Chapter Text
His heartbeat echoed in his head.
Thoughts, memories, and questions ran frenetically through the Inspector's mind as Bomber jumped over him.
Reasons to shoot the Thief?
For Izuku, There were too many at this point, but people with said reasons? It could only be him and the rest of the Force.
Thinking about some owner being mad at him would be crazy; gems were always returned, and the exhibitions gained many visitors, publicity, and even new benefactors thanks to the magician.
Some of those owners even had a strange kind of liking for the man.
The task force, on the other hand.
Well…
He had to hold himself back from committing murder from time to time. Bomber had this habit of picking on their nerves. By sneaking into the precinct or, most recently, into his apartment to leave notes, when he showed his smug face after a heist telling them he had won, or in general when he played them all like an orchestra.
That man mocked his team and made a fool out of everyone, to the media and the world, so it would be reasonable to resent the magician. Even Izuku just seemed to run more out of patience after every theft; in the end, every time he saw the Thief, his weapon burned in his holster a bit harder.
And yet, the one time A gun had ever been fired in his direction was not to harm the Thief.
Those were not his men. He just knew.
Izuku never thought someone would have more reasons than him to shoot Bomber, but with the number of bullets he was dogging, they most likely had a lot of them, at least enough to make a cheese out of him.
Why?
The question had more and more meanings after every passing millisecond.
Bomber's cape's outrageous orange inner part covered his vision little by little as the man closed the distance.
And then he was falling downstairs with said men's arms around him as the bullets rained right past them.
Bomber protected him with his Body as they hit the ground. Everything was dark and a blur for a couple of seconds.
The strong arms of the Thief clasped tightly around him, making sure the Inspector wouldn't get hurt as they rolled the last flight of stairs.
Izuku was disoriented; his head was spinning, from the quick fall to the thought of the group aiming fire at them.
Before he could do or think anything rational, The other was already on his feet again, dragging the confused officer down the corridors.
Still in shock, he followed his lead, and fear ran down his back when he heard the metallic door opening not far behind.
The Green hired Man ran behind the heister in silence until they reached a dark office at the museum's end. Bomber quickly pushed them both inside and locked the door behind.
His breathing was ragged and he still held the officer firmly, as they stood in silence for a moment as they waited to hear anything outside.
It was only once he felt secure, that the tall man looked at him for the first time.
"Are you Hurt anywhere, Inspector?" The question was whispered but still very clear, his gloved hands moved to examine his face, and somehow, like a magic spell, it drew Izuku out of his numbness.
"No," the answer sound more like the breath he has been holding in since that door opened the first time. A couple of seconds passed between them, looking at each other before Izuku spoke again. "care to explain?" he said now with a stern voice while the metallic sound of his cuffs echoed in the room as he closed them on the other man's wrist.
His green eyes penetrated through the darkness of the room, defiant, making the magician stiffen.
Katsuki would have loved to answer his question, but the risk he would be exposing the Inspector to was too great.
He couldn't drag him into that mess too.
"My dear i-" the man in the top hat started, but the approaching steps to the door didn't let him finish, so in a fast move, he bent over Izuku and, with a swift movement, covered them both with his cape.
Of course, this was going to happen. In such a small corner, of course, he would feel his Body hot and firm against him, he still accelerated breath on his neck, his spicy scent. For a moment, Izuku felt lost in his senses. But now was not the time.
They better not find him there! Almost cuddling with his nemesis in a dark corner, what image will that give?! That would be the end of his career.
A police officer opened the door after a moment of fighting with the keys, and Izuku almost risked it all with a scream of help, but now a cuff-free hand covered his lips.
Once the door closed again, a deep giggle broke the silence.
"Don't be so naughty, inspector, or I may have to make you pay for it" Midoriya didn't know how this man could make a phrase meant to intimidate sound like something he would most certainly enjoy. As the colors rushed to his face, He snapped out of it and pushed the Thief away.
"I don't have time for your jokes, now answer the damn question, what happened up there? Who were those? And why The hell were they shooting at you?" steps approached the room again, and The man thought the door would fly open.
But it didn't.
"Inspector," the other man called him, not really caring for the noise outside the door, "If you must know, today I was not the most significant hazard here, and you will have to be more careful from now on," The taller Man said softly, touching the green-haired man's cheek, praying that those men hadn’t seen his face "please watch your back."
"Is that threat, Bomber?" Izuku asked firmly, slapping the hand out of his face, making The other smile at the sound of his name.
"I didn't expect you there today," he started and took a step back, giving back Izuku's personal space, "and somehow you stomp on something you shouldn't have." he stopped a second "no one should ever."
Suddenly The Man felt his hands get warmer and found The Thief gloved ones taking both of them gently. "Please don't look into it; I have told you before. We can not be superheroes, and I am afraid that I won't be able to always protect you.” he said with a seriousness that left Izuku cold “and then again, there is no fun on a heist without My favorite inspector."
That last part sent shivers down his spine, making him look at Bomber with a slightly panicked expression.
"You mean this had happened before?!" the officer exclaimed while the other man only stared.
Some say silence speaks louder, but still determined to get the answers he asked.
"Who are those people?" Bomber had always had a perfect poker face on, one that never let anybody know what was happening inside his head, but Today, a second before the door opened and the usual smoke bomb exploded, that face seemed a little different; maybe what he saw there was something like concern.
Still, he despaired before he could figure it out, leaving him standing alone, with the piece of jewelry in his hands and many more questions rather than answers.
"Inspector! There you are, what happened? We thought you said at the roof, but when we got there, we couldn't find anyone," Asked a woman entering the place.
Izuku looked pale. Nobody? Only then did he realize his squad was exposed to a significant danger; what would have happened if they ran into those armed men.
"wait here," he commanded and ran back again to the stairs leading to the rooftop. He cautiously turned, gun in hand, to find the scene had disappeared
.
No bullets on the floor, he clearly heard them fall around, but there was no trace of them whatsoever. he wanted to go upstairs, but a hand stopped him, making him turn around violently
"Izuku?" asked Uraraka, worried by the odd reaction and the sudden pale face the man had on.
He felt relieved.
Relieved that he could put his gun back on his holster, relieved his squad hadn't found them mid shooting, but still felt guilty about what may have happened.
He thought about his answer a bit more before responding.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm a little on edge, so up on the roof, nothing worth noticing?" he asked, still visibly nervous.
"no? should we have seen something?" she asked, panicking a bit
"no! just to se if he had something there or why he didn't fly off the roof," the Inspector said, walking back to the office where he had left the rest of the team.
"oh!" the woman said, almost sighing in relief, "nothing like that. I think it was just to confuse us."
He nodded and walked the rest of the way in silence.
Once he stood at the door again, he finally greeted his team.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I saw him turn around the corner, and ran after him before I could give any orders, I cornered him here" his eyes darted to the open window. "or so I thought," he sighed heavily "once again, I managed to keep the jewel, but he got away," said the man, almost sorry for his words.
"That's great! inspector, You did it!" one of the guys in the task force cheered
"Izuku, congratulations!" said his friend as she approached him and hugged him tightly "let's rub it on Inspector Sasaki's face." the brunette said with malice.
He stood in silence while watching his team cheer happily, and he felt a strange mixture of ease and worry for all the what-ifs.
After taking a deep breath, a small smile appeared on his lips.
"Now, I wouldn't call it to rub it on his face, just plain brag," he said, laughing dryly, as he tried to get rid of Bomber's bugging words that still echoed in his head.
