The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

23

Shinobu opens his eyes slowly, trying to focus on the sight of his assistant standing over him. He scowls with disdain at the mere thought of being woken up, and to make matters worse, it had to be by her. That means there's something going on that I'm going to have to deal with instead of sending her away so I can get more rest. "What is it, Ichika? It better be worth my time," he mumbles, turning onto his side so that he no longer has to look at her.

She clears her throat, "Well, I'm sure you know that it's going to be worth your time if I'm here. You know that my schedule is busy enough as it is without having to be the one to come wake you up."

"I didn't ask for you to defend your case, just tell me why you're here," he answers.

"Right," she answers. "Well, Haru called earlier and informed me that he was able to apprehend not one, but two of our targets."

He sits up and turns to face her. She's looking down at the screen of her iPad as she clicks away, likely sending out jobs for everyone on the roster at this hour if he had to guess. "And? Are you going to keep me wondering or are you going to tell me who he got his hands on?"

"Midoriya Izuku and his mother," she answers, never looking up. "He said that he apologizes for getting hasty and taking the mother as well, but they were apparently in the same vicinity, so he decided to make things a little easier for himself. Also, he tried to call you, but you never answered."

Shinobu grunts and stands to his feet, making his way across his room to the bathroom door. He reaches for the knob and sighs, "I'll deal with this after I've gotten ready. Inform him that I'll be calling soon and to be sure he's ready. My day is already full, and I'm not trying to prolong it any more than I have to. If he's not ready to answer that call, I'll make sure to have someone ready to take his job."

"Yes sir."

"Now, go," he deadpans before opening the door and walking in to take his shower. He doesn't even bother with allowing the water to heat up, cold showers are always best on days like this. He runs his fingers through his hair as he tries to think through the ramifications of Inko being taken prematurely. Obviously, it throws a wrench into things, but it's nothing too major. After all, he just wanted Izuku to be taken separately so that he could have some time to talk to him and explain himself. There's a lot of ground to cover, starting from his own disappearance in middle school and all the way through the shit show that happened in between to now. Explaining why he'd been kidnapped would be enough of a challenge, but he's almost sure that with the right setting things would go over smoothly. Izuku has always been rather understanding and patient. Surely, traits as virtuous as those wouldn't just up and disappear. If nothing else, he can count on Izuku being willing to hear him out. Whatever happens after that...

Well, there's no need to worry about that. It'll go wonderfully. He knows it will. Either he'll understand of his own accord or Shinobu will take matters into his own hands. He gets what he wants, and he's not above using his quirk on people to get it, even people he loves.

The rest of his morning routine goes over as it always does-- mind-numbingly routine and asinine-- if he didn't have to waste time getting ready, he simply wouldn't. He loathes the fact that he set all this up to be the way it is. Surely, if he'd gone with something more low-key, he could just show up in his pajamas. Then again, lowkey has never really been his forte. It's all or nothing, as far as he's concerned.

He pulls his box of cigarettes from his breast pocket and idly pulls the half-finished cigarette from last night out and sticks it between his lips. He looks down at the box before sticking it back in his pocket. It's still got blood on it from the last time he'd worn this coat. Either I need to start moving cigarette packs from pocket to pocket or I need to stop smoking after taking care of business. After locking the door to his private quarters, he starts to make his way down the hall, making sure to light the cigarette between his teeth as he goes.