It was four days later when I received news about my run-in with the two men at the clinic.
PRO HERO JABAR RETIRES AFTER CRIPPLING INJURY
This reporter was able to get an exclusive interview with the team of J&J, Pro Heroes Jabar and Jinzo have been members of the Pro Hero circuit for the last 6 years, after graduating...
I skipped through most of the article, skimming for any relevant information. While crippled, and he would most likely remain so, Jabar had survived. The article didn't say anything about family, so I could only assume he didn't have any, or maybe the newspaper had enough sense not to post those kinds of things where anyone could read them.
All the same, it still left a small hole in my gut, that I was responsible for ending a man's Hero career. My only solace was that I'd never heard of him, and so he was probably retiring soon anyways, that or he was so smalltime that it shouldn't have any ill effects in the long run.
Feeling someone tap me on the shoulder I turned to see my new 'roommate' Linnul, a homeless man who made his living begging on the roadside.
The small community had at first refused to let me join up with them, until I decided to share the wealth, courtesy of my payday from selling off part of my stash of drugs, not that I was going to do anything with them.
I'd manage to make 400 dollars, equivalent, from the hookup, and that had led to a round of warm meals, and a semi-decent spot in the cuddle corridor, a nickname that no one really used in any tone except sarcastic.
Linnul was an older guy who'd helped me when I'd first arrived, getting me set up and making sure I was taken care of. Don't let his nice demeanor fool you though, he was a filthy rat. I'd been 'kindly' informed by no less than 8 people that Linnul had a penchant for listening out for any crimes, and narcing to the police unless he was paid off, so I'd probably look to move on soon before whatever measure I had to do to ensure my continued survival clashed with Linnul's 'morality'.
Two weeks had passed in a flash, my stash slowly depleting until I had sold off everything, heading out soon after.
I wasn't alone, another kid had joined up with me, a girl named Zoe, although she generally went by Zozo. She'd ran away from 'home' after being bullied by her older adopted siblings. Apparently, she was an orphan who'd been raised in a foster home, a fact that had eventually led to bulling by her older foster siblings, the fact that she was Quirkless had only added fuel to the fire.
She had messy reddish hair and more than once she'd accidently bitten her tongue from speaking too fast, but it brought a strange sense of comfort to have a fellow kid with me, especially one who respected my boundaries.
I was still searching for a pair of Quirk resistant gloves for my powers, but in the meantime, I'd practiced holding things with my pinky raised and was making a respectable amount of progress...
I'd only dusted two pipes and a filched piece of bread.
It was only a matter of time until I got desperate however, soon my hunger would be making the major desicions, and I'd orchestrate a repeat performance of my clinic scavenging, this time with backup in the form of Zozo.
It had been 7 months since I'd arrived here, and I was beginning to wonder how long it took until Shigaraki joined up with All-for-One and his associates.
In the past months, I'd celebrated my birthday, meager though it was with my best, and only, friend Zozo. She was surprisingly loyal given that she knew little to nothing about me, but maybe she figured I hadn't killed her yet, or even made so much as an aggressive move towards her, so she could trust me.
She was fun to be around, her personality changing slowly over her time with me, her once cheery and energetic demeanor becoming dry and contemplative. Where once she nagged me to play games like I-spy or Tag, now we sat together for several hours, talking about our lives. That wasn't to say we never played any games, it would be weird for a couple of children to not, but we preferred more 'mature' games such a Go-Fish or Old Maid, which I learned was called Quirkless in this world.
We'd managed to scavanged most of a game of Monopoly once upon a time, but we'd traded it for a functional checkerboard, so our days usually included that.
More than once we'd begged for some spare change or food, and gotten rewarded, and sometimes we hadn't.
We'd went on several raids in the dead of night, pilfering from shopkeepers who we saw be abusive towards other children. That changed after one nearly disastrous run where we'd gotten caught, and the police nearly took us in, but we'd gotten lucky that the man seemed to be a softy, letting us go with a little spare change. After that, we'd gotten more selective with our targets.
