Work Text:
24: Radiation Poisoning
Collapsed Building | Equipment failure | “I never knew daylight could be so violent”
Midoriya Izuku was not expecting the building to collapse on top of him and Shigaraki. He had aimed a final smash at the villain and it had landed, but the shockwave hit several buildings. It just so happened the one they stood in front of collapsed on them.
They laid in their little bubble. It was dark, barely any light slipped in through the cracks. He could see Shigaraki just in front of him beginning to move. They wouldn’t fight anymore. At least he hoped. Izuku knows his body was ruined. Decayed flesh on his right leg, spanning from his thigh down to his calf. A steady flow a blood was pooling on the ground. His arm had shattered with the last attack. He knew his ribs were broken too, something inside him had been pierce by the sharp bones. He was dying.
Izuku pushed himself back until he could lean against some rubble. Cold concrete against his back, his hissed in pain. Okay, maybe decayed flesh there too.
Izuku watched Shigaraki move. The man’s leg was broken, ribs in a similar state to Izuku. Blood poured down the man's temple, a nasty head wound from the falling building. He stood on shaky legs, a sneer on his face as he stared Izuku down.
“We’re done, Tomura. Please. It’s over.” Izuku spoke. The mans eyes widened.
“Over? Not until her-” Shigaraki rasped, sending himself into a coughing fit. It knocked him back to his knees. Izuku only watched as the man caught his breath. His gaze then met Izuku, and scanned his body.
“You’re dying.” Izuku wanted to laugh at Shigaraki’s words but he could only nod.
“So are you.” The man nodded back. Shuffling backwards and mirroring Izuku’s position. Their feet separated by only a foot. The space was so much smaller than he originally thought. Tucked in together. It was tall, enough room to stand, just not very wide.
They sat in silence for a moment. Izuku couldn’t help but to wonder which side would find them first. Would the heroes arrive in time to save their lives? Probably not, he expects them to arrive after they die. He also wondered if the villains would find them first? Come and finish the job and parade around his dead body? Izuku couldn’t imagine a scenario where they lived. He was already feeling light headed and faint. He didn’t think his heart would hold out much longer, not with how quickly he was losing blood.
Izuku sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly. Maybe he could still talk to Tomura. Talk and apologize for the way things ended. He would at least try to reach the villain before he died.
“I can’t blame you. For how all this happened.” Shigaraki looked surprised that he spoke. That Izuku wanted to talk to him. Izuku just continued. “We were both manipulated, it was just a matter of who found us first.” Izuku sighed, head leaning back to rest against the concrete. “If your Sensei found me before All Might, I might have listened. Anything to be more than the worthless deku.”
“We aren’t the same.” The man snarled.
“Aren’t we? Your shoes give you away.” Izuku tapped his toes together. Pointing out the red quirkless shoe brand. The same pair that Izuku wore were on Shigaraki’s feet, just bigger.
“What are you talking about?” The man’s angry never fading, Izuku didn’t expect it too.
“These shoes. They’re made for quirkless people. People wanted a way to be able to identify the quirkless, those who deserve less, who deserve to be abused and treated like fucking garbage. These shoes make us a target.” Izuku’s gaze lifted from his shoes to Shigraki’s face.
“You’ve always had the same pair right? It would have been how your Sensei choose you.”
Shigaraki sat in silence. The man just staring at his shoes. Maybe he was never told. Never bothered to look into.
“My point is. Had anyone, a single person, told me that I could be useful to them, I would have taken it. It’s why I trained with All Might. I don’t blame you for going with your Sensei. Not if he was the first person to show you a single shred of kindness.”
“I killed my family. My father was an abusive shit. Angry grandma left him to play hero.” He sneered. Izuku didn’t speak, just let the man say what he needed. “Sensei found me in an alley. Gave me a home and food. I never questioned him.”
Izuku nodded. “I would have done the same.”
“No one helped me. This little kid. Blood covered hands and afraid. Sensei did.”
“My dad beat the shit out of me before he left. Forced activation shit. Mom struggled to be a single parent after. It never got better. Not until I started UA. But then I was just a child soldier. I know your pain Tomura. I understand.” Izuku closed his eyes at the memory. The burns and bruises that littered his skin that night.
“How are you still kind?” The question still held the man’s angry tone, but there was a hint of curiosity, buried beneath all the hurt.
“I didn’t want to push my pain onto others. I wanted to make sure no one else felt this way. Felt alone and abandoned to suffer in silence.”
Shigaraki went silent. Izuku opened his eyes and looked at the man. The way he was quietly thinking over Izuku’s words. Then, the man nodded and sighed.
“I wonder if someone had reached out instead of Sensei, what would have happened?” He whispered.
Izuku forced his body to stand. He leaned into the wall. Struggling to breath as his vision blacked out. The blood loss truly hitting him.
“What are you doing?” The man asked. Izuku just limped the few steps he needed. Standing at the villains feet, Izuku bowed. As deep as he could in his pitiful state. It didn’t feel like enough to him. It would never he enough but he had to try. He needed to show a little kindness to the villain.
“Tomura, I am sorry. I am sorry so many people hurt you. I’m sorry there wasn’t a single hero willing to save you. To help you when you and your family needed it most. I’m sorry it took a war for you to feel seen. I’m sorry we, heroes and society, failed you.” Izuku stayed bowed, waiting for the man to decided what happened next.
It took a moment but the finally spoke.
