Traumatized

Chapter 31

IZUKU POV

As I woke up from the effects of Ms. Midnight's quirk and what I assumed was also anesthesia I saw the familiar sight of a divider sheet. Letting out a sigh I closed my eyes again. "Why does it feel like I wake up in some sort of infirmary more than I do in my own bed?"

The pain that was in my shoulder earlier had been reduced to a minor annoyance at this point. It was still stiff and uncomfortable to try and move, but I could deal with that. I wanted to get up and head back to the festival but I felt a weight on my legs as I tried to move them.

Finally taking in the full view of my surroundings I saw Mama Joke fast asleep resting her head on my legs. A sudden wave of guilt rushed over me as I recalled everything I had said to her earlier. Deciding to postpone the unwanted conversation as long as possible I stayed still so she could sleep a little longer and so I could form an apology.

Sadly the universe was still against me today. As I carefully returned to a comfortable resting position Mama Joke started to wake up. All forms of panic started to set in as she turned to see me awake.

"Oh God what do I say? I'm sorry? No, that sounds like a cop out. Fancy seeing you here? No, I doubt a stupid joke would be of any help right now. Nice weather we're having? What the hell am I a grandma?"

Before I could think of anything to say she practically jumped me to bring me into her arms. Her warm embrace was a comfort that I couldn't describe. Even though I didn't know where we stood right now I was going to let her have this.

After a minute she let go and sat back down in her chair. The room was quickly filled with an awkward tension. It was obvious neither of us knew what to say. We sat in silence until she finally broke it.

"I'm sorry Izu... Midoriya." There was still pain clearly etched into her face. Our earlier conversation had clearly shifted our dynamic. "It was wrong for me to say the things I did. I shouldn't have hit you either... it wasn't my place."

I didn't know what to say. She shouldn't have been the one to apologize.

"After all the time we spent together I guess I let the whole Mama Joke thing get to my head. I know I'm not your real mom and that Shota isn't your real dad."

"Stop it."

"At some point I blurred the lines and just assumed you had as well."

"Please stop it."

"I know you have to deal with a lot and I know I'll never know how it feels, but I truly want what's best for you. I'm sure you already know how I can get when something is important to me."

"You... you don't have to apologize..." I looked her in the eyes before quickly looking away again. "I shouldn't have said those things to you... I'm sorry."

We sat in another awkward silence for a while before she let out a sigh. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I silently nodded. The only sound that could be heard was the soft hum of the AC unit. She gave me a soft smile and nodded.

"Today wasn't a good day. The first thing this morning, one of my classmates tried to pull a fast one on me."

She looked at me confused.

Letting out a sigh I rested my head back on my pillow. "This guy that likes Jirou told me to back off of her. He even went as far to try and convince me that they were dating." I let out a nervous chuckle. "It would almost be funny if it wasn't so pathetic."

"But it was enough to get the voices started."

"Yeah, it wasn't the first time we've had issues and it won't be the last time."