Author's Note:

15: Little Girl Lost (1)

Hitoshi awoke to the sound of his phone's obnoxious ringtone, his head throbbing, "Ugh, dammit," eyes still closed he reached over to where the phone was laying, fumbling for it for a minute before he answered, "Yeah?"

"Shinso?" It was Izuku, who sounded as as frazzled as always, "Where are you? We were supposed to meet up to help Mei move today, remember?"

Hitoshi cursed, he had forgotten, "What do you mean where am I? I'm still in bed!"

"At this hour? It's passed noon! My mom never lets me sleep this late," Izuku said with a frown in his voice. Hitoshi looked at his phone screen and groaned, "And did you not make it home last night? I'm right outside your door, and - "

That caused Hitoshi to sit up, [Ah, shit!] He looked over at his shoulder and nearly fell out of bed. "Uh, Izzie...I think I'm in trouble..."

"What did you do?" Izuku asked suspiciously, "Wait...you're with Komori right now, aren't you?"

Hitoshi hung his head: the reason he had nearly fallen out of bed was the simple fact that he wasn't alone. Kinoko Komori, the sweetest girl he had ever met, was sleeping soundly beside him. [At least it doesn't look like we did anything?] He thought to himself was he noticed that he still had his boxers on, while Komori was stripped down to her bra and panties. [French lace...girl's got class...] he thought idly before he gave himself a mental slap.

"Yeeeeah...Can you pick up some clothes for me while you're there?" Hitoshi asked with a little embarrassment, "Key's under the welcome mat."

He heard Izuku laughing on the other end of the phone. [I'm never gonna hear the end of this, am I?] He thought to himself as he hung up the phone and looked around for his clothes from last night. [How come I can't remember anything?] He wondered to himself as he picked his pants that were slung over a mushroom themed armchair, a slight headache bringing him more awake. "Oh...?" A sudden thought struck him.

The night before when he had walked Kinoko home...she had invited him in. Her parents were out of town for work, again, and the girl wasn't comfortable with being alone for long after the day that. Hitoshi saw no reason to refuse, his slight crush on the girl having grown as of late, and sat with her for a little while. His crush, as he found out, was mutual. They had kissed, and Kinoko had started releasing spores excitedly. Things had gotten weird after that. More intense.

"I got whammied by psychedelic mushroom spores?" He moaned, slightly embarrassed, "Hoo-boy, I hope my mom never finds out."

"Mmmmm..." came a sleepy mumble as Kinoko started to wake up. "Wha - ?" She sat up, her hair such a bird's nest that he nearly laughed had it not been for the fact that her near naked body was so captivating. "Ugh," she clutched at her head, "I hate it when I do that! Dad's gonna kill me if he..." she trailed off when her eyes landed on her unwitting partner. "Uh...Hitoshi?"

"Morning," the boy said lamely while raising his hand in greeting.

Kinoko almost made the same gesture, "Mor...ning..." Her face started turning a comical shade of red, "Oh my gosh!" She squealed and yanked the comforter up to her chest, "Did we -! I mean we didn't -?! Oh shiitake!" She was rightfully worried about what had happened the previous night, though Hitoshi was confident that nothing had happened. For one thing, the only thing he could see off about her were the multiple hickies that covered her neck and her swollen lips. "Hitoshi, what did we do last night?!"

The boy rubbed the back of his neck, "Nothing, I think...at least, I hope not," she squeaked as he came over and sat on the edge of the bed, "If something did happen, I think I'd wanna remember it."

Kinoko mumbled something under her breath as her blush turned neon, prompting her to hide her face in the comforter, "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to do any of that last night!" She whined, "Whenever I get really excited, I release mushroom spores, and those kind are - " He reached out and pulled the blanket away from her face, "Er, I mean - " He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "Eek!"

"Even if it was an accident, I don't mind," he chuckled, before grinning at her, "So, does this mean we're official?"

Her pretty and unique eyes peeked out from behind her bangs, "But...I basically drugged you..." she muttered shamefully.

He shrugged one shoulder, "Not our proudest moment, but hey, I've heard of stranger things happening to people before they got together." He said, "Besides, you like me even though I could use my Quirk to make you do anything I wanted you to do," he reached up and moved a stray lock of hair away from her face, "Aren't you scared of me?"

Kinoko shook her head, "No...you'd never do anything like that." She muttered before a brilliant smile broke out across her face, "I...I'll try not to let out anymore spores whenever we're together." She said while the boy just laughed.

"Yeah, I could do without the massive hangover," he said before he reached down for his shirt, which was on the floor near his feet. He heard Kinoko giving a slight mumble of appreciation as he pulled his shirt over his head. He felt a swell of satisfaction rising in his chest as she seemed to appreciate his newly muscled back. "Like what you see?" He asked, grinning as her face reddened while he settled his shirt into place.

Kinoko pulled the comforter back up to her face, "No comment."

He chuckled, "I'll let you get dressed," he said as he headed out of the room, "Izuku ought to be here pretty quick...let's hope he thought to bring some coffee."

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

A few minutes trickled by as the newly formed couple waited for his their friend.

In all honesty, Hitoshi expected him to roll up in his car, but that wasn't what happened. No, not Izuku Midoriya. Instead of his very cool car, that Hitoshi was secretly jealous of, they were greeted with shuddering windows as a large aircraft hovered just beside the apartment. Izuku himself knocked on the door. Hitoshi didn't ask any questions, simply taking the clothes his friend had brought for him and dressed quickly while Kinoko waited and stared.

"You know," Hitoshi said a short time later as he and his girlfriend boarded the ship, "Most people just stick with cars...but...this is unbearably cool!" He laughed as he sat down near a control panel. "Was this a design your mentor thought up?"

Izuku nodded, "Yeah, it is," he grinned, "You should've seen Mom's face when I turned into Upgrade and spat it out," in truth, he was glad that he hadn't. His mother had nearly had a heart attack ("My son has a spaceship!" His mother wailed before passing out into Mitsuki's arms.).

Kinoko was having a hard time not marveling at the incredible machine, "What do you call this thing?" She asked as the ship lifted off the ground effortlessly. She didn't even feel any turbulence.

"The blueprints called it the RB3, short for Rust Bucket No.3," the boy said as he took the craft up and over the apartment complex, "But I just like calling it the Rust Bucket." He chuckled, "Kind'a has a ring to it."

Hitoshi laughed, "Doesn't seem to do it justice, though," he said as he peered out at the forward-swept wingspan, while Kinoko explored the large cabin, "What did you say about this thing, anyway? I heard that the car caused a few problems until you got a Support Gear License for it?"

Izuku just shrugged, "Apparently it works for this thing, too." He said with no small amount of relief, "I was seriously worried about building this thing and not being able to pilot it if I couldn't get permission from the H.P.S.C.."

Hitoshi got up and took up the seat next to his friend, "I wouldn't be surprised if you got a few calls from them," he said while the moved across the city, noting that several people below had stopped to stare at the craft, "This thing looks like it could be from outer space!" He laughed as the boy went slightly pale, "What's the matter?"

"W-Well, it can, technically, go out into orbit," he said while Hitoshi goggled at him, "So...it's technically a, um...spaceship?"

Hitoshi sat back with a dazed look on his face, right before grinning widely, "Man, I have the coolest friend in the world!" He laughed while Izuku blushed, "Not only does he have his own car, and a license at fourteen, but he owns his own spaceship!"

"Don't you mean cars?" Kinoko asked as she came back into the front part of the cabin, "I saw two of them back there."

Hitoshi looked at Izuku with a raised brow, "W-well, when Mei and I were getting materials for this thing, I found a really old Dodge Challenger...I couldn't just let such a cool car go to waste!"

Hitoshi put his hands up in mock surrender, "I'm not judging," he said with a look back at Kinoko, "But...could I...borrow one...for a date or two?" Kinoko blushed while Izuku just laughed.

"No problem."

They flew over the city for a few more minutes before they reached Mei's house where the girl was standing with Toshinori and his mother, waiting on them with all of Mei's belongings boxed up and waiting to be moved. What she didn't know was the fact that he decided to fly instead of drive. Even from the cockpit, they could see the tech-crazy girl's eyes sparkling.

"You jerk!" Mei shouted at the trio as the cargo ramp opened up, allowing Izuku and Hitoshi to back to two cars out so that they could load Mei's luggage. "I thought you were gonna wait to build it until later!" She pointed an accusing finger at the verdette while he just chuckled bashfully.

