Chapter 2: Resolve

Escape. Escape has to be the first step. Tomura thought this as he waited quietly for Toshinori to prepare for and then leave for his work at UA that day. All-Might was likely suspicious about the fact that Tenko wasn't taking the opportunity to scream abusive words at him through the door before he could leave like he usually did.

After all, Shigaraki usually came up with as many provocative and rousing things as he could to try to taunt the hero into opening the room door, which would most likely lead to yet another assault, as usual. But suspicious or not, Toshinori already had him locked in his room, so it wasn't as if there was anything further to do to keep him from causing trouble.

Tomura rested his head down into his folded arms, still laying on his stomach as he had been the night before. He hadn't had any appointments the previous evening, which meant that he was due for a visit with one of the ridiculous shrinks that All-Might was always bringing by that night. He could try to escape then, but his chances of doing so with the hero present were terrible.

He hadn't really tested the weird device on his leg, and while he'd love to assume that All-Might was bluffing about it paralyzing him, he knew that there was no way All-Might would actually leave if Tomura could simply walk out. Which meant he needed to get the plus one bangle of annoyance off of his foot so he could make a proper run for it.

After trying to whack the thing on the edges of furniture for a good long while, it had become clear to him that it was sturdy enough that he would need something more if he was going to put a dent in it. So, he would have to wait, and get All-Might to drop his guard so that he could venture out into the house and look for a more suitable tool for the job.

How boring. As he lay there, his eyes flat with irritable ennui, he looked at the bookshelf, sighing at the titles available for reading. He didn't have a very thorough education, for reasons it hurt his head to think about, but even if he did decide to try to alleviate his listlessness with the written word, it wouldn't be with those books.

Almost every one of them was some form of self-help book or therapy book speaking on matters from healing the mind with positive thinking to finding a productive hobby. If All-Might thought that he was going to turn over a new leaf by being bored into brainwashing himself with all of that pansy-ass propaganda, he had another thing coming!

He needed a television, but when he had declared that he should have one in his room, All-Might had reminded him that he had tried to use the one from the living room as a weapon. Toshinori had further argued that he had also attempted to use the books in his room as missiles as well, so he had been told that if couldn't appreciate the entertainment he already had, he shouldn't expect any more.

Shigaraki blew out an exasperated sigh, "Man... this is going to be so dull..."

That evening the psychiatrist that he met on weekends was due to come by, but instead of the balding older man that Tomura was expecting, a beautiful dark-haired woman in a business suit arrived, smiling at him with a pretty face and introducing herself as Nemuri Kayama. Shigaraki frowned at her, feeling like something was off.

For one thing, every one of the other doctors had all been present when Toshinori had assembled a meet and greet between Tomura and the group of head doctors just before his very first session, where he had tried unsuccessfully to attack his first shrink with his feet since he was wearing a straightjacket at the time.

This woman had not been present then. Secondly, she introduced herself simply by her name, without the title of 'doctor'. Was she not actually a doctor? Nemuri beamed a pretty smile at him as he repaid it with a look of flat boredom. All-Might had actually taken the straightjacket off today, clearly testing him to see if he would push boundaries.

Sighing at the lost opportunity to perhaps cause some damage now that his hands were free, Tomura instead leaned back into his couch and folded his hands over his chest, looking away from the lady shrink as she asked him about his day. He didn't answer, of course, pointedly ignoring her as he stared off at nothing in particular.

He just had to play it cool for a while until Toshinori became convinced enough that he was going to be a docile inmate and left him free to roam the house without supervision. He didn't know how long that was going to take, but during All-Might's rambled introduction of the place on day one, Tomura had gotten the impression that they wanted him to be able to feel like he somehow 'wasn't in jail.'

Shigaraki let loose a disdainful snort at the mere idea that this place was anything more than a gilded cage. He startled when Toshinori suddenly stood up and walked around Tomura's couch to place a big hand on his shoulder, "You aren't being disrespectful to Ms. Kayama are you? I thought I made it clear already that you need to behave yourself..."

Tomura's eyes bulged in shock and sudden humiliated anxiety, his mouth dropping open, but before he could reply Nemuri waved the matter off, "You're too heavy-handed! Why don't you go get some of your papers graded while I handle things here?"

