"So, Shigaraki, what will you do now?" Garaki asked as the two walked down the path.

"You told me you could give me the power to destroy everything. I want it," Shigaraki said.

"Very well, but first, let's have another little chat. If I'm going to help you, I need to know what exactly you plan to achieve." Garaki gestured to two chairs in front of a hive of screens.

Once the two sat down, Shigaraki opened, "I just said it. Destroy everything. I don't need the army. I'll send them to do some random shit, make the heroes think that I have some grand scheme. I don't, that is, if you're not lying about this experiment, I can do it all by myself."

"I've told you, it works. Do you not remember?" Garaki said, slightly affronted.

Shigaraki let the silence hang at the chiding undertone and eyed the doctor. "I remember everything now. Everything." He saw Garaki shrink slightly under his glare. It was unspoken, but what was implied passed between the two.

"I figured as much, judging from the awakening of your quirk," Garaki murmured, unable to conceal a hint of nervousness. "Do you hate me and your sensei, Shigaraki?" A bead of sweat dripped down the doctor's bald head.

Shigaraki didn't answer at first. Instead he looked down at his repaired hand; it looked no different than the hands of Everyone. He took a deep breath. "My family is gone. I killed them. I've...I think I've accepted that. The weight of them is gone. Sensei is the only family I have left – That's what I thought. So I don't hate you or him, because you've raised me. But that's the thing, isn't it?"

Shigaraki looked up at the doctor. "The two of you raised me into a monster. Sensei's monster. I'm both his student and his masterpiece. That disgusts me."

Garaki sweat. "But you said–"

"I might hate you, but I still respect you for your help." Shigaraki nodded as a mark of acknowledgment. "I hate Sensei now as much as I love him. So if you're thinking I'll break into Tartarus to release him, you're wrong."

"I – I see."

Shigaraki continued with no relent. "I'm not following you, not Sensei, not anyone. I'm doing things my own way, and I have the League, the Liberation Army, and your help. So, doctor, tell me now, will you give it?"

Garaki was visibly stunned by this abrupt display of power, but he recovered with an expression Shigaraki could only define as admiration and a hint of fear. "You'll have it, Shigaraki. The power you desire."

"And what do you want in return? I assume the conversation would have led here at some point," He said sharply.

Garaki did not answer for a few seconds. "Let me live." Was Garaki's simple reply. "I've no wish to die now. Not ever."

Shigaraki nodded. "I'm sure that's what the League wants too. I'm not stopping any of you."

"And you? Don't you want to live too, Shigaraki?"

Tomura Shigaraki smiled, an action society associated with happiness. But Tomura was not part of society. He smiled because he could not reconcile with the twisted emotions haunting him. Despite all that had happened, he would never be able to fill that hole in his heart. He smiled because he understood something the Garaki, All For One, and everyone else in the world could never comprehend. He understood that...

"Live or die, I will one day be watching the most beautiful horizon of oblivion alone, forever."


"Ah, so you're the squad." Dabi eyed the three men in front of him. "But I thought I had another three…?"

"The rest are scattered across the country. They may return if needed, but otherwise they were posted on Skeptic's request." One of them spoke up, his voice muffled by the skull mask he wore on his face.

"You're Kami, right? Gasoline quirk?" Dabi asked.

"Yes, sir."

"I don't recall seeing any of you. Where were you guys the past week?"

"Each of us takes charge of a squadron in a province. We were just close enough to Deika City to return home for tonight," Another spoke up, his head oddly shaped, more akin to that of a shark than a human. Charioteer, Dabi guessed.

"Which reminds us, we must go. It's starting." The third spoke. Shingu Takame, Beatdown. Dabi was stunned by how seemingly old he was. He could see the wrinkles around his face, and he was bald. Despite wearing a suit and tie, for whatever reason, Dabi could see his broad build. This is the person she was worried about. Why, though?

