Chapter One:
Harsh, angry sunlight fell across Yoichi's face. He groaned and rolled over. Blackout curtains shrouded the hospital room into total darkness, which only made the tiny crack of light sneaking between them more brilliant. At night, this room was kept quiet by a silencing quirk cast over the medical equipment and monitoring devices. Hisashi remembered that Yoichi had trouble sleeping in less than perfect conditions. Hisashi would give his little brother anything except freedom.
Although Yoichi felt well-rested, he did not bother to get up. No alarm would rouse him from bed. He had nothing to wake up for, neither work nor a fun outing. The soft, cool Egyptian cotton sheets lured him back into a semi-slumber. He lay on his side until boredom finally made him sit up.
The door opened seconds later and the lights flickered on. Someone had been watching him over the cameras, waiting for him to wake up. Someone was always watching him.
A woman with greying purple hair tied back in a ponytail entered the room, pushing a tray with a silver dish on top. "Good morning, sir," she chirped.
"Good morning, Akari." Yoichi smiled. He'd practiced his smiles for years until they looked natural.
Akari's wrinkled hands flashed yellow as she pulled the lid off the dish. She had a very weak power that let her hands exude heat—not enough to harm anyone but she could keep food warm. That was the reason for her employment. Hisashi had her wait in the hallway for hours every single day so that Yoichi could have a warm breakfast the instant he sat up. It couldn't be easy on her bad knee. Yoichi hoped she at least brought a book or a phone game for entertainment. Akari was an ordinary person with no combat training and a quirk that couldn't even cook a fly. She wouldn't be able to stop Yoichi if he tried to leave—the dozens of trained operatives filling this building would stop him instead. This place was a hospital with exactly one patient. Hundreds of staff had only one purpose: to keep Yoichi Shigaraki, the only family member of the number one hero All for One, alive and contained.
The breakfast plate had an omelet with sides of potato wedges and a fruit cup. Yoichi could eat anything he desired, but he'd lived so long that every option bored him so he usually let the cook pick. There was both a glass of water and a carton of milk. The silverware was plastic. Yoichi had been flawlessly faking compliance with his captors for nearly ten years but he'd never get anything except plastic silverware.
It had taken a year for Yoichi to get the straitjacket off. Two years before he was allowed on walks around the hospital garden. After five years they'd mostly stopped drugging him. Yet he'd still kept up his act without trying to escape or even minor resistance for another five years. Last time, he'd tried to escape too soon. Decades of confinement had taught Yoichi patience. Hisashi would never relax his vigilance even a fraction, the paranoid bastard, but the guards were only human and would inevitably become less alert after so long watching over a frail, boring mental patient.
Yoichi's omelet had been pre-cut for him. He ate in small bites as Akari watched. Gesturing at the rocking chair next to his bed, he said, "Please, sit down. I feel awkward eating while you have nothing to do."
"It's no trouble at all, sir." Akari sat down. "I'm well-paid to do nothing. I have ample savings, I'll probably retire soon. I've only stayed this long because All for One needs me." Her tone took on a reverent note.
"We both appreciate everything you do." With great effort, Yoichi kept himself from sounding sarcastic. He'd felt out Akari as a potential ally in the distant past and been bitterly disappointed. She was a good-hearted person, but slavishly devoted to All for One. According to her, All for One had saved her entire family from dying in a fire. Yoichi wondered if his brother had caused the fire. All for One loved to rescue people from disasters of his own making. During the dawn of the age of quirks, he would give someone an inconveniently obvious quirk, then make them pay to have it removed. Hisashi only helped people when he had something to gain from it. No matter what the government-controlled media might say, Yoichi knew that his older brother was no hero.
"I'll be leaving on my vacation early tomorrow morning. It was very kind of your brother to let me take his helicopter," Akari said. "I'm going to see my daughter in Musutafu. You'll have to put up with cold food for a few days without me."
Yoichi's heart rate sped up but he told himself not to get too excited. The timing might not work out. "That sounds delightful. I hope you have a good time. You know I'll be fine. I have been for some time now."
Akari flicked a tear from her eye. "It's wonderful to see how much you've recovered." She truly believed the cover story that Yoichi was suffering from a mental illness causing paranoia and delusions, confined to this hospital for treatment and to protect him from his brother's enemies.
Hisashi couldn't let anyone take his weak, pathetic little brother hostage. Or so Hisashi had said when he'd carried Yoichi into this hospital so long ago. Yoichi's eye twitched. To cover it up, he coughed.
Akari sprang over with a handkerchief and cough drops. Solicitously, she patted Yoichi on the back. "There, there. How are you feeling? Do you need your inhaler? Do you need to lie down?"
Her tone grated on his nerves. She sounded like an adult addressing a small child. Yoichi was older than her, even though he didn't look it thanks to the immortality quirk forced on him. Looking away to hide the anger in his eyes, he said, "I'm fine now. Thank you."
