Third person pov

Harper Rye is only eight years old when she learns what true terror is. Her therapist's quirk is unlike any she's ever seen. She's sucked into a small space that's cold and black. She can't see and can hardly move. It doesn't take her long to start panicking. Separated from Inasa, she cries. Her sobs are deafening in the small space, which only makes her all the more desperate. It's impossible to breathe. Harper feels on the brink of running out of air, her chest heaving so hard it hurts. Her quirk is in a frenzy too, searching desperately for all the sounds that are no longer there. It's quiet, and her power scrambles and scratches for something-- for someone. Anyone. 

It's like nothing she's ever experienced. For as long as she can remember, her quirk has been there. The world had so much sound, even without her given power. The sound of wind, rustling leaves, an A/C unit whirling along, a light fixture softly buzzing. There were noises-- friction and substance. None of that was here. It was just her. But what was she if not all those things? If nothing was here, then where was here? 

Everything blurs together into a disorienting cloud that makes entirely nauseous. Her brain is spinning too fast for her to think. She can't calm down, and she can't stop crying. Her ears hurt and ring from the sounds of her own cries. The walls feel like they're closing in on her. It's too dark. There's no up or down. She can't even see her own hands in front of her. Nothing exists here, she realizes. She wonders if she'll stop existing too if she stays too long. Will she be compressed into the darkness? Will the space wrap her up and swallow her completely? 

Her quirk feels like its in pain. She can hardly describe the unfamiliar sensation-- all she knows it that it hurts. It's bouncing around the walls of this marble erratically. Like a rubber band snapping back, it continues to jump around only to get pulled back to her with a crack. There's no one here for her power to hear. She's never been without someone or something to listen to. The conglomeration of thoughts is just... gone. It was something that had always been present in her life-- a constant she and her quirk had adjusted to. And now there was nothing, and Harper couldn't breathe.  

Inasa had to have been taken too, placed in a marble. Having seen them sitting in his office, she never would've assumed. Were those all people he'd taken? How long had they sat in that bowl, helpless and drifting? Harper wondered if that's where she was. Sitting in a bowl in the office of her demented therapist. The thought scares her. She wants her mom and dad. Her brother, and her friend Inasa. Harper knew there were bad people in the world. That's why they had heroes like her aunties and uncles. This, though, was... it was... 

There's no telling how long she was stuck in there. Harper considered the idea that she'd perhaps died, questioning if any of this was real anymore. Was she still breathing? Or had she finally used up all the air? The confines tightened around her, squeezing her uncomfortably and causing her to ache. Harper was stuck in there, curled up in a ball. She cried until she was out of tears. Her mind slowed, but not in a good or calm manner. It was in a way that made her feel like she was finally fading away. Like falling asleep, but scarier. And the more she tried to resist, the tighter the walls seemed to become. Soon she'd be crushed entirely. Just like her brother, no one would know what happened to her.

It made her sick to her stomach to imagine her brother in one of these. Would her parents lose both of them, all because Harper and Inasa had decided to take matters into their own hands? Even with that, she didn't regret it. She was confident the police would be able to track them to this location if she were to never get away. Even if she was stuck in this darkness forever-- even if this was what death was like-- maybe it would be worth it. Because that way, at least someone would know. And maybe Eric was okay. Perhaps he'd made it out of here and was in one of those cages, and would be rescued by the heroes. She hoped so. 

Atsuhiro Sako couldn't stop muttering curses under his breath as he paced. The doctor watched him with an unimpressed sort of look, tapping one of his clunky feet on the ground impatiently as the therapist struggled to figure out just what to do. How had these two brats found them out? Of all the people to find them, it had been a pair of eight year old kids. It was a big fuck up that Sensei wouldn't dare to overlook. Though Atsuhiro had planned on eventually getting to the pair of them too, he'd hoped to do it in a more... subtle manner. The police were already eyeballing his statement. Most of the suspicion was shouldered off of him, but it never hurt to be careful. This ruined that entirely. 

