Colors in the Dark

[17] A Winged Leap

A/N: At least I'm getting these out on time; with the exceptionally long chapter for A Vacation to work on, my two week hiatus for it is thankfully almost over. Anyways, here's the end of Ayami's internship, my take on one of the internships that was never actually covered in the anime. I went off what I had to work with, and remember what I said before about the chapter title!

~

Ayami woke in a hospital bed with a killer migraine.

She groaned, covering her eyes. "What in the ever-loving hell did we do this time?"

Promtheus spoke, shakily. "You rushed to save Hawks. The villains attacked and suddenly you weren't in control and Hecate was unconscious. Gaia and I fought off the villains before she sacrificed her consciousness to blow away the fire with a huge blast using the elements' combined power. Ares copied Hawks' Fierce Wings before we flew back to the agency and called for help. Fukurou appeared and called for help, and then my world goes black."

"Hecate and Gaia... unconscious? All the elements...? Two of you at once...?" Ayami asked slowly, dazed after the memories came back in a jolt.

Her hero costume was folded beside her on the table-like extension that protruded from the stand that sat next to the bed. Other than some bits of ash, it seemed mostly unharmed, though there were some tears around her back section where Fierce Wings must have ripped through.

After a few minutes, some nurses came in and fussed over her, but aside from the light burns on her elbows and singed hair, she was mostly unharmed. Oh, and the headache, but that was to be expected.

Ayami quickly shooed the nurses off, allowing Asclepius to merge with her, who awkwardly used his healing on her to make her burns fade away for the most part, at the cost of increasing her headache to quite the strong migraine.

Finally, Tokoyami, Blue Jay, and Larvivora walked in, allowed to see her since her physical injuries were all but gone already. She was expecting a long lecture about following the rules and not rushing into danger.

That wasn't what she got.

"Guardian, though your actions were incredibly risky, we cannot help but feel immense gratitude for you," the auburn bird woman began, bowing alongside her comrade.

"The doctors monitoring Hawks said that if he had inhaled much more smoke or had the flames been allowed to reach him... he likely wouldn't have made it. Had you not stepped in, Guardian, the Number Three Hero would have been dead." Blue Jay's words hit Ayami hard.

"He'd... have been... dead?"

The sidekicks nodded. "Even if you broke what were considered your internship rules, you saved the life of Hawks. Anyway, they were asking for your side of the story, mind telling it?"

Ayami's cheeks flushed. "I sort of... lost control. You see, if something happens and I panic too much, the spirits my quirk made can sort of, well, possess my body and use their power..."

She went on to relay what Prometheus told her, and soon everyone was talking about it. "Previously a young vigilante that enrolled in UA's Hero Course and won second place in the UA Sports Festival Obstacle Race, who was interning with Number Three Hero Hawks, saved his life while wielding multiple incredible quirks at once, taking down three villains and saving Hawks without sustaining any long-lasting injuries. The Wing Hero lives to fly another day."

Later that day she was released from the hospital and escorted back to the agency, given the day to rest, and the next day Hawks was released, though he had to take the day easy before he could continue his fast-paced heroics once more.