Hisashi and Inko couldn't help but look at each other in confusion as they wondered why there was a little girl sleeping on their doorstep.
As they approached the girl, Hisashi noticed that she happened to be wearing the girls uniform from Izuku's school. It took all of three seconds for him to connect the dots.
"Is she a runaway?" Inko's voice was wary and filled with concern as she looked at the girl.
Hisashi couldn't help but chuckle ever so slightly as he shook his head. "I think this is Izuku's friend." He leaned in to whisper into his wife's ear. "Though they may not be just friends for too much longer." He said with amusement clear in his voice.
Inko looked back at him in confusion. "He never told me he managed to make a friend."
Hisashi for a moment looked like a deer staring at headlights. "I'm sure he didn't mean any-
"It's fine… I get it." Inko looked away, clearly pained. "I'm glad. I'm happy he had a friend… and I understand why he wouldn't tell me. I just wish I knew how to make everything up to him."
Hisashi looked on at his wife, thinking, searching for the words he needed to comfort her. But he couldn't find them, because there were none. There were no words he could say in this situation. At least, none that he could think of.
After a few moments of awkward silence, they heard the tired groans of the young girl in question as she stirred from her nap.
Hisashi and Inko watched in silence as the girl slowly opened her dreary eyes and stretched before looking around. Her mind slowly catching up to where she was. Her eyes widened in a state of alarm as she remembered exactly why she was there.
The first thing she could ask about as she stood up, in a shaky voice filled with worry and concern. "Where's Izuku? Is he okay? I didn't see him at school today and I… wanted to make sure he…"
She stopped as she looked up at the two adults, neither of them looked anything like Izuku, she couldn't help but question for a moment, what they were doing there. "You… are his parents, right?" A slight hint of fear was felt in her words at the thought of being wrong.
What if they're not? What if they were sent to kill him? What if they're assassin's? Or spy's? What if they already killed him and his family and are here to replace them so that nobody will ever know?
"Pffffttt, aahhahahahah!" Hisashi couldn't help but keel over and laugh as the girl rambled on. Inko covered her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably.
"Ahh well you certainly have an overactive imagination don't you? But just to be clear, yes we are Izuku's parents."
"Did I… say all that out loud?" Her face went red as a tomato as his words processed in her head.
Hisashi could only chuckle once again at her response. "Yes, yes you did."
The girl immediately bowed in a frantic apology. "I'm so sorry I had no idea what you look like but I kinda assumed you'd look like him but you don't and I-
"Relax, I'm not mad. But I would like to know what you're doing sleeping on my door."
"I… My name is Fuwa Mawata, I'm a friend of Izuku's and I got worried when he didn't come to school. So I came over, but nobody answered, so I figured I'd just wait… and I… fell asleep." She couldn't help but look away in shame. Oh my god I sound like a stalker.
Hisashi let out another chuckle at that. "You should probably stop thinking out loud."
Mawata immediately went red again at that, her hands waving in the air, as if clearing up the misunderstanding between them. "I mean, I just couldn't stop thinking about him and worrying about… I just wanted to make sure he didn't… is he okay?"
Hisashi couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going through her head, why she seemed so worried about Izuku. As if she had a particular reason to be worried.
He concluded that in all likelihood it was probably just the young girl being worried about her crush. Though that didn't save him from having to explain to his son's only friend that she won't be able to hang out with him for a while.
After a small and awkward moment of silence, Hisashi let out a sigh as he looked at the young girl with an expression filled with guilt. "I… don't know exactly when he's going to come back to school. He got hurt pretty bad and he'll be in the hospital for a while."
Mawata felt a swirl of emotions at that moment. Why? What happened? What did he do? How could he get himself hurt? Was he trying to? He wouldn't do that… right?
Hisashi couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head as she stared up at him.
As the negative thoughts swirled through her mind, she couldn't stop from going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. The look on her face getting progressively darker and darker.
"What happened?" She spoke with a hushed almost whispered voice, her tone conveyed a mixture of sadness and frustration, pain and anxiety.
Hisashi didn't know how to respond, a feeling of guilt rose in his chest as his actions reappeared in his head. The consequences weighing heavily on his mind.
After a moment of silence. Hisashi let out a deep breath. "Izuku… was practicing his quirk, and things kinda happened. I… pushed him a little too hard and he got hurt because of it. I… should've been more careful, I should have taken things slowly… I'm sorry that you two won't get to spend much time together for a while… But please don't blame Izuku for it."
He saw as her face relaxed a bit, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulder, even if only partially. A notion that did nothing but confuse Hisashi.
"Can I… can I see him?" She looked up at her friends father. An almost pleading desperation in her eyes.
As Hisashi looked at her, he couldn't help the series of questions and concerns that flooded his mind about why she would be worried. What reason did she have to be so concerned?
Had Izuku told her something? He didn't mention anything about it, at least not that he could remember. But what did he tell her exactly? What did he tell her about that would cause her to react like this after just one day apart?
