A/N: You won't believe how long I've waited to post this chapter. (The answer is since I published the first chapter of this story). Enjoy.
Chapter 18 - Toru Hagakure: Origin
Tomo was back in the dark dreamworld again. This time, he found himself in the forest of their training camp. Darkness was everywhere, shrouding his entire body like a warm cloak. The silence permeating the air put him on edge.
Suddenly, a light so bright that he had to shut his eyes briefly even while not facing it flashed behind him. The familiarity of the situation made Tomo instinctually turn around and raise a hand to defend himself from the incoming attack.
When he faced his attacker, his eyes were blinded by the core of a shining light. The core belonged to a body of a familiar shape. If he squinted and focused harder, he could even see a face on that body.
His heart dropped. He could only look for a brief second, but it looked just like him, but also slightly different.
The opponent held a dagger of Light in their hands and moved to stab him.
Tomo held up a shield of Darkness and this time, the Light not only penetrated the Darkness on contact, but completely disintegrated it. Tomo felt a sharp shock where the Darkness disintegrated before the Light continued its path and stabbed his palm.
He screamed, the pain from this attack much more real than it had any right to be for a dream. It felt like the core of his soul was being violated from the Light. He could feel this attack on his very Quirk itself.
Then, the enemy-with-a-familiar-face came into view again. They raised their other hand to strike at Tomo's neck. Tomo could get a clear look at their face this time, the recognition undeniable this time.
"Toru?"
Tomo awoke in shock and found himself in an unfamiliar place. His head felt like it was splitting apart, his body ached with a deep feeling of tiredness, and he was completely tied up. His mind buzzed from the memories of the dream he just had. The strangest thing, however, was that Darkness was eerily quiet. Tomo could barely feel its presence inside his head at the moment.
He decided to save that problem for later and sluggishly looked around at his surroundings. As he did, he realized just how slow he felt. His senses and body felt very weak. Was I drugged? To his right, Tomo saw Bakugo, also tied up, glaring daggers into him.
"About time your traitorous ass decided to wake up," Bakugo hissed.
Tomo looked at him in confusion. Traitorous?
"What do you mean? Where even are we?" he asked earnestly.
"Tch. Is that your angle? The sympathetic ally who'll ease me into whatever shitty ploy you're scheming? It won't work on me. You can all die," Bakugo spat.
Tomo knew he was missing a lot of context here. He thought back to his dream that suddenly felt very real. There's no way… right? That was a dream but…
He looked back at Bakugo, a deep pit growing in his stomach "Toru… Have you seen my sister?" As soon as he asked the question, he already knew what he refused to believe.
Bakugo got even angrier. "Cut the crap already! Of course I've seen her. She'll probably walk in any moment now that you're awake."
Bakugo's quick answer only served to deepen the sinking feel Tomo felt in his stomach. A tear threatened to fall down his eye from the pain in his heart. It hurt so badly.
A few minutes later, like Bakugo had predicted, the door to their room opened up and an invisible set of clothes skipped into the room, humming a happy tune.
"Tomo! You're awake! How's your head? And your hand? Sorry about that, by the way. Are you feeling alright?" Toru's tone was nice and casual, as if she couldn't read the mood of the room and chattered happily as if everything were normal.
"I knew it," Bakugo muttered under his breath.
Tomo didn't want to believe his eyes but the evidence was quite literally in front of him. "T-Toru? This has to be a trick, right? An illusion of Darkness or something? You aren't really here, right? This is someone's Quirk. It has to be…"
He tightly shut his eyes to make the tears disappear. His heart throbbed painfully again. Each breath inhaled was more painful than the last. When he opened his eyes again, they burned.
"It's really me," Toru responded, this time more solemnly as she took a slow step towards Tomo. "Tomo. It's time we had a talk."
"NO!" Tomo shouted. He couldn't help the tears from flowing as he helplessly thrashed in place. "You aren't real! This is just some sick, twisted nightmare from Darkness! I've had them before! Just stop talking! Please! Go away! You're just in my head! This isn't real!"
Bakugo scoffed beside him.
Toru walked up to Tomo and put her invisible hands lovingly on his cheeks, rubbing a thumb to wipe away the tears. Her touch burned. It made him sick. "It's really me. This isn't a dream or anything and you know it. Please, I just want to talk and explain myself."
"N-NO!" Tomo choked as he tried to wiggle out of her touch. He tried his hardest to summon Darkness to attack this sick apparition of his sister. All he got instead was a sharp stab of pain in his head and a feeling of weakness in his legs. His Quirk refused to come out.
Toru moved away to grab a chair and sat down in front of him, a growing frustration appearing in her voice at his stubbornness. "I'll wait until you're done. You can't do anything but talk and listen anyway so stop wasting your breath. Do you want me to spell it out for you so that you'll finally believe that this is real?"
Tomo shook his head fervently. Tears blurred his vision. The newfound quietness from his Quirk being inactive only exaggerated the sound of his pounding heart. His mind was shattered as Toru spoke her next words.
