Chapter Text
Kokoro listens to the claims clinking together as she’s dragged across the tile by her hair. Her legs are a deep purple and limp from attempting to kick away from “father”.
“I’ve given you too much leeway lately,” he sighs as he strolls down the halls, draagin her into a part of the base she hasn’t been before, deeper in the heart of it. Kokoro doesn’t respond. He never wants a response, only an obedient robot. And she couldn’t even do that.
“I hate doing this,” he lies, “but it’s for that sake your future.” A metal door swings open, revealing a tall, stocky man. Who is that? Father never lets her meet his allies unless he takes her on a mission. The man’s teeth glinted as his mouth stretched into a malicious smile. The mans piercing blue eyes take in Kokoro in a way that makes her want to sink into the floor and disappear.
“Weapon, meet the Associate.”
The startling white light greets Kokoro as she bolts awake, shivering even though she’s not particularly cold.
“Kid, it’s okay--” Kokoro’s fist is seconds from connecting with the assailant’s jaw when she finally meets his startled black eyes. Her fist hovers a second longer before she connects the dots. He’s here, alive, so they managed to survive fath- Nightshade?
“Sorry, Eraserhead.” she says, lowering her arm apologetically and leaning away from the hero.
“Just call me Aizawa,” he replies, settling back into a chair positioned a few feet from her bed. Kokoro scans the unfamiliar space, the white walls, and the plush bed that seems to want to envelop her like quicksand. An IV drip was placed in her left arm, probably to keep her hydrated.
“How long have I been out?” she asks.
“About a day and a half” Eraserhead--no, Aizawa--answers, “You lost consciousness on the ride to the hospital and required an emergency transfusion upon arrival.” Aizawa studied Kokoro for a response, but was met with a brick wall that is her stoic expression. Kokoro nods and averts his gaze, feeling her bandages under the pale blue gown (and who changed her clothes) until she’s satisfied with them.
“When is the detective coming to interrogate me?” Kokoro asks, still not looking at the hero.
“When you feel comfortable, preferably when you’re fully recovered” Aizawa replies, wondering why this teenager looks as if she’s preparing to bite a bullet.
“I’m recovered enough. I want to see him as soon as he’s available” Kokoro says. Her hands twitch, maybe trying to suppress a nervous behavior. Aizawa’s face remains neutral as he nods.
“Okay, as long as you eat some breakfast,” the hero responds, “My boyfriend offered to bring takeout so we don’t have to eat crappy hospital food.” Kokoro looks up at the hero, confusion flashing in her gaze, disappearing as quickly as it came.
“Why?” she questions.
“The doctor says you’re nearing moderate malnourishment--”
“No, why are you still here?” Kokoro clarifies, “Why are you here and not with your boyfriend at home? You’ve done your job already.” Aizawa hesitates, which sends a spike of anxiety through Kokoro for reasons unknown.
“You look like you need help,” he shrugs. Kokoro stares at the hero, searching for the lie, or maybe the punchline if he were cruel enough. She decides not to think about it too hard. The hero will eventually leave when he finds out what she’s done.
“I am capable of taking care of myself,” she assures him.
“I’m sure you are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help,” the hero replies pointedly. Help with what? She’s not going to stay in the plush bed long after the detective gets his answers.
“Fine, I’ll eat” Kokoro says after a beat of silence, “But I want the detective to come as soon as he’s available after.” Aizawa nods in acknowledgment, pulling his phone from his utility belt. Kokoro wonders if Aizawa had stayed here the whole time as he’s still in the stained hero costume. He could have waited at home at least until she woke up. Kokoro stops her line of thinking. It doesn’t matter.
“Do you have any food preferences or allergies?” Aizawa asks, continuing to type on his phone.
“No and no” Kokoro replies. Aizawa huffs in reply and continues typing, hitting send after another minute.
“My boyfriend will be here in about 15 minutes” he says, “I told him to behave, but he might be a little...loud.” Kokoro shrugs in response. The conversation dies from there, but Kokoro knows the hero wants to ask her more questions. She was tempted to push them out of him when a knock came to the door.
“That’s probably him” Aizawa sighs, rising to open the door. A man with long blond hair and black rimmed glasses. His bright green eyes held a warmth Kokoro wasn’t prepared to be trained on her.
“Good morning, listener! My names Hizashi Yamada!” he greets her with a blinding smile. He hands the startled girl her breakfast before handing Aizawa a takeout box as well, pulling up a chair to sit next to his partner. Kokoro was too surprised to greet the man, his voice echoing in her mind. Why does he sound so...familiar? Kokoro wracked her brain to pinpoint the memory, but nothing besides feelings of contentment surfaced. It’s been a long time since she’s felt safe, over a decade. Frustrated, Kokoro opened her takeout, pulling apart the chopsticks as Yamada and Aizawa conversed quietly.
