Motivation - SPORADIC UPDATES

Eighteen

Kimura Katashi was in the middle of a patrol when he got the news. His phone buzzed obnoxiously in the pocket of his hero uniform and he fished it out impatiently, eyebrows furrowing at the caller ID.

The hero ward of the Musutafu General Hospital was calling.

Katashi's mind immediately flashed to his son's face as he pressed 'ACCEPT', holding the phone to his ear with concern. He couldn't have gotten injured on the fifth day of school, even if the heroics lessons were being taught by All Might. That would make absolutely zero sense, especially with Recovery Girl constantly on standby for the heroics course.

And even if there had been a rather risky situation...

Kazue wasn't weak. Far from it. Even if the boy had little to no motivation for actually trying to do his best, there was no denying that he was more heroic than any of the interns Aerogale had ever taken under his wing in the past. If anyone was in danger or even being looked at the wrong way, his son would step up and knock whoever it was down a few pegs, mutter something about it being a pain in the ass, and leave.

He was just like his mother.

"Hello, this is the Musutafu General Hospital. Have we reached Kimura Katashi-san?"

"You have," the man replied courteously, eyes carefully scanning the streets as he continued to walk. "This is he."

The woman on the other end seemed to hesitate for a second before continuing. "It's concerning your son. He's in surgery right now."

Katashi's footsteps faltered at her words. His blood ran cold, unwanted memories trying to push their way into the forefront of his mind. "Alright," he stated, expertly keeping his voice level. "Thank you."

He hung up without saying goodbye, dialing another number and waiting impatiently for the younger man to answer.

"Kimur-"

"Iwata. Take over my shift," Katashi instructed hurriedly, not even bothering with honorifics. "It's urgent."

A bit of fumbling sounded over the line, followed by what sounded like muffled curses. "Sir, I really would, but I'm in class right now and my professor is giving me the Look," the sidekick replied in a hushed tone.

Number Seven grimaced, figuring there was no positives from withholding information. "Kazue's gotten himself into the hospital."

Iwata didn't miss a beat. "Be right there," he responded, worry laced into his tone.

"You'd better," was all that Katashi could say in finality, hanging up just as a sleek black car screeched to a stop beside the curb. His lips curled up into a trace of a smile despite the situation as he slid into the back seat.

"Musutafu General Hospital, here we come," the woman at the wheel stated dryly, pulling back into traffic.

"We need to have a chat about you tapping my phone," the hero commented with an arched eyebrow, fingers drumming impatiently on his thighs.

Fueki glanced back over her shoulder, lifting it with a half-shrug. "Hey, I just heard that the brat was in the hospital," she replied in her usual indifferent tone, although her voice was a little tighter than usual.

Katashi clicked his tongue, turning his head to look out the tinted window as the city rolled past. "I'll let it slide this time. You can take one off your debt."

"Nah," Fueki sighed as she was forced to let a jaywalking pedestrian cross the street. "This one's on me."

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