I began to consider how much was Shigaraki's personality, and how much was his circumstances.
A year and a half later, and I still hadn't found either the League, nor had they found me, and I had at least weekly worries that I somehow shifted the entire paradigm and would be forced to somehow work my way into their interests.
Zozo was still around, although sometimes she left for hours only to return with some money that was spent on food. Her hair had grown out, leaving her with a messy stream of hair that seemed to fall more than flow down her back.
I'd taken it upon myself to run my fingers through it every day to try and help her keep it presentable. She didn't seem to care one way or the other, but I was sure she appreciated it, or she'd tell me to stop. Lord knows how many times I hit a tangle or snag only to yank her head back.
Still, I yearned for a pair of Quirk resistant gloves, but at this point I given up ever seeing such a thing outside of my fantasies.
We'd stepped up our game, a return to my prime and first time, we'd knocked over a pharmacy, the haul we'd gotten away with several times larger than my first exurtion into thievery, and this time no heroes interrupted us, so I didn't have to worry about accidental crippling someone else.
We'd made a day of it after selling our massive stash, walking together down an open marketplace/mall/ whatever they called it.
We'd gotten new clothes, actually greasy fast food, sodas, I'd even waited outside while Zozo got her hair fixed at a salon. It was a lucky break that she looked old enough to be wandering around such a place with her younger brother, me, that no one called the police.
We capped off the day by getting ice cream, and as much candy as we could carry, with some camping supplies in tow as we reconnoitered in a nearby abandoned building.
We fell asleep that night in comfort with full bellies and smiles on our faces.
Of course, good things never last forever, and we could only run so far before we were 'captured' by a patrolling hero who'd called for backup from the police.
I didn't recognize him, but I burned his face into my mind.
We were able to convince the CPS workers that we were brother and sister, so they placed us together at the same orphanage.
27 months since I'd murdered my entire family and took to the streets and still I could see their faces in my dreams cum nightmares. I forgot when I'd ditched the hands, but I still knew where to find them should the day come.
Strangely, they hadn't decayed much past their expiration date, only the funny wang of death corrupting them. I wondered if it was a side effect of my decaying Quirk, but without trial-and-error I couldn't begin to find out.
How strange that when we'd gotten all new clothes and a warm meal and beds to sleep on, although they were really sleeping bags, we'd been so happy and now the same things brought with them a sense of containment, confinement, entrapment. Even my eternally dream of some Quirk-resistant gloves had been granted, only they brought no joy.
I did consider dusting the orphanage matron, but she hardly worked alone. It would require killing, or at least maiming if I didn't mind the police coming after me, nearly 14 people, all adults, most likely with Quirks.
But still I knew, it was only a matter of time before I bucked these shackles imposed upon me, and got out of here, and God help whoever decided to get in my way.
It took four months before my plan saw the light of day, or rather the glow of night. A strange illness had been making the rounds in the city, and half the workers of the orphanage had come down with it.
In the past four months, I'd seen the diligence most brought to their work, and I doubted the sickness, which didn't seem like much more than a cold would've stopped them, but the matron ordered them to stay away until they got better, so as not to expose us to the illness.
That meant tonight was my best chance to escape, and I could get enough of the necessary pieces together on short notice.
The first step had been charting an escape route. My options were either to flee into the sewers via a hole in the shower area, or out through a wall near my bed. Either option had its problems, but shared one, Zozo was nowhere near me.
The boys and girls were kept separate at night so as to avoid any 'incidents', so really the first step was getting to Zozo which would require getting past the matron unless...
"I'm really scared... I want my big sister." I reached into myself, trying to draw up the proper emotions for my act. Fat tears forming at the edges of my eyes as a few of the older boys looked at me with ambivalence, and a lot of the younger ones with sympathy.
