Chapter 12
A few weeks later at Todoroki's agency; the Icy Hot hero was rubbing his temples in annoyance from the repeated discussion that was being had with his best hero.
"I haven't seen her in weeks. She is barely coming home according to Mina...I'm telling you it's because of that asshole." Bakugou groaned, pacing Todoroki's office. "I know her contract isn't up soon but there has to be something we can do."
"I hear you Bakugou, but her agency has this...clause in her contract that will not allow me to hire her. I told you this on Monday." Todoroki repeated to the frustrated Bakugou who began pacing in the office. "If she breaks the contract now, she'll owe a lot of money to Ayami. I have never seen a clause this intricate before. It's as if he enjoys trapping her."
"There has to be something we can do. Even after the contract is over? You still can't hire her?" Todoroki groaned and went back to Misa's contract on his desk. His eyes ran over it and shook his head sadly until something caught his attention.
"How long has she been working for Ayami again?" He asked Bakugou.
"Close to three years I think now." Bakugou replied before Todoroki picked up his phone to call someone to his office. "What is it?"
"I think I found a way out of her clause." A tall man entered the office and Todoroki handed him the contract to read over. "Does this make sense Asahi?"
"No sir. It seems that Shira...is owed quite an amount of money." The man said. "This will hold up in court if she wants to sue the company for overwork and non-compensation...amongst some blatant sexism and sexual assault."
Bakugou's attention gained, his head swirled over to the man. "Assault?" Bakugou asked the man. "He assaulted Shira?"
"I know this guy. I've had a lot of clients complain about his conduct and treatment with female workers; heroes included. Too many women were scared to come forward though."
"You mean to tell me that this...boss has sexually assaulted Mi...Shira, and she hasn't said anything?" Bakugou asked, trying to reign in his temper.
"She may not have been assaulted; he'd be stupid to try with her. But anyone with a weak Quirk, in fear of their job, probably didn't speak up. It is quite common." The man explained, seeing Bakugou clench his teeth in anger.
Bakugou's eyes burned into Todoroki as he murmured, "We have to get her out of there."
"I agree. Would you like me to talk to her? I can offer her the same job I offered years ago." Todoroki stated, dismissing the legal man. "I could really use her skill set here. Honestly, I'm quite desperate to have her."
"Let me talk to her. She needs to know what this man has done to her...what has he done to her? What was wrong with her contract?"
"The clause states 'no agency can hire Shira until the allotted amount of time has passed and the remainder of her marketing contract has been paid.' That means that she is worth over 103,786,000 yen."
"She doesn't have a marketing contract. She's mentioned how much she wants one over the years." Bakugou argued, remembering the subject being repeated over the years.
"Then he clearly forged those papers and her consent to sell her name. This man is profiting off of her without her even knowing. Also...she is supposed to be paid a lot more...with each year she works with them according to labor hero laws. She has been making less than any hero; Ayami cited...lack of experience in the field. Which is ridiculous seeing as she's been a hero for close to a decade."
"I'm going to kill this man." Bakugou snarled, rubbing his neck roughly.
"I think Misa will do that...you need to talk to her." Todoroki told his friend and tucked the contract in his locked desk. "Misa is one of the best heroes I have ever worked with; she is a dear friend. If she has been treated this way for years...I will make sure this man suffers for it." Todoroki's eyes burned anger as he spoke, eliciting a smirk of approval from Bakugou.
"I have to say Icy Hot, I do like the pissed off side of you." Bakugou smirked, earning a scoff from Todoroki. "I just know she is worth more than that piece of shit." He mumbled, dialing her number on his cell phone. "Hey Misa? Wanna grab some dinner tonight? We haven't hung out in weeks." Todoroki smirked at the gentleness in his friend's tone as he arranged plans with Misa. Long gone was the short tempered explosion teen from UA; Bakugou had matured but he was more gentle when it came to Misa. "Great...see you then." Bakugou smiled and hung up the phone, noticing Todoroki gazing at him. "What?"
"Nothing. Just...glad to see you smiling again." Todoroki laughed, returning to his computer while Bakugou grunted and left the office. Todoroki glanced at his phone to see a text message from Kaiya reading: "I just saw Misa at her office. Bakugou and Misa are hanging out again tonight! (:" Todoroki chuckled at his girlfriend's enthusiasm.
Bakugou left the agency that night with a knot in his stomach. The reminder that Ayami had been verbally and emotionally abusing Misa for years grinded in his mind with each step he took. "If I had paid more attention...maybe?" That was a dangerous road for his mind to wander down so he shook his anger away and entered the restaurant that he had told Misa to meet him in. He knew that Misa was going to be angry and probably blame herself for all of this, but he wanted to be there to support her. "She needed more than just a sexual release...she needed actual saving."
