"Satori-kun,"
Yuki looked up from his homework. "Yes?"
"You mentioned you have a dad?"
"Yeah," Yuki went back to his homework. "But he passed away 3 years ago."
"I'm sorry for your loss. Do you live with family now?"
"No. He didn't have family and Uncle Shin couldn't take care of me either." Yuki turned to the next page.
"You're dad's brother?"
Yuki shook his head. "No. A friend. But--"
"But?"
Yuki stopped writing, shifting a little in his seat. He had been warned and forbidden to tell anyone but...
"...they really liked each other."
"I see."
Yuki cautiously looked up.
"Does he know where you are?"
Yuki met his counselor's eyes. "No. I don't know what happened to him. Matsuda-sensei,"
"Yes?"
"I don't think who they liked was wrong." Yuki stated firmly. "D-do you?"
Matsuda smiled softly at the boy, "I don't. I think everyone should like who they like without a problem."
Yuki felt himself smile.
"How are things back home?" Matsuda asked.
The boy's smile quickly fell. Returning to his homework.
"They're... okay..."
"Satori, anything you tell me in this room stays in this room." Matsuda explained to him.
Yuki looked up again. Still a bit wary.
"You won't tell anyone...?"
"I promise."
The boy gripped his pencil a little tighter.
"Satori Yuki," Matsuda began.
"I promise you can trust anything that you tell me, will stay between us."
"R-really?"
The man smiled,
"Trust me."
It felt longer than it should have, waiting for Aizawa and Recovery Girl to return to the common room.
There had been a scream earlier and they weren't sure if they should send someone up to check. Aizawa had told them to stay put but...
It was nearly impossible.
At the ding of the elevator everyone turned and rushed towards the adults.
"Is he going alright?" Yaomomo was the first to ask before they were bombarded with questions.
Recovery Girl couldn't give a response she completely felt was true.
"Satori informed us it has something to do with his quirk," Aizawa began, rubbing his neck.
"He said it should last at most a week but..." he looked over to Recovery Girl who shook her head.
"We aren't entirely sure if that's true." she completed.
"What? Why? Is it that bad?" Ochaco asked.
With a frown Aizawa continued, "At the moment the severity of the situation is more than we expected."
"Has Yuki ever disclosed anything relating to this or perhaps anything regarding his.... Upbringing?" Recovery Girl asked, hoping her pupil had indeed shared anything with anyone.
Everyone looked around to each other. Shaking their heads and whispering.
It was then they all realized how little they actually knew about Yuki. And it was then Aizawa realized just how good Yuki was at diverting subjects.
With a sigh Aizawa nodded, "It's fine if you can't think of anything now. I'll come back in a couple hours to check up on him." He would have to try and ask Shinso.
"As of this moment no one and I mean absolutely, NO. ONE. is allowed to come into contact with or just as much visit him."
"This is not only for you safely but his as well." Recovery Girl sighed.
"Is it contagious?" one asked.
"Not that we know of."
With those warnings, class 1-A was left to worry and hope their classmate would get well soon.
Bakugo was the first to leave the group and go back to his room. It wasn't that he didn't care. On the contrary. He was terrified. Terrified at how the complete opposite Yuki had looked. Not only that, it was now the entry of the class who knew and probably caught a glimpse of all the marking.
He thought back to how completely horrified Yuki had been when he'd accidentally seen him. Yuki went through great lengths to hide as much of his body as he could, which he only started to notice after having seen why.
He thought back to how during the times he would go over and sometimes sleep over. Were there any instances he let slip something? How had he replied to his ranting? Yuki was always the one who would listen but never one to actually start a conversation unless it was related to him being a healer.
Hell, there had even been times where Yuki would point something out that angered him for some reason. Yet as he shouted in retaliation or defense, Yuki stayed calm and quiet. Listening to everything. He'd never tried to calm him. Yuki only waited for him to let it all out before continuing the conversation.
It had slipped Mirdoriya's mind to ask questions about his friend's quirk. It wasn't as flashy as most of the class were and he'd only actually seen Yuki use it in the nurse's office and sometimes out in their training.
Midoriya flipped through his notebook and even more to his surprise, he didn't have a page for Yuki. He couldn't believe it. There must have been a point he'd written something down.
The greenette pondered deeply about all the times he'd been healed. Wondering what exactly it was that made him able to heal others. It was certainly much more effective and more convenient than Recovery Girl's, who mostly relied on the stamina of those being healed.
"Did you think of something, Deku?" Uraraka asked.
"Uh? Oh!" he'd forgotten he was still in the common room.
"Well, I was actually thinking about Yuki's quirk..." he nervously replied.
"It is weird he didn't mention anything this serious to us and more specifically the teachers." Iida stated.
"Maybe he experienced the common sicknesses worse than the rest of us..." Uraraka said low.
"It could be." Iida nodded at the theory.
"Everyone! It's time for dinner!"
It had been so long since this had happened to him.
Yuki remembered the feeling. It was something he hoped he'd never had to feel again. It was a feeling that had quickly been buried in the depths of his memories. Locked away for as long as possible.
