The Hero and the Damsel

Collapsing

            I'm not exactly sure at what time I fell asleep last night, and to that same effect I have no idea when Toshinori fell asleep. However, I do know when I woke up. I woke up at exactly 7:53 in the morning to the hollering shouts of my father. I jolted upright and the action of my tense panic and quick motion woke the giant I'd been using as a bed to protectively wrap his arms around me and pull me close to him as he sat up ready to attach whatever had entered the room.

When he saw it was my father, Toshinori released me with a blush and lifted me carefully so he could extract himself from the bed. My father yelling curses at him the entire time. "You damn fucking bastard! First you try to take advantage of my little girl yesterday by having your way with her body, and now this?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Toshinori seemed to be ignoring him as he focused on me with a blush and held my hand. I was not going to ignore him. I couldn't. I groaned as I glared at him. "Really Dad? Could you just stop? I'm dating All Might, get over it. Stop calling him a bastard and at least attempt to play nice?"

My father was seething as he glared back at me and scoffed. "To good for that bastard." He kicked his feet like some pathetic high school punk before he walked out of the room.

I turned my attention back to Toshinori and smiled at him. "Sorry about my dad Babe, he'll warm up...eventually...hopefully..."

Toshinori shook his head and smiled. "Any parent has cause to be upset with me, especially for w-w-what I d-did y-yesterday..." His face began to flush more at the recollection of yesterday's morning escapade. I merely grinned at him. "B-B-But l-last night w-was h-harmless. D-Did...D-Did you sleep all right?"

I gave a few coughs as I nodded. "I slept fine knowing that the strongest man every was underneath me and could fend off anything that attacked."

Wrong choice of words. I thought I was being playful, giving a gentle boost to that inflated ego of his, but I chose a phrasing of words that hit him hard. He looked at me with those pained blue sapphires, and it hurt to look at him in such a state. He just stared at me with that pain and shook his head. "Not...N-Not a-anything A-Ayano...b-but I promise!" The zealous was starting to flare. "I promise to protect you and help you return to your original health in any way that I can! Have no fear for –"

I waved my hand at him in a somewhat apathetic manner. "For you are here, I get it. Stop using your stupid damn hero tagline on me. I'm your girlfriend, remember? Not a civilian."

I saw his body tense at the statement and grow embarrassed. "W-W-Well...you're s-still a c-civilian S-Sweetheart..."

With a shake of my head, I gave a sigh, but that sigh led into a coughing fit. I started expelling the crap that was stored in my lungs. This one was worse though. I saw Toshinori fretting and panicking as he put his hand on my back. I clutched one hand to my neck, desperately trying to claw at it in hopes of getting air. The coughing was causing difficulty for my breathing. I dug my nails into my neck, my other hand digging into my chest as the agony of each cough and desperate gasp for air assaulted me with pain and constriction. I felt like I was suffocating...I probably was suffocating.

I kept coughing and failing at attempts for air. I could hardly see Toshinori through the tears that were welling in my eyes. I closed them shut tightly as I tried to fight the suffering that I was in. I needed to stay strong. I was strong. My attempts were feeble and I merely continued to hack and sharply inhale. It was awful. I faintly heard a chair clatter as Toshinori's loud voice came over everything, the sound of my heartbeat drumming my eyes, the sound of my blood struggling to pump blood that was being spit out of my mouth as I coughed. I heard that voice...and it was fearful and forceful. "H-Hold on Sweetheart! Doctor!"

I struggled to remain conscious, to fight through the searing pain in my chest. This was dreadful, and I wanted nothing more than for it to stop. As I continued, I heard the shuffling of frantic feet against the ground near me as Toshinori's voice attempted to explain what was going on. "W-We were talking and s-she just –"

My father's voice came next to my ears, but it was so faint. "Likely fucking story. What the fuck did you do 'Pro-Hero?'"

Another voice, familiar in the sense that it was my doctor seemed irritated. "Sir, if you could refrain, I need you both to leave the room now."

In my state, I'm not sure if they listened or not, I was too busy forcing myself to breath. I heard the doctor again, talking to who I could only assume were nurses. "We are going to need to hurry her along to surgery soon. We need to take her to an X-Ray now! Get me a cannula and an oxygen mask before we lose her!" I heard more shuffling, but I wasn't sure what was happening. However, with Toshinori gone, I felt...that I could let the suffering and darkness of my pain take me for a while. He wouldn't know...he wouldn't see. Water left my eyes as my struggling breath was now worsened by my tears until –

When I woke up, I was in a different room, and there was this strange thing in my nose. I wiggled my nose a bit to get it out when I heard Toshinori. "A-Ayano!"

His voice was followed by a chorus of voices calling my name and someone claiming I was awake. I blinked awake as I put my hand to my nose, the strange thing was a tube and after a second, I felt air shoot into my nose which caused me to jolt and cough a second. I immediately regretted the action as my chest ached with pain. I winced and took a deep, calm breath to ease the pain before I opened my eyes. I was assaulted by the faces of my father, my mother, and Toshinori.

My mother hugged me tightly as my father panicked. "M-Mika!"

My mother didn't seem to listen to my father as she hugged me and cried. "Thank God you're all right Honey! We were so worried about you!"

I coughed and wheezed out...wheezed...I rasped. I sounded like a whisper and it was difficult to speak. "Mom...? What happened?"

I attempted to sit up as my mother eased back on her hug and assisted me. Toshinori was avoiding looking at me. I must look terrible...this is probably going to be the start, but I needed to know the cause of my future sadness. My father spoke up to answer my question while my mother was assisting me in getting more comfortable. "While you and fuckbag were talking, you had a coughing fit and...a-and one of your lungs it...it collapsed."

My mother pet my head, tears streaming down her face. "The doctor told us he is moving forward with the surgery. You will have your operation in the next three days and they are hopefully this will solve everything. My poor Honey..." She hugged me again, tightly as she cried.

I attempted to hug her back, but everything felt so heavy. Even my arms felt heavy. I tried to sooth her as I rasped and whispered. "I'm fine Mom...r-really."

It was then, that I heard the screech of the chair. Toshinori was standing. His eyes downcast. I wanted to see the glorious blue...but he was avoiding me. As he stood, he spoke towards the floor, not directing his line of sight with my parents or me. "I-I...need to excuse myself. R-Rest well..." With that...I watched the form of my boyfriend leave.

It truly was starting...one moment I was enjoying myself with him and carrying on as if everything were normal, and the next he would be leaving me. I knew it wasn't going to last much longer with me in this state. He was a Pro-Hero, and that seeing me like this probably wasn't helping him in any way considering I now was probably not going to be good enough to stand by his side.

As I watched him leave, a pain gripped my chest once more, but it wasn't a pain like before. This was different. This was worse to me. I couldn't stop the tears from dripping out. I didn't even realize I was crying as I watched Toshinori's massive figure go through the door and leave. My lung collapsed...and it felt like my relationship was collapsing with it.