"Mom?" Yuta said the words with obvious stiffness and a mixture of something else.
His empty palm clenched. His heart that had barely changed pace in his escape from the highway began spiking. There was yet another brief pause on the other end.
It was followed by a gentle sob carrying a myriad of complex emotions. "Is... Is it... really you?" The voice on the other end trembled.
"Yeah." Yuta replied. "It's me."
"Oh thank goodness." The relief in her two words carried a heavy hit of guilt with it. He heard her take a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. Failing. Taking another breath. Failing again.
Just the tone made his heart ache.
"I'm sorry," Yuta started. "Mom, I should have called sooner. I've worried you, haven't—"
"No." Her voice cut him off. "Don't you dare apologize to me right now."
"But. .."
"But you're alive." Her voice cracked on the word. "You're alive and that's all that matters. Do you understand me? After everything you've gone through, that's all that matters. So don't you try apologising when you've gone through ... So much."
Yuta's throat tightened.
Ten meters away, Aizawa caught All Might's eye and gestured toward the alley entrance. The two teachers moved quietly, giving him privacy while remaining within protective distance.
"Mom, I..." Yuta pressed his free hand against the alley wall. He had a lot to say, but ultimately settled for something simple. "How are you? Are you okay? The teachers said Eri's quirk ... that you were hurt ..."
"I'm fine," Aiko said. "I'm at U.A. still. They're taking good care of me. Physical therapy is... it's going well. The doctors say I'll make a full recovery."
"And Eri?"
"She's here too. She's..." Aiko paused. "She's been asking about you every day. She knows you're alive now, but she keeps asking when you're coming home."
Yuta closed his eyes. "Is she okay? After what happened with her quirk—"
"She's scared. Confused but she's ok. She's sleeping right now, actually. Exhausted herself drawing pictures for you earlier." Yuta let out a breath of relief. He plopped against the wall and slowly slid down till he sat on the floor.
"You have no idea how happy I am to hear all this." He uttered. The past few days had been ... Well, worrying for him.
"And what about you?" Aiko's voice carried maternal concern now. "How are you, Yuta? Really?"
Yuta let out a short laugh. "Well, let's see. Survived a train crash. Nearly drowned in the Pacific. Got rescued by illegal trade dealers. Spent a week eating nothing but instant ramen and street food. Stopped a villain from blowing up a highway about twenty minutes ago." He paused. "Oh, and got punched by All Might because he thought I was a villain."
There was a stunned silence on the other end.
"He... All Might punched you?"
"It was a misunderstanding," Yuta explained. "I knocked out this villain who was about to blow up an expressway, and he showed up right after and assumed I was the bad guy. To be fair, I was wearing a hood and standing over an unconscious body."
"Yuta..."
"I'm fine, Mom. Really. I blocked it." He rubbed his shoulder absently. "Mostly. Anyway, guess I'm not as good at disappearing as I thought. They tracked me down in like a week."
"Good," Aiko said firmly. "Because you shouldn't have to disappear in the first place."
"Mom ..." Yuta sighed. "It's not that simple."
"I know." She said, much to his surprise as he had been expecting ... Something else. 'Huh?'
"Principal Nezu called me the day I woke up. He explained everything. That you survived and they were working to bring you home." She paused. "He also explained why you couldn't come back right away. So I understand, Yuta."
Her voice carried a weight he'd rarely heard from her.
"I understand why you stayed away. Why you thought it would keep us safe."
"It's not just thinking," Yuta replied. "The people who did this ... they dropped a train into the ocean just to kill me. If I come back and they try again ..."
"The teachers have a plan for that." Aiko interrupted gently. "Principal Nezu explained... options. For keeping all of us safe."
Yuta's eyes opened. "What kind of options?"
"He didn't give me all the details. Said they needed to discuss it with you first." She paused. "But Yuta, whatever they suggest—I trust them. And I need you to trust them too."
"I do trust them," Yuta said. "But I can't just agree to this."
"Then listen." She said. "I understand what you're saying. I understand that this is all too much and you feel the need to rely on yourself and do things you own way. But Yuta, you're sixteen years old. You shouldn't be halfway across the world trying to protect everyone by yourself."
"Someone has to ..."
"Not you and certainly not alone by yourself." Aiko's voice softened again.
"Baby, I know you think you have to carry everything. I've been hard on you because of it. But you don't have to do it by yourself. That's why you have people who care about you and want to keep you safe. Perhaps you are capable but it would be irresponsible of us to let you figure out these things in the world alone when there is help available. You're still a kid. You should be in school with friends and classes and going to after school hangouts. I don't want you to live in fear and insolation the rest of your life."
