Chapter Text
Hitoshi’s head swam even though his vision was shrouded in darkness. His body was numb, but feeling slowly returned to it with each passing second.
What happened?
His fingers twitched a little. He tried to move his hands, but they wouldn’t budge. He forced his eyes open only to clench them shut at the light. He turned his head and opened them again, finding himself face-to-face with a stone wall. He tried moving his hands again. He lifted them both and caught a glimpse of the metal encasing his wrists before they fell back down against his thighs.
What the hell….
His blood ran cold.
“Stay here.”
He was about to argue when Shouta disappeared around the corner into the alley. He leaned against the wall behind him, one hand automatically wandering to the capture weapon resting around his shoulders. Something whistled through the air. Before he could even react, it pierced his arm.
“What….”
The world tilted around him. He grabbed the wall for support. His eyes widened at the dart sticking out of his arm. He plucked it out but collapsed against the wall and slid down onto the sidewalk a second later. Footsteps ran toward him, echoing along the previously empty street.
“Get Eraserhead,” he heard someone order. “I’ve got the kid.”
A man crouched down in front of him and blocked his view of the alley entrance. A couple other men sprinted past them. He finally fell over on his side, but he reached out and his arm flopped uselessly on the concrete.
“N-no….” he mumbled.
His vision darkened. The man picked him up under his arms and dragged him further down the sidewalk. His eyes drooped closed.
“Mind Jack!”
He forced his eyes open and lifted his head just enough to see Shouta running out of the alley.
“Sensei….”
His head dropped and everything went black.
His breathing started to pick up. He closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. He opened his eyes again.
If I’m here, they probably got Aizawa-sensei. I need to find him.
He slowly sat up.
“Hitoshi?”
He turned in the direction of the voice, a little too fast if the way the room tilted around him was any indication. He plopped back down on the cot and held his head in his hands. A hand gripped his shoulder. He violently flinched at the movement. He paled when he looked up and saw the man before him.
He was only a few centimeters taller than Hitoshi, with dark purple hair long enough to be tied back into a bun. He smiled when realization grew in Hitoshi’s eyes.
Dad?
He’d only seen the photos in his file when the case worker bounced him around from foster house to foster house.
Shinsou Hitoshi
Biological Parents: Shinsou Takeo and Akiko
Aside from his mom passing away in a car accident, that’s all he’d ever known about his parents. He’d been in the foster care system as long as he could remember. His case worker never gave a direct answer when he or any of his foster parents asked about them. A million questions raced through Hitoshi’s mind, but there was one he couldn’t stop the second he opened his mouth.
“Where the hell have you been?” he asked, his voice raspy.
The smile faded briefly before Takeo forced it back into place. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Where the hell have you been?” he demanded again.
Takeo sat down on the cot. Hitoshi scooted as far away as he could but ultimately got backed up into the corner.
“There’s no need to be afraid of me.”
He moved even closer to Hitoshi. Hitoshi lifted his hands.
“Then what are these for?”
Takeo sighed and reached out to touch the cuffs, but Hitoshi yanked his hands back.
“I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t sure how you would react to seeing me after all this time. I wouldn’t have blamed you for using your quirk. You’re probably confused. I understand that and I just wanted a chance to talk to you.”
So they’re quirk suppression cuffs….
“I think you could’ve done that without kidnapping….” He trailed off and his eyes widened. “Where’s Eraserhead?”
“I’ve missed you so much,” Takeo said, completely ignoring his question. “Not a day has gone by that I didn’t think about you, Hitoshi.”
“Bullshit.”
Takeo’s eyebrows twitched, but that didn’t stop him from continuing.
“I’m sorry I had to leave you, and I’m sorry I couldn’t come back for you until now.” He gripped Hitoshi’s hand, not allowing the boy to yank it out of his grasp. “I’ve been trying to find you for over a year.”
“After you saw me in the sports festival?”
The way Takeo’s smile widened answered Hitoshi’s question.
“I didn’t know you’d gotten into the best hero school in all of Japan. Even just the general studies department, that’s quite impressive. I’m so proud of you!”
He tightened his hands around Hitoshi’s. Hitoshi tried pulling away.
“Let go,” he demanded.
Takeo sighed.
“You really shouldn’t speak to me that way, Hitoshi.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Anyways, I’ve decided that it’s time I finally bring you home and into the family business—”
“Not interested.”
Takeo’s grip tightened to the point Hitoshi fought to not show any sign of discomfort.
“You haven’t even given me a chance to—”
“You’ve had sixteen years to come back into my life. The fact that you’ve waited until now and had to drug me to get me here isn’t exactly a good sign. I’m not interested.”
“You’ll make plenty of money and live quite comfortably. You’ll make more than you could even imagine—”
“No!”
