Chapter Ten: Family (Original)

Izuku stared at the ceiling of his childhood bedroom. His eyes slowly traced a sight he had memorized years ago. Every line, every crack, every mark from a slightly uneven paint job. The sight filled him with nostalgia, although it was bittersweet. He had hundreds of memories of staring at this ceiling. Most of them were bad. They rushed through his head, faster than he could count. So many sleepless nights. So many lonely afternoons. However, not all of his memories were bad. All of my daydreams of being a hero... It was a play he had acted out time and time again. Countless stories of him discovering a previously unknown quirk, or him becoming the first quirkless pro hero using support items. Or even...

Izuku almost laughed at his memory. Almost. One of his favorite fantasies had been where he had secretly been All Might's son. And I inherited his quirk... Izuku didn't know why, but the sight of his bedroom ceiling had always been able to distract him from the problems in his life. Like a blank canvas, it offered possibilities. To be something else. Anything else. On days where Kacchan would beat him after school, days where he felt completely alone, his ceiling would offer a brief respite, a brief distraction. Right now, it offered neither.

It couldn't distract him from the sounds of his mother crying in the other room.

Izuku stared at the ceiling of his childhood bedroom as the soft sounds of his mother's tears drifted through the door. Every passing second, he hated himself more and more. Just get up. Just go to her. He still layed frozen on the bed. What's wrong with you? Mom's crying. Because of you. He didn't know why his body wouldn't move.

Or at least he was trying to convince himself he didn't. Izuku's teeth clenched as his inner thoughts thrust themselves to the forefront of his mind. You're scared. He could feel tears forming in his eyes. Coward. He stared at his ceiling in vain.

How am I supposed to talk to her about this?

Izuku looked down at his hands, now wrapped in clean, white gauze. They had scared his mom half to death when Ochako had frantically knocked on the apartment door, practically carrying Izuku. The damage to his hands had been more severe than he had realized, and all four of his limbs had stress fractures. After he collapsed in pain as she tried to hug him, his mother had called an ambulance almost instantly. The next several hours had blurred together as doctors and nurses filtered in and out of his world. In a few moments of lucidity, he had recognized one of the female doctors, but she had taken Ochako into the hall before he could say anything. After a few more confusing hours of sterile white hospital lights, he found himself in a car with his mother, heading home. Using Recovery Girl's healing as an excuse, he had pretended to sleep until they had arrived at the apartment, and he had gone straight to his room. He had probably said ten words to her the entire night.

How am I supposed to talk to her about this?

The sound of his mother's pain was maddening. He wanted to scream, cry, rage against the universe's sick sense of humor. I'm hurting her. I'm laying here on this fucking bed, and I'm hurting her. His hand whipped to the side, slamming into his bedroom wall. The jolt of pain flying up his arm quickly cleared his thoughts. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Finding some previously unknown resolve, he found his body moving towards the door, almost automatically. I need to be strong for her. Pushing his bedroom door open, Izuku stumbled out into the hallway. He paused momentarily at the hall's corner, taking one last steadying breath. Here we go.

Izuku rounded the corner, and made his way towards the couch. His chest strained as he saw his mother hunched over, head in her hands. All hesitation forgotten, he closed the distance as quickly as he could. Throwing himself into her, he wrapped his arms as round her trembling shoulders. Noticing the woman's breath catch, he gave her a small squeeze.

"Mom?"

Inko Midoriya's face wasn't a stranger to tears. The woman's emotional personality was one way that Izuku strongly resembled her. He had always admired her ability to express herself freely, without reservation. Even when she was crying, his mother had always managed to maintain an air of grace. Right now, however, her tearful face was anything but. Her green eyes were red and muddied, and her face was flushed from weeping. Her breath was ragged from moments earlier, when her body had been shaking with the force of her sobs. As her face rose and Izuku found himself reflected in the eyes he had inherited, he hoped his expression was stronger than it felt. As he felt the mask he wore cracking, something flashed through her eyes. A quiet strength crept into her body, and a sense of peace only a mother could provide washed the pain from her face.

