You Can't Lose Me || Shinso x Reader

Chapter 6: Kaminari Survives, I Promise

Warnings: medical terminology, hospital setting,

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Shinso's POV

A doctor enters the waiting room. She approaches the two of us and explains to us Kaminari's condition. Trauma to the left side of the head caused an epidural hematoma, a small fracture in the skull's temporal bone, and severe damage to the facial nerve. He fell unconscious immediately when his head smashed into the pavement and the nerve damage caused paralysis to the muscles on the left side of his face.

After surgery, he is no longer in critical condition and the nerve has begun the healing process, likely to return to full working capacity within two weeks thanks to the healing quirk of the surgeon. He also still needs to recover from an accompanying grade 3 concussion, so he will be out of commission for three weeks, minimum.

She then reveals that Kaminari will be waking up soon and can now receive visitors. Giving us the location of Kaminari's unit and his room number, Midoriya and I hurriedly traverse the winding hallways.

My stomach twists at the strong scent of disinfectant. Why does Kaminari have to be here anyways? Why didn't I do something more? It's my fault he's here. What if he never wants to work with me again after this? My stomach curls even more.

We enter a dark room where a nurse with eyebags that rival my own sits in the corner with a laptop. The clicking of the nurse's keyboard and the beeping of a heartrate monitor are the only noises that permeate the otherwise silent room. Kaminari rests upon a bed – head wrapped in bandages and the left side of his face drooping slightly. He gives Midoriya and I a half smile and a small wave when we enter the room. The nurse signals us to speak quietly.

"I'm so glad to know you're okay, Kaminari! How are you feeling?" Midoriya says just above a whisper.

"I'm still kicking," he slurs. "What can I say? I'm hard-headed."

He taps his knuckle against his head making me snort.

"If you're already making a joke, you'll definitely be okay. But what will I do without my favorite partner for almost a month?" I respond with a lighter tone than I typically use.

"A month, really? Is that what they said?" I nod. "Damn. What am I gonna do for a whole month?"

"How about we start with learning how to not get yourself killed," Midoriya jests.

At that comment, my gaze falls to the floor and my fingers fiddle with the sides of my hero costume.

"Pfft, that's rich coming from you. You can't make it through one month without breaking half of your bones. That's like 3-4 bones a day," Kaminari retorts making all of us laugh.

The nurse shushes us. We calm down and remain silent for a minute or two, which allows my brain to wander back to my wonderings from earlier.

"I'm sorry that you had to take all of the blows from that villain. It's insane how I made it out with only a pair of wet shoes while you landed in the emergency room," I admit causing them both to look at me.

"You don't need to worry about it," Kaminari starts.

"But I do anyways. Every time you made an attack, they counterattacked with an ungodly amount of strength, but every time I attacked, they either dodged or took the blow. It's weird, and I feel guilty for some stupid reason," I continue letting my brain fall down the rabbit hole.

"No, seriously, you shouldn't worry about that. What I want to know is how the hell someone came back to life like a scene from some zombie apocalypse video game! It's kinda freaking me out man!" Kaminari exclaims, immediately cringing in pain and rubbing his temple.

"But why is it happening again? Something similar happened like nine years ago, so why would someone wait so long between events?" I ask.

"You're both right, we need to figure out how and why this even happened." Midoriya turns to me with a creased brow. "But Kaminari does present a valid point. The entire time I've been here, we've been discussing everything but the topic of resurrection. Why aren't you concerned about it?"

"I grew up with someone who had a similar quirk, so I guess I'm used to it."

"Why didn't you mention that? A quirk even related to the balance between life and death is incredibly rare, so it's possible that they're the one behind this," Midoriya presses.

"No, it can't be them," I say lowering my gaze to the tiled floor.

Kaminari rolls his eyes at my defense.

"I get it, you don't want your friend to be the evil mastermind behind whatever operation this is, but you need to at least consider the possibility," Kaminari says.

"I know it's not them," I respond sternly. "So can we drop the subject? I don't want to talk about her."

"Her?" Kaminari asks raising his eyebrows. "Is this some secret crush you haven't told me about? I'm almost hurt."

"Shinso, you've grown into a great hero, but I thought you were smarter than this." My chest starts caving in on itself. "Friend, enemy, girlfriend, it doesn't matter who they are to you. You can't validly rule them out based on a feeling."

"It's not a feeling. I know it's not her!" I retort clenching my trembling hands into fists.

"How can you? You've told us nothing about who she is, no proof of her innocence. If you want me to trust your judgement, stop giving me biased instincts and show me some solid facts!"

"It can't be her because she's dead!" I burst, my eyes blurring slightly with tears.

The nurse shushes us for a second time, and I guiltily watch as Kaminari rubs his head again.

"I'm sorry," I recoil, "but you're disregarding how I feel and invading a sensitive subject. Have you really no faith in me as a hero? Have you no trust in me?"

As I glare at them, both Midoriya and Kaminari lower their gazes in embarrassment. Even the nurse forces his attention back to his laptop. Silence consumes the room.

"Back in middle school," I begin, slowly raising my hand to grip the pocket on my chest for the second time tonight, "my classmates weren't too fond of me, but they were terrified of her. They did everything possible to make her miserable until a bunch of bullies drowned her in the river. It's stupid. I stopped grieving a long time ago, but it still hurts. So just leave it alone."

My two friends offer their apologies and condolences. I accept them before sighing, wishing Kaminari luck with his recovery, and leaving the hospital.

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A/N: So, Shinso's dealing with a version of survivor's guilt. It likely stems from his protective nature over his childhood best friend / crush and then loss of said person, yet it still has an effect on him in the present. How surprising.

Side question: how would you describe "hospital smell" because I can't find the words for it.

Word Count: 1178