"I, Toru Hagakure, your twin sister, leaked sensitive information about UA and the heroes to the League of Villains so that they could use the information to attack hero society. There. I didn't want to be so harsh about it but I don't think we can progress any other way. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the why. Do you want to hear that?"
Tomo felt something snap inside. He nodded slowly, a numbness claiming his entire body as it shut down. All thoughts in his head had disappeared and all he could do now was listen. To have any complex thoughts would break him even more.
"The reason is quite simple," Toru began, her voice low. "It's because of you."
She paused to let her words sink in before continuing.
"Tomo," she pleaded. Her voice, so sincere and desperate, sounded more like the Toru that Tomo knew now. "Look at me. Please."
Tomo looked up and into where her eyes would be.
"Dad's Quirk. Your Quirk. Our family's Quirk. It's cursed. You know it. I know it. Mom knows it. Our whole family knows it."
Tomo shook his head. Words were too hard right now.
"You cannot deny it, Tomo. Darkness is not a good power. It slowly takes over the mind and body until it drives the user to their death. You know this!"
Tomo shook his head again.
"Tomo, please!" Toru's voice broke out into a choked sob. "Darkness is going to kill you! I don't care how good you think you are at controlling it! It. Will. Kill. You! It has killed every single member of Dad's side of the family eventually! You can't deny this!"
Tomo shook his head, denying it.
"Please, say something to me!" Toru cried out.
Seeing his sister crying almost made Tomo believe that this could still all be a big misunderstanding. That she wasn't the evil psychopath he was beginning to believe her to be. A small flicker of hope sparked within him, giving him the strength to find a few, desperate words.
"Toru," he began in a small whimper. To even begin having this conversation was breaking him all over again. "Please, stop. Stop before it's too late. We can still go back home and clear all of this up."
It was Toru's turn to start openly crying. "We can't go back. Not after all that's happened. Not… not until he holds up his end of the bargain. Then he will let us go. He promised."
Tomo blinked in confusion. There was a distinct fear in Toru's voice each time she said "he". "He? Who is he? Who have you been talking to? What have you done, Toru?"
"I… I made a deal. Years back. It was… that night. Do you remember?" Toru's voice grew small.
Tomo nodded, understanding immediately. She didn't have to elaborate any further. There was no way he would ever forget the worst night of his life.
"Well, kids, it looks like there's quite a bit of traffic so we might take a while to get home," said Hikaru Hagakure, father of Toru and Tomo. They had just picked up the cake for their baby sister Miyu's upcoming 2nd birthday and were on their way back home.
"That's okay! That means we can wait longer for the surprise, right? Mommy says surprises are better the longer you wait to give them!" exclaimed eight year old Toru.
"Whatever. More time to nap for me," commented Tomo as he closed his eyes in the car.
"Tomo," their father began in a cautious voice. "Be careful. There's a new moon tonight so Darkness will be extra powerful when it's out. Napping right now might be too risky. Hopefully, we can make it back home before it gets too dark."
"Fine…" Tomo replied with a sigh and put his head in his hand to stare out the window.
The family continued their journey back home in peace, the sound of the radio being the only noise in the car.
"Breaking news from Hero News Network! A major villain attack has been reported on the intersection of Hoth Street and Showtime Road! We urge all citizens to stay clear of the area until the heroes on the scene have the situation under control."
Hikaru let out a sigh. "That's right up ahead. No wonder there's so much traffic. Hopefully the heroes will take care of it soon."
"Daddy, how far ahead is that? Is it close? Are we safe here? Will the villains come for us?! Are we in trouble?" Toru asked in rising panic.
"Who cares, Toru? They said heroes are on the scene so they will take care of it anyway. Stop being a scaredy cat," Tomo interrupted.
"Hey! I'm not a scaredy cat! I was just wondering! And besides! What do you care if I'm afraid?! You wouldn't even notice a villain attack if it hit you right in your stupid face! You would just sleep through it!"
"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?! And who are you calling stupid, stupid?"
"Kids! Quiet down!" Hikaru yelled out before the twins began their usual argument. "Under normal traffic conditions, the intersection is about 10 minutes ahead of us. We're more than safe over here, don't worry."
"Okay!" Toru exclaimed happily, her faith in their father's words instantly calming her down.
"See? I told you…" Tomo commented snarkily.
"Shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"Kids!"
Half an hour had passed and the car had barely moved. The worry in Hikaru slowly began to become more and more apparent to Tomo as the sun started to set. He could feel the powers of Darkness slowly growing within himself and he could imagine it was the same for his father.
"Hey, Dad? I can feel him," Tomo said quietly. He shivered from the strange sensation growing within his body.
"It's okay, Tomo. I'm right here with you and I won't let the scary voice do anything to you. I promise," Hikaru replied as he reached back to pat Tomo's shoulder in the backseat.
"Okay…"
Suddenly, a loud crash was heard a few cars ahead of them. Several cars flew into the air and a hero was thrown straight into the side of the building, causing debris to fly everywhere.
