Chapter Text
This wasn’t what Inko had wanted.
This isn’t how she thought her life would turn out, lying on the bathroom floor, nursing a bloody lip and a blooming bruise on her temple, her other hand shaking as she held the positive pregnancy test she had hidden in the spare rolls of toilet paper earlier in the day when she heard Hisashi throwing open the front door with a bang.
This isn’t the Hisashi she had met back in college, but then again, now that she thought about it, the signs were always there; how he always wanted to know what she was doing or where she was, she thought he was just showing interest in her hobbies and her life. Or how after awhile of them dating, he began to tell her that he didn’t like Mitsuki, how he thought she wasn’t a good friend and that she shouldn’t hang out with her any more. How he would always make surprise plans for them when she planned on hanging out with Mitsuki. How after she had graduated college, he had swept her away to a brand new city away from everyone she knew to get married and settled down.
The signs have always been there, and he only became more and more controlling until she was afraid to even leave the house without his permission, and once the drinking started she had to start hiding the bruises whenever she did go out.
But now…...now she was pregnant. She was so happy! She always wanted a child, it’s something she knew since she was but a little girl playing house with Mitsuki in her backyard. And she had hoped maybe this was something that he would want to….so why did she hide it when she heard him yelling for her? Inko knee the answer as to why, but she almost didn’t want to admit it.
Nothing would change.
He wouldn’t change.
It would only mean he would have another reason to be angry and to drink, it would only mean he would have another punching bag to aim at. She couldn’t let that happen. She can’t let this child come into this broken family, she wouldn’t let him hurt their child.
Inko’s shoulders shook as she heaved herself off the tiled floor and made her way out of the bathroom, gripping the door frame until her knuckles turned white as she tried to take a step forward into the hallway, stifling a cry as she put pressure on her most likely broken foot. But with a conviction she has never had in her life, she forces herself to keep walking through the hallway, hobbling and holding back each cry with every step until she reached Hisashi’s office. Usually it’s locked when Hisashi is out of the house, whether it’s to his work or to the bar across town, but apparently it seems that he didn’t bother with it tonight since the door handle easily turned in her grip. She tumbled into the room, catching herself on the desk chair before she could crash onto the floor. She took a second to catch her breath before she started scanning the small room for what she needed in the dark room filled with empty beer bottles and a computer she was sure Hisashi never actually used for work.
But finally, her eyes catch sight of the coiled cord of the only phone in the house, hidden away behind half filled bottles of beer. She moves the bottles away and grabs hold of the landline, sinking down onto the floor with the whole thing. Before she’s even thinking things through, she’s punching in a phone number she could never forget. God, Inko hopes her number hasn’t changed in the years since she left.
The phone rings in her ear, and with each ring Inko can’t help but fear more and more that maybe she’s making a mistake, maybe she doesn’t want to hear from her again. What if-
“Hello, this is Bakugou Mitsuki. Who is this?”
Inko let’s out a sob. Even just hearing her voice is enough to break whatever walls she had built up over the years.
“Hello? Who the hell is this?”
Inko forced herself through her tears and sobs to talk into the phone, her voice cracking as she whispers “Mitsuki”
“Inko?! Is that you! I haven’t heard from you in years! Where did you go?! You fucking disappeared after the graduation ceremony and no one has seen you since!”
“Mitsuki”
“Inko? What’s wrong? Why are you crying? I mean you’ve always been pretty easy to tears but-“
“Please….Mitsuki...please help me.” Inko chokes out, the words she had always wanted to say finally falling out of her mouth.
“Inko, what happened? Is it Hisashi? Did he do something?! You know what, those questions can wait. Where are you? I’m coming to get you. Just tell me the address and I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
Inko was somehow able to tell Mitsuki her address through her sobs of relief. Finally, she can get away from him.
“Okay Inko, My GPS says I’ll get there in two and a half hours, so I’m going to be there in two hours.” Inko can’t help the wet chuckle that slips out of her mouth, “ you go and pack whatever you need and get ready to leave that place behind.” Inko nods into the phone, knowing that Mitsuki can’t see it, but it seems she gets the silent message anyways, “I’m going to stay on the phone with you, okay. Now you gotta tell me if that bastard is there with you or not.”
“N-no. He went off to the bar maybe an hour ago, he shouldn’t be back for another couple of hours or so.”
“Damnit, I wanted to give him a big piece of my mind.”Inko let’s out another wet chuckle as she picks herself up from the sticky carpet, letting out a startled cry as she puts her hurt foot onto the floor.
“Inko?!”
“It’s-it’s okay Mitsuki, my foot just really hurts.”
She hobbles out of the office, phone plastered to her ear as Mitsuki keeps talking to her, about everything and anything, telling her where she is on the road, to what’s been happening in her life since Inko left; always checking every couple of minutes if she was still on the phone with her.
She was able to get herself into the bedroom, and was able to pull out an old gym bag she used to use back in college. She’s pretty sure this is what she used to move with Hisashi all those years ago. Thankfully the dresser was right next to the bed, so she didn’t have to move a whole lot through the room to get her belonging into the duffel bag. Most of the stuff she had brought from college has a one point or another been broken or destroyed by Hisashi through the years of them being together, so she only had a couple pair of pants and shirts, a few undergarments and a picture of Mitsuki and her back when they were little kids, dirty and soaked after they decided to go on an adventure through the woods behind Mitsuki’s old house, but they had the biggest smiles on their faces. Inko makes sure to carefully wrap the framed picture with one of her shirts.
