⠀⠀My anxiety hyper-fixated on the visage of salt and nearly burned it into my mind, alongside the word vigilante. What little I knew about Japan's laws followed, and the lingering thoughts of being marred as a villain whispered in my ear. The mess teetered my dreams back and forth and brought a question to mind.
⠀⠀"Did I ruin my chances?" I asked myself, and it was all I could think about as Grand Torino few Kotaro and I to the hospital.
⠀⠀There I was given anesthesia, and I was rushed into surgery. I was laid flat on a surgical table before the sweat smell of gas helped calm my nerves. It was better than the familiar smell of chemical sanitation that brought an unwelcomed nostalgia of the past week to mind. Yet it took longer than seemed necessary for the medicine to knock me out. It was disconcerting until, finally, my adrenaline died.
⠀⠀Unwelcomed darkness hit like a crashing wave, and my worry divulged into panicked nightmares of helplessness at the approaching vail. The fear only lasted as long as the anesthesia. What replaced it was a vivid mist and a throbbing beat that rhythmically drummed in my ear. It was in sync with the beeping of a heart monitor and the dancing hospital lights. They were joined by voices, both new and old.
⠀⠀"She saved my son! You can't say she's a vigilante for that!" I heard Nana roar from somewhere outside my door.
⠀⠀"She destroyed a road, damaged five buildings, and nearly killed twelve people! She's lucky we're not calling her a villain," someone countered. The claim made me blink, but as I tried to recall the past hours, I just felt dizzy. It still made me cry.
⠀⠀"She saved a life! She was being attacked! You know damn well your charges won't stick!" Nana countered.
⠀⠀"Will you two take this argument elsewhere?!" a third voice, oddly sounding like Aisha, howled. "This is a hospital!"
⠀⠀With a relieved sigh, a woman muttered from behind me, "At least the girl's guardian has sense. If they start yelling again, have security remove them from the building, Hen."
⠀⠀"Yes, Ma'am," presumably Hen, who had a deep, base-like voice, replied.
⠀⠀"Finished with the vertical laceration on her lateral scapular. Twenty-six stitches," a soft, older, womanly voice informed.
⠀⠀"Medial lumbar's going to need stitches. The wound is nearly two centimeters deep," a fourth person, their voice sounding high pitched, mentioned. "What's the progress on her femoral?"
⠀⠀"Slow," the first voice, the one that complimented Aisha, grumbled. "What's our stitch count so far, Hen?"
⠀⠀"The-hundred-n-six," Hen answered.
⠀⠀"Add eleven, nineteen, and thirty. I've finished closing the medial dorsum lacerations," yet another voice proclaimed.
⠀⠀In my head, I added the numbers. "Three-hundred-n-fifty-six," I muttered. "That's a lot of stitches..." There was a pause in the conversation, in the many Doctor's works, and it showed in their feet as they froze.
⠀⠀"Anesthesia, now," the complementary woman ordered.
⠀⠀Someone moved, and a soft smell lingered in my nose. It made me hum, "That smells nice..."
⠀⠀"Let us know when she's out," the complementary woman continued.
⠀⠀"Hey Docs," I hummed. "How's Kotaro? Is he safe? I think, um, he got hurt. I don't remember."
⠀⠀"If you're talking about the boy you came in with, he's fine," Miss Complemetary answered. "He had two compression fractures, but my quirk healed him quickly. He's currently asleep and down the hall. Now breath deeply. Isoflurane works best if you take slow, deep breaths." The good news made me smile.
⠀⠀"Doctor Shuzenji, we're using Sevoflurane, not Isoflurane," someone quietly whispered.
⠀⠀"Schedule blood tests to check her kidneys after surgery, then," Doctor Shuzenji quickly ordered. "Shio-san, can you still hear me?"
⠀⠀"Yes," I answered.
⠀⠀"Anesthesiologist — I'm sorry, I don't remember your name — raise sevoflurane's concentration to eight percent. Han, tell me when a minute passes," Doctor Shuzenji ordered. Her tone then softened, and she asked, "Shio-san, I need you to stay still, alright? You're hurt, and we're trying to make you better."
⠀⠀"I guessed that," I yawned. "You can raise the sevoflurane to ten percent if you want. My family has a history of being resistant to medication." I let out a long yawn.
⠀⠀"Could you tell me about your quirk?" she asked. "You make salt, right?"
⠀⠀"Yep."
⠀⠀At my lack of elaboration, she hesitated, "Okay."
⠀⠀"Doctor, a minute has passed," Han informed him.
⠀⠀"Really? It didn't feel like a minute," I doubted.
