Chapter IX
A Place to Return
The first thing to come to me was children's echoing laugher, followed by the gentle whisper of the wind creating a rustle of grass around me. My body felt heavy like it was being weigh down by some unknown force. I dared not open my eyes as even with them closed the world seemed bright, almost blinding. Yet the sun was warm almost gentle like a warm blanket fresh from the drier. My body tensed up when I felt someone sit next to me, but relaxed when I heard the soft giggles of a young girl, the sound of grass ripping filled my ears followed quickly by the smell of cut grass.
"When are you going to wake up Big Sister?" The little girl asked, all was quiet until I heard the grass shift next to me then everything went quiet once again the occasional sounds of a soft giggle passed until I felt a small finger poked at my cheek. "Come on Big Sister." The little girl said again, causing a frown to appear on my face, I never had a little sister only a brother. "Fine." The little girl pouted for some reason the thought of her being upset made me mad. I shifted slightly my right-hand tightening around what appeared to be a book, while my left hand was holding my head. All was quiet once again, peaceful really, the sounds of birds chirped softly in the distance as the wind once again made itself know, followed by the sound of more children giggling, the last thing I heard was a soft bell chiming to my right.
"Kids it's dinner time." Called out a woman causing the giggling children to stop, only to quickly return as they ran towards the women's call.
"Come on Big Sister." The little girl said as I felt a hand wrap around my right wrist giving it a gentle tug, seeing the shadow cover the sun through my eye lids, I slowly opened my eyes still wincing when the world was bright.
Once my eyes adjusted, I tilted my head to the right as my eyes looked over the little girl that stood before me, 'she looks just like mother.' I thought her golden eyes shined brightly even though they were in the shade. Her smile looked like it could melt even the evilest heart. I smiled back at her as I sat up careful so that she wouldn't fall, closing my eyes I took in a deep breath of the fresh air around me, then opened my eyes to take in the large grass filled that sat before a large three story farm house. It looked just like my home, down to the very cracks created from the years of its life. Standing up I looked down at the book in my hand, 'The Claidi Collection' this caused a small smile to make its way onto my face though it was short lived when the little girl pulled me towards the house.
"Mama, Mama, look Big Sister has joined us!" Shouted the little girl, as we approached the house. My eyes looked up to see the women on the porch was in fact my mother, her smile faded as she looked at me, then to the little girl.
"Angel go on inside and wash up." Mother said making the little girl pout but a sharp glare from my mother had her quickly running inside. When the sound of the door closed the happy aura, my mother had dropped. "I'm sorry Mara." She said softly looking down at the ground before me, then back towards me. "But you can't come in yet." She said this caused a confused frown to make its way onto my face, I opened my mouth to say something but stopped when two of the neighborhood children quickly ran up the steps. What caught my attention was the fact that they were dead. They had died in a car crash the year before I left for Japan.
"Mother what is this.?" I asked worried as my eyes only looked towards her when the children ran inside.
"This is the place where you will return to when you die." My mother said softly sadness filled her golden eyes, as she slowly approached. "I wish you could stay, but you can't, there is still so much more you have to do." She said her hand reaching out to touch my face whipping a tear from my eye. "You have to find your brother after all." She added her frown forming into a smile.
"Wait you're dead?" I asked blinking a couple times as I felt a lump form in my throat more tears falling down my face. Questions swarmed though my mind like an angry hive of honeybees.
"Yes, both your Father and I are here as is your young sister Angel." My Mother said with a bright but sad smile, I opened my mouth to say something but the only thing that came out was a choked sob, quickly I covered my mouth with my free hand when I saw my father's figure in the window. My head snapped away from the house, all I felt was pain both physical and emotional, my heart hurt as I clasped onto my knees. I felt a gentle arm wrap around my shoulder pulling me into a tight hug. "Hush my child, we are no longer in pain, we are free here, we will wait for you to return when it is your time." My mother said softly into my ear as she gently ran her hand through my hair trying to sooth me.
