Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.
CHAPTER XVI – BLUE
Around five weeks later
After his visit at the villain hospital, All Might had just pushed aside all his thoughts about Shigaraki. He had told Tsukauchi everything he had gotten out of the villain and that he wanted nothing to do with the case anymore, as well as that he wasn't going to be involved in the search for All for One or the League of Villain until Midoriya was fine again.
The truth however was, that Shigaraki had denied him every possibility to find closure. This period of his life would always come back to haunt him. Right now, caring about Midoriya distracted him pretty well and he never left his apprentice's side, only going home to shower and for a change of clothing.
It was already the middle of April; the school semester would be over by the end of May. With the deadline for the semester projects coming closer, Uraraka, Iida and the others did not visit Midoriya as often as during the first two or three weeks.
They were friends. They didn't need to be here every day for All Might to know that they cared. Only Bakugou would still come every evening, spending those thirty minutes at Midoriya's bed and leaving without ever saying a word.
After four and a half weeks, the doctors had initiated the recovery process and All Might had been asked to leave the hospital. A week had passed since then, which according to the doctors was completely normal. The whole process could take up to ten days, so they were still in the normal realm.
During the waiting time, All Might had helped out Midoriya Inko do her chores, from driving her shopping to helping her clean. Midoriya's father was never around, so she enjoyed having company and someone giving her a hand and All Might enjoyed doing something other than playing hero, teacher or police work for a change. It did him good getting out again, although he still had to watch out for the journalists. The police had announced clearing up all that had happened at Tartarus during a TV show on Sakura TV in a week. Aizawa would be there as Eraserhead, as would principal Nezu and Kan Sekijiro as Vlad King. Since All Might was no longer involved in the investigation, they had not asked him if he wanted to be part of it.
He was just on his way back to his apartment after helping Midoriya Inko with some shopping, when his phone vibrated inside his pocket. Upon reading the text message from one of the doctors responsible for young Midoriya, All Might ran as fast as his skinny legs would let him.
"You had Bakugou worrying about ya, imagine that!", Kirishima ruffled Midoriya's hair.
"Shut the fuck up.", Bakugou warned him and turned away, crossing his arms in denial.
"Will you ever let go of him, Ochako?"
The whole class was cramped inside Midoriya's room, including as two of Vlad's students (Kendo Itsuka and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu), talking in on the poor guy who never had the chance to answer one question before the next came.
"Dude, you need to tell us everything!", Sero Hanta smiled brightly as he threw his arm around Midoriya.
"We're glad to have you back, Midoriya.", Tokoyami Fumikage, who was always so serious, now sounded genuinely happy about their classmate's return to the living.
"All Might.", it was Todoroki who saw him standing in the doorframe first. All the students turned to look at their former teacher and it suddenly got uncomfortably quiet in the room.
"Young Midoriya.", All Might breathed and gently pushed aside all of the students, that were either standing or sitting between him and his apprentice. He didn't care that all of their eyes were on him; he had waited weeks for this moment.
"All Might.", Midoriya smiled, tears gathering up in the corners of his eyes. The skinny figure didn't waste a second pulling the boy he had chosen as the ninth wielder and as his successor, into a tight embrace, burying his slender fingers inside that dark hair and pushing the kid's head into his chest.
"I told you to stop crying!", All Might scolded him but couldn't stop his own eyes from watering up, especially when Midoriya raised his arms to return the hug, "I thought I'd lost you!"
All Might didn't let go for minutes and for all the other students, this was the sign to leave them alone, so they quietly exited the room.
When all of Midoriya's classmates were gone, All Might softly pushed Midoriya away and looked at him: "You look well, I am so happy."
"I feel good too.", Midoriya smiled and wiped away the tears with the back of his hand before moving himself into a more comfortable sitting position, "The doctors told me that it is normal to be confused at first, but I feel fine."
For the first time in more than a month, All Might felt happiness light up the darkness that had surrounded his heart.
"But All Might.. why am I here?", the teenager blushed and scratched the back of his head.
Right, he probably didn't remember much from what happened at Tartarus. Before All Might could say anything, Midoriya Inko stormed the room, throwing herself at her son and showering him with kisses, a sort of affection that was rather unusual to see in this culture, even between a mother and a child. But All Might didn't mind and he understood that it was his turn to leave them alone.
Midoriya Izuku had to stay at the hospital for further monitoring. If his anamnestic readings would stay as stable as they were now, there was nothing to worry about and he would be able to leave the hospital in about two to three days. Midoriya's mother kissed his head before leaving and then his classmates stormed the room again, only for the nurses asking them to leave since it was becoming late. How had they even gotten wind of Midoriya's awakening before All Might?
Once he was the only one left in Midoriya's room, the youngster's face became grim.
