I'M BAAAAAACK! Sorry for the superlate update! Thing's been crazy and super busy since the last update! For now, I'll try to keep these updates regularly as possible. Uh...nothing special to say right now since I'm writing after a long time... So...if you're reading this, thank you. Every view, every comment, like, everything is worth their weight in gold to me.

Emptiness.

Emptiness.

Yes.

The ultimate emptiness.

That's what Jirou felt and saw whenever she succumbed to her another self.

It wasn't dark, and it wasn't bright.

It wasn't cold, and it wasn't hot.

The only thing she could feel inside the emptiness was herself. Floating in there in her natural form.

Most people would shudder at the thought of being trapped in an eternal void, but she was used to it now. What she was really afraid of was the sounds, and the visions she sometimes saw and heard. Those were absolutely terrifying to her. It often contained her traumatic memory or just a horrifying shriek coming from deep inside her mind.

But this time, it was herself.

Not exactly her 'self' but it was clearly her. Jirou couldn't see clearly because the vision was pretty blurry, but she could clearly see it. It was her. Choking Yukako, breaking and crushing Kenshi's hands, and punching them out the classroom door. She was...hurting people. Crushing bones, and almost killed a person by choking her. That. THAT. That was the ultimate thing she never wanted to see. She hated herself. She hated her violent, cruel, sadistic self. But it was not her. Was it her? No? Yes? What was the correct answer? Who ws the real 'her'?

No.

Don't think about it.

No.

No.

No.

No?

No!

The visions suddenly got clearer, and the sounds became more real. And immense pain started to consume her entire body. She didn't, no, couldn't know what was hurting her. But every time she experienced traumas inside the void, the emotions of fear, hate, and every kind of riot of emotions she felt turned into physical pain. And it always consumed her entire body. It was pure torture. Did she call for help? Did she scream in pain and fear? Of course she did. She screamed from deep inside her mind, and she called for help until she felt her neck being severed. But nothing happened. And nothing happens every time. She was alone. And she was alone inside there every time. All she could hear was her traumatic memories and the echoes of her tragic screams. She was trapped. Trapped in the eternal void inside her mind. And now, things got worse. Her voice started to echo in the void. Unlike Jirou, she was laughing. She seemed like...she was enjoying her suffering.

No.

No.

NO.

STOP.

PLEASE.

But Jirou's pray didn't work. She was vulnerable. Vulnerable to herself. The sounds and the visions wouldn't end just because she wanted them to end. They continued until Jirou's mind gave up, or Jirou's mind triumphed, but the second option never came true. The visions always traumatized and broke her down. And it was happening again, people say that pain gets weaker as you experience it, but Jirou disagrees. The never-ending pain and suffering she experienced didn't get weaker, they got stronger. And she got weaker. Why does it have to be like that? Soon, the vision showed Jirou choking the girl again, but not in Jirou's point of view. The vision showed Jirou's face. Her lifeless eyes, grinning face, the slight laugh that came out from her mouth, she wanted to ignore. She wanted to ignore the fact that psychopath was her. But she couldn't. It was definitely her. She was the one doing it. Soon, the vision showed herself again, but in a different way. Now the vision focused on her eyes. The vision was trying to make Jirou and the vision Jirou look at each other. To Jirou, it was a nightmare. Gazing into her lifeless eyes, the eyes, THE EYES!

Jirou called for help, she wanted to wake up. She wanted to wake up from this mess up dream. She wanted to get out of this deep void. She knew no one would help her and she would fall into a deeper void again, but she hoped. She hoped for help. And this time, and for the first time, god seemed to be in her side.

"J..."

"Jirou?..."

"You alright?..."

"J..."

A voice!

Calling her!

It was definitely a voice. Not a fake one her mind created, but a real one. And it was pretty familiar. Tears started to flow from Jirou's eyes. Finally, finally, she was getting help. As soon as she heard the voice, the visions started to fade. And her voice grew weaker. She was being freed from this torture. Soon, light started to fill the empty void. And a sense of temperature returned to her. Thanking the source of the voice, she finally exited the void.

"Jirou? Hey, hey, you alright? Is she still sleeping? Hey, J..."

"Aack!" Jirou screamed, waking up. Finally, the real world. She was finally free from the torture. She was back, she's back in the real world. She was covered in sweat, and her head was killing her again with the headaches and nausea, but that was way much better than being inside that hell again. She quickly turned her head rapidly to acknowledge her surroundings. She certainly wasn't in the classroom or in the school hall, because she was lying on a bed. The bed was surrounded by white curtains, and there was some space between the curtains and the bed. And there she saw Kaminari, looking at her with a worried expression on his face. Jirou was now confused.

'Okay, I was in the classroom, met with those assholes, and passed out. Then...I suppose I almost killed them in...that... But why am I here? And why is Kaminari here? No... I think I remember a spark for a brief second... What in the...' Jirou's mind was now racing in top speed that even the turbo hero Ingenium couldn't catch it. As she backtracked her extremely blurry memory, Kaminari touched her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, calm down, calm down. Breathe, Jirou, Breathe. You're hyperventilating. Don't worry about what happened, and just focus on breathing. Okay?" Kaminari said while grabbing Jirou's shoulder soaked in sweat. Indeed, Jirou was hyperventilating. She didn't notice herself doing that, but all the surprise and thinking induced her to that. Looking down, she tried to breathe slowly, hands on her chest. Kaminari helped by gently rubbing her back. Thankfully, it worked. Her head soon became a little bit clearer than it used to be, and she could now think more calmly. Taking a deep breath, Jirou raised her head up and faced Kaminari.

"Better?" Kaminari asked, tapping her back.

"B...etter." Jirou said, raising up her thumb in an awkward way. Kaminari laughed.

"Great! Then I'll go get the nurs..." Kaminari got up, but Jirou interrupted.

"Wait! Nurse?... What do you mean by that? Am I in a hospital or something?" Jirou asked him in confusion. Kaminari snorted.

"Heh, no. We're just in the...school nurse's office. Just wait here and relax! I'll be back soon!" Kaminari then disappeared through the curtains. Now, Jirou was alone. It wouldn't last long, but she was alone. She sighed and laid back down again. She was getting the rest she desperately needed, why not enjoy the slightest time? Plus, nothing was bothering her right now. Nothing was confusing her, and nothing annoyed her except for her head. But she could deal with it. Waiting for Kaminari to return, she closed her eyes, hoping to get at least a minute of sleep.

Jirou's wish came true. It exactly came true. Just after one minute she closed her eyes, Kaminari returned with the school nurse. Opening her eyes, she half-regretted her wish of wanting to get a minute of sleep. God, she wanted more. But this was the priority now, so she rose from the bed.

"You were sleeping? Like, during that short time?" Kaminari said with a half-worried, half-joking tone. Jirou shrugged.

"Okay, okay, would you be quiet for a second? Okay, your name?" The school nurse silenced Kaminari, and asked Jirou.

"J..." Before Jirou started to tell her name, she suddenly went into a coughing spree. Kaminari patted her back and told her information for her.

"She's Kyouka Jirou. Class 3-1. You alright?" Kaminari said. Jirou nodded.

"Okay, Kyouka Jirou... I'll check your temperature and things now. Got it?" The school nurse asked.

"O...kay. Sorry, just choked on my saliva." Jirou replied, clearing her throat. The nurse got out of the curtains and soon returned with some medical equipment. She first started with the thermometer. She put it inside Jirou's mouth and put it out after a few seconds. The nurse checked the temperature.

"37.8 point Celsius... You have a slight fever."

"I think the temperature dropped than before...?" Jirou said, touching her forehead. After the nurse checked her temperature, she checked her throat. Nothing was wrong there despite she had a violent coughing spree.

"Nothing wrong with your throat... I see that you don't have a cold?" The nurse said. Jirou nodded. "I...had a stomachache before instead of a sore throat." Jirou told the nurse.

"Hmm, okay. Then are you in your period?" The nurse asked. Jirou slightly blushed but shook her head.

"Okay, then what did you eat before today?" The nurse asked again. Jirou answered.

"Uh...nothing?..." The nurse's eyes widened, and Kaminari looked at Jirou with a surprised expression."Really? Like, you skipped two meals at once?" Kaminari interrupted. The nurse hushed, and continued her question.

"Okay, so... can you explain what happened or how did you feel before collapsing?" The nurse asked.

"It was...bad. Like...I couldn't even lift my head up because of the dizziness, nausea, and the fever. About the consequences of fainting... Uh... honestly, my memory ends...like in the classroom?... I don't remember more."

"Okay...? Kaminari said you were found collapsed in the hallway. But you don't remember anything about that?"Jirou shook her head in response. The nurse turned her head towards Kaminari. "Do you know anything?"

