19Chapter 3
Fukidashi Manga was found dead in alley three blocks away from UA's campus.
In a horrific twist, Ashido, Kaminari and Sero had been the ones to find his body, along with two students from 1-B named Kaibara Sen and Tsuburaba Kosei. The latter pair had planned to meet Fukidashi for lunch off-campus (with the teachers' permissions), and coincidentally met the group from 1-A while en route. They got caught up in some light rival-type banter about the upcoming Sports Festival before they heard a shout from an alley, and when they went to investigate...
Hitoshi tried not to think on it too hard. Based on the email sent to all students that same night, it seemed to be a mugging gone wrong. It had actually been a random bystander who'd shouted after stumbling upon the body. The alley happened to be a shortcut connecting to another street that was full of people thanks to the lunch rush, so the culprit got away by mixing into the crowd.
Either way, the atmosphere on Monday was even heavier than last Monday. "We won't pretend this isn't just some ordinary tragic event," Aizawa told them gravely. "Horrific as it is to say, UA students have died before, but never so early in the year, and never to a mugging. This marks only the second student to be murdered outside of hero-related activity in my lifetime. The fact it happened so close to campus is a complete and utter failure on our parts."
He heaved a heavy sigh, clearly frustrated. "Last week Class 1-B was instructed to give your class space, and now we give you the same order. Do not approach anyone from Class 1-B about this. Do not discuss it in earshot of them, and do not stare at them. Respect their need for space and time to process this, just as they did for you. Am I understood?"
He was met with a series of grim nods, no one in the mood to argue.
(Especially not with Uraraka and Aoyama's desks empty.)
"Apparently the other murder in Aizawa's lifetime was a guy from gen-ed whose parents had some serious issues. Dad wanted a divorce, the mom went postal and murdered the kids."
Hitoshi had no idea why he looked that up, or why he felt like sharing it at lunch. Iida and Ojiro visibly blanched and Kouda quietly whimpered, while Shouji and Tokoyami just nodded. "Divorces can bring out the worst in people," Tokoyami murmured. "There was a similar case at my middle school. It did not end in murder, but I do recall there was a house set on fire."
"And I think my appetite is gone," Ojiro grumbled, pushing away his food with a sigh. "Why'd you have to even bring that up?"
"Sorry," Hitoshi said with a halfhearted shrug. He really had no idea why he did that. Maybe he just didn't want to be alone in his suffering for once.
"I... really don't know what to say about this latest event," Iida sighed. "I am incredibly worried for Uraraka and Aoyama, though. Aizawa-sensei didn't mention whether they withdrew or not."
"Aoyama and I get off at the same train stop, though our paths diverge outside teh station," Tokoyami commented, surprising Hitoshi. Somehow the idea of them merely living in the same vicinity felt odd given how different they were. Night and day felt like an apt and literal comparison. "He asked me to walk to his apartment building with him last Thursday since neither of us attended training that day, so perhaps I can check on him after school."
That had Hitoshi wincing. If Aoyama asked Tokoyami to walk him to his apartment, his nerves really were getting the better of him. "That would be immensely reassuring," Iida said with a tired-looking smile, but it quickly faded as he glanced across the room. "Still, I'm also worried about our peers from 1-B..."
Hitoshi followed his glance to a cluster of tables where all of 1-B had gathered. He could recognize Kendo and Awase easily, the pair sitting at different tables with their presumed friends. He noticed the class seemed to crowd around two boys in particular, whom he suspected must be Kaibara and Tsuburaba. 1-A had formed a similar protective crowd around Ashido, Kaminari and Sero, clearly trying to protect them.
Ojiro frowned and crossed his arms, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "You know, even though we found the scene at the Bakugou house, we... didn't actually see the bodies," he muttered, grimacing as he added quietly, "Or much of them, anyway." Hitoshi promptly lost his appetite at the reminder of what he saw, much to his dismay.
"Do you think Lunch Rush's food is any good?" he quipped sarcastically as he pushed his own tray away. "I don't think I've been able to finish more than half the lunches I get here."