"How did I get hurt this badly? What happened?"
All Might folded his hands and took a deep breath before starting.
"First, I am sorry for detaining this information this long. I was told not to bother your mind with things like this as to not disturb the healing process. Anyway, what happened is..", All Might licked his lips before continuing, "Shigaraki, he.. he attacked you."
Midoriya frowned: "What? Yeah, I mean.. well he did, but what happened after that?"
"The cameras and microphones suddenly broke down, making any monitoring or contact with the cell impossible. Then the League of Villains attacked. Many prisoners were able to escape, it was all planned.", All Might stopped to watch the teen's reaction, but Midoriya was just staring at the blanket, waiting for All Might to continue, "We couldn't enter the cell, someone was using a quirk to strengthen the walls and the door. Then young Bakugou and Kirishima arrived out of nowhere, and well..Bakugou just blew it up."
"Wait, what? Bakugou was in Tartarus?!", Midoriya covered his face to hide the embarrassment.
All of it really did sound like it was out of an action movie, but the boy shouldn't have been so surprised; hadn't he been the first one to pull a stunt like this, back at Kamino?
All Might smiled: "Yes. He and Kirishima hid inside the trunk of my car. No wonder the fuel went down like that, I didn't even notice the additional weight! But thanks to their help, your life could be saved."
"Bakugou and Kirishima.. saved my life?", Midoriya peaked through his fingers and All Might was thrown back to Shigaraki doing that when he wore the hand he called 'father'.
Now is not the time to think about things like that.
He softly patted Midoriya's back and nodded: "You have good friends, young Midoriya."
The boy nodded. "What happened then?"
At this, All Might's face darkened: "You were heavily injured, barely alive."
It must have been weird, hearing that one self had been at the verge of dying.
"What happened to Shigaraki?"
"He was injured too. After Bakugou broke his nose and jaw because he thought you had died, Shigaraki had to be brought to the villain hospital. He will now face trial again, but it's clear he will get the same punishment as Stain or All for One, who by the way managed to escape."
"But.. I don't get it! Why?! And Stain and All for One..!", Midoriya's gripped the sheets of his hospital bed.
"The police has been working very hard catching all of the prisoners that escaped. Regarding Shigaraki.. He hurt you and he had part in the prison break. For that, he must face trial.", a sour taste filled All Might's mouth at his own words.
"What..! No!", Midoriya ripped the sheets aside and tried to stand up, but his legs were still wobbly and when he was about to fall, All Might reacted quickly and caught him, helping him back onto the bed.
"Calm down, young Midoriya. What's wrong?"
"Shigaraki, he– I mean, he did attack but he never hurt me! He was actually having some kind of panic attack before–", Midoriya's voice broke at a memory that had found its way back into his brain, "I remember, I remember now! It was him, All for One! All for One did this to me!"
Dagobah beach was beautiful; the wind was cold for a spring day but the sand All Might sat on was warmed up from the sunny day. He wished he could have just taken in the beauty of this world without nausea plaguing him. Twenty four hours were nothing to stomach what he had done.
All for One.
This had all been his twisted plan! All for One hat turned them against each other again!
"I've missed the warm weather.", an old an wise voice spoke to him and All Might weakly nodded in agreement. Gran Torino shakily sat down next to him and watched the pink and purple sky turning into a dark blue.
"Tsukauchi just told me what happened.", he then said and looked up to All Might.
"Why didn't Tomura tell me?", All Might sighed and filled his hands with sand, letting it fall like out of a funnel and doing it again and again, sort of like when people drew a certain pattern when talking on the phone. If only this nausea would go away so he could properly think about what to do next!
"Toshinori!", Gran Torino raised his voice, making his student face him, "There is nothing this world has not already done to Shigaraki. He will get over it. He doesn't fear us as much as he fears All for One!"
It made sense.
And it ignited a completely new fire or hate for All for One.
"He used him again, only to get to me. Not only that, but he almost killed Midoriya as well and blamed it on his own apprentice, just to turn us against each other!", All Might dug all his fingers into the sand, "And I fell for it! I wasn't able to save Tenko and now I have even pushed away Tomura too! He will never forgive me!"
The symbol of evil hadn't even shied away from using his most loyal servant to hit All Might where it hurt. All for One had not shied away to betray the boy that had probably looked at him like a father, the boy he had taken in, taught and nurtured.
"I orchestrated an opportunity for you and Tomura to face off and you smacked him down, beaming with the pride of victory and so blissfully unaware."
Why?! How could this happen?! How could All Might fall for that again?
"Have you given up on me?"
"Am I not worthy of saving anymore?"
"Do you believe that it was me?"
"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."
