True to his word, Overhaul had secluded her in a room, keeping her under strict guard at all times. It was only natural that he'd be suspicious of her. She had intimate knowledge of the organization and how it was run, but more importantly, she knew things about him that even his most trusted underlings were unaware of. By all accounts, she was Overhaul's biggest liability right now and he simply couldn't risk her jeopardizing everything he had built so far. She needed to prove that she was trustworthy enough before he could let her participate in his plans in any capacity.
The first few days had been uneventful to say the least. While her quarters weren't exactly five-star quality, they were still more than comfortable for someone who was being held prisoner. She had her own bathroom and a TV to distract herself. The only thing she lamented was the fact that her room didn't have any windows since they were underground.
Most of her time was spent meditating and practicing her breathing techniques. Since she didn't have much else to do besides watching TV, she figured she would use the time she had to improve her lung capacity and do some reflecting. She regretted not being able to improve the use of her quirk since Overhaul had taken her support item away, but it couldn't be helped. Had she been allowed to keep it, she could have easily subdued the guards and snuck out of her room to roam around the base. Not that she would have done so in the first place. The last thing she wanted right now was to give Overhaul more reasons to distrust her. She hadn't come back just to overthrow and backstab him. She wanted to help him in his goals, especially if it meant taking down Hero society as a whole.
Recently, a few news reports had come out announcing the influx of illegal performance enhancing drugs throughout the country. Yuka had surmised that this was due to Overhaul's plans. He was probably trying to throw off the heroes while he was busy perfecting his piece de resistance. It was comforting in a way, being able to recognize the patterns in his actions despite having been gone for so long. Perhaps he had not changed all that much after all, but for her to truly know, she would need to be let out of her room. As she was about to start up her meditation once more, she heard a knock at the door. She then heard the door open up behind her and a man stepped into the room. She looked at him from over her shoulder, having turned her back to the door when she went to kneel down at the foot of her bed.
"Miss Sakurazuka," the man spoke politely.
It wasn't someone she had seen or heard before. He seemed younger than all of the previous guards and looked to be about her age. He wore a dark gray suit with stripes and had short dark brown hair. He had a small mole underneath his right eye, eyes which were a dark shade of brown. The usual look of disdain the other guards had shown towards her was completely absent from his face. Instead, he merely gave her a calm look as he presented her with a tray full of food. He placed the tray down on the small table near the door, prompting Yuka to get up and walk over to the table where she sat down for her meals.
"I haven't seen you here before," she remarked, lifting up the cover to reveal the meal that had been prepared for her. Normally, she would have been fed something pretty basic and nutritious, but today, it seemed as though the chef felt kind enough to serve her something a little more decent.
"Indeed, we haven't met before," the young man said in a polite voice. He then gave her a slight bow. "Mamoru Madarame, a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sakurazuka."
Since she had been used to the disgruntled guards that usually came to delivered her meals, she didn't bother with standing up and reciprocating his bow. Instead, she merely gave him a quick head bow and immediately started digging into her food. It felt like she hadn't eaten a decent meal in ages and fortunately for her, her new warden did not seem all that bothered by her lack of decorum.
"A pleasure, huh?" She seemed skeptical. "You'd be the first…"
"I see the other guards haven't been treating you so kindly, then," he noted.
"I wasn't complaining," she interjected in between two bites of food. "If I were in their position, I would probably react the same way."
"You are quite the reasonable woman, then." He smiled slightly. "Most in your position would be a lot more vocal and outraged."
An awkward silence fell upon the room as Yuka kept wolfing down her meal without any regard for the man standing next to her. She realized only after she had finished eating how quickly she had been stuffing her face and started to blush slightly as she wiped her face clean with a napkin.
"Sorry…" she apologized shyly. "I usually exercise more restraint than this…"
Mamoru chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it. I won't breathe a word to anyone."
He gave her a serene smile which immediately made her suspicious.
"You're being awfully warm towards me, Mr. Madarame," she said as she squinted her eyes at him. "Has Kai-... I mean, has Overhaul told you about my situation?"
He started to laugh once again. "I am quite aware of your particular circumstances, Miss Sakurazuka," he replied. "But I am not here to enact further punishment upon you. In fact, I was sent here by Master Overhaul himself."
Yuka couldn't help but scoff at the title he used for her old boyfriend. It didn't exactly surprise her that he had his henchmen call him "master". Kai had always been quite the dominant individual, but she never figured he would go this far.
"And what does Master Overhaul want?" she said in a sarcastic tone.
Mamoru remained calm, even in the face of such blatant disdain.
"He has instructed me to show you the patrol routes for the underground tunnels," he explained peacefully. "He wants you to run today's patrol with me. If everything goes well, he'll consider alleviating your sentence and allow you to roam around the base from here on out."
Yuka was surprised to hear that Overhaul had agreed to let her out of her room. After spending the first few days locked up in her quarters, it seemed almost too good to be true. She tried to remain calm and not seem overly excited, but the astonishment was plastered all over her face.
