Chapter 27: Mitsuki Bakugou
Izuku Midoriya’s relationship with his mother is best described as… coexisting. They interact, if nothing else. Inko’s position in his life had long been that of a caretaker, rather than a mother. It wasn’t that Izuku hated her or anything like that. He even felt like he might have loved her.
… But when it came to his and his father’s plan, there were sacrifices made for Operational Security. Izuku’s dad had made it clear that the less people who knew the Full Truth, the better. Only those who were truly, deeply trusted could possibly be brought in on even a part of the secret that he and his father carried. Specifically about the way their Quirks worked… well, the way Izuku’s Quirk alone worked, now.
Inko Midoriya had not made the cut, so to speak. She was trusted enough to raise Izuku publicly, while his father worked from the shadows and was ostensibly at a job overseas. But she was not trusted enough to know the true nature of Izuku or All for One’s Quirks, the ability to steal Quirks from others, to gather them up.
That meant his mother had long believed Izuku to be Quirkless. It meant she’d raised him all these years assuming he would never amount to anything. It meant… it meant she’d been the birthplace of a thousand sad looks whenever she thought he wasn’t looking.
Izuku didn’t hate his mother. But it was hard to feel too deep of a connection to a person you’d spent your life lying to. When he finally did get to come out with a Quirk, Inko had been ecstatic. Jubilant, really. But Izuku had struggled to share in her happiness, in her sudden newfound appreciation for her son. She had never neglected him physically, but emotionally…
In the end, it didn’t matter. Inko might not have known about All for One’s Quirk, but she did know some of his truth. She knew, for instance, that he was rich. She knew that he was a criminal. And more recently, she was aware that All for One had died… and left a massive inheritance to Izuku. He would never want for anything, ever again.
This, of course, combined with everything else, had changed the dynamic between him and his mother massively. Overnight, she was no longer his caretaker. In a way, he had become hers. The money that had once flowed through All for One into Inko’s hands for her to care for Izuku had suddenly come through him. And though Izuku had not stopped the payments, had not interfered with Inko’s only source of income in any way, they both knew that fact all the same.
Inko no longer questioned him about what he was doing or where he was going. She acted as though it was because he was going to UA now, and that he was all grown-up because he was training to be a Pro Hero. But they both knew the truth, or so Izuku had thought. She was a little afraid of him. A little scared of him, now that he was in charge and his father was gone.
Yes, that was what Izuku had believed to be the case. Which was why he was so surprised to come home on Saturday morning and almost immediately be accosted by the woman.
“O-Oh! Izuku, there was a call-in for you!”
Blinking at that, Izuku looks to his mother, tilting his head in confusion.
“A call-in?”
Smiling nervously but also hopefully, Inko Midoriya bobs her head up and down.
“Yes! Do you remember Auntie Mitsuki, by any chance?”
For a brief moment, Izuku draws a blank on the name. To be fair, while he’s found himself forced to interact with Katsumi more than not in recent times, he hasn’t seen her mother in years… not since he was found to be Quirkless and Katsumi and he had… heh, ‘drifted apart’. So it’s no wonder that it takes him a second to place the name. ‘Auntie Mitsuki’, hmph. As if that woman has the right to call herself his Aunt after a decade of no contact.
“… I remember her, yes.”
But then, Inko doesn’t know why exactly he and Katsumi stopped being thick as thieves. She doesn’t know about the bullying. Izuku never told her. He could make up a lie and say it was Operational Security or something silly like that, but the truth was what it was. He just hadn’t wanted to confide in Inko. Not and receive more of those sad glances of hers.
“W-Well! She called up this morning to chat and asked how you were! I told her all about how you had gotten into UA, and how it turned out that you were just a Late Bloomer. She was so happy for you. And get this, she wants to take you out to lunch tomorrow to celebrate! Her treat!”
For a long moment, Izuku just processes Inko’s words. He hears his mother crystal clear the first time, admittedly, but he still finds himself momentarily catching on what she just said. He finds himself considering, in the space of one long drawn-out moment, if Mitsuki Bakugou knows about her daughter’s treatment of him all these years.
