"This isn't real."

It couldn't be. For a while, there, he could convince himself that the alarm truly was going off, and perhaps there was a fight going on outside his cell, but his brain couldn't even be bothered to have the woman open the door before she entered. Koushi was convinced that this was something he'd visualized of his own accord – it wouldn't be the first time he'd hallucinated in here, after all. Though this was certainly one of his mind's better performances.

Oddly enough, whenever he imagined people in his cell, they were always people he'd encountered before. Friends, family, acquaintances even. But he wasn't sure he'd ever seen this woman – she was tall and clearly strong, but still curvy and slender. She had long, black hair that reached the middle of her back, and her eyes were a sharp, deep blue. There was a coldness about her that Koushi was familiar with in himself, but had rarely seen in other people. She was a stranger, and he hadn't even known he could fabricate faces in his mind before now.

The woman cocked her head to the side, looking down at him through narrowed eyes. She was staring at him like she was trying to put together a puzzle and wasn't quite sure where to begin. "Three years in solitary made you fucking crazy, huh, kid?" she asked eventually, and Koushi felt a bitter smile cross his lips. Bullied by his own subconscious.

"A little," he admitted. Talking was difficult - his throat felt tight, and all he could manage was a quiet rasp. He looked back up at the woman, finding it a bit hard to meet her gaze. "Sorry."

She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't care, bud," she told him, her gaze still unnervingly locked onto his. Like a predator. "Wasn't expecting you to be in peak condition or anything. I was just told to come pick you up."

Told to pick him up from one of the highest security prisons in all of Japan? Yeah, that was totally believable. "Sure," he muttered, and turned his gaze back down to his folded hands. His thumbs trailed over one another, grounding him a bit and giving himself something to focus on, other than the very-not-real woman standing in his cell.

His disbelief must've come across in his tone, because the stranger took a few steps closer and crouched down. "Listen," she started, voice low and serious, "what can I do to make you believe I'm the real deal so we can get the fuck outta here? Because we've only got like a minute, tops, before they send more guys up here."

That was a generous estimate, if she were actually here and the guards had someone to chase down.

Koushi shook his head. There was a dull ache in the base of his neck – stress, most likely. "I guess... touch?" None of the fabrications he had come up with in the past had been able to do that, so maybe-

A sharp sting lanced across his cheek and his head whipped to the side. Koushi's eyes widened at the realization that this woman had just slapped him – hard – which meant she was most certainly, without a doubt, real. Even with his Quirk, he'd never been able to touch his illusions, so this couldn't possibly be something he'd come up with.

"You're real," he blurted, staring up at her. And then- "Fuck."

"Sure am. Now are you planning on sitting there until they send more guards up here, or do you wanna get the hell out of this place?"

The guards were on their way, judging by the sounds coming from down the hall. Koushi's heart throbbed in his chest, anxiety creeping through his veins. This was a decision he'd have to make fast, or he would likely never get a chance like this again. But on the other hand, if they were caught, he'd probably be killed. Or-

"Today, dumbass," the woman snapped, and Koushi jumped a little bit as he was jerked back to reality. She was extending a hand to him, bloody and calloused.

He hesitated only a second more before taking her hand. Koushi found himself yanked to his feet, and was puzzled when the woman dragged him over to the outer wall rather than the door. Which made sense, kind of, because hadn't she walked through the door in the first place?

"Don't let go of my hand while we're walking through this wall," she said without looking back at him. "It'd be a waste if I went through all this trouble to come get you, only to lose you in there, right?"

Well, that was a horrifying prospect. Koushi tightened his grip on the stranger's hand, and there were a few seconds where he was concerned that they'd both just end up running face-first into the concrete. But then the woman started to phase through, as though there wasn't anything there at all. Koushi watched with a strange detachment as his own hand disappeared, and then his forearm, and finally he was fully inside the wall.

It was cold, and the air felt a little heavier than it did in his cell, and the wall was a lot thicker than he imagined, and- oh, he couldn't breathe.

But before he could panic too much about that last part, however, it was over. And then they were falling, because his cell just couldn't be on the first floor, could it? The woman moved quickly, though, and tossed something at the ground beneath them. A bright pink foam-like substance burst out of it, coating the ground and forming a sort of mound. The stuff was... oddly warm, and slimy, but it broke their fall well enough and they didn't die, so Koushi counted that as a win.

It was still gross, though.

The alarm was much louder outside than it was inside, and Koushi fought the urge to cover his ears. It was nighttime, which made sense, he supposed – not that he'd had any indication of that from within his cell. The darkness was cut by a flashing red light that seemed to cover the entire prison grounds.

"Come on," the woman urged. She hadn't let go of his hand, and Koushi was honestly a little bit grateful for the contact. She dragged him across the grounds – there were no guards in this area, which was either incredibly lucky, or the strange woman had done something to them. Something told him it was probably the latter, but he wasn't going to complain about it.

