Sorry about the long wait! For those of you who don't follow my tumblr, I've been dealing with chronic illness on top of the burnout I mentioned last time, and I had pretty nasty flare at the beginning of the year that lasted way longer than it should have. Long story short, I haven't been able to write a lot since I posted the last chapter. I've now made a full recovery, as much as one can recover from something that doesn't really go away, but these things come and go, so if this story goes a long time without updates again, it's most likely me being sick again. Crossing fingers that this summer won't be as sucky health-wise as the last!

Thanks so much for reading and lots of virtual hugs (if you want them!) to everyone who takes the time to leave a line. Your comments helped a lot when I was in the dumps. ❤

Black coffee & lemon tea

"What's wrong?" Aizawa asked, and bending down to see what had caught Tokio's attention.

She looked up to explain, but it was clear the moment she saw his face that he knew what that earring was, too.

"Is that…?"

"She was wearing it the last time I saw her—what if—?" Tokio stood up all of a sudden and started walking deeper into the alley, but Aizawa caught her by the shoulder and pulled back.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"What if there's something else?"

"Leave it to the police. Have you forgotten that you need to look after someone else now?"

Tokio closed her eyes tightly and breathed deeply. "You're right. Uh, this…" She held up the earring.

"I'll take care of it. Let's go to the clinic; I'll call on the way there."

Tokio nodded and hastily picked up her umbrella, not that it was going to make much of a difference at that point, and returned to Yuzu.

While Aizawa talked to inspector Kawamura, she called the 24 hour clinic she had located. It was only ten minutes away, but by the time they were there and she handed Yuzu over to the veterinary, she had relived several times her memories of the last day she had seen Sekiji, trying to figure out a clue, anything that could hint at what had happened.

The sick cat on the examination table and her damp clothes weren't making her feel any better. She remained deep in thought when the doctor asked them to go to the waiting room and told them the cat would have to stay overnight. Too anxious to sit still, Tokio stayed up near the door, wringing the hem of her shirt and leaving a small puddle under her, staring blankly at the wall of the room where Yuzu and the vet were.

A mechanical sound made her pay attention to her surroundings. Aizawa was picking up a cup from the coffee machine. Though he wasn't in such a pitiful state as Tokio, he looked worse for wear than usual, and the rain and the dirt of the alley hadn't spared him.

"Do you want one?" he asked.

"I don't like coffee."

And she couldn't spare the money for one, either. Not with the medical bills lingering in her near future.

"I know. You told me the other day."

She heard him put more coins into the machine, but she retreated back to her thoughts immediately. That was, until he held a plastic cup with tea in front of her.

"You'll get sick if you don't warm up."

She took the cup, and she was trying to form a coherent sentence to thank him when she was startled by the arrival of somebody else.

Several new people, in fact, with inspector Kawamura leading the pack.

"Eraserhead!" he said, skipping hellos and ignoring Tokio's presence. "What is the meaning of this? You should have gone straight to the station!"

Aizawa looked like the last thing he wanted was to be there to have that conversation, but then again, he looked like that often.

"I gave you a call as soon we found the lead. I couldn't leave Nakajima alone, as you well know."

"You should have brought her along, too."

Aizawa was opening his mouth to retort when Tokio took a half step between the two men. She received an angry and a confused stare, respectively.

"He was only doing his job. I asked him to come with me, so if anyone's at fault, that's me."

Her words didn't pacify inspector Kawamura, but they made him switch targets, which was better than nothing.

"Are you aware that you put a pet above a policewoman's life?"

Tokio's whole body stiffened. She didn't know how to reply to that. While it hadn't occurred to her that time might have still been of the essence after a month, she had tried to look further into it before Aizawa had pulled her from the alley. She didn't know what was right anymore.

"Kawamura, I think that's enough," Aizawa intervened. "There isn't anyone in this room who doesn't want to find Sekiji as soon as possible. Point fingers if you must, but the investigation takes priority."

"That's exactly my point!"

"Here," Aizawa replied evenly, taking from a pouch the plastic bag containing the pendant and handing it to Kawamura, "I know it's against protocol, but it was stuck in a drain, and we could have lost it forever if we had waited for the investigators."

