a/n: y'all. 5k. you did it - brought us to a goal we genuinely never thought we'd see. thank you from the bottom of our butts. enjoy your bonus chapter 3

As Emiko finally came to, she realized quite quickly that her hands were covered in tape and tubes. The fabric that was tucked around her was rough and scratchy and smelt of bleach and antiseptic. Actually, the entire room around her seemed to have been bathed in bleach, judging by the way the smell was burning into her nostrils.

She opened her eyes, wincing as the fluorescent overhead lights burned into her vision. Her right eye throbbed in pain, and she soon remembered why. Her fingers moved slowly up to her face, brushing lightly over the patch that covered the injury. Her movements felt slow and sluggish, as if she was moving through jell-o. She tried to look around, but her head wouldn't move. Even the sounds around her seemed muffled, like her head was dunked underneath the water.

" 'ello?" she called, her throat raw and voice cracking as she tried to speak. Her skin felt dry and cracked, and the feeling reminded her of the summer she'd spent hours laying in the sun to attempt to tan, only to be burnt to a crisp. She could still remember the blisters that had formed on her shoulders, the way her skin had stretched painfully tight.

She tried to keep calm in her bed, trying to stop the rising tide of panic that was growing larger by the second. Her aunt wasn't in the room, neither were there any windows to the hallways or to the outside so she could at least see what time it was. Her fingers couldn't find the telltale red button that she knew would send nurses running, so Emiko just… lay there.

Her arms hung loosely at her sides and her head lolled slightly to the right. Her breathing grew more rapid with each minute that passed. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she bit her lip as the panic grew more intense.

It felt like a tidal wave hammering against her already weak legs, the way those feelings swelled and grew and festered. It was an unstoppable force, one that she hadn't felt in days.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK.

Soon, she couldn't hold back the tears. Soon, they poured down her cheeks and dripped onto the fabric that lay loosely over her chest. The hospital gown was much too large for her and it left her frame draped in a faded out blue blanket, one that had been run through an industrial strength washing machine a few too many times, the seams fraying along the edge, the fabric pilling into tiny little balls with the slightest movement.

"Is anyone there?" She cried, trying to move her body again. Again, though, pain won out. Her bones felt leaden and heavy, and her arms seemingly couldn't support the weight of her body as she tried to sit up. Frustration grew like a disease in her stomach, and she tightened her fingers almost painfully. Her nails burrowed into the soft cotton that wrapped tightly around the palms of her hands as she fought to keep her breathing in check.

"Sakura?" Emiko called, desperate to see a familiar face. Desperate for the comfort her aunt brought her. For a smile, a soft touch across her sweaty forehead, for a gentle kiss. Any comfort would do, and Emiko couldn't help the anger that grew as she realized nobody was coming for her. Again.

Yet again, Emiko found herself alone in a room where she could find no comfort. She found herself surrounded by blank walls and machines and hooked up with tubes, and nobody was there. Despite her insistence that she never wanted to go to the hospital, Sakura left her alone. Her limbs ached and her back tensed and her eye had left a pounding headache living in her skull, and she had nobody to cling to while she cried. She had nobody to cry to about the things her mother had said and done, the things she'd learned only the day before, and that made her so angry she could barely see straight.

"Is anyone there?!" She screamed, her voice breaking as she did. Her words bounced off the walls and rung in her ears as she waited in silence. From just beyond the door, she could hear footsteps moving closer. They moved quickly, and she swung her teary gaze towards the door as it opened. She was expecting Sakura, expecting to see a familiar face burst through the door and wrap her arms around her. Instead, though, a nurse shuffled into the room, his broad shoulders cloaked in dark scrubs.

"Ah, Miss Komatsu," he tried to smile, though she didn't miss the way he kept his gaze away from her face. She didn't miss the way he sucked in a breath as he took in her appearance, the cloth that covered her injured eye from the rest of the world. "You're awake."

She only stared up at him with her one uncovered eye, not sparing a single word for the man who couldn't look her in the face.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, fiddling with a few of the tubes lying across her bed and draped across her body.. "How is your pain?"

