Shouta knew it would be...taxing. Knew the whole fight at the USJ had left scars deeper than he liked to admit. He hadn't expected it to be as hard as it was. His job was simply to keep his eyes on Kurogiri- Shirakumo so the League wouldn't be able to escape once the dome was put under lock down. All Might would fight the Nomu while the other heroes dealt with the other small fry. Everything went according to plan, that wasn't what had been hard. No, it had been the fact he needed to look at Kurogiri, his old friend, knowing he was still himself under all of that.

He'd always known, he supposed. It was evident in their original lives that part of Oboro lingered within him, but it was faint and hidden. Enough for Shouta to deem him gone. Yet his students, the Nomu that attacked this place in another timeline, in other circumstances, they'd been conscious. Not fully, not in a way that mattered in that moment, but they were conscious enough, and that hurt Aizawa more than he liked to admit.

Luckily it was all over now and Kurogiri was locked away in quirk erasure cuffs, just as the other Nomu and Shigaraki, who'd been throwing a temper tantrum this whole time. He suspected that's why Midoriya was here in the teacher's lounge after school, standing nervously at the door without looking Aizawa's way. Shouta didn't blame him, not with his underlying trauma. The fact he was here at all, knowing Shouta would be here, was already quite impressive. All Might was right, Midoriya was making a lot of progress in a short period of time.

"So, uhm, the USJ... How did it go?" he asked.

"As expected," Midnight said, walking up to him. "We're giving all of you the mission report tomorrow, so don't worry! Say, where is Bakugou? I thought the two of you were inseparable these days?"

"Oh, uh, he's- He's hanging out with his squad," Izuku said, forcing a smile. "This is- I, uh, I have a request."

Yep, this was what Shouta had been expecting. He wasn't surprised that Bakugou wanted nothing to do with it, opting to spend his time elsewhere while Midoriya was doing what he did best: trying to befriend every single moving creature in the near vicinity. Falling in his trap was inevitable, really. There was no escaping the bright ray of sunshine that was Izuku Midoriya. Not even for villains, not even for Shigaraki, definitely not in his current state.

"Shigaraki is being kept in isolation," Midnight said, also knowing why Midoriya came here. Every teacher knew, or, well, expected it. Why else would he show up today of all days? "The Hero Commission is making room for him. He'll be transported out of here first thing in the morning."

"Alright," Izuku nodded. "So a couple of hours is all I get, then?"

"You're a smart fella!" Midnight grinned. "Remember, we never gave you permission, got it? If you trigger any alarms, that's on you."

"Okay," Izuku nodded, now smiling. "Thank you!"

Shouta watched him go, sighing as he put his coffee down.

"Someone should probably go with him to keep an eye on things."

"Shigaraki is bound to quirk erasure cuffs and behind quirk proof glass," Midnight stated. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"You're just worried about one of your favorites~" Mic teased. So what if he was? It still wasn't responsible to leave a child with a future mass murderer, even if he was in chains. Well, Midoriya wasn't a child, though, not mentally at least. That didn't mean Aizawa wouldn't worry, though.

"Where is All Might?" he asked instead, ignoring Present Mic's teasing. If anyone could get away with staring at the interaction between Midoriya and Shigaraki from behind the blinded bullet proof glass, it would be him.

"Nezu took him to his office a little while back," Cementos replied. "I think they're talking about professional therapy."

Ah yes, All Might had refused UA's offer to see a counselor. Both Midoriya and Bakugou were semi-obligated to see one in order to even start the hero course, but All Might had assured them things were fine and that he could process things on his own. Shouta hadn't been watching him during the attack, but he was sure he must've given some clear signs he was not actually processing any of this. Maybe asking him to supervise Midoriya wasn't ideal, after all.

"You don't need to worry about them, Sho," Mic said, swinging an arm around the black ray of sunshine. "They'll be fine, you'll see!"

Shouta really hoped he was right.

