Ch. 4: Noh Place for a Hero
"Okay, in you go!"
Seigo felt a shove on his upper back as he was forced into his holding cell, quirk suppressing cuffs still around his wrists. Though, considering what he could do, they probably were more than a little scared if he still needed the cuffs, full time guards and cameras watching him.
'I guess I'm not even allowed to use the toilet in private,'Seigo thought as he looked around the small cell that was nothing more than a small bed with a thin sheet and pillow, a toilet, and a sink to wash his hands. The walls were a sterile white with no windows to the outside and only a solid steel cell door as his only means of leaving the room. 'I'm honestly curious what the plan is for me to shower while I'm here."
With nothing really to do, Seigo dropped his pants enough to use the toilet before crash landing onto the bed. The very stiff, very lumpy, very uncomfortable cluster of cloth, stuffing, and metal they want to call a "bed". No blanket meant all he had was the sheet and the spare clothes he was given for warmth while he slept and a pillow that certainly belonged with this bed. In the trash. 'I've slept on the ground, in trees, on rooftops, and even a bed inside a dumpster once but this… this is somehow worse than all of that. It must be how they break people into confessing to all their crimes… like I'm not already doing that?'
Though even with the less than optimal conditions, Seigo could feel his body getting heavy with the exhaustion of the day finally taking hold of him.
It was already afternoon when Naomasa finally returned to the police office after his all-nighter with Noh. After speaking with a few officers that happened across his path, the detective came to his workplace for the next several hours: The interrogation room that was used the previous day but had one difference compared to then: Noh wasn't there yet.
"You're early," Naomasa looked to his left towards the observation room to see the emasicated form of Toshinori Yagi grinning at him.
"I could say the same to you. The interrogation isn't until five today, Toshi," Naomasa quipped as he walked over to his friend for a handshake that was accepted by Yagi.
"Well, I've had a busy day so I've haven't really anything better to do right now, so I figured I'd come early," Naomasa did a quick math check in his head and realized how strange that sounded. He just got up himself not two hours ago.
"Did you get any sleep?" Naomasa asked incredulously as they moved the conversation into the much more secure observation room and shutting the door behind them. It was still empty of everyone from the early morning but he knew it would change soon enough.
"Not really, though that's nothing really new. With the possibility of All For One being alive as well as what the kid knows, I'm finding it hard to not be worrying about what may be happening."
"Yes, but in regards to your secret, it's not like he's blabbed it all over the news. And even if he did, who was going to believe him over All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Number One Hero?" Naomasa pointed out, though from the grimace of Yagi's face. He wasn't feeling very assured. "As for All For One, Shigaraki and Kurogiri might just be using the threat of his existence to scare people to work for them. We can't even be sure he's really alive yet."
"And that's what worries me," Yagi responded, "It's not that he is or isn't alive that's the problem. It's that we can't confirm which is the truth. If he's dead, good riddance. If he's alive, we need to find him and stop him before he causes more problems." Naomasa is about to respond but a door opening behind them silences him.
"With the condition you're in, can you say you're even in any shape to go another round with him?" Another voice asks, belonging to the ever stoned-faced Sir Nighteye, glare looking particularly frosty today. At his side was the groggy face of Gran Torino who looked like he was just pulled from his bed. He didn't even bother with the costume today, just coming in a button up, some pants and loafers. He stifled a yawn before taking a seat near the front of the room.
All Might didn't respond, just looking at Nighteye as the two had an impromptu staring contest. From what Naomasa heard, they didn't talk to each other at all last night during the entire interrogation and even with his limited knowledge as to why, he could tell that neither was exactly pleased with the situation for their own reasons.
"You two going to just stand there and stare lovingly into each other's eyes or are we going to discuss the elephant in the room that we didn't get to last night?!" Gran Torino finally broke the tension in the room with the delicacy of a runaway semi-truck full of flaming gasoline as he shouted at the two heroes. "I get that you two have your own issues with each other but deal with it and move on or stop wasting time with it and focus!"
Naomasa thought he heard a slight exhale of air from Nighteye like he was about to start chuckling but it swiftly passed. "You're right. The situation is bigger than us." Nighteye took a seat next to Gran Torino before he continued. "If nothing else, we need to confirm if the villains who attacked Tai Saichirou were really on orders for All For One. We should start by determining if this is true and All For One still lives. The boy may know more though I'm doubtful he does in this regard.
