Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

CHAPTER XV – DON'T LEAVE ME – FINALE

Shigaraki Tomura's room would be guarded all day all around.
It would not have any windows but a single door for the doctors and the nurses to enter. Multiple guards would be positioned in front of that door and no one would be allowed to enter alone unless they were a lawyer or had an official permit. But Kurogiri would not need a door to get to All for One's student: His was a rare and a powerful quirk, the reason the police had wanted to make a deal with him in the first place. Fortunately, it was no secret in which villain hospital Shigaraki Tomura was being kept and if it had been, with all these contacts of the Union, it would have been an easy task to find out.

The prison break was all over the news; understandably, since the attack had only occurred a bit more than a day before. Although Sensei's apprentice had not been part of the prison break, voices all over Japan demanded justice for the killed guards and for a student, who had been hurt in the process and whose name had been concealed to protect him and his family. Kurogiri of course knew which student the land talked about: Midoriya Izuku, Shigaraki Tomura's very opposite in every regard.

It had only been a few hours since he had told All for One that the child had survived.
"What a nuisance, but it was to be expected from All Might's chosen one." Sensei had not been concerned with that, waving Kurogiri away.

The black mist peaked around the corner: As expected, the guards were standing in front of the door, talking to each other, currently five of them. In a fight, Kurogiri would not have stood a chance and flight would have been his only option: But he didn't intend on fighting. Since his quirk was coordinate-based, he couldn't have opened a direct portal to the prisoner's room, but now that he knew where Shigaraki Tomura's room was, nothing stood in his way.

He didn't have much time and he knew that All for One would not approve of him being here. Once he got back, Sensei would ask him where he had been and Kurogiri, as always, would tell him the truth. What kind of punishment would await him? Would the man take away his quirk, too? Or would he just wave his hand again and forget it? Most of the time, All for One was unreadable.

Shigaraki Tomura's room was small and as empty as it could be. There were no medical instruments, no furniture and not even a bathroom. The light was faint and unnatural and as Kurogiri had predicted, there were no windows. It was just a square room with a villain in it, basically a prison cell inside a hospital.

His Master's apprentice was either asleep or still unconscious; Kurogiri wasn't going to check on it.
The young man was tied to the bed with everything the hospital seemed to have had at their disposal: handcuffs, zip ties, cords and belts.

At least, they had treated his injuries. One bandage supported his jaw by being tied around his head, the other was holding his nose. His cheeks and the skin around his eyes were bloodshot; the pale colour had turned all blue and purple. Someone had let out all his anger onto the young villain's face, likely after Kurogiri and the League had left. There were also a few band-aids here and there on his arms and his neck, but other than that, Shigaraki Tomura looked well.

He had experienced worse, back when Sensei had trained him..

The youth was clean, not a single grain of dust lay on his skin. His hair was a bit curlier than usual and it held more volume than Kurogiri remembered, usually a sign that it had been blow-dried. The fingernails were cut and even his dry lips had been moisturized and looked way better than any other time Kurogiri could remember.

They want him dead. Yet they are still treating him as a human.

Why?

Kurogiri wanted to take Shigaraki Tomura with him, but Sensei wouldn't allow it. He trusted their leader and still, it felt wrong just leaving the successor here.
What for? What was All for One trying to accomplish with this punishment? Kurogiri believed the only thing they managed to do with this, was pushing Shigaraki Tomura further away.
He was already an unstable person as it was. Yes, he was extremely intelligent and comprehensive, but so naive and childish and.. he needed guidance. And now, he had been pushed aside by both heroes and villains.

Shigaraki Tomura had never been one that easily forgot.

All for One was a smart man: how could he think any of this was a good idea? How would this tighten Shigaraki Tomura's wishes and goals, wouldn't it just confuse him? Or did All for One think that just because the boy was smart, that Shigaraki Tomura was going to think the same way as him and see all of this as a lesson to learn and grow as to become a more ideal successor?

"He was already born twisted." Whatever that meant.

Kurogiri stepped closer to the hospital bed and reached for the younger villain's hand, taking it in his. His fingers were so skinny and.. ice cold. Quickly, Kurogiri closed his other hand around them and warmed them up. Sensei's protégé was a light sleeper and would have already woken up at the touch, unless he really had been unconscious and not asleep. Or simply drugged.

