Chapter 2: Determination
Inko's gut was twisting itself in knots as she watched Izuku take his first steps in over a month. She had been anxious for this moment. The hospital had cared for Izuku for weeks, and even when they relinquished him to Inko, he was still wheelchair-bound. Despite having suffered virtually no injuries in his legs, Izuku's ability to walk properly had been hindered.
That was why this moment was so important, and why Inko desperately wanted to help her son. She wanted him to be as comfortable as possible for his first few moments of independence in over four weeks. The only thing stopping her from rushing over and helping her son herself was the physical therapist who was guiding Izuku in her stead. Her eyes burned as she watched him wobble around the room, still unused to the state of his body.
"Good job honey! I'm so proud of you!" Inko calls out. Izuku glances at her for a second but turns away, unable to look her in the eye. Inko followed his gaze to the mirror on the opposite wall; she could only see Izuku's face indirectly, but she could read him like a book. His face was stone cold. Traumatized. Broken. It was all the things a little boy's face shouldn't have, but there was something underneath. Something she couldn't quite define yet.
The therapy continued, with the physician coaching Izuku on his posture and balance. Izuku exhausted himself with his efforts throughout the session. He was more confident on his feet because of it, but he needed a break. Leaving the boy to rest in his wheelchair, the physician made her way over to Inko.
"He's doing great for his first session, ma'am. I know how tough this is for the both of you, but be proud. He's taking to the situation better than most. A lot of kids struggle to find their balance within the five sessions, let alone the first." The woman spoke. Inko glanced at her nametag- she hadn't caught her name when scheduling the appointment, too stressed to care about the small detail.
"Thank you, Ms. Utsushimi. It's hard, but we'll get through it. With your help, of course." Inko replied, glancing at Izuku to check on him. Ms. Utsushimi smiled.
"Yes of course. You'll be emailed your schedule for the next few months by the end of the week, ma'am. Have you contacted your insurance on how you'll pay? If not, I can direct you to my own insurance- their healthcare is very good." Ms. Utsushimi said. At this, Inko shifted in place, her stomach queasy.
"No thank you, my health insurance is also fine, but it won't be necessary. The… therapy is being covered by someone else." Inko said. It was uncomfortable to admit, but she wasn't even close to being well-off enough to afford what her son was going through. She didn't lie, however. Izuku's therapy really was being covered by someone else- two heroes, in fact. All Might's famous sidekick, Nighteye, and another hero, an older man by the name of Gran Torino.
She didn't know why Nighteye was helping fund her son's therapy, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Gran Torino, on the other hand, wasn't a mystery. She had met him when he had recovered Izuku's body during the explosion and had offered to pay for his expenses. Inko couldn't say that was a typical response to saving someone, but when she'd refuted him, he'd doubled down, offering Nighteye's wealth as a bonus. Money was too tight to repay them, but she planned on giving them—both of them— some kind of gift or meal.
"Oh? Well, that's certainly kind of them. I know how hard being a single mother is, especially the more… expensive parts. I have a little girl at home, y'know." Ms. Utsushimi said. Inko nodded, a small smile on her face.
"Oh? What's her name?" Inko asked. Ms. Utsushimi's face lit up at the chance to talk about her daughter.
"Oh! Well, her name is Camie. Sweetest little thing, but talks my ear off whenever I'm home. Ooh! I have a photo of her on my desk, right over there-" Ms. Utsushimi paused in her gushing when she looked over to her desk, where Inko saw Izuku had wheeled himself over and was studying the framed photos. The two moms walked over to Izuku, where they found him studying the picture of a little blonde girl who Inko could only assume was Camie. Izuku looked at them in surprise when they came over, quickly putting the photo down.
"Sorry for touching it, I was just curious." Izuku mumbled without inflection, but Inko could see his ears turn pink at being caught. Ms. Utsushimi wasn't mad, though, she was beaming. She gave a small clap and bounced in place before speaking.
"No problem! That's Camie, my daughter. Maybe you'll meet her some time, I like to take her down here sometimes so she can see me work!" Ms. Utsushimi said, before continuing. "She has the most interesting little quirk, and she's obsessed with becoming a hero one day. I'm so happy to have my job- it gives me a great opportunity to help her do what makes her happy, be it coaching her on her quirk or making sure she doesn't hurt herself from quirk exhaustion."
Inko felt a pang of guilt in her chest as the physician continued to gush about how her daughter wanted to be a hero. She knew her son, at least before the incident, had wanted to be a hero more than anything. She would love it if her son could grow up and follow his dreams, but she had never really been sure if it was possible or not, with Izuku being quirkless. Especially now, her quirkless little boy had been battered and bruised beyond anything she'd ever seen. She doesn't want him to be a hero; she doesn't want him to get hurt ever again.
