Hitoshi had taken to keeping an eye out for the little girl whenever he was taken from his cell. He saw her every now and then - since she was the only other prisoner he ever saw, he figured she must be taken to Overhaul quite frequently. He'd have had to have seen other prisoners before if back-to-back "meetings" were normal. There must be something particularly unique about the girl that Overhaul wanted.

The thought made Hitoshi feel sick. He hoped she wasn't being hurt too badly. But there was nothing he could do about it right now.

In watching her, Hitoshi had learned where exactly her cell was, which would of course be important if he was going to get her out. He practically burned the location in his mind. Across the hall, four cells to the right when facing out from his own cell. She was so damn close to him. He wanted more than anything to get her out. He knew he had to wait, though. Patience was key.

This wasn't something he could afford to screw up.

Hitoshi had been taken from his cell yet again for training. He wasn't entirely upset about it. It meant he had to be given clean clothes - Overhaul wouldn't have it any other way - and he could finally change out of his vomit-stained ones.

He hadn't been hurt at all during the session, something he attributed to Overhaul's strangely good mood. It made him nervous. If Overhaul was happy about something, it was no doubt something bad. Hitoshi just hoped it had nothing to do with the little girl. It probably did, though.

He'd seen her again on his way there. She had the most haunted look he'd ever seen in her eyes. It made him want to puke. What the hell was Overhaul doing to her?

He couldn't think about that right now. It wouldn't be too much longer till he'd never be able to hurt her again. He could worry about the details once she's safe. Something that would hopefully happen soon.

Today was the day Hitoshi was planning their escape, after all. And it was just about time to make his move.

He watched as Overhaul left the room, barking an order to clean it up. There was once again blood all over the room - a common result of Hitoshi's training sessions. Overhaul always seemed fond of having him brainwash people who'd slighted him one way or another as a method of revenge while simultaneously improving Hitoshi's abilities. The sight of blood splattered everywhere didn't even faze him anymore.

Well, at least he wasn't asked to kill anyone this time. If he'd had to do that again, he didn't think he'd be in the right mindset to escape.

He was escorted out of the room by one of Overhaul's lackeys - only one this time. That was good. The less people in his way, the better.

He took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Hey, what's with the little girl I keep seeing around here? The same one we passed by on our way to Overhaul?"

"Keep quiet. It's none of your concern." He took the bait! Hitoshi thought gleefully, taking hold of the man's mind.

In truth, it wasn't too shocking the man didn't hesitate to answer him. After the little incident where he used his quirk on Overhaul a few years ago, Hitoshi had refused to use it unless directly ordered to. No one working for Overhaul probably thought he had the guts to use his quirk without being told to, so there was no reason for them to fear answering his questions. Under normal circumstances, they'd be right.

But these weren't normal circumstances. No, now there was someone's life on the line other than Hitoshi's. Not in the sense that he was afraid of either one of them being killed - there would be no point in their kidnappings if they were dead - but that they'd both be spending the rest of their miserable lives with Overhaul, being tortured with no hope of escape.

He couldn't take that anymore. Not now that he knew he wasn't the only one suffering like this.

He had the now brainwashed guard walk behind him, keeping up the appearance of a normal escort. They passed another guard as they walked, who didn't even react, so Hitoshi figured he must be doing a pretty convincing job. He was suddenly glad he had such great control over his quirk.

Ironic, wasn't it? All Overhaul's training would be what allowed Hitoshi to escape if everything went as planned.

He scanned the hall as they drew nearer to the girl's cell, satisfied upon seeing no one else there. Good. That made this the perfect time. No one was here to stop him, he'd brainwashed the guard with ease, and the little girl was almost certainly back in her cell since Hitoshi saw her being walked back earlier. Everything was going according to plan. It was almost too easy.

He took another deep breath to calm himself. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest he was afraid it might explode. He knew doing this would be stressful, but knowing didn't prepare him for how that actually felt. He couldn't back out now, though. He'd never have a chance like this again.

He stopped them in front of the cell door. "Unlock the door," he ordered. Each guard carried a quite frankly ridiculous number of keys with them, Hitoshi seeing them each time they came to lock him back up. It stood to reason that they had one for each cell. Hitoshi hoped his assumption was right; he didn't know what he'd do if he'd grabbed a guard that didn't have the right key.

Fortunately, luck was on his side. He took note of the key the guard used, a delighted grin spreading across his face as a click sounded and the door swung open. It was the first time he could remember smiling in a long time. He couldn't believe how well things were going for him.

His smile was quickly wiped on his face when he saw the little girl. She was curled up in the corner of her cell, sniffling. Tear tracks stained her face. She looked absolutely exhausted, and not just physically. Hitoshi was pretty sure he felt his heart snap in half right then and there.

Her big red eyes gazed up at him as she wiped at her eyes. "W-who are you?" she stammered.

