Strings (BNHA x OC)

117 || "Stay awake."

Mr. Compress' P.O.V.

As I ran through what seemed to be a deserted part of the forest, I heard a set of footsteps that weren't my own. Someone else was here too, and they were close.

I went closer to the sound and put my back to the trunk of a nearby tree as a poor hiding spot. I kept silent; it was probably a hero.

I looked around to the source of the sound, but I made sure to stay out of sight. It was the pro hero Eraser Head. He was walking slowly and looked tired. But what caught my 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, so the blood couldn't be his own.

Puppet was going to be the one to fight him, I was sure of that.

I pulled a marble from my pocket, rolling it between my fingers. It contained one of the large boulders that was thrown at me earlier. With this, good timing, aim, and perhaps a bit of luck, I might be able to kill him.

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

I didn't expect what I found. A scene of blood, and my closest comrade laying injured in the center of it.
—

Third Person P.O.V.

"Hey, hey!" Mr. Compress' voice called as he ran to Puppet. He quickly got down to his knees beside her. He held the back of her head in his hand to hold her more controllably and get her to look 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 Puppets eyes began to flutter closed. He pulled off her mask, tossing it to the side. He tapped her face firmly several times, trying to keep her awake. "Listen to me, stay awake. Stay awake."

Puppet tried her best to listen, her eyes opening slightly every time Mr. Compress tapped her face.

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

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

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 plumes of smoke in the sky 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 of the hill, blue flames were being fired off and the forest around set ablaze.

The magician knelt down and carefully laid his injured comrade down 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, "I won't allow your show to end here."

"DABI!!" Mr. Compress yelled as loud as he could.

"What?!" Dabi's voice yelled back. Even through his usual nonchalantness, he was slightly concerned; he hadn't ever heard the magician so frantic. The flame villain 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. He got 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. "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 Puppets stomach. He took once last glance at Mr. Compress, looking for confirmation.

"Just do it," the magician seethed.

Scorching pain coursed through Puppets stomach as Dabi's hand ignited with small blue flames. He tried to work in the best way possible, 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 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 this. Her right hand was shaking violently and she gripped into the ground, pulling up whatever grass there was.

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

Mr. Compress gently slid one of his arms behind Puppets 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.