This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 38

Unknown's gaze dragged over the letter attentively, a faint frown on her lips as she examined the message in her hands.

"Who's it from?"

She glanced over to Eri, who sat on the ground next to her. Once occupied with folding a sheet of paper into something or another, her big red eyes now peered up at the older girl curiously.

"It's from the hospital Traceback is staying at," she answered, brows pinched as her eyes returned to the neat black print of the letter. She had received it from Aizawa when he was dropping off Eri earlier, having recently deemed the girl's quirk safe enough for Unknown to be allowed alone with her.

"Traceback?"

Unknown blinked for a moment, quickly recalling Eri must not have heard of the others before, considering her circumstances at the time of Sacrosanct's widespread news coverage. She assumed no one had brought it up with her either. She wasn't quite sure how to explain it, seeing as the reality was a bit darker than the girl needed to hear, so instead, she spoke the first half-truth that came to mind.

"She's my sister, in a way."

The letter was signed by the director of the hospital and the doctor in charge of Traceback, formally inviting Unknown for a visit in two days. No reason was given besides it being "at the request of the patient." The letter stated Traceback was determined to be in a "normal" state of mind, having concluded the immediate effects of the Manager's quirk to have faded sufficiently. It was an attempt to reassure her of her own safety, she assumed. From what she could glean, it seemed Traceback was well; it made no mention of any serious problems, at least. She supposed this was the best she could hope for, recalling the condition of her own time at the hospital. Of course, the main question now was why Traceback wanted to see her. Was it as simple as a visit? Was there something wrong? The letter seemed to offer no reason for worry, appearing to be nothing more than a plain, surface-deep request from a "special patient," as they called her, but she doubted it would appear any different even if it wasn't the case.

The letter made no mention of Horus or Amnestica, bringing Unknown to conclude they were being held elsewhere.

Unknown would go, of course. Traceback was always the mildest of the four, a side effect of having the least exposure to the Manager's influence. If any of them were to overcome it, it was Traceback. For the time being, Unknown thought it best to set aside her bubbling concern, simply taking solace in finally having something to look forward to again, although there was a completely separate thought that made it rather difficult to be excited at the prospect of the visit.

She would be visiting in two days, which happened to land on the weekend, and accounting for the time of the visit and length of travel, she would be leaving just before noon that day. The only way to leave, unfortunately, included having to walk directly through the first-floor common areas, where the very people she had been trying her hardest to avoid for the past few weeks would likely be gathered.

Oh, how she didn't look forward to that.

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A knock came at the door, and Unknown was quick to shuffle over and open it. There stood Aizawa, who had been assigned to accompany her to the hospital, seeming more tired than usual. She briefly wondered if something had happened in class, although she chose not to bring it up.

"Ready?" he asked, gesturing down the hall. With a faint nod and a roll of her shoulders, Unknown stepped out of the room, locking the door behind her.