#3E-Hospitality | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

whumpmatsus · 3 years ago

Note

3e w/ Choromatsu?

Ultimate Whump Writing Meme! / ACCEPTING!

3. Acute non-infectious conditions

E: Appendicitis

HECK YEAH this got......... way too long lmao

so story time, in my senior year of high school I had to have surgery to have my gallbladder taken out, and when I went to the hospital that morning, they actually thought it might be appendicitis

so some of Choro's pain here is based on what my pain was like that morning because it was my worst most undeniable 'attack', it was that squeezing pain that came from my side all the way around to my back and kept me up most of the night before, I hadn't got much sleep because of the pain

but I remember trying to sleep a little at the hospital; shortly after I got there they'd given me some medicine to drink and then like ten minutes later I threw up, and not long after that they took me to get a scan, and after I got back from that and we were waiting for the results I think I slept a little bit

so obviously appendicitis and gallbladder disease are different things, but since my pain was initially mistaken for appendicitis, I drew on my memories of that a bit to describe Choro's pain XD

ANYWAYS STORY TIME'S OVER, HERE'S SOME SOKUDO FOR YOUR SOUL 💚❤️

It’s not unusual for Choromatsu to wake up not feeling particularly hungry. For whatever reason, it’s only once he starts eating that his hunger kicks in.

What is unusual, however, is when he wakes up feeling full-on nauseous.

When his stomach hurts as soon as he opens his eyes in the morning, it makes him think that maybe he’s getting sick. It can’t be that he overate the previous night, because otherwise it would have been bothering him while he was trying to sleep. It could be food poisoning that just took a while to manifest, or it could be the start of the stomach flu.

Whatever it is, it’s horrible. The sensation is just an immense amount of achy discomfort coupled with a distinct nausea. It makes him wince as soon as he sits up, sliding an arm around his middle. “Shit,” he whines under his breath, rubbing lightly in an attempt to ease the pain. He’s got work today; he can’t be getting distracted by this while he’s trying to do stuff.

Maybe he should call off… he’s never done that, though, and he doesn’t really want to. What kind of employee decides not to go to work because their tummy is a little upset?

It’s about the time they all typically wake up nowadays, so his movement and noise rouse his older brother next to him. “Mmm, Choromatsu…?” Osomatsu shifts around before stretching his arms. “Morning…” He yawns and sits up, then seems to take stock of the position his little brother is in.

“Hey, are you okay?” He sets a hand on Choromatsu’s shoulder. “You got a stomachache or something? No worries, I’ll grab the newspaper and walk you to the bathroom,” he jokes, brushing a finger under his nose.

Choromatsu groans. “That’s not funny, Osomatsu. I feel like I’m gonna be sick.”

Those words get the attention of any of the brothers, if only because at least one of them has puked in the futon before and it’s a pain to clean up. Osomatsu is out of bed in an instant, crouching as he tries to sling Choromatsu’s arm around his shoulders. “Okay, let’s get you to the bathroom then.”

“Ow!” Choromatsu hisses when he stands up. The discomfort is a lot worse now that he’s straightened up, to the point where he wants to crumple back into the futon. “Sh-shit… Osomatsu…”

Any other time he’d be embarrassed and unwilling to be so vulnerable in front of any of his brothers, but it’s so painful, it’s not like he can hide it. “It really hurts…”

Osomatsu frowns, careful to support Choromatsu as he walks them both out of the room down the hall. “Does it still feel like you’re gonna be sick? If it’s nausea and it just got really bad when you got up, you probably would have hurled as soon as you got up. It looks more like you’ve got a side stitch.”

He groans, leaning against Osomatsu. “L… like a pulled muscle? But I wasn’t exercising, I was sleeping.” That’s kind of how it feels, though. That kind of agonizing ache in his abdomen that hurts with every move.

“Well, no, but maybe you moved wrong. Sometimes that happens to me, I wake up and I know I pulled a muscle by moving around weird in my sleep.” Osomatsu gives him a careful pat on the back. “Here, let’s sit down in the bathroom. Sometimes it helps if you breathe really deep and slow. I can try rubbing it, if you want? When I get one of those, that makes it feel better.”

Choromatsu’s mind is still a little dazed while Osomatsu guides him into the bathroom and into a sitting position on the toilet. “Maybe… I-I only have a few minutes to sort this out, Osomatsu. I have to be at work in, like, half an hour.”

The scoff Osomatsu gives as he gently presses his hand against his brother’s stomach is dismissive at best. “Listen, I know you want senpai to notice you, but if you don’t feel well, you should stay home and rest. If you wake up feeling like crap, you shouldn’t be forcing yourself to go into work.”

“Of course you’d say that,” Choromatsu mutters. “You’re allergic to work. You touch the job adverts in the newspaper and practically break out in hives.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean you need to go full workaholic now that you’ve got a job.” Osomatsu’s fingertips move around a little, trying to rub out the muscle cramp they’re both convinced he’s got. “Even though I know this is stupid… I kind of worry about you, Choro. You worked through a pretty nasty cold a couple months ago and your cough took forever to go away. You might’ve felt better sooner if you’d taken a few days off when it was really bad. You gotta take care of yourself, man.”

The way he says it makes Choromatsu feel a little guilty. Despite trying very hard not to make anyone concerned about him, it seems he’s done the exact opposite. If Osomatsu remembers specific incidents where Choromatsu didn’t take the best care of himself while he wasn’t feeling well, maybe he has a point.

He quietly shifts Osomatsu’s hand, replacing it with his own. It doesn’t even feel like this is helping that much. “You don’t have to worry about me, nii-san,” he mumbles. “I appreciate it, but this time it’s not that serious. You’re probably right that I just slept funny. It doesn’t feel like I’m gonna be sick anymore, and I’m sure once I start moving this’ll work itself out. I can’t skip work just because I have a little stomachache.”

When he lets his hand up, he cringes and wants to grab his stomach immediately. God, it just hurts so bad. “Aaah… you should go back to bed and get some more sleep. I’m just gonna… brush my teeth, wash my face, get dressed… have a couple bites of toast and head to work. If you really want, you can baby the hell out of me when I get home at 3 P.M. If you just let it go for now. Okay?”

“Geez. You’re making me sound like some overprotective mother hen. Or, y’know, you.” Osomatsu sighs and stretches his arms again. “Mmmm, I guess you’ve got a deal. But you better have your ass back here at 3 P.M. on the fucking dot. I’ll have the hot water bottle and some tea ready. You want mint or ginger?”

The idea of putting anything in his mouth sounds so gross right now. Choromatsu is half certain that if he tries to eat more than a bite or swallow more than a thimbleful, he’s going to be sick to his stomach. He knows Osomatsu will feel a little more ‘in control’ and won’t worry as much if he accepts a little bit of fussing, though. Besides, tea is good for when you’re not feeling well, right? “Probably mint.”

He gets to his feet and manages to stay there. Hopefully the pain will fade once he actually gets out the door and into the office. “Alright, I’m gonna see if I can’t get going. I’ll see you when I get home, okay?”

“Oooookay.” Osomatsu makes a show of throwing an audible kiss toward his brother. “Push that paper, Choromacchan!”

He grumbles a little, though he does lift his hand as if to ‘catch’ the kiss thrown his way. “And you behave yourself.”

A snort echoes behind him, and he can’t help but smile just a little as he shuffles off to start his day; violently hoping he feels better once he gets to work.

As it turns out, things go steadily downhill from the time Choromatsu gets to work, unfortunately.

The nausea returns in full force, and the pain in his stomach hasn’t gone away a bit. In fact, it’s worse now, and it’s migrated to be almost exclusively clamping down on his right side like a vise. The whole morning he’s felt like something is squeezing, squeezing, bearing down with the lower right side of his belly and around to his back with its claws. It’s the worst pain he’s ever felt, and makes it near impossible to focus on his work.

He toughs it out for about three and a half hours… then, five minutes before he’s scheduled to have his lunch break, the pain and nausea explode into something unbearable. Rather than risk having to empty his stomach in the trashcan, he runs to the bathroom and ends up vomiting what little he ate earlier.

Of course, his manager gently reprimands him for coming to work sick and tells him to go get some rest, to come back if he feels better tomorrow.

It’s humiliating, blowing chunks in the work restroom and then scurrying out of the office to go collapse into bed. How is he this sick already? Most of the time if he wakes up feeling not quite right, like he’s coming down with something, it doesn’t really hit him until the next day.

It takes all of his strength to get home. He just feels so horrible. By the time he pushes the front door open, his face is contorted in agony and he’s doubled over in pain, with his arm pressed into his stomach as if that’s going to help anything.

“Mom,” he calls weakly. “Mom? I-I need help getting into bed…”

Everything falls apart now that he’s home, and he crumples into a little heap near the doorway. Hot tears start to spill down his cheeks, stinging his eyes. “Mom? H… help…” he tries again. This time his voice cracks. The pain in his stomach has blossomed into something wicked, like there’s a white-hot fire poker in his side and he can’t get away from it. It feels like he’s sweating, the nausea won’t let up, and he’s actually a little dizzy.

He’s never felt this sick or been in so much pain in his life. Where’s his mother? Or his father? Where’s anyone?

After what feels like an eternity, a pair of hands are set gingerly on his shoulders, trying to prop his head up. “Choromatsu?? Holy shit, what the fuck happened?”

The tears are blurring his vision, but when he lifts his head briefly he sees, and he knows by the voice, Osomatsu. Okay, good. You’re safe now. Your big brother’s here. He’s gonna take care of you. He’ll help you into bed and get you some tea and put the hot water bottle on your stomach. He’ll make you feel better.

“I got s-sent home because I threw up at work,” he wails, throwing his head back against the wall. “My stomach h-hurts so bad… I think I’m really sick… I wanna go to bed. C-can you take me upstairs?”

“The fuck…?” He can hear the frown in Osomatsu’s voice even if he can’t fully make out the expression. “Choro, if your stomach hurts, you shouldn’t have your hand against it like tha―”

He tugs Choromatsu’s arm away from his middle, and all hell breaks loose. As soon as his arm is pulled back, it feels like his stomach is on fire, prompting a howl of pain along with a fresh round of tears. “FUCK!!”

As Choromatsu falls into a sobbing mess, Osomatsu almost jumps back, startled by the outburst. “Shit, Choro! D-does it hurt that bad? All I did was move your arm!”

Choromatsu is too preoccupied with the excruciating pain shooting through his stomach to answer, so Osomatsu pushes his bangs up and presses a palm to his little brother’s forehead. “Holy… Choromatsu, you’re burning up! Forget going to bed, I’m taking you to the hospital!”

Part of Choromatsu wants to argue, but he can’t deny that if he’s got a fever and pain this bad, getting medical help isn’t the worst idea. He wants this to be over,so that’s the fastest way to figure out what’s going on and how to make it stop.

So he doesn’t even try to argue. He just holds onto Osomatsu and cries, then curls up in a ball of anxious misery in the backseat as his big brother drives him to the hospital as fast as the speed limits let him.

It’s a miracle Osomatsu doesn’t complain about nobody helping his baby brother, because it takes a couple of hours for them to really get any kind of answer. By the time they do, it’s just past 3 P.M., when Choromatsu would normally be due home from work. It’s almost ironic.

They can both tell the staff are trying their best, though; it just takes time to get things done. Emergency room nurses are in and out of the bay for about half an hour ― drawing blood, getting history, giving Choromatsu an IV to manage his pain. The doctor comes in briefly to do an examination, consisting of putting pressure in different places on Choromatsu’s stomach, looking over the chart, and asking him questions about the pain. Then he disappears.

After Choromatsu has a little calmed down and the pain seems to be less intense, the main nurse who’s been dealing with them comes in to talk to them. She says the doctor handling his case thinks, based on the exam, that it might be appendicitis, so she’s here to cart him down for a CT scan to confirm.

Choromatsu is still anxious and in a lot of discomfort, and the look in his eyes when he asks if his brother can come with them kills Osomatsu. Out of all his little brothers, Choromatsu is usually the one who doesn’t readily admit to wanting Osomatsu’s company, and here he is, sick and in pain, begging for it. Even worse is the nurse’s apology that the CT scan room is a small area, so Osomatsu can’t really be in there.

Oh, Choromatsu plays valiant, forcing a smile onto his face and telling Osomatsu that he’ll be fine by himself, then. But the way he squeezes Osomatsu’s hand tightly before the nurse rolls him down the hallway in the wheelchair shows, at least to Osomatsu, that his little brother really, really wishes Osomatsu could come with him.

The scan doesn’t actually take too long, though. Choromatsu is back in his little bed within twenty minutes, with the nurse telling Osomatsu that Choromatsu did great, and that the doctor and CT tech will review the scans and get back to them as soon as possible. For the next couple of hours, Choromatsu should try to get some rest if he can.

Those minutes pass quietly, too slowly; thankfully, poor Choromatsu is able to doze off and on into an uncomfortable sleep. Osomatsu realizes as soon as he settles in that… shit, the two of them are in the fucking hospital and he hasn’t told anyone else because he’s been so frazzled over Choromatsu.

While they’re waiting for the doctor to come back, he texts Totty first, asking if he can get a hold of the rest of their brothers and their parents. Luck must be on his side, because glued to his phone as he is, Totty replies within two minutes, immediately worried about Choromatsu and assuring Osomatsu that he’ll take care of letting everyone else know. Totty’s at work himself, but he says he’ll let his boss know that he has to leave. With any hope, everyone else will be here soon too.

With that done, Osomatsu spends the rest of his time trying to distract himself with apps on his phone, and running his hand through Choromatsu’s hair to keep him calm.

After what seems like an eternity, the doctor returns to the bay, pulling the curtain aside. “Matsuno-san?”

Choromatsu has been awake for a few minutes, exhausted from all the excitement and still in pain. The good thing is that everything is much less intense than it was when he first got home. Even though the pain is still there, thanks to the medicine and Osomatsu’s presence, it’s faded into something much duller. “Yes… h-hello again.”

“How are you feeling?” The doctor is an older man, the kind of person with a gentle smile and sympathetic eyes. “You look less anxious, so that’s good.”

Choromatsu nods. “Yeah… I’ve gotten a little sleep.”

