Irrational Choices

*Click* *creek*

As a door opened, a man wearing a knock-off plague doctor mask and a janitor's outfit could be seen suddenly coming to a stop as he stared blankly at the small and empty room in front of him.

He then quivered before his mind set off.

'WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?!?!? JUST A SECOND AGO, I WAS HELPING PROFESSOR REHKI SET UP A NEW TEST FOR IMPLEMENTING CRISPR IN RATS TO TRY ALLEVIATING SCHIZOPHRENIA... How did I end up here?' he thought as his shock subsided and curiosity spiked.

The man went by the name of Aubrey, and before that very moment, he'd safely say he lived an incredible life.

Stable housing in California, supportive and loving parents, as well as a talent for his personal passion of medical research. He'd consider himself an idiot not to count his blessings.

His past mattered little at the moment, though.

As thoughts regarding his seeming transportation to an entirely new area reigned rampant in Aubrey's mind, he felt a foreign breath hit him and immediately noticed he was wearing a mask, prompting him to lose his 'calm' and take it off in a hurry as though it was a bomb strapped to his face.

Having his train of thought broken, Aubrey took the opportunity to reign his mind back to some semblance of stability, opting to act upon the situation as best he could by contacting the authorities.

Instinctually, Aubrey tried reaching into his pockets to get his hands on a phone to call 911 so he could report the little he knew about his situation, but he spontaneously collapsed to the ground instead.

Aubrey's mind was then assaulted by pain that made him feel like he was being torn apart, yet he couldn't respond to it due to his entire body becoming unresponsive.

*****

*Creak* *click* *thump*

Aubrey couldn't tell how much time had passed since he collapsed, but he didn't bother to check as he rose from the floor and soullessly made his way over to the door, slowly closing it before walking to the corner of the room he now knew was a janitor's closet, putting his back against a closet door, sliding down, and curling up into a corner.

It all looked so artificial now. He couldn't quite describe it well. It was like smelling air with traces of plastic when it was entirely clean or drinking water that tasted like it was left in a hot car even though it was completely normal.

His current situation seemed like a nightmare. He hoped it was a nightmare. But his mind knew it was real, even if he didn't want it to be.

'Everything... The collective work of thousands, if not millions, of brilliant minds. The countless theories and hypotheses about the bounds of reality, how they functioned... And the probable answer is a fever dream that a junkie likely had past midnight behind a 7|11,' Aubrey thought as he felt his sanity on the brink of collapse due to the wave of information that flooded his mind.

'Ok, it's ok... let's just calm down for a second, everything will be fine, we've just got to take a second to organize our thoughts and... OH GOD I'M SCREWED!!!' Aubrey continued as he began to lose his cool again and looked around frantically before stopping when he saw his almost completely clear reflection against a metal drawer door.

The face that stared back looked like it belonged to someone in their late thirties or early forties, the two defining features being massive eyebags that rivaled Aubrey's college days and more fat than he'd prefer.

It was also the same face that inhabited the world of MHA, an unfortunate fact he came to know of thanks to his new 'memories.'

Apparently, his current body was brought up by a family that had ties to the yakuza as subordinates.

Furthermore, as the quirkless descendant of a fairly respected and deceased member, the previous owner was offered a position as a janitor in Overhaul's stronghold, being given food, lodge, and even occasional entertainment in exchange for his work.

The previous owner had been tasked to clean the halls before the Boss, as he had been taught to think of Overhaul as, came back to continue his experiments since they had to suddenly leave the underground stronghold due to an emergency.

He didn't know when it happened, but Aubrey noticed he had begun crying, the window surprise allowing him to snap himself out of his desperate attempt at an escapist trance by shutting himself off from everything else and shifting into work mode so he could finish the task given to him and not risk being killed by Overhaul due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

*****

The area of the stronghold he was in was desolate, the walls sometimes seeming like they would go on endlessly, but Aubrey appeared not to notice, being completely immersed in his work as though it was a lifelong passion.

Before Aubrey knew it, he had dragged himself through cleaning half the area he had been tasked with.

His mentality was eventually shaken by the appearance of two figures in the distance, though, something that surprised him.

The two figures wore robes, and genuine plague doctor masks far more refined than the one he now owned. They seemed to be tasked with protecting a door.

As he approached, one turned their head toward Aubrey and looked inquisitively as though assessing his entire being in just a few seconds.

'Well, that's annoying, not the first time, though. On the bright side, since It's already 11 pm, they shouldn't be sticking around for much longer,' Aubrey thought as he continued working, his thoughts going undetected.

Aubrey just wanted to continue with his work and not bother to create any trouble, his mind trying to figure out what about the two figures had caused him to lose his usually unbreakable work state.

Aubrey then felt something inside him begin to shift, it wasn't physical, that much he could tell, but it seemed like it affected his demeanor.

Following the shift, Aubrey felt an unprecedented urge to lie to the two figures, something he quickly tried to suppress.

"Good morning. Hope both of you are having a pleasant day so far," Aubrey said as he started working on the area in front of them, causing his eyes to widen in response to his unconscious action.

As he began freaking out in his mind, both figures looked at him incredulously.

Aubrey was about to let his panic run wild on the outside when he felt a cool sensation pass by and calm him down. A mild pain in his temples followed soon after.

