Chapter 63
Third person pov
Harper's scream echoed around the massive underground warehouse. She and Inasa both lunged for Eric at the same time as the teen willingly walked forward. It was futile. Atsuhiro was in front of them within seconds, a grin on his face as he planted a gloved hand on each of their heads, stopping them in place. Harper let out a wet gasp, throwing herself back and away from him for fear she'd get put into a marble again. A shiver shot through her, making her feel sick and like she was going to retch what little she'd been fed back up. Inasa was much calmer about backing away, his eyes full of hate and fire. He hadn't given up yet, but he was scared.
The wind-quirk user placed himself in front of Harper as they both recoiled from Atsuhiro, mind spinning. What was he going to do? There had to be a way to stop this. This was wrong. He was doing this to save her, telling them to plant his body instead. He knew that was his sister's best bet. It made Inasa feel awful. Like his heart was being wrenched out by an invisible force. He wondered, standing shaking in front of Harper's hyperventilating form, if he'd ever be okay again. Assuming he got out of here, that is. He wasn't going to leave without Harper. If he were stronger, he could say he wouldn't leave here without Eric either. But he was too small-- too weak. He hated himself for that. For not being able to do more. He was just so scared.
Eric stopped only briefly at the sound of his little sister's sob, glancing over his shoulder. He was crying too. The sight paralyzed her. It's not that she hadn't seen his tears before. In a place like this, of course she had. It was the watery smile he was wearing that stopped her in her tracks. It was the horrifying realization that he was going to do this. That he wasn't kidding, and this wasn't a nightmare. This was real. He was giving himself up just so she could have a little more time. He was going to die on the off chance that yes, they did spare her for a while. They could be lying for all he knew, but he didn't care. Without a second thought, he'd stood up and given himself over instead.
"ERIC!" Harper shrieked as Sako turned and strode out of the cage. The door slammed shut and locked with a deafening click that made Harper's teeth clench painfully. Her heart wouldn't slow down. The thoughts around her were drilling into her quirk. She could feel her brother's determination clear as day in the air. She hated it. Harper hated what it meant. That was her brother. They couldn't just take her brother. They couldn't take Eric away. What had they done to deserve this? The horrible thought that they could've picked another kid occurred to her. She pushed it away, her stomach roiling. Eric would smack her over the head for thinking like that. But he was going to die. And she was about to watch.
Harper and Inasa threw themselves against the bars, pressing their small faces against the spaces between the metal to try and get a better look. Their panic was clear. Eric somehow managed to keep himself calm, cool, and collected throughout this entire event. Harper couldn't see how. She could barely think through her tears and panic. Her quirk was in a frenzy, the thoughts around her suddenly seeming like too much. The pain and suffering of the other kids captured wrapped around her, squeezing her so hard she could hardly breathe. Inasa was shouting something at those who'd dared pull Eric away from her, but she couldn't tell what it was.
People were awful. Eric had taught her to always see the good in people, but how was she supposed to do that when people weren't good? Some were nice-- they were kind and had morals. Like Eric, and their parents. But then there were men and women like this. Like Atsuhiro, who she was supposed to trust, and this doctor, who'd decided to kill Eric with cold composition. Harper never would've suspected otherwise. Had he not targeted her and her brother, she'd probably have gone on through life none the wiser. After seeing what she'd seen in her time here, that seemed like one of the more horrifying realizations her little mind had reached over the past few days.
Atsuhiro did find Harper Rye's reaction to be quite humorous, if not a bit sad. The girl looked like her entire world had been shattered. She'd never recover from this, he was sure. Not that she would really need to. After they'd done away with her brother, she'd be sacrificed sometime within the next few days. They'd decided ultimately that her brother was worth spare parts. His quirk had already been removed, and a number of his other organs would also be placed in the same specimen. Not a strong Nomu, but one nonetheless. Harper Rye's would fare far better in a Nomu, he was sure. Perhaps her and that Inasa kid could be combined into the same one. They had one in the works right now that they'd surely go well with. A wind quirk and a mind reading one. Wouldn't that be a curious sight? He wondered how they'd work together. The doctor would explain it as he did it. He found joy in doing such.