“Good, good. Well, I have some good news and some bad news.”

Choromatsu’s hand instantly reaches for Osomatsu’s, and Osomatsu is right there to take it. “Y… yeah? Um… bad news first, p-please.”

The doctor chuckles. “If you insist. The bad news is that you, young man, are probably going to need surgery.”

“S… surgery…?!” The color drains from Choromatsu’s face. Never in his wildest dreams would he think he’d be looking at going under the knife. Some pills, maybe an IV for a few hours, but surgery?

The doctor reaches forward to gingerly pat Choromatsu’s knee. “That’s part of the good news, though, because your condition is very much treatable. It is, however, also time-sensitive given the kind of symptoms you’ve been having. We’ve confirmed with the scans that our initial suspicions were correct; you definitely have appendicitis.”

“And… and that’s… I-I need surgery for that?” His hand squeezes Osomatsu’s, so hard he’s surprised he doesn’t break his brother’s hand. “It’s… it’s that serious??”

“Unfortunately, in most cases, yes. Occasionally we try antibiotics with some people, but that’s usually only if we catch it very early, before the symptoms get advanced. To be honest with you, I don’t believe they would be effective in your case.” He sighs and takes a seat near the bed. The look on his face suggests that both of the brothers ought to listen very, very carefully to what he’s saying.

“Your appendix is so inflamed and infected, I’m concerned it might rupture. If that happens, it happens quickly, and it’s going to spill the bacteria into the rest of your body. You would almost certainly end up with a blood infection, which have a tendency to be fatal.” He shakes his head. “Although we can certainly try antibiotics if that’s what you want to try, surgery is your best bet at avoiding the complications which might pose a serious risk to you.”

The room is deathly silent for what feels like far too long. There are sounds from outside, beeping and machine noises and people calling over the intercoms and footsteps and the crying of a child who’s being treated in the next room over, but everyone here isn’t making a peep.

It feels to Choromatsu like his heart is trying to escape his chest, beating so fast he can barely remember to breathe. Even though the pain is unbearable and the idea of possibly dying looms over him, surgery is… surgery. It means he’ll be knocked unconscious and someone will be cutting into him and have their hands on his insides.

He can feel tears pricking at his eyes, and his hand shakes as his fingers tighten around Osomatsu’s. He doesn’t even know what to say or how to respond.

The doctor pats his knee again. “Would you like me to give you a few minutes to think about it? You and your brother can talk it over.”

Choromatsu nods, but it’s Osomatsu who actually speaks. “Yeah, please. And just so you guys know, our other brothers and our parents should be here soon, so just… send ‘em back when they get here, if you could?”

“Of course, no problem.” The doctor gets up, taking his clipboard with him. “If you decide to go ahead with the surgery, although it is considered a major operation, it’s less of a worry than you might think. The surgery itself only takes about an hour, and if there are no problems, you should be able to go home tomorrow night. Then it’s just a couple weeks of rest. It’s a very low-risk procedure. But, I’ll leave you alone for a few minutes to talk about it. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

With that, he slips wordlessly out of the room, leaving the two of them by themselves.

Neither of them speaks for a minute. At last, Osomatsu breaks the silence in a softer voice than Choromatsu has ever heard from him. “Choromatsu… you need to have the surgery. You know that, right?”

All the shock crumbles into nothing, leaving behind only terrified anxiety as tears start to roll down Choromatsu’s face. “I-I know,” he sobs. If it’s between surgery and potentially death, there’s no real choice for him. He doesn’t want to die. “But… but I’m scared, Osomatsu-nii-san…”

“I… I know you are, Choromatsu. I am too and I’m not even the one who’s fucking sick!” Osomatsu has moved closer to the bed in a heartbeat, pulling the third eldest into a hug. The way the hospital wristband scratches at his neck when Choromatsu returns the gesture, weak and obviously still hurting, sends shivers up his spine. It’s like a punch in the gut to think that one of his little brothers needs surgery or he might die.

What else can he do right now except hold Choromatsu and tell him it’s going to be okay?

“I’m so scared…” Choromatsu presses his face into Osomatsu’s shoulder. It feels like his whole body is shaking, and the anxiety he felt during the CT scan was nothing compared to how he’s feeling now. “H… how can I b-be this sick…? I thought it was j-just a stomachache! And now I need surgery?! I don’t want to have appendicitis… I-I want the flu…”

Osomatsu bites down on his lip and rubs Choromatsu’s back. “… Hey. Choro, listen… it’s… it’s okay that you’re scared, you know? We can be scared together. But being scared doesn’t mean you can’t be brave. You’re gonna be just fine. They’re gonna take you in and fix what’s wrong and when you wake up, I’m… I’m gonna be right here, okay? And so is Mom… and Dad… and Karamatsu, and Ichimatsu, and Jyushimatsu, and Totty… you can do this, Choromatsu. I know you can.”

Choromatsu thinks maybe Osomatsu is saying this for himself, too. His mind is racing so fast, from one thought to the next, his hands are shaking, he feels so small and helpless and why, why, why him? Why did this have to happen? Why did he wake up with a stomachache and six hours later he’s in the emergency room, getting ready to be cut open?

He knows he has to agree to the surgery. If he doesn’t, it’s too unpredictable.

He holds onto his big brother and weeps. He lets himself feel small and helpless.

The rest of the family is there before the doctor comes back.

Osomatsu fills them in, because Choromatsu is still crying too hard.

Matsuyo cries along with him, coming over to hold her first and third sons.

Totty starts to cry too, and wriggles into Karamatsu’s embrace for comfort even though Karamatsu is misty-eyed himself.

Matsuzo might have tears in his eyes, but they’re blinked back before anyone can even think to mention them.

Ichimatsu doesn’t say a word, and Jyushimatsu seems content to cuddle into him rather than look at his poor big brother in the hospital bed.

When the doctor comes back, Choromatsu hasn’t stopped crying. So Osomatsu is the one who again speaks up.

The surgery is scheduled for just a few hours later. Waiting longer than that would be too risky.

This time the minutes pass too quickly. It’s time for the operation before any of them know it. None of them are prepared. The entire family is huddled around the bed as Choromatsu is wheeled away, kissing him and squeezing his hand and saying they love him.

Choromatsu gives one last, frightened look toward his oldest brother.

Osomatsu leans down, presses a kiss to his baby brother’s forehead, and says simply, “See you soon.”

The first thing Choromatsu notices upon waking up is the steady beep of hospital machinery.

The second thing is that someone is holding his hand, and when he eases his eyes open, it turns out to be Osomatsu. (As if it could have been anyone else. He did promise.)

The third thing he notices… is that his pain is gone.

Well, sure, there’s a little soreness from where the surgeon made incisions and where he’s got stitches. But that vise-like, burning pain in his stomach has vanished, there’s no more nausea, and he’s pretty sure he doesn’t even have a fever anymore.

He’s tired, and thank God, that seems to be the worst of his problems at the moment.

“Heyyyy, Choromacchan. Welcome back!” Although Osomatsu is grinning, worry is written all over his face. He shifts his hand from Choromatsu’s to run his fingers through his little brother’s hair. “Didn’t I tell you I’d be right here?”

Choromatsu lets out a soft chuckle that makes him wince thanks to the movement from the stitches. “You did. Thanks.” He glances past Osomatsu to find the rest of his family, and gives a weary smile. “Everyone else is sleepy, huh?”

“Eeeyup. But nii-chan is awake to greet you! Maybe I should wake them up in a minute?” He hums in thought, his hand pausing. “How you feeling? A little loopy from the anesthe-whatever-it’s-called?”

“Haha, yeah… a little bit. I’m tired. But… I feel a lot better. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore.” Even though he feel better, it’s a struggle to keep his eyes open. He kind of wants to go back to sleep; seeing his brothers and parents resting with each other makes him want to cuddle and sleep against one of them. “Hey… will you… get into bed and hold me for a little bit?”

Osomatsu snorts. “Well, that’s the drugs talking. I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, though… I don’t wanna accidentally mess up your stitches.” His hand hurries to resume stroking through Choromatsu’s hair. “But I’m right here, okay?”

Choromatsu’s eyes slip closed, and he feels his big brother press a kiss to the top of his head.

“I’m right here, Choromacchan. I’ll always be right here.”

#Osomatsu san #whump #Sokudomatsu #Choromatsu #Osomatsu #Totty #Karamatsu #Jyushimatsu #Ichimatsu #Matsuyo #Matsuzo #illness #appendicitis #fever #surgery #pain #TAKE THIS!!! TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT #IT'S SO FREAKING LONG THIS MIGHT BE THE LONGEST SINGLE THING I'VE WRITTEN HERE SO FAR #I HAD too much fun with it lol

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ajaviary · 3 years ago

Text

Coup De Grace Ch 3

Summary: Lovro’s choices from years past put a target on Irina’s back from an old friend. See how far she will go to keep those close to her safe. Loyalty comes in all forms, and Class 3E has that in spades. How will Karasuma and Class 3E handle the aftermath as Irina recovers from her injuries.

Rating: M 18+ (DNI) TW: Rape, Rape Recover, Gore, Dark Content, Depression, PTSD (A lot of bad shit, so be warned if you’re sensitive to this sort of stuff.

Word Count: 6213

Click here for

(Ch 1 Pt 1) (Ch 1 Pt 2) (Ch 2 Pt 1) (Ch 2 Pt 2)

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Nagisa felt like he’d been punched in the gut like he couldn’t breathe. As the nurse had spoken to Karasuma in a gentle tone as though she was trying to be as kind as she could in telling him Irina Jelvich may not survive. It was easy to read between the lines. His hands trembled and the emotions that rolled through him were ones that he couldn't say he was ready to handle. His chest was heavy with a ball pressed into the center of it, this throat burned as he fought back tears that burned his eyes. He blinked for a moment, trying to breathe through the crippling emotion.

He didn't speak to Karma as he left him where he was. His feet taking him out of the Emergency Room entrance and into the cool night air. He wasn’t going far, he just needed a few minutes. It was too hard to be around everyone else right now. His hands curled into fists as he walked down the sidewalk to the small courtyard that was to the side. A simple few rock benches and a few rose bushes. The sight of the roses shouldn't have been his undoing. He walked toward those flowers drawn to them and found himself standing before them. Head bowed, tears running down his cheeks and hands balled into fists as though it would make it any easier to push it away.

He remembered when Professor Jelavich had first come to the school, all the interactions up to this point. He remembered them all and then recalled the subtle changes in her wavelength. That internal soundboard, he could pick up on with people. It had happened three weeks ago when he’d first noticed that something was off as she’d started her class. She was cheerful, derogatory and pressed them to work harder, to understand the change in pitch she was explaining and how confidence changes everything. No one else seemed to notice that she wasn’t fully with them. It was like her mind was focusing on something else. As time wore on it seemed as though darkness seemed to swallow the light around her.

It had only gotten worse as the weeks wore on. He hadn’t asked, he hadn’t offered a lifeline and she had been drowning in front of them all. His own guilt was why he had originally reached out to the girls when they had mentioned it today. He was worried something had happened and he’d been right.

Nagisa wraps his arms around himself, his nails digging into his shoulders as he bows his head, trying to rein in his crippling emotions and the guilt that is eating him up, in ways that he couldn’t forgive himself. His words earlier felt so hollow, he’d told them how Class E didn’t leave anyone behind, but he had done just that.

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Karma was still trying to process what he’d heard. It wasn’t complicated, he could read between the lines better than most. The issue was he wasn’t sure how he felt about what was going down. The only thing he felt for sure right now was the anger he knew all too well.

It was almost like welcoming an old friend.

His hands curled into fists and stood there for a moment before he moved to exit the hospital, but he didn't go to where Nagisa had gone. Instead, he went for a walk. Hitting the button that would force others to stop for him. He didn't have a destination in mind, which was just fine for him.

Trouble was easy to find at this time of night. All he had to do was walk a few back allies, and his prey was easy to find. Perhaps it was because of what he knew about Professor Jelavich, the rest of the students might have missed it, but he knew.

The expression had given her away. It had been one that he would never forget.

The three goons were too focused on pawing at the young woman who was just as intoxicated as them, but her words of no were very clear.

The first guy was easy to take care of as he slammed his boot into the back of his knee. As he buckled, he drew him back and slammed his fist into his nose. And kicked him in the head once he was down.

“Didn't your mother ever teach you no means no?” he questioned, his golden eyes flashing in the darkness.

As the two men said something incoherent, but it was probably something like he should mind his own business.

He stepped back in the tight quarters, quickly blocking the punches aimed at him. He slammed his hand down on one guy's knee as he tried to kick him. Easily mimicking Karasuma’s moves in PE, that he would use against them.

Karma stepped Into his opponent’s open guard to be fair, he was drunk, had no formal training and was a complete buffoon. His fist slammed into the underside of his jaw. It was all too easy to hook his leg and cause him to tumble to the ground.

“The problem with guys like you, you never pick on people your own size.”

His foot slammed into his ribs several more times as he let out his own anger in some of the few ways he knew how.

The knife that sliced across his cheek was surprising.

As he turned his attention to the last guy, his eyes hard. “You got lucky there,” he murmured into the darkness. The grin that slid along his lips was one that made the man in front of him falter.

“Why don't you try that again when I’m not distracted with you buddies here?”

Karma raised his hands out at his side. “I’ll even give you a free shot, what do you say?” he taunted, watching as the man rushed him.

He raised his arm to block the arm with the knife as he slashed at him. He drove his knee into his stomach, as the guy coughed and wheezed. He wasn't honorable in his fighting style because his next strike went right between his legs. Once he was down for the count, did he kick the knife away.

He drove his heavy boots into the ribs of the last guy while he casually lifted his phone to his ear. “Ritsu, I’d like to make an anonymous police report.”

“Is it about the thugs you beat up in your current location?”

His chuckle was the only answer he gave as he gave each man a good kick to the head to ensure they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

“Maybe, ” he said after a moment as he began to leave the alleyway. He hadn't intended to do any good deeds today. All he was looking for was an outlet and he’d found what he wanted.

“I’ll see what I can do, ” she muttered as she hung up.

He began to make his way back to the hospital.