"I see…" Yuka responded. "I'll go get my things then."
Mamoru gave her an exiting bow before leaving her room so she could get changed. Her clothing options were quite limited, since she hadn't brought any clothes with her when she migrated to the Shie Hassaikai compound, so she opted to put on the same suit she had worn when she had first arrived at the compound. The good thing about working under Overhaul was that he never let anything get dirty, so he had guards regularly come and pick up her laundry so that her clothes wouldn't get filthy. Whether this was done so that she would remain presentable whenever he would decide to meet with her again, she couldn't tell for sure, but once she had finished getting dressed and retrieved her stuff, she gave a few knocks on the door and Mamoru quickly opened it for her.
"Seems like you're ready to go," he said as he looked her over.
She had her father's katana strapped to her side and had put on a face mask and a pair of gloves. Unsurprisingly, Mamoru was also wearing some gloves and was putting on his mask now that they were about to walk around the base.
"Does Overhaul have everyone wear masks now?" she asked in a flat voice.
"Only those who interact with him directly," he answered her as he gave a slight tug at his gloves to ensure they were properly secured.
"I'm surprised he lets someone from outside his inner circle interact with him…"
They started making their way down the hall towards where the reception area was.
"I may not be one of the Eight Bullets of the Shie Hassaikai," Mamoru explained. "But Master Overhaul trusts me. Plus, it helps that I already wear gloves on a daily basis because of my quirk."
Yuka looked over at him curiously. "What exactly does your quick do? If it's not too much to ask…"
He gave her a slight chuckle in response. "My quirk's ability is called Psychometry. Essentially, it allows me to receive information stored in an object if I touch it with my hands. If I touch a person, I experience all of their senses, including those that are impacted by psychic abilities, as if they are my own. It can be quite the headache at times, since the ability is constantly activated, which is why I wear gloves."
She stared at him in astonishment. She could clearly see why Overhaul had recruited him. "It must be hard having to live with the constant flow of memories…"
Mamoru sighed. "I won't deny that it's not always easy having to watch where my hands go all of the time."
It wasn't so dissimilar to Kai's situation when it came to using his quirk. While he mainly wore gloves to counteract his fear of germs, he also needed to be mindful when it came to touching things and other people, since he could theoretically activate his quirk by accident, which could potentially result in some catastrophic consequences.
"Well, in any case," Yuka continued. "It certainly helps your boss feel more at ease."
"Our boss," Mamoru corrected her. "Need I remind you that you also work for him now?"
"Tch… It doesn't feel that way if I'm being completely honest."
She had been treated more like a prisoner than an actual employee. She was starting to think that he was going to keep her locked up indefinitely, but it seemed like he may be having a change of heart after all.
"You used to be close…" Mamoru declared as he looked at her.
Yuka wasn't exactly comfortable with the direction this conversation had taken. She let out a long sigh and lowered her eyes to the ground as they continued to walk towards their destination.
"Yeah… We used to be close," she repeated to him.
There was an awkward silence for a moment as they entered the reception area. A few people were coming in from the underground network as they were entering the room. Mamoru gave them a slight nod while the other members gave Yuka the stink eye. She ignored their resentful eyes as Mamoru opened up the way towards the underground tunnels. It was a lot darker than it was inside the base and it took a few moments for her eyes to readjust themselves to the dim lighting.
"If it's any consolation," he spoke once they were outside. "I don't think he would have kept you here if his intentions were to keep you away."
Yuka looked up at him in disbelief. It seemed painfully obvious now that he mentioned it. He continued to stare straight on as he motioned for her to follow. They started running the perimeter together, making their way down the first set of tunnels.
"You really think so?" she asked him tentatively.
"It's my honest opinion," he said to her with a smile. "I think he would have already disposed of you had he not wanted you here in the first place."
This made sense. He already had the opportunity to kill her when she had first arrived at the compound, yet he chose to spare her. Plus, she thought back on how his arm had remained completely intact when he had touched her. Yuka knew how sensitive he was to other people touching him, but when they were both still running with the Hassaikai, she had been one of the only few people that could touch him without triggering his mysophobia. Did this mean that some things hadn't changed between them? It seemed unlikely… Maybe he had been so caught up in the moment that he didn't notice he had been touching her in the first place. In any case, things were looking up for her now that Mamoru was showing her around the underground network.
"That may be true," she continued to speak. "But I can't rest on my laurels just yet. I have to prove to him that I'm not here to cause trouble."
"If what I've seen so far is anything to go by," he said to her. "I'd say that you are well on your way to achieving that goal."
He gave her another smile before pulling out his phone. He brought up a map of the underground network and showed her the route they were going to patrol. He then pulled out another phone and handed it to her.
"This is the phone you'll be using from now on," he said to her. Overhaul had taken her old phone away from her when she had first arrived.
