The Final Boss - My Legacy

This is the overture of a long story, which would raise many questions, which will be answered in due time as we shall go on while rewinding the flows of time and unleash the melodies of the past. The story of how Shigaraki Tomura was more than just a villain, how he wasn’t just a symbol of fear, but the MVP of our family. The story of how Shigaraki Réka had rigged the game, how she achieved the impossible, and embraced it until the very end. The story of how Shigaraki Mina, a lost little girl, found her way in a maze of doubts and uncertainty, and became our healing buff. The story of how I, Shigaraki Tenko, struggled with grief for too long, concealed it, until I became the final boss...

Varga Réka had always loathed to be touched. It had always been this way, since she was born. She had a sensory trouble that remained partly unexplained, although it was said that the fact she was wielding two quirks was causing her this condition.

It was a rather drab afternoon for May. Réka was done packing two suitcases and was now standing at the entrance of the family mansion with her two children. She was now twenty-one, even though she was feeling much older since they were born – but that was probably how most parents were feeling as well. Tamás, her elder brother, and Fumiko, her mother, were away as they worked as pro heroes. Her younger brother, Zoltán, was at his campus. István, her father, was supposed to be at work – he was a trader and owned several companies – but he had taken a day off to help Réka with her luggage, and to say goodbye to her and her children.

“Let me know if you need anything,” István said while staring at her with a forced smile.

Réka nodded, and he looked at the little girl she was holding in her arms. Mina was one year old and she was looking around, curious about what was going on. István adjusted the little gloves she was wearing on her hands and smiled at her, genuinely this time, before crouching to the little boy’s height.

István opened his arms to hug him and addressed him, “I’ll visit you soon. Say hello to your dad for me, aye?”

The little boy nodded, his hands clenched on a violin case. Tenko was five, and had spent the whole week following his mother across the whole mansion while repeating her the same question. “When are we going to meet dad?”

“I’ll have the rest of your luggage sent to you, so don’t worry about it,” István explained while turning to Réka. “And I’ll try to visit you as soon as I can.”

He marked a pause, thinking a moment, and eventually asked, “From what we saw on the news some months ago… Do you think you can find him?”

“I’ll use the resonance law to locate him with my Smoke, that shouldn’t be too hard,” Réka replied while staring at her wedding ring.

“I wonder how he will react at the sight of his daughter,” István said in a faint laugh.

They didn’t have much time to speak now. She had a flight to board soon. Her father’s private driver was done putting her luggage in the car, and was now waiting for them to get in so he would drive them to the airport. Réka put the children in the car and sat on the passenger’s seat. As the car started, they turned and waved at István, who kept waving back until they turned after the main gate before going back inside.

On their way, Réka was lost in thoughts. It had been ten months since the last time she had seen Tomura. It had been two years since Tenko hadn’t seen his father. And for Mina, it would be the very first time… The last time they had seen the news, a few months ago, they had heard about the partial destruction of the city of Jaku, caused by none other than Tomura, who seemed to be then at the head of a rather important organisation. Réka was thinking first about putting the luggage in the family flat they had in Yokohama, in the west of Minami ward, then head to Jaku to check there first. I’ll eventually figure it out, she thought while vaguely staring through the window.

After about fifteen minutes, they stopped in front of the airport of Budapest. Réka used her Smoke quirk to solidify a lash and carry the luggage along while holding Mina in an arm and Tenko’s hand with the other. After they went through the usual formalities, she checked for her flight and decided to have a quick phone call. She had kept very few contacts from Japan since she left Yuei, not even of her former classmates, and she had no way to directly contact Tomura. No one knew she was coming back, yet she felt like she had to warn at least someone. She couldn’t explain why, maybe just in case, maybe due to the context from the last news she saw weeks ago, or just maybe because, since most of her family was living in Hungary, she didn’t want to feel alone as she was now about to reconnect with her past. And the only person who came to her mind was her former homeroom teacher. The only person she had always trusted from a world she had always despised.

She found the number, pressed the call button and, as soon as the call started, said in a voice slightly shaken by anxiety, “Hey, Shota… Remember me? Varga Réka, I have to–”

She suddenly moved the phone away from her ear as a voice was shouting about her lack of manners. The other speaker eventually spoke, in a more quiet tone, “Varga Réka? For real? Listen, it’s not the right moment to talk at all. I am at the hospital now, can you–”

“I’ll be back in about fifteen hours…”

A brief silence settled, then the man raised his voice a little and warned, “Wait, no! Don’t come back now.”

“Why not? Wait… What’s going on? And why are you in the hospital?”

“You haven’t seen the news?”

The eagerness Réka was feeling at the idea to go back and be reunited with the one she loved, the father of their kids, faded and a feeling of anguish started to take over.

“Not lately… What happened?”

“We just… got over a heavy battle against powerful villains. The tolls are considerable. Everything is wrecked. So, if you can delay your flight… Don’t come back now.”

I can’t do that. I have to come back, she thought, as she tried to explain, “Sir, I have to… If there was a war, he might be–”

“Ah. About the boyfriend you had here and whom I know nothing about?” Aizawa cut. “Look, I was in the first line. If you tell me his name, maybe I could find out about him.”

