Aizawa stood beside the police chief, their footsteps echoing quietly in the clean white hallways. A few doctors and nurses in neat blue uniforms stood along the sides, speaking with patients, writing on clipboards, bustling from one place to another. This wing wasn't as busy as much of the rest of the hospital; a limited number of patients resided here, partially due to the level of security in the ward, and partially due to the identity of their most recent arrival.
They came to a room with a police officer standing guard in front, the dog-chief nodding to him briefly before stepping past and pushing open the door.
The room was rather small, housing only a single hospital bed. There were quite a few machines standing behind it, filling most of the space, with an ample supply of tubes and wires linking them to the figure on the bed.
"How are you, Unknown?" the chief asked as he approached the girl, moving to stand at the foot of her bed.
The raven-haired girl sat lax, leaning back against the flat, scratchy pillow. Her right wrist was heavily wrapped in bandages, reaching from her knuckles to her elbow, matching the ones keeping the medical patch against the wound on the back of her head. Her left wrist was handcuffed to the side of the bed, leaving it hanging in a position that prevented it from fully reaching the mattress, causing a faint red ring on the underside of her wrist where skin rubbed against metal. There was an ugly purple bruise on her neck, the outline of a hand, and her complexion appeared rather pale.
"I've been better, thank you," she smiled plainly, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"We apologize for the complications last night. We never expected any students to get involved."
"Yea, well I can't say I didn't deserve it a little."
"Fortunately, we were able to apprehend all other members of Sacrosanct, and we're grateful for your work," the dog-man explained, the stern, plain expression on his face never changing. "Have they removed the tracker yet?"
"Yea, last night."
"Excellent. We'll follow through with the terms of our deal: the three underage members will not be subject to legal punishment, instead they'll be placed in the psychological ward of a private hospital. Whether or not they eventually become fit to leave will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and they'll receive the same care as any other patient," he explained, continuing upon seeing her faint nod. "After the processing period is over, the Manager will face an appropriate trial, and he will not be subject to any additional leniency in determining his punishment. The details of the case have just been released to the press earlier this morning, but they won't bother you while you're here. I have some work to take care of, but I may need a supplemental statement later on. Until then, I'll leave you to rest." He nodded courteously. He briefly excused himself, turned, and quietly stepped out of the room.
A silence fell over the cramped space, only the steady, mechanical noises of the medical equipment filling the air. Aizawa shifted to lean against the wall opposite of her, arms folding across his chest.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Eraserhead," she smiled dryly, dark eyes fixed on his own. "You seem more tired than usual."
"I've been speaking to the students and policemen all night; safe to say I'm not in the best condition," he sighed quietly, "I'm sure you can sympathize."
"Well, I'm not nearly as injured as all these tubes make me seem. You, on the other hand, should probably go home, don't you think?"
"I wanted to speak with you first."
"Oh? Please do." She was smiling, but he couldn't quite tell if she was being sarcastic.
"I didn't know much about you before this operation began. The chief only informed me of everything after your deal had already been made. Why did the plan go off-course?"
Unknown smiled wryly as she leaned her head back, closing her eyes with a light huff. "The League of Villains is why. The damn Manager made some agreement with them and ended up cutting my time at the school short, then all our original plans went on hold because we had to work with them… how awful. Anyway, I already told the police all this during our little meet-up after it happened."
"I remember. Drawing out signals with your location tracker was smart."
"You flatter me."
A brief silence lapsed between them, punctuated by the occasional beeping of the pulse monitor.
"I don't know if you heard, but the police are still searching for your real name, along with those of the other four members."
"I already told them it was a waste of time," she scoffed dismissively, tilting her head back. "The Manager wouldn't have taken us in the first place if our old selves could be found so easily."
"What do you mean?"
"How do you think he managed to keep from getting caught for so long? He's careful about who he chooses."
...
A tall man with dark hair walked leisurely down the evening street, the warm spring air pleasant against his skin. Next to him stood a little girl, no older than seven or eight, with short black hair just reaching her shoulders. The moon shone brightly above the rooftops of the small town. There were few others out at this hour.
Soft footsteps caught the pair's attention just as a little boy stepped out from around the corner. He seemed around the same age as the girl, his wavy brown hair rustling in the wind as he looked up at the two strangers in surprise.
They exchanged a brief glance before the man took a small step forward. The boy blinked and unconsciously shuffled back, big blue eyes swimming with uncertainty as the man knelt down in front of him.
"Are you lost?" he asked softly, a gentle smile on his lips.