Both All-Might and Shigaraki were surprised by this request, Toshinori nodding after a moment, "Very well, I'll leave him in your care, then."

Without another word, the tall blonde hero turned and walked away, presumedly heading for the room that he used as his personal study. Tomura unfolded his hands, feeling like things were off but knowing an opportunity when he saw one. So, All-Might was really going to entrust him to some half-baked philosopher and remove his own considerable threat from the room?

The feeling only grew when Toshinori went a step further and actually closed the door to his study. He may never get a chance like this again, his mind roared out to him. Nemuri had started saying something, but it was a distant white noise as Tomura snapped into a greater focus, his eyes making exactly one sweep of the room to decide what he would be using as a weapon.

He would brain the shrink with something, then find a suitable item to break his ankle band, then make a run for it, only stopping to kill All-Might as needed. It was a perfect plan. Except that he wasn't able to execute it. The moment he lunged forward he was stopped in his tracks by a lean, powerful leg that suddenly appeared on his chest, shoving him down.

Her business suit fluttered a bit from the rapid action she had displayed in crossing over to stop him before he could properly start. Shocked, Tomura looked up into the eyes of the woman pinning him as she gave him a hungry smile and admonished him, "Oh? You really should listen to people when they are speaking to you..."

Tomura's eyes widened as he stared up at her in disbelief. Now that she was so close, he could see more clearly that her suit hid a strong, athletic build, further emphasized by the force she was putting behind her foot, rooting him solidly to the couch. Her smile was entirely different from the sweet expression she had been displaying before, too.

Shigaraki grabbed her foot with both hands but couldn't dislodge it from the awkward position he lay in, unable to get any leverage against her superior stance. He grunted, "So you show your true colors... I knew there was something off about you; are you another 'hero'?"

She leaned forward a bit, causing Tomura to grunt again as doing so placed more of her weight into her heel, which was rapidly becoming painful. "My call-sign is Midnight, do you know anything od me?"

The gray-haired youth chuckled, "Oh, you are that slutty bitch who runs around in bondage gear... oof!"

He squirmed as she applied more pressure, her smile widening further, "Since a lot of people seem to have made that assumption about me, I'll allow that comment to slide exactly once. I assure you that like yourself and most people in general, I am more than what I appear to be superficially. However, if you know me, then you should know that I do in fact have a bit of a sadistic streak..."

His brow furrowed and Midnight licked her lips. He was finally getting a little worried. Shigaraki quickly recovered, though, putting his anger first, "That was your real name that you gave me before, wasn't it? Dumb move, telling someone like me something that will end up making you vulnerable..."

Her smile finally faded, leaving a cold, calculating look that sent an icy shiver down Tomura's spine to look at, "That was not a mistake, as I know for a fact that once we are done with you, you won't be threatening me in any way."

"W-what is that supposed to mean?"

She smiled at him again, and once more Tomura got the feeling that she was sizing him up the way a hungry wolf examines a fresh slab of steak. Then she suddenly retreated back to where she had been sitting upon her own couch, folding one leg over the other and speaking in friendly tones as she continued smiling sweetly, "Because we are going to rehabilitate you, of course!"

Again, that hark look returned to her eyes, changing the nature of her smile, "By any means necessary. Now... would you like to tell me about your day?"

He froze, not sure what to say and fairly certain that the woman across from him was as insane as Toga. She was clearly strong, too, and he had heard that she was extremely competent in hand-to-hand combat, plus she had a strong quirk. He understood now why All-Might had been comfortable leaving him with her.

Maybe he had even expected this to happen. His face flushed with humiliation both because he had so blindly walked into such a trap, and because of her question. She knew what had happened earlier that day, didn't she? Her face practically screamed that she wanted to hear all of the details, that bitch. She probably got off on it.

Huffing angrily, he once again sat back into his couch, folding his arms over his chest and looking away in a classic sign that he had no intention of telling her anything more.

For her part, Midnight simply grinned at his reluctance, her sweetly worded questions barraging him without relent as she showed no sign whatsoever of discouragement that he wasn't sharing. She asked about his opinions on a variety of topics like choice of music and what his favorite things were, sharing readily with him what her personal preferences were for outdoor activities and the like.

