Toshinori sighed softly as he sat in his living room. Had been back for a couple days since he had gotten out of the hospital. To be honest, they had managed to stitch up the wound but at the same time Recovery Girl couldn't use her quirk to heal his injury as because of his transformation it made the injury so much worse than it should have been.

So now he had to wait a little while to regain his strength and allow the wound to heal on its own a little. But, at least he could move around on his own for the most part. He just wished that he didn't have to miss school because of this. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man looked out the window of the living room as he wondered what he could do. He felt as if everything was limited to him, it almost felt as if he was a little kid again.

Covering his face, he knew that that was the least of his problems as he recalled what had happened in the hospital. He had tried to kiss Inko and he hadn't been able to stop himself. If it hadn't been for Hizashi bursting into the room, he didn't know what would have happened. 'Most likely kissed her like I wanted too.' He groaned a little as he tried to erase the images of him kissing Inko out of his head. What was he to say about that?

He and Inko had just started to be friends. It was improper to tell her 'Oh by the way I've loved you since we were children, even though I've only spoken to you that one time and never stopped loving you and seeing you in my class made that love surface with a vengeance'. Yeah, that would look great.

Why couldn't his life be simple?

Shaking his head, the young man grunted in pain before swinging his body around so he could grab his crutches and start to walk around. Just lying there wasn't going to solve his problems, that much was true though he couldn't help but keep thinking about Inko. It just felt as if his life circled the green haired woman and without even having to try.

Then again, love made you do stupid things and his stupid thing was apparently kissing Inko or, at the very least attempting too. That was something that he didn't want to do, he had tried everything to get his mind off of kissing her but really that only made it worse. He felt like some kind of creep with how much he wanted to kiss her but damn it all. He just wished that he could throw a punch at his wall but then remembered if he did that again Miyoko would throw a fit and scream at him.

She was still scary like their aunt when she was mad.

Toshinori couldn't help but shudder at the thought of that. Miyoko could be sweet and caring but damn it all, he knew that he couldn't stop the feeling of his own fear against his sister when she was angry, or the fear he felt toward Gran Torino with his training methods. Then again he was stronger and more capable of fighting and protecting those because of the training but he wished that it wasn't so brutal.

Shaking his head, the young man walked to the kitchen, the sound of his crutches clacking on the ground echoed in the empty house. It was a sound that made Toshinori think about all the times that he had to deal with when he was growing up. A few kids used to beat him to that point, until he could no longer walk on his own, until he would need crutches and that was bothered him.

Yet that was before he met his master, the woman who gave him hope. The woman that believed that he could be a hero even though he was quirkless. Yet the price for gaining such a power? It was that he could never tell anyone of the quirk, only a very selective few who knew, people who were trusted with such a secret was what made Toshinori think twice for a moment about being a hero for the first time in his life.

But he knew that he couldn't say no. Back then, his reason was so he could see Inko again. So he could see her smile and hope that he could return the favor, of being her hero just like how she had been his back then. Now though? He had finally returned the favor, and it had bloomed into a friendship even though he wanted it to be more. He felt like he couldn't allow it to be anything more than that as he recalled what pain his master had gone through when she had lost her husband and had to place her own son in foster care.

It broke Toshinori's heart. Made him think that he could never have a wife, could never have children of his own but he couldn't help but think differently. He had to do this. Had to be her friend at the very least and protect Inko from anything that would want to hurt her. He didn't know what that would be as of yet, but he knew that he had the rest of his life protecting her from anything and all harm that would dare to come to her. Yet, at the same time he couldn't help but wonder what would happen should she ever get married.

Inko would leave him for another man. That was for sure, though he also knew that he couldn't stop her in whom she loved. Inko was free to love whoever she wanted, and he would just have to be happy for her. As there would be nothing more than that, that would make him happy. Even if she wasn't with him in the end, he could at least be happy for her.

Right?

'Why must this be so hard?' thought the blonde with a whine.

The doorbell rang, echoing through his home. Toshinori blinked as he looked toward the door. He wondered if it was Hizashi. After all, there was no way that Inko would have come all the way to his home just to bring him homework right? Frowning a little, the young man took a deep breath as he called out, saying that he was coming and to give him a minute. Yet the doorbell kept ringing. "Really?" He muttered under his breath before trying to hurry himself up.

And almost slipping on the way to the door.

