The Ocean Between Us

Chapter 14

Toshinori

After several long and boring flights, Toshinori finally arrived back in Japan. He stood up from his seat and waited for his chance to take his carry-on bag out of the overhead compartment, then headed slowly out of the plane.

Once he was inside the airport he put his bag down and stretched his arms and back.

That feels good, Toshinori smiled when he heard a small crack, then felt a surge of pain rush through his shoulder. Well I don't like that...

He rubbed his shoulder and gave it a small wiggle to check for more pain, but it seemed to be fine. He rolled his eyes and picked up his bag, leaving the airport. He hailed a cab and made his way back to his little apartment.

Once he got inside, he dropped his bag to the right of his door and crashed onto his bed.

"So.. tired.."

During his much needed rest, he dreamt of Joanna. He saw her lying in bed next to him, breathing so softly and tracing little circles on his skin. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled into her embrace when he woke up. He blinked twice and looked at what he was hugging to his body. He groaned.

"My pillow." He mumbled. It was just a dream. I was with her only yesterday but... I miss her so much.

He looked at his clock. 10 AM huh.. I didn't sleep long. Only about 3 hours. Sitting up in his bed, fully clothed from the night before, he reached into his pocket for his phone and checked for messages.

Oddly enough, he didn't receive any messages from Joanna.

"Maybe she's really upset that I'm gone." He thought out loud. He began to type out a message.

Toshi46: Hey baby, I'm safe at home now. How are you doing? I miss you already 😘

He waited for a reply but got nothing.

I guess she's busy. No matter, I can wait.

Toshinori spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon lying in bed, not really interested in doing anything productive. Around 1 o'clock, he decided to go out and buy a few bottles of soda, noticing that his supply was low. Having changed his clothes, he left his place and walked to his local convenience store.

After buying his favourite Torrent Soda, he was stepping out of the store when he noticed a bunch of people gathered outside, chattering about a villain having run by. He looked in the direction of the villain and gasped.

A thief, huh? Easy.

"Remember when we didn't have to worry about rando's with quirks all the time?" One guy shook his head.

"Seriously, there's no stopping them."

By now Toshinori had shifted into his hero form.

"Yes there is." He grinned and stepped forward, watching as the men in front of him turned and smiled excitedly.

"I AM HERE!" All Might announced. Soda still in his hand, he darted off to chase after the sludge villain.

The villain turned to see if anyone was pursuing him, and was shocked beyond belief to see the world's greatest hero, the Symbol of Peace, chasing after him. He started running faster, trying to find ways to evade All Might when he noticed something. He grinned evilly, and made a sharp right turn into an alley.

That's not gonna fool me! All Might thought as he turned the corner. He stopped suddenly.

The villain was gone.