Chapter 23
Third person pov
Aizawa felt Atlantis leave the campus and twitched, peeking out the window. He could see his husband had a white lab coat on, making him look the part of a doctor. He was with Recovery Girl. Shuzenji had let him know they were heading to the hospital, but he'd sort of hoped they'd end up staying in anyway. Aizawa let out a puff of air. The tattoos on his arms tingled, but not uncomfortably so. Atlantis didn't feel distressed. In fact, he felt bouncy and excited by contrast. Aizawa decided it was best to just let sleeping dogs lie. If the merman was in trouble, Aizawa would surely know. Right? He was pretty sure that's how these markings worked.
Outside, Atlantis bounced alongside Recovery Girl energetically. He felt Aizawa prodding at him, though the man probably didn't realize he was doing it. He'd probably noticed Atlantis was leaving the vicinity. The merman's smile broadened as he sent forth a wave of reassurance and bubbly-ness. Miss Chiyo had explained to him what a hospital was and how it worked. Apparently, it was a building where sick and injured people went to receive medical care. Revolutionary! He never would've thought something like that could exist.
Apparently, you could also 'call' the hospital. Or emergency services, as Recovery Girl had called them. Aizawa had sort of explained phones. Basically, one box could contact another box no matter the distance by typing in the box's number, and then you could talk to one another with them! So when people called the hospital with them, an 'ambulance', which was a box on wheels that cried very loudly, would come pick them up! It was amazing. Really, land was so much different. The ocean was brilliant in its own way, but he was beginning to see how far dry land had progressed from what he'd been taught.
Recovery Girl took him on a big box with wheels. A bus, she called it. Very, very interesting. All she had to do was show her UA card and the driver let them get on with all the other people seeking transport. Atlantis beamed and waved at everyone of course. He felt too exuberant not too! This was all so new and exciting. Recovery Girl was smiling too, which must mean the Hospital was a good place to be. Maybe scary, but if you were helping people, did it matter? The ocean had plenty of terrifying things!
Looking out the windows felt like an out-of-body experience. The buildings reached terrifying heights, stretching far over what he ever would've thought possible. Of course he'd seen buildings before. There were plenty of underwater castles and such! But these... there were so many, and they were so close together. There were people all over the place, and the road was full of those rolling boxes as well. It was stunning. He couldn't help but look out the window like an awed child.
Recovery Girl watched Atlantis with mild concern, but couldn't help but smile. She was also hoping to get his head checked out while they were at the hospital to see if he'd sustained any damage that he'd maybe healed in his panic to get Aizawa. There was absolutely no way he'd been born into this world and didn't know what any of this stuff was. There was just no way! He wasn't an idiot, and it's not like he'd come from another part of the world. What, had be been Amish before? Had Aizawa gone on vacation and come back with an Amish fiance? Even most of them knew what a car was, though. This was a next-level not knowing.
The drive to the hospital was quick. They were excited to receive them. Or more specifically, Atlantis. Shuzenji's help was always appreciated, but new healing quirks were rare. Recovery Girl hadn't hesitated to talk it up either. Though she'd only seen it at work once, she knew it was extensive. Something to gawk at, surely. She was hoping today would allow him to be certified. He didn't have any identification aside from the card that had just been printed for him. Shuzenji had it on her. Something told her giving it to him would be counterproductive. She'd give it to Aizawa later.
Atlantis followed Recovery Girl off the bus, marveling at the sheer size of the hospital before him. The building was simply massive. And it was full of doctors and nurses? Or healers, as he better knew them as. Plus sick and injured people. Surely he could help. It would be nice to get them feeling better. Even if the hospital was very intimidating. He could already tell there'd be a lot of people in there. He took a deep breath anyway, shaking off his anxiety. If Aizawa thought he was worried, he might stop class to come get him! Atlantis didn't want to interrupt him over nothing.
Shuzenji was carefully not to accidentally lose Atlantis. Not only would Aizawa kill her when he found out, but she also wasn't positive she'd be able to find the merman again. He clearly had no idea what anything was. If he didn't know what anything was, how would he get to where he needed to go? Recovery Girl found it safer not to risk it. Instead, she made sure they were side-by-side as they ventured into the hospital and towards the elevator. All she had to do was flash her ID at the front desk. The woman immediately gained an excited expression, picking up the phone. Her gaze followed Atlantis as he walked alongside the elder woman.
