Tsukauchi Naomasa is a busy man constantly pulled every which way. Every new case, every new interview adds to his ever increasing workload. He can't bring himself to hate it though, finding out the truth behind cases both open and cold is so satisfying. The truth has always been important to him, it's hard for it not to be when you grow up knowing every truth from every lie.
Most people don't understand his dedication to the truth, or they avoid him for fear of what he might find out but Naomasa has some good people. Sansa is a genuinely dependable coworker who rarely lies. Aizawa, for all his dropping in at 3am with a concussion and a broken arm insisting he's fine, no need to call his husband or an ambulance, is also someone he enjoys spending time with. Their relationship is mostly professional but they go out for lunch occasionally to swap stories and complain about their problems. Naomasa knows who his husband is, not because he caught him in a lie, but because Aizawa trusted him enough to entrust that knowledge to him. He's proud of the faith his people have in him.
So, when Aizawa comes in with a new case, a new nightmare of a case, Naomasa takes it without hesitation. He's never been one to stand by when there are children suffering.
He really wishes it wasn't such a nightmare though.
He still needs to do an interview but what little he knows has made it clear he's walking into something he might regret getting involved in.
One foster child, the only one in the home at the time, runs, terrified of quirk trafficking and experimentation. Sometime later he's reported missing by his foster parents after it becomes impossible to hide his absence from school. The local cops do nothing but file the report. The foster parents go missing within weeks. Again, the local cops do nothing but file the report with an added note about the missing couple leaving for an overseas job after the distress of their foster child going missing. Except... there are no tickets purchased, no housing prepared, no one notified, no overseas job offer. The officers' explanation doesn't hold up to the slightest scrutiny. Worse, he's hit a dead end. There are no unidentified bodies or rescued victims matching their description anywhere. He has no way of identifying which group is responsible, if it's known to the police, how old it is, typical area of operation, motivation, nothing. Unless his interview with Midoriya gives him something more to work with he's out of luck.
By the time Aizawa calls with the news that Midoriya is feeling well enough for the interview, he's taken a break from the case, having exhausted his options outside of just going down the list of known active traffickers or directly interrogating the officers responsible for the case. Something he can't do without risking a tipoff and retaliation.
As promised he shows up to the apartment dressed casually and in a civilian car. Aizawa lets him in and he allows himself a moment to look around, he can't help but be a little curious. It's very cozy and lived in. He can spy signs of cats throughout and the general clutter of any well-loved home.
He accepts an offered coffee and does some general introductions.
The first thing that strikes him upon seeing Midoriya Izuku is how small he is. Naomasa doesn't deal with children all that often but he knows eleven year-olds aren't supposed to be that small. It doesn't speak well to their suspicions of long-term neglect. He wasn't with the Watanabes long enough for it to be this bad. The second thing he notices is how nervous he is. His posture screams of learned behavior, of trial and error attempts to make himself as small and unnoticed as possible. It hurts but Naomasa does his best to appear non-threatening.
His attention is drawn away by Mic joining Midoriya on the couch and draping a green blanket over his lap, it earns him a hesitant smile. Naomasa hasn't worked with Present Mic much but he has some experience with Yamada Hizashi second-hand. He doesn't know much outside of what Aizawa tells him which is just about enough to know they love each other very much. Watching him interact with Midoriya makes it very clear that Aizawa isn't the only one he cares about.
He's so careful around him and makes sure to drag his nervous gaze away from Naomasa before they get the interview started. Naomasa can hear quiet reassurances and an offer to stay or leave. He isn't surprised that Midoriya asks him to stay with an urgency previously absent. Aizawa takes up his spot on Midoriya's other side after making sure he also wants him to stay and all attention returns to Naomasa.
"Alright, first off, once again, I'm Tsukauchi Naomasa. I'm the detective that will be handling this case." Noting the fear that enters his eyes at that, he puts on his most reassuring expression. "I promise to do my best to keep you safe and make sure you aren't found by whoever may be looking for you."
"ok."
"A little explanation before we begin so you know what to expect. I'll start off with the primary investigation which relates to your missing status from this April. We'll split that into two parts. First, I'll ask about the Watanabes and then about the direct events leading to your running away. Then we'll move on to other foster families you've stayed with and your social worker. Finally, I'll do my best to explain where we go from here. That sound alright?" He gets a hesitant nod. "Great, would you prefer Midoriya or Izuku?"
