How long had it been? How much time had passed? How much longer are they going to keep her there?
With no windows or natural light, her construct of time seemed trivial.
Ayano had drifted in and out of consciousness more times than she could count. Forcing herself to stay awake, but ultimately succumbing to the sweet relief of darkness. Every time she awoke, a new wave of pain presented itself.
Since she had been kidnapped and brought to the warehouse, she had amassed several more broken bones, numerous burn marks, new cuts, bruises, and scars.
Her energy was already at its last resources, having no food or water to replenish her life force.
In retrospect, Ayano probably should have behaved differently to ensure her own safety to an extent but she didn't regret a single thing.
Throughout the torture, she hadn't uttered a single sound of discomfort. No yells, no shouts, no grunts, no cries. It was the most difficult endeavor she had ever embarked on, her lips covered with dry blood from her biting into and breaking the skin to keep from shouting. It was lucky that she hadn't bitten off her tongue by now. She wasn't even sure how she managed to pull through it all. Probably the adrenaline.
It might have been a foolish thing to do, but she would sooner kill herself before giving them the pleasure of hearing her scream.
They could do whatever they wanted to her.
In fact, she was so determined not to show them weakness that in their last visit, she had laughed in their faces. With each punch, each kick, each cut, Ayano laughed harder, goading them. Not only that, but it also had probably helped to keep her mind off of the pain.
It was because of this insubordination that Ayano was currently hanging, suspended from the ceiling. A thick rope was looped around her neck, the coarseness digging into her skin.
Her body had been raised just barely enough that she wouldn't be hung to death, the tips of her toes scraping against the floor here and there as her body lightly swung from her efforts in trying to get her feet to fully touch the ground.
Her throat was burning, air circulation becoming increasingly scarce. Drops of blood fell to the floor as her wrists behind her bled. The rope around them cut into the skin as she futilely tried setting her hands free.
She was in agony.
Ayano had welcomed darkness repeatedly to escape the pain, but she couldn't this time. If she did, there was a good chance that the darkness would become eternal.
Suddenly, the rope was cut from a thrown knife. Her body crumpled to the ground. Her mind was incredibly foggy, but she faintly heard a crunching sound as her body made contact with the concrete.
Amazingly, she managed to hold it together, preventing a scream of pain from being released. Even if she had tried, she doubted any sound would come through, given how dry her throat was.
The loop of the noose was still wrapped tightly around her neck, but it was far better than before.
"Rise and shine, sweetheart." She heard a dull voice say.
Rise and shine? Was it morning? Which morning? How many mornings had passed?
Ayano didn't even have the energy to raise her head to look at the man. Her body simply laid there, motionless. She felt several footsteps nearing her body.
"Ohhh! You poor thing! Here, let me get that for you!" Toga exclaimed. Ayano felt immediate relief as the rope was cut, air finally flowing properly. The knife had actually nicked her throat in the process, but it was such a small feeling compared to what they had already put her through that Ayano barely even noticed.
"You have such pretty blood, Aya-chan!!" Before Toga could do anything more to her, the man pulled on the back of the girl's uniform collar. "That's not what we're here to do." He chastised.
Toga frowned. "You never let me have fun, Dabi!"
So his name was Dabi. Ayano made another mental note.
"Do anything more to her and she won't last another day." Dabi responded, although he made it seem more like a chore than a concern.
Another day!? You mean she'd been here for only a day?!! Her concept of time was completely ruined with their torture sessions. It felt like she had been there for days, maybe even a week.
She heard the wispy sound of a portal being opened. Shigaraki Tomura stepped through with her school bag in his hands. "Still not being cooperative?" He asked but didn't receive an answer as expected.
"Well, not like it matters. We looked into your bag and your laptop. There are tons of your designs here that we could use." He pulled out a sheet of paper from her bag. It was one of the prototype designs for Vlad King's support item.
He knelt down to show her. "This one is pretty neat. For the pro hero Vlad King, huh? I think this weapon would suit one our own much better though."
Toga giggled. "If we made that, I could get tonsss of blood easily! Suck, suck, suck!"
Shigaraki ignored her, continuing. "So you see, you've provided us with detailed enough designs that we could just make these weapons ourselves."
"So kill me then." Was that her voice? Ayano barely even recognized it with how raspy it was.
Shigaraki laughed. "What's that? Begging for us to kill you?"
"Not begging." Ayano slowly responded. She couldn't speak any faster with all this pain. "You can make them on your own. You just said it yourself. There is no need for me to be here...Unless, of course...you do need me..."
Her cheek was pressed against the cold floor and she didn't have the energy to lift her head to look at their faces, but Ayano was sure that the scene would have been priceless.
