Well, hello everyone guy again, with another chapter. Sorry for the late update, the last chapter from my other story took more time than I expected. Also, I've been hunting errors all over the text once I'm done writting. It takes more time but I think it's whorty if it improves the quality. Hopefully the errors will reduce to a more acceptable level, though I aim to flawless. That said, moving on to the story.
The Clock Ticks
BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…
The high pitched sound repeated again and again, steady and precise like a clock. It filled the entirety of her mind, being the only thing she could focus. Everything else was fuzzy and confusing. Memories mixed with dreams of things that never happened. Or did they? What if her memories were the real dreams? The pieces came around and vanished, images and short movies that portrayed her life so far. How long has she been dreaming?
Since the end of high school, Inko dreamed of forming a beautiful family, with a lovely husband and an adorable child. Little by little, her dream turned into reality, or so she thought. Now it seemed just another distant dream, lost in the depths of her mind. But something wasn't right. She felt a sensation of emptiness. Something she held dear was missing. What was it? She could not remember, her mind was too blurry. The only thing that she could focus was on that repeating noise.
It remembered her that she had to wake up and get ready for school. Today was her first day at the primary and she was eager to start her new life as a student. No, she was in high school already, and she had an important test today. Wait, wasn't she supposed to be at a meeting today in work? She wasn't sure. The only things she knew were that something important to her was missing and that she had to wake up. Inko had to wake up. That was the main function of the alarm clock. Wake people up with that slightly annoying beeping. Said noise became louder and louder. Sometimes she just didn't feel like waking up yet, which resulted in many 'more five minutes' turning into hours. But she had to wake up now because she had to find the thing that went missing. What went missing? She would find out if she just wakes up already…
"What was it? something important… that can't be replaced… wake up, Inko… you have to wake up… you have to see him… him?"
The beeping increased the speed.
"He… he's going to be late to school… he's going to… he's going to be hurt… he's hurt right now! Wake up, Inko! WAKE! UP!"
"IZUKU!"
Inko woke up with a jolt, eyes opening as wide as they could and with a loud scream, calling for her son. Her heart race, pounding inside her chest like it would explode any minute now. Even being on a bed, she felt breathless and tried desperately to put air into her lungs. She could feel beads of sweat forming in her forehead. Her hands shook and her body felt like a furnace. At her side, the cursed beeping of a vital signs monitor helped her understand where she was. But why? What happened? Where she was before and more importantly, where was her Izuku right now?
Memories of the recent events flowed back into her mind, bringing with them all the fear and worry that she felt when she saw him in the hands of that blond villain. His face contorted in pain as she harmed him with some weird power. Where was this villain now? More important, where was Izuku? Why couldn't she find him? Why couldn't she protect him? Why she had to face another failure as a mother?
"Stop… ~pant~ Stop feeling guilty… ~gasp~ Just be a decent mother and… ~pant~ find him"
It wasn't time to feel like this. It wasn't time to worry about anything else but the well-being of her son.
"Find your son, Inko... and make sure he's safe"
Finally steading her heartbeat rate and breathing, the green haired lady mustered the energies within her body and lifted herself up to sid at the bed she was currently on. Taking a minute to look at her surrounding, she found herself in a dark room of some hospital. The lights coming from the slits of the window blinds told her that it must be night time already. For how long had she been sleeping? Looking further at her surroundings, she noticed that she remained in her normal clothes, so no invasive measures were taken. Her mind instantly wandered to her son again. What if he was on a surgery room right now?
She shook her head, sending away these thoughts. Just imagining and worrying would not make her son be any safer. She had to take action and find him. Inko removed the sensors glued to her and planted her feet on the floor, standing up but still feeling a bit dizzy.
"Weird… The floor looks far… No, focus on finding him"
Inko walked, or at least did her best, to leave the room but when she was close to the door it swung open and hit the wall with a bang. The lights went on and she shut her eyes due to the sudden brightness. slowly opening them, she saw the form of a person in what seemed to be a faint pink yellow uniform. As her vision cleared, Inko faced a woman, a nurse to be more precise. Said woman, young and with her brown hair tied into a ponytail, looked in shock as she stared at Inko. Recovering from it, she was quick to approach the green haired lady, keeping a friendly face and calm tone of voice.
