Enji fell asleep late but still woke up at dawn, his nerves not allowing him to rest properly. But he would be alright, he was used to having little sleep on most hectic, difficult missions, and, besides, after this day, one way or another, he'd have plenty of time to rest. He didn't get up immediately, though, and just let his hand gently stroke his bird's hair until, quite soon, Hawks' eyes opened and greeted Enji with a tired smile.
"Nightmares?" he asked as he kissed both of the golden eyes.
"Actually not," yawned Hawks. "But I suppose it still was in the back of my mind, the today."
Enji nodded with understanding.
They stayed like that for some more time, their legs tangled together, hands slowly and gently wandering on the bodies, reassuring each other wordlessly.
Finally, more and more sounds from the corridor told them everyone was getting up, so they left their bed, sadness and worry gripping Enji's heart again.
His Izuku, along with Kacchan, was already in the cafeteria, his broccoli boy devouring the breakfast with gusto, a smile on his face, his whole body emanating optimism. Enji's fists clenched. He needed to make sure his boy would be right about the today's outcome. Katsuki was eating without any enthusiasm, actually closer to forcing himself to swallow the food than properly eating, his brows frowned, anger as usual dwelling somewhere in the corners of his features, but this time paired with emotion rarely visible on the boy, worry. He went into full irritation mode though, immediately erasing any shade of any other feeling than ire from his face when he saw Enji and Hawks.
"Hey, Dads," Izuku waved at them happily.
"I love him," said Hawks. "Just look at him, such a ray of sun, even today."
"And such a stormcloud by his side," murmured Enji.
"Just like us?"
"Have you just compared me to Katsuki?" growled Enji. Hawks just laughed.
They went for their food and then sat down by the boys.
"How was your night?" asked Hawks shamelessly.
Katsuki turned pink, stopping eating abruptly. Now that was surprising, Enji expected him to be the first to say something vulgar, the last to actually be coy.
Izuku beamed. "Best night I ever had," he grinned, looking straight into Enji's eyes. Now it was Enji's turn to get pink but at least Katsuki was even redder than him now, his look drilling into his plate. "I was. Very. Happy," he added, still maintaining eye contact with Enji.
"Don't pretend you're asleep when you're not," mumbled Enji and turned all his concentration on his yakitori, hoping the subject would be dropped. Well, at least his Izuku truly emanated joy. It was good, before a day like this.
Hawks mercifully changed the topic and they started talking about the mental exercises useful before battles like the one that was coming. Not that any of those youngsters ever faced anything like this. At least his Izuku seemed optimistic, despite being the main aim of All for One.
Soon other Izuku's colleagues appeared, and Shouta with other heroes too, and everyone started chatting quietly, nerves more or less showing, reassurances and worried questions audible everywhere.
Both Shouto and Tenya were among the last to appear, Shouto always the one to stay in bed late, Tenya probably tired after staying up quite late, for him.
"I'm really sorry for yesterday," Tenya said, approaching Enji, sounding very guilty. "I really was such a child." The other boys eyed him curiously but went back to talking with their colleagues, letting them speak in peace.
"Don't say that, Tenya. I also needed to get reassurances from Hawks. This what we have family for."
"Still... you needed your rest."
"I'm well rested. I learned to be able to work with fewer hours of sleep when needed."
Tenya still looked guilty.
"Hey," said Enji. "This also is my job, as a leader. To make sure my team is in the right state of mind for the difficult battle."
Tenya sighed. "True. But, with all the training many great heroes were kind enough to give me, I should have been better prepared for a stress like this."
"Tenya, you're still only a prov. And better than most here."
"Thank you, Chigira-san."
Sooner than Enji would wish, the time was up and they all went to the gathering points of each of their teams. His kids approached him one more time, Izuku hugging him, Tenya just nodding, looking now determined and much more confident than before, probably using the concentration techniques Enji, king of insecurities and emotionality had taught his kids a long time ago, Shouto ...actually looking unsure and nervous?
"Shouto?"