⠀⠀"Anesthesiologist make sure she doesn't bite her tongue off. Use gauze. Han, help them. We'll be operating while she's awake," Doctor Shuzenji ordered. Her tone then softened, and she asked, "Shio-san, can you feel this?" At my no, she repeated, "and this?"
⠀⠀"I can't feel anything," I reassured her, only for two men to crouch beside me. At their order, gauze filled my cheeks, but not once could I see their faces.
⠀⠀"Good. Now, Shio-san, I need you to remain as still as possible, okay? We need to get the glass out of your back before I can use my quirk on you. Do you understand?"
⠀⠀"Yes," I tried to say, but between the fog-like delirium and the gauze, it came out slurred.
⠀⠀"That was a yes," Han answered for me.
⠀⠀"How did glass get in my back?" I tried to ask, but propper speech was beyond me.
⠀⠀"She asked how she got glass in her back," Han asked for me.
⠀⠀"You understood that?" someone asked Han. I assumed Han nodded at the question because I didn't hear an answer.
⠀⠀"You were in a villain attack, Shio-san," Doctor Shuzenji informed me. "You don't remember?" I tried to think, to recall what she told me, but the only vague hints came to mind.
⠀⠀"No?" I offered.
⠀⠀"Cut the sevoflurane. It may be causing short-term memory loss. Switch to an IV sedation. Something not broken down by the liver," she ordered. "Shio-san, you were attacked by a villain. Past that, I don't know. After surgery, I'm sure you can ask the heroes you seem to know," she elaborated.
⠀⠀"Insition on the lateral teres closed. Ten stitches," one of the many people in the room announced.
⠀⠀"All glass removed from her femoral. Two parallel incisions, three centimeters long and half a centimeter deep. Doctor Bright, handle these stitches," Doctor Shuzenji ordered. "Shio-san, the final piece of glass is in your spine. We need to adjust your back to remove it. If you feel discomfort, let us know."
⠀⠀"Okay," I grunted. "How did I get glass in my back?"
⠀⠀"She asked, 'How did she get glass in her back?'" Han translated.
⠀⠀"For real, how do you know what she's saying?" another gawked.
⠀⠀"Quiet," Doctor Shuzenji snapped in an even voice. "Doctor Hiraoka, begin opening of her Thoracic. Move to thirty degrees, and standby."
⠀⠀"Which vertebrae is the glass stuck in? Will it stop me from walking?" I worriedly chatted. As I did, I felt myself lean forward, and the ground grew closer.
⠀⠀"Between five and six, and you'll be fine. The spine is tough," Han reassured me. Then a pair of familiar pink boots stepped into view.
⠀⠀"Increase degree to thirty-two and hold," Doctor Shuzenji asked. "Scalpel," she then requested.
⠀⠀"Wait, I know you," I noted to myself, and my mind raced through the fog to recall where I had seen those boots before. When it clicked, I made a gasp.
⠀⠀"Crap, did you feel that, Shio-san?" Doctor Shuzenji asked.
⠀⠀"What? No," I answered, and Han was quick to translate. "You're Recovery Girl! My Doctor is Recovery Girl!"
⠀⠀A collective sigh echoed through the room before Recovery Girl said, "Yes. I am. Don't scare us like, Shio-san. I thought the sedatives were wearing off."
⠀⠀"Still can't feel anything," I reassured her. "I'm just surprised you're my Doctor! Wow! Wait... What — what happened to get me to see Recovery Girl?" I wondered. Han was quick to translate my rambling.
⠀⠀"Foreign body removed," Recovery Girl said, and my fogged mind took that as the answer.
⠀⠀"What?" I asked, only to yawn, and a gauze roll fell out of my mouth.
⠀⠀"It was a villain attack, remember?" one of the unnamed men in the room answered.
⠀⠀"Right..."
⠀⠀"Doctor Yano, please close the spinal incision. The rest of you, finish her up. I'll work on a nutrition therapy plan for the next hour. Her body will need a cocktail before I can use my quirk on her, and I don't know how well that'll go. Especially considering her quirk," Recovery Girl continued. "Han, get her family's medical records. Send them to my email if you do. And after she's out, take the gauze out of her mouth."
⠀⠀The youthful heroine then crouched down, and I saw her smile as she pulled down her surgical mask. I knew every inch of that grin and just how pretty she was. Seeing her in person only reinforced that, yet I was still giddy.
⠀⠀"Time to go back to sleep, Shio-san. Close those eyes and relax. Let the sedatives do those work, so you can heal. Okay?" she kindly requested in a soft voice.
⠀⠀"Okay," I agreed, and something Aisha told me fluttered to mind. "Evens heroes need their rest," I repeated. "Especially hurt ones."
