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avis-and-panda · 1 year

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To Be or Not To Be- chapter three

Enucleation V.S. Witch

Aizawa groaned tiredly as he leaned back in the guest chair of Tsukauchi’s office. For the past six hours, the two of them had been going over the evidence, and for six hours they hadn’t come up with any other conclusions than “something is up with these kids.”

He was only made aware that it was past midnight when Yamada had informed Aizawa that his students were all in bed by then. He would have been there to check himself but he needed to go over this mess of a case at least one more time before returning to the school.

Except it had been six hours and there was still little to zero progress.

Aizawa stared at the file before him with frustrated contempt. Tsukauchi had put together three files, one for each kid, of everything they knew about them. Which extended from their ID to their race and practically nothing else.

“Their school?” Aizawa asked in tired repetition.

“Checked the UK and the surrounding countries. There’s no record of there being or ever being a Kuran Private High School.” Tsukauchi calmly responded.

“Their family?”

“No clue. The only one that has contacts labeled as her parents in her phone is Elena Bell and contacting them has come up fruitless.”

“Are the phones still not working?”

“That, and we tried using a quirk to find any blood relatives of theirs. The quirk allowed the owner, if given some DNA, to track down the source. If she focuses, she could even track down close relatives. However, it has a range, so we sent her to Europe yesterday, and then instructed her earlier today to go to the UK.” Tsukauchi sighed, “No luck so far.”

Aizawa hummed as he narrowed his eyes, “What about citizenship? Wouldn’t that narrow the search even more?”

Tsukauchi shook his head, “No luck on that one either. If it wasn’t for the fact we just saw them in the hospital, I would have assumed they didn’t exist.”

A lot of things didn’t seem to “exist” at that moment.

Aizawa scanned Elena’s file repeatedly. It had her birthdate, blood type, race, social security number, and a full report on her injuries. Speaking of…

“It says here that Bell needed a blood transfer.”

“Yeah. Recovery Girl couldn’t heal her much because her energy was practically drained, so they needed to do everything manually. They were worried they wouldn’t be able to save her because her blood type is on the rarer side, but they managed.”

All of her energy was drained? That was odd. Aizawa scanned the file until he found the column labeled “blood type” and noted that Elena’s was type B.

Blood type B was fairly rare, so it was good they were able to manage. If he recalled, some of his students had blood type B as well. If all else failed, they could have called them in, even if they weren't a registered blood transfer; but it probably would have been too late anyways.

His attention moved from her blood type to her birth date. For some reason, he had a feeling he’d seen it before. It was in the middle of the holidays, so it was the kind that was hard to forget. But then again, he never cared to remember people’s birthdays.

Aizawa picked up the other files and scanned the other two’s birthdays. Yeah, he definitely recognized their birthdates, but from where? It was like he learned them from somewhere but didn’t deem it important and let it slip his mind in favor of something else.

Then it hit him.

Her blood type was B.

And her birthday was—

No. No, it didn’t make any sense; they weren’t even the same race! But the way Arlo talked… It was as if he was from a completely different world.

Before Aizawa could voice his concerns, Tsukauchi’s phone rang.

“It’s Recovery Girl,” he told Aizawa before he answered and turned slightly away.

“Detective Tsukauchi. Oh, don’t worry about it, I was up anyway. …I know, I know. …Really? Is he—Ah, that’s good. So, we can talk to him tomorrow? Okay. …Lunch? I’ll ask him.”

Tsukauchi turned to Aizawa, “Nikolaus Brandt woke up. Are you okay with meeting up with him tomorrow in the afternoon? I know you have class in the morning—”

Aizawa sighed tiredly; looked like another questioning was in store, “I’ll have to find a substitute, but I should be able to make it.”

Tsukauchi gave him a grateful nod, “Thank you.” He said before returning to his call, “Around lunch is good. Yes. Don’t worry, I will. Goodnight.”

He ended the call and turned back to his desk.

“Sorry you’ll have to miss your class, but we want to get the questioning done as soon as possible. This case was already strange, but it seems to be getting weirder the longer we wait.” Tsukauchi said with an apologetic smile.