He guessed 3-4 years was as long as it was able to stay away.
Yuki knew he was back in his dorm. But there had been a moment when he thought he was back in hell. He was blinded in fear and he'd attacked Aizawa.
Yuki buried his head under the covers.
He hoped this episode of his wouldn't last longer than a week. It couldn't possibly. He might have overused or come close to overusing his quirk but it wasn't as bad as he had then.
His phone rang.
Yuki knew exactly who it was. He'd made sure to change their ringtone. They hardly ever called.
Wincing just removing the covers, he reached for his phone. Only within an arm's reach.
Looking at the name. Sure enough, it was him.
"Hi," Yuki answered sitting up. "It's been a while, Dr. Young."
Aizawa knew it was about time Nezu Really dug into Yuki's history. They did background checks on all the students admitted to avoid any sort of infiltration. But for some reason, the only actual consistent history Yuki had were those of hospital admissions. And even then the reasons listed for every admission were vague.
"Nezu, we need to talk!" Aizawa shouted, storming in. Not bothering to knock.
Aizawa froze upon seeing Nezu had a visitor. "I- I apologize."
"Aizawa-sensei! I was just about to call for you!" Nezu smiled.
The visitor in question looked over to the homeroom teacher, bowing respectfully.
"Good Afternoon, my name is Watanabe Kaito. I'm the family Lawyer of Satori Yuki and Dr. Nikola Young's. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Aizawa frowned, closing the door behind him. "Lawyer?"
"Yes! Our young student Satori seems to be needed for an investigation."
Aizawa frowned walking over to them. "May I ask for what kind of investigation?"
Mr. Watanabe smiled politely, "I'm afraid that is not for me to disclose. I'll have to ask to borrow Yuki for the rest of the week."
Aizawa crossed his arms, his frown deepening. "Unfortunately, I can't allow that."
"And why is that Aizawa?" Nezu asked.
"He sick at the momen--"
"He's sick?!" Mr. Watanabe shouted.
"Is something the matter?" Nezu's smile fell.
"It- It's just--" the lawyer let out an exasperated sigh.
"May I see him?" he asked Aizawa.
"I don't think he'll be able to respond coherently." Aizawa warned him.
Mr. Watanabe shook his head, "You don't understand, the boy can't get sick."
Aizawa and Nezu exchanged looks.
"What do you mean he can't?"
Mr. Watanabe took a deep breath.
"Because of his quirk his body won't allow him to get sick."
"Then how is he sick?" Aizawa dropped his arms. Fists clenching.
"Just take me to him!" Mr. Watanabe told him.
"I'll explain on the way."
"Yuki-kun."
"Yes?"
"How old are you again?"
"I'm about to turn 8. Why?"
"Really? Aren't you a bit too short?"
"Matsuda-sensei! That's mean!"
The man laughed, ruffling the boy's hair.
"Just kidding, say!"
Yuki looked up at his counselor. They were currently leaving school. Matsuda had been kind enough to let him stay after school to finish his homework.
"Why don't I take you somewhere to celebrate your birthday?"
"Huh....?" Yuki stopped walking.
"Yeah! Think of it like a little field trip." Matsuda smiled, getting down to Yuki's eye level.
"What do ya say?"
"B-but it's a school day...." Yuki told him.
"I'll make sure they mark it as a sick day. We can go to a cafe-- You like pudding right?" Matsuda reached out and held onto the boys shoulders.
"Call in sick?"
"Yeah! It'll be our little secret."
"For my birthday?" Yuki asked. Just wanting to make sure he's heard him properly.
"Yup, for your birthday. It's been a while since you've celebrated right?"
Yuki's bottom lip began to tremble. "Y-yeah..."
"Then it's settled." Matsuda gleamed.
"We can even get you a pair of new shoes and clothes. Maybe a sweater too."
At this point Yuki couldn't help but let his tears fall.
"Does that sound good?" Matsuda asked, patting his trembling shoulders.
"Yea!"
* * *
Dinner was silent. Only the clinks of silverware to fill the silence.
"Should we take him dinner?" Uraraka asked.
Everyone pondered for a minute.
"Shouldn't we make him soup?" Kaminari noted.
"Yeah... I don't think he's able to eat solids from how he looked." Kirishima added.
It went quiet again.
"When do you think Aizawa will come back?" Mina asked.
"Probably before curfew." Bakugo spoke up.
They continued with their dinner silence.
"We could make him something so get better." Hagakure suggested.
"Like a get well card?" Jiro asked.
"Yeah! Maybe even get him flowers!" the invisible girl cheered. "Is he allergic to them?"
Everyone shrugged.
"Okay...then what's his favorite color? We can pick and choose from that,"
Everyone turned to look at Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida.
"Huh?"
"Why are you looking at us?!"
"Well," Ojiro began, "You three have known him the longest..."
Iida set his utensils down. "I don't think there's ever been a time he talked about himself."
The sound of the front door startled everyone.
"This is quite the place."
A strangers voice.
"It was necessary after the Camino Attack."
Aizawa's voice.
