"How's this?" Kamiko asked as she placed the army green bomber jacket in front of Bakugou, checking out the color and style. Then she took something else off the clothing rack. "Ooh! This denim jacket looks pretty good too! It even has a grey hood!"
"Are you nuts? It's nearly 40 degrees outside. Who's gonna wear that?" Bakugou demanded. He thought they were shopping for Kamiko, but for some reason she's picking out jackets for him in a men's fashion store. Bakugou had to admit, Kamiko had amazing taste in fashion, and the jackets she's holding would indeed make a great addition to his wardrobe, except it's the wrong fucking season!
"Exactly! Why do you think we're in the clearance section?! It's because off season clothes get heavy discount! See this is 70% off!" Kamiko showed Bakugou the price tag enthusiastically. "I think you'll look cool in these! Try it on!"
"No! It's hot."
"There's AC. Try it on!" Bakugou clicked his tongue at her pushy behavior. She was beginning to remind him of his mom when she'd used to take him out shopping. He wanted to protest, but when he saw the look in her eyes, Bakugou gave in. He removed his hands from his pockets and ripped the bomber jacket off its hanger and threw it over himself. It fit perfectly. The material inside was smooth and comfortable. Other than it being a little too hot for this weather there was basically nothing to complain about it. It really flattered him, and brought out his bad boy aura. "See! I told you it'll look good! We're getting that!"
"I'm not buying a jacket I don't need," Bakugou stripped the jacket off of him and tossed it on Kamiko's head. The woman growled as she pulled it off her face, messing up her hair in the process.
"Don't worry. I'm paying for it," she informed. "As a thank you gift for feeding me the past few weeks." She placed the denim jacket back on the rack, and then bent down to pick up the shopping bags from Muji, Uniqlo, and a few other stores they went to.
Bakugou stared at her with a dumbfounded expression as she lined up at the cashier. After a few weeks of living with Kamiko, he knew full well that she's not exactly wealthy. Being a manga artist isn't exactly a very well paying job and it's not that stable. She also has to pay for tuition and her everyday expenses, so Bakugou rarely sees her buy anything she doesn't need. During their trip here, she mainly bought stationary and some household items to replace the ones that were broken or too old and dirty. She bought some underwear from Uniqlo, but that was basically it clothing wise. As much as it annoyed Bakugou, she mainly came here to window shop. He didn't expect her to go out of her way to get him a gift. Sure he's been the one managing their meals in the house these days, but doubling the serving size is nothing to Bakugou, financially or time wise. He didn't expect her to pay him back since he was essentially living off of her electricity bill and water bills as well.
"Alright! Here you go! Thanks for taking care of me the past few weeks!" Kamiko skipped over to Bakugou when she finished the payment. She handed him the shopping bag. Bakugou eyed the bag, then looked at Kamiko. She raised her brows, gesturing for him to take it.
"...thanks..." Bakugou muttered as he took the bag from her.
Kamiko just grinned before saying, "I'm hungry! Wanna eat something?"
"Like what?" Bakugou asked.
"Ice cream!"
The blonde man was at a loss for words. He thought she meant lunch. It's already past noon! And then she tells him she wants ice cream?!
"Come on let's go get some ice cream! There's this really nice place in the mall that sells killer soft serve! They have crepes too!" Kamiko placed her hands around Bakugou's forearms, and started dragging him out the store. Bakugou felt a sudden squeeze in his chest, just for a split second, but it caught his attention.
"Hey listen woman, we're not eating ice cream for lunch." He frowned at her.
"Ehhh?! It's fine! It's high calories, it'll be filling!" Kamiko insisted.
"Exactly! It's high calories. You wanna fucking get fatter than you already are?!" Bakugou snarled as he poked her in the stomach.
"Hey! Not the flab!" Kamiko put her hands in front protectively, but she let out a giggle at the tickling sensation from the poke. "Alright you win. Where do you wanna eat?"
"I don't care as long as it's on you," Bakugou said with a devilish smirk on his face.
"Hey! You're the one earning big bucks here! Plus I just bought you a jacket! Shouldn't it be your treat?" Kamiko pouted.
"Heh!" Bakugou put his hand on top of her head, turning her to the right and pushing her forward. "Quit yapping and let's just go."
"Hey just to be clear you're treating!"
