"'Ruki, please wake up…." I whispered softly, hoping that the brunet would hear me somehow from his deep sleep. It was early, school doesn't even start for another two hours.
Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa had left to talk to CPS at around 4:00 in the morning, leaving me to my own thoughts.
You need to have a serious discussion with him when he wakes up. You're not mad. You're not angry, try not to appear as such. You need to make him understand that he's really wanted in this world. He had called you for a reason. He trusted me more than anything. His Dad practically brainwashed him into believing that he was nothing. We need to find a way to undo that pain.
A soft groan cleared me from my thoughts. The brunet stirred, opening his electric blue eyes. It was then and only then did I realize how sad they looked. Koruki then noticed me and gave a smile. I did not return the smile.
"Hey…" He whispered and I shook my head.
"Don't 'hey' me." I responded; a bit colder than I intended to.
"I'm sor—" I held up a hand, quieting him.
"Do not apologize. Now I need you to answer me honestly." I looked him straight in the eyes, his bright blue eyes meeting my green ones. "Did Keikao have something to do with this?"
His eyes teared up, his face fell, and his lip quivered.
I got my answer.
His expression hurt me. I could bear to be cross with him after all he's been through. He doesn't deserve that. I gave a small sigh and stood up.
"Come here." I sat next to him on the bed and wrapped him in a hug. "It's okay, I've got you." He cried into my arms, I didn't care who saw or heard. I needed to be there for him.
"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…." Koruki choked out, still sobbing into my chest.
"Shhhh…..." I ran my fingers through his long hair, knowing that would calm him down. Sure enough, he relaxed quite a bit and even stopped crying a little.
Always works.
After awhile, he had stopped crying, but he still hiccupped choked sobs into my chest. I continued to rub his back, to calm him down so he could be in a talking mood.
He needs to know that Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada know about Keikao abusing him.
"Koruki…" My voice turned serious. "There's something you need to know…" Koruki caught on immediately.
"… You told someone, didn't you?" He wasn't angry. He didn't even seem upset.
He has every right to be angry.
"I know… I betrayed your trust." Koruki shook his head in disagreement.
"No, you didn't. I did. I didn't tell you the moment it got worse. The abuse and my mental health…" He paused for a moment. "It's okay."
"I just wanted to…. Escape the abuse. I wasn't thinking straight, and I didn't know what to do…." Fresh tears filled his eyes again. "I was scared… I was…." He couldn't find the words for it.
"We're going to fix this, Koruki." I spoke up, giving him another hug. "Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada know…"
"Oh…." He mumbled, and I felt him tense up.
It was then that said teachers walked in.
"Good. You're awake." Mr. Yamada was the first to walk up to us, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Do you know what happened?"
"I screwed up…." He mumbled, earning a shake of Mr. Yamada's head.
"No. You didn't screw up." Mr. Aizawa spoke up this time. "Keikao has hurt you for this long. Correct?" Koruki nodded. "Then we're getting you out of there… Is your mother around?"
"I don't know. Da— Keikao said that she left when I was a baby." Koruki explained, looking down.
"Any other family you know about?" Mr. Yamada asked, and he shook his head.
"It was only ever me and Keikao. There was never anybody else."
"Alright," Mr. Aizawa walked on the other side of the bed. "How would you feel about moving in with us?"
Koruki's head shot up, looking him in the eyes.
"Really? You would want me?" He asked, tears in his eyes. I could tell that they were happy tears though.
"Of course! We have four extra bedrooms. I keep asking 'Shouta, what are we gonna do with these four extra bedrooms?!' and he responds with 'we could always turn them into cat rooms' and I'm like 'Shouta! We have four cats, and they have six cat trees, we don't need another whole room for them!' and he resorted with 'well then, let's just adopt a few kids or something!' And then we talked. We're registered foster parents; we just haven't found a kid yet…. Until now." Mr. Yamada rambled, causing Koruki to smile.
"So…. You really would consider fostering me?" The two teachers both nodded.
"We could even adopt you, kiddo." Mr. Aizawa spoke up, patting Koruki's knee.
"Really?" He asked, blue eyes lighting up.
"That's if you want to, Koruki. It has to be right for you."
He smiled.
