Far away watching from within a building was Aizawa. He was keeping a look out on Albert's home. He was taking extreme caution when going about looking into Albert. He did not buy or acquire any kind of surveillance gear as if Albert is remotely connected to the military and thereby the Government, especially the U.S. Government he is not willing to even leave single glance towards them.
He was this precautions because of Albert and he is just the kind of person to have to deal with Aizawa himself.
"You will slip up eventually."
The chance will present itself when he saw Albert leave through his front door where he got in a taxi. He took this chance and enter his home.
Aizawa entered the backyard and climbed up to the second story window and snuck in through there. How fortunate Mélusine was away stealing stuff for the plan Albert made.
Aizawa carefully walked down to the stairs into the living room.
"Hm? It's rather well lived in."
Aizawa could see on the coffee table some water and soda bottles with even more bottles of soy sauce, a lot of them.
"Does he really love soy sauce? I guess with a Quirk like his high blood pressure isn't an issue for him."
He checks the tracker and sees Albert is still traveling away. Aizawa didn't want to be here as long as he wants. He then checks the kitchen finding enough plates and utensils for three people.
'He lives with other people!? Do they not go out through the front!?'
He immediately hide and listened to the sounds.
"___"
Nothing but the wind and the trees brushing against the house.
'I need to move with speed and caution.'
He decided to check the entire first floor and found only a single room with basic furnishing. He decided to go up to the second floor.
He checked the room, and he happen to open the room containing all of Albert's gear.
"!" Aizawa was a bit surprised.
In the room where three tables and a window shut with blinders. On the three tables where highly advanced briefcases that contain Morning Star, Eve and Lilith, Michael and Azrael. He checked to see if he could open them but they all needed finger prints to open, except for Michael, Aizawa couldn't grip or lift it, so he left the room and checked another.
Most of the rooms where empty, he easily came across Albert's room in the master bedroom. It was somehow even more generic than the guest room on the first floor. He checked the room and then the closet.
He found some of Albert's clothing and tucked away in the corner was another briefcase that was pure black with a sizable wooden and metal box with engravings and seals of so many cultures. He picked the metal and wooden box, and he opened it to find only a weird handle.
"Hm? I guess he collects weird stuff? Or maybe this was a gift from his father?"
Aizawa did hear from the grapevines of his students that Albert doesn't particularly like his father. It was this fact that he had some faith in his student that he is at the very least under someone else's thumb forced to do what they say.
He closes the metal and wooden box and pick up the solid block of black. He couldn't even see the lines of it where it opens. He put it back and went to his bathroom.
'He is definitely working for the U.S. Government.'
Entering the bathroom Aizawa saw two toothbrushes along with other basic products one would see in a bathroom.
'Two toothbrushes so does that mean another person lives here as well? There is one place left to look, the attic. Maybe I can find something in there.'
He went to the hall way and looked up at the ceiling where a thick thread hung down. He pulled it down and the stairs folded down. He went up to the attic to see a ton of built models of Gundam's and Zoids.
The models lined the walls with three desks on one side of the room littered with more unfinished kits with tools and paint, there is also a minifridge on the desk. More importantly he saw a LOT of either empty or almost empty bottles of soy sauce.
"I'm getting high blood pressure seeing this much bottles of soy sauce… God there is so much." He was pretty sure Mélusine's room could have costed an entire month of Aizawa's earnings as a teacher at U.A.
On the opposite side of the room was just three beds stacked on top of one another on the floor with a bunch of pillows and blankets. It looked like a comfy nest. He did a quick search of the room but found nothing of interest besides a ring on top of the minifridge.
Aizawa then took his leave of the home, not before taking video of what he saw and then leaving out where he came in, the window of the second floor.
Walking back to his base of operation he began to go over what he saw.
'It's practically clean besides the weapon shaped briefcases. Those were weapons, in all my years as a hero I know those were high quality weapons.'
This proved to Aizawa that Albert is connected to the U.S. as they are the only force that could develop such weaponry and suitably their containers. He was now at a roadblock, he can't move forward without help now, Albert left no easy tracks to follow. Then there is the U.S.A. that is behind him that makes this extremely perilous.
'I don't have better options but to ask some of my American contacts if they could help.'
He arrived back at where he is staying and sent an email to someone in America. To his surprise and luck they responded.
"Hell Mr. Eraser Head! I will gladly help if I can!"
Aizawa quickly responded.
"I'm shocked you could responded so quickly?"
"Hehe. Me and Captain Celebrity are on break right now. So what's the help?"
"I am looking into someone. I investigated their home and came across some stuff that I think are American made."
"Oh, sure we can take a look and tell you what we know."
"Thank you. And do be very careful with this, this is very sensitive." He sent along the video he took while he investigated the home.
All the way in the land of the "free", America, Koichi Haimawari, better known now as The Skycrawler along with the hero he is Sidekicking for Christopher Skyline also known as Captain Celebrity. The two would watch the video sent.
