I take a breath. I miss Aizawa-sensei so much. Meanwhile, I look at them one by one and feel a warmth in my chest I can't describe. I love them all so much. "You were incredible out there."
"This is the one who saved half the district," Tess mutters.
"Come on, it wasn't half!"
"Two-thirds." Ren corrects her.
"Three-quarters." Kaito passes me.
"Okay, enough." I pretend to complain, smiling under my breath.
We're laughing and joking when the infirmary curtain suddenly opens. Recovery Girl stares at us with a serious look. And then…she looks at me.
"Eri. Just a minute."
Oh shit. I stiffen.
The others see me leave, and their eyes follow me through the door. I follow her out the bare, white corridor, my heart pounding. She crosses her arms, looking me up and down.
"I'd say…you're pretty stable."
"For what…?" I ask quietly.
She sighs, then half smiles. She delivers some huge news in such a casual tone.
"Aizawa-sensei is awake."
My breath catches. Instinctively, I put a hand over my mouth.
"Can I…can I see him?"
"One person at a time."
Then she adds, with a slightly softer look, almost as if she understands what I'm feeling.
"Go. He's been waiting for someone for…a long time."
My knees buckle with happiness, I want to run, but I can't. I start walking, occasionally leaning on the walls for balance, and with every step I feel like I'm getting closer to something I've longed for days and feared for just as many. The room at the end of the corridor never seems to get any closer. It's quieter than the others. Once I get there, I take a deep breath, my heart in my throat. And I open the door.
He's sitting, leaning against the pillows, as beautiful as the sun.
Pale, bandaged almost from head to toe, visibly tired.
One leg is wrapped in bandages and braces, the other...still only partially healed. His eyes, though...those are the same. Deep, dark, and sharp.
"Eri..."
His voice is still the same, and I stop a few steps from the bed, unsure whether to cry, hug him, kneel, or run away.
"Sensei…"
He looks at me for a very long moment. Then he says the first sentence…it's not romantic, nor even sweet, but it hits me like a punch straight to the heart.
"I dreamed of you, while I was unconscious. A rather…indecent dream."
An awkward silence. I take a deep breath when I hear him add:
"I, Eri, am alive also thanks to you. You did an excellent job."
I put a hand over my mouth, my eyes burning with tears. Hearing those words from my idol, the man I love and have always loved...fills my heart with joy.
"I'm sorry..." I murmur. "I'm sorry if I acted recklessly, if-"
"You don't have to apologize."
His voice grows hoarse, more real, as he looks at me with a slightly darker gaze. "You made decisions that saved lives. Many lives. That's what matters."
I approach his bed, slowly, without even realizing it. He continues talking, still staring at me, never looking away for even a second. I don't know why…but I want him. Even now.
"Don't take more risks than necessary."
Another silence, seemingly endless. Then he smiles slightly.
"I know that look."
I look up at him, widening my eyes, and the blush reaches my ears.
"N-no, sensei, it's not-"
"It's okay, Eri."
My chest explodes, my hands shake, and for a moment I feel like I can't breathe. He tries to shift, as if to sit better, or perhaps to lean toward me. But his body gives way slightly. Instinctively, I lean forward and stop him, placing a hand on his warm chest. At the contact, his eyes widen, as if he's been longing for my touch all his life.
"No!" I exclaim, my voice cracking. "Don't move, please."
He looks at me. And gives that tired half-smile, a smile I've only seen in my dreams. His dimples are even more beautiful up close.
"You've become overbearing," he says, his voice low.
"It's your fault." I whisper, without even realizing it.
The moment is suspended. We're staring at each other too intensely...and we both know what we want from each other. I lean in, slowly, and caress his cheek. He closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them again, and we're about to get a little too close, when...
"LOOK AT HOW DRAMATIC YOU ARE!"
Present Mic enters with his hands on his hips, his face exhausted, his hair loose and long behind his back, but his voice…the same old voice.
"I swear, we leave you alone for five minutes and you already want to devour each other. It's like a scene from a romantic TV series. You're disgustingly intense, you know that?"
I blush all the way to my ears, lowering my gaze. Aizawa-sensei hears him sigh, and he covers half his face with his hand.
Mic continues:
"Eri-chan, your time is almost up. Recovery Girl wants you alive, eh?"
I nod, unable to say anything else. I turn to my sensei; he doesn't speak, but there's no point in speaking: some things are read in our eyes, not in words.
And as I leave the room, I feel for the first time that the line between what we were and what we will be is about to change completely.
***
After a month...
Today, the sky above the U.A. Institute is a perfect dark blue; the sun is retreating behind the clouds to give way to night. The wind stirs the black flags raised outside the building, in memory of those who fell on that fateful afternoon a month ago, and I find myself in the courtyard in front of the entrance. The place is crowded with people, including Pro Heroes, students, medical staff, and rescued civilians, smiling and talking to each other. Everywhere I turn, I see a sea of tired faces, scarred by what happened... but happy to be alive.