Beaming, she said, "Your physical health has gotten much stronger too. It must be true what they say—a healthy mind leads to a healthy body."
I'm coughing less because you've stopped bringing me poison in my drink every morning, Yoichi thought bitterly. It would do no good to say it. He'd tried to tell her many times, but that only got him put on a medication for paranoia. Yoichi assumed the pills were either sugar pills or something to make his body weaker. Both he and his brother knew it wasn't paranoia if you were actually locked up in a prison by an insanely possessive relative.
"I'm glad you're not too unwell this morning, because I have good news." Akari sat back down. "All for One has returned from his overseas business trip. He's taken the afternoon off to spend with you. Doesn't that sound lovely?"
Yoichi smiled for real. It wasn't a very nice smile, but Akari didn't seem to notice. He said, "Absolutely lovely."
If big brother was coming here today, then it was finally time for Yoichi's escape.
The great All for One was scheduled to arrive at lunchtime. It had the staff in a tizzy to clean and make sure Yoichi's hair looked extra fluffy. They dressed him in a light blue suit. Two orderlies (guards) in white uniforms escorted Yoichi to the porch. The floor was made of salmon-colored ceramic tiles and the wooden roof had a slant. Glass surrounded the porch on three sides. The staff had already set up a meal on the marble table: a huge silver tray with a dozen different kinds of sushi in a decorative swirl. There were also side dishes of pork dumplings, duck buns, edamame, tempura, and a fruit salad. Between his great height and his quirks that consumed calories, Hisashi had a giant appetite. Yoichi sat down in a blue wicker chair with a plump purple cushion. There were empty screw holes on the arms from the old days when Yoichi had been chained down to chairs.
In the beginning of summer, an air conditioner overhead kept the porch cool. The large space also had room for a couch and two arm chairs. Potted plants hung overhead. The massive glass panels gave a panoramic view of the giant, beautiful garden. A brick path winded among the hydrangea, sunflowers, azaleas, iris, and lavender. A lake could be seen in the distance, the cherry blossoms circling around the water having just gone out of bloom. Morning glories grew over an archway leading to a gazebo and greenhouse where Yoichi took regular walks. This beauty was his reward when he cooperated. From past experience he knew how much worse his prison could get.
The garden continued as far as the eye could see. Yoichi knew that he was being kept somewhere isolated. The guards wouldn't tell him where but he'd figured out from a few overheard conversations that Japan could only be reached by a plane or boat ride. His older brother had obtained a teleportation quirk fifty years ago and immediately moved Yoichi to an artificial island off the coast of Japan. The hospital staff said that he needed to be protected from villains who might use him against his brother. Often Yoichi wondered if they actually believed it or if they didn't want to see the truth. Surely the public didn't know about what their number one hero had done to his younger brother.
The doctors must know there was nothing wrong with Yoichi's mind. They'd examined him for years and often put him on various medications when he was exceptionally uncooperative. Yet not once had a single medical professional expressed any doubts that Yoichi was delusional. Their certainty had been so total that Yoichi had gone through dark days wondering if they were right and he was mad.
While Yoichi waited for his brother, a television played in the corner. The staff regularly forced Yoichi to listen to broadcasts about his brother's heroism, under the belief that this would cure him of believing his brother to be a villain.
A perky young news announcer gestured at the screen behind her. "Today, we'll be celebrating the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of All for One, the Symbol of Heroism. All for One first brought peace to this world during the dawn of the age of quirks, when he fought against villains who took advantage of their new powers to oppress the weak."
Yoichi twitched. The news broadcasts had always had the opposite effect—they assured him that he was sane. There was no way that amount of over-the-top gushing flattery for his stupid egotistical brother could be natural. Nonstop propaganda about All for One's greatness proved that Hisashi controlled the news. Today's broadcast would be particularly unpleasant because Yoichi hated reminders of how much time had passed in his prison.
As the fake history lesson continued, Yoichi gnawed on his lip until it bled. He remembered the dawn of the age of quirks. He remembered the faces of ancient "villains" being flashed across the screen. Many of them had been good people who'd stood up against a government determined to suppress those with quirks. In the modern era, no one talked about the police brutality and mob violence. It had been erased from history. Everyone pretended there had been a peaceful transition to a quirked majority.
In the old days, the Japanese government had been on the verge of collapse. The vigilantes on one side and All for One on the other had driven the leadership into a corner. The prime minister could have struck a deal with the vigilantes. There had been a plan to create a team of professional heroes. However instead the prime minister had decided to extend an offer to All for One. At the time officials had claimed that it was better to deal with one "freak" instead of an entire team of them. Yoichi was convinced they'd just thought they couldn't win against All for One.
