Serena woke up in an unfamiliar room, still groggy from the sedatives that had knocked her out. "Nngh… Ayane needs to ease up on the dosages for those needles" she grumbled as she rubbed her head and sat up a bit. Then the memory of the last moments before passing out came back to her and she sat upright in an instant "oh no, Ayane!"
"Oh good, you're finally awake, I was getting worried Ayane might've overdosed you or something" Freya said, covering her mouth as she yawned "you've been out cold for around 15 hours, it's already almost noon."
"Freya?" Serena asked, noticing the girl in the room "if you're here, then either you haven't gone after Darwin yet or…"
"We did it" Freya said, "we fought and beat him, he's currently in the hospital under constant watch by a team of pro-heroes and cops."
"And is anyone hurt? What happened? Did… Who… What…" Serena began asking, a flood of questions was building up inside her and she couldn't find the words to get them all out. She began to breathe more quickly, concern and fear and excitement working her into a frenzy. She began to get out of bed, unable to stay still any longer.
Freya rushed over to the bed and gently pushed Serena back down "Sh, relax, I'm going to explain everything. Everyone is safe, calm down."
Freya began to retell the story of how they'd invaded Darwin's HQ, the things they'd overheard, the progression of the fight, and the aftermath of the battle at the hospital. She made sure to downplay Ayane's injuries, and altered the story a bit to make it seem like Ayane hadn't come within seconds of having her head bashed in, assuming that Serena would react poorly to such information.
"So that's the story of how we found the bastard who hurt you and your family and taught him a lesson" Freya finished with a grin.
Serena sighed with relief, now that she knew everyone was ok and Darwin was securely in custody, now there was only one loose end. "And what about Mom?" she asked "Ayane mentioned Shin was trying to wake her up."
"I haven't heard from him yet, I think he's still working on it. Law said something reassuring though." Freya said, then tried to do her best impression of Law's facial expressions and voice as she added "I've known the man for many years now, and he's never failed to achieve something once he's set his mind to it. I'm not much one for blind faith, but if there's anyone who I'd place it in, it's him."
Serena had to giggle at Freya's objectively terrible impression of the stern-faced teacher they'd grown to know and love. "He said that huh? Well if Law has that kind of confidence in someone, that makes me feel pretty good about his chances."
"Huh, never knew Law was such a softie around his students" Shin said from the doorway, making the two girls jump in surprise.
"Gah! How do you? Agh! One day I swear I'm going to see you coming!" Serena exclaimed
Shin laughed a bit "sorry, I will admit though I'm starting to enjoy startling you, your reactions to my arrivals have been the most expressive I've had in years. That's not why I'm here though."
"Then…" Freya began to ask
Shin nodded and smiled as he interrupted the question he knew was coming "I've made a breakthrough with Leona, she's recovering."
Serena's eyes widened, then filled with tears as a smile spread across her face. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off her chest, and her body was now lighter than air. She felt like she was floating on a cloud of pure ecstasy. Her mother was ok! Darwin was stopped, nobody was seriously hurt, and her mom was going to be ok! She couldn't think of any time in her life where she'd been more relieved or happy than this moment. Then she looked at Freya and Shin's stunned faces… what had them so stunned… and when did she get above them exactly?
Serena looked down at the bed and wondered when it had gotten so far away from her. Her confusion lasted a few moments more before she realized she didn't just feel like she was floating, she actually WAS floating. "Ah!" she cried out, suddenly feeling her weight come back all at once as she crashed back onto the bed. "Owch…" she grunted as she bounced off the bed and landed on her back on the floor.
"Serena, how in the world?" Freya asked
"Hm, you know I theorized it was possible for you, but I didn't think we'd see it quite so soon in your training" Shin mused
"What in the? How was I? You knew about this Headmaster? What's going on?" Serena said, scrambling to her feet
"Just a rather creative use of your quirk dear" Shin said "technically speaking, weight is just a kind of downward kinetic energy caused by gravity constantly pulling you towards the core of the planet. This counterbalances the centrifugal force of the planet's rotation and keeps you rooted to the ground."
"So by absorbing the kinetic energy of my weight I can freaking fly!?" Serena exclaimed
"Well… float, flying would probably require some support equipment or mastery of propelling yourself with energy to give you direction and momentum" Shin said "but yes…"
Serena closed her eyes and tried to float again, struggling to remember the feeling of floating before and replicate it, she felt like her body might have gotten a bit lighter for a moment, but eventually she sighed and opened her eyes. "Damn it, it's just like with electricity, I do it once by accident, learn its possible, and then can't remember how the hell I pulled it off!" she pouted
Shin chuckled "well from what I hear, you recently relearned how to do electricity didn't you? I'm sure this skill will come to you with time. But surprising developments aside, your mother's condition…"
Serena was brought back to attention by Shin's subject change, stopping her efforts to float again and focusing on his words.
