It all started like any other day.

The first sunlight broke through the horizon, making its way across many buildings with their various heights. Dark blue sky began to lighten and changed its colours into beautiful shades of warmer hues, signaling that the night was over and it's time for a new day to begin.

Drrt-!

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Drrt-!

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Drr-! click.

"Sagara-san."

A deep baritone sounded out from a burner phone in an out-of-the-way phonebooth, its plastic body gripped loosely by a young, yet callused hand.

faint noises of blaring sirens could be heard in the background, as well as urgent shouting and commands being thrown around in a somewhat coordinated fashion.

"Matsuda, how's the situation?"

when the caller -Matsuda- heard the curt reply, he immediately straightened and sighed in relief. The middle aged man then gave his superior a brief rundown on his side.

"the Pro-heroes and police managed to secure the children, they are currently being sent into the nearest police hospital. All perpetrators are arrested and now transported to the base for further interrogation. Nothing was unaccounted for. We only need to tie loose ends from here."

Matsuda nodded to himself, feeling satisfied that the raid had transpired without a hitch. He then picked up on the tired sigh from the young male.

A small, grateful smile appeared on his face, "Thank you for your hard work, Sagara-san. Without you, we couldn't root out this traffickers fast enough."

Today's successful mission was due to his superior's brilliant skills in infiltration after all. He's sure that the superintendent would be happy with this result.

Sagara snorted, his brown eyes glanced outside the blurry glass of the phonebooth and to the noticeable crowd few blocks over. he could still hear the distinct sounds of sirens even from here.

"Well, I won't give you a 'good job!' or anything like that until I see your report on my desk tonight." he sternly retorted, though Matsuda noticed the playful tone at the end. He grinned, "Of course, sir. I'll make sure of that."

Dark locks strayed in the wind as he turned around, gazes lost in the crowds of many figures and vehicles bustling around him. The ravenette then remembered something, "Ah yes, Should I send a car to your position?"

Hearing that, Sagara suddenly got a painful reminder of the stab wound on his side. He stifled a groan and looked down warily, It hasn't stopped bleeding yet, but the trickle definitely has lessened since the first time he applied first aid to it.

He clicked his tongue, feeling slightly frustrated. that last guy really had the guts jumping on him like that, when he was just trying to stealthily escape before the reinforcement arrived.

"Sir? What's wrong?! Sagara-san!!"

Matsuda heard the low pained grunt and heavy breathing. he began to clench his fingers worriedly, wondering if he should just send someone over. knowing his boss, he'd probably ignore his wounds until they worsen and they'd have to admit him into the ER.

"...Don't worry about me, Matsuda. I'll just driv-" Sagara began to answer, but Matsuda was quicker.

"Your car is with me, don't you remember? you gave them to me so I can watch over it until this case was over."

A sigh, "...Ah, right. then could you pick me up? I'll send you my position."

Matsuda suppressed a smile, "Of course, Sagara-san."

---

The drive was spent in silence with Matsuda driving the black Subaru WRX STI that his boss deeply cared for. The older man couldn't help but glance back from time to time, concerned for the very slowly growing patch of blood on his side.

Although Sagara had his eyes closed, he still felt the uncomfortable feeling of being stared at. he opened his right eyes and glared at Matsuda from where he was resting at the back seat, "What, Matsuda?"

Matsuda startled and immediately put his eyes back on the road. "Your wound.. sir." He sheepishly said.

Sagara just sighed irritatedly, closing his eyes fully again and shifting his body so he can relax better. His face stoically stiff to hide the wince, "don't worry too much. Already used first-aid on it, should stop any minute now."

His grip on the steering wheel visibly tightened, the ravenette then subtly increased the speed so they could arrive at the hospital faster.

---

"How's he doing?"

Matsuda, who patiently waited for his superior in the waiting room, was surprised but immediately stood up. Saluting upon seeing the Public Security Bureau superintendent, Masaaki Seiji. The middle-aged man had greying black hair and stern cobalt eyes. Deep frown lines, faint scars, and an ever-present scowl marred his face. Making him seem older than he actually was.

The dark-haired male straightened, responding with an almost automatic answer, "Sagara-san is currently undergoing surgery, sir. From what I've seen, the wound isn't too serious. But we still need to wait for the doctor's confirmation to be sure."

Superintendent Masaaki nodded thoughtfully. His thin eyebrows furrowing. Just as he was about to say something, one of the doctor responsible for the surgery exited the operation room and looked at them.

She blinked and nodded politely, "Are you here for Sagara Ryo?" The teal haired woman saw Matsuda nodding his head, She then asked what his relation with the patient was for confirmation.

"I'm listed as his emergency contact, Matsuda Issei."

She checked her clipboard, seeing his name as the only emergency contact listed there. The woman wasn't surprised, she is working in the police hospital after all.

"Alright, Matsuda-san. The abdominal stab wound on Sagara-san fortunately didn't rupture any vital parts. His recovery period will only last for 2 weeks at most. But it should be faster considering his good physic. Still, I'd recommend to not do any rigorous activity so as to not reopen his wound."

Matsuda nodded his head in understanding, "Thank you, sensei. So when can I visit him?"

"You can visit him at room 302, should be awake any minute now. Geez, his tolerance for anesthesia really worries me." although the last part was said in a low voice, the ravenette still heard her and can't help but to sweat drop.

