Chapter 19 - Hospital Visit

3rd Person POV:

As they waited for Jason to arrive, Ai conversed with the president and Miyako while hugging her children.

Ai bowed her head towards the president, who stared in confusion at her action. "I'm sorry for making you cancel the dome concert, president. I know it's been your dream ever since you started this agency to—"

"Wait, wait, wait." He raised his hand, signalling her to stop. "Why are you apologizing for that? You were the one who almost died! Besides, it's not that big of an issue. We could just schedule another one in the future when you've recovered and return to good physical health. It won't be long since the doctor said you'd recover within a week or two."

"But…" Ai frowned worriedly. "What about the movie? The schedule was just finalized."

"Look, just take care of yourself for now. We'll handle everything," Miyako interjected, crossing her arms. She continued in a gentler tone, "And next time, don't just open the door if you're not sure who's there. Even if you decide to open it, at least use the door chain so they can't just barge inside. I hate to say this, but your kids would've been devastated if they lost you."

Hearing this, both Ruby and Aqua tightened their hold on Ai.

Ai looked down at her children, calling out to them, "Ruby. Aqua. Mama promises to never leave you, okay?"

They nodded, though their faces were stuck to her sides.

Ai giggled at how cute they were being. "Now, Mama can be with you two as you grow up! Ruby."

Ruby tilted her head up from her side, blinking her teary eyes. "Mama?"

"If you become an idol, you and Mama can dance together."

Ruby's eyes lit up, and she hugged her Mama's neck, being careful not to be too aggressive with her actions. "Yay!"

Ai turned to her son. "Aqua?"

Hearing his name, Aqua let go and stared at Ai questioningly. "Ai?"

"If you become an actor, Mama is sure you'll be one of the best actors ever because you have Mama's genes."

Aqua closed his eyes and thought to himself before looking back at Ai. "I'll try."

For Aqua, his decision rested on whether Jason-san could find out who their father was. But being an actor could also give him the opportunity to find out who their father was if he could get a strand of their hair.

Ai smiled reassuringly. "Well, I'm sure that whatever Aqua plans on doing, he'll be very good at it. After all, you're super smart!"

As Ai talked with her children, someone knocked on the door.

"Ah, that must be Jason-san. I'll get it," Saitou said, approaching the door.

Opening the door, he was greeted by the nurse.

"Jason-san is here. I'll take my leave now. Please inform the receptionist if you need anything else," she said before bowing and leaving.

Saitou looked left and right before tilting his head. "Eh? Where is he?"

"Hello, Saitou-san."

Saitou jumped and almost screamed, but he held it in. He turned to the right, where Jason's voice came from.

"So-sorry didn't see… you… there…" he trailed off because what was in front of him was no ordinarily tall man dressed in a black denim jacket, worn over a white t-shirt, and paired with black jeans and black boots.

Saitou slowly looked up, his eyes bulging when he noticed the outline of Jason's chest straining his shirt, and he thought in amazement, 'Th-this guy is *jacked*! And those kids weren't kidding. He's taller than everyone I know!'

Jason offered his hand that wasn't carrying a bulging plastic bag. "It's nice to meet you, Saitou-san."

Saitou nervously shook Jason's hand and returned the greeting. "N-nice to meet you as well, Jason-san. Please, come inside. They've been waiting for you." As he walked back, he brought out his handkerchief and wiped some sweat off his face. 'His hands are huge, and his voice sounds so deep and calm… I wouldn't be surprised if he could sing.'

Jason nodded and followed him, ducking under the doorway. After getting their text message, he bought some food and drinks for everyone, but not before asking Saitou if it was okay to do so. And before he entered the hospital, he checked the perimeter and made sure there weren't any more stalkers around.

"Jason-san is here," Saitou announced, making everyone turn to them.

When they finally saw Jason, everyone but Ruby and Aqua's eyes widened when they saw his enormous frame.

"Jason-san, you're here!" Ruby shouted, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She hurriedly got off the bed and hugged his leg.

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down," Jason reached down and pat her head. "You're gonna hurt yourself if you aren't careful. What are you gonna do if you fall?"

"I'll be fine because you'll catch me, won't you?"

"Well, you aren't wrong there." He chuckled and took off his face mask, greeting Ai and the woman he deduced to be Saitou's wife based on the ring on her left hand's ring finger that was identical to Saitou's.

