Thirty-four days. She'd been in a coma for thirty-four days. He'd counted. She'd broken more bones than he'd thought. He visited her everyday. The image of her mangled and unconscious body was forever burned in his mind. When the accident happened, it was the first time he'd seen her in weeks.
He'd taken a look at her files when he entered the hospital for the first time. All he got from them was that she was intoxicated and must've been going at least eighty miles per hour when she crashed. As cliché as it sounded, it was a miracle she survived or even remained conscious for the amount of time she did. He felt guilty. He was angry with himself and her. He knew she was a strong person and he hated knowing she did what she did because of him, but he could hardly believe she let herself down the wrong path.
Maybe if he stayed . . . maybe if he'd come back sooner things would be different. Her life wouldn't be hanging by a thread. But he had his reasons for staying away. Reasons that would have put everyone he cared for in danger if he didn't run away. He'd needed to learn to control it. Whatever "it" was. Now he was getting the hang of it . . . for the most part.
"This 'Burning-Man' crap is getting out of hand," the waiter said as she took his empty cup of coffee, pointing at the newspaper he was reading. The man flipped back to the front page he hadn't bothered to read. BURNING-MAN Spotted Again in Oakland City was the printed title. Right below was a blurry image of a man completely covered in flames in front of what looked like an alley. He mentally kicked himself. He should've been more careful. He shouldn't have retired to Oakland in the first place, but he'd forgotten something important. "I mean, that's clearly photoshopped."
He folded the newspaper and chuckled a bit, adjusting his sunglasses. He knew it was weird to wear sunglasses indoors at night, but this was San Fransokyo and everything was weird in the city. "Agreed." The middle aged woman handed him the check as he stood up and payed. He signed with Shirō Yoshida and gave her a smile. "Have a goodnight." With that, he walked out of the café and pulled up his hoodie.
°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°
(Seven Months Later)
"Hiro Hamada, you are not putting golden lightning bolts all over my suit," GoGo hissed.
"Correction, my suit, I made it. And why not? Honey let me put chemical equations on her helmet!" The teen motioned to the blonde, who was texting someone on her phone while grinning. The gang had just gotten back from finally defeating one of their most dangerous enemies: Dark Star. All of them got out alive, but with major bruises and a few stitches. GoGo and Wasabi needed their armor to be repaired due to how intense the fight had been.
"Because this isn't cosplay, I like the way it is, and I don't want my suit to look tacky."
"I'll settle for our suit." Hiro leaned back in his spinning chair. "But it'd look totally cool!"
"Kid's right, dude," Fred said from the entrance of the garage while he munched on a party size bag of chips. "It'd be sick!"
GoGo glared at him. "I told you not to call me 'dude'."
"Alright, dudette. Geez, chill."
"I agree with GoGo," Wasabi said. "We're supposed to be saving the city, not making unnecessary upgrades to our suits."
Leiko pointed at Wasabi. "Thank you! See? He gets it."
"But the lightning bolts would actually be pretty cool."
"Ugh!"
Hiro gave her the puppy dog eyes. "Pleeease?"
GoGo crossed her arms and stared him down. "No."
Little Hamada wasn't going to give up. "Please, GoGoooo."
"Nope."
He gave her a pout and put his hands together and leaned forward. "Pwetty pwease?" He said in a baby-like voice.
"No. That's final. Just fix my suit."
Hiro groaned and sat back. "Fine, Miss Bossy."
"How is she able to resist that face?!" Fred whispered to Honey and Wasabi.
"Tadashi did it to her all the time. She's practically immune to the puppy face," Honey Lemon explained, smiling. Even though Tadashi was still a bit of a touchy subject, they were able to talk more freely about him without anyone breaking down and what not.
"Makes sense. Anyone want some?" Fred offered them the chips. Wasabi shook his head and Aiko happily took a hand full.
GoGo took her phone out and checked the time. It was 5:30. "Welp, I better head back home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." (She'd gotten her own place two months back).
"You don't want a ride?" Honey asked.
Leiko grabbed her leather jacket from one of the work tables. "Nah. It's nice out, perfect for walking. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She turned to Hiro. "And you better make sure to remember to finish that physics project, mister. I can't be behind your ass all the time."
Hiro put his hands up in the air. "Alright! Gosh. But can I text you if I need help?"
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Fine. But I'm going to be studying for a test, so don't expect an instant reply." She ruffled his hair. "See you later, kid. Bye, guys."
"Bye, GoGo!" The other three said before she walked out.
°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°
GoGo relaxed once her body settled to the coldness of the ice in the water. Her bathroom light was off, but she had lighted a few candles. The pain that had consumed her body was beginning to subside a little. She leaned her head back on the tub and closed her eyes, letting out a heavy breath. She seriously hoped no more villains would show up for another two weeks. On top of all this superhero stuff and getting beat up, she had her finals coming up and she needed to ace them. Making time to study was hard enough as it was seeing as she also had an actual paying job on the side.
When she opened her eyes, everything was hazy. And there was a figure across from her in a corner. She couldn't breathe for a moment. It then began moving closer to her. She couldn't move; her eyes were stuck on the shadow. The dim lighting of the candles soon exposed the man.
Tadashi? She wanted to speak, but her words died in her throat when she got a better look at him. His body was all scarred and his blisters were oozing blood. One of his eyes was shut closed and swollen while the other glared hard at her.
"Leiko," he said hoarsely, kneeling down and looking her dead in the eyes.
GoGo finally found her voice. "You're not real." He didn't say anything. "Go away."
"Look at what you did to me."
"Wha—"
"You could've saved me. You could've gone after me."
Her heart was pounding hard in her chest. She can't move. Why can't she move? "I-I did. I tried. Tadashi—"
"You hesitated. You weren't fast enough, GoGo." He stood. "You could've saved me."
Next thing she knew, she was being held down underneath the freezing water. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. But she screamed.
When GoGo woke up she wasn't sure if she'd even closed her eyes. She really needed to stop falling asleep in the tub.
She looked around. She was still in her bathroom, and she was alone.
Eh…? It was short I know. Next chapter will (hopefully) be better.