⠀⠀"Exactly. Seems you are a fan," she agreed, only to softly pat my head. "Good night, Shio-san."
⠀⠀With the delirium of surgery gone, my memories flooded back when my eyes fluttered open. From Sensei's demands to the monument of my sins to the haze that was my conversation with Recovery Girl: I remembered it all. Like a springboard, I snapped upright and almost leaped from my medical bed as my anxiety returned like a lightning strike.
⠀⠀Aisha, surprised at my sudden movement, did what I didn't. She lept from her chair, hidden in the corner of the room. Her sudden appearance made my fight instincts arise, and from her posture, Aisha was the same. Until she saw the steam faintly wafting from my palms.
⠀⠀She was the first to relax and shorten the distance between us with outstretched arms. "Akari, you're finally awake! Thank goodness!" She leaned close and dragged me into a soft hug. It was unwelcoming at first, but as my anxiety grew, haunted by worry, I melted into her arms.
⠀⠀It was welcoming until she finally pulled away, and I met her scowl. Unlike before, it seemed more worried. I could smell coffee on her black hoodie and jeans, and the bags under her eyes were darkness itself. "This better not become a habit," she quietly warned.
⠀⠀"S-sorry," I stammered, unsure why she was acting so close.
⠀⠀"It's not your fault, Akari-kun," she reassured me. "I'm just worried. I've known you for less than ten days, and you've been to the hospital twice on my watch..." She made a face, and force once, I couldn't identify the emotion.
⠀⠀Then a heart-wrenching question bubbled in my throat. "D-did I — do what I think I did?" I asked.
⠀⠀Whatever emotion she was fixated on vanished into a toothy smile I wasn't expecting. "You did," she said.
⠀⠀"I'm a vigilante," I whimpered.
⠀⠀"You're a hero," she declared at the same time. Our reactions to each other's statements were the same, and a perplexing confusion made us furrow our brows.
⠀⠀"Wait?" she quickly asked. "Akari, you-"
⠀⠀"But I used my quirk-" I interrupted her and went to answer why, to argue, but she interrupted me with a stone-like flash of anger.
⠀⠀"To save a child, Akari!" She softly clapped her hands down onto my shoulders, and I stiffened at the forceful, if gentle, touch. "You saved Kotaro! What part of that says you're a vigilante? Did you hear that Comishener while you were out?! That bastard has no sense, don't listen to him!"
⠀⠀"But you saw-"
⠀⠀"What you did? All that salt? Everyone has, Akari!" I balked at the declaration. "It's been on the news since yesterday! Everyone saw that nudist try to kill you, slam you into cars, throw you around, and you didn't use your quirk to defend yourself! Only when Kotaro was being attacked," she leaned in and raised her voice, "did you do! So don't you dare think you're some vigilante! If anything, you should have used your quirk sooner!"
⠀⠀"But-"
⠀⠀"No buts, Akari! I've had to listen to Nana-sama argue this for hours, and I'm not repeating it with you. The only thing you did wrong was that you did not defend yourself properly. You were scared, worried about losing your chance to be a hero, and nothing short of Kotaro's life made you risk your chance. Am I right?"
⠀⠀I nodded, and salt continued to grow around my palms. "Not even your own life was worth giving up on your dreams. Only another. So don't you dare — ever, not even once — say otherwise. Don't you dare even think otherwise! You are a hero! I'm not going to repeat myself. Am I understood?" When I hesitated to nod, to agree to her explanation, she took a slow, deep breath. "Akari. What did I just say?"
⠀⠀"A-are you sure?" I eventually whisper.
⠀⠀"Yes! What part of that was unsure?!" She threw her arms out and let out a tired gasp. "Do I need to use my quirk to spell it out with giant neon letters?"
⠀⠀"I told you to get sleep, Huerta-san. Your emotions are all over the place, and you're worrying the girl," someone said from the room's door. Their voice was familiar, but they were out of sight due to the room's layout. Not a moment later, Recovery Girl's smile appeared. "Good afternoon, Shio-san. How are you feeling?"
⠀⠀I didn't answer and gazed back at Aisha. Her stern expression returned, as did a raised eyebrow. With a wave of her hand, plasma spelled the word 'hero' in gold. It made me chuckle, and I couldn't help but smile at the stink eye Aisha was giving.
⠀⠀"I'll take that as 'better,'" Recovery Girl mused. "Huerta-san, go sitdown. You've been awake since yesterday, and the last thing we need is for you to randomly pass out." Aisha silently followed orders as Doctor Shūzenji took her own seat, and in her hand, she held a clipboard and a file and wrote notes on the former. "Any pain? Discomfort?"
