Chapter Text
A few hours later, after a few more fists flying and giggling squeals, Shoto starts ushering everyone to bed. He gently coaxes the now giggling Shu back into his arms, Akito and Shiki not helping as they rile him up further with exaggerated facial expressions. His smile subtly drops as his palm gently rests on Shu’s forehead, his child’s flushed skin a sign of his youngest’s struggles. The others don't miss the subtle gesture. Kon’s feet silently pads over the lush carpet as he passes Shoto, kisses Shu on the forehead, then heads straight upstairs, not before nudging his two rambunctious brothers as he passes.
Shoto doesn't miss the subtle exchange but focuses on wrangling the excited yet feverish child. He makes sure to gently side hug his boys before heading to his room.
Akito sends a knowing glance Shiki's way, before asking Shoto when Mom would be back.
Without stopping, Shoto replies, "He'll be back after midnight. I've got an early shift tomorrow, so we’ll head to bed. Make sure you sleep, but food’s in the warmer if you get peckish”. He smiles again before shutting his bedroom door behind him.
Without a second's hesitation, they both head straight into their bedroom and shut the door. Glancing around the neat yet lived-in bedroom, Shiki heads straight to his bed and jumps, bouncing uncontrollably, messing up the neatened grey bedding. Lying on his stomach, he turns to grin smugly at an exasperated Akito before grabbing his tablet from under his pillow.
"Calling Kon. Calling Kon, you there?" Shiki chants, an evil grin plastered across his face.
Akito shakes his head, "He's going to kill you."
Shiki shrugs, "Probably".
A ‘ting’ from the tablet grabs their attention.
"One more time and I'll erase you from technological existence!" Kon's voice booms from the tablet, his face plastered across the now pixilated screen. "And for goodness sake, get an upgrade. Connecting to such an old, rusty piece of junk makes me shiver".
Shiki rolls his eyes, "Yeah yeah, I know. So what did you find out?"
Akito sits beside Shiki, "Tell us everything, and please use words that actually make sense."
Kon groans, "It's not my fault you're both so technologically underdeveloped."
Before Shiki or Akito could interject, he continues.
"I did some digging. From what I found, both schools having explored Midoriya Izuku seems to be a coincidence".
"Bullshit!", Akito retorts.
"My thoughts exactly", Kon responds. "Which is why, when I dug further, I found a discrepancy within the school systems. It wasn't easy to spot at first, but exactly 27 days ago, there was a blip in both schools' servers. For a split second, at 00:26 AM at UA and 00:28 AM at the Villain Academy, the cameras and systems froze for a fraction of a second, well, for 3 milliseconds to be precise. It was incredibly hard to find, but I guarantee that it would be even harder to pull off."
Shiki frowns, "Milliseconds? Actually, forget it. Did anything change?"
"That's the thing," Kon explains, "Nothing changed, nothing that I could detect. The cameras, the system files, documents, the system itself or even the pay details for all employees, literally nothing has changed. I've scoured through this fifty-three times now, there's nothing."
"There can't be nothing?" Shiki questions, disbelief marring his face.
"I know, but if there is, I can't find it."
Kon's admission startles both of them. Kon was known as a technological genius. Every person who works for the government, and for technological advancement, sought after him at the mere age of seven. Mum fought away all the crazies and ensured that Kon could live a life that he chooses, not what others dictate. The fact that he, a genius and well-experienced broker, could not detect the issue means that this may be something beyond their capabilities.
Akito gazes at the tablet, his eyes glassy and unfocused, "Something still isn't right. We can't do this ourselves."
Despite Shiki agreeing internally, he couldn't help but retort, "That's not a hundred per cent certain. We have dealt with many problems before, including many villains, even heroes. We may be able to do this."
Akito looks straight into his eyes, "Shiki, we have nothing. A vague hint of uneasiness, and no information or leads in the slightest. If we took what we had to the hero agency, they'd laugh at us. How can we work with a mere hunch and a coincidence when they can't? Even I'd laugh at us. If we were anyone else, I’d laugh this off after a few hours."
"But we're not anyone." Shiki's calm but serious tone interjects. "Mum and Dad taught us best. Lesson number one: always listen to your instincts. And yours, Akito, are the strongest and most accurate we have. I'd have probably blown it off in annoyance at hearing that disgusting man's name, complained, then set fire to Gain's rubbish bins again-"
Kon groans, "That was a pain to clean up-"
"But you didn't ignore your instincts and voiced them, despite having many doubts. Dad has always said that acknowledging your instincts isn't the difficult part, but acting on them. You did that and we're listening. So if the hero agency won't listen, and we can't tell Mum and Dad before we know for certain, then we need to tell someone who will."
A moment of silence passes as they both smile at each other, before Kon interrupts, "We're supposed to be siblings who annoy the hell out of each other, correct?"
Shiki grins, "Did I hear Grain got a new rubbish bin?"
Kon groans whilst Akito laughs.
Shiki’s smile suddenly drops. “Crap” he mutters.
“What?,” Akito asks, now alert.
“We can’t tell the agency anyway, we’re not licensed. So no matter when, that isn’t an option,” Shiki groans.
“You’re right,” Akito responds. “We have no clearance to have this information. It’ll backfire on us.”
Shiki shoots up into a sitting position, startling Akito into nearly falling off the bed.
Shiki laughs at Akito’s near fall, but his expression then becomes hesitant, taking a few moments to think before speaking.
Shiki grimaces, “There is someone we can tell, but we’re not going to like it”.
"Who?" Akito asks.
Shiki's mouth tightens before answering, "Sei".
They both groan. "Oh we are so dead!".