You woke up the next morning tangled in the limbs of Saffron and Brienne, both who'd decided that snuggled up next to you was the best place to sleep on Brienne's king sized bed. The heat was unbearable, but you couldn't think of any way to extricate yourself without causing your two friends to wake up. It seemed like you were stuck in the tangled mess of limbs at least a little while longer.
Toshinori had dropped you back off not long after you'd left that night, using his speed and ability to jump to carry you back to your moms house.
He'd avoided your question, stating that now wasn't the time, and he'd tell you when you returned home. This answer left you less than satisfied, but more than anything you felt guilty for making him uncomfortable.
He went back to the hotel alone once he'd dropped you off, stating that none of the beds or couches there would be comfortable enough for him to sleep on because of his size.
You didn't push him, simply giving him a small kiss before he left that night. The rest of your time with your friends and mom stretched well into the first hours of morning before you passed out.
Saffron fit in so well with your trio it was like she'd been there since the beginning. She was a new audience for Brienne and your mom as you reminisced over old stories and memories. She laughed along with you, fitting herself in perfectly to the group you'd recreated.
As you thought about the night before, Saffron groaned and rolled away just enough to allow you an exit. You got up as quietly as you could, slipping off the bed and padding your way down to the kitchen.
Your mother was in there, still in her pajamas as she chopped up some chives and peppers. Eggs were whisked in a bowl nearby, and you could see steam escaping from the rice cooker.
"Omurice?" You asked hopefully.
"Just like you like it," She looked over her shoulder and smiled. You smiled back at her as she continued her work. You came up behind her and placed your chin on her shoulder, just like you had when you were younger.
"I've missed your omurice," You muttered, thinking about how she'd always made it as a special morning treat.
"I think you've gotten taller," She mentioned, leaning her head on yours as she gently stirred the eggs.
"Maybe it's all the protein powder I've been drinking." You joked.
"You drink the powder?" She laughed.
"No! I mix it obviously." You slapped her arm.
"I find that hard to believe. I seem to recall a girl who wouldn't drink the vitamins I mixed into her juice no matter how much I bribed her."
"Ma," you groaned and leaned dramatically against the counter. "I was like five then. Things are different now."
"Oh really? Are you all grown up?"
"I guess so, yeah."
"Well then it's your turn to make breakfast," She grinned as she handed you the spatula.
"What? No! You know I never fold it right!" You complained.
"Practice makes perfect!" She mentioned, swatting your butt with her rice paddle before she stirred the rice.
"Mooooom," You groaned, frantically trying to shove the spatula into her hand, "I was in the ocean for however many years just dreaming about my mom's cooking. This isn't fair!"
"What isn't fair is wondering whether or not your child is alive for years." She raised her eyebrows at you and swatted you again. Her tone was more sarcastic than venomous, but that didn't stop the jab of pain that went straight to your heart.
You winced and turned your head away in shame. "Ouch..."
Your mother scoffed and rolled her eyes as she snatched the spatula out of your hand. With a bump of her hips you were pushed out of the way and she had resumed cooking the eggs.
"I'm only teasing. What's in the past is in the past. We don't need to reflect on it any more."
"Thanks, ma..." You responded, returning your chin to her shoulder.
She stirred the eggs in silence for a moment, obviously mulling something over in her head before she spoke again.
"I just have one question. It's not anything about the ocean or running away or all that junk."
"Okay, shoot."
"You and All Might... Saffron and Brienne both implied you were dating. Is that true?"
"It is..." You responded, backing away from her to prep the rice onto plates. You weren't sure where she was going with this, but you could only assume a lecture about not getting your heartbroken was soon going to follow.
She was silent for a minute, then she turned to you and smiled. The first omelette was finished and she skillfully flipped it over onto the rice.
"He's a good man." She nodded, wrapping the plate in tin foil and sticking it into the oven before she moved on to the next omelette. "How did you get together?"
