The sound of knuckles rapping on the door in the living shook Izuku awake, he blinked surprisingly at the noise, immediately shooting up when he recalled the last night's events. Maybe she's home now and lost her key?
Instantly, he slipped on the beige slippers at the end of his bed, throwing open his bedroom door as he yawned and rubbed his eyes drowsily. The knock came once more and just before he was about to reach for the doorknob, he realized he didn't hear the usual "Izuku? I'm home," in the soft loving voice of his mother. Hesitant, he got up on his tippy toes and reached for the little eye hole that showed who was outside. Huh?
The expected view of the same shade of green hair as his and kind, caring eyes of his mother didn't show up. He was instead greeted with a dark, navy blue hat and a police officer in uniform, a white name tag on his outfit read "Kame," meaning desolate and arid. He had no idea what was happening, did I do anything wrong? Where's mom? Is she in trouble?
With a deep breath, he unlocked the door with a silver key that hung on the wall upon a nail. Suddenly, he remembered that he hadn't changed out of his sleepwear, he definitely looked like a complete mess, in front of a law enforcer. And clearly, he did as the man with dark brown eyes eyed him up and down, an uneasy look on his face as he spoke in a monotone voice.
"Are you Midoriya Izuku, son of Midoriya Inko?"
"Y-Yeah, w-what happened?" he stumbled over his words, unsure of what to say besides asking questions.
The cop rolled his eyes off to the side, a small irritated scowl hidden quite badly on his face. "That woman got into an accident, she's currently having surgery in the hospital right now. You'll have to come with us since you're too young to be on your own," the cop said annoyedly, as if this happened every day and he had done it so many times and that he would rather be at home watching the latest news.
At first, Izuku didn't know what to say, it was too abrupt and casual. One night he was waiting for his mother to come home, and the next morning she was having surgery? It was all too sudden, a blur as he quickly followed the man outside, grabbing a dark green raincoat that hugged on a stand by the door before he left and slipped on his red shoes. The walk down the apartment hallway was far too long, the short turns and corners seemingly like an obstacle getting in the way of seeing the only family he had left.
The second they entered they reached the bottom floor and left the building into the chilly morning air, his thoughts came rushing into focus as he got into the police car he had only ever seen on TV, and had never expected to be entering one currently. The vehicle had been on idle whilst the man had gone to retrieve him, once the door slammed closed it was on the road, annoying traffic stops making him want to quite literally jump out the window and run to the hospital.
"How old are you?" A voice broke the silence.
Midoriya stared down at his fumbling hands for a second, unknowing if he should say, but ultimately forcing it out of his clogged throat when he recalled that he should always respect the authorities and elders, he best should just get over with the suffocating questions. "12, sir."
Soon enough and enough being too much, the sight of the large, white concrete building pulled into his view, his heart thumping with anxiety and worry, his fingers picking viciously at the skin around his nails as he chewed on his inner lip, slight copper taste running along his tongue. But all this was nothing compared to the pull into the parking space and when he bloated out the door when it unlocked, running for the door before the police officer could call out, "Hey! Quit running!"
But how could he slow down? Not when the only sound he could hear was his own labored breathing and beating in his chest, the wet slapping on the damp asphalt as he ran and ran as fast as he could, legs tired from not being athletic for so long but now wishing they could have been. Not when his hands were shaking from the bitter cold and trembling from the fear that he wouldn't be able to see his mother.
Maybe the doctors would save her and the surgery would be successful. It didn't quite help though, due to the fact that what if it didn't work out and this was the last chance he had to tell her 'I love you.'
As soon as the automatic sliding doors opened up to the front desk and lobby, Izuku came bolting in, blurting out to the person behind the glass panel window and counter, "may I know what room Midoriya Inko is in?!"
The purple-haired woman with black spectacle glasses behind the barrier had a surprised look on her face, though she hurriedly softened up when she saw the desperate and anticipating eyes that begged her to tell him. But even she had to make sure that protocol was obeyed.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, do you have a parent or guardian with you?" she tried to appease in a fond, gentle tone.
