Chapter 3: Chagrined
Shimura Tenko, still referring to himself as Shigaraki Tomura, screamed and fought on day two from the moment that Toshinori entered his room, so All-Might delivered another punishment as promised, dragging the flailing gray-headed youth into his lap for a repeat of what he had suffered only the day before.
The house was filled with the enraged cries of a man hell-bent on defiance despite his spiraling situation, as well as the loud sounds of All-Might's hardened palm upon his rear. The former began to falter two-fold as Shigaraki's throat quickly became sore from so much yelling, and as the shock of realizing how much worse the pain was since he was already sore settled in.
That meant that the latter, the actual sound of his punishment, began to ring loudly in Tomura's ears, to him a deafening drumbeat of humiliated suffering. He alternated between further fits of screaming insults and obscenities and simply lying there panting, struggling to continue the tirade he had started. By the time All-Might finished the session, he no longer had anything to say.
Toshinori carefully placed him upon his bed as he had the day before, and the exhausted Shigaraki fought back tears of humiliated, furious impotence. He didn't continue his attacks or his loud objections, he simply didn't have the stamina to keep fighting. Once again, he found himself in his locked room, nothing but failure, regret, and the lingering sting that All-Might had left him to keep him company.
Once he found his voice, he began to scream out his anger, as he had the day before, and unknown to him, Toshinori listened from the next room. Steepling his fingers, All-Might took measure of Tenko's voice as the boy shouted his hatred. Today was a little different; Shigaraki's yells resonated more with anxiety than wrath.
'He is feeling trapped', Toshinori thought. 'Somehow his ego has propelled him so powerfully that until now he has only considered everything in his way as an obstacle that he will surmount, but now he's sounding desperate. He's finally accepting the possibility that he won't escape his fate.'
All-Might rose, glancing back at Tenko's room again before walking towards his office, "I hope that tomorrow you make this easier on both of us..."
The next day Toshinori entered the room cautiously, seeing that Tomura still lay upon his bed, his back turned to All-Might. He regarded the youth a moment and then ventured, "I've made breakfast."
Shigaraki didn't reply, just lying still and silent, so eventually All-Might left the room, leaving the door open as he prepared for work. Before leaving he informed Tomura that he would be leaving his food on the table before making his way out to the car.
When he returned in the late afternoon, he found that the food had been eaten, even if Tomura had returned to his bed. He smiled at the sight of the empty plate, feeling that some more progress had been made. He scratched at his chin, deliberating what he had told Shimura concerning his upcoming punishments.
He had said that they would be on separate occasions, but not that they had to be subsequent. Since Tomura had finally settled down from violence and shouting, Toshinori reasoned that there needed to be some sort of reward for that. Giving Shigaraki nothing but the stick would only create more hostility; there needed to be a carrot too.
So, he walked up to Tomura's door and smiled in at the younger man, whom was pointedly ignoring him, "I set a box lunch on the counter, and I'll have dinner ready in the evening. As long as you don't raise hell again, I'll leave your door open tonight."
Then he left the boy alone to his own thoughts. Toshinori was fairly certain that Shimura would sneak out to watch T.V. at night, since the youth both enjoyed television and was a night owl. This would give him further chance to relax, which the wound-up Shigaraki needed. Not even discussing the punishments also seemed to be having an effect, as Toshinori noted that Tomura tensed up every time he spoke, but then seemed more at ease when he said nothing of further discipline.
All-Might smiled to himself that evening as he lay out on his bed in his room. He could clearly hear the sound of the television from the living space, proof that Tomura had done what he thought he would. Dinner had been as pleasant as it had ever been. Even when Shigaraki had been playing nice in his efforts to lull Toshinori into a false sense of security, the youth had still always been rude.
That night, though, he was extremely quiet, with not a hint of insult as he had wolfed down his meal. He must have been hungry, since he had missed meals during his rebellion prior to that day. All-Might had worried that he might go on a hunger strike or lose his appetite due to depression, so seeing the boy display a healthy hunger was reassuring.
Tomura still wasn't speaking to him, and completely ignored every attempt All-Might made to start a conversation, but that was likely just the embers of his angst trying to find some way to reject Toshinori. The hero was fine with that for now; the progress they had made in not fighting was more than enough for one day.