After the young man's hand had reached a lukewarm temperature, Kurogiri took his other hand and did the same again.

"Shigaraki Tomura, please get well soon.", he whispered and lay his finger onto the burning forehead of the successor. This sort of affection by anyone else than Sensei, would normally get Shigaraki Tomura's deathly hands reaching for him. He was more dangerous than people gave him credit for, but he had changed after All Might.
If what All for One had told Kurogiri was true, his student had become quite accustomised to All Might visiting him, to the point where he had returned an embrace and thanked him.

But then, the prison break had happened.

"Trust me when I say that All Might will never want you for who you truly are." Kurogiri had been right about Shimura Nana and about All Might. They had all left him behind!
He wasn't even trying to justify his own action of not telling Shigaraki Tomura about his family, he absolutely didn't see how it would benefit him knowing. Then, Kurogiri remembered how the leader of the League had begged him to speak up.
It had gotten more to him than the mist man would have thought.

He found himself thinking back to when the kid had been so much younger..

He had seen firsthand how many times Shigaraki Tomura had been tempted to put his own hands around his neck.
Kurogiri had been the one to listen when the young man had been too drunk to realize he was babbling about his most inner thoughts and feelings, about that darkest corner of his heart, the place where he hid all of his secrets.
Kurogiri had been the one to comfort him whenever Sensei had been disappointed with him.
Kurogiri had been the one watching over him, when he became sick.
Kurogiri had been the one tending his wounds, when the little boy had finished training.

So much of Shigaraki Tomura was a mask; behind it, a child who had just been searching for a home and someone to love him.

The years had rode on, one year merging into another, and another.. with a small boy All for One had first called 'Shimura Tenko', growing into the young man who called himself––

Kurogiri warped himself back to the League of Villains new hide out when he heard the door click.

A week passed with All Might spending every single day at young Midoriya's bed.

Due to the heavy injury at his side, which had affected his spleen, his stomach and part of his large intestine, the medics had put All Might's apprentice into a deep sleep – an artificial coma. Midoriya had also lost a lot of blood and suffered multiple bruises all over his body, which had thankfully not been as grave as the injury on his side. The doctors had assured All Might that Midoriya was going to be fine, but that the coma was necessary for his body to fully concentrate on healing. Any additional influence, be it on his mind or flesh, would only prolong the whole healing process, which was why the sleeping Midoriya didn't need to know on what had happened on the island prison for the time being, so the doctor had asked All Might not to talk about neither that or Shigaraki. Instead, All Might kept reading out of his school books, told him stories of his own youth and about Gran Torino and his teachers. Whenever he ate, which was rarely these days, he let the boy take in the smell of it, reminding him that a meal would await him whenever the doctors decided to wake him up. Sometimes, he would just take Midoriya's hand and warm it, trying to hold back his own tears and not to break down. All Might had never felt as weak as he did now. It had all been his fault.

His mother had visited her son five times this week. She had a lot to do around the house, but All Might knew that she had tried to come whenever possible. Midoriya Inko had not seemed angry with All Might – or the school for that matter –, her focus solely on her son getting better before anything else.

The doctors had informed her and All Might that they would initiate the recovery phase after around four to five weeks, meaning that if he had been already asleep for a week and that if everything went well, Midoriya would be awake in a bit more than a month. His mother had seemed optimistic after that, which had not stopped her from crying every time she came here, but who could blame her? It was her own child that was laying there..

Midoriya's classmates had visited him as well. Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, Kirishima and Yaoyorozu and Asui had come every day after school to stay with Midoriya for about half an hour before leaving again. All Might didn't know what they spoke about with their friend: He would always leave the room and give them some time alone. They never asked him on what had happened and he assumed, that Aizawa had told them to leave the subject alone.

Later in the evening, Bakugou would visit Midoriya as well, all by himself.
Because he didn't want All Might to leave, they both spent those thirty minutes in silence before the blonde kid would leave and return again the next day.
Bakugou had never been inherently evil, but a young man who was not able to properly express his feelings. Now that Midoriya was able to handle him, they had become true friends – still rivals – but friends nonetheless and Bakugou truly cared about his well-being.