"He found me when I was still homeless... He offered me a job, a place to stay. He really is good." You agreed.
"How long have you been together?" She asked as she poured the next round of eggs into her pan.
"Only a few days, actually. He wanted to go public about it but he also wanted me to talk to you before you saw the interview on TV."
"Oh, so he was the one who convinced you to come here, eh? I guess I owe him a lot more than breakfast for getting my cowardly daughter to come visit me," She chuckled and swatted your hand as you snuck a bite of warm rice straight from the cooker.
"I'm not a coward! I just- okay... I am a total coward but I'm here now, aren't I?"
"That's true. And for that I owe All Might more than I can ever pay back."You could hear the tears in her voice as she spoke. She put her cooking down and pulled you into a tight hug.
"Who's paying me back?" Toshinori asked as he let himself into your mothers open front door. He carried a few grocery bags in his arms, which he set down on the floor as he looked at the scene. He looked towards the door again, wondering for a moment if he should leave, but your mother gestured for him to join the hug.
He smiled, wrapping his arms around the both of you as his seven foot frame towered over everyone.
"I really do owe you so much, All Might." Your mother sniffled. "For helping her, giving her a job, taking care of her, and bringing her back to me...."
To the shock of both you and All Might, your mother pulled away , getting on her knees before him as she pressed her forehead to the ground.
He reeled back in surprise and tried to stutter out an excuse for her to stop, but she cut him off.
"Mr. All Might, please. Continue to take care of my daughter..." She whispered, sniffing loudly. Toshinori looked to you, then your mother, then back to you. You were just as dumbfounded as he was.
The only time you'd ever seen anyone close to you perfrom Dogeza was when your father begged your mother not to kick him out of the house. It was something she'd always scoffed at, ridiculed, but now seeing her do it shook you to your core.
You saw him kneel down and hesitantly touch your mom's shoulder.
"It would be my pleasure to help her in any way I can. I promise. And please, call me Yagi."
Your mother smiled and wiped her eyes as he helped her off of the ground.
"The two of you will make a good couple. I know you will." She smiled and wiped her eyes.
Toshi beamed and looked at you, the obvious adoration in his face enough to make you blush.
"I know we will too," He smiled.
You began to nod, before a bitter burning smell hit your nose.
"Mom! The eggs!" You called out.
"Shit!" She shouted, pulling the smoking pan off the stove. "Now I have to start over!"
"It's alright, I don't mind burnt eggs." Toshi smiled.
The emotions and awkwardness of the past few minutes quickly washed away as you helped finish breakfast with your mom.
As it turned out, Toshi had brought his own contribution to breakfast in the form of pancake batter, which he offered to make to add a little bit of 'American Flavor' to breakfast.
It had been one of his favorite foods to binge on when he studied abroad, especially on special occasions or the morning before a big event. It seemed reuniting family was the perfect occasion for pancakes, so you all agreed to let him cook them.
Eventually Saffron and Bri were rudely awakened from bed by your mother, who threatened to splash water on Bri if she didn't get up.
The five of you enjoyed your breakfast together, sharing stories in the same fashion as the day before. Your mother used the opportunity to get to know All Might better, listening intently as he told her all his credentials. His degree, his years as a hero, an in depth explanation of his income and business exploits.
It was almost like she was interviewing him with how many questions she was giving him. It seemed only fair, considering he was a man she just met and not much younger than her. You only half listened, though. Your mind was wandering elsewhere as they spoke, heading to last night's encounter and the questions left unanswered.
"What's your real relationship with All for One?" you asked.
A million emotions flashed across his face in an instant before landing on one that was mostly discomfort and pain.
"I- Now isn't the time to talk about that, love." He whispered, running a hand through his hair.
"I-I'm sorry, Toshi. I just wanted to know... " You felt bad for making him uncomfortable, but the fact that their relationship was now confirmed to be deeper than some hero vs. villain battle made you feel that much more anxious about your future fight with him.