----------------------

The exhaustion of the night wore on many of the students who had fallen asleep waiting for word on Irina’s progress, to see how she was doing. Karasuma had come out with her medical file in his hands and was sitting in one of the chairs going over the injuries that were categorized in her chart, he glanced at her x-rays, her MRI to check for any other internal bleeding and her brain scan, all done quickly before taking her back for surgery, once she was stabilized enough. His fingers flipped through the pictures of her injuries, the bruises all having to be photographed for her file that the Ministry of Defense would need a copy of following this incident. He wasn’t sure what this sort of thing would do for her job offer they had extended or how they would look at her now? He tried to hide the anger that rolled through him at learning about the sexual assault. His face must have given something away because Koro Sensei was pressing him into his seat as the kids of class E slept around them. None of them had left, but some had wandered off for a bit to get some air and generally deal with everything. Koro Sensei had spoken to them, but really he didn’t interfere. This was something they had to deal with on their own, but he was always watching and ready should things take a turn in a direction he didn’t want.

“Careful, Mr. Karasuma, I know you’re angry, but we can’t do anything more than wait for the moment. If you want I can wake you when she’s out of surgery or if they come with any news.” He offered, well aware that he’d been up for a while now and had to be as exhausted as the children if not more so. He rubbed at his eyes and carefully stood up looking at the clock on the wall in the dimly lit waiting area, it read one in the morning. Irina had been in surgery for what was moving into the third hour. He closed the file and held it under his arm, not wanting to let it out of his sight. There were some things better left to the imagination, and the last thing Irina needed when she woke up was to have the students know what would most likely be something she wouldn't want anyone to know. He flexed his fingers and shook them out with a heavy sigh.

Tadaomi was doing his best to stay positive given everything, but he was worried. Every time he closed his eyes he could see her wide blue eyes meet his only briefly as she couldn’t keep the shock off her face that something she would have never told him was aired so publicly. She had tried to play it off, but there had been nothing she could have done to prevent Dimitri from doing all that he could to get back at her, to take her down. Even as he worried for her, prayed for her survival, he couldn’t help but be impressed with how well she had fought to survive and make it out alive.

“I’m fine, how are they doing?” he questioned keeping his voice low as he glanced at the sleeping forms of the children.

“Their coping as best they can, at the very least this is a learning experience...injury and death are common in this world, but it can still hurt when it happens to someone you’re close with. Many have not had to deal with the possibility of loss ...so time will tell.” He said after a moment as he watched the students sleeping from where they stood between them.

“I hope she makes it, but we have to prepare for the possibility that she may not. Her injuries were severe… And it will fall on Irina if she still wants to live. Surviving sometimes brings more significant challenges. Sometimes the mind never fully heals from something like this, but I don't believe she’s going to give up. So neither should we. We just have to help her and be there for her. We will never fully know what she went through, ” he said, his tentacles touching gently the tops of each of his students' heads before he regarded Karasuma again.

“How are you honestly holding up?” he questioned.

“You already asked that, ” replied the Agent of Ministry, but Koro Sensei only stared at him silently waiting for a real answer. With a soft exhale he looked away, his gun still holstered under his arm. “We do the best we can in troubled times, you can't expect any more. You prepare for the worst. You live longer that way, ” he said after a moment. His fingers pressed against the muscles of his arm, the unreleased tension there.

Koro Sensei for a moment said nothing and looked around at the children before he reached out a single tentacle and placed it on his shoulder. “Don’t give up hope, she’s still fighting and we can't give up on her either.”

A middle-aged man came out flanked by another doctor who was in his fifties. As they got closer, they regarded the children in the chairs before turning their attention to Koro Sensei and Karasuma. “Irina Jelavic’s fiance Tadaomi Karasuma?” the older man asked as they stopped in front of them.

Karasuma nodded, unable to form the words to press the conversation further as he swallowed, hating the tightness in his chest and the emotion that settled. After a moment he was able to force the words he desperately wanted to know. “How is she?” he questioned his voice low.

A few of the kids were awake, he could tell by the changes in their breathing patterns, but he didn't let his attention waver. As the doctors turned their attention to him. “She is alive. She is in critical yet stable condition. She is being moved to our ICU on the fifth floor. My name is Dr. Weaver and this is Dr. Naokami. I want to discuss with you her injuries, I’m aware you have her file, but I want to ensure all your questions are answered. Would you like to speak somewhere privately?” he questioned motioning to one of the rooms. With a nod, Karasuma and the two doctors left, but the door was left cracked open.

“Her surgeries lasted a little longer than we anticipated, given the severity of her injuries. While I focused on fixing the severe fracture in her right leg. She has two metal plates in her leg securing the bone in place so it can heal properly. It was almost-” The heavy cough beside him paused the younger surgeon's rambling. “With physical therapy and rest, it can be speculated that she can regain full mobility of her legs. Her young age is also something that will help.” Dr. Weaver paused as Dr. Naokami cut into the conversation.

“I was in charge of Irina’s damage to her lungs, given the severity of those wounds it took longer to fix. We have patched up the holes in her lungs, but we would recommend keeping her here for a few days to monitor any potential problems. We don't foresee any, but time will tell. We have put her ribs back in place, they will heal within six to eight weeks. It is best that she not do any strenuous activity. For now, we have her sedated from the surgery, but she will wake up shortly. Given the fracture along her right cheek, a hairline fracture to her jaw, the heavy bruising will lessen within the coming weeks. We will be continuing to give IV pain medication and not doing any sedation aside from what she had during the surgery given the concussions she seems to be dealing with as well.” he paused waiting to see if Karasuma had any questions. When he didn’t he continued.

“As long as her blood pressure can stabilize we believe she will be able to go home by the middle to the end of the week.” Dr. Naokami ran his hand down his face before he looked away from him. “There is another matter we need to discuss-” He paused, seeming to gather his own resolve before continuing. At the way he was looking at him, Karasuma placed his hand against the door as he pressed it closed, to keep the rest of the conversation quiet. “There was evidence of seminal fluid found along with vaginal tearing...we believe from our findings that she was raped. We may need to do a pregnancy test at a later date.” His piercing blue eyes met his own as though the weight of the world was in his gaze.

Karasuma felt the color drain from his face. He’d not consider the possibility of a pregnancy. He wasn’t sure how she would react. How would she feel? On top of everything else...her injuries could she even sustain? He closed his eyes tight for a moment, still trying to process it all. He needed to focus on the here and now. She was alive, that was all that mattered. His hand curled tightly into a fist and he tried to find the words he really wanted to say. “Could she safely carry it...if it were a possibility?”

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, and yet he knew this was something he needed to know. “She could possibly...her injuries would be healed by then. she would need to be monitored for any possible issues by her doctor and we would recommend she seek a therapist to help with the trauma.” The doctor recommended as they were both ready to leave as quickly as possible.

“Thank you.” Was all he managed to utter, one of the doctors placed his hand on his shoulder as they left him to his thoughts, the door closing after them. He sank into the seat next to him and for a moment placed his head in his palms and tried to remember what it was like to breathe, to be anything other than the ball of condensed rage and self loathing that he felt coursing through him.

---------------------

Only four of the students seem to have been woken up by the approach of the surgeons, maybe they had already been awake because of the conversation between Koro Sensei and Mr. Karasuma, but either way they were awake. Each of them quiet and all of them eavesdropping into the room that was cracked open. Even Koro Sensei was abnormally quiet as they were talking, listening as well. As Toka Yada shifted in her chair before quietly getting to her feet, she wasn’t surprised to see that Nagisa and Karma were also awake and silently sharing a look with each other. Hinano Kurahashi also carefully got to her feet as well and it wasn’t surprising to see that she’d had a rough night as well. Quietly, Toka intertwined their fingers briefly and glanced toward the elevator where the other boys were looking at it as well.

After sharing a nod with each other, they moved toward the elevator that would take them to the fifth floor. “I can’t let you go on your own,” Koro Sensei told them and that was how they all wound up on the elevator on their way to the intensive care unit. None of them said much of anything in regards to what they had heard. They weren’t sure how to process it all.

The 5th floor was deserted upon their initial departure to the ground floor. They went out of their way to avoid the staff that were mostly at the nursing station. They probably could have merely walked right in, but they weren’t family and they didn’t want to be asked to leave. ‘510,’ Toka mouthed to them as she pointed to the room, before they made their move to go further into the ICU. The brunette had seen their teacher's name on one of the monitors that sent outside information to the nurses station, usually heart rate and pulse.

As Koro Sensei closed the door silently behind them, they all for a moment stared at the prone body in the dark room, they could see several iv lines and tubes connecting to her. Her body was mostly covered by the white sheet that you often see in hospitals, her broken leg left on top, but covered with a second blanket and carefully resting against the guard rails that were raised so she couldn’t damage it further by it falling off the bed. The intent of her injuries were hidden, but they way they had her sitting up told them they were carefully monitoring any changes with her airway. For the moment she had a small set of tubes placed in her nose to help provide her with the oxygen she may not be getting as her body worked to prepare the damage.

For a moment none of them moved as they stared at the damage as the moonlight from the windows gave them a little light to look at it. The figure in one of the chairs was almost missed as he sat shrouded in shadow. “She’s not awake yet,” Lovro spoke softly, ignoring the way the students jumped and Koro-Sensei glanced at him in a way that showed he wasn’t sure how to take his presence here as a good or bad thing.

Karma regarded the man sitting in front of them as though this was normal in a different light with his anger far more controlled now that he knew she was going to be alright. It would be disappointing if she died, he did enjoy picking on her, she just made it so easy. He clenched his teeth together and cast another glance at her sleeping form. Wondering why she felt they were so important. They were just a bunch of worthless shits, who had picked on her when she’d gotten here. Were they worth all the trouble she’d taken on? He really didn’t think so.

“What are you doing here?” Toka hissed her voice low and her hands curled at her sides. As far as she was concerned he was part of this whole problem in the first place. He knew about the danger Irina was in from the beginning.

“The same as you, checking on her.” He replied with a soft sigh, as his gaze met her own and held it. He was just as frustrated as them, but he didn’t show it.

Nagisa hadn’t said anything for a moment and regarded him. “It must have been hard for you too, for them to fight like that,” he said softly as he went over to him.

Koro-Sensei watched this all play out from the place close to the door, all too aware that eventually, they would have to get going, they couldn’t stay here long.

Hinano carefully circled the bed and allowed her fingers to briefly curl along her own. “You were amazing Irina Sensei...I’m so proud of you. I hope you get better soon...we’ll be back in a few,” she said softly as she withdrew her hand, trying not to be upset over just how cold her body still was, the room was cold too, but this was different.

Lovro looked away from Nagisa and the others as he stood. “She’ll be in good hands here, I must go,” he told them before he left the room almost like a ghost who’d never been there in the first place.

“We can’t stay too much longer,” Koro Sensei warned as they each said their peace, taking her hand briefly on their own before they all took their leave, not wanting to get caught. Little did they realize her blue eyes opened only briefly to see their retreating forms as her hand curled around empty air as darkness began to swallow her again.

-----------------------

Karasuma looked toward the elevator as it dinged before opening to reveal Koro Sensei and the four students he couldn’t say he was surprised to find awake. For a moment neither said anything, but there was nothing that quite wiped off the looks on their faces. “Since you’ve seen her already, how was she?”

Toka looked away from him for a moment as she took a breath before she answered him. “She was still asleep, but she had a brace on her broken leg and she l-looked-“ she trailed off and her voice shook and she walked away from them. Koro Sensei cast them each a glance before he followed after her as she walked outside. His arm around her slim shoulders as she cried.

“She looked so small, she had wires hooked to her to monitor her heart rate and her blood pressure. She was cold, though...maybe you could ask them for another blanket?” Hinano questioned, taking over. Her green eyes bright as she rubbed at her upper arm. Her gaze went to the clock. “I’m going back to bed, ” With those words hanging between them, she went back to the chair she’d vacated and curled under her jacket and the blanket that was provided.

Karasuma gave a nod, and let his gaze drift to the elevator. His mind still muddled at all that he had learned so far. As his attention went back to Karma and Nagisa, he waited for them to say what was on their mind.

Karma regarded their PE teacher for a moment, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his light grey jeans. “If you look like that when you see her, don't bother going. Do you honestly think she needs to see everyone upset over her?” he questioned, his eyes hard. “I don’t. Get yourself together, teach. It can't be that bad. She's alive, I think the worst is behind us.” With a shake of his head, he walked out of the ER as he waved over his shoulder to them. “Call me if anything changes, but I’m going home to get some real sleep.”

Nagisa watched Karasuma as Karma said those things to him, watching the subtle shift in his features, the way his hands curled. He couldn’t say he blamed him really, Karma was an acquired taste and could be a lot for people to handle sometimes. As the redhead left, the shorter boy shifted from foot to foot. “He may not seem like it but he was worried. I don’t know what he said to her. It was too low to hear, but he cares.” As he ran his hand down his face he let his blue eyes meet his own. “There is one other thing,” he told him, his attention drifting away from him for a moment. “Lovro was here too. It seemed like he was leaving, but I just thought you should know anyway.”

Karasuma laid his hand on his shoulder as the elevator dinged signifying it had arrived on their floor. “Thanks Nagisa, we will talk more in a few. I’ll be back down once I speak with her nurses.” he told him as he entered the elevator. The fifth floor didn’t take long to get to and he found himself hesitating outside her door. He had the attention of the nurses on her unit, many were watching him. He supposed it was to be expected given the injuries she came in with.

With a final moment to steel himself, he let his fingers press against the door as it slid open on a seamless system. Nothing could quite prepare him for what he saw. Her complexion was pale against the white sheets, somehow she seemed much smaller than he could remember. The various wires attached to her body, giving pain medication, monitoring her for any changes. His gaze went to her face, noticing the heavy bruising and swelling of the broken bones in her cheek and her jaw. The way the nurses tried to keep her from tossing her head.

He could still hear the wheezing of her breath with each suck of air into her lungs. His gaze went to her curled fists, the busted knuckles of her fists that had been carefully cleaned and bandaged. He found his attention drawn to her shaking, the way her body shook as it fought off the fever that quickly had set in in response to the damage to it. He swallowed and stepped back over to the door, motioning for one of the nurses who came over as he lingered in the door. He barely glanced in her direction to fully notice her. He absently filed away her name, he couldn’t help the way his mind worked. But if you were to ask him if she was attractive the answer would have been no.

