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third person pov
3:31 am
july 7th
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"SORRY IT'S NOT UNDER BETTER CIRCUMSTANCES," Ito bowed a little, face grim. She dreaded to think about how worried her mom had to have been right then.
The tall man in front of her couldn't help but agree with Ito's statement, but that wasn't what he voiced.
"Want to tell me how you got wrapped into this mess?"
His hands were on his hips and his eyebrows raised, demanding context.
Ito exhaled as she stood back up, slouched from the exhaustion. She mirrored the man in front of her quite well actually.
"Would you take 'reliving my glory days' as an answer?" she sardonically asked, with one unenthusiastic jazz hand.
A scoff escaped from the underpaid hero, he expected her to say something like that.
"For now I suppose. Good to see your sarcasm survived too."
Ito looked to the side as she let out a brisk laugh at his candor. Though, the shaking girl almost immediately regretting it from the piercing pain shooting through her aching body.
"Yep. It's doing just peachy," Ito smiled a little, ignoring the burning pain on her cheek as she rolled her eyes.
In moving her bloodshot eyes to the side, her grey irises begun to reflect the mob of media vans coming their way.
"Alright, now what numbskull invited them?" she mumbled with annoyance and disgust.
Aizawa sighed, before grabbing a small notepad and pencil from his utility belt. "You know just as well as I do that they don't care about invitations."
Ito nodded, a bitter taste in her mouth from the newscasters.
"So what's the sketchbook about?"
While Shota flipped to a unused page, he explained.
"I won't bug you for a statement, right now. But I see you recovered one of the missing children," he tilted his head toward the young boy being escorted away from his mother and to the ambulance.
The girl in tattered clothes hummed in acknowledgment. "Mhm, Izuku Midoriya."
"I need to know where you found him. And if you saw any other kidnapped kids tonight?"
Ito exhaled in thought, doing her best to recall the address she saw. It was barely visible on the school's half knocked over mailbox.
Putting two fingers on her right temple and lightly feeling her old X shaped scar, she closed her eyes.
"182-1044, Murasaki street," Ito mumbled out the address a bit slow, carefully reciting each part of the address.
Opening her eyes and moving her hand to the back of her neck, she continued.
"I saw a sign say welcome to Hariio so I'm guessing that's the town the school's in," Ito's hand finally fell comfortably in her pocket, at the same time her gaze also fell once more.
"But I didn't see any trace of the other kids. I'm sorry.."
She heard the notepad closed causing her to look up, despite feeling intimidated.
Not because Aizawa was ever rude or discriminatory to her, but rather he gave her such an equal education it made her nauseous to even think of disappointing a genuinely good teacher like himself.
"I— um, I hope that helps."
He tore the page off, the one he scribbled the address in, beckoning to a uniform nearby.
The short dark skinned young man came promptly over, ready for orders.
"Get this to Tsukauchi asap, it's the villain's hideout," Aizawa told, handing over the paper.
A quick and short 'yes sir!' was given before he zigzagged through the various vehicles and out of sight.
Turning back to Ito's blank expression, he could tell she was doing her best to act casually. She always did in his presence. It's like the girl never wanted him to know she bled too.
"It does help. You helped," he calmly spoke the facts, making Ito's lazy eyes widen. "Good job not dying while you were at it."
Her eyes locked on his outstretched hand in awe. February Ito never would have believed this sight to be real.
Heck, maybe it wasn't and she was hallucinating. That would line up with the amount of blood she's lost.
A mixture of a cough and an in disbelief laugh mingled together as it left Ito's bloodstained lips.
Wouldn't be the first time she's hallucinated or had bloody lips, but it was the first time she had gotten commendation from the underground hero since May.
"Thank you," she let a small smile peek through her tough exterior, making her face hurt once more.
She didn't mind so much this time. The pain was a reminder she actually did something good, instead of screwing around and causing problems for the few people who still cared for her.
"Good luck surviving this next battle though," he pulled his hand back, with that devious smile he only showed once in a blue moon.
Between his words and his expression, the young worn out woman immediately knew to feel dread.
"What now?" she mumbled out, deflating just a little bit more.
Nothing more that a finger pointing behind Ito was given, making her carefully turn her neck to see—
Oh.
Her eyes softened.
And just like that, the tough Ito who wasn't going to cry tonight suddenly ran for the hills. Her inner child was in control, and the rusty floodgates began to screech open.
