Chapter Text
"You should've seem him." The underground hero ran a hand down his face and slumped deeper into the chair.
"I'm not sure I would have wanted to. Those descriptions of his leg were quiet vile." Tsukauchi's smile was smug and knowing.
"You know what I mean! Naomasa, he didn't make a sound. I shoved his *bone* back into place before the painkillers kicked in and the boy didn't even grimace." Aizawa shook his head and stared at the ceiling. "And I tried not to look but the scars- He looks worse than a seasoned hero."
The detective sighed. "The most you can do and check in with him the next time you see him."
"I know." Defeated, he stood to leave. "I need some coffee after that night."
"What you need is some sleep!" His friend called behind him as the door closed. Yeah, right. As if Tsukauchi got any more than him.
He made is way to the nearest station and was at the cafe in no time. It was Friday, but it was also a holiday so there were more people than he usually put up with. All hope of a peaceful coffee break came screeching to a halt when he heard a familiar call the moment he walked in.
"Heyyyy! My favorite grouchy customer! Same as usual?" The cheery, painfully energetic boy called out from behind the counter.
"Same as usual." Aizawa confirmed tiredly with a hint of soft fondness. Despite the boy's overwhelming personality and ear strangling loud voice, Aizawa liked the boy and he also liked that he didn't have to bare the haunted looks of baristas and other customers when he ordered his "black death" as the boy had taken to calling it. He pull out his card and paid before making his way to the pickup counter. "How's school been? You haven't graduated yet, right?"
Daisuke laughed at that. "Kami, no! I've yet to hit high school." The boy looked around as if someone wasn't supposed to hear that. "But don't tell my manager that. She was desperate at the time."
Aizawa rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure if the kid was just joking or if he had pulled some strings to get the job, but he didn't really care since the boy made good coffee. "I'll keep your secret."
Daisuke grinned at him and moved to take the next order. That was when something caught his eye. The boy was walking strangely and when Shouta glanced down, he noticed a brace all the way up the kid's right leg. When the boy returned from the register his curiosity won out. "What happened to your leg?"
"Hm? Oh this thing? Crowded hallways, am I right? Some jerk set off a quirk and I got thrown over the stairs ledge. Leg slammed into the metal railing and snapped the bone. It was disgusting and I think someone threw up which just made it worse." The kid emphasized the worst points for dramatic effect. "But I'll be fine. I have a good doctor and some sick quirk medicine that'll fix it up before the end of the week."
Aizawa snorted at the absurdity of the story. He didn't doubt that it happened but he had a feeling the kid was leaving out some bits. "Managed to piss off the kids at your school enough to make them attack you? I feel bad for your teachers."
"Oh come on, man! You had to have had a kid break a bone or two throughout your career as the best teacher in the nation." Daisuke teased.
"Plenty of them. I had to take care of one just yesterday." Aizawa shared, knowing damn well that broken bone was not from one of his students.
"Oh really? Did it beat my glorious take down? You know, the bone broke through skin for me!" It sounded like the kid was bragging. He never fails to bewilder me.
"It did, in fact. Quite similar. Hit a metal support and everyth- ing." Actually, they were really similar. "...had to reset the bone myself."
"Wow! I didn't know you knew how to do that. I'm sure he's glad you were there! I definitely was when my friends brought a teacher." Daisuke continued with just as much enthusiasm as before, but Aizawa was stuck in his own thoughts. Suddenly, the boy's yellow eyes and small mannerisms felt so familiar. He noticed how the boy scanned the room and how still he actually was. The small shake of right hand every few seconds. He remembered that night when the boy had lost motor control and he had to take him home just for no to be waiting for him.
"You're-" He cut himself off and forced his face back to a neutral expression.
"I'm what?" Daisuke chirped with a tilt of his head as he handed Aizawa his coffee.
"...very thoughtful. Be careful, kid. Clumsiness is a bad habit." He held the coffee with two hands as everything seemed to click together for him.
"Let this leg serve as my reminder." Daisuke agreed with a bashful grin. "Have a good day Mr. Aizawa!"
"You as well." He walked out of the cafe feeling like the blindest person on the planet.
- - - -
Sēji Anarisuto turned out to be a wonderful resource and Denki didn't regret seeking him out in the slightest. With his help and connections, Denki had managed to work down Zunder's list of allies until there were only three groups left to deal with. Thanks to his latest stunt, he now only had two to turn Zunder against and he planned to take are of them in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, that would have to wait a few days until his leg fully recovered. As previously stated, Denki was not a naturally patient person. Thus, he decided it would be worth meeting with his informant and making sure everything had a fail safe. It turned out that Sēji was actually quite good at planning break ins. Almost as good as his analysis. So Denki had decided to get a second opinion on his plan so far.
"Well, it's pretty good as far as I can tell. However, I keep thinking back to Poedo-Gumi's extra defense mechanism." Anarisuto half-mumbled as he traced over the blueprints and notes. "If you could get someone posted on this building it might make the escape easier."
"Noted. Poedo was a tricky one and I wouldn't be surprised if they had similar defenses what with all the work they used to do together." Volt nodded along.
The analysis squinted and looked up. "What work together?"
Denki realized his mistake immediately. "They had some contracts together before they started working with Zunder. It's how Poedo-gumi allied up. I learned it while I was figuring out what evidence to plant." In reality, he knew how every group came to join his family and Zunder knew every connection.
"Ah, makes sense." Sēji turned back to map. "What's your plan to take down the core? Zunder itself?"
"I've been working in the background quite a lot and have infiltrated them. That trust will get me where I need to be and I'll finish them off at the top." He could tell the analyst wasn't buying it, but Sēji didn't say anything.
"What about after? Will you move onto other groups?" Why? Do you want to settle down and start a life together?
