Mystery from Another World--MHA

Part 129: A talk between attacks and a bike crash

They ended up waiting a bit longer to give the nomu more time to come toward them.

Mirko wasn't satisfied with that and left the roof to go hunt them down herself. Which the LOV thought was stupid.

Hawks went off to do the same thing.

The LOV just sat there, waiting.

Wally went off to make sure the kids regrouped without any more incidents, and Shine just sat and took out a First Aid kit to patch up minor injuries with.

"You holding up okay?" she asked the LOV.

They shrugged.

Shigaraki did not look okay.

"Something up, Tomura?" Shine asked more directly.

He just glanced at her sideways in that weird haunted way he had. He always looked so erratic, kind of like Medea did.

Medea was hugging her knees, though, and not doing much. She still looked pissed off.

"This has been one of the top worst days of my life," Shigaraki said, very petulantly.

"You don't say..." Shine said dryly. 

"Yes! And it's all thanks to that Lethe kid!" Shigaraki said.

Shine snorted.

"What's that, do you not believe that?" Shigaraki was much faster to notice these nonverbal signals than he'd been in the past. Perhaps the LOV had taught him something.

"I'm sure we can blame Lethe for some of this, but do you mean you really have not had any second thoughts today at all about what led up to this?" Shine said.

"You mean I never should have let him join the LOV," Shigaraki sniffed.

"Is that all?" Shine said.

"What more is there? Do you think this is my fault!?" Shigaraki snapped.

"Did I say it was your fault?" Shine's tone was neutral.

"No, but you're trying to get at it, aren't you?" Shigaraki suspected.

"Why would I blame you?" Shine said, "Seems more like you expect me to... I wonder why that is..." She shrugged. "Who knows?"

"I don't think I have any blame for this," Shigaraki said, "And why should I feel bad anyway? Just a bunch of worthless people... This is why the world is no safer because of heroes."

Monoma looked at him oddly. But was too afraid to say anything.

"It's a good deal more dangerous because of villains," Shine commented in a rather flat voice for her, "I don't know that a hero's job has ever been to really make the world safe...just to make some people in it safer, when they can. I think you have it backwards, Tomura Shigaraki. We on the heroes side (whether we hold the title or not) are not out to make people safe. I can't speak for the Pros here...but it's...because certain things are worth saving. It's not that we ignore the risks of living, but that we think living is worthwhile, and life is precious and worth preserving as much as we can."

She looked up at the sky, about the only thing that was peaceful in their line of sight right now. "I remember I went through a time of questioning why I was alive, after what I was put through. I don't know what it was-- it was like I wondered if suffering was a sign that living just wasn't worth it... What do we live for if not to escape pain? But life is not escaping pain...just like courage is not the absence of fear, but where something stronger than fear overcomes it. And Love casts out fear...and Hope is stronger than despair. And when all that began to sink into me, I thought it was shallow to look at life the way I did. There are bigger things than being comfortable and safe in life. And you don't save people's lives so they can be safe, but so they can live them to the fullest. They ought to get that chance as much as anyone else, and someone almost dying is what pushes them to reconsider what's important."