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Katsuki races through UA’s halls, utilizing small bursts of his quirk to provide an extra speed boost. He ignores the nauseating concoction of adrenaline and unbridled anger that’s beginning to make his head pound. After pouring over what was essentially Izuku’s suicide note at least a dozen times, he decided he was leaving right then and there. Nobody was going to stop him and if they tried? Well, let’s just say they’d have another fucking thing coming.
It was on pure instinct that he chose to seek Inko out. Ever since UA was converted into an emergency shelter, students and staff tasked themselves with helping civilians settle in. Regardless, it was the perfect excuse.
Rounding a corner, the blond confirms he has the correct room and plants his feet in front of it. Suppressing any lingering anxiety, he raps his knuckles on the door.
“W-Who’s there?” A soft voice stammers beyond the barrier.
“Katsuki.”
“Oh!” The woman exclaims, followed by the sharp sound of a chair scraping hardwood. Katsuki is greeted with forest-green hair and matching colored eyes in a matter of seconds. Inko steps out of his way to allow him entry.
The teen watches as she worries her bottom lip while wringing her hands nervously--an action that immediately reminds him of Izuku.
He wants to vomit.
"If you're here to see me, then I assume you must have read-"
"Yeah." Katsuki grits out. He hadn't meant to interrupt her, but he couldn't stomach hearing the rest of her sentence. He didn't think there would ever be a time where he could properly stomach it. His right hand was fisting the crumpled paper in question, vibrating with several barely-contained emotions. Glancing down at it, Inko speaks again.
"I don't exactly know what he wrote in that letter, but I did talk to him...right before he left. He told me to tell you he meant every word of what he said."
Nodding, Katsuki says "I know, which is why I'm going to drag his sorry ass home."
Suddenly, Inko is surging forward, hands clutching desperately at Katsuki's forearms before he has time to react.
"No, you can't go! I-It's too dangerous!"
"And it's not too dangerous for him?" Katsuki bites, a distinct mixture of irritation and guilt flaring inside his gut. Defiant as Katsuki is, never in his life had he once talked back to Inko Midoriya.
"Of course it is! I-I tried to stop him but…" Inko pauses, casting her watery gaze towards the floor. "No matter what I said or didn't say, Izuku already had his mind made up. He's very adamant in believing it's his responsibility...to save everyone."
At her words, Katsuki can't help the bitter laugh escaping his lips. "You don't hafta’ tell me that, Auntie. I'm sick of his martyr bullshit just as much as the next guy." Then--with a tenderness he didn’t realize he possessed until now--the blond gently pries her hands away before readjusting to hold them in his own instead.
“That's why there's no other option for me. I have to go."
Inko snaps her head up, emerald eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears. Her countenance--so achingly similar to the one Katsuki’s yearning to see--is almost enough to shatter his resolve entirely.
“Please, reconsider! I can’t risk losing you too.”
“I can’t risk losing him either.” The teen nearly startles from the sheer sincerity of his words, from how easy of an admission that was (to hell with Midoriyas and their creepy-ass ability to crack him open like he’s some goddamn coconut). And although the anguish in the woman’s voice does nothing to remedy the incessant tugging at his heart, Katsuki steels himself. His fiery stare is firm yet not unkind.
“Is there truly nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?”
“‘Fraid not, Auntie.” Katsuki answers, smirking.
Inko studies him a few moments longer, obvious conflict and worry etched into every inch of her, admittedly, short stature. She ultimately acquiesces though, resignation seeping into her exhausted features. Inko looks different, much different than the blond remembers her being from when he and the nerd were brats. Newfound awareness hits him with all the grace of a speeding truck.
How much grief has she been carrying?
Inko sighs. “‘I have to go…’ Izuku told me that as well. You two have more in common than you care to admit. It’s a miracle Mitsuki-chan and I haven’t gone into cardiac arrest ten times over!” The doe-eyed woman quips.
“I’m beginning to realize that myself.” And, try as he might, Katsuki can’t deny the fondness evident there. However, he doesn’t have the luxury to unpack this discovery because he soon feels Inko wrapping her sturdy arms around the expanse of his back, pulling him into a soul-crushing embrace.
“I’m very proud of who you’ve become, Katsuki-kun!” Inko wails. “I understand your friendship with Izuku has been anything but pretty, and I’m sure there’s an awful lot of painful memories he’s refused to confide in me about, but it’s important you know that I’ve never lost faith. You’ve hurt my baby, and as his mother, that still hurts me too. But I also know that you’ve given him a tremendous amount of happiness. I’ve seen the way his eyes shine whenever his ‘Kacchan’ is with him so…”
Inko trails off, having run out of the air supply necessary to allow her to keep rambling. Now that the floodgates have been opened, she can’t seem to stop. Katsuki detects the gross combination of tears and snot caked into the fabric of his t-shirt yet, oddly enough, he can’t bring himself to care. Putting his pride aside for the second time that day, his hands hover over the woman’s upper back briefly before he successfully reciprocates the hug.
With his body rigid and heart thudding against his throat, Katsuki doesn’t have a clue of what he should say. So, he doesn’t say anything, just squeezes Inko in a way he hopes is reassuring.
“Thank you, for always looking out for him. I’m certain he’s doing the same for you.” She whispers, and that does it. Hot tears are stinging his cheeks (because god fucking dammit). He doesn’t even process that he’s shaking until the mother starts pressing small circles into his spine. Silence passes between them for what must be a few minutes and Katsuki is eternally grateful for it.
Once they’ve both calmed considerably, Inko carefully extracts herself. Wiping wet eyes on the back of her palms she says, “you better come home safe and sound! Promise me.”
“I promise. And unlike that idiot Deku, I intend to keep it. Lying to placate others ain’t my style.” He rasps.
The green-haired woman gives a ghost of a smile.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Affirming, she takes his hands. “It’s best that I let you go, I’ll break down again if I don’t. Make sure to visit Mitsuki-chan before heading off, or else villains will be the least of your worries. She chuckles lightly, a bit wobbly from having just cried.
“Don’t worry about me, Auntie. I’ll handle her. Focus on taking care of each other until the nerd and I get back.”
Inko takes a deep breath, exhales.
“Okay. I trust you, Katsuki-kun.”
The blond nods and attempts to show the mother one last meaningful grin. In turn, the green-haired woman reluctantly releases him. When neither of them makes another move, Katsuki finally turns on his heel, striding towards the door.
Inko closes her eyes, praying to any god willing to listen. She doesn’t open them until long after the door clicks shut behind her.