The club was stuffy and crowded. They pushed past the people making their way to the bar area. Hizashi and Ren made themselves comfortable at the side of the bar with a line of tequila shots in front of them. Someone bumped into Toshinori. The large man looked down to see a stunning young woman batting her eyelashes at him. Her mouth moved, but he could not hear anything with the music blasting from all directions. Suddenly her arm snaked around his taking him aback. She nudged him to a side, but before he could react Nemuri stepped in between them and forcefully removed the girl him.
"Dammit All Might, I needed you here to take care of her," she nodded at Ren. "But now I have to watch your back as well."
He felt uncomfortable under her flaring gaze. He felt uncomfortable per se. Being the number one hero put certain restrictions in his life; while he worked himself to the bone to become the pillar of hope that people could always rely on and rose to be a legend in the hero world, he left no time for his social life. Toshinori Yagi never had a problem with that, not until now. Suddenly he found himself, a thirty-four-year-old man, in a club with people much younger than him and he did not know what to do.
"Come on," Nemuri pulled him to their friends and shoved him to the bar. Hizashi kept saying something to Ren, but the girl was not listening. A strange smile was plastered on her face as their clicked their glasses and downed the drink. "Watch her," Nemuri mouthed slowly, making sure Toshinori caught the movement of her lips. She grabbed Hizashi and pulled him towards the dancing people. Ren did not seem to notice their disappearance. Her gaze was dulled, and the same delirious smile played on her lips. Her fingertips traced her ear, playing with the earrings.
"Are you okay?" Toshinori asked leaning closer. The girl blinked and looked at the man in front of her. She tilted her head but did not reply. He felt a sight shove at his side and glanced away, when he looked back Ren was gone.
All Might braced himself, feeling a knot starting to tighten in stomach. He looked around desperately searching for the girl, but all he could see were countless bodies, scattered all over the area. A hint of panic tingled in his body, but as soon as it came, he killed it at the core. He braced himself and pushed past the people searching for the girl.
The club was larger than he expected. There were three floors and six different rooms which played different music. He went from a cheese night where people were dancing to the 90's hits, to a trance state of moves, to a room with the music he did not understand, but the others seemed to enjoy. He finally reached the last room. The sound of electronic music hit his ears. This room was not as full as the others. People were scattered here and there, giving a rather empty look. Ren was there, in the middle of the room with a beer bottle in her hand, moving to the sparse syncopated rhythmic patterns. Three guys danced in close proximity to her, but she was oblivious to everything. Her whole being was immersed into the prominent sub-bass frequencies of the music.
A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he made his way to the girl. He narrowed his eyes at the men, who hurried to retreat from the scene. Now that he found her, he had no idea what to do. He stood in front of her awkwardly. Attempting to imitate her dance moves was out of question. All Might spotted a small bar area, deciding to watch her from afar he made his way to the bar, but when he turned around Ren was gone. All Might groaned and rushed out of the room.
The next two hours were spent in a similar fashion. Every time he found Ren, she managed to disappear again.
Nemuri's request suddenly made all the sense in the world.
Toshinori caught the girl as she tried to slip out of the room. He picked her up and carried her out of the club, not bothering with the looks the two bouncers gave them. Ren did not try to fight him, on the contrary, she felt extremely comfortable in his arm arms. He fished out his phone and dialled Kayama's number.
"What?" the irritation in her voice could be concealed.
"Nemuri, where are you? I've got Ren; she seems out of it. I really think she should be taken home."
"Then take her home," she sounded out of breath as she hanged up the phone. Stunned and completely speechless All Might looked at his phone. Ren got comfortable in his arms and snuggled to his chest. He tried to wake her up, but she just brushed him off and tried to shove her face under his armpit. He sighed quietly finally making a decision.
The quiet buzz of an alarm made her eyes shot open. Instinctively she found her phone and clicked off the annoying sound. Something was not right. The ceiling looking back at her was not familiar. She quickly looked around the room. Large, but plain, with minimum furniture, it gave off a vibe of being rarely used. The curtains were pulled together, but the rays of morning light still managed to leak through. Ren moved her body searching for any signs of what could have happened last night, but she felt fine. Her body was still fully dressed and only the shoed were placed neatly by the bed.
