Chapter Text
Detective Tsukauchi sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he leans on the kitchen counter, waiting for his coffee to brew. The clock above his head reads sometime after 1 AM, and Tsukauchi resigns himself to another late night.
The week had been exhausting; one of the difficulties of being a famous detective is that he is constantly swamped with cases. This week has been worse due to a rise in quirk trafficking. He’d been handed ten cases alone in the past three days and had managed only to complete half. Luckily, he’s taking a blessed break from cases for the next two days while his intern gains experience in his stead.
His coffee is just about finished brewing when his doorbell rings.
Who could be ringing the doorbell at nearly 2 AM?
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he pushes himself off the counter, shuffling to his front door. He’s going to be pissed if it’s another case.
Perhaps it's one of his enemies come to kill him? That would be nice…
The door opens to the crisp night outside, but no one is standing there. He looks around, but there is no figure hiding, eclipsed by shadows. Finally, he glances down at the welcome mat, eyebrow raised as he spots a small, blue envelope. He looks around once more before picking it up, turning it over in his hands. There’s no return address and no mention of who it is from. Tsukauchi suddenly has a bad feeling.
With one final glance into the night, Tsukauchi turns, heading back into the house, door shut tight behind him. Unwilling to stew in suspense, he pulls a letter opener from his drawer immediately, slicing cleanly through the envelope to reveal its contents.
It's a simple, typed letter with average-quality paper and no means to identify the sender. Tsukauchi grimaces, already feeling as if he won’t like this, before he starts to read.
Detective Tsukauchi
I’ve written to inform you of the disappearance of The Number 2 Pro Hero: Hawks, along with a request for you to investigate his whereabouts at my behest. I’ve reason to believe that someone close to Hawks could’ve orchestrated his disappearance. The check attached should be more than enough to cover your services.
Thank you for your time.
There's no sign off.
Looking at the envelope again reveals the aforementioned check, made out to him for… 4,190,500 Yen!?
He shouldn’t accept it. He already has so many cases to solve. But the allure of the money, combined with his concern for the situation, convinces him. Hawks’ disappearance, which hadn’t been in any news that he’d noticed, was concerning enough, but someone was willing to pay him a lot of money to investigate the crime that may be connected to other high-ranking heroes. He’s always liked a good case, and his work has been feeling ever so dull lately…
He’s eager to accept after that.
– –
Approaching Hawks’ apartment building, the first thing he notices is sirens.
His eyebrows shoot up because this doesn’t sound good.
The closer he gets, the louder they become until he rounds the corner to see the entire building taped off by cops. Glancing around, he notices the pro heroes Uwabami and Mt. Lady standing off to the side. Endeavor is busy talking to the police, and Tsukauchi gets the strangest feeling that he isn’t supposed to be here. As he approaches, two of the officers on the scene notice him, exchanging confused glances.
“Excuse me, sir, you’re not allowed to be here.”
Tsukauchi sighs before pulling out his badge, “Detective Tsukauchi, nice to meet you. Apologies, but can you tell me what happened here?” His name gets looks of recognition, and the men back off.
“Not a word of this to anyone, but pro hero Hawks went missing last night.”
Tsukauchi bites his lip, brow furrowing. That’s strange. “What time?”
The cops exchange glances before speaking again. “Around 3:45 AM, according to the neighbors who heard the commotion.”
3 AM
“Commotion? There were signs of struggle?”
“Oh yes, it's a mess in there, furniture turned over, windows shattered, the likes.”
Tsukauchi nods, gathering his thoughts.
The letter arrived last night, close to 2 AM. Hawks didn’t go missing until closer to 4 AM, which means his mysterious benefactor knew of his disappearance before it occurred. Just who had hired him? Could it be that they themselves had done it? But what reason had they to hire a detective to investigate their own crimes? Perhaps instead, they knew the crime would happen, but then why need him? It makes no sense.
