Chapter 17: A Hug at Home

It was almost nine-thirty at night when Izuku finally got home. The cool night air still carried the hum of the city, but as soon as he crossed the threshold of his apartment, he was enveloped by an aroma that was purely home: miso soup, freshly made rice, and the subtle touch of ginger. The warm light from the kitchen outlined an energetic, focused silhouette.

Inko Midoriya, an apron with a floral pattern tied around her waist, was chopping carrots on a cutting board. Her movements were no longer those of a tired housewife; they were fast, precise, and efficient. Izuku immediately noticed how the apron fit her new, slimmer, and more toned figure. She moved with a confidence that was as nourishing as the food she was preparing.

"I'm back," Izuku said quietly, taking off his sneakers and placing them neatly at the entrance.

Inko turned, a smile lighting up her face. "Izuku, so late? I was starting to get worried. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Yeah, Mom, I ate with… someone," he replied, letting his backpack fall to the floor with a dull thud. A bit of dirt and a dry leaf from the alley scattered on the impeccable wooden floor. He approached her, pulling something from behind his back. "Look at this. It survived."

It was a single sunflower. Its petals were a little bruised and one side was crushed, but its yellow color remained a vibrant defiance against the darkness of the night.

Inko let out a choked gasp of pure delight. The knife fell from her hand, clattering against the cutting board. "Oh, Izuku…! For me?" she said, taking the flower with a delicacy that contradicted the new strength in her hands. "It's beautiful! You're an angel!"

She leaned in to smell it, and at that moment, under the warm kitchen light, her eyes shone. Izuku felt a pang of pride so intense it almost hurt. His mother was blooming again.

Driven by the emotion of the moment, Inko set the flower on the counter and threw her arms around him. It was a strong hug, full of a pride and love that needed no words. She pressed him against her, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm so proud of you, my boy," she murmured against the fabric of his uniform.

Izuku, wrapped in the hug and the familiar scent of his mother, sensed the opportunity. It was unconventional, it was taking advantage of the moment, but it was for science.

"I'm proud of you too, Mom," he said, and as he hugged her back, he activated his Quirk.

To ensure a "stable connection," he pressed closer against her. His hands slid from her upper back downward, tracing the line of her shoulder blades, feeling the firmness of the muscles they had developed together.

Inko tensed. The hug went from being purely maternal to something… different. Confusing. "Izuku… not so tight," she murmured, her voice slightly muffled against his chest. "This is… a little weird."

"It's for science, Mom. Just stay still for one more second," he replied, his own voice a concentrated murmur as the mental interface unfolded in his mind.

"Science? It feels like you're crushing me like a grape!"

But she didn't pull away. One part of her, the proud mother, was happy to have her son close. Another part, the woman who was rediscovering her own body, felt strangely aware of the pressure of his hands, the warmth of his body. It was embarrassing, but also… flattering.

Meanwhile, in Izuku's mind, data flowed with a familiar clarity:

[QUIRK ANALYSIS - COACH MODE ACTIVATED]

[QUIRK NAME: MINOR ATTRACTION] [USER: INKO MIDORIYA]

[LINKED PHYSIOLOGY: Generation of a telekinetic vector from the user's center of mass. The conceptual limit of "small objects" is a purely mental barrier. Recent training has significantly weakened this barrier.]

[CURRENT LIMITS (POST-INITIAL TRAINING):]

· Multiple Attraction (Simultaneous): Up to three (3) objects.

· Maximum Perceived Mass (Combined): ~2 kg (~4.4 lbs).

· Effective Range: ~20 meters (~66 feet).

· Trajectory Control: 90-degree arc in front of the user. Allows for basic diversion maneuvers.

[LATENT POTENTIAL (LOCKED):]

· Multiple Attraction (Advanced): Potential to "mark" and control up to fifteen (15) objects independently with multitasking training.

· Fine Vector Control: Potential for 360-degree movements, including complex orbits and manipulation of objects outside the direct line of sight.

· Vector Inversion (Repulsion): Latent potential to invert the vector from "attract" to "repel." Applications: deflecting light projectiles, creating pulses of force to unbalance opponents, short-range self-propulsion (enhanced jumps).

· Emotional Attunement: An uncontrolled correlation between the user's emotional state and the Quirk's power/precision has been detected. Strong emotions (anger, fear, joy) can cause unpredictable fluctuations.

[SUGGESTED EVOLUTION PATH (UPDATED):]

· Phase 1 (Emotional Control): Guided meditation to consciously link specific emotions to desired Quirk outcomes (e.g., calm for precision, joy for power).

· Phase 2 (Multitasking): Manipulation exercises with multiple objects of different masses and shapes (e.g., making three marbles orbit while attracting a fourth).

· Phase 3 (Practical Inversion): Practice repulsion with light but fast objects (e.g., launched ping-pong balls) to develop defensive reflexes.

[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]

Izuku pulled away, his eyes shining with excitement. The interface flickered and vanished. "Mom, you've improved so much!" he exclaimed, his face lit up. "You can attract three objects at once! Up to two kilograms! And from twenty meters away! And the analysis says you can do much more!"

Inko, blushing and a little breathless, brushed a strand of hair from her face. "More? What, am I supposed to lift the dining table now?"

"Eventually!" he confirmed with absolute seriousness. "And you can push things! The analysis says your emotions affect your power! We have to work on that!"

She looked at him—at her son, who was analyzing her like an exciting science project. The embarrassment mixed with a wave of pride so strong it almost made her stagger.

They sat down to dinner. Or rather, Inko had dinner. She had prepared a light, healthy meal for herself: miso soup, a small bowl of rice, and steamed vegetables. Her chopsticks moved with a new precision and elegance. Izuku, already full of katsudon, sat across from her with a cup of green tea, its steam rising and lightly fogging the air between them.

