Tsu's eyes cracked open, morning light dancing across an unfamiliar ceiling. She studied it, noting a distinct lack of glow in the dark stars that her bedroom ceiling bore. Where was she again.
Whoosh, Click, Click. Whoosh, Click, Click. Whoosh, Click, Click.
Ventilator. Hospital. No tongue.
She moved her stump carefully, checking to see if it was still up where it needed to be. It was and the clamps were still keeping it from recoiling down her throat where it was normally.
Today was the surgery.
Goody.
Tsu looked around tiredly, seeing the curtains were pulled around her bed and wondering why.
"I punched him but my arm didn't break." Midoriya said from the other side, voice soft and almost not understandable. "It also didn't do any good against that crow monster though. I think he was a special creature, designed to kill you."
"This Nomu creature is troubling…." A deep voice responded to him, but his voice was even quieter. Tsu couldn't make out some of what he was saying over the ventilator. "If he can withstand-ouble-for all. We need to-with our quirk-"
What? Our quirk?
Tsu croaked in confusion.
At her noise all conversation stopped, then the curtain was flung open.
"YOUNG ASUI!"
Tsu almost fell out of her bed when All Might practically tore her curtains to shreds when he opened them, his arm's quick movements making a buffet of wind. The guy was always bigger then she remembered, the tops of his cowlicks touching the ceiling. He was smiling, as usual, but in a bit more of a subdued fashion.
"I just came to see how you two were doing, but you were still asleep!" All Might said grandly, sweeping his arm over her presence. "So Midoriya and I were just having a quick chat! Ha, Ha, ha!"
Tsu croaked again.
Midoriya was glancing between them, nervous though Tsu couldn't tell why. All Might didn't seem nervous.
"I heard about the operations you two are needing and thought I'd come give you some words of encouragement." All Might said, gesturing to them. "Just know that, no matter the hardships your enduring, the reward for hard work is all the sweeter! I happen to know Dr Shakuniki's work, I lost a finger to a villain once and she's the best in the country!" He held up his hand, his pinky having a small scar around the end. "I know it's not much compared to your injuries, but take heart in that U.A would only bring in the cream of the crop to treat their students!"
"That being said." All Might grew quiet. "I would like to apologize for my uselessness in the situation. Had I been there like I was supposed to, the results may have been very different… You children are partly my responsibility when your at school, and I let you down. The only thing I can do now is promise you that I will be better from now on."
" All Might…" Midoriya frowned.
Tsu stared at him, not sure what to say. One of the greatest heros in the entire world had just given her an apology…
"I do need to go and see the others, but I'll be back to talk once your injuries are more healed. They'll need to prep you soon for your operations, so I had better go." He said in a careful tone. "Once more, I apologize and I wish you a speedy recovery."
"But All Might-"
"We'll talk once your better young Midoriya." All Might said as he went for the door. "I'm looking forward to seeing you both back in class."
"Well we will see about that."
They all looked to see Ms Midoriya at the door, hands on her hips though she just looked forlorn with some bags under her eyes. "Ah, Ms Midoriya." All Might spoke. "Thank you for giving me a private moment alone with your son."
"It's no trouble." She sighed, walking to the chair by her son's bed. " How are you this morning Izuku?"
"Fine, how was the waiting room?"
"Well the chairs were hard, but I just spent the night reading…" Inko said, reaching behind her son to fluff his pillow. "Not that I think I could sleep honestly."
"Well…" All Might looked awkward, but was still inching towards the exit. "I suppose I should go. Ms Midoriya, young Midoriya, young Asui."
However his second farewell only got him two steps out the door, when some yelling started up.
"THERE HE IS!"
" All Might ! All Might ! What happened at the U.S.J?!"
"Any news about the villains? Were there any arrests on site?!"
"We're you teaching at the time of the incident?!"
Lights flashed wildly over All Might's form and Tsu realized it was the press, somehow making it past the hospital security to find him. The man actually seemed spooked when they kept questioning him.
"I have already made my official statement!" All Might insisted, trying to be patient and making a calming motion with his hands. "I stand with the school that nothing else will be released about the issue until all the facts have been brought together-"
"What is the school hiding?!"
"Is it true two pro heros were taken down in the attack?!"
"If you were not teaching, what were you doing!?"
"Ah-" All Might paused. "Well, I was-"
"Why are you visiting this room?!"
