Summary: Izuku wakes up from her dreamless sleep, only to find she has entered a nightmare. Overhaul has plans for her, plans she may be unable to stop, but she isn't going to go down without trying.


Chapter 4: Realm of the Shie Hassaikai

Izuku felt like she needed to watch herself as she came too, feeling like she tripped and hit her head but such notions washed away when she tried to reach for her forehead, only to find that she couldn't, because her hands were held down. In that same moment, she realized she wasn't in her apartment, not in her kitchen making herself a small snack-she was somewhere else, somewhere dark. As her scared eyes adjusted to the lack of proper lighting, she realized that she was tied down to her a thick steel chair, her shins being tied to it much like her arms were, with rope keeping her torso tied to the backrest.

Her breathing increased as she recalled what she had been doing before all this, how she was hit with a strange sense of vertigo and dizziness, how those plague mask-wearing men broke into her apartment, how one of them injected her with something. With the image of those masks, she could only compare them to one other person; the reason she had been scared stiff for days, why she barely left her room, never mind her apartment.

Kai.

Kai had finally come for her, he had his people kidnap her, and now, she was…somewhere, she couldn't tell even as she started to panic, the sterile concrete walls and lack of windows gave away nothing. Was she in a building? Underground, in the same prefecture? Was she even in Japan anymore? She didn't know and that anxiety only made her feel worse as she did everything she could to reign it in, she couldn't afford to pass out again, she didn't want to pass out again-its not like she could close her eyes and hope this was another nightmare as the itchy rope and cold metal of the cuffs made it abundantly clear that this was her reality.

After some time passed, and she finally managed to calm herself to a point when she wouldn't pass out, she looked around her surroundings, trying to take stock of her situation. Again, she noted the lack of windows, and how despite looking like a basement dungeon, the room was…unnervingly sterile, from the floor to the ceiling, it was like someone had scrubbed the place twice over. What she could make out of the chair she was in added to this as the metal was polished to a shine, and weirdly comfy to sit in, so much so that if not for the fact it came with arm restraints, she would have thought it just a comfy lawn chair or something. Still, after a few minutes of testing the restraints, she had to concede that they were not coming off, not by her power anyway, so she had to just sit and wait…for whoever would come to see her.

That wait proved to be longer than she thought as while there were no cameras that she could have made out watching her, she started to think they knew she was awake and were just messing with her, letting her stew in her anxieties and fear as it took around a full hour; time that she knew had passed thanks to counting in her head, for the door to open. With it, light flooded into her small cell, blinding her monetarily, Izuku only regained her vision after she heard the groan of the door being closed, preventing her from seeing whatever lay beyond it. However, such thoughts never crossed her mind as her attention was solely focused on the tall, lanky man standing in front of her, a plague mask she couldn't forget, as it had done nothing but haunt her dreams. The man stood there for a moment, not a word spoken as instead, he was watching her with the golden gaze of a hawk, a gaze that made her feel like a mouse it hadn't yet decided if it wanted to kill.

"Hello, Midoriya-san. I did say we would cross paths again, didn't I?" Kai asked, though she knew he was taunting her, still, she couldn't help but shudder at his words. It was a familiar feeling, one that she had grown used to hearing from others, from Bakugo. It was the tone of a person that wholeheartedly believed that they held all the power, that they could do whatever they wished with her, whenever they pleased and she would be powerless to stop them. She hated how she couldn't even bring herself to deny it in the safety of her mind, because she knew that just like Bakugo, Kai had no reason to think otherwise.

Not commenting on her quivering form, Kai stepped closer to her, his long strides covering the distance quickly as he grasped her chin, his grip tight enough that she couldn't flinch out of it as he lifted her head so that he could see her terrified green eyes. "Eri will be ecstatic to see you, she's been missing her "Izu-chan" terribly." There, he saw the flash of anger in her at the mention of his 'daughter', he was right to assume that she hadn't forgotten her, that her misplaced righteous anger would flare up, burning away any pretence of fear and hesitation in her; all for the sake of one cursed girl. Yes, he could use this.

