-December 21 - [Day 9]-
"I'll be leaving tomorrow evening," Chitose said, keeping her face as expressionless as possible – a default to her whenever she wanted to be taken seriously. And in a matter of a second, the two were immediately silenced and looking at her. The young woman mentally braced herself, fully expecting a reaction from the mother - as what Izuku had said, but instead Inko just simply replied with a smile and a light nod, as well as a simple congratulatory remark.
"You're still expecting I'm going to make a scene, huh?" Inko quickly turned to her son, who's now sporting a confused look. "I'm starting to think you miss me making a scene like back in the day."
"I don't think just two years ago already counts as back in the day. I can still remember that highschool graduation crap…" Izuku muttered as he took another spoonful of his food. "The fact that people liked it is something I still can't explain to this very day."
"My singing voice is really just something. But anyways…" Inko turned to look at Chitose, her eyebrow still raised, "do you want me to make a scene or what- are you okay?"
Chitose jolted up, realizing she's been staring at her still-uneaten beef bowl at this whole time. "Uh-yeah I'm okay. It's just uh… I've never been 'invited' before and it feels very strange."
"Never been invited-? What do you mean?"
"I mean that I've never been invited to eat outs before outside of… 'required meetings' like for school activities…" Chitose said as she continued staring at her beef bowl. "This is actually the first time I've been invited for-" she stopped, her brows furrowed, "unless you want me to do something."
"What?"
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, people are only nice to me if they want something. Don't worry I'm pretty used to it by now," Chitose said with a light shrug. "So what do I need to do?"
"Er… nothing…?"
Chitose shook her head. "Oh come on, there has to be something. I'm feeling pretty generous tonight anyways sooo… what will it be? You you guys need more money or what? I could write a couple of articles in an hour-"
"Kizuki, we don't need any more money," Inko quickly said just right before Izuku could speak that he could use some extra money. "Like what my son spoiled you about, we're just eating out because I don't want you to feel lonely in this Christmas season. That's it. You've done so much for us, and we're just doing this for you."
"No no-no-no, you're getting this all wrong. You guys invited me to eat out, so there has to be something you want me to do. Come on, tell me." Chitose leaned back on her seat. "So what would it be?"
"You don't really have any friends, do you?"
"No, not really."
Inko nodded. "I can see why you act like everything is transactional. I have to say that's an unhealthy way of living, especially for a person at your age." Inko said before taking a deep breath and sighing. "By acting like that you're just making yourself easy to be used by others. I should know, for I used to be exactly the same back when I was younger."
"Hmmm… the graduation thesis incident, huh?" Izuku muttered, nodding. He then turned to Chitose. "Mom's right, I experienced the same thing too. Thinking people will eventually become nice to you if you do something nice for them won't do anything good to you."
"I beg to differ. I seem pretty well-adjusted if I say so myself."
Inko shook her head at Chitose's words. "A person with no one to fall back on when times get tough?"
"I'm independent enough to not need anybody too much. I've been on my own for years now."
"I found you that one night beaten up, cold, sick, and confused on where to turn. That does not look like healthy independence in my book," Inko paused for a bit, looking unsure on what to say next, before eventually continuing a minute later, "also, not to sound rude or mean, but I suggest you keep in mind what I said about… transactionalism…"
Chitose simply responded with a nod of her own before taking her first spoonful of the beef bowl ordered for her. It was surprisingly delicious despite looking so bland. There's not even a hint of sprinkled greens or anything mixed into the rice for that matter, which definitely caught her off-guard until she realized it could just be once again her younger self's tastes taking over, and her younger self is definitely a huge sucker for anything beef.
She wondered a bit on how complex her entire 'getting younger' situation is as she savored her food, but eventually just brushed it off at the same time she finished her bowl.
It was only then she realized both Midoriyas are only finished halfway.
"You're done already? Want to have another-"
"No," Chitose quickly responded.
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Is that a I don't want to get fat 'No' or a I'm really full 'No' or a Everything is transactional 'No'? The so-called problem with people-pleasers with that mentality is-"
"Forgive my son, he gets a little too blunt sometimes. Come on, don't be shy, do you need more or what?" Inko asked, gesturing towards the counter.