"Please! I need to know, she's my mom and she just got into an accident and-" Izuku was cut off by the angry footsteps that came barging in and up behind him.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Kame barked, voice harsh like he was scolding a child who had broken his favorite mug. His face was angered and the tips of his ears pink, his fists were also clenched like he was holding back from taking action, as he was in front of a room of people and the clerk. His glare towards the teen was hateful, like he had done something to offend him, but when he didn't get a reply from the green-haired boy and instead from the front desk woman, he quickly shifted his gaze into a more calm, respectful one, though a scowl was pretty much still very obvious.
"Are you his guardian sir? Looking for Midoriya Inko? Unfortunately, she's having the surgery right now. I don't know much about her injuries but if you wait in the lobby, I promise I'll let you know as soon as you're able to see her." The purple-haired woman gave him a sympathetic gaze as she said the last words.
"No please! I need to see her now! If this is my-" The freckled teen was cut off once again as he tried to plead.
"Don't you know how to respect your elders? Where's your damn manners? Go sit down like she told you or you won't be seeing your 'precious' mother anytime soon if you keep bothering the lady. "
Izuku's eye twitched, something building in his gut, the instinct to punch off the smug expression on the man's face grew strong, but he dug his nails into his palm, not allowing it to happen even though he so wanted to. And in a moment of bravery and agitation, he stated stubbornly, "No."
"You little!-" The officer raised his hand in an attempt to smack him in the face, as he couldn't take the 'disrespect.' But suddenly, a surprised expression washed over his anger for a second as if something had been switched inside of him, before returning back to the same twisted face. He also found that he couldn't move his wrist, it being caught in the frim, bruising grip of an older man that had medium length black hair tied up in a ponytail that looked like it was floating and eyes that glowed bright red like scarlet blood. He wore a black jumpsuit and gray scarf, staring dead at the cop's face like he was some insignificant bug that had angered him. And the blue-haired man should have been able to tell by the burning gaze that he should keep his mouth shut and back down like a scared weasel, but no, he wouldn't let his ego take the hit.
"Who do you think you are?" he scoffed, "some hobo who thinks he's everything? I'll do what I want, I'm the law here." Kame then tried to force his wrist out of the death grip, struggling against the other man as he began to huff at him. "If you don't let go of me right this instant, I'll have you arrested," he warned, flashing the badge on his shoulder.
Izuku didn't want the situation to go any further, looking towards the tall male with glowing eyes, he quickly tried to defuse the problem. "S-Sorry for causing you trouble, sir. It was my fault, you can let go of him now." His pleading eyes tried to reassure that he was fine and that he didn't want to be a burden and get him involved.
Luckily, the black-haired man understood and complied with little hesitance. He instantly dropped the limb like it was disgusting roadkill and wiped his hands on his trousers. He glared at the officer with a threat on his tongue. "Watch your actions, wouldn't want to get reported and have your badge on the table by morning because you stupidly decided to assault a kid, would you?"
Kame didn't respond, only grinding his teeth in rage.
Then, the man who had stood up for Izuku turned towards him, the cold and hateful expression was now gone, replaced by one more fond and understanding. Midoriya wanted to thank him, but the fuming cop behind them probably wouldn't like it, and he didn't want to ruin his chances of seeing his mother.
"What's your name, kid?" The gruff voice asked.
"M-Midoriya Izuku."
He nodded. "Visiting your mother?"
"Y-yeah, that's correct, sir. S-Sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble for you, it was my fault." He couldn't help but to apologize anyways, feeling like he had to take at least a bit of responsibility for his actions.
"Don't, it's not your fault, maybe this bastard here should keep his hands to himself." The man in the black jumpsuit mocked, "Some 'law' he is." He shot the officer a brief look that said 'fuck you.'
Izuku didn't know how to respond. So he just turned his head to the side slightly, avoiding the intimidating gaze that he knew wasn't for him.
There was still the uncomfortable, bubbling feeling in his gut that made him do everything he could to not run off and look for his mother, who he could only hope would make it through the surgery to see him again.