The deal had been simple: All for One would be allowed to take quirks from anyone he pleased, for any reason. He would receive free access to the government budget, making him richer than any other individual in Japan. He would be considered above the law, given special dispensation to carry out any crime. In exchange, All for One would keep the government in power, refrain from touching a select number of important people, and commit no violent crimes so large scale they couldn't be covered up. All for One had added one extra condition: that he would be given full discretion as how to look after his mentally incompetent younger brother.
Back then, Yoichi had been running around telling everyone who would listen that his big brother was bad news. He'd fully expected that All for One would come after him. The brothers had gone through a couple rounds of imprisonment and escape. Each time Hisashi had gotten increasingly harsh, even threatening to stick Yoichi in a bank vault next. Yoichi had been taken completely by surprise when the police had arrested him instead of All for One's people. He'd been a gift from the authorities to his brother. His medical records had been fabricated. He'd been institutionalized in a hospital for people unable to control their quirks. Yoichi didn't even have a quirk!
Yoichi had been moved through many hospitals over the years. The first one had been too easy to escape. As his brother's power grew, his surroundings became more luxurious and security tighter.
When people with quirks became a majority, Yoichi had hoped to see his brother fall from power as a traitor working for the old guard. But All for One had been cleverer than that. He'd developed a reputation for protecting "good citizens" with quirks as long as they "obeyed the rules." The rules included handing over the most powerful quirks to himself, supposedly the only person strong enough to handle them. To Yoichi's despair, few people questioned this. They even thanked All for One for taking their dangerous quirks. For restoring peace to a nation on the brink of destruction, All for One had long been the darling of Japan. Hisashi had detected the changing tide and focused more on opposing anti-quirk sentiment as people with quirks became the majority. Then Hisashi had exposed the corruption and prejudice of Japan's government, just in time to take over the government himself. In addition to being the Number One Hero, Hisashi held the title of Protector of Japan. This position let him have a veto over every new law. He essentially puppeteered the supposedly democratic government. Yoichi bitterly thought that his brother deserved the title of number one weasel. Hisashi had figured out exactly the right timing to turn his coat. In the end Hisashi had destroyed the old government (as Yoichi could have told them he would) and come out on top.
On the television, the announcer's head shot up, looking at a message off-screen. Her face paled. "We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news. The terrorist Metahuman Liberation Army has taken the headquarters of Detnerat Company hostage—"
Hisashi Shigaraki stepped onto the porch and switched off the television. "Enough about work. I'm here to spend time with my cute little brother." His teeth flashed in a sharklike grin. He wore a jet black suit with the top button of his white shirt undone. Black Oxford dress shoes clacked against the tiles.
Ugh, what bad timing. Yoichi had wanted to hear the rest of that particular bit of news. He crossed his arms. "Don't you need to handle that?" His tone was cool. Yoichi had tried being obedient and even (ugh) flattering toward his brother in the past. It never earned him enough freedom to escape. Instead, Hisashi would poke and prod at Yoichi until he lashed out. It was partly because Hisashi always knew the flattery was fake. But Yoichi had also come to realize that his older brother preferred a little resistance. It made the game fun. Yoichi nearly trembled with rage to think that over a century of his suffering had been fun for his big brother.
Hisashi took a seat across from Yoichi. "There are no hostages. Rikiya Yotsubashi, the CEO of Detnerat Company, is actually the leader of the Metahuman Liberation Army. The fool thinks that I don't know. He plans to lure me into a trap, then have the fake hostages attack me. I'll let him stew in his own juices for a bit while he slowly realizes his plan failed. Would you believe the moron is going by the name Re-Destro? For that idiocy alone, he's not worth the effort of me personally arresting him."
Glaring, Yoichi growled, "I wonder if all the hostages you fail to rescue turn out to be secret villains. Is that how you maintain your perfect record?"
Hisashi laughed. "So cynical! You think everything I say is a lie, until you wouldn't believe me if I said the sky was blue and one plus one equals two."
Gesturing at the window, Yoichi said, "It's rather cloudy today, the sky looks more white to me." Despite his sarcasm, he did know that Rikiya Yotsubashi was secretly Re-Destro. Hisashi often talked about work over their meals, and Yoichi had long ago puzzled out the identity of the head of the Metahuman Liberation Army. Interestingly, it appeared he and his brother had reached the same conclusion independently. Hopefully Hisashi was telling the truth about not taking the MLA too seriously, because Yoichi's plan counted on it.
"Don't be so grumpy," Hisashi crooned, reaching over to brush back a lock of his little brother's hair. "How about we play games after lunch, would that cheer you up? It's my rare day off. It would be such a shame if you had a reoccurrence of your…delusions." A tiny smile lifted up the corners of his lips. This was the other reason Yoichi had been able to hold onto the truth with every single person around him gaslighting him: because his big brother could never quite resist gloating.
Huffing, Yoichi asked, "Why pretend, big brother? Your deluded medical staff aren't listening in." All the cameras on the porch had been turned off. During his visits, Hisashi liked to be able to talk about confidential business with his little brother (including the truth about his brother's illegitimate incarceration). Hisashi was confident he could handle any escape attempt on his own without help. Unfortunately, past experience had backed up that boast.
