Sam felt groggy.
He groaned as he slowly sat up.
He felt the ground, feeling a concrete floor.
"What?"
Sam was confused. He was positive he was in the forest.
"Congratulations."
Sam heard a cruel and deep voice, coming from nearby.
He shook off the grogginess and looked around. What he saw made his heart nearly stop.
He was in a room. A familiar room. The room where Canvas was born. Where Charles and the other kids were forced to fight to the death.
"Why am I here?"
He was shaken. But then he remembered that he heard a voice. He slowly turned around and in the shadows, he saw a silhouette.
The moment he laid eyes on it, his body screamed at him to run.
"N-No…"
Sam backed up.
He heard the silhouette laugh.
"Why so scared, boy?"
The figure leaned forward and Sam made out a cruel and sadistic grin.
He knew only one person who had such a face.
"W-Wushan!"
Sam was terrified. His breathing became uncontrollable and he was about to have a panic attack.
"No, it's impossible! You're in Africa?"
"Am I?"
Sam shivered.
"You seem to have made a nice life for yourself. But how long do you think you can live like this?"
Sam was unable to move. He just stared at Wushan, still hiding his face in the shadows.
"You know, don't you? That I will always get what is mine. I'm coming for you Canvas. Even if I have to destroy all of Japan, I will take you back."
Sam couldn't respond. He just stared, shaking.
Before he can even register it, Wushan disappeared.
Sam quickly turned around and looked around the room, only to see nothing.
"We will meet again, my Canvas. You are mine. I'll murder all your little friends before your eyes if necessary."
He felt a warm breath against his ear, whispering cruel words to him.
Sam couldn't handle it anymore and tried to turn around to get a good look at him.
The moment he turned around, he saw…
———
Sam's eyes shot open and he gasped in a huge breath of air.
He could smell antiseptics and he felt drowsy. He also heard a rapid beeping next to him.
As he took a few deep breaths, he finally calmed himself down a bit.
He realized where he was. The hospital.
But that was the least of his worries.
'That nightmare…'
Sam could vaguely recall the nightmare he just had. He was back in Africa, in the room where Charles died. But worst of all, Wushan was there.
He could remember that cruel smile. How could he ever forget it.
Sam shook his head.
'Enough. It was just a nightmare…'
Sam thought to himself.
Despite saying that, his hands still shook.
Even if that was a nightmare, one thing he knew to be truth, was that Wushan would come for him.
"Damn it…"
He swore and gritted his teeth.
Sam picked up a flower vase and threw it against the wall in rage.
"Why…"
The vase shattered before he finished the sentence.
His dream, the dream he and Zola worked so hard to achieve, was at risk again.
"Zola, what do I do?"
Sam held his face, feeling so tired.
He just wanted to be left alone.
Suddenly, the door was kicked open.
Sam shot up, but grunted and held his abdomen. Sitting up so swiftly hurt his abdomen really bad.
He held the wound, feeling the bandage wrapped around his abdomen.
He also felt the bandages on his leg and wrapped around his shoulder.
He then saw who kicked open the door so abruptly.
Standing before him, was none other than Rumi, wearing her civilian clothes.
Sam sighed in relief.
"Rumi…"
She didn't say anything.
She stared at Sam with a cold expression.
Sam gulped.
He didn't like that look. He only saw that look once, and it was when she was so pissed off that she had a face that looked calm.
She walked over to him slowly.
Sam could only sit still like a deer in the headlights as she walked to the side of his bed.
He stared at her, waited for her to say something.
However, she didn't say anything. She gently wrapped her arms around him and held him in a warm hug.
Sam's eyes widened as he didn't expect her to be so gentle. Sure, she comforted him when he was watching the stars and remembering Zola, but this was the most gentle hug she gave him.
He closed his eyes and allowed her warmth to engulf him.
No words were said.
No words needed to be said.
For nearly ten minutes, she held him close.
"I was so worried about you."
