A/N: NEVER FEAR, FOR I AM HERE!
WITH ANOTHER UPDATE!
(Flexes)
Greener Grass
Chapter Three
Second First Meeting
Ever since she'd been given the Persona of Feather Touch, Inko has been using her Quirk more than any other time in her life. And it shows. Before, she hadn't been able to lift or Pull anything heavier than a half-gallon of milk, and could only Pull maybe two or three items at a time. And she would get nasty migraines if she used her Quirk in a way that wasn't just Pulling something towards her, but just Lifting it. Now, however, over five weeks of being a Vigilante and using Pull almost nightly, and using it around Mimi's store to help carry and stock things, her Quirk has only grown stronger.
She can lift and move up to two gallons in weight, and her current limit for Pulling is twelve. She can Lift things and keep them Hovering for up to an hour without a headache, and up to two without the headache becoming debilitating. She can use it faster, almost instinctively, and doesn't need to concentrate nearly as hard to do so, which means that she can finally seriously multitask while Pulling things after her.
This is what she's doing at the moment, practicing her Quirk while working. She's slowly wandering up and down the aisles of Mimi's store, reading from her new Law book as she uses her Quirk to Pull items from the cart she's dragging behind her and Pushing them onto the correct shelves. Push is a new aspect of Pull as well, one that she's struggling to control correctly since she figured out how to do it. It's not, actually, Pushing things away from her, but rather her focusing on where she wants the objects to be Pulled. She's worked out that her Quirk is actually rather similar to Magnetism, only it doesn't rely on metal alloys but instead on a centralized mass, like a gravitational pull instead of chemical reaction.
She may be waiting on a science textbook to arrive in the mail based around the concept of gravity and space, because her Quirk is beginning to feel more and more gravity-related than she'd ever thought of before and it's interesting...
"Oh, wow!" A familiar voice blurts behind her, and Inko squeaks, flinging her hands up instinctively and causing every can in the cart behind her, as well as the Law book, to go flying into the air above her violently. She just manages to re-focus enough to keep a majority of the product from slamming into either the ceiling or the floor, but more than one can sash into the ground, denting and rolling away from her in sad, misshapen lumps. The book has managed to get itself stuck on the top of a shelf, and Inko lets out a shuddery sigh of relief, heart pounding as she turns and finds what is unmistakably Zashi, flailing in a panic and out of costume.
"I'm so, so, so sorry, Inko-Chan!" Zashi yelps, matcha-green eyes wide with embarrassed concern. "Here, let me help!" he adds, and, before Inko can do more than stare, wide-eyed, at him, the baby Hero is darting around the ground and scooping up cans of spaghetti-o's and tomato soup. As he did so, babbling apologies the whole while, Inko could only stare, wide-eyed, because he was dressed in tight jeans and a blue dress-shirt, unbuttoned, over a tight gray tank-top, and his curly red hair was bright and shiny and his sheepish smile as he placed cans in the cart was so bright and, and-!
It had been four days since she last saw Zashi, and her crush was still the size of Jupiter, but, now, seeing him out of gear and in clothes that flattered every single inch of him...
…Is there something bigger than Jupiter that is quantifiable so I can actually compare what just happened in my heart just now? She wonders, blankly, before blinking twice and yelping as just what Zashi's doing finally registers.
"Oh, oh no, it's okay!" She yelped, flailing her hands back and forth for a moment before promptly Pulling all of the cans back into the cart, the Law book flying off the shelf and almost smacking herb in the head if she hadn't managed to duck just in time. "I'm so sorry, Zashi-Kun! I don't usually startle so badly, I swear!" She told him earnestly, eyes wide as she peered at him, heart fluttering as he blinked between his empty hand and the cart now full of goods.
"Oh, wow!" he said, eyes wide and glittering as he darted over, peering between her and the cart with fascination. "was that your Quirk?! That was so cool! Some sort of Telekinesis, then? You must have fantastic control, to move so many things at once! Does it affect your brain, like, do you have extra Synapses or, or, or does, like, your cerebral cortex expand or do you have excessive frontal lobe tissues?!" Inko blinked, before her shoulders abruptly relaxed as she let out a relieved sigh. Thank goodness he wasn't freaking out or something, she was worried that they'd spend the next however long babbling apologies back and forth, their anxieties feeding off one another like it had last time.
