Chapter Text
“…uya! Touya, wake up!” They groggily sat up, rubbing the tiredness out of their eyes. Mom sat on the edge of their bed and gathered them in a tight hug.
“Mom?”
“I’m so sorry! I understand if you never forgive me for this but I have to go!” She hurriedly whispered. Touya could hear her crying. “Take care of them Touya! Take care of your siblings. You’ll look after them better than I can!”
“Mom, what? Where are you going? What are you talking about?”
“I promise I will find a way to see you all again.” She smiled shakily and kissed them on the forehead. “Goodbye Touya. I love you. I love you all so much. Please, never forget that, Touya!”
“I love you too Mom…” They watched their mother leave, still confused but ultimately in their sleep deprived state decided that they could just ask her in the morning and went back to sleep.
—
“Father, where is Mom?” Touya had thought Endeavor had seemed calmer that morning and decided it would be safe enough to ask since they hadn't been able to find her on their own.
“What are you on about? She’s in her room.” Endeavor scoffed. “Sleeping in instead of doing her duties around the house probably.”
“But I already checked and she wasn't there.” Touya fidgeted with their hands. “I looked all over but I didn't see her anywhere. Would… Would you help me find her? Please?”
Endeavor grunted in annoyance but stood from the counter to begin looking for his wife. He must have been feeling really calm if he was actually indulging Touya in this.
They split up and looked over the entire estate. Mom was still nowhere to be found and the majority of her belongings had disappeared as well. When the two of them gave up, Endeavor seemed furious.
Touya was still just confused.
It wasn’t until later that day that they finally realized what had occurred and Touya properly broke down in the quiet of their bedroom.
— — —
“T-Touya?”
Touya didn’t even realize they had started crying until Mom approached and gingerly wiped the tears from their eyes. Her touch was hesitant, as though she couldn’t believe Touya was real and not a hallucination.
“Mom…” Their voice broke.
Touya clung onto her like they had when they were just a little kid who had scraped their knee again playing outside.
“Touya, I- I thought you were dead! They said- They said you burnt to death and I-” She took a shuddering breath. “All I could think of was how I could have saved you if only I hadn't left! If only I’d stayed to protect you and your siblings! I’m so so sorry!”
“It- it’s not your fault. It would never have been your fault!” Mom’s hands stroked their hair and they clutched at her like she was going to disappear at any second.
“I’m just- really glad you’re alive Touya.” She chuckled wetly and reluctantly drew back from the hug. She held them by the shoulders, looking them over.
“You’ve grown so much!” She smiled and cupped their face gently. “And your hair changed color?”
“Yeah, I’m not entirely sure what caused that to be honest.” They rubbed their neck awkwardly.
“I think it suits you. The white really brings out your eyes.” Mom smiled at them, her own eyes full of pride and joy. It was comforting but at the same time odd.
Before, she could never look them in the eyes. They always just reminded her of Father and his cruelty. Touya always took care to try not to be around her for too long so she didn’t get uncomfortable.
So, yeah, it was nice that she could handle looking at them again.
They smiled back, laughing softly.
Someone cleared their throat and Touya and their mom turned in that direction, seeing Inko and the unfamiliar man standing awkwardly at the end of the hall. They looked unsure of their place within the reunion happening in front of them.
Mom laughed at their expressions and Touya reveled in the foreign sound. “Inko, Hisashi, this is my eldest, Touya.”
Inko gasped softly, “I knew you looked familiar!”
The man stepped forward. They had white hair similar to them and their mother, but their eyes were a light shade of green. “Midoriya Hisashi, they/them. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Dabi— or Touya I guess, also they/them. Nice to meet you too.”
“You two can catch up. I’ll put your things away, Rei.”
“Thank you Hisashi.” Mom stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek.
“We’ll call you both when lunch is ready.” Inko added as Mom put her arm around Touya. She guided them to the guest room where Touya had slept the night prior.
“So, you, Inko-san, and Hisashi-san…?” They started awkwardly. Mom laughed.
“All three of us are together.” She had a faint blush dusting her cheeks. “We all went to the same high school. They were my best friends before my parents got in contact with Enji’s father so when I left I sought them out again. It was a bit rough at the beginning but I think we made it work.”
“Why…” Touya hesitated. They took a deep breath and gathered their courage. They needed to ask this! It’s been nagging at them ever since. “Why did you leave?”