Taking a deep breath, the young man managed to get to the door and sighed softly as he said "Look Hizashi I don't know what is so important but-" He cut himself off when he saw Inko standing there. Holding books in her arms, pressed against her chest. He looked and saw that she had ear buds stuck in her ears, he was sure that she didn't have music playing in her ears unless this was a calming mechanism for her.

"Hi." She said softly, almost shyly as she removed one of the ear buds from her ears. He found it rather cute, it made him want to hold her and comfort her from the whole world. "Um… may I come in?" Inko asked softly.

"Uh… yeah." Toshinori said, wanting to slap himself for sounding so awkward right now. Moving aside, the blonde let the green haired woman in, though she shuffled slightly as she walked. "So, um, how did you get my address?" asked Toshinori, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Oh, when the teacher gave me your homework, I asked Hizashi if he could tell me where you lived and I used my phone to get directions since I've never been down here before." Inko said, then she started on one of her mumblings. Saying such how she had never been in this side of town before so it was never nerve wrecking and that she was happy she had music on her phone. Though felt bad for ringing the doorbell so much but she was nervous and scared being out here.

"Inko."

"Huh?"

"It's okay, you'll be fine." Toshinori said, giving her a soft smile hoping that would assure her of any trouble that would plague her mind. Inko looked up at him, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. Most likely because he had caught her mumbling under her breath. Who was he to judge, he does it too though he hoped that he would break that habit. It was rather creepy, even to him when he does it. Yet, when Inko does it, he couldn't help but find it rather cute. "Follow me, we'll go to the kitchen and I can get you something to drink."

"You sure that'll be comfortable for you?" Inko said with a frown on her face.

"It'll be fine, plus this way there is something in front of me at my level. My sister and I are rather tall." Toshinori said with a soft sigh as he made his way to the kitchen.

"You have a sister?"

"Hm? Yeah, her name is Miyoko. She works around this time though so I don't know if you'll meet her today." Toshinori said as he pulled out two bottles of water and carefully made his way over to the table. Thankful that his hands were large enough to at least hold onto the bottles by the caps as he made his way over to the table.

"What about your parents?" asked Inko.

"Oh… they're dead." He answered her before sitting down and unscrewed the cap.

"I'm sorry…" Inko whispered, causing him to frown at her. Tears building up in her eyes and he right away started to panic. "Oh god Inko are you okay?!"

"I should be asking you that!"

"Inko, I'm fine." He whispered gently, reaching out and grabbing her hand. Noticing her green eyes looking at their hands before looking back up at the blonde, a soft blush tinting her cheeks. Toshinori blushed himself and pulled his hand away as he twirled a lock of his long bangs around his index finger. "They died a little after you saved me… It was why I hadn't been able to go back. After they died, Miyoko and I were sent to America to live with our aunt."

"What happened to them?" asked Inko.

Toshinori sighed softly, holding the bottle in his hands as he remembered that day. He and Miyoko were waiting at home with the babysitter for their parents to come home but instead got cops coming to them instead. "They were on their way home, and got in the crossfire of a villain attack. The villain had some kind of quirk that shot out thick and sharp quills from their back like a porcupine and…"

"They hit your parents didn't they?"

"Yes. From what the cops could tell my aunt when she arrived, well, she didn't know I was listening as I came to get some water well…" Toshinori sighed softly before running a hand through his hair. Sadness glossed over his eyes. Even though it doesn't bother him as much as it should, Toshinori couldn't help but feel some form of pain in his heart at the reminder that his parents were gone. "Mom died instantly, had one hit her in the head. Dad though, they suspect that he had to suffer as the first one only hit him in the lung first before the second round had managed to hit him in the heart killing him instantly."

"Toshinori." Inko whispered.

"But it's fine… I know they didn't have a choice in the matter. I know that if they could, they'd still be with us, and it wasn't that Miyoko and I grew up alone. We had our aunt… even though for the first while it hurt to see her." Toshinori said with a sigh before draining the bottle of water in a single breath.

"What do you mean?" asked Inko.

"My mom and aunt are twins, just like Yoko and I."

"Yoko?"

"Right, sorry… that's a nickname I have for Miyoko… I call her that out of habit, I've tried to say her name more often but well, it's hard to stop a habit." He said with a chuckle. Yes, he would say 'Miyoko' here and there, mostly when he was in the presents of friends and the like but there was still the odd time that he would slip and call his sister by his nickname for her.

