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Inko paused in front of the bathroom mirror as she checked to make sure she was ready. She was having lunch with Mr Yagi today, where he would be bringing a detective friend of his, one who was also looking for Izuku.
Inko still could not get over the fact that there had been more people looking for her son than just her and one tired policeman. That a whole team of heroes had been searching for her son. She still didn’t know why, but that was something else she was supposed to be learning about today. She had already made up her mind that she wasn’t going to leave the café until she knew everything she could about what happened to her son three years ago. Until she knew what exactly was going on.
With that determination in her soul, and a litany of questions on her mind, she grabbed her purse, locked her door, and headed towards the place she was going to meet Mr Yagi and his detective friend at.
The café was a quaint little place tucked between a library and a park. Colorful flowers bloomed under crystal clear windows, highlighting the ornate metal chairs and tables that made up the outside portion of the cafe. It didn’t seem like the type of place normal people would have serious conversations at, but then again all the cheesy American romantic comedies Inko watched had serious conversations happening at Cafe’s. Inko pondered for a moment if that was just an American thing, before shaking her head and pushing open the door.
As Inko stepped through the door, she was greeted with a warm, homey aesthetic. Soft tan walls and a rustic hardwood floor complimented the light wooden chairs and tables. The scent of coffee and pastries filled the air as a single barista bustled about, serving the few customers sitting scattered through the area. Inko noticed Mr Yagi’s lanky frame tucked away in one of the few booths in the far corner of the cafe, and she made her way over to him.
Mr. Yagi greeted her with a kind smile as she slid into the booth, “I hope you don’t mind if I took the liberty of ordering us both coffee and pastries.” He said when she sat down, “as well as some for my detective friend. He’s coming from the station and the café’s coffee is much better than whatever they have at the precinct.”
Inko waved Mr. Yagi off, “it’s fine dear,” she said, “though you can give your friend my cup of coffee. I prefer tea, coffee has never quite agreed with my stomach.”
Toshinori gave her a small nod, “I understand that. Coffee is one of the few things I am still able to drink, though my doctor has a fit if she catches me drinking too much.”
Inko smiled as she responded, she greatly enjoyed how easy it was to make small talk with Mr Yagi. The conversation flowed smoothly, it felt like she was catching up with an old friend rather than waiting for news about her presumed dead son. It helped to soothe Inko's frayed nerves and settle the anxiety curling in her gut.
By the time Yagi’s detective friend showed up at the cafe, both Inko and Yagi had received their drinks - including Inko's newly ordered tea - and their pastries had been half eaten. The man introduced himself as Detective Tsukauchi as he slid into the booth next to Mr Yagi.
Inko pulled out her copy of her son’s missing person’s case, and slid it across the table, “this is all that the officer working with me has been able to dig up.” She said softly, “it’s not much. My Ex-Husband refuses to talk about who he sold my son to, so we have been chasing dead ends mostly. We just found a report from a small hero that Izuku was seen at the Katagami disaster three years ago, but we haven’t been able to track him down after that.”
Detective Tsukauchi took the file and skimmed over it as Inko spoke, before pulling out his own slightly thinner file, “we have a few more reports than you, mostly sightings of your son after the disaster. A few police reports of him getting involved in vigilantism, but outside of that.... Your son is very hard to catch, Mrs Midoriya.”
Inko’s eyes watered, “so... he’s alive? My son… he’s really alive?”
“Yes ma’am. He’s alive. The last sighting of him was just three months ago. He’s alive and we’re going to help bring him home.”
Inko took several minutes to compose herself. The sheer relief that flooded her system caused her eyes to fill with the signature “Midoriya Tears” She’s never had any shame about crying in public, so she just let them flow right there at the table rather than excusing herself. She wasn’t going to run away and hide her tears, not now. Not ever.
Both the men on the other side of the booth waited patiently for her to compose herself, though Yagi definitely looked more uncomfortable than Tsukauchi. Inko would assume he didn’t have many interactions with overly emotional people if she didn’t know what he did as his job. Though, he worked with Katsuki, so he could just be more used to the volatile end of the emotional spectrum.
Once her tears stopped flowing, Inko had wiped the last of them off of her face, Tsukauchi slid her a new cup of tea. Inko wrapped her hands around the cardboard, relishing in the gentle warmth before she took a deep breath and asked the question that had been forming in her mind since she sat down, “why?”
She took a drink of the tea - her favorite flavor, chamomile - and watched the two men exchange glances. She spoke up when it became obvious they didn’t get what she had asked, “I’m going to assume that you two are both very influential men. With all these hero’s you claim are looking for my son. My question is why. Why are you looking for Izuku? I’ve spent the last three years trying to get anyone I can to look for him. Nobody wants to look for a quirkless boy, they claim it’s just easier to assume he’s....” Inko took a drink of her tea to avoid saying her least favorite word, “so, why are you looking for him? What happened at Katagami that has made my son so important?”
Both the men shared glances, both Yagi looked her in the eyes, “three years ago, Your son saved the life of the number one hero… my life.”
Inko could feel her eyebrows rising at that, but she didn’t speak as Yagi continued, “your son saved my life at Katagami. I know the man he was sold to, he... he was a terrible villain. The worst villain. He nearly killed me. He would have killed me if your son hadn’t intervened.”
Inko couldn’t help but interrupt, “what could a six year old do against a man that almost killed All Might?”
Yagi - All Might, apparently - shrugged, “yelled at him, then bit him.”
Inko sighed into her tea, “that sounds like Izuku.” She said softly, because it did. He always was protecting everyone else, she had gotten several calls from Aldera about Izuku fighting. She had eventually gotten the truth out of Katsuki, that her son hadn’t been fighting but had been protecting others from bullies.
Inko had been so glad when Aldera got shut down.
She looked back up at the two men and saw that Yagi had a fond smile on his face. Inko found that smile so strange, she wasn’t used to seeing other people think about her son and smiling. Most people she knew either hated or pitied her boy. That was strange.
“After the fight, your son tried to save my life. He did save my life. He tried to patch up my injuries, and from what the doctors told me, if he hadn’t done that I would have bled out. His actions, his attempt, gave me just enough time to make it to the hospital. He saved my life... but in exchange I placed his life in mortal danger.”
Inko took a sip of her tea to hide her shock and confusion. After a moment she asked, “what did you do?”
Tsukauchi looked at Yagi, “you should tell her. She’ll have to understand when we bring him home.”
Yagi sighed, “I gave him a quirk.”
Inko choked on her tea.