#cameo by Midnight and Hisashi

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Free Day Thursday

(Since it's Toshinko Week, this is actually a bnha prompt from the Day 5 prompt: "Ghosts")

The memory was bittersweet. Inko had been twenty-six, and her parents had been pressuring her to start looking for a husband. She hadn't felt like she was ready yet. (It didn't help that the person her parents wanted her to marry, Hisashi Fujioka, wasn't actually interested in marrying her. The poor guy was in love with a woman his own parents had deemed "unsuitable", whatever that meant.)

In an effort to cheer her up (or spite her family, either was possible), Inko's friends had decided to set her up on a blind date. Except there had been a mix-up. Her friend Asuka Kayama had a younger sister with a mischievous streak. Sixteen year old Nemuri had apparently decided that the location just wasn't romantic enough, and changed the meeting place.

It didn't occur to her that her elder sister wasn't the person going on the date, and so she didn't tell Asuka until Inko had already left.

[[MORE]]

That was how Inko found herself sitting alone in a cafe, staring into her coffee. This was a waste of time. She barely had a description of the other person besides "tall" and "blue eyes". That could be anyone! Her phone was buzzing frantically with texts from Asuka, but Inko didn't want to admit defeat yet. She'd give it five more minutes before she gave up on Mystery Date.

With a frustrated huff that didn't quite relieve a trickle of hurt, Inko took her hair down out of the bun Mitsuki had put it in. It didn't feel like her, anyway. She swept it back up into her usual half-up, half-down style. That was when she heard the whispers.

"Stop staring."

"I'm not!"

"You totally are," the first voice whispered, "You look like you've seen a ghost! Just go talk to her or something!"

"What?! No!" the second man sounded ever so slightly panicked. "Absolutely not!"

Inko picked up her drink and pretended she wasn't listening in. She wondered who they were talking about. It was amusing to listen to, at least.

"Look, do you want to be a smooth gentleman, or do you want to be a creepy weirdo who stares at women in cafes? Simple enough decision, right?"

There was a stifled noise of sheer indignation. "Hey! I was there when you met Deborah, Dave. You do not get to talk to me about not looking like a weirdo."

Suddenly a grinning American man appeared at the edge of Inko's table.

"Hi! Sorry to interrupt you, I just wanted to let you know that my buddy thinks your hair is really pretty. He's just too shy to say anything, so he's hiding behind the menu right now. I figured I'd apologize on his behalf if you noticed him staring."

"DAVE NO!"

A giant of a man launched from the booth to the left of the table and clamped a hand over the American's mouth. Inko had to crane her neck to see his horrified grimace.

"Is he bothering you, miss? I'm so sorry, I just can't take him anywhere these days."

Inko thought of Mitsuki and snorted. "I know the feeling."

Blushing furiously, the tall man tugged on one of the bangs framing his face as if he were seriously contemplating pulling them over his face entirely. "I do like your hair, though," he mumbled. "It, ah...reminds me...of something."

"Um...thanks?" Inko self-consciously tucked a strand behind her ear. "I mean, I copied the look from a hero I met once, maybe that's what you're thinking of?"

Dave, by some miracle, managed to push his friend's hand off his mouth. "Oh cool, you met a hero? Which one?"

Backtracking, Inko waved her hands. "Aw man, I don't really want to say, it sounds like one of those "then everyone clapped" kinds of stories!"

Dave shrugged. "Fair enough. Although, pretty much everyone who meets, like, All Might has a story like that. And they're usually true! So it might not be that far-fetched."

His companion groaned and hung his head. "Dave, why are you like this?"

Inko couldn't help it, she started giggling. It was nice to know she wasn't the only person who experienced things like this. Taking pity on the two, she introduced herself.

"I'm Inko." She smiled and glanced at the t-shirt the tall man wore. "Oh! Retail Shift: Quirkpocalypse fan?"

