Getting Closer

Spider-Man, Captain Britain, and all associated characters, are property of Marvel. My Hero Academia and all related characters are property of Kohei Horikoshi

/+/+/+/+/

"Ok," Toshinori said as he set down the suitcases in his arms. "That's the last of it."

"You'd think this were a permanent move," Gran remarked from beside him. He eyed the guestroom with disdain, "Yeesh, this is where you're having that poor woman sleep?"

"It's not that bad!" Toshinori countered. "A little…bland, maybe."

"A little?" Gran spat. "Why the hell did you paint the walls brown?"

"It came like that!"

"And you left it like that?"

"Never had guests before."

"Bah!" Gran threw his hands in the air (almost whacking Toshinori with his cane), "Well, if Midoriya complains, you better fix it." His lips dipped into a melancholic frown, "Least you could do."

"True," Toshinori replied, equally somber.

Gran clasped both hands over his cane. "…Think they're done saying goodbye?"

Toshinori grunted, calling upon One for All. Within seconds, he heard muffled sobs coming from further within his apartment. He released his powers with a sigh, "Let's give them five more minutes." Gran nodded. They stood around in silence, until Toshinori said, "You sure you want Izuku to stay with you? I might not have another bed or futon yet, but I can sleep in the office or on the couch until—"

"Don't," Gran cut him off with a wave of his hand, "Things are going crazy enough as it is. You keep your bed—you'll need it. Besides," he sighed deeply, "I'm going to need every minute I can with the kid. At least until he gets the basics down—there's only so much you can teach, after all."

"Hopefully we won't have to send him halfway around the world to learn on his own." Toshinori would always love America—what he'd learned and who he'd met—but he'd forever resent why he had to go there.

"Maybe. Have you spoken with—"

"Gran," Toshinori sighed, shoulders slumping, "Can we…not talk about that?" He was going to have a talk with his friends. But he couldn't help but feel that the minute he did, he'd be forcing them down a very familiar road.

"…Fine," Gran grunted. They stood in silence for another few minutes, until Toshinori checked on Inko and Izuku once more. He heard some sniffles, but no heartrending sobs, so he figured it was safe.

Their eyes were red-rimmed, and tear tracks were clearly marked on their cheeks, but Inko and Izuku were just smiling at each other, the former mussing with the latter's hair. Izuku noticed them first, smile dying (and didn't that just tear Toshinori's heart in two?) as he stepped away from his mother, nodding at them.

Toshinori stepped forward, taking a steadying breath as he placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder, "You'll be fine, my boy. Just listen to Gran—he doesn't look it, but there's no finer teacher in all of Japan. I wouldn't be the man I am today if not for him."

Izuku looked like he was going to start crying again. Thankfully, for Toshinori's crumbling resolve if nothing else, he instead smiled brightly, darting forward and wrapping his arms around Toshinori. Toshinori didn't hesitate to do the same.

They must have stayed like that for a long while, because Gran poked his foot with his cane. "Gotta go," he grumbled half-heartedly, jerking his head towards the front door. Toshinori nodded, reluctantly pulling away from Izuku.

The young Hero-to-be sent him a watery smile, before wrapping his mother in another, shorter, hug. He nodded at them, "I-I'll be fine. I love you—Mom!" he hastily added, blushing up to his ears (if they weren't so pressured on all sides, Toshinori would be more than happy to discuss how much he would have been okay with Izuku's original statement).

Gran was much curter. Sending Inko a smile and Toshinori a nod before leading Izuku out and closing the front door.

It wasn't until that moment that it all sunk in. For the next week or so, he and a woman (a woman that made his heart beat twice as fast) would be living together, alone, under the same roof.

Maybe he should have thought things through a bit more.

He turned to Inko, who was no doubt thinking what he was thinking, given the way her face heated up. She twiddled her thumbs, "So…"

"So…" Toshinori replied, blinking dumbly.

She looked around, "This is a…nice place."

"Thank you."

