One in a Billion

Chapter Thirty Four - Late Night Meetings

Bakugou abruptly sat up from his bed in a cold sweat. He held his heart as he tried to regulate his breathing. He looked at his bedside clock. "1:30?" He sighed out. He fell back onto the bed, but was scared to go back to sleep. All he could see when he closed his eyes was his body strapped to the wall with his hands locked together. He could see the same bar with the same villains. The only thing on his mind was escape. But he couldn't. These thoughts ran through his mind almost every night. He got out of his bed and make his way to the door. Before he could touch the handle, a gentle knock emerged from the other side. He hesitantly opened it to find Hina. "The hell are you still doing up?" He asked. "I could ask you the same question. You answered the door right after I knocked. Where were you going?" She looked at his face, seeing distress. "I'm gonna get myself water. Do you wanna wait here for me?" As he was going to make his way out of his room, she handed him a water bottle. "Here, we can share. C'mon, there's clearly something wrong." She said, pushing him back into his room. "H-Hey, watch it." He complained as she sat him down on his bed.

"What's up? You're never up this late." She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I just can't sleep. Tried but it's not working." He said, leaning his head on hers. "Any reason for that? Remember, you can tell me anything." He sighed. "I can't stop thinking about that day. How I was held back, powerless. Having to keep a strong face. I fucking hated it." She stroked his hair as he talked. "I know. It's not easy to forget something like that." Bakugou's nose became more stuffy as he felt tears were about to form. "What pisses me off is that they're still out there." He said, fear in his voice. "It's true, they are, but you're safer now." She shifted him so she could give him a hug. He deepened the hug and held onto her tighter. "I never want to leave you. And you're never fucking leaving me." He muffled into her shoulder. "Katsuki, breathe easy. I am not going anywhere. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you." They stayed in the silent hug for a few minutes until Bakugou slowly pulled away. Hina wiped away the remaining tears on his cheeks. "Do you wanna know why I came here?" She asked. He looked at her and nodded. "I felt you were uneasy." He gave her a confused look. "Y'know my mutation quirk, my hair? It came from my mother. Her quirk was that she could read people's auras. My quirks have been evolving recently. I think I can sense emotions. I mean, I'm really good at reading people but now it's like I can exactly pinpoint emotion. It reminds me of how my sister told me my parents met." She sighed as she relived the telling of the story. "Tell me. It gives me something else to think about." He said. They both moved so they were laying on the bed.

"Irie, c'mon. After party in my room!" A woman exclaimed, leaning on her friend. "Janna, ya in no state for more sake." Irie laughed as they all walked back to their hotel. "Japan is so beautiful, any time of da day." Irie said cheerfully as she looked around her. "As lovely as it may be, we oughta get back to the hotel. We have lots to see tomorrow." The woman holding Janna stated. "Oh, c'mon Alya. Take life easy. Out of us, Janna needs her bed most but I wanna explore." Alya sighed at the wonder in her eyes. "Hun listen. If you wanna explore, you can go on. I have to get this one back. Remember, call me if ya need me." With that, Alya kept walking with Janna still using her as a crutch. Irie, once again looked around herself in amazement. She wandered through bright streets and small shops. Her excitement never left her face as she greeted everyone she passed.

She found herself wandering a bit too far as she found herself outside of the city. But that didn't stop her need for adventure as she kept moving forward. She walked along a path of cherry blossom trees, spinning and giggling. She was in her own world and was loving her life. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. Her happy feelings were bombarded with a mass of negativity. It crawled up her spine, causing her to shiver. She had no choice but to follow it. The feeling let her to a bridge and all she could see was a black cloud around a figure on the ledge. "Um, excuse me?" She said, catching the attention of the figure. "Please come down. It's not safe up there." She begged as she stepped closer. When she got no response, she started to panic more. "Uh, kon'nichiwa. Orite kudasai? Did I say that right, shit." She noticed the black cloud slowly part as it descended from the bridge. "Oh, jessum peace." She sighed out. She heard a low chuckle and looked up to see the cloud brighten up.

"Thank you, miss." The man said, reaching out for her hands. As they met eyes, it was as if the world stood still. Irie managed to break out of the exchange. "Oh, no problem. You ya wanna talk? Think I passed a park round here." He managed to smile at her flustered state. "That would be nice." He replied as they made their way. "So, what's been happening?" She asked, making him slightly confused. "Sorry, where are you from?" He asked. "Sorry for me accent. I'm from the Caribbean. Antigua to be exact." She nervously laughed, recognising how her accent and slang can be confusing. "Oh, don't be sorry. You have a beautiful accent." His comment made her blush, though it wasn't visible. "Let's start with names." She extended her hand. "I'm Irie." He smiled and accepted her hand. "I'm Daichi."

"And they talked through the whole night. She was supposed to stay in Japan for one more week but she decided to stay here, for my dad." Hina said, finishing the story. Bakugou was still awake but Hina's hand still running through his hair was making him tired. "Why was he on the bridge?" He asked, sleepily. "Not even my siblings know the answer to that. Well, it doesn't bother me." She replied as she looked at the time. "It's going on 2. We should sleep now. Are you feeling better?" He nodded as he pulled her in. "Sleep here." He mumbled as he started to drift off. Hina sighed. "Bold of you to assume I was gonna leave." She said, getting herself comfortable in his hold. "We should set an alarm for early though, just so people don't get the wrong idea." Before she could even think of moving, his grip tightened. "Katsuki!" He giggled out as he nuzzled into her. "We're sleeping and waking up when we want." She laughed as she pet his head. "Ok, babe." They slowly drifted off to sleep.