Dazai is, very rudely, awoken by the harsh clanking of metal. He's already in so much pain, what with getting set on fire and being shot, so why couldn't they let him sleep a little longer? Whatever sleeping drug Snipe had put in those bullets had worked better than expected, maybe he should look into getting some for personal use. Looking around Dazai knows exactly where he is, prison! Or rather, a middle-security holding centre meant for interrogations before being sentenced. The grey walls, metal bed, and general feel of the place screamed prison but Dazai had done his research and knew with 90% certainty that he and Chuuya would be sent here. The pros need them somewhere locked up, secure, but nothing too extreme yet as they still need to get the police involved.
Although, Dazai muses, they could have been a little nicer about it. The handcuffs fit a little too snugly and might just be cutting his circulation. Not to mention the fact they took his coat but left him in the rest of his bloody and slightly burnt clothes, surely all of this isn't good for his gunshot wound? If he dies from infection then the pros will probably rejoice but that also sounds very painful, so not the ideal death he is hoping for.
A loud clank brings his attention up to the cell door where a security guard glares at him with clear hatred, Dazai meets his gaze head-on. "Get over here." The guard demands, on a normal day Dazai might refuse the order to see what would happen. Perhaps the guard would force him out? Maybe bring some others in for backup? Or maybe, in a fit of annoyance and anger, the guard would strike him down right there. Today, however, he must tone down his... 'Dazai-ness' as Chuuya would call it. For this mission he needs to be a poor teenager who only has Chuuya to care for him, so sad and depressed that he has lost all morals, so far gone that he sees no problem in killing other people. But, of course, not too far gone and that is the important part. Everything about this mission will involve balancing being bad enough but not too bad, smart enough but not too smart. Instead of causing trouble he stands and walks over to the gates, passively letting the guard apply more restraints before opening the cell and dragging Dazai out.
They walk in silence although it seems the guard wants to say something. He won't though, he'll stay quiet for now and let this rage simmer. He must have seen the live stream then and found it particularly disgusting. When they reach their destination the guard just shoves him inside, clearly not trusting himself to speak yet. Inside the room is the typical set-up you would see on TV, multiple stations with the intention of creating a record for whichever criminal was unfortunate enough to get caught. There are a few more guards inside the room, one shoves Dazai along to a metal table. One side has a computer screen and keyboard along with many papers and pens, the other side has a link to chain handcuffs down. Dazai sits and allows his handcuffs to be chained up and watches as another guard sits opposite him.
The guard, Okumura if the name badge is anything to go by, types a few things on the computer before speaking bluntly, "Name."
"Dazai Osamu."
"Age."
"15." That answer gets a few alarmed looks from the other guards in the room.
"Birthday."
"June 19."
There are a few more questions, boring ones that he hardly pays attention to. Dazai had thought being arrested would be more interesting than this, then again had he been arrested back in Yokohama it likely would have been. The police would freak out upon finding out he is the infamous Demon Prodigy, the Port Mafia would then storm the place to get him back out, not to mention how mad Chibi would be. Ahhh, that would be far more entertaining than answering simple questions and getting his fingerprints stamped. When he gets forced up to take a mugshot is by far the most interesting part, the guard looks unimpressed when he smiles for the picture but that doesn't bother him. Maybe if he asked politely enough they would let him keep a copy of it, he could even make a matching set with Chuuya's mugshot.
But of course, that part was never the main event anyway. No, the main event is when he's led into an empty interrogation room and left chained to the table. In order to get what he wants from all this Dazai will need to make sure this goes perfectly, play the part of pitiful, wasted talent just right to catch the attention of his target, the principal of UA. Principal Nedzu has an intelligence Quirk, so he'll be sitting behind that one-way mirror attempting to analyse Dazai. Having someone that matches his own intelligence be an important part of the plan is far more troublesome than anything else about this plan, Nedzu is possibly the only one who could see through all of this. Dazai needs to have multiple layers, the outer one being a pitiful and slightly deranged teenager, this mask will gain the sympathy of the 1A students and teachers at UA. The second layer needs to be just the right level of cunning, enough so that Nedzu will think his talent is wasted being in the Port Mafia but not too much that he gets suspicious. The last layer is the final defence, one last mask to keep his true self away from messing the plan up. If any of those masks slip up or get seen through then the mission is in danger of failing. Chuuya on the other hand, shouldn't need to worry about masks and such, all he needs to do is act more caring towards Dazai. While that task may be very difficult for such a small-brained Slug he has confidence, especially since Chuuya's personality is perfect for the goal he wishes to achieve. With such a strict moral compass the Chibi is sure to gain the trust of the pros quickly, which would make Dazai more trustworthy by association.
