Chapter Text
At this rate both of them were probably tense enough to crack like hard concrete under All Might's fist. Tsukauchi having wordlessly stood from his desk after hardly taking a moment to process what Shouta had said before tearing his coat and hat from where they lay strewn over the couch and rushing out with all the speed and fury of a man on a mission. Barking clipped instructions to other officers and putting everything on hold as he marched them both with purpose to the first police car they could find. Tearing open the door alongside him before gripping the wheel like any moment he'd go through the windscreen if he didn't brace himself. Eyes hard as they passed near empty roads in a blur, neither saying a word to each other until the station was a far distant memory of what was to come.
"Go over it with me again," he said, eyes not once wavering from place, "What exactly did he say to you?"
"Just that he was ready to talk, and the address I just gave you asking me to meet him there later tonight for some answers," he pursed his lips, "and to come alone."
"And you are aware of how much this sounds like a set-up, right? We still don’t know if he's working alone."
"Yes, I'm not an idiot," he glared ahead, "but you are if you think I'm going to waste the first real lead we've had in months,"
The detective didn't once so much as glance his way, but his face said he heard him loud and clear.
"I didn't say that Eraserhead, besides I'd be hard pressed to give up the chance for some answers myself."
"Unless it's the possibility of a quirkless kid rising in the ranks you mean?"
He watched as his hands tightened on the wheel.
"That's not what this is about, and you know it," he grimaced, "and for what it's worth I am sorry I reacted the way I did."
"So, you're not going to explain yourself then?"
He pressed his lips into a firm line before answering.
"This first."
And god if he wasn't so preoccupied with whatever they were supposed to call the current situation with Midoriya, and maybe an ounce less self-restraint, he had no doubt he would have hit him upside the head.
The neighbourhood they came to was exactly what he'd come to expect from his time chasing the vigilante. Buildings and pavement barely patched together enough to be usable after what he could safely assume was one of the more public villain fights. The kind of place that had been pushed to the bottom of the barrel in terms of government spending on public repairs, left in the hands of people who likely barely made enough money to make sure their homes and businesses didn't fall in on top of them, let alone fix a street. The kind of place heroes would have liked to stay ignorant of until Viridian. The kind of place he'd seen on hundreds of nights like this before.
And when they inevitably could go no further thanks to torn open roads and tattered or tagged 'under construction' signs, Tsukauchi pulled them over by the edge of the shattered pavement and cut the engine. Both taking a moment in silence before they picked themselves up and everything they knew would change.
Shouta rubbed his eyes with one hand before he spoke, "You should stay here," he sighed, pushing open the door with a dull clunk of a lock, "I'll sound the alarm if I need backup, two hours max."
He heard the driver's side door open too and looked over the roof to see a tired glare meeting his.
"That's not how this works Eraser, and you know it," he said simply. "Formal or not we need to know if what he's saying is true."
He was dimly aware of how badly he was keeping his displeasure from being too obvious.
"So, you do think this is a trap then." It wasn't a question.
"I think whatever is going on is dangerous, and we need to be on our guard," he said pointedly.
Shouta said nothing, didn't think he needed to. He just kept walking.
"For what it's worth I do think you're right." he still didn't look at the detective as he spoke, "But even feeling in the dark as we are we can't afford to take any chances,"
"He's never going to trust us after this," he said bitterly.
Tsukauchi hummed an affirmative, loose rubble and shattered pieces of concrete crunching underfoot and sent skittering across the ground as they went.
All the same as they drew closer and that single minded drive to answer that call grew less intense, he couldn't ignore the dread that was rising inside him. The feeling that all this was out of place, no matter which part you got hung up about.
Plenty of things pushed people operating outside the law to turn themselves in or give semi-anonymous tips to anyone of authority they thought might listen. He had to remind himself of this again, even as his mind came back to the same conclusion he'd drawn from the moment he'd answered the phone. Maybe even so far as seeing the look on the kids face when he'd mentioned what was likely his real name.
He slowed and Tsukauchi turned back to face him.
"Eraserhead?"
"I'm worried," he said pointedly. "Trap or not whatever made him decide on meeting us has him pressed for time. We know he doesn't trust us yet, and it was more than just a risky move to get law enforcers to meet him privately like this," he clenched his jaw, "Something's pushed him."