"I read an article once about Sukiya's gyudons being a little too high on the calorie content and I'd like to stay slim," Chitose said, pointing towards her almost-empty bowl, with only chunks of beef fat left in it. "There's too much beef fat included. It's like it's 75% fat and 25% beef. I also read an article containing a research on why beef bowl restaurants have it cheap and it's supposedly because these are the beef cuts no one wants. But I don't really believe that, I'm pretty sure these things are bought wholesale, and everyone knows wholesale is always cheaper, especially when you have deals with the actual cow farmers themselves."
"That's a whole lotta research just for beef bowls. What about pork bowls?" Izuku said, sounding a bit sarcastic. "What about squid bowls? Chicken bowls?"
"Soccer bowls are more nutritious than Super bowls."
Izuku almost spat out whatever he's eating as he stifled a laugh, but quickly composed himself back to normal in a few seconds, his face going blank along the way. After a quick slightly exaggerated swallow, he stood up and excused himself to the bathroom, muttering something about ceramic bowls before snickering to himself.
"Yeah beef bowls are really fatty. I suggest not going here too much, look at this!" Chitose lightly tilted her bowl as so Inko can see how many chunks of fat she left intact. "But then again this is the basic gyudon serving even at the higher end restaurants so-"
Inko raised a hand, interrupting the young woman in front of her. "So about leaving…"
Chitose nodded before Inko can continue. "Yes, that's confirmed. I'll be fetched via speedboat down at Takoba beach tomorrow evening."
"Speedboat huh? Sounds expensive. But why Takoba beach? You're going to be picked up at a trash heap? Doesn't that sound a little too suspicious? Do you know the people who're about to pick you up?"
"Yes. Going by speedboat is faster than taking a plane, or so according to them."
"Where exactly are you going? I thought you're heading towards Yamate Hills, Yokohama? Why not get a train ride or something. Now I may not know how millionaires operate but a speedboat? Tomorrow evening? At a trash heap?" Inko tilted her head to one side, one eyebrow raised. "Sounds very suspicious to me."
"While yes it sounds suspicious but uh… it's just how we do things," Chitose said, nodding. While it's true that Skeptic refused to answer where the MLA really is, but travelling through a speedboat with a pickup point located at a trash heap is quite normal by MLA standards, even for the high-ranked members – even Re-Destro out of all people once got picked up at a trash heap. It's simply the best place for pick-ups. No one would suspect you for anything if you get picked up at a trash heap.
Inko slightly shook her head, which made Chitose wonder if ever telling her the truth about being picked up at Takoba is a good thing. "Are you really sure that's just how you do things? Because millionaires and trash heaps don't really go together."
"That's just how it works. Sometimes you just got to do unconventional things to survive. Don't worry I'll be fine."
"Hmmm… but do be careful out there. With what happened to your mother-"
"I'll stay vigilant, don't worry, Miss Midoriya. If you want I can maybe go visit from time to time," Chitose said with a smile, despite fully knowing once the act of Liberation starts, there will be nationwide chaos, and obviously no more time for visits.
"That'll be wonderful!"
The young woman blanked out for a bit at the mother's response. She was fully expecting some kind of rejection but got the opposite of that. Being used to just being either ignored, rejected, or simply generally tolerated – or so what she feels the Liberation Army thinks about her and her weak Landmines, some person actively looking forward to her return (as compared to Skeptic's reaction earlier) really caught her off-guard. She was about to speak but here comes Inko suddenly continuing about how grateful she is about how she helped them and about how her son can now finally speak to girls without being flustered, but only until he starts receiving compliments.
"It must be the charisma!" Inko spoke again, wide-eyed.
Chitose shook her head. "The real reason for that is just that I'm not attractive enough for boys to get flustered talking to me, it's normal. Like I said before, I'm really not the one to be turning heads," she said, followed by a brief pause. "I'm not throwing a pity party here, it's just facts, but at least I stayed in shape."
"Your view of the world is a bit too negative, don't you think?"
"My negativity is built on facts and observation. I adapt to things, and what I am right now is just a byproduct of my adaptation. It is what it is. If you're in my place, you'd probably turn out just like me. Experiencing negative things consistently can really change a person."