"That's alright," Kawamura replied, looking far more at ease than he had been before. He observed the pendant through the plastic carefully. "It's hers, no doubt. And it looks like there's blood on it."

"So it seems," Aizawa said, and something sank in the pit of Tokio's stomach. She had been so nervous with the find that she hadn't paid attention to it, but now that the two men mentioned it, there was a dark stain on the upper part of the pendant.

"We'll take it for analysis," Kawamura said, pocketing the evidence. "Eraserhead, Nakajima, I need you to come with me to take your statements."

"Mine should suffice. We were together when we made the discovery, and she's had a long day."

Kawamura, too, looked like he was tired of arguing. "It isn't your call to make."

"It's okay, I'll go," Tokio said, sensing another quarrel in the horizon. Besides, she wanted to think that explaining to someone what had happened would help her stop the frantic thoughts. Even if that someone was a policeman who suspected her.

But she didn't have time to dwell on how alone she felt in this matter. Aizawa looked at her and asked, "And your daughter?"

A few weeks ago, she would have thought his concern about Kanade cynical, but it was hard not to appreciate it for what it was now: an attempt to make her life a little easier. "She sleeps like a log; I don't think she'll notice. Even if she does, she's used to being alone." She regretted saying the last part while the words were still leaving her mouth. Way to make herself look like a neglectful mother.

Aizawa nodded silently at Tokio and then told Kawamura, "No objections on my part."

Kawamura let out a sigh of relief, and Tokio left the two men talking in the waiting room while she went to thank the vet and tell him that they were leaving for the night.

—

Tokio was, once again, with Aizawa at the vet's door at noon.

He had escorted her home the night before, and that had been around 2 AM. He had morning lessons at Yuuei. The man truly did not have any sort of sleeping schedule.

Tokio didn't say it out loud, though. In fact, she was quiet all the way to the clinic, thinking about Yuzu, about the bill, about the last time she'd seen Sekiji and the earring.

"He has an eye infection and parasites," the veterinarian explained, leading them to a row of transparent cages that kept several small pets.

Yuzu was sleeping soundly in one, and he looked so weak that Tokio feared he wouldn't open his eyes again.

"We'll have to keep him in observation a few more days. He still refuses to eat, and there isn't much else we can do." The man smiled kindly at Tokio. "But he's pulled through the worst of it. We'll take good care of him while he's here."

"Thank you." Tokio smiled weakly at the vet and turned her gaze back to Yuzu. She wanted to pet him and tell him it would be alright, if nothing else so she could hear a reassurance out loud, but she didn't dare disturb his sleep. She wondered if this was the way things would end, each on a different side of an acrylic glass, and her unable to do anything for him.

"Are you going to adopt him?"

The vet's question came unexpectedly, but she had been thinking about it for some time. Tokio wasn't sure it was a good idea, but it seemed inevitable. "Ah, yes… I think I will."

"Perfect, I'll have the papers ready by the next time you come. When will that be?"

If it depended on her, she wouldn't have moved from the clinic until the cat was released, but she couldn't reply without asking first. Tentatively, she looked at Aizawa in a silent question, and he raised his eyebrows.

"It's your cat."

"But you—" She started, but she cut herself mid-retort. He was leaving the decision up to her. "I'll come back tomorrow, if it's alright?" She told the vet.

"Of course. Let's go outside, there are a few documents I'll need you to read."

Tokio started following the man, but she saw Aizawa made no attempt to move, instead kept staring at Yuzu. When she caught his eye, he said, "Go ahead. I'll be right after you."

She was, actually, quite grateful for the space. The vet made her sign some legal documents, but then came the painful part. Tokio paid the bill with a heart as heavy as her wallet was light, and there was still more to come for the treatment. She'd end the month in redder numbers than usual.

When she stepped out of the clinic with Aizawa, he was the first to speak. "Where to now?"

Tokio's mood was rather dark and, as usual, without work and without money she had nothing of interest to do. The rest of her day would probably be employed trying to plan the rest of the meals for the month and playing Tetris on the phone.

"Home," she said without any enthusiasm.

Aizawa nodded and started walking. "Chores never end, do they?"

"Actually, I've come to realize that they do, thanks to the time I've spent inside lately."

"What's your plan, then?"

"None," she admitted. "I have nothing to do."

"You're going to shut yourself home alone with nothing to do?"

