Finished - April 8, 2023

Word Count - 4588

Music - Lullaby of the Siren - Audiomachine

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Words could not express how enraged Yuu Takari had become, his fury was barely contained inside the small compartment of his brain. If he had not been born quirkless, he would be too powerful to stop. No force of nature or man would be able to tame his anger.

He had put his trust in the school and its fabled Hero's. Faith that they would be able to keep his daughter safe.The only piece of his family left. The only thing in this world that he truly cared for. His beautiful, fragile, kind daughter. Allira.

Yet U.A. had betrayed his trust and allowed intruders to slip by their "solid defenses''. Not only any intruders, but the very people Yuu had warned them about, the people they should be protecting her from.

The only reason he had relinquished control and moved her away from home. The school had assured him that keeping Allira living on campus would keep her safe! Keep her hidden and away from the danger!

Yuu spent years trying to keep Allira out of their hands; constantly switching jobs, moving schools, moving towns, running away from his problems. Yuu's entire life revolved around her.

Then when he finally gave in, finally let go and asked for help; this happened. She was attacked! Her room was torn to pieces and she was personally threatened.

In addition; the sole redemption of the incident was that Allira was not in her room when the attack happened. She was not physically harmed and still within Yuu's reach. However, she was with a boy! Yet another rule being broken upon the schools watch.

All the years of hiding this information was flushed down the toilet and he could hide it no longer.

Yuu always felt guilty about not telling her, keeping the situation from her. But he knew, once Allira knew.

She would most definitely find her.

"This is unacceptable, it has gone too far!" Yuu paced the hardwood flooring of the Principal's office. "I'm taking Allira home."

"Takari, you must reconsider!" Aizawa protested. "What good will that do now?"

"I don't care, I trusted you and look where that has gotten us!" Yuu barked.

"I agree with Aizawa, you must stay here. Both of you." Nezu urged.

"No. No."

"Please Takari, leaving now will only make things worse." Aizawa stepped in front of Yuu's pacing, his hands out gently.

"I have to protect my family."

"The best way to do that is to stay here. Allow Allira to finish her training, so she can learn to defend herself!" Aizawa pushed further, not wanting to lose another student.

"She's learned enough, we have to run." Yuu was panicking, not listening to reason.

"Obviously, things have changed and we have lost your allegiance." Nezu apologized. "But there is no escape from this and they will act again. I'd rather that attack happen when Allira has friends on her side, wouldn't you?"

The statement hit Yuu like a strong wind, the words whirled though his brain as he understood the message. Once again, they were right. Yuu wasn't capable enough to stop the evil on his own and he needed their help. For Allira's sake.

"You're right." He sighed heavily. "I will do what is best for Allira's safety. But if anything happens again, I will take things back into my own hands."

********************************

Hours after the event, Allira's hands continued to tremble; her feet twitched and jumped at every sound. Her mind was overstimulated with fear and kept her on edge.

Currently sitting upon one of the beds in the infirmary, unable to control the physical stimming of her body. Legs not long enough to reach the floor swung back and forth. Still dressed in her pajamas, Katsuki still at her side.

She was incredibly thankful for Katsuki, he had not left her alone since the incident. Both were greatly shaken up by seeing the remains of Allira's room and heavily confided in each other. Burdened with the knowledge of being stalked, threatened and attacked. The two students barely broke contact, holding hands and heads on shoulders.

After altering the teachers, they were heavily questioned and placed in the main building for protection. U.A.'s infirmary was the most secure place on the entire campus. Located at the heart of the school, buried safely guarded by the surrounding grounds.

All Might had stayed with them while Aizawa and other important staff went to observe the damage. It wasn't long before the entire building was evacuated and their classmates joined them in the infirmary.

They all said their hellos and expressed their condolences before promptly leaving them alone, mostly because Katsuki was so aggravated that no one wanted to bother him further. He was incredibly protective of Allira, especially after the incident. This was a fact that the entire class knew very well, but it had never been this severe before.

Along with their classmates a few more answers arrived. For example, no one else heard the ruckus in the middle of the night because the room below Allira was empty and Uraraka (her only neighbor) had slept in Ashido's room for a sleepover. Which left no one in any of the surrounding rooms to hear the commotion.

Allira was filled with anxiety, because she knew what would happen. She knew that her Father would take her away and the thought terrified her.

He would be the first person the school would contact, the first person notified and told about the situation. Allira could see it already, bags packed, car loaded and gas tank filled. They would be driving away momentarily and there was nothing she could do about it.

