Chapter 1: New Normals
Chapter Text
“Tenko? Sweetheart, can you look at me?”
Gulping, the four year old very carefully lifted his head. He’d been in shock since- since It happened, and so far, all he could manage to do was sit, stare at the floor, and vaguely listen to the voices murmuring around him. Sometimes, large hands would try to reach for him, and he would flinch away. (He didn’t want to hurt anyone else) Sometimes, people tried talking to him, but Tenko just kept sitting and staring. (He wanted Mommy. He wanted Hana.)
But this was a voice he recognized. This was a woman with long green hair, kneeling on the ground in front of him, tears obvious on her face even if she wasn’t crying anymore.
“A-auntie-” Tenko managed to croak out. The woman’s face scrunched up, and she carefully leaned forward, resting both hands on either side of his face.
“Tenko,” she said again. “This wasn’t your fault.”
He started crying, then: great, heaving sobs that shook the whole of his small body. His aunt didn’t say anything else - she didn’t have to. Her arms curled around him, and pulled Tenko close.
His hands remained curled into fists, hugged tightly against his chest.
-Double Act-
“Inko, I’m not comfortable with this.”
“You mean you aren’t comfortable with him.”
Tenko, listening from around the corner, couldn’t help but flinch. Not at Hisashi’s words - he’d known from day one of coming to live with his aunt that her husband was afraid of him, afraid of what he could do - but rather, at the utterly flat tone of Inko’s response. She usually spoke with such emotion in her voice, whether it was happy or sad or frustrated. To hear her sounding so empty struck something inside of Tenko that made him want to shiver.
“I’m not- it isn’t- Inko, he killed seven people- I know it was an accident, you’ve gone over that enough times by now, but what if another accident happens? What if his fingers slip, or he loses his gloves? It’s just - I feel like we’re waiting for disaster to strike, every day, and I can’t- I can’t take it, living like this!”
“Leave, then.”
“...what?”
For once, Tenko felt completely in sync with his uncle in law. Hisashi sounded as baffled as the boy felt.
“I love you, Hisashi. And I love Tenko. But out of the two of you, only one is a child who cannot be abandoned by the one bit of family he has left, dangerous Quirk or not.”
“...I’ll pack a bag, then.”
Hisashi only came back to the apartment twice after that: to gather the rest of his belongings once he’d found a new place to move into, and again a few days after that, when Tenko called him because Inko started throwing up before dawn and couldn’t leave the bathroom all morning. He’d helped fix food for the both of them, got Inko back into bed, and even gave Tenko a cautious pat on the head before leaving.
“You’re a good kid,” Hisashi had said, not meeting the boy’s startled gaze. “Let me know if Inko doesn’t feel better in a couple of days.”
She didn’t, but she also made Tenko promise not to call Hisashi again. Instead, Inko made some calls of her own, and went to the doctor’s office one day, where Tenko sat quietly in the kid section of the waiting room, studiously ignoring everyone else present.
Inko bought him ice cream on the way home. She didn’t tell him what the appointment was about until bedtime.
“I’m going to have a baby, Tenko.”
-Double Act-
“He looks... squishy.”
Inko laughed, quietly. “Well, he’ll look better in a day or two.” Tenko tilted his head, intensely studying the small red thing his aunt was holding. Regardless of whether or not the baby changed for the better later, he looked weird now.
“What’s his name?” The five year old suddenly asked.
“Izuku. Midoriya Izuku.”
“Hm.” Leaning in close, Tenko peered at Izuku’s very squished face. “Will he get big soon?”
“Soon enough.”
“Will he play with me?”
Inko’s smile grew, and she pulled one hand away from Izuku long enough to stroke Tenko’s messy hair. “Of course he will, sweetheart. You’re going to be as close as brothers.”
-Double Act-
Something Tenko became aware of, even if he didn’t entirely understand it, was the fact that two children cost more money to take care of than just one - especially if the second was a baby.
Izuku went through a lot of diapers.
So, Inko applied for a new full-time job, and after kindergarten Tenko would go to the same daycare center where Izuku spent the day. The staff made an exception and let him help in the baby room, so he could keep an eye on his little cousin and make sure Izuku always had his super fuzzy All Might blanket to sleep with.
As such, Tenko was present the day another baby tried to steal said blanket.
“No!” He whisper-yelled at the blonde infant. “That’s not yours.”
The other baby stared up at him for a long moment, before his face scrunched up and he took a deep breath. Well aware of what an incoming temper tantrum looked like thanks to some of his more dramatic classmates, Tenko started to step back out of screaming range-
-but the screaming never came. Instead, Izuku solved the problem by crawling over and on top of both his blanket and the other baby, plopping down with a happy gurgle.
Tenko blinked.
The blonde baby blinked.
“Huh,” said one of the staff ladies behind him. “I think that’s the first time someone’s managed to stop Katsuki before he started crying. Good job, Tenko-chan!”
“You’re welcome,” the five year old said automatically. “But, Izuku’s the one who stopped him...”
“Well then, good job to you, Izuku!” She leaned down to ruffle the baby’s green tufts of hair, before turning and heading to another corner of the room. The blonde infant, Katsuki, watched her go with as deep an expression of annoyance as Tenko had ever seen someone make. Very gently, keeping his pinky extended even if he was wearing his special half-gloves, Tenko ran his hand over the fuzzy blonde spikes.
Little red eyes snapped back over to stare at him, before Katsuki babbled something, grabbed the back of Izuku’s onesie, and promptly went to sleep. Considering his cousin looked to be dozing off too, Tenko just grinned and laid down next to them.
He and Izuku went home that night with Inko beaming over the photograph she’d been given of the little scene.
And later, after Katsuki’s mother had taken the initiative to introduce herself, sometimes Tenko and Izuku went to the Bakugou house to play and have dinner, too.
-Double Act-
When Tenko turned six, he asked Inko for a day out instead of a party.
(He didn’t like large groups of people surrounding him anymore, not since-)
“Of course, sweetheart! Do you want me to see if Mitsuki can look after Izuku, so it’s just the two of us?”
He considered it for a long time before answering. “No, that’s okay.” After all the time he’d spent helping with the babies at the daycare, Tenko knew his little cousin was very well behaved for his age.
“Alright, then. Where do you want to spend the day, Tenko?”
“Well...” Mostly, he just wanted to be with his family, away from their neighbors (away from the nervous looks, the whispers, the people taking extra long steps to walk around him) - but there was one thing Tenko kind of wanted to go see...
And so, Sunday morning, they got up early and headed out to catch a train to Tokyo. Izuku was still pretty much asleep in his sling against Inko’s chest, but Tenko practically vibrated with his excitement. After a brief stop for breakfast at the station when they arrived, the three of them walked through the busy city to reach their destination:
All Might Tower.
Chapter Text
There was a man watching them.
Tenko tried not to be obvious about sidling around to the opposite side of Inko’s legs, so that he could tug on her hand and get her to bend down to his level.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“That guy over there... he keeps staring.” Normally, when someone watched Tenko that closely, his skin started to itch, and he wanted to hide and scream and scratch and freeze all at once. The way this stranger was watching... Tenko didn’t feel as awful as usual, but he still didn’t like it.
Auntie Inko knew exactly how he got under unfriendly gazes, and instantly drew herself up in order to glower at the man. He was really tall, with big muscles that weren’t quite hidden by his button-down shirt and dress pants, but a proper glare from Inko could scare off just about anybody.
As Tenko expected, the man flinched when her green eyes met his - but then instead of walking off or at least turning away, the stranger hesitantly crossed the lobby to approach them.
“I’m sorry to intrude,” the man said when he stopped, close enough to be heard but not so much that he loomed over them. “It was terribly rude of me to stare, ma’am, and I apologize if I alarmed you or your son.”
Tenko could feel his aunt’s hand on his shoulder lose some tension. “It was rude, yes. May I ask why you were watching us so intently?” Uncertain if he wanted to hear the answer or not, Tenko nonetheless leaned partway out from behind Inko, peering up at the sheepish man.
“It, ah- I’m afraid my mind was likely playing tricks on me,” he explained. “It’s hardly a decent excuse, but you greatly resemble someone I knew a long time ago, and I found I couldn’t look away.”
“I see. Well, in that case, apology accepted, mister...?”
“Yagi, Yagi Toshinori.”
“Nice to meet you, Mister Yagi. I’m Midoriya Inko; this is my son Izuku, and my nephew, Shimura Tenko.”
The man’s face instantly paled, and his jaw actually dropped. “Sh-shimura?”
-Double-
“I... don’t really recall much of my birth mother,” Inko said slowly, staring down into her tea. Sitting next to her on the sofa in the private room, Tenko pretended to be focused on playing with the sleeping Izuku’s hair, but he listened intently to every word.
(Hana had shown him the picture - the woman who’d been the link between Father and Aunt Inko - the woman who’d been a Hero before she went away.)
“Kotarou remembered more, since he was older, but... those memories turned into resentment, as we grew up, and he didn’t like talking about them.”
“I’m sorry,” the man across from them murmured. “After Nana’s husband died, she demanded that neither I nor any other Heroes contact her children. I wish I’d disregarded that, even just once, so you could have known more about her.”
“It’s hardly your fault, Yagi-san.”
“But if I had, then...” He trailed off, and Tenko risked glancing up. His red eyes met sad blue ones, and the boy couldn’t look away.
Inko glanced between them, a small smile emerging as she ran a hand over Tenko’s fluffy mop of hair. Much of it had turned pale blue since his Quirk emerged (since he’d turned them all to dust), but the tail ends were still black as ink.
“We live in Musutafu,” she suddenly said. “If you would care to visit. Anytime.”
Yagi blinked. And then he too smiled - still tinged with grief, but big and wide enough it seemed familiar to Tenko’s gaze. “I’d like that, very much.”
-Double-
Most of the kids at school avoided Tenko.
Not because of his Quirk, really - only the teachers knew what it was, and he never told anyone else. But there was always something that churned in his gut if other children came too close (too close, Hana, get away, go away!), so Tenko made a point of being quiet and standoffish, or else growly and mean.
And then someone new showed up - a girl even more silent than him.
Admittedly, Tenko hadn’t been paying attention when his teacher introduced the new student, hadn’t bothered to remember her name. He wished he could recall it, though, at recess that day, when he stumbled across her sitting in the bushes that bordered the school’s playground.
“What are you doing?” He asked with a frown. “This is my spot.”
She didn’t reply, but just kept staring. Her eyes were solid black all the way through, though Tenko could only partly see them, the way her blue-green hair hung in front of her face.
“If you aren’t going to leave, then budge over.”
The girl blinked. “You’re... gonna sit here too?”
“I said it’s my spot. And there isn’t anywhere else good to hide from the teachers.”
Biting her lip, the girl scooted over a bit. As soon as there was room enough, Tenko sat down next to her, hands in his lap. “You aren’t gonna ask why I’m hiding?”
“No.” Tenko rubbed at his arm. He already had a pretty good idea of why - if it was just fear about her first day, the girl wouldn’t have felt she needed to keep out of sight of the teachers as well as their classmates. This was deeper. And he got it - he had his own reasons for finding this spot in the bushes too, after all, where no one could look at him. (No one would stare, no one would brush against him, no one would have to flinch away because they hadn’t realized he was That Close-)
“You do get it, don’t you.”
“Huh?”
“When people are scared of you.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
“...I look at someone, and I know what’s in their head. I can see it. Sometimes they try to hide, with surface thoughts on top of deeper ones, but I still know.”
“Oh,” Tenko repeated. “Do you talk about what you see?”
“No. But people don’t like me anyway, once they find out.” She scowled. “And I can’t ever turn it off, even when I really, really want to.”
Tenko definitely understood what that felt like. “I have to wear special gloves so I don’t-” (Don’t hurt anyone else, don’t kill anyone else) “-don’t destroy stuff. Maybe you could get special glasses? Something that helps block the thoughts, or lets you pick what you want to see?”
She was staring at him again. Less in surprise this time, more- something else. Something... grateful?
After a long moment, she spoke again. “My name’s Tamashi Kansatsu. Do you want to be friends?”
-Double-
Yagi-san, or Uncle Toshi as he’d been not so subtly trying to convince Tenko to call him, had been visiting about once a week for the better part of two months before he happened to come at the same time Kansatsu was over after school.
She took one look at him, blinked, and immediately asked Tenko why he’d never mentioned his uncle was All Might.
(WHAT.)
Inko looked just as stunned as their guest, though Yagi’s expression quickly morphed into apologetic concern. “Oh dear. Um... I suppose I should explain.”
That was the afternoon when Tenko finally learned exactly why Yagi had been his grandmother’s student. He and Kansatsu sat side by side on the floor, absently taking turns letting Izuku play with their toes, listening intently to the details of the Origin of All Might. Plenty of it went over their heads, of course, but Tenko didn’t think he’d ever forget the absolute determination of Yagi’s face when he made his promise.
“I swear, Inko, I will never allow you or the children to come to harm because of me.”
“He’s scared she won’t let him come visit anymore,” Kansatsu whispered in Tenko’s ear. Inko clearly heard too, though, if the sudden softening of her face was anything to go by.
“You will always be welcome here, Yagi-san,” she said. “You’ve clearly done a good job keeping your personal and professional lives almost completely separate, and I doubt that will change any time soon.”
Yagi smiled, tentatively. And then laughed when Tenko asked, “Can All Might still be my favorite superhero is he’s my uncle?”
“Of course he can, sweetheart.”
Notes:
Tamashi Kansatsu - soul observation
Chapter 3: Stand Tall
Chapter Text
If Tenko thought trying to keep a lid on Katsuki’s antics was hard before, it was nothing compared to the mayhem he caused once the little blonde figured out how to walk. And of course, once he saw his best friend do it, Izuku was up and toddling in no time as well.
Tenko decided he liked it better when they were still proper babies.
“It’s all part of life I’m afraid, my boy,” Toshinori laughed when the seven year old complained to him. “What starts out small, grows up.”
Tenko frowned up at him. “They won’t grow as big as me, will they?”
“Well, not for a while, but eventually they’ll get to be your size. By then, though, you’ll have grown yourself, and will still be taller than them.”
“Good. Katsuki’s enough of a brat as it is.”
Toshinori just laughed and ruffled his hair.
To be fair, though, Katsuki really only acted like a brat when he thought Izuku wasn’t paying him enough attention - if so much as anything dragged those green eyes off in another direction, screaming and stomping ensued, and nothing could soothe away the temper tantrums except Izuku grabbing him in a hug. Then, like a flip of a switch, Katsuki was back to wide smiles and happy babble-talk.
He was an odd kid.
And, of course, there was the language issue.
“What was that, Katsuki-chan?” Inko asked, pausing as she peered at grocery items on the shelf. Tenko was taking his job of guiding their basket through the store while his aunt pushed it very seriously, but even he took a moment to peer at the pair of toddlers sitting alongside various food items.
Katsuki mumbled something again, even quieter than he had before. Tenko raised himself up onto the tips of his toes, and Inko leaned closer as well. “What? Please speak up, sweetheart.”
“FUCK.”
There was a moment of absolute, stunned silence. Then Izuku started giggling. Katsuki beamed like he’d just been given a new All Might toy. Tenko and Inko glanced at each other, with the same wide-eyed expression on their faces.
“Oh, dear. I think I’d better talk to Mitsuki and Masaru again...”
“Will it do any good?” Tenko asked her, gaze returning to the toddlers as Izuku kept laughing at Katsuki’s steady chant of fuck, fuck, fuck.
Inko just sighed. “Probably not, but at least I can try.”
-Double-
“I’m getting moved to a new foster family.”
Tenko’s head snapped up to stare at Kansatsu. “What?”
“Mrs. Nishidoro’s father is sick, so they’re going to move to Oita to take care of him.”
“But- you’re not going with them?”
“No. I’m assigned to the Musutafu foster district, I can’t go to another city. So, new foster family.” She shrugged, acting nonchalant, but Tenko didn’t believe her act for a second. He knew Kansatsu genuinely liked the Nishidoro’s, and that the two of them giving her up had to hurt. Setting aside his homework assignment, the boy scooted across the floor in order to carefully hug his friend.
Kansatsu sniffed, and leaned into it, dropping her head onto Tenko’s shoulder. “Thanks.”
“Welcome.” Keeping his fingers curled in a fist, the boy rubbed a hand up and down her back. “I wish you could move in with us.”
“Me too.”
Unfortunately, as a single mother with two children already, Inko couldn’t qualify for the foster care program. She’d done more than enough research already to learn that much, and tearfully explained it to the pair when Tenko first asked.
“Think you’ll get one in this area? So we can still go to school together?”
“I don’t know. If my advocate can’t find someone before the Nishidoro’s leave, I’ll have to go back to the care facility on the other side of the city.”
Tenko held onto her harder.
-Double-
“Even if young Tamashi isn’t able to attend your school anymore, my boy, you can still keep in touch with her,” Toshinori offered. “You could exchange letters, visit each other on the weekend-”
“It’s not the same,” Tenko muttered.
The man sighed, and carefully ran a hand over fluffy blue hair. “I know.”
“No one else sits in the bushes with me.” Hunching his shoulders, Tenko didn’t notice the baffled look on his honorary uncle’s face. “No one else wants to sit next to me in the classroom, or be my partner on field trips, or, or-” He sucked in a deep breath, fingers curled and digging into his legs. “It’s not FAIR!”
Toshinori hugged him closer as Tenko shuddered. “I know, my boy. It’s not. But sometimes, when life isn’t fair, when you feel the world’s turned against you - those are the moments when it’s most important to stand tall, to find your inner strength and tell yourself things will get better.”
The boy sniffled, curling in on himself. “But ‘m not tall yet.”
Barking out a startled laugh, Toshinori grinned down at him. “Not now, but someday.”
