章 35: A glimmer of hope
Toga Himiko...
The room was silent after Nezu had finished introducing himself to the surprisingly small girl sitting in front of them, glaring at them with hostility and a manic grin as if she didn't truly believe their intentions.
"My name is Shouta Aizawa, I'm the sensei of the two students the league has taken," Aizawa shifted back in his chair, pointedly nodding over to Tsukauchi as he continued speaking, "and this is Detective Tsukauchi . We're on a little bit of a time crunch so let's just get on with it."
At his last sentence was directed to the detective, who nodded beside him, they turned towards the girl in front of them; Tsukauchi deciding to get straight to the point, "We know that you've been interrogated before, but we'd like to ask you again.
You've worked with the league, do you know where they might have taken Pixiebob, Bakugou Katsuki, and Midoriya Izuku?"
Himiko only sneered, narrowing her eyes angrily,
"I'm not gonna out the league to a bunch of heroes like you, even if I only joined them because of stainy..!"
Aizawa raised his brow, remembering the words of advice Nezu had given them before walking into her cell.
'She won't just give it to us for free either so I suggest we push her buttons to see where we get and work from there. There is no doubt in my mind that she isn't mentally sane, so psychological manipulation may not work but it isn't out of the question here, we need to get as much information out of her as possible.!'
Ignoring the hostile words she had spat out before, Aizawa pushed forward, "Stainy? Do you mean stain the hero killer? What, do you like that creep?"
An unsettling grin grew on her face as she rolled back onto her bed with a giggle before sitting quickly back up again excitedly, causing the heroes to lean back slightly as she moved around quickly.
"Stainys great! Trying to make a world where I can use my quirk freely just like the league!"
Her eyes went wide as she excitedly exclaimed her love for stain, giving the three men an opening to continue their search for the information they needed.
Nezu and Tsukauchi let Aizawa take the lead.
"Oh, yea? What else do you like..?"
Toga lifted her hand up to her chin dramatically as she thought, before giggling childishly, "I love Ochako-Chan! All the blood she was covered in made her look so pretty..! Especially after that boy ripped her arm apart! There was so much blood dripping down his face too! He looked really pretty!"
A sly grin formed on her face as she blushed slightly, "Do you think you could let me see Ochako-Chan again..! I'd love to see her covered in blood again..!"
Aizawa gave her a blank glare, not falling for the teenagers' taunts, "…..We'll have to see."
Toga just giggled, swinging her legs back and forth between them.
Tsukauchi took this moment to continue asking some of the questions which Nezu had given him.
"You seem to like blood a lot, has that got something to do with your quirk?"
They already knew the answer to that, only asking it to see what her reaction was to someone asking about her quirk. If what Nezus research said was correct, her quirk was the reason why she had been outcast in the first place.
Well... That, and the fact that she had almost murdered her own classmate before going on the run and killing others, but that was beside the point...
The was very obvious when her guard came up quickly around her, her insane, cheery demeanor changing instantly.
"As if you care about how my quirk works," she spat out with a sneer, "stop digging for information about the few people who don't judge me for my quirk, you're not gonna get any information from me..!"
"That's not true."
Her head snapped violently to the source of Aizawas voice, meeting his serious yet determined stare.
"What?"
Aizawa stifled a sigh as he sat back lazily in his chair, trying to defuse the tense situation, "Your quirk, it allows you to turn into people whos' blood you drink, am I wrong.?"
Toga didn't reply, this time Aizawa not bothering to hide his sigh of irritation at her teenage behaviour as he continued speaking.
"You know, your quirk's very powerful, it must be very useful to have," He began, not putting it lightly, both Nezu and Tsukauchi giving him the side-eye as they wondered where the hell he was takg this, "Why didn't you try to become a hero..?"
Her reaction was like a slap to the face at his words, coming on almost instantaneously as the stress and anxiety of being caught and trapped in a police station starting to break her exterior, only pausing in complete and utter shock for a moment for the insane words the man in front of her was saying.
"Seriously.? A hero..?!" Her disgust at the thought clearly visible, " Do you really think someone like me could be a stupid hero!?"
The anger in her voice was slowly turning hysterical as she laughed out loud at the inconceivable idea, her eyes widening partially as she exclaimed dramatically to the three men opposite her.
"I crave people's blood, and not drinking it for a while sets me in a trance when I finally get my hands on it!I can smell blood coming from a hundred yards away and it tastes just so good..!
Why would anyone want a hero with a quirk like mine..! What hero drinks blood?!"
