Journey For Trust (Vigilante Deku)

Chapter Nine: Broadcast of Betray

Just as Tsukauchi stood up to leave for his meeting with All Might and Chiyo, Endeavor boastfully barged into his office. "Endeavor?" Of course this has to happen when he's running late. This guy really has a knack for showing up at the worst times; what could he possibly want now?

"Work with me." Tsukauchi's head tilted slightly at Endeavor's demand. "What do you mean? We already work together." Endeavor's scowl morphed into a side smirk as he walked up to Tsukauchi's desk, uncomfortably closing the distance between the two. "Well, what I mean is for you to give me the information on Deku you have in that private investigation of yours." Shock tightened around Tsukauchi's throat. Where did he go wrong? What was his mistake? Was Endeavor bluffing? Was he joking? 

He cleared his throat in an attempt to calm him and slow his endless questions down. A level head could be his saving grace in this situation. If Endeavor was bluffing, then that meant he wasn't sure if his private investigation even existed, and it wasn't like him to joke around. This was serious. Endeavor was asking him to be a double agent, and to go against All Might's wishes. Of course he wouldn't do that to his friend. Endeavor can be annoyingly resilient, a boundary between them could prove to be a valuable asset. "You do know what 'private' means in private investigation, right?" He chuckled. "Of course I do, that's why it'll stay between us. Not even All Might or the old lady will know."

"Sorry, but I'll have to refuse. I'm not going to go behind my friend's back like that. Especially if I don't have a reason to." That wasn't rude, was it? It would be a pain in the ass to get on Endeavor's bad side. Him and his agency can put a real damper on the efficiency of his work. And not to say that he wasn't already being a pain in the ass. "Actually, I can give you a reason to." Simple curiosity poked his interest. "And what would that be?" Just curiosity. He wouldn't go behind All Might's back. Definitely not. Tsukauchi was setting a boundary. "All the heroes want to use Deku's capture as leverage for their careers."

"Aren't you doing that exact thing as well?" Tsukauchi interrupted, crossing his arms. "Of course, who wouldn't want that opportunity?" Endeavor leaned closer to Tsukauchi.

"Don't you also want it?"

His eyes widened. Although he was merely a fourth of a foot above him, it was as if Tsukauchi was chained down miles below him. The fact that Endeavor could read him so clearly, stunned him. Even if it was obvious that everyone felt the same way (with only one exception), having his hidden emotions spoken so confidently, so correctly, left his buried thoughts exposed for the first time in years. Raw. Bare. Naked. "Any of the other heroes and their agencies would hog all the credit, except for All Might. That nutcase doesn't even want the credit. He'll probably just let the media control who gets what. You aren't well known to the media, you won't get much of anything if All Might catches Deku. But if you work with me, I'll be sure to give you proper credit."

Would working with Endeavor even be such a bad idea? He's only biased towards him because of what All Might said to Yui about him, and his occasional rudeness. That bias aside, having the two top heroes working in the same investigation would be a miracle. Not only chance-wise, but also to how fast and efficient they could be, regardless if they worked together or not.

On the other hand, All Might isn't just his coworker, he's also his best friend. Tsukauchi may even go as far as to say that he is All Might's only real friend. Going behind his back like this would surely hurt him. But then again, All Might does pick up on small details, but is terrible at analyzing them and finding their deeper meanings. Maybe he could keep this secret from him. Plus, proper recognition would be nice. Heroes always receive all the respect and acknowledgement, while detectives get very little if anything at all. "Is that a yes, detective?" But is this really the right option? "I-I'll need time to think it over." Endeavor stood straight up.