-Double-
Thankfully, their fears did not come to pass - Kansatsu was transferred to a foster family in a nearby neighborhood, and though her trip to school became longer, she was able to continue attending and being Tenko’s best friend.
“I don’t think they like me very much,” she told him, after the first couple days. “But there’s two kids littler than me, and a baby, so as long as I don’t act out, I think it’ll be okay.”
Tenko nodded with a serious expression. “Babies take up a lot of time. Can you still come play after school?”
“Yeah, but not for as long, since it takes more time for me to walk back.”
“Auntie Inko can drive you home sometimes!”
And she did, along with Bakugou Masaru, surprisingly. It turned out that his commute to work passed right by Kansatsu’s new foster home, and the man happily volunteered to play taxi for the kids sometimes.
“Honestly, with as often as Tenko and Izuku help us keep Kastuki’s moods under control, this is the least I can do,” he laughingly explained. Inko fretted for a bit, as always, but with the kids able to maintain their friendship and Tenko back to being happy, she decided to leave the matter be.
Chapter 4: Concerning Quirks and Heroes
Chapter Text
“Help! Someone save me!” Tenko giggled as Auntie Inko called out from where she sat underneath a blanket. Barely a moment passed before the door was shoved open, and Izuku tumbled in, wearing his favorite All Might outfit.
“I am here!” The four year old shrieked, dashing forward. Tenko waited until he was just a few steps away from Inko before jumping up off of the couch.
“So am I, All Might!” He yelled. “You have to beat me before you can save Prime Minister Midoriya!”
Skidding on the carpet, Izuku abruptly changed directions to face the new threat, still grinning. “I will! All Might always wins! Smash!”
The younger boy threw a wild punch into the air, and Tenko pinwheeled his arms, pretending to wobble before finding his balance again. “Ha! It’ll take more than that- oof!” Izuku followed up the punch by launching himself into Tenko’s midsection, actually making him topple over. When he hit the floor, the blue-haired boy let out a dramatic groan, throwing his arms out to either side.
“...Tenko?” Izuku crawled up to peer at his cousin’s face. “Tenko, no time for sleepies, All Might’s gotta win.”
Half-gloved hands suddenly shot up to start tickling the little boy’s sides. Izuku squealed, trying without success to roll away from the sneak attack.
“You’re not gonna win this time!” Tenko crowed, unaware of Inko sneaking closer. It wasn’t until she started tickling him that the older boy left off his attack, scrambling to get back to his feet. Izuku didn’t help with that, taking the opportunity to jump onto Tenko’s legs and hold them together. “Hey! No fair!”
“You’re the one who turned your back on the Prime Minister, Mister Villain!” Inko laughed. “And now she’s gonna help All Might win!”
“Yeah!” Izuku cheered, hugging his cousin’s legs tighter. Tenko squirmed and managed to pull one free from the other’s grip; he then tried to push his foot at his aunt’s face to drive her back. That backfired spectacularly, as she grabbed it and lightly scritched a finger across the sensitive skin. Screeching through his giggles, Tenko redoubled his efforts to wriggle free.
In the end, all three of them collapsed on the carpet, breathing heavily through their grins.
“Mama?”
“Yes, Izuku?”
“Will Uncle Toshi play All Might with us?”
“You’ll have to ask him when he comes over tomorrow.” Inko smiled as she reached to run a hand through Izuku’s mess of green curls.
“M’kay. Tenko?”
“Yeah, Izu?”
“Will you be Mister Villain again too? Please!”
Smirking, Tenko rolled over to fling an arm across his baby cousin’s tummy. “Okay, squirt.”
“Yay!”
-Double-
Hearing the news that Katsuki’s Quirk had come in - Nitroglycerin Explosions - didn’t surprise Tenko in the slightest. It did, however, bring up an issue that’d been concerning his aunt more and more.
“Mama, Mama, when am I gonna get my Quirk?”
Inko froze, her gaze flicking over to meet Tenko’s where he sat doing homework at the kitchen table. “I- I don’t know, sweetheart. Soon, I’m sure.”
“Will it be like yours?”
“It could-”
“Ooh! Or will I get one like Tenko?”
(Screaming, crying, where are you going, Mommy help, Hana, what’s happening-)
Tenko pressed his pencil too hard against the notebook page, and the tip broke off with a quiet snap. Izuku kept chattering on about what other kinds of Quirks he might get, unaware of the older boy’s sudden internal crisis, but Inko noticed. She always noticed. The woman moved her pan off of the stovetop, turned off the heat, and quickly moved to crouch beside his chair. “Shh, Izuku, hush now - Tenko, can you look at me, sweetheart?”
(It won’t stop it won’t stop why won’t it STOP-)
“Tenko. Tenko, listen to me - I need you to breathe, sweetheart. It wasn’t your fault, do you hear me? You couldn’t help your Quirk, baby.”
A hand started smoothing down his hair. The warm weight helped Tenko ground himself. He shuddered, his own fingers curling to dig into the flesh of his thighs, digging deeper (deeper deeper dig it out dig deeper don’t touch ANYTHING-)
A second hand, smaller than the first, carefully touched his wrist. Tenko shuddered again. Little fingers rubbed at his skin, and he heard Izuku copying Inko’s shushing noises.
The boy whimpered. He slumped in place, letting his aunt pull him into a hug. Izuku clambered up onto the chair to join them, baffled as to what had just happened but clearly invested in helping fix it.
“...I’m okay,” Tenko finally whispered, clinging to his family (the only family he had left). “Just... Izu?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Don’t get a Quirk like mine, okay?”
The younger boy huffed, but nodded. “Okay, Tenko.”
-Double-
Tenko regretted his words a few weeks later.
Because apparently, Izuku didn’t have any Quirk at all.
-Double-
“Izu?”
A sniffle from the other side of the bedroom was the only response Tenko could hear. Gnawing on the chapped skin of his lower lip, the boy finally overcame his hesitation and slid out of bed. Quietly, he tip-toed across the carpet to his baby cousin’s bed. Tenko pulled up the covers and slipped in alongside the lump of pure misery that was Izuku.
“I know it’s hard,” he whispered, curling an arm over the smaller boy, careful (so careful, always careful, can’t afford to NOT be careful) to keep his thumb tucked underneath his other fingers. “But- but maybe this is a good thing. I mean, at least you don’t have a bad Quirk-”
Izuku kicked him.
Tenko had to bite his lip again to keep from yelping, moreso out of surprise than pain, as his cousin rolled over to pin him with a fierce, tear-filled glare.
“Any Quirk is good!” Izuku insisted. “Your Quirk is good!”
Tenko felt like the air had been punched out from his chest. “N- no, it’s not-”
“Yes it is! You can, you can get rid of broken buildings and stuff! To rescue people! Or, or bring down an old building before it falls on somebody, so those, um, those opposite builder people don’t have to!”
“Demolition crews?”
“Yeah!” His eyes were still full of unshed tears, but at least Izuku had gone from looking upset to determined. “Your Quirk is really good, Tenko! You could be a Hero!”
(...no one had ever said that to him before. Not Auntie Inko, or even Uncle Toshi.)
“You- you really think so, Izu?”
“Mm-hm!” Sniffling again, Izuku buried his face against Tenko’s chest. “The best! ‘Cause your Quirk’s amazing, okay?”
“...okay.”
-Double-
“He doesn’t have a Quirk at all?” Kansatsu gaped at Tenko as they left school together, headed for the daycare center and then home. “How does that happen?”
“It just does, okay? He’s been really unhappy about it,” the boy sighed. “I think I helped him feel a little better last night, but...” He trailed off, unsure of how to put his fears into words.
Speaking his muddled thoughts aloud, though, was never an issue with a best friend who could see inside one’s head. Kansatsu’s fingers brushed the back of his hand, and Tenko looked back up to see her offering a sad smile. “But he’s got a ways to go. I get it.”
“You always do.” Smiling back, Tenko focused back on the daycare center, just coming into view ahead of them. “...hey, Kansa?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you- do you think- could I be a Hero?” He felt silly asking it, as that hadn’t been a dream of Tenko’s in a long time (Hana grabbing his hand, Hana smiling, Hana saying “We can be Hero Partners!”), but he needed to hear another opinion besides that of his four year old cousin.
Kansastu was quiet for a long time. Tenko figured she was probably glancing at the thoughts and memories swirling around his head, and trying to figure out how to gently tell him no.
“I think you can, actually.”
Tenko nearly tripped over himself.
His friend paused as he got his balance back, then went on. “It’s not just the Quirk that makes a Hero, Tenko. You care about making sure Izuku and Katsuki are safe when they play, and that Inko-san doesn’t spend so much time worrying, and that I don’t get picked on. And, he might not have ever said it out loud, but when I see Toshinori-san look at you, he’s almost always thinking about how your grandmother would be proud of who you’re becoming. He imagines you following in her footsteps.”
Gaping, Tenko stared at Kansatsu, who merely gazed back with her usual bland expression. “He- really?”
“Uh-huh. I can picture it too. You’d be a great Hero.”
They walked the rest of the way to the daycare in companionable silence, but Tenko was grinning ear to ear, wiping away the odd tear that slid down his cheeks. Their shared good mood vanished in the same instant, however, when one of the caretakers stepped through the doors to meet them, no green-haired four year old in sight.
“I’m afraid we had to call your Aunt to come pick up Izuku-chan early,” the woman explained, shooting a concerned glance over her shoulder. “Nothing serious, but, there was a bit of an accident, and he wanted to go home.”
Tenko followed her eyes to see Katsuki just inside the doors, scowling as he kicked listlessly at the wall. “What happened?”
“...Katsuki-chan got upset, and lost control of his Quirk.”
The ground dropped out from under Tenko’s feet. (Lost control, he lost control, they wouldn’t be dead if he hadn’t lost control-)
“Your cousin wasn’t hurt, Tenko, just a little singed, but it scared him, which was why we called Midoriya-san- Tenko? Tenko-chan, wait-” He ignored the woman’s call, charging past her to the daycare doors. Katsuki’s head jerked up when Tenko ran inside, and he started to shrink back against the wall before bristling and taking a step forward.
“What did you do?” Tenko demanded.
“It was ‘Zuku’s fault!” The younger boy protested.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Katsuki! What did you do to Izuku?”
“Tenko-chan, please don’t yell like that!” The caretaker came in behind him, Kansatsu on her heels. “I told you it was an accident, Katsuki-chan’s Quirk just got away from him-” Tenko didn’t listen as she went on. He kept his red eyes trained fully on Katsuki, staring as the four year old squirmed in place.
Finally, it paid off. “He was being stupid! Saying we could still be Hero Partners, but we can’t! He doesn’t have a Quirk!” Katsuki’s face scrunched up with unhappiness and anger. “I told him to go away, but he didn’t listen! He tried to hold my hand! It’s his fault he got- that I- I-” The boy started to cry, still looking up at Tenko. “-I didn’t mean to...”
“We know you didn’t, Katsuki-chan,” the caretaker cooed.
Tenko wasn’t so moved. “Did you tell him that? Did you say you’re sorry to Izuku?”
“...no.”
“Are you?”
“...yes.”
“Then you’re going to. I’ll ask Izu if he wants to talk to you tonight - if he doesn’t, you’ll say you’re sorry in the morning. Alright?”
“...fine.”
“Good.”
After another awkward minute or two, the pair of nine year olds finally left, walking the route to Tenko’s apartment building. It took a while for him to calm down, but eventually the boy noticed Kansatsu grinning at him. “What?”
“Like I said,” she smirked. “You’d be a great Hero.”
-Double-
Tenko thought Katsuki’s apology the next morning could’ve been better, but it seemed to do the trick for Izuku. Within a span of ten minutes, the green-haired boy was back to laughing as he chased after his friend, who seemed bigger and more boisterous than ever. It was good to see, and Tenko would’ve liked to stick around to keep an eye on them longer, but unfortunately he had to leave the daycare behind in favor of his elementary school.
That weekend, Uncle Toshi came over for dinner.
Auntie Inko had to have told him about Izuku’s diagnosis beforehand, because he seemed a little more solemn than usual, though still smiling and pleased to share stories with the boys. Tenko talked a little about the science projects his class was getting into, while Izuku chattered on about Kacchan this and Kacchan that. Uncle Toshi listened with the same rapt attention that they did when he told them about villains he’d fought and people he’d saved.
Inko listened to all of it with the same content smile on her face.
Later, though, when Izuku had been put to bed and Tenko was rapidly falling asleep where he sat on the sofa, the older boy overheard something he didn’t understand.
“When he’s older, Inko,” Uncle Toshi said, “I’d like your permission to give Izuku One for All.”
His aunt sucked in a startled breath. “Toshinori, you don’t have to-”
“I’d like to. It, it would feel right, passing it on to one of Nana’s grandchildren. Like I’m giving back to her, in a way.”
“But what about you, and All Might? Or this All for One person you’ve mentioned...?”
“Hopefully, by then, I’ll have finally beaten All for One, and there won’t be a need for All Might any longer. At that point, I can go back to being just, plain old Yagi Toshinori.”
Inko snorted. “Getting old, perhaps, but certainly not plain.”
“That’s, ah, that’s very kind of you to say.”
There were more words exchanged, but that was about when Tenko drifted fully into sleep. When he woke up the next morning, it was to find himself wearing his pajamas and tucked into bed. And out in the living room, he found Uncle Toshi.
“Did you spend the night?” Tenko asked, startling the man so badly he nearly ripped the jacket he was putting on.
“Tenko, my boy! I, ah, didn’t realize you’d be up this early!”
They stared at each other for a long moment, before Tenko spoke. “You can’t leave before breakfast, Uncle Toshi. That’s one of the biggest rules of sleepover eddy-cut.”
The man blinked, and then grinned. “I think you mean ‘etiquette,’ my boy.”
“Well, whatever it is, you have to stay long enough to have breakfast.”
“I suppose I can’t argue with that.”
Chapter 5: Old Friends and New
Notes:
Don't mind me, updating again only a few days later - I found out today my grandmother's hospital stay has been extended, so instead of getting ready to take her home I decided to cheer myself up by introducing some new kids to Double Act's cast. Tags will be updated accordingly.
Also, while I've decided to sprinkle in a few hints of Inko/Toshinori (and later some EraserMic that'll be a little more blatant), the ships for this fic are pretty much up in the air. It's gonna be a while before Izuku and Co are old enough to be worried about crushes and first dates, so I'm happy to take suggestions from you lot! And even if your ideas don't get incorporated into this fic, I might get inspired to writing something else that does have them :)
Nothing involving the sour grapes boy, though. He only exists in my stories to serve as target practice for Bakugou.
Chapter Text
“But why does it have to be a group project? Can’t we just do partners?”
“No, because then you and I will go hide in the corner, and Segaku-sensei knows it.”
Huffing, Tenko belly-flopped onto the sofa. “I hate people,” he mumbled into the cushion.
“You don’t hate me,” Kansatsu said from the floor, where she was setting out their homework assignments.
“I hate most people.”
“You are such a whiner.”
“Says the wallflower.”
She snorted. “We’re both wallflowers, dummy.”
“Yeah, well-”
“Tenko?” Both ten year olds picked up their heads to see Izuku peering anxiously through the doorway. “Oh- hi, Kansa-san.”
“Hey, little Izu,” the girl replied. “What’s up?”
“I, um, I wanted to know if Tenko would come to the park with me, b-but you’re both busy! It’s okay-”
Frowning, Tenko sat up properly before interrupting. “What happened to insisting you’re a big boy now, Izu? I thought you liked getting to head to the park on your own.”
The smaller boy grew red-faced, lowering his head to mumble something, as his hands clutched and twisted the hem of his t-shirt. Tenko shared an uneasy glance with Kansatsu.
“Say that again?”
Izuku took a deep breath. “K-kacchan said he wasn’t gonna play with me anymore, and no else will either...”
(Oh.)
“...I think our homework can wait a while, can’t it?” Tenko asked. Kansatsu smiled back.
“Sure it can.”
Bakugou Katsuki, as it turned out, was a bad egg. The year before, when he burned Izuku’s hand by accident, had not been a one-time deal. When Tenko found out about the shoving, the name-calling, and the mini-explosions set off in his baby cousin’s face, he decided the best thing to do was to tell Auntie Mitsuki.
And boy did she go off on Katsuki. He had to stay home for three days before she sent him back to school, with a memorized list of apologies and promises to do better.
Not that he stuck to any of them, of course.
“Hey, Deku!”
Izuku froze just as he was stepping onto the grass of the playground. Tenko frowned sharply, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, while Kansatsu narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
Katsuki ran right up to them, a couple of other boys hurrying after. “What are you doing here, stupid Deku? I said you weren’t allowed to come play with me anymore!”
“We don’t have to play together, Kacchan,” Izuku mumbled, ducking his head.
“But this is my playground, and-”
“No it isn’t, Katsuki.” Tenko chose that moment to step forward. He got right in-between the two five year olds, and loomed. “Kansa-kun and I are going to play with Izuku, and if you don’t want to, that’s fine - you can go play somewhere else.”
“You go play somewhere else!” Katsuki shrieked, little sparks coming out of his clenched fists. “I don’t want any Quirkless freaks hanging around!”
Tenko pushed him.
Taken by surprise, the blonde boy stumbled back and landed on his bottom with a quiet oof.
“My cousin,” Tenko seethed. “Is not a freak. You, on the other hand, are definitely a bully. Leave Izuku alone, Katsuki, or-”
“Or what! You’ll tell my mom again?”
That had, in fact, been what Tenko was going to say, but at the last second he switched to a different threat, one he’d regret later. “No; I’ll use my Quirk.”
