Wither Away (Shigaraki X Reader)

Chapter 1

TW: Mentions of sexual assault, abuse. This is for the flashback with the background of y/n. It's in cursive so you can skip it if you want.

The street was busier than usual. All around me there were people on their phones, holding shopping bags, obnoxiously cackling at their friends' joke. Just normal people going about their normal day. Too bad I was about to ruin this normal day for one of them. I was casually walking while looking around, trying to pinpoint my victim for the day.

The man with the expensive watch or the lady with the diamond ring. The one holding the newest iPhone or the one with their wallet in their back pocket. It doesn't really matter who it'll be. I need money, they have some. It's nothing personal. It's not my fault that life had fucked me over in every way possible. I have no choice but to steal. There's no hero swooping in to save me. I've been taking care of myself since before I ended up on the streets.

Besides, if I were to meet a hero now, they'd be there to take me into custody, not to save me. All I am to them is a murderer, someone who took a life, a monster. They wouldn't bother to listen to me first, they wouldn't care about what had happened in the moments, the days, the years leading up to the murder. No, they would do their job, arrest a criminal and go on to the next job.

There are no heroes, they're just a romanticized police unit, serving the government as loyal dogs, deceiving people into thinking that the world is a better place with them watching over us. I couldn't keep the scoff from leaving my mouth. The world hasn't gotten better since the dawn of heroes, they've just gotten better at covering up the ugly parts.

I pulled my hood lower so that my eyes were covered and focused on the people in the street once more when a girl, who was walking in my direction, caught my eye. She looked younger than me, with blonde hair in two buns and she was wearing a blue skirt with a beige cardigan, but most importantly, she had a purse hanging loosely on her shoulder. I had decided. I'm gonna get that purse.

She was getting closer and closer and I was preparing to make a run for it. Since it was a bit busier than usual and my quirk would be of no use in this situation, I would have to push my way through. Luckily I don't get nervous about doing this anymore. I used to get so anxious while seeing my target come closer and closer, that a lot of the time, I just passed them without making a move. Mainly in the first days of living on the streets, I would come back to the small, abandoned warehouse with empty hands and an even emptier stomach. Eventually, the hunger made me so desperate that I stole from five people in one day and used it up all at once.

Now I barely felt anything, not even the slightest bit of remorse. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was the same with this girl. She's just unfortunate to be here right now. Just a few more steps. Just a little closer. Almost... NOW!

Before anyone even noticed what was happening, I had pulled the purse off of her shoulder with ease and was now running towards the ally a few streets from here. I didn't pay mind to the turmoil behind me and just kept going. As if I were participating in a race, I sprinted to the end of the street, turned left, right and left again. I ran until I reached the smaller, dark passage that no one who was doing normal things on a normal day would use. I turned into the passage and kept going until I reached the fence that was placed in the middle. I climbed on a garbage container that was standing in front of the fence and used it to jump over.

Now that I was on the other side, I took a moment to catch my breath before I continued running. After going on for a few more minutes, turning left and right a couple more times and taking everything out of the purse before leaving it in a random street, I stood in front of a small building that was boarded up with wooden planks. It looked like it had been deserted for years, which made it the perfect place for me to stay. I walked around to the back door and checked the ally to see if anyone was watching, before going in.