Becoming a Hero (bnha x OC)

Chapter 41: Speak

Izumina stepped away from the window and approached her bedside table. The picture of Izuku, Katsuki and her as children was just as it'd always been. A reminder. A form of comfort. Now wasn't any different. She picked it up.

Spinning, Izumina scoured the room for her phone. She didn't know where her father was, which made it too risky for her to act without a plan. Her quirks hadn't come back yet, and she had no idea what he was capable of. If a fight were to break out she'd be putting innocent civilians in danger. Running without a way to fight back or protect people who get caught in the crossfire would be foolish.

The best course of action, she rationalized, would be to call for help.

She had to find a phone.

The landline didn't work. It had been disconnected for as long as Izumina could remember. Up until now, with her cell, she'd never thought much of it. She cussed at the inconvenience of the situation.

She'd have to find one of the portable phones. There were only two options: her father's– which, for all she knew could be bugged, or worse, connected to the villains– or her own.

Setting the frame down, Izumina crept to her door. Pressing her ear to the wood, she listened and heard nothing in the hall beyond. The coast was clear.

Turning the handle before opening the door, making as little noise as possible, Izumina peaked her head through the crack. Her father wasn't in the hallway. From the looks of the open entrance to his bedroom, he wasn't on the upstairs floor at all.

Izumina stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her ever so silently. It was a risk, but if a phone was going to be anywhere it'd be in his room. She inched across the hall, peering over her shoulder and towards the stairwell until she made it safely across the hall.

"There's got to be something here," she pleaded more so than she thought as she rummaged through drawers. She found clothes, pictures of her mother and her from when she was a baby and a spare pair of glasses. But no phone.

Pondering the possibility that he could've gone out, Izumina– pressing her luck– ventured out of the room and towards the stairs. She thought over everything she'd learned and tried to formulate a backup plan, in the event she couldn't find a phone. Would it be too brazen to believe she could get away if she simply walked out the front door?

Taking a nervous gulp, Izumina clutched the banister and made her way to the main floor. The house was quiet, she tried to convince herself that was a good sign. She looked around, thinking of where a phone could be. That is until she got to the last step.

The front door was right there. The sun was shining, calling to her.

She could make it.

Rationality left her body, every reason she'd had to play it safe left her mind as she ran for it.

She was close. So close she could feel the exhilaration building in her chest. For the first time since the night she confronted her father, she could feel hope.

Freedom as a concept, once the mundane had felt so far away in that dark dingy laboratory. But now, she could practically taste it.

Her fingers had only just grazed the doorknob when a voice reverberated from down the hall.

"Not so fast."

Izumina's heart stopped. She'd been caught, cornered like a stray dog in an alleyway by a group of stone-slinging teenagers. She'd been an idiot.

Turning slowly, her eyes met her father's. He adjusted his glasses, a single file folder in his hands as he walked towards her.

A lump formed in Izumina's throat as she stepped away. Her back pressed against the door as images from the past few days flooded her senses. The darkness, the restraints, the needles...