Beyond Responsibility

Chapter 7: Picking up the pieces

Sometimes it's about picking up the pieces of the new you, without the expectation of them fitting together as they once did." -Arlo Lorenz

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"MEEEDIC!" Peter continued to scream. "SOMEBODY HELP!"

Peter lightly slapped Ojiro's cheeks to try and get him to come to, but his half lidded eyes still stared off blankly and without focus. He checked his pulse: faint. And his breathing, likewise.

Peter gently picked Ojiro up in his arms, making sure to cradle his head and not further agitate his broken tail.

A moment later, Awase's group ran back towards Peter in response to the cries for help. It only took a moment's glance for them to understand the situation.

"He needs help." Peter reiterated. "Any of you have any idea of where we can take him?"

"The UA staff should be at the entrance, I say we get him there as quickly as possible." One girl supplied.

"That's right! Recovery Girl is the school's nurse, she's got this awesome super regeneration quirk, she'll heal him in a second."

Peter nodded. "Just that direction, right?" He emphasized with a jerk of his head towards the path in question. "My quirk makes me pretty fast and coordinated. Even with the extra weight, I could probably go around 25 miles per hour without jostling him too much. Anyone have a better mobility quirk than that?"

They just stared at him blankly. "Oh right, that's about 40 kilometers per hour by the way."

They shook their heads. "None of us can go that fast. Our quirks aren't much in the way of utility either."

"Alright, thanks anyway, we should be off."

With that Peter adjusted his grip on Ojiro to keep him more steady and ran off towards the entrance.

Despite his efforts to avoid a bumpy ride during the run, Ojiro still stirred and groaned after a particularly heavy jump.

"Uuugh... It's soo cold..."

"Ojiro buddy, stay with me, we're going to get help."

"P- Peter? Wuzzz's gooin on? I- I, I can't feel... my tail." His words were slurred, and Peter could tell from the look in his eyes that he was oscillating in and out of consciousness.

"Nothing you'll have to worry about for long. Just grit your teeth, look up at the sky, and try to stay awake. Maybe try to flex a few muscles, get your bearings a little. Just do whatever you can to remain alert."

Ojiro took in a gulp of air. It seemed even getting oxygen was a chore that required his full attention. "I'll *huh* *guh* try."

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Eventually, Peter arrived at the large crowd gathered just outside a gate connected to a short wall around the city limits. When Peter had first come this way, he wasted no time in jumping it, supposing it was the same wall around the front of U.A.'s main building on campus, and imagined the practical was being held in a sports field or park in the School's backyard. He now realized it was more likely an evacuation perimeter to contain the robots and section off the area. Maybe something quickly set up by that Cementoss guy he had heard about.

Thankfully, the other people in the crowd gave him a wide berth when they saw the injured Ojiro he was carrying. He could see on the other side of the crowd were some parked buses, the limited transportation was likely what was holding up the evacuation.