Chapter Text
5
"Today is Wednesday, August 6th, the time is 14:15. This is Detective Tsukauchi conducting an interview about the circumstances of Tuesday, August 5th. During this interview, I will use my quirk Lie Detector; any falsehoods will be detected.
In front of me is the person most involved in the past events. Please state your name and date of birth."
"Midoriya Izumi, July 15th" TRUE "State your place of birth and family members." "Musutafu City. My mother's name is Midoriya Inko, and my father's is Midoriya Hisashi." TRUE "Name your quirk." "I am quirkless." TRUE "Many heroes and civilians watched you command strange creatures, and you told them that you could see the villain named Overhaul's soul." "All of that is true. However, the creatures that I commanded are not my creation or summoned by any type of quirk. My ability to sense Aura and use it to strengthen myself isn't a quirk. It's a power that only a few are capable of manifesting." TRUE
"I will be completely honest; to understand what happened with Overhaul, I have to explain how I met my team and how I learned to control Aura. It's a long story, but it is a good thing your quirk is called Lie Detect. That way, no one can accuse me of being crazy." TRUE
"Very well, tell your story, Midoriya-san."
"When I was four years old, I was diagnosed as quirkless. I won´t lie, it hurt; it nearly destroyed me. Up until that day, my dream was to go to UA and become a great hero, one like All Might, one that saves others and brings hope along. And that day, I was told that I was useless and that I should just give up on my dreams and be realistic.
But I still wanted to be a hero. I still dreamed of being a hero. No matter what the rest of the world told me—my family, schoolmates, teachers, and strangers—no one believed in me. I was a pariah at school. I don't blame the other children for how they treated me. They just behaved in the way they were taught. I was the freak; they were normals.
I didn't have any friends. I was a single child born from single children. So there were no uncles, aunts, or cousins around. Both grandparents died, and my father worked overseas. My best friend—my ex-best friend—wouldn't talk to me. His family didn't know we drifted apart; I never told them. I didn't want to get him in trouble, and I still don't. All I had was my mom. And even she didn't believe in me. She was worried that I would get hurt or worse. I was a weak, quirkless girl after all. I never blamed her for thinking that. She was just worried.
On my tenth birthday, my mom took me to the movies. A new All Might film had just premiered, and she had gotten tickets for both of us. And after that, we were supposed to go to a sign-and-greet event with some of the newest top 20. I was so excited. I could meet heroes in person.
I didn't know how much my life was going to change.
We never made it to the event; we didn't even make it to the movie. We were just walking towards the bus stop when it all went to hell.
Villains attacked. They were trying to steal a truck, and it crashed into a traffic sign. Then the heroes intervened, and they all started to fight. The people wanted to either run away or see the fight more closely. I just wanted to find my mom. During the chaos, we go split. I couldn't see or hear her. So I just moved. I moved and moved until I was free from the mass of people running and panicking.
That´s when I heard him.
A child. A child screaming. Right in front of me.
On the other side of the street, a toddler, no older than four, was crying in front of his mother. She was lying on the ground; her head was bleeding, and he was tugging her. She didn't respond.
I was staring at the scene, my eyes glued there when a flash of light called my attention.
One of the villains was waving around some type of gun; it looked like a minigun but was more sleek and lighter. And instead of shooting bullets, it fired beams of light. Beams that disappeared anything they touched. To be honest, it was a miracle that nobody got hit by those lights. The heroes were trying to take the gun from his hands. But he just waved it around threateningly. And when they surrounded him, he pointed toward the boy and his mother. That made the heroes stop cold.
I don't remember thinking. I don't remember moving. All I know is that one moment I was watching, and the next I was running with all my strength towards the boy and his mother. I put my body in front of them. And then I felt it. The shot.
It didn't hurt. I saw how my body was being enveloped in a bright light. I was sure that I was going to die. I just wanted to find my mom. To see her one last time. But before I could scream or turn my head, all became darkness. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't tell my mom how much I loved her before I died.
After a while, light enveloped me again. When I opened my eyes, I wasn't on the street. I wasn't even in the city. I was in a valley, staring at the biggest mountain I have ever seen. That thing's crest wasn't visible; it was hidden deep in the clouds. And it was cold. Not enough to freeze, but enough to feel it.
That's when a small creature smashed into me. The crash made both of us fall to the ground on our butts. Imagine my surprise when my assailant was a bipedal blue dog with spikes on his knuckles and the size of a middle schooler. When he looked at me, he flinched and put his fists up, like a boxer. He was hurt; his fur was matted with dirt and blood, and he had scratches on his body. And he was exhausted.
Voices shouted near us. When he heard them, he went still, his breathing increased, and his pupils contracted. Whoever those men were, they were hunting him. I grabbed his front paw and led him behind some rocks, hoping they would pass by and not see us.
It didn't work. They found us inmediatly. We were scared, trembling in fear. I didn't know where I was or what was going on. The men that surrounded us were followed by other creatures. All of them looked big and scary for my ten-year-old self. One looked like a rhino made of rock; there were snarling hounds with horns; and even giant metallic insects.
That's when he saved us. Riley. My mentor. He just jumped in with his partner, Lucario, and beat them up.
After he put the creatures in some strange balls and tied the men, he went towards us. It took a few questions before we both understood what was happening. I wasn't in Japan. Japan didn't even exist there. I was on another world, a version of Earth where humans never developed quirks but instead shared a bond of trust and companionship with creatures called Pokemon." TRUE
"Wait, wait. Pokemon? Another world? How?"
"My guess is that the gun wasn't a disintegration weapon but a teleporting device. One that could transport people to another dimension. I'm guessing that the gun was destroyed or something like that after I went missing."