On the eighth day, police detective, officer and one of his best friends, Tsukauchi Naomasa entered the hospital room of Midoriya and asked All Might to follow him outside.

"How are you?", the man began in a low voice while doctors, nurses and patients passed by them.

All Might leaned against the door and sighed: "Not so good. I have hardly slept this week. Those visitor beds are really uncomfortable.."

"I know it's not because of the bed, don't try to fool me! You're blaming yourself for what happened.", Tsukauchi grabbed All Might's shoulder and lightly shook him up, making the blonde meet his eyes.

"Wouldn't you? It's was my fault."

The detective shook his head: "No, it wasn't. Trust me, I spoke with the responsible guards; even they were sure Shigaraki was at a point where he shouldn't have attacked Midoriya."

Well, they had all obviously been wrong.

"Anyway, that's not exactly what I am here for.", Tsukauchi said and let go of All Might, then looked around suspiciously, as to make sure no one was listening in on them before whispering again, "Shigaraki is awake."

All Might gulped but didn't say anything, not trusting his own tongue. Why was Tsukauchi telling him this? All Might hadn't planned on going to see the villain anytime soon.

"He's actually been awake for six days now and he's in good health. His broken nose and jaw will be fixed in no time but.. he won't really speak to anyone. He's been specifically asking for you."
All Might didn't know what to feel at those words. He didn't allow himself to feel happy for Shigaraki's call – the villain had caused too much harm to receive another chance.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Tsukauchi looked around again: "Is there a place we could talk?"

Up on the roof, the wind was still chilly for a spring day, making All Might close his jacket as he followed his friend over to the railing. They were not allowed to be up here (what if at that right moment a rescue helicopter would land on top of their head?), but Tsukauchi had promised that it wouldn't take too long and that he had to be elsewhere soon anyway.

"You should visit the kid.", it was a weird way to start this conversation after all that had happened. Was Tsukauchi not in the picture? He knew what Shigaraki had done!

"Why?"

"Shigaraki trusts you, All Might.", the detective took his hat off and passed a hand through that short hair.

"What are you trying to say?", All Might crossed his arms and leaned with his back against the railing, as he looked up into the turquoise and cloudless sky.

"Nobody knows what happened in that cell and something just isn't right. How was Shigaraki even able to hurt Midoriya that badly? His quirk was bound by those gloves!"

"He didn't wear them when we entered..", All Might didn't want to believe his own words, but he had to face the truth and Tsukauchi now would have to as well, "We just underestimated him. I think he's been waiting for the right moment all along."

"Well, what if another villain was transported into his cell with Kurogiri's quirk?", Tsukauchi offered but All Might shook his head.

"Then why didn't Kurogiri take him with them? I thought he was devoted to Shigaraki."

"That's why I want you to talk to him.", a sad smile followed the detective's words, "If all the data I received is true, then there's more to find out. I believe Shigaraki is.. well, at least partly innocent."
All Might wished he could still believe that too, but after he had seen Midoriya lying on that floor, with that deep, dripping wound and almost dying, something inside him had just switched.

"I am not trying to be rude here, but you don't seem able to objectively evaluate the situation anymore. You literally just asked me, why Shigaraki would stab us, as if it wasn't obvious.", All Might remembered that doctor's words that day after his visit with All for One.

She was right.

"Have you seen him?", All Might repeated and turned his head to look at Tsukauchi.

"Yeah. When I introduced myself, he said that he 'won't talk to any police scum'."

Unconsciously, All Might smiled at that.

"I will see him."

There was no natural light in this room. The walls seemed to be getting closer and the hero felt as if his supply of air was being cut off.

All Might had originally not wanted to come here this soon after the prison break, but Tsukauchi was convinced of Shigaraki's innocence, or at least that something wasn't as it seemed, meaning he was now more or less forced to do it for police investigation.

