Author's Note : i updated chapter 37 cause it was rushed...so i'll urge u to reread it to understand...thank you for ur support
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The hospital corridor stretched before Yuki like a tunnel with no end, fluorescent lights humming overhead in that particular frequency that made everything feel both too bright and somehow still dim.
Her footsteps echoed against linoleum floors as Snipe led her through the UA medical wing, past rooms where other students rested, past nurses who gave her sympathetic looks that made her chest tighten.
"Third door on the left," Snipe said quietly, stopping outside a room with a small placard reading "Kazama, Ryuu - Room 217." His hand rested briefly on her shoulder. "Take your time. I'll be down the hall if you need anything."
Yuki nodded, unable to form words.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the door handle.
The sight that greeted her was both heartbreaking and oddly reassuring.
Ryuu lay in the hospital bed, looking smaller than she remembered despite having grown so much over the past year.
His blonde hair was messy against the white pillow, face still holding traces of exhaustion even in sleep.
Medical monitors beeped softly beside him, tracking vitals that she couldn't help but study immediately...heart rate steady, oxygen levels good, everything indicating he was stable.
But...
It was the two girls flanking him that made Yuki's breath catch.
On one side, a pink-skinned girl was curled up in the chair beside his bed, her head resting on arms folded across his mattress.
Even in sleep, one of her hands was stretched out toward Ryuu's, fingers barely touching his.
On the small couch against the wall, a black-haired girl with a high ponytail had somehow folded her tall frame into a position that looked deeply uncomfortable, a blanket someone had draped over her slipping to the floor.
They'd stayed with him....
These girls, whoever they were, had chosen to sleep in uncomfortable positions just to be near her son while he healed.
Yuki's heart broke and swelled simultaneously.
She moved quietly into the room, careful not to wake them immediately.
This close, she could see the bandages on the pink-skinned girl's arms, the IV line still attached to the dark-haired one's hand.
They were patients themselves, injured and exhausted, but they'd come to watch over Ryuu anyway.
'He has people who care about him,' she thought, and had to blink back tears. 'He's not alone.'
"M-mom?"
Yuki's head snapped toward the bed.
Ryuu's eyes were open, clouded with confusion and medication but focusing on her.
For a moment, he looked exactly like the little boy who used to wake from nightmares and call for her...vulnerable and seeking comfort.
"Baby," she breathed, moving to his bedside. Her hand found his forehead, checking for fever out of pure maternal instinct. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired." His voice was rough, probably from disuse. "And... empty. My quirk is..."
"I know." She brushed hair back from his forehead. "Snipe explained. It'll come back, the doctors say."
Ryuu's eyes moved to the sleeping girls, something soft crossing his expression. "They shouldn't be here. They're hurt too."
"I think trying to move them would cause a riot," Yuki said gently. "Should I wake them?"
"Just... give us a minute?" The question was uncertain, like he wasn't sure he had the right to ask for privacy with his mother.
It broke her heart all over again.
Yuki gently shook the pink-skinned girl's shoulder. "Sweetie?"
The girl jerked awake instantly, golden eyes going wide. "Ryuu? Is somethin—" She spotted Yuki and froze. "Oh. Um. Hello."
"I'm Yuki Kazama. Ryuu's mother." She offered a small smile. "Thank you for staying with him."
"Ashido Mina," the girl said, straightening in her chair. Despite obvious exhaustion and injuries, she managed a respectful bow. "I'm... we're..." She glanced at Ryuu, uncertain.
"She's my girlfriend," Ryuu said quietly. "One of them."
Yuki blinked.
One of them?
As if on cue, the dark-haired girl stirred on the couch, sitting up with the kind of perfect posture that remained even half-asleep. "Did something happen?" Her eyes landed on Yuki. "Oh. Mrs. Kazama. I'm Yaoyorozu Momo."
"Also my girlfriend," Ryuu added, color rising in his pale cheeks.
For a moment, Yuki could only stare.
Then, despite everything...the hospital, the attack, the revelations about Kenji...she felt laughter bubble up in her chest.
"Heh, only you, Ryuu," she said, shaking her head. "Even in a hospital bed, you manage to surprise me."
Mina and Momo exchanged glances, clearly unsure whether Yuki's reaction was positive or negative.
"We can explai—" Momo started.