Inasa felt entirely useless. And truly, he was in this situation. All he could do was watch them lead Eric towards the center table, rattling the cage door fruitlessly. The older boy was fearless. His stride was confident and powerful, as though he weren't about to die. It was the type of walk a hero might have, Inasa was sure. Head held high, shoulder's squared, and steps unwavering. How could he not be trembling with fear? How had his legs not given out yet? Inasa was both stunned and horrified. They'd taken Eric. Eric had given himself up for his sister, and now they were going to... to kill him. To use his body for parts, from what Inasa had gathered. He felt bile rise up in the back of his throat.
Eric had always seemed so shy to Inasa. He was jumpy and far more reserved than his sister was from what little Inasa had seen. Harper was a bubbly, bright person! An amazing, sociable friend that Inasa loved to play with. Eric was quiet and kept to himself. To see him step up for the person he cared most for made Inasa want to scream. Because Eric was a kid too, just like them! He... He wasn't even in high school yet. But he was giving himself up for Harper to be safe! It wasn't fair! He shouldn't have to go through this. None of them should! He just... If he were stronger, he could save them. But he was eight years old and scared, and there wasn't a thing he could do.
Over their time here, they'd seen what happened on that metal table. Eric tried to keep them from looking, but he couldn't shield them from everything. Not when their eyes were dragged back to it again and again. Those who were strapped to that table didn't come out of it alive. No one who was placed there returned to their cage afterwards. It was where they took the kids to execute them. To chop them up in heinous ways and use their parts for whatever twisted experiments they were doing. Inasa did his best not to think about it. On a lot of levels, he couldn't even being to understand what was happening, or why anyone could even think to do this.
He'd learned over the past few days just how dark this world was. The job of being a hero suddenly seemed a lot harder that they made it out to be. The heroes on TV swooped in the save civilians in the spotlight! Smiling and waving and taking photos with fans-- it looked like they had it easy. That they were powerful individuals who couldn't be beat. They leapt around in flashy costumes with even flashier abilities. Inasa had wanted to be like that too. The type of guy who dove into battles on the street and caught daring purse thieves and sleuthing bank robbers. Now, looking at all this, he wasn't too sure.
So many things went on behind the scenes. This, for example. Were there other kids just like them out there, in other abandoned buildings How many people died, and what other horrifying things went on behind the curtains? The news was able to pick and choose what they showed people. Things like this had to have happened before, and they would keep happening. Inasa had never felt so hopeless before. He didn't want anyone to feel like this. This complete and utter despondency that showed no mercy as it swallowed you. If he made it out of here, he was going to do his best to make sure no one had to feel like this ever again. Being number one didn't matter when there were things like this happening. He wondered how many kids over the years had been lost in this manner. Killed, with no one knowing where they were. Parents left to worry and wonder for the rest of their lives. Inasa wondered if his parents would end up that way. He cried even harder at the thought.
Eric was resigned to his fate. It was funny how the fear melted away when he realized there was no point. This was going to happen, and that was okay. He'd chosen this. He didn't want to die. Of course he didn't! He wanted to finish growing up and see where life took him. He wanted to see his little sister grow up and beam as she mastered her quirk. See where she went. This was going to hurt her. It was going to damage her for the rest of her life, and he hated that. But he had to believe that doing this would save her. That it would buy her enough time to get out of here. They had to be looking for them. They had to know by now that they were missing, and they had to be close.
The table was freezing cold. His skin prickled with goosebumps as he was forcibly shoved down on it. He craned his head, his eyes meeting his sister's. He gave her a smile, trying to convey to her that things would be okay. She looked so scared, and that made him angrier than anything else. She'd come here to save him, and she'd done such a good job. She'd been so brave to come search for him, and so had Inasa. He could only hope they didn't blame themselves for this. They were still really young. He was too, but they were tiny. So were all the other kids here. He seemed to be one of the oldest.
