Ch. 7 *Edited*

.o0o.

After the incident, my dad got me a phone. A new one, a newer one. We moved out of that apartment.

Before we got into the car, my dad told me to head over and thank Miss Shinsou and her grandson for what they did for me while my dad was gone and during the break-in.

My footsteps bounded up the staircase to my neighbor's apartment door. I hesitated for just a moment before rapping on the door three times.

This was goodbye, I realized. She had done so much for me...and this is goodbye. I may never see her or her grandson ever again… But it was for the best.

I waited patiently for her to open the door.

She did. Her greyed out lilac hair was tucked into a low bun, her eyes finding me quickly.

"Oh! Sami-chan. How can I help you?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but hesitated again. It was really hitting me hard. I didn't realize that I was actually leaving until right now.

I got choked up for some reason. I cleared my throat and stood tall and proud.

"Um...I just wanted to come and thank you for everything you and your grandson have done for me, since my father and I are moving today, so he can be closer to his work," That's not a lie, "My father and I appreciate it."

She paused, her face shocked, and touched. I could see the tears glistening in her eyes and feel the ones in mine.

She smiled warmly at me, opening her arms to me.

I let my face crumble as I ran into her embrace. She petted my hair and kissed the top of my head. I clutched her clothes.

It's strange how you take things for granted until you realize you could lose them. She was getting along in age, for sure, and I was moving away. I would probably never see her again.

"Oh, my darling girl…" she cooed. It seemed to make me feel worse, but also better at the same time.

Is it bad that I felt worse about moving away from an old woman-whose probability of living to the next year was probably fairly low-that I didn't get to know very well until recently, than I am at the thought of my own mother's death?

Emotions are a useless conundrum that I know too much about. Then again, I don't know them very much at all.

She pulled me back away from her and wiped my eyes with her war thumbs.

"Why don't you come and say goodbye to Hitoshi yourself, dear?" she suggested quietly, willing herself not to cry.

I hesitated. I didn't want Dad to think was being abducted again or anything by not telling him where I was.

"Well," his voice came from the staircase, "are you going to be impolite and keep them waiting? Don't be irrational, now."

I turned and smiled at my father, nodding respectfully at him. I then turned to Shinsou-San and nodded to her. She let me in, telling me that he was in the living room.

"Oh!" she shouted sweetly at me, "Just call him Hitoshi, sweetie! He won't mind!"

I grimaced out of her line of sight. I literally met him once-now we're on a first-name basis?

Whatever.

I wandered through their kitchen to their living room to find her grandson sitting on the living room couch long-ways, scrolling through his phone.

"Sh-Shinsou-san?" I said meekly.

He looked up at me with tired eyes. His face was kind of battered, having some gauze on his forehead.

"I…" I started nervously, "I would like to thank you for...everything you and your grandmother have done for...me. I… I really appreciate it."

He deadpan glared at me. "Did your dad put you up for this?" he inquired.

"Yes, but I still mean what I say," I insisted, just as dry and deadpanned as he, "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here saying it."

He gave me a look before putting his phone down with a sigh.

"It was nothing," he said simply.

I didn't really know how to respond, so I turned around slowly to trudge back to my dad. But he and Miss Shinsou-San were still talking quietly.

And I still had a question or two.

"Before I go," I put myself out there, turning back around, "Can I ask you something?"

As I turned, I caught his intense gaze. He was giving me an 'Are you kidding me' look.

I responded with my eyes. 'I'm dead serious, boy.'

"Sure," he shrugged with another sigh.

"Wh...Did those…" I tried to find the correct words to express my thoughts, "Did those...people do anything to me?" I finally got it out.

He sighed again. "Not that I could tell," he said quietly.

I immediately used my quirk on him and without missing a beat, called him out.

"You're lying," I said.

His eyes widened. "How did-"

I let the smallest twitch of a smirk on my face. Caught ya twice in a row.

He looked at me, very unimpressed. If looks could kill…

"Please," I said quietly, "I just want to know what happened...I deserve to, I think," I confessed.

He looked down at his lap. Things went quiet between us. I could hear my dad and his grandmother chatting behind me.

He spoke again. "I saw you duct-taped to the couch, half-dressed. One of the guys was on top of you. I could only assume the worst."

I used my quirk again, and he...he wasn't lying. I could tell he wasn't being completely honest either, but I decided to leave it be. He was being honest, after all.

Strangely, I wasn't too surprised-nor was I too affected by it; emotionally or otherwise.

"So what did you do? I kind of remember you being there," I asked quietly.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. I remained unphased.

"I tried to fight them off," he mumbled, covering his mouth at the last bit.

