Chapter Text
The setting sun greets Inasa as he opens the door to his new backyard. It colours the sky a warm orange, haloing the trees in the nearby park and making them shine like gold. The air is crisp, but the chill of night has yet to set in. It’s absolutely perfect.
This is where he is supposed to be.
The decision to move hadn’t been an easy one. People had called him rash and had claimed that he wasn’t thinking straight when he announced it last month, and a part of him agrees that maybe it had been a hasty decision. But he had needed the change. He still needs the change. He can’t imagine staying in that apartment a day longer. Not with all the memories lingering in the walls.
And besides, there was no way he is going to return to normal after an accident that took him months to recover from, the worst break up of his life and a coming out scandal on top of it all without changing thing up a little.
So yes. This is what he needed. He needed to take that change into his own hands. Moving to the Musutafu suburbs and changing his career track from a crime fighting hero to a disaster and community support hero came just as natural to him as Camie’s suggestion to bleach his hair and get a tattoo. Everyone deals with break ups differently. This is his way. And Camie’s had been finally getting that septum piercing she’d always wanted.
“Oh my god!” Camie gapes behind him, fixing him with a shocked stare as she steps out onto the little patio and pushes the box labelled Kitchen - China - Fragile into his arms. “This is like some Insta influencer shit,” she adds, immediately pulling up her phone and trying to capture the sunset. Inasa feels a smile tug on his lips as he carefully sets down the box on the ground.
“I told you it was a nice place,” he says, stepping up next to her and giving his backyard a proper once over. The past owners took great care of it. The grass is green and lush, and there are even some flower bushes along the back brick wall, almost tall enough to create the illusion of a hedge. He’s got cherry trees that he’d been assured are beautiful daring the spring and shade during the summer, although not too much. Just enough for him to be able to choose between cool shade or hot sunshine as he pleased.
The garden to his left is mostly bare except for the little shed built along the brick wall that has some kind of green vines growing along the back of it. That alone creates a great illusion of privacy without making him feel either shut in or as though he can’t have a quick chat with his neighbours when he wants to. The yard on his right gives him the same impression despite the clear differences. There are several thick healthy looking rose bushes planted alongside the brick wall separating their two properties. The yard is well tended to, with a small vegetable patch and well-tended flowerbeds as well as what looks like a small green house. It feels welcoming.
It feels perfect.
“This is more than nice, dude. This is like a fucking dream,” Camie says, closing her eyes as she inhales deeply, before turning around and fixing him with a dead serous stare. “You looking for a room-mate?”
Inasa barks out a laugh, quickly quieting himself lest he disturbs his neighbours. He shakes his head, chuckling as Camie’s stare morphs into puppy eyes.
“Camie…” he sighs, a heavy feeling growing in his chest. Camie slaps his arm, quickly brushing her suggestion away as a joke even though Inasa had known that. Of course, he’d known that. He just…Isn’t feeling like himself right now. It would come back soon though. He just knows it.
“You will have to invite me over for dinner like way more often now though. You owe it to me after helping you move in,” she says, picking up the box he had set aside earlier and heading back inside. Inasa follows her with a smile, joining her as she stars unpacking it.
“I thought you helping me now made us even after I helped you last move,” he teases. Camie hushes him, shaking her head and pretending she doesn’t hear him. Inasa lets out another chuckle at that, setting about putting away his plates as Camie tackles his glasses and mugs.
By the time he moves on to the bowls his doorbell chimes, breaking them both out of the comfortable silence they’d been working in. Camie looks up at him with a surprised look and Inasa shrugs in reply. No one outside of Camie, his family and his agency know he’s moved here. That’s half the point of the move after all. A fresh start. A chance for him to fully heal back up.
He sets the bowls down, squaring his shoulders as he moves over to his genkan. He swears if there are reporters on the other side of the door, he’ll call the police. He doesn’t have the energy to deal with them again.
But when he opens the door there is only a kind looking auntie on the other side, a small package in her hands and a kind smile on her lips.
“Hello?” he greets, dumbfounded as to what she could possibly want.
“Hello. I’m Mrs Yamamoto, your neighbour. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says with a bow. “I live just over there,” she adds as she stands back up, pointing at one of the houses across the street.