"Technically, you started this by mentioning that murder," Shouji pointed out.
"Yeah, but that was twenty years ago, and I didn't actually see a severed arm that time," Hitoshi snarked back. That had everyone wincing, Kouda bowing his head with a horrified whine. Hitoshi felt guilt kick in almost instantly at that. Something about the guy just made him think of a kicked puppy, and he heaved a guilty sigh. "Sorry, shouldn't have said that. I'll... try to keep it to therapy."
"So you've got repeat sessions too?" Ojiro asked.
"Yep. Got another session today after school." Probably for the best if he was lashing out at his friends like this.
That last thought gave him pause. Friends, huh? He couldn't remember the last time he'd thought of someone as a friend. While he hadn't been actively bullied or anything, not many kids wanted to talk to the kid with a villainous Quirk. If anything, they tried to be a bit nicer just so he wouldn't lash out at him. Which also left him less inclined to make friends with them.
Maybe he should talk about that in therapy too. Might make a nice break from all the doom and gloom of murder.
He got up with a sigh. "We're allowed to wander campus during lunch, right?" he asked. "Because I don't think I'm gonna finish lunch, and I don't think I'll be good for conversation today."
"Yeah, same," Ojiro sighed. "I'd suggest we do some training since we missed out on Saturday, but probably better not to exercise on an empty stomach since we'll have heroics after this anyway."
"...Dammit, you're right." Hitoshi groaned. He'd even skipped breakfast that morning, not really feeling that hungry when he thought about the crowd of reporters that would be waiting outside the gates. Just like every other morning since the year started. Sighing, he decided to sit down and force a few bites of the food down his throat just so he wouldn't have a totally empty stomach.
That seemed to amuse his friends more than anything, though Iida looked a bit concerned. "Shinsou, I thought you weren't hungry?" Hitoshi finished chewing and swallowed before answering.
"Tasteless food is better than nothing," he declared plainly, getting up. "You guys can finish the rest if you want. I'm gonna take a walk around campus."
"Want company?" Ojiro offered, but Hitoshi shook his head.
"Not this time, I think. Sorry. Need some space." The others nodded in understanding and let Hitoshi go without any protest. He had no idea where to go, but he figured pretty much anywhere would be better than the lunchroom. Being alone sounded great right now.
He didn't get his wish.
"Shinsou?"
He had to suppress a sigh before turning to look at the person who called out to him, and only bothered responding because it was Todoroki. This probably marked the first time the other boy had spoken to... well, anyone, actually. He took the "loner" gig to a whole new level; he made Hitoshi look like a goddamn social butterfly. "Something up, Todoroki?" he asked.
"I was wondering if I could talk to you about Bakugou."
Of course he was. Hitoshi debated on just walking away—Aizawa had threatened everyone not to ask him about this stuff—but then he decided, fuck it. He'd already lost his appetite and had therapy after school anyway, he could work out any new traumas there. "What about him?" he asked, and they began walking with Todoroki in the lead.
"My father is keeping track of the investigation," he started bluntly, pitching his voice low.
"Endeavor's actually paying attention to this?" Hitoshi asked, mildly surprised. The guy didn't strike him as a people person, and he figured the Number Two Hero had bigger fish to fry than this.
"It's because they still don't know if it's connected to the group from USJ or not," Todoroki explained. "He gets regular updates from the investigators. I'm not supposed to know anything about it, but I overheard him talk about it a bit at home. I also heard what you said at lunch a few minutes ago and it reminded me of some things he said, so I thought maybe you could help answer some questions."
Yet another surprise, Todoroki was eavesdropping on them. He had noticed the other boy sitting at a nearby table, but he didn't think he'd be listening in. Now, Hitoshi really should just say "fuck no" and walk away instead of following him out a side door that led outside, but for some reason he didn't really feel like doing that right now. Mainly because Todoroki had implied he might have some knowledge the students weren't supposed to know.
"If I answer, you'll tell me what you heard, right?" he asked as Todoroki steered him towards a tree a bit away from the building.
"Of course," Todoroki agreed.
