Warning! This chapter countains graphic depictions of violence, manipulation, and mental abuse.
Hopefully this will be the last angsty chapter for a while. It was needed though, for the characters' relationships to develop.
Hope you'll enjoy!
CHAPTER 6 – When your past burst through the door
If Toshinori did not die from choking on his own blood, Recovery Girl would gladly finish his sufferings herself. The aged healing hero was small, but as she looked both Aizawa and All Might down with a furious gaze, she might as well be as tall as Mount Lady, and as deadly as the League of Villains.
She had reasons to be so enraged. With their irresponsibility, her patient had danced on the brink of death. Philae's vitals were at the lowest, all her organs threatened to shut down simultaneously at any moment, and it was a miracle the poor girl had not fallen into a coma.
Recovery Girl sighed heavily and eyed the two silent men. She had disinfected and bandaged Aizawa's leg and offered Toshinori some tissues, but had not uttered a single word during the whole process. They knew they had made a huge mistake. Her silent treatment only worsened the guilt gnawing at them, and she did not feel like relieving them of their burden just now. They ought to be guilty.
Toshinori, especially, was taking it very hard. He was looking at his shuddering arms pensively, his mind swirling with scathing comments and beating reproach directed at himself. Pathetic. Stupid. Careless. How could he have not noticed. How could he have let the girl almost exhaust herself to death. He was supposed to be the responsible adult here, and all he had been able to do was almost killing her. While he carried her to the infirmary, he had been seized by a crushing fear for the young woman, so strong that he could not hide it behind a smile. This time, nothing was alright. His anguish inhabited his whole being and he could not think about anything else.
He was a former hero, for God's sake! All Might would have thought further into every possible outcomes of the Quirk experiment, and chosen the least dangerous possibility. All Might would not have watched his student die in front of his eyes. All Might had trained young Midoriya without any problem, and God knows the boy was reckless himself. So how, why...? His hands curled into fists, and he bit back a cry of rage and anxiety.
Toshinori had given in to his curiosity and wanted to see a dragon again. He had seen no real harm in a new summon, and trusted Philae could sense her fatigue growing. Clearly, she had not. And he had not been here to see it in her place and stop her on time. He clearly was a foolish, weak idiot! If he did not already feel like utter shit in all senses of the term, he would have slapped himself. What would he say to young Midoriya? For the boy would no doubt come to him to ask how the first training day of his new friend went.
Aizawa observed his colleague's contorted face, then Philae's pale complexion, and sighed inwardly. His leg hurt like hell, but it was clean and he welcomed the pain as a reminder of his failure. He wanted to rub his eyes until they bled, and scorned himself for letting this happen. He had promised Nedzu he would look after her, and he got distracted by a baby dragon as big as a cat. Way to be heroic. He felt dumb and useless. If the young woman survived, and if Recovery Girl did not kick his sorry ass to hell and back, his students in 1A would most certainly be a handful. He would have to handle a bunch of freaked-out balls of nerves, and he did not look forward to this.
"I'm so sorry," the blonde stuttered miserably after a long, long while of self-loathing, "I have no words for what I..."
"For what we let happen," Aizawa cut him off, "there were both of us there, we share the blame."
"Oh, cut it with your blame," the nurse had enough and clipped through pursed lips, "this is not me you should be apologising to. You're lucky her body had some sort of survival instinct, sending the dragon back before she really was drained. She has barely enough to hold on, so I can't use my Quirk on her. What in the Lord's name were you thinking?"
"We... weren't," Toshinori admitted, "I thought she could feel her tiredness, and react on time..."
"See how that went. Clearly, you didn't foresee that she didn't even knew the full extent of her Quirk's drawback. This isn't like you to put your students in danger like that."
"That was our mistake," Aizawa replied, "we thought she was only a bridge between our world and the dragons', so that she used energy to open and close warps. We didn't expect that the link kept the bridge open, so that the dragon could go through anytime, and that it needed so much stamina to hold."
"Mh. Now that you know, I do expect you to be careful and do things properly."
"We will," the retired hero assured determinedly, "I won't find rest until we succeed."