Naomasa didn't respond right away.
"I figured as much too honestly," he let out a breath and looked back down to cracks snaking branches through their path, "From what we've seen it's out of character for him, but even running from the law as he is he trusted heroes once, and at least from what little we've found, it seems we have a lot to make up for."
"And that starts with breaking his one and only condition for this meeting," he grumbled, catching the way the left corner of Tsukauchi's lips twitched downward.
Because as much as he could acknowledge Tsukauchi was right, it didn't stop dread from piling up like wet earth inside his chest. It did nothing to do away with the guilt of going behind the kid's back like this when he was already scared, running from something they didn't even know the shape of yet, contacting him only a night after he'd seen so much fear in such young eyes.
He could try to justify it in his head, that it was for his own good, that the kid was more afraid than he ought to have been to trust them, that he was a vigilante and a kid and just like his students he didn't know how the world worked like he did. But none of that changed the fact that he was here, rushing in with something completely unexpected to shatter what little common ground they'd build like it wasn't going to look like one hell of a threat to someone like Viridian.
"We never really went over a plan for this, but you've met him before," Naomasa continued, "Do you really think it would be best to come out with all our cards on the table like this?"
He already knew there was no point arguing this any more than they had.
"His choice or not he's going to have a hard time trusting either of us no matter what we do," he grimaced, "And he's already shown he's got more than a knack for sniffing out hidden officers or heroes. We should just get that part out of the way sooner rather than later."
He nodded.
The both knew how you were supposed to treat victims like this, and even if there was nothing in what he'd been taught that told him upfront that this was practice, he knew deep down this wasn't a good idea. Hell, not even that deep down if he was honest with himself.
That want for answers, that stupid hope that he could just swoop in and save someone from whatever was making them so afraid was just far too strong to deny.
That, and they were out of options.
He put his hands in his pockets and walked up beside him.
"Come on. We've got a kid to save."
Most of the businesses around here were well passed closed by then, save for the occasional small bar or local 24/7 corner store. Save the occasional late-night wanderer the walk was silent, the two of them alone but only until spotting the familiar hunched and darkened form of their vigilante sitting on a park bench next to a too full bag clearly unequipped for its load. Wearing a ratty hoodie stained with dark green splotches and looking far more worse for wear than he'd seen him little more than 24 hours ago. His simple black mask pulled down under his jaw as he watched them come. Elbows resting on his knees and staring at them with red rimmed eyes holding deep bags of their own as the streetlight nearby highlighted just enough for them to see the scars on his far too pale and freckled face.
It occurred to him then that this was the first time he'd seen the kid fully unmasked, and even then, he couldn't bring himself to even pretend to hide the look of awful recognition in his eyes when they met his.
It still felt wrong… this kid, who was trusting him with something that terrified him, reaching out his hand and asking them to see him for just an hour as something more than just his enemy.
Izuku let out a small playful huff as they approached, the corner of a tired smile only barely reaching his eyes.
It felt hollow. And next to the image in his mind of the young boy he'd likely once been it felt awful.
"I don’t remember agreeing on him," he said, not even bothering to move save to move his eyes to gesture at Tsukauchi.
"Viridian, I'd like you to meet Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. Since the very beginning he and I have been the only ones on your case."
"Can I trust him?"
All things considered the question caught him off guard.
Tsukauchi spoke first.
"I can't make that call for you, but all things considered I don’t plan on making any arrests tonight, if that's what you're asking. But if you want me to leave, I'll leave, all I can do is hope you may be willing to give me a chance."
The kid let out a sigh and dropped his gaze again, keeping a firm hand on the bag beside him as if reaching for any remaining comfort it could provide.
"Listen, I know you don’t know me, and I don’t know you, but all we want is for you to be safe. You don’t have to be alone in this."
"And you're not going to arrest me first chance you get? Or tell anyone who asks about me or anything I'm about to say?"
"No."
He looked back to Shouta then with tired eyes and opened his mouth for just a second, before thinking better of it. Considering it, a troubled look crossing his face before he let out a sigh and stood up, swinging his bag onto his back.
"Good enough I guess," he said, walking a few steps away before gesturing with a hand for them to follow, ungloved and littered with yet more white lines shining under the lamplight that made Shouta frown. "Come on, this'll be easier if we're not out in the open."
