< Eizo Tanuma POV>
*Sigh*
I ended the call with the officer. The case of El Hoyo… It was quite a mess, the kidnappings and attacks in orphanages. The leads that we could get were little to nothing, just that they were taking kids no older than 10, aside from that there was only other useless information.
Whoever did that, they knew how to hide their tracks and keep it safe, and they had a strong backer with the right connections. They always attacked rural or not well known orphanages. So finding leads was always an impossible chore.
We had nothing to work with… that was until they got cooky enough to attack one of the orphanages funded by the No.1 hero, All Might.
Like they wanted to brag of their strength to someone, but to who? I had a little idea, the certain someone who organized fighting tournaments in the city of Osaka and carried out illegal gambling and trafficking. Also having some mysterious disappearances of contestants with good quirks, although I had little to work with to connect them together, I trusted my gut more than anything.
We managed to track them down. I discovered that they would separate the kids depending on if they had quirks or not. The quirkless were taken to some sort of facility, while the ones with quirks were taken to the black market… but there were a few kids with good quirks that went missing without any leads…
We managed to save some kids from the black market, now it was time to see what the facility was all about. Many underground heroes were called for the raid team, we needed to do this as a surprise. But either for good luck or the lack of it, All Might ended up finding out about it.
While we were assembling a raid team to take down the facility where they took the kids. But they were "conveniently" attacked by some mafia or organization. Even when we were on our way as soon as that happened. Everything we found were dead bodies, the place was destroyed and burned to the ground.
But we found little evidence, information about the "owner" of the facility and some other black market deals he had made before, but not his backer. And there were also a few recordings of fights… They used kids as fighting dogs for entertainment… For what kind of pigs was this supposed to be entertainment? We couldn't find out, but the fact that we couldn't find leads meant that they were high up with strong backing at that.
Some agents had clear disgust and few threw up, even the underground heroes were uncomfortable at the discovery, they wouldn't want to see this case happen again… as for All Might, it was the first time that I didn't see him smile…
I sighed again, clearing my thoughts, I began debating on calling Detective Tsukauchi, as he was really into this case before. I know he has someone with a lie detector quirk, but he is out of the city for now.
'I will just leave him a massage maybe.'
I get the files from officer Minori and see the kids' info and appearance… he is a bit unusual. But after reading his parent's details I can't help but feel a bit bad for the kid. His mother has a busy job and the same for the father who helps her in the business. They have good jobs but they won't be coming soon, even after getting out of the hell hole, the kid won't be seeing his parents yet...
[30min Later]
I arrived at the police station, because of the message I got before, I know that the kid was given some clothes and food. So he should be at the back of the office.
As soon as I enter the room I see the kid eating and the officer next to him. Just at a glance I could see messy snow white hair, scars on his arms and feet… Why wasn't he wearing shoes?
I motioned officer Minori to follow me, which he did as soon as he saw me noticing the lack of shoes on the kid. "He says that he is uncomfortable with shoes on…" Was the first thing he said…
"Whatever, but have you confirmed that it's really him?" I asked him.
"Hm? Of course I have, although he seems to know well how to use most devices, he doesn't even show any signs of isolation. But he acts like a kid that has lived in the wilderness, like he feels uncomfortable with shoes, likes his long hair loose, or how he melts by just tasting something sweet. He also was unusually afraid when he asked about his family, but calmed down after I told him that they will come in a few days." He explained.
I nodded at his answer. "Anything about trauma or mental instability?"
"Not really, he is a bit quiet, but I couldn't really see anything about being overly aggressive or cold for that matter. I can't feel any immediate change of mood right now, he is actually really calm now. I would say that he is rather mature but that is a gut feeling more than anything."
I contemplated his answers… 'It might be easier if he is able to stay calm…'
"Although we don't know, he might be tired, it's better to get over it fast. Let's go to the interrogation room, it would be better to record everything. I also need you to tell me if you sense any sudden change of moods from him during the questioning." I added.
Officer Minori talks to the kid and he nods.
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< Shiro Takeshi (MC) POV >
So now here I am… sitting on a chair less comfortable than before. The detective was in front of me while the officer was behind me. I sensed the officer giving a nod to the detective as if telling him that he could talk to me.
The officer's name was Minori, I realized as I just saw his tag on his shirt, and also because of how the detective called him.
I just look at the detective in front of me who breaks the silence by saying. "So, Shiro Takeshi right?" to which I just gave a little nod.
"So I will ask you some questions, I just need you to answer. But if you want to tell us your story, then I will be glad to hear everything." He said the last part carefully.
I began to think to myself about how to answer, 'I'm already here, they already proved that I'm Shiro Takeshi even if I haven't taken a blood test to see if I am quirkless, as it is rare to be quirkless in this era which pretty much lowers the possibility of me being an imposter or something of sorts… Let's be honest until the part of living in the wilderness where I wanted to wrestle a bear. I just won't talk about that.'
"I can tell what happened from where I was kidnaped, but I don't remember exactly how I got to El Hoyo since I was being knocked out all the time until I got there" I said after a bit of thought.
