The trio spend some time with some familiar faces trying to help them. Izuku confronts the real reason they are so upset. Ochako is exhausted. Himiko ponders her past. And some people learn new facts about the investigations.

"Izuku, this isn't like you," Inko said softly. The two of them were sitting in Izuku's room at the dorms, the green-haired teenager immediately heading to their room with a request for privacy before anyone else pestered them, but Inko had decided to exercise mom rights and asked if she could talk to them alone, which…unfortunately for Izuku, even with all the frustration and anger they felt, they could never turn their back on their mom.

Which led to now, Izuku flopped over on their bed, one arm thrown over their eyes so they didn't have to see the look Inko was giving them. She'd gingerly sat on the edge of the bed, looking over her prone child with worry evident in her voice. Izuku sighed. "It's just not right, Mom. I don't know how else to explain it."

Inko hummed contemplatively. "Not to call you a liar, but I'm pretty sure that's not what is really bothering you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said. If you were really bothered by it, Aizawa couldn't have argued you down so easily. You've never run out of logical arguments when you were in one of your moods, at least not without a good hour's worth of debate." Izuku pulled their arm down and stared at their mother in consternation, Inko merely arching one eyebrow at them with an almost amused look on her face. She continued on with a smirk. "I raised you, you know. Did you forget how many times you tried to 'debate' me over letting you stay up late to do more Quirk analysis or why you should get that other piece of All Might merch?"

Izuku huffed, feeling a small bit of warmth in their chest at the teasing. It wasn't until they'd moved into the dorms they'd realized how much they missed spending time with their mom. It was nice to see her and spend time with her, even if it was because of…well, yesterday. Their slowly improving mood faded away at the thought, making them sigh heavily and look up at the ceiling blankly. Maybe…maybe their mom had a point. Sure, it bothered them the idea of 'stealing' the Quirks, but like Aizawa had said, it was being freely given. Wasn't that his right to do, to choose whether they could use his Quirk? So why did this bother them so much? Except…they actually knew the answer, they just hadn't wanted to say it in front of everyone. But Mom…

Izuku sighed. "Mom…did they tell you about the attack?"

"What details they could. A lot of it was confusing, as your teacher only could witness bits and pieces with the fighting he was doing, but we got the gist," Inko replied.

"So…you know about how we all got weird new powers, yeah?"

Inko nodded. "Yes. You got telekinesis, Himiko can teleport, and Ochako can…slow down time? It was…rather confusing, to be honest."

Izuku swallowed thickly, turning their gaze to look at their mom. "What I'm about to say, you can't tell the others, okay? I-I'm not ready to talk to her about it."

Inko tilted her head to the side in confusion, before scooting closer up on the bed and placing her hand over Izuku's, squeezing gently. "Was it Ochako or Himiko?"

"...'Chako. How'd you know I meant one of them?"

Inko let out a derisive snort. "Sweetie, only one of those two could make you act like this."

Izuku shrugged, not wanting to unpack that as they sighed once more. "When…when we were winning, like, we had a plan and everything, that weird voice, the villain in charge I guess? He commanded someone named 'Kurogiri' to move the Nomu to attack me, 'Chako, and Himi. I think Kurogiri is the one doing the portals, because the second he said that, the portals moved the Nomu practically atop us. Thing was…there were five Nomu, and three of us, so they split two, two, and one. But the one? That one was by far the strongest, it was smashing everything up and regenerating and like…it was super powerful. And it was put right next to Ochako."

"But she stopped it, didn't she? The time dilation, it slowed everything down so you guys could figure out what to do, right?"

Izuku's hand clenched around their mother's, squeezing tightly as they closed their eyes and spoke softly. "It was going to hit her, Mom. At full power. I saw what happened when it hit the ground. It would have killed her. And she knew it. Mom, she knew it. I saw it in her eyes and felt it inside me. She was afraid, but then just…resigned. She accepted it. She accepted she was going to die and was okay with it because she thought the rest of us would be safe."

