Chapter Text
“You’re serious.”
“Yup,” Tsukauchi says. God, Shouta could slap him from here. He wouldn’t even be able to retaliate or defend himself, sitting down as he is. Unfortunately, Shouta is a professional, and physical assault is heavily frowned upon in the heroics industry. Even with good reason. Which he definitely has right now.
“And you only have a couple of files on all of them?” he asks, more to fill the silence rather than actually wanting to know. If the guy had anything else, he would have already told him.
Sure enough, Tsukauchi clicks his tongue, looking apologetic of all things after dumping a boatload of work on him, the bastard. “Nope. That’s why I’m asking you to track them down,” he explains, as if that makes everything clear. Don’t get him wrong, it does, but that doesn’t mean Shouta has to like it.
No doubt spotting the displeasure on his face, Tsukauchi, again, tells him what he already knows and refuses to acknowledge. “If these folks really do have even a little information on the labs, that could kickstart our investigation. Right now, we’ve got no clue where to start.” He opens his desk’s drawer and pulls out a folder — full of the vigilantes’ portfolios, Shouta guesses.
“We’d cut down the list a lot before I called you down here. These,” a pause, in which he taps the files against the desk, “are the ones we want to keep an eye on. If we can get close enough to get any information out of them, we could at least narrow down the area we need to be looking at.”
It makes sense. Shouta isn’t sure exactly why a small group of entirely separate vigilantes would have any leads on the labs, but if they do, it could be a massive breakthrough.
And if they don’t? It’s just a few more sleepless nights out on patrol for him. No big deal.
“And… I’m the one you’re assigning here, why, again?” Pointless questions. Keep the conversation going. Anything to give him just the slightest bit more solace before he has to go out and hunt down some rogues.
“You’re the best lead we’ve got on them, Eraser. God knows how you turned into our vigilante magnet, but for some reason, they won’t leave you alone.”
The detective tries to suppress a grin at that. Of course he’s taking some kind of sick pleasure in this, when is he not? It doesn’t last very long, though, and he’s continuing on in just a moment. “If anyone can get more details out of them, it’s you. They trust you.”
Well, he can’t really argue with that.
He sighs, slouching into his capture weapon. “Just give me the files,” he says with an open palm extended. Tsukauchi complies, dropping the notably thin folder into Shouta’s hand. He starts skimming and tunes out Tsukauchi, whatever he’s saying. Something about going to get some of that sludge he calls coffee from the station’s coffee machine.
As expected, it’s mostly things he already knows. But, of course, it couldn’t just be one vigilante to track down. There’s that one with the blue poncho and the mask, of course. Shouta hasn’t encountered them yet, but Tsukauchi’s going to want that to change soon. There’s a few others — some with confirmed names, some without, some looking incredibly distinct, some in just a hoodie and jeans. But there’s one entry that catches his eye.
Inconsistent appearance, but usually seen with some style of purple or white hair. Nobody’s gotten close enough to get a good look, but the most commonly reported eye color is either an amber or grey. A lavender cloak paired with an almost-black jumpsuit, white accents on both and accompanied by a long, flowing cape with a mesmerizing galaxy pattern inside. Objects are sometimes seen disappearing under the cape. And, to top it all off, a crown of all things.
The Magicaster.
Shouta resists the urge to bury his face in his hands, and instead reads through the rest of their file. Nothing new. Quirk’s still unknown, although it’s likely it has something to do with their fluctuating appearance. They’re almost never identified fleeing a scene, and the criminals they catch usually comment on their more confusing qualities.
Shouta’s only met them face-to-face a couple of times, and they didn’t exactly stay to chat. Surprising, considering the description commonly provided — apparently, they won’t shut up, according to their captures.
He just knows they’re going to bring so many headaches along with them.
He’s about to close everything up and go harass Tsukauchi for piling more cases on him when he notices the edge of another page peeking out from behind the current paper. Maybe there’s something new after all. He pulls it out, and his eyes widen at the contents.
It’s a photo. A rather peculiar one, at that.
It’s rather blurry, and taken from a strange angle. It shows an alley from above; possibly someone poking their phone out of a window to take it. The Magicaster is pictured in something resembling their vigilante gear, but some aspects are missing. Namely the cape, and their outfit in general seems to be much less… animated; like the laws of physics are actually applying to it for once.
A mask covers their face; their hair is long, thick, and the usual white to purple. Their skin is fairly pale, as far as he can tell; the poor lighting and shoddy camera job makes it difficult to see. And to top it all off, that crown still rests on their head.
