak,' he thought.
"Morning, Izuku," Inko cheerfully said, finishing pouring his breakfast shake into the bottle as she heard him sit at the table. Since he couldn't taste her food anymore, Inko had asked Recovery Girl what people with the same quirk drawback ate and was given a few recipes that provided the recommended daily amount of nutrients for each meal. As she turned around, she nearly dropped the shake in surprise as she noticed the white streak in her baby's fluffy curls!
"Izuku, what happened to your beautiful hair!?"
"I don't know mom," he said, shrugging as he casually shook his breakfast. "I just noticed it this morning. Might just be another mutation due to my quirk."
"Or it's the result of the stress of staying awake for weeks on end," Inko said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.
"W-well, that's certainly a possibility," he said, nervously gulping his breakfast. Inko sighed as she kneeled down to look him in the eye.
"Honey, are you sure you're ok? You know Uncle Sho could adjust your schedule if a week is too long."
"Yeah, mom," Izuku tiredly smiled at his mom. "I'm fine, really."
After a few seconds, Inko relented and let Izuku finish his breakfast as she used her quirk to grab ingredients for her own meal. After breakfast, Izuku changed into his school uniform and waved goodbye to his mom as he grabbed his lunch shake to meet Kacchan and Aunty Mitsuki downstairs.
As soon as Katsuki saw Izuku's hair, he burst out laughing. Aunty Mitsuki wasn't much better.
"Damn, Izuku, you look like a mad scientist," she joked.
"Gee, thanks, Aunty," Izuku deadpanned.
"Just sayin, you might wanna ask your mom to start cutting that untamable mop a little shorter. Speaking of untamable, is your scruffy uncle still single?"
Katsuki tutted at this.
"Dammit, Hag! Quit asking about Hobo-sensei's love life," he said. Under his breath, he grunted "it's not like he'd be interested in an old hag like you, anyway."
"Relax, brat! I'm just asking for a friend!" she said, suddenly sporting a mischievous smile. "You know I love your dad's cute butt too much to leave it."
She laughed as Katsuki yelled in disgust.
"Uncle Sho thinks a relationship is 'illogical' for a Hero to have," Izuku said, rolling his eyes. He was sure his uncle was just afraid of commitment.
"Great," Mitsuki smiled. "Emi still has a chance…and you're sure he's not in a relationship with Hizashi and/or Nemuri, right?"
Now, it was Izuku's turn to gag in disgust while Mitsuki reveled in the boy's anguish. Uncle Zashi was like Uncle Sho's annoying little brother while Aunty Nem was a big sister to both of them! No way would he be dating either of them!
Thankfully, the teasing didn't last much longer as they were soon at Aldera Primary School.
"Thank Kami," Katsuki said, quickly unbuckling his seatbelt. "Later, Hag!"
"Thanks for the ride, Aunty," Izuku said with a tired smile and wave.
"Have a good day, brats! Your dad'll pick you up later, Katsuki!"
With a grunt of acknowledgement, Katsuki and Izuku joined the group of extras waiting for them. While he'd been working hard over the years to get a handle on his temper, these extras always brought out the worst in him. Over the years he'd learned the difference between real friends and extras only interested in him for his power. Real friends cared about you and weren't afraid to call you out on your shit when you deserved it. Unlike Deku, who he considered his only real friend, these extras were a bunch of suckups, feeding his ego with hollow praise to try to stay on his and Deku's good side.
Ironically, while Deku seemed to just ignore them, this only pissed him off even more!
"Hey, Bakugou! How do you think you did on that math quiz? I bet you and Midoriya got that bonus question, huh?"
"Of course they did! Man, I wish I was half as smart as you guys!"
"It's only natural for the two students with the strongest quirks to be at the top of the class! My dad says-"
"Midoriya, your hair looks so cool!"
"Yeah, I'm gonna ask my mom to get my hair done like that!"
"Move it, you extras," Katsuki yelled, "we gotta get to class!"
As the group entered the school, Izuku was confused by what one of the "extras" had said. Why would having a strong quirk naturally mean they'd be smarter? He and Kacchan just worked and studied harder than their peers, that's all. It had nothing to do with their quirks…right?
Before today, Izuku hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings during school hours. He was content to just listen to his teacher, do his work and go home with as little social interaction as possible. Now that he was paying more attention though, he didn't like what he was noticing.
"C'mon, Deku, Aldera's not that bad," Katsuki said as they were walking through the woods behind the Bakugous' house. "Sure, it's a craphole, but it can't be any worse than most other public schools, right?"
"Kacchan, normal public schools shouldn't let kids get away with half the shit I've seen. It hasn't even been a full week, and I've already observed enough to know this isn't just a case of simple teacher negligence," Izuku said, pulling his hands out of his pockets to start listing the day's incidents on his fingers.
"First, Freaky Fingers used his quirk to poke and annoy the girl next to him and she gets in trouble for disturbing class when she grabs his finger and he screams like she broke it. Then, that kid at lunch with the fish mutation was clearly pushed by the guy with a metal jaw laughing at him, but the victim was reprimanded for dropping his lunch and warned about being clumsy. The creep who can yank out his eyeballs and his long nosed buddy have been harassing a girl who can turn her hands into tentacles all week but when she tried to report them, she was told it was just 'boys being boys.'"
Izuku stopped walking and looked at Katsuki, eyes narrowed in disgust and fists clenched. "Then, there's the shit Boulders-for-Brains said near the end of class today, about his dad believing the quirkless have no place in today's society. Sensei just smiled and nodded to himself as he read his book, like he was satisfied to hear his student spouting blatantly quirkist bullshit." Izuku then gave a tired sigh and shook his head. "And I'm not even going to attempt to list all the examples of blatant illegal quirk use the teachers let us get away with. I'm telling you, Kacchan, something's up with Aldera."
After a moment, Kacchan sighed. "Dammit, you might be right. Remember those two jerks I fought last year? I didn't even get detention for that. So, what's the plan? You gonna tell Hobo-sensei and the rat?"
Izuku shook his head. "Not yet. I wanna get some evidence first." He then dawned a creepy grin that was very reminiscent of his uncle's. "Wanna help the principal tie his own noose?"
Suppressing a shudder, Katsuki gave a feral grin of his own. "Hell, yeah, nerd!" he yelled as they shared an explosive high five. "Let's take these fuckers down!"
