Dragon's Visit
Christopher glared at the empty piece of paper, the stupid word count limit taunted him. He shifted on the rock-hard hospital bed, the thin mattress providing no comfort. The rails dug into his sides no matter how he positioned himself. He glanced around the drab room he'd been confined to for a day now. Sterile white walls, beeping monitors, and the smell of harsh cleaners did little to mask the undertones of sickness. An old TV hung in the corner, volume off, closed captions scrolling endlessly.
The window showed a pitch-black night. He wasn't sure what time it was, only that he should be sleeping but couldn't turn his thoughts off.
Rosethorn's assignment gnawed at him. How could he capture every detail, every nuance of the battle in 2000 words? She might as well have asked him to explain quantum physics in a tweet. He imagined her smug smile as she doled out this "punishment", knowing full well the impossibility of the task. Just another way to assert her authority. For his own good, of course. Irritation simmered under Christopher's skin. He shifted again, wincing as his injuries protested. The IV stand loomed beside him, empty bags swaying softly. At least they'd taken him off the strong meds that dulled his thoughts. Small mercies.
The clock on the wall ticked loudly, seconds passing by agonizingly slow. He should try to sleep, but his mind was wired, thoughts spinning too fast to relax. How could he rest when he kept replaying and analyzing every detail of the battle? With a harsh exhale, he sat up straighter, fighting back a groan as his body complained. The rails dug sharply into his sides, the mattress stiff and unyielding beneath him. The pillow was barely better than a wad of tissues. A night of restless tossing and turning awaited him.
Clenching his jaw, Christopher positioned his pencil over the sheet, glaring fiercely. He would make progress on this and then sleep. Just start writing. Put words down, then edit and refine. One painfully condensed sentence at a time. With a weary sigh, he began to write, the noise drowned out by the snoring of his roommate.
There was so much to analyze just from Nox's quirk usage alone. Not to mention Desolator's positioning and gun choice, optimizing his sightlines. Oh, and the bone-handed villain's reckless attacks leaving him open for counters.
He yawned involuntarily. Maybe...just a short rest. He could finish in the morning when his mind was fresh. With heavy limbs, Christopher sank back into the hard mattress. His eyes fell shut, the rhythmic beeping of hospital machinery lulling him.
When he woke, daylight streamed through the window. Disorientation clouded his mind as he tried to place where he was. The stiffness of his body and the throbbing of his wounds brought clarity. The hospital. Right.
Blinking away sleep, he became aware of another presence in the room. Turning his head, he was startled to see Inigo sitting in the bedside chair, grinning at him.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. You were out cold." Inigo's amused voice was loud in the early morning stillness. His bluish-green eyes shining.
Inigo walked quietly down the sterile hospital hallway, following the nurse's directions to Christopher's room. He carried a small bear, holding a red heart that said "Get Bearter", in one hand. He previously had two, but he had dropped one off next in Kaylee's room. He frowned. Her injuries were pretty bad and he was told she wasn't gonna wake up today. That alone left a knot in his stomach.
As he entered Christopher's room he saw two beds, the first one was empty, and the second contained his friend. Inigo saw Christopher asleep on the bed, with a blanket pulled up to his chest which was wrapped in bandages. A nurse in the hall confirmed his identity and smiled kindly at Inigo. She gestured to a chair by the bedside. He set the bear down on the table and took a seat, scooting it closer.
For a few minutes Inigo just watched his friend sleep. Gigan flew out of his pocket excitedly and perched itself above Chris' bed.
*You were more worried than me, weren't you, buddy?"
His green dragon mewed quietly. Gigan had taken a liking to Chris early on. Whether it was through their mutual disfavor of some of Inigo's colorful actions, or because Gigan felt like Chris was another kid who needed guidance, he wasn't entirely sure. But he sensed the anxiety in Gigan which mirrored his own.
Two days ago, Inigo had used his quirk to move Christopher and the rest of the injured heroes closer to where the paramedics could reach them. He hadn't stayed and was lucky enough to escape notice. There was no use in all of them getting in trouble with the school. Although he would've taken all the punishment in the world from Rosethorn if it meant saving his friends from ending up here.
Inigo studied the bruises and small cuts on Christopher's face, remnants of the brutal fight. He recognized the markings that Junichi's bones left on his victims. The same ones he left when he wasn't going for a kill. He thought back to what Desolator had said, about Christopher trying to kill Junichi. Even if he had introduced Chris to Junichi, would it have changed anything? The Five had told him about Christopher's mother, Christopher was out for revenge and nothing short of a leash-made-of-Yuis could stop him. If he had been there. He would've found a way to help both of his friends. Somehow. And he'd make sure Junichi and Chris became friends too.
