"Why
he hell would someone steal plastic jewels when there were gems worth millions of yen right next to them?"
Izuku found himself asking that question again and again as he punched away at his keyboard. He might be trapped at his day job for now, but his mind was still hard at work trying to unravel the case. It was a strange circumstance that bordered on the ridiculous with some unknown crook sneaking into jewelry stores undetected, grabbing the plastic replicas of the real thing when they were right next to each other and then vanishing as if they were never there. All of which have been captured on security cameras multiple times around the city.
There was no DNA at the scenes, no signs of forced entry, nothing at all which could determine who or even what this person was. Much less what their quirk happened to be. The idea came to mind that perhaps there were multiple players within this who operated as transportation for lack of a better word. If there was another reason why this person has a tendency to completely vanish from sight even while being recorded then he wasn't seeing it.
Seconds ticked away from the clock as he juggled his mundane obligations to the company which paid him and the extraordinary pursuit that hopefully would become more than a hobby. Part of him was furious with himself at his lack of dedication to the task at hand, driving the point in twice over when he noticed an incorrect total he haphazardly punched to the document. Yet there was the more wild, childish side of him that wanted nothing more than to keep diving in the complexity of the case, damning the consequences. Choosing to keep a modicum of professionalism about himself, if only due to it being the one thing he could take pride in, Izuku cast the thoughts of the case away for now in favor of doing his job.
Still the concepts crept up multiple times until lunch when he could finally gather his mind, resulting in him muttering out loud to the mild concern of his coworkers. Sitting at the table he scratched a finger across the wood, wishing he had some way to figure out the dilemma or at least had someone to confide in.
He possessed a few acquaintances from the year he spent at this particular company and while they weren't bad people, they weren't the type to offer any insight. If anything they'd actively discourage his hobby for fear of his safety. Groaning, Izuku opened his ramen cup and began to eat when a thought came to mind. Aside from his fellow employees, he knew a total of five people in his life at the moment. Three of which were too busy with hero work to enter a think tank and his mother was another which he obviously couldn't lean on in this situation.
Leaving only one other person who might at most let him vent his frustrations about the jewel snatcher and it left him slightly anxious. The girl was a former criminal herself so the world of outlaws wouldn't be completely alien to her, however it was her reaction that would worry him. She had martial skill and a relatively short temper coupled with a possible aversion to any mention of crime that may turn hostile.
That and the decency of not bringing up uncomfortable topics to a person who literally stopped him from leaping to his death in a drunken fit of self-loathing anger also weighed on his mind. Yet he paused for a moment to consider. It was Monday, meaning she wouldn't be at her meeting until a day or two and stopping by couldn't hurt anything. He didn't even need to bring anything work related up, they could just chat about the footage or something else.
Briefly he blushed when the silent hope for more physical contact surfaced from his unconscious. It wasn't anything lewd, but it certainly made him feel...better.
Sighing, he pulled out his phone and made a mark to the god of fate.
"What do I have to lose at this point?"
Izuku thought to himself as he tapped her contact, opened the text box and began to move his thumb while more ramen entered his mouth.
"Hey, I found this weird ass footage on file and figured you'd wanna watch so you mind if I stop by after my shift?"
To his surprise it took merely five minutes to get a response.
"Sure, ain't like I got much else to entertain myself."
Relief swarmed him to an uncomfortable degree at the realization that he wouldn't be completely alone in this tonight. How long had it been since he invited himself to someone's home? Thinking back on it he remembered the last time was in elementary school with...Kacchan.
Flashes of sleepovers of over a decade ago skirted around, mixing with memories of birthdays and camping trips. He recalled Auntie Mitsuki caring over him, giving extra large portions of her famous beef curry while Kacchan talked about all the adventures they were going to have. Mentally watched a rehearsal of bug bites, fireworks and laughter. Then it all went to shit just as fast.
His eyes flooded open as every burn mark began to ache with the familiar phantom pain he carried for years. It didn't physically hurt, nothing more than a hot tingle really, but it was the things they summoned which struck hardest.
