Chapter Text
Enji looked down in front of him. He was in the middle of typing a summary of a recent case when his boss came into his office unannounced, slammed a white envelope on his desk without preamble.
He stared at it for a moment before looking up. “What’s this?”
“Mail,” Eizo Tanuma said. “What’s it look like?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know that. What’s it for?”
“Beats me. Don’t have a habit of snooping through people’s letters” He tapped on the stamps. “Based on the postage, it’s probably from All Might. You only get that stamp if you mail something from his agency.”
He picked up the envelope. Sure enough, on the top corner, there was a small ink stamp of All Might’s signature – his name in all caps with a doodle of his eyes. Fanboys across the country would probably sell their first born child for a letter with that stamp on it.
But why the hell did he get one? They saw each other yesterday. Why didn’t he tell him then? If he forgot, why didn’t he email him or call his office instead of wasting stamps?
“I’d get that thing open ASAP,” Tanuma said. “Don’t wanna keep the man waiting, after all.”
“If you say so.” Enji put the envelope on the other side of his desk. He went right back to his computer, typing up a summary of a recent case. “Did we hear back from those university students in Kamino?”
He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, turned out that vandal was just some foxes that snuck in through the ventilation system. They relocated them to a nature preserve.”
“Hmm. What do you know,” he said without looking back up.
“By the way, we’re gonna start interviews for the new detective position, soon. There’s already a dozen applicants and they’re still coming. Should help lighten the load around here.”
“You’d think.” To be honest, he wasn’t much looking forward to it. He was fine with the caseload he had, regardless of how much his boss got onto him for overworking. The last thing he needed was some newbie coming in and disrupting things.
“Well, we can hope so, at least. Also, Tsurugame isn’t coming in, today – got held up with a press conference in Hosu. Said he’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon to check up on us, instead.”
“Neat.”
Tanuma put his hands up. “Alright, I get the message. I’ll let you get back to it. Holler if you need anything.” He left just as quickly as he came, shutting the door quietly behind him.
The day went on with little fanfare. Before he knew it, it was time to clock out. Enji gathered up his stuff, cleaning off his desk and shoving his supplies haphazardly into the desk drawer. When he did, his hand brushed over the envelope. Which he’d forgotten about. He quickly grabbed it and stuck it into his coat pocket, before heading downstairs.
A blast of cold air hit him as he left the station. He grit his teeth, tightening his scarf and shoving his hands into his coat pocket. He wished he remembered where he stuck his gloves last spring – if this portended the winter temperatures, he’d probably have to buy a new pair before November ended. Nevertheless, he sucked it up and headed for the train station.
As he walked to the station platform, a pair of workers were busy hanging up twinkling lights around the railing. The end of fall meant the winter holidays were right around the corner. Not that it mattered much to him. As far as he was concerned, Christmas and New Years were just ordinary days.
His phone buzzed and he quickly pulled out his phone. He got a text from Toshinori.
sorry cant make it tonight 😔 something came up last minute at work
He huffed. This was the third time in a row one of them had to cancel. Since they became friends, Enji always tried to set aside time to hang out with his neighbor. It was a nice change of pace and gave him something to look forward to after a long day at work. However, they were both very busy – Enji with his detective job and Toshinori with working for All Might. Finding time to spend together was difficult, and even when they did, sometimes shit just happened. He tried not to get upset, but it was still massively disappointing.
Don’t apologize. We can make it up some other time.
any plans for new years eve? maybe we can hang out then
Typically, the answer would be ‘no’. He usually took the New Years shifts while the other officers were on break. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do. He didn’t have family he could visit, and with everything closed, he’d probably be sitting around his apartment doing nothing. Though work was always slow during those few days, it was at least something.
But if Toshinori was offering, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
I’ll have to find someone to cover my shift. I’ll let you know if I can.
of course! take your time
Sure.
