I woke up to complete darkness. I can feel a piece of cloth, a blindfold, pressing against my eyelids. My butt was numb from the wooden chair that I was sitting on. Around my wrists was rope tying me down.
Where am I? How did I get here? All I remember is walking home from the bookstore and grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby hotdog stand...
I moved my head to the left and to the right, trying to listen to see if there was anyone else in the room. I'm pretty sure that I was alone in the room though. All I heard was the sounds of dripping water from the right, and a fan running somewhere far off. It wasn't too far because I could fee slight cool air blow in my face. Suddenly, I heard a door creak open from ahead.
"If you don't mind me asking, why am I here?" I casually asked. Whoever was in front of me didn't answer. Instead, I heard footsteps walk toward me. They sounded soft, like there was something padded around their foot. They stopped. I can hear heavy breathing from above my head.
"Wait a minute..." I started. "Is this a Frebreeze commercial?"
"...What?"
I sniffed the air around me. "Well, I smell a lot of grease and oil. There's also a hint of metal."
"Ya idiot. This ain't no a Febreeze commercial," whoever was in front of me dryly said. "You're a hostage."
I clicked my tongue in disappointment. "Again?"
I felt the scent of grease get significantly closer to me as I heard his clothes shuffle. I felt the presence of his arms reach over to my shoulders. Then with a screech, he turned the chair in a 180 rotation. The wind from the fan blew at the back of my head and tickled my nose. It made me want to sneeze.
"So, why am I a hostage?" I asked.
"Your brother of yours ripped me off, that's why."
"Hiro? Did he get you busted or something?"
He ignored my question and instead expressed his frustration with the camera he was fumbling with. "How do I turn this damn thing on...?"
I told him that there should be a button on the bottom. He's supposed to hold it until it flashes red and then the camera will turn on. A few seconds passed and I heard a short, loud-pitched beep.
"Oh. It worked." There was a quick pause between us until he spoke again. "How did ya know that there was a camera 'ere? And how did ya know how to work it?!"
"There's always a camera they use to demand their ransom."
"Wait, ya been held hostage before?"
"Well, it certainly doesn't help that my dad and my brother work in law enforcement. With them arresting criminals and stuff, people usually hold grudges," I explained to him. I let out a sigh. "It gets tiring."
There was a moment of silence between us. I could tell without even seeing his face that he was dumbfounded.
"The camera started recording, y'know."
I heard the sound of scrambling footsteps. "I don't see nothin'. You're not poppin' up in the video."
I asked him if he took the camera lens off. After some fumbling, he asked me, "Is it this?"
There was another moment of silence. "Snaps. I forgot you're blindfolded," he mumbled. "Why did I even try to show it to ya?"
I heard another click from the camera, signaling that he must've ended the video. He was probably going to start a new one so he can send it to Hiro.
"So..." I started when he cut me off.
"Ssh! I'm startin' the video!" he hissed. I immediately shut my mouth. Then, my kidnapper cleared his throat. "Hey, Hiro. I got your sister here with me. If ya don't come over 'ere quick, I'll kill her!"
Scrunching up my nose, I told him that sounded too generic.
"Wh-what? Generic?" he stuttered.
"Why don't you try switching your words up a bit?" I suggested.
My kidnapper stopped the video. I heard up startup a new one. "Look what I got 'ere," he purred. "You best hurry your way over here, or else I'll have to do somethin' very bad to her. In the meantime, I'll be having loads of fun with her."
A shiver went down my spine. I cringed to myself. "Ew, don't ever say that again."
"Ya told me to switch it up!"
I told him that he sounded like a pervert. Letting out an irritated huff, he asked me what he should say, since I've been kidnapped before.
"Uh... Well..." I started. "You can try being more specific on how you plan to kill me. Actually, wait, never mind. Scratch that out. The last guy did that, and he just sounded like an edgy middle schooler. Maybe you can just be very frank and simple with it. Like, just straight up say that you kidnapped me and you want your money."
The man let out a sigh. I heard the camera click again, and he started recording. "Yo, Hiro. I got your sister. Let's settle this like men. Meet me behind the agency at 6. And give me a call when you get there." He stopped the video and asked me how he did.
