Chapter 11

Chapter Text

Izuku came back to "himself" in Recovery Girl's office. Assuming he was actually dead and not in some sort of fucked-up coma and imagining everything, a quirk that basically made him a "ghost" actually made a whole lot of sense.

He glanced at the report Recovery Girl was typing and quickly looked away. He'd seen what his mother had done, had screamed and cried and begged her to stop as she'd used her quirk on Kacchan. Izuku had never realized she was able to shake a whole person. Although Recovery Girl's report suggested it wasn't as simple as that.

In all the ways Izuku had imagined karma coming for Kacchan, he'd never once thought his own mother could be the one to deliver the blows. And it had been nothing like the scenarios he'd once fantasized. In his imagination Bakugo had quickly realized the irony of being the victim of bullying and had changed his life around, finally returning to being the friend Izuku had once known and adored.

But the reality had been heartbreaking.

Not only because Izuku's mother had been involved but because Bakugo had already learned his lesson. He'd already been devastated by Izuku's death and the earlier confrontation between their parents. Izuku had followed him as he packed his bag and left through his bedroom window. It had been dumb luck that he'd chosen to rest in a dark alley when he did. Inko had literally tripped over him as she'd staggered her way out of the back exit of a seedy bar.

She'd started yelling and Bakugo has simply stood still and let her do what she wanted to do, absorbing every taunt and slap as if he'd owed them to her. She'd grown so frustrated when he didn't fight back that she'd resorted to shaking him with her quirk. Midoriya was fairly certain his mother hadn't realized the damage she'd been doing to Kacchan's internal organs. At least he hoped she hadn't realized. She may have hated Kacchan with everything in her, maybe even wished him dead at some point, but she would never deliberately kill him. Would she?

Izuku turned away from Recovery Girl's report feeling ill despite having no actual body.

After the attack Izuku had spent the next hour pleading with Kacchan to seek urgent medical help. In the end he'd just repeated over and over for Kacchan to go to school, praying that Recovery Girl would be there early. He'd almost fallen over—well the ghostly equivalent—when his former bully had staggered to his feet and weaved drunkenly toward UA. Izuku had been dismayed that Bakugo had made it all the way into the classroom without anyone noticing, but thankfully Present Mic had entered the room a few moments later.

The next couple of hours were horrifying.

Izuku was startled from his memories when there was a knock on the infirmary door. Recovery Girl grabbed her cane—despite obviously not needing it—and moved to answer the door.

Kirishima stood there with Ashido slightly behind him. She gave Recovery Girl a small wave.

"Would it be okay to visit Bakugo?" Kirishima asked.

"He's still sleeping," Recovery Girl said, nevertheless stepping back to allow them entry. "Do not deliberately wake him up."

"We won't," Kirishima said. Ashido nodded and then shook her head vigorously.

"Come on then. You can keep him company while I catch up on paperwork."

Izuku knew the cranky healer thing was just an act. Recovery Girl had already finished updating her paperwork. She'd even printed a hardcopy of the report to give to a detective named Tsukauchi Naomasa when he arrived to interview Kacchan later. Recovery Girl was being nice by giving the students the illusion of privacy. She just didn't want them to know it.

An older student—clearly well known to Recovery Girl—delivered lunch for her just as the warning bell rang for the end of the student lunch break.

"Okay, you two," she said. "You can come back before you go home if you have time."

Ashido nodded. "We'll be back soon," she whispered to a still-sleeping Kacchan.

Izuku moved to the seat she'd been using and kind of hovered above it as he waited for his former friend, worst bully, and actual killer to wake up.

Yeah, he wasn't going to think about that too hard.

~*~

Hitoshi was in the teacher's lounge trying to stay out of the way and get his homework done while he waited for his dads to finish up the interview with Naomasa.

"You still here, kiddo?" Kayama asked as she passed him on her way to her own desk.

"Yeah, Dad wasn't sure how long he was going to be." He shrugged, not needing to explain to one of Papa's closest friends that he'd rather be alone in the staff room at UA than alone in an empty house. He'd spent too many years silenced and ignored by his foster parents to willingly choose to be that far away from both of his dads.

"He's still dealing with the Bakugo mess?"

"Yeah, he's pretty stressed. I don't think he's slept since it happened."

"I can't imagine him being able to sleep. I barely slept last night and I wasn't even directly involved."

They lapsed into silence for a few moments before both startling as the door was slammed open in a similar way Mic had opened it earlier that day. Hitoshi could only guess at the reason but it was clear that his dad was upset. "Can't find my phone," he mumbled, marching to his desk and checking inside the drawer. Thankfully it was there—one less thing to worry about—but Dad swore vehemently when he checked for missed calls. "Bakugo's parents," he told Kayama as he pressed the return call button. By the sound of it Bakugo's mom answered on the first ring and she was frantic.

"Katsuki isn't home from school yet."

"He's safe," Dad said, shaking his head silently in an indication that he didn't know what the hell was going on.

"Safe? Where is he?" She was loud enough to hear without needing the phone to be on speaker.

"In the infirmary at UA," Dad said, his tone sounding wary.

"There was another accident at school?"

"Mrs. Bakugo when was the last time you saw your son?"

"Last night after the police left."

"Did you argue?"

"Of course we argued," Mrs. Bakugo yelled. "We always argue. It's what we do."

"Bakugo is under the impression that you kicked him out."

"What? No way. What the hell is that kid thinking?" A moment of silence and then a shuddering sob. "We wouldn't," she said more quietly. "We were upset. Midoriya Inko had just told us Katsuki was responsible for Izuku suffering years of abuse at school, and Katsuki didn't deny it. We… I… I told him to get out of my sight. I…" It was clear that she was trying to stop herself from crying. "I was upset and I needed time to think, but I meant for him to go to his room while we all calmed down, not for him to leave. Shit, we'd never do that." She inhaled shakily, the word "fuck" very clear on the exhale. "He's our son. You don't throw away your kids."

"Mrs. Bakugo," Dad said, reaching for Hitoshi because he knew that was exactly what his birth parents had done to him. Hitoshi wrapped shaking arms around his dad's waist and held on tight as Dad finished the call with Bakugo's mom. "Please come to UA. I'll meet you at the gate."

"We're leaving now," Mrs. Bakugo said, obviously rushing around the house to collect whatever she needed. "Thank you, Aizawa."

Dad grunted—he didn't like being thanked for doing his job—and then hung up the call.

"Love you, kid," he said, holding Hitoshi tight.

Hitoshi nodded, unable to form words, but he knew his dad understood.