MHA: Undying

(Detective Tsukauchi POV)

I rub the bridge of my nose, trying to get rid of the headache I’ve developed over the course of the day. First, I get a call from the chief of police telling me to look into a missing teen. Nothing new, except for the fact that he’s asking me specifically to look into it. Then he tells me that it’s the number two hero, Endeavor, asking for it. Though the way the chief said it, it was more like he demanded they put their best detective on the case.

To my surprise, it’s a boy whose name is Izuku Yagi. Yagi. The same surname as Toshinori Yagi. Publicly known as All Might. And also holding the title of ‘Symbol of Peace’. Now, Yagi isn’t exactly a common surname, but I feel safe in saying that they aren’t connected. Toshinori hasn’t even mentioned having a son, only a talented daughter named Izumi!

But an hour later I get a call from Toshinori telling me that his son has gone missing, prompting me to ask what I feel is a pertinent question. “First of all, why haven’t you ever mentioned that you have a son? And more importantly, how did Endeavor find out that your son was missing before you did?”

There’s silence over the phone for a few seconds, I assume because he’s shocked. But to my surprise, he actually has an answer! “I didn’t find out until Izumi came home from school and told me. I’m assuming that Endeavor’s daughter told him about Izuku missing as well, though I’m not sure why he would want to know where my son is.”

I sigh. “Well, regardless of the reasons, the chief has ordered me to make sure Endeavor is the first to hear about any leads on the case. Apparently he threatened to burn down the station if he didn’t.”

More silence. Odd. Shouldn’t he show more… I don’t know, outrage at how Endeavor wants to know where his son is before him?

Eventually I hear a sigh. “Ok… Just make sure you tell me as soon as possible as well, ok Naomasa?”

Now it’s my turn to be silent. There’s something… off about what I just heard. But I’m not going to address it right now. Instead, I’m going to get to work on finding the kid. Starting with finding out when he was last seen.

“You don’t know when he was last seen by any chance, do you?” I say it half jokingly. After all, if he already has an idea of where he might be, surely he’d already be there.

But I’m surprised again. “It was in Musutafu on Friday, on top of one of the office buildings. He grabbed hold of me just as I jumped after saving him from a villain, and we landed on one of the rooftops, though I’m not sure which. He… found out that I’m All Might, and we had a talk. He needed to get his thoughts in order, and I had to deliver the villain to the police.”

Wow. There’s… a lot to talk about in what he just said. “So… you’re telling me that your kids don’t know that you’re All Might, but your son found out right after being attacked by a villain. I’m assuming this is the first time he’s been attacked since you’ve never mentioned either of them being attacked before.”

I wait for a moment, and he doesn’t mention any other attacks, so I continue. “So, after a traumatizing experience requiring three days of mandatory, nationally sponsored therapy to ensure they can cope with the stress of suddenly being attacked, he found out the world shattering revelation that you, his father, is All Might.”

“And then you decided it was a good idea to leave him on a random rooftop after flying through the air- another first I’m assuming- which would be traumatizing if the person in question wasn’t prepared for it.”

I wait for a moment to give him a moment to speak up, but he remains silent. “Did I sum it up pretty well?”

“...Yes. You did.” The shame in his voice is obvious, but I just can’t feel any sense of pity for the man.

“You are aware that, even if the person attacked wasn’t your son, you would still need to take them to the police station so they can get their testimony, right?”

“...Yes.”

I sigh. I admire the man, I really do. It’s not easy being a symbol for an entire nation. But sometimes, especially times like this, I can’t help but think that he’s an idiot. “Are you at least searching for him yourself? It’s not late, so you should have no problem covering a large area in your buff form.”

His voice gets a bit of confidence back in it. “I am. I’m searching from the skies, but I need to ration my time just in case he’s in trouble.”

I hold back the urge to run my palm down my face. Obviously the kid is in trouble. If he wasn’t he likely would have been home by now. Unless he ran away. But Toshinori is a good person, and I doubt that he would give his kids a reason to run away. But then again, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of his son…

Just to cover my bases: “Toshinori, before I go. Is there any chance that he could have… run away?”

“What!? Of course not! Why would he have run away? He…” He trails off, as if something came to mind. I wait with bated breath for him to continue. Any kind of hint would be helpful. Especially this late in starting the search.

“He… might have. But I do not believe that is the case. If it was, either me, my wife, or my daughter would have seen him come home to get his things.”

I sigh. “Still though, we can’t rule out the possibility. Which would make this all the more difficult. Finding someone who doesn’t want to be found is a whole other problem than finding a lost kid. I’ll call if we find any leads.”

“Thank you, Naomasa. I’LL GET BACK TO SEARCHING AS WELL! I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON!”

I hang up, a pensive look on my face as I stare at my phone. Sighing, I dial the number the chief gave me. It barely gets to the first ring before it’s answered. “Hello, is this Endeavor? We haven’t found him yet, but we do have a location for where he was last seen.”

(Endeavor POV)

“Thank you for the information. Keep me informed.” I hang up with the detective assigned to the case and look at my daughter, who’s been hovering nearby ever since she arrived home. The question is clear in her eyes, but I shake my head.

