Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

CHAPTER XVIII – BEGINNING OF THE END

Where am I?

"Hello, Tenko.", the voice of a woman echoed through the darkness. It was so.. kind and strong and warm.

Tenko? My old name.

"So, you came in contact with a wielder of One for All?" – Why did he feel like he knew her?

"Who.. who are you?", he was surprised at how foreign his own voice sounded in his ears. Was this really him?

My voice is like that of a child.
Where am I?
Am I dreaming?
Am I dead?

He looked around.

I can't see a single shimmer of light..no.. wait, something's there!

Tomura then saw her face; her presence lightening up the darkness around him. That beautiful woman he had seen in his vision when he had touched Midoriya's arm. One for All's predecessor: It really was her!

Before she could answer, Tomura spoke it out for her: "You're.. you're Shimura Nana! You are father's mother!"

She smiled and she reached for him, offering him her hand: "Let me help you, Tenko."

How could this woman be his grandmother? How could someone with such a warm smile be the mother of his father, a man that had been so cruel to him?

What are these thoughts? I'm even thinking like a child!

"You can't.", he heard himself responding straightaway, while at the same time longing to touch her hand, feeling that if he would take it, it would free him from all this pain and sorrow and from his sad destiny. But what good could a dead person do for him now?
Still, his hand was reaching for her all by itself. Maybe, just maybe there was a little shimmer of hope, even for someone like him, right?

Will I truly feel less miserable if I let you into my heart?

"You will come crawling back to me once you realize that they don't want you, Shigaraki Tomura.", at the memory of All for One's words, he pulled back his hand before the tips of their fingers could touch and Nana's eyes widened in surprise. Had she really assumed she could reach him? Him, who was so far gone?
Burning tears gathered in corner of his own eyes and he was already hating himself again for not being able to push them away before they wet his cheeks: "No!"

"Tenko. I am here for you. You have to trust me."
Why was she trying to console him?

"No! He will kill me! Leave me alone!"

"Tenko!", her voice became smaller once Tomura's mind started to build a wall to shield himself from her, from everything that tried to reach his heart. And all his surroundings turned back to black and his grandmother vanished. All was back to how he wanted it to be: Dead and quiet.

But he didn't feel any relief, because Tomura found himself back in a nightmare.

This time, he wasn't himself in his own dream (if all of this even was a dream) but the observer, and what he saw made his stomach turn: It was a frail little person, sitting on the pavement, his hair a white mess and his skin and clothes dirty and ripped in various places. He was dangerously underweight and there was dried blood all over him.

"No one came to save you.", that voice again, "That must have hurt. Right, Shimura Tenko?"

No, no, no! He didn't want to relive this!

"Everyone just passed by, pretending not to see, thinking that some hero would save the day."

"Get away from him.", he threatened the figure with the suit and short hair, but the man couldn't hear him (that, or he just didn't listen) and knelt down, closing the child, – him –, into a tight embrace. Tomura remembered that moment as clearly as he could see it now happening before him. Back then, it had given him just the necessary amount of hope and purpose to continue living. Who had that man been, who had taken him with him? He had not cared back then, because this had been a man that wanted him. Unlike his father who had used every opportunity to hurt him, unlike his mother who had left them and unlike society and their heroes, who only cared about themselves and who had shown him what he was: Dirt, utter trash.
Back then, in that tiny, naive mind of a child, he had thought that All for One wanting to give him a future must have been a sign of how righteous he was.

All Might wanted you too, you know. And it was you, who pushed him away. Tomura dug his nails into the inside of his hands at that whispering voice in the back of his head, nagging at his conscience.

"Who decided to make the world this way?"

"Get away from him!", Tomura repeated, louder this time as if he could change what had happened all those years ago that way.

"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."

Nothing would change, the past was the past. But Tomura couldn't help it: He jumped at All for One and closed his five fingers around his master's neck, only for his surroundings to change again.

His mind was spinning. "What is happening to me?!"

All for One was gone. When the darkness was lightened up again, the young man turned around to look at where he was, realizing quickly that he knew this place very well.

He was in a bedroom. Next to him stood a mirror and Tomura felt thrown into a trance when he saw his own reflection, so tiny and innocent. Bruises in blue and purple covered the exposed skin of his arms.

"Tenko!", another voice he recognized pulled him out of his thoughts.

