Heyo, this is my first work in the BNHA fandom. For those who recognize my pen name, I've written a few other stories though they're Naruto. Um, I'm really not the best at updating but I have quite a bit written for this story already. Hope you like it and don't forget to comment. XOXO

Also, this is cross posted through A03.

XXX

Chapter One: Hold your Breath and Count to Ten

A yawn broke through the otherwise silent room. Emerald eyes glanced at his clock before turning back to his desk despite the rather late hour. His thumb carefully smudging the edge of the picture before picking up another pencil and continuing. He had another notebook to the side, for references, that he would turn to every so often.

Time passed before he slumped back in his seat. He closed both journals before standing back up. He silently opened his door and made his way to the other room down the hall. The boy skillfully avoided the loose floorboards and only stepped on the ones he knew wouldn't creak.

He pushed open the door and let out a relieved breath before walking further in.

He grabbed the comforter laying on the bed and draping in across sweater clad shoulders. He studied his mother for a moment, pain flashing in his eyes before it was pushed down. His eyes drifted to the desk and he bit his lip to keep from cursing.

His fingers shuffled the papers lightly and he only managed to read a few words. Numbers. But it was enough. He sighed, putting them back in their place before walking out. He turned the main light off and shut the door before going back into his own room.

He should really go to sleep but found himself pulling more notebooks from his shelf. To be honest, it was slightly unnerving how many notebooks were on it. He grabbed his phone and turned off his light, making his way into the kitchen. He debated making tea before his eyes noticed the clock again. He wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, so coffee would be better.

He hid his yawn behind his hand, sitting at the table and opened to the most recent page and scanned it. Two weeks ago…

A pencil was moving across paper yet again and he ignored the urge to shake the cramps out of his hand. He erased, wrote more, opening to the other book and scanned for ideas on how this could work. Numbers and calculations were made quickly but precisely.

He caught the coffee machine right before it beeped and poured some. His mother was asleep, he knew nothing would wake her up having pulled three nightshifts in a row, but he didn't want to disturb her.

He scratched his ankle, eyes falling on something he had been trying to ignore since he was asked. He let out a small groan, it wasn't like he had a choice. They needed the money and his mother needed sleep.

"Fuck."

He really wasn't looking forward to this. His hands palmed his eyes roughly. The resigned breath made his hands push harder into the sockets and he quickly let go. He downed the rest of the now warm drink and stood up. Putting the todays date by the request, he quickly closed the notebooks and put the mug into the sink.

The notebooks returned to their proper place on the shelves and he grabbed his backpack, shoving school clothes for tomorrow (technically today) into it before shutting the door. He wrote a quick note and left it on the table; telling his mother that he had gone to school early to talk to his teachers.

His feet led him to a familiar alley, and he shed his clothes -ignoring the morning chill- stepping into the familiar get-up with ease. He pushed his bangs back with annoyance when they fell right back. He hid his backpack between the wall and a dumpster. As he exited the alleyway, he quickly entered the location into the flip phone before slipping it back into his pouch. From there, he began a jog that lasted for a good hour before he came to where he needed, all the while following the red, blipping dot that showed the required route through the visor he was wearing.

He slowed to a stop, his breaths ragged as he looked up at the tall building. It was in a better part of town and it showed. His hand wiped at his masked chin and he shook his head. This was insane.

"Shedo, show me the way up."

"Infra-red shows no guards at the east entrance. You can find a trash chute on the second floor."

He followed the others advice without question. Shedo, the AI system he had designed last year, hadn't let him down yet. He was still relieved that the first years at the Junior High all spent a week visiting places related to a workplace so they got to thinking about what they wanted to do when they got older.

Of course, going to the Heroic Government Center of Tokyo had been their favorite. It had been his as well. Given that it was how he got most, if not all, of the gadgets he was using. Though, he did tweak them all once he deemed himself safe.

He still had no idea how he managed that.

