"You went to see them, didn't you? You know it isn't safe. Being this reckless isn't like you, Arisa."
Aizawa and Arisa had always lived their lives together peacefully. Both were always calm and collected with a few humorous jabs here and there but today, this was the first time that they had argued and Arisa had to admit that it was all her fault. Today was the anniversary of her third brother's death—Arisa didn't have any positive feelings about her former family but she still kept track of all their death dates. She was the cause after all. Perhaps she desired closure, perhaps she wanted to remind herself of her rotten roots, the very people she buried to survive within and beyond those regal four walls. Perhaps this was a method of self-harm because seeing their headstones, all she could feel was guilt despite knowing she had no choice.
Aizawa found out where she went because he knew her well enough.
To the Sukehiro gravesite. One that only Arisa knew.
"I had to see them," was all she could say as she stood before her guardian.
"Why? They inflicted nothing but pain on you. They destroyed your childhood, gave you conditional love and unconditional hate—"
"Because they're still my family!"
He was stunned into silence. She narrowed her eyes at him before looking away, gripping at the sleeve of her white button-up, "Despite everything they've done, they were still victims. Just like I was. They're no different than I am. The least I could do was visit them considering I was the one that killed them. Why can't you understand that? This is difficult for me. Don't get me wrong," she shoved the palm of her hand to her eye, "Living with you has been a blessing. I've managed to learn so many things, able to understand what a healthy relationship was and what it means to be a child my age but I can't just act like my past didn't happen!"
She tore her sunglasses away and finally looked at him properly in the eyes. Aizawa was surprised to see tears streaming down her face and felt like he was punched in the gut. Regret and guilt filled him as she furiously wiped them away, "I'm sorry for going but it's okay. Nobody saw me."
"I'm sorry—"
"It's okay," she moved past him, "You were just worried. I understand."
He gripped her arm, halting her, "No. No, don't do that. Just, be angry with me, don't keep it in. You're allowed to do that. You're allowed to feel."
He pulled her into an embrace and she allowed herself to rest her forehead against his shoulder. The two stood in silence for a while until he broke it, "I'm sorry. I should have been more understanding. I didn't want you to get hurt, that's all. I know how much everything means to you, this new life of yours especially."
"Stop it. This doesn't sound very Aizawa of you."
He pulled back slightly, looking down at her, an eyebrow raised, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're more of the aloof type. No chick flick moments type of guy."
"Well, this is the only exception," he huffed and she smiled slightly as she wrapped her arms around his torso, sniffling slightly. After a few seconds, he spoke, "You know, it's not your fault."
"How is it not?"
"You had no choice."
She hugged him tighter, shoving her entire face into his chest as she mumbled, "I hope I can truly believe that one day."
"You will. Until then, I promised to be here every step of the way, remember?"
"Mmm."
"Forgive me?"
"I'll think about it."
°°°°
"Well, I was the youngest of eight. I had six brothers and one sister," Arisa ended up speaking to Aizawa about her family that night. Aizawa didn't know much of her family and was only aware of the two surviving brothers that were now in Tartarus with her parents. The rest of the siblings were only spoken of briefly and only became a death tally for the government. They were aware that it was her that eliminated them all but speaking about it was not the same as actually experiencing it firsthand. Arisa continued to recall her faint memories of her siblings, their faces that were forever engraved in her memory along with their names, "The eldest, Hiroshi actually had the best combat prowess out of all of us, as you could probably remember from three years ago, the one with the ocular reality altering quirk."
Aizawa nodded, his mind recalling of the male that nearly escaped. His quirk was the most tricky and powerful, as expected of a Sukehiro.
"But I surpassed that bastard and slammed him face first into next week," Arisa grinned and Aizawa smiled slightly, "Anyway, my second brother, Hiyoshi, was a bit of a psycho. Made sense seeing how he was the perfect assassin as mother often said. You know, they called me mother's masterpiece. I never actually figured out what they all meant."
Aizawa had a faint idea because he was there during the raid and they came across plenty of documents that evaluated the siblings. Their abilities, their quirks. All of it but it was all too tragic to speak of. Especially back then when Arisa was barely twelve. He had enough of a theory as to why the youngest was the most valued and a masterpiece. It was probably why her quirk was evolving so fast. It was also one of the reasons why Aizawa was chosen as a guardian. He was to make sure that quirk wouldn't go haywire.
The mother, Sukehiro Arisu was planning on using Arisa as the ultimate weapon but that wasn't going to happen now because they fortunately managed to get their hands on Arisa before it could happen. The girl was now living her best life with him and he swore to give provide her with only the best.
"Sometimes, things are better unknown," he placed a hand on her head.
"I guess you're right."
"How's your quirk lately? Any new developments?"
"No."
She lied. There was no need worrying the poor man.
"Okay. You should head to bed. Internships begin tomorrow."
"Oh, yeah. Right. Goodnight, Aizawa-san."
"Mmhmm."
As usual, before she slept, she popped a few pills into her mouth and went to bed, guilt-ridden for hiding this from Aizawa.
°°°°
"You've all got your costumes, right?"
"Yes!"
"Make sure to watch your conduct. Okay. Let's go!"