Touya watched as Mom’s expression grew solemn. “The more I looked at you and your siblings the less I saw my wonderful children and the more I saw him, even though none of you truly look like him. I could feel my grip on reality slipping from the stress of being in that house. I felt that if I stayed, I would have done something that I’d regret. I never would have forgiven myself if I had done something to hurt one of you because of Enji.” She looked him in the eyes with a serious expression. “My decision to leave was never because of something you or your siblings did.”
Touya let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. On their darkest nights after the Hero Commission’s training, Touya speculated that it was something they had done, that it was Touya’s fault she left. It felt like a weight had lifted off of their shoulders knowing for sure that it wasn’t because of them.
They felt tears prick somewhat painfully at the corners of their eyes. “I missed you Mom…”
Mom’s expression softened and she wiped their tears away again. “I missed you too. I never stopped thinking about you. I wish I could’ve taken you with me, but it was risky enough just trying to leave on my own.” She said, her regret showing in her eyes.
That was another thing they noticed. She was a lot more expressive.
Mom no longer had towering walls hiding her emotions from those around like Touya did. They burned in her eyes and seeped out of her pours, flowing out freely for everyone to see. It was a testament to how much had changed since they’d last seen each other.
“I guess I got out on my own anyway.” Touya half-joked. They fell quiet again and leaned against Mom’s shoulder. “I don’t remember what happened.”
“Inko mentioned minor amnesia. How far back do you remember?”
“Nothing after two months ago.” They admitted, shoulders slumping inward self consciously.
“There's nothing to be ashamed about Touya. I can’t imagine faking your death was an experience filled with sunshine and rainbows.” She joked. They laughed softly. “But seriously, the brain sometimes hides stressful, traumatic, or fear-related memories in order to protect you from the emotional strain of whatever happened. It’s completely normal for you not to remember something like that, Touya. It’ll come to you in time. Just give yourself time to heal.”
“Okay…” They answered hesitantly. Touya wasn’t quite sure whether they believed that or not but… it’d be worth it to try, right?
Mom playfully bumped against them. “Cheer up. We’ve got so much to catch up on!”
A knock on the door pulled both of their attention. Inko opened the door with a small pile of objects in her arms. “Dab- Touya-kun, you had these on you when we brought you here. I meant to give these to you this morning but we got a little sidetracked, didn’t we?”
“Thank you Inko-san.”
She sat them on the dresser. “Sorry for bothering you.” Inko said, closing the door again on her way out.
Touya stood up, careful not to move too quickly so they don’t jostle their stitches, and moved the items back to the bed, content to sort through them next to their mom.
There were a few small trinkets on top, like the necklace Keigo had gifted them. Touya looked at the charm, a golden silhouette of a bird in flight, longing for their friend, and carefully clasped the jewelry around their neck. Keigo had a matching one, a simple flame in the same color as Touya’s eyes. Guess that turned out to be foreshadowing , Touya thought bitterly, recalling the news article of azure flames eating them alive.
A set of earrings wrapped up in a small bag made Touya aware of the fact that they had pierced ears now. They were simple silver cuffs but Endeavor would have hated them and that fact alone made Touya love them.
The jewelry had sat on top of a small journal. It wasn’t one Touya remembered owning before, so they must have bought it after they left. A small note was scribbled on the front page and their heart nearly stopped for real as they read through it.
‘Keigo left these at my grave. By the time I worked up the courage to approach him, he had left.
He vowed to be a hero I would be proud of. In return, I vow that I won’t become someone he has to fight.
Don’t turn against the only person who believed in you when you had no one.’
They flipped through the pages numbly, absentmindedly running their fingers over the pressed petals. They recognized the flowers as a common funerary arrangement.
“Touya?” Mom tore their attention away, concern lacing her tone.
“He left these at my grave.” They said quietly, their voice cracking in the middle of the sentence.
“Who did?”
“Keigo. He is- was my best friend.” Touya stared at the ceiling intently and took a deep breath, trying to center themself before they started crying again.
Sniffling, Touya looked at the last thing in the pile. It was a long black coat that was fraying at the bottom. They could see that the sleeves were singed, so it wasn’t likely that the material was fireproof. It did look cool though.
They folded it back up and set it down once again.
Touya’s hands fidgeted with the necklace settled under their shirt. They flinched slightly when Mom put her arm around their shoulder.
“Are you okay Touya?” They nodded, only half believing it themself.
“Do you want to talk about it or do you want me to distract you?”
“Distraction.” Touya muttered, laying their head on Mom’s shoulder.
She nodded and began talking about random things that had happened to her since she left. Touya smiled, enjoying just being in his mom's company. Eventually their eyes began to flutter shut, her soft voice lulling him further and further into rest.
And Touya fell asleep, for once in their life, feeling safe.