They were definitely in danger now.
"Get out of the car and run! Stay with me!" Hikaru yelled out as he unlocked the car doors to get out. Tomo and Toru did the same and ran in the opposite direction from the battle with their father.
Give in.
Tomo shivered as the voices of his Quirk grew louder. It was pure chaos all around them as countless civilians all fled away from the destructive battle. The villain had some kind of shadowy monster Quirk that was freakishly big and strong. The three heroes fighting it seemed to struggle heavily against such overwhelming power.
A crash above them from the battle rained debris on their bodies. Tomo moved to cover Toru's body and their father did the same, shielding them both from any harm.
"Dad!"
"Daddy! Are you okay?!"
Their father laughed. "Don't worry kids. Your old man isn't that much of a weakling to let something like that hurt him! Let's keep moving…"
As the words left his mouth, Hikaru suddenly froze in place. As if in a trance, he stared at the raging battle behind them. He suddenly disappeared for a moment as darkness shrouded his body. Then, he seemed to snap out of it and looked at his kids, making sure they were alright. They continued moving.
Come.
Tomo whimpered as the scary voice grew louder in his head. The power of Darkness grew stronger by the second. He clutched Toru's hand tighter.
Turn around.
Tomo did just that for a second. As strange as the thought was, Tomo felt a hypnotic pull to the shadowy villain. The villain seemed to have his attention on them as well as he tried to get closer before one of the heroes tackled him into another building.
Come.
Their father took a step towards the battle as well.
"Daddy, where are you going? We need to get to safety, now!" Toru yelled out through her tears.
Their father was frozen in place as if he were in a trance. Tomo could feel it as well: the strange magnetism towards a fellow servant of Darkness.
Unite.
Give in.
Come.
Their father chuckled manically. He took another step towards the battle. Toru separated from Tomo and tugged on their dad's sleeve helplessly, her little strength useless to hold him back for even an inch.
"Tomo! Help me! He's losing himself!"
Her voice washed over Tomo like a bucket of cold water and he rushed over to help her hold their dad back. He stepped in front of his dad and planted his feet and used his weight to try to halt his father's advancement.
Darkness began to flow around their father. Tomo suddenly fell forward as his dad vanished, causing him to go straight through where the body once was. Toru managed to just barely catch him and break his fall as they stumbled to the floor. Their dad reappeared again a few feet ahead of them before flickering back and forth between visibility and invisibility. He then began to run.
"AHAHAHA! DON'T WORRY! IT'S TIME TO COME OUT AND PLAY!" he yelled out as he turned invisible again.
"Dad?! Where did you go?!" Tomo yelled out in alarm as he picked himself up.
"Oh no, Tomo, it's happening again! He's using Shadowstep!" Toru cried out, closely behind him as they tried to catch up to their father. Their father's Quirk allowed him to turn invisible in the shadows and quickly move around. His pace was way faster than either of the children's.
"Dad! Get a hold of yourself! Please, calm down and stop running so fast! We can't keep up with your Quirk!" Tomo yelled out. They were practically in the middle of the battle now.
"What the? What are a bunch of civilians doing here?! You all need to get out of here! NOW!" one of the heroes yelled to them.
"DON'T WORRY! I WON'T HOLD YOU BACK!" their father yelled gleefully to the hero.
The villain roared in delight in response.
"Toru, it's not working. Let him go and stay close to me." Tomo whispered in tears. He grabbed her hand and turned them around.
The villain attacked again with a newfound vigor. His punch destroyed the entirety of the building next to him.
"LOOK OUT!" Tomo yelled as the building started to collapse.
The force of the collapse threw both kids off their feet and separated them. The last thing Tomo heard before he lost consciousness was the maniacal laugh of his father.
"AHAHAHA!"
It would be the last time Tomo would ever hear his voice.
Toru Hagakure's entire body hurt. After the building had collapsed, she lost her grip on Tomo and flew in another direction. She didn't know much about injuries but her leg wouldn't move like she wanted it to. She started to cry silently to herself, her voice refusing to work. Everything hurt so bad.
She figured she must have fallen asleep because when she awoke, there was sunlight slipping through the cracks of debris around her. The devastation around her was just as bad as the previous day and she was still trapped underneath it all. She was in pain, hungry, tired, and really really lonely. She cried again, praying that someone would be able to find and save her.
With nothing else to do but wait, she fell asleep again.
A consistent tap on her forehead awoke her. Toru looked at the source of the tap and saw a strange tendril poking her forehead gently over and over. It tickled.
"Hello, little girl," said a tall man dressed in a nice black suit.
Toru looked at him with wide eyes. She was being saved! By a handsome hero, nonetheless! Her voice failed her as did her limbs so she failed to respond.
The strange man continued, "Oh, you must forgive me. You must be in a lot of pain. Let me help free you and then I can treat you."
