Archive of Our Own ^beta

All for One's vestige had melted into Shigaraki's, making them a lump of pulsing flesh-mass. Only his head and part of Shigaraki's face was distinct there, creating a grotesque sight.

"Let's reclaim One for All together, Tomura. You are me," he whispered to the younger man, even though it was clear that Shigaraki couldn't reply.

The villain was on the defence, keeping distance with the help of an invisible barrier shielding him and using various stolen quirks suitable for a long range combat. Shimura Nana and the other One for All's vestiges were helping Midoriya, stopping the attacks so their successor could get closer to the enemy.

All for One knew that he was vulnerable. His original body had just been destroyed by Endeavor and the others during their battle, and Tomura was still violently fighting against him, disrupting their synchronisation. This was the villain's ace card left: now that the old, disabled body has failed, he will switch into Tomura's, and finish their merging. He will then be reborn as an ultimate entity, and finally beat his foolish brother by killing that weak successor and taking One for All. However, in this current state he's unable to steal his brother's quirk, so for now he focused on buying time.

"You can defeat him," Nana's voice carried over from afar, encouraging her successor.

All for One smirked. "Deceased should remain in their resting place, don't you think?"

"Then why are you still here, huh?" Banjo jabbed back with a sneer.

Beside them Yoichi and the rest were also holding off All for One's assaults. "Go on, Midoriya. He's at a disadvantage, now is your chance," the first One for All user said, observing his brother with a sharp expression.

Midoriya concentrated on the guiding words of his allies, absorbing them to gather strength. Somewhere in All for One’s seemingly unbreachable barrier, he could sense an opening.

Little boy's voice whispering from within.

All for One heard it too. "What are you trying to achieve, Tomura? Don't you understand that by turning against me, you are aiding your enemies, the ones you hate so vehemently and desire to destroy? Would you truly discard your dream just for the sake of petty rebellion against me?"

Midoriya shut out all the distractions and concentrated on following the feeble voice. He could feel a weird sensation on one spot of the barrier, like a hole he couldn't see but which draft he could discern. The moment All for One parried a powerful attack, Midoriya touched the area.

Unpleasant feeling slithered through him from the bottom of his stomach, as if he was falling from somewhere high.

Then everything went dark.

Eternity later, Midoriya started hearing quiet cricket of cicadas. He tried to reach out blindly, feeling pressure - and then suddenly his eyes flew open.

He was standing in an unfamiliar residential area. Based on the advert sign standing next to the road, he was still in Japan. It seemed to be a higher class neighbourhood, with pretty houses and clean streets.

It was either a very late evening or night, only streetlamps illuminating the dark pavement. Aside from the cricketing cicadas, there was an unnatural silence which made Midoriya’s hair stand on his nape. Despite looking like an ordinary place in a city, it felt like there was barely any life. Only those cicadas disrupting the eerie quiet, and moths dancing in the lights of the lamps. The atmosphere seemed foreboding.

After wandering for some time, dread slowly mounting in his core, Midoriya heard faint crying. He followed the sound, arriving at the gates of one of the houses. The lights were on, but he got a strange feeling that the house was empty regardless. He couldn't see the yard properly from the gates, so he pushed them open and entered.

It took him a while to spot the small shape next to the fence. There was a little boy crying. Midoriya felt he had seen the boy somewhere before, hugging a dog just like he was doing now, radiating sadness.

Midoriya’s all other thoughts started drifting away, as if gently but forcefully being pushed aside. It was fine; this child in need of help was the only thing that mattered now.

"Hey...What's wrong?" he asked softly with a gentle voice.

The boy looked at Midoriya with wet eyes and a miserable expression. "Father hates me...I want to be a hero, and that's why he hates me...I'm so cold and my face itches," he wept.

Midoriya's chest ached. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

Small glimmer of hope lightened up in the boy's eyes. "Really?"

"I swear it," Midoriya smiled, encouraging.

The boy almost started smiling back, but then his mouth drooped. "Then why...why does he hurt me?"

Midoriya was taken aback. He knew well terrible things like that happened, but it was the first time he was dealing with a case like this.

Midoriya was a hero though and he was going to help this boy, no matter what.

He needed more information first. "Who else is in your family?"

"Mom, big sister, grandpa and grandma. And Mon-chan. He's my best friend," the boy sniffled, hugging the dog closer. The animal patiently let him and occasionally licked the boy's face, as if trying to give comfort.

"I can see it. He really loves you," Midoriya praised the fluffy friend. The boy wasn’t all alone, and it made Midoriya feel more optimistic. Perhaps he could talk with the rest of the family. "Can you tell me more about them?"

"Mom hugs me and is nice, grandpa and grandma always gives me ohagi. It's my favourite food. Hana said that we'll become a hero duo when we're big."

Midoriya smiled brightly. "They sound wonderful. Together we should tell them about how you're feeling. They will help for sure and there's nothing to be afraid of," he assured.

The boy's small hand tightened around the soft fur.

"But…They never say anything to father. Do they also think I'm bad? Why won't they help me? Hana too...Why did she lie? I trusted her...She said she's my ally."

He started scratching his face, rubbing the skin raw.

"Hurts...But they don't care."

Midoriya was speechless, stomach sinking as he listened to the boy.

"I hate mom...I hate Hana...I hate grandpa and grandma...and I hate father the most."

The boy scratched more furiously, leaving almost bloody streaks on his chubby face.

"I hate them all! I wish they all would just die!!" the boy screamed.

The dog turned into lumps of flesh and the earth started splitting.

Midoriya tripped and fell. When he opened his eyes, the scenery had completely changed.

What had been a beautiful neighbourhood was now only ruins. The earth was cracked and above there was only darkness, an endless void. It was like a horrifying vision from the end of the world.

The boy was crying on top of flesh and blood, different body parts laying around him like plucked out doll limbs.

Midoriya heaved, almost vomiting, and instinctively took a step back.

"N-no...I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!!" the boy's heartbreaking wails echoed.

Hundreds of arms pushed through the ground. Panicking at the terrifying sight, Midoriya tried to run from the limbs closing in. It was futile though, and he helplessly grimaced as the arms got into grabbing distance. However, they went past him without a touch, straight to the boy. They formed a grotesque tower around the child, caging him inside.

The sight made Midoriya sober up from his fear. He was a hero and no matter how frightening the situation was, he wouldn’t cower while someone needed help. Steeling himself, Midoriya started approaching the prison made of flesh.