"Shh, just go to sleep little man. It's okay, nothing's going to get you." One boy said, trying to calm me down, but I refused to be silenced, forcing myself into hysterics, rivulets of salty liquid pouring from my eyes, teeth bit deeply into my lower lip, as my voice rose to a wail of emotion.
I heard one of the helpers come running, they always did, "Hey, hey, what's wrong kid. Did something happen?" He asked the surrounding boys as they shook their heads, of course they didn't know what was wrong, I'd only just concocted this story a few moments earlier.
"I'm scared, what if they get me?!" I wailed in grief, drawing confused looks from the helper as he once more looked for help from the observers.
"What if who gets you?" He asked, rubbing a small circle on my back in a futile attempt to comfort me.
"The monsters! They come in the dark, and they'll kill me, and no one will even care, except my sister!" I tried to lay it on thick as the man sighed, looking to the sky for guidance before standing, extending his hand to me.
"Come on, it's still a half-hour until lights out, how about we go see your sister, huh?" He said, and rather than stop crying, which would look suspicious, I toned it down, sniffling as I rubbed at my runny nose and watery eyes with one hand while clutching his hand with my other.
It took five minutes to walk to the girls' room, all of them in a circle talking about mundane things such as hair, or what hero they thought was cute, even the kind of family they hoped adopted them.
I spotted Zozo towards the outer ring of the crowd, her face like a statue as if she showed emotions, showed any semblance of happiness, she'd be betraying herself.
"Miss Zoe, you have a visitor, he's very upset." The helper announced as she looked up, only for her eyes to soften as she spotted me.
Releasing me into the horde of girls, I tried to force my way to Zozo's side, only for several of the girls to grab at me, ruffling my hair, cooing at my supposed adorability, I even heard one say she wished I were her little brother.
In the end though, Zozo rescued me, pulling me closer to her as the chattering girls went back to their... chattering.
"I'm making a run for it tonight. It's the perfect time, most of the staff is out with that flu bug, the moon is almost nonexistent, and we can escape!" I whispered as Zozo nodded, looking around to see if anyone heard.
"What's the plan?" She replied under her breath, and you had to think for a moment.
"I can use my Quirk to take out one of the western walls, and we can escape. So long as we can get an hour head start, there's no way they'll be able to catch us." I said, Zozo looking back at me unimpressed.
"Really, that's your master plan. What if someone catches us, or they call the police, they know what we look like you know. Honestly, I was worried when we first got caught by the police that they would find out I ran away from my last foster home, but I guess my foster parents never showed up to get me back, probably didn't want a Qurkless kid anyways." She moped, looking forlornly at the ground.
"Hey, look at me. Shut up! Who cares about those jackholes, we got each other now. That's why we have to get out of here as soon as possible. With all the helpers out sick, they'll be less likely to catch us. Besides, kids run away from here all the time probably." I hissed back, seeing acceptance in her eyes as I tried to convince myself this would work.
Zozo had a point, my plan was rather flimsy, but really it was pretty well formed. I had a way to get out, an escape route, really everything was hinging on our ability to get to each other and not get caught, which was the basis of most plans, now that I think about it.
"Look, we're getting out of here." I said firmly, more to myself than her, but whatever she would've said back, I never found out as I felt a firm hand on my shoulder.
"You good, kid. It's bedtime, I gotta get you back to your bed." The helper said, and already doubt was flooding my mind.
"Can't I sleep in here? I promise I'll be super good." I tried my best at an All Might level smile, but it didn't seem to sway him.
"No can do, little dude. We got strict rules about this sorta thing. You're going to have to make do in the Boys' dorms, but I promise that you can see your Big Sis as soon as the sun's up, okay?"
"Okay..." I trailed off, my gloved hand lingering with Zozo's as I was pulled away.
Soon I was ensconced back in my bed, the lights were first dimmed and then fully put out, and the soft sounds of slumber were heard in the room.
I waited maybe another twenty minutes past that before slowly pulling my sheets away, and sliding out from under them, the cold floor sending a chill up my back as I creeped towards the bathrooms.
