Ninth Bullet

4. You're Annoying

    You stood right outside the door, peering at the chair that Eri was placed by Hari. It looked a lot like a dentist chair, except for the leather straps that ran up the arms and footrest. The child was pale and shaky, no wonder considering the trauma she had gone through. Hari was fastening one of the arm straps around her tiny wrist when you stepped in to intervene.

"Are those really necessary?" You asked.

Hari looked down at the girl and back at you, "Well, as you saw, she has a tendency to run off."

"She won't do that again, right?" You said, turning to the girl and smiling with your eyes. She looked at you with wide eyes and then slowly nodded.

"See, Hari! I think she'll be fine without them."

Hari hesitated before unbuckling the strap around Eri's wrist. "Kai isn't gonna like this." Hari mumbled.

He must have meant Chisaki, you found it odd that they were on a first name basis. The young leader seemed to put himself above everyone else so much so that it seemed impossible for him to have friends. But if the research had been correct, the two had grown up together, not unlike you and Hawks you guessed.

Thinking of Hawks brought your attention back to the child.

"You can call me, Momo. All my friends do." You said, and on a burst of inspiration you tugged down the mask that covered the lower part of your face and gave her a genuine smile.

Hari glanced at you out of the corner of his eye and you caught him doing a double take. "Momo huh? Can I call you that too?" He asked with a mischievous grin.

"As long as I can call you Hari!" You smirked.

"Fine by me."

You stifled a laugh and held out your hand to Eri for a gentle high five. Eri hesitated and then touched her palm to yours, withdrawing it quickly when the door opened.

Chisaki stood in the doorway with his eyes drilled into you, your instincts telling you to cover your face again, yet for some reason you didn't.

Instead you focused on Eri who was cringing back in fright, knowing what was to come. He sat down on the opposite side of Eri from you and straightened his glove.

"Is it okay if I stay here with her?" You asked.

He looked up at you and then reached out. His gloved fingers brushed against your skin as he pulled your mask up over your nose again.

"It's fine, just stop distracting me." He said, immediately turning back to unwrap the bandages around Eri's arm.

You cringed away at the sight of the layered scars down the girl's arm, a remnant of Chisaki's quirk no doubt. No wonder she was terrified of him.

Having the track record you had, there was nothing you could say on the matter. But still, this brutalization of a child was too much. However you couldn't stop it, and only watched and held Eri's free hand gently while Overhaul removed several layers of skin and placed them in a sterile dish for later use.

HIs gold eyes drilled into yours for a moment, daring you to say anything about his methods. Then he returned to work and drew some of the child's blood.

When he was finished he gestured to you to follow him. You shrugged at Hari and left with the young leader. He walked a few paces down the hall before he said anything. All the while he was fiddling with the glass container that held the mutilated flesh of the girl.

"Eri seems to like you." He said.

"I remember being used for my quirk, at an even younger age than her. It's not the same, but still, I guess I can understand her a bit."

"What do you expect me to take from that?" He deadpanned.

"I - I don't know exactly."

"I don't care what you went through as a kid, let alone how it applies to Eri. If you want out, there's the door." He gestured.

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not going anywhere, besides, I can't just leave that little girl alone with a scumbag like you." You felt yourself begin to grin under your mask.

"I'm the scumbag? You pretend to take the high ground yet I'm aware your known kill count is fifty three."

"Excuse you, it's fifty five now."

"Has anyone ever told you you're annoying?" He said.

"Most people I meet end up dead within a few minutes soooo not really." You activated your quirk, allowing you to skip up the wall and walk next to him upside down.

"Get down from there."

You released your quirk and did a backflip to the floor in front of him. In doing so, your mask slipped a bit and fell under your nose. Without hesitation, he pinched the material between his fingers and moved it back up over your nose.

"Don't breath on me." He said as he walked around you. "It's distracting."

For some reason you thought you caught a hint of a smile in his stern eyes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Short chapter cause I'm just trying to do some intro stuff before the real drama happens. I love Hari so much ehehhe, but you probably already knew that if you read Follow Me. I hope you're liking this fic so far. It feels kinda slow rn but it will pick up soon. I got a lot planned. Thanks for reading! See ya next week :)