Takeo let go of Hitoshi’s hand, clutched the front of his shirt, and pushed him up against the wall beside the cot. Hitoshi grunted when his head collided with the wall. Bright spots danced across his vision, and he blinked to clear it. The smile remained on Takeo’s face, but any trace of patience he had was gone.
“Will you let me finish?” he asked, lifting Hitoshi just to slam him back into the wall again. “You wouldn’t even have to work that much, and I know everyone in my group would love you! All we do is lend our quirks out to my associates when I need them. I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately that I think you would be perfect for. There’s no need to worry. I’d be with you every step of the way!”
“I’m not a villain.”
“Now, don’t think of it that way—”
“I’m not a villain!” Hitoshi reiterated, his voice raising.
Takeo sighed. One hand let go of Hitoshi’s shirt and ran down his face. The smile completely disappeared.
“I was really hoping you wouldn’t be so difficult. You’ll need more encouragement than I originally thought. I’m glad I had the foresight to plan accordingly.”
Hitoshi’s heart dropped into his stomach.
Aizawa-sensei….
“Where’s Eraserhead?” he asked again.
Takeo, again, didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed Hitoshi’s arm and pulled him across the cell. The bruising grip didn’t relent as he shoved the door open and led him into a hallway. Hitoshi looked around in the dim lighting, only a few lightbulbs hung down from the ceiling. Holes were scattered along the stone walls, some having dark red splatters around the rim. A woman stood near the end of the hall.
“Bring him!” Takeo yelled.
Hitoshi’s blood ran cold when another door opened. Seconds later, a couple men dragged a struggling Shouta out into the hall.
“Ai-Eraserhead!”
He automatically ran toward his teacher, but a pair of arms wrapped around him and held him back.
“No need to be so formal. Shouta’s familiar with most of my associates. We’re practically friends already!”
He knows sensei’s name….
Shouta stopped struggling for the briefest moment and met Hitoshi’s gaze, and his captors took advantage of the opportunity to haul him further down the hall. He snapped out of it and leaned into one of them and aimed a kick directly at the other’s head only for it to narrowly miss. Swearing under his breath, the man stooped down to grab Shouta’s legs. The two resorted to carrying him. Takeo pushed Hitoshi forward. He tried to get a look around the building, but Takeo didn’t give him much time, causing him to nearly stumble at the pace he forced Hitoshi to go.
Hitoshi was about to take another step when a hand on his shoulder yanked him back. Takeo dug into his pocket and pulled out a key. The door opened with a creak, and he leaned down next to Hitoshi’s ear. Hitoshi shivered when the cool air escaped the room.
“We haven’t had to use this room in a while. I even made sure it was clean for the two of you. You should feel honored.”
Takeo reached just beyond the door frame and hit a switch. The lights flickered on, illuminating a staircase before them. Hitoshi tried not to focus on the blood permanently staining the steps. The hand on his shoulder pushed him into the room. He scrambled with his cuffed hands to grab the railing to regain his balance. Takeo only gave him a second to right himself before forcing him further down the steps. The blood drained from his face when they reached the bottom of the staircase.
There was a single chair on the far wall. The table next to it had a couple knives scattered on the top, and the peg board behind it had more tools than Hitoshi could count hanging on it. A couple hooks dangled from the ceiling, their chains leading to cranks on opposite sides of the room. The woman swiftly descended the steps and walked past the two. She grabbed some rope and the chair and dragged it to the middle of the room. Takeo wasted no time pushing Hitoshi down onto it. He wound the rope around Hitoshi’s waist so his arms were trapped against his sides. More footsteps thundered down the stairs while the two men carried Shouta into the room. They forced him to his knees in front of Hitoshi. Shouta’s eyes burned when Takeo gripped the back of the chair. He lurched against the hands holding his cuffed arms.
“Don’t touch him!” Shouta demanded.
Takeo laughed, and Hitoshi flinched when he slung an arm around his shoulders.
“Why would I hurt my own flesh and blood, Eraserhead?”
Shouta’s chest heaved. He clenched his teeth but stopped his struggles.
“Then what do you want?” he asked next.
“It seems my son wasn’t interested in joining my business. I can’t understand why. His quirk is perfect for it. However, I think he’d cooperate with the right motivation.” Takeo gripped Hitoshi’s chin and directed it to the table. The woman sauntered back over to it and picked up one of the knives. “You wouldn’t want your teacher to get hurt, would you, Hitoshi?”
Hitoshi’s heart plummeted into his stomach. Takeo released his chin, and his gaze automatically wandered back to Shouta who leaned forward and stared into his eyes.
“I don’t care what they do to me. Promise me you won’t—"
One of the men clamped his hand over Shouta’s mouth, and Shouta tried to twist his head out of the man’s grip.
“We don’t need your input, Eraser. You’ve done enough damage already. Let him come to a decision on his own.”