"Very…" her eyes darted around but were unable to find anything of note in the spartan space, "…clean."

"I try." They fell into silence, faces burning.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can!

"Oh, thank god," Toshinori muttered, reaching for his pocket. He nodded as Brian's name flashed across the screen—he was swapping out one awkward situation for another, but at least he knew what to do with this one. He smiled at Inko, "I've gotta take this."

"By all means!" she returned the gesture. "I'll…I'll go unpack!" she said, nodding. She left, turning on her heel and marching for her temporary room.

Toshinori watched her, only composing himself just after she rounded the corner. He really should have thought all this through.

Vowing to berate himself later, held up his phone. He sighed; into the breach he went. He answered it, "Brian, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Let me vent first," his friend said, dropping whatever semblance of joy Toshinori could muster. "Guess who's been blacklisted?" his friend said with mock cheer.

"Son of a—" Toshinori ran his free hand through his hair—just what they needed, "You too?!"

"Sort of," Brian's voice dropped to an unpleasant hum. "So, I made some calls, see if the MI: 13 could show Japan some 'support in propriety' and other such nonsense. A bunch of other nations are doing it." He chuckled, "But guess what happened when they realized that I was one of the British Isles' premier Heroes?" Toshinori groaned, dropping his head in his hands. Well, there went his last hope of getting any (legal) help from international allies.

"Well, who else is in the running?" He might be getting pushed to the fringe of Pro-Hero society, but he still wanted to be kept in the loop.

"No idea. But soon after, almost the entirety of Europe was out of the running."

"Wha—why?" The United Kingdom, Toshinori could understand (he hated it, but it made sense). But the rest of Europe?

"From what I've been told, 'Fear of untoward influence'."

"What influence?"

"America's." Well, that made sense. "Specifically, Peter's."

"Oh c'mon!"

"He has been to Germany a handful of times. And Silver Sable likes to sing his praises—you think MJ knows about that?"

"After Black Cat I don't think she cares anymore," Toshinori said dismissively.

"Fair enough. Anyway, Peter's left enough cobwebs in Europe that Japan appears to have turned down all requests from the continent. Which leaves Asia, Africa and South America."

"You mean China?" You didn't need to go too far to find another country that wanted to one-up the United States. "Either way, I'm now entirely out of the loop."

"Certainly…Sorry, Toshi. My hands are tied."

"It's fine," he sighed, "Getting your help was a longshot anyway." He wanted to end it there—stew in his own misery. But his side-stepped conversation with Gran refused to leave him alone. Licking his lips, he said, "Brian, I need to ask you something."

"Of course."

"Would it be alright if I told Inko and Izuku about you?"

"What? Why?"

Toshinori gulped, "If…If the worst should come to pass…" He trailed off.

There was a brief pause on the other line. "It won't come to that Toshi." How Toshinori wished he could have Brian's conviction. "But, yeah, by all means. Especially considering how close you three are, and all," there was a (weak) teasing lilt in his friends voice. "Except…there is Peter to consider."

"Can you ask him the same question? And might as well give David a heads-up."

"Me?"

"I'd ask myself, but it's getting late on my end and…I'm pretty drained, to be honest." Saying goodbye to Izuku took more out of him than he wanted to admit.

"Ok…yeah, I'll give him a call."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Take care of yourself, Toshi."

"You too," the Japanese Hero replied, ending the call. Toshinori resisted the urge to crush his phone in frustration, settling for running a hand down his face. Well, it would appear that it was all up to him, Gran, and Nezu. Not the best odds, but he could work with them.

He glanced at the clock. It was just after seven. He wasn't sure if Inko had eaten yet, but it was only polite to ask before he locked himself in his room with the reports Nezu had sent him.

The door was closed. Pushing down his nervousness, he knocked twice. "Inko. I was wondering if you wanted to have something to eat?"

There was a small clattering from behind the door, and Inko partially opened it not seconds later. She peeked out the opening, a sad smile on her face, "Thank you, Toshinori, but I don't have much of an appetite."