A tremble came to Izuku's hands when he made his way out of the break room. "Keep moving forward and go beyond, Deku is dead now and only The Limit Breaker remains. Don't let him win." He repeated in his head endlessly once he returned to his desk. It was an indescribably difficult task to remove himself from the onset of his bad history, yet thankfully work provided a perfect distraction to dive headlong into. Though the trembling didn't cease until his time off the clock came.
Later aboard the train Izuku found a heavy weight upon his shoulders that wouldn't go away. It had been literal years ago, everyone who belittled him was gone with their own lives to live. They all likely don't even remember him, never giving a thought to the quirkless kid they bullied since was in "good fun". They were adults now with the troubles of an adult so why the hell couldn't he let go of it? All that stuff happened when was a kid so why couldn't he grow up already and move on?
His fingers silently rubbed at a scar burned in his side. He can't go back in time and change anything so the present was all he had to work with. By that logic he should just accept that it happened and that's it. Izuku lightly slammed his forehead against the window in front of him. He needed to cleanse this bullshit from his system before he got to her apartment, seeing as having a fit in the view of one of the only people he knew was not a pleasant image, much less when it was over ancient history that doesn't even matter anymore.
Hearing the announcement for his stop the quirkless man stepped off the tram and instantly found the solution right across the street. A Seven Eleven. Yet right as he entered the store Izuku paused, moved off to a corner and pulled out his phone.
"Hey, do U you have any food allergies?"
A few moments passed until he got an answer.
"No, Y?"
Again his thumbs hit across the screen in the same way they had since his youth.
"I'm at a shop, I'm dealing with something and I wanna stress eat. Now chocolate or fruit flavor?"
The bubbles jumped ever so softly for a heartbeat or two.
"I'll take anything that doesn't have peanuts, but something cherry flavored I guess. U wanna have me cook dinner to make it even?"
Izuku relaxed a bit the farther away his soul got from the stingers of the past. He certainly wasn't smiling, but he wasn't shaking or aching.
"Don't bother, I'll get takeout. Burgers sound better than pizza?"
More dots jumped until another text came back.
"Pizza definitely, meat lovers and sorry to ask, but since you're at the store can you grab a case of buzz since I'm running low? I'll pay U back."
With a basket in hand he started assembling what was in actuality a coping mechanism that he could eat. He threw one last message before committing himself to the task completely.
"I already have cash so don't worry, I'll be over in a bit."
Half an hour came and went which resulted in three bags loaded upon his person along with the pizza and the drinks. Yes he splurged an irresponsible amount of money on junk food, sure it cut into his monthly food budget by a percent and yeah maybe he had a problem, but it made him not feel shitty so it was worth it. The satchel continuing his personal laptop banged against his back as he ushered himself to the third floor and found the apartment number, reaching out a fist to tap the wood.
Strangely the door didn't immediately open, instead there came the sound of more locks being done and then the crazy girl's voice came through.
"Who is it?"
Shaking his head, Izuku tried not to let his annoyance show in his response.
"It's me. The guy you like to beat up on the weekends? I woulda called but my hands got filled."
Nothing happened for a number of seconds then the sound of locks being undone echoed and the door swung back, revealing the blonde in a crusty looking tee shirt and pajama pants. Her bag riddled eyes had a curious quality about them as she noticed the multiple bags of sweets and snacks hanging around his arms, along with the pizza in his hands and the energy drink case set to the floor. However Izuku returned the confusion when he saw a single edged tanto knife no longer than his palm in her left hand. Himiko shot him a look that typified her expression.
"You needed that much candy? What are you, a third grader?"
Izuku didn't know what he should have been more concerned about, the fact that she had a weapon or the fact that he was barely surprised by it.
"I said I wanted to stress eat and I meant it, besides who the hell can get angry when they're given food?"
The knife slided effortlessly between her fingers as Himiko grabbed the energy drinks with her free hand and ushered him in.
"You'd be surprised, now get in before somebody mugs ya."
Placing the goods to the dinning table Izuku was instantly hit with the reek of copper in the air, making him turn towards the kitchenette where a pot was boiling something red. Squinting his eyes he turned his head to his host while setting the haul of sweets up.
"Not to be weird or anything, but...are you good on...blood for now? Because I can make another trip out before I get settled."
