Delirium

After USJ

((A/N  This chapter is mostly me messing around with Hanako's relationships. This chapter is skippable, no major plot points.))

     The car ride home was silent. Not a comfortable or awkward silence. Just... Silent. Hanako was exhausted. She'd used her quirk on a large scale for the first time in a while, forced herself to dig into her classmate's nerves to cover their pain while they fought, and the whole time, she was terrified. When she was brought to the side by a paramedic to be seen, she was deemed ok to go home. But she'd have to drop by the police station sometime soon.

     Her father had left for work on the other side of the city for the day, so her mom was called to get her. It was always hard when her mother was involved with emotional situations. She never quite knew what to say and when she did, it always ended up being the wrong thing.

     "Are... Are you ok?" Karla looked at Hanako through the rearview mirror. Hanako swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing her hand away from her thigh and wrapping it around the locket. "Um... I guess. I'm really tired."

     "I see. Ben won't be home for a few hours. I'm dropping you off with Mitsue-san."

     "Ok. Thank you, Mom." Karla didn't reply. Just kept driving.

     She was always like that. Always asking half-assed questions before moving to the next subject. Always dismissing emotions for someone else to handle. Just once–once–Hanako wanted her mom to stop everything and get down on her knees and cry. She wanted he mom to stay with her and tell her that she'd be ok, that everything will turn out fine. She just wanted her mom to care.

     It was unfair, Hanako knew this. She knew that her mom was trying. She knew that, as much as Karla wanted, she could never love Hanako like she wanted to be loved. But that was ok, right? She still loved her mom. She still had her dad and her, albeit annoying, brother. And she knew that, despite what Karla said or did, despite what the doctors said, Karla still loved her. In her own, strange, distant way.

     And that was enough. But sometimes she wished there was more.

~~*~~

     "Hanako..?" Hanako looked up to the retirement home entrance. Tajima was called beforehand, it would seem. He had worried wrinkles stretched across his face as Hanako stepped out of the vehicle. "H– Hey Tajima..." God! She couldn't even look him in the eye. Three days in and she already broke her promise.

     "Hey, Hana." His voice was soft, like a mix between a sigh and a laugh. "I'm glad to see you're still alive. Why don't you come inside? I can make some tea."

      And that's what he did. The two sat in Tajima's room for a few minutes in silence only broken by the casual sipping of tea. Tajima stood as a few raps at the door interrupted the heavy silence. "Ah... Must be my gift for you."

      Hanako gently reached for the locket around her neck. "... Gift?" Tajima said nothing, opening the door to the ghostly presence of... "Hey, kid."