|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2019 12:17:57 GMT -4
A silent but peaceful abyss. Nothing but a thick fog in all directions. The fog and the seemingly endless ocean. Sean was at peace here. Nothing to trouble or worry him but the vast water to swim around in. It seemed as though no matter how long he swam, he did not tire. The threat of drowning simply did not exist. He was happy, cheerful, relaxed.
Yet for some reason, it felt as though he was forgetting something. But no matter how much he thought of it, he just could not find the answer. What was it that he forgot?
But he was not alone in this mysterious place. Swimming alongside him was a mermaid. Fair-skinned, and long, beautiful black hair. However, her face was covered. She did not even speak, communicating only in gestures. Sean did not know just who this mermaid was, but he knew that she was someone he could trust. Even if he could not see her face, he knew that she would not hurt him. She was a friend, after all.
So like with any friend of his, Sean was intent on having a fun time. Chatting, swimming, splashing water on each other, listening to music together, the usual stuff. With a smile on his face, Sean began to swim, racing the mermaid to see who could reach the incoming wave first. He was confident. He was a fast swimmer after all. The water was his dominion. Victory would be his!
A shame that none of this was real...
---
So much time had passed. Five, no, six months now? It was hard to tell. Umi Mizushima could not do much while her son remained in his hospital bed, unmoving and slumbering. Most people were beginning to tell her to just give up on him, that he wasn't going to open his eyes anymore, to just let him go. While usually a calm and peaceful lady who avoided anger at all times, it was during these times when she would ignore her usual code. Nobody, NOBODY could tell her to pull the plug on her beloved son and not get at least an angry glare from the woman. She did not care how long it took, how much money it cost, how close to exhaustion the poor woman was. She would NEVER give up on her baby Sean. She was determined to wait as long as it took to finally see him get out of his coma.
She looked at the cracked phone of his. It was a miracle that the phone was not broken beyond repair. Apparently, the last thing that the boy was doing before... before that... was listening to a favorite song of his. Coco Jambo. Umi smiled as she wiped away a tear. She remembered playing that old tune all the time back when she and Sean lived in Hawaii. Even after moving back to Japan, the boy took an immense liking to the song, playing it all the time and dancing to it like an adorable goofball.
But in addition to that, Sean had his contact list open. It seemed as though he was about to call one of his friends just before the accident. Rowan. Sean usually did not invite his friends over all the time, preferring to spend time with them wherever they were. So Umi did not know just who this Rowan person was. But still, it was clear that this was a friend of his. There were still messages coming in from this Rowan, so it was clear that this was a good friend, someone that deeply cared for Sean, despite the fact that it had been many months since the accident. Umi smiled. She was so happy that her boy had made so many friends. It had put her worries at ease.
On one fateful day, Umi sighed as she looked at Sean's cracked phone. Why did the boy never lock his phone or put in a password? He was a sweet trusting boy, but perhaps he was too trusting. Umi did not want to think of any horrible person taking advantage of her son's kindness! But then, as she sadly looked over to her slumbering son, she noticed it. A simple twitch of his hand. Excitedly, she notified the doctors. She did not know what this meant. Could this be what he had been dreaming of for the past five or six months? Was he finally ready to awaken?
After the examination, the doctor gave the poor and tired woman some delightful news. There was a response. It was faint, but there was a possibility. The possibility of Sean Mizushima finally waking up. Umi was in tears. Her faith had paid off. She would get to see her son again! She would be able to see his brilliant smile once more!
She then looked again at the boy's broken but somehow still functional phone. She was hesitant. Was this Rowan person still a friend of Sean? Would they come if she sent out a message? Umi did not know what to do. Sean, would you want me to do this? Is this what you would do? Well it did not take very long to figure out what Sean would want. She was his mother, after all. Who else knew him better than she did? And messages from Rowan were still coming in. So taking the boy's phone, she texted this Rowan person:
Hello. This is Sean's mother. Are you still friends with my son? He's at Tokyo Hospital if you want to see him. If not, then I'm sorry for wasting your time. It's just that he could use some friends right now.
Would this Rowan person show up? Umi wanted to think that the answer would be yes. The woman sighed as she once again looked over to her son. I wonder what you're dreaming about right now? Knowing him, it was probably something to do with water. Either surfing, swimming, or something at the beach.
WC: 1002 |
|
1,072 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
|
Post by Rowan Sakamoto on Nov 17, 2019 12:42:48 GMT -4
 @seanmizushima | ◀ | The heart is a heavy burden ❤ She was in a meeting with her father and his important people and it was snooze worthy. She kept drifting off, daydreaming about stuff that was more fun and the homework pile she still had and the invitation from Igarashi-sensei, everything. But nope she was here because she had promised and he had promised. God dad, she could not study economics right next to her hero license. Yes she could, he even hired a private tutor for her because he did not want her to start only after her new high school, you are already eighteen and all that bladiebla. She took a deep breath and rubbed her left eye with her left hand and tried to get back to the conversation her father had about the survival arena in the hotel that they were rebuilding, she had already informed her father that some of the U.A. students for example were hyped and with her bad experience and the climbing wall with Isaac, she had told her father. Who had smacked those people there and so on, now he was going to arrange competition for them and to be fair, she liked it. Idiots, that company would be destroyed for all she cared. They would hold it in the hotel, discount for hotel customers (no matter which version in Tokyo you had) and they might extend it to others around the world, Rowan couldn't wait.
She heard a soft bzzzt and turned to look at her phone which was in front of her. Her father who obviously heard it gave her a stern look. But she didn't see, the text message on her screen showed a little part of the message but she did not read it yet. The name already made her freak out.
Sean.