… But no, she doesn’t know about the bullying. He remembers ‘Auntie Mitsuki’, and while she wasn’t a bad woman by any means, she had a short temper that Katsumi had inherited. Even when they were both very young, Mitsuki would yell at Katsumi for the smallest of things. It had always… irritated Izuku back then, but Katsumi hated when he tried to defend her. Usually because Mitsuki would turn on a dime, getting nice and sweet with Izuku since he wasn’t actually her kid.
Hm, was there any merit to the idea of Katsumi turning out the way she did because she was inadvertently abused by her mother, even if Mitsuki wasn’t necessarily a bad person in general? … Nah. Katsumi was just a bitch, full stop.
Still, her mother…
“I-I told her you would be thrilled, o-of course. I hope you don’t mind.”
THAT gets a blink from Izuku, who finds himself jarred out of his thoughts as he looks to his mother, to Inko Midoriya.
“You did what?”
He’d thought they had an understanding. He’d thought Inko understood the dynamic between them had changed and was never going back to the way it was before. In point of fact, even with the way it was before, she wouldn’t have made any decision for him without consulting his father first. It was All for One who had the final say on Izuku’s schedule back then.
Now, it was him. And judging by the nervousness as Inko wrings her hands in front of her, she knows she fucked up.
“W-Well, I just thought… it’s been so long since you saw Auntie Mitsuki. You and her deserve this chance to catch up!”
For a moment, Izuku wants to blow up at Inko. But while he might be a little ambivalent of their mother-son relationship… she’s still his mother, isn’t she? She’s drastically overstepped her bounds, but to be fair… he didn’t exactly have any plans for Sunday as of yet. He could certainly have made plans, but this… it’s funny. He’s been ‘aggressively’ ignoring Katsumi. Meaning, he’s let her come to him, smacked her around, and then left her to eat dirt again and again so far.
And yet, he kind of finds himself intrigued by the prospect of meeting with her mother. There’s no way Mitsuki knows what her daughter has been up to. He’s curious to see how she’ll react when he tells her. There’s just one thing…
“Just Mitsuki? Not Mitsuki and Katsumi?”
Inko jolts at his sudden response. Perhaps she too expected him to blow up at her. She’d certainly been walking on egg shells around him, ever since his father died. Still, at hearing such a neutral response, Inko is buoyed and nods.
“Y-Yes. Um, at least, I believe so anyways. She didn’t mention Katsumi would be there… she said it was all about celebrating with y-you and catching up!”
That would have to do, Izuku supposed.
“Fine. But in the future, do not make plans for me. Understood?”
Inko nods rapidly, clearly appreciating Izuku’s levelheaded response. She better. Theirs was not a normal mother-son dynamic. She was not in charge of him, not even remotely. Not any longer. Giving one single sharp nod back, Izuku heads for his room, already considering exactly how he’s going to ruin Mitsuki Bakugou’s day.
-x-X-x-
“I… I didn’t know.”
Staring across the table at the moderately nice restaurant his ‘Auntie Mitsuki’ has brought him to, Izuku smiles thinly. They’re currently waiting for their entrees to be delivered. In the meantime, he’d gone ahead and filled her in on exactly what his and Katsumi’s relationship had been like for the last decade. To be fair, she had asked. She’d been the one to push it. And so Izuku had, admittedly somewhat gleefully, explained just how her daughter had bullied him for being Quirkless.
Mitsuki, needless to say, looks absolutely floored. Yet, there’s something else as well. Something beyond just the knowledge that her daughter was a bully hitting her like a freight train.
“Well, now you do. Katsumi did her level best to make my school life a living hell before UA. Even now, she can’t accept that I have a Quirk, that I have power. She doesn’t want to believe it, because it means her whole mentality was wrong all this time.”
Izuku lays out these facts matter-of-factly, not afraid in the slightest of offending Mitsuki Bakugou. But also, it doesn’t seem like he IS offending her. Rather, Mitsuki is continuing to give him a strange look. Curious now at her reaction, Izuku brings forth his extrasensory Quirks, to get a better idea of what’s going on in her head. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the ability to read minds. Fortunately, he doesn’t need it to quickly realize something very interesting. Mitsuki Bakugou is aroused.