His steps quickly halted though as he suddenly heard voices, whispers of multiple different people. He looked around and saw adults of all ages with deformed faces, all looking the same. They were standing on the edges of the ruins in large groups.

"I'm sure someone will..."

"A hero will..."

After mumbling these words for a while like possessed, the people started retreating until they disappeared, as if swallowed by the darkness.

Midoriya didn't waste any more time. Resolutely he walked to the tower of limbs. The boy had ceased the crying, and was simply looking blankly ahead from within.

Something clicked in Midoriya’s head, understanding lighting on him. He now knew who the boy was, and what this horrible place had been.

When the hero finally reached the boy, he extended his hand to the child. "Everything is going to be fine. I'm here, Tomura. No…Tenko."

The boy looked at him with emotionless eyes. "...Midoriya."

Slowly, a small hand made contact with his. When it softly touched Midoriya's bigger and calloused one, the rush of emotions made the hero tear up.

Tenko stared at their linked hands. While his expression didn’t change, with a quiet voice the boy whispered, "thank you..."

I did it, Midoriya thought. I succeeded. Relief and joy filled him, and he grinned through the tears.

With a force unlike that of a child, the tiny hand started crushing Midoriya's.

Tenko's face distorted, smile turning into something terrifying and inhumane. It didn’t belong to a small child either, and there was strange familiarity in its horror, making the hairs on Midoriya's nape stand.

"...But it's too late."

Midoriya felt himself starting to crumble apart, body hacked into lumps of flesh like the ones the boy sat on.

"I don't need a hero anymore. I'll save myself."

He jerked awake, back in the vestige world.

► ◄

The guard pulls out a chair for the restricted villain. Shigaraki doesn't express any gratitude, simply sits down loose and relaxed, as if the guard was one of his underlings and the prison his lair.

Even defeated, Shigaraki radiates pride and danger. Villain king, the admirers called him post-war, and Midoriya could see where the moniker came from.

Quietly Midoriya inspects the other man while the glass between them is still one-way, reflecting Shigaraki his own image. Of course, the villain knew who was visiting him.

Long snow-white locks gave his appearance a strange sort of ethereal element which wildly clashed with the cold eyes and scarred face. Midoriya had read from the reports that they had tried to give Shigaraki a buzz cut as the rules dictated, but the hair always grew back quickly into the length it had been during the war. It was a symptom of the quirk singularity Shigaraki had gone through. Even though its progress had been halted and reversed, some changes seemed to be permanent.

Shigaraki probably stood out from his inmates because of his looks, but Midoriya was sure that would’ve been the case anyway.

Why he spent so much time thinking about the man and kept reading the mundane prison reports, he wasn't sure.

Midoriya didn't know what he was looking to find.

Sometimes he thought it was because he felt responsible, not really as the one who defeated Shigaraki and landed him here, but as the final successor of One for All, the power Shigaraki’s grandmother had once wielded.

All Might appeared to be in a sort of similar situation and also visited regularly. However, Midoriya usually wanted to meet Shigaraki alone because he got more out of the villain than when his mentor was there too. Even though Shigaraki has lost some of that specific hatred towards All Might (“to me he's just one cog in the machine. Before sensei got into my head, I had actually lost my interest in his pathetic ghost. It had been sensei's hatred that was personal” ), the villain was still completely unmotivated in conversing with the former symbol of peace.

Midoriya and his peers has demanded that the conditions in this successor of Tartarus and other post-war prisons would become more humane. Thanks to those efforts, it was mandatory now that every prisoner even here in Erebus got to see a therapist at least monthly, was allowed to read books, watch TV and exercise on supervised free time.

Apparently Shigaraki's first obligatory therapy session had been a total fiasco. The man had intimidated the therapist to the point they had refused to see him anymore. He had been prescribed medication and was forced to take it, but either by chance or due to All for One's training, Shigaraki has resistance towards most of the psychoactive drugs available on the market. The villain hasn’t elaborated which option is correct, but the vague reply he had given disturbed Midoriya. “No matter how powerful your quirk is, it will be useless if your brain is scrambled. So, it’s convenient, especially in my position.”

There still were plenty of things in Erebus that needed fixing. Shigaraki undoubtedly suffers from severe mental illnesses which require treatment, and it’s simply inhumane to not give any proper care. Regardless, the therapy had been completely halted, and the warden has decided to continue forcing the ineffective medication on Shigaraki with the implications that while it didn't work as it should have, the drowsiness it caused made Shigaraki easier to handle. Midoriya doesn’t hold much respect towards that man.

The villain has also lost weight. Quality of the food was questionable in order to save expenses, and he was never allowed to properly exercise due to ‘safety concerns’.

"Ready?" the guard on Midoriya's side asks.

He nods, and the window flashes. Red eyes instantly turn to him.

"Ah, Midoriya. What a pleasant surprise," the villain purrs.

"Good evening, Shigaraki. You seem to be doing well."

The man smiles, unfriendly and with a hint of teeth.

"What could kill the evil?"

During the trial Shigaraki and his lawyer had tried to appeal to insanity in order to get him admitted into a psychiatric ward, but the prosecutor had questioned this, arguing that Erebus could offer whatever treatment Shigaraki needed and any other place wouldn’t be secure enough regardless. The jury agreed, and Shigaraki was sentenced to be detained here for fifty years without parole. In the end it wasn’t even the worst outcome, since death row hadn’t been off the table either.

"It's a shame. Erebus will be much harder to break out from,” Shigaraki sighed dramatically when Midoriya later got the chance to talk with him. The villain hadn’t been particularly distressed.

"...So that was the reason for your performance in the court. You were just pretending," Midoriya muttered.

The younger man hated how convinced he had been, eating it up when Shigaraki had visibly trembled and done the best to sway the emotions of everyone in the court. Even the prosecutor had lost some steam for a moment before steeling himself, as was befitting for a professional. However, because of that episode in the mall from what felt like a lifetime ago, Midoriya thought that he should’ve been able to recognize it all as fake. The villain had great acting skills when needed.

"Of course. My head's perfectly fine”—Midoriya disagreed but didn’t comment—”however, as a leader, I had to put my pride aside. My allies are depending on me. Pity that it wasn't successful...But this stage isn't impossible to beat either, after I learn its gimmicks..."

Five months have passed since the trial. Midoriya has visited whenever he can during the incredibly hectic final weeks in the UA. At first Shigaraki had been completely uncooperative, not telling him a thing, or giving out obvious lies and irrelevant comments unrelated to the topic of discussion. But eventually he had started to tolerate Midoriya's probing, probably out of boredom since it was something he often complained about, but it had been an improvement regardless.

