Inko knew from the beginning the revelation of her son and Katsuki's past would eventually come and cause problems within Izuku's new friend group.
It had been a small nagging feeling that sat in her stomach when she watched them speaking with Katsuki since Izuku's last birthday.
So, the call from Mitsuchan about what Katsuki was planning to do was no great shock, and it was good on him for choosing to not keep something so important hidden from the other three.
It also explained Izuku's flightiness that morning.
For all that she was better at paying attention to her son, she was no mind reader so usually she was merely left to stew in her own thoughts of what could be bothering Izuku that time around.
In the end though she was glad that Mitsuchan called her about the confrontation since it let her prepare to help Izuku once he had returned.
Shoji, Uraraka and Awase were all lovely kids, ones she was so happy to see Izuku had been able to befriend, but they were still kids and protective ones at that.
And there was some shame in her as a mother that Izuku had picked up on how she shoved her feelings to the side for others and did it himself, with even more shame being piled on after it took her so long to notice that he had.
That shame rearing its head when Izuku returned home with a hauntingly familiar smile on his face.
Inko hadn't let him speak before wrapping him up in a hug.
Allowing him to quietly fall apart over what had happened, letting him shakily explain what had happened in the woods.
Watching with a heavy heart as Izuku conflictedly explained how he understood why they would react like they had, empathized even but he couldn't stop himself from wishing that maybe they would have been more accepting, even if he knew that would never happen.
Inko made sure to comfort and assure him the rest of the night to the best of her abilities.
Though there wasn't much she could do when the tension between everyone was so fresh, even when they reluctantly agreed to come to Izuku's birthday sleepover despite knowing Katsuki would be there for the party.
She could see how it was affecting her son, his smile just a bit more pinched to keep it on his face whenever Uraraka pointedly ignored or avoided eye contact with Katsuki, in the worried glances he shot at Shoji when he wasn't looking after Shoji and Katsuki stepped out for some 'air'.
And it hurt to watch and not be able to do much about it other than rub her son's back to sooth him slightly.
Because she understood where Izuku's friends were coming from and she couldn't blame them for how they were feeling, nor for the looks they gave her after finding out about Katsuki.
She could practically hear the millions of questions they had for her when they looked at her.
The judgement in their eyes, whether it was entirely made up in her head or actually in the three's eyes, it wasn't unwelcomed.
Willingly letting her son befriend and hang out with his main bully after she hadn't pressed charges against him was not a good look, she certainly judged herself a lot for backing down so easily in the hospital.
Even if it had turned out for the better, part of her would never forgive herself for it.
So even though it made her skin crawl, she let Izuku's friends silently question her and her decisions.
When it had come to a head in the coming days, it wasn't surprising.
Awase and Uraraka were both such outspoken people, it was only a matter of time before one of them confronted her about it all at some point.
Still the memory of Uraraka standing on her doorstep after arriving completely unannounced on a day when Izuku would not be home would probably be burnt into her mind.
The girl standing there slightly uneasy, the cause for the unease no mystery but still she determinedly stood there jaw clenched and no doubt ready to question her about everything.
Inko gave her a smile and invited her in since it was raining and now the two of them were sitting on the couch, both with a mug of tea in hand.
Inko waiting patiently for Uraraka to string her thoughts together to speak.
"You... you knew what he did to Izuku." Uraraka said after a minute, her eyes locked on the mug instead of looking at her.
"I doubt Izuku would ever tell me everything about it, but yes, I knew enough." Inko answered, not flinching when Uraraka's accusing eyes moved to her.
"And you weren't angry about it?" Uraraka questioned all but glaring at her, with her hands clenching the mug.
"No, I was very angry about it, with Katsuki and myself for not seeing it before then." Inko replied, her gaze dropping to her lap.
"Then why would you- " Uraraka heatedly tried to say before cutting herself off with a huff, though Inko's mind was easily able to fill in the blanks.
Why would you let him around Izuku again?
Why would you not cut him out of you lives?
Why would you not do anything about it?
