Thump thump.
Thump thump.
Thump thump.

That was the sound of Eri's heart hammering in her chest.

The man who had been in charge of watching her—who had bangs covering his eyes and a pretentious smile that sent chills running down her spine—had gone over to other room to talk to another man. Across from her, her room was unlocked and slightly ajar. This was her chance...

Freedom.

She was tired of the needles and blood and being trapped to a chair. She was tired of the world going hazy and black, only to then wake up, finding herself on an oversized bed, her skin a fresh canvas. The toys never made her feel better—worse, if anything. It were as if the plastic dolls or cuddly bears were a taunting reminder that something as nice as a plaything couldn't give her joy.

Nothing could.

If she were to take this opportunity to escape, would he find her? Would he punish her? What about other people? Would he hurt them as a punishment?

She'd better stay and accept her fate. She must've committed terrible, unspeakable crimes to receive this fate she called hell. This life—if that's would you could even call this—wasn't worth living.

But she didn't want to die. Not again. She wanted to live. She wanted to be free. Was that so awful? Was it so awful that she couldn't seize possibly her only chance at escaping?

The horned child bit her lip. She couldn't remember a life outside of this one, but she sometimes got flashes of memories, probably from when she was younger. Much, much younger. And although she didn't know what the flashes meant, she associated the feeling that flickered in her chest with... happiness.

She wanted to feel that again. She wanted to feel that sweet emotion spread across her whole body. And before she even knew it, she had gotten up from her sitting position on the bed, threw the bedroom door completely open, and ran as fast as her little legs would let her. Her bare feet made small thudding sounds as they hit against the smooth tile of the building floor when she made her way to the exit. Her gut clenched with anxiety and her brain screamed at her to stop, but her legs did not obey. They moved and moved, and even when a man shouted for her to "get back here!", her body continued as if it would be the last time it'd be able to. Even when she heard footsteps that were much louder and heavier than her own following behind her, she didn't hesitate.

And for the first time in her life, she felt a sliver of hope.

She used both of her small hands to push the exit door open. The blinding sun poured onto her like paint as she got out of the building, still scurrying like the pest that she felt like.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! She's getting away! Get her, damn it!" One of the men behind her yelled. They sounded further away than she thought. Still, she didn't allow herself to slow down no matter how out of breath she already felt.

The bright red eyed girl halted for only a heartbeat to whip her head from side to side so that she could scan the area and find a place to run or hide. Her eyes darted to a small, shabby, wooden building down a narrow alley. There, she decided. She ran past the alley and hid behind a wall.

"She went that way!" The voice of her care keeper informed. The two other men followed him and bolted right past her.

Eri stood shakily until she could no longer hear heels on concrete. She exhaled and slide down to the floor, using the wall behind her as leverage. Her heart was still racing and her feet throbbed. She must've stepped on a rock or two.

As much as she wanted to stay behind that corner forever and cry herself a river, she knew that she'd ought to go to the wooden building where she could get help. The men would probably come back running here, desperate to find her. So she grunted quietly as she pulled herself back onto her feet, and approached the building.

Her nostrils were hit with a wave of something she'd never smelled before. It wasn't pleasant. However, the young female felt content with the calmness and relative emptiness of the place, so she proceeded to walk in.

A man with a cigarette in his mouth quickly noticed her. He was leaning against a wall with a hand laxly in his pocket.

"Hey, kid," he said hesitantly. He observed her ragged outfit and countless bandages, his eyes squinted behind his glasses. "Where's your parents?"

Eri tensed. She almost ran out of there from instinct immediately, but she forced her feet the plant to the ground. She had to stay in here until she knew that it was completely safe to go back outside. She just didn't know if it were safe in here. With round eyes that exposed her fear, she replied with, "I need help. Please."

The man scratched his head. "Whatcha mean?"

The frightened child gulped and looked around the building nervously before continuing. "There is a bad man chasing me. I don't want to go back! Please!" Her eyes quickly started to water.

The man kneeled down to get to the girl's level. He raised a brow but remained awfully calm. "Well, how about you tell me your name first?"

"Eri," she answered worriedly. She glanced at the door.

"I'm Giran, but people call me Broker. Now, just who is this bad man?" The stranger questioned.

"O-Overhaul," Eri explained as she shifted her weight, "he is dangerous. The other men are looking for me. They work for him."

Giran went wide eyed. His mouth went agape and the cigarette almost fell out of his mouth. "Overhaul... you know him?"

Eri nodded desperately. He knew Chisaki! Did that mean he'd protect her?

Suddenly, Giran stood up, making Eri flinch violently and step back.

"Okay, I'll help you. But first, you gotta help me. Deal?" The adult suggested. He held out a hand.

