I felt my throat closing, and my eyes widening. My skin paled, and my body grew cold as I shook in fear. Fear that this were reality. Fear that this were truly happening.

Fear that Tomura was now dead.

This was my plan. This was what I had wanted. This was what I had been pushing myself to achieve for so long. The outcome I had hoped for was finally upon me, but I didn't feel happy. I was miserable. I was distraught. I was angry. Angry with Nine, and angry with myself.

This wasn't what had I wanted.

Not anymore.

All I want is to play video games with Tomura again.

All I want is to eat dinner with Tomura at the bar again.

I don't want this.

"I don't want this anymore!" I yelled out in vain as I ran to Tomura.

I activated my Energy Whips and launched them towards Nine as he stood shocked at my sudden outburst. An explosion of color filled my vision as my energy burst out of the whips in my hands. The green light of my rage that poured out of my whips and body was reeking of toxicity and self-hatred.

As my whips slashed down Nine's form, I watched his body split in two. Breathing in and out with adrenaline coursing through my veins, I ran to Tomura's side. He was coughing up blood and felt cold to the touch.

"No, no, no, no, no, please, stay with me!" I screamed at him as I shook his cold body — before pulling him into my arms. "Please, I don't want this anymore... I don't want you to go..."

The tears streamed down my face as regret clouded my mind.

I did this.

I killed him.

"H-Hey..." He started with a raspy and strained voice as he gasped for air — reaching out his hand to grasp my face, while also making sure not to touch me with all five of his fingers. "It's ok... Izuku..."

A loud sob echoed past my lips as his blood seeped into my clothes. His blood was on my hands, and he knew it. He knew this was my fault, yet he'd still been consoling me.

"Listen, kid... I'm not mad... I love you so much, and nothing will change that." He continued. "Know that I'll always be there for you, and whatever led you to doing this, I will support you in. Even through death. I'll always be watching over you... Little... Brother..."

His voice trailed off as the life in his eyes drained. His hand — still clasped around my face — felt lifeless against my tear-stained cheek. The stiffness of his body only reiterated the cold reality that I had been faced with, in this moment.

Tomura was dead, and it was all my fault.

As I accepted the harsh reality that the person I had killed, still thought of me as family, I wept. At that moment, I didn't care about what the two people behind me were doing. I didn't care about what would happen to me. All I cared about, was the lifeless corpse of the man that had saved my life. The lifeless corpse that I refused to let go of, because I felt that if I did, it would only hurt more.

"Please... bro..." I began. "You're my best friend, don't leave me!" I cried out from the depths of my heart as I cradled his stiff body in my arms.

The sounds around me seemed to drown out as my heartbeat grew louder in my ears. The voices behind me were muffled and the world seemed to stop turning for just a moment as I cried.

I didn't want this.

I didn't want this.

I didn't want this.

I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. I wanted to stop myself from doing this. I wanted to wake up, and see Tomura sitting in the games room, playing a video game. I wanted to sit down next to him. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and thank him. Thank him for everything he's done for me. Thank him for the past year and half we'd been together. Thank him for saving me.

I wanted him back.

I wanted him to wake up from his forever slumber.

I wanted him back.

I wanted him to pat my head, and tell me he was proud of me.

I wanted him back.

I stood up — tears still streaming down my face — and glanced backwards towards Izumi and Bakugou. My sister stared at me with wide eyes, while Bakugou did the same. Starting to walk towards me, I felt Bakugou's arms wrap around me. I didn't know what to do, but in that moment, I felt vulnerable.

I wanted to feel the warm embrace of another's arms around my body. I wanted to feel the love of another person as they held me while I cried. The only person to have ever done that was Tomura, and I would never replace him.

I will never replace Tomura.

I activated Ghost and slipped out of Bakugou's grip. Remaining invisible, I grabbed something out of my pocket. Two trackers — similar to the one I had placed on Nine's neck. I walked towards the two small children — tears still streaming down my face — and planted the microscopic tracking devices onto the necks of the two children, before flying away.

I vow to you, Tomura...

I will achieve our dream in your honor...

You will always be in my heart...

Brother.

I watched Izuku as he sat next to Shigaraki with tears flowing down his face. He looked so miserable. Who wouldn't have been? The two of them had obviously gotten close during the time they had shared. Izuku even seemed to think of Shigaraki as an older brother, so it must have been that much harder to watch as he was shot through the chest with a laser.

