The whole aftermath of the Kamino fight was a blur. All Might's retirement hit the world by storm and Izuku once again shut himself off from any form of media or news outlet. He hadn't seen any of the footage, but he knew they weren't in any of it, luckily. Knew the media would be banging down his door if that was the case. Their rescue mission wasn't the focus of that battle, after all. But that didn't mean the squad didn't have questions for him. Izuku had seen it in their eyes as they delivered Shinsou to the police. He'd seen it and he'd ignored it, running away from his problems like he always did. Suppressing them into this neat little box he could shove to the back of his mind so he could act like nothing was wrong.
By now they'd all received a notice from UA, talking about the new state of the art dormitory system and parental approval. There was supposed to be this online info moment for parents to ask questions and all they had to do was sign the approval form digitally before sending it to a designated email address. Izuku once again felt how privileged the hero course was, where each student was visited individually by their teachers to ask for their parents' trust. It was a necessity, since it was the hero course that was always under fire, but still. It still felt unfair, in a way.
It wasn't until the police showed up at their doorstep that Izuku knew something was wrong. That he'd fallen into a fake sense of security as he ignored the world and became bitter about not being part of the hero course, about not being able to talk about this with people he saw as his friends. Izuku thought this would all pass. That it would blow over like it always did. Sure, they were at Kamino, but UA never sold them out before, not in any timeline Izuku could remember. Aizawa reprimanded them for it, and they got a pretty stern talking to, but that was it. The all ends well, is well mentality Izuku had known for years, decades. What changed..?
"Izuku Midoriya?" the police officer asked as he opened the door, making him nod. "Could you come to the station with us? We'd like to ask a few questions regarding your whereabouts during the Kamino Ward incident."
Izuku could hear his mom gasp behind him, turning around to give her a comforting smile as the officer continued.
"We'd rather have you come willingly, but we won't hesitate to restrain you if you resist."
"It's okay," Izuku assured them, looking back at the police. "Let me put on my shoes and get a jacket, okay?"
The door stayed open as Izuku stepped back, crouching down to take his signature red shoes.
"Izuku, what's going on?" Inko asked, clearly worried, before looking at the officers. "Why are you taking my son in for questioning? He's got nothing to do with-"
"That's for us to decide, Mrs Midoriya."
"It's alright mom," Izuku smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder, trailing down to rub her back. "I... I haven't been completely honest with you. But I'll tell you everything once I'm back home, okay? I promise."
With that he took his jacket, pulling it on while he stepped out the door.
"I'll be back before you know it," Izuku told her. "Love you, mom."
"Love you too, Izuku," Inko stammered out, still confused and worried as the door shut. Izuku was guided to a police car shortly after, a tad bit surprised they were driving with the sirens on. This wasn't an emergency transport, was it? Izuku wasn't a criminal- Well, technically he interfered with a villain takedown, but still. He didn't make a fuss as they guided him into the station, nor when he noticed people around them staring as they passed by. People probably recognized him from the sportsfestival, he left quite a mark on the world with that feat.
"Uhm, I don't think those are necessary," Izuku said as they walked into an interrogation room and the officers pulled out the quirk erasure cuffs.
"It's standard procedure," the one with the cuffs said as he approached. Izuku could tell the other one was on guard, as if they expected Izuku to retaliate.
"Oh, uh, okay," Izuku frowned, holding out his hands as they strapped him down, connecting the cuffs to the table so he had nowhere left to go. Talk about overkill... "So what do I-"
The door slapped shut before he could finish his question, leaving him alone in the room. He frowned, again. This didn't seem like standard procedure... Something was up. That or those officers were plainly rude to him. Was it because he was quirkless? He'd never come into contact with the police while quirkless, not in this sort of setting, so he didn't know. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that detective Tsukauchi entered the room, making Izuku's eyes widen. What was he doing here? Why did he concern himself with such a low level case as Izuku? The only reason he'd seen him before in high school had been to cover for One For All-
"I'm detective Tsukauchi and I'll be interrogating you today," he started, sitting down in front of him. "I'll be using my quirk, Lie Detector, to assess whether or not you're telling the truth."
"Okay," Izuku nodded. He should be careful with his phrasing around this man... If he suspected something was up, Izuku wouldn't be released any time soon.
"Alright, we'll start off with some easy ones," he said, taking out his noteblock. "What's your name?"
"Izuku Midoriya."
"Your age?"
