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Midoriya Izuku never knew his uncle growing up. It was something that his mother never liked to talk about. It was something that would send her into tears at the mere thought of him. He knew, of course, that Uncle Oboro wanted to be a hero. That he had gotten into UA, even.
And that he died.
His mother wasn’t very close to her younger half-brother; there was family drama that she never really wanted to share regarding Izuku’s grandfather. He never really pushed because, outside of his insistence on being a hero, he never really liked seeing his Mom upset.
(But there were a couple of pictures of a teenage boy with wispy blue hair and a big smile holding a little chubby-cheeked baby to toddler Izuku. He held him closely, preciously, like he was something so very important to be cherished.
Izuku wished he could have known his uncle. He looked like he could have been a lot of fun.
Almost like a friend.)
Maybe if he were less selfish, he would find a better dream. Uncle Oboro had a great quirk, and still died. But all Izuku wanted to do was help people. All he ever wanted to do was give hope to those who needed it.
Still, his mother eventually (and through individual and family therapy) supported Izuku in his dream, knowing she couldn’t stop him and that she wanted her boy to try. And then there was All Might and One For All and…
He wondered why Aizawa-sensei looked so pained when Izuku declared he could still move.
Why Yamada-sensei froze at Izuku’s smile.
Why Kayama-sensei sounded choked when she overheard Izuku well and truly laugh for the first time.
The USJ.
And the shadowy mist man, Kurogiri of the League of Villains, loomed over Izuku. He took a step back, watching the darkness trail off of him.
Izuku held his ground with gritted teeth and tears in his eyes. He was going to do his best to protect his classmates and his teacher. He was going to do something good.
He was going to be a hero, and he was going to live.
He had to for Mom, for Dad, for Uncle Oboro.
And then the man seemed to glitch.
“iNko?”
It wasn’t the smooth, cultured voice that he had spoken in earlier. There was something young about it suddenly.
Izuku froze at that.
Everyone froze at that.
That was his mother’s name. He summoned all his courage despite the surprise and the fear. He wouldn’t let any villains put a hand on his mother.
“Wh-what do you want with my Mom?”
“KUROGIRI!” Shigaraki shrieked, but the shadowy man didn’t seem to move.
In fact, the mist seemed to be lightening.
“YoUr MotHeR?” he gasped, grabbing at his head.
Izuku had fully lost the plot at this point.
“Midoriya Inko is my mother,” he said fiercely.
Kurogiri groaned again, as if he was terrible, terrible pain.
“iZuKU?”
“Kurogiri!” Shigaraki commanded again.
Kurogiri’s head snapped up.
For a moment, the smoke cleared.
Izuku stared into the eyes of his dead uncle.
“It’s you.”
The face twisted in pain, but he gave a shaky smile. All the mist pouring off his body was the color of a clear blue sky.
“Yeah. It’s me,” he grimaced. “For the moment.”
“…Kurogiri?”
Uncle Oboro (and how was it Uncle Oboro? What the fuck happened? Izuku was very lost) turned to look at Shigaraki Tomura.
“It needs to end,” he said. “You can’t hurt my family.”
And then the villain was gone in a portal of blue smoke.
Then, Uncle Oboro passed out at Izuku’s feet.
Then All Might broke the ceiling as the teachers arrived.
“I AM HE—Young Midoriya?” All Might asked, taking in the scene. “What happened?”
Yeah.
Izuku really wished he knew how to answer that question.
Sometimes, heroes don’t get a happy ending. That’s not the way of things. A lot of times, people who did good in the world have a story that ends in tragedy.
And sometimes, just sometimes, miracles can truly happen.
Sitting next to his mother at his apparently not-dead-but-kind-of Uncle’s bedside, Izuku could only hope that this was a miracle that could stay. Nedzu-sensei said that the triggers implanted seemed to have been wiped, though Uncle Oboro’s quirk would never be the same.
Uncle Oboro opened his eyes.
“Inko,” he breathed out. “You’re here.”
Izuku’s mom burst into tears.
Through his own brimming eyes, Izuku smiled.
“Yeah, Uncle Oboro, we’re here.”