My Shinobi Academia: Naruto x ATLA x HxH x MHA

Chapter 21: The Case for Freedom? All-Might Questions the Law

"The PSIA's full of people with those 'villain' type quirks," Tsukauchi informed Toshinori, placing the case on the table. "Oh, you'll also want to stay away from the head, Haruki Noya. If her hand's touching you and she asks a question, you don't need to answer because she'll have all she needs." Tsukauchi shuddered at the thought of having his own secrets revealed that way. "An appropriate quirk for the kind of work they do there."

"But obviously very illegal," Toshinori reminded. "Quirks cannot be used in interrogations, and in one's line of work without proper authorization."

"I know. But with the PSIA, it's always allegations. They really operate in the grey areas." There was a brief silence, accentuating the glum mood that beset the conversation. "The Doctor is at least very helpful though," Tsukauchi stated positively, opening the case to reveal four vials of blue liquid with a syringe. "The antidotes to the poison courtesy of the Doctor."

"He made four vials?"

"Apparently he understood the poison enough to make more. And I quote, 'I assumed All-Might may need more in case he had another encounter. Any subsequent poisonings should be less effective over the next few days as I added a buffer agent. Do you think I could meet him? He'd need exactly one shot per vial. I carefully measured for his build.'"

"He's a fan," Toshinori noted.

"And an avid one," Tsukauchi chuckled. "One who'd probably be disappointed if you didn't shake his hand." A sly grin appeared on his face as he inserted a needle into the syringe and placed it into the vial.

Toshinori shook his head. "You're enjoying this way too much!"

"Eh, small joys!" Tsukauchi started to fill up the syringe with the blue liquid. "What do you think? Half? Three-quarters? Maybe we should call Recovery Girl?"

"No!" Toshinori declined quickly. "I think three-quarters is probably fine."

Tsukauchi raised a slight brow at All-Might's quick refusal. He shrugged, pulling a tube from the case as Toshinori turned his chair to face the detective, making a fist. The former was staring up into the white incandescent light that hanged from the ceiling.

"What's going to happen to the kids from the beach though?"

"Same thing that happens to those accused of terrorism: processing, interrogation, arraignment, then Tartarus," Tsukauchi stated bluntly. He paused and looked at Toshinori. His brows furrowed and he straightened up. "Why?"

Toshinori sat up in his chair. "I don't know. Was just thinking maybe we shouldn't just throw kids into Tartarus."

"Yeah... but they're not just regular kids. They're terrorists." Right now, Tsukauchi was very skeptical of All-Might's logic.

"Allegedly!"

"Allegedly, sure. But between forceful detainment of law enforcement, resisting arrest, attacking four pro-heroes and a plethora of other charges, I don't see how they get out of this clean."

"What if we proved they weren't terrorists?" Toshinori asked, causing Tsukauchi to lean away, shaking his head as though to clear his vision. He sat up straight. "Hear me out," Toshinori started. "I fought those kids. They were more confused than malicious. They didn't operate like terrorists. They were disorganized."

"Which any good prosecutor would chalk up to their inexperience. And argue that as a reason to keep them away from civilized society."

"What if I testified on their behalf? You know, like a character witness?"

Tsukauchi shook his head. "I'd say that's very stupid. And could backfire spectacularly. Especially if they're proven to be child terrorists." Tsukauchi studied a pensive Toshinori. "What's so special about these kids?"

"I don't know. They're barely teenagers, and that fire in their eyes reminded me of some of the UA kids. I was thinking, you know, maybe we shouldn't just lock them up and forget they existed," Toshinori argued. "If we can't reform kids at that age, aren't we losing to the villains?"

He transformed into his hero form. "The symbol of peace isn't just meant for those who've had the light all their lives. It's also supposed to reach out to those in the dark. Let them know that they can be saved. Let them know that they can also have hope."

Tsukauchi sighed. "When you put it like that..." He placed the syringe on his desk and walked over to the other side, pulling a newspaper from his desk draw as well as a business card.

"I still think it's a long shot but All-Might is more likely to make it happen than Toshinori Yagi," he stated bluntly, All-Might nodding. "Tsukamoto Chiyo's your answer," he said, pointing to one of the headlines, 'Top Human Rights Lawyer to Defend Child Terrorists'. The business card was hers. "She's your best shot at any legal arguments that could help those kids. She's currently in the building but we're under orders to ice her out."

All-Might took the business card and the newspaper, which had a photo from the morning's news broadcast.

"She doesn't like commercial heroes very much, but she cares about the kids... so I think you could convince her to team up." Tsukauchi sighed, as he grabbed the almost empty vial, filling the syringe with the rest of its contents. "I guess you're gonna need the whole vial after all."