Mina shouldn't have been surprised that the very first thing that her mother and father did when they saw her was hug her. As tight as they possibly could manage without breaking all of her bones. Her family was always close. She should have expected it.
But she just hadn't been. She didn't know why, but it caught her completely off her guard.
Her mother had been the first one to hug her. It had come just a few moments after Mina swore that she had seen the curtains being moved from her parents' room. The group hadn't even moved, not taken even a single step towards the front door, when it flung open, and bolted straight for her daughter so fast that barely anyone could even see her move with their naked eyes. One second, she was in the door-frame. And the neck, she had pulled a stunned Mina into her embrace.
She couldn't see, but she knew, knowing her mother, that tears had to be in her eyes. She got her own emotional side from her side. This was the same woman who couldn't watch any film that was even remotely sad at any point, even if she had seen it about seventeen times.
The next thing she knew, her father was also wrapping both of them into a hug. She had at least been aware of her mother's approach – Her father, she hadn't had even the first clue that he was about to show up, which… She wasn't sure if she should have been impressed by or not. He wasn't exactly an easy to miss guy, yet she hadn't even slightly spotted him.
"I was so worried about you…"
"M-Mom…"
"Are you okay, Mina?"
"D-Dad, I'm… I'm fine. I'm alright…"
"What about your injuries? How are they?"
"Uh… More or less healed…. Got a scar though."
They didn't even seem to give even the slightest care that their daughters boyfriend, what they could only guess was his mother, and the Professional Hero that was the talking point of the entire globe was right in front of them. They were just overcome with unbridled joy that little else seemed to matter to them.
It took Mina a few moments, but she did eventually return her parents embraces. She had missed them too. Despite knowing what was going to go down, she wouldn't claim that she hadn't missed them, after all was said and done.
Izuku, Inko, nor All Might said a word. They all allowed the Ashido's to just have this simple moment. It was needed, more than anything for them right now. They'd been apart for so long, while their daughter had been exposed to danger… They had, in a way, been exposed to a parent's worst nightmare. Their child not coming home after danger had struck. The only difference was, they were lucky enough that their daughter had come home.
It wasn't any wonder that they were going to hold onto her now.
One For All's current inheritor couldn't stop himself from smiling gently. The open displays of affection the Ashido family showed to one another was different to the ways he and his mother showed one another that they cared. Most Midoriya emotions were expressed through tears. But the Ashido family were such a loving group that their interactions with one another were heart-warming.
No one really kept track on how long Mina's parents hugged her, but once they finally let go of the Acid Quirk user, Mina's father turned her attention towards Inko. "You must me Midoriya's mother." The larger man held out his hand, offering Inko a handshake.
Inko accepted. "That's right. I'm Izuku's mother, Inko. Izuku's spoken about you all a lot." Mina could see Inko's surprise at the appearance of her parent's. Neither had the multitude of Mutations that Mina herself had. She couldn't blame Inko for her reaction at all. Izuku had had the same reaction when he met them for the first time.
And she'd be the first to acknowledge the lack of a family resemblance.
"Oof!" To their side, Mina's mother had suddenly pulled Izuku into a warm hug of her own, almost choking the poor boy in the same way that she had almost coked her daughter. She had been fond of the awkward, freckled teenager since Mina first brought him home, and she was just as worried about him as she had been about Mina.
"I'm glad to see that you're okay as well, Midoriya. We were worried sick when we heard the news."
"Th-Thank you… C-Could you p-please let me go - "
"You will receive the Ashido hugs of relief and you will enjoy them."
Mina managed to smile at the sight, actually allowing herself to laugh gently at her boyfriend's fluster and awkwardness. It was a light-hearted moment that made her forget about a lot of the stress that had been involved heading here. It made everything feel calmer, like the internal demonization she'd inadvertently made of her parents and their reactions to everything had eroded and gone. She still knew this wasn't going to be pleasant, but it wasn't going to be the shouting match she had feared it to be.
