Fragmented | Shigaraki Tomura x Reader

25; in fragments

Morning came, and there was no sign of Hawks.

He was no longer in the darkened room, tied to that chair. When you went inside, you could still vaguely smell the pungent aroma of burnt flesh and leftover smoke. There were char marks all over the ground, particularly aggregated where the chair still stood. You weren't sure whether he'd been moved to a different room or if he'd already been disposed of, but regardless, you could genuinely say that you felt nothing.

No remorse, no sympathy, not even the slightest twinge of doubt over the actions you'd pursued. You knew it was fucked up. A part of you wondered if you should be disgusted with yourself, but really, what was so different about him from all the others Shigaraki had killed? Innocent people had died at his hands time and time again. Compared to that, the loss of a false "hero" was practically insignificant.

You realized it now. Morals and compassion were a luxury that not everyone was afforded. Those who were well off had an easier time feeling sorry for others, because they had the strength and energy to spare. But for people who just kept on losing, over and over again, the best they could do was look out for themselves. Shigaraki must have felt the exact same way when everyone had abandoned him. Tied up in his own grief, there was no way he could have even thought about the terror that he was putting those around him through.

But it was fine. Maybe it was even better this way. The whole reason you'd gotten yourself into this mess is because you'd been stupid enough to worry about someone else. If you'd minded your own business, you could have gone on living your life. Good people didn't get far in this world, that's just the way it had always been.

And selfish people lived longer.

Shigaraki glanced over at you with a frown. "Is everything alright?"

You stared at the screen, watching as your character died for what was probably the fourth time in a row. It wasn't surprising that he'd picked up on your zoned-out state. You were playing even worse than you had back when he'd first kidnapped you.

"A bit distracted," you admitted.

He paused the game and placed his controller down. "Why? Did something else happen?"

"Hm? No, I've just been thinking about things."

"What kind of things?"

"Just... all of it."

Shigaraki stared at you, red eyes narrowed in silent contemplation. He wasn't angry, though, or even mildly irritated. It had been a long time since you recalled him ever looking at you with any sort of displeasure. He'd become so patient, so tolerant of everything you said or did. You almost wanted to laugh at the irony. He'd become a better person while you'd become worse.

"If this is about Hawks, you did the right thing," he reassured. "I mean, we could've ignored him, but he would have definitely caused problems later on. He would've gotten in the way of us carrying out our goals."

He said our goals, as if you had any choice in the matter. As if you weren't just going along for the ride.

You nodded absently. "I know. I didn't want to take any chances. Even though you keep telling me not to worry because you're so much stronger now, I don't want any of them to take you away. So, I don't regret what I did. I know it was for the best."

"I am stronger," he affirmed. "And I'm going to become even stronger."

"How?"

His lips parted, but then he quickly pressed them shut, as if he'd remembered something. "Just a feeling I have," he said quickly.