𝓐 𝓖𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓶𝓮𝓻 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴 [𝓚. 𝓞𝓴𝓾𝓽𝓪]

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝓌𝑜

Y/n looked away. Her head was screaming at her to move, but she couldn't do it. Out of all the things she could have imagined in a rich guy's secret room, a man tied to a chair was one of the last things on her list. Y/n could only imagine what else the darkness was hiding behind its veil. The silence gave little away. Perhaps it was merely an empty room, perhaps not. Why was he here? Who was he? He's injured.

The puny ball of sunlight in her hand just barely gave her enough light to see the stranger. She couldn't pry herself from his injured form. His hair was a dirty mess and clearly unwashed for quite some time. His facial hair was scruffy and just as unkempt. Cuts, bruises, and trails of dried blood littered his face. One eye was swollen shut; the other eye barely hung open, appearing as though it was only days away from swelling up as well. The stranger looked sickly, weak, and pale.

Looks aside, he was well dressed. He wore a dark blazer and an even darker button-up shirt underneath. A scarf hung loosely around his neck. His clothes were scuffed with splotches of what Y/n could only hope was dirt. However, with how battered the stranger's face was, she had her doubts.

Even though he was hurt and bound to a chair, something still made her feel uneasy. Y/n wasn't sure why. Maybe her nerves were getting to her because she was unaware of his Meta Ability? Or perhaps it was because of the situation she had found herself in.

He was slouched into the chair, and his head hung low. Y/n leaned forward, making sure he was still breathing at a safe distance.

"Am I finally going to die today?" His voice sounded raspy and dry.

Die? Her mouth hung ajar. She didn't understand what he meant by that. Y/n searched her vocabulary, looking for the best string of words to say. After a moment, only one thought prevailed and escaped her lips. "Are you okay?"

Are you okay? What's wrong with you? Of course, he's not okay! Why would you ask something like that? Y/n felt her face heat, and she knew it wasn't the ball of sunlight that she was holding close to her.

The stranger stared at Y/n. The corners of his lips twitched, and he chuckled. His frail laugh quickly stirred to violent coughing. Her confusion sunk in deeper. She knew the man had to be in this situation for a reason.

Her palm began to burn. It felt as if her skin was on fire. The pain was a blessing; it brought Y/n out of her head and back into the darkened room that she was currently in. Finding her fight-or-flight response, Y/n jumped to her feet and spun around.

She fixed her eyes ahead of her to the light pouring into the darkened room from the hatch door. Y/n couldn't hear anything but the sound of her heart slamming in her chest. She closed the door as soon as her feet touched the office floor. In a panic, she covered everything up as if she had never touched the door.

⊱──✿──────────⊰

She anxiously paced around the office for a bit, feeling the warmth of the sunlight in her hand. Calm down, you're safe, stop freaking out.

After pacing around for nearly an hour, her frantic steps slowed down to a stop. She breathed in slowly and exhaled. Her hands steadied.

Y/n looked down at the ball of sunlight in her hand before setting it down on the hardwood floor. She carefully placed her heel on it. Cautiously, she began adding pressure onto the little marble. It rolled under her foot as she put more and more of her weight on it.

Y/n let out an audible gasp as her footing slipped. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor. Her tailbone burned, and she groaned. "Two days in a row? Come on!"