Villainous [Hitoshi Shinso X Reader]

[Chapter 21]: Fuck Roses

     "Well, we really should be off," Saiki chirped. "Don't worry, Lovely, we'll be back for you just as soon as the boss is done with Shinsou here!"
     Grinning down at me sadistically, Saiki took the knife in his hand and pressed it to the hollow of Hitoshi's throat. My breath hitched. A swell of blood trickled down to his collarbone in a thin red line, a stark contrast to Hitoshi's pale skin. I growled angrily.
     "Don't go anywhere!" Saiki continued with amusement lacing his tone.
     I watched in disgust as he brought the bloody knife to his lips and opened his mouth to taste it.
     "Because no matter where you run," his smile was growing now as he created an artificial dimple with the tip of the blade. "I will find you."
     My eye twitched. "I'm not going to give you the chance."
I planted my feet firmly into the ground, activating my quirk. Suddenly, my entire body was engulfed in white light, eyes rolling into the back of my skull. The sheer force of unopened gateways rushing through my veins was nearly enough to knock me to my knees, but I held firm. It was once my hair began lifting into the wind that I finally wavered—if I went any further, I may not be able to drag myself back out.
My jaw tensed. Even after all of my training, I'm still not strong enough...
     Saiki gasped. "Oh, scary!"
"I'm just getting started," I promised darkly. "When I'm done with you, you'll be nothing more than a reminder of what I can do to those stupid enough to test my patience."
     "Though that does sound entertaining, I just can't today. Maybe another time," Saiki sighed dramatically. "I have strict orders to return Shinsou unharmed and we wouldn't want you accidentally killing him, would we?"
I faltered.
Saiki clucked his tongue. "Didn't think so."
As if on cue, a swirling purple portal opened up in the space behind them and Saiki began floating backwards. He waved.
     "NO!" I roared.
"(Y/N), don't—" Aizawa pleaded weakly.
     And just like that I was soaring into the air, the souls of the dead whipping around me. There was a crater in the ground where I had launched myself into the sky, allowing the howls and moans of the underworld to rush forward in a torrent of wind and clattering shackles.
     "SAIKI—!" I screeched, fingers shooting forwards to clasp his collar.
"What do you suppose Saya would think of what you've become?" He pondered aloud. "I wonder if she'd even be able to look you in the eye—"
"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" I bellowed. My body halted as the thick chains attached to my neck were jerked backwards. I gagged. "Don't... Don't say her name."
Another tug.
Eyes shot wide, I clawed at the heavy metal around my wrists and ankles that were now  restraining me. Whipping around, I saw more souls climbing out from their graves. They were pulling at the shackles that linked them to my body, trying to drag me back down to Earth.
     Saiki cackled, watching me fight against the otherworldly forces. Hitoshi's eyes were wide with astonishment—or perhaps fear.
"I'll find you," I vowed lowly, watching as Saiki was consumed further by the dark oblivion.
He quirked a brow, challenging me.
"And when I do..." My own smile widened to match his psychotic one. "I'll eat your soul."
     "Looking forward to it," he purred.
His expression was positively ecstatic.
Then my eyes snapped to Hitoshi's. His own was raw with emotion. Panic—but not for himself.
     "It's gonna be... okay," he mouthed to me.
     I surged forward—but I was too late.
The portal swallowed them whole and winked out of existence right after. Saiki's leering grin looming above Hitoshi's shoulder was the last that I saw of them. They were gone.
And then I was falling.
     'This is what will become of those you love...'
Shimmering teardrops disappeared from my eyes, creating a trail in the sky. The souls around me became frantic, clawing and tearing at my clothes in a struggle to find a host. It was becoming hard to think.
I shook myself violently as my thoughts became increasingly incoherent and muddled, swatting at the spirits creeping up my body. A sharp jab to the wound in my thigh had me gasping. That's when I knew it was over.
     I lurched as souls forcefully tore down my throat, wails rising like the tide. Thoughts began to bounce around my head—thoughts that weren't my own.
Why am I the one who died?
Where is my daughter?!
I'LL KILL THEM—!
Anguish overwhelmed me. All of their resentment, their hatred and despair, took over my mind—the agony of multiple souls warring with each other inside of me was unbearable.
You'll be okay.
