Trigger Warning:
- blood
- gore
- extreme manipulation
Of all the places I have had to teleport to today, this place was the last one I was expecting.
That black void.
There are no colorful beams or white clouds, but I recognize this void.
The same abyss I transported to when transferring One for All to Shigaraki.
Why? Why do I have to relive this experience again?
It's not much of a relief to see terrain beneath my toes. It definitely does not help that Midoriya-san and Shigaraki-san are in the same dimension, too. Oh, would you look at that? All for One joined the party, too! Yippee! If Midoriya-san recognizes me, I am doomed. All my efforts will be for naught.
No one has noticed me yet. I intend to keep it that way. I can use the darkness to my advantage. Backing away slowly from everyone, the shadows conceal me, rendering me as the third-party spectator. And with the immediate threat quelled for now, I can scrutinize my settings.
Midoriya-san and Shigaraki face each other. Though it appalls me to see Midoriya-san on his two feet, partially cloaked in shadows of his own. A half-mask covers the lower part of his face. Where did your costume go? At the same time, Shigaraki appears to be forced to his knees by All for One, of all people. They are arguing.
I want to argue too. Ten bleeding hells, Shigaraki! You couldn't preserve my trenchcoat for thirty minutes?! It was custom-made designer material, too!
"Get out! Don't get closer!" Shigaraki protests.
All for One replies much too calmly, "Even if you say so, Tomura … if I hadn't lent you my power, you would be burned to a crisp! And even if you survived that, wouldn't a fall from this height mean certain death?"
"Shut your trap! I already told you this, Sensei! This is my path … my dream!"
I don't understand. Shigaraki revered All for One since the day I met him. He obeyed his instructions without complaint and took his advice in high regard. What changed? More importantly, what do I do?
Apparently, Midoriya-san is in the same quagmire as I am. He tries to move forward, but trips, landing on his stomach hard. Then an unfamiliar voice joins the conversation. A muscular woman with a much too innocent face. Rubbing the back of Midoriya-san's head, she says, "You still can't move in this world. But we'll do something about that." Who is this?
My mouth opens to blurt the question, but I manage to shut it at the last second. I cannot give myself away.
"To think we'd be meeting after my passing, All for One," the woman continues.
If the woman's tone and expression belay consternation and hostility, then All for One displays the opposite. "Look at that, Tomura!" he jeers, darkness cloaking the upper half of his face. "A corpse is talking! Not just any corpse, but your grandmother. The sorrowful and pathetic Nana Shimura!"
Huh?! Grandmother! I recall Shigaraki mentioning seeing his deceased family members when waking up from his coma. Was this woman present in his vision? And grandmother? Shigaraki's grandmother was a hero, but her grandchild is a villain. What a twist of fate! But that brings up another important question? Just how old is All for One? I realize that I've talked to this man so many times but never actually seen his face. Even now, what I get is incomplete. Judging from the wrinkles and sagging skin, he seems to be in his mid-forties. However, Nana Shimura-san is confirmation that he is much, much older.
I keep listening, rather interested in this new lore.
"In the past, there were accounts of patients who underwent organ transplants having their personalities adopt ones similar to their donors. Most dismissed it as some occult superstition, but I've experienced the same phenomena myself. I would sometimes have riveting dreams, featuring the holders of the various quirks I had seized. Whenever it happened, I was disheartened, left with a similar feeling of guilt as them. Interestingly, the moment I relinquished said quirk, the ghost of the original holder would never come out to haunt again. How eerie is that? And I consider myself a skeptic! However, it was my meeting with the doctor when I fully realized what was going on.
"Much like organs, whose cells hold the memory and personality of those who donated it. The same consciousness manifests within the shape of their quirks. Until now, I've always thought that being able to converse with those whose quirks I've appropriated was a special privilege exclusive to me."
While All for One's speech continues, I hear Shigaraki mumble his grandmother's name. "Why are you here?"
"And now I've cursed my own younger brother to have his consciousness bound to his own quirk! I can only imagine how it would feel to be the next holder of One for All. Cursed to have their own personalities live in this blighted plane of existence for eternity! Was that an appropriate greeting?"
Whatever response All for One was hoping for, he does not get it from Nana-san. Instead, she concentrates on her grandson. "You are Kotaro's …"
The sentence trails unfinished. Shigaraki completes it for her. "Whatever the reason, don't worry, grandmother. I blame you, too."
Kotaro. Boy name. Ah, paternal grandmother. Daddy issues.
However, I have issues of my own to contend with, too. All for One's monologue has given me profound insight into my own abilities. The silhouettes that appeared when I transferred One for All to Shigaraki were former users of the quirk. I understand that now. Which means that they have known all this time who I was. What I have done. All my dirty secrets.
