CHAPTER ONE

Hostage

noun

1) a person taken by force to secure the taker's demands.

2) one that is involuntarily controlled by an outside influence.

YAKUMO

         It was in the late afternoon when Yakumo Machiko decided to visit her friend Kaminari in his dorm room. On days when she doubted herself the most, she'd confided in him. He seemed to be one of the only people who seemed to understand her and didn't expect her to be something she wasn't. But she guessed that was fair since Kaminari was a pretty cool guy who didn't seem to have any problems with anything other than his school work.

        She didn't only think of him as cool, no, he meant way more to her than that. In all honesty, she was certain she was in love with him. He'd been one of the first people in class 1-a to talk to her. He was understanding and funny and knew how to make her laugh. He may of been an idiot, but he made up for it in different ways.

        The two were pretty close and it was known by all the other students. They had a friendship that went far deeper than with any other person she met. She'd even say that she trusted him more than her own father. And she kept sticking around because she held onto that hope that he would see something in her. She wanted him so badly to confess his feelings for her. But she was unsure considering all the mixed signals she received. He seemed uncertain of what he wanted. Did he see her as perfect girlfriend material? Or was it completely platonic?

        There were moments when she was left alone with him that he seemed to walk a little bit closer to her. Sometimes she'd notice him contemplating on whether or not to hold her hand. He'd even stopped her one time in the middle of their walk back to the dorms. She remembered how close he was to her while bringing his hand to her face. He'd tilted her head at an angle that suggested something she'd wanted so badly to happen. She could still feel the heat of his breath caressing her cheek before he let go of her face. It had been painful then, still was now. She hated how it left her feeling afterward.

        But she wouldn't give up that easily. She had to keep on holding onto the hope that he'd share mutual feelings for her. And now as she stood in front of his door, she contemplated on knocking. Why did she suddenly feel doubtful? It wasn't like she was going to tell him about her oh so obvious crush on him. Everybody knew it, even her close friend Katsuki Bakugou called her out on this. Maybe it was best if he continued to be oblivious. Mustering up her courage, Yakumo rapped her fingers against the door, anxiously waiting for the door to open up.

        She could hear him shuffling around his room before he opened up the door. He stood in front of the door frame, wearing a pair of sweatpants and yellow tee shirt. She could see the way his muscles formed underneath the fabric as a blush began to crawl up her cheeks. "Hey, Yakumo. What are you doing here? Curfew's about to hit soon. I wouldn't want to see your pretty face in trouble with Aizawa." Kaminari asked, seemingly excited that she was here. His smile was so charming and it made her stomach flutter with butterflies. 

        "I just wanted to come over and talk for a bit . . . I hope that's okay with you." She replied, smiling back while feeling awkward for standing there.

        Kaminari nodded his head in understanding. "Of course. It's more than okay, actually." He rubbed the back of his neck in a sheepish manner before moving out of the way to let her into his room. Yakumo was used to seeing his room since she came to him so often. She grew accustomed to the messy piles of objects and the unfolded bed sheets thrown haphazardly on the mattress. It brought her a sense of comfort, like they were safe within the confides of his bedroom. No secrets came out of this place. Once she was fully inside, he closed the door shut and she took a seat on top of his mattress.

        "Being in the Hero Course is so stressful, don't you agree?" She asked with a small sigh. Of course the Hero Course was so stressful. Her father had made sure she knew this all of her life. He told her that it was the class she was destined for since her father had been in that class. 

        "Totally, but I'm sure you handle it a lot better than I do. You ace all your tests and you're one of the strongest people in our class. Everybody here knows it." Kaminari replied, taking a seat next to her. She enjoyed moments like these when they could just talk to each other and not have to deal with any stress. Nobody else would ever talk to her about anything like this.

        "I don't know about strongest. I think Bakugou has me beat on that one." She said with a light laugh. The butterflies were still fluttering, but they were subtle now. "I'm held up to such a high expectation by my father who keeps telling me what to do. He wants me to be a hero. He wants me to live up to the family name like my mother did before she ended up dying. And he doesn't really seem to take anything I do into consideration. He got better after training camp, but it still seems as if he's disappointed in me somehow."

        "I wouldn't worry too much about it, Yakumo. Your dad's just a little rough around the edges. He'll come around eventually." He always knew what to say to her when it came to the thoughts of self doubt. And she was sure he'd always be there for her.

        "I know this sounds a little weird, but do you mind if I lay down? I don't want to seem awkward or anything."

        "Go ahead, but only if you let me lay with you." He was smirking just a little bit. Gosh, why was he so beautiful? Yakumo pressed her back to his mattress as he laid down beside her. The two glanced up at the ceiling while a million thoughts circled her mind. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was all she'd ever get to be with him. She didn't want this moment to end when everything seemed all right. 

        This wasn't much right now, but she was certain that it would grow into something more. Something much more. 

        Yakumo had awoken from a nightmare, her heart pounding in her chest. She felt the bed shift as a figure arose from the covers. She quickly remembered that she'd fallen asleep in Kaminari's bedroom when she'd visited him earlier.

       The nightmare she'd awoken from had been plaguing her since they first moved into the dorms. She didn't know why she was having dreams like this that left her heart racing in the morning. She didn't know how to get it to stop.