"Thats-" All Might looked pale.
"Are some of your students here?! You do know this is the ICU don't you?! How badly were they injured?!"
"Now that's enough!" All Might commanded, but it seemed unconvincing to the crowd of news reporters. "We don't need to bother them, they-"
" So some students are in this room! What kind of injuries do they have?! Do they have permanent damage?!"
Tsu twitched, her free hand going to her face. She had never been good with the spotlight and always figured she'd be a relatively unknown hero. She hated it when people tried to record her talking or take her picture, she didn't think she was that pretty. Now it was going to be worse! All the noise was stressing her out…
A chair squealed as Ms Midoriya stood, face red and scowling. She marched to the door and, surprisingly, push All Might out of the way into the hall. "Now all of you listen here!" She ordered. "Your all acting shamefully! This is a hospital and my son is ill! What kind of people are you, saying those sorts of things?! I demand that you-"
"MAM'! You said your son is injured, is he a student at U.A?! Was he in the U.S.J?!"
"Can he make a statement?!"
"What?! Didn't you hear me?! I- Hey!" Inko yelped and almost toppled over when hands tried to get into the room, some having cameras and some having microphones. She managed to push a few out, All Might helping with the others.
"Come on, just a few shots for the evening news!"
Tsu croaked. She had no desire to let people see her like this. Not with her face all screwed up and in hospital pajamas. The last thing she needed was her bloodied, bandaged face plastered across the japanese airwaves. Her monitor began to spike again with her anxiety and she moaned, thinking that she may be able to stand and close the curtain. She pushed herself up into semi-seated, sour copper trickling into her mouth, when a hand was put on her shoulder, urging her to lay back down.
Izuku face was pained but stern, he studied her one worried eye before heading to the door, movements a bit unsteady, clearly because of his missing arm weight. Not to mention, by the way he was keeping his stump from swinging, it was likely hurting him a lot. The adults were now all out in the hall, arguing with each other. Izuku staggered to the doorway, standing in it with a disappointed and frustrated expression. His eyes were a touch teary, most likely from his discomfort, but he held the anger flaming in his gaze as he glared out at the mob assembled.
The lights were still flashing for a second, but they stalled and everyone slowly fell silent. Once Izuku was sure each of them had had a good look at his arm, and his bitter, disgruntled face, he took the door and slammed it so hard the wall rattled, the noise echoing down the hall.
"Vultures." Midoriya muttered, walking back to his bed.
Tsu relaxed again, laying back on her pillows, her monitor falling silent again once her pulse steadied.
Thank you Midoriya…
It took less than a few minutes for security to arrive and remove the press All Might making sure they were really gone by escorting them to the door. Inko came back in to find Izuku laying on his side, facing the window, still stewing about the reporter's callous nature.
They'd likely have talked this out, had the nurses not arrived.
It was time for Midoriya's surgery.
They strapped him down to his bed as they explained. "Dr Shakuniku will come in to walk you down and answer your questions. We just need to make sure you won't make much movement and mess up the delicate work, you see." The kind woman explained. "Is this too tight? Can you breath?"
"Yes, I'm ok…" The boy nodded, though he looked nervous now, testing the strength of the bonds strapped over his limbs and torso.
"Good. I'll be back with the doctor to wheel you over." She said, going back out the door. "If you need anything just press the button."
Izuku watched her leave before jerking at his mother's sob. He looked up at her in concern. "Don't worry mom, I'll be alright." He put on a strained smile. "All Might said she's the best doctor for this in the country!"
"I just can't believe you lost your arm! School is supposed to be a safe place…"
"It is!" Midoriya said quickly, looking nervous. "This was just an freak incident! U.A has some of the best security in the world! We were just unfortunate enough to be the class that fell into the small percentage of failure!"
"Well I-" Inko paused to take a deep breath. "No. No, we need to get through this. We can talk more about school afterward, when everything's under control and we're at home."
Izuku looked like he wanted to argue for a moment, but paused thoughtfully before nodding in agreement. "At home."
Inko took another calming breath, pressing a kiss to her son's forehead. "I'll be in the waiting room while your in surgery, then when you get out I'll be right there!"
"Thanks mom." Izuku smiled. "But ummm, could you wait with Asui? Until her family can come in? I'm worried the press will come back and she can't get out of bed…"
"Of course! If she wants me to, that is?" Inko said, looking at her.
Tsu gave them a thumbs up, happy she wouldn't be in the room alone.
Inko smiled at her, though she was still looking uneasy. "Oh, I can pass the time by telling you stories from when Inzuku was a baby!"
"Mom!"
Inko just chuckled at her son's reaction, petting his hair.
The door opened, everyone turning to see Dr Shakuniku and Dr Satou walking in. "Good Morning everyone, we're ready to get started." Dr Shakuniku said, looking between Midoriya and his mother. "Do you have any questions before we wheel you up?"
The two shared a quick look. "Uh, how long do you think this will be?" Izuku asked.
"No more than two hours. It's not all under the knife though, sorta speak, we stop for periods of rest to keep you from going into shock." She explained. "You should be out by nine and then we'll take Ms Asui up."
Good…
"Whats the chances of something going wrong?" Inko frowned.
"Very low. The process is controlled and gradual. The only thing we're worried about is if Midoriya fliniches or moves suddenly. That's why he's leathered for now." Dr Shakuniku said. "The operation basically entails that I will be reattaching his arm, cell by cell. Its just a touch tedious and I will need to focus. Our only other worry is the limbs lack of blood but your donation should keep that from being an issue."
"When its all over we'll give you some medication to help with the discomfort. Then you can have some food if your feeling up to it." Dr Satou added, looking at his co-worker.
"If you don't have any other questions we can begin to head up." Dr Sakuniku looked at them.
Inko looked back at her son, but he just shrugged under his binding. She seemed to steel herself, then pressed a few dozen kisses into his hair and on his face, the boy holding still for her to do so. "I'll be here when you get out." Inko said softly. "I love you."
"Love you to." Izuku nodded, looking nervous though he put a smile on his face. "See you soon."
Inko gave him a few more kisses, following along as Izuku's bed was rolled from the room. She only stopped at the doorway, watching tearfully as he was taken away down the hall. The room fell into silence.
Tsu watched the woman wring her hands and linger in the entry. She wasn't sure how she could try and comfort Ms Midoriya, not without words or basic body movement. However she wasn't sure if she was even up to the task, not with what was looming in her near future. Soon enough Tsu would be the one strapped to her bed, ready for the doctors to reattach her severed limb, cell by excruciating cell.
The chair scraped the floor again when Inko pulled it to Tsu's bedside. The woman sat, twiddling nervously with her hands, thankfully seeming more clam now. "I'm sorry about that dear… A mother does worry. Now Izuku said your name was Tsuyu Asui right?"
Tsu gave her a shaky thumbs up.
"Oh good, I remembered! Well I think I promised you some stories from Izuku's baby days…"
Though still a bit tired, Tsu looked at her with interest.
Tsu sighed and tapped her pencil on her desk, looking over the garbled notes she had taken. For some reason she was restless, she wanted to get out of class and do something. Tsu looked back up to Mr Aizawa, who was giving a lecture on basic quirk laws. It was something she had had drilled into her head since elementary school, and even if this was just a review for the next stage of their studies, how quirk laws change for hero work, Tsu was bored out of her gourd.
She put her head in her hand, watching him write on the board. His writing was always so small, even sitting this close to the board she had issues reading it. Maybe she needed glasses…
Mr Aizawa turned his head when he heard muttering, stopping his writing. Tsu looked over, finding Izuku writing furiously in his book, lips moving a mile a minute. Bakugo jammed his elbow into the green haired boy's desk. Startling him. "Oie!" The blonde snapped, Izuku turning red when he realized he had been speaking out loud again.
"Bakugo, Midoriya. Settle down." Aizawa ordered, shaking his head. "I won't tolerate anymore interruptions. Midoriya, please keep your 'thoughtful narration' to yourself."
"Yes sir." Midoriya nodded quickly.
Their teacher eyed them, but turned back to the board. "Moving along. When flight quirks were beginning to enter society-"
Tsu rolled her eyes a little, not interested in this class at all. Weren't they supposed to go on a field trip today or something-?
"Asui."
She jumped a bit, looking back to see Aizawa staring at her crossly. In fact most of the class had turned to gaze at her, like she had been caught passing notes or something. She sunk in her seat, unsure of what she did wrong, Mr Aizawa still scowling. "I thought I told the class I wouldn't tolerate anymore interruptions."
Tsu blinked, still confused.