"I-Izuku please." He looks down and fiddles with the blanket anxiously.
"Ok Izuku last thing, my quirk is called Lie Detector. It's pretty much what it says on the tin so keep that in mind. I might ask some clarifying questions based on what it tells me. No one is going to force you to answer or get mad if you don't."
Naomasa expects the pinch of nervousness in his expression to grow, his quirk often gets even the most law-abiding to falter. Instead, he looks almost... excited? His eyes are wide and he starts mumbling quietly. Naomasa can't pick up on anything but he gets the idea when Aizawa smiles gently and nudges him with his shoulder to suggest arranging another time to ask about his quirk.
"S-sorry, you h-have a really c-cool quirk Tsukauchi-san, it's just so i-interesting."
No one's ever called his quirk cool before. Useful, handy, invaluable, yes, never... cool. He tucks his thoughts away and moves on with a small smile.
"Thank you, now, are you ready?"
A little nod and he goes through the motions of starting the recording, making sure to clarify that names used in the interview will be censored after the fact. Izuku loses just a bit of tension at that.
"Alright, first off, can you tell me a little about the Watanabes? How they treated you in the beginning? I'll ask some more specific questions as we move on."
"Um, well th-they ignored m-me mostly at f-first. I tried," he swallows, "I tried r-really hard not to b-bother them. No o-one l-likes it when I d-do."
"Did they ever deny you food or water?"
"Y-yes, th-they l-locked the fridge and c-cabinets a-and if I di-didn't come back r-right after school I d-didn't g-get dinner."
"How often was that?"
"I g-got d-detention a lot, so p-pretty often. T-teachers don't l-like me very much. I n-never got b-breakfast."
"Alright, did they ever hurt you?"
"Y-yes. Th-they h-hit me s-sometimes, I-I don't know w-why."
Naomasa knows that last part is a half-truth but he isn't about to push, not when he knows the answer will probably be because of his quirk status. Making a child admit that isn't worth an extra charge the Watanabes aren't likely to ever face.
He takes a moment and sits back, Izuku's losing his composure and he doesn't want to push unnecessarily. He decides to take the time to take stock of Izuku's new guardians. He generally ignores guardians as much as possible in interviews, it often helps reduce nerves to allow children someone they trust while he focuses his attention on them. Drawing attention or deferring to adults causes kids to second guess answers and clam up more often than not.
Aizawa is stubbornly looking off to the side. His hair half floating and his eyes red. It's a little surprising to see in someone who generally has great control. He's no doubt trying to get his anger under control without scaring his charge. His hand is still gripped by one of Izuku's and Naomasa notes that he squeezes it periodically in a grounding manner.
Mic is much better at controlling his expression, talking in low, comforting tones and slinging an arm around Izuku. Once Izuku murmurs his assent to continue he makes eye contact with Naomasa and he can see the pure fury dancing in his eyes. It might be for the best that the Watanabes are currently out of their grasp. Naomasa wouldn't be surprised if they're both considering murder and he's hardly started the questions. He hurries through the sexual abuse questions and they all breathe a sigh of relief when he says they didn't do anything of the sort.
"Alright, you're doing great Izuku, moving on... could you tell me in as much detail as possible the events leading up to you going missing, maybe start with that morning?"
"ok, I w-woke up and I t-tried really hard to be qu-quiet. They u-usually w-weren't up when I w-went to school so, so I m-made it w-without any p-problems. I w-wasn't allowed to eat any br-breakfast but I h-had f-found a pack of expired g-granola bars outside a con-convenience store that w-week so I ate th-that. I g-got to school and most ev-everyone ignored m-me like usual. I g-got d-detention, I d-don't remember w-why, so I didn't get d-dinner either. I w-was up really l-late because I was s-so h-hungry and sometimes drinking w-water helps so I sn-snuck over to the k-kitchen."
He takes a shaky steadying breath and goes on, "They were b-both st-still up and I was g-going to leave but I heard W-Watanabe-san mention m-me. It's never good when a-adults t-talk about me." Naomasa works to suppress a wince at that statement ringing true.
"A-anyway, Watanabe-san wanted to get r-rid of me. They b-both h-hated me and she said I was a in-inconvenience but she didn't w-want to get in tr-trouble or lose the m-money. Watanabe-san told her th-there was someone in the u-underground l-looking for quirkless t-test subjects, she thought it was st-stupid and asked him w-why they would want s-something so useless. He said all t-their q-quirked test s-subjects kept going in-insane and they wanted to s-see if it would be d-different if they were quirkless. It's hard finding young q-quirkless p-people though so they were o-offering a lot of m-money for me. I don't know h-how much I was t-trying really h-hard not to p-panic, s-sorry."
