CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE - THE NEXT STEP
Shigaraki watched the Juzo News van drive away, the brake lights bathing both himself and Mr. Aizawa in a red glow before it disappeared through the gates, taking Dabi and Takami back to the UA dorms without him.
He sighed and wrenched the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head, wishing he was returning to school, to his dorm room, to his normal, everyday life before he learned he had Shimura blood and even before his infidelity feud with Dabi. He just wanted to go back in time, a couple of months to where everything felt… good. And comfortable. He had an awesome group of friends and a boyfriend who made his entire world feel right.
But that period of 'good" had been much too brief and this was not how he imagined his last couple of months at UA High to be.
A supportive hand coming to rest on his shoulder brought him back to the present reality and the actuality that nothing was ever going to be the same again, everything was going to be different in his life from that point on, scared the shit out of him.
He turned his exhausted, anxious gaze over to Mr. Aizawa who seemed to comprehend exactly what Shigaraki was feeling, and his teacher smiled apprehensively at him.
"This is for the best."
"I know."
"I just want to protect you from whatever happens next."
"I don't need you to protect me."
"I know. And that's probably the wrong term."
Shigaraki nodded but didn't say anything further.
"I really don't know what is going to happen or how people are going to react once the story is released on Friday, so keeping you isolated from…"
"Everyone." Shigaraki interjected, finishing his sentence.
"Shigaraki," Mr. Aizawa started, turning him around to face him properly. "I am not going to keep you away from everyone. You will still be going to school; you will see your friends and classmates and you will still be going to the Fourth Kind agency. I just think staying with me for a few weeks while this exposure is still new is a smart idea. Just until the excitement blows over."
"Isn't UA High the best place for me then?" Shigaraki asked. "Shouldn't that be the safest place?"
"I am not necessarily worried about your safety." Mr. Aizawa started to explain. "UA High has excellent security, and it is well guarded, but studios, news outlets, journalists, they will all know where you are and they will wait for as long as they have to get something from you. Photos, an interview, there will be a lot of questions. Leaving the grounds without being harassed is going to be difficult. You would essentially be stuck."
Shigaraki nodded his head in understanding.
"So, this way, from my place, you can still get out and about." Mr. Aizawa went on to say, pausing when their ride pulled up to the curb. He opened the door for Shigaraki and ushered him inside, following right after. "We'll go to and from school together."
"Great." Shigaraki sighed, dropping his elbow against the door, and leaning the side of his face into his hand.
"Shigaraki, I know this is not ideal. But I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. This is about shielding you from what I expect will be pandemonium once they learn of your blood ties to Nana Shimura. She was an important public figure, to a lot of people."
Shigaraki looked over at Mr. Aizawa and sort of half-smiled. He was thankful for the support, but the crooked smile was all he could manage. "Is UA High okay with us living… together? I don't want you to get into any trouble because of me."
"Don't worry about that." Mr. Aizawa reassured him, patting his thigh. "I think under these circumstances they'll agree to the temporary arrangement. I have already given them a heads up about what's going on. Tomorrow, we'll discuss it in more detail. Maybe there will be another solution but for now, this will have to work."
"Okay. And I'm not going to put you out in any way, right?" Shigaraki asked. He didn't know what Mr. Aizawa's personal life was like. Did he entertain often? Did he have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend?
Mr. Aizawa grinned, shaking his head. He looked about as tired as Shigaraki felt. Though, he perpetually looked weary. "I have a guest room in my apartment which is rarely used. There is enough space for both of us." He said, retrieving his smartphone from his pocket which had buzzed with several incoming messages.
Shigaraki watched him tap out a reply before he tucked it away out of sight again.
"All Might is going to meet us at my place later."
"Oh." Shigaraki nodded.
"I haven't told him anything yet. To be fair, to the both of you, I thought it would be best to discuss this in person." Mr. Aizawa explained.