She took the phone in her hand and noticed that the map Mamoru had been showing her was also displayed on her phone. After a quick look over, they continued on with their route. It was nice to be with a friendly face for once. Yuka felt oddly at ease around Mamoru, despite having just met him. He had a very calm and serene energy about him. It was a wonder how someone like him had ended up in a criminal organization like the Shie Hassaikai. His attitude seemed sort of out of place, yet Yuka could tell that he was very dedicated to his work.
"Alright, now that we've gone through the entire route once, I'll have you show me the way this time," he said to her as they circled back to the entrance.
Yuka gave him a slight nod but then something caught her eye. She looked towards the entrance leading into the stronghold and noticed that the door was slightly ajar. She remembered they had shut the door when they had exited the base before, so this immediately tripped her alarms. Mamoru noticed her eyes growing narrower as she looked towards the door, and once he realized what she had noticed, his face also grew a lot more serious.
"I'll go check the door," he said to her in a serious tone. "You wait here and keep watch for any signs of danger."
She acquiesced to his orders and placed her hand over the hilt of her sword. She started to scan the environment for anything that looked out of place, though it was hard to make out any details with how poorly lit the place was. Luckily, she heard something fall a few meters away from her and immediately jerked around to see what it was. Sure enough, she saw something move in the shadows and her eyes barely made out the shape of a small child emerging from a pile of rubble. She was clad in a beige hospital gown. Her snow white hair contrasted with the dark walls of the tunnel and she stared in utter terror as Yuka's eyes narrowed in on her. She then quickly bolted towards the darkness, her bare feet slapping against the ground as Yuka quickly started to sprint after her.
"Get Overhaul!" she yelled at Mamoru
Mamoru didn't waste any time and ran back into the building to warn his boss. Meanwhile, Yuka had lost the little girl, but she could still hear her running through the adjacent corridors. She was trying to lose her in the underground maze, but luckily for her, Yuka had just gone through the route with her newfound colleague. She continued to listen in on her footsteps, then bolted towards one of the tunnels to try and intercept her. After a few seconds, she took a sharp turn and, sure enough, she ran straight into the little girl. She tried to grab the small child's arm but she proved to be a lot more slippery than she had anticipated and she slipped through her legs, making her fall. The little girl then knocked over some debris to cover her trail and Yuka had to climb over it once she got up in order to resume her pursuit. Once she was on the other side, though, she completely lost the girl once again and this time, she couldn't hear where she had gone. She cursed at the wind, trying her best to find any trace of her, but it was no use. She had completely vanished. When she was just about to give up on her search, she caught the sound of cars echoing in the distance. She figured it meant that they had gotten close to one of the exits, which meant that the girl was probably making a run for the surface. Without a moment to spare, she bolted towards where the sounds were coming from in order to catch up with her.
After a few seconds, she felt the air grow a lot sweeter as she suddenly found herself in an alleyway. She continued to listen and look around to see where the girl had gone, and after a few seconds of searching, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see the girl disappearing into another alleyway and Yuka immediately took pursuit. Once she turned the corner, she could see that the girl was running straight for a busy street at the end of the passage and she quickly picked up the pace.
The girl could hear her coming up behind her as she approached the end of the alleyway. She pushed herself as far as her little legs could carry her, but the woman behind her was quickly closing in on her. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally managed to make it onto the sidewalk. Unfortunately, she bumped into someone once she cleared the alleyway and fell backwards onto the pavement. Seeing this, Yuka growled in displeasure and quickly unfastened her sword from her belt. She couldn't risk having passersby see her with her weapon so she threw it behind some trash bins and emerged from the alley slightly out of breath.
"There you are!" she blurted out.
She looked down at the little girl, then up at the two young men she had bumped into. To her dismay, Yuka recognized one of the two boys and they immediately locked eyes with each other. She could tell the green-haired boy was trying to figure out who she was, probably because she wasn't wearing her usual attire and because she was missing her support item. As for the boy standing next to him, Yuka had never seen him before. He had bright blond hair and was wearing a white and red hero costume with the number one million printed across his chest. The three of them continued to stare at each other for a moment, completely taken aback by Yuka's sudden appearance.
"You should be more careful," a familiar voice spoke from behind her, immediately making the little girl jump. "We don't want to cause trouble for the heroes."
Yuka could tell it was Overhaul approaching from behind her. His tone of voice sent shivers down her spine. It was unclear whether he was talking to her or the girl, but Yuka figured he was probably speaking to the little girl crouched on the ground in front of the two young heroes.
"I hope you'll forgive my daughter, hero," Overhaul continued.
This sudden revelation made Yuka's heart stop for a second. His daughter? Since when did he have children? Come to think of it, the girl did look to be about 6 or 7 years old… Had he had a kid with someone while she was gone? She didn't know why, but hearing this made her feel like someone had reached into her chest to pull out her heart. Why was it that she felt so betrayed all of a sudden? She tried to chase the feeling away since she still needed to deal with the situation at hand. She tried to remain calm as Overhaul pulled up next to her to address the two heroes.