He meant it. He would make amends one way or another. Recovery Girl nodded, satisfied with his answer. She leaned back into her chair, sighing tiredly, and eyed the sleeping form of her patient. She had seen a lot of things in her life, and witnessed a lot of terrible drawbacks Quirks could cause to their users. This one was ranking somewhere near the top, if not in the top three of the worst drawbacks, along with Midoriya's. She would do everything in her power to keep the girl alive, if only for her to be able to beat her two dumb guardians up. Right now, though, Philae needed rest. The nurse got up and dismissed the others.
"I believe you want to rest a little before class 1A comes back," she said, "so shoo. Go sleep or something. I'll take care of her and call you if there's any progress."
They remained frozen on the spot, conflicted. Aizawa's face did not give way of his internal debate, but All Might obviously did. The latter was frowning, his jaws set in a stubborn expression of refusal. She rebuked him with a light whack of her cane.
"Off you go!" she ordered impatiently. "You can come and visit later. After you sleep. I won't accept any of you until you look at least slightly rested. Understood?"
The two teachers straightened up and obeyed. Recovery Girl was on her territory, and her word was law here. Philae was in good hands, and even if they did not want to admit it, the craziness of the last events began to take its toll on them. A few quiet hours could only do good to them. Even more so, when they would be of no use for now.
They went out and parted in the corridor, sharing a look that said the same thing: they would make amends and do better. The dark-haired hero limped away to his beloved sleeping bag, leaving Toshinori to glance one last time at the closed door of the infirmary, before he himself headed towards the closest restroom.
Philae swam in darkness. Her head throbbed and her whole body pulsated wildly to the rhythm of her panicked heart. She felt hot and cold at the same time, and could not move a muscle despite the searing pain that threatened to tear them one by one. A loud clank echoed in her ears, and her eyes shot open.
The glaring light of a ceiling neon lamp blinded her for a moment, and she blinked away tears. When her vision cleared, she saw a concrete ceiling above her head. It did not resemble any ceiling she had seen at U.A High. Where was she?
A series of clicks and clanks answered her question, and she turned her head with some difficulty to see what was making the noise. Her eyes widened when she recognised the white blouse and gloved hands.
This can't be.
Her gaze trailed up the clinical uniform, to the strong neck and purple beard and hair of the scientist, then to his spectacled green eyes. Green like lethal acid. Like haunted pools of misery. Philae knew these eyes all too well. She had looked into them for long, long years of despair. The same kind of despair that was menacingly welling up her throat to her watery eyes.
She tried moving and trashing. A series of thuds responded to her command, as well as burning sensations around her wrists and ankles. She was strapped to the cold surface she was lying on. The man turned sharply towards her, his pupils gleaming with sickeningly sweet gentleness.
"Hallo, Schatzi," he said in German, his tone hearty, "you finally came back to us. I feared you'd be lost. I was so, so scared!"
She did not answer. Her words could not be found. She stared helplessly at Doctor Generalmajor Boris Schotten, Austrian physicist and head of the Secret Scientific Cell for Research in the Occult at Unit 731, who only chuckled at her lack of reply.
"I know it was frightening for you, too. You were gone for two days. Two! Do you imagine? We would have mourned the loss of a most valuable warrior! We couldn't have that."
What happened? She racked her pained braincells for an explanation. I remember feeling tired, and Dryas, and... and the warp opened and closed. I fell unconscious, didn't I? This is only a nightmare.
The Doctor tutted and slapped her not so gently. She snapped out of her thoughts, her cheek burning with phantom pain. It felt familiar. She had lived this once. Back then, when she was still a small child.
"Don't think too much, you may hurt yourself," Boris joked, "again. We don't want that, now, do we?"
He produced a syringe from the stacks of tools he was tinkering with, with a light blue liquid swimming inside. Philae's eyes darted to it and yanked at her restraints. She did not want this to go into her. She did not want it!
"Tsk, tsk, Schatzi," the scientist scolded her, "if you are not cooperative, you know what will happen to your dear, dear brother. You don't want this to happen."
That got her to stop. Her stomach felt like frozen lead. Boris grinned when he got the intended effect of his comment.
