Author's Note: I spent hours writing this and I'm still not satisfied. It's a little longer than usual but I figured after all of the trauma in the recent chapter we needed some hope! A special Thank you to everyone who reviewed and fav/followed this story. Ok, this story has reached almost 2,000 views and I am grateful for the support I have been given. I replied to reviews at the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the My Hero Academia universe, manga, characters, tv show, movies, etc. This is just for fun.
Chapter 7:
Aylee struggled to open her eyes at first. After a few seconds, hazel irises focused on a plain white ceiling before they traced along unfamiliar walls that were decorated with boring pictures.
After taking a quick observation of her surroundings she decided to examine the worst of her injuries while she had the chance. Small bandages covered multiple parts of her body that no doubt had stitches thanks to that blonde teen psycho. The woman couldn't move her neck without excruciating pain but from her peripheral, she spotted a heavy wrapping around her shoulder. Handsy did some serious damage, she thought with a frown on her face.
She was so immersed in her injuries and thoughts that she almost missed the red and white-haired child curled up next to her battered body. Aylee was immediately confused. Did she hallucinate Shoto becoming 14? No, she clearly remembered him carrying her out before she lost consciousness. Before Aylee could theorize what possibly happened to Shoto, a doctor walked in through the door unannounced.
"How are you feeling Ms. Tanaka?" He held a chart in his hands with a pen at the ready, clearly expecting a timely response from his patient.
"Sore and tired." His pen moved rapidly at her hoarse words no doubt scribbling down words that no one else can read. Doctors notoriously have bad handwriting, not that she could really judge.
"That's to be expected. Recovery girl is on the way to heal your more serious injuries."
Aylee nodded in understanding. "Is Shoto ok?"
"He's completely fine. But, he put up quite a fight when some of our nurses tried to get him to leave your room."
She smoothed back the loose hair strands from his closed eyes and looked him over for any missed cuts or bruises. The busy doctor watched them with a hidden smile before writing something else down and finally exiting the room.
An hour later a sharp knock rapped on the door.
It was loud enough to rouse Aylee from her deep slumber. Aizawa strode into her hospital room and stood at her bedside.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm a little banged up but still alive." Her face pulled into a teasing grin she tried to ease the unbearably thick tension in the air.
"How's Todoroki?" Aizawa said while worriedly staring at the 5-year-old snuggled against his caretaker.
"He's the reason I'm still breathing." Carefully, Aylee slowly sat up without moving Shoto too much. She took a much needed deep breath before she began to explain the entire situation.
"Shoto and I were being robbed by a mugger, who I knocked out. But then two villains showed up and kidnapped us. I couldn't escape and fell unconscious after a large blow to my head. I woke up in a new location and Shoto was nowhere I could see. One of the villains with a fire quirk tried to chat me up and possibly gain intel on Shoto or UA. Then the rest of them came, dragging in Shoto with them, and tried to make him join their team. Their leader said that their goal was to reveal the true nature of heroes and show the public its corrupt nature. The leader fully expected Shoto to join with no problems and was confused when he refused. After his refusal, they began to torture me with a disintegration quirk and a fire quirk to try and force him to join them. I was about to be killed when suddenly, Shoto rapidly grew into a teenager again. I broke my fingers to get out of my handcuffs and used my quirk before the villain could hurt him."
She began to lose her voice halfway through her explanation and was practically wheezing at the end. Aizawa immediately grabbed the pitcher of water and cup on the bedside table and poured her some water. Aylee eagerly gulped down the cool liquid and felt instant relief on her burning throat.
"Thanks for that. But, that's all I really remember clearly. Everything after is blurry."
Aizawa hummed in acknowledgement of her words and pondered over Shoto's rapid growth and then regression. He wondered if the stress of the situation caused the boy's body to revert back to protect Aylee and himself. Maybe he should come up with a hypothesis about this with Principal Nezu later. This could be the key to fixing his student sooner rather than later. Aizawa hated having no plan to fall back on even if Shoto was already slowly ageing back to normal.