Attention eventually shifted towards both parents speaking to All Might, as was to be expected. The man was a Hero, and was practically immortalized as such as this point. There wasn't a soul who didn't know of his name, or hadn't at least seen the news broadcast of what had happened in the Kamino ward. More importantly now though, he was here as a Yuuei representative. The man was here to try to convince them to let their daughter, whom had only just now returned to them, go off to live in a school that had done, in the eyes of the public, a worthless job at protecting their students.
"…Do you think it'll go well?" Izuku asked as he approached hid girlfriends side, gently leaning forward to get a better look at the expression she was making.
Mina just sighed. "I don't know…" Her eyes glanced towards her feet, and she gently bit the inside of her lower lip. "Maybe this would've been easier if I'd at least come back to show them I was okay while you were in the hospital." A brief pause, during which she blinked and realize how that had sounded. "I – I didn't mean…"
"No… No, I get it." Izuku smiled gently. He understood what she meant entirely. She was as human as anyone else was. There was a limit to how much one person could take.
"I just… I didn't wanna hear it. Not while you were still knocked out." She sighed again, this time for shorter. "Might not have been my smartest choice now that I think about it."
"We'll convince them." Assured the slightly taller teenager. "I promise."
He couldn't promise that, and both of them knew it perfectly well. There was no way of knowing what would happen, and no way to tell if it would go north or south… They'd try though. They would try their best. Still, hearing it was reassuring. And a small part of her did manage to believe it too. He'd achieved far crazier things than this.
The pink girl glanced over her shoulder. Her parents were still talking to All Might, no doubt a lot of things that they needed to say before the actual discussion went underway. She wasn't sure what they were talking about though. Still, knowing her family, they had a fair bit they needed to say before they would actually be ready to discuss the major issue at hand.
"Come on." Mina said, raising her voice so Izuku's mother could hear too. Then, she raised her voice louder, to everyone around could hear her. "Hey, Mom, Dad, I'm gonna take these two inside. Set 'em up in the living room."
Her father seemed to be in the midst of conversation with All Might, though her mother gave her a thumbs up and a nod, showing that she had heard her daughter. She was still curious about what was being said between her parents and the former Pro, but she had a feeling that she was going to learn soon enough.
"Follow me." Mina said to Inko. The older woman looked slightly intimidated by the size of the house, but she followed her son and his girlfriend inside.
"You have… Quite the home here, Mina." The older Midoriya's voice shook slightly as they walked into through the front door, and she caught a glimpse of the interior for the first time.
"We sorta have to. I've got a lot of siblings."
As if it were on cue, a sudden head then popped over second floor railing. "Pinky!"
Micha. Mina didn't even need to see her older sibling to know that it was him. That damn nickname was all that she needed. Her head tilted upwards, and there he was, already making his way down the stairs to greet her face to face.
"Hey." She put on a small smile. It was good to actually see the guy again. His blond hair was messy as ever, and Mina got the distinct feeling that he hadn't washed it since she had seen him last, and there were bags under his golden eyes. He hadn't slept. "Dude, you okay? You look worse than I do."
"My sisters just been dealing with her boyfriend being kidnapped by Villains while she herself thought it'd be a great idea to go after the guy while All Might wrecked up an entire ward fighting another Villain who also broke u the whole ward – I've been just fine!" Micha spoke with a certain tone in his voice that made him sound like he was on the verge of breaking into insane laughter. There was a big, Ashido smile on his lips as he grinned.
"You've… Known about that for over a week now."
"Yeah, well, I've been practicing my insane smile all week and I'll be damned if I don't use it." Micha smirked, and then dropped his act, returning to his natural speaking voice. It wasn't until then that he noticed that behind Izuku, was another person. "So… I'm guessing you're her plaything's mother?"
"Hey!" Mina blushed. Izuku went red at the same time.
Inko seemed to lightly as well, before glancing at both lilac and red teenagers respectively, before taking a step forward. "That – That's right, I'm Izuku's mother."