“They haven’t found him. But they do know that he was in the office district of Musutafu.”

She simply looks at me for a moment before her eyes fill with determination and she heads to the door. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

I follow her with only a shake of my head, having already alerted the family’s driver to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. While we wait in the car, I can’t help but think on how things ended up like this.

Shoko had called me from school, the first time I’ve ever gotten a call from her since I bought her that phone. I immediately assumed that it was something serious, and I was right. Her voice was filled with desperation, the most expressive it’s ever been. The only time I’ve ever heard such emotion coming from her was after the… incident… with my wife that ended with her institutionalized.

It pulled at my heart, another thing that hasn’t happened in a long time, and I immediately began calling in favors to start a search. She came home immediately after the call. Apparently she confronted the boy’s sister and a bully about his whereabouts. It almost came to blows before their principal made an announcement saying the school day had been canceled.

And now, only an hour later, we’re heading to Musutafu to search for him ourselves. She showed me a picture she took of the two of them so that I could recognize the boy, and I couldn’t help but stare at it in surprise.

In it, Shoko was… smiling. It’s a small smile, but immensely noticeable due to how happy it is. It was an effort to look away from her and focus on the boy, but the sight made me wince.

His own smile was so bright that it felt like I got the sun’s glare in my eyes for a second. But pushing that aside, the boy is thin, around Shoko’s height, and has a head of dark green hair. There’s a set of four freckles under each of his eyes in the shape of a diamond His eyes are a bright green that contrasts with his darker hair.

As the car pulls to a stop, I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I’ll have time to ponder about my family later. For now, we search.

 

It’s hours later without any luck that we get a call. Immediately answering, I wait for news as Shoko hovers around my shoulder. “Hello, is this Endeavor?”

“Yes. You have news?” I get right to the point. The sooner we find him, the sooner the desperation in my daughter’s eyes goes away. It makes me… uneasy, seeing so much emotion in her eyes.

“Possibly. We just got a call from a famous local pharmacy. Apparently Izuku Yagi visits there every Monday at around the same time. Since he didn’t show up today, they were concerned and called in.”

“Give me the address.”

Twenty minutes later, we’re standing outside a traditional medicine shop. Entering, I see a twenty-something man behind the counter whose eyes widen at the sight of me. I know I can be intimidating, it’s on purpose so that I can strike fear into the hearts of villains. But it does make it difficult when trying to simply speak to people.

“We’re here because you called about Izuku Yagi missing his pick up? We’re currently investigating his disappearance, so any information you can offer would be helpful.

He hesitates for a moment before his eyes flicker over to my daughter. A look of recognition seems to cross his face, making me frown. As far as I know, Shoko has never been to this area before. So how would he recognize her?

That question is answered when he speaks. “You’re Izuku’s friend, Todoroki, right?” She blinks at him in surprise but nods all the same, causing him to let out an uneasy smile. “I thought so. Whenever I manage to get him to talk, half of the time it’s about you. The other half it’s about heroes and quirks.”

She chuckles at that, and I feel myself stiffen. So that’s what her laugh sounds like.

But I have no time to be overcome by the realization, as the clerk continues with a downcast expression. “You said he’s disappeared? I was hoping that it wasn’t anything serious…” He sighs. “But if it wasn’t he would have shown up for his pick up.”

“What exactly does he pick up from here? I find it difficult to believe that a child would need anything major from a store specializing in healing medicine.”

He chuckles darkly. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But no, every week he shows up and gets the same exact thing. Bandages, burn ointment, and antiseptic.” He shakes his head. “The amount he buys would last a normal person at least a month. I mean, most people don’t get all that injured going about their day, right? But he'll go through everything in a week, then show up in just as bad a condition as before.”

“Condition?” I can’t help but be surprised by this. But the one who answers isn’t the clerk, but Shoko.

“He gets bullied for being quirkless. The school also doesn’t punish students for using their quirks, so that adds another level of torment for him.” Her eyes are hard. “They don’t do anything when I’m there, but when I’m not it’s basically a free-for-all against him.”

The clerk winces while I stare at Shoko in surprise. A quirkless boy is who Shoko has been training with? The one who convinced her to stop holding back? That's…

I don’t know how to feel about that, but I push it aside for now. “Do you have any information on where he could be? As of now, all we know is that he was last seen in Musutafu.”

He hesitates for a moment before slowly pulling out a three pointed leaf. I don’t recognize the type, but anyone would be able to say what’s notable about it. The left point is glowing a dull red.

“My girlfriend’s quirk made this leaf. If she taps something, she can make a leaf that will tell you where it’s at. It won’t give you directions, not exactly. But it will tell you which way it is.” He rotates the leaf until the center point glows red while the left fades away.

“If the middle point is glowing, that means you just have to go straight to find the object. I had her make this one for the kid’s backpack after he almost missed his check-in time.” He looks down. “I… I know we aren’t supposed to use our quirks without a license, but I was just so worried about the kid.”

I place a hand on his shoulder, much to his and my daughter’s surprise. “Don’t worry about it. In this case, you’ve greatly helped us. Just remember not to do it again in the future. We won’t let it slide again.”