"I don't know what to do with her," he continued to speak. "Always playing rough and bumping into things. My wife and I have tried everything with her."
He then gave them a warm smile from behind his mask. Yuka had not seen him smile like this in a long time. He then put his hand on the small of her back and she immediately realized that she was the one posing as his wife in this scenario. She was almost too stunned by what she had heard to speak. The young man that was still holding on to the young girl looked visibly freaked out by what was happening around him. Yuka couldn't tell if he was freaking out from seeing her or from seeing her boss, but what was certain was that his friend seemed a lot more experienced than he was judging by how calm he was. He nonchalantly pulled the hood of his costume up over his head, covering his partner's face before flashing a huge smile.
"Woupsie daisy! Looks like that darn mask came off again!" He tried to play it cool, but Yuka had already recognized him to be one of the students from class 1-A. "You might want to think about getting it resized, my friend!"
The blond spoke in a very warm and friendly tone. He seemed almost too friendly, though. Enough to make Yuka sick. He positively oozed with positivity. The kind of person she absolutely hated…
"I'm so sorry about that," he apologized to the two villains. "It was our fault too! Hey, I know that mask! You're with the Hassaikai, right? You guys are famous around here!"
Yuka felt her whole body tense up at the mention of their organization. How did he know about Kai and his group?
"Yeah… Please don't mind the mask," Overhaul replied, looking away absentmindedly. "It keeps out the filth…"
Yuka glanced over at him for a few seconds. He seemed calm, not showing any signs of irritation or frustration. She wondered if he was just pretending to be calm or if he was just that confident that they were going to come out of this without any issues.
"I don't believe I've seen you two in the area before…" he continued speaking with them.
"Right, well we're still pretty new," the blond boy replied. "You've probably already guessed that much." He then turned to his friend. "Well, on your feet partner! Can't do much heroing from down there!"
She still hadn't spoken a word to them yet, partly because she was worried she was going to say something that would upset Overhaul but also because she didn't want Midoriya to recognize her voice. He still didn't seem like he had totally recognized her yet, and she wanted to keep it that way.
"So, what agency do you belong to?" Kai finally asked.
The blond was quick to respond. "We're only students! Far too lowly to be claiming association with an agency. We're just using our internships to get some experience. Speaking of which, we need to finish patrolling this division before lunch! Come on, let's go!"
He motioned for his friend to follow him, but as soon as he started to get up, the little girl's hands gripped his costume, preventing him from leaving.
"Please… Please don't go…" she whimpered.
Yuka glanced over at Overhaul, who had now narrowed his eyes at her. She then looked back at the two heroes, gauging to see what their reaction would be.
"Um… excuse me but…" Midoriya spoke in a shaky voice. "Your daughter seems scared…"
Overhaul furrowed his brow. "A reaction to being scolded…"
"Right but… she's got bandages all over. Those are just from playing rough?"
Now that he mentioned it, Yuka had also noticed the extensive bandages on the girl's arms and legs. She wondered why they were there in the first place. Had she been living in the tunnels and scraping her arms and legs? If that were the case, she would have been a lot more dirty. She turned her attention over to Overhaul, who had yet to look at her once since the encounter started.
"Eri's an exceptionally clumsy girl!" He tried to play it off. He was doing a surprisingly good job at keeping calm.
"Her whole body is shaking but she's not making a sound…" Midoriya continued. Then, he looked up at Overhaul, his eyes full of hate. "Does that seem normal to you?"
Yuka could feel the air growing more and more tense with each passing moment. She kept looking back at Overhaul, then towards Midoriya's friend and finally towards Midoriya himself. His friend clearly had the bright idea of not wanting to antagonize Overhaul, but his efforts were being completely ignored by Midoriya.
"It's dangerous to make assumptions about what's normal for other people," Overhaul replied.
"Yeah, everybody's different, am I right?" the blond boy said, still smiling as he tried his best to salvage the situation.
There was an awkward silence as the four of them continued to stare at each other. After a long pause, Midoriya finally mustered up the courage to say:
"Tell me: what are you doing to this girl?"
You could hear a pin drop with how utterly silent it suddenly became. Yuka shot a concerned look in Overhaul's direction, worried about what he was about to do. She could see him lowering his gaze. She could feel him growing more and more frustrated by the second, and yet he still somehow managed to calm himself down all while keeping up his ruse.
"You heroes pick up on the subtlest things, don't you?" he sighed. "Very well… This situation is embarrassing, so I'd prefer to discuss it where we won't be overheard…"
He then turned around and started walking towards the alleyway. Yuka followed him closely as to keep the whole charade going. She glanced behind her to see that Midoriya and his partner had followed them into the dark passage with Eri in tow. It was clear to her that Overhaul was planning to assassinate them away from prying eyes. If things went down, Yuka needed to retrieve her sword as quickly as possible, or she would have to use her quirk without her mask. She didn't want to risk hurting the girl or Overhaul, so she would prefer if she could get to her sword before having to consider using her quirk while she was vulnerable to its effects.
