Kiss of Life | K. Bakugo

Chapter Seventeen

TW: short descriptions of violence

Your POV

The car ride felt like hours, but it could have been minutes. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I was so scared, I lost all sense of time and reality. I was blindfolded and tied up on the floor of the van. Trying to be cute for Katsuki, I wore silky pajama shorts and a camisole. The rough bits of dirt scratched at my skin and the fragile fabric. Horikawa's quirk was no longer active, so I tried to wriggle my hands and feet from their binds, but they wouldn't budge.

I listened to their conversations for any useful information, but there wasn't much to go on. I gathered that there were two people in the front of the van, and one of them had to be Horikawa himself since he used his quirk to get me into the van in the first place. The other guy just seemed like a low-level driver.

After an indeterminable amount of time, I felt the van slow to a halt over a gravel driveway. The back doors slammed open and someone grabbed me roughly, throwing me over their shoulder. I didn't fight it since I knew I wasn't getting far with bound hands and legs, even if I did manage to get them to drop me.

I tried to focus on every single detail to keep my panic at bay, and who knows what information would end up being important? Birds chirping, heavy steps along a gravel driveway, three stairs to what I assumed was the front door, numbers entered on a keypad, a door opening and shutting. The inside of the building was silent, it didn't seem like anyone else was there.

A deep, clear voice bellowed through the silence, "I want her downstairs. I'll join you in a minute." That had to be Horikawa, who else would be giving orders?

The man holding me let out a grunt, turned to his right, walked fifteen steps, opened another door and descended down a flight of stairs. Twelve stairs.

My body was thrown to the ground, gently enough that I wouldn't be hurt, but rough enough to know that my comfort was of no concern to the man carrying me. I struggled to get to a kneeling position with my hands and legs tied. The cement floor sent a chill through my bones, and the nervous shaking I had fended off this entire time started to make its presence known.

The large, imposing figure before me removed my blindfold. I blinked a few times to clear my vision and adjust to the light, although it wasn't very much light to begin with. It looked like we were in a basement, illuminated only by the dim screens of a few computers and other equipment. The man holding me looked like he was in his late 30s and spent most of his time at the gym given his bulging biceps and bulky overall build. He sat quietly in a desk chair, picking at his nails and glancing over at me occasionally.

"Hi, I'm Recovery Girl, what's your name?" I said meekly, testing the waters at getting this guy to talk. He didn't acknowledge my question at all.

"Strong and silent type, huh? Do you mind telling me where we are?" Still no response, so I gave up and scanned my surroundings instead.

After a few minutes a door opened above us, and the stairs squeaked under the weight of Horikawa descending them. The hairs on the back of my neck raised as I heard him make his way around me and into my field of view.

Horikawa looked to be in his early fifties. Clean cut with a light peppering of silver through his slicked-back black hair. He wore a well-tailored dark gray suit, no tie. His cologne was strong without being overkill. His teeth sparkled through the sickening grin he wore as he looked me up and down.

"Recovery girl," he finally spoke, his voice dripping with charm and cunning, "how I've awaited your arrival."

I met his gaze without responding, doing my best at looking unafraid although my shaking probably gave me away. He bent down and gripped my chin tightly, turning my head side to side as he continued his assessment like I was livestock.