Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

CHAPTER V – IT'S TOO LATE

It was a chilly Friday morning when All Might went back to Tartarus. The sky was dark, covered by the greyest of clouds he had ever seen. Blue sky and orange sunsets were no more; late October really had that ugly autumn feeling to it and if he didn't know any better, he'd thought the world was about to end. It poured buckets of rain and the high security prison looked more frightening than usual.

Since Tsukauchi couldn't act as All Might's driver all the time (he had another job after all), the hero had rented a car and was currently driving there by himself.

He wasn't feeling that good, not being able to properly sleep made him grumpy and he had lost all appetite. Additionally, this dark weather felt like an omen, a sign that he should turn around and drive back home.

On the road to the prison, he blinked a few times at the items on the seat next to him: Various sweets Midoriya had chosen as well as two books some nice lady at the local library had recommended to him.

Gifts for Tomura.

They were reassuring and gave All Might the strength to keep going.

When he parked the car and got out, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. There were no guards standing in front of the entrance. Had something happened?

He opened his umbrella, moved to the other side of the car to get the items and walked to the entrance.

At the security check, the guards didn't even look him in the eyes, deliberately avoiding them. A nauseating feeling started to spread from his stomach - something was wrong. They also took away the gifts he had brought without even saying anything.

"The high court did assign me a notary regarding my requests for items to be brought in. Those were approved.", he said calmly and reached for the bag with the items, but was stopped.

"We know and we are sorry, All Might. One of the prisoners is causing us troubles and until we are sure that everything is one hundred percent safe, we will not allow any unusual items to be brought down to the lower levels.", the tallest of them explained and fidgeted with his arms at All Might to move through the body scanner.

"Is it All for One?", he asked and passed through.

"I am not authorized to share this information with you.", the guard answered and gave him back his belt and shoes, "Please continue with your task."

He was clearly signalizing All Might that he wasn't going to give him any more answers, but the symbol of peace was done anyway. He strolled to the elevators and descended to the lower floors, where he saw a new guard standing in front of Shigaraki Tomura's cell. The man was younger then the last guard and probably not much older than Tomura. He looked scared.

When All Might approached him, he immediately changed his posture and the expression of his face went from frightened to happy. The young man greeted him first.

"Welcome, All Might!", he said and smiled with the brightest grins, just like Midoriya.

"Thank you. Shall we go to the rules right away?", All Might asked and looked along the irony cold floors while the young man explained the rules to him, rules he was hearing for the fourth time now. When he was done, All Might stepped in front of the cell door and looked through the bulletproof little window: Tomura was sitting on the cold floor instead of his mattress, his back bucked as always and the hands loosely folded, pointing fingers always looking up. His pale skin had gotten a greyish undertone in the three days since All Might had last seen him and he could see the blue veins from where he was standing. Those red eyes only an ember instead of a burning fire.

"Is he on drugs?", All Might turned back to the guard, but the man shook his head.

"He should be sober by now."

"What do you mean? So you did drug him?", he followed up. Why? What had he done this time? Frustration rose inside All Might, that kid really was a lost case.

Don't say that., he scolded himself.

"We did to stop him from hurting himself. Surprisingly, he never even struggled when we intervened."

All Might didn't know what to say to that. The guard stepped forwards and peaked into the cell.

"I am no expert but it looks almost as if he has given up.", he said, more a question than a fact. All Might didn't like where this was going.

"Are you saying that he's starting to..?"

The young man shrugged: "Like I said, I am no expert, but I've seen a few people in isolated imprisonment acting the same way after some time. I guess someone who's had no boundaries or limits before can't really handle being chained."

That was enough, All Might needed to speak to him.

When he entered, Tomura looked up and greeted him with one of his signature creepy smiles. His wrinkly eyes looked tired and there were some bandages covering a few spots on his arms.

"Why did you do that?", he immediately got to the topic. Tomura's mimic changed into one of a confused kid and he suddenly looked so much younger and more vulnerable.

"What..?"

"Why did you hurt yourself again? We had an agreement. This way you'll never get Father back.", All Might explained.

Tomura looked at the ground.

The hero sighed heavily and sat down right in front of the leader of the League. He usually kept his distance for obvious safety reasons, but there was nothing Tomura could do to him in this weakened state.