"Later." Yuki held up a hand. "Right now, I need to speak with my son privately. But..." She looked at both girls, seeing the genuine care in their eyes, the protective way they'd positioned themselves even in sleep. "Thank you. For being there for him. For staying."
Mina stood, wincing slightly as movement pulled at her bandaged arms. "We'll be just outside. If you need anythin—"
"I'll call you," Ryuu promised.
Momo gathered her blanket, then paused at the door. "Mrs. Kazama? He was very brave. During the attack. He protected all of us."
"Of course he did," Yuki said softly. "He's his father's son."
The words hung in the air as the girls left, the door clicking shut behind them.
Silence descended, broken only by the steady beep of medical equipment.
Ryuu wouldn't meet her eyes, fingers plucking at the hospital blanket in a nervous gesture she recognized from his childhood.
"You heard about what the villain said," he finally stated....
"Snipe told me." Yuki pulled the chair Mina had vacated closer to the bed, settling into it. "About The Collector. About him mentioning your father as 'Commander Yamamoto.'"
"Did you know?" The words came out harsh, almost accusatory. "About what he did? What he was part of?"
Yuki took a slow breath, choosing her words carefully.
She'd had years to prepare for this conversation, and somehow still felt completely unprepared.
"I knew some things," she said finally. "Not everything. Your father... Kenji was always careful about what he told me. Said it was to protect us."
"Protect us." Ryuu's laugh was bitter. "By abandoning us?"
"No. By sacrificing himself."
Ryuu's head snapped up, eyes meeting hers with an intensity that reminded her so much of Kenji it hurt.
"What?"
Yuki leaned forward, taking her son's hand in both of hers. "I need to tell you about the night your father left. The real reason why."
"It all started when you were a chil—"
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Yuki finished her story, tears streaming down her face.
Ryuu sat frozen in his hospital bed, staring at her with an expression she couldn't read.
"He left to protect me," Ryuu said slowly, testing the words. "Not because he didn't want me. Because he wanted to keep me safe."
"Yes."
"You've known this whole time. For years, you let me think..." His voice cracked. "Let me hate him..."
"I know." Yuki's voice was thick with guilt. "And I'm so sorry. I thought... I wanted to give you a normal childhood. Let you grow up without looking over your shoulder, wondering if government agents were watching. Let you develop your quirk without fear."
"Did it work?" The question was sharp. "Because it seems like they found me anyway."
"It bought you time. Years where you could be a kid. Where you could make friends, go to school, decide you wanted to be a hero because you wanted it, not because someone forced you into a program." Yuki reached for his hand again. "Your father gave you that. It cost him everything, but he gave you the choice."
Ryuu was quiet for a long moment, processing.
When he spoke again, his voice came out as barely a voice.
"What did he mean, about my quirk being biological manipulation?"
"I don't know all the details. But apparently, when you amplify someone's quirk, you're not just boosting their power. You're temporarily improving how their quirk functions at a cellular level."
"That's..." Ryuu looked down at his hands...hands that currently felt empty without his quirk humming beneath the surface. "That's not what I do. I just sense emotions and make quirks stronge—"
"Maybe that's all it seems like. Or maybe you've been doing more than you realized." Yuki squeezed his hand. "Your father worked in quirk research for years. If he said your ability was different, more complex than it appeared, I believe him."
Ryuu pulled his hand away, running it through his blonde hair in a gesture identical to Kenji's from eight years ago. "So what does this mean? The Collector said Dad was Commander Yamamoto. Does that mean he's military? Still working for whoever wanted to take me?"
"I don't know, baby. I haven't heard from him in years. For all I know, he changed his name, his identity, everything to stay hidden." Yuki's voice broke. "Or maybe he really did join them, became what he was trying to protect you from. I just don't know."
The heart monitor beside Ryuu's bed was beeping faster now, reflecting his agitation.
"I've spent years hating him. Being angry that he left, that he didn't care enough to stay." Ryuu's eyes were bright with unshed tears. "And now you're telling me he sacrificed everything to protect me, and I wasted all that time being angr—"
"You had every right to be angry," Yuki said firmly. "Even knowing the truth, you have the right to be angry. He left, Ryuu. Whatever his reasons, however noble his intentions, he still left. He missed your middle school graduation, your first day at UA, every birthday and holiday for years. That pain is real and valid."
