Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
The phone on the nightstand vibrated, a dull mechanical sound that rattled against the wood. Ryuu didn't move. He stayed under the blanket, staring at the dark fabric just inches from his face.
Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
Mina stirred at his side. She let out a soft, tired hum, her body shifting as the noise broke her sleep.
A hand reached out from under the duvet, fumbling blindly until fingers closed around the cold glass of the device. The screen was a blinding white rectangle in the dim room.
[Mom]
Ryuu pulled the phone into his dark cocoon. He swiped the green icon.
"Ryuu."
Yuki's voice was thin. It sounded so hoarse.
"Mom? What is it?"
"I need you to come with me today." A sharp intake of breath hissed through the speaker. "The Hero Commission... they need us to make a formal identification of your father's body before the memorial tomorrow."
Ryuu sat up. The sudden movement tossed the blankets aside, letting the chilled air hit his skin. Mina sat up with him, rubbing her eyes and squinting at his rigid back.
"Identification? Why?"
"It's standard procedure. For the death certificate and official records. I know it's... it's horrible. But they need family confirmation."
Ryuu looked down at his hands. They were shaking. He gripped the fabric of his sweatpants, forcing his knuckles to turn white until the trembling stopped.
'A morgue. They want me to walk into a morgue.'
"Can't you do it alone?"
The silence on the other end lasted for heartbeats. Outside, the first drops of rain began to tap against the windowpane.
"I could." Yuki's voice was barely a whisper. "But I don't want to be in that room by myself. And I think... I think you should say goodbye. Truly say goodbye. Before the cameras and the public are there tomorrow."
Ryuu stared at the grey light bleeding through the curtains.
'If I go...'
"What time?"
"Eleven. I'll pick you up at UA's main gate."
He checked his phone's time, which says 10:28AM.
So he had thirty-two minutes do prepare before his mum reaches his place.
"Okay. I'll be there."
The call ended with a soft beep. Ryuu let the phone fall onto the mattress. It felt like a lead weight.
Mina who had been staring at him through our his entire conversation with his mum finally decided to talk, watching him with concerned eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I have to go identify my father's body. For the death certificate." The words fell off his tongue flat...there was barely any emotion behind it. "My mom wants me there."
Mina sat up fully. "Do you want us to come?"
"I don't think they'd let you. Family only, probably."
"Then we'll wait for you. However long it takes."
Ryuu nodded numbly. Momo stirred on his other side, her consciousness seemed to be returning slowly.
"W-what's happening?" she asked, voice thick with sleep.
"Ryuu has to go out with his mom this morning," Mina explained. But she kept her voice low as she looked at Momo. "To the morgue."
Momo's grip on the edge of the bed tightened. "Oh...In that case, Ryuu, would you like some breakfast?"
The room remained quiet as Ryuu stood up.
"Yeah...sure." He walked toward the bathroom.
"Alright, let me whip up something quick then." Momo moved to the small kitchenette area of the dorm.
She cracked eggs into a pan and toasted bread, she didn't need to move too much, thanks to the kitchen being small, so she was able to make breakfast quickly.
She set the plate on the desk.
"Thanks Momo." Ryuu thanked Momo after he returned from the bathroom with water still gleaming on his skin. He sat down and picked up the fork while slightly forcing out a smile to Mina who was staring right at him with an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.
He chewed the food and swallowed...but he couldn't detect any flavor. It felt like eating wet cardboard. So he pushed the plate away after three bites.
But the girls weren't disheartened by this...cause he has been doing this with his food...which is making him look lanky...and the dark bags beneath his eyes ain't helping matters either.
"Hmm, let's see...what would fit this occasion, since you don't look like someone who will even care about the kinda of fit you will wear." Mina went to the closet.
Ryuu didn't know how to comment on that, so he just blankly stared at her.
"Now. Let's see." She looked through his closet, looking for anything remotely fitting for the occasion.
Till she found a black and white fit...which she have never seen Ryuu wear before. So she brought it out...cause why not?
She pulled out a black button-down shirt and dark slacks. "Wear this, and I don't wanna hear a word of disapproval from you."
Mina stood with her hands on her hips, blocking his view of the rest of the closet.
She gestured toward the bed where the black-and-white outfit lay.
"Yes." Ryuu didn't argue. He picked up the clothes and began to change. Mina didn't leave the spot though; she just turned her back, giving him a small amount of space while she reorganized a few stray items on his shelf to keep her hands busy.
Once he had the shirt on, she turned around and stepped closer. She reached out, her fingers nimble as she straightened his collar and fixed the buttons he had missed.
"There," she murmured. She patted his chest twice, her eyes searching his face for a moment. "You look... decent. At least you don't look like you just rolled out of a dumpster."
Momo walked over, handing him his wallet and phone from the nightstand.
"I'll put the rest of the breakfast in a container," Momo said. "Just in case you get hungry later."
