Leave Your Mark | Various!BNHA x Reader

57: Consolation Prize

Since the moment you were reborn into this world, your actions have shaped the lives of others-in countless meaningful ways. Chisaki may be far from perfect, but he is easily better than his canon self. The same goes for Shouto. You helped save what was left of his childhood and brought joy into his life. Even Izuku, who was destined to be bullied and miserable up until his debut at U.A was able to have a friend through the toughest years of his life. As for Katsuki, well... he's also far from perfect, but having you in his life has caused some of his anger to mellow out, and he's now in the process of discovering what it feels like to have someone he cares for (even if he's still in the denial stage).

There are others, too. Eri would have been subjected to a life of hellish torture if not for your interference. Although the death of her father was still a tragic loss that you wish you could've prevented, she's happy. Her mother hasn't abandoned her in this life, and every time you see her, she is truly, undeniably happy. Even Endeavor has changed from his original self. Granted, he would've eventually come to the realization that he destroyed his own family and been overcome by soul-crushing guilt, but you're glad his character development came sooner rather than later. Not necessarily for his sake, but for his family's sake. For Shouto's sake.

Lastly... Dabi. To be honest, it's still too soon to assume that you've managed to save him. He hasn't joined the League of Villains yet, that much you know with certainty, but you can't predict what might happen next. Just because you've spent some time with him doesn't mean that it was enough to erase all of his hatred and frustration. But you're trying to remain hopeful. You're trying to believe in a future in which he can rejoin his family and finally, finally feel like he actually belongs somewhere.

Yes, it's been more than fifteen years since you started your new life, but what you've accomplished is nothing to scoff at. You're proud of yourself. It wasn't easy getting here. For the longest time, you believed that Chisaki was beyond salvation. At one point, you even thought that he'd trap you inside the Shie Hassaikai and never let you leave. You thought you'd already failed back then. God, you're so happy that things didn't end that way.

However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have been positively impacted by you. As much as you want to save anyone, you understand that it isn't possible. You're only one person, after all. You can't be in a million places at once, and by the time you were even able to walk properly and leave the house on your own terms, certain people had already experienced more than enough suffering for a lifetime.

Shigaraki stares at the monitor with cold, unblinking eyes. Ironically, he's doing the exact same thing as Dabi and watching the Sports Festival. The images keep flitting across the screen, and he simply sits there, with the rest of his room plunged into darkness, as he quietly and attentively watches.

His master, All For One, instructed that he do so. But truthfully, even if he hadn't been told to, he probably would've decided to watch anyway. This is the first chance he's gotten, since USJ, to see you again.

Ever since that day, not once have you left his mind.

Your battle against Iida just ended. You won, which isn't entirely surprising. He didn't even know that you could make yourself float. It seemed like you figured out how to do it for the very first time during the Obstacle Race. Your Quirk is pretty versatile. It's such a nice-looking Quirk, too. So warm, bright, and beautiful. Completely unlike his own.

Shigaraki honestly feels confused. Or perhaps the right word is conflicted? He's not really sure. Logically, he knows that he should despise you-just like he despises all other heroes-but every time he tries to tell himself that he wants you dead, a part deep within his chest seems to react strangely. He yearns to hate you and delight in your suffering. He's already done it so many times before. All he wants to do is destroy and finally make that unpleasant itch go away. But when he imagines killing you, or rather, when he recalls the tear-streaked expression you had when he nearly succeeded in killing you, he doesn't feel as satisfied as he thought he would.