He was drowning in a dark abyss, the sounds all around him muffled and distorted, as if filtering through thick layers of water. His head buzzed with a persistent, disorienting hum, and with every passing second, he could feel an unraveling fear clawing its way up from the depths of his subconscious.
The darkness began to fade, giving way to a familiar, terrifying scene. He found himself stranded in a chair, quirk-nullifying ropes biting into his exposed skin, they were tight enough that made him feel out of breath. Kai Chisaki, the man who had haunted his nightmares for years, stood before him, his grin was filled with madness and his eyes were cold, there was a little insanity in them. Kai's lips moved, but no sound emerged. The silence was deafening, more frightening than any words could have been. Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, Kurayami was enveloped in searing pain, every nerve ending aflame.
His eyes flew open, a strangled gasp caught in his throat. Disorientation clouded his mind, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it in his ears. Cold sweat plastered his clothes to his skin, a clammy reminder of the nightmare's lingering grip. That's when reality came crashing back - the alley, the boy, the fight. He had lost. He had been kidnapped. The realization hit him like a physical blow: if he couldn't find a way to escape, he might soon find himself back in that hellhole, his nightmares made real once again.
Slowly, painfully, the rest of his senses began to return. The steady drip-drip-drip of a leaky sink echoed in the background, a metronomic counterpoint to the low murmurs and muted cries that surrounded him. The salty scent of the ocean wafted through the air, mingled with the electric tang of an oncoming storm. And then, startlingly, he became aware of a hand on his shoulder.
Kurayami flinched violently at the unexpected touch, his body instinctively coiling like a spring ready to unleash. He whirled around, coming face to face with a girl who couldn't have been older than fourteen. Her eyes, wide with concern, met his, and he felt a flicker of something - not quite trust, but a momentary lessening of his guard.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as if she feared being overheard.
For the first time, Kurayami truly took in his surroundings. The room was small, oppressively so, and filled with children of various ages. Some huddled together in small groups, seeking comfort in numbers. Others sat alone in corners, arms wrapped tightly around themselves as if trying to hold their very essence together. A few wept silently, faces buried in dirty knees or threadbare pillows, their bodies shaking with suppressed sobs. The oldest among them looked to be sixteen, maybe seventeen, while the youngest couldn't have been more than four - a realization that made Kurayami's stomach churn with a mixture of pity and rage.
"Where are we?" he asked instead of answering the girl's question. His voice came out as a hoarse croak, and he suddenly became aware of how parched he was. He pushed the discomfort aside, focusing on gathering information.
The girl didn't seem to mind his evasion. Instead, her expression filled with a dread that seemed too heavy for her young face to bear.
"I don't know," she admitted, her voice tinged with hopelessness. "None of us do. We only know we're close to the sea. At least, that's what we've gathered based on the smell."
"Human traffickers?" Kurayami wondered aloud, though he already knew the answer. The girl's silence was confirmation enough.
After a moment, she spoke again, her eyes drawn to his hands. "You must have put up quite a fight."
Kurayami looked down at his bound wrists. The cuffs were tight, but mercifully fastened in front of him. A grim smile tugged at the corner of his mouth - the Yakuza had ensured he knew how to escape from restraints by the time he was seven. It was, quite literally, child's play.
"A lot of good that did me," he said sarcastically as he worked the cuffs off his sore hands. The metal clicked open, falling away to reveal angry red marks on his skin.
The girl stared at his newly freed hands, her eyes widening slightly before a grim grin spread across her face. "Still," she said, "that's a lot more than any of us managed. None of us were bound like you were."
Kurayami flexed his fingers, wincing slightly at the stiffness in his joints. He might have been captured, but he was far from defeated. His gaze swept across the room, taking in the frightened faces of the other children. Their fear was palpable, hanging in the air like a thick fog, he fought the desperation that started enveloping him.
"What's your name?" he asked the girl, his voice low.
"Akira," she replied, "not that it matters anymore"
"We are going to get out of here" Kurayami's voice was filled with determination, his sole working eye was 'scanning' the small room taking everything in.
Akira looked at him, a mixture of disbelief and a tiny flicker of hope battling in her expression. "There's no way out," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to even entertain the possibility.
