ALWAYS || Katsuki Bakugo

45- Ruin Our Friendship

Even Kirishima seemed to notice she wasn't talking to Shinsou but chose to remain silent on the matter since it wasn't his business, and he wasn't sure he wanted to touch a topic that would make Yoshiko mad because she already looked scary after Shinsou talked to her.

Yoshiko was in the middle of explaining something to Kirishima when Aizawa walked into the dorms and called for Yoshiko. "I'll be back." She told Kirishima, standing up to go to Aizawa, thinking of every rule she had broken so far. Aizawa never had much to do with her unless she broke some rule and got into detention.

"Am I in trouble again?" She grinned at her homeroom teacher.

"No. It's your mom." Aizawa replied, his voice relatively calm. "She's in a coma."

Heads turned towards Aizawa, the room going silent. Yoshiko's smile dropped, her hands hanging loosely at her sides. "What...?"

"She was carrying out a rescue mission in the mountainside when a few pieces of rock broke off and hit her skull." Yoshiko looked at him in horror and shook her head, not believing him. She snatched the remote from the table and turned the TV on, switching through news channels, stopping on one that was revising headlines from the last hours. There was a clip of Yoko being carried away on a stretcher, blood from her head seeping onto her face.

Aizawa put his hand on her shoulder when he felt her shiver as she watched the clip. She looked at Aizawa in panic again. "Sensei, I have to... I have to see her!"

"I'll drive you," Aizawa said.

"Thanks." He glanced back at Bakugo, biting her lip. "Katsuki, can you keep an eye on Bear for me?"

"Yeah." He replied, concerned for Yoshiko. He knew she was on the verge of crying as her nose grew red.

"Let's go, Sensei." She said, rushing outside.

♪♪♪

Aizawa jogged after Yoshiko as she ran into the hospital. He was having a hard time keeping up with how much of a rush she was in. She stopped when she saw a lady arguing with the receptionist. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but only family is allowed." The receptionist apologised. "If you keep at this any longer, I'm going to have to ask the security to take you away."

"She's family." Yoshiko snapped, standing beside Saori. The receptionist's eyes widened, recognising Yoshiko from her hair and eyes. "She's with me."

"O-oh, alright. You may go. Sorry for the trouble. Sunbeam's in ICU on the third floor."

"I'll be waiting here for you," Aizawa said, taking a seat on one of the chairs available. Yoshiko nodded and took Saori's hand, marching to the elevator. Yoshiko barged into the ICU ward, scowling at a doctor who told her not to run in the wards. The same doctor led her to her mother's room.

Yoshiko's heart sank when she saw her mother unconscious in a hospital gown, a bandage around her head. An IV was inserted into her arm, connected to a bag with some clear fluid and an oxygen mask on her mouth. "Mama..." Yoshiko teared up and went beside her to take her hand. Saori put an arm around her comfortingly. Yoshiko looked at the doctor with desperate eyes. "Please tell me she'll be okay."

"Please take a seat." He pointed at a chair beside the bed. Yoshiko obediently sat down, her knee bobbing up and down. "We don't know how long she'll stay in this state. She injured her skull, but luckily, there was no harm to the brain. She might stay like this for weeks or even years. We can't really tell."

Yoshiko wiped her eyes with her arm, looking at her mother, her heart clenching. If something happened to her mother, she'd have to have no one left. "I'm really sorry. I wish your mother a speedy recovery. You should visit often and talk to her since she might be able to hear you." Yoshiko nodded and silently thanked the doctor. Soari held Yoshiko to her chest and kissed her forehead.