"Do you know why you're here, Midoriya-san?" Izuku didn't immediately answer, though she could make a few educated guesses on it. She dismissed the notion that he wanted her dead for whatever reason, as if he wished for that, why wait till she woke up? Why even kidnap her when they could kill her in her apartment? If they were concerned for evidence, surely they could have just taken her to the woods and done the deed there. Torture also was out, while she wasn't about to dismiss the idea that he was cruel enough to want to do that to her, he had brought up Eri's name and how she missed her, and she couldn't imagine the girl being happy with seeing her in pain, or meeting her after Kai had his bloody, inhumane way with her. She recalled his words that day, how he seemed to take note of how Eri seemed to care for her, for whatever reason, and how he had her promise to behave if she was allowed to live.

This meant that he most likely wanted her as another means of control over Eri, a constant reminder that anything he saw as underperforming, as disobedience wouldn't mean that Eri would be punished, but that Izuku would, something she was sure he'll force the poor girl to watch.

"I was right about you. You're smarter than you look." Kai's words instantly shut her up, Izuku sweating bullets as he kept his hold on her chin, the girl wishing to smack herself for muttering all that allowed. The confirmation she got in how Kai's eyes twisted, a smile no doubt on his face, didn't help as if that was the case; if she was going to be used against Eri, she would rather he kill her. "You look just like you did that day, emeralds filled with a determination and fury you rarely see these days, well that you see outside those costumed fools calling themselves heroes." Kai finally let go of her chin, letting her twist her head as far away as she could from him, finally breathing easier.

"You left quite the impression on her, you know. Eri's been concerned that I didn't keep my promise, but has been docile and compliant. So I thought why not kill two birds with one stone? Give her proof that I kept my word then, and a reminder that I will keep my word if she acts out again." Kai's gaze only made her wish to vomit, his words adding to the turmoil in her stomach. "But there is another reason that I…had you come over." Izuku didn't know where she found the strength, but she scoffed at how he worded it as if admitting he had her drugged and kidnapped was a step too far for him.

"Why? You needed a babysitter?" Izuku asked him, glaring at him but when he didn't answer, she couldn't help but let her jaw drop. "You're joking."

"I kid you not, Midoriya-san. I'm not above recognising that I'm not the best at everything, and one of the fields where I find myself lacking, is childcare." Kai raised his hands as if he found the entire conversation amusing. Still, Izuku wasn't going to just fall for whatever schemes he had cooked up.

"Why, she's your daughter, are you not evil that you can't handle a little girl?" She asked trying to get a reaction out of him, if she could study his emotions like Kacchan, maybe she could figure something out.

"No more than your father," Kai's assumed smile remained as she froze as if cold water had gone down her back at that comment. "Hisashi, is it? Say what you will about me, but I didn't run out on my daughter when the status of her quirk become known." That chill only grew, as while it was true her father was the very definition of absentee, always 'working abroad' with 'no time to visit', that wasn't something many knew about. Not even Kacchan knew about that, so how did Kai learn it?

"How…?" The man merely chuckled at her feared-soaked confusion.

"I did my research, can't have an unknown watching over Eri, now can I?" His response didn't give anything away, not that she could expect anything less from him as he held every card in their fight.

"Someone will come for me…they'll know you kidnapped me." Izuku managed to say, though she wasn't sure if she meant it.

"Jouhatsu."

"What?" She looked at him, wondering why he brought up such…a…topic. Kai's eyes continued to watch her, pleased that she could catch on so fast. He was expecting this to go down like any of the other kidnappings he ordered when the target was either too scared, stupid or some combination of the two to understand the situation they were in.

"Of the well over 210,000 thousand people reported missing last year, 6,300 people were never found-dead or alive and are considered to have vanished by their own accord. A similar number to the previous years and the year before that." Kai explained, leaning closer to her as she flinched back into her chair, his presence making her sweat and shiver. She had heard the term before, how it described people that faked their deaths, or otherwise seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. She had thought about it; more than she would want to admit as it was an appealing act, to escape the judgemental stares, the laughing, the mockery, the fact her life was effectively over since she was diagnosed as quirkless-all of it. but she never allowed herself to ponder too long, because…because she didn't want to make her mother sad.

"People vanish all the time to escape life's struggles, so wouldn't any cop assume that the bullied, quirkless girl decided to do the same." Kai's words shut down any protest. She knew she was beaten, or more accurately, this was a rigged game that she had lost from the moment she started to play. She couldn't find it in herself to believe that the police, that couldn't even take her claims about Kai seriously to begin with, would believe that she hadn't just run away. She suppose that was why his goons didn't let her put up a fight, once her mom got home, there wouldn't be anything to indicate anyone else but she had been there. Nothing to say that she didn't just…run away.

