Flea

Chapter Twenty Eight

A brief but intense argument followed regarding whether Maeve was capable of going to the bathroom by herself. It was only resolved by Dr Shinso tiredly promising that if she fainted headfirst into the toilet and started drowning, he'd let them know. By this time, Shoto and Fuyumi were awake, but Maeve just shouted, 'hugs later my bladder is killing me,' shuffling on her way to the en suite.

It was still unclear whether the coma had caused brain damage. Shinso assured them she was fine in terms of mental capacity. The others weren't so sure.

When she emerged like an unwell scarecrow, Todoroki ambushed her and wrapped his arms around the girl so tightly her chuckles became wheezing.

"Don't know why everyone is so worried about a wee nap," she mumbled into his chest, with a crooked grin. When he just exhaled slowly and squeezed her, Maeve's face crumpled, but she managed to hold back tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she croaked and met Dr Shinso's gaze.

"Thank you, you don't need to stay."

The man was already rubbing his temples from a migraine but shook his head.

"It's time we stopped running away from each other," he murmured. Todoroki released Maeve from his clutches and helped her back to bed. She tried to sit upright, but couldn't support her own body weight and instead fell back coughing. Aizawa quickly piled pillows as support, pulling her up to sit against it.

It was obvious all Maeve wanted to do was fall back asleep. She could barely keep her eyes open and had trouble focusing. Unfortunately, her adopted father had other ideas.

"Now, I largely blame myself for all the incidents over the years. I should have protected you better, forced you to slow down. Given you the normal childhood you deserved but clearly didn't want. And I think that's been the big issue: You've gotten what you want, not what you need."

"Dad... I knew what I was doing. Don't think you're responsible."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, you're incredibly self-destructive and it's your fault as well. But I didn't stop you. I've been too accommodating; there are going to be some changes."

Maeve leaned back into the pillows and closed her eyes, completely exhausted.

"Can we talk about it tomorr-"

"No, we can't," he replied in a flat voice.

"I'm not going to be able to concentrate on what you're saying."

"You'll remember it. That's what matters. I need to work out logistics, this can't wait."

Maeve shifted uncomfortably and glanced at the group of other people in the room. She didn't like conflict with Aizawa in private, let alone with onlookers.

"Dad, I killed someone. I'm still processing that, I don't want to talk about logistics-"

"You're coming on the UA summer camp for an enforced vacation. You'll have plenty of time to process it then."

The energy in the room immediately changed. It was like electricity. Maeve fully met eyes with him for the first time and everyone in the room was struck by the stubborn energy of each. She was truly her father's daughter.

"Process it then? Shall I just sort away the emotions into storage for now so they can cripple me with guilt later?"

"Well it's what you excel at, so yes, that would be best," Aizawa answered dryly. Maeve's eyes flashed with blue fire, but her voice remained perfectly calm.

"Alright, popsicle. Emotional suppression and denial can be arranged. On another note, I have 31 events to attend in that time that have been booked sometimes years in advance. Do you want me to just cancel a week before-"