𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝙰 𝙼𝚒𝚡𝚝𝚊𝚙𝚎 - 𝙷. 𝚈𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Twenty Two

Yamada's eyebrows furrowed as soon as Aoki was in his line of sight and though he noticed someone he didn't recognize in the seat next to her, he still approached. The blond stood at the foot of her bed, taking in the sad reality of Aoki's current state. She had several dark bruises scattered across her arms, other spots not as severely hit but starting to turn a sallow yellow indicating the bruises that would soon appear. A large scrape on her right cheek looked bright red and raw, the bridge of her nose looked slightly swollen along with her eyelids, and a light purple bruise lined her left cheekbone.

His hands clenched around the hard plastic footboard of her hospital bed as his chest ached for her. He wasn't there for her...he should've been there...he should've protected her.

"She's tough," Keiko spoke softly so as not to startle him or wake her daughter. "Don't worry."

Yamada's eyes didn't dare leave Aika. He was afraid that if he looked away something else might happen to her. "Doesn't make it easier to see," he sighed.

Keiko studied the man in front of her, immediately recognizing him as Present Mic, her daughter's celebrity crush and she could tell by the way he was fully focused on Aika that there was something she didn't know. She patted the empty seat next to her. "Come sit down, Hero. They gave her some painkillers so she's pretty out of it right now. Best not to wake her."

Yamada's eyes flickered over to the woman and from her wavy brown hair and kind brown eyes, it was obvious to him they were related. She nodded towards the empty seat and he obliged.

Not wanting to be impolite, especially with someone that is close enough to Aika to have been there, he offered out his hand. "Hizashi Yamada."

Keiko gave him a small smile, showing the hint of dimples on each cheek as she did so. "Keiko Aoki," she shook his hand. "Aika's mother."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs.Aoki," he reciprocated her kind smile. "Although I wish it were under different circumstances."

"Likewise," she sighed. "I don't know how my little wallflower got herself into something like this..."

A small smirk pulled up Yamada's lips hearing the nickname her mother had given her. "That's cute."

"She hates it," Keiko quietly chuckled. "So naturally I had to keep calling her that."

"Do you know what happened? Has she filed a police report yet?"

"She had told Reiji that she pissed off the wrong person. He said that she called him from a payphone outside the Lucky Mart near her apartment and he brought her straight here."

"She's so polite though," Yamada rubbed his forehead. "I can't see her upsetting a stranger."

Keiko nodded. "I can't either...something must've happened to have provoked her."

Yamada exhaled as his eyes landed back on Aika's sleeping form, her chest rising and falling slowly with each steady breath. He reached out to hold her hand but hesitated and ultimately decided against it, using his outstretched hand to comb through his hair in an effort to save face.

A small giggle from beside him earned his attention once again and when he raised an eyebrow at Keiko she smirked. "Don't hold back on my account. I'm sure she wouldn't be upset if you held her hand."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "She needs to rest. She'll probably wake up if I do."

"I'm sure she'd be thrilled to see you here."

"I don't think thrilled is the word I'd use right now..."

Keiko raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why wouldn't she be thrilled to see the hero she's had a crush on for years?"