Me: I needed to vent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Normal POV!

"Oh, hey mom!"

Inko blinks, surprised to see her son peek from the kitchen of their small apartment. The clock by the wall reads 6:29 PM, and usually at this time Izuku would be in his room doing homework or browsing the web. The smell that wafts through the living room, however, answers her unspoken question.

"Izuku, you don't need to do that!" slipping into her indoor shoes, she places her things on the couch and headed into the kitchen. Having been granted a two-hour early leave from work, Inko figured they'd have baked katsudon for dinner with more time to prepare, but it seems her son beat her to it.

"Oh no, don't worry mom!" beaming, his son leads her to sit on the kitchen chair, a focused look on his face and Inko knows there is no convincing him otherwise. "I want to do this for you."

Hand clasping the other by her chest, she resists the urge to tear up as she fondly watches her son hum as he glides across the kitchen, watching him scrunch his nose with a concentrated look on his face as he carefully transfers the panko from the pan into a plate. He makes a quiet, victorious sound as he readies the breading while letting the toasted panko cool off, and Inko is content to watch him as he does so.

It's not often Inko gets to come home to see Izuku. Her usual time of arrival is some time past 8:00 PM, and by the time she gets home Izuku has already eaten and in his room, leaving her dinner ready and still hot for her to enjoy. It is for this reason that she taught her son how to cook by himself, but it's so sweet of him to take into account her commute time and make sure her meal will not go cold.

"You seem happy." she can't help but comment, letting her lips twist up into a small, tired smile despite her eyelids feeling heavy. Even with the early leave, Inko is about as tired as any other day with the train being packed and her time at work being exhausting, which makes her all the more grateful to have Izuku in her life. "Did something good happen today?"

The humming stops, but Izuku continues his work, smiling but not looking away from the plate. "Not really, but I just felt like doing something nice for you." he turns, facing Inko with a soft look as he says "you work too hard, mom."

Inko's heart constricts, and she silently coos at her son's thoughtfulness as he goes back to work. It's also not often she gets to see her son quite happy other than when he's talking about a recent hero fight.

For days her son has been... quiet, which is unusual for the boy. But despite his dispirited mood, Izuku still tries to assure her every time she fusses over him. So this is a nice change, welcome even.

Inko smiles when Izuku excitedly places their food on the table.

It seems there is nothing to worry about, after all.

~•~

"I got it, mom."

Inko lets her son take the plate from her, indulging him. While Izuku is a helpful boy in nature, he usually backs down when Inko insists on doing things herself. Still, she lets him dote on her for tonight, if only to encourage his strangely cheery mood.

Even so, Inko is still a mother.

"Are you sure? You already prepared dinner for us, Izuku..." she goes to stand, but Izuku only shakes his head.

"I can handle this, mom. I want to do this." he insists, and so Inko lets him wash the dishes as she stands by the doorway, restless without anything to do.

The faucet squeals as Izuku turns it off, wiping his hands in an old rag hanging by the fridge handle. Inko waits for him at the doorway, and Izuku goes to her and kisses her cheek goodnight, like they always do. When Inko goes to kiss his forehead, Izuku opens his mouth.

"Hey, mom..."

Inko pauses, looking at her son questioningly.

"I forgot to mention earlier, but there's a letter for you by the drawer near your bed." meekly, her son scratches his cheek, a nervous tic of his. Izuku looks away as he continues. "I put it in your room since I thought you'd be home much later."

"Oh," confused, Inko only nods, unsure of why this makes her uneasy. "Well, thank you for putting it away for me."

Inko kisses his forehead, murmuring a goodnight as she turns towards her room, Izuku's quiet reply merely a whisper as she leaves.

Entering her room, she flicks the lights on into her empty bedroom, has been for some time now since her son stopped sleeping with her every nightmare. She goes to her bedside and sure enough, a folded paper is placed by the bedside lamp. It is crinkled in most places, but Inko pays it no mind and sits down on the mattress, a hand darting to the paper and opening it.

It may have taken seconds, or maybe even minutes, but Inko sits there with her eyes widened as she absorbs every single word written on the paper. She does not remember standing, nor bolting, all she knows is that barely out the door there is the distinct sound of something solid toppling down the floor, muffled in a way that is probably cushioned.

She reaches the living room and finds the balcony door open, clothes scattered on the floor as the rack stays down.

She floods the room with deafening screams, and Izuku is nowhere to be found.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: Yes, this is based on that video IRL of that teen who jumped off the balcony right in front of his father. I also posted this on Twitter!

Twitter: [twitter link]/PhoenixNinja101/status/1511961331661893639

Discord: [discord link]/tdNdHA9

~~~CHAO!~~~