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Izuku sighed as he stepped off the train and headed for his mother's apartment. He was so tired from all the training and patrols. Things had really ramped up in their third year of UA, and he was still adjusting. The little bit of free time he had was usually spent with his girlfriend Ochako or his friends, but they were doing the same thing as him on this rare free day where they had neither school nor work studies. They were taking time to visit their families.
Sure he texted his mom frequently and spoke to her on the phone at least once a week, but he knew how worried she would get if he didn't show his face once in a while. Izuku sighed, but a smile crossed his lips as he thought about how worrisome his mother used to be. She had mellowed out over the past couple of years, especially after learning the full extent of his quirk.
As Izuku unlocked the door to his mom's apartment, he said. "Hey, mom, I'm home."
As Inko said she was in the kitchen, Izuku noticed a second pair of shoes and cocked an eyebrow as he thought. 'Does she have a guest? Those don't look like Auntie Mitsuki's usual shoes.'
Izuku's questions came to a grinding halt as Inko said. "Your other girlfriend is here. I do wish you would have told me what kind of relationship you were leading instead of just saying you were with Uraraka."
"Wha-" Izuku's throat closed up as he locked eyes with the yellow cat eyes. Sitting in the chair next to Inko was Himiko Toga, dressed in her usual school uniform. Her hair was done up in her signature buns, and a big toothy grin spread across her face.
"Heya Izu~ I know we talked about telling your mom today and Chako's parents another time, but you were taking so long, and your mom is so nice. I just had to tell her about us." Himiko said, giving him a wink. Izuku felt every muscle tense as he started to pull on his quirk, but he stopped seeing the flash of metal in Himiko's sleeve.
Himiko was fast and good with a knife. She was sitting right next to Inko, and Izuku was on the other side of the room. If he used enough power to cross the distance instantly, he would blow the apartment apart and potentially hurt his mom, but if he kept his power down enough to not hurt his mom, Himiko might have enough time to hurt her. He had to play along and find an opening.
Izuku smiled and chuckled a bit. He silently thanked Aizawa for teaching him how to lie and keep up appearances. "Sorry, Himiko. I got held up at school. You know how my classmates are."
Himiko nodded and sighed dramatically. "Mama Inko, sometimes I think Izuku cares more about helping his classmates than spending time with Chako and me."
Inko giggled as Iuzku took a shaky seat across from Himiko. "Izuku has always cared so much about his friends. I'm sure if you and Uraraka talk to him at the same time, he'll understand and spend more of his free time with you two."
Himiko giggled. "That would be nice. It's hard since we go to different schools, though. Right Izu?"
Izuku nodded as he racked his brain for some kind of plan. "Yeah. it's hard, but we're managing."
"I'm happy to hear that, dear," Inko said. "Though Izuku, why did you only ever tell me you were dating Uraraka? Did you think I would disapprove?"
Izuku smiled sadly. He knew that his mother would always approve and love him no matter what. "No, I didn't I-I just... I guess I was nervous."
"This kind of thing is new to all of us, Mama Inko. Chako is even more nervous about telling her parents." Himiko said, and as the girl's cat eyes looked at Inko, Izuku slipped his hand into his pocket and prayed that he hit his phone in the correct order to send out a distress signal.
Izuku tensed as Himiko's eyes snapped over to him, and she smiled. "Why are you so tense? I know you were worried about this, but your mama is amazing. We've been getting along great while waiting for you."
Izuku chuckled and tried to relax his posture. "Sorry. Maybe some tea will help."
Inko stood and smiled. "I'll get some started for you. How about some snacks as well?"
'Perfect. Once mom is far enough away-' Izuku's plan died as Himiko stood up and with an abundance of chipperness said. "Oh, let me help Mama Inko. You've been such a good host. I could learn a lot from you. Maybe some cooking tips too, especially since Izu is always talking about how good you are."