Inko didn't speak, but from the way she squeezed Izuku's hand they knew she was starting to understand. "I-I could see it, Mom. I still see it. The look in her eyes, the way she was almost happy because we were gonna be fine, because she was the one who was going to get hit. I-I can't get it out of my head. I keep seeing her like that and I can't…I can't. She can't just…do that! She can't just be willing to leave, I just found her again! Mom, I-I-" Izuku cut themselves off, tears spilling from their closed eyes as they choked on their words.

Warm, soft arms came around their shoulders, pulling them into an embrace they'd felt a million times over their life. "Izuku, can I say something honest to you?" Inko asked softly. Izuku nodded, reaching up to grab onto their mom's arms and keep her pressed close as the tears fell silently. "...now you know how everyone around you feels when you think it's okay to get hurt to keep someone else safe."

Izuku nearly choked, eyes going wide open as they stared at their mother's face, Inko's a mix of fond exasperation, concern, and a hint of sternness in her gaze. "B-but it's-"

"Different?" Inko cut them off, arching an eyebrow. She shook her head slowly. "It's not, Izuku. It's not okay for her to do it, and it's not okay for you to do it. I know that being a hero means sometimes, you might risk yourself for someone else. I don't like it, but I know it's who you are and I couldn't be prouder of you for being so determined to help people. But there is a difference between it being a necessary action, and it being your first choice. Or did you forget your entrance exam?"

"Y-you saw that?"

"Toshinori showed me. And Ochako's. And Himiko's. If I didn't know your teacher hadn't already read you the riot act for it, I would have had a lot to say about that. You have no idea how often Miu, Katashi, and myself sit and worry about the three of you," she brushed her hands through Izuku's hair, gently smoothing the fur on their ears over, a smile on her face to take the sting out of her words. "It's about balance, Izuku. You have to find the right balance between risking yourself and saving others. Which, that's what you're here to learn, isn't it?"

"...you're not mad we got attacked?" Izuku ventured, one of their many worries coming to the forefront.

Inko let out an exasperated sigh. "Mad isn't the word I would use. I'm…scared. But I know you. This probably just makes you more determined to be a hero, and I don't see how trying to convince you to move to another school would help, especially not with your support system here already. And I admit…I'm unsure how anyone could have anticipated that. I've never heard of a teleporting Quirk that strong, and no one else has either according to the Headmaster."

Izuku sighed, leaning into their mother further. "...what do I do about 'Chako though? I get it. I'm a hypocrite, and…I'll try to be better about that. But that doesn't make what she did okay either."

"Well, I would give it some time before you talk to her about it, but that's the important part, isn't it? Talking to her. And Himiko. If you felt Ochako's feelings then, well, Himiko did too, right? I bet she's just as worried. Don't go in guns blazing with accusations though. Just let her know how worried it made you feel. And I would start by admitting you know it's hypocritical, but that you're going to try to change that. You are, right? Not just saying things to make your old mom feel better are you?"

"You're not old!" Izuku protested, sitting upright to glare at their mother. Inko chuckled, ruffling Izuku's hair. Izuku playfully batted at her hands, feeling the slightest trace of calm within from spending time with their mother, before sighing deeply. "I'll try. I promise, Mom. I um…I talked to Sensei about…talking to someone, a-and I think maybe…maybe I should. Like…a professional," Izuku muttered the last few words, refusing to meet their mother's gaze as they did.

"That's a good thing, Izuku. A really good thing," Inko replied softly but insistently.

"I-I'm not promising I will yet though! Just…I'm thinking about it."

"That's okay. I can take that," she reassured. After a moment of silence, she spoke once more. "Is your kitchen stocked up? I can make dinner for you all…maybe, some katsudon, if you have the ingredients?"

Izuku smiled, letting out a choked half-giggle. "Um…if you're okay with that."

"Of course I am. I miss cooking for you, and I'm sure everyone who is still here could use a good meal." She went to get up from the bed, but Izuku's hand reached out and gripped her arm for a moment, stopping her.

"Can…can we stay like this, for a bit longer? Before we go downstairs."

Inko smiled down at Izuku, and nodded, sitting back down and pulling them into a hug. "Of course, Izuku. Anytime."

