Chapter Text
Endeavor’s Funeral
Shoto stared at the new freshly dug plot where the groundskeepers had just finished burying his father. He has been dead for a week now. He looked blankly at the dirt. For the first time in his life, he had no idea how to feel about his father. His sister and brother had balled their eyes out. Was he supposed to do the same? He did not know. For years his father would “train” him into the ground. Day in and day out, his father would beat within an inch of his life just to train the boy to be his successor and the one who would “Surpass All-Might,” as Enji kept proclaiming. Even with all that was done to Shoto by the man who was supposed to be a guardian, an inspiration, he could not cry for the man. Hell, his family didn’t even pay for this. It was all paid for by the Hero Public Safety Commission, headstone included. He would have thought about crying for joy, seeing the man who tormented him finally dead. He would not grieve for the loss of Enji. To Shoto, he was not a father. To him, he was just a stranger whom he shared a home with.
Shoto just glared at the headstone that was a decorated piece of Onyx. The top of it was sculpted to look like two torches with flames coming out of them. On stone itself was a saying that made Shoto’s stomach turn, it read: ENDEAVOR, YOUR FIRE CONTINUES TO BURN, INSPIRING OTHERS. Shoto felt the fire half of quirk began to billow smoke from his right hand as he grit his teeth. The little sentence was the Commission’s idea wanting to, as they put it, “Give one final message to Endeavor’s followers.” He scoffed at how his sister agreed to the idea so easily. The smoke in his hand began to become darker, and the temperature steadily rose along with his anger. He started to raise his hand.
His dark thoughts were broken when he was touched on the shoulder. In an instant, the scowl was gone, and his usual neutral expression was back. He looked to his shoulder and saw his sister, who was not wearing her typical glasses. Her eyes were red from the tears. In a shakily, hiccupping voice she asked, “Are you okay?” she had tried to remain strong
Shoto, let a sigh and said, “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, looking at the headstone one more time. He then placed a comforting arm around her as she continued to shed tears to the man that made him miserable. He couldn’t stand it anymore. All the crying, all the sadness, all the false bravado, it was grinding his nerves as he asked his sister, “You ready to go?” He hid the irritation in his voice for his sister’s sake.
Fuyumi nodded her head, and the two began walking away. She used her youngest brother as a support as she walked out, continued to leave her head buried. Natsuo waited for them near the gates of the graveyard as they joined him, and they went to grieve in private. As the remaining Todoroki family left, so did the news crews and fans. The fans left to mourn, and the news crews left to follow the family to try to get interviews and footage for tonight’s broadcast. Unknown to all three groups, out from behind one of the many trees in the graveyard came a tall, lanky young man. His skin was pale as a sheet of paper. He has longish, black hair that spikes up around his head, hanging low over his eyes, which are thin, turquoise in color, and heavily lidded. His most striking feature, however, had to be the patches of gnarled, wrinkled skin that cover much of his lower face and neck. It continued all the way down past his collarbone, below his eyes and on his arms and legs. Connecting all this to his less damaged skin were stitches with what looked like silver hoop-like staples. His face was littered with stud piercings in his ears and in his right nostril.
The young man stood in front of Enji Todoroki’s grave. Now indirect light, it was revealed that he is wearing a dark blue jacket with a high, ripped collar. He has matching pants that are cut off above his ankles, a pair of dark dress shoes on his feet. He also has a plain pale gray, scoop-neck shirt, below which a gray belt with a circular pattern wraps around his waist, a leather satchel attached at the back. This was Dabi, a B-ranked villain. He snorted as he took in the display of the hero. His eye landed on the name and date of death, he let out a single snort as he read it over and over again.
Dabi then looked up at the sky, it was relatively clear, a single cloud here and there. It was relatively peaceful as he finally spoke, “So someone got to you first, huh, old man?” He pauses for a second, almost expecting a response, “Whoever did it, is a hero in my book,” he grinned before he spits on the grave. He then turned and walked away, but not before putting his arm up and flipping off the grave as a final farewell, “See you later, old man. Hope you burn in hell,” and walked out into the streets of the city, disappearing into the crowd.
Police Station
Naomasa was standing in front of the Commissioner’s desk with the hound headed man glaring daggers at him, “I am not happy Naomasa,” That much was obvious; otherwise, he wouldn’t be here. However, he stood at attention and listened to the man, not revealing how he felt. The Commissioner stood up, “I want you to find this guy and quick. It was one thing he went after yakuza, but now he killed a schoolteacher and the second-ranked hero of Japan. This man needs to be stopped.” The Commissioner then looked out of his window and continued, “He has to be brought in and locked up in Tartarus. You are my best officer, I want him found, and I want this circus over with!” Naomasa looked away from his boss, the news was calling the police incompetent and the Heroes ineffective. It was making the people lose faith in them, and if that happened, well, he didn’t want to think about it. The Commissioner must have seen the look of defeat Naomasa’s face because he barked out harsh words, “If this is too much Naomasa, then turn over your badge and gun. Then go clean out your desk. I need someone with the spine to get this psycho off the streets!” Kenji leveled a stare that told Naomasa he better do his job and quickly.
Naomasa was given an ultimatum, and he would refuse to let this guy go free for what he had done. There was one problem, however, “Sir! He has been quiet for nearly a week. No one has seen or heard of him since that night. We barely have anything on him as it is!” he didn’t mean to raise his voice at boss but, right now like before, they had nothing on him. What the Commissioner was asking was impossible.
Kenji whipped around and slammed a hand on his desk, “I don’t want excuses just results!” he then pointed at his door and said, “Now get out! Don’t come back until that monster is in chains!” Naomasa bowed while biting his lower lip. He screwed up, and he needed to fix this.