He sent her what he hoped was a confident smile. "It's no problem! I'll be just down the hall. If you need anything, please, don't hesitate to knock!"

She nodded, but said nothing else, closing the door. Toshinori let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he walked to his room.

He really should have thought all this through.

/+/+/+/+/

When Toshinori awoke the next morning, he was a little surprised to see that Inko was up, wringing her hands as she stared a little helplessly at his kitchen. He cleared his throat, and she turned around with a small yelp.

"Toshinori!" she said, "I thought about making some breakfast, but," she blushed, playing with her fringe, "…I don't know where anything is."

Toshinori chuckled, "I figured." He gestured to the fridge, "That's pretty empty, unfortunately—just milk and some juices and sodas." He walked forward, gesturing to leftmost cabinets, "I mostly stock easy-make, non-perishable kinds of foods. Cereal, oatmeal, ramen—just about the only Japanese 'meal' I stock." Inko giggled. "Yeah, I don't really eat much here. And in here," he opened the middle cabinets, "are the cutlery and such." He clicked his tongue, "Not the best amenities, I know. In hindsight, I should have bought some more food, or at least asked what you preferred." He turned to ask her what she'd prefer of his meagre offerings, only to pause at her wide-eyed stare. But she wasn't staring at his face. She was staring at his chest.

He looked down, grunting at the bit of his scar peeking out from under his shirt. He lowered his arm, clearing his throat, "Uh, sorry about that."

Inko hadn't moved, her eyes trailing his scar under his shirt. "I…I never really considered how bad it is."

Toshinori blushed, scratching his neck, "It's fine."

"It's black, Toshinori!" she admonished.

"It looks worse than it is, trust me."

She ignored him, biting her lower lip. "How are you still alive?" she whispered.

"Magic."

"I'm serious!"

"So am I," he replied, holding his hands out. As her face softened, he said, "Dr. Strange—have you heard of him?"

Inko furrowed her brow, "I think…yes, Izuku's mentioned him once or twice." She fixed him with a mock frown, "By the way, next time you pull keep Izuku from home to meet a couple of illegal visitors, I'd appreciate a heads-up."

Toshinori blushed, pulling at his collar, "Er…right. I suppose he would have told you about that."

"He did," Inko's lips curled into a soft smile, "I swear, he might have been more excited over meeting him and Spider-Man than the Sports Festival." Toshinori chuckled—he wasn't able to be with them during the rest of the Sports Festival, but he could believe it. Unfortunately, recalling the festival brought the following events to the front of his mind. To Inko's mind too, given her melancholy sigh. She shook her head, a polite smile on her face, "So…Dr. Strange is some sort of wizard?"

"He's the Sorcerer Supreme," Toshinori corrected her. He had to take a moment to remember why they were talking about him. "The wizard, as it were. Anyway, after my," his throat clenched, "my last battle with All for One I was in a…bad shape." He pressed a hand against the center of his scar, "I lost…at least half a lung, most of my digestive track, and all my ribs." Inko gasped, cupping her mouth with both hands. "I…I don't doubt that I wouldn't have been healed—Recovery Girl, at least, wouldn't have let me die. But," he smiled, "Gran went a step further. He called—" he caught himself—Peter hadn't given his permission yet, "…Some close friends, to see if they knew anyone that could heal me."

"And one of them knew Dr. Strange?"

"Along with another American Hero. An X-Man called Elixir—who I doubt even Izuku would know."

"Don't say that," Inko giggled, "He just might surprise you."

"True," Toshinori smiled back at her. He tore his eyes away from her smile, frowning at his scar, "It was…rough, even with their impressive healing abilities. My own Quirk fought against them."

"How do you mean?"

"By all accounts, I should have died that day," he said, grave, but sincere. "But One for All…it does more than just make you stronger." Inko nodded. "Somehow, someway, it was keeping my alive. Forcing my heart to keep beating, despite the fact that my chest was little more than a bloody tunnel. And then, Dr. Strange and Elixir come in, and regrew my destroyed body parts."

