When Inko gets up in the morning, she is fully prepared to spend her whole day angry. There's a part of her that wants nothing more than to pick a fight. She is so tired of always being nice, of nodding along as she is told time and time and time again that there's no news. Now that there is a lead, the people handling Izuku's case didn't even bother contacting her! She just gets completely swept aside in lieu of letting the media have their fun first, gasping and tittering while watching her son being taken away again. It's enough to make her blood boil.
She's already played through seven different arguments in her head by the time 2 o'clock rolls around and a knock sounds on her front door. She stops her incessant pacing and whips her head towards the door. The flurry of small objects that she had been subconsciously floating in her wake fall to the ground with several noisy clatters and thumps. She glances at the clock, noting that her guest is exactly on time which means that she won't even have time to tidy up the mess she just made. The thought makes her even more irrationally angry but she tries to shove it aside to focus on the more important things – like her son – and balls her hands into fists. Her small stature might not ever be considered intimidating to anyone older than elementary school age, but she does her best to communicate her desire to maim someone through her expression alone as she stomps towards the front door and flings it open, already tearing into her guest before he's even through the front door.
"Yagi, I hope you have a good explanation for—" Her intended scolding cuts off abruptly as soon as she gets a good look at the man standing before her, shock flooding in to replace her fury like ice water dumped over a fire.
For a brief moment she almost doesn't recognize the man standing in front of her. Then reality catches up and she gasps, hands flying up to cover her mouth, horrified by the state of him. His blond hair is no longer slicked back and professional looking, and is instead hanging limp and greasy around his face. His usually proud posture has been replaced by something hunched and unsteady, one hand gripping the doorframe so hard that the visible knuckles are turning white. His other arm is in a sling, bruising and cuts cover half of his face and extend down his neck to disappear beneath the collar of his shirt, and holy shit is that an IV stand he's dragging behind him?
Still, he offers her a trembling smile that creases the horrific bruising on the side of his face. The bandage on his cheek slowly turns from white to red as whatever wound hidden beneath it opens again. Inko feels tears burning her eyes in response.
"Hello, Midoriya-san," Yagi greets, voice soft and rasping.
She doesn't know how he's still standing. The dark shadows around his eyes and the peckish tone to his skin would be enough to tell her that he's in a great deal of pain even without all the highly visible wounds. His smile remains, but he hovers in the doorway like he's afraid to step inside; like he's worried that she may hurt him more if he does.
"What happened?" she demands by way of greeting, and his smile promptly disappears. He hesitates just long enough to tell her that the next words out of his mouth are going to be a lie. Then, the smile returns so suddenly it gives her chills, looking waxy and pasted on. Any hint of genuinity is gone, and something about that breaks her heart.
"I was involved in a car accident," he finally settles on. Inko raises a disbelieving eyebrow, tempted to push him for more details and catch him in his lie, but then he wobbles and a lifetime of caretaker instincts overwhelm her and she ushers him inside and towards the sofa. She pretends like the room isn't a wreck and he thankfully does the same.
"I'll make some tea," she tells him, kicking a throw pillow out of the way as she bustles around him, moving the IV stand to rest a little closer to him. "Have you eaten yet? I can bring some soup, as well."
"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly—"
She ignores his protests as she always does, cutting him off with a sharp look. It seems to be a reminder that he's here specifically because she's angry with him because he bites his split lip but falls obediently silent. She finds a blanket and an extra pillow and puts them within easy reach before she heads for the kitchen, just in case.
"Nonsense," she calls over her shoulder. "You look like you need it. It will only take a moment, just wait here and I'll be right back."
The small spread she arranges on the coffee table is simple and hardly appetizing, just instant miso soup and green tea that she's had sitting on the stovetop since the morning, but Yagi still seems to sag in something like relief as he lifts the steaming mug to his face and breathes deeply. He doesn't give the soup a single glance, but he does seem to appreciate the warm drink. She gives him a moment to enjoy it, watching how his hand trembles as he takes a cautious sip. Three of his fingers are heavily bandaged. Just as she's watching him fumble with putting his drink back on the table and wondering if she should get him a straw, he breaks what had almost been a comfortable silence.
"You've seen the video?" he asks in a soft voice, and Inko's spine goes rigid. A hint of her anger flares again and she sniffs, floating her own drink towards her with ease and wrapping both hands around the mug.
"Yes. It was playing on the news, which is how I learned about it. Remember?"
Yagi winces, but nods.
"Of course. My apologies."
"I don't want any apologies, Yagi. I've heard nothing but apologies and condolences for the last six years. I want answers and results. Tell me what you know, and don't you dare try to hide anything or spare my feelings. Understood?"
He gulps, adam's apple bobbing, and she swears she can see a trickle of sweat slide down his temple. He nods, then winces like the action hurts him, but she can't find it in herself to offer more comfort than she already has. She breathes deeply and watches as he echoes the action, massive chest expanding and deflating as he prepares himself to speak.
"As you saw in the video," he begins, "a boy matching Izuku's description was spotted by a hero in Naruhata."
"Ingenium," Inko supplies when he pauses, nodding. "He looked like he was talking to Izuku."
"Yes. He's a nice young man and a very capable hero. He had a gut feeling that something was wrong and was trying to convince Izuku to come with him so he could help."
The man speaks like he knows the Pro personally, which is a point towards the theory she's held in the back of her mind on his involvement with heroes. There are far more important things to talk about right now, though.
"How was Izuku?" she whispers, not caring that the question comes out dripping in desperation. Yagi pauses, throat clicking as he swallows again, and she can see the way he considers the questions and thinks about lying to her. She narrows her eyes, daring him to try to say all was well when his silence alone is answer enough.
"According to Ingenium, your son was…jumpy. He showed no obvious signs of physical abuse, but there were signs of neglect. He was going by the name Yudai."
She repeats the name, tears welling in her eyes as she tastes the alias and realizes that her baby's identity may very well have been stripped from him. The meaning strikes a chord, but Inko can't help but think that it is a terribly bitter name. Yagi is watching her closely, blue eyes sunken and bloodshot but as gentle as ever. He takes no pleasure in delivering this news, for all that it is good in the sense that it is finally some confirmation that her boy is still alive. It's a lead. She has to be grateful for that much, at least.
"And the man that," she pauses, voice stuck on the lump in her throat, and does her best to gather herself. Yagi waits patiently, eyes averted to give her the privacy to process her thoughts and wipe away her tears. She breathes deeply and tries again. "The man that attacked Ingenium and took Izuku. Are there any leads on him?"
"The heroes and police are working hard to find any information they can about his identity. It's believed he may have been a key figure in a string of attacks in the area as well as another sighting, so there are multiple heroes working on the case due to the overlap."
Yagi winces as soon as the words are out of his mouth, as though wishing that he could draw them back in and swallow them whole. Inko's eyes narrow suspiciously as she reflects on the words, trying to find the reason behind his sudden regret. A flare of anger rises in her again, but she swallows it down and forces her words to come out cool and composed, if a bit sharper than normal.
"What are you hiding from me, Yagi? You said something about another sighting."
It takes a few moments of gritted teeth and averted eyes, something almost guilty in his expression like he's revealing a secret that's not his to share, but he eventually speaks.
"There was another hero," he says reluctantly. "—who was unaware of your son's situation when they met. Izuku…tried to direct him to a homeless shelter, actually."
"Why would he…?"
"The hero in question is an Underground Hero, so he isn't really, uh, flashy might be the kindest way to put it."
"Okay," she says slowly, and despite the way the knowledge that Izuku was so close to help twice over burns in a way she can't put words to, the thought of her boy still trying to help someone he believed to be in need makes something coiled tight in her chest begin to unwind. She breathes deeply, trying to cool the raging fire of hurt in her soul, trying to focus only on the fact that Izuku is alive and unharmed despite the fact that the word neglect is still ringing in her head like a gong. They have a solid lead. The investigation can finally begin to move forward.
"Do you think they're still in Naruhata?" she asks after some thought, already trying to calculate how much money she has saved and whether it will be enough to rent out a room in the city for however long it takes to find Izuku. She'll wander the streets if she has to, will scream his name from the rooftops or comb through every alley until she finds him, until he's back safely in her arms and she can squeeze him tight and never let go, until he's home again and—
"They won't be there," Yagi says, giving her a knowing look that makes her want to shrink beneath it. "This man is a professional. He likely had a contingency plan of some sort for this exact situation. They were likely long gone before the police even arrived on the scene."
"Right," Inko breathes, sinking lower into her seat. Her shoulders slump, but she forces herself to keep the despair and the crushing disappointment at bay, at least while she has company. "This man's kept Izuku alive this long, so he won't hurt him now, right? I read somewhere that if he's still alive after all this time, it's because the kidnapper wants something from him. There's a…a bond—" and oh god, saying it out loud makes her want to throw up. She wants to die, just thinking about what such a horrible person could possibly want from her baby but he's alive, he's alive, that's what matters, he's alive and everything else can be figured out later.
"Yes," Yagi rasps, then raises his bandaged hand to his mouth as a cough wracks his body. His breathing is beginning to get labored and a little wetter than it was when he first arrived. A strange thought occurs to her and, desperate for any reprieve from the spiral of dark terrible thoughts of oh god Izuku, my baby, what is that man doing to my baby, she grabs hold of the thread and pulls.
"Yagi," she calls, head tipping to the side as she assesses his dirty hair and crookedly buttoned shirt and the IV stand parked just behind him. "You didn't sneak out of the hospital just to come meet with me, did you?"
He answers by coughing up a worrying amount of blood. Inko screams and scrambles to find a box of tissues within the mess on the floor, shoving them into his hands before rushing to the bathroom to get a wet rag and practically sprinting back. As she dabs at his chin and does her best to wipe the blood from his shirt, she can't help but exhale a shaky little laugh at how backwards the day seems to have gone. She hasn't even gotten the chance to give Yagi the scolding she had been rehearsing for hours.
"Let's get you back to the hospital," she murmurs, still trying to make the bright red stains on his pale blue shirt fade. "We can talk over the phone, or I can visit you there, and then you can come back when you're healed. Don't think you're off the hook, though! I'm still very upset."
"Inko." She jolts as his large hand catches hers and enfolds it in a grip that's a little too tight for comfort. The splints around his fingers dig painfully into the back of her hand, squeezing the fragile tendons and bone. Her eyes lift and she meets his solemn gaze, some distant part of her noting just how very blue his eyes are when she's this close.
"There's a reason I had to sneak out of the hospital," he says in a voice barely above a whisper. "After this visit is over, I won't be coming back."
The world seems to come to a screeching halt around her. She stares at him for a few seconds, disbelief warring with cold acceptance in her mind.
"What do you mean?"
"You see, with the attack on a well known hero like Ingenium and the fact another hero is involved, plus the high profile vigilantes and the string of deaths all seeming to link back to the man suspected of kidnapping your son…. Well, it doesn't look very good. There are some powerful people who are quite eager to keep this quiet and wait for any media attention to blow over."
Is the room spinning? She's fairly sure it is. There's no way the world can still be so deadly still with so many terrible things going on.
"Vigilantes and heroes and murderers, oh my," she says to herself, parsing through his words and realizing that there is so much more going on that he's told her. Then, a little louder, she says, "Powerful people…. Do you mean the Hero Public Safety Commission?"
He winces and shakes his head so hard that he turns a little green. If he's going to keep lying to her then he should at least be better at it. It's insulting that he seems to think she's dumb enough to believe his feeble attempts at it, but then again, judging by how he looks like he may throw up more blood just from that shake of the head, a concussion might explain why he's acting like such a fool right now.
"I can't say," he rasps, which is as good as confirmation to her. "I've been instructed not to even speak with you for the time being."
"You snuck out of the hospital just to meet with me," Inko points out dryly, ignoring the way he splutters and protests. "It's a little late to be playing by the rules."
"Ah, well, it's just that that's different! There's more going on here than you know. I can't say anything else, but after this—"
"I know," she cuts in, voice sharp enough to stop his rambling in its tracks. She heaves a deep breath, feeling like the weight of every terrible thing the world has to offer is weighing upon her shoulders. She doesn't bother trying to hide the defeated slump anymore. "What if something happens, Yagi? What if Izuku is found?"
"A BOLO has been sent to every major hero agency. If he is found, then you'll be the first to know. I swear it."
"Do you?"
He meets her eyes and there's a look in their electric blue depths she's never seen before. Despite the blood flecking his lips and the hollowness of his cheeks, there's something comforting about his resolute expression. He gives one quick, confident nod, and despite all the hurt and all the shock she finds herself believing him. Inko wets her lips, tasting her own blood welling from the spot she's been known to worry at when anxious. She balls her hands into fists, and thinks strangely that they should be the hands of a mother and not a woman mourning a living ghost. She hates herself for the thought but takes a few deep breaths and forces herself to hold Yagi's steady gaze despite the resentment burning a hole in her heart.
"If that's the case, then I suppose we shouldn't waste anymore time. Let's start from the beginning, and don't leave anything out this time."
She listens, holding back tears as she learns of all that they know about Izuku. Despite the way that words like arson and murder leave her heart pounding fast and her stomach rolling with horror, she never once tells him to stop.
Two chapters in one month? In my fic? It's more likely than you think.
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As always, my greatest of thanks to my wonderful betas, TheFoxyPirateFox and Shaegal.