“My sidekicks have the station covered for the next few days,” Yamada says to Aizawa assuringly, and Kokoro stills her movements. Station, like a radio station? A single image crashes into her consciousness; tiny legs swinging in a tall chair, eyes alight as she listens to the second show of her favorite radio station, Put Your Hands Up, hosted by…
“Present Mic” Kokoro murmurs, and the quiet conversation halts.
“Wow, I’m surprised you recognize me without my hero gear, listener!” Yamada breaks the silence with his sunny demeanor. Aizawa watches the interaction with interest.
“I’ve never seen pictures of you” Kokoro replies, “I listened to your show when it first aired, I’d only listened to the second episode before...” She trails off, surprised that she nearly shared that much, to someone that she doesn’t really know. She’s happy that Yamada doesn’t press for more information. He was her favorite long ago, because of his encouraging words and his belief that anyone with conviction could--
Kokoro shakes herself from her wishful thinking.
“Try to eat at least a little before your food gets cold” Aizawa reminds her. Kokoro nods, looking back at her untouched yakizakana, gohan, and kobachi. She ate in small bites despite wanting to scarf the food down. Who knows when she’ll get something as nice as this again. As soon as she finished, Yamada attempted conversation with her once more.
“What kind of music do you like?” he asks.
“I haven’t really listened to music in years.” Kokoro shrugs, expecting this to end the talking. Yamada seems to take this response as a challenge, whipping out his phone.
“That won’t do!” he exclaims dramatically, “Let’s explore uTunes and figure it out!” Kokoro hesitates, unsure of how to continue, but Yamada seems to have an idea. She lets him talk about different genres and standard instrumentations from each, and Kokoro has to admit that she’s intrigued by the talk about music. It’s a nice change from her previous tutoring and combat and torture training from Nightshade. Kokoro pushes those thoughts away as Yamada starts to play indie music. Unbeknownst to her, Yamada had been observing her responses to his descriptions to determine where to start. He plays a song from an indie artist “Ruth B” and notices a slight change in the girl’s demeanor. She’s enraptured by the song “Lost Boy”, listening to a gentle voice accompanied by piano.
“What did you think of it?” Yamada asks.
“I’m not sure,” Kokoro answers honestly. Why does a song based on a children's story make her feel so sad, yet grounded? Safe?
“Well that’s okay,” the voice hero answers easily, “Music is tricky like that, not as clear cut as some might think.” Kokoro nods in agreement and listens eagerly to Yamada’s other selections. Aizawa smiles under his capture scarf, amazed at his partner’s ability to put anyone at ease. Kokoro still seems to enjoy this distraction from her situation.
The small peace falls apart when Tsukauchi arrives. Aizawa wanted to push back the interview, but he wouldn’t back out of his word.
“Nice to see you well, Kokoro” the detective greets her. Kokoro’s expression gives nothing away as she nods in response.
“Before we begin, I am inclined to inform you of my quirk’s capabilities” Tsukauchi says, “I can tell when you are lying, though I don’t think this will be an issue in our interview.”
“It will not,” Kokoro agrees. She is ready to face the consequences of her actions.
“Would you like us to step out until you’re done?” Aizawa asks. Kokoro hesitates, then shakes her head. It doesn’t matter if they know, she won’t see them again. For some reason this thought brings a pang to her chest.
“And if I ask a question that makes you uncomfortable, just say ‘pass’ and we’ll move on” Tsukauchi adds. Kokoro shoots the man an odd look, but nods regardless.
“How old are you?” he asks.
“14” Kokoro answers easily.
“Are you a blood relation of Ankoku Kurai, codename Nightshade?” he asks.
“No,” Kokoro replies, thrown by the line of questioning. Wouldn’t he prefer to know what she did?
“True. Who are your biological parents?” Detective Tskuauchi asks.
“I can’t remember their names” she admits, eyes downcast, “It doesn’t matter though.”
“Why?” the detective asks, confused by her statement.
“Nightshade always covers his tracks” Kokoro replies gravelly, “When he took me, he likely killed them in the process.” The room’s temperature seems to drop. Aizawa knows that Kokoro is right, Nightshade always kills witnesses, which made it hard to track his crimes for a while.
“Do you remember when he took you?” Tsukauchi asks.
“A few months after my quirk came in,” Kokoro answers, “I just turned four. I was in the park, and then he walked up to me...” She trails off. She hasn’t thought about this in a long time, why was the detective asking about her past?
“And what happened after that?” the detective asks.
“He got too close, then I felt a sharp pain before passing out” Kokoro continues, subconsciously tapping her knee at an exponentially fast rate.
“So you’ve been held captive for ten years?” Kokoro stills at this.
“...Yes” she replies, feeling a strange discomfort at this admission, though the other men didn’t take notice.
“And do you have reasons to believe you were taken because of your quirk?” Tsukauchi asks.
