Here's the next chapter!!
I'm actually going to be skipping the dual scene and cutting to the aftermath, That in itself is a lot of work (Not that I'm complaining, it is quite a challenge that ought to be overcomed) and I'm having a bit of writer's block on that part so sorry, But you will know what took place during the flashback.
Sorry, I'm on a roll but at the same time I'm on a bit of a self-appointed time crunch, dealing with some writer's block, taking care of matters IRL and feeling a little anxious.
Why? Well that's personal.
Nonetheless I do hope you enjoy this next chapter.
"Yeah sorry, Just because I can heal injuries it doesn't change the fact that when someone is hungry hunger is a different matter all together which I can't heal, Just as I cannot heal someone emotionally or mentally with my quirk, And if someone is already throwing up then the only thing I can do is use my quirk to push out the bad stuff out of their body through that and heal them as the process goes so that when they're done though they'll be a tad-winded they will feel a lot better physically and otherwise." Poca explained as She and the others were making their way down the street as the skies Had long since turned orange, Hughes of red and purple and magenta coming into the mix as Twilight started to approach on the horizon.
'Sure we could teleport but I don't want to spook Mamadoriya, nor do I want to accidentally get into the habit of abusing my little buddy's power.' Poca reasoned, thinking fondly of the greenette's mother who had earned that nickname from stories she has read for years and years.
"Sure you can restore someone's energy and stamina but there's a huge difference between all of that and hunger itself, as well as emotional and mental pain." Izuku chiming in.
It was at that moment that all their stomachs growled simultaneously, making them all blush at how loud they were all together, It was like a symphony of rumbling stomachs.
"At least dinner will be waiting for us Thanks to Auntie." Katsuki stated, internally frustrated that his stomach embarrassed him there, Let alone agreed with the others rumbling tummies, as the others agreed, Pometaro barking along in agreement.
"I'm still pretty surprised that I literally saw tears coming out of your phone when you called your mom and told her about bringing over friends." Poca said, Still pretty baffled and disbelieved about what she had seen, normally she would see something like that in a cartoon or anime, but she was in the world of one of her favorite animes so seeing that with her own eyes was quite rather surreal.
"Yeah..." Izuku said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "It's a heteromorphic trait from Mom's side of the family, so yes stuff like that can happen, half of the time people ask if that's our real quirk or not."
"I can imagine." Poca said, Already knowing that fact from the show itself and a number of stories too.
"I can agree with that, the last time she cried excessively I almost drowned." Katsuki put in his two cents, For once not the least bit ashamed to admit without griping, "And another time she cried so much that the neighbors below thought that there was a serious leak."
"Yeah... it was so bad that the neighbors had to reinforce the entire ceiling below us so that it wouldn't happen again." The greenette said sheepishly in defeat Because there was no other way around avoiding the issue altogether, He was just thankful that the neighbors hadn't sued them for the damage That was done And that their insurance company was extremely generous.
"I don't doubt you two, given what I just saw." Poca said, anime sweat-dropped, Just thinking about it.
'I'm wondering if the insurance companies ever get field days whenever they get reports about water damage from the lovable cinnamon rolls... eh... it wouldn't be too big of a stretch.' She jokingly thought as her thoughts went back to the fight that took place earlier.
The spar between the boys right off the bat was intense immediately after she gave the go-ahead, and immediately got so volatile (via Bakugo) that she had to put up a barrier around them that would not only keep the fighting from spreading to anywhere it shouldn't, accidentally set anything on fire or destroy anything of public property, and most importantly (to her surprise but relief and pleasant surprise) Make the dome around them invisible to anybody outside unless they had a quirk to allow them to see such a thing, And after checking, she was glad to say that she even made it soundproof so that even if they could still hear what was going on from outside nobody outside could hear what was going on from the inside.
And it was a good thing too with both Katsuki's incessant yelling at Izuku to stop dodging him so much and actually fight him, calling him a coward and the like, and Izuku yelling back at him along with a few times hitting barrier either from getting thrown back by the force of the explosions or bumping into them while dodging and yet didn't give the barrier one thought at all and even sometimes used barrier itself as a way to push off it as a means to dodge and move (or at least on the surface it seems so as Poca used telepathy to hear him as he acknowledged that she had put up a barrier to make sure that this round would be private and made sure they wouldn't cause any collateral damage or stir up a commotion by accident).
She couldn't help but blush but otherwise feel warmth in her heart hearing him compliment her on her quick thinking and how versatile the hope aspect of her quirk was.
It was pretty obvious that the "training" had quickly grown into a full-out battle between the two boys (If it already hadn't given the blondes eagerness to start). The Platinum blonde constantly told the pale brunette to shut up when she kept telling him that it was supposed to be a training spar and not a full blown battle (He even almost blew her up numerous times in retaliation, were not for her shield ability she would have been hurt), still Neither boy held back at all (With the exception of one for obvious reasons) as they came at each other with a determined fire in their eyes, more so for Izuku as he was angry at the other boy ignoring his friend and nearly blowing her up several times in disregardance.
