"The beauty of light owes its existence to the dark."
-Brene Brown
I was shoved out of the way, but I regained my footing, swiping my blade in the direction of the push. My blade cut fabric as one of the Class 1-A kids narrowly dodged, covering Hawks completely. I didn't even need to dip into his head once I saw him. The beak was a dead giveaway.
"Stupid kid." I muttered. "Get out of here."
I don't kill kids. I never have and never will. I've had every opportunity. With my quirk, I could have easily broken the 1-A kids' necks without even moving every time we encountered them. I just refuse. Touya, on the other hand, didn't seem to give a shit. Small bursts of his flames were already building on his palms as Fumikage Tokoyami and his quirk, Dark Shadow, protected Hawks, covering his burned and bloody back.
"Fumikage, this is bad." I heard Dark Shadow say. "His back..."
"Don't say that." The bird boy snapped, but Dark Shadow continued to stare at Hawks' back.
"His back. It's pretty much gone."
"Good." I hissed. Tokoyami looked at me, eyes wide and terrified. "Your master killed our guy. The guy who was protecting me while we were running away. He deserves a couple burns."
Dabi jabbed his thumb in the direction of Jin's body, and the student looked at the corpse, becoming even more horrified.
"Sad, that U.A. had to drag children into this fight. But then again, didn't most of us get dragged into violence too early?" Dabi was grinning, and I could see small flames sparking to life at his fingertips. "Think about it kid. What makes your guy here worse than us?"
"I'm just... concerned about my master." Tokoyami said, his voice sounding a little smaller. I scoffed, wiping away the rest of my tears.
"You're thoughtless." A roaring blast of fire followed Touya's words, blinding me. I stumbled back, coughing from the smoke and flames, and I watched as Tokoyami just barely dodged, with his quirk practically cradling Hawks. They leapt over the railing and without thinking, I swung over it as well, landing in a crouch. Dark Shadow rushed at me, and another hit to the head had me down on my ass.
"Kid." I found myself speaking even though I didn't intend to. My voice sounded a little broken. "Please. Move. Let me do this."
"I can't let you do that." Tokoyami glared at me, his hand firmly on Hawks' shoulder.
"You don't get it!" I snapped, shakily making my way back up to my feet. I was practically screaming. I don't even know why I was trying to reason with this child, but I was. I was pleading with him despite myself. "You don't get it! He fucked with my head, kid! He manipulated me at my lowest! All to ultimately get at and kill the only person I've ever loved!"
"I'm sorry." The teen replied, voice low and calm. It made me angrier.
"No you're not."
Touya leapt over the railing above us, stopping Tokoyami from replying to me. He was about to burn both the birds to a crisp, but all of a sudden, a wall of ice was inches from my face. I spun around and saw Geten, not a hero, and when I turned back to Tokyami and Hawks, they were gone.
I slowly and shakily crawled up on the ice, using it like a bridge towards the next building, one that was much more intact. I spotted Compress, and waved my hand towards him. He motioned me towards him and I stumbled my way over, finally landing in his arms.
"Y/N, what happened back there? Toga took off and-"
Something cold struck me, and an empty feeling filled my body. I dropped to my knees, practically frozen in place, trying to listen to what my quirk and my body was telling me. My heart rate, which was skyrocketing just seconds ago, had completely slowed to an usual rate.
"Y/N?" Compress sounded worried. "Y/N?!"
Images flashed across my mind. I saw white hair, red eyes, and a black suit. I saw Nomu, a broken tank, and electrical wires ripped loose. I heard a scream, and felt a sudden jolt of energy, completely replacing the empty feeling.
My eyes were wide as the realization dawned on me, and I was smiling again, through my tears.
"It's Tomura."
Tomura
Being on the edge of death was a feeling unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It was cold and warm at the same time. I couldn't feel my body, though, just my surroundings. I saw the people who used to make up my family, pleading for me to be like them. To conform.
On the other side of my visions, I saw Master, cloaked in darkness, and I saw the League.
Somehow, Y/N was on both sides of my visions. I saw her side by side with my mother and my grandmother, holding Hana in her arms, smiling at me. Then, she stood a couple feet away from Master, her hand outstretched for me to take it, and she was still smiling at me. On either side, she didn't look at me any differently.
Master commanded me to join him, and my family begged me to stay. Y/N never said a word. She just kept that grin on her face, and I saw love in her eyes, something I hadn't seen directed towards me since I was a small child.
When I destroyed the visions of my family, my Decay didn't spread to Y/N. She stood there, like an angel, completely unharmed and shockingly beautiful. The blinding white that I saw behind them all almost illuminated her. When I turned back to Master, she had appeared again, looking the exact same, the only light in that cloud of darkness. I felt something ache deep in my chest.
"You're looking like Kurogiri, Master." I managed to say, but I was still just looking at Y/N. I couldn't take my eyes off her.
"Come to me, Tomura." He said. "Everything is yours, now."
Y/N reached her hand out, and the instant our fingers brushed, I felt her. I felt her warmth, and I felt her affection. I was so used to a destructive, shattering touch, that when her skin met mine, it felt like she was just reaching straight through me to my heart.
"Tomura." Master spoke again, firmly this time. I glanced over at him, and when I looked straight ahead again, searching for Y/N's gaze again, she was gone. "Come to me."
She reappeared, deep in the shadows, way behind Master.
"Tenko." She said, sweet as ever. "I miss you."
