Chapter 8: The Nightmare

"I overdid it again," Ayumu sighed. Leaning back against her couch, she rubbed a spot above her left eye to fight back the mild headache.

Despite U.A. being closed that week - meaning it was more or less a vacation for the faculty - she couldn't stand being idle and would dedicate her extra time to psychiatry work at hospitals across the city. Even with no cases requiring her to use her Quirk, it still made for a stressful and busy time.

She finally had a moment to herself now, at least until the morning came and she had to call around to see which hospitals needed her help for the day. But right now she could put her hair down (metaphorically) and let the tension out of her shoulders.

The couch cushion next to her suddenly sagged noticeably, and cracking one eye open she saw Onimaru perched next to her. With a purr, he rubbed his big head against her hand; she obliged the request, stroking his head and neck affectionately.

Onimaru had been her guardian angel that week. He stuck close to her as she ran between rooms and hospitals, reminding her to rest when she got too tired or to eat when it'd been too long since her last snack. He also made an excellent blanket for those nights she spent in the on-call room when she couldn't get home.

That'd been almost every night. On-call cots were far from comfortable, but it helped her stay in the working mindset; she saw a hospital before closing her eyes and the same upon waking. Still though, she missed the neighborhood when she had to stay away overnight. Doctors and nurses were people and could be nice to talk to, but at a hospital it was usually all business.

She especially found herself missing how her normal schedule overlapped a bit with Yagi-san's. The sounds of a neighbor going about their morning routine were soothing and relaxing; the lack of it disconcerted her somewhat. It was also concerning that she couldn't passively monitor his cough. That worry simmered in the back of her mind, coming to a boil whenever she tried to rest. Like now.

It didn't help that Yagi-san wasn't home at the moment for her to reassure herself that he was all right. But if he was out, presumably working, he couldn't be that bad… Right?

The jarring shrill of her ringtone made her and Onimaru jump, but Ayumu quickly recovered and retrieved her cell phone. "Hello, this is Nozomi."

"Good evening, Nozomi-kun! This is Principal Nezu," said the voice on the other end.

"Oh, Principal! What can I do for you?" As soon as the words left her mouth, her brain caught up. "Just a second, I need to get a pen and paper if you want to order cheese."

"Ahem, that's not why I'm calling this time." He sounded unusually serious and Ayumu was suddenly nervous. "An old friend of mine needs my assistance. I can't say any more right now, but in order to help him I need to speak with you. Are you able to meet me tomorrow in my office?"

Well, that wasn't what she'd been expecting. Fortunately, she hadn't set up any appointments for the next day and wasn't even expected anywhere specific at any particular time. She could meet with the Principal and ready the school store as a bonus, then use the evening and Sunday for the last of her pre-term patient consultation.

This all ran through her mind quickly so there was barely a pause between the question and her agreement. The principal sounded quite happy that she agreed so fast.

"Excellent! Let's meet at 9am - I don't want to take up your whole day off."

It wouldn't really have been a day off but Ayumu held her tongue and simply said she'd be there. A few more pleasantries were exchanged before the conversation ended, and she informed her curious cat about their appointment the next day.

"Sounds like something odd is going on," she mused to Onimaru while scratching behind his ear. "I wonder what the Principal needs to talk to me about?"

She pondered it while her cat purred like an engine and draped himself across her lap. She thought it most likely that Nezu was going to ask for her to use her Quirk on his "old friend". The faculty was good about not asking her for favors like that - of course, she also kept quiet about the sorts of things she could do with her Quirk. Instead, she emphasized the restrictions that she had to follow and the potential dangers if she didn't. But the Principal, being the principal, knew more about her Quirk than anyone else, save her. He wouldn't ask if it wasn't a desperate situation. Probably…

Toshinori opened his eyes and instantly recognized where he was.

It was the same as always. He was a student again at the USJ training ground, sometime near the end of his third year. The pressure to be perfect, weighed against the youthful confidence and belief in immortality… Those emotions came rushing back to him, as if high school had only been days ago.