Katsuki scoffed, getting back to his feet. “You don’t have a Quirk! I’ve never seen you use one, not ever! You’re just like Deku - stupid, worthless, useless-”
It only took a second to undo the velcro strap on his right glove and rip it off, and then Tenko thumped his hand against Katsuki’s chest, letting all five fingers touch the smaller boy’s shirt for a split second. He staggered back a step but didn’t fall, and started to open his mouth-
-but whatever was going to come out died away when the two boys behind him started screaming, and Katsuki looked down to see his shirt crumbling away into dust. “You- you-”
“That’s why I don’t use my Quirk, Katsuki,” Tenko glowered. “But for my cousin I’ll make an exception, so leave. Izuku. ALONE.”
Trembling, Katsuki backed up, before he turned and ran after his other friends. Tenko snorted, then sighed. He turned around himself, to see a solemn Kansatsu crouched and holding onto Izuku, who hiccuped as tears poured down his face. “Izu...”
The little boy just sobbed, and pushed away from Kansatsu to bury his face against Tenko’s chest. Sighing again, the older boy pulled his glove back on, and rubbed soothing circles into his cousin’s back.
“I think we should go back home, Tenko,” Kansatsu murmured.
“Yeah. I know.”
-Double-
Tenko nearly scratched himself raw by the time school let out the next day, because of course Katsuki and his friends hadn’t kept their mouths shut, and everybody was staring at him, whispering behind his back, keeping out of his arm’s reach. Kansatsu was the only one who stayed close, and did her best to glare menacingly at those who stared too long. Tenko thanked her several times, to which the girl merely shrugged, bumping shoulders with him. “What are best friends for?”
School gossip eventually returned to other things, and the pair were able to fade into the background once more. Most days, Kansatsu walked home with Tenko and Izuku, spent the afternoon, and then either walked or got a ride back to her foster home after dinner. Her guardians never voiced any objection, just insisted that the girl be back before bedtime on school nights. Fridays and Saturdays, she typically stayed over, sleeping on a futon on the floor of the boys’ room where, more often than not, they’d wind up joining her in a big cuddle pile.
And then a new feature became added to their routine.
“I’ll have to go back the Hadaare house this Friday - there’s gonna be another kid coming in after school, and we have to all be there for the social worker to see,” Kansatsu informed Tenko, as they sat down for lunch on a bench outside of the actual cafeteria. The boy blinked at her in surprise.
“Another? That’s, what, six of you in the house now?”
“Yeah.”
“Geez.”
“I know. We’re about out of bedroom space, but I think my guardians are going to put this new kid up in the attic.”
Tenko frowned. “Is that allowed?” His friend only shrugged, but she didn’t seem particularly pleased over the idea.
“We were warned he’s got a dangerous Quirk, so Mrs. Hadaare wants to keep him out of the way.” Kansatsu glanced over, saw Tenko’s scowl, and immediately added, “I’m planning on getting my own opinion of him.”
“Good.”
“If he’s... Like us... Would it be okay if I brought him over with me sometime?”
“‘Course it is.”
-Double-
The following Saturday afternoon, Kansatsu showed up at the Midoriya apartment with a purple-haired boy in tow. She introduced him as Shinsou Hitoshi, her new brother.
“This is Inko-san, and Tenko-kun, and Izuku-chan,” the girl said, nodding to each member of the little family as Hitoshi peered out from behind her. “You’re allowed to say hello, I promise.” The little boy glanced up at her, but bit his bottom lip and just waved. Kansatsu grimaced, ruffled his hair, and didn’t push it.
Tenko took the initiative, and stepped closer to crouch in front of his friend and her tagalong. “Hi, Hitoshi-chan. How old are you?” Five fingers were held up for him, and the kid grinned. “Hey, you’re the same age as my cousin! Do you want to come play with Izuku?”
Behind him, said boy instantly perked up, his curiosity turning into active interest. Hitoshi hesitated, but then he nodded. Kansatsu’s shoulders slumped in relief.
Soon enough, the pair were situated in front of the sofa, Izuku happily chattering away as he shared his supply of drawing paper and crayons. Hitoshi seemed more than a little awed as he accepted everything pushed in his direction, the glances he kept shooting in Kansatsu’s direction gradually trailing off.
“Thank you,” the girl murmured, standing at the kitchen doorway with Tenko, Inko preparing snacks inside. “He’s... He could really use a friend.”
“Misfits gotta band together, remember?” Tenko grinned. Kansatsu smiled back. “So, do you know why he won’t talk?”
“It’s part of his Quirk,” came the grim answer. “If someone responds to his questions, Hitoshi can, well, hijack their mind. Give them orders.”
Wincing, Tenko looked back to where the purple-haired boy was scribbling side by side with Izuku. “Let me guess - he’s been terrified into not talking.”
“I got him to open up a bit to me back at the Haadare house, but, yeah. I dunno how he’s going to handle school.”
“Well, Izuku won’t let him hide in the bushes alone, I don’t think.” The pair exchanged grins again, recalling how they’d become friends in the first place, years before.
From then on, whenever Kansatsu came over, Hitoshi did too. At school, he became Izuku’s constant shadow, and it wasn’t long before the green-haired boy started referring to him almost entirely as ‘Hicchan’.
“I think he misses Katsuki-chan,” Inko murmured one evening, as Tenko was helping her load the dishwasher.
“Izu’s better off without him,” the boy announced firmly, though he felt a pang in his chest as he did so. He missed Katsuki too - the sweet little brat who curled up in a blanket fort to watch All Might cartoons with his baby cousin, not the holy terror who loudly announced he was going to be the best hero ever and pushed everyone else around. How he’d gone from one to the other, Tenko couldn’t understand, and it made him sad to think Izuku had lost his first best friend.
But the first time he heard Hitoshi say out loud, “Me too, Izu!”,Tenko figured change couldn’t be all bad.
-Double-
“Sooner or later, Tenko, you have to actually pick out a present.” The boy huffed, hearing the teasing lilt to his aunt’s voice.
“I know, but it needs to be perfect! This is the first birthday present I’m gonna get for Uncle Toshi instead of something I make, so it has to be special!”
Inko chuckled, ruffling his hair. “It’s going to come from you, Tenko, that makes it special already.”
Grumbling, he ducked away from her, jogging a little further down the sidewalk to peer into the next store window. Izuku, held back by Inko’s hand curled around his, whined and tried to pull away, after his cousin. Hearing him, Tenko sighed and doubled back.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long, Izu,” the older boy apologized, taking Izuku’s other hand. “I promise to make it up to you later, okay?”
“M’kay. Ride?”
Huffing out a laugh, Tenko crouched, and let Izuku scramble up onto his back. “You holding on?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright, then, here we go.” As he started to stand back up, though, the ground rumbled under Tenko’s feet, causing him to stumble.
Inko gasped, staggering in the opposite direction. “What in the world-? Boys, come here-!”
The street exploded.
-Double-
That mid-day news cycle, every station was playing footage of a Musutafu downtown shopping district, where two villains trying to escape from pursuing heroes laid waste to a street full of morning shoppers.
On his private floor in All Might Tower, Yagi Toshinori frowned at the television, setting aside his lunch in order to turn up the volume. The villains had been apprehended, thankfully, but clean-up efforts seemed to be slow going while they waited for specialists to arrive.
“-and we’ve just heard, two small boys are trapped beneath the rubble of one of the collapsed shops - Rescue Heroes have been called in to assist, as first responders on the scene are hesitant to start digging through the debris, since one wrong move could spell disaster for these boys-” The camera panned across a broken stretch of pavement, past scattered rubble to a shattered building, where paramedics and police officers were gathered, a crying woman wrapped in a shock blanket nearby-
Toshinori choked on a mouthful of food. “Inko?!”
-Double-
Tenko came awake with a groan.
Something wet dripped onto his face, and the boy grimaced even before opening his eyes - not that it did much good, as he couldn’t see anything. Distantly, there came the sound of sirens, and shouting; much closer were tiny sniffles that made Tenko gasp as soon as he recognized them.
“I-Izu,” he coughed, awkwardly twisting in order to feel around. “Izuku, where are you?!”
“Tenk-ko,” came the weak reply, from somewhere to his left. Tenko struggled to turn, hampered by what felt like chunks of cold rock and metal. His legs were numb, one of them pinned in place, and his right arm stung every time he tried to move it. Growing desperate, the boy brought his left hand to his face, and used his teeth to tug off the glove.
Thumb, index, middle, ring, and pinkie finger all pressed to the stone beside him, and crumbled it into nothing. Something shuddered and shifted above him, but Tenko told himself to ignore it for the moment. “Izuku! Say something, I need to find you!”
“Here, I’m h-here!” Louder. Louder was good.
“Can you move? Are you hurt?” Panic was starting to make his body shake, but Tenko had to focus on his cousin. “Keep talking to me, Izuku!”
“H-hurts...”
“What does?”
“My h-head... Tenko, what happened?”
“I don’t know,” the older boy said, carefully wiggling to slap his hand against the heavy weight pinning his leg down. As soon as it was gone, he started to crawl in the direction of Izuku’s voice. “I’m coming to get you, okay? Just- just hold still, and keep talking to me.”
“‘M scared, Tenko...”
“I know, but I’m here, aren’t I? I’ll get you out, I promise.”
“O-okay.” Twice more, Tenko got rid of rocks in his way, moving as quickly as he could. Stuff above them continued to make scary noises, but nothing collapsed on his head, for which the boy was exceedingly grateful.
Then the single finger he was using to feel in front of him found dust-covered skin, and Tenko could have cried in relief. “Izuku!”
The five year old sobbed, uncurling from a ball to cling to his cousin.
“I’ve got you Izu, it’s okay, I’m here, I got you-” Tenko rambled on, his own tears spilling down to mix with Izuku’s as he held the smaller boy. Far away, the muted sounds of a crowd suddenly cheered, and he took strength from it, as if they were encouraging him. “We’re gonna get out of here, alright? I’ve gotta be careful, but I can start getting these rocks out of the way, and we’ll climb out, okay?”
Sniffling, Izuku nodded against his chest. Tenko took a deep breath, and then reached up with his bare hand. He grabbed a metal bar first and cleared it away, then a flat piece of rock, followed by what felt like a pipe before it crumbled. A bunch of dust dropped down onto them when that went, and he paused to lean over and cover Izuku, just in case. When Tenko picked his head back up, he blinked - because the pitch black had receded, just slightly, in the face of a tiny beam of light.
“Whoa.” Glancing down, Tenko grinned as he was able to make out Izuku’s wide, awed eyes.
“I said we’re gonna get out, didn’t I?” He asked, reaching for the next rock. Before his hand could touch it, though, something rumbled nearby. Both he and Izuku froze, fingers digging into each other’s shirts, as they waited to see if the world would explode again.
Instead, a very familiar voice echoed through the gaps in the rubble around them. “Tenko! Izuku! Boys, can you hear me?”
Tenko gasped in relief. “Uncle Toshi! WE’RE HERE, UNCLE TOSHI!”
In moments, all the rock and metal piled above the pair started to shudder, and lift higher into the air. More sunlight poured into the space where they sat, as rubble was sucked up into a pool of black spinning overhead.
Stunned, Tenko almost didn’t notice when he and Izuku started to be pulled upwards as well. Even when he did realize, there wasn’t more than a moment spent flailing before arms as big as he was enveloped the two boys.
“I’ve got you,” All Might said, before jumping them away. “We’re clear, Thirteen!”
The black hole above immediately began to reduce in size, absorbing the rubble already in its vicinity without picking up anymore, but Tenko’s attention rested solely on the man cradling him and Izuku close.
“Uncle Toshi,” he choked out, trembling as his head was tucked against a broad shoulder.
“Shh, you’re safe, boys,” the man murmured, hugging them both a little tighter. “You’re safe, everything’s alright now.”
-Double-
That evening news cycle, every station was playing footage of a Musutafu downtown shopping district, where All Might had shown up completely out of the blue, to help Space Hero Thirteen with retrieving two young boys from the rubble of a destroyed shop.
Clips were played on repeat of the Number One Pro’s arrival, how he by-passed rescue personnel already on the scene in favor of hurrying to the side of a civilian, the presumed mother of the trapped boys. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to see fans throw themselves at All Might as she did - what did surprise bystanders was the tender way he hugged her back, one massive hand coming up to stroke her green hair.
After that, once Thirteen lifted enough rubble to reveal the children and All Might plucked them out of harm’s way, he further surprised everyone by keeping the boys in his embrace, carrying them to the ambulance where their mother sat, and even staying with the family as they were all checked over. Several photographers captured images of the Number One Pro carding his fingers through the older boy’s pale blue hair, and news headlines around the country speculated, All Might’s Secret Family?
In a large, traditional house in a well-to-do part of the city, three children watched the news with no small amount of awe.
“...Dad’s still leaving for his trip tomorrow afternoon, right?” The oldest of them asked aloud, glancing at his sister for confirmation. She nodded, the light of the television glinting off of her glasses. Their younger brother looked up in surprise.
“Tou-nii? Are you planning something?”
Todoroki Touya glanced from his brother to the news again, and pulled his lips into a determined slant as footage played once more of All Might clutching two dust-covered boys like they were the most precious things in the world. “Yeah. I think I am. C’mon, we’re all gonna sleep in Shouto’s room tonight.”
Chapter 6: Escape and Recovery
Chapter Text
“I’m so sorry, Inko, I wasn’t thinking-”
“Hush, Toshinori. This isn’t your fault, alright?” Tenko peeked over the back of the sofa, to see Uncle Toshi looking miserable and Auntie Inko wearing her you will listen or else face.
“But if I hadn’t just run in-”
“You helped save our boys, Toshinori. Do not apologize for that, even if the consequences were more than we anticipated.” Sinking back down, Tenko glanced at the television, where a news channel was still playing footage from his and Izuku’s rescue, a whole day later.
Honestly, if you asked him, it wasn’t even that impressive of a rescue compared to other heroic acts All Might had pulled off, especially since that cool hero Thirteen did all the heavy lifting, so to speak.
But no one had asked him, and the news kept replaying, and Inko’s phone kept ringing late into the night until she finally turned it off. Apparently, all the neighbors who’d been so standoffish over the years because of Tenko’s Quirk were suddenly concerned, and worried, and oh so polite in asking how he and his aunt and cousin were, which made the boy scoff.
The morning after, to avoid the horde of reporters waiting outside the hospital, Uncle Toshi turned into All Might and carried all three of them home. Since neither of the boys had felt well enough to go to school, they just gathered up some things, and then a car came and took them to All Might Tower in Tokyo.
Supposedly, they were waiting for the Number One Pro’s public relations team to craft a press release - but really, Izuku was napping, Toshinori and Inko were going back and forth blaming themselves, and Tenko was channel flipping while half-listening to their conversation. Oh, and an old friend of All Might’s was going to come by at some point, a hero with a healing Quirk who could fix up the bruises and big patches of scabbed-over skin on Tenko’s arm and legs. That he looked forward to.
“Sweetheart?”
Tenko jumped, then flinched, and then looked up at his aunt while biting his lip to keep from hissing at the pain. “Uh-huh?”
Inko offered him an apologetic smile as she leaned over the back of the sofa. “I said, do you think you’ll want to go to school tomorrow, or should we skip it and wait a couple days?”
He didn’t even need to consider the options. “Skip, please. Last time everybody had a reason to stare at me was bad enough, I need to psych myself up for this.”
“What last time?” Inko asked in sync with Uncle Toshi, who stepped up beside her. Recalling that he’d never actually told either of them about what happened the month before, with Katsuki’s disintegrated shirt and the rumors it launched, Tenko paled.
“Um.”
Thankfully, a buzzer by the private elevator door sounded, attracting the attention of both adults. Toshinori went to go answer it, while Inko trailed partway after, wringing her hands. “Yes, Shorai-kun?”
“Sorry to pester you, Yagi-san,” the secretary from the lobby’s front desk apologized. “There’s a young lady here by the name of Tamachi Kansatsu asking for for Shimura-chan...”
“Of course, send her up!”
“Well, um, the thing is sir, she’d not alone.”
Uncle Toshi chuckled. “Young Shinsou is also welcome, Shorai-kun.”
“...and the four other kids with them?”
Tenko blinked. When Inko and Toshinori both looked over at him, he shrugged, and eased to his feet. “I know she didn’t bring any of our classmates.”
“Well, perhaps we should go take a look, then,” Uncle Toshi said, before turning back to the intercom. “We’ll be right down, Shorai-kun. Are there any members of the press downstairs?”
“No sir, security’s more than earning their keep today,” the woman chuckled. “See you in a minute.”
Not long after that, Toshinori, Inko, and Tenko all stepped out of the elevator into a private little waiting area, beyond which was the main lobby of All Might Tower. As soon as he saw her and Hitoshi standing by the secretary’s desk, Tenko made a beeline for his best friend. “Kansa!”
“Shimura Tenko, you complete and utter dumbass!” Suddenly, running to hug Kansatsu didn’t seem like such a good idea, and Tenko skidded to a stop. His friend covered the remaining distance herself, though, seizing his shoulders in an iron grip and glaring directly into his face. “Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine!” He yelped. “A little scared at the moment, but totally fine!” Kansatsu continued to scowl, glancing at the bandages still wrapped around his limbs, before snorting.
“You aren’t but you are,” she muttered, pulling him into a hug. “Don’t scare me like that again.”
“I swear it wasn’t on purpose-”
“Promise, dummy.”
Tenko sighed, patting her on the back. “I promise. Hi, Hitoshi.” Beyond them, the purple-haired boy waved at him. “So who are the other kids Shorai-san mentioned?”
That got Kansatsu to finally pull back, and she nodded over to a corner of the lobby. A group of children stood gathered there, absolutely none of whom Tenko recognized. “They were coming from Musutafu on the same train as us. I saw their thoughts, and- they really need to talk to All Might, Tenko.”
The oldest boy looked to be in his early teens, with spiky red hair and faded burn scars on his skin. He held hands with another boy, and next to them was a girl, both with white hair that had bits of red streaked through. On the first boy’s hip was a younger child, maybe Izuku’s age, with evenly split red and white hair, and a bandage covering half his face.