They both were staring at me, hands outstretched, and I followed them into the darkness.
.
.
.
Waking up also hurt. My back was off the floor, and electric shocks ran through my otherwise numb body. My eyes shot open, and cold air hit my face.
Sitting up, I felt around my body, brushing aside broken glass, the liquid from the tank soaking the floor beneath me. The entire room was destroyed, not just the tank, and it was unbelievably cold. I felt different. I knew my body had multiple quirks, now, and I could feel as each one rushed through my being, every single one feeling slightly different and foreign. I felt strong, yet weak at the same time.
I heard slightly panicked breathing beside me and turned my head slightly, surprised to see a hero. I was hoping it was Y/N.
My head tilted to the side as I tried to place him. He looked a little bit familiar. His mask completely covered his face, except for one of his eyes. Then I remembered who he was- his hero name was X-Less. My gaze traveled down to his hero suit, then his heavy cape. I felt rage burn in my chest.
"Do you know where Y/N is?" I asked. X-Less stared back at me, looking almost horrified. "No? Well. I'm cold."
I reached out, grabbing his face with my hand, and he completely disintegrated beneath my touch. I was somehow able to control the spread of my Decay, and his cape survived. My lips curled up in a little smile, wrapping myself in it, trying to stop my shivering.
Y/N. Where was Y/N?
The rage within me dulled for a moment.
I wanted to see her.
I stood up and staggered over to the wall, placing both hands on the concrete, and within seconds, the entire room crumbled around me, just the floor surviving to keep me up above everything. I squeezed my eyes shut to protect them as the building quickly followed, the dust flying everywhere, and then when I opened them, the mountain around the hospital was gone too. I stared down at my hands.
Destroy...
My head throbbed, and the thought that didn't belong to me clouded my thoughts. For a split second, I didn't think for myself. All I could think was that word. It wasn't Y/N in my head. She always had a quieter, calmer presence when reading or projecting thoughts. When my thoughts finally cleared and I had control over them again, I noticed a phone on the ground, untouched. The tank with the quirk nullifying bullets had also survived. I guess I was right, I only Decayed what I wanted to, not everything anymore.
A bunch of the bullets had been completely crushed, though, and only a few remained. Overhaul would be really disappointed, that armless weirdo. I closed the cover to the tank and bent over, grabbing the phone. The plan was supposed to go into effect when I woke up, right?
I held the phone to my lips, my other hand pulling the cape as tight around me as possible. I just couldn't seem to get warm.
"Machia. I want to see Y/N. Then bring the others."
.
.
.
A few moments later, Y/N crash landed on the ground beside me. Before I could offer her my hand, she had already stumbled back up to her feet, her eyes meeting mine. Machia had spurred her forward, and she had managed to use our power sharing ability to use the superhuman speed and strength to propel herself all the way to the ruins of the hospital, where I stood.
She looked like she had been through hell. Her hair was a wreck from practically flying here, and her face looked wind-burned. Her arms and her neck were covered in burns, her eyes were swollen, and tears had made clean streaks through the dirt and soot on her skin. She was bleeding heavily from her head and multiple areas of her legs and arms.
She smiled at me. She smiled at me, just like she did while I was "sleeping".
Despite all her injuries, Y/N L/N looked even more angelic in person than she did in my visions.
She wiped her hand on her pants, trying to get the blood off her hand, and she raised it to my cheek, cupping my face.
"I missed you." I said, surprising myself at how quiet my voice sounded. I was feeling that ache deep in my chest again.
"Good morning." She whispered, then pressed her lips to mine. The kiss didn't last long, as her eyes shot open, and she stumbled back, holding her head. That painful throb ripped through my skull at the exact moment, and we stared at each other, confused.
Get... One For All...
"It's that coordinate thing." I said, expecting her to laugh a little, but she was staring down at the land below us. "I don't know if it's a constant thing, now..."
"Are you seeing little flashes of lights?" Y/N asked, and she sounded a little freaked out. "I can see the lights... but I know who the lights belong to. And I know their quirks and their weaknesses. I..."
"I'm seeing everything you're seeing, Y/N. It's one of the quirks Master gave me... and gave us."
"I see One For All." She replied almost immediately, finding it quicker than me due to her already enhanced eyesight. "It's... oh. Oh. Tenko. It's that kid, Izuku Midoriya. He has it."
"The only power Master wasn't able to get." I responded, and I found the light just seconds after she did. I began to focus on it, but something made me turn, just in time to see Endeavor coming right towards us. Flames had already surrounded the entire area of ruins, as he was clearly attempting to burn us alive. The heat would've already been way too much for Y/N if she wasn't sharing my power, but thankfully, she was already regenerating just as quickly as I was. She no longer looked beaten up as what looked like layers of skin crumbled off of her as she regenerated every couple of seconds. I looked the same way. I could only assume that we began to regenerate when our injuries became life-threatening.
"Well, you're one hell of a wake up call, number one!" I grinned, and propelled myself up into the air, hands outstretched.
That rage was building and building inside me, and I couldn't control it anymore. Y/N wasn't touching me, so nothing was calming me down anymore. I was reveling in being awake and so powerful, and I got to see Y/N again, and here was Endeavor to ruin it all. That's all heroes do. They ruin everything.
"That's a whole blanket of fire! You can't run!" Endeavor roared, and I found myself laughing.
Oh, I'm not running. Not anymore.