Detective Midoriya

Chapter 41

Yanking Hanada to his feet, Izuku let him get his feet under him before grasping the front of his shirt and roughly hauling him down the street – all the way back to the warehouse. Now that Hinata was out of danger, Izuku was feeling strangely calm.

Slamming into Viper's office, Deku threw Hanada at her feet. "Prepare for all-out war. They did the raid anyway. We have less than an hour."

Sweeping out of the room, Izuku wove through the panicked masses that were slowly spreading the news of the upcoming fight. He couldn't bring himself to interact with any of them - soon enough he'd be acting as a sort of leader.

He clenched the burner phone in his hand. A large part of him wanted to run away and never look back He wanted to have katsudon with Eri and Mom, and make terrible jokes with the police officers at his station. He wanted to sit in the front row at Eri's dance recital and see his friend graduate from U.A. He wanted to prove himself to All Might, and, well, himself.

The phone interrupted his wistful thinking, a slight vibration in his hand. It was Takane, informing Izuku that Dead Eyes were on the way to the warehouse. Tightly shoving down his emotions, Izuku dropped his phone on the floor and crushed it with his heel, grinding it into the concrete.

With that done, Izuku slipped fully into his Deku persona, preparing only by tracking down his katana and strapping it securely around his waist.

Miles away, Naomasa received a text message from Takane. They'd cut down on contact with Izuku to avoid risking his cover, so they'd been expecting the skirmish any day now. Not thinking anything of it, Naomasa put out the order to have as many cops as possible on standby to take care of business. It wasn't until a scrawny green-haired boy burst in that concern grew.

"I need to see Detective Tsukauchi," he yelled from the reception area. "It's urgent!"

"Hey, settle down, kid. I'm sure we can figure something out," Nakamura said. "Now what's going on?"

"Deku sent me and told me I needed to talk to Detective Tsukauchi," he said desperately.

The entire station froze. "Deku sent you?" Nakamura asked slowly.

"Yes, and I need to talk to Detective Tsukauchi!"

Naturally, he was rushed into the detective's office, where every word sent ice through Naomasa's veins. He recognized this child – it was the one Izuku wanted to make sure was protected. He knew Izuku had been thinking about utilizing the boy's quirk to ensure the least amount of violence possible. Something was wrong – horribly wrong.

"Thank you, Deku told us about you. We'll take care of you, just sit over there and one of the officers will help you out. If you'll excuse me, I have some phone calls to make."

Naomasa barely noticed the boy leave his office, instead taking to pacing. With the new developments, there was no question of whether or not heroes were needed – but who?

He remembered everything Izuku had told him, and a number of heroes flashed through his mind, but there was really only one that he trusted enough to take care of things. Picking up the phone, Naomasa dialed the number he knew by heart. Luckily Toshinori picked up on the first try.

"What is it, Tsukauchi?"

"We've got a huge fight, Toshinori," Naomasa said, willing his voice not to break. "I've got an undercover detective in the middle of it all, so I need you and whichever heroes you think are best for the job, now. This isn't a job for your students." Before he could let any emotions through, Naomasa hung up the phone, his mind consumed in a single plea: Please take care of Izuku.