Chapter Text
3rd POV:
The streets of downtown Mufutasu were swarming with teams of police.
Constables, sergeants, detectives, all we're on equal footing in that moment as they scoured every alleyway with caution, each equipped with a radio linking directly to Eraserhead and a photocopied polaroid of 13 year old Koshō Shinsetsu.
Searching on his own further in the city was Shota Aizawa, the original copy of the photo gripped tight in his hand as he scanned around with his flashlight.
After Koshō had disappeared for the final time, Aizawa had frantically called both Nedzu and Naomasa, telling them what he knew and begging them to send people out to search for his kid.
Nedzu did him one better and recruited (threatened) the entire police force to help, not that Naomasa needed much convincing.
So here they all were, moving from alley to alley, checking ever dumpster, trashcan and bag. Even Nedzu was out and about, perched on Naomasa's shoulder as they searched, looking for the boy who had managed to worm him way into their hearts in the few short months he had been around them.
———
They had been searching for around 3 hours when somebody finally called in a possible find. The search organizers hurried to the given location and we're met with two young, pale-faced constables. The older of the two, the one who had called in the find, stood near the entrance to the alley looking ashen gray and shaking like a leaf. His partner, a man who had only joined the force a month ago, was sat off to the side next to a puddle of vomit.
The pro-hero grimaced.
He was definitely the one who found the kid.
———
Aizawa's POV:
I approached the young officer who was staring at the ground. Crouching down near him, I waved my hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his trance.
"Hey. Tell me what happened."
I said in a brisk voice. If it sounded rude, I couldn't find it in myself to care.
I needed to know if this was a false alarm.
He looked at me, obviously still shaken, and began to stumble his way through what he had seen.
"W-We were checking all of the d-dumpsters lined up in the alley a-and Tora said he smelled something r-really bad! So w-we went round the corner a-and there was a s-suspicious looking box a-and I opened it and... and..."
He trailed off and went back to starring at the ground.
I couldn't help feeling a little bad for him.
This was probably the first case of this nature he was ever assigned to.
But who the hell opens something that may have a dead body in it before calling for backup?!
I sighed.
It wasn't his fault. Not really. He was new to this world.
I patted him lightly on the arm before standing up and turning towards the alley, speed walking over to Naomasa and the white fluffy rat-thing currently perched on his shoulder, and giving them a solemn nod.
We found him.
We found Koshō.
———
Naomasa and I walked down the alley with purpose. Nedzu, upon actually starting down the alleyway, had come to the realization that the sickly-sweet smell of human decay was to strong for his highly sensitive nose, and decided to instead wait on the main street and call a proper excavation team to collect the body.
If this were any other situation I would have taken the chance to mock him for his weak stomach, but now was not the time.
Rounding the corner at the end of the alley, we we're hit with the worst smell of our lives.
I quickly shoved my sleeve over my nose and struggled not to gag as the unrelenting stench of death and decay made my eyes water.
How the hell had nobody noticed this?
Naomasa, now with his nose also covered by a handkerchief, handed me a pair of sterile gloves which I slipped on with great difficulty.
No way we were going to risk contaminating any evidence we could use to catch the bastard.
I finally let my eyes settle on the large cardboard box sitting against the farthest wall, subtle dread sitting in the back if my throat like tar. The smell alone confirmed in my mind that whatever we found in the box would be horrific.
But the smell wasn't the only thing that made my stomach churn in warning.
The box was wet.
The cement around it was wet.
The entire area was sticky with a mixture of rotting blood and putrid body fluids. The thick, yellowish-brown liquid carpeted the floor of the alley and partially coated a discarded backpack that looked to have once been a soft red colour but was now mostly stained an ugly copper, and a single small yellow shoe.
And that shoe, that abandoned shoe that I had seen the match of so many times in the past few months, really made it feel real.
Because, holy shit.
Koshō is in that box.
My kid is in that box.
And he had BEEN in that box. For months. Forgotten.
The tears began to slip down my cheeks again.
And maybe it was my imagination, or the sadness and the desperation to make all of it up to him, or maybe it was just the wind, but I could have sworn a pair of small, impossibly cold arms wrapped around me in that moment.
I shook off the feeling and cautiously approached the box. As soon as my shoes met the repulsive liquid I repressed the urge to gag again.
It was like walking on warm syrup.
And if I thought the smell couldn't get worse, I was wrong. The sickly sweet smell was nauseating. I swallowed thickly as my stomach began to do flips again. There was no way I was getting out of here without being sick.
I tried to block out the symphony of buzzing flies as I reached the front of the box.
My sleeve wasn't doing the job anymore so I resorted to simply holding my breath.
The stench was was suffocating.
I exhaled sharply as I reached out and gripped the damp cardboard. Even the top of the box was sticky and heavy with rot.
I lifted the lid.
My eyes widened with horror.
Before I could stop myself I stepped back several paces and heaved the contents of my stomach onto the slightly cleaner pavement.
My eyes watered as I coughed and hacked in disgust at the contents of the box.
Naomasa peered into the box from where he was before quickly averting his gaze, looking sweaty and pale.
The insects that had been content inside the box before were now swarming above it in an aggravated cloud.
Hundreds upon hundreds of blow flies.
After a minute or so they settled again as I struggled to catch my breath in the stagnant, filthy air.
