"Kacchan!" Izuku ran out of the building in a hurry, just barely catching Bakugo who was about to leave.
Bakugo was in deep thoughts about what happened earlier, during the battle training, but was awoken by Izuku's shout and momentarily halted his steps.
"...I can't say much... But you should know this at least." Izuku hesitated. He didn't know why he was about to tell his secret to his rival, the secret that he hadn't even told his mother nor his close friend. But, something in him just told him he needed to do it. "I got my quirk from someone else."
"I can't say from who. On top of that, I can't even use it right yet... This borrowed power... It's still very useless to me." Izuku rambled on.
"..?!" Bakugo looked at Izuku in irritation, unable to understand what he was saying.
"That's why, I tried to beat you without it! But I couldn't. I had to rely on it!" Izuku continued, looking down so, he was unable to see Bakugo's expression which had veins popping on his forehead in confused anger. "I've got a ways to go..! That's why..."
"I'm going to make it my own someday." Izuku looked up in determination. "And overcome you with my power."
...
"???" Bakugo's mind was blank, extremely confused as his body wobbled. "What the hell...? Borrowed power..? No clue what you're talking about... But, I guess you'll just keep making a fool outta me... Right?!"
"I MEAN, WHAT THE HELL?!" Bakugo gritted his teeth, his eyes red with anger and frustration. "I... lost to you today! That's all there is! And if that weren't enough... When I saw that icy bastard, I thought, I couldn't measure up to him! That shitty eyes... I tried to think of ways to beat that guy in that situation but, I couldn't think of a single one!"
"Those things ponytail girl said... I ended up agreeing with them! Dammit! DAMMIT!! WHY?! YOU TOO... DEKU!" Bakugo shouted, releasing the pent up frustrations that accumulated over the afternoon from his damaged pride. "From here on, I..! FROM HERE ON, YOU HEAR ME!! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU ALL!!!"
"Enjoy your win." Bakugo turned around and continued his way out. "It'll never happen again! Dammit!!"
Izuku watched Bakugo's leaving back and sighed in relief.
"BA-KU-GO!!! SHONEN!" All Might suddenly flashed past, clutching onto Bakugo's shoulders, preventing him from leaving. "Let me tell you... That sort of pride is important!! Without a doubt, you've got the makings of a pro!! From now on, you just have to-"
"Let go of me, All Might. I can't move." Bakugo muttered, his arm covering his eyes. "Needless to say... !! I'll be a hero who surpasses even you!"
"Ah... Sure.." All Might was unsure of how to react. Somehow, unknown to him, this student of his had resolved the problem already. "Being a teacher... Sure is tough..!"
I watched all these happen from the large window in front of the class and sighed.
Fortunately, the plot still runs smoothly. Now, I should also head home. There's still that problem waiting for me to fix.
Tap. Tap.
"Yamori." Being called, I turned to look and, behind me, Aizawa-sensei had a serious expression, beside him was a certain detective.
A detective?
"Good afternoon, Yamori-kun. I'm Tsukauchi Naomasa. I work as a detective for the police force." The detective smiled warmly as he introduced himself. I nodded politely in reply.
If they're looking for me, it should be about my sister who went missing. But, I doubt that this incident is big enough to garner the attention of an important character. Unless... something troublesome cropped up.
"Is it alright for us to talk somewhere... more private..?" Tsukauchi asked quietly, glancing at the students who were giving them curious looks.
Getting the hint, I nodded and walked towards them.
"Yamori-kun, is everything alright?" Ojiro-kun grabbed my arm and asked in concern. I was momentarily unable to respond, still not used to people being concerned about me.
"Yeah, bro! If there's any trouble, just tell us!" Kirishima followed up, glancing at the detective and Aizawa-sensei from time to time, as if trying to discern clues from their expressions but got nothing.
"Don't worry." I smiled at them gratefully. "It's nothing I can't handle."
Leaving those words, I hurried over towards the two adults who were waiting for me patiently.
...
"Regarding the situation with your sister, have you been made aware of it already?" Tsukauchi asked a few moments after we sat down in the staff lounge.
"Yes. Some people at home called me at around noon today." I answered honestly. "The situation at that time was being handled by the police so I decided to remain at school and let them deal with it but... did anything happen?"
"I see..." Tsukauchi took out a small notebook and began to scribble down. "It's just that..."