"Hey, Izu, you did great, I promise." Naomasa can't even bring himself to acknowledge the interruption although he does smile a little at the sincerity.
"th-thanks Yamada-san. She was w-worried about getting c-caught but Watanabe-san said that there were p-people working for h-him everywhere, in-including police o-officers and s-social workers, so there was n-nothing to worry a-about. I s-snuck back in my r-room and p-packed all my stuff and l-left, I d-don't know what h-happened after that."
"Can you tell us when this was?"
"Um, it w-was the t-tuesday before b-break."
"Thanks Izuku," they reported him missing after the break but the school didn't note any absences before hand, meaning the school either didn't notice or didn't care he missed the rest of the week.
"Is there anything else you can tell us about the person looking for test subjects?" To his credit, he looks like he takes the question seriously even as he shakes.
"I-I didn't hear anything e-else from the Watanabes..." Naomasa nods in acknowledgment but he can tell there's something else. "But I didn't, I didn't leave Kamino right a-away, I p-panicked so I didn't have any m-money with me to p-pay for the t-train fare. I stayed in a w-warehouse until I could g-get enough and p-people liked to hang around a lot, shady people, I h-heard a lot of r-rumors so I d-don't know how h-helpful it is but..." he takes a deep breath, "they were saying th-there's someone out there who can g-give and t-take quirks and he was trying to m-make things with multiple quirks."
Fuck.
Fuck.
FUCK.
Please let that not be who Naomasa thinks it is, please let him be dead. Aizawa, quick as ever catches on to his growing panic and horror. Mic, distracted with trying to comfort the kid, doesn't. Izuku, also oblivious to his internal conflict continues on.
"I d-don't know if it's connected and I've n-never h-heard of someone who could give away quirks but it makes sense that a person's quirk factor would make it difficult to handle more than one without some serious modification and loss of brain power. It could definitely cause someone to go insane if you forced too many on one person, especially if the quirks were incompatible with each other. I have no idea what would happen if you tried that with someone without a quirk factor but if I were a scientist it would make sense to find a quirkless person to see if it's the quirk factor itself making it difficult or the human bodies fundamental inability to handle multiple quirks."
Huh, Naomasa thinks distantly, the stutter gets better when he's more confident and in his element.
He doesn't get paid enough for this.
"Alright, thank you for telling me Izuku, any information is useful in tracking these people down. Did you hear anything else?"
"No, I found s-some money on the g-ground the next d-day and took the train as far as I c-could."
"Ok, we'll move on to the last set of questions then."
Naomasa sets all thoughts of boogiemen and nightmares with untold numbers of quirks aside as he listens to horrifying stuttered out tales of neglect and abuse told as if the child who lived them is afraid someone will come for him if they hear. Stories of days without food and locked closet doors and pain and scars. This is a child failed by everyone starting with his own biological parents. A child who has been so hurt that rather than going to an adult for help when he was faced with horrors beyond his comprehension, ran away alone and afraid.
Naomasa has so much work to do.
"Well, I know this has been stressful Izuku but I really appreciate that you took the time to tell me all this."
He leaves Mic and Izuku to decompress and follows Aizawa to the door.
"He'll need a name for the witness protection, I can change the paperwork whenever you've made a decision. Personally, I'd recommend going with one of your family names. It'll make a lot of things easier. He should be fine to keep his given name. It's not terribly unusual in this age. I'll start investigating his social worker and branch out from there. That way, no one's likely make any unwanted connections."
"Thanks Tsukauchi..." He looks up from putting on his shoes to meet narrowed eyes. "What aren't you telling me about this?"
"Ah, should've known you wouldn't let it go." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I really shouldn't say anything but..." he glances back towards the living room. "You need to know what you're getting into... for Izuku's sake if nothing else. I assume you've heard stories similar to what Izuku described about someone who can give and take quirks?"
He gets a nod, it's expected, any underground hero worth their salt has heard something of the most powerful man in the underground. Whether they believe the stories whispered between criminals and informants in dark alleyways is another matter entirely.
