Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.
CHAPTER XIX – CHAOS SHALL PREVAIL
If this.. just wouldn't sting like a fucking..
The blood slicked through the fingers of his hands covering the wounds on his arms.
His vision was already spinning, Are these heroes? I can't see shit. Damn, if a few cuts can take me down like that,..
He suddenly couldn't move and looked down at himself, seeing that wooden ropes were seizing him.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit!
"Tomura?", a voice he knew asked and his head shot up to look at the student that was slowly approaching him. Midoriya Izuku? What is he doing here? Why is he approaching me? Hasn't he learned from the last time that I am dangerous? Why am I so confused?
"I could be your friend!"
– Why of all the times did he think of those words now?
He wanted to crack one of his creepy smiled at the kid, but Gran Torino placed himself in front of the student, advising Midoriya to stay where he was. Tomura sighed, knowing what was coming.
"Shigaraki Tomura, you're under arrest. I suggest you cooperate."
"I'm not going back to Tartarus.", it was a subtle way of saying that he wasn't going to cooperate.
"I'm afraid you don't have a say in this. You wi–", whatever the doddering old fool wanted to say to him was drowned by the increasing noise of the rotating wings of a helicopter which approached the building. Tomura's vision was still blurry, but he had no trouble recognizing the blonde figure that stood in the entrance of the flying machine, his blonde hair blowing in the strong wind – hardly believing what his eyes told him.
This can't be real.
"All Might!", Midoriya called and all the pro heroes just forgot about him and turned to look at the new arrival.
The skinny man jumped into the building, landing as elegantly as if that weak body had never been an obstacle. Shards of broken glass cracked as he walked over to them, never leaving Tomura out of his eyes.
All Might.. You came as well? That feral instinct inside of him told him that he to fight if he wanted to avoid going back to prison, but would be able to reject, if All Might asked him to?
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?!", the current number one, Endeavor, marched over to his predecessor who bluntly ignored him and instead headed over to Midoriya, placing his hand on the younger man's shoulder.
"Young Midoriya! Are you alright?", he asked. With the helicopter gone, Tomura could now hear him clearly – and he somehow sounded anxious.
"Eh.. Yeah? I don't understand, what are you doing here?", the freckled student asked, not noticing All Might's uneasiness. Not even the old man did.
Am I imagining things?
"I don't understand what she meant..", All Might murmured to himself, barely audible but Tomura's ears definitely heard it. With exception of his vision, his senses were still sharp. The blonde then let go of his apprentice, now walking over to Tomura who forced himself to look away the moment their eyes met. His heart throbbed painfully in his chest, making it almost impossible to breath.
Whenever I meet you, I feel like I have committed another horrible act I have to justify.
"Tomura.", why was it that just by saying his name, All Might always managed to give him a feeling of home?
He shivered at the memories that suddenly crossed his mind; how All Might had wiped the blood of his mouth and helped him drink while he had been chained to a bed, back at the villain hospital. Or how the man had embraced him the very first time, trying to calm him when he had been on the verge of having a panic attack again, or how he had combed his hair(!)–
I cannot allow myself to trust him again. Too much has happened. I don't want to go back to Tartarus! I'd rather die!
But he came., the voice in the back of his head opposed him with those thoughts he forbid himself, He came for you.
Tomura bit his lower lip as that voice touched upon his most sensitive spot: He wants to be your family.
"You can live with me of course. I own a house downtown. I thought about giving it away since it's way too big for me alone. But if you'd come to live with me, well.. we could use the space and you'd have your own room."
But..
What would he say?
Would he scold him like a child?
Would he push him aside again, asking him why he hadn't fled All for One?
Or worse, why he had gone with him (Kurogiri) in the first place?
That he had broken the trust of the authorities again?
He was ready for everything: He would tell him that he had never planned on spending his entire life in there and that All Might had been a fool to ever believe in him.
I need to keep him at a distance, or he will break me again.
Yes, he was ready – except for what All Might ended up actually doing. The man closed his arms around the seized young man, pulling him into an embrace and burying his face into Tomura's mop.
"I'm so glad you're alright!"