“May I get another blanket?” He asked, the young girl nodded and went into their supply room and returned a moment later. “Let me-” she started, but he stepped in her way. “It’s alright, I’ll handle it, ” She regarded him a moment before nodding and moving away. “Push the call button if you need anything.”

Karasuma softly closed the door and carefully unrolled the warm blanket as he began to place it over her. He was maneuvering the blanket underwires and over limbs with the utmost care. He carefully sank Into the chair that was In the corner and moved closer as he gently let his fingers slip into her own as he bowed his head, his other hand wrapping around her cold hand; he had to remind himself that she was here, that she was alive.

The sound of her heart monitor increasing as the beeping got louder had him jerking his gaze to the machine and then to Irina’s form as she tossed her head back and forth. Her eyes were still closed and her hands tightening, her free arm lifting the small line that was placed in the vein of her arm was straining. As he stood, his grip on her wrist tightening to keep her from injuring herself further. As he held down her left wrist, he reached across the bed for the other.

Gentle hands placed on her other wrist, as a restraint was placed around her wrist and locked to the railing. It was used to keep patients from accidentally pulling out their iv lines. The nurse from before slipped around him and did the same to her other wrist. “These won't stay once we can get her fully conscious. The doctor approved the Ativan drip and we will have that ready shortly. It won't hurt her, just calm her down and possibly lessen the events of today.” She moved back to check the iv line before she cast another glance at her rising stat levels. Before she moved to the door. “She might be able to hear you if you were wondering Mr. Karasuma. I'll be back in a few minutes.”

With those parting words, the young nurse left the room.

Karasuma watched her jerk against the restraints, getting more panicked as her arms wouldn't move. He glanced at the door a moment looking for the nurse. Where the fuck is she? Frowning, he laid his hands on her shoulders. “Irina, Irina! You're safe…” He spoke the words in a low tone, not wanting to startle her. Her breath hitched in her throat, her wide blue eyes taking a quick glance at him before she jerked her head away from him. Her eyes shut tight for a moment, her breathing rapid as her heart pounded and the beeping of the monitor slowly lowered. “You're safe now, you're at the hospital,” he continued, aware that she could hear him more fully now. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and gave her some space.

She swallowed and gave a weak cough, she could still taste the blood in her mouth and her throat was raw. She carefully flexed each of her fingers, before lowering her arms as she turned slowly to look at him. He had moved back but lingered at her bedside. She ran her tongue over her lips frowning at the split in her lower lip. Her whole body hurt and her head was pounding. It wasn’t surprising, but everything was a little hazy. She wasn’t in any hurry to fully remember.

“H-How?” She grimaced and frowned as he held a paper cup to her lips that had a straw in it. She waited a while and jingled her left wrist as the restraint’s metal clanked against the railing. Her intentions very clear. I can do it myself, just untie me

As one blonde eyebrow arched at him, she watched him regarding her with a look of far too much intensity. He was reading her, trying to see through the wall she’d built up to keep the world at bay once more. To shut him out. After a moment she carefully placed her lips on the straw and drank only a few small sips of the lukewarm water. She was glad it wasn’t cold, she’d barely suppressed a cough. She watched as he set it down, watching his hands. He pretended not to notice the way she tensed as he set the cup on the stand beside her bed.

“How long was I out?” she questioned keeping her voice low as she glanced around the room taking in everything that was in the room and what was out of reach. The words were slow, but she had no problem articulating what she wanted to ask him. The damage to her face wasn't going to stop her. The pain meds were still going, so the pain was bearable. Even if it wasn’t, nothing was going to keep her from speaking her mind.

“About four hours, your surgery lasted about three.” He told her softly, his gaze drifting from her only to check the room himself as though he wanted to be sure it was safe too. That she was safe. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but her nonchalance at everything wasn’t quite it. He reminded himself she was probably still in some form of shock. Nothing had settled in yet. His gaze flickered to the heart monitor, it spiked ever so often, but it was from the pain, if the curling of her hands was anything to go by. She had seen something when she’d come too; her reactions had been too real.

“When will the bracelets come off?” The blonde questioned as she rattled the wrist restraints again. Only this time when she looked at them, she was back in the basement. She could feel the weight on her wrist and her stomach rolled like acid. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, unable to hear Karasuma calling her name, for a moment she felt the touch at the base of her neck as long fingers curled tight before he shook her violently. Look at me Irina! Came the thundering words of her capture. “Irina look at me!” Her blue eyes snapped open colliding with his before skirting away to see a young nurse undoing her restraints as quickly as she could and Karasuma looked like he’d been punched in the gut. Unable to hold the expression of impassiveness. She watched his hands tracking where he’d left them at his side. She looked away from them both, her breathing rapid, before it lowered as she got herself under control. She locked down the memory circling to take her under.

“Whose asinine idea was this, they should be fired” she muttered to herself and carefully drew her arms closer to get a good look at them. As she fingered at the white bandages on both of her wrists. Silently she took note of her injuries, of what hurt the most. Of where her chest tube was and of what she wouldn’t be able to do for herself if she wasn’t careful. She promised herself she could make it on her own.

“When can I be discharged?”

The question hung in the air and neither party answered her for a moment. “Well?” she repeated. “Was that too complicated for you honey?” she sneered, her lips pulled back over her teeth. “Do I need to dumb it down for you?” There was a heavy amount of contempt in her voice. Back Irina Jelavic into a corner, and you get met with an angry viper who's ready to take you out.

“I want to get out of here. If you can't answer the question, get me someone who can. Better yet take him with you.”

Karasuma began to object, but she held up a hand. “I’m not asking. Anyone who's a problem for your patients health should be removed. Isn't that your policy?”

“It is, but…” The young woman didn't seem for a moment to know what to do with this turn of events, in all her years as a nurse, she’d never quite had a situation like this come up. Usually family had to be removed for fighting, or being upsetting to a patient, but this was different. “Did I stutter Miss Rinkcoff?” She snapped angrily. “Mr. Karasuma...I’m afraid I’ll need to ask you to leave. Follow me please.”

The look he gave her was ice-cold as he walked to the door, anger in every fiber of his being. They left closing the door to her room softly, it seemed to drive home just how alone she was. The two conversed quietly in the hallway for a moment before he left, in precisely the direction she wanted him to go.

Her hand raised to wipe at the tears slipping down her cheeks, surprised to see them. The watery chuckle she gave herself, was fitting for the turmoil building. “You’re a real piece of work Irina,” she muttered as she pulled her knee up to her chest and curled her arms around it as she buried her face into the fabric to hide the rest that followed.

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Tagging: @oldloveforever

#assassination classroom #irina jelavic #Irina is a badass #tadaomi karasuma #rape #rape recovery #trauma #physical abuse #kidnapping #ptsd #korosensei #nagisa assassination classroom #karma akabane #class 3e

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3rdeyeinsights · 2 years ago

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queen-ofsunflowers · 3 years ago

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Shujin Assassins Brainrot Pt. 3

I HAD A THOUGHT. A VERY VERY DEVIOUS THOUGHT.

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I am now reminded that the island stuff in AssClass happened in Okinawa.

Which is a location in Strikers.

...these kids can't catch a break there, can they?

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I just realized the Okinawa arc is where we see the beginning of the Phantom Thieves. Not in Tokyo, not in Kamoshida's Palace. But in the real world with their friends' lives on the line.

So much oof.

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It also hit me how pissed off Zenkichi is/might be when he finds out about the kids' assassin backgrounds. Especially as to WHY. And how old they were, too. I think they were the same age as Akane when they started holy shit--

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(The 3E group chst sometime during the class’s first year of highschool)

Ann: ryuji’s in the hospital

Ann: a teacher broke his leg after ryuji went and pulled a karma on him.

Karma: i don't know if i should be proud or disappointed

Ann: I don't know either!

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3E group chat again when Ren got arrested

Itona: Ren got arrested

SEVERAL PEOPLE ARE TYPING...

Sugino: What do you mean he got arrested?!

Itona: it means he got arrested

Karma: I always thought I'd be the first to get arrested. Me or suzui.

Nagisa: This isn't a joke!

Ryuji: what happened?!

Ann: ren wouldn't do anything without a good reason. He's just that kind of guy. So what did he do?!

Itona: i don't know. his mom just left to see what's going on. I won't know anything until he gets out of detention.

SEVERAL PEOPLE ARE TYPING...

(essentially, a lot of panic since Ren didn't have his phone on him. A lot of people get PISSED when they find out what happened from him later on.)

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When Ren fakes his death, you know how he gets those texts from confidants to see if he's alright?

Unfortunately his confidants in class E have no chill. Only one who bothers to text is Karasuma. The others, do not. So you have a handful of teenagers storming the attic and tackling Ren off the cratebed.

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Ren: *gets speared trying to protect the others, nearly dies*

Also Ren: I might need some therapy after this.

(How much said therapist and/or certain counselor gets told is currently up in the air.)

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The trio having a MAJOR breakdown following Okumura's death. After what happened with Korosensei, they were the most adament about the no killing rule. They had to kill someone they deeply cared about, and never wanted to kill again PERIOD. The only reason they take the risk is because people might get hurt if they don't, like with Shiho.

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I apologize for all the brainrot, I'm just having so many ideas.

#persona 5 #assassination classroom #shujin assassins au #ren amamiya #akira kurusu #ann takamaki #karma akabane #itona horibe #tomohito sugino #ryuji sakamoto #queen's brainrot

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sahraeyll · 2 years ago

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Packed with real-world applications, UNDERSTANDING HOSPITAL CODING AND BILLING: A WORKTEXT, 3e offers a comprehensive guide to both hospital billing and coding that helps students learn to create results with greater specificity, and accuracy. Enabling instructors to easily adapt to the postponement of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS, the new edition provides instruction on the current ICD-9-CM

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years ago

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Mission

With a black umbrella held over his head, Lu Mingfei looked up at the Cassell Clinic on the top floor. The rain fell in white drops from the dark cloud overhead, hitting his face and running down his cheeks like tears. Tigre was back in hospital after a huge blackout had rocked the campus. Lu Mingfei had been called to a meeting in the Library.

Four somber professors had faced him. Guderian, his mentor and recruiter all those years ago, Schneider, the leader of the Executive Department and the mentor of Chu Zihang, his Senior Brother, Manstein, mentor to Nono and leader of the Disciplinary committee,and Toyama, the school Psychologist and mentor to Tigre.

They stood in front of a holographic map that displayed the border of the United States and Mexico. A bright red circle was hovering somewhere near Texas.

Did they really have to explain? Whatever that angry red circle meant it had to be something big for all of them to be here and, given the recent events, he wouldn’t be surprised at a direct attack.

Lu Mingfei was just tired.

And who wouldn’t be? The idea of fighting dragons never appealed to him. It was true that he’d rather be here than wasting away in his Chinese hometown. But did he always have to choose between two extremes? Either wasting his life on pointless pursuits, or risking it in grave danger.

He’d managed to make a few friends, but they were all gone. He came to Cassell for Nono. Now Nono left to do Bridal Training after accepting Caesar’s proposal. Caesar was gone managing the Italy Branch in Rome. And Chu Zihang was wandering the world doing missions. Not even Fingel was here, reassigned to Cuba weeks ago. Technically, he was supposed to be running the Student Union, but Isabel was the one who followed him around and did everything for him most of the time. As for the rest of the Student Union, he had little in common with them. Those people were obsessed with their assets and dignitaries and properties and procedures, and none of these things interested him. His life was suddenly very dull. You would think that having this mission would excite him. He just groaned when the message came on his phone.

Now he was fighting dragons without even his friends for company.. He dreaded it. Not even the Little Devil was interested in his mission. Usually that irritating child would pop up if there was a lucrative opportunity for him to try to get him to sell his life away.

Lu Mingfei sighed to himself and said nothing.

Guderian frowned a bit but then continued. “Now that we’re all here. Let’s get started. Norma? Please report.”

“Gladly.” The ethereal translucent blue girl floated down like an angel from the ceiling. “I scanned the records for similar EMP reports around the area where the student called “Tigre” was discovered and found three separate instances. In the Chihuahuan desert.”

The map zoomed in and three X marks appeared. “What is more, these EMPs correspond to a spike in deaths and disappearances from migrants crossing the border into the US from Mexico. It is said that hundreds disappear at this time never to be seen again. While some disappearances can be explained as natural, it’s possible that they are related to dragons. This particular route is called the “La Ruta de Muerte”. it's rumored that no one who passes through this route ever makes it to the other side.”

A long blood red trail was marked on the map. “It is about 10 miles long in total. However, we will only need to concern ourselves with the inmost trail. Because this matches the information given to us by Doctor Toyama.”

“The evidence is still shaky. It is difficult to confirm anything. The desert environment efficiently removes all traces of bodies. However, we have been able to receive confirmed sightings of aberrant creatures within the vicinity for quite some time. It wasn’t until Toyama’s vision that we believe we have enough evidence to put together a team.”

“Vision?” Mingfei turned to look at him. He didn’t know much about Toyama. There was not much reason for him to see a psychologist.

Toyama stepped forward and handed him a black folder. “These are all my findings so far. We believe that some sort of dragon has come into contact with Tigre. That is why his dragon blood purity is so high without him turning into a Death Servitor. What the 3E detected wasn't him, but what was inside him.”

“Inside?” Lu Mingfei opened the folder.

“The EMP that shook the campus occured when we tried to run an MRI on Tigre. Whatever is implanted in his skull woke up and used an EMP as a defense mechanism.”

“Wait… Tigre has a dragon… in his head?” Lu Mingfei stared at the picture of the eye shaped scar on Tigre's scalp. "A tattoo of an eye…"

"Chu Zihang reported an eye shaped mark on a man captured by the hybrid smuggling ring where Tigre came from." Schneider said. "He attempted to free that man but when he damaged that eye-shaped mark, the man died."

Lu Mingfei's eyes suddenly turned dull. "What do you want me to do?"

“Right now, Tigre is our only lead. He provided us with a vision of a great tree that is growing out of a dragon. We are not certain what that vision means but we believe that sending him with you is the only way to find the mystery at the center of all this..” Toyama said.

