Nature's Beautiful Smile

Chapter 44

"What'd you want to see me about, sensei?" I asked as I opened the office door. Upon entering, I noticed Aizawa-sensei, the principal and my uncle's lawyer all sitting in a semi-circle. "Have a seat, Dia." The principal said with a smile before offering me a cup of tea. I complied and sat at the end of the table. "We called you here to discuss two issues. The first being Eri." Sensei said, locking his hands together. "I'm sure none of us here want her to wind up in orphanage. And from what I understand, from the age of six, you were able to take care of yourself. Your uncle told me you've lived alone in a large house on a small bit of private property you inherited. You've been paying bills and such since you were seven and you have a stable job. Next year, you'll be old enough to adopt Eri. Right now the best I can do is allow either Eraserhead or All Might legal custody until then. You'd be able to visit Eri whenever you like either way." All Might's lawyer said, sifting through some papers. I nodded in response,  clenching my fists in my lap. She'll be safe. She'll be fine. I can live with that. In the meantime I have to get her room prepared... I thought as the lawyer continued on to the next thing. "Now on to the last thing. This might be a bit difficult for you but... We need you to tell us about your experience in captivity. What happened to you and your take on it?" He asked. I felt everyone's eyes bore into my skull as the room went dead silent. I looked down and furrowed my brows, recalling everything. "I was tortured every day, hence the scars. Stabbed over and over again all throughout my body until I was near death. The pain was unbearable for a while... But I became accustomed to it. He tried to force me to forget about everything I ever was before I got there. I never saw the sun. Just white walls and concrete. White walls and concrete. White walls and concrete everywhere I went! He tortured me mentally, physically and emotionally. He murdered me. Over and over again just to bring me back to life. He made me do things I didn't want to. He would slowly torture me and keep me in fatigue so that I wouldn't get any ideas. With little sleep, no amount of adrenaline would give me enough power to overthrow him in the slightest. He had me tortured until I passed out and the second I woke up I was forced to spar which reopened the closed wounds and made the fresh ones worse. Because of that, they ended up turning into scars despite my body's regeneration. I was trained to be a weapon. But the entire time I was there... I never once thought that I had to get out. It was always 'Eri has to get out'. She was just like me. No parents... no real home... Blaming herself for everything, even though it was never her fault. I had to protect her. I have to protect her. We're both covered head to toe in scars, but hers run deeper than mine. The trauma they put us through made me realize that there are little kids just like me, but they have no one. I'm not going to be angry about what happened to me, but I'll never be the same either. The trauma is something I've grown used to and at this point, PTSD is child's play for me. I know full well it isn't like that for Eri or a lot of people for that matter. I plan on helping her get through this. Her and any child like her. I'll be the kind of hero that fights physical and emotional crimes." I replied, looking up at them with determination. Sensei and the other adults exchanged looks and nodded at each other. "You're a strong person, Dia. You'll make a great hero someday. I see why Eri is so attached to you." Principal Nedzu said before sipping his tea. I thanked him before standing, preparing to leave. "One more thing before you go." Aizawa-sensei called, stopping me in my tracks. "There's dorms on campus. Your peers are staying in them and because your uncle gave permission, you'll be staying in the dorms too. I'll have your uncle show you where your room is. He's right outside the building." Sensei informed. I nodded in response before exiting the room. Before I even got far down the hall, I sensed someone sneaking up behind me. When they got close enough, they reached for me. I instinctively elbowed them in the stomach, then spun around and flipped them. "Oh my- I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, seeing my uncle on the ground before me. He chuckled and coughed before sitting up. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm just glad you're ok." Uncle Might whispered, hugging me. "I was so worried about you. I'm sorry that I wasn't at the hospital when you woke up,  I couldn't stand to see you like that. And I'm sorry we couldn't save you sooner. I know this is All for One's doing. The bastard. I should've killed him back then... Then none of this would've happened to you." He said, holding my face in his hands. I gave him a sad smile. "Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault, it never was." I replied, causing his hands to tremble. "Dammit." He said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "Excuse this old man for crying in front of you. Come on. I'll show you where the dorm is and your peers can show you to your room."

~

After walking through a bunch of trees, we arrived in front of a building. "Alright, this is it. Go on inside, everyone should be in the lobby." Uncle Might said, ushering me forward. I gave him one last hug before entering the building. When I got inside, everyone's attention fell on me and the room went dead silent.
"D-DI?!"
"DIA-SAMA?!
"D!!"
"DIAAA?"
"DIA-CHAN!"
Everyone exclaimed at the same time. All of the sudden, I was the center of a huge group hug. There was a mixture of crying and cheering and apologies surrounding me. Kiri and Rin were the only ones with their arms wrapped completely around me. Everyone else was kind of layered onto them. "I missed you so much even though I saw you earlier, D." Kiri whispered in my ear, his arms wrapped tightly around me. Rin was sobbing into my shoulder, apologizing over and over for not being fast enough to take me out of the villain's grasp. Everyone else was doing one or the other. "GIVE ER SOME FUCKIN SPACE YOU GODDAMN REJECTS!" Kat shouted, creating explosions. "Bakugou's right you all. Who knows what she's been through? You shouldn't bombard her like that." Shouto said from beside Kat. Everyone slowly backed off, agreeing with Shouto.

We all sat on the sofas in the room, everyone facing me. "So, what was it like being held captive? Were they trying to get got to join them like the did with Bakugou?" Yaoyorozu asked, a cup of tea in hand. I removed my thigh-high socks, revealing my scar covered legs. Everyone either gasped or gulped. "They tortured me until I couldn't feel pain anymore... So they could make me stronger. I don't know why, but they were so set on training me without forcing me to join. The only thing they forced me to do was.... Become a weapon." I answered, causing a few of my classmates to shiver. Kat, who was right beside me, began trembling. Rin was on the other side of me taking jagged breaths. "What... What did they do to you?" Uraraka asked, tears in her eyes. "I don't think we should-" "No, it's ok. I can talk about it." I said, cutting Ojirou off. "Every-day that I was there, they stabbed and cut me all over until I passed out, then right after I woke up I was forced to spar until my body gave out. Of course I tried escaping... But once was all it took for me to revert to docility." I answered flatly. Uraraka was crying as well as Tsuyu. I could tell that Kat and some others were angry. I could sense the hostility. I removed my blazer and my shirt, leaving me in my tank top and uniform skirt. I stood up, allowing them to see the scars and jagged marks all over my revealed skin. "I won't hide anything from you all because you all feel like family to me. So ask anything, it won't hurt me to answer." I said in an emotionless tone, letting my eyes skim over everyone's shocked faces. Kat stormed out of the room, clearly pissed beyond belief. "In the meantime, I'll check on him." I mumbled before chasing after the fiery boy.