Figures were around him but the faces were indistinct. Didn't matter - he somehow knew exactly what was going on. Urgency gripped him and he launched into the urban disaster area like he'd been shot from a catapult.

It was so familiar! The smell of the training area, the wind whipping past his grinning cheeks… Muscles he'd almost forgotten about rolled beneath his skin as he leapt about and he breathed deeply like he'd trained himself to do to optimize his movements. It felt so real…

In midair he was suddenly assailed by doubt. Was this real? It didn't seem possible for him to have imagined his hero life - the Symbol of Peace, battling All For One, that injury… But right now that all felt like a nightmare, fading away more every minute. Memories of All Might's career only confused the issue more. Which was the dream?

Even with his mind preoccupied, his body knew what to do. He landed, took a shorter jump, and found himself atop a crumbled building beside a swift river. The gray waters roiled like a dam had burst or something, and chunks of debris bobbed in the violent currents. He paused, knowing the sequence that came next.

As expected, a person's form came tumbling along, helpless in the face of the raging river. Faint, sputtering cries of fear were torn to pieces - if one wasn't looking, one wouldn't even have known the person was in need of rescue.

All Might dove in and swam towards the person, effortlessly breasting the swells and ignoring the freezing bite of the water. Regardless if this was real or not, he couldn't ignore someone in need of saving! The currents were tricky, but nothing he couldn't handle: in short order he was only an arm's length away. They spotted him - the person's vague familiarity disturbed him somehow - and he smiled reassuringly. "Never fear, I am he-"

The person vanished like they'd been sucked under, and All Might realized he'd made a slight mistake in trying to do his catchphrase first. He shook off the mental feeling that there was something wrong with the whole situation and dove under to find them.

That was the final mistake, he realized. All along a voice in his mind had been warning him to turn back, to stop the setup of his recurring nightmare. But like every night, he'd done it all the same.

Below the surface, the current vanished. There was no debris, no person to rescue, not even the constructed bed of the USJ river. Open water stretched in all directions with only the roof of silver waves above him. The oppressive blue pressed in all around him, darkening to nearly black in its depths. It was dizzying and terrifying in a way that struck at the core of his mind on a primal level. Quirk or Quirkless, the primitive savage inside every human knew that they were helpless before the monsters that lived in the deep.

Surface. Air. Sky. Anything was better than staring into the abyss.

In a convulsive jerk he kicked for the light above, breaking through and gasping a refill of air. He got a quick glimpse of gentle ocean swells as far as the eye could see below a stormy sky. Then a cold hand closed around his ankle and he was pulled below.

The bubbles blinded him, which only made him more alarmed. He swiped at them desperately to clear his vision, knowing that worse things lay beyond and he had to defend himself. Between the silver bubbles he could see shadowy forms sliding past, circling him hungrily. The closest turned when he noticed it and headed right for him.

The reaction was automatic - he drew his fist back for a punch. He couldn't talk with the water pressing down on him, but the usual litany ran through his mind. "Detroit Smash!"

He punched but there was no effect. There was a moment of confusion and then he noticed his arm. It was thin, the wrist and elbow bones standing out prominently - not the arm he'd had in high school. The sight nearly stopped his heart.

Frantically he tried to call up One For All. Even if it'd somehow slipped, it should be easy to bring it back and take on his muscular form again. But it wasn't there. Where the well of strength normally was, he now only felt a void. It was like being Quirkless again.

His guts turned to lead and his blood froze with the realization that he couldn't fight back. The shadow continued closer, teeth glinting in the dim light. The rest tightened their spiral, forming a wall of predators.

A thunderclap smashed through the water accompanied by a blinding flash of light. Toshinori reflexively squinted but he was dazzled by the sudden radiance. As the spots cleared from his vision, he saw the most aggressive monster fading into bubbles and splinters of murky color. Fear changed to confusion - this was new.

Suddenly his elbow was grabbed and he whirled around in renewed fright. To his shock, he wasn't confronting a monster but instead a familiar form with long brown hair.

