When Koichi had called, Kazuho almost didn't answer. She was tired and sore after the mess of their patrol the night before, behind on her homework, and overwhelmed with planning the next show at the department store. The last thing she wanted to hear was his chipper tone reminding her that he was apparently impervious to sour moods and that he was obviously the better person between the two of them. When the phone stopped ringing, she closed her eyes again and relaxed, sinking deeper into the mattress with the intention of sleeping for a few more hours.
Then, the incessant ringing started again. With an agonized groan, she fumbled blindly for the phone and punched randomly at the screen, hoping to silence the call and somehow managing to answer it instead.
"Kazuho? Hello? Are you there?" The voice was familiar and expected, but it still made her want to scream.
"This had better be important," she growled instead, eyelids still too heavy to pry open. "After that stupid stunt you pulled last night, you owe me at least one day of rest."
"Ah, sorry," he says, and she knows that whatever is about to come out of his mouth is most definitely going to mean she will have to not only get out of bed, but also put on pants and a bra.
Which is how she winds up sitting in the world's worst cafe, which they've used to meet up with contacts in the past. It's perfect because the only people who come here are tired enough to mind their own business if they're resigned to eating the garbage this place calls food. Now they're waiting for a woman they've never met before to walk through the front door.
Kazuho hates black coffee, but the waitress claims their espresso machine is broken so it's the only kind of caffeinated drink they have available besides soda, and she knows she needs something stronger than that if she's going to get through the day. Koichi had looked vaguely worried at the amount of sugar she added to the drink, but had wisely kept his mouth shut once he caught the glare she shot him and his concerned grimacing.
The light pouring in through the dusty windows is warm despite the cold air that wafts throughout the room any time the door swings open to admit another customer. Most of them leave the moment they hear the limited coffee options, but Kazuho still examines each person with a wary curiosity, trying to pretend the nervous twisting in her gut is just from how disgusting her drink is. She isn't sure what to expect of the woman who is claiming to be Yudai's mother. Or rather, Izuku, she mentally corrects herself. The name just won't stick to her mental image of the kid no matter how much she tries, and she finds herself stumbling over it every time.
She checks her phone, sees that the time is now 2:53pm, and sighs. If she was asked to meet somebody about something important then she would definitely arrive early.
"You did confirm the meeting is at three pm and not three am, right, Koichi?"
"Huh? Do you think I need to? Is this place ever open that late?"
"It's a 24 hour cafe, you moron!" she snaps, voice pitched high as she uses every ounce of her willpower not to shout. A man hovering at the counter for his coffee casts her a wary glance and inches a little further away. She lowers her voice to hiss, "How do you not know that?"
"Well, we only ever come here during the day," he defends, though there's not much heat behind it. He mostly just looks sheepish.
"Whatever," she sighs. "You're paying for my food."
Koichi squawks and complains, but Kazuho doesn't bother responding to him, instead flipping the menu open and scanning the measly options. She settles on a sandwich that she's hopeful will be too easy for this place to mess up and places her order just as the little chimes hanging on the door announce a new arrival with their cheery tinkle. She glances towards the newcomer, idly scanning their features for any hint that they might be related to Yu- Izuku, before she turns her attention back towards her phone. Only to then realize she recognizes the man just as he settles into the empty connected booth in front of them, back facing her and Koichi.
"Eraser?" Koichi asks, sounding baffled.
"Shut up," the hero snaps back, not turning to face them. He waves the tired looking waitress over and asks for black coffee in the largest mug they have. Once she's walked away to get it for him, he says, "Your guest is about to enter."
And right on cue, just as the clock on the wall hits three, the bells tinkle again. Even if he hadn't said anything, there's no doubt in Kazuho's mind that she would have been able to recognize Izuku's mother the moment she saw her. The two share too many commonalities, from the color of their hair to the shape of their face and eyes. The woman looks around the nearly empty space, obviously not sure who she's supposed to be meeting, and when her eyes rove their way Koichi gives her a wave. The woman bites her lip, glances down at a scrap of paper held in her hands, and makes her way over to their table.