This is just a nightmare, she thought over and over again, Kai is safe. She tried to convince herself, but her resolve melted away as the Doctor tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his praising mad eyes diving deep into her soul. It had to be a nightmare... was it not?
"Sehr gut, meine kleine Puppe," he cooed, "now, we inject this little solution, and we go back to our good work, yes? Make me proud."
He stabbed her without waiting for her reply, and the poison she got injected with invaded her blood and fogged her mind. She shrieked at the top of her lungs at the sudden excruciating pain, then she passed out quickly, screaming silently for help. Help never came.
A whip cracked and made her jump. Disoriented, she opened her eyes and found herself in a sitting position, calloused fingers holding her chin and face firmly in place. A rough hand whacked the back of her head.
"Pay attention," a hoarse voice scolded next to her ear – Boris –, "or else he will be even more punished."
His last word made her flinch and be still. She could not do anything else and complied, crying out in horror at what she saw.
Kai was kneeling, his head low and his breathing difficult. A floor and a thick glass panel separated the siblings, and an intercom relayed everything that happened in the room where the boy was. Two men in uniform were holding him by the arms, spreading them eagle style. Another was standing in front of her brother's bare back, a short leather whip in hand, and already stained in blood.
Philae swallowed hard. It's a nightmare, she reminded herself meekly. It's in the past.
The Doctor squeezed her chin forcefully and pinched her arm to keep her on focus.
"Look," he demanded, "this is what he gets when you behave badly. He ought to be punished, because you're a bad girl. You disobey, he pays for you. Look at him!"
He then shouted an order in Japanese, and one of the soldier holding Kai lifted his chin with a gloved finger.
"Why are you here?" he asked with a strong accent.
Kai did not answer immediately, wheezing and coughing. Blood streaked down from his lips, and dropped in a small forming pool of scarlet on the cement floor. The soldier grunted in irritation, and nodded to his colleague. The whip cracked, sending a rattling wave of nausea up Philae's body. Her arm tingled, and her stomach hurt.
Her brother gritted his teeth and did not let out more than a low groan.
"Why. Are you. Here!" the soldier repeated. "Answer!"
Kai took in a ragged breath and finally replied, "Am 'ere t'be punished." Articulating words was hell. His back burnt. His whole body shook. But he did not faint. Slowly, Philae saw his shredded skin begin knitting itself back together. Too bad it would be torn back to pieces again, and again, and again. It was a way to tire him, she knew it. The torture would only end when his powers could not try to heal his wounds anymore. And he endured everything because of her.
This has to be a nightmare. Please, tell me it is!
"Why are you punished?" came the second question. Behind the glass panel, Philae let out a whimper, but Boris shushed her.
The boy paused a second or two, before he answered, "'Cause my sis'er was bad."
He said that in a flat, matter-of-fact tone. It was not the first time this happened. It would not be the last. He was the ideal scape-goat for everything her sister did out of the ordinary. Sometimes, his back did not even have time to heal at least slightly, before it got torn open once again. It was normal suffering. It was routine. Philae felt sick and guilty, her inside churning and flaring with hate at herself.
"And you accept this?" Kai's tormentor continued with a sneer, shoving the boy's head to the side.
She cried silently. The Doctor petted her hair and cooed, "See? See what you've done? You should know by now, it's your fault he's punished harder each time."
"Please," she croaked, "don't do this."
"Don't do what?" he asked innocently.
"Don't punish him. Punish me instead. I was the one that was bad. I was a bad girl, and I need to be punished."
"It's good you admit your mistake," he grinned, "but your punishment is to see him punished. We cannot wound your precious body, but this is better like this. Only that way will you understand."
"Please!" she cried harder, "I'd d-do anything... Anything you want! Please..."
"Anything? We're getting somewhere, then! You'll be a good girl?"
She nodded.
"You won't bite me again when I inject you?"
She shook her head.
"You'll obey and become strong for us? You'll become our best Valkyrie?"
She hesitated a millisecond, then meekly nodded again. Boris's satisfied smile had never been so frightening.
