Sanctuary (Karma Akabane x OC)

A Pressing Matter

"Oh come on, there's gotta be something-"

A series of knocks could be heard on the door, interrupting Kaede's interrogation, before the handle opened, revealing a man in a white coat holding a clipboard.

"Sorry, but it's time for patient, Sakame Katsuna, to have her test now that she's woken up," the doctor announced, gesturing for the room to be cleared.

"There's something very important we must discuss about your future."

~~~~~

"While you were out, we performed a few x-rays to determine the extent your injuries," the doctor explained, his voice brimming with seriousness.

Katsuna bit her lip in quiet anticipation, anxious to hear the test's results.

"You had suffered from several rips in your Achilles tendon and Soleus muscle in both calves, not to mention a large tear in your left Gastrocnemius muscle," the doctor began, flicking his eyes from the clipboard to the patient as he referred to his notes carefully.

"The results also showed that due to cracking 3 of your ribs, you had managed to puncture a hole in your lungs, which we had to take you to immediate surgery for."

He peered down through his glasses at the junior high school student wrapped in bandages.

"You're lucky to be alive."

The gravity of his words seemed to take a great effect in Katsuna as she redirected her look down towards her fumbling plastered hands.

Lucky.. huh..

"I've come to understand, from the eye-witness accounts, that you seemed to go into some sort of overdrive towards the end of the fight," he remarked in a questioning tone.

"Do you remember much of what happened?"

Katsuna stared down hard at her shaking fingers, searching her mind rigorously for details about the events of the incident. Like sparks of light, blips of images came flashing back, some in focused and some not.

Takaoka's crooked grin

An explosion of yellow and orange.

A crippling sense of hope.

A burning sense of killing intent.

Her knife scraping against the bristle hairs of an unkempt beard.

A familiar voice.

"I can't recall much that could help in this case.." Katsuna murmured faintly, subconsciously the material wrapped around her torso.

"Only that, I remember using the first and second Centralisation at some point, though the latter is completely blurred."

"You must had been running on a lot of adrenaline so it's only to be expected," the doctor responded, nodding understandably.

"I do believe your teacher, Mr Karasuma, explained to me about the science behind that manoeuvre earlier," he continued, catching Katsuna's interest.

"In normal context, usually, a person's body has limiters to keep them from using more than 80% of their power, which varies depending on the size, gender and age of that individual."

"However, when someone faces a crisis situation, for instance a mother lifting a car off of their baby, it's possible for those limiters to come off, allowing them to use 100% of their power."