Barrier (BNHA)(Unedited)

Ch. 44

It was pitch black for as far as the eye could see. Faint figures were outlined in various colours break the darkness. Some of the outlines appeared to be fading, others flickered and very few appeared solid and stable albeit weak. Time did not pass here and yet every outline moved in sync. There was no delay in the movements nor hesitation. If one outline appeared to have been jostled or moves in any way, all the other did the same. It was horrifying how the outline synced to each other.

The place was filled with faint whispers and echos, however nothing could be made out of them. Despite the faint sounds, there was a wrongness to the place. The were no other sounds, no shuffles or even the sound of cloth brushing against each other. There wasn't the sound of faint breathing nor any sounds of nature.

Baria processed all of this, but her thoughts were sluggish, and her body felt numb.  Not truly numb, it was more like she could not seem to get her body to move. Her body ached as if it had been used as a pin cushion and her tongue felt as though it was foreign.  The feeling brought a realisation to her.  She had been taken, taken by someone she vaguely recognized and held an odd fear of. A fear she had no reason to hold as she had never met the person before. 

A small tug on her left hand drew her attention. Baria attempted to look at it from the corner of her eye as her body refused to cooperate. However, all she managed to see was a young women's profile. No distinct features and yet so painfully familiar.

However, undeterred by her curiosity, Baria's consciousness could not linger. Darkness once more claimed her. It was unknown when she would be able to surface again.

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"It's been two weeks Tadashi. The kids are anxious. There hasn't even been any news about the situation. No one knows where she is." Miss Keisha paced across the living room floor. Tadashi and Shina sat on the couch in front of her, watching her pace. They too were worried but had resolved to be there for the rest of the household. 

"We know but we can only wait. There is not much we can do to help out with the investigation and maybe the internship will even help them relax." Shina said. She truly hoped this as the boys were worse off, their sleep patterns were thrown, and their appetites were practically non-existent. 

Nieto, Denki and Hitoshi had all gone on work internship. They had chosen heroes that were spread out, hoping that it would provide a higher chance of finding any news relating to Baria. So far, they had not heard anything, nor had the police investigation resulted in any traces. Much of the police force removed themselves from the investigation after 72 hours had passed. The only evidence gathered was the identity of the kidnapping. A young 15-year-old male by the name of Kage. The teen himself had gone missing less than a year previously. He was never found but traces of him were scattered around Japan for the first six months after than any and all traces became non-existent. This included all previously gathered evidence. 

The re-emergence of Kage led to several missing persons cases to be reopened. Kids and adults alike that had gone missing over the years. All with powerful or extraordinarily useful quirks. Most that wouldn't have any use in ordinary hero work or civilian work.  Extreme regeneration, wings, mild telekinesis. New evidence was being found, each bit as disturbing as the last and with the newfound knowledge of Nomu, each case creating a horrifying overall image. So many lives taken and changed on the whim of a tyrant. Taken due to greed and a misguided sense of power. The case had been taken up by higher authorities such as the commission but several of the original officers refused to be removed. All parties involved were asked to remain silent about the case.

This had caused there to be tension between members of the family, some believed that the case should be made public, others agreed that it should be kept quiet and the some refused to take part in the discussion. Nieto, Hitoshi and Denki were a bit up in the air. While they understood why the case should remain quiet, they also desperately want to get as many people on board as possible. However, one look at how Hawks was acting solved that issue rather quickly.  Hawks had bags under his eyes, and a rather dark look on his face since he had heard about what happened. Which in and of itself was not too surprising. What was surprising was the rather large knife he had taken to carrying on his person, in addition to two pistols. These things caused Hawks to be placed in reserve until he was less likely to kill someone in broad daylight.

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Baria couldn't tell how long it had been since she was last conscious. Well, she could not truly call it conscious. The surroundings weren't pitch black nor were there other figures around. Birds could be heard chirping and wind rustled and yet despite the differences, time didn't seem to flow here either. 

The area was a garden filled with various types of flowers and large trees. The trees proved a large area of shade under which sat a bench. There sat a person, blonde with light blue jeans and a red t-shirt. She didn't seem all too interested in talking though. 

As Baria began to approach her, the teen turned to look at her.

"I was never a mean-spirited person." She spoke. "I might have been a bit tactless or missed a few social cues, but I always tried be nice."

She turned away, looking over the field of flowers. Her face remained whimsical. Her eyes held a deep sadness and anger. Not only at the world but at herself and for Baria as well. This rage at Baria made Baria confused as this was the first time the two had ever met.

"You hate me, don't you." Baria stated.

"I do and yet I don't. I hate you for what you took from me but you were not the one who actually took it. I suppose it more that i took something from you and have been piggybacking ever since." She replied.

"I don't know you, so how could you have ever taken something from me?" Baria asked. She was confused. She could not recall the women in front of her nor anything of true meaning that had been taken from her.

"Yes, i suppose you wouldn't know. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Obexia. I was your previous incarnation."

Baria stared at her in silence.

"Perhaps we should have a talk."