"Good to meet'cha. I'm Pinky's brother. Names Micha." Like his father had done, Micha offered his hand for Inko to take, which this time, she accepted faster, and more readily. "Your kid's a good one. Turns out Pinky has good taste in something."
"W-Wait." Mina said, suddenly covering up her eyes with her hand, before peeking over the top. "Did you just introduce yourself with a rhyme?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." There wasn't any hiding the grin that he was so intentionally trying to wipe from his face.
"Micha. Meet'cha." Mina repeated, slowly raising an eyebrow as she spoke. "Have you seriously been rehearsing your introduction to my boyfriend's mother?"
"No."
"You have, haven't you?"
"I am a pure and innocent soul who has never done anything - "
"Okay, if you're gonna say that, at least say it with a straight face."
"Are they.. Always like this?" Inko asked, turning to her son with a look of confusion as the two continued going back and forth.
"Yeah. It's in good fun though. I – I think." The banterous nature of the Ashido family still made Izuku conflicted in his feelings of things, but he had grown to slowly accept it, and know that this was just how they were. "This is just how they are."
"I'll go grab the runts. Let them know their sisters home." The older Ashido pointed behind him with his thumb as he spoke. He turned to the two Midoriya and offered them a much sincerer smile than his normal one. "Make yourselves at home, and… Sorry about the mess in the living room."
"The what now?" Mina blinked.
"You try distracting those two while they're worried sick." Was all Micha said as he turned heal and made his way back up the stairs.
Once Mina stepped foot into the living room, she understood instantly what her brother had been talking about.
Video game cases and controllers were pretty much everywhere, thrown aside and without much care whatsoever. Some games were left strewn over the floor, out of their cases, while other cases were just left open, even with their games still inside. The game system itself had been hooked into the main TV, still left on, on a pause screen.
"Yikes." Mina muttered, as she took a quick scan of the room. It was like a bomb had very specifically the games shelf. "Uh… Watch your step." She warned, taking a few careful steps into the room herself. She knelt down by a small pile of games and decided to have a quick look. "eighteen, eighteen, fifteen, eighteen… Micha's been going through all the games those two really aren't supposed to be seeing…" It had been a general rule that, in spite of Mika and Mara's protests, the older Ashido weren't to let them see or play any games that they weren't old enough to see. That rule would be forgone when they were fifteen, which was when her parents decided that they would be mature enough to handle anything they saw on a screen.
That rule had apparently been thrown out the window. And Mina felt she could understand why. Her siblings were gamers, and so was she to an extent. And with her gone… Showing them the things that they really weren't supposed to be shown would be a good way of keeping them from pestering their parents with worrisome questions.
It had been bad for them, hadn't it? Somehow, this hit her harder than any hug of any tear.
Signs of how they had tried to deal with her being gone, to distract themselves from the situation… This struck her more. These games were supposed to be fun. Something told her that they hadn't had a whole lot of fun with them.
"Here, let me help." Picking up a disc and quickly locating the box, Inko began to clear up a small part of the mess that was near Mina. Izuku did the same, helping to sort of some of the wires and controllers that were flung along the couch.
Initially, Mina thought to protest. This wasn't their mess to clear up. If anything, it was hers, since she was the reason that the room had ended up int his state. But, she knew that they weren't going to take no for an answer, so she just smiled gently, and cleared up a section of open covers herself.
The sudden arrival of Mina back at the Ashido household was met with nothing more than joy from her two youngest siblings.
It had only been a little under a couple of weeks since she had seen them. Roughly around twelve days, but with the way that they had charged into the room, one would have thought that this was the first time they had seen her in years.
Mika was by far the more open about the worry that she had felt. Upon seeing her older sister, she didn't say anything, or even wait for Mina to fully acknowledge her again. She just instantly ran up to her and hugged her, grabbing her as tightly as she could, like if she let go for even a second, her big sister would be teleported elsewhere. Maybe this time for good. With her head buried into the upper portion of her chest, Mina could have sworn that Mika was trying to hide tears.
