a/n: Happy June, my friends. Just wanted to stop by quickly and say hello, hope you're all doing well. This chapter was so cute n nice to work on, so we hope you enjoy. Also - shameless social media plug again. You can find me, Darian on insta/tiktok nrdgrl_ where I post chaotic shit and talk more about Affinity. Hemza is on insta as well, hemzak! Anywhoooo, enjoy your Saturday and happy reading 3 xx
Sakura Komatsu didn't know how long she stood staring blankly at the hospital vending machine, mind totally blank. She'd forgotten within moments what she'd stood up to find, choosing instead to let her mind wander into nothingness.
Right, coffee.
"You know, generally these machines work best if you put money in and press the buttons," a deadpan voice intoned, all too close to her.
She jumped, shocked out of her stupor as a strong hand moved into her peripherals, resting comfortingly on her shoulder. The haggard face of Shota Aizawa looked at her with an intense gaze that belied his concern for her well-being.
"Sorry for jumping like that, Shota, I just spaced out a little," Sakura breathed out shakily, before reaching into her purse to fish out a bill, only to see Shota had already slipped a crisp bill into the machine and punched the button for coffee. "Thanks, you really didn't have to."
Aizawa merely shrugged after handing her the drink, "Second time within her first year at UA that she's in hospital, I feel responsible as her teacher that this trend is forming, Sakura."
Sakura felt a tingle at hearing the rich baritone of his voice say her first name. Despite knowing him for years, his voice had never lost that effect on her. Be it 16, 21, or even now, Eraserhead had always left her feeling lightheaded and giddy.
"My, my, how informal of you, Eraser Head," Sakura teased as she took a swig of the coffee, before breathing out a delighted sigh as the much needed caffeine hit her system. She turned her gaze to him, taking in his appearance. His ever present eyebags looked darker than usual, the fluorescent hospital lights illuminating his permanent exhaustion. His hair was pulled back from his face, and he wore a suit. It hugged his shoulders and trim waist, though Sakura didn't miss the uncomfortable way he held himself in the hall. She knew him well enough to know that he did not care for the formal attire demanded of him in situations like this, knew he preferred the loose fitting jumpsuit he wore for work.
He's never been one for pomp and attention, she thought to herself, thinking back to their time in UA.
"While I get where you're coming from feeling that responsibility, your quirk doesn't allow you to be in 21 different places at the same time. Last time I checked, that was Ectoplasm's quirk. Either way, this is the path she's chosen and I told her I would support her in it…"
She hesitated, nervously tucking some hair behind her ear before she continued. She knew he would be honest with her if she asked the question that had been on her mind since the… incident, because he'd never once lied to her in the past.
"Shota, should I be concerned about the pattern that's forming?" she asked, struggling to make eye contact.
Aizawa sighed in defeat as the question left her lips, though she didn't miss the way the corner of his mouth quirked slightly upwards. Again, that little tilt of his lips sent a flutter through her stomach and veins, just as it had when she was a teenager.
"There's no sense in lying to you, I suppose, seeing as how your Polygraph quirk would let you know right away. On top of that, it'd be useless trying to erase your quirk, you could still tell when I'm lying," he groused, a hint of humor tinting his exhausted voice.
"You've never lied to me, Shota." Sakura pointed out.
"Never wanted to," Aizawa riposted, and they both smiled at that.
Sakura's quirk, Polygraph, allowed her to detect someone's lies, on the condition that she established a baseline with them by finding out simple, true facts. She had never had the heart to tell Shota that her quirk didn't work on him. What she had once dismissed as being a school girl crush on her upperclassman and brother's friend, she'd come to realize was not to be so easily shaken. After all, the telltale flutter of her heart when her quirk detected a lie was somewhat compromised by her heart's rogue fluctuations when she was in the presence of the man.
"But to answer your question," Aizawa said, bringing her back into the moment. "Yes, I think you have every right as her guardian to be concerned. In fact, I'm concerned. Her quirk hasn't yet been honed to give her an edge in the kind of encounters she's found herself in, and I know firsthand that martial and tactical prowess can only get you so far in combat."
