Blood dripping from his shirt, tears running down his face, breath fastening its pace with every step. Izuku ran down the street, getting glances, glares and stares from anyone who witnessed him. But no one had yet come to care. He could understand why though; he look like he had just escaped an insane asylum.
Though soon, he heard a shout from behind. He recognised the sound of running feet chasing after him. He tried to run faster, trying to outrun whoever it was. But in actuality, he wanted to be captured. It was just part of the plan, and lucky for Izuku, it wasn't long before he felt himself being halted by a capture weapon of which felt hard and uncomfortable; spiked, even. He immediately began to squirm and thrash around, continuing to sob. "LET ME GO!" He screamed, now gaining more of a crowd to witness the sight. He needed to make a scene to get attention of Heroes, and he'd hoped he'd done so.
"I'm afraid I won't do that," the confident voice from behind spoke. Izuku recognised it. He then saw some girls pointing and squealing, everyone looking at the event playing before them, obviously caring for the Hero much more than feeling the slightest bit of pity for the young boy. But, that didn't matter: the plan was beginning to fall into place. Shallow steps approached as Izuku continued to try and defy the hold, acting desperate to escape the capture. Izuku turned his head as he did so, as to catch a quick look at the Hero who'd captured him. Kamui Woods, ranked 7th amongst the Hero society. Izuku resisted the temptation to smirk.
Kamui pressed what seemed to be a communication piece by his ear, speaking through it to someone on the other side. "I've got a boy I'd like to bring in. Get someone on standby to replace my patrolling for the mean time."
"GET OFF!" Izuku continued yelling. Screaming. Crying. "GET OFF, GET OFF, GET OFF!!" He refused to stop struggling, making it obvious to the public that he wanted to be freed. By doing this, he gathered more of an audience. People began videoing, but whether that's because of the commotion or because they wanted to have evidence of seeing Kamui Woods in action, it wasn't to tell.
Kamui Woods slowly approached the screaming boy, so as not to startle him. He'd recognised the green head of curly hair from down the road, and when the running boy passed him, he took the opportunity to stop the victim in his tracks and save him, just as his agency had instructed if he was ever to encounter the boy.
"I'm only here to help," he began, but Izuku just kept fighting against the hold and shook his head violently. He sobbed while his breath only quickened. "Why don't you come with me." It was more of an instruction than it was a question, but Izuku still felt the need to be difficult. He continued thrashing, kicking his legs, screaming until his throat began to feel numb, but in a second that all stopped. Everything went black. After a sudden blow to the side of his neck, he was out cold.
"I found him running down the street," Kamui began his explanation. "What he was running from or why he was scared was unclear, but I can tell you that the boy was terrified out of his mind." He stood with All Might and Tsukauchi, all of them facing the young boy laid on the hospital bed. His bloodied and scruffy clothing had been changed into a hospital gown, and after a thorough inspection of his body, no wounds were visible. But two of them knew why.
"All Might claims he's been told by Midoriya himself that the villains he'd been kidnapped by were threatening many things he held dear." Tsukauchi said. The boy twitched in his sleep, his eyebrows furrowing. The unfamiliar environment may have been making him uncomfortable, and the adults in the room could have written it down as trauma. But was it?
"Like that Bakugo kid?" Kamui asked, knowing about the constant reports and remarks made about the Bakugo family and how they were being targeted by only a Middle Schooler. Now, that case was taking a turn for the worst.
"Yes, like Bakugo. We wished to have them in for investigation and interrogation, but the parents refused saying everything was already too much for him." Tsukauchi took a seat next to the boy, continuing his thoughts on the situation.
All Might took a step forward, towering over Kamui as he did so. "And they have every right to refuse. They have no idea what's going on, and this whole situation hasn't been understood yet." Izuku shuffled around uncomfortably again.
"So what are you going to do with him now?" Kamui questioned, still worried for the boy of whom he'd seen with a petrified look plastered on his face. But none of them knew. Izuku was just too good.
"We'll protect him no matter what. And, if he's willing to converse with us, we'll question him about the villains who held him hostage." The large man spoke with comfort and pride as he always did, making those around him hopefully encourage them to feel safe. He wanted to keep this boy safe, especially after seeing the fright in his eyes at their first encounter.
