I am Always Yours
A/N: Hello again everyone! This chapter doesn't have much dialogue, but It explains a bit more about Elizabeth and her quirk. I hadn't intended Hana to be much more than Elizabeth's co-worker, but she became cute and I love her. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
For the next couple of days Hana teased me incessantly about the incident, and about Yagi Toshinori. No matter how many times I reminded her we were in the presence of children she wouldn't stop. Eventually I tuned her out and focused on the children. After that she grew bored and stopped. Things were very normal. The children were more cautious of course and Touma's parents insisted on giving me a gift. It turned out to be a small figurine of the number one hero, All Might. Touma insisted, they explained while I blushed. But his mother pressed a small pair of pearl earrings into my hand with a wink before they left. I wore them proudly and displayed the small figurine with the rest of my small All Might collection.
After the incident I did heal the small amount of bruising I had received but still asked my friend at the hospital to look at it. Thankfully, there was no damage that my quirk had not already fixed, and I was given a clean bill of health. I went about my volunteering and teaching as normal. However, I couldn't get Yagi Toshinori out of my head. He had no visible quirk, and yet he risked himself to help a complete stranger. It was a very chivalrous thing to do. A heroic thing to do. I wondered if I would ever see him again.
"Hey, where do you want the crayons to go?" Hana asked, snapping her fingers in front of my face.
I shook my head. I had been lost in thought.
"Umm…" I mused, tapping my fingers to my chin. "Over there."
I pointed to a shelf in the art section of the classroom and began packing up toys. It was the end of the last day of kindergarten for the semester. A bittersweet time for me. I loved teaching and it was sad to say goodbye to students I had been with for more than half a year as an assistant, and then a teacher. But it was a time for me to work on my other passion which was healing people. I volunteered at the local hospital as much as I could during the year, but in the summer, I was allowed to be a paid employee because of the nature of my quirk.
"Something on your mind, Elizabeth?" Hana asked.
"No," I replied. "I'm just going to miss all the little ones. I hope they get into good schools."
Hana laughed and helped me pack up the last of the toys. Everything had to be clean and neat for the next time we used this classroom, for the next set of children I would teach.
"Elizabeth, you're an excellent teacher," Hana assured me. "Those kids will definitely make it into good schools."
My cheeks heated and I waved Hana off, grabbing my bag and the classroom keys. We left the room together and I locked up. Then we dropped the keys off at the front office, leaving the building in silence. The walk home was quiet as well. I guess both of us had things on our minds, but Hana was the one to break the silence again.
"Hey, can I come over?" She asked.
This was normal. We lived in the same apartment building so Hana and I popped in to one another's places as often as we liked. It was comforting.
"Of course!" I exclaimed. "You know you're always welcome!"
Hana grinned. "I'll get snacks!"
A giggle escaped me as she rushed up the stairs to her apartment ahead of me. I heard her door slam as I reached the top of the stairs. I unlocked my door and stepped inside, kicking off my shoes and dropping my bag. I observed my small apartment. The main entrance opened up into my small living area, complete with bookshelves, a comfortable couch, and a modest sized television. To the right was a small dining area which lead into my tiny kitchen. Down the hall lead to the bedroom, small utility closet, and bathroom.
My house was cluttered. I exhaled a sigh, and I moved to clean up the scattered books and loose papers. I had at least had the place slightly presentable when Hana's knock sounded at the door.
"Hello, Liza!" She cheered, holding up soft drinks and homemade cupcakes.
I grinned and let her in.
"Wow," She giggled. "It's so much tidier in here than the other day!"
My eyes rolled involuntarily as I ushered her into the living room.
"I clean sometimes," I quipped.
Hana just grinned and made herself comfortable on my couch. I sat next to her, taking one of the sweets and munching on it quietly.
"I like your new All Might figurine." Hana teased, pointing to my small collection of hero paraphernalia on my bookshelf.
"Touma got it for me." I blushed.
Hana laughed. "You do always play act him with the kids."
"He's a real hero," I sighed. "They need to know that there is going to be someone out there to protect them."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, fangirl." Hana laughed.
"Shut up Hana."