Shigaraki nodded, suddenly feeling very nervous. It wasn't because of All Might, they had met several times and he often came by UA High to visit the students, but more so he was frightened of what All Might was going to say. Did he know anything about Shigaraki's family? Who were they? What had happened to them?
"Are you okay?" Mr. Aizawa asked.
"Yeah. I guess."
"Do you need anything? We can stop for something to eat or.."
"I'm okay." Shigaraki said, "But what about my stuff? I only have my school uniform."
"I'll take you to the dorms later so you can pack a bag."
Shigaraki nodded again.
The rest of the journey was filled with silence. Mr. Aizawa was busy doing… something on his phone, probably work-related items considering they had been at the Juzo News studio all day, and Shigaraki stared out the window, watching people and the world go on with their business, like no life altering experience had changed their very existence that day.
After about a half hour, the car finally rolled to a stop outside a modest, yet modern, looking apartment building. Mr. Aizawa exited the car first, holding the door open for Shigaraki to join him on the sidewalk right outside the covered entrance to the building. They had just made it inside and were riding the elevator up when Mr. Aizawa received a call, mouthing to Shigaraki that it was All Might on the end of the line.
"This is really important, Toshinori. I'd rather not discuss it over the phone."
Shigaraki could hear the deep rumble of All Might's voice on the other end of the line but couldn't make out the words he was saying. Mr. Aizawa glanced at him from the corner of his eye, grinning briefly when their eyes met.
"I understand. Uh huh. Yeah."
More mumbled words, more things Shigaraki could not hear.
"This really cannot wait. Come over right now if you can. I'm home."
The conversation ended and Mr. Aizawa tucked his phone back into his pocket. From the very little Shigaraki heard, it seemed All Might's plans had changed, maybe something important had come up. Hero work took precedence over… whatever this fucked up situation was.
The elevator made a ding, signaling they had reached their floor and Mr. Aizawa led Shigaraki down a hall before stopping outside one of many similar looking doors. A simple turn of lock with his house key and the door popped open, revealing a space that Shigaraki imagined he would never have otherwise seen. Again, Mr. Aizawa ushered him inside ahead of him before closing and locking the door. Shigaraki felt… awkward being in his teacher's apartment. He scratched absently at his neck as he looked around. It was clean and tidy, minimalistic, kind of what he expected actually.
"Please, make yourself at home." Mr. Aizawa said, tossing his keys onto a bare counter in the kitchen. "Kitchen and living room, obviously, the bathroom is over there. My bedroom, and this is where you will be sleeping." He said, opening another closed door.
It was a decent sized room, about the same as his dorm room and it was already furnished with a bed, a nightstand with a single lamp, a dresser and a desk with a laptop computer and chair. To Shigaraki, it looked like Mr. Aizawa used the room as an office mostly.
"You really don't have to take me in, you know. I can manage this on my own."
"I know. But you shouldn't have to." Mr. Aizawa returned with a reassuring grin. Shigaraki followed him back out to the living room slash kitchen. "Want something to drink?"
"Sure. Whiskey, neat. Make it a double." Shigaraki joked as he sat down on one of the stools lining the kitchen counter. In all seriousness though, he totally could have used a hard drink.
Mr. Aizawa snorted a laugh and then opened the fridge, countering his request. "How about some juice? Or a Coke?"
"Coke, please."
Mr. Aizawa took out two small glass bottles, uncapped the lids and slid one in front of Shigaraki.
"Thanks."
Mr. Aizawa nodded.
"So," Shigaraki started, picking at the label on the bottle. "All Might is coming?"
"Yeah." Mr. Aizawa replied before taking a sip of his drink. "He'll be here any minute."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"About… All Might?"
"Sure."
"It's…" Shigaraki paused, like he was trying to find the right words. "Do you think he knows?"
Mr. Aizawa leaned his hip against the counter, his face unchanged as he contemplated Shigaraki's question.