The trash chute was disgusting, in case you were ever wondering. It smelled terrible and his thighs strained to hold up his weight as he pulled the mask up to cover his nose. Usually the hood was enough…

He came to the twelfth floor, throwing himself out and winced at the loud thud that followed.

"Pull up night vision, Shedo. Talk me through client Hadaki and his request. Shut off hallway cameras."
A small ding and he quickly got used to the black and white vision that followed. His frame stayed close to the wall before he leaped, his gloves and shoes sticking to the ceiling.

He watched the woman walk down, yawning. Based on what she was wearing and the gym bag over her shoulder, she was going to the gym. He sighed quietly before falling back down to a crouch.

"Client gave name Hadaki. Male. 38 years old. Quirk allows him to detect peoples moods. Married with two children. He suspects his wife to be cheating with their pediatrician. Wants proof and evidence."

He came to the correct apartment, studying the lock before opening his utility belt. After picking the lock, he entered quietly, waiting a moment. Once it was clear, he shut the door and locked it behind him.

"Activate infra-red."

His vision changed again and he found his way to the bedroom soon enough. The door was open. Two people were laying on the bed and he stiffened. His hand came to the side of the glasses before clicking the button several times.

He took a quiet breath before walking over to the desk. "Activate night vision."

He found photos in the drawers but that was it. After copies were made, he walked out of the room. His eyes scanned for anything at the surface before entering the kitchen. Photos of the wives purse and coat on the counter. He was about to go into the bathroom next when an alarm went off.

He swore, quickly scaling the countertops before laying face down on the small space between the ceiling and cupboards. They were talking and he activated the audio recorder. The visor zoomed back in the bedroom before following the two people that exited.

"I don't want to go, Hoshi-kun."

The male put some bread into a toaster. He wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Unless you agree, you have to. We've been through this, Mino."

The woman whined, pulling the robe tighter to her naked body.

"It's cold."

The man, Hoshito, laughed and picked her up, setting her on the counter. He laughed along with her giggles. The hidden boy bit his lip painfully as his finger clicked for more photos. He tuned them out, still recording.

His eyes were unfocused as laughter rang from the bathroom. He climbed down, the smell of burnt toast clouding his senses. He paused at the ring on the counter, taking another picture. Walking the short distance to the hallway, he took more pictures of the sweats and robe that lay limp on the floor.

He left, shutting the audio off at a scream, making sure to lock it back into place. He ran, Shedo alerting him that people were beginning to wake up. His shoulder blades hit the bolts in the trash chute. He made sure to exit the same way he came.

Once he made it back into the alley way, only two blocks away from the Junior High, he ripped the mask off and gasped for air. His legs hurt and his head pounded. His arms rested on knees, head in his hands and he refrained from asking himself any questions that came to mind. Checking the time, he knew he didn't have any to spare.

Deciding to deal with this all later, he changed into his school uniform. He regretted forgetting a water bottle and forced himself to walk to school. One hand was stuck in his hair and he pulled, grounding himself to the present and not the past. Never the past.

He came to his class right when the bell rang.

"Midoriya! Do you have a late note?"

Midoriya Izuku grit his teeth, arms waving uselessly. "No."

The teacher pointed to the door. "Go get one. You know the rules."

Midoriya had a hard time not telling the teacher where he could put his stupid note and walked towards the principals office. He stopped, drinking greedily at the water fountain. In that moment he realized that he had also forgotten his lunch at home.

Izuku palmed his face again, shaking off both annoyance and sleep and got the permission slip. Walking back, class continued. He didn't fall asleep, but that didn't mean that he paid any attention to what the teacher was saying. He still managed to take notes but none of it registered in his mind.

The bell rang and Izuku ignored his stomach, sleeping through lunch period and the school day continued. He took a second to be grateful there weren't any tests today. There was no way he could focus enough for one.

