Chapter Text
I wake up to the sun shining in my face through the curtains.
My eyes open, squint in order to see. I rub at my blurry eyes, but the blurriness doesn't completely go away, and I have to keep squinting for my eyes to focus.
The pain medication has worn off and the throbbing and aching is in full force, once again, though nowhere near as bad as yesterday.
Aizawa glances over at me. "Hey. You feeling alright?" He asks, his voice weary and tired.
He's still here? I would have thought he'd left by now.
I let out a tired grumble, my body is tingly from sitting in the same position for so long, a heaviness has settled over me, making it hard to move, my teeth have that awful fuzziness, and I slept in full gear and hero uniform.
I lift an arm experimentally, watching my arm shake and quiver from the effort.
All my strength has been seeped out
"Could be better." I say, my voice with that tired rumble.
Aizawa watches me, noticing I'm in just about the same condition you were in yesterday. "How are you supposed to take care of the little girl like this? You can barely take care of yourself. You're not even strong enough to just... move."
Aizawa takes a moment, letting out a deep sigh, looking at you with a serious expression. "At this rate, you're in no condition to take care of anyone right now, let alone your daughter, or yourself." He says, his voice stern and matter of fact.
"Yeah." I quietly sigh out in agreement.
Aizawa reaches up and rub at his eyes, he's clearly exhausted and worn out. He'd lower his hand, still looking at you seriously. He'd take a moment to think before speaking up again, his voice low and quiet, almost like a murmur.
"At least you're able to acknowledge that..." He'd mutter in a soft huff.
"Bit hard not to."
Aizawa remains remain silent for a moment longer, he's always silent, which is understandable, before looking at me with a stern look in his eyes.
"I'll be right back." He gets up from the chair as he goes to walk out the door.
*I give him a small nod, a hand moving to absentmindedly scratch at the little girl's feline ears.
Aizawa walks out the door of the hospital room, disappearing from sight, leaving me behind along with the little girl. The room is now left in a thick silence; the only source of noise being coming from the monitors showing my vitals.
After a minute or two, the door creaks open, and Aizawa walks back in, a look of resignation on his face. He'd walk over to the side of your bed and would sit in that same chair again, sighing quietly.
He tends to sigh a lot, I've noticed that over our years of friendship, which is also understandable. It's a bit hard not to, when it always feels like the world is on your shoulders, constantly weighing down and refusing to let up.
"Hmm? What's it?"
Aizawa would hesitantly glance over at us, the look of slight resignation still on his face. "I'm going to be staying with you for a while" He says, his eyes averted away from us.
"You told me that yesterday." I point out.
Aizawa nods, "I know, I just didn't think you'd remember is all." He clarifies; arms crossed over his shoulders.
I'm still squinting in order to better focus my vision, head tilted slightly as I get a better look at him. He's in a similar state as me, same clothes as yesterday, messy hair, tired eyes-tired face.
My lips quirk upwards slightly, "Why do you make it sound like it's going to be the end of the world?"
"It's going to be very inconvenient to say the least, for both of us." *He tells me, his voice sounding resigned and exhausted at the same time.
"You don't have to, you know. With being a teacher and a pro-hero, you don't have to do this."
Aizawa waves me off, as if the mere suggestion is stupid.
I drop it, changing the subject, "I don't think you've actually been to my place before."
Aizawa shakes his head, "You're right. I've never been to your place before. But I can already tell it's going to be a pain."
I roll my eyes at him, "I don't know, you might actually end up liking it."
Aizawa just gives me a doubtful look, raising a questioning eyebrow before shaking his head. "That's doubtful. Why would I like it?" He asks, sounding skeptical.
I give a small shrug. "Just a hunch." I tell him, still holding the little girl in my arms.
Aizawa lets out a small huff, shaking his head in slight disbelief. It seems like he already decided to dread the entire situation, regardless of whether or not he'll end up liking it or not.
"When are you going to be getting discharged, did the nurses say?" Aizawa asks me. "I haven't asked yet."
I think for a moment, they didn't tell me either, I was too busy sleeping, but I manage to recall the procedure for gunshot patients. "Admitted under observation for twenty-four hours, but I'm not sure when they'll discharge me."