“Who are they, Kansa?” Tenko asked, just as Toshinori and Inko joined them, finished with speaking to the secretary.
Kansatsu took a deep breath. “Endeavor’s children. They’re running away from him, and the oldest brother’s convinced All Might is the only one who can help.”
-Double-
“Would you kids like anything else to eat?” Inko asked, clearing away some empty plates. “Natsuo-chan? Shouto-chan?” The Todoroki children all shook their heads, except for the youngest, who turned in his oldest brother’s lap to bury his face against Touya’s chest again.
“Thank you for the food, Midoriya-san,” Fuyumi quietly said, handing over her finished plate as well.
“Of course, dear, I hope you all liked it.” Various heads nodded, and Tenko started to get up to take his dirty dishes to the sink. “Sweetheart, no, you sit right back down - no chores while you’re still recovering from being hurt, alright?”
Rolling his eyes, Tenko sank back down. “That just means I’ll have to do extra once I’m better, doesn’t it.”
Inko smiled and bent over to press a kiss to the crown of his head as she passed. “No comment.”
Hitoshi and Izuku both giggled at the face Tenko made, before the latter asked if they could be excused to go play. Inko gave her permission, and the pair hopped down from their booster seats. Before dashing out the door to the living room, however, Izuku paused by Touya’s chair. “Do you want to come too, Shouchan?”
The other child peered down at him, shoulders hunched. Touya ruffled his hair, mixing some of the white and red strands. “Go on, pipsqueak, give it a try. You want to go too, Natsu?”
Natsuo nodded. Once he got down and offered a hand to Shouto, the smaller boy carefully slid off of Touya’s lap. They headed after Izuku, who cheered and went to grab his little backpack full of toys.
Left at the table, Tenko watched Kansatsu glance between the two remaining siblings. “Don’t worry,” she said. “All Might’s coming. Yagi-san promised, and he always follows through on his promises.”
Fuyumi and Touya exchanged a wary look. “You know that’s a little creepy, right? Just blurting out what people are thinking,” the latter stated.
Kansatsu’s smile thinned. “I know.”
“But we love her anyway,” Tenko loudly announced. That got his friend to grin, and he followed up by leaning over to bump shoulders. Touya’s frown deepened, while Fuyumi’s face grew red.
“That, um, that wasn’t-” She floundered, glancing at her brother. “It wasn’t meant as an insult-”
Kansatsu just stared at her for a long moment, before taking pity on the other girl. “It’s fine. I’m used to people thinking I’m creepy - bit of a nice change, actually, meeting someone brave enough to say it out loud.”
“Even so, we apologize - right, Touya?”
“Yeah,” the fourteen year old muttered, slouching in his seat and glancing away. “Sorry.”
They stayed quiet for a few more minutes, as Inko rinsed off and loaded plates and silverware into the dishwasher, until a familiar, booming laugh from the living room caught everyone’s attention. Tenko and Kansatsu got up from their places, hastily followed by the two oldest Todoroki siblings, and all four of them moved to the open doorway.
All Might knelt next to the sofa, comically shaking hands with the, by comparison, tiny Shouto. Natsuo stood just behind his brother, while Izuku and Hitoshi watched from a few steps away. Next to the Pro, however, was a man Tenko recognized from the day before, when he asked Inko some questions at the hospital.
“Hello, Tsukauchi-san!” He grinned, trotting up to the detective, who smiled down at him in return.
“Good afternoon, Shimura-kun,” he replied. “I’m glad to see your injuries are looking better.”
“Uncle Toshi’s friend Recovery Girl is coming later to fix them up completely,” the boy said.
“Even better! And who’s this young lady?”
Tenko twisted in place to grab Kansatsu’s hand and tug her forward another step. “This is my best friend, Tamachi Kansatsu. Kansa, this is Detective Tsukauchi, he’s one of Uncle Toshi’s friends too.”
“Hello,” Kansatsu said quietly, dipping into a brief bow.
“And these are Todoroki Touya and Fuyumi,” Tenko added, gesturing behind him. Fuyumi also bowed in greeting to the detective, and though Touya nodded as well, his eyes remained firmly fixed on his younger brothers and All Might. As if sensing the teen’s intense gaze, the Pro stood and turned, coming to greet them as well.
Tenko saw how the famous smile was strained, and quickly assigned himself and Kansatsu to the task of distracting the younger kids while All Might and Tsukauchi disappeared to talk to Touya and Fuyumi. It wasn’t hard to pull them into a game of Heroes, with Izuku graciously letting Shouto pretend to be All Might, while he decided on being the Number Three Pro, Framework, and Hitoshi took up the mantle of Eraserhead, an underground hero Tenko had found out about while browsing internet forums with his cousin. Practically the instant the purple-haired boy found out there were such things as heroes who worked in the shadows, he claimed the skilled fighter as his new role model.
“I guess that means we’re the assigned villains for this battle,” Kansatsu smirked once the five year olds were situated.
“Mm, you and Natsuo can be,” Tenko said. “But I’m gonna help the pipsqueaks.”
“As who?”
The boy grinned. “As Thirteen, the Space Hero!”
Needless to say, they had a great time.
Natsuo didn’t take long to get into his role, roaring like an ice monster and waving his arms around, his Quirk making the air colder by several degrees. Kansatsu did her best to laugh maniacally, making up evil dialogue and borrowing some from Tenko’s mind too.
Izuku, Shouto, and Hitoshi fell into working together pretty quick, surprisingly. With his bandaged eye, Shouto had to move a bit slower than the others, but he quietly announced it was part of the game - that All Might had been injured, which was why he needed help. Hitoshi threw the ends of a long scarf around, trying to trip up the villains, while Izuku pretended to trap them inside Framework’s forcefield boxes, and Tenko provided encouragement to all of them, while sometimes dramatically pointing out civilians who needed saving - usually Izuku’s toys, scattered around the room, but also Auntie Inko when she emerged from the kitchen to smile at them all.
“Look out!” He cried. “The ice giant’s gonna step on Prime Minister Midoriya’s car! We’ve gotta save her!”
Inko put on a suitably wide-eyed expression of fear, and the little boys all tumbled in her direction. Shouto and Izuku planted themselves between Natsuo and the woman, as Hitoshi grabbed her hand to lead her towards the sofa, where Tenko sat.
“Thirteen will protect you,” the purple-haired boy said seriously, before taking off to tackle Kansatsu before she could ambush his friends. Inko used a hand to hide her grin as she looked down at Tenko.
“And how is Thirteen doing during this battle?” She asked. “Alright, I hope? Not aggravating his injuries?”
Tenko nodded, fighting to keep his serious face in place. “It’s very important to help the big-shot heroes coordinate, even from the sidelines.”
“Ah, I see.”
Sadly, their fun soon had to be put on pause, when the elevator doors opened with a soft ding. The absolute tiniest woman Tenko had ever seen stepped out, arms folded behind her back, a syringe stuck through her hair bun.
“Goodness me,” she chuckled, studying the disaster zone. “I seem to have walked into a villain battle.”
“But we’re winning!” Izuku yelled, letting go of the hold he had on Kansatsu’s legs in order to scramble upright.
“You are? And who might you be, young man?”
“I’m Framework, Number Three Pro Hero!” Izuku puffed out his chest, eyes shining as he pointed to his friends. “And that’s Eraserhead, the best underground hero, and All Might too!”
“My my, such important heroes,” the old woman laughed. “Well, my name is Recovery Girl, and my job happens to be fixing Pro Heroes when they get hurt, so maybe I could provide some assistance?”
Tenko watched, startled, as his baby cousin’s eyes widened, and Izuku grabbed Shouto’s hand. “All Might got hurt! Can you help fix him?”
Recovery Girl peered at the bandage on Shouto’s face, and approached him with a frown. “Oh dear, whatever happened here? May I take a look, little one?”
Shouto shifted his feet, but right as Natsuo started to step up beside him, he nodded. Careful hands took out the clips hidden by his hair and started to unwind the lengths of medical cloth, and Tenko barely held back the hiss of sympathetic pain as the blistered skin of Shouto’s injury became visible.
“Hmm... well, I’m afraid my Quirk won’t be able to prevent a scar, but at the very least I can speed this along its way to healing.” And with that, Recovery Girl bent forward to gently press her lips to a spot just above Shouto’s eye.
The little boy shuddered, leaning back against his brother, and then blinked with both eyes, the burned skin already fading from shiny to dull red. “Oh,” he murmured. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, my boy. Now, would you like a bit of candy?” Out of her pocket, Recovery Girl pulled a Pez dispenser of all things, the top shaped like the Number Six Hero Daybreak’s head.
Tenko had to fight very, very hard not to laugh, and from the corner of his eye saw Kansatsu in the same predicament. Shouto, though, just held out a hand very seriously to accept two little candies, and at Izuku’s encouraging nod popped them into his mouth. His eyebrows shot up to disappear behind his bangs. “It’s sweet!”
Recovery Girl just laughed and patted his head. “Of course, a good reward for well-behaved children. Now then, young man, why don’t I fix up that nasty bruise of yours as well?”
Izuku happily let her kiss the splotchy green and yellow skin on his forehead, and accepted his own candy pieces as the injury faded away. He then dragged Hitoshi forward too, claiming that Eraserhead got hurt fighting villains. Recovery Girl smiled and indulged them, kissing the third boy’s cheek before offering him some Pez as well.
And then it was Tenko’s turn.
“Dear me, you look a bit worse for wear, my boy,” the old woman tutted as she looked over his bruises and scabbing scrapes. “You’re going to feel a good bit more tired than the little ones when I use my Quirk, fair warning.”
“I am? Why?”
“Because I’m putting your own body’s energy to work healing you, which drains your stamina. Fixing up a burn and bruise already close to being healed on their own doesn’t take much, but multiple injuries, no matter how individually small, are going to have a bigger impact.”
“Oh.” Tenko let his nose scrunch up briefly. “Okay. Can I still have a piece of candy afterward?”
Recovery Girl smiled at him. “Of course you can.” Satisfied, Tenko let her kiss his forehead - and immediately sagged in place, suddenly ready for a nap. He felt Auntie Inko wrap her arms around him, and heard her talking briefly to Recovery Girl, and next he knew the boy was stretched out on the sofa, Izuku’s freckled face peering down at him.
“Hey squirt,” Tenko murmured, smiling at his baby cousin. “‘M fine.”
Izuku still looked worried, but he patted Tenko’s cheek. “You stay here, Tenko - we’ll protect you from the Ice Monster and Evil Eye.”
“Sounds good.”
“And Mama’s got your candy, too.”
“Even better.”
Chapter Text
About the time that Tenko was feeling rested enough to sit back up, Detective Tsukauchi meandered into the living room, frowning. The game instantly quieted, all participants pausing in order to stare at him.
“Is, everything alright, Detective?” Inko hesitantly asked.
“Hm? Oh!” The man seemed to realize what sort of mood he’d brought in, and instantly offered a reassuring smile. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to make anyone nervous. Things are fine.”
Natsuo took a nervous step forward. “You believed Touya and Fuyumi, then?”
“I did, kiddo,” Tsukauchi said. “Having a Lie Detector Quirk is good for that. I’ll personally be opening an investigation into Endeavor - and I promise to do everything I can to make certain none of you go back to him.” The white-haired boy slumped in place with a relieved sigh, as Shouto cautiously moved closer to place a hand on his brother’s wrist.
“Does this mean Shouchan can stay?” Izuku asked hopefully.
“Yes it does - All Might promised that all four of you can stay here, for as long as necessary.”
From the corner of his eye, Tenko saw his aunt bite at her lip. He knew as well as she did that keeping the truth about All Might and Uncle Toshinori a secret would be a lot harder for four whole extra kids around.
While Izuku and Hitoshi happily dragged the two Todoroki boys back into their game, Tsukauchi stepped closer to the sofa, Kansatsu a step behind him. “All Might is giving the other kids a chance to get their bearings back, but he asked me if you’d be willing to start setting up some sleeping arrangements for them, Midoriya-san.”
“Of course, I’d be happy to - and I’ve told you, Detective, any friend of To- of All Might’s is allowed to call me Inko.”
The man bowed his head with a slight grin. “Inko-san, then, if you’d care to call me Naomasa.”
Tenko scratched at his arm as he waited for the adults to finish exchanging their goodbyes, and then when Auntie Inko stood to go find some guest futons, he hurried after the detective towards the elevator. Or, tried to hurry - he nearly tripped over his own feet, and would have if Kansatsu hadn’t neatly tucked herself against his side.
“Detective Tsukauchi?” Startled, the man turned to glance down at them. “Are they going to have to go into the foster care system?”
“Hopefully not, Shimura-kun. I’ll have to involve the proper services, of course, but I think anyone assigned to this case will easily fold if All Might continues to offer to take care of the Todoroki siblings. With any luck, however,” he added, “We may be able to bring their mother back into the picture.”
“Is she okay?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not - that will be part of my investigation too.” Hand hovering over the button that would summon the elevator, Tsukauchi smiled. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask?”
Tenko didn’t, but he glanced at Kansatsu, just to make sure. After a moment’s hesitation, she opened her mouth to speak. “Do- do you really have a Quirk that can tell when people are lying?”
Hand coming back to his side, Tsukauchi knelt to better be able to meet her gaze. “I do. I get a sort of ping if someone tells me an outright falsehood, with varying subtle differences if they’re simply omitting details, or exaggerating, or even when they themselves are unsure if it’s a lie or not.”
“That sounds like a really good Quirk for a police officer,” Kansatsu said softly.
“It is. Has its drawbacks, of course, like any Quirk, but I’ve had a lot of success because of it. You have a sort of mind-reading Quirk, don’t you young Tamachi?”
Flinching in surprise, Kansatsu nodded. “I, um, I can see what’s in people’s heads. Active thoughts, idle ones, memory flashbacks - all sorts of layers.”
“I thought that was what Yagi mentioned... Can you see what I’m thinking right now?”
After a long pause, during which Tenko thought his friend might have stopped breathing, she answered in a wobbly voice. “Yes.”
Tsukauchi grinned. “Good. I realize you’ve yet to reach middle school, but in a few more years you might consider Kaiso High - they have some introductory law and criminal science courses that look good on an application to the police academy.” He stood back up, and finally pressed the elevator button, causing the doors to slide open behind him. “If and when you get that far, I’ll be happy to provide a letter of reference, too.”
Once the man was gone, Tenko turned a puzzled look onto his friend. Kansatsu, grinning from ear to ear, answered without even needing to be asked. “You can keep the heroics for yourself, Tenko - I’m going to be a police officer.”
-Double-
All Might eventually left, and Uncle Toshi reappeared after escorting Kansatsu and Hitoshi home for the night. Auntie Inko, upon realizing that there were next to no supplies on hand for hosting multiple guests, wound up raiding other parts of the Tower for blankets, pillows, sleep shirts, and spare toothbrushes. Dinner was ordered in, a movie put on - a children’s fantasy cartoon, as opposed to anything Hero or All Might related - and eventually, the kids put to bed.
Two futons in the guest bedroom laid side by side, and the Todoroki siblings formed a big pile right in the very center. Not to be outdone, Izuku insisted he and Tenko had to spend the night with Inko and Toshinori, too, resulting in a second family cuddle pile in the main bedroom.
(He never got to do this with Father and Mommy and Hana, at least not that he could remember...)
Tenko decided afterward that he quite enjoyed the experience. Inko smiled when he told her so the next morning as they were getting breakfast started.
“We’ll have to do it more often, then,” she replied.
“You think Uncle Toshi will want to?”
“Oh yes - I’m pretty sure he liked it just as much as you, sweetheart.”
Tenko beamed. “Does that mean we’ll come over more often? Or will he come to our apartment for sleepovers?”
“Well... I expect we’ll visit here, Tenko. With all the media stories about us, it might not be safe for Toshinori to come see us at the apartment.” Inko frowned, pensive. “It might not be safe for us at the apartment anymore, either...”
“What do you mean?”
Taking a deep breath, his aunt turned down the heat on the stove before crouching to place her hands on Tenko’s shoulders. “Sweetheart... villains watch the news too.”
And just like that, it felt as if the floor fell out from beneath his feet.
-Double-
“What does your uncle actually do, Tenko?” Fuyumi asked, picking through the box of colored pencils.
“Uh... He, um, he’s kind of like, All Might’s back-up? He does paperwork and things...”
“What’s his Quirk?” Natsuo tipped his head to one side, gazing at Tenko as he fiddled with a squishy ball thing. “Is it cool? Does he ever help fight villains, like a sidekick?”
“No, um, he doesn’t have a Quirk.”
Touya shifted at that, rolling from his back onto his side. “Izuku doesn’t either, right?”
“Right.” Scratching at his knee, Tenko avoided meeting any of their eyes. “He gets picked on a lot at school because of that.”
“But you have a Quirk, don’t you? That’s why you’ve gotta wear those gloves.” Natsuo’s oh so helpful pointing got the blue-haired boy to clench his fists, and press his knuckles into his legs hard enough to leave indents.
(They’ll call him Scary, a Villain, not fit to be around decent folk-)
“Yeah. I disintegrate stuff. When Izuku and I were stuck under that rubble, I tried using it to dig us out before Thirteen and All Might got there.”
Natsuo’s face lit up, while his older siblings both looked impressed. “Oh, wow! Are you gonna become a Rescue Hero?” When Tenko nodded, he grinned even wider. “That’s amazing! I wanna be a doctor when I grow up, so I can help people too.”
Almost unconsciously, Tenko found himself smiling back. “That’s awesome. And your Quirk would be really helpful if someone came in with, like, a fever, or heatstroke, and you needed to cool them down.”
“Yeah!”
After that, the two boys kept brainstorming things they could do, or how different Quirks could achieve similar things, while Touya lounged silently on the sofa and Fuyumi diligently filled in her coloring book.