"I'm just saying it's not a healthy mindset… but I can see what you're trying to say," Inko said with a nod. "Anyways, so tell me about these people who'll pick you up… I thought you just grew up alone with your mother without knowing any relatives? I don't know but… this seems really sketchy."
"Relax, Miss Midoriya. I knew those people. They're my friends, and we're all part of this club at school and they're going to let me live in their dorm."
"Your school club buddies have speedboats?"
"They're rich kids," Chitose quickly replied, a bit relieved that she quickly managed to find a perfect excuse to her slip-up.
"But I thought you don't have any friends?"
'Okay that was totally unplanned…' Chitose thought to herself as she suddenly blanked out again at Inko's response. What to do now? "They're not friends, they're more like… uh… temporary acquaintances in a group project we're making," she quickly replied. It did not go well as she wanted it to be, but it's certainly better than just going blank without an actual reply.
"Kizuki, your story is all over the place. But if you want your privacy, I can stop asking questions now."
"That would be much appreciated."
Izuku eventually returned, and the night proceeded as normal.
….…[*]…
Chitose lied on the sofa in the middle of a dark living room, hands on the back of her head, and letting her legs dangle off to one side as she stewed in her thoughts. It's been a while now ever since they got back home and not only she still can't take her mind off of Inko's words about her supposed negativity, but now she's feeling as if something is forcing her to give back in return. Why only now she's thinking of things such as this, when the first day she was here she was effortlessly planning ways to take advantage of the hospitality shown to her? What originally started out as a plan to freeload as long as possible now turned into this…?
She can't even understand it. She has to give back… somehow… Is it related to her younger self's overall personality? Or just her as a whole?
Chitose shook her head in confusion, ending up with her facing onto one side. Spotting a wall clock in the general direction, she saw that it's currently 2 in the morning.
Apparently he's been wandering inside her head for hours now.
With a loud sigh, she sat up straight. The thought about 'transactions' and 'negativity' and 'giving back' reappeared again and made her run a hand down her face in annoyance. And then it repeated again a second time just a few seconds later. And then a third time… and a fourth time…
'I need something to do…' she thought to herself as she continued staring at the wall clock. 'They took me out to eat… I need to do something in return… But what should I do-?'
Chitose suddenly heard a series of relatively loud beeps, quite easily audible throughout the dark living room she's in despite Inko's rather loud snoring from just behind the sofa she's on. Turning her head towards the sound, she noticed a light coming from underneath the door of Izuku's room, which made her raise an eyebrow considering it was Izuku who was constantly complaining about needing to go home just earlier on the reasoning that he's suddenly tired after eating.
Shrugging, Chitose returned to lying down on the sofa and continued staring at the wall clock, once again trying to sleep, but finding herself still unable to do so. Her thoughts eventually went towards the son, and wondered about asking him for something to do just to give her a peace of mind - if he's still awake that is, which is highly possible considering the still-open lights. Maybe the thoughts about negativity and transactions and giving back would leave after she finished a task?
'Should I ask him for something to do? Didn't Inko said something about Izuku being cranky at this time of the evening?'
She thought again.
'What if I just check? If he's clearly awake and doing something, then I'll go ask him. If not, I return here. Nothing bad will happen anyways…'
With a deep sigh, Chitose slowly sat up straight, pausing for a brief moment before standing up and stretching her arms. Taking one last glance at the wall clock, she then turned her attention to Izuku's room and began treading about, carefully placing every step as to not accidentally wake Inko up and have her question whatever she's trying to do. The mother might be snoring, even loudly at that, but it's best to just go the safer route and try not to wake her up.
She eventually reached her destination and just stood quietly outside the door. From within she could clearly hear faint fast-paced music, as well as the all-too familiar sound of keyboard keys being mashed. She was hesitant to knock until she heard Izuku curse ten times in a row, one even at a language she doesn't even know, at which she finally decided to knock as silent as possible, just enough to get the son's attention away a bit from his computer games, but not loud enough wake Inko up.
At the instant she knocked, the cursing immediately stopped, followed by a loud gasp.
"Uh, anyone there?" the son asked from within the room, his voice sounding a bit scared.
"It's just me," Chitose responded, quickly turning to check if ever Inko woke up from that, which she didn't.