"Wunderbar!" he exclaimed. "I prefer this good behaviour. If you do as you promised, your brother will be safe."
Kai raised his head and stared at the glass panel. He could not see what was behind, but he must have guessed there was his sister and her "caretaker", watching and listening. He knew. This too was routine. He turned to the interrogating soldier, who was ready to beat him again if he did not answer immediately.
"Yes, I accep' 'is."
Another whip. He nearly cut off his tongue from the pain, but refused to let out a scream.
"Yes who?"
He gritted his teeth. In the control room, Philae yelped and turned to the Doctor.
"I promised! Let him go," she begged. The scientist tutted.
"After he's punished. I agreed to let him be if you behave, but it would not be proper educational attitude to let your naughtiness of this morning go without a lesson. Once your lesson is learnt, we start anew."
"But... But!"
"But what, Schatzi?"
The green eyes darted dangerously at her, fires of madness dancing in his pupils. If she went against him, she knew it would be worse. She bit back a sob, defeated, and turned back to her punished brother, her eyes veiled with sorrow and self-scourge. He stomach boiled with grief and anger, and a low growl resonated in her head.
Kai felt the pain subside and found back his voice. Every word he pronounced, every painful heave of his chest, every drop of crimson he let fall on the floor, chopped his sister's hope and will into tiny pieces. She was breaking. Boris smiled contentedly. At last, she was in his reach.
"Yes, sir," Kai managed to say.
"And why is that?" the soldier continued with malicious joy.
"'Cause it's my duty."
"What duty?"
"T'be punished for wha' she did."
"Why's that?"
"'Cause I deserve it."
"Very well, you at least know your place."
And the whip lashed out at him. Its morbid cracks filled his ears and made him deaf to the world. His back flared and oozed blood, leaking down his sides to his soaked knees. The metallic smell of it mixed with the stench of his sweat and grime, and his nostrils got assaulted by the poisonous cloud of his powerlessness. He lost track of time, as well as his own voice. He held his cries, until he could not anymore. His throat tore and he hacked crimson and bile.
His screams echoed in the control room, through the intercom that spluttered distorted howls of endless agony. Philae felt every single one like a blow to her heart, cracking little by little. Her cheeks were soaked in tears, and she wailed helplessly in the hold of the Doctor, who did not let go of her even if she tried to escape. She sobbed and flailed, in a desperate attempt to get to her brother's side. The nightmare replayed in front of her. There was no help. Only her. She felt a scorching blade of pain tear through her body, and yelled at the top of her lungs.
Her ears buzzed with roars and murderous threats that were not hers. A cacophony of emotions responding to one another rattled her brain. She felt overwhelmed and lost. The scientist's hand on her shoulder squeezed suddenly, in a bone-crushing grip, and she yelped at the suddent new pain. She struggled to get free, but the hand was like a hawk claw, firmly planted into her flesh. Then voice of Boris resonated strangely against the room's walls.
"Snap out of it," he growled, "come on!"
She did not understand. Kai's screams filled her ears, and she could not get free. She was trapped. Trapped forever with a madman. Her captor seized both her shoulders and shook her like a ragdoll.
"Damn it, woman! This is not real! Wake up!"
Wake up? Wake up how? Her overwhelmed brain finally caught on. The concrete walls slowly dissolved and the room spun around her. The Doctor's purple hair spiked to strange angles, and the green acid of his eyes went ablaze.
"You're dreaming," the not-scientist rasped. His voice changed, too. They had tones she had never heard in him. "You're fucking dreaming, so snap the fuck out of it and wake up!"
The spinning room whirled and crumbled around them. Unable to bear the rapidity of the changes, Philae closed her eyes forcefully and winced. She felt her body fall into nothingness. Her eyes snapped open with a gasp.
She met luminescent pools of angry red.
Bakugou Katsuki was furious. Well, no surprise here, he got easily pissed, but today he was even more so. The whole world was against him with its dumb internships to look for on his own, and the others' friendship nonsense really grated on his nerves. When he had had enough, he had asked Deku for a rematch on the training field and attacked the nerd with all he had. Shitty Deku and his fucking monstrous Quirk infuriated him as much as the new girl's annoying-as-hell wyvern. One day, Katsuki promised himself he would kick both of their asses at the same time, just for the pleasure of seeing them both at his feet.