//\\
\\//

Izuku couldn't deny he was nervous. Having Tenko change his mind in the second timeline had been nothing short of a miracle, and he wasn't sure whether he could repeat whatever kind of magic he used back then. At one point, he thought about bringing his memories back. Izuku had a suspicion as to what his core memory would be, so he could always try it. In the end, he decided against it. It wasn't worth bringing back his memories, it would only complicate things further.

So here he was, starting from zero, as he sat down in front of a screaming and yelling manchild. Izuku almost forgot Tenko used to be this way. It was hard to remember when the only thing that people associated with him was mass destruction... And he didn't know whether that would make things easier or worse.

"Hi!" Izuku greeted him, a smile plastered on his face as he sat down. Tenko simply glared at him. Ah, maybe he should've brought soup again, that seemed to do the trick last time, right? "I'm Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you."

"Fuck off!" Shigaraki hissed. "If you're not here to let me out than fuck off! I already lost! It's game over! But you heroes just looooveeee to rub it in, don't you? To celebrate how good you are by looking down on me!"

"I'm not looking down on you, Tomura-kun," Izuku said, deciding to use the name his father had given him instead of the name he was born with. "And I'm not here to rub it in, as you called it. I just... I just want to talk. Is that alright?"

"What's there to talk about? I lost, you won, it's over," he grumbled, struggling in his chains. Izuku could see his fingers twitch, urging to scratch his own skin, urging to use his quirk.

"It doesn't have to be," Izuku said. "You can...respawn, as it were. Make a new character, try a different route. It's only ever over if you give up."

"Don't give up, huh?" Shigaraki spat. "Shut up. I don't need to hear any of your stupid motivational hero bullshit!"

"It's true, though," Izuku continued. "You can always try again. Maybe this time, you can try doing things differently? You want to change the world, right? To throw this hero society upside down? You can still do that, it doesn't have to involve destruction."

"Ha! As if!" Shigaraki laughed, making Izuku wince. "You're delusional! Every revolution needs destruction! Father will find a way to make that happen! Yes... Yes! Father will free me! He'll come for me, just you wait! You're right, kid, we haven't lost yet! And when he comes, destruction will be inevitable! He'll kill and destroy and he'll take all you stupid dumb heroes with it!"

"Father would never harm me," Izuku stated, even though he knew that was a lie. All For One would definitely harm him. He might not kill him if it could be avoided, but a little harm wouldn't faze him, not even if Izuku was his own son. "Oh, but he didn't tell you about me, did he? He didn't tell you he has an actual son, his own flesh and blood. If push comes to shove, whose side do you think he'll pick, Tomura?"

His. His side, no doubt about it. Izuku was bluffing, twisting the truth in order to influence Tomura's mind. To manipulate him, like his father had done. God, Izuku always felt like such a monster when he was put in situations like this... Well, no, he wasn't put in this situation, he chose to be here... Still, that didn't make things any easier.

"You're lying," he hissed. "Liar! You're lying! Father only cares for me! There's only me!"

"You're in denial," Izuku hummed. "You can't live with the fact that All For One didn't tell you something. That he kept this from you, lied to you. That he doesn't fully trust you."

"You're lying! Lying! Liar!" Tomura screeched, fighting against his restraints. "Father will come! Father will kill you!"

"He won't," Izuku simply replied. "Please calm down, Tomura. We can be civil about this, can't we? Father didn't raise you to be such a brat, I'm sure."

Izuku hated this. Hated that he was talking to him the way All For One usually talked down on heroes. With that overly polite yet mocking tone. Izuku hated everything about it, yet here he was, using that same type of voice against Tomura. He hoped the familiarity would bring him to his senses, would make him listen to him for a change, but it might all be for nothing. Izuku didn't know how his father raised him, after all. Not the details. He never wanted to know, still didn't, but the information could've been useful right about now...

"No. No, no, no," Tomura mumbled, his fingers twitching, itching. "This is wrong. You're wrong. Father would never allow it. I'm his son. His only son. His successor. I'm his legacy. I'll show the world- I'll burn it all down! I'll destroy it all! You can't stop me!"

