Chapter Text
He rubs at the cuffs on his wrists, soothing the pink skin under the metal with a small bit of his cursed energy. The friction burn disappears immediately and Yuuji sighs in relief for a moment before he moves his hands again. Give it another five minutes of his fidgeting and he's sure the handcuffs will cause another small friction burn again, and then he will soothe it with his rct again and the cycle will continue, just like it's been for the past hour since he's been put in this interrogation room. It's not the worse place to be in of course, but he's starting to get bored with nothing to do.
He'd already drank the water they gave him, torn the cup it was in to shreds, and fiddled with sensei's cube as much as he could with the cuffs tied to the table. Even bored out of his mind though he'd still rather be alone in this room then in a cell with the other guys that have been brought to the station with him. Just being processed into their system had been a hassle when the amount of the guys booked along side him nearly filled out all the cells he could see. And boy were they loud, arguing about police brutality and demanding lawyers and crying about not being the one in charge and yadda yadda. Yuuji might have felt some sympathy with at least the police brutality bit if he didn't kind of believe the guys deserved it. He had punched out a few of those guys just hours before because they were attacking kids his own age- if the cops were a bit mean in return Yuuji couldn't blame them.
Luckily when his information was finally added and he was led toward the back, all he could do was sigh in relief when he was led toward an interrogation room rather than the cells the others were in. Both for not having to deal with twenty men all making as much noise as possible and to stop him from finishing the job on some of the faces he recognized from earlier.
But being alone for up to an hour is starting to take its toll and he's seconds away from just closing his eyes and taking a nap. He's been on the go for hours now, jumping from one fight to another in rapid succession with little pause between each fight. From training with his brother and Kamo to trying to recruit other fighters to join up with his group to then having to subdue said fighters when they go for his points instead, to then ending up wherever he is now- well, it's definitely been a long day. It's been long and he's exhausted.
His reserves are nearly at his limit and his body aches. RCT is still so new for him, and it's slow, so trying to refresh his body when his own cursed energy is also low is nearly impossible. He only focuses on the big wounds for now, like the cut on his side, the hole in his leg, and the friction burns on his wrist when they get annoying. The exhaustion and stamina will be fixed naturally with sleep later once he finally gets some answers and feels safe enough to hunker down.
Especially with sensei in his possession and no one he trusts to watch his back, he definitely doesn't feel safe enough to fully rest. He's on high alert, senses ready and focused, and no matter that the room is sealed shut he can feel and sense everyone around him through their leaking cursed energy. Exhausted as he is he's still ready to run if the situation he's in turns dangerous.
It's because he's watching the energy flow that he's not surprised when the door to his room finally opens and a middle aged man walks in, looking very much like a classic detective from a cop movie with his beige treanch coat. He even had a bit of a slunched over shoulders and droopy eyes, which honestly isn't surprising given how big this whole thing looks to be and how long going through each perp will take.
Yuuji almost feels bad knowing what he says will make sure this man doesn't get home until the next day probably.
The man walks in with a slight smile on his face and he lifts his hands up to show he's carrying a very clear fast food bag and a soda. Yuuji's eyes lock on the food bag like a starving man and his stomach growls loud and obnoxiously. He'd probably be a little sheepish if he didn't know he hadn't eaten since this morning.
The detective laughs and hands the bag over quickly, then moving over to the seat on the other side of the table and opening a thin file Yuuji assumes was about him. That wasn't important though- the food was, and Yuuji didn't waste time in pulling out the wrapped burger, tearing the paper off as fast as he could and taking the biggest bite he could.
He nearly moaned the second his tongue tasted the processed food and he swallowed the bite before he can properly chew it. It feels like it's been months since he last had fast food. Since he's had much of anything seasoned and cooked beyond the need for calories and protein. The burger was done in less than a minute and Yuuji went back into the bag to pull out the fries.
The detective blinked once, then again, before letting out a chuckle. "I was going to say 'let me get aquatinted with your file while you eat, don't rush,' but it looks like I should have brought you two burgers instead."
"Sorry," Yuuji wipes his mouth with his sleeve. "I haven't eaten a fast food burger in months."
The detectives right finger twitched. "Why so long if you don't mind me asking? Money troubles?"
Yuuji shakes his head. "If only."
When no further answer was given the detective went back to the file, pulling out the single sheet that had Yuuji's mugshot on it. From upside down he could tell how exhausted he looks in the picture. It kind of makes him want to sigh.
"Alright, let's get started then?" The detective met Yuuji's eyes and he smiled. "Feel free to keep eating of course. We'll start with the easy questions, check over the information you gave us and move on from there."
"Sounds good," Yuuji says as he pops another fry into his mouth.
The man reaches inside his pocket for a device Yuuji assumes is a recorder as he puts it on the table and clicks the screen. "Perfect. I'm Tsukauchi Naomasa, a detective with the Musutafu Police Department. Do you mind if I record this?"
"Sure." Yuuji rolls his shoulders and opens the can of soda. It's cold, and the sting of the carbonation is pleasant on his tongue.
"Thank you," Tsukauchi says. He turns to the file. "Let's confirm your information first. Is your name Itadori Yuuji?"
"Yes."
Tsukauchi's right finger twitched.
"Date of birth is March 20th, 20-," Tsukauchi paused before bringing out a pen from his coat pocket. "Sorry, they put in the wrong year. It's probably why we weren't able to pull anything up for you."