"what should I do, huh?" he asked more to himself, but his friend at his side responded as if that was the dumbest question she ever heard.
"Go out there and say you recover the gem! Sasaki will be so mad that he and his swanky ass didn't" he smiled at the squad getting around together and walked out of the room with a victorious smile to do as he was told.
Not long after he put a foot out of the museum, the press media had already surrounded the Inspector.
The Flashes of the cameras and mics wavered on his face as he tried to answer the questions thrown his way.
"Today's heist required all our experience in the game. I believe we could have caught Bomber if we had agreed on some terms with the Osakan police department." A bunch of flashes and murmurs exploded near them. "anyway, I'm confident that we covered much more territory by splitting at the end, leaving no room for any mistakes. Thanks to Inspector Sasaki's plans, we recovered the jewel with no further complications." Izuku finished walking past the reporters, with a surprised squad walking behind him to the police cars.
Once in the van, The squad looked at Izuku inquisitively.
"what was that all about? you almost give them all the credit!" one of the girls asked from the back seat
"That's right, Midoriya, I wasn't expecting you to give them merits. It was all you doing after all," Todoroki agreed from behind his seat.
In fact, everyone in the car agreed with the girl, Sasaki didn't deserve much credit, even less from the Izuku after the way he was treated, but the Inspector just smiled back at his team in the rearview mirror.
"I sincerely think that this declaration is just going to hurt his pride even more," he said with simplicity as the car fell into complete silence. Everyone was just staring at the malefic smirk that appeared on the Green haired man's face.
"Izuku," started Uraraka softly before erupting in joy. "You are a freaking genius, cheers on the Inspector!!" everyone inside the van followed her lead, making The Inspector turn his smirk into a genuine smile.
.0.
"Midoriya," a deep voice from behind called the man.
He turned to face the other Inspector.
But he couldn't help and let out a small snort at the sight.
Inspector Sasaki, utterly pink and with a crisp hair, probably by the effects of caching Bomber's dummy, stood right in front of him.
He composed himself, camouflaging the snort with a cough.
"Inspector Sasaki, Good to see you back already." Said Izuku trying to appear calm. "We recovered the gem; right now, it is in the lab to verify its authenticity, but it most certainly is the original one, So we will be taking it back to the Museum in an hour." he also handed him his team report. To The older Man's surprise, almost all the paperwork was done.
And even if he went as far as proofreading it, carefully, to find any actual error, they were impeccable.
Only His team paperwork and his sign on the final report, given that Midoriya's team had already finished theirs, were left to do.
He was utterly taken aback by the growth of the officer before his eyes, he had trashed his job and his efforts, and now he had to eat out his harsh words.
"Midoriya," the words coming next were unexpected and didn't really want to leave Sasaki's mouth. "You did a good job," he simply said and went to do his part of the duties.
God, that felt good.
Izuku smiled, sensing the victory he needed long ago rise in him, and made a mental note to thank Bomber before arresting him.
"This was not rubbing it on his face," he said as he walked by Uraraka, who was silently laughing, next to the rest of the squad.
"Nah, just plain bragging," she responded breathlessly between giggles.
.0.
The following day Sasaki and his task force were out the precinct sanding off the Bomber squad.
The no longer pink Inspector Sasaki Stepped forwards and extended his hand to the green-haired man, who, still surprised, shook his hand back.
"Our defeat yesterday was caused by my stubbornness and prejudice against you, Inspector Midoriya, but after I saw your team's loyalty, great work and planning, and of course your great leading, I could not regret more in doing so." He said while looking at his squad too.
"You did great, Inspector Midoriya, and I look forwards to working with you again." he paused a moment before talking to the group.
"and I wanted to congratulate you and your squad. You all truly deserve to be called Bomber squad; thank you all for your hard work."
Izuku couldn't help but smile at the recognition. And silently thanked the man.
They went their separate ways, the team enjoying the ride back to Tokyo with a self-satisfactory feeling.
.0.
His belongings bounced on the couch as he dropped them, with his Body following shortly after. He leaned his head back and felt his eyes shout slightly, trying to get some well-deserved rest.
But his active mind was still running fast without any regard for his poor state, and wouldn’t stop, no matter what.
There were so many things going on in his head.
Nothing made sense.
Bomber being chased by a group of weird-armed Man? Who were those anyway? Some yakuza? Guards they didn't know about? The F.B.I. sticking their nose where they don't belong? PSB maybe? So many questions whose answers terrified the man.
But then again, Bomber said they were a threat.
To who?
The Thief himself? The police?
Judging by his words, most likely all of the above.
He struggled to keep his mind clear, trying to make the necessary connections.
The man felt his thoughts drifting away as his eyes fought to open again.
After fighting it a long time and feeling his head bump on his shoulders on multiple occasions, the man finally decided that he needed to sleep and dragged himself out of the couch with a loud groan, searching for the comfiness of his bed.
Slipping under the covers and finally leaning back, he let his head rest on the pillow, relaxing on the soft mattress.
He took a deep breath and started to doze off.
Then something clicked on his mind.
And his eyes shut wide open again.
"That File"
.0.
"Midoriya, you better have a good explanation to be here." The voice of his boss coming from the door behind him made him shiver.
The green-haired Inspector had run back to the office as soon as the idea invaded his mind, he knew he shouldn’t be there, but he could not let go of this lead if he wanted to rest at all.
So there he was, nose deep in the file room when the Capitan had walked in.
"Sir!" he said, turning back to him, for a second, his already pale face seemed a bit more white, and his nervous smile quivered at the lack of excuses. "I was just going through some old files to find some similarities with the last heist, something seemed like a deja vu there, so I'm trying to find a pattern."
"Not good enough," hummed the tall man "get out of here," he finally ordered with his arms crossed. "This is not a game inspector." he continued. "I know I'm not the best to talk about lack of sleep, but if my calculus is all right, you would have slept a total of twelve hours in the span of six days." he stopped a second to look at the entirely haggard man. "I have already told you this, Inspector. I need you in top shape. Go home. Sleep. Eat. And drink something that it's not coffee" The green-haired man looked at him defeated, while the taller man just limited himself to say "dismissed." before he left.
Izuku took one last glance at the drawer he had opened and took one folder witch had stood up to him and was labeled as cold.
"MIDORIYA!" The scolding voice called.
"I'm on my way, sir!" shouted back the Inspector as he stuffed the papers into his clothes before heading out of the room.
.0.
Todoroki opened the front door of his apartment carelessly, and before he could as much as turn the lights on, a flying card had made him the favor, embedding itself on the plastic surface.
It was his fault for letting his guard down.
"What are you doing here?" The plane voice of the officer irrupted the silence. "I thought you would be staying in the safe house for at least another week."
Katsuki was sitting calmly on a sofa while he juggled a set of cards in his hands.
"Halffy, it's unusual to see you this carefree," the magician scoffed while a grin appeared on his mouth "first, you run up loudly, almost making Izuku notice your presence out of that room, and now you just walk in without making sure you are safe first."
"You are right. I'll be more careful," he said, " but you didn't come here to tell me that did you?" the police walked past him and situated across the coffee table where katsuki had left papers and a drink "let's see why are you really here." he finally said taking the documents while he fell on the chair.
The blond smirk grew wider.
.0.
A knock on the door woke him up. He was still on the couch, bent in a really uncomfortable way, with a half-eaten sandwich in his right hand and a lot of papers lying across the coffee table.