The door opens and in walks a familiar face. Erasurehead, otherwise known as Aizawa Shouta, walks steadily into the corner of the room and leans gently against the wall. The urge to say something to the pro about the fight they were both in is tempting, but Dazai doesn't want to let anyone know he was aware of the man's presence there just yet. It would make sense for him to have a guess, something along the lines of he searched Aizawa up due to their similar nullifying talents before and realised he must have been present when Chuuya fell, but that's something to save for a more impactful moment.
A plain-looking man enters next, a policeman or maybe detective, and takes the seat across from Dazai. Another man enters, this time in a blue policeman uniform, and-
And he has the head of a dog.
Instinctively he pulls back slightly, body tensing as he keeps his visible eye locked on the dog-man. Out of all the possible mutant quirks that could have walked through that door it had to be the one animal he can't stand, the one animal that could break his carefully crafted masks. Not for the first time Dazai finds himself cursing Mori and his methods internally.
Evidently, he must have pulled some type of face upon seeing the dog-man as he growls slightly, "You have a problem with mutant Quirks, kid?" For a second Dazai doesn't register the words, still hung up on the fact the dog-man growled, god, will he start slobbering next?
Once he does register the words he is hit with how stupid a question it is, he's from Yokohama. There are no quirks there and any transformation Abilities are temporary, so it's only logical he would be creeped out by a mutant Quirk at first. None of that particularly bothers Dazai though, just the damn dog head. "Nope, just dogs."
The officer across from him looks confused, "What?"
Dazai huffs while keeping his uncovered eye on the dog-man, "I don't like dogs, mutant or not. It's not hard to understand." While revealing one of his few fears may be a stupid move Dazai has a feeling it will give him an advantage. Being scared of such a common thing will humanize him, if that's truly possible, to anyone watching. It might even end with the dog-man leaving the room, which would be the ideal situation. Of course, he could easily continue the interrogation with the dog-man present but it would be harder, for one he would be more focused on him and not influencing Principal Nedzu.
The three other men seem to have a silent conversation before the man sitting in front of Dazai sighs, "Kaiinu-san, could you please leave?" The dog-man seems somewhat unhappy about this but leaves with a shallow bow. With that out of the way the man speaks again, "I am Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, now, Dazai-kun, would you be willing to answer a few questions?"
Dazai relaxes a bit now the dog-man has left and flicks his eyes over to Aizawa, just to show he noticed that the man didn't get an introduction, before nodding, "Sure, but only if I get to ask a question."
Tsukauchi seems hesitant but nods, "I can't guarantee I can answer but you can ask."
"How is Chuuya?" Dazai asks and makes sure his tone is both relaxed and interested, he wants to sound like he cares for the Chibi but is trying to hide it. Typically, he wouldn't bother asking about the health or whereabouts of Chuuya because there is simply no need, no one could truly hurt Chuuya apart from himself. This time however he needs to seem more concerned, hopefully, Chuuya will do something similar in his interview.
Tsukauchi takes a moment to deliberate his words before responding, "He's doing just fine, no need to worry. We'll be interviewing him just after you." Again, not worried but it's nice to know Slug hasn't keeled over too soon. It's also useful to know Dazai is being interrogated first, if Nedzu offers the deal like planned then the Slug should have an easier time in his own interrogation. The detective doesn't wait too long before speaking again, "How long have you been in the Port Mafia?"