"She's waking up now, but she's going to be very weak for a while" Shin said "I had to manually repair several nerve connections that had been damaged during her suffocation, and even someone like me can't fully comprehend the complex brain structure of a human. There's trillions of neurons and neural pathways in the brain that are all essential to function normally."
Serena nodded, she'd heard somewhere that there were more neurons in the brain than stars in the observable universe. She didn't know if that was true, but even if it wasn't completely accurate it made sense that Shin wouldn't be able to perfectly map out every one of them with just a psychic type quirk, even if his was the strongest of all time.
"The brain is remarkably resilient and excellent at recovery." Shin explained "so your mother will be just fine in time. I restored several key neural pathways and restored her enough to recover the rest of the way on her own. She'll be spending several weeks in the hospital under close watch to make sure her condition is stable, and also so she can be taken care of during your internship week, and even when she comes home you'll need to watch over her and help her get around and stuff. It'll probably take a few months of rehabilitation before her body can move around like it used to."
"That's fine" Serena said with a smile "she's done so much for me, I'm more than ok with helping her recover, no matter how long it takes."
"Are you sure? Between your coursework and training here, and tending to her at home, you might not be able to keep up with it all" Shin warned "and she won't be able to work during these months, your financial situation may become dire."
"I'll be fine Headmaster" Serena said confidently as she stood up and walked over to Shin "Mom is my hero, I'll endure anything for her sake. I'm just glad I didn't lose her."
Shin chuckled "very well then, you passed the test" he said "see I told a little lie just now, just a tiny one. UA will actually be taking care of all your expenses for the next few months while she recovers, and I'll have someone hired to be her caretaker while you're at school. I'll expect you to take responsibility for her when at home, but we'll make sure your academic workload is manageable enough to balance her care and your training"
Serena smiled wider at that, she might have been willing to do whatever it took to make sure her mom got better, but it was a huge relief to get some help in that department. She honestly wasn't sure how she would've achieved balancing school and caretaking, even if she wasn't going to give up on trying. With a smile she stepped forward and hugged Shin, startling him a bit.
"Thank you, Shin. I owe you a debt I can't ever repay" Serena said, hugging the man tightly. His body felt weird to her, there was no warmth coming from it, and it felt malleable, like she was hugging a human shaped mass of air rather than a person. She released Shin and stepped back her confusion evident on her face as she looked Shin in the eye.
"Don't mention it" Shin said, both out loud and telepathically to Serena. Out loud his response sounded like a generic reply to her offering thanks, but the simultaneous mental message conveyed his alternate meaning. He was telling her not to mention what she'd felt about his body. She wasn't sure what the heck was up with his weird body, but she owed him so much that she decided to cast aside her curiosity and simply accept it. She nodded in response to both versions of his statement, and Shin appeared to understand her meaning.
"Now then, you were excused from class yesterday due to the circumstances" Shin said "and I'll give you another day off today to visit those who need visiting, and to do whatever needs doing. Tomorrow I expect all of you to be back in class and working twice as hard to make up for the days you missed. That goes for you too Freya."
Serena and Freya nodded in acknowledgement, and Shin turned and left the room. Serena got up and checked her attire, she was still in her hero outfit, though her bow and quiver had been put away, so she could actually be laid down in the bed. "Well I can't go out in this" she said, then shooed Freya out of the room so she could get changed.
- The Hospital, 1 hour later -
Serena and Freya paid Onaka a visit first. The porcupine mutant was already wide awake and feeling energetic as ever when they arrived, giving them a wave as they came in.
"Hey Serena! And Freya! Came to visit little old me in my crippled state?" Onaka joked
"Oh hush you, my quirk patched you up completely, you just needed nutrients and rest and you know it" Freya sighed, but she smiled in relief regardless. It always made her nervous when she used her quirk on others for anything more than minor injuries, and while the situation with Darwin had required she set aside that fear, seeing Onaka being back to her usual peppy self was reassuring to her.
"I'm glad to see you're alright" Serena said with a smile "Freya told me all about your heroic efforts last night, and about how you motivated everyone with your speech. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to you. Especially how you managed to distract Darwin for Ayane to get the final blow in at the end."
Onaka grinned "heh yeah, I was pretty awesome if I do say so myself. But I think you can express your gratitude. I know exactly what I want as my reward."
