"Right this way, and please try not to look into the cells. Some inmates agitate easily."
Following the blue-skinned guard's instructions, Hina and Aizawa entered the Tartarus' high risk wing. If the heavily armored door didn't make it plainly obvious, the red painted lettering above the entrance certainly did. Everything was so gray and drab, thick walls of metal keeping the worst of Musutafu's criminals locked away and out of the city. Being here for the first time was...something else.
Hina glanced at her companion, who was much more composed about it all. Or, at least, that's what he projected outwardly. Her eyes glowed a dim blue, facing forward again.
"Have you been here before?"
"Only a few times, but not to this section. Never can get used to it, though. It has this...presence. Can you feel it?"
"Yeah...like it's looming over me. As if it's alive, somehow. I'd hate to work here. It's creepy."
"We can still turn back-"
"No. I need to do this."
Aizawa didn't say anything else after that, but she could still sense his unease, and it didn't all stem from the prison's disconcerting atmosphere, either. He'd been skeptical of this trip's value since she'd initially told him her intentions, but knew that he wouldn't outright prevent her from coming. He'd even scoffed at the idea of staying behind while she went alone. Always supportive, even through his doubts.
"Another left, nearly there." The guard said, appearing right at home and oblivious to their discomfort. "The high risk wing in particular is a bit of a maze if you ask me."
"I can see that." She replied offhandedly, still following behind their guide closely. They could hear muffled talking and laughing behind the numbered doors that lined the hallways they walked. Hina wasn't curious enough to go peeking through the windows or extending her quirk out, though. Who knew what sort of nasty things she'd find in these inmates' heads?
After turning their final corner, they came upon a dead-end section of the maze-like hallways, and the guard stopped in front of a door on the left. Numbered 58. He radioed to the tower to request an unlock, and after several moment the metal door's lock disengaged with a loud 'chunk.'
"His quirk suppression chip is in effect, as well as a small cocktail of dampening medications, so you don't have to worry about him getting into either of your heads." The guard said confidently, stepping inside and letting them both into the room after him.
Separating the small observation side of the cell was what looked like a glass wall. Though, Hina could see that it was nearly an inch thick, undoubtedly made of the strongest material the government could afford. Tartarus didn't take chances.
On the other side was a small, minimally furnished room. A bed bolted to the floor, and a toilet in the corner. Nothing had sharp edges, nothing visible that could be used to hurt one's self. And sitting with his eyes closed on the bed was Daichi.
Setting eyes on her brother caused a cold shudder to lock her spine. The cause of so much pain, and the months of recovery that it had taken to regain her sense of normal again. Hina hadn't anticipated a physical reaction to seeing him for the first time after he'd shredded his mind, and took an involuntary step back. But then reason took over and rooted her in place.
Aizawa reached out and set his hand on her shoulder to steady her. The redhead could feel his stare on the back of her head, no doubt worried that this was a bad idea after all, but she ignored it, instead breathing in and letting it all out slowly. She hadn't come this far just to turn back at the last moment. She'd spent months coming to the realization that this was something she needed to do. To gain control of her emotions and bring her that final sense of closure.
"Can he see us? Or hear us?" She finally said after settling the majority of her nerves.
"Nah, this is a two-way mirrored wall. Soundproof, too." The guard said casually, tapping on the glass with his knuckle a few times. The man inside didn't react. Then, he pointed to a raised panel standing just in front of the glass, with several labeled buttons. "We can change the opacity of the glass or turn on the intercom system if you want to talk to him, though."
Giving her partner a reassuring smile, Hina walked closer to the glass wall, really taking the time to inspect her brother now that she could stand to even look at him. The safety of being an unnoticed onlooker was helpful, too.
His hair had been cut, the longer locks she remembered seeing when he'd had her chained in the basement chopped off to be above his ears now. He looked thinner, too. But the bulky layers of his hoodie could've hidden that before. With his eyes closed, she couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, but from his posture Hina guessed he was practicing some sort of meditation.
The white shirt and pants he was forced to wear was remarkably similar to the ones that she'd been given at the hospital as a recovering patient. The interior of the room was white as well, so very like the way his mind had looked when she got the chance to peek inside. Blank and completely blinding.
"Turn on the intercom." She finally said, eyes never wavering from her brother. The guard shuffled up beside her. There was a tiny click as he pressed the button, and a dull beep could be heard on the other side of the cell.
"Up and at 'em, kid. You've got some visitors." The guard said once the system activated.
"I'm in no mood to talk to the police." He replied flippantly, not bothering to move or react in any way. "And if it's another psychologist wanting to study me, I'm not and will never be interested. Go find someone else to be your best-seller."
"Daichi." Hina said simply, pleased that there was no evidence of apprehension in her voice whatsoever. His eyes snapped open, tensing at the mention of his name. The nonchalance was gone. Perhaps it had all been a show. Or perhaps he simply was taken aback entirely. Hina watched him take a steadying breath, the disbelief plain in his expression.
"That's not possible..." She heard him mutter.
"It is." She replied, reaching down to press the button labeled 'mirror.' Nothing visibly happened on their side, but the moment she took her hand off the panel, Daichi turned to stare straight at her.
He stood, slowly approaching the glass separating the two of them. He stared at her like she was a ghost. A dream. A figment of his imagination, perhaps. But underlying it was the anger that somehow, some way, she actually was here. Awake.
Alive.
