Chapter 17

Chapter Text

"They're delaying the sports festival?" Izuku repeated disbelievingly for the third time.

"I think it's probably necessary to protect the school's reputation," Nana suggested.

"Probably," Izuku said in a tone that suggested he understood the reasons but was still very disappointed. "Mom promised to watch me on TV this year. I was…"

Everyone glanced away awkwardly.

"Except for the part where I died," Izuku said, apparently sensing everyone else's discomfort and making the choice to be a self-centered teenager anyway. If anyone deserved a chance to vent it was this kid. "Oh, and my mom is on the run from the police for attacking the person who fucking killed me!"

"Kid," Banjo said, wrapping the vestige in a rough hug. "It's gonna be okay."

"How will it be okay?" Izuku asked stubbornly, pushing Banjo away.

Banjo's skills dealing with distraught teenagers were clearly nonexistent.

"None of it's okay," Nana said, stepping closer to Izuku but not hugging him quite yet. "And there's no arguing that you were dealt a rough hand, sweetheart."

"I know I'm just a vestige," Izuku whispered as his tears began to fall and he finally let Nana wrap him in her arms, "but I really miss my mom."

"Whoa," Banjo said as their perspective of the outside world suddenly changed. "That's never happened before."

"Where are we?" En asked.

"Hotel room?" Nana suggested, taking in the generic decorations and cramped space.

"Cheap and nasty hotel room," Banjo added.

"Shouldn't we be following Bakugo?"

"This doesn't make any sense," Izuku mumbled. "Unless…"

Midoriya Inko stepped out of the bathroom a moment later.

"So…um…" Izuku said, "it would seem that strong emotions can move us from one person to another. That suggests that ghost-me has more autonomy than we first thought. But does that mean I influence the way ghost-me is feeling or he influences me?"

"Maybe you both just wanted to see your mom," Yoichi suggested. "It's a natural reaction at your age."

"But last time we saw her…" Izuku looked a little green at the memory of what his mother had done to Bakugo. In all honesty Nana was feeling the same. Bakugo had been lucky to survive what had quickly escalated to a vicious attack, and it was clear that Izuku had never seen that side of his mother before.

"We don't stop caring for someone we love," Yoichi said, "just because they made a mistake."

Nana nodded. If any of them knew that confusion well it was Yoichi. He'd spent nearly two centuries watching All for One commit acts of atrocity, yet there was some part of him that would always love and value the big brother he'd once been. Even five years after his brother's death, Yoichi was still coming to terms with the dichotomy of familial love.

Inko's phone started to ring a rough blaring sound, startling Nana and Izuku both.

"That's not… my mom's… phone," Izuku said, his words slowing as he probably realized she'd changed phones since his death. Inko looked at the caller ID for a full two rings before seeming to make some sort of decision.

"I want back in," she said, not bothering with a greeting.

A deep male voice chuckled delightedly before saying, "Welcome home."

~*~

They were almost in the front door of their home when Shota's phone rang.

"Naomasa," Shota said, answering quickly when he realized who was calling.

"We may have an explanation for why Midoriya Inko was able to disappear so easily."

"I'm going to hate this, aren't I?"

"Yes," Naomasa said, sounding tired. "The DNA sample we obtained from Midoriya Inko's home matches DNA found at the scene of a couple of suspected murders."

"Suspected murders?"

"The first victim died from a brain aneurism. The only reason assassination was considered a possibility at the time was because he was the leader of a criminal organization involved in a territory dispute."

Shota gave Mic a look that had him hurrying the boys into the kitchen to start dinner, well out of earshot. Shota moved to their home office and locked himself inside.

"The other one," Naomasa continued, "was a business executive who died from heart failure. The coroner found bruising on the heart muscle that suggested a quirk had been involved." Shota could hear Naomasa typing on his keyboard. "We're reviewing other similar cold cases right now."

"You're suggesting Midoriya Izuku—the sweet, heroic kid that Yagi describes—was being raised by an assassin?"

"No," Naomasa said. "These cases are nearly twenty years old. If I had to guess, I'd say she retired to get married and start a family."

"Holy shit," Shota said, wishing he had his sleeping bag to crawl into for comfort. "What are the chances she's gone back to that life?"

Naomasa sighed heavily. "I'd say very high."

"Is Katsuki in danger?"

"Hard to say," Naomasa said speculatively. "She could have killed him when she had the chance and we would have been none the wiser."

"So is she against killing kids or did she just want to make him suffer?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Fuck.