Actually, hang on. The center looks a little strange. Shouta squints at it, knowing damn well he won’t get any more details to pop onto the photo. It’s almost… glossy. The light bounces off of it strangely.
Hm.
Well, he’s probably not going to get anything out of just a crown. Point is, this isn’t anything like what The Magicaster usually wears. Why would they have a mask on when their face clearly shifts with every encounter anyway? Where’s that insufferable cape? It’s almost as if they’re trying to protect their identity like a normal person for once. As normal as a vigilante can be, of course.
He’s not sure what this picture means, honestly. The strange outfit could signify a variety of things. It could be as simple as a new disguise; the features that remain might be a nod to their old appearance. He doesn’t know enough about the vigilante to say anything for certain.
He doesn’t get to pore over it for long, though, because Tsukauchi cracks the door back open and sets down a cup of ‘coffee’ for him.
…
Hey, wait a minute.
“Why didn’t you tell me we had a picture? ” Shouta demands, lowering the page just enough for the detective to see it.
And then Tsukauchi looks… confused. “I thought you knew about it.”
What?
“Why would I know about some new disguise we’ve never seen before? I don’t work here, you do.”
“No, what?-”
“Do we even know what this picture means?”
Tsukauchi pauses. Screw it, Shouta’s intrigued now.
“Eraser, we think this is what they look like without the effects of their Quirk. I figured you would have already gotten at least a glance in person.” He didn’t have to elaborate — the implication was clear as day.
And, oh. Oh.
Shouta takes a deep, harsh breath, agitation rolling off of him in waves. He finally settles down into the chair available to him — Tsukauchi most likely following suit, judging by the familiar sound of its wheels — and drops his head down onto the desk.
God. Like he hasn’t tried already. He tells Tsukauchi as much — “I’ve tried my Quirk. Every time I’ve seen them. And not once has it worked.”
He lifts his head just enough to see Tsukauchi’s face before deciding the neck pain isn’t gonna be worth it and straightening up. “What do you mean?” Tsukauchi asks, brows furrowed.
“It acts like I’m trying to use it through a wall,” Shouta murmurs. “It works just fine on everyone else in my range, but with Magicaster? Nothing.”
Tsukauchi leans back in his own chair, pondering on that. “And we’ve established it’s not a transformation Quirk, due to the nature of everything else they’ve pulled. Sometimes yours doesn’t work on those…”
“...when the quirk is the transformation itself,” Shouta finishes for him.
The two of them fall silent. Shouta can practically hear the gears trying to turn in Tsukauchi’s mind.
“Either way,” the detective begins, “ that’s our guess. Tracking them down would be much easier, in that case, if they just didn’t have the mask on.”
“That’s not exactly a common hair color, though,” Shouta points out. He’s sure it’ll be much easier to narrow them down with at least that to go off of.
Tsukauchi nods, and the room lapses into silence once more, barring the whir of the fan on the desk. Shouta looks at the folder he’d offhandedly tossed onto the desk while speaking with the detective.
Eventually, though, Tsukauchi clears his throat. “You’ve looked everything over, I assume?” Shouta only shrugs in response, eyeing the pages below The Magicaster’s that he didn’t get the chance to disturb.
That doesn’t mean he’s about to pass on a chance to leave, of course, so he scoops the portfolios up and starts walking to the door.
“Remember to keep me updated on any progress you make,” Tsukauchi calls to the half-closed door.
“Mhm,” Shouta mumbles. With that, he lets the door slip shut behind him.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
“Yeah well, is there anything you can do with it besides jumping way too high for you to handle?” Kōkei was having fun bullying Rinkita in hand-to-hand combat since he obviously had no experience in that, but now they were moving on to his quirk, which was the main reason they were in their little hideout today.
“Hey, it’s not my fault I wouldn’t have been able to talk with you if I didn’t do that! And, well, when I first used my quirk it kinda went like…” The kid then trailed off before making a sort of bwoosh noise while also moving his arms in an attempt to slightly mimic what Kōkei thinks is an explosion.
They stared at Rinkita for a second before starting to speak again. “Okay, that was a good impression and a good idea. Unfortunately, that doesn’t tell me much, so please, speak .” They tried saying that in the least threatening voice that they could while also emphasizing that he wasn’t wrong since they didn’t know if he would end up thinking that something bad was going to happen because of it.
Rinkita twisted his face in confusion a bit before responding, which both worried Kōkei and also made them relieved that he wasn’t afraid. “Well it was like, um, like, electricity just went out everywhere around me, I think?” Okay, he was only confused on how to explain it, that’s good.
