Chapter 13: beaten up

A/N: like I mentioned earlier, I'm really not sure where to go from here. Ideas very welcome, otherwise I'll probably wrap this up in a couple more chapters. Danke :)

In spite of her newfound openness with her adoptive father, there were still plenty of things she actively kept from him. Things she either figured she could handle herself, or she didn't want to involve him with. He had enough on her plate, and raising her must've been hard enough on him as it was. Hiding a couple things here and there would, hopefully, alleviate some of the burden.

Unfortunately, there was one secret it grew increasingly difficult to keep.

Attending a school filled with students who had incredible, powerful quirks, it wasn't surprising that someone managed to probe a little deeper into Akane's backstory. As it happened, the one person who had a quirk that allowed them to read minds….had also lost a family member to the villain gang harbouring Tombstone's deadly quirk. Her name was Kiera — a popular, talented third-year. Considering her status, it didn't take much for her to recruit a couple friends, and the three of them had been following Akane home after her training with Todoroki pretty much every night for the past couple of weeks.

Akane wasn't a pushover. She was tough, and she knew how to take a beating. Especially a beating she truly believed, deep down, she deserved. So she defended herself as best she could; shielding her face with her forearms, protecting her head, bending over to hide her stomach. She couldn't risk any major injuries, or any injuries that couldn't be explained.

The first person to notice was Todoroki, when she took off her sweater to fight during their training. There were bruises — dark, huge bruises of every shape and colour — all over her arms. Immediately, he held up his hand, signalling a time out from the fight.

Panting, Akane stepped back. "You okay?"

"Your arms," Todoroki said. "What happened?"

Akane froze for only a split second before dropping her arms at her sides, resisting the urge to smack herself for being so stupid. She'd gotten hot and stripped down without thinking. Of course Todoroki would get suspicious.

"Extra training," she explained, bluntly.

Todoroki frowned. "I thought this was your extra training?"

"Extra extra training," Akane said. "Weekend sessions with Aizawa."

At that, Todoroki tilted his head. "You see Aizawa on weekends?"

Oh God, she was digging herself a deeper and deeper hole. Everyone knew she was close with the teacher, but they still hadn't revealed the fact they were family now. Akane did her best to keep on top of the lies, staying as neutral as possible.

"Well, he's the only person I've met so far who can take me hand-to-hand. I need the challenge."

Todoroki smirked. "Hard to imaging someone challenging you hand-to-hand."

Akane shrugged. "Don't underestimate him." She resumed a battle stance. "Less talk. Let's do this."

But from then on, Todoroki was off his game, consistently distracted by those awful bruises, wondering nervously where else she might have been injured. Would Aizawa really have let himself cause this much damage to his favourite student? Todoroki found it hard to believe, having seen how careful he was with her, and how protective. But what was the alternative?

Akane pinned him down effortlessly, splaying him out in a way that seriously restrained his quirks. Todoroki grunted. Akane scowled.

"Sure you're feeling okay?" She asked.

She rolled off of him and Todoroki sat up, still catching his breath. Finally, and not without hesitation, he said, "You know you can talk to me, right?"

Akane stood up, subconsciously distancing herself at the first hint of being made vulnerable. "I know."

"If those bruises really were Mr Aizawa —"

"They were."

"I still don't like it." His expression was intense, betraying a rare hint of rage. "He took it too far. You're hurt."

Akane looked away, already deciding this was going to be the end of training for the day. "I can handle it," she muttered.

Against his keen, calculated, better judgement, Todoroki stood and took Akane's wrist. He could see her getting ready to leave, but he wasn't ready for her to go.

"I know you can," he told her. "That's exactly why I don't like it."

Akane looked at Todoroki, looked at her hand on her wrist, and looked at him again. Her glare warned.

Todoroki released her. Already, he was questioning his own actions — he'd never been the forceful type. But one hint that somebody had hurt his friend, and he couldn't contain himself. He sighed.

"Sorry."

She nodded, hinting forgiveness, but then made directly for the exit. "See you tomorrow."