"What does she call you?" asked Inko, a smile on her face. Tears forgotten for the time being, though it only caused him to blush a little.

"I'm not saying it."

"Come on! It can't be that bad!"

"No."

"Come on."

"No way."

"Please?"

"No."

Inko gave him a pout, only to get a smile on her face. He didn't like that smile, it made him fear for his life right then. Lifting her hand, now aglow in a soft pink in colour opened the fridge and pulled out another bottle of water. He looked over and saw that she was also using her quirk to unscrew the cap. "Oh hell no!" Toshinori shouted as he got up as quickly as he could with only crutches and one good leg to help him hobble along.

"You're not going to get away Toshinori!" Inko shouted as she chased after him.

"I can try!" He shouted back.

Quickening his pace, he made it to the living room until he felt Inko all but slam into him. Eyes widening, he felt himself slip and his crutches flying out of his reach. Instead, he allowed his instincts to take over as he twisted his body around and wrapped his arms around her, tightly holding her to his chest as he felt the floor slam into his back.

"Toshinori?" squeaked out Inko.

Groaning, he opened his eyes and looked down at the green haired woman. Blue met green, he couldn't help but gaze deeply into her eyes, it made him fall more for her with how expressive her eyes could be yet, at the same time Toshinori couldn't help but feel like this was wrong still. That it was wrong of him to even want to hold her like he was now. To have her as his, this was all wrong and he knew that. Of course he knew that but at the same time, he didn't care.

"Yeah?" He whispered softly, god he couldn't believe how close they were. They were so close, and from when he had held onto Inko he hadn't realised that he had pulled her up until they were mere inches from each other. Or at the very least, so close that he could kiss her. It was a sensation that he had wanted to feel for so long but he wasn't sure if he should follow that instinct.

"I… I don't have the water anymore." She whispered softly.

Of course she wouldn't, a shock like that would cut anyone's concentration on their quirk. Inko would have lost hers from when she ran into him and knocked each other down to the ground. Toshinori could only nod slowly at her, seeing every aspect of her face. Big, bright green eyes. Long green hair with a few locks falling loose from her ponytail. Glasses that had all but slid down her face, just at the edge of her nose, made her cuter that way. He even noticed a couple of tiny freckles that was sprinkled over her cheeks, hard to see unless you were right in her face so to speak.

He wanted to hold her, wanted to kiss her. In a way, he wanted her to be his but again that one part of his mind kept telling him that this wasn't right. That he couldn't have Inko like this. That this whole thing just wasn't right and it was immoral. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in the hopes of calming himself down, though he wasn't sure if he could calm down. Not with the woman of his dreams sprawled on his chest like this!

"Inko I… um…" Damn it, he had no idea what he could say, on what he could do at this moment! It just seemed as if everything was against him again. This was really starting to irritate him though he had no idea on how he could stop this. Shaking his head, he tried to catch his breath but it felt as if his lungs didn't want to cooperate with him.

"Toshinori? Are you okay?" She wiggled a bit in his grip, he wanted to tell her that he was fine, that he was alright yet, at the same time he couldn't speak anymore. It had felt as if his heart would burst out of his chest in that moment. It was beating so quickly and loudly that it was ringing in his ears again. Just the mere thought of pulling Inko close was enough to make the blood rush to his cheeks.

"Inko I'm… I'm okay." He managed to get out, though it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as she placed her hand on his forehead. The blonde wanted to shudder at the cool touch on his heated skin. Damn it all, he hated this! Of all the things that he wanted to do, it was this! He just wanted to hurry up and kiss the girl but damn it all he just couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.

"You feel warm but no high fever." Inko said, looking down at the blonde that she laid on top of. He gulped a little and found himself closing his eyes for a brief moment and opened his blue pools once again. Just gazing into pools of green. Toshinori even found himself thinking that if he looked at them for too long, that he would find himself drowning in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Inko I have to tell you something. I-"

"I'm home!"

Damn it!

Toshinori gulped as he tried to get Inko off of him. Yet, doing so he had agitated his leg, causing him to cry out in pain. "Nori?!" shouted Miyoko as she rushed into the living room. It was then that he wanted to cry out of embarrassment. Damn it all, of all people it had to be his sister that saw this?! "Nori?" Miyoko said as she looked at her brother, only to cover her mouth with her hand and giggled. "Now, now Nori, you shouldn't be doing such things with your female guest!"