"I'm currently 15 years old," Izuku said, being very specific. Because he was old, wasn't he? He'd been alive for multiple decades at this point- or it felt that way at least. He couldn't let Tsukauchi catch onto that.
"Quirk?" he continued.
"I was born quirkless," Izuku sighed. "Are these questions really necessary, detective? I mean, you just want to hear me say I was there, right? At Kamino during the big fight?"
"So you admit to it?" Tsukauchi asked.
"I mean," Izuku shrugged, rattling his quirk erasure cuffs, "it's not like you guys don't already know about that."
"Who else was with you that night?" he asked. "Don't worry, they won't get into any legal trouble."
"Oh, uhm," Izuku mumbled, glancing at the table for a second. They won't get into any legal trouble, huh? But what about Izuku..? He was getting a bad feeling about this whole situation... "Kacch- I mean, Katsuki Bakugou. And uh, Iida, Kaminari and Tokoyami from the UA hero course. Are they uh... Are you going to question them, too?"
"We've already taken their statements," Tsukauchi said, taking Izuku by surprise. Kacchan hadn't said anything about that! Then again, they still weren't on real speaking terms right now... The rescue mission had been an exception. "That's how we know that you predicted everything that would happen that evening, to great detail if I need to believe their testaments."
"Oh, uh, it wasn't that detailed," Izuku stammered. How to downplay his knowledge without outright lying? God, Izuku hated this situation. Hated and loved Tsukauchi's quirk at the same time. So this is how villains must feel when they're interrogated by him... "I'm good at analyzing quirks and people, so predicting stuff comes like second nature to me, really. I uh, I had heard there were rumors about this shady underground bar around Kamino and uh, the description of some of them matched the people that attacked the USJ so that's how I connected the dots."
Tsukauchi frowned, making Izuku panic. He hadn't outright lied to him. There really were rumors, and he did hear about them. Albeit, after the facts during his first life... Still, it was the truth.
"Witnesses state you were able to predict All For One's arrival at a warehouse several blocks away from the bar," he said, glancing down at his notes. "And after that, you were able to predict All Might's arrival, almost up to the second. How can you explain that?"
"I knew there had to be a ringleader type figure in the picture somewhere," Izuku told him. "And it made sense he'd be involved in the kidnapping. I mean, it wasn't a blatant attack like last time and they needed a place to keep the hostage, right? And a bigger plan? So there had to be a brain behind all that brawn and when I saw the pro heroes act- Well, I thought he might show up. And when he did... It was honestly terrifying. A villain only someone like All Might could defeat. So I said All Might would be there soon. That's comforting to hear, right? And then he appeared!"
"I see..." Tsukauchi hummed. "That still doesn't explain why you were at the warehouse at that time."
"I uh," Izuku said, scratching his cheek. "I didn't want it to come out like this but uh, I heard from Kacchan- uhm, sorry, Katsuki- I heard from Katsuki that one of his classmates made a tracker and placed it on a monster like creature. He called me that day and that's when we arranged the rescue mission."
"So you received those coordinates from Yaoyorozu, is what you're saying?"
"I received the coordinates to the warehouse from Yaoyorozu," Izuku repeated, knowing that wasn't a lie. Momo had given them those coordinates in their first lives. That's how Izuku knew about that location.
"That's not what the others said," Tsukauchi stated. "They say you were the one who gave them the coordinates to the warehouse. That you knew what was going to happen and planned ahead. They say you already knew how to rescue your friend before you were able to assess the scene."
"They probably don't want Yaoyorozu to get in trouble," Izuku said quickly, mentally cringing when he realized his mistake.
"That's a lie."
"Look, I don't know why they would tell you that," Izuku said. To be fair, he didn't know why they were being questioned to start with. So it wasn't a complete lie. Tsukauchi frowned, probably sensing the same thing. "Why is me being the brains behind the rescue effort such a big deal anyway? I thought I was in trouble for interfering with a fight in progress- for hindering a pro hero at work?"
"Is that what the officers told you?" Tsukauchi asked.
"I mean, no, but it was implied," Izuku stated, frowning a bit as he tugged at his cuffs again. "Why am I really here, detective Tsukauchi?"
"Alright, I'll be honest with you," he sighed. "You're being suspected of being a traitor, a spy for the League of Villains within UA. We suspect you're working with All For One."
"What?!" Izuku exclaimed. They thought he was working with- That he was the UA traitor- It was so ridiculous Izuku almost burst out laughing.