Katashi glanced down at his phone, narrowing his eyes at the text message he just received from Inko. He casually passed the phone to his wife as he reached out to wrap one arm around his daughter's shoulders, pulling her into his side as she leaned listlessly, exhausted from the day's ordeals. He could see his wife stiffen out of the corner of his eye, but he agreed with Inko that now was not the time to confront their daughter. Right now, she just needed her parents.

"You doin' okay, Ochako?" he asked softly, shaking her shoulder slightly.

"...no," Ochako sniffled, her head half buried in her father's shoulder. "Izu, Himi, they…they almost got killed. An' so did my classmates. My new friends. Stupid fuckin' monsters showin' up and ruinin' everythin'."

"But you stopped them, just like the good hero yer gonna be," Miu said, taking a seat on her other side and gently brushing at her daughter's hair.

"Almost didn'," she murmured in response.

"Almost only counts in horseshoes and fire Quirks," Katashi replied, making his daughter snort at the age-old joke. He sighed, lifting one hand up to rub at his jaw. "'Chako, it ain't right what ya saw today, but ya survived. Hell, ya did more than that, ya stopped the bad guys and all y'all made it out safely! And ya stopped time! That's my badass little rescue hero, always gettin' better and better."

Ochako sighed, shrugging slightly. Her tail was still, ears laying half flat, which considering Katashi has grown up with cats he knew that while she wasn't as upset as before, she still wasn't in a great mood. He also knew his daughter was the type to dwell and nothing he said was going to break her out of it that easily. Best he could do was…be there for her. And that was exactly what he planned to do.

His phone pinged once again, Katashi glancing up to look at his wife as she scrolled through the messages. After a moment, she nodded, typing something quickly and then handing it back to her husband, sitting down next to Ochako's other side and pulling her into a hug. "That was Inko, she's gonna go downstairs an' start on dinner for the students still 'ere. I'm gonna go help her. Ya gonna be okay up 'ere?"

Ochako nodded, although both of her parents noticed her tail flick agitatedly when she mentioned dinner. Katashi worked his jaw, sharing another silent talk with his wife. Something both of them had wondered about more than once was rearing its ugly head, but they'd never been able to prove anything and confronting her without proof would have just made Ochako clam up further. They'd learned that lesson many, many years before unfortunately. Their daughter took after the two of them in many ways, and one of her worst qualities she took on was their stubbornness. You had to be stubborn to keep fighting to save your company for as long as they had, but well…some things they never wanted to pass down to Ochako.

Katashi shook his head. Now wasn't the time to deal with this. For now, he just needed to make sure his daughter was okay. And maybe check in on Himiko as soon as he could, if Inko didn't get there first. Not like her useless parents were going to be here to check in on her. He grit his teeth and shoved that thought down once more, now wasn't the time to get angry, not when he had to comfort his daughter. Just setting his goals and doing what he could. As Miu got up and kissed Ochako on the top of her head, gently brushing her ears, and then kissing her husband on the cheek, he offered a smile in return to her. They'd do what the two of them could for Ochako, whatever she needed. That's what a father did.

Himiko lay face down in her bed, tears spilling from her eyes as she kept her face buried to muffle any sounds she was making. Not that she could hide how she felt from Izuku or Ochako, but she was desperately trying to pull back as much as possible. They didn't need to feel guilty over this, because it wasn't their fault she had no one. No, no, that was unfair to Inko, Miu, and Katashi. She knew they'd probably come check in on her…they were good like that.

But it didn't change that she wasn't their child. She was just linked to them, and while she knew they cared about her, it didn't change she still didn't have her parents. Worst of all, the most painful part was, part of her wanted them there.

They were awful people. Obsessed with their picture perfect image and what they considered 'respectable'. They'd treated her like garbage, she saw that now. They'd abused her. They'd hurt her. They'd forced her into being something awful, something she hated. And yet, still, deep down, something inside her still missed the parents she'd had before her Quirk came in. They weren't that affectionate, but they still cared. They still loved her. At least, she thought they did. And something deep inside her couldn't let go of those memories, those feelings.

