a/n: I know I said that the plot will alter after Deku vs Kacchan Pt. 2, but after reviewing the developments of the original characters in the series, I decided to move it and assume that the series ends after Chapter 216 of the manga. I wouldn't focus on the BNHA characters' developments since this fic is OC-centered, so I chose to divulge the plot when they were somewhat grown up a bit. For those who don't read the manga, I won't spill any spoilers, but expect season 4 characters to appear. Just cameos, maybe.

:)

warning: mentions of abuse; rape


"Do I look like a doll?"


A young child strolled down the empty path to the park, tongue peeking out between her teeth as she kept her gaze on her feet. Each step was controlled—maintained with utmost concentration. Slow and deliberate to avoid the wind from picking her up again and tossing her all over, even though it made her happy and giggly whenever that happened. It was fun, but her parents told her to keep it under control.

Control.

The child nodded to herself, proud to have gotten all the way here without the wind slipping between the soles of her shoes and the pavement.

Her stomach grumbled.

"I'm hungry." She muttered with a pout.

That quick second was enough for her focus to fail and the child found herself being swept by the breeze, yelping when she fell on her bottom, though she was already five feet off from the ground.

"W-Wait!" She cried, randomly grasping at the threads of air she could feel with her palms and yanked. The wind wobbled at her distress, yet it only blew harder. The girl panicked. "Not now! Mama and papa said to control—"

"Child, the wind can't be contained."

The girl felt the wind carry her higher. Higher and higher until her scream turned into one delighted laugh. The words her parents began drilling into her head faded with the joy brightening her soul, their caution lost in her glee as the wind curled around her torso. She closed her eyes, content with the breeze on her face and her hair whipping wildly along.

She felt no fear; no panic even when a deep rumbling chuckle echoed in the back of her mind.

Carefree, that was what she was.

"Higher!" The child cheered, spreading her limbs wild as the wind rocketed her higher as commanded, enough that the tips of her fingers grazed the puffiness of one low cloud.

She grinned. "Soft!"

The child closed her eyes again, giggling—savoring the wind hugging her form in a blanket of security. She felt safe, despite what her parents say. The wind had always been like an embrace unlike any other.

Her heart thudded with excitement when the gentle force on her back trailed away, tendrils of air releasing their hold onto her like fingers unfurling. With bated breath, the girl froze as her body began to tumble backwards. . .

And then she fell.

The scream that escaped her throat was one mixed with exhilaration and glee. An odd reaction for a child like her falling so high up. Faster and faster, lower and lower until her vision began to zero downwards.

There was a tree.

"Ah!" On the last second, the wind slowed her fall and she landed on said tree, the thick of the leaves cushioning her descent akin to waiting arms. Still, she didn't stop. Branches scraped her face and hit right and left, with twigs full of leaves slapping her on the mouth. It hurt, but it was quick. A ghost of a pain than anything else.

When it ended—and when the child fell on the last few feet—she yelped when she landed on something soft. Solid, but better than the hard ground.

"Ow," she groaned, feeling her limbs throb and the tiny scratches sting. "That hurt."

It did. And yet she wanted to do it again.

"You know no bounds, child."

She beamed, burying her face on the soft patch of land she fell onto.

It really was soft. . . with a nice smell. . .

And breathing?

"Um. . ."

Shrieking in shock, the girl bolted upright in a flash.

Red met blue and grey.

The girl found herself pausing. Not because of shock or embarrassment, but out of the pure reaction to stop and admire.

It was a boy. A boy with soft cheeks and pale skin, along with the most exquisite features she'd ever seen.

Curiosity gripped her to a fault.

"I like your eyes." She cocked her head in thought, her young mind unable to comprehend how someone could look so beautiful with two colors of different shades. The grey was soft and light, yet startling—like the eye of a storm, while the blue was striking yet calming.

And his hair too. With one half as white as snow whilst the other half was as red as the ripest apple.

"I like your hair too."

The girl felt her cheeks warm. She was admiring a boy.

And she was sitting on him.

She blinked, shocked, effectively seizing her stupor as she stood back in clumsy feet. "Oh, s-sorry! Are you okay?"

The boy—bless him—seemed to have been frozen. Lying on the ground spread-eagled and looking at her with a gaze full of awe. The sight was comical at most, but she tried not to laugh since it would be rude. Her father did say that it was never nice to laugh at people.

She offered a hand for him to get up. The boy flinched, the action surprisingly startling him. With a timid flush of his cheeks, he accepted the hand with his own.

"Sorry," she apologized again once she pulled him up. "I wasn't looking. And just when I promised mama and papa to be careful today."

"I-It's fine. . ." His lips curled into itself as the red on his face doubled. "That was really cool."

"Huh?" She arched her brows, surprised, until her face immediately brightened; mouth stretching into a wide, bashful grin and eyes gleaming beneath the sun.

She didn't know if it was okay for a person to look as red as a tomato, but since the boy looked fine while looking like one, she dismissed her worry.

"You think so? Thank you! My parents are always worried, but I'm glad you find it cool!" She cheered, delighted on having someone compliment her. Her mother used to encourage her before, but now it was always 'control it'.

She didn't like control.

"Y-Yeah," the boy nodded, his own features blooming into a small smile. Shy yet warm. Her smile encouraged him. "You were so high up. It's good you're not hurt."

The girl waved a hand. "Don't worry. The wind takes care of me."

"Wind?"

"Yep! King takes care of me real good."

"K-King?"

"He's my friend." With one finger, the girl pointed up. "He belongs with the sky and the wind. That's what he says."

At her explanation, the boy glowed with admiration, his lips parting as another rosy blush peppered his cheeks. He didn't quite understand her explanation, but he knew what he saw and what he saw would always stay in his mind. From his view, her fall had look nothing but frightening to the point that he froze in terror.

But the smile on her face said the exact opposite of dangerous.

"Hey, I really like your hair! It looks soft. Can I touch it?"

"You said that already." Timidly, he shrugged. "But sure."

Her fingers running through his hair made the boy feel embarrassed, but the smile wouldn't leave his face. If hers stay, then his would too, he decided.

In their excitement, they forgot about the fact that a stranger—a young girl of his age—trespassed in private property by falling from the sky.

The girl paused, the fingers brushing through his thick locks drifting down until she touched skin. Peering closer, her lips inched upwards again when she observed that his blue eye wasn't quite just blue.