Several pairs of scared eyes stared down at him, tears being shed on his behalf. He took a deep breath, looking away from his sister and instead looking to Atsuhiro. He felt sour looking at the man. Disgusted in a way he never had before. This was someone he and Harper were supposed to trust. Would his sister ever be able to open herself up again? To see the light parts of the world, and the good in people? He didn't know. He just knew that he didn't want this for her. He wished he could take it all away and make her forget. Allow her to continue being the kid she was. That simply wasn't possible, though.
He didn't want her life to end in a place like this. He didn't want his to either, but sometimes you had to make sacrifices for the people you loved. That's something he'd heard his aunt say many times over. She was right, too. He could see that more clearly now. When you cared about someone, death didn't seem like such a big deal. It used to be something he was kind of afraid of. Coming from a hero family, the threat was looming and very much present. It was easy to see why his aunts and uncles went out and risked themselves for the sake of others.
The air nipped at Eric. His breath rattled in his chest, his body too weak to really fight. Struggling would put Harper in danger anyway, so he didn't even try. Most kids thrashed and flailed as they were strapped down, but Eric only stared. He gazed at Atsuhiro, wondering if the man regretted it. Atsuhiro stared back, cocking his head like a curious dog might. Eric didn't have his quirk anymore, but that didn't stop him from picking up on the slimy aura Atsuhiro gave off. He'd always had that air about him. He'd thought it had been a malfunction of his own power, but he could see now that wasn't the case. Atsuhiro simply had that feeling floating around him. He was a piece of absolute shit.
The doctor grabbed the drill, trying to hash out what parts they needed. The brain wasn't required to be whole, so it would surely be easiest to kill him first and then cut him open. Perhaps it would stop his sister from screaming so much. The brat was becoming rather irritable, yanking at the bars and calling out to her sibling. Her little wind friend was testing his patience too, his quirk teeming and lashing out with emotion. Atsuhiro had reported that the boy struggled to control it, so the Doctor supposed he couldn't blame the brat too much. Though he would need to be detained in a marble if he kept that up. The cages here were strong, but too much force was going to damage them.
"It'll be okay, Harper!" The boy unexpectedly called out, drawing the Doctor's attention back to him. His brows raised pityingly when he saw that the boy had stopped crying. In fact, he was even grinning now. Rather sad. He did admire the boy for pushing his own fear aside to try and comfort his sister. It was noble, but overall useless. The Rye girl was about to watch him get taken apart right before her very eyes. A shame, but did that really matter now? She'd be going next just as soon as her quirk was removed. Same with her meddling friend. "You and Inasa are going to be okay! You're going to grow up big and strong, alright?!"
Harper shook violently at his words. No. No, no, no. They couldn't kill him. They couldn't take Eric away from her. He was her brother-- her best friend. They did everything together! He was supposed to be there. They were supposed to watch movies together every Saturday, and help dad make Pancakes on Sunday morning. He was supposed to help her with all the homework she didn't understand! She had to sit on his bed while he played video games and cheer him on, and he had to put her on his shoulders when they went on walks! That's how things were! That's how they were supposed to be! He couldn't... they couldn't... he--
The sound of a drill filled the air, and everything around her vanished as reality settled. The sound and the thoughts. Her eyes stretched open wide, her mouth twisting as her focus honing in on her brother. Inasa went to tackle her. He didn't do it to be cruel, but rather to make a last ditch attempt to shield her. Because this was happening, and he couldn't stop it. Harper met her brother's eyes again. They mirrored her own, the kindness she had grown up knowing shining through in them. Something with her quirk seemed to click whilst she was looking at him. The world shifted, and his voice flooded into her head, overwhelmingly loud.