Aizawa took his leave silently, (much like Ito had once done) while the little hurting girl stumbled forward on the finally cooled pavement.
"Mom?" she whispered out as the teary eyed woman locked eyes on her only daughter.
Ito's bandaged hand twitched, while her mouth hung open in a way that screamed lost-child-in-a-supermarket-finds-their-parent.
Yeah, her breath was completely hitched.
The teen's mother had her share of screwups and skeletons in the family's closet, but near death experiences have a way of wiping slates clean.
Meaning when Delfina ran to tightly embrace her child, Ito ran as best as she could as well, not caring how much it was hurting her gunshot wounds. They've given her enough grief for tonight, right now all she cared was that she made it.
"Mom!" Ito sobbed into her taller mom's shoulder, tightly gripping onto her maroon self knitted sweater.
Though Ito wouldn't have admitted it to Midoriya, she really was grateful to be alive.
The singed haired girl still had no idea how. Maybe she'll grill him for his side of the story one day, considering all she remembers was a fatal shock that sent her into darkness.
But that day would have to wait, she had higher priorities right now.
"Biito, you're okay??" Del hurriedly asked through choked back tears. She had to be the strong one.
"Yes mamma, I'll be alright, I'm so sorry—" and the rest became too slurred and muffled in the sweater to decipher.
The caring dark haired woman let out a small chuckle as some rogue tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Woah, it must've been quite awful," she spoke softly as she rested her hand on Ito's matted hair.
Ito sniffled her gross messy emotions back inside for a moment, allowing her sarcastic nature shine through.
"Was it the cast or multiple face bandages that gave that away?" she stuffily asked, slightly smirking while pulling her damp face away from the soaked sweater.
"Neither actually," Delifina smiled and brushed some of the taupe strands out of Ito's face. "You just didn't get annoyed when I called you by your full name."
Ito scoffed and finally stepped back from the tight embrace, feeling a little nauseous from the repercussions of said embrace.
Her injuries nearly made her double over, but she already just broke down in tears, too much more emotion and she'll be on the front page of every newspaper tomorrow morning.
You have to look uninteresting in order to get overlooked by those razor sharp glass lenses.
Anxious to leave the scene before the press recognizes her, Ito rolled her eyes with a small smile.
"Considering I was just repeatedly shot by a homicidal maniac, I think I can let the name thing slide this time," she nearly shrugged, before remembering how much pain that would cause her left shoulder.
"Come on, I bet one of these dudes will take us home," Ito yawned out before walking past her mother.
Not hearing a response, the younger Rān woman looked back at her mother, seeing a strangely calm figure with a warm expression.
"What's that face for?"
"It's just," Delfina's silver eyes shimmered with tears of pride.
"On the way over, I thought for a moment that.. given the date, you..." the mother trailed off, not wanting to finish her morbid fears.
Ito was suddenly guilted into silence, feeling as if she got encapsulated in another cage of electricity.
The self destructive girl knew exactly what her mom was implying, and she wasn't wrong. Tonight's date no doubt had a huge influence on Ito's reckless actions tonight.
"But," Del started walking back over to Ito. "I've never been so happy to be wrong."
She wrapped her arms around her baby, giving another loving, (and this time loose) hug to her.
"I guess I'm trying to say I'm glad to see you can take the girl out of the hero school, but you can't take the hero school out of the girl."
Ito was at a loss for words. They didn't even get stuck in her throat, she simply couldn't form them to begin with. But with that said, she was still grateful to have heard her parent's sentiment.
"Ti amo, my strong daughter," she pulled back a little so she could look Ito in the stunning eyes they shared.
"I'm proud of you."
Seeing as speechless Ito had yet to speak, this gave Del a moment to reflect on her other feelings about her daughter's heroic actions.
"And terrified for your safety, I actually threw up in the car on the way over from worrying so much. But proud nonetheless!"
That snapped her out of her haze, making empathetic eyebrows and a chuckle take place from the shorter girl.
"Yeah yeah, I love you too mamma."
"Now, let's get you to the hospital. We can get a ride from the officer who drove us here," the businesswoman said as she lead the way to the cruiser.
Ito stopped, deadpanning at her life giver.
"You're insane if you think I'm getting in that puke filled patrol car."
Her overly firm stance on the matter caused Delfina to snicker and wave a dismissive hand while she kept walking.
"Don't stress honey, I used Itona's backpack to catch it all," she smiled over her shoulder innocently, like it was a casual occurrence to hurl in hero themed bags.