Toga sat back angrily with a huff, turning away from them on the bed whilst bringing her legs up to her chest, resting her head on her knees as she refused to look back at them.
She grumbled angrily to herself as a few traitorous tears dropped from her eyes.
"I was the demon of my family, my parents were disgusted with me, forcing me to suppress my quirk and urges for my whole life so I could live what they called normally.!"
She paused for a moment, some of her last few words coming off sarcastically before turned to offer the heroes a rabid grin as if she had suddenly remembered something, the insanity which had clawed its way into her mind seeping through the cracks created by the life she had been forced to live.
"I want to live a normal life in the world the league is trying to create..!"
And wasn't that something..
Aizawa sat back in his chair, slowly going through her words. The claim of her parents calling her a demon, her craving for blood, and her ability to smell its presence from far away...
It was all too similar to how some of the staff members of the Bloody-Stain case choose to unknowingly address Midoriya.
Far to similar for comfort...
"Your parents had no right to address you as a Demon" Nezu quietly spoke in, causing the three other occupants to turn and look at him with surprise.
The rat placed his paws in his lap, his beady little intelligent eyes watching Togas every move as she glared at him hatefully, silently taking in his seemingly unwanted words.
"It's normal to want to live somewhere where you don't feel pressured to mask part of yourself to fit in with others around you, to have to pretend to be someone you're not."
Toga sneered at him angrily, "I'm a serial killer, My parents certainly weren't wrong, were they!? I kill people just to see how pretty their blood looks on them for fun!"
Her anger turned sarcastic as she let out a laugh," Do you really think that I can helped now, that I'm worthsaving? You're a little bit late, don't ya think?
But you're more than welcome to try!"
The picture her words were painting wasn't pretty, as Aizawa was quickly starting to get an idea of what was going on inside the psychotic mind of the 17-year-old in front of him.
A 17-year-old who had been shunned her whole life because of her quirk before the pressure burst in its
usual, violent way.
"You know, one of the students we're trying to rescue has a quirk similar to yours, in its stance of how it makes them react to blood." Aizawa began aloofly, leaning his elbows on his knees and he shifted in his seat. "He's got a ghoul quirk, but I'm sure the league already made you aware of that before they sent you to our summer camp to kidnap him.
Toga slumped back in her seat with an exasperated sigh once she realized her little psychotic break hadn't wavered their attempts to get information out of her. "Yea, so? They just told us to be wary of him, they didn't actually tell us what his quirk does in detail..."
Aizawa hummed in response, realizing that she really didn't have a clue what Midoriyas quirk did.
"Midoriyas' quirk requires that he lives off human flesh," He began, revealing bits of information that were already known to the wider public, "He's become a serial killer, just so he could continue to live, but it doesn't have to be like that for him. He doesn't need to do that anymore because we want to help him, but we can't do that unless you tell us where they're keeping Midoriya and Bakugou hidden."
And it was true..! While Midoirya was by definition a serial killer, they wanted to help him from the cards he had been dealt; even if the number of people who wouldn't agree with their decision was in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions... At least the more vocal members of the bloody-stain task force had been stuck under the same boundaries as his students, preventing the still extremely vulnerable data from reaching the press.
It had gotten to the point where members of the original force that had been put together were being asked to leave by the higher-ranking officials within the circle of UA, who had the full knowledge of who the Bloody Stain was and what their intentions had turned out to be.
The first meeting after the summer camp had been a mess, with All Might dealing with it the worst of all... At least it hadn't taken long to get the staff members on board once they had heard who, why and what had happened. Present Mic hadn't needed any prompting at all knowing full well what it was like to be segregated because of their quirk, especially from when he was younger; even if it wasn't to the same extent as the situation they faced.
"And why should I help so-called heroes like you, all greedy for nothing but fame and fortune..
Toga spat sarcastically, parroting the words of Stain, The Hero Killer in the process.
"Because he wants to become a true hero who saves people because it's the right thing to do, fame and fortune are not his priority, and we what to help him achieve that." Aizawa countered automatically, staring determinedly towards Toga as he continued, "He's brave, and has risked himself and his entire livelihood iust to save his friends-"
Toga let out an annoyed huff, "He might have looked pretty in blood, but that's just stupid."
Aizawa ignored her.
"-What his quirk is doesn't bother me, it's not his fault that he can't control the quirk that he was given or what he has to do to survive to live another day. It's his drive to become a true hero which does. I agree that this world has got far too many heroes who do it just for the money and fame, but Midoriya isn't like that and that's why I want to find him..!"
