Natsuo opened his eyes and let out a groggy groan.
"Where am I?" He said.
He looked around and all he saw was white walls.
"You're in the V.R. room."
Natsuo's eyes widened as he immediately recognized the voice.
He got up and turned around and Izuku was standing behind him.
"Batman?" Natsuo asked. "What's going on? What happened?"
"I brought you here," Izuku answered. "I needed to show you something."
Natsuo's eyes widened. "You...kidnapped me?"
"You could...say that," Izuku said. "I apologize for that, but I needed to get you here."
"You couldn't have just asked?!" Natsuo shouted.
"I doubt you would have said yes, and even if you did I would still need to knock you out in order to bring you into this room," Izuku explained.
"Do you just do this whenever you want to take someone somewhere? Drug them and then kidnap them?" Natsuo asked.
"No. Your the first person I've done this to." Izuku said. "Hopefully it's not something I have to often."
"You shouldn't be doing at all!" Natsuo argued.
"Perhaps. Anyway, as I was saying, I apologize for the kidnapping, but we need to talk." Izuku said.
"There is a lot wrong with this, but why did you need to bring me to...wherever this is, to talk? It's a plain white room with no exit. This isn't somewhere you talk to someone, this is a place you send someone when you want them to go insane." Natsuo said.
"This is the V.R. room," Izuku repeated. "And this place is anywhere."
As soon as he finished saying that, the room suddenly shifted. Colors moving constantly, shapes rising out of the ground and from the wall, all accompanied by mechanical sounds. Until the room completely changed, now looking exactly like the inside of a wealthy Japanese household from the feudal era. The floor covered in tatami mats, with a small wooden table in the center of the room, two cushions placed on opposite ends. And the door was slid open, revealing a field of sakura trees, their petals blowing in the wind.
"What the fuck?!" Natsuo said in shock.
Izuku walked over to the table and kneeled down on the cushion. "This whole place is fake. Using a lot of advanced technology, holograms, nanobots, etc, we can simulate various places and scenarios inside of this room. It has limits of course but it's quite useful from crime scene investigation, and training."
"This is all...fake," Natsuo said in disbelief. He wasn't sure whether he believed it was fake because of how unreal it was, or whether he believed it was real because of how real it felt. He could smell the grass and the trees, the air seemed so fresh, and he could feel the wind blowing against his face.
"It's quite large, the whole room is about the size of a large warehouse and the inside moves and shifts depending on what we need. Honestly it almost impractically expensive to create, and if we tried making another one of these, we might be in serious financial trouble." Izuku revealed. "But that's enough about the room, please, sit down have some tea."
Natsuo looked back at Izuku and on the table were two cups of tea, that Natsuo could have sworn wasn't there before.
"This is...what the fuck," Natsuo said. "Who are you, people? This can't have been made by one person."
"You're correct. But like I said, enough about the room. Please, sit." Izuku said.
Natsuo had so, so many questions. But he also had a strong feeling he would never get those answers, so he decided to just roll with it. Not like had much of a choice.
With a sigh, he kneeled down on the cushion and helped himself to some tea. Then his eyes widened.
"How do you know my favorite tea?" He asked.
"I have my ways," Izuku answered. "Anyway, I heard you turned down your sister's request for a family dinner."
"Is this what you brought me here for?!" Natsuo asked. "Because your mad I said I no to her?!"
"I brought you here in hopes of changing your mind," Izuku said.
"Well, you're not being very convincing so far," Natsuo said bluntly.
"Well, in that case, let me stop beating around the bush," Izuku said. "You need to go to this dinner."
"No, I don't," Natsuo said immediately. "I don't need to go to a dinner party and hear the fake apologies of a woman who never cared about me. About any of us. And watch as my sister and little brother just give her a free pass! I don't know what Fuyumi's told you, but I don't care!"
"It's not just what Fuyumi told-" Izuku was cut off.
"You may be the world's greatest detective! But that doesn't mean you know everything! Because you don't know anything about me!" Natsuo shouted, having enough.
Izuku took a moment, sighed, and took a sip of his tea. "I know that you're frustrated. You were so close to your older brother, and after his death, you gave up on your family. You left the minute the opportunity came, and when your sister didn't share your views, you wrote her off as hopeless."
