Chiyo was making her rounds at Musutafu hospital, as was relatively common, seeing as it was one of the closest hospitals to where she lived. She made an effort to visit as many different hospitals as she could to share her quirk, as a healing quirk quite like hers was hard to come by, but also having a duty as UA's nurse tied her hands a bit in that regard.

On this particular day, she had been told a couple of patients might finally be well enough that the use of her quirk wouldn't cause more harm than good. They'd been in bad shape the last time she'd been by, to the point where a kiss from her would likely exhaust them to death.

The old woman made her way through the halls, the various staff members greeting her as she passed.

A young nurse smiled when he saw her and made his way towards her, "Ah, Recovery Girl! It's good to see you!"

She smiled pleasantly back at him as she fell into step beside him, "You as well, Densuke. How's your arm?"

He chuckled, "Right as rain, thanks! So you're here to visit Usagi?"

"Usagi?"

"Well, we still don't know her real name, and we couldn't keep calling her 'kid' so that's her nickname for the time being," Densuke explained, "She's got big rabbit ears, so it only seemed fitting."

"Ah, yes. She and the other boy are who I specifically wanted to visit," she said, letting the young man know that she was more than happy to visit other patients as usual in addition to the two kids.

He smiled, "I think we may want to hold off on using your quirk on Komainu, the boy, a little while longer. He's only just really begun to stay awake for very long and we're not sure it's worth running the risk on his stamina."

Recovery Girl nodded, "That's fine, just let me know when he's well enough for a little boost from me."

Densuke grinned, "Of course."

They made it to Usagi's room and Densuke opened the door for Recovery Girl to enter, following in behind once she passed him.

The woman let out a soft, sympathetic "Ohh," at the sight of Usagi. The kid was still more or less swamped in bandages; not a single limb was free of it, not even her tail. One of her hind legs was in a full cast.

Usagi's ears twitched and she glanced up to see who was there, her uncovered eye blinking slowly at Chiyo.

"Hello, dearie," Chiyo said softly, "I'm Recovery Girl. I'm here to help you feel better faster."

Usagi blinked again and hurred gently. Ah, that was right, Chiyo remembered being told the kids couldn't talk in their animal forms. An idea started to worm its way into the back of her mind, but she ignored it for the time being.

"My quirk works by speeding up the healing process when I kiss someone," she explained, letting the girl know what she was going to do to make sure the kid didn't panic at the sudden contact, "It will make you really tired for a while, but you'll feel so much better. Is that okay?"

The girl tilted her head a little with a low chuff before nodding. Chiyo couldn't help but notice that even though the girl seemed hopeful, she still had an underlying look of sadness about her… she seemed almost lost or guilty… probably both. They were emotions she'd come to be quite familiar with within her line of work.

The woman hummed softly before stepping forward and planting a light kiss on top of the girl's rabbit-like nose.

Instantly, Usagi visibly relaxed, much of her pain fading away, though it was swiftly replaced with exhaustion. Still, she warbled gratefully at Recovery Girl as she laid her head back down.

"You get some rest now Usagi-chan," Chiyo noticed a slightly annoyed flutter of the girl's ears at the name, "I'm sure I'll see you again soon."

Usagi had drifted off with a low huff before Chiyo and Densuke had even left the room.

"We'll recheck the bandaging so we can see what's still an issue," Densuke told Recovery Girl after they'd left the room, "but that can wait until after she gets some rest."

"She's not a fan of the name you've chosen," Chiyo said.

Densuke laughed, "Well, I'm sure she would much rather have us call her by her real name, but until we're able to better communicate with her, it's the best we've got."

Chiyo hummed thoughtfully.

The nurse rubbed the back of his neck, "They really want to get a statement from the two of them already too…" he sighed.

"I… may have a solution," Chiyo told him.

Densuke looked down at her, red eyes looking hopeful, "Really?"

She hummed again and nodded, "I'll need to talk to a couple people first to see if it's a viable option, but I'll let you know."

"Ah, thanks Recovery Girl! It would be such a relief to know who they are."

She chuckled, "Of course Densuke. Let's hope it works."

Kouda followed along after Recovery Girl and Detective Tsukauchi through the hospital hallways. He'd been told there were a couple of kids here stuck in animal forms and unable to communicate effectively because of it. He'd let Recovery Girl know his quirk only worked on real animals, not animal-like things, but he was willing to give it a try if it might help.

