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Chapter 61

Sometimes... late at night.

I used to have these thoughts. One's where I fought with myself on breaking up with Izuku in order to harbor the pain that my death would bring.

I was selfish. Wanting to keep him to myself and not having the heart to break up with him.

I was beyond fucking selfish. Too afraid to break his heart. Too afraid that I would have to live without him before I had to.

He wouldn't have let me anyways. Too headstrong. Too determined to just... let me go without a fight. He could never understand just what my death would do to him. He'd just convince me he could protect me and not wanting to hurt him anymore; I would've given in.

I considered just snapping one day. Lying through barred teeth and convincing him that I hated everything down to his core. Hated the way he would sigh lovingly and whisper that he loved me. Hated the way his fingertips burned my skin with electricity every time we touched. Hated the way he asked me to say I was his every time he left a love bite across my body. Hated the way he clung to me every night because he had a fear of me slipping through his fingertips.

I loved him.

I couldn't break him like that.

I never wanted to hurt him. I had a fear of hurting him. The idea always made my heart pound and my mind whirl painfully.

Though it seemed- in my final moments... I did everything I ever feared.

I hit the ground, my lungs finally free of that disgusting liquid as I dug my fingernails into the earth. Bakguo stood up beside me, wavering on his shaken legs as he coughed profusely.

I gagged; the remembrance of the liquid still imprinted into my throat as I pushed myself onto my hands and stood up. I looked up, finding a man staring back at me that I hadn't seen before.

He was huge, his neck wrapped in a thick black metallic contraption. Across his face, a blue mask that hid any of his facial features from me. I furrowed my eyebrows, my mouth hanging open as I stared back at him. He sighed, jutting his hands out to the side welcomingly, bowing to me.

"Asami Okuma... my dear girl. I've been awaiting your arrival."

I stared at him, my forearm slung over Bakugo's shoulder as I tried to hold myself up. I wasn't... I wasn't sure how much fight I had left in me.

I glanced over my shoulder, watching portals appear as the villains began to pour from them and fall onto the ground in a fit of disgusted groans and soaked lungs. Shigaraki quickly sat onto his knees, bowing to the man before us as he quickly latched a hand onto my shoulder. I could feel the scars along the palms of his hands, the way the skin had grown over the callouses with age and time. I shivered.

I was frozen, my legs almost giving out from under me as he drug me to stand beside him. "Master..." Shigaraki greeted.

"Master..." I gasped as I glanced at Bakugo, both of our eyes petrified with fear. Neither of us able to move or find some sort of retort to the villains; too horrified to even breathe.

"You've failed once more, Tomura. You must not be discouraged. You'll try again, that's why I brought your associates back with you. Even this child," He glanced from beside me towards Bakugo, beginning to slowly make his way towards Shigaraki as I was forced to keep up with him. I walked awkwardly beside him, his grip on my shoulder so rough that my breathing grew ragged and I was practically stumbling. As I passed Bakugo, the two of us shared a terrified glance.