He hated the stupid winged snake for making a fool of him. His ears had rung for a whole night and day, and he had wanted to blow anyone asking him if he was okay. He was not. The wench herself had come to apologise, and he had been ready to beat up her pretty face just for pitying him. He had been humiliated and wanted no apology, no pity, and no shit words of fake kindness. Bakugou could not think of anything else than his revenge on Philae, and damn him if he did not obtain it. He hated her guts just as he hated stupid, useless Deku, for showing him they were stronger than he and shoved it to his face. They would pay tenfold and cry for mercy.
He had observed Philae during their classes, waiting for an occasion to strike. She felt his gaze on her and looked embarrassed by it, which made him snort in irritation. Girls and their stupid conceptions. He might have called her on it, if fucking double face did not do the same. For what reasons, he did not have a clue, and Bakugou nearly felt compelled to blast his freaking face for stepping on his territory. He would be the first to challenge dragon wench to a fight and to win. End of story. So back off, you fucking ass prodigy.
Katsuki needed to vent his frustration. He fought the nerd like a bloody lion, and managed to break his arm. When Aizawa came to see this, the teacher nearly got his fucking ass handed to him and ordered him to accompany the weak dumbass to the infirmary. Bakugou raged for a full minute, before he saw the ink black bags under Aizawa's eyes and shut up. Their teacher had had a long day and was not about to deal with their shit any longer. So, the explosive teen relented and shoved Deku forward to go to Recovery Girl and be done with it. At least, he had blown off some steam. Thank God for fucking little miracles.
As they approached the infirmary in an awkward atmosphere, Deku mumbling under his breath and Bakugou ready to shut the former up with a punch, an ear-bleeding shriek pierced through the air. The nerd, as if on instinct, shot forward at full speed, and Katsuki swore running after him. They busted through the infirmary door and stared speechless at the scene in front of them.
Philae was trashing on a bed, ripping the IV off her arm and fighting against an enemy only she could see in her dream-induced madness. Her body shook and bled all over the sheets and floor. Above her, the air crackled and rippled, like the time when the wyvern had come out. Next to the bed, All Might was rubbing his head, nearly knocked out.
The girl let out a howl of pain and fear, and her back arched. Her forearm was glowing a dangerous shade of crimson. A golden form shone at the centre of the ripple. It was fucking gigantic, unlike the wyvern they had previously seen, and a menacing growl made the walls groan and crack. Bakugou's hairs stood up on his neck and his instincts screamed at him to get into a fighting stance.
Recovery Girl, standing at a safe distance from the chaotic scene, spotted them and shouted to get their attention.
"You two, try to catch All Might and calm Philae, until help arrives!"
Calm her? Calm her? Bakugou wanted to yell at the elderly woman. He could barely calm himself when he was angry, and he had to calm freaking dragon wench having nightmares! Like hell he would!
"Move!"
Eraserhead had appeared behind them, eyes glowing red, and the golden form began to dissipate slowly, its roars shaking everyone and everything in a ten meter radius. Philae's arm still glowed for a moment, but the glow eventually dwindled, and a tattoo could be seen on her inflamed skin. Without looking away from her, the teacher howled over the inhuman sounds, "What are you doing? Someone wake her up! She dies if she summons, and I won't last forever!"
Katsuki and Izuku glanced at each other. The blonde nodded to the nerd, then sprung to Philae's side while the other got to All Might, still stunned on the floor, and helped him get away. Taking the girl in, Bakugou decided to pin her shoulder down on the bed, while his other arm shielded his head from her kicks. He might have used more force than he should, for she yelped and clawed at his gloved hand, her face contorted in pain.
"Snap out of it," he growled, "come on!"
She did not react and continued struggling against him, but he did not let go of her shoulder. He grew pissed at her antics. What the fucking hell was she dreaming about to be so wild?
"Damn it, woman! This is not real! Wake up!" he snapped.
