【𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 • 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐊𝐔 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑】

48| Together

❧

As Shinimi and Nakano eat muffins, you peek over Midoriya's shoulder.

"Who're you texting?" You ask, glancing at his phone, "It's not like we have any friends."

"Speak for yourself."

"Rude. Who is it?"

"Kirishima," Midoriya answers, "we exchanged numbers to keep in touch."

"What? When?"

"Back after the fire. You just weren't paying attention, like always."

"Well sorry," you grumble, "it's not like we had just escaped from near death. Things were kinda crazy."

"Whatever," Midoriya laughs, "but Kiri's giving me some more details on the missing kids case. Now I know it's related to the Agitator."

"Missing kids?" Nakano says, looking up from her muffin.

"I think that because you and Akinari were killing his quirks, he had to take them by force," Midoriya explains to her, "there've have been more than thirty-five kidnappings in the last week, and even thirty in one day. It's crazy."

Nakano mutters, taking a bite of her breakfast. "The work of a crazy man." 

You watch her; the way her movements are slow and how her voice is sad. Bags are under her eyes from spending all night digging, and you can't imagine how she must feel. Grief plagues her movements, making it so obvious how sad she is. 

But she holds it in, not even getting mad at you or getting even the slightest amount revenge.

Shit. Shit, I really messed up. I was so stupid to try to apologize.

Just another thing I've ruined.

The memory of pulling the trigger flashes through your mind. You didn't feel any remorse when Nakano begged you to spare him. You didn't feel any regret when you watched blood soak the floor where the man lay. 

Now, it's all hitting you like a hurricane.

Since when did you reach the point where killing a man was as easy as a glance for you? Since when did you not value human life to the point where you would tear up at even the mention of someone losing their life?

Aren't you just becoming more like the people who killed your brother?

How would you feel if Hiroto's murderers suddenly apologized? 

You would kill them.

 . . . since when did that become your answer?

"I feel like you're having some kind of really-depressing-inner-monologue right now," Midoriya says, waving his hand in front of your face, "quit it. Shinimi can feel your frustration and it's stressing him out."

 You look up at the teen who does, indeed, looked stressed out.

"Only because I know why you're angry," he mumbles, chewing his muffin, "and it won't do any good brooding about it."

You look over at Nakano, suddenly full of a new kind of respect for her. Even though you killed Akinari, she never attacked you. She never snapped like you would have. Even now, as she sits in the same room with her friend's killer, she doesn't seem mad.

Only sad.

You don't know what to say to her. What can you say?

So you don't say anything.

"I'm fine," you tell everyone, "let's just focus on the important things for now."

Midoriya furrows his brows, but nods. "Alright. But stop making that face."

"What face?"

"That face you make after you have a really-depressing-inner-monologue."

He proceeds to wrinkle up his forehead and pucker his lips as if he's in deep thought. "It really doesn't look very flattering on you."

Despite it all, you find a laugh escaping your mouth, and you cover your face, quickly shaking your head. "Alright, alright, I get it. Let's talk about the kidnappings now? That's much more important than my current mental state."

It's quiet for a moment, until Nakano speaks up.

"If you don't speak now," she says, "your mind will not be at ease when you're caught in the crossfire. The body cannot be content before you are inside."

You look down at your hands, laying limp at your sides. 

These hands have done so much wrong. 

But does killing an innocent person make you worse than Nakano, who had been killing murderers? And what of Shinimi? He's a killer too. 

Are you the worst killer of all because you killed someone who did nothing wrong? 

You shake your head, as if to shake out the thoughts from inside of you.

"Nakano," you mutter, still looking down at your hands, "what was your relationship with Akinari?"

"He was," she sighs, "my fiancé."

Your heart stings, like a spear in your chest.

"We were to be married in the fall of next year, right here in Tokyo," she looks down at you, muffin crumbs on her mouth and concern on her lips, "it is nothing to cry over. A dead man is a dead man."

You don't wipe the tears from your eyes. "We don't have to talk about it. I'm just . . . I know sorry doesn't make it any better. I know being around me must be hell. I know this might sound like I'm trying to make myself feel better, but really. I'm sorry and I know I-I can't . . . I can't fix it."

"You can help me," she whispers, "you can help me take down the Agitator. Then he can rest happily."

"I promise," you tell her, "I promise I will do whatever it takes."

"Alright," she nods, "I understand. You just . . . remind me of me. There's no going back now."

Shinimi stands up, tired of the gloom-and-doom mood of the room. "We're in this together now. Now it's the four of us!"

Even Midoriya smiles.

"Together. We'll fix this."

❧