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Despite her extroverted persona and her aura of confidence she radiated when she was Midnight, worry plagued her and left her pacing. It was only three hours ago she had to put this poor child out of her misery after she began having an anxiety attack in her containment cell, though it seemed like she had put the child in more misery after observing her concerning behavior that she exhibited in her sleep. Jasumin’s body was laid on the couch after she was brought home, though she was flashing seemingly sporadically. It took a moment for her to realize that her light quirk had a pattern to it:
Flash flash flash… Flash flash flash…
She was involuntarily sending a distress signal.
A frustrated exhale left Nemuri as her mind began spiraling down the rabbit hole of what could have happened to this traumatized girl. She was also twitching in her sleep, with silent whimpers of desperation spilling out from her. She hadn’t even bothered entertaining the idea of leaving Jasumin alone, not even to change out of her pro hero outfit. It was also three hours ago she brought this extremely dangerous villain into her own home - her sanctuary - rational thinking was not her strong suit at the moment. An urge to calm the child of her night terrors flooded her, though to do so without waking her up was an impossible feat. Additionally, there was a high possibility the young girl would not take kindly to Nemuri, as she was one of the heroes present during the rather distressing interrogation. Despite all of that, her hand still hovered over Jasumin’s body, withdrawing slightly everytime the girl would kick and jolt.
The woman finally made a decision and sat down next to the girl, discerning her fearful demeanor. It broke her heart to see such a young child in so much pain. Nemuri reached her hand out again much closer this time, this time feeling courageous enough to tuck a piece of stray hair out of Jasumin’s face and behind her ear.
“You’re going to be okay.” She whispered, as if trying to reach through to her.
It was roughly twenty minutes later when the involuntary flickering had stopped and all movements ceased; a relieved sigh exited Nemuri. Jasumin looked so peaceful in this state, yet a part of the woman knew her calm appearance was only the surface to her traumatized mind. Her only job was to keep an eye on this child, yet she felt so pathetically useless. Her orange tabby strolled over to accompany his owner, rubbing himself up against her criss-crossed leg once he arrived. She greeted him with an affectionate rub on his head, stroking him all the way down to his tail.
“What do I do Sushi?” She murmured with hopelessness in her voice. “I’m a pro hero, yet I can’t even do a single thing for this child…”
Sushi purred reassuringly in response, sensing Nemuri distress and taking a seat in her lap. A small smile grew on her face - the weight and warmth of her pet was comforting at least. Though, she couldn’t help but let concern consume her countenance as she continued to observe Jasumin.
Another ten minutes later passed before her attention was arrested. The girl’s eyes were wide open. The pro hero flinched, about to put her guard up, before she realized that the child was not moving at all - she was catatonic. Nemuri expected some sort of rash reaction from Jasumin; instead, she was lying there so lifelessly. Not even a single blink or twitch could be seen, though her body was tense and her breathing was faint and unsteady. It didn’t take long for Nemuri to make the connections, understanding that she was witnessing a sleep paralysis episode. She was knowledgeable on the different sleeping conditions and parasomnias after doing a bit of research because of her quirk.
She felt even more helpless with this newfound episode, her imagination running wild with the possible sights and sensations Jasumin could be experiencing right now. Nemuri averted her gaze after realizing she was staring; her presence alone was probably scaring the child, she didn’t want to appear more intimidating by leering accidentally. Frustrated, she let out a defeated huff and brought her hand back up to Jasumin’s face, though this time she gently caressed it.
“You’re safe here.” She began, despite knowing no response could be given back.
“You’re safe here with me. Nothing is going to hurt you.”
She knew better than to wake the girl up frantically, or else she might have a worse situation on her hand that involved a bunch of demonic creatures in her home. Instead, she chose a gentler approach, stroking her head while talking her through this terrifying period.
“I know this is probably really scary, but I’m going to help you through this. I promise that you are going to be okay as long as I’m here.” Nemuri’s voice was soothing and her expression softened as she continued to guide Jasumin.
“If you can, try to move one of your fingers.” After giving that direction, her eyes traveled down to Jasumin’s hand. She took it into her own free hand, comfortingly embracing it and rubbing the back of it with her thumb. The pro hero knew she wasn’t going to get an immediate response yet, so she continued to speak until the child could make some sort of movement, though her chest felt tight with defeat as she held her breath.
“I can only imagine how you must feel right now. Keep trying, I’m still here with you.”
She had her brief experience with sleep paralysis as it was common in young adults to be confronted with such a terrifying situation once or twice. However, Jasumin was incredibly young - this must be such a nightmarish scenario for the girl to be in. Additionally, it was very possible this wasn’t the first time this episode has happened; parasomnias were commonly present and reoccuring in those suffering from a traumatized mind and body. Jasumin seemed so afraid of falling asleep from both Todoroki’s observation during his fight with her, and her observation with using her quirk on her during the interrogation.