He needs to investigate more.
“Thank you, gentleman, you have been very helpful. Can you tell me who is currently in charge of the case?”
The nod towards Endeavor and Tsukauchi internally sighs. The man is a great hero, but notoriously hard to work with. It’s a wonder Hawks puts up with him as it is, though that’s probably why Endeavor is on his case besides his high rank.
He hesitates a few moments more before letting out a long-suffering sigh and acquiescing, heading in the hero's direction. When he reaches him, the man is finishing a tense conversation with the owner of the building.
“Excuse me, Endeavor-san?” The man looks over, peering down at him due to his massive height. Endeavor’s hands alone are the size of Tsukauchi’s head.
“Yes?”
“I’m Detective Tsukauchi. I’ve been hired to investigate the disappearance of Hawks. I’m here to ask you for more details on the case in the hopes that we can work together.”
Endeavor blinks down at him, seeming confused.
“Who hired you? The case has not yet been made known to the public or anyone outside this jurisdiction.” He crosses his arms over his chest as the other person he had been talking to scurries away.
“I am aware, but I don’t know who hired me. Only that they knew and paid enough for my interest. I believe I can help you find Hawks quickly.”
“I’ve heard of you.” Endeavor looks thoughtful, “You’re quite good from what I’ve been told.” Tsukauchi nearly flushes at the praise but composes himself. “Yes, you could be useful to us.”
“Us?”
“I have a small team of people assembled to help me.” He tilts his head towards Mt. Lady and Uwabami, “Mirko will be joining soon, and we are to be backed by the Commission as well.”
Tsukauchi raises an eyebrow at the mention of the Commission. What interest do they have in this case to be personally backing it? Sure its the number two hero, but…
It’s just another thing to look into, he supposes.
But first… “Can I see the apartment?”
Endeavor sighs, but nods, and ushers Tsukauchi to the front of the building. People stare, but no one gets in their way.
Tsukauchi prepares himself for the crime scene. He’s used to this, to crime scenes stained with blood and flecked with broken glass; he’s just about seen it all.
Hawks’ apartment is not what he expected.
There's no blood, but the furniture is full of bullet holes. Despite being in the penthouse, the windows are shattered, as if the perp had entered through them. With how many are broken and the amount of bullets, this was not a one-man job; it took several people. But there's no trace of the hero, no blood, nothing. The only thing Tsukauchi can find is a smashed tea mug, a dark stain soaking the carpet, which is long dried. Another odd thing of note: there's ash ground into the carpet.
He breaks off from Endeavor, walking further into the apartment to search the other rooms. There's not much to examine; the place is sparsely decorated and gives the impression that the owner is barely home, considering the thin film of dust on everything. Given the hero's hours, that is probably the case.
He tries not to pry too much into Hawks’ privacy, but he needs to know who would have a reason to disappear him.
But there’s not much to go on.
The bedroom reveals nothing.
When he checks the bathroom, the only things he finds out of the ordinary are the two toothbrushes by the sink and a box of black hair dye in the trash. Someone else spends time here, but for all he has heard, Hawks doesn’t have a partner. Still, the simplest explanation is often the case; perhaps Hawks has a secret lover. He has no way of knowing who it is, but it would be useful to track them down.
He files that information away for later.
He checks the cabinets, finding nothing but first aid supplies, Hydromorphone (a strong pain killer), Zolpidem (what was that one again?), and diet supplements.
Back in the living room, the scene of the crime, he rummages through the last few drawers. He finds the basics: keys, wallet, ID, etc. Next, he searches the trash can as standard practice. It's mostly microwavable meals, instant ramen, and KFC trash. Tsukauchi grimaces at the poor diet choices, especially for a pro hero.
What he finds at the bottom, though, is what's most interesting: used medical staples. This is interesting for two reasons. For one, Tsukauchi is not under the impression that Hawks was injured enough for a visit to the hospital lately, and second, there are so many of them. An abnormal amount, in fact, and Tsukauchi feels like an injury of that size would not have gone unnoticed.