"I think I already did," Izuku shrugged. "You're in no position to throw empty threats at me, Tomura. You're locked up. Even if you did get out somehow, there are over a dozen heroes right outside this room, ready to take you down again. There's nothing you can do now, not if you're not willing to listen to what I have to say."

"I'm not listening to a fraud," Tomura hissed. "I'd rather die."

Oof. Ouch. Okay, that hurt, not gonna lie.

"Very well," Izuku smiled, not allowing this to put a crack in his facade. "Then you'll be transported to Tartarus in the morning and there's nothing I can do for you anymore. Even All For One won't be able to save you there. But that's your choice! Call for me if you happen to change your mind."

With that, Izuku got up from his chair, giving Tomura one last polite smile before turning around to leave the room. He wouldn't forgive himself for not being able to save him, for sending him to Tartarus without doing anything to avoid it. Part of him thought convincing him to join the right side would be easier because of how early in the timeline they were, but seeing how things were now... There was no way he could have a decent conversation with him in this state.

"Wait."

Izuku froze up, his hand hanging over the doorknob.

"...You said something about respawning earlier? Making a new character?"

Ah, so the gamer terms were the ones that got through to him. Good to know.

"Are you willing to hear me out?" Izuku asked, turning around to face him again. Shigaraki huffed, glaring at the ground without really answering him. Izuku took that as a yes, though, returning to his seat with a bit of relief filling his chest. Maybe Tenko wasn't lost after all. "Remember when I said you can change the world without destroying it? Would you consider that option if it meant you could go free?"

"The hell are you even talking about?" Shigaraki asked.

"Making a new character," Izuku explained. "You can try again as someone new. Take another, more peaceful route. Not all change has to come from violence, you know? Heroes have influence, they are able to change things without harming others, so why shouldn't you be able to do the same?"

"I hate heroes," Shigaraki grumbled. "They're all fake, always smiling and acting like everything is fucking fine when it's clearly not fucking fine."

"I never said you need to be a hero," Izuku corrected, even though he really hoped he could convince Tomura otherwise. Maybe not right now, maybe that was something they had to work on in the future, whichever timeline that may be. "I'm just saying you don't have to be a villain or cause mass destruction in order to get people on your side, in order to change the way society works and thinks. Like... A vigilante of sorts? Or maybe more like an anti-hero? The world is several shades of grey, you know? Not everything is black and white."

Shigaraki frowned at that, as if thinking about it. All For One had raised him to hate heroes with a passion, Izuku knew that. So changing his views on the world would be tricky. But maybe if he took it one step at the time, like he did in their second lives, he could make it work? Maybe if he couldn't make Tomura a hero, he could at least make him an anti-hero. He didn't need to go into heroics at all, though, not if he didn't want to. Izuku just wanted to show him another way, wanted him to know there were different paths he could walk. He wanted to pull him into the light, wanted to save him more than anything.

Izuku could sense the presence of the vestiges within him, knew Nana was watching this whole thing go down with just as much tension as Izuku. The others, too. Yoichi was trying to calm down his nerves, trying to steer him in this conversation, to assure him he was doing the right thing. Banjo was, well, being his loud self. It was fun, though, and his hyped up essence cheered Izuku up even in the darkest times. En was more rational, collected. He stuck to the facts rather than be swayed by emotions like some of the others. Both Second and Third stayed in the background most of the time, only ever interfering when necessary. Izuku respected their choices, just like they respected his.

"...An anti-hero, huh?" Shigaraki mumbled. "Like the old comic books."

"Right!" Izuku smiled, knowing which comics Tomura was talking about. There were only so many he could've been exposed to in his youth, after all. "Just like in father's old comic books. I think it would really suit you."

"Hmm," he hummed. "...I guess it wouldn't be so bad..."

Izuku tried his best not to beam at that answer, to keep up the facade he was trying to put out. Who was he kidding, though? This was great! This was the breakthrough he needed! He glanced at the time, determination filling his being once more. He'll make sure to keep Tomura out of the Hero Commission's clutches, even if it was the last thing he ever did.