The girl reminded Izuku in his mind to use his legs so that he wouldn't be stuck on using his fists alone and that due to the fact that the legs were the strongest part in the body for many factors then it would be alright to spread a little bit more of his quirk into his legs while keeping concentration on the safe percentage the rest of his body can handle, a multitasking feat but it was worth it, He thanked her as His movements became more blurred, making it harder for the explosive user to land a hit or try and knock him back, Izuku was even able to land a few good hits on him, although that didn't stop him from becoming frustrated at this new development as he glared at the girl, having an inkling that she might have given him a tip about something given the look that she gave the other boy a moment ago, before turning his attention back to his green opponent as he put in more effort into the fight itself.
Poca cheered his friend on, ignoring Katsuki's glares as Just because she was supposed to be the unbiased referee that didn't mean she couldn't cheer her friend on Knowing he was going to need all the motivation he was going to get for the next coming year and beyond.
During the fight itself the two even started arguing with each other, reminiscent of the one that the two had after the professional license exams where they had it in the same training area where their (soon to be) the first battle trial would be.
However there were differences:
1: Katsuki didn't know about One For All or that the greenette had gotten his quirk from All Might himself (Not yet).
2: The explosive user himself was venting his own frustrations that he had been feeling for the last 10 months regarding Izuku. Just because they got everything out in the open at the beach doesn't change the fact that he still had that angry energy in him and needed a physical outlet to express it (No matter how wrong it was).
3: Katsuki Bakugo demanding why "Deku" did not give up Even when he was told repeatedly to give up, Why he never stopped chasing after him ever since they were kids even after the bullying started, demanding to know why he kept going Even after everything that's happened, and soon enough, demanded to know Why the boy always forgave him after everything he's ever done to him, Why he still wanted to be friends with him even after being blatantly told over and over again that that wasn't going to happen and that he hated him. Why he wouldn't quit even when it was blatantly obvious of their status, Why he never gave up even when everyone told him to, And just kept demanding why.
And 4: Izuku himself, To her and his own surprise, was venting out his own frustrations regarding Katsuki, That which he kept to himself through all that time, Just like in the episode, That sure he may've hated him for his horrible attitude and how he had treated him all his life For what he lacked, yet he still looked up to him as he had everything that the greenette didn't, Despite his awful attitude he was still determined to be strong hero, That despite everything they've been through growing up he still saw him as his inspiration to keep going and be a hero (Even if it did came from a toxic source), That he will never stop caring for others even if there are people who will hate him for one reason or another And even if said others were to revile him, that he will always do the right thing no matter how many times he gets knocked down or how much hate and torment is thrown at him, That as long as there was even one person he could reach out and help then it didn't matter what perils he had to face. That unlike before he now had people supporting him, And he didn't want to let them down. Further disproving The Platinum blondes accusations as he never looked down on him but looked up to him as even though All Might was their favorite hero Katsuki himself was the one who was actually in his life (even well before he and All Might met nearly a year ago).
Neither boy noticed, but Poca had as She was able to sense the energy the barrier was giving off that was not noticeable right away to anyone else, energy which softly and unconsciously encouraged the boys to open up more even amidst all their fighting, to be honest with the other, to not keep it locked up anymore as The misunderstanding from everything ever since preschool up until their middle school years had to be dealt with for good.
After checking, to her astonishment the hope aspect of her quirk was responding to her unconscious thoughts, to her memories of what she remembered from the events of the future, how she felt from it all, her plea's for everything to be resolved sooner, and was responding in this manner.
Thus, to her ever growing surprise, allowing them to break down the walls more and set things straight, Clear things up once and for, all well ahead of schedule.
It was amazing but nonetheless she knew it might cause problems so she had to try and repress her quick enough so there wouldn't be any more unexpected surprises.
No one bothered keeping track of time but still, eventually, just like in the episode, Katsuki had managed to pin Izuku down, This time around the greenette being closer to defeating the Platinum blonde than before (mainly due to the unexpected surprises he kept throwing at him), in the same way he would have in the future (Although thankfully the impact into the ground wasn't as intense so Katsuki wouldn't accidentally kill or certainly paralyzed green haired boy), But even after that, Katsuki didn't feel completely satisfied.
Even though he had won fair and square, it didn't feel right.
It was almost the same response he gave, excluding the part about One For All.
Asking why he still lost even when he had a solid grip on it, Even after all that training the past 10 months. He wasn't boasting or gloating, like Poca had forbade them to do, He just wanted answers.
