33

Chapter 33: Everything I Failed To BeNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Shouta sighs, angry, still so angry, full of the unwanted emotion, even after he's doled out punishment. He knows it isn't rational to hold onto this rage, that nothing will come of it, but that thought doesn't help to abate the feeling.

There's Bakugou. The obvious aggressor in the situation yesterday. He's seen the footage, heard bits and pieces from All Might, and he'd caught them yesterday at Ground Beta. He saw how Midoriya was crying, how Bakugou looked like he was going to strike. It all points to the explosive blonde being at fault, and his attitude when Shouta spoke to him just now doesn't help. But, he can't deny, the larger portion of his anger is not directed at Bakugou.

Ever since he's met Midoriya, he feels like he's become entangled, ensnared in some invisible web that won't let him go. Shouta hates the feeling, the frustration it fills him with, because he never seems to progress. One second, he thinks he can pin down Midoriya's goals, his personality, and then the next second, he can't . Because- and this is what it really boils down to- the boy lies.

Maybe not actual lies, but omitted truths are just the same in his eyes. Whether the problem child has ever lied to his face or not- Shouta suspects he'll never know. Midoriya has always seemed so sincere, and sometimes that makes it worse when he uncovers later deception.

There was their initial meeting. Midoriya arrived at his doorstep, wet and bedraggled, hiding behind the name of 'Deku'. He refused to reveal all the information, only giving away what he had to, and then slipped away, clearly the guilty party. Shouta was left to handle the fallout and piece things together himself.

Then, on the first day of class. The secrets behind Midoriya's information on the Eight Precepts, the scars, the kidnapping, his quirk. Everything was finally revealed, and yet-

Nothing was. It never makes sense, no matter how much more of the puzzle is revealed, he still doesn't have all the pieces.

Shouta has dealt with children for years. Not just as a teacher, but as a hero too. He's handled so many different kinds of personalities ranging from the most repressed to the annoyingly outgoing. But none like Midoriya.

He's seen what happens when kids go through something traumatic like a kidnapping. He's seen what happens when a kid develops their quirk for the first time, and has to deal with training it. But Midoriya, who is supposedly both of those things, displays signs of neither.

There's so much dancing around, so much that Shouta knows he's still being kept in the dark about. It's incredibly frustrating.

For example: the bad blood between Midoriya and Bakugou he's only finding out about now. He had held some suspicion since the first day at the quirk assessment, but- that isn't the point. The point is, it was yet another thing he had to discover on his own, instead of through the mouth of his student.

And don't even get him started on Midoriya's quirk. The one that appeared from trauma, that hurts him, or did, before he learned to control it. Shouta, of course, wasn't privy to this information until Eri had exposed it, and now there's a new part of Midoriya's quirk, some black whip thing , that the problem child oh so conveniently forgot to mention.

However new it was, from the footage Shouta saw, it looked like Midoriya was familiar enough with it to be proficient. Which means, once again, that the problem child had kept something from him.

And the worst part is, he doesn't even know why.

Why does Midoriya keep these secrets? Why does he cling to them, until the very last second, until they are forcefully pried from his fingers? It's all part of this godforsaken web, this elusive bigger picture he just can't see yet. Midoriya is trying so hard to hide something, and Shouta is stuck trying to find out what it is.

He sighs again, hanging his head and tangling his fingers into his hair. He just- he just doesn't want to be lied to anymore. He wants to help. He hates the thought that one of his students doesn't trust him. He hates this mounting dread, this inexplicable sensation that somehow, in some way, Midoriya is going to disappear on him.

He doesn't know what he can do.

It'd be easy to expel him. God, it'd be so easy. Midoriya will be safe, relatively, if not upset, and Shouta will have gained back some peace of mind. He thinks about it a lot, debates it when he looks through student records for that blasted vigilante's identity and wonders- what if Midoriya does something like this? What if he turns out like this because I'm not good enough?

But he can't. He can't expel the problem child because he knows it won't work. Midoriya is not the type of person who will stop just because he's expelled. Shouta fears that the kid will get himself in even deeper trouble if he's thrown out where Shouta can't keep an eye on him. That he'll break whatever fragile trust has formed between them.

