Chapter 18: A Visit!

He slowly nodded and looked up at him "Why are you here?"

"I might be an artificial human, but I am still human. I knew this would be a difficult task for you and I wanted to take care of you in your time of need."

He gently released Izuku from his hold and started to stand, "How about we get you cleaned up."

All of his weapons were placed on the table and Izuku started to zone out again when he was guided to the bathroom where a prepared bath was waiting for him.

By the time Izuku was fully aware of his surroundings again he was in his pajamas and being placed in his bed.

He looked over to see Kuroguri start to leave. His voice was weak, barely above a whisper. "Please stay."

While those who didn't know the man would say that the living mist didn't have facial expressions, Izuku knew what his smile looked like.

"Of course little one."

As he sat on the side of the bed and slowly ran his fingers through the boy's hair, Izuku felt at peace there. No matter how hard the day had been, he knew the man would keep him safe.

As exhaustion started to take over he hummed lightly "Thanks dad."

Both of them froze.

"W-wait, I'm sorry. I didn't-."

"Shhh, I'm not mad."

-I know he never had a dad growing up, but he deserves so much more than some living weapon controlled by a petulant manchild-

"Please don't think about yourself like that. I know your situation is hard, but you're so much more than that." Kurogiri started to speak back but Izuku just kept going, "No, none of that self deprecating nonsense. If you were nothing but a mindless weapon you wouldn't be in my house right now making sure I take care of myself."

-I don't think I have the courage to say the words out loud, but I think of you like a son. I know it's only been a year, but it's been a privilege to watch you grow, and I'm honored to be a father figure in your life-

"You really mean that? You're not just thinking that to make me feel better?"

"Of course not, besides, Sensei has forbidden me from ever lying unless ordered to."

Izuku laid down in Kurogiri's arms and drifted off to sleep while wisps of mist wafted over him. When he awoke in the morning he was gone, but there was a note that said Tomura called him back.

—————

After getting Tomura a new remote since the last one was destroyed, Kurogiri decided he needed to do some thinking.

But there weren't exactly a lot of people he could talk to about his current predicament. He definitely couldn't bring it up to anyone in the league, and that was nearly everyone he knew.

Nearly.

Which led him to this possibly terrible decision. There were few things more nerve wracking than standing at the Midoriya residence and knocking on her door far past acceptable hours to visit.

It was 10 PM, starting to rain, and he was already regretting every choice he'd made when a very confused looking woman opened the door.

"Kurogiri? What are you doing here so late?" Looking around and not seeing Izuku with him she started to worry. "Is my son ok? Oh God, something happened and you're here to tell me he's gone."

"Miss, I promise you that your son is safe, please calm down."

"Well, I'm not sure what you're here for, but you might as well come inside before you get soaked."

She walked off into the kitchen to make some tea as Kurogiri sat himself at the table.

"Alright, so if Izuku's safe, then what brings you here?"

"I… well.. Um, I need help with something.."

"And you decided to come to me of all people?"

"Yes, it's something of a more personal matter, and most of the people I know-"

Inko cut him off, "Are far better at murder than talking about emotions?"

"Precisely."

"So I take it I'm the only non-criminal you know?"

"Yes, plus the matter has to do with Izuku, so I thought you might be a good person to talk to."

She took a sip of her tea and locked eyes with him, "Well? Stop beating around the bush and tell me what's going on." He'd come to realize that while the woman was generally very calm and kind, the same cannot be said when she was worried about her son.

He took a deep breath and tried to maintain his composure. "Your son had a particularly difficult day, so I made sure to help take care of him. When I got him ready for bed he called me dad and I didn't know what to do."

Inko very slowly put down her tea cup "I can see why you wouldn't want to bring that up with your… coworkers."

"I just feel so lost. I don't know if Izuku told you or not, but I'm not actually human, at least not in the traditional sense. I was created in a lab the same way the other nomu were, just without destroying my ability to think. But even though I can think, I'm just as much a puppet as any other of the things they created."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as Inko processed all of this new information.

"...and you're scared that one day they might make you hurt my son against your will."

"Yes."

"I will tell you right now that I know my son well enough that I'm certain he would never hate you for something you can't control. If anything my little mastermind is probably trying to find a way to get you out of this situation."

He laughed softly "knowing him, you're probably right."

"But I think there's a vital piece of information you haven't told me yet."

For a moment he wracked his mind for what he missed "And what would that be?"

"Do you think of him like a son?"

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