Work Text:
“You have between a week and a month to live,” the doctor said.
Yuuto Shigaraki sat silently on the hard metal chair. He’d already known about his condition—hell, he’d had his illness since childhood—and he’d seen this coming. Increasing coughing fits had forced him to retire from his hero career and eventually left him unable to leave this hospital. His pain had worsened until he found it difficult to read books, get through a daily routine, or even eat. At this point, he only felt numbness.
“Here, you can look at your medical records yourself.” The doctor shoved the papers at Yuuto. She shifted in her wheely chair, unwilling to meet his eyes.
It couldn’t be easy to deliver such bad news. By habit, Yuuto forced his face into a gentle smile. The one he used on people he rescued. “Please don’t feel guilty. I know you’ve done everything you could.”
The doctor looked at the ceiling. “We’ve been wondering…that is to say, some people have been wondering…if you’d be interested in donating your body to science. You have such a unique condition. You could potentially help other people with quirk-related illnesses.” Her voice became weaker. “Take your time to think about it. Just, uh, not too long, because…”
Oh. So that was what had her so nervous. Yuuto’s stomach plummeted. Through a dry throat, he said, “I’d be happy to help. Just tell me what I need to sign.” A cough interrupted him. He put a hand to his mouth to block the flow of blood.
It had gotten thicker these days, since he often coughed up chunks of tissue.
“Then I won’t keep you from your rest any longer,” the doctor said with fake cheer, pushing a box of tissues at him. “To be clear, I’ll bring by the paperwork to donate your body tomorrow, agreed? Mr. Ogata? Yoichi?”
It took Yuuto a moment to realize she was addressing him by his false identity. Even after several years of being called Yoichi, he still hadn’t gotten used to it. He rubbed his aching temples. The room blurred and swam. “Yes, of course. Thank you for your help with the process. I should…I should get back to my room. I don’t feel well.”
As he limped down the hospital hallway, his IV stand trailing after him, Yuuto stared at the medical records in his hands. His vision blurred, but he already knew what they would say. Untreatable.
When his condition had first deteriorated, the doctors had run numerous tests on him, then told him he had a quirk. It allowed him to pass quirks on to other people—completely useless until his older brother had forced a stockpiling power on him. But even that small, invisible ability had been more than his body could handle from the day he’d been born. Quite a few of the first generation of quirk-users suffered from similar illnesses. The doctors had thrown around words like “cellular degeneration” and “combined with a weak constitution.”
It had felt like a bad joke. A quirk he couldn’t even use had been killing him since childhood. If his older brother had won the superpower lottery with All for One, then Yuuto had thoroughly lost it.
As Yuuto stopped, his IV-on-wheels rattled to a halt. He pushed the door open to reveal a small room with a single white bed and no other furniture. Another door lead to the bathroom. He’d stuffed the space under the bed and most of the floor with his comic book collection.
He sat down on his bed and stared at the blank walls. A round, dusty window let in a little sunlight. Outside was a manicured lawn and a narrow countryside road.
The government had told him that at least he could pass on his legacy, the only quirk that All for One couldn’t steal. They’d provided him with a top college graduate from a good family with a powerful ability and charming presence. But for some reason, Yuuto just hadn’t liked their candidate.
Instead, he’d found a young vigilante with a weaker quirk but a courageous heart, then passed on One for All. He’d hadn’t told anyone else. To the government, he’d claimed that his quirk had simply vanished on its own.
They hadn’t entirely believed him. Hence why, despite the massive wealth and resources dedicated to the very first professional heroes, Yuuto had ended up in a tiny hospital room with a leaky sink.
But then, he’d been disappointing the government long before that point. Whenever he’d disagreed with their violent tactics, he’d ignored them and done as he pleased, to their great displeasure. One for All was the only reason they hadn’t thrown him out. They’d wanted him and his unstealable quirk to kill All for One, aka Hisashi Shigaraki. There, they’d received the greatest disappointment of all. Yuuto had always wanted to stop his older brother, not kill him.
A cough formed under Yuuto’s chest. He breathed into his inhaler. This could only ease the pain, not erase it. Then he tried to read a comic book. The words wouldn’t focus.
There went his last joy in life. The tears blurring his eyes only made it worse.
No one had visited him in the hospital. He’d never been close with the other professional heroes—they looked at him and saw All for One’s brother. His hero career had kept him too busy to form close friendships. For security reasons, he’d been sent to this hospital in secret with the truth known only to a few doctors, so no fans could visit him.