"Ah, sorry to bother you," she begins, "-but do you know someone named Tensei?"
"Yes! You must be Midoriya-san. Please, sit down."
She smiles at Koichi, sends a searching glance towards Kazuho, and slides into the empty seat across from them. Kazuho stares at the woman as she gets settled, not sure what to say. Eraserhead doesn't turn around to face them, only murmuring a quiet thanks when the waitress comes back with his coffee, but his shoulders have grown more and more hunched through the short exchange.
Kazuho isn't really sure why they're all here, but Koichi at least seems confident with whatever instructions he'd gotten from Tensei as he launches into introductions and a bit of small talk. Kazuho doesn't join in, alternating between frowning down at her drink and trying not to be too obvious about the way her eyes search Midoriya-san's face, cataloging each similarity and difference between her and her son. A yawning pit has begun to open in her belly, sorrow and grief and guilt and maybe just a tiny bit of anger all swirling together in a tempest she's been trying to tamp down for months now. Her fingers feel cold despite the way her palms burn against the hot ceramic of her coffee cup.
The cafe is practically deserted at this time of day, which makes it especially weird that Eraserhead is sitting so close to them. The puffy mess of his hair would be practically tangled with the long sleek locks of Midoriya-san's own if one of them shifted just a foot to the side.
The waitress brings Kazuho her sandwich and takes Midoriya-san's ("please," she had said with a sweet smile, "call me Inko.") meager order. Koichi asks for a soda and a piece of cake. Kazuho wonders if his teeth are going to rot out of his head before he turns 30. If he even makes it that far.
She frowns into her coffee as that thought crosses her mind. She knows she isn't being particularly friendly today, not towards her friend and certainly not towards Inko. She just can't seem to summon the energy needed to be her usual bubbly self. Every time she looks at the other woman, she can't help but picture Yudai's scared face and Tensei, covered in blood. It's not fair, but at least Inko doesn't seem offended by how quiet she's being. It's not like she would know that this is unusual for her, anyway.
After the waitress has left to retrieve their orders, Inko turns back towards them with an expression Kazuho hasn't seen her with before now. She casts a glance over her shoulder, frowning at the sight of the scruffy man sitting right behind her, and leans forward across the table. Her necklace brushes the tabletop with a soft scrape of metal against laminate.
"It was suggested that you two might be able to talk freely with me about…an incident," she says, voice so low that Kazuho has to strain to hear her.
"Oh, yeah!" Koichi says, sounding far too much like he somehow managed to forget they were meeting up for something a lot more clandestine than coffee with a friend. Inko suddenly looks a lot more unimpressed and Kazuho drops her head into her hands to resist the urge to smack him upside the head.
"We're not heroes," she says into the heel of her hand, knowing that if she doesn't cut in they'll never get anywhere. She pretends like Eraserhead isn't hovering nearby, witnessing the frankly humiliating spectacle. "All three of us are technically civilians, so when we talk we'll just be gossiping. You get it?"
She lifts her head just enough to peek at the way something like disappointment flickers across Inko's face, masked quickly by a resigned sort of understanding. The woman nods, quick and sharp enough that Kazuho can practically hear her neck pop. She smiles, green eyes watery and lips cracked from the cold, and says with false cheer, "Just old friends catching up on the latest hero drama."
"Exactly!" Koichi chimes in, voice ringing loud and sharp around them, far too cheerful for the situation at hand. Kazuho wonders idly why she likes him, but Inko seems…almost like his inappropriately good mood helps her to relax a little? Weird, but it wouldn't be the first time he's had that effect on people. Everybody loves The Crawler eventually, whether he's in costume or out of it. It just takes a little while sometimes.
They lapse into a brief silence, and Kazuho realizes that she's right back to not being sure what she's supposed to say. Sorry I personally escorted your son back to the apartment he was being held hostage in. My bad.