She prays Izuku could let go of that dream, especially now that he was missing an arm.
She allowed the woman to continue about her daughter for a few minutes, silent and stewing in guilt. She didn't want Izuku to feel even worse about himself than she knew he already did, but she also didn't want to be rude. Inko glanced down at Izuku in worry, expecting to see her son looking uncomfortable, or even tearing up. What she didn't expect, however, was for a feeble smile to be teetering on his lips.
It was a weak, pitiful thing, but it was the first one she had seen on her son in months. Despite all the trauma and pain her son had gone through, his smile sent butterflies down her chest and blood through her heart. She lived for his joy, and she hadn't felt alive in quite a while.
"You said… she wanted to be a hero? I hope she does her best… I used to want to be a hero, but I'm not so sure anymore." Izuku said, lifting up his residual limb- what used to be his left arm, for clarity. Ms. Utsushimi stopped her rambling, her shoulders slumped. She had gotten carried away. Inko watched as the woman knelt down on one knee in front of Izuku, cupping the back of his head with her hand.
"Listen. I know you might feel a little lost on what to do, and I'm not one to put ideas in anyone's head," the woman glanced at Inko as she said this, "but just because you lost an arm, doesn't mean you lost anything important. It's just an arm. You're still the person you were before, arm or not." She said, her voice so soft that Inko almost didn't hear her. Inko's eyes welled up for the second time today, but she didn't let the tears fall. Wiping her eyes so nobody could see her cry, she gently patted Izuku on the shoulder.
"She's right, honey. She's right."
[x]
Inko was wheeling Izuku to the train station when her phone buzzed. After boarding the train and getting Izuku's chair into a safe place, she checked her notifications.
One message from Gran Torino showed up on her timeline, and she decided to read it now.
Gran Torino: I think it's time to have a meeting to discuss what happened to Izuku.
Inko wasn't sure what to make of this, so she replied with a simple request for a time and place. Not two minutes later, she got a reply.
Gran Torino: Could we discuss this tonight? I know managing the boy in public is a hassle, so Nighteye and I could come to your apartment. Around dinner time? Don't bother making us food, we don't want to impose.
Inko was surprised that Nighteye, All Might's famous sidekick and her mysterious healthcare patron would be joining them, but she agreed. She sent them a link to her apartment complex and room number before turning off her phone, needing time to think peacefully.
"Who was that, mom?" Izuku asked.
"Oh, that was that older man who saved you, as well as… Nighteye. They'll be coming tonight, I assume to discuss finances." Inko replied. Izuku shrank down into his chair, discomforted by the thought of those men coming over.
"Do they have to? Can't you just like… do it over a call?" Izuku asked, hopeful. Inko shook her head but was understanding. Izuku didn't want to see Nighteye, because he reminded him of All Might.
Izuku and Inko had stripped Izuku's room of All Might merchandise after Inko realized that he was uncomfortable in his own room. It hadn't taken Inko long to put two and two together. Izuku, in the following weeks after the incident, shut down in public whenever All Might was referenced. When Inko had mentioned this fact to his therapist, he had immediately recommended they hide away all memorabilia of the late hero until Izuku was ready. They hadn't thrown any of it out; the stuff could be worth a small fortune in a couple of years. It was kept under lock and key, far away from Izuku. Unfortunately, Nighteye was donating so much money to them that Inko couldn't even consider refusing his appearance.
"Sorry, honey. If you want, I'll make you some food when we get home so you can stay in your room all night." She offered. Izuku hesitantly nodded, and that was that.
[x]
Around 7 p.m. Inko's doorbell rang. As soon as it did, Inko ferried Izuku a glass of water and closed his room door so she could tackle whatever these heroes wanted by herself. She didn't want to trigger Izuku in any way, so she wanted to finish this quickly. She braced herself before she opened her door, but was still stunned by her guests.
Nighteye was much taller than she thought, easily towering over her and almost having to duck into her doorway to get in. And despite the large difference in stature, Gran Torino was just as imposing as his companion as they walked through the door.
"H-hello. Welcome to my home, would you like anything to drink." She offered, careful to be as polite as possible. Nighteye shook his head.
"No thank you, ma'am." He said. Gran Torino didn't follow the lead of his taller companion and asked for some hot tea. Inko nodded and poured the older man his tea as the trio sat at the dinner table.