Shouto came very close to him, head lifted to look Enji in the eyes.
"I love you too, stupid old man," he murmured embarrassed, and left immediately.
Despite all the stress, all the guilt, all the fear and pain Enji felt an immense joy filling him. Shouto told him he loved him! Hawks nudged him in the side, smiling. Enji grinned like stupid, like the death would not be hovering over them today.
"If you save my kids, Shimura, I swear I'll suck your dick," he thought. "I'll die for you."
"I don't need you to die, I need you to kill Shigaraki," he heard the voice and got red. So Shimura was watching them. "Also, maybe ask stupid bird first before offering to suck dicks all over the place?"
Shimura did not sound much nervous. Irritated, as usual, yes, in a foul mood, as usual, yes, but not nervous. Enji recalled how confident he had sounded yesterday and he decided to concentrate on this ray of hope. They would win. They would.
888
They waited patiently. All that was left was to wait. The worst minutes, the minutes just before the battle. Izuku was out there already. Any moment now All for One would appear and then it would start.
Hawks had his hand in Enji's.
Shouto was on his phone, even at this last moment.
Tenya was watching Shouto, and now, that Enji knew, he saw the love in the boy's eyes. How could he had been so blind?
Katsuki looked calm but in his eyes, the fury and impatience burned like Enji's Prominence Burn. Was he thinking about Izuku who was out there almost alone, only with that poor child of spies? Probably.
Shouta was looking fondly at this Copy boy, Monoma. It was his abilities that would let them succeed. That would ensure they hadn't just sent Izuku right into the villains' arms.
Kurogiri was quiet. Enji thought about Shimura who wanted the villain to be reassured about Shigaraki's fate. Thought about how he would have to kill Shigaraki. Thought about the boy Kurogiri once used to be. He stood up and went to the Warp villain. Shouta glanced up at him, eyes narrowing.
"We will help Tenko Shimura. We will," he said simply.
Kurogiri said nothing. Probably did not believe him.
Suddenly Shouta stood up.
"It's time," he said and looked at Monoma. The boy nodded and the darkness surrounded all of them.
Moments later they were by Izuku's side, All for One, Shigaraki, their lieutenants, and the army of noumus facing them.
And there was Touya.
Touya.
'Enji,' growled Shimura.
'I know.'
"I DIDN'T THINK I'D MEET YOU HERE, MY DEAR FATHER!" his mad child shouted. "SHALL I START WITH YOUR ALLIES' CREMATION?!"
It pained, it pained so much that his own child would hand out death so easily. But Enji forced his emotions away. This was a battle in which his Izuku, his Shouto, his Hawks, his Shouta, and plenty of other good people could die.
The fire practically exploded but Shouto's ice stopped it.
"AS IF I'D LET YOU, YOU IDIOT BROTHER!" shouted his Shouto.
"SHOUTOOOO!" howled Touya and the insanity in his voice pierced Enji to the core. But he didn't let this affect his mind, and he moved immediately toward All for One, where his place was. "Everyone is in their positions!" he heard Toshinori in his ear.
The Troy activated closing him, Hawks, Kamui, Tiger, and a couple of other heroes in darkness with All for One with them.
"You don't think that will stop me?" asked All for One, amusement in his voice. The dome crumbled and Enji prayed the boy would make it in time. The dome didn't even last a minute, after all. The darkness receded as the remains of the cage fell down and he saw the ruins of Gunga villa. So the boy did it! He grinned widely.
"Gunga mountain," said All for One. "I see..."
'Finish him off quickly, give him no time to realize what is happening or he'll withdraw Shigaraki. This is crucial!'
'Hah, as if this was so easy, Shimura!'
He heard Shimura's laughing, some note of mad joy in his voice that worried Enji. 'You were always so smart and so stupid at the same time, Enji! I am the author of this story! The events are going where I want them to go!'
Shimura was mad, mad, All for One had made him mad, and Enji was stupidly counting on the villain that was mad-
'You never guessed what my Quirk was. And I will never tell you if you can't guess it on your own. But I will tell you one thing. Hereby I grant you every Quirk you might want to have. Use it wisely.'
