Of course Arata knows that sooner or later, something like this will occur. Her stay at Fujiya Hospital is temporary, and the investigation will end eventually. Afterwards, the police will find her a place to stay and an adult to take responsibility of her. But, never even once she thought it would come this fast.
After some time without any news, all of a sudden, Aizawa informs her that the police will come after lunch to talk about this. Even though he manages to keep his tone detached and neutral, he can't erase the telltale signs of displeasure and exhaustion from his appearance. A couple of dark rings circle his bloodshot eyes, and the scowl on his face seems almost permanent.
It doesn't take much for Arata to draw the unvoiced conclusion. "I see... They're closing the case..." she murmurs glumly, then puts her chopsticks aside on her tray.
Aizawa shoves his hands into his trousers' pocket, trying to find the right words to say. "Not quite. They're just pending it until more evidence arises."
Which is almost the equivalent of 'never', Arata almost replies, but she holds her tongue. There is no need to state the obvious.
After a few minutes of radio silence, she finally sighs, "Just let it go."
"You can't possibly mean it." Aizawa's frown deepens at the tone of resignation he hears in her voice. "The Shirayuki are getting away with child abuse, it isn't fair."
"I don't know, Aizawa-san... You know I never sought justice. All I wished for is freedom... I'm fine with anything as long as I won't be returned back to the Shirayuki."
"Including letting the Shirayuki walk all over you like this?"
"That's what they have been doing all my life. What's one more time?" Her green eyes meet his incredulous gaze. "I just don't want to deal with them again."
What an outrageous act of ignorance, Aizawa thinks as he massages his own temples. Kid would rather turn a blind eye than defend her own rights. Even Todoroki's reply to my text message about this had more fight in it than her reaction.
Arata isn't the first one he's known that chooses to pull out without any resistance. With or without sufficient support, it has happened again and again. It doesn't matter that he feels sick about their situation and their decision.
Yet another victim that doesn't want to fight for their own rights... This is exactly why the number of reported domestic violence cases is so low compared to reality.
Lack of evidence aside, like Arata, some victims just don't have any energy left in them to fight back and pursue justice. Their energy has been sucked dry from struggling to hold out on a day-to-day basis. It's just how life rolls out for a few people. They choose to blindly leave everything behind, and who is he to convince them to do otherwise?
There is no point in trying to change her mind right now. Perhaps, this might be even better for her, because low expectation equals low disappointment. Maybe, they ought to focus on finding her a guardian first, which is the only thing they can do for now.
"Whatever, Kid." Aizawa crosses his arms and leans on the wall. "Shoto is on his way here. Let's just wait until both he and the police arrive."
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A pig-headed police sergeant stands straight in front of them, her hand holding up a clipboard with some papers. She has the most husky voice Arata has ever heard from a woman. It slithers in the air like the promise of a storm from afar, rumbling lowly with tiny, static vibrations.
"In order to find a legal guardian for her, the police have contacted several organizations. The first is the public orphanage, which refused under the reason of their staffs' incapacity and incapability to foster her complicated... circumstances."
Something in the way she phrases the last word rubs Todoroki the wrong way. "What is that supposed to mean?" he crosses his arms, his tone a bit more frosty than usual.
"Technically speaking, it is providing the essentials, such as the basic needs, education, character formation, and safety. For both her and other children."
As he opens his mouth to retort back, Arata gives him a shake of her head, her gaze meeting his grey-cyan eyes for a moment before she reassures him, "It's okay. Just let her do her job."
"Are you done?" the sergeant inquires them with a bored tone. "Can we continue now?"
"Go on."
"As we all know, the Hero Public Safety Commission is responsible for both managing relations between heroes and the society, and handling high-risk cases. There has been a history of them taking charge of a few orphaned children under their wings to be trained as law enforcers. So, the police also tried to reach out to them."
Oh? This is the first time Aizawa heard of it. He supposes that it is perhaps a more common affair among the police and the Commission. "How did it go?"