Both Tsukauchi and Nezu turned to look at him, almost as if to stop him while Toga simultaneously shifted her head towards him, slightly surprised by his seemingly unheroic words.
He pressed on.
"Just as Midoriyas quirk requires unfavorable situations to keep him alive, I understand that how your quirk requires to function isn't your fault, and you should never have been treated or judged how you were by your parents or peers in the first place..."
Toga had her head resting on her knees as she sat silently, not making any movement to respond as she slowly started to understand what the homeless-looking hero in front of her was trying to say...
Aizawa sat back in his chair as he finished the statements he had been determined to get across to her, folding his arms as he did so as he felt somewhat successful from the lack of responses coming from the teen who was usually full of retorts. Both Nezu and Tsukauchi eyed him with surprise, praying that his words would get them some answers; not really bothering to decide if their co-worker was being truthful or manipulative to the blond-haired girl.
The room was silent for a tense moment, each side waiting for the other to react first. Once nothing happened, Aizawa spoke up yet again.
"I wasn't kidding when I said your quirk would be useful for Heroics..
That was all that it took to get a reaction, as Toga turned to look affronted, yet attitude surprisingly far more tame than before.
"…..And who in their right mind would want a hero who's murdered people, who drinks' human blood..?"
Aizawa sat up in his seat as his exhaustion and stress began to flood into his words as he spoke.
His mind unfortunately supplying the memories of another lost UA student from long ago as he feared for his students well being.
"In the world of Underground Heroics, very few people care what your quirk does, or how it works." He began seriously, "You don't have to play by the rules as much, not bound by the image of what people perceive heroes to be... There have been times where I've had to kill people for the sake of getting others out alive..."
Toga shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she silently listened to his words.
"Civilians don't realize that heroics isn't all about the glory of winning fights and saving people. It's not possible to be a good hero without getting dirty, people do get hurt, and people unfortunately die. All that matters is saving as many people as you can before the building collapses around you, crushing you from above.."
He knew he would be getting conversation from Nezu after this, but at this point, he didn't care.
Toga didn't want to be fed false information, she was a villain and knew damn well that heroes weren't perfect. There was no point sugar-coating the dark side of their hero society when she had already faced that world alone.
He was sure that she would much rather appreciate having someone be honest to her than lying to her face, and if he wanted to get the information he needed...
He needed to gain her trust, because at that moment all he cared about was his students and ensuring their safety...
Aizawa sighed aloud, rubbing his forehead as his mind caught up with himself as he processed what he had said, knowing the risks he was talking to someone who had already been failed by the system like this.
"...Being a real hero isn't all fun and games, I'm sure you already know that, but it could give you a normal life..."
He took a moment to pause, his last couple of words emphasizing his point.
"…..It would take time, you wouldn't be allowed to just go out on your own straight away. But after all the processes have gone through you'd be able to use your quirk freely within the law while saving hundreds if not thousands of lives... And we can help you make it happen, we just need your help to find where the league are."
He was playing with fire... Trying to persuade a villain to change sides... It didn't help that he knew there would also be hundreds if not thousands of people opposing their promises...
"Why do you think I would trust that, why should I trust you..!" Toga mumbled out spitefully, "Why should I betray the league..?"
Aizawa lent forward, his eyes calculating as they narrowed seriously, not bothering to sugarcoat anything as he spoke clearly and forwardly towards her.
"Because we're giving you a chance to live a normal life, where you could use your quirk within the limits of the law.!"
Toga rolled her eyes, turning her head away from the heroes as she began to lose interest in the same repetitive words leaving Aizawa grimacing at her reaction from behind.
"You have no reason to believe us, I get that, heroes have failed you before." Aizawa began, a sense of serious urgency building in his voice, "But I intend to stick to my words, I have no intention of failing you or my students who need to be saved. I swear won't let that happen."
Toga shifted in her seat as she eyed Aizawa cautiously, waiting for the hero to speak, "Oh yeah, and how on you plan on doing that..?"
Aizawa started with a confident huff.
"Well for starters, if you decide to help us, it will give us a lot to work with when it comes to convicting your awful parents of emotional child abuse.. No should get away with that, no matter what their child is like..!"
Toga turned to look at him with subtle surprise before she let out a low sigh, slumping down in her seat childishly as she turned to face them, knowing full well that this was the only option she was going to get. Even if she knew it would lead her down a long trail of therapy and rehabilitation to get there.
She knew deep down that she hadn't known the league long enough for them to see her as valuable enough to pull her out of the mess she had found herself in now...