Why hadn't just listened to Tomura? Why hadn't he seen through that mask? He was supposed to be a hero; he was supposed to know better!
All Might raised his hands to bury his face in them, trying to hide from reality.
"Thank you..for everything.", those words rang like bells inside his head. Thinking back, he did not understand how he could have been convinced of Tomura being guilty.
Yes, Tomura had attacked Midoriya, but if Tsukauchi's theory way true, then Tomura would have had his chance to kill Midoriya and yet.. he hadn't. That was still to find out, but the fact the All Might had just assumed that the case was clear was.. embarrassing.
Had he had that little fate in Tomura, after all these months and their time together?
"Toshinori,", Gran Torino got back to his feet, "stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't know. This is not your fault; you are not a mind reader! But now we need your help in search for All for One and the League."
"What good could I do?", he muffled into his hands and nuzzled his eyes.
Then he felt his master slap him across the head. It hadn't hurt, but the fact that he had done it was what startled All Might.
"Pull yourself together! You're All Might, the All Might! If you cannot save Shigaraki, then I doubt anyone else can!"
When All Might opened his eyes, Gran Torino was offering him a hand.
"There's much to do."
Nana, I am sorry.
Even if Tomura will never forgive me, I need to set things right.
"Right.", All Might took Gran Torino's hand and stood up.
"Good. Now tell me what Midoriya told you about One for All.", his master asked while All Might patted away those grains of sand from his clothes.
"It's weird and new to me as well. He said that he talked to one of the former wielders and that guy apparently told him how to sense All for One."
"That is something we could use to our advantage. Has Midoriya already tried it out?"
All Might shook his head: "He fears All for One could notice it if he uses it. We need to use this skill once we're ready to attack."
"Hmm. Yes, I agree." Gran Torino let his gaze wander about the waters, "Toshinori?"
"Yes?"
"Shigaraki will still face trial for attacking Midoriya. If he testifies that he had nothing to do with the prison break, or even better, if we find out that All for One is responsible for the kid's injuries as well, he might get a shorter sentence than originally suggested."
Just thinking about having to face Tomura again, threw All Might back into feeling nauseous. He wanted to see him and he needed to set things right but..
..he just feared it might have been too late to repair any damage done.
Tartarus was not secure enough anymore for Shigaraki Tomura to be brought back there. But that wasn't the only reason Tomura wasn't going back there.
The villain had been brought into a closed psychiatry, locked into one of the few padded cells, with nothing but a mattress inside and a hole that functioned as a bathroom. All Might was guided inside by one of the responsible doctors, as well as a guard that he already knew from Tartarus.
This was the first time in more than six weeks that he saw the prisoner – and Tomura looked more miserable than ever before. He sat kneeling, his hands laying flat on the padded ground, fingers outstretched, and no gloves on either of them. Shortly after Midoriya had told the police about his encounter with All for One, the doctors checked on Tomura's quirk and found that it was gone. It confirmed All for One being in the cell, Midoriya's statement and Tsukauchi's assumption that something had not been as it seemed – and that Tomura's quirk had been taken away by his master. Not only that, but the injuries he had suffered, had probably been inflicted by the man too.
However there were still things that were unclear and Tomura was the only one able to help them. He needed to testify to fill out the gaps in the police's report and of course for his innocence. But All Might wasn't only here to get his testimony.
He wanted to be what he had once offered to be.
"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."
Tomura was wearing a black hoodie that was too big for his slender body. His long hair was tied into a bun (not by himself All Might assumed, since he hated showing his face), revealing that scarred upper part of his face he had always been so guarded about. His eyelids were half closed and his gaze was empty.
"He's been suffering from a severe depression for about a month now. He won't eat, he won't drink and he won't move unless to relieve himself, but according to the data we've received from Tartarus, that isn't anything uncommon with him.", the doctor looked through some of the papers on his clipboard before continuing, "What worries me more is that we've specifically been told that he was rather sensitive about being touched, but now, he doesn't even flinch. It looks as if he has completely given up on life. "
All Might felt his throat tighten at the doctor's words. Tomura did not look up at them, although it was obvious they were talking about him.
"What about self-harm?", he asked quietly and hoped that Tomura hadn't heard that.
"We assume he would try to hurt himself if he could. This padded cell should keep him from doing anything worse than scratching, although we try to always keep his nails very short."
The hero thanked the doctor for his help and waited for the man to leave. The guard wanted to stay inside (change of protocol since the attack on Tartarus) but All Might asked him to wait outside – and he did.
The talking around Shigaraki Tomura had become quiet after the interview on Sakura TV. The show had invited Tsukauchi, who had then revealed to the public that Tomura had not played a bigger role in the prison break and that he was probably innocent. He had even gone as far as to say that he believes that Tomura had been brainwashed into becoming a criminal.