She hummed affirmatively.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Let's go somewhere." And he changed directions without waiting for Tokio.

"Huh? Where?"

He shrugged. "Wherever."

Tokio ended up spluttering and running after him. "Why? Don't they need you at the police station? After last night's—"

"That's precisely the issue. You haven't stopped thinking about it since the back alley, and now you're going to an empty home to keep going over it. How's that productive at all?"

"It's not as bad as you make it seem. Besides, Kanade will be home after school."

"At night," he replied, and to Tokio's surprised expression he said, "We know her schedule."

"Right." She sighed. "She's got an escort too."

She kept her eyes firmly planted on her feet while she walked beside him.

"Maybe it's not the best day to go, but I know a cat café nearby," he said.

She looked up in surprise, but her mood soured instantly. "Sorry, I can't," she whispered.

"Yeah, it wasn't a very sensitive idea."

"It's not that."

Aizawa stared at her quizzically and she immensely regretted having opened her mouth when she could've left it at that. She said her next words very quietly, so much that Aizawa didn't hear her and had to ask her to repeat it.

"I don't have any money," she said quickly, gripping her purse's straps tightly and refusing to look at him.

It was embarrassing beyond words to admit it to someone outside the family. Tokio had struggled to make ends meet since she began living alone with Kanade, and she'd had to resort to asking her in-laws for help before, but it wasn't something she shared with just anybody.

People who lived just fine often didn't understand that being strapped for money didn't mean not being able to afford eating out every now and then. Sometimes, it meant that a sad coffee was out of the budget if it meant having a few more spare yen to last the month, and Yuzu's vet bill had already taken the remnants of her last paycheck and then some.

And sometimes, for some people, it meant that she couldn't be a good mother. That she couldn't take care of Kanade and she either had to get a better job, or a new husband, or give her up.

Tokio had heard it all, so she wasn't looking forward to having Aizawa judge her on that front, too.

She heard him sigh and braced for the impact.

"So? My treat."

She looked up. "Eh?"

"It was my idea. I'm not going to make you pay."

That made her feel even worse. She didn't want his pity. "But you shouldn't pay for me! You're doing your job, you don't have any need to—"

"If you don't want to go you just have to say so."

"No, of course I want to go! I…" She sighed in defeat and hid her face behind her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm a disaster."

If her hands hadn't been in the way, she would have seen him smile, but she completely missed it.

"Come on. They'll make us wait longer if we don't hurry."

—

Aizawa knew each and every cat at the shop, and Tokio spied a fidelity card in his wallet that was nearly full of stamps.

She hadn't seen the man smile so much and so at peace since he'd known him.

Tokio made friends with a grey cat with a striped tail that settled on her lap and went to sleep, thus preventing her from going anywhere. It stirred every time she stopped petting its head.

Talking to Aizawa proved to be easier in the present company, too.

"I'd been wondering for a while where you were hiding a cat, to be honest," he commented.

"What do you mean?"

"You bought cat food the first day I accompanied you, but you had no cats at home."

"And you've been living with the intrigue since then?"

"Pretty much."

"You could've asked."

"It wasn't important."

Tokio smiled a little. "Do you have a cat, then? Since you like them so much."

"No," he said, trying to catch a white cat that was attempting to crawl to his shoulder. "I can't take care of one with my job. It'd have to spend too much time alone."

"It's the same reason I've never had one before… Do you live alone, then?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so," Tokio said absentmindedly. "You seem to be working all the time."

"Hero work doesn't leave much room for a personal life."

"I know." She recalled the days she'd spend home with a baby, her in-laws, and a husband that didn't have any schedules. "Sometimes I wish Kanade had chosen another career path. I know all kids want to be heroes, but nobody knows what that means until they're in too deep."

Aizawa eyed her. "Have you met a lot of pro heroes?"

"Well, yeah. My ex-bastard made it, after all."

He blinked a couple of times. "Is that your kid's dad?"

"Yes. We met at school, and I had to drop out to take care of Kanade while he finished the hero course. You know how it is for Yuuei graduates; they have no trouble finding an agency."

"Wait." There was a beat of silence. "You went to Yuuei?"

"Didn't you know?" She asked, confused. "I thought it'd be on my file, or that Principal Nedzu would've told you."

