Deep breaths could be heard in a pitch black room.
These deep breaths were coming form only one person, but that person wasn't sure if he was the only one in that room. Even though there were no signs that anyone else was in the room with him in that moment, he still kept doubting that thought.
Doubting, rethinking, and doubling back over and over again.
There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here. There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here. There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here.
He could never trust himself with these kinds of things.
There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here. There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here. There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here.
There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here⎯traitor⎯There's nobody else here. There's somebody else here. There's nobody else here⎯traitor⎯There's somebody else here.
There's nobody else here⎯traitor⎯There's somebody else here⎯traitor⎯There's nobody else here⎯traitor⎯There's somebody else here⎯traitor⎯There's nobody else here⎯traitor⎯There's somebody else here⎯traitor!
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" The person yelled at the top of their lungs as he begged for the voices to stop. He would have grabbed his head and clenched his fists against them, but you can't exactly do that with a straitjacket on.
The person could feel their eyes getting hot as tears started pooling in their eyes. He couldn't see the streams falling down his face, but he damned hell was sure he could feel them falling down his face.
Ah, he's too much of a crybaby.
Why can't he be like Tomura more? So cool, so calm, so levelheaded even under all the stress of his own father getting thrown to jail.
Of course, he used to throw these small little tantrums, but Tomura grew more mature when push came to shove.
Ahh, Tomura. He really did wish he managed to do more to pay back Tomura's patronage.
How many days has it been since he asked permission to meet his "old classmate"?
A few moments passed by after Jin thought that thought. It was too dark and quiet and barren in the room to even tell how much time really passed so he just kept his eyes shut the whole time.
But his eyes immediately snapped open wide when he heard a familiar voice.
"Jin."
Jin immediately looked up towards the direction of the voice, but at the same time, the lights were suddenly turned on in the room, unexpectedly blinding the Double user.
Jin gasped and exclaimed in pain with the sudden explosion of light to his eyes, and he had to close them shut to quell the pain. But still, it hurt.
It hurt a lot, but Jin persevered, and he opened his eyes once again to look up at the person who called his name, his eyes visibly red and tearing up. But all that didn't matter, when even though surrounded and backlit by the room's lights, Jin immediately recognized the appearance of the person in front of him.
"Shigaraki! Shigaraki!" Jin exclaimed in joy upon seeing the visage of his leader, "Oh boy! How I missed seeing your handsome face!-- do you wanna go out on a date with me?"
"I mean, not a date-date! A friend-date! I just wanna treat you for finding me! Thank you! Thank you!" Jin backtracked on his last statement and thanked the man for finding him multiple times, "Sankyuu! Sankyuu!"
But the person in front of Jin didn't say anything, nor did he move an inch. He just looked down at the pitiful man in front of him, almost with disdain in his eyes.
Jin hasn't noticed this look in the person's eyes though, maybe it was because his own eyes hasn't seen light in who knows how long and all he sees is a blur, but when the man before Jin finally spoke again, Jin just froze.
"Why would I want to spend any time with someone useless as you, traitor?"
E-eh?
W-wait--
Wait-- Wait! Shigaraki--
"You promised me a new member to the league, but instead, you just suddenly disappeared on me? I don't need someone like you." The person in front of Jin told him.
"W-wait! Shigaraki! I-I didn't disappear on you! I didn't betray you! I got--" Jin tried to explain himself to the man in front of him, but the man cut him off.
"You ran away, Jin. You abandoned the league. You abandoned me after I took you in. You betrayed me." The man continued to double down on his accusations.
"P-please, Shigaraki! Let me explain myself!" Jin tried to plead to the man in front of him as his eyes were burning hotter than before, but in the corners of his mind, he was also already doubting himself.
"I would never betray you!"
...traitor...
"I was tricked!"
...traitor...
"I was kidnapped!"
...traitor...
...traitor...
"I would've never left I had known!"
...traitor...
...traitor...
...traitor...
...traitor...
"Shigaraki-- SHIGARAKI! PLEASE!"
"SHIGARAKI, PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T THROW ME AWAY! PLEASE, I'M NOT USELESS TO YOU! I CAN DO A LOT MORE! I CAN BE OF MORE USE TO YOU! SO PLEASE, DON'T THROW ME AWAY! " Jin pleaded to the man in front of him on the top his lungs as his eyes were shedding tears that burnt his eyes.
"THE LEAGUE IS ALL I HAVE! YOU GAVE ME ALL I HAVE! I WOULD NEVER BETRAY YOU! I WANT TO BE OF MORE USE TO YOU! I CAN BE OF MORE USE TO YOU! SHIGARAKI! PLEASE!" Jin continued to plead and beg for the man in front of him to take him back and let him serve him again, but all his words fell to deaf ears.
"Shigaraki!-- Tomura! TOMURA! I'M BEGGING YOU!" Jin continued his pleas, but the man had already decided to cut off this conversation.
"Farewell, Jin Bubaigawara." The man before Jin bid him goodbye, and he could somehow hear something shatter in his heart and mind.
Even though it burned every single moment tears welled up in his eyes, even though the countless voices he heard in his head gave him a headache any normal person wouldn't be able to endure, even though the bright lights in the room felt like a branding iron to his vision, he still wanted to look straight at the man before him. He wanted to give the man before him his whole undivided attention. That's how much he respected the man before him.
Not even all the torture in world could compare to what Jin felt at that moment.
And when he least expected it, he was thrown back into the pitch black room, as he heard the man he respected utter one last sentence to him.
"This will be the last time you'll ever see me again."
---
NOTES: Gewd lord. I haven't felt this teary-eyed and so sad for writing a character into a situation since I had to write Izuku's introduction to Nighteye and the scene with their wager. 🥹🥹🥹
Also, notice how the person Jin talked to was never named in the narration. :>