Chapter Text
The look Shigaraki had was enough for Chisaki. He knew that there was no stopping this man from destroying everything with one touch.
Chisaki sprints to Yuko and grabs her by the waist. "Let's go," he says. He uses his quirk to leave the building, just in time when Shigaraki has crumbled it.
"But Shiggy!" Yuko protests.
Chisaki didn't spare him a glance despite Shigaraki being under bricks and ash. "He's an immortal bug, Yuko. He'll survive that, but you can't." Chisaki says, doing anything he can to avoid the continuous decay of the land.
"Kurogiri!" Yuko calls after pressing her earpiece.
A warp appears before them, and Chisaki throws both of them in the warp. Chisaki's chest heaves up and down, and he keeps panting. "I'm dirty. I'm dirty. I'm dirty..." He chants, feeling the hives creeping in after the exhausting fight.
Yuko kneels before Chisaki, who has his back on the floor. "Kurogiri, warp me to the base. I'll get a towel." Yuko commands, and Kurogiri follows.
Yuko returns with a damp towel and wipes Chisaki's face clean. Chisaki's rapid breaths ran slow until he calmed himself under Yuko's touch.
Yuko turns to look at Kurogiri. "Where are the others?"
"Twice is with Spinner and Mr. Compress. They were having a hard time compressing All For One, but they somehow managed thanks to Twice." Kurogiri answers. Yuko nods and turns to look back at Chisaki, cleaning his face.
"What about the rest? Dabi? Toga?" Chisaki mutters. His guttural voice became low.
The black-haired woman couldn't hide her reaction well, and her hand froze for a second. Then she wipes Chisaki's face again. "Dead..." Yuko mumbles.
Chisaki's amber eyes shift rapidly to Yuko's saddened ones. "What do you mean?" He questions. It didn't sit right with him that his two companions died. Toga? She was a menace; a menace like her wouldn't break so easily. Dabi? Nobody could've gotten closer to him because of his blazing fire. Those blue flames sink into bones!
"I don't know either, Kai.... It was just a while ago that I could hold on to them. Then, later on, I hugged Toga's body full of blood. Honestly, I don't even know how Twice is handling Toga's death at the moment." Yuko says, and every pause she takes is a deep inhale. She tries to stop herself from crying all over again.
"And Dabi, oh God, Dabi. He planned to kill himself along with his father from the start. He never told me, and I hate him for that. I couldn't save him, Kai! I couldn't save Toga, Magne, Dabi... I feel so powerless." Yuko whimpers this time, and Chisaki is quick enough to sit up and wrap his arms around Yuko.
His arm around her tightens when Yuko's cries grow loud. The thought of those three dying on a battlefield had finally sunk into Chisaki's mind. At first, he thought Yuko was merely crying for the connection she had with them. But he doesn't know where Yuko comes from. The fact that she said she couldn't save them meant it had something to do with her knowing a lot.
"You aren't powerless, and Shigaraki can attest to that. All this happened—we won because of you. Their death was something inevitable that, even with your knowledge, you have no power over it. War is always unpredictable, Yuko." Chisaki says. He didn't know how to comfort, so he could only state some facts he knew would at least lift a little burden from Yuko.
"Tomura." Kurogiri greets as he only notices that Shigaraki is standing behind him.
"What are you talking about, Yuko? They can't be dead." Shigaraki says, walking towards Chisaki and the weeping girl.
Kurogiri decides to speak up for Yuko since Chisaki doesn't know the full details of their deaths. "Toga was killed by Uraraka, a friend of Midoriya. Dabi burned himself along with his father and brother. We were able to retrieve Toga's body. It's yet to decide if we're to cremate her or bury her–"
"Stop. I get it." Shigaraki seethes. But despite hearing the harsh truth, he still couldn't comprehend the death of his friends. "Damn it. If I had known sooner, then killing those stupid U.A. kids would've been more satisfying." Shigaraki mutters, looking down at his hands.
Chisaki sighs as he still feels Yuko's shaking figure. "Let's wrap it up for now." He commands and carries Yuko.
