Night descended over the ports of Chiba-shi. A cold wind battered the few night workers, while the waves crashed heavily against the small vessels.
Darkness dominated every corner, instinctively driving away the men still present at the docks and warehouses, fearful of trouble they couldn't face.
And with good reason.
Three figures glided from shadow to shadow, over crates and ship parts, across rooftops and clinging to walls in defiance of gravity.
Sinuous tendrils, equally dark, were hot on the heels of the one on the ground, ready to intervene if necessary. The one on the rooftops was provided no such assistance, as the man himself was enough to protect himself.
The trio reached the warehouse area, heavily guarded by all kinds of street scum who were anything but honest night workers.
Shinsō stopped, scanning the surroundings. Eraserhead descended silently onto a Satetsu platform, while Tetsumaru walked down the wall with no visible difficulty.
—Take the left section. Neutralize anyone who spots you and thoroughly check the cargo in those warehouses— ordered the Hero, mentor, and UA teacher.
Tetsumaru observed the assigned section and quickly noticed the higher number of guards. He shot a flat look at his Sensei, who feigned ignorance and used his so-called scarf to scale the rooftop again, vanishing from sight.
Aizawa wasn't lying when he said he was going to work him to the bone the first chance he got.
For his part, Shinsō obeyed his mentor's orders without hesitation. He gave Tetsumaru a brief nod, signaling him to get to work.
With a slight frown in protest, Tetsumaru moved the platform Aizawa had used to descend earlier and offered it to the student.
He and Shinsō ascended to a high altitude, using the pitch-black surface of the Satetsu to glide over the guards' heads unnoticed. The moonless night helped considerably in that regard.
They approached the first warehouse, and Tetsumaru brought them down. Using the proper tools, Shinsō pried open an attic window that was there for God knows what reason. They figured it out the moment they stepped inside.
A pungent stench of fun chemicals floated in the air, making them both grimace. Faint smoke drifted through the space, and dazed laughter reached their ears.
They turned down a narrow hallway and found a room with people slumped across the floor. Some had expressions deader than those of Tetsumaru, Shinso, and Aizawa combined; others were swaying unsteadily with facial tics. These people were high out of their minds.
—Should we help them?— Shinsō whispered, not wanting to draw attention. Tetsumaru shook his head, urging him to keep moving.
The duo slipped down to the lower levels, finding more of the same: people who were drugged, drunk, or both. Bottles and cigarettes were scattered everywhere, foul odors assaulted their noses, and they even stumbled upon a couple in the middle of the act.
The bold position caught Tetsumaru's interest, and he made sure to take a mental note. Shinso simply ignored it and pretended he hadn't seen a thing.
Thanks to the deplorable state of these thugs, none of them had to be confronted. The same could not be said once they reached the packing area.
Without needing his Quirk, Shinsō lunged quickly and efficiently at the armed men guarding the merchandise. He put into practice what he had been learning from Aizawa for some time, neutralizing his opponents in seconds.
Tetsumaru nodded in approval, catching the heads of the others with Satetsu until their air was cut off, pinning their limbs to prevent them from using their weapons.
With the path clear, the Satetsu was used to pierce the locks and quickly pry the crates open. Shinso scanned the contents, failing to find what they were looking for.
They couldn't afford to be meticulous, so they abandoned the site after about ten minutes of inspection and moved on to the next warehouse.
They repeated the strategy. Stealthy and fast, they neutralized those who needed it and searched the shipments.
Shinsō had to admit he had been wrong regarding Tetsumaru's participation in this mission. The young man hadn't initially taken well to the black-haired boy's intrusion into the equation, considering him a discordant element that would ruin the dynamic between himself and his mentor.
In Shinsō's eyes, Tetsumaru was nothing more than a mid-to-long-range combatant, dependent on his Quirk for everything. He would later learn from Aizawa himself that Tetsumaru was a skilled hand-to-hand fighter and possessed superhuman strength.