He kept his mouth tightly shut, though, knowing that eventually her time would be up and she would have to skulk away just as all of the others had. He fidgeted when she asked about his past, and she paused at that time, annoying him further by asking him about his parents. It gave him a headache, and he grit his teeth, willing the clock to move faster.

Finally, All-Might returned from his study, stretching a bit as he addressed Nemuri, "I've finished my work for now, how are things on your side?"

She leaned back into her couch, demurely waving a hand Shigaraki's way, "He hasn't said much, though I did get him to exchange words with me to an extent..."

Toshinori's eyebrows shot up, "Oh, really? Which topic?"

By way of answer, she shook her head and waved away that line of thought, "No, no, nothing from the planner you gave me, he just attempted to escape, so we sorted out how well that was going to go for him. I think he has a better grasp of his position, now."

Being talked about while he sat there right in front of them was belittling, as if he were the kid in the room that the adults were debating what to do with. Tomura growled under his breath and clenched his hands into his own arms, resisting the urge to rise to that feeling of inferiority lest he make it seem that there was reason for it.

After all, he was supposed to be avoiding speech as his own form of protest. He had decided already that it would be the easiest way for him to give them and their plan the middle finger without wrecking his chances at having All-Might pull back the security a bit. However, the last part of her statement colored that plan a bit, causing him to grunt his annoyance.

He felt his face heat with embarrassment as her off-hand comment reminded him of how thoroughly she had shut down his effort to get away, only made worse by Toshinori's reply, the hero sighing as he shook his head, "I warned him to behave himself, I suppose I'll need to spank him again for trying to flee."

Tomura's eyes bulged and he dropped his hands, his mouth opening to make a shocked reply, but Midnight beat him to it, gesturing dismissively, "Nah; like I said, I think we have an understanding for now, as much as I might have enjoyed seeing that play out." She licked her lips in a way that gave Shigaraki the chills.

Deciding that he wanted nothing more to do with such insulting and scary conversation, Shigaraki turned to looked away, doing his best to feign disinterest. That's right, he told himself, he wasn't affected at all by such threats. He was going to let them say what they wanted because he was above all of that... Meanwhile, he did his best to ignore the sweat on his brow, his suddenly dry throat, and the clammy feel of his own palms.

"It looks like our time is up for today, but I look forward to our next weekend meeting. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity, All-Might."

Toshinori nodded to Nemuri as the dark-haired woman shook, brushing her suit flat as she gave Tomura a smile, "Take care to follow directions, Shimura-kun; it would be a real shame if All-Might here had to correct you again so soon after the first time..."

Shigaraki trembled with the need to tell the bitch off, clamping his jaw tightly against the impulse as he put all of his focus on staring away from her and pretending to be unaffected by her obvious attempts to rattle and provoke him. Even that asshole Chisaki had not so thoroughly and easily pressed his buttons; maybe it was because of the way she looked at him?

Despite the fact that he was fairly certain that he had not convincingly portrayed a man whom truly did not care, she didn't tease him anymore, heading for the door that represented the only entrance and exit to the simple house as All-Might seated himself on the couch, "I have nothing further to add unless you had anything you wanted to share with me about today's session?"

Tomura said nothing, and Toshinori nodded, "Alright, did you have anything that you wanted to say in general? No? Okay. I'm going to whip up dinner... if you can promise not to do anything foolish, I'll let you stay here in the living room so you can watch some television."

The younger man stayed quiet, waiting as All-Might seemed to finally take his silence for assent, getting up and sauntering into the kitchen. Shigaraki glanced over his shoulder, watching Toshinori past the back of the couch when he figured All-Might wasn't looking, and seeing that Toshinori wasn't really paying him much mind, he glanced around the living space.

Finding the T.V. remote, Tenko turned on the device, leaning back again as he surfed through the array of channels available and feeling considerably more relaxed now that neither of the annoying heroes were directly present to bother him.

Across the way, Toshinori smiled a little as the young man turned on the television and began watching it, feeling like they were making some much needed progress. After all, he had been tensely waiting for Tomura to hurl the T.V. at him when he had walked a few steps away. It felt like there was growth now, and he couldn't help but feel a little optimistic.