"I have a promise to keep. Beyond that... there is one group I might set my sights on. If I do, you would be a great resource." He had grown to like and mostly trust the analyst, but he wasn't gunning to share beyond a business level. They both had identies to keep hidden after all.
"We'll see where the future takes us. If I'm still in the business, I'd be happy to keep this partnership going." Sēji's mask displayed cheerful eyes. "Now, what about this entrance here? If you..."
- - - -
Volt meanders through alley after alley, slowly making his way towards the meeting spot they had agreed in. He still couldn't use his leg as usual and thus couldn't use the rooftops as he usually would. Luckily, the detective wasn't a huge fan of meeting up high with no escape, so it was easy to write off. He did struggle a bit to get his leg to move more normally, so he would still have to deal with that when he met with Tsukauchi. Sucks to suck, I guess.
"Hello, Detective! How are you doing this fine afternoon?" Volt cheered from right behind Naomasa, causing him to jolt violently.
"Kami! How'd you- you scared the shit out of me..." He detective collected himself, having whipped around to face the "threat", before answering, "The night was going well until you popped out of no where."
"Awww, I didn't mean to ruin your evening." He piled on the false-pity. "So, what do have for me?"
"First, you need to tell me what you're planning on doing. The last time we met you agreed to contact me shortly before your next move." Tsukauchi redirected firmly. He wasn't the type to beat around the bush or let someone drop their end of the bargain.
"I'm going to finish off Zunder's last two contacts and then take out the leaders. I'll start at the end of this week." He rushed out with an annoyed huff. What he really wanted from this meeting was to make sure that Tsukauchi was going to play his part in Volt's plan.
"I need a fully time frame if you want me to get a task force together. That means a date and time." The detective pushed.
Volt's bit his tongue lightly and pursed his lips in agitation. He knew the detective was right, but that didn't mean he wanted to give up information like that. Anyone who knew was a loose end and while he felt assured that the Tsukauchi wanted to take down Zunder for good, he wasn't used to trusting subordinates- oh wait -teammates with more information than absolutely nessessary. In Zunder, teams outside of the main agents were informed of a mission the day of with nothing more than a location, list of equipment, and objective. But. He wasn't in Zunder anymore and communication was as important as confidentiality was vital.
"I'll place the plant at the end of the week. Zunder will have a meeting the following day and take out their last two allies before the next day. We'll hit them right after they have finished fighting when their communication is at it's weakest. I can find and take care of the leaders while your men take out the rest of Zunder's forces."
"Take down." Tsukauchi corrected and Volt rolled his eyes.
"Yeah yeah, logistics. Just make sure they don't get in my way." Denki knew the police and heroes were looking to arrest more than kill. Obviously, they had a job to do and wouldn't hesitate when the moment called for it, but they wanted to bring Zunder to justice for the many crimes they had committed.
"It's set then. Is there anything else before we head our separate ways?" The question was more of a formality, but Denki stopped himself from answering as usual.
"Actually, yeah." It was difficult to get the words out, but he knew this may be his last chance. "There's a case I would like you to look into after all of this is over."
The detective's brows furrowed and he nodded for Volt to continue. "I- There's this kid named Shinso Hitoshi and... his quirk..." Denki sighed. "I have reason to suspect he's being abused because of quirk discrimination. So, after this, if you could look into it..."
"Why wouldn't you just-" Realization crossed the detective's face. "You don't plan on surviving this?" It sounded less like a question and more like a statement.
"I'll do my best, but my mission comes first." With those last words, he spun on his heal and made his way back through the alleyways, checking that the detective didn't follow him.
- - - -
"And yeah, that's the plan." Denki wrapped up with an air of finality.
"It's really thoughtout.. I just had a couple questions about the escape? You didn't say if you need us to cover for you or where we would meet? Usually you mention a location, is all." Trapper inquired as he looked up from the draw layout of Zunder's base.
"I'll take care of myself. Just make sure you all get out. Feel free to meet up after but... um... I'm not worried about that part." Volt felt himself slipping. He didn't want to lie to these people. To his friends. He couldn't tell them the truth though and he knew they wouldn't push the issue. That didn't mean, however, that they didn't want to know and Trapper definitely didn't look like he was backing down.
"Alright, we'll make sure we are ready and if you do end up needing back up just signal us over comms." Spherora chipped in, well aware of the building awkwardness of the silence.
"Yeah, we are here for you." The vigilante added.
"You said a few other's would be involved? How will we know who they are?" The young hero blurted out, the thought just then occurring to her.
"A few police officers will be there under Detectice Tsukauchi. There will also be an underground hero, Eraserhead. I can't disclose my other contacts per their request, but you won't run into them." He warned the few interested parties know that heroes would be involved and they decided to remain unnamed which honestly made his job easier. It would awkward to explain to Trapper and Spherora why he was working with villains.
They departed shortly after that and Denki headed home to rest before the next day when the plan would initiate. He also needed to take some time to ready himself for what he was about to do. How would he feel after? Would it matter if he didn't make it out? Did he even deserve to make it out? He hadn't planned his own escape, knowing that the probability of surviving were close to zero. But if he had the opportunity... would he take it? After all the pain and death he had caused... how could he choose to live when he was eliminating his own family for the same reason? What made him the judge of who deserves to live and die? He had to finish off his family- no -Zunder. He knelt down and sat crisscross on the roof of a building, closing his eyes and listening to the city around him. He noted the breeze up this high and the smell of dumplings wafting up from a shop down at street level. Turing his attention inward, Denki felt air fill and drift out of his lungs in slow and steady breaths and visualized the life and spirit flowing through his veins. He prayed. He prayed for this mission to work out. For his friends both near and far. For his family to find peace in their final moments. For the future generation of heroes. For anyone in a similar situation as him.