After, they began to make their way to room 302. The room is a private one, purposely located in a secluded corner of the hospital so no one without authorization could enter. Even the doctors who come and go are being monitored at all times.

When the two man arrived, Matsuda first knocked on the door, hearing a faint 'come in' before sliding the door open.

Dark brown eyes fall onto them. One whose owner's still a bit sluggish from effects of the drug flowing in his bloodstream. Said patient then sat up, swiping the dirty, bleached white locks away from his face.

The young man greeted, "Superintendent, Matsuda."

Superintendent Masaaki nodded in response, further stepping into the room so the ravenette could close it. "I see you're still well, despite your apparent ailments."

"This is nothing, sir."

"I know you'd say that," Cobalt blue eyes narrowed, but then he only sighed and sat at one of the chairs beside the bed. "But I'm not here for that."

The NOC(1) straightened, he can also see his subordinate doing the same while standing beside the superintendent.

"While you're away, the situations here are getting out of hand," Superintendent Masaaki made a backhand wave motion with his hand, and suddenly the three of them were encased with a fogged electric blue dome, somehow avoiding every electronics in the room except the devices on their person.

Sagara raised his right eyebrow when Matsuda flinched. While the middle-aged man just smirked, amused at his reaction, "This dome made sure that not a word of our conversation will get out, and no one could see anything from the outside. All electronics and quirks except mine are also neutralized here, so any eavesdropping attempts are useless."

The blonde hummed, 'What a convenient quirk..'

"Alright. as you may know, several cases of people suddenly being admitted for deteriorating health has significantly increased," The man pulled out a brown file with a blaring red 'CLASSIFIED' stamp from his suit, handing them to Sagara.

The young man immediately opened the folder, noting how the people affected are in the teen to young adult range and on their way to be Pro Heros. Even some of them are actually a debuting Pro Hero themselves.

"It hasn't reached the media yet, since the number are too small and scattered to draw any conclusions if one isn't looking for it. We already have some of our officers looking into the matters, and I wasn't expecting of what they found." His face visibly darkened when Sagara reached the diagnosis and lab results. Matsuda, who had stepped closer to see the file, immediately went white. While the blonde himself only clenched his teeth in restrained anger.

"Unbelievable..." The ravenette croaked, throat suddenly going dry from mortification.

"Sagara-kun. It has caught our attention, that several students in hero courses and young Pro Heroes all over Japan, have been using an illegal drug to boost their quirks." The superintendent stated grimly. And suddenly the reality feels so, so much more real.

Cobalt eyes slipped close, sighing heavily to center himself, "It does sound phenomenal, but our specialists discovered it only works for a short time. And long-term use of this drug would be fatal, as you can see from the files yourself."

'Fatal' might be an understatement. Since the effects included seizures, internal bleeding, irreparable brain damages, and more than fifty percent possiblity of death.

He can conclude from the diagnosis that some of the victims are currently on their last breath, just waiting for the inevitable. And he's sure that there are still more of them out there.

The NOC fisted his hand not holding the files, knuckles going white from the tightness. 'They are really throwing their lives away like that... do they even know the risk or did someone manipulated them?'

Pausing at the last pages, Sagara tapped at the reports and list of evidences gathered- or the limited amount of that, since almost everything was blank, "Why is this incomplete?"

Superintendent Masaaki sighed, "This case was originally handled by Division One. They found out that the manufacturer of this drug is probably a larger group or even an organization, and immediately sent officers to investigate."

"But this organization, as proved, actually ran deeper and are very well integrated in the underground network. They immediately went out of radar after the police tried to lure them out. Two officers who confronted them," -He paused to point at two photos clipped to the side, a man in his late thirties with bronze hair was written as 'Matsuyama Juuichirou', while the red haired woman in her mid thirties was 'Yoshiko Tomoe'- "Were suspiciously found dead in a car accident mere days after. The police didn't found any evidences to prove it otherwise and have to rule it out as it is."

"It was then decided that it's better for the PSB to take over the case," The older man leaned back in his seat, his cobalt eyes bore into his brown ones with such intensity.

"And we choose you, Sagara Ryo, as Investigator of the PSB's Security Planning division, to gather more information from the inside so we can stop them before it gets worse."

Sagara stared back with determination, "Yes, sir."

The older man let out a small smile, he already expected- no, he knew that the young man would not hesitate to accept this.

"To do so, you'll be attending UA High School. This envelope held further details about your mission, such as your new non official cover and other necessary things you'll need. Read them carefully and give it back to me after you're done." He handed him a sealed envelope and traded it with the previous file he gave him.

Superintendent Masaaki then turned to the ravenette on his right, "Matsuda, as his subordinate, you will relay the information Sagara get to the PSB and further assist him."

"Understood, sir."

Just as the superintendent was about to dismiss his quirk and stand up, the young man stopped him.

"....Wait, I'm sorry, sir. By 'attend' you mean..?"

"Yes, Sagara-kun. You are going to go undercover as one of their students."

"But I'm 27?" 'Isn't my cover will be blown immediately like this?'

silence.

Matsuda cringed while Superintendent Masaaki deadpanned, "When did you last aged after turning seventeen?"

ah, right.

He forgot he doesn't age due to his quirk, at least not anymore.

"Forget I've asked anything, sir."

.

.

.

To be continued.

Notes :
1. NOC - Non-Official Cover

In espionage, operatives under non-official cover (NOC) are operatives without official ties to the government for which they work who assume covert roles in organizations.
(source : wikipedia)