The tendrils coming from the man's palms moved the debris around Toru carefully, freeing her. Her body still wouldn't cooperate so she didn't move. Then, the tendrils retracted and a green wave of energy came out of the man's palm and washed over her body. It was an extremely pleasant feeling.
"There. Is that better? How are you feeling?"
"Good!" Toru chirped happily. Her voice and body were finally responding to her wishes. "Thank you, hero! You saved me! Can you help me find my brother and Daddy?
The man had an amusing smile on his face at her choice of words. "I can, little girl. What do they look like and where did you last see them?"
Toru smiled, not that the hero could see it. She gestured to herself. "Tomo looks exactly like me according to everyone, but, between you and me, Daddy says I look a lot prettier than he does. And Daddy looks like Tomo but bigger."
The hero chuckled, deciding to play along. "If your brother is even half as pretty as you are, I have no doubt that I'll be able to pick him out quickly."
Toru beamed at the comment.
The hero then paused, a contemplative look on his face. "But first, in order to find them, I think I need your help a bit first. Do you think you can do that?"
Toru nodded fervently. She had the chance to help a hero?! It was a dream come true.
The man laughed. "Oh my! So eager, aren't we? Good. In order to help me, you have to first promise me that you'll keep this agreement a secret. A promise from one hero to another. Don't tell even your Mommy, Daddy, or brother, okay?"
"Okay! I can keep a secret! I'm a big girl!" Toru replied happily. He called me a hero!
"Good. I trust you because you seem like an honest girl so I'm going to tell you what my Quirk does. It lets me take and use other people's Quirks, but only if they are suffering from their own powers. It's a powerful Quirk and a big secret that no one, not even the other heroes, can know."
Toru nodded, amazed that this hero had such an amazing and noble power. The fact that he used his power to ease other people's suffering only increased her admiration for him. Then, she had an idea. "Do you want that shadowy monster's Quirk? It looked like it was hurting him."
The man laughed heartily. "My, my. What a smart little girl you are. Yes, that is exactly right! I was sent here to take the Quirk and free him from his suffering. Unfortunately, it seems like I was too late in preventing all this damage from occurring…"
Tomo waved her hands back and forth. "No! You saved me and plenty of others! I'm sure of it!"
The man ruffled her hair. "For that, I am glad. Now, back to how you can help me. We can look for your brother and Daddy, but in the meanwhile, I just want you to just tell me if there is anyone you know who could benefit from me taking away their Quirk. I would like to help people suffering from their powers but finding them can be quite difficult."
Toru gasped. "I know! I know! My Daddy and brother complain about their Quirk sometimes! I don't think they like it very much so they would probably like it if you took it away! Well, maybe not Tomo because he doesn't like anything except sleeping, but I think I can convince him! We can ask them when we find them!"
"My, my, what a coincidence!" the man replied with a smile. "Unfortunately, my Quirk takes some time to recharge before I can use it again so I won't be able to use it right away. How about this? I'll help you find them, but I'll take their Quirk away some other time when my power comes back."
Toru nodded happily. She couldn't wait to tell Daddy and Tomo.
The man made a zipping gesture with his mouth. "My dear girl, remember, this will be our little secret, okay? Don't tell anyone else about me and my power. We can surprise your Daddy and brother when the time is right. Does that sound good?"
Toru nodded again. "I like surprises! Mommy says surprises are better the longer you wait to give them!"
The man chuckled. "Your Mommy sounds quite smart. I can see where you get yours from."
Toru beamed at the praise. "But… uh… how will you contact me when you're ready? Will you just come to my house and do it? Does it hurt? How long does it take anyway?"
"So many questions! You certainly have a bright mind. Unfortunately, I can't say how long it will take. It varies from Quirk to Quirk, but it is completely painless. When the time is right, I will let you know first so we can plan the surprise together. Oh! I know! You go to Musutafu Elementary School, right? How about we meet near there in a week and talk again to plan out the surprise?"
Toru nodded in agreement.
"But…?" the man prodded.
"Make sure no one else finds out!" Toru finished.
"Good girl."
"I met him that day. Master was the only person who was able to save me from the wreckage. He was the person who healed me and pointed me in the direction of the other heroes on the scene before disappearing. And I will admit, he did lie to me quite a bit in our first meeting. However, that did not change my opinion on our agreement," Toru explained.
Tomo could only stare in wide-eyed horror as Toru finished recalling her side of the story.
"We met up a few times every few months after that. He told me some cool stories and I told him some back. He was nice and friendly. He… He supported me emotionally through a rough time. When I got older, he revealed to me some of his truer intentions and eventually that he was a villain. That did discourage me and there were a few times I considered ratting him out," Toru continued before pausing. "However, by that point, I was old enough to realize how bad your Quirk was for you. I realized that saving you from Dad's fate was a bigger priority. The biggest priority, in fact. I still wanted Master's help and he still wanted mine, so it was mutually beneficial to continue working together."
"By having him take my Quirk away from me?! Do you hear yourself Toru?! This is ridiculous!" Tomo exclaimed, completely flabbergasted that she would even entertain such an idea.
