Controlee

27. Froze

Rule 46: Every action— good or no— has consequences.

Watching the woman who gave birth to her take small specks of glass out of the minor lacerations along her arm, Otsuka reminded herself she had never been that lucky.

"So what happened exactly?" Best Jeanist asked her, frowning at her injuries. They stung, but she thought she was doing pretty good holding still despite the pain— it was nothing compared to the kind of pain her quirk could cause her.

"I was on my way back and I was a bit lost so I was using my phone as a map," she explained, deflating a little at the memory of finding the melted slab of glass and circuits. She probably just cost Nezu a lot of money. "I guess I took a wrong turn or something even with the help because I ended up in that alley."

She tried to remember exactly what happened moment by moment, only making sure to switch Bakugou and TT. It was bound to get iffy later but for now it wasn't so bad. It was lucky for them that 'Will' was just as well trained in the medical field as Dr Ogawa because it meant that Bakugou could be right next to her as he was being treated so he could hear what she was saying, hopefully giving him the chance to step in and give her a hand— if he decided to bother, that was.

"Edgeshot likes to use surprise attacks in training so I reacted pretty quickly when I saw a shadow behind me. I dodged the first punch and we were fighting for a bit and um-"

Bakugou turned away slightly as she raised a hand to her throat, the start of the bruising around it had been pretty well hidden in the dark but now it was clear as day. He hissed as the man who introduced himself as 'Will' put gentle pressure on his rib.

"I don't think it's broken," the man assured him, his voice rumbly and low.

"Why didn't you use your quirk?" Best Jeanist interrupted the explanation.

Otsuka sighed, her free arm ghosting along the smooth material over her leg. She could feel the presence of her quirk-inhibitor against her thigh, reminding her she was safe. "It sounds stupid but I really don't like using it on people, and um, I can't- I mean I can't keep shields up safely for very long." Her face turned to a light shade of pink as the hero continued to gaze intimidatingly at her— it was a far cry from his kindness earlier. She knew it was weird, ok? She knew even civilians often ended up using the quirks when they felt threatened if only by accident. But it was different for her. "I was about to use it when Bakugou appeared but, well..."

"He appeared," the hero finished. Otsuka nodded, grateful that he could tell what she meant.

"I think when Bakugou appeared the villain decided it wasn't really worth it. He used his quirk to push us back but I used a small shield around us both before he could and then you came and he ran away." Otsuka was glad that was over. "Bakugou didn't even need to use his quirk," she added, knowing the law could get him in trouble for using his quirk in a fight without a license. She was glad she could get most of the explanation out so quickly, her throat was steadily growing more rough— probably from all the choking— and it was hard to fight back small coughs after every few words.

Best Jeanist nodded, his expression worryingly guarded as he continued to watch both teens with eagle eyes. He definitely didn't believe them. Otsuka flinched for the first time and violently too, her hand flying up to snatch a small torch from Dr Ogawa's hand. She raised her hands, palms flat to him, the torch tucked under her thumb. "Sorry, sorry, are you alright?" Almost before the words had finished flying out, Otsuka was doubled over on her seat, coughing like she couldn't quite breathe; it felt like somebody was pouring glass shards down her throat.

"I'm fine," Doctor Ogawa assured, rubbing Otsuka's back with one hand while gently taking the torch back with the other.

"Sorry," Otsuka repeated, once breathing felt less like a dream from long ago. "I guess I'm a little jumpy."