"Nana was very private about her personal life, she liked to keep it separate from her Hero work. We all knew she had a family but that's about it. Or as much as I know."
"He was so close to her; how could he not know?" Shigaraki said. "About my… family. Me."
"I don't know, Shigaraki. I think that's something only All Might can answer."
Shigaraki nodded, taking a drink of his Coke. He felt like the sugar would help him get through the rest of the night, something a little stronger would have been preferable but that option was off the table for now. Though he was going to be returning to the dorms later, maybe Kai could hook him up with something.
He took out his phone and pulled up his messages. Kai's thread was second down on the list. The first was a text from Dabi which Shigaraki left unread. He would consider a response later depending on his mood after his chat with All Might.
S: Hey, you going to be around tonight?
Immediately, three little gray dots appeared, Kai didn't waste any time responding to him.
K: Yep. Where are you? I saw Takami and Dabi come back like an hour ago.
S: I'll be there later. I'll fill you in.
K: Everything ok?
S: I'll tell you later. Could use a chemical boost though. Got anything on you?
K: Mm. Not a lot. What you want?
S: Happiness?
K: Lol. So, I have some edibles. OC's. If you want something else, I can have it within an hour.
S: Oxy? That will work. How much? I'll bring cash.
K: On the house. This is my personal stash.
S: K. Thanks. I'll let you know when I get there.
K: Cool.
A string of thumbs up emoji's followed Kai's last response.
"Shigaraki?"
"Hm?" Shigaraki said, jerking his attention up and away from his phone.
"I think this goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyway."
"Okay…" Shigaraki locked his phone before Mr. Aizawa caught any of the written conversation with Kai.
"I know people are going to be curious when they see you packing and likely will ask where you are going."
Shigaraki shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I won't tell anyone."
"It's not specifically because you're staying with me. I just think it's best to keep it under wraps. I don't want anyone to find out where you are and spill the details to any press or anything. That compromises both of us. Do you understand?"
Shigaraki nodded. "Yeah."
"That means Kurogiri and Kai."
"I won't tell them."
"And Dabi…"
Shigaraki made a face. "Is probably the last person I want to know where I am right now."
Mr. Aizawa nodded his head in approval.
Shigaraki half grinned and then returned to his phone, scrolling through his socials to catch up on what he had missed from being in the Juzo News studio all day. Thankfully, it seemed Mr. Aizawa had done enough talking, for the moment, and like Shigaraki made himself busy on his phone. That was until a loud buzz from the intercom signaled the arrival of All Might at the apartment.
Mr. Aizawa ambled across the room and hit the speaker button which additionally woke up a previously asleep little screen showing their visitor waiting for them in the foyer. It was All Might as expected.
"Come on up."
Mr. Aizawa unlocked the door and then returned to the kitchen with Shigaraki.
"You good?" He asked, noticing Shigaraki's immediate shift in body language. His shoulders had gone from low and relaxed to tall and stiff in a matter of seconds. Understandably anxious.
"Yeah."
Mr. Aizawa nodded and polished off the rest of his Coke just as All Might knocked, entering the apartment.
"Shota." He greeted his friend in that all too familiar self-confident tone that everyone knew before his eyes darted over to Shigaraki. "And Young Shigaraki. Nice to see you again."
"Hey." Shigaraki simply replied. Usually, seeing All Might would have made him a lot more excited but he just couldn't find it in him, even if All Might's ever-present grin was usually very contagious.
"Thanks for coming over." Mr. Aizawa said, motioning for All Might to take a seat in one of four dining table chairs if he wanted too.
"How could I decline your request? It seemed very urgent. Unusually urgent. But I am afraid I cannot stay long." All Might explained. "I have some business matters that require my immediate attention."
"Of course." Mr. Aizawa nodded; his face impassive yet leaning towards feeling troubled. He shifted his gaze over to Shigaraki and then back to the number one Hero. "Look, I don't really know where to start…" Mr. Aizawa began, scrubbing over his chin.
