He shouldn't be doing this. It was smack dab in the middle of the city, with heroes oozing out of every corner and he knew All Might hung around this place damn near every day to check in on her. She may not even know what he needs to ask, hell she may just start screaming the moment the door opens. Jesus, how would Izuku react if he knew what was about to happen?
For days upon weeks upon months now he grappled with the notion that this woman would give him the reason as to why he couldn't remember anything about those pictures and why Izuku was included in that album. The very thought was dangerous, he could never be sure when or if his teacher was peering into his head.
Still he had come this far and no one was coming to help this time, so it was best to get on with things. He inhaled deeply as his finger hovered over the doorbell, every negative consequence he imagined holding him like his father use to, suffocating the strength from his body, but he shut his eyes for a moment and repeated the mantra: "You're more than what people call you, you're not a hero, you're not a villain, you can do this."
With a sharp exhale, he acted before doubt could take root, ringing the electronic alarm for the only person inside. The sounds of heavy footfalls came from the other side of the door until it opened slowly with multiple chain locks keeping it anchored to the frame.
"Hello?"
Green eyes peered out at him, fear evident in her voice as she cowards behind the barrier. Something like guilt came with that look, but he couldn't be sure seeing how it mixed with anger, anger that came from seeing how closely she resembled Izuku. His blood red eyes met her gaze from under the hood of his jacket and in that instance he spoke.
"Inko Midoriya, I don't mean you any harm, but I've come to ask you something, something in regards to your husband."
Internally he cringed, God that sounded awful. Part of him wanted to flee the moment she started to stare, to forget about this stupid quest and find another way. The woman held his eye with utter shock and slammed the door shut seconds later.
Serves him right he supposed. The lady had been through a lot because of what he did, it was insane to think that this would be different. But instead of what he expected, the noise of locks being undone in a mad scramble greeted his ears and the door flung inwards, slamming against the wall with a loud BANG.
Inko stood in the door frame and pulled him inside by the collar, shutting the door behind them once he was fully within. She put two pudgy hands to his arms that gripped him impossibly tightly, her eyes confined themselves to studying his face, taking note of each scar and blemish on it.
"Tomura?"
She asked with a sort of disbelief at his very presence. The grip on his arms became tighter, nearly hurting with how it dug into his skin. Inko's eyes became wide in the few seconds before he tried to pull his arms out of her grasp, only to fail when she latched on even more.
"Where have you been? I..I've been trying to call but Hisashi hasn't answered in years. He said you were with a new helper after you both left and I…"
Tears started to stream down her cheeks in earnest. She stepped closer to him with her arms looping around his torso into a hug which threatened to suffocate him. He looked at Inko, her head now cradled in his chest as she continued to sob uncontrollably, never letting her grip slacken or giving him an inch of space to move away.
The embrace was the sort only a release of long held grieving could birth. In the bone snapping strength of this woman, he tried to slowly edge free as the sobbing ceased, but still the result was the same. So there he stood in that hallway in complete silence, unable to comprehend why this was happening until at last Inko let go. She continued to stare at him, the moisture on her cheeks drying with time.
Sadness nested in those green eyes as he stared back, perplexed at what transpired.
"...You don't remember me, do you?"
The question wasn't asked in such a way that made it wish to be answered, rather it sounded more like someone repeating a fact they hadn't fully accepted until reality couldn't allow it to be denied any longer. He didn't get the chance to respond as Inko reached for his hands, recklessly disregarding the danger of what would happen if she touched all five, the woman clutched his palm, running a thumb over the calloused skin and shook her head.
She looked at him, a reluctant smile growing on her face the longer she did so.
"Would you like some tea? I just set the kettle down a bit ago and was about to make some scones."
Tomura didn't have much of a choice in the matter as Inko led him to the table, not giving him a chance to protest with her gaze shifting between him and the door. A few moments later they sat with a jasmine brew in one hand and a tiny cake resting near the other.
Tension hung in the air that was made worse by how Inko never took her gaze off of him, the constant glint of which made him wonder what this woman was thinking. There was pain scribed on her face, but at the same time, relief as well. She took a sip of the tea, clearing her throat while Tomura kept shifting his sights between her, the tea and the pictures hanging on the walls. Izuku's grinning face was a mainstay in this household and as of that moment made Tomura start to regret ever setting foot in here.
His demeanor was well earned, at least by his own definition, with how Inko looked at him. Her expression being a hard lined gathering of both relief and hesitation. Setting the drink aside, she addressed him, trying her best to not discomfort him.
"So Tomura, how have you been? I haven't heard from you in so long, oh last time I saw you, you were only up to my waist with that little bit of-"
She stopped when his hands started to inch towards his neck. Panic was growing behind the red of his eyes, causing Inko to walk to a closet and pull out a massive bag of tennis balls. Her expression was ladened with what might have been disappointment as she placed one of the balls into his hand, taking him gently by the wrist and ordering him to squeeze. It crumbled in less then a second while he started to feel more at ease.