"Recovery girl is here to assess you now." Aylee nodded at his words and lightly shook awake the sleeping boy next to her. Shoto opened his blue and grey eyes at her touch before they widened at seeing her face.
"Peppermint…" Aylee didn't get to finish her sentence before Shoto shot upright and wrapped his arms tightly around her bandaged neck. The woman winced from the added pain that his touch caused but didn't move away from his embrace. She let him have a moment to calm down as she rubbed his back comfortingly. Aylee gently moved Shoto's arms away from her neck and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Peppermint, Recovery girl is here to heal me. Can you be a brave boy for me and go with Sensei-Aizawa for a little bit?"
Shoto frowned at her words and vehemently shook his head. "No. I want to stay here."
Aizawa was amazed at the amount of patience this woman had to deal with a whiny child while experiencing severe levels of pain. Her kind smile didn't even waver once when dealing with his irrational reaction. The teacher could see why she had so many glowing references from previous employers.
"Please peppermint, I don't want you to see my injuries. And I promise we'll get some ice cream after this." The bribe was slowly swaying the young boy and as he looked up at Aylee's pleading face, he couldn't say no.
The child's head bobbed and Aizawa walked over to the pair and helped Shoto get down from the hospital bed. Shoto grabbed onto his teacher's waiting hand as they left the room together. Aylee missed the look of concern her charge gave her before the room's door closed.
At the soft click of the door shutting completely the smile dropped from Aylee's face. Tears dripped slowly out of her green eyes and soaked into her neck bandage. Aylee isn't invincible and she definitely is reminded of how weak she can be in these moments. She couldn't let Shoto see this part of her though. She's supposed to be his protector. Not the other way around. Moments like these make her feel crushed by her own failures. A soft knock brought Aylee out of her sobbing session. Quickly, Aylee swiped her hand underneath her eyes and prayed that the redness wasn't too noticeable.
"Come in."
Recovery girl opened the door and strode into the room. This woman may not be an intimidating presence in the room but the authority she carries after years of being UA's school nurse is unmatched. The old nurse turned around after closing the door and kindly smiled at her newest patient.
"You took quite the beating." The old woman leaned above Aylee's hospital bed and kissed her forehead with her healing lips.
"It was either me or Shoto. I would have died of guilt if this had happened to him. Better me than him." Aylee's resolute tone left no room for questions about her total loyalty to the boy.
Her words made Recovery girl's smile more pronounced and she began to feel a sort of kinship with the young caretaker. The two women devote their time and energy to taking care of children, fostering the growth of the younger generations. They both use different methods but all around their intentions are one and the same.
"That's very noble dear. Now you need to rest for the night but you can leave in the morning."
"Ok, thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate you taking the time to come and heal me." Aylee couldn't get up to properly bow but managed to slightly bow her head with her newly healed neck. It wasn't without difficulty but the young woman always has the highest respect for people who help others.
Recovery girl smiled at the gratitude Aylee displayed. "No problem at all. But remember I didn't heal everything so you will still experience minor pain for the next few weeks."
Before Aylee knew it, Recovery girl was gone and in her place was a hyper 5-year-old. She looked at Aizawa in question and saw the visible irritation on his face. But then again, she's only seen the teacher display two facial expressions, annoyance and boredom.
"He was asking for you and I got annoyed at his pestering." Aylee stifled a giggle at his frustrated tone and wondered what exactly Shoto did to cause his teacher this much distress. She came to the conclusion that right now was not the time to ask.
Instead, she opened her arms wide in a welcome invitation for a hug. "Come here peppermint." Shoto slowly moved into her arms and was very mindful of her remaining injuries. "I wanted to personally thank you for saving me today. You were so brave and heroic."
Shoto looked down and his fingers began to twitch nervously at her praise. Like he wasn't used to hearing words of thanks or encouragement.
"They were hurting you." His little head tilted up and she could clearly see the fat tears brimming in his eyes. Aylee's arms tightened around his now trembling body in an effort to reassure him that she was alright.
