"Now, then, let's get to business. Have you gotten your quirk yet?" Overhaul questioned. Hitoshi nodded hesitantly. "Describe it to me."

He swallowed nervously. Basically everyone who knew what his quirk was hated him for it. What would someone like Overhaul do to him once he knew about it? Still, it wasn't like he had much of a choice, so he reluctantly answered the man anyway.

"Um, it's called B-brainwashing," he stuttered out nervously. "If someone answers a question I ask, I can control them. I can only make them do simple things, though."

"Oh?" Overhaul raised an eyebrow, seeming incredibly interested. Hitoshi shifters uncomfortably. He did not like the hungry look in the man's eyes. "How many can you control at once?"

"I-I'm not sure. I've never tried more than one at a time."

"Let's find out, then. Brainwash the two of them, starting with him." He gestured to the two who'd escorted Hitoshi, biting out the word "him" with distaste.

He swallowed nervously, but turned toward the man anyway, asking, "What color is the sky?" - always his go-to question whenever Mei, for whatever reason, insisted she try out his quirk on her.

The man hesitated in his response, clearly unwilling to be brainwashed (and really, who wouldn't be?), but ultimately the threat of Overhaul seemed to terrify him far more than being controlled by a four year old. Reluctantly as he could, he responded, "Blue," immediately going slack as Hitoshi's quirk took hold.

Overhaul's eyes immediately widened with glee. "Now the other," he ordered.

He repeated the same question to the woman, though nothing happened when she answered. Overhaul clicked his tongue. "Well, no matter. You did just get your quirk. We'll be sure to work on it later." Something about the way he said "work on it" made Hitoshi very uncomfortable, though he wasn't sure what. "Have him pull out his gun."

Hitoshi swallowed nervously at the thought of what Overhaul would make him do, but obeyed anyway. The hungry look in his eyes just seemed to be increasing. "Have him shoot himself in the foot."

"Wh-?"

"Don't interrupt. I let it slide the first time, but no more speaking unless I specifically ask you something. He's lucky that a simple injury is all he's getting with how he fucked up. He's very lucky you were there. Now, I won't ask you again. Tell him to shoot himself in the foot."

He hated the very thought of doing it, but his fear of Overhaul far outweighed his conscience. He repeated the order, the man immediately screaming and gripping his bloody foot once he'd fired, gun haphazardly dropped at his size.

Overhaul narrowed his eyes. "Did you let him go before I told you to?"

"N-no, I swear! I-I don't know what just happened, promise!"

Overhaul hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe pain is enough to snap someone out of it? Or any sufficient enough shock? Well, we'll test it more later." He turned to the woman. "Take the boy back to his cell, then make sure he gets medical treatment. After that, I want this whole place cleaned and sanitized. Not a single drop of blood will be left, understood?"

With a quick "Yes, sir," she grabbed Hitoshi by the arm, practically dragging him back to the cell. He took one last look at the injured man as he was taken, silently apologizing for what he did. Maybe all the other kids at school were right.

Maybe he really was a villain.

Hitoshi was hungry, hungrier than he'd ever been before. It seemed like he was only being fed just enough to keep him alive. He could see his ribs now. It was disconcerting. Water was a little more frequent, but even that, too, was scarce. The dryness of his throat and the gnawing of his stomach was eating him alive.

He wasn't sure why he was being ignored so much right now. Maybe Overhaul had decided he was useless, after all. Or maybe there were other people here he was busy with. The thought made Hitoshi feel a little sick. He didn't want anyone else to feel the way he had been. It was absolutely awful.

As lonely as he felt, he hoped to God he was the only one here.

After what felt like forever, four year old Hitoshi was finally given a decent amount of food. He devoured as an animal devours prey, so quickly he almost made himself sick. He was just so hungry, and he didn't want to risk losing his food for whatever reason. Not after it had been so long since he'd had enough to actually feel full for once.

And water! He finally had enough water! For once, his throat didn't feel so dry he could barely speak. It all seemed too good to be true.

And of course, his assertion was right. Without preamble, he was bodily taken from his cell by a man he'd never seen before no sooner than he'd finished eating.

In the room he was brought to stood Overhaul and a woman in what he assumed were quirk-suppressing handcuffs. She wore what was clearly a hero costume, though it wasn't one he'd seen before.

Overhaul turned to Hitoshi. "Well?" he prompted, tilting his head toward the woman.