"Yeah, come on." Dabi motioned for the rest to follow. The walk there was silent; Dabi found that the soldiers of the Liberation Front usually maintained a cold exterior. These guys aren't any different, he observed. Same as her.

He gritted his teeth, correcting himself. No, she's not, unless these guys were forced by Re-destro and those bastards too.

They reached the secret entrance to their underground meeting chamber. While the three congregated with the rest of the massive crowd, Dabi walked up the stairs and took his seat with the rest of the lieutenants, some arriving, others already present. He saw Re-destro sitting a few seats away from him, watching all the soldiers like a proud mother hen with that trademark smile of his he'd seen on TV.

He bit back a snarl, a part of him wanting to burn that smile off his face. Not now, he cautioned. Soon.

"Hey." Compress' voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Dabi looked at him as he sat down beside him. "What're you looking at Re-destro for?"

"Don't like him," Dabi replied. It was a truth.

"You and Twice, huh? Jin still hasn't forgiven him for what he did to Giran, but he's restraining himself because of this alliance and Shigaraki's orders."

"What about you? You mean you ain't pissed?" Dabi watched Re-destro get up from his seat and address the crowd, heralding the arrival of the Grand Commander.

"I don't hold grudges, unless they ruin a performance of mine." Atsuhiro leaned back on his seat, relaxing his arms on the armrests. "If we're going to be working together, might as well forgive and forget."

"That's nice," Dabi mechanically said, as Shigaraki emerged onto the stage. "I think I'll pass on using the power of friendship."

Compress sighed. "You gotta drop it with Apocrypha. She doesn't seem so aggressive now, anyway. She did think you won that fight, didn't she?"

Dabi saw the hooded girl in his peripheral, sitting quietly with her head drooping. Perhaps she was listening to Shigaraki giving his address, perhaps she was ignoring it in its entirety.

"Yeah," he said sourly, recalling what he had seen in her diary. All thoughts of lording his "victory" over her had died in that instant. "But it's not her. It's Re-destro."

"I see. Well, don't kill him like you tried with Apocrypha." Compress turned to face Shigaraki's form standing at the forestage. Dabi listened in to the remainder of Shigaraki's speech as well.

"You know your regiment leaders. Train hard this week, because we're starting the next Liberation Festival in the next. That's all." Having finished, Shigaraki turned around and walked backstage, to resounding applause and cheers.

Dabi caught a glimpse of Shigaraki's expression. He was unsure of how to define it, but he recognised it well. As he walked through the tunnels out of the chamber, he kept coming back to that expression, that look on his leader's face.

He knew that Shigaraki was lying. Something about what he said was false. That damn look on his face...

Dabi had worn that same expression before their last job. Before he realised it, Touya Todoroki's memories resurfaced once more.

"You'll cover me, right?" Touya said, looking at his mentor and partner.

Dabi looked at him. "I got you, don't worry. Let's go." He had a look on his face, a calmness to it, but also something else behind it that Touya had noticed, but had not registered. A subtle side glance. A tensing of his lips.

Touya took a deep breath. His hands burned with orange fire, like the rising sun.

As Dabi leapt down from the roof, Touya followed.

"Stop," Dabi said out loud, pulling himself from his memories. He had no desire to reminisce about that time. "Just forget it." But he could not.

Finding himself alone having split off from the rest of the crowd, he sighed and with his hands in his pockets, he headed back to his room for a restless sleep.


Hi, just wanted to express some gratefulness to those who like this. I'm aware that this sort of story and its subgenres of a straight-ship, slowburn romance that takes a backseat to the plot, etc...they aren't the most popular in this fandom, but I write what I like to see, so I'm hoping that this story can be enjoyed by that one particular audience that also likes stories that aren't 100% fluff.

Dabiten isn't even that popular compared to ships like Dabihawks or Dabiraki, so I hope that this story can be that story every Dabiten shipper would enjoy. So again, thanks.