Wait, how, she jumped up. "I eh... I have to go." She mumbled and she kept staring at her phone, unlocking it, ignoring her father's call, her name, she stumbled over a chair but quickly caught herself up and almost ran into the door as her feet started to move faster. Down the stairs, she almost fell as she missed the last step and she also almost dropped her phone while pulling her jacket on while running. Tokyo Hospital, that was that way and she started to run as fast as she could, several times almost bumping into people. "Sorry, sorry it's urgent." And she kept on running, her friend, her friend could use her. She wasn't sure, oh god, the empty seat next to her was still not the same and she still could not look at it without feeling this strange cold, empty feeling and now his mother texted her from his phone. Her mind was blown and while running, she finally decided to grab a taxi when she saw one, almost jumping in front of it, her mind was so irrational, "I need to go to Tokyo Hospital, now." She told this cab driver who seemed to be caught in his swearing to her. She quickly called her dad and explained, she apologized a thousand times before twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "Say dad...." Okay now she was using it. "He has been in the hospital for what six months, how expensive is that?" She felt the sweat on her forehead because of the mentioning of the price and the running she had just done. "Can I get a bigger allowance?" And she heard him sigh, he told her no but before she could protest he said he would do it and add something else, He didn't answer her question when he asked her what, what it could be. She would hear it soon enough.
She jumped out of the cab and hang up with her father and hurried to the reception inside. "Mizushima Sean, please. I-I-I got a text from his mother." She had been here before but she had not been allowed in because she was not family and she showed her phone and the woman looked at her with a suspicious look in the eye and rang the department where he was to ask if his mother could confirm. When done so, Rowan hurried up, up the stairs, up up up, ignoring the receptionist yelling after her not to run. She came to a slipping and sliding stop in front of his door and had to catch her breath, brush her hair back and take a deep breath before she softly knocked, "Ehm misses Mizushima?" She asked trying to be polite enough, "I ehm, I am Sakamoto Rowan." So many nerves went through her as she stepped inside and her eyes went from the woman directly to Sean and she had to swallow, well he looked peaceful, could you say that to someone in a coma? She was kind of unsure what to do and held her own hand with the other. She didn't know if she could be closer to his bedside. |
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2019 13:58:22 GMT -4
As Umi waited and sighed while once again worrying about her son, she was surprised to hear from one of the hospital staff that a girl wanted to come visit Sean. "Eh?" Was this Rowan? "Y-yes, she's a friend of my son. Let her through, please." She was curious to see what this girl was like.
Realizing that she looked like such a mess, Umi quickly went over to the room's sink, hastily washed her face, and dried it with a paper towel. By the time she was finished, she heard some knocking on the room door. It was Rowan. Umi quickly went over to open the door. "Hi, yes, thank you so much for coming. Come in! And please, call me Umi."
The lady smiled as she went over to her slumbering son. "Look, dear! One of your friends came to visit you! Isn't that sweet?" She then sighed, falling down to one of the nearby chairs and sitting. She then looked to Rowan. "I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner. I didn't want to notify any of Sean's friends about his condition until after I knew that everything would be okay. I didn't want anyone to worry."
She then placed a hand on the boy's hair, petting him. "It was several months ago. An eight year old girl was out on the street. She was apparently hurt, because she couldn't move. And my poor boy noticed a truck coming. He didn't hesitate to save her. He just ran in to the street with reckless abandon to push the poor girl out of the way with his quirk. Such selflessness. He really did have the makings of a great hero."
And then Umi sighed. "It happened after the girl was saved. A car came in from behind and hit my son, knocking him down. He... hit his head very hard. That's why he's in the coma." It was clear that explaining what had happened was still hard for Umi to do. It was nothing short of a miracle that she did not just break down and start crying again right then and there. But the sad fact of the matter was that she had used up pretty much all of her tears for the past half year.
"The girl came in with her mother afterwards, telling me what had happened. The mother apologized, over and over. As upset as I was, and still am, I could never hate that woman. Even after being neglectful enough to keep her eyes off of her own daughter long enough for the poor girl to fall down and get hurt in the first place. It was that woman's fault. But still, I can't hate her. Sean would have forgiven her, I know he would have. Forgive and forget, that's just the kind of person my sweet boy is."
A couple of deep breaths to calm down a bit, and then she smiled. "Oh my, I spoke a bit too much there. Sorry! I want to thank you again for coming, Rowan. It's a shame that Sean missed out on his seventeenth birthday. But I guess this will have to make do for a belated gift."
She then gestured to Rowan, to let her come closer and see the boy. "The doctors told me. There's a good chance that he could wake up soon. I can't wait!" She smiled, being grateful that it was a possibility, no matter how small. She would never give up hope. "Do you want to say anything to him? I'd like to think that Sean can still hear everything going on around him despite his condition." Umi would then get up and stand back to let Rowan have her space.
WC 621 |
|
1,072 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
|
Post by Rowan Sakamoto on Nov 17, 2019 14:15:03 GMT -4
@seanmizushima | ◀ | The heart is a heavy burden ❤ She fumbled with her hands, her fingers interlocking and letting go as she had no idea what to do and she stared at Sean. It was actually so weird to see him again that she could not get her golden eyes off him. The school had vaguely said that he was in the hospital but she had her ideas that it would take longer and she wasn't sure how long but it took good damn long and eventually she heard it in the hallways and she wondered at that point, but caught up with so many things herself. God she was so selfish.
She nodded though when she walked a little bit more to the bed but now stood awkwardly at the end of it and looked at Sean and turned her attention to Umi as she spoke and she gave a small smile, "That's okay." She said softly because she did not blame the woman at all for not calling her sooner, after all why would you call her of all people. Sean must have more friends. She bit her lip as she heard Umi speak about not wanting to worry anyone and she hoped her father would quickly do something. Who looked after Umi than? She swallowed again, the lump in her throat not disappearing and she held on now to the bedrail at the end. Actually not sure if she wanted to hear the story but for Sean's sake she would listen and she turned her attention to Sean as well and winched without making a sound. Yea, he would be a great hero. No he still could be, right? She told herself and nodded to that statement as she shivered when she heard about Sean hitting his head very hard and being in a coma because of that. She turned her attention back to Umi, desperation on her face. She wanted to do something, she wanted to hold on to the woman and hug her and make her feel okay but Rowan was so clumsy when it came to hugs and other feelings. Ha, funny it was Sean that hugged her for the first time.