The next day, Katsuki stormed past all the extras, shoving them aside and knocking Eyeballs to the ground. While he did this, Izuku made sure his phone was hidden as he recorded the teachers turning a blind eye to his friend's antics. They were gonna see how bad Katsuki would have to get to get sent to the Principal's office.
While in class, he slammed his hands on Fingers' desk while using his quirk to get him to stop bugging that girl. This resulted in Fingers finally being told off by the teacher, but Bakugou remained untouched. Next, Bakugou used his quirk to launch Metal Mouth's tray into his face. Again, no consequences despite the teachers seeing it. He even started a food fight that another kid who's quirk was having three faces got blamed for!
Back in class, Bakugou went on a rant about how the strong should rule over the weak and how 'might makes right.' While this was going on, the camera was focused on their sensei, who was nodding along and even complimenting Katsuki before saying they needed to get back to the math lesson. Katsuki was finally sent to the Principal when he told sensei to 'eat shit and howl at the moon.' As he got up, Izuku slipped him his phone.
"Mr. Bakugou, please, have a seat," the principal said in an oily voice. Bakugou stomped over with a scowl on his face. He honestly thought he'd never make it here with how every teacher acted like he was a model student all day instead of the brat he would've been if Hobo-sensei and the mutt hadn't set him straight. He slouched down into the seat opposite the balding man, who had on a fake smile.
"I don't get why I'm here," Bakugou scoffed. "I was just doing what Sensei said!"
"And, what was that," the principal asked, slightly confused.
"The strong need to show the weak their place! I'm the future number one hero, so why should he tell me what to do!?"
The principal nodded in understanding. "Ah, yes; I understand your confusion. You see, Bakugou, we here at Aldera believe you students should learn the importance of strength amongst yourselves. After all, the strength of one's quirk defines their place in modern society. While it's alright to remind your peers of their place every now and again, we educators already know our place, serving the strong! We all know you and Midoriya are destined for greatness and we want to do our best to help you get there. Do you understand me, son?"
Bakugou gave a fake smile of his own. "Oh, YES, sir! I understand PERFECTLY."
"Yeah, that place is fucked up," Bakugou said to Izuku as they made their way to UA after school. While they could've waited until Sunday to share their findings with their mentors, they both agreed the sooner they were done with Aldera, the better.
Shouta would like to think he's pretty much figured this teaching thing out. Sure, he wasn't perfect, but he's definitely better than when he started. While he had learned a lot from Ma-sensei, he had his own ideas on how he wanted to run his class.
Admittedly, he may have been a little too tough on his first solo class, but Heroics was a tough job and he believed these kids needed to take it seriously from the start or find a different career. He wasn't actually planning on permanently expelling anyone on the first day, and he was honestly impressed with how hard they worked to prove themselves during his QAT. However, Nezu wanted a second opinion on his methods and called Hound Dog in to explain why it was a bad idea to hold the threat of expulsion over the heads of a bunch of overemotional teenagers who should trust him more than fear him.
It was during this "talk" that Aizawa snapped back at the Hunting Dog Hero and revealed why he believed he needed to be so hard on these kids and was ordered into trauma counseling if he wanted to keep his job. While reluctant at first, he had to admit that it helped him gain some closure on Oboro's death and he was even starting to sleep better after only a few sessions. He still didn't coddle his students and threw them a few logical ruses now and again to keep them on their toes, but he was now more focused on helping these kids the best he can rather than obsessing over their potential deaths if they didn't know everything on their first day.
Currently, he was in the teacher's lounge trying to nap in a corner before his patrol when he was woken up by Hizashi loudly greeting his two Problem Children in training.
"HEEEY, li'l listeners! What a nice surprise," Hizashi excitedly yelled as went to ruffle both boys' hair as Snipe and Cementoss also got up to greet them.
"To what do we owe the pleasure," Cementoss politely asked.
Even though he couldn't see them, Sho knew Izuku was turning red at the sudden attention from the other teachers. Despite how reserved Izuku had become, he was still a child with social anxiety and a great admiration for Heroes.
"We need to talk to Hobo-sensei and the rat," Bakugou said.
"Well, our resident bum is snuggled up in his usual spot," Snipe said, pointing his thumb at the now groaning Aizawa.
Present Mic then looked down at his watch. "And Nezu should be popping up in three…two…one-"
"HELLO, BOYS," Nezu cheered, popping up from behind a couch. "While I would normally ask what you think I am, you both know I'M THE PRINCIPAL!" Both boys rolled their eyes at the eccentric mammal as Aizawa tiredly shed his sleeping bag and tucked it away, knowing he wouldn't be finishing that nap. As the others left to give the four some privacy, Nezu and Aizawa pulled up chairs opposite the green couch the boys were sitting on.
"Now, what seems to be troubling you two," Nezu asked.
"Our school is fucked up, that's what's troubling us," Bakugou scoffed as Izuku handed Nezu his phone. "Me and the nerd started noticing some of the shit they were letting some of the extras get away with so Deku wanted to see what they'd do if one of their top students tried some of that shit. Took me all day to get sent to the principal's office."
As the two pros were watching the videos Izuku took, Nezu's constant smile morphed into a frown and Aizawa had adopted a scowl that made Endeavor's worst look like All Might's grin.
After finishing the video of Bakugou's meeting with the principal, Nezu was completely silent while Aizawa was practically snarling with each breath he took. As Aizawa opened his mouth to speak, Nezu held up a finger to silence him as he took a long sip of tea he hadn't had just a second ago. After a moment, Nezu adopted a smile he saved for when he was planning something especially nasty for his enemies. This made both boys and Aizawa shudder.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention, boys," Aizawa finally said. "We'll look into this further and let your parents know you'll no longer be attending Aldera. However, in the future, please come to us with these kinds of concerns instead of conducting your own illegal investigation."
"Told you, nerd," Bakugou said under his breath as Izuku looked away while rubbing the back of his head.
As both boys left, Nezu hopped on Aizawa's shoulder as he headed for the weasel's office. There was so much to do; calls to make, evidence to gather, warrants to acquire, potentially an entire school district to burn down. No, Aizawa would definitely not be getting back to his nap any time soon.
Chapter 7: New School, New Extras
Katsuki was tugging at his tie with a scowl. Aldera may have been a villain run shithole, but at least he didn't have to wear a shitty uniform.
It didn't take long for the Aldera investigation to bear fruit. The multiple examples of blatant illegal quirk use and bullying caught on security footage were just the tip of the iceberg as the deeper they searched, the more examples of academic sabotage they found. While comparing students' test scores, Nezu noticed the odd pattern of points being docked from those with "weak" quirks despite getting the same amount of answers right as, if not more than, those with "strong" quirks.
While they had gathered more than enough evidence to get the district shut down it was soon discovered that several members of staff had connections to the Meta Liberation Army, a long thought dead quirk supremacist group. This led to more investigations and arrests in other districts designated as possible indoctrination zones.
As the principal of the primary school Midoriya and Bakugou had attended was being led out of the school in handcuffs, a green glow appeared inside his mouth and he suddenly cried out in pain as it felt like all of his teeth were being forcibly yanked. The man had to later have all of his teeth removed due to the damage resulting in several infections.
Now, Katsuki and Izuku were about to start their first day at Nabu Primary School, where it turned out Ma-sensei's nephew would be their teacher. While Nezu would've enjoyed taking over their education, Aizawa had put his foot down on the matter and argued they needed social interactions with those their own age. Their parents agreed and while Nabu was a bit further out of the way than they would've liked, it was the closest school with a reputation for zero tolerance.
As they were being escorted to their class by the principal, Katsuki looked over at Izuku. Deku had taken the hag's advice and had asked his mom to cut his hair a bit shorter so it was slightly more manageable. The sides were buzzed shorter than the still curly but combed back locks on top with the white streak still prominent.
Even though his friend had tried to put on his usual stoic expression, he could tell Deku was crazy nervous given how much he was muttering and how big his eyes were. Guy could probably take a point blank Detroit Smash from All Might, but social anxiety was still his greatest weakness.
"Relax, Deku. You're acting more jittery than that time we tried coffee," Katsuki muttered, making Izuku jump slightly and his face turned red.
"I-I know, Kacchan; sorry," Izuku muttered. "It's just…well,thisisthefirstdayandIwannamakeagoodimpressionbutwhatifournewclassmatesarejustlikeAldersandtheyonlyseeourquirksandIknowwe'llalwayshaveeachothersbacksbutIjustwantthingstobediffrentand-" Izuku's muttering was cut off when Kacchan grabbed the back of his jacket to stop him from bumping into their principal as she stopped outside their new classroom.
She knocked on the door and at the "come in," the principal ushered both boys inside.
As the boys entered, their attention was immediately drawn to the tall man who can only be Ma-sensei's nephew. He was wearing brown slacks, a white dress shirt and red tie. Like his uncle, he had large, pointed ears and antennae but was a lighter shade of green, had larger, kinder eyes and his build was smaller and leaner. He gave the two a kind smile.
"Oh, welcome! My name is Muri Dende and I'll be your sensei. Everyone, these are your new classmates, Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku. Please, introduce yourselves, your quirks, and tell us a little something about yourselves," he said.
Both boys bowed to Muri, saying "I'll be in your care" before turning to the class. Bakugou decided to go first since Deku was still calming himself down.
"I'm Bakugou Katsuki," he said, holding up a hand and letting a few small explosions pop off. He smirked at the sounds of interest. "My quirk is called "Explosion." Basically, I sweat something like nitroglycerin and can ignite it in my palms." He then puffed up his chest, put his hands on his hips and gave his best heroic smile and proudly exclaimed "AND I'M GONNA BE THE NUMBER ONE HERO!"
After a moment of silence, Katsuki's smile turned into an annoyed scowl at the lack of reaction.
Izuku gulped before stepping forward. "I-I'm Midoriya Izuku," he said, in a much quieter voice. "My quirk is called "Insomniac Strength;" I get stronger the longer I'm awake. I like analyzing quirks and I also want to become a Hero."
"Alright, two future Heroes," Muri-sensei said with a smile. "I can't wait to see you both debut. Now, please take your seats behind Shinso Hitoshi."
Both boys' eyes widened as they spotted the purple haired boy who must have been Shinso.
"...I think we just found Hobo-sensei's secret lovechild," Katsuki muttered, getting a light elbow to the ribs from Deku as they walked to their seats.
Shinso was never very social. He tried making friends once or twice, but nobody shared enough of his interests, like talking about his cats or…talking about his cats.
Then, his quirk manifested and while some of his classmates were starting to avoid him more, others kept bringing up how scary it would be if he was a villain. Even if they didn't mean anything by it, it still got on his nerves after a while, so he mostly kept to himself. It also didn't help his attitude that his quirk caused him insomnia.
Then, those two new kids showed up.
When they introduced themselves, he thought the blonde was full of himself but he felt like he could get along with the greenette. There was something about the look in his tired eyes that he could relate to. However, he wasn't sure why both their eyes widened at him as they found their seats behind him.
When they were given time to talk amongst themselves, a few others decided to introduce themselves to the two newcomers. While Blondie seemed to be enjoying the attention, Greenie looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Weird. You'd think someone with a strength enhancing quirk would be all about being compared to All Might. Oh, Kami, was that quirkist!?
He was even more surprised when the two of them decided to join him for lunch rather than any of the other cliques that were interested in them.
"Mind if we join you," asked the greenette.
Shinso just shrugged and continued to eat his rice as the blonde opened his bento and started digging into what might be the spiciest curry in the world. Just the smell was enough to clear Shinso's sinuses! Turning away, he looked to see what the other kid had and was surprised to see him flipping through a notebook while absent-mindedly shaking a large All Might themed bottle.
"Did you forget your lunch, uh, Midoriya, right?" Shinso asked.
The blonde, Bakugou, answered for him. "Naw, that bottle is his lunch. He mostly eats shakes or some other bland shit for some occasional solids."
"Oh," Shinso said, looking back at the slightly red kid. "Some sort of special quirk diet or something?"
Midoriya gave a 'so-so' motion with his hand as he took a swig of his shake.
"It's more a matter of convenience rather than necessity. See, my quirk doesn't just enhance my strength, but also numbs my senses of smell, taste, and touch and I only regain them for a half hour after sleeping. It'd be illogical for my mom to make meals for me I couldn't even taste."
Shinso's eyes widened. "Wow, that…kinda sucks."
Before Shinso could apologize for his bluntness, Izuku gave a sad chuckle. "That's one way of putting it. Imagine having a quirk that could theoretically make you stronger than All Might but robs you of the simple comfort of your mom's hugs or-"
"The feeling of a cat's soft fur on your fingers when you give them head scratchums," Shinso continued, a haunted look in his eyes. He didn't see Izuku and Katsuki share a look before both boys shrugged and Izuku continued.