As predictably as the sun rising in the morning, Mara quickly tried to play off his concern as indifference, trying to act all cool like he wasn't even bothered by his sister's disappearance. His language was as flippant as ever, only stopping himself from outright swearing when he noticed that there was an adult in the room and that it could get him into trouble. There was a slight waver as he spotted the scar on Mina's hand, though he didn't allow himself to show anything he didn't have to.
Though his façade quickly fell apart when she joked that she would leave right then and there. He looked like for all the world that he was about to burst into tears. She gave him a hug to make up for it.
While Mina had always been closer to Micha, by no means did she lack a bond with her younger siblings, even if they drove her up the wall. She loved them dearly, and she was glad to be around them again. It was one of the first times in her memory that she had seen such a complete emotional breakdown from either of them.
Both were young, and still in the developing stages of their childhood. Mara barely even understood his own Quirk, and Mika was only now just becoming aware of the world around her. To hear that their sister had been involved in something as dangerous as a Villain attack was no doubt going to be a shock to their systems. No one could blame them for getting so worried.
This was what it was like for Heroes families back home. This was their reality, every day. It certainly made Mina pause for thought.
Micha had decided to make some tea for everyone, leaving his younger siblings to their own devices. Both of them had taken to just remaining sat on Mina's lap, talking to Izuku in bits and pieces. They seemed to be ever so slightly wearier of him, no question because of what he'd been through.
Their parents were still outside, still talking, and at this point, whatever they were talking about was anyone's guess.
"They're… Certainly taking their time, aren't they?" Inko said quietly, twiddling her thumbs against one another as she spoke.
"Mom and Dad'll talk your ears off all day if you let them." Mina said, patting Mara on the head gently. "They're not exactly great at condensing information."
"What would they even want to talk about?" Izuku asked.
Mina paused for a brief moment, before she shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe they wanted to thank him for the Kamino ward." Neither had been there personally, but somehow, everyone felt like they had to thank All Might as though they had been personally saved by him. He was, after all, the reason that so many lives were saved, and taking down a Villain as strong ads All For One.
Him being a direct reason why Mina and Izuku had gotten out of that mess alive certainly didn't hurt matters either.
"Hey, Midoriya?" Mara tilted his head towards the green haired boy. For a kid, he certainly knew how to give someone a look and a half. There was more a curiosity in his voice, though Izuku couldn't place it.
"Yeah?"
"You… Did you get any scars?"
Morbid curiosity. That was it.
Izuku blinked and paused momentarily, quickly glancing towards his mother from the corner of his eyes. She had seen the one around his wrists, but not further up his forearms and bicep. She hadn't seen the full extent of the damage.
He was struck with momentary silence as he tried to figure out what he should even say to the kid in front of him. The scars weren't even something he himself liked to think about right now. Lying though, wasn't something that he was particularly good at, or even wanted to vaguely do in any way whatsoever.
"…Y-Yeah." He spoke honestly, the only way that he really knew how to. He wouldn't be able to hide them forever, and he had no intention of doing so anyway.
"…Can I see 'em?"
"Mara!" Mina's response was instant, firm, and sharp. "You can't just ask people that! Izu might not be – "
"It…. It's fine, M-Mina."
These wounds were a part of him now, and he had to live with them for the rest of his life. Every single time that he looked at them, he was going to be reminded of that one mission, and that one failure, forever. And those who looked at him in the future were going to ask him about them.
Suddenly, Izuku found himself wanting to show them. Kids were often curious, and they were always going to ask questions. Questions about their Quirks. About where their father or sister was going. About what being a Hero was, and what it meant. He didn't want to lie. Not about what happened when one was in the line of duty when he became a Hero.
It felt like it was important for him to do too. To fully acknowledge that the scars were a part of him, that they weren't something that weighed him down. He was already slipping into that sort of mindset, which was something he desperately wanted to avoid, Mina had been the one who had said it herself.