The man's eyes glanced down to her desk and uniform before shaking his head. "Not to mention what you've done to your school clothes. You need to keep your uniform in good condition."
Tsu narrowed her eyes and frowned, looking down at her desk.
A large puddle of blood was over her notes and desk, dribbling down her uniform. Tsu gasped, shocked at the sight, but even more blood rushed from her mouth in a wave once it opened. She clasped her hands over her mouth desperately, trying to stem the flow, but it just gushed between her fingers.
"If you can't control yourself you'll need to wait out in the hall." Aizawa said stiffly, reaching into his desk. "I'll give you a pass but I want to talk to you after class is done."
He pulled out a pale, severed arm with freckles on it. One that was hauntingly familiar.
Tsu spun to look for Izuku, but the boy was gone, in his place was a large bird creature, its brain sticking out the top of its head, with wild yellow eyes and sharp teeth. A beast so large it look almost comical in Izuku's small desk. It had blood on it's hands and was looking straight ahead.
When had he transferred here? Where was Midoriya?
Somehow she knew his name was Nomu, so they must have met…
"ASUI!" Aizawa snapped, making her look back at him. Her teacher was clearly more aggravated. "Come take the pass and wait outside." As he spoke, he thrust Midoriya's arm towards the classroom door, which oddly went rigid, pointing toward the exit. "I will not have you distracting the other students. Go now or I will be forced to expel you."
Tsu urged her legs to move, but they felt heavy. She didn't understand!
"Maybe she's just stressed…."
A new voice came into Tsu's ears. One that sent a chill down her spine, making her shutter. She turned, not finding Mina's pink head in front of her, but a white haired boy. His back was to her and he chuckled. "I can help with that…"
He turned, a fake looking hand grasping his face and hiding his features, save for one red eye. His appearance made Asui's insides turn to ice and she quivered when he adjusted in his seat to face her, reaching out his open hand toward her. "I'll send her to the nurses office, no problem…"
His hand got closer. Tsu could smell something sour and burnt on his skin. She got a flash of something copper in his mouth. She could see every etch and scratch in his palm, shadows growing darker the closer it got-
"ASUI!"
She jolted, coughing around the stuffing in her mouth, her life support machine beeping wildly. Someone was holding her hand tight and she almost ripped herself up off the bed.
"Easy sweetheart! Its ok! Your safe! Its ok!" A woman's voice said frantically, squeezing her wrist.
Her gaze darted over, finding Inko Midoriya leaning over her bed in a worrying manner.
She was still in the hospital? How did-
"Everything ok in here?" A nurse called from the door, looking in to check on the noise.
"I think she had a bad dream, she drifted off while I was telling her a story…" Inko said,patting Tsu's hand.
Well that had been rude of her…
"You ok dear?" The nurse asked, walking to stand at Tsu's other side. "I can't give you any numbing medication but I could get you a warm blanket."
Tsu looked back and forth, trying to gather her bearings. She was in the hospital. She was still in the hospital. It was just a dream… Inko seemed to sense her confusion, as she lent over Tsu and stroked her hair, repeating the question to make sure Tsu had understood. "Do you want a warm blanket honey?"
The pain Tsu had felt when she first woke up had returned, making it hard to concentrate. However a warm blanket sounded like heaven right now and she gave another, shaky thumbs up to the nurse.
"I'll be back!" The nurse chirped as she left.
"There we go, that will be nice when she gets back." Inko said soothingly. "You lay down and relax, it was just a bad dream. Your safe now."
Tsu sighed, laying back on her bed. Her brain was still buzzing, trying to process what her mind had conjured. A giant bird monster, Izuku's severed, bleeding arm, her own pooling blood, a boy with white hair, whose hands stank of burning flesh…
Were they the ones at the U.S.J? Were they the ones who had attacked the class?
Tsu tried to remember, but nothing came up from the foggy blank space that day held in her mind. The nurse came back, putting the aforementioned blanket over her form, Tsu soaking in the heat like the cold blooded amphibian her quirk was replicating. She snuggled into it contently.
"Have you been able to get in contact with the Asui's?" Inko asked, still stroking Tsu hair.
"Not yet." The nurse frowned, shaking her head. "The school's trying to but the Asuis seemed to have dropped off the grid or something…"
"Oh, well thank you…" Inko muttered, watching the nurse leave. The green haired woman shook her head and sat down, holding Tsu's hand. "Oh honey, I hope your family comes soon. You'll be taken up in about twenty minutes or so. It be nice if they could comfort you for a bit, god knows they would know how to better than I would..."