He walked through to the doors and went to his desk. He took notice at all the eyes on him as he walked to his desk. On top of it, were stacks of folders. He sat in his chair and gave a heavy sigh. He took the first file on the stack and began to look through it. The file was one of the victims left behind by the flaming skull monster. He was looking for a pattern as to why some of them were targeted. However, nothing added up; they were all different people. Some were men, some were women. Others were poor, and others were rich. He targeted quirked people and non-quirked people. Then there those who were criminals and others who were everyday people. The oddest was that he left some people alive, ‘So he does have some moral compass,’ Naomasa thought as he read over the eyewitness statements. The monster’s patterns didn’t make sense, and it frustrated him to no end. Naomasa sighed as he closed the file he was reading
Before he knew he was halfway through the stack. He was now looking at a picture of an officer that was killed by the monster. He was suddenly caught off guard when in his peripheral vision, he caught the sight of orange hair. Naomasa let out a slight yell as he was startled, but he recovered quickly as he saw it was Sansa. The cat-headed officer gave him a salute, “Naomasa! How are you?” he asked, overly polite.
Naomasa groaned as he gave a shooing motion to the fellow, “Sansa, please go I am working,” he went back to looking over the file of the officer. The tab read Yumiko, Kokoro. The file said he was a quirked officer. His quirk Curve. The quirk allowed him to curve any object he threw or shot and curve it in any direction. The man was unextraordinary. His career as a cop was nothing to look at, average arrests, average achievements, and only getting promotions because of his long service.
Sansa, however, added a critical piece of information not found in the file, “Oh, that guy? It’s a shame, really. I.A. went through all that work, and he was killed by the monster,” he was looking over Naomasa’s shoulder looking at the file as well.
Naomasa raised an eyebrow at the comment, “I.A. was investigating him?” there wasn’t anything in his file.
Sansa nodded his head, “Yeah, he was being investigated for taking money and leaking info to the yakuza families,” Naomasa couldn’t believe it. Never in his years as an officer would he break the oaths he made for some money.
What confused them was that why he hadn’t heard about, “Why wasn’t in his file?” Naomasa whispered to himself.
However, he got an unexpected answer from Sansa, “The man was killed. If I had to guess I.A. didn’t feel the need to continue an investigation into a dead man.” At the same time, he sounded heartless with that remark, Naomasa had to agree. It would have been a waste of time and manpower.
Naomasa dragged his hand down his face in exasperation, “I guess all people keep secrets,” as the words left his mouth Naomasa got to thinking. He remembered an old saying, once is chance, twice is a coincidence and a third time is a pattern. He was finding a pattern.
He was suddenly struck with an idea, a clue. He started to dig through files and began to separate files into separate groups. Sansa was going to ask what he was doing but stopped when he saw how focused he was. Naomasa came up with four groups. The first was a pile of everyday people with no ties to criminal activity. The second pile was the most enormous pile containing criminals, both top-ranked villains and lowest of the low such as typical drug dealers. The third pile was the good people that had been killed by the monster. Then the final pile was the smallest, but it was the most important; it was the files of questionable individuals. It was the pile that held the deceased officers, and Naomasa wrote across the file, “Dirty Cop.” He looked at all the files he had collected. He began putting the criminals into the pile as he wrote their crimes across the files. By the time he was done, the criminals, all of them joined Kokoro’s file.
He then began looking through the common citizen’s files. That pile was nearly as tall as the criminal one. He sighed as he looked at the cat-faced officer who was still standing at attention. He sighed as he knew he would regret this, but Sansa had given him a lead. He owed the officer a chance to help, “Sansa, would you please help me?” the words tasted bitter coming out of his mouth.
Sansa smile, “Of course, sir, I will notify the desk sergeant and be right back,” Naomasa waved the young officer off. Sansa saluted and went off. Naomasa had work to be done.
Nenshō Gomu
Izuku was having a hard time focusing, on work, life, just about everything else in between. He hadn’t let The Rider out since he…it killed Endeavor. He could stop thinking about the man it had killed, the hero it had killed. He watched the news for the past few days, and a description of The Rider was always on the news and a warning to stay away from the hero killer.
He was so lost in thought that he as tightening a bolt on the tires when his grip slipped from the ratchet, and Izuku smashed himself into the side of the car, “Fuck!” he shouted out as he rubbed his shoulder. The worse part about the whole situation was the Rider had not been healing him
Cid opened the door to the garage as he had heard the commotion. He saw Izuku nursing his bruised shoulder. Cid let out a sigh as he went back inside his shop. Izuku noticed the man’s quick entrance and exit but didn’t care. He would take care of his own problems as always. As he felt himself healing, Cid’s voice grabbed his attention, “Here kid,” Izuku quickly put his hand up and caught something. Cid had tossed him a bag of frozen peas, “Put that on your shoulder, and when you’re done with that car, go home,” the older man said. Cid didn’t stay around for Izuku to thank him or respond. Izuku put the bag on his shoulder that he felt was already healing. Even with the things blaring mad at him, it still kept him alive and healthy.
Izuku eventually removed the bag and finished the repair to the car. He washed his hand in the sink of the garage. As he walked into the store part of the shop, he saw Cid sitting in his usual spot watching on the small tv. Cid looked over when he heard the door open. Izuku tossed him the bag of now unfrozen peas, “Thanks,” he said. Izuku didn’t really know what to say besides that. He and his boss weren’t exactly chummy.
Cid grabbed the peas mid-air, but when he gripped the bag, he smashed the peas inside, “What the hell, kid? They’re all melted!” he said, slightly pissed. Izuku just huffed before turning to leave. Before he could leave, though, Cid called out, “Kid, hold up a second.” There was no sarcasm in his voice, only sincerity. He put his hand on the counter as he wrapped his knuckles on the counter, “Are you okay, kid?” he asked.
Izuku scuffed and said, “Yeah don’t worry. I’ll be back tomorrow to work.” He went over to clock to punch out for the day. When he turned around, he nearly bumped into Cid, who was staring down at him. He fiddled with the toothpick in his mouth with his tongue. Izuku groaned and went to go around the man. Cid kept blocking his path even when he tried to go around again.
Cid relaxed as let out a sigh, his shoulders slumped as he thought of the right words to say. He was never good with words; it was the reason he had an ex-wife and a daughter he couldn’t communicate with. He then inhaled as breath through his nose and said, “That’s not what I meant.” Izuku raised an eyebrow looking at Cid as if he grew three heads. Cid knew that since the time he hired Izuku, their relationship has strictly been worker and boss.
Late though, he noticed how Izuku would work, but it was like he was a zombie. He was sluggish and had trouble focusing, “I meant, are you okay?” he asked as he pointed to his own head, “Up here?” Cid watched Izuku look away and slightly fidget in place.