Tomura looked down at his small and puffy hands, closed around the arm of an adult. His eyes followed the arm, attached to the body of a tall man, with a face somehow resembling his and at the same time not.

"Father?"

"What have you done, Tenko? What have you done?", Tenko let go of the arm he was holding, but it was too late. There was so much desperation in his father's voice when he screamed while crumbling apart. A scream that died abruptly. Soon, the man had turned into a pile of blood and dust.

"Father?", Tomura fell on his knees, the fabric of his child pants soaking with the blood of his parent.

"Father! Father, no!"

The only thing that remained was a big hand in the middle of the red pool.

"How can you leave me?!"

"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."
Why now? Why did have to think of those words now?!

All Might wanted you too! And you pushed him away!, his guilty conscience trying to tear him apart.

"Please don't leave me!"

"Father!"

Tomura eyelids shot open.

He stared at a ceiling for a while, his hand outstretched to reach for something, before he realized that he had been asleep.

It really had been a dream. But it had not felt like one, it had been too real, like he had revisited all those past events.

Shit.

He sat up and saw that he was lying on a bed, wearing a fresh shirt without the holes of All for One's spike quirk. The thought that someone had changed him and therefore touched him in the progress, made him cringe.

His left wrist was attached to a tube, which led to an infusion bag: He was in a medical room. With his right hand, he rubbed his eyes and since it was already there, scratched the skin around his eyes.

"Time you woke up, mop-head."

Tomura startled and his red eyes shot into the direction the voice had come from: It was Dabi, who was sitting on a chair, right foot on his left knee and pressing the buttons of an older gaming device. Faintly, Tomura realized that the walking flamethrower must have gone through some of his old stuff, because it was impossible to find these on the market anymore and he doubted that Dabi had left the tower, just to get himself a game. Any other time in the past, Tomura would have become furious with the guy taking his things without his permission. But he had to admit that he really didn't care that much anymore – and he never really had in the past either; it had most likely been just a way to get his frustration out on someone.

You're just like your father. That realization irritated the skin around his eyes and on his neck again. Images of his parent slapping him across the face and then dying at his hands were shown before his inner eye, already giving him a headache.

Wasn't that dream punishment enough?

"What happened?", he would have rather not talked to someone from the League, or anyone for that matter.

"No idea what your boss did to you, but that beanpole body of yours apparently didn't take it very well.", Dabi didn't look up from whatever game he was playing. Tomura then stared at his own hands, which didn't look different than usual. He reached for the tube on his wrist and ripped it out, but didn't let go of it until his quirk turned it, and the infusion bag it was attached to, into dust.

It.. really was back. Not that there had been a reason to doubt it – All for One was harsh but still a man of his word.

The pale-haired swung his legs to the side and jumped out of the bed. His body felt as good as new.

"How long was I out?", he asked while looking down at himself.

"Don't know, but it's been about three hours since I'm here."

But why is he here? "I'm surprised you managed to sit around in a room with me that long."

Dabi stopped pressing buttons and put the game boy on a table next to him, then leaned back and crossed his arms: "You're probably wondering why I'm here. I have some questions."

Of course he does. Great.

"What the fuck do you want?", it didn't sound half as menacing as Tomura intended it to be. He grabbed the pair of shoes that were placed on a chair next to his bed and put them on quickly. He needed to get out of here, so he jogged over to the door, feeling Dabi's eyes following his every movement.

"Too bad that I don't care about your questions."

His hand was just about to pull down the doorknob when Dabi appeared behind him, grabbing him by the wrists and locking his one arm behind his back while pushing him face-forward into the hard wood. Tomura managed to look to the side before the impact could break his nose.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"What? You're gonna call for Daddy again?", Dabi whispered and painfully pulled at his arm and as he pressed his elbow into Tomura's spine.

"Ahh.", it escaped Tomura and he realized that he wasn't as "healed" as he thought he was. Additional pain was the last thing he needed; his chest was still strained from his master's quirk. The young leader tried to break free from Dabi's grip, without success.

Why can't I fight him off?!

Dabi was strong, but so was he. Not only that, but he was quick too, how had the guy even managed to grab him that way?

Have I lost my focus that much?

"Man, they weren't kidding when they told us that you've lost quite some strength. I would have never been able to hold you that long.", he sounded amused.

At that, Tomura stopped the fighting for a second. What did he just say?

