Kiss of Life | K. Bakugo

Chapter Nineteen

TW: Slight suicidal thoughts.

Your POV

I sat alone in the van waiting for Horikawa to check in at the hotel. Adding insult to injury, he didn't even lock the door. He knows I'm trapped mentally, rather than physically. There's nowhere for me to go. At least not without risking my mother's life.

Rain started to fall. Drops beaded on the window, racing each other back toward the earth. It was a warm Summer rain, my favorite kind of weather. I used to love dancing in the rain as a kid. Stomping in puddles. Making a mess.

As pure despair gave way to acceptance, I looked back on my memories of other warm summer rains. The possibility that I'd never get to see another warm Summer rain loomed over me. I promised myself I'd never activate my quirk for him again. If there was no escaping Horikawa's grasp, what other options did I have?

I remembered my childhood. I was probably ten or eleven years old. It was humid outside, and I went to work with Grandma. It was boring and her office smelled like blood and bleach. Mom was having one of her episodes, so I couldn't be at home.

To escape the smell, I made my way outside. Mother Nature had provided entertainment. Rain had just begun to fall, and I wanted to get out there to be a part of it.

The drops tickled my nose, my clothes grew heavy with the weight of the water. Eventually, it was hard to see.

"Hey kid, what are you doing out here?" A boy's voice called out to me.

"Dancing, can't you tell?" I yelled back. "Wanna join?"

"No, that's stupid."

"No, you're stupid." I retorted, as any ten or eleven year old would.

Just then, lightning erupted through the sky. Thunder soon followed.

"Get inside idiot," the boy called again, "You're gonna get shocked!"

"Fineeeeee," I whined, making my way toward the school building. I waited in the surprisingly empty lobby as the boy grabbed me a towel and sat down across from me.

"Why are you at my school? Where are your parents?" He asked, clearly annoyed with having to babysit some kid he didn't even know.

"I'm just here with my Grandma," I said. Not wanting him to figure out where I came from and send me back to the boring bleach room.

"Are you here to check out the hero program?"

"No, why would I wanna do that?"

"What do you mean 'why would you wanna do that?' Are you stupid or something? Everyone wants to be a hero."

"Not me!" I laughed, throwing the towel back at him. "My mom doesn't want me to use my quirk anyway."

"Why? Is it shitty?"

I pondered the thought for a minute. "Maybe," I shrugged. I was in too good of a mood to keep going down this avenue of conversation, so I changed the subject. "Are you in the hero program?"

"Yeah! I just started, but I'm gonna be the number one hero, you wait and see! And I'll beat out all the losers like you with shitty quirks to do it, so you'd better not even think about joining the program."

"I'm not a loser! And I already said I don't wanna be a hero!" I yelled back defensively.

"Tch... you're just too afraid to try because you've got a lame quirk. Let's get you back to your grandma before I have to save you like the weak little brat you are."

"I'm not weak! I could save someone if I wanted to!"

"Fat chance. Don't kid yourself," he rolled his eyes, grabbing my wrist to drag me toward the information desk.

"I'll show you! One day I'll save you and I won't even have to be a hero to do it!" I challenged as I pulled my wrist free of his grasp and ran in the other direction.

He stood there annoyed, but didn't chase after me. Stupid jerk. I promised myself then that I'd prove him wrong. I'd save lots of people and I wouldn't need to be a hero to do it.

The door to the van swung open, startling me out of my daydream. I had been leaning against it, and nearly fell on the ground. Luckily I caught myself before completely eating shit.

"Let's go," Horikawa commanded, yanking my wrist and pulling me toward the back entrance of the building. I had expected a dingy hotel, but it was surprisingly high-end. It sickened me to know that to anyone inside, we might have looked like a couple booking a room together.

The elevator ride seemed like an eternity. Awkward instrumental music played, heightening how uncomfortable this moment was. Our silence continued as Horikawa led me into a room. There were two beds, but were we really intending to sleep here?

"Sit there," he pointed toward an empty armchair in the corner. I did as I was told, once again staring out the window, completely disassociating from what was going on around me.

Horikawa took calls, shamelessly talking about his plans in front of me. Clearly I was of no threat to him and he knew it. Besides, I wasn't taking anything he said in anyway, I couldn't. A thought had overtaken my mind.

"Where do they go?" I asked quietly, breaking the silence.

He seemed caught off guard by my interruption, yet intrigued that I had spoken up at all. "What are you talking about?"

"The people you capture to traffic. Where do they go?"

"Ah, getting to know the business you're soon to be a part of. Smart girl." he smirked, a slight hint of sarcasm lacing his tone.

"It depends," the villain continued. "There are slave camps throughout the world that press and police don't talk about." He closed the distance between us, reaching out to grab my chin and appraise me, much like how he did when I was first captured. "The pretty ones like yourself have lots of different uses for powerful men, so that's always an option for you when you've lost your usefulness."

I cringed, pulling my chin from his hand. He chucked at this, turning to take a seat on the bed nearby.

"Some go to a very special place. A friend of mine has figured out a way to transfer a person's quirk to someone else, much like the League of Villains and the Nomus that made a name for your little boyfriend and his friends."

All color left my face at this moment. I didn't know much about the League of Villains and what happened back then, but I know it was a sore spot for pretty much all of Japan. The atrocities committed against not only citizens but a group of hero students that unfortunately included Katsuki were unimaginable. Knowing that kind of power was out there and Horikawa had access to it was terrifying.

"In fact," Horikawa added, "that might be a good solution for you if you continue to be uncooperative." A sickly grin spread across his face while he watched my reaction.

I deeply regretted asking that question, but it only solidified my resolve. When we finally faced the heroes again, unless I somehow escaped, ending it all might be the only option. GIving my quirk to someone sympathetic to Horikawa's cause could not happen, no matter what.

"I'm sorry Mom, Grandma... Katsuki," I whispered under my breath, feeling utterly hopeless. "I tried."

A/N: Slightly shorter chapter but tomorrow's a long one! Thanks for your patience while I took a little time off. I can't believe that I hit 1k views and then TWO THOUSAND over the last couple weeks. I never thought anyone would read this, but I'm so grateful to all of you who do. Especially all of you that like and comment on the chapters, I love waking up to those notifications.

Anyway, see you all tomorrow, I can't wait to drop the next one!