What?
What?
Wait, was that Shimura's Quirk? Could he freely use and grant any Quirks that were near him? And All for One... All for One had them all!
'Just fucking kill him quickly, anticlimactic as it will be, and don't show off, we can't let him realize what is happening too soon and get away in Shigaraki's body! Every second is precious now!'
But... but Enji did not even feel any different!
'Jesus fucking Christ,' groaned Shimura.
'Fine. Fine, I'll trust you. It's not like a have a fucking choice!'
'Fuck you,' responded Shimura angrily. 'You have no fucking sense of gratitude, you typical rotten hero.'
Enji rushed towards All for One, a part of him wondering if he was not going to die a second from now, another part wondering how the hell was he supposed to be able to use the Quirks that were never his to begin with.
"Ah, Number One. I see that the previous little 'fight' which we had, taught you nothing. If you can even call one hit a fight. Well, I suppose your little Touya will be disappointed!"
Enji was glad All for One liked to listen to his own voice, letting Enji get near enough, and hitting him with his Vanishing Fist, putting everything he had in it. He could see flames breaking through the suit AfO had.
'Finish it quick, quick, quick-'
Enji's eyes widened.
'Every Quirk.'
'Every Quirk.'
He saw again the destroyed city, Shigaraki standing alone amongst the pulverized buildings and wiped out bodies.
'Every Quirk.'
'Ah, the most suitable one. The Quirk All for One had given me so that I would kill my own family,' whispered Shimura sweetly, insanity tinting his voice.
Enji grabbed All for One by the suit and just willed all the pain, all the anger, all the fear, all the love towards his family he had, into this one wish.
The Quirk he never had had lurched inside him, ominous, dark, chaotic, final. He remember that lurch well, from Shimura's memory.
He could hear Shimura's laughter and could feel his madness, and his anguish, and his pain, and his hatred, and he once again was the boy watching his whole family fall apart.
All for One ceased to exist in a split second, the most powerful villain everybody feared turned to nothing but dust hovering in the air.
A deaf silence fell.
Enji realized vaguely every single hero was staring at him.
'When we win I'm finished,' he realised. 'I'm in Tartarus.'
Shimura was cackling happily in his mind for a short moment, obviously not paying any mind to Enji's grim thoughts, delighted with All for One's defeat, and then composed himself. 'Make them warp you back to Shigaraki. All for One is not dead yet and he just realized the heroes came to fight much better prepared than he expected. He knows now he stands no chance in Shigaraki's incompleted state. You need to get there now, or else he'll run away, he will.'
The heroes were still standing motionless, watching Enji warily.
"I'll explain later! We had... an ace in our sleeve!"
Hawks pure, silver, joyous laughter cut through the air and this made Enji a little lighter in his heart. He reached for his ear.
"All for One is dead, at least this form of his! Warp me back to Shigaraki right now! Shigaraki is going to retreat! We can't let him!"
"Immediately," he heard Shouta's completely calm voice. Enji felt a relief it was he who was by the Copy kid's side – at least he was a person to still trust Enji, even after this eerie performance.
"Warp me too!" he could hear his Hawks.
Then it occurred to him.
'You could have easily killed him.'
'Don't be stupid. The whole point was for him to not know about the power I wield. If he knew, he'd devise the plan to survive and win, somehow. He would, I know him well enough.'
Well, sounded logical.
'Of course it does, idiot.'
Enji huffed as the darkness engulfed him and spit him out where his Izuku, Katsuki, and other heroes were battling Shigaraki. He searched for Shouta.
"Shouta!" he shouted. "Don't let him use Warp! We can't let him escape! Use Monoma's help if needed!"
He was sure Shouta would roll his eyes at the obvious if he wasn't too concentrated on watching Shigaraki, who ...was doing something horrifying with his body, even if he couldn't use his Quirks. It looked like a gigantic mass of limbs, able to easily destroy a building, not to mention killing a human being. The man noticed him and Enji saw something he thought he'd never see in either Shigaraki or All for One – a shadow of fear in the villain's eyes.