"Actually, it's more of a gravitational pull," she told the cute boy warmly, grinning at him as his face lit up. "And, while I've never had an MRI so I can't know what parts of my brain it affects, over use of it can cause blindingly intense migraines that leave me bedridden for a few days."
"That suggests that it affects your blood pressure levels, which would mean that it actually revolves around... Your heart..." he trailed off, suddenly frowning as he stared at her, worry beginning to furrow his brow, and Inko blinked as he suddenly stepped close to her and picked up her hand, cradling it gently and pressing his fingers to her wrist. "Can you use your Quirk again real quick, Inko-Chan?" He asked her; concerned by the sudden intensity in his expression, Inko did, pulling a few of the cans from the cart and sending them to the proper spots on the shelves. Inko found herself staring, wide-eyed, down at Zashi's intense, serious expression, his matcha-green eyes dark and his bright smile gone behind a tight frown on concentration.
Oh, she thought faintly, staring.
Oh.
He's a Hero.
An... Actual Hero...
Isn't he.
"...You should be careful, using your Quirk right now," he told her quietly, seriously, as he peered up at her, matcha-green eyes dark as he stared. "It directly affects your heart, from what I can guess. Whenever you use it, if makes your heart speed up rapidly, and puts strain on your circulatory system, raising your blood-pressure and stressing your organs... That can be really dangerous for your baby," he told her solemnly, serious and Inko felt her heart just stop.
"W-what...?" she whispered, curling her hands around her stomach instinctively, face gray as she stared at him, wide-eyed. Zashi grimaced faintly, straightening up and stepping forward to wrap a strong, steady arm around her shoulder as she swayed.
"Take a deep breath, Inko-Chan," he murmured softly, gently. "A nice, deep breath, that's it... I didn't mean to scare you," he murmured, carefully leading her towards the front of the store, where her usual stool was waiting. "From what I know of how Quirks affect biology; your own body is capable of counteracting and adapting to the way your Quirk affects you. My own, for example, makes me fire-proof to a certain extent and lets me have a larger breathing capacity. In return, however, I'm more affected by the cold and my lungs are easily incapacitated with illness, smoke, or fluid build-up." He carefully set her down on the stool, crouching down so that they could stay eye-to-eye, and offering her a sweet smile as Inko got herself back under control.
"From what I've been able to see about your Quirk, Inko-Chan," he continued earnestly, "it's affected by your circulatory system, likely because it's connected directly to your ability to focus and the tension brought on the heart by that sudden focus. This means that, if you're not careful, you can knock yourself unconscious, sort of like that stupid game that was popular with kids a few years back, where they'd put pressure on their carotid artery until they got light-headed enough to pass out?" Inko nodded slowly, remembering seeing a couple of kids in her class do that, press their hands hard against their throats until their eyes rolled back and their faces turned red. They said it made them feel like they were floating and left them giggly and dizzy for a while.
"Well, when you used your Quirk right now, it made your blood pressure skyrocket, which isn't healthy for your baby, you know? And I just worry," he added, earnest and sheepish at the same time. "I know we've only really met the one time, but, well, I can already tell you're an amazing person, Inko-Chan!" He told her, beaming, and Inko felt her heart stop for a completely different reason, eyes going wide as he beamed up at her, eyes lightening back to their bright matcha-green, dimples on display. "And I have no doubt your baby will be too!"
And, suddenly, Inko was crying, eyes huge and lips trembling as tears fell heavily down her face. Distantly, she noted that Zashi was panicking, hands flailing a little as he babbled, but she didn't notice. His words were overlapping with the memory of her mother screaming at her, that last day after her pregnancy had been confirmed by the family physician.
You're an amazing person, Inko-Chan! And I have no doubt your baby will be too!
You little whore! How dare you embarrass us like this?! Did you even think about what your father and I would have to go through before you spread your legs for the first person who looked your way?!
You're an amazing person, Inko-Chan!
Get out of my house! You and that, that little bastard in your gut! Get out before I throw you out!
You're an amazing person, Inko-Chan! And I have no doubt that your baby will be too!
