It wasn't until later that night that Valui's parents visited her.
Over the course of a few hours, Valui had regained more of her strength than she thought she would have. Every thirty or forty-five minutes, she'd be allowed another jello cup. And in between those thirty or forty-five minutes, she would progressively walk more around her hospital room — the nurses' reason was that it would help get her metabolism running correctly again, but Valui's reason was that she was getting incredibly antsy and uncomfortable sitting in her bed.
"Hitoshi?" she asked, craning her neck up to look at him. He had scooted his chair closer to the bed so she was able to lean against his arm — with some difficulty; the tubes connected to her arms were starting to really get on her nerves.
"Hm? What is it?"
"What time is it?" She yawned softly; she hadn't been able to get rid of her tiredness, though, no matter how many jello cups she ate or cartons of chocolate milk she drank. "I'm hungry."
As Hitoshi started pulling out his phone to check the time, the door opened. Having grown so used to nurses coming in and out of her room — checkups, changing IV bags, general cleaning up — Valui didn't bother reacting to the sound.
"Valui?"
Dad.
Valui's head shot up off Hitoshi's arm; he moved back as well when it dawned on him who had entered the room. She looked up at her parents, their expressions unreadable as they glanced between each other, then at Valui, and then finally Hitoshi, where their gazes lingered for what felt like eternities.
"Valui, who is—"
Her mother cut her father off, giving him a small glare — for that, the girl was partially glad; the tone he had been using scared her. "Valui..." her mother started, eyebrows coming together in worry. "Who's your...friend...?"
Hitoshi seemed to jump up from his chair. Though he masked it fairly well, Valui could see his face twitching beneath the smile he managed to fake and the worry in his eyes. "Hitoshi Shinsou, Class 1-C at UA High School." He held out his hand, though neither of her parents took it.
Valui watched her father's eyes narrow slightly — whether in thought or something else, she had no idea. "Shinsou," he repeated; slowly, sounding it out. "Your name sounds familiar."
Hitoshi let his hand fall awkwardly back down to his side, only to bring it up to the back of his neck. "I was in the sports festival."
That one single sentence triggered a response in both of her parents — all at once, Valui watched the realization dawn on their faces. They stopped speaking, now just watching Hitoshi as if he were going to do something. Hitoshi seemed to notice this quicker than Valui had expected; he turned away from them and smiled uncomfortably down at her. "I'm gonna go see if you can eat again."
Valui nodded. "O—"
"Don't answer him."
Her father's voice scared her.
Hitoshi glanced toward the ground, then mumbled something about being right back and left the room quickly.
Once the three were alone in the room, Valui's mother rushed to her bedside and started checking her over. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Valui immediately assumed her mother was referring to Stain, even though she wouldn't have any idea who kidnapped her. Just as Valui opened her mouth to answer, her mother's next question stopped her. "He wasn't controlling you, was he?"
...What?
"What?" Valui pulled her head from her mother's grip; it was getting annoying, having her head twisted in different angles when it was obvious she was fine. "No, he wasn't."
Why would they even think that?
"You don't know that," her father said from where he stood at the foot of her bed. His arms were crossed, his expression something discernible — yet it still brought Valui a feeling of unease, like she had been doing something wrong. "How do you know he hasn't been?"
Valui felt her teeth grind together. "B-because I—" She stopped short. Because why? She knew Hitoshi hadn't ever his Quirk against her — she doubted he would even if she asked — but she couldn't prove it. She didn't even know what it felt like when he brainwashed someone; and even if she did, her parents would never believe her. "Because I..." Her voice had grown softer. "...trust him..."
Her father scoffed while her mother began inspecting her bandaged wrist. "That's your first problem: you're too trusting. Someone like him will use someone like you for whatever he wants."
Valui felt herself get angry, but her face didn't show it — she was used to her parents acting like this; like they knew everything and she knew absolutely nothing. They had been like this ever since they had learned she would never have a Quirk. It was as if Valui couldn't be right about something because she was powerless — which, in their eyes, made her nothing more than a naive child.
"No he wouldn't—"
"He did on national fucking television, Valui!"
Being yelled at made her flinch back, as if expecting to be hit or for an insult to follow after. When neither happened, Valui hesitantly opened her eyes. She wanted to cry — she was never good at handling people being mad at her, and yelling only made it worse; but these were two things her parents always seemed to do around her. Get angry and yell. When they weren't in denial about Valui not having a Quirk, they were getting mad at her as if it were her fault; yelling at her as if it would change something in her chemical makeup; telling her how she was never going to amount to anything as if that would make her develop a Quirk overnight; threatening to have another child, one with a Quirk, to replace her as if that would motivate her to do something she physically could not do.
Sometimes, it made her want to die.
"H-he wouldn't—"
"Bullshit!" His voice drowned out the beeping, the TV on the wall behind him, the generic hospital sounds outside the door. "You don't know shit, Valui. You're a child. A Quirkless child. You can't compete against people who are normal."