Several more days passed, and gradually All-Might allowed Tomura to wander the house, though only when Toshinori was home, and at first only when within direct line of sight to Shigaraki. Tenko was tempted to try to break himself free when the other man dipped out of sight on occasion, whether to go into his office or the restroom or whatever.

However, he resisted the allure of using the first chance that was afforded to him, having learned a valuable lesson from what had happened with Midnight. If he blew this chance then at the very least it would be a long while before he got another like it, if ever. Not to mention the fact that Toshinori would then have his guard up against further attempts.

No, he wanted to wait for the best option to become available. Tomura believed he could be patient when he had to, like when you needed to save up your gold for the best item, or when it was better to save a few more skill points for the best special move. So, he waited and bid his time, enduring three more silent sessions with Nemuri.

The day after that he hit gold, as Toshinori suddenly informed him of the news he was looking for, "Today I'm not going to lock your room door. If you manage not to do anything to trash the house, I'll get some of that bar food you like so much."

Shigaraki didn't say anything in response, which was common of late, and being used to his lack of input, All-Might left the house without another word, clearly assuming as he always did that silence meant assent.

Tomura smiled widely as he listened to Toshinori's car pull out of the driveway and onto the simple mountain road that trailed away from the isolated house. Finally, alone. He had spent a lot of time browsing over the items in the house in the previous three weeks, so he wasted no time in seeing what might break the band on his leg.

First, he tried to use a few things as levers to bust it open, like the handle for the plunger from the bathroom. This did not work, though, and merely left him swearing in pain as the hard objects he tried to use pressed painfully into the bone of his ankle. At that rate his foot was going to break far more quickly than the metal device.

Next he tried smashing it using a cutting board. He would have preferred a hammer, but that and the knives for cooking were all locked away in a cabinet that had a rather heavy lock on it. He had seen that All-Might kept the key on his person, so there would be no going in there. His next bet might have been a fire poker, but there was no fire place, and even if there was, Toshinori probably would have locked that away too as it could become a decent weapon.

So, stuck with the wooden cutting board, he did his best, slamming it down again and again until the wood splintered and shattered as he tried in vain to score a perfect hit on what looked to be the seam where the device opened. The anklet was completely unaffected, however, despite the fact that he had now broken a variety of objects trying to crack it open.

Frustrated and feeling that his options and time were running out, he walked to the door of the house, opening it and staring out onto the front lawn of short-cut grass beyond. It was a sunny afternoon and the air was cool and refreshing. It certainly looked like there was little keeping him from simply walking away from his mess of a life.

He stepped one foot through the threshold and then the other, immediately crying out and retreating back into the house as a fierce shock ran through his body, numbing the leg he wore the anklet on. He rubbed at his leg, staring down at the yellow light on the device as it blinked and once more turned green.

It would have been nice if All-Might had been bluffing...

Moving throughout the house, Tomura tested his boundaries, noting that even the windows prevented him from passing outside without a nasty shock. He opened what cabinets and closets he could, trying to find something that might serve as a catalyst for breaking the leg band or at least something he could use as a weapon against All-Might when the other man arrived home.

His search provided nothing of any use, with the broken plunger handle remaining his best bet with its sharp wooden edge. His heart was racing more than it had in some time and Shigaraki wondered what it was about Toshinori's impending return that made him so very nervous. He looked about himself, seeing the mess of broken objects and rifled drawers.

All-Might had listed breaking things as a punishable offense within the house, right? He shook his head; who cares!? Shigaraki Tomura wasn't about to allow that faded old failure of a hero to push him around with just this! So why could he not seem to stop sweating? He spent the remainder of the time he had before Toshinori would return looking for a hiding place.

It had to be something close to the door, as All-Might would likely not assume that he had escaped the device on his leg and therefore was still in the house, and if the retired hero became suspicious of his absence too quickly it could mitigate the element of surprise. So, he pulled the coat rack that stood next to the only door a little closer to it.

Pressing himself close to the wall just behind the rack he waited patiently, the short, sharp stick he intended to stab Toshinori with clenched in his hand. He had to stab the bastard properly before All-Might could react with that natural athleticism of his. Getting the drop on him was everything; he couldn't afford to miss this one shot.