There was a time when they smiled together and meant it. When her father would pick her up and make jokes about her flying in the air as he ran across the living room, her giggles echoing across the house walls. There was a time when she'd sit in her mother's lap while she read to her, softly explaining the words Himiko didn't know as she stared at the pictures in awe, getting lost in the fantastical tales.

And it wasn't like the loss happened quickly. They'd been disgusted by her Quirk, but they hadn't just…completely given up on her. They'd still take care of her. They'd still play with her. At least, for a while. But then it slowed down, it changed, they changed. It became all about how her Quirk was a curse, how she needed to behave, how she needed to be perfect. Now that she thought about it, they shit talked Quirks in general, but especially 'villainous' ones. She'd also catch her father muttering about how much he hated the impact Quirks had on business. Not that he ever told her what his business even did, other than manufacturing.

Not to mention the annoyance when her 'uncle' came over. He showed up rarely and always complained about the condition of the house, even though her mother kept it immaculate. And he'd argue with her father all the time. Never loud enough for her to hear (not that she wanted to), but still was annoying. Especially as she knew he was no real uncle, just one of her father's business partner's, but her parents wanted her to call him uncle even though he was only about a decade older than her. And he'd been incredibly disgusted by her Quirk too, she'd see the sneer on his face every time he looked at her.

She sighed, pressing her face further into the blanket as she forced the memories back into the box she liked to hide them in. No point in lamenting what she didn't have. She didn't have parents. Not like Ochako and Izuku. God, she hated this! She didn't want to be jealous of them! She knew it wasn't their fault, she knew they would never hold it against her or try to make her jealous, and she'd already had Inko, Miu, and Katashi all tell her they'd take her in any time, but she couldn't help how she felt and that just made her feel worse.

"Today fucking sucked," she groused into her pillow, only to be startled out of her thoughts by a chuckle from her door. She nearly leapt out of bed, eyes wide and red with tears still trickling down her cheeks, seeing the abashed face of Toshinori in the door.

He shrugged. "I knocked a few times but you didn't answer, I wanted to check in on you."

She sniffled, turning back to her bed and laying down once more, wrapping her arms around her pillow and face-planting into it once more. "Okay. I'm fine. You can go now."

"I trust you on many things, young Himiko, but…I don't believe you're okay," Toshinori said softly, still standing in the doorway. She didn't give him a response, but her tail flicked back and forth in agitation. He smiled down at her prone form. "May I come in?"

"...fine," she muttered. Her ears perked up, listening as he closed the door and made his way over to her bed. She could feel his consternation as he looked at the truly colossal number of plushies scattered around, and very gingerly found a spot where he could take a seat, squeezing between a large shark plush and a half dozen plushies he barely recognized as various childrens cartoon characters. She waited for him to say something, but after a good minute of silence passed, she tilted her head slightly and cracked one eye to look up at him, seeing the blonde simply looking around her room in curiosity. "...not gonna try to make me feel better?" she asked, her voice only partly muffled.

Toshinori looked down at her and shrugged. "Can I make you feel better with words?" After a moment, she shook her head back and forth, knowing nothing he said was going to make her happier right now. He nodded. "Exactly. No, I figure I'll just be here for you, just in case. Unless there's something you would like me to do?"

She…didn't know how to respond to this. What was his angle? His plan? Izuku was his successor…no. No, that was anxiety brain talking. That was her fucked up mindset from the day and the way she was spiraling and gods did she hate this. She knew Toshi just wanted to help. He meant it. He couldn't lie about that to save his life. All Might was a mask. Toshinori was the man. After a moment, she swallowed, closing her eyes and shoving her face back into her pillow.

"...can you pet my ears?" she whispered, blood flushing into her face at the sheer embarrassment of the request. For a moment, she didn't think he heard her, muffled and quiet as it was, but a massive, gentle hand rested itself upon her hair, long fingers very gently brushing at the fur and making the bone-deep cold in her limbs finally start to fade further. Maybe she didn't have real parents…but Toshi seemed to care. And that meant something to her. She wasn't sure what yet, but it meant something.