Inko sighed as she noted the newest vehicle, "My insurance is going to end up taking all of the money from my divorce," she mumbled with waterfall tears running down her cheeks.

Toshinori chuckled, "Naw, don't forget that Young Izuku's name is on the Proto-Tools' patent, so there's the royalties from that to add to your little nest egg."

Izuku grinned at them as he got out of the DX Mk.10, "He's right, Mom, I can pay for most of the insurances without your help." He said, "Feel free to spend whatever you want of it, too, I had the account include you."

"Oh, Sweetie, you don't - " Inko began but the two boys moved around the adults to start packing Mei's belongings.

"I doubt that you'll win that argument," Toshinori chuckled at her worried face as the boys started loading the ship. "Besides, he wants to take care of you. What's wrong with that?"

Inko shook her head, "He's becoming independent far too fast for my liking," she muttered, thinking of the day her little boy would no longer need her, "I know it's going to happen eventually, but is it too much to ask that he stays a child a little longer?"

"Hey, Mei, what's this one marked FRAGILE?" Hitoshi asked loudly, "It weighs a damned ton!" He shouted as Izuku helped him with the box.

Mei turned around from where she'd been talking to Kinoko with an annoyed look, "Don't you dare drop that, Mento," she grumbled at him as they passed by, "It happens to contain my favorite tool sets, and my favorite vibrators."

"WHAT?!" Hitoshi nearly stumbled, causing Izuku to lose his footing, and nearly drop the load, "Are you kidding!?" Hitoshi snapped at the rosette, "Carry your own damned vibrators!"

Mei just shrugged at him, "I can't, the box is too heavy," she giggled while Kinoko was silently wondering just how many she had in the box to make it so heavy.

Izuku just laughed, "Relax, Shinso, she's kidding...I think..." he mumbled the last part, "Besides, the last time I was here, I only found one by accident, and that was because it looked like a tube of lipstick."

Kinoko giggled, "Seriously?" She looked at the nodding Mei as she gained a huge grin on her face.

"You should've seen the look on his face when he turned it on," she laughed, "He couldn't drop it fast enough!"

Toshinori smiled at the children, "At least Mei seems better than when I last saw her?"

Inko nodded, "Izuku told me something this morning before she woke up," he looked at her with interest, "She wasn't so much upset about her father, which she thinks makes her a horrible person, but more afraid that she would lose the rest of us." She said with a small look of sympathy, "He told me a few other things, but that was her biggest concern." She sighed deeply as the man wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "To a point, I can understand where she's coming from. I've seen a lot of disorders as a nurse, and I'm suffering from something myself, but this is new territory for me."

"It just means that she needs you, right now," Toshinori said, letting her rest her head against his boney shoulder, "They all do, really." He sighed as he looked at the group, "I hate to admit this, but I did some digging on the others after Himiko joined your family."

"Oh?" Inko looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah," he nodded, "Turns out that Shinso's parents are terrified of him because of what his Quirk can do," he muttered as the boys kept loading the RB3, "It's why he chose not to live with them, and hasn't for the last three years." Inko looked at the man in shock, "He's a good kid, too: a model citizen with dreams of becoming a Hero. But a Quirk like his is quite frightening to those that don't know him."

Inko huffed, "I'd like to slap some sense into those idiots."

"Get in line," Toshinori grumbled, "Young Uraraka was a surprise, too. Her parents run a construction company, but they've been so short of work lately that they're on the verge of bankruptcy, but in all this time, they spared no expense for their little girl." He smiled, "I've never seen anyone aside from you that cared so much for their own child." He chuckled, "So I'd like to imagine the looks on their faces when they get a letter in the mail, asking them to do some work for Might Towers, and the surrounding area considering that Villain attacks can do quite a lot of damage to the buildings." He gave her a sly wink that had her giggling.

"Oh, you're such a dear," Inko smiled at him while Izuku came by with a smaller box in his arms, "Izuku, dear, I know it's a bit of a rule bender, but why not transform into that four-armed mutant?"

Izuku just grinned at her, "Ah, this is nothing compared to what Mr. Yagi and All Might put me through." He said as he carried the box up into the ship.

