Compulsion

Chapter 19: There Was No Peace

"I'm sorry, is this Ms. Midoriya Inko?"

Panic, that was the only descriptor for her right now. She had got off work and got on the highway. She was going to see her son fight in some sort of tournament. She didn't like the idea of see him hurt, but she thought he'd at least be safe... It was a Hero school, after all...

"I... I regret to inform you that your son, Izuku... There's been an incident... He's in critical condition – if you'll give us your location we can arrange transport."

Wrong... just wrong... She had to resist her urge to stomp the pedal – to blaze hellfire down these roads, to him. Her son... What happened to him? They didn't tell her; couldn't tell her. Her knuckles were white, her fingers were cramping around the steering wheel, her mind buzzed, and her stomach churned. She teetered in her seat, taking deep breaths and trying to keep pace.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, "I-Izuku... God..." She sucked in breath, trying to hold that lump in her throat, "Please, please, please... be okay, be okay..." Inko could barely stand when she got out of the car. She brushed past the officer, stumbling into the hospital's lobby. A few Heroes were there, nursing their legs and arms.

A woman with fiery green hair was pacing before the ER's exit – her gaze snapped upward. Her expression of worry and fear shifted to something else, concern or guilt... Inko's tears pooled, dribbling down her face. A sound of impact caused her to stumble, nearly cripple her. She turned to see a towering woman with bunny ears holding a small old lady in her arms.

The elderly woman pushed out of the Hero's arms, rushing inside, "I must move quickly. Nurse, I need to sanitize myself, and inform the director that I am here."

"O-Of course, Recovery Girl."

"Ma'am!" cried an officer, stepping after Inko.

Inko looked across the waiting room, "My son... He isn't here. Where is he?"

"Ma'am, please—"

She grabbed the man's arm, "Please, take me to him, please."

"He... He, uh..."

A nurse stepped forward, offering, "He requires surgery, ma'am. He's being prepped for that as we speak. Allow me to take you to his room, where you can wait. A doctor will be in shortly to discuss details."

Inko's tears flowed as she took to the nurse, "S-Surgery!? W-What happened?"

The nurse's face contorted, deepening the pit in Inko's stomach, "There... We should discuss this in private—"

Inko's knees quaked, "No! Tell me! Just... tell me!" She tried not to yell, she tried not to scream – all she did was cry, "None of you... Why won't any of you just tell me he's okay!?" She took the nurse's hands, trying to look her in the eyes, "My son, my Izuku! Just... Please!" Her legs grew weaker and weaker, "Just... tell me he's okay... Let him be okay..."

Everything she held was released when her legs finally gave way. She cried and cried – she didn't have the strength when two nurses pulled her onto her feet. She didn't fight them as she was pulled out of the lobby and out of public space.

-XXX-

For the first time, in a very long time, Usagiyama Rumi felt weak. She felt slow; she felt dumb; she felt guilty. A part of her could've laid blame on Ingenium as shitty as that would've been. He got in that mess which got the... boy... Izuku... "No..." she thought. She really couldn't. Stain didn't land the final blow until she had arrived. Until she could've done something. She was there – the browning red that stained her white costume was evidence enough. And then, there was that part of her that was about to leave the kid for dead... Catch Stain, no matter the cost... Kid was practically dead already... She could've caught the villain....