——
The Paranormal Liberation Front and the Shie Hassaikai gathered at the PLF's base. Re-Destro stands before the big crowd of villains and announces their win that they have finally been liberated.
Yuko and the rest were in the dark area of the stage. The coal-eyed woman backs up and walks away. Chisaki, Shigaraki, Twice, Spinner, Atsuhiro, and the rest of the Shie Hassaikai notice this and follows Yuko. Their mindless following lead them to the topmost floor of the PLF's headquarters.
The floor had an overlooking view of the destroyed city. There were still burns of blue fire that painfully reminded them of Dabi. Red blood is scattered everywhere, bringing them memories of Toga. And the gigantic magnet that Magne owns is displayed in the room to commemorate her loss. Toga's body was decided to be cremated, and so her urn stands proudly beside Magne's weapon. And a cylinder that had magically preserved Dabi's blue flames sits beside Toga's urn. It was thanks to Garaki that the villains had something to commemorate for Dabi.
A lot of things had happened. While their friends' deaths were inescapable, their shared memories were as good as fate.
Yuko stood close to the glass walls that overlooked the city. The rest of the villains stood before her, also admiring the view and their almost impossible win if it wasn't for Yuko.
Then, Yuko notices something. She stares at the blue flames at the buildings. It didn't move. She turns around in a swift motion. Chisaki, Shigaraki, Twice, they weren't breathing. Did time stop?
Then her mind goes blank and then shifts to white. Her mind had replayed a memory. A memory she had with that annoying sphere of light.
"You do have a loose screw. Villains? Really?" The sphere asks as his tone changes.
"Are you actually judging me right now?" Yuko asks in disbelief. A ball of light? Adjudicating her odd fascination with villains?
"No, my bad. I usually grant wishes where they could see their dead loved ones again." The sphere says.
"Well, too bad no one's dead in the family. So, how does this work?" Yuko asks as she crosses her arms.
"It's like this...." The sphere begins to say. "You have a time limit, actually. Seeing as you want to see them, you need to also do something for them. I suppose, since they're villains, then they must have a goal, right?" Yuko nods to the sphere's question.
"Then that would take a lot of time. Let's say I'll give you six months in their world. In that span of time, you should've already accomplished your goal there. If you have, then you'll go back here. That is if the goal you want to accomplish there is actually also helping them reach the end that they want."
"Uhuh," Yuko states with blank eyes.
The sphere sighs. "Then everything goes back to normal. So, what would you like to do if you arrived at their world?" The sphere asks.
"I see. Then, I want to help them reach their goal." Yuko answers the sphere.
"Then it's all set! Make sure they recognize the goal. Touch the sphere, and you'll immediately get there." The sphere says.
Yuko stalks closer to the sphere with hesitation. As she touched the sphere, it spoke. "Oh, one last thing. You'll forget what we discussed here."
"Yuko?" Chisaki calls with concerned eyes. At the same time, Shigaraki was holding onto Yuko's shoulders. He had been shaking her for quite some time now.
"Huh?" Yuko asks.
"You dozed off there," Shigaraki says and drops his hands. "So, what's gonna happen?" He queries.
Yuko breathes. She remembers now. She had a deal with that scum of a sphere. Any time now, she'll be gone, and everything will be back to normal.
It hurts. Yuko feels her chest tightening in pain, and she feels like crying again.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Shigaraki asks as he notices Yuko's glistening eyes and quivering lips.
"Yuko?" Chisaki calls as well.
Yuko lets out a wail out of extreme frustration and devastation. The scream shocked everyone.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry...." Yuko repeats, not wanting to leave everyone after everything that has happened. After all the efforts they made to reach the end that they wanted, she didn't want to leave everything behind.
Chisaki scrunches his brows. "What are you sorry for? Like we said, Yuko. Their deaths weren't your faul—Yuko... your hand." Chisaki gasps.
Everyone looks at Yuko. The woman raises her hands to see what Chisaki is talking about.
"I'm... fading... oh no..." Yuko whimpers and cries. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not from here. I don't belong here. But I wanted to meet you all. I wanted to help everyone!" Yuko yells. But everyone was just as shocked as she was.