Easily, Hisashi said, "Even if the doctors knew, they wouldn't care. Everyone in this building owes me. I would only let my most loyal people look after my dear, fragile little brother. The staff here would die to protect you because they know how much you mean to me. The doctors have been delighted at your great progress. If you continue to be so obedient, then perhaps I could take you on small excursions around the city. Accompanied by me, of course."
Yoichi summoned all his acting ability. He let his eyes widen and his breath come out rapider. It was very hard to fool his older brother, who knew him so well, but there was a bit of truth in the pain in his gaze. "I would like that," he said hoarsely. A please hung on his lips, half-spoken.
From Hisashi's widening smile, his enhanced hearing had picked up on the plea. Condescendingly, he said, "It depends on how well you behave today."
For decades, Hisashi had been bribing Yoichi with short trips outside the hospital. At first Yoichi had played along hoping it would be a chance to escape, but the security was always too tight and Hisashi never let his little brother out of his sight. The fake freedom almost felt more painful than his imprisonment. Those brief moments when he could see new people but not talk to them, the museums and movie theatres emptied of everyone else who his brother claimed might be a threat, only taunted him with what he could not have just out of reach. Yoichi refused to be satisfied with being walked occasionally like a dog. He wanted freedom.
At least the bribes had given Yoichi an excuse to cooperate. Hisashi would never have believed it otherwise. Yoichi had pretended to be broken and then gone for his brother's throat a few too many times.
For the last ten years, Yoichi had not once tried to bite, stab, or set his brother on fire. He hadn't even ruined a single bespoke suit. He'd play-fought with words that never truly went for his big brother's weak spots. He'd let his brother feed him and fuss over him. At times, he'd even gentled, reminisced about the old days, and given his brother the love and praise he craved. He hadn't tried to escape. Ten years had been spent getting Hisashi to lower his guard just a tiny bit. Yoichi had never believed in a higher power, but he prayed desperately that all his suffering had been enough.
Hanging his head, Yoichi whispered, "I'll be good." He looked up from under his eyelashes. "Let's eat before the food gets cold, nii-nii." Yoichi rationed out the rare times when he used "nii-nii," knowing how much Hisashi loved his childhood nickname. It was a babytalk way of saying big brother in Japanese. Hisashi especially loved it when Yoichi acted younger than his age.
A slight widening of Hisashi's eyes betrayed his pleasure. "I could never let you eat cold food, little brother." His hand moved over the table, using a fire quirk. He picked up a piece of tempura with his chopsticks and popped it into Yoichi's mouth.
Yoichi did not push the food away or bite his brother's fingers. He ate, letting himself flush a little as he muttered, "I can feed myself." A small bit of resistance but not too much, just how his older brother liked it.
Hisashi cooed, "But this way reminds me of old times."
It was a jab about times when Yoichi's arms had been constantly tied down. Yoichi's cheeks heated for real. He felt lightheaded. The desire to lunge across the table and strangle his older brother nearly overpowered him.
"Aw, no need to be grumpy." Hisashi pinched Yoichi's cheek. "Turn that frown upside-down. I'll let you eat by yourself, how about that?"
"Thank you, big brother," Yoichi parroted.
Hisashi smiled. Of course he was happy, he'd had everything his way for the last decade. But that wouldn't last one day longer.
After lunch, Hisashi materialized a black doctor's bag using a quirk. "Let's see what activities you're well enough for today." He pulled out a blood pressure cuff.
"What's the point of this? I'm not ill. It's not even possible for me to fall ill after that regeneration quirk you forced on me." Yoichi held out his arm as he spoke. He'd learned better than to fight back. He couldn't afford to get in trouble today.
"That's for me to find out. You've always pretended not to be sick," Hisashi said as he wrapped the cloth cuff around Yoichi's arm.
Hisashi liked to play doctor. He liked it so much that he used to poison his little brother. If Yoichi didn't play along with his older brother's caretaker complex then it would happen again. He'd won himself good health for the last five years by letting his brother pretend he was sick instead.
When Hisashi reached for his stethoscope, Yoichi kicked over the doctor's bag. "Oops, my foot slipped," he said defiantly. From practice, he knew he could get away with such a minor misdeed, especially if he played up being a bratty baby brother. Hisashi enjoyed small fights. Yoichi had mastered the art of just enough resistance to keep his older brother entertained but not enough to get him strapped down to a wheelchair again.
"Just for that, we're testing all your reflexes," Hisashi said cheerfully, picking up scattered items off the floor.
When his brother's back turned, Yoichi tugged over a vial with his foot. His heart raced a mile a minute. Carefully, he bent over and picked up the vial, then dropped it into his pocket. His hands shook as he smoothed down the suit jacket to cover the bulge. What expression was on his face? He didn't know. He felt afraid. He would ruin everything because he couldn't control his facial muscles.
