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It was not a good thing for his phone to go off at the hour it did. It was not a good thing to hear it was from the hospital, and it was not a good thing that it was because of his niece. This had always been something he had been afraid of.

Hurst's face was placid as he arrived at the hospital, and it stayed placid as he dealt with the staff to get his niece checked out of the hospital. He was patient as he listened to the story they were fed, the report of the incident, and the results of her broken arm. He glanced at Noah only once throughout the entire ordeal, and even when he walked her out to his bike, he never really looked at her. She was given a helmet, and she was placed in front of him on the bike instead of behind due to her arm. It wasn't the most ideal way to ride, but he managed.

It was very much the calm before the storm. As soon as they were back in his apartment, and he set the bike helmet down. "I'll guess the lost in the woods and the cabin part is true." Hurst said, his tone even as he finally looked at his niece. "But what really broke your arm, Noah?"

A truly sympathetic and concerned parent, hell, even a concerned family member, would be holding her and comforting her. She was upset. She was scared. She was hurt.

Hurst was not sympathetic. He shouldn't be in this situation. She was not his child, but yet she was.

She was scared, but she wasn't scared enough because she wasn't careful.

The man's arms crossed as he looked down at her, face impassive and unmoved by her tears. The only outward indication he was furious was the slight way his fingers dug into the fabric of his coat as she described the night's events. So not just once, but twice, she had put herself into a situation where she could have died. The first agent must have had a soft spot for children. The second, not so much. Noah, and himself, was fortunate that a stronger senshi had been patrolling nearby. It was probably the only reason they were here right now, actually having this conversation.

"Not just once, but twice tonight, Noah, you could have died. You were outmaneuvered, outmatched, and overpowered." His voice was cold. "You were alone, despite repeated warnings to not be alone, you were. I've told you multiple times, but you still don't get it. This isn't a game, and this isn't a Marvel movie, Noah. Good guys don't win here because they're good. It's a war, and I don't doubt that a sick ******** who would break your arm would have hesitated to do more."

It made him sick to think about it.

"Do you ever think about the consequences of your actions? If something happened to you, Noah, it would destroy your parents. Do you think about that when you sneak out at night, hm? By yourself? When you make the selfish decision to go because you feel entitled to without much forethought?"

He let her yell at him, and didn't interrupt. He knew she wouldn't get away with that with her parents, and as much as he should have said that her parents did care...he wasn't going to stand here and defend them. He knew they loved Noah, but how they handled it, how they showed it...it wasn't right. They worked hard in order to 'provide better' for her, but long ago Hurst felt that they'd lost sight of the why in working so hard. They rarely spent time with her, and they didn't know about any of this magical nonsense.

"It wasn't bad luck, it was carelessness on your part. I have every right to be selfish, I'm an adult who can make that choice. You're not an adult yet. You still live under your parents' roof and mine." Speaking of, actually...Hurst uncrossed his arms and moved closer to the girl.

"It's going to take three months for your arm to heal. During those three months, you're not fit to patrol. You're not fit to be a superhero, so you're grounded from being a senshi and patrolling until your arm heals, Noah." He leaned bringing himself down to her level. "And don't think you can push it. Don't think you can sneak out. I will know, and to give you some extra incentive to show you how serious I am, Noah---if you go out while you're arm is still healing, I will tell your parents that you're a senshi. I will tell them everything you've been doing since you've awakened, and don't question if I can prove it to them, I will." But if she thought he was done, he wasn't.

"And if the Negaverse finds out that your parents know what you are, the least they'll do is hurt them. The most? Capture, torture, maim---and once they served their usefulness and outted you, they'll more than likely kill them or turn them into youma."

These were, hands down, the worst words he ever heard.

Oh, it wasn't that he was upset she was saying she hated him. She could hate him all she wanted. That was fine. These were the worst words he ever heard simply because it meant he was very much her father figure. As Noah stormed off to the other room that had been converted to a bedroom for the girl the more time she spent here, Hurst sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

This was something he never wanted. To be responsible like this for someone else. To care. He had never wanted this responsibility, and it was thrust upon him.

The man moved to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of bourbon. He downed it, poured another, downed that, and then poured himself a third. This one he sipped more slowly, leaning against the counter as he idly listened to the girl's muffled cries from her room. After a bit time, when the glass was finished, set the empty glass down and then moved to Noah's room.

Hurst entered, and made his way to her bed. He didn't bother waiting for her reply, or her reaction, and instead sat himself next to her on the edge.

He reached and placed a hand on her head.

"You didn't do your best. You were careless and you suffered the consequences." It was Hurst. He wouldn't be that kind of man. He always told it like it was, from his point of view. "But I'm glad you're in one piece. That you are here, safe, and with the capacity to hate me."

"I can't be stupid." Hurst replied lightly. "My arm's not broken."

His hand stand on her head for a moment longer before it left, and his fingers loosely threaded together in front of himself as he looked at her. "Yes, you do." He agreed. As much as he wished he could ban her from this life for the rest of her's, he knew it wasn't possible. So when you couldn't stop someone from doing it...you tried the best you could to make it so that they'd survive.

Hopefully.

"It means know more charging into situations where you know you're outmatched. It means running away when the odds are against you, so that you can live to fight another day." He sighed, softly.

Hurst gave her a look.

"Don't talk like you have a choice in the grounded thing. It's not cute." And she didn't, anyways.

At the request though, the man's posture softened somewhat. "Of course." After a moment his hand moved once more, and fingers lightly smoothed over Noah's wavy hair. Something he had seen his sister do multiple times when Noah had been younger and on the verge of falling asleep in her lap. Even if he couldn't give comfort the way she needed...it didn't mean he couldn't try.