Why would you let Katsuki get away with it?
Inko could only sigh and look up towards the ceiling in response to her unasked questions.
"I wanted to have Katsuki charged when Izuku first told me about what Katsuki did to him." Inko confessed expecting the pointed look she got in return.
"Then why didn't you?" Uraraka sharply asked back.
"Because, in the end it would have accomplished nothing more than some hollow victory that wouldn't mean anything useful and only further hurt Izuku mentally." Inko told her dejectedly.
Uraraka looked like she had been slapped and was no doubt ready to argue why that was a completely asinine, but Inko held up her hand.
"Uraraka, do you know what would have happened if I did try to press charges against Katsuki? What we could have actually gotten out of it?" Inko asked the girl.
"You would have gotten him barred from becoming a hero once he was charged with assault." Uraraka hissed.
Inko's shoulders sagged as she corrected the girl.
"If."
Uraraka blinked.
"If we could get him charged with assault, then yes we could have done that." Inko continued, watching as the girl looked indignant.
"If?There are goddamn videos of him using his quirk to hurt Izuku that can be found online!" Uraraka protested.
Ah, that must have been what broke the camel's back and drove Uraraka to finally confront her about Katsuki.
Inko had heard of the 'videos' after Katsuki's friend asked her if she knew about them, but she had chosen not to view them since she wouldn't have the stomach to.
But it just wasn't that easy.
"And there wouldn't be one prosecutor in the country that wouldn't tell us to settle out of court, if we would even be able to file a case against Katsuki in the first place." Inko told her, Uraraka's cheeks puffing up in her anger.
Inko reached out and placed her hand on Uraraka's arm.
"Ochaco, Izuku is a two-toes." Inko gently but somberly reminded the girl "And most lawyers would turn him away for that alone, regardless of the case we'd pursue." Inko tried to explain.
Uraraka's hands clenched harder.
"So? Not all of them would, and people argue for themselves all the time in court." Uraraka countered.
"Okay, let's say we did that, and refuse the settlement Mitsuchan and Masachan would have honored, insisting on going to court and getting Katsuki a criminal record." Inko placatingly said.
"From how the media has been, how likely do you think it would be for us to be overseen by a judge that wouldn't throw the case out once they learned Izuku is a two-toes?" Inko asked the girl.
Uraraka's lip trembled as she deflated slightly, her gaze falling to her cup of tea despite wanting to argue.
"And even if we did somehow end up with a judge that did hear us out and would convict Katsuki for everything that he did to Izuku. What do you really think we'd get out of it that we couldn't get from other means?" Inko inquired, taking her hand back.
Uraraka looked at her confused.
"Having a record isn't the only way to stop Katsuki from attending a hero school. If we had asked, Mitsuchan and Masachan would have sent Katsuki to a correctional school and never let him step foot in a hero school." Inko elaborated.
"And for money? They would never think of not covering Izuku's medical bills, it wouldn't even be a question, lawsuit or not they would have paid every cent and more if I let them." Inko said, remembering how Mitsuchan strong-armed her into agreeing to letting them do so.
"But he'd still have a record." Uraraka argued, still worked up but clearly had the wind taken out of her.
"Yes, that's true. But do you think Izuku's mental health and future would be worth it?" Inko countered.
Uraraka frowned looking at her, confused no doubt and not realizing what Inko had meant.
"Izuku... was very emotionally fragile when I found out about the bullying, blaming himself for everything. Having me go so clearly against his wishes and in his mind cruelly punishing his only friend and the only other person in his life because of what he said could have... " Inko couldn't bring herself to finish.
Because for all that it would have sounded exaggerated, it was a very real fear for her at the time.
She had just found out her baby had managed to hide something as big as the daily torment he went through, and maybe the words everyone said about Izuku had gotten the better of her but the thought of Izuku doing something extreme if she pushed him too far, it wasn't a concern that she could easily dismiss.
Not after learning something so shocking.
Uraraka seemed to understand that, and her head hung, frustrated to the point of tears but with little she could do about it.