By the time Hisashi turned around, Yoichi had done his best to arrange his expression into a neutral pout. It must not have been entirely convincing. Hisashi chuckled and said, "There's no need to look so nervous. I'll still play with you instead of sending you back to your room." He pressed a kiss against his little brother's forehead. "I indulge you too much."
Yoichi looked down, letting his hair fall over his face to disguise his expression.
A hospital with only one patient had plenty of extra space. The walls had been knocked down between several bedrooms, converting the area into a massive video game arcade. Here, Hisashi indulged all his nostalgia about the century-old world of his childhood. The walls had been painted dark grey and plastered with the same celebrity posters as the arcade near their high school. Lights and bleeps came from the machines. Yoichi let himself be dragged from game to game. They played a motorcycle racing game, then a zombie shooter game, then a dancing game. As he'd often done over the decades, Yoichi slipped into autopilot mode. The world became a distant place to him, the loud sounds fading away and his body moving from habits engrained from centuries being stuck doing the same thing. It made his performance slightly worse but his older brother didn't seem to notice. Throwing back his head, Hisashi laughed as he stepped wrong on one of the glowing arrows of the dance game. He was having fun. For Hisashi, this was a break from work—for Yoichi, it was his entire life.
A sudden surge of anger made Yoichi misstep. He was afraid he'd fall on his stolen vial, so he overcompensated too hard in the opposite direction. He stumbled off the stage, dropping to one knee but not quite falling. His hand went to his pocket by reflex, then hastily fell away. Eyes frantic, he locked gazes with his brother.
"Trust you not to even be able to handle a dancing game," Hisashi said, eternally patronizing. His eyes ran over Yoichi's body, checking for injuries. Suddenly the slight bulge of the vial in his pocket felt impossibly large.
"I think I hurt my ankle," Yoichi said, desperate to cause a distraction.
Kneeling down, Hisashi clucked his tongue. "Can you move your ankle? Does it feel like a sprain?"
Options rapidly flickered across Yoichi's mind. Faking an injury would look too suspicious if he got caught. "No, no, I'm fine now." He stood up and straightened his suit jacket. He carefully did not touch the vial in his pocket. His heart hammered a dizzying pulse and his face felt sweaty. Hopefully it would be mistaken for overexertion from the game.
"You got your pants dirty," Hisashi said. "I'll have an orderly fetch a new pair."
Yoichi's mind went white. If his brother insisted on helping him dress—as usual when in caregiver mode—then everything would be over. The vial would be discovered.
Making his eyes wide and pleading, Yoichi whined, "Big brother, please, there's no need." He dusted off the pants with his hands. "I'll probably fall down again, then you'll insist I change again. Why are we wearing suits to play arcade games? I want sweatpants."
Hisashi began a familiar lecture: "Tailored silk suits are every bit as comfortable, you're merely too stubborn to admit it. Furthermore, a well-dressed body promotes an organized mind. Your frail brain needs all the help it can get." He flicked Yoichi on the forehead.
Yoichi threw up his hands. "You just know that I can win against you at dancing if I'm not constrained by this stiff formal wear."
"Oh, big talk from the brat who nearly fell on his ass." Hisashi waggled his eyebrows. "If that's how you want it, round two." He tapped on the arrows with his feet to select a new song. "Best two out of three."
With great effort, Yoichi kept his sigh of relief strictly internal. He'd successfully prevented the clothing change by picking an argument on a different topic and challenging his brother. Over the years, he'd learned new tricks and embellished on old ones. Yoichi could write a textbook on manipulating Hisashi Shigaraki. It had been his dissertation topic in the university from hell he could never graduate.
"I want a handicap," Yoichi said. "My ankle still hurts."
"Anything you want, my weak baby brother," Hisashi said with the easy confidence of a man who planned to use quirks to cheat if it looked like he might lose.
Yoichi tilted his head. As if thinking up the idea for the first time, he said, "Wear that stupid helmet of yours. It will make your head heavy and mess with your vision."
Hisashi snorted. "You're sealing your own loss, little brother. My visor lets me see long distances clearly."
Yoichi knew that. It was just an excuse to get the helmet out. "Your stupid helmet makes you look like a villain. You just couldn't resist, could you, big brother? I don't know how you fooled anyone into calling you a hero wearing that."
Summoning a dark vortex between his fingers, Hisashi pulled out the black helmet from his hero costume and put it on. The steel plates rose up into two points that Yoichi liked to tease his brother about looking like cat ears. The full hero costume included a magnificent black cape and, of course, a suit. It looked like such a villain costume.
"What do you want if you win?" Hisashi asked, his voice deepening as he put on the helmet. "I could buy you a new cat."
