[Tsukauchi's pov]
I sat at my desk in the police station. There have been reports going around of multiple kidnappings, from children as young as 8 to teenagers as old as 16. I've been stuck on all these kidnapping cases for months. My desk is a mess from reports and documents regarding the case. Pro hero Present Mic reported he had witnessed a child around the age of 14 being kidnapped in an alleyway whilst he was on patrol.
He stated a group of low rank villains were abducting a kid with white hair and blue eyes at the time. The area was investigated and DNA was found, but nothing showed up in our database for the kid. A couple of villains were identified but not the boy.
Pro heros Eraser Head and Present Mic are out on patrol almost all the time. Eraser at night and Mic during the daylight. Yet this is the closest we have gotten to even making contact with whatever organization it is that is committing these kidnappings. Normally they are reported at night, this is the first one in broad daylight.
I was attempting to collect my thoughts, knowing I wouldn't get anywhere if so much was on my mind. But the door burst open, an officer out of breath standing there with widened eyes, but a small smile on their face.
"Sir! We found the kidnapped children!" They shouted, I immediately jumped up from my seat and ran to the door. The officer moved out of the way, following behind me as I made my way downstairs to the first floor. My eyes widened when they landed on a group of battered up kids standing and sitting in the waiting room, some looked at the coloring books set up whilst others seemed to be calming down the younger ones in the group.
This doesn't make sense, could this be a trick? Why would an organization capable of kidnapping so many kids just let them go? How did they escape? Its been months of trying to find them, none of this makes sense, it's too out of the blue! A tall child approached me, their hair was dark and they seemed to be the most injured out of all the children here. They had a large bruise on their face, and burns along their arms, fresh ones. The bruise on their face seemed more of like a scar, it had dried blood on it and it was across their eye.
"We need to talk, please." They had been holding what looked like the youngest child in their arms, seeming to be calming them down. I nodded, some of the officers had called an ambulance to bring the most injured ones to a hospital as soon as possible. As for the other, with only small bruises or cuts, they were brought to the infirmary in the station and were patched up quickly.
The kid from before had bandages along their arms and one on their face covering the damaged eye. We sat in my office, me behind my desk and them sitting down across from me. They had this serious look on their face as they waited for me to pull out my notes.
"So, can I start with your name and pronouns please?" I cleared my throat, taking out my pencil as I looked up at my files, then back to the child in front of me.
"My name is 136, I don't have pronouns." They said calmly, their voice was soft, a light hint of fear laced in it.
"Alright, is it alright if we just use they/them pronouns for the file then? And about your name, we will refer to you as whatever you like until we find your file, is that okay with you?" I asked kindly, trying not to push any buttons unneeded. They only nodded, shaking their hands a bit in the air for a moment, I recognized it as just a small stim.
"Thank you, now then. Can you tell me what happened before you arrived here?" I kept my voice soft and sweet, which I do when talking to most children, it calms their nerves and stops them from assuming they are in danger or in trouble. It doesn't always work but most of the time just being kind is helpful to them.
"An underground arena. That's where we are from, I've been there my entire life, I'm the oldest of the group." I nodded, taking down notes as they spoke "every day was the same for as long as I can remember, fight, get punished or get killed." I tensed slightly at the mention of the killing. Those poor children..
"May I ask, how did you all escape?" I kept writing my notes as I listened. But I froze when they answered.
"We didn't. They let us go" what? That doesn't make sense, was the arena not earning any money with children fighting? Are they going to go after grown ups next? What is the point of this play if they worked so hard to kidnap all these kids?
"Can you explain further?" I questioned, the kid fidgeted with their hands for a moment so I reached into my desk and pulled out a small fidget toy, handing it to the child. They smiled slightly, taking the offer and then beginning to speak again.
"There was this new kid, he had this bright white hair and blue eyes." I quickly wrote that down, so it was the same one Mic found? "The boss of the arena had assigned him a fight with the best fighter in the arena. And the boy made a deal with Amaru, saying if he won the fight then he would have to let the rest of us go. And when he won, we were set free" I noted down the new name, probably the owner of the arena. This still doesn't make sense though, why would they hold up to the deal, they're villains, none of this adds up.