"Alright. Now that we're settled, what are you gentlemen here to discuss? If it's finances, my credit history is listed in the filing cabinet-" Inko was interrupted by Nighteye, who shook his head.
"No, no. We'll continue to pay Izuku's medical fees, no questions asked. We are here for a different… delicate reason." Nighteye said, pushing his glasses up his long nose. Inko hesitantly nodded.
"Okay… what is it?" She asked. Neither man said anything for a few seconds, as if they were debating who should speak. Finally, the older man spoke up.
"Your son's quirk, ma'am. We need to decide what to do about it." Inko tilted her head in confusion.
"Quirk? I don't think you understand… My son is quirkless. Always has been." She said. She refrained from getting defensive, but it was rather rude, and strange, for these men to ask about her son's quirk. Both men looked uncomfortable.
"I guess this makes things simpler if your son hasn't told you anything yet. We can set the facts straight." Night eye said, before continuing. "I know this is a sensitive subject, but are aware of why your son lost his arm?"
Inko gaped at him.
"Of course I am! What do you take me for? There was some bomb- or, or, a villain attack! Whatever the cause, an explosion stole my baby's arm!" Inko cried, offended and enraged. Gran Torino put his hands up in a "surrender" gesture.
"I understand this is hard on you, Ms. Midoriya. But there was no bomb that day. There wasn't even a villain." The older man said, slow and clear. "The thing that blew up his arm was his own strength, or rather, the strength of All Might's quirk."
"..." Inko didn't know what to say. Nighteye slipped his way back into the discussion.
"Listen, ma'am. This is to never be shared with anyone. Only a handful of heroes and the elite of Japan's government are aware of this." Nighteye took in a deep breath before continuing, his eyes glowing with intensity. "All Might's quirk, One for All, is the ability to give a bank of energy to someone. It's an old, old quirk that has been slowly growing stronger for the past few centuries. The last person to hold this quirk was All Might."
"W-what… why are you telling me this? You can't be seriously trying to tell me that…" Inko trailed off, unable to digest what she was being told. Nighteye leaned forward, purple light refracting in his eyes.
"All Might gave your son One for All before he passed on. Your son knows this, at least to a certain point, and used it to devastating effect, both on the forest downtown, and himself. Izuku. Did. That. To. Himself." Nighteye said, emphasizing every word. It was harsh, but Inko needed to understand.
"Izuku… hurt himself? By using some absurd quirk given to him by that… that… man, All Might? Are you insane!?" Inko yelled at the lanky man. She balled her fists, knocking her chair over as she stood up. "Who do you think you are, to come to my house and… lie to me!?" Gran Torino stood up, matching her movements, but with as little hostility as he could muster. Hands raised in defeat, he walked around the table to Inko, careful to give no offense.
"I promise you, ma'am, we aren't trying to pull your leg. We aren't trying to offend you in any way. I'm a former teacher at U.A., and I spent my time there teaching All Might the ropes of heroism. We didn't always get along, but I promise that I know his quirk inside and out. I was even friends with the person who had One for All before him. When I saw your brat crying and screaming last month, I saw what he did. He glowed like a lightbulb and punched a tree so hard that his arm was blown clean off, alongside most of the forest in front of him. It was a perfect imitation of All Might." Gran Torino said. Inko, despite not wanting to believe this, couldn't sense the lie. She calmed herself, but she was still on the verge of crying her eyes out. The older man got close enough to put his hand on her shoulder.
"I know this is a lot. It's a lot for us too, our friend has only recently passed and we only just found out that he gave his quirk to a brat." Gran Torino continued. Nighteye, still sitting still at his seat, spoke up.
"What you saw happen to your child is the result of him using the quirk without any self-restraint or self-preservation. This is why we came. We have a solution so that he'll never hurt himself with the quirk like that again." Nighteye said, his edge has disappeared, but he was still serious. Inko, overwhelmed with this rollercoaster of a discussion, couldn't hold in her waterworks anymore. Unbothered, Nighteye continued.
"Your son isn't stuck with this curse. I suggest you convince him to give up the quirk entirely- all he would have to do is consent to someone consuming a small part of his DNA."
Inko hiccuped, her tears still streaming out of her eyes.
"Really?" She asked. "My baby would never hurt himself again?"
"Of course, ma'am. The second we find a suitable host, your son could be safely quirkless within the day." Nighteye said. Gran Torino awkwardly coughed into his fist.
"We can't force him to give it up, of course. In that case, I would be willing to take him under my wing, so that an accident like what happened in the forest could never happen again. Regardless of what he chooses, your son will be ok." At this, Nighteye glared at Gran Torino, but Inko was too busy crying to notice.
