Yin
The third night after the festival
When Kaido wrapped his arms around Ame and wiped the blood from his nose in the tunnels during the sports festival, I made a decision most parents have to at least once in their lives. I decided to trust Kaido. I decided to trust this man with my son's life. With his protection.
And when I realized these men would stop at nothing for the world they wanted to recreate I did what I used to be pretty damn good at back in high school. I hid.
I left my crewneck in the middle of the tunnel as a useless clue and tore off a piece of it to make a mask like I used to wear over my face. I grabbed charcoal from the unlit fire pits and took some old advice from Toya back in the day. I covered my hair, rubbing the powder over the roots and smoothing it down to the ends till it was as dark as when I was a child.
I didn't exactly know what my plan was, but my instincts never failed me. Nameless was impersonating Aizawa. That meant the real Shota was out there somewhere and I knew exactly how to find him while luring the masked men away from my children.
This was the bottom line. I would do anything to protect Ame and Yuki. I would go so far as to deceive all the people I know and love that I'm gone. At least for a time. Because if the leader of the masked men truly needed me he wouldn't dare kill either of my children or my brother so long as I was missing. And I was right.
I followed Otoko when he limped out of the stadium holding his bleeding wife. Her arm was cut, almost to the bone. She was crying, pushing at him, but I saw the love in his eyes. I heard what he said to Kaido. He wanted me dead, but more than that, he wanted his wife alive. He took the back routes where security was weakest and more focused on protecting anyone entering the stadium. I looked over my shoulder as I followed them down the path, the shouting of the crowds dissipating into a hum.
I remembered Ame and the kiss I pressed to his face that morning before the festival, how much hope laid in those eyes. Yuki was worried, but then, we all were. I ran my hand through her hair, the short cut reminding me of Katsuki. She'd always had his frown, his features, apart the color of her eyes, she'd always been so physically her father, but she'd always been so mentally me. Stubborn and strong and seeking.
Turning around, leaving my babies to the care of heroes and Atomic and Kaido, I roughed out a breath and I made that difficult decision when I sent Atomic back to Tenko.
I followed Otoko and his wife till they made it to the subway. He didn't notice me– was too busy putting pressure on his wife's wound as she protested. She didn't want to be cared for by the man who'd put her in the position to be hurt, but by then she had no choice. I waited in silence all the way up until he took his wife to their apartment in downtown– go figure, right under our noses. He took the stairs– broken elevator– and when he opened the door to his unit, I forced it open and pushed him inside along with his wife. She made room for me, eyes wide, trembling, fearing yet another was about to hurt her to get to her husband. Otoko fumbled for his gun at the sight of me, but I pressed my foot on his wrist, making him hiss. He had a nice burn scar on the side of his face, like a cigarette stub. It made me realize just how thin his skin really was. I grabbed his gun from under his coat, his wife whimpering in the corner.
"You're the gun user who shot at Ame that day in town," I muttered, reading the scratched out serial number on the edge of the chamber. He fought from under me till I cocked that horrifying weapon and pointed it at him.
"Don't scream, please," I said to his wife who was still grasping her arm as if it was close to falling off. "That'll draw the police here and with the evidence, I have against this man, that won't be good for you. I suggest you go to a hospital. You need surgery and stitches for a wound that deep."