It was the third time Yagi Toshinori had been to the hospital this month. He was beginning to grow tired of the chemical smell that hung in the stale air. Toshinori observed the small, private room he was confined to. The television was off. He couldn't bear to see another hero show discussing him. There were no flowers in the plain room. No get well soon cards. Nothing. He had nobody, save a few, who knew why he was here. He hadn't even bothered to tell them of this visit. Toshinori was sure they were all getting sick of hearing about them.
The drip of the iv bag was the only sound in the quiet room, but Toshinori still couldn't bring himself to rest. There were better things he could be doing with his time, but he was unable to because of this damn injury! Why couldn't he have just gotten out of the way fast enough during that fight five years ago? He wouldn't have to be here right now, and he could be doing what he loved most. Saving people. Making them feel safe. If Recovery Girl was unable to obtain this new healer's help, then he was not going to live much longer. And he needed too.
Who was going to keep the peace when he was gone? Endeavor surely wasn't going to do that. Undoubtedly the man was a great hero, but his selfish desire to be number one had gone to his head. The man had even arranged a quirk marriage to raise powerful offspring. Though this was not known in public circles, Endeavor's actions were intolerable for a hero. Toshinori couldn't leave this world in the hands of such a man. No. He had to live.
I followed my mentor, Dr. Akiyama Itsuki, down the long corridor in the private wing of Musustafu Private Hospital. He had taken notice of me when I began volunteering at the emergency ward of the hospital after I first came to Japan and taken me under his wing, even going so far as to hire me during the summer season. Dr. Akiyama had an incredibly well-honed healing quirk and quickly made his way up in the medical world, eventually gaining enough money to open the private hospital. The MPH serviced people harmed in villain attacks, heroes, and police officers. Regular civilians were accepted into the hospital as well, but Dr. Akiyama's original intentions were to bring quality health care to those who spent so much of their lives protecting the public.
The private wing housed ICU patients as well as injured heroes. The doctors and nurses were required to keep quiet about any heroes staying in the wing; however, many wealthy patrons and other public defenders were kept in the private wing when the need was great enough. It was a privilege to be able to work in this ward for me. Dr. Akiyama wanted me to practice using my quirk more on people with life-threatening injuries or illnesses so I could use it with more ease. If I overused it, I could develop painful ulcers in my stomach and my body would begin to break down.
For this reason, Dr. Akiyama wished me to practice. He said if I was able to gain a better control over my quirk then I could even become a better healer than him. At the time I thought he was joking, but later I would learn that he wasn't. Dr. Akiyama lead me straight to the private wing's service desk and murmured something to the head nurse that I couldn't hear. He wasn't usually so secretive around me, but lately he had become quite reserved. The only thing he said was that an old college had heard of me and was interested in my quirk. But since then, I had heard nothing more on the subject. Dr. Akiyama was a good mentor, so I trusted him. I just hoped whatever was the matter was not too serious. I had never seen him so agitated.
"Elizabeth-chan," Dr. Akiyama's voice called me out of my reverie.
I shook myself to attention and pushed my glasses back up my nose.
"Yes sir?" I asked.
"I'd like for you to try healing something more serious this time." He replied.
Something more serious? What did he mean? I had not tried to heal any serious injuries before, but plenty of serious illnesses and minor injuries. These had all taken a large toll on my body and I had to take recovery time. I was even hospitalized once.
Dr. Akiyama must have seen the concern on my face because he said, "Don't worry, we will be healing these people in small increments. It was a suggestion from my colleague."
I frowned. The mysterious colleague again? Despite my concerns the suggestion did seem like a good idea. That way the quirk would strengthen but not put too much strain on my body. I picked at the hem of my light pink scrub top but nodded my confirmation to my mentor. He grinned and motioned for me to follow him. That was when I saw a familiar blond mane being wheeled into a room not far down the corridor. Was it…? It had to be!
"Yagi-san!"
A/N:
Here are some more sources. From what I gathered, it seemed like Japanese kindergartens close for the summer? If I am wrong, I apologize. I'm going to keep it that way for the purpose of the story!
/child-health-and-childcare/daycare-and-kindergardenpreschool/
wiki/Enji_Todoroki
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