Aizawa would never admit it aloud but Arisa was precious to him.
The girl that had become his routine, the girl that he secretly was proud of, especially knowing he had a hand in raising her for three years. When she first came to him, she was a mess, a child that was highly damaged, afraid and angry. He helped her understand that she was worth much more than she could ever imagine, made her understand that it was okay to make mistakes, made her understand that it wasn't a sin for being a child. Everything that she had went through, it wasn't her fault and it would never be. After years, she finally came to understand everything that he had been trying to convey and she became the girl that would wait around corners trying to scare him whenever she had the chance and Aizawa would anticipate her popping up randomly around his house.
She was healing and growing and the man desired to see her grow even more, to become the hero she wanted to be. Seeing her smile made his long life worthwhile.
Aizawa sighed, staring at the photo of Arisa and himself on his phone. It had been a while since she was taken along with Bakugou. He was worried but the heroes were doing everything they could to track the two.
This was an occupational hazard. Arisa would forever be subjected to this danger as a hero in training. All he could do was try his best to protect her, the girl he had come to care about. The girl that had become his routine.
"Hold on just a while longer, kid."
°°°°
The human mind was truly extraordinary.
Upon traumatic events, it blocks the memory as a defense mechanism to protect the host and in the case of Arisa, this happened frequently. Years upon years of violence and terror with three years of subsequent therapy to help her cope in life, she had many events and memories that she couldn't seem to recall. Everytime she recalled her family, she could only say that they were shit. She was sure of it but she couldn't actually remember the details. She remembered fear, the pain, she remembered the saltiness of her own tears mixed in with blood, she remembered the deaths of her siblings but never the details. Everything she remembered of her past was either vague or altered.
Until now.
Young Arisa within her mind had shown her most of the obstructed memories. Only the most vital ones and it hurt, it was scary, Arisa was scared.
"Hayate betrayed the family. That's what you remember but do you remember why?"
"No."
And so she showed her.
"Hayate, will you come read to me again tonight?"
Seven-year-old Arisa had grabbed the lapels of his coat as he was leaving the mansion. The girl looked up at her brother with eyes filled with nothing but admiration and adoration. The male was her third eldest brother, the best out of the rest of the siblings and the only one to have ever treated her with care. The male looked down at the child with a small smile as he slipped his phone into his inner pocket before placing a hand on her head, "But you've made me read the same story over and over again."
"Then, pick another one."
The male kneeled down and his eyes were smiling but was filled with so much apology, "I don't know if I can make it tonight but if I do, I'll head straight up, okay? We'll read many stories together. Whatever you want."
The girl frowned, "You're on a long mission again, aren't you? Hey, Hayate, can't we just... Run away?"
"Oh, sweet one, that's what I'd like too," he pinched her cheeks, his amber eyes akin to magma twinkling as he smiled but it was laced with an emotion that young Arisa couldn't read but now she knew that it was sadness. He was sad and he gazed upon her as if it was going to be his last, "But I promise, soon, you'll be free. I'll make sure of it, okay?"
The girl leapt forward and wrapped her small arms around his neck, "Don't die. You're the only one who's nice to me in this household."
He didn't say anything but returned the embrace.
"Don't be afraid, Arisa."
Arisa stood beside the younger Arisa within her mind, the both of them watching as the memory played like a movie. Arisa couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness upon seeing Hayate again. Moving, smiling, breathing. He always had his long black locks into a messy bun because young Arisa liked to braid it when they were together.
The scene then changed.
The fourth son, Haruka entered their parents' chambers where they were resting. This was a memory she had never seen. Her parents, Sukehiro Arisu and Sukehiro Ichiro looked up upon his calm entry, only looking up at him with a look of question. The male, with his hands clasped behind him, informed, "Hayate's the traitor. I've cleaned up his mess. He's being held in the dungeon."
The father's features bristled in the slightest and Arisu sighed, "So, it was Hayate, huh? Quite unexpected."
"What will be our next move? Execution? Punishment?"
Arisu looked to her son and placed a calm hand to her chin in thought, her rosequartz eyes gazing downwards and eyebrows furrowed, "It's only proper for an execution to be held. Ready the clean up squad."
"Yes, mother."
"And make sure Arisa stays in her room. Do not let her leave."
"Understood."
Arisa glanced at the child beside her who looked on with a solemn gaze. That wasn't the gaze of a child but a person that had been through so much. The child suddenly glanced up at her, "This is where the truth lies. Don't look away."
"How are you able to do this? To have these memories when you weren't even there?"
"Our quirk is capable of so much more than you think. Why do you think the family treats us like a weapon more than a human?"
"Why?"
The child funnily looked annoyed at her and turned her gaze forward towards the ongoing scene, "Just watch."
Arisa, in her room, was playing with the knife Hayate gifted her. The small child was humming to a tune from a song she had recently heard from her last mission which was a night club. She didn't go inside but was outside where she had cleanly assassinated her target.
The girl suddenly felt a presence and turned to see her fourth eldest brother, Haruka, his features expressionless as usual. He often had a certain air to him, one of grace and sophistication. His quirk as well, befitted him. Ice petals, a deadly quirk that was capable of killing without a trace. The male was always unreadable and had not interacted with her as much as Hayate.
"Haruka...?"
"Arisa," he stepped further into the room, "Let's talk."
The child tilted her head curiously as the sat on her bed. The girl joined him after setting the blade down and looked up at her brother who was flicking strands of his black locks away from his face. Unlike Hayate, he kept his hair only above his shoulders. The male exhaled, "Arisa, can you soundproof this room?"