"I think I'm just frustrated because I thought this would all go easier – I should have known better. None of this is ever easy, but I still had hope. I want to help you, we all want to, but I can see your side as well: You have no reason to trust us. I am trying to change that, we will not hurt you, Tomura.", All Might babbled and Tomura seemed to listen but didn't comment on anything. If the kid wasn't going to speak with him, All Might would just talk and make him listen. At least that way he could see that there was no point in hating the hero: He was just a normal guy after all.

"Sleep didn't come easy these past weeks. I spent nights awake, just thinking about what I could have done better to protect my master's grandson. I have obviously failed in every way possible. She wanted to shield you from world she was part of, from villains and heroes alike. I always assumed All for One gave you an alias because he didn't like the Shimura name. "

No reaction.

"I thought I had seen through you; that you would at least try to get along with me, so that you could figure how to break out. "

Tomura snorted.

"So I wasn't completely wrong for thinking that?", All Might asked and added a smile, even if Tomura wasn't looking at him. Every reaction he got was a step closer to his goal.

"Well, you're going to have to try a little harder than that.", the hero said jokingly. Tomura combed his grey bangs in front of his face, hiding from him and the cameras.

Don't lose his attention now!

"I wanted to bring you sweets and books, but there was an interference and it'll have to wait. One of the students chos-", he told him but was cut off.

"Interference, huh? You're talking about Sensei."

All Might bit his lip. He shouldn't have mentioned that.

"That's..not it.", he said but Tomura snorted again.

"You're a liar, All Might.", he said and looked up, his voice suddenly venomous again, "A wretched, little lying hero."

"No, list-"

"Shut your fucking mouth. I don't want your gifts! I want you to hate me! I want you to fear me! I despise you, All Might!", Tomura suddenly raised his voice and retreated back to the wall. Every movement he made was weak and careful.

All Might just waited for the warning of the guards to echo through the speakers, but then remembered that they couldn't hear them and Tomura's empty eyes didn't tell them anything.

Every time the young man threw these kinds of words at him, it felt like knives piercing his heart.

Do. Not. Give. Up.

All Might thought about pointing out that Tomura did wear the shoes he had brought him, so he didn't seem to mind gifts. Provoking him had not gone well on his first visit, but it was a promising way on getting Tomura to react. He wouldn't ask him about the shoes, though.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

Tomura grinned.

This is meaningless. He'll never change., his brain speaking against his heart.

He is Nana's grandchild. You have to save him., his heart defending its position.

"After all this time, you still don't know?", he asked, mocking All Might and then falling into a laugh that was the embodied sound of insanity.

"You think you hate me, because to you I am the symbol of the ideals you and your comrades fight against, some for the greater goal of a more just society, some for the simple wish of just feeling good and living an easier life."

He is a criminal and this is his punishment. How many other criminals are there more deserving of your visits than him? How many criminals, who have committed less vile crimes and ended up in prison anyway, who didn't chose to become Japan's most wanted villain? Why him?

"I think that you hate me because I couldn't save you from your fall."

You have to try. For Nana!

Tomura bared his teeth, his eyes now a burning fire awoken from his sleep. From one second to the next, he turned from a fragile, almost comatose person into a dangerous beast.

"Watch your words now."

"Be honest with yourself. It was All for One who taught you about the supposedly wrong ideals of society."

"And how the fuck would you know that?!"

"Shigaraki.", the guards warning came but the prisoner ignored it, too agitated to calm himself down.

"I don't, you tell me. And I want the truth, Tomura. Tell me that every crime you have ever committed was out of your own will, that everything you did was always justified, and I will leave this cell to never come back."

Tomura eyes widened and all the aggression disappeared from his face. It hurt All Might to see that the kid was suddenly very compliant when it came to him being left alone, but it didn't surprise him one bit.

"I will even let them bring Father back, just so you know that I am serious. So tell me the truth."

"I did.", he didn't hesitate and put on that creepy smile again, "I killed my father and then I murdered my old self, Shimura Tenko. All of that I did willingly. There's nothing for you here. There's nothing to save!"

This one I won., All Might smiled to himself.

"You're a liar, Tenko."