In short, a half-awakened zombie who was not presentable at all.
But before he could do as much as let go of the bread in his hand, the door opened, allowing in his brunette friend.
"Ochako?" he called, confused.
She looked up at him as she stored the keys back in her purse
"God damn it Izuku! You didn't sleep again!" while handling some documents, she placed her free hand on her hips and started to glare at him.
"w-well, I did sleep a couple of hours, m-maybe," he said nervously, looking at the work on the wall behind him and then the clock that definitely shows he couldn't have slept more than an hour and a half.
"You can't be serious." Uraraka was kind of used to her friend not taking enough care of himself but was still shocked at the extent he would go for his work.
She let some papers fall on the coffee table and let out a long sight as she left the rest of her belongings aside.
"Go take a shower. I'm going to cook you a proper meal, and then you are sleeping till your shift tomorrow, you hear me?" He nodded, but his eyes were fixated on the papers she left there.
"Izuku!" she reprehended.
"yes, mom!" the man said before quickly disappearing into the bedroom.
The water had just sprinkled the first drops on his skin when he already felt renovated, and his tensed muscles started to relax. He poured the soap on his hands and let it remove all the dirt and sweat remaining from the recent work. The rest of his shower mainly was him enjoying the heat, the way the water seemed to gently wash away his worries too, and how the cozy steam seemed to lure him into staying in a bit more.
When he finally dragged himself out of the foggy bathroom, the food was already on the table.
His friend heard the door and rushed him to get to the table.
"Look at you, all clean and comfy," she joked as the man sat across her.
"now be a good boy and eat." The brunette said with a smile before slamming on the table the papers that had previously been lying in the living room. "oh, and explain this, sweetie" the same smile was still on her lips, but this time it scared the man a bit.
"Just some old files. I saw some similarities with an old heist and wanted to see if I could find any patterns" she looked at him. with doubt.
"then enlight me, why was it so urgent, why did the first thing you did when you came back was to go look for the files when you could have done so with all the team later?" he felt corned but didn't plan on giving in, not when this knowledge was not safe yet.
"look, sometimes I just feel anxious about certain things and felt like I will not be able to sleep if I didn't look into it right then." it wasn't a complete lie, but he still felt like he was, in fact, lying, when she looked at him like that.
After a long staring contest, she finally sighed as a sign of surrender.
"look, I get it, but you can't be doing this to your health. Please take some care, zuku" the woman looked concerned, so he must be looking worst than he initially thought.
"I know, but it has been bothering me. I tried to find something, but it seems that none of these cases had a coincidence with the latest ones" the man sighed with resignation.
After watching him end his food, she finally lends him the papers he saw her put on the coffee table earlier.
"Aizawa sent me here with these, he said you were looking at old files and thought this might help, but you have to photocopy them because they have to be back at the precinct today," she explained. "The thing is, I didn't expect you to look into files written by other teams. I thought you started to doubt us and maybe search for replacements," she finally admitted.
"Oh no!, Ochako, I will never. The task force is the best, and I will never trade you guys for anything or anyone," he said, smiling.
The brunette smiled widely and hugged who had been her friend and boss for so long.
"now, some of these archives are from Toshinori-san's era, so please don't obsess over them." she handed him the files, as a sad smile appeared on his face.
"Thanks," he said quietly before running up to his printer.
She watched the man running around with the papers as he placed them in separate piles and labeled them to read later while he looked through its pages happily.
All but two of them.
Two files remained untouched after he copied the documents inside.
Once he had all his copies printed and organized, he gave Uraraka the original pile of files back.
"Thank you so much!, For everything," the Green hired man said before he hugged his friend tightly "you are the best, and please thank The Capitan on my behalf," he added.
"Oh no, don't thank me, mister, you owe me ice cream! And a cake too," the other exclaimed while izuku nodded energetically.
"anything for my favorite squad member," he smiled.
"quit it, you," the woman laughed "it's time for me to go," she announced as she collected her things and hugged his friend goodbye "please take care, and see you at work" she left, and he ran up to the latest information he had on stock.
The Inspector didn't need to look much into it to find what he was looking for.
After all, it was on those horrible files he didn't really want to open.
Still, he found himself not as relieved as he thought he would be after reading from the other documents that, indeed, this group of people had been active before.
And in very aggressive ways, such as leaving behind some bullet shells that didn't fit the police weapons' caliber and evidence of bombs that didn't go off.
In those first Files, the incidents were blamed on Bomber, back in the day, near his disappearance almost eighteen years ago.
Then there was the file on that incident.
Toshinori san had run back inside for some reason.
The information didn't make sense.
The reports said there was no smoke inhalation, the scene was altered, and the archives he took from the file room containing the notes Bomber sent after that, didn't help to make any sense of it, and yet the only thing that helped him were those.
He was an absolute genius when it came to codes, and if he aligned all the notes sent after the incident but before the disappearance, he could read something new.
It was a single phrase, simple, but it confused him as if it was written in another language.
"Thanks, hero." it said
Izuku stood up, letting the papers fall on the table, then left the room and went to his bed, suddenly feeling more exhausted than he had felt in ages.
He closed his eyes, trying to fit this new information into his mind.
"Thanks for what exactly," he said softly, measuring the implications of the words in this context.
It was dangerous not only for the damn Thief, which has been obviously framed and hunted down by some hazardous people for what seems quite a long time, but to all the squad who can run into something like that in one of his heists.
The last thought that ran through Izuku's mind before it shut down for once, was the need to set things straight with the magician.
He had to know.
He will have to meet him.
.0.
Complicated feelings or not, he had to go to work, and that day wanted to prove that it could make things more complicated for him.
Things got messy the moment he stood on the precinct.
The first thing he noticed was the unusual tension in the air. The officers from the previous shift almost escaped from the place as they directed him with alarmed looks. Then he picked up how unusually crowded the area was and how he didn't seem to recognize anyone present.
Izuku arrived earlier than usual, so it was completely unexpected when people stopped near and signed the captain's office.
"Good you arrived!" he heard Jiro’s voice, as she made her way to him, walking past the group of people
when she finally reached him, she grabbed his shoulders and looked thoughtfully at him before muttering, "you better prepare. He is an asshole." then she grabbed his arm and walked him to the office quickly as the poor Inspector was yet to understand what was happening.
“Who are they? Did we get recruits today?” the man asked, curious, pointing at the unknown faces.
“His convoy, from another precinct, now in you go,” she says, almost pushing the man inside his boss’s office.
"Mister Midoriya, finally!" said a man standing up from the seat across Aizawa's and facing his direction; The tall, foreign-looking man with green eyes approached him with a hand extended.
"a pleasure to meet you. I'm Joe Yount, the U.S.A. ambassador here in Japan," he said, almost expanding his chest as he said where he came from.
"The pleasure is all mine," said the green-haired man as he gave a small salute back, he looked a little past him and found his superior officer with an even more exhausted expression than usual.
"Say, mister Yount, what brings you here so early in the morning," he asked politely.
"Ah, you see, I have the understanding that you are one who I have to talk about phantom thief 1301113." the man eyed the captain, "or so I have been told all morning."
"Yes, I'm the head Inspector of the capture team and don't worry, mister Yount. You can call him Bomber." Midoriya said, still wondering what all the fuss was about.
"Yes... Bomber, he..." the man struggled to get the words out of his mouth, "he sent a letter to the owner of the Medici Signet Ring that is now in an exhibit in the united states, and we want to consult you. About some things." He finally said
"don't worry, I will have the arrangements ready to be there as quickly as possible." the more petite man smiled kindly, showing support to the poor man who looked nervous for some reason.
"ah, but that's where you are wrong, sir" suddenly, all his nervous aura disappeared and was replaced with arrogancy. "The NYPD is the only one with the jurisdiction there, and as they had informed me, they just wanted to check on your errors so they can do better."
For some reason, the door to the office was open, but no noise was coming from the bullpen, and he realized so when he suddenly felt all his coworker's eyes on his back.
"I beg your pardon?" he said, still not really believing what he said.
"yes, we know how you often fail, so we want to see what you do wrong so we can do it right."
Midoriya felt like punching the man, but he was not to be responsible for a war.
"Ah, you don't say" his smile twitched while his coworkers looked around worriedly. The murmur increased in the background.
"Yes, well, I was actually hoping for your superior to do so, but he insisted on waiting for you as well, though I don't see how that would change things when you clearly can’t manage the situation,” he finished like he didn't really think his words were rude. “well,” he continued “now we can have that meeting with the NYPD squad in charge of the case," he said, slightly looking down at him.
"Now, mister Yount" the deep voice of the Capitan got the ambassador's attention, making him jump a little in his place. "There is no need for me there, but if you insist, I have no option but to go watch Inspector Midoriya speak, for he is the most competent man when it comes to heist preparation."
The American turned around as he fixed his jacket.
"Glad to hear that, a pity this Thief, in particular, is still on the lose." Aizawa shook his hand back with cordiality
"you are more than welcome then, Mister Yount, to come with inspector Midoriya next heist to catch him yourself," he responded as he led both men in question to the conference room.
It always amazed Midoriya how good was his boss at dealing with assholes.
Once they were settled inside, the reunion with the New York police department began; four members who were designated for this mission stood up to present themselves, but before he could say something, the ambassador interrupted.
"I will be translating the conversation for our Japanese parties here."
"Greetings, mister Youth, Capitain Aizawa, and inspector," Started a woman while moving some papers on the table. "My name is Jade walker, the officer in charge of the thief capture here in the united states."
Before the ambassador could talk, Izuku interrupted.
"Greetings, miss walker, may I present myself." the man said calmly while standing up and bowing slightly " I'm Izuku Midoriya, Inspector of the organized crime division, in charge of the Bomber case task force, a pleasure to meet you all." The ambassador looked slightly bothered by his perfect English but didn't comment further; the rest of the participants in the reunion greeted him.
"Please let me begin by telling you that it's a pleasure to cooperate with your department." The captain said while bowing, "The expert Today is mister Midoriya here, but I will be here in case it's needed."
The reunion went smoothly. While some of the NYPD officers didn't consider the Inspector's words of advice, others prayed into it and looked for every little detail that could help them.
"Now, here is a video of one of the recent heists held in Nagato." He continued while projecting a security video. "if you watch closely, you can note that at the moment his primary escape route was blocked, he immediately revealed a hidden rope from one of the close walls that helped his secondary escape plan be put into motion" the video stopped, and he pointed out different places in the frame were thin cables previously arranged by the criminal, could be identified.
" A complete scavenge in the compromised area is necessary before the heist starts. failing in doing so will only end in failure." the man advised as he showed another clip of the surveillance cameras “ For example, this window was cleaned just 15 minutes before this one started. Still, he managed to plant a smoke bomb there anyway, compromising the mission. I recommend having a team looking for his gadgets up to five minutes before the announced hour, so far, it has shown an improvement in our security.”
The man finished with a satisfied smile, after all, Izuku took pride in his strategic thinking process.
But that didn't seem to interest the NYPD team leader, who dismissively looked up and sighed.
"But you still failed then, and you failed in the last one too, no?" asked the woman.
"Well, yes, as you may have deduced by the presentation, his carefully crafted plans and his physical ability to make them work, make this a difficult task to handle." the man explained, seemingly calm.
"Excuses, mister Midoriya," The woman cut in. "Capitan Aizawa, care to give us some input?" she asked, completely ignoring her pair’s advice.
"Nothing I say would match the inspector's broad knowledge on the issue, but I can tell you, underestimating Bomber won't do you any good"
Her stoic face didn't even flinch and moved to scan the ambassador bored on a corner.
"Mister Yount, thank you for holding this reunion. I think we have all the intel needed," she said. "Now, if you excuse us, gentlemen, the reunion is approaching its end, and we should take our leave,” the police officer said as she stood up “have a great day." the rest of the people in the meeting stood up and said their goodbye's.
The screen went off, and the three men in the room moved to the door.
"Well, gentlemen, I'm heading off now. Thank you again very much for your cooperation," said the tall blond man while walking to the exit.
"Thanks to this reunion, maybe we can actually catch him," he said before turning around and grinning down at them.
"Oh, it was no problem at all; with that luck, you will be able to get the sign confession right away, too," said Izuku before the man ultimately left the room huffing.
Izuku sighed before looking at his direct boss, who just shrugged and walked past him.
"Even if they stood a chance, they're not going to get very far without taking your word into consideration, Midoriya, which clearly it's not the case," he said without really looking back. “Besides, I'm positive that if you can't catch him, then there is no possibility anyone else can.” He just said it, as a matter of fact.
"you are right, sir," the more petite man said with an easy smile on his face.
And they were, In fact, right.
Two days later, the heist took place in one of the most prominent museums in New York.
The cloisters.
People from all places went to the event, to the extent of being broadcasted internationally.
Americans were as flashy as the dumb Thief, so they decided to equip their team with body cameras connected to the broadcast to show the world the final capture.
Sadly things turned sour quickly for the N.Y police department. The piece was stolen almost immediately, with little to no effort on the thief’s part, which only motivated him to put on a big magic show at the expense of their pursuers.
Midoriya and his squad had been watching the broadcast around a tv in the precinct, and even though they knew that it was improbable that they would catch him on their very first try, they never expected things to go this wrong for them.
They definitely didn’t hear a word he said to them, Even though Bomber seemed to be going a little bit easier at them, with traps reasonably evident, and slow movements, they still couldn’t approach him, falling for the vast majority of his tricks.
Even the newest members of the squad, which had only gone to three of the recent heists, were able to recognize the dummies set to distract them.
Just when the police cut the body image after the criminal disappeared from inside the building, The Inspector's phone rang.
"Hello," The man picked up without taking his eyes off the tv screen.
"yo’, nerd, are you in the precinct?" said a deep voice at the other end of the line.
It took him a second to understand why the voice had surprised him and then connect the voice to a face.
Shocked, he glanced at the caller id.
"Kacchan?!" he exclaimed as he quickly stood up.
"Damn it, Deku, You gotta scream in my Fucking ear?" he heard the complaint sound strongly at the other end. "YEH, IT IS ME!" the blond screamed back at him, he took the phone away from his ear.
Just before putting it back, he watched his coworkers give him a look, shocked at the sudden scream of their superior.
The man quickly stood up, excusing himself silently as he kept talking on the phone nervously. "wh- ahh, well yeah, I'm in the precinct. Why?" he asked while walking away "its everything ok?"
"yeh, I just need my keys back." The man said, “you have them on you? or left them home?”
"oh right! No, I got them with me.”
"Nice, I'm downstairs. Can you come quick, please?" the officer's eyes opened widely at that sentence.