Ryuu tucked the phone into his pocket. He moved toward the door, his movements still stiff. He stopped at the threshold and looked back.
"I'm leaving now."
Mina stepped up and gave him a wet kiss to the cheeks."We'll be right here when you get back."
"I'll have something ready for lunch," Momo added.
Ryuu pulled the door open.
"Okay. See you later."
****
He stepped into the hallway. The silence was so heavy that the memory of the girls' voices felt louder than the actual air around him.
'I'm becoming heavily reliant on them,' he thought. The idea bugged him, it has become a persistent itch in the back of his mind that had been growing since his father's passing.
He pushed the elevator button and waited.
Ding!
He stepped inside. He watched the digital numbers count down toward the lobby. When the doors slid open, he walked across the common area to the rows of lockers near the front exit.
He pulled out his sneakers, swapped them for his slippers, and tucked his indoor pair away.
He pushed through the heavy front doors. Outside, a light drizzle of rain coated the pavement, turning the concrete into a dark, shimmering grey.
His mother's car sat at the UA main gate.
The windshield wipers moved back and forth in a steady, rhythmic click.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
Ryuu opened the passenger door and slid inside. The air in the car smelled like stale coffee and floral perfume.
Yuki sat in the driver's seat. The makeup on her face was applied in a thick layer, but it failed to hide the dark, bruised-looking circles beneath her eyes.
Her knuckles were white from how hard she gripped the steering wheel.
She turned her head to look at him for the first time. Her eyes scanned his face, lingering on the shadows under his own eyes and his pale complexion.
"You don't look so good, Ryuu."
Ryuu looked back at her. He saw the way her skin seemed to sag with exhaustion and the slight tremor in her hands.
"You too, Mom."
"Heh." Yuki let out a short, breathy exhale that might have been a laugh if she had the energy. She turned back to the windshield and shifted the car into gear.
"Thank you for coming," she said quietly.
"Where is it?"
"Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Examiner's Office. It's about a forty minutes drive from here."
The car pulled away from the gate. The rain began to hit the glass harder, blurring the sight of the UA campus as they headed toward the city.
She shifted the car into drive. The tires splashed through the growing puddles as they pulled away from the school.
The rain intensified, turning from a drizzle into a heavy drumbeat against the metal roof.
Grey buildings and blurred traffic passed by the window. People on the sidewalks hurried under umbrellas, focused on their Friday routines.
Ryuu leaned his head against the glass. The vibration of the car hummed through his skull.
'Everything looks the same out there. Like nothing happened.'
The silence in the car lasted for twenty minutes. Only the sound of the rain filled the space.
"I loved him," Yuki said out of nowhere.
The statement was sudden. Her voice was louder than the rain that was falling like background noise.
"Even after he left. Even when I was angry and hurt and didn't understand. I never stopped loving him."
Ryuu kept his eyes on the window. He watched a drop of water trail down the glass, merging with others until it disappeared at the frame.
'I don't have anything to say to that. I don't know that feeling.'
He didn't turn his head. He didn't answer. He just watched the city go by.
Ryuu didn't know what to say to that.
"He wasn't perfect," she continued, Her eyes remained locked on the road ahead."He was obsessive about his work. Paranoid sometimes. He even kept secrets."
Her voice wavered, but she gripped the wheel tighter to steady herself. "But he loved us. Loved you. Everything he did was to protect you...no, everything he did was to protect us..."
"I know." The response was short. Flat even.
"Do you?" Yuki glanced at him for a split second before returning her gaze to the rain-slicked pavement. "Because you've been so quiet since you got back. So distant...cause when I look at you...I can't even tell what's going on in your head."
Ryuu felt a heat rise in his chest. He turned his head away from the window, finally looking at her.
"I'm thinking about the fact that my father disappeared for so long I lost count of the years," he said. His voice was low, but it gained volume with every sentence.
I'm thinking about how I had to watch him die through my own quirk. I'm thinking about how tomorrow I have to stand in front of a crowd and pretend I'm okay when I'm clearly not."
Ryuu's voice cracked on the last word. He snapped his mouth shut for minute or two, before clenching his jaw tight.
"That's what I'm thinking."
The only sound in the car was the frantic, rhythmic slapping of the windshield wipers against the glass. Yuki didn't answer. She just stared straight ahead, her eyes brimming with tears she refused to let fall.
She pulled the car to a stop at a red light. The engine hummed quietly under the sound of the rain.
Yuki finally let go of the steering wheel. She didn't look at him, but she reached across the center console. But her hand found his, her skin felt cold and damp.
Ryuu didn't pull away. He let her take his hand, his fingers remaining limp against hers at first.
"You don't have to pretend," she whispered.
She turned her head then. A single tear escaped, tracing a path through the thick makeup on her cheek.
"Not with me. Not with anyone."