Now Shigaraki replied to most of the questions, truthfully even, and shared his thoughts at least superficially. It gave Midoriya hope that the man was starting to open up to him, that one day they may be able to talk outside of their roles of hero and villain.

However, that hope was dampened somewhat by the elephant in the room, the fact being that Shigaraki is still plotting his escape, and most likely that wouldn't change as long as there's life in him. It wasn’t that Midoriya wished Shigaraki to suffer his punishment—It wouldn’t help anybody, and despite everything, Midoriya wanted Shigaraki to have a chance to live a normal life, something he had been undeniably robbed of. But at the moment keeping him here in Erebus was the only thing that could be done to secure everyone’s safety.

So Midoriya avoided the topic and concentrated on approaching Shigaraki from the angle of who he is as a person, hoping to connect with something he discovers there.

"You have lost weight again."

Shigaraki shrugs. "Rations we get now are bare minimum to accommodate the government's recent budget reforms. After all, they did affect prisons the most. I heard the law-abiding citizens were very pleased with this decision. Well, I don't exactly blame them. Along with the important cities with valuable businesses, we practically destroyed the economy. Not quite the way sensei was aiming at—honestly, plans like that are not my style—but the effect was pretty dramatic in any case."

He taps his chin absently as if in thought. "It's a bit unfortunate though…There are many villains that had no part in our war, you know? Petty criminals, and those who had been simply misguided. Now they all receive much harsher punishment than they would deserve. I almost feel bad for them, but that's justice for the masses," he sarcastically laments.

But he has a point, Midoriya acknowledges. The issue wasn't only the corruption which ran deep on the top, but also the ugly truth that there’s a gap between what majority of the civilians want, and the views Midoriya and some other heroes of his generation have. Most people wished things to go back to how they were before the war, despite the system having been even more rotten than the current one with some of the crooked elite dead, and everything temporarily crippled by the chaos Paranormal Liberation Front left in its wake. It seemed like the masses were apathetic towards any issues that didn't directly affect their lives.

Midoriya tried to ignore the chinks it made on his ideals.

"Haah, ordinary people…They prioritise beating the enemy—someone who dares to disturb their precious status quo by exposing all the filth underneath—over the lives of their own. That's why there will always be villains like us."

What Shigaraki said wasn’t all wrong. Division between the privileged and those who were trampled by their system was still strong, and the more Midoriya learned about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.

PLF—especially the part of it that had been League of Villains—had become icons to all the outcasts, and were revered in the underground world too. The whole situation was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode as the hatred brewed, and eventually there was bound to be major conflicts. Everyone was aware of this, making the air hostile and electrified. New bills and reforms were introduced one after another to curb the rising villain problem, but most were ineffective and shortsighted. In the end they had minimal benefit and instead only spurred the rage.

It didn't help that the ‘proper part’ of society eagerly supported everything that they felt was additional punishment for the villains, such as prisons undergoing major cuts in their funding. Security wasn't going to be compromised, so inmate care ended up being the target.

Midoriya often feels ashamed of his former naivety. He genuinely thought that the system could be changed, but as it happens, it's hard to sway the pillars that are holding the foundations.

He thinks about the current hero commision which was still aggressively lobbying for politicians who acted in their favour.

"Me and my peers are working hard to change things, but charisma and reputation are difficult to counter with reason," the young hero admits dryly.

Shigaraki chuckles. "If only you could break into at least the top 40 of hero billboard. But you're not appealing enough to the masses so they won't listen, no matter how much sense you would make."

Midoriya and few others have tried to get in contact with the villain supporters too, wanting to give answers to their concerns and frustrations. Disregarding his personal interest, there was actually a practical reason too why he kept in touch with Shigaraki: he was the figurehead of those groups. By building a connection with the man, he hoped to reach the ones who were currently simmering in their hatred but too distrustful to be open for dialogue.

"As I said, I'm not the only one who's trying to make a difference." Though the numbers on my side are currently small. "My friends are working on it too, and we will gather more allies until our voice is heard." Hopefully. "Everyone is doing their best to reach those who suffer and show them that we are not their enemies." I'm really trying.

"Good luck. And I mean that sincerely. You really need it," Shigaraki says flatly. He sounds depressingly genuine.

If Midoriya was entirely honest, he’d admit that sometimes it felt like it was too hard to unite people.

He keeps mentioning his peers in order to underline that he isn't an exception, an anomaly within heroes by being someone who actually cares how the villains are living. But the truth was that a lot of his classmates and other UA students had different goals. It was hard to admit that there was less support than Midoriya had expected.

“I understand your feelings, Deku-kun. But things aren’t stable enough yet, and people need our help to rebuild their lives. I’m needed somewhere else. Sorry.”

“Apologies, Midoriya-san, but I agree. Based on thorough assessment of the situation at hand, there's a considerable amount of work within civilians, and the best tactic would be assigning as many of us as possible to aid in these fields that need support.”

“Haah? You’re really concentrating on useless things like that despite what happened!? Look around you, Deku. Look at me. Stop thinking with your bleeding fucking heart for once and see the reality.”

“I’m sorry, Midoriya, there’s something else I need to do. I wish you luck, though.”

These were the first replies he got for sharing his concerns, and many others that followed were simply different variations of them, point being more or less the same. Midoriya does understand, and won’t expect everyone to have motivation to work with him on these issues, especially now. But Midoriya believes that this also is a part of his duty as a hero. It’s not only about the villains of PLF, but many others too who have been receiving unjust treatment.

"Do you ever get tired of naive dreams? Have you ever had any regrets, hero?" the villain asks after a while.

Yes. Many.

But he can't give up just yet. He will keep trying to educate people so more would push for a change that was right.

"Have you?" he throws the question back. "Based on the testimonials given by All for One’s acquaintances, you had been under his wing for over ten years. Something like that will definitely have an influence. Have you thought about things from that perspective?"

Shigaraki laughs. "Shouldn't those be classified information not even you can access, since your licence is still pending? Unless you got to see them by some less legitimate means...Not very heroic of you, Midoriya."

The younger man ignores the teasing. "You were deceived, and things you grew up to believe in were planted there by him. You followed his path, not your own."

Midoriya feels bad for framing it like that, but he can't get through Shigaraki if he's always ‘playing nice’ as the other man calls his polite and respectful approach.

But it only makes Shigaraki respond condescendingly. "Has martyrdom made you arrogant? Do you think that after being with him all those years, I would remain completely oblivious to what kind of man he is?"