He wasn't alone. And hiding his injuries… They weren't going to go anywhere. Being comfortable with them would end up being the fastest way of regaining his comfort with his own body, wouldn't it?
Then again, wouldn't it horrify Mara and Mika? Mara had asked to see, sure, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was equipped to deal with that sort of thing. Scars could end up nasty, and his certainly weren't a sight for sore eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was scare them…
He wasn't ashamed of them. But he wasn't proud of them either. They were just there, as offensive as they looked. It was a weird feeling of conflicting neutrality that just didn't make any real sense.
"…I-I can show you if you want to… But, they're not exactly fun to look at." Really, a warning and a chance to back out was probably the best compromise he'd be able to make.
"Izuku, are you sure that's a good idea?" His mothers worry carried through into her voice without any sort of restriction. "Wh – What about your… The thing they gave you?"
"Not that one." He said almost instantly. "I… I don't…. I don't think it's a good idea to remove that." He knew that she was refereeing to the cover for his burn. Getting that one off would honestly just be more trouble than it was worth, so he decided against showing off the burn.
Rolling up his right sleeve, he showed off the forearm, littered and scattered with all sorts of scars and cuts. He'd had bad ones before, but now they were numerous. Far larger ones, and smaller ones that seemed to just highlight had bad the rest of them were. His right hand was still as crooked as it was since the Sports Festival, but it looked more beat up somehow.
All things considered, Izuku knew that he was actually insanely lucky. In any sane world, he would have lost his arm, but through sheer luck, his arms were still working for him. And he thanked every conceptual deity that there was out there for that.
He couldn't keep going like this though. Not with his Quirk on the verge of destroying him. There was no way that he was going to keep getting this lucky. He needed an alternative way of using his power.
Mara and Mika seemed to not know how to react to the markings that were covering Izuku's arms. Plentiful, and certainly painful, but somehow, they seemed like they had expected worse, but still somehow understood the gravity of the injuries to leave permanent reminders. Exactly what it was that Izuku had gone and done during the sports lodge wasn't entirely clear to the public. No one who didn't know him and the secret of his Quirk would ever know that he had done this to himself, with his own power.
Inko's eyes seemed to twitch slightly at the sight of her son's injuries in better lighting than a hospital room. They were clearer, and far more prominent. If he ever wore a T-shirt in the streets, people were going to notice with ease. In this world of Quirks, scars weren't something that were uncommon. Injuries and fights involving Quirks were common, so it wasn't like these were going to turn heads. They weren't exactly all that easy to look at either.
"…Did they hurt?"
"Of course they hurt." Mika nudged her brother almost immediately after he finished talking. "Don't be dumb."
It was an innocent question that a kid who wasn't aware of what he was looking at would ask, but to Izuku, it almost made him want to burst out laughing. "Uh, yeah. They uh, they did hurt… Quite a lot."
"He wasn't exactly gonna draw them on with crayon, Mara." Mina gently chuckled, unable to completely hold back her amusement at the question.
"Get lost." Mara muttered.
Izuku let himself smile. Just a small smile. "These…. They're just injuries. Injuries that I managed to get better from. Scars aren't necessarily always a bad thing. I'd…" He glanced towards Mina, and then to his mother. Finally, his eyes landed back on his injuries. Injuries, as he'd said before, he couldn't bring himself to hate. "…It's better to have lots of scars than to suffer something worse."
Losing the arm. Getting crippled. Dying. Scars were fr better in every single way that he could think of. They were like reminders. Reminders that he had fought.
Reminders that he'd survived.
"You handle them well, Midoriya."
As he had spoken, the door had opened itself up, and after a long conversation, Mina's mother and father finally entered the room, followed by All Might's skinny form. Just as the door had begun to swing back, All Might reached out to hold it open, as Micha came in with a tray, several serving cups, and a pot of boiled water with tea leaves. He bowed his head gently to the former number one Hero, looking slightly intimidated by him, even in this form, and placed the tray on the table in the center of the room.
