Our Reasons

Chapter 7

Tapping her fingers against the inside of the car door, Amari anxiously waited as they approached the one place she told herself she would never return, Tartarus.

The place didn't really have the best memories for the girl after all, knowing the last time she was here was to visit Dabi and convince him to return home. But after the disastrous results of that, Amari couldn't even bear to look at the prison anymore. It was just too painful for her.

Todoroki seemed to sense her discomfort as well, reaching down before grasping her twitchy fingers in order to hold her hand with a frown. "You know you don't have to do this. Just say the word and we can go home."

And although his offer was sweet, the woman knew that just wasn't possible. No, the commission and everyone else needed her to be strong. Otherwise her son would never come home, and that wasn't something she was willing to risk, ever.

Squeezing his hand once, her eyes lowered with knowing intent. "You know I can't. I have to finish this once and for all so that way Toya, Ayumi and everyone can live peacefully. My old problems, I don't want them to suffer for them."

Shoto felt his chest swirl with sadness at that, knowing that her words were not surprising in the slightest. Hell, back when they were kids Amari was willing to die just for the sake of her brother and everyone else's happiness. It seemed like the remnants of her old personality were still present after all.

She was still so unbelievably selfless, even now.

But as admirable as it was, the man couldn't help but hate just how much his wife had sacrificed throughout her life. And even still, it seemed like the world wasn't finished with showing her how cruel it could be.

This woman had already suffered so much after all. As a child she was taken in by All for One, tortured, experimented on and brainwashed into believing that she was a burden that needed to prove her worth. She even believed that her own twin brother hated her for years and caused her to push herself to the edge of death everyday until it almost destroyed her.

And now she had willingly agreed to speak to that very same monster, her abuser for the first time in years. When would it end? Shoto wasn't sure, and that terrified him.

Speaking his distaste for the situation out loud, Shoto's eyes saddened. "But what if that means you will suffer instead?"

Amari didn't seem to take his words to heart though as a thousand painful memories appeared through her mind before giving a sarcastic low chuckle under their breath. "That seems to be always how it is, huh?"

Although the woman quickly realized her dark humor before her own laughter stopped and turned to find her husband's sad and dejected face. "Sorry, bad joke."

The fact that she could joke about things was still shocking to him, knowing first hand how much Amari was affected by the past. Perhaps that was just her way to coping though, of dealing with the pain.

Shaking his head, Shoto sighed sadly in response. "It's not a joke if it's the truth."

Then all at once he watched his wife's small smile drop with clear realization before running a hand through her hair with a sigh of her own, one littered with tension. "Touche."

Just then, the door beside them opened to reveal Shinso, the man blocking the entrance of the car as Iris and Izumi appeared behind him a moment later. "Alright, we're here. Now, just one small problem. Amari is still supposed to be in commission custody so we can't just have her walking around normally."

Lifting an eye at that, Amari turned towards her friend with confusion. She supposed he was right in that sense. She couldn't just stroll into the most secure prison in Japan right now. That would certainly give some looks, considering she was being looked at as a villain right now.