*A/N: Hey everyone, Hemza here! What's that? A very late night update? Why yes, we're terrible, please accept this chapter as our peace offering!*

Sakura smiled softly as she closed the door behind Detective Tsukauchi and All Might, thanking them for coming to see Emiko and ensuring the safety of the other students. Quietly, she turned to face her niece, who lay in the bed with her arms resting limp at her sides.

Her normally well lit eyes were dull and empty, no hint of a smile glittering there.

"Mara?" was the only word Sakura could speak before tears started pouring down her cheeks. "She… she…"

Emiko could only watch as Sakura folded into herself, resting her back against the wooden door. Her aunt pulled her knees into her chest, kicking off her heels as she moved. Her bare feet pressed against the linoleum flooring. Heavy sobs echoed around the room as Emiko watched on in silence.

If Sentiment was present, Emiko didn't feel it. Instead, staring at her aunt falling to pieces in front of her only left her feeling more empty than she had felt before. Of course, she understood that Sakura would be struggling to accept the death of her elder brother, just as Emiko had struggled. Was still struggling, if she was honest with herself. Of course she understood the grief and the pain and sadness and anger that her aunt was likely feeling, because she'd felt it herself. Everything her aunt was feeling, Emiko had felt only days before. Perhaps even more so, if she was honest. Seeing her aunt fall to pieces made it clear that Emiko could never tell Sakura the things she'd been told, the things Mara had said to her, the things she'd been shown.

Despite her anger at the world, Emiko did not want to pass her suffering off on anyone else. What she had been shown and what she had been told was her burden to bear alone, and she would be damned if Sakura would ever learn why exactly her brother had been so cruelly taken from her.

"What happened, Mi-" Sakura caught herself, before the nickname slipped out. "Emiko. Sorry."

Her aunt stood, padded over to the chair that still sat by Emiko's bedside. Her face was streaked with tears, but Sakura didn't move to wipe them away. Instead, she plunked into the chair and rested her face in the palm of her hands, her dark hair falling forwards and forming a swath around her shoulders.

"Tell me everything, Emiko. Please. I need to know."

"No."

"I'm sorry?" Sakura jerked her head up, dark eyes wide as she stared into her niece's hardened face, concern burrowing into her eyes. She'd clearly been expecting her niece to give in to her demands, as if forgetting that Emiko was notoriously stubborn.

"You heard me."

"Why?" Sakura sobbed, pressing her fingers against Emiko's forearm. Her fingers were digging into the flesh there, and Emiko fought back a wince at the flash of pain. Her entire body was aching and sore, her muscles screaming out

"You don't need to know what happened, Sakura." Emiko answered simply, tugging her arm away. She knew her aunt would never hurt her, not on purpose, but being touched made her stomach churn. It reminded her of the fear she'd felt when the villain's hand had wrapped around her throat, when her mother had run her fingers over her cheeks. That feeling would not go away so easily, and despite being totally fine with the detective touching her, Emiko didn't trust her aunt nearly as much as she should in that moment.

"Tell me, now. Emiko, you've got to tell me what you know." Sakura rambled, "If I know what happened, I can bring Mara to justice. I just need you to tell me, and then I can make it better."

"You can't bring her to justice and you can't make it better, Sakura. Drop it, now." Emiko grimaced, "I don't know anything, anyways. I told you and the detective everything I know."

Emiko knew it was useless to lie to her aunt, but she did it anyway. She knew Sakura could feel it the instant the words left her mouth, but still she watched as her aunt narrowed her gaze, and Emiko glared right back.

"You're lying, Emiko. I know you're lying. Why can't you just tell me what happened? To you and to Hisato?"

Emiko didn't answer, choosing instead to set her jaw tightly and glare back at the woman she considered her mother. The woman who'd raised her and shown her that the world wasn't entirely evil. Sakura had raised her and shown her kindness, and in her own roundabout way, Emiko was trying to return the favour. Was trying to show Sakura kindness and love and gentleness in a time where everything surely seemed tumultuous and hopeless.

"You don't need to know, Sakura. Please, just let her words die with me." Emiko begged, trying to fight the tears that were welling in her eyes. She was trying desperately to keep calm as her aunt stared at her. Sakura needed reason and logic and was not often fuelled by emotions, which made this whole thing even more difficult for Emiko to deal with.

Sakura stood quickly, moving to the door and back. She began pacing the room, picking at the skin around her cuticles as she usually did when she was worked up or frustrated about something. In her mind, she could picture Sakura pacing the living room, her bare feet padding along the hardwood. She'd often pace herself sick while in the middle of a big case, and Emiko had learned to read her movements.

Short, quick steps like these were a sign of frustration and irritation. Longer, more meaningful strides showed that Sakura was lost deep in thought, stuck somewhere in her mind that Emiko couldn't reach.

"I need to know, Emiko. You were kidnapped and you almost lost a fucking eye and you JUST learned that your father is dead and that your mother killed him, and you're telling me that I don't need to know?!" Sakura yelled, "Are you stupid?"

Emiko hissed out a laugh, "Maybe I am, but it's none of your fucking business what Mara told me. Most of it is probably bullshit anyways."

"You're lying, Emiko."

"I'm not lying, Sakura. Maybe your goddamn quirk is defective or something," Emiko tore her gaze away from her pacing aunt, desperately willing her to drop the subject before she lost control of her own rampaging emotions.