"Yoko it isn't what it looks like!" Toshinori shouted, his face a bright red.

"Nori? Your nickname is Nori?" Inko said, causing Toshinori to blush darkly. "That's so cute!" Inko said, causing the blonde to turn even a deeper shade of red.

"Can someone help me up please? And, can someone get me my pain meds my leg is killing me here." Inko giggled a little, as did Miyoko. Why did girls have to be the one thing that he couldn't fight against? Give him a villain any day of the week but girls? Not too much.

Miyoko laughed a little more before walking over to Toshinori and Inko, helping the latter up onto her feet before both women decided to help him up onto his feet, and move him over to the couch so he could prop his leg up. "Okay Nori, I'll be back okay? Don't do anything else until then." Miyoko said before walking out of the room.

"Nori? That's what she calls you? That's so cute! Do your friends call you that?" asked Inko with a smile on her face, taking a seat on the chair next to the couch.

Groaning, he covered his face as he let out a soft sigh. "No, I keep 'Nori' as a nickname for my sister and Toshi for my friends. Nori sounds so childish and silly that I hate it when anyone else calls me that even though it's only the last form of my name."

"I think it's cute though." Inko said with a soft smile before scooting closer to the blonde, or at the very least as close as she could get while sitting on a chair. The young man looked over at the young woman and blushed a little. Her green eyes soft, kind and caring. Much like how he remembered them being when he was a child. "Though, I won't call you that if it bothers you that much. Though, can… can I call you Toshi too?"

Red tinting his face once again. Toshinori couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not even a month of friendship and she already wanted to address him by a nickname? He couldn't help but feel his heart beating quicker than it did moments ago. Gulping a little, Toshinori nodded his head quickly, unable to really speak.

"Thank you Toshi!" She said with a smile before letting out a soft gasp. "Oh wait, stay here and I'll go get the books!" Inko said as she rushed to the kitchen. Miyoko on the other hand was already on her way out with a glass of water and a pill bottle as she walked over to her twin.

"Here you go Nori, and is that her?" Miyoko said, asking the last part in a soft whisper. Toshinori nodded his head slowly before he accepted the bottle of pain killers and water. "No wonder why you like her, she's so adorable." Miyoko said, earning a glare from her brother. "But you didn't tell her did you?" Toshinori sighed before he opened the bottle and popped two pills before swallowing them with water and sighed softly.

"How can I? I just became her friend not long ago, it isn't like I could tell her." Toshinori said with a soft sigh before leaning back against his seat. Really, what could he do? What could he say to the woman that he fell for so long ago? He felt that it was far too soon for anything like that to be possible. After all, Inko was a kind and gentle soul and he was far from such a thing.

Closing his eyes, Toshinori looked up at his sister as he asked "So, why are you here so soon anyway? I thought you were still at work." Toshinori tilted his head a little at his twin.

"Yeah, I was allowed to go home early. It was rather dead." Miyoko said with a giggle before reaching over and ruffling her brother's hair before adding "I have homework myself to finish so I'll see you later." Miyoko started to walk away before turning her head back and grinned at her brother. "Oh, by the way… if you go further than friends make sure to use protection Nori, I love you but I don't wanna be an aunt yet."

"Yoko!" hissed Toshinori, his face a bright red.

Miyoko only laughed before she was no longer in Toshinori's sight or range of hearing. He groaned a little as he leaned against the couch and groaned. Of all the things that his sister had to say, it had to be that. Though, at least Inko didn't hear anything… at least, he hoped that wasn't the case. "Toshi!" came Inko's voice, causing him to blush darkly as he looked over at the kitchen as he saw the woman whom haunted his dreams. Hell, haunted his every waking moment.

He was so thankful that the pain killers didn't make him dopey.

"Yeah?" He said, gulping loudly.

"I hope you don't mind but I thought I'd do my homework with you just so you know what we have been learning today." She said with a big smile on her face. Toshinori smiled gently at her before nodding his head at her. The young man shifted a little on his seat before he leaned over the table, Inko had her own books open as she started to explain to him what they have been learning that day. Though, he had a little trouble focusing on his work as he couldn't help but look at the green haired woman across from him. Giving her a soft smile, he felt his heart swell with love for this woman, though yet again it would never come to be.