Chapter Text
Izumi anxiously looked around the room Tsukauchi brought them to, it was a simple room next to the teachers lounge. It had pleasant cream colored walls, with two plush grey couches facing each other separated by a low wooden coffee table. It looked almost like a living room, were it not for the lack of windows, and the noticeably reinforced walls.
“We’ll begin with the events surrounding the USJ, are you ready to begin Miss Midoriya?” Tsukauchi asked, as he sat down a tape recorder on the coffee table, while he sat on the couch opposite Izumi and Himiko.
“Um… y-yes! Although, before we start I recently discovered new facets of my quirk so it won’t match the information in the registry database. I haven’t had the chance to update my papers since I discovered them.” Izumi said anxiously, her hand instinctively on Himiko’s who sat beside her.
“That’s fine, that’s fine. However, I do expect you to fix that as soon as you can.” He said amicably, readjusting to sit up straight. “Also, you don’t need to worry, I’m aware of Toshinori’s mentorship, and what that entails.”
“So you know about his quirk as well?” Izumi asked hesitantly, tilting her head.
“Yes, I do.” Tsukauchi nodded, interlacing his fingers.
“All right, well Himiko knows too so we don’t need to keep it a secret here.” She sighed, a bit of tension leaving her shoulders.
“That makes this easier then, just please don’t use its name during this interview and stick to what it’s registered as. We’ll discuss the whole quirk business after.” He said, leaning forwards to click the tape recorder on.
“Ahem, this is Naomasa Tsukauchi interviewing Miss Izumi Midoriya, with her sister Himiko Midoriya sitting in as emotional support. My quirk Polygraph allows me to tell when you are telling the truth or lies, do you consent to an interview under these conditions?” He asked, clicking his pen.
“Yes sir.” She said immediately.
“Good,” he smiled lightly, “Alright, let’s begin your recounting of the events of the USJ, from your perspective.”
-~-~-~-~-~-
Tsukauchi rubbed the bridge of his nose, “So you’re saying this League of Villains group was led by your older brother, who was supposedly killed in a villain fight. You also said he also did not seem to be fully in control of his body, is that correct?”
“Yes sir, that’s correct. He did not seem to be in control, the name he operated under was Tomura Shigaraki, and the Mist Villain was called Kurogiri.” Izumi replied, leaning back onto the teary Himiko who was just now learning about the USJ, and Izumi’s not so dead brother.
“True… I can feel the migraine incoming.” Tsukauchi said, pressing his palms into his eyes.
“There was also this thing they called The Nomu, it… I don’t think it was a person— at least not anymore.” Izumi said hesitantly, unclenching her hands from her pants.
“True, would you mind elaborating?” Tsukauchi asked, as his pen paused on the notepad.
“Well, first off was its appearance. Even among mutation quirks its appearance was… off. Its body smelled of decay, like rotting meat, its blood especially.” She said, grimacing at the memory.
“Why mention it’s blood specifically?” Tsukauchi asked.
“Well, due to my quirk’s mechanics— which I will explain further later— my nose is very sensitive to blood, human blood especially. And that thing’s blood smelled like it was several different creatures’ blood mixed together.” Izumi said, scrunching her nose as she said it. “Also it had multiple quirks, at least one of which was scientifically modified.”
“Multiple quirks you say?” Tsukauchi blanched, “How do you know this?”
“From an aspect of my quirk, as well as what Tomura said. He said something along the lines of ‘The Nomu has [Shock Absorption] and super strength!’” Izumi replied.
“I-I see…” Tsukauchi said, setting the pen down, as his hand began to shake.
“I think that’s most of the information I have about the USJ, unless you have any questions for me?” Izumi asked, looking at the detective.
“No, no. I believe that’s it.” Tsukauchi sighed, clicking the tape recorder off.
“On to the issue with All Might?” Izumi asked, leaning forwards off of Himiko’s shoulder.
Himiko dried her eyes as she looked at Izumi worriedly, her expression hardening, “What’s this about All Might? Did he try to do something?” She asked, her hand sliding to her hidden knife holster.
Tsukauchi was visibly startled, mentally filing away both of their reactions for later. “Yes, we can move onto that.” He said, as he flipped the page of his notebook, writing something quickly.
“Due to the obviously sensitive matter, and it being related to the Number One Hero, as well as his quirk, this tape will be considered to be a national secret. Is that understood?” Tsukauchi asked, replacing the tape in the recorder with a noticeably red cassette.
“Yeah.” Izumi sighed, annoyed to once again be saddled with a national secret.
“Miss Himiko, if I might get a verbal confirmation from you as well?” Tsukauchi asked, clicking his pen nervously.
“Oh! Yeah sure, national secret, don’t spill the beans.” Himiko replied, grabbing Izumi to use as her personal plushie, causing the aforementioned plushie to laugh softly.
