"T-thank you." I whispered back to him, as I held onto him tighter.

We stayed as we were, holding each other, until I heard someone clear their throat. We both separated slightly and looked over to see Present Mic, Midnight and Principal Nezu standing in the room with us.

"Not to interrupt the sentimental moment between you two love birds, buuuuuut we do need to go over the results." said Hizashi, shrugging with his usual smile.

"Personally, I wouldn't mind if they kept going." said Nemuri in a low voice with a devilish smile, "I would've loved to have seen what unfolded. Ah, and on school property! How scandalous!"

I heard Aizawa growl as he glared at them both for intruding.

"No, no," I said, patting on Aizawa's arm to let him know I was fine enough to continue, "Let's just regroup for the results."

"Excellent!" said Nezu, "Let's all meet back in the faculty lounge. No need to stay here longer than necessary."

Nezu turned around and started to walk away. Hizashi gave us quite the shit-eating grin while Midnight gave us both a wink before following him out of the room, leaving us both alone.

"How are you feeling? Are you good to walk?" asked Aizawa.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him and scoffed.

"All I've been doing is sleeping. I think I can walk." I said as I made my way off the bed, before almost falling over. My legs felt like noodles and they tingled like crazy. I knew I was sleeping, but I didn't think my legs would also be asleep.

"You sure about that?" he asked with a slight grin, before promptly picking me up and carrying me, "Nemuri's quirk has some side effects that might inhibit you for an hour or so, but don't worry. I won't think less of you."

I chuckled.

'Of course the smartass would remember to give me the same remark I gave him once.' I thought as he continued to walk down the hall with me in his arms, bridal style.

"What time is it, anyway?" I asked him, completely forgetting how long I've been here.

"It's almost 7:30PM." he answered.

"7:30?!" I repeated in surprise, "We've been here for over 6 hours?!"

"Afraid so. Thankfully, we got all the information we need. After we discuss everything we've found, we can head back and have you recover." he said as we neared the faculty lounge.

I couldn't help but feel nervous about what they found. What if they think I'm faking this? What if it was too inconclusive and I had to do this again? What if they did find out what was happening? Then what? My brain couldn't help but snowball.

"Wait, you stayed here the whole time?" I asked, feeling a little guilty, "You didn't have to do that. You could've taken a break or something while I slept." I said to him.

"Now that wouldn't be logical. I gave you my word that I would stop these tests at any point if you asked. I couldn't very well keep my word if I left your side." he said, looking me with seriousness.

We made it to the lounge, where Aizawa gently lowered me to a chair before sitting next to me with the other faculty members.

"Alright, let's get on with this, shall we?" announced Nezu, "Now, Miss Doe, after looking at the data provided by the polysomnogram and watching what unfolded in the sleep room, we've concluded that your situation is as you say it is."

I looked up, surprised by what I heard.

"Which is what exactly?" I asked

"That you are indeed linked to not only our world, but your own when you sleep. Your mind, for whatever reason, is connected to your world while you physically remain in ours." he said.

I blinked as I took in what he just said.

"So..." I started before I realized I didn't know what else to say or ask. I wasn't sure where to go from here or what to do. I mean, I had a feeling this had been what's going on, but to hear someone else say it made it all too real. Then it dawned on me.

"How did you figure out I was telling the truth?" I asked.

"There was no indication that you were dreaming during any of the tests, based off of the brain waves shown here." said Nemuri, who showed me an example of the charts during all three tests.

"What about when I was stuck in my coma during the third test? Did it even show up?" I asked after looking up at them all nervously.

"Nope!" said Present Mic, "But don't worry, that was the point after we had seen the first round of the test."

"What he means," interjected Nezu, "is after the first and second test, your data showed that you never entered REM sleep, meaning you weren't dreaming. And even after we received clear indication from you during the third test that you were in your world, the information remained the same. In other words, no change in any of the data meant that you weren't dreaming any of this."

I sat in silence again. Finally, I had validation, but at a bit of a cost. Even though I was glad that this proved this was more than just a dream, being stuck in my coma state was an absolute nightmare. I felt like I was going insane. Being alone with just my thoughts, with nothing else but a machine continuously beeping was like a void. Or the movie Groundhog Day on steroids. I was relieved that I could hear Aizawa reaching out to me, or I would've been trapped there forever. That brought some relief. With him around, I wouldn't have to experience it again. At least, I hoped that I didn't.

"What do we do now?" asked Aizawa, who caught on that I was a bit preoccupied in thought to say anything further.

"That is unfortunately where I'm a bit purplexed myself." said Nezu, "We haven't had a situation quite like this before. I have a few theories as to what our next move might be, but it's been a trying day as it is for all of us, and I wouldn't think it wise to attempt anything tonight."

"What theories do you have in mind?" I asked.

Nezu got up from his chair and began to pace, putting a paw under his chin as he thought out loud.

"Well, I'm wondering if there's a way we can heal your body in your world from here. If the reason you can't wake is due to your coma, we should see if there's a way to speed up the recovery process in our world. That would likely involve using Recovery Girl's quirk." said Nezu.

'Or Eri.' I thought, 'but they're not even aware of her yet. I can't bring that up until we get there.'

"Then there is the possibility that we find someone who might have a quirk that would severe the connection, which unfortunately might have some implications. For all we know, that could either split you into two separate entities, or it could kill you. Either way, it's quite the risk." continued Nezu.

'I'm not even aware of someone with a quirk like that here, so that's unlikely.' I thought.

"Then, of course...there's something else." mumbled Nezu, turning away from us, as though he were saying it to himself rather than for us to hear.

I waited for him to finish, but he didn't. Instead his gaze stayed down to the floor and ears flopped down in sadness. I'm not sure if the others heard, but I did.

"...Nezu?" I asked, becoming nervous by the silence.

"Oh! Don't mind me, dear. I think I'm only rambling at this point after such a long day." he said, as he perked up immediately, pretending nothing had happened or had been said, "In any event, it's late. We should reconvene at a later date, while I go over our other alternatives. Perhaps when the students have their internships?" he said, as Aizawa, Midnight and Present Mic all nodded, "I thank you all for your work today and patience, even if it was difficult."

All of the teachers stood up and bowed to Nezu as he headed for the door.

"Take care of her in the meantime, Aizawa." said Nezu with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sure he won't let her out of his sight." said Midnight with a grin.

"Not like he hasn't already." murmured Present Mic while nudging Midnight.

Aizawa's hair jumped as his eyes turned red, making Present Mic flinch away and Midnight roll her eyes, unimpressed. Both of them soon walked out of the room, leave the both of us alone again.

I looked at Aizawa, whose hair slowly floated down as his pupils faded from a bright red to a dull black. His eyes didn't leave the door, as he seemed to stare into space.

After a moment, he looked at me.

"We should go."