Most of the students stood up and walked over to see who it was.
"Yes," the stranger replied, "I figured he would have moved in."
"Aizawa-sensei?" Yaomomo asked.
Everyone soon stepped into view. Confused as to why there was a man with a briefcase and in a suit.
"Everyone this is Mr. Watanabe. He'll be going in and out of the dorm for the following week," Aizawa introduced, glancing at the man for conformation.
"Yes," Mr. Watanabe smiled, "I'll be visiting Yuki quite a number of times. Please excuse my intrusion."
"Are you a doctor?!" Midoriya exclaimed.
Mr. Watanabe chuckled nervously, "Unfortunately not, a doctor hopefully won't be needed besides Recovery Girl."
"If you're not a doctor then why are you here?" Bakugo asked.
Mr. Watanabe looked over to Aizawa, who nodded.
"I'm his guardian's and Yuki's family lawyer--"
"Is he going to jail?!"
Mr. Watanabe laughed. "No. He's not going to jail. I just need to review a couple things with him."
"That's enough," Aizawa interrupted before more questions were asked.
"I'll show you to his room."
"Yes."
The class watched as they quietly left taking the elevator.
"How the fuck is he going to review shit if he can barely stand." Bakugo grumbled.
* * *
"I have them." Yuki told his guardian on the other side of the phone.
"I'll be fine." he reassured him. "No. It's not that bad..."
"I'm not-- Dr. Young, I'm-- No..."
A knock on his door caused him to fling his phone away. "Ah!"
"We're coming in."
"W-wait!"
Sluggishly he went to reach for the phone only to land on his face.
"Satori, what are you doing out of bed?" it was Aizawa.
"Oh! Is that Dr. Young on the phone? Perfect." Yuki recognized the voice.
"N-no--" he went to reach for the phone but was too slow. The lawyer had beaten him to it.
"Dr. Young this is Mr. Watanabe!"
Aizawa went to get Yuki up and drag him back to bed. It seems the high fever was still there.
"Yes..... How high was his fever, Aizawa-sensei?"
"Around 43 celsius."
"No, it was 32--" Yuki 'corrected.'
"44 celsius." Mr. Watanabe answered.
Yuki groaned feeling his headache come back.
"I'll make sure of that..... Yes...... I understand...... I will email the details.... Yes. .... Have a good day."
"Is he coming back?" Yuki muttered.
"At the moment, no. But he might if you don't stop lying to him." Mr. Watanabe sighed.
"He's busy. I don't want him to worry."
Aizawa was kneeling besides the boy. He had a lot of questions but didn't know if this was the time.
"Well then," Mr. Watanabe smiled. Facing Aizawa, "We'll be fine from here."
He was kicking him out.
"He can stay." Yuki interrupted.
Mr. Watanabe frowned. "But Yuki--"
"He has questions." the boy slurred. "Let him sit in. Maybe it'll answer a couple of them on their own."
Aizawa felt as though he'd just beat the lawyer but upon glancing at the hardened face, he wasn't quite sure it would grant him anything.
"Then, would you allow me." Mr. Watanabe gestured to where Aizawa was sitting. The homeroom teacher moved.
Mr. Watanabe set his brief case on Yuki's coffee table, opening it and pulling out files upon files. All labeled 'Confidential.' Aizawa felt this would take longer than he'd been told so he sat at the foot of Yuki's nook.
"Is there anything you need before we begin?" Mr. Watanabe asked.
"No." Yuki huffed, turning his head to face the lawyer.
"Then, let us begin." Mr. Watanabe grabbed the first file. A stack of photographs. Some with paperwork pinned to it others, nothing.
"We'll start with the year XX39...."
Aizawa frowned.
He did the math and Yuki must have been around 7 or 8.
Mr. Watanabe held up a photograph of a young girl. No older than ten. She was smiling and had a couple missing teeth.
"Was reported missing on January 7... Found on the 23.
"M-meiko..." Yuki stuttered.
"Tachibana Meiko, yes." Mr. Watanabe confirmed.
"Was she one of them?"
Yuki nodded.
"February 15th....
February 26....
March 1st...
March 12th....
March 26...."
"Kato....
Rika...
Emiko....
Kayo....
Yakeru..."
Aizawa watched with every passing picture.
The sheer horror grew with each file his student knew.
He recognized the names.
The names of all those who had been televised at one point.
The names of children.
Fathers.
Mothers.
Sons.
Daughters.
The names of those who suffered.
And the ones who had remained nameless.
Aizawa looked over to Mr. Watanabe. He shared just about the same amount of pain and horror on his face with every conformation Yuki made.
Yuki wasn't just naming missing people.
No.
It wouldn't have been as bad if that were the case.
He was naming and confirming the names of people who had gone missing and were found in gruesome ways.
He was naming the people who'd gone missing and some of which were never seen again.
He was naming them, as though he were reciting their names.
He was naming them at times without skipping a beat.
He was naming the victims.
The lives brutally lost at the hands of the most wicked and horrific human being of Japan in the modern era.
The Brutal Murders of Ittetsu.