It had been Mina's father who had spoken up, and as he stood in front of both of the teenagers, a look of mild confliction written all over his face, Izuku couldn't help but feel his heart hit against his ribcage.
Somehow, he already knew.
The lackluster expression All Might had all over his face guaranteed it. There barely seemed to be any sort of life on any corner of his face. It was so unlike him that it was haunting. They didn't even need to be told that it wasn't looking good right now. It was all that he could focus on while Micha hurried Mika and Mara out of the room before the conversation started.
"We've just spoken with All Might…" Mina's mother seemed hesitant to say anything knowing how important this was to Mina personally, but torn between that and her desire to be a good parent, and to keep her safe. Her hands joined together, and she bit her lower lip. Her tell-tale signs that she knew that this wasn't going to be an easy discussion to have.
"I'm going." Mina spoke calmly, and clearly as she could make herself speak. "I'm not giving up on going to Yuuei."
She had been adamant on this from the moment that she even applied to enter Yuuei. That she wanted to go there, to learn from the best teachers, at the best school in the country. She had done everything – Everything that had ever been asked of her, pushed herself as hard as she could, and she had earned her place.
Now, she had personal reasons for wanting to go. The workload was tough, and she was stressed nearly every second that she was there, but she loved being there. She had all her friends there, people she now struggled to see going through the journey to Heroism without.
She had Izuku there. And she wasn't going to give this up without a fight.
"Mina, this is the second time all the students got caught up in a Villain attack, the third time that both you and Midoriya gotten wrapped up in things you're not supposed to be dealing with yet, and the fourth time Midoriya's been in danger." Her father spoke as calmly as she did, listing off the numbers like he'd rehearsed this speech a thousand times. He didn't sound angry, or demanding. The most evident trait in his speech was worry. "The number of attacks from Villains is increasing, and the students always seem to be the ones that are caught in the crossfire… But. you're not a Hero yet. You're a student for God's sake – You shouldn't have to deal with Villain attacks."
"The USJ shouldn't have happened, but you still let me go after – "
"You ended up in hospital this time!" Her father seemed to immediately snap. His voice rose as he forgot entirely about the restraint that he was supposed to be showing. "And Midoriya got kidnapped! You ended up in a hospital bed while we were running around trying to figure out if you were still okay! We haven't even seen you since – And you ran off to rescue Midoriya without eve telling any of the Heroes what you were doing!"
All Might spoke up. "Were it not for their interference, and how they gave me a chance to exploit my opponents opening, it's possible that I would have lost."
"As a citizen, I respect you, All Might, I really, really do. We went over this… But look at things from our perspective."
"The only reason that we let Mina keep going to Yuuei after the incident at the USJ was because of how she told us that you fought to keep all the students safe." Her mother said, prompting Izuku to remember the first night that he met the Ashido family.
"Back then, it was the first time this had happened... Ever, I think. At least at Yuuei." The Twin Bull Quirk user lamented. "The Top Hero teaching my daughter, I was certain that she'd be safe… But after this?"
Back then, All Might was still a Hero. Back then, All Might still had his Quirk. Back then, it had just been a one off
"I… I understand your concerns."
For the first time in the conversation, Inko spoke up.
"Believe me, I understand how you feel… B-But think about these two." Her hand found itself on her son's shoulder. "I understand wanting to protect you daughter… But that would separate the pair of them, after everything that they've just been through…"
It was the first moment either parent seemed to flinch, but they quickly shook their heads. Had they actually even stopped to consider how this would affect their child's relationship, or had they been more focused on her just not being put in the line of fire? Not that anyone would blame them for wanting to make sure that their daughter was safe above all else, but it was certain to be an enormous issue for the two of them.
"I don't want them to split up, but they don't both have to attend Yuuei to keep up a relationship – "
"Are you joking?!" To this, Mina outright stood up onto her feet. Her hands were held at stomach height, open palmed and clawed. Frustration was the key emotion at play, mixed with disbelief. "D'you know how much work we get on a daily basis? We barely get any free time as it is!"