To which, Poca used a swarm of bees to pull the blonde off of the greenette, the blonde who was initially startled at seeing the bees carry him and handle him with such care without getting stung even once As he was placed back to standing up while The other remained calm Knowing he wasn't in any danger as the other swarm gently helped him back onto his feet, After thanking the swarms and dismissing them The boys turned to her who approach them gently as she then answered, This time though firm yet solemnly sincere:
"Shouldn't that be easy? You've had your quirk your entire life and Izuku has only had his for a short time, There's a huge difference between years of hard work and practice, and getting something right on the fly due to being naturally prodigal or because of a late latent factor. Just because he has a quirk it doesn't mean you should expect him to be an immediately threatening powerhouse. And unlike you he had to work his butt off every single day for the past 10 months to cram in training his body so that he could use the quirk without ending his own life, going plus ultra to catch up with his peers, including you, And unlike most beginners he has discipline, even if he can be a tad reckless, unlike those who already had their quirks for years he himself is anything but arrogant and lazy In practical quirk use. He still has a long way to go but he's on his way to become a hero, and sure Bakubrat I may absolutely hate your foul attitude and how you treat others unjustly but You two are on your way to be heroes (As long as you curve that anger of yours so no one goes hating you upon your debut). It shouldn't matter who gets to be number one and who doesn't, both of you are aiming to become heroes, whether number one or just being the best you can be, and believe me there is a true difference between the number one and being the greatest As there are two distinct definitions to them. Rather than be enemies, And rather than You, Bakugo, going on and turning this into something worse than it already is and making a big deal out of it Just because to you it doesn't feel right, You both should be rivals, working hard to build each other up and get stronger together and not bring the other down For reasons that are just getting really unfair, stupid and ridiculous by now and wasting valuable time. Accept that the other is aiming to be a hero and nothing will stop them Even if there may still be some things that you two still disagree on. You are essentially two halves of all might, Izuku being the part Who cares deeply for others and wants to save them Even if some of those people were those who hated him while you Bakugo being the part that fights to win and being the victor, both of those feelings are necessary in being a hero otherwise you'll never be able to truly represent justice. That's why Izuku admires your strength Bakugo, And I know that's why you've always feared his heart and will (I read your mind remember? So I know. So don't even try denying). What do you say? Now that you've laid your feelings on the table Maybe you can understand each other, or at least enough to find common ground, If you have mutual respect and focus on making one another stronger I have no doubt you can become the ultimate heroes, winning and saving people at the same time."
Sure the blonde was irritated at being called Bakubrat and getting poked at a few times, but He didn't attack or yell as he let her continue on.
The two boys spared a glance to the other, no malice or reviling present, as she continued on, pondering her words.
Katsuki scoffed admitting that that was not what he wanted to hear, But there wasn't any fiery anger or raging defiance behind it this time, to that Poca interjected gently that More often than not There are things that we need to hear even though at times those things are the things we don't want to hear, In reality We really do need to hear it or else we'll never grow or change for the better. Without those kind of hard words, without that kind of firm groundwork to start, we'll only end up doing something so stupid that we won't be able to take it back, We'll never learn and thus never succeed and mature, We'll only end up ultimately holding ourselves back from becoming the best we can possibly be.
Whether you like it or not, it's for our own good.
No one argued with that point as both lightly nodded as The Pomeranian barked in agreement.
After turning off the barrier she used her quirk to heal the boys As both of them have been pretty roughed up from that fight.
'If I didn't have healing powers Mamadoriya would have a heart attack over The condition of her son upon arriving home.'
And you know the rest from there.
And If any of you couldn't tell already, she took some words All Might had said to them in season 3 and applied them here.
She was grateful that the message came through.
All of them were still pretty surprised about how time flew by pretty quickly for them during that whole debacle.
Soon enough they were right in front of the Midoriya apartment as Izuku took out his keys to unlock the door.
For Izuku This will be the first time in years that he's bringing people over to his home, first time in... well ever, that He's bringing home company without any form of malevolent intent behind it by the guests themselves or being outright rejected straight away. He was honestly waiting for the other shoe to drop but right now he can only hope that this visit will be good.
For Katsuki This will be the first time in a very long time that he himself ever came over to The Midoriya's home without his parents, looking back he couldn't help but really wonder if it really had been so long since the last time he himself ever came to visit without it being forced to or without blatantly yelling at the greenette that he'll never come over. Has Auntie been well? Have her neighbors been kind to her? Does she know about everything?... Would she be upset with him?
Call him what you will but he does genuinely care about his surrogate aunt, Even if he and her son... Did not get along well (*cough* understatement).
For Poca This will be the first time ever visiting the home of one of her beloved favorite MHA characters, the home she's often seen in numerous episodes, Just thinking about it made her feel giddy as she felt very nostalgic. Apart of her thinks she should be rather concerned that she feels a little too pleased to be here, yet she did not know why, But she just tributed it to her fangirling as she diligently fought to keep herself from acting out.