His blood raced as he heard Toshinori's car drive up from the mountain path, followed by the silence of the hero turning off the engine. There was the sound of a door opening and then slamming shut, followed by the heavy tread of shoes on gravel. He was emaciated, but Toshinori was so much taller than Tomura that he still weighed twice as much.

Back before the hideous injury that All-for-One had given him, All-Might had been truly enormous, his weight then would have been at least three or four times that of Tomura's slender build. Repeated surgeries and poor health on account of his injured organs had diminished All-Might greatly, which was a great thing, since even without a quirk Tomura would have been hopelessly outmatched...

Well, more hopelessly outmatched. Tomura's brow drew down and he silently snarled as he recounted that Toshinori had still managed to push him around quite easily even without his typical bulk. Today was different, though! All-Might had let his guard down and now Tomura would finally be free of this place, with killing the 'Symbol of Peace' as a bonus!

The footsteps outside approached the door, and Tomura's sweaty grip on the handle tightened, his breathing low, sharp and focused. Suddenly he cried out as a familiar bolt of pain shot through his body, Shigaraki dropping to the floor as the unexpected electrical shock took him by surprise. Steeping through the door, Toshinori casually kicked the handle Tomura had dropped out of reach.

His steely blue eyes locked onto Shigaraki, "There are cameras in the house, Shimura." He raised a small black box in his hand up so that Tomura could see it, the latter gasping as he struggled to put his feet under himself again, "This remote lets me activate your anklet at will."

Tomura snarled, trying to scrabble for his lost weapon, but All-Might simply stepped forward and placed a foot on his back, casing Shigaraki to grunt loudly as he was pinned to the floor and unable to advance further. Toshinori sighed and leaned down over the smaller man, shaking his head and wagging the device in his hand.

"Didn't I just tell you that I can activate that thing remotely just by pressing this little button? Do you really want me to shock you again that badly? It really doesn't look pleasant so I am trying to avoid it, but if you keep this nonsense up, I'm going to zap you again."

He had been trying to press up in order to dislodge Toshinori's foot, but upon hearing that threat Tomura finally gave up, falling back to the floor and panting for his wasted effort. How was this asshole still so strong? Despite no longer having his enhancement quirk and being terribly disabled from a nearly mortal injury, All-Might was still so much stronger than him...

Shigaraki bit his lip, feeling humiliated. The way that Toshinori was always lording it over him and making him feel helpless was really starting to wear at him. All-Might stepped off of him once a moment had passed and Toshinori was fairly certain that Tomura had finally accepted his defeat. Still moving cautiously, All-Might retrieved the stick and gestured at him.

"Go to your room."

Biting his lip almost hard enough to draw blood, Tomura slowly rose from the floor, glaring hatefully at All-Might before finally shuffling slowly off to the room that had been set aside for him. There was no real point fighting anymore; it was only going to further display the gulf in their ability and cause Shigaraki even more embarrassment.

His muscles still trembled a little from the aftereffects of the violent shock that his anklet had given him. If he had to guess, he would say it had been considerably more powerful than the uncomfortable sting he had felt when he had tried to cross the threshold of the door. That made sense, he supposed; All-Might's remote was likely intended to incapacitate.

To think that he had that thing all along and had only bothered to use it now. His face flushed a little at the realization that All-Might hadn't even needed to; it made him feel really weak. Before passing into his own space, he glanced around, but he couldn't see any obvious cameras, which was expected. If they were in plain sight, he would have seen them by now.

Toshinori had said 'cameras', plural, so there had to be at least two, and they were all hidden. He huffed angrily as he slammed the door to his room shut. He would need to find out where they were all located, a daunting task considering how small high-tech cameras could be. It would probably be easier to just accept that he was being watched and try to plan around that.

Now that he was back in his room and no longer facing off against All-Might directly, the gravity of his situation finally began to sink in, and Tomura shook with rage and humiliation at his total failure, as well as a bolt of anxiety that lanced through him and then lingered, as he began to put together what was likely going to happen next.

He had trashed the house, destroyed multiple items, assaulted Toshinori personally, and tried to escape. Shigaraki hadn't been paying a lot of attention when All-Might had lain out the 'rules' of the house, but he was fairly certain that all of those counted as breaking one of Toshinori's mandates. Which of course led to the threat of punishment promised...

No. No way! Shigaraki shouted furiously as he recalled what All-Might had said he'd do, and he began to brainstorm immediately on how he could escape having to endure such an embarrassing display again. Looking around quickly, he observed that the only real exit option was the door he had come in through, but that was now locked from the outside.

The simple room and its adjoining bathroom each had small vents for the air conditioning but no windows. It was odd not having a window in a bedroom, so Tomura could only assume that it was an intentional design to keep him from simply clambering out into the yard. The fact that the entire house was designed to trap him was daunting.

Even if there was a window it wouldn't matter though, since he was still wearing the cursed item that Toshinori had slapped onto his leg. He knew from playing RPGs that cursed items were a pain in the ass, and usually difficult to remove once worn. He slumped down onto his bed, chuckling nervously. When it came down to it, he only had one option.

He had to wait. Wait and see what All-Might was going to do, because Shigaraki himself had absolutely zero strategies in such a situation. He would have to wait until the retired hero came in and then play it by ear, though the ominous thrumming of his own heart within his chest told him what he could likely expect.

Toshinori would enter cautiously, as he always did. Tomura's eyes flitted about the room; there was probably a camera in here, too, which would make attempting another ambush impossible, and explain very well a possible reason for the complete failure of every other attempt on his part to jump All-Might as soon as the hero entered the room.

Even if there wasn't a camera, his repeated failures painted a daunting picture of his likelihood of success if he were to try that desperate maneuver yet again, and his rational mind was starting to spin a terrifying tale indeed. His ego could no longer suppress the highly probable reality that he was going to have to endure another beating.

With that much accepted, he could no longer hide from that fact that he had on some level already been modifying his behavior to avoid further pain to his struggling pride, and another failed attack on All-Might would certainly land him into even more trouble. These thoughts made his stomach coil with realized dread.

Yelling out again to vent his frustration, Tomura pulled at his hair, his fingers staying intermingled with his gray locks as he roared out, imagining that this must be the way a lion roars. A caged lion. It wasn't so much to intimidate prey, not in a cage. No, it was entirely a scream of thwarted desire, an anxious railing against an insurmountable fate.

When the door suddenly opened, Shigaraki jumped a little, his face flushing as he realized immediately that he had just let All-Might see him get startled as the tall man walked into the room. Tomura had been pacing again, his back to the door when it initially opened, so he hoped the retired hero had missed his surprise.

The last thing Tenko wanted was for Toshinori to understand how anxious he felt. He faced Al-Might, standing tall and giving him his best glare as the hero addressed him, doing his best to ignore the sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm pretty sure you know why I've come at this time. I cleaned up the mess you made out there, and now it's time we discussed what is going to happen next."

An awkward silence hung in the air for a few moments, as the two stood there staring at each other. Tomura was dumbfounded by the sense of expectation coming from Toshinori; did the hero actually think that he was going to apologize?

After those few moments had passed and all Shigaraki gave All-Might was an angrier glare, All-Might sighed and motioned at Tomura with his hand, "Well, it seems you aren't going to make this easier on either of us, so why don't you just go ahead and drop your trousers so we can get started."

Tomura's blushing face grew a shade darker at receiving such a command, "Like hell?! You think I'd ever willingly let you do that shit to me?!"

Wait, easier? Toshinori had said that things could have been easier for them if he hadn't chosen to continue furiously resisting, perhaps? Did that mean that if Tomura had apologized, he might have actually forgone the humiliating corporal punishment? Shigaraki shook his head; no, it didn't matter. He wasn't going to give this guy what he wanted!

All-Might stepped forward, easily deflecting Tomura's anticipated attack and grabbing the smaller man by the shoulder, wheeling him around so that Shigaraki's back faced him before pulling the youth tightly to his chest. Next Toshinori stepped back to sit in the nearby chair, forcing Tomura to fall down into a sitting position in his lap as well.

Grabbing the struggling Shigaraki by the back of his head with his other hand, All-Might forced the smaller man to bow towards his lap until he was lain out over it. Tomura kicked, screaming out his rage at being put into that position again, but he had neither the leverage nor the muscle to free himself as Toshinori reached back to snatch his pants down.

