Inari stares down at Izuku, smile replaced by a blank expression. Izuku fidgets in his seat, guilt showing obviously.
"I-Ine-san, I shouldn't have–"
"You did the right thing, coming to me Midoriya-kun." Inari interrupts, tone blank with an edge of coldness to it.
"I do understand you may feel guilty about betraying Todoroki-kun's trust, but this is one of the worst–this is bad," Inari continues calmly, "an' unfortunately, we can't do much right now."
Izuku snaps his head up with a ferociously determined expression. "But Ine-san! He's–his father, that–that fucking piece of shit, is–"
"Yes. I know Midoriya-kun, more than you realize. But, from what you've told me, Todoroki-kun is not looking for any help–before you start arguing with me, let me finish. Thank you–Hot 'n' Cold isn't looking for any help for his home situation." Inari leans back, hissing in slight pain when she moves her legs too fast. Her eyes squint as she tries to inspect her blurry surroundings.
"If you want to help, be there for him, and don't worry about getting a case goin'. I'll be workin' on this with you, if you'd like," The white haired woman adds with an easy grin. Izuku practically falls in relief, eyes watering.
"Firs' step, he refuses to use the other half of his Quirk. I know for a fact you're gonna do somethin' incredibly stupid and dangerous to save him durin' your fight. Only thing I'ma tell you, if you do what I think you're gonna do, I'm takin' you for your internship and training you to control your fucking weirdass Quirk," She says, making Izuku laugh nervously while rubbing his eyes.
"E-eh? It's not–it's not weird..." The green haired teenager wilts under Inari's bullshit expression.
Inari lifts her wrist and tries to see what time it is. "Fuckin' Nomu. Broccoli Boi, what time is it? That Nomu fucked up my eyesight permanently an' I haven't been able to get glasses yet."
Izuku blinks in surprise before looking down at Inari's wrist. He pales slightly when he sees her arm covered in scars and dark bruises.
"U-um... Oh crap! It's–I'm going to be late for my fight! Th-thank you Ine-san! Um, how will I–how will we talk about... this?" Izuku stands up in a rush. Inari snorts in amusement and waves the boy away.
"With how much you follow my work, you have one of my cards don'tcha?" Inari laughs at the bright red blush that overcomes Izuku's face. "Text that number, Broccoli Boi. Now get to it. I've got some bitches to handle."
"Um–do you–do you need help?" The green haired teenager asks worriedly, watching Inari struggle to stand up straight, even with her crutches.
"Nah, I've been on my feet longer than I should've been. Get going, you gotta fight to win–and then a fight to lose, but you save someone in the end." Inari ruffles his hair–how the fuck is it so soft?!–before he rushes to make it to his first fight. Inari watches him go with a soft smile.
"He's a good kid..." Her smile disappears and is replaced by a tired expression. "...who doesn't deserve this fucking world of bullshit."
Inari growls under her breath and starts making her towards the commenter's box. She's exhausted.
"Ine, why the hell are you here?" Eraserhead asks harshly with a small glare. His expression goes soft when he notices her exhausted expression and shaking arms. He sighs heavily and points to the couch he was taking a nap on earlier.
Inari sighs in relief and gives him a painful smile. "Thanks Shōta."
She makes her way over to the couch and collapses on top of it, immediately passing out the moment her head touches the small throw pillow. Eraserhead narrows his eyes with a sigh. He gets up and walks over, grabbing the fallen blanket and pulling it over Inari before grabbing her crutches and leaning them against the couch.
"Stop pushing yourself, Inari. No one will think you're weak for resting," Eraserhead mutters, resting his hand on the white haired woman's head. He blinks in surprise when Inari instinctively leans into the touch with a small sigh.
"Oh? You're up Era–"
"Shh." Eraserhead turns and gives Present Mic a harsh glare. "You're sleeping on the couch if you wake her up."
He walks back to his seat and sits down, glowering down at the microphone in front of him. Present Mic frowns slightly while walking to his seat, glancing at Inari.
"She looks worse. I thought she was going to healing sessions with Recovery Girl," The blonde says softly, voice unnaturally quiet. Eraserhead sighs heavily, leaning back into his seat.
"You'll get used to it. She's a problem child," Eraserhead rubs his neck, "and a kid who doesn't think she's worth enough to be cared for."
Inari opens one eye to stare at the two heroes before closing it again and going back to sleep. She'll deal with that later...
Red.
Inari gasps, feeling herself be pulled into a familiar void. She looks around. The UA Stadium... A large cement block with a harness attached was on top of the first place podium. A black butterfly with red edges to its wings fluttered around frantically in a jar attached to the harness. A first place medal laid completely torn to shreds on the ground in front of the cement block.
She's pulled into an an alleyway and sees a body–is that Ingeni–and a silver sword protruding from its back laying on the ground. Inari sees a flash of red in the corner of her eye before she is pulled into another scene.
The forest. She sees a terrified Dabi and Himiko–what are they–before seeing a flash of a woman with long green hair screaming silently, a large hand covering the top half of her face.