"Just use these until the itch goes away, don't start scratching or it'll get worse, alright?"
Her hands rest on his shoulders, firming up another grip to perhaps keep him from jolting out of the chair. Her fingers dug into his skin, making Tomura freeze up at the attention. Another tennis ball faded to dust and so did another and then another until nothing was left save for an empty bag and a substantial pile of dust on the floor. The tension was still there inside Tomura's soul, but the itch was gone. He didn't feel the need to dig into his neck, yet he was missing the distraction when Inko handed him another cup of warm tea.
"Seems your quirk has gotten a lot stronger, it took you at least five seconds to crumble one of those when I last saw you. I guess puberty does that, anyway like I was saying, how have you been dear? Hisashi told me about how-"
A section of the table began to gray, the wood top peeling as it slowly aged by decades with mild rot setting in as his fingers continually tapped out of nervousness. He stopped when he saw what was happening, rubbing his hands compulsively to deal with the emotion without adding more broken furniture.
"I'm sorry to say but I need to ask, how the f-"
He inhaled for a moment, taking a hold of another tennis ball and continued.
"How do you know who I am?"
He said in a much calmer yet still panicked voice.
Inko ran a hand through her overly long hair and smiled at him.
"Tomura, what do you remember exactly?"
He dodged her eye contact, instead choosing to focus on the tea which had long since gotten cold. For an instant he considered walking out the front door and forgetting this ever happened, but he'd already come this far and he needed answers, if not for any other reason then to know where he fit into this madness.
"The furthest my memories can go back is to when I was four right after I had-"
Inko hushed him with a fresh cup of tea, cutting off his explanation before it went to the exact reason he could remember that.
"I understand honey and you don't need to revisit such an awful event. Things happen and time breaks down anyone's memory. I was your caretaker from the time you were five till the time you turned ten, though by that point I was pregnant and too bashful to tell him before he left with you."
The smile faded slightly from her, replaced by an ebbing melancholy.
"So you said you had needed to ask me something about Hisashi?"
Fingernails bit into the back of his neck, the shame flowing in conjunction with his discomfort. So many questions bubbled in his mind, yet he felt the need to have one answered above any other first.
"Is your husband All For O-"
A quick pursing of her lips, granted Inko an age to her that betrayed even the pudginess of her frame. A tea cup was stirred in her hand, the liquid moving slowly with emotion building behind those kind, emerald eyes. A faint smile growing as she did so.
"I'd like to say otherwise, but given all that happened, the facts have it. I mean, I always knew Hisashi was a violent man, right down to his bones, but never did I think even for a second that he…"
She inhaled deeply, the melancholic smile still plastered on.
"Tomura, you have to understand, I was young and stubborn to a fault and with you needing so much help, he just seemed like another person in need of saving. Hisashi was just so...so lonely that at first I thought I was doing him a favor by going out with him, but one thing led to another and before we both knew it, we had an apartment with plans for a college fund for you and to be honest, it was one of the best times of my life."
He felt the skin under his shirt start to ache as the urge to curl into a ball started to rear its head, to scratch away the discomfort until it crumbled. Yet he was past that now and could only move forward. Daring to sit up straight, he looked beyond the moment.
"But...how exactly did all of this happen? Sensei never struck me as a man to be led by his urges and you don't fit the bill of what I thought he'd find attractive."
That earned a cackle from the woman.
"Oh honey, once upon a time I was quite the sight, but depression isn't too kind especially when you start stress eating. That's another story, as to how I met you and what led to things as they are, it's one in the same really. I was twenty two, fresh out of med school starting my career as a nurse at Jaku Hospital and I needed to check an elevator. Hisashi happened to be in the closest one and I forced myself to hitch a ride, only since he had administrator clearance the lift had to take us directly to where he selected first which happened to be the same place Dr. Garaki was trying to calm you down after you had an episode involving your quirk. Neither of them could get you to stop crying so I stepped in and the rest is history."
Tomura blinked, unable to fully process what that meant.
"Wait, so you know about the Nomus?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"About the what?"
His eyes darted to one side.
"Nothing. But you mean to tell me that you knew about me all the way back then?"
She nodded, taking a sip of her tea.
"As sure as the sky is blue. I was just a simple nurse who had a good talent for helping people. As silly as it sounds, I wanted to be Recovery girl's sidekick when I was little, but by then I needed something more stable and doctoring seemed like the next best thing. You were just this tiny ball of energy back in day who nobody could deal with because you kept trying to deal with the trauma by lashing out, heck you managed to ruin more uniforms then I could count and you always had this sweet little apology right after, but it came out wrong because you hadn't figured out your-"
A scratch echoed out, interrupting her as Tomura reached out for a few more tennis balls from the seemingly infinite amount within the bag. His inner panic slowly eroded away, transforming into an anger that felt righteous, yet poisoned due to his faults.
"Why didn't you tell Izuku about any of this? About me?"
His tone was almost accusatory with how it bit towards the end.
Inko shrugged, the light dimming in her eyes.