"I don't, but-"

"Of course I knew. Being a devious bastard, he obviously wasn't going to tell about his grand plans for me. But sensei never hid his nature. After figuring it out by myself—which happened pretty damn quickly after he took me in—I was allowed to see behind that dopey gentleman bullshit. Sensei didn’t treat me the same way as he did low-tier NPCs."

Shigaraki's gaze is viciously boring into Midoriya. It almost takes him back to a noisy place with groups of people chatting and laughing carefree, blissfully ignorant that Midoriya’s next action might end their lives right then and there.

"I knew he was the worst man to ever exist, the most vile, but he took care of me when no one else wouldn't. Even if it was for his own gain, at least I wasn't left to rot in the streets."

"But he might've been the reason why you ended up there in the first place," the hero points out.

Shigaraki smirks, words full of contempt with a hint of bitterness. "Was he also the reason why no one cared? Anyone could've come for me. Any civilian, any hero. And yet, sensei was the only one there. If he arranged it, then it can be said that no one saved me from him."

There was nothing Midoriya could say to that.

The villain’s eyes soften slightly as he looks past Midoriya, somewhere far. "It's strange. Father was world's apart from sensei, and my mental state and emotions were completely different, but in some odd way it had felt almost the same, you know. Sensei’s last moments."

Midoriya was back in the vestige world, Tenko's—Tomura's—hand still crushing his own, now bigger and scarred.

Vision of his disintegrating flesh made him panic, but Decay still hadn't triggered. Why?

The question was forgotten when Midoriya feebly raised his head and saw that Shigaraki had come out of the fleshy lump, torso freed from the mess.

"What do you think you're doing, Midoriya Izuku?" All for One asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

Despite feeling weak, Midoriya’s eyes flashed in defiance. "I saved him, of course."

The villain sighed. "Fool."

Before Midoriya got to reply, Shigaraki came alive next to him. He yanked his hand out of Midoriya's, and reached All for One in a blink of an eye.

"Die," the man said almost softly as he pressed a palm on his mentor's face.

All for One started falling apart, but Midoriya could see him still grinning under Shigaraki's hand.

"As expected of my successor. How can a protege of the demon lord surpass his master, if not by killing them? It's a shame my plans went awry, but I will take my losses."

The face was almost entirely crumbled, but the haunting smile didn't waver. "You truly were born twisted, my dear Tomura. It's why I saw you as my own flesh and blood, despite your unsavoury origins."

Soon there was only dust.

Shigaraki rubbed his fingers together, feeling the leftovers of what had been his master.

"You always talked too much, sensei."

"You think I'm just a puppet? With everything moulded by someone else, without any agency?" The villain sneers mockingly. "Wouldn't that make your conscience better, for saving someone like me?"

All for One had been formidable, but Shigaraki ended up surpassing him. Helping him to get back control had actually turned the tides of the battle, being an unexpected element which changed the tactics of their enemies. The heroes had momentarily been at alarming disadvantage, suffering painful losses.

They had won only because the villains had still been separated, and the power of All for One malfunctioned now that the vestige had been destroyed. However, the boost caused by quirk singularity made Shigaraki powerful even despite that, and the villain had almost wiped out them all. By helping him get rid of his mentor's control Midoriya had basically aided Shigaraki.

The young man firmly shakes that thought away. This was all a game, Shigaraki’s ploy to bring down his defences in order to get into his head. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Midoriya decides to ignore the provocation. "As I was trying to say earlier, we both know there's a possibility that All for One switched your quirk. If it were true, his influence on your life and its direction couldn’t be denied. Without his tampering, things would've been completely different for you."

Shigaraki looks unimpressed. "I was the reason for my family's death. It’s a possibility that he gave me a weapon, but I was the one who used it."

"You were just a child," Midoriya argues. "For everything you have done, that's the one thing you can't be blamed for."

"And there's the truth," Shigaraki points out. "You can't create a narrative giving the impression that my actions are a result of someone else's influence while also stating that I'm responsible for them."

Midoriya realises the contradiction in his previous words. However, the younger man feels he still has a point here. "But he's the reason for your tragedy. He orchestrated it so you'd end up where he wanted."

"It really doesn't matter that much in the end. Even if sensei wouldn't have fucked up my life, the reasons why all this scum should be destroyed would still be there. Even if I would’ve learned the whole truth earlier, I'd still choose this path. Sensei wasn't the one who built this rotten system. He didn't establish heroes or mould the society into what it is now," Shigaraki counters.

"I know you wanted to become a hero."

The villain shrugs. "And?"

"...And that means something," Midoriya tries.

"What would that 'something' be? Can you even tell yourself? Because in this life, I became what I am now. And I wouldn't change anything about it...Ah, wait, I would kill sensei much earlier. But my point is, blaming him at this level is just stupid."

”What I meant was-”

"You think that deep inside, there's innocent 'Shimura Tenko' somewhere. And you'd be sort of right. He's here, right in front of you." Shigaraki smiles, cutting. "He became me. He is me. Don't create some original character so you can feel less guilty."

Midoriya refuses to look away. He won’t go along with the villain's mind games. “That’s not-”

"You know, there's evidence which supports a theory that I wasn't born with either Decay or anything else," Shigaraki throws out suddenly.

Midoriya was stunned.

"You mean...?"

"As you said earlier, I might've met sensei before my family died. Maybe I was just a late bloomer, and he replaced my own natural quirk before it awakened...Or, he gave me one. You have gone through my files, but aren’t shameless enough to peek at my medical records, right? Well, let me tell you a secret…” The villain leans forward with a mischievous expression. “I happen to have an extra joint in my toe..."

After a moment of shocked silence, Midoriya starts analysing and drawing connections. He begins to mumble aloud as everything he knows gets re-organized to accommodate this new detail.

Shigaraki smiles patronisingly at the sight. "As someone born quirkless, you should understand better than anyone what life in this society can be for those who are different. It doesn't take an evil mastermind manipulating things to make it hostile towards you. The moment you stand out unfavourably, you'll be tossed aside like unwanted garbage."

Midoriya's thoughts halt, mind going blank for a moment. How does he know?

"I made a background check on you long ago," Shigaraki answers the unasked question. "It must have been painful…Not only were you weak, but also shunned by the world,” he says softly, sympathy artificial, before the tone goes back to mocking. "You had incredible luck though, having that shitty symbol of peace conveniently popping into your life and saving you from the fate of a reject. But what if that wouldn't have happened? Would you have turned out to be a completely different person?"

