35 Interlude: Yumiko Jamesu (<-joke)

"How certain exactly are you that Tear is the cannibal from October?" Director Noah says from his seat behind his large desk.

It's only the two of us in the room right now, as I only give my reports to the Director directly.

The perks of formally working in a counter intelligence unit I suppose, not that anyone outside of this room actually knows anything about me.

See, I've always been the observant type, that's how I got into counter intelligence in the first place. Then, after a job gone wrong, I triggered and suddenly became even more valuable.

Now, I spend my time working as both a Hero and a spy for the PRT, making sure that any dangerous elements, such as an incredibly powerful and spiteful dragon woman, aren't going to pose a threat.

However, that is not what I am here for right now, so I focus back onto the reason I called for this debriefing.

"Very. We were already suspicious of her, what with the cannibal appearing and disappearing around the same time as Tear's first appearance, compounded with the fact that since she's arrived in Columbus the number of missing persons cases has increased by around 900%."

The Director's face scrunches up at the number I give him due to me habitually using statistics to make something sound worse than it is.

It's less impressive than it sounds, since there are only a few hundred cases of people disappearing in Ohio annually, which isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it leaves about 3.25 people disappearing in a city like Columbus every month on average.

Tear has certainly been active, especially if she is as exclusively cannibalistic as I assume, with roughly thirty cases of people disappearing with her as the prime suspect.

The number would be even higher if some of the victims weren't written off as dead, though they could probably all be written of at this point.

Naturally however, exceptional cases like Tear won't be counted towards the states annual missing persons statistic, since that would make them look bad.

"Yes yes, I knew all of that, but you never spoke up before about this, so what changed?" The Director asks, getting straight to the point.

Nodding once, I explain.

"The Yamori incident." I say, making him raise an eyebrow. "Investigations into the person or persons involved have failed to bring up anything substantial, however there was a theory thrown out that it was Tear who was responsible."

"And now you think that theory holds weight?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

It makes sense. After all, without any evidence that it actually was Tear who cleared out the Yamori, her threat rating only got changed to a five, four, two and one for Changer, Brute, Mover and Thinker respectively.

Certainly a nice spread, it's rare for anyone to have more than three ratings, except for Trumps of course, but their powers literally work around powers themselves, so they can't be expected to play by the same rules.

The numbers themselves however aren't too high, making her seem more like a grab bag cape, someone with lots of small powers rather than one big one, on paper at least.

So just by looking at her numbers, one wouldn't think she could be responsible for the Yamori incident, not to mention that from his perspective, I'd imagine that the Yamori incident has nothing to do with figuring out the cannibal cape.

"Indeed I do. Partly because the bodies of the Yamori clan were missing, save for blood splatters, something that would work with the theory that they were killed by a cannibal, but again, there is no evidence for it, so I didn't say anything. However, during the interview earlier today, something she did made it click in my head."

Pausing to take a breath, I picture the moment in my mind and keep talking.

"After being confronted about the number of deaths she has caused and giving a lackadaisical response that seems to be par for the course with her, she cracked her middle finger with her thumb. To be more accurate, I believe she broker her finger, but with her regeneration there will be no way to tell without asking her."

From the confused look Director Balvan gives me, I assume that he hasn't made the same connection that I have and decide to fill him in before he asks.

"Jason Yamori was known to have a similar tick, one he would use in attempt to centre himself when he was getting emotional. I believe that Tear was captured and tortured by Jason and ended up adopting this tick from him in the process. This would also compound our suspicious of Tear being the cannibal due to the aforementioned bodies disappearing.

"Due to this, after Tear cracked her finger I asked her about the victims of the cannibal from Utica, however she didn't show any reactions that she recognised any of the names, giving joke responses to each person. I think she might have paused slightly at the mention of the Abel pair, but I could be mistaken."

After I finish speaking, we stay in silence for a moment as the Director thinks things over, eventually simply sighing.

"Even with all of that, without any evidence there isn't really anything we can do, is there? Do you actually have anything substantial, beyond circumstantial evidence?"

That's the kicker though, isn't it? Without any actual evidence, she could easily claim innocence if she is smart about it, and beyond that mask of lackadaisicality I do believe that she is quite intelligent.

Then again, I've been wrong before.

But again, I have no evidence beyond a simple gut feeling, so I answer the Director curtly.

"No sir."

I'm sure he notices the annoyance in my tone at the fact that my word alone isn't enough. Even if I'm not arrogant enough to think that my word should always be enough, that doesn't mean it's not annoying sometimes that they can't just take my word for it.

With a deep sigh, the Director slumps back in his seat and when he next speaks the tiredness in his voice is apparent.

