Smile

"Wait!"

Tsukauchi burst onto the rooftop. It was enclosed by a sturdy chainlink fence, plain concrete and not much else. He caught sight of the slim vigilante standing on the other side of the fence, hand closed around the metal. She turned to face him, the reddish light glinting off her porcelain mask.

"How did you know?" He found himself asking. "Seventeen murders in two years and every officer at the station had them written off as suicides."

Akabane considered him.

"It's not that I knew something you didn't," Akabane finally answered. "The latest news article just didn't sit right with me, and I did some digging. Once you've been in the business long enough, you lean to trust your instincts."

They stood for a second in silence, looking up at the darkening sky. It had been the last view of seventeen students, all murdered by a psychopath with a hypnosis quirk. They would have justice, finally, and it was all thanks to the illegal vigilante standing in front of him.

Tsukauchi bowed his head. "Thank you."

She laughed, turning back toward him. He could see her scar, now, a pale line dragging her mouth up into a permanent half-smile. He'd read her files, and could recall the exact wording of the report that stated exactly how she'd gotten that scar. She had a lot of valid reasons not to trust police officers, and his badge sat shiny on his belt.

"You know, that's the first time I've been thanked by an officer. It's kind of nice," Akabane released the fence, falling backward off the roof. "Take care, detective!"

Tsukauchi lunged after her, but the fence stopped him. He sighed, then looked back at the red sky.

"Who are you?" He asked the sunset. "Why are you doing this? You could easily be a hero the legal way; you don't have to break the law all the time."

Unfortunately, though, the sky didn't reply, and he stood alone on the rooftop, unanswered.