~Toshinori's POV~

There'd been an influx of missing persons reports. In the past week dozens of attractive young women had gone missing. The police suspected a criminal organization running a human trafficking ring. They'd struck in various other cities over the year. They didn't discriminate by class or lifestyle and kidnapped women from all walks of life.

The police force asked for several heroes to cooperate with them and help in the investigation. It was sure to be a long night; I was hesitant to bring Emi along to the precinct knowing it was going to be a long night but she insisted she wanted to help and offered to make sure everyone had coffee. Reluctantly, I agreed.

We arrived at the precinct to find several other heroes already there. The moment I arrived I was ushered into a conference room. Since Emi wasn't a part of law enforcement, Detective Tsukauchi left her under the care of one of the police officers manning the phones so she would be out of the way as we went over details of the investigation. She offered me a sweet smile as if she could sense my reluctance to leave her side.

The other heroes, the detectives and the chief of police all met in the conference room to go over the details of the case. We didn't have much time, if the criminals stuck to their pattern, they'd move on to another city within the next few days. The briefing alone took nearly two hours before they called for a short smoke break. Emi and one of the police officers filed into the conference room to replenish coffee and water.

I noticed the chief of police look to Emi curiously as she topped off his coffee cup. He offered her a polite smile and a murmured thanks. His gaze followed her as she moved along offering everyone coffee with a warm smile. Her smile seemed to boost morale around the room but something about the way the chief of police was watching her made me nervous.

"All Might, are you okay?" Her soft sweet voice shook me from my worrying. Her slate grey eyes were filled with concern as she looked up at me. I'd been kind of frozen in place.

I smiled and placed my hand atop her head, "I'm alright, thank you, Emi."

"Do you need anything?" She asked hopefully.

I shook my head, "no, I'm alright, it looks like its going to be a very late night, are you sure you don't want me to take you back home?"

"No, it's okay, I like getting coffee for everyone, it makes me feel helpful and the deputy is letting me reorganize the supply closet." She giggled quietly before adding in a cute whisper voice, "it was kind of a mess, I have no idea how anyone found anything in there."

I chuckled, "I'm sure they appreciate the help, but don't overdo it." I let my hand slide down the back of her head and felt her silken tresses flow through my fingers.

A faint blush tinged her cheeks. The officers who'd stepped out for a smoke break returned and the meeting was about to resume. Emi offered me a small shy smile before excusing herself from the room with a polite bow. I watched her go and noticed the chief of police following her with his gaze again looking thoughtful.

"Tsukauchi." The chief of police spoke up once everyone had returned.

Naomasa looked up from his now full cup of steaming coffee that Emi had filled for him, "yes sir?"

"That girl, she's on some kind of probation trial or something, right?" The chief of police pondered.

"Ah, yes, the DA agreed to let her avoid a jail sentence by being assigned a hero probation officer to look after her." Naomasa replied.

The chief of police looked deep in thought for a moment and I had a sick feeling in my gut he was trying to think of some way to use Emi to help with the investigation. Every possible scenario I could think of, did not seem good and was sure to cause her a lot of unnecessary stress. Naomasa and I exchanged worried looks. As if catching on to his train of thought Naomasa spoke up again.

"They were willing to agree to it because she's a good kid and was only in a bad situation because her brother's life was being threatened, they agreed she was much too soft for prison." He tried to emphasize her innocence and fragileness but the chief of police seemed not to care.

"She's got a department issued GPS tracking device, I assume?"

Naomasa blanched at this, "she does." He answered in a deflated tone.

"Hm. She's pretty enough to entice them..." The chief of police stroked his chin.

"Sir, you can't send her in undercover, she's a civilian." Naomasa looked about how I felt. My stomach was tying itself into knots, I didn't want Emi that close to danger.

"I'm not sending her undercover, I'm using her as bait...and she's a convicted criminal, not a civilian." The chief of police shrugged and I felt all the color drain from my face, no that was even more dangerous.

"Should I bring her in so we can ask her and debrief her?" Naomasa sighed.

"She's a criminal, I'm not asking for her permission, she can go in blind, if she knows she'll be tense and give it away." The chief of police shrugged.

"I'm not comfortable letting her do something so dangerous, especially if she's not prepared for it." I spoke up but my concerns were ignored as he got on his radio and asked one of the deputies to send Emi into the conference room.

A few seconds later there was a soft knock at the door. After a moment of silence and realizing no one was going to tell her to come in, Emi slowly opened the door and stepped in nervously. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Her soft sweet voice trembled slightly as she bowed her head politely in the direction of the chief of police.

"Emi, right?" His hazel eyes froze her in place with a sharp look.

She nodded looking too scared to speak up as all eyes were on her.

"I don't like this coffee much." He indicated the cup of coffee she'd poured for him not more than ten minutes ago.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can try to make it again." She squeaked thinking she'd messed up.

