Chapter Nine
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A/N: Chapter 19. Behind the scenes of the Bathroom / Vandalism incident.
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-Midnight-
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Nemuri steps into the girl's bathroom and nearly gags.
"God, what the fuck is that smell?" she grumbles, pulling her hand to her nose. She'd met foul-smelling children, but this was disgusting. Her eyes scan the room and zero in on the third stall to the left, the only one closed and locked. Whoever this was, couldn't be very bright. What the hell were they thinking? It smelled cheap cologne and cigarettes.
Were they smoking in here?
She lets her heels click as she strides forward and rattles the door.
"Alright kid, I know you're in there, open it up and hand over the contraband." Nemuri rattles the door again when there's no obvious sign of movement. Really, did they think sitting on a toilet was going to magically make that smell go away? "And don't ignore me, I'll break this thing open. Just watch me."
Perhaps this kid wasn't totally idiotic.
The sound of someone moving and the door clicking open seems to echo in the silent space.
Smirking, Nemuri pushes open the door, fully prepared to chew someone out, but stills at the sight inside.
Curled up on the rim of the toilet is one of the most heartbreaking things she's ever seen. A dark-haired girl with red-rimmed eyes, a wrinkled, dirty school uniform, and bandaged arms stares back.
"What the-" she stops, blinks, and stares some more. "What the hell kid?"
What is going on here?
Who is this?
Nemuri hides a grimace, fully aware it won't help the situation. When the teen opens her mouth to speak, and chokes on it. The heroine rubs her head and sighs. The kid looks ready to start hyperventilating.
"Alright, let's start with the basics. Name?"
"H-H-H-Hoki, R-R-R-Rin."
Shouta's brat? No… it couldn't be.
"Class?"
"1A."
Nemuri frowns and looks at the girl again, eyebrows furrowing. This was the girl we watched on the videos?
All of them had watched it, it'd been part of the emergency meeting Nezu had put together at the last minute. All Might had grimaced. Hizashi had been white-knuckled and blank-faced. Nobody spoke when the beast of a creature broke Shouta's arms.
The same couldn't be said when Hoki arrived.
Completely wrapped in bandages, the tape had caught her staggering forward, snarling. She'd expected to watch the girl get thrashed. She'd seen her on the stretcher when they'd arrived. She'd known the end result.
None of them expected her to explode.
It was like watching some horror movie, the way her jaw opened, her arms cracked and opened, and the way black smoke and snakes swarmed out. It was awe-inspiring, horrifying, and destructive. She'd thought Endeavour's kid was crazy strong, but that? She'd created a tsunami of darkness and chased the leader of the League of Villains, had captured him.
And in a move that spoke of her inexperience, had lost track of her surroundings.
"Shit," Hizashi whispered, wide-eyed.
"Who the hell is that?" Vlad asked.
"Hoki Rin," the Principal answered, looking grim.
All Might had nodded, hands crossed against his chest.
Nemuri blinks as she stares down at the pitiful thing in front of her. Nothing at all like the one she'd watched in the video, back straight and expression fierce.
Something is terribly wrong here.
"You're in my art class. You're one of Aizawa's?"
The girl nods.
"Let's take you to him then," the dark-haired woman says, attempting to understand. As they walk through the empty halls, she pays careful attention to the teen, to the quiet shuffle of her steps, the way she bows her head, and the unnatural pallor of her obviously tanned face.
Abuse? Bullying? Neglect?
Her mind races through all of their previous interactions and, unacceptably, comes up short. Have they ever even spoken? Has she never raised her hand?
She watches the girl hug herself, watches her expression swirl from unease to blankness to fear. And when they arrive at the room door, she watches in concern as it all just… disappears.
That is not normal.
Is she disassociating? How long has this been happening that she can do that?
She strides forward and nudges that eyesore of a sleeping bag with her foot. And when Shouta opens his eyes, Nemuri knows he recognizes the unease on her face. His red eyes narrow and he looks beyond her to the girl. She's still staring, blank-faced back.
She looks empty.
That is not a good sign.
"Hoki, where have you been?" he grumbles, unzipping the bag and rising.
Even with all the bandages in the way, the dark-haired woman can see the disquiet in his posture. It multiplies in herself as the girl just looks down, not answering with flat, lifeless eyes.
What is going on?
"The bathroom," Nemuri states, backing away to close the door. The last thing they need is some curious kid to wander by and poke their head in. Or for this to devolve into elopement. Maybe space and a familiar person would help?
"Why do you smell like cigarettes?" he asks sharply, pulling his legs from the sleeping bag. Annoyed, and likely scowling if the stiff way he narrows his eyes is anything to go by. He approaches the girl and leans forward, sniffing. He wrinkles his nose. "Unlit cigarettes? Take off the jacket."
Hoki nods and tries.
Shouta meets her eye over the girl's head. She's short enough to barely come to their chin. He doesn't need to speak for her to see the concern there.
What is going on?
She shakes her head, already stepping forward to help the girl peel the jacket away.
No idea-
She nearly snarls at the blouse underneath. Nemuri shakes the jacket, letting loose chunks of tobacco fall to the ground as she works not to glare at the shirt.
Shit.
No wonder the kid was crying.
She's covered in graffiti. Giant inked on penises drawn vulgarly across her chest and back in thick blue markers. Combined with the jacket, smell, and hiding, bullying is looking more and more apparent.
Shouta glares, looking ready to kill. Nemuri realizes immediately how caught off guard he is.
