Jeremy weaved his way through the children that were running around the living area.
When he saw his mother's wide smile in front of him he couldn't help but catch the contagious face himself.
They mirrored one another in their looks. Jeremy having inherited his mothers pink hair that kept a natural wave.
"It feels heavy. I think that means you got in." She gushed over the envelope in her hand.
"Fingers crossed." He plucked the envelope from her fingers and started to ripe the side.
While doing so he noticed that his mother had actually crossed her fingers in hopes that he had been accepted.
Jeremy wanted this so badly. He wanted this for himself but he also wanted this for her.
His mother had sacrificed her dreams for him. He looked around the house.
It was littered with toys, the table still had the plates from lunch and the usual children were running about making a commotion. Later there would be 2 different children that she watched for those heroes who had a night shift patrol.
He stops with the letter and looks to the floor, "Mom. What if-"
She puts a hand on his cheek and redirects his attention to her.
"We've talked about this Jeremy. You do this for YOU. Not for me. Do you want to be a hero?"
He nods his head.
"If not this school I will do everything in my power to help you get into a different one."
He nods again. He didn't doubt her. Ever since he had shown interest in being a hero his mother had been nothing but support.
She helped him find tutors both academically and for his quirk. She supported him when he pushed himself and she supported him when he would take it too far and was bed ridden.
His mother was already his number one fan.
He takes a moment to look across the room. A wall full of pictures of all the children she had watched through the years. In the collection of frames were a few pictures of him growing up.
But the picture that always stood out to him the most was the proud beaten up face and smile of a teenage student, his mother, while holding up the plastic HERO license. Her hero costume had ash and small tears all over it.
It was four days after that picture was taken that she had found out that she was pregnant with him. She had to leave school and continue her education online while she juggled teen motherhood.
No. He couldn't just go to any hero school. It had to be this one.
He could be a hero for himself but this was the school where he would do it from.
With a final huff he opened the letter and read the first word.
'Congratulations.'
His mother was looking over the side of his shoulder and squealed.
"You got in!" She started to jump up and down as she was happy dancing the children that were running around also started to dance with her.
Jeremy looked back down with a huge smile across his face.
The UA logo looking back up at him.
'I'll make you proud Mom.'
Kokyu had just said her goodbyes to the last of the children.
It was past midnight and she had actually expected for the pickup time to be later. She had gotten the rooms picked up pretty well between the day children and the evening children. Her two evening children were simple.
She made sure to keep the stage one lock down system in place after the children left. The system was advanced but kept the three story home secured in times of emergency. During the Anti-Hero and Villain riots she was able to have her home as a safe haven for single parents and children that heroes had to leave behind to fight. It was a hard time all over Japan and their society was still recovering. There was a mask of normalcy that blanketed them but everyone was still on edge.
Kokyu did a once cover all of the common areas in the lower floor before she went to the second floor. The second floor had two rooms that she used for the children. She accepted all ages but seemed to mostly watch infants up to the age to 12. Once she felt that the rooms were picked up well enough she finally made it to the top floor that homed herself and Jeremy.
She made way to her son's room. The light shined through the cracks of the door telling her that he was still awake.
Knocking on the door softly, "Coming in. Put the porn away." She snickered but didn't hear any rustling on the other side.
She welcomed herself into the room and saw the bittersweet sight of boxes being filled.
"You're already packing?" She couldn't help the small frown, "You just can't wait to leave the nest." She fake pouts and leans against the doorframe, "Fine. Be that way. I'll just turn this room into a training space. I'll even make it better than the one in the basement."
Jeremy watched as his mother made a scene in the doorway. The corners of his lips pulled.
"You should. Don't you have that new Hero License Renewal coming up in a few months?" He stopped packing his shounen and sat at his desk.
"Ugh." His mother dragged her way to his bed and plopped down face first. She continued talking but it was muffled in his pillow. Sometimes he wondered who the parent was.
"Can't hear you Ma."
She shifted her head out of the pillow and faced him, "I'm so nervous. It's been years since I took the first test. And I understand why they're having it after the Liberation Army and all that crap. It's going to be so hard. I'm not a hero or do hero work."
Jeremy listened to his mom as she started to whine.
"You didn't think twice when my Dad came to visit two years ago." He stated simply and created tension in the room. They hardly talked about what had happened.
Kokyu watched her son watch her. Waiting for her to respond. She sat up and looked off into the distance.
"That villain. Attacked this home. I did what I needed to do to protect you and all the other children."
"That's exactly what a hero would say."
Kokyu huffed, "Jeremy, I do not want to have this conversation. I'm not a hero and I don't have any plans to start."