His honest assessment hung in the air, a looming, ominous, omen of doom that perched on Sakura's shoulders, attempting to force her into submission, but she persisted.
"She shows great potential - but she's constantly throwing herself into dangerous situations and throwing caution to the wind. I can understand that, because it's a trend with my students this year." Shota tried to hide a smile, "She's reckless and a little foolhardy, and maybe that's my fault. Maybe if I had've…"
The man trailed off as his thoughts threatened to consume him. Sakura knew him well enough at this point to know he felt he was to blame. Knew that he would hold himself alone accountable for the things that had happened to his students, just as he had every year before then.
"It's not.. Your fault, Shota." Sakura sighed, "I'm just as much at fault as you are. I was the one who raised her, and she comes by her foolhardiness honestly, at least."
Shota only laughed, before taking in a deep, shaking breath. "Emiko can be a great hero, Sakura. I'm sure you know that. But… I can't help but worry about her. About all of them. In such a short time, they've gone through so much. So much pain and suffering has been inflicted upon them, and I can't help but fear that more is coming… The League of Villains don't strike me as the type to give up, and I know that things are only going to continue spiraling out of control."
Shota shouldn't have said that, and he knew it. He knew that his hunch was more than that, was more than just a lingering feeling of guilt. The villain with the blue flames was wanted for multiple murders, and now knowing that All Might was all but forced into retirement? He couldn't help the bundle of anxiety that was growing in his stomach.
"That being said, Nezu is looking to accelerate some plans that had already been in the works for some time. I can assure you it will greatly improve the students' security and the staff's ability to have that within our control. I can't say much more than that quite yet, as it's certainly a conversation I should be having with you and Emiko. She deserves to have her say in this," Aizawa explained. "I promise as soon as I'm able to say more, I will, Sakura."
Sakura nodded her understanding, rolling her shoulders back to try to alleviate some of the pressure that had been building while she sat in the hospital corridor, the hard plastic chairs digging into her back and hips.
"If it's for the protection of the students, I'm on board with whatever it is. I always have and always will trust you, Shota." She smiled at him, then. He smiled back softly, before dropping his gaze yet again. " I agree that she deserves a say in it, though," she agreed, before enveloping Aizawa in a sincere hug, which seemed to take the man aback. Quickly though, his lean arms wrapped around her, and Sakura reveled in the momentary safety she felt. She let the hug linger a few moments, let herself commit the feeling of his hands pressed to the small of her back and the softly spicy way he smelled to memory. Slowly and reluctantly she pulled away, turning her chin down to try and hide the soft blush that lingered on her cheeks.
"Thanks, Shota. For everything." She mumbled, "Emiko and the rest of your kids are lucky to have you in their corner. Don't beat yourself up too much, okay?"
In those brief moments surrounded by Shota, she let her mind drift back to their shared experiences in highschool. She'd been loud and outgoing, a year younger than he. She'd known his friend, Oboro - he'd been the one who introduced the two of them. Shota and Hisato weren't exactly friends, but he respected his classmate and Sakura had found herself tumbling head-over-heels for the quiet, reserved boy.
Aizawa merely nodded, emotion swelling in his chest , before retreating to allow her to take her spot in the chair to await updates on Emiko's condition. He moved just down the hall, crossing his left leg over his right as he collapsed into the same hard plastic chair he'd been sat in for nearly 24 hours, now. His head lolled back, resting against the stark white wall. His back was aching and he was desperate for a good nights sleep, but he'd already refused to leave the hospital once.
He'd waited to see Bakugo in person after his release, and he'd be damned if he was going to miss checking in on Emiko - even if he knew her condition would send aches of pain into his already tight heart. Much as he hated to admit it, these kids… his kids, they were important to him. Despite how crazy they all drove him, Shota knew that he would do anything to keep them safe.
He'd failed before, letting two of his problem children getting kidnapped. He'd failed during their internships, letting several of those kids get injured by the Hero Killer. He'd been failing left and right, and seeing the kids he swore to protect constantly throw themselves in the line of fire, lay their life on the line as if it meant nothing? That irritated him more than in should.