Inko slowly sat back down, her hands trembling as she placed them flat upon the table. She took a deep breath.
"I-I need time, time to think this through. I would a-appreciate it i-if you leave. I'll reach back out when Izuku and I have talked about it." Inko said with her most firm tone, but even she knew her voice was shaking. The two men nodded; Nighteye stood up, and both men made their way out.
Before Nighteye was fully out the door, he looked back at Inko, who was still at the dining table.
"If you want what's best for your son's health and the future of our country, you should make him give it up." With that, he closed the door behind him, leaving the apartment in uncomfortable silence.
Inko sighed as she laid her head down on the table, too exhausted to sit up straight. Before she closed her eyes and fell asleep though, she made eye contact with Izuku, who had been watching the whole exchange with his door slightly ajar.
[x]
"Hello, Ms. Midoriya, Midoriya!" Ms. Utsushimi called as Inko walked into her office hand in hand with Izuku. It had been about a week since their last visit and Inko's eventful conversation with the heroes. Today, they had decided to leave the wheelchair behind. Izuku had been practicing his walking all week and had pretty much got it down, save for the occasional stumble. Inko smiled at the physician, doing her best to put aside all the thoughts swimming in her head about Izuku and his quirk.
"Hello, Ms. Utsushimi. How are you?" Inko asked.
"Great! Oh, Midoriya, I have a surprise for you! I brought along a little spectator with me today, so I'll leave you some time to play with her if you want. Camie, say hello!" Popping out from behind Ms. Utsushimi, a little girl who Inko thought must've been a clone of the grown woman stepped out.
"Uhm, hi! It's nice to meet you! Ooh, your hair is green! Is it dyed or-" Camie Utsushimi's excited babbling was interrupted by her mother, who shushed her.
"Alright, Midoriya. Do you wanna work on balance, or do you wanna try to practice writing?" Ms. Utsushimi asked.
The rest of the session went by rather fast. Izuku did odd poses to work on fine-tuning his balance, as well as opening and closing things like boxes and doors. It warmed Inko's heart to see her son begin to recover and improve. While Izuku was working on bending over and getting back up, Inko found her mind wandering back to the problem at hand.
She hadn't spoken to Izuku whatsoever about her meeting with the two heroes, but she knew that he had been watching the conversation go down. He knew everything- about the quirk, about being able to give it up, everything. Despite knowing that he knew, she couldn't bring herself to talk to him about it.
Perhaps it was because of her guilt. Despite knowing that her son could never be a quirkless hero, she had let him live his lie, just to let him have something to strive toward. She loved her son more than anything, but she knew that Izuku, physically speaking, had never been anything special. He was small, he was scrawny- even for a kid his age, and he didn't have powers. He was just a normal human kid. And now- because of a superpower he wasn't born with, he was permanently disabled.
She should be horrified. Perhaps she should even be mad- All Might, despite his graces, had cursed her son with his dying wish. Maybe she should hate him. Maybe she does hate him.
But deep down, she knows why she is so conflicted. She knows why she doesn't want to march into Izuku's room, make him give her a blood sample, and ship One for All off to some up-and-coming hero who has two arms and a quirk. She knows why she doesn't want to take this from him, even though it gave him a wound he'll never recover from.
She didn't want to take away the one thing he's always wanted- powers.
It would kill her to let her son lose his left arm, and get nothing in return. In her mind, despite the objective horror and danger this quirk represented, her son had earned the power- he had paid for it in blood.
If Izuku even vaguely suggested that he'd be ok with giving up One for All, she would make him do it in a heartbeat. She desperately wanted him to be happy and fulfilled, but she wasn't sure with it being at the cost of his safety. Inko shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She would talk to him tonight.
Inko looked over to where Izuku was. Ms. Utsushimi had kept her promise and had ended their session early so that he and Camie could play. Inko must have zoned out for so long that she missed the transition from PT to playtime. She made her way over to another set of chairs in the office, close enough to eavesdrop without being noticed.
"So, how did you lose your arm?" Camie asked, rolling a rubber ball across the floor to Izuku. Inko almost choked at the bold question.
"Oh… it got blown up. My quirk kinda went haywire, I guess." Izuku replied, unbothered by the question. Camie tilted her head in interest.
"What kind of quirk blows off your arm? Are you really strong?" Izuku gave her a tired smile before rolling the ball back to her with a little difficulty.
"Well, I'm not sure you could call me strong, since, y'know, my arm got blown off. Your mom said you wanted to be a hero?" Izuku asked. Camie beamed at him, catching the ball between her legs.