"Yes! That would help you for sure!" Toru yelled back. "Your Quirk is a burden for you! He can save you from it!"
"He knew what school you went to before you could even tell him your name! How else would he know that unless he's been keeping an eye on our family?! He probably orchestrated the attack so that he could meet you! HE… HE KILLED DAD! You're being manipulated, Toru! Snap out of it!"
"I know! I know he did terrible things! He's a villain so of course he's done bad things! Even if he had a part in Dad's death, it was Dad's Quirk that ultimately killed him! And even then, that still doesn't change the fact that he will save your life by taking your Quirk!"
"I'm happy with my life and Quirk the way it is! I didn't ask you to help me!"
"We both know that's a lie, Tomo. Remember that night Mr. Aizawa Erased your Quirk so that you could sleep? I cried because that was the most peaceful you ever looked! I cried because I knew that a life of your face looking like that every day was only a few days away! A life without your Quirk will give you peace! Please! That's all I want for you! Peace! You don't have to ask for help to need it. Isn't that what being a hero is all about?! Let me help you!"
Tomo had to pause. He didn't have an immediate rebuttal because even he had to admit that she had a point there. That night without his Quirk gave him the best sleep he had ever gotten. He remembered the few other times he had been under the effects of Erasure and how peaceful he had felt. It was so overwhelming that it even led to his capture during the final exam. The thought of a life like that was slightly tempting.
"There has to be a catch. There is always a catch. What is it?" Tomo asked desperately, hoping to talk his way into finding a reason to deny the help.
Toru hesitated. "Well… when he eventually revealed that he was a villain, he did mention a few amendments to our agreement…"
"So he tricked you and changed up what he wanted when you were too deep in?" Tomo tried, partially relieved that there was in fact a catch and that this deal was too good to be true.
"It's not like that! I could have not agreed to it but it wasn't that bad!" Toru snapped back.
Tomo eyed her skeptically. "I find that hard to believe. What wou—"
"Well, it's the truth whether you believe it or not! I know him way better than you do," she bit back before he could continue.
Tomo rolled his eyes, feeling another petty argument surfacing if he continued. He decided to focus back to the main subject. "If you say so. What was the deal?"
Toru took a deep breath. "In exchange for taking your powers away from you, I would pursue being a hero and feed him information about the heroes whenever he wanted me to…"
"WHAT?!" Tomo exploded. "HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY AGREE TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT? ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"It's not as bad as it sounds! I already didn't mind the idea of going to a hero school… he only asked me a few times to get some information, mainly once I made it into UA… Also! He agreed to also take away my Quirk and Miyu's as a gesture of good faith! A way for him to make the deal more balanced! And besides, who cares if I had to give him some sensitive information? Our family's safety and life is more important!"
A lot of things were suddenly clicking for Tomo. Toru's sudden passion to become a hero after their father's death, her unexplained disappearances for hours at a time after school, and…
"No… Wait… You didn't…" Tomo began as dread began to crawl up his spine. He felt disgusted just thinking about it.
Toru's body language gave him his answer but he spoke the words into life anyway. The vile accusations escaped his lips with a spit.
"USJ was you? You told the villains our schedule and helped them get in?! That time you got lost during evacuation was you slipping away?! And, and the time Midoriya ran into Shigaraki at the mall? That was you too? And this?! The attack on our camp! You told them where we were?! How… how could you?!"
"How could I? How could I not?! Tomo! I don't regret it at all! If this is the price I have to pay for him to be happy, then I'd pay it ten times over! He agreed to take your Quirk away from you here and you can live. You can live a full life in peace! No Darkness whispering to you. No Darkness keeping you up at night and no Darkness controlling your entire life!"
"Toru, you put our classmates and teachers in real, actual danger! People got hurt and people could have died because of you! How could you do something so evil so easily?! Do you remember how Mr. Aizawa looked after the USJ attack?! That was you! It was your fault!"
"It… it wasn't that easy," Toru said softly. "I thought about it a lot for countless hours. Remember all those nights I kept you company? Sometimes, it was just to keep you company, but most of the time, it was because I couldn't sleep because of the guilt… Talking to you at night usually helped restrengthen my resolve. Everytime I considered whether or not I should do it, I came to the same answer. Anyone else getting hurt doesn't matter compared to you getting hurt. All that matters is you. You and our family. If I don't do anything, you will die. That is a fact. If the cost of saving your life is hurting others, then it's not a choice for me at all." Her voice was firm and without any hint of regret.
Her admission shook Tomo. All those nights she had kept him company when neither of them could sleep were some of his fondest memories of her. To learn she did that because she felt guilty for aiding a villain… He wanted to curl up and cry.
"Unbelievable. Toru, I refuse to have any part in this. Tell your villain master that I will not let him take away my Quirk and he will have to pry it from my dead body if he wants it," Tomo replied, voice laced with venom as he spoke. He could feel a hint of Darkness rumble in his fingers. It wasn't quite there for him to use, but he could at least feel it stirring again in response to his rage.