"Which course?"

"Hero course."

Aizawa's eyes narrowed as he gathered the pieces of the puzzle and put them together. "So the day you were attacked—"

"It's a good thing that some of the training stuck with me," she contemplated. "And I've tried to keep somewhat in shape, if nothing else. How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine."

"Do you turn older this year, or…?"

"Thirty in November."

She nodded to herself. "So you entered Yuuei while I should've been in third year." The fleeting thought that it was a shame they hadn't met earlier gave her pause, but not for long.

Aizawa's looked was a mix between offended at not having known this and bewildered, so Tokio couldn't let the opportunity pass. A smirk made its way to her face and she told him, "You may call me senpai."

"Keep dreaming."

A bark of laughter escaped her.

There was a moment of comfortable silence, after which Aizawa spoke again. "Excuse me for asking, but why did you drop out?"

The obvious answer was because she had been pregnant, but he hadn't asked out loud the real question. "You mean why I had Kanade, right?"

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. She'd been asked that question a million times, and at least he had tried to be tactful about it.

"Because it was what my family wanted, what he wanted, and he said when he secured a good job I could return to my studies to get my hero license. He happened to find that job overseas and left, so I couldn't."

"But you didn't want to?"

"That's beside the point now." She said, shrugging lightly. "Kanade is the best thing I have in my life."

"Of course. It was rude of me to ask."

She didn't think he was. She had come to terms with the consequences of her decisions many years ago. "You must think I'm royally dumb."

He looked confused. "Where did that come from?"

"Everybody thinks so. Someone smart wouldn't have had a kid at seventeen, or dropped out of the best school in the country, or still be serving coffees in her thirties." She said blandly.

"I think it's unfair to ask a teen to have a hindsight you only get with age."

She smiled wryly. "That isn't really an answer, but I'll take it."

"Kids do stupid things. That's to be expected." He looked a bit uncomfortable as he spoke. "It's the adults near them who have to make sure they don't mess up too badly. It sounds like the ones around you weren't doing their job."

Tokio's expression softened. It was the first time she'd been told something like that.

"You know…" She started, smiling a little, only this time it was genuine. The cat on her lap purred as she traced patterns on its forehead. "Present Mic's right. You are a surprisingly kind person."

Because even if she didn't believe he didn't judge her, he was doing his best to avoid making feel her bad, and that was more than most people had tried.

"Mic should shut up before someone makes him."

"Granted, he didn't exactly say that, but…"

He gave her a suspicious look. "What did he say?"

"Nothing bad! Well, not really."

"I'm going to have a few words with him."

"Don't be too harsh, I don't want to lose my Friday night plans."

"Don't worry. He's used to it."

—

The hours passed in the blink of an eye for Tokio. She didn't remember the last time she had spent a while with someone her age for fun. Outside of work, she only ever spent quality time with Kanade, and though she felt bad for thinking about it this way, it was good to remember sometimes that she was something other than a mom and a waitress.

"Thank you for insisting that I don't become a shut-in for the rest of the day," she said to Aizawa when they reached her block.

"Anytime," he replied easily. A part of Tokio hoped he said it sincerely. "Call me whenever you're ready to go to the vet."

"Tomorrow at the same hour?" she ventured to say.

He seemed surprised that she asked so quickly, but he accepted. "Sure. I'll pick you up."

"Thanks! See you tomorrow."

But it was only a few hours later when her phone buzzed and she found a text from Aizawa.

'They found her.'

—

It wasn't until late at night that she was able to contact Aizawa, and by then Tokio was another mug of green tea away from starting to climb the walls with her bare hands.

She lunged towards her phone as soon as it began to ring, and before Aizawa could say anything, she asked, "How is she?"

There was silence on the line, and just as Tokio wondered if the call had been cut, Aizawa replied, "I'm sorry. The police found her body today."

It was Tokio's turn to stay silent as she felt the blood drain from her face. She moved the bare minimum to pull a chair closer and drop on it.

"Are you okay?" Aizawa asked.

"Yeah," she lied. "It caught me off guard, that's all."

If Aizawa wasn't convinced, he decided not to press the issue. "If Inspector Kawamura asks, you don't know anything about this."

"Am I not supposed to?"