     A blood-curdling scream ripped from my throat. Hoards of spirits began weeping from my pores, chortling sinisterly and promising mayhem.
I'm so sorry, Saya.
That was the last conscious thought I had before the world went dark.
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beep... Beep... Beep...
     A dull throbbing behind my eyes had me wincing as I stirred in my bed. I had awoken to an incessant noise chirping beside my ear, but sleep kept pulling me under.
     "Looks like she's coming to," a foreign voice declared. "I'll be damned. Never thought that I'd see the day that she opened her eyes—Melissa, call her father."
     "Yes sir," a girl—Melissa, I supposed—replied.
     Cracking open an eye, I glared at the beeping machine invading my sleep. Was it my alarm...?
     I heard a chuckle.
     "Rise and shine, (Y/N). Welcome back to the land of the living."
This wasn't my room.
     My eyes shot open wide and I exploded into action. The sheets were torn from the bed and looping around the unfamiliar man's neck in the blink of an eye. I flipped over his shoulder and pulled down hard. A satisfying choke told me that the sheets had tightened just enough.
     I was crouching low and facing a strange door, but I had no time to think about making a break for it because it suddenly burst inwards. Standing rigidly before me was Aizawa. He was breathing heavily.
     "Oh, for God's sake. Release the man, (Y/N), he's your doctor."
     My eyes widened and I instantly let go. The doctor fell to his knees, coughing and wheezing for air. I stood slowly, sketicpal still, but a quick survey of the room proved that I was indeed in a hospital.
     From the floor to the ceiling, the room was unbelievably white. Everything was neat and pristine with the distinct smell of antiseptics lingering on every surface. Complicated machinery lined the wall to my left, but to the right there was a bed. An array of pastel-coloured flowers lined a bedside table and a window ledge—all with 'Get well soon!' cards attached.
     "Aizawa," I asked hoarsely. "What happened?"
     I watched as the life seemed to renter his body at the sound of my voice. The doctor politely excused himself from the room, still rubbing at his tender throat.
     "You went into cardiac arrest," Aizawa said, seeming somewhat disconnected. "Your quirk—it nearly killed you."
     I swallowed hard. "How long have I been out?"
     "Two weeks," Aizawa breathed.
     A sharp pang to my heart had my knees wobbling beneath me and I collapsed onto the bed. "Two... weeks?"
     He nodded, looking very tired. Deep bags were evident under his eyes and his scruff had grown out more than usual. It looked like he hadn't slept in days.
     "So I guess the internships are over," I stated. "I should be back in school."
     "(Y/N)," Aizawa said gravely. "You can't attend classes at U.A. High—not for a little while, at least."
     I paled, feeling my mouth dry. "Why not?"
     "You're now a liability to the school," he said without infliction. "Principal Nezu has decided to suspend you indefinitely to ensure the safety of the other students."
     I understood the meaning behind his words, the implications, but I couldn't process it. Years of trying to prove myself, to become better, to become a hero—all for nothing. Just like that...
     "(Y/N)... you wiped out the shopping district," he said, sounding much older than he truly was. "The police—the police were going to detain you if the heroes didn't get involved. They had orders to shoot you down if you didn't comply. Principal Nezu... he had no choice."
     I nodded stiffly, swallowing down the sour bile that was rising in my throat.
"The flowers," I said instead. "They're from my peers?"
     Aizawa held my stare steadily. "They are—they know everything. Everyone does. We couldn't keep it a secret anymore... They needed to know what was going on."
     My body felt cold.
     "It's not my fault," I whispered.
     He shook his head. "No. It isn't."
     My voice cracked. "Then why doesn't it feel like it?"
Aizawa engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug, relief evident on his face. By the sounds of things, no one expected me to ever wake up. I curled into his chest, allowing him to cradle me like a child.
"I lost him," I sobbed, clutching onto his jacket. "I lost Hitoshi. I couldn't save him, Dad, I lost him."
Gently shushing me, Aizawa smoothed my hair back from my face. "It's okay, (Y/N). It's okay, we'll get him back."
"Where is he?" I croaked. "Have you found him?"
He remained silent.
"Aizawa...?"
Another pause.
     My heart began to race. All of the worst case scenarios I could imagine began running through my mind, begging for my undivided attention—was Hitoshi even alive? Something terrible must have happened... Why else wouldn't Aizawa respond?