He glances at the sink and counter, noting another mug, washed and placed on a towel to the side. The towel is still slightly damp, indicating it was washed last night.
Two mugs?
When he’s finished, he turns back to Endeavor, who is deep in conversation with another officer. He catches his eye, nodding at him as he turns to leave.
From the outside, this looks like a standard kidnapping, busted doors, broken glass, missing person; in fact, it's strange how typical this is. Two different timelines are going on here; something is missing.
He needs to write everything down, assess all the information, question some wit-
“I know what you did.”
Tsukauchi stops short, startled at how close the voice is.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He glances around. The voices seem to be coming from around the corner, and when he peeks his head around it, he spots Uwabami talking to Mt. Lady, the latter with her arms crossed uncomfortably over her chest.
“Oh, really? Then you wouldn’t mind if I asked Kamui about it, would you?” Uwabami mocks.
There's a loud thud, and Tsukauchi realizes Mt. Lady has slammed her against the wall. “You wouldn’t dare.” Her glare is downright murderous.
Uwabami is unfazed, grinning in her face. “It's not a big secret, you know, if I don’t tell him, someone else will. Hawks would’ve-”
“Yeah, well Hawks isn’t here, is he?” Mt. Lady releases Uwabami, flipping her hair in her face as she turns and storms off.
That was strange.
Was there a possible motive there? What did she know? What was Hawks going to tell?
He needs to collect his thoughts.
Tsukauchi takes a cab straight home, crashing through his front door in an exhausted mess. After shuffling off his coat and leaving his shoes by the door, he paces through his house to the office. There on the corkboard on his wall is the mysterious letter, alone in the center, with nothing surrounding it. That is about to change.
He starts by pinning a picture of Hawks, then pictures of the crime scene. He adds the mugs, strange household items, and a picture of Mt. Lady: someone with a possible motive.
He steps back when he’s done, tilting his head at his work. It’s largely incomplete, not uncommon, but enough to sour his mood somewhat. The last thing he needs to do tonight, because it is now night, is figure out the timeline. He searches the internet for Hawks sightings over the past few days; everything seems normal: normal patrols, normal meetings, a modeling gig.
Oh, a last-minute modeling gig, it looks like.
Hawks is a model, so this isn’t out of the ordinary, but it wouldn’t hurt to look into it. He’ll head over there tomorrow to ask a few questions.
Right now, he needs to go to sleep before he falls asleep on his feet.
He can already tell this case is going to be so fun.
– –
Tsukauchi absentmindedly sips his coffee as he is led through the modeling agency. It’s busy, with people rushing around, and the bustling workers drown out the voice of his tour guide. He hopes this doesn’t take too long; he can already feel a headache coming on.
“Sir? sir?” He snaps out of his daze, turning back to the woman addressing him.
“Yes?”
“Please wait here while I fetch my boss for you, ok?” The overworked assistant looks on the verge of insanity, and Tsukauchi understands. He nods, not wanting to keep her any longer than he must. She rushes off, leaving him to sit in a chair against the wall of the hallway.
He does not envy her job.
He sighs, taking another sip of his coffee, before pulling out his phone to check his messages.
There's a message from All Might asking about his schedule, which he’ll answer later when he has his head on straight, and some work-related emails. Interestingly enough, there's also a private DM from an unknown number. It says “Cold.”
Tsukauchi blinks, unsure of what the message means. He’s about to block it when a news notification pops up on his screen, and he instinctively clicks it.
Hawks’ face stares back at him through the screen, a reminder of what he came here to do. The news article goes on to talk about the pros mysterious disappearance, and Tsukauchi wonders how they got all of this information; there's no way the heroes would let this get out this quickly. He can feel his headache getting worse at the thought of the storm this is going to kick up.
“You good?”