"You're lying to me, Emiko. Think whatever you want, but you're lying. I don't get it - you never lie to me, and now? Now of all times, you decide to lie?"

Emiko only answered with silence, turning her head slightly and shutting her eyes.

"Why can't you let me in, Emiko? Why can't you trust me with what happened?" Sakura sobbed, moving back towards Emiko and grabbing a hold of her hand. Emiko had to fight back a wince as Sakura squeezed just a little too tightly, applied a little too much pressure on the deep gash running across Emiko's palm.

"Fuck, Emiko. I'm not asking you again, you're going to tell me what the fuck happened." Sakura spat, tightening her grip ever so slightly.

Pain radiated through to the tips of her fingers as Sakura dug her fingers into the tender skin of Emiko's hand, and this time, there was no mistaking the hiss of pain that slipped from her lips. As if in a trance, Sakura held onto Emiko's hand. The very hand that Emiko had stabbed a shard of glass into, the very hand that was now bound tightly with bandages to protect the fresh stitches.

Emiko could feel blood welling in her hand, and she tried to pull her hand away, but Sakura held tight. She stared into Emiko's face, her eyes wild and unfocused.

"You're hurting me, Sakura." Emiko whimpered, attempting to pull her hand away once more.

"Tell me what happened, Emiko."

Emiko whimpered in pain again, watching as the gauze began to tint red from the pressure. She bit her lip, before pulling her hand away with as much force as she could muster. In that instant, it was as though Sakura's mask crumbled and her eyes suddenly regained all life. Tears welled and she moved backwards so quickly she almost tumbled over backwards.

"I'm sorry, Miko. I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"I told you not to call me that, Sakura." Emiko spat, leveling her gaze on her aunt as she trembled. "I fucking told you not to call me that and you didn't listen, and I told you I didn't want to tell you what happened and you didn't listen to that, either."

"I'm sorry. Please, Emiko, please. I'm sorry!" Sakura cried again, "You don't have to tell me anything and I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm…"

Sakura trailed off into a fit of sobs as Emiko watched.

"You really want to know what happened, Sakura?" Emiko snarled, resigned to the fact that Sakura would never drop the topic. Years down the road she knew Sakura would continue asking questions, and exhaustion was burrowing it's way into Emiko's chest. She was tired. "Fine. I'll tell you. Mara showed up and she tormented me, first by telling me all about her quirk. A quirk apparently nobody knew she fucking had, by the way."

Sakura only gazed up at her niece from her spot on the floor as if transfixed as Emiko gave into her rage and exhaustion.

"Then once I knew that she actually had a quirk and we'd both been fooled, she dropped the bomb that I never actually met my dad. Is that what you want to hear? That Mara had killed my father before I was ever born, Sakura? Did you want to hear that? Did you want to make me relive that fucking conversation? Because if so, you did a great job of getting it out of me."

Emiko laughed, but there was no humor there. No light in her eyes, and Sakura could only watch. "For nearly 16 years we've both been holding onto memories of a person who died and none of them were real - he never saw my first steps or heard my first words. Fuck, Sakura, maybe he never even knew Mara was pregnant. Is that the kind of thing you want me to say?"

"She also fed me memories of things that never happened - of things that never will happen, and then she took it all from me. I had to watch him die in my head and I couldn't do anything but hold him and wipe blood from his chin. Does that make you feel better, Sakura? That I was tortured with memories of the very things I desire, the things I dream of and long for and that I had to watch them all splinter into nothing?"

"No, Emiko, of course not…" Sakura trailed off into a fit of sobs and Emiko had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Here she was, reliving her trauma. Reliving something that no person should ever have to face, and Sakura was the one dissolving into a pool of tears.

"But that's not even the best part!" Emiko laughed, as if now that the words had started flowing she couldn't get them to stop. Her eyes were wide and manic as they darted wildly around her hospital room. "After all of that, all of the fucking mind games she played, Mara took it upon herself to take my fucking eye from me. Or, I guess I should say attempt to take my eye from me, even though I can't see shit out of it anyways."

"She took everything, Sakura. Is that what you want to hear? In only a day she gave me everything and then ripped it away from me, and she made sure I had the scars to remember it. Are you happy now? Did I tell you enough? Or do you want me to tell you that she made me realize that I'm in love with him and I can't do fucking anything about it, because I am so fucked up inside?"

Sakura only stared up at her niece, eyes wide.

"I love him, Sakura, but I can't do anything about it because I refuse to bring him down with me. Okay? Are you happy now? Is that what you want to hear?"

Sakura didn't answer, she only pressed herself up off of the floor and moved towards her niece. Her hands trembled and shook, but still she moved to brush a hand over Emiko's cheek, pausing only as Emiko flinched.

"Now that I've divulged my deepest and darkest secrets to you, are you happy?" Emiko spat, "I told you everything. Do you feel better now? Are you vindicated? Ready to go to war? Because I'm sure as fuck not."

"Emiko, please. I didn't-" Sakura was mumbling, unable to look her niece in the eyes.

"Get out, Sakura. I have nothing else to say to you." Emiko said, turning her gaze away from the woman who raised her. Her chest deflated and she felt as though she'd had bricks laid on her chest. "There's nothing left to tell."

In the silence, Sakura stepped out of the room. Emiko heard the door click shut, and only once she was alone did she let the tears fall like cherry blossoms in the spring.