"Izu." His mother pulled him in tight, seemingly taking some of the weight that he hadn't realized had settled across his shoulders. Holding each other as tightly as she could, the duo shared a quiet moment. In their embrace, Izuku detected a wordless message from his mother. I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me. After a few silent minutes, she pulled back. As their matching eyes locked, Izuku felt a few more cracks appear in his mask. He didn't know why, but the vortex of torment inside him was building. He struggled to hold on to his composure, to be strong. He didn't want to burden her with his pain. He used every ounce of willpower he had to hold back the waves of ambiguous anguish flowing in his head. His efforts were pointless. She was his mother. As if she was able to see and feel every emotion he had felt in the past week, she told him the one the one thing he hadn't realized that he needed to hear.

"It wasn't your fault."

His mask shattered.

Inko's heart broke as her son collapsed into her, practically screaming with pain as he sobbed into her chest. My sweet boy. My sweet Izuku. Wrapping him once more in a protective embrace, she rested her head against his. Inko knew her son. She could see him in a way that this twisted world had always refused to. He had the purest heart on the planet. His existence was completely dedicated to making the world a better place, and aiding his fellow man. Tears of pride mixed in with the ones already occupying her face. Even at a time like this, she couldn't help but overflow with pride at the boy she had managed to raise. My sweet, sweet boy.

Her body shook in unison with his as she tried to somehow take all of his pain away. She silently cursed the fates that time after time threw her son to the wolves. For years, Inko had been forced to watch as her beautiful son had struggled against a world that didn't want him. Since the age of four, he had to work three times as hard to get half as far as anyone else. But that hadn't deterred him. Every time fate had seen fit to kick Izuku down, he had gotten back up. While she was still his mother, and would get scared whenever adversity reared it's head at her boy, she would always find a small part of herself excited, ready to see how he would rise above it. This time, she was just scared.

Izuku killed someone. Inko didn't know much about her son's quirk, as its appearance was shrouded in mystery. From his performance in the U.A sports festival, all she knew was that it was insanely powerful. She had watched, in tears, as her son had shattered a wall of ice just by flicking his finger. She had no idea how he had received such a destructive quirk, but she didn't like it. It's too dangerous. That had been her first thought upon learning of her son's miraculous quirk. While it was obvious his quirk was powerful enough to easily kill someone, she was still shocked when his teacher had informed her about what had happened. Seriously harming someone was as out of character as it could get for Izuku, so Inko knew it had been an accident the second she had heard.

Her tears fell heavily onto her son's head as he continued to sob against her. It killed her to see him like this. She hated seeing him in so much pain, while being so utterly powerless to help. She knew that nothing could undo what he had done. She knew that this was going to hang over his heart for the rest of his life. She knew that nothing she could say could make him stop hurting.

But God damn it, she was going to try.

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault." Inko continued murmuring softly into his ear as he cried. Kissing his hair, she tightened her grip on her boy. My sweet boy. She rocked back and forth slightly. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." She did everything she could to convey as much love and comfort as she could in her words and touch. "It wasn't your fault."

After some time, Inko realized that his cries had quieted. His body wasn't shaking as much as it had been before, and his breathing had slowed. Peering down, she saw he had fallen asleep, curled into her side. Fresh tears fell from her eyes, and she smiled at the peaceful expression on her son's face. My sweet Izuku. Her smile faded slightly as she realized that the peace was temporary. Her mind raced as she thought of how she could help. I'll do anything I can to help. Anything for my boy. After racking her brain, she finally came across an idea. Her smile reappeared as she leaned down and kissed her son's head.

"I love you so much, Izuku."

Ochako stared down Izuku's limp form. His half-lidded eyes squinted against the bright hospital lights as he breathed evenly. She sighed. Ochako had tried several times to speak to him, but whatever drugs the doctors had given him had clouded his mind too much. Her hand rested on his arm, and she shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. Glancing around the room, she wondered where Mrs. Midoriya had gone off to. It had been over 20 minutes since the women had stepped out to speak to a doctor. While Ochako wanted to speak to the woman, the thought also terrified her. They had barely spoken since she had shown up at the Midoriya household, practically dragging Izuku with her.