Today, he realized that Tetsumaru was also absurdly good at stealth. It made him question his assessments of the more well-known UA students.
After searching five consecutive warehouses—finding illegal items in each but not what they were specifically looking for—Shinsō began to tire and asked his partner for a moment to catch his breath.
Both emerged onto the roof of the sixth warehouse on their list, allowing fresh, healthy air into their lungs. The vapors from the first three had left Shinsō feeling lightheaded.
—Try not to get a taste for it— Tetsumaru warned after a while, offering a bottle of water. Shinsō accepted it, a faint smile on his face.
—If we keep this up, we're going to walk out of these docks in worse shape than the junkies— he commented with annoyance.
—If we keep this up, we won't get anything valuable— Tetsumaru pointed out. —I know it's not up to us, but it's absurd to think these mysterious shipments will just sit in wooden crates after Endeavor's fuck-up.
Shinsō nodded in agreement. —But we don't have the legal means to search everything from top to bottom. It would cost the city too much revenue to paralyze its ports like that, and there's no justifiable cause— he explained with a sigh.
—Politics and money— Tetsumaru spat.
—It is what it is— Shinsō stood up, stretching his body to get back to work.
He waited a few seconds for the Satetsu he would use to descend, but Tetsumaru didn't deploy it as expected. —Everything okay?— he asked, confused by his partner's inaction.
Tetsumaru was staring out at the wide expanse with an indecipherable look. Shinso felt a bad idea brewing.
—Wouldn't it be easier if—
—No— Shinsō cut him off flatly. Tetsumaru frowned at the abrupt interruption.
—Think about it this way: Where would the supposed experimental drugs that criminals were hiding be kept, in a place that has already been searched by the police?— Tetsumaru began, urging Shinsō to play along for now.
—In the place that was already searched and where nothing was found. The justification for searching it again would be much harder to obtain than the first time— Shinsō responded reluctantly.
—But we skipped that specific place— Tetsumaru pointed out.
—Exactly because if we go in and it turns out there's nothing, the criminals will frame it as harassment by the Heroes and the police— Shinsō countered. —It's a basic game. A trap too obvious to fall for, Tetsumaru. Forget it and let's get on with our task.
—Of course it's a trap, but not for us— Tetsumaru insisted. —I'll bet anything they're waiting for the League to lash out in revenge for the last humiliation.
—...And? Are you planning to barge into a skirmish between criminal organizations without authorization, or worse, provoke it yourself?— Shinsō looked at his partner as if he were an idiot.
Tetsumaru rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically with disappointment. If Mei were here, she would have supported his idea.
—Just forget it and let's keep going— Shinsō called out, jumping toward the next warehouse on his own.
Tetsumaru followed him in silence, already planning how to flush out the Trigger users who were clearly in the area.
To him, things weren't that complicated. Aizawa hadn't bothered to explain it to the two of them before coming, but it was clear they were racing against the clock.
Endeavor's blunder—assisted by the HPSC according to a text from Mei the previous day—had caused a sudden surge in the Trigger movement across the country. The substance was becoming a major issue, and Endeavor's reputation needed a quick fix.
The entire image of Heroes needed an overhaul. This led to a joint investigation between the police, the HPSC, and several agencies to track down and eliminate the distribution and movement hubs for the drug.
It was no coincidence that one of the points of interest happened to be in the same area as the port where Endeavor had his encounter with the Yakuza. Even without knowing the full plot, it wasn't hard for Tetsumaru to put two and two together.
—Hey Aizawa, this is boring. What if we just flush out the drug carriers?— Tetsumaru called through the comms, sincerely hoping this wasn't a bad time.
The device crackled for a moment before Aizawa's grumbling voice hit his and Shinsō's ears.
—Damn it, brat!
Shinsō stopped in his tracks and turned to his partner with a piercing gaze. Tetsumaru admitted to himself that he had messed up.