"People can do that?!"

"Not normally," Toshinori shrugged, "I'm pretty sure Elixir's powers aren't potent enough to do that much. But Dr. Strange certainly could. Especially when he owes someone a favor."

"You?"

"A friend," Toshinori said, lips spreading into a smile. Peter always did get himself in the oddest situations. And came out with the strangest rewards. "Anyway, they did their job, but something…happened." He frowned, "I'm still not sure why, but One for All…panicked, for lack of a better word."

"What do you mean?"

Toshinori shrugged, "My organs and bones were regrown wholesale. That might've…worried it, I suppose."

"You make it sound as though its alive."

"Ah, nothing like that," Toshinori smirked, "It's just instinct, you know? One minute I was more hole than man, the next, a wizard and a mutant basically turned back the clock and made so my injury never happened."

"Well," Inko hummed, "I guess that'd be weird."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the fix either of them thought it would be."

Inko hummed, "Your pills?"

Toshinori nodded, "Activating my Quirk…reminds it, I suppose, of what happened. And it starts attacking my regrown body parts."

"Like an overactive immune system."

"Almost exactly," Toshinori nodded. He looked down at his hands, "My medicine suppresses the violent response, but if I don't keep on it," he clenched his fists, "it's a fight to summon even the smallest bit of strength." They stood in silence, eventually broken by Toshinori's chuckles.

"What's so funny?" Inko asked.

"Oh," Toshinori leaned against the counter, "it's just…I haven't even told Izuku the full extent of my injuries and recovery. I don't think I've even been this honest with Gran."

"Oh," Inko blinked, cheeks coloring a bit. "Well…thank you"

"You're welcome," he smiled at her, and she smiled back. Until her stomach grumbled; then, she was blushing for a completely different reason.

Toshinori held back a laugh, "So, what would you like? Cereal, oatmeal? I really need to get something more substantial—rice and eggs, at least," he grumbled to himself.

"Do you have any vanilla or cinnamon?"

"Uh…maybe." He set down a couple bowls, moving towards his meagre spice-rack "Why?"

Inko shrugged, reaching into the 'food cabinet' and taking out the oatmeal. "It's something I had sometimes when I went to university. Oatmeal with a little cinnamon or vanilla." She sighed, "It'll do until I can get my hands on some proper foodstuffs."

"Oatmeal's a fine food!"

"Barely."

/+/+/+/+/

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spi—

"Peter!" Toshinori cheerfully answered the phone.

"Hey Toshi!" came Peter's rushed reply. "Listen I'm running late on a…dozen things—Mayday put that down! Your mom will kill me if I let you blow up the apartment again—so I'm gonna make this quick. First, Jackal's not in New York. But I don't think he's in Japan either. From what I could tell, he's gone underground."

Toshinori furrowed his brow, "Wouldn't he need to maintain whatever cloning facilities he created for All for One?"

"Nah," Peter replied. "Jackal likes to automatize his facilities. Once he gets the actual machines running, the only thing left to do is tinker with the DNA of his victims. And something tells me All for One doesn't need any pointers on that. That Nomu thing was probably a proof-of-concept before he went for bigger projects." That…Toshinori wasn't sure if that was true or not. He couldn't imagine that All for One actually cared about the intricacies of his Quirk. From what he knew of the man, he only cared about results. How quickly he could achieve his goals, and how much damage he could cause doing them.

But Jackal's work ethic did raise a chilling though. "So…All for One's probably already cloned himself, then?" Dear god he hoped not. Toshinori's only chance was to catch All for One off guard and burn everything to the ground. He wasn't a fool—if All for One managed to erase whatever damage Toshinori caused to him all those years ago, he wouldn't stand a chance. To say nothing of Izuku, who, while stronger, was even less prepared for All for One than Toshinori was.

"Doubt it," Peter replied, cutting off Toshinori's spiral into despair. "Don't know if you're aware, but Quirks are tough to clone."

Toshinori blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Whatever triggers the Quirk gene isn't easily simulated in an artificial environment. I still have to look into it, but I'm pretty sure that Nomu thing only gets a pass because it's DNA was already jacked up to hell. It's believed that there needs to be a certain range of background radiation within the womb while a fetus gestates to activate a Quirk gene, and depending on the mutation, may not manifest until four years later. The X-gene works in much the same way, but the necessary amount of background radiation can also be received after the child is born and can take at least a decade to trigger in some cases."

"…How do you know all this?"

"I'm a nerd."

"That's fair," Toshinori chuckled.

"Damn straight. Oh, and about the Midoriyas. You trust them?"

Toshinori didn't have to think of his answer. "I do."

"Cool—I mean, it figures. You're living together with a son, after all."

Toshinori blushed deep enough to feel steam coming out of his ears. "I-It's not like—"

"Whatever," Peter cut him off. "But listen to me, Toshi. History's not going to repeat itse—"

"I've gotta go Peter," Toshinori none-too-subtly cut his friend off, "Nice talking with you."

"Yeah, same he—Mayday, what did I sa—" there was a muffled 'boom' just before the call ended. Toshinori chuckled, putting the phone away. Well, that was one load off his shoulders. Now he just had to figure out how to broach the topic of his friends to Inko.

/+/+/+/+/

Toshinori had fallen into a routine over the next few days Inko stayed at his apartment—after a quick trip to the market to get what she'd deemed 'appropriate' food. He'd wake up very early in the morning to go out on patrol (one of the only times he could go out without being harassed by the public) and return just in time for Inko to wake up and make breakfast. They'd share that meal, and then they'd lock themselves in their rooms until lunch. Following that, if Toshinori wasn't drained from trying to detangle All for One's veritable swamp of connections and false leads, after eating dinner (and speaking with Izuku and Gran to catch up) he'd go out for a late-night patrol, before crawling into bed.

Aside from their meals and the calls to Izuku, they didn't spend all that much time together. Which couldn't stand. Toshinori knew he needed to do more. Inko deserved it. So, he forced himself to take a break from detangling All for One's trail (and from cursing himself a fool for not burning the bastard's corpse himself and flushing the ashes down the drain) and sought out Inko.

It was about an hour before they normally had lunch, so he figured they'd have time to talk and…stuff. He hoped he was managing to keep a straight face, because his heart was beating a mile a minute.

He knocked on the door, "Inko, are you busy?"

She answered the door in seconds, "No, what? Is something wrong?"

Toshinori stared at her—she had her hair up in a bun and was wearing a loose blue shirt. He gulped, "Ah, I just have some free time and was wondering if you'd, uh, like some company."

She blinked, "Oh! Thank you, Toshi. But I've got my own work—I don't want to bore you."

"I don't mind!" Toshinori blurted out. He blushed in time with her, "I mean, it's fine. I just…" he trailed off, ears burning.

Inko's blush receded a bit, and she averted her gaze, playing with the hem of her shirt. "Well…it is your apartment…"

At her hesitant voice, Toshinori sobered up instantly—even as his heart plummeted. "Inko. If you don't want me around—"

"I didn't say that!" she cried, eyes wide and arms flailing—it was nice to see where Izuku got his quirks from. She stepped to the side, "Please…come in…"

When he did so, his eyes widened at the large mess of papers strewn about her bed, her laptop in the middle of the only clear space. He peered at them, "Is that…French?"

Inko nodded, "I translate manuals—in and out-going from Japan."

"Anything other than French?"

"Japanese, obviously. English—one of the few things I've been able to help Izuku with over the years," she tried to smile, but there was a despairing tinge to her voice. Before Toshinori could refute her statement—there was no way Izuku would have turned out the way he had if not for her—she continued, "and there's some Mandarin, Russian and German stuff sprinkled in."

"Russian?" Toshinori couldn't help but blurt out.

"Udivlonny?"

