Chapter Text
Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, age 26, was still relatively new to the force on the south side of town, the more dangerous side of the city when he encountered a heartbreaking scene. A little girl with a backpack, who looked no older than ten, ran into the police building with three smaller boys (all also wearing backpacks) holding onto the hems of her (way too big) shirt, begging for the truth detector policemen to help them with tears in her eyes.
Tears that, tellingly, wouldn’t fall and with a brave face one.
His instincts were telling him that there was something wrong. His instincts were never wrong before so he went for it.
Tsukauchi observed the little girl. She had light-grey hair that reached just below her shoulders. Her eyes were heterochromia. Her right eye was a slightly darker shade than her hair while her other eye was olive-brown.
“Hello there,” Tsukauchi bent down and smiled at the children as harmlessly as he could, ignoring the way the little girl put herself between him and the little boys, “I am Detective Tsukauchi, the one you’re asking for, how may I help you?”
The little girl looked at him with suspicion, and so were the little boys. Well, one of the little boys. The second one was looking around the police station with a polite smile on his face while the third one just looked bored. Tsukauchi didn’t know where this was going, two of the children looked as if their situation was dire while the other two did not.
“I… I need help.” The little girl said slowly, “Can you help me?”
Tsukauchi nodded, “I’ll do what I can. Just for legal reasons, I need to tell you that my quirk, Lie Detector, is always on and will tell me whether or not you are lying. Understood?”
One of the other officers on duty started recording the conversation on his phone while another nodded from her place in front of the computer. His coworkers were ready to help, they have learned that his instincts were usually right. Something was going on.
“Yes.”
“Okay, now, can you tell me who you are and why you need help?”
The little girl took a breath and nodded. The little boy who was suspicious of him grabbed the attention of the other two boys and they all stepped closer to the girl. One wrapped their arms around her waist while the two grabbed onto her hands with a vice grip if the slight winch from the girl was any indication.
“My name is Aikawa Yua - well, technically it’s Shichimi Yua but I want to use my mom’s last name - and I just turned twelve years old, these three are my little brothers. The boy with the same hair colour as me is Azul. The one with the yellow left eye and olive-brown right eye is Jade, and the one hugging me is Floyd. They’re triplets, you see, though only Jade and Floyd are identical, minus the eyes, while Azul is fraternal to them. All three of them will turn eight this year.” Yua rambled a bit before taking in a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down and continue.
Truth. Truth. Truth. Truth. Truth. So far, so good. The little girl, Yua, was slowly relaxing and started talking some more.
“I need help because… our Chichi… is an abusive drunk,” Yua said that last part in a hushed rush.
Truth. Tsukauchi’s eyes widened.
“Can you please explain?” Tsukauchi asked calmly.
The boy with light-grey hair, Azul, narrowed his eyes, “Are you calling our Nee-chan a liar?”
The other boys joined Azul and glared at him with fire in their eyes. Tsukauchi blinked. For little boys that looked around six years old and not seven, their glares could rival the new-ish Pro Hero Ereaserhead’s. Yua patted them on the head and they calmed down, they were still looking at him in a way that made Tsukauchi uncomfortable for some reason but he pushed passed it. He shouldn’t have pulled that all-nighter if he was suddenly getting vibes that criminals would put out from children.
“No, I know she isn’t lying, I just need more information to put charges,” Tsukauchi explained in a calm voice.
Thank All Might that he went through the workshop that teaches them how to deal with kids two months ago, he still remembers some of the lessons. Stay calm, talk slowly, and do not under any circumstances get angry in front of the children. There was probably more but that was all he remembered right now.
“After mom died, dad started drinking. At first, it was just a little, a drink or two before going to sleep. But it got worse. One or two wasn’t enough, he needed more and more. Soon, he wouldn’t fall asleep but he would start breaking things. I made sure my brothers were out of his sight when that happens. He did his best, he left us money on the table, and sometimes he was sober enough to cook our meals and take us to school and stuff but..”
Tsukauchi gave the poor girl some water. She still wasn’t crying but her brother seemed to have clung on tighter and started glaring at him again.