"...It's fine, I guess," I said. "It's better than the other two tries you did before."
"Well, it's the last one I'm doin'," he informed. "...There. I sent it to him."
The fan that was behind me blew at my head. My hair kept tickling my nose and it was getting really itchy now, so I asked my kidnapper if he can turn it off.
"No! Do it yourself!" he barked.
"...I'm tied to the chair."
"Snaps. I forgot." He stood up and turned off the fan for me. Then, I asked him how he kidnapped me since I couldn't remember.
"Ya bought a hotdog that I drugged," he explained. "When ya knocked out, I brought you 'ere to my house."
The hotdog stand... Yeah, that's right. I was on my way home from school. The bookstore finally restocked the issues that Hiro wanted, the ones Bakugo destroyed, so I went to get them again. After that, I was really hungry, so I stopped by a hotdog stand to buy me something to eat. The hotdog was incredibly salty; he probably sprinkled some drugs on it. I remember the guy at the stand wearing a ridiculous hotdog costume too. The head-area was too small for him, so his face was practically squeezing out. It looked like when you try to wear a pair of jeans that were too tight.
"Are you still wearing the costume?" I asked.
"Well... Ya. I didn't have time to change..."
"So I really got kidnapped and held hostage by a hotdog?"
"Er, I guess?"
This is ridiculous. First, some costumed weirdos running around pretending to be heroes and now a guy in a hotdog costume? Why can't I ever catch a break?
"...Do you mind letting me go?"
"No! Are ya crazy? Ya can't go until Hiro comes!"
I let out a weary sigh. "He's not gonna come. His train doesn't get here until 6:00, so there's no use waiting for him. I have things to do. I gotta study for my Chem test."
The hotdog man clicked his tongue in annoyance. "So? I dun care. Who told ya not to study?" he remarked. "Kids these days..."
My eyeball twitched from behind the blindfold. I found it ridiculous that he was upset at me for not studying for my test when he was the one who kidnapped me in the first place, effectively preventing me from studying. I made sure to point out his insensible thinking to him. He didn't take it so well.
"I swear! I'll kill ya!" he threatened, his voice getting considerably closer.
"That's what they all say," I replied dryly. He continued to threaten me while I sat there, unaffected. I've been held hostage numerous times so I'm practically immune to his threats. Besides, I watched my bully get attacked by a sludge monster, had to drive a lady in labor to the hospital, and most of all, accidentally touched someone's wee-wee. There's no way he was making me flinch.
After a while, he gave up. He angrily stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. For about twenty minutes or so, I just sat there alone listening to the constant dripping of water. It was also beginning to get hot, and I wished I told the hotdog man to keep the fan on. Not to mention, I was stuck blindfolded to a chair. My forehead sweat sank into the blindfold. My back was growing wet too. I also needed to pee.
This sucks. I just want to go home. Right now would be a really good time for my Quirk to come out.
"Maybe if I try hard enough, I can activate my Quirk," I mumbled. I spread my fingers out. Taking a deep breath, I imagined that I was an angry tumbleweed. Then, I envisioned a blast of explosions emerging from my palms...
Nothing happened.
I let out a defeated sigh. "Hiro... You suck."
I felt something tickle my nostril. A sneeze began to rise. I opened my mouth in preparation, and I let out a giant sneeze. My head swooped down to my chest. Instinctively, my feet and hands flew up. The sound echoed and bounced off the walls. I felt spit and snot fly into my hands...that were now free from its bindings.
I lifted my arms. Reaching for the back of my head, I untied the blindfold. My eyes were immediately greeted with a bright lightbulb that hung a few feet away from me, and I had to squint my eyes. After adjusting, I slowly stood up.
In front of me was the camera that the guy used to record. Around me were metal pipes lined across the walls. The entire room was made of gray cement. Turning around, I saw the old wooden chair that I was tied to. The ropes were sprawled out on the floor. There was a small puddle of water in the right corner of the room. A white fan was on the left.
"Guess I'm free now," I said, shrugging my shoulders. That was easy.