Midoriya takes a deep breath before composing himself. "You're right, I would be someone else. So, if not for All for One, you too would've become a different person. Someone you dreamed of being like."

Shigaraki just grins wider in mirth. "And so is this Midoriya Izuku I see a fake, because he met All Might and got a quirk in the end? And one of the most powerful too. Did you become someone different than you were supposed to, when he became your mentor?"

"...That's-"

"In another life, you would've continued living as quirkless. You would have never been able to become a hero...But hey, maybe you could've become a police officer? Ah right, those usually require a quirk too. Fireman? Nah, same issue. Doctor? Nurse? Might be possible, but most likely you'd be the last person they pick," the villain drawls.

It's so underhanded.

"...There are plenty of careers I could've taken, that help other people..." Midoriya mumbles, but he knows the villain has a point. Not all jobs like that require a quirk, but it's very common to recruit based on how useful the person's power was for the work. It's highly beneficial, so this practice is done in almost everywhere. And nearly in every case, those with a quirk gets hired before the quirkless.

The lifelong dream of being a hero would’ve been out of his reach.

It's strange how it still hurts, even though Midoriya is now mastering one of the strongest quirks in Japan and is soon a professional hero with a licence.

Shigaraki can guess what the hero is thinking. With a knowing smirk he simply watches the younger man get tangled by these distressing thoughts.

"Who knows, maybe you could've become a villain instead...?" he eventually ponders aloud, voice deceivingly gentle. He's switching tactics, and this time attacks with honeyed poison instead. "We don't care, you know. I would've accepted you. I could've trained you to use weapons, and since you are excellent at gathering and organising information, I would've trusted you with missions that need that sort of expertise. You wouldn't have been turned away just for being quirkless," Shigaraki assures, sickly sweet.

It's a lot more effective than straightforward cruelty.

Midoriya can vividly see this fabricated daydream that Shigaraki is painting. Him entering that bar, asking if there's something he could do since he isn't accepted anywhere else.

The villains, terrible and kind, welcoming him. "I'll find use for you," Shigaraki would say, and very likely it’d be the first time someone acknowledges that Midoriya is not completely worthless.

It takes a moment for Midoriya to snap out of the bittersweet fantasy and erase it. "I would never hurt other people," he eventually whispers.

Shigaraki just hums, getting bored with the topic now that he made his point. The message was clear.

What could've become of the crying child that dreamed of being a hero doesn't matter. The beast that is Shigaraki Tomura might not be organically created, but it was what hatched from the cocoon that was Shimura Tenko, and everything else is just hypothetical, meaningless what-ifs.

And Tenko revelled in being the monster that was Tomura. In the end, they are both more or less the same.

The sad boy he saw in the vestige world was just one part of the puzzle that is the man in front of him. For even beginning to understand, Midoriya has to accept that sometimes the role of a victim and perpetrator were casted in a set, and the reasons won't justify the actions.

However, through the raincloud that has formed into his head, Midoriya can still see that Shigaraki probably attacked him in such an underhanded way because the hero had probed too much, and disrespected the other man's privacy. While not friendly, the tone of their conversation hadn't been hostile before he started discussing about the villain's past. There had been even a hint of playfulness.

The progress Midoriya makes with Shigaraki takes steps back each time he starts pushing too much, tempting the other man to lash out. Of course, It was also much more fun for the villain to toy with Midoriya instead of having a conversation about sensitive details regarding his life, so by bringing up these topics too hastily, Midoriya basically invited the other's malice.

The hero puts his hurt aside, accepting that he had miscalculated. There were actually news which Midoriya had meant to deliver, but he had been distracted by this unpleasant conversation.

"I've finally been given the permission to talk more about the status of your...friends," he said, not sure if the word would get mocked.

It didn't. "Oh? and how are they?" Shigaraki asks in a nonchalant tone, easily accepting this change of topic.

If Midoriya wouldn't be as observant as he is, he could've missed the subtle change in the other man. The relaxed demeanour has gone slightly tense, and Shigaraki's fingers curl in their restraints.

You do have a heart after all.

"Sako-san, Okuta-san and Iguchi-san are doing well. They are allowed some freedoms because of good behaviour.”

“I see. I’m glad they are at least somewhere better than me, though those cuts will affect their facilities too. How is Spinner’s condition?” Shigaraki asks, looking thoughtful.

“There’s still some lingering side-effects and impairments that might be permanent, but in general he’s doing better.”

“Haah. Really, if I had any sort of regrets, one would be not killing sensei early. After my surgery I should've paid him a visit in Tartarus and put him down. Fucking with me is one thing, but making a number on my party member is something that really pisses me off.”

Shigaraki’s friends are a topic he’s occasionally more candid about, especially regarding Iguchi, though the villain still attempts to pose as less affected than he truly is. Midoriya tries to be careful whenever Shigaraki is being more sincere in order to encourage it to happen more frequently.

He decides against commenting in case he says something wrong, and moves on instead. “Iguchi-san has asked if he could write a letter for you. I'm working on getting the approval to deliver it. If it won't be given, I might use other means. There's no harm, so it would be unreasonable to deny this request."

“How kind of you, hero, to break the law so often for me," Shigaraki teases, perhaps to hide his investment in the topic.

"I'm only doing it for Iguchi-san. He dislikes us but at least he is reasonable. Unlike some others."

Shigaraki barks a laugh. "If you would show that spine more often, I'd hate you slightly less."

"You want me to be mean? Would I then get you to act more civil?" the hero snarks. He's glad to have some of the earlier mood back.

The villain smiles widely, eyes intense. "Who knows? Maybe you should try it. You're a lot more bearable when you're not acting like a naive, good little hero."

There's something different in the atmosphere that Midoriya can't put a finger on, but it makes him interested to keep playing along. "Sometimes we need to be careful what we wish for," he says, deliberately soft, juxtaposition giving the words some edge. It ends up sounding more threatening than he meant to.

But Shigaraki only looks even more engrossed. "I've always sensed that you have potential, Midoriya. Should you reach that, I would be very interested to see how much you'd make me regret wishing for it."

Midoriya feels a strange sort of pull. He wonders how serious the other man is, or if this is all just his usual banter. For some reason the look in Shigaraki’s eyes seems strangely genuine.

"Remember to not get in too deep," he suddenly recalls Uraraka's warning. It was something she had abruptly said after Midoriya told about one of his meetings with Shigaraki. Back then he didn't really understand what she meant, but now he got a strange thought that maybe it was somehow connected with this feeling. Had she noticed something Midoriya hasn't yet?