“Good enough.” He said, clicking the tape recorder on. “This is Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, interviewing Izumi Midoriya, with Himiko Midoriya standing in as emotional support. Miss Midoriya, after the events of the USJ attack, you ran away from All Might. What was the reasoning for this?” He asked gently, pressing his pen to the notebook in anticipation.
“This stems from my quirk,” Izumi began, “Until recently, I was presumed Quirkless before inheriting [One For All]. It was on my ID and everything. However, a few days before the USJ I found out I was not in fact originally Quirkless.”
“True. Are you aware of what your original quirk is then?” He asked, writing furiously.
“Yes, I’ve called it [Bond]. It’s a copy quirk, allowing me to permanently copy the quirks of those I’m emotionally close to. For example a parent or sister.” Izumi said, leaning back against Himiko’s with a smile, “Due to it being a recording I’ll say it out loud. I have copied my sister Himiko’s quirk, as well as her mutations from it. I have sharper canine teeth, slitted pupils, the requirement to ingest blood, as well as the transformative side to her quirk.” She stated, pointing to each mutation as she said it.
“True, if I may ask why did you not discover it sooner?” Tsukauchi asked curiously.
“I went to a quirk specialist when I was… four I believe, the doctor— who was named Doctor Tsubasa— used the outdated method of checking for the pinky toe joint.” Izumi said, forcibly relaxing her hands as she felt her fingernails begin to dig into her palms. “My mother and I had no reason to believe he was committing blatant medical malpractice, so we foolishly believed him. I only recently found out the inaccuracies of using the toe joint to determine someone’s quirk status.”
“True. I’ll check on this ‘Doctor Tsubasa’ after the interview.” Tsukauchi said, writing the name down.
“So until recently I believed that I was completely Quirkless, and was bullied for it.” Izumi glossed over that fact, moving on quickly, “The day of the Entrance Exam— U.A Entrance Exam sorry— All Might passed his quirk to me. And during the exam I learned to use [One For All], until at one point I was falling and activated a quirk from a girl I saved. Her name is Ochako Uraraka, and her quirk is called [Zero Gravity]. I was nearly unconscious at the time, and only realized what I did recently. She was nearby so I automatically assumed it was her doing until recently.”
“All of that is true. You said it had to be a close bond, this was someone you knew previously?” Tsukauchi asked, writing down the name and quirk.
“No sir. Apparently [One For All] supercharges the user’s quirk, so I’m not entirely sure of the activation requirements at this point. I can only assume the requirements have been lessened, to what I’m not sure.” Izumi explained.
“True. Alright, and you said it was a permanent copy, so do you still have this quirk?” He asked, looking up from the notepad.
“Yes sir, I have several quirks copied.” Izumi replied, showcasing [Zero Gravity] on her empty water bottle, before releasing it.
“True. This is fascinating, although I don’t understand what this has to do with your incident with All Might.” He stated simply, waiting for Izumi to explain further.
“Oh, um… since I used multiple quirks, and I hadn’t had the chance to explain to All Might, he assumed I was working with the villains. He saw The Nomu creature, which had multiple quirks, and still thought I was Quirkless— besides [One For All]— so he accused me of working with them, as well as having something to do with that All For One guy.” Izumi explained, before hurriedly adding, “Which I’m not! Working with the villains I mean! Or that All For One person, I’d never heard of him until today.”
“All true.” Tsukauchi chuckled softly at Izumi’s flustered addition. “So what happened when he accused you? It didn’t seem like it was just a conversation since you ran like you did.” He asked.
“U-um…” Izumi stammered, leaning further into Himiko as she paled. “H-he grabbed my arms hard, and-and he yelled at me. He didn’t l-let me speak, he just yelled at me and-and he hurt my arms. Luckily, I guess I didn’t have m-my healing quirk activated, so I can show you. See?” She explained, hesitantly stretching both her arms out.
Her right arm, already scarred from old bullying and [One For All]’s backlash, has a large purple handprint on it. Her left is the same, except a bit lighter due to it being gripped later than the other.
Tsukauchi’s face darkened as he looked at her arms, “True. I’m going to take a few pictures for evidence alright?” He said, standing up to take pictures with his phone.
“Yes sir.” She stammered, as Himiko wiped at Izumi’s teary eyes.
He turned the tape recorder off, before looking towards the two sisters. “Thank you for all of that. I’m so sorry you had to go through any of that, especially on the same day. That’s all I need for today from you, do you two want a ride home?” Tsukauchi asked softly, handing Izumi a tissue.
“No sir, the train we take will be here in a bit, I’ll sit in on Himiko’s classes until then. Thank you though.” She said, before blowing her nose into the tissue.
“No worries, I’ll be talking to Principal Nedzu about all of this in a few days.” He said, opening the door for them with a soft smile. “Have a safe trip home.”
“Thank you sir.” Himiko said, steering Izumi out of the room.