Number 7

Thirty-Four: Near Death Just Means More Drama

Akiyasu

My hospital room was dark when I finally woke up and Shota was slumped over on my mattress, his head resting on his arms as he slept.

The pain was excruciating- so bad that it had woken me up out of my anesthesia-induced sleep. I've had surgeries before but nothing too serious. This time, it was unbearable, and it was probably because multiple organs as well as my muscle tissue had been damaged by the blades. As quietly as I could, I leaned to my right and pressed the help button, wanting them to bring me some pain killers. While I waited, I gingerly lifted my hospital gown to look at the bandages that were tightly wrapped around my torso. Dark red stained the white cotton, so I knew I needed a bandage change as well.

Shota stirred beside me and I dropped the gown quickly before he could open his eyes. "You're awake." He grumbled, his voice husky.

"I really thought that was the end." I admitted, leaning my head back. "I was terrified. I've never been that close to death before."

"You did die." He straightened and brushed his hair back from his face, tying it behind his head  with a rubber band. "They had to do CPR on you three times that I saw. I was scared too." His eyes met mine.

"I guess that explains why my chest hurts so bad." I rubbed at my sternum, my eyes now watching the door as I waited for the nurse. "How did you get me here in time?"

"Hawks. He's pretty fast."

"I didn't know who else to call." I admitted again. "I panicked."

"It all worked out in the end." He comforted me, grabbing my hand in his just as the nurse walked in.

"What's wrong?" She hurried over to me and began to check all the numbers on the machines hooked up to me.

"It just hurts, I was hoping I could get some pain killers."

"I'll see what I can do for ya, honey." She replied, leaving the room again.

"So what happened?" Shota asked from beside me as the door closed behind the nurse. "You weren't looking for her, were you?"

"She was looking for me. You were right." I dropped my gaze to my blanket, allowing myself to feel the sharp ache through my core. "And she's still out there, ready to do it again since I survived."

"We haven't confirmed your survival to any news outlets yet." Shota explained, stretching his arms behind his back. "The last thing anyone's heard is that you were injured and survival was slim."

"I'm so tired of being in the spotlight all the time." I cursed angrily, slamming my head against my pillow. "The media needs to give me a break already. All of last semester was chaotic and I don't want to keep dealing with that this semester."

"You're asking too much of them to mind their own business."

I gave him a face that said 'I'm annoyed by that, but you're right,' and didn't actually respond.

"Toshinori is here. Would you like to see him?" Shota asked me, changing the subject.

"Sure."

"He was really worried." Shota admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "We all were."

"I didn't think I was going to wake up. But I know one thing. It's not over until one of us is dead."

~Time Skip~

After my visit with Toshinori, the early morning sun began to rise and more visitors showed up. Hizashi even brought in a few select students from UA. Still though, no one had confirmed to any major news outlets that I had survived. Most of class 1A would wake up to the news that one of their teachers was suspected to be dead. The entire internet was abuzz with the talk of my death. Someone had even hacked the security camera of the building my mom and I fought outside of and released the night vision footage of my near death to the entire public, which horrified me but was unsurprising given the plethora of quirks that could aid someone in achieving something like that. They had done it to other heroes before.