"T-Toshinori," he sputtered in reply. "And uh, yeah. I mean, I know it's not like...great television, but-"

"But it's so funny though!" Inko accidentally interrupted. "They take every post-apocalyptic trope and just throw it out the window!"

Toshinori finally cracked a grin. "Oh my gosh, yes. Like the zombies that just keep doing whatever they were doing before the outbreak, so that one keeps demanding to talk to the manager-"

"-and she's falling apart just a little bit more every time, but her hair is perfect!" Inko finished, laughing.

"Retail is just like that sometimes," Dave interjected. "Or that's what my wife says, anyway."

They ended up all moving to the same table to continue the discussion more conveniently. After that, Toshinori and Inko met several other times without his friend Dave. It was casual enough, but Inko found herself genuinely looking forward to the time she spent with Toshinori. And despite how often he had to leave for odd work shifts over the year that followed, he seemed to feel the same.

But Inko's parents, it seemed, did not share her enthusiasm. They increased the pressure on her to marry, as did the Fujioka family, and in the end, they won.

Hisashi took Inko's family name, mostly as a sign of independence from his overbearing father and older brother. But neither of them were particularly happy. When they had their first and only child, Izuku, things got a little better. But when Hisashi's parents started meddling in their parenting, the two decided that enough was enough. After a quiet and amicable divorce (which Inko sometimes referred to as "Operation Save Hisashi" in more lighthearted moments), Hisashi made his escape to study archaeology overseas. He sent a little money back every month, even though he didn't make much. More often, he sent Inko and Izuku tiny replicas of artifacts that were "only probably not cursed".

Years later, Inko and her son happened to be doing their grocery shopping in the neighborhood near Dagobah beach when Inko thought she saw someone familiar.

"Mom?" Izuku frowned softly. "You're staring. What-?"

Quite suddenly, he snapped his mouth shut, and an almost panicked look came into his eyes.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Inko chided gently when she noticed.

"You do, too," Izuku protested weakly.

She'd been staring at a very tall, very thin man perusing the tea aisle. His wild hair reminded her of something, a fond memory she couldn't quite place until the man turned to face them. He was wearing an oversized t-shirt that Inko had definitely seen before.

"Retail Shift: Quirkpocalypse!" she blurted out without thinking.

The man jolted and began coughing harshly into a handkerchief covered in alarming stains. Izuku instantly scurried to the man's side, asking if he was alright, if he needed anything. (Inko felt a mixture of pride for her son and embarrassment for startling this poor stranger.)

"I'm sorry!" Inko fished out a clean handkerchief and stretched up to hand it to the man. "I didn't mean to- I just saw the shirt and thought- oh dear, are you alright?"

"Please don't trouble yourself on my account," the man protested, "This just happens sometimes." He cleared his throat a few times and then examined Inko with a kind of surprised curiosity in his eyes.

"Pardon me," he said suddenly, "But haven't we met before?"

Inko gasped. "It is you, isn't it?" she demanded. "Oh my goodness, what are the odds?"

At this, a tiny smile, riddled with shock, began to slide across the man's face. "It's...good to see you again, Inko. It's been a long time."

Completely bewildered, Izuku looked from Toshinori to his mother and back again.

"Wait...you know my mom?"

Toshinori blinked. "She's your mother?!"

Now Inko looked confused. "You've met my son?"

"Excuse me, please," a reedy voice interrupted them all, "But if you aren't going to buy anything, would you mind moving so I can reach the tea?"

[radioactivepeasant]

(A short, silly continuation:)

Later that evening, Inko found herself mentioning the chance meeting in her weekly email to Hisashi.

- Dear 'Sashi,

You aren't going to believe this, but I ran into my old boyfriend at the supermarket! I know, that's not completely unbelievable. But remember Izuku's Mystery Coach? It's Toshi. Apparently he never put two and two together about Izuku's name and face...

Two days later, she received a response.

- Dear 'Ko-chan,

Wait, he didn't? Huh. You never told me this Toshi guy was as dense as me! (Kidding, kidding, put the sandal down!) I hope everything works out for you! I'd send you some luck, but I might be a little bit cursed right now, so that would be bad.

