Chapter Text
Hisashi wanted to smash his face into his desk, the cause of his annoyance cowering in fear on the other side of a video call. “What do you mean they cancelled the deal?!” He asked, his unfiltered hatred seeping straight into his voice.
The man on the other end winced. “”T-they said that-that it was too dangerous… too risky with you know who stalking about. That we need to wait until he's gone,” he answered, visibly shrinking under his intense glare.
Hisashi gritted his teeth. His clenched fists shook from their resting place on his desk. In a move that he would instantly regret, he swatted the pile of folders and papers to his side. He watched the mess unfold, then closed his eyes and heavily sighed. “Tell them that they will meet with you for the deal tomorrow night, or I will come meet with them personally,” he stated all too calmly.
His man on the other end visibly gulped, then quickly nodded. “Of course, sir! It will get done!” They enthusiastically agreed, before the call ended.
Hisashi took another look at the pile on the floor, before pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. With a brief wave of his hand, he activated the quirk Time Rewind and listened to papers resettle themselves back on his desk. He glanced at the now neat pile, and let himself relax into his desk chair.
A useless quirk in most situations, Time Rewind allows its user to undo something that has occurred within a two minute window. While that could have useful applications, it does not work on living (or recently so) matter, which means that any potential healing possibilities it could have are rendered null. As well, there is a considerable size limitation. An area the size of a small car seems to be its maximum range, which is unfortunately unhelpful with his issues. If he had known about these limitations before he took the quirk, he would have let it die along with its original owner. But it was too late to rectify that mistake, and it did just come in handy, so perhaps he would wait a little longer before pawning it off to someone else. Speaking of others…
“You may enter, Sho,” he calmly called out.
A moment later a shorter man with burning red eyes and neatly combed black hair poked his head through the door. “I guess you could tell I was listening,” he said with an innocent smile, although Hisashi could hear the nervousness behind it. But he was not the one who provoked his ire, and so he gave a simple smile back. “I'm sure a child would have been able to tell you were there,” he humorously mused.
The other man chuckled as he stepped out from behind the door and quickly shut it. He casually walked across the room and unceremoniously flopped onto the couch that Hisashi had for the sole purpose of when he just couldn't be bothered to go back to his apartment. Sho took a second to make himself comfortable, then looked up at him with a sympathetic look. “So I guess the deal’s not going as planned?” He asked, causing Hisashi to grit his teeth.
“No,” he growled out. “That idiot is fucking everything up.”
The other man had a momentary look of confusion. “One of our idiots, or you know who?”
“ All Might!” He angrily clarified.
He ripped one of the folders out of the pile and roughly opened and slammed it onto his desk. “I have it on good authority that his presence in that city is mere coincidence, and that he will be gone relatively soon,” he explained. “However, those cowards we're buying the material for the support items from are absolutely terrified that he has somehow become aware of them and is hunting them down. Even though this assumption relies on the idea that a: All Might has more than two brain cells currently functioning, and is able to determine their location through the very little business they do with us; and b: they are important enough for All Might to even notice anything they've done. So now they are attempting to hide until he leaves, even though we can't afford to wait because our men need those support items done in time for their mission next week; items which we can't start development on until we get those materials!”
Hisashi shook from rage. He couldn't just find a new dealer for this time, because no one has the quantity that he needs, or they're nowhere near the location of the factory. He also couldn't just take the material, because that would eventually leave him with the same problem. While he was currently working on setting up his own imports for what he needed, it was going to take time, which meant until then he needed to rely on the other dealers, and unfortunately their stupidity.
Sho looked down in quiet contemplation. “I think…” he hesitantly started, causing Hisashi to hum with mild curiosity.
“...that you need to take a break,” he finished, and Hisashi froze. He could hear the receptionist on the first floor drop her pen, before being able to breath again. “Excuse me?” He asked, dumbfounded, and the other man winced.
Good. He gained his courage quickly though, and continued. “You've been cooped up in here too long, and it's making you irritable. I think you need to go out and get some fresh air; drink some tea; hell, meet a cute girl; anything that gets your mind off of work for a few minutes.”
Hisashi just couldn't comprehend the way the man was talking to him. He was in such a stupor that he barely noticed the man walked over to his side of the desk, and pulled him up to his feet. Or that he took his phone and called a certain warp gate (who he would get revenge on later) to open one to a different part of the country. As he was led through it, he finally snapped out of it. He spun on his foot to face a quickly shutting warp gate, and as it finished closing, he heard a “we'll pick you up in an hour.” Then it was gone, and he stood alone outside a tea shop that he's only been to once before.
‘I swear, if I hadn't known him since he was a baby, he'd be dead, ’ he angrily thought, before shaking his head with a sigh.
What was done was done, all he could do now was slowly make his way back to his office, since the ass took his phone, and thus his only way to contact a ride back. He felt at his pocket, and relaxed with relief. At least he had his wallet, which meant he could just take a cab.
He glanced back at the tea shop momentarily, before deciding to head inside. It wouldn't hurt to get tea for the ride back, especially with how stressed he currently was. He walked up to the end of the relatively short line, then pulled out his phone and started scrolling through news articles.