I sauntered over to the beat-up door and reached for the rusty doorknob. Opening it, I saw a long hallway. At the end of it was steep stairs. It did look a bit creepy since the wallpaper looked old and was peeling off. This hideout place was definitely better than the other places I was brought to. The last guy brought me to the backrooms of a local McDonald's.
I made my way to the stairs. As I walked up, the stairs groaned with every step my shoes took. When getting to the top, I creaked open the door.
It seemed like I made it out. Now I was standing inside of a house, the hotdog man's house, I guess. It was a small place. To the left was a tiny dining room with a circular table with two chairs. It connected to the kitchen with the tackiest wallpaper I've ever seen. There were naked angel babies, an interesting interior choice, for sure. To the right was where the tv sat. In front of it was a pull-out couch that had mounds of blankets and pillows on it. It looked like that's where he spent the majority of his nights.
I spotted the image of a smug cat hiding behind the side of the couch. I went over and grabbed my backpack. I pried the top open. Reaching inside, I pulled out my phone. 10 points for a reasonable motive for the kidnapping, and 5 points for the creepy basement. However, minus 10 points for not hiding my phone.
I clicked the home button. My screen lit up with messages from nobody, not even my parents. The time on my phone read 6:45 pm.
"Wow... My parents really don't care, do they?" I muttered bitterly. Oh well. I guess it makes things easier for me whenever I have to get out of sticky situations. I don't need them hounding on me about my whereabouts.
Without warning, someone crashed through the window that was behind me. Glass flew everywhere, but it somehow didn't land on me. My eyes locked onto a tall oddly dressed man wearing dark cat-eye sunglasses. Around his neck was a cheap-looking bright yellow cape that sprawled across the carpet. He wore red rubber gloves with matching red rain boots. On his head, he wore a strawberry mask. I can see a small purple bruise forming on his left cheek.
Why am I always running into him? This is the third time this week!
"Hey! It's you again!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed.
Before I can answer, I saw the hotdog man charging over to us. He jumped through the cracked window and slammed his hands on Strawberry Shades. However, Strawberry Shades was able to roll in time and dodge the attack. He sprung up to his feet and slugged my kidnapper in the face. My kidnapper flipped onto the old sofa beside us.
Grabbing my arm, the vigilante said, "Time to blast!"
He jumped out of the broken window, pulling me behind him. As our feet hit the grass, another hotdog man came flying into him. The weight of their bodies, along with Strawberry Shade's fingers around my wrist, caused me to fall down too. I tumbled on the grass while Strawberry Shades proceeded to fend off his attacker.
What? There's more than one hotdog?
"There they are!" A third hotdog man exclaimed, behind. He looked slightly different from the one that crashed into the sofa. He had a brown goatee. Accompanying him were three more guys wearing identical hotdog costumes. The one on the right, with his face too large for the costume, pointed his finger at me. That must be the one that I was talking to when I was tied up. But I don't remember him mentioning that he had buddies.
"You! How did ya escape?! I swore I tied ya up real good!"
The three hotdogs pulled out tasers and charged at me. Within seconds, they were in front. The one who tied me up let out a roaring cry and jumped on me, but missed because I climbed back inside. He flopped onto the grass with a thump! Meanwhile, the other two worked on detaining Strawberry Shades who was getting absolutely crushed.
With my phone still in my hand, I clicked it on to call the police. However, I was only met with the disappointing reflection of my double-chinned face. "Of course it has to be dead..." I muttered dryly.
Just then, I noticed the hotdog who tried to tackle me was getting up. The other one on the couch was too. Grabbing my backpack off the floor and throwing my phone inside, I sprinted over to the front door to escape. Fumbling with the lock, I slammed the door open. I guess the guy who fell on the grass was trying to block my escape by standing in front of the door, because I heard a loud thud right as I opened it. Peeking out of the doorway, I saw the hotdog lying on the grass with a dazed look in his eyes. I carefully stepped over his body.
"Gotchu!" A booming voice hollered from behind. I felt a pair of big meaty hands wrap around my neck and put me in a chokehold. He lifted me up with my legs dangling out. His arms tightened around my throat. It was getting hard to breathe.
