tournament fallout 2

The stadium was silent. Faith stared, her budding infatuation with Christopher Cain forgotten. She glanced down and saw that Edie was gripping onto her wrist so tightly that the bones were starting to creak.

"Edie," she whispered. "You're hurting me."

With visible effort, Edie let go. They watched mutely as Minnie was carried away. It hurt to look at her ruined face. Once she had disappeared, Max vaulted out of her seat, nostrils flared as she sprinted into the depths of the stadium. Edie followed, Hailey and Faith hot on her heels. They reached the medical center a scant few seconds before Minnie's own brother appeared from around a corner, Riwon in tow.

"언니," Edie breathed. Riwon pulled her into a tight hug. She hadn't been intending to seek her older sister out, but Minnie's match had shaken her. It had shaken all of them.

"You did well," Riwon murmured, and didn't let go until Edie herself pulled away.

Faith's sister had shown up while she'd been distracted. Surprisingly, Samson hadn't. Takeda and Myoga were probably physically restraining him from beating the shit out of Owari. Frankly, given what he'd just done, there was no one in all of Japan who deserved a good beating more than Owari. Edie would help. They all would.

"My parents are on their way," Eunhyuk said, face ashen. The security guard outside the doctor's office watched them all impassively. "They're calling in a favor from a family friend. Teleporter. Seoul-Busan-Fukuoka-Kyoto."

"If they're paying extra, I'll settle the balance." The man who had made that offer paused, then made an abortive, apologetic gesture. "Anthony Chang. Teleportation on short notice is expensive. Any friend of my sister's is a friend of mine."

"I'll let my parents know," Eunhyuk replied curtly.

A long, tense silence followed. Edie said goodbye to Riwon and rejoined Hailey, Faith and Max. In a bid to take their minds off Minnie's plight, they'd pulled out their phones and were browsing the comments on the livestream. Hailey let out a sharp bark of laughter and brandished her phone. "#bringbacksandatsu," she snarled. "I'd sooner kill him."

"That's social media for you," Max muttered. Her expression was black. "I don't even care if he apologizes. We're never leaving Minnie alone with him ever again."

They whiled away the minutes chattering mindlessly until a phalanx of bodyguards shoved their way into view. Minnie's parents' were barely visible, their pale, bloodless faces bobbing along as Eunhyuk met them at the entrance to the doctor's office. The security guard outside put up a commendable fight, but the outcome was never in doubt. As Minnie's mother disappeared inside, her father remained at the door, leaning against Eunhyuk for support. Max had met him a few times before, but he'd never looked so old as he did today.

"Get out," he said to the security guard, face twisting in contempt.

The security guard stared at him. Minnie's father bared his teeth. His eyes flashed blue and white. A low hum began to build in the air around him.

"Get. Out."

The security guard got out.

A few long moments passed before Minnie's father let go of his quirk. Exhaling, he unclenched his fists. "There are a dozen schools in Seoul that do the job better than Shiketsu," he said to no one in particular, tone dangerously nonchalant. "And I've a mind to send my daughter to one of them. What kind of school -"

He was cut off mid-tirade by Minnie, who had emerged from behind. She was smiling tightly, dragging her mother behind her, and Edie was hit by a feeling of relief so intense that her knees almost buckled. Beside her, Faith laughed.