You forgive me? Just like that?
And Tomura sighed, realizing that the man he was before had already been broken by All Might. This was a battle he had already lost.
How do you do this, All Might? How is it that when you believe in me, all my insecurities wash away?
Even with all the heroes watching them, he wanted to cry. Whenever you forgive me for all of my stupidities, I feel like I'm becoming human again.
The reunion didn't last long. Police men with helmets, shields and weapons stormed the loft, seizing the unconscious Toga, Twice and Mr. Compress with quirk-blocking handcuffs.
Tomura looked up at the taller man: "All Might. If you stay here, he will–"
One of the men ripped Tomura out of All Might's arms and pushed him onto his knees before he could finish his sentence.
"Wait–", All Might tried to stop him but the man rose his hand to interrupt whatever the former number one wanted to say: "You have no right to interfere here, All Might! Please stay back!"
It was a serious warning. It seemed that when it came to a villain like Shigaraki Tomura, not even All Might had much power.
All Might came, even if he wasn't allowed to. I need to tell him! If he stays here any longer, he will kill him!
In the meantime, Tsukauchi, together with Ectoplasm and Vlad King, made their way into the loft.
"All Might!", he heard Tsukauchi call him, "What are you doing here?!"
All Might isn't realizing that he is in danger!
The police officer and detective stomped over to them, staring from All Might to the kneeling Tomura and back to All Might.
"You need to get out of here. Now.", Tsukauchi ordered. The leader of the mission seemed to be the only one who was still on guard; everyone else looked calm and relaxed, as if there was no greater threat than the League of Villains.
It was too late.
Suddenly, every single police man in the entire building let his gun or shield drop.
"Tsukauchi! What's going on? Tell them to take up their weapons!", the flames around Endeavor's body seemed to raise the temperature inside the room. It was hot, the air was suffocating and Tomura still felt like he couldn't breathe.
They're my enemies and yet.. why do I feel so dreadful?
"Sensei. Please don't do this...", he murmured and hid behind the curtain that was his long hair. Whatever he said, nobody would listen to it anyway. This was the end for all of them.
Multiple screams went through the rows of the special forces. More of the men screamed until it was so many of them, that Tomura wanted to rip his ears out. They pulled their helmets from their heads and fiddled around with their vests, trying to rip them off their bodies like it was burning them. The skins under their clothing turned into a fair green or dark grey or even pitch black; their eyes lost everything that was human while their teeth formed into those of a wild carnivorous animal – that was the moment their screams died in their throats.
"What is going on?!", Tsukauchi was suddenly shaking him, but not even Tomura knew what was happening, only that his master was behind it. He stared through the strains of hair into Tsukauchi's shocked face and shook his head.
"They..They're transforming!", Midoriya got back into a fighting stance, back to back with Bakugou who grit his teeth in either anger, desperation or both.
Tomura felt the branches that were seizing him loosen up as one of the men, if you could still call it a 'man', attacked Kamui Woods and bit into the hard skin with his new teeth.
Then dozens of police men, who had been standing outside, stormed into the big loft, squeezing through the entrance while saliva dropped out of their monstrously big mouths. It looked like something out of a horror movie, or like something out of one of those zombie games Tomura used to play on the rare occasion in what seemed like a lifetime ago.
"These guys are no longer humans! Defend yours–", Tsukauchi ordered but was interrupted when one of his former colleagues jumped onto him and forced him to the ground. That being grabbed the detective's head and smashed it repeatedly to the floor. Ectoplasm then kicked it away from him, but Tsukauchi was already unconscious, a pool of blood staining the floor.
"Tsukauchi!"
Midoriya and Bakugou jumped in front of All Might, fighting all of the attackers off successfully but Tomura could see that they were holding back, most likely sparing the men's lives in case they could still be saved somehow.
They are not human anymore! If they continue to fight like this, they will–, he interrupted himself from thinking further.
"We need backup!", Gran Torino screamed into his mic. He was probably the most skilled of them when it came to incapacitate the men without hurting them, and he took them out one after the other. Still, Tomura didn't see a bright future for them as long as the monsters were kept alive.