He's a hero. He has to do what's best for people- for his students- even if it's hard. He can't ignore law-breaking or recklessness when it could kill someone. No matter how distressing the outcome may be for them. No matter what reason they say they're doing it for. Shouta has to do the right thing.

He just doesn't know what the right thing to do is anymore.

Izuku doesn't know if he's doing the right thing anymore. Should he stay at UA? Should he leave? Is it right to sever all ties now, ones he should never have made, even if he wants them? Is it right to sit and laugh with all his friends when they aren't his?

How is he- how is he supposed to live normally knowing the other Izuku...knowing he is...

"Deku-kun!"

Izuku blinks, eyes snapping up from the bento in front of him. Six sets of eyes stare back at him, belonging to Uraraka, Iida, Shinsou, Tokoyami, Tsuyu and Todoroki. He meets each of their gazes, concern reflecting in some, curiosity in the others.

"I, uh...what?" He utters intelligently. It seems he's missed out on something, probably a question, from how they all sit expectantly.

Iida twists his lips into a frown. "We were congratulating you on your getting class president," He explains, his voice careful, and then pauses. His eyes trail downwards, to rest on Izuku's full bento. He frowns harder, like he wants to say something, but his mouth stays firmly closed.

Izuku is glad. He doesn't want to talk about his lack of appetite. He swallows, his throat dry. "T-thanks Iida, and, uh, everyone." He lifts his mouth up into a smile, or what he hopes is one, as he stabs his chopsticks into his rice. It's hard to look anyone in the eyes.

"You were the natural choice- kero." Tsuyu states. Tokoyami nods sagely while Uraraka and Iida bob their heads more earnestly. Izuku almost cracks an actual smile.

He shakes his head. "I think Iida would be the better choice though?" He points with his chopsticks at the engine-legged boy. "He's far more diligent and responsible than me."

And it's true. Izuku almost can't believe he has the position considering how much hot water he's in with Aizawa-sensei. How is he supposed to set an example for the class when he breaks the most rules?

Iida's cheeks color a nice shade of pink, spreading to his ears and down his neck. He clears his throat. " You voted for me?"

Izuku nods.

The taller boy pulls at his collar. "W-well, while I appreciate the sentiment, I do believe it is you who is most suited for leadership. Diligence and responsibility only get you so far. I am still lacking compared to your natural charisma and thoughtfulness. After all, that's why I voted for you."

The other occupants of the table give him subtle nods. Todoroki dutifully ignores them. Shinsou just looks bored.

Charisma? Thoughtfulness? Izuku doesn't remember having either of those things. He wonders if this spurs from the advice he gave them before the battle exercises.

"Excuse me, Midoriya?" Someone taps him on the shoulder. He manages not to flinch, which he feels pretty proud of, and turns around.

Yaoyorozu brings her hand up in a small wave and flashes an elegant smile. "I was wondering if we could chat." She sweeps her gaze over the others at the table, and clasps her hands in front of her. "Maybe outside?"

She's nervous, although it's hard to catch it through her friendly and assured demeanor. Izuku gets it. She wants to speak in private, away from so many eyes. He's not entirely sure what she wants, but he could use the opportunity to get away from the stuffy cafeteria and his meal that seems to mock him.

"Sure. Lead the way." He turns to his friends, some of which seem reluctant to let him go. "I'll be back." He tells them rather unnecessarily. Then, Izuku stands from his seat and follows Yaoyorozu out of the building.

It's a beautiful day outside. Warm, but not unbearably so. There's a nice breeze too, that tickles through Izuku's hair. He would say it's quiet, but as they walk, he can hear the buzz of the reporters just beyond the main gate. It's rather distracting.

They should get in soon, if memory serves. It makes him wonder exactly how they managed it last time. He never heard much about it in his own timeline. Are news reporters really that desperate for a story that they'd break down UA's gate? If so, Izuku could certainly see why Aizawa-sensei hates the media.

"Midoriya," Yaoyorozu addresses him. "I wanted to ask you something."

Izuku raises an eyebrow at her. He's a little anxious, because this isn't a conversation he's had before, and now he has no idea what to expect. Yaoyorozu also cuts directly to the chase, no small talk involved, and Izuku can't tell if that makes it better or worse.