That's the first time I've seen Koruki smile in a long time. A smile that wasn't fake or forced. And it warmed my heart at the thought that he would be somewhere safe. Somewhere where he wouldn't be hurt and abused for simply not giving the time of day.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Koruki had wrapped his arms around Mr. Yamada, who was closest to him. Tears were in his eyes, but for once… They were happy.
"We'll have to get you moved in, but they want to keep on a 72-hour hold." Mr. Aizawa explained and Koruki sighed, slightly annoyed.
"72 hours?" He asked, pouting a bit.
"We can try to get them to let us take you home so we can keep an eye on you, but we don't promise anything." Mr. Yamada comforted, placing a hand on Koruki's shoulder.
"I really don't want to go back there…" Koruki mumbled, fear in his eyes.
I'm not surprised. There's too much bad memories there. Abuse, trauma, his suicide attempt…
"I can pack your things for you." I offered, earning a surprised look from Koruki.
"You sure? You'd do that?" He asked and I nodded.
"Absolutely. I wouldn't mind."
"You could really do that by yourself?" Koruki asked and I nodded.
"Sure thing! We could probably get a few people to help out too…."
"That'd be— That'd be great." Koruki's voice broke, tears in his eyes.
He's grateful. After all of this and the pain he went through, he's still grateful. He doesn't resent us for anything. And I'm thankful for that.
"In the meantime, we need to get the two of you to school." Mr. Aizawa was serious, I nodded in agreement.
He let me stay the whole time, I might as well follow his directions.
"Let's go then."
I gave Koruki a hug.
"I love you." I whispered to him and he wrapped his arms around me too.
"I love you too."
"Come on, problem children." Aizawa ushered me along and I followed. I couldn't stop myself from looking back at his room, worried.
I hope he'll be okay by himself…
"Don't worry, Midoriya. Young Koruki will be fine." It was as if Mr. Yamada read my mind.
"Come along," Mr. Aizawa opened the car door for us. "Mic and I have to report to Principal Nezu once we get there to fill him in about Koruki. I'll unlock my classroom door and you can hang out there until class starts."
Didn't know he could be so caring…. Koruki's lucky to have him and Yamada as foster parents. I hope they'll be able to adopt him. Koruki deserves the world.
We shortly arrived at school. Like Aizawa said, he unlocked the door. Shortly after he left, Iida arrived.
I'm not surprised.
"Good morning Midoriya!" Iida exclaimed with waves of his arms. "Usually I'm the one to arrive first and the door is never unlocked. Are you receiving disciplinary actions or extra credit work?" I responded with a shake of my head.
"No…" I had mumbled loud enough to hear. "It's not my place to say now. Mr. Aizawa will announce what happened."
"Is it something to do with Kakasu?" Iida sat in the desk next to me for the moment. "He's always by your side, is he not?"
"Yes… I still can't say what happened, but… He prefers to be called Koruki. He doesn't want anyone to call him Kakasu." I explained, earning a nod.
"Of course. I'll address him as such when I see him. Do you know when he'll be arriving?" I shook my head slowly.
"He's not coming today…" I slowly told him.
I have to let Aizawa tell them… I don't think I can manage to tell him, even if I wanted to.
"Oh… Is Koruki ill?" Iida questioned and I sighed sadly.
"You could say that." I responded. "It's not my place to say."
Iida eyed me, looking at my facial expressions. He was starting to catch on.
"… Did something happen?" I nodded, tears in my eyes.
Luckily, our other classmates started to gather, so he stopped pressing and went to his assigned seat. I quickly wiped the tears away from my eyes, not wanting anyone to start asking questions. Everyone was loud, as per usual. They didn't suspect anything.
After a seemingly long while, Mr. Aizawa walked in.
"Everybody quiet. Quiet down." Everyone shushed, looking at Aizawa, who seemed more tired than usual. "Alright. I have something important to tell all of you. And unfortunately, it isn't good." He leaned on his desk, pausing as if he was waiting for someone to interrupt. "You all know Koruki. He sits just behind Midoriya. We have discovered something last night that has been happening to him for the past 12 years or so."
"Is Koruki alright, Sir?" Iida asked, voicing everybody's worry.
"What's been happening to him? He's alright, isn't he?" Kirishima voiced, worry also in his voice.
"I know he was hurt after USJ, but I didn't think his injuries were that serious." Tsuyu added.
"No, no. This has nothing to do with USJ." Everyone quieted down after that. "It has been discovered that his father has been abusing him."
"What?"
