Two hours had passed. Satoko was stirring from her sleep. When she woke up, she saw Hawks sitting in a nearby chair.
"I bet you're feeling better than before." He hummed.
Satoko sat up with her face turning into a grimace. Her arm had an IV planted into it. She definitely was feeling more hydrated than she's had for years.
(Did he really just stay with me? Bet that's looking really good for his credibility.) She felt annoyed at the thought.
As she's adjusting to waking up, the doctor came in to talk to her about her condition.
The doctor came in with a tray. He sat it down for her and smiled. "Well...it could have been a lot worse. You're doing pretty well, all things considered. Your ankle was able to be reset fairly easily, so that should heal quickly. Recovery Girl may be able to come in again tomorrow and get you fully healed. We focused on having her heal that gunshot wound of yours tonight, which possibly saved your life. The only reason she didn't heal you completely is because you were already fatigued when you arrived."
Recovery Girl was a well-known hero. Instead of focusing on fighting or rescue, she chose to work at UA in order to heal the students. That allowed for more dangerous training activities. Any injuries could just be healed by her. Due to her type of quirk being rare, she often made visits to hospitals to help those who were hurt. Satoko must have been lucky enough to arrive on a night when she was visiting.
"When can I leave?" Satoko didn't feel very comfortable being here. It's hard for her to fathom being taken care of like this. Thinking everyone is always in it for something.
Hawks didn't let the doctor answer. Instead, he waved him to leave the room. He turned to Satoko. "Either tomorrow or the next day. Whenever Recovery Girl comes, that is."
Satoko stared that the food in front of her. It was some baked chicken with vegetables on the side. She's so used to stealing junk food, food from the trash or cold leftovers from other people.
"Go ahead and eat." Hawks encouraged. "It's nice and hot. Plus, it's my favorite so I recommend."
"So you eat your own kind?" She scoffed at him being 'bird-like'. Hawks snorted like she was joking, but she wasn't. She meant it as an insult.
"I'm sure you're hungry. This should get you back on your feet." He pressed for her to eat. She really was, but his presence being there made her irritated.
(I can't believe I became in a weakened state.) She took her fork and cut into the chicken. It was nice and soft to cut through. How long has it been since she's had a proper meal?
She couldn't even remember. It made her sad to even think about as she took her first bite. Hiding her expression how good it tasted, she glared at Hawks watching her.
"You can go away now." She talked with her mouth full.
"A simple thank you would be nice." He teased.
"I don't like being watched while eating. You got me here so no need to babysit me." She remarked.
"Alright, alright." He got up. "I got it. Don't give the doctors trouble here. You'll be out as soon as you know it."
As Hawks was leaving, she started thinking about Dabi. She hated seeing any bloodshed. Ironic, since she does fight too. But the thought of causing deep wounds always bothered her. No matter who it was. Strange enough, she was wondering if he was ok.
It's hard enough that she couldn't really remember. Did he survive?
Oh, whatever. It doesn't matter now, does it?
She didn't bother asking Hawks. Leaving her own sight, he kind of looked towards her. He noticed that she was really chowing down now. He tried not to chuckle at that and left the room completely. He felt satisfied that she was able to eat something better.
That's the thing about meeting strangers. He's come across many people in his life, but would never come across them again. There was something in him hoping he'd see her again. And the fact that the League of Villains wants her... That was another issue at hand.
A problem that is hopefully resolved and that she isn't found again.
(She doesn't seem like a villain type...) He thought. Despite her attitude problem, he can feel that she's a good person.
...
After two days, Satoko was a bit sick of staying in bed. Not listening to doctor's orders, she ripped the IV out of her arm. She felt good enough to get out of bed.
It was bothersome staying any longer. She saw her clothes on the side and grabbed them to change into. It looks like they cleaned them.
Whatever.
She went into the bathroom to change out of the hospital gown, and left the room promptly.
As she was walking, she bumped into someone. There was a man in front of her with a girl at his side.
The man was so skinny that he looked like a skeleton. He looked worn and tired. His eyes were dark with a blue light shining through them.
The girl had semi-wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. A pair of glasses rested carefully on her nose. She put her hands to her chin and gasped. "Uncle Might! Are you ok?" The girl rushed to the man's side and put her hands on his shoulders to make sure that he was alright.
"Yes," All Might responded with a smile. "There's no need to worry."
Instead of being rude, Satoko halted. She knows better not to apologize when she's in the wrong. "Sorry about that..." But she realized something.
"Did you call him... 'uncle Might?' He doesn't look like All Might." She was curious, of course. She isn't sure how she feels about All Might honestly.
All Might had a dumbfounded expression. He thought everyone knew about his appearance by now.
Melissa looked surprised as well. She looked towards All Might. "I thought you said that everyone knows about that now?"
"Not everyone has that luxury of knowing." Satoko grumbled.
All Might caught on. Looking at her appearance, she looks like she's a bit sheltered. He didn't want to assume. "Sometimes word can spread less fast in some areas. Would you like to hear my story then?"
"I guess." Satoko replied. The least she could do for bumping into him like that. He didn't look like he's in a good condition either.
