Viridian: The Green Guide

Chapter 72: Escape

For once, everyone in Ogawa's head was in agreement. If nothing changed soon, they were going to break and there wouldn't be anything they could do about it. It didn't make it any easier that he couldn't really remember anything more than vague memories from further back than the past year or so and he was almost positive that Sensei was using some sort of brainwashing quirk based on the multiple times he hadn't even wanted to disobey. After who knew how long since he'd arrived in this nightmare, Ogawa could feel himself becoming more compliant and obeying half the orders the doctor gave him without a second thought. He almost laughed now when he remembered how afraid he had been of the shadows that shared his body now, and how worried he'd been that he would lose himself to them, when really he should have been terrified of all of them losing themselves completely and becoming exactly what the doctor wanted them to be.

As it was, even more than Kumo, the shadows were his support during the long hours when the doctor stole him away for a session. Ogawa wouldn't necessarily call them friends, but they had grown closer and he wasn't afraid of them anymore, which was better than nothing. Maybe eventually, he'd actually get used to them. Or maybe the doctor would wipe the rest of his memories and he wouldn't ever remember having his head to himself.

From the short chats he was able to have with Kumo when both of them were lucid, they'd decided that the shadows must be what was left of the owners of the quirks that the experiments had mixed with theirs. Sensei's quirk seemed to be able to take quirks from one person and give them to another, and Ogawa figured it made sense for the shadows to be there. A person's quirk was such an important part of them that, when it was removed, a little of that person was torn out alongside it. He didn't really want to know what had happened to the rest of his shadows, and everyone in his head seemed to agree that considering what they'd gone through so far, it was probably better that they didn't ever try to find out.

But it explained why his quirk felt like a hand-me-down sweater that was just a few sizes too big. It was like his quirk, but it wasn't entirely his, so it felt weird and was hard to get used to. It didn't help that he couldn't completely explore his limits without showing his cards to his captors. His unknown quirk limits were his only hope if he ever wanted to get out of here.

Footsteps and the sound of something dragging echoed down the hall and it was only a moment before Kumo was tossed roughly into the cell next to him, unconscious with the black vapor of his new quirk fluctuating out of control. They still hadn't figured out what Kumo's new quirk did, but it must be pretty dangerous considering that they'd started wiping his memories of the experiments. They probably wanted him to be completely compliant before they allowed him to fully use and understand his quirk, but Ogawa thought that between the two of them, Kumo had a better chance of escaping.

"Come on then, your turn now." The doctor said, unlocking Ogawa's cell and kicking him lightly in the ribs so he couldn't pretend to be asleep. "And let's see if we can do it without fighting this time, eh?"

Ogawa slowly got to his feet and followed a few steps behind the doctor in feigned compliance. It was a new strategy that he'd been using for a few days now and one that he desperately hoped didn't backfire, but at this point, he was willing to try anything, even pretending to be the obedient little puppet they wanted him to be. The doctor hummed happily as they made their way to the lab and Ogawa was careful not to show too much interest in any of the hallways they passed. He'd been down some of them for various experiments, and he was sure that some of the others were decoys, but he still noted every single one, just in case.

He resisted the overwhelming temptation to run. In these in-between moments, the doctor was carefully looking for any sign of disobedience or rebellion and he was far too familiar with the doctors toys to believe that he'd make it more than a few steps. No, he needed to wait for a time when the doctor was distracted if he expected to actually be able to fight back or escape.