Ch. 4

.o0o

Eight Years Later...

"Alright, Sami."

My father turned towards me, passing a small cup of tea in my direction.

"I'm going to USJ today, so I might be home late. Just head to the apartment and send a text my way if-"

"If anything goes wrong, I know, Dad," I said, looking at him.

He lent a glare out of the corner of his eye at me, turning back to the coffee machine for his daily drink.

"Make sure the kitchen is cleaned and that the cat's litter is done since you didn't do it yesterday. Don't trash the house when I'm gone."

"I won't," I said, sipping my tea.

"And," he said, turning to look at me.

"If boys don't listen to the word 'no,' they'll listen to my fist," I repeated as our daily reminder.

"That's my girl." He kissed the top of my head and left the apartment.

I glanced at the clock. I should be heading out any second now. The bus would be showing up in 10 minutes.

I poured my tea into a thermos and set it in the side pocket on my backpack, doing one final checkup of the things I needed and straightening my school uniform.

Then, I said goodbye to our long-haired black cat my Dad named Sleepy. He said it was because he was never awake, but he seems healthy, at least. I like to argue that my dad is too.

Princess was right there-she was the (now grown-up) kitten of the cat my dad had for almost 20 years who passed away recently- but she was asleep and pregnant so I didn't bother her.

"Bye," I said to him, patting his head, "I'll be back."

Then I headed out to school.

The morning was dark, but warm and I exchanged a hello to one of the passing teachers, walking out of the school grounds.

I walked quickly to my school, sighing in and sitting down, pulling out a book, and putting in my music.

I knew it was going to be another long day.

.o0o.

I was right.

It was long, tedious, boring, the lunch was probably terrible but I made my own so I wouldn't know, and by the time the bell rang, I should have been out of there an hour ago.

Same old, same old.

As I approached my bus station and avoided older men, I scrolled through the news on my phone, and checked the security cameras in our apartment. The cats haven't destroyed anything really, yet, and there shouldn't be anything too exciting on the news today-

"Huh…"

Villain Attack on U.A.'s USJ complex during Hero Course Training.

My blood ran cold.

"Dad."

After that, the bus couldn't have moved any slower. I had to get off early and run the rest of the way.

I approached the entrance of the school, and luckily, Hizashi was there, waiting for me.

"'Zashi!" I screamed desperately, throwing myself at him.

He caught me in his arms, and I was just that close to breaking down. I clutched at his clothes, shaking almost uncontrollably.

He held me like that, petting my hair and telling me that it was okay. Everything was okay.

No, it wasn't.

It wasn't okay.

If it were, it would be Dad here instead of 'Zashi.

"Dad," I said after a moment of gathering myself, "Where's Dad? Is he alive?"

"Yes, he's….alive."

"Let me see him," I demanded as he set me on the ground again.

"Sami, you can't. He's in-Hey, wait!"

I bolted past him, running into the building. I passed all the kids there, I pushed through the crowds and the people, trying to make my way to the infirmary.

When I got there, the door was locked.

"No," I whispered desperately, angrily. I knew not to bang my fist against it, otherwise, I would.

I slid to my knees, my forehead and my hand pressed up against the door to the infirmary.

Angry tears that I had been willing to stay off my face finally fell and I scowled.

I sat there, at a loss of what to do now. There was no way I could be assured of his health and safety. My sanity was dripping out of my ears as the seconds passed by.

I can't let him die. Not him and Mom both. I can't. I can't.

I can't I can't I can't I-

"Hey, there!"

A voice broke me out of my trance. It was loud, cheerful, and kind. All the things I didn't need at the moment.

I turned my head, looking up at what looked like a 10-foot-tall blonde staring down at me with a joyful smile.

I looked back down at the floor, letting out a tired sigh before I spoke.

"Can I help you?" Thankfully, I didn't sound as pitiful as I felt.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he laughed heartily. "May I know who you are exactly? You seem a bit lost-"

"I'm not lost." I insisted sternly.

"Ho-okay, you're not lost," he laughed again, "Then who are you? What's your name?"

I harshly wiped my eyes with my sleeve again, standing up and looking at him, putting on the toughest face I could muster at the moment.

"Samiko."

"Veeery nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Samiko-Chan," He said with a bow, chivalrously. "If that's okay if I call you that."

The corner of my mouth started twitching as I held my other arm. "Yeah," I said, "that's okay."

"Well, then, Samiko-Chan, how about we get you to the Principal, and see if we can get you help, okay?"

I looked up at his face for the first time. His eyes were...vacant? They were kind, and sweet, but...somewhat off-putting. But I would never say that to his face.

I nodded again, wiping my face one more time and nodding vigorously. I knew that Nezu would help. He'd at least tell me what's going on. I didn't really necessarily want to see him-I wanted to see my father-but it was the rational thing to do. What I was doing at the moment was far from rational and I'm sure Dad wouldn't be all too proud of what I was doing right now...crying over something that I didn't even know for sure.