Damn, have they told Midoriya-san the truth?
Dead men tell no tales. Clearly, that notion has been disproved now. I have no choice but to interfere.
No sooner do I make my decision does the earth rumble. Fissures crack from where Shigaraki crouches toward Midoriya-san and Nana-san. Waves of raw power rush in the opposite direction, washing over Shigaraki. My knees buckle under the weight.
This change of events must be a good thing, given how All for One squeals, "Well done, Tomura! Your will is being reciprocated! One for All's policy of 'moving in accordance to the wielder's willpower' is responding to your unquenchable rage!" Then he pauses. His smile freezes in place. "Oh dear." His voice drops. So cold that I can feel wind chills ripple my clothes. "Is that how it is? Seems you detest me as well."
I get up and move a step. In Shigaraki's direction.
"Brilliant! This is the birth of the Symbol of Fear!" A few more steps. No one has spotted me yet. I want to keep it that way, waiting for the right moment to ambush. "Though it doesn't seem to be enough, considering my brother can be just as stubborn as me at times."
Almost there.
But a new person participates in this war of control. Assisting Nana-san in seizing back One for All is a man with shoulder-length white hair. He has a scrawny figure, possibly malnourished and dehydrated. Overall unimpressive. If not for the defiant look in his eyes. "Manipulating this kid this time, brother?" he asks in a tone that implies this conversation has occurred many times before.
"It will save all of us a lot of time if you would hand over the power to me!" All for One retorts.
The brother opens both palms over Midoriya-san's body. "We won't be going to you. We have chosen to remain within this boy."
And I have closed the gap.
My willpower fuses with All for One's and Shigaraki's willpower. The tides that had begun to shift in their favor return to us. It seems that like these ghosts of the past, even I exhibit some control over the quirk despite having transferred it.
But it is not nearly enough for All for One. I don't think either of them even registered my presence because of the sheer insanity of his will.
"POWER, TOMURA!" he howls. "If your strength is combined with mine, then I can take it! Then these ghosts from my past victories can finally be put to rest!" I? Me? What kind of language is that? What happened to including your protégé? "Little brother! You said you've chosen him?! Quit pretending you're so strong1 Shouldn't you know by now? I've been watching you through Tomura!" Again with that self-centered choice of words. Is this why Shigaraki is defying his teacher now …? "He doesn't know how to make use of such an excellent power! He couldn't even protect his friends or his teachers. And instead needed protection himself!" I glance briefly at Midoriya-san, who flinches at the accusations. "If that wasn't enough, he let himself be consumed by rage, just like his teacher! Until finally! He's frozen on the ground, unable to move anything but his eyeballs back and forth."
Indeed, Midoriya-san's eyes simultaneously reveal his desperate desire to get up and retaliate and his utter helplessness at being unable to lift a finger.
"Leaving this power to such a simpleton was your mistake!" All for One's jaw is wider than his entire face. For a moment, it is not the looming threat of having my identity exposed that scares me but this maniacal man.
Who should I support? Shigaraki, who was the one who initially recruited me? All for One, on whose orders he even reached out to me? Shigaraki, who protected me time and time again from rapists? All for One, who was the first to deduce my true quirk? Shigaraki, who views me as his little sister? All for One, who sought to exploit me for his own agenda?
And then I recall the conversation I had with Shigaraki on the night I revealed my absorption to him. All for One's capture had broken his heart, and realizing that I had lied to him shattered it. He had been afraid that I would leave him, just like everyone important to him had. Then I had sworn my loyalty to him. To Shigaraki.
Yotsubashi-san said that I was Shigaraki's right-hand. That it was time to stop hiding. What could I become if I stopped worrying about death, about pain, about anything? If I stopped trying to belong? Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear. And there is only one person who can grant me such power.
The answer has always been there. I must abide by it.
Still hiding amongst the shadows, I bend to Shigaraki's level and whisper, "Do you want this power or not? Your wish is my command."
It is a challenge. Countless times today, Shigaraki has been refuting All for One's demands. This is his last chance. There will be no turning back after this.
There is no hesitation in his eyes as he glares ahead. He murmurs, "I do. For myself and not for Sensei."
And so it shall.
A scorpion bides its time, waiting for unsuspecting prey to fall into its trap. All this time, that is exactly what I have been doing. Waiting. Biding. Searching for the right opportunity. I do it again. Just this one last time.
All for One's brother responds to All for One's insult with, "He's not a mistake. Someone like you, brother, who only takes advantage of others, wouldn't understand. No matter what, this boy will spill his blood for others. He becomes enraged for others. And without limits and without fail, he picks himself up. He's a boy possessed by the need to save others, despite his common sense! This power will stick with this boy."
I'm afraid not.