Yuuto had no real regrets about his choices. He still believed that opposing All for One had been the only path he could have taken. Yet he couldn’t lie to himself—right now, he felt utterly miserable. Sometimes, when his lungs seized up and every breath became agony, he wondered why he even bothered to keep trying to inhale and exhale.
At most a month left. It felt almost like a relief. He had nothing left to do before he died.
Well…perhaps one thing.
By now, he’d accepted that he wouldn’t be the one to defeat his older brother. He still believed a hero would stop Hisashi someday. But he’d washed his own hands of their feud. Yet in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, he felt like he had unfinished business with his brother. What did he want? To reconcile? That didn’t seem possible, since neither of them had changed their minds. Perhaps simply to say goodbye?
It felt wrong that no one would even tell Hisashi when he died. They were still the only family the other had. Yuuto knew his older brother was looking for him—he’d been constantly moving between safehouses and fake identities for his entire hero career because if Hisashi ever found out where he slept, he’d drop by to pick up his “foolish younger brother.” After Yuuto vanished, would Hisashi keep searching? Would he spend years looking for someone already dead? How unbearably cruel that would be.
But if he gave his big brother a phone call, then Hisashi would track the signal down and show up at the hospital with an army. Yuuto’s eye twitched. This was the whole problem with his older brother! It was all or nothing with Hisashi—either live under the smothering, dictatorial reign of his so-called protection, or cut off all contact to flee from him. There was no middle ground, because Yuuto couldn’t even send his brother a birthday card without the villain running forensics on it. No matter how clever he tried to be in making contact, he still ran a good chance of ending up back in the vault.
Lying on his back with his long, pale hair falling over his face, Yuuto stared at the cracked ceiling and wondered if it mattered. This barren room felt like every bit as much a prison. He shifted, trying and failing to get comfortable on the lumpy bed. The only real difference between here and the bank vault was a matter of principle.
Normally, Yuuto was a great believer in matters of principle. He could chase a principle all the way to his grave. But he was also a very young man, dying and desperately lonely. All he wanted was to hear his brother’s voice one more time.
Couldn’t a dying man have one last wish?
Small choices can change the course of the river of time. In one timeline, Yuuto decided to sleep on his decision. He woke up in the middle of the night coughing and unable to breathe. A negligent nurse failed to respond to his emergency button. Though he tried to dial his brother, his shaking hands dropped the phone. He died alone and in a great deal of pain.
In this timeline, Yuuto only paused to grab his inhaler and wrap his IV stand in a blanket before he made his escape out the window.
The government had provided security, but it was designed to be unnoticeable and to keep people out, not in. Yuuto had escaped from far worse. (Cough Hisashi cough.)
As he hopped down from the tree after the guard had passed, his legs felt wobbly. A chill had settled into his bones. He didn’t have a coat. In his flimsy hospital gown, he probably looked like a ghost. He could have checked out in the morning like a regular patient, but…
Ever since the request to donate his body to science, he’d had a bad feeling the doctors might not want him to leave. He didn’t know how far they’d go to stop him and decided not to test it. By the end, the government’s feelings of disappointment had been quite mutual.
Carrying his IV stand tucked under his arm, Yuuto ran down the cobblestone street. He needed to find an abandoned area where no innocent people could get caught up before he contacted his older brother. He didn’t know how far he could make it without collapsing. When he spotted a deserted park, he made a beeline for it.
Sitting on a child’s slide, Yuuto dialed the number in his contacts. It had been years, but Hisashi had once told him that he would always keep his old number active just in case his little brother ever called. Yuuto shivered, rubbing his hands together and seeing his breath puff white.
Hisashi answered on the first ring. “Yuuto, so you’ve finally agreed to the government’s plan to lure me into a deathtrap.” Bitterness colored his words. “Where are you supposed to send me?”
“You knew about that?” Yuuto blinked. “No, I would never agree to such a thing. In fact, I’ve retired as a hero.”
“What an obvious a ruse. I may not know your plan, but—”
“Big brother, I’m dying.”
Silence came from the other end of the phone. When Hisashi finally spoke, his voice was filled to the brim with darkness. “You don’t need to go so far just to lure me into your trap. I’d come anyway.”