The younger man coughs a bit, acting cool and unbothered and obviously failing. His weird mood won't go unnoticed by Shigaraki, but the hero knows how to divert the villain's attention.

"I have information about the others too," he quickly says. This had been the point here in the first place.

The spell is broken just like that. "And?" the villain casually tells him to go on, but his fingers twitch again.

Midoriya looks at his notes. Some news will be very unpleasant and he can't help procrastinating them a bit.

"Kurogiri-san has gotten better, the effects of noumufication has lessened."

Shigaraki scowls. "So you're destroying him."

In hindsight, Midoriya finds it pretty stupid of him that he wasn’t expecting Shigaraki to be upset about the way he framed it. "No, they-"

"Kurogiri is Kurogiri. If you're fucking him up so the personality of that insignificant base material starts getting more dominant, you're basically killing him. They are different people."

Insignificant base material.

Midoriya clenches his teeth, recalling Aizawa-sensei's and Mic-sensei's pained expressions. He once went with them to meet the noumu in question, and learned about the trio's shared past.

It's hard to stop himself from lashing out, but he understands that Shigaraki is actually feeling anxious at the thought of losing his former caretaker. Midoriya knew that they had been together for a long time.

The joke Shigaraki told earlier about his habit of breaking the law in unheroic fashion might've been more astute than he admits. He really shouldn't share classified information, but…

"...Kurogiri-san’s personality is still strongly present in Shirakumo Oboro, and the doctors believe this is as far as they can go. Also, even if he would regain all the memories and emotions related to his...past life, they wouldn't replace the ones Kurogiri-san has."

He emphasises Shirakumo's name sharply to convey a message to Shigaraki, that the ‘insignificant base material’ is a beloved person whose friends are still mourning. A person who won't come back.

The nervous edge in Shigaraki’s attitude appears to ease slightly. He doesn't seem to care about Midoriya's implications though, and is still prickly. "That's good. It seems like you heroes can be merciful, though in this case it's mostly because you're unable to do anything worse," he drawls, and Midoriya feels a sharp stab of anger.

You're the last person to talk about showing mercy.

But there's also relief in Shigaraki's voice, in the way his shoulder's relax.

You have feelings like this, so why?

Why can't I reach you?

Midoriya sighs, irritation dwindling down. He decides to move on to deliver the last news. It will be the hard part, and he knows talking about it certainly won't bring him any closer to the villain, but being as transparent as possible is vital or they will just keep going in circles.

"Toga-san is...getting treatment, in a specialised hospital."

It sounds so neutral, but they are both aware of the weight of those seemingly harmless words.

Shigaraki's mask slips. His jaw clenches, and the lazy arrogance in his eyes is replaced with the bare hatred Midoriya is very familiar with.

The villain raises his arms a bit, before relaxing them in a movement that seems casual, but Midoriya knows Shigaraki had an urge to scratch himself. Nowadays he rarely displays that old habit in the way he used to, as a tic caused by his negative feelings going past his threshold. It’s usually more like just a bad habit that Shigaraki doesn’t bother to break.

"So, Toga got the shortest end of the stick. You better understand that you're not helping her. It's basically torture, what you're doing," he says, hostile aura filling the room. The guard present gives a quick glance from the doorway.

Midoriya does understand. He and Uraraka had visited Toga, both feeling they are partly responsible for how things ended. She had been drugged, staring at nothing in a cosy looking room which had every wall and furniture padded so that she couldn't make any weapons, or hurt herself.

Despite her state the young woman had recognized them. "After forcing your world onto me which is so painful to live in, and shutting me in this cage, the least you could do is to leave me alone.” Her voice was lifeless, and she wouldn't look at either of them. "Heroes are all scum, aren't they, Jin,” she said to no one.

Her parents have declined to see her.

"I will try my best to make her situation better, but there's not much I can do," Midoriya tries, but sadness fills him when he understands the weight of those words.

Wasn't he a hero, always helping those in need, no matter what? And now he's unable to do anything?

"Of course there isn't. The system you so admirably protected won't thank you for your efforts or hear your wishes, despite still existing only because of you and the other trash," Shigaraki bluntly points out. He grins, wide and manic. "It will make sure each and all of us villains will be miserable. And that's simply justice, isn't it, hero? After all the destruction we brought and the many lives we took, it's only fair that we suffer."

The words make Midoriya incredibly unsettled. "No one deserves to suffer."

"She missed Twice's funeral. Giran did too," Shigaraki muses, ignoring the younger man. His expression is distant, as if he's imagining himself outside of these walls, continuing where he was left.

The information about the funerals of their friends had been delivered to the villains long after the occasions had been held. It had been Midoriya once again who told the news. He had considered requesting a permission to let Shigaraki and the others to participate in them, but he knew it would never get accepted. Also in Bubaigawara Jin's case, even Midoriya hadn't known where and when it had been held. Apparently it had been a quick procedure commissioned by the city, a simple cremation done in some private morgue.

"The man who dedicated his whole heart to his friends was buried alone with no one there to honour his memory," Shigaraki continued with a tone that was meant as sarcastic but bled rage from every word.

Another reason for Midoriya’s investment was the desire to show that there were good things too in the society he protected. The hero wanted to prove it to the villains, to Shigaraki. There were bad people in positions of power, and bad heroes. The way these villains were treated was a grim demonstration of this fact. But Midoriya wanted to show that his generation was different.

"You know, I'm almost glad for Dabi. Sometimes it feels like that bastard might've gotten the best ending out of all of us," Shigaraki suddenly said.

"I'm sorry you missed his funeral too," the younger man commented, not really understanding what the villain meant.

Shigaraki ignored the apology. He saw it as just empty platitude, like everything else the hero said. "Do you know why?" he simply asked.

Midoriya didn't, so he said nothing.

"If Todoroki Touya would've died when he was originally supposed to, Endeavor might've been able to eventually move on. But after Dabi rose from Touya's grave, crashing his father's and rest of the Todoroki family's delicate newfound happiness with no survivors?" Shigaraki's mouth contorts into a horrible smile. "Never. He will haunt Endeavor to the grave. No matter how much that pathetic ex-hero's life will turn around, he won't find any peace. His son will live forever in his mind, in his heart."

The hairs on Midoriya's nape stand.

"The asshole didn’t get to die in Endeavor's arms like he probably hoped, but I'm sure he's smiling in hell anyway. How nice for him?"

Shigaraki looks inhumane, revelling in the horrified expression on the hero's face. "That guy sure was unpleasant, huh?" he laughs, sounding proud.

