Six of Crows One-shots

The Attack

She had been trying to protect him, when it happened. Kaz had always been nervous around them, her puppets. But most people were, the dead, were an unsettling lot. What with the stench, the muscles falling off their face, those unfeeling and impenetrable black eyes.
Request by: ReadingHawke09

It had been a gang fight, nothing big. Nothing new for any of them except maybe Wylan. The alley was cramped with people, and the rattle of gunfire and glints of blades.
Some of Kaz's closest and favorite members, plus the old crew were there. They were taking over Razor-gull territory, and it started an all out war. The wild adrenaline had shocked most of the retired crew back to their good natures. Kaz, Nina noted, began to look swamped with people and a little overwhelmed.
Nina saw their plan as they started to fight back to back, one wave turned toward the dregs, the rest closing in on Kaz. He could only block so many blows.

Nina pulled at her powers from the unseen realm of death, felt them coursing through her as the dead of both sides started to get up, and headed toward Kaz, they fought through the waves, breaking them apart. Razor gulls began to flee and others regrouped in corners, Nina refocused herself, Kaz was still in danger, he was in the middle of the fight, and any flyby bullet could spell his doom. She surrounded him with the dead, who herded him back to their side, behind a line of cover fire that spelled safety.
Their hands grabbed at him, pulling him where they wanted, she could feel the resistance he gave and she rolled her eyes at him, as she moved the dead away from him, she expected a lecture, anger, a fit.

What she got? Kaz tumbled away from them, his limp pronounced, then his back hit the rough stone of the alley wall and he barely seemed to notice. His whole body was shaking and his eyes were glazed. He slid down, curling in on himself, cane forgotten where he dropped it. Nina was afraid he'd been shot, despite common knowledge that when Kaz was shot, there was a whole lot more cussing, and less shaking. Inej was beside him in a second, Anika following.

"What the hell happened to him!" The blonde panicked, Kaz flinched away, and shivered violently. "Kaz... Kaz, your okay. Come back.." His eyes were still glazed over, but they seemed to trace a slow path to Inej. His breathing.... Nina noticed that it wasn't there, Kaz's chest rose and fell too quickly, he wasn't breathing.
"Inej..." Nina tried to warn her.
"I know! I know!" Inej snapped back frantically, her hands hovered over Kaz, unsurely, flitting around nervously. The rest of the Dregs were pretty freaked out and did their best to avoid him and instead go after the remaining gulls. If they didn't see dirtyhands weak, then they wouldn't be killed for it.

"What's going on!" Nina demanded, Inej's response was clipped and agitated.
"Just get the dead out of here!"
Kaz suddenly started muttering in a pained voice, his rasp made it near impossible to decipher, but he was already short on breath so the words became very jumbled, but Nina faintly made it out.
"Idon'twannadiecomebackcomebackyoupromissedIdontwanttodie...icantbreatheimgonnadrownimgoingtodie"
"Kaz! Kaz... were here, you aren't... your going to be fine. I need you to calm down, breathe, please..." Inej tried to calm herself, she was concerned and it showed like a beacon.

He made a pained whimper, a gasp shaking from his lungs like a panicked breath but it was clear he had forgotten how to breathe for long periods of time and or at all, really.
"With me Kaz, focus on my voice, my breathing. Breathe with me..." Inej soothed her voice more and Kaz seemed to ease a little, and shaky breaths started to emerge from him... then faded away. Inej tried to get him to focus again but he went limp against the wall, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"Damn it!" Inej snapped, lightly nudging his shoulder.
"Inej, what the hell is happening?"
"He just... he had a panic attack. He's going to be fine."
Most the dregs had left, Anika was guarding them, but she kept glancing back at Kaz with big concerned eyes.
"What are you talking about Inej? Why would he have-"
"He never told me! I don't know, all I know is it's triggered by touch... and the dead. And water..."
Nina rose a questioning eyebrow, but the mood was too serious for any real comment to be made.
Inej went back to trying to get Kaz to wake up while avoiding contact, after what felt like an hour or two, Kaz pulled away, and his eyes opened. He seemed shaken to the core, but at least back to himself. It unsettled Nina, and reminded her of the time he nearly drowned... he wasn't himself.
Inej retrieved his cane and he took it gratefully.

"Are you okay, Kaz?"
"I..." Kaz trailed off, he seemed to have lost whatever train of thought he had, and they stood there for a minute before Kaz's brain returned to him and he shook his head. "I'll be fine.." he was still shaking, and his grip on the crow skull was crushing. Inej looked at him for a short moment then shook her head with a sigh.
"You should come back to Wylan and Jesper's place with me and Nina."
"No." Kaz said quickly, not in anger but almost... fear.
"Kaz... it might help."
His teeth clenched together and he looked off, breathing deeply.
"I can't... be around anyone...not now."
Inej nodded, Nina frowned.
"What happened to you Kaz?"
He flinched hard, as if he'd forgotten she was there, then shook his head, it seemed any words he might have had evaporated when he tried to talk, so he just shook his head again.
He turned and limped off toward the Slat, but he appeared jumpy, as if he was uncomfortable in his own skin. Inej watched him go with a concerned face.
"I'm going to check on him in two hours."
"Can I come with?"
Inej hesitated.
"No... I think it'd be easier on him if it was just me. Maybe tomorrow."

I really hope this was what you had in mind! And I hoped you all enjoyed!