Chapter 17

Inko loved her son. He was her baby boy after all. What mother didn't love their child? She tried her best to be supportive of his dream. He wanted to be a hero, just like All Might, someone who would go and save people because it was cool. She was proud of him for that. He was a good boy who wanted to do good for others. What more could she ask for?

Well, that was a lie. She would want him to be safe, and happy. Inko knew firsthand the world was not going to be kind to him. Her baby boy was strong in his heart and very smart, but he didn't have a quirk, and that had always left him at a disadvantage. Still, he always persisted and always tried to push forward. It filled her with pride and dread.

It was selfish of her; she knew it would be. Yet there were always some days when she'd hoped that Izuku would just give up on his dangerous dreams. Like that day when Izuku told her about All Might and his conversation with him.

It was something she wasn't proud of, but she always wanted Izuku to be safe. If he were to by chance come to realize that being a hero wasn't for him, Inko would have been over the moon. Yet he never did. In the end, he always wanted to be a hero and she would try her best to be there for him.

However lately…things were changing and not in ways she would have liked. She had noticed it a few days ago. Izuku was starting to act…differently. He was always a quiet boy but now he was more withdrawn than usual. He'd often hold himself up in his room, and even when he came out, he kept their conversations brief.

Inko swore she saw him zone out a few times. She would start a conversation with Izuku and then midway in, Izuku would lose focus, his attention turning to anything else. It only got worse when she noticed him suddenly freaking out, becoming more anxious and jumpier. It terrified her.

Then they met the inspector and Inko felt her heart nearly give out. Her baby boy had met the Herrscher. The same woman who had nearly killed Katsuki had contacted her baby. Did she do something to him? Did she hurt him? Thankfully it seemed like no harm was done, but Inko felt disturbed even thinking about it.

Still….

"How could I be so stupid." Inko scolded herself as she looked at her coffee. She had gotten up early as usual. She wanted to be there for when Izuku left for his new school. She already made breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, now she was just relaxing and getting lost in her thoughts…fun.

Nevertheless, even quiet moments like these had to end. She glanced at the time it was starting to get a little late. Inko headed to Izuku's room to wake him up. She paused just before the door to take another sip of her coffee. That's when she heard Izuku's voice. He was awake and he was talking to someone.

"Yeah, I did have a pleasant dream." Izuku had spoken. "No, you weren't in it. Why would you be? It was the first decent dream I had in a while."

This was new to Inko. Izuku was having nightmares. How much else didn't she know? She was tempted to knock but didn't. Her own curiosity got the better of her as she listened to the conversation between Izuku and this mysterious person.

"A pretty girl like you, well you are pretty but…you know I'm not entertaining this anymore. I got to organize for school, and she's gone." Izuku voiced. Inko could hear him sighing.

So, he had a new friend who he called in the morning. Well, this was a pleasant surprise all things considered, and she was a pretty girl apparently, if his own words were to go by. Inko's mind started to come up with varying interesting scenarios with this new information, but she quickly squashed those theories.

Clearing her throat, Inko knocked on the door. "Izuku, it's time to wake up. You have school." She called out. She could make out the distinct sound of her son scrambling. The door suddenly opened and Izuku was there. He had yet to change out of his pajamas.

"Morning Mom." Izuku greeted as he hurried out and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. Inko watched her son as he headed off. Her eyes slowly drifted to his bedroom. Well, she had to do laundry and might as well get it.

Inko entered Izuku's room noticing for the first time how it had changed. He still had a few of All Might's posters up, but a large bit of them were gone. However, more concerning to her was how the collection of journals Izuku had written was no longer on his bookshelf.

SLAM!

Inko jumped in horror, she turned around suddenly only to find nothing there. Holding her hand to her chest, Inko tried to calm herself as she suddenly felt a draft. Her eyes finally noticed the wind coming through the window. Letting out a little breath of relief, Inko made her way over to the laundry pile.

There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. She didn't even see his phone anyway. Perhaps she lingered a bit too long, but Inko was starting to feel a bit uneasy. She felt a shiver running up her spine. Picking up the laundry from the hamper, Inko quickly turned to leave.

CLANG!

She jumped once more. She glanced back around noticing that one of the deodorants that Izuku owned had fallen off the table. Using her quirk to pick it up, Inko carefully placed it on the table, fixing it to ensure it wouldn't fall again. She glanced over the table making sure nothing would fall again. It was a good thing too because just as she did, a comb fell over. Acting quickly, Inko caught it.

She was about to place the comb down…but then she saw it.

On the comb was a clump of hair, a clump of pure white hair. Inko's eyes narrowed on it as she plucked a strand off. She was expecting it to be short but no, the strand turned out to be very long. This was not Inko's hair, and this wasn't Izuku's, she knew that much. It was most likely from a girl.

"So, are you excited about your new school?" Inko questioned as she and Izuku sat for breakfast. She hadn't figured out how to address the topic of Izuku having a potential girlfriend. She thought maybe it would be best to approach this at a reasonably slow pace.

"Yeah," Izuku answered as he absentmindedly took a bite out of his pancakes. "Delicious." He commented.

"Thank you." Inko accepted. "I was just worried you'd be a little sad since you have to make new friends."

"Oh, not really. I mean I'd have to make new friends either way when I start high school. Maybe I'll just consider this practice." Izuku told her.

"Still…I'm sure it must be hard leaving your old friends behind." Inko added.