"ah y-yeh, just wait for a second," He said. Still a bit confused while moving to his desk.
“cool, I’ll be waiting then,” the voice on the other end said before hanging up.
Izuku grabbed the keys from inside his bag and then, mustering courage, glanced up at the tv on the bullpen.
The image of Bomber on the top of the castle bowing before saying something to the public was live.
And that felt like a mountain leaving his shoulders.
He is not, he thought happily before skipping downstairs.
He really is not.
When he saw Katsuki standing at the entrance, he felt his heart leap, and weeks of questions and insecurities left his body with a final sigh of relief.
He really really was not.
"Kacchan!" the green-haired man called as the man turned around and smirked at him.
"well, if it isn't my less favorite nerd." the blond answered.
"Hey!"
"I'm joking, geez, always so damn sensitive" katsuki reached to ruffle his green curly hair "how have you been, nerd?"
"always so cruel,” the inspector muttered under his breath. “I'm good," he said, defeated, trying to escape from the man's grip "are YOU ok? I haven't heard from you since you went away."
"I'm fine, I just forgot my cellphone at the pub last time, so I haven't been able to contact you guys," he said, putting his hands back in his pockets, "but it helped me focus on things I had to do back at mom's" Izuku smiled.
"how is auntie?"
"asking about you as always, but fine. still a hagg." The relation his friend and his mother had, always made him crack up, so he laughed softly at the tall man’s words and looked at him almost tenderly.
Some policemen who just happened to pass by, and were used to the Inspector's glares and usually stern looks, stopped in their tracks staring at the scene, astonished, they never thought he could look that soft.
katsuki didn't fall far behind. He needed a moment to look away before the creeping blush made it to his cheeks "so," he started clearing his throat, "do you have the keys?"
"ah yes, I almost forgot," the shorter man quickly regained composure and reached for the object in his back pocket "here." the blond took the set handed to him
"Thanks," Katsuki said dryly, trying to put his poker face back on.
"No problem, I really enjoyed watering your plants" the sarcasm left the inspector’s lips playfully to bother his friend.
"go fuck yourself, now get back up there to see your beloved thief," he said, turning around and waving as he started to walk away.
"ah! Yes, fuck you too," Izuku shot back. At the same time, the other man flipped him off without even looking back.
He chuckled.
It's so obviously not him.
.0.
*poof*
The dull sound of a small smoke bomb exploding left everyone in the area silent.
A silence that lasted just a couple of seconds, when from the pink cloud the bomb left, a note fell on the inspector's desk.
Just in front of him.
"Did that bastard teleport back or what?" he screamed, punching the table with a close fist. "seven minutes and what THIRTY SECONDS?!" he exclaimed while looking at his watch furiously, "and he already left a fucking heist note. AGAIN?"
"Calm down, izuku," tried uraraka while nervously looking back at the captain's office and watching him look back with disapproval at the sudden outburst "zuku, I swear to god."
"I'm sorry, but this bastARD," he stopped himself and took a deep breath once he felt his voice rising again, "-I really hate him, you know," he said, falling into his chair, defeated.
Ochako walked to his side and took the note from him,
"what does it say." she leaned on his desk while reading it.
Between the first half-hidden night orb, whirls, and twirls of flaming concealed beauties, I will be waltzing to swipe the revolutionary stone when the clock bow opposite to its last king.
-1301113
She made a face before handing it back "why can he just say he 'im staling A at B place at X hour" the woman said, almost laughing, "why does it have to be all a riddle."
The other man took a plastic bag from his desk and put the note inside. "I swear when I caught him, I'm going to punch him for all the years he made me crack my head to know just what the fuck he wants."
"Fair enough," said Todoroki approaching the desk, "want me to take that to the laboratory?" he asked politely.
"Just a second, let me take a picture to solve this," izuku answered with a crushed aura taking out his phone where a high and magic rose was tapped in "bloody thief!" he shouted as he yanked the flower out of the phone, but couldn't bring himself to crush it.
"damn! Take this away too," he said, putting the flower violently in a separate plastic bag.
The woman by his side wanted to giggle but knew better than committing suicide.
The bi-colored-haired man walked away with the evidence as always, leaving Izuku to his devices.
'The rose was too much katsuki,' he thought after stealing one last glance at the fuming Inspector.
"So, where do you want to start?" asked the policewoman at his side.
"I already started," he responded while putting a notepad on his right "if you look right here," he said, pointing at the picture taken, "we can deduce the time, when you see the clock bow, is nine-thirty," he said taking notes on his pad.
"but it could be three thirty too. We have seen him make a heist in broad daylight and well entered the night too," she said, pointing to the same part.
"yes, you are correct, but my dear Watson, if you see here it says 'opposite' to the king, who always stands on the right, not just metaphorically but in chess and other representations too, and the opposite would be left," he explained, " so opposite would be bowing to the left, which means nine-thirty" he finalized
"huh, you are correct, then what and when?" she asked, but after a second of silence, she exclaimed, "ah! I think I got it, look there!" she pointed at the first sentence.
" 'the first half-hidden orb' that means..." she started as she placed herself next to izuku and opened a new tab on his computer; the woman quickly tipped some words and then spoke again, "yes, the moon is also referred to as 'the night orb' and if the half is hidden, then" she typed again on the search bar "it's on its first quarter, which it's two weeks from now." the woman exclaimed pointing directly at the calendar on his desk.
"Brilliant," he said, pointing down that on his papers too.
Soon, after all the documents were ready and the tv disconnected, more squad members reunited around his desk to figure it out.
One of the oldest members, a guy named koji, who worked excellently but rarely talked, cleared his voice to speak after some time. "When I was at school, I remember the history teacher calling Lui XVI 'the last King' as marking a before and after in occidental royalty," he said silently.
Still, Izuku immediately took note and commanded them to look for pieces of jewelry that he possessed and were on exhibition.
As expected, the diamond stolen from 'the last king' during the French revolution, would be on exhibition two weeks from then, at an exclusive masquerade party.
"This is fantastic, guys!" The Inspector said, wrapping up the things scattered on the table. "we made it in less than thirty minutes, I think we broke our last record" the crew cheered and stood up, moving aside the chairs brought to the place to tidy up and go home.
"Thanks for staying behind. It means a lot to have my squad here at all times," the green-hired man finally said before the people left.
"non non, Thanks, you inspector, for always having us in," someone else said.
His smile lingered on his face all the way home after that brief meeting.
His squad was really the best.
.0.
"Katsuki!” a feminine voice answered the phone with energy. “About time you called, you ungrateful brat!" the woman continued, now slightly pissed
“Yeh, yeh, sorry, old hag. I was dealing with Inspector problems.” He replied, rubbing his face roughly. "I'm pretty sure he saw you on TV, so I think I'm clear now," The man said, smiling to himself.
"Aaah, My poor Izuku. He doesn't deserve to be played like a puppet by a punk like you.” She said dramatically
“Oi! On which side are you a witch?!” He snapped back at the phone
" Hey! Watch your tone when speaking to your mother, you damn brat," Mitsuki said with severity
“Tch, whatever” for a brief moment, they stayed in silence before he spoke again with a softer tone. "Hey, I'm glad you are safe, and” he took a moment to smile at the memory of his mother performing again in the black suit, “you were really great out there, I would have thought you lost practice after so many years, but you put up an interesting act” the man added genuinely pleased.
