Chapter 5: Akane's past gets exposed

The rest of the week continued uneventfully, with Akane dutifully getting her work done in class and skilfully avoiding all opportunities to exhibit her quirk in training. Her classmates pestered her, all in their own ways, trying to learn more about who she was, but to no avail. By the end of the week, Akane Sato remained as silent and mysterious as she was on day one.

Uncomfortable as it made her, Akane did put as much effort as she could into engaging with her fellow students. Midoriya and Iida took special care to include her in class activities and invited her to their table every mealtime. More often than not she declined, but to be talking to people at all was a step in the right direction.

Then came Friday afternoon, where she wasn't given much choice in the matter. The bell rang for lunch, and, like always, Midoriya, Iida and Uraraka met Akane at her desk.

"Feel like joining us for lunch today, Akane?" Uraraka asked.

"It's occurred to me I've not once seen you eat," Iida said, not hiding his stern concern. "Surely you know, Akane, that a balanced diet is key for any rising pro-hero?"

"He's right." Midoriya smiled. "Gotta get big and strong if you want to be a hero, right?"

Akane averted her gaze. Truth be told, eating was still a sore spot for her, having been denied the right to consistent meals for several years of her life and still getting over her anxious and solitary eating habits. She said, "No thanks, guys. I'll see you next period."

She stood up and weaved past them to get through the door, headed where she always did during break periods: the roof. Most everyone spent time off, lunch especially, in the cafeteria, meaning she'd hopefully get some space. The hardest part about school for her so far had to be the constant social surroundings. She needed room to breathe wherever she could get it.

The trio watched her leave, frowning worriedly.

"One has to wonder where she disappears to every lunchtime," Iida said.

"She does eat, right?" Uraraka asked. "She has to!"

"I don't know," Midoriya said, unhappily. "I sure hope so."

Uraraka sighed. "I don't want to be mean, but….I dunno, something seems off, don't you think?"

"She's certainly an interesting new addition to 1A," Iida agreed. "But rest assured, with friends like us, she'll find her place in no time!"

Midoriya nodded. "Right!"

Meanwhile, Akane's journey to the roof got interrupted by Bakugou, standing in the middle of the staircase in wait. He leant against the railing, arms crossed. Seeing him, Akane stopped.

"Figured I'd find you coming up here," Bakugou grumbled. He met her eye. "Quit being a loner and have lunch with me."

Akane recoiled. "Why?"

He rolled his eyes. "'Cause among all the first years, you're the only one with fighting technique worth a damn." He gestured down the hall. "Come on. We're talking tactics."

Having not been given much of a choice, Akane begrudgingly followed Bakugou to the cafeteria. The absolute hoard of people — students, teachers, random staff — made her ears ring with panic, but she stared straight ahead and kept her body stiff. She was on high alert, ready to flee at a second's notice.

Her discomfort did not go unnoticed by Bakugou, who looked at her and scoffed. "Chill out, loser. They're just dumb extras."

He collected a plate of spicy curry and guided Akane through the crowd to his favourite table right in the very corner of the cafeteria with only two seats. Small, isolated — this was more Akane's speed. Still, she couldn't help eyeing every inch of the packed space, actively regulating her breaths. There were people watching her. She was sure of it. She could feel their sticky eyes all over her — her crimson irises, her black gloves, the long, pronounced scar across her face. She was practically a walking freak show.

Akane pulled an energy drink out of her bag. She sat across from Bakugou and cracked it open, sipping urgently.

He scowled. "You're not gonna eat?"

She said nothing, just sipped at her energy drink.

"Pfft. Idiot."

"You're the one who asked me to hang out," Akane reminded him.

"Yeah, to talk shop." Bakugou spooned some curry into his mouth. "Not to watch you starve. You know, for such a strong fighter, you sure are skinny."

Akane could hardly hear him — not even Bakugou's loud, gravelly voice could get all the way through to her, her head still spinning with all the noise and action of the cafeteria. God, the sooner she could get out of here, the better.

"Ignore them."

Surprised, Akane actually looked at Bakugou. "What?"

He spooned in another mouthful of curry. "They're only staring 'cause you're new and weird." He considered. "And not ugly."

She arched an eyebrow. "Offhanded, but thanks."

Hiding his blush in a trademark scowl, Bakugou dug back into his curry, muttering under his breath. A couple tables over, Akane couldn't help but listen in on the other conversations taking place. Especially the conversations joined by not-so-subtle glances and giggles aimed at her. She stared at the table, clutching her energy drink for dear life, wishing she couldn't hear them.

"—Mr Aizawa's personal recommendation, apparently."

"But what the hell's her quirk?"

"That's the thing! No one knows. She doesn't use it in training."

Nasty laughter. "Maybe she's a villain."

The whole table seemed to find that hysterical. "She certainly looks the part!"