"There's also another problem we need to address." Yagi added, "Your quirk only works if the person knows what they're saying is a lie. The boy may have said that he remembers the recording but if he's misremembering this, we wouldn't be able to know."
"Well, about that," Naomasa began, "After the interrogation, we managed to get a search warrant for the storage facility that Noh was using through Tai's sister, Yuko Saichirou."
"You have the recording, then?" Gran Torino caught on.
"The recording as well as all the files that Noh hadn't already delivered to the police in the past from his heists. He even had a computer and a flash drive, the files of which we're trying to dig up. Turns out he was spot on with the contents of the message but there are several things that worry me, such as the information in the files we found on the flash drive. I've got Officer Tamakawa preparing copies of the report for you all though it'll be far from comprehensive. Even what I got was only the most important bits."
"It would probably be best to wait for the report then," Another voice reasoned, causing everyone to look towards the door to see the smiling face of Principal Nezu and the grumpier face of Eraserhead. Nezu took a seat on the other side of Gran Torino as he spoke, "After all, it would be better to have this discussion once everyone is up to date with the facts."
"I'm surprised to see you came back for more, Eraser. I would have thought you'd prefer sleeping at this time of day," Yagi commented, only to receive a glare from the sleep-deprived hero.
"After everything I learned yesterday that I was, understandably, kept in the dark about, I'm not really all that interested in being shut out of the loop again. Not after hearing what my boss is planning anyway."
"What are you planning, sir?" Yagi asked, now concerned. Nezu may have been the smartest guy in the room in every room he was in, every minute of every day but that didn't mean that he didn't have wild and crazy ideas that left others… slightly terrified about. It was only the fact they worked that inspired any confidence in them.
"We'll see if I'm even able to implement it. I won't know until later today though as I'm waiting for a call. When I'm given the go-ahead, you'll be one of the first to know! You aren't officially part of the staff yet." the principal said with a wide smile. Naomasa, however, thought of something he didn't want to think was true.
"Don't tell me-"
"Oh, would you look at that, it's almost time for the show to start!" Nezu, quickly changed the subject, causing Naomasa to look at his watch and see it was almost five. Noh was currently in the process of being seated in the room, just in time.
"Best drop it for now," Eraser advised from his seat next to Nezu, "You've got your own problems to deal with. Just let me worry about Principal Nezu here."
Naomasa nodded as he put the thought away for now. It was an unlikely idea anyway. As he walked out the door towards the interrogation room, Tamakawa was racing down the hall with papers in hand.
"Here's what we've been able to gather from the files in the storage facility, Detective. We've also found that the flash drive had more info about the Shie Hassaikai, not just the girl. I'm sorry but we'll need more time before we can have a more in-depth summary of the evidence."
"Good work, Tamakawa," Naomasa praised as he took a copy of the three-page report. "Make sure the gentlemen in there all get copies. They'll need to be kept up to date with this case."
"There's also the matter of this," Tamakawa pulled out from the stack of papers a green journal, one that read, "Quirk Analysis". "We believe he was studying the quirks of heroes and villains alike to have some sort of tactical edge against his opponents. The notes are also incredibly detailed with some frankly frightening levels of accuracy in some cases."
'He was studying quirks? This doesn't look good.'
"I'll have to give it a read later but thank you for the intel, officer," Naomasa put the journal in his coat pocket. Best to keep it out of sight for now.
"Sir," Tamakawa saluted before walking into the observation room, leaving Naomasa to finally enter the interrogation room. Noh looked… more rested but that wasn't saying a whole lot.
"I wasn't aware that torture was still legal in this country…" Seigo spoke with a groggy mumble, like he didn't actually get any sleep.
"It's not," Naomasa replied as sat down and started to skim the report. Mostly things he knew already. More for the other's benefit than his really.
"Then what was that torture device you made me sleep on?" Seigo countered as his sleepy grin had that air of cockiness from yesterday.
"It called a bed," Naomasa deadpanned as he set the report off to one side of the table.
"I've slept in beds that people have thrown away. Is that where you get yours?"
"I'm not sure. Never asked," Naomasa then shifted in his chair to lean forward towards Seigo. "We've received a warrant to search the storage garage that Tai Saichirou was using that's now owned by his sister. I've got good news and bad news for you: Bad news is that we've already been through the contents of the filing cabinet, the flash drive, and are in the process of extracting the files from the computer you kept in there so we know mostly everything about what you've learned through your escapades. Good news is that we can confirm that you've been honest with us with solid evidence instead of with my quirk alone so we feel comfortable that you'll continue cooperating."