It took everything Hitoshi had to ignore the nausea plaguing him. He inhaled deeply through his nose. Shouta’s eyes never left his. Even though he couldn’t speak, he could practically hear his mentor’s orders.
Don’t even think about it.
Takeo leaned forward until his mouth was right next to Hitoshi’s ear.
“Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”
Hitoshi barely suppressed a shudder at the question. He shook his head. Takeo sighed and straightened up behind him. Hitoshi saw his hand move out of the corner of his eye, clearly some sort of signal since the two men dragged Shouta to one of the hooks. They put it through the chains linking Shouta’s cuffs and padlocked it. One of them walked over to the crank, rotating it until Shouta’s arms were pulled taut above his head and his feet dangled a few centimeters above the ground.
The woman grinned at the sight. She gripped the collar of Shouta’s jumpsuit and sliced the knife through it down to his hips, exposing his chest and stomach. She trailed the knife back up to Shouta’s collarbone and back down again. Shouta didn’t even flinch, not even when she walked behind him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Hitoshi could see her nails digging into Shouta’s stomach. Her smile grew when she drew blood. She brought the knife up to just beneath Shouta’s rib cage. Hitoshi couldn’t help but look away.
I can’t watch this….
Takeo grabbed his chin again and directed his gaze back to Shouta.
“You need to see the consequences of your choices, Hitoshi.”
The bruising grip didn’t relinquish when the woman dug the knife into Shouta’s flesh, slowing cutting from the middle of Shouta’s stomach to his side. Blood streamed from the wound into the waistband of his jumpsuit. The woman didn’t wait another second before mirroring the cut on the other side. Shouta clenched his eyes shut and bit his lip but didn’t utter a sound while the woman sliced the knife along his ribs. Hitoshi thought he could see the slightest bit of blood dribbling down Shouta’s chin.
“I think that’s enough for right now.” Takeo said before leaning in closer to Hitoshi. “I wanted to take it easy on Eraser and give you a chance to see I’m not joking, Hitoshi.”
Takeo patted his shoulder before turning to head back up the stairs with his men in tow. The woman stood on the tips of her toes and whispered something to Shouta before following them.
*break*
What the hell have I done?
Hitoshi stared daggers into the floor. Every few seconds, the chains from Shouta’s cuffs would clink together, breaking the silence that filled the room since the villains left.
“Shinsou?” He clenched his eyes shut at Shouta’s voice. “Shinsou, please look at me.”
Dammit, just look at him! You at least owe him that much. You’re the reason he’s like this in the first place.
Hitoshi finally mustered the courage to look up at Shouta. Blood streamed from the cuts along his rib cage, leaving his stomach completely red. Sweat gleamed on Shouta’s forehead. It looked as though it took all his strength to keep his head up.
“It looks a lot worse than it is. You’re making the right decision,” Shouta stressed. “I know it doesn’t feel like it. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you, but you’re making the right decision. You’re not a villain. I don’t want you cooperating with him. Promise me you won’t even consider it.”
How the hell can he be trying to comfort me right now? What if they take things further?
“What if I say I’ll cooperate but—”
“The fact that they have a room like this means you shouldn’t unless you have a plan that absolutely won’t fail. Someone should notice we’re missing soon if no one has already, but I don’t know how long it will take for help to get here. That fact aside, Takeo never said he’d let me go if you cooperate, so I probably couldn’t even come back to get you out. Are you willing to do whatever Takeo wants you to do until someone rescues us?”
He bit his lip.
“What if—”
“They could’ve left me back in that alley, but they brought me here. They want me alive. I don’t know why, but they want me alive. Otherwise, they would’ve just threatened to kill me to get you on their side. They won’t kill me, so promise me you won’t join them.”
There has to be something I can do…but Aizawa-sensei’s right. We don’t even know where we are. We haven’t seen anything that could give us even a relative location. We don’t know how long we were unconscious for. Hell, we may not even be in Musutafu anymore. There’s no way they’d let him see where we are, that’s if they let him leave at all. They may not kill him….
His gaze lingered on the blood still flowing down Shouta’s stomach.
…but I can’t just let them—
“Promise me, Shinsou.”
Hitoshi swallowed and nodded.
“I promise.”
Shouta sagged in his restraints, letting his head hang down toward his chest. The door creaked open. Footsteps descended the stairs. Hitoshi flinched.
They barely even gave him a break….
“Any chance you’ve changed your mind, son?” Takeo asked.
Don’t call me that.
Hitoshi didn’t say a word. Takeo sighed behind him.
“I was afraid of that.” He yanked the second hook over to Hitoshi and connected it to the chain in the middle with a padlock, exactly like he did with Shouta; however, he untied him from the chair. “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing this.”