The boy hesitated for a long moment, his gaze lowering to the ground as he played with his fingers. Faintly, he shook his head. Upon closer inspection, the man noticed the child was carrying a small backpack, lumpy from its contents, and his shoelaces were messily tied in loose knots with one side fully undone. His thin, cream-colored sweater was a bit crooked, small flecks of dirt clinging to the ends of the sleeve where he gripped them tightly, arms coiled in front of his chest. He appeared tired, his forehead gleaming with a thin sheen of sweat, as if he had been out under the warm springtime sun for a while.
"Did you… run away from home?" he guessed, eyes scanning over the boy as his head tilted curiously.
The boy slowly nodded.
"Oh, poor thing," the man gently ruffled the boy's hair, a look of sympathy on his face. "It's alright, don't be scared. You can come with me; I'll bring you back home, alright?"
The young boy must have been regretful, as he nodded once again. His caution seemed to fade as he quickly stepped forward, taking hold of the man's outstretched hand in his own tiny grasp. He remained quiet as the man turned around and led them further down the street, the little girl following next to them.
"Your parents must be very worried about you."
"...sorry…"
"No need to apologize to me, dear; you should say that to your parents instead. I'm sure they'll be happy to know you're safe."
The boy hesitated for a moment before nodding faintly.
The group remained quiet for the rest of the walk, only the sound of unseen crickets filling the warm evening air. The girl occasionally snuck glances at the boy across from her. Once, he caught her gaze and offered a small smile, though he received only an inscrutable stare in return.
It didn't take long for a small building with its lights on to come into view. It was a little police box, the bright fluorescent glow spilling through the glass windows facing the street ahead.
The man crouched down next to the young boy, pointing a finger toward the police box. "You see that lady there? Go tell her you're lost, and she'll take you back home, alright?" he smiled at the boy's curious gaze, patting him on the shoulder as he nodded. "Good, go on now."
He offered an encouraging grin as the wandering boy shuffled towards the police box, occasionally glancing back at the pair uncertainly. Once he reached the front of the small building, he softly called out to the woman behind the window, who quickly brought him inside and asked if he was looking for his parents, just as the nice man had said she would. The boy nodded, and the policewoman quickly turned to the phone, dialing a number and bringing it to her ear, all the while holding his hand comfortingly. The boy glanced out the window as the woman spoke to someone on the other end, distant phrases like "reported missing" and "notifying family" coming from the speaker of the old phone as his gaze wandered down the vacant, dimly lit street.
The man and the girl were no longer there.
...
"Manager?"
"Yes, Unknown?"
"Why didn't you take that boy? You said I needed siblings."
"You're right, but remember, not everyone is fit to be a part of our family. We need to choose wisely."
"How do we choose?"
"Well, it depends, but you don't have to worry about that. For now, just remember one thing: children who run away always have people looking for them, and we don't want that, do we?"
...
"He only ever took orphans or ones who were thrown away. No one looks for those kinds of children," Unknown smiled dryly, casually tilting her head to the side as if she were merely talking about the weather.
Aizawa observed her carefully, seeming to look for something. After a moment, however, he looked away, letting out a silent breath as he slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Well, it's over now. He'll be punished for what he did, he won't be able to hurt anyone anymore."
Unknown didn't respond, her quiet gaze still fixed on Aizawa.
"You look like you want to say something," she observed after a moment, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"It's unrelated."
"Regardless. I'm in no hurry."
Aizawa remained silent for a moment longer, seeming to consider his options before finally speaking.
"The others have asked to see you."
She blinked passively, raising an eyebrow. "Who?"
"The students."
"Oh, them?" she tilted her head, the corner of her lip curling slightly in amusement. "Why ?"
"I told them the truth last night. Some of them feel guilty, I believe."
"Guilty? For what?" she laughed, "I have to say, Eraserhead, you must not be a very good storyteller if they think this had anything to do with them."
"They feel guilty for thinking you were against us all this time."
"Right... well, in any case, let them know it's probably not a good idea to come here. Though I'm sure you know better than to let your dear students near a big bad like me, right?" she smiled plainly, drumming her fingers against the metal bar of her bed. "Well, I don't know what time it is, but you must have other things to tend to. No need to keep me company- you should get going if you need to."
Aizawa remained still for a moment longer, that familiar, calculative tint in his eyes as he tried to figure out something he couldn't quite understand. After a moment, he nodded slowly, shifting to stand upright before moving towards the door. He twisted the silver handle, quietly pulling it open. Briefly, he cast a final glance behind him before stepping out of the room, the painted white door clicking shut behind him.