Eri looked up at him with those big orbs that held too much trauma for such a young child. "Okay," she whispered. She accepted his large hand. The human contact wasn't as terrifying as it usual was. In fact, it was almost comforting. She was still wary, though. She didn't think she'd ever go a day in her life without being so.

The man lead her out of the building, still holding hands with her, and entered another building with a similar design. A group of people were lounging on the bar stools in front of a table. They all turned to the door once a bell rang as it opened.

"Heya, look who I found!" Giran smugly cheered as he put a hand on Eri's back and gently pushed her forward. Eri didn't like how that sounded at all. "I think she was held captive or something by Overhaul," he informed. He put his cigarette to his mouth. "She's a little jumpy so don't get all up in her face."

A young looking man with a hand attached to his face, shoulders, and arms eyed her quietly. Eri gasped at the sight of the loose limbs and turned to run, but was held back by Giran.

"No, no! P-please!" Eri screamed as she thrashed against his grip on the collar of her dress.

"Hold still, kid, we're not gonna do anything. Just need some info, and then you can go," Giran assured, his voice containing a hint of annoyance. Eri ignored him and continued to fight against him feebly.

"I think that you should let her go," a purple glowing man without a definite shape inputted.

"Tame her, wouldn't you? We don't have all day," a young man with purple scars grumbled.

"Tame her," rang in Eri's ears. She was going to be restrained again. She was going to be a prisoner again.

"No! No! NO!!" She screamed with power that could break glass. At that moment, her horn began to glow and sputter sparks of orange electricity. A wisp of it went straight for Giran's face.

"AH! Shit!" Giran shouted as he let go of the girl and brought his hands to his eyes. "M-My eyes!"

The men stood up from their seats with their eyes the sizes of saucers.

Eri used the opportunity to leap towards the door, but suddenly a purple vortex appeared in front of her and she ended up jumping into it and popping out right in front of the crusty faced man. She gasped and fell backwards, crawling away from him until she hit a wall.

"Sir?" The misty yellow eyed questioned as he watched the man Eri had affected reach his hands out to nothing and spit colorful curse words.

"I can't see! That brat did something to me!" Giran yelled. Through the anger, his panic was detectable. "Fix this now!"

"I-I can't! I don't how—I-I don't know what I did!" Eri stammered with a quivering voice. She pressed herself impossibly further into the wall. "P-please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry!" She raised her arms over her face for protection, expecting to get beat up.

"Dabi, get him to a medic," The man with a hand of his face ordered, speaking for the first time in front of Eri. His voice was low and calm. The scarred man groaned. "Kurogiri, go with them. I'll stay with the girl."

"Are you sure?" The man apparently named Kurogiri questioned with concern. "Clearly, she's unstable. You could get hurt-"

"He'll be fine. I'm sure he wouldn't be the boss if he couldn't handle a little girl. Let's just go and get this over with," the black haired one, Dabi, said apathetically.

"Stop complaining and hurry up!" Giran complained. He held onto both men for guidance as they walked out through the door. Eri would've thought about running for the exit if she weren't so terrified of getting hurt—or worse—by the man currently watching her with one unblinking eye.

"Get up," he simply said.

Eri didn't move.

"I'm not going to hurt you," The man offered. "If I hurt you, I wouldn't be able to get information from you. But if you don't get up, I'll get mad. Then I'll hurt you."

His logic made sense to the little girl, so she slowly got up, her head bowed fearfully. She had tasted freedom for seconds. While it was more than she ever thought she'd get, she was devastated by how quickly it ended. Now here she was, trapped one way or another. Again.

The blue haired male observed her before he began interrogating. "What does Overhaul do with you? Why would he keep you captive? And what do you know about him? Tell me everything."

Eri's lips quivered. "He... he hurts me. T-t-takes my... blo-ood." Her eyes flickered to the bandages around her arms. "I know that he-he's a bad man. He wants to hurt o-other people."

The man's eyes narrowed. "Why would he want your blood?"

Only then did it occur to the young girl that telling this stranger about all of this was a terrible idea. Either Chisaki would find out that she shared his secrets or this man would steal the idea and start doing the same thing to her. Why did she tell him? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"I'm waiting," The man pushed.

He was going to kill her. Whether it be because she refused to tell him or because she did and then he'd need to kill her.

She was a fool for believing that a stranger would help her. She should have ran to an abandoned building and lived there. She could have eaten food from the garbage. It wouldn't have been pleasant, but at least she would have been free. And alive. But now... now she would die. She'd never feel that emotion that made her heart feel lighter ever again. That emotion that wasn't despair for once more in her life. It'd never happen. Instead, she was going to feel that agonizing blackness consume her again.

Over...

And...

Over again.

