Chapter Text
Izuku fell asleep on top of his covers at 2:54AM. Sleep didn’t come easily to him- especially when his quirk was added into the mix- but he tried his best to get whatever rest he could. Nightmares were frequent, but he tried to ignore them. Talking about it would just make things worse.
A gentle hand on his shoulder woke him at around five AM. Inko cooed gently, saying, “Time to get up, my sleepy boy. We’ve gotta go to the hospital, remember?”
He definitely did remember, but that didn’t change the fact that he was running on under three hours of sleep. He rolled to face her, not bothering to stifle a yawn that came afterwards.
“There’s my handsome son! Now, get on something comfortable, we’re gonna head out in about ten minutes. You can rest a bit on the way there, alright?”
He hummed softly in response, sitting up and allowing his mother to plant a kiss on his cheek. Once she had made her way off the bed and out of the room, Izuku took his time getting up and slipping into a pair of sweatpants.
Everything hurt- like, a lot. The pants brushed the bruise at the edge of his stomach, and he winced in pain. He could feel the bruising along his cheek and temple twofold. His knees weren’t nearly as bad as they had been that morning, but they were still coated in deep gashes and road rash- so it wasn’t really a plus. He took three ibuprofen tablets, swallowing down the last of a water bottle that was tucked under his bed, and slipped out his bedroom door.
His mom was sitting on the couch; fully dressed in a warm winter coat and checking something on her phone, before perking up at the sound of him approaching.
They slipped on their shoes before making their way to the apartment parking lot. It was dead quiet, and the dark sky was filled with a light sprinkle of snow. Izuku drifted off into a restless sleep almost as soon as the car began to move.
Twenty minutes later, he woke with a start as his mom parked the car. The large, dull-colored sign of the hospital his mother worked at grabbed his attention immediately. There weren’t very many cars there; which made sense, really, considering it was barely passing 5:30AM. Still, Izuku was glad for the inevitable quiet the hospital would provide, even if actually being there mostly made his skin crawl.
Hospitals were definitely not on his list of top-places-to-visit, but the pain in his side flared up with every minute movement; so he decided to bite the bullet. Hopefully he wouldn’t need any sort of stitching in his knees- last time he had gotten stitches was absolute hell.
“Izuku, baby- you awake?” Inko quietly asked, dipping into his view slightly. She looked exhausted- and that snapped him awake enough to remember to actually get out of the car.
Inside, the hospital was- thankfully- just as empty as he had predicted. There wasn’t anyone in the waiting room currently, and the young woman behind the receptionist desk greeted them with a bow of the head.
She was rail thin and had deep blue hair and eyes- he recognized her as Ms. Tsukiko Aimoto, a medical student still struggling to pay off her debts. He smiled politely at her, and then glanced around the room while simultaneously toying with the end of one of his bandages.
“Hello, Tsukiko-san, it’s odd seeing you in so early! Did they take you off of night shift finally?” his mother prompted, already beginning to sign the paperwork for getting him into his appointment.
“Good morning, Inko-san. Yup, I got moved to morning shift over the weekend, today is my third day-” she paused momentarily, sending a playful smirk Izuku’s way. “I’m kinda glad, too, considering you’re our first patient of the day. Hope you aren’t causing your mother too much grief, Izu-kun.”
His cheeks grew red, and he attempted to stammer out some sort of coherent response; until a tall, broad-shouldered woman at the end of the hall shouted his mother’s name.
“Midoriya-san! Good morning, nice to see you alright after last night’s fiasco!”
Doctor Aki was a kind but intimidating woman; she had jet black eyes, several sets of small, spiraling horns, and, most of all, a large mane of untamed red hair. She waved kindly to Inko, calling her towards an examining room. Inko handed Aimoto the paperwork- fully signed and completed- and the two made their way towards Doctor Aki’s office.
As soon as he sat down, the husky woman brought out a clipboard and stethoscope, gently placing the latter to Izuku’s chest and back as she chatted idly with Inko. She had been his doctor (and mom’s coworker) ever since he was little, so they typically didn’t bother with formalities.