"Umm… Hello, miss Midoriya, please stay calm"
"H-Hello there. Good thing that you came, I have something I need to know"
"I see you are feeling better. You even got up on your own. You scare us back there" The nurse pointed to the monitor emitting a continuous noise. The flatline made Inko understand what she was talking about.
"Oh, sorry about that. It wasn't my intention"
"I'm sure it wasn't. Now, why don't you sit on the bed again while I call the doctor?"
"I'm feeling perfectly fine but there's something I need to know. My son, Izuku, he was with me when we were attacked by a villain. Do you know where he is?"
It was very subtle, but Inko noticed the uneasy look the nurse had once she mentioned Izuku. Also, she was being very careful with her. Maybe way too careful.
"Izuku… I'm not very good with names… but I'm sure he's fine. The hero Midnight left you here so I bet she also took care of your son"
"Yes, I know she did. Still, I want to know where he is. I need to see him"
"S-sure. Let's make it this way, you sit back there and I go call the doctor, then we can see if we find your son"
"I said I'm fine. The doctor can wait a little bit if he wants to make some exams. I want to my Izuku"
"M-miss Midoriya, you must have gone through a pretty traumatic experience. I recommend that you avoid moving too much or stressful situations" The nurse was getting more nervous by the minute.
"With all respect, I recommend you to let me see my Izuku or else I'm going to show you what is a stressful situation" She didn't have time for this. This nurse was up to something, but right now she couldn't care less about it. Inko wanted to see her son.
"Miss Midoriya, please sit back at the bed and wait for the doctor. It won't take long-"
"I don't want to wait a single minute. Where is my son?" It was getting hard to control her temper. The nurse tried to pull a more serious face but still looked hesitating. She took a step forward and was about to guide Inko back to where she was lying.
"Miss Midoriya, I'll have to insist that you sit on the bed-"
"Lay a hand on me and I swear you will be the one needing to sit. Now, if you excuse me I have to look for my son"
Inko hated when her temper made her say things like this, but she didn't have any time to waste. Izuku could be in any room of this hospital in God knows what conditions. The fuming lady walked past the nurse, who tried to reach her but recoiled her hand when INko shot a glare back at her.
Walking through the door, Inko looked at both sides of the hallway she was, seeing people being carried in wheelchairs, walking with crutches, dragging hangers with serum bags and many nurses and doctors walking around. She spotted a balcony at the end of the hallway and made her way to it, but while she walked, she noticed her skirt was loose, to the point it was almost falling. Not only that, her shirt and blouse felt larger than she remembered, and she felt the cold air of the hospital brush the bottom of her belly.
She walked along the hallway, passing by many doors, some of them open and others closed. Her reflex moved across the glasses of the doors that were closed. She didn't pay attention to almost nothing surrounding her, but she got a glimpse of her reflex with the corner of her eyes. Stopping dead in her tracks, Inko took a step back and looked again at the glass of the closed door. She had to make a double take and even a triple take as she was confused by the image she saw. Her annoyed face, with furrowed brows and an upside down curve on her lips. looked different, yet familiar. Suddenly annoyance turned into shock and she failed to suppress a scream.
"Aaaaah!"
Inko backed from the door glass and ended stumbling on her own feet, falling with her behind on the floor. She looked wide eyed at the reflex that managed to mimic all of her movements. Following the usual process, she slowly raised a hand and waved her fingers, then made a face sticking her tongue out and pulling down one eyelid and finally looked aside and spun her head back quickly. The person in the reflex was definitely her, but how? What kind of joke was this, and why now of all times?
"What in the world…?"
She looked down at her own body. Her chest was slightly up, her chubby arms and belly were practically gone and looking closer at the mirror, her face lost the round shape. Getting up while taking care to hold her skirt, Inko noticed she also was a little bit taller. The faint eyebags and tiny wrinkles, the result of many nights crying, vanished from her face. Poking her cheeks, she even noticed her skin felt more soft and smooth. And while Inko kept checking herself, confused and oblivious to the other patients and staff staring at her, the nurse that was left at the room caught up with her, tapping the green haired lady on her shoulder, cautious as if she was defusing a bomb.
"M-miss Midoriya, if you could follow me-"
"What happened with me?! How did- when did- Oh my God, Izuku!"