"Unfortunately, they also refused. The minors they took usually fulfill these criteria: around ten years old, proficient in their own quirk application, and highly intelligent. While Arata-san is arguably clever enough to pass their standards, she is too old and does not show a tremendous potential in her quirk."
"Aren't you contradicting yourself?" Todoroki comments brusquely. "If her potential isn't promising, you shouldn't fear her as much."
"I am only repeating the reason given to us, hence I can't give an answer to that question."
Even though Aizawa quite agrees with his student's argument, he thinks it is best to keep going through their list for now. "Anyone else?"
He almost regrets asking as the pig-headed woman raises an option he doesn't want to hear, "The Shirayuki."
"Have you police lost your minds?" Aizawa growls, glaring darkly at her. "In case you forget, they are the ones who abused her and locked her up. How could they possibly know we're looking for a legal guardian for Arata? Did you inform them?"
Defensive, she lowers her clipboard and glares back at Aizawa. Her tone is professionally detached from emotions, as if it exists only to address the facts. "To rest your concerns, I assure you that the police force wasn't the one who made the first contact. It was the Shirayuki."
From his peripheral vision, Todoroki sees Arata's calm facade crumble, her face reflecting shock and dread. Beside him, her body goes rigid, tensing in anticipation of the words to come.
"What?" Her lower lip quivers, almost failing to utter even a single word.
"It doesn't explain why the police are entertaining the idea of sending back the victim back to their abusers," Aizawa shoots back with a menacing tone. He stands a little closer to Arata and Todoroki, who are sitting on the bed side by side.
"The Shirayuki proposed an interesting notion. They claimed that Arata-san here isn't actually a Shirayuki, she is merely a child who wants to join their clan. Because their clan is closed from the public, this is the easiest way for her to ensure a relation to the Shirayuki.
"They said she is just doing this for a spectacle, and they are interested enough to indulge her wishes. They are willing to get the guardianship of Arata-san, in exchange for retracting our accusation and closing this case permanently."
Todoroki furrows his mismatched eyebrows in disbelief, his shoulders and jaw visibly stiffening. "Are you saying they claimed that Ara faked all of her stories and other proofs? That she lied on purpose because she wanted to join their clan?"
"Indirectly, yes."
Fury like no other surges through Todoroki at her answer. The audacity of them to garble the truth and propose such a disgusting accusation. A dark scowl is etched deep on his face, his teeth grinding against each other with unneeded force.
"This is nonsense!" he raises from his seat, standing straight with tense muscles. His fists are clamped tightly on each side of his body. "You police investigated Ara yourselves. You do know their so-called notion is nothing but a lie!"
"On what grounds do they base this claim on?" Aizawa's dark eyes flash dangerously. "This is a serious case of distorting facts."
"No evidence is provided. Proof-wise, with Arata-san's elaborate story and frostbite marks, your prosecution against them is stronger. However, both your and their claims are baseless in front of the law, lacking the essential determining evidence."
"What a load of crap. There is no way the police are seriously buying their half-assed claim. You can't return Arata to the Shirayuki, that will be a grave mistake."
"Isn't it the police's job to protect the innocent? You can't expose Ara to her own abusers!"
"The police abide by the law," the sergeant emphasizes with a stern tone. "Because both parties can't pursue the matter further to the court, no decisions have been made. By the law, currently, the Shirayuki are innocent from child abuse and other criminal activities. Which means they can request for Arata-san's guardianship."
"Reject them," Todoroki bites out, sharp edges around his voice. "Ara is not going back to them."
"That can be arranged only if there is another party willing to be her legal guardian. At the moment, while the Shirayuki are the sole candidate, we can't do that."
"Why you—"
Before Todoroki makes a move to approach the police officer in anger, Aizawa quickly holds him back with one hand. "Stop." Wariness rings clearly in his voice, his gaze flicking to the shivering girl next to him. "Stay with her. Know your priorities."
Following his teacher's line of vision, Todoroki finally registers the small hand tugging the seams of his shirt. Arata's green eyes are bright with distress, and the intensity of it cracks his own heart.
"Shoto-san... I— I don't want to go back..."