Izuku gave a puzzled look, for as long as he had known Cid, the man was all business and never got too personal. He would ask basic things, how was his day, how was his mom things such as that. This was strange to him, “I’m fine,” he said, more trying to convince himself then Cid. Cid gave him an incredulous look as he stared down at him. He couldn’t tell Cid his actual problems. Izuku couldn’t tell him about an angry spirit that he shared a body with. He couldn’t tell him about the spirit’s voice that whispered in his mind. He couldn’t tell him the guilt he felt for killing a man who was a hero admired millions. He couldn’t tell him that he felt that he was a monster that parents were telling their children at night. It then dawned on him that there was one thing he could that could get him off his back, “Alright, I’m not fine,” he said tiredly.
Cid bit down on his toothpick as he egged him on to tell him. Izuku blurted out, “Me and my mom got into a fight.” Izuku studied Cid for a moment. He was rubbed his mustache listening attentively.
Cid asked in his usual gruff manner, “’ Bout what?” He was slightly shocked about a fight between the mother and son. From what he gathered and the way Izuku talk about his mother, the two were as thick as thieves. They were each other’s crutch that they leaned on. Izuku had treasured the woman and did everything in his power; he could to make her happy. Hearing there was a problem brewing in that happy home concerned the man.
Izuku rubbed his neck as he looked down at the ground, “Me going back to school,” he said.
Cid raised an eyebrow at the answer, “Let me guess. Your ma wants you to go back? Right?” Izuku nodded his head. Cid rubbed the side of his neck as he groaned, he was never able to give advice in his own family. Still, Cid could give it to struggling young man in front of him, “You know kid, many people would kill for a chance to get that opportunity. Me included,” he began. “You don’t want to do this for the rest of the life,” he said as he mentioned to the garage behind Izuku. Cid continued, “Your mother is offering you a chance to be better than a mechanic for the rest of your life.” Cid was beginning to falter in his speech as he ran out of the speech. He found more on one of the walls where a poster detailed the parts of a car giving him inspiration, “Wouldn’t you rather be designing these things than just fix them?” he said.
Izuku looked at the poster. He would have loved to design cars from the ground up. Izuku shook his head from his thoughts then retorted back, “How am I going to pay for school when I can just barely cover food and rent?!” his voice was harsher than he wanted. However, this was always a problem for them. He needed to cover the rent, food for the week, and that was strained with all hours he worked at the garage. Doubt began to creep in his mind as he started to ramble off why going to school was a bad idea, “That’s great, and all but just paying tuition is one thing. Then there’s money for books, supplies, lab fees, and the list goes on.” Izuku finished ranting and looked at the strained look on the older man’s face.
Cid took in everything Izuku said. He was right when paying for school; the damn thing was expensive; he couldn’t deny that. However, he would offer one final piece of advice, “I’m not your pa, but here is some advice. Just talk to her. The way you described her, you two are all you have. If you two let this resentment brew, it could turn to bitterness.” He crossed his arms as he stared down his nose at the teen.
Izuku stepped around the man as he went to the door of the shop, Cid continued to stare. As he opened the door and about to step past the threshold, without looking back at the man, he said, “Thanks, Cid.” He then left the shop, closing the door gently behind him. Cid nodded his head with a smile as he went back to the counter, sat down, and watched the news on his television.
Police Station
Naomasa, with Sansa’s assistance, organized all the files into neat piles. The previous four piles had been condensed into two. The first were the linked cases. The linked cases were the ones that they found out all committed some form of crime. This was the easiest pile, almost all the criminals and villains were in this pile. After some digging, they found some of the officers and even politicians that had been killed were linked to shady businesses. The list consisted of extortion, drug trafficking, turning a blind eye to criminals, accepting bribes, and human trafficking, just to name a few crimes. Naomasa was proud of his and Sansa’s combined effort. They had spent the whole morning doing research and discovering hidden secrets. However, their second pile was still incredibly large. They were everyday people, some with quirks and some without. They even did background checks and found no ties to crime, not even being distant relatives to any. Then there was the one file that contained a hero.
Naomasa let out a small whine as he went limp in his chair in exhaustion. There were still many variables that he had to solve. He then spoke out, “Some of these make sense, but others are just plain question marks.” He then picked up Endeavor’s file looking at the picture that was placed with it. His arms fell to his sides, “I mean, this guy was one of the greatest in the country what could he have done wrong?” he questioned no one in particular. Maybe it was a lack of coffee, lack of sleep, or fear of losing his job, but he was having trouble thinking. Usually, he would have a string of theories at this point, but his brain was not working.
Luckily, Sansa spoke an idea that made him feel like a first-year beat cop, “What if we go find out? Go talk to his family. His son was the last one to see him alive. Right?” his chipper voice asked. His eyes were closed, and he smiled at his senior officer.
Naomasa nodded his head in agreement as he pulled his trench coat off the back of his chair, “Good idea, your driving,” he said. He would give credit where credit was due, maybe a new of eyes and ears on this case would be just the things to help him crack it. Perhaps he would put in a good to have the officer promoted. He tossed a set of keys to the young officer as they left the station.
Midoriya Apartment
Midoriya opened the door to the apartment and placed his keys on the hanger by the door. Walking in, he spotted his mother sitting in her chair as she watched the daily news. It was like every other news broadcast. The television displayed a sketch of The Rider. Underneath the picture was read: Hero Killer Wanted. Reward Offered For Any Information.
Inko took notice of her son’s entrance and said, “Hi Izuku. Your home early?” She was curious about why her son was home so early. When she thought about it, she had noticed he had been coming home earlier more often. It was strange he would always work late to make more money. Now he was coming home at a decent hour in the evening, and he was smiling more. She heard him enter the kitchen.
Izuku sat down on the couch with a cup of water in hand. Izuku slowly took sips of the glass to work up the nerves to talk to his mom. Izuku put the glass down as he cleared his throat, “Mom, can we talk?” he asked softly. Inko nodded her head as she looked at her son. Izuku took a deep breath and then spoke, “About going back to school…”
Inko cut him off as she scuffed, “Still think it’s a bad idea?” She let her words linger for a moment before she continued to, “If that’s your attitude, then we have nothing to talk about.” She crossed her arms and put her focus back on the news.
