Inside Your Mind

84 - Shinsou

You like me best when I'm off my rocker

Kaori Shinsou turned around to see who was calling for Shouta when she looked at a cute young woman about her height. She had the most radiant smile on her face, she looked like she had had enough rest and enough time to take care of herself and - probably the most striking feature - she had shoulder-length turquoise hair. Kaori thought about how sad it was that the fact that this woman had enough rest was an outstanding feature to describe her, but then she quickly realized the look she was giving Shouta. Kaori didn't like that look one bit.

And the other thing that Kaori didn't like was just how gorgeous that woman looked. She was definitely younger than Shouta, but older than her, and was wearing cute slacks with suspenders and a nice blouse. She looked professional, but just so cute, it made Kaori want to throw up.

"I saw you on TV and at the Sports Festival. It's been too long since we last met face-to-face!" she exclaimed and waved at him. Kaori glanced over at Shouta who seemed shell-shocked. Suspicious. What the hell did he have to do with her? She seemed somewhat familiar, too...

"Oh, I know her..." she could hear Midoriya mumble behind her. Kaori looked back at the woman who had now stopped in front of Shouta and was pointing at the two of them with a big grin.

"Let's get married!" she suggested. Kaori heard someone - presumably Mina - squealing behind her. She raised an eyebrow at her. Maybe this was some platonic inside joke she wasn't getting?

"No, thanks." Shouta just answered, without any hint of emotion. The woman started laughing hysterically.

"No, thanks? Just do it!" she said, barely able to catch her breath. Kaori heard Shouta sighing.

"You're the same pain in the neck as always, Fukukado." he replied. Kaori stepped up a little closer to Shouta, hoping that it would remind him that she was right there. She was a little ashamed of getting this defensive all of a sudden, but somehow she felt that this one in particular was a threat - she was older, she got more sleep and it seemed like they had some sort of past.

"This is Emi Fukukado, she's a criminal psychologist, just like Mr. Aizawa! I think they used to work together for a while and then she moved to a different prefecture and regularly debates theories in the media." Midoriya explained to everyone who had somewhat gathered around.

Right. She did know that face. And when Midoriya mentioned Emi Fukukado she knew exactly who that was. She remembered her always disputing whatever the leading theory in a criminal case was, and even though she could admire her quest for a different perspective, she remembered how annoying it was when they came out with her and Shouta's theories about Stain and she just had to go against the grain. It was good critical thinking, but it was infuriating.

"Marry me and we could build a happy household where the laughs never stop!" she kept insisting, even as Shouta turned away. Kaori was glad that he apparently wasn't interested whatsoever, but it irked her that she didn't know what had been going on. And it also made her nervous that she seemed to have suddenly reappeared - what if it made Shouta rethink this thing they had going on?

"Nothing about that sounds happy to me." Shouta replied firmly and turned back to the students, rolling his eyes.

"So, uh... you two are friends?" a girl with big round eyes and long hair all the way down her back asked.

"Oh, we worked together back in the day. You know, solved a few crimes together, went for a few lunches, we fell in love and you know how it goes..." she answered with a wink. Kaori could feel the colour draining from her face. Wait, was that... was that Shouta's ex? How the hell was she supposed to compete with that?