Contrary to what some may presume, Atsuhiro Sako was indeed a certified quirk therapist. It's what he'd gone to college for despite his lack of passion for it. When he chosen to instead pursue his dream of being an entertainer, society turned its back on him and laughed. It was irritating. Turning to a life of crime hadn't ever been in the cards for him. Or so he'd thought. But things happened the way they happened, and now he was here cursing his own stupidity. He should've known Harper Rye's quirk was too similar to her brother's to go unchecked. Though, to be fair, he'd been quite sure he'd be taking her too that day. Things would've been much smoother had he-- only she hadn't shown up. It was quite the issue.

Eric Rye had a unique quirk that would suit these odd creatures nicely. The construction of what they called 'nomu' was a slow and meticulous process that, unfortunately, involved killing children for their various organs and other body parts. Older individuals could be used too of course, but it was much easier to wrangle and subdue an adolescent. Pulling their quirk away was simpler too apparently; though, he wouldn't know much about that part of things. His job was rather specific and rather simple. He maintained the part of therapist and procured children with quirks useful to their current cause. 

The only children who really came to see him were the ones with powerful abilities. He gave advice on how they could better control their abilities. He was in a unique position. He got to know these children, their habits, and the very fine details of their powers and how they functioned. It was thrilling to evaluate, pick, and choose who would be coming here to the Doctor's little workshop. The kids who didn't get picked moved on with their lives, happy and well-helped by his advice. It was a win-win for all but those who were kidnapped. That was just sorry luck on their part. 

Eric Rye's quirk, at first glance, wasn't anything special. That's what Atsuhiro had thought when it was first explained to him. It had actually startled at him in the beginning. A pinch of mind reading thrown into the mix could be his downfall. It was a relief to be told it didn't really work, only picking up a few words here and there, and very seldom. His quirk was almost solely reflex based. He could detect people and their movements. It was overwhelming, and he struggled trying to keep it from controlling him in his day to day life. It was a great source of overwhelming anxiety for the boy.

The quirk would work well in a Nomu. How did you hit a mildly-psychic enemy? His power honed could be incredibly useful in a fight. To know what was coming and who all was on the battlefield, and to be able to pick up on emotions and intentions on top of that. It was enough to make Atsuhiro jump with glee. Eric was a quiet boy. Not particularly shy per se, but definitely jumpy. An easy target by all means. When you didn't factor in his little sister.

Her quirk was full on mind reading-- something he hadn't actually known when she first became his patient. She came to him with a fuzzy jumble in her head that she couldn't decipher. A static that told her vaguely where people were at times. She seemed very in key with the emotions of those she cared about and was close to-- her brother in particular. It appeared to be a malfunctioning blob of empathy and something else. He hadn't thought it had much potential at the time, but a summer trip out to her relatives property had her bounding back and proclaiming her quirk as full on mind reading. Which was... fucking terrifying considering the position he was in.

He'd worked around it, though. She couldn't actually read minds yet. There were simply too many thoughts to make anything out. Like the roar of a stadium in the middle of a touchdown. It worked for him. Her parents didn't take her seriously. Despite her inability to use her power in a crowded vicinity, he thought she might still be useful. Since she and Eric came to these appointments together, taking them at the same time made sense. Only the brat's brother had clearly picked up that something wasn't right. Atsuhiro had thought he might but had foolishly brushed it off. It had blown up in his face now. He had to have told his sister something.

The cages they had were fashioned out of thick iron that would withstand most any quirk. Not that any of these squirts could do much damage in their weakened states. There was one in the far corner of the room, tucked back into the shadows to the left. It was deeper than it was wide, fitted with a metal top and bottom. It almost looked like something out of a cartoon. A pair of dark chocolate eyes raged at him from the far corner. A few empty water bottles were scattered about the space which had become rather disgusting over the past few days. The cries of the other children silenced the closer he got, and Atsuhiro smiled at the fear in the air.