Her eyes also squinted at him with a mix of confusion and disgust before blinking upon coming to some realization judging by the way she quickly ceased having such a rigid posture.
"Nah, I'm good with that stuff for another five months and then some. I appreciate the sentiment but I never let others buy that for me even as a favor."
Standing up from the table after setting up their diabetic feast, Izuku clicked his tongue as his old analytic habit came back into play.
"So...I'm gonna take a shot here and say your quirk probably isn't the prettiest. I know you wanna keep it to yourself, which is fine, but I wanna ask if I can do anything to help you manage it. Assuming you're having any difficulties of course."
The cat-like yellow of her eyes narrowed. Not to the point of suggesting danger, but enough to outward show how insulted she felt. Not saying a word, Himiko walked right up to him and delivered a punch right to his solar plexus.
"I manage well enough on my own, now how about we change the subject before I feel the need to throw you outta here?"
Curling over by only the slightest due to the unexpectancy of the blow, Izuku nodded, hoping he hadn't touched too big of a nerve.
"F-Fair enough. Do you have any ideas on what that should be?"
She continued to glare at him as she poured the sanguine into a cup and sat down at her sofa after grabbing a slice of pizza.
"Yeah, why the hell did you decide to hit me up on a weekday? It ain't that I have anything going on, but you stick to that routine of yours religiously. Meaning you want something from me."
Izuku flinched at her assumption with even more shame piling on top when he chose to take a seat at the table. Away from the section of the living room that she could reach.
"Well...yes, but if you don't want to hear it then I'm down to kill some time."
Her lips were stained a dark red from the cup, making the woman appear more dangerous than she should be. Sighing, she took a bite and fired back once it was finished.
"Alright, let's hear it and if you're asking to bang then I'm kicking your ass."
Indignation colored him as he took a slice from the box and fixed her with a righteous glare.
"Is everything about sex with you? No, I didn't come for a lay, I have this project from the Sugarman agency that I wanted to bounce some ideas off you for. Again if you aren't feeling that then I can just hang out."
Himiko pursed her lips at his response and shook her head, setting the blood filled cup down with a slight modicum of guilt.
"Sorry, I'm used to a whole different type of person. Anyway, what's Mr. Diabetes got you doing?"
Taking a nibble of his slice Izuku moved towards the coffee table and set his satchel down, removing the computer and pulling up the files forwarded to him last night.
"At this moment we're in a joint case with the Tailman and Tentacole agencies respectively to track down a vanishing jewel thief who doesn't steal jewels and I've been tasked with figuring out how he does it."
Rolling his shoulders he gave her a sympathetic look.
"But if that sounds like something you don't wanna help me deal with then we can do something else."
Himiko shrugged at the suggestion and moved over to where he was sitting, watching the playing footage of the suspect with a half caring eye.
"So a bunch of E listers teamed up and set you with the hard stuff, sounds about right. I'm in, all my work's done for the week so this seems like a good enough distraction. Now, what motives have you got for the guy? Money?"
Izuku returned the shrug, trying not to be perturbed by how close she was.
"You'd think so, but he only steals the plastic prop jewels so far. No cash is grabbed, none of the actual jewels are taken. It's always the same thing where he magically appears in a random store with no rhyme or reason at around midnight with no attempts of entry. He just appears in a bright flash in the middle of the room and starts pilfering until ten minutes later where he leaves the same way."
Himiko hummed at this, clicking back to a certain point in the video.
"Every show is based on redirecting the eye while your hands do the work."
He raised an eyebrow at the former felon.
"Come again?"
She waved a palm at him, intently watching that particular segment of the footage.
"An old saying one of my friends used to say. He was a magician before going south and he had an MO of stealing stuff for fame since he was a compulsive kleptomaniac. One of the things he'd always do is keep the audience's attention on a particular object so he could use his still hand to complete the trick, making it seem like magic."
He kept the brow where it was.
"Your point being?"
She refreshed the video one more time, careful to not drink directly over the device as the warm blood entered her mouth.
"My point being is that maybe your man is acting for a different reason than just grabbing those jewels. Think of it this way, if those items worth thousands by themselves were taken then it likely be bumped up to a B class case and if he wanted to go completely undetected then the cameras would have been scrambled. So it's likely this guy may want to be seen, just not by the powerhouses."