I walk along the central corridor that connects the courtyard to the main hall, wearing a light, long dress, elegant enough, with a huge slit on the right side, revealing a good portion of my leg. My hair is loose and free, and every now and then I feel it gently brush my buttocks. My heart pounds with every step.
Everyone's waiting for me in the main lobby, and as soon as I cross the threshold of the room, my breath catches: to the right, I see my team, sitting comfortably on leather sofas. Tess is in a wheelchair, both legs in casts and a stubbornly proud expression. Kaito, on the other hand, pretends to be relaxed but constantly fidgets with the hem of his sleeve, while Ren and Reina watch me with teary eyes and dazzling smiles.
On the left, however, I see my entire family.
Mom Tara puts a hand over her mouth as she sees me standing there, beautiful as the sun. As if she hadn't been holding her breath until now. She gently nudges Dad, who's sitting next to her, laughing with Ryota. Dad Mirio flashes me that beautiful smile that would brighten anyone's day. Ryota turns around with Dad, and obviously remains rigid. Shoulders broad, arms folded... but his gaze, that much I can tell, is different. It's no longer skeptical, no longer challenging. He seems attentive, with a certain degree of depth. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's as if his eyes convey a certain respect, even if he'd hate to admit it, I know.
Suddenly, I hear the microphone crackle and Principal Nezu clears his throat. I approach the stage, clutching my purse. I'm thrilled!
"Welcome, all of you, and thank you for coming." Nezu begins his post-mission speech. "Today we celebrate not only the victory, which, as we know, was achieved thanks to our former Class 1-A students," he says, his voice somewhere between calm and sharp, "but the exceptional courage of those who have dedicated their bodies and souls to serving others."
On the large screen behind him, photos are projected, images of debris, explosions, civilians being dragged away by shaking hands... some videos of villains attacking homes, school buildings, in short, chaos everywhere. A video appears of Aizawa-sensei, along with dad Mirio and others, trying to immobilize Titan, when then at a certain point... I appear.
With my wings outstretched, I'm flying, and in my arms I hold hordes of wounded, unconscious people. The light of my quirk in those images explodes around me like a spotlight. The audience holds its breath.
"During the attack we suffered," the principal continues, "someone accomplished a feat that would be an understatement to call miraculous."
The images, the videos appearing on that screen at that moment, depict only me.
Suddenly, I feel a knot in my stomach, a pang that makes my eyes widen. A photo of me appears, with the first child I'd saved, the one with his femur completely exposed. I put a hand over my mouth, then look around, just to see where he could be and find him amidst that sea of people.
"She rescued, stabilized, and evacuated approximately 2,687 civilians under active bombardment."
Half the people in the hall at that moment stand up and applaud in unison. They're all turned toward me, smiling. Some are crying. My hands are starting to shake.
"Eri Togata, can you come on stage, please?"
I'm stunned. I nod, and after a few steps, I find myself in front of Principal Nezu, without even realizing it. He smiles at me.
"For this, U.A. and the Hero Association officially bestow upon you the title of-"
Nezu pauses for a moment, just long enough to build suspense. He's a master.
"Hero doctor, by the name of White Wing!"
A thunderous applause erupts, and I'm speechless. I remain frozen. I would have expected anything but this. I see flashes in the distance, journalists stationed near the entrance, ready to rush forward as soon as the ceremony concludes, and I remain frozen in my place, as if the scene were passing before me and I were simultaneously inside and outside myself.
Nezu hands me the award and invites me to come down the steps and return to my seat. I nod, give a small bow, and return to where I was before. Then I decide to go to my classmates. I walk across the room, everyone's eyes on me... it's unsettling.
I sit next to Tess, who grabs my face with both hands.
"White Wing, huh? Hear how good that sounds? You deserve it!"
Kaito throws himself on me in a half-hug. "White Wing, damn it! You're a living legend!"
Ren and Reina hold your hands, and I feel like I'm at the center of this sea of chaos. Mama Tara gets up and runs toward me, hugging me with a tenderness that breaks me in two. Papa Mirio also approaches, placing a warm hand on the back of my neck…when Ryota takes a step forward.
Time seems to slow down.
My brother looks me in the eyes for long seconds, without saying a word. Then he holds out his hand, his cheeks red and his lips pursed.
"...Well done..."
Only two words since the mission ended. And I feel on cloud nine.
In that moment, as I shake Ryota's hand and laugh with the others, I feel eyes on me. I turn...and I see him.
Aizawa-sensei advances, walking toward me as if nothing had ever happened. Recovery Girl has managed to get him a prosthetic leg that looks very similar to a normal human leg, and Present Mic follows him, speaking softly, probably trying to make him laugh. But he doesn't succeed. Aizawa-sensei isn't even in his typical "tired sack of potatoes" mode. He's...different. He seems much more serious, more alive. His eyes pierce me.
Present Mic nudges him lightly on the arm, in a friendly gesture.
"Come on, Shouta, clap! She's your favorite student-future-star-heroic-medical-student!"
Aizawa-sensei inhales…and then claps. Directed at me, only at me.
"I had no doubts, Eri. Congratulations," he says.