This story is going to touch on some very sensitive topics such as; poor mental health, psychotic episodes, depression, alcohol abuse and death. I'll be sure to mention things in the notes should they be especially prominent in the chapter.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy the story. 

Ever since Izuku's dad left when he was four, his mother had been struggling. That's not to say that Inko didn't love and care for her son to the best of her abilities. When the sun was up, Izuku and Inko were fine. They laughed together. They cried together. They loved each other as a mother and son did. But, when the sun set and the city was cast into the shadow under the night sky, Inko drowned her problems with alcohol.

She tried to keep it a secret from Izuku, but he found out when he was eight. He didn't say anything. Too scared that confronting his mother would only result in endless tears and sobbed apologies. He was scared that Inko would start making promises that she wouldn't be able to keep.

Every night, without fail, Inko would consume copious amounts of alcohol to rid herself of the grief of her husband leaving her for another woman. She wanted to forget Hisashi's toxic and scathing words that had persisted throughout their marriage. She tried to forget everything so she could keep living whilst the sun was shining.

This pattern of soberness in the daylight and drunken depression in the twilight continued for nine years.

"Oi, Deku," Bakugo called over to his childhood friend. As was usual, a scowl settled on his face, though there was a gleam of worry that sparkled in his eyes.

"Oh, hey, Kacchan, what's up?" Izuku smiled serenely at his friend from his perch in his desk chair. The school day had just come to an end and Izuku was eager to get home.

"The Hag wanted me to ask if you and your mum are doing ok," Katsuki started, "She said that she noticed that your mum is looking more tired and she's lost weight."

"Oh... Tell  Auntie Mitsuki not to worry. Mum lost her job recently, she's just been a bit upset, that's all, she'll be back on her feet in no time." Izuku tried his hardest to conceal the tremble in his voice, but it was a futile effort.

He didn't want to reveal to Katsuki that ever since losing her job, his mother's depression had spiralled to new depths. He didn't want to reveal that his mother had all but locked herself in her room, drinking at all times of the day now, as opposed to only at night, when she thought Izuku couldn't see. He dreaded admitting that she was no longer looking after him as she was supposed to. How he was the one cooking their meals and cleaning the house to the best of his abilities and worrying over his mother's well-being, all at the age of thirteen. He was scared that something would happen if he told anyone.

Izuku didn't mind looking after his mum, he was sure that it was only for a little while longer, anyway. Inko was always telling him how much she loved him and that she would get a new job soon. They'd scoured job seeker sites together, he knew that she wanted to get better, and he trusted her to try. No, Izuku was sure that this wasn't a permanent fixture, he just had to look after them for a little longer.

"If you say so," Katsuki sounded sceptical, "You know you can talk to me or my parents if anything is wrong, yeah?"

"Of course, Kacchan!"

The two friends parted ways, one internally worried for the well-being of his friend and the other fretting over what simple meal he'd be making for dinner and whether his mother had been well enough to go to the shop that day.

"Mum, I'm home!" Izuku called into the dark house. They tended not to turn any of the electronics on unless necessary, they needed to save as much money as they could so that they could pay rent.

"Izuku?" Inko called weakly from her room.

Dread mounted in Izuku's chest at the sound of his mother's voice. It was a bad day. Her words were ever so slightly slurred indicating that she had already had a fair bit of alcohol. This was further evidenced by the new bottle of vodka that had appeared on the kitchen table since Izuku had left for school.

Slowly, Izuku made his way to his mum's room, he fixed a smile on his face and forced his tears to stay back, if she saw him crying she'd only feel guilty and start crying herself. Izuku didn't want that.

"Hi, Mum, have you eaten anything today?" Izuku asked upon entering his mother's bedroom.

Her room was, quite frankly, a mess. Clothes were strewn on the floor, plates of half-eaten food were left on the top of her dresser and various bottles were left on the floor. Izuku would clean it up himself if he wasn't so uncomfortable staying in the room for prolonged periods. Something about the sharp scent of alcohol made anxiety spike sharply in his chest.

"Mhm," Inko responded despondently.

"Ok, I'm going to do my homework now, call me in if you need anything, yeah?"

Inko didn't reply, not that Izuku was expecting her to. It was a bad day, she wouldn't respond properly no matter what. Depending on whether Izuku could be bothered to cook, he might end up only having microwaved soup for dinner. Again.

Sometimes, and Izuku was loath to admit it, Izuku disliked his mother. He would never go as far as to say that he hated her, he could never hate her, but there were periods when he wished that she could just be normal. He always felt guilty afterwards. It wasn't her fault, he knew it wasn't. Inko had been depressed for nearly nine years now, and she'd only been to the doctors about it once. They didn't do much for her. The antidepressants only seemed to make it worse and Inko turned back to alcohol to soothe the pain and ignite numbness. Alcoholism was a horrid mental illness and it had claimed Inko long before Izuku could understand what was happening.

Maybe what Izuku had come to dislike wasn't actually his mother, but the mental illnesses which dictated her life. Depression, anxiety, alcoholism. They all worked together, hand in hand, to make both Izuku and Inko's lives a living hell.