"Hoh." Said Captain Celebrity a very tall, well-built man with a cleft chin, angular nose, and a sharp, chiseled jaw. "That is American made."
"I never seen such an advanced looking briefcase, kinda a bit overkill no?" Skycrawler said.
"Tell your friend that it is American made but that is as far as I personally know. But I do know someone who would know more than me."
"Who is it?"
"It depends on how serious the case your friend has on hand. The person I know is very busy."
Skycrawler informed Aizawa of what he was told and Aizawa responded back.
"It is an urgent matter to me, it involves a student of mine. I cannot say more for safety reasons. Me even asking you is a an unreasonable attempt for my liking."
Skycrawler and Captain Celebrity look at one another and nodded. They replied.
"Do not worry, we will contact you as soon as we can with information."
Captain Celebrity took out his phone and dialed someone.
Click!
"Hello Cathleen!" Captain Celebrity said with charm and positivity.
'Cathleen? W-wait he doesn't mean!' Skycrawler was impressed and shocked who Captain Celebrity called.
"Hello Christopher." Cathleen responded with an average tone. "How are the wife and kids?"
"Wonderful, thanks for asking." His tone and mood suddenly changed to a very serious and concerned one. "This is sudden but there is something I wish to discuss with you."
Skycrawler saw the expression he was making, it was a very serious one.
"… Alright." Cathleen never heard such a tone from him. "You still work around the New York area?"
"I do."
"Then I'll send you an address. Be there tomorrow, I'll buy lunch. No hero attire."
The next day in some diner in New York.
Skycrawler and Captain Celebrity arrive in civilian clothing, they wore casual clothes, Captain Celebrity wore enough to not be identified as they entered. In the far back a hand waved at them from the booth.
"Yo!" Shouted Cathleen, a tall woman with a well-muscled build. She had elegant facial features, narrow eyes, and long blonde hair braided into a twin tail with a baseball hat and round glasses. Her attire was rather baggy to hid her build. "Chris! Over here!"
Captain Celebrity and Skycrawler came over and sat across from her.
"H-hello Miss Star and Stripe—"
"Call me Cathleen." She cuts Skycrawler off. "We are in civilian clothes, we should differentiate business and our personal lives." She then turned Captain Celebrity. "So Christopher, what was it that you wanted to discuss? I took time out of my schedule to humor you since I never heard you so serious in my life."
"Koichi." Captain Celebrity turned to his sidekick.
"I will explain it first." Skycrawler spoke in a hush tone. "Yesterday an old associate of mine from Japan contacted me. He wanted to know about some stuff made in America."
"Okay?" She rose an eyebrow. "It better be good to ask me."
"It is because you are closely associated with the U.S. Military." Captain Celebrity spoke up. "I ask you because I believe you are a very trust worthy person. We have worked and known one another for years now."
Cathleen leaned forward, her eyes narrowed.
"What did you get yourself into if you brought up the U.S. Military?" She said with concern and a caution.
"My associated was investigating someone and he went into their home and found some things." Skycrawler pulled out his phone and showed Cathleen the video.
Cathleen took the phone and watched it.
"This." Her eyes widen as she paused the video. Her eyes trained at the sheathed sword, Michael, she knew it.
They saw the expression she made.
"Do you know anything?" Captain Celebrity asked.
"Get me in contact with him." Cathleen look fiercely at Skycrawler, the phone in her hand gaining cracks.
"I-I'll ask him please don't break my phone!" Skycrawler said a bit concerned about his phone.
By the time the sun had set Cathleen Bate better known as the Number 1 Pro-Hero of the United States of America, Stars and Stripes, got in contact with Aizawa. She made sure their contact was as secured as possible using her own connections she made over the years.
"To think I would be speaking to the number 1 Pro-Hero of America." Aizawa said.
"And I didn't think I would get this opportunity." Cathleen said in perfect Japanese, she learned it as she is a huge fan of All Might. "Anyway, the gear you found was all created by a secret branch of the United States Military."
"What do they do exactly?"
"Hegemony."
"Hegemony?"
"Yes. Ever wondered how within our lifetimes America grew so such within a decade? An unbelievable level of prosperity only rivaled in misfortune that was the 2020s."
"I… never really gave much thought on geopolitics and stuff."
"I can't blame you, Japan wasn't one of their targets. But do you know who was? China."
"!" Aizawa flinched at the name, he heard what happened when he was in his early 20s. "They shattered China back into city-states!?"
Aizawa felt he stumped onto a conspiracy that would have the world flipped resulting in his assassination.
"Yes."
"… How do you know this? Were you part of this secret branch?"
"No. I only learned of this a few years ago when I dug into it when I happen to meet a special individual. They were covered head to toe in pure black, like they were bathed in vantablack. Two guns, one of ebony and one of ivory on their hips with a long ornate longsword, the very same one in the video you took."
"… Keep going." Aizawa kept quite as he paid attention to Cathleen's words.
