Bacchus-Kamurocho, Tokyo- 199X

"I've gotta say. When I heard you were back in Tokyo and decided to come looking for you, I didn't think I'd find you right on the street."

"... I didn't think ya'd come looking for me. Where'd ya hear I was back in town anyway?"

"You're kidding, right? Goro Majima, The Mad Dog of Shimano is back in town. What? You think people don't talk about shit like that?"

"Wow, with that Tokyo accent of yours I almost thought you grew up or something. Glad to see the dirty-mouthed brat I sent up to Shizuoka's still kickin'."

"Oh, shut it. Don't try and change the subject." A retort said with no real bite behind it, just a chuckle and the click! of a fancy silver lighter, before the smell of a cigarette filled his nostrils. A Huffy, if the sweet scent were any indicator.

"I'd ask if you wanted one, but… I'm pretty sure you don't want menthols."

"Yer right about that." That mint shit just didn't suit him.

Puff. And the smell, even though she turned away before her exhale, filled his nostrils again.

"So, how are you doing after… you know?"

Ah, I see.

"I'm doin' fine."

"Okay, with less bullshit now."

"Really, I'm… doin' just fine. It wasn't gonna last anyway. Dumb to think that it would."

"Well, glad to see how smart you think I am."

"That ain't what I meant, and you know it."

"How can I, Goro-nii, if you don't talk about it?"

"Dammit Inko! I don't need ta talk about it! Alright?"

"I'm just saying it might help ya move on, even if just a little bit. 'The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.'"

"Quoting Confucius at me, again?"

"Lao Tzu, actually."

"Well if the journey begins with a single step, why don't I start by steppin' on outta here?"

"Goro-nii! It's not your fault. Not completely, anyway."

"What?"

"I heard the rest of the story from Mi-chan. You shouldn't have… well, y'know. But, she doesn't blame you for it. So you shouldn't either."

"Catch ya later, Inko-chan."

And with that, Goro Majima put some cash on the bar's counter to pay the tab and walked out of the bar.

While Inko Terasawa looked on, worry written across her face.

Midoriya Residence-Musutafu, Tokyo- 201X

Inko walked to Izuku's bedroom door, tray in hand.

It was still closed. Most likely locked, as well.

Knock Knock!

"Izuku, I made your favorite." She kept her voice soft and quiet.

"..."

No answer. She hadn't expected any different, but she'd hoped.

"I'll leave it out here. Just put the tray back out when you're done."

Putting the tray down in front of the door, Inko stepped away and walked over to her room. She had work to do and seeing as their trip to Shizuoka was postponed until Izuku was feeling better, there wasn't anything stopping her from getting it done.

Especially since she needed a distraction, as well.

Though, if she had stuck around for a few moments longer, she might've seen the door behind her open to reveal a bedraggled, puffy-eyed Izuku Midoriya.

He grabbed the tray with nary a word and retreated back into the dark room.

It had been over a week since he'd heard that radio broadcast.

He'd looked up the incident on multiple news sites since and the stories all added up.

Goro Majima was shot and killed in Sapporo, Hokkaido over a week ago and if he hadn't happened to be near his radio at the time that he was, he likely wouldn't have heard for a while.

Tojo Clan.

Crime Syndicate.

Goro Majima, Patriarch of the Majima Family.

What did it all mean?

His uncle could be scary sometimes, but he wasn't a criminal.

The Tojo Clan.

He'd looked them up as well, they were a huge mass of yakuza families, but quirkless.

The only family said to be able to rival them was The Omi Alliance in Kansai.

But, his Jiji… he wasn't a criminal. He wasn't yakuza. He wasn't a criminal. He wasn't a bad guy.

He took him out to the batting cages and taught him how to hit home runs.

He walked him home from school, whenever he was in town during the semester.

He gave him his stajun, which he wore every day during Winter and Fall.

He couldn't be a bad guy

He couldn't be a criminal.

He couldn't be yakuza.

HE'S NOT DEAD!

That's right, Goro-jiji wasn't dead.

He'd walk right through the door and say it was all a big mean prank.

They'd laugh and go to Fuji Soba and Karaokekan again.

Taijiji could come too, if he was back from wherever he disappeared to for the past two years.

And then, he and Kiryu-san could talk about Haruka-neechan's performance.

Drip!

He wasn't crying, there was nothing to cry about.

Everything was fine. He was fine. His eyes just hurt because he'd been up to long.

He hadn't been telling himself the same few lies every day.

That'd be silly.

And with that, Izuku layed back on his bed, his tray of Katsudon and Miso untouched on his desk.

Two Days Later…

Ding Dong!

They had a visitor.

Even from his place under covers, Izuku understood that much of the situation.

It wasn't a package, his mom didn't close the door soon enough for that.

Wasn't a repairman, he didn't hear boots when the outsider walked in.