“Alright, Midoriya-san, Midoriya-kun, what seems to be the problem?” she asked this while simultaneously checking his ears. “I mean, besides the obvious stuff- like the abrasions on your knees and arms, and the bruise on your face.”
He blushed shyly as she rolled her chair back, and he lifted his shirt slightly to reveal the deep-purple of the bruise that blossomed there. Inko gaped at the mark, unaware until now of the severity of his injury. Aki snorted to stifle a giggle.
“Alright, not as bad as it could be, but still pretty bad. I’ll get you some painkillers for your face and ribs, and you’ll have to ice the latter for a few hours per day to help the pain subside. Bruised ribs aren’t fun, kiddo! You’ve gotta be more careful.”
He mumbled out an, “I know, Aki-san”, and she giggled wholeheartedly this time, grinning widely at his embarrassed expression.
“Well, besides the bruised ribs,” Inko shot him an exasperated expression while saying this, “he’s definitely overused his quirk- sadly, he hasn’t been able to sleep much since last night, so there’s not much to say about that…” She sighed, and looked down to the floor.
At Izuku’s request, Inko had never fully disclosed the details of his quirk with her coworkers. In the end, they respected the Midoriya family’s privacy- but that didn’t stop a curious look from crossing Aki’s face.
“Alright, there’s not much else I can recommend besides rest and the ice pack- I’ll get those painkillers for you on your way out, and we can redress the scuffs and scrapes, but promise to take it easy for at least a few days, alright?” She ruffled his hair at this, and the meeting came to a close.
Inko picked up Izuku’s prescription along with a copy of the visitation fee, and the two made their way out of the hospital. Inko sent one last troubled glance at his now re-wrapped injuries, before starting the car and driving away.
The day passed by quickly- Izuku resigning himself to the corner of his bed as he dipped in and out of sleep gracelessly. He awoke from flitting half-memories many times, images of smoke and melted concrete burned into the back of his eyelids. No nightmares came yet, though. He was grateful it was daytime, when he could sleep peacefully and avoid whatever his head would decide to throw at him.
His mother knocked lightly on his door, waking him from another bout of unconsciousness. She leaned down gently and pecked a kiss to his forehead, whispering, “I’ll be back from work in the morning, Izuku. Get some rest, okay?”
He mumbled a half-formed reply, before snuggling beneath his blankets once again, and drifting back into sleep.
Flames dared to lick the sky around him- bleeding gold and red into the clear, star-less black. He couldn’t breathe or think; he just was. Something within him screamed, and a cry was wrenched from his lips, painting the still air with desperation.
He suddenly realized that, despite the fact that he could not feel it, the fire was engulfing him. He strained his consciousness to stay, and tore his eyes from the ceiling of black to look down at himself.
Where his hands should have been, two sets of black-tipped claws stared back. They weren’t his- couldn’t have been. He hadn’t seen anything like them in years. He felt the already fading edges of his mind bristle.
They were his, though. He flexed his muscles, and the tips of the hands moved in response, dagger-like nails barely raking across the flats of his palms. It sent a shiver down his spine.
He could move now, though, which led to him turning, searching, for anything other than the endless plains of fire before him.
Something along the ground caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and he whipped around- face to face with a steaming, bubbling mass of… something.
The sudden stench of blood and flames scorched his senses, and the breath was snatched from his throat.
There was something on his hands, now.
Something red.
Izuku woke up with a scream on his lips- splayed halfway between the floor and his bed, with his comforter thrown to the side. His neck creaked as the rest of his body slid downwards to meet him, and he held his knees tight against his chest.
It was just a dream. Just a nightmare. He was here, at home, safe.
The words didn’t help force back the acid clawing up his throat.
He sat up, gently resting his aching head against the bottom half of his bed, breathing in and out slowly for a couple of long moments.
It was dark outside, and a few stars peeked through his window, sending a blue-grey hue spiraling through the room. He focused on the twinkling fixtures- the breath in his chest steadying. Slowly, he got to his feet and made his way to the window, leaning onto the wall beside it, peeking out at the glass.
It was a nice night. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep again, so he was especially grateful for the serenity. At least he could relax somewhat, even if he couldn’t really rest . Maybe some tea would help get his mind off of this.
The house was still, quiet night air creeping indoors to paint the walls with deep blues. He crept through the living room, silent despite knowing he was the only one home- some part of him scared to shatter the peace.
As he approached the kitchen, something bright pink caught his eye, and he turned towards the counter to see a small sticky note stuck atop a lidded bowl. ‘I’ll be back at 5AM, take your pain meds when you wake up (but not before midnight!!)’ was scrawled across it in his mother’s bubbly, rushed handwriting. He flipped the note up to reveal another one underneath, and picked the two up. This one read ‘ P.S.~ I bought some of your favorite snacks! No eating the sweets until you’ve eaten some real food though (Hope you have a great day hon!)’, signed with a collection of little stars in the corner. He smiled and tucked the notes into his pocket, freeing up his hand to open the lid of the bowl.
Inside were several rolls of Kakor Hallon strawberry cookies (from Ikea- he’d love to shop there again some time), a bag of Calbee shrimp chips, and a large ziploc baggie filled with different flavors of Kitkats. His smile grew wider, and he jumped to the fridge to look for something quick to eat- mom was right, he should probably get some protein first.
While he was rummaging through the fridge, Izuku spared a quick glance to check the time on the clock; 1:32AM. He figured taking his pain medication now would be best, considering it would take a while to kick in. Grabbing some leftover tonkatsu, he hurriedly closed the fridge- looking at all the food made him excruciatingly aware of just how hungry he was.
Once the food was properly heated up, and his tea came to a boil on the stove, he grabbed his medication and then made his way to the table. The stars had shifted by now, and the light folding from the window nearest the dining area was beautiful. Once he had finished eating, he sat there for a moment, taking it in.
He felt warm and comfortable now that he had eaten, and the tea he was still sipping at helped soothe his nerves further. He wished he could appreciate nights like this more often, even though he knew this was probably going to be the death of his sleep schedule. Whatever, he was flexible, he would work with it.
Izuku made his way into the living room after that; picking out a roll of cookies and an old Studio Ghibli DVD before hastily shoving the disk into the player. The opening bars to Kiki’s Delivery Service played, and he sunk into a pile of blankets snuggled in the corner of the couch. He stayed there- cozied up, teacup emptied, cookies in hand, and covered in blankets- and the gentle lull of sleep greeted him.
He was unconscious by the time the final scene played, and his mother found him a few hours later on the way to her room. He looked peaceful. It was the best night's sleep he had gotten in a long while.
Izuku stirred from sleep around 10AM, the smell of seafood and vegetables overwhelming his senses. Across the room, Inko was busying herself with a takoyaki pan- carefully portioning bits of batter and octopus into each hole. Once she was done, she turned around, cleaning her hands with a towel, and perked at the sight of Izuku shuffling towards the kitchen counter.
“Good morning, Izuku. How’s my sleepy boy doing?” A yawn forced itself out of him, and she giggled, setting down the towel and making her way over to him.
“M’fine, mom. Thanks for making lunch- sorry I wasn’t up to help, I forgot to set an alarm and…” he stopped, sighing. She simply brushed off the apology with a series of comments about him ‘deserving to rest up’ and ‘needing recovery time’, and the worry in his gut settled quickly.
They ate shortly after that- making small talk about the movie he watched last night, and about her time at work all the while. Once they were finished, and Izuku was cleaning the dishes (which he refused to not help with, despite his mother’s insistence), they settled into a calm silence. That is, until Inko sat herself onto a stool at the counter, and sighed heavily.
“What’s wrong, mom? Rough sleep?” he questioned softly, understanding coloring his tone. His mother worked so hard, and though she didn’t suffer the same kind of insomnia he did, some days rest was difficult when stacked against her worries. She didn’t say anything, or even hum a response, though- the worry he felt earlier bubbled up again.
“I know it’s been a tough couple of days… but if you’re up for it, honey-” she paused, and took a moment to undo the loose bun atop her head, “I really think we should speak to that new detective today.”
He blanched slightly at this- he had almost forgotten Officer Sansa and his interview. Some part of him wanted to refuse outright, but… deep down, he knew she was right.
“Sure, mom. You’re right, I think this is… something I should get out of the way now, rather than later.”
The dishes were now stacked carefully in the strainer, and he dried off his hands, turning to her. She had stopped fidgeting with her bun in favor of looking at him with creased, caring eyes.
“Alright, honey. I’ll go get dressed, tell me whenever you’re ready to head out, okay?”
He nodded, and with that, she left. He was alone in the kitchen now. He stood there, silent. Suddenly, he moved forwards, steps and breath equally steady.
He could do this. He could do this! It was just officer Sansa- he could do this.
He could not do this.
The ride to the station was a short one, but it was plagued with a slowly growing feeling of dread. It had been- what? Years since the last incident? And though they hadn’t been completely out of touch, Izuku hadn’t had a face-to-face conversation with the cat-headed officer since then. An interview was not the way he had wanted their reconnection to happen.
But here he is, sitting in the waiting room of the office portion of the Musutafu Police Station, minutes away from meeting the mysterious new detective who had replaced Abiko-san. Detective Abiko was the previous head of the Quirk-Investigations department, but now he was gone, and Izuku would be meeting with…
“What’s the new guys name again, mom? You said Sansa told you a bit about him, right?” He glanced at her sheepishly, hands wringing in his lap nervously.
“Ah, it’s okay, honey. His name is Detective Tsukauchi, and he’s apparently Abiko-san’s cousin.” with this, her hand made its way on top of his, steadying his shaking fists. “Sansa said he transferred in a year or so ago, and that he really trusts him. It’s gonna be okay, okay? Deep breaths, baby.”
She kissed his cheek once more, and he steadied his breathing. Sansa walked in a few moments later and surveyed the room, before his eyes landed on them, and he hastily made his way over.
“Nya- Good morning, Midoriya-san, Midoriya-kun. Nice seeing you two again-” He bowed lowly, and straightened the collar around his neck once he stood back up to his full height. “We can catch up a bit later, for now, please follow me- Nya.”
(Despite knowing him for literal years, Izuku could never get used to the man’s cat-like speech patterns. It was strangely endearing.)
They followed Sansa through a series of hallways; he only faltered momentarily to tip his head in acknowledgement at those who greeted the group. Izuku was getting increasingly nervous, the not-quite-familiar layout of the deeper areas of the building rousing his anxiety.
They soon made their way to a large, metal door. A small sign was posted on the wall next to it, labelled “Interrogation and Interview Room No.3” A stone dropped in his stomach, and he watched, shakily, as Officer Sansa knocked politely on the door.
A gentle ‘come in’ came from the other side, and he opened the door for Izuku. The boy stood there, shaking like a leaf, before gulping down one last breath of air, and making his way into the room.
The walls were plain- metal painted with white, pristine except for the chipping corners. One of the walls was parted with a strip of one-way-mirror in the center. A single table was bolted into the floor in the center of the room, and one metallic chair with thin padding was placed on either side. The chair nearest the door was empty, and the opposite one held whom he assumed was Detective Tsukauchi.
The man was tall and slender, lean body framed by a crisp grey suit jacket that sharpened his shoulders. His shoes and hips were similarly boxy. The only parts of him that didn’t appear sharp were his hair- which was slightly tousled- and his kind, supple face. He bowed his head in recognition, not putting down the folder he was reading, and Izuku forced his stiffening legs to move in the least robotic fashion he could muster.
As he sat down, he could hear the gentle metal tck of a door being closed. He remembered his mother would be watching from the other side of the mirror, and relaxed marginally. He’d be okay, he could do this.
“Hello, Midoriya-kun. It’s nice to meet you”, he set down the folder and closed it with a gentle smile. Izuku smiled back, though he knew it probably looked mangled and shaky. Tsukauchi picked up a pad of paper and a thick, black pen.
“Now, Midoriya-kun. I’m going to ask you a few questions about the events that took place between Monday, November 7th and Tuesday, November 8th. Feel free to not answer if a question makes you uncomfortable. This interview will be recorded and analyzed only by myself, officer Sansa, and the three other investigators assigned to this case. Any questions?”
Izuku shook his head ‘no’ gently, and the Detective clicked his pen, flipping to a specific page in the notebook and placing the tip there.
“Midoriya-kun, where were you at 3:30PM on November 7th?”
His mind froze, and he fidgeted with the end of one of the remaining bandages on his arms. “I was at school, and I started walking home around 3:40…-ish?” He tacked on that last part, his memory still a bit too foggy to make a coherent timeline of events.
Tsukauchi scribbled something down in the notebook, and then looked up at him again. “What route did you take in order to get home?”
Izuku paused at this, trying to remember the specific streets he had crossed. After detailing what avenues he had taken, Tsukauchi hummed in response, and finished writing down the directions.
“Were you involved in the attack by the villain Hammerhead, which took place approximately around the same time you were walking home?”
There it is, he thought. He tried to mask his fear, taking a few moments before stammering out a response-
“I was p-present during the conflict, but I didn’t know it was Hammerhead at the time. My memory is kind of foggy, so I can’t really, uh… remember much…” Tsukauchi quit writing about halfway through his statement, and Izuku, realizing this, stopped lamely. His eyes darted between his hands and the Detective in front of him.
“I see.” The man said, voice calm, “I was previously informed about the memory loss related to your quirk.”
Izuku fidgeted restlessly.
Tsukauchi hummed, jotting down something in the notebook.
“So, Midoriya-kun, did you try to intervene in the conflict using your quirk?”
“Y-yes, sir. I used my quirk when I saw the villain was trying to harm someone.”
“Your quirk is called Hellfire, correct?”
Izuku physically flinched. “Yes, sir.”
“Do you know what caused the damage to the surrounding buildings and concrete located at the scene of the conflict?”
Izuku tried to swallow the lump in his throat. ”No, sir. I can’t really remember anything after I approached the villain.”
Tsukauchi hummed again, and paused to finish writing something across a new page in his notebook. Izuku waited anxiously.
“Midoriya-kun, do you remember the events leading up to your recovery in the alley located on the outskirts of Musutafu?”
“No, s-sir. I don’t remember anything other than waking up.”
“I see… Can you tell me the extent of the injuries you received during this period?”
At this, Izuku self-consciously stopped fiddling with the bandages on his arms, and sat straighter in his seat. “Both of my knees are, uhm, covered in abrasions. I have several scrapes and cuts along my arms, too. And, uh, several of my ribs were bruised, along with my face.” His hands tightened around bunches of his pants, stilling themselves in the fabric.
Tsukauchi hummed once more, though his pen didn’t still for several long moments.
“Alright, Midoriya-kun, that’s all the questions I have for you today.” He smiled politely, and Izuku physically sagged in relief.
The two made their way to the door, and Inko greeted Izuku once they exited, enveloping him in her plush arms.
“Nya- Thank you for your time, Midoriya-san, Midoriya-kun. We’ll update you regarding the case soon, okay?”
Inko smiled softly, and the mother and son bowed, hands linked. Another officer offered to escort them to the front of the building, so they made their way out, leaving Officer Sansa and the detective in front of the interrogation room.
“You’re being awfully quiet, detective”
Sansa was leaning against the wall nearest the interrogation room door, surveying Naomasa with a flick of his ears. Tsukauchi merely flipped through the notebook in his hands, turning back to the final page he had written on during the interview.
The answers he had received from Midoriya were written in his own neat, tidy handwriting. Sansa turned his head, making a subtle glance over Naomasa’s shoulder.
He somberly looked at each answer, before taking out his pen and circling three of them. Three of them which had been marked in bold, underlined text as lies.
“I don’t know what he’s lying about, or if he even meant to… but that kid is hiding something, Sansa”
The cat-headed officer’s ears flattened against his fur in confusion.
“And I fully intend on finding out why.”