"Hard to admit that you can't control your own child," Overhaul said to the pair. "My wife and I have tried everything, but she still insists on defying us. Isn't that right, dear?"
He finally acknowledged her presence and shot her an intense sideways glance. She was slightly startled by the intensity in his gaze and struggled to find her words.
"Y-Yes, that's right," she tried to seem as friendly as she could given the circumstances. "Eri's been quite difficult to handle lately…"
"Parenting, man. Sounds rough! That can't be easy," his accomplice replied, completely ignoring his previous comment.
Overhaul let out a long exasperated sigh. "Yes, children are tricky. So determined to do whatever they want that sometimes, they just won't listen…"
As they continued to walk further into the alleyway, he suddenly started reaching for his glove. Yuka caught the movement instantly and her heart immediately started pounding. She looked back at Eri, who had also visibly caught him reaching for his glove. The two of them exchanged panicked glances as Overhaul stared daggers at the little girl. Not wanting things to escalate further, Yuka quickly held out her hand, urging the girl to come with them before things got ugly.
"Come, Eri…" she said in a soft voice.
Her tone surprised the girl as she jumped out of Midoriya's arms and ran towards the two villains. She then ignored her outstretched hand and slid in between her and Overhaul. Yuka let out a relieved sigh as her hand hovered over the back of Eri's head.
"Done with your temper tantrum then?" Overhaul nonchalantly said to her, readjusting his glove.
Eri gave him a weak nod as she clenched her fists. Yuka gave Overhaul a disapproving look that he completely ignored while Midoriya tried to call out for Eri, but it was no use. She was completely frozen in fear and wouldn't look at him.
"Um… Eri? Are you sure?" he asked in a trembling voice.
"She's always like this." This time it was Yuka who spoke. She turned towards them and smiled at them through her face mask. "We're sorry for involving you in our family drama. I'm sure you have plenty of hero work to get back to…"
Overhaul gave her a quick glance before throwing one last look at the two young heroes.
"Good luck with your internships…" he said to them before walking away.
As they rounded the corner, Yuka could feel the tension ease from her body as they got further and further away from the two young heroes. This only lasted a few minutes, though, as Overhaul's face looked increasingly frustrated the closer they got to the underground passage. She straightened her posture and continued to stare forward while they made their way back underground. She knew she needed to go back for her sword, but she wanted to make sure Overhaul and the girl were escorted back to the compound safely. The three of them made their way back to base through the network of tunnels. All the while, they remained completely silent. Yuka knew better than to ask questions at this hour. She could tell that Overhaul was positively seething with anger. As the three of them arrived at the main entrance, they were greeted by a very agitated Chrono. He seemed surprised to see that Yuka was there accompanying Overhaul and the girl. He led them back into the compound, taking Eri into his arms as they walked through the corridors together.
"The young people today are sicker than ever…" Overhaul finally spoke after a while. "Chrono, prepare the bath."
"Yes sir," Kurono replied obediently.
As they were making their way down the hall, another member of the Shie Hassaikai was waiting for them. He seemed flustered, almost panicked. Yuka watched him closely as they slowly approached.
"I'm real' sorry boss!" He started to justify himself. "I swear, I-I barely took my eyes off her! The kid made a break for it!"
Before any of them had time to react, Overhaul disintegrated his glove and pressed his hand to the man's chest, immediately disassembling him, causing his body to erupt along the walls and the floor. Blood splattered across Yuka's face as she was startled by the whole experience. She stared in shock as Overhaul and Chrono kept walking down the hallway with Eri recoiling in fear in Chrono's arms.
"And clean that up…" Overhaul grumbled angrily.
"Right…" Chrono replied.
"I'll deal with it," Yuka answered calmly.
Chrono gave her a surprised look before turning towards his leader. Overhaul had completely stopped his advance. He seemed to have forgotten she was even there for a moment as he let out an exasperated sigh.
"Whatever, as long as the mess is cleaned up…" he finally spoke again, before walking towards what Yuka could only assume was Eri's room.
Yuka hung back as the two men continued on their way. She continued to stare at them for a while, then turned back to get some cleaning supplies. She couldn't believe what had just transpired. This was the second time she had seen Kai completely annihilate someone's existence without some much as a second thought, and this time he did it in front of a child. She couldn't help but feel bad for the poor girl having to witness something so horrific.
As she looked around the base to see if she could find the place where they kept all of the sanitizing equipment, she met up with Mamoru, who noticed her arriving from down the hall.
"There you are!" he said to her in a relieved tone. His expression quickly changed once he saw the blood splattered across her face. "What happened?"
Yuka stared blankly at him. "We managed to retrieve the girl…"
"That's a relief," he sighed. "Now, just hold still for a moment."
He took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and started wiping away the blood from her face. Yuka recoiled from the gesture at first, not wanting to sully his napkin with blood.
"It's fine, Madarame," she said to him.
