"In the end you're just a tool for violence, made to keep up down. And violence only breeds more violence."
A blinding light met my eye as I opened them. I cringed, raising a hand to shield my one good eye from the early morning sun that was filtering through my window. Then, my heart dropped. The last thing that I remembered was fighting with Stain in the alleyway, and I was no longer in the alley. Where were Izuku and Tenya? Where was Shouto? I glanced around the room desperately, trying to determine just where I was while struggling to keep my panic in check.
The room that I was in was almost completely white. The walls, the floors, the sheets, the upholstery on the chair next to my bed. A panicked thought suddenly danced across my mind: was this some strange version of the afterlife? I made to swing my legs out of bed until I realized that I was hooked up to an IV drip. The needle in my arm had started to tug at my skin uncomfortably.
"I think we're in the hospital."
I jumped, realizing with a jolt that I was not alone. Slowly, very slowly, I turned my head to gaze in the direction from which the voice had come: from behind. My one good eye settled on the tiny creature twisted around the headboard of my bed. Its eyeless face was fixed on my own, that familiar yet still foreign lipless smile leering at me, sending chills down my spine. Instinctively I made to move away, but that only resulted in a tight tug on the skin on my back. The creature was obviously still connected to me.
"I already told you, my name is Vi." it continued. It sounded a little annoyed with me. "Not the creature'."
"Sorry," I mumbled. I turned away from Vi, once again glancing around the room to try to get my bearings. "The hospital, huh?"
"Not any old hospital," it said slyly. I arched an eyebrow. "I think we're in the mental hospital."
"What?" I breathed in disbelief. Vi chuckled darkly.
"I expected for the end of my incubation period to be a little tough on you, mentally and physically." Vi mused. "Melding your mind to another is probably very taxing."
"No kidding." I replied bitterly, rolling my eye in response. Vi frowned slightly.
"I saved your life. You're welcome."
"You landed me in the mental hospital," I retorted. "How did that happen, exactly?"
"You weren't entirely unconscious when the Pros finally got there," Vi explained lazily. "But our consciousnesses were too mixed up, all jumbled around. I think your disorientation at my emergence sent up some red flags."
"Perfect." I muttered darkly as I curled my legs up under my chin. "Just perfect."
"Hero Killer Stain is dead," Vi said airily. My eye widened in shock. "Your friends held their own. A broken rib pierced the Hero Killer's lung and he died."
"I see…" I murmured listlessly. Vi shifted their position, stretching out toward me.
"Todoroki was the least injured. Izuku and Tenya seemed alright by the end of it all, but I'm sure they had to make their own hospital trips."
"Not the mental hospital most likely."
"Probably not." Vi chuckled.
The two of us lapsed into a tense silence. Vi began fiddling with the clock radio on my bedside table as I gazed out of the brightly lit window absently, the different stations buzzing almost melodically in the background. I wondered vaguely if my father would come to visit; I wondered if he was afraid of me now that I had this strange sentient creature sprouting from my spine. I thought back to the alley, remembering how Shouto had reached out to me and caught me when I was about to lose consciousness. He had seemed concerned, confused, but not afraid. I suppose that was one of the better sides of our society filled with strange Quirks– people were no longer as superficially judgemental as they once were.
I jumped a little as the door to my room slid open. A nurse stepped in, greeting me with a soft "good morning" before setting to work on checking my vitals. I held in a laugh as the nurse attempted to check Vi's vital signs; the creature dodged the stethoscope each time, hissing in a manner vaguely reminiscent of a feline each time the cool metal grazed its skin.
"I don't have organs, dumbass!" Vi screeched as the nurse held Vi down. The woman paused, glancing at me. I shrugged. "I live off of Dai-chan, I don't need organs!"
"You're parasitic, huh?" I murmured, my tone slightly teasing. Vi frowned.
"I prefer the term symbiotic, thanks," it said. Despite myself, I laughed. "Like I said, I saved your life!"
"Our life." I corrected.
"Whatever."
The nurse pulled away, scrawling a few things on the clipboard that she had been holding under her shoulder. Vi watched her intently– I was not sure how Vi watched people without eyes– its head bobbing along to the sound of the pen scratching against the paper. The nurse tucked the clipboard under her arm again.
"Your father called early this morning," she informed me as she took a seat next to my bed. "He says that he will be here this evening to visit you, and with any luck he will be able to take you home either tomorrow or the next day."
"I don't understand why I'm here," I told her, doing my best to keep my voice level. The nurse nodded slowly.
"You were having seizures when you were brought the the hospital with your classmates," she explained. "While drifting in and out of consciousness you were talking to yourself but in two different voices. We just wanted to make sure you were stable, so we decided to transfer you here." I nodded slowly as Vi twisted around my shoulders playfully. I was sure that Vi resembled a very strange looking fox fur, like the kind that rich women sometimes wore around their shoulders. "Now that we know the cause of the other voice it's less concerning, but we'll probably keep you overnight for observation."