Plus she'll finally get to Meet Inko and try her cooking, She can already feel her mouth watering at the thought of it.
"We're here!" Izuku called out as They entered the house.
"I'm in the bathroom Izuku, give your friends a tour, I'll be out soon!" Inko Midoriya called back.
"Okay!" He called back as he and the others got their shoes off and got their guest slippers on, Poca telling Pometaro To wipe his feet on the doormat so he won't track dirt into the house, To which he did as Poca was grateful that earlier he took the time to shake any remaining sand off of him anytime he could so he wasn't a walking sand ball. (He still needed a bath by all means but nonetheless at least he wasn't sprinkling sand everywhere anymore.)
Walking past the familiar All Might theme name plate that led to Izuku's rooms as he led them into the living room.
"Okay!" He called back as he and the others got their shoes off and got their guest slippers on, Poca telling Pometaro To wipe his feet on the doormat so he won't track dirt into the house, To which he did as Poca was grateful that earlier he took the time to shake any remaining sand off of him anytime he could so he wasn't a walking sand ball. (He still needed a bath by all means but nonetheless at least he wasn't sprinkling sand everywhere anymore.)
Bakugo noted that some parts had changed since the last time he visited over a decade ago give or take, to Which Izuku understood and went on explaining things.
While the two were talking, Poca and Pometaro surveyed the place.
It was ... strange...
Even though she has seen this place a bunch of times, even though this is the first time she's ever been here, for some reason that she could not explain... She felt... like she could truly relax just being in this place...
Almost felt like she could note what may have changed between the time before Izuku got his quirk diagnosis and up until now.
She soon found looking at several pictures on the walls.
Instantly gushing at his cute baby pictures as she took her phone out to take pictures, she was still pretty surprised that Inko truly looked a lot different compared to her appearance now yet nonetheless she was still just as pretty as she was back then, examining photos of when Izuku was still a child to up until his current teenage years as she saw Just how much his expression changed in the photos from being genuinely happy to faking a smile and hiding the pain and sadness that was visible in his pictured eyes. Only a few in between did look genuinely happy but for most others they look like he was wearing a mask, trying to mask the pain he felt from everything he was going through growing up.
She could only imagine how much pain he had to go through hiding the truth from his mother, in her opinion she has every right to know and she should have been told ages ago, While she understood that he didn't want his mother to worry anymore than she already had It doesn't change the fact that She is his mother and she has every right to know and nothing was going to stop her from worrying about her only son. Besides, How was the woman going to feel when she found out that it was Her surrogate nephew who had been tormenting her son and was his main tormentor ever since they were kids? The young teen wouldn't be surprised if she'll be very upset and may even cut ties with his family knowing that his parents allowed this to happen to her only child.
They were supposed to be family, and family never tormented one another for one reason or another, even over something as trivial as whether or not one had a quirk or not.
No matter what happens Izuku shouldn't be afraid to tell his mother the truth because she loves him and always will.
And he shouldn't have to be afraid to tell anyone, especially his mentor and mom, about what he's been put through, those bullies made him Believe that even telling someone would only bring about more suffering, but that wasn't true. Making him forget that even just not telling anyone about his troubles and of some very blaring problems that are as visible as a bonfire on a beach will only make the situation even worse, No matter what the intentions behind them are, silence is never always golden.
Anger coursed through her as She couldn't believe that the blonde did care about his surrogate Aunt but hated her son, that was just pretty messed up in her opinion, in a sense him tormenting her son means that he was tormenting her, because of him she had become so sad, guilty, perhaps even depressed and gone into stress eating hence why she got smaller and more plump as years went by, He caused her so much distress because she was worried about her son as even the greenette couldn't hide every single injury from his mother and all those excuses he must've thought up can't hide every single injury every single time. Didn't the blonde realize how much it cost to go to a hospital multiple times to get treated for any serious injuries that couldn't just be treated by a first aid kit at home alone?!? And don't even get her started on school supplies as undoubtedly they must have gone through severe wear and tear and even got destroyed a lot and it costs a lot of money to get replacements every single time Especially if it happens repeatedly!! By tormenting the poor boy the blonde was essentially making them burn through thousands and thousands of dollars in their wallet, could have even put them at risk of not being able to pay for their mortgage and other such things Because of how much he was indirectly making them pay for the repeated damages that he inflicted. If he truly cared about his aunt he shouldn't have tormented her only child, if he didn't like him then he should have just left him alone, simple as that, but No, he went and done something extremely inexcusable, if she were in that woman's place she would have cut ties with the brat, have a restraining order against him and made sure he couldn't ever get into UA or any hero school ever again, bringing him down along without that middle school as she knew that there was a police detective that had a lie detector quirk that could end this madness for good. The woman already had enough to deal with from the teachers and staff ignoring her pleas to stop the bullying altogether to undoubtedly facing neighbors that spoke bad about either her or her son especially to protecting her son from others who despise him for not having a quirk, She already felt helpless as it was knowing that there was nothing she could do to make people stop hurting her son altogether. All together making her feel like a burden to others, making her feel isolated, like she couldn't ask anybody for help without facing unjustified retribution and strife.