The tall and skinny man approached the patient, who was placed in a seated position. He had been informed prior about Shigaraki state of health. The skin beneath his eyes was still bloodshot, but his nose looked better than back at the prison when Bakugou had smashed it. There was not even a band-aid on it anymore.
His jaw however would take much longer to heal, and the medics had told All Might to phrase his questions in a way Shigaraki would be able to give a short answer. The sooner he was completely healed, the sooner they would get rid of him.

Shigaraki's eyes were glassy; was he drugged? No, the doctors would have told him that.

"You haven't come to see me.", the young man spoke with a raspy and unused voice without looking up at him.
All Might stepped even closer until he was one feet away from the villain and looked down at the frail figure that was cuffed to the bed, not even able to go to the bathroom by himself. The former number one realized once again, how young and innocent Shigaraki looked with those slender limbs and that pale hair. He felt that compassion rise inside him that had taken a hold of him the first time he had visited Shigaraki, but it was much easier to suffocate it now. Once he thought of Midoriya, all of the understanding for Nana's grandson was gone.

You already fell for it once; don't make him fool you twice.

"Have you given up on me?"
To that, All Might felt as if he had been shot. Shigaraki slowly raised his head and his scarlet eyes met the hero's blue ones.

"Am I not worthy of saving anymore?", his voice breaking but his gaze chaining All Might where he stood.

Don't fall for it again. Was he just going to let Shigaraki mock him, after he had almost killed young Midoriya? Focus. Tsukauchi wants you to find out what happened.

"Will you tell me what happened in Tartarus and how the League could break into it?", he asked and Shigaraki turned his head back to face the wall, obviously not wanting to be confronted with that subject.

That was basically admitting that he had been part of it.

"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?!", why did All Might remember that just now?

What was he doing here again?

"Nobody knows what happened in that cell and something just isn't right. How was Shigaraki even able to hurt Midoriya that badly? His quirk was bound by those gloves!"
Right, All Might was here to find out if Shigaraki had been part of the prison break. Not answering wasn't a confession. All Might was here to help the police investigate. Right?
No.
No, All Might was here for a different reason: He wanted to know why he had done it.
Why had Shigaraki after all these months chosen to break their bond? Had all of this just been a joke to him? Had Nana's descendant just been ready to betray him and to misuse his trust from the very beginning?

"Young Midoriya is in a coma. What do you have to say to this?", he was not allowed to share this kind of information with him, but All Might didn't care anymore at this point. What were they going to do to him if they found out? Punish him by not allowing him to visit Shigaraki anymore? Or even punish Shigaraki, who was going to face the worst kind of punishment anyway?

The villain didn't move while answering, still staring at the wall: "Do you believe that it was me?"

Anger rose inside All Might. Is he joking?! None of this is funny!

"You attacked him! Isn't it obvious?", his voice was louder than any time before when he had spoken to the youth, but Shigaraki still wouldn't look at him.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to harm him.", Shigaraki didn't look as if that broken jaw of his gave him any problems to speak.
Maybe he just didn't care about the pain.
Maybe he even relished on it like he relished on the scratching of his neck he now was unable to do.

"So you don't deny it?!"

"I was jealous.", Shigaraki dodged the question and turned to face him again. Tears now glistered in his eyes, "I hate him! He got everything!"

The scared skin of his forehead pulled down in anger and with his free fingers, he clenched the bed sheets beneath him. Then the tears streamed down his cheeks and into the white bandage of his jaw.

All Might watched the scene unfold: As soon as he felt sorry, he suffocated that feeling again by thinking back at what the villains had done to Midoriya and all those other guards. Shigaraki had no right to kill someone to make himself feel better.

"Had I wanted, I could have easily abused him, like Shimura did, that useless spawn of your master. Tomura would have taken it all like the little pet he was. He still loves his father, even after all that suffering."

Shigaraki's life had not been easy. But even then, there is was point where All Might couldn't lead back every single problem to a troubled childhood.

It wasn't that he didn't care anymore, All Might heart bled watching Nana's grandson cry and he wanted to pull him to his chest and embrace him, to put his chin atop his head and tell him that everything was going to be alright and that it wasn't his fault. All Might wanted to guide him, to teach him, to show him but––
Shigaraki Tomura had received more than one chance and he had always rejected it. Even Midoriya had offered his hand in friendship and it had almost cost him his life because of it.

