Tomura Shigaraki Rewritten (Fanfiction)

Chapter 52

About a year ago, Hana, my mother and I went to the amusement park. I had prepared myself. For years I knew this was coming. For years I knew what it would mean and what would happen, but the pain was still present and real.

My quirk had brought me pain and joy. I was able to make and build a relationship with Tenko, I was able to make new friendships, and I was given the chance to save my sister. But I also had to experience the death of my sister, and now of my mother's for the second time.

A year ago, at the amusement park, my mother announced to Hana and I that she had terminal cancer. She didn't know when exactly she'd die, but I knew. I spent that entire year spending as much time as I could with her, not taking any chances. If I was given a second chance to see my mother again, I was going to milk that opportunity.

I had, but it still hadn't been enough, even if I was prepared. I was eighteen now, about to graduate high school, just like last time, and it was the day my mom was lying in her hospital bed, her breathing slowed. It was the day she would die. The only difference between then and now was the hospital, which was no longer the fresh and clean hospital of Shizuoka, but the run down and gray hospital of Hosu.

Hana was sobbing behind me. I tried to hold back tears. I told myself I was prepared for this, but my throat stung with unsaid words and my eyes welled with emotion. My mother looked up at the both of us weakly as we stood beside her. Her once lively expression and healthy face was now sunken in and serene.

"Don't cry, Hana," my mother rasped. "I don't want to spend my last moments with you crying." I guess it was supposed to be encouraging, but it only made Hana sob louder. I winced.

My mother slowly reached out her hand and I took it. From the distant warmth in it, I could tell she was trying to use her quirk. But, even so, I couldn't feel the usually calming effect of it. She was slowly losing energy for her quirk, and slowly losing her life.

"Jikan, I'm glad I got to see you before I died. I'm sorry I lost you. I should have found you sooner, I should have searched harder—..."

"It's alright, mom. I understand," I whispered. My voice faltered at the end. I feared if I talked any longer, I would burst into tears just like Hana.

Hana rushed in to hug my mother. I took several steps back, watching them embrace with a sad smile. "Mom," Hana wailed, "you can't leave us!"

My mother ran a hand along Hana's back. I couldn't see her face, but I guessed from her shaky breathing that she had started crying as well. "I'm so sorry I couldn't stay a little longer. I'm sorry I couldn't wait until Jikan had at least graduated, or I had at least seen both of you married."

Luckily, Hana was yet to be engaged to Aho, unlike before I regressed. But, he was still sticking around and they were still dating. Dabi hadn't been around my family since the first time, but I still suspected they had some sort of connection. I was hoping I could sort that out, and get Hana to break up with Aho soon.

I watched as Hana and my mother hugged for several moments before I joined them, letting a couple tears slide down my face. I leaned into Hana's shoulder, embracing the both of them.

Eventually, a couple hours later, she took her last breath. It was soft and barely audible, but her chest never rose again. I don't remember what I did after she died last time. Maybe the memories were too painful to recall. But this time, I somehow felt invigorated.

Hana was sitting next to me on the train ride home, leaning on my shoulder, asleep as she was exhausted from crying. Once again, Hana was all I had left, and I knew I had to protect her. I had a new feeling of determination and strength that I needed to keep going.

Hana would not die. Never. Not as long as I was alive.

"You're graduating high school soon," Hana murmured as she cooked some eggs on the stove, the next morning. I was laying on the couch, catching up on the latest news with U.A.; more specifically Tenko. "What career are you thinking of pursuing?"

I glanced over at her. In the early morning light there were bags under her eyes and she looked entirely disheveled. We hadn't shared the bed last night. She had told me she would sleep on the couch, but when I walked out this morning, there were no blankets or any signs of anybody sleeping there. I don't know what she did last night or where she went, but she was clearly struggling coping with our mother's death.

Before I regressed, I was a social media manager for a company. I loved that job, but now I wanted something a little closer to home that didn't require me to travel a lot. That way I could watch over Hana.

"I dunno," I sighed, still scrolling through my phone. My chest felt heavy. I wasn't nearly as exhausted as Hana, but it was hard when her usual bright energy wasn't in the room. "Working from home is slowly becoming more popular. I'll probably just get one of those kinds of jobs."

"No," Hana quickly interjected.

I glanced over at her, confused. Why did she care? It wasn't like she had too crazy of a job, being an assistant for a manga writer. "No? Why not?"

She looked down at the eggs, her eyebrows furrowed. It looked as if she might topple over any moment. She looked exhausted. "I need you to get a real job, Jikan. I didn't... Mom told me not to say anything but we've been really struggling with money. My job isn't that great of a pay, and mom had been out of work for so long we didn't have a second source of income," she explained.

I sat upright on the couch, feeling awkward. This had to have happened last time, before I regressed, but had I just never known? Had Hana hid it so well that I never knew there was a period of time where we struggled with money? Was I really that oblivious? She must have hid it because I was still in high school, and she wanted me to graduate without worry. She probably also expected me to pursue a well paying job, so she wasn't as concerned as before.

But with the threat of me getting some low paying job, she probably panicked and let it slip. Had she gone through this all alone that whole time?

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," I say, turning off my phone and looking down at my feet. "I'll... I'll work hard. I'll get a good job."

Hana sighed, slipping the eggs onto a plate. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you. I don't want to stress you out so close to graduation." She brought the plate over and set it on the coffee table, sitting down on the floor across from me. "I'm your older sister. I'm here to take care of you," she says solemnly.

I had never seen Hana look so defeated. I shifted in my seat, glancing over at her. I didn't know how to react. It was weird. Plus, this whole time I had felt it was my duty to take care of her. I hadn't acknowledged that she was the one thinking she was supposed to be taking care of me, her older, supposedly more inexperienced, younger sister.

I guess after regression, I just naturally felt like I was the older sister and the one who was responsible and more experienced.

"Yeah. Thanks, Hana," is all I say, as I begin eating some of the egg with a fork Hana handed me.

Just like before, it was just me and Hana again. It had been a while. This would take some getting used to.