It was like mint.

The rosy hue on his cheek spread wider as the girl continued to wipe her thumb on the skin beneath to his eye.

"What's your name?"

"T-Todoroki Shouto."

"I see. Can I call you 'Shou-kun'?"

He beamed. "Only you."

"Great! Well, Shou-kun, my name is"

FEAR gripped her limbs in a vice, freezing her blood in contrast with the rapid drum of her heart, loud and deafening even as the tears refused to fall.

"L-Let me go!" Kaze cried, clawing at the door to no avail, her knees digging on the cold marble of a floor and yet, her nails continued to scratch the surface. "I-I want to go out! Let me go!"

She rapped her nails down the cold metal, unable to stop herself from crying out loud when the nail of her ring finger chipped, blood oozing out of the wound in one, tiny bubble.

It was that quick slice of pain that became the switch to loosen the dam blurring her gaze.

"H-Help," she cradled her hand to her chest. "Please. Anyone. . ."

Huddling close to the cold door, Kaze leaned her forehead against its surface, uncaring towards the grime and questionable stains caking the otherwise smooth texture in her distress. Burgundy stains that were faded with age, but the smell was strong. It hung in the air, sticking over every corner and gagging her nose with its metallic aroma. It made bile rise to her throat, but there was nothing to hurl.

Just like there was nothing to her.

In her fear, Kaze finally let the tears stream down. Nose runny, shoulders shaking, and sobs wrecking.

In more ways than one, she was lost.

The man had seized her like she was nothing but a bag of soggy potatoes, carrying her tiny frame over his hard shoulder that the joint dug too rough onto her stomach. Haru had reacted wildly, frantically pleading with the man to let her go and that meeting her by the dumpster was just an accident and nothing but. The boy kept on spouting ludicrous claims after ludicrous claims just for her sake—but she failed to catch even a word.

No.

Even though her worn bones and sore muscles adjusted to the situation, Kaze could barely handle the onslaught attack of her emotions; stabbing her right and left then high and low just to tire her mind. She didn't know where the man took her and Haru in. She didn't know why she woke up next to a dumpster nor how she got there in the first place.

She just suddenly was.

"My name," she mumbled between her sobs. "W-What. . . Who am I?"

She had no answer. Nothing to provide herself with. She tried racking her brain—rolling and scurrying through every information she could come up with a memory.

Still nothing.

A loud yell tore through her tiny throat and she banged on the door again, the physical pain blinded by the squeeze in her heart.

'Why?!'

She knows things. Normal, ordinary things like food, air, water, technology, places. What a stuffed toy is and what a park is, and other mundane things that hardly matter at the moment.

The only thing that matters now is her life—her identity. Yet she doesn't know a single thing.

A name. She had needed a name to give earlier. Why did she pick that name?

Wind.

It was so random and unheard of that she didn't know if she could carry that name with certainty. How could she if she didn't know who she was.

But she doesn't have any choice.

Palms grasping the side of her head, Kaze buried her face between her knees, muffling her sobs and curling into herself to fight against the cold. Aside from the disgusting scent, the room she was thrown in was dark—dark and caging with a permanent chill that drove terror at the forefront of her brain.

Her cheeks felt stiff.

'Think.' She thought to herself. 'I don't want to die. Where's Haru?'

Peering beneath her lashes, Kaze twisted herself around so that she was facing the door again, gingerly pressing her ear against the thick metal. Truthfully, anything she'd do would most likely be futile, but the desperation was gnawing at her flesh, ringing loud on her ears because—even though she woke up clueless about who she is—she knew that she's not supposed to be here. Neither her nor Haru, but the man had left with the boy as soon as he threw her inside this room. Kaze could hardly recognize the structure of the building they entered in the first place, but she's aware that it's secluded. Secluded and shady with other, equally terrifying men loitering the halls she caught glimpses of.

None of them reacted to her screams for help earlier.

Lips thinning, Kaze flattened herself completely against the door until her ear was pressed tight against it. She needed to get out of here. Nothing a child like her could handle whatever that's brewing here. She needed to get out, and maybe get Haru out along the way too.

The boy did look just as frightened as she was. Maybe even more.

Shakily sucking in a breath, Kaze listened for anyone or anything outside her door. She didn't know what to listen for nor did she know what she should be waiting for. She just knew that there must be something.

It was a fool's hope and she knew it, yet she kept it up either way.

Seconds ticked into minutes, and the minutes piled one after another. Her skin was prickly with the chill and the soles of her feet ached from the ground. Her eyes drooped low, sleep just inching over the corner of her eyes.

Her stomach grumbled.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the other side of the door. A steady thump, thump, thump that suggested authority. Kaze barely had time to shuffle away from the door before it was pushed open, the knob banging against the wall that nearly bashed her head.

She sat on her bottom facing the newcomers. It was the same man, his face still holding that sneer. However, he wasn't alone.

It was another man, significantly lankier and leaner, yet obnoxiously taller than the previous. His towering height became even more apparent when he—with slow and steady thuds of his boots—stood before her to the point that she had to crane her neck just to meet his stare.

"This is her?" Asked the tall man as he crouched before her, cocking his head gently to the side as if his mere actions pulled a ton to his energy.

The one by the door scoffed, a mere silhouette with the poor light behind him. "It was by the dumpster, right? Besides, take a look at her cheek."

The tall man did as what's told, dipping his chin to see better in the dark and in turn, she managed to see past the shadows and caught his eye.

His lone left eye. A sinister, jade green hooded with lethargy. Jet black hair—thick and cascading like silk—obscured his other eye, though a hint of white gauze peeked between the strands.

She didn't want to know how he got that.

A thoughtful hum bobbed the tall man's throat and he cocked his head again. "Her name?"

"The brat said she introduced herself as 'Kaze'."

A pause. "I see."

Like a crack of lightning, a hand suddenly clamped tight over her mouth, the palm muffling her shriek as slender fingers carved dents on either side of her cheeks, the nails biting as he tightened his grip. Kaze instinctively clutched his wrist with both hands, feeling her throat constricting in part desperation and part horror.

Gone was the lethargic slur the tall man held himself in. In its place, a tight-lipped smile eerily stretched his cheeks wide, his lone eye crinkling with false kindness. And at his touch, she felt her whole body weighed horribly heavy, as if chains of anvils shackled every inch of her bone and tossed it to the center of the earth. Her lungs stretched, her heart panicked—all in the metaphorical and literal anatomy sense.