For decades in this place, cats had been Yoichi's companions and hostages. If he didn't eat, the cat didn't eat. His pets had been his sole joy in this place and his greatest torment. After the death of Yoichi's last pet, he'd pled being too sad to get a new one. Actually, he knew it would be much harder to escape if he had a living creature to look after. Since Yoichi hadn't tried a hunger strike in decades, Hisashi hadn't insisted.
"Yeah, that sounds nice. I think it's been long enough," Yoichi said. Long enough that he wouldn't stay here a day longer. "What do you want if you win?"
Hisashi placed a hand on his brow (or rather, his helmet). "Nothing except a hug and perhaps an 'I love you.' That's all I've ever asked of you." All someone as pathetic as you can do, his tone implied.
Yoichi bit his tongue before he could reply with something sarcastic like, Yeah that and being locked up for all of eternity. "Such a steep penalty? I guess I'd better win." He kept his tone joking but a bitter edge crept in. Luckily Hisashi did not notice. He was good at not seeing what he didn't want to.
The music began. Yoichi put a decent effort into the dance off to keep his brother distracted. He didn't want to win, though. Hisashi got in a better mood when he was winning.
Afterward, Yoichi put a hand on the vial to stop it from bumping into his brother, then gave a very quick hug. Luckily he'd always been squirrely about physical contact, so it didn't look suspicious. Ever since the teenage years when his brother had gotten to be too much, Yoichi had tried explaining he wouldn't mind hugs if they weren't required of him or forced on him. Hisashi had never heard anything except ingratitude.
After they'd exhausted themselves, Hisashi decided to watch a movie. (It was always his decision.) Today must be nostalgia day, because he selected one of the early Captain Hero films. The 3D theatre had screens on all the walls and up along the ceiling, but only seating for two people. Yoichi curled up next to his brother on the couch. Hisashi entertained himself by braiding Yoichi's hair, another thing he'd done when they'd been kids. Yoichi barely paid attention to his former favorite film. The vial in his pocket was burning a hole into his thigh.
The hospital had half a dozen private dining rooms. For dinner, Hisashi selected the yellow room with brilliant cheerful wallpaper and a round ebony table. A long window let in the setting sun. A model spaceship sat on the chestnut side table below the window. Yoichi had painted the watercolor and oil paintings hanging on the walls. He'd spent a few decades as an artist when his brother had been convinced art therapy would be good for him. Apparently he'd even had exhibits under a fake name in galleries he could never visit. He'd never know if it had been his own merits or his brother's influence. Yoichi could not bear to look at the picture on the wall of a Venus fly trap consuming an insect because it reminded him of the mental state he'd been in at the time. He'd gotten bored with painting. Everything bored Yoichi these days.
Two plates of New York strip steak had been placed on the table, pre-cut with no knives, of course. Hisashi served both of them mashed potatoes, then cooked carrots. Taking off his helmet, Hisashi placed it on the table. Fortunately he didn't bother to vanish it, so Yoichi didn't need to pick another fight to bring it back out.
Yoichi ate heartily. This might be his last good meal in a while. He would need his strength.
After the chocolate cake, Hisashi leaned back and burped. "My compliments to the chef."
"It was delicious. My compliments to you for finding such a good chef, big brother." Under the table, Yoichi slipped the vial from his pocket, then he doused the napkin in his lap with the chemicals.
Hisashi cracked open one eye. "What breed of cat would you like? I was always going to get you a cat whether you won or lost, of course. Even if you cheated me on my prize. That was barely a hug."
Yoichi swallowed, then took great effort to make his voice calm and relaxed. It was showtime. "I'd like an Egyptian hairless cat this time. I've never tried looking after a hairless one before. I'll give you a proper hug in exchange."
Chuckling, Hisashi stood up and held out his arms. "Go on, then."
With his napkin in one hand, Yoichi stood up. He felt like he might be ill. Suddenly he regretted eating so much as it sloshed around in his stomach. A very big part of him expected his brother to laugh in his face and reveal his entire plan had been transparently obvious all along. There was still a large chance of failure, despite all of Yoichi's best efforts, because he'd never had much to work with. But he had to try. The day he completely gave up, he'd be better off dead.
Yoichi threw his arms around his older brother. Standing on his tiptoes to bring his voice closer to his brother's ear, he whispered, "I love you, big brother."
"I didn't hear you," Hisashi said cheerfully. "Say it again."
Yoichi's lips widened into a demented grin. It was a very good thing his brother couldn't see that expression at this angle. "I love you so much, nii-nii." Yoichi spoke sweetly and high-pitched like the child his brother wanted him to be.
Hisashi melted at those words, his whole body relaxing.
Taking advantage of that small moment of weakness, Yoichi brought up the drugged napkin and held it to his brother's face.
The powerful concoction of chemicals had been designed to get around the regeneration quirk that had been forced on Yoichi a long time ago. It worked equally well against Hisashi's own abilities, and it was very fast-acting. Hisashi twitched once, then dropped like a stone.
