From the Ground Up: Kacchako

Chapter 25: I wander

Fast forward 8 years; get ready y'all...

Katsuki gripped the pillow so tight over his head he heard the material straining against his fingers.
The pounding on his door didn't stop.
With a vicious grunt he tossed the pillow to the floor and snatched his phone off his beside table, checking the time.
1:36 am
A flinch rocked his body as the pounding started again. Fighting the rage coursing through him he got up and padded to the door, opening it up with considerable force even with the chain-lock holding it mostly shut. The person he saw on the other side had his very bones freezing.
"What- I don't understand, what are you-"

She slumped against the door, her brown hair hiding most of her face. Only then did he realise she was holding her side, and that she was panting.
"Shit- Ochako!"
He flung open the door, catching her before her face could meet the floor. He looked down the hallway before dragging her inside and quietly closing the door. Propping her up on the kitchen bench he quickly looked her over. His eyes burned into a spot on her stomach- to the side; the place she was holding. He held the side of her face in his palm and made her look at him. Her pupils were big- too big, and her mouth slightly hung open. And she was wet all over, like she'd just been walking through rain. But it hasn't rained in weeks...
"What happened to you? Tell me, now"
Her head barely shook once.
"I can't- I-"
She broke off in a hiss and clenched her side again, and he finally took in what she was wearing.
"Scrubs? Nurse scrubs? Why are you wearing these?"
She shook her head and fell back against the kitchen bench, weakly yanking up her shirt for him to see. Her fingers slipped and her hand fell down. He swore colourfully at what he saw.

Red, bleeding, raging holes right under her rib cage. Three, to be exact. It was like huge needles had been put into her, and then been savagely ripped out.
He didn't bother asking questions and got to work. An hour and a half later, he'd cleaned and stitched her up, as well as feeding her pain killers and energy-replacers. When she was even a little better, he sat her down in the lounge room for a good questioning. When she didn't say anything, he leaned forward.
"I don't see you in a year, and you show up on my door like this? Bleeding, disoriented, and gasping for air at 1:30 in the morning? You've gotta explain this to me, Ochako. I need more than silence"

She swallowed and pushed back her hair, unwashed and unbrushed. When she spoke her voice was dry and harsh. Like she hadn't spoken in months.
"After um- after we split ways I- I tried to cut off my hero work. Stop it all. I made it about a month before I noticed I was being watched and, about a few days after that when I realised people were following me"
He cursed and leaned back, clenching his jaw.
"Jesus Ochako! Why didn't you tell me? I could've-"
"You could've what? Last time I saw you, you were broken and bleeding on a pavement, barely able to breath-"
"Yeah, yeah I was. And you left me, I woke up alone, in a hospital with doctors and nurses and whoever else cared. But not you. No, no you couldn't be there for me, could you? Not when-"
"I couldn't let you keep throwing yourself into danger for me, Katsuki, I had to leave. It was the only way to stop you from being so- so reckless-"
He stood up in a quick motion.
"There's no way you can say that, not to my face. How could I have not? I had to keep you safe, especially when you were-"
She stood up too, meeting him for every blow. Her legs shivered and buckled with the effort.
"I know what I was, Katsuki, don't think I could ever forget"

They both fell silent, not even being able to handle taking this conversation further. Those scars weren't healed yet, not even close. So he changed to subject to the matter at hand.
"Tell me what happened to you, and why you came to me for help"
She sighed and sat down, a hand still on her side.
"After I started noticing those people following me, I tried to reach out to everyone- anyone, but before I could get ahold of them something happened"
"Something?"
"One night I went to sleep in my own bed, in the morning I woke up somewhere cold and- and cruel. I couldn't- I couldn't see anything or speak or even- even move"
He chose his next words carefully, because wherever she had been, it was somewhere he was likely to blow to Smithereens.
"How long were you in there? What did they do to you?"
She clenched and unclenched her hands.
"There was something strapped to my jaw, holding a tube in place that went down my throat. I think- I think I was in water, completely encased in it."
Puzzle pieces snapped into place inside his head. If she was trapped in a watery prison, her quirk wouldn't apply. She'd be completely trapped. He reached for her forearm, and ran his fingers up and down her skin. It was almost slick, and deep bruising marked her veins. She's been in water for a very long time, long enough to almost damage her skin.
"Those holes in your side- they were tubes. Probably taking a lot of blood and other fluids, and keeping you in water- for however long- no wonder you can barely hold yourself up."

She didn't take her arm away from him, if only too weak to pull away rather than let him keep holding her.
"I could barely move but- I saw a few things. Doctors- maybe. I don't know. I met slipping in and out of dreams, ones I never remembered. I saw someone come close to me- though. They put their hand on the glass and I tried to reach out to them...But then the glass shattered, and I fell out with the water."
Her hands strayed to her now bandaged side, remembering what happened.
"Those- things were ripped out of me, along with a few smaller ones in my arm. Whoever saved me they- they shoved the clothes onto me and practically dragged me out of there. All I remember is lights, so many lights, and sirens. A lot of them. I couldn't stand up so they carried me. And then- and then I think I passed out. When I woke up I was laying outside your door"
He ran his hands down his face and sighed, rubbing his temples.
"How long have I been gone?"
She asked, her voice barely a squeak. He sighed again.
"The police have um- they've been asking for my help these past few months. They said that there's an open investigation on heroes going missing. Not active ones, the older ones the guys that have all retired or gone off the grid. I've just been so busy with other work I just- I couldn't focus on it. Ochako if I had known you were in danger like that I-"
He cut off at the sight of tears streaming down her face, and moved closer to take her hand.
"Katsuki I just- I don't know how long I was in there...I feel so weak I- something's missing. They took something from me I- I've missed so much. I don't know what happened to me in there and I don't know what's happened out here-"
He gently shushed her and pulled her into his arms as she sobbed, weakly clenching his shirt.
"I'm so sorry Katsuki- I never should have left-"
"No. I shouldn't have let you leave. I swear, Ochako, I'll find them. I'll track them down and make them pay for this. No one- no one does this to someone. I'll find them, I swear"
She was so weak in his arms, so thin and frail.
A year, she's been- two months before she was taken by those bastards. Ten months in that prison.
Rage boiled through him like wildfire. And the only thing he could do to keep from going out himself and finding those sadists was to hold her. To offer safety and warmth and whatever else she might need.
"You're staying with me, Ochako. I'll get a friend to bring your old things here, but you're staying with me"
She could barely nod, and just leaned into him. Letting him hold her, even as the tears stopped and darkness rose to claim her, slipping her into much needed sleep. He decided that the next day he was heading right to those detectives and police officers and offering all the help he could. If these people took her from right under his nose- god, he didn't even notice she'd been taken...he just thought she'd left and started over somewhere else. Not this...
He pushed the thought away and scooped her into his arms, moving into his bedroom and laying her down on the mattress. Once he was sure she was okay, he settled down on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a good while, listening to the sound of her breathing.