Her head fell just as Kai's eyes wrinkled even more from joy, the cruel man seeing that he had thoroughly won their fight. "You're a monster." Kai, unfazed by her emotionless declaration, stepped back. "I don't ever recall claiming to be an angel." He told her.

"But now that we have sorted that out, we can begin with the real meat of the issue. You'll be in charge of caring for Eri, her meals, her bath schedule-all of it, it all falls under the umbrella of duties you'll be expected to do. Of course, I can understand that doing nothing but caring for a little child can be boring, so you'll be allowed to make requests for things to entertain yourselves with, but don't think I won't be very carefully monitoring what you request." Kai started, laying out all her new duties to her as this was a normal part-time job at the local McDs.

"Seeing how you're a smart girl, I'll even allow you to teach her a thing or two, to keep her occupied." Kai continued, moving around the room with his hands behind his back, stopping only when he was behind her, his presence giving her the same feeling as an incoming car; one of danger. "However, while I have no issue rewarding good behaviour, if the reward is within reason, I also have no issue with punishing bad behaviour, so I can trust that I won't have to worry about any smart acts of disobedience or rebellion from you, right?"

Izuku shivered, the exhaustion of the situation making itself known as she couldn't even work up the effort to reply, settling for a quirk, and shaky nod in agreement as Kai moved back. "Good, the clean-up after Eri's last escape attempt was…filthy. So it's pleasing to hear that I won't have to deal with any escape attempts with you here." Kai's words didn't paint a good picture of what happened to the last person he had watching Eri.

"One last thing, I won't tolerate you giving Eri foolish ideas as you did in your first meeting. I didn't lie to Eri, Midoriya-san, quirks are nothing but a disease, and Eri is cursed but it's a curse that can be used to cure humanity of its age-long illness." Kai told her, his earlier humour at her grief and misery went, which left her feeling dumbfounded as she lifted her head once more, looking at him confused, without thinking, she replied to his crazy statement.

"That's not true, quirks-they're beautiful, helpful, they're a part of who people ar-" Kai silenced her with a raised hand. It was all he did, and to most, it might have merely been a call for silence but she could see that with him, it was a threat of violence.

"I expected that you'll be sold on the same garbage as the rest of society. Heroes, villains, vigilantes-they're all symptoms of the disease. You on the other hand; you should count yourself lucky, Midoriya-san as you're one of the only pure ones left." Kai seemed to believe his words, but that meant little to her as she couldn't help but wonder just what was with this guy.

"Lucky?" Izuku could help but feel nothing but disbelief in herself, wondering if he was mocking her once more, to the point when she couldn't help but let out a defeated laugh at them, at the notion that she was anything close to lucky. "How can I consider myself lucky? Being quirkless, being me-it's has brought me nothing but pain!" She yelled at him, tears starting to form in her eyes as she remembered all she had lost, all that she had been barred from, all that she could never be, all because her damn pinkie toes had the extra joint!

"Oh! And what do you mean by that?" Kai's question silenced her again, Izuku keeping to it despite his expectant gaze as she refused to reveal any more than she already had to him; he wasn't her friend, and he certainly wasn't a therapist. All he wanted from her was to learn how much he could use her, trick her, and when he was done-do away with her. Izuku looked away, thinking about how this wasn't even the first time it had happened, as she wondered if it'll even be the last as she knew the truth, what had been beaten over her head ever since she was 4. She was worthless, she was useless, a Deku. A doll with no real individuality of her own, only now rather than being the punching bag for a bully, she was now the tool of a criminal.

The moment of tense silence that followed was broken by an exasperated noise from Kai. "I know plenty about the treatment of the quirkless in this hero society. I bet you've even been treated like an infectious disease, an undesirable, trash left by the wayside. I know just how badly this rotten society can be, you're not the first I've picked up that has seen its true face." Izuku swallowed. Kai knew somehow. She didn't know how… but he knew and she hated how right he was.

"However, they're wrong. You're the exact opposite of whatever they called you, what they told you that you were." Kai started, his gaze capturing her in his wicked golden eyes. "I know the truth, that it's the quirkless that are blessed, for they are clean of the filth of quirks."