Yoichi watched with wide eyes as his brother smacked his shoulders on a chair, then slid down to rest on the floor. A surge of madness overtook Yoichi, and he lunged forward and wrapped his hands around Hisashi's pale, unprotected throat.
Bending down, Yoichi crooned into his brother's ear, "I hate you. I've longed for years to tell you just how deeply I despise everything about you, from your smarmy punchable face to your braindead delusions of superiority. You killed my love for you. Slowly you tortured every last bit out of me until I don't even have the compassion for you that I'd feel for a slug. My love for you got replaced by a desperate instinct to please you to survive. And the most twisted part? You didn't even notice. That pitiful dependency was all you ever wanted from me. No matter what you tell yourself, you don't love me, and I doubt you ever did, because you're not capable of that emotion. You're no family of mine. I wish I'd never even met you. I wish you'd never been born. I would die with pleasure if I could kill you right now."
Panting, sweat dripping between his fingers, Yoichi resisted the urge to squeeze that throat. No moral scruples stayed his hand. That stupidity had been beaten out of him long ago. Once, Yoichi would have been horrified at the thought of killing his own brother but now he wished he'd placed a pillow over Hisashi's face as a child. Unfortunately that opportunity had been lost. All for One had a quirk that alerted his bodyguard Gigantomachia if his life was ever in danger. If Yoichi applied even a little more pressure than his escape would be over. He shouldn't even risk coming this close. Yet he couldn't let go. Yoichi longed for All for One's death and even on some level longed for his own. He craved a permanent end to this madness and freedom at any cost. But Yoichi knew mere strangulation wouldn't work. All for One had an insanely powerful regeneration quirk, produced from decades of research. Once during a battle on live television, All for One's head had been completely cut off, only to land on his shoulders and reattach in seconds. Because of a secondary quirk, All for One didn't even need to breathe. Over the years Yoichi had tried setting his brother on fire several times so the bastard had gotten a fireproof quirk too. If Yoichi had possessed a knife then he would have been willing to try chopping All for One into bits. But it probably wouldn't have worked anyway.
The knife wouldn't have even been enough to end his own life. Yoichi wanted to kill himself. He'd die before he'd return to being a prisoner. But no, he had an escape plan (and bashing in his own head against the wall wouldn't have worked either.)
His entire body shaking, Yoichi stood up. He looked down at Hisashi's peacefully sleeping face with a grim expression. Then he set about stripping off the limp body's clothing.
In short order, Yoichi had changed into his brother's suit. He rolled up the bottom pants cuffs to make the height difference less obvious. Hisashi was left mostly naked on the floor next to the discarded blue suit. Glancing down, Yoichi realized he'd almost forgotten to put on his brother's watch. His hand shook so badly it took him three tries to fasten the clasp.
Finally, Yoichi bound up his hair in a bun and stuck it under All for One's helmet. He would have cut off his hair—once unthinkable—if he'd had a knife. This would have to do. The visor cast the entire dining room into shade. Staring at his faint reflection in the glass China cabinet, Yoichi searched for any flaw in his disguise. The helmet hid his face. He was far thinner than his muscular brother but it would have to be good enough.
The man on the floor snored lightly and peacefully. Oh, the arrogance of All for One, turned off the cameras whenever he enjoyed playtime with his little brother because he felt so confident that Yoichi couldn't hurt him. His fists clenching, Yoichi resisted an urge to bash Hisashi's head in with a table leg. It would be so satisfying. It had been satisfying thirty years ago which was how Yoichi knew it wouldn't kill him.
There was no time for revenge. Hisashi's regeneration quirk would be fighting off the drug. Yoichi had to go. With one last poisonous glare, he nudged the body under the table and out of sight.
Taking a deep breath, Yoichi pushed open the dining room door and walked out.
Here, in the hallway, there were cameras every couple paces. Yoichi forced himself to walk slowly and casually. He knew he was too short and skinny to be his older brother. But surely guards who spent their years watching over one sickly prisoner grew bored and no longer looked closely. Yoichi had spent ten years making them lower their guards. The memory of his humiliations brought a tear to his eye. Please, don't let anyone look too closely. Let them sip coffee and chat and barely glance at the screens. He'd earned this. Please, he'd earned this. Ten years spent being a good little doll, all for the sake of the next ten minutes.
Yoichi stopped at the front door flanked by two dozen guards dressed in the dark uniforms of the Hero Public Safety Commission. Hisashi had fashioned those uniforms after the demon king's minions, and Yoichi was long past the point where he found that funny. His blood screamed down his veins, pumped by a frantically beating heart. If this went wrong, there were too many to fight.
The helmet making his voice deeper, Yoichi said, "Open the door." He sounded bored, with a slight edge of command.
The door required a retinal scanner to open. Yoichi did not have the right eyeballs. But people did not question All for One. A guard ran to press his eye against the scanner, and another bowed slightly as he pushed open the door.
