Flea

Chapter Forty

"Alleged sexual assault-"

All Might dropped his phone, which hit the ground with a muffled clatter. Maeve's pale face gave his memories a weak smile; he remembered the way the girl's hands tightened around her stomach.

"I can't stop, because stopping means acceptance. Of fate and, well, biology."

Apparently, they'd been about half an hour too late. The information made him want to punch a wall until the pain in his gaunt knuckles made him forget the guilty turmoil in his head.

And she thought it was her fault. God, it made him feel so helpless. Toshinori had failed her in every way. He'd failed to get to the girl in time and even when he arrived, All for One crushed him as easily as a tin can underfoot. It fell to Maeve herself to come back and subdue the monster who had just... Jesus Christ.

He should have listened to her sooner and retired before this had a chance of happening. Yet the idiot had been so desperate to hold onto his old life that he'd ignored her. All for One knew, somehow, and this entire spectacle had been in part to taunt him. All Might thought the worst thing that could happen would be someone getting killed. That was still probably true, but... The idea of Maeve's dignity being snatched from her was appalling.

How had he not even realised? She'd been so frightened and shell shocked, All Might knew SOMETHING must have happened, but it just didn't cross his mind.

"I'm sorry... I don't want anyone to touch me."

"Hey, Toshinori," Gran Torino sighed, extricating himself from police officers and striding over. When he saw All Might's expression, the elderly hero became thoughtful.

"It's not your fault."

"Of course it is. I failed to protect someone in need on a mission. She had to save me after..."

Toshinori's voice cracked and Gran Torino rested a hand on his newly tied sling.

"Thanks to you, she gets to go home to her family. The only people at fault here are the villains. All for One's strategy failed thanks to the work of the police, you and yes, Maeve. I promise that if someone asked her right now, she wouldn't even be able to comprehend how you'd be to blame."

"I suppose. But still, the trauma she's going to need to deal with. The injustice. And what if- what if she's pregnant?" He asked, utterly exhausted.

"Maeve herself says it's practically impossible. She has something called amenorrhea, which means technically she shouldn't be able to conceive. They're conducting scans at the moment but the only way to know for sure is to wait for a pregnancy test."

"How long?"

"About two weeks," Gran Torino sighed, running a hand through clumps of white hair.

"We both know that if All for One wants something, he'll find a way to get it. I'm sure there are fertility quirks out there somewhere."

"Let's just wait and see before we start worrying. He underestimated Maeve tonight, he could have misjudged this as well. And think about what this means for the league of villains."

"Showing that they can do anything to anyone?"

"If they succeeded then sure. But instead, they're going to come across to the entire world as a group of rapists. Not great for the image, even as villains."

***

Dabi cracked his eyes open and gave a low groan. The sound didn't make him feel better at all, actually, except for a twinge of satisfaction. He'd be the first one to admit that he loved complaining.