"Eh? You do? Wait what's this about a reward anyway?" Freya asked
"Come on I'm not gonna ask for much" Onaka asked "just a little token of appreciation."
"Of course" Serena asked "what is it you want? I'll give you anything in my power to give."
"I want a thank you kiss on the lips from a beautiful woman" Onaka said with a wink, causing Serena to blush
"O-oh! I didn't know you… um… were interested in me that way… I'm flattered" Serena said nervously "but um… me and Ayane are kinda… a couple now so I probably shouldn't…"
Onaka sighed "you get flustered too easily Serena, I didn't mean to hit on you or anything, it's just one kiss. You're an attractive girl and I'm bisexual, can you imagine the bragging rights I'm gonna have with other ladies if I can claim I kissed THE Serena from class 1C who wowed everyone at the festival?"
"What!" Serena exclaimed "you want a kiss from me… to help pick up other chicks?"
Onaka nodded with a wide grin "of course, I didn't know you and Ayane were official now, and I don't wanna get a rep as a home-breaker, so I'll settle for a kiss from some other beautiful girl." She said, prompting Freya to facepalm and sigh loudly.
While Freya's gaze was averted from Onaka by her hand and sigh, Onaka winked at Serena and nodded to Freya, then winked again, and Serena caught wind of her plan. "Oh I see" Serena mouthed back, then smiled and winked at Onaka.
"Well I did promise I'd give you anything in my power to grant" Serena sighed, trying to sound as reluctant as she could "but I'm way too awkward to go around finding pretty girls and asking, 'hey come to this bedroom with me and kiss my friend please.' I mean I've come a long way in terms of social awkwardness, but that's a bit much."
"Yeah Onaka, show some more consideration for Serena would you?" Freya sighed "this kind of thing isn't really up her alley at all."
"But I DID promise you" Serena said "so… Freya… I know you well enough and you're filled in on the situation here."
Freya looked to Serena and blushed "No… you don't mean…" she said
"Come on, please?" Serena asked, putting her hands together and pleading "I never go back on my word, and you're the only one I can count on here."
Freya looked between Onaka and Serena several times before sighing in defeat "Oh fine, but just this once you hear me?" She walked over to Onaka's bed and closed her eyes as she leaned in.
Onaka leaned in and kissed Freya, savoring the moment as she got to share a kiss with her crush. Then she opened one eye to look at Serena and gave a thumbs up for a moment before closing it again and enjoying the remainder of the kiss.
Freya continued the kiss as long as she felt was appropriate to be considered a proper kiss, then immediately broke away, turning away from both girls to hide her face turning bright red.
Serena held her hand to her mouth to hide her laughter at the whole situation, unable to keep from at least giggling as she looked at Onaka's immensely satisfied face and Freya's shy embarrassment.
"Serenaaaa this is no laughing matter!" Freya protested, turning and lightly pounding her hands against Serena's chest "thanks to you two dolts I just lost my first kiss!"
Serena couldn't hold it back anymore as Freya's mixed expression of pouting, embarrassment, and frustration sent her over the edge. She burst out laughing and had to turn away from the combination of Freya and Onaka's expressions. "Haha, I'm… I'm sorry" she laughed "it's just… your faces… ahahahaha!"
Freya paused for a moment and glanced at her expression in a mirror, then snorted with laughter and looked at Onaka's expression. Her pouting expression melted as she burst out laughing as well, joined shortly by Onaka as the three girls were overcome by mirth. Part of it was the humor of the situation itself fueling their laughter, but a large part was simply the relief they all felt that the crisis they'd gone through was finally over. It was the laugh of three girls who'd overcome a arduous trial and come out stronger for it, and it lasted for several minutes before dying down.
Once she regained her breath from her laughing fit, Serena left Freya and Onaka behind and took her leave, she had other visits to make that day, and Freya had agreed to let her visit Ayane alone before coming to check in on her later.
- Ayane's hospital room -
Serena knocked on the door to the room, not wanting to barge in and wake Ayane if she was still resting. From what she'd heard, Ayane had taken a worse beating than Onaka last night, taking a few hits from Darwin after he was fully powered up, and having her legs damaged by her suit when its safety systems gave out on her. Freya had patched her up same as Onaka, and she'd just needed rest, but Serena couldn't be certain that more rest wasn't still needed.