Her son was her pride and joy, and she wouldn't be surprised if at this point he was the only thing that kept her going despite the constant darkness that the two of them were forced to bear and be attacked by every single day of their lives. If she lost him then the woman could probably literally die of a broken heart.
How would she feel if she knew that the boy she saw as her surrogate nephew had outright told her son who she loved so much to go commit suicide!?!? What if he actually did jump!?!? What if she, feeling so heartbroken and devastated, trapped, feeling like there was nothing else to live for anymore, committed suicide herself to because of it!?!? Would that arrogant brat even care that he essentially murdered them and made his family heartbroken due to them being so close!?!?
Joke or not death was not something to be played around with, and telling somebody to go kill themselves was not a joking matter by any means, it was a very serious thing and you can even be arrested for suicide baiting somebody whether they actually did it or not, whether it was a joke or not nothing would stop the police from investigating matters and get the perpetrator arrested for it.
And with how volatile and violent the boy usually was (especially in his volcanic and explosive temper) not to mention how powerful his quirk was She wouldn't be surprised if the blonde-haired brat, tormentor, monster, even got classified with a villain rank.
Izuku's nothing but kind and heroic, He was very smart and very understanding, neither he or anyone deserves this kind of fate all because of one simple diagnosis, just because you're quirkless doesn't mean you should be treated badly to the point of ending your own life or turn to villainy as the only means of survival!! It should never be the reason to turn someone into a punching bag! Anyone who says otherwise is black-hearted, ungrateful, monstrous and deserves to be put in prison for life, And she wouldn't even be surprised if they received the death penalty for their crimes even if that in itself scared her even if she herself understood that at times it was necessary for everyone's sake (Don't get her wrong She would never want to inflict death on anybody, whatever happens it was For the police and the courts to decide what would become of that person.)
No one, human or animal, has any control of whether or not they get a quirk or not let alone what kind of quirk they get, it's what one does with their life that matters more yet people like him are too arrogantly selfish to realize it. In the grand scheme of things no one truly has control of anything relating to genetics and such things like that, no one.
It's like trying to make a fully grown dog be a cat, that wasn't going to happen (And even if there was a quirk that could somehow change one's appearance, no matter what a dog will always be a dog and a cat will always be a cat.)
And Nothing's going to stop others from spreading the news, word spreads fast and any hero school worth their sea salt would outright ban him as they would never allow a heartless degenerate like him to ever attend their schools.
He may even get arrested by the police If he doesn't face juvenile Hall or military school first, If he wasn't put in an asylum either for his Blatant denial of being responsible for it all and claiming he was going to be the number one hero and that the heroes needed him, then he would most certainly be put in Tartarus as a class rank A villain.
If Katsuki Bakugo really wanted to be a hero then he should have protected the greenette from the bullies And even reported the bullying to the school board if the teachers were not going to ever listen, heroes don't ever bully or torment others, whether innocent people or even their own comrades, for things that weren't even their fault! Real heroes do not ever put others down, "putting them in their place" just to make themselves feel big and proud! Real heroes protect others who are being tortured and tormented, whether by villains or bullies, and would always stand against such things as it would go against their principles and everything they stood for! Real heroes would not care about being rich or getting glory as they care more about, and should always care more about, protecting people, stopping villains and giving the people a sense of peace, assuring them that there will always be someone to lend them a hand in times of darkness! Real heroes would not care whether or not you had a combat quirk or even a weak quirk, whether you had a quirk at all or not, As life is precious and it should never be squandered or destroyed for stupid and trivial things! Real heroes value life, justice, peace, and doing good for the sake of good.
Poca knew it was the teachers and staff's fault for boasting him and feeding his ego making him believe that he was the greatest and nothing could stop him, making him believe that he could get away with whatever antics he pulls Scott free, But it doesn't change the fact that the blonde himself is responsible for his own actions and what he's been doing for over a decade is extremely inexcusable, cruel and will never be forgiven In the eyes of the public. What if he ended up killing the victims he was supposed to save while taking down a villain!? What if he ends up being even worse than Endeavor in terms of collateral damage and casualties (Which is the most likely possibility)?!?! What if he himself gets labeled as a villain and He reacts so badly to it that he ends up doing something extremely worse, Only further proving the point of why he earned that label in the first place?!?!
Retribution will come tumbling down on him and all the staff of his middle school as she had no question that they've also manipulated the files of both him and Izuku in order to make the blonde look favorable and make the greenette appear degenerate by fraud, Not only will staff suffer for not only false information and false misconduct, but also for bullying the students, disregard of the responsibility is teachers, And for blatant villainy as Their actions alone could turn students into villains themselves just because they want to make more appealing students look promising and didn't even bother to discipline them if they did something wrong.
Without discipline and self-restraint one could grow up to become a heartless person, reckless and selfish, not caring about how any of their actions can come back and bite them in the butt, All in all leading to consequences that they can never escape from.
This especially applies for the platinum blonde, If somebody doesn't shove a big load of humble pie down his throat and snap his prideful and selfish heart in half then he'll only become a target of villains later If he doesn't outright become a villainous hero himself.
If she thought of any more of it then she already had she was going to outright tear the boys head off and kick it around like a soccer ball because he's nothing but a villain alread--!!
"Uh... Poca??"
Izuku called from behind her as she turned around only to see the greenette visibly shaken and pale as snow, Already having tears in his eyes, While Bakugo, on the other hand, looked shocked as if He just witnessed somebody get murdered right in front of him, looking way paler than the greenette, and Pometaro looked at her worriedly as he whimpered.
Instantly she felt her heart drop as She felt like a deer caught in headlights.
"... You've heard everything did you...??" She sheepishly and shamefully asked them nervously.
Both boys nodded slowly.
'... I knew some of Izuku's bad habits were going to rub off on me one way or another...' She mourned in dread, "... How much...?"
"Right from ... when you said You were able to tell I was wearing a mask as I got older..." Izuku said heartbrokenly.
She flinched very hard as she waved her hands, tears instantly in her eyes as she was ready to... what?
Apologize? Plead for forgiveness? Cry her eyes out? Faint? She didn't know as her voice was stuck in her throat, Her mouth was moving but nothing came out of it, feeling like she might have tarnished everything for being a muttering bladder mouth again.
"I'm coming in~!" Inko's voice could be heard as It made everybody flinch violently.
Izuku and Poca viciously wiped their eyes of the tears while Katsuki shook his head vigorously to rid himself of the shock, And Pometaro turned his attention to the door to the hallway as his whimpering instantly vanished.
Although they appeared normal again it was obvious that the damage had already been done as they all silently agreed that they would talk about this later.
The door opened to reveal Izuku's mother, Inko Midoriya, who had light tan skin, large and circular eyes, hair and eyes being the same as her sons, but in a slightly darker shade than his, hair straight and shoulder-length, with a small and spiky ponytail at the back, wearing her iconic pink cardigan on top of a white shirt, a blue purple knee length skirt and wearing slippers.
It appeared that she didn't hear anything which was good, This will be something they will deal with in private later.
Upon seeing them she couldn't help it stare for a moment.
First at Poca, but only briefly, but within that brief window of time the girl was able to see deep emotion in the woman's expression and especially in her eyes as, call her crazy, but she thought that the woman actually ... No it couldn't be, That would be crazy... right?
Her gaze then turned to Katsuki as She soon bursted into tears as they were springing out like water spouts, "KATSUKI!!"
In a blink of an eye the blonde soon found himself in the woman's arms as she held him close, practically squeezing the oxygen out of his lungs as she cried that she was happy he finally came over to visit by himself this time.
The blonde didn't have the heart to push her away, especially after having that bombshell dropped on him, even if it was indirect... But what the girl said was... completely... irrefutable.
For the first time ever he felt... guilty, deeply so at the implications of his actions towards her son which had ultimately affected her in return.
Upon really looking at the woman, As if for the first time, it was very clear of the damages that had been brought upon her.
All those excuses about getting into eating more sweets from developing a sweet tooth now made sense, it was her way of hiding that she was stress eating because of how much stress and guilt she's been feeling all those years, because ... The world was so heartless to her son for something that ...really... wasn't his fault.
De... Auntie's son never asked to be quirkless or to be tormented for not having one... Auntie didn't ask to go through all of that turmoil all because of something that neither she or her ex-husband had any control of... She didn't ask for her only son to be tortured and abused for something that was completely out of everyone's hands...
Auntie... She doesn't know that it was him... She didn't know that he was her son's main tormentor... She didn't know The cause of her stress, The visible wrinkles and bags under her eyes from sleepless nights and constant crying, guilt and worry was The very person she was hugging now.. She doesn't know...
... Has she been able to pay the bills?... Were they pinching for cash Because of constantly needing to go to either the hospital or get replacement supplies for school?... How expensive were hospitals anyways?... And Shirley school supplies didn't cost that much... Right?
...Her son... She would do anything for him and would never forgive herself if anything horrible happened to him, which was every day... If her son really had committed suicide that day months ago.. would she have done the same, suffering too much pain and hurt to keep on living from losing the only thing that she had left...?
