A Series Of Incidents (Katsuki Bakugou x reader)

[THIRTY SEVEN]

WARNING!! May be triggering

"You want to see Fatima Rajab?" the doctor in charge of her questions, when we reach the facility. "Are you sure? She only came back to us a couple of days ago, and... well, she's had a bit of a spike in her trauma."

"We'd like to speak to her about what happened in Iraq," I say carefully.

"We have clearance," Katsuki adds, "the Japanese government has ordered us to find out if she's threatening someone. So let us the fuck in."

The doctor pauses, and then glances away. "If you talk to her, you talk to her under my supervision."

"Done." I state, before Katsuki can get a word in edgeways.

-----

The first noticeable thing about Fatima Rajab is the way she hunches into herself. Almost in a protective way, like curling into her shell. She seems upset, broken and scared of herself; scared of the world.

"I was..." her voice is soft, like her sister's, "a translator. I was taken from my post to join our Iraqi counterparts... in Baghdad... to a small rural village. Outside Kurdistan. They were the... artillery."

Out of reflex, my hand crawls over to Katsuki's and takes hold of it. When Fatima lets out a small sob, the doctor steps in, "You don't have to do this, Fatima."

She holds up a hand, signalling that she can go on, and wipes her face shakily before continuing. "Observe. Report back. That was all we had to do. Th-They... they were a good bunch. Very young and... loyal. Reliable." She stutters. "A-And I was with them... when it...when it all went wrong."

She takes another break, breathing heavily, and allowing her hands to clench at the fabric of her trousers.

"We'd been trapped...behind enemy lines. The Americans." She hiccups, "And... we were hunkered down... in a big house... that had once belonged to some rich British diplomats. It was... hopeless... he sergeant came... he told us... to prepare a white flag... destroy all documents... and... and then we went out." Her eyes fill with tears. "Honourable surrender. Conventions of war...but not this time. Not this time.

"The leader... he... took us all to the garden. And he stood us in front of the wall. And then he..." she rocks herself, and descends into a violent sobbing fit.

There's a heavy pause, and everyone knows what happened; a massacre.

"I-I somehow managed to escape." She continues, still shaken, "And I all remember... are the daffodils. The garden... had a special section for daffodils, and I thought... I thought I could hide in the field!" she chokes out, rocking herself.

"T-The bullet... didn't kill me. I don't know why not." She whispers, referring to the shot to her head. "An Iraqi woman found me. And... and I was... I was the only one left. She nursed me... back to health."

"Did you know who the person in charge was?" Katsuki asks carefully, as I can't find the emotional capacity to speak.

"It was... the umm, 4th division of the field artillery. I never knew his name." She answers softly.

"But you saw him again?" Katsuki questions, letting me grip his hand as hard as I want.

"Yes. Five days ago. He was coming out of a library." She says bitterly.