After class he quickly ran home, hoping to avoid his mother before she came back from work. He connected his headset to the computer and transferred his findings onto an empty USB. He grabbed an apple before making his way back to the alleyway to change.

He hopped on a truck that was going to the Sakito district before making his way to Hadaki's place. Without meaning to, his mind ran through what he had been avoiding.

Memories of Hisashi, mostly. He barely remembered a time they had been a happy family but he knew they existed at one point. But once the man began to suspect his son was quirkless…well, things changed. His dad wasn't around as much and when he was, his parents seemed to fight. All the time.

He found out about his father's affair when he turned seven. But he knew it was going on long before then. He confronted him mom, not understanding what it all meant. They kept up the façade for a couple months, he had no idea why until the divorce settled.

Money. It always came down to money.

Hisashi paid child support, yes. At first anyway. Whenever Izuku looked through the bills his mom tried to hide from him, he couldn't find any. He knew the checks stopped coming a couple years ago though. Since that was when they moved.

But in the end, they moved to a cheaper apartment. It was a couple prefectures away and he started going to a new school. Friends seemed both impossible to make and unnecessary. With the move, his mother lost her job because of the distance. Even though it was promised. And the only job she could find was half the pay and twice the workload.

…All because of a cheating bastard.

He soon found himself at the restaurant Hadaki owned. Going through the back of the building, all alleys and backways were connected, he opened the door. Midoriya ignored the startled workers and made his way to his client's office, throwing the door open before throwing the USB at the others chest.

The man screamed and Izuku realized that he wasn't doing a very good job staying hidden and secretive. Tact, you could say, would have been a good thing in this situation.

After calming his workers, Hadaki came back in, locking the door. Izuku stood in the middle of the office and waited.

"Did-did you get it? Did you catch them?"

Midoriya really wished he didn't sound as excited as he did. He didn't understand why the guy was hoping for his wife to be cheating on him. It didn't seem healthy to the boy.

"It's all there."

The other rubbed his hands together, plugging the USB into the computer and waited for it to boot up. Hadaki ignored the off-putting deep voice from the rather short… guy? Vigilante? In his opinion the other was a hero so it didn't matter to him.

Izuku gave the other another minute. He wanted to get out of here and be done with this mission. He wanted to go home. But he still had another stop to make.

"I've completed my end of the deal."

The man grinned madly at him, standing and walking over to the safe in the corner of the room. Izuku still hadn't moved, listening as the man counted out loud.

"Three, three-fifty, four, four-fifty and five thousand."

Izuku grabbed the money from the other, counting himself.

"I really appreciate this. Thank you."

Midoriya rose an eyebrow, even though the other couldn't see it. He turned. "You know how to find me."

The other thanked him again and Midoriya left. He had to wait a few minutes before somebody headed back his way and hopped onto the semi. Once he was back in his city, he had to go back into the alley. To change. Again. God, he was so tired. Izuku managed to pull himself together to go to the bank and deposit the money he had gotten. They had seen him enough to not ask questions, despite the oddness of the situation.

If Midoriya cared, he would be worried that the bankers would take anywhere from a couple hundred to double digit thousands of dollars from a kid. But, he didn't.

It would go through tomorrow and after that he would be able to pay for the water and electricity. His mother would pay rent first. She always did. If he was lucky, they wouldn't put any additional charges on the payments. He would be paying in full, instead of the separate payments that were usually paid. Hopefully he would have enough to get something for his mom.

He generally avoided…working, if he could help it. He knew that if his mom found out then it would just worry her. He wouldn't call himself a hero, if anything he felt the opposite. Heroes didn't work for money after all.

Izuku stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment, trying to decide if he wanted to eat or take a nap before his mom came home. In the end he settled for a nap but set an alarm. He wanted to get a head start on dinner. After changing into pajamas, he laid down.

He was dead to the world minutes later.

He almost missed his alarm, very tempted to go back to sleep. He got up anyway and took a shower. Izuku raided the cupboards, trying to decide on what to make. They had stuff for yakitori, which was his mothers favorite. He debated if he should make it tonight or next week, which was her birthday.

