Izuku Midoryia One-Shots

You Are My Sunshine (My Only Sunshine)

Izuku is her sunshine. The invincible light that could always turn her day into something a bit lighter. She knew he would be destined for great things the moment he was born, no matter how small they were. People would think that that's what any parent would say, but for Inko, it wasn't just because he was her son. His eyes shone with a sparkle that no one else had. A kindness that was ever so delicate yet unbreakable.

    Her son was special. In ways she couldn't quite fathom. Inko wanted her son to stay this way, and never fade away. She took careful time to nurture him and show him all the love that the world could offer. She didn't forget about the hate, either. Inko taught her kid that while there was much love, there was also hate and darkness, and it was important to know both sides. She told her son this with gentleness and patience, but Izuku was smart and listened to her words with ease.

    Inko's lessons about the world only seemed to make him into a better person, if that was even possible. He was kind to the misunderstood, to the stubborn, to the people who knew nothing but hate. He showed them the lightness that they had never seen. Some basked in it, while others ran from it. And while Izuku sometimes didn't understand why people were scared of his brightness, he tried his best to accept it.

    When he first brought up the idea of being a hero, Inko was terrified. He was only three, but Inko knew that this had already turned into a lifelong goal of his. Her son was stubborn, so all she could do was hide her fear through a smile and support him. At this moment, she knew that her son would become the greatest hero there would ever be. She promised herself that she would continue to teach him the balances of the world and the unfairness of it. The cycles of life and how important it was to take it with acceptance. Inko wanted to teach her son that no matter how small of a deed he does, it could save someone in more ways than one.

    However, Inko was worried. Her son always gave, but never asked for something back. That was the hardest lesson for her and Izuku. Over and over again Inko told her son that he couldn't give until he had nothing left because then he won't be able to help in the ways he wants to. She wanted him to know that in order to take care of others, he would have to take care of himself as well. That it was okay to put himself first; essential, even.

    Her worry grew once Izuku was diagnosed as quirkless (Diagnosed. As if it was a disease). She watched for the first time, the light from her son's brilliant eyes fade into darkness. Her hands shook with fear. This was a lesson she had never thought of. An obstacle that never came to mind. Inko was not educated on discrimination and had planned to help her son understand it later on. She never thought that he might be shackled by it.

    "I'm so sorry, Izuku." They were words neither of them wanted to hear, yet she said them anyways. Those words haunted her in the depths of her dreams and rightfully so. Inko let them claw at her consciousness, because it reminded her of her failure. A mistake to never be repeated, no matter what.

    That night, Inko spent all night with her son. Hugging him not only for his comfort, but for hers as well. It was selfish, but Inko wished he could've stayed wrapped up in her arms like that forever. With each minute that passed that night, her fear grew into a monster. A fear that enveloped so many things that it was impossible to sort them all out.

    The next day, when her son was still sound asleep with stained cheeks and puffy eyes, Inko researched. She wanted to be prepared for the discrimination that her son would face, hoping that she could somehow prepare him. The mother cried again that day when her eyes devoured the statistics. She cried harder when the reality came crashing down on her. Inko wouldn't be able to prepare her son for this.

    But she could be there for him. Hold him and support him and encourage him. She knew that she wouldn't be enough, but she could be something. She had to be.

    Inko watched as her son grew. The older he got the smaller he seemed to be. The smarter he was, the more guarded he became. She watched how her sunshine, her only sunshine, became nothing but a few specks of light. The kindness never left, and for that she would forever be grateful for.

    You'll never know dear, how much I love you.

    The mother made sure to remind her son how much she loved for him. She was desperate for him to know that she cares about him so, so much, but sometimes it seemed like Izuku was blind to the fact. His eyes casting a shadow with thoughts so loud yet so quiet. Inko used to know every single aspect of her kid, but now she hardly knew anything. And it killed her.

    You make me happy when skies are gray

    When she saw Izuku's arms for the first time in what seemed to be years, the first thought that passed through her head was how much a failure she was. The thought went away with the wind as she reminded herself that Inko could help him now. Inko would listen now to make amends for all the times she didn't.

The red criss-crossed lines that had covered Izuku's arms faded with time and in place came the hope that he had started to lose. It was slow and gradual, but Inko could see a difference. It meant the world to her once the teen started to become happier and more full of life. She would never be able to put how proud she was into words, because watching someone you love grow and smile after so long of only dreaming about it was one of the most wonderful experiences that Inko ever had.

I'll always love you and make you happy,

The light only seemed to grow once Izuku got into his dream school. The mother's worry was always constant, but every time her son came home with a smile -something he had never done before- and told her about his amazing classmates, she would smile until her cheeks hurt.

But once the scars started to grow again from his newly developed power (a power that scared Inko because it was the unknown. The unpredictable. A Power that she sometimes despised because it only seemed to hurt her child) Inko grew wary. She supported her son in his dream, but he was still so young. And yet he was risking his life like a full-fledged hero would.

She experienced anger that she had never felt before. An anger that had been developed unknowingly since the world turned their back on her child. Why was her son always getting hurt? Why was he always so okay with it? It was something she didn't think she would ever understand. Dreams, talents, ambitions, are something she believed in. But that didn't mean Inko wanted the only person who made her life worthwhile to risk theirs.

The kind man, the one her son looked up to in more ways than one, promised that he would protect him. It was something that she could never succeed at, and Izuku's eyes were so full of flaming determination and hope that the anger simmered down. Even when she wanted to yell, no. I can't risk it. I can't lose him.

Inko questioned herself everyday whether or not she was a good parent. She never knew the answer and never will. Despite trying her best every single day, she still found it hard to believe whether or not it was enough.

    You told me once, dear, that you really loved me

    She witnessed her son go through deadly encounter after deadly encounter. Watched how her son started looking so old and wise while he was still so young. Analyzed how Izuku became painted with scars by the time he graduated.

    He always visited; even after high school. Even when he was the number one hero, he always made time for her. She basked in every visit, fearful that it might be the last. She wished, prayed, hoped everynight that her son would be able to live longer than her. Maybe even get to settle down and relax with his other friends once they grow too tired to fight.

    But life wasn't like that. Her eyes were glued onto the TV. Many, many years after he became a hero. His fist was raised to the sky and his smile was one of life and hope. The tears on her face never stopped once his eyes closed for the last time, his grin never falling from his face.

    She cried and relived memory after memory with her son. Her heart shattering into tiny shards that cut deep. A loneliness blanketed around her. It was a scenario that never left her mind, a fate that she knew would be possible but never acknowledged.

    Please don't take my sunshine away.

Hope everyone has/had a good day!