Toshinori chuckled, "Sorry, the only Russian I know is 'umere svim'wa'."

Inko giggled, "I think you meant to say, 'umeret' svin'ya'."

"Sure. What's it mean?"

She giggled once more, "Die pig."

"Really? Man," he crossed his arms, "and here I thought it was something cool." Inko giggled, and Toshinori managed to keep himself floating away at the sound. "So," he crossed his arms, "why such an eclectic mix of languages?"

Inko sighed, growing wistful, "Well, I always had an easy time learning other languages. When I was younger, I wanted to travel the world—I figured knowing as many languages as possible would help with that."

"Did you?" Maybe, Toshinori thought, they'd been in America at the same time, just a turn of the head away from meeting one another. Toshinori dismissed the notion within seconds—even if they'd, somehow, met, he wouldn't have been able to give a her the attention she deserved.

"That was the plan." Her wistful smile wider, "It's why I fell in love with Hiashi." She blinked, a blush blooming to life on her features, "Er…"

"It's fine," Toshinori said, "I know so little about him, but if you don't want to talk about him, I don't mind." He really would like to know more about him—if only to figure out why he didn't stay when he had Inko and Izuku in his life.

"Well," Inko sat down on the bed, "we met during a French language course at the University of Tokyo. Then again at a German course. And a Mandarin course."

"And a Russian one?"

"No. He took Spanish—the coward." She sighed, leaning back against the headboard. "The two of us…we just clicked. We both wanted to travel, both liked to learn foreign languages, and there was something appealing about doing it with someone you liked—later loved."

"…That does sound nice." It wasn't until he'd grown close to Izuku—and later Inko—that he wondered if he'd been missing something like that in his life.

"We got married almost immediately after we graduated. We managed to wriggle our way into getting jobs with Mitsubishi and were on a fast track to getting ourselves sent all over the world on the company's time and money, eventually settling down somewhere else—anywhere else." Inko closed her eyes, no doubt basking the memories of her young, newlywed life.

Toshinori hated having to drag her out of it. "…What changed?"

Inko slowly opened her eyes, and she sent Toshinori a knowing smile, "What do you think? I got pregnant."

Toshinori's throat tightened, "Did…Did Hiashi not wa—"

"No!" Inko shouted. As Toshinori jerked back, she cleared her throat, "No. Hiashi wanted children just as much as I did. But it wasn't until after we confirmed that we were having a baby that we found out we didn't agree on how to raise them."

"How do you mean?"

Inko hummed, clasping her hands over her lap. "I'll admit it, I put my dream on hold—eventually doing away with it entirely. I didn't want to raise a baby while travelling everywhere—or worse, leave them behind to grow up without me. Hiashi agreed with that—he didn't think it would be all that healthy either. But he wanted to compromise by us skipping ahead a few steps—moving to another country as soon as possible. I didn't want that."

"Why not?"

"Honestly?" Inko bit her bottom lip, "I was…afraid. Moving to another country wholesale would have been tough enough; learning the culture, adapting to the differences. Raising a baby on top of that? I didn't think I could handle that—I didn't want to risk damaging my child somehow." She scoffed, "Pathetic, right?"

"I don't think so. You wanted what was best for your child—the same as all loving mothers."

She smiled at him, making his heart flutter. "…Anyway, Hiashi and I argued about it. He kept on bringing up our promises to each other, and I told him that none of that should matter in the face of our child's wellbeing." She gulped, looking down at her hands, "He agreed with me, in the end. But he wasn't happy. He didn't get angry or anything—I wasn't worried about that. But he was just so…sad. It tore my heart in two to see him like that. So, I told Hiashi that he, at least, could live out our dream." She smiled once more, "And for a while, I thought we could make it work."

"…What happened?"

