A/N: Hey guys! Unlike last weeks chapter, this one's going to be a long one. I apologize if some find this chapter to be too long, but it wouldn't be as good if I split it up. I hope you understand and enjoy :)
And thank you guys so much for 3k views! Love y'all so much!😘 Seven more chapters to go!
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Y/N's POV: Hospital
I squint my eyes, not sure if I'm seeing correctly, or mistaking a strange man with the same unique red hair for him. I guess anyways.
"Enji...?" I wearily call, my vision going in and out of focus due to the light. "Is that you...?" I try to move my hand to check on the man, but instead I wake him up.
When the man springs up to hug me, I take in the big scar that engulfs his right eye, confirming that it is indeed Enji who's now holding me in a hardly-able-to-breathe hug.
"Are you okay..?!" Enji asks, his head nestling deeper into my neck and his arms tightening around me, careful to avoid the arm cast I didn't even realize I had.
Usually when someone's in a tight hug, they would ask for them to let go, but I'm not usual. Instead, I stay in the hug, lightly hooking my chin on his shoulder, resting my head against his neck.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I answer, taking in the all too familiar and favorite cologne that I'm surprised is still as fragrant, even after battle.
Enji exhales in relief, his upper body going limp. "Thank god...! I wouldn't know what to do without you."
We both freeze at the sudden outburst.
Did he just...confess to me? Enji Todoroki? The same guy who just so happened to reject me like two weeks ago, is now saying he wouldn't know how to live without me?
I stay still, my eyes wide and mouth hung ajar. Enji slowly lets go of me, to which I quickly accept given the now awkward air surrounding us.
"U—umm...what I meant to say, was that I'm glad to hear that you're...okay," Enji explains, his eyes wide and lips drooping in embarrassment.
I slowly nod my head, my eyes just as wide and face just as shocked. "Yep. I'm all good."
Enji nods his head as acknowledgement to what I said, that being the only action and thing being said for the solid minute and half that passed us in this awkward silence.
With Enji looking away from me and out the window as distraction, I take the chance to get another steal at his features all over again, like I haven't been doing that for the past few weeks.
I squint my eyes again, not sure if I'm seeing things right. "Wait—Enji—were you...crying??"
"Huh?" Enji turns to look at me, the sunlight illuminating the streams of dried tears that ran down his cheeks. His flames erupt, destroying the evidence. "I don't know what you're talking about."
A smirk starts to form at the seems of my lips, Enji rolling his eyes at the sight of it. "Are you sure about that?"
"Don't be ridiculous..! I'm the number one hero. I refuse to allow myself to be so emotional," Enji states, turning his head to face the door. "Plus...I knew you'd make it."
My cheeks burn at the words. I knew you'd make it. This man is making it really hard to stay within boundaries right now. But he won't punish me when I'm hurt.
I slide my fingers under his hand, slightly squeezing his fingers. When Enji whips his head to me and his eyes land on my smile, his look softens and he smiles back at me.
"Thank you for believing in me, Enji," I say, my smile growing impossibly wider each second we keep eye contact. When my smile turns to a smirk, Enji glares at me. "So...why were you crying?"
Enji turns his body, his back facing me and his arms crossed over his chest. "I was not crying! Allergies just got to me at the wrong time..!"
"So what you're saying is that your allergies just so happen to affect you when you came to visit me?" I press, every cell in my body enjoying this teasing.
Enji pauses, his flames hissing once more until he uttered a, "Yes", but not before clearing his throat and stuttering.
"Forgive me, but I find that hard to believe," I say, getting up on my knees and leaning on my hand for support, a few inches from Enji's ear.
Enji refuses to look at me, scooting further from me and turning his body further towards the window to our right. "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. That's what happened."
I roll back onto the gigantic hospital pillows, pushing my back as best I can against the headboard. "Okay, fine, you win, Mr. Grumpy. Change subject."
"Good. I was getting tired of your accusation," Enji says, a hint of playfulness in his voice.