"Oh well, what can I say? I may not be the great magician you are, but I still have my tricks up my sleeve, and I love having to run a heist. Obviously not my style, but I think I manage Bomber’s just fine," she said happily. "Just wait for tomorrow's news when the reporters destroy them for that child's act they put up against Bomber. They should have listened to my Izuku" her laugh now sounded a bit darker, which made him chuckle too.
"I will be, believe me."
Somehow, the silence that wrapped around them this time, made him much more uncomfortable and wary.
And as soon his mother spoke again, he knew why.
"Sweetie," she started, her voice now sounded soft and concerned, and he knew what she was going to say next, "I think the time Bomber starts acting without warnings or audience is coming closer,” she said, and ofcourse he knew that he had been postponing it for a long time now, but.
"I know, and I will look into it, I promise."
"Excellent,” she said softly, knowing the implications of her petitions “please take care, son."
"I will,” he answered, trying to sound calm. “You too," the man said before ending the call.
For the first time, he started to wonder if he was taking the best course of action.
He never once doubted his capabilities or his decisions, but now that Izuku had entered this hidden equation, it all had been a mess in his head, and if he had to give up on the Inspector to continue his search, he wasn't sure if he could live fine with it.
.0.
The inspector rubbed his temples again, while he let out a long sigh.
How to approach the owner of the exhibition?
He asked himself heavily, it had been circling his mind since he got the details out of the letter. He knew it shouldn’t be difficult, after all, he was the one who usually met with the owners, gave them the news, and dealt with the aftermath.
But the problem was not the owner or even the fact that Bomber was plotting to steal his property.
No.
It was the whole legend about the stone being cursed, how it was a death omen, and only brought disgrace over their proprietor.
The Hope diamond was currently in possession of the Smithsonian, The biggest Museum in the world.
Adam Smith, One of his representatives, decided to host an exclusive party and display the diamond as the main attraction for the night. Probably to find new investors and benefactors for the museum, maybe even buy some Japanese pieces to take back with him to the famous hall in the United States.
And there is where The problem resided.
Getting them paranoiac or ruining the event, would be counterproductive, in terms of reputation and opportunities to catch the thief. Well, that and izuku just didn't want to deal with hysterical owners, much less in another language.
“Midoriya, I know you have something in mind already, so come to my office and start explaining,” The Capitan spoke while standing next to his desk, the man in question looked up and nodded, defeated.
The both of them entered the office, and while the taller man poured himself a cup of coffee, the other sat in front of his superior’s desk.
“And? what is it?” Aizawa asked with a bored tone.
“Well,” the man started with a sigh, “to be sincere, sir, I'm just worried about the mountain of paperwork this is going to grant me, but it's not complicated.” He continued with a smile, the other man just raised his brow to keep him talking. “I asked for the Blueprints of the building, and it turns out that they recently replaced the windows with security ones and the top floors also have a thin layer of steel wires covering the windows, which allow us to restrict Bomber’s actions to a minimum.” he explained “So, a reckless or early approach to the matter would only alter the plans, or cancel them definitely.” the inspector smile suddenly seemed tired as he imagined again the pile of work on his desk “Given that we can not afford to lose an opportunity like this my plan is to pretend that the recent letter was from an impostor and treat it as such, that would shut up the media, prevent possible leaks, and we will announce the presence of the letter personally to the representative when it's already too late to change his plans.'' he finished leaning in almost like an excited child.
The other man had a wicked smile on his face.
“Well, you sure do know how to increase your workload Inspector, I hope it's worth the effort,” he said nodding. “inform the team,” the man finalized and dismissed him.
After a brief reunion explaining the situation to the squad, they started to make arrangements for the security at the actual party, with the idea to present this to the representative when the time comes.
A day before the big event, The Inspector presented himself at the hotel where the host stayed to give the official announcement.
He was led to a conference room to wait for the man, he almost didn't have time to sit down when the door opened abruptly, and he had to quickly stand up again to greet the foreigner.
But said man paled at his sight and stared at him in sheer panic.
"Oh shit," he finally breathed out.
He looked exalted, but after he took notice of this, he immediately tried to compose himself and walked up to the other man. "I'm sorry for the discourtesy; Hello, Inspector Midoriya, I'm Adam Smith, representative of the Smithsonian Museum," the American said, bowing excessively. "I'm just really on edge with this jewel, so forgive me for the rudeness of my first impression."
Izuku reassured him with a cordial smile.
"Don't worry about it, Mister Smith. My name is Izuku Midoriya, Inspector of the second division of the Tokyo police department," he said, gently saluting the man. "But You already knew that," he said, trying to be sympathetic.
"Ah yes, I was informed that you were in charge of capturing the phantom thief 1301113," The taller man said, relaxing a bit, "They told me if I saw you, that meant bad news to me."
"Haha, I sure hope I could bring you good news, but unfortunately, it isn't the case, and we have things to discuss" the Green hired man then pulled a seat for the man, who thanked him and sat.
"Well, inspector, shoot me" Izuku looked at him apologetically before starting.
“First of all, Bomber’s Notes are never clear, what I am about to hand you never mentions the party itself, but after a deep investigation, we concluded its targeting your party and, in consequence, the Hope diamond,” The officer stated while taking out form a binder the note, and handing it to the nervous man. “Second, this arrived last night, but given the circumstances, this information hadn’t been revealed to the public, to avoid the press as much as possible and keep a low profile on the police.”
“Well, if this is still unknown, I can manage to withhold the diamond and send it back as soon as possible to prevent this, right?” The representative concluded excitedly, but Izuku’s not so convinced face made him sigh in resignation again, “ but you wouldn’t be here with that huge binder if it were that easy”
“Sadly, mister Smith, This thief has already put his eyes on this specific gem, and taking it back to the United States could prove to be even riskier than defending it here and possibly catch him in the act,” The police assured, Making the man slightly more interested in the plans The Head f the Bomber’s squad had prepared.
An hour and a half later, Izuku left the room with a much more relaxed Adam by his side.
"This jewel is tricky, so I was really nervous that a thief was coming after it, but I'm delighted you came here to ease my nerves, Inspector. Thank you so much for everything. I will be sending the invitations for you and your squad to the precinct as soon as possible." After hearing his plan, the man seemed much calmer, which pleased The Inspector greatly and put a smile on his face.
"Thank you, mister Smith, for your cooperation we will be doing our best to impede the escape of Bomber." He said with confidence he didn't actually have.
After all, he was hoping to find him on the roof this time and not behind bars.
.0.
The place was exquisite, from the lights to the soft music that filled the place.
His team was remarkably well blended with high-cut dresses and tailored suits.
The night was going smoothly so far, The guests waltzed around enjoying the lovely evening that Mr. Smith had put so much effort into preparing, and they, on the other hand, got a great opportunity handed to them in return.
The plan was fairly simple: Infiltrate the police in the party and guard the gem from the inside, helped by the masks to stay incognito and complicate the thief to identify their positions and organization.
They were quite proud of the strategy they came up with, they took advantage of the private security to implement their equipment, came up with a system for inconspicuous formations around the ballroom that changed frequently enough, and prepared a couple of backups plans in case things got complicated.
Avoiding attention was primordial to the mission and just standing on the side, could raise suspicions, so Izuku danced with some of the guests as well as a couple of his team members while patrolling around the venue.
After a few pieces, he decided to observe and do some rounds from the outside. As he paced around enjoying the band playing, Uraraka spotted him peerless and rushed to take him to the dance floor.
He laughed as the woman extended her hand to him, asking for a dance with a big grin, In return, he offered his arm, and led her to the center.
