The Unfeasible Series

the case: discussion three

By the time Aizawa finished the Detriment, he felt physically ill. The main character, who has been in denial of the blatant bullying he went through, had slowly become accustomed to the abuse of his peers. And even as a reader, the changes between a friendship and bullying was so subtle, that he didn’t realize how bad it had truly gotten until the teasing turned into threats and the playful nudges turned blatantly hateful. Either way, he felt the need to throw up. 

The events of Aizawa’s childhood felt as if they were being shoved back into the forefront of his mind. And he was becoming increasingly paranoid. It didn’t matter that the Ring was disbanded by a group of heroes tag teaming with a vigilante, nor was it quelled when he heard of the news of a group of his tormentors having died. No, Aizawa often found himself checking the Tartarus statistics and cell news multiple times a day. The mastermind was still behind bars, as he had been since his capture. Still, Aizawa’s nerves were utterly shot. 

As if in a sluggish daze, the pro hero stood up from his chair and made his way to the living room. He carefully grabbed his winter coat, having folded it across a chair when he came home the night before, and put it on. For some reason, the public affairs case was weighing heavily on his shoulders. And he didn’t feel like waiting another two weeks to discuss with Tsukauchi. So he began making his way to the station. 

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Tsukauchi was at his desk, hands holding his head as his elbows rested on a pile of paperwork. Ever since the library visit a few weeks ago, he had felt the odd urge to check up on the family in the story. So he began his search for information to no avail. It was as if he had hit a brick wall.

He had searched for quirkless kids in the area as well as added the last name Midnoku, Minoiya before remembering, after a brief session with a memory forefront quirk, that the name was actually Midoriya. And when he entered the correct name, he found a match. Excitement had crowded his mind, but fell as soon as the file was opened. Nothing. No information at all was on the Midoriya family. Not how many people, no pedigree, no medical history, no crimes or sightings or taxes. It was as if all the information had been deleted. And oddly enough, he had reached a dead end. 

Besides saying the last name was of the Midoriya family, and that their firstborn was quirkless, no extra information was given. 

Tuskauchi was brought out of his self-deprecating pity party by a sequence of knocking at the door. He rolled his eyes as he told them to enter, dragging his fingers down his face. A deep groan resonated through the room as Aizawa opened the door, striding inside. He briskly sat in one of the chairs and slumped down. Tsukauchi sat up straight and looked at the exhausted hero, quirking an eyebrow. “Why are yo--”

“I finished the third book. And I have some ideas: clearly the bully was taught to show his superiority due to his strong quirk and lack of grounding at home--I suspect his home environment was emotionally neglectful. But further, the relationship between the main character and bully is clearly complex, meaning, I don’t think the bully actually hated the quirkless child. From how he often worded his insults, I feel it is safe to assume that he at least partially cared about his childhood friend even after the diagnosis.” Aizawa trailed off, hand rubbing across his stubble as he dwelled deep in thought. “If they were inseparable as children, I imagine how hard the diagnosis would be on both individuals, creating a subtle rift--not to mention peer pressure at that age can be detrimental…”

“Aizawa?” Tuskauchi hesitantly spoke up, a little unnerved at how intense his friend was thinking on the topic. He was clearly neck deep in the case. 

The pro hero looked up, meeting the steady gaze of the detective. He refused to speak up to the detective’s question. 

Tsukauchi, seeing the defiance plain as day, decided to make the conversation progress faster. With a small head shake, he spoke up. "You've analyzed the third book." He started, pausing to watch Aizawa slowly nod. "Okay," he sighed, dragging his hand across his face before resigning himself to a different case for now. 

He silently reached under his desk, pulling open a drawer of files, quickly searching for his notes. Once found, he flops them down on the top of the desk. Silently, he then makes eye contact with Aizawa, almost scrutinizing his friend. Aizawa, however, remains unfazed. “To be completely honest, the book seems similar to a case about two childhood friends, who split after one began ruthlessly bullying the other.” He trailed off, thinking back in his mind before taking in a deep breath. “Remember the Utami case? From a few years back?” 

Tsukauchi shivered, his skin flexing under the invisible spiders crawling up his spine. “Of course I remember the Utami case.” He murmured, refreshing his mindscape in an attempt to figure out why the pro hero was bringing it up now. 

“While you were sent for damage control and attempting to stop the recordings, I was placed on finding out the history behind the case.” Aizawa leaned back in his chair, hands rubbing one another as he fidgeted slightly. It was an unsettling case. 

The detective nodded, blinking slowly. “Yes, their murder was broadcasted on every screen for over three hours straight. Gali and I had to work together to override the quirk-induced malfunction while you were sent to find out more information that led up to the screening.” He agreed. “You concluded that not much had been found on the case before we closed it.” 

Aizawa held up a finger to signal Tsukauchi to stop speaking. Curiosity warped the detective’s mind. His undying thirst for knowledge remained like an unyielding sword, prepared for the next swing. 

“The station closed it. The Commission didn’t. As you probably remember, I am aligned under three Heroics Parties. The Commission, International Hero Affairs, and the Japanese Heroics Unit. Therefore, I am in three separate databases while also remain titled as an ‘Ungrouped Hero.’”

Tsuakuchi snapped his fingers, recognizing his features. “Yes! Because you are in multiple main and sub heroic forums, categories, and databases. Since you bent under the law and remained an underground hero, you have retained your right to being considered unclassified as a hero--a total unknown. That way your skill sets can be used on more than one occasion and the popularity doesn’t impact your jobs--”

“Exactly,” Aizawa cut him off, nodding. “The Commission assigned me to finish researching the case.” 

“What did you find?” Tsukauchi asked excitedly, albeit with a worrisome tone. 

The Utami case was about the gruesome murder of a innocent quirkless child. It was classified as a hate crime and, after looking back on pervious records, signs of child abuse were prevalent. And while Tsukauchi’s district could have handled it, the one next door was deeply flawed. Since the case, new districts had been appointed and the old police station was forced to disband and go through retraining. The six year old girl was stabbed thirty-one times all around the body, but most pronounced on the chest and abdomen areas. The murderer being her drunken aunt who swore up and down that she was simply ‘ridding the world of diseases.’ Sadly, the little girl has awoken a trauma-induced quirk which happened to broadcast her gory death to all of Japan, over every digital screen. And even minutes after her death, where her aunt refused to stop her assault and merely continued to verbally bash the bleeding out child. 

“Her friends had bullied her too. A couple years back, a teenager was admitted into a mental ward before becoming unsafe for themselves as well as unsafe in the community. After receiving mental health to heal home traumas and damaged health, they admitted to having been friends with the murdered six year old. They had bullied their childhood friend, not knowing she was also being neglected at home for her quirklessness. Since her death, the friend didn’t know what to do and often found themselves seeking out the memories of happy childhood moments. Lost in their own illusion of finding peace, they lost themselves to the lies they muttered to themself.”

Tsukauchi had his mouth gaped, face loose and eyebrows raised in shock. He was not expecting that backstory. Especially with how it lined up with the one that Makisu…

With eyes wide and a gut feeling of saddened doom coiling through himself, Tsukauchi quickly began to speak, only to get cut off. “Do you think--”

“I think that the Midoriya’s need to be checked on.”