“Oh, Nice to meet you. I’m Yoarashi Inasa,” he introduces himself with a deep bow of his own. “How can I help you?” Maybe something had happened? He isn’t technically on the clock, but he is a hero after all…Always ready, as they say.
“I thought I would come and say hello to our new neighbour. I brought you a little something,” she answers, pushing the small package into his hands before he can protest. The brightly patterned furoshiki is soft under his fingers, and Inasa can feel the edges of a lacquer bento box underneath.
“There is really no need to bring me anything, Yamamoto-san,” he says, feeling his stomach clench. This is really too kind.
“Nonsense! What kind of neighbour would I be if I didn’t properly welcome you into the neighbourhood?” she says, taking his hand and covering it with her own before giving it a squeeze. Inasa smiles, returning the squeeze.
“Thank you so very much, Yamamoto-san,” he bows again, unsure how to react to such a kindness. He’s used to being in the spotlight as a hero, but right now he’s just a civilian. And he’s quite enough of being in the spotlight as a civilian. That, and he has never had a neighbour bring him anything ever, least of all come to welcome him. Life truly is different here compared to the city, not just the view.
“Call me auntie, dearest,” she says, patting his hand. “And never hesitate to drop by if you need anything, okay Yoarashi-kun?” she gives his hand another tight squeeze before excusing herself. Inasa waves at her as she leaves, promising he won’t be a stranger.
“Who was it?” Camie asks the moment he steps back into his kitchen.
“A neighbour wanting to welcome me into the neighbourhood. She gave me this.” Inasa says, holding up the little box.
“That’s so sweet of them. What is it?” Camie asks, quickly making her way over and reaching for the box. Inasa gives it to her willingly, taking the now empty box and beginning to stuff the crumpled newspaper covering his kitchen island into it.
“I don’t know. She didn’t say,” he says, watching as Camie carefully unties the furoshiki and opens the beautiful box inside.
“It’s daifuku! Oh my god, we have to taste this once we’re moved in,” she exclaims, bending down to inspect the sweets. Inasa moves over, feeling his eyes widen at the amount. That can’t have been cheap. He’d have to get her something in return.
“We gotta finish first,” he reminds her as Camie reaches out for one of them. Camie sighs, her whole body sagging before she looks up at Inasa with a pout. Inasa shakes his head, laughing as Camie makes a show of putting the lid back on and tying up the furoshiki once more.
Not even five minutes passes before the next neighbour drops by, catching Inasa as he unloads another box from the moving van. Inasa spends a few minutes chatting with them, learning that they live on the next street over and that he’s the first person to move in here in quite a while.
By the time Inasa closes the door on his third neighbour coming to welcome him, this one from two houses away on his right, Camie insists he’d just take the pull by the horns and go introduce himself to his neighbours so they can finally get everything set away and dig into the daifuku without any more interruptions.
He decides on introducing himself to the closest five houses, the three opposite him and the two next to him, even though people from further away have come to say hi. He promises himself he’d do the rest of them tomorrow if he notices that too is expected of him. He really doesn’t want to make a bad impression. Especially not now when his public relations are already shaky.
The house to his immediate right belongs to an old man who has surely lived there since before Inasa was born. He greets Inasa with a bright smile, his old hands gripping his tightly as he tells him of the neighbourhood and who used to live in all the houses before the current occupants moved in. Inasa nods dutifully, oh-ing and ah-ing when appropriate, and barely manages to tear himself away after 10 long minutes of lecturing.
Mrs Yamamoto lives opposite the old man. She waves happily at him as he passes, making him promise once again not to be a stranger. Opposite him lives a pair about Inasa’s parents’ age. Their kids also live there between semesters when they’re not staying at their university dorms. The wife gifts him a bottle of home-made plum wine, eagerly promising she’ll introduce him to her daughter when she visits next. Inasa smiles and gracefully accepts, too surprised over the fact that his coming out scandal doesn’t seem to have reached her to protest the idea. Back at his old place he hadn’t been able to go outside without hearing about it for months.
Next to them lives a family with elementary school aged children. The moment the kids realize who he is their eyes grow wide as saucers, the youngest of them practically vibrating with excitement. Inasa easily slips into his hero persona, flexing his muscles and posing for pictures with the kids. He even gets them all to try out flying after getting the parents’ permission, the kids almost screaming with laughter as they hover a meter above the ground, held up with his quirk.
