"Will you work with them today?" Itsuki asks as another chair is brought into the room so the two can sit on separate chairs this time.
"Depends what they ask," Ekio mumbles back.
She had another night filled with waking up and deep breathing. This time Itsuki was there to help her, combing his fingers through her hair and making sure she is okay as she drifted back to sleep. But it doesn't stop the tiredness from setting in.
"What's bothering you."
"Would you want to talk about your kidnapping?" She snaps at her father, her eyes flashing for a second.
The Quirk metre around her neck beeps loudly at her, making her sigh.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine Ekio, this is not something that someone your age should be having to deal with," Itsuki mumbles, bringing his cuffed hands over her head and hugging her to his chest for a moment.
"Alright, let's get this over with," the investigator, who has refused to mention his name to either of them, walks into the room again, his partner close behind.
He has brought a tablet in with him, to record the meeting and anything important Ekio says. His officials have told him to crack down on her, so he will.
Ekio ducks out of her father's arms and takes a seat in the new chair provided. Her father follows suit, sitting down next to her. The investigator turns the recording on and sets the tablet to the side.
"Let's start off slowly shall we?" He offers her a smile, "when did you notice there was someone intruding at the camp?"
Ekio notices that he is changing the questions, breaking them down so she doesn't have the same reaction as the day before.
"I thought I heard fire," she mumbles, "so I went to find Aizawa-sensei."
"When was this?"
"During the night, we were doing a test of courage in the forest." Her voice isn't as animated as it was yesterday it is quieter, colder. "I was sitting beside Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki before I left for the building to find Aizawa-sensei."
"And can you tell me who else was around when you left?" He asks, his partner scribbling things down quickly.
If the recording fails they need to have another record of what she has been saying.
"Most of Class 1A, the test was coming to an end when I left."
"And when you went to find your Sensei, what happened on the way?"
That question itself tells Ekio that he has already spoken to her Sensei, he already knows what has happened.
"I was intercepted by one of the members, the class watched me get pulled into the forest by my legs. I managed to escape and make my way to the classroom to warn my teacher." Ekio explains slowly, her hands tightening around each other on the table.
"You 'managed' to escape?" The investigator narrows his eyes at the girl.
Ekio looks back at him, trying to read him. If he wants to know what happened, to get as much content out of her as he can he wouldn't be focusing on the small details. The small details only matter when he wants to prove something.
He wants to find something to give her the guilty verdict. He wants her behind bars.
"I used my Quirk, without my Sensei's permission, to break up the ground and run away as I have the upper hand in rocky terrain." She looks down at her hands. "Aizawa told me to stay put in the building while he went to get other students and I also didn't listen to him then, I went back out."
"Any reason as to why you refuse to listen to orders and rules?" his partner asks this time, still writing down everything she says.
"I had heard that they were going after Katsuki Bakugo and since I knew where he was I left because I could get to him quicker than Aizawa-sensei." Ekio looks up at him through her bangs, still fiddling with her hands. "On my way, I ran into Shoto Todoroki and I explained to him that they wanted Katsuki Bakugo, so we split ways trying to cover more ground."
"And where did that get you?" The investigator can't keep the condescending tone out of his voice.
Itsuki looks down at the investigator, his blood boiling at the way he is treating his daughter, but more that he can't do anything about it. He is sitting right next to her and can't get him to shut up. He just needs to make sure Ekio keeps answering their questions.
"It led me to an opening where the villains were dragging Katuski Bakugo towards the portal, I ran after them to try and save the boy. That is when I noticed that one of the members was Xian. Then they captured me." Ekio looks up at the man in front of her again. "Xian knocked me out after that."
"Mhm," the investigator flicks through the file in front of him, "what's the next thing you remember?"
"Waking up in their base, chained to a chair next to Katsuki Bakugo." Ekio is starting to get tired of saying their full names.
"Yes," the investigator flickers his gaze up to her. "Continue."
"The League of Villain's asked us to join them, we both said no and I fought back. Yelling at them and winding up Xian. He then took my contacts out to show Bakugo that we were siblings. Trying to get him to turn against me."
"And did he?"
"No," Ekio says quickly, "no he didn't."
"He didn't?" The investigator acts surprised, raising his eyebrows. "Why not?"
"He said that he doesn't believe I am on their side. The next day I proceeded to pretend to take up their offer, when they uncuffed me I attempted to kill Xian but was caught by Dabi." Ekio shivers slightly at the memory, the feeling of his arm around her waist burnt into her memory. "The others left and Dabi chained me to the chair Katsuki Bakugo was sitting in, which is when the photo was taken."
