Running Solo

Chapter 21 - More Questions Than Answers

~Ochaco's Perspective~

"Shio-kun, what do you mea-" I started to say before Nashio went limp on top of me. I wheezed as his weight, and the weight of the rocks he'd been holding up on his back, knocked the air from my lungs.

"Over here!" I distantly heard someone yell. It sounded like Midnight.

"What's the situation?" someone else asked. This time it sounded like Ectoplasm.

"Two kids are trapped under this pile of rubble. A girl and a boy. The girl had her ankle injured earlier and the boy's hands were really scratched up from lifting concrete off of the girl a few minutes ago, just before the exam ended. The boy also took the brunt of the falling debris, but we lost visual when some of the rubble took out the nearest camera and the dust obscured the others." Midnight responded.

"How long have they been under there?" Ectoplasm asked. His voice sounded closer than before.

"Not long, but we need to hurry and get them out. We're not certain what injuries they may have sustained when the rubble fell on them." Midnight answered, also sounding closer.

"I'll have my clones lift the rubble off of them. You should go find Shuzenji-san so that she can attend to them as soon as I get them out." Ectoplasm said.

Midnight didn't verbally respond, but I heard the clack of her heels as she ran, so I assumed she must have nodded or something. A few seconds later, some of the rocks started shifting. One of the smaller, more jagged pieces that was near Nashio's right shoulder shifted and cut into his bicep through his thin black sleeve. I grimaced as his blood quickly darkened his sleeve and rolled down the small piece cutting into his arm. Nashio didn't move or even make a sound.

I have to do something to help.  I thought as the piece dug harder into Nashio's arm. I struggled to pull my hands out from under the boy, and almost cheered when I finally did. I quickly started touching all of the rocks that I could reach, hoping to lessen the weight and the possibility of them hurting us even more. A really small piece fell from above Nashio and cut my cheek, but I just ignored the stinging sensation and the feeling of blood dripping down my cheek and kept touching all of the debris I could reach.

Sunlight suddenly flooded our little bubble of space under the rubble and I breathed out in relief. I regretted it when nausea immediately threatened to make me throw up. I hid my face in Nashio's collar and shoulder and hesitantly touched my fingers together to release my quirk. The rubble shifted loosely around us as it fell.

"Ectoplasm! I've got Shuzenji-san!" Midnight called.

"Good. I've just about got the kids out, but it's been tricky. The rubble keeps shifting, but mostly it's just a bunch of smaller pieces left." Ectoplasm said. "Midnight, come help me. I think I can see them." I heard the two pros kneel down and felt the weight of the rubble loosening.

I buried my face harder into Nashio's shoulder as the nausea worsened. A minute or two later and there was only Nashio's weight on me and everything was really bright. I clenched my eyes shut and tried not to throw up as my stomach rolled.

"Shuzenji-san! We've got 'em!" Midnight called. 

"Hhnnn." I groaned as my stomach turned violently. I felt the bile rise in my throat before I was able to swallow it down.

"Can you hear me dearie?" a small female voice asked. The woman sounded older.

"Yes." I croaked, keeping my eyes squeezed shut.

"Alright, dearie. Just hang on for a minute and we'll get this boy off of you. Are you hurt anywhere?" the small voice asked. I swallowed thickly before answering.

"My ankle hurts a little still, and I have a small cut on my cheek. But mostly I just feel really nauseous from using my quirk so much." I responded, still struggling to keep the bile down.

"Alright, dearie. Just stay still for a minute so that we can lift the boy off of you." the woman said. "Midnight, Ectoplasm. Please move the boy over here beside her. Put him on his stomach so that I can take a look at his back. His shirt looks pretty scratched up from all of the rocks."

There was movement around me and then I felt Nashio's body being lifted off of mine. I tried to force my eyes open, but quickly shut them when the sunlight blinded me and made the nausea worse.

"Alright, dearie. I'll just give you a quick kiss then I'll take a look at the boy." the woman, Shuzenji-san, said. There was the feeling of lips on my forehead before a cold and soothing feeling washed over me. It was nice, but it made me feel so tired. Maybe it was the adrenaline wearing off. I heard some soft conversation happening, but I was too exhausted to be able to focus on it. I felt someone pick me up in a bridal carry before my body finally forced me to sleep.

~Shuzenji's Perspective~

I pecked the girl's forehead and she instantly relaxed. I turned to the boy, who was laying on his stomach, and began to examine his back. Ectoplasm had already cut open the back of the boy's black shirt and the wounds were visible. 

"There doesn't appear to be anything too serious. Mostly just minor cuts and bruises." I told the two heroes hovering above me and the boy. "You two should take the girl to the infirmary and then come back and help me move the boy there. We also need to contact the guardians of all the injured kids and update them on their charge's condition." I said. The two heroes nodded and moved away. I watched Midnight pick up the girl and turned back to the boy as her and Snipe walked away. I kissed the boy's cheek and watched as the cuts and bruises on his back healed and faded away.

"That's odd." I muttered to myself when I saw the scars on the boy's back. The majority of them were thin and had varied lengths. The rest of the scars on the boy's back were in the odd and unique shape of a hand. Some were in the shape of a left hand and some in the shape of a right hand. "You poor boy. What happened to you?" I asked. I sighed and gently turned the boy onto his back. He didn't make a sound, just twitched slightly in his unconscious state. I took the lab coat off my hero costume and draped it over the boy's form. I sighed again and leaned on my syringe-shaped cane while I waited for one of the other pros to come and carry the boy to an infirmary vehicle.

Suddenly, the boys arched against the floor and let out a deep cry of pain. I immediately rushed to kneel at his side and my hands hovered above his arched body. His body went limp just as suddenly as it had arched. I frowned and went to touch him. Maybe I had missed an injury? Then the boy's body arched again and he screamed. His body went limp again. I waited a few seconds, then, when nothing else happened, quickly pulled my coat off of him and grabbed hold of the front of his shirt, ready to cut it open and search his torso for any injuries I may have missed. Just as my gloved hand made contact with the front of his shirt, his eyes flew open and quickly found my face. His hand shot up and clutched almost painfully tight to my wrist. The boy's deep emerald green eyes were clouded over with pain and he seemed to struggle with focusing on my face.

"I'm sorry... Please..." he said in a strained whisper.

"Please, young man. I need you to tell me where it hurts so I can heal it." I begged.

The boy didn't get the chance to respond as his eyes rolled back in his head and his hand fell limply to the ground. His body suddenly seized up and convulsed a few times before his body just stopped. I sucked in a harsh breath when I noticed he wasn't breathing and desperately felt for a pulse. There wasn't one. Just as I was about to climb onto the boy's chest and start chest compressions, I felt his pulse restart beneath my hand and he gulped in a large breath. His breathing and heart rate returned to normal in a matter of seconds and I sat back in relief. The boy's face was contorted in a grimace, but otherwise, everything seemed fine.

"What in Kami's name was that?" I breathed out in shock and disbelief as I watched the now steady rise and fall of the boy's chest.