"Then shoot." He had nothing to lose except his sanity. Todoroki nodded, remaining silent until they reached the tree.
"Did you see a severed hand?" he started.
It was so blunt and straight to the point, Hitoshi almost wanted to laugh. Or maybe it was just the hysteria at remembering the scene in the bathroom. Yep, he probably shouldn't be talking about this if that's how he felt, but fuck it, he already came this far. "An arm, actually," he corrected with a shrug, surprisingly nonchalant and not hysterically giggling. "Definitely severed though. Was in a bathtub on the second floor." Todoroki frowned.
"So maybe it wasn't them after all," he murmured, and Hitoshi felt something click.
"Thinking about that guy covered in hands at USJ?" he guessed, and the other boy nodded.
"I don't think you ever got a close look, but when I went to the plaza towards the end I got a good look at them. They looked... wrong." He frowned, clearly bothered. "The color was off and gray, but the skin's texture also seemed realistic." His words reminded Hitoshi of Uraraka's comment about them looking real, and he felt a chill down his spine.
"So you think those might've been actual hands, and not just props?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"It's possible." Hitoshi had no idea how Todoroki could say that so casually. The hands had been creepy enough without thinking they might actually be real, severed hands. That sounded like something a serial killer from a horror movie would do—and in that moment, he realized Todoroki had the exact same thought, or he wouldn't be asking Hitoshi about this.
"Okay, that guy's officially even more fucked up than I realized," he muttered, pinching his eyebrows. "Just. Fuck."
"Do you know if anything from the bodies were missing?" Todoroki asked, but Hitoshi shook his head, finally regretting that he ever agreed to this.
"No clue. Look, I only saw the one arm, and I didn't exactly feel like taking a long, hard look around the place. The police weren't exactly keen on telling us stuff either." Though he suspected strongly that some other parts might have been in the fridge given those bloodstains he saw. "All I can say is that the hand I saw? It'd probably been there for at least a day. Didn't look like there was any blood in it."
Todoroki was silent for a moment, and Hitoshi didn't bother looking to check his expression, keeping his hand in place over his face. "...I probably overstepped with that question," the other boy finally said, and he snorted.
"Yeah, no shit, sherlock."
"I'm sorry. However, I have some other questions." Hitoshi started to suppress his groan, but then realized he really didn't care about whether Todoroki would be hurt by it, so he let the groan slip free.
"Like what?" he demanded acidly.
"What was the temperature like?"
...Okay, that one came out of no where. "The... temperature?" he repeated dumbly, finally removing his hand from his face to squint at Todoroki.
"Was it cold?" he pressed, and Hitoshi frowned.
"Now that you mention it... yeah. The AC felt like it was cranked up all the way. Uniform didn't feel thick enough." Todoroki's eyes narrowed critically.
"I see," he murmured, and Hitoshi felt no closer to understanding what the heck was going through his head.
"Mind filling me in on what that's got to do with anything?" he asked.
"That depends," Todoroki responded, and Hitoshi felt himself start to bristle before he continued, "Do you still want to know to know what I overheard?"
That gave Hitoshi pause, his offense fading. If Todoroki was asking, that meant he probably realized the details he knew were graphic and potentially triggering. So much growth in just one conversation, he was one step closer to having proper human interactions. Hitoshi hesitated, knowing he'd probably regret saying yes, but...
"Fuck it," he declared. "Came this far. Might as well hear it all the way through." Todoroki nodded.
"From what I could gather, the bodies were dismembered." Yep, Hitoshi regretted this so much. "I could only hear my father's side of the conversation, so I don't have all the details. But I think the parts were at different stages of decomposition."
Now Hitoshi felt an equal amount of regret and curiosity. He really wished he hadn't pressed for details because now he was imagining decaying corpses. But at the same time, this was a totally new piece of information. "So what does that mean?"
"What do you know about how bodies decompose?"
"Outside what we're taught in middle school biology? Not much. I feel like I should ask you the same question, and also why you know that."
