A/N - My apologies for this chapter being a little short! I know I say this each chapter, but I can't thank you all enough for the patience, love and excitement I see for this little brain worm of mine (if you can call it little at 26 chapters and growing!) All of the comments, likes, follows and favorites absolutely make my day each time I see one :) We are building up to another big moment in the story and I can't wait to share it with all of you :)

Love and Light!

Kahelle

Chapter 26 – Oro Mo Bhaidin

"Little fish? Where are you?"

Aine curled into herself even tighter from where she was hidden behind a stack of unused mats. She could hear the old woman walking back and forth through the gym looking for her.

This was going to be the third elementary school she had been kicked out of within the year.

"Crochfaidh mé seolta is rachaidh mé siar, Óró mo churaichín ó, 'S go hOíche Fhéil' Eoin ní thiocfaidh mé aniar, Óró mo bháidín" the woman's voice echoed sweetly through the rafters, her cane tapping in soft percussion as she sang and searched through the equipment for the ten-year-old's hiding spot.

It wasn't long before she spotted Aine curled in a tight ball, with her head hidden in her arms. Nana Ciara gingerly sat down close to her, continuing to hum the gentle tune as she waited for her little fish to feel safe enough to open up.

Soft sniffles could be heard from the girl as her body slowly began to soften. Aine dropped her knees down until she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her hands in her lap as she picked at her nails – pausing momentarily to wipe at the tears falling down her face with the heel of her hand.

"Nach lúfar í ag iomramh soir agus siar, Óró mo churaichín ó, 'S a sárú ní bhfaighidh tú ó Árainn go Cliar

Óró mo bháidín" Nana's voice tapered off back into the soft hum as she looked over at the child, "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked in English.

Aine looked up at Nana Ciara, who gave a soft hiss at the blooming bruise on her cheek in the shape of a handprint.

"Come, I have ice packs in office. Will help bruise." She grunted in exertion as she lifted herself off the floor before extending a hand to Aine.

"I don't feel it. It's fine." Aine looked down and to the side.

"Maybe, but ice will help not be bad." The woman gestured to her cheek, making a shrinking motion with her hand.

Aine looked up at the woman's offered hand, finally sighing and grabbing it, allowing Nana Ciara to help her up.

In the office, Aine held the ice pack to her cheek as she nibbled on a small butter cookie that Nana Ciara seemed to always keep stashed just for her. The elderly woman shuffled through things as she waited for the curly-topped girl to calm herself. The tears had stopped for the most part and with the help of the ice pack, the bruising should remain minimal.

"Now then," the woman tapped her cane gently against Aine's leg, "what happened?"

Aine removed the ice pack, holding it in her hands on her knees and picking at it while Nana Ciara waited patiently. "I…I punched Kiyohisa in the face during recess." Her eyes snapped up, "I promise I had a good reason this time! He was picking on Yuji and Yuji kept telling him to stop but he wouldn't stop and so I told him to stop and he said, 'make me' so I did!" Aine gasped in a breath of air as she finished the explanation in one breath, she dropped her head and started picking at the ice pack again, "Kiyohisa started screaming when his nose started bleeding. I didn't mean to hurt him that bad, I promise, I just…Yuji is so nice and…and…." Her voice started to shake as her breathing picked up pace.

Nana Ciara sat down next to Aine on the small futon she kept in her office, "Shhhh….shhhhh….it's okay…." She pulled the girl against her, running her hands through chestnut curls, "take your time."

Aine nodded and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes as her breathing slowed and she leaned in to the comforting presence, "The teacher heard him and when she came over he told her I hit him for no reason. Which wasn't true at all! I tried to tell her what was happening, but she wouldn't listen to me and took me to the principal. He called uncle."

The elderly woman winced. Aine didn't need to expound any further than that for her to deduce what had resulted from that phone call. "I'm guessing your uncle did this?" she gestured to the now fading handprint on the child's face. Aine turned her face away, confirmation as sure as if she had spoken the words. "Aine, iasc beag, we have to tell your case worker…"

"NO!" Aine jumped from her seat, turning to kneel in front of the old woman. Her eyes both panicked and pleading, "Please, we can't tell her! If Miss Iwai finds out…." Tears began to spill down her cheeks, "They'll send me to a foster home. Please, I know he is mean to me but…I have to stay with him….if I stay with him I can stay here - with you…. I just need to be better….then maybe he will be nicer….like before…"

Aine swung her legs back and forth off the edge of the store roof as she watched the darkened alley below. With the increased patrols at the school it had become next to impossible to sneak out undetected, even with her own personal "Ratgod" working behind the scenes to allow her these small excursions.