Shota sighed, letting his eyes drift shut softly. Though the hospital was uncomfortable and the smell of bleach and antiseptic reminded of things he'd rather forget, he still remained. He caught fleeting moments of sleep between tightly clenched fingers and waited for his student to finally return to him - to her friends, who were desperately awaiting news of her condition. To her Aunt, who he watched pacing the halls and chewing at the skin surrounding her meticulously manicured fingers. He waited for her to return to the heroes who had been calling UA nonstop when they heard of her capture, and he waited for her to return to the boy who hadn't slept since she'd been rescued. The boy who they hadn't even let into the hospital, who stood waiting outside the doors each and every day.
Shota Aizawa waited, because that was all he knew how to do.
Location unknown… Geolocation in process…
The cloaked figure swept through the halls as if they owned them, a thought that elicited a chuckle out of them. They had no interest in owning a place like this. It was easy enough for them to get into a place as secure as this, something that would have been unthinkable without their specific set of skills.
They reveled in the deference shown to them by the figures they came across as they wound through the maze to their destination. They inhaled sharply as their gaze finally fell on the one they were after.
As their eyes met, it was the other one that broke the silence.
"Ah, I was wondering how long it might be before you turned up," the figure said, a wide smile stretching across their face as they beheld the visitor.
The cloaked figure gave an apologetic bow, ducking low to the ground and hiding their face.
"I'm sorry, I would have been here much sooner, I had to lay low while the heat died down from Kamino."
"No matter," the first speaker commented, disgust clear in their voice. "Any updates on the boy and girl?"
"Katsuki Bakugo returned to his studies after a few days off, imposed in tandem by the UA faculty and his parents. He currently shows no signs of being affected by the abduction and events of Kamino ward. I suspect he's merely putting on a brave fa-" the visitor began, before a sharp retort from their counterpart stopped them dead in their tracks.
"I didn't ask you for your personal opinion," the voice dripped icy derision. "I asked for a report. Do try to stick to facts instead of wasting my time with idle speculation."
An apology was about to slip out of the visitor's lips, before the comments about time wasting that were still reverberating in their ears reminded them to be succinct.
"The girl is still hospitalized with a variety of injuries. She's got some hairline fractures and bruising on her wrists, bruising on her cheek and back of her neck, various lacerations on her hands and face…" the visitor hesitated in their delivery at the end.
"And…?" the other figure prompted, frustration forcing the word out with enough venom to make even the most terrifying predators fearful.
"... And she suffered a serious facial laceration aggravating the scar she had over her eye," the figure said, and their confident, if deferential, posture suddenly shifted into one fraught with nerves, awaiting their inevitable punishment.
The other figure hissed in disapproval.
"So sloppy of you, Ruse," All For One's voice proclaimed coolly. "I keep you around to be the unseen scalpel of my operations, yet you fling yourself wildly about with all the finesse of a blunt butcher's cleaver wielded by a child."
Ruse slumped to her knees as the weight of her failures crashed down upon her shoulders. She clenched her fists in self-consternation, her knuckles blanched and her fingers pressed in at the bandages on her hand from where she'd held the shard of glass, and red began to seep through to mar the pristine white of the gauze.
"We will further discuss the repercussions of your failures and your atonement at a later date once I have escaped," All For One said dismissively.
Mara's head snapped up as confusion overtook the sorrow that had clouded her features.
"Master? But… I came to set you free?" she could only manage.
"I have plans of my own to escape. Besides, there are still pieces that need to fall into place for my ultimate checkmate," All For One responded, a sadistic smile once again stretching his disfigured features. "Go now, join Tomura and the others, reflect on your failures and wait for instructions."
"As you wish, Master," Mara whispered, as she backed away in a bow, before composing herself and resuming her leisurely walk out of the complex, letting the high of her control over the guards of the world's most secure supervillain jail in the country set her nerves atingle. A renewed swagger overtook her body as she found her focus honed on righting her wrongs in the eyes of her master.
Location found: Tartarus Prison
