Chapter Text
“I’m sorry, can you run that by me again?” said the man as he stood shell shocked in the darkness of the room, one hand holding a death grip on the phone, the other empty as the cigarette previously occupying it fell out, its ashes on the floor, the flame long forgotten. The silence of the room was only broken by the quiet sobs coming from the woman on the other side of the phone. Just as it broke the silence, it also broke the man’s heart.
“Hisashi, our Izuku he-” another sob “-he jumped off a school building” wailed Inko into the phone, her words doing a fine job at shatterinh her husband’s heart.
NO, NO, NO, not his Izuku, not his baby boy, anything but that.
“...”
“Hisashi?”
…………………………… 20 years ago…………………………………
Midoriya Hisashi wasn’t very proud of his job. Who would be when it forced you to do unspeakable things on a daily basis? It wasn’t a problem for him though, not anymore, not after being in the business for so long. What once was a nightmare fuel, now wouldn’t even make him flinch. Was it a good thing? Probably not. But was he good at it? Definitely. And in his line of work being good meant making it through another day alive. Once you live surrounded by the darkness for as long as Hisashi it becomes your soil, water and bread, while the light becomes the ultimate poison.
Another day, another assignment. He’s back in Japan for this one. When was the last time he stood on the soil of his own country? Too long ago, far too long ago. Here’s gonna be here for a while this time. It’s not a difficult job per see, but if it’s going to be done well, he will need to take his time and not leave any traces behind. A local Yakuza boss is his target this time, a bit of a small fry compared to what he normally works with, but Hisashi gladly welcomes the change of pace.
He just got off the plane, the flight was relaxing, albeit a bit boring, staring at the endless expanse of the blue sky can only entertain you so much.
The crowd was buzzing, people going in all sorts of directions, some running to catch the plane, some running towards their loved ones, and in the midst of it stood Hisashi, all by himself, contemplating his next move.
“I suppose I could go straight to the client” he murmured to himself as he looked down at the notepad containing all of the information about his client, including his current location. Hisashi thought about taking his sweet time, but just as he doesn’t like to wait, he also doesn’t like to make others wait. He was always a bit of a freak when it came to being punctual.
With that in mind he put the notepad back where it belonged; in his breast pocket, grabbed his suitcases and took off, in hopes of catching a taxi.
It was a bit of a difficult task as he wasn’t used to being surrounded by this many people ‘ it’s been so long, I forgot how crowded it was ’ Hisashi thought as he accidentally bumped into someone for the tenth time on the way out ‘ so annoying ’.
He stood in front of the airport for about ten minutes now, his efforts futile. Everytime a taxi passed by, someone else got to it before him, and while he won’t ever admit it his pride did take quite a hit when an 80 year old grandma has managed to beat him to a taxi.
Hisashi contemplated using his suitcases as a seat and spend the rest of the day in front of the airport wallowing in self-pity, but his train of thought was stopped by a very loud honk. He quickly looked up and was met with a taxi standing right in front of him. A window from the driver’s side rolled down and revealed a young woman, her long, lush green hair held up by a messy bun, her equally bright green eyes looking straight at Hisashi.
“Hey mister, you need a ride? I saw you trying to catch one without much success” said the woman with the brightest smile Hisashi has ever seen.
“You’re a godsend, you know that?” he laughed, albeit a bit bashfully, not being used to any sort of attention from women, especially pretty taxi drivers.
The woman quickly got out of the car and put Hisashi’s luggage in the trunk, as he got into the back of the car.
“Where to?” asked the driver as she got back inside the taxi.
“Ikebukuro, gotta meet up with my client” replied Hisashi in a vague manner, trying to make a polite small talk to avoid an awkward silence for the rest of the journey.
“Ah, so you’re here just for work? Or do you live around here?”
“Just work. I don’t really settle anywhere for good you know? I just go wherever my work takes me” he said looking at his own reflection in the rear mirror, a sight of a sad shell of man, slowly corroding away. His moss green hair has grown out of control like a wild bush, a rather fitting imagery and he definitely needed a shave. His eyes were also much duller, the amber that lacked its usual fire.
“So you’re a workaholic?”
“More like married to my job kinda guy”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Hmm, I suppose”
The car has stopped at the red light as the woman pondered on her next question, curiosity getting the better of her.
“So Workaholic-san, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your job, and what’s so fantastic about it to go as far as to put a ring on it?”
“Pfff, hahaha! You’re a funny one, aren’t ya?” laughed the man “I ain’t no ‘Workaholic-san’, just Hisashi.”
“Alright then ‘Just Hisashi’ it is” the woman said cheerfully.
“So now you know my name, don’t you think it’s only fair for me to find out yours?” he teased.
“Well Just Hisashi, you can call me Inko” the driver- Inko answered, as Hisashi observed her wide smile through the rear mirror.
“Just Inko?”
“Just Inko”
Throughout the rest of the ride Hisashi enjoyed himself immensely. It wasn’t often that he could have a nice, friendly chat, not in his line of work, especially not with such a bright, innocent woman. As the taxi approached his destination and his fun, little journey came to an end, Hisashi couldn’t help but take one last look at Inko before she drove off.
Hisashi couldn’t help, but hope that maybe one day he would get to see Inko again. That maybe their paths would cross again. But he knew better than that. He knew that there wasn’t much point in pondering and hoping for things, for it would only end in bitter tasting, chest crushing disappointment.
Putting these thoughts aside he checked everything one more time. Luggage? Check. Notepad? Check. His trusty Hamada? Check.
Feeling confident once again, Hisashi grabbed his suitcases and walked in the direction of the large building situated at the heart of Ikebukuro.
He can’t make his client wait after all.