"No, I'm sure the preparation was perfect, my dear, I've never been a fan of the brand we use here. We're going to be here for quite some time would you be willing to run to the store and get me a different brand of coffee?" The chief of police spoke up. Naomasa tensed beside me as he looked over at Emi, he didn't like this either.

"O-Oh." Emi looked momentarily relieved that she hadn't messed up before growing even more nervous as she looked down at her ankle where the police issued ankle bracelet rested, "i-is that okay?" She asked unsure.

"You're not planning on making a run for it are you?" The chief of police laughed.

"N-No, sir." Emi squeaked.

"Then I see no harm in it." He handed her some cash and told her the brand of coffee to get and the only market that would be open this hour that carried it. It was halfway across town.

Emi cast a worried look in my direction. I didn't like this. Naomasa shook his head at me to keep me from saying anything. Even though he too didn't like this, he couldn't go against his commanding officer's orders. I forced myself to smile at her which only seemed to worry her more. "I'll be as quick as I can." She bowed again and took her leave.

Once she'd left everyone else in the room threw disgusted looks at the chief of police. Apparently, this didn't sit well with any of them. He dispatched a few detectives, officers and some of the heroes to tail her and hide out near the market he'd sent her to, it was close to the last abduction site.

Naomasa and I were sent with a few other local heroes to find a good vantage point to see the area around the market Emi had been sent to. We managed to find a few tall buildings around the market to get a good view of all the alleys around it. Looking at the dark alleys below made me feel anxious as I remembered Nighteye telling me Emi was going to die alone in an alley, but he'd said it would be a few years from now. It still made me nervous. I didn't want her in this situation.

"There's Emi." Naomasa spoke up beside me and I followed his gaze to see Emi stepping off of a bus. She turned and offered her arm to an elderly woman who exited the bus behind her. She and the woman exchanged some words after Emi helped her off the bus. "What are they saying?" Naomasa looked to one of his officers who had a quirk that heightened his sense of hearing.

"Emi was just asking her if she needed any help." The officer responded with a grimace. "This doesn't sit right with me." He grumbled under his breath, "I really want to catch these scumbags but I also really hope they're not prowling tonight."

I shared his sentiments. The elderly woman must have turned down Emi's offer as she gave her a gentle pat on the arm in thanks and they went their separate ways. Emi quickly made her way to the market. As she passed by the alley next to the market, I noticed movement from within the alley. There were two men loitering near a dumpster, they perked up when Emi passed them by. It looked like they said something before one of them moved further down the alley.

"What did they say?" Naomasa looked to the officer accompanying us.

"I don't know, it's strange, its like there's a bubble around them where sound can't penetrate." The officer frowned, "I couldn't hear them."

Naomasa looked thoughtful, "maybe some kind of silencing quirk."

"Would explain why no one ever hears a scream or scuffle from the abduction sites." The officer replied.

This wasn't enough for us to move in. They hadn't done anything to warrant us stepping in yet. After a few minutes, Emi exited the market with a bag in hand. A few paces behind her was the man who'd disappeared down the alley. I tensed. Naomasa glanced in my direction worried I'd make a move too early. The other man in the alley moved closer to where Emi was about to pass by.

As she reached the alley, it felt like time seemed to slow down around us. The man behind her shoved her into the alley, it seemed like he was moving at a normal pace and everything outside of his range was in slow motion. Emi opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. This was how they managed to get away with so many abductions without any witnesses, one had the ability to slow time and one could eliminate sound. I leapt into action but because of the quirk of the criminal that could slow time I felt like I was moving at a snail's pace.

One of the men pulled a black hood over Emi's head as the other bound her hands causing her to drop her hold on the bag. Her captors easily picked her up despite her attempt to struggle. I could see the other heroes and officers we had stationed on other rooftops also trying to jump into action but everyone was moving in slow motion. Giving it my all, I managed to push myself to move faster than ever before. I leapt off the rooftop and landed in the alleyway behind the villains. Once I landed, I no longer felt like I was affected by whatever had been slowing me down, it was as if the area of effect only extended a certain distance away from them.

The two men gaped at me as I landed in the alleyway before surrendering immediately, neither of them were fighters that was why they only preyed on the weak. They released their hold on their quirks and dropped to their knees with their hands held in the air. Several police officers and other heroes poured into the alley to apprehend them as I reached for Emi. She was trembling uncontrollably as I pulled her into my arms. I pulled the hood away and felt my heart drop as I saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her slate grey eyes widened as she spotted me, "A-All Might?" The quiver in her voice nearly broke me.

"I'm sorry." I bowed my head as I started untying her bonds. Her thin fragile wrists were red and raw from how tightly they'd been bound even though it had only been a short time.

I saw the moment realization hit her and the hurt in her slate grey eyes felt like a punch to the stomach. She put on a brave face and offered me a small sad smile, "it's okay... I did say I wanted to help..." She bowed her head and unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself as if she were trying to give herself a hug to calm down, "...I think I'd like to go home now..."

I placed my hand atop her head feeling sick with guilt. She was still trembling. I pulled her into my arms, "alright, let's get you home."