He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring away, though he was pretty sure it was obvious how fake it was. "I'm Hitoshi." He figured if he was going to risk everything for her, she might as well use his given name. "I'm a prisoner like you. But I'm gonna get us out." He reached a hand out to the girl. She took it, standing up.

"I'm Eri," she answered, almost a whisper. She gripped on to his hand as tight as she could, clearly nervous.

"Alright, Eri. Let's get out of here." He quickly led her out of the cell.

"Hand me your gun and keys," he ordered the guard once they'd left. He'd never used a gun before and didn't want that to change any time soon, but it was better to have one on him just in case. Better safe than sorry.

"Is he helping us?" Eri asked as he took the items, half hiding behind Hitoshi's legs. He shook his head.

"No. I'm using my quirk on him," he began hesitantly. He didn't want to tell her about his quirk in fear of her hating him, but he couldn't stand the thought of lying to her, either. "It lets me control people. I don't like using it, but I needed to for us to get out."

"Oh," she said simply. And that was it. No fear or hatred on her face or in her voice at all. Just plain acceptance of his answer. It was strange. It made something warm stir in Hitoshi's chest.

He turned his attention back to the guard. "Walk into the cell." Once he was inside, Hitoshi closed the door and locked it before releasing his quirk. He ran a hand over his temple. He'd been holding his quirk for quite a while now. He'd definitely be getting a nasty headache later.

"Okay, we gotta go now. Keep as quiet as possible and stay close to me, okay?" Eri nodded her understanding. Hitoshi took her hand once again and began walking.

The hardest part was going to be actually finding a way out. Despite having been here for at least a decade by now, Hitoshi didn't know his way around very well. His captors wouldn't want him knowing the way out, after all. He hoped he could find it fairly quickly.

He didn't think he could stand being here any longer.

Their prison was a goddamn maze. And a giant one at that. It felt like they'd been walking for hours, though he knew in reality it wasn't anywhere near that long. If they didn't find the way out soon, Hitoshi was pretty sure he'd lose whatever was left of his mind.

At least they hadn't run into any trouble. They'd come close a couple times, but managed to duck into hiding before they were seen. Eri, though obviously scared, had been doing a quite frankly amazing job sneaking around with him for someone so little. He didn't think he'd be as capable as she was when he was her age.

"Hitoshi, don't you think that door looks different from the others?" Eri asked softly from behind him. Hitoshi's gaze followed where she was pointing. Sure enough, she was right.

If he thought the cell doors were heavy, this one seemed absolutely impenetrable. It was definitely capable of keeping anyone they wanted trapped inside and everyone else out with ease. This had to be the way out, right? Breaking it down seemed absolutely impossible. Fortunately, he still had the keys on him from earlier.

Unfortunately, there were three different locks he had to get through and he had no idea which keys went to which lock. Hell, there was no guarantee any of the keys he had went to any of those locks. He'd just have to try all the keys and hope he found ones that worked.

Hitoshi felt so tense he could snap in two. Each failed attempt at unlocking it only made his nerves grow. They had to have realized something was wrong by now. They could come for them any minute. Every single second counted. Each failed attempt brought them closer and closer to being trapped here for good. The stress of it all was absolutely unbearable.

A small gasp escaped him as the first lock clicked. One down, two to go. "Eri, let me know if you see anyone coming," he instructed as he moved on to the second lock. If they were caught, it would almost certainly be all over for them, but that didn't mean Hitoshi would go down without a fight. He made sure he was armed for a reason.

Time seemed to stretch on forever, but eventually the second lock clicked, followed by the third. Hitoshi practically threw the door open. He did it. Holy shit, he did it! He took Eri's hand and took off running, no longer caring about being quiet. They were so close. He couldn't risk being slow.

They found themselves running down a narrow hallway that strangely seemed to be going upward. Had they been underground before? It wouldn't shock him. It would probably be easier to keep them hidden like that. Regardless, he took the sudden elevation change as a sign they were close to freedom. For the first time since he was a small child, Hitoshi dared to let himself hope.

He could see the end of the hallway now. A door, much less formidable than the last one or even the cell doors, stood at the end. That had to be it. It was their way out, no doubt about it. Hitoshi's free hand stretched out in front of him, reaching for the doorknob. They were going to be free.

A gloved hand took hold of his outstretched wrist before he could grab the doorknob, gripping tightly. Hitoshi's blood turned to ice in his veins. "And just where do you think you're going?" a voice that haunted his nightmares questioned, a whisper in his ear.

Silent tears leaked out of his eyes. They had been so close. Their ticket to freedom was right in front of them. If he'd come only a few seconds sooner, they'd be out. But he hadn't. He was too slow. He had failed. Distantly, he took note of an ungloved hand making its way toward him from the corner of his eye. I'm so sorry, Eri, he thought, hoping she'd somehow hear his silent apology.

A scream tore from his throat as the ungloved hand made contact, replacing the ice in his veins with white-hot agony.