Asui squeezed Ms Midoriya's hand, trying to tell her that her presence was helping enough. Her stories about Izuku as a child had helped her to sleep, even when she was so nervous about her treatment.
Yet there was truth to Inko's words. As nice as she was, Ms Midoriya wasn't Tsu mother. Inko was a little too hovering and nervous. Her mom was withdrawn, calm and just a touch stern. Maybe when Tsu was younger she was more like Ms Midoriya, but after she entered middle school her mom tended to focus on her younger siblings and her argous job. Not to say she wasn't attentive or caring. When she got into U.A Tsu's mom had hugged her tightly, swinging her around the kitchen in excitement. It was just she was really stretched thin these days and was too tired to show much emotion when she got home.
Tsu looked at Inko's face, the woman frowning and looking at the door, a tiny bit peeved. Tsu was sure Ms Midoriya wasn't thinking too highly of her parents right now… They were just busy though and Tsu tended to leave before they woke up and get back while they were still working. They may have assumed she was stuck to school for a bit last night and just not gotten the messages.
Forgettable child…
"Ms Midoriya?"
Dr Satou came in the room, holding a clipboard. He smiled at them as he wrote. "I'm happy to report that Izuku came through just fine! He's being preped to brought back down now and there should be no further complications. Recovery Girl will be stopping by to give the children a healing session before they leave, but everything makes it look like Izuku can leave as early as tomorrow."
"Thank goodness." Inko smiled. "Thank you Doctor."
"We'll need to set Asui up next so we need you to leave the room. If you do want to visit her again, just wait with Izuku once he's back in the room." Dr Satou explained. "Dr Shakuniku can talk to you after she finished with Ms Asui."
Inko nodded, looking back down at Tsu. "Ok Tsuyu, I'll be going, but I know your gonna do great. Just stay strong ok?" She smiled sadly and patted Tsu's shoulder.
Tsu gurgled softly to her.
The next few moments moved by quickly, much to the dismay of her frazzled nerves. Inko left and the nurses came to strap her down to the bed. Her arms, legs and even head were tied tightly to the rails of her bed, to the point of them being completely immobilized. Tsu felt her panic growing, she was completely at the mercy of the hospital staff and while they had good intentions, it was still with the idea of causing her pain…
They wheeled her out with the ventilator and vitals monitor tagging along, past Ms Midoriya in the hall who waved to her, and around the corner towards the elevator. She swallowed around her tubing when the doors swept open and they took her inside. Just a short ride to the right floor, then it was time-
"TSUYU!"
She blinked, looking back towards the halls, but found the door had closed before she could see who had called her.
The operating room was small, there was a large light on the ceiling was a bit blinding. She was laying in her bed in the center of the room, people bustling around outside the edges of her vision. From what she could see there was a tray of tools, a plastic box and a large collection of sinks across the room.
Dr Shakuniku was washing her hands, coming over with a nurse wheeling the tray. "Hey there Tsuyu." She smiled behind her mask. "We're going to start by taking out your breathing tube and your Levin catheter. I need you to tell me if you having trouble breathing ok?"
Tsu gave a minute nodd, all that her straps allowed. They took out the levin first, a nurse pulling it out quickly and Tsu shuttering at the disturbing sensation. Next came the extubation, with the nurses apparently deflating a small air balloon in her trachea that kept the tube still, then pulling that out. Tsu coughed harshly when they removed it until an oxygen mask was placed over her nose and mouth.
"You alright?" Dr Shakuniku asked, watching her closely. Tsu managed to steady her breathing, giving the woman a nodd. "Ok good. We're going to keep moving." Taking the mask away they started to remove her bandages next and from what Tsu could see, they were a little better in colour. Just yellow now. Her eye fluttered with the pain-
"Ahhh!" A young nurse made the noise when her wraps were fully off, Tsu looking to her and seeing horror on her face. It made her stomach drop. How bad was her face?!