"Speaking of cooperating, what exactly am I getting out of it? You weren't very clear on that," Naomasa paused for a little at the question, reluctant to say too much as even he wasn't sure what the Chief had planned for him as well as whatever Nezu was doing.
"We're currently pushing for a lighter sentence to your crimes since you've been working with us. We don't know yet what exactly you'll get as it's still being worked out but depending on how much you're willing to help then we might be able to reduce it to just probation at worst. Though we'll have to wait and see on that front."
Seigo nodded, understanding the terms. "So, if you already know everything, what exactly do you need to ask me?"
"There was something on a flash drive that caused no small amount of concern when it was found," Naomasa grabbed the report before flipping to the last page and showing it to Seigo as he pointed to the specific line.
"A girl named Eri. Quirk: Rewind. Allows her to rewind living people back to a previous state. Could de-age a person or reverse evolution itself. Not only that," Naomasa pulled the journal out of his coat pocket and set it down, startling Seigo as he recognized it immediately. "We've also found these journals hidden between your mattresses. This one contains very detailed records of quirks used by heroes and villains. Does Eri have a page?" Seigo visibly hesitated before finally relenting.
"Page 108," Seigo nervously spoke.
'There's something fishy about this journal. Why is he nervous though?'
Naomasa quickly flipped through the journal to page 108 and found Eri's page. Though he wasn't exactly ready for the first two words at the top of the page.
"Eri Saichirou?"
"I can explain," Seigo was staring at the table in front of him, avoiding eye contact.
"Oh, I bet you can. The question is, do we have to add kidnapping charges as well?"
"She was being cut up and experimented on!" Seigo fired back angrily, catching Naomasa off guard. Though the shouting was surprising, it wasn't the most surprising thing that he saw. For a brief second… was Seigo's eyes red? "That's not even getting into the worst thing Overhaul did to her!"
"Why don't we just hear the full story. From the files, we gather that you eventually pieced together where the Shie Hassaikai were but something I didn't ask was why you were only targeting them. I thought you were looking for Shigaraki."
"I was but information isn't cheap, especially when All For One is the target of discussion. Drug dealers just happened to have the money I needed to get anything."
"So, you used the money you stole from the Shie Hassaikai and spent it on information brokers?" Naomasa confirmed as Seigo nodded. "So, you were hoping to hit the motherlode at their base of operations but ended up with something else entirely. Tell me everything."
Seigo nodded as he began recalling all the events of that day.
"I was thirteen at the time,"
It was an early dawn spring morning for Tokyo as the early birds were waking up to start their day. One such early bird, decked in his full black Noh outfit with his mask off was walking down the street, passing uncaring civilians as he walked.
"And now for your early morning report," Seigo looked over his shoulder to see a television playing at the sidewalk cafe he was passing. "Last night saw the arrest of three men suspected of committing a robbery of a-"
"Ugh, more villain activity," Izuku turned to see a couple enjoying a morning coffee, with the man looking annoyed, "What's with people these days? Why is all the scum in the world suddenly thinking they can just do whatever they want?"
"I know, right?" The woman responded, "I wish the criminals would just crawl in a hole and leave the rest of us alone."
"Let's just hope they didn't have any bastard spawn. Can't have them making more criminals to make the world worse."
"Here, here."
"Scum, huh? Yeah, I guess all us criminals are," Seigo thought to himself before resuming on his path. Even if his goal is noble, his method was illegal. He walked into a nearby alley and looked around. "Nobody around. Good."Seigo pulled out a rock and launched it as high as he could before warping to it. Before gravity could pull him down, he threw it again, repeating the process till he was on the roof of the tallest building around. Seigo warped a pair of binoculars. He walked over to the ledge facing the street and peered through them towards his target.
A mansion by Tokyo standards that seemed as quiet as the buildings around it but he knew differently. This is where the dealers he's been after for the last two years were hiding. According to the info gathered by a very nosy worker he targeted last time, this is where the Shie Hassaikai had their headquarters. Now that he knew where to go, he now had a new problem:
How the hell does he get inside?