Wrapping one strong arm securely around Tomura's waist, All-Might then brought the hand that he had used to pull Shigaraki's pants aside down hard against the pale squirming ass beneath him, Tenko yowling with bestial wrath as Toshinori repeated the process, the sound of callused palm striking soft posterior ringing out through the room.

Roaring with indignation, Shigaraki squirmed as hard as he could against the bigger man's grip, though it afforded him no escape, "Let me go you fool! I will remember this when I take my vengeance on you; I will repay you a thousand times over! Have you not seen what I do to those that cross me?! Ask Kai Chisaki how wise it is to mess with me!"

All-Might frowned, and the hand sailing down into the underside of Tomura's exposed bottom moved a little quicker and struck even harder, "Are you trying to tell me that you feel pride over what you did to that man? If anything, that only earns you another offense. Seeing as you already had four, it looks like this is going to be a very troublesome week for you, Shimura."

Tomura blinked, "Eh?"

Toshinori continued to level his steely blue gaze at Shigaraki as the smaller man twisted enough to look over his own shoulder. He tried his best not to look at the embarrassing display of his own tortured red cheeks, instead glaring back at All-Might. As hateful as his glare was, and as strong as the tumultuous feelings racing through him, Toshinori's presence still easily matched his own.

In fact, that powerful personality of All-Might's managed to overpower him, even then, the look in Toshinori's glare so unyielding and intense that it was Tomura whom looked away first. All-Might explained, "Since you have broken four rules you shall be punished on four separate occasions, with a fifth added for bragging about that atrocity you committed with Kai Chisaki."

Gasping, Shigaraki tried scrabbling away from Toshinori as the other man promised to repeat the terrible event that was still occurring, but he couldn't find purchase, and most likely didn't have the strength to pull away even if he did find something to grab onto, "Y-you fucking moron! You'll only buy yourself more pain!"

His hand descending even harder now, causing Tomura to gasp again, All-Might shook his head, "You should focus on the pain you're going to be dealing with in the present. It is you who is buying into more trouble. If you don't start behaving yourself, it's going to be a long time before you go a day without it. For today let's focus on how you tried to escape again. As you can see, yet again it didn't work, you are still here and once again you are being given reason to regret trying."

"Fuck you!" Tomura's exasperated scream rang out through the room, repeating as he cursed All-Might repeatedly until his throat grew sore, but swearing at Toshinori did little to alleviate the pain and humiliation, and nothing to help him escape the fate All-Might had consigned him to. He shook, feeling a growing unease as his anger failed to shield him enough.

All-for-One had taught Shigaraki that hate was a limitless source of power, that it could blot out every other one of the weaker emotions, and that it would never fail him. But as he lay over the retired hero's lap, hearing and feeling the painful slaps as Toshinori's hand ground upon his resolve, he had to finally wonder how long he could bear such an endless assault.

Five days of it? Even mountains wore away to persistence, and no one could more powerfully convince him of their intent towards persistence than All-Might. The man exuded a force of personality that rivaled his most insane acquaintances in the world's underbelly, was even more intense, really. Is that why he started with trying to escape?

That was it. Toshinori wanted him to know first and foremost that trying to get away was impossible... Tenko screamed, flailing his fists and his feet, trying to strike Toshinori, though even when he managed, the strikes did no harm from his awkward position. He flailed like that until he completely exhausted himself.

Which put him in an even worse bind. After all, it was even harder to be angry when entirely drained of strength. All he could do as All-Might relentlessly swatted him was grunt his disdain for the treatment and wriggle with what little remained of his energy, until even that was too much and he simply collapsed into a panting heap.

For his part, All-Might did not seem to be tiring at all, and he continued his ruthless punishment of what was now an extremely reddened posterior, a reason why Tomura kept his face forward, so that he didn't have to see the humiliating scene anymore. As he lay there gasping, Toshinori finally spoke again, "Time to apologize."

"Never."

"If you don't learn how to accept your mistakes, you're going to have a hard time moving forward, Shimura. A simple apology can go a long way towards peace between us..."

"Fuck you!"