His attention was pulled away a couple minutes later, when someone (not so) gently tugged on his jacket sleeve. He slightly turned his gaze, and looked down at two young women. The one tugging on him certainly made an impression, with her spikey blonde hair and intense red eyes. As well, she had an air to her that let him know she always got what she wanted.
However, it was the smaller woman behind her that caught his attention. She had dark, forest green hair tied back into a loose ponytail, with matching kind eyes. It was hard to see, what with her attempting to meld with her friend’s back, but her white blouse and her knee-length, light beige skirt made her look so… stunning. He was truly breathless for a few, agonizingly long seconds, before he snapped out of it.
He fully turned his head to look at the woman in front of him, and smiled at the one behind her. “And how can I help you two?” He asked, playing up the amusement in his voice.
The blonde in front of him smiled… almost evilly as she reached behind her and pushed her friend out towards him. The poor nervous woman reacted like she had been thrown out to ravenous sharks: she froze in place, then started to lightly shake. Her friend, however, seemed to not notice her, because she started to speak. “My friend here is a hardened villain; if there's a crime you can think of, she's done it,” she stated in a fake serious voice.
Hisashi raised an eyebrow as he observed the now blushing woman in front of him. “Is that so?” He asked, playing along with the joke.
The other gave a hum of affirmation. “That's right, and because of this she's not allowed to be out in public by herself. However, I had a family emergency pop up, and I need to leave. But poor Inko here-” she roughly pushed her towards him, to her horror, “-hasn't had a chance to get a drink yet, and you seem like the kind of guy who likes to help people out. So how would you feel about keeping an eye on my friend until I can return?”
Hisashi paused in fake contemplative silence. Of course he couldn't; he had to get back to his office so he could personally dismember Sho. But as he went to put the poor woman out of her misery, recognition hit him. Or at least, some form of familiarity. ‘It couldn't be…’
He went through his mental database until he found that wench’s face, then compared it to the woman in front of him. Nearly identical, he realized. There were some differences, like hair and eye color, and how her face was rounder, and much softer. But otherwise it was uncanny, and he did not believe in coincidences. So with a slight, innocent tilt of his head, he gave his biggest smile towards the two of them. “Well, it would be a shame if her drink were to go to waste,” he cheekily replied.
The blonde woman's smile grew even bigger as she pushed her friend even closer. “Thank you so much! I'm sure you won't regret it!” She gratefully stated as she hurriedly walked away.
“I'll be back for you in an hour, Inko!” She called to her friend as she left the shop.
The Shimura look alike, Inko he noted, was blushing so hard that her entire face was red, and Hisashi couldn't help but chuckle. “Well, it seems we'll be spending some time together,” he mused as he held out a hand. “My name is Midoriya Hisashi, and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. Why don't we take a seat?”
The woman in front of him startled with his words. “Ah! I'm Shinhon Inko,” she rushed out, “and you don't have to humor her anymore. I understand if you have more important things to do.”
Interesting. So far, everything he's encountered with her would suggest that she had no relation to Shimura; and yet, he just couldn't get past how similar they looked. It is possible that's not her actual family name, since Shimura did foster out her child at a young age. However, that wasn't a question he could ask on a simple tea date, so he would need a new plan.
He smiled wider at her. “Who said it was her I'm attempting to humor?” He innocently asked, and the woman started blushing again. “I am also stuck here for the next hour, abandoned by my so called friend in an attempt to have me get my mind off of work. So if you don't mind, perhaps we could spend this time stuck here together.”
She visibly swallowed in response. “O-okay,” she stuttered, and Hisashi swooped in, wrapping his arm around hers and leading her to the counter, where she picked up her drink and he ordered his. Once his simple tea was made, he lead them over to a table and sat down, his company sitting on the opposite side, looking rather flustered.
Hisashi kept up his wide smile as she shakily took a sip from her drink. “So Shinhon-San, what is it you do for a living?” He inquired, causing her to jolt with surprise.
“I-uh… since I go to school during the day, I work part time at my local grocery store,” she explained, peaking his interest.
“School?” He repeated. “What is it you're going for?”
She looked very sheepish, trying to hide behind her cup, as she replied, “I'm attempting to get my associates in business,” she stated, gaining energy to her voice.
“Business? Well that's interesting. Is there anyplace specific you want to work at?”
She looked at him with the most confidence he's seen her with all day, and his heart skipped a beat. He almost missed her answer because of this. “I think I want to work as an advisor for one of the larger support companies, like Techgear or Iron-Support. There’s a lot of waste when it comes to the finances of those companies and I want to see if I can have an effect on reducing it,” she eagerly explained, to his surprise.
It was much more involved than he was expecting; but then again, that just might be his bias against her similar appearance. He took a long sip from his tea, giving himself time to think of a proper response to her statement. “I’ve got to admit, that wasn’t what I was expecting,” he finally admitted, placing his cup down and out of the way. “It’s been a long time since I’ve met someone who wants to go into business that isn’t obsessed with the hero dealings side of it.”