The last time they'd been this close, he'd been crushing her mind into dust. Incredible what a matter of 9 months could do. They both were probably thinking the same thing, this time viewing the other from the opposite side of the wall. Hina was no longer the one trapped. Daichi was no longer in control. She could see the way he desperately searched for the past fear in her brown eyes. The way they narrowed when he couldn't find it, and the scowl that marked his expression were things she noticed immediately.
"How." Was his ugly demand, his composure slipping little by little. His height meant she still had to look up at him, but she didn't let her gaze falter at his futile attempts at gaining some sort of power over her. He was in no position to try.
"I'm sure you'd love to know." Her reply caused him to growl, hands clenching at his sides.
"I crushed your mind. Tore it into pieces. " He spit in a chillingly calm voice. "I broke you."
"Look at me. Really look at me," Hina said with heat, gesturing to her eyes "and tell me that I'm broken."
A thick tension settled between the siblings, but it was Daichi who broke the staring match, eyes flicking to Aizawa who stood off to the side behind her. After several seconds of glaring at her companion, he leaned back and crossed his arms, eyes returning to her. This time, however, with more physical distance between them. Ha. "What is it you want?"
"Closure."
Daichi's eyes rolled. "What, another reunion?"
"No. I don't need you to talk. In fact, I don't want you to. So shut up and listen to what I came to say."
He shot her another glare, angry with her response, but she barreled on before he got a chance to say anything in return.
"You're my brother. I won't say you're not, I won't try to deny you our family name because of what you are. I used to lament the fact that our family reputation was tarnished, but that can be fixed with my own hard work. I know mom and dad still loved you, despite what you were slowly becoming. And even after everything, I don't hate you."
Hina heard Aizawa let out a breath, no doubt indicating that even if she didn't, he certainly did. "That being said, it's time I put you behind me. I've realized that no matter how much I want to see you change or redeem yourself, I'm going to be disappointed if I keep holding out that hope. There is nothing you can give to me by being in my life, and constantly worrying about you would only keep me stuck in the past. So, this is the last time we'll see each other. Think of this as a permanent estrangement.
"And, above all, I want you to know that all of the heroes you put in the hospital are also ok. I put them back together, too. All you are is an occasional nightmare, now. So don't forget, Daichi. None of us are suffering because of you anymore.
"We're alive and well, and between you and me...I'm not the weak one."
After her little speech, she let out a pent up breath and turned to Aizawa. "Haa...That felt really good to get out." She said with a little smile. Then she turned to the guard. "That's all I wanted to say. You can turn it off now."
"Righty-o." He said, cutting off the protest from the prisoner inside midway.
With another tap, he reversed the opacity of the glass, plunging Daichi back into the visage of his own reflection. He pounded once against the surface inanger, his face twisted in a snarl, but anything he said was blocked by the thick glass. Hina thought to herself that the soundproofing really was effective.
"You'd think he was some wild animal, with that expression." The guard muttered, shaking his head a little in wonder.
"Are you ready to go now?" Aizawa finally asked, drawing her eye.
She took another breath, identifying the feeling in her chest as...something pleasant, whatever it was, and nodded. "Yeah."
Hina stared out at the vast ocean as the taxi traversed the bridge stretching between Tartarus and the mainland. There was so much on her mind, but surprisingly, none of it pertained to Daichi. She'd settled into a silence after they'd left the prison, taking stock of her emotions.
"What's on your mind?" Shouta asked suddenly, and she turned away from the window's view to look at him. "You've been quiet."
"Honestly?" She gave a shrug. "Not Daichi. I'm just trying to figure out which lesson I need to switch next week so that they can study a few things in time for the next exam."
He nodded, seemingly happy with that answer. "I wasn't sure if you visiting him would've been a good idea, but I'm glad you got the closure you were looking for."
"Me too. Now I can leave all of that behind me and just focus on what I'm going to do to restore my family name."
"Everyone knows you healed the other heroes, so you've probably already done that." He pointed out, and she smiled.
"Well...some extra hero work here and there can't hurt either. I'll just keep doing my job and trust that he'll never get out of that prison."
"He won't." Shouta pressed resolutely.
Another silence settled between them, Hina's thoughts drifting. The muted sound of the car speeding along the roadway filled the silence. Hina finally smiled and shifted closer so she could lean into him. He accepted it without complaint, and even pulled her in closer."You've never really talked about your family. Do you have any siblings?"
"No. I was an only child."
Even without having asked, she could have guessed as much. Something about his personality just screamed only child to her. But, one never knew unless you asked. He'd surprised her before.
"I know Mic likes to think himself my brother, though."
Hina grinned. "And you?"
He let out a little huff. "I guess I do too. We've been through a lot together."
"I bet." She replied. "What of your parents?"
"They passed some time back." He admitted quietly, his thumb stroking up and down her arm. Combined with the warmth of the taxi's cabin, the movement nearly put her into an afternoon fatigue.
"Will you tell me about them?" Hina ventured quietly, ear pressed against his to listen to his beating heart. Hina realized there was still so much that she didn't know about the 1-A homeroom teacher, but it only made her eager to find out all that made him who he was.
This man that she loved so much, was still such a mystery even after months spent getting closer. The redhead had a feeling that one day, when she knew him better than she knew herself, he still wouldn't fail to surprise her.
She felt his chest rise and fall with his sigh. He pressed his mouth to the top of her head, making her smile. That little buzz of happiness would never get old.
"Some other time. There's been enough family drama for one day, I think."
ns 15.158.61.20da2
