Chapter Text
When you arrived at the unfamiliar hospital, you certainly didn’t expect to see the sheer volume of injured heroes. You entered the building and turned to see Recovery Girl checking in as well. Of course she was there. You two were quite possibly the only two healers in all of Japan.
“Chiyo-san!” you cried, catching her attention. “What happened?”
Recovery Girl shook her head. “I wouldn’t know. I got a phone call asking to come here. Apparently a lot of heroes were injured after a fight with a branch of the Yakuza.”
You shivered. You had heard bits and pieces about the raid, but you didn’t realize how many people were involved. You signed in at the front desk and you and Recovery Girl headed to the lockers, changing into scrubs in order to meet with the patients.
As the two of you left, you were stopped by a tall man in a white coat.
“My name is Ishida Akito, the Chief Physician,” he explained. “It is good to see you again, Recovery Girl. And I’m assuming you must be Sol?”
You nodded, giving him a polite smile. “It is good to meet you. Now, how can I help?”
He gestured for the two of you to follow him, and you made your way down the hallway.
“There’s a wide range of injuries. I’m familiar with Recovery Girl’s quirk, but not yours, Sol. How capable are you of treating severe injuries?”
You grimaced. The one thing you hated was explaining your abilities. Years after making it through both hero and medical school and you still didn’t know how to describe your quirk without making it seem like you had the touch of a villain. After a few false starts that made Ishida give you a suspicious look, you decided to go with your default explanation.
“I can heal most things as long as I'm given enough time to accumulate the energy,” you explained carefully. “Chiyo-san can treat more patients than I can at once, so let me treat the heroes who don't have enough stamina to handle her treatment.” Everything you said was true—you'd never lie about what you were capable of—but you hoped that the doctor wouldn't search your quirk in the registry. You glanced over at Recovery Girl, who gave you a sympathetic smile.
“Alright,” said Dr. Ishida, seeming relieved as he handed you a couple files and a pager for you to clip to your uniform. “You can take these cases and Recovery Girl can take those ones. Don't overuse your quirk, okay?”
You nodded, accepting the files that he handed you. A hero named Eraserhead, another one named Rock Lock, a child named Suneater…how many people were injured in this fight? Even with the villains you took out recently, you were worried that you might not have enough power.
“Thank you,” you said. You meant it.
The physician nodded. “I'm going to assist with a severe case right now. If you finish or need me, ask the receptionist and they will page me.” And with that, he was off. You flipped through the files and glanced around the hospital, finding yourself just outside of Suneater's room. You might as well start with him.
Suneater was much younger than you expected, still a teenager. According to his file, however, he had an incredible quirk and was one of the best students at his school. You wondered what the powerful Suneater would be like in person.
You didn't expect such a gentle and anxious boy greeting you. As soon as you opened the door, you saw him flinch, his head whipping around to take in the sight of you.
“Who—who are you?” he murmured. His eyes widened. “Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I just—I—sorry.” He wilted, and as he frantically avoided your gaze you got the feeling that he would've melted into the bed if he could.
Suneater seemed so sweet and unassuming that your warm smile came easily. “I'm your doctor. I'm the pro hero Sol, and I'm here to heal you.”
He nodded tensely. “I'm not too hurt. I hope I won't burden your quirk, Sensei.”
Suneater seemed to hold a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He seemed like a good kid though, and you wanted to take some of the stress off of him.
“It's not a burden at all,” you said, putting on your stethoscope to start testing his vitals. The familiar exam was soothing to you, and seeing Suneater respond normally alleviated some of your stress. “Suneater is a cool name, by the way.”
He glanced up at you, meeting your gaze for the first time. “You think so?”
You chuckled. “Maybe I'm biased since my hero name is also based on the sun, but I like it. Where did the name come from?”
“Someone close to me—ah!” His face contorted in pain as you palpated his abdomen, accidentally grazing his wound. You apologized, and he continued. “Someone close to me gave me the name. He's the one who helped me get to where I am.”
“He sounds like a special person. You're lucky to have him. I'm going to use my quirk now, okay?”
Suneater nodded, chewing on his lip as he watched you. You pressed your palms into his abdomen, closest to where the injury was. The familiar warmth emerged, and you watched Suneater’s face transform from shock to awe as you transferred some of your golden light into him. As you stopped just shy of fully healing him, you realized your power was dwindling more than you thought. These poor heroes were hurt worse than you anticipated.
Suneater looked up at you, eyes wide in amazement. “Your power…it's incredible. It must have taken a long time to master.”
You smiled ruefully at that. “It was a long road to understanding it, but I'm glad you appreciate my quirk. You're healthy and as long as you're stable, you should be discharged relatively soon. Maybe you can say hi to that friend of yours for me.”
Suneater smiled, a fond look in his eyes, which seemed focused on something outside the walls of the hospital room. “I will.”
You smiled back and wondered who this mystery person of his was as you slipped out of his room, shaking your head and chuckling to yourself at how head over heels he was for his friend.