As I raggedly pulled air into my lungs I heard Naomasa radioing in to ask Nedzu if the excavation team had arrived or not.
———
It felt like hours before 6 people in white boiler suits arrived sporting a body bag, though it was probably only about 15 minutes. I watched from the sidelines with Naomasa as they taped up the alley, placed evidence markers, took photos, and eventually peeled back the putrid cardboard in order to remove Koshō's body.
When the sides came down, about two inches of foul liquid spilled out onto the floor, along with wads of rotten skin and small pieces of torn fabric.
I grimaced at the sight that followed.
Now that the boxes walls weren't in the way, I could actually see the kid. Or atleast what was left of him.
He was in a fetal position, limbs cemented in place by puss and dirt, and head hanging limply to the side at a broken angle.
I couldn't help but stare as his empty, maggot infested socket and single milky eye stared back.
The ragged hole that had once housed his left eye wasn't the only place the larvae had found a home though.
Every open wound was festering with the small creatures. My face grayed as they wriggled and squirmed through the decaying flesh.
As the excavation team finally managed to free the corpse from the putrid, sticky mess on the bottom of the box and lift him out towards the bag, the remaining body-fluids dripped onto the concrete, taking insects and chunks of hair and skin with it.
After setting him down in the bag with a disgustingly wet squelch and a brief struggle to straighten out the small body, the team zipped the bag shut and walked away while a few more samples were collected before the cleaners arrived.
———
Almost 24 hours had passed.
After we got Koshō to the city morgue and the stations pathologists began collecting DNA samples, Naomasa cornered me and demanded I slept before we continued the investigation.
I tried to convince the detective to let me go and find the kids family so I could tell them we had found him, but Naomasa refused, very bluntly telling me that I looked like a zombie and would undoubtedly scare the family. Not to mention I was in desperate need of a shower.
So here I am, almost 24 hours later, driving through the suburbs just outside of Mufutasu, looking for the address in the police file.
I finally pulled up infront of a small but still reasonably nice house with a well maintained flower garden in the front yard.
I took a deep breath before slowly getting out of my car and making my way through the gate, up to the front door which was painted a cheerful shade of coral.
I couldn't help the soft, mournful smile that spread onto my lips at the sight of it. I guess the love of the colour red runs in the family.
I arrived at the doorstep, drew my shoulders back, and knocked.
I was about to knock again when I heard a soft
"Be right there!" from inside.
After another moment I finally heard the lock click and the door opened a fraction to reveal a pair of curious blood-red eyes.
The woman, despite the eye bags and obviously stress-lines, was truly very pretty. Her eyes were a dazzling crimson and her hair was a shiny pink that almost looked like candy and, based on the sweet smell the woman emitted, maybe it was. She wasn't exactly thin, but she wore a tan cardigan that made her look plumper then she was. The similarities between her face and Koshō's made me chest ache. She looked at me almost cautiously through the gap in the doorway and it took me a minute to realize I was just standing there staring at her.
I cleared my throat.
"Hinode Shinsetsu?"
The woman blinked in surprise that the apparent homeless man on her doorstep knew her name.
She quickly straightened herself up before replying.
"Yes thats me. And you are sir?"
I gave a small respectful bow and pulled out my license.
"Pro-Hero Erasurehead, but can just call
me Aizawa."
I coughed awkwardly.
"May I come in? I believe we have some things to discuss."
She seemed to process the request for a moment before opening the door fully and allowing me in.
The house was very homely. It was expensive, but still had character.
The woman ushered me over to the couch before disappearing into the kitchen and returning with two cups of tea.
She handed me one before settling into the arm chair across from me.
"So, Mr. Aizawa. You said we had something important to discuss?"
I nodded grimly as she took a sip of her tea.
"We found your son."
The cup shattered on the hardwood floor as it slipped from the woman's grasp.
Her eyes were wide as saucers.
"You... You found Koshō..?"
It was quiet, almost as if she didn't believe it.
Slowly though, her face shifted from shock to a sad smile.
"I'm guessing from the look on your face you didn't find him alive, did you."
I shook my head.
"Unfortunately we did not. But now that we have, I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to catch whoever did this."
She nodded solemnly, sad smile still in place.
It was silent for a moment before Koshō's mother finally spoke.
"You know when Koshō was born, they thought I had miscarried. They told me I couldn't have kids, see?"
I hummed gently to show her I was listening.
"He wasn't breathing and the doctors said there was nothing they could do. But then he just... opened his eyes and began to cry!
It was a miracle."
She smiled wider as tears began to spill.
"He was my miracle."
We sat there crying softly as she told me stories about the child we had both cherished.
His first lost tooth. His first Christmas. His first day of school. His first friend.
The day he got his quirk.
I rubbed slow circles on her back as she stumbled through story after story of Koshō's childhood. It was like we could both sense the love we held for him.
Story after story.
Hour after hour.
I sat and I listened.
———
Eventually my phone buzzed.
I stared at the text from Naomasa asking me to come back to the station with anguish.
I didn't want to leave...
However, I knew by now that that message wasn't a request, so I slowly rose and explained to Koshō's mother that I needed to get back to work but that I would be in contact soon.
I didn't expect the hug when it happened. I stood there shocked as Hinode hugged me tightly.
"Thank you Aizawa. Truly. Thank you."
I felt the tears begin to build up again.
"Thank you for finding my son."
-2407 words-