He ran down the street, holding her against his chest while he kept turning his head from side to side to look out for anyone following them.
She whimpered in pain and his eyes snapped down to her face, watching as her eyes fluttered and then shut tightly again.
"Echo! Hey, Echo, come on! You need to stay with me." She winced away from his voice and curled further into his arms. He adjusted his grip on her and curled her further into his chest as he turned down a street, trying to get to the emergency department as fast as possible.
"Sorry, sorry sweetheart. But you gotta wake up for me, come on, sing me a song, tell me about your day, anything, please." He shook her gently and her whimper of pain hit him in his gut. "I know it hurts baby; I know. But you gotta look at me, I'm taking you to the hospital, so it'll be better soon."
"No inswand." Her weak voice caught his attention and he slowed to a jog so he could hear her easier.
"What was that? A little louder sweetheart." She lifted her head from his chest and looked up towards him, eyes unfocused as she tried to speak clearly.
"No insurance."
He started at her words and laughed in disbelief as he shook his head in annoyance. Of course she has no insurance, she's not a pro hero with her own agency you idiot!
"Don't worry about that, we'll get it figured out once you've been seen." He turned at the end of the street and saw the hospital a few blocks away. "Keep talking to me, come on, no no don't close your eyes."
"Sleepy," She murmured as she rested her head against his chest again. Her eyes began to close, and he shook her gently in his arms, trying to keep her conscious.
"I know you're sleepy, but we have to get you looked at and then you can rest, I promise." He glanced back down at her and saw her eyes narrowing and trying to focus on him.
"Who... Who are you?"
He blinked down in surprise and looked at himself before cursing. Shit my quirk! I used the last of it to get her here. His fat form was gone, leaving him in his skinny form with his casual clothes fitting loose along his person. He didn't even have his mask on as it was just supposed to be a night out drinking with friends! No wonder she looked so confused.
"A friend, I'm a friend sweetie."
She appeared satisfied with this answer and laid her head back down heavily against his chest. "Handsome friend…"
Her muffled words against his chest made him jump and then flush pink against his cheeks.
Calm it down Gum, she's clearly suffering from a head injury. Get her to the hospital and then make sure she's okay.
Her full weight hit his arms again and he looked down that her eyes had closed fully, and she was breathing deeply. "No no no! Echo come on! Wake up!"
He shook her again but there was no response. He clutched her tighter and ran the last two blocks to the emergency department. He crashed into the waiting room and shouted out, voice winded. "Pro Hero Fat Gum, I have an injured civilian that needs assistance stat!"
A nurse in green scrubs walked in from behind the doors separating the waiting room from the emergency department. "Mister Gum? Please follow me."
He followed her hurried pace and she led him into one of the rooms. She motioned to the bed as he walked in behind her. "Go ahead and place her there, face up or on her side please."
He laid the woman on the bed on her side facing the nurse and stepped back so she could look her over. Her skin, looking so healthy and soft under the lights at the bar, was now visibly pale under the harsh fluorescents in the room.
"Gum? Mister Gum?" He blinked and looked over at the nurse as she held her hand along Echo's wrist and looked at her watch. "Her heart rate is low; can you please tell me what happened?"
He nodded and sighed as he began telling her about the night. "We were at a bar downtown, some hole in the wall place that my buddy told me about. We were all excited to have a night off to relax and goof around. We got there and started drinking. It looked like only civilians were in the place, but I guess some villains showed up and recognized us. A fight started before we even knew what was happening."
The nurse nodded along, half paying attention to him as she pulled Echo's hair away from her neck and examined the wound on her neck. "What about this young lady? What happened to her?"
"Oh! Right, sorry." He flushed in embarrassment. "She was the live singer at the bar, she was on stage when it went down. One of my friends was fighting near the stage and I guess the head guy threw something towards people in the crowd. She jumped in the way and it hit her hard. She didn't get back up, so I grabbed her and ran out to get her help."
The nurse hummed as she held open Echo's eyes and moved a flashlight across them. "What about the other civilians? Was anyone else injured?"