Again, no words left her mouth. She glared up at him through teary lashes, just daring him to look at her. Daring him to make contact with her, to take in the bruises that no doubt littered her throat and face, to take in the tears that streaked through the dust covering her cheeks. She wanted to be seen, to be acknowledged for the things she'd gone through.

He still didn't. In fact, in her silence, he seemingly grew even more uncomfortable. He moved as if he were being examined and he kept a fake smile plastered onto his face, and that made Emiko want to reach across the bed and grab him by the collar of his shirt and demand that he treat her with respect. She wasn't a criminal and she wasn't a villain, and sure, she probably looked terrible and smelled even worse, but she deserved to be treated like a human fucking being, didn't she?

Didn't she?

In his silence and with yet another fake smile, the man stepped out of the room. He didn't say a single word to her, but she heard him scurrying quickly down the hall.

Yet again, Emiko was alone with nothing but her thoughts.

What do they know? Do they know about Mara? Are the police going to need to speak to me?

As if on queue, her door opened again. In shuffled a man she didn't recognize and one she did, and she tried to catch the latters gaze.

All Might had to duck his head as he stepped into the room, though he was much smaller and more frail looking than she'd ever seen him before. His eyes were hidden in shadow and he seemed to be cloaked in sadness, and Emiko couldn't help the flash of glee that danced through her at that revelation. It made her sick as soon as the realization hit her, but still… She allowed herself a fleeting moment of happiness that there was someone in the world as miserable as she was.

"Hello, young Komatsu." All Might spoke first, stepping to her bedside. His hands trembled at his side as he moved to brush a large palm over the exposed skin of her arm. Even he, the symbal of peace

"This is a friend of mine, Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi." All Might waved his hand broadly towards the other man, who smiled softly at Emiko from his place across the room. He was broad shouldered and tall, clad in a basic pair of dress pants and a plain dress shirt, topped with a tan peacoat. His eyes were kind and crinkled at the edges when he smiled at her, and without even hearing a word he had to say, Emiko knew she could trust him.

"Hello, Emiko." He stepped forwards, tilting his head into a small bow. "I'm sorry to bother you after the events of the past few days, but…" He trailed off awkwardly, shooting an apologetic glance towards All Might, who pulled up a chair and pushed it towards the detective.

"I have a couple of questions for you, if that's okay?"

Swallowing heavily, Emiko nodded her head, giving her consent.

Before they could begin, though, the door swings open again and Emiko finally sees her Aunt standing there. Her hair is disheveled and unkempt and it looks like she hasn't slept in days, but she's there. Despite her anger and pain and confusion, relief floods through her at the sight. For the first time in days, someone who she loves and trusts is there in front of her, ready to comfort her should anything go wrong.

"Ah, perfect timing, Sakura." Tsukauchi smiles, gesturing Sakura to the chair that had been pulled up just beside him. "We were just about to get started. Please, take a seat."

Sakura didn't say a single word, only shot an exhausted glance at her niece as she settled into the seat. She rested a hand on Emiko's knee, mouthed words that she couldn't quite read. She assumed it was something about her legal right to silence, but she couldn't be sure.

"Okay, wonderful. So, Emiko… is it okay if I call you that?"

Emiko nodded stiffly, averting her gaze from her aunt. Rage festered and grew the longer Sakura stared, and Emiko relished in it. Only moments earlier she'd been happy to see her family, but now? Now, Emiko found herself full of resentment and rage. Because Sakura hadn't been there, sure. But also because Sakura hadn't known the truth and had believed her brother was alive just as much as Emiko had.

That wasn't Sakura's fault and Emiko knew that logically, she'd been tricked in the very same way that Emiko had been. She knew that Ruse was ruthless and would not hesitate to alter whatever memories she deemed fit, so long as they played a part in her twisted game of chess. But still, Emiko felt angry that her aunt hadn't known.

"Could you tell me your version of events from the night you were kidnapped?"

