Barrier (BNHA)(Unedited)

Ch. 32

Neito knew that his reaction to Baria's greatest secret was overdone. He did feel betrayed and he did feel angry but he shouldn't have lashed out at her as he did. He knew that the reality of the stories within her journals vary to his reality. Sure there were enough similarities to make it appear that she was in that world. However, that world never had Baria, their Baria. Therefore, it was a world that was no longer accurate. The closest thing Neito could describe it to would be, different realities based off of infinite possibilities. By taking that into account there could have been hundreds of different worlds where Baria told them sooner or even later. At the current moment however, none of that mattered.

None of it mattered because she was gone.

Gone.

Missing.

Something that they had been trying to circumvent for the past several months.

Something that they had evidently failed to prevent.

.

It was only for half an hour but in that time, nearly all their fears had been confirmed.

One, someone was after Baria.

Two, that person knew enough about everyone's schedules enough to know that most of them could not come to her aid.

Three, this person would do just about anything to get their hands on Baria. As seen when they had no qualms about trying to kill a pro-hero.

Four, this person is strong enough to have fought against the number 3 hero.

Five, the person that had Baria at the time was simply a pawn to a much larger game.

This was only a few of their fears but they had proven to be true either way. However, this knowledge was not what struck Neito down to his core. No, what got to him, was the fact that no one thought to alert him about the incident until he got home. No one thought to comfort Baria from what may likely be a breakdown of some sort. No one had the guts to go up to her and sit down with her after one of, if not the, biggest fight Baria has ever had with one of her friends.

That vulnerability allowed Baria to be taken.

.

.

Hawks was currently being coerced into living with them by Mrs Shina and Mrs Keisha. The two of them working with terrifying efficacy in pointing out the place that Hawks has been neglecting himself. Apparently he was severally touch-starved, unnourished, sleep deprived and had several injuries that may have been seen by a medical professional but were in no way take care of in a manner that would let them heal properly. Eventually he caved. Though that might have been because Daisuke and Mr. Takashi dragged Hawks off for a bit of a private chat.

That makes 20 kids and 10 adults. Souta, Souma and Asashi were adults by law although not by attitude. All of them under one roof. All of them practically self-neglectful or socially stunted...The kids weren't included. They were at least semi-functional. However, the kids couldn't cook to save their lives so the adults had to be functional in some facet of their life outside of work. Hawks was not skilled in anything but hero work. Not really surprising considering how young he was when I became a hero.

As a result, Neito wasn't surprised about that fact nor about the blood that the hero had tracked in when he brought Baria home. Now other may find that strange but people tend to forget that being a hero can sometimes consist of beating the living hell out of someone. Thankfully most heroes don't do that, with a few exceptions. Hawks was seen rescuing people and taking down villains in a painless manner. Still, it wouldn't be surprising if he had to fight someone and spill blood.

Yes, Neito had some rather twisted morals. That came from the way he was raised or his genetics. He didn't particularly care to figure it out. No one in the mansion would judge Hawks for what he may have done. They had no right to. They had never lived his life but they could stand by his side. So long as he wasn't killing innocent people or getting into unnecessary fights.

On that note, Nieto is sure that Baria had done some illegal things in her life. He just wasn't sure what and when. However, if it puts her life in peril, he would tie her down and whack sense into her. Mrs. Keisha would get to her first in any case. That woman always knew when something was happening to one of her babies.

Always.

He digressed. Hawks carried Baria in. Both covered in blood. Neito could not see if Baria had any injuries under the blood and Hawks did not appear to be harmed in any way. He did look furious though. His eyes glinting menacingly in the light. Each step Hawks took towards Nieto felt like an animal stalking its prey.

Hawks eventually came to a stop in front of him.

"Take her" He demanded.

Neito nodded silently. Stretching out his arms, he careful distributed Baria's weight. He knew that Mrs. Keisha would be the one most suited to getting rid of the blood on Baria. Then Mr. Takashi would probably be asked to check her over for any injuries. Daisuke would mostly end up following Baria around for a couple of days to ensure no one else gets any bright ideas.

"What happened?" Nieto asked.

"It looks like she had been followed to the old orphanage building, then knocked unconscious. I found them several streets down. They were on foot. Thankfully they couldn't be seen by the public as Baria has a sack over her head. This limited their travel route. It is relatively easy to track people if you know their restrictions." Hawks replied.

"That does not explain the blood." Nieto muttered but accepted the explanation none the less. "Moving on, I'll take her to Mrs. Keisha first. However, this conversation is something that the others need to know about."

"Obviously."

"...There are chicken nuggets in the freezer."

"Thanks!" Hawks grinned. He didn't look evil with that type of smile on his face even with the blood.

"Child. He is an actual child." Nieto murmured as he hefted Baria up the stairs to her room.

.

.

Denki had passed out on Barias' floor. Bruises covered his form and a plaster was placed on his cheek. Neito knew he had gone to Recovery Girls office because of a fight. He just wasn't sure why Denki still had bruises. It was a tad bit odd but if Denki did what Neito thought he did, well it was no surprise if he had new bruises. Denki was a prankster through and through. Some just couldn't appreciate his humour though. Not like Hitoshi and he could.

Placing Baria down on her bed, Neito left the room. Mrs Keisha was almost always in the study. More often than not trying to manage budgets and taxes or a particularly difficult customer for her new clothing shop. She created more durable clothing but at the moment she was simply drinking tea and reading a romance novel.

"Mrs. Keisha? Baria has been found."

"Oh? Wonderful dear. I'll go check on her immediately."

"She is in her room."

"Lets go."