"I did, I told him about how his father had an adoptive son, but I chose not to tell the more...grim details about you until I thought he was ready. He asked about you a lot, even sent you letters, but we never did get a return address on the ones Hisashi sent."
A click came from the woman's jaw as her teeth clenched together, a question storming away in her mind that she didn't want to ask.
"Did...Did he ever talk about us?"
His anger remained, the pathetic hope in her eyes only making it worse, yet he hesitated for a second, considering the best way to deliver the answer before it grew too unpleasant.
"No, he didn't. He never spoke about you or anything, the only reason I'm here in the first place is because I saw your picture in a photo album he kept under his bed."
Inko shook her head in what may have been disappointment.
"Then let me ask and you look me in the eye when you say it, why did he take Izuku from me?"
The statement was far more forceful, lacking the motherly kindness she had given to every other conversation since the start. It was a fiery, wild thing which demanded respect with the authority it possessed.
Tomura suddenly felt like a ball of hot iron was burning in his throat that made him want to never speak again. Yet he had seen that sort of look before, with eyes almost identical to the ones staring him down and knew what would happen if he didn't. His own anger being nearly extinguished by the guilt.
"He wasn't the one who took Izuku...it was me."
Inko shook her head again, messaging her temples in the exact same way he had seen her son do countless times before.
"But he was the one who told you to do it, right?"
He almost shrank in his seat under the scrutiny.
"No, Sensei wanted to...for lack of a better word, kill him to hurt All Might. I had to talk him into it and even then it was difficult to bargain for."
A crack formed on the teacups when Inko's brow started to twitch. It took every ounce of his self control to not react when the plates followed. She lowered her head slightly and cupped it between her hands, sliding them down until they were at eye level again.
"Tomura, what happened to my son?"
Venom was laced that request, it was the lethal variety only the worst and longest held grievances could foster. He popped the knuckles on his fists, careful not to make any rash actions with the bit of time that bought him. He thought about what had happened in that odd period, the good, the bad and the disturbing. Against his better judgement, a smile had grown the more he thought about it, even paying a laugh or two. That died when Inko's glare rested solely and purposely on him. He sighed, deciding to be as honest as he dared if not for her sake then for his own.
"I turned him into a murderer, plain and simple. He just took off from there and I egged him on every step of the way. Giving him money, booze, whatever the hell he wanted so long as he got me results and you wanna know something even worse? I have lied to him since day one. I made him think he was quirkless again so that he'd stab this NP...random guy and force him into joining by threatening you and him. You'd think he'd be pretty damn shitty at this whole villain thing and that he would fuckin' hate me, but nope, not mister wonder brat."
His voice was growing more strained with each syllable as a soft grey colored the carpet below his feet, the anger completely gone in the wake of whatever new, horrible emotion this was summoning.
"Turns out, he was better at this then I ever was, but that's not surprising given how his dad is the guy who invented the fucking concept. It was just one after the other, no rest or doubt, just purging filth day in, day out. You wanna know the most people he ever got rid of in a day? Fifty six, by himself with nothing more than a shotgun and a pipe. We had no clue what he was doing until we turned on the news with the headline that four goddamn skyscrapers were aflame and you wanna know what he did when he got back? Just walked in and said goodnight to everybody, like nothing had happened."
A smile grew on Tomura's face, a sickly pathetic smile of one who had been hurt for the longest time that quivered slightly.
"But did any of this change him? Make him any worse? No, he was still the same person deep down who fought solely for the betterment of others. He treated us like we were better then we were and trusted us...trusted me like we weren't just a bunch of lost bastards and you wanna know how I repaid him? I had him drugged by the same crazy bitch that he was entangled into a relationship with because she wouldn't take no for an answer and then he wound up getting subjected to all kinds of weird shit by this girl and I didn't think nothing of it at the time, but turns out that it was REALLY fucked up, like to the point that even the gimp thought it was a bit much and I just turned a blind eye, to all of this shit."
His hands rested on his head, covering his expression under the form so reminiscent of his father's.
"He suffered while I finally got to stop hearing my family beg me to die. I was able to put them to rest because of him and now here I am, free as a fucking bird, ain't life fuckin' grand?"
He pulled his hands away with a wide sweeping gesture that left him smiling as the dried skin of his lips cracked at the pull of his facial muscles. Blood trickled down his chin in droplets, adding to the mania that was him. Inko was silent the entire time, watching with patience only years of dealing with difficulty could bring. Then it lasted even longer before she finally moved.
Rising from her chair she walked to him, the emotion hidden under layers of unshifting skin. Tomura didn't know what to expect, a slap? A stab from that fork to the left? Having his heart ripped out by her psychic abilities? It was none of these things that happened next. She simply grabbed one of his hands and caressed the back of his palm with her thumb while focusing on something far, far away. This also lasted for what felt like forever before she finally reacted.
"Tomura...I don't blame you. You're not innocent, but…"
Her lips pursed slightly.