Blessed. Izuku hung on to that word. Something that Kai said without a trace of sarcasm, mockery or deceit, spoken as it was an undeniable truth of the world in the same vein as 'the sun will rise tomorrow' or 'All Might's the best'. Did he... actually believe what he was saying? Was her lack of a quirk to call her own a good thing? No, that was ridiculous! It had to be! But god, if it wouldn't be just her rotten, non-existent luck that the first person to not belittle her for her quirklessness was a villain; the same one that was going to use her to increase his hold on a little girl that she was too weak to save…rotten luck indeed.

"I've gotten off-track, but no matter. That's all I have to say for now. Goodbye, Midoriya-san." Kai said, turning and strolling toward the door with a lazy wave. Unexpectedly, however, he paused midway. He glanced casually over his shoulder at her. "Actually. There is one last thing. You told Eri her quirk couldn't hurt you but do you even know what it is, how dangerous her disease is? Her silence answered for her as he chuckled lowly.

"I thought not. Someone will come by in a few minutes to prepare you for Eri." Kai was through the doorway before Izuku could respond, the door shutting smoothly behind him, submerging her in darkness once more.


Dangerous? Utterly ridiculous. Granted, Izuku had only met the girl the previous week, and for maybe 10-max 15 minutes but she was sure that she had been right. There was no way such a little girl could hurt someone on purpose. So what if her quirk was dangerous, tons of quirks were when you broke them down and the people who had them could be some of the best people out there. Present Mic could deafen entire crowds, what did he use his quirk for? Hero work and even then, the villains he captured could recover their hearing in a few hours if not a day or two, with no permanent damage. Hawks could kill a man with his feathers, but he used them to help old ladies carry stuff. Jeanist could restrain and kill anyone using their clothes and yet, he used his quirk for capture only and promoted affordable and stylish clothing, stuff he was proud to say was sourced and made from responsible and completely ethical means. Even Mirko, the most abrasive and battle crazed of the top ten had her moments, as she was often seen playing with kids or giving tips on personal fitness when she wasn't kicking some villain's teeth out.

No, Kai wasn't referring to Eri as a person, it was speaking about her quirk in particular. Eri didn't say much about what it did, but what she did say was that her quirk could hurt people and that her quirk took quirks away. It wasn't much, but Izuku could theorise that it meant that she was right about her initial assessment, that her quirk either suppressed quirks like Eraserhead's, or it somehow managed to take them away. Either way, Izuku should be fine, right? She was quirkless, you couldn't take what she didn't have, so why would Kai seem to emphasize that when he knew she had nothing to lose?

She wasn't given any more time to think about it, as the door opened once more, only while like the first time she was blinded by its light when her vision cleared, she saw that the door was still open. Standing in the doorway was another familiar face, their white coat and plague mask being one of the last things she saw before she woke up in this place, tied to this chair. Unlike Kai's mask, their face was completely hidden, making it next to impossible for her to tell anything about them, all she could guess was that they might be more masculine, but that was a loose guess at best, based solely on the fact this seemed to be Yakuza base rather than regular villain hideout.

He was silent and impassive as he loosened the straps and untied her, but Izuku didn't bother to entertain the idea that he wasn't prepared to handle her if she tried to attack for flee; not that she'll know where to flee to as she was led out of her cell, the girl still dressed in a dirty shirt and shorts that she had been wearing the morning she had been grabbed…if it was even the same day. The cold of the floor to her bare feet ignored for a moment, she looked around the place for something she could use, even if just to memorise where she was, but all she saw was that the halls of the place were the same white and grey sterile windowless style as her cell. No signs, no indications of where lead where, an intentional decision she realized, to confuse trespassers and prisoners.

There was just one exception, outside stood a woman wearing a simple blue medical mask and scrubs, waiting for them. She had straight, short orange hair, and pale yellow eyes that seemed to widen upon seeing her, but her surprise died as quickly as it came as she turned her attention to the hooded man. Neither said a word as the man merely nodded his head at her, before handing her over to her. The woman for her part seemed to understand what was going on more than she did, as her eyes fell to her, duller; filled with a sense of deep pity that Izuku didn't understand but could assume meant that she wasn't in for anything that could be considered pleasant. Izuku wasn't given much more to think about this or ask why the woman was acting like she was a lamb to the slaughter as she placed her bony hand n her shoulder, giving it a quirk, hard squeeze which silenced her question before she could speak it.

