Princess of Peace [BNHA]

Chapter Three

~Toshinori's POV~

After the funeral and getting Amy's stuff packed up and shipped, we returned to my home. Most of her injuries had been superficial and were mostly healed. She'd undergone a minor surgery in the hospital due to some debris that had impaled her in the abdomen. The area was still tender but she'd finally gotten her stitches removed. It had been a month since I'd brought her home and she still hadn't said a word. If it weren't for the nights where she'd cry out for Ayumi in her sleep, I'd have thought she'd somehow turned mute. I reached out to my best friend, a police detective by the name of Naomasa Tsukauchi. He had a lot of experience dealing with trauma victims and following up with them. I rarely got to see the victims I saved after all was said and done, so I didn't have as much of an understanding of what they went through.

Naomasa said it wasn't uncommon for people who had undergone something traumatic such as an accident or losing a loved one to become psychologically mute. If it wasn't the accident that had traumatized her then it was fair to assume it was survivor's guilt. It took time for them to recover. I just had to be patient and understanding. Having one sided conversations was difficult and trying but I knew it was only temporary and that thought kept me feeling optimistic.

Now that I had a daughter to take care of, perhaps it was a good time to slow down on the justicing. I could only use One for All for a limited number of hours a day and it seemed like with each passing day the time limit was getting a fraction shorter. How long until I wouldn't be able to use it at all? It was time to focus on finding my successor. While I'd been thinking of stepping out of the spot light, I received an offer from my Alma Mater, UA, to become a teacher. I wasn't sure I was quite ready but the principal, Nezu, assured me I could start whenever I felt I was ready whether it was this year, the following year or any year after that. It would be a good fall back plan and if I didn't find my successor on my own, UA would be a good pool to pull from.

I managed to get Amy enrolled into a middle school, though I wasn't sure if she was enjoying it or not since she wasn't speaking. When I returned home from a long day of justicing and trying to learn how to be a parent, I found Amy with her head in a book half slumped on the table. She appeared to have fallen asleep in the middle of her homework, probably from her restless nights of crying for her mother.

I placed my hand on her shoulder trying to wake her gently not wanting to startle her. "Amy?"

She stirred awake, her bright blue eyes fluttering open. Her eyes were momentarily filled with hope before she recognized her surroundings and dulled. I was starting to think whenever she woke up she hoped everything had been a dream and she was back at home, it was heartbreaking to watch. A small yawn escaped her as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"You alright?" I asked her worried.

She nodded.

I tried not to let it show how disheartening it was that she still hadn't spoken to me, but it was difficult. It felt like I was failing her. I was at a loss for what to do to make her more comfortable here. I'd tried everything I could think of and even enlisted the help of Naomasa's younger sister, Makoto. We set up her room with all her favorite books and plushies. Makoto took her shopping. I'd even put in a few nightlights in hopes it would help her feel safer so she could sleep easier. I had no idea if my efforts were helping or hurting her.

"Is there anything you need, that'll help you sleep at night, a special blanket or...?" I wasn't sure what to do or say.

She thought for a moment before shaking her head.

A sigh escaped me before I could stop myself and I saw a look of guilt and remorse cross her face. She withdrew into herself and I panicked as she started to shut down. "Ah...no, it's okay...I-...uh..." I ran my hand through my hair not knowing how to comfort her and dropped into the chair next to her, "I'm not very good at this, am I?"