"Not that I saw, it was only five to six villains, my buddies can handle it. Which is why I grabbed her to get her help as soon as possible. I called the police on my way here so they should be there by now." He interlocked his fingers behind his back as he looked at Echo, laying unmoving in the bed. "How bad is it?"
The nurse sighed and turned to start inputting stuff into the computer. "The wound at her neck is still bleeding so she'll need a blood transfusion. The doctor will want to examine her head further as there is most likely a concussion, but that will need to happen with an MRI and further testing once she wakes up and can respond to questions. Other than that, we'll have to get her some fluids and wait and see how her body reacts. Patient name?"
"Uh." He blinked at the nurse as he thought about it. "All I know is the name they called her on stage. Echo."
The nurse nodded and continued typing. "Got it, we'll put her in as Unknown, Echo. Do you know any other details?"
"Um, she said she doesn't have insurance. I don't know if that's important." He answered as he looked back down at the woman.
Her thick red hair, so beautifully tied back in braids and waves down her back, was now a mess on the hospital bed, covered in her own blood. The back of her dress was torn where she was hit, and he could see the red skin under the fabric as her body tried to heal itself.
"Gum, Mister Gum!" He looked back at the nurse and saw her holding up a gown in her hand. "If you would please leave the room, I need to undress her and while I understand you are a Pro Hero, I must protect patient privacy."
"Right! Of course, I'm so sorry." He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He saw a vending machine down the hall and walked towards it, looking for something filled with heavy carbs to help him start getting his quirk back up and working.
He grabbed a couple snacks, using the remaining loose change within his wallet and sighed as he sat down in a chair near the room. He opened the wrapper to one of the snacks and took a hefty bite. It was warm from the machine, but he didn't mind. Anything would help right now. He finished his snack with another bite and tossed the wrapper into the garbage.
His eyes caught on his arm and he moved it in front of him, looking at the dark patch of blood that had turned his blue shirt into an almost black color. He looked down at his chest where her head had rested and saw a similar dark patch. He pulled his shirt away from his skin and it stuck sickly to him. He swallowed the bile in his throat and forced himself to look away.
He was a Pro Hero damnit. Ranked number 58 in all of Japan. Yet he still got queasy when he saw blood. It had always been like this, usually during combat he's so focused he doesn't see it till it's over. But now, sitting in a hospital and waiting for updates he could feel it against his skin and it made his stomach turn.
He pushed his snacks aside, knowing his body wouldn't let them rest right now without a fight. A woman in a white lab coat and red scrubs pushed into the room, not even looking his way and he frowned, concerned for the woman unconscious within.
Ten minutes passed by, with him resting his head against the wall and breathing deeply, trying to force his stomach to settle. A hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to see the same nurse holding a clear bag towards him. He grabbed it and looked it over to see the black dress, heels, her undergarments and a wallet within. "We found that in her bra, we know her name and blood type now. As soon as the MRI and X-Ray is done, we're going to get the transfusion started."
"X-Ray?" He asked in confusion, setting the bag in his lap as he blinked at her in confusion.
"Yes, the doctor wants to make sure there's no fractures along her neck or back. It doesn't appear to be, but we'd rather rule it out." He nodded, seeing the sense in the precautionary action. "Mister Gum, we'll need the name of the bar you were at so we can begin a claim on her behalf."
"I'll take it." She blinked at him in shock. He pulled out his wallet and grabbed his lawyer's card, handing it over to her. "Give your claims department this, my agency will cover any expenses while she's here."
She nodded and began to walk away, putting the card in her pocket. She turned back and looked him up and down. "Mister Gum?"
"Yes?" He looked at her. She smiled and waved her hand for him to follow. He did, confusion setting in as she led him to what appeared to be a storage room next to a bathroom.
She looked through a couple bags and made a small noise of victory as she pulled out a larger looking black scrub top. She held it out to him as well as a couple washcloths, her eyes smiling. "Here, go to the bathroom and clean yourself off. There are no pants we can give, but this should work to replace your shirt for the time being."