Hadn't they ever seen the number of books she had brought home with her from the average school day?! she was more confused than anything else at this argument.
"Y-Yuuei's workloads are heavy." Izuku stated, though he wasn't as loud or vocal as his girlfriend's exasperation was. "We have to manage our Hero studies in addition to the rest of the standard subjects. I-It's a lot of work…" It wasn't as much of an issue for Izuku, since he had his work ethic since he was much younger, but if they weren't both at Yuuei, it would kill most of their chances to meet up with one another.
Pangs of guilt hit the Ashido parents.
"…I'm sorry, Mina." Her father said, quietly. "But… I don't have any faith in the Heroes at Yuuei anymore. I just… I can't…"
"Dad, you…"
"…I can't risk losing you again, Mina."
This was hard on the kids. Of course it would be. It went without saying that Izuku and Mina had been dragged through Hell and back because of this insane series of events…
But it had been just as bad for their parents.
It still amazed Izuku that his mother was willing to let him attend Yuuei without a fight like he had expected her to, yet she was willing to just let him go, even though this had to be as hard on her as it was for him and for Mina. Even after he had come so close to not coming back at all…
Their argument that the workload wouldn't separate them was weak, and to an extent, Izuku suspected that they already knew that it was. But they weren't thinking about that. They weren't thinking about anything other than making their daughter safe.
He couldn't blame Mina's parents for wanting to keep her safe. In a way, he was able to respect it, and actually felt thankful that she had such caring parents who were willing to do whatever it took to keep her safe and out of harms way.
…But still.
Mina looked like she was on the verge of tears, though she refused to let them fall. "I can't – I just got Izu back, you can't just – "
"Mina."
Izuku spoke calmly. Far calmer than anyone else had been throughout this entire debate. His eyes were hidden behind his green and black locks of hair, and his lips curled downwards. He was still, suddenly.
Very still.
"I-Izu?"
Without a single word, Izuku got onto his feet. Quickly, he inhaled through his nose. "Mina… I… It doesn't have to be Yuuei. At least, that doesn't matter to me."
"Huh?"
"The only thing I care about right now is making sure we go to the same school. If it's Yuuei, then great… If it's not, then that's fine too. Anywhere is okay. To me, anyway."
Izuku had spent years yearning for the chance to go to a school like Yuuei. He had spent so many Quirkless years reaching out to a fantasy while the rest of the world and their incredible Quirks walked right on by him, sneering at him as they attended schools and courses that he could only dream of. He had achieved one of the things that he had always wanted…
And he was willing to give it up, just like that?
Just for her?
"I-Izu, you can't…" It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair to him. "You – You can't – "
"But…" Izuku turned towards Mina's parents, the pair of them looking right back at him. They were somewhat surprised by his sudden willingness to abandon Yuuei if that was what it was going to take to stay with Mina. His loyalty and devotion was something to be admired.
That though, wasn't even the half of it.
He took one long, deep breath, exhaling loudly, and then looked up at them.
And then, he fell onto his knees.
Every single pair of eyes in the room were on him as he bent his back and placed his forehead against the ground, entering the dogeza bow. Stunned silence as Izuku performed the single highest sign of apologetic respect and the humility of what he was about to say.
For a moment, he needed to collect his thoughts, figure out exactly what it was that that he wanted to say. The idea of what he wanted was in his head, but the words…
…They ended up tumbling out on their own.
"… You don't have to trust the Heroes." Coming from him, it almost sounded like his words weren't his own. Anyone who knew him for less than a tenth of a second knew how insane those words sounded from him. "I…. I understand. I get why people wouldn't trust Yuuei any more… And, I can't ask you to trust in Yuuei either. Not with everything that's happened."
He understood why so many blamed Yuuei. He certainly didn't agree, but he understood.
"You're… Worried about Mina being safe… I am too. After everything that happened… I don't want to see anything happen to her ever again."
