Chapter Text
***
The day Fujimoto Daiki’s part in Midoriya’s disappearance comes to light, Bakugou rages. He yells obscenities and blows up one of the tables in an interview room. His temper is so foul, he brings two junior officers to tears.
In contrast, Toshinori takes the news solemnly, unsmiling. His posture wooden, his face carved from oak, and he does not say a word as he bows to Naomasa politely and leaves the room.
Both men request to be present when Naomasa opens the box from beneath Fujimoto’s floorboards. Shipping is expedited at their behest, a perk of being Number 1 and Number 3. Initially the box is retrieved by forensic analysts who carefully check for fingerprints and test for DNA. Though there is little chance of either being found, and less chance of them being pertinent to the case, the box and its contents are currently Naomasa’s only lead, and he intends to exhaust every avenue.
Fresh evidence in the form of a fifteen year old paper trail. The irony is not lost on him.
When it finally arrives, the box seems innocent enough. It is made of sturdy cardboard, with a messily written CASE FILES jotted on the lid in fading ink. As Naomasa opens the box, both Bakugou and All-Might lean forward eagerly as though they think Midoriya-kun himself might be stashed away inside.
Bakugou makes a stifled, choking sound, and before Naomasa can utter a protest, the young hero reaches out to grab - a damaged notebook? The cover is warped, edges curling, paper stained. There are scorches, holes burned straight through. Even so, Naomasa can still read the blocky lettering: Hero Analysis for the Future, and below that: No. 13.
The Number 3 hero holds the book in both hands, his touch bordering on reverent. The pads of his fingertips trace along each damaged imperfection.
“He was always scribbling in these damned things,” Bakugou says finally, voice uncharacteristically subdued. He carefully flips open the cover, then thumbs through the pages so that both Naomasa and All-Might can see the contents. The notes within are incredibly detailed, neatly ordered and illustrated with precise, hand-drawn diagrams.
As the young man flips through each page, it becomes clear why Bakugou thought Midoriya might have insight into their investigation of the Critic. This single book of quirk analysis, evidently one of thirteen, displays a phenomenal grasp of practical theory. And it was penned by a boy in middle school, Naomasa boggles. He can only imagine what such a mind would be capable of as an adult.
Toshinori’s hand shoots out, halting Bakugou with a startled, “Oh!”
The signature in the middle of the book reads: ALL-MIGHT, complete with an authentic doodle of the man’s hair tufts.
“This was the book he had on him the day you two met,” Naomasa realizes, remembering Toshinori mentioning he’d given Midoriya his autograph. “As it’s the only volume here, Fujimoto must have originally kept it because of your signature.”
Naomasa hesitates, turning his attention to Bakugou. “I have to ask... those burn marks?”
Bakugou’s shoulders tense, and his fingers tighten around the edge of the book. “Yeah,” he admits roughly. “That was me.”
Naomasa doesn’t press, turning back to the box and pulling out the case files contained within. The number of files far exceeds his original estimation, so he divides the paperwork into three separate piles before handing a stack to Toshinori and another to Bakugou.
“If you’re here, I might as well make use of you,” he jokes with a small, rueful smile. “We’re looking for anything that mentions the Midoriyas, of course, but keep the rest in order. We’ll be opening a secondary investigation to cover all of Fujimoto’s crimes... though it’s unlikely the man will live long enough to see a trial.”
“Fuckin’ smileball lackey,” Bakugou mutters unfavorably. He takes his pile of cases, but Naomasa notes he does not relinquish Izuku’s notebook.
The three men work in silence for nearly an hour, keeping a central pile of the Midoriyas’ paperwork on the desk and packing the rest of the files back into the box. Naomasa is so engrossed in his reading that he doesn’t realize there is an officer at his side until the second time the woman clears her throat.
“Sorry,” Naomasa apologizes swiftly, squinting as he shifts his focus away from the tiny lines of legal jargon. “What’s this?”
