Requiem of the Broken

Chapter 71: Lasting Pain

She first noticed the deep pulsing ache across her entire body. She groaned and opened her eyes, it was dim in the room but her eyes immediately started watering. She blinked a few times and groaned again as another ache pulsed across her body. She felt like she had been hit by a truck, everything hurt or ached and she felt stiff all over. She could barely move and realized that it was due partly to the numerous bandages stretching over parts of her body. She lifted her head up some off the pillow and she realized she wasn't in her apartment. She lay there confused for a second until her brain caught up and she realized she must be in a hospital. Now more cognizant of her surroundings, she looked around the room. It was a small room, the curtains were drawn and what light there was did little to illuminate the gloom.

She had vague recollections of waking up a few times before this, but they were hazy and indistinct. She closed her eyes and rest her head back on the pillow as she tried to recall recent events. Slowly she remembered recent events, the raid, Yo Shindo, Denki and Jirou, Snipe, Sasakura, All Might, AFO, Zeus, Bakugo, and Izuku. The reality of it all had yet to sink in, undoubtedly it would, but for now, she was too physically, mentally, and emotionally drained to process it all. Until she knew everything was over and done with, she couldn't afford to go to pieces.

As another pulse of aches and pains made itself known, she suppressed a groan and tried to go back to sleep. She spent hours going in and out of sleep, not really getting any use out of it besides being groggy and feeling even more sleep deprived.

When the light from behind curtains was bright enough Ochako decided it was time to wake up fully and so she managed to drag herself into a sitting position. She looked around for a clock and saw it was eight o'clock. She couldn't get out of bed, and she had no doubt sudden moves would aggravate her injuries. So with no other recourse, she pressed the call button and waited. It was about ten minutes later that the door opened and a short woman with glasses and brown hair walked in and smiled when she saw Ochako.

"It's good to see that you're awake, we were wondering if you'd be in and out for another day or if you'd regain conscious today." The doctor said, pulling out her PDA and bringing up Ochako's file.

"So to start with, you're going to be here for a few days. No way around it, we have no way of knowing what sort of damage Zeus might have done to you and the long-term effects of lightning injuries are varied. You have severe burns all over your body, multiple bone fractures, contusions, lacerations, concussions, and the list goes on for a while, but you get the idea." The woman said.

Ochako sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. The next few minutes consisted of the doctor questioning her, and Ochako questioning her in turn.

"Well, it's good to know there are no immediate problems showing themselves but pay attention to your condition. While you are currently movement impaired from your injuries, impairment could extend well beyond the time your external injuries heal. Lightning can cause long-term movement impairment as well as a host of other problems but we'll go over that in detail at a later date." she said, making a few final notes.

While worrisome, Ochako didn't feel particularly worried about long-term problems. She just had a feeling that OFA had done enough to shield her from Zeus's strikes.

"Thanks, but if you can tell me, what's happened? How long have I been out?" she asked.

"I can't say I'm particularly informed, the most I know is that the city is safe, and it's been several days since the attack. Your friends have been inquiring as to your state every day, and once they're cleared to see you I imagine they can give something more specific. Now I have to get going, we're still getting a steady stream of people and I'm afraid I've spent too long already." the doctor said, before getting up and leaving.