The next file was for Rock Lock, and since his room was just down the hallway, you decided to check on him.
You knocked at the door and let yourself in. As soon as you locked eyes with Rock Lock, the traces of warmth from checking up on Suneater vanished. Rock Lock’s gaze narrowed and he gave you an icy stare, hands protectively crossed around him.
Maybe he was on edge from the fight, you decided. You grinned at him and waved. “Are you Rock Lock? My name is Sol, and I'll be the one examining you today. So, how are you feeling?”
Rock Lock glared at you, and you could see the gears turning in his head as his wary eyes flitted across you. “You look familiar. You're not a hero, are you?”
Damn, he caught you. “I am,” you replied evenly, hoping your voice sounded calm despite the panic crawling up your shoulders. You worked underground — how could he know who you were?
“So which is it?” he asked. “Doctor or pro hero?”
You frowned, looping your stethoscope from around your neck and putting it on to listen to his heart, steady and strong. “Both. I work part time as a doctor, but I still have access to the Hero Network. Take a deep breath for me,” you instructed, shifting the stethoscope to better hear his lungs.
“So then what's your quirk?” he asked, a distrustful expression on his face. You tried not to judge him too badly — it was in most heroes’ natures to be suspicious. But you couldn't help but feel a little hurt that this pro hero you never met could be so suspicious of you.
“Healing,” you said simply. Better to keep it short and sweet, you decided, examining his ears and throat. “That's why I was called here. I'm not from this area, but I was asked to come because there were a lot of hero and police casualties. You were part of the Shie Hassakai raid, weren't you?”
He nodded, gritting his teeth. “Those damned villains. They got me, and a bunch of other heroes. If only—”
“Well you're here now. The mission was a success and I'll take care of that injury,” you said, cutting away at the bandages. “You shouldn't feel any pain aside from where I touch you.”
Rock Lock nodded, and you placed your hands on the wound. It was a serious one, one that might have killed him if it was just a bit deeper. But it was straightforward to heal, and underneath your fingers you felt blood vessels fusing back together, cells dividing and skin knitting itself closed. The warmth was calming and familiar, and you saw the tension leave Rock Lock’s face as you eased his pain. You left him just shy of a full heal, but you could sense that you had substantially reduced his pain.
Rock Lock let out a long sigh, grazing the unbroken skin that formerly bore a brutal stab wound. He glanced from the injury site to you before frowning. “What's the catch?”
That surprised you. “What catch?”
He gave you a pointed look. “You're the only healer I've met besides Recovery Girl who can actually heal more than scrapes or bruises. Your power didn't leave me exhausted the way hers did, so what's the catch?”
You shrugged. “No catch. Her quirk interacts with your healing factor and mine doesn't. Mine is an accumulation-type quirk, unlike hers.” Why was he questioning you like this? He could just look up your power in the database with no issues.
Rock Lock’s gaze on you was hard and unflinching. “You're lying.”
Without thinking, you let out a scoff that you immediately regretted. You were this man’s doctor. You didn't need to antagonize him.
“I'm not lying,” you said, your voice even. Your quirk was an accumulation quirk, after all.
“Then you're hiding something,” he insisted, frowning at you. “What is it?”
You tested his reflexes, which were normal, before checking to see if you could feel any damage to his abdomen, trying to think of what to say.
“You know, if you could tell me what I did to offend you, then I can properly apologize for it,” you pointed out, your voice measured. “I don't want to hurt you in any way, and I need to know if I have to make amends for it. But please don't attack my character or my jobs, sir. I'm a pro hero like you. You can look up my quirk in the hero database whenever you'd like. If me healing you isn't enough to convince you, that is.”
“How can a healer subdue villains?”
You made a mark on his file and said. “You seem healthy. We'll monitor you for a few hours before discharging you but you should be able to go home soon. You'll need to take a few days off of the hero work, but you should make a full recovery.” You closed his file and sighed. “And since you won't stop asking, my quirk is Vibrancy. I can transfer life force between living creatures.” He’d find out eventually, so you figured you needed to tell him now rather than risk him spreading lies later.
Rock Lock’s jaw dropped and you knew there was no going back. “Whatever you're thinking, I've heard it before. Villain’s quirk, menace to society, someone who should be thrown into Tartarus. I've heard everything.”
His voice shook as he asked you, “You killed someone to heal me?”
“Of course not!” you protested, his livid gaze stabbing through your stomach as you met his eyes. “I'm a doctor, why the hell would I murder someone? I've never killed anyone on the job and I don't plan on starting anytime soon.”
“So you have killed before. Just not on the job.”
The bitterness that laced his words made your stomach turn, and you swallowed hard. Kiyomi’s face appeared unbidden in your mind, and you pressed your eyes shut to fight her lifeless stare from your head.
You clenched your fists and turned around so that he couldn't see the way your face contorted to fight your tears. To the blank wall, you said, “You will be discharged soon if you don't show any adverse reactions. If you need me, just ask. Have a good day.”
Then you left the room before the hero could see you cry.