'That's All for One, for sure. Shigaraki doesn't fear death. He craves it, even if he might not realize it consciously,' said Shimura for some reason.
"Shouto contained Dabi!" Enji heard in his ear. Oh God, thank God. Shimura snorted at that. Now Enji could pursue the villain with renewed energy. His Shouto was fine!
"Ah!" Shigaraki sounded so much like All for One now. Was he even there? Somewhere deep inside? "The very Number One is here! The little perfect experiment the Commission copied from me!"
What?
"I must say it did surprise me! Apparently, my little work on multiple Quirks and immortality was illegal but if the Commission is doing the same it is perfectly fine! Please do tell me how heroes differ from villains!"
"We don't kill people! And this ain't experiment!" roared Enji as he rushed toward All for One.
"Oh, but you just killed All for One! Was not he a person? Or maybe it is quite simple - when heroes do the killing it is a good deed but when we do it, it is bad?"
Enji thought frantically about what kind of long-distance Quirk could he use and recalled the shockwave he had seen Shigaraki using. He had no idea how to activate it though and-
'You are the fucking fire user,' growled Shimura.
True. He unleashed the Hell Spider with all the power he could muster and to his surprise he saw the fire go blue. Well, no matter, what mattered was that it hit All for One and damaged the mass of limbs and flesh he was using to destroy the surroundings. Just to be regenerated in seconds.
'I just need to get close enough to use the Decay again!'
But All for One knew that well, and was, apparently, using every Quirk he had to evade all Enji's attempts which-
The Black Whip shot out and caught him, just like before, just like during the previous battle.
"DAD!" shouted Izuku.
"I know!" Enji shouted back.
"No, don't kill him! Tenko must be there, fighting, we can't kill him! With your power, we can get him alive!"
Enji's heart dropped.
'I'm sorry, Izuku. I'm sorry.'
"Oh, look at that!" sneered All for One. "So at least one hero among us sees the villains as people. Very good-natured, wouldn't you say?!" And then he used the Decay on himself, damaging badly Shigaraki's body, slipping from the Blackwhip, rushing towards Shouta.
"He wants to warp away!" growled Enji as he shot another Hell Spider that burned All for One's body again, only to be regenerated by his Quirks.
'Obviously.'
The gigantic appendage hit and turned to ruin the place in which Shouta and Monoma were just seconds ago but Erasure still held. All for One immediately jumped away, a split second before Enji could touch him. The Black Whip shot out again but the villain reacted instantly and Izuku missed. To fly right into Katsuki.
The biggest explosion Enji had ever seen sent All for One right into Enji's arms.
Just one touch of his five fingers was enough to finish him.
"Dad! Don't kill him!"
Enji hesitated.
'FOR FUCK'S SAKE!' shouted Shimura as the moment passed and a tremendous hit sent Enji flying straight into the electric barrier.
"He is so right, that noble son of yours! By killing him you'll kill poor Tenko!" laughed All for One. "Nana Shimura's pitiful grandson! Ill-stared Tenko whose all deeds were nothing but my manipulations! Nothing he did was done of his own free will! Everything that had happened in his life was my doing! The abuse, his Quirk, the death of his family, his insanity! Will you kill the man who is nothing but a victim? Who felt nothing but pain in his life? All he had experienced was misery and hurt! Is it a heroic deed to kill a child who was made insane by a villain? Would you kill your own child? You have made Touya insane by your own vile deeds, haven't you, Endeavor? Is your Touya's life more worthy than that of Tenko's? Of course it is, that is why you have not gone after Touya. You would not be able to kill him. But to kill a stranger's child, that is perfectly fine by you, my oh-so-very-noble heroes!"
"I DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM!" roared Enji. "BUT THERE IS NO CHOICE!"
"There is always a choice, my dearest hero! Everything you do is your choice!"
'Enji,' he heard Shimura's voice.