"We never wanted to leave you behind, it pained us watching you feel like we had abandoned you dear. We love you so much and are so proud of everything that you have done. Please don't give up on being a Hero because you have lost things. A Hero is someone who doesn't need power to save people." My mother said slowly I looked up at her a frown on my face, before I wrapped my arms around her waist hugging her tightly, relaxing when I felt her lips gently kiss my forehead. "All that is lost will be returned one day remember that." She added I frowned when her voice started to fade into an echo, the bright sun that warmed my skin faded away opening my eyes I cried out as I watched the world ripple away into darkness leaving me once again in a void.
"MOTHER!" I cried out fresh tears falling down my face when my voice faded into the echo, I was once again left alone to wonder the darkness, but this time with the knowledge that my family was dead, and that I had a Little Sister. Deciding that there was nothing more that I could do at the moment I curled my body into a ball and cried. I cried until my body felt numb and no more tears would fall down my stained cheeks, if I was awake, I would most likely have cried myself to sleep, but now I laid my heart feeling numb while the pain remained. My back felt so swore and there was a weight that was missing that I couldn't quiet place at the moment a thought that slipped my mind.
After my awakening with my mother the nightmares slipped through the void with a crushing weight. The peaceful land that I had awoken to, that rippled away into a void became the grueling nightmare of the present, as I relived the moments with Thirteen and Mr. Aizawa. Though this time I was never in time to save them, almost like my mind was filled with the doubts of what if's. It had become a painful process, making me realize that the mind though it was always with me during the day, when I dreamed it was against me. I let out a soft sigh as I was stuck in the void once again seemingly trapped within my mind. Though I knew I was in the care at a hospital as every now and then I would feel a hand gently squeezing mine, or the pungent smell of cleaner. Though these were the only two things I sensed, I couldn't see yet nor could I hear, which at times would frighten me as I would feel alone until a warm hand would squeeze mine as if trying to reassure me that I am not alone.
It had to have been weeks, I must have spent weeks within the void, at times aimlessly wandering through the darkness or just sitting down, the nightmares have left me alone for the most part. It must have been a sign that I was waking up, as my hearing would fade in and out. I knew that Shoto, Izuku, and Kirishima visited often, well as often as they could. The thought of them going out of their way to visit warmed my heart to no end. Shoto would say hello, talk about the homework I was missing then just sit in silences, gently touching my arm when I thought he had left. Izuku and Kirishima, I wanted to laugh every time the entered as they talked about their day and how things were going with the class. The three of them always state that the class missed me and wished that I would wake up. I wanted to tell them that I wanted to wake up just as bad as they wanted me too, that something was holding me back, yet my mouth wouldn't relay the answers I wanted to give them. So, I just laid on the bed a tear falling down my face as I listened to them, begging them not to leave me when they did.
I let out a small groan of anger every time I tried to move my body just didn't want to respond. Today was no different I was trying to move my finger such a small thing, they made it seem so easy on tv, but it was all lies. My ears perked up when I heard a knock on the door, followed by the door slowly opening. I had a visitor; I wonder if it was one of the guys? I wondered as I stood up from sitting down, though my mind was a pitch void whenever the outside world made a sound it caused colors to explode with in my mind creating such beautiful designs.
"Sorry to barge in Mara." Shoto said making a small smile form on my face, he always said that, always so nice. "I hope you don't mind but my father for some reason decided to join me." He said sounding quiet upset about it, though I could only imagine that he was more upset about it ruining his quiet time. I wanted to welcome them in tell them to tell me everything about their day, ask them how the world was doing. I heard as Shoto walked from my left side to my right and set down quietly in the chair, my body relaxed slightly then tensed up when I heard the sound of Endeavors footsteps as he entered the room and moved to stand at the foot of my bed.
"So, this is where you have been going for the past few days?" Questioned Endeavor making me went to shrink back when I felt the tense air in the room. This of course caused my heartrate to pick up, causing the machine of death to beep faster.
"Please father, not here." Shoto said as I felt a hand gently touch my wrist making me relax for a bit, though I didn't forget the tense air.
"It's not like she can hear. Besides the police are still investigating her…"
"She is not a Villain!" Shoto quickly shouted cutting his father off as he stood up in his chair, I only knew this as I heard the chair knock over. "She doesn't even know about her family yet." He said in a softer tone.
"She was found with drawings dated before the USJ attack of the creature and the man." Endeavor countered with a small growl.