Inko had gone down to the Tower’s cafeteria to fetch food to restock the apartment with, and taken Shouto and Izuku with her so the five year olds could stretch their legs. Toshinori remained on the same floor as the other kids... somewhere. Probably in his private office, though Tenko wouldn’t swear to it. He hadn’t really talked to either of the adults since his aunt dropped her bombshell revelation that morning, but thankfully, the knot of anxiety in his stomach loosened the longer he hung out with the Todoroki siblings.
They were suddenly interrupted, though, when Uncle Toshi came striding through the room towards the elevator, wearing an expression as grim as Tenko had ever seen on his face.
“I need you all to stay here,” the man ordered, as he stepped into the elevator car. “Do not come downstairs for any reason, do you understand?”
“Yes, Yagi-san.”
“What’s wrong, Uncle Toshi?”
“Nothing you need to be worried about my boy, just stay here.” With that, the doors slid closed, leaving the room in silence.
At least until Tenko scrambled to turn on the tv.
“What are you doing?” Fuyumi asked as he frantically jabbed at the remote.
“Some of the channels on here are set to the Tower’s security system - if I pull up the right one, we can- there! Oh.”
On screen, a slanted view of the main lobby appeared, as seen by one of the cameras positioned to watch over the secretary’s desk. And standing front and center, looking furious in his full flaming uniform, was Endeavor.
Instantly, Touya was on his feet, hands reaching for his younger siblings. “We need to get out of here.”
“You need to stay put,” Tenko ordered, not ever bothering to look away from the television. “Just watch.” Sure enough, a moment later, from around the corner leading to their apartment’s private elevator, All Might appeared. He wasn’t smiling.
Endeavor turned to face the Number One Pro as he approached, arms coming down from their folded position to clench at his sides. All Might didn’t stop until they were nearly chest to chest, and only after a long pause did he speak. Baring his teeth, Endeavor snarled something back, but All Might just arched an eyebrow.
And pointed up at the security camera.
“Is he giving us away...?” Fuyumi’s voice trembled as she clung to Touya.
Tenko just smirked. “Nah. He’s just reminding your old man that they’re being recorded - if Endeavor tries anything, it’ll be used as evidence against him.”
“Oh,” Natsuo breathed. “All Might’s awesome.”
Unfortunately, just as it seemed like the stand-off was about to end, one of the public elevator doors opened on the other side of the lobby, and Inko stepped out with Izuku and Shouto.
Touya made a strangled noise. Tenko felt his heart skip a beat.
His aunt immediately noticed the danger, because she dropped the packages in her arms in order to grab for the boys standing at her side. Endeavor, as soon as he spotted them, side-stepped All Might in order to charge forward. Izuku moved to stand in front of his friend, even as Inko’s arms encircled them both, and the blaze of Endeavor’s flames flaring outward caused the camera view to flicker alarmingly.
Then All Might seized the other Pro’s shoulder, and easily tossed the man across the length of the lobby.
Visiting civilians and security guards alike scrambled to get out of the way. Almost as quickly as he finished skidding across the polished floor, Endeavor was back on his feet, and visibly shouting at the Symbol of Peace. All Might simply moved to stand directly in front of Inko and the boys, blocking them from view as he sank into a fighting stance.
That at least seemed to give Endeavor pause, as he reined back his temper and attempted to school his expression. It was clear he was still seething, but the man didn’t look as if he were about to set the building on fire anymore.
The security guards tentatively gathered around, and a few minutes later, escorted Endeavor as he stomped out the front doors. Only then did All Might relax, and turn around to help Inko up, taking Shouto and Izuku into his arms as he did so. When the four of them started heading for the private elevator’s alcove, Tenko hastily turned off the television.
A couple minutes later, the doors in the apartment slid open, letting the nervously waited children see details they couldn’t spot on the security camera footage: how Inko was shaking, and Izuku was crying, and Shouto had gone even paler than usual. Even All Might seemed subdued, his smile lacking it’s usual strength as he carried the five year olds over to the sofa.
When he reached it, Fuyumi was there in an instant, arms out-stretched to take Shouto. Her other brothers crowded in as well, and they all made a Todoroki pile at the end of the couch. Inko, likewise, took Izuku into her lap when she sat down, Tenko clambering up to press against her side a moment later.
“I need to head back down to ensure everything is secure,” All Might said, glancing over all of them with a strained expression. “I promise, we’ll tighten security in future, and make certain he isn’t able to enter the building again.”
“Thank you,” Touya whispered, briefly looking up, before ducking his head again. “For kicking him out like that.”
“Of course, my boy. But I do need to apologize, because he never should have gotten so far in the first place.”
“That’s- just, fix whatever you need to. Okay?”
“Of course.”
After that, All Might departed, and everything was quiet except for Izuku’s muffled sniffling and hiccups.
Later, after lunch and dinner and board games in between, after Uncle Toshi came back to announce that Endeavor would no longer be able to get within ten feet of the Tower doors, as everyone was preparing for bed, Touya pulled Tenko aside for a minute.
“You said your uncle doesn’t have a Quirk,” the fourteen year old said quietly, so no one else down the hallway could hear. “But that’s not true, is it? He turns into All Might.”
Tenko kept very, very still. He didn’t say a word.
“He went into the elevator, but All Might was the one who came out of it, wearing the same clothes. They’re never in the same room together, either, and All Might acts as familiar with your family as Yagi-san does.”
Gulping, Tenko glanced around before he responded in a harsh whisper. “You can’t tell anybody - it’s supposed to be a secret.”
With that admission, the intent expression on Touya’s face eased. “Of course I won’t - he’s keeping us safe from Endeavor. The least I can do to repay that is keep my mouth shut.”
Tenko sighed in relief.
“But just so you know, Fuyumi was the one to point out the elevator thing to me. And don’t think Natsuo didn’t notice, either.”
“Argh.” Groaning, the blue-haired boy pushed both hands against his face. “I shouldn’t have turned on the tv.”
“What, you think we wouldn’t have figured it out if you hadn’t?”
“Well it obviously helped...”
Touya snickered, and reached over to ruffle Tenko’s hair, which threw the younger boy for a loop. “C’mon, we better get back before they miss us.”
-Double-
Kansatsu stared at him silently for a good minute when she and Hitoshi were next able to come over. Tenko fidgeted anxiously, until he was able to grab his best friend and drag her into the kitchen to talk. “I messed up.”
“They haven’t been here three full days yet, and you already spilled your uncle’s secret,” the girl said flatly. “‘Messed up’ is an understatement, Tenko.”
“I know, but I didn’t think about it in the moment! What do I do now?”
“Tell your aunt and uncle, so they can have an actual talk with Touya and the others.”
Tenko bit his lip. Kansatsu’s eyes narrowed, and after a moment of further studying the mess inside his head, she gasped. “You- you might have to move?”
“I don’t want to,” the boy said miserably. “But if villains who hate All Might figure out where we are-”
“Then you have to,” Kansatsu finished for him, unhappy understanding taking over her face. “Tenko, I’m so sorry...”
“Yeah, me too.”
“And you don’t know where you guys would go, yet?”
“No. I haven’t- talking about it makes it real, y’know? And part of me keeps hoping it won’t happen, that we can go home tomorrow and I’ll get stared at during school worse than usual but then things will go back to normal.” Scratching at both forearms, Tenko kept his gaze pointed at the floor. “I don’t want to move away from you.”
Kansatsu grabbed at his hands, stopping the scratching. “I’ll come visit All Might Tower every weekend if I have to.”
“...thanks, Kansa.”
“What are best friends for?”
Notes:
*Casually points to the Next Work in Series button.* I couldn't wait however many chapters it's gonna take to get to Izuku's high school years, so you guys get to go enjoy a bit of an advanced preview, so to speak. >:3
Chapter 8: Fore and Hindsight
Chapter Text
“Tenko? Can you come out to the living room in a minute?” Toothbrush still sticking out of his mouth, the boy turned to blink at his aunt in the bathroom doorway and make an affirmative noise. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
As soon as he’d finished up at the sink, Tenko ran a comb through his hair to somewhat arrange the fluffy mass, and then jogged out to see what he’d been summoned for. In the living room, standing next to the couch where Aunt Inko and Uncle Toshi sat, was a stern looking man in a pale suit.
“Ah, Tenko my boy - this is a good friend of mine: Sasaki Mirai, also known as-”
“Sir Nighteye!” The ten year old interrupted with a grin. “You’re cool.”
“Thank you,” the Pro replied, one corner of his mouth briefly twitching upwards. “And you must be the young Shimura I’ve heard so much about over the last few years.”
Surprised, Tenko glanced at Uncle Toshi, whose face had turned bright red. “You have?”
“Oh, yes - you and your cousin are often the only topic of discussion Yagi-san ever wants to engage in when off-duty.”
Auntie Inko raised a hand to carefully hide her mouth, but Tenko could tell she was smiling by the way her eyes crinkled at the corners. “Remember to breathe, Toshinori.”
The blonde man coughed, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his head. “Well, anyway, Tenko - before we get you and Izuku to school today, I was hoping you’d agree to let Sir Nighteye use his Quirk to look into your future, just so we know if things are going to go well or not.”
Tenko blinked, but nodded. “Okay. How does it work?”
“It’s very simple,” Nighteye said, kneeling in front of him. “We shake hands, and then I’ll be able to see everything that’s going to happen around you during the next twenty-four hours. Alright?”
“Mm-hm.” Reaching out his hand, Tenko watched as the man carefully grasped it, and his eyes changed colors, darkening to black with purple irises. “Huh. I’d always wondered where your name came from.”
“I’m told it’s quite a startling effect,” Nighteye said absently, eyebrows furrowing as he looked at something in Tenko’s future.
“Nah, not really. My best friend Kansa’s eyes are solid black, all the way through. She can see inside people’s minds, too!”
“Now that sounds very- useful...”
Inko and Toshinori both sat up a little straighter as the man trailed off. “Sasaki-san? Is something wrong?”
“...yes, sorry - no villain attacks to be ready for. There will be some trouble with reporters sniffing around when school gets out, but nothing seriously dangerous.” Both Tenko’s aunt and uncle immediately sighed in relief, his right hand curling around her left, but Nighteye still looked concerned about something. “Yagi-san... Gran Torino is going to arrive today.”
Uncle Toshi instantly tensed. “Did you see when?”
“No, just that he’ll be here when the boys come back after school.”
At that, it was Auntie Inko’s turn to frown. “Back here? I- I’d hoped we would go home tonight... Not that it hasn’t been lovely getting to spend so much time with you, Toshinori, just-”
“I know, Inko,” he reassured her. “I understand. We’ll still go by your apartment to check on things, at least.”
“Thank you. And thank you too, Sasaki-san - I know you try to save your Quirk for important things, but-”
“But this was important,” the man cut in smoothly. “No one wants your boys to come to any harm, Mrs. Midoriya. To that end, I suggest you still find a new school to enroll Izuku in as soon as possible.”
“W-what? Why? What did you see?”
“A boy named ‘Katsuki’ going too far with his Quirk. And from the looks of things, not for the first time.”
“Kacchan?” Everyone jumped, before turning to look across the room, where a wide-eyed Izuku stood in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “Where’s Kacchan going?”
“Izu,” Tenko said slowly. “Has Katsuki been picking on you worse than usual?”
The younger boy paled, glanced at the adults, and frantically shook his head. “N-no! Kacchan just- he’s just being Kacchan!”
Tenko opened his mouth to say just being a bully, but stalled as Uncle Toshi stood and stepped past him. He moved to sit in front of the five year old, who already had tears welling up in his eyes. “Izuku. Are you being hurt?” After a long moment, a tiny nod. “Then it needs to stop,” Toshinori said simply.
Izuku sniffled, prompting big arms to wrap around him in a tight hug, which finally tipped the little boy into properly crying. From down the hall came the sound of a door opening, and a moment later young Shouto appeared, eyes wide in alarm and locked on his new friend. Toshinori noticed him, and held out a hand with an encouraging smile. “Izuku’s alright, young Shouto, but I think he needs more reassurance.”
Prompt accepted, the other boy inched closer until he stood right next to the pair, close enough to start gently petting Izuku’s hair.
Serious as the situation was, Tenko couldn’t help but snort, though he tried to muffle it. He saw Nighteye glance down at him curiously. “Apparently my cousin is now a cat,” he informed the Pro. It took a moment, but then Nighteye had to muffle a chuckle of his own.
-Double-
Arriving at school in a nondescript car from the All Might Agency’s vehicle fleet, Tenko cast a quick glance around to try and spot Kansatsu. No bob of blue-green hair was to be found, however, and he resigned himself to walking Izuku to the younger boy’s class by himself. “You come find me if there’s any trouble, okay? I don’t care what kind or when, Izu, just come.”
“Okay, Tenko.” The five year old nodded seriously, clutching tight to the straps of his All Might backpack. They soon reached the classroom door - and thankfully, two familiar figures were waiting just outside of it.
“Hey, dummy,” Kansatsu greeted as Hitoshi darted over to hug Izuku. “You’re later than I would have thought.”
Tenko shrugged. “They figured it would be easier to get here closer to when class starts - less time for kids to come pester us.” What he didn’t mention was Nighteye’s visit and the events of that morning, but from the way his friend’s eyes narrowed, he figured she saw the details just fine. “Remember what I said, Izuku!”
“Come find you if any trouble happens,” the little boy repeated, already holding Hitoshi’s hand and looking a lot calmer about entering his classroom. “Bye, Tenko!”
“See ya, squirt.” With that, Tenko and Kansatsu headed off for the other side of the school building, where the older student classrooms were located. So close to the tardy bell, there were few kids still in the hallways, but those that were blatantly stared. Already feeling itchy, Tenko tried rubbing his arm against his side as subtly as he could. Kansatsu interrupted the movement by linking elbows with him.
“Katsuki’s gonna be causing trouble, huh,” she muttered as they walked. “Typical.”
“I know. But what I can’t figure out is if it’s just the usual, and Nighteye’s reaction was just because he doesn’t know that, or if we’re looking at something worse.”
“Guess we’ll have to wait and see... Couldn’t he have used his Quirk on Izuku to find out specifically?”
“Nope, it only works on one person a day.”
Kansatsu’s frown deepened, but then they had to go silent, arriving at and slipping through their classroom door. Inside, the chatter of their fellow students immediately died down, and even their teacher paused what she was doing to stare at the pair.
Tenko’s skin crawled.
(Make it stop, make them look away, too many, too many, they’ll see what he is, they’ll see what he DID-)
“Good morning, everyone,” Kansatsu said evenly, before practically dragging Tenko to their usual spots at the back of the room. Whispers started up, but at least Segaku-sensei seemed to snap back to herself, because she called for everyone to settle down and get out their homework assignments.
-Double-
Awful as it was to be watched every second of the school day, Tenko survived, and with only minimal damage from scratching at himself, thanks to Kansatsu.
He did manage to draw blood from a spot on the back of his hand during lunch, when half the cafeteria was staring at him at any given moment (too many eyes, they see him, they see how wrong he is), but again, Kansatsu had the situation under control. The girl pulled out a packet of tissues from one pocket, and a little tin case of bandaids from the other, and she wasted no time in cleaning him up as Tenko watched in bemusement.
“My hero,” he tried to laugh when Kansatsu finished.
“Police officer,” she corrected. “You’re the one who’s going to be a hero, which means I need practice at cleaning up your messes - not that I don’t already have plenty...”
“What’s that supposed to mean-?”
They finished lunch while giggling, and for a little while Tenko got to forget about the stares. By the time class ended for the day, however, he was past ready to dive headfirst into a car and leave, whether it was to go home or back to All Might Tower or wherever.
So of course, that’s when the mess with Katsuki happened.
Tenko and Kansatsu had been going around the outside of the school building to get to the doors where the five and six year olds were sent out, only to freeze as Hitoshi barreled around the corner ahead of them, dragging a crying Izuku by one hand.
“Izu?!”
“Hitoshi, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry!” The purple haired boy gasped when he ran up to them, the other five year old crying too hard to speak. “I had to! He was hurting Izu!”
Crouching, Tenko gently took hold of his cousin’s other arm, to inspect the angry burn marks covering it. “Did Katsuki do this?” The older boy demanded, already knowing the answer.
Sure enough, Izuku nodded, chin wobbling as he tried to calm down. “He- I-”
“He wanted Izu to say he doesn’t really know All Might,” Hitoshi explained, speaking louder than Tenko had every heard him before. “And when he didn’t, Katsuki got mad. I- I used my Quirk on him.”
Kansatsu placed a hand on top of her foster brother’s head, tilting it back so their gazes could meet. “You made him let go of Izuku?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you did good.” Hitoshi visibly slumped in relief, and leaned against her as his adrenaline high started to fade.
“We should probably still get out of here, though,” Tenko said, tucking Izuku under his arm. Kansatsu nodded, and they hurried towards the school gates.
Unfortunately, just like Sir Nighteye had seen, there were some people with recorders and cameras lingering on the sidewalk. One of them spotted the small group of kids, and her sudden shout attracted the attention of all the rest.
“Do we run?” Tenko hesitated to answer Kansatsu’s question, because while his first instinct was to say yes, they were supposed to wait for Uncle Toshi and Aunt Inko to come pick them up.
Thankfully, in the few moments he dithered, a tall figure stepped in-between them and the incoming reporters, flashing his badge as he did so. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you fine folks the potential penalties for addressing questions to children without the consent of their parents and legal guardians,” Detective Tsukauchi said, in a voice that sounded mild but carried a backbone of steel. The wall of microphones and camera lenses halted, and he took the opportunity to turn and sweep the four kids straight to a waiting car.
One of the back doors opened, and Inko waved to them, ushering the little group to clamber in. “I’m sorry, we were going to try and lure them away, but then you all just appeared so suddenly- Izuku! Oh my goodness, baby, come here, let me see that-”
With his aunt fussing over Izuku’s injured arm, Hitoshi and Kansatsu doing what they could to explain, Tenko leaned forward to peer into the front seat. Tsukauchi smiled at him from where he sat on the passenger’s side, but Toshinori looked unfortunately grim where he clutched the steering wheel.