Atlantis was just as awed with the elevator as he had been with the bus, it seemed. Recovery Girl watched with mild amusement as they went up to the second floor. That's where they kept their critical patients. The ones who'd gotten hurt by something physical, and not an illness, and were either recovering or... well, waiting for their time, Recovery Girl supposed. She wondered for a moment if she should really be taking Atlantis in here with a possible brain injury. Sure, it didn't seem to effect his ability to operate and process emotions, but she didn't want to agitate him either. No need to give Aizawa even more reasons to behead her.
The moment they stepped out of the elevator, Atlantis' entire demeanor seemed to shift. He stopped walking, which of course caused her to pause mid-stride as well. His brows furrowed, his head subtly jerking in various directions like he was picking up on something. She watched quietly, holding up a hand towards the doctor in charge of the floor to halt him before he could greet them. He snapped his mouth shut, watching Atlantis with open interest.
"The people here... they're very hurt, aren't they?" He asked quietly. Recovery Girl blinked, surprised. He'd picked up on that?
"Yes, they are. This is our intensive care unit. The left is for people with physical injuries, while the right is for those with illnesses." The doctor said, offering a morose smile. He held out a hand. "My name is Doctor Aito. I'll be overseeing your visit today. Is there anything additional to your quirk we'll need to know?"
"Nothing aside from what I told you." Recovery Girl noted. She turned to ask Atlantis something, but he was already walking forward. The woman sputtered slightly, rushing after him. Doctor Aito panicked and followed as well, saying something about not wandering off because he had to watch them. Atlantis pretty clearly wasn't listening. He bee-lined right towards room 302, his expression set surely. Outside, Recovery Girl thought maybe she heard thunder. Weird, considering the forecast had said it would be clear today.
Atlantis entered the room and took a deep breath. He could almost smell it with how strong it was in the air. In the med lay a pale, skinny, middle-aged woman. A girl was sitting beside her bed-- young, like Hitoshi. Maybe a bit older than that. He didn't know. What he did know was that this woman was on the brink of death. He didn't know what had happened to her to make her in this critical of a condition, but he could feel the end of her life in his bones. Outside, the sky rumbled to accommodate him. The water that came from the metal pipe wouldn't be enough for this.
"Wait, dear. Don't go rushing off." Recovery Girl entered after him, drawing the attention of the bed-ridden woman and the teenager towards them. Atlantis noticed how Shuzenji immediately seemed to sadden. "Ah, Naka-san. This is my colleague, Atlantis."
"Oh, hello." The woman croaked out, managing a small smile. Atlantis frowned back. He could feel the pain. The woman was clearly putting on a brave face for the girl sitting by her side. Probably her daughter based on how similar they looked. Atlantis tried to smile as well, as to not scare the girl. She didn't need to be seeing her mother like this. The damage was bad. What had caused this? He couldn't really tell what a wound was with his powers, or what caused it. Just how bad it was.
Water thudded hard against the window, and Atlantis's lips upturned easier. It was alright. The ocean was a ways away from here, but it could still hear him. It still wished to help him even now, and Atlantis was forever glad. He'd have to visit to swim soon. He owed it to the sea to visit. Without the ocean, he wouldn't be here right now.
"Ah, this is Himari Naka. She received several stab wounds during a heinous mugging. We were able to get rid of much of her outer bruising and such, but..." Doctor Ito trailed off, seeming sad. The girl sitting by the bed looked away.
"Her body is too weak for me to heal the internal damage." Recovery Girl noted. Atlantis nodded. That made sense. Miss Shuzenji had mentioned that her quirk made people exhausted, and often times it took several sessions to heal someone entirely. It seemed that was no different here. Naka-san would have to get stronger in order to be healed. However, she didn't seem to be improving. Which meant Recovery Girl couldn't do anything. He was assuming that meant nobody else could either.
"You can say it, you know." The young girl in the chair suddenly snapped out. Atlantis could see that her eyes were watery. The bags under her eyes implied she'd been awake a long time. Probably trying to stay up for her mother. "She's going to die."
"Aria..." Her mother trailed off, her voice a sad wheeze. Atlantis blinked at them curiously. Of course she wouldn't die while he was here! It was raining, too. Even better!
"What do you think, Atlantis?" Recovery Girl asked, looking up at him hopefully. Doctor Ito held his breath. "The sink is right over here."