Tsukauchi sent Aizawa a look before the hero shrugged and started following. Hands still tucked in his pockets and keeping pace just a few steps behind the kid as he led them down backstreet after backstreet, behind corners and overhangs and tall wire fences in relative silence save for gentle footfalls, to a place where no streetlights nor any wandering eyes could ever hope to reach them.
He knew what this was. He'd seen it or used it himself more than once in trade-offs like these. All the same he made note of every detail and every sharp corner they passed as the kid stayed silent and clutched the straps of his bag tighter still as they went.
By the 10-minute mark Aizawa asked him exactly where they were going.
The kid hesitated in his response.
"It's not ideal, but I want to make sure no one's following us before we stop, and I know a place back here that might be good for keeping us hidden, provided nobody's bugged or sends up any flares or signals or anything."
"You think this is an ambush?"
"I don’t know what to think, but it's not you I'm worried about. God knows I should be though. Here's probably far enough."
He'd stopped them in a larger dead end of sort tucked away behind some larger buildings. It looked like it would have been used as a form of fire escape or loading zone once but as of now the building above looked about as empty as you could get. He didn't think it mattered that much beyond the obvious escape routes and the way the kid positioned himself by the side wall. Hand still twisting anxiously at the straps of his bag and his eyes flicking between them both and the ground.
"Okay, just to clear things up, what exactly do you know about Midoriya Izuku?"
Tsukauchi gave Shouta a questioning look at that, but he didn't let it stop him.
"As far as we know he went missing when he was six, after he and some friends went wandering. No witnesses to speak of, nor any idea what happened, though friends and family were adamant that he wouldn't have run away."
The kid bit his lip.
"So, you would have known I was quirkless right?"
"Yes, we-" he stopped himself.
He'd long since passed the point of expectation but nonetheless he never thought he'd just come out and say it.
Tsukauchi spoke up before he could find his words.
"So that is your name then?"
Midoriya nodded, still not meeting their eyes.
"It's… there's not a lot I really can say without making things worse, but there's-" he brought a hand to wrap around his other arm, "There's someone looking for me," he said finally, "from what I can tell not a lot of people even know they exist but they gave me a quirk, kept me locked up for years and… and made me do a lot of things I regret."
And god how was anyone supposed to respond to that? To have very every horrible suspicion confirmed all at once by a kid who'd been failed at every opportunity by them and so many others.
It took a long time before Shouta managed to find the words.
"Alright that's- there's a lot to unpack there, so let's start small. Do you remember their name?"
"Yes. He never told me when it was there," he met his eyes, "had me call him Sensei,"
"And he gave you a quirk." It wasn't a question, not when Tsukauchi said it, but his skin was losing its pallor and he wasn't quite looking at the kid anymore, not really. All at once he was struck with the realization that something else was going on here. Something he couldn't put a name to just yet that had him darting his eyes back with a silent warning before returning to the kid. Something that looked like it might shatter whatever tense truce this was between the three of them.
"Tsukauchi?"
The words shot out before anyone could stop them as the detective took a firm step forward. "This man," the look on his face was edging on panic, "am I right in assuming he had white hair and red eyes?"
Aizawa snapped his head back to look at him.
Midoriya's eyes widened, just ever so slightly, and he took a small step back.
"You know about All For One."
It wasn't a question.
Everything happened all at once. Blades jerked up and surrounded them out of nowhere before anyone could do so much as blink as his hands darked to his scarf in reflexive defence as he did all he could to slam down on that urge to use his quirk to stop the standoff when things were already going south so quickly. Tsukauchi having raised his arms in surrender, not so much as shifting in place.
Nobody moved.
"Tsukauchi," he said lowly, carefully, through gritted teeth and air still ringing as moonlight glinted off the swarm of wickedly sharp blades that surrounded them both. Hands not moving an inch from their place by his neck as he moved his eyes to catch his, and before he could stop himself let out a low, "What the hell?"
"You," the kid said slowly, already in a defensive stance and staring down Tsukauchi like a caged animal backed into a corner and ready to lash out with one wrong move, "have one minute to explain how the hell you know that name before I make sure you can't tell him or anyone else where I am,"
His eyes flicked briefly to his before staying fixed on the detective.