"I know! Did you see that scar?"

Out of nowhere, Bakugou's hand slammed the table, so loud the plate and can rattled. The group talking about Akane a couple tables over all flinched to attention, gasping at the sight of a very pissed-off Bakugou glaring right in their direction.

"She's not deaf, you know!" He roared.

"Bakugou," Akane said. Face utterly blank, she stood. "Shut up."

Speechless, Bakugou and the bullies simply watched her leave, all equally dumbfounded. Bakugou knew he should've been furious — she told ME to shut up, after I tried to defend her honour? But something about her expression, about her balled fists in those gloves, and the nasty scar painfully distinct across her face, made him feel something else. His scowl softened into a slack jaw and he reached out an arm, almost like he wanted to follow her.

But then, hardly two seconds later, Bakugou remembered the jerks who had made her storm off in the first place. He turned back to their table, seething furiously.

"You damn bastards," he growled. "What's your problem? I'll blast you all to hell!"

Shaking in their shoes, the students scurried away, muttering nervously amongst themselves. Bakugou had to fight the urge not to go after them, instead sinking back into his chair. Seeing the half-drunk energy drink left on the table in front of him, he snarled, pushing his own plate away. Somehow he'd completely lost his appetite.

Next period, Bakugou rocked up to class uncharacteristically early in the hopes of running into Akane before Aizawa showed up. He found her, just as he hoped, sitting upright at her desk, idly reading a passage from one of her textbooks. Bakugou hesitated, shuffling his feet in the doorway, before finally trudging toward her.

Seeing him approach, Akane glanced up. Her face remained blank.

Without saying a word, Bakugou revealed the half-drunk energy drink from behind his back. He must have retrieved it from their lunch table and brought it upstairs for her. He practically slammed it on her desk.

Akane blinked. "Thanks."

"Whatever. Figured if you weren't gonna eat, you'd sure as hell need to finish this crap off."

Iida, Todoroki and Midoriya, already in their desk chairs, had to smother their gasps. What the hell was going on? Bakugou keeping an eye out for a student who wasn't himself? This was unheard of! The boys had their eyes glued to the scene, even Todoroki itching to know where the hell this unprecedented act of kindness from their resident hothead had come from.

Akane gripped the can. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, well." He rubbed the back of his neck, visibly blushing. "Those bastards had no right to call you a villain. It was a dick move."

Suddenly, Midoriya yelped. Villain. The dots connected at lightening fast speed, and before he knew it, he was standing at his desk, quivering with realization. He pointed at Akane, eyes wide as saucers.

"You-you-you're Tombstone!"

For the first time since they'd met her, Akane's face expressed complete, outright terror. Her lips parted, eyes swimming, breath frozen. He knew.

Todoroki frowned, looking between Akane and Midoriya. "Tombstone? The little girl recruited as an assassin by that villain gang a few years ago?"

Akane couldn't speak. She shook her head, slowly, as if it would wake her up from some awful dream. No. No. No no nonononono—

RIIIIINGGG!

The warning bell rung, announcing the impending commencement of a new period. Akane leapt to her feet, finally able to move, and sprinted for the door, knocking over the remnant of her energy drink in the process. Sticky caffeinated liquid spilled all over her desk and onto the carpet, but no one in the room could've cared less. They were too fixated on Akane's urgent exit, disappearing before they could press her any further.

After several moments of agonizing silence, Iida spoke up.

"Assassin?" He asked, quietly tentative.

The class filled with more students before anyone could offer an answer. Iida, Midoriya and Todoroki remained in their seats, addressing no one who entered. Bakugou, still standing, had other plans.

"Dammit," he growled. And then, forcefully pushing past the incoming students, he snapped, "Out of my way, extras!"

Muttering their complaints, the rest of 1A let him leave, only questioning Bakugou's aggressive exit after he was long gone. They found their seats, exchanging speculations, until Aizawa entered the classroom. However, their homeroom teacher had only made it halfway to his podium before he noticed something was seriously wrong. Instantly, his keen eyes flashed across the room, landing on two empty spaces: Bakugou…and Akane. His heart practically stopped.

"Where are they?"

xxx

Akane strode home as fast as she could without breaking into a run. Midoriya figured it out. Her past was exposed. She was in danger. Aizawa was in danger. The villains would come for her, they'd take her back, they'd make her kill again just like before, over and over and over—

"Hey, dumb newbie!"

Horrified, Akane froze. She forced herself to turn around at the familiar voice, tears on the brink of her eyes.

Bakugou jogged up to her. "Where the hell are you going?"

Akane pursed her lips. She faced forward again and kept walking home. Close to me, this kid is in danger now, too.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Akane kept walking. "Leave me alone."

Bakugou met her stride, keeping close, but if anything it only made Akane walk faster. He growled, frustrated by her avoidance.