Now walking a bit faster to keep up with her mother's head start, Ito was confused.
"Why do you have Tones' backpack with you? He's gonna have a meltdown when he realizes you desecrated his All Might merch," she thought out loud, knowing how dearly he loves that pro.
Arriving at a squad car, Ito walked past the trunk while keeping her head low. She was still avoiding the eyes of the press nearby and anxious to get inside.
"Well since you asked, I should mention I didn't come alone."
Ito raised an eyebrow, having a feeling she knew who was inside the vehicle, but also had some slight suspicion about another option.
"If you tell me you brought Linguine I won't have the energy to show I'm mad, but just know I will be."
Delfina scoffed out a laugh as she wrapped her manicured hand around the door handle.
"No worries, it's family only tonight," she honestly spoke while smiling that gorgeous grin of hers, opening the door.
And out bursted a young boy of barely ten years old.
"Well look who's up past his bedtime," the older sister smirked at her short kid brother, who wasted no time in running to hug her.
"ITO! You stupid teenager!" were his first words as he embraced the warm girl, like she was going to simply fade away from his eyes if he didn't hold on to her.
"Hello to you too buddy."
He pulled away and pointed an accusatory finger at Ito, getting ready to set her impulsive self straight.
"What do you think you're doing?? Are you trying to get killed?! Do you know how scared me and mom were? We literally—"
"Puked in your backpack? So I've heard," the older sibling suppressed a smirk before carefully kneeling down with a small sigh.
Looking into his worried sick auburn eyes, she rested a hand on his shoulder and spoke softer.
"Look, I'm sorry for giving you guys heart attacks, but I promise it's gonna take a whole lot more than some bullets and b-list villains to beat me."
Her overconfident smile always had a way of swaying her unsure audience, even when she was completely fronting. Though, this wasn't one of those times.
Ito may not have got the villains in cuffs tonight, but she also didn't die either. A win is a win right?
As her grey eyed gaze focused behind her brother, and onto the chaotic haired boy exiting the ambulance, her smirk morphed into a smile.
Right.
"Promise?" an understandably shaken and upset voice sharply asked.
Ito refocused on the ash haired middle schooler, bringing her pinky up with a nonchalant expression.
"Yep, promise."
He hesitantly intertwined their fingers, still trying to be mad at her, but ultimately he knew he never could stay angry for long. That just wasn't who he was.
So with a big exhale, the angry tears were let go. Only a watery mix of anxiety and relief flooded down his cheeks now.
As Itona Rān pushed his laughably large glasses up, he pressed his hands over his puffy face with his baggy sleeves, trying to dry his tears and wipe the stress away.
Ito pulled him in for another hug. Despite not being a hugger to most people, she made exceptions for her family. Always did.
Maybe too much.
"You gonna be okay now?" Ito asked gently, lightly patting his back while he worked through the motions.
A mumbled 'Uh huh' was heard from the crying kid, but the big sister knew he just had to stay like that for a moment. He needed to be completely sure she wasn't going anywhere.
It made sense, it's officially July seventh: also known as the one year anniversary of their dad's death.
The thought of losing anyone else was more than the poor boy could bare. More than any of them could bare really.
If Ito hadn't had those two after her father passed, she'd be in jail or dead right now. Maybe even dead in jail, who knows?
And if Delfina had lost either one of her children, she would have most definitely made even worse choices than she already has.
That's why she was so grateful to be witness to her two precious scoundrels, right there in front of her, alive and well.
Although, it finally occurred to the mother of two that 'well' is a stretch for injured Ito.
"Alright you two," she calmly began, getting in the car. "We need to start making our way to hospital."
The sniffling boy nodded as he reluctantly pulled away from Ito, face flushed from all the cumbersome emotions.
He put his glasses back on and looked at his role model, who stood back up. His wobbly smile at the girl was returned, making him confident that he could turn around and get in the car— and she'd still be with them.
But right as Ito was about to get into the last seat of the back row, she heard a familiar voice suddenly call out.
"Hey Ito! Wait up a sec!"
Turning around with her hand still on the door handle, she saw the bruised boy making his way through the crowd of first responders. And he wasn't alone, he took with him the natural smile on his face that she suspected was there most of the time.
Glancing back at her relatives in the car, she gave them a quick tight lipped smile.
"Gimmie a minute," she mumbled as she shut the door, not letting them respond, and not wanting them to overhear whatever their conversation was to be.
He finally reached her, just in time too.
