Happy Ending ((TENYA IIDA X OC))

Chapter 22

I stared at the screen-like display in front of me, chewing on my lip as I thought.

How was I supposed to get out of here? Or 'heal,' as Hikari phrased it. My mind was blank and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't formulate anything; it was like there was a blockage preventing me from thinking of anything, let alone a way out of here.

I peered away from the pages of a book Hikari was reading and to the white void. It wasn't essentially bright, but it still made my eyes squint as I stared into it. I figured the lack of recognition in this in-between was that I didn't have all of Dream Walker's quirk anymore, so I couldn't form a scene that was comforting to me.

Still, it made me wonder how I could activate the remanence of the quirk and use it to my advantage. If I could only get my thoughts together...

"It's no use, Osoroshi," I heard Hikari say. "You must stop forcing yourself to think things through and let yourself heal."

"I can't just stay in here," I argued frustratedly. "They need me."

"You need to let this happen for yourself," she said. "The more you try to push yourself out, the longer it's going to take."

Push... a thought popped into my head and I felt a smirk sliver onto my face as I twisted to look at the screen. Hikari was still reading.

"I don't have time to recover," I floated toward the image of book paper. "Not yet. Not until everything is over."

"Osoroshi," Hikari said warningly. I pushed my hand against the screen and watched as it sunk into it like a spoon would jello. "This is serious. If you don't heal properly, that will just make you a bigger target for Dream Walker's mind control. You must strengthen —"

"Enough with the 'you must's," I said, shoving in all the way up to my elbow before sliding my other hand in. "What I have to do is get out of here as soon as possible."

Hikari didn't say anything to that. I wiggled my arms into the screen and sucked in a breath of air whilst pushing my face through. My eyes were closed momentarily before I could open them again, and once I had it was like being under water, except I could breath.

I let go of the air in my lungs and squirmed my way inside, thrusting my arms to help my body forward.

I had gotten halfway submerged before darkness replaced the scene of my hands holding onto the book. A sudden wave of anxiety crashed into me like a tidal wave and I felt my hands retract to my chest. I looked around in a panic, staring wide eyed at the darkness that seemed to be clawing out at me.

At the realization of not being able to breath, I forced my way out of the gelatin screen, literally being propelled back into the white void. I spun in three circles before coming to a stop, and when I did I immediately looked back to the darkened screen to see the black tendrils poking out at me. Their gaze was unavoidable. It was as if they followed my movements.

"Your fears will tear you down time and time again," Hikari spoke up again. "You are not ready. You must heal."

I yelled in frustration and kicked at nothing. Of course now of all times would be the time for my brain to shit on me. Of course I let something so stupid trigger me.

But as I looked back to the sneaky tendrils swaying within the screen, the hot feeling I was consumed by before wracked my body.

I couldn't bring myself to move any closer to them — I couldn't bring myself to move at all. All I could do was float there and stare at the irrational fear that struck me down so easily every time. I clenched my hands into fists defeatedly. There was no way I could do this, not now at least.