Dr Shakuniku had no sympathy for the nurse however. "You. Out ." She hissed commandingly, glaring the young nurse out of the room before frowning down at Tsu. "Sorry about that Asui. Don't mind her, she's new." Dr Shakuniku sighed "Were not going to worry about that injury for now, ok? Were focused on your tongue. "
For now…
They coaxed her mouth open, healed skin around the left side cracking and stinging as they did so, and inserted the mouth restraint, locking it around her head. A nurse reached a gloved hand into her mouth and pull her tounge out the best she could, Tsu gagging in pain. Once she had it out, they locked it in place at the top of the restraint tube with a clamp.
"Ok Ms Asui, take a moment to breath. Were going to continue setting up, you just relax a minute." Dr Shakuniku said calmly, patting Tsu's hand as workers milled about them. She tired, honestly she did, but there was no possible way she could relax! She was about to have her tongue reattached for crying out loud. Then the nurse screaming at her face and this tube in her mouth…
Tsu looked up when a tray of sharp looking tools were rolls to her side.
Oh god.
They also brought over the plastic box, which had a biohazard sign on the side and a machine pumping something inside it. That was likely her other half…
It was so nice she could take deep breaths again.
"Ok we all set? Emergency standing by just in case?" Dr Shakuniku asked, looking at her staff. She seemed to get the answer she wanted, and nodded, turning to Tsu. "Alright. Here we go Tsuyu. Try and bare with us, we're going to keep an eye on your vitals and make sure we don't over do it. Take deep breaths, that will help manage the discomfort." Tsu shook as Dr Shakuniku took up a large, glinting tool that looked like gardening shears. "First we need to cut the uneven areas on both sides."
Cold steel closed around her stump and Tsu looked to the ceiling. The feeling of the blade cutting a solid inch off her tongue was burning and made her mind stall furiously, throbbing or echoing in a way that made her unable to conceive simple thought, as if her brain was trying to deny what was happening to her.
People were buzzing about her, conversations that were beyond her capacity to understand for the moment. They were putting gauze on the cut and she could see it turn bright red the instant it made contact. All she could taste was copper and acid.
The first impact of the pain faded to a throbbing burn. She was trembling and distantly felt someone wipe her forehead clear of sweat… Tsu wasn't sure if she was making any noise or not, her throat hurt but that wasn't unusual anymore.
"Ok now we're - start to- -ttach the tong-" Words bounced in and out of her range of hearing. She noted them pulling the plastic box closer through her hazy vision. Dr Shakuniku opened it and pulled out something long.
Tongue, right.
It was pale and the stump reminded Tsu more of something you'd find in the deli section, rather than in her mouth, but she could tell it was still … well… alive. It hadn't lost all its colour and she could see things hooked onto it to keep it viable…
Dr Shakuniku held it in one hand, using her other to cut off the ripped looking end with little effort. Vaguely Tsu thought about a grocery store deli again.
"Ok- rting to put y- ck together."The doctors said, some nurses holding the tongue to it place of origin. Dr Shakuniku put her hands on either side, eyes glowing red-
Tongues aren't that important are they? No, of course not. So there was no need to endure this much SUFFERING anymore.
OH GOD-OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD-
The needles inside her tongue feeling was back ,but it was like they were driven deep inside the wounded flesh. Strangely enough the only way she could describe it was a burning cold with an electric buzz. Like a thunderstorm in December. Tsu couldn't hear or possibly see past the pain, not much but white was visible to her now.
The pain etched deeper and deeper into her flesh until a new sensation shot down into her head. A taste, bitter and sour, like that dry flavour you'd get if you slept with your mouth open. The pain dulled then and something patted her face. Her back and throat were aching...
"-sui?"
Her ears rung but Tsu's hearing returned. She squinted up to the shadows above her.
"Can you move your tongue?"
Distantly she heard the question, but had to let the words bounce around in her head to understand them. Tsu tried to feel it or move it or something….
"Ok, good!" The person above her said, sounding pleased. It appeared as if she had done as asked. "Were going to keep going now. Keep holding on, alright?"
Tsu made a noise deep in her throat.
She could feel them moving her tongue around, then-
Well, at least Tsu could tell she was screaming the entire procedure.
How long this went on for, she had no clue. The pain intensified and dulled at a staggering rate, and the people around her became just background filler. The only one she could focus on, and rarely at that, was Dr Shakuniku, who'd pause the surgery to check her ability to move her severed limb, and to see if Tsu was doing alright.
By the end Tsu was just slumped on the table, eyes staring blindly at the ceiling, too tired and drained of all her will power to do anything else in face of the agony she felt. Voices murmured around her, but hell if she knew what they said. The pain grew dull again, but instead of giving her encouragement this time, they poked the tubes back down her nose.