“Bye bye, Gale force!” the kids scream after him as he leaves, bouncing on the spot and waving excitedly. Inasa laughs, giving them one final wave as the parents close the door with a grateful smile. He turns toward the final house, the one to his right, and quickly makes his way across the street and up the driveway.
The front yard is just as well taken care of as the back yard. There is a neatly trimmed hedge at the very front and several pots filled with lush flowers lining the driveway. Maybe he could get some tips on how to care for his own yard from this neighbour. He hopes they’re kind enough to share their knowledge but judging from how kind the rest of the neighbourhood seems he doubts they’re anything but.
He presses the doorbell with his thumb, squaring his shoulders and getting ready to introduce himself once again. Judging from the practical but nice car parked in the driveway it’s probably someone older living here. Maybe someone not too different from the neighbours right across from him. It would make sense. It is that kind of neighbourhood after all, where young couples buy a house that they plan on staying in until they grow old.
The door clicks open after many long seconds, a pair of mismatched eyes meeting his. Inasa blinks, the greeting he had prepared getting stuck in his throat as he takes in the very familiar white and red hair, large scar and heterochromatic eyes.
“Todoroki-kun?” he blurts out before he can stop himself. He hasn’t seen the other in years. The last time they properly interacted was probably at some hero gala or another, and even then, it was most likely just a quick exchange of words. But still, he immediately knows who he’s standing across. There is probably not a soil in Japan who wouldn’t recognise the other.
His abduction had been nationwide news when it had happened, but that had been nothing compared to what had happened three months later, when Todoroki had been found. Inasa can still vividly remember the image of a crying Endeavour carrying his malnourished son in his arms. Todoroki had been wearing a straitjacket, his face gaunt and sickly looking, and his eyes had held a look so hollow Inasa shudders just thinking about it.
Almost as chilling had been the group of villains behind the abduction and their idea of reprogramming heroes into villains. First, they turned them into “blank slates”, and then they would mould them into the perfect villain. They had only been caught after they had started going after other heroes, once they knew they could turn someone into a blank slate.
And that hadn’t even been the last of it. A few months after Todoroki’s rescue his family dominated the news cycle once more, this time due to a malpractice lawsuit filed against the psychiatric home the youngest Todoroki had been living at during the months after his rescue. Barely a week before the anniversary of the abduction Endeavour had announced his retirement, alongside the retirement of his son pro hero Shouto. Shouto’s retirement hadn’t been unexpected, in fact Inasa distinctly remembers the announcement almost bringing comfort to the still shaken pro hero scene, a closure of sorts. But Endeavour’s retirement… The hero industry is still recovering from that one.
“Hello,” Todoroki says, looking at him with apprehensive eyes. His hair is much shorter now he had worn it during his career, trimmed a neat few inches and pushed out of his face rather than long bangs and a small man bun. He’s also filled out, no longer the lean body of a pro hero (or the malnourished skeleton from the pictures). His edges have grown soft, his cheeks round over the high cheek bones. He’s still slender though, and not much taller than he was back in high school. In his grey sweatshirt and stylish black sweatpants, he looks…like any other 26-year-old.
“Uh- It’s me. Yoarashi Inasa. I’m your new neighbour,” he introduces himself, shaking the shock from his head and bowing deeply. “Nice to meet you again,” he adds, forcing a smile on his lips.
“Nice to meet you,” Todoroki returns the bow, but there is no recognition in his eyes when he looks back up at Inasa.
“Remember me? Pro hero Gale force?” he pulls his signature pose, feeling the heat rise on his cheeks as Todoroki’s frown deepens. “We had our remedial hero course training together back in high school. You know, with Gang Orca and Dynamite and Maboromicamie?”
Todoroki’s mouth opens in a small “oh”, eyebrows rising on his forehead. He has braces.
“You’re my new neighbour?” he asks, suddenly sounding suspicious. “When did you move in?” Inasa sends a look back at his house, seeing the moving van still parked in his driveway. Todoroki’s eyes follow his, widening a little as he spots the van.
“Today. I’m still unpacking. Figured I’d say hello to the neighbours,” Inasa explains, shifting a little on the spot. Todoroki’s hands twitch by his side, before he interlaces them. He’s wearing white gloves for some reason.