“Thank you.” Yua muttered, handing back the bottle, “But that was four years ago. He got worse. He was never sober when he was at home anymore. He still went to work but he stopped a year ago. I did my best to keep my brothers out of his sight, bringing them to the library, park, summer camp, and camping when possible. I couldn’t do a lot but I did my best. I even started doing the taxes and the like so we wouldn’t fall behind. Two years ago, he started to beat us, well, me. I did my best to keep my brothers from getting beaten but they still got slapped sometimes. We were lucky that our quirk helps our self-healing a bit or we would have needed to spend money on medicine and that would mean I would have needed to steal more from dad.”
Tsukauchi nodded, his quirk telling him that everything Yua said was true. He did a quick glance over the kids. There were a few fading bruises and cuts along their skin. It didn’t seem like they would stay for long so that was a good thing. They should probably get those photographed for evidence.
“Do you have anyone you could stay with?” Tsukauchi asked.
Chances were that they didn’t. Why else would they stay in such a situation for years? Well, there was also the wish that their father would turn back to normal, the emotions of a child should never be forgotten.
“Our Oji-san on our Kaa-chan’s side is our only other living relative. He’s half-blind and half-deaf but yeah… he’s the only one we can stay with. He lives in a house in Musutafu city, near the ocean.” Yua answered, “We couldn’t get there on our own, it’s too far, we tried. I know he wouldn’t be the best person to stay with but we would much rather stay with him than get thrown into the system.”
There was a fire in Yua’s eyes. Tsukauchi glanced at the boys and saw a similar fire in their eyes.
“Is there a reason?”
“Why, simple, we don’t want to be separated.” One of the children, Jade, explained as if Tsukauchi was an ignorant child.
“Yeah~ I don’t wanna leave my family. Also, some of the people are really mean, you know? No one wants to go there.” The other one, Floyd, said in a similar tone, only more childishly.
If Tsukauchi was a lesser man, he would have been very offended. However, this was just a child. A child who, by all rights, was probably traumatized. So Tsukauchi let it slide without even a comment.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Tsukauchi promised the young children, “Would you please follow Kunikida to the next room? He needs to take pictures of all cuts and bruises for evidence when we take this to court.”
Yamato, the new intern jumped in surprise before making his way to them. He had a passive emitter-type quirk. Everyone near him would be a bit calmer and more relaxed, perfect for dealing with traumatized children. Sassy, spiteful, traumatized children, Tsukauchi corrected himself when one of the children said something to make Yamato look back at him with teary eyes.
Well, if Yamato wanted to be a full-fledged cop, he needs to get used to it. He isn’t cut out for the job if he was getting hurt over the words of children. Judging how no one went to his aide, his thoughts were shared.
Tsukauchi opened his phone and started making calls. Yes, there was a bank robbery to deal with, and yes, there was also a murder to solve, but he wanted to make the children happy. If making sure they can live with the relative they wish to live with, albeit one who may not fit the bill for the best caregiver, then that’s what he’ll do.
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Tsukauchi returned from investigating the murder case, all he had to do now was write up his report, hand it in, and go home. Anything else can happen tomorrow. However, just before he could get to the room with all the forms, he spotted Hana, the police officer that was put in charge of the Aikawa Abuse Case. He walked over to Hana and asked for both an update on the kids and the case.
“The kids are staying in the rooms in the back, the ones we use when we need to crass at the station for the night. The boys refuse to let their sister out of their sight, we needed to do a lot of talking to even get them to let their sister out of their reach.” Hana reported, sounding a bit frustrated, “Understandable since she’s been keeping them safe but it slowed the procedure down a lot.”
Tsukauchi just nodded. Hana was a good police officer if a bit strict when it comes to procedure. For the kids to slow it down, no matter how sympathetic Hana was, would make her slightly annoyed.
Hana’s eyes hardened, “As for their father, we brought him in, at a different station to keep him away from the kids so they don’t go into a panic attack or something similar, and questioned him. It took a while since he was a bit tipsy but it seems like the only one he cares about is his long-dead wife. I get it, you love her, but shouldn’t he take care of the children he made with his wife? Or at least, not beat them up? The boys are fine, with minor bruises and small cuts, but the girl… the girl has major bruises and many cuts made from glass bottles. It’s a miracle that she isn’t more traumatized.”