After a moment of thought he couldn't help but feel that Izuku trusted this girl, possibly more than himself, something told him that this girl had already done more for his son than he could ever truly recognize. And not letting them see each other, would be one of, if not, the biggest mistake he could ever make as a parent.
Hisashi answered with a small nod. "It's getting late so we'll take you tomorrow after school to see Izuku. I hope you don't mind waiting until then?"
After a moment of silence, she hesitantly gave a small nod. "Okay…" She began slowly walking away, until she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She looked back to see the black haired man looking down at her with a slightly anxious expression.
"I don't think it's a great idea for a little girl to be walking home alone this late. Would you mind if I drove you home?"
She gave it a moment of thought before giving a small nod of agreement.
Hisashi looked back at Inko. "I'll be back later. I wouldn't feel comfortable if I let her go home alone. Especially since she's Izuku's friend."
Inko let out a small breath as she walked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I know, and I've always loved that considerate side of you."
Hisashi gave a small smile as he and the little girl got in the car and disappeared from view. Leaving her to ruminate on her thoughts.
Inko slowly walked inside, taking off her shoes and walking slightly down the hall before she found herself staring at the picture on the wall. A picture of her and Hisashi with the kids, back when they were too young to even have quirks. Back before their lives began falling apart.
.
As they approached Mawata's home, somehow she felt an awkward tension between them. Almost like he was suspicious of her, or maybe it was something else.
"I… don't know what exactly Izuku has told you to make you so worried about him. But I can tell that you mean a lot to him… I want you to know that we sincerely appreciate you being friends with our son. It's… been a long time since he's had anyone his age to talk to."
His tone conveyed a mixture of gratitude, frustration, and guilt. But Mawata couldn't help but feel a bit bitter hearing that. Both at the fact that Izuku had been alone for so long, and at the idea that his parents had allowed him to be alone for so long.
But then, she didn't exactly know the details of what happened, but she couldn't help but wonder if they really had done everything in their power to help him, or if they had just given up along the way.
"I… I… sorry, I have so many thoughts, so many questions, about him, about what he's been through. I just can't seem to put the words together right now."
"How about we talk about everything tomorrow when we visit Izuku. But… I can't promise I'll be able to answer everything."
The two remained in silence for the short remainder of the ride. Mawata gave a simple "thank you" as she got out.
As Mawata started towards her house, she couldn't help the tears of worry as they began to flow. She didn't like the idea of Izuku getting hurt, she didn't want to see him hurt. She couldn't help but think about what his sister had done, she couldn't help but think that maybe he had tried to do the same. Despite knowing that's not what happened, she couldn't help but wonder if that's something he might try.
She didn't want to believe it, she didn't want to think about it… but she couldn't help pondering it. She needed to hear for herself, from him. That he would never do something like that. That he'd never leave her like that.
After a moment, she couldn't help but stop. What was she thinking, leave her? They weren't together. He didn't belong to her. Was that what she wanted? A swirl of confusion and embarrassment spread throughout her mind like a wildfire. She felt her face heating up, her cheeks bordered on an uncomfortable burning sensation.
She couldn't help but bury her face in her hands as the embarrassment consumed her, an incoherent squeal making its way out of her, a squeal which was immediately interrupted as she slammed head first into the front door of her house. "Ow."
She let out a sigh and rubbed her head a bit before entering. "I'm home." She took her off her shoes and walked down the hall into the living room. "How's your friend?" She turned and saw her father standing with his arms crossed.
She couldn't help but look away to hide the sad expression on her face. "He's in the hospital. I'm going to see him tomorrow with his parents."
A beat of silence filled the room before her father responded. "I'm sorry to hear that… I hope he's alright." He sat there for a moment, watching her reaction. "You never mentioned your friend was a boy."
Mawata felt her heart sink slightly as she realized her mistake. "It's not what you think. There's nothing between us, I just… can't leave someone alone when they're suffering. He… doesn't have any other friends."
An awkward air filled the room for what felt like minutes, Mawata shrinking from her fathers stare. "As long as you remain friends, and nothing more. I have no problems. I trust you'll remember this conversation, Mawata."
"…Yes father." She couldn't look at him, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't look him in the eyes. She couldn't say anything back. She could only nod along.
After a moment of standing and watching. He walks up to her, placing his hand on her head. "I do hope he's alright. I am glad you have a friend, I just hope you don't get too attached."
After a moment she managed to look up at him, a vacant, seemingly thoughtless expression in his gray eyes. "I… yes, father."
He gave her a couple pats before turning and walking away. Mawata stood there for a moment, trying to come to terms with her reality.
She slowly walked up to her room, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it and slowly let herself fall to the ground. Tears fell down her cheeks as she desperately tried to stifle her cries.
.
Mawata woke up with puffy red eyes, the taste of salt still on the tip of her lips. She sat up and wiped her face off. A small hole filling her stomach for a moment.
She looked at the time, lamenting that she had to wait until after school to see her friend. She got up and went through her morning routine before walking out the door and heading to school.