That made her frown and she took a step, albeit almost like a robot, telling herself that she would do this and she stood in front of Umi and hugged her. Right after she apologized for talking too much and thanking her for coming. "Anytime." She mumbled but the hug didn't take long as she quickly let go and hurried back to the back end of the bed. She looked with a blush back at Umi for her stupid hug but noticed that she gestured to come closer and she felt herself perk up and turn her attention back to the boy that looked like he was sleeping. She smiled a little again, "That's great!" She said and she took small steps to the bedside and looked at Sean, it was yea definitely strange. And she wasn't sure what to say, how bad would it be to say that she missed his smiling face every day. She looked at his hand and extended her fingers, ha she was always so used to his tanned skin, now he almost looked as pale as her British skincolour, what a strange idea. "I am class-president now, Relena stopped, so when I-when I do an announcement or write down the names, I always look at your seat." She felt her lower lip trembling and shook her head slowly and finally held his hand. "You know, you are missing the fun part, we are patrolling now and ehm I gave a pool party and you-you should have been there." Wow so much fun to tell him, "I will organize a new one when you-when you are back." She mumbled and looked shortly at Umi.
She noticed that behind her the door was opened and a nurse entered. "Umi-san, I have to tell you something." The nurse smiled happily and asked for the woman to come to the hallway where she would tell her that the costs for the hospital were paid already for by someone and that whenever she wanted she could get a week at a luxury hotel to relax, including every service the hotel could over. Rowan held her breath to eavesdrop, ah, father seemed to understand very well what to do and she felt a tear drop on the bed, but Sean needed to wake up first. |
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2019 14:59:40 GMT -4
Umi wondered if she should have tried to contact Sean's other friends. Were they busy? She did not want to bother them in case they were. Would they want to see him again? Or did they forget about him? Umi preferred not to think like that. It was understandable if Sean's other friends were too busy. They were in school, after all. Just the fact that Rowan was able to come was good enough for her. Perhaps once the boy was awake, she could let him throw a party at her house and invite all his friends over? That would be a nice welcome back party.
The lady was surprised to see Rowan hug her. "Eh?" But then Umi smiled, hugging her back. Sean really enjoyed hugging people. He used to hug her all the time whenever she was upset. Especially after that horrid man, Walter Fisher, her former husband. She could not think about the pain that man put her through. But Sean was always there to make it all better. He and his wonderful hugs. Umi was usually not much of a hugger herself, but with how often Sean loved to hug, she had grown quite fond of them. "Thank you."
She then turned away as Rowan spoke to Sean, as though she were giving the two privacy. She smiled upon listening to Rowan's words. The girl was his class's president now? And she apparently looked to Sean's empty seat. Gone, but never forgotten. Umi liked that. And she already knew what Sean's reaction would have been if he heard of a pool party that he wasn't able to be a part of. Fortunately, there would be another one for him once he was back. Smiling, Umi nodded in approval, tears starting to well up again.
---
"Yes! And Tsunami wins again!"
With a wide grin, Sean began to climb on top of the wave as though he had a surfboard on him, even when he did not. It was all him. As he surfed, he noticed the mermaid seemingly cheering him on, despite no words actually coming out. The boy didn't question it, however, and smiled upon seeing the mermaid climb the wave to join him. "Surfing time! Woooooo!!" After pulling a couple of tricky maneuvers most surfers would struggle with, Sean rode the wave onward. There was no shore to stop at, so he and the mermaid just kept going until the wave crashed down and became nothing.
"Man, that was awesome!" Surfing was always such a blast! He could not stop smiling. In fact, his smile was not just limited to the coma-induced dream.
It was faint, a blink and you'll miss it moment, but on his hospital bed, Sean Mizushima had moved the edges of his mouth into what was an unmistakable smile.
But was this smile caused solely because of the dream? Or was it because it was at that exact moment that Rowan Sakamoto was speaking to him?
Who could say?
---
Umi was then surprised to see the room door open again. It was a nurse. "Y-yes?" Umi followed the nurse into the hallway, and upon listening to what the nurse had to say, her mouth dropped open.
"What?!"
She could not believe it. With Sean in his coma, Umi was working triple time to be able to try to pay for his medical bills. This was already on top of the rent and electric bills that she was already just barely getting by on. So to hear that the medical bills were already paid, and a week at a luxury hotel to relax on top of that, it made Umi cry again. Though for once in a very long time, these were not tears of sorrow.
"Who? Wha...? Oh, thank you!" Umi did not know who did this, how, or why. And she did not care. With every horrible thing that happened these past six months, any kind of good news felt so relieving to hear. Her legs actually gave way and she fell, though she quickly got back up and assured the nurse that she was alright.
All I need now is for my son to wake back up. Then everything will be well again!
WC 704 |
|
1,072 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
|
Post by Rowan Sakamoto on Nov 17, 2019 15:17:26 GMT -4
@seanmizushima | ◀ | The heart is a heavy burden ❤ She turned her attention from the nurse to Sean and she blinked, she swore she saw him smile but that was weird, he didn't do that before. She looked at his hand and softly squeezed. "Sean?" Would he really be able to hear them? It was a nice dream, surely she did not want to break or burst that bubble of Umi, she wanted to believe that herself as well. For the first time in her life she was happy to be a Sakamoto though as she could still hear the conversation with the nurse and Umi though it surely took her breath, she had to be very quiet to listen to it and she turned back her attention to Sean and took a deep breath. Hm what more could she tell him. "You need to be back for summer, okay? You promised to teach me surfing." She wasn't even sure if he did but she knew he liked it, "Teach me swimming too," She snickered a little because she could swim, she had a pool at home or well her parents home and the hotels of course but the sea, she still felt afraid of it, so this was her fun way of saying it.
"Sean, come back." She whispered after she was quiet for a while, she had been listening to Umi's reaction and heard the nurse asking her if she was okay and Rowan sighed. She heard that the nurse said that the person wanted to remain anonymous and Rowan chewed softly on her lower lip. "For your mother." She muttered because she could not be so selfish as to ask for herself. She surely did miss him and she wasn't sure what the friendship between them was, because she sucked at friendships, look at her, she only had Miku. She should maybe text Miku, or someone in their class but she didn't want to let go and get her phone from her pocket. She wanted to look at Sean and make sure he would smile again, seriously she wasn't crazy right?