She can't look Inko in the eyes, so she drops her gaze to the table and adds another packet of sugar to her gross drink before forcing herself to lift the mug to her lips and take a sip. The face she makes as the drink from hell burns off all her taste buds must be something else, though, because Inko hides a soft laugh behind her hand and whatever awkward spell had fallen over them is broken.
"In my experience, too much sugar just makes bad coffee worse. Maybe try some cream with the next cup."
"Thanks," Kazuho manages to squeeze out through her pursed lips, hoping desperately that the waitress will come back soon so she can ask for water to rinse the terrible taste out of her mouth. Inko laughs again before she takes a breath and straightens in her seat.
"I'm sorry to be blunt, but I'm not sure why I'm speaking with the two of you today. Were you involved, somehow?"
Kazuho shares a glance with Koichi, a silent conversation consisting of only the slightest widening of eyes, lowered brows, and pouting lips. If nothing else, at least all their patrols together have allowed them to be able to silently beseech the other person be the first to plead their case to a third party. Kazuho isn't sure why she keeps giving in to Koichi's puppy dog eyes, but somehow she's always the one who ends up going first.
"I met your son when he was lost, and I offered to help him find his way back to the temporary housing he was staying in," she says, trying to keep her story as quick but vague as possible. She's not sure why Eraserhead is here, but she figures that if he was sent to monitor their conversation, she should probably try her best to speak in, like…code? Or something?
"After that, we bumped into each other a couple more times. I sometimes sing, like, do performances on the street. And I guess he came to a couple of those? He actually helped me out of a tight spot one time when these guys were bothering me after a performance. It was just coincidence whenever we'd bump into each other and end up hanging out, but…I suppose you could say that we ended up becoming friends in the end."
Her eyes are stinging and her breath keeps hitching in her throat. She frowns and shakes her head a little too violently, and she hears Koichi yelp when her hair hits him in the face. She still can't look straight at Inko without guilt making her stomach churn.
"I didn't know the truth about his situation, obviously. He said he was, uh, living with an uncle."
She winces, wondering if she should have added that last part. Inko doesn't look like she's about to break down into a sobbing mess, though, so it was probably fine? She mostly just looks contemplative, hauntingly familiar green eyes misty as she traces the imperfections in the tabletop.
"He's a really good kid," Kazuho adds weakly, searching for some way to steer the conversation back towards something approaching comfortable. Well, as comfortable as it can be, considering the subject at hand.
The silence stretches on as Inko digests the words, her revelry broken only by the tinkling of bells as the man at the counter gets his shitty coffee, pays, and leaves. The sound seems to bring her back to herself and she drags her eyes up to meet Kazuho's, smiling softly as she says, "I'm glad he found a friend while he was here." Which really just makes Kazuho feel a thousand times worse.
"Uh, yeah, no problem. Like I said, he's a great kid so I'm sure he would have found somebody else, even if he never met me."
Again, she cringes, wondering why she keeps saying the wrong thing. Desperate for a distraction, she elbows Koichi hard in the side and mutters, "Your turn."
The man blinks like a deer facing down headlights as Inko turns to him, looking for all the world like he's never had to give any kind of debriefing before. No wonder nobody believes he's a vigilante despite barely disguising himself. He clears his throat and his lips turn up into his usual stupid smile.
"Oh, his uncle was trying to kill me, but Izuku stepped in and saved my life," Koichi announces bluntly. Kazuho wants to push him off a roof. Not a tall one, but maybe a fall would wake up the few brain cells she hopes are just in hibernation inside his head. "So is Stendhal your brother or your husband's brother?"
"Uh, we're both only children," Inko answers. She looks a little stunned by the blinding flash-bomb of stupidity that just went off in front of her. Koichi frowns and opens his mouth to ask what is definitely about to be a world endingly stupid and inconsiderate question, so Kazuho digs her heel into his foot hard enough that he yelps. At least the sound cuts off the, "then why did he say he was his uncle?" that was about to come out of his mouth.