"Oy oy, Yuko! What trick are you pulling? You had a quirk?!" Twice exclaims, but Yuko shakes her head.
Yuko was slowly fading away, and that's when Chisaki began to panic. "Yuko, you're leaving us?" He asks, holding onto her arm.
"I'm sorry... I didn't know either that I had to leave...." Yuko answers.
Time's almost up, Yuko. She hears the sphere's voice.
Yuko had to force a smile. She jumps and wraps each of her arms around Chisaki and Shigaraki's necks, hugging them.
"Please, don't forget me," Yuko whispers.
"Yuko...." Atsuhiro whispers. He didn't understand what was happening either, but his eyes burned.
"What is this brat talking about?!" Irinaka shouts. But his voice breaks at the end, revealing his vulnerable state of seeing Yuko fading away.
"Hey..." Shigaraki calls, not having a clue what's happening. Yuko lets go of the hug.
"I genuinely and deeply love every one of you. I don't regret this. I'm beyond glad and lucky to have met you." Yuko says, eyeing each one in the room.
"We'll meet again, right?" Chisaki asks, still clinging tightly to Yuko's fading figure.
But the woman only smiles. "I suppose."
——
Yuko wakes up. The same bedsheets she had that night, the same clothes she wore, the same position her body had slept on.
She raises her hands, almost like dragging a brick—her hands feel too heavy. Yuko cups her cheeks and feels their dampness of it. Her eyelids were heavy too, and her eyelashes were clinging to each other.
The morning rays seep into the room from the gaps in her curtains. Those months she spent with Chisaki and Shigaraki was merely hours. As if everything was a dream.
When she thought she had gone back to reality, a big ball of light floated before her. Yuko's eyes widen, and she stands up. She sits back down after feeling the dizziness in her head.
"How was your sleep?" It asks.
Yuko glares. "Fucking cruel. Everything was cruel!"
From the moment she had become too attached to them to when she disappeared right in front of them. It was emotionally exhausting and difficult—Yuko felt like being stabbed multiple times.
"Oh?" The sphere says, seeming amused. "You agreed with the conditions, Yuko. Meeting them, helping them reach their goal—you agreed to it. Aren't you supposed to be happy with that?"
Happy? How could she be happy after giving everyone the high they wanted and leaving them in the dark? How could she be happy when she also felt this euphoria and suddenly lost them like a snap?
But the sphere was right. Shouldn't she be happy that she at least gets to meet her beloved villains?
"What now," Yuko says, her shoulders slumped.
"Nothing. Your life goes on as if nothing happened. I'm merely here to check in on you after you woke up."
Yuko scoffs and says, "get out of my sight."
——
2 weeks later
"Thank you for today, Yuko," Naomi says, closing the salon.
Yuko smiles and says, "no problem at all, Miss Naomi. I'll have to leave now."
"I see. Take care, Yuko." Naomi says and waves at Yuko. The black-haired woman waves back and begins to walk away.
Yuko arrives home, dragging her feet all over the place, feeling extremely lazy. She gets inside her room and tosses herself there. Yuko scoops her phone inside her pocket. She turns it on and reveals her lock screen. It was eight in the evening, and beyond that was her wallpaper. It was Chisaki and Shigaraki.
A notification pops up.
New My Hero Academia chapter!
Yuko's thumb hovers over the notification, unsure if she wants to read it. The last chapter she read was when Aoyama was revealed as the traitor. She was scared to read further.
A heavy sigh escapes her lips. Yuko decides to read them anyway. She was curious about what had transpired, wondering what had happened.
Did anything... change?
However, after reading, a deep and solemn sigh can be heard from Yuko.
Nothing changed. The plot stays the same. Aoyama was caught. Shigaraki was still fusing with All For One. Chisaki was still under arrest—his quirk at no use without his arms. Twice was... dead. Magne too. Everything was just as is—going in the heroes' favor—all the damn time.
Yuko flops her hand to the side. Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, still rooting for the villains. She lets out a sound of disbelief yet as well as acceptance.
"Of course, it's about heroes, after all."