Tsukauchi jolts, embarrassed to be found with his head in his hands. He looks up to glimpse a face he has become recently familiar with: Uwabami.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“You’re that detective on Hawks’ case, right?”
Tsukauchi blinks, “Yeah, I’m Detective Tsukauchi. Nice to meet you.”
“Uwabami, the pleasure is mine!” She takes his hand to shake it. “What are you doing here anyway?”
Tsukauchi looks her over, noting her strange clothing and heavy makeup. “Hawks was here a few days before he went missing; I thought I’d check. Are you modeling?”
Uwabami’s expression darkens for a fraction of a second, so fast that Tsukauchi would’ve missed it if he wasn’t watching so closely, before it clears and she smirks at him. “Yeah! Like what you see?”
Tsukauchi does not feel like answering that question.
“I was supposed to model something else a few days ago, but there were some complications, so here I am!” Uwabami grins, smoothing her dress.
Tsukauchi’s not sure what to say, so he switches topics. “I heard you talking to Mt. Lady the other day about something she did. She seemed upset. What happened?”
Uwabami raises a brow, probably wondering how he heard that, before glancing around. Tsukauchi looks but sees no one watching them. When he turns back, her face is right in front of his.
“Don’t tell anyone, but she is cheating on Kaumi Woods.”
Tsukauchi sucks in a breath, “And Hawks knew?”
“Of course, he knew! That man knows everything! He confronted her about it too, causing a big argument when he threatened to tell him.”
Now that's a motive right there.
Just then, the assistant from earlier returns and starts ushering Tsukauchi away.
“See you around!” Uwabami calls, and Tsukauchi waves back halfheartedly. Gods, he is so tired.
The office he is crammed into is small, nothing like what he expected, and the lights are dimmed low.
A slender man sits across from him, a burly guard behind him. Tsukauchi sits nervously, surveying the scene. “Any reason we are in a spare office?” The man grimaces, proving Tsukauchi’s suspicions.
“There's no need to make a scene with a detective coming to my office. Especially after the news we received today about one of our models.” Hawks
“You mean Hawks?”
The man sighs, “Who else?”
“I heard he had a last-minute shoot the other day. What was that about?” Tsukauchi relaxes in his chair, pulling out his notebook and pen.
“I don't see why that is relevant.” The man's voice has gone high-pitched.
Ugh, he’s already annoying.
“I simply wish to form a timeline, see if anyone has cause to hurt him.” It’s the truth, while he does not suspect this place of trying to off one of their best models, someone here might hold a personal grudge.
“A big designer decided to switch up models at the very last second, so we had to rush to hire him on.”
Interesting, it's strange but-
“What happened to the other model?”
The man sighs, “The designer decided she wasn’t good enough anymore.”
“She?”
“Pro hero Uwabami. I can’t say I know what he was thinking, she is hot,” he licks his lips, probably imagining the very woman they are speaking about. Tsukauchi grimaces. “But Hawks is far more popular.”
Could this be a possible motive?
“She's here today, though.” Tsukauchi points out.
“Yeah, her agents were furious and demanded we book her a gig immediately, so we did.”
“Hmm,” Uwabami didn’t look happy when he mentioned Hawks earlier, even if it was only for a split second. From the sounds of it, she could’ve lost gigs to Hawks before. Could she be so blinded by jealousy that she wanted him to disappear? Still, there's no way she could do it alone, not with how much Hawks outranks her; he wouldn’t lose. She had to have had help, but who? He isn’t sure. It’s a weak motive, though, and might just be speculation.
“Thank you for your time.”
“What? That's it? I’m not complaining, but…” The man waves him off, stretching out on his chair.
Tsukauchi takes that as his cue to stand up and exit the office.
He doesn’t spot Uwabami as he leaves, and part of him is glad. If she is the culprit, he can’t look at her right now.
He can’t share what he has found with the team because she is on it, which is troubling. Could she be there just to cover for herself?