Aizawa gave him an understanding nod, “Don’t worry about it, I could use the extra sleep anyways.”

Aizawa looked back down at the files and grimaced.

Well, that’s only if he’d have the time to get to sleep in the first place.

For the second questioning, principal Nedzu didn’t come along. Understandable, considering that he was the principal of a school and had a lot more to do than interrogate a teenager. However, it seemed that someone else was going to take his place.

As Aizawa approached the hospital room, he noticed Yamada standing outside it. Aizawa eyed him curiously.

“I thought you were kicked out.”

Yamada snapped his head up from the spot on the ground he was staring at with undying boredom and beamed.

“Eraserhead!” Yamada seemed to have had the foresight to not activate his quirk in the hospital; Recovery Girl probably had to beat it into him. “I thought I was gonna die of boredom.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes, “don’t be so dramatic. And you didn’t answer me.”

“I suppose ‘kicked out’ was an exaggeration.” Aizawa turned to see Recovery Girl walking up to them, “I actually just sent him away to watch over this room instead.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow in mirth, “And I assume you’re the one who got him to be quieter?”

“Hey! She whacked me with her cane at least ten times,” Yamada responded pitifully.

“I wouldn’t have to if you stopped yelling! We’re in a hospital for goodness’ sake!” Recovery Girl scolded as she whacked him once on the head. Aizawa sighed and shook his head tiredly.

“Let’s just get this over with already. It’s past noon and I’m already tired.”

“Gotcha Eraser!” Yamada mock saluted him, “I’ll see if the patient is done with his lunch!”

Yamada turned and barged into the room, loudly announcing his presence, “Yo—"

Suddenly, a plastic food tray flew out of the room, hitting Yamada square in the head.

‘You’d think a pro hero could dodge that...’ Aizawa thought as he stalked into the room behind Yamada, who was crouched on the ground in pain. He sighed, feeling as though the bags under his eyes were growing heavier.

Aizawa stepped around Yamada, who was still frozen in shock, to see Nikolaus who was kneeling on his bed in a semi-defensive stance. In contrast to Arlo, who was completely English, Nikolaus looked to be mainly Japanese in terms of appearance; despite his German name. His right arm was in a sling and his left arm was outstretched slightly, clearly the one he used to throw the plastic tray. A bandage was wrapped around his head and when they met eyes, Aizawa couldn’t help but notice the large scar stretched over his right eye.

“You’re awake,” Aizawa stated.

The boy scanned him scrutinizingly. “And you’re not a cop.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Something about his tone reminded him of someone, though he couldn’t quite name who…

“He isn’t, but there’s nothing to worry about,” Tsukauchi said as he stepped into the room with Tsuragamae and Recovery Girl. “He may not look like it, but he’s here to help with the investigation.”

Nikolaus glanced at the detective as he settled back in his bed.

“I’m Detective Tsukauchi,” He gave the boy a small smile and bowed in greeting. Nikolaus nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything before he looked over to Tsuragamae.

His eyebrows drew together in confusion slightly as he took in the dog-man's appearance. It wasn’t until Nikolaus’s eyes flicked to Tsuragamae’s did he speak.

“I am Tsuragamae Kenji, the police chief! It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Nikolaus’s eyes widened slightly, clearly in shock. The police chief bowed in greeting as well, but this time, Nikolaus didn’t nod. He simply turned away from them and slapped himself across the face.

“SMACK!”

The adults flinched, surprised both by how loud it was and the fact he did it in the first place.

Immediately, Nikolaus pressed a hand, the same one he used to slap himself, to his cheek and made a pained face.

“Ooww, that actually hurt. Dammit.”

“Of course it hurts! What were you expecting?” Recovery Girl reprimanded as she approached Nikolaus. “I swear, kids these days. Getting themselves nearly killed and then hurting themselves even more!”

Nikolaus glowered softly but didn't say anything as Recovery Girl inspected his then red and swelling cheek.

Realizing this conversation would most likely go like the one with Arlo, Tsukauchi stepped forward, “We would like to ask you a few questions regarding what happened to you and your friends a couple days ago. Is that okay?”