Suicide... was... an absolute big deal, And here everyone knows everyone so word would spread quickly in their neighborhood, He... He would immediately be blamed as the culprit... and his dream would be finite..
Everything the girl had said, so potent and so violently visible that you would have to be completely blind not to see it.
Why... Why didn't he just leave the boy alone if he did indeed hate him so much?
Why didn't he just let it go?
Why didn't he just outright sit down and talk to the boy telling him that their paths couldn't cross anymore due their status But leave it on a light note at least?
All might... He always saved lives, yes he always beats the bad guy but He always makes sure that everybody comes out of it all right and even checks to make sure they're okay before leaving... His smile gives people the sense of peace they need, reassuring them that everything will be all right...
Vehemently digging into his memories of anytime he sees him on TV... He... has never outright tormented his opponents and he even saved them from getting themselves killed whether by accident or not, or even from themselves.. He... He cares about the people he is saving... Even the smallest things he takes time to lend a hand to from helping little kids whose cats got stuck in trees to even some community service he offers...
Katsuki only cares more about the number one hero beating up the bad guys and coming out on top every time... He... always disregarded everything else as To him nothing else mattered...
...But...
He clinched his hands into fists as he fought back a wave of emotions he did not want to surface as he said curtly but politely, "Sorry I never came to visit sooner, I was always busy."
"No I understand," She insisted.
'Do you really?' He thought.
Smiling the woman told him, "Especially with the exams having been yesterday you had to put a lot of work in not only training but making sure you get all your school work done and getting prepared for the exams themselves. I imagine they must have been difficult."
Auntie... Never boasted about such things... She was way too humble, sincere, kind and modest for her own good...
And her son ... he...
Subtly closing his eyes to keep them from conveying anything he didn't want to be known, putting his hands into his pockets as he answered, "Nah, it was nothing... We handled it all right."
That stunned the other teens when he said "We" instead of "I" like they were expecting him to.
Poca wasn't using her quirk, and hadn't since they started walking back to the apartment, as she decided to let things play out and see how things turned out, but Even she could tell that there were things on his mind, and most likely of what she had said but chose not to voice it.
The blonde had to figure things out himself now, and most likely be doing so once he goes back home.
And Izuku? She turned to him, still worried as she conveying to him that she was sorry if she might have said something that may've been hurtful, to which He responded by giving her a sad but assuring smile that he understood, he knew she meant no harm and She said what she said because she care deeply as it was pretty obvious that she didn't tolerate any form of injustice at all, no matter where it comes from or who it comes from.
She got the message as she nodded, though unsurely, as She turned back to the older woman instantly hiding her worries as she gave her a smile that was genuinely sincere, happy to finally meet the woman as She turned to the others.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Midoriya, I'm Pocahontas Zaira Laith, But please call me Poca cuz my name's very long." She introduced herself.
She let go of the blonde and she walked over to her as she said it was nice to meet her too while getting a good look at her, Pomeranian barking got their attention as the girl introduced her dog to the woman who instantly Loved the little pup as she scooped him up and snuggled him as he happily snuggled back and licked her face affectionately, causing her to giggle as this made her feel like her heart was going to explode from overloading cuteness.
This thankfully diffused the feelings the three teens were feeling as they couldn't help but giggle or chuckle at the scene.
Soon after that, and getting a few pictures of the Pomeranian, She led everyone to the dinner table, where the food was covered in stainless steel metal covers so that they wouldn't know what was under them, But just being close allowed them to smell the delicious food hidden inside.
Funny that the girl didn't know that the woman had them, But then again the lady probably wanted to surprise the guests and why she did it.
Upon removing the covers, what they were presented with was a feast fit for kings.
Poca was Especially happy because she's finally getting to try other Japanese dishes she's been wanting to try for ages, and Izuku had informed Inko about particular foods she couldn't eat due to serious allergies so There was nary any kind of food that would cause her any problems later.
Rice balls with chicken and veggies, beef curry and rice, beef takuyaki, soy ramen with fried veggies, Fried cod and spicy fried salmon with soy sauce and regular rice along with seaweed free miso soup, and stir-fry veggies.
She was just shocked that The lady was already cooking a handful of these even before her son called her as She managed to get a very big deal on some groceries she got from the market, so they were well stocked on other meats for a while, that and she went overboard as something told her that This coming evening was going to be different this time.
Only reminding her how scarily accurate and terrifying mothers intuition could be.
She had to gulp to keep any saliva from coming out because she didn't want to look like a drooling mess as if she hadn't found a decent meal in months. That would be rude after all.
And There was even a bowl full of food for the Pomeranian to eat as he happily ran in circles before pouncing the food as if it were prey and started devouring it without a second thought.
Which made everybody chuckle and giggle again as They all sat down and started eating.