The Artifact Repatriation Guild found this weird old statue in the archives that wasn't catalogued. We're working to identify the origin and style, but every time we go near it, tech fails. Which is why I haven't answered your texts. I got my phone murdled by an angry chicken idol.

Oh shoot, somebody's screaming again. Next week I'll conclude the thrilling saga, provided I'm alive. Maybe tell Izu to throw out the rooster charm replica I sent home last birthday, huh?

Inko raised her eyebrows at this, but was not unduly concerned. This kind of thing happened to Hisashi a lot.

Fic Prompts: Free Day Thursday

(Since it's Toshinko Week, this is actually a bnha prompt from the Day 5 prompt: "Ghosts")

The memory was bittersweet. Inko had been twenty-six, and her parents had been pressuring her to start looking for a husband. She hadn't felt like she was ready yet. (It didn't help that the person her parents wanted her to marry, Hisashi Fujioka, wasn't actually interested in marrying her. The poor guy was in love with a woman his own parents had deemed "unsuitable", whatever that meant.)

In an effort to cheer her up (or spite her family, either was possible), Inko's friends had decided to set her up on a blind date. Except there had been a mix-up. Her friend Asuka Kayama had a younger sister with a mischievous streak. Sixteen year old Nemuri had apparently decided that the location just wasn't romantic enough, and changed the meeting place.

It didn't occur to her that her elder sister wasn't the person going on the date, and so she didn't tell Asuka until Inko had already left.

[[MORE]]

That was how Inko found herself sitting alone in a cafe, staring into her coffee. This was a waste of time. She barely had a description of the other person besides "tall" and "blue eyes". That could be anyone! Her phone was buzzing frantically with texts from Asuka, but Inko didn't want to admit defeat yet. She'd give it five more minutes before she gave up on Mystery Date.

With a frustrated huff that didn't quite relieve a trickle of hurt, Inko took her hair down out of the bun Mitsuki had put it in. It didn't feel like her, anyway. She swept it back up into her usual half-up, half-down style. That was when she heard the whispers.

"Stop staring."

"I'm not!"

"You totally are," the first voice whispered, "You look like you've seen a ghost! Just go talk to her or something!"

"What?! No!" the second man sounded ever so slightly panicked. "Absolutely not!"

Inko picked up her drink and pretended she wasn't listening in. She wondered who they were talking about. It was amusing to listen to, at least.

"Look, do you want to be a smooth gentleman, or do you want to be a creepy weirdo who stares at women in cafes? Simple enough decision, right?"

There was a stifled noise of sheer indignation. "Hey! I was there when you met Deborah, Dave. You do not get to talk to me about not looking like a weirdo."

Suddenly a grinning American man appeared at the edge of Inko's table.

"Hi! Sorry to interrupt you, I just wanted to let you know that my buddy thinks your hair is really pretty. He's just too shy to say anything, so he's hiding behind the menu right now. I figured I'd apologize on his behalf if you noticed him staring."

"DAVE NO!"

A giant of a man launched from the booth to the left of the table and clamped a hand over the American's mouth. Inko had to crane her neck to see his horrified grimace.

"Is he bothering you, miss? I'm so sorry, I just can't take him anywhere these days."

Inko thought of Mitsuki and snorted. "I know the feeling."

Blushing furiously, the tall man tugged on one of the bangs framing his face as if he were seriously contemplating pulling them over his face entirely. "I do like your hair, though," he mumbled. "It, ah...reminds me...of something."

"Um...thanks?" Inko self-consciously tucked a strand behind her ear. "I mean, I copied the look from a hero I met once, maybe that's what you're thinking of?"

Dave, by some miracle, managed to push his friend's hand off his mouth. "Oh cool, you met a hero? Which one?"

Backtracking, Inko waved her hands. "Aw man, I don't really want to say, it sounds like one of those "then everyone clapped" kinds of stories!"