“… You really have grown up into an impressive young man, Izuku.”
Raising an eyebrow at that, Izuku stares Mitsuki down until she realizes SHE’S staring, causing the middle-aged woman to flush and avert her gaze. Despite easily being in her late thirties, Izuku can admit it… Mitsuki looks amazing for her age. Not like his mother, who has aged fine, but not particularly gracefully. To be fair though, Inko’s Quirk didn’t let her cheat like Mitsuki’s did.
Mitsuki Bakugou’s Quirk, Glycerin, allowed its used to produce a smooth liquid from their skin. Mitsuki had used its moisturizing effect to great lengths over the years, and to this day had flawless skin and a youthful appearance, despite her age. She was, to put it bluntly… a total MILF.
Of course, Izuku doesn’t let his interest in her, nor his knowledge of her arousal, show on his face as Mitsuki squirms a bit under his eyes.
“A-Apologies. I… I’ve… I promise you; I’ll bring Katsumi to task for what she’s done. She won’t get away with it, ever again.”
“A little too late for that, don’t you think? She’s already been stopped. I stopped her. But you… Mitsuki, you don’t even realize that you’re part of the problem, do you?”
That gets a more characteristic reaction out of Mitsuki. Namely, she stiffens and gawks at him before bristling with anger for a brief moment.
“W-What?! What’s that supposed to mean?!”
But just because she’s finally gotten over her shock and embarrassment on her daughter’s behalf and is once again showing herself to be short-tempered and aggressive, doesn’t mean Izuku is backing down.
“She learned it from you, Mitsuki.”
“I-I’ve never bullied anyone in my life! I’m not an idiot! I know my daughter is arrogant and self-centered, and I’ve tried to smack that out of her, but-!”
Izuku’s bark of laughter cuts Mitsuki off. He gives the older woman a glare, eyes narrowed as he leans across the table towards her.
“In one breath you speak of not being a bully while also talking about how you smack your daughter. Don’t you think the two are a little contradictory, Mitsuki?”
He can’t help putting a little heat into his words. And maybe it’s Mitsuki’s odd arousal, or maybe he’s just that intimidating, but the aggressive woman actually… backs down. She rears back as if struck, and then almost seems to deflate in on herself, hanging her head as he actually seems to get through to her. To be fair, he might be using a couple of Social Engineering Quirks here and there, giving more weight to his words. But still… there’s something odd about her reactions, something he’s missing.
“… How can I make amends, Izuku? How can I make up for my daughter’s mistakes? Katsumi… she’s not a bad kid. She just needs a second chance.”
For a brief moment, Mitsuki’s quiet, apologetic tone makes Izuku feel… strange. For a brief moment, he finds himself remembering the good times, his childhood with Katsumi, when they were still friends and her aggressive attitude was a boon instead of a hindrance.
That doesn’t last long, however. Izuku lets out a growl, and glares at Katsumi’s mother, unabashed.
“You want to make amends? Start by getting down on your knees and begging for forgiveness on your daughter’s behalf.”
He’s not actually expecting her to do it, to be fair. He’s not expecting her to beg him right here and now in the middle of a public restaurant. Which is why Mitsuki surprises him so much when he senses not just a spike of arousal from the woman, but also watches her stand up, clearly intent on following through on his demand right then and there.
“Wait! What are you doing?!”
Izuku scowls as he stops Mitsuki in her tracks. He’s reminded of how Katsumi was in the forest after their duel. Not that she’d shown any sign of submission then, not like her mother was now. Mitsuki leans over the table rather than getting on her knees and grabs him by the hand.
“I’m trying to show you, Izuku. I’m willing to do ANYTHING to make amends for my daughter’s actions. Anything at all.”
Where the hell was this coming from? Admittedly, Izuku hadn’t seen ‘Auntie’ Mitsuki in a long time, but he definitely didn’t remember her being this thirsty. And yet… like mother like daughter, perhaps? Katsumi had clearly gotten that weird arousal he’d noted before from somewhere. And it seemed Mitsuki was indeed willing to do ANYTHING to make amends.
The only question was, did he take advantage of that? And if so, how?