All Might kept the story brief and short. He talked about the fight with All For One. Satoko tried to pay attention, but with hero stuff.. Hard to believe everything with her.
She zoned back in when Melissa started speaking.
"It was really great how you managed to rescue that student too," Melissa said with a smile. She focused back on Satoko. "I actually don't live here in Japan. I came from the United States because I heard that UA has a great support course. I'd like to test out my abilities with them! It would be a great opportunity to get to know the students too."
She poked her chin as she went through the names in her head. "Let's see...I know all of them, but it will probably be nice to get to know some of them better. And it will be especially nice to see my good friend Deku again!" Her cheeks turned a pretty pink color.
Satoko noted her blushing. (Must be nice to be in love... Too bad love isn't actually real.)
The only kind of love she had felt was from her grandpa. She had tried to gain love from others, but they always let her down. Proving her trust isn't worth anything.
She didn't know what to say nor how to respond. "I see, well..."
"Melissa truly is something." All Might praised. "Such a talent for a young girl who doesn't have a quirk. That doesn't stop her. She's always had her job support heroes!" His face beamed talking about her.
Satoko's face went pale. "Quirkless....?"
As in someone actually needed by heroes?
Melissa hummed in response as she nodded. "My father has a quirk, but it doesn't allow him to be a hero. So he found other ways to help out. I also wanted to be a hero when I was younger, but I guess life doesn't always work out like we would want, huh? I was really fortunate though! I have my dad who supports me in whatever I want to do, and I also have friends. If you think about it, the people who work behind the scenes do a lot too. They're like the heroes for the heroes! So that's exactly what I want to become!"
Fortunate.
A father that supports.
Every word of Melissa's put a stinging pang to Satoko's heart.
Jealousy was arising. She felt bitter and angry. This wasn't fair. No, she refused to believe such a parent figure exists.
Doting parents... That didn't seem real to her. While Melissa finished her statement, Satoko already started walking passed them.
"Must be nice." She said through her teeth. She was ripping off the hospital bracelet to take out her negative mood on. It hurt even saying that. She hates to feel envious and wanted to break that ugly feeling. She leaves before Melissa or All Might could say anything. The hospital bracelet fell out of Satoko's pocket.
All Might caught a glimpse of her name. He wanted to say something, but he doesn't know who this woman is.
Melissa frowned. "I think that something I said upset her. Did I come off as trying to brag?"
"It could be a number of things," All Might replied. "We don't know her story." He picked up the hospital bracelet on the ground. "Just her name."
From the distance, there was a familiar freckled face approaching. It was Izuku Midoriya waving as he walked. "Melissa! All Might!" He greeted. "Sorry!! Am I late?"
"Deku! I've missed you!" Melissa's eyes immediately lit up when she saw him. She opened her arms to offer him a hug.
"U-um." Izuku started to blush as he slowly went into hugging her. His face was beet red from feeling her delicate warmth. "I've missed you as well."
It was no brainer that Melissa was on his mind a lot since their last encounter.
All Might coughed a bit to make his presence known, and to also tease these two kids with their PDA.
"Oh!" Melissa took a step back. Her face wasn't red before, but All Might coughing made her more aware of how that looked. "So Deku, how have you been? Are classes going well? There haven't been any more villain attacks, have there?"
"Things are calm now, it seems." Izuku stated. "We have heroes training us at the moment." He paused for a moment. "Were you upset about something? It looked like you were sad before I got your attention."
"There was a girl that we ran into. She seemed upset about something," Melissa explained. "I wish we could help her, but...she walked off."
"What did she look like?" Izuku tilted his head.
"Her hair was a bit colorful. She looks like she's in her 20s." All Might noted. "Satoko Takanashi is the name we got, but only from this bracelet."
"Could there be something going on?" Izuku asked.
"Let's not jump to conclusions." All Might waved his hand. "She could just be having a bad day."
"I see." Izuku pondered. Now that Melissa is here, he wanted to spend more time with her. The thought of it fluttered his heart.
The three of them got off topic eventually and made their way with their day.
...
The place that Satoko was staying at wasn't the best. It was extremely dirty. The only thing she had to rest on was a torn up and stained mattress. If she wanted shelter from rain, there was a wooden shelter a few minutes away. She could go there to rest. She typically avoided it though, due to the fact that she wanted to avoid running into other people.
(So that's where she's been staying,) Dabi thought.
And, of course, Dabi had found out where she was.
Satoko spotted him from the distance. There was no way.
Absolutely no way. (How on earth did he find me?)
Was he really that desperate to search for her?
"Of course, I should have known you were stalking me!" She went on guard. "Get out of he-!"
He charged at her before she could finish her sentence. His hand went over her mouth roughly, causing her to stumble back and hit a wall. Dabi had a lazy smile. "I think I figured it out. Don't tell me what to do. I've seen what happens when you order people around. I just want to talk about something for now."
Satoko gave him a hateful glare. She couldn't seem to bite him the way his hand was forced upon her. She stomped super hard on his foot as an indicator to get him to move away from her.
Dabi scoffed. "Nice try. You're pretty much useless without being able to use that power of yours. You can control people, right? By speaking to them? That's what I think. It's obvious that you aren't quirkless. You would have to be a moron to actually believe that."
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