Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 17

The voice on the phone continued to speak but my brain wasn't processing. Is my father dying? Did my thoughts cause this? No, no, no. I don't know anything yet. What is this person saying? A doctor I'm assuming? Is he even talking about my father?

"What?" I blurted.

"Mrs. Nakano, the important thing to know is that your husband is currently stabilized. I think it's best that you come to the hospital so that we can discuss options for the next steps to take."

"Yes. Okay, yes," I hung up the phone before becoming aware of soft sobs in the distance. No, they were closer. Why did it feel like everything was moving so slowly? I glanced over to see my mom still frozen in place, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom?" I gently placed a hand on her shoulder. I immediately felt a wave of powerful emotions - fear, pain, confusion. It was as though I had been trying to swim in already rocky waters and suddenly was pulled under aggressively. I gasped as the overwhelming wave of emotions pulled me down. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I focused on projecting calm onto my mom. As I did, I was able to breath again and I felt my shoulders slump after enduring the emotional whiplash. Her eyes seemed to refocus and her head turned slowly until our eyes locked.

"We have to go," my voice was a whisper in the now silent house.

She nodded once with authority and took over. Between packing a bag to stay at the hospital, the train ride and the chaos that ensued after we entered the building, much of the night was a blur. Through the bits of conversation that I'd heard between my mom and the doctors, I knew that my father had an encounter with Stain and that the hero killer had severely injured him. I still wasn't sure what exactly had happened, as my mom kept shielding me from any discussions that involved specifics. I did know that he had sustained injuries to both his legs although that was the extent of what I knew. But I was confused because my father had the ability to regenerate quickly after a battle. So why was he not regenerating?

It felt like I was in a haze as I sat in the waiting room. What time is it? How long have I been here? I thought. I checked the time on my phone and the neon light read 1:42 AM. Sighing, I attempted to rub the sleepy feeling out of my eyes. I debated sending a text to my only friend and went back and forth for a while before deciding that it wouldn't hurt, as he was probably asleep anyways.

'Hey, I'm at St. Luke's Hospital. It's my father. I still don't know what happened, they're keeping me in the dark, but it sounds bad. I don't really know what to do or how to feel...' As I typed, I felt tears sliding down my cheeks. There was something about typing it out that made all of it feel more real and I welcomed the flood of relief at being able to confide in someone. 'I'm scared, I guess. I don't know what's going to happen. I hope this doesn't wake you. I am in the waiting room just...waiting I guess. Mom is talking to the doctors again. Anyways, talk more tomorrow.'

As I pressed send, I let my head fall back and wiped the tears off my cheeks before closing my eyes. As tired as I was, I knew that I wouldn't get any sleep in this sterile white chair that was uncomfortable as hell. I gave up after a few minutes and stood to pace the hallway, waiting for my mom to return. When she did, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. She looked exhausted and I immediately rushed to her side.

"What's the update?" I asked, grabbing her hand. The contact overwhelmed me with yet another wave of strong emotions, a mix of negative feelings that hit me with such force I immediately dropped her hand.

She didn't seem to notice. "He's going into surgery."

I expected her to continue, but this was all she said before walking past me to sit down in one of the waiting room chairs. I watched from a distance, my feet seeming to be stuck in cement, as she broke down, face in hands, body shaking. My heart ached as I watched her. Since we had found out the news my words meant nothing in terms of comforting my mom. However, I was able to consistently use my quirk to help her feel calm. I used it again as I walked closer to her and slowly, her body stilled and her breathing became steady.

"You should rest, mom," I said, as I sat beside her.

She looked over to me and gave me a weak smile. "You're such a blessing, y/n. I need you to know that."

My heart constricted for a moment at her words. My quirk wasn't often acknowledged by my parents in a positive light. My mom was kind enough and usually tried to step in when my father was being an asshole about my quirk. It often felt like the immediate feeling of comfort when you put aloe vera on sunburn. A cool relief to the pain, but only a quick fix to the burns. Although she would stand up for me, I rarely felt genuine praise or awe from her when it came to my quirk.

I didn't know how to respond, so I simply nodded in acknowledgement and smiled.

She rested her head back and closed her eyes, as I had earlier, except to my relief she actually did fall asleep fairly quickly. I sat near her for a while, worried that she may wake up suddenly and be disoriented but it became apparent that she was in a deep sleep when she started to snore, a deep rumbling sound that broke the silence of the waiting room every so often.

I checked my phone to see that it was 2:37 AM. No texts. A part of me was disappointed, but I pushed the feeling aside as I began moving towards the vending machine in the room. I heard footsteps approaching from down the hall and glanced briefly in that direction before averting my eyes back to the vending machine. Immediately, I pivoted to look again at the person walking down the hall.

He was looking down but his stride was determined. When he looked up and our eyes met I immediately felt tears threaten to spill over.

"You came," I choked out before the sobs started spilling out of me.

I felt Shinso's arms wrap around me as I finally allowed myself to be pulled under by the crashing waves of all of the emotions that had been consuming me.

Author's note: Yo. This is around the time that people realize how amazing Shinso is. He continues to be throughout the story. If you're interested in reading a Shinso x Reader story that is an alternate timeline from this one where the MC ends up with him, check it out! (Or if you're looking for a Shinso x Reader story in general) :)