His eyes slide back to the gate. "Sure."

He hopes he won't regret this.

Yaoyorozu doesn't speak for a moment, and then when she does, it's almost hesitant. "In the...training exercise yesterday...there was a moment that... confused me." She takes a breath. "Something that happened in your match that I am...curious about, I suppose."

Izuku sends his attention back to her and hates how his heart picks up. She hasn't even asked anything yet, could maybe not even say anything important, and Izuku is already wanting to run away.

Instead, he plants his feet firmly in the grass and halts their progress. "What was it?" He questions nonchalantly, although he doesn't know if he quite hides the strain in his voice.

Yaoyorozu taps her chin, unaware of his inner turmoil. "When you and Uraraka were separated on the floor with the bomb, she found it first. And then she called it in to you over the coms."

Izuku blinks. "Yeah." He answers slowly, not sure why he's getting a recap.

"And you knew…," She stares at him intently, "Which way to go."

His brain stalls, short circuits and unfortunately does not come back online. "Wha-?"

Yaoyorozu presses her lips into a line. "Uraraka told you she found the bomb, but she didn't say where it was. And you knew anyway." She clarifies, as if Izuku hadn't gotten it the first time. He did. He just wishes he didn't.

His pulse races, and sweat drips from his brow. It isn't hot, or it isn't supposed to be, not today. His eyes trail back to the entrance gate and he kinda wishes the media would break in now and save him from answering. No such luck.

"W-well, I knew which side she started from, so I just...headed in that general direction." He replies. "We d-decided beforehand how we would search the floors."

Yaoyorozu hums. Her eyes burn into him, far too intelligent for his liking. "I thought so too at first. But then when you led Bakugou to the bomb, you knew exactly which room to burst into, and where. I know Uraraka didn't tell you that."

Izuku bites his lip, trying to decide if it really matters whether people think he's psychic, when-

Movement draws his attention back to UA's gate. There's something happening- a hole- he realizes, that is forming in the middle of the metal and growing outward. The material flakes away, deteriorates, as if it's...

made…

of...

dust .

As more of the gate disappears, Izuku can clearly see a figure standing there. A familiar figure.

And his blood runs cold.

The person is dressed in baggy black clothing, a hood pulled over their head that doesn't quite hide their bluish white hair or sinister smile. They are holding up a hand, a hand that falls in seemingly slow motion as they slip back into the crowd.

Izuku doesn't think. He runs after them.

Someone calls his name. The alarm blares overhead, the reporters swarm into the school. Izuku is hit by the onslaught, pushed and shoved against a massive wave of bodies as he tries to fight the current. He keeps his eyes peeled for black clothing, for a smile that twists his insides, for Shigaraki, but he keeps getting pressed back.

Why? Why is he here? Shit- was he here the first time?! Why didn't they know? What is he even here for? What's the point of letting in a bunch of civilians? It's not an attack, so what-

Izuku stops abruptly, almost getting trampled.

A distraction. It's a distraction.

He whirls around, following the crowd, surfing through it, getting jabbed unwillingly with stray elbows, as he makes his way into the school.

If the media are inside, it will seem like any intruder is a nosy reporter. The school won't notice if someone slips in between them. There's a reason for the breach. There probably always was. And Izuku was too stupid to see it.

A failed attempt at something? A declaration of war? Some precursor to the USJ?

His mind rips through possibilities, each one just as dreadful as the last. This was never innocent. He should've prepared for it.

Izuku squeezes out from between the mass of bodies as soon as the mob enters the school. He takes an immediate left while most of the wave turns to the right. He can already hear the teachers and defense measures taking their places. It does little to relieve his anxiety.

There has to be something they wanted. There has to be a reason why the League did this. Shigaraki wouldn't risk his identity at UA's front gate for nothing.

The question is- what are they after?

"Midoriya! What are you doing?" The identifiable voice of his teacher calls out, grabbing a hold of him and pulling him out of the way as fellow teachers come forward to coralle the press.

Aizawa-sensei pats him down, searching for injuries, although there are none. Izuku's blazer sleeve has been ripped somehow though, and his tie is missing. He doesn't know if he even put one on this morning.

