Only One Way Out || Dabi HIATUS

chapter 1

You woke up, yawning and blinking for a moment as the sun began it's ascent, just as it did every morning. The duvet felt soft on your skin, your body begging you for another 5 minutes cuddled up peacefully in bed. Regardless, you pushed the duvet off you and pushed yourself off the mattress. You made contact with the cold apartment floor as you once more wished to be going back to sleep.

However, a new job awaited you at a facility for the mentally ill. You'd heard good things about it thus far so all you could do was simply hope the place lived up to it's reputation. An outfit lay over a chair not far from you and a small sigh escaped your lips as you rubbed your eyes. It didn't take you long to get ready at all, light makeup covered the imperfections on your face whilst you wore trousers and a blouse, a fitting pair of shoes to match the outfit.

In the kitchen, you came face to face with your roommate, sitting on one of the four somewhat uncomfortable chairs at the table. Her head laid on the table, her arms wrapped around her own head whilst her hair draped over her, covering her face.

"Morning"
You greeted. She slowly lifted her head, a tired smile gracing her features as she returned the greeting. Kiriko, your roommate and close friend was simply put, not a morning person.
"Hey you start that new job today, right?"
You nodded, multiple different emotions flowing through your body. Anxiety clutched at your chest, threatening to make your breathing uneven but you were somewhat excited regardless.
"Yeah, speaking of I should head out soon but do you want me to pick anything up for dinner on the way home?"

It was likely that if you did not purchase groceries, which kiriko did help pay for, she would live of instant ramen for an unhealthy amount of time. The girl lifted her head, fixing the silky strands of dark brown hair that sat upon her head.
"Yeah that'd be great ! Let me know how much it costs later and I'll repay you."

A smile formed on your face, your lips tugging upwards slightly as you nodded in agreement once more. You grabbed a plate from the cupboard and put two slices of bread into the toaster. A couple of toppings were already on the table, having previously been used by Kiriko, who now sipped coffee from a cup you hadn't noticed when you first entered the shared kitchen. Your apartment wasn't much really, a somewhat small bathroom, a kitchen and living room which were connected and your bedrooms. Although not grand nor spacious, it had everything you needed and you felt more at home in the cheap apartment than you did anywhere else.

It didn't take you long to finish your breakfast and a cup of coffee, so you grabbed your coat, your bag, which contained all your essentials, and left the cozy apartment after saying goodbye to Kiriko.

The weather wasn't particularly nice. It was actually cold and frankly, looked like it was about to rain. At points you wished you had a more convenient quirk, something that could shield you from the rain or wind. A quirk that could help you out with day to day tasks, yet not one that would cause everybody to ask why you decided not to train to become one of society's beloved heroes. You never had a real interest in becoming a hero. Sure as a kid you thought they were cool with their flashy suits and bright quirks but they weren't something you aspired to be, unlike many of your peers.

A sigh escaped your lips as you arrived at the train station, your mind still preoccupied with the topic of quirks. You sometimes wished for a more useful power yet your own helped greatly in your profession. The doors of the train shut behind you and you frowned at the lack of seats but it was to be expected. So instead you stood, holding onto one of the handles that were attached to the roof of the train.

Your mind wandered, leaving the idea of a quirk like telekinesis behind, beginning to think about your new job instead. You weren't sure how prepared you were to meet a bunch of supposedly insane prisoners who would be sent to their demise if you weren't good enough to help them. Quickly, you reached your hand into your pocket to take out your phone and distract yourself from the negative thoughts which invaded your mind. A notification popped up at the top of your screen, a sweet good luck message from your mum. Your lips tugged upwards slightly, reading the message before typing out a simple but genuine thank you message.

You shoved your phone into your pocket as the vehicle slowed to a stop and announced that you were now at your destination through the speakers. You squeezed past a few people and stepped off the train, scanning the somewhat familiar area for a moment. Before you got the job, when you went to the interview, you had familiarised yourself with the area slightly. You checked out all the good food places and took note of them so you could pick up lunch or dinner for you and Kiriko the odd day.

Beginning the short walk to the place, you opted not to listen to music on the way considering that you weren't completely sure that the area was the safest and other things like that. Your feet carried you to the entrance of the extremely high security building. An intimidating wall surrounded the place, with only one way in and one way out.

You approached the security guard by the doorway, smiling nervously as you did.
"Hi, I'm a new psychiatrist here ?"
The words left your mouth sounding more like a question than a statement. You internally cringed at the tone of voice you used but decided to simply pretend it hadn't happened, focusing more on wether he'd let you in or not.

The young man looked down at a photo, which you assumed was of you to check your identity, hazel eyes scanned the paper with focus before he handed you a keycard, wishing you a good day as the door opened in-front of you. You stepped in, jumping slightly when the door immediately shut behind you. Regaining your composure quickly, you made your way towards the main building. There seemed to be two buildings, the main one where all the activities for patients and other things were held and the cell block. A garden took up a large space inside the wall, clearly the flowers and other plants were well taken care of. Although you were unsure if it was done by some of the more low-risk patients of the staff, perhaps both.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you found yourself in-front of the door, trying to calm yourself a bit before you entered. You always seemed to be so good at helping others relax but never had quite the same effect on yourself. You took a deep breathe before you pushed the door open, greeting the receptionist with a friendly wave. The conversation was brief, but nice anyways. She gave you a map, your timetable and files on all of your patients. You had a while to look around and look over the files before you spoke to the ones that you'd be treating regularly.

It didn't take you long to get bored of looking around after getting a general idea of the layout, so you went to the staff room, putting your things in a locker before you sat down with a glads of water, seven individual files on the table, spread out in-front of you.

Word count : 1.3k