Izuku let her anger burn for a moment before he spoke, “No. I was wondering if you would help me choose which one would work best.” Inko snapped towards him, her eyes were wide in shock. Izuku smiled lightly at her, “I got to thinking about what you said and…” he took in a breath as he continued, “You were right. If I go back and get a degree or graduate from a trade school. I could make more money in the long run and take care of both of us.” He smiled as Inko started to tear up and beamed a smile at him.
Inko hurriedly wiped her face as she went over to a cupboard where the fine china was stored. In one of the draws, she pulled out three pamphlets and wheeled back to the coffee table. Inko then smiled; she had exciting news to tell her son as well, “Since we’re sharing, I thought I let you know.” Izuku leaned in when she spoke eager to hear what had her so excited, “ I got a job,” she said, her big reveal.
Izuku raised an eyebrow, “Doing what? And how did you get it?” He was curious about what his mother would be doing.
Inko bashfully smiled as she said, “I called Mitsuki, and she said she could get me a job working for her husband. What’ll I be doing is some simple book balancing.” Inko was proud to have gotten a job, she didn’t know what it paid, but it was something rather than sitting around the house, letting the days blend together. She then spoke up while grabbing the pamphlet, “Here, let's see which one will work best.” The duo discussed schools for hours, which lead to the topic of Inko’s new job.
Izuku’s smile brightened at the news, “This seems like something worth celebrating, right?” He got up as from the couch as he reached for his wallet.
Inko asked, “Where are you going?”
“Going to the store to get groceries. Go start cooking. Let’s make our favorites tonight,” Izuku declared as he left the house. Inko couldn’t help but feel her heart melt. It had been so long since he smiled, and she missed it incredibly.
Todoroki Residence
Naomasa was sitting the Todoroki’s dining room across from the last person who had talked to Endeavor. His son Shoto. Shoto was staring neutrally at the detective across from him. He figured that they would eventually come to speak with him, but he was curious why he had a cat-headed sidekick. The man just stood beside the detective with his arms behind his back. Shoto’s staring was interrupted with Fuyumi placing a cup of coffee in front of Naomasa and a cup of milk in front of Sansa. She smiled sweetly as the duo thanked her. She gave her brother an encouraging smile as she left the trio in the dining room to go into the kitchen. Naomasa could always tell when someone was hurting or grieving, and that girl was doing it in spades. However, he was impressed that she still found the time to comfort and guide
Naomasa coughed into his hand, he was use to doing this in an interrogation room. The current setting was making things difficult for him to get in the zone. He first tries some civility, “Thank you for seeing us so soon after the funeral of your father.” Naomasa smiled after he spoke. He didn’t receive one back from the Todoroki.
Shoto got right to the point and asked, “Why are you here?” He was not in the mood for pleasantries and or games.
Naomasa looked to his new partner for advice on where to go from here. Sansa gave him a firm nodded, telling him not to beat around the bush. Naomasa’s disposition changed as he leaned forward, putting his arms on the table. He activated his quirk as he began, “I just want to ask some questions about your father and that night. Is that okay?” Naomasa asked.
Shoto leaned back in his chair as he looked away from the detective, “Fine,” he let out and hmphed.
Naomasa asked his first question, “Did your father go out looking for the Hero Killer?”
Shoto shrugged, “I guess. He didn’t tell me about his plans. Every hero was looking for him. Endeavor too.”
Truth. That is what ran through Naomasa’s body when Shoto answered. He looked at Sansa and nodded his head, giving the cat-headed man the message. Naomasa continued his questioning, “Did he tell you anything or do anything strange the night he died?”
“He did what he always did. He went out on patrol for the night and then came back,” Shoto said with no emotion.
Truth again, but that was only half his question answered. Naomasa pressed. He wanted to see if there was more to the story. However, before he could ask, Sansa asked, “What about when he came home? Anything strange?” Naomasa would have scolded the younger officer any other time. Still, he wanted to know how the young officer handled himself. He knew the young officer had spunk, but that only got a cop so far.
Shoto sat straighter as he looked at the officer, “Yeah, Endeavor said he was “Sorry for everything.” Then after I came back from showering, he was dead in the chair,” he told the two his two different colored eyes lofted lazily towards the cat-man.
Truth but only partially. Naomasa narrowed his eyes as he watched the young man in front of him. The teen was either emotionally stunted, or there was something he wasn’t seeing, “Why do find him apologizing strange?” Naomasa asked.
“Let’s just say Endeavor wasn’t the touchy, feely kind of guy,” Shoto said in a monotone voice.
Truth. Naomasa noticed something strange about the conversation. Not once had Shoto called the man, dad, father, or even his name. That was peculiar, ‘What am I not seeing?’ he thought to himself. He took his time to correctly word his next question, “Your father was very distant? Must have been difficult?” he didn’t ask the question; it was more of a statement.
Shoto gave the duo a deadly glare that made the two look at each other uneasy. He then let out a growl, “You don’t know the half of it.” The air became chilly as Naomasa saw his breath for a moment before it was back to normal.
Sansa immediately fired a question back, “What does that mean?” The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
“My father was a bastard!” Shoto yelled back. The mood in the room soured at the outburst. Before either could ask the teen what he meant, he continued talking, “Endeavor use to beat the crap out of me and called it training. Wanting to have the perfect legacy. He would abuse my mother to the point she couldn’t take it anymore!” Shoto slammed his hands on the table, ice shot across the table at the two officers. Naomasa stood up from the table in shook. He looked across the table and saw the teen was huffing and puffing as he leaned over. Then in a shallow, nearly broken voice came out, “It was because of him that she did this to me!” He brought his head up and pointed at the red scar on his face. Even with him gone, he would be marked by the man for the rest of his life.
Truth. Shoto was like a storm at seas. He was lashing out after building up all the turmoil and rage that had swelled inside him from years ago. He looked at the men across the table, both reeling in shock before adopting frowns. Shoto put his hands up in apology and to show he meant no harm. He sat down first and then motioned for them to do the same. The two were apprehensive at first, but Sansa sat first with Naomasa following. Shoto took a big inhale as he calmed himself. Naomasa was slightly rattled by the sudden
Sansa coughed into one of his hands as to get the attention back on him, “I know tempers are high, but I want to ask just one more thing,” he said as he got Shoto’s attention. Shoto nodded once again, letting the man continue is questioning, “Did Endeavor ever commit any crimes?” Naomasa whipped his head at his partner and shot a deadly glare. Sansa was like a blunt hammer at times.