The younger man feels sick. Being Shouto's closest friend, he knew better than any other outsider how the flame-wielding villain's death had changed that family. Shouto still displayed the symptoms left by his battle. The youngest Todoroki had been unsuccessful with stopping his brother's self-destructive attacks. Dabi's endgame had been to take Shouto down with him.

In times like these, the hero starts doubting himself. With all this suffering, was there any point in trying to find a connection with the villains? Would they ever be able to understand each other?

"So Midoriya, how much of your compassion extends to our side?” Shigaraki goads, baiting the younger man to react in a way he would be ashamed of afterwards. “Not very far, most likely. But that's typical for heroes. For people."

However, the villain gets distracted and drops the provocation for a moment. "Even in his death, Touya's father wouldn't look at him," he thinks aloud in a monotonic voice, face unreadable.

Even though Midoriya was aware of many details, he still hasn't learned the full story of the Todoroki family, and he feels bashful for making confident assumptions despite his lack of knowledge. However, there were some things he was sure of. "No matter what, there's no justification for causing pain like that. What had the rest of Todoroki's family done to deserve this? Explain that to me," he demands, unable to keep the frustration and weariness out of his voice. This abhorrent conversation and all these difficult topics has worn down his nerves.

If you can mourn, you should understand the pain you bring to the families of your victims.

"They really weren't Dabi's targets, you know. Endeavor's heart was. But there's always casualties when you wage a war," Shigaraki answers easily.

"What kind of justice is hurting the innocent, uninvolved people? And you enjoy it," Midoriya accuses, getting tired of the pretentiousness.

"Sure I do. That's what a villain is. Someone who has gotten empathy drained out of them by the world, left only with malice. There's a limit to the pain you can endure before breaking, and when that happens, you either die or persist. Villains are the players who press continue."

This reasoning isn't any more comprehensible than the rest, but between the lines, Shigaraki is allowing a rare sort of vulnerable honesty.

"It's still not right," Midoriya quietly says, ire still there but deflated a bit.

"For us it is. And there simply isn't any other options available. Of course, in my case, there's other factors too." Shigaraki's eyes get hazy, looking like he's almost daydreaming. "After my second kill, I felt a calm that is hard to explain. I knew then that it was what I’m meant to do. When I destroy, I feel euphoria as I'm fulfilling my purpose."

Midoriya will never be able to understand how someone can think like that, so even though it's foolish to even ask, he blurts out a simple "why?"

However, Shigaraki's answer is unexpectedly serious. "You heard it too, right? What sensei said back then. I was born twisted. Maybe not with the power to destroy, but still with an instinct to do so. And by either fate or external influence, things happened that made me pursue it, too."

There's several points in Shigaraki's logic that Midoriya disagrees with. He doubts the villain is even aware of the fallacies there, but what could he say to make the other man realise them?

The villain in question leans back on the chair, getting as comfortable as his restraints allow. "I said it before. I do understand my punishment. Doesn't mean I won't do my best to escape from it, or agree that my allies deserve theirs."

Midoriya finds it interesting that Shigaraki singles himself out.

"As the world won't forgive me, I won't forgive it either. With this grudge weighing on my chest, and the joy I feel from getting my personal revenge enforced, there's only one way this will end. With me destroying you, or you destroying me,” Shigaraki concludes.

"That cannot be the only way." Midoriya can't accept it. It would be like giving up, something he refuses to do. Not yet.

"You know, If we imagine there's multiple dimensions with each having a different version of us existing in it, perhaps within one in ten thousand I unlocked a different route," Shigaraki absently ponders aloud.

Midoriya tries to hide his surprise. He certainly didn't expect Shigaraki to bring up their earlier topic, much less that the villain had at least partially agreed with him.

"But the chances are slim, because in the end destruction is in my nature. So considering the probability, I would say that this was fate. Just like for you becoming a hero might've been." His mouth is curved into a small, strange smile. "Both for you and me, this was inevitable."

"Shigaraki..."

The villain doesn’t appreciate the tone. "Careful there. Before you get in over your head, I'll give you one genuine advice: It's stupid to pity me. You will only get burned, Midoriya," Shigaraki warns, voice soft but laced with a threat.

However, Midoriya feels like he's close to finally seeing the man behind the role of a villain leader. He can't just stop now.

"Future is something that can be changed. Fate isn't absolute." Midoriya raises his head, eyes shining with nostalgic determination. It's not the bright fire it once was, but the embers haven't been completely snuffed out yet.

The hero stands up and puts a palm on the glass separating him from his antithesis, demonstrating the wish to have a connection. "It's still not too late. Let's do it together! If this is fate, we can just reject it and change the future, Shigaraki!"

The villain is expressionless.

After a few beats, he replies. "The future can be changed, huh? And you can do it. I wonder, if that's true, then why couldn't you prevent the fate of those friends of yours that I slaughtered after you had so bravely helped the little poor me for the sake of your ego?"

Midoriya gets completely frozen, whiplash making his thoughts garbled.

I warned you, hero. "You asked about my regrets. Unless getting rid of sensei pronto as I mentioned counts, then I don't have any, Midoriya Izuku. Unlike you." The split lips distort back into that sneering smirk. "That's simply something completely alien to me."

Any traces of the delicate expression from before are gone, as if it had been merely an illusion.

"Breaking this world and the parasites festering in it is within power. Hence it's within my right to do so." Shigaraki laughs, gleeful and manic. "Everyone I killed, I would kill again."

Midoriya feels nauseous.

"So, Midoriya. Will you really save everyone and change the future?"

He wants to run away. No. Not yet.

Midoriya reviews the whole meeting from start to this moment, and can’t help berating himself. They are both aware that he feels guilty about the casualties hero side suffered during the final battle after Shigaraki had regained control. Midoriya had expected Shigaraki to use this guilt as a weapon, but maybe because he lacked ruthlessness the other man possessed, Midoriya had naively assumed that those jabs from earlier would be the worst he could do to these wounds which haven't even begun to heal.

But Shigaraki, being a villain through and through, doesn't give any mercy.

It’s too late to pretend that the words hadn’t cut their target, so Midoriya doesn't bother hiding whatever pitiful expression he has now. But he refuses to crumble yet. He's a hero, and the pillars his beliefs stood on through all these hardships were still there, worn down but enduring the weight.

With a shuddering breath, he finally answers. "Of course I can't save everyone. It's impossible for one person. But when someone needs help, I will do it. No matter what."

"And if saving someone causes suffering to another? If being a hero coddles people into being desensitised to each other's plight? If those who you are protecting are hurting others, no better than the villains you despise, but getting away with it?"

