AN:

Disclaimer: Although not gory or bloody, I do a make a pretty graphic description of death in this fic so I'm gonna rate this one M.

In the interest of being honest, I've got a bit of a confession to make. I kind of cheated with this fic. I was really busy today and didn't have any time to sit down and write until 7pm. Even then, instead of writing I went and watched a movie till 9:30. I was left with two and a half hours to create a fic for a prompt I wasn't really happy with and no clear plan or direction for the fic. So I replaced the original prompt with a new one. Nightmare.

Why did I do this? Because I have a nightmare/flashback scene in a half-written one-shot that would be very easy to rip straight out of that fic and put it here. It is lazy, but if I didn't I would have gone over midnight and failed my challenge on Day 2. Tomorrow for Day 3 I will make sure to get straight to work first thing in the morning to avoid this from happening again.

I really had no idea how to end this one. I'm actually kind of frustrated with myself for wasting this prompt, there is so much potential for a nightmare fic, but as I said I ran out of time and needed to get something out. Hope it ain't too bad. Enjoy.

EDIT: 09/08/2020

This was apart of my 'Seven Day Challenge' collection. Now that the challenge is finished, I decided to move this one-shot here.

Everyone stopped for just a moment, stunned as the ground shook. Those closest to the epicentre of the quakes couldn't help but stare at the young boy rocketing towards the hand villain, his legs now purple fleshy sacks as they flailed about in the air behind the boy.

Unlike everyone else, the boy did not flinch nor waver. He barely even registered his shattered legs, too focused on what was in front of him to worry about anything else.

Tsuyu lay helpless at the hand villain's feet. Her deep emerald hair now knotted and caked in her drying blood. Her legs, mangled beyond recognition. Her face deathly pale, all her usual subtle expressions and conspicuous tells replaced with obvious dread.

At that moment, anger, determination and sheer unconquerable will flared in Izuku's soul. The boy lit up like a Christmas tree, green lightning arching off his skin and eyes turning a pure white.

He would make it. He would make it! He WOULD make it, he had to make it, he HAD TOO-

Plucked from the air as if he were nothing more than a feather on the wind, Izuku suddenly found himself within the grasp

Time seemed to grind to a halt. Izuku absorbed every detail of the Tsuyu's face as her expression morphed from a look of terror to one of sadness, then resignation. He watched the villain in front of her light up with glee, face hidden by a severed hand but his eyes showing Izuku that this evil being wanted nothing more in the world at that moment then to take the precious life in front of him.

The villain looked towards Izuku, his eyes radiating pure, unadulterated joy as his hands made contact with her face. Izuku's gaze locked onto the villain, mortified as the vile monsters eyes radiated utter relief. Within seconds, Tsuyu's body crumpled to the floor in a heap. The pile of ash on the floor next to it was all that remained of her head.

The entire world around Izuku seemed to fade out of existence. The ground below him, the sky above him, all the sights and sounds of the numerous battles happening throughout the building and even the sound of the wind whipping past his ears all disappeared… All that remained was the monster, the villain and the corpse.

Having succeeded in holding him back for long enough, the monster flung him like a ragdoll towards the hand villain. As he flew through the air towards his death, he didn't even bother trying to figure out how to survive. It was all he could to remain conscious, so overwhelmed with grief he was.

Not only was he too weak to save one of his only friends, but he would be responsible for the end of One for All as well. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream and shout and rip and tear this figure of evil to pieces, but most of all he wanted to apologise. Instead, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

The last thing he heard as he crashed into the villain, as death wrapped its arms around his head was a gleeful, "Too slow".

A powerful slap to the face brought the man back to the land of the living. Still not fully aware, he panicked. He kicked and lashed and struggled, but a powerful pair of thighs kept him anchored to the bed.

Finally, Izuku ran out of steam and went limp, gasping for air. It was the when the weight on his lap shifted to embrace him in a tight hug that he fully awoke from his nightmare.

Izuku took a deep breath and relaxed. He attempted to sit up, but his beds other occupant continued to cling to him. He took a moment to bury his face in his girlfriend's hair and basked in her.

"Ts- tsu, you can let go now. It's ok. Everything's fi-"

"IDIOT!"

Izuku froze. He knew better than to argue when Tsuyu got angry like this, and prepared himself for a verbal lashing.

"You told me you didn't get these nightmares anymore! You told me that! You told me you were ok!

"But I am-"

Tsuyu suddenly whipped her head up to look Izuku dead in the eye, her gaze promising swift vengeance if he continued to lie to himself.

"I have been a selfish, whiny child once in my life. I have dealt with Satsuki and Samidare being selfish whiny children before. I'm fairly sure almost everyone on the planet has been a whiny self-centred brat at one stage in their life, Izuku! And yet, at the age of 28 you have yet to be anything other than completely selfless, yet to put your life above anothers! Even here, in your own home, in your bed with your girlfriend you refuse to let down your guard for a single second and admit you have a fucking problem!"

A minute passed in silence. Izuku looking at anything other than his girlfriend in that moment, too scared to look her in the eye and confront his demons.

It was only when she went limp and her body began to shake as she sobbed that he finally looked back to her. He sat up, back resting on the headboard. He pulled Tsuyu to him and cradled her against his chest, her head resting in the crook of his neck.

"I mean it." Tsuyu sat up on his lap and pulled away from his arms. "I know you feel like you've inherited the weight of the world as the Number 1 hero, but even All Might had his flaws. You might be the 'Symbol of Peace', but you have to drop the act around me; as your girlfriend I deserve that much."

She leant forward and rested her forehead on his. "Taking care of you, for better or for worse, is just part of being in a relationship with you. So please. Just tell me what's going on. Let me help you."

Izuku watched her lean back and sit on his lap. As she stared at him expectantly, he let out a long, tired sigh.

"I… I still get nightmares about you and Shigiraki during the USJ incident."

Review Time:

ExpoDecision999: 'Nice, short and sweet. Good luck with the rest of the week, looking forward.'

Thanks man, I appreciate it. Here's hoping I make it through the rest of the week.