Still the tears silently fell, the feelings from the attack earlier ripping at her chest. Her fear for her friends, for her Izu and 'Chako, the pain, the adrenaline turned to terror, every second was just a clusterfuck in her head she could barely track anymore. Not to mention the emotions across the bond…pain, fear, loneliness, love, affection, guilt, self-loathing, etc, etc, so many things mixed together that made her shoulders tighten and her teeth clench.

She didn't know how long she lay there, Toshinori silently and gently scratching at her ears, ever so slowly helping her relax her shoulders. A gentle knock at the door drew her attention and made him pause in his ministrations. She cleared her throat and managed to get out a garbled 'come in', which opened the door to reveal Kendo, the redheaded teenager looking rather worse for the wear herself but putting on a nervous smile.

"Miss Midoriya and Mrs. Uraraka are making dinner downstairs. Yaoyorozu and I are going around to see if everyone can make it down. Will um…will you be coming down, Himiko?"

Himiko sighed into the bed, slowly peeling herself up from the bedspread and nodding as she kept her head down. Toshinori stood up, out of her way, as she swung her legs around to place them on the floor. She went to get to her feet, but swayed from a sudden surge of weakness (probably from crying for the past hour), but Toshinori's hand stopped her from falling. She gave him a thankful nod, before turning to the door and taking a deep breath, following Kendo out of the room, Toshinori behind her. She wasn't really ready to face the world yet…but she still wanted to see the others, and for them, she'd face anything.

Toshinori wasn't sure he was ready for this conversation, especially not after the day that had occurred, but with everyone involved here it seemed like the best time to have it. Nezu had spent the past few hours speaking to various parents and in Todoroki's case, older sister, of the members of Class A, while the students enjoyed a dinner made by Inko and Miu, with help from Yaoyorozu's father. It was an interesting sight, this tall, distinguished gentleman in a perfectly tailored suit cooking alongside the other two, but according to him he found cooking a relaxing activity after a long day in the office, and going off the food made, he sure knew what he was doing.

Toshinori was at least happy that Ochako was apparently so exhausted from the ordeals of the day she didn't really struggle with the eating, too emotionally spent to be emotional about it. Which made Izuku and Himiko much happier. The students as a whole were practically one giant mass once dinner was served, all eating in the living room and half of them crowded into the same places, either with their parents or one another. Bonding over trauma, he supposed.

But now, it led to here. Toshinori, Nezu, Shouta, Miu, Katashi, Inko, and Toshinori's best friend Naomasa all crowded in Nezu's office, as the detective had decided to tell them the current state of the Aldera and Toga investigations. He'd considered not doing so, but since everyone was gathered, he figured he'd just get it out of the way.

"Well, I don't want to beat around the bush after the events of yesterday. I'm sure everyone is eager to check in on the students even further, but I can at least tell you I have good news. The Toga's falsifying Himiko's Quirk registry made it easy for me to get a warrant, and they have officially been charged. They have no chance of beating the falsifying records charge as well as putting people, including Himiko, in danger by not addressing her dietary requirements," Naomasa began, referring to his notepad.

He took a deep, bracing breath before continuing. "As for the abuse charges, Himiko had said they did not physically harm her, which rang true. However, they also said they didn't and it rang false. With some digging, I believe I understand the incongruencies, but I don't like it."

"And your conclusion is?" Nezu offered, tilting his head to the side.

"My best guess is Himiko genuinely believes that what they did didn't count as physical abuse, but it was and the Toga's are very much aware it was."

"...great, another kid with warped perceptions on what happened to them," Shouta sighed, rubbing his temples.

Katashi crossed his arms over his chest, working his jaw angrily. "...they ain't gettin' away with it, right?"

"I never make promises about cases before they go to court, but the evidence is pretty damning," Naomasa replied.

Inko clenched her fist, but shook her head to clear it. "Is that it then?"

"For the Toga case, it's all I have right now, but as for Aldera…well, thanks to Bakugo's testimony I got a warrant pretty easily, and we were able to get started. They tried to delete the security camera footage and any digital records they had were altered, but luckily Nezu offered us the services of UA's newest cybersecurity expert and she was able to recover the original files, which…are fairly damning." Naomasa took a moment to look at Inko, wanting to be certain she wanted to continue. She slowly nodded.