When my arms rise, a maelstrom of power rages. Wind whistles at unfathomable speeds, freezing every centimeter of bare skin; rocks uproot themselves, catching themselves in the fury; stars return, their intensity increasing by the second.
A sphere of silver light flickers in and out in front of me. It grows larger and stabilizes the longer I fight. The power I bestowed upon Shigaraki returns to me. More holders of One for All appear, trying to wrench control away from me. It won't be as easy as that.
"Give me your hand," I beckon to Shigaraki. He grasps it with so much ferocity, I fear that he'll break my bones.
The ball dissipates into me, creating an aura of silver radiance around me. I force that radiance into Shigaraki. Slowly, the glow brightens. The light spreads from me to him. Where our hands meet, the shine is brightest. More. More. More.
Midoriya-san gapes at me, eyes nearly popping out of his skull. His chin drops, belaying a silent scream. Then his brow furrows. He attempts to claw his way toward me. My focus flickers just a moment. Shigaraki squeezes my fingers tighter. "He doesn't recognize you," he hisses. "Even I didn't until you whispered into my ear. Keep going."
The problem is, the holders carry the knowledge of who I am. In fact, Nana-san frowns before opening her mouth. I don't need to be a genius to figure out what it is she is going to say.
No.
The command was released mentally. But its effect is physical. Every muscle in the holders' bodies tenses up. Lips seal into tight lines. Movements become as still as those of a statue. Whether this is courtesy of the enhancer drug, inadvertent use of Shinsou-san's brainwashing quirk, my lingering manipulation on One for All, or a combination of all three … I do not know. I care not as long as it gets the job done.
Forget.
The gleam from their passionate eyes dims for a brief moment. And that one moment is enough to wrest twenty-five percent of One for All from them. First I made them unable to disclose my identity, then I made them forget I was a wielder. I consider issuing a final command while I'm at it.
Give.
It is seven against one. Eight, counting Midoriya-san, who has become just as slack-jawed and moony-eyed as his predecessors. Nine, including All for One. The top half of his hidden as before. But All for One has no need to expose all his facial features to instill fear into an enemy. Just the thin scowl of his nonexistent lips is enough to make the temperature drop fifty degrees.
"What are you doing, Selene?" he hisses.
Suppressing the shivers making goosebumps rise, I answer, "Exactly what you wanted. Reclaiming One for All."
"Give it to me. Tomura has much to learn before becoming the inheritor of this power." He extends his hand, but I do not take it. "I will not repeat myself. Give me One for All, Selene."
"Haven't you heard, All for One? Live scorpion in pants makes life interesting. And you had been breeding this one from the very start." I taunt. "Don't be surprised when it stings back."
I am about to say more, but Shigaraki replies in my stead. Though tremors course up and down his spine from absorbing the quirk, he manages to get out, "Sensei, thank you for making me the villain I am today. But I will not follow in your footsteps. Your fraternal feud is not my torch to carry. I will forge my own legacy. Your decisions and their outcomes … I learned plenty from them.
"This body is mine. This mind is mine. This soul is mine. And now, All for One and One for All will be mine."
With those final words, the ball of light splits into two. One remains silver, but the other glimmers gold. What is this? The silver orb continues to flow through me into Shigaraki. But the gold one. It whizzes toward Midoriya-san.
All for One shouts, "Pass it to me now!"
I do nothing of the sort. Instead, I watch dumbfoundedly as the gold orb enters Midoriya-san's chest.
A blinding explosion occurs.
And we are thrust out of the dimension of ghosts.
Although, the glaring sun almost makes me believe we are still in that plane of existence. It is not until I see Shigaraki and Midoriya-san inert as logs from my periphery. I try to move my limbs. Nothing.
I feel just as much as ghost as those silhouettes. Useless. Hopeless. Aimless. But time is of the essence. My feelings matter naught. I cannot afford to be any of those things. Not when Shigaraki looks like a corpse crawled out of its grave.
His burns are not faring much better than Dabi's. Plumes of smoke rise. His body is damaged to a point where even the water in blood evaporates before it can flow. Ugly scabs decorate his arms and chest like an artist's concept of 'abstract art.' His head takes the worst toll. I can see his jaw structure. I should not be seeing his jaw structure. The crack in his skull exposes his brain. I should not be seeing his brain, either.
Shock after shock.
That is enough stimulus to let my nerves fire again.
My peacock wings flap.
I catch Shigaraki around the waist.
The right-hand is nothing without her king.
Don't you dare die on me again.
And I close my eyes before taking his injuries for my own.
Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The links to the chapters are here:
.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-286/
.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-287/
Citation:
"What could I become if I stopped worrying about death, about pain, about anything? If I stopped trying to belong? Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear." - The Cruel Prince by Holly Black