Chapter Text
They met at a coffee shop. It was a little place, down the street from Inko’s university. She often went there to get a drink between her studies, and that had not changed in her final year. Inko didn’t know who he was at that time, and she had no idea who he was going to become. Instead, their introduction came on a normal Tuesday night.
Inko had finished up work, putting away her pencils and pens as she finished fixing her dissertation. She picked them all up, saying a small goodbye to the barista and walking out. The wind howled, blowing harshly against her. Her papers caught in the air, flew off.
“Come on,” she complained as she ducked down, trying to catch each piece before they could be blown away more. As she busily rushed about, she didn’t notice a second set of hands collecting the pages up.
“Here,” the man offered, giving Inko the last of the paper.
Inko stared for a moment. The man was tall, he couldn’t be that much older than her, maybe mid-late twenties with striking blond hair, gold eyes, and he was handsome, so very handsome. Then she snapped out her thoughts, taking the paper. “Thank you,” she drifted off.
“Yagi, Toshinori Yagi.”
Inko smiled. “Thank you, Yagi.” Inko wanted to ask the man questions. Who was he? Why did he help? Was he single? “Are you on your way home from work?”
Toshinori smiled as he shook his head. “Visiting friends. I work in America.”
Inko opened her mouth to say something else when she heard a voice from down the street. “Inko! There you are!” Mitsuki waved at her as Inko snapped her mouth shut.
“I’m sorry, I have to go.” She bowed as Toshinori frowned.
“Wait, what’s your name?”
“Midoriya.”
“God, Inko, you promised me you would help with my dissertation. You can’t just leave me out to dry and crumble,” Mitsuki scolded as Inko rushed over, laughing the entire time. Then Mitsuki smirked. “Who’s that guy? Is he single?”
“I don’t know.” Inko blushed. “Besides, didn’t Masura propose?”
“Always good to keep my options open. Come on.” Mitsuki threw an arm around Inko, pulling her down the road.
Toshinori watched her with a small smile before he turned, running off to meet up with Grand Torino as he had promised.
~~~
Toshinori returned to the coffee shop a few times before he finally got Inko’s phone number. He had learnt a lot about her in that time. She was a final-year architecture student whose best friend, Mitsuki, was a fashion major, alongside her fiancé, Masaru. He learnt Inko didn’t have a strong Quirk and didn’t really care for heroes outside of appreciating their hard work.
He also learnt about Inko’s hopes for the future, designing buildings that would stand for centuries.
Gran Torino scolded him for talking to a lady, regardless of the reason. Being All Might, having One For All, had a lot of limitations of the company one could keep, and according to Torino, that didn’t include Inko.
He kept in touch, though, when he went back to America.
They would talk a lot.
“I can’t believe you’re flaunting your new girlfriend right in front of me,” David jokingly complained. “I should be insulted.”
Toshinori just laughed. “You’re the one who broke up with me. You don’t get to be insulted.”
“It was mutual.” David shook his head fondly. “Though you should warn her, no one can compete for your affections- not against your one true interest.”
Toshinori frowned. “Who?”
“All Might.” David grinned as he left Toshinori flabbergasted.
“I am not self-obsessed!”
David just laughed.
~~~
Getting back to Japan and getting to date Inko was a dream, even if they had to hide every interaction they had. Gran Torino disapproved, but he often disapproved of what Toshinori did.
As Toshinori’s name grew bigger, or rather, ‘All Might’ did, Inko started to realise just how big a deal dating a hero was. She didn’t mind hiding the relationship under one condition: Mitsuki and Masaru were allowed to know and meet him.
Toshinori had never met the families of his partners. He hadn’t ever had a relationship last long enough to do that- well, maybe David, but David had his own reasons for not letting them meet.
He rang the doorbell as it was slammed open.
“Well, well, well. He has the balls to show up!” Mitsuki sized Toshinori up and down. “Five years you two have been dating and not once have we met.”
Inko quickly slid between them. “We haven’t been dating that long.”
“Feels like five years.” Mitsuki huffed. She had borne the brunt of Inko’s crush, hearing every little detail of their coffee meet-ups, then their texts and now their actual dates. “Come in.”