"Nozomi-sa-" he spluttered. The words came out as a stream of foam and he clutched at his mouth in alarm. His lung - he could feel he only had one again - was empty and burning for air.

"It's all right." Nozomi-san's voice was clear and unaffected by being underwater. "This is all just a dream."

Toshinori had suspected that but it was still surprising to hear. He'd never had a dream that stated it was a dream before.

"You can breathe," she continued in the same soothing tone. "It's not really water."

It sounded ridiculous at first. Breathing water? That was a bit much, even for a dream. But the feeling he got upon hearing her words was like a light being switched on. Everything suddenly seemed to make sense. He tentatively inhaled and the water flowed into his lung like air. He could breathe fine.

"N-Nozomi-san," he said and this time there were no bubbles.

She gave him a gentle smile and the water around them brightened. The shadow creatures had vanished. "Let's go someplace a little less creepy."

Tugging gently at his arm, she began swimming upwards and he followed. A bright light was shining down from the surface, casting everything into stark black and white. It felt completely different from before with Nozomi-san here now; though the depths were still dark, long rays of light stabbed at it and held it at bay.

They broke through the surface and emerged onto a city street. Specifically, they were poking up out of a large puddle by the roadside. It was surreal to be staring at a curb on the same level.

Overhead was a bright fluorescent light, the glow of which reflected off the wet pavement all around. The sky beyond was dark gray with an evening storm. Raindrops splattered on the asphalt and into the puddle they were floating in. Darkened storefronts were lining the street and only a few of the signs for them were lit up. It was eerily quiet - aside from the sounds of rain there was nothing else to hear.

"What on earth?"

Nozomi-san drifted to the edge and pulled herself up with a grunt. Then she turned back and offered him a hand. "Over here."

Toshinori copied her movements and was quickly on dry land with her help. Out of curiosity, he turned back. The puddle was just a puddle now.

He was utterly baffled again, though he had no objection to being out of the nightmare. "Nozomi-san, what is this place?"

She brushed at her hair and scattered the water in droplets. "It's a dream. I told you before."

"What do you mean?"

She hummed thoughtfully. "Here, let's go inside to talk. No point in standing in the rain while I explain."

She gestured to the nearby corner where there was a café: Kayaba Coffee, 1926. Toshinori blinked - how hadn't he recognized the area?

Nozomi-san led the way as he tried to work out what he had seen and been told. Maybe this section of the city had been on his mind lately? His dreams often seemed to echo waking thoughts. As for dreaming about Nozomi-san… He flushed slightly and averted his gaze.

He had a strong sense of déjà-vu as they walked through the door. The odor of coffee was powerful but pleasant. The lighting was warm and dim, but he could still make out that the place was deserted. What little ambient noise there was from the rain grew muffled - it felt like being wrapped up in a thick blanket.

Stifling a sigh of relief, Ayumu took stock of the dream-café. She hadn't been anticipating rain once they left the nightmare. But then again, every mind had its own subtle complexities; it could even be an aftereffect of the recurrent nature of the nightmare. Perhaps Yagi-san couldn't shed his preoccupation with the symbolism of the water so quickly.

The café looked good. She'd given it a soothing atmosphere and a sleepy warmth. Comforting. There were no people though. She could've generated some, but it added extra complexity to a dream. Of more serious consideration, conjuring people could have unforeseen consequences. Using people from her own memory could be disconcerting for the host, even causing them to wake up. Using people from the host mind could cause emotional reactions beyond her control, requiring her to access deeper levels in order to keep the tone of the dream steady. But going to deeper levels was inherently dangerous and she avoided it except in the direst of circumstances.

So far everything was realistic and the dream's flow was steady. Yagi-san was sure to be feeling much more relaxed now.

Two towels were draped over nearby chairs and she deftly scooped them up, offering one to Yagi-san. "Not that you could catch a chill here, but we don't need to wait to air-dry."

"Thank you." He wiped his face and then started on his unruly blonde hair.

