Bleeding Heart

XIX

Eri was returned, Kimiko felt her heart break at the fact that she hadn't even managed to save one girl. 'Gods, I'm pathetic,' she thought sullenly.

She could hear Eri's screams as she went through her own set of torture for disobeying Overhaul. Kimiko's heart ached, 'maybe help really won't come.'

The blonde girl had endured plenty of punishments for helping Eri escape, though none as painful as being unable to see the younger girl.

Kimiko had lost count of how many times they had bled her dry and injected chemicals into her bloodstream. She could tell they were making progress, Eri's quirk, whatever it was, seemed to have a similar effect to Aizawa's erasure.

It was beginning to take longer for Kimiko's quirks to come back after the injections, until one day, they didn't.

The blonde girl laid there, cuts all over her abdomen and arms as she tried desperately to create something, anything.

But she couldn't. She felt the familiar tug in her stomach as though her body remembered how to use her given quirk, but was blocked by an unknown source.

She panted heavily, as panic rose in her chest. If they've completed it, then what will happen to her? They won't need her anymore.

Overhaul was loading the rest of the serums into his bag, his eyebrows scrunched in slight distress. He seemed content to ignore Kimiko for the time being as she tried to stay silent.

The masked man began to walk out the door before stopping, looking at the guard he said, "leave her there on the table," his voice calm, "she'll bleed out soon and the heroes should see one of their own like this," he said as the guards followed him out the door.

Kimiko could hear distant crashes and yelling, she briefly wondered what was going on before the pain in her stomach and arms outweighed her curiosity.

With a huff she relaxed back onto the examination table. Staring at the ceiling as she tried to breathe evenly, the blood just wouldn't stop.

'I wonder if this really is it,' she thought to herself. Another crash in the distance, this time much closer, 'HEROES' her eyes widened as she finally realized what Overhaul had said.

Kimiko opened her mouth to call out, her throat squeezing from the pain. Taking a huge gulp of air, she screamed "HELP ME!" Desperation in every yell as she felt her adrenaline coarse through her body.

'Please, somebody' her throat hurt from yelling, and she was close to giving up when she heard footsteps and muffled voices approaching the doorway.

To her shock, a large muscular man entered, followed by a tall blonde man that was tied up. She recognized them somewhat, they were members of the Shie Hassaikai.

Her heart fell when she saw a young blonde man carrying a familiar sight of red hair. Kirishima was terribly injured, her breath hitched as he seemed to be unconscious.

Just who is the guy carrying him and why was he with two Shie Hassaikai members?

"Kirishima!" she called out weakly, surprise was evident on everyone's face as they definitely had noticed the girl bleeding out on a table in the corner of the room. Arms and legs still cuffed to the corners.

The disheveled blonde man holding onto Kirishima gaped at the girl, "who are you?!" he asked.

Kimiko scoffed, "I'm Kimiko Sawamura, U.A High class 1-A," she grimaced as she continued, "now who are you and why do you have Kirishima."

Kimiko glared at the man. She had tried her best over the last couple of months to replicate Bakugou's glare to keep herself from looking as hopeless as she often felt.

"Sawamura-chan!" The man now had a huge smile on his face, "Eraserhead sure will be happy to see you!"

Tears threatened to spill, 'is she really being rescued?' It felt like a dream. "Can you uncuff me please? I need bandages or I won't be seeing Aizawa-sensei," she said calmly.

"Of course!" the hero said, gently placing Kirishima on the spare bed in the room as he grabbed some bandages, spotting the key hanging by the cupboards, he snagged it with a grin.

Once she was bandaged and free from the restraints, Kimiko rubbed her wrists before awkwardly sliding off the table.

The cold floor felt foreign to her bare feet as she wobbled towards Kirishima. The hero, now known to her as Fatgum, was bandaging the boy.

Reaching out cautiously, Kimiko placed her hand on his forehead, her heart squeezed at the joy and pain she was simultaneously feeling.

Relaxing onto the ground beside the bed, she closed her eyes, she wasn't going to die here. She sat in silence, in too much pain to converse with Fatgum, who thankfully was too busy arguing with the Shie Hassaikai men.

Her head was spinning. Placing a hand on her stomach she grimaced as the feeling of bleeding through bandages. Her eyes were heavy, and the ringing in her ears was overpowering.

She could hear voices in the distance, and what sounded like footsteps. Fatgum called out to her as she slumped and let the darkness take her.

Kimiko wasn't sure she wanted to wake up and open her eyes. There was so much noise around her, people were yelling and laughing.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she cracked an eye open. She was met with a bright light and white walls, 'the hospital again?' she questioned herself.

Her curiosity got the better of her as she opened both eyes and silently looked around the room. Aizawa was sleeping on a chair beside her in his usual yellow sleeping bag.

'Where is all the noise coming from?' her head was pounding. Looking around more, she finally saw it, spiky blonde hair being held back by Ashido and Sero as he yelled at a scared Kaminari.

Kimiko still couldn't process what was being said, but her heart swelled at the sight of her friends. Opening her mouth, she tried to think of something clever to say, but all that came out was a hoarse and broken "hey."

The noise stopped as everyone froze, whipping their heads to look at her. She forced her mouth to move in what she hoped was a smile. 'Everything hurtsssss'

Bakugou was beside her in no time. Sitting straight in the chair opposite to Aizawa, his eyes scanning her face as he fought the urge to tackle her in a hug.

Before he could even think of what to say, Ashido and Kaminari were leaning over him to hug her. Crying as they rambled about how much they missed her and how mean Bakugou has been without her there.

Clenching his fist, Bakugou was about to yell at them for invading his space and crying everywhere when he heard it, the sound he missed more than anything.

Kimiko was laughing, her eyes were scrunched in joy as tears fell down her cheeks. "I missed you all so much," she said.

Her sparkling blue eyes looked directly at Bakugou as she spoke, and he felt his heart leap. Reaching out, he used his thumb to wipe a tear from her cheeks, fighting the blush that threatened his face.

And while the others were all looking at Kimiko, laughing and smiling, Bakugou felt his lips tug upwards. Kimiko's eyes widened at the scene in front of her. She had seen him smirk, of course, and even small smiles, but nothing compared to this.

He was simply beautiful, she felt a blush across her cheeks. Returning his smile, she basked in this moment, a reunion with friends, Aizawa asleep next to her.

Despite the pain in her body, and the ache she felt in her chest over 96, and her inability to use her quirk last she tried, her heart felt light.

'I'm home'