"Who told you what?", he asked calmly, although there was a storm of fear and anger raging inside of him.

"Just that little Shigaraki has changed a lot and is suddenly taking a liking in heroes."

Tomura gulped. It wasn't true, not the way Dabi saw it. He could deny it but what good would it do? He wasn't the leader of the League of Villains anymore; he might as well just tell the guy the truth. And then what? Was Dabi going to kill him for it? What was he supposed to do? Was there even a thing left in his life, something that he wanted?

"You're not denying i–", the man holding him didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when the ground beneath them began shaking so hard, it made Dabi lose his balance. He was thrown onto the floor, pulling Tomura with him. All for One's apprentice landed on top of him and it finally gave the pale-haired man the chance to free himself from Dabi's grip. The whole building shook so tremendously and not in the usual way a sky scratcher would shake when faced with an earthquake; they both knew this must have been something different. Tomura got himself on his feet, leaving Dabi where he was as he stormed towards the windows, ripping the thick curtains aside.

Before his eyes, a massive body in a tight jumpsuit towered just before the building.

His scarlet eyes widened: "Mount Lady."

"That bitch!", Dabi was back on his feet as well. His hands engulfed in a blue flame, shooting it into Tomura's direction. The other threw himself aside as the windows exploded, shards of glass raining down on him.

"You fucking idiot!", Tomura screamed at him as he raised himself from a ground that was now covered in glass and dust, always keeping his left arm in front of his face to protect his eyes.

It didn't look like Dabi's attack caused Mount Lady any harm, since the building shook again and made Tomura fall back onto the shards. He hissed as he cut the exposed skin of his arms. Ignoring the pain and the blood that was dripping from deep open wounds, he got up again and stormed passed Dabi and out of the room.

A pro hero attacking their hideout could only mean that the police was here as well. None of them were on this floor yet, but he could already hear their footsteps as they were running up the stairs. If he could trust his hearing, it must have been hundreds of them, all heavily armoured and shielded. With his quirk back, he could turn the tower into dust but how far would his quirk spread? And wasn't it going to drain him completely, making it easier for the police outside to arrest him?

Up! You need to get up!, his mind told him and his body followed. Elevators and stairs would be blocked by police and heroes and if he didn't want to jump out a window, he had no choice but to get back to the top floors.

And then what?

The doors of one of the elevators just opened when he passed them on his way to the next pair of stairs.

Special force police men stormed out of it; it was so many of them that Tomura wasted a second asking himself how they had even managed to squash themselves all in there, including their shields and weapons.

They had not seen him yet and he used that opportunity to flee.

Run, you idiot!, his instinct screamed and he ran as fast as he could, taking multiple steps of the stair at a time. His head throbbed at his movements and the cuts on his arms burned.

"Stop immediately! W–", he heard a guy shout into his direction, but he was too far up to hear the end of it.

Fuck!, he cursed himself for not being in a good shape. He was usually so fast, had he really slackened that much? Is this what mere months of prisons did to a body that had been trained for years?

Tomura ignored the shouting police men (not that he could understand what they were saying anyway), never stopping even when his lungs began burning, demanding that he halted and took a deep breath.

Another floor left! Do not stop!

And then what?, he asked himself again, Is Sensei there to save us? Is Kurogiri there to warp us away?

He didn't want to fight – he didn't want to kill another person, but he also wasn't going back to Tartarus.

At the top, Tomura pushed the doors open to the loft.

This was not how All Might had imagined it would go, but what had he expected exactly? He was no police man and he wasn't a hero anymore, of course Tsukauchi and young Midoriya would tell him to stay behind. Unlike the prison break, this was a planned mission where vulnerable civilians like him would only get in the way (though they had told him to stay back because of safety reasons).

While the police forces stormed the tower, two assisting helicopters surrounded the building. Kamui Woods, accompanied by a troop, let himself down a rope and onto the roof. All Might couldn't actually see him, they were too high above, but the way his limbs spread into those tree-like branches, he was easy to recognize.

That must mean Gran Torino and Endeavor are in the other.

Kamui's helicopter then sank to the ground, landing on a marked spot while the attack began and Mount Lady used her quirk to "shake the villains up a bit". After about half a minute, a blue flame shot through one of the windows on the upper floors, but the tall woman managed to pull her leg away before she was hurt. And soon after, she shrank back to her normal size, waiting for additional orders.