⠀⠀"No?" I hesitated. "I'm not in any pain, I think. Did you use your quirk on me yet, or am I on some painkiller?"
⠀⠀"I healed you yesterday at twelve-forty-two," she answered. "You've been asleep this whole time. You're not currently on any medication, and what drugs were in your system were cleaned out after I used my quirk."
⠀⠀"Oh," I realized and slowly gazed at my salt-covered hands. As I pulled the sodium back in, I stammered, "I'm not used to not being in pain..."
⠀⠀"Oh jeez," Aisha groggily huffed. Then, as she fell back into her chair, she stated, "I'm going to have to tell Sam-kun you said that. That's not something that a kid should say."
⠀⠀"No, it is not," Recovery Girl agreed. "I'm going to check your vitals, Shio-san. Starting with your breathing." She pulled her stethoscope from her neck and walked over. She slowly placed the metal plate against my chest. "Breath in slowly and exhale from your mouth." I did as instructed, and quickly, the basic exam was over. "Good, good. Breathing is fine, no fever, bruising is gone," she listed. "Heart rate high, blood pressure low... I take it you're hungry?"
⠀⠀I nodded at the question, and while my stomach fought for attention, my mind raced, regardless of what Aisha argued. "I am."
⠀⠀"I'll have them bring you up something. No picky eating, though. You need your strength, even after the nutrition infusion," Recovery Girl ordered.
⠀⠀"I'll eat anything cooked," I reassured her.
⠀⠀"No sushi them?" At the shake of my head, Aisha shrugged.
⠀⠀"That's good to hear," Recovery Girl spoke, eyes now glued to her notes. "Shio-san, I'd recommend getting your quirk reevaluated. There are always physical limitations regarding our abilities, and with the level of salt you created, I'm skeptical reading over these notes."
⠀⠀"We'll get it done before she takes the U.A. entrance exam," Aisha reassured her.
⠀⠀"What do you mean?" I inquired.
⠀⠀"The pillar of salt was too large to simply expunged from inside your body. It will need extensive research, and-"
⠀⠀"Doctor Shūzenji, please report to the emergency room. I repeat, Doctor Shūzenji, please report to the emergency room," her phone buzzed out and sang in a kind voice.
⠀⠀She heavily sighed and grabbed her phone. "I'm sorry, Shio-san," she said as she examined her screen. "I have to go. A gunshot victim just arrived. I'll have them bring food up within twenty minutes. Get some rest after you eat." As she spoke, she marched towards the hidden away door and vanished without waiting for a response. My room door closed behind her.
⠀⠀An unwelcomed silence followed, only interrupted by Aisha's yawn. "Take a nap," I told her. "I'll be fine."
⠀⠀"Nope," she argued. "Not until you eat and go back to bed."
⠀⠀"Aisha-san, please. You look worse than I do," I argued, and while true, the lingering thoughts still arose, and I wanted to be alone.
⠀⠀"No."
⠀⠀I gave her a dour huff, looked away, and examined my room. My luggage sat beside Aisha's bags and purse. The window beside my bed was closed, and faint rays of light filtered through the gaps in the blinds. The room smelled like flowers and soap.
⠀⠀"May I have my phone?" I eventually asked, but Aisha didn't answer, and I looked over to see her asleep in the chair.
⠀⠀With slow, cautious moment, I crawled out of the medical bed and squeezed my pillow behind her head. I was grateful I wasn't attached to an IV or any medical equipment and b-lined it to our bags. I eventually found it in Aisha's purse and moved to the bathroom. Every message and alert I had received was ignored as I scoured the internet for yesterday's fight.
⠀⠀Eventually, I saw myself. Footage was taken from security cameras, dash cams, and phones and pieced together. From when I left the alley to when Gran Torino arrived was captured, and I saw it all. I felt my skin crawl when I saw his powerbomb. I relived the first throw when I bounced off the car's roof. My breath hitched when I saw myself get slammed through the car's window. Then, finally, I felt anger as I saw him attack Kotaro.
⠀⠀I remembered his hand grasping around the child and that slow crushing force that silenced him. To me, that moments felt like a lifetime. The playback said otherwise. His hand barely touched Kotaro before I screamed, and my salt erupted. No less than nine camera angles split the feed as my salt grew and grew.
⠀⠀"I am a hero," I had to tell myself as I saw the collateral damage and the injured. "I am a hero."
⠀⠀A knock at the door made me eep, and I nearly dropped my phone as a now awake Aisha said, "Food's here."
Author's Notes
⠀⠀Like, follow, and review. I hope you have a good day.