Todoroki closes his eyes and crashes again beside her, willing down the crackling rage in his veins. "I also don't want you to, Ara," he huffs, frustration slowly billowing in him. Now that all falls down, what is he supposed to say to her?
Racking his mind with all kinds of ideas, Aizawa tries to use another approach. "If you extend this by a week, we can find another alternative."
"Unfortunately, it has been settled that she is to be discharged the day after tomorrow."
"Can I... just leave on my own?" Arata mumbles, desperation underlying her cracking voice. "I can just disappear into the woods and never come back. I swear I won't show up again in front of everyone..."
"If words are enough to convince, do you think you will be in this position right now?" the pig-headed sergeant stares her down with an impassive expression. "Anyway, that is all I have to say. If you have other alternatives, please communicate them with us, so we can readjust the plan."
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After the police sergeant left, only silence and the tick-tock of the wall clock fill the room. Arata is hugging her knees to her chest, planting her face between them. It is as if she thinks that she can protect herself by curling her body as small as she can. Somehow, it painfully reminds Todoroki of her withdrawn attitude during the early phase of the investigation.
"All I want is to get away from the Shirayuki..." Her low murmur is muffled, almost inaudible. "But, even that, I can't do... Now, they're trying to get me back to seal my lips permanently..."
"Aizawa-sensei, is it possible to ask for U.A. to help on this?" Todoroki gazes at his ruffled teacher, who is scaling the room from corner to corner, brainstorming an idea or a loophole in the case.
Puzzled, Arata steals a glance at her friend before burying her face again. "Isn't U.A. a high school? What does it have to do with this?"
"I'm a teacher there," Aizawa pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation, then points to Todoroki, "and he is one of my students. Actually, I've talked about this with Principal Nezu."
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"Can't U.A. do something about it?" Aizawa voiced his concerns through the telecommunication line, clutching his phone over his ear. "She is in need of a legal guardian."
From the other side of the line, a familiar light voice crackled into life.
"With the U.S.J. attack and the recent targeting of Izuku Midoriya by the League of Villains in the shopping mall, I'm afraid now is not the best time. It is difficult for U.A. to take the guardianship of a teenager classified as high-risk by the police. Guardianship... is a whole different world from education.
"Based on the information you gave to me, I know that Arata is most likely innocent in this matter. However, we can't take Hanakiri out of the equation. As long as she is still alive, there is a possibility that sooner or later she will reach out to her daughter.
"If U.A. exclusively takes the responsibility of her and that happens, U.A. can go down in flames. I'm sorry Eraser Head, but with U.A.'s reputation on the line right now, we can't afford to adopt Arata."
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"What did he say, Aizawa-sensei?"
"He said no."
Todoroki knows it is not an unexpected answer, but his heart still sinks at his teacher's confirmation. They are back to square one now, with no other option but to let Arata get back to the Shirayuki.
"What should we do?" he mutters under his breath, bed sheets crumpled in his taut grip. "Should I ask my old man? His hero agency perhaps can take her under their wings."
Aizawa's dark eyebrows meet in a knit on his forehead as he scoffs. "Hell would freeze over before your father accepted her with open arms. I'm sure he would even keep it burning with his own flames in case it ever stopped."
As much as Todoroki wants to argue that it is worth a shot, he knows Aizawa nails the right sentiment. His grey-cyan eyes flit to the sullen, brooding girl beside him.
Arata doesn't make the slightest sound, but he thinks he can barely hear the muted screams of despair coming out from her conscience. They are hollowly bouncing off the walls, raking them with the hollow nails of her lost hope.
"I just don't want to deal with them again."
Her request is neither farfetched nor absurd. It was supposed to be a normal request, where the victim wished not to cross paths again with their tormentors. The fact that they can't even assure her of it shakes him to his core.
All of those hero trainings and I still can't save someone when it truly matters.
"It's not like she has to be discharged today, so lighten up," Aizawa grunts at the boy, then pats Arata's head lightly with the flat of his hand. "We will keep trying until the last minute, so don't you dare give up, Kid."