That shocked me. He didn't even know me very well. And he fought off people twice his size-well at least twice my size-for me?

I smiled softly at him. "Thank you, Shin-"

"Oi," he interrupted me. "You don't want to disrespect my grandmother, now, would you?" He smirked.

I looked at him, almost cross-eyed for a moment. I was confused and low-key shocked that he just interrupted me (being a firm believer in letting everyone have their chance to talk).

"I-" I cut myself off.

"Oi, Samiko," I turned around at my father's voice.

"Yes, Dad?"

"It's time to go."

I looked back again to Shins-Hitoshi.

"Thank you again, Hitoshi," I said warmly before walking off.

I gave Miss Shinsou-San one final hug and grabbed my things, getting into the car and heading towards U.A.

The start of another new chapter.

.o0o.

Third Person P.O.V.

Shinsou-San invited Aizawa into her home as well, and he almost politely declined.

Instead, he decided to accept the invite to discuss some things with her.

"If you don't mind," he said quietly, stepping into the kitchen. He saw his daughter speaking with the teen boy that the woman had been taking care of.

"I must thank you," he said in his way, "for everything you and your grandson have done for my daughter and me."

The elderly lady looked lovingly at both of the kids. "Your daughter is quite the girl. She was very brave."

He nodded. "She was. Your grandson was brave as well. What he did for her...I can't thank you enough."

She smiled warmly at him. "Yes, you can. Make sure that she's taken care of and you're there for her. That's my payment."

A pang of guilt hit Aizawa in the chest. "I will," he promised.

"She said you were moving?" Shinsou-San inquired.

"Yes. I had been considering moving for a few months now for security and protection for Samiko, mostly, but this whole thing...it's convinced me."

"I don't hold it against you, if that helps at all," Shinsou-San commented with a shake of her head. "I would move too. Protecting family is very important, as you know well..." she trailed off.

"I should have done it sooner," he said. "I should have protected her before now. I work at U.A., and they have been offering places to live in for a while for staff and their families...I didn't think…"

He ran a hand through his hair.

"What's done is done, Aizawa-Kun," she said softly, putting a hand on his arm. "There's nothing we can do now but do our best to protect her now. I think it'll be good for her to live with you at this. Yuuei academy," she said happily, "Stretch her reality a little bit. Change of scenery, you know?"

He nodded. "Right. I promise to take better care of her. She'll be safe at the school."

"She'll be able to get help if she has any...you know...problems because of this, right?"

"Yes. Mental health, physical health, therapy, everything. She'll have free access to school grounds because I work there as well. I already gave her the sex talk, but she hasn't made any...comments or anything about her being pregnant."

Her face paled and she gasped. "Is she-"

"No, no. She took a blood and urine test. They were both negative."

Shinsou-San let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Everything will be taken care of with her. I just wish it had been taken care of sooner," Aizawa commented loosely.

"That's very good," she nodded, ignoring the comment about taking care of her sooner. "I know you'll take good care of her. And she can take care of herself. She is competent, that one," she commented with a nod.

He hummed his agreement, looking at the two of them, still talking.

"He is a remarkable young man," he said in regards to her grandson. "You should be very proud of him," Aizawa looked back to the shorter, elderly woman.

Her face crinkled when she smiled. "I am very proud of him. I just can't believe that he just...rushed in after you told us not to. I mean, I'm glad he was able to distract those...people," she spat, "but...it scared me. I thought he was going to get...hurt or killed-"

"But he wasn't. What's done is done," he said.

Shinsou-San looked up at him. He used the same words that she used on him not three minutes ago. She smiled again, reaching up and touching his face kindly. "You are a good man. Take care of your baby, now, you hear?"

He nodded, turning to the kids. "Oi, Samiko."

She looked over at him. "Yes, Dad?"

"It's time to go."

She turned back to the teenager. "Thank you again, Hitoshi."

Samiko walked towards them and gave Shinosu-San one final hug. He nodded to the kid and with that they left the room.

Aizawa waited in silence for his daughter to say something, but she never did.

"You okay?" He asked her.

"Hm?" she looked up at him. "Oh. Well...I'm...kind of disappointed I don't get to see them again...but, I'm glad we're moving to somewhere safer."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"It'll also be nice to be in one place all the time instead of moving back and forth all the time," she said.

It was true. Aizawa moved her to U.A. most weekends, to watch her as he graded papers and trained students. Now, he wouldn't have to worry about any of that.

Yeah. It was better this way.

But was it enough?

.o0o.

Samiko P.O.V.

We moved all our boxes into our new apartment, that was a little bit smaller, but just as nice-with a few added benefits and better health insurance-with the help of HIzashi.