This was only her second outing since the campus went on lockdown. Her first outing she had nearly been caught by one of the staff heroes out on patrol during her return to campus. Thankfully, after that close call Nedzu had provided her with a schedule of planned patrols. The risk of discovery still loomed but she could at least plan better this way.

It wasn't long before she saw the figure she had been expecting enter on the far end of the alleyway. As quietly as she could, she made her way down to the ground and towards the agreed-upon meeting spot – a small, abandoned store tucked away from the busy streets. After a quick perimeter check to ensure there were no prying eyes or ears, she slipped in through a window that had long since lost its glass to vandals. She moved slowly, being careful to not disturb the pots and pans that had been left haphazardly on the counter top.

Aine looked around getting her bearings in the former café as she moved soundlessly through the empty doorway from the kitchen. Layers of dust had settled over tables, chairs and booths covered in thick plastic while cobwebs clung to unused light fixtures. Small flecks of moonlight filtered in through the windows that had various cracks, holes, and missing panes.

"Over here." A voice whispered from one of the corner booths, away from the windows in the far end of the dining room. Aine slipped through the shadows until she saw Emma standing, waiting for her. "I was starting to think you wouldn't make it. Tell me again why we are here and not at the hotel?" She rubbed her hands on her arms – more from discomfort than actual chill.

"Because every pro-hero within the city is on high-alert and a black-clad figure sneaking into a hotel close to UA would look more than a little suspicious."

Emma scoffed before gesturing around the room, "And this doesn't?"

"At least here, there are not cameras or surveillance equipment. Besides, I already checked everything out. Neither of us were followed and there doesn't appear to be any one hanging around here." Aine leaned against the high back of the booth, keeping as much of the room in her vision as possible.

"I'd say there hasn't been anyone hanging around here in a while." Emma drug her finger along the table making a face of disgust. The finger leaving a long canyon of dust in its wake.

Aine rolled her eyes and gave a soft chuckle as she shook her head, "You would never make it as an informant. Had to meet with one in a sewer pipe once."

Emma glowered at her as she pulled a thumb drive out of her pocket, "Here is what I texted you about. It's not much but it is what information I could get via 'research request' about past reports of mistreatment of quirkless students. It seems like your student from Corusca isn't the first to be covered up. There are multiple holes in their files, dating back over decades."

Aine slipped the thumb drive into her pocket, "That's not surprising. I'm guessing Aldera was the same situation?"

Emma shook her head, "Not exactly. While it does appear that things were kept under wraps, the school made sure that a handful of allegations were allowed a year. Just enough to look legitimate. However, I found something you might find interesting."

"What?"

"Just like the reports with your student, all reports over the last decade were made by a single teacher. I pulled a few strings and was able to get her information as well as the information of other students that she reported as having been discriminated against. It's all on that thumb drive." Emma nodded towards where the thumb drive now sat securely in Aine's pocket.

Aine leaned back against the booth again, arms crossed over her chest, "Now to see if any of them will talk about it. I'd imagine the school would have tried to cover their asses."

Emma shrugged, "There didn't appear to be a non-disclosure agreement, or anything legal tied to the files but most threats are not put on paper." She leaned against the wall, her disgust of the layer of dust that clung to everything seemed to have slipped her mind.

Aine hummed in agreement, "Isn't that the truth. Speaking of being legally tied, did you find any loopholes regarding my gilded cage?" she looked down at her feet as she lightly kicked at the dust, "There's not much I can do with this information unless I have a bit more freedom of movement."

The blonde woman's shoulders sagged, "About that…. Good news is that unless you are caught actively participating in villainous activities the Commission really has no legal standing to send you to Tartarus for the actions of your past. They also do not have any legal standing to send you to jail for…say… investigating or other hero activities without a hero license although that means we would need to release your name to the German Commission in order to verify that you are indeed a protected legal German vigilante. The bad news is – if we do that – since vigilantism is technically 'breaking the law' here, your Japanese citizenship will make you guilty of a crime, but your protected status would mean….."

