But Shinso still had a few questions left.
And judging from how things had gone earlier, if he released his Quirk now, the blue-haired boy in front of him would probably punch him again before answering anything.
At best.
At worst, the conversation would end immediately.
Shinso hesitated.
Then he clenched his teeth.
I've already come this far…
Stopping halfway would feel pointless.
Fine.
He would just ask the remaining questions quickly.
After that, he would apologize properly.
Because regardless of his intentions, using Brainwashing on someone without consent was still wrong.
Decision made, Shinso cleared his throat and went straight to the point.
"Alright… a few more questions."
"What's your Quirk?"
"And the boy you were talking to earlier—the one from the Sludge Villain incident… that was him, right?"
"What's his name?"
"And what's his Quirk?"
Standing there with lifeless eyes, Shigaraki answered obediently.
"My Quirk is Decay… it destroys anything I touch."
"The boy from earlier is Izuku Midoriya."
"He really was the other person involved in the Sludge Villain incident."
"The one who ran into the flames to save someone."
"But…"
"He doesn't have a Quirk."
"WHAT!?"
Shinso's eyes widened in shock.
He had watched the broadcast.
He knew exactly how dangerous that Sludge Villain had been.
In his mind, Midoriya had rushed in because he possessed some powerful ability.
After all—
What ordinary person would throw themselves into a fight between Quirk users?
Especially against something as vicious as that villain.
Back then, Shinso had even felt a little jealous.
Jealous of that unknown boy's courage.
Jealous of the strength that must have allowed him to act.
And curious.
Very curious about what kind of Quirk that courage came from.
That was why he asked.
But now—
This answer completely overturned everything.
Quirkless?
That changed everything.
Because there was a massive difference between a Quirk user jumping into danger…
And someone with absolutely no power doing the same thing.
A Quirk user might at least have a chance to defend themselves.
A Quirkless person?
That was practically suicide.
And yet Midoriya had still run in.
Just thinking about that made Shinso's chest tighten.
Could he have done the same?
The honest answer was no.
At least not right now.
Which made the truth even harder to believe.
His emotions surged—
Shock.
Disbelief.
Confusion.
And in that moment of agitation—
Something slipped.
The invisible grip of Brainwashing shattered.
The Quirk deactivated.
"…Ah?"
Shinso froze.
He hadn't meant to release it.
But emotional instability could disrupt Brainwashing.
And his shock had done exactly that.
The moment control vanished—
Shigaraki blinked.
His expression snapped back to life.
"...Huh?"
Then his brows furrowed.
A flicker of anger crossed his face.
"What did you just do to me?!"
For people affected by Brainwashing, the experience left a distinct memory gap.
They wouldn't remember the conversation that occurred while controlled.
But they would notice the missing time.
And that alone was enough to realize something had been done to them.
Shigaraki's reaction was perfect.
Instant suspicion.
Instant hostility.
Seeing that, Shinso panicked immediately.
He didn't even consider the possibility that the boy might never have been controlled in the first place.
Instead, he rushed into an apology.
"Ah—sorry! I'm really sorry!"
"I didn't mean—well, I did—but I had to ask something—"
Words tumbled out awkwardly as he tried to explain.
His hands moved nervously.
His voice stumbled.
Because he knew one thing very clearly:
He was completely in the wrong.
Using his Quirk on someone without permission—
And then getting caught red-handed?
That was about as embarrassing as it got.
For a moment, the alley fell into an awkward silence.
And ironically—
The scene now looked almost identical to what had happened earlier.
Except this time—
The roles had been reversed.
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