Lu Mingfei lifted his head from the folder. "What? Isn't he just a freshman? But he's your student?!"

Toyama sighed, but didn't reply. “There are no reports of any such large tree and this environment would not support a tree of this size. We believe that the tree is residing in a Nibelungen. It's possible you will not be able to reach it without him."

Lu Mingfei took the stairs to the fifth floor. Physical training had made him physically stronger, and his experience in Genji Heavy Industries turned him off elevators forever.

He entered the vault using his phone. Tigre was once again in bed, sleeping but now he was hooked up to a lot more monitoring equipment. A dozen little paper disks adhered electrodes to his head. EVA was likely monitoring his brain waves.

When Tigre turned to look, he had no contacts in, but wore sunglasses. His eyes were clear and innocent. "It's too early for dinner…" He said.

"I'm not here to bring you food. You've… been assigned to me for a Dragonslaying mission." Mingfei had heard those words so many times. But this was the first time saying them. He felt sick. How could it be possible that words could taste so disgusting? Is it because he finally understood their meaning?

Or was it because he finally was on the other side of it. As a freshman student, he was clueless of the danger. There was no way anyone could have been able to tell him what he was in for without scaring him off. But they knew.

That's what sickens him now.

When Chu Zihang was recovering, Lu Mingfei tried to visit him as much as he could, but while he was at his bedside, Zihang confessed everything. He'd wanted to save the man in the smuggling ring. Release his contact with the illegal organization. He wanted to let the doctors go… but he'd failed all of that.

"But Tigre is doing well." Chu Zihang turned and looked at him, covered in bandages, tubes and wires. "Please care for him. I can't be here to help."

"Are you alright?"

Lu Mingfei suddenly realizes he's been silent for several seconds. He laughs, completely changing demeanor. "Oh I'm fine! Fine! I daydream a lot. There have been times I've just completely zoned out and missed a flight or a train. Don't mind it."

Tigre smiles a little. "What's the Dragonslaying mission about?"

Lu Mingfei's smile fades a bit. "Oh you won't have a big role. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of most of it. Just… treat it like a field trip."

#Dragon Raja

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danjo-ao3 · 4 years ago

Text

When Ashes Fall p.2

Pairing: Reaper/female Reader

Summary: You are a combat medic working for Overwatch, when a mission goes south and you cross paths with Talon mercenary Reaper. But will he kill you on the spot or is there more to this encounter?

Rating: 18+

Tags/Warnings: rape/non-con, violence, blood, emotional manipulation, blackmail, kidnapping

Word count: 52,215 (in 5 parts)

A/N: the warnings are clear on this one. Yes, there is going to be rape/non-con, and it’s going to get explicit. I strongly advise anyone who is not into that kind of story to turn back around, because this is going to get pretty heavy and will finally be the non-con story with Reaper that I had always wanted to write.

Part 2 / 5 ( part 1, part 3, part 4, part 5)

***

“Ay, Akande. What is it now?” A woman of a rather small stature entered the room, her right hand busily tapping at purple holograms before her, while she popped her bubblegum noisily. Everything about her was purple, in fact. Her clothes, the tips of her dark hair, as well as her makeup. When she finally noticed you, a mixture between surprise and amusement crossed her face. “Hola, chica,” She greeted you, her demeanor cheeky and aloof as she waved her long nailed hand at you. “This your newest conquest?” The sarcasm rang heavy in her tone of voice as she addressed Ogundimu again and tsked, then proceeded to chew the gum obnoxiously loud. “Fresh out the asylum now, is it?” And she chuckled to herself at her remark.

You could only sit and stare at her, all too aware of how you very much looked like she described you. Not that it mattered anyway, the only thing not sitting right with you was how she assumed you somehow were this man’s mistress.

Ogundimu’s face betrayed nothing of what he might have thought about her careless comment.

“Sombra,” He said curtly, making it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for her shenanigans. “This is our newest agent,” His hand gestured toward you and Sombra’s bubblegum popped again as she looked at you once more, the surprise outshining the amusement on her face.

But after another good look she grinned. “Ah, but you’re messing with me,” She said with a dismissive handshake, wiping the hologram before her out of existence.

Ogundimu smiled to himself. “You will look after her, show her around. Basically, you’ll be her shadow for now.”

Sombra’s eyes narrowed, they flicked over to you, then back to Ogundimu.

“Is this for the Volskaya mission?”

“Maybe.”

“Ugh, fine. But then we’re even, you hear me?” She sounded annoyed, but already went back to the door she had entered through, then she looked over her shoulder at you. “You coming or what, chica?”

With one last look at Ogundimu, you rose from the chair and walked over to the woman, hyper aware of both of their eyes on you.

“First visit will be a closet. What is that?” She opened the door while pointing at your hospital garb.

“They’re—”

“Nevermind. We will get some decent clothes for you. Can’t be seen with you running around like that.” With that she once again projected a holographic display in front of her, while she navigated through various interfaces with her hand. You bristled faintly at her jab, it wasn’t like it was your choice of clothing either. But you got the impression that this Sombra woman wasn’t particularly interested in what you had to say anyway, so you just kept your mouth shut and tagged along.

You didn’t walk far, only a few corridors further and one staircase down and your surroundings resembled more of a hotel than a terrorist base of operations. The whole time Sombra managed to use her holographic projection, she didn’t even have to look away once, not even when you both descended the stairs.

The furnishings down here were no less impressive than they had been upstairs though, the floor was carpeted, the walls a light cream and the doors looked like solid wood.

“Come along now, your room should be right—” She walked two more steps and stopped in front of a door with a sign saying “3E”. “—here.”

You just stood there, unsure of what you were supposed to do now. After a few seconds, Sombra looked away from her hologram and frowned at you impatiently.

“Open it?”

Then you hurried forward to turn the handle, but the door didn’t open, it was locked.

Next to you, Sombra sighed dramatically. “Mierda…” She said and began to fiddle with the interface of her holographic projection again, this time she went even quicker than before. “Stupid Akande didn’t even give me a damn key,” She mumbled to herself, but then you could hear the distinct clicking of a lock, then Sombra swiped her interface away again and brushed a strand of her hair behind one ear. “Go on, it’s open now.”

This time the door yielded inwards and you were greeted by a small sparsely furnished room with a bed and a chair in one corner and a door in the other.

You stood in the room as Sombra brushed past you, on her way to the built in wall closet. She stopped in front of it, addressing you again. “Get dressed and we can continue our grand tour,” She said with mock enthusiasm, like a tour guide with too many years on their back.

The closet held a surprisingly large amount of varying clothes in it, the only thing they all had in common was the Talon logo embroidered on them. You couldn’t help but frown at that, you were still pissed that you were basically Talon’s bitch now.

“How come you don’t have the Talon logo on your outfit?” You asked Sombra after removing a pair of pants and a hoodie from the closet, ready to change into comfortable, concealing clothes.

Sombra barked a laugh. “Oh, chica. I may be working for Talon, but I’m not one of Akande’s and Max’s little minions.” She scowled, then regarded her manicured nails. “I am more of a...freelancer.” Then she winked at you, before her eyes fell onto the clothes in your hand, which immediately made her scowl again. “So that is your choice?” One eyebrow rose, but then she apparently remembered that she didn’t actually care about you and waved any comeback of yours off. “Alright, you change and I’ll be waiting for you outside.” Then she went to the door, but before she left, she spoke up again “Don’t keep me waiting.”

Finally left alone again, you took a deep breath to center yourself. You undressed slowly, as if in a trance. Really, you couldn’t think about all this right now, it was too much, too fast. And you were sure you would break down on the floor into a heap of sobs and cries about how life specifically hated you. So instead, you stripped the hospital gown off of you, slipped on underwear and pants and finally the hoodie.

“That’s better,” You said to yourself, then looked around you again. The door on the other side of the room led into a small bathroom, with fluffy towels next to a shower and fragrant soap lying on the sink. Well, Overwatch had about the same amount of luxury, but there you were allowed to leave…

Pulling yourself together again, you slammed the bathroom door shut and went to join Sombra outside of your new room.

“What’s been taking you so long?” She sounded annoyed from where she stood against the opposite wall, not even looking at you as she worked on her holo interface.

You only rolled your eyes at her for being so damn impatient. Already her demeanor was getting on your nerves, how you were supposed to get along with her at all was a mystery to you. But then again, who cared about your comfort here anyway? You were nothing but a prisoner, only that the metaphorical bars were shaped like Caleb.

***

Your grand tour, it turned out, was a trip to the gym, the practice range, and lastly the café (which kind of surprised you—which evil organization had a freaking café?). The feeling that you were actually in a grand hotel was starting to manifest.

Sombra granted you access to all these places with her weird interface thingy.

“If you want to go somewhere else, I will escort you and if you behave, maybe I’ll give you clearance for those as well,” She had said.

But now you both sat in the café on a table close to a window, your gaze flitted over that unfamiliar cityscape.

“Where are we anyway,” you asked and Sombra looked up from sipping her coffee.

“Talon headquarters.”

Headquarters? Well, that explained the whole very important and grand vibe of the place. You were about to mention that that hadn’t been your actual question, but somehow you knew you weren’t going to get a straightforward answer after all.

You sighed and nibbled on your cucumber sandwich. Sombra hadn’t even asked what you wanted to eat and had ordered for the both of you with a few gestures onto her holographic interface.

“Oh, our time’s up,” Sombra looked at you with those glittering eyes, then took one bite out of her own sandwich. “Akande wants you to go to the doc next,” She informed you and was already on her way out of her seat without even sparing another glance at you. “See you tomorrow, I guess.”

And with that she left the café, leaving you behind with a half eaten sandwich lying on your plate. You regarded it thoughtfully, the meager appetite you’d had long gone. So you pushed the plate away from you and finished your coffee in silence.

What now? You let your heavy head fall into your hand and stared wistfully at the sky outside, it was cloudy but still bright, a really nice day actually. And you were trapped here.

After you downed the last sip of your coffee, you rose to get to Dr. O’Deorain’s lab once more, even though you felt apprehension at the very thought of going back there.

As you left the café, you tried to backtrack the way you had come from, unsure of where the lab was situated. You groaned when you realized you were lost, you absolutely didn’t recognize your surroundings. You took the nearest elevator and commanded it to take you to the lower levels of the building, which it did. At least you were now one step closer to your destination.

The doors opened to a darkened hallway not unlike the one that had led to the lab and you couldn’t help but feel a little proud of your sense of direction. Cautiously, you moved along the halls and—lo and behold—there were the doors to the laboratory. All the joy you had felt at finding the way on your own vanished with a pang of anxiety in your gut. The doctor hadn’t seemed like a very pleasant person to you, having to work for her didn’t sound appealing at all. But you didn’t have a choice either way, so you went forward to find a way inside.

There was a card reader next to the doors with blinking LEDs and a holographic display asking for authorization.

Of course you didn’t have anything on you to gain access; bloody typical. You realized you’d have to do this the old fashioned way and simply knocked with a slightly shaking hand.

After a few seconds, the door opened and another unfamiliar face greeted you as it peered through the crack. It was a young woman, maybe a little older than you, with spectacles and a messy brown bun on her head.

“Yes?” She asked you with an accusatory glare.

“Um, I’m supposed to meet Dr. O’Deorain,” You explained and immediately, the girl’s face lit up.

“Oh, you must be the new intern!” She sounded excited and opened the doors wide to let you in. Well, this was the nicest welcome you had received so far and the knowledge of having someone benign at your side was at least a little comforting.

You stepped into the lab with trepidation, it looked the same as when you had left it in a hurry. The only exception was that the examination table was once again occupied. The black mass of a person created a stark contrast to the white surroundings and it made them stick out like a sore thumb. You instantly knew who it was, too.

It was the man, slash demon, who had kidnapped you after the explosion. Unbidden, your breath hitched and you stopped in your tracks, eyes wide as you took in the entirety of his massive form currently lying on that table. There were several machines attached to him in various places, displaying his vitals. Flashbacks of a cold shotgun barrel pressed against your forehead made you shiver.

So far you hadn’t been able to find an explanation for this hallucination you’d had, even though Ogundimu had not been subtle with his remarks about it. But now, fully awake and aware, you couldn’t deny that what had happened to you was as real as the man currently lying in front of you. Not a hallucination then.

Holy shit.

“Is everything alright?” It sounded from your right, and only now did you remember that you weren’t alone in the lab. Turning your suddenly stiff body away from the man, you again addressed the nice woman who had let you in.

“Yeah,” You answered as your eyes darted back to the table once more. In the same breath and a slightly higher pitched voice you asked, “Who’s that?”

“Oh, you’re really new, aren’t you?” She smiled reassuringly, set down a holopad she had been working on and motioned for you to sit next to her on a stool facing a long table currently holding a few test tubes. “First things first, I am Casey,” She held out her hand to you, which you immediately shook, and then you gave her your name as well.

“This there on the table is a man who calls himself Reaper, he’s in here quite often. I don’t know his real name, but Dr. O’Deorain is working with him,” Casey began, then she leaned a little closer to you and went on a little quieter. “Personally, I think she’s using him for an experiment of hers, though. Don’t know if he’s aware of it, but he certainly doesn’t seem to mind.”

You squinted at Casey, then the man.

“—Reaper? He...calls himself that?”

Casey nodded with a shrug and a half smile. Like it wasn’t concerning at all that somebody named themselves after death’s persona. The fine hairs on the back of your neck rose at the memory of the man removing his mask to reveal inky nothingness and two red orbs that had stared into your soul. Already you were making a mental note to request not having to work in the lab when he was present.

“Don’t you find him creepy?” The incredulousness in your voice was hard to suppress.

“Of course,” Casey pushed her glasses back onto her nose. “But I usually don’t have to deal with him, he’s Dr. O’Deorain’s project and she doesn’t like lab assistants messing up her work.” You could see a small frown beginning to form on her forehead as she finished her sentence. She sounded resentful.

“So what do you do around here?” You changed the subject and looked around for emphasis.

Already, she was perking up again. “Oh, I assist the doc with her work and do tests while she is doing her research and experiments.”

As you watched her you could clearly see that she was enthusiastic about her work. A question popped into your head.