"Aizawa-sensei," Izuku breathes, panting with a mix of adrenaline and exertion. "There's an intruder."

His teacher's brow creases. "Midoriya, I know. We're getting the press out now, go back to-"

He shakes his head, swallowing thickly. "No, someone else. Where...where are the teachers?"

The hero still looks at him- like he isn't making any sense. "They're here." He responds, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder as if to reassure him. "They're all here to stop the-"

Izuku runs off before he can hear the end of it. He runs to the staircase and starts climbing. If the teachers are here, then-

There's no one paying attention to the other intruder.

The media hasn't made it past the first floor and it won't be long before they're pushed out. Whoever this other intruder is- they don't have a lot of time before the press are ushered out and the alarm is reset to detect entities on campus without a badge. Izuku will have to be faster to catch them.

On the upper floors, he runs into more problems- students- flooding into the hallways. The flow is chaotic. They're all panicking , Izuku realizes, but he has no time to stop. It greatly hinders his progress through the building, however.

The thing is, he doesn't know where to look. He doesn't know what they want. And he can't search the whole school like this, especially if the League had the forethought of disguising their infiltrator as a student. The only important things he can think of, really, are the staff room and principal's office.

He goes to the staff room first, because it's closer and he knows it's empty from what Aizawa-sensei said. He doesn't try to knock this time- just flings open the door and rushes in.

There's no one inside.

As he checks any possible hiding place within the room, the alarm blaring above cuts off abruptly. Izuku looks up, and feels goosebumps run down his limbs at the sudden silence. He can't relax.

Nothing looks out of place, at first, and he is about to go check the principal's office, but then he spots something.

It's a computer, on someone's desk. There's nothing overly suspicious or incriminating about it, but where all the other computers have dark screens, this one is shutting down.

It could be nothing. It could just be his paranoia. But, Izuku can't tear his eyes away from the little loading circle going around and around. It makes him uneasy.

Would the objective be something like information? That was his first guess. What else does UA house that could possibly be important to a bunch of villains…?

And then it hits him.

Eri.

Izuku foregoes his stop at the principal's office and instead sprints to where Eri's room is. She should be fine. She should be fine because no one knows about her and it would be the Eight Precepts who'd want her back, not the League. She wasn't at UA in his timeline before and the media still broke in. She should be fine .

That doesn't stop him from running as fast as he can, mowing people down, just short of activating One For All as he runs to her. His skin is covered in a light sheen of sweat and his breath puffs loudly in his ears.

When he skids to a stop outside her room, he tries to calm down. Eri doesn't need to see him so frazzled, it would only scare her.

He takes multiple deep breaths, in and out, and then knocks softly on the door. Eri doesn't like to be startled, and it's only right he respects her privacy.

"It's Deku." He announces, so she knows exactly who it is.

No one answers.

Izuku clamps down on the urge to burst through the door. He tries to swallow and finds his throat too dry. He can't panic. She could just be sleeping.

"Eri?" He asks, a little louder, a lot more insistent. "Are you there? I'm going to come in."

His heart thumps in his ribcage, loud and quick. He grabs the doorknob and prays. Please, let Eri be on the other side. Please let her be okay.

He doesn't know what he'd do with himself if she isn't.

There's no response. Izuku opens the door.

The room is quiet, and empty. The bed in the corner is made up, nice and neat, no sign of life below the blankets. Izuku steps in, his breath hitching.

No. It's not true. It's not. It's the only thing- he hasn't done anything right- except for her. He can't- it can't be true. No. She's...she's...

A hand closes over his shoulder and Izuku scrambles away, whirling around to see who it is. His vision is blurry and he can't believe- there's no way-

Aizawa-sensei has his arm still raised. He stares at Izuku with his usual straight face, although it's pinched now in confusion and concern. "Midoriya…?"

Izuku hiccups and then rushes forward, grabbing his teacher's front, taking fistfuls of cloth in either fist. A sob bubbles from his throat and he shakes his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Eri…" He forces out. "Eri...she's…"

Gone.

He can't bring himself to say it.

His teacher is silent. Izuku can't look at him. He doesn't want to know what type of expression he'll see if he does. I'm such a-

"Deku?" A quiet voice pipes up, from somewhere around his teacher. And- it can't be.