Inko felt her heart strings being tugged and she put down her mug, scooting over to be closer and placed a hand on Uraraka's shoulder.
She could not count how many times she had ended up sitting at this very table and crying into her hands so upset with herself and how there seemed to be nothing she could do about Izuku's situation.
"This is such bullshit." Uraraka miserably said under her breath as she sniffled.
Inko ignored the swear, agreeing with the girl for the most part.
"What should I do then?" Uraraka questioned, rubbing the tears pooling in her eyes away a bit rougher than she needed to "Just let it be water under the bridge?" she asked incredulously.
Inko shook her head.
"Not at all, you can be mad Uraraka. I'm still furious over everything that happened." Inko assured Uraraka.
The girl looked at her disbelievingly, Inko supposed Uraraka had a right to be dubious when Inko had happily welcomed Katsuki back into her home more than once.
"As hard as it might be for you to believe, I have not forgiven or forgotten what Katsuki has done to Izuku. And I never will, but for as much as I hate what he did I can't help but blame myself for a small part of what happened." Inko confessed.
Uraraka's doubt melted into pure confusion.
"How could you blame yourself? Bakugou was the one who hurt Izuku, you didn't force him to hurt him." Uraraka argued.
"Katsuki and Izuku weren't alone together in a vacuum, hundreds of people saw what Katsuki was doing to Izuku and didn't care, I was so wrapped in my own problems that I never noticed I had become so distant from my son that he could come home covered in blood and I wouldn't even know." Inko morosely elaborated as her eyes fell to the floor.
"Their teachers, classmates and peers saw what Katsuki was doing to Izuku every day, watched him torment Izuku and either just let him or bullied Izuku too." Inko told the girl, her stomach twisting as she thought of just what kind of hell Izuku walked into nearly every day.
"And I, either I was so out of touch with what was happening in front of me that I didn't see what was going on with my son or... or I chose not to see it and pretended that I couldn't." Inko shamefully said, her hands balling themselves into fists in her lap.
She had questioned herself a lot about how much she had overlooked and what she might have blatantly chosen to ignore.
Surely, she should have noticed what Izuku had been going through long before the point of him coming home looking like such a mess was normal.
How many times had she let Izuku lie to her about a slight limp and actually believed him?
How many times had she just looked the other way because she just didn't have the mental energy to even question it?
Shaking herself mentally, Inko forced herself back to the topic at hand and faced Uraraka again.
The girl staring up at her with wide eyes.
"But even though I hate what he did, when I look at him, I can't help seeing the boy that he used to be too." Inko confessed, letting her mind wander slightly.
Perhaps it was because she had helped raise the boy, but it felt impossible to truly separate Katsuki from the young boy that used to toddle around with Izuku under a blanket pretending to be a ghost.
"Which makes it hurt worse sometimes, especially since I had always thought of Katsuki as a son before. And I think that it's part of why I was willing to give him another chance." Inko explained then looked back to Uraraka and taking her hands in her's after setting down Uraraka's mug.
"But that doesn't mean that you have to." Inko told her.
"Just like Izuku told you, if you don't want to see him anymore then we'll respect that, you don't have to force yourself to be around him for any reason." Inko assured the girl.
Uraraka ducked her head.
"I know, but Jiji and Awa-Kun are, and Awa-Kun made a lot of good points about why we should give him another chance." Uraraka replied, her shoulders slumped.
"Ochaco, Katsuki could become a saint and live like a monk for the next twenty years, and that doesn't mean you own him even a second of your time. Everyone has their own lines and if what Katsuki did crossed one of yours, then that is that." Inko said with a gentle smile.
She had a lot of experience trying to help both Mitsuchan and her son understand they could make and keep their own boundaries, and that it wasn't selfish to do so.
Uraraka nodded halfheartedly, too busy with her thoughts to fully pay attention to answering.
"Thank you for talking with me Inko-San." Uraraka quietly told her.
Inko smiled and gently squeezed Uraraka's hands.
"It's not a problem, I'm always here if any of you need to talk about anything." Inko promised.