Pain.
Agony.
The crushing sensation of defeat.
Joker tried his best to get to his feet, to stand before the source of all of his torment for so long, but he just fell to the ground.
"You son of a-!"
CRACK!
He looked up at the noise, only to see a large figure clutching his best friend, Skull, by the throat. Skull was limp now. All the life in him was gone when his neck was snapped.
Akira gritted his teeth and tried to reach out, but his body refused.
All around him, his friends lay motionless. Dead.
They messed up. They weren't ready for Shido.
The hulking monstrosity tossed Skull to the side like a used tissue and began approaching Joker. He cracked his knuckles.
"Little brats likes you should have known better," he sneered. He grabbed Joker by the scruff of his jacket only to knock him down instantly. "Only the strongest will survive, and the weak will perish."
He kicked Joker across the dock. Shido laughed as the last thief tried valiantly to stand.
He stalked towards him. "After I'm done with you, I'll track down everyone who knows you. Friends, family, guy next to you in class, it doesn't matter. They're dead."
He grabbed him by the neck and pulled him up into the air. A manic grin spread across his face. "I'll start with that little doctor of yours. I'll take my time with her."
Joker snarled and kicked Shido in the chest but it did nothing but elicit a laugh.
He felt the pressure around his neck build. His vision became blurry.
SNAP!
Akira woke up screaming.
He shot up in bed and tried to backpedal, but hit the backboard of the bed. Next to him, Tae bolted up and immediately went to his side.
"Akira?!" she cried out. She shook his shoulder. "What's happening?!"
The screams devolved into quiet sobs. Akira curled in on him and leaned into Tae's embrace. He didn't say anything for the rest of the night. He only shook in Tae's arms before he fell asleep hours later.
Tae didn't get any more sleep. She stroked his hair and stared down at his body, all the marks and scars left over from days long past serving as a painful reminder of what he had to go through.
Even to this day, he was still feeling the pain of constantly being on the front lines of battle. He was too selfless for his own good. He made sure none of the others pushed themselves too hard when they fought, but he never once thought about his own safety.
And now he was having nightmares. Another gift given to him for being a hero to an ungrateful populace.
She could only offer up some small comfort in his waking world. She could do nothing for him in dream.