“You were just a brat. Sit before you fall over.” An extended hand taken was all Izuku could think about. He looked at the man, at his hand patting the ground beside him.
Izuku sighed and lowered himself down. Hissing and wincing. He felt like crying a little as he stared down his end.
“I’m still sorry.” He whispered. That took a lot more effort than he expected. It was getting a lot harder to breathe. His chest felt tight and not willing to expand. Hauling in short breaths that did nothing to ease the light feeling in his head.
“You were failed too.” The man just reached over, pulling Izuku to lean on him. How strange, to find comfort in an enemy. Izuku assumed that at the end of their lives it didn’t really matter. Nobody wanted to die alone.
Izuku extended his hand to rest on that slim spot where their legs touched. Shigraki placed the back of their hands together.
“Are you afraid?” The man whispered.
“No. I was never going to make it to eighteen. I was always going to die young.” Izuku was quiet as he spoke. Shigaraki just hummed. It was strange, this softer, quieter side of the villain.
“For what it's worth. You were a hero. To your side at least.” Izuku smiled.
It was easy to slip away then. To just…let go. Close his eyes and breathe out one last time.
Aizawa Shouta and Shisou had watched the building come down on top of them. Midoriya’s final attack sent them into a panic when the dust settled. The hero hopeful and villain just gone. Shouta yelled into the comms, begging for rescue and backup. He knew it wouldn’t come quick enough. Shouta had seen how hard the kid fought, how broken his body was before the collapse. The kid wouldn’t last.
Shouta and Shinsou dug through the rubble. It felt pointless. It felt stupid. They were barely strong enough to lift some of the small pieces, what were they going to do with a whole building?
Yet they tried. Other heroes arrived on scene. The process sped up. It still felt too late to Shouta.
He wasn’t sure how much time passed but they finally broke through. Finding a little pocket. They widened the hole until a few people could slip in. Shinsou was first, Shouta followed quickly on his heels.
Only to stop the moment they entered, finally able to see the hero student and villain. Their backs leaned against some rubble, sides pressed together. Midoriya’s head rested on the Villain's shoulder. Who in turn leaned his head on Midoriyas.
“No. Please. Please. ” Shinsou begged. He stumbled to Midoriya. Knees crashing to the ground beside him. Shinsou gently laid a hand on his cheek, a sob echoed in the small chamber. “C’mon, Izu. Please.” He begged. Hand moving from his cheek to his throat.
For a moment Shinsou just sat still. Refusing to move a single muscle then. His hands dropped to Midoriya’s leg grabbing onto a hand before he folded in on himself. Shinsou’s forehead pressed onto Midoriya’s thigh. He screamed. Then went deathly silent. His tears soaking into the kids' clothes.
Bakugo and Todoroki arrived next. Todoroki dropped to his knees the moment he saw Midoriya. Stricken and guilty. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Not a single sound left him. Midoriya had saved him, Shouta knew that. The boy only opened up to friends, only accepting kindness, after Midoriya had ruined himself to gain the stoic boys trust.
Bakugo cursed but looked resigned. The kid had fought hard during this battle. Following Midoriya’s lead and ruined himself. His right arm is a broken mess, his heart stitched back together. It’s a miracle he’s still walking. Shouta watched as he limped over to Shinsou's side. Dropping to his knees, he then placed a hand on Shinsou’s shoulder.
“I have to thank you Shinsou.” Bakugo whispered. Firecracker incarnate, loud and brash, was gentle in this fragile moment. The broken teen sat up slightly, just enough to look at the blond. “He- Izuku was finally happy. Finally saw a future for himself. It was because of you.” Bakugo swallowed tears, gathered himself for a moment. “It means nothing now, but he fought hard to go home. To return to you.”
Shinsou just stared at the blond. His gaze morphing from that of pure sorrow to something distant. He opened his mouth to say something, only for his voice to leave him. Shouta saw the teen crumble. Head falling back onto his partner's leg.
Shouta moved forward kneeling at Midoriya’s feet. The boy looked peaceful in death. A faint smile on his lips. Midoriya and Shigaraki had the back of their hands resting together. Some small form of reassurance that they weren’t facing death’s cold embrace alone.
The man also looked at peace. The grim, ugly lines of hatred smoothed away. He looked softer, younger, than Shouta expected. It was then he remembered that he was a child. One that was manipulated and abused. He wondered, if someone else had stumbled upon Shigaraki would things have ended this way?
Midoriya must have said something, done something, to earn the villain's trust at the end. Maybe trust was the wrong word. Maybe it was a grim acceptance and hope that their next life, their next adventure would be a better one. Midoriya, filled with grand speeches and overflowing with hope, had done something for the villains. Reached him in a way no one else could.
He wonders if their shoes had anything to do with it. The pain that life involves.
Shouta set his hand on Midoriya’s shoe. A small gesture, one he wishes could be so much bigger. He wishes he could hold his students, call him stupid and reckless for charging in. The reality was the kid had ended the war. The vicious cycle of abuse was done and for that Shouta would be grateful.
“You did well kid. You were a hero. Right until the very end.” Shouta spoke, his voice softer than he ever let it get around his students. “Watch over us, yeah?” He whispered.
Shouta hoped that in his next life, Midoriya Izuku would be given everything good that the world could offer. Selfishly he hoped Midoriya would wait just a little. Would watch over them just to see his friends become great heroes. To cheer them on and protect them until they were ready to join him, so they could all move on together.