The girl sat up but instantly fell back down. The banging headache and the lack of memory of the previous night were a clear indication that tequila shots have been consumed. She slowly crawled out of the bed considering if she should continue crawling out of the room, but instantly rejected the thought. She put on her boots, grabbed her belongings, and sluggishly made her way out of the room.
The place was quiet.
The made her way through the living room trying to find the exit. Whoever brought her here was very considerate, but she had no idea who it was and the last thing she wanted was an awkward moment at eight in the morning.
"Good morning," a deep voice behind her made Ren freeze. It was familiar, yet she could not connect it to a face. "How are you feeling?"
Ren spun around. It was a terrible idea, because her vision blurred, and head started spinning. She leaned on the wall trying to catch her breath. The man chuckled.
She opened her eyes slowly, trying to focus.
"Mr Symbol of Peace?" she groaned out holding onto her head.
"Toshinori," he corrected her. "Take a seat, let me get you some water."
"Can I have a coffee instead?" she mumbled. All Might nodded and helped her to the kitchen. "Well, this is awkward," she said taking a seat on one of the tall bar stools.
"Is it?" his heart raced a little, because the last thing he felt was awkward, but when the girl mentioned the awkwardness, he felt uneasy.
"Well, kind of." She shrugged. "Last night we were drinking, then we went clubbing and suddenly I am at home of the number one hero, and well, let's be honest, this is not my best look." She rested her head on her hands. Toshinori placed two while pills and glass of water in front of her. Ren breathed out a thank you and swallowed the offering.
"Would you like an espresso or instant?" he questioned, studying the girl in front of him. In the light of the day, she looked even more attractive than he thought initially.
"Double espresso with an espresso shot on a side please,"
He raised his eyebrows. "Are you trying to put yourself into an espresso coma?"
Ren looked up at his large figure, leaning on the kitchen counter. A small smile played on his lips and once again she thought that this smile suited him much more than the usual creepy grin.
"You are misunderstanding the purpose of coffee," she replied.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "No, I'm just trying to lighten the mood, bear with me." The next couple of minutes were spent in silence. Ren listened to the sound of the espresso machine. Her nostrils filled with the heavenly scent of freshly poured coffee and her mouth watered instantly.
Toshinori watched her slowly sip the coffee. Her hair was up in a high bun, giving him a perfect view of her face and neck. A mixture of feelings stirred in his chest. It's been so long since he felt such an attraction a female, let alone a female much younger than him. His mind and heart battled trying to figure out an acceptable way to ask her for another meeting.
"So, ugh," he started, once again rubbing the back of his neck. It was a habit he acquired a long time ago. Every time he felt nervous, his hand instantly reached for the back of his neck.
"If you rub your neck a bit more, you'll get a callus,"
Toshinori quickly moved his hand which made her burst out laughing. "I was only kidding,"
"So, I was wondering, would you maybe like to grab a bite to eat?" he asked awkwardly. Ren was surprised to say the least.
"Sorry, but I have a seminar today, she responded, maybe another time."
He nodded feeling a little disappointed.
Ren finished her coffee and took the cups an empty sink. It was shiny and spotless, another indication that the flat was barely inhabited. She washed the cups and set them aside to dry. "Well, that's my queue. Thank you very much for everything. Really, I appreciate what you did."
Toshinori walked her to the door.
"I'll call you," he blurted out earning a small smile.
"Bye,"
Ren exited the flat and ran down the stairs. "Wait, you didn't give me your number!" Toshinori Yagi rushed out of his apartment barefoot. Ren stopped and glanced at his feet in shock.
"You have it. Check with your agency. Nakagawa Ren."
She finally pulled her gaze away from his bare feet and hurried out of the building.
One hour later Toshinori Yagi received several lists of people who got in touch with his agency. The complete list was too extensive, so he decided to start with approved meetings, but her name was not there. Toshi swallowed and moved to the list of rejected individuals. He scanned the list with racing heart. Her name was twenty sixth in the list.
Name: Nakagawa Ren
Contact No.: +81*******
Email: nakagawa
Request to meet in relation to PhD research.
Request status – denied
No. of times contacted the agency – 7
Toshinori stared at the details in disbelief. Sometimes life works in mysterious ways. He grabbed his phone and inputted her number into the memory.