She couldn't help but stew in her thoughts as she walked, she couldn't help but ponder about Izuku, about her situation. Somehow it felt like her entire world was coming down around her, and there was nothing she could think to do about it.
As she settled into her seat, she couldn't help but look at the empty seat next to her, a swirl of anxious thoughts and emotions whirling through her as the moments passed.
She couldn't be bothered to pay attention as the teachers went on about their respective subjects. She couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the conversations and happenings of her classmates.
The day felt painfully slow as she waited for school to be over, nothing felt less important to her in those moments of nauseating solitude.
For a while, she wondered if this was how Izuku had felt when he was alone, but then, she wasn't really alone. She knew where he was, she knew she was going to see him, she knew that the loneliness was temporary, because he hadn't abandoned her. Not like his friends had abandoned him.
As lunch rolled around, Mawata couldn't help but stew in her thoughts. She felt her stomach ache with hunger, but she didn't feel like eating. All she could do was stare blankly at her food.
"You seem even more worried than yesterday?"
She turned to see Horibe looking at her, an expression mixed with concern and anxiety clear on his face, for any who were paying attention. Mawata though, could only think about Izuku at the moment.
She looked at him for a moment before turning back to stare at her food, resting her head on her arms in silence.
After a moment of silence, Horibe took a deep breath and gathered up his courage. "M- mind if I sit?"
His words went ignored as Mawata was too wrapped in her own thoughts to even hear his question.
"Hello?" Anxiety and dejection could almost be felt in his voice as he sat there awkwardly waiting for a reply.
As the clock ticked and the moment passed, Horibe couldn't help the sinking feeling of defeat that settled in and weighed on his heart as he turned and walked back towards his friends.
Mawata remained blissfully unaware of the pain she had and would continue to cause for years to come as she continued spiraling into her own worries and concerns.
.
As the final bell rang and school finally came to an end, A head of pink hair could be seen running through the halls. Footsteps echoing through the halls as the young girl made her way down the stairs and out the doors.
She couldn't care less about the looks and murmurs as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her through the school gates, all the way to the front door of her cru- best friend's house.
As she got to the door she felt herself heaving and panting, her legs felt sore, she felt her face flush red and her eyes struggled to stay open. She sat there for a moment catching her breath before knocking on the door.
An anxious hole found its way into her stomach as she waited for what felt like an eternity with only her thoughts to keep her company.
After a moment she saw as the door opened and she was greeted with a green haired woman. The woman looked at her with curiosity, but also a hint of guilt in her eyes.
"Hello, I'm Mawata, we uh… met yesterday. I'm here to see Izuku." As the woman stared back at her, she couldn't help the wave of tension she felt wash over her.
The woman stared back at her for a moment, taking in the sight of a young girl covered in sweat, her breath heavy and her whole body seemed to shake with exhaustion. She stepped to the side holding the door open.
"Why don't you take a moment to cool off before you pass out. We'll take you to him afterwards." She gave a soft smile to the girl as she led her inside and sat her down on the couch.
She sent a message to her husband before going into the kitchen and pouring a glass of water, setting it down on the table before sitting down in a chair adjacent to the couch.
Mawata grabbed the water and quickly drank it down, relief washing over her body as the water began circulating through her.
After finishing the water she placed the glass back down on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. For a moment she sat staring up at the ceiling as her body calmed down.
"Feeling better?" The woman asked, a slightly amused connotation coming from her motherly voice.
Mawata turned to her, her breath slowly returning to normal. "Thank you."
The woman looked at her for a moment before shaking her head. "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you." She hung her head low in shame as she continued.
"Izuku and I haven't always… seen eye to eye. We haven't for a very long time. I think that it's my fault, after all he's still a child. But I haven't figured out how to make everything up to him."
She looked back up to the young girl, a small, bittersweet smile forming on her lips. "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you. For bringing life back to my son, and for being his friend. So, thank you."
Mawata didn't know how to respond to that. She couldn't help the butterflies flying into her stomach, nor the bright smile that graced her lips as she tried to cover her face in embarrassment.
"I'm only doing what I feel is right. It's not that big a deal." Try as she might, she couldn't hide how happy she was hearing that Izuku's mother felt that way towards her.
"It is a big deal. You're the first friend he's had in years… the first person to be on his side in years." For a moment she stared blankly, just for a moment before shaking her head free of her thoughts.
"Izuku… has been alone for a long time. I mean… it's not like I haven't been around. I just… I didn't understand what he needed from me. Our relationship has broken down over the years, because I didn't try to ask him what he wanted. All I did was try to stop anything that could take him away from me and… I don't know…"
"You didn't want to lose him like you did Inami."
Inko looked wide eyed at Mawata. "He… told you about her?"
Mawata sat in silence for a moment before giving a small nod. "He… told me about how she… how much he misses her. How she protected him. How guilty he feels over her. I can't imagine how painful it must've been to go through all of that."