In a sudden, swift movement, she was off the stool and tackling him to the ground, his arms flailing wide to catch them both as her arms wrapped around his neck, face tucked under his chin.
"Thank you," she choked out, pressing her forehead to the pounding pulse in his neck as she shut her eyes tight, breath shuddering as she wept. She felt Zashi hesitate, before his arms were wrapped securely around her shoulders, pressing her closer as he shifted so that she was settled more comfortably into his lap. Between them, her rounded stomach pressed against his own flat stomach, and her baby kicked sharply. Immediately, the breath whooshed out of both of their lungs, the two of them going still.
"Did... Did the baby just kick me?" Zashi managed to ask, breathless, and Inko laughed wetly, carefully pulling away and rubbing at her face.
"Yeah, he, uh, he really did," she giggled, breath shuddering as she gently touched her stomach. Zashi's hands fluttered about for a moment, and, on impulse, she reached out and caught them before pressing them to her belly. Immediately, the baby kicked again, almost playfully, strong enough to make Inko wince a little before she laughed, as Zashi's face lit up and he beamed at her.
"That's so cool!" he gasped, eyes wide as he tentatively pressed his hands to her stomach. "The only time I've every actually gotten to feel a baby kick was when my Uncle's wife was pregnant with my little cousins, and even then I was only four when Touya was born, and I wasn't really allowed around Fuyumi or Natsuo while Rei-San was pregnant with them... Or this next little one," he added, tone shifting to something sad, and Inko shook her head, pressing his hands more firmly to her stomach in response.
"Well, you're always welcome to come see my baby, Zashi-Kun," she told him warmly. "He'll need a Hero to look up to, after all," she added, grinning impishly as Zashi flushed, matcha-green eyes tearing up even as he offered her a star-bright smile.
"Please, call me Hizashi," he urged her sheepishly. "Zashi is my Hero name, after all. Todoroki Hizashi, at your service!" Inko laughed, absently rubbing her hands over her face to get rid of the last of her tears.
"Midoriya Inko, at yours," she replied; Zashi-no, Hizashi, lit up in response, beaming at her, and the two of them sat there on the floor, feeling her little baby kick and grinning like idiots, for another ten minutes before they finally got to their feet.
"I was actually in the neighborhood to check in on you, to be honest, Inko-Chan," he told her as he helped her finish stocking the shelves.
"Oh?" she asked, absently tugging on one of her bangs as she glanced at him; his ears turned red as he nodded, looking away from her.
"Well, I was worried about you, for one reason," he told her honestly. "I mean, a girl my age, pregnant and in this particular area, alone at night across from a drug-lab run by a villain... You can understand, right? Why I'd be worried?" He offered softly, uncertainly, and Inko nodded.
"I get it," she told him kindly. "I'd be worried in your place, as well, if that's how I met, well, me," she told him; he nodded firmly, ears still red and only giving her a brief, embarrassed glance out of the corner of his eye before looking away again.
"Well, I may have... Um... I may have been around for a couple of days now," he told her, that red flush spreading. "And I, um, may have been, y'know... Observing you? And the people around you? For a few days?" He squeaked, voice cracking as he ducked his head. Inko blinked at him, slowly setting a can down. "Just to make sure you were safe, I swear!" he added earnestly, turning to peer at her, embarrassed and sincere enough to make Inko's heart skip a beat. "And, well, after seeing how safe you were, and how nice everyone was, and how you take care of people here... I finally got up the courage to come and talk to you again out of costume! And, well, Inko-Chan, I was wondering..." Inko turned to face him fully, eyes wide as, flushing, he turned to face her, rubbing a hand through his curly, red hair sheepishly as he smile at her.
"Do you wanna go on a date with me, sometime?" He asked her hopefully; Inko's breath caught in her throat, a bright blush covering her face even as her hands snapped up instinctively to cover it. Squeaking out an affirmative, nodding her head rapidly at the same time, Inko hid her giddy smile in her palms as Hizashi let out a delighted whoop, his voice cracking as he did, ending with the two of them giggling.