Is this really me? Is the only thing I can see white and black?
The minutes passed extremely slow and no additional heroes came, probably busy with fighting off other human-Nomu-police creatures on the lower floors. The apartment was huge but with this many people in it, it was becoming suffocating. Because of that, the heroes with wide-ranged quirks like Endeavor and Bakugou had to rely on their physical strength only.
All for One's apprentice had not moved an inch since his master's new forces had attacked. He was free, no one was watching him, but his body was frozen on the spot. The new creatures ignored him; their brains now drilled to only attack and kill heroes.
My mind is telling me to use this occasion to flee, but I can't stand up. He placed his hands on either side of his head, trying to block out the world.
I don't know where I want to go, I am so confused!
"Tomura!", All Might pushed himself through the chaos, his hand outstretched.
And the world around Tomura stopped.
Just like in my dream., he remembered, They're kinda alike..
And just like in his dream, Tomura had to make a decision.
What do I want in my life?
"You don't have to hide from me, Tomura."
"I thought it was because of Nana. But it's more: I wasn't there when you needed me."
"I will never give up on you!"
"I won't hurt you Tomura. And I won't allow him to hurt you either."
All these words and many others that had ingrained themselves in his skull. All Might had always managed to say the things that got to him the most.
I don't know who I am or what I want! My head feels like it's splitting but..
"It's alright now, I am here."
He let go of himself.
I know one thing.
He reached for that hand, completely forgetting the war that was going on around them.
I know that I want All Might to be a part of my life again!
Something crashed against his temple and everything became black.
Tomura's vision flickered. Sometimes he saw light, but mostly it was dark.
Whenever it was light however, he knew that he was still alive and that he was lying on the floor, unable to move. What he didn't know was everything else.
How much time was passing? Minutes? Hours? Mere seconds?
Light. He could see a wounded Midoriya, barely able to stand against a figure in a suit and a life-supporting black mask, the kid's outfit now more dark red than green.
Darkness.
Light. Then he saw Bakugou, still relatively unharmed but breathing heavily.
Darkness.
Light again. Other heroes showed up, one of them he recognized from back at Kamino. Edgeshot was his name, he thought. The others he didn't know.
Every time Tomura was able to hold his eyes open for a few seconds, he also saw that the ground was covered in bodies. There was so much blood.
Are they all dead? Where is All Might?
He couldn't assign the voices he heard. Someone called Dabi, another one Vlad King.
Where was All Might?
Tomura felt nauseous, but before his body would decide if he needed to vomit, everything went black again.
Warm.
"Tenko!"
A familiar presence.
Who is this?
"Tenko!"
"Shimura Nana?"
"Wake up!"
Tomura's eyes shot open.
The first thing he realized was that the headache from before had become a hundred times worse. Instinctively, his hand reached to support his forehead and was met with dried blood, sticking his hair to his face.
He slowly turned his head and the horror that presented itself sent a wave of fear through his whole body: The roof of the building they were in was half gone, the remaining cement above slowly crumbling. And nobody was standing any longer – nobody out of the surely over a hundred people except for five.
"Is that all you have to offer?", Dabi, one of the people still standing asked his opposite, Todoroki Shouto. None of the two was badly injured, but both of them were out of breath, even if Dabi tried to hide it by putting his hands in his pockets, standing there like he was bored. Behind Todoroki stood Midoriya, the skin of his right arm a deep purple. He also seemed to have an injury affecting his left eye, since it stayed closed. Right behind him, a still unharmed All Might was kneeling, holding an either unconscious or dead Bakugou. On the other side, Kurogiri stood next to All for One, both of them without a single scratch.
It looks like they've only just joined us. He let these guys do all the dirty work.
Tomura tried to get up but he was extremely dizzy and he tripped over someone.
"Shigaraki Tomura!", Kurogiri flew over to help him up, "Are you alright?"
Tomura looked at his servant's yellow eyes, focusing his vision until he felt that he could stand without the man's help.
Fuck me, how much blood have I lost?
"Tomura.", All Might and All for One spoke simultaneously, as if fate was playing a bad joke on him. Even Dabi had turned to look at him with a condescending gaze, now that he had realized which hero he 'was taking a liking in'.