Still immensely concerned, and angered by the prospect of anyone — Aizawa included — landing blows on Akane hard enough to bruise like that, Todoroki knew he had to let her go. He even waited ten minutes after she was gone, knowing he'd be too tempted to follow her if he saw which way she was going. She was defensive about her home. He knew how uncomfortable she'd be if he turned up there. Even worried as he was, he wasn't going to invade her privacy.

Todoroki had no idea how much he'd come to regret that decision. Once again, Kiera and her friends showed up, driving Akane into an alleyway near campus and beating the absolute hell out of her. She defended herself, as she always did, but never attacked back, and took the verbal assaults without argument.

Dirty killer? Bitch? Evil? Villain? It all sounded, at least to a certain extent, fair enough to Akane.

Once they were done with her, Akane got to her normal set of steps: brushed herself off, flattened her hair, checked her face in her phone camera. No blood. No dirt. No evidence. She was ready to face Aizawa in case he'd gotten home before her. Normally, he was still working at U.A by the time she made it home, even though the extra training made her late. Still, she couldn't be too careful.

It didn't keep him from discovering those bruises himself later that night, coming home to find Akane asleep in front of the T.V. She'd made dinner and left it wrapped on the counter, ready to be reheated. First seeing her, hair still wet from the shower, peacefully unconscious, he smiled. But then, getting closer, he noticed something odd. Her long sleeves were loose and they had rolled up just enough for him to catch a glimpse of the dark, multi-coloured bruises over her arms.

Smile dropping instantly, Aizawa crouched by Akane's side. Carefully, he pulled her sleeve back a little further, a sick feeling tightening in his stomach. Who did this?

Aizawa swept a bit of hair out of her face, gently waking her up. Blinking heavily, Akane opened her eyes. She seemed scared for a moment.

"It's just me," Aizawa murmured. "You fell asleep."

Akane registered her surroundings, quickly remembering. "Oh. Sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. I should've told you I'd be late." Wasting no time, he gestured to her slightly-exposed arms. "Now tell me about those."

Akane stiffened in an instant, readjusting herself on the couch so she was sitting upright. She pulled her sleeves down, as far as she could. Aizawa knew to feel at least a little bit guilty — he'd caught her off guard. Made her feel vulnerable. But today, that concern took a backseat. He needed to know who had hurt his girl.

"Akane," he prompted, as calmly as he could. "I need you to tell me if someone hurt you."

"It was training," she blurted. It was the same excuse she'd used with Todoroki, but she couldn't think of anything else that made sense.

Aizawa frowned. "Are you telling me…" his eyes flashed. "Todoroki did this?"

Akane blinked, suddenly seeing her mistake. "No. I mean, not just Todoroki. I train with a lot of people during class, too."

Aizawa arched an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "Is that right? All Might said you were light years ahead of the others in physical combat?"

She shrugged. "It's been a while. They've gotten better."

"Better enough to actually land a hit on you?" He glanced down at her arms again, knowing, now, the nasty bruises her sleeves were hiding. "Several hits, in fact."

"Guess so."

He watched her; testing. He knew by now she was one hell of a liar — it became a survival mechanism while she was with villains. She could be lying right now and ninety-nine out of a hundred people never would've known. Aizawa was a different story.

"Who?" He asked.

Akane's eyebrows raised in question.

"I need names," he growled. "If someone in 1A hit you this hard, I need to know who it was."

"Aizawa," she argued, "it's training. They're meant to hit hard."

"Irrelevant. I won't stand by while some idiots from my class bruise you up this badly."

"You want them to hold back? You think they need to?"

"I think they need to learn some damn respect is what I think."

Akane flinched. She leant back, clearly perturbed by the sudden sharpness in Aizawa's tone. He's mad at you. He's mad you let yourself get hurt. He's mad with how weak you are. He's so mad he's gonna teach you a lesson. He's so mad—

"Hey." Aizawa's voice had already softened. "Hey."

She flinched at his hands on her knees, but it forced her attention back to his face, where she saw no ill will. It was a slip of the tongue. Aizawa would never hurt her. She knew that. She shook her head, annoyed at herself for losing it so quickly — losing her trust in him.