Shigaraki sat on the couch out in the living room, leaning back a lot so as to put less pressure on his aching ass. Occasionally he found himself reaching down to rub at the painful bruises that still afflicted him, always reminding him that it hurt more when it happened multiple times in a row. The couch was soft, and still he found himself shifting uncomfortably.
He would alternate between grumbling irritably under his breath and trying to ignore it when the sting made itself manifest. As humiliating as it was, he had lost his spark for fighting All-Might directly, finding himself reserved when he had woken in the morning to that feeling. He had just lain there on his bed, wishing that the hero would disappear.
And lo and behold, the boss had retreated from his obvious attempt at stealth! Somehow just doing nothing had been enough to keep the aging hero off his back, so he had found himself continuing the day in that vein. His heart rate had spiked every time Toshinori spoke, expecting the topic to shift to promised retribution, but that talk never came.
Only after All-Might had bedded down for the evening did Tomura finally relax, eventually sneaking into the living space to turn on the T.V. because he was incredibly bored. As he lay there not really paying much attention to the program in front of him, his mind unraveled the oddity of the day he had just had. All-Might never bluffed, but he had also not punished him...
After thinking on it for a moment, he recalled several points that he had missed. For one, Toshinori had not specifically said that his punishments would happen back-to-back, and for the other, All-Might had mentioned that things could be easier if he 'behaved himself'. Tomura gritted his teeth; he didn't like this. It felt like he was playing right into his enemy's hand.
Despite that feeling, Shigaraki found himself avoiding too much conflict, even when Toshinori thoroughly annoyed him midday of the following day. The blonde handed him a broom and pointed out at the kitchen, "You are going to be doing housework as your punishment for today."
Tomura glared at him, "You pretty much never clean up around here; is this your way of getting out of the chores needed to maintain your little prison? Fuck you; I'm not your fucking slave."
He tried to hand the broom back but faltered in the face of the intense glare that All-Might returned to him, "This punishment is a reduced sentence of the spanking that you would otherwise receive, which I am doling out for your otherwise good behavior. If you want to convince me that a more intensive discipline is needed, continue that attitude of yours."
Shigaraki bit his bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood, cutting back the humiliated, angry response he wanted to say as he turned and instead silently began sweeping the kitchen. His body trembled under the strain of it, but as furious as doing what he had been asked made him feel, the memory of the alternative was too fresh in his mind.
That would be far more humiliating, and he no longer bore false impressions about his ability to avoid it. He gasped with restrained resentment, his stomach feeling like it was coiling in upon itself with the emotions that threatened to cause him more pain and he, just barely, managed to keep himself in check.
When he had expanded the membership of the 'League of Villains' to include Dabi, Toga and Shuichi, Tomura had been forced to learn back then that sometimes what he thought he wanted to do now wasn't going to serve what he wanted to do later. He had always lived by the notion of doing whatever he wanted, but...
It was all about what he really wanted, perhaps something even more than a small satisfaction in opposing All-Might. And he really didn't want to go through that lengthy embarrassment again. So, he swept the floors, gradually cooling a little after All-Might had retreated to the personal sanctum that was his office.
For what had to be the hundredth time, Tomura gazed out of the windows of the house and glanced longingly at the door that led to freedom, so close and yet so very removed from him. He went back to his chore glumly, wondering what the future would look like at the rate he was going. He certainly wasn't going to just roll over and let All-Might do what he wanted.
It was just that he couldn't seem to come up with a plan. No matter how carefully he thought over his present circumstances, the heroes had mapped out every recourse he could think on and prepared a counter. His only real option was to bide his time and wait for his situation to change, for a real opportunity to open up.
He snarled at the thought. Trapped, basically. They had trapped him well, and now he couldn't say or do anything he wanted, for fear of having his already miserable time become even worse. Idly he wondered if this was how Chisaki felt... Tomura had cut off both of his arms and left him to rot in prison with no access to his quirk.
They had left him truly helpless, as a punishment for crossing their league. Shigaraki cackled a little, his laughter humorless and entirely devoid of mirth, but hell, he couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all. Now they were both helpless.
Days passed, and as Toshinori carefully watched Tomura's complaints lessened and Shigaraki seemed to adapt to the new way of doing things. He was made to do various chores, including cleaning of the house and being made to tape together some of the things he had broken with sturdy duct tape. As expected, he was surprised when All-Might told him to go outside.
