"Are you crazy, Ollie!"
Ollie, whatever strands of hair he had left on his head, flailed his arms frantically as he heaved like a tired mule, already out of breath.
Yet, he continued like his life depended on it.
Both he and Rin currently darted through the grassy clearing after the latter had practically tumbled down the hill, slowly approaching Ollie.
Despite his frail and thin frame, Rin was quite the physically gifted individual, having already cleared most of the distance between them in just a few seconds despite the head start the balding man had.
'But it's not enough. At this rate, he'll get to the gate before I get to him…'
"Hey!"
Rin was the only one to look back at this sudden yell, only to witness Isagi leap off the hill the mansion sat on, diving through the air and soon slamming into the ground feet first.
Yet, despite the fall, it seemed to barely bother him as he looked up, mumbling something.
"Wind."
-WHOOSH
Isagi dug his feet into the ground, his figure almost blurring as he shot forward at jaw-dropping speeds, almost as though he was the wind itself.
[Name: Isagi]
[Quirk: Elemental Imitation]
[Description: By experiencing the universal elements first hand, the user's body gains the ability to imitate the properties and perks of said element]
Rin watched as Isagi soon darted by him, his previous worries instantly lessening as he watched the latter catch up to the crazed man.
'Just a little more, Isagi…'
Rin watched, his attention split between how close they, especially Ollie, were to the gate and how many more steps Isagi needed to grab Ollie.
And as a few more seconds passed, Rin held his breath upon witnessing Isagi leap forth, gritting his teeth as he and Ollie bordered the gate.
But it was too late.
Before Rin could even see the outcome of this, they disappeared within the darkness of the gate.
'Shit. He's probably got him? Do I wait for Isagi to drag him out? No, Ollie might put up a fight. We can't afford that, considering the gates will be closing soon.'
Rin felt his skin grow goosebumps the more he neared the gate.
He'd been here his entire life, and it was only the second time he'd come so close to the gate. The first time was an accident, and saw him being scolded by Ms Ino.
He and the others then learned to never meddle with the gate.
For his sake and the two others, they needed to get back before she figured anything out.
As for now?
'Fuck it, I'm already in too deep. The best we can hope for now is ending it quickly so that Isagi can make it back to the others without anyone noticing.'
And so, he too dug his feet into the ground, his feet sometimes falling into the patches of grass the other two had already kicked off of, soon approaching the darkness within the gate.
'Why is it so dark? I can't see a thing. They can't have made it too far…'
However, before Rin could finish his thought, just having passed the brick frame of the gate, he witnessed his entire world swirl.
His mind went blank as the colour in his eyes faded, and soon, everything faded to black.
***
"What the…"
Staring for a few seconds, Rin debated whether he really was awake right now or still unconscious.
Despite having his eyes wide open, darkness prevailed.
But as the seconds passed and his eyes started getting used to it, the surroundings began to become more vivid.
"Where am I?" He mumbled, rising to his feet as he scanned the hallway he appeared in.
With porcelain flooring, walls and ceilings, there was barely any lighting, only a few dim bulbs spaced out along the corridor, some flickering unpredictably.
The light barely lit the centre of the hallway, the corners and sides were conquered by the shadows.
Not only that, the very air felt different. Moving his body felt like he was submerged in oil, and every breath he took felt insufficient and thin.
Seeing the hallway stretch outward before him, he hesitated, his heartbeat beginning to quicken.
Instinctively, he looked back, looking for an exit.
However, he froze upon witnessing a dead end.
All that lay before him and a tall wall was a hovering sphere around the size of his head.
The Sphere depicted an aerial image of a large mansion on the hill. He could see the scene wasn't a simple image either, considering the leaves on the trees and the blades of grass all fluttered under the gentle breeze.
'What the hell is going on? What is all this?'
Countless questions invaded Rin's mind.
However, as he took a step back, the texture under his foot changed from the solid porcelain for a moment as he looked down, witnessing patches of dirt.
'The others…they came in here too…'
He deduced, remembering the holes their feet made outside.
He stood there for an unknown amount of time, and soon, he gritted his teeth and banged his thigh.
'Fuck fuck fuck…what have I gotten myself into.'
He panicked, but it didn't stop him as he shot off the ground. He was already here, and standing aimlessly wouldn't do him any good.
Therefore, he darted into the darkness.
The more he ran, the more he could see the road up ahead.