She finally spoke after letting him go.
Sam opened his eyes, missing the warmth.
He looked up at her and saw her face was no longer calm. He could see the worry that was eating her alive.
"…I'm sorry, Rumi. I didn't mean to worry you."
She shook her head.
"Don't be sorry. I know this was those idiot villains fault. When I get my hands on them I'm gonna-"
Sam grabbed her hand, stopping her mid-sentence.
He looked up at her, and saw through her.
She was acting angry to hide her fear. He could see the quivering lips and he could feel her shaking hand.
"You don't ever need to pretend with me Rumi. No matter what, I want to see the real you."
Sam looked her dead in the eye.
She gasped, understanding that he saw through her.
Unable to pretend anymore, she embraced him in a hug again.
"You…I thought…I thought I might never see you again!"
She held him tight. So tight he felt some pain in his shoulder and abdomen wounds, but the pain was nothing compared to Rumi's grief.
It hurt Sam's heart seeing this strong woman so afraid.
She cried.
She allowed herself to cry so vulnerably in front of someone for the first time in her life.
Sam patted her back as he hugged her back. He hated seeing this, but he would rather see her like this than seeing her wearing a mask to conceal her suffering.
"It's okay…I'm not going anywhere…"
Sam whispered gently into her rabbit ear.
She hugged him tighter and her cries started to grow softer.
For another few minutes, she cried her eyes out.
When she ran out of tears, she sniffled a bit, released him and grabbed some tissues that were luckily by Sam's bedside.
She cleaned her tears and blew her nose a bit.
She had a red face, feeling a bit embarrassed, but that didn't matter too much, as she felt much better after allowing herself to be vulnerable in front of someone.
She smiled at him. Grateful that he comforted her.
"Are you alright?"
She asked.
Sam smiled.
"I'm…"
He was about to say he was fine, but he was anything but.
His smile disappeared. She took off her mask, he had to reciprocate.
"Physically? I'm fine. They are just flesh wounds. Mentally? I'm pretty far from okay."
Sam honestly admitted to her.
Sam removed the covers and decided to get up.
After removing the covers and moving his body, gently, to the side of the bed, he put his feet on the cold floor.
He finally got a look at his leg wound, and saw a bandage, but it seemed to only hurt a little bit. If he had to guess, recovery girl came in clutch for him.
His abdomen hurt when he moved, but he suffered worse.
"Are you sure you should get up?"
Rumi asked, worried about him suddenly trying to stand up.
Sam shook his head.
"No, but I am fine. I just feel some pain in my abdomen and shoulder and a mild pain in my leg. I feel drowsy more than anything, likely due to recovery girl."
When you speak of the devil, they answer the call.
"Ahem!"
Sam and Rumi looked back at the door and saw none other than Recovery Girl standing there, staring at Sam with anger.
"You little troublemaker! What do you think you're doing out of bed?!?"
She waddled up to him and lightly tapped his leg with her cane, agitating his leg wound.
She poked him right in the bullet wound, making him grit his teeth and sit back on the bed from the pain.
He was about to say something, but the glare from Recovery Girl was not taking any rebuttals.
He wisely shut his mouth.
Recovery girl stared for a few seconds before she sighed.
"You were hurt pretty badly, Sonny. Luckily, the wounds were in non-vital areas and the bullets all went through cleanly. It's a miracle that they all went through. I didn't need to surgically remove anything."
Sam shook his head. He knew that it wasn't a miracle. It was skill.
That mercenary, Ra, he was a great shooter. Sam wouldn't be lying if he said he was better than Snipe.
Snipe was a good shot, but he over-relied on his quirk, which allowed him to change the trajectory of bullets he shoots.
He could tell that Ra had no such quirk. As a matter of fact, he didn't even know what Ra's quirk was. And for someone who prides himself in his observation skills, that terrified him.
"Sam? Are you okay?"
He snapped out of his thoughts after hearing Rumi's concerned words.
He looked up at her.