"Eric Rye." Atsuhiro hummed. The kid was rather useless after what Sensei had done to him. The kid had been shaking and pale ever since. Or perhaps that was the malnourishment. He wondered what it felt like to lose such an essential part of yourself. To have something like that ripped away from you, ingrained so deeply that it took a chunk of you with it when it was stolen. They didn't usually hold onto the kids this long, but his brain was too healthy to simply give up! Just big enough to use. He was quite old as far as their usual children went. His organs would benefit them nicely. His quirk had already been inserted into a specimen. 

"Bastard." The boy was gutsier in captivity. Atsuhiro grinned widely behind his mask as the boy leaned forward, light casting across his gaunt face. He was shaking hard, blood speckled on his shirt. The taking of ones quirk was hard on the body, it seemed. Again, it wasn't something he knew much about. He watched the kid stare at him with what seemed to be all the rage in the entire world. Were there not bars separating them, maybe he'd have been intimidated. Maybe. 

"I'd watch your attitude." Harper Rye's marble appeared between two of his fingers out of seemingly nowhere. He pretended to inspect it as Eric glared at him, seeming a bit perplexed as he tried to discern what the blue orb had to do with anything. It only made Atsuhiro's smile grow wilder. He really was a cruel person. "That is, if you want your sister safe." 

He tossed the marble between the bars. Eric lunged forward in a horrified frenzy as his little sister burst forth, a ghastly wail escaping her as she struggled to breathe. Atsuhiro Sako turned his back on the pair as the older boy just barely managed to catch her, his anger replaced by pure fear. Because they had his sister now, and there was nothing he could do about that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Harper came back down to earth, Inasa and Eric's faces were gazing down at her with concern gleaming in their eyes. Inasa was drenched in sweat, his skin two shades lighter than it should've been and his pupils dilated with fear and stress. She as sure her expression mirrored his as she bolted upright, hands planted on the cool metal beneath her. Sensations rushed back to her, her quirk slamming back into her so hard that her eyes clenched shut. Eric's warm and familiar hand was on her back in an instant, grounding her as her head spun.

Inasa watched Harper struggle, his own heart thumping like a jackrabbit. Things had been so still in that marble, and so quiet. The lack of air was what bothered him. There was always some disturbance in the air around them, whether it was a small breeze or a gust of wind. The world was full of movement that he was painfully aware of due to his wind quirk, and in there it had been gone. There was simply nothing. It was too still. Deep breaths had kept him from completely snapping, but for someone like Harper who experienced so much noise all the time... he couldn't imagine. 

Things after that were fuzzy for Harper. She remembered hugging her brother and crying as he comforted her, the relief that came from seeing him washing over her like a tidal wave. Inasa had been in a marble too, the boy explained. Eric had told him what was going on. They'd been taken by villains. They'd taken Eric's quirk from him and put it somewhere else. Harper had tried to ask where, but her brother wouldn't answer her. He only shushed her and forced her not to look as another kid a few cells down as dragged to the table by their hair. There were more doctors now, all dressed in sterile white with masks on and goggles protecting their eyes.

The sounds were awful. Inasa huddled into Eric's other side, fear etched into him and his body trembling just as hard as Harper's was. Despite the two younger kids looking away, Eric didn't. Perspiration dotted his forehead, but his eyes held firm as he studied what they did and listened to all they said. Every glance up at his expression reminded Harper just how strong her brother was. Despite the situation they were in, she was awed. Her brother was amazing, acting so calm in this situation despite his fear. So cool and collected. She wished that could be her. That she could be brave even in the face of things like... like this. 

They were there for a long time. Eric gave them both water he'd hoarded in the back of his cell in case they stopped giving him any, letting them sip it to try and help calm their heartrates. He forced them to cover their ears when the screams started, rubbing their backs and humming a tune that made his chest vibrate comfortingly. It helped Inasa a lot. The boy was able to collect himself a little better, but Harper struggled immensely. Her quirk picked up on the grief and fear drifting about this horrid place. Whispers of thoughts drifted towards her, becoming clearer and clearer as the children around them were picked off.

