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Inko was curious about the blonde stranger who was crying in her driveway.
She peeked through her yellow sunflower curtains. The sounds of sobbing had interrupted her favorite TV show. Inko hadn’t had a lot of action ever since her son had moved away. Tons of empty space too…
She rushed out onto her driveway. Should I grab a stick? The man must’ve fallen. Maybe he was concussed! Her one year of affording med-school before having Izuku would finally come in handy!
Then the man stood up. Sure, he had a nasty scar on his forehead, but that was the only sign of injury. He was still staggering, clutching his head. He stumbled in an unknown direction before falling right into Inko.
He didn’t move again, at least not in an attempt to get off of her. The blonde stranger must’ve been having a horrible day. He was just standing there. Just crying into her pink shirt..
Inko blinked twice, before patting the man on his back and slowly guiding him inside. The steps were a challenge for Inko ever since she turned 40, but the taller man made them even more unbearable.
Eventually, they made it to the couch. The blonde man- heck, she would just call him Blondie- was resting now.
Inko tilted her head and sighed. How did he fall asleep so fast? She debated calling 119 for a medical emergency, but he didn’t seem to be having one. Maybe he had just gotten broken up with. He looked… younger than her, she guessed.
That’s when he shot up, almost hitting her head with his. He looked panicked, his blue-gray eyes wide with fear. “FRACK! Where am I?! Where’s- Excuse me, ma’am, have you seen a paper bag anywhere near where I fell? ”
“Oh. Did you drop your groceries?”
“No. I don’t have money for those. It’s.. complicated. You brought an insane person into your house! Get ready for chaos! ” He exclaims, before flopping back onto the couch. He grips one of her favorite pillows- one that Izuku made in 2nd grade.
“Uhm- Excuse me, sir! Please, don’t grip that so hard..” Inko gently took the pillow out of Blondie’s hands. She replaces it with a plain yellow one. “What’s your name?”
“I’m not telling my name to strangers. It’s Jin Bubaigawara. You can just call me Jin. ” He said, shaking his head as if drying it after a shower. “ Mom said not to talk to strangers, idiot! ”
She blinked more. Blondie- Jin, she meant, was a very strange person. “Well, my name’s Inko Midoriya. Please call me Midoriya. Do you still live with your parents?”
“My parents are dead. I’m sorry, this is gonna get confusing fast. I have these voices in my head, outside of it too, and they talk. A lot.” Jin says, bowing to the best of his ability while clutching his head. “Covering my head makes it a lot better. That’s what the bag was for.”
Inko nodded, placing a hand on Jin’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. You can stay at my house until you get back on your feet-”
“ I’m 30 years old with an apartment. Don’t be rude, idiot, she’s offering help! ” Jin clutches his head once more, burying his head in a pillow. Like an ostrich. She looked around for a remedy, perhaps he liked.. Uhm..
She grabbed a vanilla scented candle and lit it. She ran off to grab something for him to cover his head with. An old pillow case fell out of the hall closet. One of the All Might ones Izuku had left behind when he moved to UA.
When Inko returned to the living room, Jin was no longer burying his head in the pillow like an ostrich. His eyes were fixed on the TV. A look of nostalgia had filled his face as he watched the show.
“My mom used to watch this. I never liked it back then, but it’s actually really good,” He said, turning to face Inko. “It kinda sucks how I never watched it with her.”
She sat down beside the man, handing him the pillowcase. He rested his head on her shoulder. She giggled. “With a show like this, it’s surprising how little has changed since quirks appeared. Though, I love seeing all the different models.”
“Mom always said that the ones with the bigger teeth were her favorite. They’re all pretty in my book. She had a quirk that made her teeth take up the entire bottom half of her face.”
“Hah. I like all the ones who incorporate their quirks into the fashion. Floating dresses would never be possible back in the 2000s!”
“I agree! I have a friend. She said she always wanted to participate in fashion shows when she was littler. Her parents never let her, cause’ she was always called a dude. Glad she can wear all the dresses she wants now. And she kills it in them! ”
Inko laughed, the first laugh in a while. It was nice to finally have laughter and warmth in the house since Izuku left.