The woman hefts a medium-sized evidence box onto a less-full corner of his desk. “You put in the request a few weeks back,” she replies with a shrug. “Apparently this case is so old, the box was re-filed at a secondary location. The boys over in the archives asked me to pass along their apologies; they had a devil of a time finding it.”
The officer bows politely, leaving Naomasa to stare at this new box, perplexed. “I don’t remember any of my reports denoting evidence...” He trails off as he tugs the box closer, mindful of the surrounding paperwork. He examines the label. “Oh. Huh.”
Toshinori asks curiously, “You recognize it then?”
“When I first pulled the Sludge Villain incident report, I actually received paperwork from his arrest. I’d forgotten, but I put in a request for the corresponding evidence before I realized my mistake.” Naomasa taps the lid of the box twice. “It looks like this is that evidence.”
The essence of tact, Bakugou asks, “Whatever happened to that slime-fucker?”
Naomasa removes the lid from the box, curiously pulling out a few sealed, plastic evidence bags. A stained shirt and a tattered pair of pants make up the bulk of the box. Apparently when the villain was put onto quirk suppressants, he reverted to a baseline human and his clothing had been taken into evidence. There is also a plastic soda bottle, and a crumpled scrap of paper.
“I believe the villain’s capture was attributed to a vigilante,” Naomasa replies. “It was strange, though. No one ever stepped forward to claim credit, and the villain himself never said one way or another.”
Something about the soda bottle itches that spot in the back of Naomasa’s mind, and he rummages around his desktop, trying to locate the record of the Sludge Villain’s arrest. “All-Might... actually, didn’t you say you captured the villain in a soda bottle for transport?”
Toshinori blinks. “I did. He escaped, but that was my original method of containment.”
“What are the odds?” Naomasa mutters, still riffling through his papers.
“The nerd wrote this note.”
Naomasa and Toshinori look to Bakugou. The young hero holds an evidence bag with a scrap of paper in one hand and Midoriya-kun’s journal in the other. At a glance, the handwriting is identical.
Toshinori grabs the note, tilting it beneath the overhead light to reduce the glare on the plastic. He reads, “Please be more careful with what you lose; you never know who might get hurt.”
“Here it is,” Naomasa says, spreading the Sludge Villain’s arrest report across the table so both heroes can read it over. “The bottle containing the Sludge Villain was left on the stairs outside the police station, accompanied by that note. One of the officers went to retrieve the bottle, thinking it was litter, but he quickly recognized the Sludge Villain from the reports that had been cycling on the news. He immediately filed to give the criminal quirk suppressants until such a time that his abilities could be safely and humanely contained.”
“If Dek - if the nerd wrote this shit, does that make him the ‘unaccredited vigilante?’”
“Young Midoriya captured the Sludge Villain?” Toshinori’s brow furrows. “I hesitate to bring up the boy’s quirkless status, but... how is that possible?”
“Putting aside the ‘how’ for a moment, it actually fits.” Naomasa frowns. “Midoriya-kun saw All-Might contain the Sludge Villain in a soda bottle, therefore he also used a soda bottle because he already knew it would work. Midoriya-kun was also the only one who knew that the villain had been captured once already and subsequently escaped, which would account for that small dig: ‘be careful with what you lose.’”
Bakugou shakes his head. “Quirk or no quirk, how the fuck does some kid defeat and capture a villain even the pros had trouble with? The nerd couldn’t do shit in the sewer, and yeah, his attack gave me a couple seconds to breathe, but if All-Might hadn’t saved us back then, we’d have both been dead.”
“I have no idea,” Naomasa replies, mind racing. He is filled with inexplicable dread, and he is certain that they are close, so close, to discovering the truth behind Izuku’s disappearance. “There was nothing in that report that connected the Sludge Villain’s arrest to Midoriya’s disappearance. Without that note, I wouldn’t believe it possible.”