There were quiet footsteps that got progressively louder as Izuku walked closer to the door. With the sound of few locks getting unlocked, the door slightly opened and the son carefully peeked out. "What? Is there a spider?" he immediately asked, quickly moving his eyes upwards as he's just chest-level from the young woman he's talking to.
"No uh," Chitose backed off one step, slightly wondering about the odd level of warmth coming from inside Izuku's room. "Wait, I thought you're tired?"
Izuku paused for a bit, his face suddenly blank. He then opened the door slightly further and peeked out towards his sleeping mother on the living room, before going back in. "Look… I gotta be honest with you, I just wanted to play video games," he said with a sigh, before straightening his posture. "So uh… what do you want? Can't sleep?"
"No it's just uh… I've been wondering about what your mother said-"
Izuku quickly raised both hands. "Hey don't worry about it, okay? You've done enough. Our little trip earlier was your reward for all the things you've done for us-"
"No nonono. You see, your mother picked me up off the street and you accompanied me on my empty bank account adventure, and for that I paid back 50 thousand Yen and sort of trained you. And then I get invited to a restaurant, which means I need to do something in return. And since no one is asking me to do anything yet it's driving me nuts!" Chitose whispered loudly, and then quickly turned to check if she accidentally waked Inko up, which she luckily didn't.
She then turned back again, instantly seeing Izuku just staring at her with a clearly confused look like he didn't even understand a single word she just said.
"You're acting odd, Miss Kizuki… Are you just making excuses because you don't want to admit you got scared of a spider?" Izuku slowly asked, one eyebrow still raised in confusion. "Not to brag but I'm pretty good at catching spiders. Tell me where he is and I'll throw him out the window."
"What's up with you and spiders-?" Chitose quickly cut herself off and ran a hand down her face in exasperation. "Is there any homework I could do? Like, anything? I really feel like I need to do something in return after the whole eat-out thing. I just can't sleep with that thought going over and over in my mind.
Izuku just stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Well I got some essays-"
"Okay that'll do."
"Wait here for a sec," Izuku said before quickly closing the door.
Chitose immediately heard various noises within the room that suggested that Izuku is hurriedly readjusting some things inside. It took the young man a few minutes until he eventually re-opened the door and gestured for her to get inside. And just like the first time she went in there to make a few articles, it's once again fixed in such a way that seemed like Izuku just shoved all his room clutter under his bed.
She stepped into the room, mind immediately thinking of whether she creeped Izuku out by suddenly asking if there's something she could do – at 2 in the morning no less. But she's leaving tomorrow anyways so it wouldn't really matter much in the long run. As long as she finished one of his homework (or maybe even multiple) her 'conscience' will finally stop bugging her. Hopefully.
She took another step in, until suddenly remembering something that made her turn around and look behind the door as she closed it.
There's still the once-viral "Nagant in Pajamas" calendar poster hung on it. She was about to ask about it when Izuku hurriedly grabbed it and quickly threw it under his bed. "I'm pretty sure that's already one month late," she said, pointing at the spot where it was pushed towards.
"It was my uh… daily inspiration poster…"
"Lady Nagant in pajamas taking her morning coffee is your daily inspiration poster?"
Izuku rolled his eyes and gestured towards the seat facing his personal computer. "Well at least I'm not the one barging into people's rooms demanding to finish my homework!" he said in a joking manner. "But seriously, Miss Kizuki, my Mom likes to sugarcoat everything she says but uh… I really think you need to work on that mindset. It's uh… it's… it's really something…"
"Nah, I'm leaving anyways. Tomorrow is probably the last day you'll ever see me," Chitose said as she sat down onto the seat Izuku gestured towards. "Don't you like it? The freeloader who looks like a beached whale stuffed with expired mayonnaise left to rot in the scorching sun of a dying planet is finally leaving?" she said, feeling a light sting towards the end of her sentence, fully remembering Izuku's exact description of her that she heard some time ago.
As expected, Izuku was stunned silent, completely frozen where he stood. It was only after a few seconds he stuttered out a response. "I uh… I didn't mean that."