All Might's eyes never left the tower, even when the second helicopter landed behind him, blowing his blonde hair into all directions.

There is one of them, All Might thought when he saw the blue flames. Although he knew that wasn't Tomura, he still felt his body becoming tense.

"All Might!", a familiar voice called his name and he turned towards the helicopter behind him, its wings turning slower and slower until they came to a halt. Best Jeanist waved to him from inside.

"I didn't know you could ride a helicopter.", All Might commented as he sat down on the entrance of the machine.

"All for One did quite a job last time I fought him. I won't be able to go out into the battlefield, but I still wanted to be of good use to the pro hero world.", the man was facing the tower as he said that, purposely looking away as if to hide his expression. Back at Kamino, in a matter of a single second, Best Jeanist's capability to fight in the pro hero league had been taken from him.

"I see."
As someone who couldn't be a hero any longer as well, he knew how frustrating that feeling was, and how at the same time, one needed to focus on other things to keep going. Jeanist had chosen to help the police by piloting. All Might originally had just wanted to focus on teaching Midoriya, but then Tomura came to Tartarus, and he–

All for One, this is your fault – everywhere you go you only bring suffering, to the world around you.. and even to ones close to you.

Best Jeanist turned around to face him with a smile: "It's not so bad, you know. There are countless other jobs I am still able to do, even with my body."

Jobs. A normal job. Would Tomura be able to do it? To lead a normal life?

...

What am I thinking? After this, he will be farther away from freedom than ever before.

"Are you thinking about.. Shigaraki?"

Is it really this obvious?

"Are you going to lecture me as well?", he couldn't help but add a sarcastic smile.

-"Toshinori!" -

Best Jeanist was speaking to him, but All Might couldn't hear him anymore. That.. call. It had been like a lightning strike, still vibrating inside the very core of his body, inside All Might's soul.

His left hand wandered to his chest, feeling his accelerated heartbeat.

Why am I shaking? What was that..?

-"Toshinori!" -

Again, that lightning that shook his body.

"All Might. You're looking pale. Are you alright?"

"N.. Nana?", All Might managed to say through his heavy breathing.

-"He needs you!" -

Half a second later, as promptly as the lightning inside his heart had struck, that intense feeling vanished and All Might's senses became clear again.

'He needs you!'? Nana, are you telling me about Midoriya? About Tomura? His eyes wandered back to the tower and the explosions of fire, which seemed to shoot out of every window on the upper floors.

I don't know where Tomura is. But Midoriya is definitely up there.

"Jeanist.. I need your help."

Who needed helicopters or elevators, when you got Todoroki Shouto on your team, raising huge blocks of ice out of the ground faster than a rocket, catapulting him and Bakugou to the top of the tower in a matter of seconds.

"Once we're up there, don't fucking blow this, Deku!", Kachann had said to him on their way up, making him look like an incompetent in front of all the others. Midoriya knew better; it was just his way of saying to take care of himself and he nodded to his childhood friend. He had no intention of letting anyone die today.

Since Midoriya had awoken from his coma, he felt like his and Bakugou's bond had deepened: You're my rival, Kachann. And you're my friend. Once all of this is over, I want to fight with you again and I will show you how much progress I have made!

Once all of this is over – once we have saved him.

His mind and heart were calm, the last splinters of fear pushed aside by that pulsing presence inside of him. Whenever Midoriya closed his eyes, that being stood in front of him, not in the form of a man, no, it wasn't even the form of a human. It was a fair light, blue but so bright it seemed white.

These past days, Midoriya would try to talk to him, trying to find out as many things about One for All and All for One as possible, but the first bearer of the quirk, One for All himself, had rarely answered. The dark-haired hero in training didn't even remember if One for All had actually explained to him how to feel and pinpoint their enemy's life-force, or if that information had just been ingrained inside his head upon waking up from his coma. He wished for a little more time to explore this new power of his a bit more, but time was a luxury they didn't have.

Something wasn't right – everything was just going too good for them.

When he and Bakugou had entered the loft, Endeavor, Gran Torino and Kamui had already seized Mr. Compress and Spinner, successfully incapacitating them before they could harm a single one of the police men who had jumped onto the building from the helicopters with them.