Shoving Hitoshi out of the chair, he dragged it over to Shouta. Hitoshi landed on his knees and immediately jumped to his feet. He ran toward Takeo and Shouta, but the chain pulled taut, and he twisted and crashed back down to the ground. Takeo didn’t pay him any mind. Hitoshi’s eyebrows furrowed.
What’s he doing?
“What the hell?”
Shouta was the one to voice his confusion when Takeo put the chair under his feet, forcing him to stand on it. He was able to bring his arms down a bit. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he stared up at his cuffed wrists. Takeo kicked the chair out from under him. Shouta fell until the chains caught him. The cuffs sliced into his skin, and blood dribbled down his arms and disappeared into his sleeves. Shouta swung in the air while Takeo went to pick the chair up again. Shouta glared at him, mustered all the energy he had, and landed a kick to his shoulder. Takeo chuckled and rubbed his shoulder, but that didn’t seem to deter him otherwise.
“It’s nice to see you’ve still got some fight in you, Eraser.”
He dragged the chair back over to Shouta. He grabbed Shouta’s legs, despite Shouta’s thrashing, and forced him to stand on the chair again. Shouta clenched his eyes shut just before Takeo knocked it out from under him. He barely stifled a grunt when he was yanked to a halt by his wrists. Hitoshi shook his head.
That can’t be good for his wrists. He won’t have any skin left on them if Takeo keeps this up…that’s if they don’t out right break. Please—
“Stop.”
Takeo’s head perked up just as he bent down to pick up the chair.
“Did you say something, Hitoshi?”
Shouta opened his eyes. His entire body might’ve been swinging, but Hitoshi could still see the slight shake of his head. Hitoshi took a deep breath.
“No.”
“That’s a real shame,” Takeo muttered while he grabbed the chair again. “Looks like we’ll be at this a while.”
*break*
Hitoshi’s shoulders sagged when the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut. He swallowed and kept his gaze down on the ground. His hands shook, and it seemed to get worse with every jingle of the chains.
“Sensei—”
“I’m fine, Shinsou.”
The strain in Shouta’s voice indicated otherwise. Hitoshi’s hands twisted in the material of his pants.
You’re the reason he’s like this. Just look at him.
Before Hitoshi could convince himself not to, he lifted his head and wished he hadn’t. Red coated Shouta’s arms from the cuffs to his sleeves. His head hung back down toward his chest. It didn’t take long for Hitoshi’s eyes to wander back up to Shouta’s wrists.
He can’t hang from his wrists like that anymore. There can’t be any skin left on them.
He gripped the chain between his own cuffs and tugged on it. It didn’t budge. He followed the chain up to where it threaded through another hook installed in the ceiling before extending down to the crank against the wall.
It doesn’t look like there’s any chain left, but if I could get this off that hook….
He headed to the wall next to the crank. He wrapped what little slack in the chains he had around his hands. Ensuring the chain was pull as tight as it could be, he climbed a few steps up the wall, wrapping the excess chain around his hands. He took another few steps before repeating.
“What are you doing?” Shouta asked.
Hitoshi ignored him. He kept his eyes on the ceiling. Once he thought he was high enough, he propelled himself off the wall and yanked the chain up and over the hook. He only had a second to be grateful he was successful on the first try before he had to quickly straighten up. He landed on the balls of his feet rolled over onto his shoulder. He got up and finally looked back at Shouta, confusion radiating from the man. The excess chain pooled around his feet.
This should be more than I need. He can’t keep hanging like that.
Takeo knocked the chair too far out of his reach, even with the freedom he’d just gained, but he could still reach Shouta. The nausea he’d previously been keeping at bay came back like a tidal wave when he approached Shouta, now that he was able to get a closer view of the cuts along his stomach.
“If I get down on my hands and knees, will you stand on my back?” he asked.
Shouta’s eyes widened, and he shook his head.
“No, Shinsou, you can’t—”
“Fine.”
Stooping down and wrapping his arms just below Shouta’s knees, Hitoshi lifted him up. The relieved sigh that escaped Shouta only proved his thoughts concerning the strain on Shouta’s wrists. Shouta gripped the chain above his head, and the weight in his arms instantly got lighter.
Dammit, sensei! You don’t have to make this easier for me. Just…let me….
“Let me hold you up.” He blinked when he realized he’d said the words out loud. Shouta looked down at him. “You don’t need to waste your energy, and I can’t imagine how your wrists are looking right now. I promise I’ll let you down when I get tired, okay?”
Shouta strained to keep holding himself up and started to shake his head again, but the struggle didn’t even last another minute. He glanced back up at the ceiling and slowly lowered himself. Hitoshi found himself holding more of Shouta’s weight.
“Okay.”
Hitoshi tightened his hold on Shouta’s legs. More blood streamed from the cuffs, making him sick to his stomach all over again.
Sensei couldn’t put up much of a fight. That’s definitely not a good sign.
Rescue better get here soon.