"Yeah that's what they always say after I confront them," Chitose said as she rolled her eyes, not even looking back. "It's always the same story. It's always about not meaning it, and yet the insults just keep on coming. How in the hell do people not mean that and yet they just keep on coming…?" she continued, her hand currently grasping onto the computer mouse trembling. "I'm here trying to help people to the best of my abilities and all I get are insults on my appearance behind my back-!" she managed to stop herself before she could yell. There was silence for a bit, with the only sounds being the faint rapid thumping of her externally audible heartbeat.
Chitose closed her eyes and took one deep breath and then let out a loud sigh afterwards, trying to wash off the thoughts. "Okay, what do I need to do?" she asked, now calm.
"I'm… sorry…"
'No you're not. You're only sorry because you got caught. Same old story every time…' Chitose thought, managing to catch herself before she could say it out loud. All she needs is to be given a task, the last thing she needs right now is unnecessary drama. She was about to speak when she stopped herself at the very last moment, choosing to take a deep breath and let out a sigh first to calm herself even further. "You know what? that's okay…" she whispered out loud. "That's okay... It's fine... I get called a rotten blueberry filled with diseased maggots with diarrhea all the time. Can we just forget about it and move on? So what do I need to do?"
Her grasp tightened over the mouse for a brief moment, remembering Inko's words about her transactional way of thinking. 'No… just finish the task so you won't have to feel guilty that they took you out on a restaurant…'
"Uuuhhh.. Miss Kizuki? I-I-I think I can handle this-"
Chitose raised a hand. "Just let me finish one of your essay homeworks. It'll just be quick. And after this I can leave, and you'll never see me again."
Izuku let out a sigh, but it still took him almost a full minute to respond, "I have one where you can type in whatever you want just in English… and Mom said you're very good in English… it should be easy." He then slowly walked towards the back of the seat and pointed towards a text document titled "English Essay" right in the middle of the computer screen.
Chitose double-clicked the icon and a blank text document appeared on the screen. "You said I can type in any essay I want? As long as it's in English?"
"…Yeah… It's okay even if you got any errors. With what my Mom said about your English proficiency, you'll still end up with higher scores than I could ever hope to be anyway. Plus my professor mainly just puts our work in an English spellchecker so you don't even need to worry about context."
"Hmmm… anything, huh?"
"Yeah…" Izuku replied, his voice trailing off. "You could literally just write there some instructions on how to read a book. As long as it got good English, it's fine…"
"Hmmm…" Chitose responded, keeping her gaze glued to the empty screen. "Any topic huh…?"
"You know, I really apologize for the whole… mayonnaise thing… I promise I'll never do it again."
"Midoriya. If I never heard what you said that you wouldn't apologize anyway. Enough pretending you care." Chitose stretched her limbs and mumbled something about having trust issues, as well as slightly wondering if her sudden irritability has something to do with her younger self's barely-existent self-confidence affecting her thoughts. "Everyone talks behind my back, no need to convince me you're different, I bet your Mom also calls me a beached whale too. But hey I give you points for originality. Now if you may excuse me, I'm going to type something about Free Quirk Use."
Chitose leaned back onto the seat, her left hand hovering a bit over the keyboard for a few seconds before starting typing. Since the topic is just all about the advantages and disadvantages of Free Quirk Use anyway, one of the many topics she's an expert on, she already managed to complete a sizeable paragraph ten seconds later.
"I'm sorry…"
"What's done is done. Midoriya, it's happened. Relax, I'm not pissed about it- Well maybe I am pissed about it but the point is that it's done," she said as she swiveled her seat to face Izuku behind her, but still making sure her left hand is still typing out the subsequent paragraphs. "I heard it. I knew about it. It's now stored in my brain. Let's not dwell on it any longer, okay? The past is the past, let it go. I'm leaving anyway. Besides, you just told me your opinion." Chitose nodded again before turning her seat back to the computer screen. "Always remember the saying, if people keep complaining you smell like crap wherever you go, sniff yourself, you probably do smell like crap. You called me a beached whale because I simply look like one. I get it."
"…"
"Aaaad there goes the second paragraph! Man I'm rocking this whole typing thing!" Chitose said as she finished the second paragraph, slightly exaggerating to lighten up the mood but not too loud as to be heard from outside the room. While yes the insult to her appearance definitely stung, and unusually stung more than normal, but at the end of the day she knows everyone thinks the same and there's no sense to dwell too much on it… although it seriously stung. "Hey Midoriya, cheer up and help me add some content- oh and by the way, is there a word count limit or something?"