Tsukauchi glanced at Aizawa-sensei who was leaning on the door silently and then, looked at me, his expression serious. "There were some complications along the way."
Complications?
"This morning, a villain attacked a park near where your house was located. According to the information we recieved, that was also around the same time your sister had disappeared." Tsukauchi tapped his pen on the table. "We believe that the villain attack and your sister's absence were part of a single incident."
...huh?
"Excuse me, but, isn't that a bit too farfetched?" I asked in confusion.
"That does seem a little too farfetched, doesn't it? But, we have enough evidence to back that claim." Tsukauchi smiled as he said so, causing me to pay attention to what he was about to say next.
"We investigated the villain that was responsible for the attack this morning. Although he had no direct connections to your sister, he was connected to a bigger case." Tsukauchi stared right at me. "I believe you should be familiar with this case, Yamori-kun."
"Familiar...? Then, is it..." I muttered to myself hesitantly.
"Multiple people began to disappear in multiple locations only to reappear a few days later with different types of psychological illnesses and... quirkless." My eyes widened in shock.
It can't be... He's back..?!
"At first, we thought that it was a separate case from the one that was halted five years ago, an imitator so to speak, but, with the amount of similarities to the victims and their style, we believe that the culprits of the incident five years ago have returned." I clenched my fists underneath the table and let out the breath I was holding.
"We believe that they should be after you, now that they possibly have a hold of your sister, being the only one who escaped intact that day... Well, mentally intact." Tsukauchi explained patiently. "That is why, we would like you to cooperate fully with our investigations. If you have any information about them, please do not hesitate to give us a call."
I stared blankly at the table.
They're really back..?
Those... madmen?!
How could they be back now?!
"Yamori? Yamori!"
Bang!
A hand slammed harshly onto the table, waking me up from my thoughts abruptly. I looked up, only to see a stern face staring at me.
"Sen..sei..?" I muttered in a daze.
"Yamori-kun. Do you have anything that you would like to say?" Tsukauchi looked at me reassuringly.
"I..." I opened my mouth hesitantly but, I remembered something that made me shake my head. "..No... I'm sorry. I don't remember anything. At the time the incident happened, I was only 10. I don't remember much from back then."
"I see..." Tsukauchi kept the notebook and pocketed his pen. "Then, if you ever remember anything, please do tell us immediately. It would greatly help with the investigation."
"Okay." I nodded absentmindedly. "If there's nothing else, I would like to go home now. It's getting late."
"Mm. Do you need a ride back?" Tsukauchi smiled warmly.
"No... I'll be fine going by train." I walked towards the door. "Oh right... This case... Which heroes will be put in charge of it?"
"Heroes..? We were actually thinking of leaving the case to those who handled it previously since they were already familiar with it." The answer made me furrow my brows.
"...Endeavor?"
"Yes, he should be one of them." Tsukauchi looked up. "Why? Is there any problem?"
"..No. It's nothing." I shook my head and walked out, shutting the door behind me.
Inside the room, Tsukauchi sighed and tapped the table. "I'll have to trouble you to keep a close eye on that student, Eraser-head."
Aizawa crossed his arms and snorted. "That's only natural."
"He knows something..."
...
"Yamori-kun!"
"Yamori! What happened in there?"
"Kaito, is everything alright?"
As I walked out of the building, what greeted me were Ojiro-kun, Kirishima, and Izuku waiting for me outside.
This...
"Why haven't you gone home yet?" I asked in confusion.
"Are you an idiot?!" Kirishima stared at me in disbelief. "Of course, we would wait for you!"
"We were worried so we all waited outside. Kaito, are you okay?" Izuku asked in concern.
"Why was the police looking for you, Yamori-kun? Did something happen?" Ojiro-kun asked cautiously.
Seeing how they were concerned about me made a strange feeling build inside my chest.
I smiled lightly.
"Ah~ I haven't eaten anything for a whole day." I said carelessly as I walked on ahead. "Let's go eat something on the way."
"Good idea, Yamori! I've been starving for a while now!" Kirishima shouted, following behind me.
"Kaito! Don't change the topic! You too, Kirishima-kun! Don't just be swayed by him!" Izuku exclaimed.
"Let's just talk about it while walking..?" Ojiro-kun said with a wry smile, wondering how he came to hang out with such strange people.
"Haha~ So ramen it is then!"