Location: Walled City Echelon – Medical Ward

  —-

  The faint click of metal against metal echoed through the empty room.

  Akito sat by the window, quietly polishing his rifle. The quiet noise of machines hummed in the background.

  Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the tiled floor.

  He checked the sight, wiped the barrel, and rechecked it.

  It wasn't about maintenance anymore.

  It was about focus.

  He paused, thumb running over a dent on the rifle's stock. The memory from earlier that night gnawed at him—the way she had whispered it.

  "Shin..."

  Akito closed his eyes for a second, letting out a slow breath.

  It was stupid, he told himself.

  You shouldn’t be jealous of your own brother.

  Shin and Alyssa weren't even together.

  Hell, he wasn't even sure if Shin knew she thought of him that way.

  But still... it stung.

  Shin, Mira, and Izuku were the ones everyone noticed first.

  The shining faces of Faith.

  The ones who smiled, who lifted people's hopes just by walking into a room.

  People didn't smile when they saw Akito.

  They looked relieved. Safe.

  But never... happy.

  A sudden thump in the hall outside pulled him back to the present.

  Through the door, he heard familiar voices:

  Mira (sharp, scolding):

  "You absolute dumbass."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Shin (mock-hurt, dramatically):

  "Mira! Your words wound me deeper than any mutant could!"

  Mira (deadpan):

  "God, you're annoying."

  Akito shook his head with a small smirk.

  Some things never changed.

  He turned back to the bed just as he heard a faint rustle of sheets.

  Alyssa blinked awake, the hospital lights soft and dim above her.

  The world around her felt wrong—heavy, distant.

  Pain hit her side before she even fully sat up.

  She shifted slightly—and immediately flushed.

  Her entire body was bare under the blanket.

  Only the thin hospital sheet separated her from lying naked.

  Worse still... her gaze snapped to the chair beside her.

  A pillow.

  A folded blanket.

  Akito's sniper leaned against the wall.

  It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

  Her face warmed, just a little.

  She adjusted the blanket higher over her chest, pretending she didn't notice.

  "You're seriously brave," she said, her voice still rough from sleep, "sleeping in a room with an unconscious girl."

  Akito looked up from his rifle, raising an eyebrow. "Braver than you know."

  Alyssa gave a small laugh but winced halfway through, clutching her shoulder—

  Except...

  Her arm.

  Her arm wasn't there.

  Panic flared before she forced herself to look.

  Where her right arm had been—where it should have been—

  a wooden arm rested instead.

  It was smooth, like carved oak, with vines running along it.

  It wasn't flesh. It didn't feel like her.

  But when she thought about moving it—

  The fingers twitched.

  Then curled.

  Alyssa stared, wide-eyed.

  "I..." she whispered, struggling to find the words.

  Akito leaned forward slightly, setting the rifle down beside him.

  "The doctors were shocked too," he said. "It happened while you were unconscious."

  He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

  "Your Art must've... reacted. It built a prosthetic out of whatever it could make. vines, wood... and somehow linked it to your body."

  He tapped two fingers gently against the stump near her shoulder.

  "The ache you're feeling... that's from here. The vines. It connects to your nerves. It's not perfect—you probably won't feel much—but you can move it."

  Alyssa flexed her fingers again.

  Slow, awkwardly at first.

  But hers.

  Her throat tightened. Not just from shock.

  From the weight of still being here. Of still living.

  A soft knock at the door broke the heavy moment.

  Mira (muffled, exasperated):

  "If you two are done playing house, we're coming in."

  Before Alyssa could answer, the door swung open.

  Mira stormed in first—brown skin practically glowing under the hospital lights, short black hair ruffled from either stress or just being Mira—and fixed a glare at Shin with her violet eyes.

  "You," she jabbed a finger at him, "forgot to bring Akito dinner last night."

  Shin, striding in just behind her with his usual swagger, held both hands up like he was surrendering.

  "But I thought Akito was fasting for spiritual clarity!" he said dramatically.

  Mira rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle she didn't sprain something.

  "God, you're so dumb it physically hurts me."

  Behind them, Darius stepped through the door too, towering and stone-faced as usual. He gave Akito a brief nod, then looked over at Alyssa, his sharp gaze softening just slightly.

  "Good to see you still breathing, rook," Darius said simply.

  Alyssa, still blinking at the sudden energy in the room, found herself smiling despite everything.

  It didn't erase the phantom pain.

  It didn't change the fact she might never have her real arm again.

  But for now, with the people she fought alongside, the ones who cared enough to show up—

  It was enough.

  —-

  [End of Chapter Two]

  Next Chapter: "Faith's Backbone"

  Updates every [TBD]