"Pfft! Observation!" Vi scoffed. If Vi had had eyes, I was sure they would be rolling. "Get us outta here, I'm bored!"
"No one cares, Vi." I snapped. Vi scowled. The nurse smiled. It was half comforting but half awkward.
"If you would like, some of the more stable patients tend to stay in the common area during the day." the nurse told me. "There are board games, things like that."
"Those things are for kids!" Vi yelled.
"I'm a kid, basically." I said, snapping at Vi again.
"Does my opinion not matter here?" Vi replied, clearly growing agitated. I rolled my eye, sighing heavily.
"Sure it does, Vi."
"Don't patronize me!"
The nurse stood up from the chair, making her way toward the door as the two of us continued to bicker. I clamped my hand firmly over Vi's mouth, turning toward the nurse before she stepped out of the door.
"So we're allowed to walk around outside of the room?" The nurse smiled gently at my tentative question.
"Of course."
I clambered out of bed, slipping the slippers that were placed on the ground gingerly onto my feet. I felt Vi curl over my shoulder, shimmying through the short curtain of peach colored hair the stopped at my shoulders. I was surprised that my hair had grown so long, but I found that I kind of liked it. Vi tugged at the ends of my hair to get my attention.
"Hey, hey," Vi said emphatically. "If we're gonna play a game, let's play shogi!"
The two of us stepped into the hallway. I glanced around, my eye falling a sign which pointed in the direction of the common area. The hospital was fairly quiet, save for a few phone rings and distant chatter. My slippers scuffed against the tile floors as I walked toward the common area, Vi still draped over my shoulder lazily.
The common area was more full than I had expected. Other patients, also clad in white, were sitting in different areas doing various activities. A few were painting in a corner by the windows, while another group was quietly playing a card game in another corner. My gaze fell on a set of shelves across from me, which held board games.
I made my way over to the shelves, Vi beginning to bounce eagerly around my neck while singing "shogi, shogi, shogi" in my ear. I sighed, letting my one eye slide shut momentarily as I came to stand in front of the shelf. I glanced around for a second, looking for any sign of shogi. There was none.
"No shogi?" Vi whined sadly.
Vi let themselves flop across my chest, clearly upset about the board game selection. I sighed, making to pick up a deck of cards.
"Did you two want to play?"
A sudden voice from my left made me jump, dropping the pack of cards that I had just picked up. Vi arched their body around my neck, peering in the direction from which the voice had come. A sudden cry of excitement from Vi alerted me to the fact that the owner of the voice was probably the person who was using the shogi board. I looked over, my eyes coming to rest on a young woman who was sitting alone at a table by the window.
She was very beautiful. Her long white hair draped over her shoulders languidly, and her cool grey eyes regarded Vi and I with a fondness that I was sure neither of us deserved. She was wearing exactly what I was wearing, which told me that she was also a patient.
"The two of you are welcome to join me," she said softly, gesturing toward the game in front of her. "If you like."
I nodded slowly, allowing myself to be pulled toward the woman and the game by an overjoyed Vi. I stopped just short of the chair, smacking Vi on the head in an attempt to get them to calm down. The woman chuckled; it was almost too soft for me to hear. I took a seat opposite of her, meeting her eyes.
"I'm Daichi," I murmured while Vi continued to bob excitedly through the air. "That's Vi." The woman smiled.
"My name is Rei."
I sat down opposite of the woman. Her white hair was almost indistinguishable from the white clothes the she wore. They matched the other patients, the same as mine. The two of us stared at one another for a long while, neither of us speaking. The soft babble of the other patients warbled in and out of my ears, almost indistinguishable against the deafening silence, the tenseness, that was between us. I could not quite tell why, but there was something quite familiar about this woman.
"So, Daichi," she said at last. Her voice was soft, calming. It was a mother's voice. I found myself suddenly missing my mother, though I barely remembered her. Rei slid one of the pieces on the board to another space. "You're new here?"
"I don't think I'll be here long." I told her. I tentatively slid another piece across the board. Rei shot me a terse smile.
"We all think that." she murmured. I froze.
"I'm not supposed to be here." I said.
I did not move another piece, instead leaning back in my chair to glare out of the window. Vi was beginning to tug at the skin on my back impatiently, but I ignored them. Rei was staring at me, now, half inquisitively, half confused. She tapped a shogi piece on my side of the board, indicating that I should move it; I did not oblige.
"Tell me, Daichi, why are you here?" she asked me calmly.
