'Oh dear, this has been quite the day' Inko thought to herself as her gaze went from the blond teen girl, currently digging into the Katsudon dish she made, to the winged pro hero whos also eating as if he hasn't eaten in days... which doesn't seem too far-fetched now that she looked at the two and their thin states. Although you can't tell from a single glance, the more you observe the two and their figure, you can tell that they barely have much meat to them. The pro hero seems to hide his state with his jacket but with it off, it becomes more obvious.
'Goodness me, these kids need to eat more' she further thought as concern took over her face. She knew the hero was an adult but he was much younger than her, making him but a child in her eyes.
"Woah, this is really good Inko-san!" The teen girl said with a wide smile as she continued to happily eat her food. "She's right ma'am, thank you for the food and I'm really sorry for the extra trouble," the man said looking up while sheepishly rubbing his head with his hand. She just watched on with fondness, reminded of her late son's sheepish smile that he would aim her way whenever he'd also get food on his face...
You might be wondering how it came to this? Well, it turns out that while on her way back home from visiting the Bakugou's for dinner (they've been having dinner together more often since their last conversation) she paused as she came across an alleyway that had suspicious noises coming from its direction. She knew investigating was a bad idea after all curiosity killed the cat. It could have been some thugs or a couple that wanted to spend some time together in private...
But for some reason, her body told her that she should go in that direction. So as much as her brain was telling her not to, she listened to her body.
She pulled out her phone just in case it was in fact something bad. Which she soon found out was the right thing to do once she came nearer and saw a small figure holding a knife to a middle-aged man's neck.
She was about to immediately dial 110 (the police number in Japan if you didn't know) when she suddenly spotted the attacker's face. She was taken aback noticing that they were only a young girl that looks to be around her son's age, probably older. She hesitated. She knew that it was stupid for her to let this time go to waste knowing that the girl could most likely kill the man any second now. She knows that their age shouldn't matter, they're still attempting murder.
But even though she was aware of those facts, she still put her phone down.
"W-wait!" she yelled out, gaining the attention of both people. The man looked shocked meanwhile the girl frowned. She was about to just end his life right there but Inko yelled out again "Look, you don't have to do this, p-please let him go and I won't call the police" the teen-only continued to stare at her with a blank face while the man turned to her with a stupefied expression, wondering what she thinks she's doing.
"How about me and you talk, just us, I won't do anything to hurt you... p-please" Inko ended with a pleading look, eyes darting from her to the knife she's holding.
The air was tense, all 3 figures only staring at one another. After a minute went by, Inko began to pale when she started to have doubts thinking that maybe this was a bad idea (she knew it was a bad idea but her son's recklessness rubbed off on her)
Then finally, surprisingly too, the blond girl leaned her knife away from the man's throat, distancing herself from him. The wide-eyed man froze for a second, before finally deciding to scurry off from the scene. The girl didn't mind and only let her eyes stay on the green-haired woman.
Inko was taken aback at the fact that she listened, before steeling herself to approach her.
Before she could take another step closer, however, red flashed in front of her, and none other than the number 3 hero was there. She could slightly see the blond teen tense at the entrance of a pro-hero, getting ready to defend herself if needed.
"Hate to interrupt, but I can't just have you go free after the number of stunts you've been pulling this past week" the winged hero smiled, although it didn't reach his eyes.
"The police have been getting a lot of reports about a teen girl supposedly assaulting people with a knife. It's obvious as to who that might be now" he casually said as he eyed the girl. "Now, it's best we do this the easy way with you handing yourself in-" "N-NO" Inko interrupted.
Two pairs of eyes turned to her, making her sweat but she continued "S- she's only a teen, maybe we can settle this differently? I understand that what she did is horrible- and very much illegal- but maybe we can learn more about the situation by handling this in a more tame environment? I- I'm sure we can figure out something that would get her in less trouble?"
He sighed, "ma'am do you know this girl? You must set your personal feelings aside because what she did is a crime that has consequences"
"Actually I don't know her" His eyes widened a bit at this "but she's so young, you can't expect her to just one day decide to go around threatening people with a knife, I'm sure she has her own reasons... although that doesn't justify her actions, I believe there's still time some hope in maybe changing her," she said looking down, knowing that her reasoning isn't the best but her mother-instincts tells her that she should help the girl.
The girl in question only continued to stare at the two, eyes curious.