"I know, I know. You have a right to know, it's just... hard to talk about. Can I tell you tomorrow night? Once we're home? I don't want to ruin your time with your family..."
"That's fine, Toshi. Whenever you're comfortable."
He gave you a halfhearted smile and leaned forward to press a kiss to your forehead.
You slipped your hand into his and squeezed, letting the conversation go at that.
You were both silent as he took you to your mother's house. He dropped Saffron's things inside the door and stood on the front porch. You leaned on the threshold of the door, unwilling to say goodnight and leave on such an awkward note after such a good day.
You thought about what to say as moth's fluttered around the front porch light, and you could see Toshi struggling to think of what to say.
"It feels like we're in high school," You finally mentioned with a small smile. "It's like you're dropping me off at my curfew."
"It does, yeah." He sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Does that mean I'm allowed to give you a kiss goodnight?"
"Oh my god, Tosh. That's so corny!" You rolled your eyes as he placed his hands on your waist and pulled you close.
"What? I'm allowed to sneak a few before your mom comes out to yell at us, right? That's how it always happens in the movies." He smiled brightly and leaned down to pepper your neck with soft kisses.
"Well, if it happens in the movies then of course you can do it," You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck as his lips trailed to your cheeks.
He planted a few more kisses on each side of your face before landing on your lips and pulling you into a soft and passionate kiss. You melted against him as his lips molded to yours, letting out a breathy sigh as he pulled away.
"Goodnight, (Y/N)." He smiled. He planted one more kiss on your nose before hopping off into the sky and back to the hotel he was staying at. You leaned back against the door and sighed, watching him fly off into the distance as you collected your thoughts.
"Damn, do you have any pro heroes you could hook me up with?" Brienne whispered from the other side of the screen door, so close to your ear you jumped and yelped.
"Jesus, Bri! Were you there the whole time?"
"Only for the juicy bits," She smiled.
"What happened to privacy?" You asked as you entered the house.
"Overrated. My best friend is dating the world's top hero. Of course I wanna see the juicy stuff! I need things to talk about during my maid of honor speech at your wedding."
"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"
"Absolutely not, now come on! Saff is waiting on us to start the movie."
The rest of your night continued uneventfully, but you still had the nagging anxiety about All for One and Toshinori.
"Hellooo? Earth to (Y/N)!" Saff waved her hand in front of your face. "Are you even listening?"
You snapped back to the present and blinked a few times.
"Sorry, zoned out. What were we talking about?" You asked.
"We were talking about our plans for the day. We have to leave in a few hours but I thought we still had a little bit of time to squeeze in a trip to the hot springs at the hotel."
"That sounds fine with me..." You responded.
And it was.
Though you were unable to concentrate through most of the conversation with your best friends and your mother, your mind was really somewhere else. Though the warm waters of the hot spring calmed you a little, even the nicest spring wasn't enough to ease your worries.
'What if's' flooded your head as you tried to engage in conversation.
What if All for One was Toshi's dad?
What if All for One knew you were coming?
What if All for One had some sort of weakness he could use against Toshi, like kryptonite or something?
What if he had some kind of weakness he could use against you?
The possibilities were endless and you ended up spending the whole rest of the morning worrying and fretting to the point you barely remembered what your friends were talking about.
When it finally was time to leave you were snapped back to reality, tearfully telling your mother and your best friend goodbye after being reunited after so long.
"We're gonna come visit soon, alright?" Your mother told you encouragingly.
"Yeah! Yagi said we could stay at Might Towers! I'm already planning a trip!" Brienne beamed as she hugged you tightly.
"And the three of you are welcome any time, alright? The door is always open!"
"Thanks, ma." You smiled, pulling her into a group hug with you and Bri. "Things will start to slow down at work next month. I'll be able to visit all the time then, alright?"
"Promise?" Bri asked hopefully.
"Promise."
