Aura Guardian Izuku

Chapter 13: The Truth

So, it's still technically Monday so the chapter isn't technically late.

But yeah, I've been very distracted by my new Wii this week.

Anyway, this chapter was definitely the hardest one for me to write so far. I'm actually decently happy with how it turned out, but by god was the early draft a yikes.

Hope you guys enjoy it, I'm going to bed now.

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Izuku honestly had no idea why he kept making excuses for him. It had become second nature at this point to hide his injuries, even after Katsuki had crossed the line and suicide baited him.

And he just couldn't justify it anymore.

Even as he sat on the couch cleaning his burned shoulder, a part of him recoiled at being in the living room, it wanted him to go hide in his room like he usually did. But he was just so tired... He was tired of pretending like Katsuki hadn't been hurting him all these years.

He was tired of protecting him.

So when his mum finally came home from work that day, he didn't try to hide in his room, he simply returned her cheery greeting...

...and waited for all of his lies to come crashing down.

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When Inko arrived home that day, she hadn't expected to see her son's mop of green hair peeking out from the living room. Izuku was usually in his room when she got home from work, but she'd never complain about about getting to spend some more time with him so she called out a cheerful greeting. Maybe they could watch something together before she started dinner?

Izuku returned her greeting with a half-hearted "Hey mum", almost like he was distracted, but Inko didn't think anything of it. It was pretty common for Izuku to get caught up in his quirk analysis or his aura training after school so she just assumed that that was why he sounded so distracted.

But, once she entered the living room, Inko felt her heart stop cold in her chest at the sight she was greeted with.

Her son, her baby, was sat on the couch cleaning up a third degree burn on his shoulder like he'd done it a hundred times before and, judging by the scars all over his torso, he probably had.

"Izuku... what..." She got a closer look at him and noticed a scar on his uninjured shoulder that was distinctly hand-shaped, a burn scar, "Izuku... who did this to you?" She asked, horrified that someone would hurt her child this badly.

"...Katsuki," Izuku mumbled in reply.

Katsuki...?

Surely not... she must've heard wrong, right? Katsuki wouldn't hurt Izuku like this right? She knew that they hadn't been friends in years, but surely he wouldn't go as far as to burn his own handprint into Izuku's shoulder?

"Katsuki... did he really...? Izuku please tell me he didn't really do this..." She begged.

Her son sat there silently for a few moments before he shook his head, "I'm sorry mum... I don't want to lie to you anymore..." He murmured, looking... resigned.

He went on to tell her about the beatings, about how it had escalated as they got older. He told her about each of his scars and how he'd gotten them, seven in total, but it might as well have been more with how big they were.

And finally, he told her about what had happened earlier after school.

Inko felt like she was going to be sick.