"Not if you don't look for it," Kurayami replied, his mind already racing through potential escape scenarios. During his training he had been in tight spots before, and he'd always found a way out. This time would be no different.
His gaze traveled upward, noting the rafters above. They were old, with spots of rot visible even in the dim light. A normal person might see this as a sign of decay and hopelessness, but Kurayami saw opportunity. The deterioration meant they might be able to support his weight without making too much noise.
Moths of running away and living on the streets had left their mark on his body. He was a little underweight, his frame lean and wiry rather than filled out. It wasn't ideal for health, but in this situation, it could be an advantage. He could probably navigate those rafters without them cracking under his weight.
His attention then shifted to the window. It was small, but not impossibly so. He estimated he could fit through it, though it would be a tight squeeze. The real question was what lay beyond - how high up were they? Was there a way down? Or would jumping mean certain injury, if not worse?
He turned back to Akira, his expression set with grim determination. "I need you to tell me everything you know about this place. How often do they check on us? What's the guard rotation like? Have you seen or heard anything about what's outside that window?"
Akira blinked, seemingly taken aback by his sudden barrage of questions. But as she processed his words, a small spark seemed to ignite in her eyes - the first real sign of hope she'd shown since he woke up.
"I... I can do that," she said, her voice growing slightly stronger. "But... do you really think we can escape?"
Kurayami's lips curled into a small, determined smile. "I don't think," he said, his voice was low but filled with conviction. "I know. Now, let's get to work. We've got a lot to do and not much time to do it."
Akira leaned in close, her voice barely above a whisper. "There are at least five of them that I've seen. The leader is a tall man with a scar across his face. He's the one you need to watch out for - he's got some kind of strength-enhancing quirk."
Kurayami nodded, absorbing the information. "What about the others?"
"There's a woman with blond hair who can create chains, she is the one that brought me here. She's also usually the one who brings us food and water. Then there's a guy who can stretch his limbs - he does most of the patrols. The other two... I'm not sure about their quirks, but one of them is always watching the cameras, and the last one seems to be the muscle."
"How often do they check on us?" Kurayami asked, his mind already formulating a plan.
"Every four hours or so. They just did a check before you woke up, so we should have some time."
"Do you know how often the camera feed is checked on?" Kurayami's keen eye had spotted the cameras almost immediately upon waking.
They were cleverly hidden, but years of paranoia and survival had honed his senses. He noticed one nestled in the corner of the ceiling, its lens barely visible behind a crack in the plaster. Another was disguised as a light fixture, its pinhole camera almost imperceptible.
He'd casually surveyed the room, noting the cameras' fields of view and the small blind spots between them.
"I wish" Akira said with a sigh. She had started despairing once again. Without a word Kurayami moved as a shadow testing the blind spots of the cameras. Using the huddled groups of children as cover, Kurayami had slowly maneuvered himself into one of these blind spots, already trying to calculate the camera's movements, gathering in the process some unnerved gazes from the rest of the kids, he ignored them. He wished he had his phone so he could hack their system, but that would be to easy and his life was never easy.
****
The room was quiet save for the soft breathing of sleeping children. Kurayami, however, was wide awake.
He glanced at Akira, who gave him a slight nod. It was time.
Kurayami took a deep breath, centering himself. Then, with fluid grace, he began to move. He started by scaling the wall that was bathed in shadows, his fingers finding purchase in the smallest of crevices between the bricks. His movements were slow and deliberate, each placement of hand and foot calculated to avoid making noise.
As he neared the ceiling, he paused, hanging by his fingertips as he assessed his next move. The rafters loomed above him, old and weathered. He'd have to be careful - one wrong move and he'd alert the guards or, worse, fall.
With a controlled swing, Kurayami launched himself from the wall to the nearest rafter. His hands closed around the rough wood, and for a heart-stopping moment, he heard the ominous creak of stressed timber. But the beam held, and he pulled himself up, balancing precariously on the narrow surface.
From this vantage point, Kurayami could see the entire room laid out below him. He could also see the full extent of the camera coverage. Carefully, he began to make his way across the rafters, mindful of both the creaking wood and the cameras' lines of sight.