Shoto looked at the tabby-headed man with a raised eyebrow, “Besides the beating and the spousal abuse?” he asked. Sansa nodded his head. Shoto closed his eyes in thought, letting out a hum as he did. He seemed to find something in his thoughts, as stated said, “There was one thing I remember.” Naomasa leaned in, his quirk ready to detect. Shoto shook his head before speaking, “I didn’t hear the entire thing, but there was something that strange. It was about a year ago. The Safety Commission called, and Endeavor was yelling at whoever was on the other end of the line. After some more hushed words, he yelled out, “I didn’t know they were in there!” That was all I could listen before he shut himself in his office.” As Shoto recounted the event of interest, Naomasa took out a notepad from his coat pocket and wrote down as much information he could abbreviate. It seemed he would have to stop at The Safety Commission to get answers.
Sansa nodded his thanks as he went back to staring neutrally at the teen. Naomasa spoke up, asking, “He never said what it was?” Any little detail could help them in the investigation. After this interview, they gained much more information than they started with.
Naomasa was happy with the progress they made today. He stood up from his chair. “Mr. Todoroki, thank you for your time today. I understand you and your family are still grieving, so we’ll call it a day,” he said as he put his pen and pad into his coat pocket. As he did that, he fished his police card out of his jacket and held it out for Shoto to take. “If you remember anything, please call that number,” he said. Shoto nodded his head, and Naomasa did the same. He motioned for Sansa to follow him out, which he did but not before bowing to the teen.
The two made it to their police car that was parked outside the Todoroki residence Naomasa plopped in the driver-side seat as he let out a breath, “That in there. Was not what I was expecting,” he told the cat-headed officer.
Sansa nodded as he looked through the file on Endeavor, “I know what you mean. I can’t imagine a hero like him abusing his family. Then that stuff with the Safety Commission as well,” he said with his nose buried in the file before shuddering. He then promptly shut it as he placed it on the dash of the car. Sansa then picks up the file of Akira Sato, showing it to Naomasa, who looked over at him, “I can’t imagine a guy like this doing anything like that all.” Sansa began to read through the file for what was probably the millionth time.
Naomasa had to agree; from what he read, Akira was too much of a puppy dog to do anything that heinous. The guy looked to be too good a soul. Naomasa then looked away from Sansa as he stared at the Todoroki residence through the car window, ‘Then again. Do we really know what a person does behind closed doors?’ he thought.
The static of a voice talking over radio caught both their attention, “Delta-24 are reading this?”
Naomasa grabbed the receiver and called back, “We’re here dispatched. Go ahead.”
“We’ve been getting calls about noises coming from a home at 1988 Shinsha Street. I know you guys are out on an investigation, but you guys are the closest unit. Please respond,” the dispatcher asked as he was done talking.
Naomasa let out a groan, he had been placed on another more important case that was of the utmost importance. He was ready to press the button to talk on the receiver to tell them to call another unit. However, he was stopped when the officer next to him called out, “Detective!” Sansa shoved Akira’s file into Naomasa’s face. Naomasa grabbed the thing bringing it slightly away from his face to help his eyes focus. Sansa then pointed at the to a box that held the address.
Naomasa’s eyes widened in surprise. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he calmly asked, “Dispatch, please repeat that address.”
“It's on Shinsha Street, house number 1988,” dispatch replied. It was the same address that was listed in Akira’s file. The duo looked at each other with grave expressions.
Musutafu City Streets
Izuku had finally gotten a break from The Rider’s voice, whispering at the back of his head. The monster constantly whispered the sins that a person had and how their soul needed to burn. Izuku just sighed; the voice was like nails on a chalkboard that grinding against his mind. Izuku was happy that his mother was happy. After the talk they had about him going back to school, it was refreshing to come home and not have the atmosphere in the house feel heavy with conflict.
He was out getting some little things for dinner tonight. He had walked to the grocery store and was no holding a bag of groceries, the leafy top of a leak poking out of the top of the plastic bag that he clenched in his hand. This walk was good for him, it gave him time to think. Maybe going back to a normal life was good for him. He would get on with his life, go back to school, and get a real job. He had done the best he could being the Rider. Maybe it was time to hang up his chain. He felt his souls on ease
Izuku mindlessly walked through town as he took a chance at thinking about what life would be like. A life, giving up on his revenge. He went through a small tunnel walkway that was a shortcut to his home. As he walked by a manhole cover opened slightly two yellow eyes penetrated the darkness as a sickly demented voice said, “Hiya skin suit.” Slime started to concentrate out of the storm drain and begin to form a huge mass. Eventually, the mass took the shape of arms, a chest, and a head that had those sickly yellow eyes. The monster let out a laugh that echoed out through the tunnel.
Izuku whirled around hearing due to the laughter coming from behind him. Izuku’s eyes darted around for a moment until he laid eyes on the slime monster. The hulking mass was dripping ever so slightly as pieces of him would fall off and hit the ground. The pieces would do then retract back into the monster before doing it all again. Izuku glared at the monsters that looked at him with malice in its eyes, “You don’t want to do this. Crawl back into the sewer!” he yelled out to it. Inside his head, The Rider called for the monster’s death.
His yelling brought laughter to the monster. It was amused by the statement. Its yellow eyes fixed on Izuku as it rasped out, “I need to hide, and you’re the perfect little meat suit.” Izuku narrowed his eyes as the monstrosity started to slither towards him. Izuku angled his body to twist and run, but his foot caught on something. He looked down and notice a slimy tentacle latched around his ankle. The monster smiled, showing nasty yellow teeth as he swiftly clambered over to Izuku.