"But he did it for m—"
"And it still hurt. Both things can be true." Yuki moved from the chair to sit on the edge of his bed, pulling her son into a gentle hug despite the various tubes and wires. "You can understand why he did it and still be angry that he had to. You can recognize his sacrifice and still mourn the father you lost."
Ryuu broke then, finally letting the tears fall as he buried his face in his mother's shoulder.
Years of pain and confusion and abandonment came pouring out in great, heaving sobs that shook his whole frame.
Yuki held him through it, rubbing his back and murmuring soft comfort like she'd done when he was small, when nightmares or scraped knees had made him cry.
They stayed like that for a long time, mother and son grieving together for the man who'd loved them enough to leave.
Eventually, Ryuu's tears slowed. He pulled back, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry—"
"Don't you dare apologize for crying," Yuki said, using her sleeve to gently wipe his face. "You've been through trauma. Multiple traumas. You're allowed to feel everything."
"Mina says that too." A small, watery smile crossed his face. "That feelings aren't wrong, they just are."
"She sounds very wise." Yuki smoothed down his messy hair. "Tell me about her. And Momo. How does that... work?"
Despite everything, Ryuu's cheeks colored. "It's complicated."
"I have time."
So he told her, haltingly at first and then with growing confidence.
About how he'd connected with Mina first, how she'd understood his quirk made relationships difficult.
About how Momo had entered the picture, how the three of them had talked and established boundaries and decided that conventional relationship rules didn't have to apply to them.
Yuki listened without judgment, watching her son's face light up when he talked about these girls who clearly meant so much to him.
"They know everything," he said softly. "About my quirk, about my problems, about all the messy complicated parts. And they're still here."
"Of course they are," Yuki said. "Because you're worth being here for."
Knock! Knock!
A soft knock interrupted them.
The door cracked open to reveal Mina's pink hair.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said quietly. "But Recovery Girl is doing rounds soon, and she'll kick us out if we're not in our assigned rooms."
"Of course." Yuki stood, turning to the two girls hovering in the doorway. "Before you go..."
She crossed to them, opening her arms. After a moment of surprise, both girls stepped into the hug.
"Thank you," Yuki whispered. "For protecting him. For caring about him. For being there when I couldn't be."
"He's easy to care about," Momo said softly.
"Even when he's being stubborn," Mina added, getting a weak laugh from Ryuu.
Yuki pulled back, looking at each girl seriously. "But if you hurt him, powerful quirks or not, you'll answer to me. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," they chorused, managing to look both intimidated and pleased by the maternal threat.
As the girls left for their own rooms, Yuki returned to Ryuu's bedside.
His eyes were heavy with exhaustion, the emotional conversation finally catching up with physical recovery needs.
"Get some sleep," she said, tucking his blanket around him. "I'll be here when you wake up."
"Mom?" His voice was already drowsy. "Do you think... if we find Dad... he'll be proud of me? Of who I've become?"
Yuki felt her throat tighten, but she kept her voice steady.
"Baby, I think he's been proud of you every single day. That's why he did what he did." She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Sleep now. Tomorrow is soon enough to figure out what comes next."
As Ryuu's breathing evened out into sleep, Yuki settled into the chair beside his bed.
Through the window, night had fully fallen over UA Academy, stars barely visible through the light pollution.
Somewhere out there, Kenji might still be alive.
Might still be watching, waiting, protecting from a distance.
Or he might have become the very thing he'd tried to prevent...a commander in the organization that wanted to use their son as a weapon.
Either way, the truth was coming.
The Collector's attack had shattered the illusion of safety that Kenji's sacrifice had bought them.
Now they would have to face whatever came next.
But at least, Yuki thought as she watched her son sleep, he wouldn't face it alone.
He had friends, mentors, and two remarkable young women who loved him enough to sleep in uncomfortable hospital chairs just to be near him.
That had to count for something.
Outside in the hallway, Mina and Momo walked slowly back to their assigned rooms, supporting each other through their own exhaustion and injuries.
"His mom is scary," Mina said.
"His mom is amazing," Momo corrected. "Did you see how she looked at us? Like she was sizing up whether we were worthy of him."
"Are we?"
"I don't know." Momo glanced back toward Ryuu's room. "But I'm going to try to be."
They parted at their respective doors, each lost in thoughts about the boy sleeping down the hall, the father who'd sacrificed everything, and the uncertain future that awaited them all.
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Author's Note: The Discord link is in the book's synopsis....so check it out.