There was pressure closing in and Kaze felt the crazed agony drown her again.

"Listen, doll," the man's smile twitched as he lowered his face towards hers, lips grazing the shell of her ear that sent disgusting crawls of electricity to riot. "I can't promise you a nice ol' life here, but be a good girl and you won't feel any pain. Much." He chuckled, deriving humor in his own private joke. "I'm getting good money for this, but if you caused enough trouble to answer my hospitality. . . well, it's not my loss, really."

"After all," he sighed. "I know a lot of people who would pay for eyes like yours." The man loosened his thumb enough to caress her cheek, tracing an invisible line beneath her eye and easily ignoring the shudder he evoked. "Kidneys and livers are common products, not to mention that it's ridiculously hard to find a buyer for hair but, hearts are incredibly expensive and always high in demand. The younger the better. Or you can stay in one piece, and we could find someone who likes your rather. . . young beauty." Chuckling yet again, the man released his hold on her, giving her a moment to suck in a much-needed breath as the pressure carefully resided, freeing her limbs and flesh from rattling in and out.

There was a quiet gasp behind the tall man, prompting Kaze to believe that the other person must've been affected too. Whatever that was.

"Now," smile fading back to its disinterested frown, the tall man leaned back, elbows propped on his knees. "Tell me your name."

She only had a second to hesitate. "K-Kaze."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not—"

"Your name, doll."

She shut her mouth, letting whatever retort she had die on the tip of her tongue.

Doll. . . she didn't like that.

Does she even look like a doll?

"I," unable to hold his gaze, she let it fall to his boots in submission. "I don't know."

The man gave a clipped grunt, seemingly satisfied. "Your age."

"I don't know."

"Your home."

"I don't know."

"Your parents."

". . . I don't know."

He grinned. "Now, tell me your quirk."

The last one made her falter in confusion, and she glanced back at the man in question, a query posed on her lips when she paused.

At that moment, her brain leaked one information.

Quirks.

She knew what they are and what it brings. It brought all kinds of abnormalities to any individuals which soon became a normality.

Does she even have one?

Ignoring the dread churning in her stomach, Kaze averted her gaze again. "I don't know."

And in that precise second, as the green-eyed man puffed in glee with her answers, a vicious roar resounded deep in the back of her mind. Faded and muffled, as if it was locked and barred with layers of hidden walls within a maze—but it growled with a strength of irreplaceable fury.

"You have forgotten."

For the nth time that day, Kaze shrunk with a new kind of fear.


"This is where you'll be staying from now on."

Stumbling on her own two feet, Kaze did nothing as she was shoved hard into an unknown room, only managing to catch a brief glance of the rackety place before she tripped and fell roughly on the cold floor, her cheek scrubbing against the wooden planks.

"Hey!"

A finger twitched. She knew that voice.

At the sight of one battered body being thrown unceremoniously into their room, a boy named Haru stiffened in shock—his eyes blown wide at the sudden intrusion. Children were never thrown into their room. None was ever an exception except them.

But he knew that battered body. Saw it lying somewhere else too, and now she was here.

"KAZE!" Haru cried, not hesitating to run towards the girl he had unknowingly involved in this hellish situation. Dropping to his knees, he gently helped the girl to sit up, noticing with a gasp that her lips were chapped and her cheeks hollow. She was dirtier than before too.

"What did you do?!" Yelled Haru, not really caring when such attitude would equal to punishment at the moment. His siblings were hissing at him to shut up, but he paid them no mind.

He was responsible for this and it was eating his conscience like a damn parasite.

Kaze forced her bleary eyes to open. 'Don't,' she wanted to say, but her tongue was dry and her throat was blocked. The man, Zaro, Kaze learned his name was, was the man who had dragged her here in the first place. A man with a quick temper and a fist unhesitating to deliver pain if he so desires.

That room she's been in. . . Torture Room was what Zaro told her it was. And she saw people—traitors, he said—being dragged in while she huddled in a dark corner, covering her mouth and closing her eyes to shut off the sickening noises that Zaro would bring.

She doesn't want Haru, the only familiar face so far, to be subjected to those.

Yet surprisingly, Zaro turned his cheek at Haru's yell. Instead, he devoted his attention ahead, someone behind Haru. Pushing herself up to sit with the help of the shaggy ginger, Kaze finally took notice of the room she was in along with the occupants it held.

Four people including Haru were all held in the room. Three of which were boys, with one who shared the exact features as Haru—a twin, it seems. The other boy appeared older, with tuffs of the same burnt orange hair, though instead of grey, cornflower blue eyes were cautiously narrowed towards Zaro.

That boy, he was standing in front of the last occupant, the one Zaro had been staring at. A girl. The oldest too, with the same shade of eyes as the boy protecting her, though her hair was a golden blonde. Matted, stringy, and molded with grime.

All of these people shared similar facial features.

A family.

Kaze was almost envious.

"Hanabi," Zaro drawled, a hint of teeth in his cocky smirk. "I'll leave this kid to you. Make her useful."

The girl, Hanabi, recoiled in disgust, squaring her shoulders in determination even though she appeared to be as rattled as the others. Perhaps even more.

"S-She's young!" The girl cried in despair. "You've got to be joking. She couldn't be any older than the twins—"

"You got it wrong." Zaro sighed, exasperated in having to explain. But then he paused in thought. "Then again, I can't guarantee that there's no one here who's into that shit. Certainly not me, but whatever happens would be your responsibility."

The twins frowned, unable to comprehend the meaning whilst the other brother ground his teeth. Frustrated and suspicious.

Kaze observed it all, slumped against Haru's chest as he coiled one arm protectively around her shoulders.

Having said what he needed to, Zaro addressed the boy in front of the blonde girl. "We're going, Takumi. Bring your brothers."

At his words, Kaze felt Haru stiffen, his shoulders jumping in fright as Zaro turned and walked out of the room in ease. Immediately, as soon as the man was gone, Haru's twin dashed towards them, his hands frantic and grey eyes wide with frustration.

"Idiot! What did you think you were doing, yelling at Zaro like that! You're lucky you didn't get another bruise like last time."

"Shut up." Haru harrumphed, sticking his nose up in the air as he stood, pulling Kaze along with him.