"Do you know the boy's name? The young fighter?" They seemed to pause for a moment, thinking, trying their best to remember. If they didn't know that was fine, we can find out some other way. They stuttered for a moment before responding.
"I don't remember the kid's actual name, but his fighter name was 99, I remember it ringing in the speaker of my room when his fight was about to commence." I wrote down the number, glancing at my watch and then back to the kid.
"You had your own room?" They seemed to flinch at the mention of it, but quickly regained composure to respond.
"Yes, all the fighters got their own room at some point. It's nothing special. They looked away, directing their attention to the window in my office.
"Last question, do you remember where the arena is located?" The kid bowed their head slightly, looking down in shame. I continued "if you don't, that's totally okay, you can go get some rest and eat something, be sure to get a drink of water okay?" Before I could say another word, they raised their head and looked me dead in the eyes.
"No, its okay, I remember." My eyes widened slightly, waiting patiently for the location.
—————
I sat alone in my office, sorting my notes, typing them into different documents and files. The kid from before ended up going straight to the hospital, even though their wounds weren't exactly fatal, we would rather be safe than sorry.
All of the children are being taken to an orphanage tomorrow morning. We learned a lot more not just from the oldest but from some of the younger ones as well. They mentioned how another boy was also still at the arena, some smaller children cried, saying they wanted 'Sakune' back.
After some research, we found a missing boy file from a couple weeks back. It was a boy, age 14 with bright orange hair and these golden colored eyes. His full name is Sakune Masato, he went missing a while back with no trace just like the other kidnapped children.
It was safe to say that Masato was a boy who probably took care of the younger children, calming them down and giving them comfort. We contacted the numbers of the missing children's parents. Only some were found still alive. The rest were either dead because of accidents or were killed by the same villains who stole their children.
Masato did in fact have a family, a father and a younger brother. After doing more research it was found out that he was removed from the home after his mother was murdered by his own father. His father was quickly arrested and young Masato and his brother were put into foster care. The more I looked into the boys file the more I felt like throwing up. Abuse was revealed in the family, and the two boys were separated at the orphanage by force.
I sighed softly, picking up my office phone and dialing the only number on the file. The younger boys adopted parents. Maybe they had contact with him before he disappeared? Whatever it was, it's best to check. The phone rang for a moment before the end of the line picked up. A kind voice chirping through the call.
"Hello! This is Ms.Yami! How can I help?" The voice was kind and welcoming. I took a small breath before answering.
"Hello Ms.Yami. This is Naomasa Tsukauchi, I am a detective, I work for a police station in Matsutafu Japan. May we speak?" The voice on the end of the line seemed to change, morphing into a more anxious tone as they replied with a short 'of course'
"Did something happen?" She asked softly. Her voice slightly trembled through the call.
"I believe you have an adopted son, Fuko Yami if I'm correct?" Her breath hitched as she confirmed my statement, asking me if something was wrong that involved her child, I assured her that her son was safe before continuing.
"You're child had an older brother, Sakune Masato. They were separated at an orphanage and haven't seen each other since then according to my files. The boy was kidnapped a while ago, more and more information on the situation is being uncovered as time passed, though the only number on the two boys file is yours, he never did end up getting into a home of his own." Ms. Yami took a moment, processing what I was saying. Which I understand, it's a lot to take in at once. But we need to contact the number on the file no matter what.
"Thank you for calling, if the boy is found we would be happy to take him in. I'm sure his brother would love to see him." She thanked me for telling her before saying her goodbyes and hanging up. I sighed, placing the phone back in the holder and falling back into my chair. I'm so done with today.
Tomorrow is going to be worse though. We were told the location of the arena, and planned on infiltrating it to shut the place down and retrieve the two kids still there by tomorrow. Midnight is supposed to use her mist to put everyone asleep when the plan commences. Pro heros such as Snipe, Midnight, Present Mic, Eraser Head and even Allmight will be on the scene, apprehending the villains and finding the two kids being held captive.
If things go smoothly then this case will be closed and the underground arena shut down.
Words: 1942
So uh, did i almost just swallow a pop tab?...perhaps...