It wasn't the best way to meet your boyfriend's mother.

Ochako sighed again. Glancing back down at her love, she smoothed his hair back against his head. I didn't realize how bad his injuries were. It frustrated her to no end how much Izuku would endure so as to not bother her. A half smile cross her face, and she cupped the boy's cheek. You idiot. She jerked her hand back as the door opened, face flushing out of habit. Preparing to face Mrs. Midoriya, her shoulders relaxed slightly as she recognized the doctor stepping into the room.

"Dr. Tanaka! How are you?" She smiled up at the woman. Although her interactions with the doctor had been minimal, she had gotten a sense of the warmth and kindness she possessed. The doctor returned the smile as she shuffled a stack of papers in her hand.

"Ah, Uraraka. Nice to see you dear!" The doctor glanced down at the bed. "Your boy has quite the habit of ending up here, huh?" Her tone was teasing, but her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that she hadn't managed to get a reaction out of the younger girl. "Don't tell me..."

"Yep!" Ochako was too proud of the concept to be embarrassed. "We've been together for a couple days..."

"What a couple of days though, right?" They both laughed. After a few minutes of chatting about Izuku's condition, they paused when the boy's mother entered. Smiling sheepishly at the pair, the short woman took a seat on the bed across from Ochako. Ochako hated it, but she couldn't help instantly feeling awkward. She wanted to be able to have a normal conversation with Izuku's mother, but she felt like she'd need to explain the whole situation first, and she wasn't ready for that conversation.

Dr. Tanaka cleared her throat. "Mrs. Midoriya, could I speak to you in the hall for a moment?" They quickly disappeared from the room, leaving her alone with Izuku once again. Looking back down at his face, Ochako tried and failed to stifle a giggle. He looks so dopey. Due to the drug's effects, his eyes were unfocused, and his mouth hung half open. Leaning down, she quickly pecked his cheek.

"I love you so much, Izuku."

Sitting back upright, she ran her hand through his soft hair. It didn't matter what condition he was currently in. Sitting here with him, together, just feels... right. She looked up as the door opened, and the women reentered. "Uraraka, let's leave the Midoriyas alone for now." Dr. Tanaka smiled at her, but Ochako saw a different emotion dancing in her eyes. Shooting a shy smile to Mrs. Midoriya, she quickly followed the doctor out of the room. After rounding the corner, the doctor led her into an unoccupied room, and closed the door behind them. Ochako felt nervous. What is this about?

"So..." Dr. Tanaka seemed uncharacteristically uncomfortable. "I haven't found a good way to bring this up with his mother, so I thought I'd ask you first." Seeing the confusion in the younger girl's eyes, the older continued. "My colleagues and I are concerned about Midoriya. About his mental state." What? Ochako was confused, both at the doctor's statement, and the indignation growing in her chest. "As you're probably well aware, all of the injuries we treated tonight were self inflicted. We think-"

"Wait." Ochako knew it was unfair, as they were just trying to help, but she could feel the anger blossoming in her chest. "What are you saying?" The woman's eyes were wells of patience, but Ochako could see her jaw clench slightly.

"We've been discussing keeping him in our mental ward, only for a little while, just for obser-"

"Stop." Ochako's anger had grown past a controllable point. "Let me get this straight. Izuku accidentally killed someone, and he has to live with what he did for the rest of his life." She hadn't noticed how much her voice was raising, but she couldn't find it within herself to stop now. "And when he, understandably, is having a rough time dealing with this, you people want to COMMIT him?! Like he's crazy?" She was practically yelling now. To Dr. Tanaka's credit, her calm face didn't waver.