He slapped her not so gently, which seemed to get her attention at what he was saying. About damn time! He had no patience for this shit. He concentrated to not hurt her further, though, hearing her ragged breath and seeing her tear-stained cheeks.
Slowly, her struggles weakened and her cries dwindled to heart-wrenching sobs, but she still did not wake up. She began mumbling incoherent shit like "Am so sorry, please, don't" and whatnot. Katsuki lost it and shook her with force.
"You're dreaming," he rasped, "you're fucking dreaming, so snap the fuck out of it and wake up!"
Philae let out a strangled noise, and her eyes snapped open. Her haunted gaze met Bakugou's, and his angry barb caught up in his throat. There was so many strong emotions in her eyes, that he felt trapped in a swirl of sufferings so intense that all his anger vanished instantly, replaced by a feeling he was unfamiliar with. It was not sadness. It was not fear. Was it worry? For a stupid wench he barely knew? Nah, not possible. He brushed the bugging sensation aside.
The girl's eyes searched his face for a moment, and a strange light shone in them. Her lips parted slightly, and a hoarse whisper escaped from them.
"Kai?"
Bakugou froze and a new vein popped on his head. Who the hell did she think she was...? He had no time to express his outrage, though, since she launched at him and hugged him like no tomorrow. He noted that her body was hot against his, she might have a fever. Then he caught up on the situation. The fuck she was doing?
"Kai!" she whined, sobbing helplessly on his shoulder. "Big brother, I'm so sorry! So sorry... I couldn't protect you, I-I was so weak. Please, don't hate me!"
The hell was happening? Katsuki's brain short-circuited, as he failed to understand what Philae was blabbering. She was taking him for her brother? Was she still dreaming? Was t because of the fever? He saw Deku approach them in the corner of his vision, arms reaching out to them. But when the crying girl caught sight of the nerd, she shrank closer to him and gripped his shirt harder, wailing in anguish.
"No!" she shouted desperately, "no, please! Don't punish him again! Don't, please!"
Izuku's eyes widened a fraction. She was afraid of him? How so?
"Ph-Phi," the green-haired tried, "Phi, it's me. Do you recognise me? We're friends!"
"Doctor," she murmured whiningly, "no, please... I'll be a good girl, I'll do what you want. I swear you, but please, don't punish him..."
She did not recognise them, as if she were still living her nightmare in the form of a powerful hallucination. Bakugou got the slightest bit embarrassed at the thought that she was clinging to him like both their lives depended on it. She was glued to his torso and soaked his shirt with her tears. Part of him was disgusted and furious that she dared take him for a fucking teddy bear and ruin his costume, but... the other part eventually guessed that he did not mind too much. Let her cry her heart out if it made her better.
She looked so frightened, that he could not find the will to shake her off him. He sensed this was not a simple dream, it went deeper than that. And it still weighed on his shoulders to get her out of it. Time to be professional for once, or Aizawa would really fancy the idea of expelling him. She needed his help, and he could not refuse her plea. It was his hero duty. He snuffed out the smaller voice that added he worried. He did not. He turned to her, trying his best not to look angry. Damn, was that difficult!
"Philae," he called, getting her attention immediately, "he's not going to hurt you. You're safe."
He chose his words carefully, subduing his usual rash tone to sound calmer, more poised and... well, less him. He knew how he was at times, and he could fucking tell it would not work on the paralysed girl holding him. For once, he would prove he had brains and show fucking Deku he was way better than he in this.
"Safe? But he..." Philae trailed off uncertainly.
"He's not coming near you," he assured with bold confidence, shooting a glare at the nerd to make his point to both of them. "He's not getting anywhere near you, promise."
Izuku whimpered and took a few steps back, which did not go unnoticed by Philae. She shivered against Katsuki, not completely convinced, and he repressed the urge to press her closer and to hide her from the others completely. So much fear in someone was abnormal, especially when he had observed no such thing during the whole three days he had been observing her. Anxiety and uncertainty, embarrassment and awkwardness, yes. Fear, absolutely not. He wanted to know why it came up so suddenly, and... And the fuck he was thinking! It was not his fucking problem.
