epiphanot

❛ LOVE & REMEMBRANCE

~O~

A small sigh escaped her lips as the middle aged woman stepped out of the train. To be honest, Inko wasn't a big fan of subways. They were crowded and loud and somewhat scary to her. The woman never truly felt safe in the middle of a sea of strangers. It haunted her sometimes. It used to be scarier when she was a child though — if her five years old self had to go through this, she would definitely end up crying and wailing on the spot. Yes, there were heroes left and right, everywhere in sight to protect her if something happened. Whether there was an earthquake or a villain attack, it was a hero's duty to protect her, this sea of strangers, people they didn't even know and probably would never know.

But they still manage to do it everyday and that was quite a feat in her book.

Inko didn't like the attention or being surrounded by people, a loud place wasn't exactly her taste. She wouldn't say she hated it but at least she disliked it a lot. Hisashi had once mentioned that Inko never hated something, or if she hated it she never let a single soul know and perhaps that was the secret to her purity. She didn't fully believe him then and there but that man was so intent on proving how Inko was 'ideal' or 'perfect', it stunned her every time since she was never one to think of herself as above average. The man she married was quite the flatterer, Inko remembered Mitsuki giving her these strange teasing looks from the side whenever Hisashi dropped a compliment which was often to say the least.

Where Inko was never open towards the things she hated, she wasn't too open towards the things she loved either. The green haired woman had always been a simple one. Yes, if asked Inko would say that she liked or even loved something. For example, if someone asked if she liked custard buns, she would just quietly reply with, "Mhm, I love them," and never touch the topic again. So, it was common for all the people she knew to forget what she liked or even never know her preferences for she talked so little of them. Hisashi, however, proved to be quite observant. It was like every little thing Inko ever said got filed in his brain immediately. He knew her allergies, how much spice she liked in her meal, what kind of dresses she liked and even what things she didn't enjoy very well. He remembered every little detail about her and acted on them as well.

The gesture simply blew her away, no one had ever remembered her likes, her dislikes, her. Inko had always felt like someone who would always be on the sidelines, someone who wasn't really important and someone who was too bland to be remembered. She never gave much thought to it either, rather she accepted it and went on with her life. Hisashi treated her like she hung the stars. The man dropped a cheeky remark whenever he saw her. Unlike her, he was open with his affection towards the things he liked. Inko had seen this full grown adult turn into an excited toddler whenever something of interest caught his eye. 

Quirks.

The man was such a goof, if he saw a splendid quirk, he would just stand there with stars in his eyes and forget whatever he was doing. Inko had snapped him out of such trances on their dates so much it worried her when he didn't suddenly stop in the middle of the road to observe a quirk. At first, Inko thought that love for quirks would push her down because her quirk wasn't flashy or strong. But she was wrong. Hisashi proposed without even knowing what her quirk was. He loved her and he loved her more than anything else. He showed his affection whenever he could and when they got married… Inko tried to do so as well. She tried to openly show her affection towards him too. Not as much as he did, mostly because he always had a flattering comeback to everything she said. Things like that always ended up in her getting flustered and him laughing. 

He loved her and taught her how to love.

She wondered where all that 'love' went after Izuku.

Inko made a turn and started walking towards her apartment, thoughts continued assaulting her already stressed mind. She didn't know why but things changed after Izuku. Of course every couple had to deal with changes after having a child but these were different. Hisashi was… Different. He wasn't the open goofball of a lover after Izuku was born. He became closed, reserved and somewhat stoic too. It felt like he didn't really care anymore, for either of them. He was still just as talkative but his words didn't hold as much weight as they used to.