Vi had grown impatient, and had decided to take it upon themselves to slide the shogi piece that Rei had indicated to another space. I kept my one eye fixed on Rei. Much of me wanted to seek comfort in her– she reminded me vaguely of my own mother. The rest of me was apprehensive, suspicious. I was not used to a mother; I did not know what she meant by behaving as though she was concerned about me.
"My Quirk manifested." I told her at last. Vi had taken over the shogi board, playing against themselves as Rei and I sized each other up. "People don't seem very comfortable with it."
"Don't most Quirks manifest by the age of four?" she asked. I bit my lip.
"It appears mine chose to manifest in stages," I explained slowly. The shuffling noise of Vi moving the shogi pieces was the only other thing that I was clearly aware of. "I guess it seems suspicious. I guess that people are afraid of it."
"This is your Quirk, then?" Rei inquired, nodding in Vi's direction as she spoke. Vi ignored her.
"Part of it, anyway," I said. Rei nodded.
"I understand." she whispered. She placed her hands in her lap, and turned to gaze out of the window. "I have a son… He is likely close to your age. It was his Quirk, his appearance, which put me here."
"Your son…?" I repeated, unable to disguise the surprise in my tone. Rei shot me a soft, guilty smile.
"His father and I… Well, it's complicated." she explained. "We did not have a good relationship. I saw so much of him in my son– in part of his Quirk– and eventually it became my undoing." I was now staring at my lap. "I hurt him… I hurt him terribly. Not only physically, but mentally. I do not doubt that this is where I need to be."
"I'm sure that wherever he is, he forgives you."
"Perhaps," Rei said solemnly. "Even if I'm his mother, I can't be certain."
"I forgave my mother," I whispered. Rei froze. Her grey eyes were fixed on me. "I found out she was a villain. She died, but I forgive her. I wish that she was still alive, so that I could tell her that it's alright. That she's human. That there are things that I don't and cannot ever understand." I continued. I did not know why I was telling this stranger all of these things, but there was something about her that made me feel quite comfortable. "But I can't. My mother is dead. At least you and your son can still make amends. You can still tell one another that you love each other." Rei smiled again.
"You're very wise for someone your age." she said fondly. I snorted through my nose in exasperation.
"Tell that to my father. He'd never believe you."
"No kidding!" Vi exclaimed, but the two of us ignored them. Rei slid a shogi piece forward, obliging Vi's eagerness to play.
"Your father seems quite stern,"
"Tell me about it," I said bitterly as Vi moved another piece. "He's a pro hero, I guess I should expect as much."
"I see!" Rei said, laughing and sighing almost in unison. "Who is your father?"
"Aizawa Shouta," I told her blandly. "Eraserhead." Rei froze.
"Ah, of course…" she murmured. "I should have known… After all, you look so much like her…" I raise my eyebrows. "Shigaraki Izanami, I mean."
I stood up abruptly, sending my chair toppeling backwards. It clattered against the tile floor, breaking the intermittent chatter that flowed through the common room. Rei's eyes widened slightly, but she did not seemed surprised. I stared at her, astonished.
"My… my mother…" I whispered hoarsely. Vi curled around my neck, regarding Rei with renewed interest. "You knew my mother…?"
"Daichi?"
I jumped, the new and unexpected voice startling me from behind. It was a voice that I knew quite well. I turned in place slowly, knowing exactly who it was that I would find standing behind me. Sure enough, none other than Todoroki Shouto was standing in the hallways that lead to the common room. His two toned hair stood out against the white walls of the hospital, his mismatched eyes marred with surprise a curiosity. I suddenly realized I had forgotten to breathe.
"S… S-Shouto…" I muttered, tripping over my words. "What're you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same," he replied.
My eyes traveled to his arms, which were covered in bandages. I could only assume what injuries lay beneath them, likely a parting gift from the Hero Killer. Before I could say anything more Rei had stood up, too, facing Shouto head on.
"Shouto," she said softly. I turned to her, looking back and forth between the two of them confusedly. "I wasn't sure if you would come today."
"You know him?" I asked, pointing in Shouto's direction, briefly forgetting my manners. Rei gave me a soft smile.
"But of course I do." she said. "I've already told you about him."
I turned back toward Shouto, shock evident in my expression. His lips were pulled taught in an awkward, tense line across his face. At last he met my gaze, his eyes searching mine for something to work with.
"Well, there's no use." he said at last. Vi and I continued to stare at him, completely at a loss for words. "It seems that you've finally met my mother."
hello all! i'm very sorry for the short chapter. i broke my hand a couple weeks ago, and so it's very difficult to type anything too long. i should be getting my cast off two fridays from now, so expect more chapters when that time comes, but i wanted to give you something small in the meantime! thank you very much for your support, it means so much! as always reviews are appreciated, and i thank you for your patience while i heal so that i can get back to writing!