Naomasa swallows heavily. "This is a heavily classified secret and legally I'm not even supposed to know but let's just say there may be some truth to those tall tales and if he's the one after him, this case just got a million times more complicated and dangerous. Everyone who knows about him thought he was dead! Anyway, I need to look into some things. I promise to keep the kid out of it but I'm letting you know now, I'm going to have to let some people know he might still be alive." He's still struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that All for One might still be alive much less doing horrifying experiments.
Aizawa gives him a sympathetic look, he must look as frazzled as he feels, and dips into the kitchen for a moment before returning with another coffee.
"Good luck Tsukauchi," he returns the gesture with a tired smile and leaves Aizawa and Yamada to tend to their new child. He sets his head on steering wheel of his car and breathes deeply in and out, he has a lot of work to do.
Izuku hasn't been this overwhelmed in a long time, maybe since his mother died and he was first thrown into the revolving door of abusive foster parents. When everything felt like it was spinning out of control and there was nothing he could do but watch. Just talking about everything was exhausting and terrifying. What if Yamada-san and Aizawa-san decide he's too broken to keep? He doesn't think he could handle that. He's put so much trust in them already if they break it he feels like he might never trust another adult again.
He doesn't want to think about it anymore, he can hear Aizawa-san and Tsukauchi-san talking quietly in the hallway but he's just too tired to focus on it. He should try anyway, it's important to know what adults are thinking, especially when it's about him, but Yamada-san has pulled him into a hug and it makes him feel so safe. He can't help letting his guard slip a little and snuggle closer.
"You were so brave Izu, I'm sure that was hard but you did so well. We're proud of you."
Why would they be proud of him? He didn't do anything brave, it was scary but he just talked. It feels nice to have people be proud of him though so he doesn't object. He just wants to keep feeling safe and warm.
Yamada-san keeps holding him and starts humming absently, Izuku doesn't think he puts any of his quirk into it but it's strangely soothing anyway.
-
Hizashi isn't surprised that Izuku drops off after the interview, it was clearly emotionally exhausting for the poor kid. He pulls his blanket up over his shoulders and holds him close. He doesn't think he could stand letting him go right now. He can easily add that to his list of worst witness interviews he's ever been apart of. Not because Tsukauchi did anything wrong but because of how much it hurt to listen to and watch.
He knew things were bad but hearing the details is never the same as vaguely knowing there was abuse. He kept visibly calm during the interview itself, Shouta was clearly struggling with his emotions and neither one of them wanted to scare Izu. Now that he's asleep, Hizashi allows just a little of his fury to slip onto his face.
He is furious, the anger feels almost all consuming. Even if he was allowed to help he's not sure he could trust himself not to scream several people deaf. He feels no sympathy for the destruction Tsukauchi will no doubt rain down on every person involved.
He's a very thorough detective and careful enough to blindside those he's investigating with airtight charges. Cases like these, where the parties involved might feel secure in their ability to get away with their crimes, are most satisfying when he's in charge.
He notes Shouta's return with a smile and moves over so they can sit next to each other. They no doubt have plenty to discuss.
-
Shouta is having a hard time processing the fact that apparently the boogieman of the underground is not only real, he's after the child in Shouta's care. As if Izuku hasn't suffered enough already, there's an at least semi-immortal villain with who knows how many quirks after him.
He's heard the stories, even if he'd disregarded them at the time.
It's unclear how motivated he is to get Izuku specifically. If they're lucky and careful, they won't have to find out. It's quite likely he was a convenient easily disappeared target with willing guardians and there isn't much active pursuit going on outside eliminating the possible leak present in the Watanabes.
They can't operate on those hopes though, only fools plan for the best case scenario.
Shouta makes his return to the living room to discuss his new knowledge with Hizashi. Luckily, Izuku is out of it, no doubt exhausted by reliving most of his childhood's worst memories. Izuku is aware of the danger, there's no need to give him more reasons to fear.
He signs an explanation to Hizashi, as a Spotlight hero he hasn't run into the rumors but it's easy to understand why a quirk like that might lend itself to great power and influence. People place great importance in their quirks, even if they're considered "weak" or "villainous." Living without a quirk you've had all your life is a frightening thought even without taking into account the discrimination quirkless people face.
They both heave out a sigh, ever careful of child between them. Hizashi glances back up with a mischievous smile, that never spells well for Shouta.
"You mentioned a new family name."
Shouta nods warily, he's beginning to see where this is going.
"I call dibs!"
He shushes him but Izuku barely stirs, snuggling closer into Hizashi's side.