The detective stands abruptly, looking over at his whiteboard where Hedoro Viran’s mugshot hangs. The villain is a terrifyingly dark visage of filth, interrupted only by a wide, white slash of teeth, a sharply mocking grin.
Naomasa turns to face Toshinori and Bakugou, resolved. He stabs his finger at the paperwork, noting the follow up of the villain’s arrest. “The Sludge Villain is currently in Tartarus, serving a life sentence for six murders. If anyone can tell us what happened back then... it’s going to be him.”
***
The trip to Tartarus takes approximately two hours by car. Naomasa wastes no time contacting the prison administrators to approve a visit, and while the request itself isn’t unusual, the speed with which permission is granted most certainly is. Using All-Might to make those calls is perhaps a touch underhanded, but it gets the job done.
For the duration of the trip, Bakugou sits in the back seat of the vehicle and says nothing. When Naomasa glances in the rearview mirror, he can see the young hero staring moodily out the window, one hand resting on the cover of Izuku’s book, unmoving.
The three of them are put through vigorous security checks, starting with a stop-and-search before they cross the bridge that serves as the prison’s sole access point to the world outside. After confirming their identities, they are escorted through several increasingly well-guarded security points until they reach the main body of the prison itself. The barbed fences and barred metal doors are both ominous and foreboding.
Once inside the building, they are searched again and given several sheets of paperwork to fill out. An armed guard introduces himself as their escort, and turns to lead them down the hall to a single, nondescript elevator.
“Hedoro is already waiting for you in one of the interrogation rooms,” the guard explains simply, pressing the button for the second floor and activating the elevator with a keycard and a typed, numeric code. “He’s not considered as dangerous as some of the other criminals housed here; it’s really just his body-count that convinced the board to transfer him here after his trial.”
“You seem well-informed,” Naomasa notes.
“It’s policy to familiarize ourselves with all villains on the premises.” The guard shrugs, and the movement jostles the strap of his weapon. “But Hedoro’s trial was pretty interesting, so it’s easy enough to remember.”
“The fuck does that mean?” Bakugou sneers.
“Well, it’s not everyday a criminal confesses to multiple murders without prompting?” the guard says slowly, studying the young hero with a curious expression. “He was originally put on trial for theft and attempted murder. It wasn’t until his lawyer made a plea bargain that anyone realized they were dealing with a serial killer. The whole thing became a bit of a circus after that.”
“You’re right, I remember reading about that,” Naomasa muses. “I’d forgotten.”
“I sure as shit didn’t,” Bakugou grumbles. “What plea bargain?”
“I believe he confessed to all six murders with the addendum that he couldn’t be legally held responsible for any other murder he’d already committed.” The guard shrugs. “The prosecution combed through the records looking for unsolved killings that fit his M.O. and nothing else turned up. It didn’t make much sense to me, to be honest. Six murders put him here for life.”
The elevator comes to a slow halt. The doors open to reveal two more guards on duty, who check their visitor passes before waving them forward. Their guide leads them down a white, sterile hallway. There are a handful of closed doors - “We have several rooms for interview and interrogation, depending on the threat-level the criminal presents,” the guard explains. “Hedoro is currently on quirk suppressants. He’ll be handcuffed to the table, but please don’t get too close to him regardless.” He glances at All-Might with a faintly embarrassed expression. “Not that I don’t think you couldn’t handle yourself, sir!”
“And here we are.”
The door looks like every other door they already passed. The guard unlocks it with a secondary keycard and another typed code, and ushers them inside.
Hedoro Viran sits at the table in the middle of the room, fingers laced on top of the table, casual despite the handcuffs. He doesn’t look like a vicious serial killer, common black hair and dark eyes, plain face. There is no mud in sight thanks to the quirk suppressants, and he wears the standard orange jumper given to all prisoners, identification-number stenciled down one side.
But Naomasa recognizes that wide, savage grin.
“Oho,” the villain chortles, his expression melting into something smug. “How fortunate I am, that All-Might himself should come to me. And Ground Zero, too. All grown up and playing hero with your hero, aren’t you, brat?”
