A Means to an End | Katsuki Bakugou x Male Reader

Chapter 13

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The cold collar chafed (M/N)'s neck and made the shivering even harder to control. At least he was no longer in the claustrophobic tube, while the machines clicked and whirred around him, listening to a disembodied voice telling him to hold still while he tried to convince himself he could still breathe. Even now, when he had been assured there would be no permanent damage, he hungered for air.

The medical team's main concerns - damage to (M/N)'s spinal cord, airway, veins, and arteries - had been diminished. Bruising, hoarseness, the sore larynx - nothing to be worried about. It would be fine. The Mockingjay would not lose his voice. Where, (M/N) wanted to ask, was the doctor who determined if he was losing his mind? Only he wasn't supposed to talk right now. He couldn't even thank Mashirao when he came in to check on him. To look (M/N) over and say he had seen a lot worse injuries among the soldiers when they taught choke holds in training.

It was Mashirao who knocked Katsuki out before any permanent damage could be done. (M/N) knew Shota would have come to his defence if he hadn't been utterly unprepared. To catch both Shota and (M/N) off guard was a rare thing. But they had been so consumed with saving Katsuki, so tortured by having him in the Capitol's hands, that the elation at having him back blinded them. If (M/N) had had a private reunion with Katsuki, he would have killed him. Now that he was deranged.

No, not deranged, (M/N) reminded himself. Hijacked. That was the word he heard passed between Kan and Shota as he was wheeled past them in the hallway. Hijacked. He didn't know what this meant.

Eri, who appeared moments after the attack and had stayed as close to (M/N) as possible ever since, spread another blanket over him. "I think they'll take the collar off soon, (M/N). You won't be so cold then." His mother, who was assisting in a complicated surgery, still had not been informed of Katsuki's assault. Eri took one of his hands, which was clutched in a fist, and massaged it until it opened and blood began to flow through his fingers again. The doctors showed up, removed the collar and gave (M/N) a shot of something for pain and swelling. He laid, as instructed, with his head still, not aggravating the injuries to his neck.

Kan, Shota and Tenya had been waiting in the hall for the doctors to give them clearance to see him. (M/N) didn't know if they had told Shoto, but since he wasn't there, probably not. Kan ushered the doctors out and tried to order Eri to go as well, but she said, "No. If you force me to leave, I'll go directly to surgery and tell my mother everything that's happened. And I warn you, she doesn't think much of a Gamemaker calling the shots on (M/N)'s life. Especially when you've taken such poor care of him."

Kan looked offended, but Shota chuckled. "I'd let it go, Kan," he said. Eri stayed.

"So, (M/N), Katsuki's condition has come as a shock to all of us," Kan said. "We couldn't help but notice his deterioration in the last two interviews. Obviously, he'd been abused, and we put his psychological state down to that. Now we believe something more was going on. That the Capitol has been subjecting him to a rather uncommon technique known as hijacking. Tenya?"

"I'm sorry," Tenya said. "But I can't tell you all the specifics of it, (M/N). The Capitol's very secretive about this form of torture, and I believe the results are inconsistent. This we do know. It's a type of fear conditioning. The term hijack comes from an old word that means 'to capture', or even better, 'seize'. We believe it was chosen because the technique involves the use of tracker jacker venom, and the jack suggested hijack. You were stung in your first Hunger Games, so unlike most of us, you have first-hand knowledge of the effects of the venom."

Terror. Hallucinations. Nightmarish visions of losing those he loved. Because the venom targeted the part of the brain that housed fear.

"I'm sure you remember how frightening it was. Did you also suffer mental confusion from the aftermath?" Tenya asked. "A sense of being unable to judge what was true and what was false? Most people who have been stung and lived to tell about it report something of the kind."