fear. || { bnha }

twenty one.

a/n: sorry for the wait, i've been busy and had writer's block (that's also my excuse for this being a bad chapter lmao)
but thank you all for 800+ votes now! i'm irl crying <3

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It was mere moments after uttering those words — after voicing her new resolve — that Valui's body succumbed to its exhaustion; the weight of her grief; and, albeit minor, wounds.

The ground rushed up to meet her as her vision quickly faded to black.

"...every...ou're around kids, I have to come heal them! What did you do this time, All Might?"

All Might? 

Despite still being foggy with sleep, Valui's mind managed to recognize the scolding woman's voice as that of Recovery Girl.

"I-I didn't do anything! She just came in here like that!"

Though it had been a while, Valui managed to recognize that voice as well — the man she met briefly at the sports festival. It made her eyebrows furrow; why was he responding to Recovery Girl saying "All Might"?

Unless... 

No, that was silly.

Valui slowly opened her eyes, distantly taking note of how the stinging in her palms and knees were gone — Recovery Girl's doing, no doubt. She was laying on a couch, her head resting on a pillow that was propped up on one of the armrests. A suit jacket was laid across her body as a makeshift blanket. With a soft groan of pain — her body had become stiff; how long was she unconscious? — she sat herself up, gazing at the other three in the room.

Recovery Girl glanced back at the sound, the hard expression on her face softening at the sight of the girl being awake again. Though when she turned back to the blond man, the expression reversed. "You're lucky she woke up!"

"I'm telling you I didn't do anything!"

Valui watched, her eyes flickering between the two. They were bickering about something she saw as irrelevant — she even heard the name "Midoriya" a few times, though it took her a handful of moments to remember that that was Izuku's last name. Eventually, she bit the inside of her cheek and turned her body so her legs were dangling off the edge of it.

"You two can argue about that later," Nezu said from where he had chosen to sit — a chair off to the side of the couch. When the two stopped, he turned his attention to Valui. "Valui, was it? Why did you come here?"

It wasn't a harsh question; far from it, actually. It was surprisingly gentle despite Valui having barged into his private office, in the middle of a private conversation, without warning or invitation. Not to mention she then fainted. It was surprising she wasn't being scolded.

"I..." Any confidence she had earlier was gone the minute she realized she'd have to say what happened out loud — it was much different from saying inside her head. "Th-the guy— The one I told you about. Tomura." This was easier to say — easier to talk about. "He... H-he..."

Now, the tears came back to her eyes; as did the guilt and sorrow to her stomach, and the emptiness to her heart. Her head looked down to her lap, hands gripping the suit jacket tightly. Through tear-blurred eyes, she tried to focus on the color draining from her knuckles. "He...f-found me and...k-killed my dad..."

With each word, her voice grew softer; shakier.

Stillness fell over the room, as if everyone was afraid to move or speak or even breathe. Valui started to lose track of time — part of her even began to think everyone had left and she was alone now. A weight next to her made the couch sink in; a hand was placed gently on her shoulder. From the corners of her eyes, she saw Recovery Girl next to her, giving her a concerned look.