"Uh...I think she wanted to go to the toilet?..." Kaminari replied awkwardly and slightly eyed Jirou. It was probably a signal to make up a story that sounds natural. Jirou laughed. "Is the question over? I think I have to go to the toilet for real now." Jirou said, looking at Kaminari. Kaminari laughed at Jirou's quote.

"Okay, okay. My question is over now. The time's getting late now. You two should go home." The nurse said, helping Jirou to get up. Jirou finally stood on her feet and exited the small area with the curtains. She shivered at the cold air outside the curtains and found her backpack laying on the floor.

"Uh... Who brought my bag?..." Jirou asked in confusion.

"Oh, that? Me. I brought it from your classroom." Kaminari said, raising his thumbs up. Jirou struggled to lift her backpack, but she eventually managed to carry it. Kaminari also exited the curtain area, and went to find his bag, which was close to Jirou's. The school nurse looked at Jirou with worried eyes, but the time was getting late. She had to send them home.

"Okay, so... Jirou, you have a fever, so make sure to get some rest. Thank god it's Friday...? Anyway, I'll get you some basic medications. It will help your fever to go down. Take this after dinner. If the symptoms get worse, visit a doctor properly. I'm sorry that I can't do more because of the limits of the school's facilities..." The school nurse said as she went to get some medications for Jirou. Jirou gladly received it and politely bowed to the school nurse before leaving the room. Kaminari also bowed to her and exited the room with Jirou.

As Jirou exited the room, she met with the silence in the school hall. The nurse's room was on the first floor, so she could directly see the school entrance from there. The entrance, which was always filled with students going home during the exact time, was empty. As Jirou experienced the awkward silence in the building, Kaminari tapped her shoulder.

"Wah!" Jirou screamed in surprise. Kaminari laughed.

"What, you're scared at this? Come on, I thought you were more than that." Kaminari said, calming down Jirou. Jirou said while soothing down her thumping chest.

"You...almost...gave me a heart attack..." Yes, Jirou didn't usually get surprised at that kind of action, but she was extremely sensitive because of her fever. No wonder she was surprised at Kaminari's simple tap. Seeing Jirou acting like that, the air between Kaminari and Jirou became a bit awkward.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Uh...how are you feeling now?..." Kaminari asked, breaking the air of awkwardness between them. Jirou calmed down, and finally decided to talk.

"Don't...ask. I...just want to go home and sleep for like...3 days or so." Jirou said, sighing. Kaminari also sighed in worries. "Here, give me your bag, I'll take care of it till we get home." He said as he gave his hand to Jirou.

"Huh?..."

"Come on, I can't let a sick person go home alone? Come on, give me your bag. You look like you will collapse in seconds if you don't get that thing off your shoulder." Kaminari said. Now he was just downright removing the bag from her shoulder. Jirou tried to give up, but it seemed her actions weren't going to work, so she just let Kaminari take her bag.

"Thank...you." Jirou said in a small voice that almost only she could hear it.

"You're welcome? Anyway, let's get going. It's gonna be late." Kaminari replied with a smug face. He somehow heard it? Jirou blushed a bit, but she soon followed him.

"Anyway, what time is it now exactly?" Jirou asked him. The nurse said the time was pretty late, so what time was it exactly?

"Oh, the time? Let's see... 5:30? Geez, almost 2 hours past since school ended." Kaminari said, checking the phone.

"Gotta hurry...then... But so...tired..." Jirou said, slugging.

"Don't rush it. I'll try to keep it your pace." Kaminari said, slowing down. Jirou weakly smiled. Thank god he was here.

"Jirou? You alright? Come on, we're almost there!" Kaminari said, tapping her shoulder. But it was no use to her. Her conditions became worse. Worse than when she fainted. Kaminari's voice just echoed through her superhuman ears, and his taps felt like All Might's punches. Not only that, but walking was also a pain to her. Each step was heavy like a rock, and she had to use all of her energy to maintain her balance.

"I'm...fine... Just..tired...? I guess?..." Jirou said between pants. It was a lie. Yes, an obvious lie. But she didn't want to burden Kaminari more than this. She already made Kaminari carry her things, and now she was making him worry. The only solution she could think of was going home as quickly as she could.

"Okay, let me help you, give me your arm. We're almost there now, don't hesitate." Kaminari said, lending Jirou his shoulder. Jirou tried to refuse in the first time, but she realized that she couldn't walk back home without some sort of support. So she just gave herself to Kaminari.