“Tch,” Bakugou spits. “You remember me, asshole?”
“I remember a lot of things,” Hedoro replies slyly. “Which, I imagine, is why you three are here.”
Their escort stations himself by the door, and Naomasa moves to sit in the middle of the three chairs that have already been put in place for them. He pulls out his tape recorder and places it on the table.
Toshinori sits to the left, Bakugou to the right. All the while, Hedoro watches them intently, an expression on his face that Naomasa would almost call bliss. The detective lays the single file he’d brought with him on the table, opens it to reveal two photos of Izuku and his mother.
Hedoro inhales sharply, fingers wiggling as he demands, “Gimme, gimme. Oh, I’ve waited years to see this face again. Years, Detective, you understand?” He bypasses Inko’s photo entirely, snatching up Izuku’s picture and bringing it to his mouth. Then, in a truly bizarre twist, he sniffs it, as though he can pick up some subtle trace of the boy’s scent.
“What the fuck,” Bakugou hisses, and All-Might’s expression is thunderous.
Naomasa holds up his hand, gesturing for both heroes to wait. Once they have both settled back into their chairs, he reaches out and touches a button on his recorder.
***
Interviewer: Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa
Interviewee: Hedoro Viran
Witnesses: No. 1, All-Might; No. 3, Ground Zero
Time, Date and Location: 7:54 PM, September 14th, Tartarus 2nd Floor, Interrogation Room 4
Begin Transcription.
TN: This interview is being recorded as part of an on-going investigation.
HV: Mm. Yes, I can see that. Did you bring any other pictures? Something more recent maybe?
No. 3: [metal scraping, banging] Are you fucking kidding right now, asshole?
No. 1: An interesting question.
HV: I’m getting ahead of myself, I suppose.
TN: Can you identify the boy in that photo?
HV: Midoriya Izu-kun. It’s been so many years and I’d forgotten the little details, but those eyes. I’ll never forget those eyes.
No. 3: [a single loud bang] What did you do to him, you slimy fuck?
TN: Ground Zero, if you cannot allow me to conduct this interview uninterrupted, I’ll have to ask you to wait outside.
No. 3: [pause] Sorry, Detective.
HV: [laughing] Oh, don’t apologize. I do love dissension in a household.
TN: Mr. Hedoro, how did you first meet Midoriya Izuku?
HV: I tried to kill him. I don’t even remember what I’d done that day, something boring and criminal. I heard a rumor that All-Might himself was in the area, so I needed to find myself a cozy little meatsuit to make my escape. Izu-kun happened to be in just the right place at just the right time.
TN: What exactly do you mean by “meatsuit?”
HV: In my sludge-form, I can force myself into a body and wear it like a suit. I prefer a dead body, of course; I’m not a monster.
TN: [pause] The records indicate that once inside your victim’s body, you have complete control over all voluntary function.
HV: Close enough. I can walk and pick things up. I can simulate breathing, blink the eyes, open and close the mouth. Can’t utilize the vocal cords, which frankly sucks. I’ve gotten pretty good over the years at impersonating voices, though.
TN: How good?
HV: [distinctive voice change, impersonating Tsukauchi Naomasa] Ground Zero, if you cannot allow me to conduct this interview uninterrupted, I’ll have to ask you to wait outside.
No. 3: The fuck.
HV: [high-pitched laugh] Oh, your faces!
TN: [pause] An impressive skill.
HV: Thank you. I’d stand and take a bow, but [metal clanking] you know how it is. Anyway, once I’m inside a body most people don’t know I’m there for at least a couple of days.
TN: What gives you away?
HV: The smell, mostly. Decomposition is a bitch.
TN: So you intended to kill Midoriya-kun and [pause] wear him as a meatsuit to leave the area.