“Can I...can I ask you something personal?”

“What is it?”

“Why are you here?”

Casey blinked at you once, then she smiled again. “I want to become a geneticist, and working under Dr. O’Deorain sounded like an opportunity of a lifetime.”

“But, you are also working for Talon.” Why would a sweet girl like her work here? It didn’t seem like she was being forced to be here either. That, or she was a great actor.

Casey deflated a little, the line of her mouth went grim. “Trust me, I know. And I don’t particularly like the fact that I am. But, like I said this was an opportunity I couldn’t have let fly by me.” She even looked a tad guilty.

A long silence followed. The fact that she didn’t ask why you were here spoke volumes. She definitely knew about you, no need to ask.

That was depressing.

Your gaze had landed on the man again, he was lying there like a storm cloud would hang above you forebodingly, a menacing presence that could strike any second.

“Is he unconscious?” You asked Casey who had started working on her holopad again.

“Yeah, he is in a regeneration phase.” She answered while tapping holographic buttons. “Has been blown up pretty badly in the last mission.”

“Blown up?”

“Yes, you should have seen him when he came in. He was barely in human shape at all.”

You gulped. What the hell was she talking about? But before you could ask her, Dr. O’Deorain entered the lab.

“There you are,” She said to you in lieu of a greeting, and held out her hand to Casey who hurried to pass her the holopad she had been working on. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Yes, doctor,” Casey responded immediately and as you looked at her you could see the admiration in her eyes.

The doctor didn’t wait for your reply and went on to explain. “Subject R-24 has almost completed regeneration, he only needs his weekly dosage of serum 3442.” She sighed. “But I have to leave because some cretin thought it would be a good idea to ship my chemicals with highly explosive substances.”

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she finally addressed you. “You two will have to administer the serum. One will inject, the other has to monitor the vitals.” That was all you were told before she left the lab again.

Casey jumped from her stool and went to get the serum while you rose as well and awkwardly walked over to the displays on a big screen. Ok, you could do this, just checking and alarming Casey if something was wrong. There was the line indicating his heart beat, but something about it was off. The peaks weren’t high enough to be considered healthy, it was as if he took his very last breaths. With concern you turned to Casey, who was drawing the serum into a syringe.

“What’s with this heartbeat?” You asked and while Casey removed any air bubbles from the syringe, she answered you.

“Well, that happens when you’re kind of a wraith.”

A what?

You just stared at her, then at patient R-24, or rather Reaper, and decided that you were definitely staying as far away from him as possible. What was Dr. O’Deorain doing here?

After disinfecting the spot she was going to use for injection, Casey inserted the needle in between the pieces of the man’s bulky armor, into the greyish dark skin of his left arm. It was surreal to watch how he lay there on the examination table in full gear, even his white skeletal mask was in place and his head covered by his black hood. Why had he chosen this specific getup? To be intimidating, probably.

When Casey was finished with the injection, she put away the syringe and removed the medical gloves she had been wearing. With a satisfied smile she turned to you, took a last look at the vitals display and moved back to her holopad. “I’ll just finish these reports and then we can wrap it up.”

“Okay,” You answered from where you were still standing, between the screen and the man on the table. While you didn’t want to look at him for longer than you had to, there was a strange fascination about him. Now that you were fully aware of your surroundings and your brain wasn’t lacking oxygen, you could finally take an actual look. You’d never seen someone like that before, and you were hesitant to believe what you’d been told. A wraith...what the hell was that even supposed to mean? Aside from the weird armor and extremely unhealthy looking skin on his arms, you thought he looked like a regular man. If said man was a shotgun wielding maniac.

Your gaze wandered over his form, metal and leather created a thick second skin that clung to his muscular physique. The metal claws at the end of his fingers looked pointy and dangerous and you were certain he could disembowel a person with them if he so desired.

As if on their own accord, your slightly shaking fingers reached out and touched the cold metal tentatively. You brushed them upwards over the back of his gloved hand and between two protruding spikes until you reached the gap between gauntlet and shoulder armor, your fingers hovered above his bare skin. Then you pressed the pad of your index and middle finger to it, sending out just a little bit of healing in morbid curiosity. His skin was not exactly warm, but not too cold either. It was really weird and you immediately wanted to remove your hand again as his skin began to warm from your touch.

Just then his body tensed, as if he’d been electrocuted, and the hand that had previously been lying motionless shot up to grab your wrist. Gasping in panic, you tried to wrench your arm free, but his claws were already digging into your flesh painfully.

“Casey!” You called out to the other lab assistant, who turned around to you with a look of shock.

“Hold on,” She said as she rushed over to you and tried to pry off the man’s claws from your arm. Not even with her help you were able to remove them, and you felt the panic inside you rising. It hurt like hell and you were sure he was going to draw blood any second.

But suddenly his grip did loosen and his hand fell off back to his side as if nothing had happened, leaving you to stumble backwards with the force of your pulling. You hit the wall with your back, still staring at the man on the table, who was once again motionless. Heart racing from your recent shock, you looked around to see Casey cautiously advancing towards you with her hands reaching out in a soothing motion.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she finally reached you.

With a last long breath, you finally relaxed enough to reply.

“Yeah...I think.”

Casey stopped in her tracks, a frown on her face, then she turned around to regard the man again. “That’s really weird. This never happened before,” She explained, her finger tapping against her chin in thought. “Did you do something?”

Somehow, you felt embarrassed to confess that you’d touched him, your gaze fell to your wrist which was showing angry red spots where it had been nearly crushed, indentations showed where his claws had been.

“Uh, I kinda...touched him.”

“Oh.” The way she said it sounded like this was explanation enough for her. “Yeah, don’t do that. We’re not supposed to anyway.”

“Got it,” You said meekly, although you vowed to never be in the same room as him again in the first place. Any questions you had about this weird rule were interrupted by a loud noise coming from one of the monitoring devices. Casey went over and tapped the touch panel beside it, then addressed you once more with a smile.

“Alright, we’re done here for today,” She announced cheerfully and shut off a few machines with practiced ease.

“So, we’re just leaving him here?” You asked uncertainly, even though you hated how interested you sounded in that weird masked man.

“Yes, he will rest here for a few more hours,” She said offhandedly and already began turning off the lights. Hurriedly, you walked towards the exit, because you really weren’t keen on staying in this room with him while it was darkened as well. Hell no.

You waited for Casey outside the double doors of the lab, feeling a little shaky from that whole ordeal just now and only wished to go to bed. She joined you quickly, a key card around her neck. She smiled again when she saw you, then proceeded to close the doors behind her. You couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t lock them.

“Aren’t you going to lock the lab up?”

“And trap Reaper inside?” She laughed. “I usually do, but not when he’s still in. I did it once and he wasn’t exactly happy about it.”

The way her face scrunched up spoke volumes.

“What happened?”

“Well, let’s just say Dr. O’Deorain was even more pissed at me than he was. He simply broke the door down you see.” She shook her head. “What a mess.”

Your eyebrows shot up. “That sounds...terrifying, to be honest.”

“Doesn’t it?” But her laugh made her statement sound pretty ominous, and you started to wonder if Casey was alright. She almost seemed too cheerful.

The first few days at Talon HQ went by for you in kind of a haze. You got up at six in the morning to get ready for your work in the lab. Thankfully, Reaper wasn’t present at all during that time, and you were a little relieved.

Dr. O’Deorain apparently wasn’t much of a talker, the most she spoke to you were instructions or orders for your daily tasks. Today, though, she approached you with a gleam in her eye. You got a bad feeling immediately.

“Come over to the examination table, please,” She addressed you as she turned away, then you saw Casey looking at you with a mix between concern, intrigue, and just a little bit of envy.

As you neared the shiny stainless steel table, you saw something lying on it. It was a glove; dark purple with wires running over its surface from the back to the tips. You knew right away that this was a new amplifying glove for your healing abilities. Curiously, you reached for it, then hesitated. Before you touched it, you made sure it was okay for you to do so. With a small nod, Dr. O’Deorain confirmed it for you and you picked it up.

The glove was obviously still a prototype, the material wasn’t properly sewn shut and most of the wires weren’t even insulated. So you put it on very carefully. It fit you snugly. You made a fist to test the stretch of it and it felt like a second skin, expanding and retracting in time with your movements.

You studied it some more before the doctor gave you a small sharp smile. “Go ahead. Try it.”

Tentatively, you rubbed the tips of your fingers together, a warm yellow light began to glow where they touched. Then you extended your arm away from you, concentrated and consciously began collecting your healing in the palm of your hand. The small glow at your fingertips began to expand and started sending light away from you in a concentrated, but gentle spray. Before it could touch the ground though, it dissolved into nothingness.

After a few seconds, you started to feel your arm going numb, it grew heavy and you had to lower it back to your side, clutching it with your left hand to your chest.

That was weird. You never had experienced pain or discomfort before when you had used your healing ability. But this glove, it seemed to work differently than the one you had been given by Dr. Ziegler.

Dr. O’Deorain was at your side in a heartbeat, unwound your limbs and removed the glove from your hand with a satisfied expression on her face.

You winced.

“What was that?” You asked as you tried to rub some life back into your arm.

The doctor chuckled quietly to herself as she laid the glove down on her work table, then she turned back to you.

“This is my invention,” She began. “It is derived of the nanite technology your former mentor and I had been working on.” She reached over the desk to grab a small device, which she connected to one of the open wires. “Only that it is ten times more powerful than what she has come up with.”

You had a feeling that the smug smile she flashed at you was definitely meant for Dr. Ziegler.

Great, apparently you were one of her new experiments, and her goal was to one up her old colleague.

“It is still in its test phase, but it should be ready for the upcoming mission,” The doctor informed you.

“Mission?”

“Yes, the council wants you on the next one, and I have been working day and night on this amplifier.”

Your heart sank at these news. So you were supposed to actively accompany these terrorists on their terrorist attacks, too? It was bad enough that you had to help them in the science department, but you never agreed to be out in the field as well.

Of course, what you wanted or didn’t agree to didn’t matter in the slightest and you doubted the doc even cared, so you chose to keep your mouth shut about it.

“What kind of mission is this going to be?” You asked, but the doctor simply shrugged.

“I didn’t ask,” Was all she said, apparently already moving on to much more important things. You wondered if the doctor tried to stay as ignorant as possible to Talon’s doings because, maybe she had something like a conscience, or if she was simply too focused on her research to trouble herself with anything else.

Experimenting on people definitely sounded more like option two to you, though.

When you didn’t move away from behind her, she turned around with an irritated frown. With a sigh, she put down the device.

“All I do know is that I have two more days to finish this,” She said and pointed to the project behind her on the desk with a tilt of her head. “And I need all the time I have for it to be ready by then. So,” She narrowed her eyes. “Let me work, unless you want to run around and hug everyone you’re supposed to heal.” With that she turned around once more, the conversation over.

That sounded reasonable.

You left her alone for the remainder of the two days you were working in the lab, instead talking and socializing with Casey who, you learned, would not be a part of the mission you’d been assigned to.

That didn’t surprise you though, Casey hadn’t struck you as the kind of person who walks around shooting people.

But neither were you. Well, of course you’d had gun training, but so far you’d never had to actually shoot somebody. And you’d prefer if it stayed that way, especially now that you were on the wrong team, too. Ugh, what a mess.

***

It was the day of the mission and you were seated in the briefing room. A dark place, the carpet, seats and table, even the walls were a dull grey, only accentuated by metallic details here and there gleaming in the dull indirect lighting. The only bright spot was the large Talon logo on the opposite wall, mocking you obnoxiously in its bright red colours.

There were people sitting around you, none of whom you recognized, and they were quietly listening to Ogundimu, who stood at the head of the long oval table, explaining your course of action.

Apparently, there were going to be four small teams of two working together at different places located around a big hotel where the person you were supposed to take out was currently residing at.

Assassination...well, this went off to a good start. You sighed inwardly, sinking into your seat a little more, not exactly trying to hide, but not wanting to be there either.

The way Ogundimu spoke really made him sound convinced of his own plan, you could see now how he had been able to rise in Talon’s ranks up so quickly. He was leader material with his educated choice of words, the way he spoke and carried himself. It instilled awe and inspired confidence, not in you of course. But as you looked around you saw some of the others nod and even grin amongst themselves. They were sure his plan wouldn’t fail.

Everybody seemed to know about the person you were going to kill, there were no details given about him other than his name. This killing seemed to have been a long time coming. You weren’t going to raise your hand and ask about him though, nope.

What’s the saying again? Ignorance is bliss.

Ogundimu was coming to an end, some people around you sat up straighter, suddenly antsy with anticipation. They were looking forward to this, you realized with poorly concealed disgust, as you side eyed them.

“Ah,” Ogundimu called out your name. “Are you ready for your first mission?” He gave you a lazy smile and crossed his arms in front of his massive chest.

Everybody turned to look at you and you could feel your cheeks burn with self-consciousness. That was Ogundimu’s intention, no doubt.

“Yes,” You answered, after clearing your throat tentatively.

“Good,” He kept smiling, then addressed the others in the room again. “You will all work in the usual teams. We’re leaving in ten minutes. Dismissed.”

Suddenly everyone got up and left, already partnering up, leaving you to hurry up and follow them. Whom were you supposed to team up with? You had counted nine people, excluding Ogundimu who would be working alone. And that left you short one person to make a team.

As you exited the room and stood forlorn in the hallway, a heavy hand fell onto your shoulder. You spun around in surprise and found Ogundimu towering above you.

“I have a special teammate for you,” He said ominously and started leading you towards the meeting point, his hand falling away after a few meters.

A question burned on your mind, but you were hesitant to ask.

“How is Caleb?” You just had to know.

Ogundimu kept walking stoically, then shifted his gaze towards you.

“Do your job and he’ll be just fine,” He said quietly, a hint of threat behind his words though, and you nodded minutely in understanding.

The two of you neared your destination, an underground hangar with numerous vehicles and aircrafts suddenly opened up before you. The teams were already paired up and ready to leave, while you were still in the dark about your partner. The way Ogundimu had made it sound wasn’t very reassuring either. Who was this special teammate; Sombra? You hadn’t seen her in a few days, not after you spent the majority of the day at the lab. Apparently, she was satisfied with her observation of you. That, or she was finally bored enough to simply ignore you again.