Tsukauchi looked up at the sky - well, ceiling - and silently sighed. This wasn’t a surprise, a lot of abuse cases look like this, but it doesn’t make it any better. Even if it’s common, it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.
“How’s the profiling?” Tsukauchi asked and immediately regretted it.
“Who do you think I am?” Hana asked with a raised eyebrow, as if daring him to answer that question, “They’re with the others, I put a copy of the rudimentary version of them on your desk since I know you would want to check them.”
“Thank you, Hana-san.” Tsukauchi smiled before leaving the policewomen to her work, she still needed to set up a court hearing for the kids. Not procedure but since no one else was going to do it, she volunteered.
After going into the Forms Room and getting the papers he needed, Tsukauchi walked over to his desk and started reading the (very basic version) profiles.
Name: Aikawa Yua
Age: 12
Birthday: February 20
Blood Type: O
Gender: Biologically female
Identifies as: Female
Quirk: Red Mermaid
Information on Quirk: It’s a Transformation Type Quirk. The user can transform into a mermaid-like being with the characteristics of a Red Lionfish. Note: In addition to having the fins and scales of a Red Lionfish, her skin is also pink. Also, if she transforms with clothes on, the clothes would disappear but reappear when she returns to her human form.
Allergies: Nothing
School: Namimori Junior High School
Next, he moved on to the triplets. Starting with Azul.
Name: Aikawa Azul
Age: 7
Birthday: July 15
Blood Type: A
Gender: Biologically male
Identifies as: Male
Quirk: Octopus Merman
Information on Quirk: It’s a Transformation Type Quirk. The user can transform into a merman-like being with the characteristics of an octopus. Note: His tentacles are black and his skin turns a light shade of purple. Also, if he transforms with clothes on, the clothes would disappear but reappear when he returns to his human form.
Allergies: Nothing
School: Namimori Elementary School
Next were the identical ones.
Name: Aikawa Jade
Age: 7
Birthday: July 15
Blood Type: B
Gender: Biologically male
Identifies as: Male
Quirk: Eel Merman
Information on Quirk: It’s a Transformation Type Quirk. The user can transform into a merman-like being with the characteristics of a Moray Eel. Note: The user is all greenish-blue. Also, if he transforms with clothes on, the clothes would disappear but reappear when he returns to his human form.
Allergies: Nothing
School: Namimori Elementary School
Name: Aikawa Floyd
Age: 7
Birthday: July 15
Blood Type: B
Gender: Biologically male
Identifies as: Male
Quirk: Eel Merman
Information on Quirk: It’s a Transformation Type Quirk. The user can transform into a merman-like being with the characteristics of a Moray Eel. Note: The user is all greenish-blue. Also, if he transforms with clothes on, the clothes would disappear but reappear when he returns to his human form.
Allergies: Nothing
School: Namimori Elementary School
Additional Information: He seems to have bipolar disorder. Switches from happy to violent and back in seconds.
Tsukauchi read over the more detailed report under those profiles. He put a note in his personal agenda to bring Floyd to an experienced doctor at a later date to get him some medication to help manage his mood swings.
Sighing, Tsukauchi got up and checked the back room where the kids were staying. He nodded at Yamato who seemed to have gotten shoved into supervising duty once again. The children were lying on one bed, piled on top of each other like a puppy pile. The sister was at the bottom, Floyd was attached to her front while Jade and Azul were glued to her side. Her arms were warped around them.
The room smelled like medicine and their limbs were wrapped with bandages, but their faces were calm and seemed as if they were at peace. It was much better than he saw them enter the police station.
Smiling a sad smile, Tsukauchi turned around to walk back to his desk, where the pile of forms he still needs to fill out was waiting for him. However, from the corner of his eye, he could see a mirror that showed the three boys staring soullessly at him. He turned around but they were still asleep.
“I need to sleep…” Tsukauchi muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
He must need sleep if he keeps thinking that three little, abused, boys were glaring holes into his body.
He closed the lights and shut the door. Determined not to look back in and risk seeing his sleep-deprived hallucination of three pairs of glowing eyes glaring at him.