HV: That was the idea. I plugged up his mouth and nose, kept him restrained for a few minutes. It doesn’t take much to snuff the life out of someone; he was almost there when All-Might showed up. [pause] You cut it pretty close, Mr. Hero. Another minute and I could have walked by you on the street, snug as a bug in his still-warm corpse.
No. 1: I saved young Midoriya’s life that day; I stopped you.
HV: You did, you did. [pause] That was the first time I suffered the indignity of being stuffed into a soda bottle. For the record, it was really fucking unpleasant.
No. 3: As unpleasant as being worn as a meatsuit, you sick fuck?
HV: [laughing] That’s fair. [pause] So, aside from being really cramped, it was also pretty much impossible to hear anything. I wasn’t trapped for long because the bottle fell out of All-Might’s pocket from - and I have been waiting years to make this complaint - really fucking high in the sky, okay? My life flashed before my eyes, it was terrifying. I hit the ground, the bottle exploded, and boom. Freedom at the cost of shitting my metaphorical pants.
TN: What did you do after you escaped?
HV: Gathered up some additional sludge, increased my volume. I knew All-Might would be looking for me, so I kept an eye out for a new meatsuit. I spotted a punk with a flashy explosive quirk and I’m afraid I couldn’t resist.
No. 3: Creep.
TN: You attempted to kill that second boy in full view of several pro-heroes. Not exactly the subtlest escape plan.
HV: I got a bit carried away, I’ll admit. But something to keep in mind, Detective? [distinctive voice change, impersonating No. 3, Ground Zero] Are you fucking kidding right now, asshole?
No. 3: [metal scraping, banging] Fuck you!
TN: [loudly] Sit down.
HV: [laughing] I have full control over my body in sludge-form. I can be as large or as small as I choose. Once the kid was dead and one of those pro-heroes made a move, I was planning on faking my defeat, all the while hiding inside of his body.
TN: [pause] No one knew you were a killer then.
HV: Now you’re starting to get it, Detective.
TN: But you didn’t account for Midoriya-kun’s actions.
HV: No. [pause] No, I didn’t. Everything was going according to plan. Those pro-heroes were dithering, my hostage was soon to be my meatsuit, and no one had a clue. Imagine my surprise when the same kid I’d tried to smother earlier launched himself out of the crowd and dug his pointy little fingers into my eyes. It hurt.
TN: Enough that you loosened your grip, allowing your victim a single breath of much needed oxygen.
HV: And then All-Might was there, as if magically summoned by Izu-kun’s presence. He hit me with a Texas Smash and I was done for. Dazed and disoriented for a few minutes, I’m sure you understand.
TN: How did you escape?
HV: I told you earlier, I have full control over my body in sludge-form. I didn’t pull myself together. Instead, I left the bulk of my muddy body splattered across the pavement, a frankly unattractive smear. I kept myself the size of a golf ball, moved slowly so I didn’t attract attention, and no one noticed my escape.
TN: What happened after that?
HV: Oh, this part’s great. This part is the best. [laughing] See, when I was playing hide and seek in that brat’s lungs, when Izu-kun raced out to stop me, he first chucked his school bag at me as a distraction. As it happens, his ID tumbled out and no one even noticed!
No. 1: [quietly] No.
HV: His name, his address, all there. You can call me petty, but he’d denied me twice that day. [pause] I wasn’t going to allow him to get away with it again. I got myself into the sewers and made my way to Izu-kun’s house, bulking up with sludge as I went. It didn’t take long.
TN: You attacked Midoriya-kun for a third time that day?
HV: I wanted to, but I beat him home. I’m capable of stealth when the situation calls for it, so I snuck into his house to wait. I thought about how close I’d gotten him to death earlier, how he’d gone quiet and still in my grip. Oh, I wanted to kill him so badly, you don’t even know. [pause] I’ll admit, I was impatient. To tide me over, I killed his mom.
[metal scrapping, metal clanging, short burst of explosions]
No. 3: You sonofabitch!
HV: [high-pitched laugh]
TN: Ground Zero, please!
No. 1: My boy, you must calm yourself!