Inko expected to be brushed off by the pro hero but was pleasantly surprised when all he did was sigh and nod. "I was only supposed to be passing by the area, but I guess I won't mind accompanying the two of you during your talk. Although if I see no changes or any signs of her being a threat, then I will take her to the police station. You have one chance" his eyes were stern although softened once Inko processed his words and gave one of the brightest smiles he has ever seen.
Her eyes were wide with tears, as she thanked the hero. Said hero panicked at her sudden tears which only made her laugh at his expression.
It was a weird sight to the girl who stood aside, watching the two interact. She watched as the short woman smiled widely up at the hero with small tears in the corner of her eyes, as the hero looked to be worried yet confused at the reaction.
She stood there thinking to herself, before finally looking as if she has decided on something and started walking towards the duo.
This gained their attention back on the teen, as they looked towards her face which was split into an unnerving smile, making the hero eye her with wary. Inko, however only brightened at seeing the expression on the child, not noticing anything amiss.
"Let's just walk to my house to further talk, don't worry, it's not far," she said smiling softly at the blond girl before looking towards the no. 3 hero, who only nodded with a small smile.
It was silent as they walked out the alleyway. They made a strange scene, a green-haired woman alongside the number 3 hero and a blond teen who's still holding a knife. Although they gained strange looks and even a few fans that came up to the pro hero, because of the fact that it was getting late, past noon, there were fewer people wandering about.
Inko was nervous. She didn't know what she was supposed to talk about with the girl, it was stupid of her to think that maybe she could change her somehow. Not only that but she somehow dragged in the pro hero Hawks. She remembers how much her son admired the hero, not nearly as much as All Might of course but he definitely looked up to him a lot. Because of how much she listened to her son's rants about all kinds of heroes, she knows basic information on Hawks.
She frowned a bit as she remember one time when Izuku was angrily ranting about the hero commission
'they practically act as if Hawks is their slave, it's obvious that he's been groomed by the hero commission and most likely not given a normal childhood! Mom, in one of the live interviews that I was watching he said he NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL!? He didn't attend even any hero schools and yet he is the youngest pro hero to ever be in the top 10 at FLIPPING 18 YEARS OLD! That's suspicious mom- wait why are you laughing!? Mom...' Izuku groaned as Inko continued to chuckle at the amount of passion in his voice when talking about this topic.
The memory made her slow down in her walking for a split second before she continued to her original pace. She didn't notice the way that the other two noticed the way her face contorted into a grimace.
She decided to start up a conversation to distract herself.
"Oh, I completely forgot to do introductions!" she said gathering the attention of the two "My name is Inko Midoriya, it's a pleasure to meet the two of you," she said smiling kindly to the two walking by her left and right.
The teen smiled, fangs showing "My name is Toga, Toga Himiko!"
"You probably already know this but my name is Hawks," The man said with a friendly smile.
"Well it's nice to meet the two of you officially," Inko said before a thought came to her which led to her hesitantly glancing at the two. She wasn't subtle, "What's the matter Midoriya-san?" Toga asked cocking her head to the side curiously.
"I-I've been wondering, well, why did the two of you decide to listen to me? You don't know me or anything a-and I never took myself to be the convincing type" she chuckled awkwardly. "I was just curious is all" she added at the end.
"You reminded me of one of my friends," Toga said with a straight face while looking her straight in the eyes. Hawks only listened in, not giving any visible sign of interest. "You had the same look in your eyes when she tried to change me too, she was really nice."
This surprised Inko "Oh, I bet she was, I'd love to meet this girl-" "She's dead"
It was silent for a moment
"She got pushed down the stairs at school which broke her neck when I was 9 because she was quirkless. People bullied her a lot," she said simply as if talking about the weather. Smile still on her face although her eyes held a tint of sadness. "She was really nice though, she always saw the best in everyone. Kind of like how you were when you were trying to stop me from stabbing that man! You both are really alike, so I was super curious about you!" she turned to Inko, walking backward. She flashed her a grin before turning back, humming to herself.
Inko's eyes were wide with surprise, but she caught her composure, stammering as she replied "oh- I- well- my son is quirkless too" she said the first thing that came to mind.
This earned the energetic teen's attention again, including the still quiet hero beside her. "H- he died too... was bullied a lot and I guess it got too much." she paused as she turned to look at the girl straight in the eyes "just know that I- I get it, as annoying as it may sound... although i-if you need a hand then I won't mind offering any help... I know it must hurt a lot whenever somebody close to you dies" she smiled sadly
The other girl's grin faltered a bit. She looked down as she walked, which confused Inko.