Inko laughed, and Izuku would have loved seeing his mom so happy if a serial killer who had an obsession with him wasn't standing right next to her chatting about trying to make dinner for him and Ochako in the future.
Once their backs were to him, Izuku slipped his phone out of his pocket and kept his relief from showing just in case. The signal was out. Now all he needed was for someone to notice it.
The two women came back and set down the snacks and tea. Izuku thanked Himiko as she handed him a cup and sipped the tea. Inko smiled as she asked. "Where is Uraraka? I would have loved to have her here as well."
Izuku cleared his throat and said. "She had school stuff to finish up, and she's going to see her parents. We um... we were gonna do this all together and at once, but she wanted to try and soften up her parents, so to speak, so it's just Himiko and me today."
Himiko nodded along. "It's a little sad but understandable. Chako's got real nice parents, but they can be pretty old-fashioned when it comes to relationships."
Izuku nodded a bit. "They really are good people. Though her dad can be kinda intimidating when he gets protective of Ochako."
Himiko giggled. "At least Chako and her mom chewed him out. I wish I could have been there with you two."
'There's no way she could know about that. it has to be a lucky guess that she said what happened when I met Ochako's parents for the first time.'
"I do wonder how you three met. I understand Izuku first met Uraraka at the entrance exam for UA, but when did they meet you, Toga?"
Himiko giggled. "We met during the summer of their first year, before the whole summer camp disaster. They were hanging out and bumped into me. I thought they were interesting and struck up a conversation. I guess they thought the same since we hung out more and more after that and eventually ended up dating."
Izuku put on his best smile. "Yeah, it just sorta happened."
Inko giggled as she rested a hand on her cheek. "That's wonderful, dear. It's similar to how I met Izuku's father."
Izuku perked up a bit and Himiko took note. She smiled at him, and Izuku felt confusion bubble up. Her smile was less threatening and softer, not at all like her typical hungry grin. Himiko turned to Inko and asked. "How did you meet him, mama Inko?"
Izuku swallowed a lump in his throat as Inko started talking about how she met Hisashi. For as long as Izuku could remember, it had just been him and his mom. He never felt like he needed a dad, and so he never asked, but ever since he met All Might and started to get to know the man behind the smile, Izuku had found himself wondering what his father used to be like.
He desperately wanted to ask his mother, but he felt scared to do so. She seemed happy, and what if bringing up Hisashi caused her pain. Izuku wouldn't be able to handle that, but right now, as his mother laughed and blushed slightly as she talked about how bad Hisashi was at trying to flirt, Izuku felt like he should have asked her sooner.
Yellow eyes caught Izuku's attention, and Himiko smiled as Inko wrapped up her story. "That's so sweet, mama Inko. Though I can't believe you gave him a second chance after that fumble."
Inko shook her head. "Mitsuki was in the same boat. She said he didn't deserve it, but I don't know. Something about Hisashi's face back then just made me want to give him another chance, and in the end, it all worked out."
Inko looked over and saw her son's face as he wiped away the start of tears. Her heart ached as she thought about how little she had told Izuku about Hisashi. He never asked, and she always assumed he was content not knowing about the man. "Hisashi was a good man, and Izuku takes after him in the best of ways. Though Izuku is a bit denser than Hisashi was at his age."
Izuku blushed a bit. "I'm not that dense."
Himiko giggled. "Izu, you took a while to notice that Ochako and I liked you. Neither of us was subtle, but you just kept missing the signs."
That was somewhat true. While Himiko had been violently clear about her obsession, Ochako told him after they had started dating how many times he missed the very obvious signs that she had either failed to hide or purposely shown him.
"You talked about meeting Uraraka's parents and me, but what about your Toga? Have your parents met Uraraka and Izuku yet?"
Izuku felt like his blood had turned to ice as a dark look passed over Himiko's eyes. He knew a bit about her past thanks to the police reports Aizawa showed him after one of Himiko's many attempts to get close to himself or Ochako. 'Is she going to hurt mom? Damn it, someone show up already.'