"Fine! Be like that! But if you won't do this for yourself, do it for Miyu! She's another victim in all of this! You can't let Miyu suffer like you and Dad have!"
Tomo's heart shattered all over again. "That's… that's not fair… Miyu likes her Quirk…" he tried weakly. This was a losing battle and he knew it.
"She doesn't even know the worst of it! And even then, she still suffers on the darkest nights!" Toru interrupted. "What's going to happen to her when her Quirk gets stronger? What if her control isn't as tight as your's? What if she ends up like Dad? Are you just going to wait and see what happens when it's already too late?!"
"O-Okay. F-Fine. He can have Miyu's Quirk if she wants to give it to him," Tomo began. The words were getting harder and harder to say as he felt his heart get continuously grinded into mush. "W-What's he even going to do with it?"
Before she could answer, a sudden realization went through him as he spoke his thoughts aloud.
"Wait! He's a villain! Giving him any of our Quirks, even if it's to help us, would just help him hurt others! No! He can't have Miyu's Quirk, my Quirk, or your Quirk!"
"So what if he's a villain?! You're just going to throw away not just your life, but Miyu's life too? You can't call me evil and say that!"
Tomo's chest ached again. "We… won't die. We're stronger than that. Miyu especially. You can't deny the hints Miyu shows of being a prodigy. She has Mom's Quirk to cancel out the pull of Darkness."
"That's another thing!" Toru yelled, ignoring his comment as she continued her tirade. "Don't you think it was strange that Dad with his dark Quirk married Mom with her light Quirk? They said it was a marriage of love but I find it highly convenient that Mom's Quirk just happened to counteract Dad's Quirk."
"They said they met before knowing each other's Quirks!" Tomo replied immediately. The coincidence was something he had noticed as well when he was younger. The answer he just gave was the one he was told when he had asked them about it. "So what if it looks like a Quirk marriage? They loved each other regardless!"
"You wanna know what I think really happened?" Toru asked. "I think Dad knew about Mom's family Quirk and pursued her because of it. He may have won her over naturally, but he pursued her knowing the endgame. He knew his Quirk would eventually kill him and he still wanted a family and children. Knowing that, he married someone he hoped would cancel out his Quirk so that he could end the generations of suffering."
"Toru, you can't make an accusation like that without any evidence! You can't just know that he pursued her for her Quirk. You also can't make the jump that marrying her meant he knew his Quirk would kill him! Dad had just as much a right to a happy life and family as every other person!"
"You're completely right, Tomo. Dad had every right to love, be loved, marry, and have children. I am not denying that. However, I fully believe Miyu isn't a coincidence. Her Quirk is probably the closest thing to what Dad was hoping for. A combination of Light and Darkness so that he can have children guilt-free. He failed with us and almost succeeded with Miyu. And that's fine! It's fine that Dad's solution didn't work because mine will! Master can fix this. He can take our Quirks away and stop this cycle. We can move on, grow up, marry whoever we want, and have families without worrying if Darkness will pop up and kill our children."
"How do you even know that your master will let us do all that? What if he uses our Quirks to terrorize Japan? How will we be safe in a world like that?"
"He promised me that he would take our family away to an isolated location away from all of this hero and villain stuff! So that we could live a full life in peace!" Toru replied instantly. The speed with which she answered the questions told Tomo how thorough she had been in getting certain guarantees.
"Just because we won't see it doesn't mean it won't happen! You can't seriously be telling me you are okay with letting this villain run rampant around Japan with Darkness at his disposal!"
"That's fine with me," Toru said softly. "Like I said, if I have to choose between my family and Japan, I'm picking my family every time."
Tomo wanted to scream and punch something. He could not believe how naive and evil his sister was being right now. "Well, I choose Japan. I will not sacrifice everyone else just for me to live a life of comfort. That's not what being a hero is. Even if you were the one to convince me to pursue this path, I still want to be a hero, Toru. If that means throwing away my life and any chance of a future family, then that's what I will do. That is what a hero like All Might would do. I will not help a villain in any way possible."
Toru looked incredibly sad upon hearing his resolve. "Please… Tomo you have to agree or he won't take any of our Quirks away… That's a part of the deal."
"Well, I will never agree to it so let's just get this over with. There's nothing stopping him from just taking my power away anyway so just take me to him. Maybe I'll give him a preview of the kind of power he is dealing with."
Toru shook her head. She was crying again. "Please, Tomo. I'm begging you. Just go along with it without any trouble and we can walk away. Please."
Now Tomo was getting suspicious. "Why does he need me to be so willing for this? Why can't he just take my Quirk away? Is that a condition he has to meet to steal it?"
"It's not about that… It's just… He wants me to prove to him that I can be useful to him… That was a clause for him to take my Quirk away as well. I will help him and he will help me."
"Aren't you already helping him? What aren't you telling me?" Tomo asked suspiciously. He could feel her hesitation and skirtiness around the subject.