But on the other hand, Umi had said he would wake up. That the hospital had said it that meant that he must be responsive and that meant he could hear them. "Sean?" She said it a little louder, maybe you would just be lost in yourself and she felt a little fear boil up within her. She remembered how she felt lost, swirling around in the nowhere, like drifting in a lake of stars, the only little light bulbs she had seen, hearing voices but not feeling the need to response, in her case though someone was responsive. How would her mother feel? She already knew that Helena had been worried sick during the Lady moments and when she had been found in that dumpster by Igarashi-sensei. She tasted the flavour of blood and stopped biting her lip, "I miss you."
It was out before she noticed it and she quickly looked away from his face, stupid. But it was true, the school had such a heavy atmosphere, she surely missed his smiling face. She nodded to herself while looking up at the ceiling, that made a lot of sense right? She bet the others missed him too because well ha he was like a light and people were drawn to light and she could use someone positive around her. Someone that would forgive and forget like his mother had just said. Yes, that's something she could learn from, but if Sean would come back, how would she change her attitude to let him know?
|
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2019 16:01:45 GMT -4
As Sean lied down with his back on the water (well this was a dream, so nothing here had to make sense, and Sean certainly wasn't questioning anything), he looked over to the mermaid. She was just so pretty! That nice hair! Sean was frustrated that it seemed like he could not see her face no matter what he did. It was weird! The mermaid did not resemble anyone he knew, yet she felt so familiar. Like someone he's been with before. But who?
Suddenly, the mermaid leaned in close and began to whisper. Sean was shocked. The mermaid could talk?! Woah! She was speaking so quietly. It was hard to hear just what she was saying. Sean tried to concentrate, to be able to pick up on what she was saying. Most of what he could pick up made no sense. Back for summer? Teach swimming too? It was April! Summer was just around the corner. And since when did mermaids need swimming lessons? That was just silly! "Well I don't know how you need help with swimming, since you're already so good from what I've seen! But if I made a promise, then I won't go back on my word. You got it!"
The mermaid spoke some more, still pretty much mumbling. It was barely possible for Sean to pick up on words. "For my mom? What are we getting my mom? Her birthday's not till the eighteenth of November! There's plenty of time before I need to worry about that!" But there was something about the mermaid's voice. Her sweet, soothing voice. It felt... familiar. Like he had heard it somewhere before. But that wasn't possible, was it? Sean had yet to meet someone with a mermaid quirk.
"Sean?"
The boy's eyes widened upon hearing that voice. There it was again. But something was different this time. It seemed louder. Sure, the mermaid was right there, but this time, the voice seemed to echo throughout the area. It was like the mermaid was talking, yet at the same time felt like it was something else. Sean was confused. What was going on? And was it just him, or did everything seem to be getting brighter? Trying not to question any of it, Sean then noticed the mermaid moving even closer to him. He could have seen her face if not for the hair in the way.
"I miss you."
Again, it was like the mermaid was speaking to him, but at the same time, the voice was echoing in from elsewhere. And why was it so familiar? Sean had the name on the tip of his tongue. Whose voice was this? Noticing the mermaid's hand moving towards his, Sean smiled as he grabbed the mermaid's hand and squeezed it.
"I miss you too."
---
It happened again. Another smile on his face. This time, it lasted just a few seconds longer. Long enough that Rowan would not miss it. And a little bit after she held his hand? It was even fainter and quicker, but for a moment, Rowan would be able to feel her hand being squeezed back. Sadly, it did not last for very long, and Sean quickly returned to his unresponsive state.
But who knew just how much longer he would stay like that.
Meanwhile, Umi was rather disappointed. She wanted to know who to thank for the generosity. A shame, since she was not one who liked to not repay others for their kindness. Well whoever they were, Umi was definitely grateful and thankful for what they have done for her and Sean.
Speaking of Sean, Umi figured that it was time to head back in the room. Unless the nurse had anything else to tell her, Umi wanted to go back in and see how her son was doing.
WC 636 |
|
1,072 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
|
Post by Rowan Sakamoto on Nov 17, 2019 16:19:26 GMT -4
@seanmizushima | ◀ | The heart is a heavy burden ❤ She froze and almost took a step back, but not too far, she did not want to let go of his hand because she felt it, she was sure she wasn't going crazy because she had seen that smile on his lips and she stared at him. "S-Sean?" She mumbled not entirely sure she was doing a right thing. She turned to look around but she did not want to keep her eyes away from Sean for too long but she should get Umi because oh god, she pushed her free hand against her lips because she could not stop smiling herself. He was smiling, she had seen it before, but she was now sure that she had seen it because he did it again, a bright smile, yes, yes like she missed! She made a sqeaking sound it was almost embarrassing but she did not care, "U-umi-san." She said but she didn't hear them and that must be a little step away from them to talk and Rowan turned her attention back to Sean.
She had to do something, but she lingered, she let go of his hand and hovered with her own above it but she did not want to, she swore she felt it. She leaned back to the bed, leaning forward to lean over Sean to look at his face from the front instead of the side. "Sean? Please." What more could she tell him, "People need you, I need you." Really Rowan? So desperate but it felt true. She wasn't sure even what to say more but she needed him, she needed to be able to see that smile again, she was desperately trying to find words that made him smile again. "Sean, god I don't know what to say. Just wake-up." She pleaded him because what else could she say, he needed to wake up. Why was Umi not back, had he smiled before, was she going crazy because what his mother just told her. That he could wake up and she now thought that he would magically do it now. Ha as if she was special enough. For a second she realized she had taken his hand again without realizing and she thought about warming her hand, calmly, slowly like a warm blanket. But she was afraid that she would hurt him and yet it kept to be in her mind, okay if he would smile again she would do it. She swore herself, maybe it would help. maybe he would feel it.
