Broken Smile of the Lost Child [MHA fanfic Rewrite]

Chapter 4: Through the Fire

He wasn't sure if it was the anesthesia $hit or morphine or whatever $hit that was getting pumped into him via the IV, but Katsuki felt his lip quirk up slightly and he managed to say a decently coherent sentence.

"Sup, old hag, old man." His voice was hoarse and dry and god, his throat was parched.

"KATSUKI!" his mother cried, appearing at his side in the blink of an eye. Tears- genuine honest to god tears- sprang to the corner of her eyes and her lips quivered. Her hands reached out shakily and she gently cupped his face, needing to do that just to make sure he was really there.

"Thirsty." He croaked out.

"Here." Old man pressed something against his lips. He realized it was a glass of water. He sipped and as the glorious clear liquid slipped down his parched throat- he managed to ignore how it felt like he was choking on smoke- he greedily gulped down more.

He drank at least four cups until his thirst was placated.

(But his throat could still taste the smoke inhalation that stubbornly insisted on clinging on.)

"Red, is she....?" He glanced over at her.

"She's fine, son." Masaru reassured him. "The doctor's said she should wake up soon."

There was slight groaning from the other side, the unconscious figure of Tsuya shifting ever so slightly.

"Or right now." Masaru corrected.

Uncle Seiki rushed over so fast, Katsuki wondered if the man unlocked a hidden teleportation quirk while he and Tsuya were knocked out.

Tsuya groaned, trying to swim past the underwater-like sensation her head still seemed to be immersed in. Her limbs felt stiff and heavy like lead and her left arm felt.....off. It was numb and stiff but still there and there was a stinging itch that was borderline burning on it.

Groggily, she opened her eyes, blinking blearily against the sudden bright lights. Turning her head around to avoid them, she saw a familiar person by her bedside.

"Dad...?" she croaked out, her voice hoarse against her throat.

"Tsuya." He breathed, relief gasping out of him. "Oh thank god you're alright, starlight."

"Daaaad." She managed to find it in herself to whine at the nickname he affectionately calls her by. Maybe it was the anesthesia that was making her dopey.

Side by side, anyone could tell he was her father, Hoshiko Seiki at first glance. She had his red hair, albeit his was faded slightly with age. He had a bit of stubble on his chin, his eyes were a warm calming blue that always crinkled when he smiled- like right now in relief- with an oval face shape and a body that was built like a tank. Even though he was wearing a modest casual t-shirt, the sleeves did little to hide the muscles that rippled across his arms like waves.

"Here sweetheart, drink up." Seiki said, gently pressing a glass of water to her lips too.

She greedily gulped it down, spluttering when she drank too fast at some point and choked. Eventually, she too was satisfied.

Tsuya glanced over and she felt a weight she didn't know was there disappear when she saw Katsuki was there too, awake and bandaged up- he had a frickin eyepatch for crying out loud!- but more importantly, alive.

Both of them were alive.

...................both of them were alive.

That thought no longer sent relief or gratitude surging through them as they slowly remembered the events that transpired which led them to where they were now.