"They can't send me to Tartarus, but they can forcibly send me back to Germany – for good." Aine leaned her head backwards, "Well, as if that doesn't tie our hands further."

Emma looked down at her feet, "I'll keep looking for loopholes but ultimately it looks like unless you want to run the risk of deportation you'll have to keep playing by their rules."

Aine pushed herself off of the booth to stand, "Thank you for trying, though." She crossed the distance between them to pull Emma into a hug.

Emma returned the hug, squeezing tightly "You know you always have a place to stay, and we will fight like hell to get you back home if they send you to Germany. "

"Yeah." Aine pulled back and gave a half smile before glancing at the display on her burner phone, "I better get back before the next patrol. You head out first, message me when you get to the street, and I'll head home. Take a different route to the hotel than what you used to get here. Just to be on the safe side."

Emma gave a short nod and walked to the side exit door that she had used to enter the building. As she placed her hand on the broken doorframe to push it open, she paused and turned back, "Please be careful. Will you text me when you get back to campus?"

Aine nodded in agreement and watched as Emma pulled a kerchief out of her bag to hide her hair and slipped out of the door.

"You really should stop playing at being a hero, child. Wouldn't it feel so rewarding and send a stronger message if you simply released the information you had and then burned those schools to the ground? Or made an example out of those who allowed it to happen alongside the perpetrators? Force the Commission to hear the voices of their society's victims. Deliver true justice for those who suffered." The uninvited voice in her head hissed with sickly sweet venom.

For the first time in years, she found herself agreeing with him.

"So that's it then. Toe the line with the Commission or else you face jail or deportation." Shouta ran a hand through Aine's curls absentmindedly as she laid with her head in his lap and filled him in on the events of the previous night.

She sighed as she sat up, "Looks like it. Emma said she was going to keep looking for loopholes but I'm not expecting her to find anything else." Picking up her mug of tea from the coffee table, Aine sat holding the mug between her hands staring at the ripples in the liquid.

"How much longer are they staying in Japan?"

She shook her head, "Just a few more days. I think their flight leaves on Tuesday or Wednesday. Although, from the sounds of it Christopher's negotiations with the support company went extremely well so I don't think this will be their last trip by a long shot."

"So long as they give a little warning next time." Shouta grumbled as he gathered up his mug and held his hand out for the one she still held. Aine gave a half-hearted chuckle as she handed the mug to him and watched him disappear around the corner to deposit them in her sink. He reemerged a moment later, grabbing his capture scarf from the chair where he had draped it. "I better get to patrol before it gets much later, especially if I'm going to complete a campus check beforehand."

"Be careful out there."

He nodded, "I'll see you at dinner tomorrow night." Shouta leaned closer to where Aine had walked to see him out and gave her a gentle kiss before opening the balcony door and stepping out into the night. As he disappeared into the darkness outside, she grabbed her laptop off of the table and headed back to the bedroom.

Pulling the thumb drive out of the drawer on her nightstand, she sat cross legged on her bed opening the laptop and plugging the drive in. Clicking on the file to open it, she saw a list of 5 names but only one that looked familiar – Naomi Kinoshita, the name on every incident report she saw from Aldera. As she opened the file, she was greeted by a detailed report containing Ms. Kinoshita's phone number, address, schedule as well as several images.

"Well, Emma – you may need to add Private Investigator to your list of titles!" Aine spoke to herself as she poured over the information, saving the numbers and addresses to her extra phone. She knew that she couldn't act on anything until after the lockdown was lifted but at least this way she felt like she was doing something rather than sitting on her hands about the maltreatment of these kids.

As soon as the campus opens back up, I think Dochloite will make a little visit to Ms. Kinoshita. She closed her laptop, setting it on the nightstand next to her as she stretched out on the bed. If she won't talk to the authorities or to pro heroes, maybe she'll talk to someone without ties to either. Aine stifled a yawn as she stared at the ceiling. Or maybe I can convince her to say something.

Either way, it's time for Aldera, Corusca and any other school that allows this abuse to face consequences for their actions and I'll be damned if I don't make sure they face actual justice!

Although the room was empty, Aine swore she could hear satisfied laughter beginning as her eyes drifted closed.