Toshinori sighed, seeing that Tomura's pride was still going to make things difficult, so he clapped his hand powerfully against Shigaraki's ass a while longer and decided that it would have to be enough, since the smaller man had begun to bruise quite a bit. He would feel it every time he sat for at least a day.

Wordlessly All-Might picked up the exhausted Shigaraki and pulled him to standing. He half expected Tomura to immediately launch an attack on his person the moment that the lanky youth was no longer being pinned, but Tenko only reached down with trembling fingers and pulled his pants up, never looking Toshinori's way.

Still silent as a ghost, Tomura crossed over to his bed on shaky legs and lay down on his side facing away from his assailant, dragging a pillow over his head.

Watching the younger man, Toshinori spoke after it became clear that Shigaraki wasn't going to say or do anything more, "Tomorrow we'll discuss the other punishments, and given good behavior, I might allow some leniency concerning further discipline. Of course, an apology can and will go a very long way..."

"Fuck you."

The words were there, but Tomura's rebellious tone was severely strained, his voice weak and so low that Toshinori almost couldn't heat the objection. Not wishing to argue any further, All-Might let the additional insult slide and moved to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow, then, since you seem to need more time to reflect."

Shigaraki heard the door click as it closed and his fingers dug tightly into his pillow as he shook with a multitude of unharnessed emotions. His anger was there, but the harder he tried to grab onto it and use it to cover the others the more it seemed to slip from his grasp. He knew that no matter how furious he became, his loss here was absolute, and his humiliation wasn't going anywhere.

The worst part was the helplessness, which descended like the curtain of the final act. He was no longer certain that he could get out of the mess he was in. His boundless confidence had finally faltered, now that he could not get his hatred to back him like it used to. He found himself trying time and again to nurture that anger, to fan the flames once more.

Embarrassment. That was good fuel for anger, he clung to it tightly, the way All-Might made him feel, but every time he started to feel that heady rage rush into him, the pain gave him pause. It was the oddest thing, too, because pain had never bothered him like this. Maybe it was because that sting was tied to the humiliation? Shouldn't that make it easier?

Tomura had been stabbed and shot and his anger had practically erased the pain in the past. His hatred had focused his mind so intently on his mission towards revenge that he had almost forgotten he was hurting. But now something was different; he had doubt. For the first time he had to wonder if he would manage his vengeance.

A man could only fail so many times before he started to wonder if he could succeed, and Tomura was no different in this. His worried mind whispered to him of a waking nightmare in which All-Might controlled him indefinitely, with his only opportunities being continued 'punishments'. When he was a boy, his grandfather had sometimes warned him of divine retribution.

Shigaraki had long since narrated his own story as that of the victim whom would one day wield such righteous vengeance upon those that deserved it, but what if he was the target? All-Might had revealed him for what he was before, after all, and when it came down to it, Tomura couldn't hide the fact that he was a person whom enjoyed inflicting pain.

At times he had even reveled in it. Was this the fitting ending of the devil's dance, the outcome that he deserved? The sting of what Toshinori had done to him flared up when he rolled upon the bed, reminding him yet again that he was in a hopeless situation where he was being threatened with more chastisement by the holier-than-thou All-Might.

It made him rage, but then that rage petered away yet again, because it had nowhere to go, no plan or hope for solace to latch onto. In the end, it was despair that was crushing his anger. He screamed his anguish, because that's all he could do.

Outside, Toshinori sat on a couch listening to Tenko's screams, a frown on his face as he cradled his hands in his lap. Worry lines creased his forehead as he held onto hope for both of them, "Nana sensei..." he whispered, "Am I doing this right? Was this impossible from the start?"

His brow tightened into a severe look, his blue eyes blazing with determination, "I'm not going to give up; there has to be a way to get through to him. I failed you, sensei, but I won't let this chance to heal your grandson go to waste. All-for-One won't get his way..." His fists clenched, "...if it takes the rest of my life, I'll keep trying."

Toshinori stood, moving back towards his office. There was a lot of work to do for the school, still. He was going to have to master balancing his commitments to U.A. with the time he spent with young Shimura. Perhaps this was the opportunity he had been wanting; All-Might had lost One-for-All and the power it brought, but here... here he could make a difference.