If the snark bothered Todoroki, he didn't show it, just nodding seriously. "As you know, my Quirk allows me to produce ice," he started, lifting his right hand for emphasis. "So I've studied any topics I can find relating to ice and snow, to better understand how my Quirk might affect people. One of the things was how cold impacts decomposition."
And just like that, Hitoshi remembered a key fact from those middle school bio classes, and felt yet another chill. "Cold slows down decomposition," he murmured wide-eyed, and Todoroki nodded.
"Exactly. If it's cold enough, it can even halt it entirely, like the bodies on Mount Everest. I don't know the exact temperature needed for that, but if the body parts were stored somewhere cold, they would at least decompose slower."
Hitoshi's mind was racing as Todoroki spoke, stuck on the number forty-eight. A number determined by the state of the body. "They don't know when the murder happened, do they," he guessed grimly, and Todoroki shook his head.
"From what I can gather, no. I did some more research last night, and apparently there have been a few murders where the culprits stored bodies in freezers to skew the time frames for murders. There are a few Quirks that can work around that, but not many people with them go into forensics for some reason."
"Gee, wonder why," Hitoshi muttered under his breath. He imagined that the Quirks that could "work around that" probably involved gleaning information directly from the bodies somehow, like psychometry or something. Either way, he wouldn't want to make a living handling murder victims just because of his Quirk.
"The case will probably get pushed up on waiting lists for those investigations because it involves UA, but right now I'm wondering when the murder happened," Todoroki continued. "Especially since Bakugou is missing too."
And there was the crux of this whole mess: Bakugou Katsuki was still missing. Even after a full week no leads had turned up. As it stood, they couldn't say whether he was dead, kidnapped... or responsible for it all.
And if the murders might have happened even before USJ, the last one seemed a lot more likely than Hitoshi would like.
Hero training turned out to be just as brutal as Hitoshi feared on a near-empty stomach. All Might tried to keep the exercise light, just a glorified game of capture the flag, but it just reminded Hitoshi how out of shape he was compared to his peers. He felt exhausted and battered by the end, and his therapy session after school ended up centering heavily around how he felt out of place at UA's hero course. Not what he expected or planned, but he felt like he needed the chance to vent.
He spent a good forty minutes in there, and by the time he got out he was ready to just go home. He was sore and tired, and he didn't think Ojiro would hold his decision to skip training again against him, especially since therapy took so long. So he went right to the gates, feet dragging and shoulders heavy with exhaustion. Not many people were left hanging around the gates by then, which was why he noticed an unfamiliar boy in a gakuran jacket from another school lurking there right away.
By that point, Hitoshi's patience for the day had long since passed its limit. He felt his shoulders slump as he stared at the boy clearly waiting by the gates, peering around and obviously looking for someone. First reporters, now random gawkers? This was going too far.
"Can I help you with something?" he demanded tiredly as he stalked over, making the boy jump. The kid had noticeably large green eyes, probably naturally round even when he didn't look so surprised.
"O-o-oh, I'm so sorry!" he stammered, immediately dipping into a bow. "I didn't mean to be skulking around or anything, gosh I must look so creepy, I'm sorry." Hitoshi felt his glare lose some of its heat as the kid rambled anxiously, but he didn't let up on his stern glower completely.
"You kinda are," he said bluntly, making the kid flinch. "Look, I get UA's been in the news for some crazy shit lately, but do you have a reason for being here?" The kid fidgeted anxiously and averted his gaze.
"Uh, a-actually, I was k-kinda hoping I could find one of Kacchan's classmates?" he said uncertainly, and Hitoshi felt a bit more of his tension fade at the obvious nickname.
"Kacchan?" he repeated, and the kid ducked his head.
"Uh, I mean, Bakugou Katsuki," he muttered quietly, and Hitoshi felt his body go stiff all over again. Fucking hell. Of fucking course this guy would be looking for Bakugou.
"And you know him... how?" Hitoshi grumbled, pinching his eyebrows.
