Chapter 60: Old Flame
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, after having a hearty hospital lunch with Aizawa, Kira finished his visit and was on his way back.
Of course, Aizawa still couldn't eat. He just watched as Kira devoured his food. Kira was genuinely hungry; he hadn't eaten anything for a long time. He paid no mind to the stares of the other people in the cafeteria and just elegantly shoveled food into his mouth.
There was a small interlude. Kira saw Aizawa's class president, Meisei Hibiki. He was wearing a hospital gown and holding a tray, laughing loudly with a nurse. The nurse looked helpless and just went along with a professional smile.
When he saw Aizawa, his expression changed. It was as if he had a mouthful of something unspeakable. His voice died in his throat, and his entire face turned green. He sullenly got his food and sat in the farthest corner from them.
Are all the heroes being treated here just a bunch of slackers waiting to die?
Of course not.
As Kira pushed Aizawa's wheelchair, several people, also in hospital gowns, greeted him. Of course, most of them couldn't tell who the mummy in the wheelchair was and were just respectfully acknowledging this heavily injured hero.
One of them, a woman who seemed to be visiting a friend, glanced over unconsciously as she passed by, then suddenly stopped. She turned and began to circle the wheelchair with a suspicious smile, examining the mummy.
Aizawa hadn't reacted when the others had greeted him, just letting Kira thank them on his behalf. But this time, after the woman had been looking at him for a short while, he said impatiently, "Stop staring. You're blocking my way."
The woman wasn't angry. Instead, she stood up straight, put her hands on her hips, and laughed loudly. "I knew it! It really is you, Aizawa!"
After she finished laughing, she leaned down again. She was wearing a cool, short-sleeved shirt that exposed her midriff. Kira could tell that she was an old acquaintance of Aizawa-sensei's and tactfully turned his head, silently becoming a background character.
"I have to say, are you having that rough a time at U.A.?" she said, touching the bandages on Aizawa's face, her fingers trembling almost imperceptibly. "If you can't make it at U.A., how about coming to my Shiketsu?"
"Cut the crap."
She seemed to have misunderstood Aizawa's meaning. She looked up and thought for a moment. "Hmm... if you don't want to be a teacher, then how about you be a stay-at-home husband? After we get married, I'll work, and I'm okay with you taking care of the kids at home."
"Nonsense. Talking to you is a waste of time," Aizawa said, his patience seemingly worn thin. He instructed Kira, "Kira, ignore her. Push me back. I want to rest."
She didn't press the issue. With a smile, she took a step back to the right and cleared the way, still muttering, "Aizawa, if you treat girls like this, no one will like you. Only a woman with a motherly love and a big heart like me would spoil you like this. Are you sure you don't want to consider being with me...?"
As Kira pushed the wheelchair past her, she suddenly said to him, "You're Aizawa's student, Kira, right? Let me tell you, although Aizawa's temper is a bit bad, your class absolutely cannot bully him!"
Kira let out a wry laugh, turned his head, and said helplessly, "Alright, I'll follow my 'teacher's wife's' instructions." No matter how you looked at it, she was clearly an old flame of Aizawa's...
"Kira!!" ×2
One was Aizawa's angry roar, the other was the woman's surprised cry.
"You have good taste! If you ever need anything, just come to Shiketsu High and mention my name!" Amidst Aizawa's now-tangible killing intent, the woman laughed loudly and ran off. "I'm leaving now, Aizawa! I'll come see you again later!"
At least leave a name... Kira turned his head back to face the enraged mummy.
"Kira, you..." Aizawa sighed and sat up straight again. "Forget it. You don't know anything... Let's go."
The woman ignored the nurse's "No running in the hospital" and ran to the corner before stopping. She leaned against the wall, extended her hand, and looked at the piece of bandage she had pulled off, clenching it tightly in her fist.
"The League of Villains... you've really done something bold."
Ding-dong—
Halfway back, Kira's phone suddenly rang. He opened it, took a look, and then turned into another small alley.
Not long after, a somewhat dilapidated rental house appeared in front of him.
Although it was a two-story building, the outer walls looked like they hadn't been renovated in a long time and were covered in green ivy. The green vines snaked in and out of the cracks in the walls, growing wild.
Although this was in the castle town, the desolate surroundings made it hard to imagine this was in a city, and even harder to imagine that someone still lived in this dilapidated house.
Tap, tap—
Kira knocked on the old, weathered wooden door. After a rhythmic series of knocks, he waited patiently.
"Caw, caw—"
After the sound of a crow repeated several times and ten minutes had passed, the sound of footsteps grew louder, and the door was finally opened.
The person who opened the door was a beautiful girl in a white dress. She had long, green hair that fell straight down over her shoulders. Her hair was as long and thick as tough vines, with small thorns on it. Her appearance easily brought to mind a thorny rose, but to Kira, she was more like the emotionless Enkidu.
"Ah... it's you..." the girl said in an ethereal voice. "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Kira raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you open the door earlier..."
"I was taking care of the flowers. I couldn't stop," the girl said, turning and walking into the house. "Come in. Your things have arrived."
"Then I'll come in," Kira said, following her. He took off his shoes at the entrance and naturally put on the slippers she had prepared for him.
The inside of the house was not as desolate as the outside, but was full of green life. You couldn't tell from the front, but the middle of the roof had been completely hollowed out, allowing the sunlight to shine in unobstructed, creating a composition of light and shadow in the room.
Bathing in this sunlight was the girl in the white dress, and beside her were several pots of flowers and plants. In this house, on the tables, on the floor, on the cabinets, almost every corner was filled with flowers and plants of different colors and sizes. The only thing they had in common was that they were all well-cared for and shone with a dazzling luster.
The girl picked up a watering can on the low table and poured a steady stream of water into a flowerpot, as if continuing what she had been doing before.
"I've already gotten your things for you. They're in your room," the girl said, as if muttering to herself.
Kira was already used to her oblivious attitude. He bent down and took a string of keys from under the transparent table, walked to the end of the hallway, found the room key from the string, and opened the door.
There was no light source in the room, nor were there any objects, except for a large, person-sized box in the very center. The coffin-like object seemed to be sealing something, letting the creature sealed within sleep peacefully.