Unknown Male: Sir, if you do not disengage your quirk, I am authorized to subdue you with a quirk suppressant.
[loud banging, single explosion]
No. 3: [heavy breathing] Fuck. Fuck. You asshole, you killed Auntie Inko. [pause] Get the fuck offa me, I’m done.
[heavy footsteps, door opening, door slamming shut]
[metal clanging, metal scrapping]
HV: Oh, that’s good. That reaction right there, I’d swallow that whole, if I could.
No. 1: I am not so hotheaded as my young associate, but I warn you; tread lightly.
TN: [pause] You confessed to six murders during your trial. Midoriya Inko was not among them.
HV: No, I kept her to myself. There’s a reason for that, but [pause] we’re getting ahead, aren’t we? I’ve waited years to tell this story, I don’t want to spoil it so soon.
HV: When I first crept into Izu-kun’s house, his mom was on the phone. I let her finish her call before I struck; wrapped her up in my embrace, covered her mouth and nose, let her choke on me until she went soft and pliant in my arms. [pause] Shit, she was warm.
TN: You used her as a meatsuit.
HV: Not immediately. She’d been making dinner, whole fish laid out, rice in the cooker, some steamed veg, and fuck it, I was hungry. I was in the middle of eating when Izu-kun got home. That’s when I put her on and went to greet him.
HV: [pause] He took one look at me and he knew. Shit, I get chills just thinking about it. [laughing] I thought I was in control. I played the part, asked him about his day, all concerned and motherly. He told me he’d had a rough time and wanted to take a bath.
TN: What do you mean, “he knew?”
HV: Did I stutter, Detective? That his mom was dead, that someone else was in the driver’s seat, that I was there to kill him next. However you want to spin it. The minute he walked through that door, before I said a single word, he knew.
TN: How can you say that with certainty? Did he tell you that?
HV: No, but looking back, it was obvious. [pause] He left the room, presumably to get ready for his bath. I figured it was a good place to attack, when he was alone and already vulnerable. Plus, liquids are easier to move in when I’m in sludge-form. I waited until the water had run for a bit before opening the bathroom door and creeping inside.
HV: He was sitting on the side of the bathtub, fully clothed. He didn’t even look up when I entered the room. The whole scene gave me a bad feeling. I took a step forward only to realize that the floor was soaking wet. Everything went pretty quickly after that.
TN: What happened?
HV: The crazy little shit electrocuted me!
No. 1: What?
HV: [laughing] Right? Don’t know how he didn’t electrocute himself, too. He used his mom’s hair-curler and the water on the bathroom floor; knocked me out completely. [pause] When I woke up, my meatsuit was restrained with zip-ties. I was gagged, and get this - the kid plugged up the nose and ears, too. [short laugh] Dedication, right there. And then. Oh, Detective, I get chills. I think about it and I get chills down my spine. Izu-kun was sitting in front of me. His eyes were red, throat sore, voice like gravel. He must have cried for hours.
HV: But he looked at me, really looked at me. Like he could reach inside his mother’s body and grab hold of me and tear me out. He said, “I’ve got a fish tank set up for you. I’m going to take off that gag, and you’re going to get out of my mom.”
HV: Now, if I’d have been able to talk, I’d have told Izu-kun exactly where he could stick it, you know? That’s when I noticed my meatsuit’s feet were in a bucket of water, and that the kid was holding a brand new hair-curler.
HV: “If you don’t,” he continued, “I’m going to electrocute you again. Only this time? I won’t stop.”
TN: [pause] You murdered Midoriya-kun’s mother. You used her as a disguise, all the while preparing to kill Midoriya-kun himself. He somehow managed to anticipate your attack and launched a counterattack wherein he electrocuted and captured you while you were still inside her body. Then he threatened to torture you in an attempt to get you out?
HV: [quiet sigh] He’s really great, isn’t he?
TN: [pause] What happened next?