As was the norm, Izuku sat silently in his bedroom and completed all of the homework he had been assigned. Even if he was looking after his mother, he wasn't going to lose sight of his dream to attend UA, a prestigious private school that had a famously low acceptance rate. Going to UA for both his high school and university education put Izuku in the perfect position to do his doctorate in clinical and counselling psychology so that he could help people just like his mother. But Izuku wouldn't get there if he didn't do well now. Every step of his education was vital in achieving his dream. He was going to make his mum so proud.

Izuku had just finished his maths homework when there was a loud knock at the front door. Frowning to himself, Izuku glanced over at his alarm clock and took note of the time. 20:37. Who would come knocking at this time of the night?

Hesitantly, Izuku stood from his desk and edged towards the front door.

"Izuku. It's Mitsuki, could you open the door please?" Mitsuki Bakugo called through the door.

Upon opening the door, Izuku came face to face with all three members of the Bakugo family.

"Umm, what are you doing here? Not that it's not lovely to see you of course! It's just so late at night and I would have thought that you would be getting ready for bed, Kacchan, I know that you like to go to bed early." Izuku rambled. He beckoned the visitors inside, lest he seemed like a bad host.

Mitsuki and Masaru looked around the living room and kitchen with critical eyes whilst their son turned to his friend. The look that Katsuki gave Izuku was so openly worried that it shocked him, Katsuki wasn't usually one to broadcast his emotions so easily, unless, of course, that emotion was anger or disgust. He had no problem expressing those emotions to anyone he saw fit as receiving them.

"What's the matter, Kacchan, I haven't seen you this worried since your neighbour's cat went missing..." Izuku tried his best to smile (he was always smiling, he was tired of always smiling).

"We can tell something is wrong, Nerd, where's Auntie Inko? Has she left you at home alone?" Katsuki asked.

"What? No. No! Of course, she hasn't. She's in her bedroom. And, plus, even if I was home alone, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself for one evening," Izuku said in a disgruntled manner, "My mum is just tired, that's all."

Mitsuki and Masaru shared a concerned look and both started moving towards Inko's bedroom. Even Izuku's protests couldn't stop them from entering Inko's bedroom and beholding the scene before them.

Inko was sitting in bed, an untouched bowl of soup beside her, staring at nothing with a bottle of beer in her hands. Izuku rushed past that frozen adult in the doorway and started fussing over his mother.

"I told you to eat the soup, Mum, you said that you haven't eaten today. That's right, put that down and eat. Look, we have visitors. Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru are here, see." Izuku hummed.

Inko's head whipped around to stare at the Bakugos, eyes wide and full of fear. "Mitsuki?" Inko slurred.

"Izuku, dear, why don't you go sit in the lounge with Katsuki whilst Mitsuki and I deal with your mother, ok?" Masaru instructed gently, he pulled Izuku away from Inko's bedside and gently guided him out of the room. Izuku scarcely had time to protest before the door was shut in his face and he was left looking at the cracked white paint of his mother's door.

"What..." Izuku whispered to himself. He was confused as to why the Bakugos had shown up at his door at twenty to nine at night and insisted on speaking to his mother.

"Come over here, Nerd, what are you doing just staring at a door?" Katsuki snarked. He took Izuku by the sleeve of his pyjama top and guided him towards Izuku's room.

Despite it being years since Katsuki had last visited the Midoriya household for more than a quick stop to have some food, Izuku's bedroom hadn't changed one bit.

"You seriously still have all of these nerdy posters on your walls?" Katsuki snorted.

"Don't pretend you're not as nerdy as me, Kacchan. I was in your room just last week, you have an All Might poster on your wall," Izuku rebutted easily.

It was easy for the two teenagers to fall into this easy back-and-forth teasing that had been a part of their relationship since the early days of their friendship.

"Anyway, don't try and distract me, Kacchan. Why did you and your parents show up out of the blue?" Izuku asked.

"I told you, Nerd, my mum is worried about Auntie Inko and you. Rightfully so, I'd say. Your mum is not ok, Nerd, one glance at the number of empty bottles is enough to know that, seeing your mum only confirmed it." Katsuki stated firmly.

"I told you, she's just a bit sad because she lost her job, she's looking for a new one," Izuku was starting to get irrationally angry. He was fine. His mum was fine. He was looking after her. She would get better soon and they would both be fine.

"She lost her job six months ago, Deku!" Katsuki's voice started to rise to match Izuku's "She's borderline passed out drunk and you think she's 'a bit sad'? You know that's not true, Deku. She's supposed to be looking after you, not the other way 'round!"

"She's just ill. I can look after her until she gets better!"

"You shouldn't have to!"

"But she's my mum, I can't just leave here!"

"Exactly, she's your mum! You don't have to look after her, you could have asked for help, Izuku!"

"I'll be taken away from her! I want to stay with my mum, it's not her fault she's ill!" Izuku choked on his words as tears slid down his cheeks. He was surprised he hadn't broken down sooner, as much as he argued and outwardly asserted that the Bakugos turning up out of nowhere was a nuisance, he was secretly relieved.