At one point, he came to a gap too wide to simply walk across. A hanging light fixture swung gently between the rafters. Without hesitation, Kurayami leapt, catching the light with both hands. The fixture groaned under his weight, swinging wildly. He held his breath, praying it wouldn't fall. After a tense moment, the swinging subsided, and he used the momentum to launch himself to the next rafter.
As he neared the window, disaster nearly struck. The wood beneath his feet, weakened by years of neglect and damp, began to splinter. Kurayami felt the rafter give way and reacted instinctively. He threw himself forward, hands outstretched. His fingers just managed to catch the edge of the next beam, and he dangled there for a moment, heart pounding, as chunks of rotten wood fell to the floor below, waking some of the children and causing then to look up at him in confusion and awe.
With a grunt of effort, Kurayami pulled himself up onto the stable rafter. He paused there, catching his breath and trying to slow his heartbeat.
Finally, after what felt like hours but was likely only minutes, Kurayami reached the window. He clung to the rafter with one hand while the other worked at the rusty latch. It took all his strength and dexterity to force it open without making too much noise.
As the window swung open, a gust of salty air hit his face. Kurayami peered out into the darkness, his single eye widening at the sight. They were incredibly high up, the churning sea visible far below, as waves bombardised the dense rocky edge where sea met earth.
He estimated they were at least sixty feet above the water, with jagged rocks lining the base of what appeared to be a cliff.
Kurayami took a deep breath, his mind racing. This changed things. There was no way the other children could make this climb, and a jump from this height would be fatal. He needed a new plan, and fast.
With the same care and skill he'd used to reach the window, Kurayami began his descent back to the floor. By the time his feet touched the ground, his muscles were trembling with exertion, but his mind was clear and focused.
Some of the children that had woken up were sitting with Akira who was filling them in to their plans. After all they needed to know more than just how to meve outside of their capters detection.
He carefully made his way back to where Akira and the other kids were waiting anxiously, making sure to stay in the cameras' blind spots.
"What did you see?" she whispered.
Kurayami shook his head grimly. "It's too high. We're on a cliff, at least sixty feet up. There's no way we can get out that way."
As disappointment flickered across Akira's face, and that flicker of hope was extinguished from the others, Kurayami's mind was already racing, formulating a new plan. The window escape was impossible, but he was far from out of options. Their real escape attempt was just beginning.
"Let's go over what we know about our captors. Every detail could be crucial for our escape." His voice was low and urgent. "Tell me more about the guards," he urged, he turned to Akira. "You mentioned a woman with a chain quirk?"
Akira nodded. "Yeah, I've seen her use some kind of chain quirk. She can create chains out of thin air, but I think it has something to do with light. I've never seen her use it in complete darkness."
This information sparked an idea in Kurayami's mind. "A chain quirk that relies on light," he mused. "That could be useful. What about the others?"
One of the older kids, a boy with fiery red hair, spoke up first. "I overheard two of them talking. The leader, the guy with the scar? His quirk isn't just strength enhancement. It's full-on muscle manipulation. He can increase his muscle mass and density at will."
Kurayami nodded, filing away this crucial information. "Good catch. That makes him even more dangerous than we thought."
"And the stretchy guy," another kid added, "he doesn't just stretch his limbs. I saw him contort his whole body to fit through a tiny vent. It was freaky."
Kurayami turned to the group. "What about the others? The camera watcher and the muscle?"
A timid voice from the back spoke up. "The camera guy... I think he has some sort of technopathy. I saw him control the cameras without touching them, just by looking at them."
"As for the muscle," another kid said, "I haven't seen him use his quirk, but he's built like a tank. Could be some kind of durability quirk?"
Kurayami nodded, then addressed the group. "There's one more we need to be wary of. He was one of my kidnappers. He can turn oxygen into a kind of poison gas, he can probably incapacitate his targets."
The kids looked at each other, a mix of fear and determination in their eyes. Kurayami continued, "So, to recap: We're dealing with six villains. The leader with muscle enhancement, the chain woman, the stretchy patroller, the technopath on cameras, the unconfirmed muscle, and the poison gas man."
He paused, letting the information sink in. "Each of these quirks is formidable, but they also have weaknesses we can exploit. The chain woman's range is limited and she need light, the stretchy guy might be vulnerable when extended, and if that doesn't work then he is surely vulnerable to fire and knives, lastly the poison gas is useless against my quirk."