“Yes, of course. Sorry. It’s nice to meet you,” he replies, not quite looking at Inasa. The braces make him lisp ever so slightly. Inasa nods, feeling a frown grow on his brows as Todoroki continues to avoid his gaze. Is he making the other uncomfortable?
“Shouto?” a voice calls from inside the house. The next second a woman who can only be Todoroki’s mother appears behind him, making her way toward the corridor. “Who is it?”
“It’s Yoarashi Inasa. He moved in next door today,” Todoroki says, turning to look at his mother. She meets his eyes, her hand coming up to give Todoroki’s arm a squeeze before she turns to Inasa with a wide smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Todoroki Rei, Shouto’s mother,” she says with a bow. Inasa returns the bow. She looks a lot like her son, or rather he looks a lot like her. They have the same roundness to their face, and despite their hight difference their builds are surprisingly similar for a mother and son. They also have the same slightly nervous disposition.
“We went to UA together,” Todoroki informs her. Rei’s eyebrows shoot up before slowly frowning as she looks at Inasa, clearly trying to remember him.
“Well, I went to Shiketsu high. So not quite. We did have the remedial hero course training together though,” Inasa corrects gently. Rei nods at that, reaching out to give Todoroki’s arm another squeeze.
“I see. I wasn’t very…present, during Shouto’s high school years. You have to forgive me for not remembering you.” She gives a small laugh, shaking her head. Behind her Todoroki nods, staring intently at Inasa.
“You have a wind quirk,” he states. Inasa looks over at him, meeting his eyes for a split second. In that split second, they’re just as clear and determined as Inasa remembers them, seeming to look right through him in a way his teenage self couldn’t handle. The next moment they turn foggy again, making him shiver as the image of Todoroki in Endeavour’s arms flash before his mind once more.
He nods, not quite sure what to feel about having Todoroki as his neighbour. On one hand, he can see that despite the almost three years that has passed since his abduction Todoroki is still not completely okay. But on the other, he’s never one to turn down the opportunity at reconnecting with an old acquaintance. Somehow, it weighs on him, like most things seem to weigh on him nowadays, despite Todoroki’s issues not being any of his business.
Suddenly he wants to be anywhere but here, with Todoroki who knew him from before.
“Well, I should head back. I’ve got a friend helping me unpack and it’s not really fair if she has to do all the work,” he excuses, laughing awkwardly at his attempted joke. Rei kindly joins in, agreeing and giving him an out. Inasa takes it readily, bowing and giving his goodbyes.
“Bye, Yoarashi-san,” Todoroki says, reaching out and closing the door before Inasa has the chance to react. He turns away from the door, the walk back to his house feeling infinitely longer than it is.
It’s almost as though he left part of his brain on Todoroki’s doorstep, his mind playing the conversation over and over in his mind, noting all the little things that had been different about the other, and all the things that had been the same.
He’s still mulling over the strange tone of it all as he goes to put the bottle of plum wine away in the fridge. Had Todoroki even remembered him? Maybe he had just made a fool out of himself and that’s why he felt so weird about it all. But no, Todoroki had remembered his quirk. Or had he just known it. He had been a pro Hero for several years after all.
Camie barging down the stairs tears him out of his thoughts. He turns, bottle of wine still in his hands and fridge door open as Camie slides up to him with an excited look.
“So, how are they? Any hotties?” she asks, plucking the bottle from his hands and turning it over with an impressed look. Inasa slowly closes the fridge door, turning to look at his friend as she inspects the bottle.
“Todoroki-kun lives next door.” he says. Camie hums, turning the bottle back around before the words seem to sink in and her already wide eyes widens further.
“Wait, Remedial course Todoroki-kun?” she asks. Inasa nods. “Endeavour’s son Todoroki-kun?” Inasa nods again, meeting Camie’s shocked eyes.
A moment of silence stretches out between them, Inasa seeing Camie relive the media circus surrounding Todoroki the same way he had just moments ago. Her face seems to fall before she looks away.
“Man, that’s…” she falters, not finding the words. Inasa nods.
“A lot,” he fills in. She nods, acrylic nails tapping against the neck of the bottle as she thinks. The next moment she holds it up for him to see.
“Want to crack this bad boy open?” she asks. Inasa agrees without hesitation.