The nurse kept Umi a little longer than the woman probably had intended, before Umi could turn away, "I promised I wouldn't say the name but I can say something without saying it. The man who gave the gift, his daughter is now in that room." And she stared shortly at the door that Umi had left. The reason why Kyohei had not wanted Umi to be informed was because he was afraid they would hate Rowan for her flaunting of money, which was another reason why he had not given it to her directly. But the nurse thought so highly of the idea that she could not deny it. |
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2019 17:08:08 GMT -4
The mermaid seemed awfully close now, with her face only about two inches away from his. Any closer, and it looked like she was about to kiss him. Perhaps most would be blushing in this situation. But Sean was of course oblivious, so his mind did not go there. Instead, he continued to listen to the voice. He heard more, but he did not get much of a chance to respond.
Suddenly, Sean noticed. Something was happening. It was getting harder to see. Everything seemed to be fading to white. The once calm water began to violently crash and move around. It began to swirl around into a massive whirlpool! There was nothing he could do to escape! He soon found himself trapped within the exceedingly powerful current, being pulled closer and closer into the raging vortex! He did the only thing he could do in that situation. He held on tightly to the mermaid, ready to brace for impact.
But weirdly, Sean was not panicking. He was not scared of the predicament he now found himself in. Even as he and the mermaid were being pulled under into the boundless abyss, Sean was unnaturally calm. It was as though he knew that despite technically drowning right now, that nothing here would hurt him. Instead, he looked at the mermaid, who was still speaking to him. Or rather, the voice coming from seemingly everywhere. It was getting louder now.
"Sean? Please."
Sean gasped. He was slowly beginning to realize just why this voice was so familiar. "People need you, I need you." He put his hands on the mermaid's face, slowly beginning to move her hair aside. He needed to know if this was really who he thought it was.
"Sean, god I don't know what to say. Just wake-up."
There was no mistaking it. That familiar voice! The boy shut his eyes. Moving the mermaid's hair aside, once he opened his eyes, he would finally get to see her face. He would know for sure.
After a long while, Sean finally opened his eyes.
"...R...Ro...wan?"
Whether the name he spoke aloud was his response to finally seeing the face of the mermaid in his dream, or if it was the name of the first person whose face he was now looking at, it was anyone's guess.
But there was one thing that was certain to anyone.
Sean Mizushima had finally awoken.
---
Listening to what the nurse told her, Umi gasped in surprise. The man's daughter...? Rowan's father did this? "Thank you so much." Whether Umi was thanking the nurse for this information or just saying it aloud was anyone's guess. Perhaps it was both. In any case, she would have to tell Rowan to thank her father in her place. Umi wanted to hurry on back to Sean's room.
She gently opened the door.
...
"Aloha, ma."
Her mouth dropped and her eyes began to water. Right then and there, she saw Sean. And her baby boy's eyes were wide open. There was no mistaking it.
Her baby boy was back.
"SEAAAAAAAAAAN!!" Running to his bedside, she gave him what was probably the biggest hug she had ever given anyone in her life as she began to sob. "My precious boy! I'm never letting you go again!" Sean still felt a bit weak, but he smiled as he eagerly returned the hug. His look of delight then turned into one of confusion as he looked around. "Wait, this isn't my room." He then looked from his mom to Rowan, going back and forth between both girls. Seeing his phone and being unable to reach it (while also lamenting on how broken it was), Sean asked aloud, his confusion clear as day.
"What happened? What's today's date? And why am I in a hospital?"
His memories were still a bit hazy at the moment. He could not exactly remember just what happened at this time. But they would return in time. For now, he continued to look back and forth between Rowan and Umi, hoping that one of them could give him an answer.
WC 683 |
|
1,072 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
|
Post by Rowan Sakamoto on Nov 17, 2019 17:43:49 GMT -4
@seanmizushima | ◀ | The heart is a heavy burden ❤ Was he moving? It felt like it, it felt like his eyes were moving but she could of course not really see that and she leaned over the bed again to look at Sean. Maybe she was going crazy and she made up things. Maybe because she wanted to be a good news bringer to Umi. That sounded something she wanted to do in the future and so on, so maybe that's why, it was ridiculous, the girl tiptoed forward to look even better but not tumble over. She seemed to have a proper balance now that she was being a better cheerleader, it still could be better but you never knew.
She swore she felt another twitch in her hand, did he squeeze? It was just so difficult to say more words, when no one spoke back the conversation suddenly felt very flat and she even admitted it out loud that she did not know what to say, it was also very weird to keep saying his name. As if that would do the trigger. She closed her eyes, still leaning over, mumbling a half attempt of a prayer because she had no idea how to do it. Surely she was brought to shrines as a kid but not much and she jumped up and her eyes quickly opened as she heard her name from-from. She stared at Sean and her eyes, her whole facial expression was of surprise, She even got a little closer, blinking in surprise as if to make sure that she was not making up an illusion or some sorts now herself. Blinking in surprise, "Sean?" She said softly not sure if he understood that it was her, well yea doh he just said her name. "H-hi." God she should- oh she realized she was so close and she quickly stood up and let go of his hand, "I-I ehm, I should you know, get-get your mother, or something." Yes her mind was totally insane, going crazy. Did she do something to wake him up, was this strange coincidence? But but, she still wasn't sure how to say it and she pointed over her shoulder at the door, yea, sure get his mom. But she kept staring at him, amazing. He has not changed at all, he even knew her and it felt like such a relieve.
She jumped up for the second time in a matter of minutes when she had missed the door behind her and heard Umi and she looked over her shoulder and gave a wry smile, eh,, hi what to do, wrong time, she should probably go. She watched the mother hold her son and she hugged herself a little, she was about to step back when a nurse came in and half pushed her out of the way into a chair and she remained sort of seated. The nurse came to check upon everything, temperature, pupils but she remained quiet while Rowan tried to avoid Sean's eyes as he asked about his room and the date as well as why he was here. She wanted to ask him how much he remembered, maybe she had been too happy too quickly but it wasn't her turn to speak so she simply fumbled with the zipper of her jacket and looked at that. |
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2019 18:38:16 GMT -4
Sean still felt rather weak. Everything was a blur. But then he blinked a few times and noticed a familiar friendly face. He smiled upon hearing Rowan say his name. "Hey ya." He then noticed her back away from him a bit, and he could not help but feel a bit sad. Aw. He would not have minded a hug from her. Hugs were always nice.
