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“It’s your quirk, your quirk not his!”
For the first time in a long time, Shoto used his fire.
“Thank you, Midoriya Izuku.”
“It’s alright Todoroki, anybody would do it, it’s nothing special.”
______________________
“Todoroki!” Shoto smiled, a rare occurrence made common when he was with Izuku, as Midoriya ran up to him.
“Yes?”
“The new limited edition All Might merch came out, and the ticket to the new All Might movie came along with it! D-do you want to go watch it with me?”
“Ok.
“Are you sure you’re not All Might’s secret love child?”
“Todoroki we’ve been through this?”
“Just asking.”
_____________________
“Hey Midoriya”
“Yeah Todoroki?”
“Why do people always say that their deep emotions come from the heart?”
“This might be a bit corny, but when you feel truly and deeply your heart tends to respond. Or mine does that at least.”
“Oh. I think I get it.”
____________________
“We’ve been friends for a while Midoriya, do you think you could call me Shoto?
“Are you sure?”
“Always.”
“Ok, Shoto.”
“Call me Izuku.”
“Of course.”
And Midoriya, now Izuku, smiled that bright beaming smile and Shoto’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.
______________
Izuku had tried his best, that was all he could say. Blood thrummed in his ears, or was that supposed to be the beating of his heart in his chest? Izuku didn’t know. He had failed. His best wasn’t good enough. That, he knew for certain. For if it was good enough then why was everybody still fighting. He felt the dirt between his fingers, rough under his palms as he dug his nails into it.
All For One was saying something through Shigaraki again. The bloody scent of the battlefield invaded his nostrils and Izuku trembled.
______________
Shoto knew the second he arrived. He knew, but he couldn’t stop his breaths coming out in shattered gasps; only a semblance of a breath of air. It had never smelt so vile, and his blurred eyes had never betrayed him so much than in that moment.
One look at Bakugo and it was obvious he wasn’t faring much better. His eyes, usually narrowed in a permanent glare, were now widened, bloody streaks running down his face.
All he could look at was Izuku.
Izuku trembled, breathed, once, twice.
Shoto looked upon Shigaraki, as he, no All For One began speaking in that low mocking tone.
“Don’t cry. You look pathetic.”
Shoto barely mustered the strength to move out of the way as those sharp red and black spikes burst out in tentacle-like shapes from All For One’s hands. The second time it happened Shoto didn’t have the energy to move. He blinked blearily
He was going to die on this wartorn battlefield, full of brown and red and grey as the sky remained a blue that refused to change even as the war raged on.
Flashes of green and Shoto was met with Izuku, hands still trembling, sparks flaring.
All For One sneered, a vicious, foul, thing distinctly unsuited for Shigaraki’s body. Then, they clashed fast and thunderous. Each blow designed to kill.
Shoto could only watch as the two devastated each other.
____________
Izuku knew the second he stepped back into battle,
He grabbed Shigaraki with blackwhip,
That he,
He and the vestiges dragged All For One into his mind palace,
Izuku Midoriya,
They fought a vicious battle as, outside, Shigaraki started to regain control of his body,
Would not survive.
He ended All For One. They were always destined to kill each other.
As Izuku’s eyes fluttered, his already damaged body working overtime to sustain itself, blood, too much dripping down, down, down Izuku breathed a shaky breath.
“Please. Don’t cry for me. Shoto,” He whispered. “I’m sorry.”
______________
Shoto wailed, a dreadful sound, the horror struck onlookers in a stupor as they heard the scream and slowly realised that the hope for the future, the protegee of All Might, was no more.
But they couldn’t ever feel the pain that Shoto felt, because Shoto realised that before all of this Izuku had had a chance to survive, but he gave it up, for them, for the civilians, for Shoto. Shoto’s ears picked up the quiet whisper of Izuku’s voice and his world shattered.
“Please. Don’t cry for me. Shoto. I’m sorry.”
Maybe that was the problem, as Shoto stood there, barely refraining from running over to Izuku’s side. His heart was in tatters, feeling like it had been pierced by one of All For One’s spikes, he felt numb, he probably looked numb too. He could only stare at him, a pain in his chest, loathing the fact that his own heart was still beating while Izuku just laid there.
Midoriya Izuku was good, first and foremost and that terrified Shoto, because those people were few and far between. Now that was gone and Shoto felt like there was a hole. A hole in the world that Midoriya Izuku used to fill.
And Shoto was shaking. When did he start? His eyes stung, watering and blurry with unshed tears but he couldn’t cry, he couldn’t. He shouldn’t. They welled up anyway, against his will, dripping, one by one each one hitting the floor, silent raindrops from a hollow sky.
He made his way over to Izuku, placing his hand over his heart, watching as his chest rose and fell slowly becoming more and more irregular.
“It’s your quirk Izuku, so why did you suffer for it?”
“So t-tired” Izuku stuttered softly. It was Izuku but the slow, slightly slurred speech was nothing like the rushed, hurried mutterings that he usually spoke, full of life and so much joy that it hurt.
“Rest now,” Shoto replied, swallowing down a painful lump in his throat. Voice raspy. ”I love you.”
But Izuku was too far gone to respond, his bright viridian eyes clouded over, the light faded from them. He looked calm, Shoto felt anything but.
Izuku’s breath stopped and Shoto felt like his had stopped too. Maybe it had.
_______________
Two Months Later
Shoto visited Izuku’s grave again. Shigaraki was standing there, looking out of place in the quiet, mournful atmosphere. Shoto found his face had twisted into a frown. Logically he knew that Shigaraki wasn’t directly to blame for Izuku’s death, but he couldn’t help the ice from coming, creeping in every time he saw Shigaraki.
Now was no exception.
A chill crept over the graveyard. The ground beneath his feet freezing with a layer of ice. Shigaraki, perhaps sensing the change in temperature, turned around.
“You’re that Todoroki kid.”
Shoto seethed.
“Why are you here?”
Shigaraki looked down, frowning slightly. “He gave his life for me, the least I could do is visit his grave.”
“Let’s make this one thing very clear, Shigaraki. I know you were granted a short amount of time every month to come here and you have been given many privileges, despite being a main instigator for the war, but don’t you ever forget that Izuku is gone because of you. You may not have consciously struck the final blow but you were the one who followed All For One. You were the one who made Izuku your enemy and you were the one who in the end killed him. He. Is. Gone. Because of you. And he’s not coming back.
He’s not coming back.”
Shoto faltered a bit at that last sentence. His cold anger fading into a neutral numbness, an emotion that he was all too familiar with.
“I will never forgive you, Shigaraki Tomura.”
Shoto delicately placed the flowers on the grave, turned around, and walked away.
______________
Shigaraki felt the temperature go back to normal as the boy walked away. He looked at the flowers Todoroki had left.
Pink Carnations and Chrysanthemums. Shigaraki thinks it’s a fitting combination.
Slowly Shigaraki placed his own offering. Something that he had just happened to have which he had happened to find sometime during the war. He had gotten special permission to get it from the bar, where in his child-like state of mind at that time he had tossed it in his room.
Shigaraki reached into his pocket, palming the burnt cover, he gently placed it onto the grave, next to the flowers that Todoroki had placed ever so carefully.
Shigaraki gazed at the leafless trees dotted throughout the cemetery, catching sight of green leaves beginning to appear on some of the branches.
Shigaraki Tomura turned and a lone tear fell from his eye.
Then, he left the graveyard.