Inko in an instant held the nurse by her shoulders, visibly distressed, but the thought of the current state of her son came back to her mind. If she was like this, how would he be now? For a brief moment the image of her baby Izuku crossed her mind, and she imagined her precious son surrounded by medical apparatus or bandaged, or even worse. Her motherly instincts kicked in and her desperate expression turned into a serious one. The nurse didn't dare to stop her as the lady spun on her heels and marched to the balcony at the end of the hallway. The steaming lady slammed her hand on the counter, surprising the young lady in front of the computer.
"Whaa! H-hello miss, how can I help you?"
"Midoriya Izuku. His room"
"S-sorry but, what is your relation to-"
"I'm his mother"
The woman hasty typed at the computer and turned to Inko when she found the room.
"Room 452, fourth floor, but it's saying here that visits are not allowed yet- miss Midoriya?"
Inko was already making her way to the elevators. She stood in front of the metal doors and pressed the button to call the elevator at least a dozen times. The delay of five seconds was too much for her so she decided to use the stairs. Four flights of stairs up and she was on the right floor. Looking to the sides, the sign at the wall indicated that his room should be on the left hallway. She read the numbers of the rooms, repeating her goal to herself in a way to avoid any chances of forgetting it.
"452… 452… 452… there!"
She was about to enter the room but two men in white coats, talking to each other, reacted to the sudden move and got in front of the door, blocking her way. They calmly inquired who she was and what were her intentions.
"Excuse me, miss, this room is occupied right now. May I know what do you want here?"
"My son is in that room and I want to see him"
"Oh, miss Midoriya… good to see you are… awake, and full of energy too. Ahem, I recognize your worry for your son's current state but rest assured that he's stable and we're-"
"Please skip the diagnosis, doctor. I just want to see him"
"Miss Midoriya, you both went through a traumatic experience so I understand you may be feeling anxious, but we have to keep track of him and look for any anomalies. You also should be under monitoring right now so if you can follow me I-"
"No, you don't understand how I am feeling, so I'll make this short and easy to understand for you. I want. To see. My son. Now!"
The other doctor, younger than the grey haired man in front of the door intervened too, trying to appease the flames of the worried mother.
"You both were affected by the Quirk of a villain. We are currently studying the extension of the effects on his body so we can take the proper actions. Also, his current condition could be too much of a shock for you and-"
"A shock?! H-how is he?! Did he get hurt too bad?! His arms! His arms are kind of sensitive and-"
"Miss Midoriya, stay calm. He's stable and no severe damage was done, but we still have to-"
"Then let me see him!"
"I'm afraid I can't allow you-"
Inko pointed her index finger at the young doctor, ready to make a threat and maybe use some bad language, but just her expression was enough to make him back away. She might be much shorter than him, but the doctor felt like he should not stay in her way. Shaking his head at the inexperience of the new doctor, the older man stepped in to reason with the fuming lady but before he could say a word, a loud scream from inside the room. Inko knew that voice pretty well.
"MOM!"
Her eyes widened as she looked at the door. The image of her son in suffering flooded her mind. Her instincts made her body move and she busted into the room, desperately looking around for her favorite green colored mess of hair, and when she found, relief followed by shock filled her heart. Sitting at the bed and breathing heavily, apparently disoriented and confused, Izuku looked around, until his eyes found her form. There was a moment of silence before they acknowledged the situation they were into right now.
"M-M-MOM?!"
"IZUKU?!"
The two doctors entered the room and watched as mother and son stared at each other. Panic could define well what the green haired duo was feeling right now. And just like that, the lady rushed to the bed and practically jumped at her son, wrapping him in her arms and giving him a crushing bear hug. The boy seemed to take a moment to register the situation, but as soon as he understood what was happening he returned the hug with equal intensity.
"Izuku… I… I was… I WAS SO WORRIED! WHAAAAA!"
Both doctors took a mental note to inquire the lady about her tear Quirk before leaving them for a moment. Since she was there already and the boy was awake, they could wait just a little bit. She let go of the half soaked boy and held on his shoulders, her green eyes still full of tears.
"NEVER do something like that again, you hear me?! What if you hurt your arms again?! Are you trying to kill your mother out of worry?!"
