Detective Midoriya

Chapter 11

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Midoriya, but we can't release your son just yet." 

"What? He's okay, isn't he?" Inko asked, eyes wide. 

"Yes, he's healing wonderfully," the doctor assured her. "But this injury was no small wound. We're lucky that there wasn't more damage done to him. As it stands, I just want to keep an eye on him to make sure that there are no complications. " 

Inko wrung her hands. "I understand that, but I can't afford to take anymore time off from my job. I can't just leave Izuku alone! And I don't know if I can afford the hospital bills..." 

Izuku bit his lips, trying not to cry as he listened to his mother fret like this. He hated that he was such a burden. He had been the reason that they moved, and she wouldn't tell him how much his online schooling and Valiant's dojo cost, but it couldn't be cheap. Until he became part of the police force, Izuku couldn't contribute, he was merely a drain on his mother. Now here he was, costing more money that they didn't have and the guilt was eating him alive. Izuku swallowed wondering if he could work in a part-time job, at least until- 

"Don't worry about that, Mrs. Midoriya," Detective Tsukauchi cut in, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The police take care of their own. Our insurance policy will cover the cost completely. You can return home if you need to. I know that almost everyone in the station was planning on dropping by here at one point or another, so we can arrange shifts so that your son is never alone." 

"Besides, I am being retained as well," Iida said from his own hospital bed, chopping at the air with his good arm. "I shall keep him company as best I can."

"I'll be checking up on your son as well," Dr. Meiji interrupted quickly. 

Izuku blinked, completely stunned. They were helping? Just like that? Was this what having more than a two-person family felt like? Or were they helping because they felt guilty? "That's not necessary, you shouldn't feel like you have to-"

Tsukauchi put a hand on his head. "Reckless teenagers don't get any say in the matter."

Izuku squawked in protest, but in actuality, his chest was warmer than he could ever recall it being before.

Soon after that, the adults fell into a conversation that wasn't so much exclusive as it was boring, so Izuku took advantage of their distraction and stretched as far as his body would allow, finally able to snag his phone that had been tantalizingly out of reach - Tsukauchi had stolen it last night claiming that he needed rest, not a distraction.

He was marginally impressed that his phone had any battery let at all, and that it hadn't just malfunctioned from all of the notifications. There were roughly two-hundred text messages from Officer Saito alone, ranging from berating him for his stupidity to pleading for him to be okay. There were also texts from everyone else on the force (excluding Mori), a handful from various people he knew from the dojo, a dozen emails from various teachers, and a few voicemails - one was from Ojiro, one was from Valiant, and there were two from the same unknown number.

Curious, Izuku picked the first one from the unknown number. Holding the phone up to his ear, a vaguely familiar voice began speaking.

"Hi, I was just calling to say thank you for my first day of training. You helped a lot and you were super cool! I hope I see you again sometime soon, Midoriya. Oh! This is Uraraka Ochako, by the way."

Izuku hadn't been aware that his phone slipped out of his hand until it clattered on the floor. The noise alerted everyone else in the room, causing some concern while an utterly smitten smile spread across his face.