It felt like yesterday that Inko had chased her sweet ball of joy, Izuku, around the house with his eyes twinkling with child like glee in his All Might onesie. The memory of bright orange sunbeams peaking past the cracks in the curtains as the day turned to dawn in what seemed to be seconds for the two, Izuku's small and delicate hand grasping at his mother's hair softly while he started to drift off peacefully into a city of dreams in which he was his own hero and saving the day with All Might by his side.
No doubt that as the boy's grin only grew in his sleep, his 'hero work' had only gotten better. Inko couldn't help but remember letting out a tired chuckle at the ridiculous smile on her son's sleeping face as she gently scooped him up in her arms and took him to bed, leaving the window pushed agape a bit to allow in some light before she turned the lights off in his bedroom and left.
Sadly inko remembrance didn't end there as it would seem that nothing could seem perfect forever…
She teared up quietly in the living room as the fateful day repeated itself in her mind like a broken lullaby, the day her young and excitable boy was given the news that he had no quirk. At the time in the clinic she had been so focused on the doctors explanation and the slight shock that she only realized her son's now wavering smile when they had gotten out to the car, she decided it might be best to let his mind ponder for the ride home so he could come to terms with the news.
Stepping out of the car and opening the backdoor to it she scooped up her tensed but tired son in her arms, allowing him to sleep in the nook of her shoulder she bit her lip at the small murmurs under his breath as Izuku clung to his mother in his sleep. That night she got inside the house and took him to his bedroom and quietly tucked him in the covers before curling up next to the boy. She looked to his bedside dresser and gazed at a small, roughed up All Might doll that sat propped up by a picture frame of the happy family of two. Izuku hadn't known but what was now his favorite plush item had been a gift sent to Inko by his father for one of their birthdays.
She stared off into the direction of the toy with a troubled look. 'what would you do in this situation?' was the only question that rolled in her head as her eyes watered slightly, her body slowly but surely relaxing with time.
Inko remembered waking up the next morning a bit earlier than she usually did but that wasn't much of a surprise to her since her mind had stayed active throughout the night in her restless slumber. Getting out of her son's bed, careful not to wake her troubled son, she set off to make breakfast for the both of them. She decided on one of Izuku's favorite meals, Juk, since it would be something gentle on his probably aggravated stomach.
After a while her ears perked at the sound of two small feet slowly stumble from down the hall and into the kitchen, the smallest sound of her son catching a whiff of this morning's meal. He tugged on my sleeve and I looked down to him patiently, his eyes were swollen slightly no doubt from crying when he woke up. Izuku cast his mother a confused look, being abnormally quiet but at the same time inquisitive about the meal given that I wouldn't normally make him Juk unless he was sick or staying up late with her to watch the news on different heroes. I sent a small smile to him before scruffing up his already wild hair. "morning Izuku, how about we eat breakfast and spend some time in the living room after?"
Her son was still confused but nodded quietly, the idea bringing a small if faint smile to his face.
Her mind jumped forward to when they had finished eating, the two standing up and Inko taking both of their bowls and setting them in the sink before walking with her son to the living room and sitting down with him beside her. "Izuku? I couldn't help but notice that you were quiet during breakfast, you can tell me what's wrong. I am right here." Inko's voice came out softly as she picked up and held her sons hand, looking him reassuringly in the eyes. It only took a moment for her son to slowly break into tears before he quickly threw himself into her open embrace, his eyes gushing with salty tears that burned his already puffy eyes. Her heart wrenched in her chest at the memory and sound of her usually happy son's broken sobs as his tears soaked the outfit she had worn the day before to the appointment.
As Izuku continued to cry, between breaths he would mumble quiet questions that had been attacking his mind like a typhoon. "I-I can still be a-a H-hero.. ri-ight Mama?" he sobbed once more. "Papa-a will c-c-come and fix this w-ont he? He'll come h-ho-ome?" The last of his words came out as a strangled plead to his mother's ears. Inko nearly started to bawl at her son's breaking voice, taking long shuttering breaths if only to allow her heartbeat to calm Izuku's breathing since she found it difficult to stay calm herself.