"You really are just like her miss... with how kind you are, it might just get you killed one-day" Inko's eyebrows shot up in surprise
"The kids right you know, what you did back there was stupid. Now you're offering help to someone who's practically a stranger to you" Hawks finally spoke up, eyes sharp as he stared at the green-haired woman. "Although kindness is a good trait to have, it's also a huge drawback when faced with many dangers in life"
Toga didn't say anything but nod. Eyes staring forward into nowhere in particular.
Inko wasn't as fazed as she thought she would be, which was surprising. When it comes to things concerning her, she never really worried as much. Especially after losing Izuku.
She still smiled at the two though, which earned something close to surprise flicker in the man's eyes.
"Thanks for the concern but I've been told that before" many times by friends, her husband and even son "...but I'd rather be known as an idiot or even naive if it meant that I could offer help to somebody who never got that privilege. To give someone who never received a chance... a chance to be saved." she grimaced at the end "I'm no hero- nor did I ever wish to become one" she stated quickly after "but I knew a child who wasn't offered a chance. And let's just say that that I rather they did not end up like him. A single show of kindness can mean a lot to a person you know" she stated softly, surprisingly not stuttering once.
Something akin to respect flashed in the man's eyes as he stared back into her emerald-colored pupils. He nodded once he spotted what he was looking for.
her attention was brought back to the kid beside her when she felt a tug on her sleeve. Looking towards Toga- who was much closer now- she noticed that her eyes were wide with stars. Mouth forged into a wide childish smile.
"I like you a lot already lady" Inko only blinked before returning the statement with an awkward smile.
"I- Thank you?- uhm you two can call me Inko by the way" she received another smile, twice as bright as the previous. Hawks only nodded with a smile on his lips.
Back to the present:
Inko made sure to have her guests be comfortable before going ahead to make dinner for them all. It was a bit earlier than she'd usually make dinner but she was sure the other two were starving. Hawks tried to refuse the offer but was shut down by Inko every time. Toga on the other hand was more than happy to be offered free lunch.
She decided to make Katsudon for dinner which she only makes on special occasions. It's in honor of her son who she's constantly reminded of, day in and day out. Inko only ate in silence, as she smiled at the two who were going into their food with gusto.
When they finally finished eating, everything put aside in the sink, they all ended up sitting in the living room with Toga and Inko sitting on one couch while hawks sat on the other. It was difficult for him because of his wings, but he made do with it.
"So, Himiko-" "You can call me Toga!" "A-alright, Toga-chan, can you spread some light on why you were about to slit that mans t-throat?" Inko asked as she curiously- although a bit nervously- eyed the teenager next to her. Toga was holding on to her arm as she swayed a bit in her seat.
"I wanted his blood," she said simply as if that explained everything. Which it did not.
"B-but why?"
She hummed "well, my quirk is a blood-based one where I have to drink somebody's blood in order to like, transform into them"
"Okay" Inko dragged in the y "but then why were you trying to have his blood in particular?"
"Uhm- it's sorta just how I am. I get this thirst for blood a lot, been happening to me ever since I was a kid so it caused a lot of problems down the road I guess"
"Oh, is there a reason why you chose to specifically target him?" she asked genuinely curious
"Well, I usually only go for those that I think to deserve it you know"
"So you thought he deserved it...?" Inko quirked a brow while Hawks was off to the side, intently listening to the conversation.
"Yeah! Basically" she giggled
"... Why?"
"Well, I was walking by, just a normal day right? Before I was pulled into the alleyway by that strange man, he was trying to touch me I guess but I didn't let him do that and instead pulled out my knife that I carry around everywhere!" She smiled as she brought out her knife to show them. She didn't see anything wrong with what she just said, not noticing the dawning horror on Inko's face or the way that Hawks's jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing.
"T-Toga-chan, that's not okay... oh my god- a-are you alright!?" Inko said as her hands clasped the girl's shoulders, her eyes darting around her body, eyes stinging.
She only giggled again "Of course I am, you made really good food for me after all!"
"No- no I meant after he tried to touch you!"
Her face just went blank "Oh, well yeah I'm fine, he didn't get to do anything since I pulled out my knife in time, plus it's not the first time I had to fight off creeps like that"
"W-what? Not the first time!? Oh, honey- t-that's not a good thing" Inko said as she pulled the girl into a hug, fat tears falling from her eyes. Hawks was still, eyes narrowed with hidden anger. His fists were clenched before he decided to speak up.