"I know. But, that's in the past. I'm all better now and you're safe." Shoto nodded his head at her words and lost himself in the warmth of her hug. It was nice. He felt protected from everything outside of their little bubble. The boy didn't want this feeling to ever end.
Aizawa cleared his throat to gain the hugging pair's attention. He would never admit it out loud, but the erasure hero was feeling a little left out. He began to speak once they looked at him. "Seeing as he's a target and now quite possibly you to Ms. Tanaka. UA has asked a pro hero if they are willing to act as a temporary bodyguard. Just until we take care of the somewhat unknown threat."
Aylee immediately began to stutter out her disapproval. "W-well..um that's not really necessary."
The teacher's face practically turned to stone at her statement. "You don't get a say in this matter."
She saw that she wasn't going to win this argument and was honestly too tired to even try. "Ok, fair enough. Who is it then?"
Shoto shifted uncomfortably in Aylee's arms and she imagined that he thought his father would be their new bodyguard. If that happened, the caretaker couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't punch Endeavor in the face at some point. The number two hero has a face that just screams PUNCH ME. And Aylee always listened to her instincts. They usually end up being right in the end.
A suave voice interrupted Aylee's problematic train of thought, "Miss me baby bird?"
The woman's head snapped towards the doorway only to see Hawks standing there with an easy-going smile.
Aylee began to panic. Why would they send one of the top ten heroes when this job could be easily passed off to an average hero? It made her question how serious this situation really is.
"I'm sure the number 3 hero has better things to do than guarding Shoto and me."
Hawks' smile turned into a smirk at her subtle refusal of accepting his help. She was definitely more feisty than when they met earlier this morning.
"Nope. Quite bored really."
Shoto frowned at the winged hero and gripped onto Aylee tighter. It seemed Shoto remembered briefly meeting Hawks and made his disapproval known to everyone in the room but Aylee. Hawks ignored the small glare pointed at him and watched Aylee think of a way to refuse his help. But she's backed into a corner right now.
Aylee bit back a rude retort and reminded herself that he was there to help Shoto. "Well thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time."
Aizawa cut in, "When can you be discharged?"
"I have to stay overnight."
The teacher silently gulped in anticipation of what he knew was about to happen. Aizawa usually wasn't optimistic, but he hoped that this goodbye won't be as chilly as last time.
"Peppermint, Sensei is going to take you back to UA for the night. You'll be perfectly safe with him." Aylee used her most sweet voice when saying this to the boy.
A beat of silence passed before Shoto's face began to turn bright red and his mouth opened in preparation to let out a piercing scream. Expecting this outcome, Aylee's irises flashed to a dark purple and she hummed a quiet tune for him. Shoto's heterochromatic eyes met her now indigo colored eyes and a yawn escaped from his mouth. His eyes blinked slowly before shutting completely, allowing him to sink into a deep slumber.
Aizawa is stunned at the scene he just witnessed. Did she just make a child about to throw a temper tantrum take a nap? Is that really ethical? Frankly, he didn't really care as long as he didn't have to hear a screaming child again. This experience has made him very thankful for the opportunity to teach teenagers instead.
Aylee leaned her head down and kissed his forehead softly. She turned to look at the two open-mouthed heroes in amusement. Her eyes faded back to their usual green after a moment and a tired look crossed her face. Using her quirk this soon was more draining than she anticipated, but it had to be done.
Hawks and Aizawa still had shell shocked expressions and she let out a laugh, "Why do you think I was in such high demand when I was still a nanny?"
Aizawa snapped out of his daze and asked, "I thought your quirk just involved illusions?"
She nodded and said, "Yeah, but it has many elements. I can make people think they are tired. I can make them see dreams and nightmares. There are probably other things I haven't discovered yet too."
Aylee looked down at her charge fondly and saw his lips quirk into a smile, probably from a nice dream.
"Is that why your eyes were purple instead of green, like before?"
"Yes, exactly."
Hawks was practically bursting with curiosity and had many questions to ask the mysterious woman. His red feathers twitched along his wings in anticipation of getting to know this unique woman. But, he started with the most pressing one.