"I hope she knows I love her and that it isn't her fault. She has to know that. I wish I could stay with her and be there, but I can't. It hurts, and I can't. All I can do for her now is keep smiling. She has to know that it's going to be okay. I don't want her to see me upset. I wanted to do this for her. That's my job as her brother." Eric's eyes were ripped away from her and Inasa as his head was repositioned by Atsuhiro, who fastened a leather strap over his forehead. Harper let out a shriek, her eyes clenching shut as Inasa grabbed her. Her hands flew over her ears, her eyes clenching shut as pain pierced through her head. It hurt. She was scared, and hungry, and cold. She wanted her brother. Why were they doing this to them?! "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I know I'm supposed to be brave, but... no, no. It's fine. You're alright, Eric. You're doing this for Harper. It's always over fast for the other kids. It'll be over fast for you too. And then Harper will be okay. I'm sure I'll be able to watch over her in some way. I'll still be able to see her grow. I hope mom and dad don't blame themselves. If this saves Harper, then they'll definitely be o-"
The drill stopped whirring suddenly, and Eric's voice left her mind just as abruptly as it came. Harper's heart stopped. Inasa squeezed her tighter, shaking and breathing fast. Harper couldn't move. The smell of fresh blood wafted over to their cage quickly, seeming to taunt her and her inability to do anything. The girl couldn't bring herself to breathe. To think, or to look, or to even stand. Inasa kept her from completely falling, nearly tipping over as he kept her from falling completely on her knees. He was sobbing loudly, his breaths tripping over one another. He was choking. Harper had long passed that point. She wasn't breathing at all, her world hazy. Those had been Eric's thoughts. That had been Eric, thinking in his last moments. She had... heard him. And now she couldn't. He was...
He was dead.
Atsuhiro Sako had taken them. He was supposed to be their therapist, yet he'd stolen them away instead! Eric had been onto him. That had been his downfall, and she hated the man for it. He had taken her brother from her. And now she had put him in this position by coming here! Had she never decided to come looking, maybe the police would've found him instead. She had just wanted to save him, and now... now she didn't know what to do. She couldn't organize her thoughts or regulate her quirk. It whipped forth, wild and full of anger. All of it was directed at herself, and at the doctor. At Atsuhiro Sako and the other men and women in white coats who dared partake in this.
Her brother was dead. Her brother was... he was dead. He had given himself up. Her brother, who picked her up from school and held her hand on the way home. Her brother, who's favorite flavor of ice cream was Cookies and Cream. Her brother, who gave her hugs when she was sad and uplifted her when she felt most down. They had killed him. For their own gain, they had possessed the audacity to take her brother's life. And for what? So they could do these experiments of theirs?! Did they think it was okay to simply take people away like that?! E-Eric was gone! Eric was dead, and he wasn't going to come back! He was never going to smile at her again, or at their parents! He wouldn't breathe, or think, or laugh. He wouldn't feel, o-or cry, or eat his favorite foods, or watch his favorite shows. Her brother was no longer in this world. They'd killed him.
The shriek that followed the settling of this realization was deafening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harper Rye's scream was much more than a sound. Something happened with her quirk. Inasa could feel it, scrambling away from her in shock as she began to scream. It was so full of agony he thought maybe she'd gotten hurt for a moment. He didn't think that for much longer. The air around Harper seemed to move as she bent over into herself, her fingers digging into her scalp as her sobs rang through the cage. They were anguished and throaty. The space around her seemed to move, rippling oddly as though Harper were expelling heat. That was the first indication to Inasa that something else was happening. The screams of the Doctor and his colleagues were the other.
Inasa spun around on his heel as the Doctor collapsed, writhing on the ground by the table Eric's body lay on. The same went for Atsuhiro and the other lackeys present. Their knees all buckled and sent them crashing down. They were all clutching their heads just like Harper was, their screams pained in a different way than hers. Blood poured out of their ears, dribbling down their necks and staining their shirts as Harper's sobs echoed around the massive area. The girl continued to rock herself back and forth, sobbing and pulling at her hair. Inasa's mind went a mile a minute. They were all down. There was no one to stop him if he tried to get out. Whatever Harper was doing, it wasn't happening to him or the other kids.
There was a banging sound coming from the stairs. He could barely hear it over all the screaming. More of the Doctor's assistants stumbled out from branched-off rooms, also clutching their heads. They fell over almost as soon as they entered the vicinity, rolling around in pain. Inasa had tried using his quirk to rattle the door before. The bars were strong, but that didn't mean the lock was. He was confident that if he put his all in, he could get it open. He didn't want to find out who was coming down those steps. If it was an enemy, they would surely be done for. Eric's sacrifice would've been for nothing. He had to get himself and Harper out of here to get help.
