"Even if the chance is small, as long as it isn't zero, then it's still possible."
Akaya Kaiun's voice was trembling.
Her eyes weren't.
They were locked on him, steady and stubborn.
"So I'll work harder. Harder than anyone else."
"If I can't match other people in talent, then I'll make up for it with effort."
"If someone trains once, I'll train ten times."
"No—one hundred times."
"If they train ten times, I'll do it a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times."
Her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles had gone pale.
"I don't care if it hurts."
"I don't care how long it takes."
"I won't give up."
"If I have to rely on equipment, then I'll use equipment. If I have to learn techniques, then I'll learn them."
"I'll become a Pro Hero."
"And I'll prove it to you."
By the time she finished, there wasn't a trace of hesitation left on her face.
She had made up her mind.
Even if the road ahead was foolish—
then fine.
She would be that fool.
Because this was her dream.
The only one she had never truly let go of.
Shigaraki looked at her in silence.
For once, he didn't have an answer ready.
The girl standing in front of him looked fragile enough that a strong gust of wind might blow her over.
And yet—
there was something in her expression that refused to bend.
That kind of stubbornness…
It was irritating.
But it was also hard to dismiss.
Should he keep telling her to wake up?
Should he tell her it was impossible, that she was wasting her time, that people like her only ended up broken?
He could.
He had already said most of it.
But saying it again now felt different.
At this point, it wouldn't be advice.
It would just be trampling on her.
And someone who could cling to a dream this hard, even after hearing all that—
someone like that didn't deserve to be crushed for the sake of making a point.
Still…
if he admitted that much, then what did that make everything he had just said?
For a rare moment, Shigaraki found himself annoyed with his own thoughts.
He hated this sort of thing.
Messy.
Emotional.
Hard to settle cleanly.
Across from him, Kaiun swallowed.
His silence was harder to bear than any harsh words.
A part of her had already prepared for rejection.
She had been rejected enough times to know the shape of it by heart.
Mockery.
Disappointment.
The usual calm, merciless reality.
She could take it.
…Probably.
But if the person giving that answer was him—
the one person who had shown her something she had never seen before—
then it would still hurt.
More than she wanted to admit.
After a while, Shigaraki finally let out a breath.
"…Honestly."
He rubbed his temple.
"I don't even know what to say to you anymore."
Then he looked at her and said, in a tone that was almost half-giving up:
"You really are a hopeless idiot."
Kaiun's expression dimmed.
Her head lowered slightly.
So that was it.
In the end, even he thought it was ridiculous.
Even he—
Then Shigaraki spoke again.
"…That said."
"I don't hate idiots like you."
Kaiun froze.
She looked up so quickly it was almost comical.
"…Huh?"
Shigaraki looked away with a click of his tongue.
He really wasn't lying.
He didn't dislike people like her.
In fact, he respected them a little.
Not because he agreed with them.
Not because he thought they were smart.
But because it took real nerve to keep going after being told no that many times.
He himself wasn't that kind of person.
He didn't rely on grit or blind persistence.
He relied on what worked.
On talent.
On advantage.
On whatever gave him the highest chance of winning.
That was why he had survived this long.
But letting someone like her try?
Giving her one chance to see for herself what she could or couldn't become?
That, he could allow.
As for contradicting himself—
he'd stopped caring.
Tearing apart a girl's dream just because he thought he was being "realistic" suddenly felt unbearably ugly.
And who was he to decide what counted as "for her own good," anyway?
There were plenty of people in the world who loved saying that.
Parents.
Teachers.
Adults who thought they knew best.
For your own good.
And then they used those words to drag people into lives they never wanted.
Into choices they never made for themselves.
Shigaraki had no interest in becoming one of those people.
So in the end, he made a choice.
He would give her a chance.
That was all.
Kaiun stared at him blankly.
"…You're joking, right?"
She almost sounded afraid to believe him.
And then she saw it—
for the first time since meeting him—
a real smile.
Not mocking.
Not cold.
Not the kind that meant he was about to say something awful.
This one was small, relaxed, and strangely gentle.
It caught her so off guard that she forgot to breathe for a second.
Then Shigaraki ruined the atmosphere immediately.
"But."
His expression straightened again.
"I'm not taking back what I said before."
"You don't have the talent to become a Pro Hero."
Kaiun's heart skipped.
But before she could spiral again, he continued.
"That part hasn't changed."
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
"But you're lucky."
He looked at her directly.
"Because…"
"…you met me."
There was a trace of pride in his voice.
Not empty arrogance.
Just confidence.
Because as far as Shigaraki was concerned, this really was the truth.
In this world, there was no one else who both could help her and was willing to do it.
Everyone else fell into two groups.
Those who had the ability, but wouldn't help.
And those who wanted to help, but couldn't.
Take All Might.
One For All could have changed her fate.
But he had already chosen Midoriya.
That path was closed.
She had missed it.
And without something like that, she would remain Quirkless.
As for the other person who could truly change her life—
that would be his teacher.
All For One.
A man who could steal Quirks and hand them out however he pleased.
To a Quirkless person, that ability was basically a miracle.
A second birth.
A door to another life.
But Shigaraki knew exactly what kind of man his teacher was.
All For One wasn't some benevolent savior.
He didn't hand things out for kindness.
And there was no world in which he would casually give Kaiun a Quirk just because she wanted to become a hero.
Which meant that right now—
the only person she could rely on…
was him.
He looked at her for a moment, then spoke in his usual blunt tone.
"So stop making that face."
"I said I'd give you a chance. I didn't say I'd carry you."
Kaiun's lips parted, but no sound came out.
Her mind was still struggling to catch up.
A chance.
He had really said it.
He had really given her one.
Shigaraki continued before she could get emotional and make things annoying.
"If you want to prove me wrong, then do it properly."
"Don't come crying to me after three days because training hurts or because reality doesn't match your fantasy."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"If you're going to walk this road, then walk it all the way."
"Understand?"
Kaiun nodded so hard it looked like her neck might snap.
"Yes!"
The answer came out instantly.
Too fast.
Too loud.
Shigaraki clicked his tongue.
"Don't shout."
Then, after a pause, he added:
"And don't get excited too early."
"This only means I'll give you a chance to try."
"Whether you can survive that chance…"
"That depends on you."
But even with those words, the light in Kaiun's eyes didn't dim.
If anything, it burned brighter.
Because for the first time in years, someone hadn't told her to give up.
For the first time, someone had looked straight at her dream—
and, instead of laughing, had left the door open.
Even if it was only a crack.
Even if the road beyond it was steep and brutal and uncertain.
It was still a road.
And that was enough.
She lowered her head, trying to steady herself.
But her voice still came out unsteady when she spoke.
"…Thank you."
This time, Shigaraki didn't make a face at her.
He just waved a hand impatiently.
"Save the gratitude for later."
"If you fail, I'll take it back."
That should have sounded harsh.
Instead, it only made her want to laugh.
A weak, shaky laugh—
but real.
And under the night sky, on the rooftop where she had nearly given up and started over in the same breath—
Akaya Kaiun finally felt it.
Not certainty.
Not victory.
Just one small, fragile thing.
Hope.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios