Words

Tarot shifted. Something was off. The ground she was laying on was far too soft. Her heart slammed in her chest. She shot up, thinking her brother or dad had found her. But the strange, simple decor of the room wasn't any she knew.

She found she was sitting on a bed with a blue gray blanket. Across the room was a simple desk with a laptop. A couple small posters of heroes were posted above the desk.

Where in the world was she?

Tarot pushed off the blanket and was about to stand when the door to the room opened. She froze, ready to attack if it were needed.

"Great way to greet your rescuer." Shinso stepped into the room, carrying a tray with food, and closed the door behind him.

"Rescuer?" Tarot blinked.

"I stumbled upon you last night in an alley." Shinso walked over to her. Reaching up he pressed a hand to her forehead. "In the rain I might add. Looks like your fever has gone down."

Tarot jerked away from him. Fever? She felt her own forehead. "What are you talking about?"

"You were sleeping in an alley." Shinso handed her the tray. "Why?"

Tarot stared at the scrambled eggs. "It's none of your business."

"I figured you'd say that." Shinso pulled out his desk chair and sat down. "But neither of us are leaving here until you tell me what's going on."

"I didn't know wannabe heroes were so nosy." Tarot sat down and shoved a bit of egg into her mouth.

"That's an important part of being a hero. So tell me so we both can get on with our lives."

"Not happening."

Shinso shrugged and reached into his pocket. "Okay. I guess I'll just call the police."

Tarot snorted. "What for? I've done nothing wrong."

"It will be your word against mine. We're strangers. And you're in my house. Who do you think the police will be more inclined to believe? An aspiring hero who goes to UA?" He waved at himself then at her. "Or a villain?"

Tarot dropped the fork. It clanked against the plate before landing on the tray. Her eyes shot to his. "H-how did you know?"

"Just a guess from the fear in your eyes the other day when you ran into me. Even now. You look like you're being tortured. Whether it turned out you were a villain or not I could tell that you were in trouble." Shinso shook his cellphone. "So what's it going to be?"

"You know I could escape easily. You don't know anything about me. And I know your quirk from the sports festival at UA."

"If you wanted to escape you would have. Besides I can still use my quirk on you."

"But you won't."

Shinso's eyebrows rose.

Tarot gritted her teeth before thinking about his words. How did he know that she wouldn't escape? Could he read her that well? She continued eating with no idea what to do. She could tell him the truth. But what good would that do? What harm would it do?

Before she finished the eggs she blurted out everything that happened. After she was finished she dropped her eyes back to the plate, her appetite gone. Why did she tell him? Tears blurred her vision.

"I know this is hard. But you should turn in your family."

"I can't do that." Tarot brushed her tears away but more took their place. "You don't know what it's like to be in a villain family. Betraying them is the worst thing you can do."

"What about them?"

"What do you mean?"
"How well do they listen to you?"

Tarot twitched.

"Something happened. If it didn't then you wouldn't have run away. And if I'm guessing correctly, that reason was something you disagreed with. Something happened that made you run."

Tarot griped the fork so hard it bit into her palm.

"I can't tell you what to do here. All I can say is it seems that your family has betrayed you already. You don't trust them any longer." Shinso stood. "Can you really stay loyal to such people?" He headed for the door. "I've got to get to school now. My parents won't be home until after I get back. Feel free to shower and eat whatever you want."

With that Shinso left the room and Tarot with his words.