Sweeping past, Yoichi ordered, "Prepare the helicopter for me."
Brief surprise passed across the guard's face. Usually, Hisashi teleported to and from the hospital. Yoichi had prepared an explanation and a withering glare if challenged. Fortunately, All for One had never brooked challenges. The guards sprang to obey.
Yoichi's hair, packed up under the helmet, had turned damp from sweat. If even one person looked at him too closely, then his escape would be finished. But people saw what they expected to see. And the guards were rotated to keep them in their prime of youth, so not one of them had ever seen any Yoichi except the sickly, obedient, cowering mental patient.
From a past escape attempt, Yoichi knew that he could not pilot a plane just because he'd played a simulator game. Fortunately this helicopter had an autopilot. He programmed in the coordinates to Asahikawa Airport in Hokkaido.
Inside the helicopter, Yoichi found Akari's suitcase already loaded. This was a stroke of luck, not entirely unanticipated—he'd timed his escape for her vacation. Inside were several of Akari's outfits, and even more fortunately, a red kimono as a gift for her daughter. Yoichi had helped pick it out himself. If his plan hadn't worked then he would have borrowed more of his brother's clothing from the bins. But crossdressing was the easiest disguise, a quick way to make people see someone else.
Yoichi rapidly changed into the kimono, wrapping the pale pink obi around his waist. Though he was out of practice, he managed to tie a butterfly knot in the back. It was a shame he did not have hair dye, but he used a cherry blossom hair pin to pull his white hair back into a bun. The outfit came with a pair of high-heeled clogs that were a tad too big, making him wobble.
Leaving All for One's helmet on the chair, Yoichi started the autopilot. Then he left the landing pad as the helicopter took off without him. It was a decoy. Hisashi had a tracking quirk on Yoichi, but until big brother woke up his minions would chase after the empty helicopter.
No one in the hospital dared disturb the brotherly bonding time, but eventually a guard would tell a member of the staff that All for One had left, and they would figure out he hadn't handed Yoichi off to an orderly as usual, then someone would go to the dining room to check. Yoichi did not know how much time he had, but he prayed to the higher powers that had long ago abandoned him for even a few more precious seconds.
Swaying slightly on his borrowed shoes, Yoichi carried his suitcase into the small private airport and walked up the desk. "Ah, excuse me? My plane left without me." He spoke in a breathy female voice.
The man glanced up. "It says here that All for One commandeered the helicopter. He must have needed it for an important reason."
"All for One is always correct," Yoichi agreed perkily.
"Would you like a ride to mainland on the supply ferry? It won't be as smooth a trip but it's leaving right away."
Yoichi's grin widened. "I would love that."
It had taken months of waiting for the stars to align so the weekly supply ferry had the same timing as one of Hisashi's visits. Even so, Yoichi jiggled in his seat, expecting something to go wrong at any minute. The waves might be making him sick, or his nervousness. In retrospect, he definitely should have eaten lighter. Yoichi pulled out his brother's stolen wallet from his pocket and counted the cash. The credit cards he might as well throw overboard. They'd be tracked.
On mainland, Yoichi purchased a bullet train ticket to Deika City. On the television overhead, an announcer made excuses for why All for One had not yet rescued the supposed hostages at Detnerat Company. From the nervous faces on the screen, Yoichi suspected his brother's unconscious body had been discovered. His own existence was too precious a secret to announce publicly. But the heroes would be looking for him.
Blisters were forming on Yoichi's feet as he made the trek to Detnerat Headquarters. The skyscraper was sectioned off by yellow tape and surrounded by professional heroes, the last people Yoichi wanted to see. Instead he headed to a neighboring building, a restaurant with a red canopy and darkened windows. He knocked on the door.
The glass door cracked open. A short figure with a blue coat obscuring his face peered out. He growled, "We're closed."
Yoichi smiled. "This is the informant One for All. I'm expected by your leader."
From the sudden silence, the hooded figure was high enough up to recognize Yoichi's code name. The door was opened with a haste proportionate to how much the Metahuman Liberation Army owed him. He'd stolen Akari's phone for brief periods to feed the MLA information for months, all in preparation for this moment.
With the tracking quirk on him, Yoichi had no way to run from his brother. He'd never planned to run. Yoichi was going to kill All for One.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: During the Dawn of the Age of Quirks
Yoichi: Whoa, my brother redeemed himself and became a hero. Sure, there's still some issues with government corruption but maybe he can develop further—
Hisashi: Hey little brother! There you are! Vault time!
#
Omake: Why Yoichi Wears All for One's Helmet
Author: Here, I added some scissors to the story so you can cut your hair and make yourself look like Hisashi.
Yoichi: …
Author: Look, it's short hair or an eternity as your brother's prisoner.
Yoichi: I KNOW! I'M THINKING!