"What was I supposed to do! Stay there!? Just pretend things were alright like she did!? Like we could ever really be a family again!?" Natsuo asked.
Izuku shook his head. "Actually, I think you made the correct choice in leaving."
This surprised Natsuo. "What?"
"I said I think leaving was the correct choice," Izuku said. "I would never advise anyone to stay in an abusive household, that's filled with nothing but bad memories. If had been in your shoes...well I probably would have devoted the rest of my life to exposing Endeavor and saving Fuyumi and Shoto, but barring that I would have done basically what you did."
Natsuo looked at him, a shocked expression plastered onto his face. "I-I thought you were on her side."
"By her, I'm assuming you're referring to Fuyumi," Izuku said. "No. I'm not on anyone's "side" here so to speak. I'm just trying to do what's best for everyone."
Natsuo looked at him real hard, for a few seconds before easing up a little and drinking some more tea.
Izuku sighed again. "Back to what I was saying. You had given up on your family and now these new revelations about your mother have left you extremely frustrated. Because now it's getting hard to justify that label of a heartless uncaring mother, now that you know the whole story. However, you've gone through too much, lost too much. You can't forgive her so easily, you refuse to. And it infuriates you to see that your sister is able to just let go of all that pain, and all that trauma. And your not."
"Tsk. Your right about one thing. I can't forgive her." Natsuo said.
"It's reasonable to be angry, I want to clarify this, Fuyumi way of thinking is not healthy. At all. She forgives people far too easily, a good example being your father." Izuku said. "And if your mother truly was the person you thought she was, then her forgiving her would be just as bad. But tell me, is your mother truly at fault for the pain you've been through?"
Natsuo was about to say something but Izuku didn't give him the chance.
"You've asked me what you were supposed to do in your situation. But let me ask you. What was she supposed to do?" Izuku took another sip of tea. "I don't think you fully understand. She lost her husband, and her child was put into a death-like state, as well as losing many co-workers, all on the same day. She then spent years trying to cure her daughter, desperately trying to get back one of the things she lost, but never making any progress, until she ran out of funding, and was told that she would just have let her die. Then your father came along and told her that she would essentially have to sell her body to him, in order to gain more funding and take part in a loveless quirk marriage. She went insane. Like anyone would, to the point where she couldn't think of anything but her daughter. What was she supposed to do in that situation? How could she have given you the love and care you deserved, how could she have prevented the pain and suffering that was inflicted on all of you, how could she have stopped you, father? How could she have done any of that, when she was incapable of sensible thinking?"
Natsuo grit his teeth. He knew the answer Batman wanted him to give. He knew that it was probably the correct answer. But like hell, he was going to say it.
"Nothing," Izuku answered. "She couldn't have done anything. Not swaddle you in affection, not ease your pains, not stop your father. She is your mother, but she was just as powerless as the rest of you."
"But she didn't even try!" Natsuo shouted. "She just...she just let it happen. She just left us to rot! She didn't even try!"
Frustrated tears brimmed in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.
There was a long pause before Izuku broke the silence.
"You still don't understand." Izuku sighed. "But that's to be expected. It's hard to explain the logic of the insane. But that's why I brought you here, to begin with. Please lift up your drink."
Natsuo gave him a confused look, but he decided to do it anyway.
The room shifted again, and the table sunk back into the ground. Everything around them changed and shited until it looked like the inside of a warehouse. A very, very cold warehouse, covered in ice.
Natsuo still looked confused. "A warehouse? Why is it so cold?"
"This is where I first met your mother, if you look behind you, you can see it," Izuku said, pointing behind him.
Natsuo looked behind him, and his eyes widened.
Behind him was Rei, clad in her armor, and Izuku, frozen.
He had seen his mother's armor on the news, it was chilling then, but even more so now. Even if it wasn't real, he could see her up close and personal, the cold atmosphere only making it more haunting.
"My cowl records everything that I see. Using this footage and other records from my armor, we have been able to fully recreate my first encounter with your mother." Izuku explained. "You're probably wondering why I'm showing you this. My answer is for you to just watch. Play."
The Rei hologram began to speak in a regretful tone.