"No, Kouyou's right." The eldest boy, Takumi, strode forward with a small frown, lightly slapping Haru at the back of his head as punishment. Ignoring his brother's yelp, Takumi landed his gaze on Kaze, his expression softening as a small smile lifted his frown.

Bending down to her level, Takumi gently pried her out of Haru's hold. "You must be Kaze. Haru told us about you. I'm Takumi, his older brother."

With her throat dry and her lips chapped, all Kaze could manage was a nod. Still, it was enough for Takumi as his smile widened a tad at her response. A sight so refreshing after being kept in the darkness for so long.

"Aneue will clean you up," he scanned her down, brows pinching in slight anger at the battered state she was in. "Is that okay for you?"

Again, Kaze nodded.

Looking around the tiny space of the room, Kaze observed it to be quite plain. Faded colors and worn knickknacks with three rickety beds and a single dresser. She noticed another door on the left side of the room that she assumed led to a bathroom, then a lone window nailed with planks on the right, though tiny streams of light peaked through the cracks. The only source of light it seems, aside from the weak bulb above.

Takumi led her to one of the beds, the one tucked in the left corner. The other two were situated across the room. Kaze assumed this bed belonged to their sister, namely because the latter was waiting for her by the foot of the bed.

Her name was Hanabi, Kaze recalled.

The girl took Kaze by the shoulders, crouching down with a sad smile on her young face. "I'm sorry."

Kaze blinked. 'Say something.' "I-It's. . .n—"

Hanabi frowned. "Kouyou, get me a glass of water, please?"

Haru's twin nodded. "Got it."

In a flash, Kouyou stalked out of the room, making Kaze widen her eyes. Bad people were all over the place.

Wouldn't he get hurt?

"Don't worry." Hanabi answered her worries, willing another smile on her face. "They won't hurt him."

"They need us." Haru mumbled with a pout, arms crossed as he sat on the bed across Hanabi's.

Kaze didn't understand that. What could grown men need for in children? The tall man had made it clear that her presence here was nothing but a bargain—that they got Haru to unknowingly ensure it was her before dragging her in this place. She didn't know what made her existence valuable to this extent, but it was clear that she was more like a burden than anything.

What about these people?

In a matter of seconds, Kouyou came back with a tall glass of water, panting and shaky, but nonetheless fine.

"Here," he walked towards Kaze and handed the glass with his own smile. "Let me know if you need more."

The glass was already tall. Thick too, with a hefty handle to hold onto. And when Kaze took it, it felt heavy.

It was more water than she had in a while. She drank in greedy gulps.

"T-Thank. . .you." She breathed out, grateful. Kouyou simply gave her another grin, which she smiled in return.

Despite his identical features with Haru, Kouyou looked to be less unruly in appearance. His hair tamed and short compared to Haru's shaggy tangles, and his eyes a little bit angled compared to Haru's round ones.

"Let's go." Takumi suddenly called, jerking his head towards the door again. "Zaro's waiting."

"W-Where?" Kaze cleared her throat, swallowing down the sandpaper feeling in her throat in her effort to speak.

Haru eyed her with a somber look. "Like I said, they need us."

Kouyou's smile dropped. "We should go."

Wordlessly, Takumi averted his gaze, turning his cheek to mask his expression before Kaze could even see it. She watched as the older boy walked out of the door, the twins begrudgingly following until, one by one, they all disappeared out of her sight. The last Kaze saw was Haru peeking over his shoulder to look at her.

We'll be back, he mouthed.

The door clicked shut after his warm smile.

With a gulp, Kaze gripped her glass tight. Worried for the people who had shown her kindness, and scared since they'll be in the presence of Zaro.

Would the tall man be there? Kaze hoped not.

The hand on her shoulder tightened a little, making Kaze flinch since she had forgotten about the other girl in this room.

Gently, Hanabi took the half-empty glass in Kaze's grip and set it on the dresser, her jaw taut with her own worry for her brothers. Nonetheless, she managed a grin. "Let's get you cleaned up and fed. Haru's been worried all week about you, so why don't we fix you up so you can settle down here. You can sleep with me on my bed, is that alright?"

Kaze glanced up at the blonde, startled. "A. . . week?"

Hanabi paused.

"I—down there. . . for a week?" Kaze sagged, lips tilting down as she processed that information. Everything down there was dark and dank all the time—and the smell was so putrid she could barely focus on anything else. Time blurred with each person brought down to be beaten, the seconds stretching to eternity until she didn't know anymore, and the food given to her were little and small in ratio. Just enough to keep her conscious.

But it was always Zaro. Zaro with his hard boots on her back and his fingers buried in her hair telling her to quit her crying.

A week of that, and she had no idea.

Hanabi looked down at the girl with sympathy, knowing fully well just how horrible things could be here.

It was the basement. Heart of the base.

"Come on," Hanabi encouraged. "Let's get you clean."

With a distracted nod, Kaze let Hanabi lead her to the other door. It was a small bathroom like she had guessed, with barely any essentials. But at least it was clean.

However, Kaze was struck frozen when she caught sight of the mirror in front of her innocently sitting above the sink in all its rectangular glory. Foggy along the edges, yet still clear all for her to stare.

She gawked.

"What's wrong?" Concerned, Hanabi scowled, looking between Kaze and the mirror in confusion.

Kaze parted her mouth to answer, but no words came out. 'My face.'

She finally had one answer to her mountain of questions.

With unsteady feet, Kaze stumbled closer until she caught the sink with one hand, raising the other to shakily touch her cheeks and slide her fingers through her hair.

"This is. . . m-my face." Kaze absentmindedly mumbled, relieved beyond belief.

Hanabi frowned, looking back at the mirror once more and pinning her attention there. She watched as the child tentatively clutch a strand of her ebony black hair between her fingers, entranced despite its unkempt state. Pale, thin fingers followed the length down until it ended by her collarbone and Kaze paused, frozen as she rubbed the tips. Mesmerized.

Hanabi watched as Kaze release her grip on the sink, one hand still in her hair whilst the other wiped the pads of her fingers down her jaw, up her cheek and along one thin eyebrow. There was a hint of hesitation before she traced the shape of her wide, almond eyes. Hanabi thought that the girl has attractive eyes, angled with thick lashes suitable for the purest shade of black of her hair. And the color—the color itself was mesmerizing, Hanabi thought.