"Sorry, Mom! I didn't plan to end like this! I'll be more careful next time!"
"You better be! My heart can't handle that type of stress!"
She buried her face on his chest, making his shirt get even more wet with tears. Izuku hugged his mother again, leaning his chin on her head.
"I promise I will. Mom, I'm glad you're safe"
They stood like that for a while, hugging each other and crying as only the Midoriya's could. After that, Inko finally gave a better look at her son and she realized his current condition. Izuku did the same to his mother and both were shocked, to say the least.
"Izuku… what happened? When did you… when did you get so tall?!"
"You too Mom! You look like yourself ten years ago!"
"What's up with that low voice?! You sound almost like your father!"
"R-really?! Oh, you are right! What is happening here?"
"That's what we were hoping to discover"
The elder doctor entered the room again, interrupting the reunion of the small family. He adjusted his glasses and looked at them with a serious yet tranquilized face.
"By what we heard from Midnight, the hero who brought you two here, you were attacked by a villain that went by the name Khrona. You seem to have deducted the general functioning of her Quirk, right young man?"
"Oh, right, the villain! Did they manage to capture her?"
"I don't have means to inform you about that, though it might be on the news any time by now. For now, let's focus on what you observed"
"Okay. Umm, that villain Khrona, she apparently was able to control the age of the things she touched. I've seen she making seeds turn into fully grown trees in seconds, and she was able to make a lamp post rust like it suffered the action of many years. Not only that, but she also made the cement and asphalt of a street return to a previous state"
"Sounds like a powerful Quirk. Didn't you see any indications of a limit?"
"Maybe. If I got this right, she can't use her Quirk on her own. She always needs to channel it through an object, like she's transferring the years of a thing to another. I think I heard she saying something like that. Still, even if that's the case, there may be some kind of limitation. What if she used her power on a chicken? Would it return to the stage of an egg or would it just turn into an embryo? She made the wall of the museum fall, but if she returned it to the previous state the blocks would float back to where they were or…"
"Izuku, baby, you are mumbling again"
"Oh, sorry"
"So, apparently she can only transfer the age of an object to another. Well, that narrows our options. By now we're assuming that Khrona may have transferred some years of Miss Inko to you, Izuku. Now, since the two are here, I want to perform some exams and try to determine your current ages"
And so, after a battery of exams the doctor concluded that the villain transferred at least ten years between them, leaving Inko with her body of thirty one years and Izuku at what could probably be his twenty six years self. He was taller, about 180 centimeters, his face had more adult traces, though he still looked pretty young. One could say he was just 20 years old. His voice was a little bit deeper, resembling his mother of her husband. Overall his body remained the same. Since Khrona made his body advance some years, he expected to be more muscular, given his daily workouts, but he found himself pretty much equal to his current state of sixteen years old. Izuku wondered if his limit to use One for All changed.
After a period under observation, mother and son were given permission to leave the hospital. On their way back to their apartment, escorted by a small police group, Inko grieved for her lost shopping. So many good items lost. Izuku tried to cheer her up suggesting to order a pizza or something like that. They acted like everything was normal. Inko and Izuku acted as if nothing had happened to avoid further worries for each other, but deep down they were unsure and nervous about what would happen next.
-/-
Since the attack on the weekend, the other students were called back to the dorms, to the sadness of many parents, but principal Nedzu was clear when he said it was for their best. Other attacks could happen, and even though this one seemed to be an isolated case, the League of Villains could use the confusion to make a dangerous move.
And at the very early morning of Monday, Aizawa woke up all the students of 1-A and summoned them to the common room. The sleepy heads gathered at the room, some complaining and groaning, others yawning and rubbing their eyes. The homeroom teacher waited until everybody was present to give them some news. Some of them, like Iida, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Bakugou, already knew what to expect. Aizawa sensei was going to talk about the incident that happened during their weekend out of U.A.
"Well then, as some of you may already know, a villain attacked during the weekend. It sounds like a bad joke but one of our students got involved, which was why we called you all back here"
In the back of the group, Uraraka looked around and poked Iida to catch his attention. She talked in a low voice so to avoid disturbing Aizawa while he was speaking"
"Iida-kun, I didn't see Deku-kun since we returned yesterday. Do you that maybe he…"
"I don't know, Uraraka-san, but you know Midoriya. He has some sort of magnet for problems and-"
"I see that some of you already noticed, Iida, Uraraka"
"Sorry for interrupting you, sensei!"