Izuku's eyes snap open. He releases his grip on Aizawa-sensei and stumbles back. His eyes glue to the small child just behind the hero.

"Eri?" He almost whispers. His voice cracks, and his eyes fill with fresh tears as his heart floods with relief. She's fine. She's safe. She's fine. She's fine. She's safe.

His knees buckle and he falls to the ground, clutching at the front of his uniform. He's suddenly glad he's not wearing a tie, or else it'd probably be even harder to breathe. Tears flow unbidden from Izuku's eyes, but he's too overwhelmed by emotion to wipe them away.

She's fine. She's fine. She's fine.

"Deku?" Eri asks again, her voice confused. She takes tentative steps forward and he can tell when she stands right in front of him because her shoes are visible through his bangs as he hangs his head.

He sobs again.

A small hand rests on his back, and then two little arms circle his neck. "Don't cry Deku." Eri mumbles in his ear.

Izuku sucks in a sharp breath. He tries- god he must look so pathetic- but he can't. He just has to let it work it's course. He wraps his arms around Eri, brings her into a tight embrace, and cradles her against him.

She's fine.

He breathes in.

She's safe. She's right here.

He breathes out.

"S-s-s-sorry, I...I thought-" He gulps down more air. "Where w-were you?"

Aizawa-sensei answers for her. "Eri was having her monthly visit with Recovery Girl. We're still monitoring her health." He pauses, and Izuku can't see his face, but he can picture the flat look there.

"Midoriya…" He starts again. "It was only the press. There were no other intruders."

Even though Izuku knows the words aren't true, he can tell his teacher is trying to reassure him. He sniffles, pulling away from Eri to wipe his face. It is easier to calm down after being able to hold Eri, hear her heartbeat, and know that she's safe. The question now is whether or not he should tell Aizawa-sensei about the security threat.

In fact...what's stopping him from telling the hero everything?

There's, of course, the fear of not being taken seriously. Of his teacher thinking that he's crazy, or had his memories even more warped when he was "kidnapped".

Then there's the dread that this information he has from the future will be misinterpreted. Maybe they'll think he's actually a spy for All For One or the League. After all, no one is supposed to know about them yet. His knowledge is dangerous. He knows more than anyone about these villains, a suspicious amount, perhaps even more than All Might himself.

But mostly, it's the guilt. He can't admit to anyone that he's not the real Izuku. If he does, then they're going to ask him where the real one is, and he's not going to give them an answer that they'll like. He can't imagine anyone would forgive him- even if it isn't his fault (It feels like his fault.)

Though with what just happened- can he afford to keep it to himself any longer? Can he risk one day coming to Eri's room and finding it empty for real? No. He doesn't think he can.

He looks at Aizawa-sensei. The man is staring at him calmly, red eyes boring into his own. Izuku knows his teacher. He trusts him. Would fight and die for him. It isn't a stretch to assume the hero would do the same. So maybe...maybe it would be alright...if he trusted one other person, and if that one other person was Aizawa-sensei.

"Sensei…" He begins, and then becomes conscious of the fact that they're still in Eri's room, that she's right there listening. "...Can I talk to you? In private?"

His teacher raises an eyebrow. He glances at Eri and then at Recovery Girl (who must have been behind the man this whole time and Izuku hadn't noticed) and then back at Izuku.

"Of course." He replies evenly. He waits for Izuku to rise from his position off the floor and then they walk away. Izuku expects to be led back to the staff room, but instead, he's being escorted outside, to a tiny balcony that overlooks an expanse of trees. It's nice. The wind ruffles his hair, cools his skin, and Izuku takes a deep breath. This is his decision. He needs to see it through. He opens his mouth.

And no words come out.

It isn't surprising per se, given how nervous Izuku is right now. His limbs are shaking and his chest feels constricted. Is this...is this the right thing to do?

His teacher waits patiently. Aizawa-sensei's hair shifts in the breeze and Izuku is suddenly reminded that the hero is missing the scar under his cheek. It jars him, for only a second, and then establishes once again what is at stake here.

