I've written a lot of TodoMomo fics, but this is the first time I've written Huwumi. While I should have Fuyumi's character down after writing her multiple times as a supporting character in TodoMomo, I've only written Hawks once so I hope I wrote him well!
Fuyumi makes the rounds in the hospital to see her family members. She received the lightest injuries and is the first to be able to move around in the hospital. She'll almost certainly be discharged the earliest. possibly even the next day. She forms a mental checklist of groceries to buy, chores to do, people to thank… She'll need a physical checklist when she gets back to her room to keep track of everything.
Her parents' rooms are the closest. Their rooms are right next to each other, only separated by a wall. Enji is no longer in critical condition and just moved to this spot. Still, there is a more important area to visit first, one that her parents would definitely want Fuyumi to check as often as she can and she goes there first.
Touya's room.
Touya… is still in intensive care and has no sign of waking up anytime soon. Not even family is allowed inside the room. She stops by the pass-through window and looks inside. No changes, the doctor said. Fuyumi sighs and gives a courtesy nod to the guards stationed at his door. They're only there just as a precaution in case he does wake up. She then goes on her way.
The next person she visits is Natsuo. Natsuo is awake and sitting at his bed with his girlfriend nearby when Fuyumi arrives. They've met previously, and the former explains that Natsuo is almost ready to walk; his injuries are only slightly heavier than Fuyumi's.
As Fuyumi leaves, Natsuo asks something. "Sis, say hi to Shouto for me."
"I will. I'm seeing him next."
"I'll get better soon and tell him in person."
She stops by Shouto's room to see someone has beaten her to the punch. That person is sitting next to Shouto's bed with their back to Fuyumi, meaning neither of them can see each other's faces. The high ponytail and school uniform that this girl sports gives Fuyumi a hint about who it is listening to Shouto speak. Fuyumi knows that her brother is popular, but she's never seen him this talkative before. And the way he looks at this mysterious girl… Fuyumi's sisterly instincts are going off.
"How's the hospital food?" Momo asks.
Shouto shakes his head. "As terrible as advertised on television. Could you grab me one of the gifts?" He motions his head towards the pile of gifts covering the small table near the window.
"You've gotten a lot of 'get well' gifts. Is there one that you would prefer?"
"Which one is yours?"
"The fruit basket."
Fuyumi, not wanting to be seen just yet, is sitting in a chair outside of Shouto's door. She takes a quick peek inside and sees a huge basket filled to the brim with fruit close to Shouto's bed. She stays in that position with only her eyes and the top of the head poking from the door while the rest of her body is hidden.
"Of course. I should've known."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It looked good, so I've been wanting to try it." Shouto quickly responds. "Unfortunately, my hands are still in recovery." He shows her his bandaged up fingers. "Utilizing a knife is beyond my abilities right now."
"Oh, sorry. That's my fault, I should've known before getting you that. Um- I can peel and cut it for you if you want."
"Weren't you just as bad at peeling and cutting as me?"
"I've been… practicing. But never mind that, which one do you want first?"
"The apple."
Momo washes the apple in the bathroom sink and grabs a plate on the way back to her seat. She creates a fruit knife and creates a fork and proceeds to peel the apple. Finally, she slices the apple into chunks. "Impressed?"
"Yes and no. Yes, because I only remember you making little cuts on your hands all the time. No, because I thought you were good at everything and didn't need any improvement."
"You think too highly of me…"
"No, I don't." He eyes her amusedly. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"It's my pleasure, Todoroki-san."
He extends his arm to grab one apple slice at the exact moment that she stabs a piece with her fork. As she lifts the fork, it collides with Shouto's hand and is on a falling trajectory. Shouto quickly catches it with his free hand; the other hand that was reaching for the apple is now used to balance himself by holding onto the nightstand.
"Todoroki-san, I'm sorry!" Momo arranges his body back to its original position. "Are you alright?!"
He puts the apple into his mouth and begins gingerly touching his shoulder and arms. "I'm not so sure…"
"Geez. You really should prioritize your health, Todoroki-san. There is plenty more that you can eat." She raises the fork again and succeeds this time in putting the apple slice in his mouth.
"I value your health more. I'll be out of here eventually. I know some of the cuts on your hand are new. I'm not wasting your hard work."
Momo's ears becomes pink and she struggles to speak for a few seconds. "T-thank you." She clears her throat. "But if you do that, you'll prolong your stay here."