Inko looked at her for a moment. "He didn't tell you everything. Or maybe he was too young to really understand…
Inami was… extremely mature for her age. When they were kids, she was the one who always mediated fights, she was good at getting everyone to calm down, she was good at understanding why people acted the way they did. I think it was a blessing, that ended up becoming a curse for her."
"What do you mean curse? I don't see how being mature could be a curse."
Inko looked down at that, a sour frustration clear on her face. "When you understand why people do the things they do, it becomes easy to empathize with them… But when you find yourself on the wrong side of society, so to speak. There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do to change someone's mind.
Inami… didn't really get along with most of the kids her age. So she hung out with Izuku and his friends. But as they grew older, and their quirks started coming in… they started changing. She didn't like the direction they were going, so she tried talking to them about it."
"...What happened?" Mawata asked, a worried undercut in her voice.
"…To put it bluntly, she came home with a broken nose that day. She bawled her eyes out crying when she walked through the door."
Inko developed a very small smile on her face as she began remembering her precious daughter.
"She understood why people felt the way they do… except for when they decided to bully others for being born… a certain way."
"For being quirkless?" Mawata interjected with a sour intonation.
"That was a big part of it, but they also targeted kids with quirks on the weaker side. What started with light jokes that poked fun at them slowly turned into… bullying, bullying to a level I didn't think kids that age were capable of."
After a moment she turned her head to see the distraught face of a young girl… and a deep feeling of regret washed over her as it sunk in just who she was having this conversation with.
"What happened next?"
Inko didn't really know how to respond. On one hand she was talking to a girl too young to be worrying about topics like extreme bullying. On the other hand, Izuku had already trusted her with his perspective on the matter.
In the end, Inko couldn't justify talking further about what happened next to a grade schooler. So she decided to skip ahead a bit.
"I can't tell you much about what happened with them at school, at some point they stopped bringing it up. And even if I knew everything I don't think it'd be for me to share.
We knew it was happening, we had already talked to the school about it but they didn't care. We went to the police but their investigation was called off. They never..."
As she explained, she felt like the gears were turning in her head, and a lightbulb went off.
"Oh... My... God..." She couldn't help but hold a hand to her mouth as a dreadful realization came over her.
Mawta looked on in confusion and worry. "Is something wrong?"
Inko looked at her worried face. "No, nothing you need to worry about. Just… figured something out." After an awkward moment of worried stares and concerning silence. Inko cleared her throat and diverted the conversation.
"So, how'd you meet Izuku?" Inko looked at the girl with a note of curiosity.
Mawata on the other hand, gave a deadpan stare at the woman. "You're dodging."
Inko simply gave a nod. "Indeed I am, because the conversation was heading in a direction that it doesn't need to go. So I'll ask again, how did you meet my baby boy?"
Mawata stared in silence at her for a second before relenting. "We met at a park one day. A group of kids were bullying someone so I tried to stop them. They turned on me.
When Bakugo, I think his name was? Anyway he swung at me, and out of nowhere… out of nowhere I see a hand grab him by the arm and throw him over his shoulder and onto the ground.
Then he told them off, and I haven't been able to get him out of my head since. So I kept chasing him. No matter how many times he told me to leave him alone, I couldn't stop myself. I've never been able to put my finger on why, but I just can't stop chasing him."
As she looked back at the woman, she saw a smug teasing face clear as day. "What?"
"Noooothhinnngg." Inko could barely contain her giggles as she teased the young confused girl.
"You know something don't you? Telllll meeeeee!"
"Hehehehe, I figured it out for myself, now it's your turn." Inko replied with a great big smile on her face.
Mawata replied with a pout on her lips. "Fine, but just letting you know, I won't be telling you any of my secrets either."
Inko broke into a light fit of laughter as for a moment, just for a moment, she felt as though she was looking at her daughter. A bittersweet feeling of butterflies hit her stomach at the notion.
As they teased and laughed at each other, suddenly a tall man walked down the hall. "Sorry, I got caught up in an emergency meeting."
He looked to his wife and the young girl with a smile on his face. "Ready to go?"
Mawata shot up, her expression turned from a giggling smile to a soft but worried frown as she gave a nod and began towards the door.
As Inko got up and followed behind her, she stopped for a moment. "I think you might be right about them not staying friends much longer."
Hisashi shot her a smug smile before following after them. "Told ya'."
After a smug moment between them Inko leaned in to whisper into her husband's ear, Hisashi leaning in to listen. "I need to talk to you later, I may be wrong but I think I realized something."
Hisashi pulled away, taking in his wife's look of concern before giving a nod. "Alright we'll talk about it later."
.
As they entered the hospital, Hisashi went up to the front desk and Inko led Mawata to sit down as they waited for a nurse to lead them to Izuku's room.
After Hisashi handled things at the front desk he took a seat next to his wife. They sat and waited for what in reality was a few moments, though it felt like hours. For a nurse to come and talk to them.
"Hello again Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya." She had a smile on her face as she turned to look at Mawata. "And who's this? Sister? Oh wait no let me guess. Girlfriend?" She locked eyes with the pink haired girl with a teasing grin on her face.
