She was extraordinarily pale. Hina had always been fair-skinned, no doubt in due part to her father's lineage-redheads generally had much lighter skin than others, and she'd clearly inherited most of the heritage- but Aizawa had never seen her like...this. Not even after Kamino Ward, when she'd been injured and coated in the debris.
The hospital gown not covered by the bed's thin sheet wasn't doing her any favors, washing her already ghostly complexion out, and her hair that he'd always have labeled as crimson now could only be described as the color of blood in comparison. Her physical condition was normal. But her mind...that was a different story.
Other than a simple IV to keep her hydrated, at least he was spared the sight of numerous tubes and life-sustaining apparatuses keeping her alive, or the other heroes who had been affected by Daichi's abilities. The room with the original victims had been too crowded to fit another bed, and so they'd found a separate room for her. The constant beeping of the monitoring machines was a persistent grate on Aizawa's ears. A reminder that he'd been here before. And at that time, his girlfriend had been awake and aware. It was a painful contrast.
Nezu and Toshinori stood beside the 1-A teacher, regarding her solemnly. The doctor in charge of those patients who'd been rendered comatose by Daichi's quirk checked her condition, explaining to the small principal all he knew.
"Physically, she's fine." He stated, taking a stethoscope and placing it just below her collar bone to listen to her breathing. "Mentally, however, I couldn't begin to say what is wrong. We don't have the means necessary to check that sort of condition."
"Is there another hospital who can assist with possible treatment? Perhaps someone with a mental quirk?" Nezu asked seriously, and the doctor shook his head, seemingly satisfied with the sound of her lungs.
"Here in Japan? No. As it happened, Scarlet Seer was the only other person besides her brother capable of reaching them at all in this state. Commissioner Jino requested her assistance with the other victims, as I know you're aware, Eraserhead." He went on, nodding to Aizawa. The man barely registered being spoken to, staring at Hina's expressionless face. "Everything we know about these patients' conditions is due to her help. The most I can say is that it is likely there is severe damage to her psyche or...consciousness, as she put it."
The door at the end of the room opened, and the police Commissioner walked through, eyes drawn to the bed with a hard expression. He'd always been a taciturn man, all business and no nonsense, but the disappointment marking it now made him look ten years older. He approached the UA staff and gave a slight bow.
"Has there been any change?" He asked, and the doctor shook his head. Jino sighed. "That is unfortunate. I was so hopeful that the damage Daichi caused wouldn't be as extensive as the other victims."
"And what of her brother?" Aizawa asked bluntly, almost afraid of why the Commissioner was here. A social visit seemed so out of place for him. If something had happened to the transport taking him to the prison-
"Securely locked away behind Tartarus' walls." Jino confirmed quickly, no doubt happy that the villain was finally apprehended. "He awoke from being knocked unconscious not long ago, but the medical facilities there have him on a high amount of quirk-suppressing medications, so it is unlikely he is much of a danger at the moment."
The others nodded, a stale moment of silence settling over the room's occupants.
Jino cleared his throat. "Scarlet Seer once mentioned that repairing the damage Daichi dealt would take a skilled telepath. Other than Daichi himself, there is no one else in Japan who could fit that bill."
"I can put in some calls to my associates in America." Toshinori offered hopefully. "Perhaps they know of a pro who may have a similar quirk."
"I will take any help you may be able to offer up." The doctor added in with trepidation, eyes closing sadly. "There is not much else I can do for these heroes other than keep their bodies physically healthy. The rest is out of my ability to heal."
The Commissioner nodded. "I'll do what I can to reach out to the Embassy and request other international assistance. They should have registries for certain quirk types there. Maybe telepathy is one of them."
"Let us hope." Nezu turned to look upon the Life Skills teacher once again. The doctor finished up his examination, and regarded the men seriously.
"You may stay for visitation if you'd like. Take all the time you need." And with that, he left out the door.
Commissioner Jino cleared his throat again, looking down at the unconscious hero. "I simply wanted to stop by and reassure you that Daichi was indeed apprehended, to give a small amount of...closure, if you will. It isn't much but, given the circumstances, I'd say any win at all is something to be thankful for."
Aizawa didn't entirely agree, and there was a heavy void that lingered after his statement.
"My condolences." Jino finally said, bowing slightly at the waist again before he too left the room, plunging the room into a stiff silence for another time.
Nezu gave a small sigh, weighing his words carefully. "I will see what I can do to help with the expenses for her treatment. There may be a workplace injury fund available that I can pull some strings with. I'd say she's earned as such.
"In the meantime, I must consider her to be on an indefinite medical leave. Mandalay was a suitable temporary substitute, but I doubt she can continue to teach full time, given her other responsibilities." Nezu paused, not savoring his conclusion. "For now, I will need to arrange a new teacher to permanently take her place."
For some reason, that hurt more than Aizawa would have expected. Another Life Skills teacher? Someone that wasn't Hina...Of course, there'd been the teacher who was employed before the redhead had been hired on three or so years ago, but it seemed so far in the past now, he could barely remember the woman's name or what she'd looked like. Hina's presence at UA had become so natural and comfortable to him...replacing her with someone else just felt...wrong.
It felt like they were giving up, as illogical as it may be.