"I can also stay awake for days before suffering from sleep deprivation. So, now that you know my quirk and you've already seen what Kacchan's can do, what's yours, Shinso?" Izuku asked, not noticing the slight flinch the boy gave as he flipped to a clean page in his notebook.
"Uh, it's called…"Brainwashing,"" Shinso said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "If I talk to someone and they answer me, I can take control of them."
While he had been expecting one or both of them to either comment on how scary his quirk was or quietly find another table, he was again surprised by the blonde's simple reply of "huh…neat" before going back to his lunch. Midoriya, meanwhile, suddenly looked a lot more awake as he looked at him with wide, curious eyes.
"Wow, what a cool quirk!" he exclaimed, quickly writing something down. "It'd be perfect for crowd control and hostage situations! How long does it last? How difficult is it to break out of? How many people can you control at once? What are the limitations of your commands? Would a grunt be enough for you to take control or do you need someone to respond with words? Does it work on animals? OH! Does it work on someone with a quirk that turns them into an animal like Cow Lady or Dino Changer? Have you ever tried-"
Shinso just looked on in awe while Katsuki chuckled to himself.
"Oi, Deku! One question at a time, nerd! Cotton Head can't keep up," he said, Shinso giving him an odd expression at the nickname.
"Sorry, Shinso," Izuku said, blushing. "Like I said this morning, I-I like analyzing quirks."
"But, don't you guys think my quirk is kinda…villainous?"
Both boys shared a confused look.
"Dude, Endeavor's quirk is called "Hellflame" and he's the number two Hero," Katsuki deadpanned. "There's no such thing as a villainous quirk, Cotton Head. If anything, it's the name that sounds villainous and If you're so worried about it, change the name to something like "Hypno-Voice" or something."
"Yeah, the way you described your quirk doesn't really sound like brainwashing," said Izuku, starting to sketch Shinso, who suddenly had a slight smile. "Either way, it'd still be a useful quirk for Hero work."
Shinso frowned. "But, don't you need a flashy quirk to be a Hero?"
"Only if you're aiming for the top like us," Bakugo said, shrugging. "There's tons of Heroes who don't have flashy quirks who still make it, like Manual. You could also go Underground, like Hobo-sensei."
Shinso cocked an eyebrow at this as Izuku rolled his eyes.
"He's talking about my uncle. He's an Underground Hero and they aren't as involved in the media side of the industry. Basically, they operate like real life versions of Batman or Daredevil."
This was something Shinso wasn't aware of. Maybe he could be a Hero. He then gave Midoriya a serious look.
"Before I answer any of your questions, I have two for you. First, why are you guys interested in befriending me?"
Katsuki shrugged. "Honestly, you didn't try sucking up to us like the other extras and I respect that. I had more than enough of that shit at Aldera."
'Well, that explains the late transfer,' thought Shinso.
"...I just thought you might like some company," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head. After a pause, Shinso nodded.
"Second, and this is very, VERY important," he said, glaring at both of them. "...do you guys like cats?"
After school, as everyone was saying their goodbyes and splitting off into groups, Shinso waved goodbye to his two new friends(?) as he got in his mom's car.
"Who were those two you were talking to, Cottonball?" his mom asked. "I don't think I've seen them before."
"Just a couple new kids," Shinso said. "They're kinda weird, but alright. We ate lunch together and they said they like cats."
His mom's eyes widened a little behind the sunglasses she had to wear to help negate her quirk.
"Really? Well, I'm glad you're making friends, Toshi! We'll have to invite them over some time!"
At a red light, Shinso's mom looked to see him thinking about something.
"Something wrong, sweetie," she asked.
"…do you…mom, do you think I can be a Hero?"
She was slightly surprised by the question. While it wasn't uncommon for children his age to want to be Heroes, Hitoshi never seemed particularly interested after he got his quirk. Before she could answer, Hitoshi continued.
"It's just, Midoriya, the kid with green hair, started asking me all these questions about my quirk and he was listing off all these different scenarios where it would be useful for a Hero. He also told me about Underground Heroes and how they don't need flashy quirks and it just got me thinking that maybe…maybe my dream wasn't impossible."
She smiled at that.
"I'm going to be honest with you, baby. Hero work is a dangerous job, especially Underground work. If that's what you want to do, you're going to have to work hard and train more than just your quirk. Can you do that, Toshi?"
Hitoshi nodded, a determined look on his face.
"Then, yes, I do think you can be a Hero," she said, pretending not to notice him wiping the tears from his eyes.
Later that night, Hitoshi called the number Midoriya gave him and asked if it would be possible to meet his uncle. He was told to meet them at UA on Sunday and got his parents permission before going to bed, an excited grin on his face.
Chapter 8: Shinso's Chance
'Damn your big, kitten eyes, Izuku,' Aizawa thought, snuggled up in his sleeping bag and waiting for his nephew and his friend to arrive with a new problem child.
While he was glad Izuku and Katsuki had already made a new friend, he didn't appreciate them offering his services without asking him first. Since he started teaching, he'd had to adjust his patrol hours and wasn't looking forward to possibly adjusting his schedule further. Still, this Shinso kid's quirk sounded interesting so he'd agreed to at least give him a chance. If Sho thought he'd be a waste of time, Izuku agreed to not bug him about his decision afterwards.
He decided to first test the kid on his situational awareness by seeing how long it took for him to notice him lying near the gym mats. He soon heard voices and positioned himself so he was just visible enough to give the kid a chance to spot the yellow sleeping bag. When he heard the doors open, he started his stopwatch.
"And this is the PE building," Izuku explained, him and Bakugou leading Shinso inside. "This is where Uncle Sho said he wanted to meet us."
"Hobo-sensei probably wants to run you through some tests," Bakugou said, smirking as he and Deku noticed the end of a familiar sleeping bag. Meanwhile, Shinso was looking around the facility in awe.
The cynical part of Shinso's brain had tried telling him not to trust these two. They were from Aldera and had the kind of quirks the staff would've fawned over. No way would a couple of lucky, entitled brats wanna genuinely befriend him, let alone help him become a Hero. Thankfully, he didn't listen to that part of his brain.
Despite the short amount of time they'd known each other, the three boys had become quite close. While he still thought Bakugou was a bit too full of himself and could do without the nicknames, Midoriya was a good counter to the loud blonde and for all of Bakugou's faults, he was a loyal friend. When a couple of their classmates had invited the two new kids to join them for lunch instead of having to sit with the "creepy kid," Midoriya had to hold the blonde back from literally exploding at them.