Inko gave Toshinori a soft smile as he stepped in. The apartment was small. Mitsuki had recently quit her job to start her own fashion studio, so most of the bills were being paid by her husband until he, too, could switch companies.
“It’s nice.”
“Not exactly what you used to?” Mitsuki plopped down on the couch as her husband laughed.
“Don’t be mean, dear. Food will be ready in a minute.” Masaru returned to the kitchen as Inko and Toshinori sat down.
It remained silent and awkward until Mitsuki let out a long groan. “So when are you gonna pop the question? I won’t have you just fooling around with my friend.”
Toshinori blinked and then blushed. Inko shot up. “Mitsuki! We’ve only been dating a year.”
“So? Masaru said he would marry me a month into our relationship.”
“That’s different. You two were thirteen and not taking that seriously.”
Mitsuki scoffed. “I was taking it seriously.”
Inko sighed heavily. “Sorry, Toshi, she’s protective.”
Toshinori frowned. “It’s alright. I don’t mind. I want to marry you.”
Inko blinked slowly. “What?!”
“Not right now, but I am serious about this relationship. I want to marry you, but I’ll ask the question in the future, when I can provide for you.”
Mitsuki raised her eyebrow but didn’t say anything. A moment later, Masaru walked in with the food, putting it on the dining table. He observed Inko’s bright blush, Toshinori’s mild one and Mistuki’s mix of impressed and annoyed expression markers to determine what had happened and decide he wanted no part of it. “Dinner’s ready.”
~~~
Toshinori made good on his promise. Two years later, he and Inko were married. Four people attended the wedding: Mitsuki, Masaru, Gran Torino and Tsukauchi.
Mitsuki almost felt bad for Toshinori. She knew he had a few other friends, but the old lady who was friends with his mentor, the literal rat-bear thing, and his ex-boyfriend, who lives in America, didn’t exactly scream ‘good friends’.
Torino still didn’t approve of Inko either, a fact that was only made worse when she got pregnant. “This will only end poorly. I don’t want you to go through what Nana did.”
Toshinori stopped. “What?”
Torino sighed, motioning for Toshinori to sit down. “Nana had a kid. But All For One doesn’t care about a child’s age. He used her son against her, and he will use yours.”
“Did he die?”
“No, but Nana had to give him up. It broke her to do it.” Torino paused before he got up. “I just don’t want you to go through that.”
“I won’t.” Toshinori gave Torino a determined look. “I won’t ever give up my family.”
~~~
Toshinori gave up his family.
It had been a year since his son, Izuku, was born. Toshinori loved Izuku. The little baby was full of life, and it killed Toshinori to be away from him, especially when Inko had chosen to be a stay-at-home mum who got to spend all her time with their child.
Especially on a day like this, when it was sunny out and Inko, Izuku, Masaru and Katsuki were all at a park while Toshinori was stuck at work a few prefectures over. Toshinori would give anything to be there with them.
Inko would also have given anything to have Toshinori with them, or any hero for that matter.
The villain standing before them laughed. From his body, sharp spikes protruded, shooting at anyone who dared get close.
“Izuku,” Inko cried out as Masaru tried to stop her from doing something stupid. But the villain had Izuku.
The baby was crying as the villain screamed. “Everybody stay back or I'll kill the kid!”
“He’s bluffing,” a hero announced as she ran in.
Izuku cried more as the sharp spike cut his cheek. Inko screamed more as the heroes stopped.
“I’m not kidding. Come closer, and the kid’s blood is on your hands.”
The park became tense. No one said anything. The only sounds were Katsuki and Izuku’s crying and Inko’s screams and begs to leave her child alone.
“Good. Now, I have demands.” The villain smirked as the heroes gritted their teeth. There had to be a way to save the child.
Then, almost out of nowhere, a ball of fire shot through the park. Endeavour flew at the villain before he could react, getting an arm around Izuku and punching the villain with the other.