The front of the hospital was almost completely surrounded by reporters, camera crews, and journalists alike, held back by a line of uniformed policemen barring them from the entrance. The moment Aizawa stepped out of the building, the gathered crowd descended into an uproar, a wave of cameras turning to him and dozens of microphones reaching out from behind the officers who were already struggling to maintain order.
"Has Sacrosanct really been captured?"
"What happened at UA last night?"
"Where are the villains being held?"
"Is it true one of their members defected and is working with the pro-heroes?"
"How long have you known about this case?"
"Can you give us a statement regarding UA's involvement in the plot to bring down Sacrosanct?"
"Our sources say Unknown is in this hospital- is that correct?"
"What kind of punishment will the villains receive?"
"How many people were involved in this secret mission?"
The shouts were nearly indistinguishable from one another, melding into a single stream of noise that was quickly giving him a headache. Aizawa remained silent as he slipped through the crowd, aided by the line of officers preventing the eager reporters from reaching him. He quickly climbed inside a waiting black car and shut the door, suddenly extremely thankful for the dark-tinted windows.
By the time he arrived back at UA, having to push past another, even larger crowd of reporters gathered outside, it was nearly midday, the sun raised high overhead providing little respite from the bone-piercing cold. Aside from the persistent shouts behind him, the school was quiet as he passed through the gates, continuing towards the main building. Due to the gravity of the events of last night, UA had closed for the day to allow time for damage control. The news was just beginning to make it to the public, having been released to the media early that morning, and the chaos was already becoming difficult to contain. Every news channel was currently running "Breaking News" segments on the police's "top secret" plot to bring down Sacrosanct. The controversial part, of course, came in their collaboration with Unknown.
Some portrayed it as a villain's brave act of defection, denouncing their criminal ways in favor of "doing the right thing", while others portrayed it as a case of forced cooperation, theorizing the heroes had captured Unknown and given her no choice but to turn against her own people. Some saw it as a one-in-a-million lucky break, while others staunchly believed it was a wildly unethical deal that should never have been made in the first place. There were rampant criticisms of every part of the case, from the choice to allow her into UA, putting thousands of students at risk, to the choice to set her free even after she all but turned herself in, resulting in multiple murders and untold public damage, to the choice to hold off on raiding the Sacrosanct headquarters even when they knew the exact location, which could have resulted in their capture months earlier, and on and on and on. The public backlash was growing stronger by the minute, and there was only so much he, as one person, could do about it.
The first time Aizawa met Unknown was in spring, on the first day of school. A few weeks prior, Principal Nezu had called him to his office, where he found a dozen high-ranking members of the Police and Hero Commission gathered, all with stern, focused expressions etched into their hard features. They explained the situation, how there would be an extra student in his class that year, who she was, and why it was extremely important that this information remain secret. Aside from the principal, he was the only person at the school who knew of the plot, largely because they needed him to keep a close eye on her. Once the first day of class arrived, he was surprised when he finally matched a face to the name. They had shown him her picture before, yes, but it was her personality that caught him off guard. The carefree smile and lighthearted demeanor was nothing like the cold, piercing eyes of the girl in the picture; he almost doubted it was the right person.
From what he saw, she got along well with everyone, quickly making no small number of friends. He wasn't quite sure when he began growing concerned. As far as he knew, her sole purpose was to blend into UA in order to give the rest of Sacrosanct the impression she was collecting information; he didn't know why she was purposefully growing so close to so many students. At first, he believed it might have been part of some ulterior motive she was harboring and reported his suspicion to the Principal accordingly. Nothing came of it, however, as he had simply been told to keep watching for any sign of betrayal. His original suspicion was certainly not proof of anything malicious, and he soon dismissed it as he found no additional reasons for concern.
He had to admit, she was good. He had never once seen her cheerful mask break during her time at the school; he had almost started to wonder if that was her real personality. In the time he had observed her, and through the few private conversations they had, his confidence in her reliability had steadily grown. Fortunately, he turned out to be correct. In all likeliness, the pro-heroes and police force would never have been able to capture Sacrosanct without her efforts, and though some of her actions in between were... questionable at best, he liked to believe she only did what she had to in order to maintain the villains' trust.
The morality of her behavior wasn't up to him, however. He had done his job, completed everything perfectly as he was supposed to. His part was over.
So what was this dissatisfaction churning in his stomach?