"I lost my temper," Aizawa said, quietly. "I apologize. I just…hate seeing you hurt."

Akane swallowed, recommitting herself to the lie. "I'll work harder," she promised.

Finally, he managed a smile, offering her a semblance of reassurance. "Look at it this way — if 1A has gotten strong enough to challenge you in the ring, you must be one hell of a good influence."

Akane tried (and failed) to return the smile. Little did she know, Aizawa was already making plans in his head. He needed to get to the bottom of those bruises.

Later that night just reinforced his conviction. He was on the brink of sleep when a shriek from the bedroom next door shocked him right back awake, alert as ever. It only took him a couple seconds to conclude she was probably just having a nightmare, but the pure terror in her voice was enough to send his adrenaline skyrocketing.

Aizawa burst through Akane's door and collapsed by her bedside, where she was thrashing and crying. He held the side of her face, knowing to be gentle so as not to make her panic when she woke up, wiping away her tears.

"Akane. Hey, kid, wake up. Let me see those eyes."

She startled awake, gasping for air. Seeing Aizawa's vague figure in the dark, hovering over her, she curled into a ball and shook furiously.

Aizawa signed and rubbed her back, drawing small circles between her shoulder blades. "It's okay, kiddo. Just breathe. You're safe here."

"I'm a monster."

Aizawa stopped. "What?"

"Dirty killer…bitch."

"Hey." He held onto her shoulders. "Look at me. Akane."

She looked up with a short gasp, her glassy eyes trembling. God, she was so young, and so scared; every instinct in Aizawa's body screamed at him to just scoop her up and hold her to him as long as it would take to keep her safe. To keep her from crying ever again.

But for the time being, he just held onto her shoulders, and stared deep into her scared eyes. "Why would you say that?"

Realization dawned on her, and she slowly begun to relax, deflating in his grasp. "A dream."

"Did someone say those things to you?"

Akane seemed too tired, or too drained, to hear him, already falling asleep again. Her head lolled around, eyelids fluttering. "Just a dream…"

As much as he wanted to press the issue, Aizawa also wasn't cruel enough to keep her up. He lay her back down to sleep, dropping a light kiss on her forehead even as he concocted the brutal, vicious punishments he would enact upon whoever dared put such vile thoughts in his daughter's head.

xxx

Back to Aizawa's original plan, however, he met up with one Shoto Todoroki before class the next morning, having messaged him through the U.A email server the night before. Maybe Akane's closest training partner would know more about those bruises. And maybe, God forbid, he was the person who had inflicted them (in which case he'd better watch out).

Todoroki was already in the gym where he and Akane trained after school, waiting for Aizawa. Little did Aizawa know, the boy had his own suspicions to address. If what Akane said to him was true, and it was Aizawa who inflicted those bruises, Todoroki didn't know what kind of madness he might unleash.

"Todoroki," Aizawa greeted him, even sterner than usual. He slid the door firmly closed behind him, never taking his eyes off his student.

"Is this about Akane?" Todoroki asked. Neither he, or his teacher, were ones much for small talk.

Aizawa strode forward, arms folded, glare intensifying. "That depends. Anything you want to tell me?"

Todoroki paused. Why was Mr Aizawa suspicious of him? According to Akane, Aizawa was the one in the wrong. Unless…

"You're talking about her arms, right? The bruises?"

The flash of rage in Aizawa's eyes was the only response he needed. Todoroki continued.

"She left me under the impression they were your doing."

At that, Aizawa finally stopped. He blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Something about extra training."

"You're her extra training."

"That's what I said."

Aizawa scowled, fast realizing that something was amiss. Here Todoroki was, thinking Aizawa might have been responsible for Akane's bruises. And here Aizawa was, thinking Todoroki might've been the culprit. Both of their suspicions, however mild, had sparked some intense anger, but it was becoming increasingly clear that both parties were innocent.

"She played us," Aizawa concluded.

"Which means," Todoroki said, uneasily, "those bruises happened someplace else."

Aizawa tilted his head. "What about during class training?" Akane was talking about how much her peers had improved.