Thankfully, the waitress chooses that moment to appear with their orders. She passes out the food with a bored expression and Kazuho wonders if she has any inkling that Koichi owes her a life debt, because if the conversation hadn't been cut off by her timely arrival Kazuho was going to kill the idiot herself.
"This is painful to watch," Eraserhead mutters, and all three of them go stiff. Inko flushes red and Kazuho watches in amazement as a fire lights in her previously gentle eyes.
"Excuse me?" Inko snaps, swinging around to face the man. He doesn't acknowledge her, turning his attention onto the waitress as Inko fumes.
"Maguchi-san, go take your break."
The woman's brows arch, a look that may have been elegant if her lips hadn't twisted into a fond grin at the same time.
"You don't have to tell me twice," she says, striding past them to flip the lock on the front door and turn off the neon open sign. Kazuho's never seen this place closed before. Then, without a second glance, she passes them again on the way to the back room and yells, "Benjiro, you're taking your smoke early! Let's go."
Kazuho, Koichi, and Inko watch the two employees disappear into the back with identical expressions of baffled shock. Eraserhead clears his throat and turns to look their way.
"Everything you're about to hear from me doesn't leave this room," Eraserhead says without further preamble, capturing their attention once more. "I was never here, and neither were any of you. If word of any of this gets out, Izuku will be the one to suffer consequences and I will personally ensure that you," his eyes cut directly towards Koichi and Kazuho, and frankly she feels like that's a little unfair. "-will not like what happens to you. Is that understood?"
Three heads bob in perfect unison, stunned into silence by the sharp tone and grim warnings. Inko's fiery expression has turned to one of wide eyed curiosity. Eraserhead grunts his own acknowledgement before settling back a bit in his seat, still turned sideways to face them. He looks ridiculous. Kazuho wishes he would just move to sit at their table.
"My name is Aizawa Shouta. I'm an underground hero known as Eraserhead. No, I am not the person assigned to handle your son's case, but I do have a personal interest in it."
"Do you know who is?" Inko asks, voice high and tight with desperation. Kazuho leans forward, just as eager to know.
"Officially? No one is assigned to his case."
"What do you mean by that?" Inko sounds faint. Beneath the table, Kazuho's hand finds Koichi's and squeezes hard. There is a strange feeling in her heart when he squeezes back just as tightly.
"Stendhal is the focus of the investigation. Any resources put towards this case are being used to find him, not Izuku. As best as anyone can tell, the man who kidnapped your son switches between moonlighting as a vigilante or a mercenary, and he is frighteningly successful as both. This indicates a powerful quirk, wide skill set, and a reckless disregard for any personal moral compass. He is the person of interest here, and your son is only on our radar because of him."
"I understand why this…." She pauses briefly, and her face twists with fury and disgust before she manages to school it back into something more neutral. "-Stendhal person would be the focus of an investigation, but why wouldn't any resources be put towards rescuing Izuku? He's just a child! Surely they don't think he has something to do with Stendhal's crimes!"
Eraserhead shakes his head and some distant part of Kazuho wonders if he uses a volumizing shampoo, because even greasy as hell his hair still has some crazy bounce to it.
"No, nothing like that, as far as I know. It's…."
He trails off, thinking through his next words. The frown lines around his mouth grow deeper, but somehow he looks younger than ever before, sitting here struggling for words like anyone else would. She's so used to him showing up out of the blue to get them out of trouble, and always acting so cool and collected, like nothing in the world can shake him. Except now, of course, something has. Kazuho's stomach twists painfully as she wonders what it is about Izuku that manages to attract so much trouble. He's really affected the people he's left behind.
"Listen," Eraserhead sighs, and his voice drops deeper. "This is conjecture on my part. There's no proof, so think carefully about what I'm saying and come to your own conclusions. Got it?"