My answer surprised both Tanuma and Minori. None of them thought that I would know the name of that place… but after a bit thought it was reasonable. So Tanuma spread the documents on the table, they were mostly word documents and a single photo, the photo was of a person wearing a black skull mask.
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Shiro told most of his story. How he couldn't even get a glance of the people that kidnapped him, being knocked out again and again before waking up in the arena. Although he might've been a bit too much detail about the arena having nails and teeth mixed in it. But Tanuma didn't stop him, as he got confirmation from Minori that Shiro wasn't having any radical change of moods during his story. Which surprised him as it was hard to believe that a 10 year old could tell his story calmly like he was doing.
Shiro was telling about the 2nd event that he was dragged in to participate, while he was telling his story he would be stopped by Tanuma from now and then to ask for more details or just stop him to rearrange some documents, highlighting stuff, and more.
While Shiro got the mysterious attack of the enemies that destroyed the facility.
"So you couldn't see anything? Some kind of similar looking uniform or weapons?" Asks Tanuma to which Shiro replies. "No, I could hear a lot of fighting but I wanted to go to my cell, so I didn't bother to look at the intruders."
Tanuma nodded and asked Shiro to continue.
Shiro kept on with telling the events, and the other 2 in the room could tell where the story was going… So when Shiro finished and told how he killed the masked man, Minori and Tanuma weren't that surprised. Although it was a bit disturbing hearing a child describe how he killed a criminal as if it was a simple thing of the past…
Although to Shiro, it was normal to have no grudges for the dead, he has killed the masked man. There is no reason to keep living with hatred. At least that was what his Uncle taught him.
The story was a rollercoaster of events. But it was still a mystery of how Shiro got out alive, after all, he said that he fainted after killing the masked man. But Shiro said that he didn't really know how he got out and Tanuma could see that he wasn't lying, so he just dropped the subject.
After compiling more documents. Tanuma keeps asking some other questions. "So you survived 3 years in the wilderness?" He asked, a bit confused. "Yah" Shiro replied nonchalantly.
Minori just smiles a bit at Shiro's relaxed mood, he then takes out his phone and after typing for a moment. He gives it to Tanuma…
'Ha!?… He ate enough to even make people report it as a little anomaly… How much does he eat?' He thought with surprise all over his face. The amount of food that Shiro ate was enough for an entire family, even if he wasn't training, he would've eaten just a bit less. As he is still wearing his imaginary weights even now.
"So what now?" Shiro interrupted Tanuma's thoughts.
"Well, You will stay here until your parents get back, I will make a call an-"
"Don't tell them about me! Let's make it a surprise." He said with a grin.
Tanuma was a bit surprised so he looked at Minori, and the latter confirmed that Shiro isn't having any change of moods like sadness or loneliness. "Um… Are you sure about this? Because they may take longer if they don't know about you..." Asks Tanuma.
"Yes I'm sure of it."
"Sigh~ Alright, but don't cause trouble." He said and looked at his watch 'It's already late…'
"Go get some sleep kid." He commented while getting off from his seat.
"I will show you your room." Minori added and took Shiro outside of the room with him.
While Tanuma was heading outside he began to contemplate his new leads. 'Those customers… There is no way that they went there themselves, they must've sent a representative. That and there is the fact that they liked exotic things as they wanted Shiro as a pet… I have to look for important people or the ones close to them who disappeared 3 years ago… And other leads that I got because of the food served to VIPs like Shiro and materials that they used to make those special events. Finally, something to work with.'
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"So my room is a cell…" Shiro grumbled.
"The best cell mind you," Minori replied with a chuckle.
Shiro's "room" was just a cell, it had a reinforced door so it gave him actual privacy unlike other cells that had only steel bars. It had a bed, coffee table, sink, everything was in a single room. The bathroom was separated of course.
Although Shiro didn't get a key for his room, it wasn't needed. The door had a weird electric lock, Minori said that it would remain unlocked even if he leaves his room.
"Any idea how long it will take for Mom and Dad to get here?" He asked. Maybe regretting trying to take them by surprise.
"... Not really, there is this huge event going on in France, and they needed to arrange a big part of it. But it won't take long." Minori answered after a bit of thought. His answer just made Shiro more curious about his parents work, business, or whatever they do for living. But he decided to just ask when he meets them.
"...ok…" He said as he went and lay on the bed. 'SOFT!' He screamed in his mind as he touched the bed like it was a part of heaven. There is just so much one can do with animal skins for a bed. The first days Shiro spent in the wilderness weren't really comfortable, the nights were cold despite managing to make firecamps. The ground was hard despite all the grass he gathered to get comfortable…
Seeing Shiro rolling on the bed like a normal kid made Minori smile. Then he left him alone to get some rest, which was the same for Minori as well, he never thought that he would be witnessing a case like Shiros during his career. He only helped the occasional kid to find his parents or just helped a cat get off from a tree. In no way he expected to see something like this today… or tonight in fact.