He was a bit more prepared this time when he was dragged through the brick wall enclosing the prison grounds, but it was still wildly uncomfortable. Outside that was a dense forest, and the woman didn't slow down as she pulled him along the rough terrain. The thin material of his prison uniform and socks did little to protect him from the rocks and branches that grabbed at him, ripping through the fabric and cutting at his skin.

Behind them, the alarm changed tempo into something more urgent and high-pitched. They'd most likely found his cell empty, which meant that they'd be looking for them out here now. Koushi felt his heart rate skyrocket, but he couldn't tell if it was fear or the fact that he was running for the first time in three years.

Either way, it sucked, and he felt like his lungs were going to explode. He kept tripping over god knows what, but the woman held his hand tight and would yank him back to his feet when he staggered. There were muffled shouts behind them, and he could hear faint crashing through the underbrush, but if they kept the pace they were going at, then they could most likely outrun them. Hopefully.

It felt like it took hours, and the guards were catching up, but eventually they reached the very edge of the forest. Had he been on his own, Koushi certainly would've collapsed ages ago, and he was infinitely grateful for the support the stranger offered.

As they broke out of the treeline, Koushi realized they were much closer to civilization than he'd originally thought. No sooner had he been able to take in the cityscape than the woman had jerked him in another direction, toward a small, black vehicle. She flung the passenger's side door open and shoved him inside before running to get into the driver's seat. The car was already running, so all she had to do was hit the gas, and they were tearing off.

For a few moments, Koushi was breathing too hard to speak. He had never been so out of shape in his life – his legs were trembling, his heart was beating out of his chest, and he couldn't catch his breath. How embarrassing. His classmates would laugh if they could see him now.

Finally, though, he was able to take deeper breaths and the black spots gathering at the corner of his vision began to recede. His heart rate was still sky high, but they were likely still being chased, so he could chalk it up to that.

"Whe-where are we?" he gasped out. Of course, he hadn't been told where the prison was located when he was taken there. This city was unfamiliar to him – though the bright lights cutting through the windows were simultaneously soothing and much too intense for the dim fluorescents he had become accustomed to over the years.

"We're in Kobe," the woman replied, keeping her attention on the road. "And you should keep your head down. Geist's got the cameras on this stretch shut down for the time being, but there are definitely cops and heroes looking for you right now." She leaned back and grabbed a large, black piece of fabric, and tossed it over Koushi. "Actually, wear that. You're smaller than I thought you'd be, though, so it'll probably be big on you."

Koushi pulled the cloth off of his head and looked it over for a moment. It was a large, soft hoodie – much too big for him, but it was better than nothing. Obediently, he pulled it on, keeping the hood up to conceal his face.

"Shit, there's a lot of cops around here," the stranger muttered under her breath. Koushi was almost grateful he couldn't see much past the hoodie – he didn't think his heart could take much more of this stress. "C'mon... where's that damn kid when you need 'em?"

And just as she uttered the question, there was a deafening boom. Koushi jerked his head up to look - just in time to see a bright flash of light and smoke explode off the side of a building just a few blocks away. It was loud enough to make the car shake, and Koushi couldn't help but wonder if that building had been inhabited.

"What was that?" he croaked, turning wide eyes to his companion.

She laughed and turned the car down another street, in the opposite direction of the destruction. "A distraction," she crowed loudly, blue eyes alight with mirth. "Fuck, I love Geist."

Sure enough, a line of police cruisers drove past them, lights and sirens blaring, toward the source of the explosion.

Koushi wrapped himself further in the hoodie, pulling at a loose string on the sleeve. "You... mentioned Geist twice now," he whispered. "Do you work with them?" He cut his gaze back over to the woman, apprehensive. She still had blood on her hands.

"Mm. They're a coworker," she responded breezily, and grinned when the small screen on the car's dashboard lit up. "Speak of the devil."

She reached forward and pressed the "answer" button, and another person appeared on the screen. They had a shock of blond hair atop their head – so fluffy it almost looked like cotton candy – and their face was obscured with a bright yellow mask with a simple smiley face drawn on it. Clearly much more concerned with hiding their identity than the woman herself was.

"You aren't wearing your mask," they stated immediately. Their voice was soft and lilting – clearly scolding, even though the tone wasn't harsh at all. It was impossible to tell their gender from the way they spoke. "He's seen your face."

The woman laughed again, loud and unrestrained. "What the fuck's he gonna do? Go tell the cops?" she teased, grinning at Koushi in a way that had his blood chilling in his veins. It reminded him that that was certainly not an option. "They'd kill him on the spot."

A sigh pulled from behind the mask. "Fine," they drawled petulantly. "I'm tracking your location, and I've changed the license plate numbers on your car, but you should still switch vehicles at the halfway point to Osaka. Boss has one set up in Nishinomiya – I'll let you know when you're close."