The hooded man led them through the halls, seemingly from memory as there weren't even cracks or splotches of dirt that Izuku could use to identify where they were going, the only thing of note was the few other grunts they would come across, all of them wearing some form of mask which covered their mouths and noses, all of them moving aside for the hooded man leading her without a word, perhaps he outranked them? Eventually, they reached their destination, a door which looked identical to every other door they walked past. The man opened it up and inside lay…a washroom? It was as spotless as the rest of the place but built in a more traditional bathhouse style, with wooden panelling, seats and buckets. It was also empty but the fact that she had been leading her was enough of an indication of why.

Izuku would have laughed at it, had she not been between two strangers, one who had kidnapped her and didn't seem to care, and the other who seemed like she very much wished not to be there. A small sliver of a silver lining formed for her when the man didn't enter, rather it was the woman that led her in as the man closed the door behind them. Finally, alone, Izuku noted that some of the tension in the woman's shoulders relaxed as she removed her mask, revealing a soft, tired smile and a thin scar on her chin. She gave a little bow, introducing herself. "Hello, I'm Aki June, but please call me Jun. May I know your name?"

Izuku blinked, nerves creeping up. "M-Midoriya Izuku, Aki-san- ah I mean, J-Jun-san!" Jun didn't seem to react to her stammering, or her nerves as her smile didn't let up.

"It's very nice to meet you, Midoriya-chan," Jun said pleasantly, then grimaced a second later, "Though I wish it were under better circumstances." Still, she pushed on, recalling the reason they were there. "I'm sorry, but we should probably start, hm? Have you been sick in the past year?" Izuku seemed confused by the question, but she still answered.

"N-no? Why?"

Jun smiled patiently, though her weariness slipped into her voice. "Just a checkup. Overhaul…he doesn't like sick people or dirt in general. So he wanted me to give you a look over before allowing you close to Eri. Do you take any medication?"

"No," Izuku replied, thinking of the fact that she had never needed to use medications. Nodding her head, she directed Izuku to take a seat on one of the benches.

"That's fortunate. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'm going to check your hair for lice, okay?" As she said this, she pulled on a pair of latex gloves. The snap of the latex sent a jolt down Izuku's spine, her mind sent back to an empty street and a crying girl and the hand coming down towards her-

"Midoriya-chan? Are you alright?"

Izuku shook the memory from her head, then nodded mutely. Jun went to work sorting through her untamed hair, checking for anything of note, but being careful about it, not wanting to hurt the girl though Izuku wasn't sure how much comfort she took in that small mercy. She already figured that if Overhaul…if Kai didn't like dirt, then he most certainly expected Jun to conduct a full body exam, the prospect making her shiver, but it also meant that she was going to be washed head to toe, with the only thing she could hope for was that she would be allowed to do it herself, in the relative privacy of one of the stalls as she wasn't a fan to washing in front of this stranger, even if she was proving to be…nicer then the rest, which wasn't hard as the rest had been a child abuser, and kidnappers-every low bars to clear if she was honest.

Thinking back on it, she now had more information about Kai, if only a little. Overhaul, that seemed to be his villain name, which was strange as she thought that Yakuza conducted themselves differently to villains, largely refusing such concepts as a villain name, with mainly grunts following that notion, but Ka-Overhual seemed to be much higher on the ladder than that, the boss if she wasn't crazy. Despite that, Overhaul was an interesting choice, did it have something to do with his quirk? How did it work? He seemed to wear gloves and a mask, was it touch-sensitive, was it voice-activated? How strong was it? Most likely very if he could rule over his Yakuza fraction with such power that he seemingly enforced the 'mask mandate' on them, seemingly due to his dislike of dirt, it would certainly explain just how the place was so eerily clean. She wouldn't have put it past him to have the halls and rooms cleaned twice a day.

Back to the quirk itself, quirks seemed to have names that while descriptive, weren't necessarily the best at describing their full capabilities, but she had never heard of a case where the name oversold the quirk in question either. If she recalled the definition of the word Overhaul right, it was to take apart something to examine it and repair it if necessary. That told her that Overhaul's quirk must have something to do with taking things apart, most likely including people. If that was the case, no wonder Eri was so terrified of him, as he could in theory, rip people apart with either a single touch or word and put them back together again just as easily. How could you tackle such a power? But that didn't answer her other question on why someone with such a powerful quirk would state that they were a disease.

"You're a mumbler, hm?" Izuku bit her tongue out of her embarrassment, hating that she did it again. Jun didn't seem to mind as she finished checking her hair, removing her gloves and dumping them into a medical waste bag in the corner. "No worries, we all have our little- well, for lack of a better word- quirks. Though, speaking of, what is your quirk?" Jun would find out eventually, Izuku supposed, but she still felt nervous as she muttered.