"Come in" Ayane called
Serena hesitated, Ayane was awake, so there was no reason not to enter now, but she was still hesitant. Her behavior last night weighed on her. She hadn't been thinking straight, overcome by rage and grief and fear, but it didn't change the face that she'd attacked Ayane, and badly hurt her at that. She wasn't sure if she could look Ayane in the eye right now, not after what she'd done. And even more so after Ayane had been treated that way and still gone out to risk her life for Serena's sake.
"Come in Serena… I can tell it's you" Ayane called again
Well, there was no backing out of it now. Serena opened the door and walked into the room. Ayane was sitting up in bed, looking like she normally did, uninjured and smiling. She seemed happy to see Serena, like she always was, but that somehow made Serena feel even more guilty.
Serena took a seat at the foot of Ayane's bed and sat, looking down at her hands as they rested on her knees. She fidgeted nervously as she tried to find the words to express what she wanted to say. "Ayane… I…"
"I forgive you" Ayane interjected, causing Serena to look up in surprise.
"But I…" Serena began to protest, she didn't know why she was rejecting the forgiveness Ayane had so readily offered her. Part of her was overjoyed that Ayane wasn't angry with her for what she'd done, but a much larger part of her was upset by this. She wanted Ayane to be mad, wanted Ayane to scold and chastise her, wanted to beg for her forgiveness and truly make amends. This forgiveness, it felt hollow and undeserved. It was wrong, it was just Ayane being the kindhearted girl she always was, she wasn't the type to hold a grudge even when she had every right to do so.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness" Serena said at last "what I did wasn't right, and maybe you don't have a problem with it Ayane, but I do damnit! I attacked you! I hurt you! I was almost about to hurt you really badly and maybe even end up killing you!"
Ayane nodded "I know, I forgive you." She said, her expression soft and kind, her voice not wavering in the slightest.
"How! How are you not mad at me?" Serena cried "what I did was horrible! You were only trying to help me because you loved me and I… I just… why? Why are you forgiving me? Are you stupid or something? Did you think I was just joking back there? Maybe you think that last attack was fake to try and scare you off? I don't understand!"
"I'm not stupid, I know you were serious, I know that last attack was real, I know that, and I still forgive you." Ayane said, swinging her legs to the side of the bed so she could scoot down and sit closer to Serena, putting a hand on hers.
"Why… why won't you get mad?" Serena whispered, tears falling from her face and landing on her hands, even as Ayane moved closer and put a hand on hers, she couldn't bring herself to look up at her "I deserve it… I deserve every bit of anger and scolding you could give me… why are you just forgiving me?"
"Because I love you" Ayane said softly "and despite what you did do last night, what you didn't do stands out to me more."
Serena looked up to Ayane in surprise, meeting the girl's silver eyes as they gazed lovingly at her. There was no deceit in those eyes, no anger or blame or even sadness, just love.
"Serena, I could tell from the beginning you weren't going to kill me" Ayane said "if you were truly so far gone that my love couldn't get through to you, you'd have used your bow."
That gave Serena pause, she had her bow at the time, but it had never once occurred to her to use it in that fight. Had she been subconsciously holding herself back?
"The moment I saw you weren't using it, I knew" Ayane said, clasping both of Serena's hands with her own and squeezing them tightly. "I knew that even in your darkest moment, overwhelmed by hate and anger and grief and fear to the point where you no longer cared about yourself or your future, there was one emotion that withstood all of that, one thing you still weren't willing to throw away."
Serena's tears flowed harder than ever now as she looked back down, and Ayane pulled her head forward with one hand and rested it on her shoulder. Her body trembled with emotion as Ayane lovingly stroked her hair.
"The one thing that shone through in your darkest moment was your love for me Serena. Even more than your dreams and aspirations, your caring for your own well-being, or anything else, the one thing that stood strong was how much you loved me…" Ayane whispered "after seeing that, how could I possibly be mad at you?"
Serena nodded weakly, wrapping her arms around Ayane and pulling her close, she wanted nothing more right now than to hold her. Ayane's words making her even more aware of the truth that subconsciously had stayed her hand that night. She loved Ayane, with all her heart, and she hadn't been willing to lose that, not even to avenge her mother.
"Thank you…" Serena whispered "thank you so much Ayane… for everything… for stopping me… for fighting for me… for forgiving me… everything… I love you so much…"
Ayane smiled and embraced Serena "I love you too, now and forever Serena. I'll fight for you with every ounce of strength in my body until my last breath. I'll always forgive you, and stand by you, and love you no matter what." She said, tightening her embrace
Serena nodded, and the two held each other for a long time before a nurse came into the room and insisted that Ayane lay back down until she was cleared for discharge. The two reluctantly separated and Ayane laid back down in bed.