With the child safely away from the villain, the other heroes rushed in. Masaru let Inko go as she ran to Endeavour. “Izuku,” she cried out as Endeavour faced her.
He gently let the woman take her child, holding him closely.
“Your son is hurt. You should get him to the hospital.”
Inko nodded as Endeavour watched her. He looked at Izuku again before he turned around and walked off.
Toshinori had not been present when all this happened. In fact, he didn’t hear about it for almost an hour after. Until Tsukauchi sent him the news report detailing the incident. The report didn’t say what the villain wanted, not that Toshinori would have read long enough to find that out, as the second he saw the picture, he was running to his wife.
Inko was still at the hospital. Izuku wasn’t hurt, but she had to wait for Masaru to return with the car, so she had been sitting outside.
Toshinori saw Inko, his heart stopping when he saw the bandages on Izuku’s cheek. As he was about to walk over, he crashed into Endeavour.
Endeavour wasn’t having a much better day than All Might. His oldest son, Touya, had spent the day trying to kill his youngest. Not in the normal sibling rivalry way, in the ‘my son is a future killer’ way. It had put Endeavour in a bad mood. He had hoped that coming by to see the children he had helped save would ease his tension, so when he went home, he could have a normal conversation with Touya. That did not happen, especially when he was walked into by his number 1 rival. “All Might.”
“Endeavour,” Toshinori cheered as Endeavour glared at him.
“What are you doing here? You’re not working in this part of Japan.”
“I know, but-” Toshinori glanced back at Endeavour, at Inko and Izuku. Endeavour followed Toshinori’s gaze to the woman and child he had saved from the park. It didn’t take a genius to work out why Toshinori was looking at them.
The child shared his father’s bright blond hair and stupid grin. Neither had noticed the two heroes, too absorbed in their own world.
“You have to be kidding me,” Endeavour muttered, looking back at Toshinori. “Why was your kid in a public park?”
Toshinori opened and closed his mouth. “He was with his friend.”
“Do you have any idea how much danger hero children are in? How could you let your child be alone without you?” Toshinori did not have an answer, but Endeavour wasn’t searching for one. “You’re leaving your family to go hero-ing, and she’s stuck with the kid? How much danger are you putting her in? How much pressure? Why are you doing that to her- to your kid?! Do you even have the right to call yourself his dad, her husband?!”
Endeavour was aware he wasn’t talking about Toshinori anymore, but Toshinori had no way of knowing that. “I love them,” Toshinori muttered weakly as Endeavour scoffed.
“Love isn’t enough. That won’t protect them, least of all from you and all the danger you bring.” Endeavour stormed off. He took a long walk. Maybe he should’ve apologised to Toshinori; it wasn’t the guy’s fault that Endeavour was in a bad mood. He didn’t, though, and when he got home, his mood had not improved in the slightest.
Toshinori, on the other hand, was still staring at his wife and son. How much danger was he putting them in? He went home to them every weekend. When he was working in the prefecture, he would stay with them every night. How many villains were watching them? Was AFO watching them?
A car pulled out in front of Inko. Mitsuki particularly launched herself out of the car. “Inko! Izuku!”
Inko smiled at her long-time friend. Mitsuki scanned over Inko’s entire body before she looked over Izuku, ignoring Inko’s protests that they were fine.
Toshinori should go there now, get in the car with them. He didn’t move, and the car drove away.
Toshinori left the city, then the prefecture. He almost considered leaving the country, going to David, but that wasn’t who he needed right now. Instead, he went to Gran Torino.
“What the hell? Why are you bothering me this late?” Torino opened the door grumpily, but his angry attitude disappeared when he saw All Might standing before him, crying and looking completely pathetic. “I saw the news.”
“I can’t stay with them.”
Torino sighed. He had warned Toshinori, but he was stubborn, just like Nana. “Come in. I’ve got tea.” Torino paused. “Scratch that, I’ll get the sake.”
That was the last time Toshinori saw his family. He never went back. Izuku never knew his father, and Inko lost her husband. Tsukauchi was roped into giving Inko the news that child support would still go through, but Toshinori made an effort to never see the family; he would go crawling back if he did.