Welcome back for Chapter 17!
I hope you all enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kirishima P.O.V
I set down the last box onto my bed and wiped my forehead. I sighed and looked around the room. The teachers have had us moved into dorms after the summer camp incident so we were all getting settled in. I reached for my phone and checked the time.
4:45
"Yooo, Kirishima!" I turned to see Bakugou, Kaminari and Sero standing outside of my dorm room. "Hey guys! What are you up to?" I asked as I reached to my night stand. "We were thinking of going to visit Mei. Wanna come with?" I smiled and held up a small vase full of flowers, "I was planning too".
After talking to a nurse she showed us to Mei's room. She performed a quick check of her vitals and left us alone with her. "Hey Mei, the nurse says you're doing alright" I say as I set the vase down on the table beside the bed. It was silent for a moment before Sero spoke up. "I wonder if it's true... If they can really hear what you're saying when they're in a coma."
I sighed and looked to Mei. She looked so much better from that day, aside from the IV's, the feeding tube in her nose and the oxygen tube. I placed my hand on her head and sat down next to the bed. "I hope so."
It's been about two weeks since that day. Doctors put Mei into a medically induced coma so that she could heal. They've had her on constant watch since her heart had stopped. She's been getting better but doctors were hoping to have her off the vent by now and are wanting to wake her up. But she still can't breath on her own and waking her up could make things worse.
We sat around making small talk for about an hour then, one by one, everyone began to leave until it was just me.
"Oh, hello Kirishima" I turned to see All Might flashing a smile and a small wave. "All Might! And miss Yui how have you been?" I smiled at Mei's sister who was holding All Might's hand. She smiled and ran up to me, arms open for a hug. "I'm good Kiri! We came to see oni-san" She hopped in my lap and All Might took a seat next to me. I talked with Yui for a few minutes until she got distracted and started playing games on my phone.
"So how has it been? With everything going on?" All Might sighed and scratched his head. "Well, it's been busy for sure. I severely underestimated how hard it would be raising a child. She's a handful but one I'm glad to have taken in" he said followed by a chuckle. I nodded then looked to Mei. "I bet. Mei will be extremely thankful if she wakes up." All Might put his hand on my shoulder. "When, Kirishima. When she wakes up." I nodded and smiled.
Flashback (still in Kirishima's POV)
The doctor approached us as we sat in the hallway. "We got Mei back, she's stable for now and we'll be keeping a close eye on her. If she continues to be stable for the rest of the night we would like to put her into a medically induced coma so she can heal." We all sighed in relief and stood up. All Might cleared his throat, "and Fuyu?" The doctor sighed, looked to the ground and then back up to All Might. "I'm sorry. We did everything we could but we weren't able to revive her." We all sat in disbelief. "S-so what do you do now?" All Might stuttered. "We've been trying to get ahold of the girls Father, but we haven't been able too. We will keep trying but what we're looking at right now is foster home-" All Might cut him off, "Me! I-I'll take them in." The doctor looked in surprise and then nodded. "We can help set that up for you." All Might nodded and then pointed to Mei's door, asking if it was okay to go in. The doctor nodded and opened the door for us. Before he could leave All Might turned to him. "As for the girls father, stop calling. It's a waste of time."
End of Flashback
We talked for a while about the new dorms and the upcoming term. Soon, the nurse entered and gave me a small smile, "I'm sorry. Visiting hours are over now." I nodded and returned the smile. All Might and I collected our things and got ready to leave. "You better get well soon Mei", I said standing and grabbing my sweater. "I'm kinda going crazy without you here". I placed my hand on hers and gave it a small squeeze. "Have a good night Mei."
Another week had gone by, I visited Mei as often as I could but with only a few days before we start school again it had gotten busy. All Might was giving me updates on the days I couldn't make it. Before I knew it we were in our first day of class.
"All right everyone, that's it for this class. Go enjoy your lunch." We all left the classroom and made our way to the cafeteria. "Sooo Bakugou how is that remedial corse going?" Sero said with a smirk. Bakugou punched him in the shoulder and growled, "shut up idiot." I took a bite of my food and noticed my phone start buzzing. All Might's name appeared on the phone and I was quick to answer, "Kirishima, it's Mei-" I ended the call and turned to run for the door. "Hey Kirishima! Where are you going?!" I threw the door open and started running for the hospital. "Please. Please be okay. Please be okay!"