"Well… he wants me to prove myself so that I can continue to serve him. What I've done for him so far was just me getting my foot in the door. I need to prove myself more. He agreed to take away your and Miyu's Quirks right away, but not mine. He will move you, Mom, and Miyu somewhere safe but I will join him and serve him where he sees fit. Only once I finish serving will my Quirk be taken away."
"What? You said this was about me and Miyu, not you, so why do you have to stay and serve him? Is him taking your Quirk that important?"
Toru looked away. Tomo could imagine her face flushing in embarrassment
"Okay… I will be the first to admit that this part is selfish of me… When Master brought up the prospect of taking my Quirk away from me… I just couldn't resist. Invisibility is not a fun Quirk, Tomo. You know what it's done to my life and how I feel about it. The opportunity was there and I'm already helping him so… what does a bit more help matter in the grand scheme of things?"
Tomo glared at her. He hoped his eyes could make her understand the mix of emotions he was feeling in the moment. "So you're agreeing to be a villain? Just so you can look at yourself prettily in the mirror? Are you that shallow?"
Toru's voice grew softer. "I… Yeah, you're right… It's pretty shallow of me to want that but I can't help it. I'm sorry… I… I can't continue like this Tomo! My Quirk controls my life nearly just as much as yours does. What can an invisible girl even offer in terms of friendships and relationships? Every interaction I have revolves around how much of myself I can convey through tone alone. People like getting visual feedback when they converse and I can't give them that. They think it's weird when they can't tell if I'm smiling or even paying attention to them when they're talking to me. Don't you remember elementary school? Sometimes, I wonder if people talk to me just out of pity…"
Tomo paused his immediate retort as Toru's insecurities spilled out. He had an idea of them existing but she had never fully expressed them aloud like this. The worst part is that she was right. He remembered how hard it was for her to socialize when they were younger because of her invisibility. The naive part of him hoped that she had outgrown the insecurity but that was clearly not the case. He sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that's how you feel, but I promise you that no one thinks that about you. I promise that anyone you ask in our class will guarantee you that they would never talk to you out of pity. People like Ashido and Ojiro talk to you because you're nice and friendly. Because they like you. If you stop all of this right now, we can go ask them ourselves!"
Toru shook her head. "I can't go back to them, Tomo. I'm too deep in. Please. Just agree to this plan and we can go back, but to a new life without our Quirks tormenting us. Master promised me a life like that."
Tomo mentally sighed as another argument of his failed. He switched the angle, his cynicism speaking for him. "And what if he doesn't follow through with his word? What if he kills me, Mom, and Miyu as soon as he takes our Quirks? What if he never lets you go? What if he never takes your Quirk away? What if he throws us out for society to deal with? There's so many ways this can go wrong, so what then?"
Toru's reply was instant and firm. "He won't do any of that. If I join and serve him, then I'll be a comrade. He won't betray a comrade like that. I know he won't. If there's one thing I know about him, he rewards his comrades that help him."
Tomo couldn't believe what he was hearing, his frustration boiling at her stubbornness. "So let me get this straight. You are going to be a villain. A pawn. Your so-called master is going to tell you to go out and kill innocent people and you'll happily agree because he "promised" to take your Quirk away at some undefined later date. And you know for sure that this villain will not go back on his word at all because villains are known for being good and honest individuals. After you kill a bunch of people or do whatever else he says, you can just walk free and come live happily with us with no further strings attached? Is that how I'm understanding this?"
"It won't come to that. The killing. That's not how they operate. And… And if it does end up so that I have to end a life, then so be it. I will serve him to keep him happy and if he takes my Quirk, then that'll be a bonus. I just need him to take your Quirks away. I'll do whatever it takes if it means you and Miyu can live a long, healthy life."
"We can already do that! Toru, open your eyes! We are already fine with life as it is! No one is asking you to become a villain for us! No one wants that!"
The fire that was gone for a while reignited within Toru. "Oh cut the crap, Tomo! You cannot tell me our life is fine the way it is! Mom is a single mother with no family to help her raise three kids. She works two jobs throughout the day and night to provide for us! Miyu is growing up alone because we're all too busy for her. Don't tell me you never noticed how hard she clings to us whenever we give her our attention! And you! You can't even sleep at night for crying out loud! Have you ever heard of someone who LITERALLY cannot sleep at all at night? Even insomniacs get some sleep at night once in a while! But not you! You and Miyu whimper together every other week because of your accursed power! So don't you even think of trying to convince me that our life won't be better off with him looking out for us!"
The silence in the room after that was loud and overwhelming.
That was when Bakugo, who had strangely been quietly listening, decided to make his presence known.
"You're both full of shit. Boohoo, your Quirk isn't all that and life isn't fair. Big deal. Suck it up and live with it. Or don't, I don't care. But, if you even think of joining these losers, then I won't hesitate to kill you on the spot. Just untie me and test me. See what happens."
Toru side-eyed him, a cold demeanor replacing the warm one Tomo knew. "Hmm. Shigaraki won't like that answer so here's a piece of advice from your dear classmate: consider a different answer than the one you just gave.