"Come now. You shouldn't have to run around with blood on your face."
He continued to wipe the splattered blood off her face and this time, she let him. Once he was done, he proceeded to show her where they kept the cleaning equipment and threw away his handkerchief in one of the waste bins. As they gathered the necessary equipment to clean up the mess Overhaul had left in the hallway, Yuka suddenly felt the urge to ask something. She looked up at Madarame, desperate to know if he knew anything about the girl she and Overhaul had recovered mere moments ago, but she held her tongue, remembering that it wasn't her place to ask about Overhaul's private affairs.
She continued to gather up the necessary supplies then made her way back down the hallway. Mamoru volunteered to help clean up the mess and, judging by how quickly he was getting the job done, it was clear that he had done this kind of thing before.
"My what a mess…" he sighed as he continued to wipe the blood off the wall. "Master Overhaul must have been quite angry with whomever this was…"
Yuka was too lost in thought to respond to him. There were just so many thoughts buzzing around in her mind. So many questions that needed answering. After they had disposed of the blood, they went back to the janitor's closet to put everything back in its rightful place. Yuka was then escorted back to her room by Mamoru, who told her that she should expect news from Overhaul very soon. After bidding her a good night, he left her to ponder what had happened earlier that day.
As Yuka went to take a shower to wash herself of today's events, she kept thinking about the scenario Overhaul had come up with when they were trying to retrieve Eri from the two young heroes. He had called her his wife, a title she would have inherited had she not deserted him 7 years ago. As she slowly got under the stream of hot water once she had completely removed all of her clothes, a sort of melancholy washed over her. It was hard not to think back on the plans they had made back when she had been running with the Shie Hassaikai. They had planned on ruling the Hassaikai together once they were married, but in the end, Overhaul had been forced to take control of the organization all on his own. Even though it had been 7 years, she couldn't help but feel regret for how things had turned out. She looked back at that gentle hand pressed against her back and was surprised by how much a simple gesture had made her feel. It had brought back so many nostalgic memories, which just served to exacerbate the guilty feelings that plagued her since she came back into Kai's life. Despite her knowing just how much he hated her for what she had done, she couldn't help but long for him in some way.
As she continued to stand motionless beneath the stream of hot water, she found herself wishing for things to go back to the way they were before. She found herself missing him and all the plans they had together… and it all felt so wrong. It felt so wrong of her to want these things when she had been the one to tear them all down. How dare she long for the days when they were thick as thieves and ready to take on the world together? How dare she long for him the way she did back when they were still together after all she had done to him? After all the pain she had caused him? It was almost enough to make her sick…
It felt even more wrong when she found herself reaching between her legs as she pressed the other hand against the cold, wet tile of the shower wall. She kept thinking back at his hand pressed gently against the small of her back and the words he had said. His wife… Those two words were all it took to remind her of the life she could have had with him, a life she completely threw away out of sheer, pathetic weakness. And she was still showing weakness, as her fingers continued to slide in between her trembling thighs, the hot water pounding against the back of her skull. She rubbed at the sensitive skin between her folds, desperately trying to relieve herself. She felt utterly disgusted with herself, but she couldn't help it. She needed release… Release from her thoughts, release from the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her.
Her shameful display of weakness would have been enough to make her puke were it not for the fact that her lust had completely overpowered everything else. As she continued to work at the sensitive flesh between her thighs, her breathing became more and more labored as images of Overhaul filled her sullied mind. She couldn't help but think of him as she felt the knot in her stomach grow tighter and tighter before finally snapping, sending a rush of energy through her body as she brought herself to climax. As the waves from her orgasm rushed through her body, she felt the shame subside for a moment, only to come back in force once the fog lifted from her spirit. As she slowly came down from her high, she suddenly felt her stomach lurch and she immediately jumped out of the shower to empty its contents in the nearby toilet. She stood over the porcelain seat, vomiting, while the shower kept running in the background, covering any noises she made.
After puking the last of her stomach's contents, she let out a pitiful sob as she leaned against the toilet seat. She felt so ashamed by what she had done, but even more so by what she was feeling for Overhaul. She had convinced herself after all these years that she felt nothing for him, but as soon as she saw him, she instantly knew there was no denying what she still felt for him even after all these years, despite everything that had happened. She had made a mistake when she had left him back when her father had died, and now she lamented the fact that she had lost the one person she loved more than anything in the world.
She didn't know how long she had been in the bathroom for. As she sat limply next to the toilet, still dripping wet for the shower still running next to her, it felt as if time had grown to a sluggish halt. Everything felt surreal to her, like she was floating in an endless black abyss. Everything was muffled. She couldn't even hear the sound of someone pounding on her bedroom door. It was only once someone had entered her room and started knocking loudly on the bathroom door that she jolted. She immediately realized that she had left the shower running all this time and quickly went to close it as she grabbed a towel on one of the racks nearby.
"Miss Yuka?!" a panicked Mamoru sounded from the other side of the door. "Is everything alright?!"