"Oh, and by the way," the man continued, "My name is Togata Mirio. Now, let's be off!"

It all clicked as we started walking, his hand behind my back, guiding me to the office.

"Togata as in part of the big three?" I inquired.

"Why, yes," he said, looking down at me. "You seem to know a lot...how old are you?"

"Older than you think," I said with a wry half-smile.

"Ah, so you're an evasive one. Well, that's okay. I'll figure out who you belong to once we get to Nezu's office." he said confidently.

I wasn't so sure.

We did get to the office, and Togata opened the door for me.

I sent him a quick "Thank you," and walked into the room.

Nezu looked up and smiled at me, but Togata-Senpai spoke up before he was able to say anything.

"Principal Nezu, I found her in the hallway by the infirmary. Maybe we could-"

"Oh! We've been expecting you, Sami-Chan. Thank you, Togata-San. You may go now."

"Uh-O-okay. Thank you!"

He closed the door, leaving the two of us alone.

"Where is my father?" I asked immediately.

"Have a seat, Sami-Chan," he told me, gesturing to the cushioned chair in front of his desk, jumping down from his own seat.

I did as he said, almost immediately calming down from my hype and almost immediately starting to shake again.

"Here," he gave me a cup of tea-my second for today, except this one was an herbal mint. It calmed my nerves a little bit more, but my worry was still swirling in my chest.

"Is he okay?" I asked a bit quieter, a bit calmer. Nezu put his small paw on my leg, patting me comfortingly.

"Since I know you're going to find out anyway, I'll just tell you the truth. Are you ready for it?"

I swallowed my fear and nodded.

"Alright. Your father has a severe concussion, and several broken bones. He is currently in the infirmary."

Before I could leap up out of my chair, I was stopped by him. "But, he is not allowed any visitors until the time being. When he requests your presence, we will send for you."

I looked at him pleadingly, wanting there to be some way I could know for sure that he was okay. That I could hug him and tell him that I was okay. That I would help out more and take care of the cats more than I used to.

That I loved him.

I forgot to tell him I loved him today, and I couldn't live with myself if I could never tell him again.

It was tearing me apart from the inside out.

"Don't fret, Samiko-Chan," he said sweetly, "Recovery Girl is doing all that she can to make sure your father is okay. Yamada-San will take you back home. I'll give him a call, okay?"

I nodded, taking another sip of my drink that Nezu had given me.

Within just a few minutes, 'Zashi showed up again, and I immediately apologized for my irrational behavior, telling him it was unnecessary and immature of me.

He waved it off with a wide smile and told me, "That's alright. Everyone can get a little uppity every once in a while. I don't blame you."

With that, he took my hand and escorted me back to my apartment, making sure that I was fed, the cats were taken care of, and everything. He stayed in our apartment that night.

But I felt way too alone.

.o0o.

It was almost three in the morning when I felt Hizashi shaking me awake.

"Sami-chan," I heard him say, "Sami, you're dad's awake."

I immediately roused, rubbing my eyes awake.

"How is he?" I asked.

"I don't know. Chiyo-San just called. He said he wanted to see you."

"Okay," I hurriedly woke up my body and tugged on some nice-ish looking clothes, brushing my unruly hair.

HIzashi held my hand as we made our way to the infirmary, way past school hours.

He opened the door for me, and I walked in after a moment.

Recover Girl was still there, and she smiled at me.

"Hello, Sami," she said. "Your father is in the other room."

I said nothing, and immediately went to open the door, almost ignoring the fact that I was being very impolite. I would apologize tomorrow.

I opened the door and let myself in.

I let out a small gasp. My father was all wrapped up, like a mummy. There was a monitor by the side of the bed, which I knew was only brought out when someone needed on-site surgery, or things were really serious.

My eyes started watering.

"D-" I stuttered on accident, "Daddy?" I asked shyly.

The monitor beeped just a little bit faster for just a second. I heard him say quietly, "S… Sami…"

I hurried to the side of the bed where he was laying. His bandaged arm-it was in a cast-reached out to me. I held it carefully.

"Dad...Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

I couldn't hear what he said, but he pulled his hand away and patted the bed.

I climbed onto it carefully, curling up next to him, making sure I didn't hurt anything on him any further.

He put his arm around me and I heard him grunt.

"Don't hurt yourself," I scolded gently.

"I'm not hurt," he said in return.

I didn't need to read his mind to tell that he was lying. He was covered in bandages-obviously he was hurt.

We were quiet together, just sitting like that for a while. That was all I needed from him at the time.

Then, I remembered what I needed to tell him.

"Dad?" I said quietly.

He hummed in response.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Sami-Chan…" he said groggily.

I nuzzled into him more and fell asleep.

.o0o.