When asked why he did that, especially since it ended with him getting a warning and promises of detention the next time he used his quirk on school grounds, Bakugou just scoffed, saying nobody insults his friends but him.
Now, he was at UA to meet a real Pro Hero about possibly training him. While he didn't know much about Izuku's uncle, not even his hero name or quirk, they had warned him he was a strict teacher and had only reluctantly agreed to meet him. Well, Shinso would just have to go Plus Ultra and show this guy he wasn't a waste of time.
Looking around the facility, he couldn't believe the amount of equipment available. From the different machines to the various weights to the giant, yellow slug to the- wait, the what? As he cautiously approached the strange creature, he failed to hear his two friends' attempts at muffling their snickers.
When he went to poke it, Shinso jumped and fell backward as it turned to reveal a tired, scruffy face sucking on a jelly pouch. He blushed as Izuku and Katsuki burst into laughter and the scruffy man slowly unzipped his sleeping bag.
"Three minutes, seventeen seconds," Aizawa tiredly said, standing up and looking down at the boy, unimpressed. "It took you far too long to notice me. Also, if you notice something you think looks out of place, your first instinct should be to alert someone, not poke it."
Shinso gulped. While he wasn't sure what to expect from the man, he had to admit Bakugou's nickname for him was pretty fitting.
"You two," Aizawa said, getting both boys' attention as they calmed down, "we'll be skipping our normal morning exercises. Nezu and Ma-sensei are waiting for you."
After an explosive high five, both boys left. However, while Bakugou left through the door they'd all entered through, Midoriya opened a secret hatch on the floor and chuckled as he dropped down into it. As Shinso openly shuddered, Aizawa suppressed his own.
Aizawa cleared his throat, once again getting Shinso's attention.
"My name is Shouta Aizawa, aka, the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead, and I'm going to be running you through a series of physical tests," Aizawa explained, tossing a ball in one hand. "You will complete these to the best of your abilities and if I feel like you're not taking these tests seriously, I will call your mother to pick you up. Like you, my quirk is non-combative so I had to train myself physically and mentally to help even the playing field. My training is difficult and I refuse to waste my time on someone who thinks they can coast by on 'good enough.' Do I make myself clear?"
After another gulp, Shinso looked up into Aizawa's eyes and gave a resolute nod.
"Yes, sir," he said.
"Good," Aizawa said, tossing the ball to Shinso, who fumbled to catch it. "Follow me."
As he led the boy outside to the pitcher's circle, Aizawa hid a small smile behind his scarf. There was a hunger behind the kid's tired eyes that reminded him of his own when he had approached Ma-sensei about helping him get into the Hero course. The main difference between the two was Shinso wasn't waiting to fail some biased exam to get help achieving his dream.
In Gym Gamma, Big Green was watching as Bakugou used his quirk to dodge and shut down multiple spherical drones shooting concussive blasts. He'd spent years perfecting his control over the size and power of his explosions until he was able to rocket himself around the gym with relative ease.
After hitting the off switch on the last drone, Katsuki did an explosive backflip, panting once he landed.
"Take five, brat," Ma said, tossing Bakugou a water bottle and towel. As Katsuki was gulping down his water, one of the drones activated again and tried shooting him from behind. However, Bakugou dodged and let out a loud "DIE" as he destroyed it.
"...you do remember the parameters of the exercise, right?" Ma asked, smirking as Bakugou sulked.
"Turn off the fuckin drones without destroying them," Katsuki grumbled through clenched teeth. "But that one shouldn't count! You said we were done!"
"I said to take five," Ma shrugged. "You're the one who assumed I meant minutes."
Bakugou sputtered before huffing in defeat and grabbing a broom. He should know by now not to let his guard down around Ma-sensei.
"Y'know, you should really work on a different battle cry," Ma said as Katsuki cleaned up his mess.
"What the fuck's wrong with my battle cry," Katsuki asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Kid, if you're serious about becoming the next All Might, you should know a big part of the ranking system comes down to popularity. You really think parents are gonna want their kids looking up to someone who yells "die" and cusses between every other sentence?"
"...dammit, I hate when you're right," Katsuki sighed as he dumped the remains of the drone in the scrap bin. "So, what the fu- I mean, what do you suggest I do?"
Ma-sensei shrugged. "For the swearing, just substitute it with other words. As for the battlecry, just try yelling whatever words come to mind. There's a big, blue idiot in America that goes around yelling "spoon" and his fans love it."
Scrunching up his face, Katsuki finished his water. He then threw the empty bottle into the air.
"WHAM-A-DOODLE," he cried as he used his quirk to destroy the bottle.
"...we'll work on it," Piccolo said dryly. He then cracked his knuckles and got into a battle stance. "Now, let's see how well you've been working on your hand to hand."
"This is quite wonderful, Midoriya-kun," Nezu said, admiring the entry on Shinso. "I can't wait to see you boys testing some of these ideas. Also, I see your lessons with Kayama-san are certainly paying off."
"Thank you, sir," Izuku said, taking a sip of his hot water.
Putting the notebook aside, Nezu hit a button and his desk opened to reveal a square board with a grid pattern and small, round stones on either side; green for Izuku and white for Nezu.
"So, do you think Aizawa-kun will accept your new friend," Nezu asked, not even looking down as the clacking sound of stones hitting the wooden board in quick succession echoed throughout the office.
"No doubt about it," Izuku said, looking intensely at the board as the clacking was starting to slow down. "They're kindred spirits. Besides, even if Uncle Sho turns him down, Kacchan and I will still help him."
"I would expect nothing less from you two," Nezu chuckled. "Also, I win!"
Nezu started laughing as Izuku banged his head against the desk in defeat.
"Don't fret, my boy," Nezu chirped as he reset the board. "You are greatly improving! I almost had to try that time!"
Izuku just sighed as the sound of stones clacking once again filled the office.
After several more games, Izuku was released and given the names of five new Heroes to analyze. As he was looking over their profiles, he took the familiar path to the nurse's office. Meeting up with Kacchan after Recovery Girl was done healing him and lecturing Big Green about pushing the eight year old too hard, they both started walking.
"So, what'd you break this time," Izuku smirked without taking his eyes off the notebook he was scribbling in.