"Oh, silence...So, you do need me for something more..." She gave a dry laugh. "Good to know."
Half of this was just to provoke and annoy them, but it really was good news to hear. She would have more time to live and figure out how to escape. Her laughter echoed.
It was abruptly stopped when she felt a foot stomping into her ribs, a sickening crack following. She managed to stifle her scream, annoying Shigaraki even more as he stomped on her repeatedly.
Her mind faded into darkness again.
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.
.
The next time she woke up, Ayano noticed that she had not been moved.
She then felt the presence of other people. Through blurry vision, she saw a couple of villains at a counter. They were working on something, presumably building one of her designs.
She was not moved from her spot on the floor, but it seemed somebody had bandaged her wounds and cleaned all the blood while she was unconscious.
Ayano assumed that some time had passed, since she felt like she now had much more range of motion. She sat up, the process very slow and gradual to avoid agitating her wounds.
Some of the villains glanced in her direction but made no move to stop her. With her injuries and her hands tied behind her back, they had no fear of her trying anything.
Ayano carefully analyzed each and every one of them. Memorizing their faces, making note of any distinctive features. She then looked at the machines that they were tampering with, vaguely recognizing them to be some of her designs.
"You're doing it wrong." She said quietly, unable to make her voice any louder. The villains continued working, ignoring her.
"You do not have to listen to me. I mean, why would you? Those are just my designs you are using." The sarcasm dripped from her voice. "You may be villains but, as an inventor, I would still be concerned if one of my creations malfunctioned and killed the user."
The villains froze, looking at each other and trying to decide if she was speaking the truth. "Why would we listen to you? You're obviously not on our side. How do we know you're not just trying to trick us?"
Ayano laughed. "You are correct. I am not on your side. So, would I not just let you continue on your way? Think about it. If I want you all dead, why would I warn you that you are making the weapon wrong. It would be better for me to just let you continue and let you blow yourselves up."
The villains looked at each other again, beginning to build up a nervous sweat. "Y-You're just saying that! This is some sort of trick."
"You are free to believe what you want. You can use it right now if you wish, but don't say that I did not warn you." She provoked them.
The villain accepted her challenge, strapping on the weapon and aiming it. Unfortunately, her words held more weight than he thought. The man's hands were shaking, hesitating to fire. His forehead was greased with sweat. His friend looked at him, nearly pleading with his eyes.
The villain released a breath, his arm falling back to his side. He breathed heavily, trying to calm his sporadic heartbeat. "W-What...What's wrong with it...?" He finally asked.
Ayano smirked, thinking to herself. "Idiot."
.
.
.
The naive villains had followed every word of her advice, never coming even close to figuring out her true intentions. Of course, they had questioned her seemingly sudden change of heart, but Ayano had persuaded them.
She explained that they did not need her to make these weapons, just as Shigaraki had said. In other words, whether she helped or not did not matter. They would make these weapons regardless of her involvement.
They then asked her why she warned them about the 'malfunctioning' weapon the first time then if she felt like this. She tricked them into believing that was the only design they built with mistakes. She told them that her other designs were far easier to make, so they would surely be able to create them with or without her help. If that were the case, it would be better to prove to them that she could be useful so that she wouldn't be killed so soon. Make them think that she was valuable and still had some use.
Her confidence and silver tongue made them believe her nearly instantly.
It truly pained her to be working for the villains, but it would be a necessary sacrifice.
Phase one of her plan was complete.
However, she worked in secret. The villains in charge of making the weapons were ordered not to interact with her. Meaning, she was not to be involved in all this.
But that also meant that they were lesser villains. Lower in the chain of command and not entirely aware of their leader's plans. She used this to her advantage in order to persuade them into believing her words.
Shigaraki and other villains would come by from time to time for another torture session, thinking that Ayano was still refusing to design weapons for them.
The villains working in the warehouse never ratted her out, in fear of facing the wrath of Shigaraki for disobeying orders.
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.
More days went by with Ayano getting tortured both physically and mentally. She still had no idea how much time had passed, always going in and out of consciousness.
Finally, one day appeared to be different.
Ayano was laying on the floor, as per usual. Her energy levels depleted after being beaten nearly to death once again. She heard a portal opening and she was whisked away to another location.
After she was transported, she felt her body and face pressing against smooth, hardwood floors. Her nose caught the faint scent of alcohol.
"Maybe this will change your mind?" She heard Shigaraki's voice.
She felt someone walk up behind her and grab a handful of her hair. Pulling back on the strands, they forced her head up, making her take in the view in front of her.
"No...No!!! Why is he here?!??"