Mawata couldn't help but blush a deep red at the accusation as she quickly covered her face in embarrassment and responded with quietly squealed words. "I'm… I'm not his girlfriend."
The nurse took all of two seconds to respond. "Mmmhhmm, sure you're not." She then looks back to the parents. "They are going to look so cute together."
Inko couldn't help but snicker, while Hisashi simply gave a smug grin.
"Right this way." She motioned them to follow her down hall after hall. Mawata felt surreal somehow as they followed her. She knew she wasn't dreaming, she knew it was all real, but it somehow didn't feel like it. It was a feeling she couldn't place even if she tried, she couldn't piece her own thoughts together, let alone piece together the words to describe it.
As they slowed to a halt outside Izuku's room, Mawata somehow felt… heavy, as if her body turned to stone. Anxiety and worry quickly flooded her mind as she stared forward blankly.
She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder as she recoiled in surprise. A quick gasp escaped her mouth as she turned on a dime to find the mother of her best friend looking slightly down at her, concern written on her face like words on a sheet of paper.
"Is everything alright?" She asked in a sweet motherly tone, a tone that almost reminded her of her own mother.
She shook her head. "I'm fine, just… don't know what to expect."
The nurse chimed in with a cheerful voice to ease the tension. "I can tell you're worried but trust me, it's not as bad as you think it is. He's going to recover just fine."
Mawata turned to look at the nurse, taking in the warm smile on her face. She took in a deep breath and gave a shaky nod.
"Alrighty then, are you ready to see your boyfriend~?" She exaggerated her voice with a teasing inflection.
"He's not my boyfriend…" Mawata muttered with no small amount of embarrassment.
The nurse simply let out a giggle before opening the door and letting them in.
As Mawata entered the room, she felt a cold breeze coming from the AC. A shiver ran through her spine as she rubbed her hands on her arms to warm up.
As she stared towards her friend underneath the covers of a hospital bed, she couldn't help but notice that he didn't look any different from normal. A mixture of relief and confusion set upon her.
"He… looks fine?" She looked confusedly towards his parents.
Hisashi let out a fake cough before clarifying. "His injury is internal, he should make a full recovery but his stomach and throat have been burned, he likely won't be talking any time soon. And when he does start talking again, he may sound a bit different."
After a beat of silence, a quiet wheezing cough was heard. They turned to see Izuku slowly waking up, his eyes half lidded and foggy as he looked up at them.
"Izuku? Are you okay?" Mawata asked in a shaky voice filled with anxious worry as she walked over to his bedside.
Hisashi looked over at the nurse. "Can we get a pen and paper for him?" To which she gave him a quick nod before walking out of the room.
Izuku turned his head to see the blurry outline of a girl, and for a moment, just a moment. He could swear he saw an angel. A beautiful smiling angel sent to heal his fractured soul.
He almost felt he could cry for a moment, and then her hand slipped into his. A warm sensation spread across his palm in hers as she tightly held his hand. He couldn't help but hold hers back just as tightly, a strange floaty feeling enveloping him as he did.
After a moment his vision started to clear and his mind started waking up. He blinked and rubbed his eyes a few times with his remaining hand and found that it was Mawata in front of him. He almost felt his heart skip a beat at the realization that she was holding his hand tight enough you'd think he was hanging off a cliff.
Somehow, someway, in his head, within his heart, something clicked. In that moment, that felt as though it had dragged on for an eternity, he realized that as far as he was concerned, she might as well be an angel. An angel sent to save him from his cold, lonely life.
All he could do was stare at her. All he could do was take in and memorize the details on her face. All he could do was bask in the warmth that permeated through him when he laid eyes on her.
"Izuku?" Mawata asked, slight confusion in her voice at his blank stare. Worry still crystal clear in her expression.
He shook himself out of his stupor and let a small smile grace his face as he squeezed her hand tightly in his.
After a moment, she couldn't help the wave of tears flowing as the anxious fear finally dissipated from her. A quiet cry wringing through the room as she brought her forehead against his hand, simply to remind herself that her best friend was fine.
"I was so worried when you didn't come to school… I wasn't sure what to think, I just…" She brought her hand up to wipe the tears as they flowed down her cheek
He brought his hand up and held her cheek, wiping away the tears with his thumb. He tried to speak for a moment, but his voice quickly turned into a rampant cough.
"It's ok, don't push yourself." Mawata pleaded with him. "I can wait so don't try to talk."
As his cough began to calm down he looked back at her, a wave of guilt washing over him as her worried expression settled in his mind.
After a moment they heard the door open and they turned to look at the nurse as she walked in. She walked over and handed Izuku the pen and paper with a smile on her face.
He started writing on the paper, raising it up as he finished. 'I'm sorry to make you worry so much.'
Mawata read the message and looked back at him for a second before answering. "It's ok, I… I know you weren't trying to get hurt…"
After a beat of silence between them, the gears clicked into place for Izuku, and everything made sense. He began frantically writing words down.