Even though it looked harmless and was still pretty dark out, Seigo could see movement outside. Lots of movement. He would need a way to get around all of it. But how the hell would he do that? Too many eyes roaming around and if the last job was any indication, they were not the same idiots he'd been running circles around for over a year and a half. They were serious and they were pissed with him and wanted him dead. He'd been scoping this place out for almost three weeks and still had no clue how to get in. But this is the score he needed. The Shie Hassaikai needed money for something so that meant they had money to spare.
As Seigo pondered how to get in, he saw one member leaving the premises walking down the street towards where Seigo was standing, forcing him to duck down, lest he be seen by him looking up for a second. Seigo looked through the binoculars to get a clear look at the guy's face. He looked equal parts distressed and annoyed and seemed to be ranting to himself if him running his mouth was any indication. He was dressed like one of the other Yakuza in the hideout with a white suit and red undershirt and expensive looking shoes.
'An errand boy? This might be important. Better see what he's up to. He might even be my ticket in.'
Deciding on the best course of action, Seigo warped off his costume and in the next instant, warped on some street clothes that made him look like a regular hoodlum that no one would pay any attention to. He then looked to the nearby alley next to the building and saw no one who would see him warp down there so he quickly dropped a rock and waited for it to fall, never keeping an eye off his target for more than a second. He quickly warped down and turned on Bio Scanner as he followed his prey from a sizable distance, never too close that he couldn't take a turn or quickly look at something else. Though like many a person, the Yakuza man never once seemed to notice he was being followed as he entered…
'A 24-hour mall? What the hell is he buying?'
As Seigo followed him into the store, he was quickly led to where the man was. "Kawaii Hawaii" was the name of the store and Seigo took one look around and felt like he was in the wrong place. Girls toys, dolls, play sets, stuffed animals and anything that was ever cute and cuddly was surrounding him in the brightest colored store in the world. He quickly shook off the embarrassment of being in such an establishment as he remembered why he was there. He looked towards the counter to see the Yakuza talking to the clerk. Seigo needed to blend in and walked down one of the aisles and started "pursuing" the selections as he listened in.
"Super Princess Ranger Force toys are in aisle three, sir," the clerk spoke with a jovial and friendly voice as she helped the Yakuza man. Seigo looked down to see the shelf marked 3-4.
'Aisle 3, section 4. Oh no, that's going to send him my way!'
"Hmm? Ya say something, mumbles?" The Yakuza was now standing over Seigo, causing to nearly jump out of his shoes.
"EEP!" 'Did I just say that out loud?! "Nothing, nothing! Don't mind me! I'm just trying to find something for my little sister's birthday tomorrow!" Seigo quickly lied to save face, hoping the Yakuza didn't pick out anything specific.
"Whatever, just move so I can grab that toy and leave." Seigo quickly took a step back to allow the man to grab a massive looking doll off the shelf but then noticed that he was now standing in the man's shadow. So, the second no one was looking, Seigo slipped into the man's shadow.
'The perfect way in!'
"Ya got lucky… kid…?" The man looked around, complete baffled as to how the kid he was talking to had disappeared when he looked away. "The hell?"
"Is something wrong, sir?" The clerk from earlier walked up, seeing the man's confusion.
"Wasn't there a kid here a second ago?"
"I thought I saw someone but…" She looked around, just as confused. "I don't know where they went," The two looked around for a few tense seconds before the Yakuza shrugged.
"Must've scared him and he bolted. Whatever, I got what I came for," The Yakuza man and the clerk walked to the register and checked out the doll.
'Sucker!' Seigo thought as he wished he could laugh while in this guy's shadow but all he could do was hold on for the ride at this point.
The Yakuza man and his still unnoticed passenger walked back towards the compound through the early morning streets, walking up to press the doorbell.
"Who's there?" a deep voice came through the speaker.
"It me, ya dipshit. Open up!"
"Password?"
"How bout 'kiss my ass', is that the password?"
"Who pissed in your cereal this morning?!"
"You're not the one being sent to buy little girl's toys under orders from the new boss at seven in the freakin' mornin', now are ya?!"
"Fine, fine, no need to be a dick about it!"
"Well, if you opened the friggin door, this wouldn't be a conversation we'd be havin'."
'These two are great together.'
The gate finally opened at Seigo could finally get a good look around. Even this early in the morning, the Yakuza base was swarming with members who all looked tough but didn't seem too threatening on their own. No, it was just that there was a small army of them that was the problem.