Detective Tsukauchi was there in case it did work so he could finally get a statement from the kids regarding the villain attack, as well as start to figure out where they belonged.

A nurse with dove-white hair led them to a room and opened the door. He grinned at Kouda as he walked past and wished him good luck. He looked hopeful.

"Hello again Usagi-chan!" Recovery Girl greeted.

The creature on the bed shifted to look. She seemed surprised.

Kouda could see why Recovery Girl had thought he might be able to help. The girl, Usagi, appeared to be, by all definition, an animal. Like no animal he'd ever seen before, but an animal nonetheless. She was soft shades of brown, with some spotting across her shoulders and flanks. Two large rabbit-like ears twitched at the slightest of sounds and a long, prehensile tail with a tuft at the end swished behind her, though it looked to be partially restrained. She was covered in bandages, though if the freshly healed scars were anything to go by, it was less than previously.

"H-hello, Usagi," Kouda began softly, "I'm Kouji."

Usagi's tail flicked for a moment as she looked at him before she sighed.

I wish you guys would stop calling me that.

Kouda blinked, "Oh. Well um… sorry. What would you like to be called then?"

At that, she sat up.

You understand?!

He nodded, "Seems so."

Her ears lifted until they were sticking almost straight up.

You understand! You understand me!

She was practically vibrating.

My name is Scout! Not Usagi. I'm Scout!

Kouda couldn't help but chuckle a little at her excitement over being understood, "Well then, hello, Scout."

He could hear the detective begin to write notes behind him. Talking with Scout was interesting. Usually, when he communicated with animals they could only give him very direct emotions or blunt phrases. Talking with them was very simple. Scout, by nature of being an actual human, had a much broader vocabulary, and boy, was she excited to use it now that she had someone to talk to.

"I've never seen you this excited, kiddo!"

Kouda looked back to see the white-haired nurse from earlier... Densuke, that was his name.

Scout looked at the nurse for a moment and her ears drooped.

Could you… Could you tell him I'm sorry?

Kouda blinked but obliged.

Densuke paused, looking confused for a moment before chuckling softly, "It wasn't your fault kiddo, it's okay."

Scout hummed softly and dipped her head, but still looked uncertain.

"Scout," Detective Tsukauchi spoke up, "I'm Detective Tsukauchi. Is it alright if I ask you a few questions?"

The girl looked up at him and nodded.

He smiled and started to record audio on his phone, "Great! Before I start, I do need to let you know that my quirk allows me to detect when someone is lying. Is that alright?"

Scout nodded again, and Kouda got ready to translate the conversation.

"Alright. First, what's your full name?"

Scout Wilde… ah, Wilde is my surname.

"How old are you?"

Fourteen.

"Where are you from?"

Was born in America, moved to Tokyo a few years ago.

That explained the unusual name then, Kouda thought.

"Where are your parents? Can we get in contact with them?"

At that question, Scout deflated a little.

I… No. They're… they're gone. We ah… live with our Uncle Ford now. That's why we moved to Japan; to live with him.

Kouda frowned sadly as he translated.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tsukauchi murmured, "You said we? Does that mean you and-"

My brother!

Scout sat up straight again, looking anxious.

My brother Warren! How is he? Is he… is he okay?

Surprised, Kouda asked a question instead of immediately translating, "You have a brother?"

Yes yes, he got hurt too is he okay?

She was looking at Densuke as she spoke.

"Komainu?" the nurse responded.

She shook her head.

"She said his name is Warren."

"Warren," Densuke repeated with a soft smile, "Yes, he's doing better. We were planning on having Recovery Girl stop by him today, he's doing well enough."

Scout looked relieved and hopeful.

Can I see him? Please?

Densuke thought for a moment, "I'll have to ask, but I think that should be alright! Why don't you finish talking with the detective here and I'll go see what I can do, yeah?"

Scout's tail wagged so hard that the restraint on it came loose. Her thanks didn't need a translation.

Detective Tsukauchi finished with his interview, asking Scout a bit more about herself as well as what she remembered from the mall. She didn't really enjoy thinking back to it, but if it helped the detective, she was willing to do so.

She frowned a bit as she recounted the experience.

Who… who was the hero? I didn't recognize him.

Granted, she'd been running on fumes by that point and was barely aware, but she thought she would recognize a pro hero regardless.