"We're... kinda childhood friends?" The kid shrugged, shuffling anxiously. "I'm sorry, I know this must be weird and random, and you're probably busy, so—"
"No, fuck it," Hitoshi interrupted. "Why not." Seriously, why not entertain another random conversation about his missing classmate? Might as well go all in.
That was how he found himself at a small café not far from UA along with the boy, who introduced himself as Midoriya Izuku. "So you guys even went to the same middle school?" Hitoshi asked, and Midoriya nodded.
"Y-yeah. I always knew he'd get into UA, but I didn't really stand a chance. It's... kinda hard, when you don't have a Quirk that's good for heroics and no one willing to support you." He frowned, gaze trained on his drink, and Hitoshi felt a sense of kinship with this stranger. He knew that song and dance all too well.
"What, not even Bakugou?" he asked curiously. "He seemed pretty nice and supportive to me." Midoriya's lips curled slightly, head hanging further.
"Um, l-let's just say, he... didn't think I was cut out for heroics, either," he mumbled, and Hitoshi hummed and didn't push it. It was clearly a sore spot for the guy, he could respect that. "I did try to take the entrance exam of course, going to UA has always been my dream, but... I ended up failing."
"Didn't even want to try for gen ed?" Hitoshi asked, thinking of his own plans to transfer into the hero course, and Midoriya shook his head.
"It's... a bit expensive to go to UA when getting into heroics is just a long shot. I mean, I know about how people can transfer after the Sports Festival and stuff, but... I'm not, uh, the most physically fit." He shrugged feebly, and Hitoshi could relate to that all too well too. "I told myself if I didn't get in on my first try, th-then... it probably wasn't meant to be."
Yep, Hitoshi could relate to this kid way too well, or at least he could up to that point. "So you just gave up?" he asked, and Midoriya frowned, looking distinctly miserable.
"I know it sounds bad, but after years of being told you can't do something, it just gets to you, I guess. So I figured I could try to find some other career path to save people, like being a paramedic or police detective. That way, I could at least kinda support Kacchan, even if we can't be heroes together like we used to promise."
Fair enough. With how things were going this year, Hitoshi might have considered a similar change in career path if not for the fact that his main motivation to become a hero was spite. He wanted to prove his Quirk wouldn't automatically make him a villain, and as noble as those other professions were, they didn't quite send that message as clearly as Pro Hero would. Of course, spite wasn't his only reason for pursuing his dream, but it definitely made him weary of quitting now.
"So, why're you looking for one of Bakugou's classmates?" he asked, steering the conversation on track, and Midoriya shrugged.
"Honestly, I'm... not really sure," he admitted. "It just... it all feels so surreal, you know? Just... everything. I mean, we grew up together, so it's just crazy to see it on the news. I guess I thought maybe if I went to UA, met some of his classmates, I'd get some answers or... something." He ducked his head again, seeming understandably miserable.
"Don't we all," Hitoshi snorted softly, and took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "Look, Midoriya, there's not much any of us know. We didn't even get to spend a full week with the guy before all that shit at the USJ went down, and then we come back on Monday and suddenly hear he withdrew from UA."
"But that's so weird!" Midoriya cut in, raising his head with a frown. "Kacchan was always so tough and cool! I can't see him dropping out because of a villain attack!"
Hitoshi and the others had thought the same, which was how he ended up at the house on Monday. He fought back a shiver at the memory. "Look, I don't know what to tell you. All we know is that on Monday morning Aizawa-sensei told us he dropped out. And then in the afternoon..."
He trailed off, not in the mood to recount how that went. Midoriya just frowned. "I just... It makes no sense. None of this stuff sounds anything like what Kacchan would do." He looked so small and lost as he said that, and Hitoshi yet again felt a pang of sympathy.
"I'm sorry this sucks so much," he murmured. "I hope he turns up soon."
"Me too," Midoriya said softly, and pulled out his phone. "I should get going. I promised mom I wouldn't be too late. Thanks for talking with me though."
"Don't thank me, I didn't really help," Hitoshi said with a shrug.