"Yeah, yeah, shut the fuck up."
The sixth floor was where most of the restaurants were located. Kamiko and Bakugou stopped in front of a soba place, and she looked up at him. Bakugou shook his head, and they moved on. He said no to sushi, ramen, okonomiyaki, burgers, Thai, and basically everything they came across. "If you're gonna reject everything they have here we might as well have ice cream," Kamiko growled.
"Shut up, they're bound to have something that's not plain and boring," Bakugou clicked his tongue at her. They stopped in front of the last restaurant on this floor. There was this savory aroma coming from inside, and the big calligraphy font characters of the restaurant sign almost made those popping affects as they read it. Sichuan Hot Pot!
Kamiko and Bakugou turned their head towards each other, coming to an agreement via eye contact. "Let's go!" Kamiko chirped, wrapping her arms around Bakugou's big muscular arm, and dragged him inside.
"Two?" asked the waitress.
"Yes!" the artist beamed in excitement. She hasn't had Chinese hot pot since her grandmother passed away.
The waitress led the two to a small table. Kamiko and Bakugou sat down across from each other with a stove in the center of the table. The waitress gave each of them a menu and told them to call for help when they're ready.
"Soup base: plain, tomato, miso, kimchi, spicy, extra spicy, extreme spicy, and insane spicy," Kamiko read. She wiggled her brows at Bakugou knowingly. He returned a smirk to her, and the two once again came to an agreement. This meal was going to be great!
Bakugou and Kamiko walked out of the restaurant feeling more satisfied than they've ever felt. In the end, Bakugou paid for the meal, and in exchange Kamiko promised she'd treat him to ice cream.
The two of them left the sixth floor with their bags in hand. Kamiko really wanted to find the soft serve place that her friends have been suggesting her, but she didn't know where it is. So first, they had to find a map.
"Attention dear customers, a young boy named Ueyama Kensuke has unfortunately separated from his parents. He a four year old boy with light brown hair and green eyes. He is wearing a green Deku t-shirt. If you see him, please bring him to the lost and found," the PA announced. Bakugou clicked his tongue when he heard the name 'Deku.'
"Another lost child? I swear this is the fourth announcement I've heard today about lost childresm," Kamiko said as the two of them rode the escalator to the fifth floor. "Ah! I see a map over there! Come on!" Kamiko grabbed Bakugou's hand and started pulling him when they got off the escalator.
"I can walk on my own," Bakugou complained, but he didn't pull his hand out of her grasp, and allowed her to keep dragging him until they reached the map. Suddenly, Bakugou noticed the men's bathroom to the left of the map. He had been holding back the urge to take a number 2 since they walked out of the restaurant. "Hey, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, you stay here." He told the woman. "Got it?"
Kamiko flashed him the 'ok' sign with both hands. "Got it! Got it! Now go take care of your business while I find the ice cream shop!" Kamiko vaguely remembered the name of the ice cream shop. It was something something Kuma, as she recalled Akemi mention before. "Hmm..." She looked for Kuma in all the names of the stores in this building. "Something something Kuma...Kuma...Hm?"
Her attention was caught by a little girl wandering around on her own. She can't be more than five or six years old, and she looked really scared and nervous as she looked around the area, as if searching for someone. Another lost child? Kamiko thought. There were quite a few people walking around, hopefully someone notices her. She put her eyes back on the map, but there was an unsettling feeling in the depth of her stomach, so she glanced back at the girl. No one seemed to be noticing her. Kamiko sighed. So much trouble...
Kamiko walked over to the little girl. She had short black hair in a bowl cut, wearing a cute little plaid pink sleeveless dress. "Hello! Where's your mommy? Are you lost?" Kamiko managed gentle smile as she bent down to talk to the little girl. The girl looked up at Kamiko, and then back down. She looked really conflicted and scared. Tears started to fall from her eyes, and the girl started sobbing.
"M-Mommy said I can't...hic...can't talk to strangers!" the little girl cried. Kamiko felt a drop of sweat glide down the side of her temple. Ack! Oh god...
"It's okay! It's okay! I won't hurt you!" Kamiko said in a soothing voice. She squatted down so she and the girl were at eye level. "My name is Kamiko. What's your name?"
"Arisa..." the little girl answered cutely. Looks like she's really desperate now.