Kamui nodded at his response, even though neither of the other men were looking at him when he did so. "I'll leave you two with him then; I'd better get back to my patrol." Tsukauchi nodded at him, though Kamui didn't see as he'd already turned to leave the room.
The moment Kamui had left, the muscular build that everyone saw as All Might disappeared, leaving a skinny man behind. "If feel bad for the kid," he said, worry apparent through his voice. "I've already seen uploaded videos of the kid struggling against Kamui. Looked terrified, poor thing."
Tsukauchi nodded again, still keeping his eyes on the boy, questioning the whole situation in his mind; there were so many questions, and yet so little answers. Why was the league using him? What purpose did he have and what made him useful? Why and what was he running from and how did he escape? And the list went on. Now, all they had to do was wait for the boy to wake up. And, only a few minutes of silence later, the boy's eyes began to flutter open.
From Izuku's perspective, he had no idea what had happened. He was confused, as he couldn't remember falling asleep. But, as his eyes flicked from one part of the room to another, he saw stwo people and what seemed to be a hospital room. His face formed one of question, but soon shock. He'd been brought in by the Hero, hadn't he? He had to play his part, or they'd find out what they were truly up to. He kept the shocked look on his face as he wondered what to do. He didn't know how he was brought here, nor who he was in the presence of. If they were part of the hero core, then he needed to step very carefully with his words and actions.
Izuku started flickering his eyes around the room as if he were scared of the new environment, knowing he had to fool them too. He was still tired and confused while his head pounded, even though slightly, but he knew what he needed to do in order to infiltrate the Heroes. He shuffled backwards, hiding his body with the thin, white blanket he was already partly covered in. He kept his eyes wide, his breath fast and slightly panicky. He didn't know who these people were, and usually, he wouldn't be scared of that. But now, he had to pretend he was.
"Izuku Midoriya, correct?" Tsukauchi asked, but Izuku had no knowledge on his man. With the amount of notebooks and knowledge he'd gathered of Heroes over the years, he thought he'd know anyone he encountered from the Hero Core. But this one remained blank in his mind. Izuku didn't even recognise him slightly, and that almost worried him. He didn't know anything about this man, so he had to be careful.
Then, his eyes flickered towards the other man standing against the wall at the other side of the room. His hair looked familiar, almost as though he were trying to copy All Might but failed horrendously. His body looked unhealthily skinny while his face seemed tired and worn. Izuku had no idea who he was in the presence of, and it made him nervous.
"Jeez, don't scare the boy the moment he wakes up," the man from the back of the room stepped forward. When he spoke the the brown haired man, it was apparent that his voice was surprisingly deep and comforting. He sighed, before looking at the boy with pity in his eyes. Izuku only looked back with terror. "Sorry, kid, we didn't mean to scare you. We're only here to help."
Izuku wanted to scoff at his words, his mind making him think that Heroes didn't help at all. But, he remained in character. He was good at that. With his eyes beginning to look less horrified, Izuku began to relax his muscles of which he tensed before hand. However, he still refrained from speaking.
"And to get some answers, if you wouldn't mind answering our questions." The other man spoke up again. His face stayed serious while his colleague sighed, obviously annoyed at the way he acted so stoic. Izuku looked him up and down, realising he had a certain pin on his shirt reading 'PRIVATE DETECTIVE', allowing Izuku to leave a mental note that this man was a detective investigating his case. A paper pad was also apparent in his blazer pocket, while a pen was tucked onto his collar, though looked as though it were going to fall any second. If this man was a detective, then Izuku had to be extra careful with the answers he gave.
"Let the kid cool down, he's had a hell of a day, I'm sure." He walked forwards, then smiling slightly at Izuku. He recognised this man from somewhere, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Izuku then decided then that he would calm down his act a slight bit more, while Tsukauchi also let his face relax.
"Yes, sorry, I just want to know the weight of the situation." Sitting back in his chair, he began rubbing his temples. It was obvious he was trying to work everything out, but something seemed to be bothering him
"So, kid, tell us your name?" Izuku was sure they knew the answer to that question already, as the brunette had already called him that and the blonde man didn't even need to ask. But, he answered anyway, giving them a stutter as he did so.