"Well you've thanked me for helping with Darwin, and we've made up now, so I think there's someone else you need to visit" Ayane said with a smile as Serena took the opportunity to dry her eyes "don't worry about me, the doctors just want to double check and make sure my body has all the nutrients it needs now before letting me go. I'll swing by your house later and we can talk and embrace for as long as we want then."
Serena nodded "right, thanks Ayane… you're the best. I love you." She said as she walked over and gave Ayane a goodbye kiss, then made her way to the door.
"I love you too Serena, now get going" Ayane said, waving goodbye as Serena left.
The nurse that had interrupted them put a plate of food in front of Ayane and handed her utensils "are you feeling well enough to cut the food yourself?" she asked
Ayane nodded and picked up the fork, placing it in the chicken on her plate to anchor it for cutting, then picked up the knife and looked at it. For an instant in her mind as she looked at the knife, she hallucinated that it was her sword, dripping with blood as it impaled Darwin. She gasped and practically threw the knife away from her, holding her hand to her chest and gripping it with her other hand, breathing heavily as her heartrate shot up. The hallucination lasted only a moment, and it didn't return as she stared at the knife clattering to the floor. Slowly her breathing returned to normal, and her pulse slowed back down.
"O-on second thought nurse… m-maybe you should cut it up…" Ayane said, not looking at the now very concerned nurse beside her "I'm not… I'm not feeling so well after all."
"Are you ok?" the nurse asked as she picked up the knife and began to disinfect it "you went through a disturbing experience last night, it's ok if you're not alright."
"I'm… I'll be fine" Ayane said "I have to be fine, if Serena found out I wasn't because of something I did for her sake…"
The nurse sighed "you know self-sacrifice in the name of love isn't a bad thing, but don't push yourself too hard dear. I'm sure she'll understand if you need a little therapy to work through this." She said as she began cutting up Ayane's food "I won't force you to go, but I will have the doctor prescribe some medication for you to take that might help."
"Thank you nurse, I'll keep your advice in mind… but I'll try to handle this on my own first" Ayane said as she began to eat. She knew it was irresponsible for her to not seek help here, but she didn't want to worry Serena after her nightmare was finally over. She could handle this herself, she had to.
- Leona's room-
Serena was let into Leona's room without complaint, the doctor warned her to be careful since Leona's motor functions were still recovering and so her muscles were weaker than normal, but also told her that physical contact was fine so long as she kept Leona's strength in mind.
Serena stepped into the room, there was a lot more equipment in this one than in the other rooms, since Leona needed a lot more support than Ayane or Onaka had. Before Serena hadn't really looked around at the room itself much, she'd been too numb to pay any attention to her surroundings apart from her comatose mother. Now that she was better she was able to take note of the machinery and wires hooked up to the bed. It made her sad to look and see all the tubes and machines attached to her mother, seeing her hero in this state stung, but when her eyes drifted up to Leona's face that pain faded, replaced by relief and happiness.
Leona's eyes were open, and she was smiling weakly at Serena. She was awake again, and that's all that mattered to Serena. She ran forward and threw her arms around her mother, holding her as tightly as she dared with the doctor's warning still fresh in her mind.
"Mom you're ok!" Serena sobbed "I'm so glad you're ok, I was so scared… I thought I'd lost you… I'm so happy you're alright!"
Leona smiled as she slowly wrapped her arms around Serena, it was a struggle to get her body to do what she wanted, and her grip was weak and shaky, but she clasped her forearms with her hands as they wrapped around Serena, steadying them as she held her daughter as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry Serena, I must've really worried you… there there, it's all ok now… rest easy now my dearest…" she said softly.
Serena trembled, the feeling of her mother holding her was faint, her grip weak and almost imperceptible, but it was there. She'd been so worried she'd never feel that grip again. Her mother's voice was hoarse and quiet, but it was her voice, a voice she'd feared she'd never hear speaking her name again. She'd never known how much such simple things could mean to her until they'd almost been stolen from her for good.
Serena's tears eventually stopped, and her body stopped shaking, but she held onto her mother even afterwards. She memorized every sensation of that moment, her mother's scent, the sound of her gently breathing, the weak touch of her arms embracing her, the soft words she spoke, every last detail. She burned them into her mind as a moment she would never forget, a moment she swore she'd never have to relive, because she resolved to never let this happen to her mother again.
"I promise" Serena whispered, "I'm going to become stronger hero than ever, and I'm going to work to make a world where this will never happen to you again. I swear I will."
Leona smiled and kissed Serena on the forehead moving one hand to shakily wipe a tear from her eye as she replied "I know you will."