"This dress really flatters you, Ochako," he whispered as he moved to the music with the girl in his arms. “All thanks to those extra nights helping me with the paperwork and the expenses planning," the woman giggled.
"Well, thanks, You look handsome yourself, sir, the extra hours are really paying off so far," she said, looking around “ They didn’t say anything when you handed the invoice?” It was his turn to chuckle.
"Well, they made a face, but it's not like they could refuse. Honestly they have to be grateful That it wasn’t more." he confessed with a smirk " And, I seriously doubt we could have walked in here wearing anything less than this and not stand out like a sore thumb."
"Well, we do look fantastic, I think we will have to come to these as a team more often," she said, looking over Izuku's shoulder at a couple of teammates dazzling the room.
"right?" he confirmed while he spun her around to look at a few of them dancing with some rich-looking people " we fit like a glove," the man confirmed with satisfaction.
The song ended, and they separated again to move to the subsequent formation.
He was walking up to the bar to get a much-deserved drink when a hand softly posed on his shoulder.
"Excuse me, gentleman, I couldn't help but notice you don't have a dance partner. Would you like to be mine?" A tall and dark hired man stood before him, extending his hand gently, even if the mask the man wore covered a great deal of his face, he could notice that he was very handsome. He felt nervous all of a sudden and felt the colors rush to his face.
"Y-Yes, I would love to dance," The officer finally said while taking his hand.
"Perfect," the man said while dragging him up to the dance floor again.
The music was slow and calm, perfect for a first dance together, he thought.
The man was enchanting and sure knew how to maintain an entertaining conversation, and from up close, Izuku couldn’t help but notice his deep green eyes and his defined jaw, making him blush a little more. They talked for a while before the music faded away.
"Can I tempt you with a drink?" the man asked gallantly
"Yes, it would be perfect," he answered, smiling shyly.
"Wait here, I'm going to get them," he said before disappearing into the crowd.
He was determined to wait for the guy, hoping he could get to know him better.
When a hand on his wrist interrupted his train of thoughts and spooned him around at the beat of a new slow and spicy piece, that only invited the couples to be closer.
He almost tripped at the fast motion and found himself crashing onto a man's chest. Izuku was shocked at first, but then, before ultimately looking up, he found himself staring directly at a rose the man had on his lapel.
A rose he recognized almost immediately.
A high and magic rose.
Bomber.
"Care to explain what are you doing, " he snapped, annoyed, looking up at him.
Bomber looked nothing like he did with the top hat and monocle.
He always thought his eyes were dark and his hair clear, but now his eyes were blue and his hair almost black.
"Shhh, you don't want to make a racket, right inspector?". the man smiled widely “after all the effort you have put into keeping silence,” he whispered with a mischief glint on his eyes, that Izuku wouldn't admit he liked.
"What do you want?" the Inspector asked harshly, looking impatient
"My, what can it be?” he joked while moving around swiftly, “I just wanted to dance with you Inspector," Bomber finally said with a deep voice.
"Really?" he said, rolling his eyes.
"Really," he affirms while pulling the shorter man closer to himself and guiding him to slow dance.
Izuku had his hands trapped by the Thief. He couldn't reach his cuff, nor could he call for backup, but even when the situation looked this bad for him, even when he should be feeling helpless, he felt at ease dancing with the man so close together.
As if his Body was familiar with this man.
After some time of meditation, Izuku decided it was the perfect moment to talk and clear some things with the guy.
"To be Honest Bomber, I wanted to talk to you," he said resignedly. "I was honestly hoping we could meet and make a truce for the moment." confessed the man, still with a tough stain in his voice.
"And why would you do that?" asked his partner in an amused tone.
"Take this seriously," The Inspector said sharply, " I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself." The man said, displeased, looking up to meet his eyes.
"Inspector yo-" he was promptly interrupted by a repetitive touch on his back. They both looked annoyed when they met the person responsible for cutting the conversation short.
"Excuse me, sir," he started, looking at Bomber with disdain. "May I have the gentleman back? I was about to invite him for a drink." The green-eyed stranger was back, and as much as he wanted to, he didn't feel pleased by it.
"Oh, good sir, I would love to, but right now, we are in the middle of enjoying a dance together, and it would be petty to finish such a wonderful time so soon." Bomber said, sounding a bit more mellow than usual.
"I will rephrase this, as it seems that you don't understand." the newcomer said while looking annoyed. "Let go of the gentleman and leave us alone" He was talking rudely now and looking down on the Disguised man, who only smirked in return.
Izuku had forgotten that rich people often did that, which only made him look less attractive in the eye of the officer.
The inspector was about to put an end to the childish quarrel when his intercomunicator suddenly went on.
“Inspector! There are armed men walking to the hall!” a voice warned agitated. “They ha-” the communication suddenly went down, and as he walked away from the growling men, he noticed Bomber’s suddenly serious face looking up abruptly before a loud burst of shooting interrupted the tranquil atmosphere.
The panic cries and screams followed soon after as some guests tried to run out of the venue only to find the gates closed and the emergency exits blocked by the heavily armed men.
Someone walked calmly to the small stage, where the diamond would be letter presented, and pocked the microphone standing in the middle, effectively making some heads turn.
“May I have your attention” in a mockery tone, and loud volume, the masked man spoke, and people started to shut, paying attention to the words coming out of the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are now under our control” the man explained, relaxed, as he passed around the platform and waved his gun pointing at the sky “we have hijacked the tower and the security system, you can not make calls nor escape this place until you had fulfilled our demands” He finished calmly, before people started to scream again and nervously tried to push down the big doors blocking their escape routes.
“Silence” another armed man screamed, shooting again, this time hitting a man on the leg, he fell crying out loud “ if you don’t want a bullet on your head, shut up” the man threatened as he approached the guy whimpering on the floor “and this goes for all of you, don't try anything funny or you will end up worse.”
“well, now that we got that clear,” continued the first man “we want a million yen from each one of you” he scoffed “not that is too much for you guys right?”
The murmurs appeared again as a general sensation of nervousness and confusion took over the room, the shoots started once more, this time shorter and efficiently made everyone shut up.
“I'm so glad you asked” The man at the podium answered to himself “we know you can’t transfer the money without the internet, Yes, but we do have this special little machine you have probably seen when buying your expensive things, and as any transaction, you just need to swipe your card,” he said showing the little machine in his hands “So, Credit or debit?” he finalized laughing at the audience perplexed faces.
Before he stepped down, he rushed to the microphone again “Oh, of course, wow can I forget, please be kind enough to hand out your pretty jewelry and nice positions, yes your phones too, to my friend here” he said signaling a man with a bag on one hand and a gun in the other who approached the guests.
The inspector made a quick, scan of the room. He saw a good portion of his squad already looking at him waiting for orders, If he moved a little back and to the right, he could have a full view of his crew, and the people threatening security.
He watched as one of the members was already tending the injured man's wounds, and signaled him to move a bit out of range.
Just when he was about to move to the spot he needed, the man who had been dancing with Izuku before stopped him.
“Don’t worry Beautiful, I will protect us” The man said walking in front of him, again looking down at Bomber. For a moment Izuku was not sure if he should laugh or punch him, he kept looking down at the thief as if he was much taller than him when in reality, he was maybe an inch and a half taller, and now, on top of that he tough that was enough to do anything against these people.
He sighed and then side looked at the thief who smirked his way as if he knew what was on the inspector’s mind, a thing that just irked Izuku more.
