Latibule

65 - ɪɴᴛᴇʀʀᴏɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

Previously on Latibule:

I felt relief wash over me like the tide. At the same time, the crowd started ecstatically cheering, people jumping on top of each other and into group hugs in celebration of their ongoing lives.

Then All Might buffed up into his hero form fully, standing tall as the crowd chanted his name. While I realised that he was only doing his job as a hero, I also appreciated the sense of comfort it gave me. Not thinking much at all, I leaned my head on Bakugou's shoulder.

He tensed up for a moment and then relaxed, taking my hand that was already touching his and squeezing it. It was almost like saying, It's alright. We made it through. We're really safe now, and while I didn't know whether I actually believed it or not, it was nice to pretend, just for a moment, that I did.

-~:~-

Latibule — Chapter 65///Interrogation

-~:~-

People started moving again, having seen the climax of the fight. My friends and I stayed in place, thinking and talking about what we should do next. Suddenly the reporter stopped talking so we stopped, too, looking up at the screens in confusion. As the reporters were now on the ground with their microphones, we could hear what All Might said as he pointed a finger at the camera. "Now... Now it's your turn."

The crowd went wild again but I could only stare at the screen. I can't help but wonder if it was meant for somebody particular... If it was probably not me! I laughed to myself. But at the same time, it's great he said that. It must've made all the heroes realise that they've that much more pressure now as the Symbol of Peace is gone because the crime rates will probably skyrocket. I sighed. Yikes, glad I'm not a hero right now. Maybe it'll calm down in the next few years.

Suddenly, Midoriya started crying. I stared at him dumbfoundedly.

"Midoriya, are you okay?" I asked, being the first one to voice my concerns. Are they happy tears that everything is over? Pressured tears? Dang it, I can't tell what he's feeling...! I grunted, feeling the absence of my quirk sharply again. Dang it! How am I supposed to help people if I don't know what they're feeling?

Midoriya didn't answer and soon we started walking again. It quickly became clear to me that Midoriya and the rest thought it best that Bakugou and I talk to the police. I understood but I was nervous nonetheless and thus, dealing with my feelings, I didn't say anything the whole walk there.

It made sense that Bakugou and I were separated but... I looked at his back as he was being escorted into another room while the two police officers on either side of me walked me a few more rooms down the hall. I'm scared, Katsuki. I tried to calm myself down by thinking about what he would say. "Don't be scared, you idiot! You've done nothing wrong!"

You've done nothing wrong, I repeated to myself, sitting down on one side of the white table. One of the police officers sat across from me while the other remained at the door for a few seconds and then closed it, walking away.

I chewed at my lip nervously, sitting on my hands. You've done nothing wrong.

The police officer raised his brown eyes to look at me and gave a kind smile, probably to calm me down. "It's okay, there's no need to be scared. We just need to know everything that happened so we can investigate it, alright?"

I nodded silently, taking deep breaths.

"Great! Now I'll have you know that everything you say here is strictly confidential and will be shared only with those who are directly associated with the investigation," the officer continued. I nodded. My nervousness started ceasing slowly, for the man seemed nice enough. "Alright, are you ready to start?"

I nodded again.

"Alright, then. State your name, age, the name of your legal guardian — or guardians —, where you live and which school you go to."

I took a deep breath, willing myself not to stutter. "My name is Y/n L/n, I'm fifteen years old, my parents' names are F/n L/n and M/n L/n, we live in home/address, Musutafu and I go to U.A. High."

The police officer jotted everything down. "And is it correct that, prior to the kidnapping, you were at a training camp with your class?"

"Our class and B class, yes," I confirmed.

"What do you remember about villain attack?"

"It was very well-organised. There were a bunch of them, spread out, as if they knew exactly where we'd be and what we were doing. A few of my classmates and I were with Mandalay and Tiger. They instructed us to get back to the facility but I went away because I wanted to make sure that the others were safe," I started, trying to articulate my answer in the best way possible. When I got to the part where we'd met the masked villain, my breath hitched. "I— I don't know..." I trailed, not sure how to word it.

The police officer gave me an encouraging smile. "Please do the best you possibly can to remember, it's important that we know as many details as possible when we start investigating."

"It's not that I don't remember, it's just..."

"I've heard a lot of absurd things during my time here," the policeman admitted. "And so far I'm sure that you're telling the truth so I have no reason to distrust you in any case."

I nodded. "So uhh... They shot me with some kind of... capsule? I'm not sure what was in it, really. I blacked out after that and when I came to, my quirk was gone."

"Just gone?" the police officer raised his eyebrows.

"Gone just like that," I confirmed with a nod, hiding the tremor in my voice quite well if I had to say so myself. "Shigaraki said that I was the first one to test their new partner's product."

The man across from me quickly wrote that down with furrowed brows. "What happened next? What about the injury on your neck?"

"Shigaraki was trying to convince Katsuki and me to join their league, he kept threatening him with some kind of deal — I don't know what — and when I pretended to go over to their side so they'd untie me and Katsuki, they bought it at first. But then we started fighting and one of the villains — Dabi, I think — got me by the neck. He had some kind of heating quirk," I consciously raised my hand to my neck, feeling the damaged skin with my fingers. "They kept threatening Katsuki with the deal and I think he almost gave in. That's when All Might came."

"And we got the info from there," the police officer nodded. "Is there anything else you remember that you didn't mention right now? What about the villain All for One? You were close to him even when All Might wasn't, did he say anything?"

"I think he has some kind of father-son relationship with Shigaraki. He kept talking about how he was doing all of it for Shigaraki and how he'd give him chances to fail over and over and over again. It was pretty weird," I confessed, not wanting to talk about how I thought it might've been quite inspiring in terms of family.

"And what about your quirk? Is it temporarily gone or permanently?"

My breath hitched and I shook my head slowly. "I don't know. They didn't say anything."

The police officer nodded, looking over his notes. "All right, then. Thank you. You'll be escorted to a hospital, a few tests have to be run in terms of your quirk and injuries." I opened my mouth to interrupt but the officer seemed to read my mind. "Your parents as well as your teachers will be notified about your whereabouts. After you're done at the hospital, we'll make sure you get home safely."

So another escort, I thought and nodded.

"Is there anything else you've suddenly remembered?" the officer asked again, just to check.

I shook my head. "No, sir."

That instant, the door was opened for me and the man walked out, another police officer — but not the one from before — coming to walk on my other side until we got to the car. It was already light out, then.

I sighed, feeling tiredness wash over me. Maybe I'll get a proper sleep at the hospital? Or at home at least... Mum and dad won't have me explain everything right away, I'm sure. They'll have me rest first...

I blinked slowly, shaking my head to stay awake as I fastened my seatbelt. What a day... Or night, I guess.