"I'm just… thinking of something."
She understood that he didn't want to talk about it.
Recovery Girl looked at the two of them. Looking at one and then the other a few times.
She was an old lady who had lots of experience. She knew what was going on.
She smirked.
'How youthful…'
"I'll leave you two alone. You should be okay to stand up a bit, as long as you don't put too much pressure on your left leg."
Sam looked at recovery girl and saw her smiling at him.
He was confused as to why she suddenly looked kinder than she did earlier.
She turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her.
After they both watched her leave, they just stayed silent and looked at the floor.
Suddenly, Sam stood up, carefully not putting pressure on his left foot.
Rumi worriedly looked at Sam and was ready to catch him if he fell, but he didn't.
After standing back up, he decided to limp around a bit, getting some feeling back in his numb legs.
"That's better."
After moving a bit, he felt much better.
Rumi sighed.
"You really can't stay still, can you?"
Sam smirked hearing this.
"You know it."
She smiled at that.
"Yeah, you're the most stubborn man in the world."
Sam gasped.
'*You idiot. I know. You're the most stubborn person in Africa.*'
Sam recalled Charles and some of his final words.
Rumi noticed that.
"Sorry… I reminded you of something, didn't I?"
Sam shook his head.
"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."
Sam walked up to Rumi and grabbed her hand.
"Rumi…"
She stayed silent, waiting for him to say his piece.
"When Zola died, I thought I would never love again. Even when I returned to Japan, it felt like my heart was still chained to her…"
Rumi felt her heart hurt hearing that, but allowed Sam to continue.
"I always saw her in everything, reminding me of her. It's the same with my deceased friend Charles, who died before my eyes…"
Sam's voice shook.
"I'm scared, Rumi. Not of villains. Not of my past.
I'm scared of losing someone again."
Rumi suddenly knew what she had to do. She had to be true to herself.
Before he could say anything else, Rumi embraced him again and put her hands on his face. Then, she brought her lips to his.
His eyes widened, and for a moment he felt panic. But, the warmth of her lips calmed him down. He felt something loosen inside his chest.
A chain he didn't know he was still wearing.
No words needed to be said, this was enough to convey what they felt for each other.
The kiss was perfect. They both felt a strange tranquility from it.
For the first time in years, Samuel Suzuki decided to leave Zola in his memories and make new ones with Rumi.
———
"So, you made contact with him?"
"Yes, sir. He is still quite skilled. It seems his time here didn't dampen his skill."
On a rooftop, Ra removed the bullet from his arm, not even flinching when digging it out with tweezers.
While doing that, he was speaking on the phone.
A voice chuckled through the phone.
"Good. Last thing I need is a puppy who lost his teeth."
"What should I do next, sir?"
Ra asked, bandaging the wound after removing the bullet.
"Keep watching. Find an opportune moment to make contact again. It doesn't matter how long it takes. Let him know he is being hunted. That should keep him on edge."
Ra nodded.
"Understood, sir."
Ra took out a pair of binoculars.
He was looking through a hospital window, and what he saw, was Sam embracing the rabbit hero: Mirko.
Ra couldn't take his eyes off this scene.
"Ra?"
Ra kept staring.
"Ra! Answer!"
Ra shook his head.
"Apologies sir, I saw something… interesting in my observations just now."
"Oh?"
The voice sounded intrigued.
"Yes, sir. It will be very useful in the retrieval of Canvas."
The voice chuckled again.
"Good. I'll leave it to you, Ra. I created you as my replacement for Canvas. You should be able to successfully bring him back. I do not like failures. Understood?"
Ra remained still for a moment.
"Understood, sir."
"Good."
Ra looked at his arsenal, many different types of military-grade guns. Snipers, Assault rifles, more pistols, even some grenades. All allocated to him for this mission.
"Take your time and use your own discretion to launch your next move. I'll stay in touch."
Ra remained silent for a second, before replying.
"Understood… Wushan."