𝘞𝘈𝘕𝘛𝘌𝘋//𝘐. 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

17. 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘐𝘔𝘗𝘖𝘚𝘚𝘐𝘉𝘓𝘌 𝘊𝘈𝘚𝘌

COMMISSION MAIN BUILDING, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BRANCH

"Good evening, detective Liu, we heard what happened..." A woman said with a sympathetic expression and a hand on her chest, but she was only met with a 'I know! Great isn't it?'. "Hey detective! I'm sorry about what happened, good luck!" A group of detectives who walked past shouted, they didn't expect to receive a smile. "Nothing to be sorry about, this is amazing." The other detectives shared confused glances, but continued walking. "Where is he, damn it? This is a national threat! Internation even! Go get me that damned detective-" "You called, sir?"

The commission president paused in his tracks and eyed the detective with hostility in his aged eyes. Detective Zhao Liu, aged 26, stood tall, with messy sandy hair, lanky arms crossed in front of his chest and a quirked brow. He sure was a remarkable man. Graduating early, he began working as a detective at 18. Detective Zhao Liu didn't work as a detective, he thrived as one. He solved every single case he obtained, earning him a high rank, and even led to him receiving a case as important as the missing granddaughter of All for one at the young age of 19. Unfortunately, that was the only case he couldn't solve.

But he didn't mind, he thought of it as the greatest challenge he'll ever receive and was always excited about every new clue. He thought that it was a blessing that he'd get to chase after someone with a level of intelligence that matched his own. His quirk, Mind Palace, helped him with his rise in the ranks. His mind was like a library, storing every single memory, event, and piece of information he'd ever come across. This, combined with his phenomenal observation skills, made him a great detective. Possibly the commission's best detectives.

And now he was being called to duty again, two days after his small search team was disassembled due to her case going cold and her death being officially announced. Much to everyone's surprise, he was excited about this. A man like him didn't have many friends, he was awkward and considered crazy due to his slight obsession with what people dubbed 'The Impossible Case'. People only respected him because of his abilities and rank. He preferred it that way. People were always so pessimistic about being assigned to work on The Impossible Case, the search team thinned out with time because people were giving up and there weren't any leads anyway. Liu hated pessimistic detectives, so Liu worked alone for the most part.

"... Yes... I called. You've seen the news, I'm assuming?" Grunted the president, Liu nodded excitedly. "Yup!" He responded, popping the 'p'. "And I'm also assuming that you can predict why you're here?" The president continued. Liu nodded giddily. "To tell me to reassemble the search team and get to work?" "Yes... Listen... You were the only constant face on that team, and the only one with a shot at solving that case. There was a saying that went around all the precincts in Japan. I'm sure you're familiar with it?" Liu smiled at the presidents' statement. " 'The worst thing that any detective could experience is being assigned to help solve The Impossible Case.'."

"Well then. Can I count on you to do that now that you have actual leads? I understand you weren't able to before because she hid her tracks well, but now..." Liu's expression suddenly turned serious, and he moved to the closed door with a small window. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared outside. After a minute, he finally spoke in a solemn tone.

"You know, in all the years I've chased Y/n L/n, I can count on one hand the times I've gotten close to getting a lead on her. And each time I forgot the most important things that we already knew."

"Which are?"

"Close doesn't count, and Y/n is never more dangerous than when you get on her trail. But I'm ready for danger, more than I've ever been, seven years ago."