𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐃𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

14

You stepped forward, making sure Aya was behind you and took your weapon in your hand. You spoke casually while looking around in the darkness. "Did you just call me honey? I haven't seen your face, but I can tell from the sound of your voice that you are not attractive enough for nickname privileges."

Aya was shakily pressing her hands into the wall, searching for the door that had been there just a second ago. Upon further inspection, something about the wall seemed different than before, and it wasn't just the lack of an entryway. The paint color had been changed, and further to the left, photos were hanging that you hadn't seen when you'd come in.

"This wall is supposed to be in my bedroom," Aya whispered in shock. "How did it get out here?" She looked ahead. "Wait, this whole room is my bedroom. How did we get here?"

The intruder's quirk must have had something to do with shifting the layout of things. It was useful for trapping people but wouldn't do much for their fighting advantage. When the person spoke again, it sounded like they'd moved closer. "You know, I was only sent here for the rainbow-colored girl, but taking you in is gonna get me a much better reward."

"If you somehow manage to get your hands on me, I'd say you deserve that reward." You shifted toward the sound of their voice. "You've got who you want, though. There isn't any reason to involve an innocent person now. Let her go and we can settle this together."

"Sorry, honey, but the girl's a liability now. I'll have to kill her after I take care of you." The intruder emphasized the nickname mockingly.

Aya pressed her back into the wall as if she was trying to disappear inside of it. You looked down at yourself and sighed. "Could you not have waited just a few more minutes? Now I'm gonna get blood on my work outfit."

"You're welcome to take the outfit off if you'd like. I'm willing to wait another minute." The intruder, who you concluded was a man after that sentence, took a step closer, revealing the outline of his figure. "Or don't. It'll be much more fun to strip ya myself."

It happened faster than you'd expected, but you managed to pull Aya to the ground as the man pulled a gun from behind him and fired. Your friend screamed as the bullet barely missed your thigh.

"A gun, huh?" You stood. "Putting in all the effort to get a weapon like that tells me that you've gotta be shit in a fight. Only pussies hide behind a trigger."

He aimed again, but you threw your knife through the air and smiled as the blade embedded itself in the top of his hand. He shouted and you quickly bent down. "Go and hide. If you find a way out of here, there's a guy that can help you. He should be waiting in the alley below. Tell him what's going on."

"You want me to look for a random guy in an alley instead of going to the police?!"

You helped pull Aya to her feet. "Yes, that's exactly it, good job. Now go."

She ran and you turned to face the man once more. He'd stupidly pulled the blade out and was now bleeding freely onto the floor. Now that your eyes had adjusted, you could see that he didn't have much muscle, his jaw was a bit crooked, and his dark hair was in desperate need of a wash. His appearance took you by surprise. There was no way that this guy was at the same level as the guy who'd killed Ami. She would have killed him without even smudging her mascara. Unless there was something he was hiding. It hadn't been long enough of a fight to gauge his strength accurately.

"Why exactly are you here?" You asked. "You don't look like you're anything special."

The question offended him more than you thought it would. "Bitch," he spat, still clutching his hand. "I'll show you special."