Virtus

8

"Let me see him!" Muffled yells vibrated through my ears. I wanted to raise my head and look at the source of the chatter but I felt exhausted. I laid there, eyes closed, listening for anything else I could distinguish out of my haziness.

"Bakugo, if I have to tell you one more time I'm going to beat your ass!-"

Bakugou? Why Is- I snapped my eyes awake. The light flooded my eyes, attacking my cornea. I adjusted to the room, and the bed I was in, the doctor that was in the room with me, the IV in my vein, the scrubs I wore, the bandages on my hands and knees, and-

My eyes zipped through the environment, taking it in all at once, the only thing that made me stop was the doctor who gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Breathe Izuku." Her soothing voice seeped into my ears like honey and my brain automatically followed her words.

She nodded in approval as she watched my chest rise and drop slowly. And for the first time I looked into her calm expression.

"Where am I?" I tried to squeak out but my throat was dry. She set down her clipboard as she settled into a nearby stool.

"You experienced an exhaustion-induced panic attack Izuku." She explained, her eyebrows furrowed and her forehead wrinkled. "Have you been getting enough sleep?" She asked, narrowing her eyes towards me.

I shook my head, "not really, I-"

I was interrupted by the door swinging open and hurried footsteps towards me. It was Kacchan and Mitsuki, she looked at him with disappointment as she followed behind. "He's still out like a light Katsuki-"

I stared back at their faces in confusion, causing them to stop in their tracks. Before I could say anything I felt two arms wrap around me squeezing me softly. I slowly raised my arms to hug back, taking in the warm caramel scent from Kacchan.

"He just woke up, are you his guardian?" The doctor turned to face Mitsuki. "I'm his aunt, his mother will return shortly." The doctor nodded and left the room.

Kacchan pulled back slightly, taking in the sight on my face in worry, I looked at him too. Mitsuki got closer and leaned on the edge of the bed, setting her hand on my leg.

"How're you feeling?" She said gently, her face trying to evaluate my expression.

"Where's mom?" I asked abruptly. Mitsuki took note of my dry throat and dug in her purse for a water bottle and passed it to me.

"She offered to buy breakfast." She said, I glanced at the clock hung on the left wall of the dull room. The time read 7:44 am, how long was I out for? Kacchan caught my gaze and looked at the clock too. As if almost reading my mind, "you were out for a few hours." He said.

No comment, I nodded and let my back rest on the pillows behind me trying to wrap my head around this dream. This one was different from the previous ones. It didn't feel like a dream, it felt real, too real.

I took a sip from the water bottle in hopes of relieving my dry throat. It didn't do much though as I kept drinking, almost finishing the entire thing. And that's when mom walked in with a bag of food and a worn out expression on her face. When we made eye contact her face lit up and handed the bag to Mitsuki, approaching me.

"Izu!" She took my hands and placed them onto her lap as she sat on the edge of the bed. Mitsuki and Kacchan took the nearby seats, giving some space for mom and I.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to her, my voice cracked, and I could feel a lump forming in my throat again. I felt embarrassed to cry in front of everyone like this, I don't even know why I was apologizing. I couldn't resist as the tears formed around my eye. She leaned in and hugged me, I rested my head on her shoulder as she gently stroked my messy almost matted hair.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." She whispered into my ear. And that only made the tears heavy, running down my face like a thousand waterfalls; soaking her shoulder.

I was still so exhausted despite the couple of hours I had gotten, I glanced at the three of them. Taking note of Mitsuki's slight eye bags, and Kacchan's reassuring smile which seemed to droop when he thought I wasn't looking. I had felt embarrassed and it had only motivated me to apologize even more. I had worried them, mom especially, but they still came. Even Kacchan and the more I think about it the more I want to grimace at the thought that he had to leave the dorms. A process that was so tedious considering UA's safety protocols.

"I don't know why..." I began to say but my voice quivered and the words that came out made me sound like a kid. A stupid scared kid. Mom pulled back but she still held onto my hands and just nodded at me. We seemed to have understood each other at that moment, even though the both of us had not spoken.

It's okay Izuku, it will be okay, you have nothing to worry about. I could almost hear her voice in my head. And it seemed as if all the adrenaline wore off and was now replaced by something soothing inside my head, and for a split second I sank into it. But in the back of my head something was still present, still buzzing. Small and steady, ready to grow bigger, more than just a stupid worry.

~