The Hero and the Damsel

She is Here!

            After that moment of hearing the doctor call for a gurney, everything started to feel surreal. There was a lot of yelling, I remember that. My father was shouting. My mother was trying to hold him back. However, the one thing I remember over everything else, all the noise and commotion, was the feeling of Toshinori's calloused, scarred hand holding mine. He was rubbing soothing circles over the my knuckles with his thumb, but I wasn't sure if it was for my comfort, or his. He was shaking...perhaps trembling. Most likely worried. I heard what sounded like his stuttering, worried, dork self.

I wanted to comfort him. From what I was hearing, he sounded like he needed some comfort. I wanted to reach out my hand to his cheek, gaze into those endless ocean eyes of his, and assure him that I was okay. That was impossible and most certainly not the case though. The pain coming from my stomach was excruciating. It made my eyes well with tears and my mind become fuzzy with agony and worry over what was happening. Stressing over the situation provided no help either, as it only caused more panic to erupt around me until I felt a sharp pain...then nothing.

The pain was quick and when I opened my eyes it felt as though no time had passed. However, the room I was in was not the one from earlier. The tiles were a shade of pale blue, it was dark...I remember when I was yelling at my father, the sun was still in the sky. My parents were nowhere to be seen, but I did see a very exhausted, drained, and dead asleep Toshinori next to me. He looked as though he'd taken on a villain stronger than any he had faced and it had physically and mentally depleted him.

I didn't want to wake him just to ask where I was. He looked like he needed the sleep. He'd probably run off after I was taken away to go fight a villain and protect the city. Wonder if he snuck into the hospital room just to check on me and the little Sunspot inside me? As I thought about the little parasite growing inside me, my hand drifted to take its usual position on my abdomen to sooth the Sunspot.

However...it was flat. Nothing. No bump. Dread filled me in an instant as I began to cry. Panicking and running my fingers over my peach-fuzzed scalp. Questions coming forth quickly of what had happened and where my little girl was. Was she gone? Had I stressed myself so much that it had hurt her? Did I...Did I lose my child?

The tears continued to pour down as I sobbed in the bed, my hands moving from my head to be positioned protectively over my stomach as I wept. That's when I heard a noise of someone quickly moving out of a chair that clattered to the floor. I woke Toshinori up. At this point, I didn't care though. How was I going to tell him?

His arms wrapped around me, enveloping me in a strong, reassuring hug. I heard his voice shushing me, as he kissed the side of my head. "Ayano, Sweetheart. Breath...deep breaths. You'll make yourself pass out."

I continued to weep as my hands moved from my stomach, to reveal its emptiness to Toshinori as my fingers nimbly gripped his forearm. From there, the only sounds or words that came from me were apologies.

The hold on me tightened, but not enough to cause pain. Toshinori was merely attempting to comfort, but it seemed as though he didn't take notice of our lost child that was once growing inside me. His main focus seemed to be my breathing. "Sweetest, please...you need to breath. Why are you apologizing? Everything's all right."

All right?! I nearly yelled as my nails started to dig into his forearm. He didn't flinch away though; he most likely didn't even feel it. "All right?! Toshinori our...our little Sunspot! Little Hana...she...s-s-she..."

I felt his body tremor as a chuckle left his lips. How could he be laughing at a moment like this?! Hana was gone! And he was going to laugh! And it wasn't his fake, obnoxious laugh either, it was genuine! He was genuinely laughing at this situation.