"What color are your eyes when you make someone see a nightmare?"
Aylee moved her kind gaze from Shoto to Hawks. Her expression shifted from gentle and loving to a blank slate within seconds. It was a little unnerving for the heroes to witness such a dramatic change.
"I don't know. I've only done it a handful of times. And usually, I never see the people again, much less get the chance to ask them. It's not a part of my quirk that I am proud of." Aylee looked down after she said that and hugged Shoto one last time.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Aizawa nod understandingly at her answer. The teacher approached the bed and carefully picked up Shoto's sleeping body.
Aylee sat up straight in her hospital bed and closely watched Aizawa shift the boy in his arms to find a more comfortable position.
"The effect should last for about 3 hours. I wish I could've made it more but I just can't right now in my condition."
"Well, it's not like you can help it. But he's going to have quite the tantrum when he wakes up." Aizawa said with dread laced in his voice. He's seen first hand what his student is capable of when pushed to his emotional limits.
"I suggest before that happens you have some soba, his stuffed polar bear, and multiple witnesses around. Just tell him I'll be back soon."
Aizawa scoffed at her suggestions but the caretaker could tell that he actually took what she said to heart. His concentrated expression showed her that he was most likely taking mental notes of what she said.
She continued, "If it really gets out of hand. Call me and put him on the phone. I may not be able to use my illusions at a distance but I can sing his favorite lullaby."
The woman saw the teacher's stressed expression and decided to tease him a bit, "Did you need to write that down?"
Aizawa shifted his fiercest glare onto the amused bedridden woman. You would think he was using his quirk at the moment.
"I got it,"
A playful smirk twitched at her lips and she coughed out, "ok just making sure."
Aizawa left with Shoto after that and Aylee tried to settle more comfortably in her bed. But she was too stiff. After giving up on fighting with the flat mattress she noticed the remaining hero still with her in the room.
"Shouldn't you be going with them?"
"No, I am charged to protect you as well. I'm not going to leave you alone and Eraser can handle the kid." Hawks had a determined look in his golden eyes that refused to argue about this.
"Ok, If you insist. Wake me up when the doctor gets here please."
"No problem baby bird. Get some rest."
And with that Aylee's eyes close shut in the exhaustion of the day's mental and physical traumas.
~4 hours later her phone began to ring~
Hawks raised a blonde eyebrow and checked who the caller was. His eyes flicked over to Aylee's bed and saw that she was still deeply sleeping. He chuckled and finally answered the phone after the fourth ring.
"She's sleeping right now." Hawks said immediately before the caller could get the chance to speak.
"Well wake her up! Goddammit."
"Never thought you would have trouble handling kids Eraserhead. Isn't that your job?" The sarcasm was practically flowing out of his mouth like a waterfall.
"This is different and you know that."
Hawks heard screaming in the background and multiple other voices of people.
The winged hero sighed before firmly saying, "Fine. But you need to give her a raise. All of this hassle for a temp job?"
Aizawa growled in irritation but the heightening screaming began to drown him out. Hawks couldn't help but smile in glee at his fellow hero's predicament. He'll remember this call for years to come.
"Deal. I've already had to put out three fires in the span of 15 minutes." The panic in Aizawa's voice was astonishing to Hawks. Usually, the hero was so collected and almost bored in every situation thrown at him. How much damage can a kid really do to rattle him this much? Hawks almost didn't want to find out.
The man walked over to the hospital bed and called out her name. When that didn't work, Hawks lightly shook her uninjured shoulder. A groan escaped Aylee and her eyes blinked open, glaring at the perpetrator who dared to wake her up. He noted that she still looked exhausted and in pain.
She saw her new bodyguard holding her cell phone out to her. Aylee's brain raced to catch up with what she was seeing before finally connecting the dots.
"That didn't take very long," she said with a small rasp in her sleepy voice.
Aylee grabbed the phone from his gloved hand and held it up to her ear. She rubbed her forehead, trying to ease her persistent headache before speaking.
