A State of Decay

Chapter 6

"You just missed him!" Himiko shouts as soon as Tomura steps into the bar. 

"Missed who?" Tomura replied, taking a seat at the counter.

"Izuku Midoriya was here not even ten minutes ago," the blonde tells him. She picks up the two drinks Kurogiri just made and heads to the tables in the back, where a couple of patrons sit. Tomura tenses up at the news Himiko shared. 

"Why would I care?" Tomura says when the blonde returns to the bar. 

"You always get so weird when I talk about him," she says. Then, she turns to Kurogiri. "The weirdo by the window wants another margarita," she tells the shadowy man, who in turn begins to make the drink quietly as they continue talking. 

"I don't get weird," Tomura says, shooting Himiko a look.

"Yes, you do," she chides. "Do you have a crush on him or something? I wouldn't blame you. He's a real cutie." 

Tomura rolls his eyes, not even giving her a response. That statement was utterly absurd. In what world would it make sense for him to have a crush on Izuku Midoriya? Besides--Tomura has never felt anything like that before. He assumed he'd know if he felt that way about someone, as it would be an unfamiliar emotion. So he knew he didn't like the little hero. No way. 

* * * 

He had another therapy session in an hour. When Tomura got up and put on his shoes and jacket, he wasn't sure what had gotten into him. He heads out the door and begins to walk to the other side of town, remembering what happened last time. He lets out a breath and clenches his hands into fists at his sides. 

He figured it couldn't hurt to go to one more session. Plus, it would make Himiko happy. Maybe if he kept doing the whole therapy thing, she'd let up about the Midoriya thing. Ever since that night in the bar a few days ago, she kept bothering Tomura about the green-haired hero. 

She said he'd chilled out a lot since the last time they'd run into him, but Tomura knew that. He was inside the twerp's head, twenty-four-seven. He knew the idiot was on some stupid mission to find people to help him take down The Commission. 

Tomura shakes his head at that thought. Nirodiya was many things, and he supposes that naive was one of them. If he thought that any villain would be willing to work with her, he was sorely mistaken. All he had to do was look at the last time someone tried to change things up. Everything ended in a mess, and The Commission somehow ended up on top. Tomura knew this was an uphill battle that the green-haired hero wouldn't win. 

But he knew that Midoriya wouldn't abandon this dream for anything. He was passionate and caring and just wanted the best for everyone. Someone needed to remind the little hero that he couldn't save everyone. 

That sometimes it was okay to take a break and just... exist. 

That's what Tomura has been trying for the last few years. Having sworn off villainy, he's just focused on himself and his friends, trying to forget about the past. It was hard, though, given that he constantly had Midoriya's thoughts broadcasted in his head, but he was doing his best to move on. 

Midoriya needed to move on, too. He wanted Midoriya to be happy, as sick as it sounded coming from Tomura. 

He arrived at the front door of the therapist's office. 

It was in a nicer part of town, and Tomura pulls the hood of his sweater over his head, feeling entirely out of place. While he wasn't actively wanted anymore, he still didn't like people recognizing him. He didn't like how people pointed and stared at him and his facial scars.