"Good. Saff told me you're a party girl and I can't wait to see how much liquor you can hold!" She snickered.
"Oh my god, shut up!" You pulled away from her and punched her arm playfully.
Your mom pushed Bri away and took both of your hands in hers. "Ignore her. I think the solitude of living in the country is driving her crazy. Just promise us whatever you do you'll be safe and come back to us, alright?"
You felt a stinging pain pull at your heart and you did your best to smile and nod. "I will, mom. Promise."
It was the truth, in a way, though you absolutely couldn't control the outcome of whatever would happen with your fight with All for One. Still, you were fueled with even more determination to see this plan through and come back to your family. If defeating him was the best way to keep them safe from a world where he ruled, you knew you'd do whatever it took no matter what the cost.
The goodbyes were painfully long and drawn out, neither party willing to let go of the other until Saff mentioned she had meetings to get to in the afternoon.
Finally, with many more hugs, you loaded your things into the car and were on your way back to Might Towers.
The drive felt exhaustingly long, even though Saffron chattered at you the whole way there. You were missing your family already, even though the didn't hesitate to begin texting you the minute you pulled off down the street. Your mom started sending you requests to play a scrabble game with her, something you weren't even aware your phone could do, and Bri was sending you picture after picture of random things.
It was nice to be this connected to them, but that didn't make the sting of parting with them so recently after you'd reconnected with them any less painful.
That wasn't the only thing on your mind, though. You were still thinking about Toshi, though he was asleep in the back seat. You knew after you got home he'd immediately go on a patrol, but after that you assumed he'd finally tell you what you needed to know about All for One.
It was all you could focus on as you got home, put away your things, and wished him well as he went off. You'd thanked him and Saffron both profusely for their roles in reconnecting you with your mother, but after the goodbyes with them you were left completely alone.
Without much else to do, you turned your restless energy into something productive and went about your normal training routine.
The few off days of training hadn't exactly thrown off your progress, but you didn't want to leave anything to chance. If you missed a few days of training that just meant you'd have to work much harder in the coming days.
And you did.
Your training session that night left you well beyond the satisfying burn of a good workout. As you pounded away at the sandbag hanging from the ceiling at the end of your workout, you felt sweat pool down you as you baked in the uncomfortable summer heat beating in through the windows.
Your legs and arms were beyond sore, abs burning and aching from the excess reps you'd done. It wasn't entirely a bad feeling, though. Exercise had become an outlet for you and today you definitely needed an outlet.
You pushed all of your feelings out of your body each time your fists connected with the sandbag, letting all the uncertainty and anxiety wash away and you numbed your mind.
In the moment, it didn't matter what Toshi's relationship with All for One was. It didn't matter that you wouldn't get to see your family again for quite some time, if ever again. It didn't matter that the tensions were high and the expectations everyone had for you were astronomical. It didn't matter that you had an interview only a day away that you were utterly unprepared for.
All that mattered was that you felt strong as you beat away at the sandbag and in the moment that feeling of strength was more than enough to send serotonin and adrenaline coursing through your veins.
Music was blasting over the speakers in the gym and you felt an odd sort of zen as you finished up your routine. With one final, solid punch to the bag you let out your last grunt of frustration. You grabbed the bag to steady it, placing your sweaty forehead on its smooth surface as you caught your breath.
Finally stepping away from the bag, you unwrapped the gloves from your hands and headed to the kitchen for a drink.
What you hadn't expected to see, however, was Gran Torino exiting the elevator as you greedily gulped down cold water.
"Oh, uh, hey Gran Torino!" You awkwardly greeted him. His stern eyes stared you up and down as he took in your sweaty and disheveled appearance. He was pleased you'd been training, but he'd never let you know that.
"Toshinori isn't here right now," You added, "But he'll be back soon if you wanna wait."
He stared at you for a moment before sighing, his stern demeanor melting if only for a few moments as he spoke.
"How about we go on a walk?"