"There's nowhere you can run now, girlie!" the man squeezing me sneered. With me still in his arms, he stomped over to his other three buddies who were busy beating up Strawberry Shades. I gazed over at Strawberry Shades who was getting repeatedly tased by all four hotdog men. They were taking turns hitting him with the taser. So much for saving me...
I tried my best to pry his arms off of my neck, but it was no use. My vision began getting blurry as I was slowly losing consciousness. The world was fading away. The sun that was shining was beginning to get dimmer. I felt something inside of me begin to pound and the longer it did, the more it began to hurt.
At times like this, I wish my stupid Quirk would come.
I felt the man's arms around my neck loosen, effectively dropping me. I collapsed down on the grass and hung my head low, gasping for air. My head and throat were throbbing. My heart was pounding so hard that I could feel it practically jump out of my chest. I wanted to throw up.
As I sat there trying to compose myself, I heard the sound of shuffling behind me. A familiar pair of checkered Vans kneeled next to me. In front of me, I saw the hotdogs stop hitting the pathetic hero on the grass. They all stared behind me.
"Shit! He's here!" One of them with tiny eyes cursed.
"Forget the hero and girl!" the hotdog with the goatee ordered. "Get that damn bastard!"
They all charged in my direction. As they did, I heard a gentle voice speak in my ear. "Sorry, Rin. I'm going to have to borrow this for a moment."
I felt a hand slip into my backpack and pull something out. The pair of dirty Vans beside me stood up. With light and feathered steps, they walked in front of me and stopped. Then with a thrust, one of my mangas I bought flew in the air. It flew behind the group of villains but before it touched the ground, a figure appeared and landed on the grass instead. The villains who were charging skidded to a stop. Everything went silent as they watched the manga that was thrown behind them suddenly land in the grass in front of them.
"H-how...how did he do that?" the villain with small eyes stuttered.
Without warning, a hand slammed his face in the grass so hard that dirt appeared. The other two hotdogs spun around in alarm. But as they did, another manga goes flying behind them, and he appeared again. One hotdog slammed down in the grass, just as another manga is flung. The thugs couldn't keep up though because the next thing they knew, another one of their buddies is crashing into the paneling of the house. A small trail of blood stained the wall.
"How is he doing that?!" the hotdog with the goatee said in a panic. Just as he said so, a hand bumped into his arm making him drop his taser. Before he can do anything, he gets tased by his own taser and collapses on the lawn.
He let out a loud curse. He tried to stand up but gets tased again. He gazed up. "I swear, I'll--" he started, but he got cut off by another jab by the taser. He knocked out.
————- ————-
ᴏɴɪꜱʜɪ ʜɪʀᴏ
Qᴜɪʀᴋ: ꜱᴡɪᴛᴄʜ
ʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀɴʏ ᴀɪʀʙᴏʀɴᴇ ᴏʙᴊᴇᴄᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜᴇᴅ!
————- ————-
Dropping the taser on the grass, Hiro jogged over to me with wide eyes. He placed a gentle hand on my back and asked if I was okay. I shrugged him off and staggered up on my own.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't faster!"
I told him that I was fine. Letting out a cough only made the worry on his face deepen.
"Are you okay? How's your throat? Are you bleeding anywhere?" he frantically asked, inspecting me for any wounds. His eyes took notice of my scratched up knees, and he freaked out.
"I told you, I'm fine," I muttered annoyedly.
Hiro let out a relieved sigh. "Why are you always running into trouble when I'm away?" he said to himself.
I noticed Strawberry Shades slowly getting up from the ground. Hiro noticed too, because he immediately went on defense mode.
"Ah! The villains have been defeated!" Strawberry Shades announced. "All thanks to me!"
He let out a hearty laugh, as Hiro and I stood there unamused. "Rin, who is this...?" Hiro whispered to me.
"Oh, him?" I said, pointing. "That's just some weird cosplayer."
