From Distant Lands - Juro's Return

Chapter Twenty-Six

A few days later, when I finally wake up, I lie in the darkness of the hospital room for a few hours alone, the events of the last few weeks replaying in my mind like a broken record. At the end of it all... we finally captured Juro, but now, as I try to reach inside myself... I can't feel my quirk anymore. For a while, while I'm still undisturbed, I let myself cry. I cry for my grandfather and my father, for my mom and my sister, for all of my friends, and my quirk and, finally, I cry for Katsuki. I cry and wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold my broken pieces together. After all of the struggling and all of the battles... after all of my training... it's all over. It's finally over.

"Miss Ito?" when my doctor's voice finally calls my name, I'm all cried out. I sit up, wincing with soreness and meet their smiling face with a tense look.

"I'm glad you're finally awake... you have a lot of people waiting to see you" she tells me, pulling out her clipboard. I nod, laughing a little darkly.

"Yeah... I want to see them too" I say, but it comes out a little flat. The doctor raises an eyebrow at me, but she doesn't press it.

"How are you feeling? You had a few broken bones and a serious case of dehydration and blood loss, but we were able to clear most of that up with a regenerative quirk" she tells me and I make a face. Now it makes sense that I seemed to be on my own in here all this time... what did they just want me to sleep it off? I shrug.

"I'm tired... and sore..." I say and she nods.

"All completely normal. Have you noticed anything else? Any difficulty breathing? Any loss of hearing or vision?" she wonders and I shake my head.

"No, but..." I hesitate, flexing my hand. My quirk...

"What is it?" she wonders, concerned. I look up at her, swallowing hard.

"I can't... I can't feel my quirk anymore..." I admit and her eyes widen.

"Your quirk?" she asks and I nod.

"When I try to use it... or sense it... there's just... nothing..." I murmur quietly and she hesitates a moment, eyeing me carefully.

"It could be psychological... you've just been through a very traumatic experience. I can't imagine that it's just your body that needs healing after all of that. Give it time, Miss Ito. I'm sure you'll return to normal before too long" she insists, but the promise feels hollow. I nod anyway and humor her for the next half hour, trying not to just ask her to leave when I get irritated or depressed.

"Okay... I'll leave you to it. Since you're allowed to have visitors now, I'll leave this door open. Is that okay?" she asks me finally and I nod again, too exhausted to argue.

"That's fine, thanks" I reply and the doctor leaves with a smile. I sigh, sitting back against my pillows and wishing I could know now... whether or not I managed to get rid of my own quirk. I'm almost ready to obsess over it when a knock sounds at the door and I look up to see Shiori standing there, an eyebrow raised.

"Hey" she says and I try not to smile.

"Hey" I reply, but she knows me too well. She smiles first and walks inside, taking a seat on my hospital bed.

"How do you feel?" she asks me and I let out an exasperated breath.

"Like I got the shit kicked out of me and brought a whole person back to life" I say flatly and she narrows her eyes at me.

"You're not funny, you know" she tells me and I make a face.

"Yeah... I know" I confirm, earning a sigh from her this time.