Yuuto sighed. “I have between one week to a month to live. I can send you pictures of my medical records.” He’d taken those along in order to convince his paranoid older brother. “Of course I know you’re coming—or sending your nearest minions, anyway, that would be a smarter move than springing a possible trap yourself. Of course I know you’re tracing this call. Of course I know you won’t let me walk away.” It always hurt his feelings when his brother treated him like a total fool. “I called you because I want to see you. I want to say goodbye to my only family.”
On the other end, Hisashi was breathing heavily, but he didn’t respond.
Motors hummed from down the road. That had been fast. He asked, “Are those your people coming toward me?”
Even the breathing on the other end cut off.
Yuuto rolled his eyes. “I need you to tell me because if it’s someone from the hospital, I have to run away. And I’m not in any kind of shape to run right now.” His icy hands could barely hold up the phone. This conversation was already going precisely as badly as he’d expected. His head throbbed. He had no energy left for persuasions. “Come on, when have I ever been the type for deception and traps? I promise on my vow to become a hero that I’m not lying to you. I’ll come quietly if those are your people.”
After a long moment, Hisashi growled, “They’re mine, and they were supposed to move more quietly.”
This surprised a laugh from Yuuto. An unmarked truck pulled over at the side of the road. “Thanks for telling me. See you soon.”
When the blow dart struck his neck, he didn’t try to dodge. Even before, he’d already been swaying sideways.
As Yuuto slowly returned to awareness, his brother was shouting at him. “What the hell are you up to?”
When he’d wanted to hear his brother’s voice one last time, this hadn’t been what he’d had in mind. Yuuto lay on an examination table in sterile-smelling medical facility. He tried to rub his ringing ears, but the straps on his wrists wouldn’t reach far enough. This irritated some mild sarcasm out of him. “Great to see you too, big brother.”
Hisashi stood over him holding a scanner. His hair stood up in all directions and his face looked frazzled. “There don’t seem to be any bugs and trackers on you at all! Or bombs. Or other weapons. Maybe it’s mind control?”
“Uh-huh.” Yuuto should feel annoyed at being tied down, but he was too tired to feel much of anything. Besides, he’d made the choice to call his brother expecting precisely this to happen. No point in getting upset about the consequences of his own actions. “I already told you why I came here. So how have you been lately? You look healthy. That’s nice.”
Hisashi stared at him wildly. “Brain-eating worms! The government has infected you with brain-eating worms, then sent you here to pass them along to me.” He backed away.
“You must have my medical records, since they’re gone from my pocket.” Yuuto craned his neck. Sure enough, his older brother held the papers.
“Your medical records are under the name Yoichi Ogata,” Hisashi said, as if this made the information in them any less accurate. He glared. “I’m not calling you a name meaning ‘First Son.’”
“Is that what Yoichi means? I had no idea, silly me. I’ve never been very good with kanji.” Yuuto was lying through his teeth. The government had only allowed him to join the professional heroes if he changed his name and kept his relation to All for One secret from the general public. At the time, he’d picked a name meaning oldest son as an admittedly melodramatic declaration that he had no brother now. He’d intended to infuriate Hisashi and clearly succeeded. But in all honesty, the name had never quite felt like his own. “It hardly matters now. You can call me ‘idiot’ for all I care.”
Hisashi stared at him, then flipped through the pages rapidly. “I don’t see any mention of delirium…but it’s not as if they’d admit it on paper if they’d infected you with brain-eating worms…”
Yuuto sighed. “What tests do I need to let you run in order to clear myself of the brain-eating worms theory so hopefully we can have a normal conversation afterward?”
“You want to have a normal conversation,” Hisashi repeated.
It was amusing to see his older brother this gob-smacked. Yuuto chuckled. “Maybe I was overly optimistic. You think we can manage a normal few sentences? I won’t shout if you don’t.”
Hisashi’s mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. If Yuuto had known of this amazing secret technique to shut his big brother up, he would have tried it years ago. He laughed. It turned into a cough.
This finally roused Hisashi from his stupor. He grabbed the inhaler and started shouting at a team of doctors huddled at the other end of the room.
Of course, as soon as Yuuto could breathe again, his older brother wanted to run the same barrage of tests the government’s doctors had already done—presumably because he didn’t trust the medical records—along with a bunch of extra ones, including a brain scan. Yuuto, an old hand by this point, tolerated all of it.
As a doctor took his pulse, Hisashi muttered, “Your wrist has gotten even thinner. Do you even eat when I don’t make you?”