"Sensei…" He stops again. The words are clogged in his throat. Perhaps it'd be easier if he starts small. There are a lot of things he needs to say to Aizawa-sensei, not just about his secrets. And the first thing-

"I'm sorry." Izuku breathes out, and now the words flow unrestricted since he's in familiar territory. He's had to spend a lot of his life apologizing. "I'm sorry about going after Eri without telling anyone and hiding things about my quirk. I'm sorry that I lie to you, and only cause you problems. I'm really sorry." He clears his throat, blinks back tears.

Aizawa-sensei takes a step closer, his expression unreadable. He sighs. "Midoriya, as much as I want to believe you...apologies mean nothing if the one giving them has no intent to change."

Izuku flinches. "I do want to...I just…"

"Then do it." His teacher suggests simply, like it's an easy thing to do. "Tell me about today for starters. Why were you running about after the press broke in?" He asks and then narrows his eyes. "You didn't use your quirk, did you?"

"No!" Izuku protests, a little too loudly. He feels cornered, trapped, like a criminal, and he doesn't know why. He grits his teeth. "I didn't."

Aizawa-sensei nods his head. "Good. I'm not trying to get you expelled, Midoriya, but I am concerned about your behavior. I know what happened with Eri was a special case, and that you've been through a lot of things that could've warped your viewpoint, but doing things by yourself was the wrong choice. You could've died."

And he's heard that admonishment before from his teacher's lips, but this time it reverberates differently. Images of notes and an empty school and Kacchan swirl in his mind. Izuku forcibly shakes them away, rattled.

"I...I'm not dead." He whispers.

The hero sighs. "No, but you could have been. And if you are as reckless in the future, you just might get yourself killed." Izuku flinches again, but Aizawa-sensei doesn't seem to notice. "I'm not willing to bury a student, Midoriya."

He says it softly, but it slams into Izuku full force. A body. That's right. All that's left is a body. His mom, his friends, Aizawa-sensei, that's all he can leave them.

"I...you won't." He utters weakly. "You won't."

It's a lie. Izuku wonders what it says about him when he lies immediately after saying that he doesn't want to anymore. His teacher stares at him, tired and irritated, and Izuku knows it's all from him. It's all his fault. He's already burdened this man so much.

He can't tell him.

He sighs, and tries to ignore the wetness on his cheeks. "I was outside when the media broke in. I saw someone who wasn't dressed like a reporter use their quirk to destroy the gate. I thought that maybe letting the people in was a distraction to do something else." Izuku looks at his shoes. "So I tried to see if I could find anything,...but I didn't. I still think it's suspicious though, and that UA should look into it."

"Why didn't you tell a teacher?" Aizawa-sensei asks immediately and he sounds so, so disappointed. Izuku sags, shrugging his shoulders lamely. He feels small.

"There wasn't time to explain. They were busy getting the media out anyway. If I had stopped, I would've been later than I already was." He clenches his hands into fists. "I'm sorry." The apology feels empty on his tongue.

He hears his teacher sigh again. "Problem child, you have to trust the system, to trust me. I'm only trying to help."

Izuku finally looks up at Aizawa-sensei. He straightens up, squares his shoulders. The dried tears are sticky on his cheeks. "Yeah…" He agrees.

"So am I."

The desk in front of Naomasa is cluttered. Besides the empty coffee cups (which are practically a permanent decoration at this point) there is the current case he's working on. It's not much of a case- just sightings really. Villains that have suddenly decided to be more active. It has him worried.

A knock on his desk disrupts his thoughts and Naomasa looks up. He expects Sansa, who always comes to bother him for one thing or another, but he is met with Officer Tanaka instead.

The man is still new to their division, and Naomasa doesn't interact with him enough to know him yet. Tanaka has shown diligence, and hasn't tried to lie to Naomasa at all, so that's certainly a plus.

"Officer Tanaka. You needed me?"

The man nods, setting down a stack of papers. Missing person reports, it looks like. As Naomasa shuffles through them, Tanaka speaks.

"I have a colleague from missing persons who brought these to my attention. They're all people who have gone missing over the last few months."

There aren't more than four papers, each one with a different picture and profile stamped on it. The ages range, but they're all young. No similarities in gender, quirk, or background. All of them are light-skinned, however, and don't really leave him with any lasting impression.

He sets them down, confused. "Why bring this to me? I don't work with cases like this."

