36

Izuku inspected the map as well as he could, trying to form some kind of a path to take. The top of the compound was just a large fancy house, Izuku could find his way around it easily enough, but the bottom was more complicated. Tunnels that went well beyond the map's limits spread in every direction like a geometric spider web. More than that, there were numerous rooms down there that could be filled with any number of goons. Or even some of the higher up members.

He had no doubt that any one of the girls could take them, but that was his last resort. If they were to start causing damage now, here, on private property, they could get in trouble with the law. And it would alert Overhaul, and Izuku still had no idea what the Young Boss was planning. Whatever it was, it was big.

[Nejire Hado: I'm at Nighteye's agency, Mirio is here too.

Izuku Midoriya: Okay. I'm going to try and find out what they're planning now. Wish me luck.

Nejire Hado: Sir Nighteye says not to do anything too risky, focus on information. He says that's your only job right now.

Izuku Midoriya: I know.]

Izuku grit his teeth and closed his eyes for a moment. If he was going to risk his cover like this then he should get more than information out of it. At least he'd like to. There was a lot he could do. That was a thought that he never thought he'd have. Not just with the choices he had in front of him, but also the ways that he could deal with the situation. He took a deep breath and equipped another item that Nejire had brought him last night.

[Supervisor's clipboard

Hold this and act like you belong and you will.

Made by: Momo Yaoyorozu]

Apparently this was an attempt at making a stealth boost item or even something that would make him invisible. In a sort of roundabout way it did just that. Apparently Itsuka had tested it by just casually walking into Aizawa-sensei's home, behind the counters at a bank, even into a police station. It hadn't made her invisible, it just made people think she belonged there. It apparently even worked in the men's room.

So it should work here.

Now for where to go.

The top glowing room on the map was probably the old boss, currently catatonic. It might be possible to make something to wake him up, but that might not be a good thing. Even if what the other guys said about the old boss was true, he was still a criminal, and he might not be able to stop Overhaul. It might have even been Overhaul that put him in that state to begin with.

But then there was the child, Eri. She was important, but the question was how important. Nighteye thought that it might have something to do with her quirk. She was probably in the underground section of the compound.

Izuku let out another sigh and made up his mind. The top room was closer, and Izuku could even go there and head towards the lower sections without ever entering the same room twice. It was probably worth the risk to check and see.

[Nejire Hado: Umm Sir Nighteye wants to know what you're doing. He says you should keep him posted.

Izuku Midoriya: I'm going to check on the old boss before I make my way down. I might be able to heal him.

Izuku Midoriya: Uhh, tell him that It might cause a power struggle in the Yakuza we can abuse.

Nejire Hado: He says okay, but don't act yet. Good luck!

Itsuka Kendo: I'm worried. Call me if you get in trouble.

Momo Yaoyorozu: No, you should come back home if you're in any trouble. I know it might feel bad, but you're just gathering information. Right Izuku?

Izuku Midoriya: I'll try to do what's best Momo. Don't worry, I'll be fine.]

Without another word, Izuku squared his shoulders, head held high and walked back out into the house, making sure to leave a very special meal out for some of the members. Nothing special, just some muffins that made people sleepy.

He walked through the first narrow hallway, nodding to a couple of thugs that were sitting in another room, cleaning some equipment. They nodded his way. So far so good. But then again, he was already allowed in this area of the house. The top floor was off-limits to most, though.

Heading up the steps, he almost froze when he saw one of the old guards walking down the stairs, a grim look on his face. But that grim look vanished when he made eye contact with Izuku. instead, he smiled. Yoshida was, in a word, the classic Yakuza member―tattoos, bald head, an affinity for knives, and loyal. Loyal to the old boss and loyal to Overhaul. And very into rules.

"Ahh, Minato, what's on the menu tonight?" Yoshida asked nodding, showing off his two golden teeth.

"I actually haven't gotten that far, but I'll be open to requests."

"Ahh, that's good that's good, I'll think about something good." Yoshida's smile widened as he rubbed his chin, humming to himself. "Maybe some Yakisoba? No no, hmm."

Izuku left the man to his food-based musings and continued up the stairs. Half sweating bullets and half ready to scream that the clipboard worked! Honestly this might be the first time a clipboard had ever been so useful.

With no one else in his way Izuku headed towards the top room, the light glow that highlighted it on his map growing with each step.

The room was dark, save for the natural light coming through the window, but even that light was contained, almost as though it was too scared to venture out of the box-shaped prism it cast on the hardwood floor. A heart monitor, feeding tube, and a dozen other pieces of medical equipment were spread around the bed where an old man rested. His breath was steady and his face pale, but healthy.

Yep. That looked like a Yakuza boss alright.

Izuku moved to the bed, checking over his shoulder for a moment. He saw no one follow him into the room.

With his free hand he summoned another magic item, this one was a stethoscope made of dragon scale. Much like his spatula and cooking, this one increased his skill as a doctor. While being a chef granted him a long list of foods to cook, this one was much more impressive but much harder to learn. It wasn't until just a few weeks ago that he unlocked this skill perk.

With the stethoscope around his neck he grabbed the Old Boss's wrist and felt for a pulse. Metrics began to appear; his cholesterol was a bit high, but overall he was healthy, especially for a man his age. Maybe. Izuku didn't really know what qualified as healthy for a man in his sixties, but he appeared fine. And there was only one injury. A small gap had appeared between the brain and the skull.

"Huh," Izuku muttered and took a step back. "I might be able to fix that."

He bit his lip and sighed. Right. Information gathering. He could heal the old boss. That was good enough for now.