"Thank you very much, I really appreciate it." She closed the door as they left the room and he walked into the bathroom, locking it behind him. He placed the bag of her items on the ground and unbuttoned his shirt. He put it into the bag with her things, vowing he would get it all cleaned tomorrow or send them out to be sanitized by professionals.
He grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in warm water, pushing the soap near the sink into the fabric and rubbing it to make suds appear. He took a deep breath and began to scrub at the blood on his chest and arm, already starting to dry against his skin. His stomach turned and he forced himself to keep going.
Most of the blood was cleaned off when his stomach finally gave in, he flushed his mess down and wiped his mouth with the other washcloth. There goes the snack I ate.
He dried off his chest and arm with his last washcloth and pulled the scrub top on. It fit snuggly along his shoulders and tops of his arms but was loose around his middle. As long as I don't stretch out or fat up this should work.
He picked up the bag and ruined wash cloths and opened the door to the bathroom. He made his way back to Echo's room and found the door open. He peered inside and saw that her and the bed were gone. He sat down in one of the chairs, placing the bag of their clothes next to him.
He pulled out his phone and began looking through the messages. There were seven in total. Four from his friends, telling him that most of the villains had been arrested and were heading to jail. One from the chief of police asking to meet him soon to discuss the event. Finally two from his best friend asking him if the woman was okay.
He sighed and began answering the messages, thanking his friends for picking up his slack. Advising the police chief that he would set up a meeting time once he got back into the office. He finally began to message his friend, when the phone rang in his hand, showing a crab picture. He smirked and answered it. "Speak of the devil and she shall appear."
"Oh good! I was hoping you would pick up. How are you?" Her voice came through the line and he immediately relaxed.
"Good, she's getting an MRI and an X-Ray right now. They don't think it's anything major, a concussion at most." Monika's sigh of relief washed over him and he smiled softly. "She's also getting a blood transfusion, but they haven't said anything about keeping her overnight."
"That's so good. I felt terrible when I saw her get hit. That damn 'collapser' villain caused part of the stage to crumble before I could react. She had a quick response to jump in front of the girls he was aiming for. Very impressive." Monika said, rushing through her words in her relief.
Fat Gum nodded along, waiting for her to take a breath so he could speak. He was used to the way his friend worked. Always talking quickly and explaining herself in circles while she thought through problems and found solutions. He would typically just listen and offer information when she was done. "No kidding, she was one the ground before I could even blink. For a bigger lady she sure can move."
"Hey! Weight has nothing to do with physical abilities. For all we know she could have a quirk like yours, but it works with speed instead of strength." Monika said, huffing at him.
"You're right, you're right. I'm sorry Monika." He shook his head at her defensive words, laughing lightly to himself. "I'll probably stay here until she wakes up, is there anything I should do while I'm sitting around here?"
"Eh? You're going to stay?" Her surprise rang through and he smirked.
"Yes Monika, I'm going to stay. I have tomorrow off anyways, plus she got hurt because we were all drinking like fools and not paying attention to our surroundings." He explained, rubbing his head.
"Hey, I wasn't the one sending puppy dog eyes to the singer." He startled at her words, coughing on air.
"I was not! I was just admiring her voice!" She laughed happily, cackling at his words.
"Whatever! We all saw how you were watching her the entire time we were there. Even when she left the stage your eyes followed her. Are you sure you're staying to make sure she's okay?" Her words turned teasing and he huffed in annoyance.
"I am a professional! She got hurt while I was tipsy, so I want to make sure she'll be fine." Her cheeks heated and she giggled at him.
"Okay, okay relax. I'm only playing." He sighed into the phone and she laughed again. "No, don't worry about anything while you're there. Me and the chief have it handled for now, we'll just need yours and her statement on Monday. Think you can give her my number so she can reach out when she wakes up?"
Fat Gum nodded. "Absolutely. I'll let you know if anything changes."
"Thanks, Taishiro. Try and get some rest, yeah?" He grunted a confirmation and the line disconnected.
He looked over his messages again, but when he didn't see anything pressing, he closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall. May as well relax until she gets back. I won't know anything else until they get done with everything.