'I know,' thought Enji though the pain gripped his heart. He wasn't wrong, All for One. Shigaraki probably did not deserve any of this. If Enji's coldness turned Touya into a murderer, he could only imagine how much more helpless could little abused, terrified, pained Tenko had been in All for One's, who was a master manipulator and the most cruel and sociopathic villain, hands.
Still, there was no other way, was there?
'No,' said Shimura calmly. 'It needs to be done.'
'Don't I have a Quirk that could separate them-'
'You need to kill him. It has to be done. Shigaraki is my friend. He is. I am not lying to you. Me and him both were All for One's victims.'
Enji sighed and rushed again after All for One.
The man once again evaded his to get caught in Best Jeanist's steel fibers. It took only a second for him to break through them which was enough for Izuku to catch him into the Black Whip.
"Dad!"
Enji's heart was grave as he flew to All for One.
"Dad!"
'I don't want to be... that kind of hero. I want to be a light even to villains. I don't want to be their enemy. They're people,' a memory came. 'If we start killing people this will be All for One's win. He wanted it from the very beginning. To show there is no difference between villains and heroes. That there is no point in such a concept as 'hero' at all. That all this is evil and corrupt and it's everyone looking out only for themselves world. We can't prove that he is right, Dad. We'll lose, the moment we do it, Dad. Even if we kill him, we kill Shigaraki, the new world will be the world he would want. '
'Enji,' growled Shimura.
"He's not wrong," whispered Enji pleadingly.
'All for One is in control! There is not much left of Shigaraki anymore! He's been ruining his mind for years with the sole purpose of easily taking over him!'
But again Enji's hesitation worked against him and All for One decayed more of his body. But Izuku was ready for it, more and more strings binding him at crucial parts of the body until almost half of it was decayed and regenerating while the Black Whip still held.
The quiet curse left from All for One's lips and his every limb and most of the torso turned into dust. But he did manage to escape the Black Whip.
"PATHETIC!" roared Katsuki as another enormous but extremely precise explosion sent the still regenerating creature toward Enji.
"I'm sorry, Tenko," he whispered as he touched the man, merely a twenty-year-old boy's head. The other man froze and for a second something changed in him, a familiar madness lightening up in the red eyes. A mad grin appeared. "If I die, make sure he dies with me," Tomura Shigaraki hissed.
Enji put whole his will into the unfamiliar, cold, destructive Quirk, even though everything protested in him.
All for One wasn't wrong.
This was but a victim.
All for One, Shigaraki, they both turned into dust under his hands. Enji closed his eyes.
"DAD!" shouted Izuku.
'I'm sorry, Zuku.'
"Served him right!" shouted Katsuki.
"What the hell is that?" he heard Hawks' voice.
What was what? Fuck, Enji knew it couldn't be that easy. He opened his eyes.
The sky went unnaturally dark as if the eclipse came. All the stars were visible. No, more were visible, more than Enji had ever seen. He looked at the sky and he had the uncanny feeling he was seeing all the Cosmos, to its very edges, his little human brain comprehending what it really meant to be a tiny speck on a tiny planet rushing through what normally should be uncomprehensive vastness of space. If he concentrated he could see billions of galaxies and his brain felt like he was on drugs. Wait, was that some kind of All for One's Quirk? A trick to survive?
He looked around. Everyone was staring at the sky, too, so it wasn't just him seeing things. The dust into which he had turned Shigaraki was glowing and taking back a human shape, with immense power and presence emanating from it. Somehow it felt... it felt like it was the center of the whole world, ridiculous as it sounded.
'Shimura! What the fuck is happening!'
'I have told you I have an amazing, unique Quirk," he could hear a smug smile in Shimura's voice. "All for One was never after me because of Nana Shimura. He wanted everybody to believe that but the truth was he was after this Quirk.'
'What Quirk?!'
Silence responded.