"We're keeping most details of the investigation secret, but I thought you should know, since you were friends with Sekiji. Her fiancé and parents have also been notified."

"Will you get in trouble for telling me?"

There was a small pause before Aizawa replied. "No. You work next to the station, so I'm sure rumors would've found their way to you anyway."

"So I didn't hear from you."

"That would be for the best."

"Got it." Not for the first time in the last few weeks, Tokio thought about how alone she felt, having no friends she could talk to about what was going on. She should have been grateful that Aizawa hadn't turned out to be the jerk she had assumed he was, but it wasn't his job to listen to the thoughts swirling in her head. And still, there were so many questions, such a tangle of negative feelings taking root inside her, that she was unwilling to let go of the only human interaction she'd get for the night before being left alone with her thoughts again. "Can I ask you something?"

"About the case?"

"Yes."

"I can't promise I'll answer."

"That's okay," she said. She hadn't expected him to. "Where was she found?"

She heard Aizawa let out a sigh on the other end of the line, no doubt wondering if he should share the info. "In the sewers, near the place where you found the earring." And after Tokio took a sharp intake of breath, he added, "Don't go wandering around there."

"I know," she said, glad for the warning, because the first thought that had crossed her mind was to go back to that backstreet and look for… she didn't know what. Nothing, she supposed. Stand on the last place her friend had been alive and reflect about how unfair everything was. "I know," she repeated. Going there would only help her feel miserable. Maybe when she went back to work, and she didn't have to go out of her way to get to the place, she could step into that alley and come to terms with what had happened. "Thank you for telling me."

"Don't. It was thanks to you that we found a lead."

Tokio was surprised to hear that, and even more surprised to realize that he was right. She smiled a bit, sadly, when she said, "I just want you to know that I appreciate everything you're doing for me."

Aizawa didn't reply to that, but then again, it was a hard line to follow up. Instead, he asked, "Just to make sure, you still want to go to the vet tomorrow?"

"Yes," she said immediately. "Yes, I can't just leave Yuzu alone." Or herself. Because not going out would mean staying at home with only her thoughts for company, and they weren't very pleasant at the moment. Aizawa and her favorite cat sounded much better.

"Alright, then. See you in a few hours."

God, was she glad for that.

"Bye."

As soon as the call ended, Tokio retreated to her bedroom, put in her earphones and lied down. She wasn't sure she would be able to sleep much that night, but the soft music in the background did make her feel a bit less alone.

—

Several days later, Yuzu still didn't want to eat. As a last resort, Tokio asked on the third day if she could try to give him the food directly, hoping that he would trust the hand that had been feeding him for years.

He seemed to respond at first, but he was so weak that he barely grazed the food before he closed his eyes again.

Undeterred, Tokio insisted, waking him up every time, and though it took her hours sitting on a very uncomfortable chair inside the clinic, Yuzu started eating little by little.

The process repeated itself every day, and Saturday morning found her arguing with the man that had stayed next to her from day one.

"Really, Aizawa, you have no need to be here," she said in a hushed tone. "Do you think some mobster is going to come into the clinic guns blazing? No one's attempted anything since that first time. You don't even know if I was actually targeted. You have better things to do than this."

"I was assigned to you, and if I left I'd be neglecting my duty."

"Is this a convoluted way of getting back at the principal by not showing up at school?"

"Maybe."

She thought that pettiness was an acceptable motive and didn't insist any longer.

That day, Yuzu had already regained some mobility, and the vet had told them that he had eaten a bit the night before.

"I think Yuzu's ready to leave," the man said.

Tokio's eyes lit up, and not only because she'd stop adding to her bill. "Really? Can I take him now?"

"Sure. Let's get him."

Tokio followed the vet, put Yuzu in his carrier and signed the release papers. But when she asked for the final bill, the man smiled and said, "Oh, it's paid in full. Your friend took care of it."

The words took a few seconds to sink inside Tokio's mind.

As soon as they did, she picked up Yuzu, said goodbye to the veterinarian and went looking for Aizawa, who had stealthily moved from his earlier spot. She found him next to the clinic's door, feigning ignorance.

"You."

"Hm?"

"You didn't have to do that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb."

"I did it because I wanted to."

"I can't pay you back."

"I don't want you to."

"That's not fair."