"Hiashi," Inko's lips thinned into a line, "he'd get…stir-crazy. Even after Izuku was born, he'd be looking forward for the next trip—the next experience. But he'd…he'd stay with us anyway." She shook her head, "He'd force himself to be with us, really. He couldn't hide it, no matter how much he wanted to. I guess that's when the spark really died between us." She shrugged, "I could have dealt with it, but," she teared-up, voice cracking, "I was…I was worried that he'd end up resenting Izuku. Even subconsciously." She started to shudder, and Toshinori moved over to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. "So, when he was given an offer to move to Canada, I told him to take it…We divorced a year later."

Toshinori bit his lip, reaching over and grabbing a box of tissues. He waited until she cleaned up a little before, somewhat lamely, he could admit, saying, "Sorry for making you dredge that up."

"It's fine," Inko replied, wiping her eyes, "It's an old part of my life."

He gulped, "Does…Does Izuku know about this?"

"Yes," Inko said. She looked like she was going to cry again, "The last time Hiashi talked to Izuku, it was to make sure he knew that his being Quirkless wasn't the reason he left."

Toshinori clenched his fists, "And he didn't think to come back?"

"We talked about it," Inko said with a slow nod, "But…we were hesitant to try and make things work again…I should have pushed harder for it." Both of them should have, Toshinori thought. But though he felt no small amount of frustration towards Hiashi, he couldn't drum up the same for Inko. The benefit of bias, he supposed.

He turned away, looking down at his hands. Inko had opened up to him, it was only fair that he opened up to her. He stood up, "If you're not going to be busy, after lunch, do you think we can sit together in the main room?"

Inko tilted her head, "Uh…sure."

"Alright." Toshinori sent her his best smile—not the wide, toothy grin he gave to the public, "Thanks for opening up to me."

"Thanks for being open for me to open up to," Inko smiled back.

/+/+/+/+/

Lunch was a somewhat subdued affair. Inko, it seemed, was still stuck in the mire of her memories. So much so that Toshinori was worried that she might decline his invitation. But after he put the dishes away, she just made her way to the couch, staring at the high-tech box at the coffee table.

He cleared his throat, sitting down next to her, "This was a gift from Tony Stark—a way to keep all my important, or incriminating, things safe." He leaned over, pressing a button on the side and saying "Octa".

"Eight?" Inko arched a brow as the box hissed open. "What does—oh, I get it."

Toshinori shrugged, "Keep it simple, you know?" He reached into the box. The first few items were photographs of him, Izuku, and Inko (either alone or all together). Inko grabbed the one they'd taken of Izuku, after he delivered Izuku's U.A. acceptance letter. She laughed at his tear-stained smile, "I thought he was going to pass out—either from sheer joy or dehydration."

"You weren't far behind on that front."

"What can I say," Inko shrugged, "we're criers."

Toshinori chuckled, sifting through the box, "…Ah, here we are!" He took out two photos—one carefully hidden behind the other. He smiled at the photo of him, Peter, Brian, and David, arms around each other, standing in front of the Captain America section of New York's Museum of Natural History. It was a good day—crime was relatively low, there weren't any sort of crises on the horizon, no exams or projects to turn in. Just an easy, lazy day with his friends.

He missed those times.

"Hm…" Inko leaned closer to the photo, "Well, I recognize you, and David." She tilted her head, "And…are those your other roommates from America? Er…Brian and Peter?"

"Yeah," he nodded. He pointed to his fellow blonde, "That's Brian," and the other brunette, "and that's Peter."

"They look nice," Inko said.

"They're the best."

"Back in America," Inko began, lips curled into a pensive frown, "you were, technically, a Vigilante, right?"

Toshinori arched a brow; Inko was fairly neutral on Vigilantes, and like most of Japan (until recently) liked to ignore his 'checkered past'. "That's right," he said.

"This would have been…just after Nana died, right?"

"…Yeah." Toshinori reached deeper into the box. He pulled out one of the few photographs he had of him and Nana together—the day he received his first Hero uniform. Gran was there as well, but he refused to be photographed with, what he called, 'a pathetic attempt at cultural appropriation' (didn't stop him from ruffling Toshinori's hair with a fond grin).

