BONUS CHAPTER: 1000PS
A little change in the character. Along with some sneaky stuff. You gonna love this chapter
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The room was still tense from the detective's arrival.
Kiyomasa hadn't moved. He stood between Tsukauchi and the rest of the room like a wall in a suit.
"Detective," Kiyomasa said, adjusting his glasses with one hand. "I don't think this is a good time for any questions."
"So why don't you go back to your little station, and leave my daughter and her friend alone?"
He took a step closer.
"Or do you want me to do this the hard way?"
The detective stared back. He didn't step back. His eyes were locked on Kiyomasa's, studying him, as if trying to figure out where the line was drawn and whether or not it was worth crossing.
Akira watched from the bed, impressed despite himself.
I knew Kiyomasa was a cold guy. But damn. I never thought he would threaten a police detective straight to his face. The man just looked at a cop and said 'try me'. Respect.
The stare-off lasted a few seconds. Neither blinked. Neither moved.
Then Tsukauchi spoke.
"Mr. Yaoyorozu." His voice was even. "I understand your concern. But I am not here on a social visit."
He reached into his overcoat and pulled out a small notepad. He flipped it open.
"I need to ask questions regarding the extensive force used by Akira Shuzenji during the USJ incident."
The room was silent yet again.
Honoka's eyes narrowed.
Momo held her mother's hand.
Tsukauchi continued, reading from his notes.
"From the footage recovered from the USJ's internal cameras, and from preliminary questioning of the apprehended villains, we have confirmed the following."
He looked up from the notepad. Directly at Akira.
"During the course of the incident, Akira Shuzenji engaged approximately thirty-four villains across multiple zones of the facility. Of those, at least twenty-one sustained what can only be classified as grievous bodily harm. Severed limbs. Cauterized wounds. Third-degree burns across large portions of their bodies."
He paused.
"He could have ended most of those fights without the need for such serious injury. Several of the villains were low-level. Street thugs with minor quirks. Yet the force applied was consistent across all engagements — maximum, and in some cases, excessive."
Tsukauchi closed the notepad.
"Even accounting for self-defence, which is certainly a valid argument given the circumstances, the level of force used opens the door to several potential charges."
He listed them like items on a receipt.
"Aggravated assault. Potentially, attempted manslaughter."
The words hit the room like a hammer.
Momo's breath caught. She looked at Akira, her eyes full of concern.
Reika held Momo tightly, reassuring her that the adults got this.
Kiyomasa's jaw clenched. His eyes were furious. But he held his tongue. He knew the law. He knew what words could do in a room where a detective was already building a case.
Akira, for his part, said nothing. He just watched. Studying the detective the same way the detective was studying him.
He's not wrong, Akira thought. I didn't hold back. I chose not to. That was the point.
But he didn't say that.
Not yet.
But a certain mother had other plans.
Honoka stepped forward.
Her motherly softness was gone. Like someone had flipped a switch and replaced the worried parent with the woman who used to run into burning buildings and tell villains to sit down while beating the shit out of them.
Recovery Girl, watching from behind, whispered under her breath.
"He's dead."
Green flames began to radiate from Honoka's body. Not much. Just enough. A soft glow that pulsed along her arms and shoulders, making the air around her shimmer with heat.
She was no longer Honoka Shuzenji. This was Emberheart.
She stepped directly in front of the detective. Close enough that the green glow reflected off his badge.
"Then we will take you and your department to court," she said flatly. "How about that?"
Tsukauchi hesitated.
He knew his facts. Everyone in this room knew the facts. Even if the police had a solid case — and honestly, the footage alone gave them one — it didn't matter. Shuzenji Enterprises had the strongest legal firm in the country, under them. Not just corporate lawyers or the intellectual property teams. The full spectrum. Criminal defence. Constitutional law. Media management. International litigation.
Going to court against the Shuzenji family wasn't a legal battle. It was a siege. And Tsukauchi wasn't sure his department had the budget, the time, or the political capital to survive one.
But he did not plan to back down.
"Wow, wow, wow. Let's relax here."
A new voice broke through the tension of the room.
Everyone turned to the door.
Nezu stood in the doorway, one paw raised like always. His beady eyes swept the room, assessing the situation.
He strolled in, his tiny shoes clicking on the hospital floor, and positioned himself between Honoka and the detective.
"Let's relax, Honoka."
He then looked up at Tsukauchi with a smile that was friendly on the surface and razor-sharp underneath.
"Detective Tsukauchi is not an evil man. The man is simply doing his job. Right?"
Tsukauchi looked down at the principal. He recognized the play immediately. The rat was giving him an off-ramp. A way to de-escalate without losing face.
He nodded slowly. "That's correct."
"See?" Nezu clapped his paws together, like a teacher settling a classroom dispute. "Just a man doing his duty. Nothing personal. No need for flames, Honoka."
Honoka's green glow dimmed. But didn't fully disappear. Her eyes stayed locked on the detective.
Nezu turned back to the room, trying to find a solution.