It was everything that the pale brunette could ever dream of and then some as The food was even more delectable than she could imagine as It almost looked like stars were about to shoot out of her eyes in happiness.
And the more she ate the more she realized just how hungry she actually was, And she more than accepted her host telling them to eat as much as they like and to not be shy on getting seconds or thirds.
'That's the downside of having a quirk of my caliber, I need more food and therefore more calories and nutrition in my diet than normal.' Poca stated, 'I wonder if this is how others feel who have quirks that require more food in the body's diet than normal, like Momo's, or Izuku's, Or Fatgum, Maybe even All Might? ... Or even AFO?'
Even just briefly thinking about the world's true first supervillain made her shudder in dread as She was reminded once again that he was now as real as she was but she pushed it aside to focus on eating, not wanting the others to notice and ask.
Although she made a mental note to get started on finding work right away so she could get to buying enough groceries to keep her brand new appetite sated.
But nothing stopped Inko from asking like a billion questions to the pale brunette about what she's like, where she was from, asking her if she already had feelings for her son given that she was calling him by his first name (Which made the girl blush like crazy as she fervently told her that they were just friends and nothing more), What hobbies she enjoyed and the like, she's much like a mother who's vivacious, super sweet and hoping her son will have a good relationship with a lady friend in the future Cuz she wants her son to be happy and she wants grandbabies, Needless to say the girl never felt more cornered in her life by a mother, not even the older kids or even any bully she's faced ever made her feel this cornered and trapped, Although she did all she could to answer the questions politely and earnestly That didn't stop her from sweating, feeling overwhelmed and looking like she about to get crushed by a behemoth about the size of Japan itself, and considering Mount Lady, Gigantomachia and their quirks that was almost a real metaphor.
Izuku Apologize to the girl for his mother's forwardness and pleaded for his mom to give her some space as he could clearly see that she was making her very uncomfortable, Bakugo, meanwhile, was trying not to laugh while he was eating and risk choking on his food as this was just too funny for him to even describe, literally and otherwise, If he weren't focused on eating his auntie's food, which was always delicious no matter how many times he came in the past with his folks, And the fact that the battle earlier really riled up his appetite, he would be pulling out his phone right now to get a video to blackmail the girl for making him look like a complete fool with that force field And for freezing him earlier.
But then it came back and bit him in the butt as the older greenette then turned her attention back to the Platinum blonde as she asked him a bunch of questions too, like how has he been doing, how have his parents been, how's school and the like, Just because he was used to the woman asking a bunch of questions doesn't change the fact that he always felt pressure whenever she did as he politely answered without fail.
This form of politeness coming from the boy really surprised a girl as she was questioning whether somebody snatched the real Bakugan out of the seat and replaced them with a more polite version of him, but then again given how close their families were it makes sense that the boy had respect towards the woman No matter how much he and his son ... do not flow on the same wavelength.
But there was one thing that was very obvious to a girl, he was wearing a mask.
In his eyes she didn't miss the tall tale signs that he felt guilty as he spoke with her, certain and brief twitches in his expression told her that he felt his heart pounding the more he spoke as he hid certain parts of a school life from her, His voice, though unnoticeable at first, barely and briefly squeaking out that of a subdued tone as if He really hated lying to her, trying not crack.
It reminded her of some of the younger orphans she attended to who felt guilty about doing something wrong and were having a very bad time hiding it because they equal parts didn't want to hide anything from her as they trusted her and at the same time they didn't want to get punished for what they did But knew that if nothing was done then things would only get worse.
She even saw herself with that same expression when she was younger, before her grandfather disappeared.
A part of her wanted to feel sorry for the boy but at the same time she knew that he had a bear with it, coddling him wasn't going to help especially as he would be angry if she did, this is something he had to figure out himself, he has to face this problem on his own, she already did her part so it was time for him to either come clean and fix up his act, or allow things to go on as if nothing happened and let the actual truth finally bubble to the surface and burst in everyone's faces, especially his.
More especially given the information she gave to UA, so it was only a matter of time before they came pounding on his door and that of their middle school.
If he wasn't denied entry then he'll still be able to go to school, but whether or not he'll be put in general studies or be in the hero course under very strict and serious supervision and restrictions would be another story to tell. It was going to be a hard choice but as much as she hated the blondes past crimes she wasn't going to strip him of his future as she was very well aware that he could be a better person and he did have the potential change if given a chance, And it was better to get this arc started sooner rather than later.
If the explosive user wanted any hope in being able to go to a hero school then he needed to shape up, swallow that pill and grow up ASAP.
Speaking of school, eventually There came the million-dollar question as Inko asked them, "I know Izuku Told me about how he did on the test but I want to know how you two did on the test too, Especially you Poca as He told me that you two ended up at the same test site."
I'm going to cut this short because if I keep going anymore then it's going to be even longer than anticipated, but there will be more next chapter so stay tuned!!!