Three heads bob in time to the annoying cafe music that nobody had thought to turn off before this meeting could begin. It kind of ruins the serious mood, but Kazuho is grateful for it.
"My theory is that the commission is hoping that, given enough time, Izuku will fade from the public's consciousness, as well as from the minds of any heroes not directly involved."
"What?" Kazuho gasps before Inko has the time to, and at the same time Koichi asks, "Why would they want that?"
Inko's lips press tightly together, drawing her mouth into a thin line. She doesn't look surprised by his words. When Eraserhead speaks, his eyes slide away from them, focusing on the wall past their heads with a glare that should have set the drywall ablaze.
"Ingenium's attempt to help Izuku was a very public embarrassment for a highly ranked spotlight hero. He's dropped several spots in public rankings since then, which isn't a good look for him or the commission. The sooner the incident is forgotten, the sooner the HPSC and their associated pet heroes go back to being an undisputed power in the public eye. They want civilians and villains alike to forget that one of their own was brought down by a single man, and that in doing so he wasn't able to save a civilian child who had gone to him for help."
Kazuho nods along and chews her lower lip. His words are rolling around in her head like marbles, but she still isn't sure if she really gets his meaning. Shouldn't saving Izuku be worth more than a hero's image? Tensei had certainly seemed to think so, on the few occasions that she'd had the chance to text with him before he went radio silent and started doing tv appearances instead. Even now, he only passes on information during his runs with Koichi and doesn't respond to even his texts.
"That makes sense," Koichi murmurs, and she turns to look at him. There's a thoughtful expression on his face, the kind of sharp intensity that always takes her a little by surprise. "Half of heroes' power comes from the perception that they're invincible, right?"
"That's right," Eraserhead grunts.
"But that's not all, is it?" Inko says. Her voice is hard and sharp, cutting through the conversation like a cold blade. "There's something else to this theory of yours. Something you're not telling me."
"No, you're right," Eraserhead sighs, slumping forward, head hanging. "There's more. You won't like it."
"I haven't liked pretty much anything that's happened for the last six years. Tell me the rest of your theory. No matter what it is, I won't be angry with you."
He gazes at her through the dark curtain of his hair. A wry smile flashes across his face, there and gone so quickly that it may have just been a trick of the light. He tips his head back, eyes half lidded, throat exposed, and heaves the kind of sigh that is likely to expel his whole soul into the air around them. Kazuho catches the scent of coffee and cigarettes half hidden beneath something vaguely minty from all the way across the table and can't help but wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"Were you aware that you've made some powerful friends?" he asks, and Inko looks startled by the sudden shift in the conversation. Her brow creases and she shakes her head. He hums. "No, I expected you might not have known. You have a bit of pull in the hero community, whether you realize it or not. I don't think the commission likes that very much. In one way or another, several powerful heroes have now found themselves involved in your son's case without any success, and the perpetrator is still out there running free despite a very public show of power."
Kazuho looks at Inko with a newfound curiosity, wondering what secret connections this unassuming woman might have up her sleeve. Judging from her expression, Inko is probably wondering the exact same thing. Koichi shifts beside her, and when she looks at him she can see a deep frown pulling his normally cheerful expression into something dark and serious.
"You already said most of that earlier," he points out. "You're stalling. What don't you want to say?"
Eraserhead levels his wallpaper melting stare at Koichi, and Kazuho is again hit by how very young he looks. She frowns, and for the first time she wonders how old he might be. She'd always assumed he must have been old as shit to have those bags beneath his eyes and his world weary outlook on life, but now she's wondering if he would have fit in at Koichi's college classes. As a student and not a teacher.
"Please," Inko says, and she reaches over the back of the booth to grasp Eraserhead's hand and pull it towards her. He looks startled by the contact, but he doesn't pull away. He looks very tired as he pushes his hair out of his face with his free hand.
"Have you wondered why a man who can single handedly take out a high ranking legacy hero would keep a child around?"
"Of course," Inko says, her voice low and pained. "I've heard plenty of horror stories and seen all the statistics. I know that whatever reason he has for keeping Izuku isn't a good one."