"I never really gave much attention to my new children. I was so focused on saving Nora, that I allowed that man to do as he pleases with our...with, MY children. I can barely even remember Toya. Did you know that? I can barely even remember the face of my own child. He hurt them so much. And I did nothing to stop it. My only thoughts were about Nora. Then...after Shoto. He stopped. Endeavor came to my lab...and he told me he would stop funding me. He said that I was wasting my time. That she was beyond saving and that I needed to move on. Out of rage, I attacked him. He knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up, I ran to my lab. And Nora was gone. I demanded to know where she was. He just looked at me. And said nothing. But he didn't need to say anything. I knew the second I woke up. My daughter was dead." The hologram stopped talking for a moment her eyes glued to the floor.
Natsuo stared at the projection of his mother, almost recoiling at her words as if they were hitting him. The sheer pain and regret coming from her voice made him feel sick. He wanted so badly to look away, to stop listening. But he couldn't, his eyes and ears were glued to the projection.
"Afterwards he pretended like nothing happened. Like he didn't kill the only child given to me by the man I loved. I knew there was not much I could do about it. And in my broken, defeated state, I tried to fill the hole Nora left with Shoto. But I was broken. Far too broken to be the mother Shoto deserved. When I looked at his left side, I saw the man who killed my daughter. And in a fit of madness, I hurt him." The Rei hologram said. "I hurt pour boiling water on the face of my own child. That the last straw for Endeavor, and for myself. As I was being hauled away to Arkham, I saw my children for the first time. Not in a literal sense, of course, I had seen them many times prior, but that is when I truly saw them. I saw the disgust in Natsuo's eyes. I saw Fuyumi's heartbreak. I saw Shoto's newly damaged face. I saw the empty space...where Toya should have stood. I wondered what he would have thought. And I was horrified to find that I didn't know. And as I sat in Arkham I reflected on the monster I became. And what's worse...I knew the entire time I was there, that Endeavor was still hurting my son. Each second I sat in Arkham I wondered what torment he would put him through. One, day. I decided that I had enough. I broke free of Arkham and wandered the streets looking for a way to stop him, and get my revenge. That's when Anarchy found me. I told him my story, and he agreed to help me. No strings attached. And the rest, you can figure out."
"Stop," Izuku said, pausing the projection.
Natsuo stared at the projection, a flabbergasted and pained expression on his face. "Mom. I…"
"Endeavor caused a lot of pain to his family. But aside from Toya. Your mother was the one he hurt the most. And no one, regrets your mother's inaction, more than your mother." Izuku said. "And as you can see, you're not the only one who hasn't forgiven her for it. Because she hasn't either."
Natsuo just looked at the hologram in shock. He wasn't sure what to think. All that pain, all that anger, he couldn't just let it go.
But how was he supposed to stay angry at her after looking at that? After hearing her regret, seeing her pain.
He couldn't continue to resent her in the way he did before, because, in the end, she was just like him, like Toya. A victim of Endeavor.
Izuku looked at Natsuo's shocked state and decided that he had done enough.
"I'm not going to force you to do anything," Izuku said. "While some would say I've already meddled too much in the affairs of your family, but forcing you to attend that dinner would be too far, even for me. You have a choice to make. I've given you my thoughts, but the decision-"
Izuku's mouth guard activated, covering his mouth, as green gas suddenly filled the room.
Natsuo breathed in the gas and started getting woozy, slowly falling into unconsciousness.
"Is up to you." Izuku finished as Natsuo's eyes closed, and he slipped into a deep sleep.
Hours later.
Natsuo opened his eyes and let out a groggy groan.
"Where am I?" He said.
It didn't take him long to figure out that he was back at his house, his bedroom specifically.
At least Batman was nice enough to put me back in my bed. Natsuo thought.
His head hurt. Not because of the drugs and gas, although that probably wasn't helping. But because of the choice, he had to make.
Option A, ignore what Batman showed him and continue to do what he had been doing for years, all while feeling a lingering feeling of regret and guilt that will probably never go away.
Or option B, go to the dinner and go back on all of his efforts and try to make up with his mother, knowing that doing so will likely be the most painful thing he will ever have to do in his life.
Or...he could pick option C, and find a middle ground.
He tilted his head and saw that Izuku had left his phone on his nightstand, right next to him, with Fuyumi's phone number already brought up, all he had to do was hit call.
"How subtle of him," Natsuo said sarcastically.
