Imma just have this up just in case I never get to an AFO flashback. If I ever do, expect this chapter to ✨disappear~✨

As much as I didn't really want to make his story sympathetic..all the crumbs were kinda there to begin with.

Just remember that "everything happens for a raisin."
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     ...Little is known about the age of my youth, because there were so few willing to record it.

Knock. Knock. knock.

     I watched as my parents shuttered, sitting there on the couch, staring with the most pale faces, eyes unmoving from the front door. I was only ten, my younger brother a mere four years old...but even we knew what was going on. ...At least to some extent.

     Knowing they would only barge through anyways, I reluctantly opened the door for them. Four officers spilled through, many more standing behind them. I glanced back at the terrified expressions on my parents' faces, who were both too weak to defend themselves.

     "Mr. And Mrs. Shigaraki, we have come to relocate you to the nearest campsite. Fail to comply and your sons will be dragged in with you." The tallest, most decorated officer spoke.

     "Please- we ca-can still take care of ourselves, I swear-!" My father's plea was broken apart by his insistent coughing, which was ragged and weak. My mother clung to his side dearly. Her silver hair, though hardly anything consider a quirk, could still be seen as one in this era, because of how rare it was for someone her age.

     The age of quirks had also brought upon the world a simultaneous age of plagues. One which could not be tracked or traced back to any virus or infection. It was believed by some that this was the result quirk users had on the people around them, and to others the unfortunate case of someone's body being too weak to handle even the DNA that would later go on to create a quirk. No one could prove whether or not this plague was even contagious, and it was that fear of the unknown which consumed the population.

     "I'm sorry, but so far MA-K has killed everyone who comes down with it. Even if what you say is true, it won't be the case for very long... Please, think about your children. They are going to need healthy parents who can actually take care of them."

     Tears sprouted from both my parents' eyes as they hugged each other, shaking their heads stiffly.

     "Hhh.. Well, you haven't much of a choice." The offices then strode toward them. I was frozen there by the door, terrified of what might come of them.

     My little brother, Yoichi, suddenly jumped up from the floor and stood inbetween the officers and our parents with his hands out to the enemy. "NO! I won't let you take my Mommy and Daddy!!"

     The captain of the group knelt down, smiling gently as he crouched there eye to eye with the fuming boy. "..Don't worry, little one~ Your mother and father will be well taken care of at the camp."

     "No they won't." I protested from the back. "You just throw them into a pit and watch them die!" Following, I shuttered, remembering the horrors I had already been subjected to at my young age.

     "Listen here, brat!" The old man spun back to me. "Would you prefer watch your parents die on the street or somewhere warm they can actually be comforted!?" He had me frozen in place. Did he really expect me to answer??.. I couldn't decide that! I was only ten, still grappling with the prospects of my parents dying at all! "Yeah, that's right." Standing up, the leader glared down at me. "At least at the camp, they'll have someone to take care of them." I in turn glared down at the floor, fists clenching at my sides.

     ...Such rotten lies.

     I, even at my young age, knew what this was really about. With all the wars going on, no one had the extra time, money, and resources to spare for those in need. So, did they simply end the wars and call an emergency peace like they should? No. Instead, they killed off their other problems. Any inflicted with the plague were simply dragged out of their homes and killed quietly to allow for the extra food and resources to go to their soldiers instead. All while marching around as some kind of heroes to their community.

     As the man turned around, nearing my parents again, I growled lowly under my breath. "...I'lltakecareofthem..."

     He spun around. "What was that?"

     "I said I'LL take care of them!!" My face jerking upward, I glared at the man while biting my own lower lip aggressively and spilling countless tears from my eyes. My little brother's bravery inspired me... I wasn't going to give up on my family either.

      "Tch.. That isn't even possible! You're only a child."

     "I-- I have a super power!!" I blurted. "I can use it to take care of them- and-and find a cure!!" My voice was so broken and desperate, something I would grow up refusing to emulate ever again.

     The older man froze in his tracks. "...A meta ability?" Peering over his shoulder. I saw what was in those eyes, and I didn't like it. Raw, unfiltered hatred. Like I alone was responsible for all of this bloodshed and death. "Hm... Might be safer to separate you from your brother as well.."

     I gasped. "No! Leave them with me!! I swear to protect them, I promise!!" In an instant, the captain pounced my way, grabbed me by the throat, and thrust my back into the wall, which protruded a terrifying crack from the sheetrock and wood. My family screamed for my sake.

     "AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO DO THAT WHEN YOU'RE THE ONE KILLING THEM, EH!?!" I uselessly clawed and kicked, but this was a very burly and tall fellow. My face was sickly pale and losing more color by the second. I pleaded quietly between desperate gasps for him to let me go. "IT'S PEOPLE WITH POWERS LIKE YOU WHO ARE SPREADING THIS ###### PLAGUE, I JUST KNOW IT! SO IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SAVE PEOPLE, FIND A GOOD BUILDING TO TAKE A SWAN DIVE OFF OF!" I hung there...just taking in his words for a few seconds as my vision faded in and out.