"Ok put him on."
"He won't let me near him," Aizawa said in frustration.
Aylee sighed heavily before saying, "Put me on speaker then."
She heard shuffling on the other side of the phone before Aizawa said, "Ok, you're now on speaker."
"Shoto, can you hear me?"
"Mom?" Aylee froze in her bed at Shoto's timid voice.
"No, it's Aylee sweetie."
"Mom!" His shout rippled into her eardrum and jarred her already throbbing head. Does he want his mother right now?
She spoke her rapid thoughts out loud now, "Aizawa, is he looking for his mother? Can he hear me?"
"I'm not sure." His confused voice crackled across the phone's speaker.
"Ok, I'm going to hang up and facetime you to see what's going on." Aylee without waiting for a response hung up the phone and quickly called him back again. She didn't see Hawks staring at her fidgeting hands or listening to her rapidly elevating heart rate.
After a second Aizawa accepted her call and she could finally assess the situation better. A dishevelled Aizawa appeared on her phone's screen.
"Ok, turn me around."
Aylee's view shifted and she could now see the damaged dorm's common room area. Several scorch marks littered the rug and icicles clung to the furniture and the ceiling. Things weren't looking so good overall from what she has seen so far.
"Peppermint can you hear me?"
Aylee could faintly make out Shoto's small blurry figure dashing towards the phone.
"Mom!"
"Your mom's not here right now, Shoto. Remember I'm Aylee." Aylee carefully made sure she kept her words firm but gentle. But it didn't seem to be sinking in at that moment.
"Mom!"
Aylee's eyes widened in alarm at him continuing to address her as his mom. This isn't good.
"We'll talk about this later. But, I need you to calm down while I'm away. It's just a few more hours." Aylee was pleading with the 5-year-old to understand that she needed to be away for the night.
"But, I'm scared." His quivering voice crackled through the speaker and hit Aylee like a tsunami wave.
She inhaled sharply, "Ok I'm on my way, sweetie. I'll be there in an hour."
She hung up the phone and started to clumsily climb down from the bed. Her legs shook slightly and didn't want to steady themselves yet.
"Woah there baby bird, you're not going anywhere. You haven't been discharged yet."
"I'm fine," she said to her bodyguard before she tripped. The hero quickly caught her body before she could collapse against the hospital floor.
"I'm not letting you leave for a temper tantrum." Hawks' arms tightened around her waist as he looked into her glassy eyes. He could see the worry bloom on her face up close and one of her eyes twitched in annoyance.
"Did you hear him on the phone? Shoto has never admitted to being afraid and I'll be damned if I don't try to comfort him when he needs it the most. So you can either help me or get out of my way." Aylee's irises shifted to a startling crimson as she fiercely glared into his eyes. Prepared to remove him from the equation if need be.
"Woah, there's no need for that. I'll take you to him. It'll be faster anyway." Hawks released her from his warm embrace and raised his arms up in a placating gesture. The blonde closely watched as her eyes faded back to their normal green. If purple means sleep what does red mean?
"Oh, there's no need I can just take a bus." Aylee shuffled her sock covered feet and tried to get the blood flowing in her body again.
"No, I promised to take you flying didn't I?"
Review Replies:
HeavenlyMonster - thanks! I try to keep things interesting in this story.
SecretPeach - Yeah I wanted to give you guys some hope that Shoto's problems were gone. But I'm not that nice :) And I wanted Aylee to be a character who knows how to do a lot of useful things because she's experienced them firsthand. And, thank you for the compliment, my guy!
Pika Hime - I wanted to make it clear that Dabi is not someone who Aylee and Shoto should be around at all. So I will confirm he is not someone to ship my OC with. Hopefully, this chapter was a little less stressful for you to read. thanks for reviewing!
M - I'm not sure how I'll be portraying Rei in this fic just bc of what I already have planned. But no visits for a while at least. Not to worry, Little Shoto is back! *evil laugh*
Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! I will always try to reply to them as best as I can. And I do blush at compliments fyi.
~ Mad About Love