"The sink isn't good enough. That's why it's raining." Atlantis gave her a bright smile. "Does your glass open?"
"The glass?" Doctor Ito asked. The woman in the bed coughed, and the teenager looked curious now. That's what they were called at this age, right? Teenagers? Maybe she was too old to be called that. He didn't really know. He wouldn't say anything out loud. She seemed upset as it is.
"The windows." Recovery Girl cleared her throat. Was Atlantis implying he'd made it rain? He said that the sink wasn't enough, and that's why it was raining. It had been raining with Aizawa got hurt too. There was no way his quirk was powerful enough for that though, was it? To influence the atmosphere that heavily... the rain had come out of literally nowhere. It had been a little cloudy before, sure, but they were the fluffy white kind! Not the stormy grey now beginning to blanket the sky as far as the eye could see.
"Oh, yes!" Doctor Ito rushed over to unlatch one. "You said your quirk deals with water, didn't you? Is the rain water different than the tap water?"
"Yes!" Atlantis assumed the tap was the sink water.
"W-Wait, are you saying he can heal her? With his quirk?" Aria asked with teary eyes. In the bed, the woman seemed to sit up just a little straighter. She winced as she did it, looking between her daughter and Atlantis hopefully. "Are you sure? You said nobody could... c-could fix this. That the damage was too severe."
"Atlantis is a new development. We didn't know of his existence before, but he has a very extensive healing quirk." Recovery Girl gave a smile. Despite knowing how strong Atlantis' quirk was, she couldn't help but have doubts. A broken bone was a lot different than this. Sure, he'd healed Aizawa at the USJ, but there was no telling how extensive those wounds had really been despite what the giant puddle of blood had indicated. Even Doctor Ito looked hesitant as he pushed the window open, stepping back before he could get doused in rain water. He gave Recovery Girl an unsure glance.
Before anyone could say anything in support or even against Atlantis, a stream of water began to flow through the window and into the room. The lights above flickered ominously, and the mass of liquid gained a faint glow. Looking at Atlantis, Recovery Girl could see that his eyes were glowing too. She couldn't help but take a step closer to awe at the sight as the water twisted around him like a massive snake. Even Doctor Ito seemed at a loss for words, his eyes blown wide as he observed the spectacle.
Atlantis pushed the water towards the woman, willing it to weave around her. He mumbled to himself a prayer, asking the ocean for its aid in healing this woman. To give this daughter back a mother, and this world back another life that didn't need to be lost. It hummed back without hesitation, ever willing to help him in his doings. It made him smile as the water began to engulf the woman, spanning across her body. Rain water wasn't as strong as the water in the ocean, but it would be enough for this.
The air began to hum. It sounded like bells chiming and waves crashing into one another. Recovery Girl didn't feel like she was witnessing someone's quirk at work. This seemed more like a miracle. Otherworldly, even. Her breath escaped her as she watched the water intricately twine its way around Naka-san. The woman took in a deep breath-- one much deeper than any she'd been able to take in the last week. Aria, her daughter, was already crying with a hand clapped against her mouth.
Outside, the rain began to thin. The water pulled back from the bed like it was going in reverse, scattering back into small droplets that blended back in with the thinning storm and falling as though they'd never been interrupted. Atlantis took in a deep breath, a smile stretching across his face as the room seemed to sing. Closing his eyes, he held out his hand towards Naka-san. The woman's own shook as she reached out to take his.
"Thank you." Atlantis said, but Recovery Girl didn't think it was to any of them. When he opened his eyes, the glow was gone, and the lights stopped acting up. The window seemed to slam shut all on its own, and the air stilled. Finally, Recovery Girl could breathe again. Doctor Ito was gawking openly next to her.
"I-I-" The woman brought a hand to her chest, where her biggest wound had been. She patted experimentally, tears springing forth into her eyes. She gripped her medical gown shakily. Her daughter burst to her feet with a cry. "How did you-"
"There!" Atlantis chirped, turning to face Recovery Girl and Doctor Ito as Mrs. Naka was tackled into a hug by her sobbing daughter. The two medical professionals gaped at him, but he just planted his hands on his hips with a broad smile. "Who's next?"
Recovery Girl's mind went to Toshinori almost immediately, and though it had been deemed impossible even with a quirk more powerful than hers, she did have to wonder.
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