They set a time for Friday at a theatre closest to the Shadow Zone, one that was actually pretty close to Nocturnas Agency so that, if he got suddenly called in, he wouldn't have to go far. After that, Mimi had appeared from her office, and Hizashi, after spending several minutes just gushing about the older woman's Quirk and agreeing with Inko about how beautiful the Arachnitaur was, finally had to take his leave. As soon as he was out the door, the thoroughly flattered and charmed Mimi gave Inko a thumbs up and a wide grin.
"Keep him, sweetheart," she ordered the teen. "I'll help you wrap him up in webbing and stick him to your side if I need to, but keep him!"
"I'll do my best" Inko agreed, giggling as she was lifted up onto the Arachnitaur's back so that they could go out for lunch.
Fate had a funny way of interfering when one least expects it, however. What else could explain away what was happening now, on the night before their agreed on Date, when Inko, as Feather Touch, came upon a scene that held an unconscious Infra-Red and a bruised and bloody-faces Zashi facing off against three Mutant Quirk thugs in an alley, trying to defend his Temporary Mentor.
And, as those matcha-green eyes caught sight of her as Feather Touch dropped a brick onto the skull of one of the thugs, Inko could have wept at the narrow-eyed suspicion he held for her. As she continued to use her Quirk against the Thugs, and Zashi leapt in with his too-bright flames, Inko prayed that things would work out.
And, as she left the final thug unconscious on the ground, she hesitated only a moment, sharing a long, tense look with the baby Hero, before turning around and fleeing the scene faster than every before, heart pounding and head aching.
The newspaper the next day had a brief mention of their meeting, and Inko couldn't bring herself to actually read it, heart in her throat as the time ticked away, drawing closer and closer to the time of their Date. And to what she truly, truly believed could be the last time she saw Hizashi as anything but the Hero who would hunt her down.
Hands trembling as they curled around her belly, Inko stepped off the train and looked up, meeting matcha-green eyes across the station...
And couldn't bring herself to regret any of it.
If this was how Feather Touch ended, at the hands of this bright, brilliant boy with his bright eyes and brilliant smiles and star-like flames... Than that was how it ended, and there was nothing she could do about it. So, yes, she didn't regret it.
She just hoped he would understand, when he figured it out, because, compared to the rest of her life, with it's uncertainties and swift changes, there was no doubt in her mind that he would.
So, lifting her head, holding that bright, intelligent gaze, Inko took a deep shuddering breath, and walked towards him.
A/N: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH~
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEEEEEEEEN?!
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN?!
Read more to find out! 8D
Really quick, though: Midoriya's and their love of Analysis!
In this AU, Inko is highly intelligent in that she latches onto practical things that affect her and memorizes and analyzes them. Things like pregnancy books, infancy books, and Life Hacks for Single/Teenage Parents. She doesn't care about things like math or certain sciences or history because how does that currently affect her? She keeps those grades up, of course, because they affect her and her babies future, but she doesn't really care. She's all about the Practical. Oh, I'm pregnant? Memorizes all the baby books. Oh, I'm a Vigilante? Memorizes all the Law books. Things like that.
Hizashi is all about Quirk Biology and Biology in general. He is fascinated with the way Quirks affect their holders, not necessarily the Quirks themselves. Oh, you have a night-vision Quirk? How does that affect your actual eyeballs and the parts of the brain dealing in sight?! Things like that. Biology and Quirk-Biology are the things he obsesses over hardcore.
Izuku was obsessed with Quirks (and Heroes) themselves. He wanted to know the hows, whats, where, whens, and whys of a Quirk. Strengths, weaknesses, abilities, possible uses, things like that. This is a boy who would have looked at Shinso AKA Gucci Eyebags as a kid and squealed about the sheer level of PROSPECT such a Quirk would have in the Hero Field. This is a boy who knew every weakness of Kacchan's Quirk and could have literally RUINED HIS CHANCES of becoming a Hero if he was any more vicious or cruel. This was a boy who figured out how to use his brand new Quirk pretty much immediately, figured out how to focus it down after it injured him, and then figured out how to do it even better. Izuku is all about Quirks, and not really about the people behind them... (Unless its someone he cares about, then you know he's gonna give you all the Quirk Workout Routines to get your Quirk to the best it can be) ((I'm looking at you, Gucci Eyebags))