Controlee

98. Day

Rule 44: It's not cowardice to walk away from a fight.
Rule 44, edit: It's not cowardice to walk away from a fight, especially an unnecessary one.

"Auntie, will you tell me about the people who saved you again?"

Elsbeth chuckled at her nibling, the child squirming even as she tried to tuck them in. "I've told you about Red and Blue so many times, aren't you bored of hearing about them?"

The child shook their head with such energy it was a miracle it didn't go rolling off.

"Well, maybe if you settle down I'll see if there's something new I can remember about them."

Instantly, the child was a perfect angel, snuggled up in their sheets against the winter weather. Their eyes glittered with barely contained excitement. Elsbeth realised she was going to have to come up with a story fast, her nibling's patience was far from unending— oh to be so young again.

"Now, you remember the rules, don't you, dear one?"

The child's nod was as serious as a six-year-old's could be. "Rule zero: Red and Blue never existed."

Elsbeth smiled. "That's right. Now, why don't I tell you about the first person Red and Blue saved?"

***

Otsuka's story at UA did not end the way it had began, and yet it also did.

Her arrival had been a surprise. She'd been an unplanned addition. It was last-minute but, above all, it was earned.

She'd thought her leaving would be more prepared. TT had contacted the right people to get them started, it would keep them on their feet when they chose to leave. Otsuka had made lists, written at the back of her rulebook, past the pages with the names of every doctor who'd poked and prodded her for whatever reason throughout her childhood. It was equipment, mostly, things they'd need to keep controlees safe. They'd only be able to get their hands on the bare minimum, nothing fancy like the stuff at the control school they'd been raised at, but it would be enough, they'd make it so.

For Otsuka, the final day started with mochi in her mouth. The TV was on in the 1-A common area, and someone had decided to flick the news on for a minute. It was probably Midoriya, to be honest, since the banner across the bottom of the screen read 'Breaking: hero news'.

"While this sleepy part of Musutafu's town looks perfectly safe right now, information from a credible source tells us this is about to be the last stand of Shigaraki Tomura, leader of the League of Villains."

She dropped what was left of the mochi and ran.

***

"If Red was surrounded by good people, why didn't she ask them to help her save him?"

Elsbeth sighed, her chest aching. Children had the tendency to go right to the heart of any matter, asking the hard questions because they had no idea they were hard. "Oh, dear one, even those with the best intentions can cause great pain. They may have been good, but they didn't understand."

"Why?"

Ah yes, the classic question of any child. "Unfortunately, that's just what they were taught. People get things wrong sometimes."

***

For Shigaraki, it was not the final day, he couldn't call it that. The first day would be more accurate, but it still wasn't right. The first day for him was the day the device in his neck was destroyed and he was set free. Today was a day that brought change, but it wasn't the first nor the final.

It began with the sound of a helicopter, an overhead thrum that he expected to pass. It did not pass.

A train passed over the tunnel, blocking out the noise of the helicopter with its thundering and making the very ground shake. Shigaraki shuffled out from under the cover of the tunnel and looked up to the sky, reaching into his pocket to feel the crinkle of a packet of crisps he'd stolen from a shop.