The Difference Between Strength & Power ( MHA x Maki Zenin Reader)

The Thief

Chie arrived about twenty minutes later.  Her eyes widened upon seeing the scraped walls and the loose iron bar door.
"What happened here?" she asked.
"I ripped the door off its hinges," said Maki numbly.
"Oh, well, that damage will be more paperwork for Susumu..."
Maki felt a sneering pain in her stomach at the sound of the name.  In the silence and the stillness, horror rose inside her.
"Chie..."
"Anyway, why did you even do that in the first place?" asked Chie, calmly.  "You know these kinds of doors are expensive..."
"Chie..."
"Where is Susumu anyway?  Kishi called me saying there wouldn't be an interrogation, and that you were already here, but he didn't say what had happened.  Is she inside the cell?"
"She..." Maki cleared her throat; it was dry from panic.  "Chie, she's dead..."
"Dead?" said Chie loudly, staring at Maki.  "Susumu's dead?  What are you on about, Maki?"
"And Ruben," said Maki.  "They've both been... killed."
Chie simply looked at her, her face was completely blank, uncomprehending.
"They've been what, Maki?"
"They've been killed.  Dead from gun shot wounds... I saw their bodies earlier.  Look for yourself."

Kawakami opened the cell door and Maki watched Chie walk inside.  Immediately, her hands flew over her mouth as she gasped.  Then, a second later, Chie came staggering blindly out into the corridor, sinking to the floor, weak kneed.
"Susumu, no!  Oh Gods, no!  Oh Gods..." she cried weakly.  Maki walked over to her, knelt down and placed her hands on her shoulder.  She knew the messy-haired journalist was feeling the same way she did.
"How are you?" Maki asked once Chie's sobs had stopped.  Chie's hands moved away from her face, her eyes were red and puffy and tear stains were on her cheeks.
"I've been better, to say the least," she mumbled weakly.  Maki gazed at her sympathetically, then, straightening up, she held out a hand, waiting for Chie to take it once she was ready.
"If Susumu were here—" Chie took her hand "— she would ask us to put our emotions aside —" Maki pulled her to her feet "— work together —" Chie steadied herself "— and investigate."
Chie wiped her nose on her cardigan's sleeve, sniffling.  She looked upset, yet determined.
"That's exactly what I intend to do."
Nodding, Maki followed her back inside the cell, Kishi and Kawakami following behind her.  Superintendent Hino's and Ruben's eyes were closed; but for the strange angle they were slumped in and the blood, they might have been sleeping.

"Has Yamamoto seen this yet?" asked Maki.
"She's on her way," said Kishi.  "So be careful with your fingerprints."
"Yes, I know," said Maki.  "We'll start with Superintendent Hino.  May she rest in peace."
Carefully, Maki crouched down in from of Superintendent Hino's corpse, trying not to step in the pool of blood she was sat in.
"This is all so overwhelming," said Chie, now dabbing her face with a silken handkerchief.  "Two weeks ago we were drinking and laughing at Rousseau..."
Maki intentionally didn't look at her, keeping her eyes trained on Superintendent Hino's corpse, examining the gunshot wounds.
"Three shots to the chest.  That would have made awful lot of noise..." she said, thinking aloud.  This seemed to snap Chie out of her blubbering and get her to focus on the task at hand.
"Then again, there's a shooting gallery just downstairs," Chie added.
Maki's eyes landed on the empty gun holster.
"Did the killer use Superintendent Hino's own weapon against her?  I don't see a gun in the holster.  Yamamoto will be able to tell us more with a ballistics examination."
"This dirt looks like blood that dried a while ago," said Chie, pointing at some red stains on the wall behind Superintendent Hino's body.  "Contrast that with the blood on her chest, which looks fresh.  Was it left by the last person here?"