Now when I open my eyes, I wake up to a sterile, white ceiling.

Ah, the hospital.

Wait, why am I in the hospital?

The answer to that question comes soon enough. My body feels like a mountain. Heavy, hard, and tiresome. I can't even bring myself to sit up. All that I manage is to turn my head from side to side. The heart and breath monitor shows normal values. An IV needle penetrates my cephalic vein. From that and the fatigue, I presume that I had surgery.

A young nurse comes in to check in on me. She introduces herself and helps me sit. I ask her to tell me all that has transpired. My voice feels like gravel and sandpaper. She tells me that The League of Villains kidnapped me and Bakugou-san. Both of us were missing for two days. Then some of my classmates grouped together to rescue us. They managed to safely save the Bakugou-san, but I was not so lucky. He tried to bring me with him, but I fell almost twenty-five meters to the ground. All my appendages were broken. Compound fractures. Then some concrete slabs crushed my legs. Compound and comminuted fractures. "This rescue was kept under wrap-ups because unlicensed students were involved," she says. "But us doctors and nurses were told the entire situation. We had to take you in for emergency surgery. External blood loss. Internal bleeding. Broken bones. Your lungs were nearly punctured. You were kept sedated for four days as more surgeries had to take place."

I almost laugh. The Bone Crusher Killer had her bones crushed! How ironic! At the very least, the sleeping pill I took was very effective. No sensation of the pain, until now. I urge her to tell me more about what happened. I learn that U.A. deceived the public and the villains with a broadcast while organizing troops of heroes to infiltrate the League's base. The bar was compromised. The location where the noumu were kept was compromised. All for One and All Might had a grand battle. The League of Villains escaped unscathed, but All for One was captured. All Might's true form was revealed: a withered, sick man. The figure once known as the Symbol of Peace is dead, and all that remains is a husk.

I have a lot to process. But when the nurse lingers for a moment too long, my wariness rises. "There are some things you should know," she murmurs. "The first is that despite all the advancements in medicine and health quirks out there, some injuries cannot be healed. I was told that you have juvenile arthritis. But you could walk for a short time without your cane, right?" I nod slowly, ever suspicious. "Well … your legs … they were so damaged that I'm afraid you won't be able to walk without support again. You need physical therapy, and you won't be able to perform hero duties for a long time."

Now I do laugh. Sardonically. "Perhaps that statement should hurt more than the fact that my prized cane has been missing for nearly two weeks. Look at me! At age fifteen, my joints have reached age ninety. I ought to start using a geriatric cane!" She doesn't reciprocate. I don't expect her, too. My false joviality sobers. "You said that was the first thing I had to know. What are the rest?"

She gulps nervously. "For the surgeries, we had to strip you. There were … there are letters etched into your skin. Slurs. And hundreds of other scars. By any chance, are you-"

I interrupt her, knowing just what she is about to ask. "Is there more? Tell it all to me right now, fearlessly."

Perhaps I should have spoken less defensively. The nurse swallows again before saying what I did not expect. "We performed a physical checkup of you. And you showed signs of assault and miscarriage. What you were thinking were intense period cramps was actually your body having a miscarriage. It happened so early that it was understandable that you would confuse your period for a miscarriage. It was just that trace amounts of fetal and placental tissue were detected, and that's how we knew."

I rub the bridge of my nose. Of course, there would be repercussions to partaking in an orgy. Those birth control and morning-after tablets would not be enough to counter the results. "I have a request. Quite a few, actually, but they are not difficult. The first is that you tell none of this to the U.A. faculty or any of the Pro-Heroes. Not about the permanent disability, the scars, or the miscarriage. I will decide who knows what. The second, I would like to meet every doctor and nurse who was operating on me and/or treating me. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, even the nurses who plugged in the IV. I want to meet everyone in this room, one by one. In exchange for your cooperation … What is your favorite gemstone?"

She's taken aback. "Um … um … alexandrite. But ma'am, why are you asking me to do this?"

