Chapter Text
Izuku watched Tomura smoothly climb up the tree that he was currently sitting in. They always meet up here in the woods where they first met, and lately, they have been taking their breaks in this one big tree with so many branches.
If they climbed high enough, they couldn't be seen from the ground, only if you already knew where to search. They were covered by bright green leaves, giving them a sliver of privacy.
Tomura reached him and took a seat beside Izuku. They were both exhausted. Today, they combined their game with physical exercise. If the hiding person had been seen, they could run away until the hider caught them. And because they did this in the woods, it felt a lot like parkour.
That's why they now had to take a break. Izuku, after all, was still 5 years younger than Tomura, and his legs were noticeably shorter. It had been way harder for him to catch up to the tall teen.
But Izuku's mind was still high-functioning. Ideas after ideas came and went out of his head. That's why he was currently trying to keep up with them in his notebook, trying to hold on to most of them.
In his eagerness, Izuku didn't see the way Tomura leaned over his shoulder, staring into the book and reading along.
In the next second, his book was ripped clean out of his hands.
"Hey, what are you doing?! Give it back, Tomura!" Izuku protested, hands reaching out, but Tomura simply moved the hand holding the book to the complete opposite side and now fully out of reach.
Red eyes scanning every word, only getting quicker and now even turning pages to look at old pages full of analyses and sketches.
Having seen enough for now, Shigaraki turned around to fully face Izuku head on. "I thought you were quirkless?" He held the notebook up for emphasis, his gaze accusatory.
"That's because... I am?" Izuku said, confused, and now really unsure where this was going.
Tomura only shook the book again in Izuku's face, getting frustrated again. "This shit is good, you idiot! This is like peak analytical skill. Well, for your age, I would assume. I'm sure even my Sensei would see the potential in your chaos writing." His expression turning thoughtful, he continued, "Did you do this the whole time? Why did you never show this stuff?!"
The small boy sat there, completely stunned. "I've never really gotten a good reaction towards my notebooks. In fact, most kids have been scared or angry if they caught me writing them."
Even though the bullying had shortly decreased because of Tomuras scare, it quickly picked back up again after a few weeks. And now, months after, it was back to normal altogether. At least they didn't follow or disturb him when he was with his friend.
That's something, he guessed.
So the point is, his analysis and notebooks, in general, were a sensitive topic for Izuku. But remembering Tomura's acknowledging words, Izuku shyly went on.
"That's why I don't really talk about them or don't show them, because usually nobody wants that."
Tomura hummed in understanding. They hadn't really talked about Izuku's bullying situation, but Shigaraki understood damn well that it hadn't stopped yet.
The teenager hadn't figured it out exactly why, but it irritated him immensely. Every time he thought about these random NPC's hurting the little green haired idiot beside him, something in him was raging. He wanted to hurt the other kids twice as much and get them to stop picking on Izuku.
But he didn't know why he felt this way. That's why he only continued to stare in irritation when Izuku came to their hangouts with new bruises and a pathetic excuse that could be proved wrong if you only asked a few more questions.
They both knew that, and Izuku seemed grateful for the fact that Tomura let the topic rest and did not demand an answer most of the time.
So Shigaraki continued like normal and didn't go behind Izuku's back to act out revenge. For now.
There was a comfortable air around them. That was quickly ruined when Izuku rambled on without a care, now not being as careful about the topic as in the beginning of the conversation.
"You see, there hasn't been a time where I didn't write in my notebooks, I think. I started with hero analysis and mostly studied the quirks of popular heroes, so I can become a great hero someday like All Might! I-"
"WHAT?!" Tomura screamed in an appalled tone, "I knew you liked heroes somewhat, but you want to be one?! Heroes are the worst, the absolute worst!" Shigaraki hissed out and threw the notebook at Izuku's chest.
Izuku winced at the hard hit from the book, but he caught it nonetheless. Only now remembering that he was supposed to stay away from the topic altogether. But, what did his friend mean by heroes being the worst?
His curiosity got the better of him, so Izuku nervously and hesitantly asked, "W-what do you mean by them being the worst? Was a hero mean to you?"