Still, he preferred his relationship with the kid to be as private as possible, even if the public turned out to be more forgiving towards Tomura.
He approached the young villain and kneeled down across him.
"Tomura. It's me.", he started and stretched out his hand, carefully placing it on top of Tomura's head. His hair was still as soft as All Might remembered it. But Tomura, who's weakness had always been physical attention, didn't react at all. He never seemed to blink, his dark red eyes always staring into the void and All Might pulled his hand back.
"Tomura.. I am so, so sorry.", All Might's voice began to shake and he had to fight back the tears.
Don't you dare cry in front of him! You need to be strong! "I am here to atone for what I've done. I am sorry that I never visited you and that I didn't give you the time you needed."
"There is nothing this world has not already done to Shigaraki"
"Please just leave me to die."
All Might looked up at the prisoner, shocked that he had spoken, not so shocked about those words from not so long ago.
"There's nothing I can give you. Just leave me..to die."
"Have them kill me. I want to die. Please."
"Tomura, please, look at me!", All Might leaned forwards and took those bony shoulders into his hands, shaking him lightly but Tomura ignored him and still gazed into nothingness.
He had to try differently, if wanted to get through: "You don't have to forgive me but at least testify! Say that you're innocent and I am sure that your sentence will be shortened!"
"I am loyal to All for One. This is the punishment I serve for disobeying.", it was a blatant lie, All Might could tell from that indifferent and hollow voice that Tomura was speaking with, as if he was a broken recorder, repeating something that been drilled into his brain over and over again.
"Tomura. You fear that you won't have a way in your life without All for One. Let me be that way. I beg you to trust me and I promise that I will never disappoint you again!"
"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."
"Remember what I said? About being there for you if you need a father?"
At that Tomura looked up at him and that emptiness was replaced with.. fear?
"This is the punishment I serve for disobeying.", he repeated and lowered his head.
"Tomura..?", All Might's voice was now small and asking but Tomura wouldn't react.
"Tomura!", All Might tried again with despair.
"It's no use, All Might.", the doctor's voice stopped All Might just from trying once again. He turned to face the man who had just entered the cell without him noticing, shaking his head.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone what I have heard."
The hero looked back at Tomura.
This was it? All Might had already assumed that Tomura wasn't going to forgive him that easily, but the youth wasn't going to speak out for his innocence, too? He was just going to accept his fate?
"Why, Tomura? Why giving up on life again?"
The younger man then faced him again, but remained quiet. All Might felt like a lightning striking him, when he realized that to Tomura, there was nothing in this world without All for One or him.
All for One left you.
You wanted me to accept you, to understand you.
And I left you too – reinforcing everything that All for One taught you.
"You were right, the world of heroes was never perfect and neither am I. And even if you will never forgive me, I still want you to understand that there's more out there that's worth living for."
When the villain looked up again, a spark of hope lightened inside All Might.
Had he reached him? Please, someone tell him he had reached him!
"But not for me."
That little spark extinguished, leaving All Might bitter and cold.
No, no! This couldn't be the end of it!
"Tomura!", All Might grabbed the younger man again and maybe out of an instinct or because he startled, Tomura defended himself and turned All Might's arm around, twisting it into a police armlock and smacking the blonde face down to the pads. The guard didn't even have to get inside before Tomura realized what he had done and let go of All Might, retreating into farthest corner of the room.
"Are you alright?", the doctor asked as he helped All Might stand up and the man nodded, turning around to look after All for One's student, who was pushing his forehead into the padded wall, his whole body shaking.
"I won't hurt you Tomura. And I won't allow him to hurt you either."
"All Might, it's time.", the guard announced as he re-entered the cell and All Might wanted to ask him for another minute, but the man's determined gaze already let him knew that wasn't going to happen. He sighed and followed both men outside, leaving Tomura alone.
When would he be allowed to see him again? Would he even be allowed? Midoriya had testified but if Tomura was going on keeping quiet, no one would bother giving him fair justice.
"I will never give up on you!", the door was closed. Fifteen minutes just weren't anywhere near enough.
Back in his apartment, All Might took a shower before taking place on his couch and checking his messages: Five missed calls from Tsukauchi.
This couldn't be good. All Might pressed the button, calling him back and the detective took the phone after the first ring.
"All Might?! Good thing I finally catch you!", the man on the other line was out of breath.
"What's wrong, Tsukauchi?"
"Shigaraki! He's gone!"
Answer to HankFlamion18: why are you just the cutest? And why are you always so fast? Yes, I feel like we had to have some sort of action for the story not to stay too monotonous! I wanted to wait with the next chapter for a little bit but just reading your review convinced me to publish it asap. Thank you so much for reviewing 3