The detective listened as Kouji translated and then said, "That would be Eraserhead. He's an underground hero."

Ah. That would explain why she didn't know him.

Kouji looked somewhat pleased about that. Did he know Eraserhead? She supposed it wasn't her place to ask.

By the time Detective Tsukauchi finished his interview, Nurse Densuke had returned, a big smile on his face. Scout did her best to remain patient until the detective finally asked the last question and thanked her for her time. She gave him a sharp nod and then turned to face Densuke with an impatient whine.

The nurse laughed, "I hear ya, kiddo! What do ya' say we go visit your brother?"

Scout wiggled excitedly on the bed, letting out happy chirps and warbles.

He laughed again, "Alright, come on then. The rest of you can come too since you'll be needed anyways."

Densuke helped Scout off of the bed and led the way out of the room. She stretched a little and shook herself off before trotting after him. She still had a slight limp, but after the boost from Recovery Girl a couple of days prior, she felt far better than she had in a while. The excitement and relief over finally seeing Warren again gave her an extra pep in her step as well. She hardly even registered the footsteps of everyone else who was following.

Densuke opened a door and gestured inside with a soft smile, "Go on in."

Scout tapped her front paws nervously before padding inside. The second she laid eyes on her brother, lying on a large mattress on the floor, she launched herself across the room, churring and chirping and warbling, nearly tripping over herself to get to him.

The lion-like form of Warren twitched an ear before lifting his head, just in time for his face to be tackled by his small, hysterical sister.

He fluffed up in shock at first, but at the incessant chatter and frantic nuzzling and licking of the little chimera on top of him, he calmed, chuffing and rumbling in kind.

Warren Warren Warren you're alive you're ok you're ok you're here you're ok-

Scout squirmed her way up onto his shoulders. He flinched a bit but didn't seem overly concerned about it as he flopped onto his side, Scout adjusting to stay on top of him, and ever-so-gently batting at her with his huge paws.

Scout,

He purred.

I've missed you too.

Kouda had not been expecting Scout's brother to be so big. Where Scout looked to be a small, rabbit-dog-cat-something hybrid, Warren was a sort of lion-elk-alligator-something. With tusks. If Warren were to stand up, Kouda had no doubt he could easily clear a meter and a half, even on all fours.

Despite the slightly threatening appearance of the boy, Scout had wasted no time pouncing on him and absolutely smothering him with affection in a way only a sibling could.

Kouda could hear them giving each other reassurances and just making sure they knew just how much they'd missed each other. Warren looked and sounded more tired, and he was still swamped in bandages, but just being near his sister seemed to give him a level of comfort he likely hadn't seen in a while. It made Kouda warm and fuzzy inside to see just how much they cared for each other.

Recovery Girl made her way over and introduced herself to Warren before planting a kiss on his forehead. He rumbled out a thanks before yawning widely. Warren dozed off soon after, his sister draped across him, looking content.

Densuke looked like he was going to cry, but he was smiling. Must've made him happy to see Scout so happy for once.

Detective Tsukauchi chuckled, "I suppose I'll have to wait to get a statement from Warren. Kouji, you wouldn't mind coming back with me within the next few days to translate again, would you?"

Kouda nodded excitedly. He couldn't be happier to help.

Author's Note:

As always, feel free to hop into my discord server (link in bio) and/or check out the crossposted version on Ao3 which is illustrated!

Stuff I wanted to write but also I wanted to be done with the hospital: Scout and Warren's uncle literally sprints to the hospital once he's finally contacted. They've been trying to figure out who these kiddos belonged to for a while. Ford is a mess and he's been worried sick about his kids :( Also, I wanted to do a scene from Tsukauchi's pov, but I couldn't get it to fit and Kouda's pov comes across as softer anyways oop- (maybe we'll get a Tsukauchi pov in the future? idk. Depends on exactly what kind of shenanigans this class gets into I suppose!)

Oh! Also, as for how Kouda's quirk does in fact work for Scout and Warren despite them not being "real animals"... I mean. Humans are animals. Also, they're in a fully animal form and communicate in the way that animals do, if a bit more complex. Also also... plot convenience. Fight me.

Next time! Aizawa notices someone familiar during the entrance exams.

Remember! Take care of yourself! Drink some water, eat a snack, reach out to a good friend just because! Love ya!

-Jai