With the support of Kaminari, their speed drastically increased. They were pretty slow in the first few seconds, but Kaminari quickly caught Jirou's rhythm, and almost carried Jirou to her home. After five painful minutes to Jirou, they finally reached their destination. Jirou's house.

Jirou's house was a regular detached house with two floors. The house had a small yard in the front and the back. The yard had a pretty cared-for look because of Jirou's parents, who loved gardening in their free time. There weren't any special features despite that. The house was pretty decent but nothing so special. Right there in the front door, there was a little panel that was written her family name, '耳郞'.

"Finally! Your house! Jirou! We're here! Jirou?" Kaminari told Jirou, who was leaning on his shoulder. Jirou didn't respond in the first time, but she finally lifted her head, and saw her home. Finally! A place where she could properly rest! Jirou put on a weak smile on her face of relief.

"Thanks...Kaminari... I can go on my own now... Sorry for taking your time..." Jirou said, now standing on her own, trembling legs. Jirou stretched her arm to receive her bag. Kaminari gave back her bag with a worried face.

"You don't need to apologize, but... Are you really okay now?..." Kaminari asked, giving her bag back. Jirou weakly nodded, facing Kaminari for the last time.

"I'll...be okay, so... You go back to your home, okay? Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Thank you, Kaminari, for helping me today..." Jirou said, slightly lowering her head to Kaminari. Kaminari put a small smile on his face.

"If...you say so... Then... See ya, Jirou. Get well soon!" Kaminari said in his usual energetic voice as he started to return home. He waved his hand to Jirou, and she returned it to him. She kept standing in front of her front door until Kaminari disappeared from her sights. After a few minutes, Kaminari finally disappeared from her sights, and Jirou was finally alone again. With the weight of the bag and the feeling of being alone on her shoulders, she sighed. Without anyone or anything to comfort her next to her, she could feel the headaches and the cramps returning to her. Clenching her eyes shut because of a rush of headaches, she opened the front door and finally entered the house.

Entering through the front door of her house, she threw her bag inside the house before the door even closed. She just had to get the weight off her shoulder. She took off her shoes and socks as fast as she could to remove the pressure off her feet. Now completely free from the weights and the pressure, she walked through the passageway that led to the living room. But it was strange. Her parents should be here somewhere, but the house was strangely quiet. And the living room was...dark?... No one was there? Feeling the strange atmosphere, Jirou limped to the living room. And as she expected, no one was there.

'What...the...heck?...' Jirou thought to herself, collapsing to the couch. She searched for the light switch with her hands, and eventually found it. Soon, the room went bright. After the room got bright, she straightened herself up to take a look at the entire living room. The living room was just as normal as it was before, but she saw something in the kitchen. To take a look, she stood up, feeling like her body weighs a ton.

Into the kitchen, she went, and she spotted a small piece of paper and...a...meal?

'Dear Kyouka, as we informed you weeks ago, we have to stay outside for a day today. Sorry for keeping you alone, but we prepared dinner and things to eat for tomorrow's breakfast for you. Eat well, and stay healthy. We love you, and see you tomorrow ;)

Jirou Mika

P.S. Breakfast is in the fridge.'

Jirou sighed as she sat on the chair, holding her mom's letter. She weakly smiled while reading it, and almost laughed as she saw her mom's little emoji use, but she wasn't in the mood for eating. Most importantly, she felt that she just couldn't eat anything now. She glanced at the dinner in front of her. Rice, baked fish, miso soup, and some other side dishes. It was a good meal, and she would usually enjoy that. But today? Nope, just no. Even though she skipped two meals, she just blankly stared at the dinner in front of her. But as she got reminded of her parents' effort to prepare this before they left, she couldn't just ignore it and go to sleep or whatever. Besides, the school nurse said 'take the medicines after dinner'.

'Guess...it wouldn't hurt to have it a try?...'

Jirou finally decided to have some food, but as she finally put some food inside her mouth, a wave of nausea hit her. It seemed like her body couldn't take the food in. But she tried her best to at least swallow the first spoon in, and she eventually succeeded.

'Nope, no, not gonna do that again...' She thought to herself as she put down the spoon back on to the table. Guess she's skipping everything today. After she gave up on eating something, she headed to the sink and prepared a glass of water. She searched for the medicine the school nurse gave her inside her pocket, and she immediately swallowed it with the water after she found it, hoping it would reduce her fever. With the glass of water in her hand, she slowly slugged back to the sofa and plopped right onto it. She took a deep breath, with her hand on her forehead, hoping for the medicine to take effect soon. She just couldn't take the fever and the dizziness. She yawned as the fatigue consumed her, and soon she went limp as she went to sleep.