“Of course I do. I ate yesterday.”
“Like…once?”
Yuuto tried to remember. “Hospital food is pretty lousy, but I ate the pudding cup at both lunch and dinner.”
Hisashi sighed and told the doctor, “Add blood tests for malnutrition.”
The doctor put a stethoscope on Yuuto’s chest, revealing his scars. Yuuto had a huge jagged mark running over his shoulder, claw marks on his side, and deep burns spreading down his right arm. A network of smaller white scars looked like a spider’s web over his body. Hisashi stared at them and swore under his breath.
Yuuto said, “I see them as badges of honor.”
This only made Hisashi curse louder and in several languages. His childhood Kansai accent even started to slip back into his speech, which was an extremely rare occurrence and a very bad sign. Yuuto decided it would be better to just let his big brother tire himself out rather than risk saying something that might set him off even more.
Mostly he just lay back and drifted off. At one point, he did try to tell his brother, “A quirk suppressant cuff isn’t necessary. I don’t have One for All.”
“You’re lying,” Hisashi said automatically. Then he frowned and looked closer. “That’s odd. It’s so faded…almost gone. What happened?”
“The quirk just vanished one day.” Yuuto smiled, remembering the similar lie he’d told his older brother the very first time he’d tried to take One for All back. “Maybe it popped out. You might find it under a bush somewhere.”
From the squinty look in Hisashi’s eyes, he didn’t believe this any more than the government had. Not that it mattered to Yuuto. He simply stared his older brother down with the serenity of a still lake.
In the end, Hisashi didn’t take the cuff off his ankle, not that Yuuto cared, because he had no intention of summoning up the dying embers of One for All anyway. With his body in its current shape, trying would probably kill him. He planned to die peacefully, not pulling another escape attempt, so he might as well let his brother take whatever precautions satisfied his crazy supervillain heart. It would be his last gift in exchange for the grief he was about to put Hisashi through.
After the examination was over, Hisashi chased the doctors out of the room and glared at the papers in his hands. “It seems you were telling the truth about your condition.” He sounded angry—clearly he’d have preferred not to believe it. “I’ve pulled together a preliminary treatment plan, and I’ll call in some specialists tomorrow.” In the space of barely an hour, dark shadows had formed under his eyes.
“Whatever makes you happy.” Yuuto shrugged. He knew it was hopeless, but he also knew his big brother was the type to believe he could rewrite reality through force of will.
Again, Hisashi asked, “Why did you come here?”
Patiently, Yuuto said, “I want to reconcile with you because I’m dying.”
“Stop saying that you’re dying!” Hisashi shrieked.
“I am, and you’re going to have to face that reality.”
Once again, his brother was struck speechless. Hisashi’s hands clenched and unclenched. The look on his face became lost and sad.
That had been cruel. Yuuto regretted saying it. To soften the blow, he added, “I want to spend my last days with the only person who loves me. Love you, too, big brother.”
Normally, this statement would have been followed with a “but.” I love you, but I’m going to stop you. I love you, but you’re psychotic. I love you, but I’m leaving because I can’t handle your smothering any longer. Through sheer force of will, Yuuto stopped himself from qualifying his statement.
Hisashi gaped at him. “But?”
“No buts this time,” Yuuto said.
Hisashi muttered about mind control and brain-eating worms.
Yuuto felt a flicker of annoyance. It was starting to feel like only one of them was putting any effort into Project Deathbed Reconciliation.
When Yuuto ended up escorted to the goddamn vault, he felt no particular surprise. He couldn’t even muster any negative emotions at all. He simply staggered straight to the bolted-down bed with its padded posts and closed his eyes.
Normally he hated this place, but over the last couple weeks, he’d struggled to find the energy to feel strongly about anything. Whatever. He’d made his resolve. He could put up with this for a month, maximum.
He woke up late at night coughing.
Yuuto didn’t even have time to call for help before it arrived. Hisashi shoved a breath mask over his face. He’d appeared so fast he must have been both watching and lurking nearby. He shouted at some doctors while Yuuto struggled to think through a daze of pain.
When he eventually fell back to sleep, it was peaceful and undisturbed.
The next morning, Hisashi opened the door and looked around in astonishment. He checked the undamaged dining table for scratches. He opened and closed the desk drawers. He stuck his head under the bathroom sink. Finally, he asked, “You didn’t try to break anything at all?”