"Midoriya, listen to me, I know how this must look but-"
Tsukauchi!" he snapped, eyes blazing and trained on his partner, fingers in a lock on his capture weapon and ready to spring out if need be. Torn as he was it wasn't an empty threat, even if he didn't entirely understand what was going on the fact that Tsukauchi had already neglected to tell him something as critical as a suspect behind Midoriya's kidnapping was more than he was willing to take, even if said child wasn't standing terrified and backed into a corner a few feet in front of them. "Who the hell is All For One?"
No one said anything for a long moment. Midoriya's hand was in his pocket with what he had no doubt was another knife in his hand, preparing himself should Aizawa opt to use his quirk and things somehow got worse than they already were.
After a few tense seconds Tsukauchi slowly lowered his hands by his sides, and the kid shifted and took another step towards their exit.
He watched them both like a hawk, as Tsukauchi took in a short breath, in and out, perhaps unsure of where to start but that hardly mattered because patience was wearing thin.
"From what I've been told he's been around since the dawn of quirks," he began, "preying on the chaos that ensued and leveraging his own quirk to take control in an attempt to bend society to his will. His quirk allows him to give and take quirks at will, and since then he's managed to amass a collection as far as we can tell no one can even know the full scope of, including, we can only guess, some kind of longevity quirk that has kept him going even after hundreds of years."
The blades lowered, if only slightly, just enough to make them a little less nervous if that and breath without cutting their throats open.
"You say that like he's gone for good," is what the kid says quietly, fingers pulling his sleeves down just a tad further to cover shaking fingers laid to rest by his side.
"Midoriya, I know it sounds hard to believe but All for one is gone," he pressed. "All Might killed him almost two years ago in another city entirely. There's still people working on dismantling what's left of his organization yes, but from him, at least, you have nothing to fear. I promise."
He sees the moment something clicks in the kid's head, blade's retreating and splitting off like schools of tiny silver fish into his bag and hiding in dark corners as Izuku let out a small, broken laugh.
They both don't say anything, can't say anything, as Izuku brings up a hand to comb through his hair and leaves his eyes resting on the lower wall by their feet.
"That… that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," he huffed another short stutter of a breath, "it was a longshot that any of you would know about him without being some kind of informant but… god, if you believe that, then it just means he's bought all the time he needs to get back on his feet again."
"Even so I was… I know he's dead Midoriya," he says again, "There's- I'm sorry but there's just no way anyone could go through what he did and survive,"
"You said that fight was around 2 years ago now?" Tsukauchi nodded, "That was probably only a few months before I escaped." His eyes hardened, boring into them and begging them to understand, "And I know for a fact that the only reason I even made it out at all was because everyone was too focused on keeping him alive to focus on any plans he may have had for me. It wasn't because they were disorganized or fraying at the edges without someone to guide them. All For One has more than enough quirks and resources to bring anyone back from the dead if he wanted to, and he knows how to keep people loyal to his cause even if it looks like he's losing."
Tsukauchi, he can tell, wants so badly to rebuke him. But the man is dead quiet as the implications sink in. If pressed, Shouta would probably say that was the smartest think the man had done all night.
"Listen, you don't have to believe me," the kid pressed, "You don’t even have to trust me. But I know All For One is still out there, and even if there's a chance he's not, someone has to do something to make sure he can't come back full force when All Might can't."
The statement made him frown. Looking back, he could see the detective open his mouth for just a second before thinking better of it, a troubled look crossing his face before he opened his mouth to speak again.
Shouta beat him to it.
"So what are you proposing exactly?"
The kid's eyes widened.
"I honestly don’t know… a truce maybe? For now, at least. I'll… I'll tell you everything I know about All For One, and if I find anything new on my end, I'll happily tell you that too, and when this is all over…" he hesitated, not long, not even a full second, "When this is all over, I'll turn myself in. And you can decide what to do with me from there."
"Midoriya-"
"But this can't get out." he pressed, eyes boring into them both but staring at him, begging him to listen to him. To believe him, to trust him on this if nothing else. "I don’t know who or where they are but I know he has people working with the law on his side, it's why they've always been able to hide any of the more important stuff before any of the heroes can get close." He took a breath, "I- I'm choosing to trust you with this, but if they get even the slightest hint of where I am it's all over and I can't-" he stressed, "I can't go back there. Not again."
