Chapter Text
The rain was quiet, almost a silent tap on the wet glass. What time it was, he was unaware. Being woken up at midnight was something he’d grown accustomed to. A ritual that he had come to expect. The light of the boy's phone screen illuminated half the room, the gray-blue walls covered in murky shadows. The few band posters that decorated the room were shrouded in darkness.
Some of his favorites being old American bands like TV Girl, The Ramones, and Joy division. School textbooks littered the shelves, sticky notes hanging from his mirror, and his computer pushed off to the side of his desk.
He cracked open his eyes, holding back a wince at the sudden onslaught of light. He sighed and grabbed his phone, struggling with the answer button for a moment.
“What?” He asked once his fingers slid over the green button. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, a yawn escaping passed his lips.
“We need you to come in.” A deep, monotone voice said. The boy huffed and checked the time on the corner of the screen.
“Do you know what time it is?” He grumbled, throwing his sheets off himself. He shivered at the cold air hitting his bare skin.
“I know, Midoriya-san, but you signed up for this, and unfortunately you are the smartest person I know.” The voice sighed. At this, Midoriya cracked a smile.
“That’s so sweet Inoue-San! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re complimenting me.” He laughed, brushing through his hair with his hand as he made his way down the hall. Thank God Inko took the night shift, or she would’ve been wide awake by now.
“Yes,” Inoue said, “But you do know better.” Midoriya just laughed, pulling a coffee cup out of the cupboard.
“That I do.”
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“What have we got?” Midoriya asked, pulling on the blue latex gloves. He had taken off his white lab coat before even entering the building. He rarely wears it. It gets in the way. Instead, he opts for a black turtleneck and jeans, something simple and still adhering to the dress code.
“A skeleton.” Aikawa deadpanned. Aikawa had been Izuku’s first friend at the office. Being the only two interns there, they bonded. Aikawa was a short young woman, only eighteen, with shoulder length, straight black hair and red eyes. She, too, had begun ditching her lab coat and instead went the more sophisticated route with blouses and pencil skirts. Her quirk was a basic feline mutation.
Izuku rolled his eyes as the two walked towards the lab. “Haha, very funny.” He sassed back.
The two pushed open the white doors, Aikawa tapping away at her iPad. The teens approached the viewing table where Inoue and Fukumoto, the Forensic Pathologist, stood. On the viewing table was a half assembled skeleton.
"Midoriya, Aikawa," Inoue greeted. The two bowed their heads in respect before beginning. Midoriya picked up the skull first.
"Male, late thirties, Asian descent, no obvious quirk mutation," Midoriya said, turning the skull over in his hands. "Basilar skull fracture right behind the ear," He muttered, tracing the crack with his finger. "Blunt force trauma, definitely not an accident, but not enough to kill."
Aikawa picked up a rib bone.
"Look at this," she said, her hands brushing over a V shaped indent.
Midoriya furrowed his eyebrows before taking the bone. "Serrated knife wound," He whispered. He glanced up at Aikawa.
"Gather the team, I want these bones cleaned and processed." Aikawa left quickly with a 'yes sir'.
Despite only being an intern, Midoriya was highly respected. Along with being extremely smart, he was efficient and a fast worker. He never flinched at the bodies that were brought in and he always got the job done.
'The team' was made up of three other workers.
Fukumoto, the Pathologist, Shio, the facial reconstructionist, and Suisha, the PSIA agent.
"I trust you can handle this." Inoue said. "I can handle anything, director." Midoriya smirked, before turning his full attention towards the rest of the skeleton.
Once Inoue left, he sighed. He should have grabbed coffee before coming in. He rubbed his eyes with his forearms before hearing the lab doors open.
Aikawa stepped in with the rest of the crew. Fukumoto, who Midoriya honestly forgot was there, waved. Fukumoto was a slim young man, only twenty-two. He was plain looking, with flat brown hair, yellow eyes, and a weak X-ray quirk.
Shio, the facial reconstructionist, was a tall woman with long, silver hair and black sclera eyes. And a five-point activation quirk. She could see the past of something if she touched it. Unfortunately, it was limited to about a month.
Suisha, on the other hand, was the PSIA agent. She was tall, broad, and gave off a 'no-bullshit' type aura. She wore suits and had her dark hair in a high ponytail. Her Quirk, Menace, could amplify and project her feelings onto any person she touched with all five fingers.
"What have we got?" Suisha sighed, her white eyes sweeping over the body. Midoriya glanced up from his clipboard.
"Male, roughly 5'8 according to the femur, Asian, early to mid thirties."
"Cause of death?" She raised an eyebrow when Midoriya shrugged.
"He has signs of blunt force trauma, but not enough to kill him. I'm guessing stab wounds if the marks on the ribs are anything to go by." Suisha nodded, tapping her watch.
"I'll put in a notice to watch for missing person cases." She said.
Shio looked at the skull, her gloved hands turning it over.
"I can work with that." she said, setting it down. She grabbed her drawing pad from off the counter and got to work. Midoriya snorted. Shio could probably work with a single zygomatic bone and a cup of apple juice.
“So we’re ruling this a homicide, yes?” Fukumoto asked. Suisha nodded. “Might as well. I doubt this guy stabbed himself and cracked his own skull.” Midoriya agreed. Suddenly, Shio gasped. Everyone’s heads snapped towards her. All five of her fingers were touching the skull, her eyes glassy.
“Shit.” Midoriya cursed. Shio wasn’t allowed to use her quirk. It was unpredictable and required her to touch evidence without gloves, rendering it contaminated. It also gave her seizures. Everyone was by her side in an instant, Suisha holding her body off the floor while it seized. Midoriya grabbed her hand and Fukumoto ran to get water.
“You’re almost done,” Suisha whispered to the girl. “You’re doing so well.” Shio had once told them that she could hear them when she was seizing after a particularly embarrassing episode where everyone promptly freaked out. Since then, they made sure to whisper encouragement to the girl every time her quirk was activated.
Shio suddenly went still and took a deep breath, her lungs expanding after being deprived of oxygen for nearly two minutes. Her eyes were unfocused and her nose was gushing blood, but other than that she was relatively unharmed. Suisha and Midoriya helped her sit up, leaning her against the metal drawers.
Fukumoto came rushing in, a glass of water clutched in his palms. He passed it to Midoriya who handed it to Shio. The girl muttered in appreciation and lifted the glass to her blood-soaked lips with shaky hands. After a moment she froze, almost choking on the water.
“His shoulder,” She rasped, blood fresh on her tongue. “Check ‘is shoulder.” The other three glanced at each other before Midoriya got up, rushing back over to the skeleton, still laying untouched on the observation table. He grabbed the Scapula and turned it around, almost dropping it in shock.
There, burned deep into the bone, was a branding. A Shie Hassaikai branding.