Tanaka frowns. He picks up the sheets of paper and lays them out side by side. "I know this isn't usually what you do, but I think all these missing people are connected. And I think they're being kidnapped. By villains."

Naomasa squints at the papers once again. Each person's last known location is in a different area. They don't share any sort of connection...although they look pretty similar, like they could share the same blood. Wide eyes and...freckles. How strange. It's not enough for anything concrete, but it definitely seems like more than a coincidence.

Before Naomasa can comment on it, another paper joins the others. This one also pictures a person with large eyes and freckles. However, the child on this paper, Midoriya Izuku, is no longer missing.

"They look similar." Tanaka confirms what Naomasa was thinking. "When I worked in missing persons, Midoriya's case was brought to us almost a year ago. We thought he was a runaway, but his mother insisted otherwise. There were no clues. If he hadn't shown up on his own, I doubt we would've found him." Tanaka explains as Naomasa reads over the page.

"When he came back, he didn't remember much, but he showed signs of having underwent torture. We concluded that he must have been kidnapped. Afterwards, we monitored the house and family for a while, and performed routine checks of the neighborhood. Nothing presented itself. Midoriya's kidnappers had left no trace, just as before, and the case grew cold. Until now."

He looks down at the papers and Naomasa follows his gaze. The people stare back at him. One is an 18 year old girl. The rest are boys, ages 12, 14 and 17. He scowls.

"You think the kidnappers are gathering more victims?" He asks, uncertain. Isn't it weird to determine victims by their appearance? And nothing else? From his experience, usually it would be by quirks, or something equally as profound. He tries to think of possible reasons.

It could be a grudge thing- where a villain has bad blood against someone and then takes retribution on anyone that looks like them. It could be that they're searching for someone- although how they know what this person looks like without knowing who they are- Naomasa couldn't know.

It also could be- and he doesn't want to think about this one- something sexual. A preference for people who look a certain way. He hopes it isn't that.

Tanaka tilts his head and scrunches up his nose. "I don't know. But I think we should try to find the people that fit the description and warn them."

"What? Freckles? Young and fair-skinned? That's going to be a long list of people for such a short list of characteristics." Naomasa reasons. The victims all have different hairstyles too, and heights. The only thing that they sort of share is their face.

"But-"

Naomasa shakes his head. "We can't leak this out anyway. It'd cause a panic." Tanaka starts to protest, but he holds up a hand. "Not saying we shouldn't find them. We'll look for possible matches and monitor them. As for the public sentiment, we'll release a statement advising people to stay inside at night, and to travel in pairs through unfamiliar areas."

Tanaka nods, though he doesn't look happy about it. Naomasa can't say he blames him.

"And what about Midoriya?" Tanaka wonders, plucking the boy's page from his desk. "What if they go after him again?"

Naomasa hums. "It's unlikely, since it seems like whoever kidnapped him let him go in the first place. We're not even sure if it's the same people. But,...I suppose we can send more patrols around that area and brief the heroes on what's going on."

He pulls out a pen and a sticky note to start jotting things down so he can remember to do them later. He's got so many things to do already, and the thought of even more is giving him a headache. Oh well, he'll just get more coffee.

Tanaka shuffles awkwardly in place. "I…met the Midoriyas. For the case." He says, his eyes on the papers. "Ms. Midoriya cares for her son a lot, and young Izuku-kun...he's gone through enough. I don't want to see him go missing again."

Naomasa stops writing. He frowns down at his list and sighs. They've got to keep the public interest in mind. "We really can't let this get out…" He repeats. Tanaka sags, though he looks like he expected it. Naomasa continues. "But maybe we can visit them tomorrow and check in. Some extra precaution never hurt."

The officer smiles, but then he furrows his brow. "Wait, but aren't we busy tomorrow?"

"We're busy everyday." Naomasa responds with a wiry smile. He gathers the papers back into a straight pile and hands them to Tanaka.

"We'll find the time."

Notes:

Yay! I was hoping this would get done yesterday or the day before, but I'm kinda horrible about schedules, sorry.

Anywho, did I get any of you? Did you think Izuku would finally tell? Or that Eri was really taken? I hope you don't hate me too much haha