Yuuto rolled his eyes. “Like you weren’t watching me?” He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
Hisashi handed him a mask with tubes attached. “A rush job, but this should help with your breathing.”
Yuuto put on the mask. “Thank you.”
Hisashi stared. “Are you delirious?” He put a hand to Yuuto’s forehead.
“The proper response to ‘thank you’ is ‘you’re welcome,’ big brother.”
This just got him more staring. Honestly, what was his older brother’s problem? Hadn’t Hisashi always been trying to get Yuuto to act more compliant? Now that he had what he’d wanted, he acted like he’d been handed a poisonous spider.
Returning from the hallway, Hisashi produced a bowl of oatmeal. “You’d better eat this, or else—”
Yuuto had already taken a bite. He looked up, mouth full. “Hmm?”
A strangled sound came from his older brother’s throat. “It can’t be an imposter. A fake would put on a more convincing act than this.”
Yuuto nodded. “Exactly, and could a fake little brother drive you absolutely insane this quickly?”
Hisashi laughed out loud. “Okay, you have me there.”
It was the first time he’d gotten a reaction out of his big brother that wasn’t suspicion or agitation. Yuuto took this as a good sign. “If you have time, would you like to play Monopoly after breakfast?”
“You want to play Monopoly? But you hate Monopoly.”
“I wanted to suggest a game you like so we could spend time together.”
The great All for One had never once flinched in battle, but now his expression approached terrified. “Seriously, what do you want? Do you need some kind of huge favor from me? Why does nothing seem to upset you?”
“I came here to tell you that I love you and say goodbye. Now I’ve done that, so I’m ready to die whenever.”
Hisashi turned even paler. “Monopoly! Let’s play monopoly. Monopoly is great.”
The monopoly game went strangely. Yuuto didn’t think his brother cheated even once. Nor did he mock Yuuto’s bad math skills or poor strategic choices. The game was actually kind of fun. Yuuto was also breathing much better, and he considered thanking Hisashi again, but he feared this would get him dragged off for another brain scan.
To his great surprise, Yuuto won against his older brother for the first time in his entire life. Had Hisashi thrown the game? An ember of annoyance formed under his chest. He didn’t need any pity.
Yuuto opened his mouth—then realized that his brother’s hands were shaking. Hisashi didn’t seem to be paying attention at all. He’d lost because he’d been completely out of it for the whole game.
This made Yuuto realize how the situation must look from Hisashi’s perspective. His foolish little brother called him up late at night while wandering around a deserted park wearing a hospital gown. Then his only relative turned out to be suffering from a fatal illness. Hisashi must be having a very bad last twenty-four hours.
Yuuto ventured a meager attempt at comfort. “Hey. I had fun. The choking sensation in my lungs is gone, so whatever you did worked. Thanks.”
This only earned him a wild-eyed stare. Hisashi swallowed. “I’m guessing you ended up like this because you’ve been having a difficult time. Did something happen with the government or the other professional heroes—?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” If they went down that train of conversation, they’d end up rehashing the same fight again. Yuuto had no interest in old arguments. Someday, someone would stop his brother’s villainy, but it was no longer his problem.
Hisashi nodded. “Okay.” He fiddled with his hands. “How are you feeling?”
“Completely fine.”
“I’m not sure it’s normal to be fine with a potentially fatal illness.”
“I’m at peace with it.”
“Can I hug you? You won’t bite me if I try?”
Yuuto blinked. “When did I ever do that?”
Hisashi looked indignant. “I have a scar.” He rolled up his sleeve to show the mark on his upper arm.
“Oh, was that from the first vault incident? I stand by what I did then because you deserved it, but I won’t try to bite you again.”
Slowly, Hisashi pulled Yuuto into a hug. At first, his touch was hesitant, but once his arms locked, he seemed to have no intention of letting go.
Quickly, Yuuto came to regret his compliance in the hugging matter. He’d unleashed a monster. Hisashi took every possible opportunity to put an arm around his little brother’s shoulder, to muss his hair, and to pull him into a hug.
Yuuto wasn’t very touchy-feely person. Hisashi had always been the opposite. This had been a source of low-level childhood conflict. Now Hisashi dropped by the vault for every meal and often several other times a day, laden down with expensive presents, a hopeful look on his face and arms outstretched. This was good because Yuuto had wanted to spend time with his brother, but on the other hand he was rapidly approaching his limit of physical contact.