By the way, I got a letter from your boss, today. Haven’t opened it, yet. Do you know what it is?
why would i spoil a surprise 😉
Enji snorted, a small smile on his face. It was no wonder how Toshinori got along so well at All Might’s agency – he was just as bad as the man himself sometimes.
Once he got back to his apartment and finished dinner, he sat at the dining room table and stared at the envelope. His elbows were propped on the table, his fingers laced together and pressed against his mouth.
Screw it. He grabbed the envelope and pulled it open, letting its contents fall onto the table. Inside the envelope was a small gray and black lens. The kind used to send video messages. Once it was flat on the table, it turned on, projecting an image onto the ceiling.
All Might was standing in front of a red, green, and gold curtain with his hands on his hips, laughing boisterously.“I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION,” he boasted with the same tone he used when he fought villains.
Enji rolled his eyes, rubbing his temples. Of course All Might wouldn’t just send a letter. That wasn’t nearly show-offy enough, for him.
“YES, I AM HERE TO GIVE YOU AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE! AS YOU KNOW, THE HOLIDAYS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR! WHAT BETTER WAY TO RING IN SUCH A JOYFUL TIME OF YEAR THAN AN EXTRAVAGANZA OF EPIC PROPORTIONS?”
As he spoke, a bunch of pictures and text flooded the screen around him. “THIS YEAR, I’LL BE HOSTING A CHRISTMAS PARTY AT MY AGENCY IN TOKYO! IT’LL HAVE THE WORKS – FOOD, MUSIC, DANCING, GIFT EXCHANGES, AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF! THE AGENCY IS PUTTING TOGETHER A FANTASTIC EVENT THAT CAN’T BE MISSED! AND IF YOU’RE WATCHING THIS RECORDING, THEN YOU’VE BEEN CORDIALLY INVITED TO THE FESTIVITIES!”
“I WON’T TAKE UP MUCH MORE OF YOUR TIME. THE PARTY STARTS AT 8 PM AND GOES UNTIL MIDNIGHT ON CHRISTMAS EVE! IF YOU’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GIFT EXCHANGE, BRING ONE PRESENT UNDER 1000 YEN WITH YOU! IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND, PLEASE SEND YOUR RSVP TO THIS NUMBER.” He gestured towards the bottom of the screen, where a phone number popped up. “ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS CAN BE DIRECTED TOWARDS ANY OF MY LOVELY AGENTS! I HOPE TO SEE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU THERE!” He saluted the camera, as the video came to an end.
Enji sat still, staring at the space on the ceiling where the projection had been. Then, he shut his eyes, dragging his hand down his face slowly. “Fuck me,” he muttered to himself.
Unsurprisingly, parties were never his thing. He found them very unpleasant. The music was too loud, the food usually sucked, and too many people were drinking. No matter how many he made himself attend, they ended the same way: with him hiding in a bathroom until he got bored enough to sneak out through the backdoor. It felt humiliating. No matter what party, he couldn’t even stick it out through the end. In most circumstances, he’d flat out refuse.
Why did he feel like crap for thinking about doing the same for this?
Enji knew it was absurd. It wasn’t like it was a wedding or a birthday – it was a stupid holiday party he had no obligation to attend. Turning it down was an option. All Might would understand. Anytime they hanged out, he always went out of his way to accommodate his lack of social skills. He was his friend.
But there was the rub. All Might was the number one hero. Everyone in Japan loved him. He could invited anyone to this party, and they’d all say ‘yes’. Yet he went out of his way to invite him just because they were friends.
What kind of shit friend would he be if he said ‘no’?
He glanced at the clock – this late, there wouldn’t be anyone answering that number. Instead, he made a note in his phone to call it sometime tomorrow.
As he did, he thought back to Toshinori. If he was accepting one friend’s invitation, he should accept the other. It was only fair. The new year was still over a month away: he could find someone to cover him easily. And with how often Tanuma got onto him for overworking, he had no right to complain about coverage when he took a day off.
With new resolve, he quickly shot another text to his friend.
I’ll be there. See you then.