Chapter 20

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All Midoriya knew is that at one minute he was standing in the doorway of his old home, and at the next minute he was standing in front of his bedroom, a bucket of cleaning supplies in hand.

The door was still the same. That was the first thing Izuku noticed. There was still a dent at the bottom right corner from where he stubbed his toe when he was seven. The sign on his door was the same too. It was centered perfectly, just the way Izuku liked it.

The greenette smiled. It had been a while since he had seen any of his All Might collectables. It was a nice memory of how things used to be. Back when he was naive and had a chance to be a hero.

Maybe he couldn't be a hero anymore. Maybe his days of saving people were over.

The thought pained Midoriya, but he didn't pay it too much attention. He ready knew his career was over the minute he agreed to save his mother. Even if he had the opportunity to go back in time, he wouldn't change his answer. His mother did so much for him, it was only right he save her in return. His classmates deserved to live. They had families and aspirations of their own. If he couldn't be a hero, at least he could leave assured that the world was in capable hands.

Izuku's hand shook slightly, moving to open grasp the doorknob.

"I've been meaning to clean this room for years," Inko appeared beside Izuku, a look of nostalgia on her face, "but I just never got around to it. I figure that now is probably as good a time as any. Maybe having you here will keep me from being emotional."

Izuku took a moment to look at his mother. She had bags under her eyes, indicating her lack of sleep. She had worry lines all across her forehead. She had probably never stopped worrying. That was just the kind of person she was.

"It's okay to cry," Midoriya spoke, "Crying doesn't mean that you're weak. It just means that you still have enough strength to continue fighting."

The young villain could remember many things from his imprisonment. The memories were vivid and terrifying, so full of pain. But he still had no memory of crying. For months, not a single tear fled from his eyes. He didn't want that for Inko. He wanted- no, needed, her to stay strong. Both for her sake and his own.

Inko smiled at him. Her green eyes were watery with unshed tears. Her green eyes, which were so much like his own, held so much grief. However, they also held strength and hope. Hope, that perhaps one day, her son would return to her.

Izuku hoped that as well.

"Thank you, Suzuki. Now then, let's go in, shall we?"

She placed her hand on the doorknob gently then slowly began to turn it.

••••••••••••••••••••

Everything was the same.

That was the first thing the disguised teen noticed as he stepped into his childhood room.

There were so many posters covering his wall, all of them being All Might themed, of course. His action figures lined the shelves, some of which were collecting dust. His bookshelves were still weighted with his many, many, comic books and graphic novels. Before you ask, most of them were about All Might.

Who do you take him for?

Of course, he didn't only have All Might comics. He also had other hero comics as well.

Kamui Woods, Crimson Riot, Mount Lady, Sir Nighteye, Midnight, Pankration, Mr. Plastic, Amplifier, Cow Lady, Backdraft, Endeavor, Hawks, and even Lunch Rush.

In my personal opinion, Endeavor did not deserve to be on Midoriya's honorable shelves. I must forgive Izuku though, because he was unaware of Endeavor's crappy behavior and absolutely disgusting character.

But we don't talk about that.

Izuku looked around the room, still aware of how his mother was nearby. He couldn't lose face in front of her.

He was in awe. Everything was exactly where it was when he left it. The posters were the same, the books were the same, his bed was the same. The drawers were the same. The dents and the stains and the photos and everything Midoriya ever treasured and loved was right there in his room; almost as though it was all waiting for the day when he would return.

And return he did.

It was too much.

All of the pent up emotions that Izuku had tried so hard to keep inside of him blew up. They demanded to be recognized. To be seen and dealt with.

And so, Midoriya finally cried.

He cried for his lost dream of being a hero.

He cried for his friends and family, of whom he had abandoned.

He cried for all the people who he caused pain.

He cried for the life he would never get back.

Large tears ran down his freckled cheeks before they were absorbed by the fabric of his cheap sick mask. His body was wracked with sobs as he kneeled onto the floor of his childhood bedroom, it being filled with memories that were so dear to him. He put his head in his arms, barely making a sound as habit prevented him from crying out.

He had never been a very loud person after the kidnapping.

"Are you alright dear?" Inko gasped, rushing over to Midoriya to comfort him.

"Yeah." Midoriya laughed as he cried,"In fact, this is the most all right that I've been in a long time."

Inko laughed. It was a sad laugh, one full of pain and longing. And why wouldn't it be? She was standing in the room of her kidnapped son, hoping for even just a single word that might signify his safety and return.

"Yes, me too." And with, Inko began to cry as well.

There they sat, clinging to each other as they cried together.

A mother and a son, hoping desperately to have things be returned to normal.

But they never would be. Not really.

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