Midoriya is relieved that the rapid questions fired at him this time are ones he has reflected on a lot before. Even though Midoriya really wants to, he can't swear his answers are right, but they are something he has to believe in because those make the core of the hero he is.

"Even so. I won't let anyone suffer. I will encourage others to be heroes too, in their everyday life, because everyone can be a hero who helps those in need. By being kind, I'll try to spread that kindness into others, and it can make us all united despite our differences." It rings slightly hollow, but Midoriya gathers the embers of fire that used to drive him. "I will help those who the villain tries to hurt, and then I’ll help the villain too!"

"You think you can stop this society from creating outcasts, and that you'll banish unequality and neglect with kind gestures?" Shigaraki asks mockingly. "That's your master plan to change the world?"

"We can do it. I believe it," Midoriya states firmly.

Do you really, whispers a voice, making him freeze.

Somewhere along the way, those words had become more and more empty. It's like a ravine had slowly opened up in his heart, ripped wide by cruel reality and the things he has witnessed.

Shigaraki had been aware of this before Midoriya himself.

"And us? Where was the hero that would save us, when we still needed one?"

For a moment as Shigaraki said those words, his eyes reminded Midoriya of the boy in vestige world. The image was quickly gone, making the younger man doubt what he had seen. "Of course one person can't save everyone. It would be absurd to expect otherwise. But ever since their establishment, people have dreamed of being a hero, and it’s one job that has never had the problem of being undermanned. It created a situation where there’s probably one hero for every villain," Shigaraki continues. "But it sure doesn't feel like that, huh? Despite how many there are, every minute there's someone who won't get any help, no matter how much they beg. Perhaps because several of our heroes seem to appear only in billboards and magazine ads..."

He pauses for a second, letting the implications linger. “Maybe that someone in need of help will eventually turn into a villain in order to survive. And that’s the most crucial point, you know? None of you ever did anything to the factors that creates us."

Shigaraki's gaze is now vivisecting. "Tell me, Midoriya Izuku. If all those ‘heroes’ that existed then, and the ones reaping unwarranted glory right now weren't able to do it, how can you?"

The logic is twisted but there’s sense in it, and the accusations aren’t entirely wrong. But. "As I've said, it's not just me, all of us together will change-"

"Despite what you've deluded to yourself, your generation of heroes is all the same garbage as the others. And that's why you’re alone."

Midoriya is unprepared for hearing his secret fear casually laid out just like that.

He does have support, but it’s a lot less than what he really needed, what he had hoped for, and Midoriya has tried his hardest to ignore just how lonely he feels.

“I’m not alone…” He mumbles. It’s not really a lie. What he says is technically true.

Shigaraki ignores it. "Your generation is performing exactly the same way as the heroes before you. The prettily decorated pile of waste that is your righteousness is just as pretentious—in the end you're all still protecting the scum on top, and this system that is hostile for so many of us. Then you go and punish those who try to retaliate. That's what being a hero is to this society, and your bright new gen isn’t an exception."

The villain comes closer, almost touching the glass. "Law isn't the same as justice, and none of you are naive enough to believe otherwise. But you all cover up your eyes regardless," he whispers, savage.

Midoriya realises he doesn't have anything to say. He feels drained, embers waning into a thin smoke. He has to be brutally honest with himself: Should he deliver true justice, he’d go after the commission. He’d condemn several corrupted politicians and figureheads just like he does thieves and murderers.

But then he would be a villain.

There's no black and white in evil, and they don't exist within good either.

Midoriya closes his eyes and contemplates the League. There's no justification for what they have done, but more and more Midoriya understands the core of a villain that Shigaraki described. These people, did they really have other options? And if so, how easy would they have been to choose?

Die or persist.

He recalls Toga Himiko's face, empty and resigned. This is the only way she's allowed to exist; drugged and caged for being born with a love that's seen as abominable.

Midoriya thinks about Kurogiri, who according to Aizawa-sensei, asks every single day how Shigaraki is doing even though All for One's programming isn't binding his thoughts and actions anymore.

He remembers Sako Atsuhiro, still recovering in his cell, looking at family picture. "Seems like the fight for a noble dream that my great grandfather started will end with me. I was unable to fulfil it and stop the endless cycle of corruption."

Midoriya thinks about his meeting with Okuta Kagerou. His latest visit had been the day he delivered news about Bubaigawara's funeral. While technically not a member of League, everyone treated Giran as one. "Villains don't exist in a vacuum. I'm a total scum, but Bubaigawara — Jin — was pure," the man mused. "And yet, he's the one you chose to kill. World is such an unfair place, don’t you think?" He chews on a lollipop, and if the nicotine withdrawal is giving him jitters, it doesn’t show. "By the way, I heard Hawks became a number one hero after Endeavor's retirement. They say his popularity is at all-time high too. He's your colleague, right? Send my congratulations. After all, a few people in the commission are old acquaintances, so we basically have a connection."

He thinks about last Tuesday's meeting with Iguchi Shuuichi, who’s still suffering from the after-effects of having his body enhanced beyond its limits. He was recently able to start using a wheelchair on his own. "I've always known good heroes exist. It's why Stain made sense to me long ago; he wanted to exterminate only those who weren't worthy of that title. I think you are an example of someone who does deserve it.” Iguchi looks at him, and despite the agreeable tone, the chill in his eyes remains. “However, I can't ever approve of you, because in the end you protect those who make people like me suffer. That's why Shigaraki makes the most sense."

The young hero considers Shigaraki’s words from earlier. “Even in his death, Touya's father wouldn't look at him."

Midoriya promises change, but how can it be achieved if his hands are tied like this?

And without change, the actions of a hero—his actions too—will hurt someone while saving the other. Would there always be a sacrifice, an unfair trade that keeps him up at nights?

He thinks about the scarred little boy sitting on a throne of bodies, waiting for someone, anyone, to save him. Staring at Midoriya lifelessly and grinning as he's crushing the helping hand. "I'll save myself."

The boy is here in front of him, a man now, smiling malevolently with the same dead eyes.

In the end most monsters are man-made, including Shigaraki Tomura.

He stands up, signalling to the guards that the meeting is over.

"Goodbye, Shimura."

Midoriya doesn't know why he used that name. Feeling tired and defeated, he doesn't care either.

As he escapes without a glance back, he misses Shigaraki's expression, spiteful yet strangely captivated.

"See you soon, Izuku...my hero."

Sometimes the corruption is mutual.