Dragon Blade

Assimilation

It was the steady, dull ache pulsing faintly from his thigh that first made him aware that he'd been asleep and towed him slowly back into semiconsciousness. However, waking up from this dreamlike state was slow and lethargic, his body either unwilling or unable to process anything other than the soft warmth surrounding him. Every so often he got the vague impression that something had changed, some sort of pressure rousing him from the dozing blur for a few clear seconds before the comfortable haze returned. But gradually the fog thickening his thoughts began to evaporate, and the world around him began to make logical sense.

He woke up in a hospital bed, wearing nothing but a cloth medical gown – the kind that fully preserved his modesty, thank god – a stripe of bandaging around the crown of his head, and a thick swath of bandages wrapped tightly around his left thigh. An IV had been taped into the crook of his elbow, and he blinked sleepily up at the clear plastic bag of fluid hanging over his head. After a few moments of just lying there, Hitsugaya dragged his torso forward until he was sitting up in the bed, the white cloth blanket still covering his legs. His head spun a bit, and he gave himself a moment to regain his bearings before looking around the small, plain room. There wasn't much else in the room besides his bed, a few chairs, and a small table with a thin folder lying on top of it, but he could sense the reiatsu of what had to be the nursing staff wandering around the hospital, some of them moving in his direction.

He followed them with his mind's eye as the humans' reiatsu drew closer, folding his hands in his lap as he waited for the doctor to come in. Luckily enough for him, he knew that he could use the head injury as an excuse to have spotty memories, but it's wouldn't be enough to use that as his only reason for not divulging information – he'd have to play this carefully.

When the door opened, he pulled his attention away from the small window, looking up at the group who had just walked into his hospital room. Two were in pale green scrubs, and as the others took seats in the various chairs, the taller of the two medical professionals walked over to him.

"It's good to see you awake, young man," the purple-haired woman said kindly. "Are you feeling alright? Hungry or thirsty? Any pain I should know about?"

Toushiro blinked up at her in surprise, realizing for the first time that he wasn't feeling shaky or weak with hunger, though his stomach was protesting noisily. He glanced idly at the tube feeding into his arm, recognizing it as a nutrient drip.

"I'm hungry, but I'm not in much pain," he replied softly. "I assume I'm on painkillers right now?"

The doctor nodded once, then spoke softly into her pager before returning her full attention to him.

"Food is on its way for you, young man," she explained gently. "But in the meantime, do you feel up to answering some questions these three have for you?"

He nodded, already expecting the whole song-and-dance routine with the police, and flicked his gaze to them expectantly. There were three of them present – a dark-haired man with tired eyes and a slouched posture, a man in a police uniform with a cat's head, and a bespectacled older woman with bright yellow eyes and a clipboard. The man with the cat's head leaned forward first, a friendly purr echoing from his throat.

"Well, first and foremost, I'll go ahead and explain why we're here," he began cheerfully. "To make a long story short, you're a kid that nobody has reported missing, yet we can't seem to find out who your parents are, and we need to figure out where you belong. Secondly, as you probably know, public use of Quirks is prohibited for anyone without a license. However, when the pro-hero Elasticity tried to rescue you about a week ago, you ran by using your Quirk, and then jumped in to save two kids about your age from a gigantic monster during the U.A. Sports Festival yesterday afternoon, again using your Quirk. Obviously, we're not exactly sure why you did all of this, so we were hoping to hear your side of the story before we try to figure out what to do with you."