"We're going to Osaka?" Koushi interjected. He couldn't help but feel that he was being kidnapped rather than rescued, but perhaps that was the point all along.

"You're going through Osaka," Geist corrected him. "It's still too close to Kobe to keep you. They'd find you in no time. Now if you'll excuse me." They leaned back in their chair. "I've got a long night of watching screens ahead of me."

The image cut out, and another laugh escaped the woman. "They're all business right now, but trust me, that kid is batshit crazy. A good asset, though." She adjusted her hands on the wheel, turning her attention back to Koushi. "Couldn't have gotten you outta there without their help, after all. Not by myself, anyways."

Koushi tensed, lips pressed into a thin line. "You broke into a high-security prison without any backup?" he asked.

"Oh, kid. You've got no idea who I am, do you?" she drawled, lifting her chin haughtily. "Although, I guess you would've been pretty young when I made my debut. You and I, we've got a lot in common."

Koushi took a moment to really look at the woman. The lighting was a bit dim, but now that he was focusing, she did seem... vaguely familiar. But he still couldn't quite put his finger on it.

She arched a thick brow and offered him a smirk before she spoke again. "Do you remember Snowblind?"

Oh. Oh. "Holy shit – you killed Snowblind, didn't you?" he rasped, sitting up straighter in his seat. "You're Enoshima Ayane."

Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Makino Ayane. Call me Aya," she corrected immediately. "But yeah. Happened a while back. I was a little older than you are now, I guess."

"So... that's what we have in common? We've both killed a Pro Hero?" Perhaps the idea should've made his stomach churn more, but it didn't. He'd had three years to get used to the fact, after all. But still, it was a little bit offputting to be compared to a woman who had literally killed her husband.

Aya's eyes twinkled and a grin crossed her lips. "Yep! Except I didn't go out of my way to kill one of the Top Ten. You're a whole different level of psycho," she accused, tossing long black hair over her shoulder. "Honestly, I wasn't all for this whole breaking you out of prison thing. If it were up to me, we wouldn't have gone through the trouble." Blue eyes fixed on him again, and he wanted to look away. "You're too unpredictable, even for me. But the boss thinks you're interesting, and they call the shots, so... whatever. As long as I get paid."

"Are you taking me to your boss, then?" Koushi questioned, feeling his skin crawl. The idea of a nameless, faceless entity taking an interest in him was unsettling, to say the least.

"Oh, fuck, no. Not yet, anyways," Aya told him. "You think I'd take some random murderer straight to the head of my organization? No way in hell."

"Harsh, but fair." Koushi fiddled around with the loose string on his sleeve again. "So... where are you taking me, then?"

"I could just drop you off here, if you don't stop asking dumb questions," Aya warned, and Koushi wisely decided to shut up. His throat was sore, anyway – that was what he got for running his mouth, he supposed.

It was kind of nice to be in a car. The rhythm of the tires on the asphalt was relaxing, and his eyelids began to feel heavy. Especially now that they were outside the city and the lights were fading away – it had been so long since he'd been anywhere but a dimly-lit cell, and today had been taxing in more ways than one.

Still, he didn't exactly feel comfortable just... falling asleep next to Aya. Not when he didn't know where they were going, and certainly not when she could just reach over and strangle him whenever she pleased. He kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, grateful that she wasn't on his blind side. At least this way he didn't have to turn his entire head to watch her.

But car rides had always been the best thing to lull him to sleep, and he soon found it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open. His head started to bob, and he shook it to try and wake himself back up. It worked, for a moment or two, but then his eyes drooped again...

"You know, you can sleep if you want," Aya stated bluntly, offering him a grin. "There's a ways to go before we have to stop. And if you're worried about me killing you in your sleep – don't. It's no fun if you're not awake to fight back."

It wasn't the most convincing statement, but logically he had no reason to think that she would kill him now. Why go through so much trouble to drag him out of prison, just to murder him in the car? It seemed like a lot of wasted effort, in Koushi's opinion.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to rest his eyes a little.


Hi again! I'm trying to update Guilty pretty frequently, but I start a new job next week, and I may not have as much time to write. This chapter was originally going to be much longer, but I felt as though it would be better to split it up into two, rather than just keep going on and on here. Once the deadline (which is now July 22nd) has passed and I have more characters to work with, chapters will be longer and POVs will be more varied, but for now, chapters will be a little bit on the shorter side.

Thank you all so much for your characters, reviews, and support! I've been enjoying reading over forms with my boyfriend and talking with all of you. Please forgive me if I haven't responded to your Pms yet – I'm going to try my best to get to everyone this weekend. I didn't expect the level of support that I've received for this story, but you've all been so amazing, and it's kept me highly motivated, so thank you again!

Please note that I won't be accepting any characters until July 23rd, after the deadline has passed.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Van