"What about this thing on my foot?"
Toshinori smiled at the gray-headed youth, "I expanded the boundaries to include a good deal of the yard space. I've also had that device programmed so that it will beep in warning before shocking you, so that you can more easily know how far out you can go without having to get jolted in order to find the perimeter. Today I want you to do some lawn maintenance."
As usual when told he had a task to do, Tomura frowned in annoyance, but on that day at least, his unhappiness seemed a little less rooted, and when he actually walked outside, Toshinori was happy to see Shigaraki take a deep breath of the fresh air. The young man looked refreshed, and while he didn't exactly approach his work with gusto, he at least didn't look miserable.
His sessions with those that came to assist with mental development remained at an impasse, as Tomura continued to belligerently ignore any questions asked, pointedly cleaning his nails and yawning often as he waiting for the counselor to go away. All-Might did notice that he was more respectful to Midnight; although he still didn't speak to her either, he did avoided being insulting.
When Toshinori returned to work at U.A. the following Monday, he found Midnight waiting to speak with him, "Come along, All-Might. The Principal wants to see you."
Toshinori gulped, but nodded and followed her without comment. Had young Midoriya gotten himself into trouble again? Maybe Bakugo had started another fight? The principal didn't usually summon him so early in the morning.
When the two of them entered the Principal's office, Toshinori noted that the Principal himself, Nezu, a mouse with intelligence surpassing most humans, was standing on his high chair behind his desk. To his right stood Aizawa, whom stared at All-Might as the latter came in. Toshinori frowned; did he do something that Eraser might have reported him for?
Well, he was constantly forgetting to turn in incident reports, and perhaps he had been a little loose on behavior and dress codes, but All-Might was fairly certain it was nothing worthy of the Principal's direct intervention...
Nezu gestured to Shota once All-Might had approached his desk, giving a curt nod of welcome and a small smile with his greeting, "Thanks for coming on short notice, my friend. I know you have a class to hurry to, so we will get right to the point; Aizawa sensei has a proposition that I think you should hear."
Eraser stepped forward, speaking bluntly, "I told you it wouldn't be fair to treat only one convict differently, and since you've gone through a lot of trouble to prove me wrong about Shigaraki to the point of actually yielding results, it is only right that you become the campaign manager for the new rehabilitation program you have started."
Aizawa dropped an enormous file that hit the desk with a heavy paper sound, and Toshinori's jaw dropped open, "What?"
The hero whom had due to a lack of interest in the hero naming process allowed his friend Yamada Hizashi to name him 'Eraser Head' pointed down at the stack he had just thrown upon the desk between them, "This is the entire population of the facility that Shigaraki Tomura had been assigned to; the super maximum penitentiary code-named 'Tartarus'."
All-Might stammered, "W-why would I need the entire list? I hope you mean that I should select candidates that might benefit from a rehabilitation program? And wait a minute I haven't agreed to this! I thought you were set against the idea that my plan would work for Shimura... he hasn't really reacted at all positively to counseling, so why the change of heart?"
Principal Nezu explained, "The cameras around the house are as you know monitored twenty-four hours a day, but security officers aren't the only ones allowed to review the footage; since Shimura Tenko has been reluctant to share with therapists, those individuals were allowed to take a look at his daily life. They have unanimously agreed that Shimura's behavior has improved a great deal."
Daunted by the sudden impossible mountain of work shoved his way, Toshinori stared at the papers and sputtered, "I understand where you're coming from in saying that this seems unfair, Aizawa sensei, but my reasons for singling young Shimura out are personal; I can't possibly find the time to manage this many, even if I quit my job teaching here."
Shota lifted a finger, "Regardless of your reasons, you used government and U.A. resources to enact your program, therefore 'personal' isn't going to suffice as a reason for unequal treatment. As to the workload, I suggested you become the 'manager'; only with a staff of qualified individuals could you hope to create a system large enough to support all eligible candidates."
"Concerning the logistics of managing such an operation, I have already asked Principal Nezu about something more workable than an array of houses in the country."
Toshinori looked over to the small mouse as Nezu elaborated, "I think this is a grand idea as far as options for dealing with the growing powered inmate population problem that this country faces, since rehabilitation has far more merit than indefinitely building more rooms onto a prison complex for lifetime sentences that are not managed with the level of detail needed."