It's time to let go.

I'm sorry Nana but.. I can't forgive him anymore.

"Tell me what happened at Tartarus. Were you involved in the prison break?", he returned to the topic he was sent here for. Shigaraki looked up and frowned at how All Might ignored him (and as he later would realize, his cry for help).

"Kurogiri was right, I should have listened. Do you want to know what he said?"
All Might wondered when Shigaraki had spoken to Kurogiri. Did that mean the black mist had been inside his cell? Or was he talking about that one time Kurogiri had been granted his request to see Shigaraki?
"He said that I would never be a part of your likes; that you would never forgive me, that you would always push me aside and paint me as the criminal that I am."

It hurt, because he was right: All Might had no reason not to believe that all of this had been Shigaraki's doing.

"Then tell me that you are not that criminal. You haven't denied anything and yet you're still expecting me to understand you? To forgive you?"

"I never wanted your fucking forgiveness!", Shigaraki became loud and All Might startled at how threatening he sounded when he put on that villain persona. But the young man bit his lip upon realising that he had lost control over his temper again and continued quietly, "It was you who offered it to me and now you're blaming me for asking for it, claiming it back as if all of these past visits never happened."

"You have broken my trust. You have attacked an innocent student. Are you blaming me for doing the logical thing?"

Silence.

"It breaks my heart saying this but.. I was wrong believing in you, Shigaraki Tomura."

Shigaraki gripped his bed sheets tighter at the mentioning of his full villain alias, understanding that this was indeed their last meeting and that All Might was never going to call him 'Tomura' again.

"Have you been planning on betraying me this way all along?"

All Might had already given up on looking for Shigaraki's innocence; he had not once denied the accusations. But before he left, the skinny figure needed to know if all of this had just been one of the former leader of the League of Villains' games. Only that way, he would be able to properly close this chapter of his life.

As if he could read his mind, Shigaraki denied him even this simple request: "Leave."

"Leave? I am not one of your lackeys. You still think the world lay at your feet, only demanding and ordering. It doesn't, haven't you learned that yet?", All Might wasn't going to accept this "answer".

"Fuck you, All Might! Fuck off! Just fucking LEAVE!", Shigaraki then shouted and bared his teeth, and pulled at the restraints with all his force, so hard that they cut into his skin.

It was just like the swearing and threatening back then.
"FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME, MAN TO MAN! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!", he had said to him and although Shigaraki wasn't threatening him now, he felt as uneasy as back then.

All Might stepped back to the door when one of the zip ties ripped apart, followed by another. How did he still have that much strength? Suddenly, the guards entered and pushed Shigaraki back to the mattress while a doctor followed with a syringe in his hand. All Might assumed that they must have been alarmed by his shouting.

It was time for the hero to leave, but he couldn't turn away from a shouting Shigaraki who became calm the moment they pushed that syringe into his arm. He felt so torn between again, his mind showing him pictures of Midoriya covered in blood and his heart urging him to stop this madness.

This time, it was his mind that won, not his heart.

He bit his lip before turning to leave.

"Goodbye, Shimura Tenko."

"It breaks my heart saying this but.. I was wrong believing in you, Shigaraki Tomura."

Don't leave me.
The moment All Might had said those words, something inside Tomura just shattered and every single feeling that wasn't anger got sucked into the black hole that was his heart.

Don't leave me.
He didn't register his own screaming or the zip ties and cuffs that cut into his arms. He didn't register the guards entering, or the doctor injecting yet another drug into his blood circulation.

Don't leave me.
"You still think the world lay at your feet, only demanding and ordering. It doesn't, haven't you learned that yet?"
I never wanted the world to be mine. I only wanted to be a part of it.

Don't leave me to rot in here!
All Might. Why didn't you understand? He would have killed me! It was the only way to survive.

Don't leave me, I..
All Might, I..

I need you!

Answer to HankFlamion18: Someone else commented this was their favourite chapter so far and you seem so excited by it too WTF! I don't think it brings across anything! But i am so happy you like it! 3

Answer to Galaxy diamond: RIGHT?! I love AFO as a character but he is a horrible person!