The man gave you a gentle push when you had stopped to take in the impressive surroundings, and he was now walking behind you towards a small helicopter. Its pilot was already inside, their features hidden from view by a helmet and visor, but you were certain that this wasn’t going to be that mystery teammate. Just as you walked past the cockpit on the outside, your head coming around to look in front of you, you saw him.

It was Reaper. He stood in the shadow of the helicopter, dark robes and white skeletal mask in their usual place.

You made a full stop and, with your heart in your throat, took a step back, bumping into Ogundimu behind you.

No, no, no, no, no, no!

He was going to be your partner? Shit. You should have known, Ogundimu was way too amused by your whole dealings with the black robed man to not do this to you.

“Your new partner,” the man behind you said, to Reaper or you, you weren’t too sure. But his smile was evident in his voice. You moved away from Ogundimu, trying in vain not to look as spooked as you felt. Reaper crossed his arms in front of him, regarding you through the mask on his face.

“You can’t be serious,” Reaper answered in his gravelly voice, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the darkness creating dramatic shadows on his mask.

“You have a flight to catch,” Ogundimu ignored him, then he produced your new amplifying glove from his pocket and tossed it to you, fully expecting you to catch it. Thankfully, you managed to grab it before it fell to the ground, regarding it for a second. It looked way better now than it did two days ago for sure, the stitching was impeccable, all the wires were secured inside the stretchy, dark purple material but still visible. You put it on your right hand, again testing its flexibility.

“I work alone,” Reaper tried again to catch the other man’s attention. Ogundimu leveled him with a stare.

“You’re becoming more reckless.” The other said in a low voice, only meant for Reaper. “Last time it cost us the mission,” He went on after taking a step forward. “I cannot take that risk this time, Gabriel.”

Gabriel, huh? Not as menacing as Reaper, that was for sure.

They were doing some kind of face off, both staring each other down and you stood there forgotten. You hated awkward situations like these, especially if it involved you.

Suddenly Ogundimu leaned away again, his stance became more casual and a small smile played on his lips.

“I’m surprised. It was you who brought her here, why don’t you want to take her with you now?”

At that, Reaper’s head turned around to you like that of an owl, and your heart stuttered for a second there. Was he deliberately trying to be scary?

“So you want your new healer to die?” Reaper said to the other man, while still facing you. “Something will happen, and I will simply keep on living while she will be blown to pieces,” He went on, now fully addressing Ogundimu again.

Cold shivers ran down your spine, his words sounded like a dark prophecy. All this seemed to be a terrible idea and you were keen on joining Reaper’s side on this matter. They should leave you behind to keep on working in the lab.

But Ogundimu didn’t seem convinced of Reaper’s doom-mongering, his smile didn’t falter.

“Well, she already encountered death once,” He looked over to you. “And emerged very much alive. I’d also advise you to not let it happen again.”

“I’m not playing babysitter.” Reaper ground out in a low growl, it was an unnatural sound you never wanted to hear again. You also hated how those two simply talked as if you weren’t there, like you were some kind of burden, or the annoying little cousin.

You didn’t want to be here either, but nobody asked you now, did they?

“I can take care of myself,” You just had to chime in, you were slowly getting annoyed with those two. You were an agent of Overwatch, for fuck’s sake. You could handle any mission. Reaper let his arms fall back to his side, tilted up his head to look down at you from even farther above. Then he made a non-committal sound and whirled away to enter the helicopter. You swore you could see dark mist following in his wake, but as you were distracted by it, Ogundimu’s heavy hand landed on your shoulder once more. Everytime it felt like a ton of bricks came down on you, making your knees buckle with the force of it.

“Do good work,” He reminded you again quietly, “And your friend will be fine.”

You stared at him while you were dying on the inside. Great, he just had to add insult to injury with mentioning Caleb again, reminding you that you had to do whatever you were told.

“Sure,” Was all you said, then brushed off his hand and followed Reaper inside the helicopter. The pilot had already started the engine and it was growing louder by the second.

The helicopter was moderately sized for a small team such as yours. Two people fit comfortably in the back with a little bit of space between, thankfully. You tried to stay as far on your side as possible, leaning heavily against the door. From here you could see people scurrying away hunched over from the fast turning rotor blades. All except Ogundimu, who was walking at a leisurely pace, his hands in his pockets, back straight and looking right at you.

Was everyone in Talon so...intense?

With a small sigh, you shifted your gaze away from the man and instead focused on how the helicopter began flying upwards through a gigantic chute and into the beautiful late afternoon sky. Only a few clouds were hanging on the bright blue horizon and you had to shield your eyes from the sun.

Suddenly something landed in your lap. Startled, you looked down and found a helmet lying there. The pilot had thrown it at you when he’d noticed your presence, he gave you a thumbs-up, and somehow this small gesture made you feel a little better.

But as you put on the helmet you already felt foolish again, because this man was working for Talon as well. He was one of the bad guys.

Just like you were now.

Ugh. You could feel a headache forming behind your eyes.

It was almost dark by the time you arrived at your destination. It was a recently built apartment tower just across from the hotel. It was so recent in fact, that nobody had moved in yet. But furniture had been set up in various places, you noticed as you and Reaper entered one of the apartments with huge floor length windows. They let in the moonlight that was shining brightly tonight, which was a blessing really because you couldn’t turn on the lights without giving away your presence.

This position allowed you to observe without being seen in turn. Really, you were just backup in case things went south.

Although you hated Talon and definitely didn’t want them to succeed, you also wondered what would happen to you or Caleb should the mission fail.

Reaper hadn’t spoken to you at all since you had taken off in the helicopter, and you were glad you didn’t have to talk to him. Now you were certain that the black mist you had seen before definitely hadn’t been your imagination. Whenever he was moving about, the sheer black mass rose up from the soles of his booted feet and outside of his mask.

Well, that happens when you’re kind of a wraith, Casey’s words rang through your head and you unconsciously hugged yourself. The apartment was chilly, with no one living here the heating wasn’t on either. Somewhere in the small backpack you had brought was a fleece jacket you now took out and put on. It didn’t help all that much, though but it would do for now.

Reaper was standing off to the side, looking out the window and absentmindedly checking one of his shotguns.

There were so many questions when it came to him, you realized. He was a big puzzle you kind of wanted to understand, but also wanted to stay as far away from as possible. Some of the things Ogundimu had said to you were flitting through your mind. Like how he was able to tell you about how Overwatch was a terrorist organization as well.

You scoffed at the thought, really that was just ridiculous.

At your small sound of incredulousness, Reaper turned around and laid down his shotgun on an unfinished kitchen counter nearby.

“Just to make this clear,” He began, “Should something come up I’m going alone. Got it?”

You were about to protest, but thought better of it. If he wanted to do it on his own so badly, why would you fight him on this? You could tell Ogundimu how he didn’t let you come with him and really, it wasn’t like you could force him to take you along.

“Fine,” You said nonchalantly, then moved over to sit down on a couch standing in the middle of the room. At least you were going to be comfortable while you had to wait for everything to pass.

And boy, was it boring.

While you were sitting there, already getting tired from the boredom and only the moon for lighting, Reaper was still in his spot by the window, an ever present shadow giving you occasional sparks of anxiety. It was best to ignore him, you thought, and instead looked around some more to judge these people’s taste in home decor.

Everything was so...bland. The furniture, the walls and carpets, even the pictures on the walls screamed pretentious and generic at the same time. Maybe these apartments were going to be rented for short periods of time instead of people buying them.

You were interrupted in your musings by a small beeping sound.

“Yes,” Reaper answered a comm device in his ear, then said “Acknowledged.” And picked up his shotguns to walk towards the door.

“Should I—,” You began but were stopped by Reaper whirling around and just staring at you blankly. Alright, you got it: stay here. You sat back and watched him leave the apartment.

What an egomaniac, you thought and snuggled into your fleece jacket to keep warm. The quiet was nice, you found, and soon enough you felt your eyes begin to drift shut.

***

Bang!

Your eyes snapped open, the serenity of the empty apartment greeted you but it was disrupted by the loud sound that had just woken you up. Across from you, there was the figure of a man inside a big black swirling mist curling in on itself and it was moving towards you.

With a shriek and your heart in your throat, you jumped up from the couch, only to knock over the coffee table next to it. You ended up on your ass on the floor and finally, your sluggish brain was able to catch up.

Before your eyes, the deathly white mask of Reaper was staring at you, and you consciously tried to calm down. Although that was quite the task, seeing how disfigured he looked. Besides his mask, nothing was in its original shape. His robes were torn, the left side of his torso didn’t seem to be able to decide on whether it was corporeal or not, the black mist coalescing into a part of a lung or skin tissue, then blowing apart violently again.

Horrified, you watched him approach you, a low pained groan erupted from him and somehow sounding from all around you as well.

He came ever closer, and although you knew he hadn’t come to kill you, you couldn’t shake the feeling of trepidation. It was almost funny how you could have ever mistaken him for an angel.

He hadn’t moved towards you though, but rather the couch, and now sank into it. With a small breath of relief, you struggled back up again and over to your backpack to retrieve the amplifying glove.

“Leave it,” He ground out, his voice wavering as he leaned his head onto the back of the couch.

With a frown you stopped what you were doing and looked at him questioningly.

“I don’t—” He had trouble breathing. “—need your help.”

Incredulously, you propped your hands on your hips.

“What?” You asked him with an air of annoyance. “Look at you. You’re only half human...or whatever you are, right now.”

“I’ll manage,” He retorted stubbornly, and then you decided that he could die for all you cared.

“Fucking hell,” You muttered under your breath and stuffed the glove back inside your backpack, zipping it unnecessarily harsh. How irritating could someone be?

Still shaken and angry, you opted to sit down in a corner of the living room where you were able to still see what Reaper was doing. If he didn’t manage to heal on his own, you were going to have to help him out eventually. Ogundimu would not take kindly to you letting one if his agents die on your watch. The one having to suffer would be Caleb.

Minutes ticked by, the sounds coming from the wounded man were slowly turning from agony to lesser pain, and you were relieved that your help apparently wasn’t needed after all.

What a waste of time that has been, you thought as you sucked on your teeth absentmindedly.

Then suddenly, Reaper spoke to you again.

“Come here.”

Instead of the command spurring you into action though, it made you freeze in your spot. You stared at him, and he at you while he was clutching the left side of his body.

He growled when you didn’t do as you were told.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” He warned, and finally you were able to get up, put on the glove and walked over to him on slightly shaking legs.

When you stopped before him, he carefully removed his clawed hand from his side to reveal the damage.

You winced sympathetically at the sight. Flesh and bone were visible amidst black mist that was trying in vain to knit them back together.

“Don’t just stand there, do something.”

Bristling, you concentrated on your healing ability, had it collect inside your palm and sent it out through the tips of the glove. Golden white light illuminated the black robed man before you and lit up the skeletal mask. You could see how flesh and bone were mending back together where the light spray touched his wound. Amazed at how fast he was healing, you wondered how Dr. O’Deorain had managed it, how she had altered the technology.

The bones were completely regenerated after a few moments, but you also felt your arm going numb again. Oh damn, the doc hadn’t changed anything about the glove’s abilities. The numbness soon began to fade and instead a dull pain began to throb, and you had to stop what you were doing. With a hiss you tried to rub life back into your appendage.

“Finish it,” Reaper growled at you, apparently very much in pain.

“I am trying!” You snapped back at him, fed up with his attitude and irritated by the pain. But there was no way for you to go on like this. “I can’t use this,” You finished as you pulled off the glove.

“What?” Reaper sounded annoyed, looked down himself and cursed. “Can’t you do it without that thing?”

You stopped and thought for a second. Touching him had not been a very good idea before, you remembered. Last time it had ended with his fist almost crushing your wrist. So you were reluctant to do it. Reaper must have seen your hesitance, because suddenly his bloodied and smoking hand shot forward to grab you by the back of your neck, pulling you towards him.

With a small yelp you landed on the couch beside him, propping yourself on your knees in order to not land directly in his lap.

“Listen,” He growled and you could feel the points of his sharp claws dig into your neck while his mask was mere centimeters away from your face. “You will heal me now or I can simply take your life force from you.”

You swallowed.

“Either way, I will be whole again,” He ended his threat, but kept holding onto you.

“Okay. Okay, fine!” You answered with your throat closing down in fear. There was no reason not to believe him. “Just—let go.”

Slowly, Reaper’s claws unhooked from your skin, leaving papercut fine wounds in their wake.

Finally free again you pulled away from him a little, wanting more space between you two.

“You need to move your arm,” You told him with a false calmness, and watched as he raised his arm to let it rest on the back of the couch, creating a space for you to get a bit closer to where you needed to be.

You raised shaking hands to his still open wound, fighting the urge to flee, and concentrated on your healing once more. Your palms became warm, the inner flow of the nanites inside your blood were a pleasant prickling on your hand and you closed your eyes in concentration.

With a final breath out, you closed the distance and touched him, his small grunt of pain made you jump a little although you had expected it, but you were able to keep up the healing process.

Beneath your fingers muscles began to form and take shape again, as well as vessels and fat tissue. Reaper sighed and seemed to relax beside you, that was a little reassuring at least.

Everything would have been fine, the healing was working, you had no time pressure and in this darkness you didn’t even have to close your eyes to not see how you were healing a Talon terrorist, slash mercenary, slash murderer.

But suddenly he groaned. No, actually moaned, and it broke your concentration. “There’s another spot,” He went on quietly and pulled your arm until you were half leaning over him. He guided your hand to his shoulder, where you felt was another wound quite deep as well. Your chest touched his, the coolness of his metallic armor seeped through your fleece jacket in no time and you shivered. The way you were lying across him now was uncomfortable, and very awkward.

Apparently, he thought the same because soon his hands started to rearrange you so you were actually straddling his legs, the metal again cold and unyielding beneath you, or were those his thighs? Either way, while he was visibly relaxing, you were a tense ball of apprehension, your concentration fleeting as your heart was hammering in your chest. You were still healing his wounds though, determined to finish it up as quickly as possible.