Combing through his hair soothingly she shakily hushed her son, curling around him gently and whispering in his ear softly. "I-Izuku, I know its hard right now.. but i-I need you to listen to mama for a second okay?" her boy whimpered and gasped at air for a few moments while Inko brushed away a few more stay tears patiently before he looked up at her with glassy eyes. "I kn-know you won't like hearing this but.. your papa won't be back for a very-..very long time." She paused as her heart burned with a sadness she had been pushing aside for years now before she continued. " and mama can't fix this sadly, but I want you to know that y-you'll always be my little hero okay?" she looked to her son for an answer to which she received a small nod as he sniffled and wiped at his face. "to mama, you are so incredibly smart and strong, and just like All Might you always make m-mama smile wide. I know you'll become an even better hero some day too.." the room was quiet for a long spell as her son looked up at her with glossy green hues, more tears pricking at corners of his watery gaze before he buried his weeping face in her chest. The young boy softly sobbed this time into her sweater until he passed out in her arms once more.
Her eyes watered at the memory of her heartbroken son that day as her mind slowly resurfaced to the present day.
Soon after that emotional morning, her son had woken up and went to school as if I had been any other day, and throughout he years Inko watched as her son slowly got better. But just as a broken sidewalk could be mended, there were still patches that remained to show where the damage had been before, her son hadn't been completely okay for some time and it had shown. I would start with the little mur-murs he had developed that first day, or jogging around town before coming home, and usually settled with him staring off into nowhere in the direction of the meal she had placed down for him. These were small little changes and he still smiled everyday but she knew that things were slowly changing when he suddenly started leaving early in the morning, placing notes on the fridge for her so she wouldn't panic too much over him. She would worry as he would wobble his way through the door sometime, always covered head to toe in sand and grime.
She had enough of her curiosity and let it get the better of her today, recently having scheduled the day off to follow her son in secret. It felt wrong to pry on his activities but whenever she had asked him about why he always came home dirty he would only say that he fell or tripped and promised to clean up before doing anything else. Izuku was a good student and a wonderful son, but she had started to wonder if her son had started getting bullied by his classmates during the summer for having no quirk.
She twiddled her thumbs nervously as she hid in her room until she heard her son finish his morning routine, to which she quickly but quietly went to the front window and peaked behind the curtain to watch him jog off down the sidewalk until he was far enough out that he couldn't see her. Stepping out the door in her own 'stealthy' track suit and old baseball hat she had gotten from her husband, following after him silently for some time. After maybe a 2hour jog without breaks, to which she had no idea her son had the capacity for and was absolutely exhausted, her son finally lead her unknowingly to the shore side. She looked out at the filthy beach with confusion as she watched her son walk down the wooden stairs to the sand dump ahead. 'why on earth did he come here of all places? This is no place for my Izuku to be hanging out! What if he gets hurt?'
Inko rushed off after the boy once she had some what caught her breath, slumping forward against a dusty old cement bench that was built into the sand once she finally reached a spot where she could keep an eye on her son.
Slowly she made her way to the front of the bench and sat down, her legs insantly yelling at her for carelessly following her sons apparent regimen as a result of her own worries. She absentmindedly rubbed at her aching shins and calves as she took in her surroundings, watching as her son made his way to a lanky looking man with blond hair as wild as her son's. She was even more confused when they began talking to one another so casually that it seemed as though they had known each other for years. This went on for a little while as it looked like man was informing her son on certain things that he would give a determined nod in response before they both walked over to a larger junk pile.
Izuku's mother stayed where she was and casually watched from under the brim of her frayed hat as the two set down their bags and pulled out different items that they would be using (to her perplexed and continuously confused mind), to move and take apart junk before tossing the remains into three separate industrial trash bins that looked to have been placed down recently.
She watched in shock as the blond man cheered and coached her son on loudly to keep working, the man only coming to help him drink what Inko only assumed was an energy drink of some sort or get out from under a piece of rubble Izuku had moved incorrectly.
Hours went by and her son still hadn't left the beach. 'Isn't this a bit excessive? Izuku, you better believe I'll be feeding you more proteins in the future' she huffed in motherly frustration and worry as her son seemed to be slowing down finally. Inko was upset to say the least that Izuku had been going out to do such reckless things without telling her, but she couldn't stay mad as it seemed he had someone looking out for him. He had even had a noticeable change in behavior while he was training and hadn't done any of his usual ticks like he would at home.
She supposed her opinion was settled. Sitting up she took one last glance at the blonde man who had since noticed her but didn't bring much attention to her snooping, staring the unknown man she watched as his blue eye kept her gaze from on top of his perch on a pile of rusted junk. The two stared intensely at one another before Inko finally gave a curt nod and quietly walked back from where she first followed her son from, making it back into the city calmly before calling a cab and going home to finally take a nap after a strangely tiring day.