If only this idiot was not interfering, he wouldnt have to resort to this.
He finally gave in and glanced at the criminal who winked back as an answer.
As the officer carefully and slightly walked backward, he watched Bomber knocking out the man with a powder and placing him out of sight.
Soon he had arrived and found the remaining part of his team watching him back.
Sign language was a requirement to make to the second division, as it was the only way to communicate in some locations, and it had proved to be very useful in scenarios like this one.
Once he had confirmed the number of people in this armed group with his company, he started to give orders watching carefully the positions and the tactic to take them all out in one go to prevent a shooting and possible casualties.
“You!” The man he supposed was the leader was suddenly pointing in his direction, and he froze for a second.
“Please come up here, and bring that big blue diamond that you were promoting!” He then realized that Adam smith was standing just a few feet behind him, probably looking for a safe place near Who he knew, was the inspector.
Trembling, the representative walked past him, and looked at him nervously while approaching the stage, he reached into his pocket and took out a little remote control and handed it to the man.
From under the podium, a pedestal with the jewel emerged, fully catching the attention of the Group.
It was then when Inspector Midoriya gave the final order, The squad started to move, and in one quick and coordinated attack, They fired.
The sounds of their guns generated panic again, which helped them reduce the group quicker as the people stood out of the way.
Just when izuku was about to stand up after clutching his cuffs on the leader’s wrists, A card flew right next to his ear.
Then he heard a cry and the distinctive sound of a gun crashing against the floor, his eyes followed the sound and saw one of the supposed guests behind him, taking him down in one swift motion, and using his spare pair of cuffs, he restrained the man.
He finally looked for where the card came from, and a poof of smoke revealed Bomber standing near the diamond case with a big grin.
“Ladies and gentlemen” The Thief started “what a very sad turn of events, that one of my shows had to end up in this” his calming voice turned the heads of the crowd to him “Luckily for us all, The great Inspector Midoriya and his team had us covered” he pointed at the team obviously still busy with the group and unable to go after him “Now, My most sincere gratitude to them and The representative Adam Smith, for letting me take such a beautiful piece” The Diamond that was just resting inside the case, suddenly appeared in his hand as he bowed to his audience. “And thank you my dear audience, for this has been a delightful evening”
Izuku, leaving behind the two cuffed men on the floor, ran up to him in a futile attempt to catch Bomber, who in a puff of bright orange smoke, disappeared into thin air.
Just a second after, all the gates and doors leading to the saloon burst open, letting in a group of policemen and medical assistants, to control the situation.
“Close the doors!” The inspector yelled, But by the time they tried to follow his orders, a bunch of people had already run out, and probably Bomber among them.
“Fucking Thief” he muttered before turning back to the job at hand. “Now Mister kidnaper, what was this about hacking the system?” He asked the leader of the group before taking out his mask.
It was going to be a long night, no doubt.
After an hour of procedures and a long talk with Mr. Smith, Izuku disappeared from the scene and made his way to the rooftop.
knowing he will find him there.
The door opened and revealed a calm Bomber seating in the railings, with his back to the door.
"I was waiting for you, My dear inspector." he heard the playful voice of the thief call out.
"I know," The man answered simply "the truce is still on, so..." the implied question floated in the air, and he saw the back of the man stiffen, for a minute they stood like that, in complete silence, before the heister turned around and moved closer to him, masked by the shadow of his hat.
Just when he was a feet away, he finally looked into his eyes.
"I thought I told you not to look into that incident." the taller man started while looking completely emotionless.
"you can't expect me not to." Izuku felt nervous at the sudden change of attitude.
"Well, you are right, but I did hope you didn't." his lips formed a slight smile that didn't reach the rest of his face.
"well I already did, so why don’t you start explaining.
The taller man pursed his lips refusing to answer his growing questions.
“were they here today?” Izuku asked tentatively
“well, you catch them” the other man replied with a grin.
“You know that they wouldn’t have been so obvious to appear in front of so many witnesses when in these past 20 years we have never seen them once!” the green hired man said rolling his eyes “I'm asking if they were here before I arrived “
“If that was the case Inspector I would have been long gone” he finally seemed more talkative, so Izuku pressed further
“Why does nobody know they caused you to be called Bomber. I read the reports and they frame you for all those bomb incidents almost twenty-five years ago.It's like the police never read the files or they didn’t care" the police alleged
"I know, but that was just part of it. The rest is up to C.P.O. and some novelists that like to play with names and numbers," he laughed drily.
“It's not just that, They framed you for robberies that you didn’t commit, they had shot you on numerous occasions in the past no?” He pushed again.
“Well, in my line of work it can be expected to not be liked always,” The criminals said looking away.
He wasn't a fool; he knew Bomber was deflecting his questions, but he needed to know why
"What happened that night." he insisted again.
"you were in the wrong place." Patience could be damn, he needed answers, and he would have them.
"why were they shooting, Bomber? This is bigger than you. There was not even a prof they were there; how many times had this happened?" He stayed silent, looking at him without moving a muscle.
"How many times did I not make it to the roof or where the fuck you were and didn't see?" He knew he looked desperate, but he was.
"I can't answer that, Inspector. Believe me, it is for your own good." The man tried to pose a hand on the officer's shoulder
"worry about you too, you moron!" he shouted, slapping the hand away.
katsuki was taken aback at the sudden outbrust.
"God damn it, Bomber, I'm worried that you could get hurt, I know we antagonize each other more often than not, but that doesn't mean I don't care about your safety."
"Inspector, please" The man tried to persuade him and started to talk holding his gaze, but Izuku wouldn’t let him get away with this
"don't ask me that! don’t ask me to be out." he cut the sentence before he could finish it
Bomber closed the distance, wrapped his hands on the Inspector's, and gave it a light squish without looking at him yet.
The pained expression Izuku tough he saw before was quickly erased, and the same blank expression met him when he turned to face him.
"I'm not asking you.” the words were almost dragged out of his mouth. “This is none of your business." He finalized before letting go and walking to the edge
"you are so wrong," The Green hired man said, feeling the diamond wrapped around a handkerchief on his hand, but deciding to ignore it "You can't say that!" he exclaimed at the Thief, who was ready to jump off the roof "not when Toshinori san died trying to save you from what I assume was the same group."
He saw the man tense up at his words, it was a bet really, he didn’t know for sure, the information didn’t match and the notes he left after the incident led him to believe that, but he wasn’t sure until that moment.
Izuku tried to walk back again to his side.
But Bomber’s cold voice stopped him in his tracks.
"I respected Toshinori san too," he said, not looking back at him, "and I'm sorry this happened, but I'm working on bringing them down, Inspector."
"Bomber, I'm a police officer. This is my job." he insisted with severity.
"And my job is to ensure nothing like that happens again! not to you or your team or anyone for the matter" The taller man raised his voice harshly.
Izuku stared in shock
Bomber shouted almost angrily at him for the first time since they met, and he couldn't help but take a step back.
Izuku never knew silence could feel so overwhelming.
He couldn't even tell how long it was before the Thief talked again,
"Please leave it as it is," his figure was still tense, but his voice sounded calm, and while not turning completely, he looked back at the short man to ask silently for forgiveness. And a feeling of desperation engulfed the officer who tried to reach him one more time.
But he had never once reached on time, and Bomber wouldn’t let this be the first.
"Good night, Inspector," The man whispered before jumping off the roof.