It made sense. UA couldn't go without a Life Skills teacher, and none of them had a clue if she would wake up from this ordeal. Aizawa instantly kicked himself internally. When. When she woke up. Hina was going to wake up. She had to. She hadn't spent all those weeks training herself to become stronger to be put down because they'd been just a little too late. It just...wasn't possible. Right?
Toshinori and Nezu had continued to speak about the subject but, so caught up in his head, Aizawa hadn't heard a word of it. He gaze was fixed on just how lifeless she looked. He could so easily envision the cock of her brow when he said something that amused her, or the way her head tilted when she smiled. And that damn smile. He hadn't wished to see it as much as he did now. He refused to ponder if he would really never see it again.
"-zawa?"
The man blinked, realizing that Toshinori had called his name. He turned to look at his employer and coworker, who watched him with worry. Even he could feel how emotionless his own expression was. "Hmm?"
"Are you alright?"
The 1-A teacher didn't bother responding, letting the silence weigh.
"I understand if you require a leave of absence," Nezu went on, "to take the necessary time for bereavement-"
"No." He shot the suggestions down immediately, looking away. It all sounded very hollow, however. As if he were trying to convince himself. "The best thing right now...is to stay preoccupied with making sure the students are ready for the license exam. They can't afford to fall behind."
It was a poor excuse. They all knew it. None of them mentioned it.
There was a pause, until Nezu gave a little sigh. "I may not believe it is the healthiest course of action, but I cannot force you. I would suggest, however, that you visit with a councilor to sort out-"
"I'll handle it." Aizawa finally said with a tone that brokered no argument, leaving the matter at that.
The dog-bear-mouse principal gave up, and hopped down from the stool that he'd stood on to get a better view of the unconscious hero. "Alright. I must return to the school to begin searching for a viable replacement. Until the time Hina recovers, of course." He stated, no doubt more for Aizawa's benefit than anything. As if not to dismiss his stout refusal to acknowledge anything but that slim reality.
Toshinori left only moments after Nezu, perhaps feeling that Aizawa needed to have some time alone with his comatose partner. The 1-A teacher didn't miss the pitying glance the blonde former hero had sent his way before departing out of the room. There'd been a whole lot of those in the past day or so, and there was sure to be many more.
She's not dead yet.
Wednesdays weren't the ideal day to drink until you couldn't think straight, but Aizawa felt that there was no better time than now to really drown his emotions in alcohol. He wasn't really a frequent drinker, his time being better spent elsewhere. On special occasions and nights out with friends perhaps, but generally he didn't go overboard and knew his limits. A drunk hero was a useless hero, and he may be needed at any given moment.
Those reservations were out the window tonight. Someone else could handle it.
Face red and eyelids drooping with exhaustion and emotional turmoil, he was on his third tumbler of whiskey by the time Hizashi and Nemuri showed up to keep him company at the little bar down the road from the academy he had wandered into. He didn't have the heart to ignore their texts, despite wanting to be alone with his own thoughts. They were just as close to Hina as he was. They deserved to be told what was going on and have someone there to process it all if they needed.
Eyes on the counter, Aizawa felt the seats to his left and right fill, and Midnight and Hizashi both leaned forward on their elbows. He barely even reacted to their arrival. One look at their friend's face and they seemed to realize just how bad things were, any hopes they had for good news out the window. Their shoulders and expressions fell.
They ordered their own strong drinks. Seemed everyone was getting drunk tonight, not that he blamed them. For several minutes, they simply sat together silently, drinking away and letting the alcohol dull the sting of grief. It would hurt even worse in the morning, but what could you do?
Hizashi was the first to bring up what was on all of their minds, like Aizawa knew he would. "Hina, is she...?"
"Yeah." He confirmed aloud after another sip of his alcohol. His one-word response lingered heavily between them, but he did and said nothing to soften the reality.
The radio host hero nodded slowly, taking in what they had already known but wanted to avoid accepting. "Is there any hope for recovery?"
For a long time he didn't answer, thinking over his response. "Hina's the only one who could reverse what Daichi caused. All we can do now is hope another country has a similar enough quirk to repair the damage. But the chances of that are..."
Aizawa trailed off, unwilling to finish the statement. None of them needed to be told that mental-based quirks like her were less common than the physically-altering ones. Even fewer of those went into the hero profession at all.
Nemuri gave a sob, trying her best to keep her composure and not break down in a public space like this. And Aizawa knew that she still carried a heavy guilt for leaving her alone the night Hina was taken. It all came to a head, and she couldn't handle it.
With a drunken sigh, the 1-A teacher settled his arm on her back and let her lean against him in grief as she tried to hold back her grief. "No one blames you..." He said quietly, hoping to ease her heart a bit.
Her head shook. "I do..."
"Don't, Nemuri." Hizashi joined in, leaning over to put his own hand on her back as well. "We all did everything we could."
It was a stale sentiment, but true nonetheless. Aizawa knew as much. She didn't seem to agree. There was a long pause, marked only by Nemuri's muffled, stuttering breaths, and the bartender filling their drinks again. He wisely didn't say anything about the state of the three heroes and left them in peace.
They spent the next hour keeping each other company, getting progressively more drunk. But mostly to just make sure none of them were alone. A reminder that they still had each other, no matter what.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