"When I met them we were out in India, or currently now known as Bharat, while riots were happening after the Prime Minster at the time had Bharat join NATO there was a lot of conflict to say the least. While I was tasked to protect the Prime Minster we were attacked by a group of villains. Normally I alone would deter anyone from trying anything, but these riots were railed up by an infamous villain by the name of Azure."
"It grew to the point I couldn't handle it without causing collateral damage. Just then a streak a black shot through the group. Blood and flesh flew across the area as a figured in black appeared. They were small like a child. They held in their hands a blade so sharp and masterfully created the blood glides off. I couldn't forget it even if I could. They move so fast within 5 minutes they were all dead, the ones I faced were still alive."
"I would have gone up to them and arrested them all the same for murder, but they were gone just as fast, they ran with such speed I couldn't hope to catch them without leaving my post."
Aizawa felt his blood run cold. He had Albert in mind. The more Cathleen spoke the more he was certain it was him. Albert moves with such skill he far outclasses even the seniors.
"That was when you looked into them?"
"Yes. I made friends with a lot of smart people over my years as a hero. One of them was a scientist."
Aizawa didn't like where this was going.
"He said that the person I met was part of an organization that has lived through eras for one singular goal, one focus. That was the creation of the perfect human. He didn't go into much detail in where it all began but he said it was more than 2 or even possibly 300 years of nonstop research. Their so old even they lost records of when they first originated or who started it. Their 200+ years of research went as far as when they left Germany and embedded themselves in America with America's help of course with things like Operation Paper Clip. It wasn't until the emergence of Quirks that their progress made large strides forward towards their goal. Strides that the U.S. Military took interest in and invested and took them under their wing."
"Now with the practically unlimited funds the military has they eventually created their masterpiece. Their name was Adam #101522, later known as Cain after the military fully took him in."
"Adam #101522… Cain." Aizawa kept that name to memory.
"Aizawa, the reason why I asked to get in contact with you is because… I think Adam #101522 is my son."
"What!?" He stood up shocked. "I… I… you have to explain." He sat back down.
"Back long ago after a year since my Quirk manifested my family who were struggling at the time were approached by some people in suits. They said they would pay for my schooling and any other stuff to be a Pro-Hero. They even offered five million to my parents as a bonus. They couldn't have signed the contract quicker. It was not until I learned of Adam #101522 and the whole thing that I realized that I would go to the gynecologist when I fully grew up, along with other doctors to ensure I was healthy, this also involved… ahem. You know."
"They… stole something so… ugh." Aizawa felt his stomach churn.
"Yes. The man who told me of the secret branch and of Adam #101522 said so himself. Tell me, how did you come across Adam #101522? Or does he go by Cain? I have been trying to grasp any leads but it's all impossible with how they keep him secret. What little I truly know of him are through fifth hand accounts, third if I am lucky."
Her voice held worry and concern. She, personally, felt a mix of emotions on this matter. She felt violated for what they did but also gratefulness for doing so much to raise her to be the hero she is today. As for Albert she would like to at least get him away from the people who raised him, she felt this way both a good human and a unintended mother.
"Currently he goes by the name Albert Hiroyuki, you—"
"Him!?" She knew who he was, she saw the U.A. Sports Festival.
"Yes. He is a very bright kid." Aizawa now felt he was in a parent-teacher conference. "Unfortunately, I am investigating him. Another student of mine, she took a liking to him, and through some unfortunate happenstance discovered his double-life."
"Explain."
Aizawa told Cathleen of what had happened. She knows how hard it is for Aizawa to pursue this as it would involve the United States. He also wants the best for Albert but he as a hero can't let this go. These two conflicting feelings gnaw at Aizawa so much he figured that if or when the day happens he will have to live with that choice.
"I see… you are stuck in a rock and a hard place. You can't even rely on the police nor the Hero Public Safety Commission."
"The United States are in pretty deep."
"My suggestion, talk to Nezu. He out of everyone should be able to empathize with Albert."
"Alright but what about you? What are you gonna do now with this information?"
"I… I don't know. Even I don't dare to try and step on the dragon's tail. I may be powerful, but they have true power. But… I think I would like to meet him, at least once."
"I will call again. I will also stop investigating Albert until something changes with the situation. Currently Albert was pulled away from school due to a family emergency."
"He has family contact? Who are they? I can look into them. No wait. They must use fake name. You know what don't worry, I'll do it on my end."
"Very well. Keep safe."
"To you as well."
The call ends and Aizawa leans back, he had to lay down as he closes his eyes.
"Uuuuugh… Why couldn't this be a normal school year."
Back with Cathleen she quickly began to make some calls.
"It's me, I need you to look into some things."
"Oh?" Said a male voice. "Is it more government secrets? I keep telling you this person does not exist on paper."
"I just got a lead to not just on Cain but on even the organization behind them. So? What do you say?"
"Hehehaha!!" They laugh loudly. "I say let's fucking show the light on these guys! I bet my name True Whistle! The greatest hacker in the world!"