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"You fucking brat, knock it off!"
Hitomi's foster mother, Mikiko, dragged her by the arm down the stairs, her long nails digging into the poor girl's skin so hard the skin almost broke. Hitomi helplessly fought against her, trying to grab onto the railing for purchase, all the while whimpering muffled protests through her muzzle.
Her foster mother was bigger and stronger than the twelve-year-old, however. A sharp cuff to the back of Hitomi's head had her releasing her hold on the railing and tumbling the rest of the way down the stairs. She curled up at the bottom, bruised and stunned by the fall.
Overhead, the whispers and snickers of her foster siblings drifted down onto her, gleeful and unsympathetic.
"Shit, now look what you've done to yourself!" Mikiko yelled, her voice hoarse from the constant screeching. Her face was pinched and splotchy in her anger, eyes devoid of any concern for the girl in her care. "Why can't you ever behave!? If you'd just quit squirming and take your punishment none of this would happen!"
The woman grabbed a handful of Hitomi's hair and dragged her across the floor and down the hall. Hitomi cried out, her hands grabbing at her hair, desperately trying to ease the pain in her scalp.
Up ahead, the hall closet loomed.
Mikiko dropped Hitomi at her feet, taking out a set of keys to undo the series of locks on the door. The door creaked open, revealing the small, empty space behind it. This would be Hitomi's cell for however long her guardian wished to torment her and Hitomi felt a cold sweat form on her body at the idea of being locked inside yet again. She grasped at Mikiko's ankles, begging and pleading even though no words would get through the device locked onto her head. All she got for her efforts was a kick to the front of her muzzle, sending her tumbling to the floor.
Her foster mother dragged her to her feet, holding her in place with a bruising grip on her little shoulders. Mikiko leaned down, right into Hitomi's face, hissing, "you're going to sit in there and think about how you're going to behave from now on. If you think you can live peacefully in this home with your attitude the way it is now, you've got another thing coming. You'll have to do better than that."
Hitomi was thrown into the closet, her shoulder knocking harshly into the back wall. She slumped do the ground just as the door was slammed shut, sealing her into complete darkness. As Mikiko began to turn the many locks, all from the outside, back into place, Hitomi pushed herself onto her knees and pounded frantically on the door.
It was pointless, however, as Mikiko stormed off without another word.
Hitomi sobbed, curling up on the floor. The darkness was absolute and terrifying, and there was no light installed in the small space to chase it away. She placed her head close to the bottom of the door, just to get a glimpse of the light that came in from beneath it. She did her best not to think about the darkness that engulfed her, about the walls that felt like they would grow closer and closer until they suffocated her. She trembled, as it was all she could do.
On the second floor, in the room directly above the little closet, her foster siblings began to jump and stomp on the floor. They created a tremendous racket just to make her situation that more unbearable. No doubt Mikiko could hear them, but she didn't say a word against them about it, allowing them to add to Hitomi's torment.
Hitomi's hands clenched into fists, her anger not quite drowning out her fear, but still present. It wasn't fair. She didn't even do anything! All her foster siblings had to say to get out of trouble was "Hitomi made me do it" and she was taken to the closet. Never mind the fact that she couldn't use her quirk while wearing the muzzle. Everyone in this house loved to torment her and she hated it. She hated it!
The minutes dragged into hours. Hitomi had fallen silent in the closet, having tired herself out and resigning herself to the fact that she was trapped here. No one would take pity on her and help her. Outside of the closet, her "family" carried on with their day, without her. It was like she didn't even exist to them once she was locked away. She meant nothing to them. She was nothing to them.
Hitomi closed her eyes, letting her mind drift away from this terrible place. She thought of a world where she was loved and wanted. Where she had parents that were patient and kind, and friends who didn't hurt her. Where people didn't see her villainous quirk, just a lonely girl who needed someone on her side.
She thought of a world where she was happy.