This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 43

"The others are safe, there are plenty of guards with them. In order to find the Manager, we need insight, the kind only someone who's extremely familiar with him could have."

"I don't know what you expect from me," she scoffed in exasperation, dropping her head into her hands, "I already told you everything."

The man pressed his lips together as he observed her silently. He noticed the tightness in her jaw, the faint shine of sweat on her brow, the way her expression pinched with agitation. Her posture was rigid and her leg bounced nervously under the table, all in contrast to what he knew, or at least had been told, of her usual demeanor. He decided it might be best to back down for the time being.

"I'll need to step out to make a call to the chief. Please stay put for your own safety. As soon as we hear anything, you'll be the first you know, alright?" he asked evenly.

Unknown sighed, rubbing her forehead harshly, "Yea, ok."

With a nod, the man rose from his seat and promptly retreated toward the door, phone already in hand as the door closed behind him.

Aizawa remained still for a moment in his spot behind Unknown. His eyes shifted down to her hunched form, and even from a distance, he could practically feel the frustration clouding over her. Slowly, he stepped over to the table and shifted the empty chair.

The room was small, completely empty save for the set of chairs and the small table. There were no windows; the only light came from the scattering of overhead bulbs, washing the room in a hard white glow. He hadn't been in here before, though it hadn't been long since the building was constructed, and admittedly, he wasn't quite sure what it was meant to be used for. All that was beside the point, however, as the issue at hand was rather more pressing than a simple forgotten room.

"Are you alright?" he asked, though it wasn't as if he really needed to.

"How did he get out?" Unknown spat through gritted teeth, hands sharply combing through her hair before they rose to cradle her forehead again, "They were supposed to keep him there, that was their only job!"

He remained quiet, only watching as she rubbed at her wrists and clenched her jaw.

"Now he's coming after us... he'll try to take the others first, I know he will. He's not just going to let this go, he wants revenge, he's going to find me too, and then he'll..."

"He's not going to hurt you, he won't come anywhere near this place," Aizawa reassured firmly, "You're safe here. We'll make sure of that."

"You can't stop him. They'll still listen to him, the others, if they still listen to him-"

"They won't. It's been months, the effects of his quirk have long worn off. He has no control over anyone anymore."

"You don't get it," she spat bitterly, hands balling into fists, nails digging into her palms so harshly they nearly broke skin. "Everyone thinks it's just the quirk, like that's the only power he has over us. You think this kind of thing didn't happen before there were quirks? You think you can come out normal after being raised by a monster? People like him don't need special powers, he probably could have done the same thing without a quirk at all. That's just how it is, that's how it's always been. And now he's out and free in the world again, all because the heroes couldn't do the one damn thing they're supposed to be good at!" Unknown sneered in disgust as she pressed the heels of her palms against her brow, trying vigorously to relieve the pounding headache blinding her.

A long moment passed, and Aizawa remained quiet. Heavy, viscous silence bled into the gap where no words arose, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, there was no more noise to be found. No buzzing from the lights, no distant murmurs from outside, no white noise from unseen machines hidden behind doors and walls and people. It was merely complete and utter silence, and although it didn't relieve any pressure from her mind, it was enough of a momentary sanctuary for her to gather herself a bit.