     ...How utterly rotten was this...

     If this was the mindset of our society.. then I didn't want to be a part of it anymore.

Sch!

     A red and black blade protruded from the man's back, the cloth around it filling with blood. He stood there in shock for a second, then looked down, seeing that blade came from my very own trembling finger. Before he could even open his mouth to say anything, I flinched, all of my fingers shooting out the same dark metallic spikes that went on to stab all throughout his body. The other officers gasped.

     The grip around my throat loosened, then I was finally dropped as the man plummeted to the ground, dead. Many shouts of horror came from that. I gasped, rubbing my bruised neck once freed. As one of the men ran toward my brother, what followed was nothing but a blur to me.

     Everyone there I considered my foe was dead within a minute. Even those standing outside were slaughtered in order to keep them from bringing in reinforcements.

...

     I stepped over a body in the open doorway to ensure my family was alright. Breathing heavily, hair, clothes, and skin all stained with blood, I stared across the room at my beloved family, who were all huddled together on the couch still, horrified by my show of affection and dedication to them.

     I could see that look in their eyes too clearly. Once directed toward those officers..and now at me. Weakly, my heart spilled out, "..I'm not a monster."

     But it was a monster I would become along my quest to save them. ...And I was content in that.

     I had no love for this world anymore.

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     "Alright, now cough for me."

Khh

     "A little harder, Yoichi."

     "I'm trying.."

     "I know, but try again."

KOhkhh!

     My ear was pressed to the twelve year old's back. His cough transitioned into more of a whine as I listened to all the crackling inside his lungs. Sighing sadly, "..Yeah... Definitely Pneumonia." Standing straighter, I moved to pry the blankets off of his mattress so that the younger one could easily slide into bed. He did so without me even having to ask him, already dressed in his PJs and everything too. What a big boy he had turned out to be. No longer needing my assistance and constant reminders for all the small things. "Don't worry," I started while tucking him in. "with the right medicine, that should be all gone within only a couple months."

     "Heh... Too bad MA-K isn't that easily cured." Not even sure he noticed, but I stared down at my brother with a soft, sad expression. He was the youngest documented case of said illness... Not a good sign. As the younger one lay there snugly, ready for bed, I bent down, brushed his long bangs out of his face, and gently kissed his forehead.

     "I will find a cure. Don't worry, dear brother..." Gliding off to exit the bedroom the two of us shared, my bed standing only an arm's reach away from his, I was stopped at the door by his call.

     "Dekiaichi?"

     Head tilting back to glance his way, "Yes?"

     "I... I know you still kill people..trying to find a cure... Could you please..stop?" Asking was so taxing on the boy, simple and straightforward as it was. "I don't... I'm not actually afraid of dying. ..I just don't want you to be left here all alone." The young one sniffed, tears springing into his eyes. He was usually so quiet about what I did despite knowing it was wrong. Calmly, I crossed the room and sat beside him on his bed, staring down at my own lap while I gently rubbed his thin, weak leg reassuringly.

     "...We made a promise to each other after Mom and Dad died.. remember? That we would never leave each other's side."

     "Yeah, but, death-"

     "-What about death?" Stern now. "I can conquer death in time. I can do anything, really... I just need the right tools is all." A moment of silence followed. After some time, I turned my head, gasping faintly at the sight of my brother's tear abundant eyes. His face was filled with such sorrow, remorse, and guilt.

     "...Don't conquer death for me...please... Especially if you have to kill others to do it."

     Rubbing his leg slowly, I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply. There was so much a young boy like him couldn't hope to understand about the world. In a way, I didn't want him to understand... But, it made conversations like this hard. I was eighteen and had been supporting my family since before I was even ten. I stuck with my parents 'til the very end and buried them in secrecy. Nurturing came natural to me... However, there was a clear line between those I deemed worthy of my love -- which was only my dear baby brother at this point -- and the rest of the world. I personally couldn't understand why my brother saw such faith in humanity. Perhaps it was merely because he didn't see the bigger picture as I did.

     "Hhhh, you are too naive, brother. The world isn't as just and forgiving as it is in your comic books." I gripped his leg firmly, forcing him to stare me directly in the eyes. "The plague isn't in you, but in the people. In their hearts and minds.. That is where the true rot is. Yoichi... Believe me. I want to make the world a better place too. ... But a body filled with magots is one that will never heal... Do you understand me?" The young one nodded grimly. I released his leg, then patted his head, smiled, and stood. "Then understand that what I am doing is good. I am merely carving out what is truly rotten so that the rest can one day heal." My little brother had no other choice than to believe me, as he so desperately wanted to.

     But, I guess that desire slowly left him in time. Because, in the end, he was the one who broke his promise and left me for the foolish, childish whimsies of his youth.

     And in time, since I failed to find him any sort of cure...he died.

     And I lived on to curse the world under my feet, no longer able to look at anything as anything but rotten and unfitting to stand.

     That was how I became the villain everyone grew to fear.

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AFO's true origin story just dropped... Not changing this lol.