A good question to gain some pity, "Officially, two years." Dazai notices Aizawa stand a little stiffer in the corner, likely doing the maths that a 13-year-old joined the Mafia. Tsukauchi too seems affected by it, perhaps he's one of those types that try to protect children above all else, almost like Odasaku in a way.
Despite his pale face, Tsukauchi continues, "Officially?"
Dazai hums slightly before answering, "For a few years before officially joining the Mafia the guy I lived with worked closely with them and a few other gangs, eventually when he joined I went along too." Dazai hopes someone picks up on the lack of familial terms, an orphan who was forced into a life of crime is far more pitiable than a depressed child chasing death. The bandages covering most of his body should already be concerning them, revealing a sad history will add to that nicely.
The detective writes something down and, still looking faintly sick, asks another question, "Why would he take you to join?"
He takes a moment before answering, almost like he needs to think about why someone would want him in the Mafia. "My Ability has no exceptions to its nullifying, it's rather useful," Dazai smirks a little in what he hopes is an arrogant way, "He also believes me to be a quick learner, if that's true, well, I know I'm better than that Chibi at least."
"So you could say he had you join for your Ability and intelligence?" Tsukauchi is trying not to sound upset but it failing, which is great news for the plan. The more people that fall for the 'young child forced into the Mafia to be used for his talents' the smoother everything will go. Part of Dazai wishes he could be present for when the detective finds out about Chuuya's past, even excluding his time before the Sheep Dazai is confident that Chibi's life will cause a tear or two. Dazai nods in response to the question, carefully making it so he seems unaffected by the topic.
It seems the detective needs a moment to collect himself as the next question doesn't come for a few more minutes. "And your Ability, can you tell us more about it?"
"No Longer Human nullifies Abilities and their effects." Confirming what they should already know and giving just a tiny bit of new information, knowing that he's immune to the effects of Abilities, and by extension Quirks, is very valuable knowledge indeed.
Tsukauchi nods, "Let's move on now, can you explain what happened when Mt. Lady entered Yokohama?"
"Well, she got in and broke Port Mafia supplies. Me and Chuuya were sent to deal with her." His explanation is far too simple but that's intended. If Nedzu really is as smart as rumoured then he likely has an idea about how high up the command he and Chuuya are, the rest of the pros and police are a different story. By keeping his story simple it's more believable that he isn't of much importance.
The detective is smart as it seems, "Who sent you there?" A name wouldn't really matter, not when the pros know nothing about the Port Mafia and its members, but that's only a part of what the detective wants. If Dazai answers something like 'the Boss' then that gives away that he gets direct orders from the Port Mafia boss, thus revealing how high in command he is. It would also tell the police whether Mt. Lady's death was an attack by the Port Mafia or just two boys attacking on their own. That's a lot of important information from a simple question.
"My superior."
"And who is that?"
Dazai shakes his head, "I can't tell you that."
This being the first, and if things go to plan last, interrogation Tsukauchi mustn't be too worried about getting details from him just yet. A few names that his team can research maybe, something to give to the press, in future sessions is where he would press for more names and information. Again, those sessions should not happen at all so no information is at risk, not like they could get anything out of him anyway.
For now, Tsukauchi nods while writing, "Do you have any idea who let her inside Yokohama?"
"Maybe it was your little friend," Dazai watches with mild amusement as Tsukauchi tenses at the question. Smirking he leans forward in his chair and looks over at Aizawa, "Who got you in? I'm dying to know which organisation helped."
Aizawa meets his gaze head-on with an impressive poker face, "Why would I know?" The real question is 'What makes you think I was there?'
"I've done research before you know," Dazai starts, "My Ability is quite similar to your Quirk, so I know who you are Erasurehead. Chuuya never loses control of his Ability like that, so I knew from the moment he fell from the sky that you must have been around. You're here now too, so do tell, who let you in?"
Aizawa stays quiet, he must be thinking over what would be best to say in this situation. His answer soon becomes irrelevant as the door opens and in walks exactly who he wanted to see, Nedzu. The bear-mouse walks in confidently, and both Tsukauchi and Aizawa bow in greeting to him, Tsukauchi even goes so far as to offer Nedzu his chair. The principal takes him up on that offer and jumps up onto the chair before laying his beady eyes on Dazai, "You have been quite the surprise."
Dazai tilts his head slightly with a clearly fake smile, "A good surprise I hope?"
Nedzu laughs a little, "I had expected two arrogant teenagers, but you seem a little smarter than that." The bear-mouse takes a moment to observe him before continuing, "I'm curious about you."
This is where things get real, so to speak. Nedzu is testing him, trying to determine just how smart Dazai is. This is where his acting becomes important, too smart and Nedzu will be suspicious, not smart enough and he will lose interest. To strike the balance Dazai adopts a more genuine facial expression, one that seems a bit confused, curious, worried even, but still confident. He's confident in himself and that's what will bring Nedzu to make the offer, the offer he needs to get so the mission can succeed.
A silent moment later Nedzu smiles and nods, almost like confirming something to himself. "Very well, I have an offer for you and your friend."
-
Like most days Chuuya wakes up and immediately begins swearing Dazai out. That much is normal, what isn't normal is waking up with a broken arm, a gunshot wound, and being locked up. For a moment he remains laid down on the uncomfortable metal bed, really just letting everything sink in. Dazai already told him to go easy on the pros, that in the end, they had to lose the fight for the plan to work. That part didn't bother him, no, it was the fact stupid Dazai kept information from him yet again! Had Chuuya been informed that the pros brought along a nullifier then he wouldn't have used Upon the Tainted Sorrow so much, he certainly wouldn't have used it to fly upwards either, which wouldn't have left him with a broken arm.
For a good hour or so Chuuya stews in his anger at Dazai, only briefly interrupted when he got taken to get a record done. The whole process was boring really, the questions were all standard ones, although it did annoy him when his fingerprints got stamped. At some point before he woke up they must have taken his coat and hat, hopefully, he could get those back, and then they refused to give him his gloves back after the fingerprints. Without his gloves, hat or Dazai around Chuuya could feel the buzzing of Arahabaki threatening to take control over him. Logically he knew that there was no way for that to happen unless Chuuya wanted it to, but still, the gloves helped to keep his focus when the other options where unavailable. Unfortunately, no amount of demanding made the guards see reason and give him the gloves back. After that, he was dumped back into his cell and promptly ignored.
Getting out of this place would be a pain if the plan falls through, without his Ability Chuuya would have to rely on hand-to-hand. Finding Dazai would be another problem entirely, not to mention if he starts fighting people they might intentionally hide Dazai or use him as a trap. Of course, Corruption would solve most of the major problems but it also creates an even bigger one, if too many pros turn up over a delayed time then Chuuya will spend far too long in his Corruption form. The bigger issue would be if Dazai could get to him in time and get them both out, which he probably has a plan for but still. Once again the Mackerel didn't inform him of any backup plan so Chuuya will just have to trust the idiot has one.
A guard snaps Chuuya out of his thoughts and for a moment he thinks they might know he's thinking about which way would be most effective to beat them all up. That doesn't seem to be the case though, so Chuuya relaxes a tad while following their commands. Just like the last time he got taken out of his cell the guard straps him with more restraints and leads him off to a different room, predictively he's led right into an interrogation room. Soon after he's been chained to the table three people enter the room, the first two aren't too significant to Chuuya but the last one catches his eye. Dazai had described the principal of UA to be a 'bear-mouse thing', which at the time Chuuya had dismissed as nonsense. Looking at the guy now he can admit Dazai was right, but that's not the point. The point is that if the principal of UA is coming in here right away then a deal has likely already been struck.
Two of the three sit down in chairs across from him, Chuuya pays them attention but does keep an eye on the homeless-looking guy in the corner. For a second no one speaks, so he decides to break the silence. "Where's Dazai?"
The man shakes his head, "I'm not allowed-"
Chuuya cuts him off, "I don't care what you're allowed to do or not, tell me what you've done with him." According to Dazai's plan, he should act a little desperate here, really make it seem like it's just the two of them against the world. Admittedly, he finds it easy to act this way. That idiot gets hurt far too much and it's always left to Chuuya to deal with it, so yea, maybe he's authentically worried about him. Right now he's probably sitting in a cell picking at his gunshot wound and letting it get infected.
The principal, Nedzu if he remembers correctly, answers for the other guy, "Dazai-kun is doing just fine, we just had an interview with him actually." The bear-mouse gestures to himself then the man beside him, "I am Nedzu, principal of UA high school and this is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. The detective has a few questions to ask you, but first, I have an offer to make."
Chuuya leans back a little and hums, "I don't know if I believe you about how the Mackerel is, but if you have an offer I assume you gave it to him first?"
Nedzu nods, "Yes, he was quite agreeable in that regard. Now, I've been told you'll only consider saying yes if we pass along a certain phrase?" Ah yes, the code phrase. For situations like this the two of them have different phrases that sound innocent enough but pass along information between them. Typically a phrase will include some way of saying 'going along with the plan', 'won't end well', 'caution needed' etc. If Nedzu says the right phrase then Chuuya can trust that the deal he's getting is the same one Dazai agreed to.
Chuuya nods for him to continue, with that prompting Nedzu speaks again, "The good doctor works well under pressure." Chuuya keeps his face passive despite the sigh of relief he wants to let out. That particular phrase is a good one to hear, 'The good doctor' refers to Mori and 'works' means mission, that word combo tells Chuuya things are going according to the mission set by Mori, that it's working. 'Well' says the deal is a good one, 'under pressure' implies that there are a few complications. So, in full the phrase means 'Mori's mission is going well, the deal is advantageous for us but with some negatives.' The fact Dazai had used 'under pressure' and not say, 'in emergencies' shows that the negatives aren't a large issue. Something small like having to keep the handcuffs on or something.
"What's the offer?"
Nedzu smiles before explaining, "For a reduced sentence the two of you will come to UA and give our students some practical fighting experience, of course, you'll still need to serve some time in prison." That… isn't right, is it? If it was Chuuya crafting a phrase around that he would use something with more weight than 'under pressure', hell he probably would have used a different sentence entirely. Something like 'The good doctor struggles in emergencies', so, either Dazai thinks differently on whether that's a good deal or Nedzu is offering a different deal to Chuuya. Having worked with Dazai for some time now he knows how the guy thinks, what he thinks is a good deal or not and that one? Yea no, not that good.
Chuuya gives Nedzu a look, "And that's what Dazai agreed to?"
The bear-mouse looks serious for a moment before shaking his head, "Not at all!" He exclaims with a grin, "I had a hunch that phrase would tell you about the offer, so I thought to test it. It seems I was right!"
If this guy turns out to be a Dazai 2.0 then Chuuya might go insane, dealing with one is already a hassle. Fighting back the urge to do something stupid Chuuya sighs, "What's the real deal?"
"Ah! Yes," Nedzu starts, "the two of you will join UA, specifically class 1A. While there you will help the students with their fighting and planning skills and also protect them should the League of Villains attack again. You'll also be attending morality lessons and therapy sessions in the hopes of turning you two into upstanding members of society."
That sounds more like the type of deal Dazai would agree to, it doesn't sound that bad at all. Heh, maybe he'll get to fight some of those hero kids too, see if they're any good or not. With a grin, Chuuya responds, "Yea, that sounds fine to me."
-
Aizawa has 1A's homeroom in ten minutes, which, normally wouldn't be a point of worry. While they might be annoying at times, his class is capable of staying quiet when he needs them to be and a majority of them do try in lessons. Today, however, he is not looking forward to it due to the announcement he must make. How in the world is he going to break the news that the two murderers that traumatised them just a week before will be joining their class? Had he been given prior warning about this then he would have slowly brought it up to the class, get them used to the idea and all that. As things typically go with Principal Nedzu however Aizawa first heard of this when the deal was offered to Dazai, afterwards, he had cornered Nedzu for an explanation. What he got was, "Those two are very interesting, when I think I have them figured out they do something that changes my mind. Besides, you feel bad for them don't you?"