"Then you'll have to visit me more." Fuyumi thinks she sees steam coming from Momo's head. "Yaoyorozu?" Shouto asks.
"Yes?"
"I think I have a piece of apple stuck around my mouth. Can you get it for me?"
"You better not get used to this treatment." Momo puts one hand on Shouto's cheek. She can reach the apple with her fingers from there, but she does something that neither of the present Todoroki siblings can predict; she leans her head in until she can suck in the leftover apple scrap before putting her lips on his. Shouto's eyes light up and Fuyumi lets out a gasp.
When they depart, both of them take a few seconds to recollect themselves. Shouto recovers first. "That's not good."
"W-what isn't good?" Momo stutters.
"I could get used to that."
"...Please get better first." Momo sighs, half from relief and half from exasperation. "I can visit you when you get discharged too, you know."
"I'd like that. You can come eat dinner with us if you want. You don't mind right, Fuyumi-nee?"
A shame that Shouto blew her cover; Fuyumi could watch this all day. She can't complain about what she just witnessed though, and it's her own fault that she gasped earlier. Momo's mortified expression when she turns around is amusing in its own way. "Of course I don't mind." She aims a beaming smile towards Momo to calm her down. "Hello! I'm Shouto's sister, Fuyumi."
Momo takes a deep breath and regains her composure. "Nice to meet you. I'm his classmate and friend, Yaoyorozu. Yaoyorozu Momo."
"Ah- I've run into you a couple of times at the U.A. shelter and you visited Shouto before in his previous hospital room. So, you're that Momo."
"That Momo?"
Shouto glares at Fuyumi to signal her to stop talking. She pays him no mind. "Shouto talks about you all the time at home! Now I have a face I can match with that name. Do you want to know what he says about you?"
"Fuyumi-nee... Yaoyorozu, you don't have to listen to her."
"Sorry, Todoroki-san." Momo scratches her cheek and turns back toward Fuyumi. "I'm admittedly a little curious."
"She's the best student in the class. If I'm ever stuck on something, she's the first person I go to. If she only had a little more confidence, she would be the perfect hero-"
"I need to use the bathroom." Shouto interrupts. Fuyumi can't fight the needs of his body even if she suspects the timing. She and Momo, who has quite the blush on her face, help Shouto step into the bathroom.
As the door closes, Fuyumi uses whispers to Momo her next question. "Are you his girlfriend?"
Momo shakes her head. "It's not like that."
"Reeeally?" Fuyumi mouths. The blush on Momo's face betrays her. "That kiss said otherwise."
"...That was our first kiss."
"You look like you both enjoyed it." Fuyumi smirks. "So, it's not no. It's not yet."
Momo takes a few seconds before sighing and then she slowly nods. "Not yet. I'll ask him soon."
Fuyumi reminisces about how Shouto one symptom of his 'small child phase' was him proposing to her (she still gets them occasionally from the children she handles who are around that age). It's moments like these that remind Fuyumi that her little brother is all grown up now.
Fuyumi grins at Momo and then turns up the volume of her voice again. "I'm sure Shouto will get better sooner with such a cute girl looking after him!" She then winks at Momo as she gets up. "I'll leave him in your hands. See you around! Shouto, I'm leaving now. Natsu says hi and he'll stop by when he can."
She hums as she exits the room. Guess love is in the air~
It's finally time for the last stop; her parents' room. One corridor away, she sees a familiar figure with ash-blond hair heavily leaning on his IV stand while slowly heading towards the same direction as her.
The man is visibly laboring and about to stumble when Fuyumi helps him out. "Easy there! I've got you." Now that she's up close, she can see who it is. "Hawks? So it is you! Sorry, I wasn't sure."
"No need to apologize. I'm looking quite different from my heydays. Especially…" He uses his thumb to point towards his back. The once majestic wings on his back are nowhere to be seen.
"Sorry to hear that." Considering that they were going in the same direction, Fuyumi surmises that their target destination is also the same. "Are you on your way to see my Dad? I was heading there, too."
"Oh, in that case- of course you should go first. I'll wait over here."
"Don't be silly! Let's go in together. I'm sure seeing you will help him recover sooner." Fuyumi chastises herself immediately for repeating what she said to Momo.
"Uh- I'm not so sure about that…"
"Anyway, I've already talked with him. If anything I should be the one waiting after seeing your condition." Fuyumi sees he's about to open his mouth in protest and beats him to the punch. "But I know you wouldn't agree to that, so let's compromise."