A body was created. It looked exactly like Shigaraki, the Shigaraki he saw in the photos from the Yuuei attack, hair blueish, eyes red, skin chapped and sickly colored, scars covering almost every inch of his skin. But there was a raw power emanating from him, a presence to which All for One's was insignificant in comparison. It was breathtaking and intimidating beyond any human measure. And at the same time it felt... more beautiful than anything Enji had ever seen. And it distinctly felt like the whole cosmos revolved around thi-
' All for One was never after me because of Nana Shimura. It was because of this Quirk'
'the true extent of my Quirk. People fear it. As they should.'
'I gave you a hint once about the nature of my Quirk.'
'I gave you a hint once about the nature of my Quirk.'
'I gave you a hint once...'
And the oldest memory, of the first conversation he had ever held with Shimura: 'Tell me, have you ever heard of the theory of singularity?'
Enji's eyes widened.
There were sects out there, believing that the evolution of Quirks would one day lead to an ultimate Quirk, the Quirk that could bend all time and space. As a proof, they were showing all sorts of Quirks that seemed to break the laws of physics. Stars and Stripes was the one they used as an example the most often.
Some of those sects believed that would lead to the birth of a final ruler, an ultimate despote, who would just treat this world as its playground and those were the ones insisting on banning all the Quirks usage.
Some of those sects believed that kind of ultimate Quirk could destroy their whole Universe. Those were the ones who were murdering Quirk users hoping the society could go back to being Quirkless. Those were the ones who had murdered his Sparkle.
Some of those sects believed that this Quirk user was the reason the whole Universe appeared, that this person would go back in time to cause the Big Bang, and by their very presence among the nothingness they would cause the whole universe to happen. Those worshipped this future user like a God.
But no, it couldn't be- It couldn't be- No one could wield such a power! No one could!
Shigaraki opened his eyes and Enji could physically sense his presence intertwining with the whole Universe, from here to the parts that weren't even observable, from the beginning of time, through now, to the future.
This was no lie, no illusion, he felt it in his veins, in his heart, in his overwhelmed brain.
This was the Singularity Quirk.
The Quirk and ultimate power All for One coveted.
And, apparently, the 'death' of its user activated it.
'You need to kill him. It needs to be done' Shimura's words replayed themselves in his head again. Of course. It never was about killing Shigaraki. 'Shigaraki is my friend. He is. I don't lie to you' It was about unleashing Shigaraki's true power at the right moment, after All for One's death, so that Shigaraki could be free and powerful. Shimura had been lying to him all that time.
The red eyes that were piercing Enji with hatred narrowed.
"The fuck are you thinking about?" The villain hissed.
'We're dead. We all are dead,' thought Enji helplessly. The power that filled up the whole reality was not a lie, he could feel it in his every fiber. Those lunatics in those sects happened to be right. The Singularity Quirk was the beginning and end of this all. And All for One had made its user's life hell and made his heart filled with hatred and desire to destroy. This was the end of the world.
Shimura lied to him promising his children's safety. Lied to him about a better world.
"That's why I'm asking," growled Shigaraki and a shudder came through Enji as he felt reality responding to the villain's anger. He could wipe them all out with his mere thought. "The fuck are you thinking about? Who the fuck is Shimura?"
"Original Tenko Shimura?"
Shigaraki blinked. "What?"
"You're... the clone. The original escaped from All for One's cage."
"I am Tenko Shimura," said Shigaraki. "There is no other."
"No, not in this Universe, anyway," said a tired unfamiliar feminine voice. They both turned to see a small, plump, very exhausted-looking woman wearing black. Suddenly Shigaraki's power dwindled significantly. What the hell? "Shimura, who Enji is talking about is your future self."
Enji blinked.,
"He came here to close the loop and avoid a crucial paradox. This is your job, as an overseer of this Universe, but don't worry about it too much for now, O-, ah, right, you don't have a name of choice, yet. Shall I call you Tenko or Tomura?"
"And who the fuck are you?"
