Solstice and Eclipse: Part III

Chapter IX: New Scars

Author's Note: This chapter takes place before (L/N) has regained consciousness

For as long as she could remember, Yaoyorozu had hated hospitals. The brick and concrete exterior was so rigid and cold and the entranceway foreboding. Inside lingered the combined odors of dozens of different sanitizing sprays where the monochrome walls seemed to exude a feeling of dread. The doctors and nurses all wore the same scrubs in one of three colors, and the way everyone moved was so robotic. The whole thing seemed so artificial it was off-putting. It lacked the comforts of a home. Of course, she understood why it had to be that way. She understood that hospitals were a place for people to heal, but she could also never shake the fact that they were also a place where people went to die.

A wave of unease washed over her as she stepped inside the building, as if the doors had been holding back an ocean of anxiety and trepidation. Nervously sidestepping a man in a wheelchair, Yaoyorozu made her way up to the front desk, the smell of chemicals stinging her nostrils despite the mask around her face.

"Good afternoon, I'm here to visit (F/N) (L/N)." She said politely.

A young man looked up at her. He didn't appear to be much older than her, but he looked extremely stressed and dark circles had settled under his eyes. "Are you related to the patient?" He asked.

"I'm a friend from school." She explained.

The gentleman glanced her way again, taking note of the uniform she was wearing. "What school?"

"UA Highschool." Yaoyorozu told him. "My teacher should already be here. He said if you called my friend's room, he could verify my identity."

With an irritated sigh, the man kicked against the floor to push his chair to the phone sitting on another countertop behind him. Taking the phone off the receiver, he inquired about a patient named (F/N) (L/N) and asked to be transferred.

After a few minutes on the phone, the man pressed his hand against the mouthpiece and called to her over his shoulder. "What did you say your name was?" He asked.

"Momo Yaoyorozu."

Repeating back the information, the gentleman replaced the phone and swiveled back to face her. He handed her a clipboard with an attached pen over the counter and instructed her to fill out several forms and to return them when she was finished.

"Alright." He said, taking the clipboard back from her. "(L/N) is on floor five, room 509. Take the doors on your left, go down the hall a ways and elevators will be on the right."

"Thank you."

Following the man's instructions, she made her way up to the fifth floor, keeping close to the walls so she wouldn't impede any of the hospital staff. She saw Mr. Aizawa standing in the hallway outside what she assumed must be (L/N)'s room, accompanied by Principal Nezu and the doctor assigned to (L/N).

"I thought the sensory overload was because he couldn't control his quirk." She heard Mr. Aizawa say as she got closer.

"It's quite the opposite, actually." The doctor said. "Perhaps that's how it started, but his condition has advanced to the point where his brain's inability to regulate stimuli has resulted in a deteriorating level of control over his quirk."

"And the drugs you found on him?" Principal Nezu asked.

"We ran some tests, and they appear to be a form of neuroinhibitors. In a way, they function similarly to pain killers."

"Any idea where he might have gotten them?" Asked Aizawa.

"Well, the components are pretty standard." The doctor informed. "Most of them could probably be found in your average drugstore, but it's likely he still needed a prescription to get them from a manufacturer."