Swallowing quickly, Emiko nodded again.. "I had just met up with Shoto and Bakugo after we helped Fumikage and Dark Shadow." She paused, breathing deeply. "I remember being trapped in what felt like marble, and I couldn't move. It was… really cold and it sounded really weird,"

Tsukauchi nodded, never once tearing his gaze away from the teen in front of him. His hands scribbled her answer in the notepad in his lap, even though he'd likely heard the same story before. She assumed he'd interviewed at least Katsuki, since he'd also been kidnapped. For the first time since waking up, she wondered what'd happened to him there. She hoped, for his and her own sake, that he'd not been subjected to the same kind of torture and pain she had been.

"And then, um… Well, then I was standing in front of everyone and I had a hand around my throat and I couldn't move. Then the portal showed up and I was pulled through it and…" She breathed heavily, remembering those instances in vivid detail. Remembering the way the darkness had clung to her hair and clothing, the way the cold had clawed its way into her skin.

"When I got to the other side, they put a blindfold on and bound me to a wooden chair with some rope, and then I was moved downstairs - away from Katsuki."

"They didn't have you near him at all?" Tsukauchi interrupted, scrunching his brows slightly. That fact seemed to concern him more than she thought it would, as she'd assume Katsuki would've said the same thing.

Emiko only shook her head, remembering the way Katsuki had screamed her name as they moved her away from him. "No, um. They moved me to the basement I guess, and I was alone."

"Okay. Thank you for that detail, Emiko." The officer smiled, waiting for her to continue. From the corner of her eye, Emiko saw Sakura fighting back tears.

Why are you crying? It's not like they took you to a basement and tied you up.

"So I was all alone and it was dark, and I… I got really scared. Obviously, and then eventually…" a sob escaped her then, and Emiko moved her hand to cover her mouth, seeing the bandages and the fresh cuts that crossed her skin, for the first time. Her wrists ached and she had to bite back a cry of frustration at the sight and the feelings of hatred that grew in her.

"You don't have to keep going, Miko." Sakura whispered, and Emiko shot her an angry glare.

"Don't call me that." Emiko snarled, her eyes hardening as her aunt flinched.

"It's okay, Young Komatsu." All Might interrupted, "If it's too hard, we can come back again later."

Again, Emiko shot a glare at one of the adults in the room, and she didn't miss the way All Might's darkened eyes widened.

"Eventually, a villain came into the room. She called herself Ruse, but…" She trailed off again, closing her eyes tightly against the onslaught of memories. "But it was my mom. Mara, she's the villain named Ruse."

She can hear Sakura gasp and can feel her tighten her grip on Emiko's leg, and she has to fight the urge to yank her leg away.

"Your mother?" Sakura whispered again, "She's in Japan?"

Emiko ignored her aunt's question, instead choosing to focus her gaze on the detective in front of her.

"Is Ruse the one who injured you?" Tsukauchi asked, and Emiko could only nod. "Did she say anything else?"

Emiko only nodded, feeling the tears threaten to spill over. "She's been working with someone. I don't know who, but it sounds pretty bad. She does have a quirk, even though I thought she didn't."

"Can you tell me what her quirk is?"

"She can change, and, uh, manipulate memories. By touching you. She can make memories from nothing and you think they're real."

Tsukauchi only nods, scribbling furiously as Emiko speaks.

"Did she use it on you?"

Flashes of Shoto kissing her forehead, of her father dying in front of her flash in her mind again. She only nods, not able to make the words leave her mouth. She fears if she speaks them aloud, if she puts them into the universe now that those memories will never leave her.

"Okay. Okay, Emiko. You're fine." Tsukauchi whispers, resting a hand on her forearm. Emiko hadn't even realized it, but she'd begun hyperventilating through her tears, and her fingers were digging into the palm of her hand, red seeping through the bandages.

"Did she say anything else?" Tsukauchi asks, moving his hand off of her arm.

Another soft nod, and Emiko whispers into the nearly silent room.

"She killed my dad."