Kurayami's mind raced, piecing together a plan. They couldn't escape through the window, but maybe they could use the guards' own abilities against them. The irony of it made him smile inwardly.
"Alright," he said finally, a Cheshire grin stretching across his face. "I think I have a new plan, but it's going to be risky." His eyes gleamed with a mix of excitement and determination. He always loved ghost stories, stories about thieves and spies. Now, it was time to write their own tale of daring escape.
"Here's what we're going to do..." Kurayami began, his voice dropping to a whisper as he outlined his plan to the wide-eyed kids around him.
****
Kurayami sat in the darkness, his breath shallow, his heart hammering in his chest. The room was cramped and filled with a heavy, suffocating air, thick with the scent of saltwater and sweat. He could barely make out the silhouettes of the other kids, scattered across the room like shadows, each one cloaked in fear. The quiet murmur of nervous whispers floated through the space, but Kurayami's focus was razor-sharp.
Beside him, a girl with pale skin and short-cropped hair concentrated, her eyes glowing faintly. Slowly, the light from the flickering ceiling bulb began to fade. The room grew darker, the shadows deepening until the light was completely absorbed, leaving the space bathed in an impenetrable blackness. The kids held their breath as if the act of breathing too loudly would betray them.
Kurayami's pulse quickened. 'It's starting.' he thought.
At the far end of the hallway, the man who monitored the cameras noticed the change immediately. His eyes narrowed as the live feed from the camera in their room darkened and couldn't even make the children's shadows out "Something's wrong," he muttered, reaching for the comms.
Within minutes, the door to their prison creaked open, and the chain woman entered. Her footsteps were heavy, deliberate. Her blonde hair was tied back tightly, and her eyes scanned the darkness with suspicion. Around her, chains began to materialize, their silver links glinting faintly in the dim light spilling in from the hallway. The chains were weak as they could only absorb the light from the hallway, cracks were starting to form on them, the woman frowned.
A soft, melodic hum filled the air, barely audible but potent in its effect. Her steps faltered, her eyelids drooping as the lullaby quirk took hold. The girl responsible—small, delicate, and utterly unassuming—emerged from the shadows, her voice weaving a hypnotic melody, focused solely on the woman. The chain woman swayed, her body slowly going slack, until she collapsed in a heap on the floor, her chains dissolving into nothingness.
Without hesitation, Akira moved forward and touched the woman in her soldier. Her body shimmered as her quirk took effect, her form morphing into that of the unconscious woman. Now, she looked every bit the part—the same cold, calculating eyes, the same tall, imposing frame.
Kurayami nodded toward the boy at the back of the room. The illusionist's brow was furrowed in concentration as he conjured the scene. Suddenly, the room was bathed in light again, the kids were back in their assigned places, and the unconscious woman was nowhere to be seen. It was a perfect replica of reality that should have been, if Kurayami never joined them, an illusion strong enough to fool the cameras—thanks to the boost from the boy with the enhancement quirk, standing quietly beside him.
Kurayami signaled to the group, and they slipped into the hallway, careful not to make a sound. A boy with an echolocation guided them. As they made their way deeper into the labyrinthine corridors of the facility, the walls seemed to close in on them, the air growing colder and more oppressive.
Ahead, Akira, still in disguise, led the way with the other kid. They approached the room where two more of their kidnappers were stationed—the technopath who controlled the cameras, and the man with the disturbing ability to stretch and contort his body like rubber.
The technopath looked up as Akira entered. "Problem?" he asked, his tone flat.
Akira, in her new guise, gave a dismissive shake of her head. "No, just a flicker in the lights. It's nothing," she said, her voice mimicking the chain woman's perfectly.
The technopath grunted, his attention returning to the monitors. The stretchy man stretched his long limbs lazily, leaning back in his chair. "Didn't they pay the freaking electricity bill or something?" he muttered.
That was their moment.
The lights flickered once more, plunging the room into brief darkness. When they blinked back on, Irori struck. Her breath, cold and sharp, shot from her lips, freezing the stretchy man solid in his seat. Frost crept up his limbs, locking him in place. After all it's simple physi, rubber and cold don't mix very well together. Taiyoo followed quickly, his hands glowing with heat as he approached the man, ensuring he wasn't frozen to death, only immobilized. The technopath barely had time to react before Kurayami's leg connected with the side of his head, knocking him out cold.