'At least I can make a quick exit with ease.'
The man he was currently following walked inside the mansion, revealing it's more traditional appearance, like Seigo had stepped about four hundred years into the past. The man continued to walk until he stopped at a small opening in the wall that had nothing but a flower vase sitting on it. He moved the vase and started pushing down the wooden boards in sequence, causing the wall to shift and reveal a secret passageway leading underground.
'Really? Just how big is this place?' Seigo could only watch in awe as he was pulled down the passageway by his unaware carrier. The passageway seemed to branch off into multiple directions, almost like a maze where they only way to get anywhere would be to already know where you're going. Thankfully, his driver seemed to at least have that much going for him as he didn't hesitate to make specific turns down the incredibly clean passageway. Seigo's view wasn't the best from the floor but he could still see that whoever was cleaning this place made sure to clean the ceiling. Eventually, they arrived at a white door, as clean and sterile as the surrounding area. The Yakuza looked around nervously as if he was waiting for something to happen before he knocked on the door.
"Hey, Eri! I'm here with a gift from your dad!" The Yakuza spoke into the door with the closest he was going to get to a gentle voice. Though there was no response from the other side, the man opened the door after five seconds and Seigo had to suppress the need to hurl.
The room reeked of cleaner and bleach as it was clear that this place was kept just as clean as the rest of the complex, if not, more so. The room had only a bed, a nightstand, and a nightlight in the whole room with only one overhead light to illuminate the room. But that was only the kicker. Sitting on a bed with the world's most vacant stare was a red-eyed little girl with long, gray hair, a small horn growing out of head and bandages running across all four of her limbs. She wore a white hospital gown that looked like it could use being replaced. She couldn't be older than five from what Seigo could tell. With the light forcing the man's shadow behind him, Seigo quickly exited the shadow, quietly took a step back and entered the shadow of the door before anyone saw he was there.
"Here's the doll I was asked to pick up for you. We hope you like it," The man said as he set the doll down on the nightstand before quickly leaving the room, leaving an emerging Seigo alone with "Eri". He exited the shadow and warped his mask on quickly as he was now in enemy territory and couldn't afford someone seeing his face and pulled the hood of his street hoodie to cover his hair. As the door closed, the girl finally noticed him and reacted with quiet shock, forcing Seigo to quickly put a finger up to his mouth to tell her to remain quiet. He quietly walked up to her and knelt down at the side of her bed as she looked about ready to bolt.
"Don't be scared. Everything will be okay," Seigo quietly reassured the girl, who just looked at him with fear in her eyes.
"You can't be here. If he finds you, he'll kill you," her voice was terrified though now at least Seigo could tell she was afraid for him rather than because of him.
"Who, Overhaul?" she nodded quickly but froze up when Seigo touched her bandaged arm. "What happened to you?"
"Daddy has to take my blood so that he can clean the world."
"Clean the world?" Seigo could feel his eyebrow shoot up at the odd choice of words.
"Though when he takes too much, he has to take me apart and put me back together again."
"..." Seigo could feel his rage building from hearing this and he was glad that his face was covered so that Eri couldn't see him. Overhaul was doing what? Using his own daughter for experiments. But what was this "take apart and put back together" she was talking about? What did she mean? How did that work? 'I don't suppose it really matters now. He needs to be stopped.' Seigo took a deep breath to calm himself, lest he kick the door down and started trying to tear the place apart looking for Overhaul.
Bio Scanner was going off now as he could sense a threat moving his way… though to be fair, everyone but the girl was a threat.
"Sorry about this, but I need you to stay where I send you and don't move. I'll be there soon," She looked at him with a confused look on her face before she was warped away towards a hideout he'd been using for this job. Abandoned warehouses seemed to be plentiful these days. After that, Seigo quickly made a shadow double of himself. "Take care of her till I get back," He ordered, as the shadow warped away and he swiftly moved to return to the door's shadow just in time for the door to open.
"Eri, it's time for-" a voice came through but it stopped and was replaced by a man quickly running into the room. He wore a green coat with a purple fluff collar with a suit and tie underneath. What stuck out most was the plague doctor's mask attached to his face and his gloved hands.
"Overhaul sir, is something wrong-"
"Where's Eri?" He said with a coldness that might as well have frozen the room. Seigo could see him pulling a glove off. The Yakuza grunt from earlier walked in and looked around.
