CHAPTER 14 - SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

When All Might arrived at the station, it was to a general feeling of unease. Not palpable or widespread, but years of experience as a hero guided his eye to the whispered conversations behind doors left slightly ajar and the tense shoulders of senior officers walking by. For once, he was thankful for the inevitable commotion his arrival always created. Moments after stepping off the elevator, the hush that followed his arrival caught the attention of a junior detective who abandoned his work in favor of bounding over with poorly concealed enthusiasm. All Might turned to him and forced any lingering worry out of his voice.

"Officer Kurosawa."

"Mr. Might! What brings you down to the station today?"

The hero twitched at the title and coughed into his fist. "I need to see-"

"Detective Naomasa?"

"Er- yes."

"You're the boss-man."

Kurosawa marched off ahead of him. All Might was relieved to note he was making a direct line to Naomasa's office, and some of the concern from the morning ebbed. He tried not to let Nishikawa's closed office door put him on edge. He had less than a second to linger on it before his long strides took him back within range of the young detective ahead of him.

"You're in luck, actually. He's been out most of the morning. It's been a pretty wild day."

All Might perked up at the information. "Wild?"

"I don't really know the details. He and Nishikawa went to the hospital this morning and then holed themselves up in Naomasa's office as soon as they got back."

The hero felt some of the tension in his gut release, and he offered the detective a more genuine smile as they arrived at the office door. Kurosawa knocked once, a quick rap with his knuckles, and barely waited for an answer before he was twisting the knob and nudging his head in. All Might stood behind him, feeling like an intruder as he caught sight of Naomasa and Nishikawa sitting on the couch over Kurosawa's shoulder. He offered an awkward wave as he caught Naomasa's eye. Kurosawa, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease.

"Sorry to interrupt your pow-wow. You've got a visitor."

Kurosawa stepped away, flinging the door completely open as he went. Naomasa stood from the couch almost immediately, hurrying over to the door with a look of sheer concern that made him feel slightly guilty.

"Everything okay?"

All Might cleared his throat. "Yes, yes. I sent you a message earlier. I assume it was not received."

Naomasa cursed under his breath, hurriedly patting down his pockets as he searched for his phone. He stepped aside and ushered the other man in as he pulled it from an inner pocket and read over his messages. All Might stepped around him, pacing toward the desk as he offered the current occupant of the couch a careful smile. She seemed more worn than she had earlier that morning, and he wondered if the hospital visit had been for her. She returned his carefully guarded expression, pushing herself to her feet in a thoroughly exhausted motion. She made a vague gesture at the couch.

"I'll leave you two to it." And then, when Naomasa's head shot up in surprise. "I need to go talk to the chief anyway."

Naomasa nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll swing by your office when I'm done here."

She nodded, offering All Might one last courteous nod before she hurried out of the room. The hero caught one last glance as she crossed the bullring, shoulders drawn tight before the door closed decisively between them. Naomasa moved back toward his desk, dropping into his chair as the hero allowed himself to sink into the plush cushions of the couch. He released his muscle form, watching through the steam as Naomasa's head dropped forward the hang limply over his crossed arms.

"Long day?"

Naomasa shot him an unimpressed look over his folded hands.

"I heard there was a hospital visit. I hope everything is okay."

Naomasa waved a hand vaguely. "Yeah. Everyone's fine."And then, sitting up decisively. "What's this about the apartment?"

Yagi's stomach churned as he realized he had almost completely forgotten why he had come to the station to begin with. He took a moment to reorganize his thoughts, uncomfortably aware of how difficult it was to put them in order.

"Your partner is being targeted."

Whatever Yagi had been expecting, it was not the tired drop of Naomasa's shoulders. The detective cast a glance around the room before settling back to stare at his friend.

"Yeah… I know. Found out this morning."

Yagi sputtered. "Wh-How?"

"Someone's been following her, sending her stuff in the mail. I can't give you the details but it's related to an old case."

Feeling relieved, Yagi sunk back into the couch. "Then you know about the man at the apartment."

Naomasa straightened. "What man?"

"Apparently not…"

With a heavy sigh, Yagi leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He relayed the events of the morning: the strange conversation in the alleyway, the moment outside his window, and further back to the time Nishikawa had stumbled out of the elevator in the middle of a full-on panic attack. Naomasa took it all in with a straight face, barely moving until Yagi finally cut himself off.