Izuku looked on in mild surprise as the slime began to cover his body. Within seconds the slime monster was on him trying to slither inside him. Izuku immediately shut his mouth tight as he felt the monster try to enter his mouth. When that was closed off, the slime then went for the ears and nose. Izuku’s throat burned as he felt the monster intrude his throat, and his lungs ache for air. He felt The Rider rage in his mind, trying to claw its way out of him and burn the monster to ash. The way the freak was squirming around his body, he thought about letting him. The monster chuckled darkly as it said, “Just relax. Don’t fight me.” It brought Izuku to its face as it stared into his eyes, hoping to see the glorious fear all its victims displayed. This is what made it so exciting to see the light leave its victim's eyes as it took over the victim’s body.
However, it was met with something else. Defiance stared back in the eyes of the teen, his eyes took an orange hue. The slime monster recoiled away slightly as it felt dread in the pit of its stomach. It felt it was in the presence of a predator. It began to sweat as he slowly started to recede from the teen.
A clang from behind made the monster turn around, dreading what could possibly make its day worse. Seeing a muscular figure did just that. The muscular figure was the number one hero in all of Japan, All Might coming of the manhole cover with a grocery bag in his. He had a hero to his back, and within his grasp was something that made him want to run out of the city and never look back. Suddenly the All Might called out, “Have no fear you’re safe.” All Might stood to his full height as he righted himself up as stomped, make the ground slightly shake, “Now that I am here!” he called out his boisterous voice.
The manhole cover landed on the ground, clanging against the asphalt as it bounced. The Slime Monster extended a tentacled hand aiming it for the hero’s head. All Might ducked down as the appendage sailed over his head. He then charged from his squatted position. The slim monster that extended his opposite hand. All Might skidded to a halt as he built up power in his free hand. The power he had gained started to cut the air making it sound like a jet was screaming in the tunnel, “Texas Smash!” All Might shouted out.
As All Might unleashed the punch, a jet stream made contact with the slimy appendage. The air pressure from the blow caused the slime to scatter around, spraying the walls and floor of the tunnel. The pressure shot down the tunnel making contact with the slime monster. The pressure whipped widely as it rattled it and whipped its body around. The monster’s body began to break apart as the air cut through him, “I can’t hold together!” were the last words it muttered before it splashed all over the tunnel.
Izuku was blown out the back end of the monster as the slime came off him. As he hit the ground, he quickly spun around, got on his hand and knees, and ejected the slime from his mouth. He coughed as the air rushed back into his lungs. He sputtered and spit out pieces of the things that had tried to possess him. He didn’t know how long he was on the ground before he felt a giant hand pat his back. He twisted away, slapping the hand away from him. He turned around and saw the man that was once his idol, “All Might,” he said bitterly.
The giant of the man didn’t seem to notice as he let out a laugh. Izuku didn’t know why the man did, but he did it anyway. All Might put out his giant hand for Izuku to take, and in his renowned joyous voice, said, “Are you all right young man?” All Might suddenly saw who it was that he was helping, it was the same young man from the garage he was investigating. It was the same young man who had a less than friendly opinion about heroes. Luckily it seemed that the teen didn’t recognize him.
Izuku got up from the ground without taking the hero’s hand. All Might lost his smile, feeling awkward by the cold reception. Izuku dusted himself off and flicked a piece of slime off his shoulder. He stared at the tall man for a moment before squatting down to retrieve the groceries he had dropped. As he did this, he called out to the muscular man, “I’m fine.” The words were sour coming out of his mouth; heroes were all the same, always looking for the praise for the smallest thing.
All Might let out a hearty chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head, “Not a problem, young man. Just doing my duty!” he proclaimed. Izuku didn’t even look back as he started to walk away. All Might blinked rapidly in confusion, he knows the teen was not a fan of heroes, but the cold shoulder was starting to hurt his feelings. All Might then took notice of Izuku stumbling. He reached his hand out and grabbed Izuku’s shoulder, “Hey! Easy! You need…” he wasn’t able to finish as Izuku swatted it away.
Spinning around the face, the teen made caused All Might to retract back. Izuku practically snarled as he said, “Don’t touch me! I don’t need your help!” His anger for heroes and The Rider whispering in his mind were practically tearing him apart. The Rider was looking for a way out as it recited the sins of the hero in front of him. Izuku was starting to lose his control as he turned on his heel and began walking away again.
All Might frowned deeply at the outburst. While he knew that this little token of kindness would not completely sway the teen's opinion, but it still hurt to see such hatred being directed at him. All Might let out a sigh as he dug through his grocery bag as he found a bottle of soda drinking. He consumed the liquid and went about scooping up the slime monster into the bottle.
As Izuku got around the corner, he pressed himself against the closest wall as he inhaled and exhaled. He gripped the clothing over his heart as his eyes turned orange for a moment before returning to their original color. He had to calm himself, any more excitement or adrenaline would bring The Rider out. As steadied himself, his hand on the wall before he straightened and walked home.
Akira Sato’s Home
The detective and officer exited the cop car as they came upon the residence of Akira Sato’s. It was a modest house, the gate in front of the house was about chest high and made of concrete. Naomasa pushed the gate open with Sansa right at his heels and made it to the wooden porch that was kept in good condition. Naomasa knocked on the door, trying to see if anyone was home. The duo waited a moment before Sansa spoke, “Maybe it was a false alarm?” Naomasa shrugged as he gave another knock this time with more force. He received the same response. Naomasa really wanted to go in, but without a warrant, there was nothing they could do. He was about to walk away when they heard a yell come from inside the house.
The duo instantly grabbed their service weapons from their hips as they stacked up on the door. Naomasa motion patted Sansa’s shoulder, which was the signal for the man to kick the door down. Sansa managed to open it with just one kick. The two instantly crossed the threshold as they check their corners. Naomasa put a finger to his lips, signaling Sansa to be quiet. He had checked the door and saw an assortment of locks littered the entrance.
Methodically they cleared the house’s first-floor room by room. The kitchen and dining room were the easiest being open with little area to hide. Followed by a living room where pictures of the man and his achievements decorated the walls. The last room was a back-laundry room. Going unnoticed by the duo’s quick search, in the laundry basket, was a small yellow shirt with little hearts on it.