'She was right here a mom-" He didn't finish his sentence as he was reduced to a spray of blood and gore instantly. Seigo nearly fell out of the shadow in shock but was able to keep it together and not blow his cover. However, just as fast as he'd been reduced to mist, the man was put back together just as quickly, leaving him looking as he did before his top half exploded.
"Was that necessary?!" a voice from the hallway cried out, clearly exasperated with the turn of events. "Couldn't it have waited till we got Eri back first?!"
"Get Bloodhound ready. We need to find where she went," Overhaul stated calmly, clearly not paying any attention to the now traumatized look of the grunt he just destroyed and reassembled in an instant. "Chronostasis, you're in charge. I need the lab ready for Eri when I return,"
"Right," as Overhaul left the room, another man in a white hooded robe and another doctor's mask entered the room and took a look around the room, looking for something. "Maybe we should have invested in cameras. Would have fixed the problem before it became one."
Seigo saw his opportunity, with the man's back to him and the grunt shambling out of the room, he quickly slipped into his shadow without being seen.
"Hmm?!" Chronostasis looked behind him quickly only to see nothing but an empty corner of the room. "Could've sworn I sensed something…" Chronostasis became cautious, almost paranoid, before walking out of the near empty room. Seigo could finally take stock of what happened now that he was being taken to "the lab".
'Eri said that if Overhaul would take too much blood, he'd have to take her apart and put her back together,' the image of Overhaul reducing his subordinate to the consistency of chunky salsa before putting him back together in the next instant ran through his mind. 'So that's what she meant. He would literally take her apart and put her back together… THAT MONSTER!'
Seigo knew he had to find out why. Why does he need to do this to Eri, a small child? On arrival in the lab, Seigo could tell it was just him and Chronostasis now. He waited until the Yakuza logged into the computer. Once he did, he popped out of the shadow, summoned a wooden bat, and cracked it across Chrono's head, knocking him out before the Yakuza could even defend himself. He quickly searched him for a cellphone and found it in his back pocket under the robe. He then moved to bind his hands with some chains he warped to his hand from his base. Seigo than warped a calling card, a pen and some tape.
'Big fight with the Shie Hassaikai going down today at 4313 Kairi St. in the next half hour bring all the heroes you can before they get away. Their boss Overhaul can deconstruct and reconstruct anything he touches with his bare hands.' He then taped the card to the unconscious Chrono before he warped him away to the nearest police station front steps.
"There, that should provide some backup. Let's hope they're not corrupt too," Seigo sighed as he locked the door and began to search around. If they could track Eri, he didn't have time to waste. He turned his attention to the computer and quickly scanned through the files. He warped a flash drive to his hand and quickly copied all the files on it to the flash drive. He then noticed one that stuck out.
'Expendables?' He opened the file to see five more files inside, all but the last listed with a name.
Shin Nemoto, Rikiya Katsukame, Kendo Rappa, Hekiji Tengai and the last file simply named "Recruitment". 'Why do these guys have their own files? And why does Overhaul need them for? He's calling them "Expendables" so they're only purpose would be to…' He quickly opened Namoto's file to see what was in it. It listed a brief history, Overhaul's opinion on his loyalty as well as his quirk. Confession: If he asks someone a question, they are physically forced to admit the truth. 'That could be bad… if he asks my name or about my quirks, I could be in deep trouble but there must be a way around it. No quirk is flawless," He quickly looked through the quirks of others. Katsukame: Vitality Stealing: Can inhale the life force of whoever he touches with his hands and grow stronger. 'Can't let him touch me huh," Rappa: Strongarm: Can move his shoulders at extreme speeds. 'With enough speed, he could probably punch straight through a person. Have to be careful with him.' Tengai: Barrier: Can create a nearly-indestructible barrier around anything within fifty meters of him. 'If I can warp inside the barrier, I can remove him easily. Glad to see me and this asshole have a common hobby of analyzing quirks. Nothing on "Bloodhound" though... must not be "expendable". The recruitment file must be people he's yet to recruit so I can check it out later. Now… where's Eri's file?'
He found it under a file named: "Project: Evolution".
Subject: Eri
Quirk: Rewind. Can rewind living people back to previous states. Her blood and cells produce the same effect.
Can rewind humans on an evolutionary scale to before quirks, making the affected quirkless.