"...Hisashi made you like this, it was always what he was like.. violent, sure fired and damn near remorseless, but under all that was a man who was scared of the world so much that he wanted to conquer it before it could hurt him, a man with good in him despite what even he thinks and the man I fell in love with."
Silence returned as Inko placed a hand on Tomura's chin and examined every bit of scar tissue. Suddenly she pulled away as a tear started to appear on her cheeks.
"He was the sort of person that didn't have a lot in his soul, that's why it was so easy for him to do the types of things he did and honestly I was horrified that Izuku would have the same issues, that he'd feel so helpless that he'd do anything to move ahead and I suppose that's why when I first heard about what happened and what he did, I believed it. My little boy...my baby...I don't know what it was, but I alway had a thought that something like this would happen, that he'd turn out like his father which is why I tried to show him the better sides of people."
Her posture slackened as she went on.
"That's why I showed him those All Might videos so that he'd at least know that there was more than one way to set things right."
She moved down the hallway, leaving Tomura as she entered her room and came back moments later with a large cardboard box that had seen it's use time and again, judging by how dented by finger grips the sides were.
"I think you'd understand better if I showed you."
She reached into the box, pulling out folders, photo albums and more, before finding a small dvd case. Setting the box aside, she motioned for him to join him on the couch. Tomura reluctantly did as the disc was put inside the player. Inko turned to him, a sense of pain fostered tightly on her.
"Tomura, I…"
She closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, allowing the doubt to wash away from her frame.
"I want you to know that you can ask me anything after this, I'm sorry that I…"
She paused with emotions curling in her mind.
"Just watch this to the end, okay?"
He nodded unsure if he wanted to see what was about to play. A click later the screen turned to black then suddenly shifted to a new one. A date was hanging on the upper right hand side that was roughly fourteen years in the past while a timer noted the recording as being shot sometime during nine in the morning. The centerpiece of the frame was the very same room they sat in now, only it was bare of any furniture. It came more into view before having the camera being sloppily turned around to reveal the person holding it.
The person was a fair, slim looking woman who was beautiful in a homely sort of way. Her hair was a deep shade of green thighed up in a long ponytail that matched the color of her eyes which blazed with a smug hope. A white sweater was draped over her torso that concealed everything.
"So this is video log one I guess. We just moved in today and I wanted to get our reactions on tape."
The view shifted to down the hallway where the sounds of slightly labored breathing were growing stronger. In a few short paces, another figure entered the picture as the interior of what had to be the master bedroom came through an opened doorway at the end of the corridor. Short cardboard boxes lay stacked in various corners of the room, and standing in the middle of this was a tall man with jet black hair curling in on itself before lashing outwards in overgrown strands. His attire served to make the titan appear oddly ridiculous with how over dressed he was in the expensive black suit he wore. But it was the face that made Tomura's heart freeze, this man was the exact someone from Sensei's photos and there was a resemblance to Izuku which bordered on uncanny with how even the freckles were the same.
"Here's him, flaunting that suit like usual, how ya doin honey?"
The man turned to the camera, a smile growing that didn't match the idea of an evil soul, in fact it was positively warm, affectionate almost.
"Oh you know, up to my usual deeds. Making millions, plotting how to bring the world to its knees, trying to figure out if this painting goes on the left wall or not. That kind of thing."
A chuckle came from behind the camera.
"Well if you value a humble peasant girl's opinion, I think that it would look great over by the one to the right."
The painting in question was one of a rather cheap copy of "Starry Night" that laid firmly in the man's palms. It was hung up as the lady requested and earned a nod from the man.
"Peasant or not, you do have great tastes."
A frame moved when Inko wrapped an arm around the man's waist, pulling him close in a manner too sudden to not have a hint of aggression.
"No need to state the obvious."
A hand traveled down the length of his chest, resting on the buttons of the suit which soon fiddled with the bits of metal.
"Thought I wish you'd move past wearing this same old thing everyday."
A slight bit of annoyance shined in those green eyes, but not in a dangerous way as the man returned the gesture by pulling her close in turn.
"Get back to me in a few months and maybe you'll get somewhere."
Again the focus shifted when Inko pushed away from him, a playful tone taking over her voice.
"Not that I mind being seen with a sharp looking man, but pretty soon you'll have to learn how us lower folk live and most don't dress that good without a reason."
This time a laugh came from the man who returned the playfulness.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way, though I do wish most had better taste in food, maybe tonight we-"
The man was cut short by the sound of a door squeaking open on its hinges and further down the hall came the sound of shuffling feet. Little by little came a much smaller person who approached the two. His eyes were a blood red that were half open with the drunkenness of sleep still fresh on his face. The hair atop his head was a dark blue while a number of scars marred his face and in his grasp was a red blanket with duct taped edges and in the other was a severed hand.
Tomura did not blink. He did not breathe or think or process what he saw, merely he watched completely still as the film rolled on.
The frame dropped to be at eye level with...him as Inko spoke.
"Well look who's finally up and about. How are you feeling today Tommy?"