"What's your deal, newbie? You're just gonna bail in the middle of school? I thought you came to U.A to be a hero."

"I said leave me alone. Take the hint."

"Goddammit, just stop for a stupid second!" Bakugou grabbed her wrist, not knowing what a big mistake that was.

Akane inhaled sharply, freezing in her tracks. She turned to look at Bakugou with that same unprecedented fear he'd seen in her eyes earlier in class, violently trembling, and a strangely childish look that read, please don't hurt me.

Bakugou stopped. He blinked, seeing Akane's painful face, and then seeing this hand on her wrist. Immediately, he let go, horrified by the response he'd elicited.

"I-I'm sorry," he said.

Akane couldn't speak, staring back at him with that same fear. Bakugou could hardly stand it, willing in that moment to do anything to restore the stoic, badass girl he'd grown accustomed to over the last week.

Bakugou swallowed. "It's about what Deku said, isn't it?"

Finally, Akane looked away. She took a deep breath, praying Bakugou wouldn't notice how much the air shook in and out of her lungs, and coming to the cold realization that there was no point hiding anymore. She closed her eyes for a moment, and returned Bakugou's eye again at last.

"Tombstone. The name ring a bell?"

Bakugou frowned. "Kinda. Not really."

Akane sighed. She started walking again, and did not resist this time when Bakugou followed.

"It's just like Todoroki said. My quirk manifested when I was six — killer touch. I get angry enough, or stressed enough, and my hands kill whatever they touch. Found that out the hard way. One tantrum, plus my flashy new quirk, and I killed my whole family."

Bakugou considered. "The gloves."

She nodded. "Didn't take long for the news to get a hold of that juicy story, and once it was out, villain associations everywhere realized what a valuable asset I could be. I was taken less than a year after the incident and spent the next seven years under the thumb of villains. Did whatever I was told to do. Went wherever I was told to go. Killed….whoever I was told to kill."

For the first time, maybe ever, Bakugou had nothing to say. He just watched Akane as she spoke, both dreading and needing to hear her story.

"The pro-heroes got to me when I was thirteen," Akane explained. "Took me out of there. Haven't used my quirk since."

Bakugou hesitated. "And…the scar?"

At that, Akane's jaw hardened. "Villains aren't exactly a hospitable bunch."

A familiar spark arose in Bakugou — an all-consuming anger ready to swallow him whole. But, seeing the restraint in Akane's body, stiff and distant, he forced himself to reign it in.

"Akane," Bakugou used her name for the first time. "Wait."

She forced herself to come to a stop, but did not turn to him. She was too scared to see his face, ready for disgust, horror, maybe even pity.

But then he said, "I'm sorry."

Akane frowned. He was sorry?

"I pushed you to use your quirk. That was….it was wrong." Bakugou clenched his fists. "I was an asshole."

Akane smiled. "You didn't know. You weren't supposed to."

Concern dawned on Bakugou's face. "Wait. What?"

Akane started to walk again, not checking to see if he followed. She sighed.

"It's not just students I need to worry about. People find out the kid villain Tombstone is enrolled at U.A, that's pretty much it. Most of the villains who kept me captive are still out there. They'll want me back, if they see a chance."

"What?" Bakugou growled. "Are you telling me that idiot Deku put your life on the line by opening his dumb mouth?"

"You really shouldn't call him that."

"Is it true?!"

"It doesn't matter. I was naïve to think the truth wouldn't get out, sooner or later."

Bakugou was not satisfied. Practically giving off steam, he grumbled, "I'm gonna blast that damn nerd so hard he won't know what hit him."

At that, Akane gave one of those rare, real smiles. Seeing it, Bakugou's eyes widened.

"That's new," he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "…Newbie."

They walked the next five minutes in silence, before finally reaching a crossroads where Akane stopped. She turned to Bakugou, who almost bumped right into her.

"Go back to class. I've got things from here."

Bakugou scoffed. "Are you crazy or just stupid? A person of your profile shouldn't be going anywhere alone."

Akane shrugged. "Maybe not, but I've gotten you in enough trouble already. Besides…" she smirked. "Little creepy of you to follow me all the way home uninvited."

Bakugou shoved his hands back in his pockets, grumbling incoherently, but eventually turned on his heel to walk back the way they'd come. He hated to admit it, but if he did end up getting in trouble, his mother would never let him hear the end of it.

Meanwhile, Akane was just glad to keep Bakugou from the possibility of realizing that she lived with Aizawa. It was one thing for her past identity to have been exposed, and another to tell the world the infamous pro-hero Eraserhead took Tombstone in as his adopted daughter. She needed to protect his safety as well, at all costs.

I'm sorry, Aizawa, she sighed. I have a bad a feeling things are going to be more complicated from now on.