"Mom, It was your dream-"
"Was." She said sternly to make a point, "Not all heroes wear capes." She got off of the bed and headed toward the door. Escaping the dark cloud of tension that was covering the room, "Maybe someone at UA can teach you that."
Kokyu crossed the hall to her room. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Giving up being a hero to be a mother was a huge choice that she had made all of those years ago. She didn't carry the guilt but seemed to have passed it down. Which was the only regret that she had.
She wished that her son could see why watching these hero's children was so important to her and how it in of itself made her feel like a hero. Perhaps if there was a service like hers all those years ago she would have continued down the hero path. But at the time it was unheard of.
She turned to the box that was on her desk. It had all of her UA stuff in it from all of those years ago.
A small knock on her door. But he knew he wasn't to rudely open it like she did to him. Not everything was equal in her house.
"Come in."
"Mom. I'm sorry." She didn't answer him and continued to look at the contents inside the box.
She grabbed the box and sat cross legged on the bed, "Here. Let me show you something."
Jeremy sat next to his mother and waited for her to share with him what was inside the box.
"This was my UA yearbook." She handed it to him and watched as his hands skimmed over the cover.
"Is he in this book?" He asked her. Kokyu didn't need him to confirm who.
"No. He was older. And my dumb ass fell for his grooming." Jeremy was about to say something about his mothers self-deprecation, "But you have to send in your costume design and I thought I could show you what mine was."
She watched as his eyes widened.
"Outside of the rags you're wearing in the picture downstairs."
She stuck her tongue out at him, "You punk." She opened the book and turned to the page that she knew by heart.
In all of her teenage glory she stood there on the page.
Hero Name: Thornado
A play on words with their last name being Thorn and her quirk being a wind quirk. An air based quirk that she was proud to have passed down to her son.
"I have never seen you wear so much and so little at the same time and it's disturbing." He laughed while he also made a face of disgust.
"I was a Babe. And anyway. The full suit with a tight fit helps with your speed."
Jeremy didn't want to see his mom as a 'babe'. He already had friends remind him that his mom was 'Pro Hero Hot'. He understood why his mother had the fit for her costume.
"You had a cape." He looks at the yellow cape hanging around her shoulders. He wasn't asking as much as he was just stating.
'Not all heroes wear capes.'
"Of course. I could grab the edges and use it to help assist with flight and falling. Like having wings."
Jeremy started to flip through the pages of the yearbook that was older than him. There were heroes in the book that were professional now.
She could have been professional.
He continued to flip through the pages till he came to an envelope that was shoved to stick into the pages.
"Aizawa Senpai." He read the name aloud.
His mom laughed next to him and snapped at the envelope. It was pale pink in color and had cute hearts in the corners.
"Thought you said he wasn't in here?"
Kokyu only laughed harder, "He isn't. Maybe if I had the guts to give this to Aizawa Senpai I wouldn't have ever been groomed to begin with."
Jeremy wasn't going to take that personally, "So what you're say is," He took the card from his mom and started to open it, "This Aizawa Senpai could have been my dear old dad?"
He knew there was no logic behind his words but he was also trying to lighten the mood. He started to read the letter in a high pitched feminine voice and he noticed that his mother didn't stop him.
"Aizawa Senpai, I have been watching you for a while now." He stopped and laughed, "Mom, you were such a creep."
She shoved her shoulder into her son, "I was your age and had a crush. I'd never say something like that now." She took the letter, "And I don't sound like that."
Kokyu looked down at the letter and thought back to her crush, she clears her throat.
"Aizawa Senpai, I have been watching you for a while now. You are a great friend to Yamada and Shirakumo. You are great for being able to advance to the Hero Course. You will make a great hero one day. I hope that I can have the chance to show you how I can be a great girlfriend to you one day."
She wanted to cringe. Her memories of writing this made it seem like it was more heart felt. But now it was hard to even imagine that they were her words.
The son snickered, "Yeah." He was trying hard not to burst, "Sounds like the guy was.."
She waited for it.
"Great!" He belted out the last word with a loud laugh.
"Oh stop." She wacks him with the flimsy letter, "Go to bed. Tomorrow's another busy one and I need to get my assistant over for some more training for when you leave."
Jeremy put the yearbook back in the box. He was about to leave the room.
"Jeremy." He turned to his name.
"Stop blaming yourself. I'm so grateful for the work that I do." And because he always interrupted, she kept talking before he could, "But if you REALLY want to make it up to me." She dropped the serious face and put on a smile, "You'll let me be a doting mother and let me help you move in on move in day."
She almost squealed.
"Sure." He had a lopsided smile, "I'm sure you won't be the only one."