"And you won't," he tells him firmly, "We'll make sure of it," and he believes it. He believes it with everything in him and despite every objection of logic or pessimism that had kept him safe after so many years of failures and battles only barely won.
The kid just shakes his head, a new shine to his eyes.
"You can't promise that."
The words make something ache inside him.
"I can promise you that you're not alone in this anymore," he tells him, and the look the kid shoots back makes his heart clench tighter still in his chest. Eyes shining with something hesitant, desperate but fearful all the same swimming amongst unshed tears, his lips pressed into a thin line.
They both know he doesn't believe him.
So Shouta takes another breath, and before he can think better of it, reaches out slowly, carefully, and gently rests a hand on the boy's shoulder. He flinches under his palm just slightly, tracking the movement before coming back to meet his eyes. Searching.
"And I can promise," he tells him, "that no matter what we're going to do everything we can to keep you safe."
Gently he feels one of the kid's scarred hands curl around his own where it lay on his shoulder, and despite the way his heart twists in his chest, lets him ease it off with trembling fingers eyes no longer meeting his own.
"It… it's not that simple," he hears him say.
"Maybe." he admits, because they both know he's probably right about that. That it's not going to be something they can beat in one go, that it's not as simple as wrapping him in a blanket and telling him it's all going to be okay, not when there's still so much work to do. So much to make up for.
But he knows, like it's the only truth he has left to hold onto in this mess, that it's not going to stop him from trying.
And then Tsukauchi speaks up.
"Regardless, if All For One is still a player in all this, then like you said we'll be needing all the help we can get, and so do you."
"You believe me then?" it's hardly spoken above a whisper, "You actually…"
"It doesn't matter what I want to believe, not right now at least," he says, and Aizawa feels himself frown at the look he gives him. "But you're right, we can't afford to assume that he's just going away, not with so much at stake."
"Regardless, our goal hasn't changed," Shouta says, turning back to him. "We're still going to do everything we can to make sure you're safe, so before anything else," he takes the leap, "Is there anyone else you're staying with? Someone you can trust?"
And something in Izuku seems to shift with those words.
He says nothing.
"We can discuss all of this somewhere you're a bit more comfortable if you'd like," he says, "get you a warm drink and a meal if you're feeling up to it,"
The kid only seemed to shift away even more at the offer, so he tried again.
"But we'll jump that bridge when we get to it," he tells him, carefully, trying to shift himself to be as non-threatening as he can be, gentle in a way he's not used to. Hand outstretched between the two of them but stopping short, waiting for him to take it at his own pace.
"We can just take it one step at a time for now,"
The kid was shaking now, collapsing in on himself, eyes glassing and staring into fog. There's something there he's not seeing, something he said that's setting him off. Even after all the truths spilled out between them that night he can't figure out what it is, what line he crossed that's pushing back into that fear again. Some hidden trigger maybe? A landmine of memory and association he couldn't see even as he poured over his own words desperately trying to make the connection.
But even so there was a still a part of him screaming at him that he couldn't let him disappear again, not like this. That regardless he had to try, he couldn't just leave him here like this, not when it's clear he was already so afraid.
"It doesn't have to be the station, just somewhere a bit less out in the open where we can make sure you're safe and get you the protection you need, is that alright?"
"No."
The kid's voice was firm. Harder than it had been all night. Harder than he'd ever heard it.
It made him faulter.
"Kid?"
"I'm not going with you." his face was hard, not quite looking at him but steadfast all the same. Clutching the straps of his bag in a white knuckled grip and stance shifted to run.
Something was wrong.
"Midoriya?" Tsukauchi's voice had always been softer than his, "Is everything-?"
"Stop."
And they did. For just a moment. But whatever it was it couldn't be left alone, there was something else there. Something they couldn't see. Something he wasn't going to talk about, a line he wasn't going to cross.
A line they might have to.
"Kid we just want you safe,"
The kid just shook his head again. That glassy look in his eyes clearing up as he did, looking back at them but that fear still holding strong. That much was clear, beyond the determination, beyond whatever strength was telling the kid to press on despite it all.
"It doesn't matter," he snapped again, "You know the most important parts now, that's… that's it. We're done."
"We can't in good conscience just-"
"Okay."
His head snapped back all at once to Tsukauchi, standing just behind him with his hat in his hands and looking back at the kid with solemn resignation.
It caught them both by surprise.