     Thoughts of all of the bad things I did and could've prevented if I had just handled the pain began to consume me.
     Finally, Aizawa sighed—nothing could prepare me for the words he spoke next.
"We don't know where he is," he started slowly. "But the League is showing itself a lot more lately and there's been sightings of a new villain... with a brain-washing quirk."
His insinuation hit me like a blow.
There have been moments in my life where I've wished that I could just wake up—that I could end this awful nightmare—but this time it felt more like I was watching it all happen from behind a glass wall. Like it wasn't really happening.
I cried harder. The kind of silent, numbing tears that made everything feel worse rather than better. "No. It's not him."
"I know, I know," Aizawa consoled softly. "We're going to keep looking for him. Don't worry."
"It's not him, Aizawa," I repeated through my tears. "Hitoshi isn't a villain."
     "No, he isn't," a new voice chimed in. "And neither are you, (Y/N)."
The air rushed from my lungs. Lingering uncertainly in the doorway was Ochaco and the rest of my friends. Kirishima, Izuku, Mina... even Bakugou—all staring at me awkwardly.
Expectantly.
     "Is it true?" Todoroki questioned, cool as ever. "You're the daughter of All For One?"
     I flinched, nodding hesitantly. Straight to the point as always.
     His stoic expression gave nothing away. For a moment, I thought that he was going to turn around and leave, sever all ties with me right then and there. My chest tightened.
    "We can't choose our parents."
I braced myself for the rejection, the scathing looks... the disgust I was bound to receive from not only Todoroki, but everyone else.
"But the circumstances of our births do not define us," he continued. "You're choosing to be a hero—and that's enough for me."
My heart fluttered. It was hard to force it out, that persistent stabbing of hope, but even as I sat, frozen in place with fear and shock, nobody left. They were all just... smiling.
     It was like the weight of the world had just left my shoulders.
My peers flooded into the room, some with grins and others with tears brimming their eyes, all surging forward to pick me up in a hug. The tears I had been holding back suddenly broke free, heart-wrenching sobs wracking my entire frame.
     "It's been a while," I joked meekly.
     Kirishima practically smothered me with his body as he wailed, "I THOUGHT THAT THE T-SHIRTS FINALLY GOT YOU!"
     Bakugou smacked him upside the head, catching my eye with his. He tsked and looked away... but he wasn't scowling.
     "I—I'm so sorry that I lied to you guys," I choked. "You have to understand. I never wanted to hurt you."
     "We know," Momo shushed me. "And you have to understand that we're training to be heroes too. It's okay to rely on us every once in a while, (Y/N)."
     Izuku beamed at me, snot and tears streaming down his face. "That's what friends are for."
I smiled wobbly, a feeble attempt at showing the magnitude of appreciation that I held for my friends. Tsuyu smiled knowingly. Nothing more needed to be said.
This. This is my family.
Succumbing to their comfortable warmth, I noticed movement from the corner of the room. Ojiro was crossing over to the lovely array of flowers settled atop my windowsill.
He inspected them with delicate wonder, gently touching the individual petals of lilies, bluebells, and orchids. Occasionally, he would even stop to read one of the cards or smell a tulip. I smiled.
     As he continued to jostle the flowers around to examine the back of the group, I noticed a vibrant flourish.
     A splotch of ruby red.
     My friends had no time to react before I was bursting from their collective embrace and dashing to the window. I nudged Ojiro to the side and seized the singular, large bloom between my trembling fingers. Everyone waited with bated breath.
     Is it...?
     I released a shaky sigh. It was a poppy.
Stupid, I scolded internally. You should know better... He probably doesn't even know that you're in the hospital.
     "Who's that one from?" Toru questioned, a twinge of sympathy in her voice.
     I blinked. It was then that I noticed something dangling from the stem.
     Attached to the flower was a note with my name handwritten in a familiar, messy scrawl. My heartbeat quickened.
     I unfolded the paper, anticipation getting the better of me, and read the words—and then I read them again, once more to make sure that I wasn't imagining things. Tears sprang into my eyes and my hand flew to my mouth to muffle a happy, disbelieving sob.
     Written very simply across the paper were only two words:
Fuck roses.