"That's because she had dreams about them. She told me every dream she has she draws." Shoto snapped back, clearly this was something that was common when it came to the two of them. Shoto didn't really like his father that much I understood, but the fighting in front of me wasn't something that I wanted. I wanted to scream at them telling Endeavor to leave while hoping that Shoto would stay. I let out a small sigh inside my mind my body tensing when the room fell silent. "Mara did you just sigh?" Asked Shoto, I froze at the statement, I had sighed in my mind and also in real life. Relief flood through my body, I was finally able to make a controlled movement something that I was struggling to do for what felt like a month. I felt Shoto's hand grasp mine once again, "Mara can you hear us?" He asked sounding almost desperate an emotion that surprised me, my eyes widened for a second. This wasn't the Shoto I knew, this was a different side of him that I had never seen, well heard.
Taking in a deep breath I focused on the hand grasping mine, all I had to do was squeeze it to prove my since of life, my will to live. Even though it was something so simple as squeezing a hand it still used a lot of energy, something that I didn't really have just yet. The moment I was finally able to squeeze his hand the world felt dizzy, as even within my mind I slipped for a second fading in and out of the dark void that surrounded me. Unknowingly causing me to squeeze Shoto's hand even harder before it relaxed as I passed out fading once again into the void. I clawed screaming out in terror as I fell, I didn't want to be alone, I didn't want to return to the void I wanted to stay, to hear someone speak even if it wasn't to me. As long as someone spoke within the room, I was happy because I knew that I wasn't alone. But when I was trapped within the void, I couldn't hear anything leaving me alone, left forgotten within the darkness.
The next time I was able to crawl out of the void, I quickly noticed that there was no voice, meaning no one, in the room causing a small huff to escape my lips. Grabbing what energy, I felt I slowly opened my eyes, what I was met with only confirmed that I was alone. The lights to my room were turned off, the only thing illumining my room was the occasional lightning strike, from outside the windows, followed by the rumble boom of thunder. Slowly I sat up hissing in pain when I felt my back tense up, 'ugh how long was I sleeping on my back?' I thought panting softly when I was finally able to sit up right. I stare into the darkness, debating on whether my newfound need to pee outweighed the pain that shot up my back every time I moved. Sighing softly, I pulled the covers back swing my legs over the side of the bed, using the IV stand to help support me as I wheeled it towards the only door that didn't contain a window. Sliding the door open my eyes winced at the sudden bright light, of the motion activated lights, when my eyes finally adjusted, I walked in wheeling the IV stand with me.
Looking up at the mirror before me after I finished washing my hands, I let out a frighten gasp as my reflection stared back at me eyes just as wide. My neck held a dark purple bruise with disgusting yellowing around the edge, making my pale skin look even worse. My silver eyes were dull and red most likely from crying, closing my eyes I slowly turned around slipping a single arm out of the hospital gown, looking over my shoulder I ignored the pain as I looked at the bandaged wrapped around where my wings once were. Closing my eyes, I quickly looked away as I felt tears start to form, my hand gripping the stand tightly for support opening my eyes once more I slowly wheeled back to my bed making sure to close the door to the bathroom, painfully I climbed into bed then laid down on my side. My mind thinking back to the bruise, 'if it was still purple and only now just yellowing that meant that I hadn't been out for months, more like a couple of days.' I thought as I stared out into the night sky, the gentle flashes of lightening lulling me into a light sleep, I wish I could say that but when I tried to sleep nothing came only thoughts on where my brother was.
'the police are still investigating…. She was found with drawings dated before the USJ attack…' The voice of Endeavor echoed into my head quickly I sat up groaning softly, my hands reached up to rub my eyes as leaving bright white stars in their wake. Sighing I pulled my knees into my chest and stared at the blank wall before me, well almost blank it did have a tv, 'She is not a Villain!' Shoto defended me against his own father, against the number two Pro-Hero.
"Shoto." I mumbled softly though it came out more like a squeak then an actual word. Letting out a small huff, I knew I shouldn't travel everywhere with those drawings, but it was the only way that I could keep my mind at peace. Then there was the matter of Mr. Aizawa knowing that I was Rune, Mr. Aizawa, I wondered if he was okay. Did I do enough to protect him? If not, then what could I have done more of, to protect both him and Thirteen.