Yuta stared at the grime-covered pavement between his boots. The image she painted. School, friends, a life defined by homework instead of whatever was ahead for him felt like a fairy tale from a book he'd closed a long time ago.
He opened his mouth to speak ... "Yuta, sweetie. Do you want to do this?" And stopped. Eventually, he sighed.
"No. I'm just tired, Mom. I'm really tired."
"So come home." Her voice was gentle. "Your principal promised we'd be sent somewhere safe. We won't be in the country anymore so there is no need to fear getting attacked if you're ever discovered."
That surprised him. "We won't be in the country?"
Aiko let out a happy sigh.
"Just talk to your teachers, ok? They came all that way because they have a plan. So honey, please hear them out. Really listen. As my son."
Yuta let out a deep breath. "Let me guess. Did the principal put you up to this?"
"No. That was all me."
He groaned. "Okay. I'll listen."
"Good." He was sure she was smiling on the other end "If you didn't, I would have had to get Eri."
Yuta blanked. So there was a plan B in case plan A didn't work?
"And Yuta? When you get home... There's a lot of things we need to talk about." She chuckled. "Well, mostly about you jumping out of trains and running away to foreign countries."
Despite everything, Yuta felt his lips twitch. "Yes, ma'am."
"I love you. Be safe. And... trust them."
"I will. .... Try."
"Yuta ..."
"Love you too mom." The line ended.
Yuta lowered the phone slowly, staring at the dark screen for a long moment.
"Feeling better?"
He looked up. Aizawa and All Might had returned, standing a respectful distance away.
"Yeah," Yuta said, handing the phone back to Aizawa. "She said you have a plan. That I should hear you out."
"We do," Aizawa confirmed. "Though it's probably better if we explain it somewhere dry."
Yuta glanced up. The sky had begun to drizzle at this point.
"There's a car waiting back on the highway." All Aizawa said. "We'll brief you on the way to the airport."
"Airport?"
"Private flight," Aizawa said. "Courtesy of the HPSC. We're leaving tonight."
Yuta looked between them. "You're really not going to tell me the plan until we're moving?"
"Old habit," Aizawa said dryly. "Explanations go better when students can't run away halfway through."
Yuta rolled his eyes. 'Please. I'm a Pseudo Ninja. I could have given you guys the slip if I wanted to.'
"I'm not going to run."
"Good. Then you won't mind walking with us."
Thirty Minutes Later,
Manila – Private Airfield
The car ride had been mostly silent, Yuta sitting in the back processing everything while rain drummed against the windows.
He stared out at the passing cityscape. Manila's lights blurring past, jeepneys weaving through traffic, street vendors closing up for the night.
Normal people living normal lives. "How are things back at school?" Yuta asked suddenly, breaking the silence. "I mean... Anything new happen?"
Aizawa, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced back at him through the rearview mirror. "You already know the passenger manifest was released publicly. You also know about the dorms. Most of your class didn't show up initially. I've been out for the past three days though I doubt that's permanent since the principal is taking care of it."
Yuta nodded.
"Mina and a few others visited your mom as well as your former classmates in general studies."
Yuta blinked. Well that was surprising.
"Your desk is of course still there. Bakugo doesn't believe you're dead." Yuta's eyelids twitched. That one was surprising as well yet at the same time, not so surprising at all.
"That just turned into a certainty because they overheard the aftermath of our conversation five days ago."
Yuta looked up sharply. "Wait, what?"
"We were in the dormitory common area when you called." All Might said from the driver's seat, his muscled form looking somewhat cramped behind the wheel. "They heard our discussion after the line cut."
"Now, most of Class 1-A suspects you're alive. The official story is still that you're missing, though."
All Might coughed suddenly. Steam emitting from his body for a few seconds.
"You alright?" Yuta asked, concern creeping into his voice.
"Fine, fine," All Might said quickly, though another smaller cough followed. "Just the weather. Manila's humidity doesn't agree with me."
'You don't say.' Yuta thought expressionlessly but he said nothing, keeping his expression neutral. "If you say so."
The car pulled through a security gate, entering a private section of the airfield. In the distance, a sleek white jet sat on the tarmac, engines already warming with a low hum.
"Before we board," Yuta said, stopping at the base of the stairs. "Tell me what the plan is. Where are we going?"
Aizawa and All Might exchanged a glance.
"You're not going back to Japan," Aizawa said. "Not immediately."
Yuta's expression didn't change. "Then where?"
"Have you heard of I-Island?" All Might asked.
"I-Island?" Yuta turned his face away from the plane, brows furrowing in confusion. "What's that?"
__
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