Marked For Death

Ch. 1: Noh Means Yes

Naomasa Tsukauchi thought he was prepared for anything. He thought that these last few years of tireless working paying off would be the best feeling in the world, like it always was when he and his associates cracked a big case. But this…?

This was different…

Naomasa stared at his latest arrest though the one-sided glass that separated him from the interrogation room with a feeling of wonder.

'What could have driven this young man to such a life as this?'

"Well, I believe congratulations are in order, detective, woof," Naomasa broke his staring contest with a glass wall to see a dog headed man in a suit walk up to him, hand extended for a shake.

"Chief Tsuragamae, I wasn't expecting you to making an appearance tonight," Naomasa remarked as he took his boss's hand. "Would've expected you to be asleep at this hour."

"With a wake-up call like that, I almost woke up the Mrs. and the kids in one big howl," Tsuragamae remarked with a chuckle at his bad pun before quickly regaining composure and focusing on the detainee beyond the glass. "So, is this really him?" Naomasa pulled out a sheet of paper from his trench coat pocket before responding.

"Believe it or not, it is. The abilities he displayed during his fight with the heroes' match Eraserhead's descriptions and he fits the bill physically. However," Naomasa put the sheet down on the table next to the glass wall before turning to his supervisor. "He also seems to be capable of more than one quirk." Tsuragamae's face darkened in an instant. Naomasa could tell they were already thinking the same thing. "We haven't interrogated him yet so we're not sure if it's the case. If I may be permitted, I would like to lead the interrogation."

"I was hoping you would offer. Given your ties to All Might and your quirk, I can think of no better officer in the Tokyo Police Force who would be better suited to the job, woof," The chief spoke with a proud look in his eyes before looking around. "Where's your partner by the by?"

"Tamakawa? Oh, I have him looking into giving us something concrete on his identity. We don't actually even know his name yet beyond Noh."

"Ah, I see. Well, let us pray for speedy progress. I take it that All Might will want to sit in on this as well?"

"He would like permission given the circumstances," Naomasa admitted.

"I wouldn't doubt it. Very well then, I leave the rest in your capable hands, Detective Tsukauchi, woof," With that, Chief Tsugamae took his leave and left Naomasa with his thoughts… for about five seconds before his phone rang.

"Looks like word travels fast, eh Toshi?"

As Naomasa stared at the file Sansa Tamakawa had handed him, his wonder and sadness for the person he was about to meet grew.

"You sure this is all correct?" Naomasa asked as he looked to his partner, a ginger cat-headed man in full police gear with a look of skepticism.

"Everything was tripled checked because they thought they had made a mistake too but that's just how it comes out," Sansa said with a shrug, "There's no mistaking it. Though it's not like it matters who he is as long as he's here, really."

"We know that's not true," A new voice entered the room and the conversation. It belonged to a blond skeleton in a flesh suit and an actual suit as his piercing blue eyes broke from Tamakawa to the boy behind the glass. "We can't risk the possibility of accomplices, especially if he's connected to him. You're fine going in alone?" Yagi asked, voicing his reservations as he took a seat at the table facing the interrogation room.

"No, but it'll work itself out, I'm sure," Naomasa said as he closed the file to give his friend a reassuring smile.

"Well, you would know better than me, Yagi since you work with All Might but I have to wonder what he would be doing with this kid in particular considering the kid's actions," Tamakawa said as he lowered himself into a chair beside Toshinori.

"Well, we'll know soon enough," With that, Naomasa left the room with file in hand. He walked the short distance down the hall to the entrance to the interrogation room. The officer in charge of the door was new, Naomasa noticed since he clearly seemed on edge when he saluted. "Try to keep calm, officer. His quirks have been heavily suppressed so he's no real threat anymore."

"Well, it's not every day you're given the task to guard a person who could keep up with All Might, sir." Naomasa let a small chuckle escape his lips before giving an understanding smile.

"Fair enough but you let me worry about that. You're not the one who has to be in the room with him, after all." the officer took a deep breath before unlocking the door and opening it up for the detective. Naomasa walked into the dimly lit room with only the overhead light to illuminate the boy in front of him. He had been given a change of clothes since he was brought in, likely to replace the burnt rags he had left. Though it had been ten years since he was reported missing, he matched the picture almost perfectly, ignoring the aging. The boy looked up from his handcuffs to meet Naomasa's gaze, shifting in his chair slightly to sit upright.

"Noh, my name is Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi and I'm the one in charge of the Noh case. My quirk allows me to tell if someone is lying or not so think about what you're saying carefully and truthfully while we're talking. I'm sorry if you're a bit uncomfortable being made to wait so long..."

Freckled face, neutral in expression.

"But considering the abrupt nature of your capture, we can't say we were expecting you…"

Green eyes, staring intently.

"I hope you'll be willing to work with us though, Noh… or should I call you…"

Green hair, messy and unkempt.

"Izuku Midoriya?"

The boy in front of him, who had been completely inexpressive since his capture had finally broken his stoic facade. Though maybe not quite the way that Naomasa had expected. He expected anger, denial, and maybe even smugness but he got none of that.

He got genuine confusion.

"Who?"

"That's not your name?"

"No, it isn't." Noh replied with a shake of his head.

"Then what is your real name?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Nope." Cheeky boy. But somehow, still truthful. Naomasa was going to have to change his approach to this because it was clear.

Noh had no idea who he was.

The stare down continued as Naomasa took the file in front of him, opening it before sliding it in front of Noh.

A picture sat at the top of the file. A picture of a four-year-old boy and his mother that was used for a missing poster. Noh tried to keep a neutral face as he looked at the picture but it was clear he was struggling to do so. He tried to pull a hand to his head before the handcuffs that were looked to the desk prevented that.

"I'll tell you what, Noh. We're currently interested in a number of things surrounding your situation and I feel you may be able to shed some light on some facts for us. I'm going to offer you a deal," Noh opened his eyes and looked back up to Naomasa with tears in his eyes. The picture seemed to invoke a powerful response in the boy. It seemed he was on the right track after all. "If you cooperate, we'll lighten your sentence and even allow a different way to serve it besides jail time."

"So you want a plea bargain? Against who?" Noh wiped the tears from his eyes and refocused his eyes on Naomasa's

"Whoever gave you all those fancy tricks you showed us earlier as well as the last four years." Noh looked back down at the file in front of him, though he wasn't having the same reaction as before so Naomasa could only imagine what was awakened by the picture. Noh closed the file before pushing it back. "Why don't we start with what you do know. Start from the very beginning and tell me how you ended up like this." Naomasa grabbed the file back as it was clear it wasn't helping matters yet. "Maybe more will come back to you as we go."

"Okay then…"

A/N: Not exactly sure what I'm doing here but giving this idea a shot because MHA's world is a fun one and one I've always wanted to play around in. Let me know if you're interested in more. I do have all of Izuku's story planned out so I would be willing to keep going if people are interested. Future chapter's will be longer than this but I mostly want to see if this is a good idea or not before committing the time and effort that it would take. Let me know what you think in the review section if this is good or hog trash.

Sal out!