When the daily cuddling started, Yuuto almost withdrew his permission. But. He’d come to recognize a certain desperation in Hisashi’s grabbing. His older brother was touch-starved.
Of course, much of this was Hisashi’s own fault for being so damn picky about who he let into his heart. The charming bastard had loads of people who wanted to be his friend. If he’d been able to form attachments like a normal human being, he wouldn’t have gotten so lonely. Instead, he’d placed all of his emotional needs on exactly one person. It was exhausting to be that person. That had very much been a factor in Yuuto running away from home the first time.
Yuuto worried about what would happen to Hisashi after he died. Should he suggest his brother look for a girlfriend? But probably All for One wasn’t fit for dating. He might turn into an insanely possessive monster. What about a pet? Too bad Hisashi had never been overly fond of animals. Even giving him a goldfish and expecting him to feed it might be risky.
After an evening game of Monopoly where Yuuto was soundly trounced as usual, Hisashi glomped onto him yet again. It lasted even longer than usual. Hisashi closed his eyes and started snuffling.
It took Yuuto a moment to realize that his older brother had gone to sleep while using him like a stuffed animal. His eye twitched. Surely this was a step too far. An elbow to the forehead would remove this problem.
On the other hand, Hisashi had a lot of bags under his eyes lately. He was always talking with doctors and mulling over medical reports.
Yuuto lay back and endured the sleep-cuddling. Honestly, he deserved a sainthood.
At a rapid rate, Yuuto’s vault filled with gifts, everything from comic books to video games to music to crafting materials to random knickknacks. Typical of Hisashi: he liked spoiling his little brother as long as they weren’t actively fighting. Never anything sharp or pointed, which felt a bit insulting. Yuuto didn’t have a use for half this junk, but he accepted with a show of gratitude because he knew it made his big brother happy. Hisashi kept pestering him to say what he wanted, but Yuuto struggled to find the energy to do much except sleep.
Eventually, Yuuto said, “I’d like to go outside.”
Hisashi hesitated, shifting from foot to foot. Yuuto supposed that had been a step too far. He didn’t care all that much. It just happened to be a rare day where he felt like he might have the energy to stand up.
But his older brother surprised him. Hisashi said, “I’ll have lunch moved to the porch.” Coming from him, that was quite a concession.
The underground bunker had been disguised by grass growing over the top of the white dome. The “porch” was a hastily constructed canvas camouflage tent. A marble table covered in lacy white cloth and decorated with flowers looked far too fancy to belong outdoors. The china plates and bowls were gilded and hand-painted with pagodas. A steaming pot of ramen sat in the center.
The surrounding area was heavily forested. They were near the city but not close enough to walk, if he had to guess. The air felt hot and humid, the sun beating down overhead. Yet it remained a welcome change of pace from the stuffy underground.
As soon as he stepped outside, a whiff of pollen hit Yuuto’s nose. He coughed.
“Oh, dear, I forgot your inhaler.” Hisashi stepped into the bunker, closing the door behind him.
Yuuto stared after his brother’s back. Leaving him alone? Just like that? As if! This must be a test, and such an obvious one that it felt like an insult.
Opening the door, Yuuto poked his head inside.
Hisashi stood in the stairwell, fiddling with the inhaler. He jumped upon seeing his little brother and nearly dropped it. Sheepishly, he said, “I found your inhaler.”
“If you’re done playing around, lunch is getting cold.” Yuuto snatched the inhaler and breathed into it. The lack of trust didn’t bother him—if anything, he would have been annoyed if the person imprisoning him acted entitled to his honesty. He just felt annoyed that his brother didn’t expect him to have the common sense not to run off into the forest. He’d die very quickly without access to medical equipment, and that wasn’t how he wanted to go.
“Okay, that might have been a test, but I had a good reason,” Hisashi said. “The doctors don’t think it’s good for your health to be cramped up in a small space without sunlight.” From the face he was making, they must have been quite persistent in getting this point across. “I’m constructing a larger facility with a greenhouse attached, but it will take a few months even on the most optimistic schedule.”
Yuuto stared. “Big brother, why would you waste your money like that? I’ll be dead in less than one month. It could happen any day now.”
“Who told you that? It’s not true!”
“Do you think I can’t overhear the doctors talking? The gene therapy isn’t working.” It hadn’t worked before, and Yuuto saw no reason to expect that to change.