"And sent to Shoto Todoroki, yep," the investigator nods, sliding the said photo forward on the table. "Any reason as to why your brother would send it to him?"
Ekio takes a deep breath, looking down at her hands again. "Because Shoto Todoroki and I were dating."
Silence rings through the room again, the only sound being the pen meeting paper of the second investigator.
'If she was dating a Todoroki, then that burn on her leg very well could be . . .' His eyes look at the table in front of her, as if thinking he will be able to see through the furniture and at the wound.
Itsuki looks down at the photo, his eyes studying it in close detail.
'So that is what this Katuski Bakugo looks like?' He stares at the look on the boy's face. He seems to be looking between the camera and Ekio, surprised by her positioning on top of him. 'Ah, so he does like my daughter, huh?'
Itsuki is immune to looking at such situations. He has been in so many, seen so many, heard of so many that nothing really fazes him. Nothing brings forth massive emotion from the man, apart from anger.
"The burn on your leg, when did you get that?" The investigator asks, looking up from the table into Ekio's eyes.
"Just after the photo was taken. Xian left the room because I continued to rile him up. Dabi then proceeded to burn my leg while I was on top of Katsuki Bakugo." Ekio's eyes unfocus.
"Any idea as to why? Something you said to him?"
"It was to scare me," she replies almost robotically. "He said something like, 'If you make any noise I'll do the same to your little boyfriend.' Meaning Bakugo." She shakes her head slightly, coming back to reality. "He then pressed his hand to my thigh and melted my skin until he thought Bakugo and I had learnt our lesson."
There is silence again as the investigator allows his partner time to continue writing. The partner pauses on a couple of words, before scribbling them out quickly. He looks up and nods.
"Continue, Kiami." He nods to her.
"I passed out, and then the next thing I woke up to was Bakugo attempting the same thing as me, pretending to take up their offer. But this time while he was uncuffed the Hero's came." She remembers the feeling of sitting in that chair and not being able to turn herself to look around at them. "We were then teleported to that construction zone. You know the rest."
"Do I?" The investigator doesn't miss a beat.
"Where is Bakugo?" Ekio asks right after him, having had enough now.
She had told them what happened to her. She relived the nightmares that haunt her for them and she told them everything of importance, it matches up with everything anyone else has said so why is he still pushing her, why does he want more out of her?
"I can't tell you that if you don't answer me."
"I have answered you," she snaps, her gaze coming up to his. "Is Bakugo okay?"
The investigator grits his teeth together. "What happened next?"
"I distracted the League so they wouldn't notice the four U.A. students standing behind the wall behind them and then sacrificed myself so Bakugo could get away with my classmates. I then once again sacrificed myself so I could kill my brother and get him off the planet for the good of everyone else." Ekio bangs her cuffs down on the table. "Where. Is. Katsuki. Bakugo?"
"What. Did. You. Say. To. Your. Brother?" The investigator gives her a sickly sweet smile.
"That I wanted him to die and I hoped that our parents would never love him ever again. I said that either he dies or he kills me, either way, our parents will hate him and he will never get the one thing he wants. Validation." Ekio scraps her cuffs against the table as she pulls them into her lap. "Tell me if Katsuki Bakugo is oaky?"
The investigator leans forward over the table, placing his fingers on the picture. "No."
He picks it up and starts to pack up, stopping the recording and closing his file.
"I'll see you tomorrow Kiami."
m.a.t.c.h.e.d.
"You want me to represent Ekio?" Aizawa looks down at his boss, who is standing at his feet as he sits at his desk.
"Yes!" Nezu raises his hand. "All Might has connections to Mitsu Saori so he cannot do it. You're the only person left."
Aizawa raises his eyes at the mouse. Of course, there are plenty of people that could do it. One of the Todoroki siblings because she has spent plenty of time with her, but then they would say that her being their brother's girlfriend affects their answers. Which also knocks Endeavor out of the equation, who took her for his internship and has spent a great deal of time with her.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"You must go into her questioning in a few days and defend her. It is up to you to prove her innocence. So far the verdict is even, they don't have anyone saying she is in league with the villains but they are going to try and find it next time, you need to stop that from happening." Nezu suddenly becomes very serious.
Aizawa nods slowly to his boss, accepting the job.
The principal's complexion brightens again, "okay! I will have All Might cover your class!"
m.a.t.c.h.e.d.
~shadow