Hitoshi could feel his lower lip begin to quiver and tears threatening to spill over. A hero was here, right in front of him, and he was afraid of what he'd be forced to do to someone like her. No doubt he'd be forced to do something bad. Overhaul was a villain, after all.

Then again, wasn't he?

He bit his lip hard enough to bleed, effectively stopping the tears before they started. "Are you okay?" he asked.

The hero put on a reassuring smile, which made Hitoshi want to cry even more. "Don't worry about me, kid. I'm fi-" Before she could even finish her sentence, she went slack beneath his quirk.

The man who'd brought him in undid the woman's cuffs and set a gun down on the ground in front of her, immediately filling Hitoshi with dread. "Have her pick the gun up," ordered Overhaul. He did. "Now, tell her to hold the gun to her head and shoot."

His eyes widened, whipping his head toward Overhaul in alarm. "What?" he asked incredulously. He couldn't be asking Hitoshi to do something like that. He just couldn't.

Before he could react, a gloved hand was suddenly gripping his wrist so hard it hurt. Overhaul glared down at him. "I thought I told you not to talk back. This is your final warning. Do what I say."

Hitoshi, though he was trembling underneath the man's grip, was filled with a sudden surge of boldness. He couldn't let himself become a villain like everyone said he was. He didn't think he could handle it if he did. Defiantly, he told the man, "No! You can't make me! I won't hurt her!"

"Oh? So that's how it's gonna be, hmm?". Overhaul slowly released his grip on him, and Hitoshi felt himself breathe again. That is, until the man removed one of his gloves and grabbed him again.

What happened next could only be described as pure, white-hot agony. It was like he was being both burned alive and electrocuted at the same time. Every single nerve in his body was on fire. He screamed as loud as he possibly could, screaming till his throat was raw, but it did nothing to ease his pain even slightly.

After an eternity of torment, he was finally released from whatever the man did to him. Hitoshi fell to his knees, vomiting up the one substantial meal he'd had his entire time here. Overhaul stepped back when he began heaving, putting his glove back on and looking at him with disgust. Distantly, he heard a woman's voice calling out behind him.

When he finally stopped puking, Overhaul grabbed him, forcing him to stand up and face toward the hero. She was free of his quirk - no way could anyone hold a quirk under that kind of pain - and once again being held by quirk-suppressing cuffs. She was struggling beneath her restraints. "Kid! Are you alright? What happened?" she demanded, worry painted all over her face.

Overhaul gripped both sides of his head, forcing him to look directly at her. Before he could even try to formulate an answer, the other man in the room lifted his own gun and pulled the trigger.

Silent tears began pouring down Hitoshi's face. Though he'd been released, he was too shocked to make himself look away. It was just like what happened with Mama all over again. He couldn't move a single muscle. All he could do was stare in horror at the blood painting the wall crimson and the brain matter splattered everywhere.

"Do you see what happened?" Overhaul's voice asked from behind him. "You tried to resist and she still died anyway. There was no saving her in the first place. You had to go through all that for nothing."

Hitoshi couldn't find his voice. He just kept staring at the gruesome scene before him. "Do you understand what I'm getting at? There's no point in defying me. You'll only end up hurt and nothing else will change. If I were you I'd start listening." Hitoshi could barely hear him. Nothing felt real anymore. He hardly knew where he was. He felt like he was floating - not in a good way, more like he was drifting away from reality.

"Take him back and get this cleaned up. Find someone to help you if you need to, I don't care. Just make sure there's not so much as a speck of dust by the time I get back." With that, Overhaul left the room.

Hitoshi was once again grabbed by Overhaul's lackey, who had to practically drag him back to his cell. Walking seemed like the hardest possible thing he could do right now, even though he knew it was in his best interest to leave. He didn't seem to be in full control of his body anymore. He wanted to hate it, but more than anything else, he just felt numb.

Once he was put back in his cell and left alone, he finally came back to reality. The day's events hit him as hard as a truck. He found himself once again curling up in the corner of his cell.

His hands made their way to his scalp, digging into his hair and pulling as hard as he could without tearing anything out. He wailed and sobbed harder than he ever had before, even more than the day he lost Mama. He hated this. He just wanted everything to be normal again. He wanted to go home, to be with Mama and play with Mei again. He knew it was nothing more than wishful thinking, though.

He would never have a home again.