“Inko, I’m five minutes away, get ready to leave that shit hole.”
Inko picks up the bag, another cry of pain escaping her with the added weight to her throbbing foot. But she moves on, leaning against the hallway walls as she makes her way towards the front door. She heard a car pulling into the driveway, and a flash of fear hits her like a wall, thinking for a second that Hisashi is back early from the Bar. That wall only gets harder and harder to get past when she hears the car door shut, and then there’s a banging on the door, oh dear god no, please no, he’ll find out, she’ll never get out of here, she’ll never be able to leave the house again after this, he’s going to be so mad what is he going to do to her, oh god no no no no no no no please-
“Inko! Inko are you there?!”
That wasn’t Hisashi’s voice.
That was Mitsuki’s. Mitsuki is here, she’s really here!
Inko let’s out the breathe she didn’t even know she was holding in, and finds herself moving for the door again, a smile she hasn’t had for the longest time growing on her face as she unlocks the door and opens it slowly, seeing her best friend after 4 years of not seeing barely anyone she knew besides Hisashi, right there in the flesh, looking at her in surprise.
“Dear god woman! You didn’t tell me he beat you black and blue! Give me that bag Inko, damnit, you shouldn’t be carrying anything!” Inko let’s Mitsuki take the duffel from her shoulder, and suddenly she too is leaning on her as she leads the both of them to her car, making sure to take the few steps down from the door with a patience Inko has rarely seen her have. Finally they get to car, and as Mitsuki sets down her bag into the trunk, Inko gets herself into the passenger seat, not daring to look at the house that has been her prison for the past 4 years. The slam of the driver’s side door snaps her out of her head as she looks over to Mitsuki, who is already looking behind them to pull out of the driveway. The drive is silent as they leave town, and it’s not until they are halfway back to Musutafu when Inko finally breaks the silence.
“Mitsuki…….Thank you.”
“Inko, you don’t have to thank me. I won’t allow some asshat to take advantage of my best friend and abuse you like that. And I’ll make sure that it never happens again.”
Inko looks over to Mitsuki, seeing how a few tears have escaped her watering eyes and trail down her cheek.
“Mitsuki, this wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t have known what Hisashi would be like.”
Mitsuki rubs at her angry, taking an exit off of the highway with her other hand, pulling off into a gas station and stopping the car, giving her full attention to Inko. “But I should have! I should have known that he was dirtbag from the start, I never liked how he treated you but I kept my mouth shut cause you seemed so happy! I was hoping that I was just being stupid and overprotective, that he actually wasn’t that bad. But I should have said something! I should have told you how I felt about him but I didn’t! I fucking didn’t and then the next thing I know you disappear right after the ceremony and then-“ She stops mid sentence as Inko unbuckles herself and pulls her into a hug, an awkward hug sure, but a hug that both of them needed.
“It wasn’t your fault Mitsuki; I saw the signs too but I decided to ignore them...or tell myself that it meant something else than what it actually did. I’m sorry that I let him get in between our friendship. I’m sorry that I didn’t call and let you know what was happening. I’m sorry-“
“If you say sorry one more time I’m going to...I don’t know what I’m going to do, just please stop apologising. This isn’t your fault anymore than it is mine.”
Inko chuckles into Mitsuki’s shoulder as they hold onto each other for a bit longer, making sure that this is really real and not some crazy dream. That is of course, until Inko’s empty stomach decides to make itself known with a loud rolling growl. Both women break into a fit of giggles as the untangle from each other.
“Go ahead and grab something inside, I’m gonna put some gas into the car before we keep going.” Mitsuki says, practically shooing Inko out of the car and towards the gas station.
Inko doesn’t take too long inside the store, just grabbing a water bottle and a bag of chips she knows both she and Mitsuki like. Once she gets to the registers, she realizes that she left her purse back at that house with her wallet inside. “Inko.” Like a whip, Inko looks back to the doors to see Mitsuki hanging half way into them, with Inko’s purse in hand. “But how?” “I saw that it was next to the door and thought you might need it before you leave.” Mitsuki replies with a small smirk, walking into the store and handing her the bag. “Thank you.” “What did I just tell you woman! You don’t have to thank me!” Inko laughs once again, think that they probably look like quite the odd pair to the cashier, but it only makes Inko laugh more.
She quickly pays, and both women are back in the car, both feeling much lighter than they have in years.
“Hey Inko. I have a question for you.”
Inko looks over to Mitsuki, “yes?”
“What made you call me? What did that asshole do that made you say ‘enough is enough’?”
Inko looks down to her belly, rubbing it contentedly.
“I found out I was pregnant.”
“Wow. Congrats Inko! Unless, you know, you don’t-“
“I do! I’m so happy to have them, I’ve always wanted a child, you know this Mitsuki. But it just made me realize that having them wouldn’t change anything, that it wouldn’t get any better, only that he would have someone else to beat. And I didn’t want that for them. For us.”
Mitsuki is quite for a bit before responding to Inko, “well I’m glad that called. And you don’t have to worry about finding a place to live for now, Masaru and I have a guest room you can use until you’re back up on your feet.”
Inko goes to thank Mitsuki again, only to get a ‘don’t you dare say it’ look from her. Inko smiles at her, not a big smile like before, but one with just as much relief and happiness as before.
“Speaking of being that actually…..I haven’t really told anyone besides Masaru, I’m also pregnant.”
Inko looks gobsmacked at her, getting a hearty laugh out of Mitsuki as they continue on driving back to someplace Inko has always wanted to be. Home.