"Y-Yes, Madarame!" she answered after quickly wrapping the towel around her waist. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't hear the knock at the door over the sound shower."
He seemed to sigh in relief. "I will admit, I was worried when you didn't answer my calls."
"S-Sorry… Just give me a minute and I'll be out!"
He gave her an affirmative response before walking away from the bathroom door. A few minutes later, Yuka came out wearing a white tank top and a pair of baggy sweatpants. She was busy towel drying her hair when she finally emerged from the bathroom. She had composed herself in the mirror before coming out so as not to arouse any suspicion from Madarame.
"Apologies once again, Madarame," she said to him as she turned to speak to him. "I wasn't expecting you to drop by so soon."
He rose up from the sofa he was previously sitting on and took a few steps towards her.
"There really is no need to apologize, Miss Sakurazuka," he said to her with a kind smile. "I just came to inform you that Master Overhaul wishes to speak with you. Oh, and I came to return this to you."
He held out her father's sword neatly sheathed inside its scabbard. As he held it out for her, she realized she had completely forgotten about it since they had brought Eri back and she mentally cursed at herself for having been so careless with one of her most prized possessions. She quickly retrieved it from Madarame, giving it a quick inspection and noticing that it had recently been treated and cleaned while it was in Madarame's possession.
"You didn't have to retrieve it for me, Madarame…" she said to him in an embarrassed tone.
"It was Master Overhaul who instructed me to retrieve your father's sword for you," he answered candidly, smiling brightly as he did.
Yuka looked up at him in astonishment. "Overhaul asked you to retrieve it?"
"That's what I said, no?" he chuckled. "When I informed him that you had been returned to your room, he asked if I could retrieve the sword from the alleyway and gave me details as to where I could find it."
She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Not only had he taken notice of the fact she had discarded her swords during the encounter, but he also had someone retrieve it for her once Eri had been dealt with, and by the looks of it, he also had someone take care of the sword for her. It seemed almost too good to be true. She kept staring at her father's sword incredulously. It hadn't been in this good of a condition since her father had first received it from Kai's father. Now that she thought about it, the blade seemed to be in even better condition than when she first took it from her father, as if someone had managed to erase all traces of damage from the blade. Had Overhaul been the one to repair it with his quirk? This seemed even more difficult to imagine but there was no other way it could have been so thoroughly restored. She unsheathed the blade to examine it further, to make sure she wasn't imagining any of this. Sure enough, there wasn't a scratch left on the blade, not a dent left on any of the wood. Everything had been pristinely restored to how it was when it had originally been made.
"Umm… I…" she stammered nervously. "Still, thank you for going out to get it for me."
"It is my pleasure, Miss Sakurazuka," he said to her with a polite bow.
"P-Please… Call me Yuka. Sakurazuka isn't even my real name…"
Her own words seemed to surprise her at that moment. She didn't exactly know why she had revealed this information to Madarame, especially since she had been using her father's last name her entire life. It was only recently that she had learned what her true name was.
"That would be quite informal of me to address you in such a way," Madarame admitted to her. "Perhaps we could settle on me addressing you as Miss Yuka?"
She couldn't help but think of Compress when she heard those words. He always addressed her as "Miss Yuka". Thinking of him made her wonder what the others were up to.
"Sure," she answered half-heartedly. "You can call me that."
She then remembered the other reason why Mamoru had come to her room. He said that Overhaul needed to speak to her. As soon as she remembered why he was there in the first place, she placed her sword back down next to the wall and started to make her way back towards the bathroom.
"I'll quickly get changed before we meet with Overhaul," she said to him. "I had changed into some more umm… comfortable clothes since I didn't expect anyone to come by for the rest of the night."
"Don't take too long," Madarame warned. "He seemed to be in a foul mood when I saw him last. You might not want to make him wait for too long…"
Yuka breathed out a slight sigh before closing the bathroom door behind her to get changed. She didn't feel like putting on her entire suit again so she decided to forgo wearing her jacket and only kept her dress shirt and pants. She decided to wear her tie in an attempt to maintain some semblance of decorum and emerged from the bathroom once she had changed into more appropriate clothes.
"I'm ready to leave," she said as she was tying the last of her cufflinks.
As they both made their way towards the door, Yuka quickly grabbed a face mask from the small table next to the door. She then put it on her face as they emerged from her room. Madarame then led her towards what Yuka could only assume was Overhaul's office. Once they got to their destination, they could see that Overhaul was waiting for them behind his desk, sitting with his fingers linked together in front of his face. His office was a sterile environment with very little furniture. Everything had been set up to be as easy to clean as possible. Everything was neatly organized and colorcoded, which came as no surprise to Yuka since she knew how meticulous of a person he was.
"You're finally here," Overhaul said in a flat tone as his eyes scanned her for a moment.
It was only now that she realized her hair was still wet from the shower. Judging by how Overhaul was squinting at the wet stains forming on her shirt, he didn't seem too pleased about that.
