Chapter Text
As a future Hero, Bakugo Katsuki feared little.
His mentor’s urgent driving skills were on that short list. They were just as bad as the hag’s when she needed to go grocery shopping before the store closed.
His hand firmly holding the grab handle on his side’s roof, a slight sweet caramel smell acting as the car’s freshener, he tried to keep his composure as Aizawa-sensei’s car nearly scratched the driver seat door of another that decided it wouldn’t go entirely to the side upon hearing sirens.
“So why aren’t we just roof jumping like the other Heroes? Wouldn’t that be faster than trying to race through traffic?”, the student asked with a huff.
“Inefficient”, the mentor replied, “In this case we don’t know the radius of the Snatcher’s work during a live kidnapping. If he has something akin to a teleportation or speed Quirk, then we need the transportation to widen our net”.
That…made sense, Katsuki thought. After all, there were little heroes still on the case itself because of the lack of evidence. Still, there had to be other options than rushing through rows of cars in traffic with a Hero siren on the car’s roof.
And yet his mentor was proven right: they had arrived at the police station in record time and with relatively little damage to the vehicle that could be used later (that scratch oh the bumper could be fixed easily). In Hero uniforms, they walked through the pristine halls currently in chaos with officers running around carrying stacks of paper flyers. Katsuki picked one up from the ground and slightly recoiled. This was the recent victim, a young girl with fiery orange hair. Her hazel eyes seemed to bore into his soul.
They held the same feelings as pictures of Izuku after they’d learned he was Quirkless. Sadness, Envy, Wistfulness. The ironic feeling of being different than everyone else, in a world where everyone was naturally unique.
He’d promised to stop these kidnappings and he will.
He will become her Hero, even if everyone else loses hope.
Now the young apprentice saw just how tired the lead detective was. The general mood in the meeting room was one of hopelessness and even resignation. He and Eraserhead had arrived first, and then a few others before the meeting officially began.
“Another one…”, another hero, Multi, mumbled with sagged shoulders. That man’s Quirk, Split Consciousness, worked quite well in reconnaissance and scouting situations. To see him unable to locate the victims simply brings home that they’re not infallible no matter how suited they are for the job.
“Do we know the radius of the kidnapping?”, Eraserhead spoke up.
“We brought in the parents earlier who mentioned they were taking their child to the eastern part of Musutafu, the street with the game shops. After getting some ice cream, they noticed their daughter wasn’t with them and searched for her. About 30 minutes later, they contacted the police and that’s when we learned of her Quirklessness”, the detective summarized this case.
“Hence another Snatcher victim. How are the parents?”, Webb, a relatively new heroine with a spider mutation, asked.
“They seem very confused, like all previous witnesses”, Tsukauchi replied, “Nothing in their statements rang false despite the contradicting information”.
“And considering the speed at which Snatcher vanished, I would assume the theories of his Quirk are still on the speed side? Have we contacted Ingenium about this?”, Multi asked with a raised brow.
“Regarding that, my apprentice here seems to believe it’s rather on the teleportation side. It’s only logical, considering the lack of witnesses and video evidence with every Number”.
That jerk, putting him on the spot like that. He wasn’t prepared for any theorizing, only going out to stop the villain. Wait what did he just-
“Teleportation is rather rare, right? Do we have any Hero with experience about this?”, Webb asked, rather pensive.
“There’s a Top 50 Hero in the Hokkaido region if I remember”, Tsukauchi spoke up, “The theories Bakugo-kun has brought forward in his notes suggest either a long-distance Quirk or a short one with decent range, but also a great knowledge of the blind spots for any cameras in the area”.
“He’s a smart bastard, that Snatcher, that much is undeniable truth. Does this mean an accomplice?”, Webb looked to the Detective with a serious look.
“Most probably. Or someone manning the deposit location for the victims at least. Considering the kidnapping radius of the Numbers, there must be multiple of them”.
Bakugo was just about to explode. He wanted to shout out that New Natural had something to do with it! They’re the suspicious ones, why haven’t they investigated them yet?! A rigid hand on his shoulder grounded him. Eraser’s eyes were cold yet understanding, as if to say, ‘we need evidence. Trust the rat’.
“With that said, we need to find any clues. Multi- “
“Checking the area for anyone suspicious, I gotcha Detective. I’ll keep an eye out for the cameras and blind spots you mentioned”.