After a very hard internal battle, he decided to make it tonight. He could just do another job to get some food later on.

Midoriya found himself smiling as he worked, despite being stressed and tired. He put on Present Mics station as he worked, laughing quietly at the pro hero. He was… interesting. Not one of his personal favorites but he was pretty cool. He didn't really have a favorite hero anymore.

After plating the food, he glanced at the clock in mild confusion. It was after seven. His mom was usually home by now. The thought of something happening to her crossed his mind before he shook his head. She had worked extra shifts often, much to his displeasure. It wouldn't be the first time.

Izuku felt bad for caving after twenty minutes. He hadn't had anything to eat that day besides the apple and he was hungry. A small scowl reached his face, no matter how much he made this, it never tasted as good as his moms. It was annoying and he didn't know what he was missing.

Grr.

After an hour had passed, he put the leftovers away and checked his phone. He frowned at the lack of replies from his mom. She would usually message him to let him know that she was working late at least. Still, it wouldn't be the first time. He set his phone down, determined not to call. She wouldn't be able to answer anyway.

Three hours later, he was half convinced that his lack of sleep was finally getting to him. His mind was going over everything that could have happened and knew it was stupid to worry. His mom was fine. The diner she worked at closed at three, so he would only have to stay awake a few more hours.

He called the diner twenty minutes later, chilled when they said that she hadn't come in today at all. He thanked them, ignoring their questions if she was alright. Because no, she wasn't.

Midoriya was a moment away from running out and looking for her when he remembered the previous night and felt stupid. She hadn't been feeling well the past couple days, (nothing but a headache, she had said) but it was possible that she stayed home.

Izuku snorted, trying to calm his nerves. He rubbed his eye, worry leaving and suddenly his wish for sleep caught up to him. His fingers rapped on the door.

"Mom?"

He frowned, knocking harder. "Mom?"

Upon not getting an answer, he opened the door.

"Mom?"

He stilled, eyes on his mother who was still laying on the desk. The lamp was still on. She hadn't moved since last night?

He shook her, "Mom, wake up."

The kid tried for another few minutes before running back into the living room and calling an ambulance. He tried to stay calm but his eyes burned and his mind ran. He pulled her out of the chair and laid her on her bed.

She was breathing, at least. But she was burning up. His hands pulled at his hair uselessly as he looked at her, pleading for her to just wake up. He heard the front door open and he rushed into the front room before showing them where she was. They asked where his dad was.

Midoriya cursed them. His dad was gone. The assholes. Did it look like he was here?

Riding in an ambulance would have been cooler if his mom wasn't hooked up to bags and wires and machines. People wouldn't stop crowding her. She hated being crowded.

Izuku sat in the waiting room wearing sweats and a hoody as his leg bounced anxiously. He had forgotten shoes in his haste. An empty cup of coffee was held in his hands, it was the fourth one in two hours. His eyes felt heavy.

"Hey, kiddo. Why don't you try and get some rest?"

His eyes snapped up, having a hard time focusing for a moment. It was a nurse, pillow and blanket in her hand.

"You can sleep on a bed in the on call room. It would be comfier than a chair."

She looked hopeful and the offer was tempting. It really was, but he shook his head.

"Not until I hear what's wrong. Have you heard anything? The patients name is Midoriya Inko."
The nurse sent him a pitying look and Izuku knew, he just knew, that something was wrong. She shuffled, pushing her hair behind her horns.

"The doctor plans to talk to you tomorrow. She wants you to get some rest."

Izuku looked down. He knew a losing fight when he saw one. He wiped uselessly at his eyes and stood, grabbing the pillow and blanket from the other before following. The bed was plastic and the room was cold.

He felt colder.

XXX

Izuku's hand was useless to muffle his sobs. His back hit the wall. His eyes darkened as he looked at the doctor in disbelief. His body shook and with each word the other said, he slid further and further down until he was on the floor.