"You still have a way to contact us if you need it, we can… we'll let you reach out to us when you're ready, or if you need any help." he said, "Just know that the offer is always open."
He catches Midoriya's eyes flit between the two of them again.
"You're… you're not going to-?" his voice is just edging on shaking.
"I told you before I don’t plan on making any arrests tonight," he said, "And I'm not in the habit of lying. If you want to leave, we won't stop you. But if there's anything you need or feel we should know please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We'll be ready to listen, no matter what."
Nobody said anything for a long moment.
And then Izuku eased off, and he nodded. Still tense, still afraid if only a little, but even just a little more at ease. Looking again between them both before starting back slowly the way they'd came.
"Thank you Midoriya," he said finally, sending him a small smile even as Shouta's stomach swirled and sank as he said it, "We'll make sure this gets to the right people."
The kid hesitated just a moment mid-step before continuing. He caught the tail end of a muttered "Thank you" amongst that pregnant silence.
They waited till long after he was out of sight before moving back to the car themselves. The both of them hardly able to look the other in the eye. Neither saying a thing until they were well on their way back to the station. There was nothing for him to say.
"I don’t like this either," Tsukauchi was the first to brave the silence, and he had to bite his lip a moment to keep a few choice words at bay. "But the kid might have more of a point than even he knows."
"You don’t think we can protect him?" he said incredulously, "We've had internal corruption cases before, even if this villain is as dangerous as the two of you seem to think we shouldn't have just let him leave on his own when he's being hunted."
He watched as the detective's hands tightened on the wheel.
"I'm not talking about All For One, Eraserhead."
And then it clicks.
It must show on his face because Tsukauchi continues.
"The HPSC is already invested in Viridian's case, and they're more afraid of All For One than either of us. Any connection to him is going to gain their full attention, and if they find out about Midoriya - about his past, about what he can do - he'll never see the light of day again, we both know that. Even if they do decide to give him a chance."
"It'll just be like going back to that bastard, wouldn't it?" Shouta said bitterly, "Damn it."
"Which is why we keep it off the books," he said firmly. Voice hard and eyes harder as he stared unwavering at the road in front of them, the station only just coming into view ahead of them. "They're already invested in Viridian's case, we can't change that, so keeping it confidential isn't going to do a thing to stop them."
"You're saying we should lie."
"It's a big risk, believe me I'm not ignoring that," he kept driving, taking a right after passing the station and continuing under the periodic washes of streetlights illuminating a main road. "If we're doing this," he paused, "we're going to have to commit."
They both knew he didn't have to ask.
"I made a promise Detective," was what he goes with, "I'm not going back on it as long as I can help it," because for all his pretending, he was a hero. And for fucks sake that's what heroes were supposed to do.
The Naomasa hummed his affirmative, and they continued on in silence. Shouta didn't even need to ask where they were going before he pulled up across from his building and put the car in park by the curb.
"We might need Nedzu for this, if he'll agree to help, in case either of us slips up." The look on his face was troubled, "We're not going to be able to keep him a secret forever,"
"A kid running circles around heroes and villains alike? There's no way he won’t be interested," he grumbled, dragging a hand down his face, the streetlights blurring slightly as he stared out from between his fingers, the caffeine in his system just beginning to wear off. "That being said, things are already in motion to add All Might to the UA faculty this coming year," he sighed. "If what the kid says is true, he'll have bigger fish to fry so it'll have to wait."
"It's true as afar as he knows it," he responded, "Years of doing this and I still don’t know what to think."
Shouta just hummed in response. Another silence lapsing between them before he spoke up again.
"This might be a mistake."
"Sure," he acquiesced. No more than that.
"No one else can know about him, even All Might," he pressed, "You understand that right?"
"I do."
He let out a sigh as he popped open the door. The detective calling after him.
"I'll go ahead get our story straight on paper, but first I… I've got to make some calls." He said, leaning back in his seat, "I'll go over it with you tomorrow so for now just… just try and avoid talking to anyone about what happened until then."
He looked more tired than he'd ever seen him.
"Good Night, Detective."
A quiet nod was all he got in response. Neither of them had it in them to say any more than that as Shouta left him and made for home without once looking back. Letting himself soak in the silence and try not to wonder when another call would come through his phone again and why saving someone right in front of him could be so hard.