Viridian: The Green Guide

Chapter 61: Distraction

Shouta grabbed his third cup of coffee, resisting the urge to chug it in one swallow. How did a top ten hero just go missing?! Sure, Shouta didn't like Endeavor, how could he after the man had almost killed Viridian, but he was the number two hero. He couldn't just disappear. There were protocols! He had training! There was no logical reason why Endeavor should be able to just disappear for more than three days without anyone having any clue where he went.

There had been talk among the police department for weeks now about bringing the Todoroki kids in and making sure that the rumors of child abuse that had been cirulating since the New Years disaster were false, but he hadn't been planning on those interviews pulling double duty as a potential murder investigation!!! Although, honestly, with what they'd uncovered so far, it wouldn't have surprised Shouta in the least if one of those three had just snapped and killed their sperm donor. His money was currently on Natsuo, though Fuyumi was also a likely candidate, considering it was always the quiet ones that were full of surprises, but Shouto was the only one with a quirk powerful enough to be a legitimate threat to a pro-hero. The other two still could have done it, but they would have had to get creative.

Tsukauchi, however, had just cleared all three, which was how Shouta had found himself involved in the whole mess. If the villain factory was looking for powerful quirks, Endeavor's would certainly fit the bill and if All for One really was the one behind the experiments, he might have the power and connections to explain how the number two hero had managed to vanish off the face of the earth. They obviously weren't hoping for that, considering that Endeavor was enough of a loose cannon without whatever modifications those monsters did to turn their victims into Berserkers, but it was something they were going to need to prepare for in case it happened.

Shouta left the station and hit the rooftops. He knew it wasn't likely that he would be able to find a critical lead in the case tonight, but the sooner they closed down the villain factory, the better. The hero commission and Endeavor's agency were both working overtime to keep Endeavor's disappearance from the media, but Shouta knew they'd only be able to manage that for so long. People were already starting to notice that Endeavor hadn't made any public appearances and were beginning to speculate as to why, so Shouta gave it until the end of the week, at the latest, until the vultures managed to sink their claws into the whole story.

That was gonna be fun.

He heard a scuffle a few alleys over and made his way there, jumping down when he saw Viridian fighting two villains while the victim cowered in the corner. They weren't very skilled, and Shouta knew that the kid really wouldn't have any trouble taking them down by himself, but he still didn't waste any time dispatching the thug that was trying to sneak up on the kid, then quietly went after the other. If he could get rid of both villains before Viridian realized he was there, then he might just have a chance to grab him and take him in before the kid ran away again.

He was already moving to attack the second villain when Viridan brought both of his pipes down on the guy's head and knocked him out. Years as a pro-hero had taught Shouta to roll with the punches, though, so he simply shifted his momentum into going after the kid instead. For half a second, he thought he would actually succeed in catching him, but Viridian's eyes widened and at the last moment, he managed to roll away, grabbing his slingshot and letting a marble loose right at Shouta's chest. He used his capture weapon to stop it, but when he'd recovered, the kid was already halfway up the wall.

"Nice try, Eraser!" The kid gave him a bright smile as he leaned over the fire escape. "Um...can you make sure the police get those guys?"

Shotua grunted and activated his comm to let the police department know he had criminals ready for pickup, "You can least help tie the villains up before throwing in the towel, problem child."