"Uraraka. Ochako. Before you misunderstand, let me explain something." She offered a genuine smile. "When I said my colleagues and I were discussing it, I am on the side which believes keeping him here is unnecessary. I think I could convince the rest of them, as long as you help me." Ochako's anger dissipated, replaced with more confusion. "While our counselors don't think we should be broaching the subject of professional mental health care with his mother, I think your support would be enough to placate the others." Her professional mask had fallen away completely, and it was clear she was speaking as an individual. "Ochako, as long as you're there to support him, I think he'll be just fine. Can you do it?" Her expression indicated that she already knew the answer.

"Of course."

Ochako's eyes felt heavy as she stared out of the taxi window. A light rain had blurred the city's features, matching the exhaustion that weighed on her mind. After a slightly awkward goodbye to Mrs. Midoriya, she had taken her leave. The doctors said that Izuku was going to be out of it for a few more hours, and she wanted to be back by the time Eri woke up. The taxi pulled up to the gates of U.A, and she stepped out. Raindrops fell lightly against her face, giving her the energy to make it back to the dorm.

Stepping through the door, she saw Mr. Aizawa seated on one of the couches, with Eri's head in his lap. The girl was fast asleep, and a peaceful look enveloped her face. Approaching the pair, Ochako raised a hand silently in a tired greeting. Her teacher returned the gesture.

"Uraraka." He sounded more tired than she felt. "I already spoke to someone at the hospital, and made sure the school knows what's happening." Softly raising Eri's head, he rose from the couch. To Ochako's surprise, he approached her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for finding him." Giving her shoulder the lightest of squeezes, he took his leave. Smiling slightly at the gesture, she took his previous spot on the couch. Before she could place the girl's head on her lap, Eri had already unconsciously curled herself into Ochako's side.

Shifting so that she was leaning deeply into the couch's back, Ochako looked up to the ceiling. Despite how tired she was, she couldn't find any urge to sleep. She wasn't sure how long she stared at the ceiling. After what felt like hours, she snapped out of her daze when her phone rang. Answering quickly so as to not wake Eri, she brought the phone up to her head.

"Hello?"

"Um.. is this Ochako Uraraka?" A sliver of anxiety shot through her chest as she recognized the voice of Mrs. Midoriya.

"U-um... yes..."

"Oh, well, hello dear. This is Inko Midoriya." Inko. Ochako hadn't known the woman's first name, but somehow it seemed to fit her perfectly. "C-could I ask you a favor? About my son?" Ochako's heart was racing. What could she want from me? Why did she call me of all people?

"Oh, uh, of course Mrs. Midoriya!"

"Oh please dear, call me Inko." A small smile crept to her face, and her chest relaxed slightly. Progress!

"Then, of course Inko! And please, call me Ochako." While the conversation wasn't face to face, Ochako was relieved that their second interaction was going much better.

"Alright Ochako, well... I have a proposal for you. I know how much you mean to my son, and I was wondering..." Instantly, Ochako found herself nervous again. Does she know we're together? "Would you like to come to dinner tomorrow? I'm sure you know, Izuku is taking this pretty hard. I'm sure he'd appreciate some company." Ochako's nerves grew, but she could feel herself already getting excited.

"I'd love to! Is it alright if I bring one other person?" She had a surprise guest planned, and she knew it would lift the spirits of both Midoriyas.

"Of course darling! That's fine! Come over around two tomorrow, we can spend some time together before dinner!" With a few parting words, Inko ended the call. Ochako's heart was racing. Dinner with his mother... in his house... she wanted to scream, but she didn't know if it was out of nerves or joy. Looking down, she noticed that Eri had begun to stir from her sleep.

"Good morning sweetie!" Ochako beamed down at the girl.

"Morning, Mommy." Sensing her energy, the small girl smiled, hugging herself into her mother's side. "Is Daddy okay?"

"He sure is! We can see him later today!" Ochako giggled as the small girl threw a fist in the air, cheering. Joy bubbled in her chest as she placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, locking eyes with her. "Hey... Eri..." Excited anticipation flew through her as her daughter looked up at her, a questioning look in her eyes.

"How would you like to meet your grandma?"