So when he stopped moving again, you felt confident enough to close your eyes and flee from reality for a moment, and that dreadful mask, instead focusing on the healing; one hand at his side, the other on his shoulder.

The only sounds you heard were Reaper’s ragged breaths and the blood rushing in your ears. Please let this be over soon, you prayed.

Again Reaper moaned quietly and you felt your stomach twist, you were so unbelievably uncomfortable with this whole situation. Why was this turning so weirdly...sexual all of a sudden? Your healing had never had such an effect on someone like this before, why with him?

While you were crying on the inside at the unfairness of it all, Reaper’s hands crept up your legs and came to rest on your waist, causing your breath to hitch and the healing to stop with how you wanted to pull away.

“No,” The man purred, “Keep going.” Then he leaned his head away again to let it rest on the couch’s back.

Oh god. This sounded so wrong.

You shook your head to clear it. Well, you would definitely have a word with someone about this later, but now you had to finally bring this to an end and be done with it.

So, with shaking hands, you resumed the mending of his wounds, trying in vain to ignore his big hands on your sides, and how they seemed to squeeze you from time to time.

It was a long process without you being able to use concentrated healing through an amplifier, but it would get the job done eventually. Of course such work was tiring. Already you felt the fatigue in your joints, creeping up from your hands to every part in your body. That was natural and bound to happen, but it seemed tenfold after using Dr. O’Deorain’s glove, and you weren’t exactly happy about it. Especially now in this particular situation.

Your breathing became heavy, you felt light-headed and had a hard time focusing on what you were doing. The only thing that kept you going was Reaper’s menacing presence, your instincts screaming at you to flee from him.

The more you felt your conscious slipping away from you, the more energetic the man seemed to become. You could feel him shifting and sighing as if he was greatly enjoying this, only adding fuel to your discomfort. Although all of this was starting to fade into the background, the only thought inside your head was heal, heal, heal.

And so you pushed yourself further, harder, to finish what you had started and get the hell out of this weird position. Somewhere in your mind you even yearned for the little room they had given you at Talon headquarters. Anywhere but here was fine, really.

Unbidden, thoughts of Caleb came to you, his pallid face staring into nothing in a greenish camera feed, how you had imagined him blown to bits in the warehouse explosion and how this man here had come to take you away from your previous life.

Mariquita, he had called you. You remembered that detail, even though you had no idea what it even meant.

Soon the fatigue was starting to become painful again, you desperately tried to keep your eyes open, but they just wouldn’t do what you told them to. Nothing was working anymore, all the control over your body and life had been lost and all that remained was a puppet. A puppet with your eyes and a broken smile.

A sob escaped you, you noticed somewhere far away. Blackness was crashing over you like waves. Waves of fog, or mist as dark as night while a blood red moon hung over you.

Distantly, you felt those clawed hands slide up your back, pulling you into an embrace and your cheek came to rest on a broad, fully intact shoulder. Cool air was blowing past your ear with the rumbling of a voice. What was it saying?

“—not done yet.” You were able to pick up the last part of the sentence, then your hands were positioned onto the almost completely healed wounds again, and held in place so they wouldn’t slip away. The healing you sent out were the very last remains of your ability, but it was still working. And with it, your heart squeezed painfully in your chest.

Heal or die.

You whimpered pathetically while your muscles spasmed and you lost all the feeling inside your fingers. Soon you were silently begging to fall unconscious, anything to get out of this feeling of actually dying.

Then, finally, Reaper hummed and released you, only to grab you again as you were slumping to the side.

One of his hands found their way around your throat, holding you in place before him. You could barely open your eyes, but what good would it do you anyway. All you were going to see would be his stupid mask.

“Nice work, mariquita,” He said with his head cocked slightly to the side. There he went with that word again. “Maybe I’ll keep you around after all.” He sounded thoughtful from what you could gather through the haze.

“Yay,” You whispered sarcastically, and that seemed to amuse him. The rough sound rippled through him and right into you as well, considering you were practically laying on top of him. As if his sinister laugh wasn’t creepy enough.

“You can—,” You tried swallowing around his grip on your throat. “—let go now.” But his fingers didn’t loosen their hold at all, instead he used them to turn your face a bit this way and that, as if he was trying to memorize your features.

Creep.

You wanted to raise your hands and push him away, but even that was too much of a task right now.

“You did such a good job at patching me up. I feel...great.”

A second of silence.

“Maybe I should return the favor,” Reaper mused. His demeanor had changed somewhat from the distant and cold killer to a calmer version. Even his voice had changed in timbre. But your thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly shifted beneath you, and his thighs began to spread causing you to move forwards and directly onto his crotch.

Your breath caught.

Oh god, let this bump between your legs be a shotgun shell or just another belt buckle.

There must have been something affecting the man because you could feel soft, warm lips pressing gently against your ear where there should have been a cold, hard mask.

“Oh,” You gasped and honestly, it was a miracle that you were still able to talk at all.

But those lips kept exploring the shell of your ear, making you shiver with the exhale of his next words.

“I’ll take care of you,” He murmured and rolled his hips into yours for emphasis.

All you managed was a weak whimper, you felt so powerless in his grasp, sapped of all your strength. And really, that’s exactly what had happened. You’d drained all your power into healing him and now he was feeling great, excited, while you were a limp sack of potatoes trying to stay awake.

“Stop,” You tried, but it only came out a breathy whisper. A whisper he should have heard, though. So he was ignoring you, the way he was beginning to feel you up was an indicator. Or his wandering lips, brushing your jaw and then your neck at the spot where his claws were not currently digging in to keep you in place.

This couldn’t be happening. Through the fog in your brain you could feel a panic rising. You were alone at this killer’s mercy.

“Get off,” you croaked, cursing your weak voice and how it made it all sound so ambiguous. But you weren’t playing or teasing here. You managed to raise one arm and limply held it against his leather clad chest. If only you could at least push away, put some distance between yourself and him.

Reaper’s lips brushed over your jugular, then he used his teeth and you swallowed drily at the sensation. It felt like he was about to deal the final killing blow. You had been today’s prey and now his meal.

A violent tremor ran through your body.

Slowly, he moved his face towards yours and through blurry eyes you could see his face—a dark smudge with burning red eyes, just like you remembered. It was difficult to discern with only the moonlight illuminating him. But then you blinked and it all became a little clearer. Underneath the smoke there were human features, a face marred by multiple scars criss-crossing over his nose and cheeks. As you looked on you saw peppered black facial hair, surprisingly well trimmed, and plush looking lips underneath.

In another life you might have called him handsome, but as it was you were too terrified by those burning demonic eyes to keep that thought for long. The smoke rising steadily from him seemed to clear a little as you watched one corner of his mouth curl.

The claws around your throat started pulling you into him further, fuelling the panic burning in your chest and with a breathless whimper your lips met his.

Everything he was doing was deceptively gentle, yet there was nowhere for you to go and he let you feel it in the way he held you and how his mouth brushed against yours sensually, followed by a wicked tongue licking over your bottom lip. Oh shit, this was spiralling out of control so fast it made your head spin.

In your dizziness and pain, even this unwanted attention suddenly started to feel...nice.

And wrong, so so wrong.

All you could do was to try and cling to the last bit of strength and defiance in you that screamed how all this was wrong and how there was no way you were enjoying any of it. Even though those soft caresses had you weak and pliant within moments. Somehow being sapped of all your strength and free will, to then being shown the smallest bit of comfort had your body convinced that it was enjoying this fucked up scenario.

You were practically lost in the sensation of his kiss, your mouth had gone lax sometime between his licks and nips and how he had deepened it considerably. You hadn’t even noticed how his grip on your throat had transferred to the back of your skull. The pointy ends of his claws dragging against your scalp had you shivering in his grasp.

Through the fog in your brain you felt how he ground against you, his evident excitement pressing into your most intimate parts.

The rage that had turned down to a simmer inside you flared up anew and with it a wave of newfound energy. You finally managed to push at his chest. The force you used dislodged his grip and as you fell down to the floor, you could see the surprise on his face. A small victory. Even if you’d hurt your butt in the process.

With shaky hands and legs you crawled away backwards, until you hit the upended coffee table behind you.

Surely, he wouldn’t let you off so easily, but Reaper remained in his spot on the sofa, his legs still spread and a smug expression on his face.

Then he simply got up to move to the corner where he had previously dumped his weapons. He appeared like a different person now, you noticed how he carried himself with ease and that his shoulders were less hunched.

You, on the other hand, were still shaking like a leaf where you lay in a heap on the floor, still catching your breath in your state of shock. Wary eyes casting anxious glances in his direction.

***

Neither of you had spoken another word after that incident and were now sitting in the helicopter again. Weariness and exhaustion were weighing down your limbs and phantom touches still ghosted over your skin in places that caused goosebumps to spread in discomfort. The thin fleece jacket around you didn’t help much with keeping you warm anymore, but not because it was especially cold around you, it was also an empty feeling inside that had you shivering.

Apparently you were still in shock, because even though your body was tired, your mind kept racing. Lips on yours, demanding, taking. More and more, your denial ignored, cast aside like it was nothing. An emptiness in your stomach made you sick, the feeling of control slipping through your fingers had you on edge and strangely lethargic as well. To say you were a mess right now would be an understatement.

All the while he was there, right next to you, sitting on the other side as if nothing had happened. No word of apology, or promise of it never happening again fueling the unease inside you.

You tried to calm down, this had just been an accident.

Yes, an accident. And it would never happen again, you would make sure of it.

When you touched down at Talon HQ again, you fled from the helicopter as fast as you could, glad that you managed not to stumble or trip as you walked towards your room in a haze.

Rounding a corner, you bumped into someone. You didn’t even have to look up to see that it was Ogundimu.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He sounded amused.

“I need to sleep,” you answered meekly, clutching the small backpack to your chest, eyes downcast. All you wanted right now was to curl up in bed.

Ogundimu made a pensive sound, then his hand landed on the familiar spot on your shoulder, albeit much gentler than all the times before. The contact made you look up again, and you found him fixing you with an almost inquisitive stare.

“How was your first mission with Talon?”

The question caught you off guard, what were you supposed to say? “Oh, it was alright. Just got up and real personal with the Reaper. Is there a way so I never have to see him again, by the way?”

Another million retorts went through your head, varying in their degree of sassiness. So you bit your tongue, took a breath and instead shrugged. “I did my job, as you asked.”

As Ogundimu regarded you, you wondered what he would think of what had happened between you and your teammate. Considering that the man was a criminal, he probably wouldn’t even care about some underling medic.

“So you did,” Ogundimu said slowly, then he lifted his hand as if to pull it away, only to brush a lock of your hair to the side, his eyes narrowing as they focused on your now exposed neck.

You stood there, immobile and mute in the face of his scrutiny and what he must have seen, and before you could find your voice again he finally removed his hand.

“You can tell me the details during the debrief.”

Your heart sank. Oh no, not a debrief. That meant you’d have to be around all the Talon goons and their stupid smug faces again when everyone would clap each other on the shoulder for a job well done.

Sighing inwardly, you turned around again at Ogundimu’s casual gesture for you to lead the way.

His looming presence behind you did nothing to ease the tension in your body. Inside the debriefing room, you opted to stay in the shadows again, tucked in a corner, as Ogundimu moved to the head of the large table. A brilliant smile stretched across the Talon leader’s face as he addressed his agents and congratulated them on their success.

But as you looked around, you noticed that a few people were missing. There had been at least half a dozen more seats occupied at the briefing that morning. Apparently, Reaper hadn’t been the only one to get shot up.

The very small smile tugging at the corner of your lips went unnoticed.

Ogundimu kept rattling on about each person’s role in the operation, acknowledging even the smallest wheel of his intricate machinery of agents. Lastly, his gaze fell on you.

“Of course we can’t forget our field medics.” He smiled at you. “It seems your work with Dr. O’Deorain is paying off. I rarely have the time to see her, so please send her my regards.” His eyes were sharp in the semi darkness of the meeting room, the illuminated backdrop of the mission details glowed like a halo around him.

You swallowed around a lump in your throat, but found that you couldn’t get any sound out. A small nod had to suffice.

Apparently happy with your non-verbal affirmation, Ogundimu went on to conclude his retelling of the mission and dismissed everyone shortly thereafter. This couldn’t have been over any faster for you; what an ordeal.

Finally, all of your team was dismissed. You sighed in relief and went to get out of there as fast as your tired feet could carry you.

The next morning, you didn’t even remember much of the walk to your room, or how you washed your face and disrobed to get in bed. What you did remember though was the vivid nightmare that had plagued you during the night.

Of being wrapped in a heavy, silky robe of darkness that had seemed to caress you slightly and had hugged you so completely you hadn’t been sure if breathing had still been possible. It had been both terrifying and strangely soothing.

Until you’d felt something sharp and pointy dragging along your skin everywhere, even though you had started to beg and plead for it to stop. It hadn’t, and you’d started to panic, frantically trying to breathe through the mist that had started to seep straight into your lungs, filling them completely with its presence and just lingering, heavy and dark. It had kept going on and on until, with one final desperate breath, you had awakened. Soaked in sweat and tangled in your sheets, the pale morning light creeping through your only window.

One hand clutched your chest, trying to will away the feeling of trepidation that still had a grip on your lungs. You kicked off the sheets the rest of the way and immediately went for the bathroom, where you splashed cold water in your face. A look in the mirror revealed dark circles under your eyes, a gaunt in your cheeks and paler skin. You really had given it your all yesterday. It was scary. Never before had you healed someone like that, until you’d almost fainted. It had taken quite a toll on you, better to not repeat it.

A wry laugh escaped you from that thought. Surely, Reaper would understand if you told him how it made you want to fucking die. He seemed like a reasonable guy…

One hand wiped over your tired face, the other clutched the bathroom sink. What were you going to do about this? Probably nothing. This was just how things were going to be from now on. Hysteria was battling with tiredness inside you at the prospect of having to go through this again and again. Of having to face Reaper once more, to see the skeletal white of his mask staring back with those dead eyes.

With a heavy sigh you pushed away and out of the bathroom to get dressed. This was just another day at Talon headquarters and nobody gave a shit if you felt bad for any reason.

#reader x reaper #female reader #fanfiction #overwatch #reaper

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