That got a reaction out of Tomura. The teenager clenched his hands together into fists, and his body tensed up even further when he hissed: "Heroes ruin society, they ruin absolutely everything!"
He turned his head away from Izuku and said with a quieter voice: "You can't trust them. Heroes will not care about you when you really do need their help. They only care about fame and money."
Tomura let out a little chuckle. Izuku didn't like the sound of that. It reminded him too much of Kacchan when he was about to say something that would strike Izuku right through the heart.
"And your honourable, perfect, go-fucking-plus-ultra All Might," Shigaraki's voice drawled, dripping with sarcasm, "he is the worst of all of them!"
"That's not true!" "Oh, but it is! All Might is the reason why people think that the heroes will help everyone. That's why they will only watch, they will stand by and ask for the heroes even though they could help right in that moment! He will never be able to save everyone, but why does everybody think that? All Might is what's wrong with this society, and it will not get better unless he's gone for good!" he hissed out, his face pulled into a disgusted and nasty expression.
Izuku was mostly shocked. And he really wanted to speak his mind and disagree with Tomura instantly. But he couldn't do that to his friend.
He could see how much this topic took out of the teenager. His hands were still clenched and trembling in anger. His eyes showing his disdain towards All Might and just daring Izuku to disagree with him.
That's why he slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, really thinking about everything and what he was about to say before opening his eyes again to lock onto blazing red ones.
"You're right."
Shigaraki's body leaned back in shock, his hands uncurling beside him in an instant. That certainly was not the answer that he had expected from the smaller boy.
"Heroes are a reason why people don't hold themselves accountable. I never really thought about that before, but it makes sense. I can see why heroes would lead people rather to wait, than to take action instantly, only because it isn't their 'job'."
Izuku's voice was thoughtful. He was really trying to reply carefully so that he wouldn't cause his friend any more distress.
But, nevertheless, he wouldn't silence himself and his opinions either.
"But I think it's really mean to only put the blame on All Might. It's true that he won't be able to save every person on this planet, but that's only because he can't be everywhere at the same time! He has a great determination and laughs through fear! That's not a bad thing! Society has to take responsibility and take action immediately if someone needs help, but that can also mean to call heroes and take themselves to safety. That way, they won't be in the way, and heroes can focus on the people who need care more than them and stop the bad people."
Izuku took a big breath.
"I think that heroes especially will always try to help a person in need, and we shouldn't bad mouth that, even if some of them do it for fame or money. What they do is still inherently a good thing."
It was quiet now. Only Izuku's heavy breath could be heard between them. Faint chatting coming from the park in the distance.
Almost in a whisper, Shigaraki said, "And what about the bad people, Izuku? What happens to them?"
The younger boy snapped his head over to his friend. But before he could say something, Shigaraki continued on.
"I had a... friend once. I barely remember him because it's been so long, but he was in an accident. Many would call him a villain, but I know better. He wasn't a bad person yet, even though he had done something... bad, I guess. But he was only a kid, smaller than you, and it was an accident, but heroes wouldn't have helped him. They would have only seen the villain. That's why he knew he had to disappear."
Shigaraki turned towards Izuku to look him into his eyes. Green meeting red. "So tell me, Izuku. What happens to them?"
Tomura looked almost insecure now, unsure and hoping. But Izuku knew the answer already. It came easy to him, and it was only logical, so he sent his friend a reassuring smile.
"Bad people are also just people who are in need of saving. I promise you, Tomura, I'm gonna be a hero whom your friend could have come to, and if they are still out there, I'm gonna find them and save him! Nobody will be afraid to ask for my help, not the quirkless, not the mutants, and not even villains!"
Izuku threw his fist up into a winner pose, smiling brightly.
He could only make out the beginning of Tomura's eyes getting wet, when the latter slammed against him, arms wrapping around his middle and barely catching them from falling to the ground.
Izuku laughed softly and closed his arms, too, around his friend, smushing his cheek against the teenager's chest. This felt a lot like approval.
He had been worried at the beginning of this heavy talk that it could ruin something between them. That their opinions would be too different. But, Izuku slowly realised, they aren't that different at all.