The other kids were nearly unresponsive. Most were huddled up in fear, bruised and beaten and awaiting their awful fates whilst huddled in the corners of their cells. There was a divider keeping them from talking to whoever was stacked next to them, and their other side was a wall. There was only one face. It was tight, and if Harper though about it too long, she'd find herself feeling strangled and even more terrified than she already was. What if she was put into a marble again?

Harper apologized to her brother up and down, wishing she could've gotten him out of here. Their parents had to be ill with worry and fearing the worst, and the same went for Inasa's parents. Every clang made them all jump a little, and the shrieks never got any better. Harper wished she could help. The shrieking cries made her feel like puking. The buzzing of power tools and the casual chatter of the doctors was nothing short of entirely morbid. The fear was a frenzy inside of her. She doubted her heart would ever be able to slow down again.

There was no time in the huge basement. No sun rising and setting, and no sleeping. It was impossible to drift off in a place like this. Harper had never slept well to begin with, but it was worse now. Eric stayed up with her, running his hands through her hair and telling her it would be okay. He told her stories from when she was a baby. He used to carry her around everywhere. He teased her, telling her he wished she'd stop growing. That way he could carry her on his shoulders forever. Harper had tried to laugh a little, but it had turned quickly to sobs. She thought maybe she'd passed out a little then, but it was hard to tell.

It had to have been several days before someone came to their cell in the corner. They'd been tossed a bag of bread and more water at some point in-between, and someone had come and switched out the bucket they were forced to use as a toilet. The resident doctor appeared, the glaring light causing his goggles to glint rather ominously. He observed them idly, cocking his head. Eric scooted himself forward, trying to keep the two younger behind him. If anyone was going to go out first it was going to be him. They had a chance to get out. Inasa said he was confident they could be traced if the police just dug a little. They hadn't tried to avoid any cameras there were or weren't. It was only a matter of time before the search narrowed to here. Eric had to hold onto that.

Harper's heart was pounding so hard it hurt. Inasa's hand was squeezing hers, both of them sweating horribly. Eric was like a brick wall in front of them. Though skinny and clearly tired, he stood strong and firm in his place. He was not going to let either of them get taken without some sort of fight. Harper wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. She didn't want anything to happen to her brother. She'd heard what had happened to those other kids. The doctors would drill straight through the skull, not really needing the brain to be in perfect condition for use. They'd remove what they wanted and then they'd toss the body down a chute as though it were nothing more than a piece of garbage. That happened to any of them was... it was a horrifying thought. 

The silence was tense. A couple of tall men came up behind the doctor as the pudgy man looked over his clipboard. One of them was Atsuhiro Sako, she realized with a chill. They were the muscle. Harper had caught glimpses of them dragging kids from their cages or carrying them if needed. They had subduing quirks. The thought of being in a marble again froze her in place. It felt like a lance had pierced straight through her chest as he gazed at them, his mask hiding what had to be a smug expression. What was going through his mind as he gazed at them?

They had trusted him. He was supposed to help them, and he hadn't. Instead he'd taken them here. Other kids were being dismembered. Inasa had already thrown up once. Harper barely kept it down listening. It felt like she was constantly shaking, her teeth chattering so much she wondered if they might wear themselves down. They'd been starved and dehydrated, and forced to sit here in these cold cages. And now, he was going to kill them. He would suck them into his nothingness and then he'd... they'd... 

Eric's adam's apple bobbed, his eyes shifting around in an attempt to find a way out of this situation as his sister and her friend panicked behind him. Even with his quirk gone, he knew how people moved better than most people did. That information wouldn't do much in this situation, though. He didn't stand a chance in a fight with these two on a good day. And considering he was twenty pounds lighter and couldn't stop shaking, he was going to assume this was less than a good day. Atsuhiro would have him gone in seconds.

"Hm." The doctor hummed, looking up after another moment. "We don't need the mind reader. Defective quirk. Organs are probably too small to be much use. Get rid of her. We need to plant her body somewhere else to deter the police anyway. Well, we could perhaps salvage part of her liver and stimulate it into growth."