"That's not how this works 'Zashi."
"Sure it is, I've called dibs."
"Don't you think we should ask the kid first?"
"Fine, but I've got the more common name. Neither of our civilian names are public but there's a whole lot more Yamadas than Aizawas out there."
Shouta can only grumble an acquiescence. It is true that Hizashi's name is more common, less likely to be noted or connected to Izuku in the event of a leak. They'll have to ask Izu when he's awake.
"We're supposed to go back to UA tomorrow." Hizashi hums in acknowledgement. "I think I'll take the time to talk to Nedzu in person."
"We can't leave Izu here all day."
"No, I'll ask Nedzu if he can come with as a temporary measure. We'll figure out what to do about his education later. First priority is making sure he's safe. Might as well get him in to see Shuuzenji too, he's recovered from his cold but we wouldn't want to miss anything big."
"Alright, one step at a time."
Shouta smiles and sits back, trying his best to focus on relaxing his muscles after a stressful morning.
-
Izuku wakes up slowly. Yamada-san is still there holding him with care. Aizawa-san is busy with some papers to his side, one hand absently playing with his curls. It's really nice and he doesn't want it to stop.
Something must give him away because the hand in his hair stills and Aizawa-san shifts his attention over.
"You're awake."
It's blunt but not unkind, Izuku can't sense any ill intent so he nods and readjusts himself so he's sitting up.
"How are you feeling?"
He shifts his attention to Yamada-san.
"I don't, I don't know... tired maybe? thank you for s-staying with m-me."
"of course. I'll start on lunch soon but first there's a couple things we need to discuss."
Izuku feels himself tense in anticipation, he can't tell if that's good or bad, he hates it when he can't tell.
"Nothing bad!" He rushes to clarify.
Aizawa-san pipes up from his place on Izuku's other side. "It's two things mostly, we don't want to overwhelm you but these are pretty urgent. First, we need to go back to work at UA and..." He holds up a hand before Izuku can assure them he's fine on his own. "We don't have a school or anything set up for you so for tomorrow at least, if you're comfortable we'll bring you along."
"Really?"
Izuku would love to see UA! He would never pass up the chance to visit! There're so many quirks and heroes and things to see!
He carefully pushes down thoughts of any dreams that might still stir deep in his heart.
"Yes, really." Aizawa-san looks a little amused at his excitement. "I'll take that as a yes then?"
Izuku can't help but nod vigorously.
"We also need to talk about your name." Yamada-san continues, "Tsukauchi is going to keep your identity safely under wraps but you're going to need a name to operate under. Midoriya Izuku is a pretty distinct name paired with your quirk status and it wouldn't do to keep you anonymous with the police only for your school to have a Midoriya Izuku in their records."
Izuku nods, it makes sense and he really isn't very attached to Midoriya. He hopes they don't ask him to give up Izuku, it's such a wonderful change to hear it said without a hint of disgust. He loves hearing them call him Izu and Izuku, they're so gentle with it each time.
"Izuku is common enough and we wouldn't want to change that if we can avoid it but..."
"You w-want me to go by s-something other than M-Midoriya."
He can do that, he hopes they don't want him to come up with something though. Names are hard.
"Yes, and..." He seems weirdly nervous, "I would like to suggest using my name."
Izuku is stuck in a state of shock as Yamada-san rushes to continue. "It's a pretty common name and we can change it to something else in the future." He sends a significant look over to Aizawa-san but Izuku hardly notices, any other explanation is also lost to him.
He wants Izuku to take his surname? Izuku can feel his cheeks wetting with tears. When did he start crying? When did anyone last care enough about him enough to give him anything? Much less something as important as their name. Poor, quirkless little Izuku who was never good enough to be a Midoriya but was one anyway. They would trust him with it? It's certain to be hissed and snarled with hatred, with contempt. It doesn't deserve that but... Izuku wants it.
It sounds an awful lot like commitment. It sounds an awful lot like they care. It sounds an awful lot like... He can't let himself finish that thought. Instead he turns back to an increasingly distressed Yamada-san and fights to croak out his answer.
"If you're r-really s-sure, I-I think I'd l-like that."
"That's great Izu! Thank you!" He pulls him back into a warm and triumphant embrace and Aizawa-san smiles fondly at them from his place on the couch.
Izuku wants to stay here so much it hurts. He wants these gentle hair ruffles and hugs. He wants to be loved... he's forgotten what it's like... he hopes they're able to love him.