Maybe big sis Magne would care enough... Or Twice..? Not that it would matter since it was Shiggarakis' decision...
In reality, she knew she had nothing too loose.
"…..fine, I'll help you, but I only know where the blond kid got taken, "Toga began dully, her voice ridden from the childish exterior she had painted over it before, "Shiggarakis boss wanted Midoriya-kun, but if Bakugou refused to cooperate there's a good chance that Shiggarakis either disintegrated him or given him to his sketchy boss or something.
Weren't the implications behind that terrifying...
But even if the possibility of Toga being a hero were a vague possibility in the distance it gave her something for her to latch onto and Aizawa would be damned if all his hard work and her trust went to waste.
"Do you know where the league of villains base is?"
Tuchiauki quickly began asking, not wasting any time getting the information they needed, with both Nezu and Aizawa asking questions on the side as they quickly put together a dark image of what laid before them.
But even with the thoughts of those horrible possibilities, a wave of hope blew over the trio, finally getting some of the information they desperately needed. No matter how depressing it sounded, they finally had a start..!
Toga twisted back to face the heroes, her shoes barely reaching the floor off the chair,
"Yes, I do..!"
Finally, they had a location.!
The pieces were starting to fall into place, and things were quickly beginning to get into action...
The two heroes left offering Toga their grateful thanks, leaving Tuchiauki behind as he began keeping to their word as he questioned her about her past and parents. Outside the interrogation room, the Aizawa and Nezu quickly began making their way with the information they needed towards the police station exit.
The thumps of heavy feet walking down the corridor along with the small pittering of toes down the corridor were all that could be heard as the principal called out to his work colleague.
"Aizawa.!"
Aizawa ignored him as he continued walking away from the interrogation room towards the police station exit, Nezu trailing quickly behind him as he tried to keep up.
"Aizawa-san.!"
"Not now... We need to get back to UA and set up a counterattack."
Aizawa gritted out as he set his determination on getting out of the building and away from the principal as fast as possible, knowing what was coming if he gave Nezu a chance to speak.
"Aizawa! Please listen.!"
With a tired sigh, Aizawa slowly came to a stop as he turned to face the principal who came to a stop beside him with his little legs.
"If this is about what I said, then forget it... It's nothing to worry about. We need to get back to UA to start planning." he grumbled out with annoyance, subconsciously allowing the principal to grab ahold of the end of his capture weapon as he began to climb up to his shoulders.
Nezu ignored his words as he spoke, settling himself down onto Aizawas shoulder.
"..I know, we need to get back as quickly as we can, but Aizawa-Kun.." The principal began sincerely, turning to look at his silently walking colleague, "What happened back then, to Shirakumo-Kun... It Won't happen again..."
At Nezus words, Aizawa dipped his face further into his scarf, the connotations from his outburst before quickly coming back to light.
It didn't take long for Nezu to sense his resentment of the topic as he shifted to hide his face from the mammal, a small yet winced smile the only thing Nezu could provide as he continued talking.
"... Your students are strong, and Midoriya-Kun and Bakugou-kun even more so... They're both truly resilient people, can assure you, we will find them before it's too late..."
Aizawa slowed in his pace as he lowered his face further into his scarf, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as his boss hit the nail on the head of his concerns, damn stupid intelligent... thing.!
"..I know how strong-willed the pair of them are.
Neither of them stops at anything to achieve their goals, but this is different from school lessons or even the USJ attack."
He let out a small defeated sigh as he paused.
"I'm more concerned about how long the pair of them can hold out, its already been three almost four days with nothing to go on..."
Nezu nodded solemnly, "It's true, but remember, Midoriya has already endured far more than anyone else his age without giving in. While the chooses he's made haven't lead him down a clear path, the fact he's latest this only without any help is remarkable, credit must be given where credit is due..
The principal watched with a kinder smile as
Aizawa slowly turned his head back towards him.
"And don't forget Bakugou is far too driven to become the next number one hero to let a group of villains take him down. The pair of them are smart, and I don't doubt that we will find them alive."
Nezus overconfident demeanor did little to ease Shouta's nerves, but the small intelligent mammal wasn't wrong.
If he had to choose two worse students for the villains to choose to turn to their side, there were no worse options than those two.
Aizawa closed his eyes for a brief moment as he accepted his boss's words, his eyes opening full of determination and strength as he did so.
"I sure damn hope you're right..."
A/N if you can go to any anime world where would you go and what new fanfic are you reading right now I'm reading Reality Master: Multiversal Summon
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