“You look like you did when Endeavor showed up at the Tower,” the boy noted aloud. “Do you make that face just for him, or is something else wrong?”
Uncle Toshi cast a brief smile at him as he pulled out into the road. “I wish it was just reserved for Endeavor, my boy, but no - I think this must be the face I make whenever guests I don’t particularly care to deal with show up.”
“Who is this Grand Tomato guy Sir Nighteye mentioned, anyway?”
Both men tried without success to mute their laughter. “Gran Torino, Tenko. And he’s... He was a very good friend of your grandmother’s, who finished training me after she died.”
Tenko went quiet. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
Toshinori clearly sensed his confusion, because he twisted one hand around to ruffle Tenko’s hair. “Don’t worry about trying to figure out how you feel about him until you meet the man, alright kiddo?”
“Okay.”
-Double-
Gran Torino, it turned out, was a crotchety old sourpuss who yelled at Uncle Toshi for not keeping in touch, turned remarkably subdued when he was introduced to Aunt Inko and Tenko, and grumbled over Izuku’s burned arm.
“You getting in fights with villains already, little one?”
Sadly, his attempt at hitting it off with the green-haired boy just caused a new round of tears, as Izuku howled that Kacchan was going to be a hero, and Hitoshi argued that he was a bully, and Inko and Toshinori tried to calm both of them down. Tenko and Kansatsu exchanged a weary glance, before they each caught one of the bewildered Gran’s hands and dragged him off into the kitchen.
“It’s not your fault,” the girl informed him once they were removed enough from the wailing to be able to speak. “Today’s just been a mess for everyone. I’m Tamachi Kansatsu, by the way.”
The retired Pro grunted, looking her up and down once. “You’re a friend, I take it.”
“Mm-hm. Tenko and I hide in bushes together.”
That prompted a raised eyebrow, and when it was turned in his direction, Tenko shrugged. “Easiest way to avoid getting stared at.”
“Hn. Suppose I can’t argue with that.” The crying in the other room started to die down, and Gran shifted on his feet. “Alright, where do you all keep the tea fixings around here?”
“The teapot’s over here, and the leaves are up in those cabinets - we’ll have to get a stepstool-”
“No need.” With a burst of air, Gran jumped, catching one of the cabinet door handles and easily hanging in place as he opened the next on over to rifle through. The kids stared. When he came back down with another gust of wind, it was with a grin. “What?”
“...please tell me you’ve jumped high enough to kick a villain in the face before,” Tenko quietly pleaded.
“Of course I have! First trick I use when I’m up against someone who thinks being short makes me easy pickings...” As he went about filling the teapot and turning on the stove, the retired Pro started to regale the pair with stories, first about himself, and then including Shimura Nana, and finally some that had Toshinori in them too.
“...and then I jumped straight up, yelling ‘I’m alive!’ Scared the kid so bad, he activated his Quirk, puffing up on instinct - first time his stupid hair ever sprung up into those bunny-bangs!” Kansatsu snorted, and Tenko giggled into his fist. “Nana got such a laugh out of it, she insisted he keep doing the same thing every time from then on!”
“She did not.” The kids jumped at Uncle Toshi’s unexpected voice. The man himself leaned against one side of the doorway, smiling and looking like he’d been there for a few minutes. “I wanted to get her to smile again, which was why I kept doing it of my own accord, thank you very much.”
Gran harrumphed, pouring steaming tea into several different cups. “Those brats settled down yet, kid?”
“Yes, we wound up getting them to take a nap on the sofa. There will undoubtedly be a request for snacks when they wake up, however.”
“Figures. I brought senbei with me, if that’ll do.”
“That- thank you, sensei, that would be fine.”
As Kansatsu followed after Gran with tea for Inko, Tenko paused by his uncle. “Where are the Todoroki kids? I thought the sound of Izuku and Hitoshi crying would’ve drawn Shouto out again...”
“Ah, that was why Tsukauchi came back to the Tower with us - he’s taken the lot of them to visit their mother. They’ll be back this evening, don’t worry.”
“M’kay.” Squinting upwards, Tenko stretched to poke a finger at Toshinori’s midsection. “Are you okay?”
Laughing, the man crouched to give him a quick hug. “I’m fine, my boy. This is, going a lot better than I’d anticipated, honestly.”
“He yelled at you for ten minutes.”
“And then he entertained you and young Tamachi with stories about Nana,” Uncle Toshi said with a smile. “I’d put up with being yelled at for hours so you can continue to enjoy that, Tenko.”
“...you’re weird.”
“Very. Now come, let’s enjoy our tea before it gets cold.”
Chapter 9: Fallout
Chapter Text
Unfortunately for Tenko, his second day back at school was even worse than the first - because some students decided to go past staring and actually talk to him.
“Do you really know All Might?”
“Is he your dad?”
“Do you have his autograph?”
“Will he come to the school?”
“Can we meet him?”
It. Was. A. Nightmare.
At lunch, Segaku-sensei gave her permission for Tenko and Kansatsu to eat their lunch in the classroom, safe from stares and questions alike. She even did her best to hold back too, focusing on her own bento and grading the history essays the students had turned in that morning.
Of course, that was when Kansatsu dropped her own bit of unhappy news.
“My foster parents want to come with us some time when Hitoshi and I visit,” the girl muttered with a disgruntled expression.
“They finally put two and two together?”
“Mm-hm. Mrs. Hadaare is worried about not appearing neglectful, but Mr. Hadaare just wants to ladder climb - he thinks establishing a connection to All Might and talking about it will get him a promotion at work.”
Tenko frowned. “Isn’t he the assistant manager at a shoe store?”
“Yeah.”
“...how the heck-?”
“I just see what’s in his head, Tenko, I don’t pretend to understand how the thoughts got there in the first place.”
After class finished for the day, the two of them went straight to the principal’s office, where Auntie Inko and Detective Tsukauchi were waiting with Izuku and Hitoshi. The six of them exited the school building together, and thankfully were able to get to Tsukauchi’s car without trouble, from students or reporters.
“Well?” Tenko asked as soon as they’d all buckled up.
His aunt sighed. “Hitoshi isn’t in any trouble, because apparently, Katsuki didn’t tell any of the teachers about being Mind Controlled.”
“He didn’t? Why not?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart, but we’re going to call it a good thing and leave the matter alone.”
Tenko decided not to waste time arguing. “And the Todoroki kids?”
“Doing fine at the moment,” Tsukauchi said as he turned the car through an intersection. “There’s going to be a social worker coming to visit them this afternoon, and I think there’s a strong possibility we’ll be able to reinstate their mother’s custody within a few weeks.”
“The visit went okay, then?” The previous night, all four siblings had arrived back at All Might Tower pretty late and went straight to bed. Tenko had only briefly seen and waved to Fuyumi that morning, before hurrying to get ready for school.
“There were... a couple of rough moments, but overall, yes, I’d say it went well.”
“That’s good.”
Soon, the detective pulled up outside a familiar apartment building. He’d barely put the car in park before Tenko was yanking on the door handle and tumbling out onto the sidewalk.
“Sweetheart, slow down!” His aunt laughed, helping Izuku and Hitoshi unbuckle their seatbelts.
“No way!” The boy called back, bouncing impatiently as Kansatsu followed him out of the car. “We’re finally home!”
“I promise it hasn’t changed in the week we’ve been away, Tenko!” Even so, Inko waved him and Kansatsu on, and they wasted no time in charging off. Through the front gate, around the corner, up the stairs and down the hall they ran, laughing as it turned into a race to see who could arrive at the door of the Midoriya apartment first.
That race came to a startled halt, however, when Tenko glanced up and noticed someone waiting at said door. He snagged Kansatsu’s sleeve as they both skidded to a halt, just out of arm’s reach of the surprised man. There were a few moments of tense staring, before the boy spoke. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello to you too, Tenko,” the man said, blinking. “I just stopped by to see how- how everyone’s doing. I saw you guys on the news last week - are you okay?”
“Fine,” Tenko replied stiffly. Kansatsu’s hand had shifted to hold onto his own, squeezing in reassurance. The man noticed, and didn’t approve, if his sudden frown was any indication.
Behind them, Inko finally came around the corner with the younger boys, and froze when she saw who was waiting. “Hisashi?”
“Hi, Inko.”
-Double-
The Midoriya apartment remained nearly dead silent as Inko prepared tea in the kitchen, and Hisashi sat across from four very intent gazes. Izuku’s, at least, was curious - Tenko was wary, Hitoshi suspicious, and Kansatsu outright glaring. The man coughed, tugged at the collar of his shirt, and attempted a smile. “So. Izuku! You’re five whole years old, huh?”
Suddenly shy, the green-haired boy just nodded, and pressed himself a little closer against Tenko’s side. The older boy immediately moved an arm to wrap around his baby cousin’s shoulders.
Hisashi’s face got a little strained, but he went on regardless. “Good, that’s good. So, what Quirk did you get?”
At that, Izuku hunched in on himself. Tenko rubbed a hand up and down his arm, and answered for him. “He doesn’t have one. The doctor said he’s Quirkless.”
The strained expression worsened. “Oh. Uh. I’m sorry, that’s-”
“Here we are,” Inko announced, striding back into the room with a tray in her hands. Setting it down, she handed out cups and juice packets respectively, before sitting on the sofa with the children to stare down her ex-husband. “Now then, Hisashi. Why are you here?”
“Inko,” he tried to laugh. “Can’t a man come visit the son he didn’t know he had?”
“You could have called first.”
“I tried, but I kept getting your voicemail. And, honestly Inko, don’t you think I’m the one who deserved a phone call long before now?”
The woman took a deep breath before answering. “I’m not going to let you guilt-trip me, Hisashi. What’s done is done. What do you want to do moving forward?”
“Well, I- I want to get to know my son, of course!”
“No you don’t.”
Everyone turned to stare at the girl sitting on the left side of the sofa, her glare even more intense than before. “Kansa?” Tenko prompted.
“You came here hoping to find something to justify filing for custody of Izuku,” his friend seethed, “But now that you know he’s Quirkless you don’t think he’d be worth the trouble.”
Tenko stiffened, Izuku made a pained sound, and Inko rose to her feet, eyes flashing. “Get out, Hisashi.”
The man gaped, but made no move to flee. “Wha- Inko! You can’t possibly believe that-”
“I would believe anything Kansa-chan told me,” the woman said coldly.
“Without even giving me the benefit of the doubt?! We were married for almost three years, Inko-!”
“And you’ve been gone for nearly five!”
At that, Hisashi finally grew angry himself. “I was only gone because you ordered me to leave! But if I’d known about Izuku-”
“What, Hisashi? You would have gotten over your ridiculous fear of Tenko?” Inko demanded. “Or would you have just pushed harder for me to give him up?”
“His Quirk is dangerous, you can’t deny that.”
The woman downright growled at that. “Get out, Hisashi. Don’t make me say it again.”
“Not until we get something sorted out, for Izuku’s sake!”
“And it’s for the sake of both Izuku and Tenko that you are going to leave! Get OUT!”
Hisashi tried to argue further, but in that moment the front door of the apartment slammed open, shaking the walls with its impact as a heavily muscled figure stepped inside. “Inko?!”
“All Might,” she greeted tersely, not taking her eyes off of the suddenly pale Hisashi. “I don’t believe you’ve met my ex-husband. Would you kindly do me a favor and escort him out?”
“Of course,” the Number One Hero said, striding forward, with his usual smile taking on a rather terrifying glint. “If you’d come with me, Mr. Midoriya...” Hisashi didn’t have much choice, seeing as All Might gripped the back of his jacket and practically lifted the smaller man off his feet on their way back to the door.
Once the both of them had disappeared from sight, Kansatsu leaned forward to meet Tenko’s gaze. “You know he was wrong about you, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” The boy glanced down, poking at the fluffy green head of hair firmly tucked against his ribs. “You okay, Izu?”
“I don’t think I liked him,” came the muffled reply.
“That’s alright, I don’t really like him either.”
Inko sighed then, and slowly sat back down before reaching to hug both boys. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” They stayed like that until Uncle Toshi came back, as himself rather than All Might.
“Is everyone okay?” He asked, eyes scanning worriedly over them all.
“I think we’ll be fine, Toshinori. It was, just a bit of an emotional shock,” Inko reassured him, holding out a hand. The man took it gently and knelt next to the sofa, scrunching down so he was on the same level as the still-hiding five year old.
Izuku turned his head slightly, one cheek smushed against Tenko’s chest as he peered back. “Hi.”
“Hello.”
“Is he gone?”
Toshinori nodded. “Mm-hm. Got in his car and drove off.”
“Good.” Izuku finally let go of Tenko, instead reaching to wrap his arms around Toshinori’s neck. The man carefully hugged him back, closing his eyes as he buried his nose in Izuku’s hair.
Tenko looked up at his aunt, who had a soft expression as she gazed at the pair. When small fingers tugged on his shirt sleeve, he glanced back down to meet Hitoshi’s curious gaze.
“Can’t Toshi-san be Izu’s dad?” The little boy asked.
And just like that, both adults in the room were red-faced and sputtering. Tenko’s eyebrows shot up, as Kansatsu grinned.
“Good idea, Hitoshi,” she said. “He practically is already, after all.”
Toshinori gaped, flustered beyond words, and Inko wasn’t much better. “Kansa-chan, that’s not- you can’t just- relationships are a little more complicated than that, sweetheart.”
Kansatsu simply gazed back, one eyebrow raised. “And that’s what grown-ups always say to try and change the subject.”
Inko tried to reply, but only a strained sound came out. She turned to look beseechingly at the man still kneeling beside the sofa, but had her attention captured by Izuku instead. Izuku, who was looking up with the most desperately hopeful expression Tenko had ever seen on his cousin’s face. One little hand moved, to clutch at Toshinori’s shirt collar and pull until the blue eyes met green. “Please?”
Toshinori glanced back up at Inko. “Well... I certainly wouldn’t mind...”
“Ecstatic,” Kansatsu coughed, smirking when Tenko shot her a look.
Inko’s face softened even further. “I- I suppose I really wouldn’t either.”
“Delighted,” came another cough.
Neither of the adults seemed to notice Tenko’s friend, but he made sure to catch her gaze and think as loudly as possible that it was time for her to hush. Kansatsu’s smirk widened into a grin, but she nonetheless subsided.
Uncle Toshi had to leave not long afterward, to return to the patrol he’d been on when Inko called him about Hisashi’s presence. Before slipping out the door, he ruffled Hitoshi’s hair and patted Kansatsu on the back, hugged both Tenko and Izuku, and kissed Auntie Inko. It was only a quick peck on the cheek, but both of them blushed as the kids all giggled.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” the man promised.
“We’ll be expecting you,” Inko smiled back. She finally closed the door when he stepped away, then leaned against it to let out a deep breath. “Alright, who wants katsudon for dinner?”
Izuku cheered, and raced off towards the kitchen with Hitoshi a step behind. Kansatsu and Tenko retrieved their backpacks, intent on getting to the homework that had been neglected so far. Eyeing the sudden bounce in his aunt’s step, Tenko leaned over to bump shoulders with his best friend. “I owe you one.”
“You owe me a lot,” the girl replied. “But help me with the math assignment, and I’ll call us even for now.”
“Deal.”
That night, when Inko left to drive the foster siblings home, and Tenko set about helping his baby cousin get ready for bed, Izuku looked up at him with a nervous expression.
“Tenko,” he asked, “Is it okay if I call Uncle Toshi ‘Daddy’ tomorrow?”
The older boy paused to consider it, before smiling. “Y’know, Izu, I think he’d really like that.”
-Double-
In a dark space illuminated only by a single television screen, an elegantly dressed man watched the news play silently. Clips were repeated of reporters surrounding the Symbol of Peace as he went about his day, intervening in emergencies and bringing down criminals. Every time, questions were shouted about his supposed family, yet All Might just laughed and waved them off before jumping away.
Each time, though, his trademark smile grew just a tad more strained.
A quiet knock sounded at the door. “Enter.”
Slipping inside, the man made of pure darkness came to a stop just behind and to one side of the room’s other inhabitant. “Your orders, Sensei?”
“...tomorrow, I think. Pass the word along.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Kurogiri?” The man turned his head, just enough for the light of the television to gleam off of his wide grin. “Make sure the children’s room is appropriately stocked, will you?”
“Of course.”
Chapter 10: Taken
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“‘M really getting tired of this,” Tenko grumbled as he and Kansatsu awkwardly settled themselves behind a screen of bushes. Their old spot wasn’t quite so perfect anymore, both children having grown larger in the years since they first met, but it was still the best hiding place on the playground.
His best friend grimaced, looking equally frustrated. “I hate to say it, but I don’t think some of them are going to give up until they get answers out of you.”
“Well they can’t have any,” the boy replied, scowling. “It’s our family, not theirs. What makes any of them think they’re allowed to stick their noses in?”
Kansatsu blinked, then smiled, and leaned over to give him a quick, one-armed hug. “Thanks, Tenko.”
“For what?”
“For being you.”
Baffled, Tenko nonetheless hugged her back. “Well, you’re welcome. Did you bring the magazine?”
“Mm-hm.” When she let go, Kansatsu dug into her bag to pull out a rather battered issue of Gamer Guidelines. For the next twenty minutes, she and Tenko slowly paged through it, reading about new video game releases and creator tips, making notes in the margins about what they’d like to try if and when either of them got a game system to play on.
-Double-
At the end of the school day, both ten year olds retrieved their younger counterparts, and then had to split up. Kansatsu and Hitoshi were expected at their foster home for an inspection, which was important enough Mr. Haadare was picking them up himself. Tenko waved goodbye, before following Aunt Inko and Izuku to where Detective Tsukauchi was waiting with his car again.