All of the colour in Shigaraki's face left him upon realizing what he just had done, only his scarlet eyes back to burning with fury.

"We had an agreement that I would get to call you by your first name. You didn't tell it to me until just now. Why would I believe anything you say?"

Tomura couldn't answer before a horde of guards stormed the cell, some of them grabbing him while others pointed a weapon at his face. The villain didn't struggle, but his eyes told All Might all about what he was thinking right now and none of it was pretty.

"FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME, MAN TO MAN! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!", he screamed like on All Might's first visit, but the hero could see the progress he had made since then. Yes, it was still mostly threats, but Tomura did answer his questions and it was his own fault for provoking the villain. Tomura quickly resorted to violence whenever his know-it-all attitude didn't work anymore.

"You should leave, All Might.", the young guard from before asked him and the symbol of peace nodded.

"I'll see you soon, Tenko. Try to behave this time.", he told him goodbye and left the cell, followed by the young villain's shouting.

"FUCK YOU, ALL MIGHT! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

The following Tuesday, when All Might returned, everything regarding the problems which probably had concerned All for One, had vanished into thin air. He didn't make an inquiry, aware that the guards wouldn't tell him anything, and went straight to the lower floors, the bag with the gifts of the last Friday in his hand. As usual, the guard told him about the rules again and how Tomura had acted during those past days.

"He was very compliant and ate his dinner for a change. That is, until today. We had to drug him because he started pulling his hair. It should be wearing off by now."

All Might's excitement to see Tomura again, was pushed aside by a nauseating feeling of concern.

"This must have to do with me. He has probably realized the schedule on when I'm here."

"Do you really think so, All Might?", the guard asked and frowned, "He shouldn't be able to tell when a day has passed. We are very careful of that. Even his dinner times are random and sometimes, he gets multiple a day."

"He's exceptionally perceptive when he wants to.", All Might said and prepared to enter the cell. Inside, Tomura was lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, whispering some words to himself.

All Might swallowed and kneeled down to the villain. His face was exposed, something he probably wouldn't have liked and he stopped talking as soon as he caught vision of All Might.

"Leave me.", he said and closed his eyes.

"You know that this isn't going to work. I want to help you.", All Might said calmly and sat down right next to him. He reached for Tomura's hands lying on his chest and startled at how cold they were.

"Don't fucking touch me."

"I brought you gifts. The sweets and books I talked about. And a comb.", he showed all the items one after one to Tomura, but the kid either closed his eyes or tried to look into a different direction.

"There's nothing I can give you. Just leave me..to die."

All Might didn't know anything about the drugs he was given. His mind was clear as far as he could tell but he seemed unable to move.

"I don't want you to die. I want you to live and to see this world from another perspective."

The symbol of peace took the comb and carefully started to unknot the grey mess. Tomura's hair was clean, but whoever washed it, didn't bother for more treatment. All Might also noticed that the younger man's fingernails had been cut again as well. With all this cutting, they seemed to be getting shorter – like those of a nailbiter. Not very pretty to look at, but at least safe.

While he worked through all the knots, he couldn't help but smile. Caring for a villain's hair, no matter how young he was, would get people talking. What would Midoriya think if he knew? What about the other students? What would the public think?

This was one thing he just did for himself.

Tomura hadn't spoken another word, so All Might decided on just talking about what came to mind.

"Those sweets were chosen by one of my students.", was his first lousy attempt. What was Tomura supposed to say to that?

Surprisingly though, he did comment on it: "Midoriya Izuku."

He looked away like saying it, not expecting an answer since he knew that All Might wasn't allowed to tell him.

Ten minutes passed and All Might was done with the hair and passed his right hand through it. It was soft and wavy and nothing like Nana's black straight mane.

"My grandson. The child of my child.", a familiar voice vibrated through All Might's whole body.

Nana?, he asked but no answer came. Had he just imagined it? Or had Shimura Nana just truly spoken to him via One for All?

Suddenly, something grabbed him.

Four long slender fingers were closed around his wrist while his hand was still resting on Tomura's scalp. Red burning eyes stared at All Might, but there was no anger in them. Whatever Tomura was radiating was unreadable to him.

"Shigaraki, let him go immediately.", the guards voice spoke but Tomura didn't seem to hear it, his eyes holding All Might as was his hand.