"So, how about this?" He looked at Akira. "Akira, why don't you take two days off. Rest. Recover. Spend time with your family." He turned to Tsukauchi. "And after those two days, we can all sit down and discuss this properly. At my office."
It was a reasonable offer, but that was not enough for Tsukauchi.
"Principal Nezu." His voice was respectful, but firm. "I don't care about neutral ground or two-day breaks. What that student did is enough to warrant an arrest. Right now. Today."
The room tensed again.
Tsukauchi continued, undeterred.
"And I'm afraid the HPSC will be involved in this case as well. Given the nature and the power of the quirk, along with the severity of injuries inflicted, this falls under their jurisdiction."
The mention of the HPSC landed differently in this room than it would have in most.
Akira's expression didn't change. But his mind did.
The HPSC. He almost wanted to laugh. Those people again.
Honoka's jaw tightened. She knew what the HPSC was capable of. She'd healed their agents. She'd seen the files. She knew the kinds of "special jobs" they had for people with powerful quirks and violent tendencies.
They've been wanting to get their hands on Akira since that day in the mountains, she thought. Nezu rejected them once. Now they have a legitimate excuse to try again.
But Nezu... Nezu's smile disappeared.
It just vanished. Like it had never been there at all.
And that was the scariest thing that had happened in the room so far.
Because Nezu, without a smile, was Nezu who could and would do anything.
"Don't worry about that little gang. I will deal with them."
He looked at Tsukauchi. The detective saw something in those beady black eyes that made his instincts scream.
"Why don't you call them?" Nezu suggested, politely. "They will agree to the two days. I'm sure of it."
Tsukauchi stared at the rat for a long moment. He didn't want to make the call. Every bone in his body told him to proceed by the book. Arrest the kid. File the report. Let the system do its work.
But he knew Nezu. Everyone in law enforcement knew Nezu. The principal of U.A. was not a man you pushed unless you were absolutely certain you would win. And even then, the odds weren't in your favour.
So Tsukauchi did what he was told. He pulled out his phone.
The room went quiet as he dialled.
"This is Detective Tsukauchi. Regarding the USJ incident, I'm on-site at the hospital with the student in question. Principal Nezu is requesting a two-day grace period before formal questioning. Is it true we're not going with standard protocol?"
A pause. A voice on the other end, tinny through the phone's speaker.
"Yes," the voice said. "We've been advised to hold off for now. We really don't want to push Nezu too far. You and I both know what he's capable of when he's motivated."
Another pause. Then the voice continued.
"Use the two days. Collect all the data you need to solidify the case. Review the footage frame by frame. Interview the remaining villains in custody. Build something airtight."
A beat of silence.
"We will get that kid. After all... we have a special job for people like these."
The call ended.
The room was still.
Akira's expression didn't change. But behind those red eyes, a thought formed. Sharp. Clear. Like a blade being pulled from a sheath.
There it is. "A special job." Same words. Same game. Different day.
They haven't changed at all.
Tsukauchi pocketed his phone. He looked at the group with an expression that was part frustration, part resignation, and part something else. Duty, maybe. The look of a man who believed in the system even when the system bent around people more powerful than him.
"I and the HPSC will meet you in two days," he said. "At U.A."
He turned to leave. But before he stepped through the door, he stopped.
He looked over his shoulder. Directly at Akira.
"No one walks away after breaking the law."
The words hung in the air.
Akira looked at him.
He didn't respond.
He's fishing, Akira thought. He wants me to say something. Something he can write down in his little notepad and use later.
So he gave him nothing.
Just a blank stare and silence.
Tsukauchi held the look for one more second. Then he turned and walked out. His footsteps echoed down the hospital corridor until they faded into nothing.
The door clicked shut.
Nobody spoke for a while.
Reika was the first to move, letting out a shaky breath and loosening her grip on Momo. Kiyomasa's shoulders dropped half an inch. Honoka's flames fully died out.
Momo looked at Akira. Who was still staring at the door.
Then Nezu spoke
"Well." The rat walked to the window, his paws clasped behind his back. He looked out at the city skyline, his reflection staring back at him in the glass. "That was fun."
Nobody laughed.
Nezu turned around. He looked at Akira.
No smile. No playfulness. No scheming twinkle.
Just Nezu. The real one.
"You really got yourself into some real trouble this time, Akira."
Akira met his eyes.
"Seems like it," he said.
The room was quiet.
Honoka looked at her son. She could see it. The gears turning behind those red eyes. He wasn't scared.
He was planning.
Akira looked down at his hands. The same hands that had torn through thirty-four villains.
The HPSC wants to cage me. The police want to charge me. The public doesn't know what to think yet.
He closed his fists.
Good.
This will be my first step towards my goal.
He looked up at Nezu, who was watching him like he was reading an equation he'd never seen before.
And for the first time since the detective had walked in, Akira smiled.
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What do you think? A little change in character.
Police stuff incoming!! You gonna love it🔥
Plus if you want, you can read up to 8+ because you guys are too fast(10 will be up soon) advanced chapters and support me you can alway join my P@treaon. (Just search up Joe_Mama p@treon on google.)