With every step that All for One's protégé took, pain shot through his head and his back and he felt like everything was about to become black again. What in the hell had crashed into him back there? He didn't even realize that he had walked to stand next to his master and when he looked at All Might, he was met with sad eyes.
I can't stand this.
"What the fuck happened? You're not in your wheelchair?", he asked and looked up at his master (purposely avoiding the gaze that All Might gave him), who in response put his hands on Tomura's shoulder and turned him around to look at their surroundings.
"Heroes are persistent little creatures, Tomura. Too many of them survived, even with the doctor giving it his all."
"The doctor.. did this?" All of it made sense now and although Tomura could not see his masters face, he had a feeling that the symbol of evil was smiling underneath that respiratory mask.
"He transformed those useless, quirkless fossils into a useful weapon."
"Don't you mean 'into monsters', All for One?", All Might corrected him and in response, Dabi shot a blue wall of fire at them. But Endeavor's youngest son blocked it by raising a thick wall of ice.
"Kurogiri. Where is Spinner?", All for One asked while Dabi and Todoroki continued to battle with fire and ice, none of them getting the upper hand. Midoriya didn't move an inch; he was only acting as if he had still any power left and All Might was no threat to them. Every hero was down; their last defences were an injured and a tired student, both of them with limited power and experience.
"It seems that he fled before the heroes attacked us.", Kurogiri admitted, "What a shame."
"You're wasting your life for them, for heroes that only care for how the world perceives them! For a father that abused you!", Dabi shouted over to Todoroki in a moment of quietness, when both seemed too tired to attack again.
"Why the hell do you care about my family?!"
"Haven't you realized it yet?"
Todoroki's face turned pale. He let his arm sink.
"This can't be real.."
An opening for Dabi to fire.
"TODOROKI!", Midoriya screamed as his classmate was thrown into the next wall. Another one down. Whatever that U.A. kid had realized in that moment, must have been a huge for shock for him to drop his guard at such a crucial moment.
"I have to admit, this one was pretty good. He managed to protect himself from the impact by building an armour of ice around his body.", All for One said and crossed his arms before continuing, "Too bad these children with their strong quirks and bodies have a weak mind."
"Shut your mouth! Todoroki is not weak!"
"Midoriya Izuku? The ninth successor of One for All. You courage is quite admirable; I have always thought that since the day at Kamino. Too bad Tomura wasn't able to kill you – which is why he will do it now. Tomura, finish them off."
"What..?", the young former villain's mouth let out before he could even process what he had just been told. He looked over to All Might, who was still kneeling and staring at him with.. fear?
"We're not going to play that game again, Tomura. Didn't you promise to me to be good?", his master reminded him of the conversation they had a few hours ago.
This was the point of no return. The road he had been walking his life now split into two directions: If he took the first one, he would continue to be a villain, continue to be a murderer and All for One's successor as well as the leader of the League. If he took the second road, he would get himself killed for not obeying.
I'm already fucked in the head. If I managed to do what he asks me to, it would take away the last of my sanity.
I don't want to die! I want to see the things that All Might told me were worth living. And I don't want kill another person!
He felt himself gathering all of his remaining strength. Adrenaline shot through his veins as he reminded himself of what he wanted. His path as a villain puppet was over, but he didn't plan on dying yet.
I want to explore a new way of life.
Will you help me, All Might?
"I lied, old man. I won't do it."
It feels like.. I made this decision a long time ago.
All the weight on his chest was gone. At first, he felt as light as a feather, like a new born child without the weight of the world on him, but it was a freedom that didn't last too long. All for One wasn't happy with his decision and he wasted no time showing it.
"I will make you regret it."
He raised his hand, looking like he was about to shoot something at All Might and the students.
Before he could activate his quirk, Midoriya attacked. Blue lightning glistened around his body as he activated his Full Cowl and he kicked into All for One raised arm, stopping him from shooting his air cannon.
"MIDORIYA! NO!"