Another smile starts to creep up, taking place in a matter of seconds. "This will be for another time. But for now, I have a question."
Enji turns his body again, this time all the way around so that he's facing me. And I'm starting to wish I didn't move; because if I didn't, then we'd be close to each other.
"Fire away."
"Where's NightEye? Is he okay?"
I don't have to do much searching for me to realize that NightEye's not doing good. All it took was mentioning his name to get Enji all stiff.
Enji pauses for a moment, leaving me in suspense. "He was rushed to the hospital the same time as you. He was bleeding out, and so they rushed him into the operating room. He got out a few minutes before you did."
"Did you see him yet?" I ask, my face involuntarily frowning in worry. "Is someone watching him right now?"
"I didn't go to see him. I only heard about his wellbeing when I rushed over here to see you."
oh, wow. He rushed over here to see me. How special am I.
I'm not the only one who sees the value in those words, because Enji starts to do that thing where he squints his eyes at absolutely nothing when he says something that means another.
"What did they say about his condition?" I press, trying to grasp his situation.
"I talked to Aizawa for a brief moment. He said that NightEye's in critical condition last time he checked in with his doctor," Enji explains, his brows scrunching.
I try hoisting myself up, but the pain in my ribs cause me to nearly collapse, Enji catching me in the nick of time before I'd get further injured. "I want to go see NightEye."
"You can't even get up from the bed, y/n," Enji helps me stabilize my sitting position, gently pulling my legs off the edge of the bed so I can sit correctly. "How are you going to go see him?"
I pull off a smile, though to be honest, the pain in my ribs is starting to kick my ass. "Luckily, I have you to take me."
Enji doesn't smile back. Instead, he looks at me and sighs. "I know you're eager to see him, but you do realize you just got out of surgery yourself, right? That you almost died too."
"Hey, at least one of us can get out of bed to some extent," I counter, my smile nor determination fading. "And I'm not in critical condition anymore if I'm conscious at the moment."
"You need rest, y/n," Enji says, his voice final.
"And I'll rest when I see NightEye for myself to make sure he's okay," I shot back, my eyes challenging his. When Enji doesn't budge, I add, "Or I can just bring myself."
Enji scoffs at me. "And how do you plan on doing that? You know what—have fun. I'll see you when you come back."
I pout, flailing my arms around like a little kid. "Pleeeeeease? I wanna go see himmmm..!"
After a moment's stare down, Enji sighs and slumps his shoulders, mines wiggling in excitement. "Fine. But if you fall, I'm not helping you get back up."
"I highly doubt that," I say, playfulness coating my tone. "After all the times, including just now, I doubt I'd ever touch the ground with you next to me."
Enji rolls his eyes, a smile forming on his face. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on," Enji holds out his arm, to which I clutch on for dear life. "Can you stand?"
When I attempt to stand, the pain nearly takes me out again. But, like always, Enji catches me and places me in his arms, walking over to lay me in a wheelchair. A mischievous look forms on my face.
"See? You'd never let me fall."
"I should've."
I look up at him with an offended expression, but as soon as we look at each other we're back to laughing again.
***
When we get to the right room, Enji pauses for a moment, throwing me off. "What's wrong?"
"Are you ready?" Enji asks, looking down at me. "Aizawa told me that he looks like he doesn't have long."
I take a deep breath, pursing my lips in a tight line and nodding my head. "All the more reason not to waste time right now."
Enji slowly pushes open the door, revealing All Might, Incognito, Aizawa, and Nurse Chiyo from U.A, staring at the both of us for a little too long, before hesitantly turning their heads back to the center. To NightEye.
When my eyes settle on NightEye's body, horror fills every part of my body, a shiver flowing through. In the span of just a few hours, he's gotten deathly skinny and sunken in. When I try to speak, my throat gets caught.
"N—nightEye..?" I call, unwanted memories flashing back from years ago.
He turns his head sluggishly towards me, a weak smile forming on his face. "Hey, Ventriloquist...are you feeling any better?"
