Detective Midoriya

Chapter 46

When the time came for Izuku to come back to work, he felt ready - he'd spent enough time laid up in bed doing nothing but paperwork. It was time for action.

His excitement for work was significantly dampened by the fact that Eri and his mom wouldn't let him wheel himself to work - they were afraid he might strain himself or reopen his wound if left to his own devices.

"But I'm fine," he had insisted when they started pushing him out the door. "The doctor said that I should start trying to push myself more so I can build my strength back up."

"I don't think this is what he meant," Eri said, crossing her arms.

"We need to know you make it safely," Inko added. "Just let us do this to help you."

So he had let them push him the entire way to the police station. If you had asked Izuku, he would have said that he would have much preferred pushing himself, and he definitely would not have admitted that he was actually grateful that his arms weren't tired to start his workday, and there was no way he would admit to anyone that each and every bump they hit on the way there made his wound throb.

No, instead Izuku pretended everything was fine and thought about nothing but all the good he could do now that he was back at work.

The entirety of the police department was waiting for Izuku when they arrived. Izuku felt tears sting his eyes at the sight of coworkers - no, his family - waiting for his arrival. It was embarrassing, but at the same time, it warmed his heart to see. If they hadn't been fighting to see him in the hospital it would have been overwhelming to have so many people vying for his attention.

They truly gave him the hero's welcome. Inside there were balloons, streamers, and confetti that led to his office. It was almost definitely a fire hazard, and it appeared that there had been a sale on bachelorette party decorations given the... suggestive shapes on the decor. It was completely Saito's doing, based on the way she cackled when she spotted his furious blush. To make things even worse, Watanabe was attempting to finish the paperwork to process a recent arrest, but he was too flustered because of the inappropriate comments the handcuffed man was making.

"Clean this up, it's completely unprofessional," Naomasa said disapprovingly. "Midoriya, to your office and we'll discuss your current workload."

Izuku halted, tasteless decorations forgotten. "My current workload? I'm coming back to duty, what do you mean by 'my current workload'?"

Many of the officers traded looks before Sasaki hesitantly said, "Little Midoriya, you're still a long way from being completely recovered. You can't return to your full duties."

"What are you talking about, of course I'm fine. I was cleared to work."

"You were cleared for desk work," Naomasa said sternly. "We have some cases that we would like a consult on, as well as a number of requests for quirk analysis from police stations across the country. We refuse to put your physical well-being at risk because you are impatient. That's an order, Detective."

Biting back his frustration, Izuku nodded sharply. "It sounds like I have plenty to do."

Apparently, the look on his face was enough to dissuade his colleagues from attempting to push the wheelchair for him because they just watched while he rolled on into his office. Someone had had the foresight to take away his desk chair and move his desk to allow easy access, but he was distracted by the mounds of paperwork on his desk - it was truly a formidable amount. They clearly wanted him stuck in his office, even though he felt perfectly capable of his normal amount of police work.

He made it through about half of the paperwork when he heard something of interest in the main area. A couple of the officers were speaking in hushed tones, almost definitely in an effort to keep him from hearing, but he'd spent enough time undercover that "overhearing" things like that was practically second nature. Someone said something along the lines of, "But how are we going to get the children out?"