𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏⁱ

IX

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Aeri didn't return to the school grounds with the rest of her class. Instead, she was ushered into the ambulance with her father, brother and the paramedics, listening to the steady beeping of the heart rate monitor to keep her sane. Flashbacks of her mother's monitor going flat filled her mind as she chewed her bottom lip. The beeping was a good sign. He was still alive. The twins and Hyunjin were the only family he had left. He had no next of kin to make important medical decisions for him in his stead other than them.

Aeri gripped Jungwon's hand in a daze. They were still in their hero costumes, blades coated with dry blood and whatever goop came out of that godforsaken Nomu. People stared as they sat in the waiting room. It wasn't every day you saw a couple of teenagers with an unholy amount of weapons strapped to them inside a hospital. Hyunjin burst through the doors in his uniform an hour later, sweating so much that Aeri could only assume he had run the 8 miles from school to the hospital as soon as he found out. The twins stood up when he arrived and Hyunjin grabbed them both in a hug, holding them close and petting their hair to comfort them.

"I'm so glad you two are safe." He panted, resting his cheek on the top of Aeri's head. "What did they say about Dad? Is he in surgery?"

"He's got 10 fractures in his face, a broken nose and eye socket and 3 broken ribs," Jungwon told him. Hyunjin sucked air in through his teeth at the news.

"He's in surgery, they've got the best orthopaedic surgeons in there with him and Recovery Girl came over from UA," Aeri added, snuggling into the comfort of her brother's embrace.

"Okay, that's good... How long is it going to take?" Hyunjin broke away from them and slumped into a chair, pulling off his blazer in an attempt to cool himself down.

"Another few hours yet. He only went in an hour ago," Jungwon said tiredly, sitting back down. Aeri unhooked her holster from her back and rolled her shoulders before she sat down, a thousand times more comfortable now that the sheathed katanas weren't digging into her back.

"Get comfortable you two, we're gonna be here a while." Aeri sighed.

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It was 9 PM by the time their dad woke up, groggy and a bit loopy from the morphine. Aeri was sleeping in the armchair by his bedside, cradling her favourite dagger in her hand just in case. Jungwon was leaning on Hyunjin's shoulder napping, and Hyunjin remained awake typing something on his phone. Aeri awoke with a fright, dagger at the ready when Hyunjin shouted out in relief only to be shushed by Aizawa himself. His face was wrapped in bandages, as was his torso.

Aeri jumped up and poured him a glass of water from the glass beaker the nurses had left on the small table. She helped him sit up using the buttons on the bed that lifted him into a sitting position and then handed him the glass. Her dad thanked her raspily and downed half the glass before leaning back and closing his eyes.

"Are you in pain?" Hyunjin asked quietly. Aizawa shook his head no. "Hungry? You can't eat solids until your jaw is less swollen but I can run and get you some soup." Aizawa hummed and Hyunjin was already gone a second later.

"Principal Nezu dropped by earlier, he brought flowers and a fruit basket," Jungwon whispered as he moved to the bed, clutching his dad's hand in his own. Aiawa nodded weakly in acknowledgement and drifted back to sleep.

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"You look like shit." Bakugou approached her a few days later. The school had granted 1A a few days off to recover from the aftermath of the villain attack.