The apartment building looked just as it did when Midoriya last laid his eyes on it.
In case you don't know, Izuku Midoriya's previous home was in a pretty middle class neighborhood located near to the downtown area. It was tan and about five stories tall, barely the tallest building on that street.
Although it didn't really seem important at all, it was the most important thing Midoriya had set his eyes on this past month. He did not have any time to visit it because he was so busy, and he honestly thought that his previous visit would be his last. He was genuinely happy that it was not.
Midoriya was currently standing across the street from his home, staring up at it in awe. He had missed this. He had missed that feeling of home that overcame him whenever he was nearby. This was where he had spent his entire childhood. Basically the entirety of his life.
Memories of his past began floating around in Midoriya's head, playing as though he was watching a movie. There he was, running around in his All Might costume, saving the day from a different crime every minute. Now he was trying to come up with a hero name along with his mother. His personal favorite so far was All Might Boy. It had a nice ring to it.
Midoriya smiled, tearing up slightly as happy memories of his childhood filled his head. There wasn't a lot of things that he smiled about recently, but his time with his mother was something he cherished deeply. His love for Inko was never something that would vanish. If he lost the ability to feel affection, he would still love her. He knew that.
Sighing, Midoriya turned around. He knew that if he kept thinking like this then he would go inside. That was the last thing they needed. He couldn't and wouldn't risk putting his mother in danger.
The disguised villain spotted an empty bench facing the building he stared at for about five minutes. Midoriya walked up to it, sitting down and picking up a discarded newspaper someone had left behind. He regretted it immediately.
On the cover, the headline read:
VILLAIN MASTERMIND, ATTACKS YOUNG HEROES
Below it, there was an article explaining the attack as best it could, since Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki apparently refused to be interviewed or provide a statement.
Did this mean that Todoroki didn't tell Midoriya that the public knew about what happened in the alleyway? The police were even investigating!
"Excuse me," a kind voice broke the greenette away from his train of thought, "Do you mind helping me carry these? They are very heavy."
Right in front of him was a woman who looked to be somewhere in her early fourties. She had a gentle smile, and green hair that matched her eyes perfectly. She seemed to be struggling with a large amount of grocery bags with were filled with a bunch of cooking ingrediants.
It was Inko Midoriya.
"I-I... What?" Midoriya freaked out. Did she know who he was? Did his disguise not work? Why would his mother trust a sketchy looking teen in a hoodie and mask, when she didn't even see his face?
Inko smiled brightly. "Do you mind helping me?" She asked again. Some of the bags that were stacked one on top of the other in her arms were beginning to teeter precariously.
"O-oh," Midoriya inwardly sighed. She didn't seem to know who he was, she just had a really bad problem with talking to sketchy people. He used to bug her about that all of the time. "Of course, I can help."
Our young protagonist stood from the bench and grabbed all of the bags that were about to fall. There were probably around five which Midoriya was now carrying. Inko had about three or four. (I think, my memory isn't like it used to be.)
"Where are we taking them?" Midoriya asked, keeping up pretenses.
"Over to that building on the third floor," Inko nodded over to their destination, "Thank you so much for helping me today. I have to make a dinner for some friends coming over today and I guess I went slightly overboard with the ingrediants." She laughed lightly, her musical voice floating around them as they began their treck up the stairs of the apartment.
"I'm happy to help." Midoriya gulped.
She was just as he remembered. If she knew who he was then who knew what would happen to her? Midoriya had to hurry this up and hightail it out of there.
He didn't want to ruin his mother's happy personality. That was the only thing she seemed to have left. She didn't have her husband, her son, or any memories relating to his disappearance. She didn't even have many personal friends. Her family was her life. If she lost her personality, what would she have left?
The only way to protect her from that loss was to stay away. As much as it hurt, it was the only thing he could do.