This was the way it always happened, every time. She was always dragged away. But now, more than ever, Allira desperately wanted to stay.

Her father was bound to know about her relationship at this point, the teachers must have told him about where Allira had been sleeping instead of her own room. She had no doubt that her father would not be pleased about this news. He was always so possessive and guarded her like she was still a child.

This was one of the many reasons Allira felt such pressure to do everything right. He held all his hopes and ambitions on her shoulders. She couldn't let him down, couldn't fail at anything.

Katsuki had never met her father before, but he knew enough to know her situation. In general, from all the stories and late night cries, Katsuki never liked her father. He sounded like a cold, old man who cared more about his work than his child.

This made Allira even more nervous about the upcoming altercation. Her father would arrive soon and the men would finally meet. The two most important people in Allira's life, each stubborn, hard working and protective of her. The probability of things going sour was high and it caused Allira's blood pressure to rise.

The room stayed entirely silent as Katsuki and Allira waited in the small room. The view out the window grew brighter as the morning turned to afternoon. It was still a school day, so classes had already started and regular daily activities resumed as normal.

In fact, hardly anyone knew about the evening's events. Only Class 2-A had been updated on anything, and they kept it that way to avoid panic.

Allira took a deep breath in an attempt to settle her jumping anxiety, her head leaning just a bit further into Katsuki's chest.

They sat on the infirmary bed together, Allira mostly in his lap, his knees separated just enough for her to sit between them. Her arms looped around his torso, while his laid gently around her waist. Allira focused on his heartbeat and tried to drown out her toxic thoughts and memories.

Neither student moved position when the door opened. When Allira's father, Yuu Takari stepped in, the atmosphere changed.

Yuu stood in the doorway, shocked upon what he saw. His only child, his daughter, was being held by a strange boy. He had heard of Bakugo Katsuki, but had never met him face to face.

He expected to be angry, to hate the image of his little girl with anyone. But the feeling of distance never came. Instead, his heart filled with wonder.

In the few moments before the children noticed his arrival, Yuu observed how close they were. Physically yes, but it was more than that. Body language aside, Yuu read their demeanor. A sense of calm and amenity wafted through the small room. Never had he seen Allira so comfortable.

Allira jumped from Katsuki's grasp, but continued to hold his hand tightly. Her heart panicked as the image of her father greeted her with wide eyes.

"My girl." Yuu kneeled and greeted his daughter with an embrace. Allira met his hug with one arm, the other still attached to Katsuki.

"Father." She squeezed his shoulders.

"I'm so glad you are safe." Yuu's grip slacked as he took a seat on one of the chairs by the wall and scooted it closer to the bed.

"I'm fine, I'm okay." Allira nodded, reminding herself more than her father.

The personal moment ended and an awkward silence hung in the air. The time had come for Yuu to meet Bakugo Katsuki.

"Um, father, this is..." Allira started to introduce her boyfriend, but was stopped.

"I've heard a lot about you." Yuu held out his hand to the boy who still held his daughters.

Katsuki looked incredibly skeptical, his lips turned down and eyebrows set in place. His usual resting face was never friendly, but this was intentional. However, he shook the man's hand silently.

"You are the reason my daughter is still with us, for that, I thank you." Yuu shook Katsuki's hand firmly.

Allira's jaw dropped in shock at the interaction. She thought her father would be furious, angry at her for doing something so reckless and outraged with Katsuki for taking his daughter.

Katsuki too, seemed frazzled by the altercation, not expecting the results. Though he kept his expression stern and serious. Only Allira could see the tiniest movement of his familiar features.

"You're not angry?" Allira croaked, tears in her eyes.

Yuu turned his attention back to Allira and smiled.

"Not at you, not at either of you." He made sure Katsuki was included. "This was a terrible accident and I'm just glad you are okay."

After finally meeting the man, Katsuki could see that Yuu Takari was a kind hearted man and he loved his daughter. But something was off about him and Katsuki didn't trust it. He was hiding something.

"So what the hell happened back there?" As expected, Katsuki jumped straight to the point. His eyes darted to his teacher who stood behind Yuu Takari, in the doorway.

"Some kind of coordinated attack." Aizawa answered simply.

"No shit." Katsuki cursed rudely. "You all know something and you're not telling us. I'm tired of being in the dark, so spit it out!"