"A direct approach is best." All Might recommended.
"Okay. Well, today, we had our annual photoshoot and interview with Juzo News."
"Ah! Excellent. A fine way to present our upcoming heroes." All Might said, winking at Shigaraki.
"Typically, yes. It's great for the graduating students but this one took an… interesting turn."
"Ah, I see. And I suppose this has got to do with Young Shigaraki?"
"Yes. And you."
"And me? Oh."
Mr. Aizawa retrieved a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to All Might. Shigaraki immediately knew what it was. The document showed the proof of his family lineage and his blood relation to Nana Shimura.
"What is this?" All Might asked, still smiling as he accepted the paper and began unfolding it.
"Research done by Taneo Tokuda." Mr. Aizawa explained. "This is what came up in the interview. A hell of a surprise."
Silence settled over the room, Shigaraki and Mr. Aizawa exchanged glances and the usual bright smile from All Might faded, his lips transforming into a thin line as he reviewed the document, the information settling in.
"Toshinori, Shigaraki is related to Nana Shimura. He is her Grandson."
All Might didn't say anything for a while, his eyes fixed on the paper in his hands. A few seconds turned into minutes and then finally he refolded the paper and placed it down on the dining table to his side before looking up at Shigaraki.
"I can't believe I didn't see it before."
"That's it?" Shigaraki asked, his brow furrowed tensely.
"Shigaraki." Mr. Aizawa cautioned.
"You even have the same." All Might began, words trailing off as he absently touched the bottom right side of his chin where both Shigaraki and Nana had identical moles.
Shigaraki scowled. Sure, they had the same mole but other than that, they looked nothing alike. Nana had darker features, hair, eyes, and Shigaraki was the opposite. Snow white hair, red eyes. Nothing alike. But what made him mostly agitated was that he definitely expected more shock from All Might. Like he had been when he found out.
"So, you didn't know." Mr. Aizawa confirmed, knowing that was exactly what Shigaraki was thinking.
"You have to understand, Shigaraki, Nana did not bring her personal life to work. She kept those things very separate." All Might explained, his eyes fixed apologetically on Shigaraki.
"What about my parents?" Shigaraki asked. "Do you know anything about them? I had a sister."
All Might shook his head with a deep sigh and then almost as if he couldn't stand any longer, dragged a chair out from the table and sank heavily down into it.
"I'm sorry, Shigaraki. I knew she had a child who was quirkless, but they grew apart before she… passed. She never spoke of them. Even when I was curious and asked. I didn't know she had any Grandchildren."
Shigaraki nodded, not frowning, not smiling, not anything. He didn't know what to feel. Originally, he had a small amount of hope that All Might would have some knowledge of his family but on the other hand he knew there was an even larger possibility that All Might knew absolutely nothing. It was hard for him to feel disappointed, he was, a little, but he also didn't feel better knowing for sure.
"Toshinori, the story is going to be released this Friday so I'm sure you can understand why I wanted to tell you as soon as possible."
"Yes. Thank you, Shota. I appreciate it." All Might said, still looking at Shigaraki.
"I'm trying to get them to drop the Shimura reveal from the story." Mr. Aizawa added and then waited for a reaction from All Might.
"But they won't, of course. I have been around enough press and journalists to know how these kinds of things work." All Might said thoughtfully. "Let me guess, they own the rights to the interview, photos?"
"Right, exactly what they said. I'm going to see if I can get a meeting with the Juzo News CEO but we don't have much time."
"And you want me present." All Might surmised.
"This has as much to do with Shigaraki as it does with you. So yeah, I think it would help. To be quite honest, it does not sound like they are willing to let this one go. Nana Shimura is big news."
"Hm." All Might mumbled thoughtfully. "Young Shigaraki?"
Shigaraki lifted his head, he had only been paying half attention to their conversation. "Yeah?"
"How do you feel about all of this?" All Might asked.