Réka hesitated a moment. Back then, Aizawa never asked her lots of questions. He knew about her son, but he never saw him, and had never searched to learn more about her situation, as long as the matter of her schooling in Yuei was solved.

“We’re married. His name is Shigaraki Tomura. Tell me he’s –”

“Réka, I never liked your jokes, but that one is by far –”

“This is not a joke!” Réka exclaimed. Tell me… How is Tomura doing?”

A brief silence settled, then Aizawa replied, “I’ll sneak out of here and pick you up at the airport. Shigaraki is–”

She couldn’t hear the rest of the sentence as she heard the boarding announcement for her flight. She hastily hung up, caught the kids and went to the gate, with a very bad feeling in the guts.

Aizawa was waiting for them in front of the airport, wrapped in bandages, a missing leg and eye, and looking half surprised, half jaded.

“Been a long time since my worst pupil ever didn’t show up...”

Réka smirked, but her eyes weren’t reflecting their usual guile, rather a mix of eagerness and anxiety. She showed the kids and introduced, “Tenko and Mina. I’ll put luggage home later. Please take me to see Mura now.”

Aizawa stared at the kids and noticed the striking resemblance between the eldest and Shigaraki. Damn, she wasn’t joking, after all. That will be much more complicated, he thought. Astounded by both her son’s looks and her asking a request politely, for once, he nodded and showed her the taxi waiting a bit further.

“I bring you there, then you figure it out. I have to go back to the hospital, I am not supposed to be out yet.”

The taxi drove until a wrecked field, close to where Mount Fuji was standing. On the way up there, Aizawa summed up the last moments of the war to Réka. Tenko and Mina were both listening in silence, too young to understand what he was talking about yet. As they all went down the car, Réka stared at her surroundings. She picked a stone on the ground, looked at it and repeated her question.

“Shota, where is Tomura?”

Her former teacher showed her ashes on the ground without a word.

“Seriously... Your jokes aren’t funny either. Where is he??”

But Aizawa’s silence was meaningful. Réka kept asking.

“That can’t be... There’s no way–”

“Mum, is dad hiding somewhere?” Tenko interrupted. “I want to see dad...”

“Stop messing with me, Shota. Now tell me.”

“Réka, that’s what I was trying to tell you... He is dead.”

[Immediate - Ashes of war]

The stone in her hand suddenly decayed as these three words echoed in her mind. Aizawa tried to activate his quirk by instinct, but was too weakened by the last fights and just wrapped his scarf around her wrist to block her.

“Easy, don’t destroy more than there already is. Where did you get that quirk? That’s– Nevermind. I am out of here, please pay me a visit later, we’ll have to talk.”

As Aizawa left, Réka started to vape. She could use the resonance law to locate people wielding the same quirks as hers. She slowly exhaled and purple smoke emanated, finding its way to those who would share her quirks. Two flows connected expectedly to Tenko and Mina. The third stopped above the ashes Aizawa had shown earlier, shimmering around. Science never lies and so her quirk. The obvious struck her like a cold water flood.

“No way...”

There was some wind blowing. Réka took a box off her bag, emptied it and deployed her Smoke quirk to collect ashes, along with resonance, thus only Tomura’s would be targeted. With that quirk, she was able to attract very small particles, and the resonance law allowed her to target specific things or people. The process took longer than expected as a part of the ashes, already blown by the winds, was attracted back to the smoke. Mina observed the smoke gathering ashes like a quiet whirlwind. Tenko looked down and muttered something so low that Réka only understood “see him never”. Once she was done collecting the ashes, she decided to call another taxi and head to the home they owned, in the centre of Yokohama – admitting that the building hadn’t been destroyed during the war. Réka felt numb. All the way, she didn’t say a word, her hands clinging on the box, her eyes staring into the void.

One week ago, she was attending her graduation ceremony at the THA. She then went back home with only one thought in mind. While her comrades were discussing about their future career plans, and about having some holiday fun first, she was only thinking about the conditions she had set to her parents. Her mother first had wanted her to complete her studies at Yuei high school then from the THA in heroic development speciality. Normally, parents would consider their children’s will, but Réka was from an aristocratic family so she had basically no word to say. But things took an unexpected turn during her Yuei years. She had met someone, who could touch her without making her feel nauseous, they got closer and she eventually got pregnant. After she finished Yuei, she didn’t want to go back home, which led to a huge argument with her mother. Thanks to Tamás’ mediation, she finally complied, with two conditions. The first one, she would join the THA but in quirks science speciality. The second one, after her graduation, she would go back to Japan and definitely settle there. Her mother reluctantly accepted the first, but for the second, she set her own condition – Réka had to achieve top marks in every exam. After three years of intensive work and cramming, she aced it and Ueno Fumiko had no choice but let her daughter leave again.

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

Réka nodded. Fumiko couldn’t help but express both her concern and her disapproval.

