Strings (BNHA x OC) [Rewrite]

66 || Cauterization

Mr. Compress ran through what, to him, seemed to be a deserted part of the forest. He startled when he heard a set of footsteps that weren't his own; he wasn't alone, and whoever was with him was close.

He cautiously ventured closer to the sound and pressed his back to the trunk of a nearby tree as a poor hiding spot. He kept silent; knowing the other individual was likely a hero.

He peered around the tree to the source of the sound, making sure to stay out of sight. He found himself looking at the pro hero Eraser Head. The hero was walking slowly and looked tired, but what caught the magician's eye was the blotch of blood on the front of his hero costume. He had a few cuts here and there, but wasn't injured that badly.

That blood's not his own, Mr. Compress concluded. His brow furrowed, his thoughts shifting to his friend and comrade. Puppet was supposed to fight him. What happened?

He pulled a marble from his pocket, rolling it between his fingers. It contained one of the large boulders that had been thrown at him earlier. With it, good timing, aim, and perhaps a bit of luck, he might be able to kill the hero in a single hit.

Then the erasure hero's walk changed pace into a jog, then a run. He was fast, and so the magician decided not to follow. Instead, he turned and ran the way he came from, hoping, just maybe, that he could find Puppet.

He didn't expect what he found. A scene of blood, and his closest comrade lying injured in the center of it.

His eyes widened as he stumbled across Puppet. Immediately, he rushed over.

"Hey, hey!" he called as he ran to her. He quickly got down to his knees beside her. He placed a hand behind her head shifted her so that she would be looking at least in his general direction.

"Damn," he cursed, "tell me most of this blood isn't yours."

He got no answer, and watched as Puppet's eyes began to flutter closed. He pulled off her mask, compressing it and swiftly slipping the marble into his pocket. He tapped her face firmly several times, trying to keep her awake. "Listen to me, stay awake. Stay awake."

She tried her best to listen, her eyes opening slightly every time he tapped her face.

Her systems were flooded with pain and no complete sentences would form on her tongue. Instead, she mumbled in a faint and broken voice, "...h-hurts.."

"I know, just hang in there," he encouraged.

Mr. Compress' mind whirred through his options. My phone was fried earlier by that electric fellow, so I can't call Kurogiri for his aid. My tracker is probably shot as well... He grit his teeth. What can I do? I can't compress her, she'll just bleed out inside a marble.

He looked around himself, as if there was something nearby that could miraculously help his injured friend. He didn't find anything, but instead noticed thick plumes of smoke billowing above nearby treetops.

That's it.

He turned back to Puppet. Quickly but carefully, he slid an arm around her back and his other under her legs. He lifted her into his arms, wincing on her behalf when her breath hitched.

Mr. Compress started to run, albeit slower than usual with the woman in his arms.

He used the smoke to guide his way. As he got closer, he started running past more and more greenery that was actively burning with bright blue flames.

He stopped at the base of a hill. On the other side, blue flames were being fired off and the forest around set ablaze.

The magician knelt down and carefully laid his injured comrade onto the ground. The grass she was placed on started to turn red all too quickly.

Mr. Compress cursed under his breath. He pulled a marble from a pocket in his vest. He snapped his fingers and decompressed his coat. He reached into one of the coat's pockets and pulled out a handkerchief.

He pressed the cloth against Puppet's wound, making her suck in a sharp breath.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to stay with me," he said quickly. "I won't allow your show to end here."

Mr. Compress briefly turned away from his friend, looking at the hill and yelling, "DABI!!" as loud as he could.

"What?!" the flame villain's voice yelled back. Even through his usual nonchalantness, he was slightly concerned; he had never heard the magician so frantic. He jumped over the crest of the hill and fired out flames from his feet to slow his decent before he landed.

He hesitated when he saw Puppet, just lying there, amongst the crimson-stained blades of grass. Quickly dismissing the thoughts of how this had happened, he ran over.

"Do you know how to cauterize?" Mr. Compress asked quickly.

"Yeah? I've done it before," Dabi replied, getting down next to Puppet.

The magician pulled the handkerchief away and Dabi looked down at the wound. A stab from a dagger, deep in her stomach. There was no guarantee that burning it closed would even save her.

He looked at the other man incredulously. "You want me to cauterize this?"

"Would I have asked otherwise?!" The panic in the older man's voice left no room for negotiation.

"Not gonna lie, this'll hurt like hell," Dabi confessed as he placed his hand over the stab wound on Puppet's stomach. He took once last glance at Mr. Compress, looking for confirmation.

"Just do it," the magician seethed.

Scorching pain coursed through Puppet's stomach as Dabi's hand ignited with small blue flames. He tried to work efficiently, keeping his flames low but still effective enough to seal the wound.

Puppet's mouth opened in a silent scream before she grit her teeth so hard that her jaw hurt. She resisted the urge to fight back against Dabi as he cauterized her wound. Instead, she dug the nails of her left hand into Mr. Compress' gloved hand, which he was happy to allow to help her through the pain. Her other hand shook violently, and she gripped into the ground, pulling up whatever grass there was.

After several long, painful moments, Dabi pulled his hand away. "There, done."

Mr. Compress gently slid one of his arms behind Puppet's back and slowly propped her up into more of a sitting position. He cradled her in that position, trying to keep as still as possible for her comfort.

Puppet's eyes squinted open and she blinked blearily, attempting to clear her hazy vision. She settled for keeping her eyes closed to try and quell her lightheadedness.

"Stay still," Dabi advised, uncharacteristically gently, but still harsher than necessary, "unless you want to reopen the wound."

"I-I can't.." she stuttered, her voice quiet.

"You can't what?" Mr. Compress prompted.

"I can't... m-move."

The magician's mouth curved into a deep frown. He took a breath. "You won't need to."

With a flash of bright blue, it didn't take long for Puppet's vision to fade as the pain of her injuries took over.