Naomasa took the lead as they went upstairs. There was only a long hallway with three doors attached to it. One on the right and two on the left. The first door was a bathroom which was kept surprisingly clean for a being a single man’s bathroom. Then the first door on the left was a master bedroom, which was immaculate except for the covers of the bed, which were thrown off the one side. Then came the last door, Sansa saw a padlock on in it, “Check this out,” he said sharply. Naomasa was just as confused, why would he keep something like this on a door? Naomasa gripped the lock and gave it a testing tug before letting it go. The lock batted loudly against the door, and something inside let out a scream.
Instantly the duo backed away from the door and trained their weapons at it. Then a soft, weak voice came from the other side, “Mr. Akira, please let me out.” It was a little girl’s voice.
Instantly Sansa broke into action as he called out, “It’s okay we are the police! We’re going to get you out of there!” He tried to kick the door, but it was solid as he bounced back. He tried a second time but only got the same result. Naomasa tried to kick it down with him, but even their combined effort was not effective. The duo’s adrenaline was working in overtime as they feared for the little girl’s life she had been trapped for a week.
Naomasa was getting her out of there and damn the protocol, “Listen to me, sweetie. I need you to back away from the door. There is going to be a loud bang, but that’s us trying to get in!” Naomasa aimed his weapon and fire. A clean shot through the lock blew the thing apart. Naomasa had the lock quick, and Sansa had the door open even quicker. The room looked like a stereotypical little girl’s room. Colorfully painted walls, stuff animals littered the floor and a bed with a princes bedspread.
Their eyes landed on a little girl that laid on the floor. She was miserably weak as she reached a hand out to them. Naomasa practically slid into her as he did a basic field check on her. She was breathing shallowly, malnourished, and the shirt she wore was practically a dress on her. Naomasa saw a single bottle of water that was discarded across the room. Naomasa was not going to risk the girl’s life as he picked her limp body princess style. Naomasa called out to his partner as he said, “Sansa! Call EMS. This girl needs medical attention now!”
However, Sansa was too busy looking at the closet, “Sir!” he called out. Naomasa peeked over his shoulder, and he saw things in there no little girl should ever have to wear. Along with many items that shouldn’t be in a little girl's room. Sansa looked back at the girl in Naomasa’s arms in pity. All the color was gone from his face as he stared blankly at the girl.
Naomasa growled; the girl was losing precious seconds. In a stern voice shouted at the younger officer, “Get EMS here now!” Sansa regained semblance as he scurried out the room and went to the police car to call for help. Naomasa looked at the room in disgust as he looked around the room, he didn’t want to imagine what horrors this girl had been through. He had one thought about the man who seemed to be a pinnacle of what a person should, ‘What kind of monster was he?’
Musutafu City Streets
It was late at night now. Izuku had worried his mother when he came home after meeting All Might, he was angry and quiet. He could tell she was afraid he would sink into his old ways, but he swore that was not the case. Izuku couldn’t help himself as being out at night had been his ritual for the year he had been the Rider. He was walking the streets; he didn’t know if it was the Rider’s influence or not, but he felt at peace. It was quiet, and the wind gracefully blew through his hair. During this time, he felt alive, like it was where he belonged. The night air filled his lungs as he took his stroll. He looked around and saw a majority of the shops were all closed up with security gates up to keep away anyone who thought about robbing the stores. Sadly, a thief with a decent quirk could easily make short work of those gates. Fortunately, no thief was stupid enough to try to do so around these parts.
Internally Izuku was pleased with what his days as The Rider had accomplished. He remembered the way things used to be around this part of town. You had to keep an eye down at the ground, the other looking behind you and one hand on your wallet. There were gangs at every corner, all looking to sell, steal, or beat anything that caught their eye. Cops had done their best, but the crooks around here little fish. They would get arrested, make a deal with the police, then be back on the street doing the same damn thing as always. This was his first step on the path of vengeance. Now he gave this section of town back to the people.
As he walked past an alley not wholly focused on it, the sound a faint voice called out, “Please stop.” At first, Izuku thought the wind was playing tricks on him, maybe it was from a nearby house. Then the sound of a muffled scream brought his attention back to the alleyway he had just passed. At first, Izuku didn’t see anything. All there was down the alley were trash and a dumpster that hugged the side of the wall. He waited a moment to see if anything stirred, but nothing did. He was about to move on when he caught sight of movement in the dark. He took a hesitant step in and then another. Eventually, he was halfway through the alley when he went to the source of the movement. It was a man with a knife to the girl’s face as he sucked on her neck and fondled her through her shirt.
The girl was roughly his age had a head of brown hair and rosy cheeks that seemed to be permanent. She was wearing a simple black tank-top, grey track pants, and simple sneakers. Tears leaked through the corners of her shut eyes as she tried he damnedest to sink into the wall away from the man. The man was middle-aged had blue hair and was dressed like it was the dead of winter. As the man continued his assault on the girl, she let out a squeak, “Just leave me alone!” this time, she was able to shout something that he was able to hear clear as day.
The man’s eerie voice came out calm as he said, “Since you asked so nicely. I’ll let you live while I fuck you.” He then went back to attacking her neck.
Izuku saw red as the man continued his assault on the girl. The Rider began to talk to him, the things disembodied voice violently clawed at his mind. Izuku’s soul burned with hellfire as he responded back to the spirit, ‘I’ll call the police.’ Izuku wanted to do the “right thing” and get back to normal. He received a violent response back, ‘They will give the girl justice and put the guy in jail.’ Then a condescending response as he grabbed his ribs due to the spirit inside him fighting to escape, ‘I’m better than that.’ Then came a hypothetical aimed at his mother, ‘I would kill anyone who would try to hurt her.’ He received a question about what would happen if heroes, ‘He would be back on the streets doing the same exact thing!’ The spirit spoke comparing him to those he hated, ‘I am nothing like the heroes!’ The spirit didn’t believe him as it receded into his mind satisfied with its work.
Izuku was using the dumpster as a crutch as he shivered in anguish. Then suddenly he heard the man cry out in pain. The girl had bitten the man in the hand. He then punched her in the face making her cry out, “I’m going to fucking skin you alive for that!” the man shouted as he brought the knife to her cheek and slowly dragged it down. This time, however, he didn’t cover the girl’s mouth, he wanted to hear the pain he inflicted.