I noticed Izumi beginning to lift a boulder with her Psychokinesis, but I stopped her. Izuku had been hurt so much, and now of all times, I wanted to be there for him.

"What the hell?! I had a clear shot!" She screamed at me as I set off an explosion by her face, causing her to drop the boulder.

"Look at him, Izumi! He's hurting! How bitchy do you have to be to attack your own brother while he's in a state like that?!" I screamed as I gestured to the man that sat—cradling his friend in his arms. "Can't we do something nice for him just this once? It's our fault he's like this in the first place, so the least we could do is give him a moment to cry for his friend."

She looked to the side and quietly mumbled a 'fine', before we heard the sounds of someone shuffling in front of us. Looking up, I saw Izuku standing over Shigaraki's dead body with tears in his eyes. He looked over to both me and Izumi — with a look I'd never forget.

The tears, still flowing down his cheeks from his red and puffy eyes. The blood, coating his hoodie and cheek from where Shigaraki had died in his arms. The frown on his face, that quivered as a soft sob escaped his lips every-so-often; although, his eyes were what stood out the most to me. His eyes looked as if he were the one that had died, rather than Shigaraki.

The once bright, emerald-green orbs that he wore as a child, were now shrouded in darkness. The hatred and sadness — that swirled around like a tornado of emotion — glimmered in his eyes with a spark. His eyes seemed to hold both regret and self-hatred as he glanced back towards the corpse beneath him.

As his eyes met mine, I began to walk forward. I didn't know what I had been doing until I did it, but I did what I had wanted to do ever since I first saw his lifeless body as it laid, cold and alone, on the concrete of the school. I walked up to him and embraced him. I wrapped my arms around his figure and hugged him for the first time since we were four.

His arms kept to his sides as I shrouded him in the warm embrace of my sorrow and regret — twitching ever so slightly as his tears continued to creep down his warm cheeks. I continued holding onto him, thinking that if I were to let him go, I'd lose him again.

As I strengthened my grip on Izuku, I felt his body disappear. Clutching nothing but air, I looked around, but he was already gone.

Oh, Izuku...

I'm so sorry...

I entered through the walls of the base quietly and undetected. I didn't have the emotional ability to talk to anyone and wanted to mourn in solitude. I could still barely grasp the fact that Tomura was now dead. I couldn't process that Tomura had been murdered in front of me, but one thing that I could see — clear as day — was the fact that I was responsible for the death of my elder brother.

His blood was on my hands. His death was entirely my fault. I had too many opportunities to avoid this to blame — the now deceased — Nine for Tomura's death.

I didn't want to go into my room, as I knew I'd have to converse with the girl inside, so I went to Tomura's room. Entering the room with silence, I felt a surge of nostalgia.

Everything around reminded me of Tomura.

His scent was still fresh in the air. His collection of hands were still freshly preserved. His clothes were still left in his closet. His computer was still left on the Battlefield 1 home screen — as it had been before we had left.

I would have cried upon entering the room and seeing the lived-in look it held; however, I had run out of tears. I had run out of sobs to choke back. I had run out of tears to cry. I had run out of energy to cry.

I collapsed on Tomura's bed and clutched his comforter in my hands. It felt like when you sat on your brother's bed for the first time in a while — welcoming and warm. Taking in his scent from the bed, I thought of Tomura. I thought of the look in his eyes — not one of hatred and disgust, but one of brotherly love and forgiveness. Then, I thought of what he had said before he died.

"Know that I'll always be there for you, and whatever led you to doing this, I will support you in. Even through death." I repeated aloud.

His words circled through my mind, and played like a broken record over, and over, and over again. He had told me he would support me through whatever it was that I had done this for. Even though it meant that he would die.

I regret what I did. I regret it so much, and I would take it back if I could. I'm not going to let Tomura's death be fruitless and meaningless.

I'm too far in to quit now.

If I fail now, his death would have been in vain. His death would have been meaningless. I'm not going to let his death be for nothing. I will succeed in my schemes, and I will do it for Tomura.

I fell asleep, thinking of Tomura, and my plans for the kids.

Kids are the future. Based on everything that had happened to those children individually, I thought that I could nurture those kids in secret, and show them the truth about the heroes. I could turn those children into my allies, and once they've all grown into teenagers, I could recruit them.

Eri.

Kota.

The kids from Nabu Island.

They are the future, and I will get to them before the heroes can.

This is the race of fate.

The race that will determine the future of the new world.

Now, is the time to act.

And so, the race begins...