Harper's heart stopped as the two men nodded. Eric was on his feet in seconds as the lock was undone. Harper had never seen him so scared. Inasa stood too, stepping forward and allowing his quirk to whip forward. It didn't do too much in his weakened state, though it did cause them to stumble back. Eric took in a shuddering breath of air. No matter what happened, he couldn't let them take Harper. He couldn't panic and freak out either, because he'd only be taken down. He had to do what his parents had always told him. He had to be calm, cool, and collected. Even if that advice had pertained to his quirk before, he could use it now. It was his job to protect and watch her. She was only here because of him.

Atsuhiro watched with some form of amusement. He had to admit that he was maybe a little curious to see what they'd do. After a few days, the doctor had finally gotten around to evaluating Harper Rye before deciding that they didn't know enough about the lengths of her quirk to deem it useable. There was no time to waste in the making of these Nomu, after all. Thus, it was decided that they'd get rid of her. He'd been a bit excited to see how Eric Rye would reply. He was an interesting kid. 

Inasa squeezed Harper's hand, his eyes scared. Harper couldn't breathe. Plant her body? That meant... she... they were going to kill her. They were going to kill her and use her body to get the police off her trail. They'd stop looking over here, wouldn't they? Or maybe they wouldn't. But then they could use her to plant fake evidence. And then her brother would die, and so would Inasa. And she... they were going to drill into her brain just like they had those other kids. They were going to take out her organs and throw her body down the chute with all the others. Then, there really would be nothing. 

Eric felt fear and pure desperation at the words of the doctor, but he also felt resigned. He knew what he had to do, and he knew what was going to happen if he succeeded in convincing them not to hurt his baby sister. He would die. There was even a chance they'd come for her right after they went away with him, but not if he did this right. He had to protect her as long as possible. If that meant he had to die, maybe that was okay. He didn't have his quirk anymore. She'd come here to save him, so it was partially his fault. He'd alluded to too much when talking to her. She was only eight years old. She was too smart for her own good, and so was her little friend Inasa. She'd known something was wrong. She'd come to save him. It was his turn now. 

There was something numbingly calm. He'd resigned himself to the fact that he'd probably die before Harper even got here. It's why he wasn't afraid to be defiant anymore. There was no point. But then his sister and Inasa had snuck in and got caught, and he'd realized his work wasn't done. So he was good and quiet. He made them as comfortable as possible. He wished he could've taken their fear away completely and cast them out of this horrible place, but he knew that wasn't an option. So he did what he could. Maybe now he could do more. Perhaps he could help. 

"W...Wait." Eric stepped forward, voice cracking. The doctor glanced up with a raised brow, not seeming impressed. Eric gulped. He had to do this. Things would be fine if he just... did this. For Harper. "Harper has a quirk more powerful than my own. She's too young to completely control it, but she can detect more than I ever could. Plant my body instead. They'll start looking for more evidence from me that way and take their attention off of her. Just... don't do this. Don't kill her."

Eric knew he was crying at this point, his voice pathetically hoarse. Harper couldn't move or speak as her brother stood there, his mouth twisted in a nearly pained way as the doctor considered what he'd said. He didn't dare look back at his little sister. He knew he'd completely lose it if he did. He knew his body could deter the investigation, but it would all be pointless if Harper died now. She was going to live a long and happy life. She was already so intuitive and caring. So cheerful and humorous. He hoped this wouldn't ruin that. That it wouldn't taint her world view so much that she couldn't even smile anymore. He prayed she'd still be able to find the good in people, as she always did. 

Harper was everything to him. From the moment she'd been born, he'd known his life would revolve around her. Maybe it was an older brother thing, or perhaps he was just softhearted. Her quirk was amazing. She was growing into such a talented little person. Watching her flourish brought him no greater joy in life. It was his little sister. His best friend who he'd literally watched grow. From a tiny little infant to what she was now. She looked at him with such awe. It was time to live up to that pedestal she set him on.

"He has a point, I suppose." The Doctor tapped his pen on his clipboard for a moment as the cell door was slid open. He finally clicked the end of it, marking something something down on his pad of paper. Atsuhiro grinned beneath his mask. "Very well. Take the boy." 

Harper's world stopped.