"So, when Aizawa sensei suggested that we outfit a building here within U.A. as the new 'Reinstruction Center for Convicted Villains', I backed him immediately. The level of security in this school is nearly superior to that of Tartarus itself these days, and I think with some of the clever minds available to us this place can become the greatest fortress in the country both to protect our young aspiring minds and to reconstitute those that have gone astray in a learning environment."
"I still have to get the board to follow allow with our radical plans, but that's fine, since you will need more time to continue working with Shimura for the convincing results we'll need to get government backing anyways."
All-Might frowned, "Is that what you plan to call it?" His comment elicited an intense glare from Shota, whom had clearly come up with the name, but Toshinori didn't pay him any heed as he scratched his chin, thinking, "Okay. I can't say that this is a noble plan and then fail to give my all to helping you achieve it. I admit I have been a little selfish here. Just tell me what I have to do to get started."
It grated on him. All of it, ceaselessly day by day with each job Shigaraki Tomura performed for his nemesis All-Might the youth felt a piece of himself chipped at, as if his pride as a man was a stone block, and Toshinori was skillfully hammering away at it with a chisel, cracking and warping his sense of self with each tiny victory.
Avoiding the worse punishments seemed only logical, and Tomura could not hide from the fact that he feared that level of embarrassment a little. The pain of the event and the sting that was always left behind, they were irritating too, and things he very much wished to dodge. But when his only recourse was to do as he was told, he still felt like he was losing...
Tomura hated losing. He stared at the lawn, glancing at the rake in his hands. He had been told that today was his final day of 'penance', and that after this task they would be even. All-Might had commanded him to gather all of the leaves into piles to be removed from the yard while Toshinori was at work.
It would be easy for Shigaraki to reason with himself that this was the final stretch, that after this he was done taking orders. But that was the problem. If he obeyed now, he would have shouldered all of the nonsense that All-Might had been preaching about accountability and whatever. He would be accepting his loss with his silence.
No opportunities had presented themselves to try escaping again. He had walked all along the perimeter of the yard as he had been doing chores over the last two days, but knowing where the line he couldn't cross was didn't really help him in any way that he could yet see. If they had cameras inside, they likely also had them outside, so he wouldn't get far on foot before someone came.
Very possibly a hero or two with a speed enhancing quirk or flight, like Ingenium or Dragoon hero Ryukyu. With all of the open country that he would have to cross before finding a city to blend into, he would most likely be chased down in short order, as the white jumpsuit that he was made to wear in the prison house would mark him well.
He thought long and hard about how he might hide in the woods. Perhaps find a mud bank, ditch his clothes and make himself some camo for sneaking among the trees, but other than seeing shit like that in the movies, Tomura wasn't certain how well that would work, not to mention he'd be running around with his dick hanging out.
That part didn't bother him in and of itself, but it was probably unwise to be naked for such a long trek through nature when it was starting to get cold at night. He'd hate to have his career end with death from exposure. Also, there was the issue of the device on his leg. None of the rest would matter if it paralyzed him indefinitely until All-Might returned to pluck him off the ground.
The shock anklet remained his greatest enemy and no matter what he considered; he just couldn't come up with a strategy for defeating the simple but effective tool. Frustration and resentment built within him like the rising magma of a slowly erupting volcano, and as his feelings flooded through him entirely all he could think of was that he was running out of time.
In just a few hours, All-Might would return to the house, and look at him with those judging eyes of his, likely taking note of how subdued and obedient Tomura had become. He would probably even compliment him for it, like a master would a good and loyal pet. Screaming as all of his pent-up rage surged out of him at once, Shigaraki threw the rake down and charged for the road.
Adrenaline fueled by his heedless fury and fear bolstered his advance as he sped up from jogging to running to sprinting. Tomura leaned his upper body forward, pumping his arms hard in rhythm with his legs to get as much speed as his body would allow. Though not in bad shape, he had never really been athletic...
But he had seen this done plenty, and while a youth spent mostly sequestered in his room playing video games didn't offer much in the way of prowess, Shigaraki Tomura was certain that his mind would conquer his matter. He was so angry he felt invincible, and still he pushed himself even harder, whipping himself into a frenzy.