“You’re doing so well; you’re such a brave girl.” She cooed as she glanced back up at Jasumin to meet her frozen gaze with her own reassuring one. A smile of solace grew upon her face, before it was quickly replaced with shock as she felt movement in her hand.
Could it be?
Her eyes darted back down to see that the child was moving the tip of her pointer finger barely.
She’s listening…! Maybe there was hope…
It was progress.
“Good job sweetheart, keep going for me dear. Try to move the rest of your fingers too.” She asked in an encouraging tone. She couldn’t hold back the proud grin that emerged on her face - she didn’t want to. She let go of the breath she had been holding onto, which manifested into a content chuckle.
She barely knew this child, yet she felt as if she was her own at this moment.
A minute painstakingly creeped by, but surely enough she could feel more fight in this girl as more of her fingers began to move. Soon, the rest of her body followed suit: first her heavy eyes that blinked to life, then her tense body that loosened with energy once again.
She was beginning to wake up.
Nemuri adjusted her sitting position, getting onto her knees for more control over her own mobility. This meant her pet that stayed for support had to move; he left his resting place to wander off elsewhere. She didn’t pay too much attention to his disappearance, for her attention was completely focused on Jasumin.
The young girl slowly sat up, clenching her chest as if trying to contain the shallow breaths she could barely intake with her unsteady hyperventilating. She was staring off blankly as she processed the hellish event that just occurred, before she registered that she was in a completely different environment. It seemed like she snapped back to reality as her eyes trailed down to see her own hand clasped by Nemuri’s. She quickly retracted it and scrambled to the other end of the couch; her mouth was wide open threatening to release a scream - yet not a single sound left it. She almost slipped off of the furniture with how much she was panicking.
When Nemuri realized the amount of fear that was instilled in this girl, her hand instinctively reached for her sleeve once again, ready to rip it off. However, she noticed that Jasumin’s eyes shrunk immediately before her hand could even touch the fabric. In an instant, she pulled her hand back and instead gestured to the girl with her open palms facing her, as if signalling surrender.
“Hey it’s okay! I’m not going to do anything!” The woman firmly started. She didn’t dare inch any closer for she didn’t want to frighten her more. “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re not in any danger.”
Jasumin flexed her hand out as if about to summon something; Nemuri froze up in indecision. Thankfully, she didn’t have to do anything as the child hesitated for a moment. She slowly crawled off of the couch and wobbled away slowly. She almost seemed like she was about to trip with how unsteady her walking was, but she retained enough consciousness to keep her feet firmly planted to the ground and the older woman in her peripheral vision.
There was a moment of silence as the world around the two froze. Nemuri was waiting for Jasumin’s move, her body tense as she felt like she was handling a hostage situation, with this poor girl’s safety as the victim. She keenly watched her inspect her surroundings lazily, her eyes drifting over each detail as they were struggling to stay open. Despite how alert the child looked, she was still so so tired.
A few seconds passed and her breath was stuck in her chest. However, she was able to let it go when Jasumin moved once more. Her sight locked onto the tired girl’s hands as they raised up to her neck. Her mouth was agape, with streams of air being noisily forced out. It was very obvious she was trying to vocalize something - anything. Her appendages slithered around her throat like hungry snakes, coiling tightly to get anything out.
ANYTHING.
“Hey!”
Nemuri interrupted her train of thought by snapping at the girl, though only sternly. Her neck could have cracked with how fast Jasumin snapped her leer straight back to the pro hero.
“It’s okay! You’re okay…!” She softened her voice in an attempt to regain control over the girl again. She listened before, Nemuri had hope she would listen again.
“You’re hyperventilating dear. Breathe. You’re going to make yourself light-headed.”
She demonstrated by inhaling deeply through her nose, relaxing her stance and using her hands to further emphasize her action. A long exhale followed after, and she continued this process in a consistent pattern. Jasumin stared seemingly blankly, though she copied the woman after a few loops, albeit shakily.
“Good girl… you’re doing so good…” Nemuri cooed, trying to earn the girl’s trust. “You’re safe, no one’s going to hurt you.”
Jasumin kept going with her encouragement, though her hands were now grasping her arms instead, her fingernails digging into her nightgown. Tears began streaming down her face, and it was at this moment she looked so utterly helpless like before. It hurt Nemuri to watch this poor girl in this state, though she couldn’t stare long as the child’s legs gave out underneath her weight. The pro hero thought she was going to collapse, so she rushed over and caught Jasumin in her arms.
“I know it’s hard. You’re scared and I can see that.”
The girl made no attempt at resistance to the foreign touch, instead completely allowing her body to be enveloped in Nemuri’s arms as she sobbed silently.
“Keep breathing for me. Everything will be okay sweetheart.” She reiterated while sitting down to take on her weight easier. Her hold tightened in a reassuring way while she stroked Jasumin’s back, allowing the girl to simply let everything out.
“You’re going to be okay.”