"~sigh~ I will make this quick so you can get ready to class. Come in"
As he said that, the main door opened and Midoriya joined Aizawa.
"Sorry to cause problems for you guys" He said with a hand behind his neck and an uneasy look. His classmates had a good and expected reaction.
"Mi-Midoriya?!"
The class shouted in unison as the green haired teen, rather young man entered the common room, taller and looking down in embarrassment.
"Deku-kun?! What happened to you? When did you get so tall?!"
"Though I'm already quite tall, I would like if you shared your secret to this sudden growth!"
"Oi, shitty Deku! What the fuck you did, you freak?!"
"Midoriya, bro, that's what I call man up!"
"Tooru, look! Cutie Midoriya turned into hottie Midoriya! Kidding~"
"Damn it! I feel even smaller now!"
"Ribbit, you didn't change that much"
"Midoriya, my man, since you are technically at legal age, how about we go that shop really quick and get some +18-"
"Everyone, silence!"
The crowd that formed around Izuku stood still like statues and all the noise subdued as Aizawa commanded, his hair flaring up and his eyes glowing. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried again to explain the situation.
"As you can see, Midoriya was the student involved in the attack. The effect of the villain's Quirk is obvious, he aged about ten years. Not only him, but a member of his family had been affected too. Due to these conditions, Midoriya will be temporarily out of the Dorms System to take care of his mother and still attend to classes. That's all, go get ready to class. Midoriya, pass on the teacher's room to get a uniform at your size"
With that Aizawa left the building and as soon as he was gone the uproar came back with full force. The students surrounded the green haired man and showered him with questions, most of them showing concern for him and his mother. Though he felt completely lost being the center of attention, Izuku felt glad that his friends cared so much about him and his mother, someone they didn't even know. Suddenly the crowd dispersed as a loud bang sounded. Bakugou made his way through his classmates and pulled Izuku by the collar, menacing as usual.
"Oi, Deku. Don't think this means anything, you hear me?! You are still the same loser, just occupying more space! And what was that about your mother being caught by a villain?! Can't do your fucking job right one time?!"
"Kacchan…"
Bakugou let go of his shirt and stomped back to his room. Everyone looked at the way the blonde went.
"Is this… his way to show concern?" Uraraka sweatdropped.
"Kacchan never was very open about his feelings"
"Still, he's right, Midoriya. How is your mother doing?" Todoroki moved closer, visibly concerned about the topic.
"She's fine, Todoroki-kun, just a little lost with this sudden change. As much as I am..."
"Well, it's surely a huge change. What is your age right now?" Jiro asked.
"The doctors said my body is probably with twenty six years. My mom apparently lost ten years. My theory is that the villain Khrona planned to transfer all the years of my mother to me with her move but Midnight stopped her in the middle of the process so only a part of her age passed to me. I wonder how exactly her Quirk work because my mother changed considerably but my muscular structure remained almost the same, something weird considering my physical training. Maybe there's a condition to transfer the age between living beings of it doesn't affect directly how something ages, but that would mean…"
"Wow, some habits never die" Ashido joked as they watched Midoriya in another of his mumblings.
"The physical appearance might change, but the heart of a warrior remains immutable" Tokoyami added, his head lowered, eyes closed and his arms crossed, while tiny Dark Shadow nodded beside him.
"It's the same Midoriya then, just a little taller" Sero concluded.
"Still, I wonder if the physical changes would affect the usage of his Quirk…"
"I was thinking about that too, Yaoyorozu-san!"
"Whaa!"
Midoriya suddenly shot up from his rambling and got really near to Yaomomo, who wasn't expecting the sudden proximity a single bit. She couldn't help but notice his more mature features, that somehow combined with his bright eyes and childlike freckles. Has Midoriya always been that charming before?
"C-c-charming?! How…? How did I conclude that? I mean, he looks like a nice man, being grown up like that but… oh my, what am I thinking? Where did that come from?!"
Before she could break into a mess of massive blushing, Midoriya seemed to notice the inconvenient proximity and his own social awkwardness made him back away with a pink hue on his cheeks.