"See," he added nodding to Deku, "he backs away, the coward. You're safe."
His words seemed to reassure her somewhat, for she sagged in his arms, still trembling and avoiding looking at him.
"He... he hurt you so much, and I... I could only watch. I could do nothing, nothing! Kai, I'm so sorry to be so weak, I'm so sorry..."
She began crying again, and Bakugou felt at a loss for words. He huffed, thinking hard to stop her sobs. They made him feel strange, mellow and frigging soft, and he loathed it.
"I'm not angry at you," he did his best to sound reassuring and concerned, "so don't cry... sis."
He had added the last part on impulse, feeling it would do good for her to think he was familiar with her. It worked. She looked up at him, her clouded gaze hopeful. She really was not completely awoken.
"Really?"
He gruffed, "'course, silly. Why would I be? It was... not your fault."
"But the Doctor punishes you when I'm bad," she whined with a hurtful wince, "he whipped you so hard, and I..."
Whipped? Torture? Now that got shitty. What the hell did she go through?, was the question whirling in everyone's heads.
"It was a damn nightmare," Katsuki snapped, his anger flaring when he finally got this piece of the fucking puzzle that was Philae, "he's not here anymore, and even if he were, he'd be dead by now. No way he's pulling that shit with us again."
She shut up and stared, tears shining at the corners of her eyes. He sighed, "I said I was not angry. So stop. It was a nightmare, nothing else."
That seemed to finally do the trick. Philae relaxed, looking relieved, and a veil of exhaustion passed over her gaze. She smiled tiredly.
"Thank you, big brother," she said in a quiet voice, just above a whisper, "I love you."
Bakugou had to remind himself she was taking him for her brother, because he was sure he would have flushed in spite of himself, and he would have to kill anyone who had seen him.
She hugged him harder, and he awkwardly returned the embrace, not flushing. Deku and three other adults were watching.
"I... love you too, sis," he blurted out, his cheeks a little hot. Damn it!
All Might advanced carefully then, staying at a reasonable distance so that Philae could see him without feeling threatened. She eyed the former hero curiously, then she seemed to recognise someone in him.
"Orion," she murmured softly, "I'm sorry to have woken you..."
"No worries," Toshinori waved off, falling in character as best he could, "I'm more concerned about you. You look exhausted, you should go back to sleep."
Yes, I'm fucking done here, Bakugou wanted to say. He did not, though, and the same part of him that had nearly felt guilty, did not want to let go until he was sure everything was back to normal. Philae nodded slowly.
"Yes, but... may my brother sleep here, with me? I... I don't... Just, please?" she begged, her cheeks red from shame.
Katsuki's eyes shot to his teacher in alarm. No way he was going to sleep with her! Ugh, don't say it like that, dumbass, that's wrong in all ways possible! Whatever. He did not want to share a fuck-frigging bed with her. He wanted to sleep alone, not with her next to him. He wanted to be alone. To be out before he ended up blowing everyone's head off because he was blushing. Now.
All Might understood and his attention went back to his student.
"I'm sorry, but... Kai, can't stay with you. I suppose you understand why?"
He tried to sound as familiar to her as possible, and hoped she would come up with a reason why her brother-Bakugou could not stay on her own. Apparently she did. She looked down, sad and ashamed, before nodding.
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry, it's just... I got so scared he was back to the lab, tortured and beaten when I could do nothing. I... Sorry."
She began trembling again, biting on her lower lip in an attempt to stop breaking down again. Toshinori then opted for the only other option he had.
"He can't, but I can. I will stay," he offered, "so that I can guard your sleep instead of your brother, and he can rest. What do you think?"
"You will? Really?"
"Of course!" he assured. "I won't let you alone, not if I can help it."
Philae smiled her first genuine smile, and relaxed completely. Carefully, and as gently as he could, Bakugou put her back down on the bed. She let him, her gaze never leaving his face. The veil covering them and making them duller than usual crept him out just a bit. He took small steps backwards and moved slowly away from the bed.
"You better sleep," he demanded scowling. She gave a slight nod, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.