The scream was all that was needed to send Izuku over the edge, his eyes snapped open an inferno in their place. The man laughed as he licked the blood that ran down the girl’s cheek. He pressed the knife near her eye, “Shhhhh, don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon,” he whispered. He began to laugh as the girl kept her eyes closed to try and avoid any more pain. His laughter was abruptly cut off when a gloved hand grabbed his neck from behind him. The sudden closure of his airway caused him to make a choking sound. The man dropped the girl and went around to stab whoever interrupted him.
The knife only had a two-inch blade that generally wouldn’t do any real damage, but the man buried it into his attacker’s heart. He was already committing sexual assault, adding one more crime didn’t matter to him. Izuku then grabbed the man’s hand, confusing the man as the grip started to pop the bones in his hand. He then began to feel the handle heat up as he looked at it quizzically. Then a malevolent voice spoke to the man, “You choose the wrong neighborhood.” Izuku pulled the blade out of his chest, showing it was melting and falling off the handle into a pile on the ground. The man stared with horror-filled eyes as Izuku’s head melted away to a flaming skull. He let out a scream at the transformation. Izuku then engulfed the man in flames. The blaze originated at the neck and engulfed the man to his head, cutting off the scream. The fire started burning away everything until only a charred skeleton with bits of flesh remained in his hand.
Izuku dropped the corpse unceremoniously, its bones rattled as he went over the girl. She was putting her arms up in a miserable defense as she coward. Izuku didn’t offer any comfort as he turned around and began to leave satisfied, she was safe as he said, “Go home.” Then he was gone feeling lighter than air from what he had done. He had felt like he made a difference today.
Police Station
Naomasa and his temporary partner were sitting at his desk. Naomasa finally caved and had a cigarette in his mouth. After what he saw, he needed some relief. That little girl was so young and the soulless eyes that stared up at him when he broke down the door to that secret room. He shook his head as he tried to think of anything else besides that young girl. Turns out, she had been missing for nearly six weeks. She was a student at Akira’s school, and according to police reports, they interviewed Akira. Still, they crossed his name off the suspect list quickly. Those detectives would be lucky to have their jobs in the morning. Sansa had a faraway look in his eyes, he was worse than Naomasa. The young officer hadn’t yet to experience the darkness of humanity. Today he saw the darkness and uncharacteristically he kept quiet the entire time. Naomasa wheeled over to the cat-headed man and place a hand on his shoulder, “Sansa, if you need to call it quits for today. You can,” he said gently.
Sansa shook his head at the suggestion, “No, sir, I’m okay. It was just so…” Sansa tried to find the right word to describe the nightmare he had witnessed. Sansa finished his thought by saying, “Unexpected.”
Naomasa nodded; what they saw was monstrous. For a man of such prestige and honor to do something like that made Naomasa rethink things. The first thing that came to mind was how the man could do such an act, and the second was, ‘How did he get away with it?’. Naomasa then felt rage as the man would never face justice for the crimes he committed, “He’s lucky that he cannot face punishment for his crimes. He would be looking at life.” Naomasa shook his head in disgust as he closed his eyes as he took an inhale from the cigarette.
“What if he did?” Sansa spoke from his chair.
“Lucky? I wouldn’t call dying lucky.” Naomasa spoke.
“No. What I mean is what if he did face punishment.” Sansa said, looking at the detective with his eyes filled with thought.
“What do you mean?” Naomasa raised an eyebrow
“I mean, what if the monster knew what Akira was doing.”
“So, what he knew his secret!?” Thinking that the hero killer knew more than the police and heroes did make Naomasa uneasy. Did he have intel they knew about?
“No, not his secret. His sin.” Sansa clarified. Naomasa gave him a blank expression, not understanding the word. Sansa went on to explain, “In Christian views, it’s an evil human act, which violates the rational nature of man as well as God's nature and his eternal law.” Sansa then cleared his throat as his days in Bible Study in his youth was put to good use, “If what he did wasn’t against the rational nature of man, well I don’t know what else it could be.” Sansa was hit with realization. He quickly rushed to the desk with all the files of all the victims on it. He dug into the draw of the desk and pulled out a marker.
Naomasa watched Sansa from behind. He knew the officer was doing something with vigor and great importance by how animated he was. He got up from his chair and walked over to look over his shoulder. Every file that they had come across was now being written on. Sansa would write one word on each file. The few words Naomasa saw were murder, rape, corruption, abuse, and even on Endeavor’s file were the words child abuse. He grabbed Akira’s file, his narrowed as he wrote child rapist on it. Naomasa recognized what Sansa was doing. He was writing what each person's crime the person had done across the file in the black marker. As Sansa finished with the one they had been able to solve, he motioned for Naomasa to look, “These people are all the ones we know about, right?” he asked the detective and received a nod. He then went to continue as he grabbed tapped a pile that was filled with unknowns, “What if all these people have committed a drastic sin? All we need to do is find any piece of information on these people. Even if it’s just rumors, the rumors are most likely true.” Sansa had thought long and hard about this, and he was positive; his hypothesis was true.
Naomasa would have to agree. If this person had somehow figured all these out, then that must be the reason for all the killings. He did have to say one thing that made both officers scratch their heads, “Just who the hell is this guy, and how could he possibly know this?” Sansa didn’t give a response as he heads no idea. Today left them with more questions than answers.
Shie Hassaikai
Overhaul sat on a couch as he watched Eri having her blood drawn. The sound of the television in the background blaring as his Expendables watched the news. He was a peculiar man who saw the world as something that needed to be controlled. That people needed to be apart of his vision. If people didn’t have or know their true purpose, he would make one for them. They would be apart of his plans. Whether willing or not was up to them.
Overhaul looked at the screen as the news played. It seemed all day the new kept running the story of the skull-faced hero killer. It appeared he had struck again. Overhaul couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, the same guy who seemed to have it out for his organization was killing heroes now? Overhaul had only one comment to that, “Interesting fellow.” He would have to meet this person who was becoming more impressive by the minute.
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AN: Here we go, people, you all asked, and you all received. I hope this was all worth the wait. I honestly didn’t expect all this positive feedback to this story. I do apologize for the long wait for an update, I just had major writer's block with this chapter. I hope you all enjoy as I start to match the manga/anime. For this chapter, I was inspired by the second volume of the Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider, the first two, not the one they tried to redo in late 2018.
Knox