The dark look passed, and Himiko gave a sad smile as she said. "I'm not on good terms with my parents, so they don't know. Izuku and Ochako are the only two people in my life that I care about. I'll do anything to keep them, and I know my parents wouldn't approve, so I never told them, and I don't plan to."
The words may be a lie, but the feeling behind them felt true to Izuku. Himiko hated her parents, and the obsession with Ochako and himself seemed to be holding her attention. For the past two years, there hadn't been any murders of civilians that could be tied to Himiko. Though there were still villain bodies, who showed up from time to time covered in cuts and drained of their blood.
Inko placed a hand on Himiko's as she said. "Oh, I am so sorry, dear. I didn't mean to bring up something so painful. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come to me."
Himiko smiled softly as she took Inko's hand, and Izuku had to hold himself back from launching himself across the table. "Thank you, Mama Inko. I'll be sure to take you up on that. Though hopefully, my two heroes will be able to keep me safe."
"Hopefully, they will," Inko said as she gave Himiko's hand a squeeze.
Izuku felt himself relax as Himiko released Inko's hand, and the conversation moved on. Izuku spent most of the conversation making sure he had the various lies and half-truths of his false relationship in the correct order. After some time, Himiko stood as she said. "I need to get going. Thank you so much for having me, Mama Inko, and thank you for raising Izuku into the man he is."
Inko gave a teary smile. "Of course, dear. Please visit again and bring Uraraka next time. I would love to have all three of you here."
Himiko giggled. "I hope we can do that. Now come on, Izu, be a gentleman and walk me out."
Izuku stood, and as Inko started to clear the table, he gripped Himiko's arm tightly as they walked to the door.
Himiko purred and whispered. "I do love it when you're rough with me."
Izuku fought down his blush as he led her to the door and let her slip her shoes on. As she was getting ready to leave, he tightened the grip on her arm again and asked. "Why did you do this? Why come here and meet my mom?"
Himiko blinked in surprise before smiling. "Because I love you, and I wanted to meet the lady who made you. She's super cute, and I see a lot of you in her."
Izuku searched her eyes. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he simply sighed and let go of her arm. "I could hold you here and arrest you... but I won't."
"Because you love me?" Himiko asked as she batted her eyes at him.
"No." Himiko deflated a bit at his blunt answer. "It's because... I don't know, maybe because I saw some truths in all your acting, and I want to save you, not just arrest you." Izuku steeled his expression as he said. "Just don't ever pull a stunt like this again. You can come after me all you want but leave my family and Ochako out of it."
Himiko kicked her foot against the floor, looking like a pouting child. Izuku flinched when she suddenly lunged at him. Her lips crashed against his, and for a moment, he thought she kissed a lot like Ochako did. A sudden stab of pain in his lip disrupted that thought as Himiko bit his bottom lip and drew blood.
Himiko stepped back and licked her lips. "Pass that along to Chako for me, ok, sweetie."
Izuku glowered as Himiko slipped out the door and disappeared into the city. Aizawa showed up shortly after saying that he saw the message but was wrapped up in a fight against some villains. Izuku gave his old homeroom teacher the details of Himiko's appearance at Inkos apartment. However, he changed some details of his story to one in which Himiko escaped before Iuzku had a chance to subdue her. Izuku wasn't sure if Aizawa believed him fully, but the tired man simply wrote it all down and said he'd pass it along to the police and that they'd look for her.
Izuku's mother was understandably distressed when she learned the truth, but after staying the night, Izuku had gotten his mother to calm down. On his way back to school, he went over how he was going to talk to Ochak about Himiko. There was still so much about her that they didn't understand, and neither felt like just arresting her would be what was for the best. They wanted to find a way to save her from whatever it was that drove her down the path she walked. Hopefully, they'd be able to do it before Himiko hurt anyone else.