"S-sorry, Yaoyorozu, I didn't mean to be so close. I just got a little bit carried away"
"It's okay, I understand you must be stunned with this new situation…"
"Oh, how about we find it out during the hero training? He could ask Aizawa sensei to give us just a little time to test out your Quirk" Ojiro suggested.
"Sounds like an awesome idea. I bet Aizawa sensei will also want to see it!" Kirishima added, already getting excited.
After that, classes went as normal as it could, considering that Midoriya was the center of attention. During English class with Present Mic, he had to read a line of the book and of course, his new tone of voice was the main topic of the chatting between the students. After that, Midnight spent at least five minutes checking him out just for the fun of making him nervous. Her comments about the fine man he would turn into left Midoriya with a flushed face for the rest of the class.
And finally, at hero training, he felt slightly disappointed to discover that his limit to use One for All didn't change. And of course, during lunchtime, a lot of people were staring. Even Hado, Togata and Amajiki showed to see how the green haired man was doing, along with some of the guys from 1-B, like Tetsutetsu, Kendo and, unfortunately, Monoma. Class period ended and for the first time in weeks Izuku headed home.
Inside the train and all the way from the station to his house, he could feel eyes following his moves. Of course he had a small group of pro heroes escorting him from afar, namely Ectoplasm, Snipe and Hound Dog. But what was making him wary were the looks of the civilians, mostly because he was an adult looking guy using a high school uniform, so he expected to draw some attention. At the train, Midoriya even was asked by two girls of his mental age if he was a cosplayer. That level of attention made him quite nervous, but arriving at home put him much more at ease. Here was a tranquil place, far from the eyes of unknown persons. It was just Izuku and his mother. Speaking of which, once he announced his arrival, she poked her head from the kitchen to see her dear son.
"I'm home"
"Welcome, Izuku. How was your day?"
"Kinda tiring, to be honest…"
"People… people had been staring a lot, right?"
"Yeah, not only them but everyone at class too. It will pass once they get used to, well, me"
"I know what you're talking about. Today at the grocery store the old man that cleans the fish barely recognized me…"
Izuku went to his room to change and do his homework while Inko finished the dinner. After a while, they sat to eat. There was this early silence between them, but it wasn't clear if it was because of their new condition or because there was so long since the last time they were together like this, not counting last weekend.
"So, Mom"
"Yes?"
"Is he… umm, did you tell Dad about, you know, us?"
"Well I… I thought that it was better not tell him already. The police said they were still searching for that woman so I'll wait until they find her to tell him. This way he won't be worried while he's working"
"I see… it makes sense"
"You wanted to tell him…?"
"No, I mean, I thought you would have by now. It's kinda scary to suddenly grow up, so I think the opposite is equally scary"
"Well, to be honest there are some advantages. Mama finally lost those extra pounds, ahahaha… You know, Izuku. Seeing you like this… it reminds me a lot of him"
"Really?"
"Sure. It's like he returned home"
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Yes, but Papa is doing his best to give us a good life. I don't want to make him worry about something he won't be able to fix. It would only make his job harder"
Her eyes looked distant as she talked and Izuku felt guilty for bringing that topic up. After so many years being only him and his mother, he could only imagine how lonely she felt when he moved to the Alliance Heights. Decided to make her feel better, Izuku got up from his chair, raising a fist and putting in his best slime.
"Don't worry, Mom, I'm sure the police and the pro heroes are doing their best to find that villain Khrona. And I'll do my best to help you too. Just tell me and consider it done, no matter what it is"
Inko looked at son. Be it as a baby, a small kid, as a teenager or the adult form he had now, his bright smile never changed. It would forever be with him, he would forever be her little Izuku.
"Yosh, Mama will do her best too. You can start by cleaning the dishes once are finished"
"Got it"
After that the ambient felt much lighter. Inko could feel it. Bit by bit, the warmth that her house and her life used to have was coming back. Why? Because he was here.
Tada, what do you think? So, I was in doubt if Izuku should or not stay at home, but given how he is, he would make something to keep track of the classes. Just a quick note, I just love to write angry Inko. I always saw her as this type of mother that is all love and sunshine until you mess with her children. In parts, reminds me of my own mom. Anyway, hope you guys liked this one. See ya another time, readers. guy's out!