"So you think this man is… what? An accomplice?"

"Yes."

"I don't know, Yagi…"

"Why not?"

Naomasa stopped to consider the question. The idea seemed impossible; a middle-aged businessman, following his partner around for months completely undetected, unprompted. From Yagi's description, he sounded harmless enough. And yet, the longer he thought about it, the harder he struggled to piece together a coherent reason for his doubts. He frowned, straightened to stare at his friend in disturbed shock.

"I… don't know."

Yagi lurched forward at the admission. "That's my entire point! I've been wrestling with this all day. But what if, somehow, this man's quirk makes him unknowable? Undetectable? And even knowledge of him is difficult to transmit."

"How is it you know about him then?"

"I think… I think once you become aware of him, the effects are less potent. Like misdirection; if you expect it you can catch the trick of it."

Naomasa was nodding slowly. "That'll make things more difficult." And then, standing abruptly, "I need to talk to the chief about this."

Yagi had a panicked moment to consider his friend walking across the room before his mind caught up and he forced himself into his hero form. Naomasa flung the door open, stopping short when he came face to face with Nishikawa standing with one hand raised to knock. She seemed only marginally less startled than him as she stepped away to let him through. She had a handful of files clutched in her other arm.

"Chief wants to see you."

Naomasa's jaw worked for a moment before his open mouth finally formed words.

"Right, great timing. Can you- um… can you wait here with All Might? I'll be back to escort him down in a bit."

The hero tensed. "No need to trouble yourself, I can show myself out-"

He stopped abruptly when Naomasa shot him a stern look over his shoulder. All Might cleared his throat awkwardly and lowered himself back down onto the couch. Nishikawa offered her partner an exasperated look, before stepping around him and depositing the files in her arms on his desk. Naomasa offered the pair a stern 'behave' look, and marched off leaving the door slightly ajar. The pair stayed in awkward silence for a beat, Nishikawa with her hip propped against her partner's desk and All Might sitting on the couch feeling like an awkward schoolboy. Eventually, Nishikawa's stance relaxed marginally and she offered him a tight, apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry about this. I'm sure you have important places to be. He's just worried about me."

"Not at all! It's no problem."

She offered him a sad smile. "I know I've said this before, but you really don't need to worry about the whole secret-thing. I try not to use my quirk at all, really."

All Might flinched. "Of course. I did not mean to upset you before-"

Nishikawa shook her head gently. "No, I understand. My quirk gives me a lot of power over other people."

"That is hardly the most important thing. Every quirk has the capacity to harm in some way. One should not be shamed simply because of the nature of one's quirk."

Nishikawa laughed humorlessly. "You know you're the second person to say something like that to me. At least… to say it and believe it."

"Oh?"

"For a while, I believed it too. Like my quirk could be something… Something amazing."

All Might considered her for a moment. She had turned away slightly, staring out into the bullring through the slight crack in the door. She crossed her arms tightly, using the movement to shrug her shoulders against the tension slowly building there. She looked sad, and he got the distinct feeling she was no longer talking to him. Was thinking of somewhere else, someone else, lifetimes away.

"They sound like a good friend."

Nishikawa's head snapped back to look at him. She seemed startled to see him. She shook her head, eyes downcast.

"Something like that."

"I take it something happened?"

"I just… didn't like who I was with him."

They lapsed into an awkward silence for a moment, then Nishikawa shifted awkwardly. She cleared her throat, rubbing her upper arms like she was rubbing out a chill. She shook herself once.

"Sorry. Forget I said anything."

All Might scrambled for something to say, but she turned her head away just as the door swung open. Naomasa walked in carrying more files, shoulders slumped. Nishikawa leaped over, catching a handful just as they slid off the stack of files her partner was wrestling. In the next moment, the hero was being swept out of the room by an exhausted-looking detective. He bid Nishikawa a hasty farewell, following her partner out the door and trying not to notice the way she seemed to shrink into herself.


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Sorry if it seems like not much is happening in these chapters. There are some things I need to set up for future chapters, and it's difficult to get back into the pacing I had set up before. Hopefully things will start coming easier from now on!

As always, all feedback is helpful and welcome!