But then she brought up getting his mother. "Wait, wha...? Mom's here?" Wait, where was here? Sean was still feeling a bit weak, so for now, he would put the matter aside. "I just had this weirdest dream..." Sean tried to see if he could remember, but things were at the moment still a bit hazy. "Something with surfing, and water... Oh! And you were a mermaid somehow." Sean found the thought amusing. A mermaid that can make explosions. How cool was that? "Hey Rowan... do me a favor. Please, if you ever grow out your hair, never cover your face with it. It sucks not being able to see your pretty face."
Sean then noticed the door opening. And sure enough, it was his mom! After greeting her, Sean could not help but notice how terrible she looked. Oh no! She wasn't overworking herself again, was she? But this and all other thoughts were drowned out as Umi ran to her son to hug him. Sean smiled. Hugs were the best!
But now that his mind was a little bit less clouded, he began to have several questions. Thankfully, Umi was more than happy to fill in the blanks. "Okay, in order. First, you just woke up from a very long sleep. Second, it's November 17. And third, you were hit by a car after you saved that poor girl."
This was a lot to process. Okay first, he just woke up? From a long sleep? But why was he asleep to begin with? Second, it was apparently November now. Last Sean remembered, it was mid April, wasn't it? Was he really asleep for six months? ... Wait, did she say November... "AH NO, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY TOMORROW?! I DIDN'T GET YOU ANYTHING YET OR PLAN THE SURPRISE PAR- er..." Sean just realized what he just said aloud. "Um, pretend you didn't hear any of that, okay?" Umi giggled. Ah, he was just the same as he had always been. It was good to see him back. "Pretend I didn't hear what? You didn't say anything just now. Silly Sean!"
And then the third thing. Just the mention of that was enough to crash the floodgates and make everything flow back to him memory. He had remembered it. "Oh no, that girl! She's alright now, isn't she? I pushed her out of the way, right? Is she...?" Umi interrupted him. "Yes, she's fine. You saved her life! Just like a true hero!" Sean sighed in relief. "Man, that's good to hear. I'm glad she's fine now."
But then Sean widened his eyes. It was important to make a certain distinction. Sean may be oblivious, but he was not stupid. Even he could eventually put two and two together. "Wait a minute..." His face of shock had said it all. "Was... was I hit by a car? Is that why I'm in the hospital now?" The slow nod from his mother confirmed it. "Oh geez." Sean looked at Rowan and his mom. "I'm sorry if I made you two worry. Please forgive me! I just couldn't bear to just stand and do nothing while a girl's life was in danger! I just-"
Umi then hugged her son once more. "Shhh. Shh, it's okay now. It's all over now. Don't worry about it. Everything's going to be fine now." Slowly, Sean was able to calm down a bit. He sat quietly and let the nurse do what was needed. But afterwards, he looked at Rowan and smiled. "So, just how much homework did I miss out on?" He imagined it was a metric ton of it that he would need to make up. He did not look forward to that. And looking at his muscles, he saw that his body was way out of shape. "Oh geez, I have a lot of catching up to do!"
But for now, he did not want to worry about that. So instead, he looked at Rowan. "So what's happened with you? Anything big I missed out on? Anything new you've been up to?" Sean did not mind the attention, but he wanted to know how Rowan was doing. He wanted to know what she's been up to while he was snoozing away in a hospital bed.
WC 777 |
|
1,072 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
|
Post by Rowan Sakamoto on Nov 18, 2019 7:55:24 GMT -4
tags here | ◀ | The heart is a heavy burden ❤ She did not dare to meet their eyes, neither Sean nor Umi's. She felt herself a strange miracle worker and she wanted that thought out of her mind. She wasn't doing anything special or so, she was just here at the right time and they fixed it on the right time. She took her phone out of her pocket and quickly typed on the little keys of her phone to her father that he woke up. She got a thumbs up from her dad. Which meant maybe something rude to others but he was in a meeting, the fact that he answered so quick was actually a miracle. Which made her think about that point again and she did not want to think about miracles at all, it was stupid. She was shocked about Sean's casual hey ya and it made her blush and she backed away because well she should you know get Umi. She turned to the door but stopped when Sean spoke about this weirdest dream and she did not want to shut him out. She came here for him, bumped into so many things, now she should't just shut him out.
She took a little step closer and made a soft giggling sound when he spoke about surfing and water because that really did sound like what she knew of Sean but the last part made her abruptly stop.
If she had been blushing a little before, you could now say her head was red as a tomato and steam would almost come out of her ears if that was humanly possible. "E-eh yea-yea of course I would not hide my face." He called her face pretty and in his coma thought about her, her mind was blown, gaaah she had to text Miku-no wait she had to get Umi!
She went to sit down and just wait for Umi to tell her to go. She wasn't really okay with just leaving because that felt strange and ungrateful. The conversation felt so awkward and she wasn't sure what to say and processed by playing with the zipper of her jacket and not say much. She looked up however when Sean freaked out but not because of what you would think but because of Umi's birthday tomorrow. She wasn't sure but maybe the hotel voucher would help. He was really nice to her and Rowan stopped feeling flustered a little and smiled as she looked at the two. And it reminded herself of her mother and her. Though she never held a party for Helena, maybe she should this year. She looked at Sean hearing that he was a hero again and she bit her lip, yea he was. She winced though when he asked if he was hit by the car and she bit a little harder down on her lip because she wasn't sure about herself. She stood up when Sean started to apologize but his mother was of course faster. Which was good because yea he should not feel bad about it and she simply held her own hand. She had extended it to take his but now stopped herself. She stepped aside again when the nurse checked his reflexes and so on. She didn't like how the woman frowned but she didn't say anything. Rowan after all wasn't a medical smartass.