Tsu gramanced at this, confused, until something released and her tongue instinctively started to recoil back into her mouth.
Oh, they were done…
The reason they put the tubes back in became apparent when she felt how big and swollen it had gotten being reattached. It felt like somebody had tied a knot in the middle of her tongue. She swallowed it back with a wince, her throat was sore, her tongue was sore, everything was sore.
Her face was rebandaged, she could tell through the fog because she could feel the weight of the bandages and cream. She jerked when the bed started to roll again, likely back to her room. Compared to before everything was moving so fast.
Tsu opened her eyes when the elevator shook, looking around wearily. Her sight was starting to come back to normal, but her ears were still buzzing and deaf. When the elevator doors opened she winced at the light and clenched her eyes shut.
POP.
Instantly she was assaulted by the sounds of a busy hospital when her ears started back up. The PA paging and people bustling. Tsu whined, her voice coming out slurred around her tongue. It appeared her face wrap had left enough room for her to speak, at least.
"Set her up in her room and shut the curtain, we'll check up on her in an hour." Dr Shakuniku ordered nearby, Tsu watched as they rolled her into her room and her eyes drifted to see if Midoria was there, but his bed was empty.
"We won't need the ventilator or vitals machine, but I-"
"Dr Shakuniku…." A new voice came and Tsu finally spotted the Doctor outside the doorway with a nurse. "I just wanted to tell you that the-"
Tsu didn't hear anything else when they pulled the curtain closed. She blinked and sighed, trying to relax as the nurses around her bed arranged some blankets. The Iv that had been following her along this entire time was refilled, one nurse injecting something with a needle.
"There we go, now that the surgery is over you can have some pain medication." The nurse said kindly, checking the device for any issues. "Now you get some rest ok?"
Tsu said nothing but watched the drip of fluids into her arm. Some pain medication sounded like a god sent right now…
Once the nurses were sure she was settled, they left her alone, closing the door behind them. Tsu let her eye wonder the room blankly, trying to ignore how much everything was pounding painfully. It wasn't helping that her mind was still reeling after the ordeal. It felt like time was an enigma, shifting between fast paced moment and slow, grinding seconds. One moment she was still in surgery for hours, the next she was wheeled down here in an instant. The room spun slightly and Tsu winced, thinking it maybe best to sit down.
Wait she was already laying down right?
Closing her eyes Tsu whimpered. She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth and tried to think of calming thoughts. Anything to get away from this overwhelming situation. Past the headaches and burning flesh…
She peered back down her bed when the door opened and closed. Was Midoriya back? Or a nurse?
The curtain shifted before Ganma Asui poked his head in.
Dad.
Tsu stared at him, still a little out of it, but feeling a warm sensation in her chest, knowing her family had come to see her. Her dad was staring at her and Tsu, mind muddled, wasn't sure why… Usually the Asui could read each others emotions easily, even if the rest of the world had a hard time with their limited expressions.
He must be wondering why she was in surgery. Maybe he got here a little bit before she came down, and the Doctors hadn't had time to explain…
Tsu grunted, body twitching at the effort to lift her head, to look at him directly. She heaved a difficult breath, speaking with a tight, rasping slur.
"They putt mah t-tongue bac on…."
She wasn't sure if he heard her, or even understood what she had said. She couldn't get much of a volume out. She hardly had the strength to keep her head up… speaking of, she slumped back into her bed with a pained puff. Tsu wiped at her face tiredly, squinting at her good hand when she realized it was no longer tied down.
It was shaking. From exhaustion or pain, Tsu didn't know. Could be either at this point.
Something squeaked and the curtain was pulled closed before Tsu felt two arms slip under her and pull her up into a strong hold. Everything twinged but her father moved quickly, sitting back down on the bed and arrange the tubing safely, until she was cradled in his hold like a newborn.
It had been a long time since anyone had held her like this. At least ten years or so. Her dad still hadn't said anything but Tsu relaxed greatly at the simple gesture. The warmth of the embrace was calming and well, even if her father wasn't really a hero in a literal sense, she felt so safe with him around. Like nothing could hurt her here.
Tsu sighed contently, feeling the effects of the painkillers beginning to take hold.
She drifted off to sleep in a matter of moments as her dad stroked her hair softly.