"Because I want these things to be kept a secret. Society is already in upheaval with everything that has transpired. No need to add more fuel to the fire." Right now, that is. "Rest assured, I will say nothing about this behind-the-curtains deal. I expect the same silence from you and your colleagues," I warn, just as I summon a piece of alexandrite the size of my palm and beckon her to show hers forth. "Sell this. Use it to pay your rent. Wear it as jewelry. Gift it to your mother-in-law. Do whatever you want with it at the price of keeping your mouth closed. Do we have a deal?"

She nods vigorously before exiting the room to do as I say. In the meantime, I turn on the television to watch the news. Let's see just how widespread the upheaval is. I am not disappointed with the results. The only things the news channels report is the press conference by U.A., the coordinated strategy of the heroes, the destruction of the bar and noumu centers, the fight between All for One and All Might, All for One's arrest, and All Might's true form and his retirement. He turned out much weaker than I had thought.

A surgeon steps through the ward door. I tell him the same conditions as I told the nurse. He complies much more easily. His greed makes this so much easier. He leaves without a fuss and a block of opal in his pocket.

But more concerning is that All for One has been captured. All those things he told me before I took the sleeping pill … they really were an omen. Almost as if he anticipated being arrested. I have no idea where the League is, but I'll know soon enough when Kurogiri opens his gate tonight. He'll have to. He, Shigaraki, and I have much to discuss. As I had expected, Bakugou-san was not persuaded to join sides. He probably threw an explosive tantrum, contributing to the wreckage of the bar. As much as I miss my bedroom, the heroes cannot link me to being a member of the League. There is that.

I wonder how much my disappearance and accident had a role …

More doctors and nurses pass in and out the door. Each one leaves with pockets full of riches. My gaze alternates between the television and the faces and name tags of each person who passes the door. In the off chance someone has the idiocy to blabber, it'd be good to know just whose mouth I will have to silence. Permanently. Though I doubt things will come to that. The greed in their eyes is enough to vouch for their cooperation.

The public is shocked at All Might's secrets. Some are dismayed. Others are terrified. Most are confused. And then there are groups who express their dissent. These people blame All Might for being unable to protect a student - me - from near death. These people blame the other Pro-Heroes involved in the rescue mission as well. Of course, because the media only favors the perspective that pays it the most, footage of these dissenters is minimal.

Just when the last of the medical professionals has left, Hanada-sama walks in. I have no reason to believe he's here to check on my welfare. He never does anything for nothing. I am the same. He sits on a chair by the bedside and inspects me. He doesn't look like he has lost any sleep. I didn't expect him to. "You look like you've seen better days, Selene," he comments.

"I certainly have, Sama. More than ten years ago before you came into my life, to be specific," I retort, not caring that I will be punished for my disrespect afterward. My life is already in upheaval. Has been upheaved so many times. What difference will a few beatings make?

He mocks a laugh and places a hand on top of his heart. "You wound me, Selene. I'm your father."

Some father you are. "Why are you here? You don't talk to me unless there is some reason."

"You're right. Enough with the frivolities. Since I heard that you were abducted, I had been keeping a very close eye on the news and the Pro-Heroes. My sources told me the League of Villains invaded the forest and took you and a classmate. Imagine how livid I was to know that you were sound asleep during the ordeal." How livid would you be if you knew I went willingly? "My efforts to venture into the hero industry were teetering on the precipice of doom because of all the negativity surrounding the Pro-Heroes and their inability to save you. Very bad for your school, and very bad for me. If you were dead, there was nothing I could unfortunately do. But if you were alive … I was planning to punish you appropriately." Suddenly, I am reminded just who I am talking to. Even after all this time, I fear his definition of 'punishment.' I cannot be careless.

"And yet," he continues, breaking me out of my reverie. "You were saved. That boy … whatever is his name? … Endeavor's son … he went out of his way to rescue you. You should have seen his face. So distraught at seeing you injured. That boy cried for you like he couldn't live without you. That sentimental fool. And he did succeed in carrying you out of danger. He's been coming here every day since." Shouto-kun? He was part of the group that tried to rescue Bakuguou-san and I? I feel furious at Hanada-sama for insulting him like that, but I feel more disgusted with myself. Not once did I think about how tormented he must have been in the time I was with the League. And seeing my nearly die … after he rescued me from drowning … it must have destroyed him. Guilt racks me, reminding me once again how much of a terrible person I am and how much I don't deserve to love him. I promise to apologize to you, Shouto-kun. I will make up for all the pain my ignorance inflicted upon you.

