Mortem ad Wrens

Chapter 24: We Could not Bear to Break

Summary:

tw: human trafficking, kidnapping, being called 'it'

Little bit of fluff and groundwork before the human trafficking angst kicks into full gear.

Notes:

Giran's here! I like to headcanon that he checks up on the people he helps. The start of the kidnapping will be tagged with [KIDNAP START] and goes to the end of the chapter. Just as a reminder, there will be an overview in Chapter 26 if you need to skip the human trafficking portion of this chapter and Chapter 25.

'text' JSL
text thoughts

"Set the table, Giran's coming," Dabi said as they walked in the door.

Akira set their duffle by the couch before heading back to the kitchen. The smell of curry wafted towards them, bringing a grin. 'What, no hello? How have you been? Where were you?' they teased.

With a huff, Dabi just shoved the mismatched bowls into their arms and continued cooking. "I saw the news."

Akira tilted their head as they came back for utensils. 'And? Hand Job didn't recognize me.' At Dabi's scowl, they added, 'Also, Eraser knows you're alive. He joined the unofficial Endeavor abuse investigation.'

Dabi stilled, pot quietly bubbling. "Eraser Head," he ground out. "The same underground hero who went to my funeral and tried to launch an investigation into my death."

Akira froze, spoon clattering to the table. 'I... didn't know you had history.'

"We met a couple times at hero galas when he actually attended. Never liked my old man. Or people in general." Dabi resumed cooking as Akira hesitantly finished.

Not long after dinner was ready and Akira took out their contacts, Giran arrived, crooked smile grim. "I'm afraid this isn't as much of a social call as I'd hoped." The pair tensed as the broker sat down. "Mori, your family's digging around again. I'm keeping them off your trail for now, but one more show and I can't guarantee you'll be safe here."

Akira swallowed hard and nodded. 'We knew it was a risk aiming for U.A. Try to keep them off Fat Gum and Sun Eater if you can.'

The rest of dinner passed in mostly silence, only occasional pleasantries exchanged. Giran did raise an eyebrow at the pill Akira downed with the meal but left it alone. As Giran eventually got up to leave, he palmed a note into Akira's hand without a word. A few more names and pronouns to pass along. Once memorized, the note was incinerated by Dabi.

Mortis crouched on a rooftop, listening to Haru arrange a meeting with two of their suspected traffickers. One was partially covered in scales while the other had no obvious quirk. Their focus seemed to be on quirk and Quirkless trafficking with an emphasis on children.

Not ideal given our pool of potential bait, but not the worst. Mortis would normally be outside their age range, but they still didn't look it. Ayaka and Azumi were still recovering, and Kano was too young at 7 to be risked. Their only other option was Kichi, who probably wouldn't be approved by the task force since he was Quirkless.

Mortis wanted to try following the pair again, but from the past week, Mortis and Eraser Head had learned they watched the rooftops. Staying ahead of or keeping pace with the pair made them too visible, but falling behind led them to empty alleys without a sign of passing. Instead, Mortis trailed behind Haru to make sure he wasn't followed.

Dropping off, Akira made their way to where the district was supposedly being revitalized. There was some construction equipment and progress being made, but much of it was still in shambles. Most of the rubble was cleared out, but the structures still seemed pretty unstable and damaged. Akira sighed as they checked their phone for an update from Dabi, a few members of the League seemingly still at the apartment. Team bonding seemed a little uncharacteristic of the group, but they weren't completely incompetent according to Dabi.