I heard a nurse shouting at me to slow down and asking where I was trying to go as I ran down the hallway. I threw open the door and saw All Might facing me. He grabbed my shoulders "Kirishima calm down." "All Might what's wrong what's going on? Is she oka-" I froze as I looked passed All Might and saw Mei.
Sitting up and smiling at me.
"Mei..."
Mei P.O.V
I saw the door fly open and heard the familiar voice.
"Mei..."
The red haired boy stared at me with wide and concerned eyes.
He ran to me and pulled me into a tight hug which I gladly returned. I could feel his body shake against mine. I could feel him start to sniffle into my shoulder. "I'm sorry Kiri. I'm so sorry." He pulled away and grabbed my face in his hands. "I'm so glad you're okay. I don't know what I would've done if you-" I put my hand on his cheek, "I'm okay." I wiped a tear that started to travel down his cheek. We stared at each other for a few more seconds until Kirishima pulled away and took a deep breath.
We talked for a bit and Yui came to sit on my lap after she came back from the cafeteria. I could tell Kirishima still had worry in his eyes when he looked at me. "Hold on Mei, I'll be right back." He walked over to All Might and the two of them started whispering.
Kirishima P.O.V
"Have you told her yet?" I asked, talking about Fuyu. All Might shook his head, "She's just woken up, I'm afraid of what this news could do to her." I nodded and heard Yui talking in the background. "Oni-san, Mommy's gone." My eyes widened as I turned to look at the two. Yui had tears in her eyes,
"M-mommy's not here anymore."
"I know"
Mei P.O.V
I looked at Yui and then to Kirishima and All Might who looked terrified. I turned back to Yui and started to wipe away her tears. "I know." I felt tears start to form as I looked up to the men and smiled, "I know." I pulled Yui into a tight hug. "She's not sick anymore. She's feeling so much better Yui. And she said she loves us so much."
Yui eventually fell asleep on my chest and Kirishima sat beside me, confused. All Might had gone to make some calls. "H-how did you know?" I chuckled and looked to Kirishima. "You'll think I'm crazy. Honestly when I first woke up I was trying to figure out if it actually happened or if it was just a dream." Kirishima looked at me confused. "The doctor told me that both of our hearts had stopped at the same time. I remember I was floating and nothing was hurting. And then I saw her." Kirishima still sat quiet, trying to take it all in. I explained what I had experienced with Kirishima who was dumbfounded. "She saved me." He looked at me surprised. "I was ready to give up. I didn't think I could survive something like this." I rested my hand on my missing arm. "She told me I could survive this and that it wasn't my time. So... she saved me." Kirishima pulled me into a small hug. "I'm so sorry Mei." I shook my head. "It'll be okay. I'll figure something out." Kirishima leaned out of the hug and looked at me.
"I'm not going to let this destroy my life."
A few days have passed and I was finally able to leave the hospital. Everyone was in class while All Might helped me get moved into my new dorm room. I looked to All Might with worry. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of Yui, and I'll bring her often for visits." I nodded and sighed, "I know. Thank you again, for taking us in. I don't know how I can begin to thank you." "There's no need. I'm glad to help." We stood silent for a moment. "Now, do you need help unpacking?" I shook my head, "Thanks. But I should be alright." "I'll leave you to it then. Don't hesitate to text or call if you need anything." I shut the door behind him and sighed as I turned to look at the many boxes left I had to unpack. I went to go clap my hands together but stopped and looked down at what would normally be my two hands. I closed my hand into a fist. "Right, one arm." I took a deep breath, "time to unpack".
I wiped my forehead and sighed as I hung the final finishing touch to my room. I smiled and placed my hand on the frame. Yui, myself and my mother smiled back at me through the glass. "I can do this." I whispered to myself. I took one more look around my room and headed for the door. Checking the time on my phone I realized everyone would be getting back from classes soon. Anxiety began to wash over me as I walked down the dorm hallway and made my way downstairs. 'Why am I so nervous. They're my friends! Of course they'd be happy to see me.' I shook my head and took a deep breath.