The silence was comfortable, but Izuku knew he had to fill it. He trusted his mother more than anyone else in the world. "Mom," he began, drumming his fingers on the warm cup. "I met someone today."

"Oh?" she said, sipping some soup. "The flower girl? Your 'girlfriend'?"

"No, not exactly," he laughed. "Her name is Toga. And her situation is… complicated."

Inko stopped eating, her attention completely on him. "Complicated how?"

"Her Quirk uses blood to transform into other people," Izuku said, watching his mother's reaction.

Inko's eyes went wide. She put down her chopsticks. "Blood? Izuku, that sounds dangerous! Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"She tried to hurt me. We had a… little fight in an alley. But it's okay, I helped her. Her Quirk has a flaw. It causes a compulsion, an addiction. It's not her fault."

"And how did you help her, exactly?"

Izuku swallowed. Here came the hard part. "Well, to analyze her Quirk… uh… I had to touch her."

"Touch her?" Inko repeated, her tone wary.

"Yeah. And things got a little complicated, and we fell, and well… she kind of sat on my face. And then, to get the complete data, I had to… grab her butt."

Inko's jaw dropped. A piece of tofu she held in her chopsticks fell back into her soup, splashing the tablecloth. "WHAT?!" she exclaimed, her voice a choked shriek. "IZUKU MIDORIYA! WHAT KIND OF SCIENCE IS THAT?!"

"It's contact-based science! I swear it was necessary! And it worked!" he defended himself, feeling a blush creep up his neck. "And it's not the first time! For battle training, I had to boost Ochako."

"And how did you boost… oh, no. Don't tell me."

"I had to touch her boobs!" he confessed, deciding it was better to just rip the band-aid off. "And I also accidentally touched Yaoyorozu's, but that gave me the clearest data so far!"

Inko pressed a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. "A pervert," she muttered. "I've raised a kind, brave genius who is also a pervert. An adorable one, yes, but a pervert nonetheless."

She opened her eyes and looked at her son, who was watching her with a sincerity so pure it was impossible to stay mad at him. She let out a sigh that was half exasperation, half amusement. Unconsciously, her own gaze drifted down to her chest. Thanks to her exercises, it was firmer, more defined. She felt attractive in a way she hadn't in years, but the thought of her son analyzing her in the same way… she felt a strange mix of vulnerability and a confusing pride.

"Well," Inko said, trying to regain her composure. "It seems your Quirk has some very… specific requirements. Just be careful, Izuku. Not all girls will react with a tactical analysis like your classmates."

"I know, I know," he said, sipping his tea. "Toga tried to stab me before she accepted my help."

Inko nearly choked on her soup.

Seeing his mother's panicked expression, Izuku quickly decided to change the subject. "Anyway, I didn't come home empty-handed. I have something for you. Mom, are you okay? You seem a little distracted."

Inko, who had been staring at her own reflection in the window, thinking about her new appearance and her son's bizarre conversations, was startled. Her mind, still processing the words "touch," "boobs," and "butt," jumped to the single most horrifying conclusion possible.

"NO!" she shouted, leaping to her feet so fast her chair screeched against the floor. "You will not! I will not let you touch my butt, Izuku! That's indecent! I'm your mother!"

Izuku froze, the small pharmacy bag in his hand, his mouth open in a perfect circle of astonishment. "WHAT?" he managed to say, completely stunned. "The cream, Mom! I bought you the face cream! The one you like but say is too expensive!" He looked at her, confused and a little hurt. "Why would I want to touch your…? Oh! Because of before! Mom, no! That was Quirk science! This is… a gift!"

Inko's face cycled through five different shades of red. She sank back into her chair, covering her face with her hands. "Oh, my God," she mumbled. "How embarrassing. Absolutely mortifying. Forget I said that. Forget it forever. Erase it from your memory."

Izuku got up and walked around the table. He placed the bag in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," he said softly. "I'm proud of you, Mom. For all the work you're putting in. You're strong. You're healthy. And yes, you're beautiful. Don't let the nonsense with my Quirk make you feel insecure."

Inko looked up, her eyes filled with tears. But this time, they weren't tears of sadness or shame, but of gratitude. She stood and hugged him again, this time with a trembling tenderness, burying her face in his shoulder, her hair brushing against his cheek. "Thank you, Izuku," she sobbed softly against his shirt. "Thank you for not forgetting about me."

He held his mother, feeling the warmth of her tears on his shirt. The hug was warm, comforting. And his scientist brain couldn't help itself.

The contact is total, he thought. Back, shoulders, chest… The connection with Toga was clear because of the lipids, and with Ochako because of the proximity to her center of gravity. What would happen if I applied the Booster now? Could such an intimate analysis of Mom reveal the "Emotional Attunement" in action? We could run tests…

A mischievous, curious smile began to form on his lips as his mind plotted new and exciting experiments.

Inko pulled back slightly, wiping her tears. She saw the expression on her son's face. "That face…" she said, her voice still shaky but now with a hint of warning. "I know that face. That's your 'I have a weird science idea' face. Don't you be thinking about any weird science with me, young man!"

Izuku flinched, his smile instantly vanishing. "No, no! I wasn't thinking about anything! Just… I'm glad you're happy. Thanks for dinner, Mom."

She gave him a skeptical look, but then her expression softened into a wobbly smile. The table was a mess, Izuku's tea was now cold. But the apartment felt warmer and more full of life than ever. As Inko opened the pharmacy bag with the excitement of a little girl, Izuku drummed his fingers on the table, his mind already busy planning new and daring ways to explore the limits of his power. And, of course, the limits of his mother's patience.