Tsukauchi needs to talk to Endeavor.
And then there was the thing with Mt. Lady.
Tsukauchi has a sinking feeling in his gut that there was more truth to the letter’s words than he had thought. Two people so close to Hawks’ case having a motive doesn’t bode well, but it's too early to tell; he shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
– –
Mirko arrives for the case the next day.
Tsukauchi’s first impression of her is that she is loud.
He can see why she is Hawks’ best friend; they are both energetic and obnoxious. It’d be entirely too much for Tsukauchi if he hadn’t worked closely with All Might for the past however many years.
She bursts into the debriefing room, scraping a chair across the floor to sit with them at the table. Endeavor stops his speech to glare at her, and gets a toothy grin in return.
“Mirko, it’s about time.” Endeavor looks so done, and Tsukauchi can sympathize.
“Sorry, boss, I’m very busy at the moment. Important stuff, y’know.”
“More important than finding Hawks?”
She freezes, her smile dropping immediately, “Well, no, but-”
“Then sit down so we can get this meeting going again.” Endeavor swiftly cuts her off, returning to his notes.
Mirko, honest to gods, pouts. Tsukauchi has never seen someone so terrifying make a face that is the exact opposite. He would never point this out, though; he’d rather not be murdered by her. Mirko has a notorious temper and a penchant for violence. She is quick to resort to it, which, in Tsukauchi’s opinion, is not very becoming of a hero, but who is he to say anything?
Strangely, she is not taking the disappearance of her best friend very seriously.
She and Hawks are opposite in many ways, with him being less aggressive and more analytical, though still fierce in his own right. But Hawks has one of the lowest casualty and property destruction rates, while Mirko seems to revel in destroying things, including villains. Tsukauchi wonders if these differences could have led to a falling out. It’s a stretch, though.
Still, he's not blind to her seeming lack of concern.
Tsukauchi listens as the meeting drones on, not learning anything that he hadn’t already known. Across from him, Mirko appears to be growing more and more restless.
Endeavor is going on about possible suspects when Mirko finally snaps and mutters, “This is ridiculous.”
Endeavor stops, eye twitching as he turns to address her. “Do you have something to say?”
She scoffs, meeting his eyes. “Yes. This is pointless. Who cares about some random ass villain group who might have had a grudge against him? That’s a stretch at best. What we need to be focusing on is what the Commission knows.”
Endeavor frowns, “The Commission knows as much as we do.”
“Bullshit. With how tightly they keep their pet bird on a leash, there's no doubt they know something. Though I’m still convinced they have something to do with-”
Enji slams his hands on the table, “Mirko!” Her mouth clicks shut. “Mind your words. I won’t tolerate such disrespect. If you still want to be on the case, I suggest you be quiet.”
Tsukauchi’s eyes narrow. Strange. Endeavor seems uncomfortable. And what had Mirko been saying about the Commission? Clearly, she doesn’t like them. And what was it she called Hawks- Pet Bird? Maybe the HPSC has more to do with Hawks than he initially thought.
He shakes his head, trying to pay attention as the meeting continues, but his mind keeps wandering back to Mirko’s words.
He needs answers.
The meeting continues with Mirko barely able to keep her mouth shut. Tsukauchi can see the veins bulging in her forehead and is mildly concerned.
When the meeting finally ends, Mirko stomps out of the meeting room, muttering about “useless fools.” Tsukauchi is quick to follow her, trying hard to catch up.
“Excuse me!”
Mirko turns, setting her violent crimson eyes on him. “What do you want?”
“What you said before, about the Commission. What did you mean?”
“You heard Endeavor.” She grimaces, “I’m not allowed to say.”
Tsukauchi sighs, debating his choices. “I won’t tell him. Hell, there's a lot about the case that I haven’t told him. I’m conducting a separate interrogation as well.”
Mirko looks interested; the malice in her eyes lessened. “Oh?”