Yuuji couldn't really hide the smile on his face, not surprised the interview was going to be waylaid so early into it.
"Please state your date of birth for the record."
"Sure, it's March 20th, 2003."
Tsukauchi's right finger twitched and he stared at Yuuji like he suddenly grew two heads. He stared for a long time, long enough for Yuuji to finish off his drink, before he reached over to his recorder and turned it off.
"Do you know what my quirk is?" Tsukauchi suddenly asks in the silence.
Yuuji shook his head though, mostly because he doesn't exactly know what a 'quirk' is. He's not stupid though and can put two and two together to make four. This world is made up of people with super powers like in the manga and comics he likes to read. He had instant first hand experience when he got here with dealing with the thugs in the cells and fighting against and with the kids he met. From being able to create explosions from his hand to another kid being able to make giant icebergs with a stomp of his foot and a third one having a bird head of all things- well, Yuuji got the memo pretty quickly.
Quirks is probably the term these people use to mean superpowers, and the only reason he can't tell what the detective's is was because Yuuji couldn't tell just by looking at him, unlike with the officer who booked him earlier. The guy literally has a cat head. If he couldn't feel the cursed energy of a human inside him Yuuji had almost assumed he was a curse, just like he momentarily thought the kid with the bird head was too.
So no, he doesn't know what the detective's 'quirk' is and he tells him so.
"My quirk is called Lie Detector," The detective starts and Yuuji visibly perks up.
"Oh man you must be great at your job then!"
The detective smiles a bit. "It definitely is what led me to this career, yes. My quirk basically pings when someone lies or tells the truth to simple statements. Your answer, as impossible as it is, only rings true." Tsukauchi leans forward on the table, hands balled into fists. "So I must ask, how old are you?"
'How long have I been 17?' Yuuji asks himself with an inner chuckle. He's sure some middle-aged detective wasn't going to understand the joke. Instead Yuuji replies honestly. "15."
Tsuakauchi let's out a deep breath and writes down a note on Yuuji's file. "True. And do you know what the current year is?"
Yuuji shakes his head. "For me it's 2018."
"True," Tsukauchi writes it down. "Currently, the year is 2XXX."
Now it's Yuuji's turn to stare, and in the silence he almost wants to say it's not possible either. But in that hour of silence he's been forced to sit through all he's been able to do is think and process what has happened in the past couple of hours. He knows he's not in Kansas anymore, has met and fought and helped people who look straight out of a comic book. He's learned this, processed it, accepted it- but a simple date is enough to shake that acceptance.
After a long moment of silence between them Yuuji finally caves, rubbing at his eyes with his cuffed hands. "So I'm either way into the future or in another world entirely."
The detective at least huffs, though his eyes seem a little crazed once Yuuji put the possibility out there. He taps the pen on the table in a nervous tick.
"I suppose time travel or dimensional travel isn't that far fetched- there are quirks that can bend reality quite easily so I suppose it is possible, but I have never heard of such a thing. If it is either of the two, protocol dictates I contact the Hero Public Safety Commission immediately."
By now Yuuji has gotten quite used to the machinations of overseeing powers and government, and the cruelty that follows bodies of power like that. The idea that they might be run like the ones in his time make him hesitant.
"Do we have to?"
The detective must notice the look on his face because the smile he sends over is a lot gentler than earlier, and more pitying. "Afraid so. The HPSC would probably have the means and connections to a quirk database that can find someone or some way to send you back a lot better that we can. And dimensional hoping is way out of police jurisdiction, I wouldn't even know where to start to help."
Yuuji groaned into his hands again and slumped back against his chair.
"How about this," Tsukauchi starts after a moment. "I still need a report and a rundown of what happened today. Let's figure out whether you're a time traveler or not, and then go over the events at the USJ. Then after, while I make a few phone calls to the Hero Commission, I'll send someone over to pick up more food for you."
"The Hero commission…" Yuuji says after a moment, "Do you trust them?"
The detective blinks, pulling back to slump against his own seat. Unlike with most teenagers that are more hot air and rebellion against all government bodies just out of spite, there is a clear difference in Itadori's tone. The unease and lack of trust in a government body doesn't seem born from simple teenage rebellion but from experience. The detective could hardly start to guess why without outright asking though, and he can see by the subtle tightening of his eyes that the kid will not talk if he asks.
He answers as honestly as he could. "It's not a matter of trust exactly, but of position of authority and responsibility to help a dimensional traveler like yourself. They're the only ones with the power, both quirk related and political, to make your return possible."
Itadori chews on that for a moment, fiddling with the cube he refused to part with when he was first cuffed at the USJ. The eyes on it don't move but Tsukauchi feels like they bore into him whenever he looks at it. It is an unpleasant feeling and he suppressses the shudder coarsing through him every time he accidentally looks at the thing.
Finally Itadori sighs, rubbing at his face one last time before sitting forward on his chair. The metal of the quirk suppresent cuffs jingle as he moves. He looks determined, as if he has made peace with some plan and knows that he can see it through. "Alright, let's do this then. What do you want to know?"
The detective smiles, this time fully genuine, and he starts the recording again. When the screen blinks he turns back to Itadori with a professional look, eyes serious.
"Walk me through what happened at the USJ. Don't leave a single detail out."