"After the villain shot you, actually. One of the heroes took him down, and unfortunately, the gun got destroyed. During the investigation, it was found that the truck was delivering experimental technology for the black market. Since all the information was false and the case became public knowledge in the news…"
"The ones in charge behind the technology destroyed all evidence and covered their tracks."
"Exactly, Midoriya-san. Well, my quirk says that you're being truthful; however, we will need blood tests to prove your real identity."
"I know. My story sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. I knew it would be difficult to believe. Well, I will continue on.
When Riley realized that I wasn't from that world, that I was an alien, he contacted an old friend. An agent from the International Police. One that could be trusted to hide my real identity. He offered to teach me about their world, how to live there, and how to become a Pokemon trainer." TRUE
"Pokemon trainer?" "Someone that trains Pokemon, someone who helps them learn new moves or attacks and grow stronger and evolve. Of course, if that's what the Pokemon wishes. The trainer license allows people to participate in the Pokemon League, the Battle Frontier, Contests, etc. Of course, a person can have Pokemon and not be a trainer. Being a trainer is a hard profession. To earn money, one must win. Many leave after one year and follow other careers." TRUE
"And why did you choose to become a trainer?"
"Because it was my best chance at going home. The concept of alternate dimensions was still that: a concept, a theory. There was little evidence of alternate dimensions and zero of alternate Earths. And all that information was kept locked on harder than Tartarus and Fort Knox together. High-level trainers could enter zones prohibited for common civilians. And it was those types of places where the investigations about alternate dimensions took place." TRUE
"So Riley taught you the past five years? Was he the one who gave you the 'Pokemon' that were with you?"
"Not exactly. Wild Pokemon are captured through combat. If I tried to use a Pokemon that Riley or any other trainer captured, it would disobey me. Most Pokemon, especially the ones that wish to become strong, only obey trainers who have already proved their strength." TRUE
"And you proved it by capturing them."
"Exactly. The only exception are the starters, Pokemon gifted by the Regional Professor, who are bred to obey their rookie trainer. Of course, they can still disobey if they don't consider the trainer to be good or worth their time, but that's rare.
My first Pokemon were actually two. The little Riolu that I had met and the Chimchar that Professor Rowan gave me. After that, we spent a year together traveling all over Sinnoh, training, learning, and winning medals for the Pokemon League." TRUE
"What is that? The Pokemon League?"
"A high level competition. Trainers compete against each other in battles. The winner and the second-best can challenge the Elite Four, and if they win, they earn the right to challenge the Champion. The Champion is the strongest trainer of the region, the one who protects it in case of danger."
"And you wanted to be the Champion?"
"What? No! I mean, fighting the Elite Four and the Champion would be great—a real honor. No, my goal was to help my team get stronger and earn the right to enter the forbidden areas. The areas with clues about how to come home. I barely made it to the best eight in my first league. After that, Riley told me to keep traveling. To visit the other Regions and get stronger. And it's what I did. Johto. Kalos. Alola. I traveled there. Participated in competitions to earn money, get stronger, capture more partners, and make new friends." TRUE
"Until you finally returned."
"Alola was the key. They made a breakthrough in dimensional travel, and the agent told me about it. Most of my last year was spent there, waiting for the scientists to make a good Earth-Earth connection. They just finished it last week, and well, that's when I crossed it and met Eri." TRUE
"That means we are moving on to recent events?"
"Yep. Thanks for the water; my throat is getting parched." "No problem; these interviews can be mentally taxing."
"When I came back, Eri crashed into me. Kind of like Riolu. Ha. Some guys wearing bird-like masks were following her, and well, I beat them up. Left them tied up and with signs implicating them as perverts so the police would keep them more time on the station and under vigilance. That way, their boss would have to be more cautious about his actions." TRUE
"That explains that strange report. Well, for this part, I will ask some questions. I already know the ending of this story. What interests me is why. Why lure the villain to Tokyo? Why not just go to the police or to a Hero Agency? Why did you have one of your Pokemon hide the rest after Overhaul was arrested?"
"Because I didn't know who to trust. Eri was tortured for four years by a villainous organization that shouldn't exist. My Pokemon are alien creatures. And Eri has a powerful quirk. As far as I knew, if the heroes and the police didn't believe my story, then Overhaul would find us easier, kill me and my team, and keep Eri as his prisoner forever. And if they believed me and decided to take my Pokemon, or that Eri had to be watched for the risk her quirk entitled?
I made a choice. The Heroes Billboard started in less than a week. That meant that Tokyo would be swarming with heroes. It would be the safest moment to move. So we went to Tokyo. I knew that Overhaul would follow us. My plan was to distract and stall him until the heroes arrived and scared him away. I never thought that most of the top ten would arrive with an army to arrest him. My goal was to make us visible. Me and Eri. So that we couldn´t be covered up. I had Gallade hide the rest of my team until I could be sure that they wouldn´t be taken and experimented on." TRUE
"Ms Midoriya. I just have one question. What do you want?"
"I want to reunite with my mom. To hug her. I want Eri to have the childhood she should have had. I want my team by my side. I want to go to UA. You want to know what I want, Detective Tsukauchi? I want to be a hero."
"An impressive speech, don´t you think True Man?" A young redhead asked Naomasa.
The human lie detector nodded. The girl reminded him so much of his best friend. He felt the same conviction in Midoriya Izumi that he felt in Toshinori.
"So, we agree on what to do?" "We do Hawks."
"Let's call Nezu." The detective smirked. He knew the little chimera would be thrilled with the entire situation.