Zero Hero || MHA ||

24. The Darkest Light

Another explosion was heard, this time from underneath me. The ground rattled under my bare feet making it difficult to run. It didn't help that the villain who was clutching my arm was holding it with all her strength. It hurt when she pulled.

        When the first explosion happened, I was immediately taken out of my cell. The heroes have somehow found our location. They weren't letting me go just yet, and that's when a Crimson Eclipse member with particularly oily skin fetched me. By exiting through secret stairs hidden in the room next to my cell, we climbed up into the ground floor and made our escape.

        She pulled me through the Great Hall which was entirely empty. It was somewhat uncomfortable hearing our heavy breaths and rapid footsteps. I heard someone buzzing into her radio, and she listened to what they had to say.

        "What do you mean the other hostage is gone?!" she yelled. Hearing that, my heart leaped. Does that mean Hiro escaped? She spoke to them some more, telling them that she'll kill them if they don't find him. "Did you inform any of the admins about this? Wait hold on, someone's buzzing in."

        She pressed her ear piece and greeted the incomer. "Sir, there seems to be a situation. W-we've lost a hostage... No, the girl's with me... Yes, I understand. I'll transport her to you right awa--"

       Before she could finish, a metal pipe swung from behind the corner of the exit. While I skidded to a stop, she stepped back. Not only was I surprised from the sudden attack, I was also surprised that she was able to dodge in time. Even so, she was only acting on instinct and didn't have much time to evade the next move.

        A fist goes flying into her gut, causing her to lose her balance. The attacker gave her no time to recover because the metal pipe came charging right at her. She didn't have time to dodge that and it hit her right in the nose, causing blood to spurt out. She let out a curse and tumbled to the ground. By this point, the newcomer separated us. Although I only saw the back of his head, I immediately recognized the familiar presence.

        "Hiro?!"

        Spinning around, he grabbed my arm. His face looked paler than I remembered and he had bruises on his face. A large bandage covered his left cheek and bandages covered his neck and arms. He was wearing the same hospital gown as me.

        "Go!" he shortly ordered. I obeyed without hesitation and turned heels. When we fled, I heard the Crimson Eclipse grunt inform the others that we were on the run.

        Our bare feet slapped on the cold steel floors while we sprinted through the long gray corridors. I took this time to ask him how the heck he found me.

        "Lucky guess? It feels like I've been running through this place for ages," he replied. "I managed to escape from my cell when that loud explosion happened. From what I overheard, heroes are here to rescue us."

        We're gonna be saved. Even so, the guilt in me began to increase because I knew that it was my fault that Hiro was here.

       "Hiro... I'm sorry."

        Hiro peeked at me. "What's there to be sorry for?"

        "For getting you roped into my mess. That's what happened when I got held hostage, at the theme park, at the museum, and at the festival. I should've been the one here, not you."

        "Stop it," he said, his voice rising. "It's not your fault that I'm here. You didn't do anything wrong. We should just focus on finding the heroes and getting out of here."

       I swallowed the large lump in my throat. I knew that I should've stopped, but I kept going. "It's always like this, isn't it? I get caught in trouble and you come running to save me. Don't you ever get tired of doing that?"