This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 45

"Maybe it's better you didn't."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...did you see it?"

Aizawa glanced over to Bakugo, noting the way his hands curled tightly in his lap, the way his attention remained fixated on something unseen. "See what?"

"Whatever was inside that building."

"No, I didn't."

"It's that Manager guy, isn't it? That's what they're saying, that they found him in there."

"They're not certain who it is yet. It's still too soon to say."

"You know it's him. She wouldn't have done that to just anyone."

"If I didn't know better, it would almost sound like you're defending her, Bakugo."

"...it's not like that. Everyone knows she hated him, it's the only thing that makes sense. You know how she normally is, she wouldn't pull this crap for no reason."

"...yes, I know."

An empty silence fell between them, and for their own reasons, they both hesitated.

"So is she, you know... alright?"

"I've heard she has no serious injuries."

Bakugo half nodded, his lips pressing into a thin line, as if he couldn't decide whether or not that was the answer he was hoping for. His mind seemed to be in tangles, everything was complicated, everything was a gray area, and none of it sat well with him. As he tossed and turned among his own thoughts, his attention scattered in far too many directions, he didn't notice the glace Aizawa cast his way. It was understanding, sympathetic, almost... pitying.

Because not everyone thought it was so complicated; not everyone saw a gray area at all. If mutterings around the hospital were to be believed, the higher-ups had already come to a conclusion. They had made up their minds the moment Unknown escaped from Heights Alliance that quiet night- they had decided her fate long before she was caught and bound and dragged back to that miserable hospital. The blood on her hands merely sealed it.

_______________________________________________

The plane rolled to a stop on an empty runway, and its doors clicked open.

_______________________________________________

"She hasn't spoken a word since we found her. Don't you think that's concerning?"

"If it were any other situation, perhaps it would be. Right now... well, everyone has their own ways of coping."

"You saw what she did to him, I'm not sure she has too much remorse about that."

"I doubt it's about remorse, more like... realization, maybe. I can only imagine the state of mind she's in after all this."

"She hasn't asked about the other children?"

"Not once. Strange, considering how agitated she was at the news of their capture last night. Maybe it hasn't come back to her yet."

"That teacher is still asking to see her, should I let him in?"

"No. She's a high-risk captive: orders from the top. No one goes in there. Besides, I doubt he'd be able to get much out of her anyway."

"Right. Well, I can inform the others about the transport arriving this afternoon. We'll get started on the preparations."