"So, you'll be in here for about another 8 hours."
"I've been in the hospital for sixteen hours?" I can't help but question, with everything going on, I didn't even realise that fact.
"You didn't even realize... you really are out of it, at the moment." He says, a slight amount of concern in his voice. "You've been sleeping most of the time." He informs, "Flittering in and out of your sleep."
"Those painkillers yesterday must have really knocked me out."
Aizawa nods in agreement. "They really did. You were dead to the world before." He tells me, looking between the little girl and you.
I figured that would be the case.
My thumb moves to gently stroke her little cheek.
Her eyes close again, as she continues to cling to me.
Aizawa would let a few moments of silence go by, watching you and the little girl. But eventually, he'd speak up, breaking the silence. "I've been thinking..."
"About what?"
Aizawa shakes his head, "Just...about everything." He's still watching me, with his usual intense yet tired gaze.
I understand. I don't know what he's specifically thinking about, but I understand the gist of it.
This situation is...strange, to say the least.
Aizawa would let the silence resume and would just continue staring at us. I don't mind the silence, sometimes silence between friends, can be just as fulfilling as talking, but my body continues to tingle, causing me to shift slightly, trying to get even remotely comfortable.
At least eight more hours of being stuck here.
That's usually how non severe bullet wounds go, the doctors keep under observation for twenty-four hours, then after that, well, it all depends, I suppose.
Either way, eight hours will be the minimum limit.
Aizawa watches as I try to find some form of comfortable position, rolling his eyes, "Stop fidgeting. You're going to irritate your wounds even more." His voice firm, but not harsh.
He's right, and besides, I'll never truly get comfortable anyway, not like this.
Not when my teeth are fuzzy, my own head still a little scrambled, wounds throbbing and still in my gear and hero uniform.
"You really do need a proper shower, and a set of new clothes." Aizawa murmurs.
He rubs at his tired eyes yet again, getting a little bit annoyed by the fact that he hasn't been able to get some proper rest throughout the night. "You look like you're dying, and I feel like passing out." Aizawa leans further into the hospital chair.
"You can sit on the bed with us, y'know." I offer.
He waves me off again. "It's fine." He's lying, he's just as uncomfortable as me, but I don't care for any type of arguing over who's more stubborn.
My phone buzzes, I shakily reach for it, finding that it's been blown up with notifications from family and friends.
I'll sort all of that out later, maybe when I find a way to feel slightly more refreshed.
"Don't answer right now. You need to rest." Aizawa sternly tells me, getting his point across.
"Got it." I say, giving my brother a quick text before turning the phone off and away from me.
"Who were you texting?" He asks, raising an eyebrow, as the little girl continues to cling to me, resting her head in your neck.
"My brother, Ren. Wanted him to come over and bring a few things." I answer. "Mainly a spare change of clothes and whatnot."
Aizawa nods in acknowledgement, "That's good, you need it."
I let out a noise of agreement. "Be a little more comfortable." I murmured against the pillow.
"I'm sure you would. The state you're in right now is kind of..." He pauses before continuing, "a mess."
"You're a mess, your clothes are a mess, your hair is a mess, you're in pain, you're exposed. I'm surprised you're even still awake right now, to be honest." Aizawa would lean back into the chair, trying to get more comfortable but I doubt he is.
"I don't think the situation you're in right now has fully registered in your mind yet." Aizawa sounds a little bit defeated.
"It wore off, but I think it's still having my head all fuzzy."
"I can tell, it's like you're on autopilot right now, going on the bare minimum." Is Aizawa's response. "One of your brothers will be here soon?" He asks.
I nod, "Yes." I answer.
"He won't get mad seeing you like this, right? I mean the way you look right now and the situation your in." He asks, a little bit of concern in his voice, knowing how my family can be.
A moment later there's tapping at the door. Two taps, a pause for five seconds, then a third tap, before the hospital door quietly opens.
A glance over at him, wearing a black t-shirt, plain black jeans, backpack slung over his shoulder, dark hair and periwinkle eyes. The man takes one look at me and rolls his eyes at me.
The little girl also turning her head to look at the man, raising her head up a little.
He looks down at the little hybrid toddler, and her strange out of place appearance, "I don't-I don't even know where to begin with...this..." He says, using a hand to gesture to all of me and my situation.
