Chapter 5

Izuku expected All Might to be at least a little surprised at the news. Instead, a heavy air of sorrow and rage fell over the hero. This startles the green haired teen a little. Thinking he did or said something wrong, he starts to apologize only to be cut off.

"I'm sorry, young Midoriya," the blond says. "I'm not upset with you. I'm furious with All for One. I remember this case. Tomura would have been three or four years old when his family was killed. We thought it was a villain attack."

"He was Tenko back then." As flashes of memories of playing with his cousins pass through his mind, Izuku explains, "I barely remember so far back, but I do remember his name."

"I'm surprised you remember that far back at all." He reads through the rest of the list. None of the rest of the people on the list are very interesting, just average people. After sharing a few stories about Nana, All Might suggests, "Maybe we should call your mom. She deserves the chance to explain her side of all this."

Reluctantly agreeing, he dials his mother's number and puts the call on speaker. He doesn't expect her to answer since he doesn't know when she takes her lunch break. She answers after one ring.

"Izuku? Is everything okay? Was the school attacked again?"

Shaking his head, he assures, "I'm okay, mom. I talked to All Might about my results. He's here too."

"Hello, Mrs. Midoriya," All Might greets. Taking the phone, he states, "Young Midoriya had a few questions about his ancestry. If you don't mind my asking-"

"You want to know about All for One," Inko interrupts.

"Yes, ma'am."

Sighing, she explains, "I didn't know it was him. He looked and sounded like Hisashi. Nothing seemed unusual or out of place. I didn't realize it wasn't my husband until," she clears her throat, "after the deed was done. I got a text from my actual husband saying that he was working late."

She sounds like she's close to crying while her son is already there. Wiping away his student's tears, All Might says, "I was worried that would be your answer."

"I didn't know he could shape shift."

"Nobody knows how many quirks he had stolen, ma'am. Have you talked to anyone about this incident before now?"

"I told Mitsuki and she convinced me to seek therapy. When Hisashi went overseas, Mitsuki helped with Izuku."

Izuku is shaking as he asks, "Why didn't you tell me?" Both adults are silent. "I knew Hisashi isn't my dad, but why didn't you tell me?"

Inko tries to start an explanation a few times before finally managing to say, "How do you explain something like this to a child? I didn't want you to get hurt." She takes a deep breath. "What happened to me, where you came from, doesn't change how much I love you. It also doesn't change how proud I am of you." Inko's supervisor can barely be heard in the background. "I have to go, Honey. We can talk more when you get home. I love you."

"Love you, too, mom," Izuku responds, wiping away more tears. Putting away his phone, he asks, "The paper says that he's dead. Is that true?"

"If he's not, it would be the devil's miracle."

"Good." After another stretch of awkward silence, Izuku takes out a notebook and asks, "Can you tell me more about Nana?" They spend the rest of the lunch period talking about his grandmother.

A week later, as Aizawa returns everyone's graded genealogy assignments he's giving his usual comments. At Denki's desk, he says, "Kaminari, please, for the love of god, type your work. If I have to call your mother to decipher one more of your assignments, I'm not grading it." A few more students and he reaches Izuku's desk. He doesn't get a comment, but there is a sticky note on his report.

"I'm here if you ever need to talk," it reads. At the bottom is his teacher's personal phone number. Under the sticky note is a purple A.