I chuckle at the notion. "Are you asking me if I feel any better? What about you? You look worse than me."
NightEye let's out a small laugh, a vicious cough following after. When he removes his hand from his face, I see blood coat his hand, reminding me of his situation.
"You..." I try hoisting myself off of the wheelchair and almost buckle. Enji holds his arms out around me to catch me, but I hold my hand out to tell him to stop.
I try again, this time managing to get up. I slowly take one foot off of the footrest, my body shaking just trying to hold me up. I walk towards NightEye's bedside, my hands gripping the ledge.
"...you promised me, NightEye," I finally say, a smile reappearing on his face. "You can't break a promise."
NightEye motions for me to come closer, so I grip the ledge with both hands in order to lean down. When I get close enough, NightEye cups his hand around my ear.
"That night of the meeting, Endeavor was talking about you..." I gasp, looking at him in disbelief. "Endeavor told me about how great of a hero you'd be in given time, the best of the best. And I quote, "way better than that damned all might". That's what he talked to me about."
My eyes tear up, my bottom lip quivering in an attempt to stop my cry. "He said that about me?"
NightEye suppresses a cough, nodding his head in response. When he gets his coughing under control, he drops his hand to his side, becoming a wheezing mess. He still manages to smile at me.
I push myself up into a standing position, my arms violently shaking in the process. When I finally get to a stable standing, I salute, my chin in the air and my posture straight.
"It was nice working with you, NightEye," I say, not letting him hear the sadness in my voice, instead replaced with a firm and happy one.
Incognito follows suit, saluting from the other side of his bed. "Thank you for letting me work with you, captain." Incognito smiles at NightEye, who returns the smile and nods his head.
"Thank you both for protecting Eri...I owe the two of you," NightEye says, his eyes going back and forth from me to Incognito.
We both shake our heads, denying NightEye's gratitude. "We were only able to do this because of you, NightEye."
"Without your thinking and planning, none of this would've been possible for us. Eri being safe wouldn't be possible without you," Incognito chimed in, her voice wavering.
When I try to speak again, my voice gets caught in my throat. I take a moment to calm down and take a deep breath. "Now you can rest easy with that in mind."
"Keep her safe for me," NightEye says barely above a whisper, his eyes falling to the center of the room. "That's the only thing I ask of you...to keep Eri...safe..."
"Of course," Incognito and I whisper in unison, the cry inching it's way out.
Everyone becomes silent and still as we see a single tear leave NightEye, his vision becoming vague and his muscles lax. I stare at NightEye's eyes until I see the color leave them, the harsh reality confirming his passing.
Tears start rushing out from all ends of my eyes, but I don't let out a cry. Instead, I bite my lip and stay in my saluting position, refusing to let my emotions get the best of me despite the sorrowful cry from All Might.
When biting down on my bottom lip to suppress my cry starts to slowly become impossible, my shoulders start to shake and my breathing becomes unstable, until a hand squeezes my shoulder.
I look to my right and slightly up, seeing Endeavor looking down at me with gentle eyes. I rest my hand atop of his, a smile forming through all the tears.
Endeavor leans down towards my ear, and I lean my head forward so he can lean down. "Are you alright? Do you need some space?"
I slowly shake my head, the smile not leaving my face. "I'm fine. Thank you for asking, Enji. But some fresh air does seem nice right now."
"Okay. Are you sure you don't need the wheelchair?" Enji asks, looking at me with worried eyes.
I nod my head, getting ready to say goodbye to Incognito, whose comforting All Might and calming him down. I quietly walk up to her, mouthing goodbye before turning back towards Endeavor.
When I get back to Endeavor, he leans down towards me again. "I think you should use the wheelchair as support. So you're not straining your body to walk," Enji suggests, his voice coated in caution and worry still.
I smile at him again, for what seems like the hundredth time today. "Good idea."
When I turn to exit the room, I catch Aizawa staring at me with accusing eyes. I stare back at him with confusion, my brows knitted.