Todoroki scoffed. "No one's been able to land a blow on her in hand-to-hand combat since that fight with Bakugou. She's untouchable."

Aizawa's stomach dropped, suddenly sharing Todoroki's nerves. The bruises weren't from him, weren't from Todoroki, and weren't from her other classmates. So who the hell had laid their hands on his kid? Aizawa's fists tightened, rage rising inside of him. Especially considering the fact she hadn't felt safe enough to tell him the truth about it last night, he knew it had to be something bad. But, with Akane, 'something bad' could've been something really…really bad.

"Where is she?" Todoroki asked, pulling Aizawa out of his spiral.

"On her way to school, probably," Aizawa said, still careful not to let on that they lived together. He wasn't lying — he'd left the apartment long before her to meet Todoroki. She'd probably only left five or ten minutes ago herself. "Why?"

Todoroki considered. "Because I imagine walking to and from school are the only times she's ever alone."

Panic swelled in Aizawa's brain, the pieces coming together in a very ugly puzzle.

"We need to find her," Aizawa said. "Now."

xxx

True to her father's worst fears, Akane was stopped on her way to school by Kiera and her thugs. Only a couple minutes from campus, the dragged her into that same alleyway — it was always that same alleyway — and let loose.

Akane couldn't help but resent that this was how her day would start, but she went with it, as she always did, protecting herself as best she could. If Todoroki and Aizawa got any more suspicious, she'd be in big trouble (as would the bullies currently beating her senseless). She didn't want them to worry. She also didn't want these angry kids to get suspended for acting on Kiera's well-deserved rage. And there it was again — that underlying belief of I deserve this.

One thing she did not count on, however, was for the beatings to get even rougher. Kiera left Akane with a final, brutal kick to the ribs — finding the one spot her arms couldn't cover. There was a nasty snap — one, maybe two bones — before Akane dropped to her knees. The sound even made the bullies stop, looking at each other nervously.

"You tell anyone," Kiera spat, "and I'll out you to the whole school. Got that, bitch?"

Then they were off, leaving Akane broken and bruised in the alleyway. Unfortunately, in their rush to get away, they ran directly into Midoriya on his way to school, almost knocking him clean over.

"Oh!" Midoriya stumbled. "Uh, sorry!"

They were already running off, still casting nervous glances behind them. Confused, Midoriya followed their gaze, his eyes landing on that cursed alleyway. He tilted his head. Something didn't feel right here.

Slowly, Midoriya approached the alley. "H-hello? Is anybody there?"

Still too winded to respond, Akane was surprised when her forced silence was interrupted by a much louder, deeper voice.

"What the hell are you doing, you damn Deku?"

Midoriya jumped. He turned to see Bakugou strolling along behind him — they lived in the same neighbourhood, so sometimes they ran into each other on the way to school, but it was rare for Bakugou to actually acknowledge Midoriya's existence. He must've sensed something was wrong, too.

Midoriya swallowed. He pointed to the alleyway. "I just—I thought I heard something."

Bakugou rolled his eyes, playing off his own vague uneasiness as he marched on ahead. "Yeah, whatever."

Still concerned, Midoriya walked further toward the alleyway, when, from the shadows, he caught sight of Akane's crumpled figure. His eyes popped.

"Akane!"

That one word was enough to destroy every one of Bakugou's reservations, his heart halting for a whole beat, as he turned on his heel to meet Midoriya in the alleyway. When he saw Akane, as Midoriya had, collapsed onto her knees and coughing faintly, he almost blew up the whole block with one super-charged blast.

The boys raced deeper into the alleyway to approach her, each taking one of her arms to help her up.

"Akane, are you okay?" Midoriya panicked. "What happened!"

They lifted her up too far and her ribs gave off a sharp pain. Akane sucked in a breath, pulling away so she could sit back down.

"Dammit," Bakugou snarled, "who did this? Where the hell are they?"

Realization dawned upon Midoriya's face. He paled. "Those third years."

"Huh?" Bakugou said. "What third years?"

"I saw them running out of here a couple minutes ago." Midoriya stared at Akane in earnest. "Did they do this to you?"