Jason was also glad that Ai had begun to look far better than she did in the morning. Light had returned to her eyes, which he had just noticed to be gradient colored from purple to pink.

'I've seen all kinds of eyes, but this is a first.'

"I apologize for not introducing myself first. My name is Jason Todd, but you can just call me Jason. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Saitou and Miyako's jaws dropped as they stared at his face, while Ai's sparkling eyes never strayed from him the instant he stepped into the room.

"It's nice to meet you, Jason-san," Ai greeted with a bright smile. "I didn't properly introduce myself before because of the circumstances we were in, but I'm Ai Hoshino." She gestured to the president and his wife. "You've already met the president. And the woman standing next to him is his wife, Miyako-san."

"Damn." Saitou muttered as he and Miyako picked their jaws up from the floor and shook themselves awake from their daze.

Miyako bowed, a hint of red dusting her cheeks. "I-it's a pleasure to meet you, Jason-san. My husband and I are incredibly grateful for you saving Ai. If there's anything we can do for you, please don't be afraid to ask."

"That's right." Saitou said, bowing like Miyako. "I've taken care of Ai for years and she's practically my adoptive daughter. You don't know how thankful I am!"

Saitou knew that if Ai had died, it would've felt like he lost his own daughter, and everything they built would crumble like sand.

"Please, there's no need to bow," Jason said. "Although I appreciate the gesture, it's too much. I don't deserve it." If he was faster or if he picked the right area to search first, Ai wouldn't have to be in this situation in the first place. In the end, he was almost too late to save her due to *his* mistake, like how Batman was too late to save *him*. He'll do everything he can to *never* make that same mistake again.

"Jason-san," Ai called, making them turn to her. "You saved my *life* and there's nothing I can do to repay such an act. You've… you've allowed me to continue to take care of my children when I thought there was no more hope for such a thing to happen anymore. For that, not even everything I own will be enough to repay you. So please, there is anything at all that we can do…"

Jason sighed. 'At this point, we're just going in complete circles. Might as well fulfill their wishes, then.'

"Okay," Jason nodded to their wishes and anticipation filled them. "If you really want to repay me… You can start by eating this first." He gestured to the raised bag of food and drinks.

"Ehhh?"

"Huuh?"

Before anyone else could say anything, Ruby started jumping. "Oh! What do you have? What do you have?"

"Well, I asked Saitou-san what type of food I *wasn't* allowed to bring, so I bought these instead."

Jason placed the bag on a nearby table and started taking out what was inside. He brought out sushi, canned drinks, bottled water, sandwiches, and fresh fruits. He handed Ruby the pack of sushi while Aqua requested a bottle of water and a sandwich. They began eating in the chairs next to Ai's bed.

"W-wait," Saitou stuttered in surprise at how much food there was. "I thought you were gonna just buy a few bags of chips or a couple of fruits."

"I bought a lot since I didn't know what you all liked. You can keep whatever is left over, though. I have enough food for myself, and Hoshino-sa—"

"Ai."

Jason blinked in surprise and turned his head to Ai, who was currently smiling as she pat the head of Aqua.

"In your country, you call each other by your first names, right? You can do the same with me. It's fine."

It seemed like this was one of her wishes. Jason hesitantly nodded. "Okay… Ai-sa—"

Ai shook her head again and enunciated her name. "Nope. Just Ai. A-i."

"Ai-san, I can't just—"

"Nope. One more time. A-i."

Everyone else looked back and forth between Jason and Ai's banter with tilted heads, wondering what was going on.

In the end, Jason lost the battle of wills and gave up, giving in to her request.

Jason slowly spoke her name, "Ai…" He paused until Ai nodded happily before continuing, "… will need to eat quite a bit to help her body heal and recover. You will also need to sleep a lot, Ai."

Jason checked once more to see if she was actually fine with letting him call her with her first name — which wasn't normal in Japan unless you were married or if you were given permission. And even then, you would need to add a suffix such as '-san' for normal and business relationships or '-chan' for close female friends.

Ai continued nodding happily before she got an idea. "Ah, is it fine if I just call you Jason?"

'Her pronunciation's a bit off, but it's not bad.'

Jason shrugged. "Go ahead. Though won't your fans raise torches and pitchforks if they heard you call a guy using just their first name?"

"Oh, so you *do* know I'm an idol." Ai playfully tilted her head and grinned. "And to answer your question…. Not if they don't find out."