The next day came and Arisa was yawning for the fifth time that morning as she stood amongst her classmates. As it so happened, she chose to intern at Hawks' agency mainly because of her curiosity of the male's actual character. She felt the need to investigate, to confirm her suspicions of what she had sensed that day because as it was, her instincts had never been wrong so far. As she nearly nodded off, Tokoyami spoke up, "Hayashi-san. You're going to Hawks' agency as well, right?"
"Oh, you're going there too?"
"I am," he formally answered and she smiled, glad that she wasn't going alone. She had never spoken to the boy properly before so this would be her chance it seemed.
"Let's go together."
"Sure," he smiled slightly and the two quickly boarded the train. Arisa waved at Aizawa who returned the gesture with a slight smile and she got seated across from Tokoyami who was now gazing out the window, his chin propped against an enclosed fist. Arisa made herself comfortable upon sitting down and watched as the train began moving. Arisa looked at the boy across from her who did the same, "We haven't spoken much, have we, Tokoyami-kun?"
"We have not. I've always wanted to praise how you dealt with the insults that day during the sports festival. I wanted to step forward but I was afraid that I would make you uncomfortable."
Arisa's eyebrows rose slightly, "Oh. Well, it wasn't that big of a deal. Wanna be friends, Tokoyami-kun?"
"It would be a pleasure," he smiled and she returned the gesture.
"So, what made you choose Hawks?"
Tokoyami shrugged, "I don't know. I just feel like he'd be the perfect mentor for me. What about you, Hayashi-san?"
"I like how he does his work. He's efficient and fast. I wanna be like that too."
And I was curious of his nature.
"I see. Well, let's work hard."
"Yeah."
The rest of the ride was filled with the two classmates exchanging random stories and Arisa had brought a deck of cards with her. She taught him how to play poker, explained a bunch of roles and card combinations. Tokoyami questioned as to how she knew how to play and she only smiled because she learned it from a drug lord a few years ago. It was a funny encounter. The two played and played and soon enough, they reached Kyushu. Tokoyami and Arisa set out to find Hawks' agency and after getting lost a few times, nearly getting kidnapped, being bombarded by fans, the two finallly reached their destination.
"That was difficult," she huffed and he was panting as well, "Agreed. I now understand the pain of pro heroes."
"Well, we survived," she grinned and held up a hand. Tokoyami slapped his palm against hers as he straightened and fixed his grip on his suitcase which contained his hero costume. He cleared his throat, inhaled deeply and nodded once before moving forward, "Let's head on inside."
Arisa walked along with the boy and entered through the front only to be greeted by the sight of a busy lobby. People were running around, yelling out orders. She could even see the press who she assumed was trying to get an interview with Hawks but judging from how dejected they were, they were rejected. She watched them leave and moved slightly to the right, allowing them to exit without bumping into her. Arisa exhaled, "Well, isn't this something?"
Tokoyami wordlessly headed towards the receptionist and leaned over the desk, "Hi. We're the interns from UA."
The weary woman behind the counter looked up at the two students, eyes exhausted and disinterested, "Right. Hayashi Arisa and Tokoyami Fumikage, correct?"
"That's right."
The woman sighed, "Go take a seat. Hawks will be with you shortly."
The two glanced at each other and did as they were told. Upon sitting down on the leather seats, she sighed, "I can smell the depression and suffering."
"Amen."
Tokoyami looked at her curiously and she returned the gesture, "Why are you looking at me?"
"Forgive me for asking but why do you not wear a blindfold anymore? The glasses suit you, of course but I was just curious."
"Oh, that thing got obliterated during my fight with Bakugou so Aizawa-san got me this instead."
"Aizawa-sensei?"
"Oh, yeah, he's my legal guardian."
He seemed surprised by this, "Oh, that's a surprise."
As they conversed, she sensed a presence nearing and she turned her head to see Hawks approaching them from the long hallway across from them. Tokoyami's eyes followed her gaze and was now watching Hawks as well. The two stood up when the man reached them both, "G'morning. Welcome to my agency," his eyes especially lingered on the girl for a second but it was quick, "Now, you'll be observing and joining me on patrols. You'd be able to see how a pro does their work everyday. Are you ready?"
"Yes," the two answered simultaneously.
He smiled, "Good. Go get changed. We'll be leaving immediately."
The two quickly left and changed in the restroom. Arisa felt how snug her new gloves were and flexed her arm multiple times as she walked out. Outside, there was only Hawks. Tokoyami was nowhere to be seen. She just assumed he was still changing so she quietly stood by Hawks, mindlessly flexing her arms, addicted to the soft interior of the gloves and how sturdy they were. She also kept her sunglasses on, not wanting to shock some poor soul on the streets into an early death. Another reason was that her quirk would be less destructive this way. Less energy expanded.
"I was really impressed by your fights in the festival," Hawks suddenly spoke, hands shoved into his pockets, "I hope I can help you improve even more while you're here."
She smiled politely, "I look forward to it."
Finally, Tokoyami came out and the three set off to patrol the streets of Kyushu.
Unaware of the illusive hands of death that continued to creep closer and closer.