Puppet Strings

Chapter One

Alluna counted her breaths, stuffing down her rising panic. She opened her mouth to reply, unsure of what to say. There was a knock at the door. Alluna let out a breath.

"Who's there?" Yukimura asked.

"Hello Yukimura-san?" a feminine voice from the other side of the door responded. "Eraser-Head is here to visit the patient. Is she well enough to see him?"

Alluna furrowed her eyebrows. There were a few things wrong with that statement. One; she'd never heard of the name Eraser-Head. Two; it obviously belonged to a hero, and heroes were not on Alluna's side. At least, not according to her.

Yukimura's voice, once again, interrupted her thoughts. Alluna wasn't used to being around people all the time. "Yes, come in."

The door opened and Alluna, still imoble in her bed, gazed forward to see two people walk into the room, a black-haired man, and an older woman. Both smiled at her, one warm, one tired. The woman wore a white nurse's uniform, like Yukimura's. The man wore a black jumpsuit, pieces of white cloth like scarves wrapped around his neck.

Alluna's eyes widened. Her scarf! Her hands shot to her neck, gasping when the needles connected to her left arm flared, making her forearm throb.

"Himari-san!" Yukimura called, startled. "Are you okay?"

Alluna was not okay. Her right arm had made its way to her neck, where she found no scarf. Bile rose up her throat as she pushed the panic down. "Where's my scarf?"

Yukimura blinked. "Scar– oh, that old thing. We have it in a bag with your other clothes. We'll return it to you once you leave."

Alluna sighed in relief. Everything was okay. Everything was fine.

The room had calmed down. "Good afternoon," the older nurse greeted.

"Hello," the man, Eraser-head, added.

"...Hi?" Alluna mumbled, hiding behind her alabaster hair. A twinge of embarrassment had flooded her from her outburst. If she had done something stupid like that at home...

"This is the pro hero Eraser-Head," the older nurse explained, like it wasn't obvious. "He was the one who brought you to the hospital."

Alluna blinked. He was the one who saved her. She wasn't sure what to feel. This man, this hero, had saved her. She knew heroes were supposed to be saviors, but after hearing the title as a threat for years, Alluna had only ever really thought of heroes as something malicious. She swallowed.

Eraser-Head smiled tiredly at Alluna, turning to the two nurses. "Yukimura-san, Sado-san, may I talk to her alone?"

"Of course." They swept out of the room. Yukimura turned before closing the door. "I'll bring you some water." And they were gone.

Eraser-Head sat down on the edge of Alluna's bed, careful to avoid crushing her feet. "Hello, my name is Aizawa Shota, what's yours?" He offered her a small smile. Alluna got the feeling the older man wasn't used to smiling so often.

"Himari Alluna." She paused, wondering how to phrase her next words. "Um, please don't take this as rude or anything, but why are you here? I don't know you."

There was another pause. "I was the one who brought you to this hospital." He studied Alluna's face carefully, waiting for a reaction. "I saw you falling from that building, but I was too far away to do anything, I'm sorry."

"Th-that's okay," Alluna murmured. She would've died if he hadn't been there to save her. Would that be a good or bad thing? She thought she had been ready to die, but maybe she wasn't. Alluna shook her head, letting her long hair fall over her face. She was a coward after all.

Aizawa spoke up. "Himari-san, do you have your parents' phone number? I'm sure they're very worried about you by now. We searched around, but no one nearby said they knew you."

Alluna bit her lip. To give herself more time to ponder her answer, she said, "Can you call me 'Alluna'? I would prefer it to my surname."

"Of course, Alluna-san." There was a pause. "And about my question."

Alluna had come up with her idea. "I know. I've been trying to think, but I don't remember my mother's phone number. I think it starts with 054?" Under her hair, Alluna smiled to herself. Almost all the phone numbers in Shizuoka Prefecture started with 054. Before Aizawa had time to respond, Alluna asked her own question. "How long have I been here?"

"Nearly three days."

Alluna blinked. "Three days?"

Aizawa nodded, the yellow goggles on his head falling across his face. He pushed it back up. "Do you know your father's phone number? Or another friend or relative?"

Alluna shook her head. "I don't have friends or extended family, I think. And my dad's dead."

Her eyes suddenly widened, suddenly realizing that the information she had offered Aizawa didn't match up with the information she had given Yukimura. Panic rose. She had to think fast.

"M-my mom's gone." She clenched her hands, unclenching the left after it started aching.

Aizawa frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she took a breath, "I haven't seen her in two – no, that would be five now – days." She swallowed, blinking her eyes. "She left me, I think."

That would be enough. Hopefully, if Aizawa ever got the chance to chat with Yukimura, he would assume she told her both her parents were dead because her mom was dead to her.

Aizawa stared at her. He could tell that the white haired girl wasn't telling the full truth, but he supposed she didn't have to reveal all her secrets. "Where will you go after they discharge you from the hospital?"

"I don't know."

Why couldn't I have just died? This is so much more complicated.

Aizawa stayed silent for a second, and he looked like he was thinking. Finally, he glanced up and smiled at Alluna in a reassuring fashion. "I'll see what I can do." He met her gaze, standing up. "Don't worry, you won't be alone anymore."

Alluna brushed her hair out of her eyes, her blue irises following his form as he walked out of the room with a soft goodbye.

When the door shut behind him, and Alluna was finally left alone to her thoughts, she leaned back, closed her eyes, and covered her face with her hand, allowing her emotions to finally, break free.

"Thank you."

~~~

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