"The witnesses, the students from the hero course that were with you, state that you said the following," Tsukauchi continued. "It's not like I can just walk up to All For One and be like 'Hi, long time no see, can I please have my friend back? Okay, cool, bye!' now can I?"
Izuku clenched his fists. Okay, yeah, that had been a mistake.
"Did you say that?" Tsukauchi asked. "It's a simple yes or no question."
"I said that," Izuku admitted. "Iida was being difficult about the plan I suggested even though it was our best option. It was an exaggeration, a spur of the moment kinda thing."
Which was true. He had said that in a moment of utter frustration and stress. And now Izuku was facing the consequences of letting his emotions get the better of him.
"You used the name All For One before the name was made public," the detective pointed out. "And you made it sound like you've met him before. So answer me this, Midoriya. Do you know All For All? What is your connection to that man?"
Izuku bit his lip. How was he supposed to answer that question without lying? It was impossible. But telling the truth... Well, who was to say he needed to tell him everything? Izuku could compartmentalize, right? Yes, he could do that! He could still swing this conversation around!
"Is someone from UA listening to this conversation?" Izuku asked. "Principal Nezu? Eraserhead? All Might?"
"Answer the question, Midoriya," Tsukauchi said, leaning forward onto the table.
"I will," Izuku said. "I just... Is it possible to bring All Might here first? I'd rather not say it twice, it's...hard to talk about. And it's linked to One For All."
Tsukauchi's eyes widened a bit at that and Izuku forced out a small laugh.
"You think I'm a spy and you're still surprised I know about that quirk?" Izuku asked, getting serious again. "Just... Just get him here, please? I know he'll come if you ask."
"What are you planning to do once he's here?"
"Answering your question," Izuku shrugged, motioning to the quirk cuffs. "I'm not a threat in this state, am I? I don't even have a quirk. All Might could easily take me down, even in his weakened state."
Tsukauchi seemed to think about it before getting up and leaving the room, probably in order to call the number one hero. Or, well, former number one. Izuku hoped this would turn out the way he wanted it to and he didn't just make things worse for himself. He hoped he could play into their emotions, that All Might would see the good in this smart quirkless kid that just wanted to help people. It didn't take long for Tsukauchi to return with All Might by his side, telling Izuku that he'd probably been listening in on this interrogation all along.
"Now, tell us how you know about One For All," Tsukauchi demanded as he sat down again, this time pulling out a chair for his friend as well.
"About my connection to All For One," Izuku started, wringing his hands together, unable to look his mentor in the eye. "I'm... I'm one of his spares."
"What do you mean by that?" All Might asked.
"His quirk takes a toll on his body. You took a big toll on his body, too," Izuku explained. "So in order to live longer- to live forever, and to bring his dream into fruition, he's... He's been creating spare bodies for him to inherit and use."
Izuku took a shaky breath. Even after all this time, it was still hard to say out loud.
"I know him under one of his many aliases, Hisashi Midoriya. He's... He's my father. I'm his son," Izuku forced out. "I'm not the only one, I'm sure. He doesn't look twice at his own children, though. Oh no, Tomura is his main focus right now. The perfect body for him to take over, with a hatred big enough to finally take One For All back by force. Not that I want anything to do with that man. I'm glad he stays out of my life."
"You're talking about Tomura Shigaraki, right?" Tsukauchi asked, just for confirmation.
"That's the name All For One gave him," Izuku shrugged. "He... His real name is Tenko Shimura."
He could see All Might stiffen as he looked at Tsukauchi, who simply nodded. Izuku was telling the truth.
"He's Nana's grandson," Izuku said with a small smile. "Chosen for the exact purpose of hurting you, All Might. I... I'm sorry he's spoiling your master's legacy like this. And I wish things were different. That Shigaraki wasn't raised to be who he is now. That I wouldn't have to live with the fact All For One is my... But it's... Things don't always work out the way you want to, do they?"
He glanced up at All Might before looking over at detective Tsukauchi.
"I'm not the traitor you're looking for. I don't want anything to do with All For One or his plans to shape the world to his ideal," Izuku stated, wanting to be clear about that. He knew he was telling the truth. "But I... I do know who it is."
That seemed to be enough to get their undivided attention again, even if All Might was still processing Shigaraki's identity.
"I also think it's best if we bring Nezu into this conversation," Izuku added. "There are certain measures that need to be taken before you can apprehend the traitor and he should be aware of them."