Hisashi’s jaw clenched. “There’s an experimental treatment for quirk-related cellular degeneration in Germany.”
“You mean the one where every single patient died during surgery? Then the lead doctor got thrown in jail for selling his patients’ corpses on the black market?” Yuuto sighed. He’d already spent months exploring every possible option while stuck in the hospital.
“The fatality rate of the procedure remains a serious obstacle, but we’re working on it.” Hisashi spoke with far more confidence than this statement warranted. His big brother always had been good at blustering, and now he appeared to think he could smooth-talk his way around death itself. “Naturally, it’s much harder for me to break someone out of a German prison, but I’m—”
“Wasting your time as well as your money. Ugh, I don’t even care anymore. If you want to spend your ill-gotten wealth constructing a stupidly expensive mausoleum for me, go right ahead. A vault-themed Taj Mahal is more harmless than what you usually get up to. Once I’m dead, I’m not going to care if you stuff my corpse and talk to it.”
“You take that back right this instant.” Hisashi spoke between clenched teeth. His face flushed bright red.
“You’re angry because you know that sounds like something you’d do.”
“No, I’m afraid because I’m doing my absolute best to save your life, and you’re acting like you don’t want me to.”
“It’s not like that. I…Look, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll let you try whatever makes you feel better. Let’s go eat lunch.” Yuuto didn’t want to spend his last days arguing with his brother any more than he wanted to waste them running away from him. He attempted a smile.
Fortunately, Hisashi let out a huge sigh, then dropped the subject.
The sunlight felt great against his skin. Yuuto had grown so weak that even short walks strained him, but at least he could sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. He spotted a couple birds, a salamander, and a ridiculous number of guards hiding among the trees. To say nothing of the electric fence camouflaged by mirrors and brush. This absurdly cautious level of security only proved that there had been no point to testing him. Nothing he could do would ever assuage his brother’s paranoia. At least after that, he got to go outside whenever he asked.
The medical bay was large enough to fit several rooms, gleaming white and immaculately clean. A team of doctors clustered around shelves of beeping equipment. One doctor waved at the readings on the monitor, speaking in German. The man next to him translated to the rest of the team.
A nurse applied numbing cream to Yuuto’s hand. Another brought over an IV stand.
There was nothing unusual about Hisashi dragging Yuuto off for yet another medical examination. But this time, they seemed to be prepping him for surgery.
Yuuto ventured one comment. “What’s the point to this? We already know I’m incurable. I’d rather spend my last days peacefully with you than die on an operating table.”
Hisashi turned around from where he’d been going over a medical chart with another doctor. “This will be as safe as surgery possibly can be. I’ve run countless tests, and I’ll be standing by with several resuscitation quirks. Stop being so negative. This isn’t over yet, not by a longshot. I keep telling you, I have serious doubts if your so-called allies had any interest in saving your life after you’d lost One for All. There are several more things we can try if this doesn’t work.”
Yuuto stopped listening. This was just the same denial his big brother had maintained from day one. Hisashi would always refuse to believe his precious baby brother might die. Of course, none of his minions would dare disillusion him. Hence this whole pointless song and dance. Yuuto would have liked to help his older brother come to terms with reality, but that would be hopeless. After he died, Hisashi would probably spend days trying to revive his corpse. What a depressing thought.
Since Yuuto didn’t care enough to argue, he merely shrugged. He’d promised to let Hisashi do whatever he wanted. Now that he’d said goodbye, it didn’t matter much when he died.
The doctor was saying, “We’ll be implanting the tracking device here—”
“Shhh,” Hisashi said, glancing at Yuuto.
Of course he’d overheard, but he didn’t care about that, either. Yuuto would be dead very soon now. It made no difference to him if his older brother wanted to satisfy his creepiness by lowering a highly expensive bug into a coffin with him. He could have fun monitoring the location of his little brother’s bones.
“I wish you would show a little interest,” Hisashi said as the nurse inserted an IV into Yuuto’s hand. “Will to live can be an important part of the recovery process.”
“Mmm,” Yuuto said neutrally as the anesthesia flooded into his system.
Hisashi sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to fight the Grim Reaper with enough will for both of us.”
One morning over breakfast, Yuuto realized something strange.
