Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: CHOKE

  A bonus chapter for Halloween!  

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Ochako tried to stop trembling, but to no avail. She crouched down with her back against the cold, stone wall, peeking around the corner and trying to see through the shadows that filled the building like tar. A single light flickered in the ceiling, fading in and out of existence in almost perfect synchronicity with her pounding heart that beat against the inside of her ribcage like a trapped animal. Adrenaline coursed through her system, shortening her breaths into nervous pants that she tried to muffle with a hand for fear of being heard. Every warm exhale fogged up the visor of her helmet in the unnatural chill of the building, forcing her to take it off in order to have a clear view of her surroundings.

It felt as if she was being hunted, and her paranoia was through the roof, twisting at her insides and crushing her heart in an icy fist. She fought against the anxiety and pushed herself back to her feet, taking a single step before wincing and staring down at her boots as the unnecessary high-heels clacked loudly against the solid floor. Ochako pressed her shoulder against the wall, lifting one leg and tugging a pink boot off before shifting to the other and then placing both shoes on the ground, shivering at the sudden rush of cold air that hit her shins. Her feet were clad in thick socks with extra padding on the toes and heel, successfully silencing every footstep as she continued to sneak along.

The costume didn't matter: her priority was to escape without being caught. She tucked her chestnut hair behind her ears to keep it from her nervous eyes, the usual flush of her cheeks fading to a fearful pallor as she moved quietly through the building, getting only hints of sound from the others inside. Another empty corridor should've been reassuring, but her mind kept insisting that she could see figures in the darkness, and she couldn't help but wish Deku was there to chase away her fears with his powerful, reassuring presence, but-

But, he wasn't. She couldn't rely on him. She was on her own in this nightmare, with only her frantic thoughts and blind panic to accompany her.

There were no memorised blueprints of the layout to help her navigate through. The path branched off in two directions, with the right passage being narrower but brighter, and the left one wider and dark enough to look like a portal into the void. Ochako heaved in an unsteady breath, trying to keep her cool as she followed her intuition and turned right, feeling a little more at ease when she could at least clearly see where she was heading under the unsettling red lights.

Faint sounds grew louder, and she stuck close to the wall, continuing on at a steady pace despite her overwhelming desire to turn tail and sprint away. The righteous timbre of Iida's voice reached her ears, and she instinctively relaxed, thankful to have found her friend and hoping to meet up with him so they could escape together. Her shoulders tensed back up and her breath caught in her throat as she heard a higher voice, an unsettling tremble to his tone that was comforting before, but terrifying now. She hesitated for a moment longer before continuing to creep closer, following her hero's spirit that urged her to save her friend from D- from the villain.

They were visible now, as she turned another corner. Her fingers clasped delicately around the rotting wood of the doorframe, and she dared a peek into the room after a moment of cautious listening. Iida was kneeling on the cold, stone floor, his white armour glinting in the eerie half-light and his helmet tossed to one side, revealing his expression of utmost distress. His navy blue hair was messy and awry, curling over his forehead and dipping behind the lenses of his cracked glasses. He sat in the shadow of the villain who loomed above him, edges sharp where they should've been soft and his relaxed form emanating a contradictorily chilling aura that caused Ochako's anxiety to spike once more, because that was so, so wrong.