He twisted and wound around any turn and corner he'd see, following the specs of dirt he'd see every so often.
And perhaps it was the thin air, but the more he ran, the more he started to breathe heavily.
This was uncommon for him, considering the few times he ran around, it would take a while for his stamina to deplete.
Yet after a minute or so, he was already tired.
'Shit, how far did they go?'
Or maybe it was something else that made his heart race.
Maybe it was something else that made his hands unknowingly shake, his knees weak, and his arms heavy.
Perhaps it was the same reason that made him dart his head and eyes around frantically, debating whether he heard a noise or if it was just his own heartbeat.
His usual blank expression and calm demeanour were betrayed by his clenched teeth that made his jawbone pop and his face contorted in discomfort.
In theory, he knew what this was, but it wasn't often he'd experience it.
Either way, this feeling grew more powerful as the dirt he was following became less and less.
He was beginning to lose the only form of direction he had in this confusing labyrinth-like structure.
Soon after, his feet began to slow as he came to a halt, his hand pressed against the cold wall, the other clutching his knee as he took a moment to catch his breath.
'This isn't good. I don't know where I am, I don't know how to get back, and I've lost the only other two I came in with…'
Upon thinking this, as Rin took a few more steps forward, only two of those statements turned out to be true as the path before him became clearer, and he witnessed a figure.
"Isagi?"
He muttered, noticing a figure with his white hoodie up, peeking around the corner.
Despite Rin's words being hard to hear in normal circumstances, in the quiet hallway, it was hard to miss.
Because of this, the figure turned, revealing his buzz cut and amber eyes, his face lighting up upon seeing the green-eyed boy.
"Rin…you're here," Isagi muttered, taking off his hood.
Similarly, Rin smiled while seeing this, taking his hand off the wall as he took a few steps forward.
"Finally. It took me forever to find you. Now let's get Ollie and get out of here."
"Easier said than done. I lost my Wind imitation the second we stepped in here, and him too. And I think I hear something down that hallway…"
-CLICK
Upon a familiar click ringing out, everything seemingly went quiet.
Really quiet.
The last thing both of them had heard was that click beside them, not even a footstep as a familiar figure lunged out from the shadows, or rather, the opposite hallway to the one Isagi was peeking into, the little light there was glistening off a sharp metal in the former's hand.
Though Isagi needed to turn his whole head to witness this, Rin simply shifted his eyes, witnessing everything that would happen before him in the next second.
And before he did, one word escaped his lips.
"Ollie?"
-SHING!!!
A blade slashed across Isagi's throat, as a thin line was made. One which quickly widened as a river of blood flooded out and soiled his white hoodie.
Isagi, his eyes wide, gurgled as his eyes finally met Ollie's usual frightened expression.
[Name: Oliver]
[Quirk: Echo]
[Description: The User is adept at perceiving and manipulating sound waves in their environment. Not only can one silence their own footsteps, but their five senses are highly tuned to perceive these sound waves, allowing them to witness how sound interacts with the environment, usually done through moderate clicks of the finger, past what they can naturally see, giving them perfect environmental awareness.]
"You…thank you. You can be my bait. I'm really sorry, I need to get out of here." He whispered, his lower lips quivering, and the kitchen knife shaking in his hand before he glanced at Rin.
"Rin…you too? Thank you so much for agreeing to be my bait. You really are my friend. I'll use you in just a bit. I…I just have to get out of here." He added, choked up.
He soon leapt back into the shadows as Rin followed this all with his eyes, frozen, his mind lagging to comprehend everything as the smile remained on his face.
The two soon made eye contact and in the next second…
-THUD
Isagi dropped to his knees.
This seemed to be enough to snap Rin out of his trance as he flinched at the thud, his smile fading as he jolted forward, catching Isagi before he fell to his side.
"No no no no no…"
He repeated, his hand cupping around Isagi's throat to stop the bleeding, but to little avail.
Without wasting a second, he gripped his sleeve, tearing it off in one fell swoop, wrapping it around Isagi's throat, already seeing the better effect.
"Quickly…before it's too late. I have to get back…"
Before he could even look back and begin to decipher the way back…
-HUUU
…his heart seemingly stopped as he felt something similar to breath on his neck.
Unbeknownst to him, he had passed the corner where Isagi was previously peeking around, lying in the middle of a new hallway.