But I cannot let my face reveal any of these feelings to Hanada-sama. I school my features before he can notice. "There's more, isn't there?" I ask in the same cold tone from before.

"Yes, there is. I was waiting for you to recover, so I could teach you a lesson. Unexpectedly, however, things have taken a turn for the better. You're smart, Selene. Make a guess."

I tilt my head from side to side, feeling the facet joints in my neck crack. "Sympathy deals? Some sentimental, foolish Pro-Heroes must have felt terrible at the loss of your daughter, so they offered their support to the Hanada Group of Companies. Or sympathy profit? People flocked to purchase goods from your numerous brands. Your phone never stopped ringing with well-wishers giving condolences and promises that everything will be fine. In either case, you benefitted from the emotional chaos of the country. All publicity is good publicity?"

"Very good, Selene. Both of those things happened. I was starting to think that had you died, perhaps sales and partnerships would multiply threefold."

Fury consumes me. All sense of caution leaves me as he says those words. I scoff, "But here I am. Injured but very much alive. So sorry, Sama, that Endeavor's son has a good heart and did not hesitate to save a person very much on the brink of death. So sorry, Sama, that you cannot beat me or whip me because my misfortune brought luck in your favor." I cannot help the acid that drips from my words. I cannot stop its flow anymore. "And look at me now. With what I'm about to tell you, you will definitely want to hit me - probably kill me - but you will not. I cannot walk without a cane anymore, meaning that my pretense of heroism is suspended indefinitely. My skin is so riddled with scars that people are starting to notice. I had a miscarriage, and I had to bribe the medics to keep it a secret. Your lucrative boost in business came at the price of my body. And who is at fault for all of this?"

He grinds his jaw but says nothing. Both of us know the answer to that question very well, but neither one of us dares to say it. Hanada-sama is too cowardly to. And I … what difference does it make if I say it? I think about it all the time. In a way, I've insinuated it, too. Perhaps there is one question he can answer. That I deserve the answer to. "Just tell me why you did all of this to me. You upheaved my life for years. What did I do to warrant such a hell?"

I was wrong to think he would not hit me. The slap echoes and stings. My vision turns white for an instant before returning to focus. Still, I glare at him with years worth of wrath. He slaps me again. Tears threaten to flow, but I stifle them back. "Control your tongue, Selene. You are in position to talk back to me. Remember, you are nothing without me. It is my name that gives you privilege and a roof above your head. I came here to tell you one more thing. Your school is implementing a new program. In light of the turmoil over the past few months and now, the faculty want to shift all their students to on-campus housing. Dormitories and the like. Two of your teachers came home yesterday to talk to me to let you stay. Eraser Head and All Might. They claimed that it is for the safety of the students, but I approved on the basis that you would grow closer to the staff and curry more favor from them." All of a sudden, he grabs my chin in his hand and squeezes hard. "Two of the most recognizable heroes in Japan, and you made an enemy out of one and a pariah out of the other." Two more slaps. He grips my chin again. "For six days a week, you'll be staying on U.A. grounds. Work on improving your relations with them, Selene. On Saturday nights and Sunday mornings, you will be home. Don't think you're safe from me. Reveal anything, and I will toss you into the brothels for good. No one returns from those filthy dens. Do you understand, Selene?"

When I say nothing, he presses harder. I choke, "U-u-understood."

"Good. The police are outside waiting for your statement. You know what to do." And he gets up to depart.

But I stop him. "My cane is missing. I need a new one. Custom-made. An exact replica of the former, down to the smallest detail."

He simply stares at me.

"Am I going to have to sleep with a stranger to get even that much?"

"I thought you would ask for a reprieve from sleeping with business clients."

"I know better than to ask that of you; you taught that lesson very well."

He leaves without responding to my request.

One day, I will teach you a lesson that you carry to your pyre.

And that day will come much sooner than you think, Sama.