Inigo was relieved his friend was sleeping so peacefully. Soon he would wake up and Inigo would be there, ready to help however he could. To offer support, or just make him laugh. That's what friends were for. For now, Inigo simply sat in the quiet room keeping watch.
Inigo leaned in to smile at Christopher. "Wanted to see how you were holding up. Hospital food as bad as they say?"
Christopher sighed. He shook his head as he sat up with a quiet groan. "What time is it?"
"Dude, it's almost lunchtime," Inigo checked his phone. "You doin' alright?"
"I'm fine, you didn't need to visit me, man."
"Eh, you got a lot of people worried, bro," Inigo said with a careless wave.
Inigo leaned back in his chair, looking around the hospital room. "So on a scale of 1 to 10, how's this room ranking for you? Decor-wise and comfort-wise?"
Christopher frowned. "I'd give it a 4 for decor since it's about as bland as can be. Comfort is like a 2...you've seen this mattress, it's practically a wooden board."
"A 4 and a 2? Ouch. No wonder you look so thrilled to be here," Inigo joked. "Maybe I can smuggle in a pillow or something next time to bump you up to a 3 comfort."
"That would be good. A pillow sounds nice right now."
"Consider it done!" Inigo turned Gigan into a pillow under Christopher. "Oh, and I'll bring some magazines too so you have something more entertaining than a muted TV to look at. Y'know, if you copied my quirk you'd have someone to take care of you."
Christopher shook his head. "There's no way I'm doing that with that quirk." He picked up the pencil by the side of the table and looked around.
"So whatcha working on anyway?"
"Tactical analysis of the fight. Rosethorn's idea of punishment." Christopher kept searching for his work.
Inigo laughed. "Getting extra homework 'cause you helped kick villain ass? That's cold." He propped his feet up as he held up Christopher's paper to his face. "Still, good to see you weren't expelled. You really gonna use ten lines talking about how inexperienced and reckless the bone guy is?"
"It's not done yet. Give that back! You're not supposed to see that." Christopher tried to pull the paper towards him with Hailey's quirk but he flinched from the pain in his chest. Inigo's eyes went wide and quickly pushed the paper toward the younger boy.
"Easy there, champ." He rubbed the back of his head. " I was just peeking, plus nothing I didn't know about already."
"So, you were there. You got my text?"
"Yeah." A few moments of silence passed between them, with Inigo looking at Christopher who looked away to stare at his unfinished paper.
"Only towards the end of it... I got your text, but my phone was broken. It was only when I got home with my spare that." He frowned. "Why'd you have to fight Desolator in the most romantic night of the year, man? You couldn't have waited until Flag Day or something?"
"I made a split-second decision. I didn't have time to wait around."
"You know he was gonna kill you right?"
Christopher sneered slightly. "He doesn't kill kids."
"Think you gave him a change of heart on that one. I saw it in his eyes." Inigo shook his head. "It was all I can do to get you guys out of there. Next time you meet him. He won't be holding back. He'll be packing more than rubber bullets."
"I won't give him the chance. If we meet again- next time I'll get him first." Christopher's eyes seem to blaze. He had a momentary look of determination that quickly faded into frustration as he stared down at his bandaged arms.
Inigo sighed and slouched down on his chair. "Next time huh?" He stared up at the ceiling. "I know about your mother, man. So you might as well know a bit about my family too. "
Christopher looked away from his paper and shot him a serious look. "Who told you?"
Inigo shook his head. "Nah, I found out on my own after I found you in that alleyway. Those people at the park, trying to drown themselves, that was the work of my older brother. He's a villain. He won't be bothering us anymore, but there's a chance the people he's with is working with the Five."
Another moment of silence passed, and this time it was Inigo's turn to look away.
Christopher quietly processed what Inigo shared. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked.
"Cause I want you to know I have my reasons to go after them too. And if I have to find you injured and dying again, I don't know if I can take it, bro." Inigo leaned closer and placed a careful hand on Christopher's shoulder. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with ya."
"It's fine. You were caught up in the festival and the fireworks." He shrugged. "I guess we all have our baggage."
"Yeah."
They both stared out the window for a while. The sun's rays made the windows of the nearby buildings sparkle.
"It's a shame. You must've missed the fireworks, bro."
"Did you end up-"
"Yeah, I did," Inigo smirked weakly and they shared a look.