He slowly turned his head like a rusty robot, his pupils dilated, and his breathing stopped, he witnessed something.
With a dark cloak and the snout of a plague mask protruding from it, large opaque glass eyes and a tophat, at the end of the corridor, a figure emerged from the corner, facing sideways.
The silence was loud, and after what seemed like a century passed, Rin's deafening heartbeat THUMPED, seemingly even louder than the former.
This was seemingly more than loud enough as he watched the figure's head slowly turn until…
Nothing.
The hallway was empty.
A few seconds passed as the figure's head turned back just as slowly as he continued into the hallway, his footsteps echoing.
However, around the corner…
-THUMP THUMP THUMP
Rin cupped his hand tightly around his nose and mouth, clutching his chest as if he were also trying to silence his loud heart.
On his ass and his back on the wall, Isagi sprawled out on his lap, Rin's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull, his pupils dilated and fingernails digging so deep into his face he started to bleed.
'Move…You have to…'
But he couldn't.
Hell, he was forgetting to breathe, let alone move.
'Just a little…'
Before he could finish, he froze as a familiar gurgle once again entered his ears, prompting him to look down to see Isagi, his eyes barely halfway open.
Though one might be surprised at how he was seemingly conscious, let alone alive, Rin was quick to witness the dirt in the dying boy's weak hand.
'Earth…it toughens him…he's still…'
Seeing this, Rin seemed to finally inhale as he slowly closed his mouth, clenching his teeth and tightening his grip on Isagi despite his hands shaking so hard.
Snapping his head back to the corridor he came from, he pulled Isagi onto his back.
'I said move, damnit!'
And so, he did.
***
'Where…Where…Where was it?'
Rin's eyes darted around his surroundings. The dirt he'd previously used to guide him to Isagi was no more. Or maybe he'd just lost it after continuing to run after it began to lessen.
Either way, with every corner he approached, he took a moment to decide which route to take.
Not that it mattered. The surroundings grew increasingly complicated, no matter what decision he made, like a maze.
It didn't help that half his attention was split on keeping an eye out for the figure he once considered a friend.
Not that that mattered either.
It was too dark for him to see anything, and with the weight of Isagi on his back, he'd be too slow to react.
'If I have to guess, I'd say he's waiting until I can be a perfect distraction to…I'm guessing whatever that was back there I saw. He'd have done it by now if not. But why? What happened to him, and how does he know about this place?'
There were too many questions.
Despite witnessing what Ollie had just done, his mind was split between a state of horror and wanting to understand what exactly made his once-friend do this.
But as Rin's mind started to spiral into this rabbit hole, he stopped as he shook his head, choosing to cross that bridge when he came to it.
Or rather, if he was able to make it out of this alive.
Peeking around another corner, his eyes locked onto something.
'Then there's that…'
A glass eye peering down from above, doing little to conceal itself.
'Or in other words, a camera. Whatever direction I took, it was the wrong one. The hallways are littered with them going forward from here.'
He thought, trying his best to control his breathing despite the thin air and Isagi's weight on his back starting to get to him.
'For what it's worth, this much is enough for me to know that I'm way off from where I'm supposed to be…'
Thinking this, he turned but paused, his heart dropping as he froze upon witnessing a few silhouettes.
With porcelain and cracked skin, a tattered and stained white dress and dark tears flowing from its fake eyes, three marionettes, their elbows propped high by thin threads that seemingly disappeared into the air, approached Rin, their feet dragging across the ground.
'What…'
Rin instinctively stepped back. And unlike before, having seen worse, his mind was clearer.
'A Quirk? Most likely. It means someone knows I'm here. Or at the very least, knows someone is here.'
With the marionette's nearing, his mind raced as he soon gritted his teeth, darting his eyes between the hallways to his left and right.
Placing Isagi around the corner to the right, he pulled up his hood and shot into the left hallway, clicking his fingers to draw in the dolls.
And as he expected, they turned, turning away from Isagi as they followed him.
Satisfied, he gulped as he lowered his head, hiding away from the camera directly above him.
'Shit!'
He yelled inwardly, taking one last glance at Isagi before darting away.
'I'll be back, I promise. Just hang in there…'
No longer running with the extra weight, he felt freer. But his stamina hadn't returned that much.
Nevertheless, he sprinted away as he passed a dozen cameras, tightening his fist.
'Just a little more!'