Detective Midoriya

Chapter 24

The gates of U.A. were somehow more intimidating than normal. They loomed over Izuku, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy. This was his first time being at the school while class was being held. All Might and Kacchan were waiting for him somewhere in here.

He did his best to regulate his breathing. It would be fine. He had faced Stain and the League of Villains. This was supposed to be a school for heroes, someone would stop Kacchan from killing him. Hopefully.

His hand slightly shook as he buzzed the intercom.

"Yes?"

He cleared his throat. "It's Midoriya Izuku with a guest. I'd like to speak to Principal Nezu, please."

"You know the way," the voice crackled before the gates swung open.

Gesturing for Makoto to follow, Izuku led the way through the behemoth campus. The walk to Nezu's office was short, but Makoto watched everything with frighteningly perceptive eyes. He could sense articles upon articles resulting from that - "An Insider Look Into U.A." and the like.

Nezu was in his office waiting with a serene smile. For some reason, Makoto seemed uneasy. Izuku only smiled brightly at the bear. Mouse? Dog? He smiled at the principal.

"Officer Midoriya, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Good morning, Principal Nezu. I'm actually not here on my own business, I'm accompanying Tsukauchi Makoto. She's a reporter with a favor to ask."

"Oh?" Nezu asked, eyes unreadable as they slid to the woman.

Even though Makoto seemed uneasy, she stepped forward boldly. "As Midoriya said, I'm Tsukauchi Makoto, a reporter for the Tokyo Times. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. What brings you to our school, Ms. Tsukauchi, with a police escort no less?"

"I've been assigned to get an interview with All Might and some of his students," Makoto said bluntly. "To be perfectly frank, Principal Nezu, I will not be leaving until I get it."

Nezu's eyes sparkled, and from their chats, Izuku knew that Makoto was playing a dangerous game. While Izuku would go as far as to call himself and Nezu friends, he knew never to challenge Nezu.

"Officer Midoriya, feel free to explore the campus. I believe Eraserhead just released his class until lunch to do research on an upcoming project. I believe a good portion of them are in the library. You can leave Ms. Tsuakauchi and me to our negotiations."

"Is that okay with you, Ms. Tsukauchi?" Izuku asked.

"Go. We're about to have a battle of wits."

Glad to somewhat decrease his chance of crossing paths with All Might, Izuku nodded at the two before stepping out the door. As he walked, he thought of the conversation he had had with Makoto on the way over here.

He wasn't sure how to handle the whole situation. Todoroki deserved to be saved from his father, he needed to be able to be a kid. But, even as much as he despised Endeavor, Izuku just couldn't destroy the man. As the Number 2 Hero, if Endeavor was exposed, then the entire foundation of their heroic society would take a hit, and chaos would abound. While the whole society was problematic in a plethora of ways, right now, no one was really prepared to offer an alternative. His own prejudices aside, Izuku could see why All Might had worked so hard to establish himself as the symbol of peace. Statistically, it was effective. It significantly lowered crime rates, but it also fed into the somewhat toxic heroic culture.

This was why he couldn't bring the detective in on this. Tsukauchi would be legally and honor-bound to go through the proper channels, which would only cause mass chaos. On the other hand, Makoto had no such reservations and a knack for sniffing out information, if her articles he'd briefly looked at were any indication. He just needed to swear her to secrecy if things worked out the way he hoped they would.