Journey For Trust (Vigilante Deku)

Chapter Twenty: Broken Trust

All Might gathered whatever courage he could salvage within himself to swallow the numbness of his throat. "Can you run a face in the system?" he held up the record. "Can... I trust you?" Despite how this used to be a trivial matter, invisible barriers suffocated the two, turning an arm's reach away into treacherous miles.

"O-Oh, of course," Tsukauchi said, scrambling to get his laptop from a drawer in his desk. Something deep within All Might's gut convinced him that Tsukauchi wouldn't go behind his back again. Something like that will always exist in him.

Tsukauchi was a devoted person, always just a second away from whatever anyone asked of him, if he hadn't already completed the task beforehand. But It wasn't too far-fetched to say that Tsukauchi's body language alone differed from before. From his shaking hands to his stutter, he was... different. A short-lived yet lasting wave of sorrow washed over All Might. Could it be because of him? Something he did to Tsukauchi?

All Might pushed through the wave of guilt and to Tsukauchi's desk, handing him the record. A paper bag labeled "Endeavor" sat in the way of Tsukauchi's arm; Tsukauchi pushed it to the side. Though it was just business, the way Tsukauchi kept the paper bag so close to him didn't sit well with All Might. Like Tsukauchi was hiding something only for Endeavor, as if Tsukauchi replaced him. All Might smacked himself in his head for being so childish. This was just business, not a 'friendship.' At least not anymore. Tsukauchi made that very clear.

Instead of taking the record, Tsukauchi scratched the back of his neck, "I t-think it'd be best if you did it."

All Might nodded. It was a 'conflict of interest' for Tsukauchi to watch the tape. No matter what happened, Tsukauchi always held true to his principles, and he respected that. It was because of his principles that Tsukauchi wouldn't allow himself to watch the recording, right?

He typed and clicked a few things on his laptop, then motioned for All Might to come around his desk so he could explain the software to him. After a minute of explanation, Tsukauchi turned his chair around once he started the video. All Might sped up the video to where Deku's face was visible, furrowing his eyebrows as he struggled to place the white dots around Deku's small face.

"Have you... g-gone to your office today yet?" Tsukauchi broke the silence, facing his head down as he fiddled with his fingers.

All Might turned his head in Tsukauchi's direction, "Not yet, I wanted to get this done f-" tiny red nail marks sunk into the skin around Tsukauchi's chin.

"What... happened to you?" All Might brought his finger up to trace one, but didn't want to hurt Tsukauchi. Unknowing to him, he instinctively tilted Tsukauchi's jaw to gain a better view. They were deep, way too deep to be any sort of 'accident.' And far too many too. This definitely didn't sit right in his stomach.

Tsukauchi stiffened at the touch, pushing his hand away. He covers the scars from All Might. "I-It's just an... a-allergic reaction."

Through all the years he knew him, never once had Tsukauchi mentioned being allergic to anything. All Might narrowed his eyes. Gashes of red, scabbed and fresh planted themselves around Tsukauchi's fingernails. Not only that, but Tsukauchi was stuttering. First, he had left him for Endeavor, and now this. Something was wrong. Definitely wrong.

"You haven't been yourself at all lately," All Might kneeled down to Tsukauchi's eye level, "is something going on?"

"I'm fine," he said, pushing the words out as fast as possible. Breaking eye contact, Tsukauchi pulls his chair towards the computer and presses a few keys, keeping his head down. "If your g-guy has any sort of Japanese identification, it'll print there," he pointed to the small printer on a desk near the left corner of the room, doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact with either the computer screen or All Might.