"While I have you here on the topic, do you have any other thoughts about our most recent guest?" He asks.

I don't have to ponder for long before I give him my answer, since I haven't stopped thinking about her since the interview which was already a few hours ago.

"She's smart. I think. She knows what she's doing at least. I don't know how to describe it but it's like she's wearing a mask beneath a mask."

At his uncomprehending expression, I try to put it differently.

"It's like.. like she is acting, except instead of just acting as 'Tear', it felt like she was acting like someone acting as Tear, like a disguise inside of a disguise."

Pausing to let the Director mull over what I said, I think more about the woman I just interviewed.

"As I said, she knows what she's doing. She wants something, something beyond simple safety from being here. I don't know what it is that she want's exactly, but I'm pretty sure that she's getting it and we're playing right into her hands."

The Director thankfully takes my words seriously, knowing me well enough to trust them.

"Do you have a reason for thinking this? And do you think that whatever her goal is, that it's bad for us?" He asks, getting straight to what matters.

"Just gut feeling sir, and I don't believe that what she wants is malicious towards us. To be frank, she is unpredictable, so I can't be sure what it is she wants exactly. It is possible that she simply wants to be a Hero but for whatever reason couldn't bring herself to simply ask. It isn't an unheard of situation with some capes."

Director Balvan smiles and I get the feeling that he's imagining Tear as an embarrassed child who doesn't want to admit that they want something.

"So you think she wants to be a Hero, but can't bring herself to join us without us bending her arm, so to speak?" He asks with mirth.

"Indeed sir, it could be that she wants to change but is psychologically incapable of bringing out that change herself, like a more extreme version of getting a personal trainer to help motivate you in the gym, or it could simply be a pride thing, a refusal to give up her ways until truly backed into a corner." I explain curtly.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with the woman. After all, it's like she said herself, what has she done to feel guilty of?

Provided she is the cannibal, which I believe is very likely, then she has only killed five innocents, and if that was shortly after her trigger as I suspect it was, then it's likely that she wasn't in a good state of mind at the time.

There is a reason that laws were passed to give leniency to any crims committed shortly after a trigger event after all.

Then, after getting her bearings, what was the first thing she did? She set out and started cleaning the streets of filth while also keeping her appetite under control so that she can avoid hurting any innocents again.

Personally, I hope things go well for her, but I highly doubt they will, since even if she does join us, the moment the public finds out about her cannibalism, then unless she has one hell of a public image, she will be all but crucified on the spot.

During the time I was thinking, Director Balvan seems to have come to a decision as he raps his knuckles on the table to get my attention.

"Alright. Set up the usual plea deal for situations like this, she can take up a new identity and transfer to another city as a probationary member of the Protectorate, provided she accepts being put under watch and having reduced pay until she is considered reformed. All of this is naturally under the condition that she confess to any crimes she has committed, as well as to whether or not she is in fact the cannibal as we suspect."

I feel a slight smile tug on my lips at Tear getting at least a chance. Maybe I'll ask to be transferred with her, to help get her settled in as a Hero, every villain turned Hero needs a 'handler' so to speak after all.

It's certainly something I wouldn't mind because she 𝘪𝘴 actually pretty funny. I mean, 𝘐𝘭𝘴𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧? Really?

Not that I am ever going to admit to understanding the reference, but it was difficult to keep a straight face.

Alas, I am a professional, I think as I wonder through the building, lost in thought.

It would be nice to have a new friend too. It's been a while since I've had someone I can just talk to and hang out with. The closest thing to a friend I have here is Grace and she's only fourteen so it's not like we can really relate to each other most of the time.

Really it just speaks to the personability of everyone else.

Only Ethan and Luke really get my humour and Luke is always lost, hence the name, while with Ethan it's just still awkward from that time he made a move on me.

𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘩.

Whatever, you can't have everything.

For now, instead of thinking about all this crap, I should go look for some things, namely a striped prisoner outfit and a deck of cards.

I feel that smile coming back full force at the thought of her 'requests'.

I can totally understand her wanting the classic outfit, it's like tradition.

After wondering around for a bit however, I come to the unfortunate conclusion that there aren't any stereotypical prisoner outfits in the building.

Where could I find what I am looking for?

Hmmm.

Wait.

Isn't there a cosplay shop somewhere on Broad Street?

Location decided, I start making my way out of the building.

Maybe they'll even have the classic ball and chain too?

With a smile on my face, I head out into the thriving streets of Columbus looking for the most stereotypical outfit I can find.

I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

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A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Ples gib power stones, or even better, money. I wanna eat my local pizza again but can't be spending £12 on a single food.

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