If anyone saw me go in there, I would at least have a small bit of leeway since it wouldn't arouse suspicions yet.
From there, I removed one of my gloves, slowly tracing a circle big enough to crawl through for me and Zozo, but not so easily for the adults to give chase. Luckily, I knew the plumbing was set up by a moron, or maybe it was efficient, I really shouldn't throw stones. Either way, it worked for my purposes as the Girls' shower area was connected via a stone wall to the Boys'.
Thankfully, there were no girls in their bathroom since they probably would've given the game away. From there I creeped down the hall, cursing internally at the blatant sexism that was in my way.
All the girls had separate rooms to sleep in, and while most were decorated, it was in bright pinks and yellows with glitter and flowery crap without ever bothering to put a name on the door. Maybe it was kept that way so when the occupants left it was less work for whomever was placed there next, but all I knew was that it was hindering my progress.
Hearing creaking of a door, I ducked into the nearest room, thanking God it wasn't locked as I peeked out, spotting a pair of girls sneak down the hall towards the bathrooms.
Sighing in relief, I heard a shuffling sound as you looked behind me, a light flickering to life as I found myself staring at the owner of the room.
My very adult brain found her attractive, a sudden dichotomy forming between my mental age and my physically age.
She had long flowing golden hair, a set of crystal blue eyes, and pursed lips that would've probably felt really nice to kiss. Her sleep shirt had drooped when she sat up, revealing more than a healthy amount of cleavage to my young uninitiated eyes. Perhaps most importantly however, she was staring right at me.
There was silence for one, maybe two second before, "PERVERT!" There was instant chaos.
I sprinted out of the room, other doors quickly flying open as I scrambled down the hallway, learning very quickly that there was more than one than girl in some rooms.
I was forced to slide under one girl as she came out, her sleep mask still on her head, looking like she would pummel whomever the pervert was.
Yet still I hadn't spotted Zozo, and judging from the heavy footsteps coming upstairs, adults were on the way. Hoping that maybe there was no occupant, I shoved against an undecorated door, finding myself falling into a dimly lit room with a questioning Zozo looking at me.
"Fine, you were right, this isn't going as simply as I thought it would." I grumbled as she smirked, helping me to my feet.
I could hear the sounds of adults quickly approaching, but they'd be too late as I placed my hand against the outwards wall of Zozo's room. It wasn't west facing, but that shouldn't be a problem in the grand scheme of things, right?
A few seconds later, and we both jumped down into the darkness surrounding the building only to discover that yes, Zozo's non-west facing room was actually relevant.
You see, the Boys' barracks-style bedroom was west facing, and that meant it was next to a back alley that would've made for a quick getaway. Zozo's room, however, was south facing, due to the architecture of the building which meant that rather than landing in an alley, we'd landed in the yard, the backyard which was surrounded by a chain link fence.
Fun fact, a solid stone wall crumbled before the power of my Quirk, a chain link fence on the other hand took significantly longer given that my finger grabbed different parts of the metal leading to valuable time decaying away, time we didn't have.
This is why you plan ahead, and don't underestimate the face that just because it's an orphanage that it can't be that difficult to escape.
All of this went through my head as I ran my gloved hand through my hair, already grabbing hold of the fence, only for an electric shock to run through my arm, sending me stumbling back.
"Really? They electrify the fence at night?" I complained, already trying to form a new plan. Could dust the ground, it would take way too long to tunnel with my Quirk, and the fence wrapped around so the only to avoid it would be to charge through the main building, which was now crawling with helpers and most likely the matron. It wouldn't surprise me given the nature of the alarm if the police, and/or a hero were on their way to catch the pervert creeping on the underage girl.
"Hey kid." I heard Zozo say as flashlight approached. "I never asked before, and it seems really stupid now, but, what's your name?"
Was that true, I knew her name, I knew plenty about her and she about me, but had I never really introduced myself?
"You can call me Tomura." I replied simply as Zozo chuckled under her breath.