Seigo had to reread the line five times as he took in what Overhaul was planning. He was planning to use Eri's blood to turn people quirkless. He could feel his anger building but he swallowed it and kept reading.
By forging her blood into bullets, we can sell the quirk destroying bullets to villains and sell an antidote serum to the heroes. Since Eri's the source, they'll have no choice but to capitulate to our will and the Yakuza will be free to rise again.
'Like hell you will! I won't let you hurt her for your own selfish desires of a world where you alone hold all the power!'
Seigo didn't have another flash drive to send to the police but that wasn't going to stop him. He was about to send the whole computer before he stopped himself.
'What if they wanted to use her too? Overhaul's way of quirk bullets might not be limited to only him. With the ability to destroy quirks… villains would quickly become a non-issue…' Seigo stared at the computer for a good minute before deciding against sending the computer. Even if he destroyed Eri's file, he wouldn't be able to completely destroy it. They'd be able to find it again. Instead, he warped the computer back to his storage hideout. It'd be safer there.
Seigo decided he'd found all he'd need and quickly warped away to where he'd sent Eri.
Naomasa listened to Seigo's story as he took a drink of water and set it down. "So that's why we didn't receive any info on Eri? Because you were afraid that we would use Eri to make quirk destroying bullets like Overhaul to wipe out villain's quirks?"
"No matter what you say, you are not everyone," Seigo began, fire in his eyes as he spoke with a calm passion, "You are not in charge. You are not able to decide what happens to her if she was taken in by the police. Can you say, with full confidence, that there isn't anyone in the entire government that wouldn't kill for that level of security? That they wouldn't kill for the ability to render villains quirkless with nothing more than a shot in the arm?"
Naomasa knew Seigo was right. There would always be those who were so fearful for their own safety that they'd take any absolutes. Any solution was on the table if it worked as well as this one. A world where villains live in fear, not just of heroes but of the police as well is a world that the government would salivate over. It could even allow them to prevent another All For One from ever rising. All it would cost would be one little girl's freedom which the government would surely not care about.
And then there was Overhaul's actions. Killing and reviving the girl over and over again for her blood. "Monster" might have been too kind a word to describe him.
"I'll concede your point there but that doesn't change the fact that we basically had to walk into a bad situation with little intel,"
"There wouldn't be enough time for you to go through it all anyway. You've had half a day already and you guys still going through my stuff. You had less than half an hour that day before the fight started." Another fair point. The boy knew how to make his points, that much was certain.
"Do you trust heroes?" Seigo seemed caught off guard by the question, but he quickly answered it with a smile that seemed both sad and happy.
"When it comes to just protecting Eri and I, I do trust heroes. Everyone might have their own reasons but if nothing else, they're here to help," his smile quickly faded, "I was even hoping once I got old enough. I could leave Noh behind and join a hero school myself though I guess I got so blinded by what I was doing that I didn't notice I was shooting myself in the foot. It's just when it comes to Eri and her quirk that I start having problems with others. Her quirk is too strong and can be misused by others, not just Eri. If her blood didn't carry the same power as the rest of her, we wouldn't be having this conversation and I'd have handed her over without issue."
"To join most hero schools with your current living conditions of homeless, no guardian, and no legal means of supporting yourself as well as no records of education, it would have been nearly impossible without someone sponsoring you as a recommended student."
'..." Seigo didn't say anything to that. He knew it was impossible but still wanted to go for it anyway.
"Why did you want to be a hero?"
"I always got this feeling watching heroes at work. Of being in awe of them and wanting to help people whenever I could. I wanted to be a hero like All Might, someone who could face danger with a smile and save everyone. I could never explain where it was coming from though or why I felt that way…" Seigo spoke, a sad tone taking over his words. Naomasa's quirk hadn't gone off once yet so he could tell the boy in front of him genuinely wanted to be a hero.
'Just like the file on Izuku Midoriya suggested. The boy's mother had stated his love of heroes, All Might most of all, when she was filing a missing person report. It would seem those feelings still existed even if the memories are gone. I wonder If Nezu is smiling right now,' He quickly put the thought away and refocused on the matter at hand. Nothing he could do about it right now.
"I think we may have gotten a bit off-topic. Let's discuss the confrontation between you and Overhaul," Naomasa looked at his watch to see it was a quarter to six.
Seigo nodded before continuing.