Her eyebrows furrowed but she nodded anyway and clasped her hands together, forming a barrier around them, invisible to the eye.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Arisa," he began, aquamarine eyes solemn, "Today, everything might change."
He was acting unlike the Haruka she knew. Haruka, in her mind, was incapable of speaking so gently. No, he barely spoke at all and was violent. Her siblings all trained her harshly ever since her quirk manifested and there was no such thing as love nor affection. Seeing him sit before her speaking so gently, even though Arisa was a child, she could tell that something was wrong.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, he continued, "I want you to be brave."
"Brother, you're worrying me."
He gave a slight smile but it was so sad, it shocked her. His smile disappeared as he stood up, "Hayate's being kept in the dungeon. Mother told me to not let you leave but," he turned away, "I do not see anything from here onwards."
"Hayate — why is Hayate in the dungeon?!"
Haruka didn't answer and only left.
Arisa grimaced.
She remembered this part but from this moment onwards, she couldn't remember anything else. She was sure it was something traumatic. Arisa turned towards the child beside her and uttered, "I don't wanna see this."
"Don't be afraid. Haruka and Hayate both said to be brave so be brave. You will bear witness to the tragedy of the Sukehiro siblings. Again. I'm sorry for doing this to you but you need to remember, the final reason that made you do what you did, the reason why you're here today, to become a hero. You're to never forget where you came from and to never forget the rage and pain we felt."
"Aren't you supposed to be like, six or something. Why are you speaking like you've lived ten lifetimes?"
"As if you don't know the answer. We've always been eloquent. Now, focus."
The scene changed.
Arisa was now at the top of the stairs leading to the dungeon, biting her lip apprehensively, her small figure tremoring in the slightest. The poor child didn't have pleasant memories of the dungeon. This was where punishment carried out whenever she displayed unsatisfactory behaviour but Arisa knew she had to go down. She needed to see what they were doing to Hayate and scope out the situation.
Why were they holding him down here?
She could hear voices.
"We've taught you better than this. Why did you do this? Betrayal? This isn't something you would do."
Betrayal?
Hayate was a traitor?
No, it can't be.
Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her. Haru, her fifth eldest brother, whispered, "You shouldn't be here."
Arisa stiffened and turned her head stiffly to see his slightly slanted eyes looking down at her. Unlike the rest of the family, he had crimson locks that reached his waist, a colour he received from father. Unlike the rest of the family, he wasn't sent out on assassination missions but was in charge of intelligence. His quirk allowed him to extract information from anyone he wished with a single glance — his combat skills weren't so shabby either. A true Sukehiro, the heart of the family's intelligence.
"Haru."
"They're executing him soon."
Her opalescent eyes widened but she was smart enough not to make a sound.
"Before you go, keep this with you," he pulled out an envelope and the girl held onto it questioningly. He gave a smile, "Hold onto it. Open it after all this is over."
"I don't remember this."
"This is where it begins."
The scene changed.
Arisa was now downstairs and coincidentally saw the final moments of her brother who met her eyes at the very last minute. His eyes widened for a moment but then he smiled, one that carried so much emotion that was enough to knock the wind out of her chest. It was filled with so much compassion and affection that it made her want to cry but she couldn't. A Sukehiro couldn't cry but Hayate shed a single tear as he smiled before her own mother shoved a blade through his heart.
And Arisa heard something snap.
Arisa's eyes burned bright and she shot forward but was stopped short.
Around her, all her siblings gathered, the eldest and second eldest gripping her arms by her sides, the fouth, fifth, sixth and the first daughter all stood in a stance, weapons drawn, halting her from taking another step. There were orbs of fire and petals of ice hovering all around them.
"Don't be reckless, Arisa," her mother tutted, "You're a weapon so of course we've set up a few measures to keep you contained," she pointed towards the bracelet around her hand, "You can try hurting us but can you go against all of your siblings at once?"
Arisa was seething. She was emotional. She watched the only person she had ever cared most die right before her eyes. He smiled. He was going to die but he smiled. She wasn't ever going to see that smile again. He didn't even get to read to her like he promised.
The child suddenly laughed, tears rolling down her cheeks, surprising everyone in the room as blue began leaking from her figure. They were all shocked. What was the blue energy? Her quirk had always been plain telekinesis.
"Yes. Yes, I can."
And so chaos ensued.
"I can't look," Arisa's lips trembled as she watched her younger self slaughter her own flesh and blood. She may have hated them but it wasn't right. It wasn't.
"You have to. You need this."
Blood. Everywhere.
Arisa was like a rabid animal. Her hands were coated with violent blue energy and each swing sliced a limb or two off. She could vaguely her parents freaking out in the background as her siblings tried their best to stand against her. Arisa was fast, highly skilled — this was the Sukehiro family's best weapon, a child meant for war.
As she was about to strike the second eldest, she felt a prick in her neck and her mother whisper, "That's enough."
Arisa gasped, her eyes widening as her hand shot up to her neck, feeling a needle on it. Her vision blurred and her head spun. Hiroshi shoved the girl off him, causing her to fall to her side on a pool of blood, her eyes struggling to stay open. A tear escaped her eyes as she finally succumbed into the darkness, the last thing she saw being her dead brothers and sister.
The letter that Haru asked her to keep had long disintegrated from the battle.
"The letter that Haru gave contains the truth. Do you wish to read it?"
"... Yes."
And so she read and the contents utterly broke her heart.