"Life's not fair, deal with it."

What was she supposed to say? "But… I…"

She was embarrassed, surprised and so extremely grateful that she had run out of words to express that nasty knot of feelings.

He sighed tiredly. "If it'll ease your mind, send me a picture every day to show me how he's doing."

"That's silly," she retorted immediately, "you can see him in person anytime you want."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Can I?"

Tokio realized just then what her offer meant. "Sure. Of course. Well, Kanade may be around depending on the hour, but it's the least—"

He smiled at her. "That's enough."

She smiled and held back a curt laugh. He leaned down to look at Yuzu through the bars of the carrier. "Shall we go?"

"Are you talking to me or the cat?"

"The cat, of course."

Although he insisted, Tokio didn't let him get a hold of the carrier at any point on the way home.

—

Kanade was home.

Tokio realized too late that of course she was, because it was Saturday and kids left school early.

She was fairly sure that, had Kanade been a cat, the hairs on her back would have turned to spikes the moment she laid eyes on Aizawa.

There was an extremely uncomfortable moment of silence that stretched like chewing gum and seemed to get stuck under everybody's shoes.

Tokio cut their line of sight by stepping in the middle and put the cat carrier on top of the table, right in front of Kanade. "Look at who's home!"

Kanade seemed to forget that an undesirable nuisance had stepped into her home the moment her eyes landed on Yuzu, and her entire expression lit up. "He's alright now? Can we keep him? Please, mom? Pleeease?"

Tokio smiled at her daughter, glad that the diversion had worked and that Kanade's mood had made a 180 degree turn. "Why do you think I brought him?"

With a sharp intake of breath, Kanade's grin got even bigger. "Is he okay? Can I touch him?"

Tokio started unlocking the carrier when Aizawa said, discreetly, "I'll be going."

"That's a good idea," Tokio replied quickly, and while Kanade glanced above the carrier to glare at Aizawa, she hurried to open the door and let her pet a sleepy Yuzu. "He was sedated for the trip."

Kanade nodded as she reached inside and Tokio gave Aizawa a sneaky glance and a thumbs up that he replied to with a nod before making a hasty retreat.

Tokio went to the closet to get a blanket to make a provisional bed for Yuzu and to set some water and dry food for him in the kitchen. When she came out, she found Kanade staring thoughtfully in her direction as she scratched Yuzu's head.

"Something wrong?" Tokio asked.

"Do you get along with him?" she replied, visibly startling Tokio.

"What's that all of a sudden?" She sounded way too nervous to be innocent. She had fucked up. She should have tried to hate his guts a little longer, but now she didn't and pretending she did felt bad on a visceral level. Tokio was certain this wouldn't be happening if she actually had friends and Aizawa wasn't the only adult she talked to on a daily basis.

"You look like you get along with him."

Again with the sinking feeling. Kanade didn't look upset, but she knew better, and she felt like she had done something wrong. "We have to get along," she said, taking importance off it. Because it had none. None. "Sort of. We're stuck together with no say in it."

Kanade was undeterred. "Is he nice to you?"

"I… guess he is."

Kanade looked away and nodded to herself. "Well, that's good."

Tokio officially felt like shit.

She considered telling her that he had paid for Yuzu's stay at the clinic, but she didn't want to make it seem like Kanade was in the wrong. By all accounts, she had every reason to be mad at Aizawa and think he was an asshole. If anything, it was Tokio who was in the wrong for feeling at ease in his company. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she really so lonely that she was willing to overlook that he had nearly shattered her daughter's dream?

Tokio walked behind Kanade, leaned on the back of the chair she was sitting on and petted her head the same way Kanade was petting Yuzu.

"I know the situation's weird and uncomfortable, but it'll be over soon," Tokio said, doing her best to sound positive.

"How do you know?"

"There's been progress in the case. They'll probably leave us alone soon."

"Really?" Kanade said, turning to face her mother, and her face lit up at the same time that Tokio had to make an effort to mirror her expression.

Later that day, Tokio received a text from Aizawa, and she opened it warily, in case it was related to the case, but it was something else entirely.

'Did I get you in trouble with Kanade?'

She smiled at the message and replied, 'No, everything's fine'

It was very difficult to dislike someone who was trying to do right by her day and night, so she stopped trying altogether.