He near shoved the paper in her face as he finished writing, a look of concern and guilt showed clearly on his face.
'I could never do something like that no matter how hard things get no matter how bad things hurt I could never do that to you or my family don't ever think that I'd do that to you again cause I promise I would never even think of doing something like that'
As Mawata read the message she looked back at his face, a sense of worry and pain slowly showing itself on him. She felt regret wash over her as she thought about how much hurt he must have felt at her assumption.
"I… I won't. Sorry for thinking that you… I know you wouldn't, I just… got scared. But… what was I supposed to think? When you disappeared without a trace, without telling me anything… what am I supposed think?"
She looked at him with pleading eyes, tears threatening to fall once more, her breath was erratic and heavy.
Izuku's face softened a bit, he felt a small pang of guilt place itself firmly in his chest. He reached his hand out slightly for a moment before stopping. He felt a moment of hesitance before reminding himself that his actions were his own.
He reached out and placed his hand once again on her cheek, only leaving it there for a second before moving it up and pulling her head down to his chest.
She sat there in confusion for a moment, not really knowing what was happening, and then… bam-bump… bam-bump… bam-bump. She heard a heartbeat.
Her whole world seemed to be consumed in the blink of an eye by that sound. As the tears flowed onto his shirt, her breathing steadily slowed, she could feel the anxiety and worry seeping out of her very being as she calmed down. She couldn't help but hug him tightly, pressing her face into his chest.
There were no more words spoken, not for a while as they laid there in each other's presence, simply enjoying the moment.
After they calmed down, Izuku and Mawata spent a while talking, but all things must come to an end, and as Mawata was getting ready to leave, Izuku had a soft smile on his face as he held up the paper one last time.
'Would you mind telling me your number? I can't tell you how I'm doing if I'm not coming to school without it.'
She walked over and took the pen, writing her number down on the paper before leaving with a smile, a wave, and butterflies in her stomach.
As they entered the car and began driving away Mawata had a blissful look on her face, as if all the worries and concerns she had in life had simply vanished.
"I said we'd talk about Izuku yesterday, do you have any questions?" Hisashi looked in the mirror to see how she reacted.
Not even a second later, she felt a buzz in her pocket. She took out her phone and opened it up to a text from Izuku.
"No, I think I'm good." She held a bright smile on her face as she looked at her phone, typing away at it.
Hisashi let out a small sigh as he turned to his wife who simply shrugged.
.
Izuku was released a few days later, however he was not supposed to speak at least before his checkup in two weeks. For the time being he would type on his phone to talk to people.
As he walked through the door to his house he couldn't help but smile thinking about going back to school the next day. He couldn't wait to see Mawata again.
He couldn't help but run to his room, closing the door behind him and hopping on his phone. He pulled up Mawata and typed out a text to her. 'I'm finally back home, I can't wait to see you at school tomorrow!'
As he was about to hit send, he took a second to look at it. He wondered if, maybe it was too much? He rewrote it. 'I'm finally back home, I'll see you at school tomorrow.'
He pressed send, but for some reason he felt a slight ache in his heart. In the end he decided to go ask his dad about it.
He began typing as he walked down the hall. Finishing his message as he got to the couch.
He turned his phone to show his dad. 'Have you ever had an ache in your stomach after sending a message to someone?'
Hisashi read the message and then looked back at his son with a confused expression. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Did you send a message by mistake?"
Izuku shook his head then began typing again. 'No, I just… I don't know how to explain this feeling.'
Hisashi looked at his son with slight worry. "How about you show me what you sent?"
Izuku went back to his text and turned to show his father. Who looked even more confused than before upon looking at it. "I don't see anything wrong with it?"
'That's kinda my problem, there isn't anything wrong with it. But I still feel… empty.' Izuku looked down, clearly distraught and confused.
Hisashi thought for a moment. "Did you, maybe, want to talk to her about something? But you didn't know how to ask her?"
Izuku shook his head. 'No.' He stopped for a moment. 'But I typed something else first.' Hisashi looked on in curiosity as Izuku retyped his earlier message and showed it.
Hisashi looked at him with a small smile. "So? Why'd you change it?"
Izuku looked slightly away in shame. 'I thought it might be too much…'
Hisashi placed his hand on his son's head. "I think you want to get closer to her, but you're scared. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just something you'll have to work past."
Izuku looked up at his dad for a moment. 'Why would I be scared?'
"Because that's just how guys get around the girl they like. I was like that when I first met your mother. And I'm pretty sure girls get like that too a lot of the time."
Izuku looked down in confusion, clearly unable to wrap his head around it all.
Hisashi took a moment to think about how he wanted to approach this conversation. "Izuku, I hope you don't mind me asking but, what exactly do you think of Mawata? What is she to you?"
Izuku looked up with a slight twinkle in his eye before quickly typing out a response. 'She's an angel.'
Hisashi sat in silence for a moment, holding his breath. Don't, laugh… don't laugh… he let out a little snicker before taking a deep breath.