The little girl in your arms would just let out a curious noise, hearing the noise of my brother's voice, and her little ears twitch at the sound of his words.
"You go silent for a little over sixteen hours just for you to be in the hospital? I mean, what the fuck, dude?" My brother, Ren, goes on.
I stay quiet, letting him be, let him get it out of his system.
"I really hate hospitals." He grumbles, walking over to me, bending down slightly, looking into my eyes. "It seems they gave you the strong stuff."
The little girl looks at Ren, her little head remaining against my neck, keeping her arms wrapped around you. She'd raise her head just a bit more, to get a better look at him.
Ren leans forward, gently removing the utility belt from around my waist and placing it inside the backpack he has.
I look at him, eyes wide for a moment, heart beating just a little, but my body freezes in a very brief panic.
Not having my belt around me is strange but I don't bother stopping him, not that I really can. All of the strength and energy is seeped out of me, and besides, after wearing it for so long, it became a little uncomfortable.
"You still wanna change?" Ren asks me.
I give a small shrug.
"That's not really an answer..." He tells me, and I mumble something he can't hear, tired and not in any mood to really care.
Ren rolls his eyes at me, grabbing out a few things, which included a hairbrush and wet wipes.
Starting with my hair, he sits down at the side of the hospital bed, brushing out the messy, unkempt strands.
When he's finished, he ties it up, somewhat messy, with my bangs and stray strands of purple and yellow messily framing my face.
Even though I don't have too much dirt or grime, he grabs one of the wet wipes, gently wiping and dabbing at my face, more so a way to help freshen me up.
Aizawa has no real need to speak, he continues to watch silently as Ren uses the wet wipe to help freshen me up, noticing that I'm just letting him take charge and actually help me, even though I have a habit of being stubborn and defiant.
The little girl in my arms quietly watches, her little hands still wrapped around my neck, still clinging to me, her little head resting near my neck, her face pressed gently into your shoulder.
Aizawa would just watch as your brother throws away the wet wipe, taking note of how I've been surprisingly easygoing and cooperative.
Even I'm surprised by my own current nature, but there's not much I can do about it.
"You really should change clothes." Aizawa finally speaks up, voice a little firm.
Ren nods. Of course he does.
"Just your shirt at least." Ren tells me, already gripping the hem and pulling it up, stopping halfway when the little girl is still snuggled against me.
I gently move her slightly and she lets out a noise of displeasure but quickly gets herself comfortable again.
My shirt comes off, and Ren helps forces me into the clean shirt, folding the old one in his bag. "You want some clean pants?" Ren asks, though it doesn't sound much like a suggestion.
Aizawa presses the little button, and the hospital bed moves, sitting me up right.
It seems they're ganging up on me.
Finding this unexpected, the little girl gives chirp of surprise. I scratch at her ears, calming her slightly.
I don't bother protesting as Ren somewhat awkwardly picks her up, sitting her in his lap, antenna twitching and tail flickering, but it appears she doesn't seem to mind it all that much.
In fact, he even manages to get her dressed out of that hospital gown, and into a shirt he pulled from the backpack, simply throwing her old 'clothes' in the bin.
I let out a deep sigh as Aizawa helps remove my socks and pants, helping me into a pair of cotton shorts before spraying me with some deodorant.
It's all very mundane, but it does help make me feel a bit better, even more so when I'm given the opportunity to gingerly brush my teeth.
After that's done and out of the way, Ren sets the little girl back onto the bed and I watch with a small smile as she curls back into me.
Ren sits down on the chair Aizawa was just sitting at, leaving him to sit at the edge of the hospital bed, leaning against the pillows a little.
Ren clears his throat, "Now that that's outta the way, what in the hell happened? What on earth could have possibly happened?"
We turn our attention to him, "Science lab, inhaled nightshade gas, was shot." I recap very briefly.
Apparently too brief, because the only thing written on Ren's face is confusion.
"That little girl was a science experiment, with Chikao's DNA. They didn't like that he found her, he used his nightshade, one of the head scientists shot him." Aizawa further explains.
Ren lets out a deep dramatic sigh, "Jesus Christ." Is all he manages to say.