He backed up. Inasa wished he could help Harper in some way, but he knew there wasn't time for that now. Her screaming turned to frantic and hysterical sobs, her body still rocking back and forth and her quirk still fritzing out. Though he felt exhausted and weakened from lack of food, water, and sleep, Inasa still forced his quirk to coil itself up. He pulled as much air as he could towards him, gathering what power he could. He had never really tried to do this before. His focus had always been on keeping his quirk in. It was powerful and built up-- it escaped him in bursts that hurt people. Now, he was asking it to work. To pull power together and help them get out of here.
Inasa had to force himself not to look to where Eric's body lay. The two men who usually stopped kids from acting out were on the ground motionless now, their screams having stopped. There was still clanging coming from the staircase, now louder than before. Inasa took a shuddering breath, forcing himself to calm down. The wind he was honing whipped around him, slicing at his arms, legs, and face. He ignored the sting, letting out a shout as he thrust his arms forward. The people who usually subdued him were down for the count. There was no one to threaten him or Harper if he didn't do what they said.
The door flew off its hinges, the lock snapping entirely as it was thrown across the room. It spun a few times, landing with a massive crash on the ground. The other kids cheered, not effected by whatever Harper's quirk was doing. Inasa was glad, but there was no time to think about it right now. They had to do something. They couldn't take the stairs up. Was there another way out? Surely there had to be. There were a few doors that led to other places. He saw the doctor and his assistants go through them a few times. If they couldn't get out through there, perhaps they could at least hide. It was better than staying in this cage.
His legs shook as he tugged weakly at Harper's arm. The girl moved limply, barely able to stand as she cried. Her face was bright red from all the sobbing she was doing, the bags under her eyes looking darker and more purple than they had before. He shushed her softly, tugging her arms over his shoulders. He'd gotten a pretty bad cut to his leg, but he didn't care. Harper could hardly move in this state. Her grief was so thick he could almost feel it physically. The pain in her eyes as her gaze met his broke him. The screams of the doctor and his assistant's stopped abruptly as Harper stared at her friend, tears still pouring down her cheeks. Inasa's heart broke a little more, his own tears beginning to fall all over again.
"W-We've got to get out of here." Inasa whispered, already moving them towards the door. "Someone is coming down th-the stairs, so we have to go through one of the other d...doors. Okay?"
Harper managed to nod, her mind muddled. She felt sluggish and exhausted, and like she was about to puke. Her eyes fell upon her brother's prone form as Inasa dragged her from the cell. The other kids urged them on, clamoring up against the cell bars and shouting at them to get out of here. It was a selfless sort of thing. They weren't asking to be saved. If even just one of them could get out, that would mean hope for all of them. Harper's chest hurt from all the crying she'd been doing, and her throat hurt from the screaming. Inasa pulled her along. The cell door he'd blown off had landed in a way that would keep the door to the stairwell from opening completely. He hoped that would buy them some time.
Inasa tried to get her not to look as they went, but she wasn't listening. Her eyes stayed wide and trained on her brother, her mouth dry and her mind blank. That was her brother. Her brother was dead. Just now, she had listened to him die. She'd never thought about what she'd do if she lost her brother. To think he had to die in a place like this. She had to stop a moment, bile rising in her throat. Inasa rubbed her back as she bent over and retched all over the ground next to them. It was mostly stomach acid that came up. They hadn't been fed much. He pulled her along, forcing her to keep going. If she lingered too long on Eric, she'd never leave. He knew this. He couldn't look either. He'd end up doing the same thing.
A body slammed against the door to the stairwell. Some of the kids in the cages shrieked at them. Inasa began to go faster. Harper found herself resisting without really meaning to, her eyes still on her brother. More sobs left her, her tears falling and choking her up even further. Her shoes squeaked against the slick concrete flooring. Her pulls against Inasa were weak, but the boy wasn't exactly feeling his strongest right now. The wind-quirk user found himself being jerked towards the metal table. It was still illuminated by the big light hanging over it. Staring at it, Inasa didn't think he'd ever be able to successfully go to the dentist again.