"Midoriya.. Izu-Izuku Midoriya.." he made his voice slightly shaky, but not incoherent. He needed to sound even slightly bold if he even stood a chance of getting into UA, or they'd think he was too fragile or too weak from his 'trauma' to get in. But then, Izuku noticed the detective's face grow annoyed, and he looked away from the greenette and looked as though he were trying to focus.
"And you've been a capture of the LOV for a while now?" The blonde man kept talking, looking at his brunette friend with worry on his face, noticing his frustration. Izuku just nodded firmly.
"A vocal answer, if you will." The skinny one prompted.
"Yes.." Izuku made his voice louder than it was previously, and he wondered if it was the wrong choice to made himself seem bolder, but the blonde seemed to be buying it. However, Tsukauchi got progressively annoyed. Izuku now had two things to wonder: Why was the detective one looking so angry with the situation?, and, Why was he asked to make his answer vocal? Maybe it was something to do with his quirk, but Izuku had to wait to find out.
"And they've been threatening you, correct?" The blonde would look at Izuku while he spoke, but then his attention would quickly flick back to Tsukauchi and look questioningly at him, wondering what was going on.
Izuku made it a point that the question made him - or rather his 'character' - slightly nervous by swallowing hard, but he changed his positioning to sit tall and tried to look as though he were covering nerves with confidence. In truth, he was nervous inside and outside of the act, as he didn't want to be found out by the people he sat before. But he kept his game up nonetheless. "They have.. yes.." He looked down, knowing they'd believe every word he said if he looked slightly vulnerable when 'remembering what the villains had done to him'.
Tsukauchi's face continued to grow more angered and confused with every question, and the creases in between his eyebrows got larger and grew in number when he scrunched his eyes in thought every other second.
"And have they been giving you tasks to complete?" The question asked was very broad, and Izuku had to take a minute to think about it. He of course had to say that it wasn't him that killed the two boys, but he did have to say they'd made him to certain other things.
"I.." He decided he'd try and start an explanation and hesitate, making it look like he was either trying to remember or not particularly wanting to answer. But in fact he was only stalling for time.
Eventually, he decided he'd have to use the advice Tomura had given him before he left, about Toga being able to shape-shift into anyone to cover up the fact that he was the one that murdered the boys. "They- ... they made me write a letter to Kacchan.. and made me tell them where some people lived.. but I think that's all... But I didn't want to do it I swear! I had to or they'd hurt me.. and the people I loved.." He decided that that was convincing enough, and if they asked if it was him at the time of the murders, he'd tell them about Himiko. He'd gladly frame that bitch for murder.
Izuku could see Tsukauchi clench his fists and his jaw, looking as though he was getting progressively more annoyed as Izuku spoke. He wondered if the man had worked out that everything he said was a lie and was getting annoyed at him for lying.. but he wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet.
"I'm sorry we couldn't save you sooner, young one." The blonde bowed his head as he apologised, and Izuku subtly smiled in thanks. "But.. I do have one more question just for now."
Izuku nodded, hinting the man to go on with his question. He knew what it would be, and he was prepared for it. "Where you the one that committed the murders?"
Izuku wanted to smirk, laugh at the deaths of the ones that hurt him. But he didn't. Rather, he opened his eyes wide as if he'd been accused of something terrible. Which he had been, kind of, but indirectly. "No! I swear it- please believe me! I'd never do such a thing!" he paused, scrunching his eyes and tending his body, waiting a little while before starting the explanation. He sighed, relaxing again. "There was this.. blonde girl that could.. um, take the form of a person when she drank their blood.. and.. I believe it was her taking my place... I swear I didn't hurt anyone!" He acted all panicky as if they were going to throw him into prison.
The blonde smiled gently at him, shaking his head softly. "Don't worry, young one, we aren't going to do anything to you. We're just glad you weren't the one to-" and as he was speaking, he was cut off by a loud bang. Tsukauchi had stood up suddenly and slammed his fists down on the table beside the hospital bed. He knocked over a glass of water, but he didn't seem to care at the time. His face was full of frustration, and Izuku flinched. It genuinely made him jump. Toshinori just looked in astonishment, having never expected such a thing from Tsukauchi.
"Tsukauchi, what on Earth..?" Toshinori didn't quite know what to say, so he walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt of comfort.
"It's not working," was all the brunette said, turning to look at the blonde, his eyes angry and his jaw still clenched. "I can't tell if the kid is bloody lying or not!"