Kurayami took a deep breath. So far, the plan was working. They already had tied them up and finally allowed all the illusions to drop. The boys -the illusionist and the enhancement boy- nearly collapsed from the strain.
Kurayami checked the cameras, "shit" he whispered, finally dropping her disguise Akira walked next to him as she heard him.
"What's wrong?" Her voice filled with concern.
"They have a very tight security, we only knew six of them because they were the vanguard " he said as he watched at least a dozen man patrolling the building, both outside and inside. Now if it was just him he could make it out alive, but it wasn't just him. "We need a new plan and fast" his eyes found the leader, he was in some kind of office, talking to the phone, his breath hitched as he managed to lip read a name that left the leader's mouth. Chisaki. "We really need to get out"
"It's hopeless" Irori said as she looked at the cameras, seeing the actual numbers of their kidnappers.
"We only have so much time before they find us" Taiyoo added.
"We made it so far, we can make it out" the boy with the illusions - Ichi, his brain supplied the name- said
"Look at their numbers, sure it was a miracle we made it this far but now what? We are sixteen untrained kids against a dozen trained villains" Irori argued and the rest followed picking sides, Kurayami remained quiet looking at the cameras trying to come up with a plan, Akira quiet by his side observing.
That's when he saw it, they were far but he could still make them out, he saw as small cracks decorated the earth and a huge shout appeared. He smirked, they were lucky, they had their distraction.
"We will proceed as we planned" his voice cut through the argument.
"Are you serious, we don't stand a chance " Irori said.
"The heroes are here" was the only thing he said. Silence followed as they registered his words. "Now we can make their life a little bit easier and get out of here so they don't have to worry about us"
As they began to move toward the exit, a sudden, unmistakable sound reached their ears—tremors, the earth started shaking. He grinned. It was starting, the heroes ambushed the villains, the sirens were deafening and painted the entire building in hues of red.
After about thirty minutes of walking Kurayami peered around the corner and saw chaos unfolding. The gas villain was in the middle of the room, releasing a steady stream of purple gas that billowed through the air like a toxic cloud. Several heroes were already down, their bodies crumpled on the floor as they fought sleep. The only one still standing was O'Clock, his speed keeping him just ahead of the gas's reach. But even he was struggling, his movements becoming erratic as the sleep inducing gas began to take its toll, and he could hold his breath for so long.
"Hold your breath" Kurayami warned the rest of the kids, but it was too late, some of them were already sluggish, some were already down. He cursed.
Kurayami gritted his teeth. The gas hit him like a wall, but instead of making hims sleepy, something else happened. His throat and chest glowed with the familiar eerie blue light—his quirk activating. He felt the gas fade, nullified by the power coursing through him.
With quiet precision, Kurayami slipped through the thickening cloud of gas. His body moved low, almost blending with the shadows as he crept up behind the gas villain. In one swift motion, he drove his elbow into the man's neck, cutting off the flow of gas and sending him crumpling to the floor.
O'Clock caught a glimpse of him through the haze, but he was too weak to speak, his eyes wide with shock. Kurayami gave him a nod before retreating to the shadows. The rest of the kids would now be safe thanks to the heroes, but he couldn't afford to stay.
The exit was close now, the cool night air just a few steps away. But as Kurayami made it out, he heard a soft meow at his feet. He froze, his eyes narrowing. A sleek black cat with blue markings and two tails sat in his path, its green-gold eyes glowing with a knowing glint. "Mayhem." He said with joy and relief, Mayhem immediately found his way into his arms.
The realization hit him. Mayhem had led the heroes here. The rescue squad had tracked them, using the cat as a guide.
Kurayami grinned at his feline friend, "you're unbelievable, how did you even know where to find me?" He asked.
His only reply was a small meow and soft purring. He chuckled, and just accepted that Mayhem wasn't an ordinary cat.
They emerged into the night, the scent of the sea stronger than ever, the roar of the waves crashing against the cliffs below. The city lights of Fukuoka twinkled in the distance.
Tomorrow, they would be on their way to Okinawa.