Izuku partially regretted listening to what Yuri-San knew of He who takes, or All For One as he was more widely known to the Japanese underground, then again, he wasn't sure how anyone was supposed to handle learning a literal ancient evil was real.
But as he drove home, he couldn't help questioning how All For One had remained so well hidden for so long. Even if he stuck to the shadows like Yuri-San explained there was no way with a countrywide network as he supposedly has that the government didn't know about him, and if they did why hasn't anyone blown the whistle on this, and have an international warning sent out?
Because All For One was clearly a global threat to everyone just from what little Yuri-San knew of him, there would be no way for any one hero to take him down and All For One would be a threat to everyone not just the quirkless, Izuku severely doubted that All Might could handle All For One, number one hero or not.
Izuku was still troubled by the thought of how easily All For One remained hidden in the open. When he got home, he automatically fell into autopilot and just went through the motions, moving around the kitchen without problems considering how often he had worked with multiple injuries previously.
"Izuku?" Inko called making him jolt and he turned from the peppers he was cutting to his mom "H-hi mom, did you just g-get home?" He greeted mentally chastising himself for being so caught up in his thoughts "Izuku I've been calling you for the last minute." She told him, her concern obvious as she walked over to him.
Izuku's eyes fell to the peppers he was cutting as he avoided eye contact "O-oh... I'm s-sorry mom-" he tried to apologize rubbing the back of his neck only to stop when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turn back to his mom "Izuku, what's wrong?" She asked, he immediately pulled away and waved his hands "N-nothing is w-wrong mom! I-I- I was j-just-" he responded panicking slightly.
"Izuku," Inko interrupted with a knowing tone "You know you can tell me anything right?" She said and Izuku's shoulders slumped, he turned his body away from his mom "I-It's really not t-that big of a deal, I just... met a two-toes in Kumamoto." He explained choosing to throw the whole "He who takes/All For One" problem as far as he could from this conversation.
"Oh, what were they like?" She asked intrigued herself by the prospect "H-he was a-a lot like m-me actually," Izuku admitted, "Osamu-Kun just t-turned ten, and h-he wants to help p-people by b-becoming a doctor." Izuku elaborated fiddling with the hem of his shirt "I-It just reminded me o-of my dream of b-being a, hero... " he told her and Inko responded a soft "I-I see."
He sighed "Mom I-I just want to help p-people, and s-seeing so many people l-living like they do i-in the districts just... Hurts." Izuku confessed feeling tears pricking the corners of his eyes, he hugged himself after unintentionally telling her about his feelings about the other thing on his mind.
The way his chest felt painfully tight whenever he thought about the sometimes awful living conditions some of his students lived and learning that they weren't so uncommon when he visited the other red-light districts, it had been temporarily pushed aside from his mind in the wake of the danger from All For One.
Izuku flinched when he felt a hand cup his face but let it turn him back to his mom and saw her sad smile "Oh Izuku, there's nothing wrong with how you're feeling. You've always had a heart that was just a bit too big for your own good." Inko cooed rubbing her thumb on his cheek "And it's okay to be sad or disappointed about not pursuing your dream," She added hand moving from his face to his arm.
Izuku ducked his head looking away from her again as an odd prickly feeling formed in his chest when she said that, the part of him that wanted to be a hero would probably never fully disappear but the South Side Inferno had firmly ripped his rose-tinted view of heroics away from him, and while the other twenty red-light districts he had been to weren't as bad as the South Side it hadn't helped his changing opinion on the heroics profession.
"But Izuku, personally speaking... Ever since January, I think you've become something so much better than a hero." Inko confessed much to Izuku's shock "W- What?" He questioned utterly gob smacked, she smiled back at him "Heroes do a lot for a lot of people, a-and maybe there are some exceptions, but h-heroes don't stick around long after their job is done," she told him, struggling to find the words to properly explain.