Toshinori bashfully rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't work him that hard," he muttered while Inko gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, letting him know that it was fine with her, "Anyway, Miss Komori came as quite a surprise as well." He said, taking note of the shy girl chatting quietly with Mei, "Her parents aren't abusive, but they're never home." He shook his head sadly, "And her father, while not cruel, was reported to be quite harsh with her because her Quirk produces mushroom spores from some of the more dangerous varieties." He sighed, "As I said, while not cruel, his punishments were rather harsh for a girl that's still learning how to control her Quirk."

Inko nodded in understanding, "It must be why she seems so shy," she lamented as the girl moved to help Hitoshi with a particularly heavy box while Izuku and Mei struggled with another. "But I think Shinso will be good for her, just like she seems to be good him." She giggled while the two were talking animatedly.

Toshinori chuckled for a moment before something caught his eye. A flash of white disappearing around the corner of Mei's house. There was a sound of a window sliding open, and a strained, childish grunt as someone entered the house. "Hmm..."

"Something wrong, Dear?" Inko asked as the man's attention seemed diverted from the moving process.

He shook his head, "I'm not sure," he said before turning to the children, "Young Midoriya, Young Shinso, I need you for a moment, please?"

Izuku and Hitoshi had just come back out of the RB3 when the blond called out to them. They looked at each other for a moment before hurrying over to their mentor. Toshinori gave the boys a silencing gesture before whispering, "I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I think someone just entered the Hatsume home," Izuku looked shocked while Hitoshi reached for the Proto-Tool he carried in his pocket. "Now, now, I'm hoping that there's no need for that," he said with a calming tone, "I think that it was a child, but as I said, I can't be certain."

"They wouldn't find much," Mei said, having overheard them, "And I don't know of any kids around here that have a habit of breaking into houses." She frowned as she looked back at her house, using her Quirk to look through the windows. "Hmm," she adjusted her sight, the crosshairs changing position in her eyes, "It's a kid alright." She frowned, letting her Quirk power down, "I saw a small heat signature hiding in the kitchen."

Izuku looked at her, "I didn't know your eyes worked like a thermal scope?"

"Only if I focus really hard," she told him while she reached up and rubbed her left eye, "Plus it gives me one hell of a headache." She explained before turning to Toshinori, "It's a pretty small kid, too, either very young, or really thin." She told the man, "And it looks like they're scared...like terrified."

Toshinori gave her a nod of thanks, "I think this is best left to myself and Inko," he said, looking at the woman for her consent, which she gave in a small nod, "You four wait out here." He said before thinking on it, "If someone comes by looking for a child, then I'd like you to divert them. If this child is running scared, then I doubt that anyone looking for them has their best interest at heart."

Izuku frowned before looking over at Mei, "I've got some spare Proto-Tools in the Rust Bucket," he offered, a small look of concern going in Kinoko's direction. The shy girl vigorously shook her head.

"Thanks, but no thanks, shroom!" She yelped.

Mei, however, had no problems whatsoever taking her friend up on his offer and went to retrieve one of the weapons. Toshinori waited until the girl returned before he offered his arm to Inko, "Shall we?"

Inko rolled her eyes yet took hold of him anyway before the two of them went to enter the home.

Izuku and Hitoshi frowned, the former looking down the street for any sign of a pursuer.

Meanwhile, the couple had entered the house, "There's still so much junk in here," Inko muttered as she looked around. The Hatsume home was a mess of old car parts, license plates, and hubcaps. There were some pictures hanging, but none of them were of both parent and child, except for one that was sitting on a small chest of drawers. It was of Mei, as a newborn, her father, who she was a spitting image of, pink hair and crosshair eyes, and of her mother. The part that held her mother's face was torn away.

"Well, they are, or rather were, a family of mechanics," Toshinori reasoned, his eyes rovering across the front room, "Though, I do hope that whoever this child is, he or she doesn't find anything dangerous."

Inko worried her lip, "Mei's inventions aren't...always dangerous..."

Before they moved any further into the home, a small sound came from the kitchen. Toshinori gestured with his head while Inko nodded, "You'd best let me handle it," she whispered, "No offense, Dear, but you might scare her."