Nikolaus’s eyes flitted to Tsuragamae for a split second before landing on Tsukauchi.

“Sure.”

Tsukauchi smiled warmly and took out his notepad, all the while Recovery Girl sprayed ointment on Nikolaus’s cheek.

“Okay, first off, how much do you remember?”

Nikolaus tilted his head and furrowed his brow in thought, “Hmm, all of it? I mean, I got hit in the head, so the beginning’s a little blurry, but pretty much everything.”

Tsukauchi nodded, “Good, so could you tell me what happened right after you were hit?”

Nikolaus nodded and began telling his story.

When the object, most likely a large rock, hit his head, it took him a moment to process what had happened. He could tell something hit him, but the shock was great enough that he couldn’t feel it right away. Nikolaus’s knees buckled as he stumbled into the wall. Elena and Arlo shouted in alarm but froze when something else caught their attention; Nikolaus was too distracted by the blood coming out of his head to notice.

(Tsukauchi asked if the cut was deep, but Nikolaus simply shook his head and said, “Head wounds bleed a lot.”)

An unfamiliar voice said something, to which Elena yelled something back. To this, Nikolaus turned his head and saw two figures standing before them, dressed in black hoodies, masks, and glasses, most likely to conceal their identity. Suddenly, the shorter one, who apparently had a knife, lunged at Elena, who easily defended herself with magic.

Nikolaus stood, bracing himself against the wall, as the other lunged at him and Arlo. His form was weak, so Arlo was able to dodge and counterattack with ease. However, when the attacker stumbled back, he lifted his arms and moved them in a way that seemed like he was manipulating something. As Arlo watched in confusion, Nikolaus stepped forward to join him and he saw Arlo floating up slightly. When he realized what was happening, Nikolaus lunged forward to grab Arlo, but was too late as he was abruptly shot up. His back hit the ceiling with a concerning “crack”, and his body fell to the floor limply.

In a panic, Nikolaus kneeled on the ground next to Arlo and began to check his wounds. Arlo’s head was bleeding and his breathing was becoming irregular. He needed medical attention.

“One down, two to go,” said a male voice.

Nikolaus looked up and glared at their attacker, who then crouched in an offensive stance, ready to attack again. Nikolaus stood up and took a defensive stance in front of Arlo.

He glanced at Elena for a moment. She was still fighting the one with the knife and he wondered briefly why she didn’t just use her magic to take the attacker out.

He looked away just in time to dodge a burning projectile their attacker had sent his way. He must have used some sort of fire magic.

Nikolaus kept his distance, dodging what appeared to be blades made of fire left and right. It wasn’t too hard, considering the attacker’s aim was a bit off, but he was still wary, knowing that the fire blades could produce some nasty injuries.

Eventually Nikolaus decided he had enough and ran up to the man. Based on what he saw with Arlo, the other wasn’t that good at close combat, hence why he was trying to take him out with long range projectiles.

The attacker was surprised at the sudden change and reared his arm back to send another fire blade but Nikolaus ducked below to set his aim off. He then reappeared in front of the attacker and sent a punch straight to his jaw.

The man stumbled back, allowing Nikolaus to grab the front of his hoodie and roughly pull him forward as he kicked him in the stomach. The attacker let out a pained yell as Nikolaus grabbed his arm, twisted it, pulled it behind his back, and used it to throw him to the ground.

The attacker’s face was pressed into the ground as Nikolaus pressed one knee into his back. He was still holding his arm, which was twisted and pulled back.

“Why did you attack us? Are there more of you?”

The attacker glared at him and attempted to use fire magic on the arm Nikolaus had a hold of. However, he saw it coming and simply pulled on the other’s arm, causing the guy to exclaim in pain and pause his magic immediately.

“I don’t think so.” Nikolaus pressed his knee hard into the guy’s back further, causing him to grunt, “Answer my question or I’ll break your arm.”

The attacker opened his mouth, about to say something, when a knife flew past Nikolaus, barely grazing his cheek.