After calming down a bit he regathered his thoughts and continued his line of questioning. "She's an angel? Does that make her some untouchable being that we mere mortals could never hope to understand?"
Izuku shook his head.
"Then what do you mean by angel?"
Izuku took a moment to think before slowly typing away at his phone. 'She's like a guiding light in my dark world. The first person to care after years of suffering. The first person to support me after all the years I spent alone. How could I call her anything but an angel?'
Hisashi felt a twinge of pain as he read the text. But he was pretty sure he could see what was happening. "You… want to get closer to her, but you're afraid, of pushing her away. Does that sound right?"
Izuku thought about it for a moment, but it didn't take long for him to give a shy nod in reply.
Hisashi felt a small smile on his face as he placed his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with what you're feeling. Everything is going to be alright." He lowered himself to look his son face to face.
"There are a lot of things in life that may seem scary, but really aren't. In reality, they're only as scary as you let them be. Only you can overcome that, and only you can decide when you're done being afraid. Until then, take things at your own pace, there's no need to rush things."
Izuku took a moment to let everything sink in, taking a deep breath and giving a nod in response.
"Now, would you mind telling me a bit more about her? You still haven't said why you like her." He let a big wide grin show mischievously on his face.
Izuku could feel his cheeks go red at the question, at first he shook his head back and forth. But after a moment, he started typing away at his phone. Looking up with a scrutinizing look in his eye before handing his phone to his dad.
'I don't understand why she chose to hang around me. At first I did everything I could to ignore her and push her away. But she insisted on being my friend… now that I think about it, she reminds me a lot of Inami, maybe that's why I can't say no to her, maybe I'm just crazy…
But, what I do know is that she's an angel that came into my life to save me. She takes my breath away, and holds me together… She's the only thing keeping me sane in this world. Just like Inami did.
…I want to get closer to her, I want to be more than just friends… I can admit that now. But I don't want to ruin what we have, I don't want to lose my second angel, like I did my first…
And yet, I also can't help but feel like she's too good for me. I don't feel like I've done anything to deserve her, but I can't stand the idea of someone else having her. I can't justify this need to have her all to myself. She isn't mine.
She isn't mine, but I don't want her to be with anyone else… Am I a bad person for that?'
Hisashi took a long and deep breath after absorbing the message. After sorting through the words in his head something clicked. He looked back at the message, his eyes locking onto the last few words.
"Wanting to have someone all to yourself isn't necessarily a bad thing. Would you mind telling me why you brought it up?"
Izuku looked back at his phone and started typing.
'There's another boy in class, I can't really remember his name but I know he likes her. I can tell. Thinking about it makes me… it makes my heart sink. I know it's just me being jealous, but I can't stand it when he's around.'
Hisashi looked on in thought for a moment. "Jealousy isn't a bad thing, as long as you don't let it control you. If you truly love and appreciate someone, you'll want them to be happy, to do what makes them happy. Even if that means letting go of them.
If you truly love someone, then you have to understand that they have their own choices to make. You can't force someone to love you, and you shouldn't want to.
If Mawata ever does find someone else, and falls in love with them . You need to support her in that, you need to bear with the pain and put a smile on your face. Because that's what it means to support the person that you love."
Izuku looked down at that, wondering if he'd be able to do that. If he'd be able to smile, as he watched her with someone else. He understood what was said, he understood the message, but he couldn't help but wonder if he'd be able to actually support her if she did find someone else.
Hisashi watched as Izuku looked down in thought, wondering if maybe this conversation was a bit too early for his son. So he decided to shift the conversation slightly.
"Hey Izuku?" He saw as his son looked up at him. "I… don't think I've ever told you about my mom, have I?"
Izuku simply shook his head.
Hisashi looked down, hesitation rearing its ugly head as he contemplated his words. He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. "I also had two angels in my life. My mother was the first… your mother was my second angel."
He turned to look at his son, an almost unreadable expression on his face. But Izuku could see it, the sadness in his eyes.
Hisashi got up and motioned for Izuku to follow him as he began walking down the hall. "I think you're still a bit young to hear the whole story. But… my mother wasn't exactly a good person.
It wasn't until your mother came into my life, that I realized that the way she treated me wasn't normal." He led Izuku into Inami's room… a room he hadn't actually been in since shortly after she died. As Izuku entered he looked around and saw all kinds of band posters and instruments.
Looking around the room warmed his heart a bit, but it also made him feel empty, like he was being reminded that something had been missing.
Hisashi brought up a chair for Izuku then grabbed a guitar and began plugging it in. "Your mother saved me from my horrible life. She was the angel that saved me, from my other angel… the evil angel that tried to drag me into hell itself. Evil angel that tried to control me, and abandoned me as soon as she realized I wasn't going to let her."
Hisashi couldn't help the bittersweet smile that found its way onto his face as he held his favorite guitar after all those years. The guitar he gave to Inami when she was four. The guitar he taught her to play on.
It was a black electric guitar with red line art depicting a mannequin on the body.