Inko stared down at the picture, eyes beginning to well up with tears, "Oh…she looks so proud of you."

Back then, Toshinori thought the same. But after spending so much time with Izuku, he couldn't help but wonder how much of Nana's affection was her displacing her love for her son onto him (something that made him sick to think about but had nonetheless forced itself into his mind more often than not). He pushed the thought aside, like so many others of her and their past, smiling as he said, "It was the first big step towards me becoming a Hero in my own right." He traced a finger along the edge of the photo—Nana died two months after that day.

He shook his head before he could get lost in past sorrow—he didn't take this box out to cry over old wounds. He held the picture of his friends back up, "You know, speaking of Vigilantes." He put Nana's photo on the table, reaching into the box, and pulling out a Daily Bugle clipping of him, Captain Britain, and Spider-Man battling the Circus of Crime.

Inko quirked a brow at the colorful Villains. "Um…who are they?"

"They call themselves the Circus of Crime."

Inko failed to hide a giggle behind her hand, "What?"

"Alliteration—Westerners adore that kind of thing." He held the picture up, "Anyway, Spider-Man and Captain Britain count among my closest allies." His lips spread into a wide smile, "Fighting alongside those two, I felt like I could handle anything the world could throw my way."

"So…they're good people?"

"The best," Toshinori declared. "I trust them with my life…And," he gulped, "I'd trust them with your and Izuku's lives."

Inko reared back, eyes widening, "W-What are you saying?"

"I know I promised that I would live, but I…I'm afraid that I might not be able to live up to that promise." Inko sniffed, leaning forward and pressing a hand against his arm. "So, I reached out to these men—the closest things I have to brothers—and asked if they'd be willing to help you should things take a turn for the worse." He tried to plaster a smile on his face, "And they've agreed!"

"Toshinori," Inko set her face into a frown, "I…I don't think—"

"Please," he cut her off, voice cracking, "Inko I…Every day, it seems as if history is going to repeat itself. But I'm in a much different place than Nana was all those years ago. Gran and I had to scramble to find a way to keep me safe—I don't want you and Izuku to have to deal with that." Inko didn't say anything, but he could see the fear in her eyes. He turned away before he could lose his nerve. "To that end, it's only fair that I tell you who Spider-Man and Captain Britain actually are."

That chased the fear out of Inko's eyes, bewilderment taking its place. "Is…Is that allowed?"

"Well, Captain Britain is a government agent, so technically dozens upon hundreds of people already have access to that information. Spider-Man's still pretty guarded about his civilian life, but he gave me the okay."

Inko blinked, "Uh…why?"

Toshinori blushed a little, remembering Peter's and Brian's remarks, but said, "They understands how much it means to me."

Inko was silent, staring back at the picture. Finally, she nodded, "Alright then, who are they?"

Toshinori smirked, bringing back the photograph of him, Peter, Brian, and David. He pointed to Brian, "Captain Britain," to Peter, "Spider-Man."

Inko froze, eyes widening and darting back-and-forth between the two pictures. "Wha—Well, I should have guessed with the hair, I suppose. How did I not see that?" She narrowed her eyes at Toshinori, "How did people not tell who you were?"

Toshinori chuckled, calling upon One for All and, in perfect English, said, "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." He shrank back down as Inko giggled. "Brian did nothing though—he always said he changed his accent but none of us believed him. But he's also magic, so that probably helped him out. Until the answer stared you in the face, at least."

"Magic," Inko deadpanned.

"It has its uses."

She shook her head, "Does David moonlight in tights as well?"

"No, he's normal. Mostly." He shrugged, "David helps Peter out with his gear and such."

"Well," she sighed, "don't take this the wrong way, but I hope I don't have to meet them until All for One is dealt with."

"Yeah," Toshinori nodded, staring down at his past, carefree self, "me too,"

/+/+/+/+/

A/N: This was supposed to be one chapter, until it wasn't. Be sure to leave a review. Later.