"Once the villain i-is defeated or t-the disaster cleaned up they move on to the next problem, leaving the victims to deal w-with the aftermath on their o-own, the most t-they'll usually do is p-pay for the damage they c-caused or donate money t-to charities." She elaborated and Izuku knew she was right, about limelight heroes anyway, even if it hurt to admit to that fact to himself.
"But what you're d-doing right now, you're doing s-so much more for them. You're h-helping them survive day-to-day and giving t-them the chance to m-make their lives better by t-teaching everything you k-know. Izuku what y-you've done for those people, what you'll continue doing for them, they'll never forget that." She said, not bothering to hide the pride in her voice as she did, making Izuku a bit flustered.
"You d-don't need a plastic card to change someone's life Izuku, you're already doing t-that, and even though it means I c-can't see you as much a-and I'm utterly t-terrified that you might get h-hurt one day... That w-will never change how proud I am of the man you're becoming." Inko told him with confidence and certainty she rarely possessed.
Upon finishing her speech Izuku felt big fat Midoriya family tears pouring from his eyes, completely overwhelmed by the emotions dredged up from his mother's words. "M-mom... " he whimpered, wondering for what was probably the thousandth time, what he had done to deserve such a wonderful person for a mother.
Inko smiled at him softly and reached for his face with both hands then brought his forehead to her's, letting him get it all out as he cried then gave him her work hankey, Izuku was still trying to put himself back together into something resembling a functioning member of society when his mom loudly clapped her hands "I think it's been too long since we had a pizza night so we should do that tonight!" She declared with a determined look on her face.
"B-but I've already started cutting peppers for stir fry." Izuku pointed out "We'll just put it on the pizza, I've always wanted to try peppers on pizza." Inko cheerfully responded, "But it's the spicy peppers! And we don't have any dough!" Izuku countered "Then we'll just have to make it from scratch!" She replied unbothered by the fact and not addressing the peppers "Mom!" Izuku whined in protest but couldn't stop himself from smiling as she left the kitchen to change out of her scrubs.
When Inko returned the two of them got to work making pizza together listening to Hand-Up radio as they did, singing along when a song they liked came on and Izuku had even been prompted to dance along with her for one, neither of them were very good at either but Izuku couldn't deny that it was fun to do after all the stress of the past few days, and as the pizza baked in the oven Izuku and Inko transformed the living room into a pillow fort again.
Later both Izuku and Inko were wrapped up in blankets watching Batman vs teenage mutant ninja turtles (one of Izuku's favorite movies) and eating a slice of pizza, the danger of All For One hadn't left Izuku's mind but his mom's attempt to cheer him up had certainly helped to melt away the weight on his shoulders, and for the first time since Kumamoto, Izuku felt himself start to actually relax.
Izuku sighed leaning back against the couch content with good food in his stomach and wrapped up in a fluffy blanket, turning to his mom he couldn't help feeling really grateful for everything she had done for him "Hey mom." He said and she turned to him with a soft hum of acknowledgment.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me, you're the greatest, mom." Izuku told her as he snuggled up to her. She chuckled softly and ruffled Izuku's hair. "What are you talking about Izuku?" Inko asked with a hint of amusement in her tone.
"Visiting the other districts reminded me how lucky I am to have someone amazing as you in my life." He answered moving closer to her and Inko smiled back "You're too kind to me Izuku," She responded by kissing his forehead "I'm just trying to do what's best for you." She said modestly as she averted her eyes.
"And I'm going to tell how incredible you are for that." Izuku replied, hugging her and burying his head in her chest making Inko laugh, hugging him back "Oh Izuku!" She exclaimed making Izuku's heart feel even lighter even then burst into tears, it was fine, they were happy tears.
Tomorrow Izuku would be leaving for Niigata and worry about the ever-looming issue of All For One being real meant for him and his future work in the red-light districts, but that would be a problem for future Izuku to deal with.
For now, though he was going to enjoy a movie, eat the pizza he made, and relax with his mom in the little bubble of peace, feeling like he was miles away from his troubles as he steadfast ignored the rest of the world... just for a little while.