“I’m trying to solve the case as effectively as possible, and some of the information I can’t share with the others.”
“Is it something to do with them? Or something they would shut down? You just can’t trust heroes these days, too corrupt.”
Tsukauchi tilts his head, “Something like that.”
She sniffs, “All right, fine.” She looks around, making sure they are alone. “The Commission is far more involved with Hawks than anyone thinks they are. I’m his best friend, and I still don’t know the full extent of it. They micromanage every aspect of his life, which is suspicious as hell, and he reports directly to them. I did some digging, and even his agency is owned by them. Anyways, recently there's been tension between them, their relationship has gotten pretty testy, and Hawks is very unhappy with them or something. I’m not saying they did anything to him, but they definitely know something; you can’t be that involved in a person's life and not know. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a tracking device on him.”
Tsukauchi takes time to digest this information before turning back to Mirko. “Thank you for your help. I’ll look into it.” He turns to leave, but Mirko grabs his shoulder.
“Be careful. The Commission doesn’t take kindly to people snooping in their business. I’d be cautious with who you trust and hope you don’t uncover something you shouldn’t have seen.”
With that cryptic message, she turns and stomps away, leaving Tsukauchi to process what just happened.
How much does Mirko actually know? And just how much is she not letting on?
And if Endeavor's reaction to her words was anything to go by, he shouldn’t ask him; it's just another thing he’ll have to investigate in secret.
Though he does need to ask the man a few questions about Hawks.
– –
“What do you want?”
Endeavor glares at him over his desk like Tsukauchi is the gum stuck to his shoe.
Tsukauchi swallows, unsure of what's got Endeavor in a bad mood but not wanting to find out.
“I just have a few questions regarding Hawks before the incident. Did he seem normal to you? Was there anything you thought was off?”
Endeavor sits silently for a moment, thinking.
“Not that I’m aware of, though we don’t work together as much anymore, Hawks is off on a big mission.”
“A mission? What mission?”
“I cannot say. It is confidential.” Endeavor replies gruffly. “But when we had an overlapping patrol the day before, nothing seemed off about him.”
Tsukauchi nods, filing away the mission for later.
“Is there anybody close to Hawks that he has had a falling out with, maybe?”
Endeavor shakes his head, “No, he gets along with everyone.”
LIE
Tsukauchi stills, careful not to give himself away. Most people don’t know about his quirk, something he plans to keep that way. His quirk allows him to detect when someone has lied to him, making him essentially a walking lie detector.
Endeavor is lying, but why?
Is it to cover for someone? Or for himself?
“Are you sure?”
Endeavor furrows his brows. “Yes.”
LIE
“I see,” Tsukauchi stands, gathering his notes, “that will be all.”
Endeavor stands with him, “Allow me to walk you out.”
Tsukauchi nods, letting him lead the way and trying to stop his hands from shaking.
The elevator ride down is filled with an awkward silence. Tsukauchi wishes to disappear the entire time.
“Shouto!” Tsukauchi tilts his head when he notices Endeavor’s youngest son in the lobby. Shouto looks up at his name, cold eyes fixed on his father. He stays silent.
“You should be training right now, Shouto.” Endeavor stands over him.
Shouto sighs, meeting Endeavor's steely gaze with one of his own. “I’m taking a break.”
Tsukauchi feels the room heating up and decides to remind father and son that there is someone else here.
“You must be Todoroki Shouto! Endeavor’s youngest, right?” He tries to be cheerful in the face of their sour expressions. It is hard.
Shouto nods, looking at him flatly.
“Yes, this is my son; he’s training to be a hero.” Endeavor claps a hand on Shouto’s back, and he flinches.
It's not subtle either, and while the hand on his shoulder is relatively gentle, it’s clear the kid had been expecting more. Flinching at a mere touch from his father…
Tsukauchi knows what signs of abuse look like.
