Detective Midoriya

Chapter 43

Hitoshi had been feeling uneasy all day - it started when All Might was pulled out of their heroics exercise, but it persisted. He wasn't sure why today was so bad, and he knew that Nezu wouldn't give him any answers, even if he managed to brainwash the rat, but the feeling only increased as the day went on.

Everyone was obviously feeling antsy, but Hitoshi's stomach plummeted when a police officer appeared in their classroom doorway around two hours later. He recognized this one from Izuku's police station.

"I'm here to collect Todoroki Shoto," the officer said grimly, a stark contrast to her usual playful disposition.

"Is everything okay, officer?" Ectoplasm asked.

"There's a family emergency, that's all I'm authorized to say," she said seriously.

"Has Endeavor been in a really bad fight or something?" Kaminari whispered.

"Todoroki was emancipated," Hagakure gently reminded him.

"Oh, right."

While the class speculated, Hitoshi couldn't help but listen to Ojiro when he leaned over to Todoroki as he was packing his things.

"I don't know what's going on, but could you update us on what's going on? As long as you're comfortable with it, I mean," the blond said, forehead creasing in concern.

"And by 'us' he means the other honorary Midoriyas," Hitoshi added, feeling more awake than he had in weeks.

Todoroki nodded once before disappearing with the police officer. It felt like an eternity until he heard the nearly indiscernible buzz of Ojiro's phone.

Even though he was generally a rule follower, he slipped his phone out of his pocket. Sitting where he was, Hitoshi had a fairly decent view of his face, and his stomach tied in knots when he visibly paled. He didn't take a single note the rest of the lesson, merely staring at his desk, his tail flicking back and forth in agitation.

Lunch was immediately after that class, so while everyone else fought their way to the cafeteria, the concerned parties crowded Ojiro's desk.

"What did Todoroki say?" Shinsou demanded.

"While he was undercover today, MIdoriya was shot," Ojiro said, his voice strangely empty, looking at his phone as if he were willing the message to be different. "He's currently in surgery and they don't know whether or not he's going to survive."

A shiver ran down Hitoshi's spine at the words, and he could feel his carefully constructed mask fracturing. "Are they sure it was Midoriya that got shot? He's meticulous, he wouldn't do anything that might make him miss the dance recital."

"Detective Tsukauchi went in the ambulance with Midoriya," Ojiro said.

A wild sound broke free of Uraraka, and Hitoshi couldn't stop himself from stepping away and cursing loudly and colorfully. As the words seemed to erupt out of him, not even Iida tried to censure him - the other boy looked like he felt similarly. Disbelief was his instinctive reaction, but as much as he tried to will it out of being, Hitoshi couldn't deny the sinking dread.

Several Days Later

"Are you sure you don't want to go see Izuku?" Mama Inko asked again.

She wasn't crying at this point, but Eri could tell that she wanted to. Lately, Mama Inko was crying way more than normal, but Eri wasn't much better. She had cried a lot every time Dadku had left for any undercover mission. She knew he had to go help people, the way he had helped her, but she always remembered how badly he had gotten hurt then, and it really scared her.