Ayumu did likewise, wrapping the towel around her mass of hair and running it from scalp to tip to squeeze out the water. At the same time she tried to start a casual conversation. "So, how are you liking the dream so far? I tried to pick something relaxing to counter the stress from the nightmare."

Her question had the opposite effect of what she wanted. Yagi-san's head snapped up and he stared at her with worry. "I'm sorry, I don't…"

There was a moment of quiet as she tried to figure out what was confusing him. It dawned just as his expression changed as well.

She chuckled as he flushed with consternation. "Yes, it's actually me. I could tell you were having a nightmare, so I used my Quirk to change your dream. I hope you'll pardon the intrusion." She added a bow for good measure.

"Oh, no! It's fine!" he exclaimed, dropping his towel absentmindedly. "In fact, I should thank you for getting me out of there. I've tried but I can't seem to shake it."

"Not a problem. It's my job, after all." With an encouraging smile she gestured to a booth where steaming cups of coffee were now waiting. "Let's sit. I'm sure a calm dream will be a nice change."

"It absolutely would." Yagi-san noticed the towel and picked it back up, suddenly pausing uncertainly. "Um…"

Ayumu had to turn her head to keep him from seeing her smile. She could try to keep a dream logical, but the host mind still had some wiggle room. Yagi-san's mind had apparently just decided that he was dry, somewhat disconcerting after being sopping wet just a few seconds ago.

"Just go with it," she advised. "No dream makes complete sense." To prove her point, she lazily waved her hand and both towels vanished.

He gave a start but recovered relatively fast and joined her in the booth, though she noted he was eyeing the entire environment with a distinct air of mistrust. The reaction was predictable for someone unused to these sorts of lucid dreams. The realization that the world wasn't as solid as it looked and could change in a blink had frightened a fair number of her patients in the past. But he seemed to be adapting reasonably well - at least there were no signs of hysteria.

Still, it was a mistake for her to be here at all. A voice in her own mind was screaming at her, telling her to leave before she did irreparable harm. It'd happened before.

There was no hero oversight. There was no legal authorization. And claiming a potential medical emergency as a reason was shaky at best. She hadn't even warned him of the possible (probable) dangers of her intervening like this. "Negligence!" shouted her inner physician. If he'd known the danger, he surely would've been shocked to see her rather than pleased. She should never have come.

However, despite it all, she couldn't feel that regret deep in her heart. Keeping to herself in her own dream while someone nearby suffered through a nightmare… Things like that ate away at her soul.

But… did that justify her actions? Regulations were in place precisely because her Quirk could be so dangerous. Ignoring them made her no better than a villain: she was putting someone in peril for her own selfish reasons.

Which was the greater crime? If a nightmare put someone's health at risk and she ignored it, wasn't that also rather villainous? So, which was more important to obey, the law of the land or her Hippocratic Oath?

"Nozomi-san!"

She jumped - Yagi-san was thin but clearly not as frail as he appeared at first glance - and realized he'd been trying to get her attention for a while now. She'd been a million miles away while he'd been talking to her. An involuntary blush suffused her face.

"Apologies, Yagi-san. I was lost in thought just now. What was that?"

"I asked if something was wrong."

"Not… particularly. Why do you ask?"

He pointed out the nearest window. "The area outside seems to be changing in an odd way. Granted, I don't understand fully about how your Quirk affects dreams, but it seemed strange."

Her eyes followed the direction his finger indicated, out the café window. It was obvious what he was talking about: the surroundings on the street had changed from dark and rain-obscured to a flat ash-gray color. Instantly she knew this was her fault. Her preoccupation with the ethics of her Quirk use had involuntarily caused the color and shading to leach out of the environment beyond their immediate surroundings. It'd never happened before but she had no doubt it was her doing.

"Ah," she said, scrambling for a comforting lie. "It's, uh… Nothing to be concerned about. Just a side-effect of a rather exhausting week."

He seemed to accept that explanation and she focused harder to return the outside back to a more normal appearance. If she was going to disobey regulations she might as well commit to it. Benefitting Yagi-san's mental health in a small way might be of some comfort if she wound up in prison.