Kōkei tilted their head a bit, “Well, do ya think you should show me?” They expected a ‘no’ for an answer, especially considering how the kid’s quirk control was the equivalent of a bike with no wheels. What they did not expect, however, was for Rinkita to stand up and actually focus on trying it.
He just stood there with his eyes closed in his effort to focus, his arms slightly raised in balls of fists. It was actually working as soon there were sparks of electricity flowing around him.
At least, until they dispersed soon after, with Rinkita’s focus following suit. “It’s not working.” He pouted as he let his arms down in defeat. Well, nobody can tell him that he didn’t try.
“No, you used it, you just didn’t use it at the same time, if that makes sense.” No, no that did not make sense.
Mikiro was really confused on what Magi meant by that, and with how she just sighed, he guessed that she could see his confusion on his face.
“What I mean is, you used your quirk, you just didn’t use it in the way you wanted it to. You had electricity around you, but I’m assuming that wasn’t what you meant since you complained about it.” She said. Okay, that makes more sense.
Wait, if it went all around himself and not only at his legs, would he not jump as high as before? Oh, wait, would it make his hands stronger too? Know what, he’s gonna try it out right now!
Okay, just like last time! Mikiro tries to bring his quirk out all around him again, but this time he keeps his eyes open since he wants to actually see it happen. Aaannnndd… It worked! Again!
He can see the electricity bouncing around him, this is good. Now he just needs to…jump!
…
Ouch. The roof is too small. But it works! Also…ow…again. He really needs to learn how to land on his feet. Oh well, that’s why he’s here, isn’t it? Well since they’re going to be seeing how his quirk works now, he may as well ask, “So umm, what’s your quirk? Or uhhh, how does it work? M-maybe it could be similar to what I can do?”
Kōkei pauses. Should they really tell him? Well, yeah, he’s just a kid, and it probably wouldn’t screw them over, but… Still. They take a moment to think before they respond.
“Not that I’m aware of,” they say, shaking their head. “I don’t think it would help you out much. From what I’ve seen, your Quirk is a bunch of stuff that mine isn’t.” A pause. “Sorry.”
Rinkita seemed a bit saddened by their proclamation, but then quickly brightened up as if he got another idea. “Well what if there’s something you can do, and then I can try and do that too?!” He asked, this time with stars in his eyes. He was also keeping his quirk active at the same time, so it looks like he’s already good at unconscious quirk usage.
Kōkei puts a finger to their chin, face scrunched up in thought. What would be a good stunt to show him?
…
Eh, screw it, not their fault if he ends the world with it. Completely forgetting to warn Rinkita, they mutter a short chant under their breath, putting their hands together. When they take them apart, a ball of electricity begins to form between them, pulsating and growing larger until Kōkei’s satisfied with the size. There, they hold it in midair as it casts a golden glow on their features.
That left Mikiro, well, shocked . Like, that’s so cool! Oooohhh, if his quirk works like he imagines it then he might be able to do that, although he’d probably want to do it without the quiet speaking and both hands.
But, it still gave him an idea! So, he went with the much cooler option of……
…
Finger guns!
That’s right! He’s simply gonna bring his quirk up to his fingers, try to bring out that same feeling as when he first used his quirk, and then imagine what Magi just did happening with him too!
Well now that he’s done that, all he has to do is shoot!-
Okay, that was fast. Really fast. Mikiro wasn’t really expecting to actually create an Electro Ball(it looked close enough to the move, okay!), much less have it zip right by Magi’s face when he fired it.
Oh, whoops, he burned a bit of her hair. And she kinda looks like her life just flashed before her eyes. The ball between her hands fizzled out as soon as he shot his own, and she just silently looks at where Mikiro’s ball disappeared for a few moments.
“Well, that’s one way to use it!” she says suddenly, clapping her hands together again. “ And it’s progress.”
Mikiro was absolutely squealing. First he learns how to use his quirk without jumping into the clouds, and now he can shoot balls of electricity! Today can’t get any better, can it?
“BUT!” Magi exclaims. She then pauses for what seems like no reason before continuing, “Now that we’ve established you can do that, it’s pretty clear you need to work on the fine control. To avoid, uh,” her hand grabs the burnt lock of hair, “this.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to!” Mikiro tried to argue, but then he thought about it. Heroes are supposed to help people, and, well, he doesn’t think burning people with your quirk counts as that.
(Meanwhile a certain fiery hero sneezed in his office, unsure of what caused such a reaction)
And well, he wants to be a hero, so he should make sure that he can be one that others like him can always depend on. Plus, it’s even more training, so yes, today could get any better!
“Okay!”