"Yeah…it is," Izuku answered. "Pass me the syrup." He smiled.

"Think you'll meet any nice girls?" Inko questioned. She could have probably timed that better. Maybe ask it when her son was not mid-swallow. Izuku almost choked on his food but luckily it went down.

"MOM!" Izuku gasped with embarrassment.

"What?" Inko whistled innocently. "I just want to know. You're reaching that age and I want you to know that I'm supportive if you do have a girlfriend." She elaborated on the last part.

"I…I don't know how to respond to that." Izuku answered. Inko noted how his eyes drifted to the side every few minutes, she followed his gaze but found nothing there.

"Well…just know that if you get a girlfriend, or if you have a girlfriend. I'd really love to meet her." Inko explained.

"Okay," Izuku answered as his delicious breakfast turned into an awkward one. His acquaintance, however, found the entire thing to be very amusing, laughing much to his dismay at his situation.

"It is a sad day for Japan, two heroes were tragically killed in the line of duty this morning." The reporter announced. Chisaki cast a glance at the screen. The Yakuza head was currently working in his lab, going over some of his experiments for his 'promised' project.

It was admittedly one of the few things that calmed the Yakuza head, a nice break from business so to speak. It was much less draining than dealing with people, and a lot more sanitary as well. Nevertheless, he still needed to keep up with business. As read the headlines he took note of the incident on display. There was a rampage by a very powerful villain, and despite being subdued, he took down two heroes with him.

"Destro," Chisakai noted as he stared at the screen. He wiped his hands as he walked beside the chair.

"Who's Destro?" A soft voice questioned. Overhaul cast a glance at his prime 'assistant', sitting in the chair. They hadn't moved from there since he began. A good sign, he thought.

"He's a bad man, who does bad things." Overhaul answered. "He believes that quirks are the future, thinks they make us special." He noted. "He's a fool. Quirks will only bring ruin to this world. They're a disease that plagues, growing until eventually, they'll kill us all."

He took note of how his 'assistant' tightened her grip on her stuffed toy. She was terrified. Good, she should be. That future was the worst-case scenario. Luckily, he could prevent it, with her help of course.

"It doesn't have to happen though." Overhaul noted. "I've got a very good plan on how to stop it."

"You do?" The soft voice asked.

"Of course. I'll make special medicine that will cure the quirks. Then with the quirks gone, everyone can be happy." Overhaul told them. "Quirks won't hurt anyone again." He told them.

"You promise." the little 'assistant' asked.

"Yes…I'll make sure no one else loses their father, like you did." Overhaul whispered. "But I can't do it without you." He noted. "Do you think you can help me today?" He questioned.

She nodded yes. Overhaul smiled at this, carefully patting her head. "That's a good girl, Eri. Come on, let's get to work." Overhaul told her.

Eri did as she was told, taking the TV and heading over to her special spot. Overhaul meanwhile cast another look at the TV, he frowned before turning it off.

Destro was already making his move. With more heroes' dead, Destro now had more chances to insert his little…. fake heroes into the area and assert more influence. It was a troublesome thought because now it meant the Yakuza would have more issues if their territories overlapped. "How troublesome." He thought as he followed Eri. He would need to work faster if he wanted to keep ahead of the competition.

"So, it's his first day, are you nervous?" Mitsuki questioned on the phone. She had just left lunch with Katsuki and was now relaxing talking to Inko.

"Yeah, I was nervous about how he'd take it, but Izuku seems to be doing fine," Inko noted as she flipped through the channels on TV. "He's been trying to move out of the hero mindset. He still wants to help people but he's looking at alternatives if he can't be a pro-hero."

Upon stopping at a new station, Inko grimaced as she saw the events onscreen. Wrecked buildings with various injured personnel everywhere, the pro-heroes had won, but the damage had been done. Now it was time for the other groups to help clean up.

"That's nice to hear," Mitsuki noted. "Izuku's a good kid, I'm sure he'll find something. Ever since the villain attack, I've wondered if Katsuki should continue." She sighed. "I have no doubt he wants to but…the danger."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Inko agreed. "I've always been worried about Izuku getting involved with heroics, but I could never bring myself to stop him. It always felt like if he had to stop, it would need to be his choice." Inko explained.

"Maybe…it's always been his dream to be a hero, and I don't want him to give up just yet, Katsuki's headstrong like that," Mitsuki commented.

"Well, he could always go the route of a rescue hero." Inko pointed. "I'm sure his quirk would be useful."

"Do you think he'd settle for that?" Mitsuki laughed.

"It was worth a shot." Inko chuckled.

"So, is there anything else interesting going on?" Mitsuki wondered.

"Well, I'm not sure how to phrase this but I think Izuku might have a girlfriend," Inko muttered.

"Wait what?" Mitsuki sat up. "How?"

"Well, it's nothing confirmed. I just overheard him talking to someone on the phone." Inko noted. "And when I went to his room, I found a strand of hair in his room."

Mitsuki froze for a moment as she processed the words Inko said. "Inko," She whispered. "Do you realize what this means?" Mitsuki asked.

"My baby is growing up." Inko smiled.

"Well, yes…but it also means Izuku's been inviting a girl to come to the house while you weren't home." Mitsuki pointed out. There was a dead silence on Inko's end.

"OH MY GOD!" Mrs. Midoriya screamed, almost deafening Mitsuki.