Bracing his hands on his thighs for a moment in exhaustion from all the running he'd done that night, Ito observed him. How his hands, wrists, knees and head had all been bandaged. Some blood was seen through a few of the wrappings, but not all.
"Izuku Midoriya," she declared so unaffectedly, yet familiarly, like she'd been saying his name all her life.
Some more empathetic people may have even picked up on the slight affection in her tone.
"What's up, weirdo?"
Very slight.
He stood up properly, with a lopsided grin and nerves galore.
"Nothing much. Just um— chilling," he didn't care about the potentially rude nickname as he shrugged and placed his scraped up hands in his pockets.
Ito scoffed with some humor behind it, did he stop her just to say that?
"Better not be like a villain— we've had enough of them for one night," she half joked while running her busted up knuckles through her tresses.
He chuckled at her dumb dad joke, having a stark lack of them in his own life.
"Really though, I just wanted to say thank you again. I feel so awful you got hurt, especially to the extent you did. But I'm so thankful and I know my family is too," he quickly sped out, feeling bad for taking too much more of her time.
As she watched him bow, Ito's face held a serene quality that rarely surfaced these days. She almost forgot how good it felt to be, well, good.
After spending months getting in trouble with the law, being the worst grief ridden version of herself, and then months just feeling numb? It was so strange to have that unexplainable contentment in her heart once again, knowing she really did make a difference tonight.
No she didn't save the world, but Ito never really wanted to be Superman anyways.
She just wished to be like Snipe: the lone star cowboy. The guy who saved people and rode off into the sunset without needing to say goodbye, because he was too cool for that sort of thing.
And tonight, for the first time since she walked away from the UA stadium with her head held down in shame, she felt some closure.
"Stand back up, dork," she lightly stated after clearing the sentimental lump in her throat. "I should be thanking you."
"You should?" he curiously repeated while leaning up, wondering why she'd possibly think that.
"Yeah I mean, if it wasn't for you taking that punch for me I would've had to get two piercings redone instead of just one," Ito smirked slightly as she brought her fingers up to her nose.
The confused kid didn't stay confused for long as a shiny septum piercing got pulled into plain sight.
Ito chuckled at his widened eyes, "Yeah, my mom said I could get one as long as I hide it during work hours. Guess I can keep it down now."
He nodded, eyes morphing into more remorseful versions of themselves.
"Well if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have had to get any repierced..." he slightly pointed at her bandaged left ear.
This made the girl exhale a little, looking to the side where some barricades have been set up, keeping the nosy reporters and townspeople out.
Leaning her fatigued frame against the car, she spoke while still observing the always meddling media.
"And if it wasn't for you, I would be in bed at the end of another boring day, completely the same as I ever was."
She subconsciously crossed her arm over her cast lightly, no doubt as a defense mechanism.
Midoriya had his patented caring and curious expression as his eyebrows furrowed a little bit.
"And that's.. not a good thing?"
A scoff was immediately let out of Ito's overworked lungs.
She smiled as she turned her gaze to the sky, leaning her head back on the car as well.
"No. It's really not."
Before jumping to conclusions, the good listener let the girl speak her mind as much as she wanted.
"I've spent so long being angry or numb that I forgot I don't need to save the world to be happy. Tonight was a wake up call that there's honor and happiness in saving anyone you can," she honestly explained in her dazed state.
"And right now the person I help is my mom, with our family business, to pay bills and stuff. I guess somewhere along the line of the dead end days I forgot I was still—"
She cut herself off with a scarily enchanting and unstable chuckle at her blatant self disregard.
"Useful," she finished, still not caring to make eye contact.
Ito sluggishly hid the smile that formed with her fingertips just grazing over her lips. A girl's got to hide her regret somehow; a relaxed figure, calm tone, and a smile usually do that.
Though, despite her efforts, and despite her last word sucker punching Midoriya harder than the rabid villain from earlier, he was pretty sure he knew how she really felt.
Something about teenagers is that feelings of being forgotten are common. And something about quirkless people is that feelings of powerlessness are also common.
But when you put the two together? You get a dreadful mixture that only someone going through the same thing can truly understand.
And Midoriya did.
He related so much it hurt.
The gloomy girl, on the other hand, had been surprised that despite experiencing some of the most intense physical pain ever, she was now grinning, genuinely.
Up at the sky, almost as if she had been saying all this for the sake of her dad knowing she's okay. That she's going to see another sun rise.