The child blinked at the device before moving to grab one of her hands, throwing the blanket over his shoulder and keeping one finger raised above her palm, he led her to the kitchenette and sat down at the table. He fished with a bag on his hip and pulled out what looked like a...gameboy covered in hello kitty stickers. Briefly, as the sleep left his eyes, he cracked what may have been a smile as he looked up at her.
"Good morning."
The sound of hard soled shoes tapped down the hallway, echoing out as Inko retreated into the cooking area with the camera still pointed their way.
"Technically it's afternoon, but that's good enough for now."
The man said as he took a seat next to the boy, a reluctant smile growing on his face that he made visible effort to suppress before shaking his head and giving in and ruffling the blue hair. The boy smiled kindly at him, changing the mood in the man's eyes that seemed almost ladened with...guilt? The sounds of pots and pans clattering and an oven lighting came from behind the camera, with Inko answering back.
"Whatever time is, what do you want to eat?"
The boy's head shot up immediately, his red eyes now wide and awake.
"Pancakes!"
A thin line settled on the man's face, his lips pursed as if he was caught between wanting to correct him or letting him go on.
"Tomura, you can't have…"
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before seeming to come up with something that removed the stress.
"How about this? You get dressed and we all head to that one restaurant you like, but you have to promise to get up on time from now on or no more gameboy for a week."
The boy clutched the ancient device to his chest protectively, burying it in his arms as his eyes darted between the two adults, then settling on the man, not in a fearful way, but more akin to one of uncertainty. Their standoff was stopped when Inko cleared her throat, drawing the attention back to the camera.
"Hisashi, I think we'd all be a bit better off eating at home since you said you had that meeting to attend this weekend. Tomura has his quirk training tomorrow and you'll be gone until seven at the latest, so it would be best if we break in the new place before flying all over creation."
The light in the man's gaze was one of challenge, that stood firmly against his other with a smile altogether different. He held what had to be her stare for a solid couple of seconds before raising his hands in defeat.
"Alright, fair enough, but what are we having and who's doing the cooking?"
Inko's voice rang out again, the audible sizzle of grease coming as well.
"You already know the answer to that, and yes we are having breakfast because I'm the one with the spoon."
Warmth returned to the man's expression as he leaned back in his chair, taking a hand to ruffle the boy's hair once again.
"It would be brunch, not breakfast if you wanted to get it right."
Sarcasm answered back from the woman.
"Thanks for that, but whatever it is, do you want steak with your eggs?"
The scene changed when the food was served and the boy's eyes went wide at the stack of pancakes dripping with syrup. The screen flickered to black for a moment then restoring itself to show the boy standing in front of a cracked open door, his expression oozing bashfulness. The shot went out of focus when it became level with him. Inko's voice rang out from behind the camera, soft with encouragement.
"You feel like showing us your room today Tommy?"
The bashfulness remained steady on his face, the red eyes darting between whatever was behind the camera before nodding. With a creak of the hinges the door slowly swung open as a wooden name plate bounced overhead. Inside the room was a surprisingly barren setting where a short bed tucked away in the far right corner was met by a blue bean bag chair on the other end of the room that had a black square TV that seemed older than Inko. A newer gaming console was somehow jury rigged into the AV ports of the device and there were a few cases for games inside the table supporting the set up. Posters of gaming icons mixed with crudely drawn pictures taped to the walls and in the center of the decorations was a framed picture of the three of them.
He walked in, swiftly coming into the center of the shot with his blanket around his shoulder, the severed hand being held in his off hand. With a grunt he threw the blanket onto his bed, careful not to have it land too much on one side as he sat down on the mattress. Springs creaked as he moved to stare at the camera, or more likely, the one behind it. The hand rested by his side like some unusual teddy bear when Inko's voice came again.
"Got anything cool you want to talk about sweetie?"
The boy shook his head as he powered on the gameboy, earning a chuckle from his caretaker.
"Well okay then mister, I'll leave you alone."
His head swerved around and he hopped off the bed right as she was about to turn. Her progress was halted when he had latched onto her, hugging her side and not moving for a fair bit of time. It wasn't until Inko gently patted his head that he released her to return to his game. Soon she exited back into the hallway with the door shutting behind her, the sound making that much clear as the living room came into view again. The screen flickered to black for a split second once more, then showing Inko sitting at the couch, her hair undone and her attire traded in for a rather comfortable set of night clothes. The clock in the upper right hand side of the screen showed it to be roughly around midnight now.
A mug was nestled in her hands, the liquid inside causing a white vapor of steam to rise. Exhaustion was evident on her face, but there was also a glow of satisfaction that was like the way an architect would have after seeing a life long project finally completed. Taking a long sip of whatever was in the cup, she addressed the camera with an inkling of a smile.
"It took me a while to get back to this, we spent half the day setting everything up and then Tomura just wouldn't get out Hisashi's way because he wanted attention so I had to make sure he didn't crumble any of our stuff by accident. He tried to help, but his quirk made that rather difficult and his little arms just couldn't really lift anything. But all in all, today was good. I just need to finish getting the rest of my money in order and then….then we'll see where the wind takes us."
