Chapter Text
3rd pov, Inko focus:
Okay I got my prescription from the pharmacist, next up on my errands is…
Inko looked up briefly, just for a moment, hearing another woman gasp had caught her attention.
There stood a little boy, 6 at most, hair a light blue color and eyes wide that were seemingly covered with some sort of fog…
“Oh my…” Inko murmured to herself, feeling her heart tighten up at the sight. They stood there for a while, the boy's eyes never wavering; not even looking at the passersby staring at them—not even blinking at her. She could tell this boy was hurting, tired and probably scared.
Despite the boy's empty eyes who had scared many others, she grit her teeth and stared back at him, thinking of something to say. The boy had dried blood on his hands, flaking off at some parts, his legs were shaking and he looked… empty. Despite the pain and exhaustion, the boy just seemed empty. Like he was on autopilot.
What happened to this poor boy? Did a villain attack him? Why is there blood on his hands? How long has he been out here? Why has no one helped this kid yet???
“I’ll.. I’ll walk you to the police station.” Inko stated softly, crouching down slightly, holding out her hand for the boy to take.
She noticed the boy's eyes widened and the fog seemed to clean, if only a little bit. The street continued to pass around them. People with their own problems, cars driving too and from work, citizens walking in and out of shops, passing by them without a 2nd thought.
Though, in the corner of her eye, she noticed a man staring at them from an alleyway, but she didn’t notice much else as he soon walked away.. Fading away with the rest of the people.
Her eyebrows knitted together with worry as the boy just continued to stare at her, though his stare was much different than before. She took a deep breath in and gave the boy a soft smile, letting her hand falter for a moment.
However, while her hand was slowly falling back to her side, the little boy reached his hand out and quickly took hers, tears swelling in his eyes. Seeing the boy’s tears, she had to hold back some of her own while still offering him a smile.
Standing back up while the boy’s hands loosely held hers, only a few of his fingers actually touched hers as she walked the blue haired boy down the street.
“It’ll be okay.. I’m here..”
— — — — —
After entering the police station and an officer leading the boy to the back to ask him some questions, Inko sat in the waiting area. Her foot tapping against the white tiles, eyebrows furrowed and mind racing, having forgotten all about her plan prior.
Why was he out there all alone? Why didn’t anyone help the kid out? Why were his eyes so empty? Did someone kidnap him then abandon him in a busy street? What happened to him?
Question after question, unsure thought after thought, Inko sat in that stiff metal chair, hand over her mouth as she muttered under her breath every word that slipped through her mind. Eventually she stopped mumbling and sat back in her seat, taking a deep breath in to calm herself down. As her thoughts slowed down to be cohesive, one question seemed to catch her attention.
Why.. Am I still here?
He probably has some distant family that can take him in.. And even if not, foster care would find a family who could take care of him. I’m not even sure why I’m still here.. It’s not like I can take him in. My house isn’t childproofed, and I don’t know if I’d make a good mother.
I’ll stay just a little longer.. Just for some peace of mind.
— — —
“Inko Mydoria?” An officer stood in front of the woman, growing ever so slightly impatient after having called her name about 3 other times.
“Huh–Oh yes, that's me, sorry..” She mumbled apologetically, standing up as the officer guided her to a different room, paperwork in their hands.
“How's the kid?” Inko asked, the worry obvious in her tone.
The officer sat down at a chair adjacent to the woman, placing some paperwork on the table.
“He’s fine, Ma’am. However we couldn’t get him to talk much and from what he told us.. Well, he doesn’t have any immediate family to take him in. And from.. personal experience, the foster care system might not work so well for a kid like him.”
“Are you.. Asking me to take him in?”
“Not necessarily. There are some volunteer families that offer their homes to kids that have been misplaced, but they’re far away and..” The officer sighed, “You’re of no obligation to take him in, ma’am. And if you choose to, it doesn’t have to be permanent. Just a few months, give or take.”
Inko’s lips pulled back into a line as she thought, bringing her hand back up to her mouth as she took in the officer’s words.
“I don’t…” The thought of the boy’s eyes entered her mind, the way they seemed to lighten up, even if only a little bit as she held out her hand to him. Or how the boys once empty eyes seemed glossy like they were full of tears as they walked. Or even how he looked back at her, his small fingers tightening around her as an officer tried to coax him to follow them.
She remembered how she reassured him and how he seemed to calm down a little, finally letting go of her hand and following the officer to the back.
“I need some time to think..” She finally stated, running a hand through her hair.
“Of course ma’am, take your time.” The officer murmured, giving her a small nod and picking the papers back up and leaving the room.
With another sigh, her back hit the metal of the seat as she thought.
I would need to hire a baby sitter, if I did take him in, since I can’t take a kid to work with me. Well.. I could work from home. And I do have an extra room. I have an office and a spare bedroom anyway. But I don’t know… I feel so bad saying I don’t know if I can exactly care for an obviously traumatized kid but I don’t want to mess something up and never help him recover from what happened to him!!
Subconsciously, of course, Inko’s mind also wandered off to scenarios of the kid laughing, or them smiling together and it made this decision even more tough on her.
But still…
— — —
After about 30 minutes, the officer walked back into the room, pile of papers in hand.
“Have you.. Decided yet, Miss Mydoria?” The officer murmured, not wanting to startle her as she still seemed deep in thought.
Inko nodded slowly, taking a deep breath in and smiling softly. “I’ll take him in.. just for a few weeks.” She sighed, feeling her body relax as the officer gave her a small smile and sat back down, pulling out a few papers from the pile.
“We will need you to sign some things, Ma’am. To finalize, nothing much.” The officer reassured, handing her a pen, noting her slightly shaky hand.
After signing her signature a few times and reading through the papers, the officer started telling her some small things about the boy that he knew. His name was Tenko Shimura, he has a dangerous quirk and seemed scared to touch things, especially after accidentally disintegrating a water bottle that one of the officers had given him. The man seemed to also want to say something else but reluctantly didn’t, offering her some words of advice before leading her back to the front, where Tenko was waiting.
And once again, his eyes lit up, even if only a little bit. And that meant the world to Inko.
She crouched down to the boy’s level, noticing how he now had clean hands and a hopeful look. With a smile, she held out her hand once more.., “It’s getting late.. Let’s go home.”
And those words? They meant the world to Tenko.
He nodded slightly and took her hand, cautious to place only a few fingers on her hand.
I guess I should pick up knitting again. She thought to herself, adjusting her purse on her shoulder as they both walked out of the police station.