𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐃𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

31

Instead of leading you through the room with the exit, Touya started back down the dark hallway. You didn't follow. "Isn't the exit this way?" 

He turned, "It's going to be impossible to make it more than fifty feet away if we don't get those cuffs off of you. Shigaraki left the key in one of the rooms back here."

Touya continued on his path, but you remained where you were. It could easily be a trap. Make you think that he was going to free you as a way to get you back into that barren room you'd just managed to escape from. Screw what he thought. You could figure out a way to get these things off of your wrists yourself. After you were out of this shithole.

As though he was anticipating your next move, Touya spoke again. "The others will be back any minute, Princess. And although you may be able to take down one or two of them while restrained, I don't think you'll have too much luck fighting all five at once."

You were torn. As of now, Touya seemed to be one of your only options. And it would likely be easiest to use him to aid in your escape, but it was still impossible for you to bring yourself to trust him. This entire situation felt too convenient. How was it that you'd managed to make it out here at the exact time that the rest of the League was gone? If it was because of the important task that Compress had spoken of, why wasn't Touya with them as well? You'd been misled one too many times and now you found yourself unable to make a clear decision.

"Fuck," Touya mumbled before loosing an exasperated breath. Stopping before the metal door that had been keeping you trapped moments before, you saw the familiar blue glow of his flames illuminate the palms of his hands. He pressed against the lock, and within seconds, it had melted into a metallic puddle on the floor at his feet. You raised a brow, "What was the point of that?"

"Now, when the others come back it will look like I broke through the door to help you get out. They'll know that I've betrayed them. Now please come with me so that we can get the hell out of here."

It wasn't enough to earn your trust entirely, but knowing that there was nowhere for you to be imprisoned in this place helped you take the first few steps toward the room he claimed the key was kept. Touya's shoulders relaxed a bit as you came to his side, but a large amount of tension remained. Glancing through the hole in the door at Compress' limp figure, he led you under an empty doorway and into another dimly-lit room. This one, however, had a few pieces of old furniture to fill the space. Touya went straight for the rickety wooden desk that was placed against the wall to the right. You stayed a few feet behind him, making sure that you were in a position to run or defend yourself if needed.

The object Touya pulled from the desk was unlike any key you'd seen before, which made sense considering the futuristic design of the handcuffs. It was a dark, cylindrical object with a flat top. You held out your arms as far in front of you as they could reach, and Touya pressed the base of the key to the center of the device. After a long second, the metal hissed and the cuffs opened, falling to the floor with a clang.

Ok, points for him. Touya hadn't lied about the location of the key. You rubbed your sore wrists. "Great, let's bail." If there was any time, you would have liked to scour the place for a weapon. The blonde girl's knives had looked to be of good quality, maybe she had some extras lying around. But it was better not to risk it.

"Stick close to me," Touya said.

"Don't give me orders," you replied through gritted teeth. "Just because I'm accepting your help does not mean that we're a team again." Your dynamic was similar now to how it had been when you'd first met. he was your only option. And you were using him to get something that you wanted. Now, though, there were some other complicated feelings involved.