"I didn't break anything, Deku," Katsuki huffed. At Izuku's incredulous look, he explained further. "Ok, I destroyed one drone, but I didn't break any bones! During sparring with Green-sensei, I did a backflip, landed wrong and twisted my fu- my fraggin ankle!"
"Fraggin?" Izuku questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"...I'm tryin to break the fu- fraggin habit," Katsuki said, turning his head to hide his blush. "Anyway, we should go check on Cotton Head. Hobo-sensei's gotta be done with his hazing by now, right?"
Shinso was on his back, panting heavily after finishing the run. He had done it. Every test Aizawa gave him, he gave his all. But was it enough?
"Well, unsurprisingly, your results were either average or below," Aizawa drawled, making Shinso's heart sink. "I'll work with Recovery Girl on an exercise and meal plan for our next session. I'll also have to talk to Izuku and my brother about how best to train your quirk."
That made Shinso shoot up to sitting position.
"Y-you mean-," Shinso asked.
"The only way I would've rejected you was if you slacked off or gave up," Aizawa said, offering Shinso a water bottle which he gratefully accepted and started chugging. "You've got a tough road ahead of you, especially if you're planning on going Underground, but you don't have zero potential. See you next week, kid."
Shinso watched as Aizawa walked away and couldn't believe it. He was really gonna be trained by a Hero. He then collapsed back to the ground with a smile.
Not long after, Bakugou and Midoriya were looking down at him.
"You ok, Cotton Head," Katsuki asked, offering him a hand which he happily took.
"Yeah, just…exhausted," Shinso explained, getting to his feet, shakily.
"You good to walk on your own, Hitchan," Midoriya asked, looking concerned as his friend looked a little unsteady.
"Yeah, I-...wait, "Hitchan?"" Hitoshi questioned. Izuku blushed and looked back down at his notebook.
"Sorry. I-I didn't mean to offend-" Midoriya tried but Hitoshi cut him off with a chuckle.
"It's fine, Midoriya. I'm…I like it," Shinso said with a small smile as Izuku beamed at him.
"C'mon, Deku," Katsuki said, rolling his eyes. "Let's get Cotton Head to the old lady. If we're lucky, he's suffered from heatstroke."
"...I'm sorry, how is that lucky," Shinso asked, eyebrows raised.
Midoriya chuckled. "Because, Hitchan, there's nothing more amusing than watching a small, old lady chewing out a Professional Hero over "reckless teaching" while hitting them with her cane."
As the three boys walked back to the school, Aizawa was watching them from one of the windows and sighed.
'What a tiresome trio,' he thought with a sad smile as he remembered another trio of friends. It was hard to ignore the parallels; the loud blonde, the insomniac loner, and the optimistic glue that held them together. Before he could start worrying about them suffering the same loss their group did, his phone vibrated.
Zashi: drinks 2night @ The Lair w/ Nem. U in?
Me: Will Emi be there?
Zashi:...I neither confirm nor deny.
Aizawa rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time his friends tried to set him up with Joke. It's not like she was serious about wanting to go out or marry him…right? Oh, what the hell.
Me:...tell Joke she gets one chance.
Zashi:.....WHAAAAA!????!!?!??
Aizawa smiled. Maybe a relationship wouldn't be the most illogical thing in the world.
Chapter 9: Monster in the Woods
Shinso was not having fun. He was tired, sweaty, covered in bug bites (that spray did nothing), and his back and feet were killing him. Who the hell would do this for fun!?
"Oi! Hurry up, Cotton Head!"
"Yeah, Hitchan! We wanna set up camp before lunch!"
'Oh, right,' Shinso thought, 'My two crazy friends.'
This was supposed to be his first official week of training but Aizawa-sensei had to cancel due to a mission. He was told to try being more physical outside of training and that's why he accepted his friends' invitation to go camping. He'd never gone camping before but since it's just the woods behind Bakugou's house, he'd be close enough to civilization if he decided to chicken out.
Unfortunately, Shinso underestimated how much land the Bakugous owned. As it turns out, the fashion industry pays very well and they'd been walking for close to an hour to get to their "perfect spot," as Katsuki and Izuku called it. When he asked how their parents were ok with a bunch of eight year olds camping on their own so far away, they reminded him that quirk use was legal on private property and their parents trusted they could handle themselves.
"I don't get…why I…have to carry…so much," Shinso panted. While Midoriya's pack was the largest, Bakugou's was half the size Shinso's was.
"Cause you're the one who needs the exercise, Stringbean," Bakugou said.
"Not my name," Shinso weakly grumbled. He then lost his footing and fell forwards, his pack pinning him down. Midoriya ran over to help while Bakugou was busy laughing his ass off.
"You ok, Hitchan," Midoriya asked.
"Peachy keen," Shinso grunted into the dirt.
After Izuku lifted the pack off his back like it weighed nothing, Shinso lifted his head and tumbled backward when he saw what he almost landed on.
"Oh, relax, Cotton Head," Bakugou said. "It's just a dead squirrel."
"That's the fifth one this week," Midoriya said, helping Shinso up and brushing him off. "I'm starting to think this isn't one of your neighbors' cats, Kacchan. Think we should set a trap?"
"I don't think it's a cat at all, guys," Shinso said, cautiously observing the carcass.
"Huh? How the fu-frag can you tell?"
"...do you have any idea how many "presents" I've gotten over the years from my cats," Shinso asked in a deadpan. "In my experience, cats don't cut their prey down the middle like that."
Looking closer, the two others saw what Shinso meant. It looked like someone sliced the squirrel open with a knife. Not wanting to think about this, Shinso shook his head.
"Whatever, it's probably just some other animal." He then turned to Izuku. "Hey, Greenie?"
"Yea-" Izuku's eyes suddenly glazed over and his face turned blank.
"Carry me and my pack," Shinso ordered. As Midoriya obediently complied, Katsuki looked on with an unimpressed expression. At first, Deku had to beg Cotton Head to use his quirk on him. Now, he was more than willing to put Deku under any chance he got.
"What," Shinso questioned innocently as Midoriya held him in a princess carry. "You said we can use our quirks, right? Besides, this is good practice for both of us."
Shaking his head, Bakugou just continued walking while Shinso ordered Midoriya to follow. However, Katsuki couldn't get the idea that someone was killing animals behind his house out of his head. He'd definitely have to tell the old man and the hag about this.
"Phew! That was exhausting," Shinso said, wiping the sweat from his brow after releasing Izuku, who sputtered.