A dark cherry hue.

"Do I look like a doll?"

Surprised by the sudden question, Hanabi met Kaze's gaze through the mirror, biting her lip when those cherry eyes looked at her with so much pained wonder.

"No." Hanabi shook her head. "You don't."

"Good." Kaze nodded, releasing a small exhale that held all her tension. However, she remembered Haru's words on the day he found her by the dumpster, when his finger poked her cheek with another question.

She focused on the mirror again.

There, on her right cheek just beneath her eye, was a writing character akin to that of a hook peppered by three dashes above it.

There was a pulse in her memory. A familiar character just at the edge of her mind.

"W-What. . . does it say?"

Hanabi arched a brow at the question, though didn't comment. She looked back down at the kanji etched on Kaze's cheek. She hadn't paid attention to the odd marking earlier, assuming that it must've been one of Zaro's irrational mockery, but then she recalled Haru spouting something ridiculous about a character he didn't know how to read. One she had dismissed quickly since she knew that the twins had lost their opportunity to start elementary.

It wasn't any unique kanji. A rather simple one, really. One she learned back in second grade.

"It says 'heart', Kaze-chan."


Living in this place—cleaning and following Hanabi around to tend to listless chores—gave the girl enough time to adjust to her new name: Kaze.

Day after day, she got up after the blonde, waking up the twins and Takumi while Hanabi prepares their breakfast. There was a routine already, one that she easily slipped into since she knew nothing else.

Wake up, eat, bathe, clean the whole day while avoiding anyone else, sleep.

A damp routine. Yet, it gave her time. Enough so that she became comfortable in identifying herself to her new name; simmered after her frustrations proved to be fruitless, though getting used to her appearance was another peculiar and lengthy ordeal. Overall, it took her weeks to quell her shock every time she caught a glimpse of her reflection, having either Hanabi or Haru to snap her back in reality. But when it did end, Kaze often wondered if a person should feel this detached under their skin.

As if she was incomplete. Somehow, in some way.

Like she was just born on the day Haru found her.

Her age soon became another question, but since everyone piled her together with the twins, Kaze eventually settled with having the same age as them: six. A small number of years, yet—she surmised—were definitely filled with a life she had before. If that was even the correct number.

Some times, Kaze imagined. She pictured a mother and a father, the traditional doting parents and sweet grandparents who pampered her to no end. Maybe a sibling or two to play with.

Sweet thoughts, yet it never brought a smile to her face. Frankly speaking, it was difficult to imagine people she couldn't pin a face on, but she tried.

Aren't her family worried?

As the days passed, Kaze tossed the idea out of the window.

It was just less painful to hope than to pry for the truth. Come to think of it, she didn't even want to know how she ended up by the dumpster.

Was she thrown away?

Like a doll?

It took a month for Hanabi to learn about Kaze's blank memories due to the latter blanking out a lot during chores; her eyes staring wistfully whenever Hanabi would beam brightly at Kouyou for his help or when Takumi would ruffle Haru's hair in jest.

When the blonde asked what's wrong, the confession slipped between Kaze's teeth without any conscious thought.

She wanted a family—her family, but she couldn't add that to Hanabi's worries. Still, the blonde's reaction had been stark determination to help Kaze get her memories back.

Hope flared. But at the same time, doubt did too. Kaze frowned. "No, it's fine."

"No, it's not. Even just a little will do. Don't you want that?"

"But I can make new memories with you."

". . . You don't mean that, do you?"

She didn't.

It was a nice thought, but neither she nor Hanabi could imagine a life full of memories in this place, even though that's the road they seemed to be heading. Kaze didn't want her whole life centered here, but for all she knew, it began here.

Once Takumi and the twins caught on about her missing memories, all siblings had been the same: bent on pushing little things to trigger something in the back of Kaze's mind. A name, a place, a date, a face—anything.

In their desperation, anything at all will do.

After three more months of that fiasco, Kaze made them stop. It took a whole lot of convincing, but she managed.

Besides, nothing was working and they had more pressing matters to worry about other than her memories.

Such as their survival, for one.

Living for four months with the siblings in this dreary place was enough for Kaze to unearth their situation just as they did hers. Once upon a time, their parents had been heroes. It took a while for her to skim through her brain looking for the definition of a hero, but she got it.

A hero was, literally speaking, a hero. A comic-book-sort-of hero which had become a profession now that quirks exist. However, during an attempted rescue in one of the transportation for human trafficking led by the tall man himself, the siblings lost their parents.

The tall man found them and took them in, mainly because of the brothers' quirks. And they've been trapped here since.

"We were here a year before you came." They said.

Kaze blanched. How can a person answer that?

It was then did Kaze painfully learned about the brothers' involvement with Zaro and his crimes. It had been a difficult information to stomach in, the denial in her so strong that it hurt to even think about it.

It took her days to digest that fact and accept it as reality, yet she still couldn't face them. Aghast and disbelieving. Stubborn emotions that sparked whenever it wanted.

But when she heard Takumi cry to himself to sleep one night when he thought no one was awake made Kaze reprocess her thoughts.

Takumi's quirk had been the most useful to Zaro's crimes. At his touch and will, he could make any person a ghost—metaphorically speaking. Everyone and anyone who knew of that certain individual, they'd forget about them. All their records and the marks they left in this world would be erased.

Essentially eradicating them from this world without a trace nor force necessary.

With a quirk like that, the people Zaro and his men kidnapped wouldn't be labeled as 'missing', because everyone would forget about them. As if they never existed in the first place. The police wouldn't know and the heroes would remain oblivious, thinking that their peace was undisturbed and the crimes dwindling to a low.

He was just perfect.

Kaze saw how it ate Takumi. The thought of making all those people lose their home, their family, their life—having society forget about them as a whole before these people, some as young and innocent as children, get shipped off to be sold.

That fact alone crushed Takumi's spirit to insanity.

That night, when a muffled sob managed to escape past his gritted teeth, Kaze carefully got up from her spot beside Hanabi and tiptoed towards Takumi's bed.

Once she was certain that Takumi—a mere ten-year-old—was unaware of her advance, Kaze slipped beneath his blankets and buried her face to his chest, taking the second he froze to drape an arm across his stomach.

Her distasteful reaction had affected him a lot, but now she would have to make up with him.