Usually Allira would try to correct his behavior, but she agreed with him. Something more was going on and she would like to know.

"Please father." Allira moved to meet her fathers downcast eyes.

Yuu looked up momentarily to his daughter, then flashed a look of concern to Aizawa. Who had placed himself in the second chair, but did not scoot it any closer. Obviously, Aizawa wanted Yuu to say something, but the man looked incredibly frightened.

"Tell her." Aizawa urged, which only created more anxiety for Allira.

Yuu cleared his throat, the noise sounding more like a sob or cry for help. But he spoke soon after.

"Allira, I have been keeping...a lot...of things from you and I'm sorry."

"I want to hear it." Her face was tight, her lip trembled, but her eyes stayed determined.

Yuu gulped and took a heavy, weaver breath as he prepared to reveal all that was hidden. "There are people out there who have been watching us, watching you. Stalking you and threatening you. I kept this from you, in hopes that you wouldn't feel scared."

Even as her jaw hung open, she felt like she was suffocating. Allira sat on the bed, her mind not comprehending the impossible information. There was no way this could be true, no chance that her father had been lying to her for so long. Absurd to think that he could have hid this immense secret.

Beside her, Katsuki felt the shaking in Allira's fingers. This was all new information for him as well and it scared him! But he couldn't imagine how betrayed and confused she would feel, along with all the other emotions of being targeted.

From unfortunate experience, he knew what it was like to be targeted by wicked people. Villains stocking and wanting you for their own ill intent. But this seemed much more deliberately aimed at Allira specifically.

"These people are dangerous and have powerful connections. I did what I thought necessary to keep you safe." Yuu could see Allira's distress and tried to reconcile his actions.

"Is that why we've been moving around so much?!" Allira's voice rose suddenly, her words bursting from her throat with the first hint of aggression Katsuki had ever heard. "How long has this been going on behind my back?"

"Since we started moving." Yuu Takari gripped his hands and squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the anger of his child.

"This has been going on for years and you never told me?" Tears matched her anger and Katsuki had to keep her from standing.

"You're right, I have been running away. Fleeing from the problem, instead of trying to fix it or ask for help." Head still down, Yuu's voice grew thick with emotion.

Unable to see past her rage, sorrow and shock. Allira lifted herself from the bed and freed her hand from Katsuki's.

"Do you have any idea how this affected me?! Moving every few months, tearing me away from every person I've ever known! Forcing a new house, new school, new town." Allira bent down and bashed her fists upon her fathers shoulders. "How was I supposed to make friends? How was I supposed to hold onto anything? How was I supposed to live like that?"

At first the strikes were heavy, but soon slowed as her body was sucked of its energy. Her figure shrunk onto her knees as she slid down to the floor, arms still beating fruitlessly upon Yuu's knees.

"You always claimed it to be for work! How could I hate you for being a good nurse?! I hated your job and how it stole you away from me. You were the only consistent person and you abandoned me, left me at home while you 'worked'. Now you're telling me, that was all a lie?!"

Unable to meet his daughters eyes, Yuu gulped, his throat filled with flem and his eyes dripping with tears.

"The years I spent hating you, the job I blamed...it wasn't even the real reason? You were off pretending, switching locations on purpose?! You choose to leave and tear up our roots!"

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...so sorry..." Yuu repeated over and over, his head down in shame.

"You should have told me! Even if I didn't know about the blackmail, I was still hurting. Alone! You never once came to me about anything. I was isolated, with no one to talk to." Allira's energy finally depleted and she sank to her knees, her body too weak and confused to continue. "Nobody. I had no one. All alone."

By this point, Katsuki could no longer watch. He stood slowly from his seat on the bed and knelt down next to Allira, who still patted uselessly upon her fathers shins. Silently, he made sure that Allira was alright with his touch. When she did not push him off, Katsuki rubbed her back and rested his cheek against her hair.

She had expressed everything, finally let it all out and he had listened. Allira always had a rough relationship with her father, Katsuki knew this. But he had never heard Allira articulate anything like that before. Katsuki knew this would be good for her, to finally express her feelings of pain. However, it didn't make it any less painful.

The words that Allira repeated ached his heart. The mumblings of; alone, nobody, one one. Each evoked a feeling of abandonment, solitude and loneliness. This was a mindset that Katsuki had never experienced before. From childhood, Katsuki was constantly surrounded by people. Peers around his age would stick to him like glue, all trying to be his friend, each fighting over his attention. Throughout middle school he had a group of people tailing after him, each jealous of his flashy quirk. He always thought it annoying, to constantly have people pestering him constantly.