Jagged, black and red spikes shot out of All for One's hand, pinning the dark-haired hero to the ground. Upon seeing that, All Might let go of Bakugou and ran. It didn't matter to him that he couldn't do anything with that weak body – he let himself act on pure hero instinct!
But Tomura's teacher had no trouble pinning down All Might as well and when both the teacher and apprentice laid there in front of him, screaming in pain while All for One slowly tortured them to death, Tomura felt all the weight that had lifted from his chest and shoulders just a minute ago, crushing back down on him.
No. This can't be real. This can't be the end of this!
No! No! No! All Might you can't die!
I.. I need you!
With his own hands, he reached for his master, completely ignoring that he didn't want to kill another person, but couldn't reach him as Kurogiri, with a quirk that was Tomura's natural opposite, protected the man.
I have my quirk back but it's useless to me! What do I do?! He took as step back and fell over something.
"Nana used to say that heroes do not only save other people's lives, but their spirits too. And that the people in this world who can smile are always the strongest. I want to see you smile too, Tomura. Not that villainous grin you gave me last time, a sincere innocent smile a young man like you should have. And no matter how much you're fighting it, no matter how much you hate me, I will save you from the darkness."
You saved me, but I can't save you in return! Why am I not good enough for anything?!
Tears gathered in his eyes: "Stop.."
"Stop!", louder this time, but All for One still ignored him, so he got back on his feet.
"Stop it!", Tomura screamed this time and although he had planned to put all his hate and anger into it, it was only desperation that was left and he ended up pleading, "Stop it, sensei! Please! I will do whatever you want me to, just–"
To the young former villain's surprise, All for One did stop the torturing and turned to face Tomura, slapping him to the ground. Had the man really slapped him that hard? Or did Tomura just have no energy left to hold himself up? He didn't know, but he was about to receive his true punishment, of that he was sure.
"Everything I want? Last time I asked you to kill that boy, you hesitated and then turned against me. Now, I just ordered you to kill All Might and you still refuse. I could just force you to do it, force you to live with that guilt until I can free you of those fabricated morals that they forced you to learn, until you are finally ready to inherit my legacy.", the way he said it Tomura was sure that one way or the other, his master would make him subdue again.
Tomura was wrong. All for One was done with him.
"But I have seen now that you are weak, too weak. The time in Tartarus has taught you nothing useful. I overestimated you and I think I'd rather take my legacy with me than give anything else to you, Shimura Tenko."
He didn't have time to think about what his teacher meant when he said that, or when he called him that name, because the torture All Might and his apprentice had to endure, was now directed at him.
PLEASE NOT AGAIN!
"There are two things I truly regret when doing this, Shimura.", All for One paused the torturing so Tomura could hear him, "The first thing is that I wasted more than fifteen years on you."
In the meantime, Tomura had gotten himself back on his feet again and stormed at the man with high speed, surprising even himself at how the adrenaline inside his body was enhancing his powers, but he was still too slow for the symbol of evil. The punch that he received to his stomach damaged his inside and forced him to vomit. Tomura hugged his body and fell on his knees, throwing up nothing but blood.
"The second thing I regret, even more than the first, is that witch Shimura Nana not being here while I kill her grandson."
His master kicked him and he fell onto his back, his lungs grasping for air but coughing up more blood whenever he tried to inhale.
I CAN'T BREAHTE!
"You will regret every opposing me."
Then the spikes drilled into his body again.
Tomura screaming in agony was tearing All Might's heart apart.
I made a promise to Nana; that I would never give up on you!
"Let him go!", he demanded from his archenemy. No matter how much he pulled at the last reserves of his strength, he had such trouble only getting on his knees.
"Oh, All Might, aren't you funny? His life is mine.", All for One was so sure of himself, he didn't even look at All Might.
Tomura dug his nails into his neck and scratched and tore at the skin. It was not possible to see if he caused additional wounds, his skin was already so dirty with blood. The screaming was occasionally interrupted by a pleading.
"Please! It hurts! Please!", he pleaded to the man, who he had been his teacher. He pleaded to a man, who had educated and trained him.
Tomura pleaded to a man, who had raised him, to spare his life.