"Yeah, but it's still nice to talk to someone about it. I... don't really have any friends I can go to about this." Okay, now Hitoshi felt really bad. Seemed like this kid's Quirk must have gotten him seriously ostracized, and in a more oppressive way than Hitoshi's did.
"Well, if I see you again and something turns up, I'll let you know?" he offered with a weak shrug. He didn't know if he could actually tell Midoriya anything since it was a closed investigation and all, but the sad, tired-looking smile he got in return made his heart twist with sympathy.
"Thanks, that would really help," the green-haired boy responded feebly.
(It wouldn't be until he got halfway home that Hitoshi realized he probably should have offered to just exchange phone numbers so they could keep in touch. He was just way too new at this 'friend' thing.)
So as a note exclusive to FFN: I have to be honest, FFN isn't that great of a site. When I first cross-posted Smoke and Mirrors, it gave an error message "Story Not Found (A)" within an hour after I posted it. I found out when I refreshed my traffic page after adding Chapter 2 to see if I got any new views, and it gave me a "story not found" message. It fixed itself of course, but when I mentioned this on the Discord, another writer who posts here said that the latest chapter of HIS story isn't showing up at all after updating. I'm subscribed to his story (it's Incident Zero by Ya Boy Guzma by the way), and the link in the email I got brings me to an error page. Even at the time I first wrote this AN at 2:09 AM Sunday night, it wasn't up. (Note to self: check before posting Ignite chapter tomorrow.)
The reason I'm posting Chapter 3 at 2 AM my time? Because I'm wary the story will briefly disappear again.
This is far from the first issue I've had with this site, and I'm honestly starting to get really annoyed. I wrote out a list of vents, and I found the con list was way longer than the pros. I had to think hard to find positive things beyond the PMs, super-simple text size/contrast options, and genre filters. When I asked about FFN's strengths on the Discord, the conversation kept going back to all its flaws and issues. Cocoa even said he was relieved he started on AO3 instead of FFN after reading the chat about it.
At this point, I can't really recommend FFN to new writers or readers. The search system is clunky (both the search bar AND the "filter" system), you can only tag four characters which is an abysmally small number, there's no way to respond to reviews besides PMs... We can't even do strikethrough text, which can have SUCH a big impact on a scene and setting the atmosphere, especially when a character's mental state is just all over the place. (By now, maybe you can imagine how PERFECT that could be for this fic.) We also can't do any links, not even internal links to other stories on this site! You know what's dumb about those last two points? When you upload a new chapter in the doc manager, the Copy/Paste textbox will show strikethrough and links as options in the toolbar. They're removed in the textbox used when editing the chapters, and that one ALSO adds an option for line breaks which is absent from the initial upload textbox! Why the hell do those even have two different toolbars!?
These are just a few of my gripes, there's a lot more than that but I don't want to write an essay. Actually, look forward to an FFN-exclusive fic about normal guy Keigo Takami, pro hero Hawks and Hawk the bird, because all three of them have their own separate tags on here. If I write it, it will center around every issue FFN has.
I have no faith that FFN will fix ANY of its issues. In the entire time I've used FFN, I think the only change I can recall was adding the option to copy/paste chapters into the doc manager rather than have to upload each one as an individual file, which I recall bugging me back in what, 2009? (Come to think of it, maybe THAT'S why the toolbars don't match.) The point is, this site has a LOT of design issues, some small and some bigger, and I don't think they'll try to improve it anytime soon. I don't even mean a radical overhaul/redesign, I'm talking stuff as small as the freaking mismatched toolbars.
If you can, PLEASE go over to AO3. It is genuinely so much better. The tag system can be intimidating at first, but once you get used to it you'll realize just how cumbersome and lacking FFN really is. It's so great to be able to filter out every single NoTP and all the College/No Quirk AUs. Also: I can actually reply to you there even if you're a guest! (And if you're into Erasermic, I have some stories I only post over there!)
Also, there's just way more MHA content because AO3 already existed by the time it started. A lot of writers moved to AO3 as soon as it was an option because FFN is just that bad. People used it because it was the ONLY choice.
So please. PLEASE do yourself a favor and use AO3 if you can.