Uncertain was ripe in her actions, the happiness fading as she wrapped an arm around herself.
"I don't know where that'll be but I can only hope it'll be better for everyone. Tomura had another...episode, thankfully it was one of his more mild ones and he was calm after a few minutes, but I...I just can't stand seeing him wear that hand. I told Hisashi that-"
She signed, stopping to take another swig of the cup.
"It doesn't matter at the moment, right now what's important is that he's happy and safe. The rest of our problems can wait."
Again her smile returned as if the notion cleared that glaring issue. Then leaning forward, her upper body disappeared right as the screen cut off and returned to the selection menu of the disc.
Tomura's palms felt sweaty, his breathing was uneven and heavy with a slight tremor coming over his limbs. He didn't try to get up from the couch, he was too ladened with shock. The only thing he could think to do was try not to set all of five of his fingers on the upholstery. Inko was close enough to where she reached out to him, a sympathetic touch to her hand as she fought not to intervene too much.
"I understand that this is upsetting sweetie, but I swear to you that-"
He touched the sides of his face, cradling it as hordes of emotions assaulted his mind. He lurched forward, nearly falling off the seat when his fingers curled around his eyes. Slowly, after what may have been hours or minutes, he sat back up with his hands falling to the side. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, to break something and reduce it to dust just to lock whatever he just saw away, but he couldn't. He wouldn't allow himself that weakness.
Instead, he cracked his knuckles and spoke as best as he could without breaking down, though it was still a trial in and of itself.
"What the hell happened? I don't have any memory of this and..and where the hell did that gameboy come from?"
Inko blinked, more than a little surprised at the rather odd part of that question.
"I don't know honey, Hisashi told me that Dr. Gakari had found a better foundation for your quirk therapy overseas so he had to go. I begged to go with you both, but he wouldn't have it, said that it would be a temporary thing until he managed to get what he set out to do, but that wasn't the case. He'd keep in contact with letters of all things and he would give me updates on how you were doing, but I couldn't reply because there was no return address."
Her hands rested on his arm, holding it as reassuring as she could.
"Tomura, I tried to find you, I looked everywhere I could. The only person who gave me even a bit of a straight answer was the doctor and even then he said you needed to be away for your own good. That's why I stayed here, so that if you ever needed me, you would know where to look."
A tremor returned to his hands that went in tandem with his uneasiness with breathing, however, he simply turned his head to her, his blood red eyes meeting her in an almost robotic way.
"What about the gameboy?"
His tone was deadly serious with not an ounce of humor or random fancy in it, yet Inko couldn't help but laugh.
"That was my old one from when I was a girl. My grandfather had a knack for electronics so he fixed a broken one and tuned it up with every bit of data he could add and gave it to me on my twelfth birthday. And since it was your sixth birthday at the time, I figured it would only be right."
He took a moment to process what he was told. That device was his very first gaming console, something he treasured from the first time he could recall. Yet for some reason, he always made sure to hide it from everyone, even Sensei and Kurogiri didn't know about it. It was like there was some deep seated dread that would take over at the idea of it being seen, it was one of the few things that could banish his family for a time and it made him feel safe, though he never knew where it came from or why it had those stupid stickers, until now that is.
Guilt was no longer an issue at the moment, when the few things left to his mind was getting more answers, still he felt...wrong somehow. Like he had been privy to some forbidden information and now he would have to pay the price. Or rather, it felt like he had lost any right standing he once had. He stole a glance at a framed picture of Izuku, he was young with a far slimmer Inko holding him up with an All Might onesie on.
"I'm sorry...I-"
She squeezed his hand, silencing him before he could unravel.
"Tomura, I forgive you. You don't need to apologize, because you're my son, same as Izuku. The only reason any of this happened is because of Hisashi, he...I love...that man is a horrible human being, but I swear to you he has good in him. Right now he made his choices and so he'll have to deal with the consequences, but regardless of what happens now or in the future, you will always have a home here, no matter how much he may try to tell you otherwise, understand?"
There was a weight to the air that made him truly listen with every bit of attention he could muster. He nodded, his mind being drawn to the burning emotion in the woman who proclaimed him as her son like a moth to a flame. She held both of his hands, slowly running a thumb over each of them with an inkling of tears beginning to gather in her eyes.
"Then...can you promise me something?"
He stared back, feeling much like that child that was on the disc.
"Anything."
She hesitated once more, a sharp pain playing out inside her soul.
"Promise me that you'll bring Izuku back home. I..I need to see my son again, please Tomura, swear to me that he'll come back and that I can know he's safe."
Guilt gripped his heart with the force of a storm, yet that made what he said next all that more meaningful.
"I promise that I'll bring him back. It might take me some time, but I swear I'll make it right between us all."
It felt like he was suddenly aflame when the words came out. The air left his lungs as Inko wrapped her arms around him once more with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't make any tangible sentence or words as she sobbed into his shoulder, leaving Tomura to merely return the action. In her arms he immediately felt safe and calmer than he had been in a long, long time and with each passing second, the firey sensation began to spread out from his chest and up his throat. Tears teased at the edge of his eyes, though the feelings had yet to fully hit home.