Nikolaus swiveled his head and saw Elena angrily attacking the other one with fire. He then felt the one under him shift and he realized he had loosened his grip on him.

The man yanked his arm away, twisted his body, and used his other arm to send some fire in Nikolaus’s face. The attack was weak, it barely made a mark, but it was enough for Nikolaus to jump off of him in alarm.

As soon as Nikolaus released him the attacker got to his feet; not before grabbing the knife, which had landed within reach.

Now that his attacker had a weapon, Nikolaus knew he had to keep his distance. He knew how to disarm someone with a knife but that didn’t mean he could just charge up to him.

The attacker lunged forward, with his knife ready for attack. Just as Nikolaus was about to parry, his body froze. In a panic he tried to figure out the reason why and noticed that the attacker’s free hand was in a fist.

Before he could analyze it further, the attacker stabbed him in the side and pushed him to the ground. As his back hit the ground, Nikolaus let out a pained grunt through clenched teeth.

The attacker straddled him and Nikolaus attempted to throw him off, only to then realize he was still frozen. He surmised that his attacker must have been using puppet magic to manipulate his body.

The attacker grabbed the knife that was still lodged in his side and plunged it deeper. Being unable to move, he couldn’t do much to react to the pain than close his eyes and clench his teeth harder as he tried not to scream.

Nikolaus was panting from pain by the time the other stopped moving the knife. He opened his eyes and glared at the attacker, who didn’t seem to react, not that Nikolaus could tell much when his face was covered. However, he did unclench his fist and Nikolaus felt control return to his body. The relief only lasted a second though as the attacker then flicked his wrist and Nikolaus’s arm twisted back, lifting his shoulder in a weird angle.

“Now, I have some questions I want you to answer,” the attacker began closing his fist again, “or I’ll break your arm.”

He closed his fist and Nikolaus’s arm snapped; his elbow bending the opposite direction. Nikolaus screamed in pain before clenching his teeth again. He opened his eyes, having closed them before and sent another teary glare in his attacker’s direction. Absently, he registered Elena yelling his name in alarm.

“Do you know someone named Ethan Wright?”

Nikolaus blinked, before confusion settled on his face. “What?”

“Ethan Wright. Do you know him?” The attacker repeated.

“Why do you want to know? Who’s asking?” Nikolaus demanded, glaring at him. Even if he didn’t know, he wasn’t about to answer this guy unless he knew the risks.

The attacker twisted his fist, crushing Nikolaus’s arm a bit more, “I don’t have to answer you. Now, I was informed you were friends with Ethan Wright. I’m here to see if that’s true.”

Nikolaus scoffed, though the sound came out sounding more like a gasp, “A little overdoing it, aren’t you? A simple talk over lunch would have been just fine.”

The attacker glared, or at least he assumed so based on his tone, “Don’t patronize me, you—"

He was then cut off by a boulder hitting him in the head, knocking him off Nikolaus.

He turned to his side, the one without a broken arm and knife, and moved away as he attempted to stand up. Elena came to his side and helped him.

“I’m sorry I took so long. Are you okay?” Elena asked as she held his good arm to help stabilize him.

“I’m fine.” He said painfully, “What about you? You’re bleeding a lot there.”

He scanned her body and saw many cuts and gashes on her arms and legs. They must not have been too bad, since she’s moving with only a slight limp.

“These didn’t take as much out of me as my magic did,” she said simply.

The attacker she just hit with a boulder groaned and sat up. When he faced them, they noticed that the attack must have knocked his glasses off because they could clearly see golden eyes glaring at them now.

“I’ll get you for that you little bitch—”

Elena sent him a furious glare and let go of Nikolaus to send a wave of water at the man, only to freeze it once it hit him.

“How dare you refer to a young lady that way!” she huffed once she was done.

‘At least she didn’t freeze his head,’ Nikolaus noted absently as the man yelled at her to release him.

Elena stumbled a bit and Nikolaus reached out for her.

“I-I think I overdid it…” Elena panted as she held her head. She leaned on him for a second before she straightened up and scanned Nikolaus’s wounds. “How are your injuries?”