"I am the overseer of this part of the multiverse," said the woman simply as if she were saying she was a district constable or the Census official. "Congratulations on your Awakening. You are the overseer of this Universe and you will be held accountable to me if you don't follow these conditions and terms." She held out a tablet. "You'll have to sign it to be able to use your power. It's called Singularity Quirk in this Universe, right?"
Shigaraki blinked. Enji did not blame him, now he was absolutely certain he was in a coma after a failed attack on All for One. All this was insane. The woman turned to him and gave him a long look. "More insane than assuming the Universe exploded from nothingness without any reason?" she asked as if she were talking to a particularly slow child.
"Wait," hissed Shigaraki furiously. "You're telling me I was lucky to be born with the most tremendous, unbelievable, frightening Quirk and I can't use it because... there is some ...interdimensional clerk who says I can't?"
The woman seemed completely unphased. "Yes. I don't want you to go destroying the Universe or exterminating humanity. Mind you, I truly empathise with the latter but there are still some laws to be upheld in my part of the multiverse. We shall not be barbarians."
Shigaraki just stared at her. And no wonder, all this was absurd.
"And what if I don't?" he growled.
"Well, of course, your body will be protected against damages, but that'd be the extent of your power. If you don't feel able to shoulder this considerable burden, which is perfectly okay considering your past," She looked at Shigaraki with sympathy at which the villain visibly bristled. "You can allow access to your power to a chosen trusted representative," she looked at Enji here. What was she thinking Enji was to Shigaraki? Did she know he had just killed him? "Though it would require more extensive preparations and you'd still have to sign this."
Shigaraki suddenly reached out for the woman and grabbed her but absolutely nothing happened. The woman also seemed absolutely unmoved by this.
Izuku floated nearer.
"So, how many universes with Tenko as the overseer you have, ma'am?" his child asked conversationally.
'Someone fucking wake me,' thought Enji. He glanced down. All the heroes were staring at the woman and Shigaraki too. And there were flowers. Goddamn fucking white flowers blooming everywhere out of fucking nowhere. On a fucking concrete. He looked once more at the faces and saw everyone shared his thoughts.
The woman smiled. "Many."
"There are many of me," growled Shigaraki.
"There are many of everyone," agreed the woman. "Anyway, I want you to leave this universe for the time being to recover after your ordeal, and to rethink everything in peace. There is no rush. You can leave alone or with your friends. You will be able to come back to the chosen point in time, it can be now, too. No one will notice you were gone."
"I'm not going anywhere," spat Shigaraki.
"But won't that mean you won't have any offensive power?" asked Izuku brightly.
Shigaraki glanced down at all the heroes. "They won't be able to deal me any damage anyway."
'They still will be able to put you in the maiden, assuming this isn't a fucking nightmare,' thought Enji.
"Where do you want him to go?" Izuku continued to be the only person taking all this at face value.
"Somewhere the overseer can rest and think who he truly is. Far from anyone's influence."
"Including yours?" Shigaraki spat dryly.
The woman shrugged. "All I want from you is a) not to actively destroy or passively allow your universe to be destroyed, b) not to exterminate any species, especially of higher intelligence. The rest is completely up to you. This is your world for shaping."
"Was it you who chose Tenko to be an overseer?" asked Izuku.
"Yes," smiled the woman.
"Why?!" blurted out Enji. "This world ruined him!"
"And whose fault is that?" she asked lightly. Both Enji and Shigaraki stared at her. "Besides an overseer must be strong psychically. All the worlds are full of pain and an overseer always hears that deep inside him. It must be someone capable of enduring it and not going insane."
Enji blinked. Blinked once more.
Shigaraki must have been thinking the same since he said, "You. Chose me. Because of my tremendous ability to stay sane."
"We're not talking human standards of sanity," the woman explained peacefully. "Besides, considering what you have been through, that you have never committed suicide or ended up completely broken is a testament to how strong you are."
"Alright. I get it now," said Shigaraki. "You have chosen a mad villain to be an overseer of this Universe because you're obviously insane too."
"Nobody stays sane when they oversee this part of the multiverse," sighed the woman. "And I don't believe in heroes and villains. So, are you going with me?"