He was approaching the border, and if his spontaneous plan to punch through the perimeter defenses through sheer willpower was going to work, he was going to need a lot of adrenaline and even more momentum. His next step was nothing more than a leap of faith in his own stubbornness. He would push through the shock, he...
Tomura hit the ground like a sack of rocks, only dimly aware that he was sliding helplessly on his face and impacting the ground with great force due to his mad sprint. He felt the pain of the abrasions, but his muscles had all locked up the moment he had taken a full step past the border, and a constant current of numbing feeling washed through him over and over.
Being shocked was kind of like being punched so hard that the blow left his body unable to figure out what to make of the feeling of impact. Only that it hurt, in a way that was both hot and cold, and his own muscles tensed hard, as if his entire body had the cramps. This happened over and over, with the greatest mercy of it all being that he was losing awareness quickly.
As his addled mind sank rapidly into unconsciousness, Shigaraki failed to even laugh at the pathetic situation, only able to manage a weak sputtering sound. He hadn't even made it fifteen feet from the perimeter, and he only made it as far as he had because he'd slid along the ground from the force of his foolish charge.
Apparently raw hatred paled compared to science of electrocution. All-Might had known this was going to happen. 'What had he said?' he thought as his senses all dimmed out one by one. Something along the lines of scraping him up if he tried to cross the borders. All he'd have to do it just pluck him from the ground and carry him back.
Finally, he embraced the void around him, letting go of that side of him that still fought, madly insisting that he could power through it all. Well, now he was even more fucked than he had already been... wait, wasn't being shocked over and over like this dangerous? Did he just commit suicide? Maybe that would be better than surviving this last failure...
Tomura woke, blearily aware of someone standing over him. His entire body was so very sore and he could feel aching pains in several places. Along with the soreness was an intense fatigue, as if he had followed up a mountain hike with extreme rock-climbing before tackling heavy weight lifting. Every muscle was so tired that he couldn't move at all.
He felt large, gentle hands lift him from the ground and found himself looking up into All-Might's face as the former hero walked him back to the house. His eyes were drooping again, the incredible weariness too much to stay awake through, but before he could pass out, he couldn't help but notice the look of worry in Toshinori's features.
"Don't worry, young Shimura; I am here."
When he awoke again Shigaraki was laying in his bed in the room afforded him. He grunted at the massive number of pains that assaulted him from all throughout his body, some sharp and distinct, likely the abrasions he had earned from his fall, the rest dull and deep, aching muscle pain. All-Might was sitting in a chair near his bed and sat forward when he opened his eyes.
The blonde hero gave him a small smile, "That was some leap you made past the border; the techs that put it into place assured me that you would never actually pass it, but they clearly did not account for your willpower and recklessness."
Tomura frowned. Why did All-Might look so relieved? Because he had failed to get away from his little prison? Even frowning hurt. Shigaraki reasoned that he must look a right mess at this point. Toshinori leaned back again, "You won't have to worry about repeating that incident again, though. Despite what the eggheads say, I don't trust that manner of containment."
"We had planned to move you anyways, but I went ahead and put in the request to move you earlier than intended and it was approved this morning. You have been sleeping for over thirty hours; your muscles are all overworked from the time you spent being shocked, and the doctor says that you will need to take it easy for a while to heal."
Tomura hissed, speaking falteringly due to the fact that even his throat hurt, "So your people managed to create an excellent torture device; very heroic. You must be pleased that you can now treat you enemies like pets this way."
Toshinori frowned, but instead of become incensed he bowed his head in shame, "This was never my intention. I was alright with the idea of corralling you inside a safe space, but if I had ever thought that anklet would actually cause you harm like this, I would have never put it on you. I am very sorry, young Shimura."
Shigaraki hissed again, "Stop calling me that!" As rewarding as it was to see All-Might flustered, the fact that Toshinori seemed genuinely worried about his wellbeing was creating dissonance in Tomura for some reason, ruining his ability to enjoy the sensation. "Well, where exactly am I being moved to, then? Back to Tartarus?"
The idea of returning to that island prison did not sit well with Tomura, he supposed because escape options would be even more limited. He knew from his brief stay there that the fortress it represented certainly earned its reputation for being inescapable. His real hope was that All-Might would move him somewhere easier to remove himself from.
Toshinori smiled widely at him, "You, young man, are going to be moved to U.A. High!"