"Tenko. Let go.", All Might tried as well but unlike the guards' order, his voice was calm and asking. It showed impact because Tomura's eyes widened and quickly closed again, his face features pulled into something that looked like he was in pain. Then he slowly let go of the bony wrist and All Might distanced himself from the prisoner, while Tomura slowly sat up and pulled his hair in front of his face.

No one entered the cell and All Might let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You didn't kill me.", the symbol of peace stated bluntly.

"If you haven't noticed, two of my fingers are bound. I can't exactly use my quirk, hero.", Tomura bawled and grit his teeth.

"You're still lying to me, Tenko.", All Might said and smiled at the young man who furrowed his brows. Whenever All Might got a glimpse of Tomura's true emotions, his heart jumped in joy and it felt like the kid's most innocent and truest self had just brushed him.

"Those gauntlets don't work on your mind. You still raise your fingers whenever you don't intend on disintegrat-"

"So what?!", Tomura raised his voice again and clenched his hands in fists, like just mentioned still raising one finger on each hand, this time his thumbs, "You think that because I subconsciously decided not to kill you this time, that I'm changed now? That you've somehow redeemed me? That I can live a normal fucking life?!"

There was no denying of the despair in his shouting and how it made him look like a boy crying for help and All Might wanted nothing more than to take those cursed, killing hands into his and just hold them until all was good and well and.. he almost did. Almost, because Tomura seemed to realize how much he had opened himself and how small he looked, so that he built back his giant, invisible brick wall straightaway and hid his face behind the grey curtain.

"I don't want to change you, Tenko. I just want you to be healthy and happy.", All Might tried to explain to him for what felt like the twentieth time.

Patience is a virtue and the mother of all success.

Those words did something.

Tomura looked up and his scarlet eyes peaked between the strains of his hair. A spark of hope glittered in them but as quick as it had appeared, it vanished and the villain dug his cut nails into the scarred skin of his neck.

"No..no..you want to break me. You all want me to become.. some mindless slave!", his breath quickened and he scratched his neck furiously. There was no way the guards would not intervene this time but surprisingly, All Might found himself waiting, because the door remained closed. All the while, the prisoner was having a panic attack.

"My kind will never be able to live.. without being persecuted.", he murmured to himself and scratched scratched scrachted..

All Might couldn't take it anymore.

He slowly stood up and walked towards the self-harming prisoner whom didn't notice anyone approaching, too deep in his own thoughts, trying to remember All for One's teaching and that there was no place for him in this world. Tomura babbled so much stuff to himself that All Might immediately thought of Nana's words:

"When you have to save someone, they're usually in a scary situation. A true hero saves not only their lives, but also their spirits... That's what I believe. So no matter how scary things get, give 'em a smile, as if to say, "I'm a-ok". The people in this world who can smile are always the strongest."

All of the previous' number one hero's doubts and scruples washed away, when he closed his arms around a shaking, thin figure.

"I am sure he's just afraid! I would be too if I was in Tartarus.", Midoriya's words.

Tomura was afraid, but not of Tartarus. He was afraid of learning that all he had been taught his whole life was a lie, that there really was a society that accepted him as he was, behind the horizon. Right now he only saw a glimpse of it, but it was enough to shake his very being.

Shigaraki Tomura felt cold in All Might's embrace but the hero didn't let go and minutes passed with the villain just murmuring and shaking while the hero listened and held him. Tomura asked his master to help him out of here and that he would be useful to him again, then proceeded to curse about the hero society and ended with pleading to someone not to hurt him.

When he stopped murmuring and shaking, he pushed away the taller figure embracing him and pulled his knees up to his body.

"Are you-"

"Don't.", he said, no anger, just emptiness, and All Might understood that this was a dead end and that all the prisoner needed right now was time by himself.

At the exit, All Might turned around a last time, catching Tomura wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Tenko.", he tried again but the young man's next words hit him hard.

"It's too late."

All Might left. He should have felt victorious about the progress he had made today.

Like a bone that had healed the wrong way, he needed to break him again so that the kid could let go and heal properly.

He hadn't imagined being it this hard to watch.

Answer to sonic: Thank you thank you thank you endlessly! : )