Controlee

54. Fight for I-Island

Rule 79: Sometimes people get hurt, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Otsuka had the strangest feeling like she actually might vaguely know where she was going. The vents were filled to the brim with twists and turns but Otsuka was too scared to stop. Every corner she took was on a whim but it felt right. A good whim. Then she was pushing against a dead end and tumbling into open air.

Freedom.

Her quirk was crackling under her skin as she darted behind a tree, ready and raring to attack the villain who'd followed her all the way through the vents. Then TT's head popped out.

Otsuka rubbed her eyes, straining them in the dark to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Wishful thinking could be cruel like that.

"Shit," he muttered.

Yeah, no, that was definitely TT.

"Emi?" he called out, careful with his volume. "Emiko?"

"What the hell is going on?" Otsuka was sick and tired of everything going wrong. She wanted one day— just one simple day— where she could be a normal teenager, with normal teenage thoughts rather than an unnecessary mixture of secrets and anxieties. Was that really so much to ask?

TT clambered out of the vent in the only way possible— ungracefully. Even as he came towards her, he scanned their surroundings and Otsuka was harshly reminded she'd been so focused on what was behind her that she hadn't so much as considered checking for danger on front of her. "I'm not completely sure."

Otsuka stepped back, holding up a hand before he could get too close. He stopped, still a few steps away. "You're not sure?"

"My- The villain really in charge of me still doesn't trust me. He said I was here to make sure you were safe, he failed to mention the island would be under attack at the time. I'm so sorry."

A vacation. It was meant to be a vacation. She was meant to be having a break. She was meant to be relaxing. She was meant to be having fun. Why? What did she do? Was there something so intrinsically wrong with her that she wasn't allowed to just be a normal kid for a few days? "Why are-" Otsuka took a shaky breath. She didn't have time for this. "Why are you here? When did- The vents- Where did you-" She left Aizawa and Yamada back there and Aizawa was bleeding. Yamada has smiled at her to keep her calm while his husband was being beaten right next to him.

"Emiko, take a breath." TT was holding her arms, holding her up when her knees felt ready to give in. He manoeuvred them both so they were sitting on the cold grass, rubbing his hands over her bare skin to keep her warm. "You're ok, I've got you."

She shook her head, air stuttering in and out of her lungs. Yamada had to know it was her fault, he knew that was her phone Aizawa got caught with, but he'd smiled anyway.

"Eraser was fine, the guy's an underground pro he can handle some dumb thug roughing him up a bit."

Right. Yeah, yes, of course that was true. Still. He got hurt because he was hiding her, protecting her.

"You're ok."

Otsuka grabbed his hands, squeezing hard enough to make her knuckles ache. He squeezed back just as hard, pulling her back from the brink of her panic. She leaned forwards, resting her head against his chest and just breathing. He'd let her know if they needed to move, if this space wasn't safe; he'd keep the watch while she gathered herself together.

He curled an arm around her back, the other smoothing over her curls— always careful not to catch his fingers. Otsuka breathed.

This was bad. Objectively speaking, this situation was bad. But she'd handled the USJ, she'd handled her internship, she could handle this.