Colors in the Dark

[7] Off to the Bench with You

Shinsou thought he had just eliminated one of the biggest threats to his victory. That is, until he realized her mind went quiet, so he turned around.

Where the ginger girl with freckles once stood had replaced with a black sclarae, pink irised, slit-pupiled girl covered in shadows, he hair rippling between shades of black and vibrant pink, body shaking.

A totally different voice than before spoke up, deeper and more dangerous. "And you never mess with Ayami's subconscious without getting through me. I am Deimos, personification of dread and terror. I'm your worst nightmare."

Suddenly, the landscape around them turned black, and a dangerous black-pink glow surrounded the possessed girl, swirling protectively around a faint amber aura dotted in deep indigo. He looked down to see he was drenched in shadows, only a pale indigo aura around himself before images of his family and old friends appeared, telling him he was a villain, saying they didn't love him, and that stupid stupid doll his cousin had showed him, porcelain face and empty eyes staring into his soul.

One minute he was kindly brainwashing this girl into joining his team, the next he was faced with his darkest fears, which had at that point surrounded him threateningly.

He could hear over the commotion, Midnight's gasp, and she began ordering Ayami to stop before anyone got hurt, but he knew that whatever was there wasn't Ayami, it was Deimos, and she had given him all control in her brainwashed panic.

Then the visions of fear swarmed him, then he was pulled away from Deimos' gaze full of malice and the dark oblivion around him and Midnight had ripped the sleeve of her costume, and then, as if nothing happened, the void and monsters of his subconscious were sucked back up, and the limp body of Ayami looked just as it did earlier: normal.

Was any of that real? He couldn't help but wonder what the hell had just happened. However, there were people running out onto the field, and they took Ayami's unconscious self away, and Midnight shakily announced she was disqualified for attacking another student, though everyone saw that she certainly wasn't herself when that happened.

~  ~

Ayami squinted her eyes open to see harsh ceiling lights, and rubbed her head. "Where am I? What... happened?"

She sat up, massaging her aching head, to realize she was in a bed, in Recovery Girl's office. And the only time she ever ended up here was when.

Oh, God damn it.

Recovery Girl turned around when she heard the girl moving. "Ah, Ayami, you're awake. Do you remember what happened?"

She sadly shook her head. "The boy from General Studies asked me to join his team, but the second I answered, I couldn't move or speak. I assume that's his quirk, but I panicked, and then Deimos was there, and-" The ginger took a deep breath, realizing the pink spirit was sending out guilt in waves.

"I'm so sorry, Ayami, I was so angry that he took advantage of you, that I-I... I used Nightmare on him, and then Midnight used her quirk and we're disqualified from the Sports Festival," he explained sadly. "It's always me, I'm so problematic, now the whole world watched you get possessed, and everything we've been told about being a demon will be public."

"It's my fault, Deimos," Ayami told him. "I shouldn't have given up control like that. You were just doing what any of you would have done, keeping me safe. No one was hurt, right?"

Recovery Girl nodded, assuming she and her spirits were conversing. "Everyone is okay, though you weren't conscious for the Cavalry battle results. Midoriya, Shinsou, Todoroki, and Bakugou's teams won, though some members of Shinsou's team forfeit after recovering from his Brainwash quirk, so some students from the fifth place team took their places. The final tournament will be the one-on-one battle tournament, so if you're feeling better, I suggest you go and watch with your friends."