Just what the hell did Endeavor do to his kid? Kids??
Tsukauchi swallows, holding his tongue. He can’t be making accusations, especially not at the number two hero. But he feels much concern.
Shouto shrugs his dad off, walking away without so much as a goodbye. Tsukauchi watches him go, unnerved.
“Well, I’m gonna head out. See you at the next meeting, Endeavor.”
Endeavor nods, turning to head back to his office.
Tsukauchi stares at his retreating back with growing dread.
– –
Tsukauchi hadn’t meant to run into Todoroki Natuso.
It just so happened that he had gone to the same coffee shop as him on his way to the office. The past few days had been a lot, and he needed something more than just his shitty homemade coffee to sustain him.
He’d entered the cafe, looking down at his phone as he checked his emails and got into line. The line began to move, and he looked up, noticing a shock of spiky, white hair a few people in front of him. The man was listing off his order to the barista. He looked familiar. Then they asked his name.
“Todoroki Natsuo”
Tsukauchi recognizes it immediately as another of Endeavor’s kids. What a coincidence to run into him here.
He is not oblivious to Natsuo’s clear distaste for his father. The man has made it abundantly clear that he hates Endeavor vehemently.
Which is what makes Tsukauchi risk it all.
“You’re Todoroki Natsuo, right? Endeavor’s kid?”
Natsuo turns to him with a scowl, opening his mouth to probably tell him to fuck off. Tsukauchi cuts him off, “I’m Detective Tsukauchi. I’m working on the Hawks case. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“I don’t think I’m the best person to ask. I’m not involved with the case at all.”
“The questions are more about your father.” Natsuo scowls again, and Tsukauchi is quick to add on. “I am concerned by Shouto’s behavior around him. I figured I’d ask if everything is ok at home?”
Natsuo’s expression falters, his mouth falling open. “I don’t-” He swallows, “He’s a shitty father and all, but that’s it.”
LIE
“Natsuo, I need you to be honest with me. It’s the only way I can help.”
“Oh? And what if there is more? What are you going to do against the number one hero?”
“Please, just help me understand.”
“He used to be an abusive piece of shit, is that what you want to hear?!” He snarls, drawing stares from the other patrons.
Tsukauchi swallows, “Used to be?”
“I don’t know, he’s trying to redeem himself and be a better person or some shit. As if he can erase the past.” Natsuo scoffs, folding his arms across his chest. “I don’t care what he does; he’s still a piece of shit who has everyone fooled. He doesn’t deserve to be a hero.”
“I’m sorry,” Tsukauchi mumbles, feeling sick, “I didn’t know.”
Natsuo sighs, running a hand through his spiky hair. “Nobody does, well, Hawks did but-”
“Wait, wait- what?” Tsukauchi stops his train of thought, mind reeling from the new information.
“Yeah, Hawks found out somehow. He confronted Endeavor about it a few weeks ago and threatened to arrest him. Obviously, it was an empty threat, but it still left Father Dearest shaken. I guess the weight of his actions finally got to him.” Natsuo grimaces, lost in thought. “But there's not really any hope for justice now, considering…”
Considering Hawks is missing
Holy Shit
Could it be that Endeavor got rid of Hawks?
He needs- he needs his evidence board. He’s got so much homework to do.
“Is there any way I can get an official statement from you?”
– –
Later that night, Tsukauchi stands in front of his evidence board, staring at the fruits of his labours over the past few days.
On the board, there are four names, four possible suspects.
Mt Lady, Hawks was going to expose her for cheating and probably ruin her.
Uwabami, Hawks was taking all her popularity and leaving her without work.
The Commission: he's still not sure yet, but they have a lot more to do with Hawks than he originally thought.
And Endeavor, the number one hero, who stands to lose everything if Hawks exposes his abuse.
Four suspects of kidnapping and possible murder.
This complicates things far more than Tsukauchi anticipated.
He’s got his work cut out for him.