For now, he would be holding his friend tightly, not risking to let them go just yet.
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Shigaraki slammed the door shut with a loud bang when he came back to the bar that evening.
Kurogiri, who was carefully cleaning the glasses, tilted his head up. "Tomura-kun, what seems to be the issue today?" he said as he put away the polished glass to take another one.
Shigaraki threw himself onto a barstool near Kurogiri. Today was different. Way more emotional and talking about feelings and stuff. He learned a lot, not only about Izuku, but he also thought he finally figured out what that weird warm feeling in his chest meant. But he had to be sure.
"How do you know if you... like someone?"
Silence filled the bar. The television's red light blinking, the person behind it listening, intrigued.
Kurogiri put the glass away. "I'm not sure I fully understand, young Tomura. What do you mean by like?"
The teenager sighed dramatically and gestured wildly with his hands in the air in front of him. "You know, when you, ugh, care for a person or something. Like not wanting to kill them and to stop them from getting bullied."
Kurogiri was too old for this. Or, at least it felt that way. He had no clue about his real age, but anyway. "Tomura-kun, I fear these are not considerable factors where we can determine if you like a person. Most would describe these feelings as something they feel towards everyone."
"Why is this so hard?!" Tomura whined, laying his head on the table.
A voice spoke up from the TV behind them, "My dear Tomura, let me help you in that matter."
The teenager quickly jumped up from his position and turned himself around with a thrilled, "Sensei!"
"Ah, my dear Tomura, always so full of passion. Now, you said you don't want to kill them and even care about their well-being? How interesting... Would I be correct to assume you're talking about that kid you met in the woods?" the deep and smooth voice rang through the bar.
Tomura hummed in confirmation. He didn't talk a lot about Izuku with Kurogiri or All for One. Shigaraki feared this had also something to do with all the caring stuff he felt towards the small one.
All for One went on, "What would you do if your friend was right here at this bar, and you could decide his next move?"
Tomura seemed to pause at that, really thinking about it, not wanting to disappoint or accidentally lie to his Sensei. But after their last interaction, it felt only natural what he wanted.
"I want to keep him here at the bar. Lock him into a room and play video games with him all day long. He would be safe, and society and heroes won't have a chance to ruin him. His bullies will never harm him again, and I can finally go and teach them a lesson for hurting my player two!" The teenager had a crazed smile on his face, but it quickly fell again and only left room for annoyance.
"But that wouldn't be something Izuku wants. He would be really sad if he couldn't meet his mom again or whatever. I guess it's reasonable, I think I would also be upset if Izuku hindered me from seeing Kurogiri and you, Sensei."
Kurogiri thought there was a lot to unpack here. He wouldn't exactly associate caring for someone with keeping someone a prisoner. It didn’t sound very healthy, in his humble opinion.
And did Tomura-kun just call him and All for One, his father figures accidentally?
All for One's booming laugh echoed in the empty bar, only calming down a few minutes after, Shigaraki looking emberrassed and a bit disturbed now. He had never heard his Sensei's laugh, so loud and unhinged.
"Well, young Tomura, this is quite funny, you see. And also quite simple as well." Is it? Kurogiri thought.
"Ah, you care a lot about him, don’t you? It almost sound’s like you found yourself a little brother, how precious!" If people could see Kurogiri's own face through the mist, he would imagine it must have been funny to watch how his jaw dropped in an instant. Tomura looked also rather stupefied.
But of course, this didn't matter much to All for One. "Indeed, a brother is something special. You should be careful, they are, in my experience, rather quick and hard to keep." All for One chuckled.
Determined, Tomura got up from his stool and spoke with confidence, "Well, I'll make sure to keep my new 'brother' then. And just so you know, I was invited by Izuku to celebrate his birthday with him next week. At his house. And I will go!"
With that, Tomura stormed out, probably off to his own room. All for One ended the connection, still chuckling to himself. What a pleasant surprise to find even more of himself in Tomura. He will let it continue for now, too curious to see where this will lead and how it will turn out.
Kurogiri, on the other hand, promptly felt considerably older than he had an hour ago. Sighing, he poured himself a strong whisky.
He needed a drink.