Akane ground her teeth together; scared, ashamed, defiant, and in a lot of pain. "Don't."

"Like hell I won't!" Bakugou snapped. Urgently, he looked between the main street, Akane, the main street, and Akane again, and finally growled. "Deku, you go find those bastards. I'll stay here."

Midoriya blinked. "Are you sure? I could —"

"Go! Now!"

With another little jump, Midoriya nodded and sped off, ready to round up the monsters who had hurt his friend. Even after he was well out of earshot, Akane ground out once again, "Don't."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bakugou demanded, his concern for her wellbeing making him crazy. "You could've taken those assholes! What were you thinking, holding back?"

"Bakugou," she wheezed. In his rage, he was holding onto her bruised arms too tight.

Bakugou's face fell. He loosened up instantly, and rearranged himself so she was sitting between his legs, her back pressed against his chest. He sat upright, aware that the real injury must've been somewhere in her ribs — he needed to keep her posture tall. Prevent her from puncturing a lung. Hero training he didn't even know he remembered came rushing back at him, and seemed to happen automatically.

"I'm gonna kill those assholes," he muttered.

"Well, then," Akane coughed, "let's hope Midoriya doesn't catch them."

"If Deku doesn't catch them," he said, "I'll kill him, too."

Akane closed her eyes. This was bad. This was very, very bad. She figured, even through the pain, she'd be able to strategise a way out, but Bakugou wasn't going to give her the chance.

"You didn't answer my question," he said. "Why the hell didn't you fight?"

There were several answers to that question, but she decided on the one that would make her seem the least pathetic. "They found out about me. That kind of information serves as very powerful blackmail."

Maybe she didn't seem pathetic, but Bakugou certainly didn't seem less enraged. He stiffened against her, sweating with restraint.

"Okay, now I'm really gonna kill 'em."

Akane pursed her lips. "Don't talk like killing someone is so easy."

He huffed; guilty for bringing up such a touchy subject, but still pissed. "Sorry."

"They're just kids," she muttered. "You can't blame them for hating me."

"Actually, yeah. I can."

"Don't —"

"You don't, idiot. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to find you like this? Someone I care about — real, full-on care — got their ribs smashed in, and I wasn't here to stop it."

"That's not your job."

"Dammit, Akane! I know it's not my job! But that sure as hell doesn't mean I'm not gonna do my best to protect you anyway." He took a deep breath. "So…let me. Please."

Akane didn't respond, afraid the words would come out too strained, or that the effort would make her cry. She was a monster. Those third-years were right to hurt her. She didn't deserve Bakugou's care, let alone his protection. Couldn't he see how disgusting she was?

"You're not gonna pass out, are you?"

Akane flinched. "No."

"Good." He paused. "And get out of your head, already. I hate it when you go all dark and broody on me."

"Screw you."

He scoffed, even smiling a little. "Uh-huh. Also, quit moving. You're gonna poke a hole in your lung."

That was when Aizawa entered the scene, out of breath from running. He and Todoroki had followed the trail Akane normally took to school and encountered Midoriya on the way, who told them what happened. Todoroki went off with his classmate to track down those third-years, and Aizawa ran to his daughter.

Seeing Akane in Bakugou's lap, wincing with each breath, he sprinted forward and collapsed in front of her.

"What happened?" Aizawa demanded. "Tell me. What hurts?"

"Broken rib, I think," Bakugou answered for her, having felt her tense up at Aizawa's approach. "Plus some heavy bruising."

"No shit," Aizawa muttered, taking in the bruises all over her arms — much worse than yesterday, and swelling fast. Then he registered the first thing Bakugou said. "Broken rib?"

"I'm okay," Akane said.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, newbie." He looked to Aizawa. "I've been keeping her upright. Don't think any organs got kebabed."

Aizawa nodded. "We need a stretcher. She can't be carried."

Akane had to hold back a groan. "I don't need a —"

Before she could protest any further, Aizawa cupped her face with both hands, and stared her deep in the eyes. His expression was solemn and stern.

"Akane. I need you to let me take care of you. You understand?"

Akane's face softened. Gently, she nodded.

Aizawa tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner."