The next day Kacchan and Izuku requested their time off from volunteering and decided to use their morning to search for Izuku's mom.
Their first stop was Officer Ito, who was directing the plans for a new garden outback. It was an excellent start to making the hospital self-sufficient, and Officer Ito had mentioned his hopes to have edible food growing by spring.
"Hello Officer Ito." Izuku said.
"Midoriya, Bakugou are you here to help with the agriculture project?" Officer Ito asked.
Izuku waved while Kacchan nodded in greeting. The boys chose to stand a bit away from the group. It consisted of a mixture of police officers and volunteers who were in the middle of their research to decide the best vegetables to grow. It wasn't the best time of years since they were in the autumn season moving into winter. Still, some of the more experienced members had stated it was the best time to prepare.
"No, we actually took the day off to see if you had any news about my mom?" Izuku asked.
Officer Ito nodded; already familiar with Izuku's concerns, he let his group take a break while he opened his tablet to check for any updates from the other leads. The police force was a small group in comparison to what it once was. Izuku found out there were about a hundred police officers assigned at the hospital while there were only about twenty or so heroes. So Detective Tsukauchi had split his officers into groups of twenty-five and had appointed his four most trusted colleagues to manage them. Officer Ito had been one of those leaders tasked to organize the officers with the added assignment of assisting Izuku with anything he may need when Detective Tsukauchi wasn't available. This was often the case since the Detective was often busy with other matters, so Izuku has become well acquainted with Officer Ito.
"Well our blue team reported they had seen a woman matching your mom's description on the top floors. I'm not sure what she would be doing up there unless she was volunteering with our inventory crew or helping with the elderly two floors down, but its worth a look." He said.
Izuku smiled and thanked the officer before they headed out in search of his mom. The boys split up after reaching the elevators, each going to their first stop.
Izuku didn't have much luck on the first floor he checked, Officer Ito had stated the inventory crew used it, but it looked more like a disorganized storage room. Assortment of supplies and random medical equipment were abandoned here from the other floors to make room.
As chaotic as the floor looked, it did seem the new inventory crew was working towards organizing the area. Izuku went through the rows of tables piled with different categorized items like blankets, clothes, and even utensils. It looked like most were scavenged from nearby neighborhoods. Izuku shared his mom's picture, but no one had seen her around, so once Izuku had checked with every person, he decided to wait for Kacchan on his floor before moving on to the next.
"Any Luck?" Kacchan said.
Izuku, leaning back on the wall across from the elevators, turned to Kacchan walking towards him. Izuku shook his head, the disappointment evident on his face.
"No luck. I think we'll do one more floor each before we call it for today. I want to talk to Inasa before he goes on his shift in the hero's wing." Izuku said.
Izuku agreed to meet with Kacchan in the lobby afterward. Izuku took the elevator and found the floor he was looking to search. There were rows of beds covered only by the sheets hung to provide privacy to their patients. The elderly here needed more care than those in the lobby, so they had their own staff of volunteers made up of nurses and caregivers.
Izuku took a walk around the floor, but it was relatively sparse with a handful of nurses and the fifteen elderly. Iuku didn't want to bother anyone there, but Izuku decided to walk to the receptionist area before leaving, where two women were taking what looked like a lunch break.
"Excuse me?" Izuku asked.
The ladies turned to look over at him. The older one still had a pair of scrubs, her purple hair tied up in a high ponytail. She still kept her badge pinned to the front, tipping Izuku that she had worked at the hospital before the attack.
Her badge read, Ayame Ryu.
"Yes? How can I help you?" Mrs. Ryu asked.
Izuku opened the picture of his mom, showing it to the two ladies who leaned over the counter to see the screen better.
"I was wondering if either of you had seen my mom?" Izuku asked.
Mrs. Ryu took a moment to look at the image, the cracks made it a bit difficult to see her face entirely, but the nurse must have recognized his mom because she smiled at Izuku.
"Oh, that's Mrs. Midoriya, you must be Izuku she's been very worried about you." She said.
Izuku leaned off the counter in excitement, the urgency racing through him; this was the closest to a lead they had since they got here. No one had known her mom by name up to this point.
"You've seen her! Please tell me where she is?" Izuku's eyes were watering the idea of seeing his mom and the need to blink blurring his vision, but it was as if he didn't want to close his eyes and risk this being a dream.
"Oh, sweety I'm sorry, but I'm not sure where they moved her." She said.
"Moved?" Izuku asked.
Mrs. Ryu tapped her chin, trying to remember before looking over to her colleague. "When did they come by for Mrs. Midoriya?"
The other woman shrugged; she must have had a canine quirk. Her floppy bloodhound ears folded up with the lift of her shoulders; her voice was a bit rough as she estimated on the last time she had seen Izuku's mom.
"I think it was maybe three or four weeks ago? Another volunteer group came and asked for an extra pair of hands and Mrs. Midoriya went with them to assist." She said.
"So you don't know where she might be?" Izuku asked.
"No, sorry sweetie, honestly I wish we weren't so split down the middle, it seems like our police force have their way of doing things and the heroes have theirs. It can get hard to track what group is doing what." Mrs. Ryu said.
Izuku agreed with her; he noticed the longer he was here that the people had split into two sides. Those that helped the officers did as they asked, and those that followed the heroes assisted them with anything they needed. It was a thin line of cooperation, but Izuku wasn't sure how long things would hold before the conflict began to take hold.
"Well, if you see her can you let her know I'm looking for her? She can ask for Officer Ito or Detective Tsukauchi they're helping me look for her." Izuku said.
The two ladies nodded, their smiles apologetic that they couldn't do more, but even though Izuku had missed his chance to see her, Izuku felt lighter in some ways. He had found somewhere that she had been, and it made the fact that she was here real to Izuku, so he refused to feel down about the news.
Izuku thanked them both and left with a final wave before running back to meet with Kacchan in the lobby. Since he had finished earlier than expected, Izuku expected he would need to wait for Kacchan to finish, but he was surprised to find the blonde appear in his view as the elevator doors opened.
"Kacchan? You already finished?" He asked.
Kacchan shrugged as he stepped forward to meet Izuku in the middle. Izuku didn't stop as he led Kacchan over to the kitchen; since they had finished earlier than expected, they had enough time to meet with Izuku's new friend before he left to the hero's wing.
"The place was empty, apparently they're renovating it for something, so there were only construction workers there clearing the place out." Kacchan said.
"Maybe they plan to set up more cots?" Izuku guessed.
Kacchan was quiet, his face pensive, but he didn't comment against Izuku's suggestion. "Yeah, maybe."
They reached the food court, and Izuku could make out Inasa towering over everyone in the food line, and it was apparent he had spotted Izuku as well.
"Hey Midoriya!" Inasa yelled.
The giant waved his arm aggressively, making the other volunteers and civilians lean away from Inasa in concern for their safety. Izuku smiled at his friend.
"So that's the guy you mentioned huh." Kacchan said.
Izuku couldn't tell what Kacchan was thinking; his face was devoid of emotion as he looked over at the other boy.
"Yeah that's Inasa. Come on, I'll introduce you." Izuku said.
Izuku had to navigate them around the groups of people that had sat down for lunch. They must have already fed the civilians because the area was mostly made up of the different volunteer groups taking their lunch breaks. Volunteers were easier to spot compared to civilians. To recognize each other most groups had begun to create their accessories like an armband or a shirt with their crew name or the word volunteer written in sharpie. Kacchan's crew found a few shirts while doing clean-up one day and had written Cleaning crew across the back of them. Kacchan didn't wear his shirt unless he was on the clock, though, preferring his regular clothes.
"Yo! Bakugou, you done hanging out with your boyfriend today?" One of the cleaning crews called out as the boys passed.
Izuku shrunk down a bit at the crude picking from the older men; Kacchan was one of the youngest in his group, so they had a habit of heckling the blonde. It was worst when Izuku was around, so he did his best to avoid the group whenever possible.
"Shut the hell up old man!" Kacchan yelled.
The group laughed at his response but otherwise left the two alone once they were far enough away. Izuku kept his head down the whole time to not attract their attention, but Kacchan didn't look any more bothered by their comment than his usual irritation, so Izuku did his best to let it go.
When they reached Inasa, the boy served generous scoops of mixed veggies to those waiting in line.
"I thought you weren't working today, did you change your mind or just hungry?" Inasa asked.
"No, I'm still off for today, but I wanted to ask a favor if you have time?" Izuku asked.
"Sure, anything for a friend!" Inasa yelled.
Inasa asked for a short break, and one of the other volunteers was willing to take over serving the food. Izuku followed Inasa, Kacchan close behind to the back room where they had more privacy to talk. Izuku introduced Kacchan to Inasa, and although the taller boy had greeted the blonde with an enthusiastic hello, Izuku was sure the loud echo of his voice had reached the front of the food court. Kacchan's irritated yell to shut up was equally heard; Izuku did his best to calm his two friends before they brought someone back to check on them.
After a while, the two had calmed down enough for Izuku to continue with his reason for searching out his new friend.
"Inasa, we were hoping you could help us out to find our friend?" Izuku asked.
"Are they in trouble? I will lend you my strength Midoriya!" Inasa said.
"Thank you, but actually we were told she is in the hero's wing helping the heroes out, but we haven't seen or heard from her since she left ith them." Izuku said.
"Well, if she is there you should ask one of the heroes, I'm sure they can help you find her." Inasa said.
There was a tch from Kacchan, who made it more and more obvious his mistrust of heroes. Izuku wasn't sure when Kacchan began to be suspicious of them, or maybe he never considered them trustworthy, to start with, but Kacchan, not one to hide his true thoughts on the matter.
"We tried, but they've said she's been very busy. I know it's asking a lot Inasa, but we're really worried about her. Could you help us sneak in just to see that she's okay?" Izuku asked.
The taller boy sat in one of the nearby chairs in the break room as he considered Izuku's request. Inasa rubbed the short buzz of his hair, his frown looked foreign on his usually smiling face, and Izuku almost felt guilty for putting his new friend in such an awkward position, but they had no one else they could ask.
"I'm sorry, Midoriya, but I can't break the heroes trust by sneaking you in." Inasa said.
Kacchan let out a growl, his anger ready to boil over, but Izuku held him back as he smiled towards Inasa.
"We understand Inasa, I'm sorry to bother you with this." Izuku said.
Izuku turned to leave his hold on Kacchan tight as he did his best to drag his angry friend with him when Inasa called out to them.
"I can't sneak you in, but I think I know someone who can help you." Inasa said.
Izuku sighed with relief, he had thought they had reached another dead end, but if this person Inasa recommended could give them the reassurance that Chieko was okay, then he would take all the help they could get.
"Well what are we waiting around here for?" Kacchan said.
"I can take you to her now, just one moment while I let the boss know I'm stepping out for a moment." Inasa said.
Izuku and Kacchan followed the other boy silently from the hospital to the open field outback. Over time most of the junk had been piled away in corners of the extensive security walls the heroes had created for the hospital. Inasa brought them into the piles and piles of scraps of metal and concrete and broken medical equipment that had not survived the first attack. And there, hidden and out of sight, was a small shed.
"The person you know is staying in this pile of trash?" Kacchan said.
They heard movement from above one of the piles, and Izuku looked up to see a figure standing at the top, the afternoon sun cast behind them, making it hard for Izuku to see them right away. Still, their voice, high pitch, and chipper reached them as they responded to Kacchan's comment.
"To you it's a pile of trash, but to me I see unlimited potential just waiting for me to create it!" The person said.
They jumped down from the pile, and Izuku noticed the figure of a girl standing in front of them, although she wasn't looking at them directly as she messed with a small circuit board in her hands. Inasa moved closer to the girl, his tall stature dwarfing her smaller form as he introduced the boys to his friend.
"Midoriya, Bakugou I'd like to introduce Mei Hatsume. I think she can help you in your search for your friend." Inasa said.