To her bad luck, she woke up after 30 minutes or so as a strong wave of nausea hit her. She had frequent nausea waves earlier today, but this one was the strongest she had ever experienced today. Her eyes lit open as she felt her guts being twisted, and she immediately covered her mouth, knowing what is about to happen after a few seconds. She bolted up and ran to the bathroom as quickly as she could. After she reached the bathroom, she kneeled in front of the toilet without hesitation and immediately started to empty her stomach's contents to it. It was a painful process. Because she ate nothing except for the once spoon of rice and the medicine, only stomach acid came out, the waves of nausea still hit her, and she still felt extremely sick. After a few minutes (which felt like eternity) with infinite amounts of coughing, retching, and heaving, her stomach finally settled down. She was a mess now, tears were dropping from her eyes, and her hair was a dark-blue mess.

'This...can't...go...any worse...' Now she was downright desperate. Desperate for some proper rest, and desperate for some peace. She just wanted to go to her room, lay down to her bed, and sleep for like three days. Flushing the toilet and rinsing her mouth, she cursed the fact that her room was goddamn upstairs. Stairs, stairs. The last thing that she wanted to encounter now.

'Why the hell did I wanted my room in the goddamn second floor when we first came here?' She complained to her past self as she carried her sluggish body towards the stairs, clutching her chest, which strangely hurt. And the pain started to spread, a burning, scorching pain. It didn't feel like regular cramps from normal sicknesses, instead, it felt awfully familiar...

Carrying her burning body, she slowly started to go up the stairs, which felt like climbing up some mountains. She fought the aches present all across her body and the horrible dizziness, but despite her efforts, her vision started to blur. Soon after, she could all of her strength being drained from her body.

'Oh...f...' Now her vision completely dark, her legs lost the support on her. With a loud thump, she collapsed to her knees and her whole body became limp again.

"Hi."

"...?"

"Hi?..."

"W...ho?... Oh... fuck."

"Fuck? No no no no, no swearing!"

Jirou was in the void again, but this time, she didn't see any visions.

This time, she was with herself.

"Why...are you..."

"Ah, don't worry, I'm here because...you...seemed really tired! That's why! I'm here...to... what should I say...help you!"

Okay, she was now downright annoying. Why the hell?

"What...the..."

"What?"

"You...took over me in the morning and screwed me up, and now you're taunting, and how should I fucking say? My day's already been fucked up, and you almost blew up half of it. What's left? Huh? What's left? What can you... what, fucking provide to me now?"

"Nothing!"

"Nothing?"

"I mean, nothing!"

"What the fuck are you even..." Jirou was angry now.

"Ah, never mind."

"What...in the actual..." This confusion was in the another level. All this shit was nothing? And she was hearing that from herself, who was lurking inside the endless void. She couldn't see her, she could only feel her and hear her. But the only person she had with her was her? And that...thing? Or...god, how could she define her?

"Enough talking... While you are in this...particular...stage... I want...some more FUN. Yes, even more fun than the one in the morning."

"...? Y..." Jirou couldn't finish her sentence. The void was suddenly moving, and it was engulfing her. Across the thick void that was her voice, surprisingly filled with joy, but rather creepy.

"N...! C..m... B...ck!" Jirou tried to scream to herself, but it didn't reach as she sank deeper and deeper. The void now felt like some think water, and Jirou felt herself fade away again.

Not.

Fucking...

Agai...

Jirou twitched.

Jirou twitched.

She was lying face-first in the middle of the stairs. Her hair still a mess of dark-blue.

Another twitch and that twitch now turned to real movements. She grasped her hands and grabbed the stairs above her. She grabbed it tight, so tight that it might break into ashes.

Grabbing the stairs as support, she slowly straightened herself up. She stretched her body until it made some popping sounds. She made a silent moan, enjoying this type of feeling.

After fully getting up, she punched the wall to maintain balance. The wall almost broke, but she was lucky enough.

Now, finally tuned and good, she finally opened her eyes, which were clamped shut during the whole time.

"Ah... Finally..."

Her eyes,

Weren't the eyes with the shines of vitality.

Those were lifeless eyes.

Eyes, staring into the void.

"About time, eh?..."

Okay, this took longer than expected.
Anyway thank you for reading!
Next time...!
Uh...

It's about damn time.

You guys are probably wondering about the green.