"Wha- yo- bu- I WAS DOING ALL THE WORK," Midoriya indignantly exclaimed.
"Yeah, and fighting my quirk the whole time," Shinso said, rubbing his temples. "Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to-...where did you get that notebook?"
"It's best to just assume he has one on him at all times," Katsuki said, unloading Izuku's pack and beginning to set up the tent.
As Izuku went into mutter mode and started writing about the experience, Shinso was looking around the area. He had to admit, this was the perfect spot.
Not too much or too little sunlight, a firepit that seemed to get regular use and a stream not too far away. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
30 minutes later-
'I regret everything,' Shinso thought after being judo thrown for the fifth time. While Izuku was getting firewood, Katsuki offered to show him some moves.
"You're getting better, Cotton Head," Katsuki said, offering a hand up. "Your hip check was almost fast enough to counter me. C'mon, one more time before the nerd gets back!"
Sighing, Shinso got into the stance Katsuki taught him. However, before either of them could make a move, Izuku came back dragging a large log. Shinso then dropped his guard only to be once again flipped by Katsuki.
"...I hate you so much," Shinso deadpanned, glaring up as Katsuki smirked down at him. Rolling his eyes at his friends, Izuku added the log to the pile he'd been gathering and walked over to help Shinso up.
"Hey, I'm just trying to prepare you for when you start your training with Hobo-sensei in earnest," Katsuki said. "Believe me, you don't wanna be caught off-guard by any of his 'logical ruses'...though, I'm starting to get why he and Green-sensei like pulling them so often."
'Green-sensei,' Shinso wondered to himself before shrugging and following Katsuki over to the pile to help pick out some kindling for a fire while Izuku broke apart the larger logs with his bare hands.
After using a series of smaller explosions to light the fire, Katsuki dug into the cooler and pulled out a package of hotdogs.
"I'm gonna go get us some water," Izuku said, grabbing a large filtration tank and heading for the stream as his friends started cooking their hotdogs. Kami, sometimes he was glad he couldn't taste anything. However, he knew he'd be back to missing it later tonight when his friends were making smores.
As he was filling up the tank, he considered taking a nap later since the point of this trip was to help Shinso be more active while allowing him and Kacchan to relax. However, he jumped when he heard a loud squeaky noise. Running across the river to investigate, he soon found a dead rabbit bleeding out the neck. Upon further inspection of the fresh wound, Izuku was sure it was caused by a blade.
Not spotting any sign of the culprit, he cautiously returned to collecting his water while contemplating his next move. However, had he looked up, he would have noticed a girl with shoulder length blonde hair and yellow, cat-like eyes looking down at him from near the top of a tree, admiring his pretty, red shoes.
'They could be so much cuter,' she thought with a hungry, fanged smile as she rubbed her bloody box cutter with her thumb.
Later that night, long after the boys had extinguished the fire, she found herself sneaking into their camp. She knew they'd punish her if they saw she wasn't in her room, let alone if they found out what she'd been doing in these woods every day after school. Despite the risk, she just couldn't stop thinking about those shoes and had to make them cuter! The kid would probably end up thanking her and be her friend!
As she heard them snoring, she slowly unzipped the tent. However, once it was unzipped enough to peak inside, she was blinded by a flashlight and the snoring abruptly stopped. Jumping back and brandishing the box cutter, she tried to blink the spots from her eyes.
"You got five seconds to tell us why you tried to stab us in our sleep," said a tired voice. However, instead of answering, she leapt in the voice's general direction and began slashing at the air with her weapon. While she was fast, her arm was eventually grabbed, wrist twisted to make her drop her weapon, and she found herself being thrown and pinned onto the ground. She tried to escape, squirming and thrashing but to no avail.
"Nice job, Cotton Head," another voice said, clearly proud.
She looked up to see her new friend standing with a blonde kid and craned her neck back to see the purple haired kid that was pinning her down. The green haired kid crouched down.
"Who are you," he asked.
"And why the hell are you killing animals in my backyard," the blonde angrily asked.
"I needed somewhere far away to feed without them finding out," the girl said, still struggling and ignoring the first question. "I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone owned these woods! Please, I wasn't gonna hurt you! I just wanted to surprise you by making your shoes cuter! Please, let me go!"
She had to get free! They couldn't find out she was here! They couldn't find out she wasn't normal!
The three boys shared a look.
"Who is 'them' and why would they be upset about you eating," Izuku asked, having a feeling he knew the answer.
She frantically shook her head, tears in her eyes. She couldn't tell them. They wouldn't believe her. They'd tell them and she'd be punished and her head wouldn't stop hurting and-
"Hey," Izuku quietly said, making her look up at him. He was looking at her with a kind, understanding smile. "It's ok. You don't have to be afraid. Is it because of your quirk?"
After a few seconds, she nodded. "I…I need blood," she said, guiltily.
"And your parents won't let you have any," the guy on top of her asked. She shook her head.
"I-it's not normal to want blood. Bu-but if I don't get any, my head starts to hurt and-and I hear things and think about things I don't wanna and-" suddenly, her mind fogged over and the purple haired guy was off her back.
"Sleep," his tired voice echoed in her head. And just like that, she was asleep.
"...alright, she's pretty cute," Sho admitted as he stroked the fluffy white fur of the albino skunk curled up in his lap.
"See!? I told ya you'd love Blossom," Ms Joke said as she played with another skunk on the floor of the cafe.
While a late night skunk cafe wouldn't have been Sho's first choice for their second official date, he could see why this place was Emi's favorite animal cafe. It was a nice place to relax before his mission tomorrow.
Unfortunately, it seemed he was enjoying himself a bit too much for the universe's liking because his phone started ringing. Checking the id, he groaned at seeing Bakugou's name. Knowing the brat had a sleep schedule he rigidly abided by, he knew this couldn't be good.
"Bakugou, what-...yeah, you told me you were going…uh-huh…wait, how many dead animals?"
That last part made Emi look up from the round belly she was rubbing.
"Wait, you all knew it was a knife wound but didn't think to- ..." he then sighed at whatever the person on the other end said and began rubbing his eyes. "Ok, fine. What happened next? …uh-huh…wait, Shinso did? Really…and you're sure it was all on private land…ok…ok, where are you now? Your place? …and she's still asleep...ok, call the police and ask for a man named Tsukauchi. Tell them Eraser's calling in a favor and to contact me. Alright, bye."