"Well then Tomura, can I just say... I'm sorry?"
"For wha-" My question was cut short as Zozo seized me with both her arms and seemed to pull before tossing me up and over the fence. It wasn't that high, and we'd definitely done things like this before, but I knew there was no way for me to pull her up with me this time as I landed in a heap on the other side, immediately scrambling to my feet as I tried to break down the fence, the shock hurting but my heart aching at the idea of abandoning Zozo when she'd been my near constant companion since I'd arrived here.
"No, Zee come one, we gotta go. We're partners right?" I said, not bothering to quiet myself as helper began streaming into the yard.
I knew it was too late, I had maybe three seconds before they reached us, and even if I tore a big enough hole in the fence, they would just follow us, but I still tried, for the first time feeling genuine tears pour down my face as I was so close but, yet so far from her.
"It's okay, thanks for keeping a Quirkless brat like me company while you could." Zozo sad with a soft smile as she walked away from the fence, making the hard choice between us as I cried, still trying to push through the fence only for a helper to grab her, carrying her back into the house, I felt a part of me go with her.
"I'll come back for you." I said, but if she heard the words, it was only in my dreams.
It had been three months since that night, the night where I abandoned my old self, where I changed into someone who had a true goal. I knew when I got here that I was going to change things, but they all seemed so far away. Now, I had a clear-cut goal in front of me, and I was driven to complete it. No more raids on pharmacies or grocery stores, no more begging in the streets. My eyes were different now when I saw myself in a mirror, where once they had been contemplative and thinking, now they drove into people, assessing them.
Three months had brought here, to this alley on this storm night, as I leaned against a brick wall, a bottle of soda in one hand, and a half eaten burger in the other as I heard the footsteps approaching.
I looked up, my eyes glaring at whoever decided to mess with me, daring them to try and stand between me and my goal.
My breath caught as my eyes washed up the coat, the broad form, the businessman suit and tie to the face that I'd never seen before but couldn't mistake.
"Hello, little one. You look so alone here. Come with me, and you'll never have to be alone again."
"No thanks." I spat, forcing myself to meet his gaze, even if I fell over dead of a heart attack in mere moments, I refused to surrender a second time.
My reply seemed to catch him off guard if the raised eyebrows were an indication. "That wasn't meant to be an offer." It seems he didn't appreciate being told no, even by his successor, although I guess at this point, I'm not him, I'm just a potential child to mold into the Symbol of Fear.
"Perhaps you misunderstood me then." I said, pushing myself up as I forced the rest of my burger into my mouth, taking a large drink of my soda to clear my mouth. "I'm not rejecting you; I'm proposing a counteroffer. You want me to help you, then you're going to help me first. Don't worry, it shouldn't hard for a man of your capabilities." I felt the smile creep across my face, crinkling my eyes as I dug around in my pocket, pulling out one of my memories.
If All-for-One expected this young, future Tomura Shigaraki, to reach out and offer a handshake with a dismembered hand, he didn't show it, but after a moment he took the hand all the same, the faintest hint of a grin on his face.
Mayuki Goal didn't know what was going on, it had seemed like a normal night when she gave the call for lights out, but then something had hit the building, the phone lines went dead, and no matter how much she called, no one answered. It was dead silent, not even the cries and screams of children breaking the roaring quiet.
Little did she know that upstairs, a young girl named Zoe, nicknamed Zozo was roused from her sleep by a gloved hand.
Blearily she opened her eyes to see Tomura standing over her, a new set of clothes on him, matching the new face he had. No that was wrong, it was the same one he had when last she'd seen him, the night she forced him to leave her to save himself, but the way he held himself, the way his eyes looked at her, it was like he'd grown several years in those three months.
"I told you I'd come back for you, didn't I?" He said, extending a hand as a pitch-black fog seemed to seep into the room.
"Come with me, and we'll never have to be alone again." He said and she didn't even think, grabbed hold of her future.