"Hey Bakugou." Misa's voice brought him out of his thinking. The clothes hung on her frame and her eyes looked dark as she took her seat at their table. "Sorry I'm late...Ayami kept me." Her eyes didn't fully meet Bakugou's as she situated herself, noting Bakugou analyzing her. "What's up?"
"You look awful." He stated as Misa's eyes turned shocked. "When was the last time you ate?" Misa debated lying to him but mumbled quietly. "What?"
"A few days ago." She repeated a little louder. Bakugou's eyes widened and handed her the menu. "I...I don't feel good."
"You don't feel good because you haven't been eating." His tone was more clipped than he wanted, but he was angry. Misa's wide eyes met his shakily as he pushed the menu at her more. "Order something or I will do it for you." Bakugou told her, his red eyes burning into Misa. She shot a look of defiance his way but chose to grab the menu and look it over. A tense silence dragged on as Misa made her choice after Bakugou gave his order.
"May I have the chicken wrap please?" She asked the waitress quietly.
"Add fries to that too please." Bakugou told the waitress who nodded and jotted down the order. "Thank you." As the waitress departed Bakugou took a deep breath as he took in Misa's smaller frame. "You're not eating again. I saw it the last time I saw you at the office. What happened?"
Bakugou knew that Misa had struggled with eating since high school. She wasn't a traditionally smaller girl as she had muscles plus her Quirk made her eat more. She was naturally skinny but she was athletically toned; but the feeling of being too big lingered in her head too needed to eat to keep up her strength so when people comment on it; she gets into her head and refuses to eat much. Bakugou was one of the few people who knew this for years and always made sure she would eat at least twice a day.
"Ayami saw me eating some noodles the other day. He said I was getting older and my metabolism would slow down if I wasn't careful." Bakugou clenched his fists in frustration at her story and saw Misa's eyes darken. "I hate him. Nothing is good enough for him. I can't wait to leave."
"Misa...I thought you were over this eating issue? You love food and that's okay! It's not like you're close to being overweight." Misa's eye twitched in annoyance at his comment and snapped her eyes up to his.
"You don't get it okay? You look...ugh. Men don't understand. Women are always criticized for how they look. A few months ago, a news story depicted Kaiya rescuing those children from the landslide. Thirty kids were saved and the only thing that the journalist really focused on was how Kaiya looked like she had let herself go." Misa growled, her nails digging into the table. "Poor girl cried for days after reading that. You know why she looked bigger? She was on her damn period. We bloat! It's natural!" Bakugou paled while Misa ranted, unsure on how to comfort the girl. "I eat one carb and that...fat man...makes me feel like the biggest girl in the world." Anger still laced her voice as Misa calmed herself down. Bakugou reached across the table to her hand and squeezed.
"I'm sorry you ladies go through that. I'm also sorry that Ayami can't shut his goddamn mouth." Misa scoffed at the comment and allowed a small smile to show. "If my opinion means anything, I think you look great."
"It means...a lot." Misa admitted, the fire in her eyes dying slightly as their hands remained touching.
"Misa...let's just eat okay? Maybe that'll clear your head. You don't listen to him; he's an idiot." Bakugou told her, retracting his hand. The food arrived quickly and Bakugou could hear Misa's stomach growling as the aroma met her senses. "Eat baby." Her eyes met his shakily as she picked up a french fry and nibbled on it. Her body released tension as she increased her chewing. Bakugou seemed pleased by Misa's reaction and allowed himself to enjoy his own meal.
Moments passed and Misa's plate sat empty in front of her. A small smile played on her face as Bakugou finished his dinner too. "Satisfied?" He asked her as she nodded at him. "Good. I don't want you doing that to yourself again okay? Nothing is wrong with the way you look."
Misa sighed and rubbed her weary eyes before she spoke. "This guy just gets into my head. Reminds me of my father. I worked seventy hours last week and he still had me stay late today. Then his sly comments just get under my skin. I shouldn't let them but ugh." Misa told Bakugou, clear frustration in her voice. He nodded and took a deep breath.
"I actually need to talk to you about Ayami. Todoroki and I did some digging into your contract with him. You're not going to like this Misa." She paled and waited for Bakugou to continue.
"He didn't find a way to keep me on contract did he?" Misa panicked before Bakugou hushed her.
"No. I'm sorry to tell you this...but your agency is worse than you think." Bakugou told her, seeing the confusion replace the panic. He went through what Todoroki found on her contract and the reputation her boss had, and with each sentence, Misa grew more angry. "Misa...again...I'm sorry. I should have found this out sooner."
Misa nodded her head slowly and took a deep breath. "I'm going to kill Ayami."
"Todoroki is already preparing the hiring papers for you and you have his total legal support to take Ayami to court to give you what you deserve."