"Mhm! I think it would be pretty fun, and helping people is cool. My mom-" She gestured over to Ms. Utsushimi, who was hard at work on her laptop, apparently updating a spreadsheet. "Is a physical therapist, obviously. She helps people all the time, which is really cool. I wanna do what she does, but with more fun. So, I'll be a hero. What about you, do you wanna be a hero?" She rolled the ball back to Izuku. He frowned.
"Being a hero? Don't you see my arm?" Izuku wiggled his stump at her as if she hadn't noticed it before. "I always wanted to be a hero. I used to look up to… the big guy all the time. But I think that's out of the question now." Izuku said. He rolled the ball back; Inko could tell he was getting better at it the longer their little game went on.
Besides his increasing comfort with his singular arm, she was also paying a lot of attention to their child-like discussion. While she didn't want to intrude, it felt like her only opportunity to be able to understand Izuku. Mother's intuition went a long way, but it wasn't perfect. Izuku didn't actually talk to her- he didn't talk to anybody save for his therapist. She hoped he would be more open with someone his own age.
"So? Even if you're not strong right now, your quirk seems to be. I guess it might be a little harder for you since you only have one hand, but becoming a hero was never going to be easy anyways." Camie said, rolling the ball back to Izuku. His frown deepened.
"You don't get it. It was pretty unlikely for me before. Now it's impossible. People like me can't be heroes." Izuku said. He held the ball for a few seconds before lightly bouncing it to Camie. Inko's heart ached at how dejected he sounded- how defeated he was. Camie scoffed.
"That's dumb. You're being dumb. Plenty of heroes are missing limbs. Psychos? She doesn't have legs from the knees down, but her telekinesis is so cool and useful. I feel like not having feet should make it a lot harder for her to be a hero than for you to become one without one measly arm." Camie said, bouncing the ball back to Izuku a little too hard, irritated at his words.
Izuku snatched the ball out of the air with his single arm like a snake striking its prey. Inko was surprised at how snappy and efficient the movement was, but Izuku didn't even seem to notice.
"You still don't get it. I blew my arm off because I was upset and being careless. What if me being careless… got somebody hurt, or killed?" Izuku mumbled out something else; Inko wasn't able to catch all of it, but she swore it sounded something like "again."
"That's what practice is for, dummy. Just keep practicing until you don't make dumb mistakes like that, and you'll be fine, two arms or none at all." Camie said, matter-of-factly. Izuku looked down at his hand, marveling at it in silence.
"Do you… really think I could be a hero? Even though I'm disabled? Even though I've done bad things?" Izuku asked, a small whimper in his voice. Inko noticed Ms. Utsushimi closing her laptop to watch the exchange.
"I don't know what kind of bad stuff you did, but don't you want to help people?" Camie asked. Izuku slowly nodded, his bangs covering his eyes from Inko's view.
"Then you can be a hero, dummy."
Izuku was silent for a few minutes as he studied his palm, his game with Camie forgotten. Inko watched as Camie respected the silence, silently thanking her. Izuku sat long and hard thinking, but eventually, he must've had an epiphany, because he shot to his feet. He hurried to Inko, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the other side of the room, more excited than she'd seen him in a long time. Inko pretended she hadn't been eavesdropping on them and allowed herself to be taken away from the prying ears of the Utsushimis.
"What is it, baby?" Inko asked. As she looked at her son, he gazed up at her, his bangs no longer hiding his eyes. They were full of a beautiful livelihood that hadn't been there before. Or maybe it had always been there, and Inko hadn't taken the time to look for it.
"I know… I've made mistakes, Mom. I almost died in that forest. But I need to know… if I keep his quirk, do you think I could be a hero?" Izuku asked. Inko, at that moment, remembered a similar moment from a few years ago.
Izuku had just been diagnosed quirkless, and he hadn't taken it well. He had cried for hours, watching old All Might clips on repeat before posing a question to Inko: Could he be a hero? Even without a quirk?
Back then, Inko hadn't known what to say to him. She had apologized profusely, over and over again until he fell asleep. She never told him he could be a hero, she never wanted to give him false hope. She regrets that now. Inko dropped to her knees, eye level with Izuku. She placed her hands on her son, whose eyes were shining as if he had never been hurt in the first place. She knew what to say this time.
"Honey… Camie was right. You could be a hero, with or without One for All. Are you sure that you want to keep it?" Inko asked, holding in her sobs as best she could. Izuku nodded, also tearing up.
"I do, mom. I do. I need to make it up to him."