"My mother never liked that I played music, she thought it was a waste of time. She wanted me to be a lawyer, I wanted to be a musician."
He looked back at his son. "My mother never let me make my own decisions. She always wanted me to do things her way. It wasn't until your mother came into my life that I really understood how I was being treated."
Izuku gave a confused look for a moment before typing out. 'But, isn't mom kinda trying to control me? Telling me not to fight at school, or at least she was.'
Hisashi took a moment to formulate his words, wanting to make sure nothing he said was lost in translation.
"While I certainly agree your mother took things a bit far, and I do want to preface that she was wrong… we were wrong. She didn't want you to fight because she's afraid of losing you. There's a difference between not wanting someone to do something because they don't want them to get hurt or to get taken away. And wanting someone to simply do everything your way."
Izuku pondered on that for a bit before looking back to his father to continue.
"Everybody has their own decisions to make, after I met your mother I decided I wanted to chase my dream of becoming a musician. And she supported me through the hard times that we had in the beginning.
At first nobody wanted to listen to us, but as time went by, we became one of the most popular bands in the country. And I got to be a rockstar for damn near a decade. Those were some of the best years of my life."
Izuku couldn't help but smile seeing his father so happy talking about his past. 'Why'd you stop?'
Hisashi looked at the text, wondering for a moment if telling the truth would be the right decision before relenting.
"I got into politics because I wanted to take steps towards making the country a better place for my kids to live in. But as it turns out, convincing people to make changes isn't always as easy as I thought it'd be…"
The two sat for a moment in silence as the conversation stalled.
Hisashi shook his head to break himself out of the negative thoughts he was about to delve into. "Sorry, I think going any further with that conversation would be bad so let's cut it there."
Izuku gave a small nod before going back to type on his phone. 'So what band were you in?'
Hisashi gave a small smile as he answered. "Deep Dope. Man I miss those days. You wanna hear a song?" Hisashi asked with no small amount of excitement and expectation in his voice.
Izuku nodded with fervor, a twinkle in his eye as he waited (not so) patiently for his father to start.
Hisashi thought for a moment about singing a song from his band before reflecting on their conversation. Thinking of only one song that fit with the topic of conversation, though admittedly he also would have liked to show off a song from his band. He went over to his phone and searched up an instrumental version of the song he was thinking of, taking a deep breath before hitting play.
Depswa - Two Angels and a Dream
A fast paced strumming of the guitar both through the phone and the amp. Followed by an energetic voice singing with all his might.
Been searching for some answers
To the questions I should know
There's an angel up above me
And another down below
They offer me the world
But I don't exactly know
If these visions here they come to me
To stay or finally go
The music picks up, adding volume as Hisashi stood up exaggerating his motions as he strummed away at the guitar.
And I'm caught between two angels and a dream
One is pulling at my heart while the other rips the seams
Caught between two angels and a dream
And I don't know where to go
Got some visions of a kingdom
And its twice is black as night
They're no brighter than the sun
With growing rays of light
And somewhere in between
Is the place that I ignore
My decision lies in waiting to where I want to go
And I'm caught between two angels and a dream
One is pulling at my heart while the other rips the seams
Caught between two angels and a dream
And I don't know where to go
I've got to find
Find the answers
I've got to find my equilibrium
I've got to dream
Within the balance
I've got to keep my equilibrium
The music slows down again, Hisashi giving his son a small smile as he sees his enraptured face
Between the black and white
Between what's wrong and what's right
It's where I feel myself fall upon
Between you and me
Between what's caged and what's free
And I found where I belong
And one final time, Hisashi closes his eyes and pours his heart and soul into the final stretch of the song
And I'm caught between two angels and a dream
One is pulling at my heart while the other rips the seams
These eyes have shown no future to be seen
Then to throw it all away for something in between
And I'm caught between two angels and a dream
One is pulling at my heart while the other rips the seams
Caught between two angels and a dream
And I don't know where to go
As Hisashi finished he couldn't help the warmth spreading in him as he saw his son stare in amazement, a bright smile on his face excitement barely contained as he struggled to sit still. "Did you like that?" Hisashi asked with a chuckle as he set the guitar on its stand.
Izuku couldn't stop his head from bobbing up and down with a big smile. He quickly went to his phone and typed away. 'Could you teach me how to play?'
Hisashi felt his heart stall for a moment as his mind flashed back to a decade prior. He looked down at a head of fluffy green hair. "Can you teach me how to play dad?" He saw as the freckled face of his daughter cheerfully smiling up at him as the rest of the world seemed to fade around him.
He felt as a hand grabbed his shirt, pulling him out of his head. He looked down to see his son, a slightly worried expression on his face. He felt his cheeks getting wet, bringing a hand to wipe the tears he didn't know were flowing. "Sorry, I just remembered something. Of course I'll teach you." He gave a soft smile to his son.
Izuku returned the smile for a moment before hugging his father tight, pressing his face into the crook of Hisashi's neck as he returned the hug in full force.