“They’re…” He looked down at his injuries. His arm was broken, hanging limply at his side and the knife wound was still bleeding. However, he had a feeling that pulling it out would make it worse, so he left it alone.

“I’ll manage,” he said simply. Elena gave him a look and was about to say something when Nikolaus decided to divert their attention somewhere else.

“Arlo is in a worse condition than me.”

Elena’s eyes widened as she swiveled her head around, looking for Arlo. “He took a bad hit earlier, didn’t he? How is he?”

When she spotted him, they both limped their way over and knelt beside him. Nikolaus checked his pulse and breathing; the former was slow and his breathing was ragged and low.

“I’ll call the police. We can’t do much for him now, but we can stop the bleeding from his head at the very least,” Nikolaus decided.

Elena was silent as Nikolaus pulled out his phone, which had cracked a little, and started calling the police.

“I-I think I can heal him,” Elena said after a moment.

Surprised by the unexpected statement, he promptly turned his attention back to her and eyed her in confusion. “You can heal?”

Elena nodded, “My mother taught me. It drains a lot of my energy though.”

Suddenly a loud noise came from the attacker encased in ice, causing them both to flinch.

Nikolaus eyed the male attacker warily, before turning back to his companion. They needed to take care of Arlo first.

“Are you sure? You seem pretty tired already,” he asked, feeling weary and worried.

“I’m sure.” Elena nodded in finality and carefully set her hands on Arlo’s back. A light emanated from her hands, and, after a moment, Nikolaus could see Arlo’s breathing evening out.

Nikolaus was so distracted by her healing that he forgot to call the police for a moment and even dropped the phone to keep Elora upright when she started tipping from exhaustion.

“He… should be… better…” She said in between pants; her magic had taken more out of her than she seemed to have expected. She fell sideways and Nikolaus found that it’s really hard to hold someone with one arm, even if they’re sitting.

As he laid her down beside Arlo, her face seemingly going paler by the second, he deduced that she must have used up too much of her energy. Then he saw blood trickling under her and he paused.

Ah.

She’d been losing blood the entire time.

Hurriedly, he flipped her over and clearly saw the large cut on her back that he somehow missed earlier; probably too busy with other things to notice. He cursed as he attempted to stop the bleeding but then he realized that he didn’t have anything to wrap it up, much less to disinfect it with or any of the other basic medical procedures one would do in medical emergencies.

After the bleeding slowed significantly, he remembered that Arlo had brought a small first aid kit in his bag, so Nikolaus stood up to go get it.

Or, at least he attempted to as he simply fell back on his knees the second he tried.

Nikolaus clutched his side, the pain from the knife more noticeable the more he moved. He tried to ignore it earlier, he’s used to masking pain with a neutral face, but he couldn’t say the same for the rest of his body.

Just as he was about to try standing again, a loud crack came from behind him, and he realized it was the sound of ice breaking.

The same ice Elena had encased their attacker with.

He turned to see the attacker breaking away the ice, all the while shivering. When he turned to the three teenagers, he had a furious glare on his face and if his mask was down Nikolaus probably would have seen him snarling as well.

“Since you refuse to answer our questions…” The attacker started, turning his shivering body toward Nikolaus menacingly, “I suppose we have no use of you anymore.”

Nikolaus narrowed his eyes. His heart raced in anticipation as he propped himself up with one knee on the ground. He grabbed the handle of the knife in his side, ignoring the pain, and decided to stab the attacker once he got close enough.

That, however, never happened.

The man had just started to lunge at him when a strong wind had picked up, causing him to pause because…

…Well, because wind doesn’t exactly blow indoors.

The wind blew harder, swirling around the three teenagers. Forgetting all about the attacker, Nikolaus knelt beside the other two. He grabbed Elena, holding her close, all the while keeping an eye on Arlo. As the wind blew harder and lightning formed, a light started to glow all around them. Nikolaus shut his eyes as the light grew bright and the wind continued to swirl harshly around them. Suddenly, he was falling and all he could do was hold Elena closer as he blacked out.

#mha #Enjoy!#a bit longer this time

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