Airwaves Unscripted (PapaMic)

My brain just... stops.

Like someone slammed the emergency brakes on my thoughts, and all I can do is sit there, staring at Aizawa like I misheard him.

Like if I just blink hard enough, he'll say, Just kidding, problem child, I dragged you here to give you a gold star for being such a delightful ray of sunshine in class!

But no.

That's not what he says.

What he says is—

"A police officer was injured."

And that means it's bad.

I swallow, forcing my voice to work. "Are—are they okay?"

"The officer will recover," Aizawa says, still unreadable. "Your mother and her boyfriend were both detained. They're being questioned now."

Detained.

Questioned.

That's just the polite way of saying arrested.

My stomach twists.

Mom.

Mom, who yells but never hits. Who cries when she thinks no one can hear. Who always apologizes when she and Hisashi fight—like she's the one at fault when he's the one pushing her buttons.

She lost control.

She actually lost control.

"She's not—" I stop, licking my lips. My mouth is dry. "She's not in trouble, is she?"

Aizawa watches me for a long moment. Like he's considering how much to say.

"That depends," he says finally. "The police are sorting out the details. But quirk use in public—especially in a domestic dispute—is taken seriously. And given that someone was injured—"

He doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't have to.

I already know.

My throat tightens.

I'm so stupid. I knew this was coming.

I saw it last night—the way she snapped, the way Hisashi pushed her too far. I should've done something.

I should've stopped it.

I should've—

No.

No, I can't do this right now.

I shove the thoughts down and focus on the facts.

Right now, I need to get to Mom.

I straighten in my seat. "I need to go."

Aizawa doesn't react. "Where?"

"The police station. Wherever they took her. I need to—"

"No."

I blink. "Excuse me?"

"You're staying here," Aizawa says, like that's just a fact of life. "The police will handle it."

I stare at him. "She's my mom."

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't get involved right now." His voice is calm, steady—annoyingly rational. "You'll do more harm than good walking into a police investigation."

"She's not a criminal," I snap before I can stop myself.

Aizawa doesn't even flinch. "No one said she was."

"But you're treating it like—like she's some villain—"

"I'm treating it like what it is," he says, sharper now. "A legal matter that needs to be handled by the proper authorities."

I clench my jaw. My fingers dig into my knees.

I hate that he's right.

I hate that I can't do anything.

I hate that I saw this coming and still couldn't stop it.

Aizawa sighs, rubbing his eyes like he's exhausted with this whole conversation. "Look," he says, softer now, "I get it. I do. But for now, you need to stay put. When the police are ready to give you answers, they'll contact you."

I take a shaky breath. "And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

His expression is unreadable again.

Then, finally—

"That's up to you."

The second the weight of Aizawa's words settles in my chest, I sit up straighter.

"Does my dad know?"

Aizawa doesn't answer right away. That's already suspicious.

I stare at him. "You did tell him, right?"

Silence.

The kind of silence that speaks volumes.

My eye twitches. "Sensei."

Aizawa exhales slowly, like he's bracing himself. "I brought you here first for a reason."

I blink. Then I blink harder.

"You're telling me..." I say, voice flattening, "that you dropped this nuclear bomb on me first before warning my dad?"

Aizawa's eye twitches. "Mic is... a lot."

Oh. Oh, this is incredible.

"You live with him." I spread my hands. "You share a bed with him."

Aizawa looks like he deeply regrets all his life choices. "Yes, Midoriya, I'm aware."

"You shower under the same roof."

"I am painfully aware."

"And yet, somehow, I know about this before he does?"

Aizawa rubs his temples. "I wanted to talk to you first."

I cross my arms, leaning back. "You do know that when he finds out, we're both doomed, right?"

Aizawa finally meets my gaze, and for the first time, I see it—

That tired, world-weary concern. The kind that says I knew this would mess you up, and I wanted to handle it carefully before Mic turned it into a full-blown rock concert of emotions.

...Damn it.

I get it.

I sigh, rubbing my face. "Fine. But you're telling him. Not me."

Aizawa lets out the longest, most exhausted sigh. "Yes, Midoriya. I know."