Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
‑ˏˋ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 ˊˎ‑
𝐈 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 known. The moment I saw those beady eyes and his dull green hair, I should have known it was my sorry-excuse-for-a-dad within seconds. And yet, here I was ― trying not to get angry that my father was hugging me like nothing was wrong.
I tried pushing against him, but he was a lot stronger than he looked. I nearly shrieked when my feet left the ground when he picked me up. "I've missed you so much, Izuku," he said, spinning me in a circle once.
I squirmed in his hold, letting out a sound of triumph when my feet touched the ground safely. Immediately, I took a few large steps away from him. There were plenty of awkward moments in my life, and each of them was ranked from the worst to the most tolerable. However, reuniting with my father outside of prison easily took the cake. "What are you doing here, Dad? I thought you were in ― "
"Yeah, but I served my time, kiddo. I can come home."
I flinched. No one's ever called me that besides Yagi; I wanted to keep it that way. I lifted my gaze up to my father, watching as he threw a cigarette bud on the pavement, grinding it with the heel of his shoe. Great. Now I have to sweep that.
"I didn't think today was the day you got released," Yagi spoke up, clambering to his feet and facing my father. "If I remember correctly, you were supposed to be released in two weeks. What did you do, Kaito? Bribe the officers?"
My father ground his teeth together at the sight of Yagi. "You must have seen the news two weeks ago, old man. You're lucky I've changed. Otherwise, your ass would be in the dirt by now."
My palms became sweaty. I was well aware of the size difference between my father and Yagi, but it was terrifying when they stood next to each other. Yagi stood at four feet tall at least while my father was easily six feet. And the fact that Yagi was older and frailer didn't help his chances. The last thing I needed was a fight to break out between them.
Although, Yagi wasn't backing down from my father's challenge. "You've changed? How come I find that extremely hard to believe?"
"Do you really think I have any problems with dropping you right here and now?" My father snarled.
Yagi cracked his knuckles, a small smile creeping up his face. "I hope you aren't underestimating me, drug-addict."
I could see it now. There would be blood everywhere ― on the sidewalk, on the street, on the grass, on both of them, and maybe even me. I could see my father pinning Yagi on the pavement, his fist retreating and coming down and retreating and coming down. I could see the trimmers in his hands, raised in the air and ready to strike.
I ran forward without thinking, pushing my father to the ground in a rush of adrenaline. I forced myself not to listen to the thud or the groaning that came from him. I didn't look to Yagi to see if he was hurt when I knew no punches were thrown. But at that moment, all I could see was red and the anger from the past nine years overflooded my rationality.
"Don't you say another word to him," I began. "Yagi was more of a father to me than you ever were, so you won't do anything to hurt him while I'm standing here. Did you know it's been nine years? Nine years since you left me all alone in that horrible, disgusting, revolting apartment! I didn't care if you beat me or hurt me or almost killed me as long as I had a father who loved me! But now that I'm thinking about it, I think ― no, I know that you loved gambling and drugs more than me. It was so hard for me to forget about you, to let go of what you did to me, and now you come back and expect everything's gonna be okay?"
My father ― no, Kaito ― leaned on his elbows, his cheek red and sensitive from coming into contact with the street. "I swear I've changed, kiddo. I ― "
"And that nickname!" I clenched my fists to the point where my fingernails dug into my palms. I was shaking in fury by this point. "Only Yagi gets to call me that! Not you, because the only nicknames you gave me where the ones like brat, twerp, and Deku! And you keep saying that you've changed. Well, I won't believe you until I see it."
There were so many other things I wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come to me. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. I wanted to cry my heart out. I wanted everything to be simple. But it wasn't and it never would be.
And it was because I knew this deep down that I ran. I didn't care about anything at that point, and that included if I had made any sense or not. Everything I spewed out just seemed like random words that went tumbling through a dryer, each syllable dry and lacking something I could only dream of.
I turned around a corner, only to skid to a screeching halt to avoid crashing into someone. I struggled to catch my breath by placing my hands on my knees. It was only when the person spoke did anything really click. "I'm sorry. Did I bump into you?"
Relief, comfort, and ease washed over me when I heard the familiar voice of Ochako Uraraka. It had only been a few hours since last seeing her, but it felt like an eternity. I stood up, not wasting any time in wrapping my arms around her. She froze and I didn't miss the tiny squeak of surprise. Leaping back, I apologized. "I'm so sorry, Ochako. I forgot that you didn't know if it was me."
Her brown eyes softened and a warm smile grew on her face. She giggled slightly, making my chest tighten. "It's okay, Izuku. You just... really surprised me, is all."
She giggled to herself again, and it was my turn to smile. Her laugh was so soothing ― like every negative emotion I had ebbed away the longer I was with her. It made me feel at peace, and that was something I desperately needed.
Ochako suddenly stopped, her eyes growing worried. "Is everything okay? I mean, you've hugged me before, but there was something different about that hug just now. What's going on?"
I let out a low sigh, hoping she wouldn't hear it. But when she placed a searching hand on my arm, I knew she had heard. "Is there somewhere else we can talk? I don't want to tell you out in the open like this."
One nod later and she was telling me how to get to her house.