No, he heard heels clacking as they walked through the doorway.

It wasn't long before he heard two voices in the living room.

Both female. One, his mom. The other, he didn't know.

Couldn't be Aunt Mitsuki. She was out of town.

Not Mei-chan, she wouldn't wear heels.

So who was in their house?

Especially at… 10 at night?

I should go see.

And so, for the first time in over a week, Izuku opened his door and walked out of his bedroom.

"This is a really nice place you have here, Ko-chan."

"Thank you."

"Could I offer you a smoke? You liked Huffy, right? I've just opened a new pack an-"

"I actually quit a long time ago, so no thanks."

"Oh…"

"..."

"So, is Hisashi-kun still overseas, or-?"

"What are you doing here, Mirei?"

"Oh, I was in the area and thought I'd drop in."

"Again, with less of the crap this time."

"...Heh, you've always been sharp."

"And you've always been bad at keeping secrets. Why are you here?"

"Talking to you, of course."

"Park, stop playing games and tell me why you're in my apartment, trying to reconnect with me like a deadbeat parent."

"I just… wanted to see how you were holding up after the news."

"I'm doing fine."

"That luggage under your eyes says otherwise."

"That's because of-"

"Mom?"

"Izuku! I didn't hear you come in."

Izuku didn't respond right away, instead turning towards the newcomer in the room and drinking in what he saw.

The woman was fair-skinned, pretty too. Her hair was short and dark, parted to the side. It was stylish and functional, from what little he knew about hair styling and function.

Looking closer at her face, he noticed that she didn't look that much older than his mom. A little more tired though.

Her clothes were fancy, but the only things of note were a simple brooch with a cracked green jewel and a brace on her right wrist.

She looked familiar, he couldn't remember from where, though.

Turning to his mom, Izuku asked, "Who's this?"

Taken aback slightly by her son's question(and presence, considering the circumstances) Inko hesitated slightly when answering his question, "O-oh, um this is Mirei Park, an old friend of mine."

Turning to Mirei, Inko said, "Mirei, this is Izuku. My son."

Mirei's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but not enough to notice if you weren't looking for it.

And as quickly as her surprise had appeared, it was gone.

But Izuku noticed, and he was intrigued.

Mirei turned to Izuku and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Izuku-kun."

Izuku nodded and bowed slightly, not a word from between his lips.

A beat of silence, tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

And it all passed when Izuku turned around… and walked back to his room.

This left two remaining adults staring at the spot where he had just left.

When they heard the click! of a door closing and locking, only then did the two women look at each other to resume their conversation.

"Inko, I-"

"We'll talk about it in the morning."

"Inko, I-we need to talk about this-"

"In the morning. I just- I can't deal with this now, so in the morning, please."

Mirei, who clearly hadn't expected the conversation to end so abruptly, sighed and nodded.

Inko lifted herself out of her seat and said, "You can stay here tonight, if you want. Guest room's right next to Izuku's. Just look for the door with the All Might sign on it."

"Thank you, Inko."

"You're welcome… Mi-chan."

Later that night…

Izuku awoke to the sound of shifting in the room next to his.

It was followed by the sound of a door opening and closing softly.

It wasn't his mom, her room was down the hall and her door was always open.

Maybe that Mirei lady stayed the night?

But it was only four in the morning. Where was she going?

Bathroom? No, the door didn't open, he would've heard it.

Her footsteps were quiet, but he was straining his ears to hear them easily enough.

They sounded like they were headed for… the genkan?

Mirei slipped her heels onto her feet, slung her purse onto her shoulder, and quietly slinked out the door.

Several blocks away, she called a cab, told the dispatcher where she was, and stood on a curb while she waited for it to arrive.

She needed to get back to Dyna Chair. She had work to do.

Horie was likely holding the fort, just fine, and Haruka was most likely learning a lot from Christina, but she needed to be there and not in Inko Midoriya's guest room.

She couldn't stay there. She was so bold around her employees. So cold to the world.

But against Inko, all of that seemed to fall apart.

It only makes sense, he had the same effect and they've always gotten along well.

The thought made her smile wryly.

She wanted to talk to Inko about him, the letter she got from him, the one sitting right in her purse, but she wouldn't know how to bring it up.

She tried breaking the ice, complimenting her old friend's (admittedly) nice apartment.

Offering the cigarettes that they had both loved when they were younger.

Inko saw straight through her.

And then her son… that cute curly haired child of her's.

It was too much.

Mirei acted like she had moved on from the past, but even then, seeing that child reminded her of all that she had given up.

Everything that deprived herself of in pursuit of a dream that fell apart anyway.

Too late to go back now, I made my choice.

Snap!

Mirei whipped around instinctively at the sound of a twig snapping behind her, pepper spray in hand.