"… No…"
"Are you sure? Because I'm uh… I just finished the third paragraph already and I'm still full of ideas."
"Just make it one page…"
Chitose sighed, feeling a bit awkward on how the son is still speaking like he's regretting what he said about her physical appearance. Normally, people usually just laugh it off and move on within seconds after being called out.
Or maybe it's just because she's currently in his room and there's no place he could go? Okay that's probably it.
She eventually managed to complete the entire page after a few more minutes. Hitting a few keyboard keys, she saved the document and stood up in a triumphant manner, but what made her even more feeling like an accomplishment is the fact that based on the clock to her right, she finished the entire essay homework in just under nine minutes.
It's a bit slower than how fast she can type as an adult, but impressive nonetheless. She turned to Izuku, "So uh… are you gonna check for grammatical errors?" she asked. She knew there were none, but it's the first thing she thought to break the ice. "If not so uh… I'm done!"
She turned back again and scanned the essay she just did. There are, in fact, no errors at all – or so to her at least. She then stepped back and gently nudged the still-uneasy Izuku to look at her work. "Pretty good, huh?"
"I think it's pretty good…"
"Okay. Now that I finally finished something and I won't feel guilty anymore…" Chitose's voice trailed off as she stretched her limbs, muttering something about the benefits of being younger afterwards. "Oh and by the way uh… I think it would be best for me to leave right now. I don't want to make things more awkward any longer."
Without replying, Izuku walked towards the door to his room and gestured for her to follow him.
Nodding, Chitose walked out of the room, immediately feeling the chill of the living room as the young man's room is just that surprisingly heated to some degree. She wasted no time in walking towards her suitcase, making sure to tread carefully or else risk waking up Inko. After a quick check on the suitcase, she confirmed that everything is still intact. She took one jacket inside and then turned her head towards Izuku unlocking the door before making her way towards him, carefully pulling the suitcase along.
"So this is goodbye huh?" Chitose whispered as she was hastily putting on a jacket, just loud enough for the young man to hear amidst him unlocking the door as quietly as possible.
Izuku simply responded with a nod, not even bothering to look at her direction.
"I didn't get to know much about UA nor your Conjoined Quirks…"
Izuku responded with yet another nod.
"Make sure to tell your Mom she makes damn good pancakes-" she was interrupted as the door is finally unlocked. Izuku immediately gave it a light push and it slowly opened, letting the even cold dawn air seep into the already-cold living room. The hallway beyond is a bit too dark for her liking, but it is to be expected with such a simply-made apartment complex.
"You need help with that?" Izuku awkwardly asked, discreetly pointing at the suitcase while still not looking at her.
"There's nothing inside this but spare clothes, I can handle my own, although I do appreciate the thought," Chitose replied with a nod, casually lifting up her suitcase with one hand to demonstrate how light it is, in which the young man replied with a nod of his own before gesturing for her to follow him down the stairs.
"Er, you don't really need to escort me out."
She received no response. Izuku stayed silent throughout the short trip towards the exit. She was fully expecting him to head back once they reached the exit but instead he went out alongside her as well.
"You know, you're making me feel guilty about reminding you about the whole beached whale thing…" Chitose muttered as she lowered her suitcase to the ground upon reaching the end of the stairs. "But anyways, so this is it then?"
Izuku replied with a nod, exactly like all the others he's done so far.
"See ya soon? I guess?" Chitose said with one raised eyebrow, feeling the awkwardness through the son's refusal to respond with actual words. "I'm-" she was about to leave when the young man took something from one of his pant pockets and handed it to her.
It was a pair of glasses and a face mask. "You're gonna need this," Izuku said as he reached out to give the items.
There was silence for a bit as Chitose stared down the items being offered to her. On one hand, there's once again that odd heartwarming feeling that someone actually remembered the things she needed. But on the other hand, she feels that taking the particular items being handed out to her would just make her even more guilty as she won't be able to do anything for it in return.