"Burn in hell. You can tell him that too."
Toru shrugged. "Well, I did warn you, but since you sound so eager to talk to him, I guess it's time to take you to them. Please, don't try anything funny."
She walked behind Bakugo, who continued yelling insults at her, and pushed him out of the room with his restraints, leaving Tomo alone in the room to suffer with his thoughts.
Tomo tried to summon his Quirk again but Darkness refused his call. His body still felt weak. His mind still felt slow. His heart ached with every beat. He could do nothing but replay the conversation over and over again in his head and wonder where and when he went wrong. The tears threatened to leak again as the realization hit him that Toru was slipping away from him.
His sister walked back into the room five minutes later. She gave Tomo what he assumed was a soft look. "Let's go. He wants to talk to you. Please don't make this hard. For my sake and our family's."
He could do nothing but let himself be pushed by her. "You aren't the Toru I knew and loved my whole life. Dad would be so disappointed."
Toru paused at his comment, the slightest sign of a flinch showed to Tomo. When his body failed him, Tomo only had left his words to resist. He wasn't even sure if he really meant the words but he didn't care. He wanted her to feel the hurt that he was feeling in the moment.
"Guess so," Toru replied casually, her voice devoid of emotion. She then wordlessly moved him out of the room and to where everyone else was.
Tomo saw that they were being held in some kind of bar. He recognized Shigaraki and the portal villain instantly. A few other unfamiliar faces, and Bakugo, were also in the room. They were in the middle of a monologue about how great they were when Toru walked in. A few eyes turned to them.
Shigaraki, who was in the middle of speaking to Bakugo, paused what he was saying and turned to look at Tomo, seemingly unimpressed. "That's the brat you went through all this trouble for? Well? Did he agree with Master's plan or what?"
Tomo scoffed. "Like hell I'd—"
"Yeah!" Toru interrupted. She used her school persona while speaking and it sounded so incredibly fake and insulting to Tomo that he couldn't believe that it was still his sister. She turned to the portal villain. "Can you take us to him?"
Bakugo also scoffed. "Master? He's your master too? You're not even the big boss around here? You guys are more pathetic than I thought." He then turned towards Tomo, a look of disdain clear on his face. "And you can cut the shitty act. I know you two are already a part of this group of losers. You can't convince me otherwise. It just means I'll enjoy beating you into the ground even more when the time comes."
"I'm not a part—" Tomo tried again and felt Toru's invisible elbow hit his side, the message clear: shut up or get hurt more.
Tomo didn't care. She couldn't physically hurt him any more than she already had mentally. "I'LL NEVER JOIN YOU! YOU CAN ALL—"
Something glowed brightly behind him. Tomo felt a hand push his body a bit forward and something stabbed the top of his spine, right where his Darkness usually came out from. He choked out air as the stab sent a riveting shockwave throughout his body. The pain was fleeting yet excruciating, just like the one from his dream. It was the kind that you would remember and feel days and weeks after.
"You can cut the tough-guy act out," Toru said from behind him as she pulled her weapon out of him. "Bakugo clearly won't buy it and the rest of these guys are going to be our allies so you don't have to pretend around them. They already know how strong and dedicated you are to Master's cause."
"Go to h—"
The stab came again in the same spot. Harder and deeper. Tomo felt his entire body go immediately limp and his mind went blank momentarily. His eyes temporarily stopped working from the sheer pain. He gasped for air in shock. Whatever Toru did to him had completely shut him down like flipping an off switch.
"Kurogiri? Can you Warp us already? I don't want to keep him waiting," Toru said impatiently.
"At once," Kurogiri replied.
The world went black.
A/N: Hello. A long note incoming, but first of all, I want to sincerely thank every one of you who has read up to this point. It truly means a lot to me that so many of you are following and reading this story every week so thank you.
This chapter was the longest, easily double the length of a normal chapter, and I hope you enjoyed. The events of this chapter was one I based this entire story around when I first thought of it, so I felt that it deserved the title of the longest chapter. Its length makes it a special one to me because I probably revisited and reedited this chapter dozens of times while writing the story.
This is where the story takes a turn in terms of canon-compliance. While a lot of the bigger events will stay the same, obviously Toru's betrayal doesn't happen in canon so the ripples will be felt. I tried to not be super obvious about there being a traitor because if I ever hinted at it, I think it would be pretty easy to figure out who it was since not a lot of characters are really explored deeply in this story. If you would like a fun exercise, go back to the beginning and reread all the scenes with Toru in them. Nearly every one of them can be recontextualized with her being a traitor in mind.
Lastly, while I don't really ask for this since I am a silent reader myself, I would appreciate any thoughts you had on this chapter or on the story in general. Did the arguments from both sides make sense? Was the reveal obvious or too out-of-nowhere? Was it good? Was it bad? Anything you have to say I would love to read. If not, that is fine as well. Just making it this far is enough to make me happy. As always, thanks for reading and see you next week.