The implications hit her like a truck and Kazuho feels like she's going to throw up. At her side, Koichi presses so close she is sure he can feel the shudder that rolls through her. She thinks about the way Izuku had been so comfortable in the seedy parts of town, and wonders why she never saw the red flags. She hates herself more than ever for walking him right back into that place.
"There's a good chance that there's more to it than that," Eraserhead says, cutting off Kazuho's spiraling thoughts. His expression is grim, though Kazuho isn't sure how things can be any worse. "As far as we can tell, Stendhal has a large body count and a powerful quirk, yet he's managed to stay under the radar until now. He attacked a hero and revealed his existence and possibly his quirk for the sake of your son. I was part of the team that uncovered what was most likely his main base, and it looked like he was forced to completely abandon it. There's a chance that in his act of getting Izuku away from Ingenium, Stendhal also lost a number of his contacts along with his anonymity and his home. It was a massive risk, and the only payoff as far as I can tell was Izuku."
"So, what?" Kazuho speaks up, her brow creased. She doesn't get what he's trying to get at here, and maybe that makes her stupid, but she just can't understand whatever secret he's trying to spill. "Are you trying to say that Stendhal just, like, likes Izuku or something? What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm saying that he was willing to give up everything for this kid's sake," Eraserhead says, and though his tone is sharp there is a patience to it that she's not used to hearing from anyone besides her favorite teachers. "Additionally, from what I've been able to glean from my own research, your son also has made an impact on the local community as well. Kazuho isn't the only person he helped out of a sticky situation. Which has the HSPC wondering what, exactly, is so special about Izuku."
"What was his quirk?" Koichi asks, the question directed towards Inko. She shakes her head, eyes glassy. She still hasn't freed Eraserhead's hand, clutching it tightly with both hands now. Kazuho feels a distant flash of pity for the man; that doesn't look comfortable at all.
"I don't know. He was only four when he disappeared, and he hadn't gotten it yet."
Koichi hums, head tilting thoughtfully. Kazuho can almost hear the thoughts banging against the insides of his usually empty skull before he speaks.
"So if a mercenary-slash-vigilante is willing to risk it all for a kid, there's a good chance that he's expecting the payoff to be worth it. So…a powerful quirk? Something he's hoping will be able to help him out somehow later on?"
Eraserhead nods, sharp and quick. His eyes find Inko's and hold her gaze, eerie and unblinking. Kazuho could almost swear that she can see red glowing deep within their dark depths.
"That's the idea, yeah, and there's no way the HPSC hasn't had a similar thought."
There's something hovering on the edges of Kazuho's consciousness, some revelation that she's just shy of making, and it frustrates her that she still can't understand what he's trying to say. She scowls but doesn't speak up, hoping that Eraserhead will get to his point before she has to embarrass herself further by having to ask for even more clarification. Izuku's life is important, so why does it seem like all the heroes she's met so far have been so determined to beat around the bush when it comes to him?
"The HPSC has a vested interest in producing the next generation of powerful heroes, and I doubt that they'll let Izuku go back to a civilian home after the training they're sure he's been receiving from a skilled teacher."
"What are you saying?" Inko demands, squeezing his hand so hard her tendons stand stark and white against her skin. There is no indication that he even notices her grip, his gaze never wavering.
"I'm saying that when Izuku is found, it would be very wise to make sure that every person you know is aware of it. Every hero contact you've cultivated, every one of your friends. Hell, start calling news stations if you have to. I am going to do everything I can to help find Izuku, but even after that, there's a chance that you're going to have to continue your fight to bring him home. You get it?"
Inko looks very, very pale. She swallows hard and nods as tears gather on her lashes, threatening to spill over. Eraserhead nods back, and suddenly he has extracted his hand from her punishing grip and is on his feet, coffee mug left abandoned on the table. He pushes his hair back and gives them all a wide smile, the expression coming nowhere close to genuine. Kazuho shudders, recognizing the slightly manic expression as a warning.