There was a long pause on Shigaraki's side. "I want to meet this Shimura Enji kept thinking about."
The woman's smile faded. "It is not advisable for the overseer to meet his past or future self. You're too crucial for this reality to cause paradoxes upon yourself."
"Paradoxes?"
"You will have to memorize and copy everything your future self will do while meeting you. Also, meeting your future self will bind your future."
Bind future?
"Makes sense," murmured Izuku.
It did?
"Fine. I'll go read this bullshit in peace and then you'll send me back. My friends are going with me. They are-"
"I know who they are," said the woman lightly and everything went black.
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"So, this is how you decided to handle things?" asked The Girl, her voice bearing this particular shade of kindness the therapist would have when trying to break to their patient something unpleasant.
Oboro smiled proudly.
The Girl sighed.
"This is, you understand, why I regularly have to turn my hair black? From white, let's make it clear."
"This is literally your job," said the silver-haired man sweetly. "Preparing the overseers, that is."
"I thought you went back in time to Enji not only to make sure he'll kill you in the right moment but also to prepare him to help in your recovery. What I found was an absolutely confused and resigned man who, when not thinking he is in a coma having some absurd dream, is thinking the apocalypse is coming and his whole world would be drowned in blood."
Oboro went incensed. "He should have known better than that after all I've done for him!"
The Girl massaged her temples. "Oboro, dear child of mine, Enji is a friend of yours. Why wouldn't you just talk to him like an adult civilized human being, love?"
Oboro scoffed. "I saved his fucking skin four times, Girl! Four fucking times! And he still doesn't trust me! Do you know what he thought in the end?! That I've been lying to him! That I would hurt his kids!"
"I'm pretty sure he thought your past self would hurt his kids. Oboro, love, you literally tried to kill them all and destroy the world."
"...I wouldn't kill Izuku. And besides, that was All for One."
"Oboro, love, look me in the eyes and tell me you did not want to slaughter everyone but those you considered friends when you were calling yourself Tomura."
Oboro mumbled back something irritably.
The Girl looked at him with all the patience she could muster. "All I'm saying is this really wasn't very nice and I don't know how you expect Enji to help your past self now."
"He swore. He swore he would be my friend. It is his job to fulfill the oath and be a friend!"
The Girl just hid her face in her hands.
"Don't make such a face," grumbled Oboro. "You have much worse universes than mine on your plate, and much more serious problems."
"Yes, I am aware. And this is precisely my point. Enji was supposed to help you out when you recover. I don't see it happening in the current state of things. Which means I will have to do it. With everything on my plate, as you were kind enough to have mentioned. And all thi is just because you are petty over the fact the poor man, who had been being visited randomly by an overpowered villain he barely knew, facing the reality in which said villain appeared to be basically a god in his universe, and who also was at the same time the mad and completely broken-"
"I wasn't mad and completely broken."
"-mad and completely broken in his eyes villain who wanted to slaughter everyone, right after their country had been drowned in the civil war, decided he couldn't trust you. While you behaved like an – I'm really sorry to say it – like an asshole and a creep."
"When did I behave like an asshole?"
"For example, appearing randomly when he and his lover needed some peace of mind? Or whe-"
"I can't believe he told on me. Or were you spying on me?"
"I simply talked with our Enji. Was curious why such a good friend of yours... did not seem such a good friend of yours back then."
"This is my universe, my life and I will do things as I want! ...and I don't want to hear a sermon about pettiness when you on purpose did not stop time and just let everyone see and hear everything."
The Girl's smile was finally genuine.
"They deserved that. Let them tremble for their future after what this world did to you."
This time Oboro grinned back.
"Still. If your past won't tie with your future the way it should-"
"-it will be Enji's fault."
"No. It will be your fault. And I will be the one fixing it."
"It will be fine! This is my life and my Universe! Don't interfere! Why don't any of you trust-"
"-your people skills? Yes, why is that, Oboro?"
Oboro scoffed. "Fuck if I know."
The Girl sighed.