He heard everything that had happened (some of which I still didn't know) and drove me and Dad to the hospital when it happened. And he was here to help us move in.

He was dancing around me cautiously, being weirdly quiet and courteous to me and my dad. I didn't like it. At all.

I was just the same Samiko, wasn't I?

I looked the same, I felt the same, I acted the same. Didn't that mean I was the same?

Then why was everyone acting so different?

My dad told me to take my box and unpack the things in my room, and bring the cats with me if I wanted.

"Be sure to close the door," he said, ushering me in.

I did, but that didn't affect how confused I was. Why would he need me to leave the room and close the room to talk to someone?

I didn't read into it too much, and I began unpacking my bedding.

The rooms were fully furnished with couches, beds, and shelves. We were told that if we didn't want anything that was put in our rooms that they would move it out. If we ever needed anything extra, they would get it out for us.

I took out my blankets and sheets and made my bed, putting my pillows at the head of it. The teddy bear my mother got for me sat neatly on top of those pillows.

I heard talking behind the door, but I tried to ignore it. I couldn't hear what anyone was saying anyway.

I slowly continued to put things up and out in my room-books, a few cords, my lamp, and…

A picture of my mom.

My dad gave it to me when I was around six. This was her Third Year at U.A. The story goes that she loved being in the spotlight and loved cameras, and when they were supposed to be training, their-meaning my dad, Hizashi, and my Mom's-friend decided to take a picture of her when she wasn't looking to see what happened, but she caught him taking the picture and turned to look at it, giving off a sweet smile and a peace sign.

She was so pretty. She had straight, kind of dirty-blonde hair, but it was really well kept and very pretty. She liked to put it up into a braided bun. In this picture, it was only braided back halfway. The wind seemed to be blowing, carrying her hair.

He said that after their friend died, Oboro was his name, that he was given this picture.

There was another picture of my mom, right before the building fire where she died, that she and I had taken that miraculously survived. It was kind of sooty, even now, but I carefully preserved it after all these years in the simple frame that it fit in.

I looked at the picture of me and my mom, her smile and gold eyes-where I got mine-they contrasted heavily to my features. If you didn't know any better, I looked like the adopted one.

And, technically, I was.

Anyway, I set both pictures on my nightstand/desk thing, next to my lamp and stationary.

I took my backpack and the stuff in it out, organizing it nicely then placing it in a place I will end up remembering it.

I heard a knock on my door.

"Samiko?"

"Yes, dad?"

"I need to speak with you."

I stood and opened the door, letting him come in. He didn't bother turning on the light, and neither did I.

"Sami...I think you're going to be living with your Grandmother and your Aunt and Uncle."

It took a moment for that to register. My mood immediately dropped. My face paled.

"What?" I said quietly.

"Your Nana has an open room for you to stay in, just until this blows over," he told me quietly, kneeling down to my level.

The feer gripped tight at my chest. I shook my head. "Wh...What?"

"Sami-Chan," He gently grabbed my hand. I had half a mind to tear away from his grip. But I didn't. "Villains are after me. They're going to be after you. They've gotten to you already, and done terrible things. If I hadn't gotten there in time, who knows what they would have done to you. You could have been killed."

My eyes welled with tears.

"I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," he confessed quietly, "and your Nana has been gracious enough to let you stay with her until this blows over and we figure out who's doing what."

"How long will that be?" I asked, trying to find a way out somehow.

"I don't know," he said shamefully, "It could be a month or a year."

A year?! My face visually widened in shock.

"But," I said desperately, "That's why we moved. We, we moved so I would be safe and you wouldn't have to worry about me. There...I don't-"

"Samiko, it might not be enough," he said, "There are no guarantees, especially with my job. I can't guarantee anything unless you're with your Nana."

"I don't want to," I sobbed, still quiet.

He pulled me close, saying nothing for a good minute.

"It's for the best, Samiko. It's for the best. You'll be safe there."

I desperately wanted to get out of his grip. How could he just...drop me off to that, that witch again?! How dare he! There was no other way?!

But I stayed. I stayed, and I grabbed his black clothes that smelled a little bit like dirt and a lot like home. Because Dad smelled like home. I grabbed his clothes like they were keeping me alive. Like they would keep me from living with my Nana.

"It'll be alright, Sami," he promised me. "Everything will be okay."

I quickly used my quirk on him, unwillingly. That was a drawback. When I got super emotional, specifically scared, I would activate my quirk unintentionally.

And he was lying.

I knew it.

.o0o.

A/N: Back to the present next chapter! Thanks to Xxser3ndipityxX for assisting me with some details and inspiring me! It's not forgotten, if you ever read this again, hah!