"Again, this is all just guess work on my end," he reminds, dark eyes roving carefully over the table's occupants, meeting each of their eyes with a frightening intensity. "Don't take anything I've said to heart. I won't stop looking for Izuku until he's home safely, but this is the only time we're going to meet. I'm just here as a favor, anyways, so it's not like I really know what I'm talking about."
"Right. Of course," Inko rasps, voice tight and cheeks blotchy as she fights to hold back her tears long enough to finish this meeting. "Thank you for meeting us today."
"Don't mention it," he says, just a little too serious, and Kazuho shudders again. She's pretty sure she just felt the temperature drop by a good ten degrees.
"Thank you," Inko repeats, and this time the words are heavier, the meaning going deeper than anything that could be so easily expressed with words. Eraserhead pauses, head tilting as he examines Inko thoughtfully. Then he turns and leaves out the same backdoor that the cafe's employees had. They watch him go in silence, waiting for the sound of the door slamming shut before any of them dare to release whatever breath they had been holding.
"Well, he seemed, ah-" Inko's breath hitches on a sob, and the tears trembling on her lashes finally spill over, so she has to force a teary smile and begin again. "Well, he seemed very nice."
The words are so unexpected that they punch a laugh out of Kazuho, which her companions thankfully ignore.
"He's an interesting guy," Koichi chimes in, nodding along and offering Inko a napkin to wipe her face with. "He comes across kind of cold, but he's always been reliable and kind when it matters."
"I'm glad to hear it," Inko murmurs, rubbing at her face and leaving her skin red and inflamed. Kazuho grimaces and has to resist the urge to remind her to dab, not rub. Now is not the time to worry about skincare, but she just can't help what her mind focuses on when she's stressed out.
"I'm sorry we couldn't do more for you, or for Izuku," Kazuho whispers, struggling to get the words past the lump she can feel growing in her own throat. She doesn't want to cry, not in front of Izuku's mom. It wouldn't be fair to her, to see some random girl grieving a boy she'd barely known. Not when Kazuho was just as much to blame as anyone else who didn't care enough to push harder to get a little boy out of a shitty situation.
"Oh, sweetheart. No, you have nothing to apologize for! You did great, and I owe you so much for being his friend. It's more than I could have hoped for."
She reaches across the table, capturing Kazuho and Koichi's hands in a gentle hold. Her palms are soft, but her fingertips are calloused and cold. She wonders what kind of work she does to have hands like that, trying to focus on anything besides the soft expression in those hauntingly familiar eyes.
"What are your plans after this?" Koichi asks, breaking the solemn air that had settled over the table. Inko offers him a wet smile, tears still falling silently from her eyes, and Kazuho is a little jealous that she's able to cry so prettily.
"I'll be in town for at least a few more weeks. I know he's long gone, but…well, I guess I just want to feel close to him, and this is the best I've got."
"Well, maybe we could get together again! Talk about happier things," Koichi suggests, grin blinding.
"We have to go somewhere with better drinks," Kazuho adds, giving the cold cup of disgusting bean water a withering glare. Inko laughs, the sound just shy of hysterical, but warm all the same.
"That sounds like a good idea. Any suggestions for places to go?"
Somehow, by the time Koichi has paid for all four of their orders (Eraserhead hadn't bothered leaving any cash behind, apparently, and Kazuho had insisted on his behalf that Inko would not be paying her own bill) they have several standing coffee dates spaced out over the next three weeks, and Inko has agreed to come to the department store to watch Kazuho's shows. All things considered, it's very easy to see the similarities between mother and son.
I hope you liked it! Please remember to leave a review if you did! I love to read everyone's thoughts about what happened and where things might be going.
Feel free to find me on tumblr at daboyau if you ever want to ask questions or anything! I'm always happy to chat. You can also join the discord!
Shout out to to my incredible beta, Shaegal!