Which is true yes, originally Aizawa had felt no sympathy for the two boys. Then he learnt that Dazai had joined the Port Mafia at 13 and that he had been involved with gang activities for years before that. The boy is smart, has to be to catch Nedzu's attention, and yet was clearly manipulated into joining the Mafia. And for what? A useful Ability and intelligence? Nakahara wasn't any better either, the kid didn't tell them the whole story but Aizawa can make a few assumptions from what he did say. Both of them were dealt a bad childhood which is no fault of their own, if they had a different upbringing would they be the same? No, they wouldn't be.
Aizawa sighs and starts making his way to class, there won't be an easy way to break the news to his class but hopefully, he can soften the blow. When he arrives at the classroom everyone is already present and sat in the correct seats, great, they can get this started quickly.
"There's an important announcement I need to tell you," He starts and the class falls silent, "Recently, me and four other Pro Heroes got into Yokohama and engaged those two boys in a fight. We won." The class bursts into noise, most of the class cheers, some start insulting the two boys, Midoriya starts muttering like usual. A quick flash of his Quirk silences the class once more, "Don't interrupt, there's more."
"Yokohama is known as the Quirkless City, which is for the most part true. However, a small percentage of Yokohama possess what is called an Ability, these are powers similar to Quirks but also very different," Aizawa flicks on the projector so that the three main facts about Abilities are shown, "First of all they are not genetic, having two Ability user parents does not guarantee an Ability user child."
He continues while ignoring the muttering from Midoriya once again, "Abilities have limitations, but not negative drawbacks like Quirks. Finally, Abilities are stronger than Quirks, these three facts are vital for dealing with Ability users."
As expected not that many students seem the believe that last point, least of all Bakugou who scoffs loudly, "Hah, yea right. I'll blow any Ability user sky high!"
Aizawa barely suppresses the urge to roll his eyes at the boy's arrogance, "Those two boys are Ability users." With another click the board projector changes the image, this time it shows the two boys' mugshots along with their names and Ability names. "Dazai has a touch-based nullification Ability while Nakahara has a more powerful version of Uraraka's Quirk, you'll learn more detail in the coming days. The two of them put up more of a fight against the top 3 Pros than I expect any of you could currently, so don't underestimate Abilities."
Whispers break out across the class with varying levels of volume. Eventually, Iida raises his hand. Once Aizawa gesture for him to speak the boy goes ahead, "Sensei! I would like to know why we are being told about this?"
Well, no time like the present. "When we interviewed the two we found some distressing things, there is a very high chance the two of them were manipulated into joining the Mafia at a young age. Principal Nedzu… Well, he took an interest in them," Aizawa pauses for breath before continuing, "Rather than being sent to prison, the two of them will be joining 1A. The goal of this is to rehabilitate them while also offering all of you some real-life fighting experience with tough enemies, they'll also act as protection should anything happen to you all."
There is silence for a moment, and then the class breaks into chaos. Almost everyone is freaking out, someone is crying, Bakugou is yelling again and- Is that Kaminari hiding under his desk? With a headache already forming Aizawa slams his hands down on the nearest hard surface to demand the class's attention, fortunately, it does work and the noise level drops significantly. "Look," Aizawa starts, "I understand this is alarming, but be reassured that those two will be under constant supervision by me or another Pro. If they try anything we have a plan already in place to subdue them."
Some of the class seems reassured by this but a large portion still looks on the edge of a breakdown. "If anyone does not want to be in class with them then I will arrange for you to join 1B when they are present, does anyone wish for that?" Aizawa falls silent and watches as some of his class consider the offer. In the end, no one raises their hand, which is slightly surprising to Aizawa. Mentally he makes a note to speak to everyone individually before the duo officially joins, just to make sure everyone is truly comfortable.
With that issue settled Aizawa simply nods and continues on, "In the next couple of days Dazai and Nakahara will move into the dorms while you guys are in class, after that, they will officially join the lesson."
"Wait... They're gonna live with us?" Kaminari exclaims with horror and the class breaks into chaos once again. Ugh, those two haven't even joined yet and are still giving Aizawa the largest headache he's ever had. Whatever did he do to deserver this?