"Well, it's probably worse than you feared. Izuku's treatment was both verbal and physical. Bakugo was honest about not attacking Izuku physically, save one altercation he admitted to. There were minor incidents…shoulder checking him as they walked past and a lot of threats and intimidation, but that was the extent of Bakugo's bullying. Some other students were more…vicious. As well as one of the teachers' preferred methods of silencing Midoriya was smacking him on the back of the head." Naomasa chose to ignore the cracking of Toshinori's knuckles, and internally was afraid to see Inko's expression so he kept his eyes locked on his notepad.

"Much of the staff directly encouraged this behavior. Not just directed at Izuku, either. Anyone with a weaker Quirk was also given similar treatment, although Izuku got the worst. Partially due to his Quirkless status, and also apparently because he had a tendency to get between the bully and their victim."

"Oh Izuku," Inko murmured, shoulders dropping as she couldn't help but feel pride filtering beneath her sheer guilt and rage pooling in her gut.

"A hero even then. I knew I chose well," Toshinori added, a smile threatening to cross his face…until he remembered why Izuku had to stand up and get in between.

"To be honest, there's…a lot of specific incidents, and I don't think it's necessary to go over every one of them. It'll all come up in the court cases. We plan on arresting everyone involved once the warrants clear, which will be in a few days at most. The students who performed the bullying…well, the prosecution intends on going on a case by case basis. They want to take into account the clear manipulation from the staff, but some of the students still went too far. Likely won't be jail time, but marks on their records and possibly fines. The teachers and administrative staff on the other hand, they are likely facing jail time."

"And what of my suspicions?" Nezu asked, his paws steepled together in front of his face. Miu, Katashi, and Inko looked at him confused, but the sudden attention Toshinori and Shouta gave to the Headmaster had them curious about this matter as well.

"Can't say for sure yet, but your expert is still working through their phone and email records. Since I know she'll share them with you as soon as she does with me, you'll know everything I know by then. I'll be doing interviews over the next few weeks as we process them, we'll see if you're correct."

"Correct about what? Somethin' else the matter?" Miu asked, glancing between the tall detective and the chimeric hero.

Nezu sighed. "There is some…similarity in the attitudes espoused by the staff at Aldera as there is to an old…movement, we shall say. Since we're not sure if it's true, I'd rather not go too into it yet. But rest assured, you will be kept in the loop."

"...alright. I doubt I have enough energy to handle anything more anyways," Inko sighed.

"Well, there is one more thing, but it's not really a bad thing?" Naomasa said, getting the attention of the rest of the room once more. "As part of my investigation into the Toga's, I checked in at her school, and spoke to some of the girls who said they were friends of hers. While most were more interested in the scandal than Himiko herself, a few of the girls expressed genuine concern for Himiko and wanted to know if she was okay. I have their numbers and small letters they wrote to her to ask if she wanted to talk, so…If you think she'll want it, here." Naomasa reached out and held out three small pieces of paper carefully folded up.

Shouta sighed, taking them and tucking them into his own notebook he'd been taking notes on throughout the meeting. "I'll pass this on to her, but it's her call if she chooses to reach out."

"Of course. I said as much to them," Naomasa replied.

"Well, with all that settled, today has been quite the ordeal, and I believe now is an excellent time for everyone to head home and rest," Nezu said, clapping his paws together. "Let's all take some time to recuperate from this, and make certain the students are doing alright, and we'll move forward from there."

"Alright. Thank you," Inko murmured, visibly exhausted. She accepted Toshinori's guiding hand on one side, Miu on the other, Katashi scrubbing his brow as he followed behind. A second later, Shouta and Naomasa exited the room, leaving Nezu to let out a deep sigh, reaching beneath his desk to pull out the copy of the Meta Liberation War. He set it down before himself and stared at it for a moment, black eyes focused. With another sigh, he placed it back beneath his desk and hopped out of his chair, slowly walking to his office door. He strode out of it, one paw clicking the low light switch and turning it all off, leaving the room dark and silent as the door shut softly behind him.