A lot of time had passed. He hadn’t been keeping track of the days. But it must have been more than a month. Furthermore, his coughing attacks had decreased to a couple times a week. Clearly the breathing device must be working, but even that didn’t explain how little pain he felt in his chest. Even during his childhood, he’d never felt this healthy.
Yuuto asked, “What’s the latest news from the doctors?”
Hisashi looked up from buttering his muffin. “You never ask about that.” A small smile curved his lips upward. “You’ve responded well to the surgery.”
Thus far, Yuuto had been tuning his brother out whenever he started talking about treatment, assuming Hisashi was just being mindlessly optimistic. Now he felt a flicker of unease. “How long do I have now? Two months?”
“Uh…indefinitely? Your condition is chronic, but the doctors assure me that they have it under control and you’re out of danger. You’re going to live.”
“I don’t want to live!” Yuuto shrieked. “I came here to die!”
Hisashi winced. “At least you’re admitting it now. I’d already realized. The symptoms fit depression better than brain-eating worms. I’ve been in contact with psychiatrist specialists.” He pulled out his phone. “Do you think you might be willing to talk to one of them?”
“You’re…not going to let me leave, are you?” The true horror of his situation started to dawn on Yuuto. In his tranquil confidence concerning his mortality, he’d made no backup plans. He already knew about one tracking device stuck somewhere it couldn’t be removed without surgery. Exactly how much had he let his older brother get away with while he hadn’t been paying attention?
“It would be irresponsible to leave you alone in your current mental state.” Hisashi’s soothing tone hid a will of iron. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.”
“Oh, don’t even try to justify yourself.” Yuuto stared at his hands sadly and started to panic.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: Something Must Be Wrong
Yuuto in part seven “Once More Again”: My brother started acting nicer to me? He must be a fake! Time to shoot him!
Hisashi in this chapter: My brother started acting nicer to me? There’s only one explanation: brain-eating worms.
Omake: Yuuto Entertained Himself in the Vault with Craft Projects
Yuuto: (Wearing a glittery T-shirt which reads “I’m dying of cellular degeneration and all I got was this lousy quirk that lets me pass on quirks.”) What? Why are you glaring at me?
Hisashi: That’s not funny!
Yuuto: Yes, it is.
Hisashi: No, it’s not, and you’re not dying. Take that off right now!
Yuuto: Okay, fine, if it upsets you that much, I’ll get rid of it.
Hisashi: You’re actually listening to me? You must be even sicker than I realized!
Yuuto: If it would make you stop fussing over me, then I can try to strangle you with the shirt for old time’s sake.
Omake: After the Ending
Yuuto: I’m outta here. This was fun, we should do it again never. I’ll buy you a goldfish you can dote on to your heart’s content.
Hisashi: You’re trying to replace yourself with a goldfish? On top of depression, you have such low self-esteem?
Yuuto: The goldfish won’t mind being locked up. It’s the perfect pet for you. If you keep it alive for a month, I’ll get you a hamster. Then we can move on to cats or dogs.
Hisashi: I’m not an animal person, but if you want a pet so badly, you can have one. Maybe it will keep you out of trouble.
Yuuto: No, you don’t understand, I’m leaving.
Hisashi: No, you don’t understand, you’re not.
Omake: Not A Problem
Hisashi: Hi, I’m the brother of the guy who gave you his quirk.
Second: Cool.
Hisashi: Do you want to kill me?
Second: Not particularly, why would you ask such a strange question?
Hisashi: Hmm. I suppose I don’t particularly need my brother’s quirk back now I have my actual brother. Later, loser.
Second: Weirdo.
#This exchange may backfire on Hisashi #If the Second decides to check on how Yuuto is doing
Omake: Author Covers Her Ass Just In Case She Got the Kanji For Yoichi Wrong
Yuuto: (Faking innocence) Does my new name mean First Son? I had no idea.
Hisashi: Then I suppose you also didn’t notice that the kanji you picked for Yoichi actually translate to First Gift. Should have stayed in high school, little brother.
Yuuto: What, really? I bet you’re just making that up to screw with me.
Hisashi: I guess you’ll never know, dropout.
#This omake mocks the fact that I’m not certain what the kanji in Yoichi mean myself #The most common name meaning for Yoichi is First Son #A google search suggests the version of the name used in CH 310 translates to Participating First Son #Huh? #Alternatively the kanji could mean First Gift #Or maybe First Giver to refer to him passing along One for All #Who knows? #Certainly not Yuuto!