"M-Mara you're awake," that voice, I blinked for a second, turning my head to look towards the door, seeing the tired yet surprised look of Izuku in his school uniform.
"Midoriya," I tried to say but it once again, it came out as a rough squeak, Izuku quickly ran over to my side, tears falling down his face. He quickly jumped wrapping his arms around my shoulders squeezing me tightly. I gasped slightly my body tensing up when I felt pain shoot up my back, a soft whimper escaped my lips making Izuku quickly pull away.
"Oh Mara, I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" Izuku asked as he backed away rubbing the back of his neck, a gentle smile formed on my face as I tilted my head to the sided. "I'm surprised that you are awake, the doctors said you wouldn't be awake for at least another week. Then again some of the doctors didn't think you would survive because of how much blood you had lost." Izuku muttered gently holding his chin, I rolled my eyes as I reached forward and gently grabbed his shoulder to catch his attention making him stop a dark blush formed across his face. "Oh sorry," he said pulling out his phone, eyes widening in surprised. "I have to get to school, I'll bring you your work!" Izuku said as he turned and walked out of the room. My smile faltered into a frown, I wanted to scream at him, begging him to stay, but the promise that he would return seemed to make me relax slightly.
A couple of hours passed, and the doctor walked into my room, holding a clip bored with a grim expression on his face, though he didn't look up from his clip bored as he walked further into my room pausing just at the foot of my bed. My eyes narrowed as I watched the doctor put the clip bored down on the table then looked up, letting out a surprised gasp as he back away from my bed.
"You are awake a lot sooner than I thought you would have been. In fact, I though you would never have awoken." The doctor said pushing up his glasses, his statement causing my eyes to roll. I opened my mouth to speak but knowing that they only thing to escape my lips would be a squeak, made me close my mouth and look away. "Here let me go get some paper and a pen," the doctor said as he turned quickly leaving out the doors. Though true to his words he returned with printer paper and a pen placing them on the table he moved the bed so that I could properly sit up before pulling the table close to me. Slowly I reached out a grabbed the paper, taking a second to study the weight before I quickly began to write.
Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen? I wrote looking up from the paper to stare at the doctor as he looked at the note for a second pushing up his glasses once again.
"They are fine, Thirteen only had a little bit of lacerations come paired to what would have happened had you not helped. Mr. Aizawa…" He paused giving a grim sigh "That man shouldn't even be alive. The bones in his arms are splintered and he's got facial fracturing fortunately there doesn't seem to be any serious brain damage, but his orbital floor has been almost completely destroyed he shouldn't be able to see anymore but thanks to Recovery Girl. Once again if it wasn't for your quick thinking and rash decision he probably wouldn't be here today. As for you, well…" He paused once again making my eyes narrow as I glared towards him. "You will no longer be able to fly seeing as you no longer have wings. The police will also be by later in the day for questioning, know can you tell me what your pain is on a scale of one to ten?" The doctor questioned waiting for me to hold up my fingers, but pain be damned, picking up the pen once again I wrote.
The class? I wrote this caused the doctor to sigh shaking his head.
"No other student was gravely injured, that Recovery Girl couldn't heal now are you in pain?" He asked rising an eyebrow, but I shook my head and laid back against the bedding biting back a hiss of pain. I wanted to tell this man that I was hurting beyond the number ten in the scale but at the moment finding out that my teachers and classmates were safe, and healing was all the pain killer I need. My mind could finally stop questioning whether I did enough to help or if there was something that I could do more. Looking up at the doctor I noticed the 'I don't believe what you say is true' look making me huff softly as I crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't see why you won't tell me the truth as its only pain you don't have to deal with." He grumbled lowly making me roll my eyes as I looked towards the tv, then outside. "I have other patients I need to see. I'll have a nurse bring you some soft food." The Doctors said as he turned and left the room. Looking back towards the door I let out a small sigh of relief as I sat up my eyes slowly moving to the table, picking up the pen I looked at the paper then started to draw my little sister Angel.
So as a head's up this is the end of the first season.
I will be taking a mouth long break to prepare the next season for all you lovely reader.
As well as to allow me to work on other stories that I have neglated.
The next up date will be on December 29, 2020 I wish all of you a happy holiday
Please, Like, Comment, and Follow for updates
Much love from your Author Jackie