“Yes, it was the only reason.” Kokoro replies, shifting under the detective’s gaze.
“Okay, tell me more about your quirk.” the detective says.
“I call it Empathic Personas” Kokoro explains, “There are two aspects, active and latent. The active part of my quirk gives me a specific ability based on each emotion.”
“And what are these abilities?” Tsukauchi asks.
“Fear is shadow manipulation, sadness is motion manipulation, I can slow everything down in my vicinity except myself,” Kokoro lists, “Joy gives me flight, and Anger is what I describe as manipulation of forces of nature.”
“What about love?” Kokoro looks up, surprised by Yamada’s addition.
“Love?” she asks, “I...don’t know. I’ve never tried.” Yamada nods, not appearing disappointed.
“You said there was a latent part of your quirk. What is that?” the detective asks.
“It doesn’t really matter, that part has been taken from me” Kokoro replies.
“Taken?” the detective questions.
“I used to be able to sense other’s emotions within a certain vicinity” she explains, “When ‘he’ found out, I was put under and it was gone when I woke.” Kokoro’s voice becomes flatter as she speak. She wishes he would just get to the point and lead her out in handcuffs. That’s the only way this will end. Aizawa and Yamada share a look that is missed by the other two.
“Thank you for your patience, this can be uncomfortable talking about,” Tsukauchi says calmly, “Would you like a break before we get to tougher questions?” Kokoro shakes her head, pausing her nervous finger tapping, the damn habit even Nightshade couldn’t break.
“Okay. Did Kurai ever coerce or threaten you to use your quirk?” Tsukauchi asks.
Use it or I’ll give you a real reason to cry
Pain will make your quirk stronger
Do you need motivation from my Associate?
“...need a break? Kokoro!” Aizawa’s voice raises only slightly, but this doesn’t keep Kokoro from flinching away. The hero leans away apologetically, letting his partner take his hand in his once more.
“Sorry, yes to your question” she says, “I want to continue.” The resolve in her voice keeps the adults from arguing, but Kokoro doesn’t mind that Yamada and Aizawa sit a little closer. Tsukauchi hesitates, then presses on.
“Did Kurai ever attempt to force activate your quirk by forcing you into drastic situations?” Tsuakuchi asks, and the questions continued like this, slowly deconstructing Kokoro’s resolve in facing her crimes. Because what did she do wrong other than not be brave enough?
“We’re almost done” Tsukauchi assures her, “You mentioned ‘punishments’ doled out by Nightshade, can you tell me more about that?”
“Beating with and without his quirk, withholding meals,” Kokoro listed, “burning, and condi--” she cuts herself off, and before the detective can press she mutters ‘pass’. Her shoulders loosen slightly when the detective nods.
“Final questions, do you have any reason to believe Nightshade’s allies will come for you?” Tsukauchi asks. Kokoro wants to say no, because if she says yes she’ll have to explain why, something she’d rather avoid forever.
“Yes” she admits after a beat of silence, “I referenced a specific partner in our correspondences, I only knew him as the Associate. He aids in illegal international trades and sometimes helps in the base.”
“And what did he help with in the base?” Nightshade asks, jotting down notes.
I almost think you want to come back to me
“Punishments.” Kokoro murmured, “No more questions.” Aizawa’s grip tightens a moment until Yamada rubs it with his thumb soothingly.
“Okay, but I will have to revisit some topics later down the line to solidify the charges we’ll press against Nightshade and his contacts.” Tsukauchi informs her. Kokoro nods, looking away and curling her knees to her chest, uncaring of the adults watching worriedly.
“Before I go, we’ll have to discuss a couple of things,” Tsukauchi says, “Firstly, we have a colleague coming to heal the rest of your wounds and we will also ask about the quirk suppressant being used on you.” Kokoro hums noncommittally.
“And we should talk about housing” the detective continues, startled when Kokoro raises her head to meet his gaze.
“Housing? What do you mean?” she asks, “Aren’t you going to press charges?”
“Yes, against Nightshade. We can go over the details after I’ve looked through my notes.” Tsukauchi assures her.
“I mean for me.” Kokoro says matter of factly, “I’ve hurt people. I don’t deserve any kindness you all have given.”
“Kiddo, did you want to?” Yamada jumps in, concern etched in his usually sunny face.
“Well, no, but--”
“Kid, we’re not punishing you for something that wasn’t in your control” Aizawa says firmly, his eyes burning with anger at anyone who made her feel like any of this was her fault. Kokoro’s eyes flick from the two men, for the first time that day her face expressing something, even if it was pure confusion.
“But, what will happen to me?” she asks quietly. At least before she knew where she’d go. If it wasn’t to jail, then who would take her?
“Since you are still a potential target, we’ll need a qualified pro hero to be your guardian--” Tsukauchi starts again.
“We’ll do it!”