"I…Izu…"
"Midoriya?..."
"I… I can't… I won't ask you to trust in Heroes. I… I can't do that… But… It's important to Mina that we keep going to Yuuei… So… I'm begging you…"
Were it any more possible, his head buried itself further into the floor below him.
"...If you can't trust the Heroes, please… Trust me. I promise, I… I'll make sure nothing happens to her. I'll… Make sure that she'd safe. I'll stay by her and I won't let anything happen to her."
Mina wasn't a person who needed to be defended. Izuku was more aware of that than most. Mina could handle herself. But he wanted to be there. He wanted to make sure that she would be safe. They were a team. And teams looked after each other.
He'd done it before too. He'd protected her when she needed it. Hell, he'd done everything he could – Which hadn't been a lot, admittedly – Against All For One himself. These weren't even empty promises. These were promises he was more than willing to risk his life to fulfil. He was, of course, willing to risk his life to protect anymore that needed to be rescued. But to Mina, he felt something different. Almost like it was a sense of duty.
And her parents needed reassurances. And he couldn't think of a better one than that.
Silence came down again. Total silence. Inko and All Might both looked absolutely gobsmacked. It could almost been seen as an overdramatic action by Izuku, how far he was willing to bow his head and submit himself just to try to keep Mina at Yuuei. It was asking a lot. Of anyone in their situation. Still, her parents looked like they suddenly had no idea what it was they wanted to do now.
Yuuei constantly faced Villain attacks, while other schools didn't. That was because the school was targeted specifically, while others wanted. They had some of the best Pro's protecting it in the country, and while they failed, would another school do any better?
And this? A desperate plea from someone who thought the world of their daughter?
"There's not really a lot of Heroes that I trust anymore."
Micha's voice. People's heads turned to the source of it – The doorframe. How long had be been stood there? Had he been listening in once he'd taken his siblings out of the room? His arms were folded and his eyes were firmly on his parents.
"Micha?"
"…The only Hero I do trust to look after Mina?" He nodded his head. "He's literally bowing to you
Mina's mother looked at her father, and for a few moments, nothing but silence existed. It spoke a lot about their relationship that they seemed able to communicate without even needing to speak to one another at all. Looks that conveyed everything any parent would feel, from fear to apprehension, to honour and to honest bewilderment.
"Izu, come on, get up." Mina for one, didn't feel like just sitting around while her parents had another silent conversation between one another. She quickly made her way to her boyfriend and knelt by him, tugging gently at his shoulders. "You don't need to go this far."
"I've done a lot worse than just bow to someone..."
"I know, and you're insane." She joked very lightly, still pulling at his shoulders. "Dude, you've… You've… Just, you don't need to…"
"...Okay."
Both Izuku and Mina looked up. "Huh?"
Her mother had her hand covering up most of her face as she spoke, like she was in utter disbelief that she was saying any of this, but she bit on her teeth and forced herself to talk. "..I said, okay. I…"
"We're going to trust Midoriya." Her father said, much quieter than he had been throughout the rest of the conversation. "To be honest, I still don't like this… But…" He blinked, and sighed. "It's like Micha said. The Heroes wouldn't go as far to protect Mina as Midoriya would… And I'm willing to trust him."
To be entirely honest, what happened next was a blur that Izuku wouldn't remember. A blur of sudden cheers and hugs and tears and whatever else happened. He didn't know. It all happened so fast, at once, so quickly, that he simply didn't have the mental willpower to separate incidents form one another. He remembered being stunned that they had convinced her parents, and that they were willing to put more trust in him than they were in any Pro Hero.
What he did remember was the laughing and the enormous smile that Mina had on her face throughout. The pure, unbridled joy that went throughout her entire system. He remembered that she hadn't ever looked so happy, bar a few moments that hey had spent together.
He had gone through Hell and come out the other side, scarcely even able to protect himself. Were he being honest, he didn't know if he truly could look after Mina.
But he knew that he was willing to risk everything to do the best that he could.