In his more calm state, Aubrey stared at the two figures, analyzing their reaction and feeling like their threat decreased exponentially as his pain plateaued.

Not a second later, the pain dissipated, and he heard the figure on the right say, "Good morning to you too. How's your day been?"

No longer feeling danger from the two figures, Aubrey smiles wryly in his mind before outwardly giving a workplace smile and saying, "Oh, I've had a pretty good day so far, just trying to get the job done before things get dangerous."

Hearing his response, the figure that initially spoke only nodded while the other said, "No need to worry too much about the boss. Things have been going well for him recently, so he has been more lenient with workers. By the way, can you tell me the time, my clock's way off for some reason?"

Usually, Aubrey would have frozen in fear when he heard those words, but instead, he actually felt some excitement build up.

Aubrey would never claim to have been a master at reading people. In fact, he was terrible when it came to discerning small nuances in people's tones. However, he could tell the figure's words were genuine.

Wanting to test out his newly composed theory, Aubrey pushed his luck, responding, "My clock says it's 12:06 am."

This time Aubrey only felt a pinch on his scalp before the figure on the left spoke up in annoyance.

"Dam, when are Aoi and Akio getting here!? Our shift finished six minutes ago, those lazy idiots. I'll make sure they pay me back for the overtime!" The figure on the left said, clearly irritated.

"Let's just go. The little brat won't even put up a fight anyway. After what happened the last time she tried something, she's been perfectly obedient." The figure on the right responded, not wanting to spend more time than needed at their post.

Seeing the figures' reactions, Aubrey held back some victorious laughter and instead focused on what this meant for him.

'Interesting... that feels like doing of a quirk. The figures did seem to genuinely believe my words, and there being a drawback to using it would explain the backlash I felt. This guy was proven not to have a quirk, though... my appearance shouldn't have affected this body at a physical level, odd. I need to look further into this.' Aubrey analyzed as his mind became lost in the possibilities.

"Well, what are you waiting for? I said the Boss was being more lenient, not forgiving." One of the figures said as they left Aubrey's field of view, breaking him out of his daze in the process.

After that, Aubrey's ears finally picked up on a feeble cry, like a whimper, just across the door.

'Well, I'll have enough time to deal with this later. I could bet money on Eri being behind that door, but right now, I just need to finish work and save myself some trouble, sorry kid.' Aubrey continued after bringing himself back to reality, unwilling to risk his life.

*Whimper*

*****

*Shhht* *thump*

'Why am I here?' Aubrey thought as he realized he had entered the room after losing consciousness momentarily.

Aubrey then began speaking unconsciously, saying, "Good evening. Sorry for interrupting your... crying time, but I was told I have to clean this area, so... yeah," as he made his way further into the experimentation room in front of him.

Realizing something was wrong with him, Aubrey tried to force himself to turn around and leave the room without a second thought, partially succeeding as he turned around and was about to leave the room before he heard the little girl he recognized as Eri cry out weakly.

"Please... It hurts... Please stop." Eri murmured in pain, yet was still loud enough for Aubrey to hear.

She seemed trapped in her own world, not even realizing Aubrey had said anything, crunched up in a chair with no restraints put on her yet, reliving agonizing memories.

Aubrey then felt his body involuntarily constrict to a stop as he tried to input the master code to open the door and leave.

Confirming something was imposing its will onto him, Aubrey began trying to find an explanation, swiftly finding one that clicked.

Following his arrival at a conclusion, Aubrey then saw a memory of the body he had come to possess. It was their late mother helping an old man carry his groceries across the street and to a nearby bus stop before giving the previous owner a spiel about morality.

Aubrey felt absolutely nothing as he saw the memory replay, but it brought him some relief as he felt his conclusion became more concrete.

'It's you, isn't it? Guess you were only kicked out to make space for me,' Aubrey thought, feeling the constriction lessen slightly as though responding affirmatively to his question.

Despite the potential ramifications the response held, Aubrey left that speculation for later, trying to exploit the established method of communication he had found.

'So you're still fighting to not let go. If you win, can I go back?' Aubrey continued.

There was no change in response, making Aubrey take it as an I don't know, and following up with another question.

'If I help her, will you let go? It seems as though you're fixated on that,' Aubrey asked, feeling the constriction lessen even more.

'Fine... I'll play hero, but if you go back on your word, I'll do nothing else to help her.' Aubrey replied, expecting the constriction to react in response. Instead, it disappeared completely, replaced by a slight pressure right next to his heart, as though millimeters away from piercing it.

Taking it as a threat to ensure he completes his part of the deal, Aubrey accepted the change before he felt an oddly overwhelming sense of partial relief and freedom wash over him.

'Alright then, if we're doing this, might as well get the kid on our side. It shouldn't be too difficult.' Aubrey thought his mind had switched back into working mode as soon as he 'received' a task in exchange for his safety.

Aubrey then removed his mask to try not to frighten Eri and walked up to her, nudging her a little to help her snap out of their nightmare.

"Hello, my name is Au-" Aubrey said as Eri opened her eyes and immediately tried to get as far away from him as possible, being scared for her life and accidentally hitting her back against the arm of the chair she was in.

Aubrey backed off slightly, not wanting to scare her further, and said, "Sorry to startle you like that. You just looked like you were in pain. Those bandages don't look well-kept. Do you want to get out of here?" with the kindest smile he could muster.