"K-Kaze. . . ?" He murmured.

Kaze frowned against his clothed chest, thoroughly disliking the way his voice broke. So vulnerable. So fragile. So unlike the stern and gentle brother he is towards them all.

His burden was just too great.

The twins' involvement wasn't much. They just provide illusions. Camouflage. Giving the public a picture of serenity when in truth, Zaro and his men were already raiding the place. They didn't go as often as Takumi would since they barely knew how to properly wield their quirk, and their illusion—even combined—could only last for a total of ten minutes. Not much time at all.

Hanabi was quirkless. Zaro's organization kidnap quirkless people specifically.

In order to protect their sister, the brothers have to cooperate.

That was reality. The ugly face of reality that Kaze now recognizes. Now, she'll have to accept it.

"I'm sorry." Was her quiet reply.

Takumi's breath hitched. "No, you don't have to apologize. I know it's not right—"

"I know." She buried her face further into his chest. "But let me share your pain, please? You've done that for me, then I'll do it for you."

It took a while, but at his nod, she smiled.

In that one night—squeezing Takumi as he cried—Kaze let the older boy wrap his arms around her in return, futilely seeking comfort as he buried his face in her hair to muffle his sobs. She cried with him—for him, neither caring that she was soaking his shirt.

The next morning, Hanabi woke them up, not even asking as to how Kaze ended up in Takumi's bed. Haru and Kouyou didn't know (snoring away in their own bed), but either way, neither she nor Takumi spoke of it.

He was just grateful. And whenever Kaze would wake up to his cries again, she'd go down and repeat her actions.

It became a routine of sorts.

Meanwhile, Kaze's relationship with the twins was simple. In a sense, the 'twins' became 'triplets'.

Haru reached for her attention in his own pouty and huffy way. Kouyou wasn't as outspoken as his younger twin, but he treated Kaze the same; quietly following her (and Haru, since he drags her with him) everywhere and anywhere as long as he could.

Whenever Takumi was called out in a mission and Hanabi was handling domestic chores around the building that didn't need Kaze's help, she would be with the twins. They would go out doing whatever it is that pleased them since Zaro and his men were gone. Each mission was a breath of fresh air for them, and they'd run and make the most of it with games: a game of questions; a game of hide and seek; a game of who gets to help Hanabi the most.

But most of the time, they played a game of mystery.

"It's simple!" Haru explained with a serious nod. "We go around the place and find mysterious things. See?"

"Just find something that's strange." Kouyou whispered to her after his twin stomped away.

She smiled. "Got it."

Kaze was certain that it was all just a ruse to look for a clue to help them escape. But they were guarded—imprisoned with men stronger than them with quirks more powerful than theirs ever could be.

Still, looking at Kouyou's eyes and watching Haru stumble around, Kaze knew that the twins remained hopeful. They may not hear Takumi's cries at night nor do they fully understand their sister's sacrifice, but they were determined to look for a way out.

A way to end their misery and live a normal life.

It was admirable, though Kaze hated seeing their face fall every time they failed. She always vowed to try extra harder the next time they'd 'play'. For months, Kaze accompanied them whenever possible, until she went around doing it by herself when they'd tag along with Takumi on a mission.

It was around that time that Kaze began to learn.

She learned that the building they were in contained five floors plus the basement. And in each floor held several rooms, a layout akin to that of a hotel. In each floor, one room became a makeshift kitchen, reserving the ground floor as the epicenter to the organization's illegalities. Kaze and the siblings stayed in the second floor in the farthest room, with their floor's room-turned-kitchen fortunately located five doors to their left. The rest above belonged to the rooms of Zaro and his men.

Except for the tall man. Kaze could never find out where he isolates himself all the time. Every glimpse she'd seen of him next were the edge of his shadows passing. And every time that happens, fear would clog her lungs and stop her heart.

They were cornered. And he was watching.

It was thoughts like that that fuelled Kaze to explore beyond what's necessary.

She was small. Smaller than even the twins.

Which meant that she got into tight spaces without being seen.

Kaze tried the vents, from the ground floor until the third. Had even made a sketch to the vents' maze until she had it mentally engraved to discard the stained papers. When that wasn't enough, she took note of regular routines happening around her. There wasn't much 'routine', per say, but she did note one thing.

Whenever Zaro would announce a full-scale mission, that usually meant Takumi and the twins would join along with most of his men. Excluding the tall man and Zaro, Kaze counted around twenty-six criminals lurking about. Twelve would always remain to guard the base in a full-scale mission. Afterwards, Zaro would gather his men—the brothers included—in their presumed meeting area in the ground floor to recap a plan thoroughly before they'll head out.

Leaving the path to the basement loosely guarded.

At that time, Kaze had only been living there for ten months, but she remembered that time as clear as day.

She had a thought. A fleeting, wayward thought. Ridiculous, almost, but it seized her with determination and brimmed her with hope. Escaping down the basement in one go would be futile. But if she would scatter down there every time a meeting conjured, then she could find a way until an escape is ready for them.

A loose wall. A weak brick. A locked, abandoned door. Anything at all.

If there's none, then maybe she could make a route.

All Kaze knew was that opportunity was slim—and that was opportunity. They could make something out of nothing!

Kaze nearly bounced in her excitement to relay her plan, running upstairs and bumping onto Hanabi who was on her way out of their room at the moment.

Kaze remembered clearly how hope made them both freeze. But then she remembered how it all crashed too.

"No."

"What? But, Hanabi! Don't you understand? We can make a way out—"

"No, Kaze. You can't go down to the basement. No one goes down to the basement, or did you forget what happened to you down there before?"

Kaze flinched at the reminder. "But—"

"The basement has two levels." Hanabi stuck out her chin, her decision final. "You've only been in the first and i-it's not—the second level's just—" frustrated, the blonde released a shaky exhale. "Just. . . don't go down there."

"Why?"

"It'll change you."

Hanabi left it at that, and Kaze didn't have the heart to push. Not against Hanabi. Hanabi, whom Kaze realized acted more like a mother than a sister. At least, to her.

Besides, she couldn't remember hers. Hanabi was the closest one Kaze would probably ever have.


1 year later


"We didn't celebrate last year, but it's okay since we got you to make up for it!"

Puzzled yet amused, Kaze sat with her legs crossed on the twin's bed, cherry red eyes watching Haru as he furiously tried to tame his unruly hair. The poor comb could barely rake through the knotted strands even after he showered. They all just did.