"I can't believe I was so stupid to not see all this. I should have asked more questions...I should have been smarter." Bakugou grasped her clenched fist and hushed her.
"This is not your fault. This has happened multiple times with this agency; their lawyers should have supported you." Misa's eyes were blazing fire when she got to her feet. "Where are you going?"
"To the office...coming?" Bakugou threw down some money onto the table and got to his feet.
"To prevent a murder? Yes." Bakugou smirked and followed Misa to the Ayami Agency.
Misa burst into the agency and ignored all the gasps and cries as her flames erupted from her palms. "All of you here...need to find a new job. This place...is finished." She called out before crashing through Ayami's office. Bakugou smirked from behind Misa and watched as the small man behind the desk cowered in front of the raging Misa.
"You are a piece of shit Ayami!" Misa roared at her boss. "For three years I have been here, slaving away at the shit tasks you give me. Worked seventy hour weeks for you to just stare at my ass and ask me for coffee...come to find out...you owe me a lot of fucking money."
"Wait Misa...I can explain."
"Explain it in court. My new employer has already contracted lawyers to sue your ass for all the money you owe me for the last two years." Misa snarled as her fire claws burned increasingly closer to Ayami's face.
"I need you! You make so much money for us!" Ayami pleaded with her, not willing to move. Misa bared her fangs at the man, causing him to scream in fright as Bakugou cackled to himself.
"You have made my life miserable. You have made a lot of women here miserable. It ends...NOW!" She roared, lighting the computer on fire. "Obviously...I quit. And you can go fuck yourself." She snarled one last time before exiting the office. People gathered in fright at the commotion until Bakugou calmed them.
"Shira is just doing her job, protecting the innocent. You have all been used by your boss and treated unfairly. Please...seek other employment." Misa exited the building quickly and kept walking in frustration over her naivety.
"I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid...so stupid!" She cursed under breath as Bakugou came up behind her.
"I'm taking you to my place; you need to calm down."
"I am calm!" She hissed, causing people to look at her. Bakugou placed warm hands on her shoulders to calm her breathing, his red eyes meeting her glowing ones. "Okay...your place sounds good." She relented.
Misa was silent the entire way to Bakugou's, no doubt replaying what just happened in her head. He didn't push her to talk, but just sat her on his couch and handed her a vodka sprite. "Do you feel better?" He asked after she took a sip. She shook her head and peered up at him with her golden eyes; pain pooling in them threatening to spill. Bakugou sat next to her and sighed heavily. "Why are you upset?"
"I let this happen. I let him take advantage of me...I should know better by now not to trust so easily." Bakugou winced as the words tumbled out of Misa, a lifelong sadness behind her words.
"Is this about your father again?" He dared to ask. Misa's body tensed at the question and her hands began to shake. "Misa...look at me." He whispered as he grasped her shaking hands.
Tears streamed down Misa's face as her body shook. "He told me...for years that I wouldn't amount to anything, that I'm stupid and naive. For years I believed him, even through high school until I learned he was wrong."
"He was wrong, Misa." Bakugou told her, rubbing his thumb over her hands before she snapped them out of his grasp and got to her feet.
"He wasn't though! Look at what happened! I managed to allow a guy to steal millions from me...work me like a dog and I just...went with it! Thought I was paying my dues because I thought…" The words died on her tongue when realization hit her.
"Thought what Misa?"Bakugou asked from the couch.
"I thought I didn't deserve to be treated well." She told him with wide wet eyes. "I am so pathetic." She groaned and rubbed her eyes roughly to erase the sadness. Bakugou got to his feet and reached for Misa who took a step back. "I can't...I can't…you don't need to."
"Come here Flower." He whispered and held out his hand to Misa. She sighed and took his hand carefully; he pulled her to his chest and engulfed her in his arms. She took a deep breath and calmed herself as Bakugou's hands rubbed her back softly. "You deserve everything in this world. More than most people. More than me." He whispered to her, feeling the tension leave her body. "Your father was a dick. Your boss is a dick. You don't deserve any of that."
"But…"
"No. You made a mistake; but you'll learn from it. But do not ever think that the treatment you have endured is what you deserve." He told her, pulling away slightly. He cupped her tear stained cheeks and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead for comfort. "Okay?" Misa nodded slowly and buried her head into Bakugou's chest.
"I'm sorry to put this on you Katz...you've been really patient with me. Thank you."
"We're friends Misa, it's what we do." He scoffed and heard Misa giggle to herself. "What is it?"
"In high school I would have killed to hear you call me your friend. How things change." She explained and pulled away from him, setting herself on the couch.
"You were always my friend, dumbass." He smirked, joining her on the couch.
"There you are...seriously. Thank you for having my back, Katz." He nodded at her and flicked his TV on.
"Anytime. Now...action or comedy?"