“Thank you. Webb, I need you to interrogate anyone in the area. Gather intel and report back for cross-examination”.
“Yes sir!”, the heroine saluted before leaving the room with Multi.
With a sigh he turned back to the mentor and apprentice duo.
“Eraserhead, you and Bakugo-kun will take the western side of Musutafu. There might still be a chance to intercept him. I will remain here to continue the cross-examinations of the information we have”.
“Makes sense. Does the communicator from previous Numbers still work?”, the off-duty teacher asked.
“It does. Multi and Webb still have theirs as well”.
“Alright. Come on Bakugo, let’s not waste anymore time here”.
The duo kept walking throughout the busy western district. It was now around lunch time, so a lot of salarymen were out and about, shopping for a meal. After observing the way his teacher interrogated people about the case, and trying not to explode the faces of those dismissing the victims as ‘unevolved waste’, Bakugo took out his own notepad and asked the ones around about the Snatcher.
After a few unsuccessful interrogations, he went back to Eraserhead as he motioned his student to come and grab a bite to eat. Basic western sandwiches were on the menu for them, but it fit him just fine. They had a young girl to find after all.
“Is the food that horrible? You’ve been glaring at it for the past 5 minutes”.
“It’s fine”, he quickly replied.
The hero gave a small hum.
“You’ve had something on your mind since we left the Station. If it’s distracting you from the work we do, then I’d best send you back to class. Maybe Nezu still has enough pages and sadism to give the Hell Test to another student”.
The glaring shifted from the food to the hero, almost murderous. It wasn’t effective on Eraser, however. He’d seen small dogs with the same look in their little beady eyes.
“Her name’s Akiho, not ‘Number 33’ or whatever you guys keep referring her as. Ignoring her name makes you just as shitty as the ones referring to her as unevolved”.
After a few minutes, Aizawa sighed and turned to his student. Just like him, the boy had suffered the loss of a dear friend. But he was at a much earlier stage of the grieving process, and all too willing to throw away his personal well-being for it.
“You’re too attached Bakugo”, he said as a matter-of-factly, “Combining that fact with your thorough personality means you’re probable to suffer from this case”.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”, the student’s lowered voice held both fear and cold anger.
“…Do you know why Webb and Multi are still on the case?”.
“Because they’re the only heroes around that care, right?”.
“True, but also because previous heroes simply couldn’t do the job anymore. Slash lost his wife to the Snatcher and eventually burned out, even resigned from heroics entirely. MiMi’s father was taken and her desire to find him means she committed less-than-legal actions to obtain information, hence why she’s now in prison. Even this case is Webb’s first job because she’s lost a cousin, but you can tell she’s throwing herself too much in this. I predict she’ll last a few more months before burnout”.
“But someone has to care! No one else is!”, Bakugo’s voice rose for argument.
“I’m not saying no one on this case cares. All I’m saying is that, by referring to the victims as numbers, it enables us to distance ourselves and give a few precious months before the inevitable despair. Despair leads to resignations when on an unsolvable crime team”.
“This a whole ‘Sprint versus Marathon’ type of deal?”.
Shouta couldn’t help but nod.
“Explosions are quick and come in bursts. Consider this endurance training for your mind”.
“Whatever. Still gonna call her Akiho”, he grumbled.
“Then you’d better learn the rest of their names, Problem Apprentice”.
And another one to be added to the collection.
That’s what Forgotten thought as he placed the unconscious girl on the Processing Room’s soft bed. The job was getting tedious every time, no challenge anymore with the cops being utter buffoons. Oh well, as long as he kept getting his paycheck.
Exiting the area, the man shared a few pleasantries with the doctors and veterinarians before heading to his next task for the day.
He walked through the bland walls effortlessly, knowing his way through the indistinguishable labyrinth, until he arrived at a fancy mahogany door.
On the other side were all the zoo’s investors and high-level staff. Businessmen, politicians, even reputable doctors. Quite the diversity present for the Auction, as always. Forgotten took his seat, placing his feet at the table despite the glare of disapproval from his employer.
“Now then, with our Gatherer having returned, the 33rd Auction will officially begin! The opening bid is at 2 million yen!”, the woman in front spoke loudly.
One of the investors lifted his bid paddle, numbered 15.
“I”, he said in a simple nasally voice, “Truly we must see magnificence once more with an assortment of the beautiful equines of the world! Perhaps to recreate that myth about a winged horse”.
“Current bid at 2 million. Do I hear 3 million?”.
“Here”, another paddle, 2, was raised, “Equines? Bah we already have a few in New Natural. If you want true magnificence, then I suggest the majestic Lung dragon! Surely the good Doctor can attempt a 4th DNA species in the integration. Wouldn’t it be a challenge worthy for him? I can already imagine it flying about the enclosure, drawing awe from young and old alike!”.
Paddle 6 was raised in response. “I raise the bid to 4 million yen. I believe it should be the Doctor’s choice. He has brought us wonderful beings before, who’s to say he won’t have another stroke of genius?”.
Paddle 2 was raised once more. “7 million. I won’t back down from this”.
“The current bid is 7 million yen. Do I hear 8 million?”, the auctioneer spoke up.
And the show kept going for nearly an hour, the investors bidding back and forth in an attempt to see their own dream creature come to life within this Zoo. In the end, the bid was won at 15 million yen, with the young girl’s fate sealed as an eastern dragon. This one would need a mix of lizard, avian, stag and maybe lion. Forgotten could already imagine his shopping list being quite annoying to get.
He barely looked up from his phone as he heard the distinct click of heels in the empty corridor.
“Forgotten, a word?”, the Owner demanded.
“Look if this is about the deadline for capturing the necessary pieces of animals for #33- “.
“We have enough reserve DNA to start the process”, she interrupted, “We need you to find our runaway”.
“Quite a tall order. It could be on the other side of Japan for all we know”, he raised a brow.
“Hence why our Marketing department is readying a post for our social medias as we speak. Why do the job ourselves when we can get the gullible public do it for us, right?”, she smirked.
“So what, you want me to go exploring aimlessly?”.
“If that’s what you refer to it as, then yes. And you won’t be entirely aimless since you’ll have access to any leads we get through our phones”.
“Do I at least get vacation days for the extra work?”.
“Just go already Forgotten. You’re late on this shift”.
“Sure thing Owner”, the man walked away as he playfully smirked.
The clock hit 4 in the afternoon, the sky starting to slightly tint orange. The students were finished with classes for the day. How unfortunate. Nezu had quite enjoyed their looks of terror upon the inevitable realization that they wouldn’t succeed his test. He even took a page from Aizawa’s books and said the one in last place would be expulsed from the school. Aah, the horror upon hearing that make him snicker and fill his sadism meter for the month.
Now it was teatime with guests, the small owlcat Tofu and the student Koda. The two were busy chatting with each other, with Koda writing furiously the translation for key words on pieces of blank paper. Some were simple greetings, others included more complicated sentences.
Despite the constant headaches the young hero seemed to be getting, he was quite dedicated to helping a complete strange animal. Good to know there were still kind humans out there, Nezu thought.
“How about a break, Koda-kun? Would you like a refill of tea? I have a few soothing blends for headaches if that’s what you’d prefer”.
That seemed to break the gentle giant out of his zone, shyly nodding and signing “That would be much appreciated, Principal Nezu, thank you”.
One cup of tea later, just as he was about to resume his work, his cellphone rang. A buzz, another, and another; incessant. Looks like the notifications for Class 1-A’s chatroom were going off. Something interesting must’ve happened. Koda opened the chatroom and froze, both hybrids in the room picking up on it.
Tofu chittered, curious.
“Is there something wrong, Koda-kun?”.
“N-New Natural has made a social media post…”, he shakily signed before handing his phone to the stoat principal.
Sure enough, the 1-A students were going back and forth with each other, so he had to scroll up a bit before arriving at the link he wanted.
‘Missing New Natural star, Tofu the Owlcat somewhere in Japan?’, was the flashy title of the newspaper. Scrolling down further, Nezu saw the video associated with the zoo’s official account.
“As you may have noticed, recently Tofu was not seen in his enclosure by any of our guests. We deeply regret to inform you that our dearest resident was taken by one of our staff members. Unfortunately, we do not have any information on his whereabouts, hence why we are asking the public’s help. Please, help us locate our Tofu. If you have any information, you can contact us using our official media accounts or the phone number displayed on our webpage. A reward will be offered to anyone that manages to find our owlcat!”.
So, they were finally making their move huh? Looks like things will escalate soon, especially if UA gets in their sights for having snowy white feathers on campus grounds.
“It would seem this just got more serious, hasn’t it…”, the chimera mumbled.