She scrunched her nose when he winced. "Is it really all right?"

"Huh?"

"Celebrating with you. Is it?"

As if appalled, Haru gaped at her question with a mock glare, though the effect was lost when he accidentally yanked his hair with the comb. "OW!"

"Idiot." With a snort, Kouyou plopped himself beside Kaze, leaning one shoulder against hers as he held two plates each filled with steaming rice and three rolls of tamagoyaki and pickled plums. He held one plate towards her. "Here. And stop asking, we already decided, right? You agreed."

"I did, I guess." Reluctantly, Kaze took the plate, setting it on her lap as she took the pair of chopsticks sitting on the edge of her plate. "So, does that mean I'm seven now?"

"Don't be stupid!" Haru exclaimed as he threw away the comb, giving up on his hair in favor of crashing on Kaze's other side. "You're technically just one-year-old!"

She arched a brow. "Then why do you act more like a baby than me?"

There was a stutter as Haru recoiled in shock.

"Haru, I'm eating your food." Kouyou nonchalantly stated, effectively cutting off whatever retort Haru had in store.

"I dare you!"

"All right."

"Hey!"

"Cut it out!" In that moment, Takumi walked out of the bathroom, rubbing a tiny towel on his damp locks. "Aneue made a plate for each for you, so quit it." He paused, eyeing the trio huddled together. "Haru, you're supposed to fix your hair."

All Takumi received was a whine. "But it hurts!"

"I don't care. Aneue says to fix your hair, so fix it."

Grumbling to himself, Haru wrinkled his nose, yet pushed himself off the bed with a pout either way.

Kaze hid her smirk by dipping her chin, stuffing a small clump of rice in her mouth to stifle her chuckle. Beside her, Kouyou grinned.

Today was the third of February. A full year and a month since her capture and for the most part, today had been honestly the brightest day Kaze ever had as of yet.

It was the twins' birthday, the day they turn seven and—since none of them even had a clue as to when hers will be—they all decided to celebrate hers with them. It had been Takumi to suggest it first a week ago, the notion having been a passing murmur until Kouyou actually asked her.

The subject of her missing memories remained a hovering plague above their heads, yet Kaze refused to even poke around it.

But this. . .

This she found nice.

This morning, she woke up with a grinning Hanabi, her foggy mind registering the blonde's gentle voice in a birthday song. Confused as a chick, Kaze had gotten up groggily while the twins immediately tackled Takumi—who had been the one singing for them at the same time.

A happy morning. Like a family.

Chewing slowly on her egg, Kaze peered between strands of her hair, a smile hidden by her hand.

There was only one person missing now. "Where's Hanabi?"

Kaze recalled the blonde saying that she prepared their birthday breakfast in secret. A fact that now worried Kaze. Zaro may be a jerk, but he doesn't really waste his time tormenting them all day.

His men, however, were a different subject.

Other people, Kaze deduced, just thrived in making others miserable to a fault. Zaro's minions would throw a fit once they found out that their 'supplies' had lessen. The rules had been implemented in her mind the second Kaze had been helping around. Once, she tried trying on some fruits she saw in the kitchen, a juicy-looking tangerine that had her mouth watering and her curiosity piqued. She hadn't noticed there was someone entering when she stretched on her toes to reach.

The scratch on her leg was her reminder never to try again.

For the most part, the only food they were allowed to have was bread or broth.

Lips pursing in agitation the more her mind dwell, Kaze turned towards Takumi, chopsticks nimbly picking on one egg. "Is this okay?"

For a second, blue eyes widened at her question just as Kouyou paused from his chewing.

Takumi wiped his error with a wide smile. "Of course."

Kaze felt her appetite diminish in a second. 'No, it's not,' was what she wanted to say.

"Where's Hanabi?"

Licking his lips, Takumi sat on his bed and began munching on his stale bread. "Cleaning."

Kouyou shared a look with his twin, lowering his chopsticks from his lips as Haru took his own plate placed on the dresser. With a frown, the younger twin strode towards Takumi and fell to sit beside him.

Kaze stared as Kouyou stood too.

"Want to share?" Haru mumbled.

"It's too much." Kouyou added.

There was a pang in her chest as Kaze watched the brothers, their frowns gradually fading into grins as they shared the very first real meal they had after a long time. She looked down on her plate, at the half-eaten omelette rolls, scattered rice and her askew chopsticks. The flavors had tasted so beautifully on her eager tongue, like a burst of fireworks after relying on faded remnants of the only information left in the corner of her brain.

Even just eggs and rice tasted marvelous.

With a nod, Kaze split her rice and set aside of what's left of the tamagoyaki.

She gave the half to Hanabi who came back an hour later to share the meal.


After their hearty breakfast and lax afternoon, the brothers were called to accompany a group to a mission. Kaze hadn't batted an eye. Other than giving the boys a hug and a reminder to be safe, she went back to cleaning with Hanabi, her mood undeterred even as she scrubbed the walls of a bathroom in the third floor.

"Kaze-chan?"

Wiping her forehead with her arm, Kaze looked over her shoulder, her brows jumping when she saw a rather jittery Hanabi gripping a basket full of dirty laundry.

Kaze frowned. "Why are your clothes like that?"

Hanabi glanced down with a gasp, prompting Kaze to be even more alarmed at such reaction.

She had only meant that the blonde's shirt appeared to be hanging off her shoulders while her pants looked rumpled.

A hint of blue by Hanabi's elbow had Kaze paling. "Hanabi, what's that on your—"

"Look," Hanabi cleared her throat, feet shuffling as she refused to meet Kaze's gaze. "I-I'll just be cleaning upstairs, all right? When you're done with all the rooms for today, go back to our room as soon as you can, okay? Don't wait for me if it's late. I. . . I have a lot to clean t-today."

Kaze was surprised. Hanabi had always refused to let the younger girl out of her sight if Takumi and the twins weren't here, but now the blonde was letting her clean by herself for the whole day, unattended.

It wasn't fear for her own that Kaze felt as she sat there.

"You got that, Kaze-chan?" There was a hint of plea in Hanabi's tone, yet the hardened decision mingled left no room for argument.

"Sure." She mumbled, hesitant.

As Hanabi left after one jerky nod, Kaze tried to kill the regret drowning her heart for having not asked why the blonde was crying.