"I'm quirkless." She replied, dreading the mocking, but Jun didn't respond with that.

"Is that right?" Jun murmured, seemingly to herself. At least she now knew the reason why Overhaul would have abducted her, he was obsessed with quirklessness, she wasn't the first quirkless person he had ordered taken, but they had all been well over 60, nor had they lasted very long. With that thought in her head, she couldn't help but look at Izuku with deepening pity, as she originally believed she was a hostage, but it seems like she was just another lab rat. Izuku, seeing none of this, only heard her reply. "That's not all that common anymore, is it? Being quirkless?"

Izuku shook her head, she had hoped that she'll meet someone she could talk to, someone that could understand her, but she had only ever met one quirkless person, her old neighbour, who was 81. Because that the massive age difference, she, while kind to her, couldn't understand her nearly as well as she hoped as she had been born, raised and lived in a time where being quirkless wasn't nearly as rare as it was now, and when she was moved to a nursing home by her family, Izuku lost even her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to undress. I won't watch, but I have to bathe you anyway. I'll try not to look if I can." Jun told her, a grimace that was clear to see despite the mask on her face, though it didn't help Izuku as she took an instinctive step back from her. She had hoped that she would be allowed at least that, that small moment but it seemed that it wasn't meant to be. Despite it, she reluctantly agreed as while very much against her will, she didn't dare give her issues lest the man whom she was sure was still outside stepped in and did it instead. Unwanted as it was, she would take a woman's touch over a man's any day. All she had to do was just…pretend it was a physical, dissociate it from anything else and view it as a mere medical procedure.


What followed was quick, silent and extremely embarrassing for her. She had been wrong to think seeing it as a mere medical practice would make it easier. It made it worse as no one was just…washed by their doctor as if they were a toddler.

She had stripped, stepped under one of the showers and offered no resistance out flinching as the almost too-hot water washed over her, same with the unscented soap and rough scrub. Jun, clearly seeing that she wasn't in any mood, didn't say anything other than simple instructions such as 'Raise your arm' or 'Turn that way'. She was thorough if nothing else, as she nearly scrubbed her till her skin was red, making sure that any dirt on her was gone. Once they had finished, she was given a towel to dry while she stepped out to grab some clothes to wear, her old ones going with her to what Izuku could only assume was whatever passed for an incinerator.

Alone, even for a few minutes, Izuku couldn't contain her emotions anymore. Standing there, covered by only a thin towel, she hugged herself, despite the hot shower, she felt cold to the touch. Sinking to the floor as she started to cry, seeing herself through the misty haze in a mirror, her shivering, skinny frame greeting her gaze, mocking her. As she cried to herself, trying to warm herself up as she rubbed her arms, she asked herself the question over and over. Why her? Why did life seem determined to make her miserable? Wasn't it enough that even her idol saw her dreams as unobtainable? That her bullies had been right?

A warm towel fell around her shoulders, and Izuku found herself being pulled into a tight one-armed hug by Jun, while the woman whispered soft words of comfort. Promises that everything would be alright. Izuku desperately wanted to believe it, but it was a lie. A pretty lie, certainly; a comforting lie…but a lie all the same. She knew she was in hell, and that more horrors awaited as she descended further into this sterile nightmare.


Izuku was at least happy that her undergarments weren't the right size and slightly uncomfortable, she wasn't sure she would know what to do or say if Overhaul had somehow gotten that right. Aside from that, as she suspected, she wasn't allowed her old clothes as they had been destroyed, rather she had been given a black kimono, over she wore a flower pattern green and white haori, her hair, which had always been wild and unruly in its mid back length, had been forced into a neat bun similar to her mother's. Because of the rather…cold place, she was walking around not in socks but with pair of expensive zori.

If nothing else, it was quite clear that this Yakuza group was closely tied to some of their more traditional roots.

She was led down the halls once more, allowing Jun to hold her hand as they went, and soon, they found themselves in front of another door, but they were the only ones waiting for the man, who was the source of all her recent misery and torment, Kai-no, Overhaul. With him was a tiny black puppet who like his boss and the white-cloaked man that had led her around, wore a plague mask, only his was a white-contrasting his clothing. Izuku, despite the fact she was dressed in more fancy clothing than she had ever worn, clothing that most likely cost as much as half her closest, couldn't help but feel woefully underdressed under Overhaul's gaze which watched her like a hawk, as a tool.