Dave shrugged. "Fair enough. Although, pretty much everyone who meets, like, All Might has a story like that. And they're usually true! So it might not be that far-fetched."

His companion groaned and hung his head. "Dave, why are you like this?"

Inko couldn't help it, she started giggling. It was nice to know she wasn't the only person who experienced things like this. Taking pity on the two, she introduced herself.

"I'm Inko." She smiled and glanced at the t-shirt the tall man wore. "Oh! Retail Shift: Quirkpocalypse fan?"

"T-Toshinori," he sputtered in reply. "And uh, yeah. I mean, I know it's not like...great television, but-"

"But it's so funny though!" Inko accidentally interrupted. "They take every post-apocalyptic trope and just throw it out the window!"

Toshinori finally cracked a grin. "Oh my gosh, yes. Like the zombies that just keep doing whatever they were doing before the outbreak, so that one keeps demanding to talk to the manager-"

"-and she's falling apart just a little bit more every time, but her hair is perfect!" Inko finished, laughing.

"Retail is just like that sometimes," Dave interjected. "Or that's what my wife says, anyway."

They ended up all moving to the same table to continue the discussion more conveniently. After that, Toshinori and Inko met several other times without his friend Dave. It was casual enough, but Inko found herself genuinely looking forward to the time she spent with Toshinori. And despite how often he had to leave for odd work shifts over the year that followed, he seemed to feel the same.

But Inko's parents, it seemed, did not share her enthusiasm. They increased the pressure on her to marry, as did the Fujioka family, and in the end, they won.

Hisashi took Inko's family name, mostly as a sign of independence from his overbearing father and older brother. But neither of them were particularly happy. When they had their first and only child, Izuku, things got a little better. But when Hisashi's parents started meddling in their parenting, the two decided that enough was enough. After a quiet and amicable divorce (which Inko sometimes referred to as "Operation Save Hisashi" in more lighthearted moments), Hisashi made his escape to study archaeology overseas. He sent a little money back every month, even though he didn't make much. More often, he sent Inko and Izuku tiny replicas of artifacts that were "only probably not cursed".

Years later, Inko and her son happened to be doing their grocery shopping in the neighborhood near Dagobah beach when Inko thought she saw someone familiar.

"Mom?" Izuku frowned softly. "You're staring. What-?"

Quite suddenly, he snapped his mouth shut, and an almost panicked look came into his eyes.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Inko chided gently when she noticed.

"You do, too," Izuku protested weakly.

She'd been staring at a very tall, very thin man perusing the tea aisle. His wild hair reminded her of something, a fond memory she couldn't quite place until the man turned to face them. He was wearing an oversized t-shirt that Inko had definitely seen before.

"Retail Shift: Quirkpocalypse!" she blurted out without thinking.

The man jolted and began coughing harshly into a handkerchief covered in alarming stains. Izuku instantly scurried to the man's side, asking if he was alright, if he needed anything. (Inko felt a mixture of pride for her son and embarrassment for startling this poor stranger.)

"I'm sorry!" Inko fished out a clean handkerchief and stretched up to hand it to the man. "I didn't mean to- I just saw the shirt and thought- oh dear, are you alright?"

"Please don't trouble yourself on my account," the man protested, "This just happens sometimes." He cleared his throat a few times and then examined Inko with a kind of surprised curiosity in his eyes.

"Pardon me," he said suddenly, "But haven't we met before?"

Inko gasped. "It is you, isn't it?" she demanded. "Oh my goodness, what are the odds?"

At this, a tiny smile, riddled with shock, began to slide across the man's face. "It's...good to see you again, Inko. It's been a long time."

Completely bewildered, Izuku looked from Toshinori to his mother and back again.

"Wait...you know my mom?"

Toshinori blinked. "She's your mother?!"

Now Inko looked confused. "You've met my son?"

"Excuse me, please," a reedy voice interrupted them all, "But if you aren't going to buy anything, would you mind moving so I can reach the tea?"