“Don’t you have police work to do, instead of driving us around?” He asked once they’d pulled out onto the road.
The detective laughed, even as Inko twisted around in the front passenger seat with a frown. “Tenko, please, it’s very generous of Naomasa-san to help us, especially since my car was destroyed in the attack.”
“It’s quite alright, I’d be wondering too in his position,” the man quickly reassured her. “Actually, Shimura-kun, this is my job for a while - All Might put in a request to my supervisor to have me be your aunt’s shadow, until either the media frenzy dies down or he hires an actual bodyguard.”
“Do we need one?”
“Hopefully not, since the number of reporters hovering outside your school seems to have decreased, and we don’t think anyone’s found your apartment yet. As amazing as it seems, I really do think you all will be able to go back to normal pretty soon.”
An instant later, the world around the car went pitch black.
Inko screamed, and Tsukauchi hit the brakes. Tenko and Izuku both cried out as the car screeched to a halt, everyone grabbing onto their seatbelts. Once their vehicle stopped, the darkness turned back to daylight like a switch had been flipped.
But they weren’t on a neighborhood street anymore.
Instead, their car sat in the middle of a flat roof, on top of a building surrounded by a bunch more just like it. And standing directly in front of them, arms folded behind his back, was a tall, smiling man in a fancy suit.
“Everyone, stay put-” Even as Tsukauchi tried to reach for his pistol, though, someone else stepped up to his door, and ripped it right off of the car. The detective swiftly followed, hauled up and out by his jacket collar.
Tenko saw another figure move towards Izuku’s door, and he lunged, clicking open the smaller boy’s seatbelt and pulling him across the seat. That sadly backfired, when his door was opened instead.
“No!” Inko screamed, being dragged out of the car herself. “Don’t touch them! Don’t hurt my boys-!”
“Calm yourself, Miss Shimura,” the smiling man said. Tenko cried out when his seatbelt was cut away, clawed hands seizing him and Izuku. “Cooperate, and no harm will come to you or your children.”
“What do you want?” Tsukauchi demanded, trying to appear calm despite being dangled a foot off the ground.
“I should think that’s obvious, Inspector - I want to hurt All Might. Now, why don’t you be a good fellow, and go tell him I said hello?” The smiling man waved a hand, and another person made of shadows stepped up behind him.
Tsukauchi tried to yell something, but his words were lost as the heavily muscled woman holding him let go, dropping the detective into a swirling black portal.
“Tsk,” the clawed person dragging Tenko and Izuku hissed. “Should’ve roughed ‘im up a bit first. I like to make police officers bleed...”
“Perhaps next time,” the smiling man murmured, his eyes glinting as he peered down at the boys. “Hello Tenko, Izuku. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Who are you?” Tenko asked, flinching as his skin practically burned. The way the man looked at him was worse than any number of stares at school.
“I am called All for One, but you may address me as Sensei.” Behind them, Auntie finally stopped struggling against the four-armed person who’d grabbed her, a sharp gasp drawing All for One’s attention. “Ah, I see you must know at least a little about me, Miss Shimura. I can assure you, however, that whatever you’ve heard is certainly exaggerated.”
“You murdered my birth mother,” Inko whispered.
All for One’s expression didn’t even flicker. “Murder is such a strong term - it is more accurate to say, I eliminated a nuisance.”
“Is that what you’re doing now, then?” The woman demanded, anger seeping into her voice. “Eliminating more nuisances?”
“Of course not - none of you pose any inconvenience towards me. This is more in the way of, acquiring new assets. And on that note, Kurogiri, I believe it’s time we departed.”
Darkness swirled around them again, and Tenko automatically flung a hand out, reaching for Izuku. Smaller fingers found his, and the two boys clung together as best they could. When they landed somewhere else, the clawed villain shoved them to the ground, before stepping back into the portal and vanishing. Freed from the uncomfortable grip, Tenko scrambled upright in order to pull Izuku closer.
“I require your gloves, young Shimura,” the man made of shadow said, standing a few steps away. He was the only other person in the room.
“Where’s Aunt Inko?” Tenko glared up at him. “Where’d you put her?!”
“Elsewhere,” came the answer. “You will see her again if you behave. Now, your gloves, please.”
Curling his fingers into fists, Tenko stubbornly shook his head, causing the man to sigh.
“I don’t want to hurt you, child, but Sensei stated that those gloves are a restraint device, and insisted that you be freed from them.”
“That’s stupid,” the boy snapped, tears springing to his eyes.
“Do you want to be separated from your cousin? Because that’s what I’ll do if you don’t hand them over.”
And really, that wasn’t even a choice. Tenko fumbled to rip off his gloves, and threw them at the man’s sort-of face. They vanished into another portal.
“Thank you. Sensei will be here shortly, once he’s finished speaking with your aunt.” With that, the man vanished. Still glaring at the spot where he’d been standing, Tenko rubbed his clenched fists against his knees, hard as he could - at least until little hands stopped him.
“I-it’s okay, Tenko,” Izuku sniffled. “We’ll- we’ll be careful.”
Anger instantly pushed aside, the older boy hugged his cousin again. “Yeah, we will. I’m gonna make sure nothing happens to you, okay Izu?”
“M’kay.”
Once they’d both stopped shaking quite so bad, Tenko finally picked his head up to look around the room they were sitting in. No doors, no windows. Two beds. Off to one side was a little alcove space with a toilet and a sink. There was also a big pile of stuffed animals, some toy swords and guns, a television with accompanying dvd player and Y-Box, and more video games than Tenko had ever seen outside of a store. None of it, though, not the games or the toys or the stack of movies behind the tv, were Hero themed.
“I guess that’s how we know they’re the bad guys,” Tenko muttered, finishing up his circuit around the room. Izuku remained a step behind him, holding a plush green bunny half as big as he was with the hand not clinging to his cousin’s shirt.
They wound up piling all the blankets and pillows and stuffed animals onto one bed, and settled into the very center. Izuku wound up falling asleep with his head in Tenko’s lap, but the older boy made himself stay awake. And wait.
Sure enough, a long while after they’d been dropped into the room, a new portal opened up. All for One stepped through. His smile widened when he saw the two boys, and he moved to stand by the edge of their bed. “I see you’ve made yourselves comfortable.”
“Where’s my aunt?” Tenko asked, in a voice as fierce as he could make it while still quiet enough not to wake Izuku up.
“In another room, quite like this one. She’s agreed to behave for the duration of your stay here, a promise I hope you’ll be willing to give me as well.”
“Or else you’ll hurt us? Or take Izuku away from me?”
“Tenko,” the man murmured, kneeling down so he was on the same level as the boy. “I’m not your enemy, my boy. I want to be your friend - that’s why I put together all these toys for you and your cousin to play with!”
“You kidnapped us,” Tenko hissed.
“It’s hardly as if I could have dropped an invitation in the mail, my boy.”
“Don’t call me that - only Uncle T- only All Might can call me that.”
Like a switch had been flipped, All for One’s smile turned brittle, and the room went cold. “Yes, your ‘uncle’ All Might. I’m afraid he’s left you all in a rather bad way, Tenko.”
The boy didn’t say anything.
“We’ve been monitoring the news stations, and it seems no one’s made any noise about your disappearance. No police statements about the investigation, no requests for information if anyone’s seen you - honestly, Tenko, it looks as though All Might’s glad to be rid of you-”
“NO HE’S NOT!”
Startled, both Tenko and All for One jerked backwards when Izuku flung himself upright.
“HE LOVES US,” the little boy insisted. “And if he hasn’t said anything on tv, it, it’s only because he doesn’t want you to know what he’s doing!”
All for One blinked, and then he started to chuckle. “Well, Izuku, you’re evidently a very clever five year old. Tell me this, though, if you really think he loves you - has All Might ever told you about his Quirk? About how your grandmother gave it to him?”
“That’s not how Quirks work,” Izuku said with a scowl.
“Not most of them, no. But there are two people who can give Quirks to others - All Might is one, and I am the other. If he really cared about you, Izuku, don’t you think he would have offered you his power, so you wouldn’t have to be Quirkless anymore?”
“But- but he-”
“I care about you, though,” All for One went on. “And I can give you any Quirk you want, Izuku.” He turned his gaze to Tenko. “I can give Quirks, and I can take them away, too.”
Notes:
I am SO SORRY for the delay, guys, my inspiration picked a terrible time to cut out on me. But! We're back on track now, with new bonus angst and drama! :D This series has a third addition, too, with the first installment of Alternates, which I hope y'all will go check out.
Oh! And I want to ask for opinions from any of you who've read my Home Videos fic - would more next generation stories be appreciated? Because I have, like, a dozen more planned, but I'm not sure how well they'll be received, especially since the first one is not nearly so fluffy.
Anywho, hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of Double Act! (And don't shoot me over the new cliffhanger!)
-Tri
Chapter 11: Resist
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
All for One left them alone for the most part, after that first day. The only person that Tenko and Izuku really saw was the shadow guy, Kurogiri, who brought them regular meals and insisted on staying until the boys ate every bite.
Tenko tried to be rude to him, at first, but the quiet man never really argued back or got mad, so he gave it up after a while. He never said please or thank you, however, and stopped Izuku from saying them too. If Kurogiri cared, it didn’t show.
...he did help them push the two beds together, though, when Izuku asked one day. And brought blank paper and coloring supplies when Tenko angrily lamented not having any.
“Where’s the blue crayon, Tenko?”
“Dark or light?”
“Light, please. I need to do the sky.”
Scanning the jumbled pile before him, Tenko quickly spotted the requested crayon half-hidden under a sheet of construction paper, and flicked a single finger to knock it towards his cousin. Izuku beamed when he grabbed it, and started scribbling.
Off to one side, the stack of video games gathered dust. Most were violent things that Tenko didn’t want Izuku to experience even if he was inclined to play them, but even the few that he’d read about with Kansatsu remained untouched. Likewise, the toy guns had been pushed into a corner out of the way, the swords thrown after them once Tenko realized they were actual metal blades, not plastic or hard foam.
Really, the only toys that he and Izuku made use of were the stuffed animals. Kurogiri, realizing this, made a point of bringing a new one each day to add to the pile on the combined bed. Izuku still preferred to cuddle with the green bunny rabbit he’d snagged when they first arrived, but Tenko wound up becoming attached to a newly delivered plushie that looked like a corgi puppy. Something about it just... felt familiar.
(Monchan, fetch!)
“...Tenko?”
Blinking, the ten year old glanced up. “Yeah, Izu?”
“Do you- do you think they’ll let us see Mama soon?” As soon as he asked, Izuku bit his lip, tears already starting to gather in his eyes. Sighing, Tenko carefully pushed himself upright and shuffled over to wrap his arms around the smaller boy. At his lack of an answer, Izuku began to cry quietly.
While rubbing a fist up and down his cousin’s back, Tenko glanced down at the paper he’d been coloring. Seven figures occupied the space between blue sky and green grass, and the careful detail given to their hairstyles instantly identified each one. Scribbled Izuku and Hitoshi stood in between Tenko and Kansatsu, with Aunt Inko and Uncle Toshi equally tall on either side. Over by the corner, though, was a figure that made Tenko frown: one with spiky yellow hair and orange and red dots surrounding his hands.
“Izu? Why’d you add Katsuki?”
Sniffling, the smaller boy wormed a hand up in-between them to rub at his eyes. “‘Cause, ‘cause I wanna be like Kacchan. He wouldn’t be scared - he’d get mad, and yell at the villains, and blow up the wall with his Quirk-”
Izuku abruptly went stock-still, and Tenko nearly asked what was wrong before the younger boy bolted up to his feet.
“Your Quirk! Tenko, your Quirk!” The five year old yelled excitedly. “You can make a hole in the wall and we can go find Mama and escape!” He kept going, saying something about picking the best spot, but Tenko’s thoughts spiralled elsewhere.
(Mommy, Mommy help! Mon-chan, he- I don’t know what happened! Help me, please! Mommy, Hana, someone, I can’t- it won’t stop! Why won’t it stop, I can’t make it stop-)
“I can’t,” he finally managed to stay, interrupting Izuku’s ramble.
The smaller boy blinked at him. “But- you can-”
“No, Izuku!” Tenko snapped, fingers curled and digging harshly into his lower legs. “I can’t.” His shoulders started to shake, and he gave in to the urge to scratch and scratch and scratch (keep scratching rip it loose get it out too deep too deep it’s too deep you’ll never be rid of it)
Tiny fingers smoothed over his right hand, then his left. Tenko froze.
“Okay,” Izuku whispered, clearly upset but putting on the best brave face he could. “Okay, Tenko. It’s okay.”
Then it was the ten year old’s turn to cry.
-Double-
“-increase our patrols in the west sector, and send any new Hero volunteers to join the search in the northern industrial complex. Any questions?” Murmured negatives answered him, and Naomasa nodded. “Dismissed.”
Only once the meeting room had cleared of officers did he turn to look at the one man sitting behind him in a corner, arms folded stiffly in his lap and head bowed to hide his face. Taking a deep breath, Naomasa moved closer, to put a hand on the other’s shoulder.
“We’re going to find them,” he said quietly.
Yagi didn’t reply, but his hands curled into tighter fists.
-Double-
Using a marker on the wall behind the toilet, Tenko kept count of the days he and Izuku spent in the doorless room. On the fifth, he tried to convince Kurogiri they needed some time outside, in fresh air and sunshine. Nothing came of it. On the eighth day, he begged the shadow man to let them see Aunt Inko, even just for a few minutes. Nothing came of that, either.
Ten days after kidnapping them, All for One visited again.
“I hope you boys have been enjoying yourselves,” he said, kneeling in front of where Tenko kept Izuku firmly held against his side. “It must be fun not to have to go to school, yes?”
“No,” Tenko replied sullenly.
“Oh? But there’s no one here to stare at you, my boy, no one who’s afraid of your Quirk - I thought that would be a pleasant change.”
“Right, because that definitely makes up for us being held prisoner,” the ten year old scoffed. “Were you born this stupid, or did you take lessons?”
Izuku giggled at the familiar movie quote. All for One didn’t think it was funny, though, if his frown was any indication.
“I can see my offer to let you visit Inko will have to wait another day,” the man said, rising to his feet. Both boys jolted.
“Wait! Wait, I-” Tenko tripped over the words, desperation overcoming all else. “I’m sorry, please, it won’t happen again, please let us see her-”
“Another day,” All for One repeated, stepping through the black portal Kurogiri held open. Tenko let out a strangled noise, one hand reaching out in protest, for nothing. Both villains vanished, leaving just him and his cousin alone in the room again.
-Double-
“Are they ever gonna come back?”
Kansatsu didn’t bother to open her eyes, knowing full well what she’d seen in her brother’s head when he was supposed to be sleeping. Rather, she rolled closer to Hitoshi on the futon they were sharing, and arranged things so that her arms were wrapped around him, his nose pressed to her collarbone.
“‘Course they will,” she whispered back. “Toshi-san will find them. Or Inko-san will figure out a way to get them all home by herself - you’ve seen her when she’s mad, not even villains could stand a chance.”
The reassurance didn’t seem to do much for her little brother, as he tried to scooch even closer. “But will they be okay?”
That, Kansatsu didn’t have quite such a confident response to, but she tried anyway. “Even if they aren’t, we’ll help them feel better. Nobody knows Tenko and Izuku as good as us anyway, right?”
“Mm-hm.” Fluffy hair tickled her chin as Hitoshi nodded, and in a little while Kansatsu heard his breathing even out into sleep.
She, on the other hand, remained awake in the dark attic for several more hours.
-Double-
“Kurogiri, could you get some specific movies for us?”
“Perhaps. Are the ones here already not to your liking?”
Tenko made a face. “The baby stuff’s too young for Izuku, and I’m not gonna watch any of the higher rated movies with him in here, either.”
The shadow man remained silent for a moment, possibly staring at the stack of dust-covered DVD cases beside the tv. “I see. What did you have in mind?” Though he figured it was a long-shot, Tenko named some of their favorite Hero films and tv series. Sure enough, Kurogiri shook his head, stating that All for One had forbidden such content.
“Well, what about nature documentaries then? Or- or couldn’t you just set up the actual television channels?”
“I’m afraid Sensei doesn’t want any connections into your room beyond the necessary air ventilation, lights, and plumbing.” Black wisps flickered around his head, a brief bit of blue-tinted white flaring up. “But I will see what I can find in the way of new movies.”
Nodding, Tenko watched as the man left through a portal before sighing. He then turned and climbed up into bed, carefully scooching to lie next to Izuku without waking the smaller boy up. Even still asleep, though, his baby cousin managed to roll over and snag Tenko’s shirt as soon as he’d settled. Huffing out a soft laugh, the ten year old retrieved the two strips of cloth he’d torn from their sheets on the first day, tying them around two fingers on each hand. Then he pulled his arms inside his shirt, before finally relaxing and drifting off to sleep.
-Double-
A muted explosion rang out over their heads, causing Masaru to sigh as he set bags of groceries down on the counter. “Has he talked to you yet?”
“Of fucking course not,” his wife muttered back, getting out their rice cooker. “Little brat’s too stubborn.”
“Hm. You mind getting started while I go check on him?”
“Be my guest, but don’t expect any miracles.” Even so, Mitsuki pressed a quick kiss to his cheek on his way out of the kitchen.
Upstairs, Masaru briefly knocked on his son’s bedroom door before opening it up and stepping inside. As expected, Katsuki was in the process of trying to beat up the wall, several of his damaged toys lying scattered across the floor.
Masaru didn’t say a word. He sat down on Katsuki’s bed, and waited until the five year old paused in his attacks, breathing heavily. “Hey, buddy. Can you come here for a minute?”
Grumbling, Katsuki nonetheless obeyed, letting himself be pulled up and settled against his father’s side. “What d’you want.”