"Really?"
"Yep."
They fist-bumped.
"You dog."
"Hey! That's my line!" Inigo grinned. "By the way I heard you saved that girl, Honoken. She's pretty hot, y'know. Anything there I should look forward to? O' lord of sweeps."
"N-no!" Chris stammered. "I haven't even seen her since I got here. We haven't even met."
"Bro, don't tell me you didn't get her number!"
Christopher shook his head. "At what point, did you think I'd have time to hit on her? Besides, I hear she's with Seiryu."
"Okay, now I am mad at you! How many times have I told you that love can bloom in battle? It's like my catchphrase!"
"We were fighting for our lives."
"YEAH- but before that! It's one thing to not have your finest general against a villain fight, but against a hottie like that!"
Christopher quickly shook his head and changed the subject knowing how Inigo could get. "Give me a break. I'm starving right now." He looked out the door as a doctor and a nurse walked past carrying a medical chart. "Where's my breakfast?"
Inigo whistled and placed his hands behind his head. "Oh, I had them send it away." His phone buzzed.
"Why would you do that? I'm really hungry, man."
"Cause I didn't come alone," Inigo smirked and walked towards the door. "I just got here early." Outside the room, Gigan pushed a lunch cart with a pot towards the door. Christopher smelled a familiar aroma and his stomach rumbled. Inigo picked up a plate and grinned. "Your dad was worried about you, by the way. We went to your house early with the ingredients and he taught us the recipe. It's your favorite, goulash with radish sauce right? OH YEAH! ALSO-"
Christopher watched as several of his classmates arrived with a mix of concern and excitement on their faces. Inigo chuckled. "Ta-da! The cavalry has arrived. These guys insisted on coming to see you." He shot a finger gun at Chris, as the others rushed passed Inigo to surround his injured friend.
Christopher's eyes widened in surprise, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "You guys..."
Yui, confidently sauntered forward and playfully bumped Christopher's shoulder. "Hey Chris. You better get better soon. We've got a lot of matches to catch up on."
Orochi chimed in. "Yeah, and we need you back in action so we can settle our last score in that fighting game."
Hifumi nodded confidently. "We all hope for your speedy recovery, bro. I still need you to help me out with my battle tactics!"
Christopher seemed to relax at the sight of his friends. "Thank you, everyone."
The Korean clique moved as one next to Hifumi and surrounded the bed. Inigo felt worried for a moment that they might say something mean to Chris, but then relaxed as they one by one brought out shopping bags.
Hailey smiled, "Ugh, hospital gowns are terrible. Here, we got you designer ones from the store." She planted the shopping bag on the bed.
Faith took out her own bag and spoke, "It's an E-reader, with books you might like."
Maxine had what seems like a convenient store bag. "I brought some GVDs. I thought they might help pass the time."
Edith handed him a spa-gift card. "I had an extra one. For your back, if it gets all messed up after this. This place is great."
Minnie placed a cactus plant and some flowers by the table. "This should liven things up for you. Bobby's running a little late, but he should come by in a bit."
Christopher was soon surrounded by gifts. He did his best to thank each girl.
"Alright alright, stop hoggin' him before I get jealous! AND IT'S TIME TO EAT!" Inigo passed out the plates, and Gigan flew around with drinks. "This pot was made with love by Yui, by the way!"
Yui growled, "Shut up! I wanted it to taste good. I was just- keeping you from putting weird ingredients in!"
"I have you know. Dragonfruit goes with everything!"
Orochi rolled in another cart with a larger TV and bags of popcorn. "So what're we watching?" she asked cheerfully.
Max held out some of the movie CDs from her bag. "Are any of these any good?"
Christopher smiled. "If it's action, it's fine."
Hifumi approached Maxine and picked out a title. "Seven Samurai. This one should work."
"Oooh! I love that one! The big twist is that there’s an eight samurai!" Inigo called out as he handed a full plate of to Christopher. Loud boos filled the room at Inigo's spoiler.
One by one, they all settled in to eat and watch. As the opening credits rolled on the movie, Inigo looked around at his friends chatting and laughing together. Seeing Christopher smiling reassured him. They were all friends who cared enough to skip out on the last days of their summer break and smuggle in a feast - the bitterness and confusion that had filled him that night began to fade away.
He hadn't been able to protect Christopher from The Five, but he could be there for him now.
"-YO! THIS IS WHEN THE TIGER-MASK GUY COMES IN AND SAVES THEM!"
<Shut up <Ssshhh> <Boo <C'mon