"Well" he started, interrupting Inko from her crying "I believe that clears up this incident... if what you said is true then I doubt you'll be punished, after all, you would have acted in self-defense," he said, voice carefully steady.
Inko squeezed Toga's hand in comfort, although Toga didn't really need it she still leaned a bit onto the other woman's shoulder.
"You'll have to make a statement about all the other incidents too though, hopefully, you'll only get a bad record and maybe a warning after all the stuff you've been involved in so far. I know a cop that can help confirm your statement in case what you said was true or false" although he knew she was telling the truth, he was very observant and knew that she gave off nothing but the truth "you'll have to stay at the station for a few days and then we'll call your parents-" "NO!"
Both Hawks and Inko (who stopped crying, eyes rimmed red as she held the teen's pale hand) flinched at the sudden noise coming from the so far calm but energetic girl. They didn't expect her to snap so suddenly, her face now dawned with fear.
"I don't want to go back- I'm not going back," she said, voice stern as she narrowed her eyes at the hero.
"Might I ask why?" hawks decided to say
"Because they hate me," she says simply "They hate me and I hate them too. I don't want to go back to them, I'll rather be put into a foster care," she says which surprises Inko at how much venom was in her voice near the end of her sentence. "So don't call them"
Hawks remained staring back at the young girl, face carefully blank before finally sighing in defeat. "Fine, I'll work something out with Tsukauchi" Inko perked up at the familiar name.
"Ah, yes I remember him! He's a great man" Inko said, smiling back on her face. Surprise took over the winged hero's expression.
"You've met him before?"
"yeah, we worked together for a while a few months back, on a case against a certain school"
"Wait- are you saying you're the same woman who managed to gather enough evidence to get that one middle school taken down? That was all over the news a while back," he said genuinely surprised at the reveal. Toga listened in with interest.
"ha, well I had a few connections is all, but enough of that, why don't we settle everything with the police tomorrow? It's getting late and I believe it would be best for you two to stay here for the night" She said, hoping for them to say yes.
"I don't know- I'm still a pro hero after all" "YES! I'd love to stay with Inko-san!" Toga interrupted, practically vibrating in her seat. "Well, then I have two spare rooms, Toga you can take my sons room, I already packed all his items away in his closet so you won't have to worry about a bunch of hero merch watching your every move" she chuckled to herself when reminded of her sons All Might obsession "Hawks you can stay in the other spare room, just down the hall"
"But- I didn't say yes-"
"How about snacks kids? I have pocky, chocolate cookies, some ice cream mochi in the fridge-"
"OH, what flavors of mochi do you have?" Toga chimed in
Hawks was confused and offended "Ma'am- I'll have you know I am in my early twenties!-"
"Well you see, I have chocolate, strawberry, banana-"
"Guys-"
"Woah that's a lot!" Toga said in awe
"Listen-"
"Oh yeah, I think there was also pineapple in there-"
"ARE YOU TWO IGNORING ME!?" Hawks lost his usual calm composure, not used to people not paying him any attention unless it was one of his especially strict teachers back when training under the hero commission. Ever since he showed the potential of becoming a successful hero, the attention on him became a reoccurring thing in his life, soon becoming daily when he turned 18. So being ignored was practically foreign to him now, the feeling having been forgotten.
Toga giggled "You're so funny Hawks" Inko only laughed along with her
Instead of Hawks getting riled up more, he instead watched wide-eyed as the two laughed. He was surprised at his reaction. Although it felt nice to lose your temper for once, never having the chance to when he was younger or now because of his training. His cheeks tinted red before he decided to just change the subject.
"Pocky sounds nice," he said shyly, avoiding eye contact.
Inko only beamed at him, giving him a happy "coming right up!" before disappearing into the kitchen, only to pop her head back out to ask Toga a question.
"Toga-chan, would you like to have some of my blood? I don't mind you taking some of it, I have some stuff that I can use to extract my blood- w-wait why are you crying? Oh my god, are you okay Toga-chan!?"
She didn't realize how much her words meant to the girl, who never had anybody offer their blood to her. Toga buried her face into the woman's chest as she hugged her, tears still rolling down her eyes. Hawks only watched on, a warm smile on his face.
Inko doesn't get just how much of an effect she has made on the two, changing their lives for the better. And best of all, offering them a chance. A chance for happiness.