"Unsure?" Shigaraki shrugged, looking over at Mr. Aizawa for support. He nodded his head for Shigaraki to continue. "Knowing that I am related to Nana Shimura has no significance to my life. It's just a name and I'm still the same person I have been for the last eighteen years."
"Of course!" All Might agreed enthusiastically.
"But I know once that story is released, everything will change. I don't want to be set side-by-side with Nana and deal with the comparisons and the disappointment when people realize I am not her. I am not like her. That's a lot of fucking pressure." Shigaraki said, not meaning to swear but neither Mr. Aizawa nor All Might seemed to mind considering the circumstances.
"I understand. Names can hold a lot of nostalgia." All Might grinned, probably recalling fond memories of his mentor. "People will try to make comparisons."
"Which is why I am going to do my best to stop this reveal. For Shigaraki's sake." Mr. Aizawa said and then added. "I cannot promise anything of course but I am going to try."
All Might nodded, "I will support you, both of you, with whatever you need."
"Toshinori, if we're unsuccessful and the story is released as planned, what will we do?"
All Might got up out of his chair and then with deliberate steps moved across the room until he was standing in front of Shigaraki. He laid his large hand down on one side of Shigaraki's shoulders.
"Young Shigaraki, I loved your Grandmother, like she was my own mother. You have my utmost respect and I promise I will not abandon you. Whatever happens."
"Okay…" Shigaraki replied, "But I am not asking you to just… jump into my life now and shield me from this. You don't owe me anything."
"I know. If you're anything like Nana, then I know." He smiled, "And I do see the same strength in you."
"He's right." Mr. Aizawa agreed, grinning, and shaking his head like he had just never seen it before. "You are just like her."
"Without a doubt."
Shigaraki scrunched up his nose. He maintained he was nothing like Nana Shimura, in neither looks or personality.
"I'll be honest with you both, I could not be happier knowing that Nana's memory is living on in you, Young Shigaraki. I believe others will be too. But I can also appreciate the impact it will have on your life, both sides, the good or the bad. If or when the news is announced, I will do what I always do. Manage the situation, take control. I will acknowledge it publicly and use my influence as the number one Hero in this country to make the landing easier on you."
Mr. Aizawa agreed with his little speech, nodding firmly.
All Might smiled, "It is fine now. Why? Because I am here!"
Shigaraki rolled his eyes at All Might's signature smile and catchphrase which earned him a hearty laugh from the number one hero.
"Young Shigaraki. I would like to extend you an invitation. To come and work with my agency."
"What?" Shigaraki replied, deadpan.
"After you graduate, of course. And you have your license. It would be an honor. In loving memory of Nana, that is the very least I can do."
"Um. I don't… I don't just want a free ride."
Another exuberant laughed filled Mr. Aizawa's apartment. "Of course not. You don't have to make a decision now. I understand it is a big commitment. Think about it."
"I will." Shigaraki promised.
All Might squeezed Shigaraki's shoulder, and his blue eyes seemed to soften as he silently regarded him. Did he see Nana reflected in them? He must have because not a second later, Shigaraki swore he saw All Might begin to tear up.
Another, uncomfortable silence, fell over them but then All Might's phone started to ring and that look of anguish was instantly replaced with that wide grin he always wore, joy returned to his face.
"Shota has my number. He will give it to you." All Might said, dropping his hand away from Shigaraki. "Let's keep in touch. Shota, please let me know about the meeting with Juzo News."
"I'll let you know by tomorrow."
They shared a mutual nod, a silent accord. And then All Might was making his exit. He stopped though, right at the door and looked back over his shoulder.
"Young Shigaraki, your Grandmother, she was… special. She had such a strong sense of justice and believed a true hero should always smile, no matter how grim the situation. And that is the reason I am who I am today, why I always approach every situation with a smile. You may not feel it now, but you should be proud to carry on the Shimura name. Even just the acknowledgement, it doesn't change who you are. You're still Shigaraki Tomura."