Natsuo groaned. I need to think.
Another few hours later, with Fuyumi.
Izuku and Fuyumi were sitting down having a drink in her house.
"So...you should expect a call from your brother soon," Izuku said.
Fuyumi's eyes widened in surprise before she gave him and confused and slightly concerned expression. "What did you do?"
"I talked to him," Izuku said.
Suddenly, and icy sound came for Fuyumi's pocket.
"That's the ringtone I set for him," Fuyumi said, taking her phone out of her pocket and answering. "Hello, Natsuo."
"Hey, sis," Natsuo said tiredly.
"You sound tired. Are you ok?" She asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just...exhausted. Mentally, not physically. I've gotten plenty of sleep today." Natsuo explained. "I just...I wanted to apologize for...earlier."
"No, no, I should be the one apologizing!" Fuyumi said. "I shouldn't have tried to pressure you like that."
"Oh trust me, compared to some other people, you were subtle." Natsuo sighed. "A-anyway. I'm sorry. But also I…"
Fuyumi's eyes lit up. "Have you changed your mind about the dinner?!"
There was a small paused before Natsuo sighed. "No. I'm...it's too soon. Maybe one day but right now...I can't."
Both Izuku and Fuyumi had disappointed expressions, Fuyumi tried to stay positive. "One day. When you ready."
"Yeah...but...can I ask you something?" Natsuo asked.
"Yeah," Fuyumi said.
"Can I...have mom's phone number?" Natsuo asked.
Both Izuku and Fuyumi looked surprised. But Fuyumi quickly responded with an elated smile.
"Of course!"
An hour later, with Rei.
Rei was working on a new experiment when she suddenly felt a presence behind her.
"I'm assuming this about the dinner?" Rei said, knowing exactly who was behind her.
"Well...yes," Izuku said. "I...failed."
This actually made Rei's eyes widened. She never thought she would hear those words from Batman. "You...what?"
"Natsuo is not coming," Izuku said, his expression actually seemed kind of...down. Defeated.
"I see. That is...disappointing." Rei said, looking rather defeated herself. "Well...I'm sure you tried your best. Some wounds just can't be-"
BRRR! BRRR!
Rei's phone vibrated on the table next to Izuku.
Izuku picked up the phone and threw it at her.
She caught it and looked at the number, she didn't recognize the number.
"You should answer that," Izuku advised. "It's important."
Rei raised her eyebrow in confusion but answered it regardless.
"Who is this?" Rei asked.
"Hi, mom," Natsuo said on the other end.
There was a long pause as Rei just stood their, phone to her ear with a shocked expression on her face.
Eventually, she moved the phone from her ear and gave Izuku an expression that said, explain.
"I said he wouldn't be coming to the dinner. I never said I didn't make progress." Izuku said.
"It would have been nice if warned me!" Rei said.
"Mom?" Natsuo said.
Rei put the phone back to her ear. "Natsuo. It's...it's been a while since I've heard your voice."
"Yeah," Natsuo responded. "I...it's been too long."
Another awkward silence.
"Natsuo...I...I'm sorry." Rei apologized. "I...I wasn't the mother you deserved. You deserved...you needed so much better."
"No. You weren't." Natsuo agreed. "You left us alone. With him."
Icy tears slid down her cheeks, both from hearing her son's voice for the first time in years and from having all her mistakes thrown in her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
"I know you are," Natsuo said. "But in all honesty, I'm not sure you have much to be sorry for."
"W-what?" Rei asked.
"Honestly after...thinking about it. You were just as much a victim as we were. If not more so." Natsuo admitted.
"Natsuo." Rei cried softly.
"I've been angry at you...for a really long time," Natsuo said. "And I'm really ready to let all that go. One day I will. One day I'll look you in the face and tell you I forgive you."
"I...I'll look forward to that day," Rei said, trembling slightly.
"I will to. No, if you excuse me. I'm gonna have a drink that's hopefully not drugged." Natsuo said. "Bye."
"Goodbye." Rei cried.
Natsuo hung up, leaving Rei crying into the phone.
Izuku handed her a tissue, that she took.
After a while, Rei managed to regain her composure.
"Thank you." She said.
"You shouldn't thank me," Izuku said. "The progress I made wasn't much."