Toshinori advanced towards the side of her bed and put a reassuring hand on her arm, which she took in hers. The teacher offered her his brightest and gentlest smile, to which she answered with a thankful grin of her own, albeit small and sleepy. Eventually, Philae's eyelids closed, and her breathing got steady again. Peaceful, at last. She still held Toshinori's hand, and he did not wrench it away. Instead, he put his other hand on top of the two.
Izuku approached cautiously with a chair for his mentor to sit down on, as he had apparently decided to stay by his student's side for a long while. Bakugou, for his part, took this as his chance to go away and did so with a huff, stopping at the door to look back at the sleeping girl and his teacher. Recovery Girl came to him and patted his arm.
"You did good, boy," she praised him, "we wouldn't have done this without you."
"Tch," he gruffed, thrusting his hands in his pockets, "whatev'. I'm glad she stopped crying. She was annoying."
The nurse gave him a knowing smile, meaning she had seen the stupid emotions that danced in his head. Aizawa addressed him and said, "We'll talk about it later, Bakugou. Go have some rest in the meantime, and tell the others I'll be coming shortly."
He nodded and stormed off. The dark-haired teacher sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"What a day," he grumbled.
"Indeed, it was," Toshinori hummed.
The blonde's gaze turned back to Philae, his heart beating a little more calmly now that the crisis had passed. He vowed he would not budge from his spot until she woke up again. He had finally encountered the biggest enemy she had, and he would protect her from it with all his might. He would not rest until then. It was his duty, and now, he found that it was his deepest wish.
He had felt so useless. If not for young Bakugou role-playing, she might have died. He loathed the idea that he had let her endanger herself twice now. He never wanted to see her that broken again. If anything, he wanted to make her smile again, that radiant smile that had warmed all his being in an instant. Like when he had promised young Midoriya he would make him into a hero, he silently promised Philae he would free her from her nightmares. He could do this, he knew it.
Izuku fidgeted next to him, and he looked at the boy quizzically.
"She...," the green-haired stuttered miserably, "she was afraid of me."
Recovery Girl came to clean the mess and shook her head at him, kissing his arm to repair the broken bone for which he had initially come.
"No, she wasn't. She was afraid of whoever she thought you were. It's called sleep paralysis, and we had a very peculiar example of this. In her delirious state, she transposed a memory on reality and thought young Bakugou was her brother, who was certainly the one getting her out of these nightmares most of the time. Your friend reacted very well, and I'm thankful for that, otherwise it could have become ugly. Hallucinating patients are very dangerous for themselves. We were lucky Shouta was able to stop a new summon from happening, and that the situation got handled that quickly."
"Mh. I'll talk to Principal Nedzu and inform him of these new developments," Aizawa announced, "and I'll get back to the dorms. You should go too, Midoriya," he added, to which the teen turned to him. "For now, it'd be best if you went back to your room."
"Oh." Izuku did not know what to say next. "Um, okay..."
He hesitated, his eyes surveying the young woman lying in deep slumber, and his teacher sighed.
"Don't worry, All Might will stay with her," he assured, "and I will take turns in guarding her. No more nightmares for her so long as we're here."
This seemed to convince the teen, who eventually agreed and went out. The three adults shared a relieved sigh when the door closed.
"I think we'll need answers about her past," Recovery Girl commented worryingly. "I only hope she will be willing to give them. Poor child..."
Toshinori could only agree. He squeezed Philae's hand unconsciously, as he thought of the grief the questions would undoubtedly inflict on her. He hated seeing his students hurt, but he felt as if her sufferings pierced his heart even deeper. He would have given everything to avoid her pain. He thought about something that could make amends for that later, and that could have her face graced with the beautiful smile he so wanted to see again.
... I feel horrible ^^"
NB: Unit 731 was a secret scientific unit in Japan during WWII, where experiments were conducted on human subjects to create bacteriological weapons. I took some liberties with this, and you will learn more in the next chapter.
NB 2: No, this WON'T be a Bakugou/Philae, no worries XD but I'm a little disappointed that Bakugou has not as many possibilities to be heroic as Izuku in the anime, so here I thought he could show off a little ^^ and it will be useful in the following chapters ;)