How must it feel for a youth like him to be tortured by the one man he used to trust the most? The man he used to follow everywhere?
Only now did he realize how big the decision was that the kid had made, opposing the only family he had ever known almost all his life, to start a new.
I will not let you down!
All for One pulled back his spikes and the young man, that was supposed to be the symbol of evil's successor, turned to his side with a shaking body. He looked like a scared cat, so tiny and vulnerable.
"Tomura..", All Might whispered, not able to hold back his tears.
No. Please, God, no..!
The former pro hero didn't see it, but even Dabi and Kurogiri looked uneasy watching Shigaraki Tomura losing this fight. Saliva, mixed with blood, dripped from his open mouth to the ground as he slowly hugged his chest and his entire form positioned itself into one of a baby in the safety of his mother's womb.
"You are weak. I should have known the genes of that wretched woman would make you soft like her. Pathetic.", All for One's had no mercy with his own student, but someone kept him from ending the kid's life just now. One of his most devoted servants positioned himself in front of Tomura, protecting him from any more harm. The spikes didn't harm him when his warp quirk was activated and All for One stopped his torture.
"Kurogiri. What is the meaning of this?", All for One was surprisingly calm for being interrupted by yet another one of his followers from fulfilling his goal of killing everyone connected to the Shimura family.
"Please Sensei, reconsider! Shigaraki Tomura is still young, he is just confused!", the black mist tried to argue and somewhere deep in his heart, All Might thanked him for dragging this out a little longer. In the meantime, Dabi didn't look very comfortable with what was happening and retreated a few steps back.
All Might looked back at Nana's dying grandchild and stumbled over to the kid, kneeling before him. He leaned over to push aside the strains of hair that stuck right in front of Tomura's eyes.
"Cold..", Nana's grandson whispered with a shaking voice. Beneath the blood he was pale and so incredibly icy.
"Tomura.. hold on."
He needs first aid as soon as possible, or he won't make it!
"I am not going to waste my time with these maggots any longer, Kurogiri. Now, get out of my way.", the man ordered and raised his hand to continue.
This is the end!, All Might pressed his eyes together, awaiting the final blow, I'm sorry I couldn't save you guys!
But something stopped it: "Detroit SMASH!"
All Might looked at whoever had saved them for another minute, not believing his eyes when Midoriya's punch evaporated One for All's attack.
"Young Midoriya!", he called but his protégé was completely exhausted and fell unconscious right in front of them.
He has used up everything he got to shield us from this blow!
"Impressive, ninth wielder. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong side.", All for One arm transformed into a drill and he rose into the air, approaching them slowly.
All Might reached for Midoriya's hand.
He didn't bother to hold his tears back any longer: "Oh Midoriya, I am so sorry!"
At the same time, Tomura formed his last words: "All Might..I–..I.. would have liked to.. see your house."
All Might took his hand too and smiled.
"Tomura..!"
The once most feared villain of Japan smiled. A genuine, innocent, boyish smile.
"I feel.. human. Thank you.. for comin'.. back to me."
Everything was getting bright. Was this the famous light at the end of the tunnel? But All for One had not killed them yet, had he?
What is happening to us?
"Don't fret, All Might. We're here."
Answer to Villain-san: Thank you dear~!
Answer to pename RinMay: Aw come on now :'D so sweet!
Answer to HankFlamion18: Once again, I am so glad you like it. Although I wonder what you think about where it's heading when I seem to take a turn into the opposite direction every single time :D
The move was HORRIBLE. I work in a tyre manufacturing company and we had to move about 7'000 tyres. A few of them were those monsters meant for these huge harvester machines.
12 nephews and nieces?! That's great, I can only imagine those wonderful family reunions!
And regarding the money loss: yep, all these mobile phone companies are evil to the core, but it was admittedly my fault for not checking the invoices better. AAAAH I don't want to think about it, I'm already pissed off again!
I really hope you'll like where the story will go and how it will end. It won't be too long now. Until next time and take care of yourself! All the best^_^
Answer to Galaxy diamond: Noooo the ending is at chapter 25! :D I can't wait to finish it! Thank you for being such a faithful reader!