Shinhon sipped carefully from her own tea, filling their little bubble with pleasant silence for a few seconds. Then she lowered the cup, and grimaced. “My friend thinks that’s what I should’ve done; that I would do well with a cute face like mine,” she stated.
Hisashi held back his noise of disgust as she continued. “But I just feel drawn to the more bookkeeping parts of it. I think it’s because it’s what my mother did when she worked.”
Hisashi felt his curiosity peak, an eyebrow raising with her statement. This could be his chance to determine if she was Shimura’s kin, although it did not sound likely, based on the content of the conversation.
“Your mother?” He prompted, hoping that she would explain further. And she did.
“Yeah, my mom was a pretty well known accountant for larger insurance firms,” she explained. “She was brutal. From what I heard, she kept all of her clients under a super strict budget that if they went over, she would force the company owner to pay the balance with their own money.”
“And they did?” Hisashi asked, feeling genuinely interested in the story.
She gave a small nod as she took a sip from her drink. “They were too afraid to lose her if they didn’t, and typically they were only over by a few hundred yen or so, which was leagues under what other companies were dealing with.”
She paused, staring down at her drink, seemingly lost in thought. “So yeah, she was amazing,” she quietly finished.
Hisashi pursed his lips in contemplation. He knew for a fact that she wasn’t talking about Shimura; that wench wasn’t capable of doing anything so useful, but the possibility that she’s talking about her adoptive mother is still high. Inko would’ve been a small child if she was the one given up, which meant that she would’ve had plenty of time to move on from her former family. But she was just so unlike her, that he now couldn’t help but have his doubts. He needed to find out for sure, before he dragged an innocent woman into his conflict with All Might. Although he wasn’t sure why he cared.
(Hisashi would look back on that day, cuddled up next to his beautiful wife, with their precious son asleep in his crib across the room, and realize just how clueless he had truly been).
“Shinhon-San, forgive me if I’m being intrusive, but don’t you need an internship experience to receive your degree?”
She looked up at him with a mix of confusion, and shame. “Unfortunately yes. I’m attempting to find one that works with both my school and work schedule, but it's looking like I'll need to delay graduation by a semester or two so I can get it done.”
Hisashi hummed thoughtfully. Suddenly his plan was looking much easier. “You've heard of 14-Avenues , correct?” He inquired.
She looked at him curiously. “The receiving company? Yes, I have. Why?”
He reached into his pocket, then held out a business card with a wide smile. “I am the regional manager of their Musutafu branch, and it just so happens that we were about to open up a paid internship position. If it's okay with you, I'd like to schedule you for an interview for tomorrow afternoon.”
Her reaction was about what he was expecting: she turned that brilliant shade of red again, and she started sputtering. “I-I-I d-don't know w-what to…”
He felt his smile soften as he watched her. He gently gripped her had, then placed the card in her palm and slowly closed her fingers over it. “You don't need to tell me now. I'll put you down for the interview, and if you don't want to go, just call that number and let my secretary know you're not coming. I promise I won't be mad if you cancel,” he comforted.
He then stood up, taking his coffee cup with him, and started towards the door. “I hope I get to meet you again,” he said over his shoulder, before exiting the building.
Waiting for him outside were Sho and Kurogiri, the prior looking cautious while the other looked down right afraid.
Good. They should be.
He glared at the warp gate, until he opened one for him to walk through. Just before he did, he took one last look over his shoulder. The woman he just left had seemed to calm down, and now was staring down at the card in her hand. She seemed genuinely confused about the end of their exchange. Hisashi couldn't help but chuckle as he stepped out of the gate into his office. He honestly could not wait until he met her again, which hopefully would be tomorrow. Speaking of…
“Sho,” he plainly stated, causing the shorter man to startle, “please set up an internship program for this branch, and have it ready for tomorrow.”
A wave of emotions passed over Sho’s face, before settling on one: exhaustion. “Sir, when I said meet a cute girl, I was being facetious,” he sighed, shoulders dropping at the thought of the work he was about to have to do.
Hisashi ignored him, instead turning towards Kurogiri. “Your punishment will come at a later time; for now, you may leave.”
The warp gate quickly nodded, then absconded from the room without a word. He was going to have to think long and hard to find a suitable punishment for that man.
(Hisashi couldn't help the smirk on his face as he led the small, silver haired child over to the warp gate).
“Don't you think there are better ways of asking a woman on a second date than offering her a job?” Sho sarcastically asked.
Hisashi lightly chuckled. “She looks exactly like her,” he reflected, earning him confusion from the other.
“Who?”
Hisashi stared above the man's head, and smirked gleefully. “Shimura Nana, All Might’s teacher. That woman was her splitting image,” he happily explained.
The other man knowingly smiled, and let off a low chuckle. “Right, then I'll get on it immediately,” he stated, turning towards the exit.
He paused at the door, hesitating. “Just be careful to not fall in love with that soft heart of yours,” he deadpanned, before walking out.
Hisashi started chuckling, with it building up in volume to loud laughter. He laughed hysterically for nearly a full minute, before they died back down into chuckles again. “You don't need to worry about me, Sho. I'll be fine.”
(Hisashi found himself standing at Inko’s door for the fifth time that day, and he realized how fucked he was).