Harper pulled away from Inasa with a sob, throwing herself over her brother's body shakily. She buried her face in his shirt. It smelt like metal, sweat, and bile, but she didn't care. She gripped onto him, not even flinching when the banging on the door continued. Inasa's shoulders slouched as he stood there behind her, the bodies of those who'd wronged them scattered around. Despite how still they were, Inasa could tell they were all breathing. His hyper-sensitivity to the ways air moved around him informed him of such.
He turned around, ready to face whoever came through the door. He doubted he could do much if it was an enemy, but he didn't care. If Harper wasn't going anywhere, neither was he. He tried to keep himself from breaking down again at the sound of her crying. Inasa had hardly known Eric before this, but the older boy had truly stepped up. He made sure Inasa and Harper both got to eat and drink whenever possible, letting them use his lap as a pillow and holding them close when they were at their most scared. He had looked out for Inasa when he didn't have to. Eric had comforted them both and made them feel like everything would be okay. His death hurt. Harper's grief hurt. This all just... it hurt.
"Musutafu Police!" A voice from beyond the stairwell door shouted. The stress was seeped from Inasa's body immediately, tears filling his eyes and a breath leaving him. Cheers erupted from the children in the cages, shrieks that they were in here echoing around the space. The ramming on the door became harder. Inasa felt his strength leave him completely, his body slowly sinking down to the ground. It felt like he could finally breathe. The police were here. They were going to save them and get them all home. It was enough to get him to smile, even with what had just transpired. He turned around to tell Harper.
Atsuhiro's face was there instead. Blood was pouring from his ears, nose, and even his eyes. Inasa let out a shriek as the man reached for him, rage in his eyes. Inasa threw himself backwards, and Harper spun around, snapping out of her shock. Inasa backpedaled, watching Harper's pent up rage come to life and overtake her grief. Behind him, he heard the door finally get kicked open. A pro hero with some sort of strength quirk had finally made it down and had been able to throw himself against the entrance, pushing the cell door Inasa had accidentally thrown that way out of the door's path. At the same time, Harper's hand reached out and grabbed Atsuhiro's hair, yanking him back.
Atsuhiro was dizzy. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew Harper Rye had done something. The girl was staring down at him with a tear stained face, a rage unlike anything he'd ever seen glaring on her face. She swiped a knife of some sort off the Doctor's table of tools. He didn't have the energy to get back up and fight it, instead grinning at her weakly as she screamed. She didn't shout out anything in particular. It was more of a shrieking growl. It conveyed her anger perfectly, he thought.
He didn't think he or her little wind friend would get out of her. He supposed Eric Rye had truly been onto something. Police and heroes flooded into the warehouse. Guns were drawn and quirks were at the ready. Even if he did fight it, he wouldn't get away. So instead he just smiled. Harper Rye wasn't going to recover from this. He doubted any of these kids would. He would've laughed were his brain not so fried. To his left, Inasa was pulled up off the ground by an officer. Harper didn't move. She stood over him, knife clutched in her shaking hand. She looked tiny.
Harper's rage was dizzying. The officer who'd picked up Inasa felt his head pound when he got too close to her, a his leaving him as he backed up. He could see something coming from Harper. He held up his hand, stopping his partners. They couldn't get too close. This kid was terrified and angry. She was one of the ones they'd been looking for. Harper Rye had gone missing alongside her friend, Inasa Yoarashi. Eric Rye had just recently been declared missing by that point, so they knew they'd been detected. Though it had taken a while, they'd tracked the pair of kids to here. They hadn't thought to check the bus. It was on a whim that a witness came forward and reported having seem them on the transit towards downtown.
The prime suspect in their kidnapping laid beneath the girl, bleeding from various parts of his face. He was grinning at the girl, his body trembling as he glared up at her. It was sickening to see. The girl's rage only seemed to grow, her quirk producing a shrill ringing sound in the backs of their heads. Though the officers and heroes were effected, the kids didn't appear to be in any distress. That was a good thing. Keeping any further trauma to a minimum was ideal. Now all the had to do was convince her to put to knife down at the get out of here. To let them take her away.
"Harper," The officer's voice was soft. He cleared his throat. "Put down the knife, dear. We're here to save you. We're going to lock him up so he can never hurt you ever again, okay? We just need you to come with us."
Harper wasn't listening. She was entirely focused on Atsuhiro. His thoughts flooded into her, smug and unforgiving. He didn't regret what he'd done at all. It made her want to scream. He had taken her brother. He was the reason they were all here! He had taken Eric away from her, and now he was dead. He was dead because of this man! And for what?! What was the point of any of this?! Eric had been kind. He wasn't a bad person! In fact, he was quite possibly one of the best people! Her brother...
The police officers got as close as they could, picking up the passed out assistants from where they were collapsed on the ground. A few had to turn away when they spotted Eric on the table, a hole in the center of his forehead and blood pouring down on the metal table. Harper Rye's rage made more sense then. The small platoon of police felt sick. This girl had clearly just watched her brother die. She'd been stuck in here for days. Who knows how long these other kids had been here. How many were there? How many had died without them knowing? This place had gone hidden for far too long. That much was obvious. The setup was too refined-- too in-place. This operation had... it had existed a while.
The kids were malnourished and dirty. They all cried out, pressed up against the bars and begging not to be left behind. They wanted to go home to their parents. The heroes were sickened by the sight, their eyes blown wide. Many had never seen anything like this. Honestly, they weren't sure what 'this' was. They'd come here not knowing what to find. They knew kids had been taken. They'd brought a small team along. A few officers and some smaller-time heroes with a little bit of muscle. They hadn't expected to stumble upon a massive underground warehouse where dozens of kids were being kept and... and murdered. Just what had these kids gone through?
"Harper, let us get you and your brother out of here." The officer who had Inasa tucked his gun away, holding his hand up in surrender to show he meant no harm. Harper choked out another sob, shaking. "Don't kill him. You're better than that, kid. It's all going to be okay. Let us get you and your brother Eric out of here. Your parents are worried sick. Don't you want to go see them?"
The question was left to hang in the air. Harper stared at Atsuhiro, tears still pouring down her cheeks. Things fell silent, even the other kids going quiet as Harper's grip on the knife tightened. The girl glared down at her barely-conscious kidnapper, her teeth grinding together so hard it was painful. Her other hand opened and closed anxiously, her breathing hard and labored as emotion overwhelmed her. The other kids wanted to her take him out. She could feel it. He had taken them all. From front yards and public parks. From by his therapy office and on their ways home from school. He had taken all of these kids. He had brought them here to be slaughtered.
What was worse was the coldness. He didn't care that he'd hurt Harper or her brother in the least. Even with how long they'd had him as a counselor, he felt nothing towards him. Harper hated that she hadn't noticed what he was sooner. Her brother had known. She hadn't listened, and now he was dead. She would never get a chance to listen to him again. If she could just have him back, she'd never ignore his worries again, no matter how hesitant. Because Eric had known, and now he was here. He had died here, cold and afraid. He had died for her. All because this man had taken him, and all because Harper had come looking. Would he still be alive if not for her? If not for Atsuhiro?
"Y-You don't regret it at all, d-do you?" Harper whispered, her voice tight. Atsuhiro's smile widened, though not by much. He was too tired to verbally respond. Harper's quirk reeled in his thoughts, finally able to piece them apart and understand them all separately. The girl didn't know how it had figured out how to filter everything out, but she didn't care. She didn't give a shit! Because Eric was gone now. She was going to have to go home without him. Home to her parents, who would be heartbroken. Home to his bedroom, which was empty. Home...
"No." Atsuhiro's thoughts rang out. "I don't."
Harper brought the knife down with an enraged scream. The officers lunged for her as she pulled it out and stabbed him again, her body falling hard on his ribcage as she drove the weapon into him. Inasa watched from his place on the ground as she was pulled off, screaming and kicking. She shouted for her brother, reaching out and just managing to grab his arm. She completely broke down, losing it all over again. One of the officers shouted for quirk-suppressing cuffs as the ringing in their skulls started again, her quirk revving as her emotions grew more out of control. Inasa didn't look away or close his eyes. He watched blood pour of Atsuhiro's chest, and listened to his last breath leave him. The other kids watched too. They were smiling.
Despite himself, Inasa smiled too.
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