The Hero and the Damsel

Waking Up in ICU

            When I woke up again, I was in a room different from the one that I was previously in, and the only other person with me was a nurse. She seemed to be checking over my vitals so I reached over weakly towards her. "H-Hey...?" My voice sounded hoarse and terrible.

However, she apparently picked up on the sound of my voice because she jolted and looked over at me. "Yamane! You're awake!"

I winced at how loud she was talking before I nodded and glanced around again. "Where...a-am I?"

The nurse finished checking all the strange tubes connected to me before she spoke up with a chipper voice. "You're in ICU Yamane. Your surgery was a success! Congratulations! You also have a few visitors waiting to see you. A Yamane Mika, a Yamane Takeo, and All Might himself!" The woman giggled with joy at the last one. "All Might came to visit you, you're a lucky girl, what I wouldn't give to have him come visit me." She said that with such a fangirl dreamy voice, Toshinori really was popular among women...astounding. She perked up against as she started to head to the door. "You're only allowed two visitors at a time, so I'll send in your parents."

I grit my teeth at that, as much as I wanted to see them, Toshinori promised me that he would come first...before everyone. I gave a feeble attempt at reaching out towards her. "W-Wait!" I nearly yelled it which immediately elicited coughing and panting as I doubled over my chest in pain.

The nurse heard the sound of the nurse rushing over to me. "Please...be careful Yamane, don't strain your lungs like that. You had a collapsed lung and a tumor. If you start behaving like that, you'll aggravating the stitches and all together the work done on your lungs. Please be careful."

The woman was reprimanding me for calling for her, but it was such a guttural reaction, I wasn't sure what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted something different than what she was assuming. I continued to cough slightly and breath calmly. The coughing wasn't nearly as bad as before, at least there was no blood. After a moment I panted out, "All Might...I...I want to see All Might first." I hesitated at the way that sounded. I was pleading to see him, what was I? A desperate, clingy girlfriend? I covered myself weakly. "D-Don't want to...k-keep him f-from his duties too long..."

I winced at how stupid I sounded, but after the nurse was sure that I was better and my panting was more just me catching my breath she obliged and left the room. She returned about five minutes later with Toshinori beside her. I was sitting up weakly as I focused on him. The nurse giggled as she bowed, leaving Toshinori and I alone.

Once we were alone, he quickly came over to me and I felt rough lips against mine in a gentle but passion filled kissed. His large hands were on my cheeks, tenderly caressing me. I responded in kind, placing one of my hands weakly on his cheek, rubbing my thumb on his cheekbone in small circles as our lips remained locked together. He released me after a moment, and I could see what fueled the passionate kiss in the first place. Those aqua jewels were boring into me with such relief and joy.

I left my hand on his cheek as I smiled awkwardly. "H-Hi Babe."

Toshinori started going from tanned and toned to bright red as he heard the heart monitor connected to me start beeping rapidly and awkwardly smiled back. His hero smile on hiatus. "Hey...s-sorry." He removed his hands from my cheeks and took the seat next to me bed. My hand slide from his cheek, back to overtop my stomach as I watched him.

I grinned with a bit of effort as he sat there. "It's fine...I wasn't expecting you to run in here for a make-out session. I thought Pro-Heroes had more tact."

The blush worsened on his face as he took my hand in his. "I-I wasn't...t-that's not..." He shook his head as he lifted my hand up and kissed my knuckles. "I was so worried that...w-when I saw you, I was o-overwhelmed."

I snorted, nearly causing my cannula to pop out of my nose. I wiggled my nose to adjust it as I grinned. "You...get overwhelmed?"

Toshinori gave a nod as he looked down at my tiny hand that was wrapped in his. "Yes...E-Especially right now. H-How are you feeling?"

I sat up with a bit of effort and assistance from Toshinori. "Not too bad...No more blood when I cough and my chest doesn't hurt or feel tight...Well I mean it hurts but that is probably from the stitches."

Toshinori gave a grimace at the mention of my stitches and stared with intensity at my neck. "Another scar..."

I quickly put a hand to my neck embarrassed. "T-Toshi...stop staring at it. It's not your fault and neither is this one." I watched him carefully. I was still worried. He was right, this was another scar on my body. What if it was one scar too many for him, and this is certainly a scar that won't go away. My scar on my neck and shoulder will vanish...this one most likely never will.

I sighed as I turned my gaze down towards my lap where my other hand lay empty. Toshinori spoke up, "Sweetheart...you okay?"

I glanced over at him, giving a curt not before going back to focusing on my lap. "Y-Yeah...just...j-just tired." A lie never hurt. I couldn't tell Toshinori about my doubts. Though I loved him with all my beating heart, which was currently being projected for him to hear, I wasn't going to tell him about my self-conscious doubts. With his boisterous, overzealous nature, he'd probably start laughing and make everything awkward.

Toshinori took my lie as the truth as he began to stand up. "Then I won't keep you long, I just wanted to make sure that you were all right Ayano..."

I sighed with a smile gracing the corners of my mouth. "Absolutely. Nurse said that surgery was a success."

He watched me carefully as he returned my smile. "Good, I'll see you tomorrow Ayano. I'll be sure to have that cupcake for you."

I gave a chortle at that remark. "Oh boy, a whole cupcake just for me, I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world."

Toshinori took to my playful banter quickly as he kissed my forehead, then my cheek, then my lips. "Yes, a whole cupcake just for you Sweetheart. I'll do my best not to eat it."

I smiled as I pulled him into another kiss and then watched him leave the room. I hoped I would never have to watch that strong back leave me forever. I licked my lips unconsciously, watching him leave the room before blushing and shaking my head. Bad fangirl thoughts! Bad! I'm not some bimbo fangirl!

I started ruffling my hair to try and get those thoughts from my mind when a person I was unfamiliar with came into the room and took a seat next to me. "Yamane?"

I gave a nod as I stared at him with impressive focus. "Yeah...who are you?"

The man picked my clipboard of my bed and started scanning it as he spoke, "I'm your respiratory therapist Ayano, I'm here to check your breathing after your surgery. When you breathe does anything feel clogged up or constricting?"

I shook my head no as the man took note of this on my clipboard. "Good to know Yamane. If it remains that way through tomorrow, we will move you back to your hospital room for monitoring. Right now, I want you in ICU."

I nearly gave a groan before I caught myself. I didn't want to get reprimanded for groaning in frustration. The man remained calm as he continued to write. "Yamane, I'm going to place my hand on your back and I'd like you to take a large, deep breath for me okay?" He placed his hand on my back and relaxed. "All right, deep breath?"

I took a deep breathing, sharply inhaling the air before I gave a gentle cough. The doctor wrote something down before he put his other hand on my stomach. "Breath out for me Yamane."

I did as I was told, not going to argue with this man. "Can you do that one more time?" I did as such, the doctor taking more notes before he decided he had what he needed. He finished and left the room, my parents coming in afterwards.

They didn't stay long either as I told them that I was tired and wanted to rest. With a bit of arguing about my desire to rest after my surgery between my mother and father, they left the room and left me to relax and wallow in my thoughts, the most pressing thought on my mind was where Toshinori was and if he was safe.