Counting Down

Data Collecting (old)

Midoriya was on his home computer. Currently, he was hyperfocused on milking any and all data he could from an active hero forum. His hacking skills had progressively gotten better over the years, to the point that he could breach many firewalls and maintain a practically invisible online presence.

He just had to make sure to stay away from Nezu, the UA "God" until further notice.

Instead of going out in full vigilante gear tonight, he had decided to gather intel on new cases where (1) the heros and police either didn't have enough information to solve or (2) they were being held back by the Commission not approving Hero activities.

Besides, he had just applied the burn cream Momo got him and that needed quite a few days to take effect before he could start fighting crime again. Right now, it numbed the majority of the pain and soothed the actual burns. The cream also had properties that would minimize infection and future skin damage. Nevertheless, Midoriya had to be careful, especially so in the next couple of days.

Hence, he was taking a small break from vigilante work until he could physically heal to the point of not becoming a field accident waiting to happen.

Burns and massive injuries in his line of job would only lead to failure. And Izuku Midoriya never took failure well.

His toxic green eyes fumbled over massive amounts of information as his mind shifted out the bits and pieces that were useless. His left hand was busy scrolling up and down the forum while his right would take note of useful information.

So far he had seven cases that he gathered a decent amount of information on. Over fifty pages of his newest journal were filled out and he had already started opening a second browser leading into the police database and files. His research was extensive and his drive to not botch a mission was everlasting.

In less than five minutes, he had been able to print off some crime scene photos, snippets of recordings and tapes, and previous criminals that may or may not be of relation.

Overall, Midoriya was doing well for the night.

But doing well was not what he strived for.

So after logging off the forum, he continued to stay up and further rip apart every aspect he could about the cases. Possible suspects, related crimes, statistical analysis of previous similar crimes in Japan.

He was able to deduce some of the criminal's quirks and drawbacks based on surveillance footage found at and near the crimes.

He was able to solve two full cases by the end of the night. A whole notebook was filled out regarding the murderer of a seventy-six year old, retired doctor named Jo Yunato. His death had been caused by a poison and the killer was only seen by a three second video of surveillance footage via the neighbors yard. Midoriya was able to name the killer, locate his current whereabouts, and even stockpile evidence that directly proves who the killer is.

A second notebook was filled out on the serial kidnappings of several teens. The heros were unable to be sent in because the Commission deemed the information "invalid" and based on a "whim" about two weeks ago. Since they wanted to put minors in danger, Midoriya would make sure the data was non-refutable.

Saving them would be a big operation. One that was too much for Midoriya to take on alone considering its ties to a local Trafficking Ring. But Midoriya could definitely pave the way for the legal hero teams to help.

He had written down the main leader's quirks, drawbacks and possible weapons on hand. Then he was able to pinpoint their main and local location. He guessed an underground ring of illegal fighting would be present within the group as well, considering one of the leaders was known for hosting said fights.

Midoriya had managed to gather excessive amounts of information on two cases. Two notebooks full with undeniable evidence and logic, he logged out of his computer and began to charge it.

His eyes were burning and he started rubbing them in an attempt to soothe the beginnings of a gnarly headache.

But even though he had worked hard today, his brain wouldn't stop nagging him. He felt his body begin suiting up and against his better judgment, he knew just where he was going.

The burns felt horrible as the vigilante suit rubbed up against them. But he had to deliver the finished notebooks to a trusted investigator.

Tonight.

He was eternally grateful for always wearing gloves when conducting research. It kept his fingerprints from being on his journals. And even though he wasn't in the police system any longer, it was better to be safe than sorry.

He didn't want the police getting any clues about his identity if he could help it.

It was early morning when he found himself on the roof of a small house on a quaint street of Japan. After circling it once, he found three cameras. One at the front door and another at the back. The last was near a big window. Midoriya assumed the window led to either the kitchen or the living room.

Or the office.

One of the three.

He made sure to glide out of the camera's views as he circled and analyzed the house from afar. A light was on in one of the back rooms.

That probably meant the detective was awake.

Midoriya put a hand up to his mask, a reassuring habit he had started when he first became Zero. He took a deep breath, gripping his notebooks a little firmer. There was a slight wind pushing against him, making him lean forward ever so slightly more to regain balance.

Should I just knock? He mulled the idea over for a bit.

It would be the most civilized option at three in the morning. And he was feeling graceful tonight.

But if Tsukauchi didn't answer, then he would have to at least lock-pick one of the doors to drop off the notebooks. Such sensitive information would have to be put both out of harm's way and out of the open.