"You don't need to give something in return, just take it," Izuku said, eventually looking up to her. "I'm- nevermind…"
Chitose let out a sigh, half annoyed and half concerned about the way the young man's acting just because she called him out. She was about to tell him to not take the insult too seriously when she remembered she's the one who's been acting weird the entire evening, and she decided it's best to just not say it to not sound like a hypocrite.
She eyed the things being handed out to her, thinking whether or not to take them, until she eventually decided for a better alternative.
"Just wait a bit…" she said as she immediately crouched down and reached towards the suitcase and opened it. She then quickly pulled out the Quirk-Erasing Bullet and her wallet out of it before zipping it back and standing up, but not before stashing the bullet into the wallet and then putting it into one of her jacket's pockets first.
"Okay, here you go," she said, her face in a stern expression as she took both the glasses and the face mask. "You will accept this in return."
Izuku's eyes immediately widened at being handed the suitcase. "What-?! I can't-"
"You know, Midoriya…" she said, taking one step closer and placing the suitcase beside the flustered young man and stepping backwards again. "Just take it. You and your mother may have called me a stuffed beach whale but-"
"She never called you any names."
Chitose blanked out, her jaw lightly dropping. "Okay uh… that's good to hear," she said, lightly stuttering in confusion. Should she believe it? Something tells her no, but the overall vibe she got from Inko tells her the mother is just a generally nice person who would never call anyone names, so yes. "Bye now-"
"I can't take this suitcase-"
Chitose immediately stepped forward and placed her right hand right on top of Izuku's head, her free left hand then reached over to grab Izuku's right hand, and with that she placed it on top of the handle of the suitcase beside him, before walking away.
"Will you ever visit us again?"
Chitose stopped, once again feeling a strange heartwarming feeling.
'Will you ever visit us again…?' the words repeated itself in her mind. No one has ever said such things to her outside of work, including her job at the Liberation Army. No one has ever liked her company. She was about to respond when she realized that Izuku is still probably just guilty at calling her names, which explains the certainly odd behavior.
'He doesn't mean it, stop dreaming. He's just trying to sound nice.'
Chitose slowly turned around. "I-uh… I think it's best we don't see each other again…" she said with a light nod. "It's not about the beached whale thing, not even close, but for another reason I couldn't really tell you." Chitose sighed and eventually turned around and started walking. "Good luck with that U-Aid exam by the way…"
She heard Izuku said something in return, but it was so faint that she didn't really understand anything. She just chalked it off as another apology. While yes she was incredibly annoyed by the name-calling for all the work she's done for them, but at the end of the day, an innocent family, with weak Meta Abilities no less, shouldn't really be interacting too much to one of the top brass of the Liberation Army anyways.
Chitose stopped a bit and discreetly looked back after covering a significant distance, seeing Izuku still there waving at her. She sent a wave back and continued walking all the way to the nearest bus stop to take her to Takoba beach.
'Is not saying a proper goodbye the good thing-?' she immediately shook off the thoughts. With the looming "threat" of her young form eventually taking over whatever remains of her older self, she feared her past self's numerous insecurities and attachment issues could eventually be a problem in the near future, and the last thing she needed right now is suddenly getting extremely attached to some random family that's not even part of the Army. It's best to just erase them out of her mind as quickly as possible.
After all, they're just going to be casualties anyway, if ever she didn't manage to convince Re-Destro to skip this section of the country.
She stopped walking for a bit and thought about how she didn't get to study UA, nor Izuku's Conjoined Quirks-
'Remember the time when you can barely function without gloves on because you're scared of accidentally killing someone again-?'
Chitose let out a loud sigh and ran a palm down her face in an effort to clear the sudden thought. She kept her eyes close for a few seconds afterwards in an attempt to not look at her hands.
'And you're part of a TERRORIST organization now? Funny how that works huh?'
"Shut up…" she whispered to herself as she saw a bus slowly approach her. Hastily putting on the face mask and sunglasses, she made her way onto the vehicle, heading straight to the back end as usual.
Hopefully the army has something that can finally stop her younger form's original conscience from taking over. This is quickly getting out of hand.
Note:
I find it really odd that the ONLY character in the entire MHA that's specifically stated to have a weak Quirk, is some top-ranking member of a Quirk Supremacy group. Something does not add up...
But then again, Curious is quickly forgotten by the army anyways, so in the end it kinda adds up.