He didn't want to admit that he was growing weary of looking after his mother. If he admitted that to anyone, they might use it as ammunition to make sure that he never lived with his mother again. He knew that he was technically being neglected, Izuku was not oblivious, but he still loved his mum, and she had never done anything to purposely hurt him. He wanted to stay with his mother, but he feared that wouldn't be possible anymore.

"I'm not saying it is her fault that she's ill, Izuku," Katsuki sighed. Hesitantly, he inched closer to Izuku and pulled him into an awkward hug. Despite being friends for nearly their entire lives, the two boys rarely hugged unless something dire happened. It seemed like the circumstances were right this time.

"I don't want to leave her," a broken whisper hung in the air.

Katsuki didn't reply. He pulled Izuku closer to his chest and sank onto the bed with Izuku still in his arms. Katsuki could dry his throat out spouting pointless reassurances to Izuku's words. He could promise that Izuku wouldn't be taken from his mum and that life would go back to normal for him the next day, but that would be a lie. And even if Katsuki made such a promise, what was Izuku's normal? Looking after his mother whilst also trying to balance his dream of attending a prestigious private school? Izuku's normal was not healthy. He couldn't continue to live like this, living without the chance to act his age. There was nothing that Katsuki could say that would be true, Izuku needed someone to sit beside him and hold him close. Meaningless placations and deceitful words could be left to the proper authorities (i.e. adults).

Izuku and Katsuki stayed in Izuku's room for half an hour. Half an hour of silence, a hug and calming breaths. The hesitant tranquillity of the moment was rudely interrupted by the front door swinging open loudly and the sound of Mitsuki's voice directing unknown people towards Inko's room. The two teenagers shared a look of confusion and dread.

Leaping from his bed, Izuku rushed to his bedroom door, and upon opening it, he was confronted by the sight of paramedics hauling his mother out of the house. Inko and Izuku's eyes met briefly in passing, emerald and viridian locked. Izuku's heart galloped in his chest as he stumbled after the paramedics with his eyes firmly locked on his mother.

"Where are you taking her? Why? I... She... She doesn't like leaving her room, you should put her back. She'll be fine," Izuku stuttered and stumbled over both his words and the miscellaneous objects on the floor. He might have followed the paramedics straight out of the house if Masaru hadn't placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Izuku," Masaru said gently, "Your mother is going to the hospital for the night. She's not well, you know that as well as I do. She just needs a bit of help getting the alcohol out of her system, ok?"

Izuku nodded numbly.

"Why don't you go and pack? Get some pyjamas and a few sets of clothes. You're coming to stay with us, ok? Hopefully, it won't be for too long, but you can't stay here on your own, can you?"

Izuku shook his head without realising what he was doing. He allowed himself to be guided into his bedroom. He packed a bag full of clothes, a few books and his laptop with unseeing eyes. He allowed Mitsuki to guide him out of the house with a gentle hand on his shoulder. He handed over the keys to Masaru so that the front door could be locked. He sat beside Katsuki in the car, staring out of the window and watching the street lights pass him by one by one. He entered the Bakugo house and let himself be guided to the guest bedroom where he fell backwards onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Then, and only then, did the tears start to fall properly.

Waking up the next morning, Izuku was sure that the previous night had been a bad dream. He refused to open his eyes for ten minutes because if he did, everything would feel too real. He didn't want to admit the truth to himself, it was a pattern he had fallen into as of late.

When, finally, Izuku could deny the truth no more, his eyes fluttered open and he stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling in an all too familiar house. Everything was real. It hadn't been a dream.

Izuku didn't have the energy to cry anymore. He'd cried all of his tears last night when his mother had been ripped from his clutches, his heart was numb. He couldn't feel anything.

Izuku might have laid in bed all day staring at the ceiling in hope that everything was a dream and he would wake up soon, but he knew he couldn't do that for two reasons. The first reason was that it was a school day and he needed to go to school. Education took precedence over most things in Izuku's life, the only thing more important was his mum, and he couldn't do much for her when she was in the hospital. Not to mention that one of his primary motivators was that he wanted to make his mum proud and help people like her. The second reason he couldn't stare at the ceiling all day was that then he'd be just like her. Despondent, lost in a haze of grief and hardship. After watching his mother steadily get worse since he was a child, he didn't want to end up like her.

So, with great reluctance, Izuku rolled out of bed and stood to face the day. No matter what was going on in his personal life, he had to keep going. He had to do his best in school. He had to put on a front so that nobody would know just how deeply wounded he was. He had to keep going, if not for himself then for his mum.

Izuku would keep going until he was reunited with his mother, he figured that they couldn't be kept apart for too long. Maybe a week or so at most. After all, Izuku had proven that he could look after himself just fine. Everything would be back to normal before the end of the month, he was sure of it. 

Thank you for reading, I don't know how often I'll be updating. I seem to have a bad habit of starting to post and write stuff just as I'm starting the school year. Plus, this is a really important year for me seeing as I'm doing my A-Levels, so updates might be sporadic and infrequent, but I'll try my best.

Thank you, again, for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.