once forgotten, twice removed

chapter 2

Naomasa was tired.

With the destruction of Kamino, All Might's retirement and Midoriya Izuku (if that even was his name) in custody, there was a lot on his plate. The civilians were already panicking. The loss of lives were staggering. The police force was spread thin, desperately trying to keep the masses calm. It's only been a day since then, but Naomasa knew that the chaos was only going to get worse.

He would have never thought a parallel world was possible. If you asked him a mere forty eight hours ago that they were connected to another world via quirk, he would have laughed, but quirks are strange things with even stranger powers. He watched the man so similar to the one that he had been hunting for months and found that there wasn't much else he could believe. He saw what happened, he heard what was being said. Both All Might and Gran Torino agreed that this was not Midorishi Izuku.

Naomasa could only stare at Midoriya Izuku through the double-screened glass of the interrogation room.

He was different than Midorishi. His eyes were a brighter green, his hair a bit shorter. There was a distinct lack of scar that ran down the left side of his face, but it would have been impossible not to notice all the jagged scars that littered his arms. A particularly nasty one ran from his elbow to the tips of his fingers. He was calm, not once raising his voice. He smiled at the police despite their rough handling and, most importantly, didn't make a single hostile move.

If anything, Naomasa appreciated that.

The police just finished fastening his arms and legs to the table. Four metals chains on each hand, three on each leg and a band wrapped around his chest to keep him tied to the chair. It would be impossible to move anything besides his head. For most people, the cuffs alone would be strong enough to keep him from moving or using his quirk.

Unless his power was what he thought it was. Unless All Might was right.

Hopefully those cuffs wouldn't be needed.

A knock sounded on the door. There was a crack as the door opened, echoing around the silent room. Naomasa didn't even turn his head. One of the outside police officers peeked in and said "he's ready for you," as if he hadn't been watching this entire time.

Naomasa steeled his nerves, activated his quirk and walked through the door to the interrogation room.

"Naomasa-san," Midoriya Izuku said immediately upon him entering and offered a smile. Naomasa paused at the familiar way his name was said, momentarily taken aback. He pursed his lips. Midoriya seemed to take the hint, his face heating up. "S-sorry! That was inconsiderate. Would you prefer to be called Tsukauchi?"

He's not our enemy, All Might had said. Naomasa couldn't help but think back to when Midoriya had been striped on his belongings in which they found only his phone, certified support items in his belt and a valid hero license.

"For now, yes." Naomasa placed his case folder on the table and gracefully slid into his chair. Midoriya Izuku was watching his every move. It was strange, seeing this man. The man with the same face as a villain. "I'm sorry this took so long to set up. We'll get down to business. I'm sure you've done this before."

"I've never on this side of the table," Midoriya said and smiled nervously.

Midoriya Izuku is...different. Not just physically.

Naomasa opened his folder. "Name?"

"Midoriya Izuku."

He didn't detect a lie but even so... "Not Midorishi?"

"No?" Midoriya said, coming out more as a question than as a statement.

"Interesting. Age?"

"Twenty-two."