Hanabi didn't even look like she knew she was.

'I'll ask her later,' Kaze nodded to herself, desperate to hold in her own tears as her fingers began to tremble. 'Before we go to bed, I'll ask and make her smile.'


A creak from above was what woke her up.

Thick lashes fluttering as she came to, Kaze groggily pushed herself up, rubbing one corner of her eye with a yawn as she looked around, her vision fuzzy with sleep and obscured by the night, but she could detect the shapes and clumps making their room.

The two beds across from hers were empty.

A frown pulled her lips. It's past midnight and the boys still weren't back yet.

Reaching behind her, Kaze meant to shake Hanabi awake with her concerns when her fingers met nothing but air.

"Hanabi?"

Kaze blinked, more awake now that she registered the lack of warmth behind her. Concern clashed with panic, churning her stomach in dread as she realized she's alone at night for the very first time ever.

Another creak above made Kaze gasp in shock.

"H-Hanabi. . . ?"

Another creak.

Making up her mind, Kaze slid out of the bed, flinching when her toes slapped against the cold floor in her descent. Nonetheless, she carefully sought her way out of the room, reaching out her small hands to guide her way through the darkness. The creak was coming from above their room.

Hanabi must be there.

Going out of the hall, Kaze shrugged off the fear clouding her judgment when total darkness swallowed her whole. She kept her hands against the wall to guide her while going by memory to head to the stairs. The journey wasn't hard. Cold and scary, maybe, but not difficult.

The dread in her stomach was just making it impossible.

'It's nothing, Kaze. Just walk.' The silence was starting to unnerve her, though. Making the only sound known was the rapid pounding of her heart against her ribcage.

Once the stairs ended, Kaze found light pouring out from one room. A gentle, silvery light like that of a firefly. The moon.

Relieved, Kaze rushed towards the room, thinking that the blonde must be cleaning late as she said. The rest of Zaro's men must be around the base somewhere doing their job, so she knew that must be Hanabi making all those noises.

Her feet made no noise at all despite her clumsy running, almost stumbling in her hurry.

Yet, as soon as Kaze reached the door, she froze.

Her knees locked, her shoulders sagged, and her smile fell.

She clamped both hands to her mouth.

That night, the moonlight was cruel to her eyes. The clear windows offered full access of the silvery beam to shine the room.

And a clear vision of the figures on the bed.

". . . please. . . !"

Kaze couldn't take her eyes off the scene, her shoulders quaking in harsh tremors that made her feel almost weightless. The creak that woke her up was the bed—rocking and scrapping all four of its feet against the floor in disturbing scratches; the headboard furiously banging against the wall that belied the strength of a beast, cracks of dry paint snowing down like peppers. Shadows filtered each slapping motion, and yet it only sharpened the arc of a back: merciless, gigantic and rigid with frightening muscle; corded and bulky and bigger than her own head.

Kaze yearned for herself to look away—screamed at herself to look away.

Yet she couldn't keep her eyes away from Hanabi's face sobbing against a pillow while the man above her moved in cruel jolts.

"S. . . stop!"

Behind her hands, Kaze whimpered in agony.

She didn't understand. In her young mind, she failed to grasp as to what's happening. But Hanabi was hurting—crying against the pillow while the man above laid his filthy hands all over her, gripping and palming that it sent shivers of disgust down Kaze's spine.

Rooted on the spot, Kaze squeezed her eyes shut.

"Don't close your eyes."

Gentle, like the coy maleficence of tonight's moon, a large hand laid on top hers covering her mouth from behind. Kaze's eyes flew open in stuttering shock, glancing to the side just to see who had crouched down behind her.

She screamed behind her hands.

It was the tall man.

He grinned. "That's it. Now look."

She didn't want to, but he took her chin with his other hand and forced her gaze to go back to the horrid sight again.

"See that, doll?" The man nuzzled her cheek, lips against her ear as he closed his one eye. "That's called rape. It's best for you to learn it already anyway since that girl taking it is quite experienced already."

He chuckled at the child's shudder.

"It's not really my thing, but I can't control the desires of my comrades now, can I? Besides, he's happy!" He gave a false cheer in his voice, the fingers on her chin gripping tighter when she started to squirm. "Now, doll, your brothers don't know about this thanks to Hanabi-chan's efforts. So if you could just honor her dignity, keep those lips of yours sealed, okay?"

Kaze swallowed the lump in her throat. How could she not tell? They're hurting Hanabi! But the tall man seemed to be assured of her cooperation as he stood back up, giving one lick over the shell of her ear as farewell.

Standing so close to her up front, Kaze felt like an ant, her body frozen as she succumbed to the familiar hold of fear.

He grinned. "You should pray that the guy who put you in our care would get you sooner rather than later, doll. Because if he didn't and you grew up here," with a pause, he gestured towards the horrible scene happening before them. "Then, I guess you'll know what to expect. I might even consider my preference and get a taste. . . I mean, that look you're making, you're tempting me here."

She lost all the color in her cheeks.

The tall man left with a deep chuckle, leaving as the hideous pig above Hanabi yelled a boisterous roar, and the blonde clenched her fists around the pillow at the pain.

When the tall man glanced back, Kaze was gone.

Then true to the man's claim, she didn't speak about that night—couldn't even look at Hanabi right without feeling the guilt worm its way around her chest. Takumi had been concerned, but relented after a wave of Hanabi's hand the next day. The twins remained oblivious.

Kaze hated it all.

She hated the man. Hated Zaro. Hated every single criminal in this building. She hated seeing Hanabi mask her pain just to assure her brothers. She hated hearing Takumi cry to himself at night. She hated seeing the twins' hope dwindle every time they failed at looking for a way out.

Kaze hated it all.

But what could she do? A seven-year-old, quirkless nothing? She couldn't do anything.

She wanted them happy, not suffering. Living, not surviving.

She kept her silence about that night, but she knew that Hanabi's aware of her knowledge. The way that the blonde treated her was different now. Reserved, almost, and ashamed.

All her efforts were for nothing, though. Her silence all for naught when she and the brothers woke up one day to hear Hanabi retching her stomach in the bathroom.


*Aneue = means 'older sister', if you guys didn't know yet. Though it's a traditional and a rather outdated term.

*Tamagoyaki = omelette/egg rolls