Inari is pulled into another scene and sees a destroyed street. What is–what is happening–
"–ne. Inari! Breathe," Eraserhead's voice brings Inari back to reality. Inari sits up, heaving. She presses a hand to her chest, breathing heavily.
"Inari?" Eraserhead asks worriedly. Inari forces herself off the couch and stumbles to the ground.
"Ba–Bakugō-kun. What's happening with him?" She forces out of her mouth. The white haired woman looks around and sees her crutches. She grabs the bottom of them and makes the fall towards her.
"Ine–Ine, you need to calm down. What's going on?" Eraserhead says, trying to stop Inari from getting up. She forces herself up, groaning out in pain when she puts pressure on her legs.
"What the fuck is–what the fuck is going on with Bakugō-kun?" Inari hissed angrily, stumbling her way out of the announcer's box. Eraserhead and Present Mic quickly race after her.
"What do you mean?" The black haired man asks, quickly grabbing Inari's arm to stop her from falling. Inari ignores him and rushes towards the stairs. She stumbles and reaches out to grab the railing before she fell forwards.
"Inari, you need to take it easy." Eraserhead grabs her arm and places it over his shoulders.
Inari slowly calms down her heavy breathing. "Take–take me to Bakugō-kun. Now, and don't let the–the awards ceremony start. Not–not yet."
"Okay, okay. Hold on," Eraserhead says before wrapping his arm around the white haired woman's waist and his other under her knees before lifting her up. She whimpers in pain and grips his shoulder.
"Fuck..." She hisses when Eraserhead starts rushing down the stairs.
"The fucking Hero Commission. I know it's them," Inari thinks dazedly, slowly waking up from her panic. She blinks in surprise when she is set down in the heroes viewing room. Holy shit, did she blank out?
Inari ignores the heroes that turned to stare at her probably crazed appearance. She also ignores how she could barely stand the excruciating pain from standing without her crutches.
"Private Investigator Himura... what are you doing here?" A familiar, greasy voice asks conversationally. Inari immediately sneers and glares heavily at the man standing in front of Nezu, Midnight, and a chained up Katsuki. Katsuki is growling heavily, eyes full of a familiar terror.
"Let Bakugō Katsuki go, Tatekawa," Inari snarls in ice cold fury, pushing the after effects of her dream out of her mind. Tatekawa Yoshisuke smiles and tilts his head.
"You don't have the authority. Did you even see what he did? Such a villainous act," Yoshisuke states confidently, making Inari spit on his shoes.
"Ine!" She ignores Eraserhead's–he is absolutely terrified–hiss.
"This isn't your fucking jurisdiction though, is it?" The white haired woman points out mockingly, grinning triumphantly at the anger flickering on the man's face.
"I-Ine-san," Toshinori says slowly, "please do not push Commission. They will–"
"I know what they can do–what they are capable of doing, but right now they can't do a fucking thing today. This is UA's jurisdiction and Bakugō-kun is one of my interns," Inari interrupts icily, still glaring at Yoshisuke.
Yoshisuke hums, smirking menacingly. "That villain isa first year."
"Yeah, but Himura Investigations had early civilian internships for ninth grade. No one wanted them, except Bakugō-kun and three others," She lies easily with a mocking eye roll. Yoshisuke growls and takes a step forward.
"You look so much worse than the day you went to the hospital. It would be such a shame if you died from your injuries tonight," Yoshisuke threatens furiously. The white haired woman scoffs and a feral grin grows on her face.
"And it would be such a fucking shame if the public found out about Mercury, hm?" Inari forces herself to stand her ground when the man lurches forward, a hand in his jacket.
"He won't do it. He won't do it. He won't do it," Inari repeats mentally, clenching her shaking fists to stop herself from collapsing.
"You better hope you aren't lying. For your family's sake." Yoshisuke forces himself past the young PI. Inari bares her teeth as the man leaves the room. She waits a few moments after the door closes, taking in a deep breath before almost collapsing.
"Ine, shit–" Eraserhead rushes forward, but Inari holds out her hand as she quickly finds her balance again.
"No. Help me get Pomeranian out of that fucking monstrosity first," She growls out angrily, forcing herself to stumble towards Katsuki. She stares down at him and gently takes off the metal muzzle around his mouth.
"Fucking monsters. Are you alright, Bakugō-kun?" Inari doesn't flinch away at his growl.
"Fuck off, you fuckin' police hag!" Katsuki snarls furiously, smoothly masking his clearly terror from PTSD, "and I fuckin' refuse first place! Fuckin' Icy Hot fuckin' handed me the win, that fuckin' half-assing little cu–"
"Nezu-san, go ahead with the awards ceremony. Eraserhead, take me and Pomeranian to another room. Pomeranian, stay still, I'ma cut the harness off." Inari doesn't given him anymore of a warning before taking out her switchblade and cutting the harness and the straps on the cages around Katsuki's hands.
"Ine–"
"I'll rest later. Right now, I need to speak with Bakugō-kun. Now, do it!" She snarls icily, turning to give Eraserhead a heavy glare.
She doesn't have time for all this bullshit! Jesus fucking Christ.
Yo. A chapter twice the size as most of the others in this book. Woo. Hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.