        There was blood everywhere in her dream. On the ground, dripping from her lips. Her hands were chained together behind her back. She was in a dark room, behind a set of iron doors. It was as if she were imprisoned.

        It was a terrifying dream, but she didn't want to think about it. It was useless for her try to get over it. The nightmare wasn't important as of right now. What mattered right now was why Kaminari was getting up in the middle of the night. She wasn't even supposed to be in his bedroom after curfew. Surely she'd get in trouble with Aizawa-Sensei.

         It was suspicious how he'd gotten out of bed in the dead of night even before he started exiting his room. Yakumo wondered if she should of followed him. Maybe he was just going to the bathroom? That wasn't too suspicious, was it? His shadow disappeared down the hall, going the opposite direction of where the bathroom would be.

       Yakumo decided to follow him, to see what exactly he was up to. She pulled the covers the rest of the way off her body and stepped onto the soft carpet of his dorm room floor. She slipped out of the door and walked through the halls, noticing the elevator close behind Kaminari. Now that was definitely something to be suspicious about.

        She waited a few minutes before the elevator doors pulled open again and stepped inside. The metal doors closed behind her and she descended downwards. When she reached the entrance floor, his back was facing away from her. Then he stepped outside, leaving her standing in the middle of the floor. Quietly, Yakumo followed after him. 

        Outside, the moonlight shone down on her while a cold breeze traveled past her. It caused goosebumps to form across her bare skin and she brought her hands to her forearms to try and gain some warmth. Now was not the time to worry about warming up. She needed to see what Kaminari was up to. "Shigaraki's getting impatient with you. He doubts you'll be able to successfully carry on the mission."

        "Of course, that bastard acts as if I'm an incompetent moron. None of those hero wannabes expects a thing coming from me. Especially not Yakumo, considering how smart she is. But I've practically got her eating out of the palm of my hand." Kaminari's voice rang in her ear. She could see him talking to another person. This person appeared to be close to around his early twenties with purple scars clinging to his skin by staples and piercings on both his ears. His face was devoid of expression.

        She could feel the sting of his words pushing into her skin as anger began to boil up inside her. "You bastard!" She cursed with an angered scream. Her body seemed to react quicker than her mind, fingers clenched in a fist, directed towards his face. But he was quicker. He snatched her wrist in mid air before turning his head. 

        "Tsk. Tsk. You shouldn't of done that, Yakumo." He tsked, yanking on her arm and pulling her forward. "You really are pathetic. But it's not like you could of known that I was deceiving you." Yakumo tried to pull her arm out of his grasp, but he was unwilling to let go.

        "Let go of me! I won't let you get away with this!" She was desperate for anything. She needed to use her quirk if she wanted him to let go. But she didn't have her earplugs and that would do damage to her as much as it would do to him. 

        Kaminari tilted his head to the side, grinning evilly at her. "Do you really think you can fight me? Do you think there's anything that can change this? Do you think one of the heroes—no do you think your daddy'll be here to save you? I wouldn't count on it since you won't be getting any farther than this." Electricity began to crackle in the palm of his hand, making contact with her skin. It was agonizingly hot, worse than being burnt by a flame. And it hurt. Badly.

        She began to writhe in pain, tugging hard to try and free herself. When he let go, she stumbled back, falling onto the hard, wet ground. The pain was still there. It was the worst feeling in the world.

        Tears prickled in the corners of her eyes, teeth clenched as she darted her eyes up at him. Yakumo's breath was rigid as the wind blew in her hair, his stance towering over her. She was too angry to feel anything else other than rage. She tried to stand up again before lunging like a ferocious lioness. He sidestepped and swung his leg, hitting his foot against her back with force. A small cry left her as her chin slammed into the ground. "I think we're about done here. Dabi, hand them over." He spoke to the other villain while planting a foot on her back so she wouldn't try to escape. Shiny metal was tossed to him and he caught them perfectly in his hand. "You know, Yakumo, you're really in for a real treat. Perfect for superhero scum like yourself." He shoved his foot harder in her back.

         "You're the one who should be called scum, traitor." She breathed out. The foot in her back was making it damn near impossible to breathe. Kaminari removed his foot and kneeled over to grab a hold of her arm. He pulled her to her feet and quickly grabbed the other hand so he could restrain her. She looked at the metal in his hand that seemed to wink at her. A pair of handcuffs. 

        "The special thing about these is that they're real good for controlling how a person uses their quirk. If you do so much as think about using your quirk, it'll send an unbearable shock through your body. I modified them myself. I'm a lot smarter than you think. How else do you think I was able to lure you in so easily?" His words were taunting as his lips formed into a devilish grin. He clamped the cuffs around her wrists, cool metal pressing into her skin.

        "You won't get away with this." She mustered. She was struggling with what to say. What to do. There was no way to escape, no way to use her quirk. She was trapped. She was a prisoner. She would never be free again.

       Kaminari pulled her closer to him, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. "You're so naïve. Nobody's going to save you. You can't trust heroes, Yakumo, they're all liars."

        "The only liar I see here is you." She said this just as a warp gate appeared in front of them. A dark abyss in a swirl of black and purple. 

        Kaminari laughed. "Come on, Kumo, you'll feel right at home." The nickname sounded like acid to her ears. He had no right to use that name. Not anymore. He shoved her forward and into the warp gate, leaving her helpless and unable to do anything.

        She would be his prisoner for forever.

Word Count | 2,416