"Oh my God…"
"He's okay though, right?"
"Can we see him?"
Aizawa raised a hand a everyone quieted down.
"Unfortunately, he's in the hospital right now. But it has little to do with his physical injuries." That resulted in confused mutter.
"What do you mean, Mr. Aizawa?" Yaoyorozu questioned.
"As of last night, Koruki had attempted suicide." This resulted in a shocked uproar.
"Oh my God!"
"Is he okay?!"
"What was the Theater Nerd thinking?!"
"He's alive though, right?!"
"What happened?!"
"Has he received proper treatment?!"
"Quiet!" Aizawa raised his voice slightly and everyone quieted down quickly. "Now… Koruki is indeed alive," That relieved some of the tension. "but he is still recovering."
"And what of his father?" Iida questioned; I could tell that Aizawa was mad about what happened regarding Keikao.
"His father is under investigation currently. He is in police custody; he is not allowed within 50 feet of Koruki with the exception of the upcoming trial if he were to attend." A few people relaxed at that.
"Mr. Aizawa…. What's going to happen to Koruki?" Sero questioned.
"Yamada and I will be taking him into our care." He responded, earning some relief from some on the classmates. "This will be a huge adjustment for him, so I hope you all will be understanding." I saw him eye Kacchan.
"Theater Nerd's lucky…." I heard Kacchan mumble, thinking nobody heard him.
So he does care for Koruki?
"Now, when he comes back, I expect you all not to bombard him with questions and give him space. He has crippling anxiety and panic attacks and crowding him could very well drive him to have a bad attack." The class agreed, luckily. "I already expect Kaminari, Midoriya and Todoroki will be by his side during this. The three of you have a close bond with him and can help him if something where to happen. Because of this change, Todoroki..." The younger boy raised his head from his desk. "I want you to switch with Yaoyorozu. And Tokoyami, you switch with Kaminari." The four did what they were told and switched seats. "The only reason I'm doing this is because if I don't notice an attack coming on for him, the three of you might be able to. Midoriya. You've known him the longest, you're his best friend. Could you teach them what to do for an attack?"
"Yeah, of course…" I agreed, happy to teach them.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Iida exclaimed, standing up. "What if Todoroki, Kaminari and Midoriya are unavailable? Wouldn't it be probable for Midoriya to teach the class what to do for Koruki during an attack?"
Aizawa looked in thought for a moment and nodded.
"Agreed. Midoriya?" I nodded, agreeing to the terms.
"Anything to help him." I expressed. "When do we start?"
"Right about now." Aizawa stated, sitting on his desk. "Walk us through what an attack is like for Koruki."
"Well, for a lot of people when they have an anxiety or panic attack, they hate being touched. Don't want anything to do with it. Koruki's the exact opposite. The tighter and closer you hug him, the better. And running fingers through his hair. He loves that. He'll basically melt into your arms. Have him do his breathing right if he isn't already. Tell him to breathe in for six, hold for five, out for seven. He'll sometimes say that he can't. don't raise your voice or become frustrated, he'll pick up on that. Talk him through it, encourage him. Rub small circles on his back, your thumb along the palm of his hand. If he becomes desperate and begins to cry because he's scared and doesn't know what to do, wrap him in the tightest hug you can. If that still doesn't work, grab a pair of headphones, and play music. That's usually a last resort, but it doesn't normally come to that. He usually passes out or falls asleep because he's so exhausted from the attacks. If he doesn't, ask him if he needs to take a nap. He'll say that he's fine, but he's not. Don't press it on him though. If he says no, sit down and talk with him. If he's not in a talking mood, put on a movie. He'll usually fall asleep, but that's what we want so he can wind down from it."
I noticed a few people taking notes; Yaoyorozu, Iida, Todoroki, Kirishima, Sero. Even Aizawa.
"Is there anything else we should know?" Aizawa questioned, giving me a moment to think.
"If he's having an attack where he can talk, discuss theater with him. That's his biggest passion. Talk with him about his dance routine, his lines, the songs he has to do. Acting doesn't give him anxiety, so that should help him as well."
"Great." Aizawa clicked his pen closed and set his notebook aside. "This is very helpful, Midoriya. Thank you for this information."
"Like I said…. I'll do anything to help him. He's my best friend."
Anything for him. He never deserved that like that Keikao gave him. He deserves so much more.
I'm glad Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada are giving it to him.