"Uh, well…" the president nervously interjected, "I'm fine with that as long as you keep it in private settings. If the media found out, your career will be in jeopardy."

"Don't worry, president." Ai gave a thumbs-up with her signature smile. "Ai Hoshino will handle it, no sweat."

The president just chuckled nervously. 'At least she doesn't seem to be dwelling on what happened with that stalker. Speaking of…' He tapped Jason on the shoulder and signalled to talk outside.

Ai's curious gaze followed them as they walked outside.

Saitou donned a serious look as he leaned on the wall. "Jason-san, Aqua told me about how you were investigating how the stalker found Ai's address. Have you found any clues?"

Jason nodded to Saitou's question. "I… *asked* him and he said that during a handshake event, a man wearing a cap, thick sunglasses and a mask handed him a letter containing Ai's address. Said that the only thing he knew was that the man was of average height and had blonde hair. Aside from that, I found nothing else that could lead us to whoever the suspect is."

"Hmm." Saitou pondered to himself. "What if I told you I had a clue as to who leaked her address?"

"You do?"

"Yeah, but…" Saitou sighed. "Look, you saved Ai's life and I'm incredibly grateful for that, but this is incredibly sensitive infor—"

"It's the father, isn't it?"

Saitou almost choked on his saliva. "H-how'd you figure it out?"

"I guessed, and you just confirmed it," Jason shrugged.

"Ah, damn it." Saitou scratched his head in annoyance. "Yeah, it's probably that ex of hers. I don't know who he is, though. She's incredibly tight-lipped about that subject, and no matter how I try to get the information out of her, she won't budge."

"Have you tried asking her after the incident? It's likely not that hard to deduce that the only people who knew her address are the only ones who could've leaked it, and I don't think you're the kind of man who would do that, Saitou-san."

"Thanks, but… I don't think it's a good topic to approach as of now. I'll try asking her after she recovers." Saitou holds the handle of the door, preparing to open it. "I know it's presumptuous of me to ask this, but is it fine if I ask that you keep investigating this? There might be things I don't know about that you can find out. We'll pay you twice as much as you ask for in America."

Jason shook his head. "No need. I have enough money to live well for the rest of my life. But what I need is a lead. Do you know where Ai might have met her ex?"

Saitou frowned thoughtfully before answering, "I think… I think she might have met him when she was a part of the Lalalie Theatrical Company. She trained there before she became famous and it was after she left the group that she told me she became pregnant."

"Alright. Thanks for the info. I'll see what I can find. For now, I think we should head back. It might be chaos in there already."

"Heh, you might be right… Thanks again, Jason-san."

"No problem."

They all spent a good while conversing - with Jason answering their questions with false stories or half-truths - until the kids fell asleep and visiting hours were over.

Before Jason said his farewells, Ai, through pure persistence, made him promise that he'd visit her at least every other day. He found it to be slightly out of left-field, but it wasn't something he was reluctant to do, and he might get to know her ex's identity during one of their conversations.

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Late at night.

From the top of a skyscraper, Jason looked down at the city while eating a large hamburger.

[So… what are you gonna do now? Finishing the drug ring?]

Jason shook his head. "I'll take a break. Need to set up some networks and backdoors. I'm moving into the condo next to Ai's as well. Aside from that, I'm trying to design some better suits in my head. Joe *did* say that I'll need to be stronger to beat whatever he'll throw me at, but if I can't get stronger quickly… I'll need to up my technological advantage. I have the combined skills, knowledge, and experience of eight of my world's best martial artists, who were also the pinnacles of the human potential. I'm pretty sure I can come up with something that'll beat most suits Bruce has ever made."

Jason was sure there was something else to Joe's upgrade, though. He wouldn't make such a big deal out of it if it didn't offer more, aside from their skills, knowledge, and experience. Maybe it was also his… potential? He'll have to test it out to be sure.

From his assessment of his condition during the fight with the phantoms, he could tell that were big changes in his body. Practically no delay between his mind's commands and his muscles, which allows him to react far faster and move better than even Deathstroke could, control over every cell in his body, a mind that was like a supercomputer, and so much more.

'There's a lot I need to do.'

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Author's Note:

This'll be the last chapter until this weekend cause I'm taking a break. I've prioritized the story, so now I have tons of work piled up that I need to do. Hope you guys can understand.

Point out any grammatical or spelling mistakes you find, and as always, thanks for reading!

See you guys on the weekends.