Relax
As I got closer to the common room I heard the many voices of my classmates talking about school and some complaining about the already insane workload.
I stopped at the corner and froze. The familiar ache of anxiety crept up my spine and my breath hitched. 'Why am I so scared?' I reached to my shoulder and squeezed slightly. Feeling for what was once an arm was now nothing. 'They'll see me and think I'm weak. They'll pity me' The intrusive thoughts spiralled, one negative thought after the other. I could feel my breathing start to quicken. It all stopped when I heard my name, "Mei?".
My eyes shot up to see Kirishima staring at me with worry. He knew something was wrong so he turned to look into the common area to see if anyone had heard him. He turned back to me and put his arm around my shoulders, we started to walk back down the hallway and eventually we were back in my dorm room.
He closed the door and sat me down on my bed taking a seat next to me. I was still frozen, clutching to my shoulder unable to say a word.
"What's going on?" I looked back to Kirishima and just stared into his eyes, still frozen by the building anxiety. "I-" I tried to speak but my breath got caught. "Hey hey hey, breath Mei" Kirishima started to rub my back and used his free hand to grab mine from my shoulder. "Breath for me"
I closed my eyes and tried to take deep breaths. Slowly I could feel the tightness in my chest start to disappear. Kirishima gently squeezed my hand in his. "Good. That's it." It was silent for a moment. "I'm so scared." I opened my eyes and looked to the red haired boy who was looking back at me. "I'm so weak. And everyone will see that."
"That's not tru-"
"Look at me." I took my hand from his and put it on my chest. "I could hardly unpack on my own. I can barley get dressed by myself!" I looked to the ground holding back the tears that were starting to form.
"But you did it."
My eyes widened. "You still did it. Despite missing an arm."
I sat in silence not knowing what to say. "You were sitting in a hospital bed this morning. And now, only a few hours later, you were able to set up your entire room on your own."
I could feel Kirishima's eyes on me, tears flowing down my face. He cupped my cheek and pulled my face to look at him, wiping the tears away. "I think that's pretty damn strong.... And manly"
I couldn't help but chuckle at the last comment, he laughed also. I wiped the tears from my face and smiled. "Thank you" Kirishima smiled back at me and nodded. He took my hand once again. "When you're ready we can go down and see everyone. They've been dying to see you."
We sat for another minute in silence.
"Okay, I'm ready."
We made it down to the corner before the common area and Kirishima stopped. He looked at me and I nodded. He nodded back and we rounded the corner.
"Hey guys! Look who I found!" Everyone turned and looked towards us. I smiled shyly and waved. "Hey guys!"
"Mei!!"
I was quickly surrounded by everyone, some crying, some laughing. I looked to the one who stood outside the huddle looking to the ground, Bakugou.
Once the crowed dispersed I walked over to him. He looked to me, "Can we talk in private?" I nodded and we walked over to a corner of the room, far from everyone else who had gone to do their own things. "Bakug-" I was cut off by a tight hug. I paused from the surprise but eventually hugged him back. He pressed his face into my shoulder and I could hear his breath start to shake. "I'm so sorry Mei." I shook my head, "Don't do that." I pulled away from the hug and look at him. I had never seen him look so sad and defeated. "You got dragged into the mess with me, it's my fault that this happened to you." I squeezed his shoulder.
"You had no control over what happened to me. None of this is your fault. I know it'll take you a while to truly believe that, but I'll keep reminding you everyday until you do." Bakugou looked at me and nodded, tears forming in his eyes. I pulled him back into a tight hug. We held that hug for a moment until Bakugou pulled away. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. "You tell any one about this and I'll kill you." I smirked and nudged his side, "ahhhh there's the Bakugou I know."
We started walking back toward the group and were invited with smiles. Kirishima patted the empty space he had saved for me and everyone started filling me in on some of the things I've missed while I was gone.
I was so thankful to have the feeling of peace I had been longing for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for the delay! A million things are stopping me from getting these chapters out quickly so I thank you all for being so patient and supportive! 💕