She was the only one to react like this as Jun immediately stepped forward, letting go of Izuku's hand as she bowed deeply to the man. "Overhaul-sama."

"Aki-san. I trust Midoriya-san didn't give you any trouble?" Overhaul asked, his gaze never leaving Izuku as the white-cloaked man stepped up, placing a firm hand on her shoulder as if she needed any more reason to not try anything while nice, she didn't think for a second that Jun would help her if she did, at best-she'll stand aside, at worst…

Still bowed, Jun spoke meekly. "None at all." Hearing her answer, and seeing that Izuku was as clean as one could be, he nodded his head.

"Good. That will be all for now, Aki-san. You are excused." With his words, Jun rose from her bow, turned, and scurried off down the hall. Izuku watched her until she disappeared around a corner, wishing she could have fled with her, before hesitantly drifting her focus back to Kai and the puppet. "Midoriya-san. Let me introduce you to my associates, Mimic-" Kai gestured to the puppet, then to the man holding her shoulder "-and Chronostais." There was a pause, neither introduced man saying a word and if Overhaul was surprised by this, he didn't say anything, it wasn't like she was going to introduce herself.

Turning around, he moved to open the door but as his hand grasped the handle, he turned back to her with a voice that was truthfully cheerful as Kacchan was nice. "We're going to surprise Eri. Doesn't that sound nice, Midoriya-san?" Izuku nodded half-heartedly, knowing that he was merely toying with her, acting as if her opinion matters to him. Besides, she had other things to worry about, namely that behind that door was Eri, scared and alone Eri-even if not by the best methods, she was there and wouldn't go of her again.

Never again.

Kai opened the door, only enough for him to be visible. There was a faint shuffling, tiny footsteps padding against the cement.

"Eri," Kai said, his tone less of a father speaking to his daughter, and more of a bored man speaking to his dog, but Izuku held in her fury at it, it wouldn't do her or Eri any good at the moment. "I have a surprise for you." He didn't give the girl any time to respond as he opened the door fully, allowing Chronostais to push her in, Izuku needing to take a few quick steps to balance herself lest she falls. But she righted herself, she didn't look back at the man that nearly pushed her over. She didn't look at Overhaul. Her gaze was on Eri, and Eri alone-same as the little girl. She depressingly looked just like she did that day. Wide red eyes, a messy shirt-like dress, barefoot, bandages wrapped around her arms and legs, her tiny off-centred nub of a horn barely stuck out of her tangled white hair.

On Eri's part, she immediately froze at the sight of Izuku, dressed in a similar way that she had seen some of the other women dressed, the woman that never did anything for her and just acted like she didn't exist. She clutched her dress with tiny hands, then, softly, shyly asked, "Izu-chan? You're here?" Izuku's lips wobbled, her fear being crushed underneath her concern as she quickly went to her, Overhaul be damned, as she bent over and gave the girl a much-appreciated hug.

Holding her close to her body, she let her nestle into her neck. A shaky breath preceded her words, "Yes. Yes, I am here, Eri-chan." She soothed the girl, combing her hand through her hair as they both turned to Overhaul, the man looking far too pleased with her actions than she would like. Eri looked to Overhaul, eyes even wider, tears gathering and mouth trembling. Afraid. "You promised."

"That I did." Kai gazed back, a knowing glint present in his eyes. "And I will keep it, so long as you keep yours." Eri did not look convinced but nodded anyway. Still, even after they were left alone, even as Eri allowed herself to cry into her neck, Izuku didn't let go of her, she didn't move from their spot. She couldn't trust the police, the pros were only a step above. She was without resources, strength or a quirk but she swore as she finally moved, carrying Eri through the mess of unopened toys towards the bed, she carved her silent vow into her heart that came hell or high water, even if it cost her meaningless life, that she'll save Eri.

That she'll be her hero.


Jouhatsu isn't just a Japanese thing, it happens all over but is...sorta neat that they have a word for it. Regardless, as Overhual is supposed to be smart and calculating, it makes sense his plan to help cover up their kidnapping required that his men leave no trace, and relayed on how many people purposely vanish. Also, unlike End of an Era where I found that my OG planning could cover two chapters, here I have the opposite issue as I find myself being able to take the stuff for two separate chapters and use them in just one.