It wouldn't do much against most villains, but seeing as she wasn't dead already, it would give her a chance to run somewhere.

It was also… completely pointless, because as she looked down, she saw a head of curly green hair atop a small figure wearing a green stajun and pajama bottoms.

"Oh, Izuku-kun" She put her arm down and slipped the canister of pepper spray back up her sleeve, "What are you doing out here?"

"Following you."

Kids just say the darndest things.

Shrugging that off like it wasn't one the creepiest things she had heard in years, Mirei responded, "Ah. Well, you should get back inside now. You shouldn't be out this late."

"Neither should you."

Wow, can't beat that logic, can I?

"Why are you out here, Park-san?"

"I... just needed to get some air."

"Is it easier to get air in a taxi? I've never been in one, so I wouldn't know."

So he heard that. He's a sneaky one.

"Alright, Izuku-kun, you caught me. I'm going back to Osaka."

"...Why?"

"Why?"

"You had something you wanted to talk about with my mom, right? Why are you leaving before you can do that?"

He heard that too?

"It's a complicated issue, to say the least."

"Seems pretty simple to me."

"Hm?"

"You're scared."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"You're scared and running away."

"And what do I have to be scared of?"

"I dunno. I just met you. What do you think you have to be scared of?"

That stalled Mirei for a second.

What did she have to be afraid of?

She was just here to talk to Inko. Inko was her friend.

'Was'.

Maybe that's what she was so afraid of.

That the friendship she had with Inko was another thing of the past.

Another thing she left behind.

And the proof of it was the child standing right in front of her.

If Haruka was the daughter she'd never had, then Izuku was the son she could never have.

The perfect blend of his mother and father. with just a little bit of a certain someone mixed in.

She wanted that. But because of a mistake that she made years ago, she could never have that.

And she had absolutely no one to blame, but herself.

She could feel herself tremble ever so slightly, but she wouldn't cry.

She had run out of tears to cry, years ago.

She wouldn't cry.

She couldn't cry.

She-

The thoughts all came to a screeching halt when Mirei felt arms wrapping around her waist and a small, warm figure pressing against her in the cold night.

And the next words she heard, "It's okay to be scared, it's okay to run. I do that too. But what's important is that we know that we can't be scared forever. RIght, Mirei-baba?"

And Mirei was incredibly confused.

"Mirei… Baba?"

She felt Izuku nod, "You were married to Jiji, right? I saw a picture of you two. Someone else was in it, but you two looked close."

She could only remember one picture like that, and that was taken years ago.

Where could a ten-year-old have found it?

When she asked, she was given the answer, "It fell out of Jiji's wallet when we went to Fuji Soba, once. I asked who it was, and he said it was a really 'special girl'. I asked my mom what 'special girl' meant, and she told me it meant wife."

So, he kept it.

The thought made her smile while she reached down to hug and grip Izuku back gently, with her good hand.

And as she heard a car coming around the corner, turning her head and confirming that it was a taxi, she said to Izuku, "Thank you, Izuku."

The young boy said, "No problem, Baba. Can you tell Jiji that I said, 'Hi' if you see him?"

And she didn't have the heart to tell him 'no'.

When the taxi pulled up to the pair's spot near the curb and she got in, Mirei could only think one thing.

Maybe I'll bring Izuku to Haruka's debut. I think he might like that. Inko too. Hell, I might as well bring them both.

After Izuku saw off his aunt, he decided to go back to his room and wait for his Jiji again.

He turned around and began walking back home.

He made it a block before being stopped by a man who stood in his path.

He was tall. He wore a sharp black suit with white pinstripes, with a shiny pin on the lapel, and fancy steel-tipped dress shoes, not too unlike his uncle's boots.

He had long dark hair that covered one of his eyes and a spattering of freckles on both of his cheeks.

The strangest thing about the man though was the vicious grin he wore on his face.

It made Izuku feel tense, he didn't like it.

"Hello there. You're Izuku Midoriya, correct?"

"Who are you?"

"That's not something you should worry about. Now, my question."

"Answer mine first. And tell me what you want."

The man sighed, "Fine. People call me 'Yamikumo', but you, dear Midoriya-chan, can call me Mikumo Akatani. Seeing as we'll be spending a lot of time together for the foreseeable future."

Izuku's fist clenched. "And whaddya mean by that?"

"What I mean, dear boy, is that you'll be coming with me. But, by all means, do resist. I'd love to see how a boy trained by the 'Mad Dog of Shimano' fares in a fight."

I see, he's picking a fight.

After a week of no action, Izuku was ready for a scrap. And if this weirdo Akatani was willing to give him one, who was he to refuse?

So he got low and settled into his fighting stance, while Akatani grinned and started walking towards him.

"Looks like the pup's got some bite. Let's see if it's enough."

And the fight was on.

They did my girl dirty in Yakuza 5.