The knock comes at 10:03 am. Just a year ago the sound would have set her heart racing, a mixed bottle of anxiety and hope. Now, though, she simply stands from her seat and makes her way slowly to the door, her thoughts occupied only by the bland curiosity of who might be calling on her. She hopes it isn't a salesman; she can never seem to turn them down when they come to call. She chooses not to think too hard about whether that is because she feels bad saying no, or because she is simply lonely and it feels nice to talk with another person.
When the door opens, she is surprised to find two well dressed men on the other side.
"Midoriya Inko?" the first asks, his hands in his pockets. She makes herself smile politely, trying to mask her uncertainty.
"Yes, that's me. How can I help you?"
"Midoriya-san, I am Detective Tsukauchi and this–" he gestures to the man standing just a half step behind him, "–is my associate. Do you have some time to speak with us?"
Inko stares, uncomprehending. Her brow furrows slightly as a lock of hair tickles her cheek. She brushes it away and frowns, trying to focus only on her confusion instead of the ocean of terror that is slowly rising to fill her.
"You aren't the detective assigned to my son's case."
"Ah, no ma'am, I'm not. I'm actually here as a favor. Can we come in?"
Inko's frown deepens as she says, "Can I please see some identification?"
Something like surprise flickers across the detective's face, but it quickly smooths out. He smiles as he pulls his hands from his pockets and reaches for his belt.
"Of course. My apologies, Midoriya-san."
She takes a moment to study the badge, just like Rei had taught her to. She nods her thanks and returns it, then turns her gaze expectantly towards the tall man that stands behind the detective like he is trying to hide himself behind the shorter man's frame. He looks briefly panicked, then bashful.
"I am here as something of an independent party, ma'am. I work with the police sometimes, but I don't have a badge or official title. We are both here for the same reason, though."
She looks towards the detective, who nods. The tall man pulls out a wallet, then his ID, and hands it over. Inko memorizes his name before handing it back with a quiet murmur of thanks. She offers them a wobbly smile, inexplicably numb and unsteady on her feet.
"Please, come in. Can I offer you some tea? Water? Oh, I may have some snacks if you'd like."
Her hands flutter as she leads them towards her living room. Izuku's picture smiles down at them from the wall and there is a stack of missing posters settled on a side table. She offers a few to anyone who comes to her door, just in case.
"I'll take a glass of water if it isn't any trouble," Detective Tsukauchi says, his smile bland and polite. Inko nods and turns to the tall man, a question in her gaze.
"Oh, yes, the same for me please."
She nods and hurries away to the kitchen to fetch the drinks. She takes an extra moment to brew herself some tea and to lay a few store bought pastries out on a plate. She needs more time to settle her nerves and to brace herself.
Her son's case has had no leads for years, not since Rei had come to her with the news that Izuku had helped her. Even then, that had been a dead end. It was a glimmer of hope that led them nowhere, but it had been enough to keep her going and it had been what brought her together with her friend. She has confirmation that her baby is still alive and if he is still able to smile, then she can too, if only for his sake.
Now, though, with the detective and his associate waiting quietly in her living room, she finds herself nearly breathless with the swirling cloud of uncertainty about what news they might be bringing her. Izuku has been missing for almost four years, and aside from the tiny amount of comfort that her friend had been able to offer her, there has not been a single sign of her baby.
What if they have come with bad news?
Her knees nearly buckle at the mere thought. She doesn't know if she will survive if that is the case. There is a part of her that wants to cling to the uncertainty. If she never knows any differently, she can keep picturing Izuku the way that Rei had described him; thinner and paler, but holding out his hand to help a stranger in need with a smile on his face. Alive and whole, and isn't that better?
A sudden wave of rage rolls over her. She swipes at her wet eyes, furious with herself for even daring to think such things. She is no coward and Izuku deserves better from her. No matter what news the detective brings, she knows she must face it head on for Izuku's sake. She tells herself that that is what he would want her to do. Be brave. Be brave like All Might and all the other heroes.
The thought brings a smile to her face, no matter how fleeting.
(Izuku is the only one who has ever considered her a hero, and she failed him. Keeps failing him, more and more every moment he is missing and she isn't there to keep him safe.)
She piles the refreshments onto a tray and takes a few deep breaths. Forces her heart to calm its wild pounding in her chest and plasters a smile on her face. She walks straight-backed to the living room, her past experience as a waitress serving her well as she balances the tray without spilling a single drop.
"Sorry for the wait," she says, placing the tray on the table. The tall man looks at her, and she can't help but notice that his eyes are as startling as they are beautiful. He looks flustered and his hands fidget a little as he leans forward as though to help her.
"You didn't have to go to so much trouble," Yagi-san says.
"It was no trouble at all," Inko assures him, her smile becoming just a little bit warmer at the way this giant of a man flutters and frets over such a small thing.
The detective is standing in front of Izuku's picture, studying it as though he is hoping to memorize every inch of her son's face. She is glad for that.
"Is this the most recent photo you have of your son?" the detective asks, not turning away from Izuku's frozen smile.
"Yes," Inko says. "It is from his school's picture day, just two weeks before he was taken."
It took her two and a half years to be able to say such things without breaking down. Now those words feel like fire burning away at her heart, but she is able to school her features and keep the pain contained. (At least until these men leave and she is free to unravel in privacy.)
The detective nods and steps away from the photograph, coming to sit on the sofa beside his associate. Inko settles into the chair across from them. The detective lifts his glass of water to his lips and Inko folds her hands in her lap to hide the way they tremble. She waits for the man to gather his thoughts.
"I understand that you have become close with Todoroki Rei," Detective Tsukauchi says at last, placing his drink carefully on a coaster. Inko nods, thrown further off balance by the unexpected question. The detective leans forward, fingers steepled and elbows resting on his knees.
"Todoroki-san has recently become...indisposed. She reached out to my associate and me, and requested that we look into your son's case as a personal favor."
"Oh," Inko says. Alarm flares as she remembers the way that her friend flinches away from the gentlest touches and the bruises that she has seen scattered across her arms and Shoto's face. "Are she and Shoto alright?"
The two men share a glance, and Inko's stomach plummets at the same moment that her heart leaps up to lodge itself in her throat.
"They will both make full recoveries," he says. "I'm sorry, but that is all I'm able to say at this time."
Inko nods and mumbles a soft apology as she leans across the table between them, hand held out to float the box of tissues that is just out of her reach closer. It makes more sense now, why she hasn't seen or heard from Rei for far longer than usual. She pulls a tissue from its box and dabs automatically at her nose, then her eyes, surprised to see that it comes back dry. She takes a deep breath and then gestures for him to continue speaking.
The detective pulls out a small notebook and flips it open, eyes scanning the page briefly before he speaks.
"I understand that Todoroki-san met your son about six months after he disappeared."
Inko nods, teeth worrying her bottom lip as she thinks about Izuku and Rei and Shoto, all of them missing from her life and their conditions a mystery to her.
"There was a man with him that night that fought off her attacker while your son led her away to safety."
She nods again and he writes something down. Yagi-san leans forward a little, looking like he is trying to read the detective's notes over his shoulder. She wishes she could do the same.
"How old would Izuku have been at the time?"
"He was taken two months before his fifth birthday, so five years and four months old," she tells him, fingers clenched hard around her tissue.
She feels a little embarrassed, somehow. It seems silly to go into so much detail when the man likely already has access to that information. She feels like she is wasting time, like every unnecessary word that tumbles from her mouth and onto the detective's paper is time better spent on things that the man doesn't already know. She doesn't have anything else to give them, though.
"That was the last known sighting of him," Yagi-san murmurs, eyebrows scrunching and his eyes darting from side to side as he reads. Detective Tsukauchi shoots the blond man a hard look, and it makes Inko want to laugh. Or maybe just scream. She is so tired of people treating her like glass. She just wants them to tell her what they know, ask their questions, and then go out there and find her son.
"It was," she confirms, though she knows that it wasn't a question. She tries to keep the accusation out of her voice as she says, "He will be eight in a few months, and there hasn't been a single lead since then."
"We will have to see if we can change that," Yagi-san says, his lips stretched into a smile that is soft and comforting, but does not fully reach his eyes. The expression is familiar somehow, but she can't seem to place it. She frowns a little, but dips her head in silent gratitude. She waits for them to say more, but the silence stretches on and fills the air between them. She shifts, uncertain and uncomfortable. She doesn't know what they are waiting for.
"Have there been any more leads?" she manages to ask at last, gaze moving slowly between the faces of the two men before her, searching for some sign of news, good or bad. Yagi-san shifts, looking uncomfortable. Detective Tsukauchi shakes his head, expression polite and professionally distant.
"I'm afraid there are no new leads at this time," he says. Inko nods and does her best to ignore the way her heart drops under the crushing disappointment.
She feels numb again. No news is good news. Right?
They ask more questions, just confirming what is already written in the few reports that have been filed over the past four years. Inko answers them all, fighting to maintain the numbness because if she doesn't it will boil over into rage, which will mean tears and yelling. She doesn't know if she could stand the shame if she acted like that to people who are only trying to help.
Their questioning doesn't take very long, considering there isn't much in her son's file to begin with. For one brief second, she is almost grateful. Then the guilt washes over her and she angrily pushes the thought away.
"Should I expect to hear from Detective Abe again?" she asks, trying to shift her focus to any other emotion, any other topic.
"He may still reach out from time to time when I cannot, but I will be the primary detective on your son's case from here on out."
"Thank you, Detective Tsukauchi." She hesitates, then asks, "When can I expect to hear from Rei again?"
The man gives her a sad, pitying look. She has to bite her tongue to stop herself from shrinking beneath it.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Midoriya-san."
She feels buried under the weight of his words, and it must show on her face because Yagi speaks up.
"Don't lose hope. If we hear any news on her condition we will be sure to inform you. I will personally do whatever I can to make sure you are able to meet not only your son, but Todoroki-san and Shoto-kun again."
His smile is blinding, his strange eyes sparkling. Inko feels her breath catch in her chest. She can't seem to find her voice, so she just nods and returns his smile with a shaky one of her own. Beside him, the detective is giving his associate a long suffering look.
"Yagi-san," he mutters, then shoots a look towards Inko and his mouth snaps shut. He sighs and fishes a card from his pocket, offering it to her. "If you have any questions please feel free to reach out any time."
She accepts the cards, first from Detective Tsukauchi and then from Yagi-san. She walks them to the door, trying to ignore the prickling sense of loss that is making her eyes itch. She just has to hold it together until they are out the door.
As the detective steps outside, Yagi-san pauses and turns to her, one foot on the threshold of her apartment. He takes her hand and meets her eye, expression serious. She feels like she should shrink back from the touch, but his expression is so open and earnest that she finds herself frozen.
"I will do everything I can, Midoriya-san, so please don't fear. If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to contact me. I will be here."
She smiles and squeezes his hand, tears overflowing as the dam breaks. Shock flashes across his face, followed quickly by guilt. He opens his mouth, stuttering out a panicked apology, but she cuts him off.
"No, don't apologize. Thank you for coming over. I'll be in touch."
She shoos him out the door, shutting it softly behind him. Back pressed against the wood like that will be enough to keep the tragedies of the world outside from invading, she tries to breathe through the waves of sorrow that are crashing over her. She can hear the men shuffling outside her door, their voices low and muffled, but she can't hold back any longer.
Inko's knees can no longer hold her weight. She collapses, sliding down the door, hands pressed tightly over her mouth as she tries to quiet her sobs. It is just one more loss, one more mystery, one more piece of her heart gone missing without a trace.
No one can tell her anything.
There are no answers.
She has no choice but to remain in the darkness until the light is returned to her life.
The longest chapter yet...but nothing exciting happens. I am so sorry. Inko deserves better.