Keigo shakes his head and wryly smiles at her. "Why are all the Todorokis so stubborn?"
"It's our defining trait." Fuyumi pulls his free arm and wraps it around her shoulder. They walk in silence for a few steps while Fuyumi adjusts to walking with him leaning on her. When she feels comfortable, she opens her mouth again. "Oh yeah, and if my Mom's there, I can see her first."
"Thanks." Keigo says.
I should be the one saying that. Fuyumi takes a glance at her mother's door. "My pleasure." It's open, but Rei's not there. She might be doing some tests right now.
"Hey." Keigo interrupts her thoughts and looks the most meek she's ever seen him. "When I get discharged… wanna go somewhere? Like dinner or something?"
"Huh? Where did that come from?" The shock from hearing that now overwhelms the butterflies in her stomach.
"Well," Keigo scratches the back of his head, "I've always thought you were pretty. From up close, you're really beautiful."
"Um…"
"What do you think you're doing?" Enji puffs at the door.
"Yo, number one! I see you're up and about already."
"I'm making good progress. Don't change the subject."
"Well," Keigo thinks about his answer for a second, "I'm asking your daughter for a date."
Enji glares at Keigo. "Don't do that."
"What? Your daughter's a grown woman, she can make her own choices."
"No- I mean don't ask her while leaning on her for support. She's too nice to reject you like this."
"Hey, you don't know that she'll reject me. But, fair on the other point. I'll ask again later."
Enji sits on his bed while Keigo and Fuyumi sit on chairs at opposite sides of the bed.
"So, what do you want?" Enji asks, straight to the point as always.
"Just came to check on you and make sure you're fine. Heard you just got out of critical condition. Looks like I just made a wasted trip. You seem like you're in better shape than me."
"Hmph. Of course." Enji says gruffly. He then gazes at the younger hero's shoulder and his voice becomes softer. "How about you? Any luck with that?"
"Nah. All For One took it for good. I knew it was gone during the fight, so I never got my hopes up in the first place. At that point, I just wanted to waste as much of his time as possible." Keigo shrugs. "Guess that's it for me as a hero."
"No way… are you serious?" Fuyumi interjects and draws the eyes of both men. "You've helped our family so much. It just doesn't seem right."
"Just part of being a hero. Though, I guess we didn't really do our jobs since even you and your older brother and mom had to get involved. Nice work getting your brother back with everyone alive. I'm lucky I came back alive myself."
Though Hawks puts on a flashy smile, Fuyumi- and most likely her father as well- know that it's nothing more than a brave front. She's watched Shouto and her father striving to be the greatest heroes all her life. If they lost their abilities, it's more or less the same as losing their purpose in life.
The two former top-two heroes exchange information about the status of the other heroes, the villains, and restoration efforts. Fuyumi feels out of place, but neither of them seem to mind. The conversation concludes an hour later.
"I have physical therapy scheduled now, so I'll see you later." Keigo says. He waves goodbye at Enji from the doorway which is returned with a grunt and a nod.
While he's not struggling currently, Fuyumi remembers how much he labored earlier. "Are you going to be fine on your own?"
"I'm sturdier than I look." He raises his free hand and lightly beats his chest. "Mr. Number One hero still can't leave his room, yet here I am. Plus, I think I got a little better from seeing you."
Fuyumi runs a short conversation in her mind. He's gone above and beyond in helping our family, he seems nice, and- well, yes he is a little cute. "Hawks?"
"Just call me Takami or Keigo. Hawks is going to announce his retirement soon."
"Takami-san... If you were serious before about your offer, I wouldn't mind going to get coffee or dinner with you once you get discharged."
"Really? You have no idea how happy I am to hear that! Thanks! I've never been so pumped to head to physical therapy."
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Last- but certainly not least- it's time to visit her mother, who is sitting on her bed when Fuyumi looks through the open door. Rei is grinning ear-to-ear and Fuyumi surmises that she knows why. "...So you heard?" Fuyumi apprehensively asks as she pulls up a chair.
"I did."
"How much did you hear?"
"Oh, more than enough." Rei chuckles and her smile grows even wider.
"Ha ha..." Fuyumi nervously laughs. That's probably how I looked to Momo… Guess I'll have to buy some more seat cushions for the dining room.