"IZUKUUUUUUU!", Toga had screamed his name and jumped onto him, her knife ready to stab his guts but Midoriya was faster than her and using the power of One for All, he easily dodged her. The young man reappeared behind her and let go of his power, wanting to hit her neck to knock her out without causing any serious damage, but forgot that Toga was a skilled and dangerous fighter too. In a swift pirouette and without even seeing him, she turned around and let her knife sink from above, almost looking like a human guillotine. She managed to cut some streaks of Midoriya's hair. An explosion (probably Bakugou) then let them lose their balance and they both fell. To his luck, Toga accidentally let go of her knife.

"Are you really holding back because she's a girl?!", Gran Torino shouted over to him and Midoriya realized that everybody had just been standing around and watching him fight. Twice, the last present member of the League, had already been knocked unconscious.

Must have been Kachann.

And as for his teacher's question.. No, he had not held back because she was a girl, but because like Tomura, he wanted to save her. He wanted to save all of them from All for One. Tomura meant something to All Might. All of these people meant something to someone.

He stood up and turned back to her, still sitting on the floor and looking at him with adoration in her wide goleden eyes.

"Toga.. you don't have to this. You don't have to fight us!"

"But Izukuuu.. it's just so fun!", she was back on her feet so quick, slicing across Midoriya's face with another knife she had pulled out of nowhere.

"What the hell are you doing?!", Endeavor was pissed at him.

He activated his quirk again and grabbed both of Toga's wrists, squeezing them so she let her knife fall. She never lost that crazy wide smile though.

"Stop it!", Midoriya raising his voice did not have any effect; Toga continued to smile. "Why are you enjoying this?!"

Before she could say anything, Gran Torino kicked her in the neck and her eyes rolled into the back of her head while her body became lump. Midoriya laid her down while his teacher scolded him for acting so recklessly: "What were you thinking?! Nowhere in our mission is it stated that should try to convince the enemy to join our side!"

"I just-", Midoriya tried to defend himself and was interrupted again.

"Midoriya! I know what you want to say, but these people are not your everyday criminals. They didn't steal some cigarettes at your local Family Mart! They are dangerous! What if Nomus appeared? What if other members of the League or their allies appeared?"

"Well.. where are they?", this question rendered Gran Torino speechless. And that was Midoriya's issue with this whole situation: Why was this so easy? Where were the Nomus? Where was Kurogiri and All for One?

"Wherever they are, it doesn't change the fact that you were acting stupid.", Endeavor walked over to them and joined Gran Torino in scolding him.

I am a hero. It is my duty to at least try to save them..

"The special forces should arrive here any second now.", Kamui chose not to comment on Midoriya's behaviour, although there was no mistaking the judgement in his eyes.

"Fog-guy and Handy-man are still somewhere in this tower. So you idiots just stay here while I'm going to check the rest of the floors."

Gran Torino shot over to block the blonde student's way: "No, Bakugou. I am in contact with Tsukauchi! If they need help they will contact us, so stick to the plan!"

Then the doors to the loft were pushed open.

"You have truly surpassed yourself, doctor.", All for One gently caressed the surface of the desktop, "Thanks to your experiments, I probably won't even have to fight myself."

"What about the boy?"

"This is his last test. If he proves himself to me this time, it means he's ready."

Ready?

"Kurogiri!", Sensei turned to him.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"It's time to head back to the tower.", his master really wore his most cruel smile when he said that.

Shigaraki Tomura. I hope you are ready. Sensei won't give you another chance.

Answer to BloodSucker: Yeeess welcome to the angst! Thank you for your review : )

Answer to penameRinMay: And I stopped doing whatever I was doing when a new mail came in, and then I saw this wonderful review! Thank you so much for your patience, chapters should come more frequently now : ) And I'm glad you like my portrayal of him because honestly, I am still struggling with not making him too ooc. I hope to see you around with the next chapters well!

Answer to Galaxy diamond: More will come very soon : ) Sorry for making you wait so long!

Answer to HankFlamion18: You can't believe how fucking miserable I feel for making you wait this long! I hope you are still invested and promise to update more frequently now that I have more time. Lots of love and thank you again for always leaving these beautiful reviews!

Answer to D. : Hello my dear and thank you so much for leaving a review! : )) It's a fic with happy ending, so I guess you can tell where it will go, although there probably will be an alternate ending, sort of "what could have been" (user HankFlamion18's idea!). Thank you for reading!

Answer to Sam Tammy: Yeeess welcome to the angst! Thank you for your review : )