"Mr. Cameron, what the hell just happened? Did our case just get dropped because of a measly hero?!" Teo whisper-yelled following behind the fleeting man walking to the exit, "I can't believe you hero fanatics would shut down a case for being mildly related to a hero?! That's just stupid! Corruption is right where we work!" The old man ceased his steps and turned around to grip Teo's shoulder.

"Shut up rookie! Unless you want someone to hear you, I say we carry on the case regardless, without any warrants we will be playing it safe but slow. A disadvantage, but we could figure something out."

"Figure something out?! Like what? Getting thrown into jail for illegally breaking into a shop?"

Cameron rolled his eyes and sighed, moving back from the young man and approaching the stairs, leaving without another word.

Is he paranoid? Has he gotten so fixated on the danger to think everything isn't safe?

Despite it, he wanted to check and be confident she was okay, she wasn't in trouble she was just neglecting him for valid reasons, when he told kacchan that she wasn't home he hadn't known her address nor where she lived, but now that he's ripped out information he has to go on to inspect.

But if she wasn't...

He stopped himself from moving further and looked at her home, it omitted unsettling energy even with the lively commotion of chirping birds and breeze, occasional cars drove by but the area was as empty as it was vibrant.

Shaking off gloaming thoughts and preparing himself to see her face, he rang the doorbell and stood by.

His worse concerns were answered. She wasn't home. Nothing was heard from inside and nothing moved to open the door for him. Forcing out a breath, he walked along the windows, feeling like a stalker wandering and prying into someone's life, but he repressed negativity and peered inside the tiny gap behind curtained windows.

Her place looked normal, nothing had been moved as far as he could see, getting inside meant breaking in, and he didn't want to scare her if this wasn't anything to worry about.

Stopping at her backdoor he tried knocking on it too, glancing back and forth to study the withered plants and vegetables, wild grass gradually building up and the soil devoid of any shoe prints. With no luck, and desperation filling up he even tapped on the windows and called out her name.

Still, he got nothing in return.

"So that's what happened. I went to her house and she didn't answer the door, hasn't been picking up her phone, nor texted me back." Izuku recounted the events before bringing himself to the police, hoping to file a case for his friend. "is it possible to--"

"Oh yes! We will try our best to find your missing friend Mr. Deku, you can rest easy,"

"Are you sure you don't need any other information?"

"Yes! Yes! We don't need anything else in fact- I think you should go home and forget this ever happened because finding your friend now will be near to impossible."

His face changed along with his tone, dropping his big smile and going back to the gloomy appearance of a stressed man, "You should have come sooner, Mr. Hero, cases like these usually don't get solved, cause the person either ran away or they stepped into a hole and died."

"That's a little too early to say, right?" izuku raised his eyebrows, "I just came in with this info."

"Yeah, whatever, all I know is that I'm not gonna file a case for it and you can help yourself, besides it's what you heroes are good for. Saving." he spits out.

"It's not a good time, is it?" izuku continued, "well, I hope you don't mind if I leave some feedback for you, right?"

---

"Hey, it's already past noon, get up."

Katsuki's sounded distant for a moment in her sleepy daze but drifting into reality has never been so disappointing, seeing him near her has gotten old, he's unwilling to allow her any space after their first time, and it's gotten suffocating.

"Okay... I'll get up," she mutters, quickly pulling the blanket to cover herself, she's sure she heard him chuckle. "I told you to get up, not tuck yourself in."

"Hmm..." she's gonna have to pretend if she ever wants to get a chance again. She's dizzy for a second as she coerces herself to sit up, having to resist the urge to lie back down and sleep away the horrible feeling.

"You feeling dizzy? I told you not to get up so suddenly, you don't ever listen to me, so of course." she had no idea she would get scolded for sitting up straight in the wrong way, is there one? "Do you need help getting down the stairs? Don't want you throwing yourself off the stairs."

She hasn't done that, yet.

"No, I'm good." to prove him wrong, she got up and stayed till katsuki decided to leave her alone, looking around the room and leaving it for the day, if she had the choice she would choose the room she spend her first days in, better than having to see him the moment she opens her eyes.

Walking down the stairs, she felt nostalgia cling to her recalling the same way she used to get down to the kitchen and see her family bickering when katsuki wasn't a part of her life, all she can do is sit down and behave so that she can plan a successful escape, even if it takes forever, she can't live on for much longer in his place. It'll drive her crazy.

"Can I help?" she asked after reaching him, staring at the fast movement of the knife in his hand, dashing and chopping greens, "No, you just sit down and wait."

He doesn't trust her yet, and she wouldn't either, especially with handing out knives, she might just force it into her stomach and bathe in her blood.

"How long has it been since I moved here?"

"Two months max, it's nearing three now," he answered, and she didn't expect him to do so in a calm tone.

"Really? It feels like it's been a long time. But guess only two months have passed outside these walls."

He hummed, focused on something else rather than her, which feels confusing given how clingy he had been for the past week.

"Did you like it?" she wanted to see him stumble over his words and go limp, she'll keep pulling his leg if it means it'll bring him down.

"Yeah, it was good and better when I heard you moaning out my name, bet it felt amazing to be so close and intimate with me."

I wouldn't willingly say your name. She badly wanted to say but decided to seal her lips and let him have his moments before she'll rip herself out of the mess he created for her. Being subtly submissive seemed like a good place to start.

"I guess it did, you must have a lot of experience after masturbating while thinking of me, was it as you had anticipated?"

"Heh, funny. Is this your way of asking for attention or are you just hiding nasty thoughts behind that innocent face?"

"Maybe. But you wouldn't know, so wanna get to know me better? We could start over. And you can put that ring on my finger you've been waiting so long for." saying the things she didn't mean with a poker face was draining, and it only helped that he had his back turned to her.

"Okay, what are you planning?" dropping the utensil into the pan, he faced her.

"Nothing, I just thought I'd make it easier for you so you can get bored of me and find someone better maybe."

"Since when did you get insecure?"

"I don't know," she replied.

"Too bad, I'm the best for you and you're to me, in case you didn't hear when we were having our moment, I said I wasn't going to let you go home. No matter how many times you asked." she stared on quietly, not taking her eyes off him.

That night has blurred out of her memories, but everything he said is unambiguous, and all the time he had been on top of her gasping and groaning her name, closing her eyes did next to nothing and all her senses had merely heightened.

"Yeah, I remember," she replied.

He grinned, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her forehead, and she almost hadn't stopped herself from moving back, "good, let's have breakfast now."

Recoiling from the shock she ambled over to her usual spot and sat, all the old memories flooding back from when she got here and how she is faring, nothing changed for her, at least he didn't let it, but he keeps getting what he wants and she can barely regulate her breathing. How badly she wanted him to fall from his arrogant grace and face what he's done to her.

Even if that doesn't happen, she'll take one thing away from him. And that will hurt him.

She will make sure it does.

"What are you thinking? Your pretty head will heat up if you keep stressing over nothing." settling down the plate, he sneered at her, liking her to give all of the attention he's deserved since he met her and she needed to laugh.

'Since you took advantage of me I'll take advantage of you too.'

"I'm not! I'm stress-free!" She giggled, "I've got you here to take care of me whether I like it or not, no?" bending her head and peering up, she smiled and grabbed ahold of her spoon, "Besides, I've got nothing left to lose..." she whispered to herself, stabbing her spoon into the tomatoes to split them apart.

"Hmm, did it take only one night for you to understand that? That you and I belong together."

It was a concealed question, underlying with ominous meaning and she knew what it was, could she grab a knife before he gets to her and kill him?

"It took me months, but I'm starting to see things, mostly bad and there's some good too." she honestly replied whilst gripping her spoon and grinning through clenched teeth. Feeling anger and hatred accumulating up to a boiling point, fortunately, she had better control than the man before her.

"Huh? When did you become so smart?" if this keeps up she knows she will snap.

"Maybe not start something anew with backward comments hmm? Also, this here isn't so bad tasting, I like it."

"Okay, show me you aren't lying."

"Since when did you insecure?" she belabored.

"Sweet-talking all of a sudden and expecting me to believe that? Yeah, you aren't so smart after all."

"Yikes, you hurt me with your words, be gentle with me." she chuckled, popping the last cherry tomato in her mouth, she carried on, "if it helps, any lover wouldn't want to be locked in a single room all their life, and, I realized getting away from you now might just be impossible. So, I'm surrendering I guess. I like only tried to escape once and that was because you kept me inside that room for so long."

"Prove it." he challenged with a straight face.

"Okay, can you prove that I'm not gonna be locked up in a room again?"

"If you behave." he sternly responded.

"Fair enough... To be honest, you know back in high school I kinda liked you, at first, you kept getting mean and I kept distancing myself." She looked down, smiling, "And I started to hate you, can you blame me? You used to bully me and torture me at school, but now I'm willing to rekindle whatever good we had. Though not much, it's what I can give you for now."

'You sabotaged yourself by being prideful.' she thought to herself.

--

A week vanished into the past.

She was still in her nightdress when she realizes katsuki wasn't home and she was all by herself after a very long time, not wishing to waste any second of restricted freedom she walked into the hallway seeing two other doors beside his room that she just stepped out of, she's never felt so free before that it makes her suspicious.

Silently she opened the door to her left and peeked inside, it was another work desk with lots of unpacked boxes and, her suitcase.

Could this be where he hides her belongings?

Extra cautiously she strolled across the room to examine the notebook on the desk, and it was hers Picking it up she flipped open the pages. It was the same one that began all this mess and got her to leave, which should have helped but seeing where it guided her, she's doubtful she's made a good choice.

Putting it back, she proceeded to her suitcase something she saw and left behind when he got into her home.

Back then, she was so different...

Walking out of the room without checking the other room she slowly made her way to the living room, hoping to watch TV so she can overlook the troubling notions and not dig out old memories.

The window she broke had been fixed and the mental poles lined vertically were the same as the room she was most familiar with, effectively preserving her in and everything else out.

The house had become a nightmare.
It included so many wrong memories.

It will make it easier to forget if she can pretend and forget, only the problem is the place she's standing in wouldn't allow her to.

It might just be a haunted place after she is gone. Some part of her will remain here.

And maybe, people can sense something bad had transpired behind closed doors.

She just needed a sharp object.

And the kitchen always had one.

Slowly making her way to the kitchen, fearful and hesitant she stopped at the end of the corridor, ahead of it was the entrance, and she stared at it, thinking how much would she risk by trying to open it.

She would probably lose her legs if he comes back to see her alive.

She's so unsure, she's scared.

She wants someone to decide what's best for her. Because at that moment, she can't.

The doorbell rings and she's anxiously looking back, was katsuki trying to scare her? Was he watching her? Why hasn't he opened the door yet? Is he testing her?

What should she do?

Should she run back upstairs or go closer, she didn't know what to do, so she stood stiff in her spot eyes glued to the door as something buzzed and sunlight sneaked through the tiny crevice.

The front door was unlocked.

And who stepped in wasn't katsuki.