"Arisa! What a cute name!" Kamiko cooed. She looked towards the bathroom, then at the sobbing girl before her. Her brows furrowed apologetically. "Listen Arisa. I have a friend in the bathroom over there, and I need to wait for him. Do you mind waiting with me? After he comes out I'll takr you to find your mama!"
The little girl nodded. Kamiko's lips curled upward again. She took the girl by her hand and led her back to the map. The little girl stood there quietly and patiently, so well behaved to the point Kamiko felt bad. "Here," she took out her phone from her pocket and unlocked it, then handed it to Arisa. "I have a few games on there, if you wanna play."
"Thank you Onee-chan," Arisa said cutely. Kamiko returned a smile before turning back towards the map to look for the something something Kuma. "Kuma... Kuma..." She searched the names of the stores on all the levels, looking for an ice cream shop that had kuma in it's name. "Aha! Ice Shirokuma! Let's see... Third floor..." Kamiko studied the map from where she is to where Ice Shirokuma is.
"Did you find it?" Bakugou's voice suddenly interrupted her. He walked up to her, joining her by the map.
"Yeah! I found it! By the way this girl is lost and we need to take her to the-" Kamiko stopped when she turned around and found Arisa nowhere to be seen. "Arisa-chan?"
"What girl?" Bakugou asked, raising a brow. Kamiko looked to her left, then to her right, and turned 360 to scan the area but Arisa was nowhere to he found.
"She's gone..." Kamiko muttered.
"Maybe she saw her mom and ran off," Bakugou suggested as he stuffed his hands in his pocket.
Speaking of pocket, Kamiko patted her own pockets, and screamed, "AAAHHH!"
Bakugou winced at her loud sudden outburst. "What the fuck?" He demanded.
"She has my phone!" Kamiko said, her face full of panic and regret.
"Hah?! Why the fuck does she have your phone?" Bakugou scolded at Kamiko, who looked down sadly and almost guiltily.
"She looked scared and bored so I gave her my phone to play with..." she muttered.
"And now she made off with it. Good job." Bakugou crossed his arms. Kamiko felt tears brimming in her eyes as she grieved for the phone she owned for less than a month. Bakugou groaned, slapping his hand to his forehead. "You really are a shithead you know that? That was obviously a thief, and you just gave her your phone."
Suddenly the PA announcement came on again, "Attention customers. A young girl called Namikawa Arisa has separated from her parents. She is a six year old girl with short black hair and wearing a pink dress. If you see her, please bring bring her to the lost and found."
Kamiko raised a brow. "I don't think she's a thief Bakugou..."
Bakugou's brows furrowed. Things are starting to get suspicious,especially since this was the fifth or sixth kid to get lost since they arrived here. Bakugou paid attention to the announcements and there were some repeated announcements of kids who still haven't been found. "This doesn't seem right," he said. "Come on."
"W-where to?" Kamiko asked as she followed behind him.
"The fucking lost and found of course, you dipshit!" Bakugou growled.
There were a lot of parents waiting impatiently at the lost and found. According to the worker there, some even left to go look for their kids on their own. "Have any of the kids been found?" Bakugou asked the worker at the counter. The worker shook his head. Bakugou frowned. "Why didn't you call the police?"
"W-we did! They're parked outside the mall, and a lot of them are inside the mall too! But so far we haven't found the kids..."
Kamiko had a bad gut feeling. Five to six missing kids in one morning. This cannot be a coincidence. "Human trafficking..." She muttered. Oh shit! Kamiko clasped her hands over her mouth when she realized she said it aloud. Some of the parents around overheard what she said, and began charging at her.
"Did you say human trafficking? How can you be sure it's human trafficking?! Will my child be okay?" A worried mom grabbed Kamiko by the shoulder and screamed, her eyes wide with anxiety and hysteria.
Bakugou quickly stepped between Kamiko and the woman, shielding Kamiko behind him. "It's just a speculation. We're not sure if that's actually the case. I'm a pro-hero, and I'd like you all to cooperate with my investigation." Bakugou showed his hero license to the people around them. Kamiko couldn't help but admire how unexpectedly professional Bakugou was being. He didn't curse, or threaten the citizens. She remembered back in high school he failed the provisional license exam his first try because of his attitude. I guess time really changes a man, she smiled.