"I love you Tomura."
Inko said through the sobbing. He opened his mouth to respond but it was at this point the fiery sensation reached its peak and in that moment, a stinking mass of black sludge exploded out from his mouth, enwrapping him totally before he could blink. He felt his entire body become nothing but nerve filled liquid that flew through a space between spaces until it arrived at the place where it was first sent out.
He blinked under the dull lighting, his eyes adjusting to the glint of the steel walls before he saw the other person in the room, the same person who ripped him away from that life twice now.
"Enjoying a day out on the town, Tomura?"
Sensei said with an unconcealed anger that prodded the surface of his usual charm. He was stationed in a strange contraption of a chair that had tubes and pumps and other things Tomura could only guess at, hooked directly into his destroyed body. Yet for every ounce of disability heaped upon him, there was still an undeniable lethality waiting below this shell of a titan. And right now Tomura couldn't give less of a shit.
He glared openly at the man who…(may have?) raised him. A buildup of indignation birthed from countless nights of nightmares and forgotten echoes of memories, which was added to by the realisation of how badly he was far from the only one to be screwed over by this fool.
"I don't know, why don't you tell me, Hisashi?"
He spat back with a heavy coat of venom which somehow made his former doubts appear pointless.
The giant was silent for an eon as his gnarled fingers clutched at the armrests of his seat.
"So it would seem you figured out my little secret, hurray for you. Now what? You expect me to start groveling and beg for some kind of forgiveness?"
Tomura balled his fists, not quite to the point of wishing violence upon the man, but he certainly didn't feel up to taking his bullshit.
"Why the hell can't I remember anything?"
He said with a certain lethality of his own which made the question more of a demand. The Symbol of Evil reclined in his seat, his massive back slinking in the leather padding.
"I had you forget."
His eyes went wide with a mix of shock and anger.
"What?"
There was a bit of a pause from the older villain, his jaw grinding everso nimbly.
"I handed you over to the doctor so that your potential wouldn't be clouded by those memories. The rest was mainly due to your "family" helping to give a purpose. Tomura, you are my successor and as such, you needed to-"
A heavy greying came over the floor of the complex which made every bit of steel under the younger man's feet rust to a corrupted brown.
"You motherfucker."
"Excuse me?"
"That was my life! Those were my memories, that was my choice and you decided to steal that!? And for what!? So I could fumble the fuck around feeling so goddamn bitter at the word that I wanted to kill everything while you sit around jerking off to the idea of killing All Might, when you had fucking wife and son!? What in the goddamn fuck made you think that was good idea!?"
Hisashi leaned back, completely unfazed by the insults.
"I have my reasons, you-"
"And what the fuck did that earn you!? Being crippled to the point you can barely fucking walk and needing to shit in bag while your son was being tormented day in and day for most of his life!"
The titan sprang up from his chair, the tubes still connecting him to the device.
"Don't you dare bring him up! I didn't know! I left before she even told me!"
"Then it's your own fault! You had a life with that woman and she loved you, I think she still does despite all the horrible shit you and me put her through and you threw it away!"
He wouldn't dare to square up to the man, but neither did he back when his Sensei took a step toward him.
"Do you know why I left? It was because I was scared, scared of giving up the only thing which had kept me going for so long. Inko...Inko was the kind of woman you only find in three lifetimes and she...she made me forget about what I loathed. And for the first time in centuries I had to look at myself in the mirror and ask what all the pain was for, what all the suffering was for and I know the fault lies solely with me. It was the reason I ended up this way and I can't take it back so I have to keep going otherwise, it would have made everything pointless."
Tomura glared at him, a brew of both pity and contempt growing in his heart as he moved closer, spunned on by his emotions that flowed clearly for the first time in years.
"So I had to suffer for your decisions when I had a family, a proper family waiting for me?"
He expected many things to come from his mentor, but never did he expect silence to follow for so long.
"I did what I thought was best for everyone."
"No, you did what you thought was best for you and threw everyone else to the wind because you don't give a fuck."
It was then the old man began to retain some of his reputation as images of death played out in the younger criminal's mind, yet he did not flinch, and he never would again.
"I supported you for years while every other person cast you aside, I make sure that woman never has to want for anything and I alway make it my priority to keep that boy safe, so don't start that."
"Then why would you allow this to happen at all if you cared about him?"
For a moment, just a moment, the Bane of Heroes seemed to curl inward, his uncertainty clear on his ruined face, then that gave way to a chuckle which in turn gave way to a smile, a malicious mockery of one.
"Oh please Tomura, you of all people should know the answer. It was self evident from the very start, he was born for this. He was a perfect choice to help you take my mantle and I know for a fact that he'll become more infamous than even I was in my prime one day and you're going to help him in that. You two will become the very things I sought to become with my own brother so long ago."
