Into the Field (Informant Internship #2)(invite)

TOBIAS GAVE A SUBDUED SMILE as his students began to arrive. First, Yao-san, jogging up to the instructor at a brief pace. Tobias nodded his head amicably, giving a private smile.

“It will indeed be more hands-on, Yao-san,” Tobias said with a smile, “Some fieldwork. Investigative exercises. I’ll go into greater detail when the others have arrived.”

Minutes later, Rowan had arrived, as well. Tobias offered a nod to her as well.

“Sakamoto-san, good morning,” Tobias echoed back.

While it warmed Tobias’s heart to see students take such an interest in investigative work, his amusement over seeing them in their hero costumes simmered just beneath the surface. Plain-dress with badges that identified you as a pro hero were more common, in Toby’s line of work. But he appreciated their spirit nonetheless.

Lastly, Luka made his appearance—well, in a manner of speaking. Until now, Tobias had only seen the youth in his human-passing form, so the gelatinous orb that now traversed the lot towards the library earned an arched eyebrow. When Luka’s voice explained that the morning had been “uncooperative” from the slime, Tobias finally pieced two-and-two together, and his face resumed its enviable, amicable expressionlessness.

“I’m glad that you were able to make it, Eisenberg-san,” Tobias said warmly.

He checked his watch—he could’ve sworn that there was one more student that was supposed to join them. Shindou-san, if he was not mistaken. But they were supposed to leave ten minutes ago, regardless, so he’d begin debriefing the students now.

“Thank you all for joining me this morning,” Tobias said, lowering his hand, “Although investigation is not one of the more popular facets of heroism, it is an essential and pervasive facet of it. We’re the backbone of any mission—the information we glean ensures success.”

A wry expression quirked at the corner of his mouth, “That said… it is not the most illustrious pursuit, either. It demands a certain tenacity and attention to detail.”

A clearing of the throat, and a straightening of the tie, “This morning, we’ll be investigating a recent string of robberies in the Tokyo neighborhood of Saitama.”

Tobias reached into his pocket, procuring his phone. He tapped at the screen a few times, likely to unlock it, before showing it to the youths before him. On the screen, was a grainy black-and-white video, of what appeared to be a retail environment? Security camera footage? When Tobias hit play, the scene played unraveled.

It was a still night—the shelves and display cases of the store untouched—then, offscreen, some sort of explosive impact, sending smoke and debris roiling onto the screen. In the dust, three figures emerged—a muscle-bound, massive masculine creature covered in fur and apparently feline—a creature inky and black, with two glowing white eyes—and a woman in skintight clothes, without a head. Where a head should have been, there was nothing but a strange, curling tongue of flame.

The figures could be seen navigating the shelves, flitting efficiently about the shelves and pulling things down from them before running, arms full, back off of the screen from the direction that they’d come.

“This falls under our jurisdiction when it involves individuals with quirks, as these cases may be too high-risk for our un-quirked police force,” Tobias explained mildly. He tapped the screen then swiped to one side, procuring a map of Saitama. On the image was a smattering of dots.

“The red dots are where other incidents committed by these perpetrators have taken place,” he explained.

Tap, swipe.

“I’ll send these and other documents for your reading to you. If you could look them over during the drive to Saitama, it would be much obliged.”

Toby turned his phone back to him, and made a few efficient gestures before re-pocketing his device. Moments later, the students’ phones would buzz as they received a number of files over the group text.

“Our schedule will be simple,” Tobias explained, clasping his hands behind his back, “Once we arrive in Saitama, we will first be investigating the scene where the most recent incident took place, just last night. We will then be questioning people in the area to take statements, et cetera. Any questions?”

If there were any, Tobias would address them before their departure. Once these questions were addressed, however, or if there were no questions, Tobias would lead the trio towards his car—an elegant, black sedan—to begin the drive towards Saitama.

ft. feng, rowan, luka

quirk: c-rank burn, durability, heat resistance; combat abilities: jujitsu (e), magma sleeves (e), regeneration (d), cinder sprites (f)(summon); etc.: info. sifting/investigation (e), problem solving (f), interrogation (f), first aid (e), disguise (f)

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