Bleeding Heart

XVIII

Kimiko's eyes shot open as she gasped, choking on water as she tried to sit up. Blue eyes wide with panic as she took in her surroundings.

"Ah, my ruby is finally awake!" called out a familiar cold voice. Kimiko looked over to see Jashin standing in the middle of a large room, 96 close beside him with a cruel grin.

Cold cement walls and flooring surrounded the trio. Looking up, there was no ceiling, just the night air as distant thunder rumbled and the wind blew around them.

Getting to her feet, Kimiko braced herself. No matter what happened, she had to get out of here, she had to find help and get back to Aizawa.

Gritting her teeth, she let her shoulder relax as she prepared her body to react to any threat. Slowing her breathing to keep her mind clear.

"Now, now 97, there is no reason to give me that kind of look," Jashin said, a grin forming on her pale face. "Besides, I'm not the one you're fighting."

Kimiko quickly dodged a punch aimed right at her head by ducking and rolling to the side. Only lifting her head up in time to catch 96's leg, blocking a powerful kick that surely would have broken a rib or two.

Struggling on her knees, Kimiko rolled, pulling 96's leg with her and taking him to the ground. Quickly getting to her feet, the blonde girl went on the offensive.

Her instincts were pristine from all her time training with Aizawa and Bakugo. Aiming back to back kicks at 96's head, she parried his counter by landing a solid punch to his gut.

"96, kill her," Jashin announced, his quirk in full effect. Kimiko cried out as she was suddenly thrown backwards by a wave of water, her back cracking painfully against the cement.

Her body shook as she tried to stand, narrowly missing a deadly shot to the head. The fight continued for what felt like hours.

Kimiko was dripping sweat as she used the blood seeping out of her many wounds to form a sword, bracing for another onslaught of attacks.

96 didn't look much better as he struggled to stay standing. Kimiko hadn't managed to scratch him with her blade, but had landed punches and kicks.

Charging at the blue haired boy, Kimiko swung her sword from her hip up in a high arc. 96 dodged, pressing his hands onto her shoulders and launching himself over to land behind her.

A grin spread across Jashin's face as he prepared himself for 96's final move, the one that would finish off his failed project, the one with no obedience.

As Kimiko finished her swing, time slowed as she pivoted and came around just in time to slice through a orb of water. Her sword length sliced neatly through the water, grazing 96's chest.

Backing away, 96 gasped as he looked down at the wound. Kimiko's eyes widened as she stared at the long cut. There was no blood, no sign other than the open skin that there had been a cut.

96 stared at his chest, confusion showing in his wide eyes. "What, what's wrong with me?" he asked, his voice wavering.

Kimiko heard Jashin sigh as he began moving towards them, she quickly turned to face him with what energy she had left.

Her fight with 96 had gone on far too long and she barely had the energy to keep her eyes open and arms at the ready.

Jashin approached 96, a dismissive look on his face. "Jashin, I- what's wrong with me?" the boy called out to his leader.

"You were a good puppet, but I can't use you when you become self-aware," he said, resting a hand on 96's shoulder. "Release."

As Jashin uttered that last command, the pale boy's face became white, his eyes glazed over and his body collapsed onto the floor.

Kimiko fought against her instinct to run and check on the blue haired boy, instead choosing to stay facing Jashin, sending him a glare as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"Oh don't look at me like that 97, he had been dead for months," he said matter of factly, "he couldn't survive the experiments my friends put him through."

Her blood ran cold, 'dead? Jashin was using his body like a puppeteer,' she tried to make sense of what she was hearing.

96 had been alive all of this time, she had left him with that monster to be tortured and killed. Her breath was coming out in pants now as she fought for control against her rage.

Preparing herself to attack, Kimiko's muscles tensed, crying out in protest from the continued movement. Launching herself at Jashin, she felt tears pricking her eyes, '96, I'm so sorry.'

"You monster!" she screeched as she attacked. "Oh please, my partnership with the League of Villains was short lived once you and that boy rejected them," he said

Jashin dodged her sword, moving to the side as his grin widened, "I needed a new partner, one with an interest in science." Just as Kimiko moved to attack again, she felt a prick against her neck.

Reaching up, she pulled a small dart out, her vision becoming hazy. "What the fuuckk" she slurred before collapsing onto the ground.

Voices growing hazy as she slipped unconscious.

"So, this is our replacement for 96?" called out a deep voice, Jashin nodded eagerly. "Just be sure not to kill this one, 97 has a healing quirk as well as my created blood quirk."

The other man nodded, picking up the unconscious girl and slinging her over his shoulder, he nodded to Jashin as he walked out the building towards a black SUV.

Destination set: Shie Hassaikai headquarters.

Kimiko groaned as she opened her eyes, the guards not waiting for her to fully gain consciousness before yanking her off of the floor and dragging her into the hallway.

It had been this way for a few months, how many exactly she couldn't say. She was often sedated before going through experiments.

Once her new tormentor, Overhaul, was finished for the day, when exhaustion and pain were at their peak, she would use her healing quirk on a little girl.

The girl was named Eri, and Kimiko quickly became protective of her, doing her best to reassure her that the heroes would save them.

"Eri, when you get out of here, you have to find a hero," she would always say. Though the little girl would always protest that she wouldn't leave Kimiko behind, the blonde girl knew that was their best option.

After months of burning the guards' patterns into her mind, it was time. During a healing session for Eri, Kimiko distracted the guards by collapsing and knocking everything she could find over in the process.

Eri ran out the door and into the hallway before the guards could stop her. Kimiko used a syringe that she had stolen to cut her palm, creating a lasso to keep the guards from catching the girl.

The exhaustion from testing and healing was taking a toll on her as she fought against the guards, buying Eri as much time as possible.

As she struggled to hold them back, her eyes widened when a familiar frame stood in the doorway. Overhaul was back early from his meetings, she trembled as he walked towards her.

"Why do you cause such problems?" he asked in a deadly calm voice. Kimiko growled at him, her glare steady as he kneeled in front of her.

"Don't go making me angry, rat, you're only here because of your quirk." And with that, he laid his hand on the blood rope restraining the guards, destroying it, before adding, "I'll deal with you later," as he walked out the door.