When Sean looked at her again she felt her heart jump and blushed again and she took the steps closer to his bedside and smiled, "A lot silly, but you missed the midterms so you have time to catch up. I can help you tutor." After all she passed with good enough grades. Maybe the economic tutor for herself worked well for economics and so on. She shook her head, "It's going by the by, you know we are holding internships now, which is a hard work together with the cheerleader club and class-president I have a lot to do. But-but this isn't about me, how do you feel?" |
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2019 13:59:59 GMT -4
Of course Sean would not notice when Rowan's face became red,and he did not think that his words could be seen as more than just a compliment. The levels of obliviousness this boy had were so high that it was almost comical. Perhaps one day this would change, but right now at this very moment, it was just not happening.
There was so much to think about, so much to process. On the bright side, the injured girl was successfully rescued, so Sean's actions were not in vain. Plus, he was awake now, so his mom could stop worrying so much. And on top of that, Sean would be able to catch up with his friends and spend time with them again. But on the down side, he had missed out on so much. Picking up his damaged phone, Sean looked through his messages, looking at some random news articles, things that were old for everyone else but came as a complete shock to him. There was a music night event at one of the popular bars? There were hero rankings? The number three villain was arrested? Multiple villain attacks? Geez, he had missed out on so much!
It was fortunate then that Rowan was there to help him get to speed on what had happened lately. There were midterms, which made Sean sigh. Man, that was gonna be stressful. But he smiled when Rowan offered to help tutor him. "That'd be awesome! Thanks!" There were also internships, which just the mere concept of it fascinated the boy. Being able to work under actual pros? How amazing was that? Sean wondered who Rowan chose to work with.
He also wondered just what else she had been up to, but Rowan then said that this wasn't about her. After asking how he was feeling, Sean shrugged. "I'm not sure. I mean I'm sad that I missed out on so much and I lost so much time I could have spent with you, with mom, with everyone else. But it's not all bad. I'm still alive, aren't I? If that's not a reason to be happy, then I don't know what is." He then smiled. "I can't wait to go back to UA and see the others!"
"I'm afraid that will not be possible, Mizushima-san."
Sean did not notice until just now, but a doctor had just entered the room. "Not possible?" Umi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?" The doctor sighed and was about to speak, but then he noticed Rowan. "Perhaps it might be best for the young lady here to leave? This is a serious family issue after-" Sean then immediately interrupted. "Nah, I'd rather she stay. Rowan..." The boy instinctively reached out and grabbed her hand, giving her a look that clearly said 'please stay'. The boy was not too oblivious to the point where he would not be able to tell that the doctor coming here and saying something like that was not good news at all. For something this worrying, Sean would rather have Rowan stay by his side for this.
Umi nodded. "Yes, I don't have a problem with Sakamoto-san staying. She is a good friend of Sean's." The doctor shrugged. "Very well then. Perhaps it's better this way. You will need all the support you can get." Sean then looked at the doctor, for once having a rather serious expression. "Don't sugarcoat it. Give it to me straight. What's up, doc?" The doctor then spoke. "Well, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just get this out of the way.
"To put it simply, you essentially no longer have a functional quirk."
Silence. Sean's eyes widened upon hearing this. He could have told the doctor to repeat himself, because he could not quite catch that. But that would be a lie. Sean heard. Sean understood. "My quirk... is gone?" The doctor then corrected the boy. "Not gone. The small organ in your brain that controls the quirk's function is still very much there. It's just no longer functional. During that car accident, you hit your head hard on the pavement. You fractured that portion of your skull pretty hard. That special organ was ruptured, broken into several fragments. We've done all we can to repair the damage, but that organ was unique. Without full understanding of how it functions, we simply cannot fully repair it."
With Sean having fallen silent, Umi would be the one to speak up for him. "And there's nothing you can do? Is it beyond repair? There's no surgery that could fix it?" And if the situation was bad now, the doctor's next words would only make it so much worse. "Well, there is one theoretical solution. But it's far too risky. To simplify it in a way that is easy to understand, there's about an 85 percent chance..." Umi spoke up. "An 85 percent chance of...?" And then came the next line.
"An 85 percent chance that simply attempting the operation would kill your son."
Umi gasped. She could not believe it. But before she said anything else, the doctor continued. "Even if it somehow didn't, there would be a 14 percent chance that merely fixing it would achieve nothing. And even if we somehow managed to reach that 1 percent, the extremely slim chance that we could repair the organ enough to give your son a fully functional quirk again, the brain damage around that area is already extensive enough. Stimulating the area in any way, just simply activating the quirk even once, could create even more damage, worsening his condition. Simply put, even if we could operate on Mizushima-san without outright killing him, even if we could figure out the inner workings of that unique organ and restore it to a usable state, simply using it could cause brain damage. He could go back to being in a coma, one that he won't be able to wake up from. And that's if he's lucky enough to not die.
"So with all this being said, I simply cannot recommend that your son return to UA."
The once joyful expression on Sean's face was gone. His quirk, gone. His dream of becoming a hero, gone. His ability to protect his mother should that despicable father of his return one day, gone. Being able to return to the hero school, gone. Sean remained silent, completely and utterly shocked. Umi looked at him, worry clearly written all over her face. What could she say to him? What could she even do?
WC 1095 |
|
1,072 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
|
Post by Rowan Sakamoto on Nov 28, 2019 11:04:39 GMT -4
tags here | ◀ | The heart is a heavy burden ❤ If Rowan had felt awkward before about being in the hospital right when Sean woke up, than right now she even felt more out of place. This was the cherry on the top, the icing on the cake but on the other hand, something reasoned within her, not talking about a miracle, no. It was just that she felt like support was needed and she was here than why not give it. She stood closely to Sean, observing, talking a little bit but at first it was mostly his mother explaining what happened and she wasn't sure what the feeling was that overcame her the moment Sean turned to her and ask about her because she did not feel rather used to it. Everyone was always asking for, well, for someone else. Or a mask of her or another personality, for now she suddenly felt like Sean would have asked for her, her personally. Not just a friend but just Rowan. She noticed he was looking at his phone and she wasn't sure where to begin on what he all missed but she tried to bring somethings back. It was after all Sean that voted her for class president, which she had not actually thought about herself but look at her now. "It's nothing." She smiled when he thanked her and she was sure he would manage but she would be able to catch him up, that was going to be a lot of work though but the school should be open minded for this right, who knows what else could happen to students playing heroes after all. She did not want to talk too much about herself right now, it felt selfish and wrong. They could hopefully at any other point do that right? There would be another moment. So she had to ask him how he felt and she gave him a slight worried look. It was obvious by the frown on her face and her searching eyes to look at his. She nodded, yes of course he did not know he just woke up, and yes he missed a lot. Rowan desperately tried to ignore the comment about could have spent with you, ha that was just a metaphor for all his friends. Yes it was.