Strawberry Shades overheard us speaking, and he immediately took offense to my statement. "W-Weird cosplayer? I am not!" he exclaimed, with tears trickling down his cheeks. "I am a hero!"
"An unlicensed one," I added. "You should get arrested."
"Justice must be served!" he retorted. "Who cares if I'm unlicensed?"
"The police!" Hiro exclaimed. The sound of police sirens blared. The police were coming, and the vigilante knew it was time to bail.
"Well, it seems like the police are on their way," Strawberry Shades announced. He grabbed onto his tacky cape. "It seems like my work here is done."
"But you didn't do anything," I mumbled as I watched the hero scamper away. He tried to jump over the fence but he face-planted on the grass. He yelped. After that, he sprinted away.
»»————- ————-««
"Oh Hiro, I missed you so much!" Mom exclaimed, engulfing him into a hug. Then squeezing his cheeks, she said, "Are you eating fine? They're not overworking you to death, are they?"
Hiro chuckled awkwardly and reassured her that he was doing okay. With one last cheek squeeze, she ran into the kitchen and brought out dinner.
My parents and Hiro began to chat about his job. They talked about the average things like "how's work?" and "any interesting stories?". Like my dad, Hiro worked in law enforcement. While Dad is just a police officer for the local police department, Hiro worked for the Hero Public Safety Commission. I don't know the details of his job, but he told me that he's in charge of investigating dangerous criminal cases. I guess that explained why so many people had a bone to pick with him.
"That's good to hear that you're getting things done," Dad remarked, taking a sip of iced tea. He let out a weary sigh. "There's been an uprise of vigilante appearances in the area lately. They certainly know how to fend off villains, but their behaviors... They got some loose screws, that's for sure. And that one man, uh, he wears a strawberry mask--"
"Strawberry Shades?" I piped.
"Yeah, that guy. He's utterly ridiculous! What's with the goofy outfit?"
Hiro chuckled nervously, probably recalling the run-in he had with the odd vigilante. "Well, if I happen to see him, I'll take care of it," Hiro replied. He turned to me. "I ruined your manga. Sorry about that."
I shrugged it off. I told him that those comics were for him anyway. I didn't tell him about the whole "Bakugo charring the first ones I bought for him" thing though. I don't want him to worry.
After dinner, I was stuck with cleaning duty. Hiro was somehow able to convince my parents to help despite their best efforts. Hiro's always been the type of person who's always willing to help out.
"Are you okay?" Hiro asked me, as he placed a plate into the sink for me. "I mean, about the whole hostage situation."
I rinsed off the soapy cup and placed it into the drying rack. "I'm not scared anymore. I'm older now," I remarked. Also, I've been a hostage because of you multiple times, but I'm not gonna talk about that and freak you out even more.
Hiro asked me about school and how that was going. I told him it was so-so; nothing new happened. Well, except that my classmates were involved in the Sludge Incident a month ago.
"Those boys were your classmates?" he asked, with wide eyes. "The whole situation was so scary. I'm glad that you weren't there!"
Haha. Yeah. Totally wasn't there. Nope.
I focused my attention back on dishwashing. Hiro finished cleaning the table so he began to head into the living room. Before he can go, I called out to him. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to thank you."
Hiro stopped. Peering at me, he gave me a warm smile. "Of course. I'm your Quirk, after all."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes and tell him that he sounded lame. He let out a lighthearted laugh as he walked away. Meanwhile, I continued washing the dishes. As I dunked my wrinkled hands into the dishwater, my mind wandered to the past.
"I don't care if I get in trouble," Hiro said stubbornly. "If they mess with you, they mess with me. Besides, I gotta watch out for you since you don't have your Quirk. Until you get it, I'll be your Quirk."
I stared at the soapy plate in my hands. Yeah, right. I'm never going to find it.
"If any of those bullies come back to tease you, just call me over and I'll take care of them!"
My Quirk, huh? I let out a long sigh.
I'll never admit it aloud, but knowing that he was watching over me felt nice. Times like these made me think that I didn't need a Quirk, because he was here; he gave me power.
"It's fine now! Why? Because I am here! Your big brother is here to protect you!"
❝I promise.❞