"Apologies for the lack of decorum," she said with an apologetic bow. "I was told you had something urgent to discuss..."
He exhaled through the nose and unlinked his fingers. "You heard correctly… There are things I wish to discuss with the both of you."
He slowly got up and rounded the corner of his desk. He then leaned back against the edge of the furniture, looking up at them with intense, scrutinizing eyes.
"I want to know why it is that you were the one that went after Eri and not Madarame…" he asked her bluntly.
She could feel his piercing, amber eyes boring into her as if he could extract the answer to his question simply by looking at her. Yuka swallowed hard as she tried to remain unphased in front of his merciless gaze, but as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, she heard Madarame speak in her place.
"We were just about to start another patrol when I noticed that the door to the compound had been left open," he started to explain, appearing perfectly calm as he did.
"I was asking her," Overhaul snapped, turning his gaze towards Madarame who immediately responded with silence.
As he turned to stare at Yuka once again, she began to speak in a calm tone.
"We knew something was wrong since we had both checked that the door was locked before we left the base," she added onto Mamoru's explanation. "Madarame then told me to wait by the tunnel while he investigated the door and that's when I saw her making a run towards the tunnels."
She stared into Overhaul's eyes, trying to read his expression, but with his mask obscuring most of his face, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking at that moment.
"Go on…" He invited her to continue.
"Madarame was still next to the entrance to the compound, so I yelled for him to warn you and took off in pursuit of Eri," she continued to explain.
She noticed a twitch behind his mask. He seemed to sneer at the use of Eri's name, seemingly disappointed that she had remembered it from their encounter.
"So you went against your orders and went after the girl…" he said in a disapproving tone.
Yuka tensed up at his response. She hadn't thought about the fact that she had gone against his instructions. The only thing that had crossed her mind at that moment was the fact that Eri was probably important to him and that it was equally as important for her to get her back by any means necessary.
"With all due respect, Sir," Madarame piped up again. "I was nowhere near Eri's position when Miss Yuka noticed her trying to escape. It made more sense to have me come and fetch you rather than having her rejoin the compound while the girl ran off into the tunnels."
Overhaul let out an exasperated sigh. He fiddled with his gloves as he pondered for a moment. He then looked up at Yuka and gave her another intense look.
"You had no right to go against my orders," he said to her in a serious tone. His body then relaxed a bit. "But I can't overlook that you were quick to catch up with Eri when she made off into the streets."
For a second there, Yuka had feared the worst when Overhaul had started to get angry with her. Even Madarame seemed to relax a bit as he gave him a grateful smile.
"Still," Overhaul interjected, instantly souring the mood as his face turned dark once again. "This only goes to show just how unreliable you still are. As such, I won't be releasing you from your sentence just yet."
Yuka's heart sank as he declared his verdict. Just when she thought things were finally looking up for her, this one incident brought everything crashing back down. All those days spent in isolation with nothing more than a TV and her meditations to keep her busy and now he was extending her sentence? All because she went after some girl? It all felt so unfair to her, but she didn't dare question his decision. She was already on thin ice as it was and she didn't want to anger him even further.
"If that is what you-"
"Sir!" Madarame interrupted her angrily. "With all due respect, if anyone should be to blame here, it's me. I was the one who didn't stay with Miss Yuka when she went off to chase Eri. Besides, isn't Eri an important part of your plan?"
"That's enough, Madarame…" Overhaul scolded him in a low tone.
"I understand she was under strict orders not to leave the base, but Miss Yuka was willing to risk exposing herself to the public in order to find and retrieve your most prized asset! Surely that merits her some leniency!"
"Not another word!" Overhaul spat aggressively, his eyes drilling into Mamoru's skull.
He was positively seething now. While Yuka agreed with what Madarame had just said, she was worried he was getting himself in trouble for her sake and where Overhaul was involved, getting into trouble was extremely dangerous business.
"My decision is final," Overhaul asserted in a calmer tone. "Please escort Miss Sakurazuka back to her room and await further instructions. That's an order…"
Understanding that he had taken things too far, Mamoru swallowed hard and gave him a quick bow before turning to leave his office. He gave Yuka an apologetic look before inviting her to exit the room. Yuka looked back towards Overhaul, who had now turned his back to them. There were so many things she wished to say to him at this moment, but she figured it was no use. He had clearly made up his mind.
"Thank you for restoring my father's sword," she said to him as she turned to face the door.
There was a moment of silence where no one moved. Mamoru turned to see how Overhaul was going to react, but her words were only met with silence. After an awkward pause, Yuka motioned for him to open the way for them so that she could retire to her room for good this time. He nodded and led her out of Overhaul's office, escorting her to her chambers once they had left the room. An awkward silence settled in between them, as neither of them wished to address what had just gone on in their boss' office. Once they arrived in front of Yuka's room, he led her inside and bid her a polite goodnight. Once he had left, she proceeded to dry out the rest of her hair and slipped into some more comfortable clothes before going to bed.