After reporting in he made his way down to the basement, taking the concealed hidden entrance and walking down into a long stretch of industrial-looking hallway. Everything about this area felt off, artificial, and just way too clean. Why build such an area underground? Why make the hallways so long?

Izuku walked at a brisk pace, intent on trying to get to the room where Eri was probably located before anybody could even show up. That hope was quickly dashed as he saw Mimic waddling down the hallway, the short black creature with a white face always gave Izuku a weird vibe. It didn't help that Izuku had witnessed the large man crawl out of that suit to devour a meal once.

"Minato?" Mimic asked looking up at him. Crap. Was he in trouble? "Where's your mask? You should know better than to be down here without a mask."

"Ahh." Holy crap this clipboard was amazing. "I'm actually on my way to get it."

"I see, I see, well then, I'll leave you to it. Remember if you get lost just call for me." Mimic didn't even stop walking and just continued along, easily moving up the large set of stairs like he wasn't two feet tall.

He needed to give Momo a huge reward after all was said and done for the clipboard. It was almost better than being invisible. He didn't have to worry about being caught, he just had to walk and talk. Many of the rooms down here were just that: rooms, beds and chambers for Overhaul's more devout members. Other rooms were filled with supplies, some with chemistry and medical equipment.

Then he arrived at the room.

Eri's room.

With a breath Izuku opened the room and hoped that, maybe, Eri was nothing more than Overhaul's daughter and he was simply overprotective of her. The room was well-lit by an overhead light, and the walls were painted with clouds, rainbows, pretty hills, trees, and all kinds of kid stuff. There were even some kid toys, all sitting in front of a bed.

But that hope was shattered when Izuku looked at Eri. Bandages covered her arms, she was wearing little more than a hospital gown, her long grey hair was messy and unkempt. But it was the fear in her eyes that really opened Izuku's. This wasn't Eri's room, it was her prison. A desolate place of solitude that was filled with fake joy. The toys were all boxed, the dressers were empty, and that happy looking cloud was starting to look rather cynical.

Izuku approached Eri slowly, watching her as she watched him, hands on her chest as she bit her lip. This was the first time he had seen someone look at him with pure terror. He grabbed the chair near her bed and sat down next to her.

"Hi there Eri." He said softly. She recoiled. "I'm Minato."

He had wanted to give his real name, but the Liar's Ring corrected him.

"Why are you here?" she asked, her voice cracking as she sat on her bed shaking. Sweat formed on her brow, especially around her thick yellow horn, and tear stains looked to be a permanent feature on her cheeks.

"I'm the cook," he answered. "I'm here to give you a special treat."

There was a sparkle in her eye for a moment. "Are you the one that made that super yummy food a while ago?"

Izuku nodded. "I am. So, do you have any requests?"

"I. I don't know. Am I allowed?"

"Of course." Izuku laughed. Though he didn't find anything about this humorous. "I'm also here to talk. So you don't have to worry about me telling anyone what you tell me."

"Umm. Can I have something sweet?" Eri asked leaning forward just a bit.

"Sure." Izuku nodded and then scrolled through his list. He stopped halfway through as he thought about that smoothie of truth. Morally, he was against drugging a kid like Eri, but it would make getting information out of her easier. And it tasted good. And it wasn't really a drug. Smoothie of truth it was. Using his ingredient storage and his quick food feat, Izuku conjured up a smoothie. "Here you go."

"Woah," Eri muttered, looking at the smoothie like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She placed the straw in her mouth and took a sip. Her eyes went even wider. But still, she didn't smile. "It tastes super yummy."

"Glad you think so." Izuku smiled and scratched the back of his head. "So, umm, Eri. why are you alone down here?"

"My quirk," she muttered, stopping her smoothie worshipping for a moment to touch her horn. "It's dangerous."

"How?"

"I don't know. Overhaul says that I hurt people because I can't control it. And that's why no one wants me." Eri stared at the smoothie.

[Quest Updated: Machnications of the Yakuza.

Get Eri out of there. Now.

Reward: Actually being someone's hero.]

"Is Overhaul the one that hurts you?" Izuku asked, placing a hand on the bed as he moved forward. "Is he why your arms are covered in bandages?"

Eri's hair fell in front of her face, her body trembling as though she was struggling against herself. Then she gave a small singular nod.

"How?"

"His quirk. He uses it on my blood. It hurts. It hurts a lot."

Overhaul went from creepy villain to irredeemable evil bastard in a matter of four words. Izuku wanted to go out of his way to find that skinny bastard and punch him in the face, and then, summon Itsuka and watch her do it.

[Izuku Midoriya: I'm going to get Eri out of here now. He's using her for experiments.

Nejire Hado: Okay. Nighteye says to be careful, we'll be heading to the extraction point soon. But remember if anything happens you get out of there first. He won't kill Eri.]

But Overhaul might kill Izuku.

With a breath, Izuku extended his hand out towards Eri. "Do you want to come with me? We can run away together. And I won't let Overhaul touch you."

Eri stared at his hand. "But, if he finds out he'll kill you."

"Don't worry Eri, he won't. Even if I disappear I'll come back and save you. I promise. I'm going to save you." Izuku extended his hand out even further. "So please Eri. Let me save you."

Eri blinked then took his hand. "'Kay."

This was good. "Alright, let's go."

He headed towards the exit of her room with Eri holding his hand tight. It didn't matter if Overhaul was her father, there was no way that she was going to be happy here, with him. Besides, what sick fuck would use their own daughter for experiments?

Izuku took a step out of Eri's room and

"You overst-"

He felt something touch his cheek. He saw Overhaul for just a second.

[You Have Died]