This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 36

Unknown sighed quietly as she rose to her feet. She padded over to the desk, pulling out the chair and taking a seat. Picking up her phone, she held down the power button, only lifting her finger once the dark surface lit up to read 'power on.' After a moment, the display flicked to the lock screen, flicking again to the home screen once she entered her password. For the first time, she noticed the date: January 29th.

It had been well over three months.

Three months since Sacrosanct had been captured.

Five months since her betrayal at Kamino Ward.

Nine months since she started an ordinary life under someone else's name.

A year since she first revealed herself to the Commission.

And much, much longer since the shadows of hatred had begun growing in her mind.

Three months since the conclusion of her plot, three months since she first stepped foot into the hospital, and hardly a few hours since she stepped out. It didn't quite feel real, not yet at least. She had her clothes back, she had her belongings back, she had access to the outside world again, but it didn't feel like she was free. Maybe she was still affected by her isolation at the hospital, she supposed, though she had felt much more grounded ever since she first learned of her release. Hope was a terribly potent thing. It would take some time to see if the effects persisted, but perhaps the newfound stimuli would keep them at bay.

It was better out here, she reminded herself. Here, she could turn the lights on and off, she could choose what and when she ate, she could leave her room whenever she liked, and she could even leave the building if she really wanted to. The walls weren't plain here, the furniture wasn't bolted to the ground, there wasn't a camera watching her every move, and most of all, nothing here was painted with that awful, blinding shade of white. There was a window right next to her bed. It was colorful here. It was better.

A distant noise reached her ears, momentarily pulling her from her thoughts. Chatter and footsteps drifted up from the floorboards, and she quickly realized she must have been lost in thought for longer than she expected. Glancing outside, she saw the sun had already begun setting, the sky glowing a vivid red-orange color: one she had almost forgotten existed. The sun tended to set earlier this time of year, she recalled, and the young heroes must be returning from their classes. Unknown supposed she would have to stay out of sight for a while longer, at least until everyone went to bed. She had no doubt most of them would be doing everything in their power to avoid her as well; she would do both them and herself a favor by avoiding any uncomfortable run-ins for the time being.

Unknown sat near the foot of her bed, pillow in her lap as her gaze lingered outside the window. Unconsciously, she rubbed her left wrist, the unusual sensation of finding nothing but bare skin almost surprising her. There were circles of faint bruises from the long-present handcuffs she wasn't yet used to being free of. Slowly, it dawned on her that she could use her quirk now. Why it took so long for her to realize such a simple fact, she wasn't quite sure. She turned her gaze away from the window and towards the dresser across the room, her eyes lowering a fraction to focus on the handle of the top drawer. Activating her quirk for the first time in months, she pulled the drawer open. A warm tingle spread through her chest as the familiar sensation blossomed pleasantly, her lips curling into a faint smile upon realizing the muscle memory was still intact, washing away the illogical whisper of concern that she had somehow lost her quirk. She wasn't quite sure what she would do without it; she wasn't sure if she could do anything without it. She smiled as she activated her quirk once more and slid the drawer closed, her eyes then flicking to various objects in the room and gently shifting them around one by one. It was oddly comforting to know she still possessed a bit of who she was back then.