Running a hand down his face and tiredly sighing, Sho gave Blossom a few final pats before pushing her off his lap, much to her displeasure.
"Sorry, Em, but I gotta go," Sho said, grabbing his jacket.
"Everything ok," Emi asked, getting up while the skunk she had been playing with was trying to get her attention again.
"Just my nephew and his friends making my life harder," Sho sighed, heading for the door.
"Mind if I tag along," Emi asked, to which Sho shrugged.
"If you can keep up," he smirked, jumping and using his scarf to grab onto a nearby fire escape to help fling himself to the top of the building.
Grinning, Emi ripped off the bottom half of her dress to reveal the baggy shorts of her Hero costume. She then tapped her heels together twice to reveal the hidden springs in her boots and bounced in place to gain some momentum before launching herself after her man.
"Toga Himiko," Tsukauchi said, handing a file to Aizawa. They were at a hospital, waiting outside Toga's room for her to wake up on her own. "Ten years old and only child to a well respected family. Officially her quirk is classified as a minor cat mutation. While the doctors say she shows some signs of minor malnutrition, there's no mention anywhere about any special dietary requirements."
"So, either she's lying…," Aizawa started, flipping through the file.
"Or her parents are," Emi finished, a scowl on her face that Sho thought looked out of place.
"It could also be psychological," Tsukauchi shrugged. "Using a quirk as an excuse for violent urges isn't uncommon."
Sho sighed. "Well, we won't know for sure until the kid wakes up. Did the boys' statements clear?"
"Yep, they're all in the clear," Tsukauchi nodded. "Shinso used his quirk with prior permission from the Bakugous and the other two backed up the story that he only used it to calm Toga down. However, you should probably have a talk with them about handling these kinds of situations on their own."
"What's the point," Sho scoffed. "They didn't listen after they blew the whistle on Aldera and Shinso's already starting to pick up their bad habits."
Emi choked on her coffee. "T-they helped take down Aldera!?"
"Bakugou and Izuku did, yes," Sho said, smirking into his scarf. "Didn't I mention that?"
As she pouted, Sho continued talking to the detective. "So, where are the boys?"
"The cafeteria," Tsukauchi said, pointing a thumb down the hall. "The Shinsos took their son home already but Izuku and Katsuki are waiting for you with the Bakugous and Midoriya-san."
Nodding, Aizawa left, followed by Joke as Tsukauchi went back into Toga's room to wait for her to wake.
"Ooh, already introducing me to your family," Emi teased. "How sudden! Don't you think we oughta slow down a bit?"
"Says the girl who asked me to marry her the day we met," Sho scoffed. "Besides, my nephew's been dying to meet you. He has a few questions about your quirk."
"Fanboy, huh," Joke beamed. "Can't wait to meet him!"
'Oh, you poor fool,' Aizawa thought.
Tsukauchi looked up from his paperwork when he heard the shuffling of hospital sheets. Toga was starting to wake up and while he'd normally have to wait for her parents to question her, the boys' statements about her behavior gave him reasonable suspicion about the girl's living situation. He inched his chair closer to her bed and got out his notebook and pen.
"Hello, Miss Toga," Tsukauchi said softly as her eyes fluttered open. "How are you feeling?"
"Huh? Who're…w-where-," she groggily began but stopped as she started to realize this wasn't her bedroom. Her eyes suddenly widened in panic as she tightly gripped her sheets and Tsukauchi put up his hands in a placating manner.
"It's alright," he said. "You're ok. Nobody's going to hurt you. My name is Detective Tsukauchi and I just want to ask you some questions about tonight, ok?"
Toga timidly nodded, eyes narrowed as she examined her sheets.
"Before we begin, I'm legally required to inform you that my quirk is called "Lie Detector," meaning I can tell when someone's lying."
This made her eyes shoot up.
"Y-you mean…as long as I tell you the truth, you'll believe me," she asked, almost desperately.
"As long as it's the truth," he nodded with a friendly smile. He saw the girl start to tear up and handed her a tissue.
"Let's begin with an easy question," Tsukauchi started, readying his pen. "What is your quirk?"
Himiko looked away.
"...m-my parents said to s-say I have a cat mutation," she timidly said, pointing to her eyes.
True
'Odd phrasing,' Tsukauchi thought, writing it down. "And is that all your quirk is? The eyes and fangs?"
"Y-yes?"
Lie
Tsukauchi slightly twitched at that and looked up at her. She was watching him intensely, likely testing to see if his quirk really could pick up lies.
"Why did your parents want you to lie about your quirk," he asked and noticed the girl's eyes widened. She then looked down guiltily.
"B-because my quirk makes me a m-monster," she said, once again tearing up and scowling. "My parents wanted a "normal" child with a "normal" quirk."
True
"Does your real quirk involve consuming blood," Tsukauchi asked as he handed the girl another few tissues. She nodded.
"When I drink someone's blood, I-I can b-become them. I-I-I found out about it when my cousin got a p-paper cut. I-it just looked so p-pretty and yummy and before I could stop myself, I was sucking on his finger until someone had to pull me off. I-I noticed my hands looked different and ran to a mirror to see his face m-melting off of me."
"Melting?"
"When my q-quirk wears off, the skin, clothes, everything that made me look like someone else turns into gray sludge. I-it's kinda gross and so not cute."
True
"The boys said you told them you needed blood or you suffer from headaches, correct?"
"Yes."
True
"Do your parents know this?"
Himiko scoffed. "They wouldn't believe me. Some quack told them it was just "psychological" and they couldn't take me to a quirk specialist because that would reveal my real quirk."
True
Tsukauchi was gripping his notebook a little tighter. Did these people really value their reputation as a "normal" family over their daughter's mental and physical health? This poor girl and the rest of society was lucky the boys encountered her before she had a complete mental breakdown.
"...please don't make me go back with them," she said, almost pleadingly.
"Miss Toga…Himiko, I can assure you that I will do my best to make sure you will never have to live with the Togas ever again," Tsukauchi reassured her, to which she smiled hopefully.
After a few more questions, Tsukauchi left the room to let Himiko get back to sleep. He was ready to start a report on the Togas and call a quirk specialist when his phone rang.
"Detective Tsukauchi," he answered.
"Detective, the Togas are here," the voice on the other line said. "You said not to let them see their daughter until you spoke to them."
"Thank you, Sansa. I'll be right there," he said. After everything Himiko told him, he was going to make sure he kept his promise.