This only served to confuse him more.
"Alright, may I ask why?"
The cup was drained of liquid, which was dangled in front of the green haired man who begrudgingly got the message.
"Ever hear about the boy who cried wolf? People get desensitized to things if they happen with enough frequency. Meaning that it lowers people's guards if it's proven to be a minor threat which opens them up for a killing blow, or a major score in this case."
Wrinkling his nose at the smell of the liquid, Izuku moved back to the couch once it was refilled with blood, starting to maybe understand.
"So you think it's a setup for something big?"
Taking the cup and nodding in thanks, Himiko shrugged at the suggestion.
"Maybe, but I've experienced that Occam's razor is usually the more likely answer to most things. Judging by how this guy carries himself, he's likely a newb at this and wants to make trial runs before going for anything that might put a target on his back or in other words he might be trying to build up the courage by desensitizing himself to the act."
She paused, exiting the window and scrolling down the list of stores hit. A hand rested on her chin in what could only be described as a thinker's pose.
"Or maybe...he's using misdirection to make you think he's only going to steal the fakes. Look here, for the past two months he keeps grabbing replicas of more and more pricey gems and assuming he gets enough decoys while the capes think nothing of it when he does appear, he might be able to pull an Indiana Jones without anybody knowing."
"So you think he's going to swap out the real gems for the fakes?"
She turned her head over to him and gave a sly grin.
"Well, looks like you do have taste. Anyway pay attention to the stores he keeps hitting, they're lower end strip mall joints with shit security and only in the last week has he done a bigger job. Every time he's done so there's always a more expensive replica missing. It always increases by a factor of one thousand in the price and he consistently stalks the Nagasaki prefecture. Given the logical path he seems to take, eventually he'll go for the biggest goal he can. Likely that'll be the only actual real one he takes."
Izuku bit his teeth, deciding to go grab a candy bar from the pile to ease his nerves.
"That's nice and all, but how does that help with catching him?
She raised from the sofa in turn, pulling out a now chilled energy drink from the fridge and pointed a finger at him.
"Simple, you appeal to his sense of greed. Make it seem like there's something worth risking his safety, a once in a lifetime score that could fulfill his ego and his wallet. Do that and you'll more than likely have your culprit."
Izuku pondered the idea and the more he did, the more it made sense.
"Like gathering a bunch of replicas of high-end jewels, leaking a false claim that they're real and being transported to say…the Imperial Museum or something while stopping at Nagasaki for a night due to complications?"
She tapped on the head like a proud friend, grinning far more kindly than usual.
"That's one way, though there's probably a million others we aren't seeing."
He felt pressure filter out of him like a steam, at least it was an idea. Walking back to the sofa he smiled as he finally shut his laptop after making a note of the plan. Then suddenly he felt bashful upon understanding he didn't have a reason to be here anymore.
Still he leaned back in the shitty furniture, not reacting much when she followed suit and wrapped an arm around him. They shared a haze of two worn out people glad to simply be at the moment and soon he did likewise as she did, holding her for the human need of physical contact.
"You feel like watching a movie?"
Himiko dug a little more into his side and let out a humm.
"Sure, I got those pirate movie boxes. But I'm gonna say this right now for your sake, I think it's best if you went home right after since things get crazy on the streets by midnight."
Izuku said nothing to that, merely relaxed as she flipped on the application. This was his time to unwind and decompress from everything that bothered him. The case had one idea that he could give to Rikido, his day job was over for now and nothing else in the world needed his attention. Leaving him to simply breath and enjoy the heartbeat of someone just as forgotten as him.
When the film started, some cheesy kiju B-movie that she swore up and down was good, Izuku smiled at the place around him. This was nice, he deserved this.
For an instant the man who had once given up on his dreams saw a possible future, one where he was a professional hero or maybe still a sidekick, living his best life with the help of the same woman who pushed him to do so. Maybe they could bring each other up as he climbed the ranking, get a better life for them both as mutual partners in crime.
Regardless, whatever was to come their way he was sure the future would be bright, because it had to be.