He stared at his master and for the first time, he didn't see a towering figure worthy of practical worship, but rather a sad old man on his last legs who was desperate for his dying vision to become reality. It made him sick.
"You put me and him through all that, him more so than me, because at least I never had a chance to start with, just so you can get the last laugh on a guy who's been dead for centuries? You're fucking pathetic."
It was at this point where anger showed on the original villain's face, or what was left of it, as his aura struck out even stronger than before.
"Care to repeat that?"
Tomura stared at this shell and felt neither fear nor admiration as he responded.
"You're pathetic"
A hand raced towards his throat as the Symbol of Evil appeared right in front of him, but just as it was about to strangle him, it pulled back. Tomura watched in mild awe as his teacher crunched his knuckles until they were white, the massive height of the man straining in restraint. Instead his hands rested firmly on his shoulders, practically forcing him to look up at him.
"Tomura...I understand it's difficult to see my point of view and why I did what I did and you have every right to hate me."
He reaffirmed his grip on the young man.
"But you are my son, perhaps not by blood but you do make me proud even if I'm hard pressed to show it most times and you do me proud now by having more heart then I did when I had to defend my kin before I became this, understand?"
The two men stared at one another for the longest time before Tomura slapped a hand away.
"I don't hate you, but I certainly don't like you. And it's because of this that I'm not letting my emotions get the better of me. But Sensei I am going to make one thing very clear, if you ever screw over those two again, I will kill you."
A smile formed on the crime lord's face, one more deserving of the title of such an action that beamed with pride.
"I hear you, now I'll leave you for the time being...but should you need anything answered, just ask."
Tomura didn't return the smile as he was warped through a corner in the room and suddenly appeared back at the League's hideout.
The smell of smoke filtered the air and the sounds of shouting could be heard even this high up from the lobby of the building. This was far from his concern at the moment as he opened the door to his room and began to pack away his few possessions. Half hour later, his preparations were complete and he made his way down the stairs with his backpack fit to burst. The scene he arrived at was not a happy one as Dabi was close to becoming an inferno while Toga shrank back from him as Magne stood between her and the restored villain.
They were far from the only ones engaged in some kind of argument. Everyone down to Moonfish and even Kurogiri were busy combating some point or another until it just became an incoherent storm of sound. One that ended when he crossed the final step on the stairway. All eyes turned towards him instantly and Dabi stomped over to him, his usually black hair now a snow white. He made to grab the former leader of this band of misfits, but stopped short when he realised what he was doing.
"Handman, I need you to tell me what the old fuck wants with my brother."
Tomura blinked, his expression one of mild surprise.
"Say again?"
"The crazy bitch said that last night when the old man warped her away she saw my little brother right next to him, looking scared out of his mind. So tell me what the hell is going on."
Tomura paused, trying in earnest to recall if there was in fact, a ploy involving that kid, to which he found none.
"I'd tell you anything if I knew anything, you're more than welcome to ask him yourself if that helps."
Dabi ground his teeth at his comrade and nearly made to grapple him again.
"You go fucking ask for me since you're his professional asskisser."
Tomura opened his mouth to respond, but closed it and redirected his gaze at Toga.
"Was he hurt?"
She flinched at all the attention being shoved onto her again.
"N-Not from what I could see."
He shrugged.
"Good, then I'll be off.
Dabi grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back around as he tried to move past him.
"Oh no, you don't get to just fuck off for the day and leave us to clean up the old man's bullshit, you are going to stay and help us figure this out."
Tomura met Dabi's eyes and gauged them, his own become slightly miffed by...something bad which made him feel just the same.
"Do you really need my help?"
Blue fire flickered off of his arms as he restained himself from lashing out.
"What the fuck else do you have to do!?"
Tomura stole a glance towards Kurogiri this time and returned it to Dabi.
"I'm moving out."
That made him do a bit of a double take where he nearly flinched as Tomura moved past him and to the door.
"What the fu-..You can't be serious! Now is not the time to-"
Dabi was cut off by Tomura, who wore a far more serious tone to himself.
"I'm leaving, meaning I'm going to be staying somewhere else for a while, but that doesn't mean I'm quiting. You have my number and if you need my help anything just call and I'll be there as soon as I can, but I'm not staying here goddamn minute until I get done with something important. You got a problem with it, Scarface?"
He did at last finch under that, but his anger was still there.
"Hell yes I problem with it, you can't-"
There was never a chance for him to finish his retort as the door was open and shut before anyone could object further.
The march was quick as he managed to reach the station and follow the same path he had taken much earlier that very day and within three hours he arrived at his destination. He approached the particular apartment number and with a knock he waited. The door opened a few moments later he was greeted by a sight he didn't want to see.
Inko still had tears in her eyes, rendering them bloodshot as they went wide at the sight of him. He placed a hand behind his head, rubbing lightly as the awkwardness was still there.
"I'm sorry I left in such a hurry, but I need a favor. Would you mind if I stayed here for a while, I can help with the bills if you want and-"
She hugged him again, nearly crushing his spine in the process as she pulled him into the doorway.