Tomura Shigaraki Rewritten (Fanfiction)

Chapter 54

I assumed Hana was asleep by now. All the lights were off in our apartment besides a small lamp in the corner and I was laying on the couch, tossing the present Aho gave me between my hands. It was so perfectly wrapped, I hadn't expected it of him. The wrapping paper was a midnight black, with a silver sparkling ribbon surrounding it, finishing off in a bow. The image of the gift was so tempting, but the idea of who gave it to me made me debate whether it was really worth it to open it or not. The small box made no sound when I tossed it, so I had hardly any idea what it could possibly be. A small object was the only hint I had. I personally hoped they were keys to a mansion for Hana and I, but I knew I was stretching. By a few million miles. Knowing Aho it was probably some glass preserved cockroach.

Finally, the temptation took over and I began undoing the glittering, silver ribbon. A couple specks of glitter stuck to my finger as I finished pulling it off, and soon enough the wrapping paper was off too. I was left with a velvety, purple box. It felt expensive to hold, and I hadn't even opened it yet. Was Aho always this fancy?

With my eyes narrowed, I flipped open the top of the box and inside—unexpectedly—a beautiful necklace. It sat on a pillow of red silk. The chain of the delicate looking necklace was some sort of black metal, and the pendant was a small, silver lined black diamond. With an expression of awe, I pulled out the necklace and held it up to the light. The light reflected in the black diamond looked like fire. It was absolutely intriguing, but for some reason, my heart felt a little quicker when I looked at it. Almost out of panic.

Aho gave this to me? Why?

Without another thought—I was too distracted by the necklace's beauty—I put the necklace on. It rested just below my collarbone. I wasn't usually one for jewelry or over accessorizing, but this necklace flattered me, no matter who the giver was.

About an hour earlier, I had received yet another text from Tenko.

"You read my message. Why didn't you respond?"

I ignored that one too. It hurt, but I knew it was for the best. I tried to push the thought of him out of my head as well, but as I lounged on the couch in silence, my thoughts kept running in circles. Finally, I decided to pull up the news and see how he was doing. Scrolling through every news article that mentioned him, a smile grew on my face.

Tenko's hero name was Decay. While it didn't sound all that heroic, I thought it was much better than once again naming himself Shigaraki. I was also surprised to find out that he was put over Shizuoka, protecting our hometown from villains. That must have been the first time he's been there since his quirk activated.

It hadn't felt that long ago that I was pulling Tenko around in his little red wagon, offering him my torn, ugly gloves. I smiled at the thought.

My reminiscing was interrupted when I heard an abrupt knock on the door. At this time of night? It was less than a quarter until midnight. I was suddenly fearful, knowing that Hosu has always been a city full of villains. Was someone here to rob us?

I first clicked off my lamp light, making it seem like nobody was home. I then steadily creeped up to the door, extra careful to not make any noise. I slowly shifted my weight and leaned in to look up into the peephole.

No one was there.

For some reason, the idea of this made me even more frightened. I surely heard a knock, so where had the person that knocked gone? I looked through the peephole a little longer, trying to find any hint of a presence, but after a couple of minutes, there was still no one there.

I relaxed and backed away. It must have been my imagination. I sighed. I was probably tired and needed to get some sleep. Maybe I was just on edge from Aho being a headache earlier. I walked back to the couch and retrieved my phone, only to find I had yet another text from Tenko.

"Jikan. Are you ignoring me?"

I thought that was obvious. Perhaps I should just stop reading his messages. That way it wouldn't give him false hope. Looking into the blue light of my phone, I once again checked the time. Eleven fifty-seven. My birthday was almost over. After today, it would be one year until I was twenty-one, the age I first was before I regressed.

I clicked off my phone and was left in pitch black for a moment as my eyes adjusted to the light. As the apartment came back into focus, my heart instantly dropped. There was someone else standing there.

A dark figure, someone tall, was standing in my corner. I opened my mouth to scream, stumbling backwards. But, the tall figure quickly approached me, swiftly covering both their hands over my mouth. The moment their hands met my lips, I recognized their coarse skin.

Dabi.

I was on the floor, backed against the wall, Dabi crouching over me, both his hands still over my mouth. I looked up at him wide eyed, trying to calm my rapid breathing.

Dabi chuckled as he calmed down as well, seemingly relieved I hadn't screamed. "Happy birthday, Jikan. I'm not too late, am I?" was the first thing he asked in his sly, cold voice.

I rolled my eyes, pulling his hands off me as I sat upright. "Are you kidding me?! What were you thinking, scaring me like that?" I scolded him in a whispering shout. Dabi's smirk grew wider, and I shoved his shoulder in frustration, crossing my arms. He laughed slightly.

"That's all you have to say? Not, 'I miss you', or 'How have you been'?" Dabi mockingly pouted as he still crouched over me. I couldn't help but smile this time also. "It really has been a while, though," he continued. "How old are you today?"

"Twenty. How'd you even know it was my birthday, anyway?" I then asked, raising an eyebrow at him as I continued to sit there with my arms crossed. As both of us continued to whisper, making lighthearted conversation, it distracted me from the fact that he was still crouching over me, barely a distance from my face.

"A villain has his ways." Dabi's eyes then locked onto my black diamond necklace. His expression wavered slightly, but not in disappointment, almost satisfaction. What was that about? "Where'd you get this from?" he asked.

I lifted the necklace in my hand. "It was a gift. From my sister's boyfriend," I responded slowly.

Dabi didn't ask anymore questions. His eyes kept glancing between mine and the necklace. He looked at me in silence, and for some reason I could feel my heart begin to race. When Dabi spoke again, I gasped, almost startled, the tension was interrupted. "It looks good on you. 'Matches your eyes."

A cleared my throat, turning my head away from him. "Ahem. Yeah. You think so?" I stumbled over my words.

He nodded his head, twisting so that he was now sitting down next to me and not over me. "I think so," he concluded. Just as quick as he complimented me, he changed the topic. "What have you been up to for the past while?"

"Me? Dabi, I should be asking you that. Where have you been?" I countered.

"I've been... places. Doing the usual."

"That's very descriptive."

"I'm a villain. I trust no one," Dabi said with a winning grin. His voice was cold and quiet, but his face was still expressive. Back before I regressed, he had always been so emotionless. I wonder what changed.

His face then shifted to one of serious curiosity. My eyes widened. It caught me off guard. "Jikan. Can I try something?" he asked, his voice low.

"Try what?" I asked, my arms dropping to my sides. He was looking at me so intensely. I could feel my heart beating rapidly again.

"Just sit still for a moment," he murmured, before he began to slowly reach for me...