Taste of Poison Paradise

Chapter 6

"This just in: A new wave of vigilantes take to the night, appearing from thin air and vanishing without a trace. The search is on for these dangerous criminals. Witnesses say they are armed with katanas and other sharp and dangerous weapons..."

Aizawa Shouta stares at the young woman in front of him. Her face is painted in a perfect smile, not giving anything away. No amount of questioning has created a crack in her expression.

"So you really don't know anything about who defeated the Nomus in the past week?"

"Well, Mr. Aizawa, if you don't know who killed them I don't see how I would either."

Shouta's eye twitches.

"And you don't know who burnt down a factory that was discovered to be manufacturing Nomus?"

Kocho shakes her head. "Nope."

"And that the words 'Fuck You' were written in its ashes?"

"Negative."

"And you don't know anything about the sudden spike in vigilantes?"

"I can't imagine why I would." Kocho's smile widens.

It's a very punchable smile; she's good at this. If Shouta was a lesser man,—like, say, Endeavor—he might have exploded.

Hm. Now that's a thought worth entertaining. What would happen if Kocho were to face Endeavor? It would be highly entertaining, and he's sure Kocho would win whatever verbal spar they inevitably descend into.

Anyways, he's getting sidetracked.

The hero shakes his head and flips open a manila folder. "Witnesses say they used katanas, except for a couple unique cases where a man used an ax and spiked flail, and a woman who used what seemed like a whip. Does that ring any bells?"

Kocho pauses and hums. "None."

Shouta raises an eyebrow. "Any idea as to why they're all wearing clothes similar to your hero costume?"

Kocho blinks her wide, bug-like eyes. "I've never shared my hero costume design to anyone aside from the Support Course. Though, a couple of Underground Heroes seemed to have had the same idea as me. Or rather, I had the same idea as them. The same thing could have happened with these 'vigilantes.'"

The man inhales sharply. That's why the outfits seemed so familiar to him. He's worked with the ironically named Flamboyant Hero—the man is very proficient in stealth—and the Flame Hero Rengoku (who denied any relation to Endeavor) before, and they were both wearing something similar to what Kocho wears.

And Uzui would be one of the heroes training his k̶i̶d̶s̶ students in a few weeks.

He feels another twitch. Even his own students never caused this many eye twitches in one day—well, except Midoriya and Bakugou. Kocho is getting close, though.

"Well, pardon me, Mr. Aizawa, but is it really a problem that these so-called vigilantes are getting rid of the Nomu? It's not like the hero commission is doing much."

Shouta exhales roughly. Well, she isn't wrong. But, since vigilantism is very much illegal, he has to detain these mysterious vigilantes whom Kocho definitely knows.

Wait.

"'So-called' vigilantes?"

"Well," Kocho's smile grows. "Were there any unauthorized uses of quirks? To fight," she clarifies. "Not ones where the person cannot control."

He flips through the folder again and heaves a sigh. "None were reported. Just the use of the weapons."

"Then by definition, they're not vigilantes."