The idea of being completely alone? That was foreign to Katsuki and it terrified him. By the reaction of Allira's outburst, it was obviously a challenge and traumatizing for her. This made Katsuki appreciate every person in his life, each ego builder he received from childhood and all the people that helped him get to where he was today. Even that annoyingly persistent Deku, who always pushed him to be stronger from day one.

Katsuki pulled Allira away from the scene, so that she could rest against him as they leaned back against the side of the bed. Katsuki situated them on the floor, Allira in his lap, her head leaned against his chest and his arms around her waist. Her breathing was shallow and disrupted by hiccups, but her eyes stayed closed as she tried to calm down.

Allira was angry, confused, enraged, hurt and overwhelmed. Her brain was a spinning cycle of puzzle pieces and she was having a hard time comprehending what was happening outside of her body. She could smell Katsuki's shampoo, feel his warmth, but nothing more than that. She was grateful for him in every way, she could barely describe it. Her entire life she had felt alone and abandoned, she never expected to have anyone by her side. But Katsuki changed all that, switched the way her brain worked and mended her ripped heart.

It took so long for her to trust anyone, to let anyone into her mental circle. She was terrified of getting hurt, as she had been for so many years. But Katsuki had proved himself over and over again, timelessly showing her what a real relationship was like. Katsuki was her first friend in almost a decade and the first person she felt comfortable with. It didn't start romantic, but the transition was easy and felt natural. Allira would never be able to thank him for everything he had done for her.

"I can see that this situation is difficult and will need time to heal." Aizawa broke the heavy silence. "However, that doesn't change the big picture."

"Shota is right, I am afraid that young Takari is still in danger." Principle Nezu chimed. "We cannot continue as if nothing has changed. The danger level has increased exponentially."

This caught Katsuki's attention immediately, fear spiking within his chest. He clutched Allira tighter as if his arms would keep away any threats on her life.

"These vigilantes are targeting Takari specifically and we cannot allow a repetition of what happened last night." Aizawa stated.

"Why?"

All eyes turned to Allira, still sitting comfortably in Katsuki's lap on the floor. "Why would they want me?"

Nezu and Aizawa made eye contact, neither knowing how to answer. Of course, they knew the answer, but it wasn't their place to share that type of information. No one moved, until Aizawa placed a heavy hand upon Yuu's shoulder and rugged him to answer.

The man had not moved from the frozen position after being scolded by his daughter, but with the pressure, he finally lifted his head. "Your mother, she was supposed to teach you everything. Help you grow with your quirk."

"My quirk?" Allira's eyebrows folded in concern. "What's wrong with my quirk?"

"Nothing is wrong with it." Yuu Takari shrugged. "It is the same quirk that Hisano had, the power is exotic and beautiful."

"But?" Katsuki could sense a shift by Takari's tone.

Yuu nodded at Katsuki's question with a frown. "But every coin has two sides."

"What?" Allira's voice was shallow and breathless, her brain had barely recovered from the last news. She wasn't ready for more life altering information.

"Your quirk: Colloidal. It is gentle, light and creative. However, there is an extreme side of it. The shadow of Colloidal. It's called Rescind and it is aggressive and dark, but useful."

Allira blinked furiously and rubbed her eyes from beneath her glasses. As if her eyes were overwhelmed by what her ears were ingesting.

"Your mother held Rescind as well and she used it to help people, learned to accept it and work together with that darkness." Yuu clutched his hair. "If she was still here, she would have shown you everything."

"Yeah, but she's not here." Allira spat. "I shouldn't be learning about all this now, you shouldn't have kept any of this from me."

The anger in her voice was gone, as if her brain was shutting down. Telling her that nothing mattered, a mindset she used for everything when Katsuki had first met her. It was probably a coping mechanism, to let the water flow off her back and not soak in any of the problems around her.

"So she has a violent quirk, what's the harm in that?" Bakugo asked further. He too had a dangerous quirk and no one was going after him...currently.

"Well, as I stated earlier; Hisano learned to use Rescind safely. She adapted with the hazardous abilities and became a powerful and respected Hero. However, she was the first of her family to do this. All of Hisano's family believed that Rescind was dangerous and unruly. They pushed it down and pretended to be quirkless, hoping that it would remain dormant. "

"However, a certain member of the lineage disregarded these rules and practiced both Colloidal and Rescind in secret. She perfected these strange abilities and tried to show the rest of her family that it wasn't harmful."

