Affinity

Chapter 45 - Emiko's Rage pt. 2

"An apology?" She snarled, that familiar rage and fury bubbling up again. It was moments like this where she was especially angry at the loss of her quirk. She'd give anything in the world to pass these emotions on to him, to show him what she truly thought about his apology. "You call that an apology?"

Startled, he swung his gaze back up to her, as if expecting her to fall to her knees and beg forgiveness for her attitude. "I'm sorry, Emiko."

"You're sorry?" She wanted to laugh, but her mouth couldn't form the sounds. "What exactly are you sorry for, All Might?"

Perhaps she was being cruel, and perhaps she would come to regret this in the future - but now, when her anger was boiling over and the universe had pushed her to the very edge of the precipice? For now, she was content in spewing rage and venom.

"For allowing you to get into this position. You getting kidnapped was a direct result of my involvement with UA, and I wish I could take it back from you. These villains are my burden to carry, and I wish you weren't involved in it all."

A wicked laugh slipped from her lips as she listened to him speak, but it tapered as soon as it escaped her. There was no space for laughter in her, not now. Not when her hands trembled and her brain raced with the memory of every horrible thing he'd played a part in so far.

"So you're sorry I lost my eye? Or that I lost my quirk?"

"Both, of course." He answered her question as if she was a server in a restaurant and she was asking if he was paying for one or both of the bills. "And... for everything else."

"Everything else?" Her eyes landed on his, and she didn't miss the way he winced at the coldness there. "You mean..."

She paused, waiting for him to say anything else. To acknowledge the harm he'd caused in his pursuit of greatness, the pain he'd brought upon a handful of innocent teenagers with stars in their eyes.

"I don't understand what you mean, Emiko." He said it honestly, no hint of deception hiding his voice. As if he genuinely couldn't understand what else he had done to these students to cause them harm.

"Shall we start at the beginning?" She coughed, "At the USJ? Those villains came for you, and you weren't there. Tsu almost died. Did you know she still has nightmares about it? She can still see that hand, that quirk turning her to dust at night. It haunts her, hides in the crevices of her mind. Like a curse, All Might. Did you know?"

He shakes his head regretfully, eyes still cast to the ground. "No, I didn't."

"We had to fight to kill or be killed, because not many kids know how to protect themselves like that. Shoto," she pauses, remembering the way those villains had called him a monster under their breath as he walked by. "Anyways. So many of us changed that day, so many of us lost our innocence. We lost pieces of ourselves because they wanted you, and you weren't there."

The last words come out in a whisper, remembering the fear and the panic she felt that day. The way the eyes of the villains glittered under the overhead lights, alight with glee.

"And then there's our midterm exam." The memory sits on her tongue, tangy and metallic. "Do you remember that?"

He nods, confusion in his eyes replacing the shame. He likely has not lost a moment of sleep since then, something she resents him for.

"The fact that you can't even tell me what happened tells me all I need to know about you, All Might." Her anger is fizzling, but she has already begun. She has opened the floodgates and allowed her anger to flow, and she knows there is no point even trying to stop it. "You broke Izuku's fucking spine."