HV: Next? I spent a couple of days trapped in the kid’s bedroom. I don’t know how he figured it out, but he kept me small, kept me contained in that tank. I got food and water, and I got a front row seat to the shit-show. All that stuff he had to deal with after his mom’s death? I almost felt bad.
TN: In the coroner’s report, Midoriya Inko’s cause of death was listed as choking on a fishbone. Why didn’t Midoriya-kun call the police? Why didn’t he report what really happened?
HV: Yeah, the fishbone thing was probably me. In my sludge-form, little bones like that are a nuisance, not fatal. I was in the middle of eating dinner when I put her on, so the fishbone hitched a ride with me and lodged in her throat. I really didn’t notice at the time.
TN: And the rest?
HV: Because it was his fault, Detective.
No. 1: It most certainly was not.
HV: But it was. If it wasn’t for him, I never would have killed his mom. He knew that. In fact, that’s why I made the plea bargain I did.
TN: You confessed to six murders and accepted a lifelong prison sentence. And in return -
HV: In return, I cannot legally be held responsible for any other murder that I’ve already committed. Before I confessed, they had no idea that I’d killed anyone. The prosecutor figured it was better to put me on trial and get me locked up. Why quibble over one more meatsuit when I’m already in here for life? [laughing]
TN: Legally, you cannot be held responsible for Midoriya Inko’s death. [pause] You took that from him.
HV: I gave that to him. That’s what it is, Detective. A gift.
TN: What happened the night you were arrested?
HV: It was the day of his mom’s funeral. Izu-kun was quite distraught, but he’d been telling me all week that once his mother was at peace, he’d turn me over to the police.
TN: You talked with him at length during that week?
HV: I learned him inside and out. Well [short laugh] sort of. [quiet sigh] What I wouldn’t have given, then. To cover his mouth and nose and hold him as he twisted and struggled. Hold him until he stopped. I have dreams about him sometimes. That look in his red-rimmed eyes. He could have killed me back then. I would have killed me, if I were him.
TN: You were found on the police steps in a soda bottle. Did Midoriya-kun put you there?
HV: He did. Used a funnel to get me out of my fish tank and into that damned bottle, and then he carried me to the police station. [pause] You know, he was going to drop me off inside. He went up to an officer on duty and everything, but the pig was an asshole when he found out Izu-kun was quirkless.
TN: Do you remember what the officer looked like?
HV: Not really. All of you meatsuits look the same to me. [pause] Izu-kun scribbled a note, said his good-byes, and left me on the steps. That was the last time I saw him. [paper rustling] Until now. Oh, I want a more recent photo. I do, I do.
TN: That won’t be possible. I doubt I’d provide one to you, even if I could.
HV: Never say never, Detective. But I’ll bite. Why are you using a yearbook photo from fifteen years ago?
TN: That moment you just described as the last time you saw Midoriya-kun? As of right now, it is his last known sighting, period.
HV: Oho? [pause] This entire interview, it’s all brand new information to you, isn’t it? You were hoping I would know where to find him, or at least be able to point you in a new direction.
TN: Thank you for your time, Mr. Hedoro.
HV: I want a photo. A new photo, when you find him.
TN: As I’ve just explained to you -
HV: Agree to the photo, and I’ll point you in a new direction. On the way to the police station, Izu-kun had a little run-in with someone. Someone I can guarantee you haven’t yet spoken to.
TN: [pause] If your information leads us to Midoriya-kun [pause] one photo.
HV: [laughing] What did I tell you? Never say never. And this conversation is being recorded, isn’t it? Your word is your legally binding promise. A name now for my photo later.
TN: Yes, you have my word. [pause] Why are you so sure we haven’t spoken to this person yet?
HV: Because, Detective, this is the first time you’ve been to Tartarus. I’m sure you can have All-Might call in a favor or two. It might be tough, the Hero Killer has a notoriously busy schedule, but I’m sure if you drop Izu-kun’s name, he can pencil you in.
End Transcription.
***