By this point, everyone was listening to Yuu's story. Even Aizawa and Nezu were nodding along, as if they remembered some of the events.

"But no one would listen, they reprimanded her harshly and forced her into exile. Which led to a lifetime of trying to prove herself and research into improving Colloidal and Rescind, so that she might be accepted back into the family.

"Who was that?" Allira finally broke the story and asked.

"Hisano's mother, Kiaria." Yuu answered.

"Grandmother? I'd never heard anything about her, or any of our extended family."

"Well, I was adopted and Hisano was born from an outcast, so we didn't really have anyone else. It was just the three of us and now it's only the two of us." Yuu bit his lip and continued. "After not being accepted by her own house, she became drastic. When Hisano was still in school, Kiaria did some terrible things. She experimented on herself, tampered with Rescind and became a very powerful Witch. She became so powerful that it went to her head. Not long after, she grew a name for herself: Blood Auror."

Neither Katsuki or Alliura recognized the name, but all the adults did.

"I remember the terror that the Blood Auror caused when I was a new graduate." Aizawa's eyes didn't leave the floor, lost in sad memories of the past. "We learned the hard way, that blood is the key to unlocking that dark power. Rescind, as you called it. Too much of it was spilt, too much in such little time."

"I'm so sorry professor, I had no idea." Allira apologized for her family's action.

"You are not to blame." Aizawa's expression softened as he knelt down to his students that still sat on the white tile flooring. "You have impressed me so much this year already. You use your quirk just as well as the rest of your class and you've only just started using it."

Tears immediately sprouted from Allira's eyes as she was praised by her teacher. For so long she had thought that Aizawa was disappointed in her, or didn't believe in her strength.

"I'm sorry that I treated you differently than the rest of the class. Your father updated me on your situation on the first day of school and I had to keep you safe. I'm sorry if my words came across as untrustworthy."

"It's okay, thank you for taking care of me. Even when I didn't understand." Allira smiled.

Katsuki was incredibly impressed with Allira's ability to forgive so easily. If he was in her position, he'd be angry, violent and throw a huge tantrum. But she sat quietly in his lap and listened to every word. Though he knew that her demeanor might look calm, her brain was probably whirring with panic. He would deal with that later and ease her when she would be ready to show her emotions again.

"Allira, my girl." Yuu reached out and took hold of Allira's hands. "Don't let this information change you. Just because Rescind is unpredictable, doesn't mean it's evil. Your quirk is what you choose it to be."

Allira nodded, understanding what her father meant. Though she still wasn't happy about the entire situation.

"There is much to do, however our number one priority is to keep Allira safe." The small, animalistic man placed his fist into his left palm.

"Agreed." The head teacher turned his attention to Katsuki. "You know, it's a blessing that she was with you.

Katsuki's eyes widened, but remained silent. He had expected consequences for sneaking Allira to his room. Girls were not allowed on the boys floor and especially not at night! Never did he think that the professors would thank him for disobeying.

"Things would look very different if she was in her own room during the attack." Nezu nodded. "These stockers seem to know everything about Allira, but they did not foresee her relationship to you, son."

From the mention of Katsuki, he felt the familiar tingle of Allira's quirk. The pleasant sensation eased his conscience and lessened his headache. Allira seemed more present and activated her healing quirk on him, as she did most days. Her fingers rubbed gently against the arm that still held her, each glowing with purple sparkles.

"I've never seen her so comfortable with anyone, you are a very special person Bakugo." Yuu's eyes were tear stained, but looked happily at his daughter.

"Bakugo." Aizawa pressed for his attention. "I know you and I am certain that you will stay with Takari. Do what you do best, keep her safe."

Katsuki sat up a little straighter and nodded with pride. He didn't need to be asked, he would always fight for Allira. However, now even the adults were counting on him and it added pressure.

"I'm not usually one to condone breaking the rules...but I believe Allira should continue to stay with you Bakugo." The principle urged.

"You are the only reason she is safe." Yuu bowed his head respectfully. "Please continue taking care of my daughter."

Katsuki looked down at the fragile girl in his lap. She wasn't looking at him, her mind listening, but not interacting with the conversation. One of her hands gripped his shirt, while the other held his forearm at the base of his elbow. Her fingers still glowing as she absentmindedly healed him.

"Always."