The man just chuckled and gestured for her to go ahead of him. The two of them hadn't bothered taking off their shoes when they entered the house, not with it being such a mess in the first place, so her heels were clicking on the floor as she moved, even though she was trying to take things slow. The kitchen, like the rest of the house, was a mess with pots and pans littering the countertops. There were a few scraps of newspaper on the floor, and the woman saw that one had a small footprint made on it with grime.

The child, an extremely small child, was barefoot.

[What sort of a person let's a child run around in the dead of winter without any shoes on?] She wondered, kneeling down to examine the print. It was extremely small, which meant that the child, if she were to guess, was no more than four or five, perhaps six if the child were mistreated or thin.

She looked down at the cupboards beneath the counter, and caught sight of a small corner of white fabric. She crossed the short distance to the cupboard, and knelt down in front of the door. "It's okay," she said in the softest voice she had, causing the child inside to let out a small sound of alarm, "You're safe now." The corner of the child's clothing was suddenly pulled inside.

"You don't have to be afraid," Inko tried again. "No one's going to hurt you."

"No." Came a quiet whimper. "He'll find me...he always finds me."

Inko looked over her shoulder to where Toshinori was hovering and saw his face hardening with anger. She turned back to the cupboard, "He won't find you now." She promised the child, she couldn't tell if it was a little boy or girl, yet. "We can take you somewhere he'll never find you."

"It won't work," the child whimpered, "I tried going to the police. They took me back to him," their voice trembled, "He hurt me." Their voice turned to panic, "And he hurts anyone that tries to help me." The child sounded like he or she was having scuttle further into the cupboard, "He makes them come apart, and it's all my fault! It's always my fault!" The child was sobbing now, and Inko could almost picture the face of a frightened little girl hiding just behind the door.

The woman reached out and slowly began to open the cupboard. Inside, her body trembling with fear, was a thin little girl. Her tiny hands were covering her head of white hair, and she thought she could just make out the tip of a horn peeking out above the top of her head.

Inko ached to hold her.

She turned around and gestured for Toshinori to duck back out of sight, which he did, just barely peeking out from behind the wall. She then turned her attention back to the little girl, "He won't hurt you again," Inko promised softly, "I can take you far away from him," the little girl turned her head slightly, revealing that she had eyes the shade of ripe red apples. She held out her hand to her, "Will you let us take you somewhere safe?"

"N-no p-police?" The girl asked fearfully.

Inko nodded, "No police."

Inko new better than to reach out for her any further. She had dealt with frightened children before, and knew that it was best to let her make the first move to come out. So she sat there on her knees, hand extended, and waited. Finally, after what seemed like hours, a tiny hand reached out for hers. Inko choked back a sob at just how thin and frail it was, almost feeling as though her skin was rice paper, while her bones were glass.

Slowly, the little girl crawled out of the small cupboard, allowing her to she just how gaunt she was. Her eyes were still trembling with fear as the woman began to draw her into her arms. [My god, she feels so light,] she thought worriedly, [How could anyone do this to such a small child?!]

As much as she wanted to cry for the little girl, she kept up a smile, and held back her tears for her sake.

The little girl shivered and leaned into her, finding the strange woman's warm arms comforting. Inko let her head lay on her shoulder, which seemed to relax her enough that she dropped off to sleep in a moment. "Toshi?" She called out softly, the man sticking his head out from behind the wall, "I think we need to get her to Recovery Girl," she said as the man's phone appeared in his hand, "Do you think she'd mind?"

Toshinori looked at her with a small smile, "You know she wouldn't," he said in a hushed tone, "In fact, I think she'd be upset that we didn't ask for her help." He said before his face turned serious, "What she said about the man that's apparently been abusing her...about him making them come apart - "

Inko was quick to catch on, "You don't think Mei's father - ?!" She hissed while the man nodded, "Oh, dear lord," she muttered as she rubbed the little girl's back unconsciously, "Then we should let your friend know. Nighteye, wasn't it?"

"I agree," Toshinori said as he began scrolling through his phone, "But after this child has been properly cared for."

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

Author's Note: This chapter will stay as is, except a few touch ups. I won't be adding anything to it along the line for the update. Next part will take care of that.

Wanna see what happens? Y'all know what to do!

Adios Amigos!