Like always.

It was a never ending torture. It would never end, would it?

The child's back pressed against the wall yet again. "No... no..." she muttered through her increasing pants. She was hyperventilating.

Should she beg for him to make it quick? To plead that he left her permanently dead in exchange for all the information on Chasaki that he wanted?

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Like she wasn't getting enough air. The room around her was getting darker at the corners and slowly slithered towards her. No, not again! She sank to the floor.

"Hey, stop that," the man said hesitantly. Eri didn't listen. "Hey, hey, calm down, kid. I'm not gonna do anything, alright?"

His words had as much of an affect in her as it would a person wearing ear plugs. He shifted uncomfortably. He'd never dealt with kids before, especially like this. And he knew he wasn't a good person, but... he couldn't just leave the girl like this. He slowly approached her, earning a whimper in response. The villain raised his hands up harmlessly and squatted down. "I'm not going to hurt you. I don't care about your blood, okay?"

Tone of his voice and word choice seemed to work. While her breathing was still slightly rapid and shaky, she gradually stopped hyperventilating within a long interval of silence. Tears glistened in the scared, little girl's eyes as she carefully watched his every move.

"My name is Shigaraki," the man said slowly. "I'm the leader of the League of Villains. We don't like Overhaul; he hurt one of our comrades and killed another. I need information on him so that we can stop him. That's why I asked what you know about him."

Eri stared wide eyed at him. He was trying to trick her? Right? Right? No one had ever spoken to her like this. It was so soft and gentle. It actually seemed like he cared how she felt. He sounded... nice. That intimidating eye wasn't so scary anymore. Everything was supposed to be scary.

"When you're ready, tell me your name," Shigaraki muttered.

It took a minute or two for Eri to calm her breath. Once she felt that she'd controlled her racing heart, she quietly said, "Eri."

"Okay, Eri," Shigaraki said, trying out her name of his tongue, "I'm going to ask again, but you don't need to panic; I just need to know so that I can stop Overhaul. Why does he want your blood?"

Eri chewed on her lip. She didn't completely trust this man, but if there was even a small chance that he was being truthful...

"It has a power," she answered. "I don't know what it does, but... but he puts it in tubes. And he does stuff to to it. And-and I think he wants to use it for bad." After noticing Shigaraki waiting for more of an explanation, she timidly added, "that's all I know."

Shigaraki hummed. "I see." As tense as a cat that was ready to jump away, she watched Shigaraki stand back up straightly, his hands in his pocket. "Eri, do you have any idea what your quirk does? Aside from the blood?"

The girl blinked. "No," she responded. She looked towards the ground sadly. "And I can't control it. I only hurt people with it. I-I'm sorry for what I did to that man earlier..."

Shigaraki inspected her with growing interest. "There's been other moments like that one?"

Eri peered at him through her hair that had fallen over half of her face. She gave a guilty nod. "I heard one of the... the men saying that I—" She sniffled "—that I made my father disappear. I don't even remember it..."

The man's eyes widened. For a moment, it felt like time froze—that he was looking through a mirror. Not only did she resemble him physically—with her light blue, almost a grayish white hair, and light red eyes—but her situation was like his when he was young. He had All for One to guide him. This girl... she had no one. A powerful quirk but no one to show her the way.

"I can help you," he decided. The girl looked at him with her doe-like eyes in confusion. "If you join my cause, I can give you a place to live, food to eat, and protection from Overhaul. However, joining my cause, the League of Villain, means that you're agreeing to work for me. To whatever end. The choice is yours. If you disagree, I'll interrogate you until I have all the information I need. Then I'll throw you out, but not to Overhaul directly. If you agree, I will provide you with everything you need. What do you say?"

Eri's lips parted as she just stared at the man in shock. She could have a home. She could live without fear of Chisaki and his men. She could be... free. "Yes," she breathed, much too quickly. She got up from the hard floor and nodded vigorously as tears prickled at her eyes yet again. "Yes. Yes. I will join you and the league of Villians."

And there it was. That feeling in her chest. It was glowing faintly at the thought of a new life. She wouldn't mind working with this man. He had showed her a kindness that she'd never experienced before. She didn't care what this League of Villains thing was about; she just wanted to be safe with Shigaraki.

"Good," he said. "Then lets go somewhere you can wash yourself up and get some clean clothes. Afterwards, when you're settled in, you can tell me everything about Overhaul and yourself."

Eri nodded. She followed him out of the building and into some store. She had never been to a store before. There was a lot she'd never seen before. A lot she didn't know. A lot she needed to learn. But it was okay—she was okay. Because she was with Shigaraki, and he had offered her a home. She could finally be free.

Eri lips twitched upwards for split second to what could have possibly been a smile.