The doctor looked at him with sad eyes but she had done this enough to know that it was easier to get it all out and done with.

"Cancer at this stage is difficult, no matter the kind. Pancreatic is nearly impossible to detect in early stage, there wasn't anything you could have done. There are options but I'll be honest. It doesn't look good."

Izuku's hand dropped and his head hit the wall. Hard.

Stage four pancreatic cancer.

Why in gods name did it have to happen to her?

"Unfortunately, you are a minor. You…you're barely a teen. We've called your father but he doesn't want to get involved."

Izuku let out a wet scoff. His tongue scraped his teeth. "Of course he doesn't. He's a fucking bastard. We- It's just been her and I. For years. She doesn't have any family. It's just been the two of us."

The doctor looked away for a moment. In all her years, nothing like this has happened. There had always been somebody. Somebody but the kid. And she had been doing this for a very long time.

"I am so sorry, Midoriya-kun."

The boy nodded, because that was what he was. He was just a kid. He stood against the wall, wiping his eyes hard before wiping them on his pants. He nodded some more, meeting her eyes after a moment.

"So, what," He cleared his throat. "What are our options? You said that there were options?"

The doctor nodded herself, swallowing roughly. She looked at the clipboard, she already knew what it said but she could always hope it had changed since the last time she looked at it.

She held her hand out. "My name is Doctor Namino. We'll be spending a lot of time together."

He shook her hand, and it was rough. Like this kid had already been through a lot. She wouldn't doubt it if that was the case.

"Midoriya Izuku."

She nodded, leading him into her office to talk. This won't be easy. By any means.

XXX

|Roughly four months later|

The day was hot. The sun was bright and there weren't any clouds. The trees were old, the flowers bright and the grass was green. It looked soft. It was quiet. By most standards, it was a beautiful day.

The headstone was pointless. A casket was too expensive and the jar was heavy in too small hands. The flowers looked stupid. The headstone didn't stand out. Only two people showed up to the funeral. Three, if you count the priest.

Midoriya Izuku and the social worker.

"Let's get going, Izuku-kun."

The teen, the fourteen-year-old, didn't move. "I'll meet you in the car, Katami-san."

A large hand patted his shoulder and walked off, giving him a moment of privacy. Midoriya squatted, setting the urn down and traced the letters.

Midoriya Inko

2066 – 2099

Headstones were expensive. Who would have thought they charged by the letter? By the number?

The lone Midoriya stood, grabbing the flowers and setting the urn by the stone. He shoved his empty hand in his slacks pocket. His jaw twitched and his eyes burned but he didn't cry. Not since he first found out.

He pulled out a familiar letter from his pocket. He had read it many, many times and he probably knew it by heart. He did know it by heart.

'Dear Izuku,

Time has just flown by. I remember holding you in my arms for the first time. I had never seen anything as beautiful as you. You were my little angel. You always have been. I watched you grow into a smart and caring boy. You were always so sweet and selfless. It seemed unfair for you to be born with me as your mother. You deserved so much more. You deserve more, Izuku.

I have made mistakes, I know. Your father being one and destroying your dream another. I have no real hope that you'll forgive me. I don't think you should. Not after the life I've given you.

You can be a hero, Izuku. I know you can. I should have told you years ago. Not having a quirk doesn't define you, your heart does. Yours is made of solid gold. Become a hero, baby. Show people how amazing you are. You've always been my little hero.

Love you always and forever,

Mom'

He sniffed, jaw clenched as he toed the ground. His face was pinched and god, this was so hard.

Letting out a sigh, he kissed the paper before tucking it between the stone and urn. He turned, walking away with nothing but a bouquet of irises. He opened the front seat of the social workers car without a word. Two boxes and a backpack sat in the backseat.

Midoriya Inko died July fifteenth and left her son alone. But not by choice. Never by choice.