Zero Hero ||MHA||

22. Three Secrets

I awoken to a bright fluorescent light. I let my eyes adjust to the light and after a moment, blurriness faded. I groggily sat up, the bed creaking after me. The room I was in had no windows; there was only mirror. Through my reflection, I realized my clothes changed. I wore a light-blue hospital gown and my hair that was in a bun was a tangled mess now. There was a white band aid on my right arm, with the skin around it turning purple. I reached up and gently touched it. A sharp pain shot up my arm and I winched.

"You're awake now," a deep voice spoke.

I immediately recognized that nasally voice. My bare feet hit the cold floors when I stood up, making me shiver. I spun around to see that no one was there. I scanned the room for an intercom of sort. All I saw was white tile lining the walls and floors, and a dark, heavy, steel door. Kiyoshi must've sensed my confusion because he said,

"You won't be able to see me. I'm on the other side of the glass."

"Where...am I?" I cautiously asked, scanning the mirror.

"The exact location, I can't say. You're in a Crimson Eclipse base. You've been asleep for about three days now. We might've given you a bit too much of the drug."

"The orange one?"

"Bingo. You know your stuff, eh? As expected of a girl who was present at Nighteye Agency and the Hero Festival."

Memories of the Hero Festival flashed in my mind. Arriving at the festival with my family, the attack at the parade, Midoriya's crying face, Furutani and Ruby, Strawberry Shades's battered body, Hiro, Corvade and Endeavor, the black portal...

My fist curled into a ball. I felt my chest warm.

"Why am I here? What did you do to me? Where's Hiro?"

Kiyoshi chuckled in response. "Slow down there. Take a little breather. I'll tell you everything," he said.

The sounds of a steel beam getting lifted up from the door groaned. The heavy door creaked opened. A sick feeling formed in my stomach seeing him. A tall, pale man wearing a maroon blazer with a white shirt underneath stood in the doorway. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows to expose the tattoo of a bleeding viper and a crescent moon. He looked eerie standing in the dark, since the outside was dim compared to the brightness of my room.

I didn't dare break my gaze. He reassured that he was just coming in to chat and wasn't gonna hurt me. He held his hands up empty-handed to show me. Whether that was true or not didn't matter, because I was stuck here regardless. The door closed shut behind him.

"As I said, you're in a Crimson Eclipse base. Three days ago, an ally of mine transported you and Hiro here. We drew some of your blood for samples," he explained. "But that isn't the reason why you're here, at least, the entire reason... I needed to something to draw Ryusaki in."

So, I'm a hostage in order to get Dad to come. But why is Crimson Eclipse so obsessed with Dad? When I asked, he let out a sigh. "Didn't we have this conversation? We need to have a one-on-one chat about something important."

"What's so important that you need to talk to him about?"

"You wouldn't understand, kid. It's adult matters."

"I would," I sharply replied.

I heard him chuckle again. "I find it amusing how similar you are to Hiro. He put up quite the fight when he got here."

Hearing his name made my heart skip. My muscles tensed and something hot began to grow in my chest. My throat suddenly went dry, and I struggled to swallow. I tried my best not to show him my reaction, but I couldn't hold it in. I lost control of myself.