That she wants to see another sun rise.
Normally Ito wouldn't have dared divulge any of this to begin with, but she was quite literally not aware of how much she was talking.
Until his empathetic and melancholic silence made it don on her right now.
"Oh I'm really sorry you got kidnapped for me to have this revelation though," she awkwardly chuckled. "That had to have sucked."
She lifted her head, at long last making eye contact with the glossy eyed boy.
"Oh no no it's okay!" he quickly assured in a high-pitched strained voice, raising his hands up in surrender.
He promised himself he wasn't going to cry until she had left.
Ito let a fast puff of air escape through her nose while the corners of her cut lips turned up slightly.
'So careful to not offend people. Can't say I relate. Not anymore at least,' she mentally mulled over his people pleasing demeanor.
Ito was silent for a moment, lost in her tilted downward head, giving her younger accomplice a chance to take one last look at her.
Her dark sneakers were definitely coated in her own blood from stepping in the red puddles a few times. The fringes of her pants were tattered after running through the brush filled forest, and getting semi-fried too.
She was given the top of a scrubs set, seeing as her light blue t-shirt was pristine. But he could still see the bandages covering from her knuckles to right above her elbow. All while the other arm was in a cast and heavily wrapped up. Even then, some of her blood was starting to seep through.
Her chain necklace with the silver wedding band was still proudly displayed, comfortably resting a bit below her collarbones.
Finally, her once intense battle-worn expressions had left, and only a soft featured face remained. Calmed and less alert after such an arduous night.
She was still zoning out without a care, as if there wasn't a big bandage on the left side of her cheek from getting pistol whipped. As if her neck didn't have dark bruising from being suspended by it in the air multiple times.
She just looked peaceful, for the first time since they met at his front door mere days ago. And she looked leagues happier than when he saw that interview she did back in May.
That nauseating month where she was forced to to show her hand and told the prying world why she left UA.
But her expression was nothing like it was then. His unconditionally loving heart was happy for her. And if he had to choose whether or not he'd get kidnapped all over again, he would without a second thought.
Because he didn't need to know her personally to know she didn't deserve the beaten down and jaded look stitched into her face. In his opinion, no one did.
So he smiled while clearing his throat lightly, regaining the attention of one spaced out Ito.
"I mean sure, it hasn't been how my typical Saturdays are, but it's not all bad."
His positive attitude seemed to radiate brighter than the power station behind him. The same station that has been making the tips of his viridian hair appear to be glowing.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I even got to meet the first quirkless person to get into any hero course, and she's clearly super fitting of that title," he closed his eyes and smiled wider as he said those words.
It's a good thing his profile was in the shadows seeing as he felt his face warm up a few degrees. Midoriya was actually quite shocked with himself for being able to express that without stuttering at all.
"Tsk, you little suck up," Ito rolled her eyes sarcastically as she turned her scarring cheek.
"W— no I'm not I swea—!"
"Mmm," she cut him off, still just teasing however. "I think I'm gonna need some more convincing than that."
The half moon eyed Ito lightly pushed herself off the car, taking slow steps towards the suddenly intimidated teen.
"How about this, come down to our restaurant in a week, see my typical Saturday and maybe convince me you're genuinely that nice?" she offered, hand in her pocket while staring up at him.
His eyes widened once again, not believing his slightly ringing ears.
"Woah wait really??"
Ito shrugged, mostly with her good shoulder. "If you want."
"Sure!" he was quick to accept, still shocked a girl invited him somewhere! But then a question popped into his pretty little head.
"Does something fun happen on Saturdays?"
This made Ito smirk as she began walking back to the car. "Depends, Damsel," she spoke with her hand on the door handle.
Looking over her shoulder for the last time, she finished her sentence.
"Do you like karaoke?"
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3:53 am
july 7th
to be continued
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AHHGHDJSHS HI!
it's been over a month since i've posted
(sorry bout that) but i hope this chapter was worth the wait! :,)
the next chapter is going to be the beginning of a new arc in Ito's story, and i'm beyond excited to start it :D
all i'll say is that it's gonna have some blondes, some superpowers, and a WHOLE lot of confusion >:3
anyways lmk ur fav moment!
mine was any part where Ito wasn't depresseddd (♥ᴥ♥)
see u soon, mwahhh <3
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⚠︎︎ 𝘼𝙈𝘽𝙀𝙍 𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝙏 ⚠︎
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♥︎ 4609 words, end of chapter ♥︎
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