“The man who has been trying to murder you several times is there as well. And from what I understood, your husband freak is related to him. I don’t like it. You will never be safe if you go back. Your brat worms will never be safe either.”

“I have been away for way too long. I miss Mura. I know you never liked him, but... The kids have the right to be with their dad too. He hasn’t even seen Mina yet...”

“I understand, even though, as you said it well, I never liked that rotter. But the last time you went, that man you call All For One almost killed you...”

“I just went to tickle the final boss with low-level gear. Next time I’ll be better prepared.”

“Please stop with the gaming metaphors. I only let you go as you are of age and you are mighty. But, promise me to call every week, so I know you are still alive. And call me as soon as you arrive, alright?”

Réka just remembered, as they arrived home. She used her Smoke quirk to lift the luggage and they entered the flat. It was a big penthouse that her father had bought about twenty years ago, so they had a place to stay at when they visited her mother’s relatives. Réka left the suitcases in the living room while Tenko grabbed Mina and sat her on the sofa before turning the TV on. She took her phone and rang her mother.

“Réka, are you alright?? You should have arrived about six hours ago!”

“Mum... Can I turn a room into a shrine?”

“Why... Did something happen?”

“Shota picked me at the airport and brought me on the battlefield. I arrived too late...”

“I heard a huge conflict was up across the whole country. Is it over now?”

“Yes–”

“Good.”

“No. It’s no good. On the battlefield, I picked up his ashes. That’s why... I have to turn a room into a shrine.”

“What the–”

“Mum... Tomura is gone...”

Réka hung up the phone before her mother could answer. She couldn’t, well actually, she didn’t want to talk about it. Tomura was dead before she was back, he won’t come back and she was having a hard time coping with the facts. Ten months ago, the last time she was here, was also the last moments they had spent together. Nothing back then hinted that this would be the last time. She was so convinced she would see him again after her graduation that she never thought about this contingency. She used to see him, because of his devastating quirk, as if he was invincible, and never considered a moment he could ever die. In her mind, even if they were far from each other, they would eventually be reunited. Reality had just struck her, as she had come back full of hope and eagerness, like a hammer of doom which had split her soul and numbed whatever trace of life it could find.

They had five bedrooms in the penthouse. Hers hadn’t changed, as well as Tenko’s and her parents’. She will turn Tamás’ into one for Mina. The last one was vacant and had never been occupied. If she used her Smoke quirk, she could get it done pretty fast... First she would need to paint the walls and install tatami mats on the floor, order a butsudan and some other things. She started by finding an online shop to order the needed supplies, which would be delivered the next day. Then she went back in the living room and took Mina to put her shoes on, asked Tenko to get ready as well as they were going out. She first walked to a funeral shop to choose an urn, a picture frame and a blank nameplate. She also ordered the butsudan which would be delivered to her home, as she hadn’t bought a car yet. Then she brought her kids to a small restaurant and stopped by a convenience shop on their way back home. The rest of the evening went quietly, in silence, until they all went to sleep.

The next day, Réka received all she needed to set up the room. She started by painting the walls in a dark red shade then moved some of the furniture from Tamás’ old room into her parents’. She then took her kids out to buy a car and then get everything to furbish their rooms. Tenko was now too old for a baby bed. After a busy morning, while they both had a nap, Réka went on the terrace and vaped for a while, lost in thoughts. Wherever she was walking in the flat, she was seeing him. They had so many memories here... She wondered if she was able to settle back in this place. When the kids woke up, Réka finished arranging their rooms. She had transferred the ashes into the urn. She also had bought three pendants with a little vial to fill in with anything, had poured some ashes in each and sealed them. She wore one and gave the two others to Tenko and Mina.

“Mum, what is this?”

“This is a pendant which contains some ashes from your father.”

“So dad will always be watching over me?”

Réka nodded. After dinner, the kids went to bed, and she went to check the shrine room. She set up the tatami mats and placed the butsudan on the right side of the room. It had delicate carvings with local mythological figures. Then she placed five cushions in front of it, set a futon bed under the window, in the opposite corner. Finally, she placed the urn on the butsudan, a framed picture on the left and a nameplate, with “死柄木弔” she had carved on it, in front of the urn. Tomorrow she would get some vases to set flowers on both sides of the butsudan and some incense for the altar part.

Author’s note

This is the beginning of the story.

The story on how Shigaraki Tenko became the final boss.

Before delving deeper into how it began, and how it ends…

Let’s set the bases with the end of the final war. Tenko wanted to see his father back. But he found ashes. And this, will cause a rift for over a decade…

Right, this is not the happiest start for a story. But the story isn’t supposed to be happy. Here, no comforting alternate ending. We just mourn. And delve into the process and how the mourning shaped them all.

Character sheets corner

Full name: Shigaraki Réka (死柄木理科)

Other names: Varga Réka (ヴアルガ離寡) - birth name

Code name: Harmonaze

Birthdate: 15/3

Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary

Height: 170cm

MBTI: ENTP

Blood group: AB

Quirks: Melody, Smoke - innate. Decay - acquired.

Occupation: Yuei student (heroics) - THA student (quirks sciences) - Lab supervisor