Who the hell did this? Did this happen at school?
"Who did this?" he snaps.
"Was it a student?" she can't help but add.
The girl trembles and Nemuri wants to gather her in her arms. At least she's not staring off anymore. How long has this been going on? Why hadn't she said anything sooner? What hadn't she reported anything?
Why did she hide?
"Is this why you skipped homeroom?"
She nods and Shouta crosses his arms, mind whirling.
"I'll be calling your parents."
That, of all things, forces a reaction.
"I don't have parents."
Nemuri forces her hands to her side.
What does she mean she doesn't have parents? Where is she living? Who is watching her? Why not?
"Where do you live?"
"The Last One."
Nemuri's never heard of it, but it's clear Shouta has. He grunts even as his eye takes on a gleam.
"Midnight take her to see recovery girl. I need to speak to the principal."
She does. The teen seems to shatter at those words, and she wants to comfort her, to reach out and pull her close. But she doesn't. Not now. Too many questions and not nearly enough answers. Recovery Girl takes one look at the girl and ushers her to a bed.
Nemuri lingers only long enough to ensure she's no longer needed before returning to her old friend.
He's on the phone when she arrives.
"Pranks," he says sharply. "Hoki's shirt is covered in graffiti and she has tobacco stuffed inside her jacket. Explain to me how that is a prank?"
Shouta gestures to shut the door and Nemuri does so quietly, arms crossing as she watches the dark-haired man glower. Whatever the person on the other side is saying, it's clearly not acceptable.
"Takidori-san," he snaps. "I am not interested in the background of your charges. Their history is not my priority, my student is. How often has she been targeted in these pranks?"
Nemuri walks forward and sinks into one of the student desks.
That doesn't sound good.
Foster care?
"Twice?" the man repeats slowly. Bullshit. "And those incidents were?"
Nemuri leans forward in the desk, letting her chest lay against the surface. She's tempted to make a sultry face at him. But the tease feels flat with the image of the dark-haired girl crying in the stall still fresh in her mind.
Bastards.
To be blessed with the ability to have a child and to waste it-
You don't know the whole story.
Shouta eyes cut to her when she sighs, and there's a knowing look there that she doesn't like.
"Takidori-san," Shouta says coldly. "I do not know the nature of your relationship with Hoki beyond a caregiver. However, I will warn you now that if another event or 'prank' of this nature occurs again, I will launch an investigation. I would suggest you get control of your household-"
Nemuri watches as he pulls the phone from his face and glares at it.
"She hung up," he says dangerously. "That woman is lying through her teeth. Pranks."
Nemuri grimaces.
"It could be a prank though," she says, attempting to see the other side. Privately, however, she agrees. The entire incident felt too close to intimidation and bullying. But why? "If it's a foster home and there's a jealous sibling-"
"It's a group home," Shouta corrects, stuffing the phone into his pocket. "Similar but different. Foster care can only take up to six children, group homes serve as holding centers for much larger numbers, and usually those that aren't capable behaviorally of being placed in foster care. I'm more concerned about why Hoki is there. It doesn't match the address on her paperwork or our current psych analysis on her. She has not displayed any behaviors that even hint at being physically aggressive. Of course, I'm not even sure her quirk is properly classified considering that damn video."
She frowns.
"That's a lot of misinformation," she says slowly. "But why would they lie about the address?"
"To avoid the negative stigma," he answers shortly. "With so many applicants, the system flags anyone with threatening or assaulting backgrounds. Students from group homes are automatically marked as potentially unsuitable and Takidori more than likely knew that."
"The penalty for lying is expulsion," she states quietly.
"I am aware. As her homeroom teacher, as long as I have an appropriate address, there's no reason to make a big deal. However, the true nature of her quirk may be more from ignorance than concealment. Twice her quirk has turned on her, which suggests she is either not confident, or she has yet to fully gain control of it. I suspect its both."
"I see," Nemuri says, standing as Shouta pushes away from the desk. "Are you going to see Nezu?"
"Yes. Join me? I want to know what happened in the bathroom."
She nods, lips thinning.
"I can't offer much, I found her locked in a stall crying. I caught two second years in the hall complaining about it and investigates. I honestly didn't recognize her."
Shouta grunts, but she can see his displeasure.
"Eraser?" she asks
"It is concerning that Hoki's first instinct is to hide in a bathroom. It suggests a lack of trust in adults. Takidori implied the behavior is a result of previous abuse."
"It could be," Nemuri mumbles. She quiets briefly as they make their way to Principal Nezu's office. Several students walk by and she waits until they turn the corner to glance his way. The walking mummy stares stiffly ahead. "You don't believe her?"
"No."
The dark-haired woman furrows her eyebrows.
"Any specific reason?"
Shouta doesn't meet her eye.
"In the ten minutes I had her on the phone, she didn't once ask if the child was okay."
Nemuri grimaces.
"Oh."
A/N: Group Home vs. Foster Home:
A group home is generally run by a company or agency for children that cannot be placed in foster care. Usually, these children have more challenging behaviors or mental, emotional, social, and/or developmental concerns than a foster parent is willing to deal with. Typically, these institutions are filled with older children, ages around 11 and up. Sometimes children get their own room, sometimes they are forced to share. Usually, it depends on funding and the level of community assistance.
Foster homes, however, are different. They tend to provide more stability and create stronger bonds as a child becomes a part of a family unit until either they are adopted or reunited with their original family.
In both cases, a child can be moved from home to home until they find a good fit.