"No. It was more than enough." Rei said. "Somethings takes time. You shouldn't rush things."
"I don't like standing aside and watching," Izuku said. "Not when I could be helping. It makes me feel...weak."
"That would explain why you insist on getting involved with my family," Rei said. "But I'd like to ask you to leave things to us now."
Izuku gave her a look.
"I mean it. You've set things in motion and put things into place. And I think it's time we took this matter into our own hands." Rei said.
The two stood there in silence and Izuku thought over what she said, and after about two minutes, Izuku speaks.
"Your right. I think my job is done here." Izuku said. "But if you need help."
"Then I'll call," Rei said.
Izuku nodded. "Well then, I'll be out. Have a nice dinner tomorrow."
"I will. Thank you." Rei blinked. "Also what was that about drugging my son?"
Izuku was already gone.
"That has to be some kind of quirk," Rei muttered.
The next day.
Rei took a deep breath. It's almost time.
She still couldn't believe it. She was about to have dinner with her children. As their mother. With no Endeavor insight.
If you had told Rei a year ago, she would have frozen your feet to the floor.
But now it was time. She finally got to be a mother again after all these years.
I won't fail then again. She thought.
ERR! Recognized. Access granted. Said the robotic voice of her home security system.
The door to her home slid open, and in walked Fuyumi and Shoto. Both wearing protective suits, keeping them safe from the cold of her house.
"Mom!" Fuyumi cheered, running up to her mother and pulling her into an embrace.
Their first, embrace.
Many emotions ran through the two women. For Fuyumi it was simply excitement and elation at finally being able to hug her mother after all this time.
For Rei, she was happy yes. But also, sad. Saddened as she felt the suit touch her skin, knowing that it will always be this way. Her hugging a suit. Never will she be able to touch her daughter or her son, never can she truly embrace them.
Pushing those feelings aside, Rei and Fuyumi parted, and Rei turned her attention to Shoto.
"Shoto. I'm happy to see you again." Rei said.
Shoto nodded. Since he got here he had only been taking glances at her, never looking at her for more than a moment.
Rei noticed this and frowned for a moment, before quickly forcing a smile and moving on.
"You must be hungry, let me show you to the kitchen," Rei said.
Rei brought them to the dining area. It was not big but not small either. There was a small table, that looked like it would fit about four people.
Fuyumi and Shoto sat down.
"You don't have a fridge," Fuyumi noted.
Rei gave her daughter an amused smile. "Fuyumi. I live in a refrigerator."
"Oh." Fuyumi realized.
"Speaking of which, what are we going to eat?" Shoto spoke up. "I don't imagine it will be easy to eat in this environment."
"Your correct," Rei said as she went through the cupboards. "That's why Sutoraiki Corp gave me these."
Rei pulled out a box from the cupboard, and then pulled a bad containing strange cubes, out of the box. The cubes had a yellowish color and looked like they were made of a combination of meat and honey.
"What are those?" Fuyumi asked.
"Food cubes," Rei answered. "They can be safely stored in cold like this without going bad, and they don't get too hot when I heat them up."
"They don't sound very appetizing," Shoto muttered.
"Shoto!" Fuyumi scolded.
"It's fine. I didn't think they sounded good either." Rei admitted. "But with my new condition, I didn't have much of a choice. And to be fair they are surprisingly good and come in a few different flavors."
"Well, I can't wait to try it," Fuyumi said politely.
After quickly de-freezing their food, Rei served them up to their plates with about three cubes on each plate.
Fuyumi, the optimist that she is, didn't wait too long before eating one of them.
This actually...is pretty good. Fuyumi thought. It was almost like steak, but with a sweet taste, and cold. But unlike most foods, it tasted like it was meant to be eaten cold. Which it was.
Shoto gave the cubes a hesitant look, before taking a bite of one of them.
After chewing it for a bit, Shoto had a very thoughtful expression that Rei found very amusing.
Rei sat with a smile on her face. It felt nice. Sitting down, and eating with two other members of her family.
It felt nostalgic, bringing back memories of a happier time.
A single tear of joy slid down Rei's face.
Right now she would put all her past mistakes behind her, and enjoy this wonderful evening.
This is basically an epilogue to the Mrs. Freeze arc. We'll see the Todorokis again, but for now, it's time to move on.