Yes... yes it was. "It's always good to look at the bright side of things, that's what Nakahara-sensei said to me." She smiled now more, yes it was enough reason and he would come back and it would be fine but her smile quickly disappeared as someone rejoined the room and said it wouldn't be possible. She looked up surprised to find another doctor in the room. Oh, oh she should go. She nodded when the doctor suggested she should leave, already turning around to go when she heard Sean and felt him take hold of her hand. Definitely a lot of feelings went through her mind and body, but if he wanted her to stay and she nodded again, really there were no words and she softly squeezed his hand, "If you want, I can." She did not let go of Sean's hand, what-what could it be. Her free hand scooted up to the pocket of her jacket to grab her phone but it would not help to text or call her father. The thoughts of texting her father preoccupied her mind, missing Sean asking for it straight until she heard no longer have a functional quirk and her eyes quickly looked from the Doctor to Sean.
No, that wasn't fair. It should be her that would not have a proper quirk. Sean... Sean did good with his quirk but she could only burn people, hurt people. Her eyes switched from the Doctor to Sean and she tried to pay attention to the conversation, she really did but she had only eyes for her classmate. She felt a shiver going down her spine, chance to kill your son. She squeezed Sean's hand again, she held it now with the both of hers as she didn't know what to say. Yes, positivism, that's what she should say, that he was alive was reason enough. "Sean?" She softly whispered but no further words were able to pass the threshold of her lips. What did it matter what she said, that did not really make it better.
|
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2019 12:04:03 GMT -4
How quickly the mood had changed. At first, Sean was eager, happy, cheerful. He was going to make plans to catch up on everything he had missed, make up for lost time with Rowan, his mom, everyone he cared about. And then the doctor had come in and essentially dropped a nuclear bomb of news. Now Sean felt silent, shocked, and sad. Though his outward appearance did not show this. Rather, his face had a blank expression as his head drooped down.
To say that the doctor's words had hurt was a massive understatement. It felt like a chilly knife being repeatedly thrust inside the boy's heart. Gone were his hopes of coming back to UA. Gone were his dreams of someday becoming the pro-hero that his mom could be proud of. Gone were the chances of the boy being able to protect Umi from that despicable Walter Fisher should that horrid excuse of a father ever decide to show his face in Japan. Gone was the boy's usual cheery expression. Right now, he felt weak, useless, pathetic, mundane.
As he continued to hold Rowan's hand (and the boy not realizing that his grip was gradually getting a bit tighter), his eyes did light up for a fraction of a second. A minuscule ray of hope. One percent. One percent to get his quirk back? One was not zero! Surely, this would be enough to at least try, right?! Right? ...Oh. Sean's last glimmer of hope was extinguished upon hearing the rest of what the doctor had to say. Even if it did work, his quirk would just damage his brain upon use. He could very well end up back in the coma, this time permanently. As relaxing as it was to swim peacefully and have a beautiful mermaid keeping him company, Sean did not want that. He wanted to be in the real world.
"...Okay."
That was all Sean could mutter out in his current state. A feeble and barely audible 'Okay' that lacked the usual warm tone of his voice. His word felt just as hollow and empty as he was feeling right now. Sean just sighed as he continued to look down, ignoring the doctor's words of apology for the terrible news and then leaving the room, ignoring the nurse checking on his condition, ignoring almost everything. Right now, the only things Sean even bothered to register was Rowan whispering his name and squeezing his hand, and Umi going over to hug her son, speaking up in her attempt to cheer him up.
"Sean. Maybe... maybe this isn't such a bad thing. Please, hear me out. I know how much you wanted to be a hero. I know how much... how much you wanted to make me proud and how much you wanted to keep me safe if... if he... ever came back. But just seeing you in that coma for over half a year, not moving, not responding. It's been complete hell for me. I can't bear it when you get hurt." Umi began to cry, but she kept on going despite the tears pouring down her face. "I was so worried about you when you helped fight those fires and save the people inside that circus tent back in Herr Kunshu. I was so proud of you for being so courageous and heroic, but I was also worried about how hurt you got, the smoke, the spikes, all of it."
She took a moment to wipe her eyes dry before continuing. "What I'm saying is, even if you can't be a hero anymore, it doesn't matter to me. Quirk or no quirk, you will always be my hero, Sean! And I... I'll always be proud of you! You're my son, after all! I just... I can't bear to see you get hurt anymore! Losing you once was the worst thing I've ever had to go through. I can't bear to lose you again!" With how much Umi began to sob, speaking any further proved to be too difficult to do.
Sean felt horrible, saddened by the fact that his mom was crying, upset by what she must have went through without him. He began to tear up as well. He couldn't just let her cry like this and do nothing about it! So he reached out with his free arm and wrapped it around his mom in a one-armed hug. He realized that his other hand was still holding on to Rowan's, but did nothing to try to let go. Unless she wanted to let his hand go, Sean had no problem holding on. In fact, he preferred it like this. He wanted to hold on to Rowan too, wanted to hug her too, apologize to her too for not being there for such a long time.
"I'm sorry, both of you. I'm sorry I made you worry so much. I wish I could have been more careful, not ending up in that coma to begin with. I missed out on so much, but more importantly, I missed you two. I wish there was something I could do to make up for lost time, but I can't." Sean was used to cheering up the people he cared about with a cheerful smile. But despite his best attempt Sean just could not manage a smile that was just like the ones in the past. He was just too upset to smile properly.
WC 906 |
|