Normal. Abnormal. Why did he always have to remind her that she never fit in?
Valui didn't answer — she couldn't. She was focusing all her strength on holding back tears. Her mother had moved back from the bed to stand next to her father again. She yanked the blanket up to her face and hid behind it, warm tears bleeding through the fabric and onto her palms.
"He's dangerous, and I don't want you around him ever again." When Valui didn't answer, he snapped at her again, "You hear me?"
"Yes," she mumbled quietly. Her ears tuned out whatever they said next — something about coming to take her home when she was better. She didn't respond when they said their goodbyes and left.
The room fell almost silent. The TV was still playing, though it seemed quieter now. The beeping from behind her was still just as annoying — but she ended up using its steady noise to regulate her breathing again from quick, shaky breaths down to regular ones. Her head hurt. Her eyes stung. And now, her blanket was damp from tears.
"Hey... Are you alright?"
Hitoshi.
Valui peeked over the blanket, eyes wet and red. Hitoshi was sitting on the edge of the bed, his back facing her and his head turned down. She gazed down at the bed. "I... Yeah, I'm fine," she said softly, looking over at him again. "Are you...?"
Hitoshi gave a soft shrug, but didn't give a verbal answer. He stayed quiet for a long while, then eventually sighed faintly. "Valui, I have a question."
Something about his tone made her nervous. Mustering up whatever courage she had left, she asked, "W-what is it...?"
Hitoshi still refused to look at her. "Are you...scared of me?" It sounded like asking the question physically hurt him; like he had to force the words out of him.
Valui sat up straight, her hands falling down into her lap. Her tears dried, a confused look making its way onto her face. "Huh? No, not at all." Even her tone was confused; why was he asking? Did he really think she was scared of him? "Why do you ask?"
"Because..." Hitoshi glanced over his shoulder at her, but quickly glanced away again. "Because most people are scared of me after they...find out what my Quirk is."
Valui frowned softly, scooting over to him as much as she could with the IVs connected to her arms. She leaned her head against his back, listening to his breathing. It was comforting; every little thing about him comforted and relaxed her. "But I've known what your Quirk is. I've never been scared of you."
She felt him let out a breath — had he been holding it because he was scared of her response? "Why...aren't you scared of me?" He more hesitant now instead of scared, like he wasn't fully convinced what she was saying was the truth.
"Because I love you." Her face got red at how easy the words were to say — and how right they felt. She turned her head to hide her face on his back. "A-and I trust that you wouldn't use your Quirk against me."
Hitoshi shifted, making Valui sit up again. He turned his body to partially face her. Smiling faintly at her, he gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. Valui smiled to herself, nuzzling her face into his chest as he rested his chin on the top of her head.
"I really love you," he mumbled. Valui's heart jumped. "You're one of the only people that doesn't get anxious when you talk to me." He sighed contentedly, kissing the top of her head; she could feel him smiling. "But there's plenty of other reasons I love you, too."
Valui lifted her head up, childish curiosity filling her — she'd never been told that before; and considering how she didn't see much about herself to like, it really piqued her interest. She smiled up at him when Hitoshi looked down at her. "What are they?"
The corner of Hitoshi's mouth twitched upward in a small smirk. "To answer that question, I'd be talking for hours, darling."
Valui's face turned red, but her smile didn't falter. As if reading each other's minds, they leaned in together at the same time and kissed. One of her hands found its way into Hitoshi's, lacing her fingers between his. Distantly she became aware of how he had gently nudged her onto her back, his free hand pressing into the mattress beside her head, her free hand gripping at his sleeve.
A soft knock on the door and an awkward, "E-excuse me?" made Hitoshi pull back, his face hovering just above Valui's; so close she could feel his breath on her lips. His eyes broke from hers and looked to the side, obvious annoyance — and something else — alight in them.
"Do you need something?"
Valui would be lying if she denied how attractive she found him right then.
"I-I brought your food. And v-visiting hours are about to be over."
"Cool. Now leave."
Even from the angle Valui was at, she could see the nurse's expression turn blank — it mirrored the one Izuku had when Hitoshi brainwashed him. And, just as Izuku had done, the nurse did as she was told and left. Hitoshi shifted his gaze back down to Valui, annoyance written all over his face.
"I guess you have to go now, huh?" she asked softly, looking up at him.
"I guess so. I'm sorry, darling." To punctuate his apology, Hitoshi kissed her nose. He sat up, using their interlocked hand to pull her up as well. "I'll try to come by tomorrow before school."
"But you'll come after, right?"
He let out a soft chuckle, as if her question was silly. "Of course I will." A kiss was pressed to her forehead as he pulled his hand from hers and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Valui gave a soft wave. "See you tomorrow." She looked down to her hands, then right back up just before Hitoshi left the room. "W-wait!"
He stopped in the doorway, looking at her with a soft expression of confusion. "What?"
Her face started burning. "I love you."
Hitoshi smiled softly; Valui could've sworn she saw a faint shade of pink creep up onto his face.
"I love you too, Valui."