He nods, handing over the leaf. As we follow its directions, I’m acutely aware of Shoko’s gaze on me. I choose to ignore it until she’s ready to talk about it.

“That was… kind of you. I didn’t expect that from you.”

I feel a vein throb on my forehead. I speak to her through gritted teeth. “Finding your friend is more important than arresting a concerned citizen. Especially given that his actions are helping us find him.”

She nods. “I agree. But it’s just surprising when it comes from you.”

I don’t answer, and we continue following the leaf in silence. Eventually we enter a series of alleys, and after establishing a baseline, we head towards where the leaf is leading us. There we find a bright yellow backpack, now covered in dust.

“That’s his backpack.” Shoko says, more to herself than to me. She approaches it slowly before suddenly stopping.

Stepping up beside her, I see what has her so shocked. Not far away from the abandoned backpack is a large, red stain on the ground. The strong smell of iron leaves no doubt as to what it is.

Blood.

`~`

To Detective Tsukauchi’s surprise, he appears on the screen. “Huh. It’s focusing on me?” He thinks on it for a moment. “I guess that makes sense, since All Might would want me to help him find his kid.”

He sighs. “Too bad that version of me is going to have to deliver him bad news.” But to everyone’s surprise, a flashback plays of Endeavor, of all people, telling the chief of police to ensure that he’s the first notified of any progress on the case.

Todoroki frowns as his brows turn down in confusion. “Since when is my father someone who cares about other people?”

Unseen, Aizawa pulls out a notebook labeled: ‘Therapy priorities’. Inside is a list of his students with marks next to their names, denoting who he thinks should take priority on visiting Hound Dog. After jotting down a mark next to Todoroki’s name, he looks at the top where Midoriya’s name is circled and underlined multiple times. Putting it away, he resumes watching.

{Hypo bashing courtesy of on-screen Tsukauchi.}

“All in favor of the detective’s name being Preacher, say preach!” A chorus of ‘preach’ fills the air as All Might hunches down in his seat. Other than the parts pertaining to Midori being his son, everything played out the same, after all. He really should put more effort into the administrative side of hero work. But… it involves a lot of paperwork.

The scene shifts to show Endeavor on the phone, listening as he’s told that the office district of Musutafu is where Midori was last seen. He and Shoko swiftly leave their house and enter a car that had been waiting for them. While they wait, a flashback of how they got here plays.

“The fact that he’s searching for Midori so Shoko doesn’t worry is so manly!”

Todoroki rolls his eyes at Kirishima’s shout. “He probably just doesn’t want her to be distracted from his training.”

“Even if that’s true, he’s still helping her look for him! That counts for something!” He can’t argue with that, so he doesn’t. Instead remaining silent.

A speeded up montage of the two of them searching the city for any sign of the girl’s friend plays, all fruitless. It ends with Endeavor receiving a phone call, then cuts to them outside of the pharmacy Midori frequented.

“Ooh, the clerk is back! I wonder how he’ll react knowing that Midori’s missing? He has a lot of drugs… Maybe he’ll use ‘em on his bullies?”

“That would be illegal.”

Toga gives Aizawa a confused look. “So?”

He just sighs.

After talking with the clerk for a bit he gives the two of them a leaf, explaining that it’s the result of a quirk and will lead them to Midori’s backpack.

Nezu sips his tea. “It is quite refreshing seeing Endeavor being reasonable. In our world, he likely would have handcuffed the man to the counter and called the police.”

“Anyone else finding it adorable that Midori apparently talked a bunch about Shoko?” There are various head nods, and a pouty Uraraka glaring at Todoroki.

The screen fast forwards the two following the leaf, occasionally running into trouble when they can’t follow it without doing a sizable detour. In those cases, Endeavor, being the impatient man he is, simply holds onto Shoko and flies them over the obstruction.

“Flying is so manly!”

“I CAN FLY JUST AS WELL AS ENDEAVOR! DON’T THINK IT MAKES HIM SPECIAL!”

“Wait, you can? Then why didn’t you do it at the USJ?” Uraraka questions the angry pomeranian.

He scowls back at her. “I did! I just didn’t go high because there wasn’t a reason to! Didn’t you think it was odd how I managed to catch that smokey bastard without touching the ground!?”

She puts her hands together and tilts her head in apology. “Umm, I was too busy watching Deku. Sorry?”

“DAMN IT DEKU!”

“Quiet.”

The father and daughter walk down an alley and find an iconic yellow backpack lying abandoned on the ground. When they approach it, they see beyond. A large stain of dried blood covers the alley floor, the splatter reaching up to their height on the walls.

There’s silence in the theater. The one’s who’d held on to the faint hope that someone saved Midori before he hit the ground are thrown into a state of shock at seeing the truth laid bare before them. All except for Toga that is.

“OMG OMG OMG!!! LOOK AT ALL THAT BLOOD! IT’S SO PRETTY!”

 

AN: Hey all! Someone pointed out that the reactions are kind of like a recap, and rereading them I felt like they had a point. So I’m moving them to be every five chapters instead. Chapter length won’t really change much though, so there is that!