“I’m just checking in, kiddo,” Masaru murmured. “You’re pretty upset about Izuku and his family disappearing, huh?”
“No I’m not!” Katsuki protested, kicking his feet against the bedframe. “They’re all stupid! I hope I n-never see any of th-them ag-g-gain-n-” In the space of a few moments, the boy went from dry-eyed to sobbing, and Masaru hugged him close, running a hand through his son’s hair while promising that the heroes were doing their best to find the Midoriya family.
They stayed like that until Mitsuki appeared, announcing that dinner was ready. She took one look at Katsuki’s tear-stained face, and moved to kneel in front of him. “They’re gonna be alright, brat,” she insisted. “Those three know how to survive, and All Might’s never gonna stop until he finds them.”
“He better not,” Katsuki sniffled, scowl already back in place. “Or I’ll kick his ass, him and the villains!”
“That’s my boy,” Mitsuki approved, ruffling his hair. “Now come on, it’s time to eat and the last thing we need is you chewing on the furniture more than you already do.”
“Shut up, hag!”
Notes:
Sorry about the long wait, guys, I hope this chapter was worth it!
I've been busy finishing the latest draft of my first novel, and once again begun the anxiety-inducing process of sending out query letters to try and find a literary agent - which will *hopefully* go better than last time, because I've accepted my mom's thick-skinned help for the actual sending and reply-reading. Keep your fingers crossed for me?
Oh, and for those of you who haven't see it, there's a new chapter in Alternates, too! Thanks for reading!
-Tri
Chapter 12: Breaking Point
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Something was... wrong.
At least, she thought so. Or felt? Not outside, but inside, like a pressure, a twisted weight both present yet not. Nothing, nothing connected correctly. Not broken, not shattered, but muted, muffled, barriers hiding sections of her mind from one another.
Someone was feeding her. Carefully holding up a pair of chopsticks, depositing another bit of rice or piece of fish into her mouth each time she parted her lips. She chewed until big pieces became smaller, swallowed, opened again.
Someone was escorting her down a hallway. Talking. Words flowed, but none caught. None registered, only the empty sound. She smiled absently. Her left hand was tucked into the crook of an elbow, higher than her own. Taller. It was right, but at the same time wrong. She wanted to hold on to someone taller, but not this someone. Another.
Another?
Another... others... yellow, green, pale blue...
...something was wrong.
She didn’t know what.
-Double-
Tenko tried to be strong for Izuku, he did, but at the two week mark since their kidnapping he began to withdraw into himself. It was easy to sit in silence as the dvd series Kurogiri brought them about the oceans and wildlife played, and from there he just started being quiet all the time.
Izuku noticed, and tried his best to fill the empty space with his own words. The longer Tenko went without responding or reacting, though, the more the younger boy’s attempts at conversation morphed into mumbling to himself.
As the number of drawings carefully stacked around the edges of the room grew, Tenko forced himself to start organizing them rather than sitting perfectly still for hours on end. It quickly became apparent that everything Izuku drew was set outside, a big ball of yellow lighting up the blue sky, which made Tenko’s heart clench uncomfortably. He tried to instead focus on picking categories to sort by.
Against one wall he placed all drawings made of their family, Kansatsu and Hitoshi and Katsuki included. In an adjacent corner were the portraits of just Aunt Inko. Beside another wall went the careful sketches of various Heroes Izuku liked best besides All Might. Tenko hesitated over the single drawing of Kurogiri before sticking it alone in a second corner.
When the man himself showed up with their dinner that night, he spotted the picture and just, stared at it. Tenko and Izuku ate in silence until they finished, when the latter picked up their dirty plates and took them over.
“You can have it, if you want,” he said, offering up the dishes to Kurogiri. The man took them, still looking at the picture, before he shook his head.
“No, thank you. Though I do appreciate the offer, I would have nowhere to put it up.”
“Oh.” Izuku fidgeted, little hands twisting the hem of his wrinkled shirt. “Um, Kurogiri?”
“Yes?”
“Could- could Tenko and I take a bath? Or, or even just, have some new clothes?”
Tenko frowned at that, glancing down at his own outfit - the same one he’d been wearing since their abduction. Every other day he insisted on washing as best they were able from the sink, but Izuku was right: they really needed proper baths.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Kurogiri replied. He sent the dirty dishes through a portal, and then reached down to pat Izuku’s hair before leaving. Smiling a bit more brightly than he had all day, the five year old trotted back to Tenko’s side.
The other boy didn’t say anything, but he smiled back.
-Double-
“Here are the field reports you wanted, Sir.”
“Thank you, just set them on the table there.” When he didn’t hear the sound of retreating footsteps, Mirai glanced up with a raised eyebrow. “Was there something else?”
“Yes, Sir Nighteye,” his assistant said awkwardly. “An old man is waiting outside, insisting on speaking with you. He’s in civilian clothes, but claims to be a Pro called Gran Torino-?”
“Let him in,” Mirai said instantly. “I’m surprised he hasn’t barged his way past the front desk already...”
As it turned out a few minutes later, Gran had slipped inside at the first opportunity, but mistakenly made a beeline for Mirai’s actual office. Once he’d been found and directed to the correct meeting hall, the oldtimer stomped straight to it. “Nighteye, what in the world are you doing here?”
“Working where I have more elbow room,” the younger man commented absently, attaching notes to the city map that covered one wall. “What do you want, Gran?”
“To stage an intervention, and for that I need some help.”
Mirai paused. “...with All Might, I presume.”
“Damn boy’s going to kill himself, at this rate,” his visitor grumbled.
“Can you blame him?”
“No. But he’s going to have to be in top condition to fight All for One when we find the bastard, and that means eating and sleeping and not tearing up half of Japan.”
“I agree,” Mirai sighed, finally turning to look at the older man. “What did you have in mind?”
-Double-
Tenko found himself warming to Kurogiri, just a bit. Despite All for One’s rule against anything Pro Hero related, the shadow man brought him and Izuku new clothes that were entirely blue or red or yellow - All Might’s colors. There were also some new bars of soap, washcloths, a couple of plain white towels and a green frog-themed one just the right size to wrap a delighted five year old in.
Izuku didn’t even bother washing off before he draped it over his head and proceeded to hop around the room making “ribbit” noises.
Tenko snorted at the sight. He set down their new supplies, before looking up to meet Kurogiri’s yellow eyes. “Um... thanks.”
“Of course, young Tenko,” the man replied, tipping his head forward slightly. “I am here to make certain you both remain comfortable.”
“Right.” Rubbing at his arms, Tenko took a deep breath. “Look, I know- I know you can’t let us see her, but- is my aunt okay, at least?”
It took a long moment for Kurogiri to answer. “She is well. I deliver her meals shortly after yours.”
Sagging in place, Tenko let out a shaky breath. “Okay. That’s- okay. Thank you.”
“You are most welcome.”
-Double-
“Thank you again, Detective. Are you sure that All Might won’t mind...?”
“He gave his permission weeks ago, Mrs. To- excuse me, Miss Shimo.”
Despite her nervousness, Rei couldn’t help but smile softly at the man’s quick correction of himself. “My divorce won’t be final for some time, Detective.”
“As I am aware, but it is in progress, and I should adjust accordingly.” Tsukauchi led her across the main lobby of Might Tower, nodding to a woman behind the check-in desk as they passed.
The pair remained quiet during their elevator ride, Rei tightening and then relaxing her grip on her small bag of personal items over and over again. Two months spent inside the hospital had soothed some of her trauma, but it was like ointment smeared over a deep wound, one that she knew would take a great deal more time to fully heal.
But hopefully... with her children by her side and all of them under All Might’s protection...
The swell of hope in her chest went abruptly ice cold when the elevator doors opened, to reveal the Number One Hero himself arguing with two other men in the middle of the room.
“-DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS-!” All Might roared.
“Then you had best MAKE time, boy!” A wizened old man shouted back, standing on top of the sofa’s backrest to even their height difference. “Or do you PLAN on dying right in the middle of trying to rescue Inko and the boys?!”
“Gentlemen,” the third man interrupted, stepping between them. “Perhaps we should cease in the face of company.”
All Might turned, saw Rei and Detective Tsukauchi, and immediately paled. “Miss Shimo,” he said, in a pained tone. “I am so sorry you had to witness this unpleasantness.”
Gulping, as she forced herself to ease the white-knuckled grip on her bag, Rei took a hesitant step into the room. “That’s- it is my inclination to say it’s alright, All Might, but I’ve had quite enough lately of large men shouting.”
The Hero visibly sagged at that, and even the others all winced. “Of course, I understand. I promise, it will not happen again while you are staying here- if, that’s the still the case; if you would rather go elsewhere, I would be happy to pay for-”
“No, thank you,” Rei interrupted. “My children need to be safe from Enj- from Endeavor. And the only place they will be is here. They, are here, aren’t they?”
“Ah shit,” the wizened old man muttered. “Kids must’ve heard us and hid.”
“I’ll see if I can find them,” Tsukauchi volunteered, disappearing swiftly down a hallway.
“Guess I’ll get some tea started, then.”
The thin man with green and yellow hair raised an eyebrow at the old man’s retreating back, then glanced speculatively between Rei and All Might, who’d moved to sink down onto the sofa, elbows on his knees and head buried in his hands. “I’ll see about retrieving dinner from the cafeteria.”
Once he’d left via the elevator, Rei cautiously approached the dejected looking All Might. “What were they arguing with you about?” She asked quietly.
He let out a short, bitter laugh, utterly unlike anything she’d heard on the television before. “The need to take care of myself. Apparently I am “running myself into the ground” to the point of being useless.”
“Are you?”
“...I don’t know if Tsukauchi said anything to you, Miss Shimo,” All Might said, finally picking his head up and letting her see the broken expression on his face. “But my family is missing. Kidnapped by the same monster who murdered the woman I thought of as my mother. Every time I try to sleep I see them, crying or dying or worse; every time I try to eat my stomach churns over the thought of them starving, or shivering somewhere cold and dark, waiting for me to save them while I waste time-” He broke off with a choked noise, head dropping again.
Rei swallowed. She slowly took a seat next to him, and laid a gentle hand on the man’s trembling shoulder. “How long have they been gone?”
“Sixteen days,” came the muttered reply. “Seventeen, if you count from when I saw them last.”
“Are you the only one looking for them?”
“No. We have Pro Heroes from a dozen different prefectures helping-”
“And are you insisting those other heroes keep searching constantly, without time for eating or sleeping?”
There was a telling silence.
“All Might, I might not know the details of the situation, but at the very least I know the human body needs rest, and food - and that without these things, both the body and mind suffer.” Rei took a deep breath. “Will you start by having dinner with my children and myself?”
Finally, the man looked back up, with a reluctant smile more reminiscent of his usual beaming grin. “Of course, Miss Shimo.”
“Good. And please, since you’ve offered your home to us - call me Rei.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Rei-san. And I am Yagi Toshinori.”
-Double-
“I think I want to draw a picture for Kurogiri.”
Tenko blinked. “Okay. Of what?”
“I dunno,” Izuku said, frowning at the blank paper in front of him. “What do you think he likes? It might be dark stuff like him, but I think he’d like the opposite more, ‘cause he’s always bringing us bright colored things...” The five year old’s words got softer as he kept going, and Tenko let his mind drift.
So far as he’d seen, Kurogiri didn’t display much of a personality - his outfit made Tenko think of a butler character from a mystery movie they’d watched once with Uncle Toshi, and his literal shadow body made it hard to pick up on any facial expressions when they were talking. But then a brief memory came to mind, a flicker of something different in the darkness.
“I dunno about favorite things,” he said out loud, interrupting Izuku’s mumbling. “But maybe you could draw him something blue. Light blue. And fluffy.”
“Okay!” Grinning, Izuku grabbed some different crayons, all of them worn down to stubs, and set to work. Tenko watched him from where he was laying, and just listened to the gentle sound of coloring.
Kurogiri himself showed up about an hour later with their lunch, just in time for Izuku to proudly hold up his creation.
“It’s for you!” The little boy proudly exclaimed. Right in the middle of the page was a cat, outlined in blue and purple, surrounded by green scribbles meant to be a tree, with the sun and sky and clouds in the background. “I didn’t know what you’d like best, so I hope this is okay!”
“...it’s very nice,” Kurogiri answered. He didn’t make a move to take the paper, though, and after a moment Izuku’s arms drooped.
“Do you not want it?”
“No, I- simply do not have anywhere appropriate to keep it.”
Tenko frowned and sat up. “Don’t you have your own bedroom?”
“No. I do not require sleep.” Both boys blinked at that.
“...you’ve gotta have somewhere that’s yours,” Tenko stated, as he got to his feet. “Even though Izu and I share a room at home, he still has his side and I have mine. Where do you usually put your stuff?”
“I do not have, ‘stuff’,” Kurogiri answered.
Stunned, Tenko quickly shook his head. He dug through the pile of stuffed animals until he found a white tiger with grey stripes, then went and grabbed the portrait of Kurogiri Izuku had made, and shoved those along with his cousin’s latest drawing into the man’s hands. “Well you do now. So find somewhere to keep ‘em that only you know about, okay? Like a, a space inside the wall that only you can reach with your Quirk, or something.”
For a long, long moment, Kurogiri just stared at the papers and stuffed animal he was holding. Then his eyes closed, and the trails of mist floating up from his head shivered, a bunch of them flaring that same white with a hint of pale blue. It only lasted a few seconds, though, before he blinked his eyes open again and looked down at the two boys. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
-Double-
Two hours shy of dawn, Aizawa Shouta crouched on the edge of a warehouse rooftop. He squinted through his goggles, peering down at the building across the road, double checking that it was the correct address. In his hand, the twenty year old held a handwritten list of items - online purchases that originated from a public computer in a nearby library, sent to an empty office building in the next district over, then picked up by hired runners to be delivered to the building below.
Children’s clothes. Reams of blank paper and boxes of crayons. Nearly three dozen stuffed animals.
Perhaps it was far-fetched, as kidnappers weren’t known for keeping their captives well entertained, but these were All Might’s kids, after all.
In the back of his mind, a part of Shouta still couldn’t believe his agency had volunteered him to help search for the Number One Hero’s family. Discretion being a vital necessity regardless, there were plenty of more experienced, higher ranked investigators who could’ve been called in. But, as his agency manager had put it, Shouta was good at what he did and knew how to keep his mouth shut.
Tucking the list away, the young man unwound a length of his capture scarf, wrapping one end around the drainpipe beside him and using it to rappel down to ground level. There, he slipped silently from one shadow to another, pausing now and then to check his surroundings. Nearly to his target, Shouta spotted the first security camera. Not a cheap fake one that other nearby warehouses used to deter intruders, either: it was the genuine article, a high priced expensive model that confirmed his suspicions of the building not being as dilapidated as it seemed.
But he needed proof of who was inside.
Taking a longer, twisting route, Shouta managed to avoid the camera, and the three others like it, soon arriving at another drainpipe. Shimmying upwards to the roof took mere moments, as did stealing over to a spot just above a second story window.
Funny how the camera angle didn’t account for someone climbing down to the glass panel rather than up.
The capture scarf held him securely in place as the man jimmied the window’s locking mechanism, and then he slipped inside into an empty hallway. With no doors in sight, he crept down to the closest intersection to peer around the corner-
-just in time to see a portal of pure darkness open up, and a man made of shadow stride through.
Freezing, Shouta didn’t dare move, despite knowing he was at least partially visible. Any flicker of motion would surely attract the villain’s attention, which he couldn’t afford. For a brief moment, though, it looked as though the man made of blackness had seen him... But then something flickered white above his head, and he walked off.
Pulling back carefully, Shouta let out a shaky breath, his heart pounding. Everyone brought into the search read Detective Tsukauchi’s report covering the abduction and the villains present - including the one made of shadow, with a warp Quirk responsible for stealing away Midoriya Inko and her children.
The one Shouta had just found.
-Double-
All for One brought their breakfast the next morning.
“Good morning, boys,” the man smiled, setting down a fancy tray with their plates. “I think we’ll need to get you a proper table in here soon. Or perhaps a kotatsu...”
Wary, Tenko scooted out of bed, a single look ordering Izuku to stay put. He approached the tray in order to retrieve their breakfast, but froze when All for One walked over to the piles of drawings.
“Hm,” he murmured, studying the various scribbles. “...no, I don’t think this will do at all.” A large hand started to reach for a pile of family portraits, only to pause as Tenko made a noise of protest.
“Please don’t,” he said. “They’re just- they’re just drawings.”
“Yet it seems many of them feature Heroes,” All for One replied, turning to face him. “Kurogiri should have told you I don’t tolerate anything Hero related here.”
Tenko clenched his hands. “Then- then let us see Aunt Inko, and I won’t let Izuku draw any of them anymore.”
The villain stared him down for a long moment, before chuckling. “Ah, my boy, you aren’t in a position to negotiate with me. But I will offer an alternative proposal - destroy all of these with your Quirk, and I’ll allow you both to visit her.”
Sound roared in Tenko’s ears, as the intense desire to lay eyes on the woman who’d raised him for half his life warred with a visceral disgust over disintegrating so many products of his baby cousin’s time and care. He didn’t notice All for One moving closer, until a hand settled on his shoulder, pinning him in place despite his flinch.
“Come now, Tenko, it’s easy,” the man practically cooed. “Your Quirk is the perfect force of cleansing power - you were born to wipe away the old so that the new can flourish instead. To destroy what should not be, and allow what is right to step in.
(He doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know what’s happening, but everyone’s fallen down and he can’t he can’t stop he’s crying and no one’s answering, he trips and lands against the wall and it’s all coming down-)
“Stop it!” A shout drags Tenko back to himself, just in time to see one of Izuku’s bright red shoes smack All for One right in the nose.
Notes:
See, Chika? I *told* you the next update was gonna be another cliffhanger x'D
Hope the rest of you guys enjoyed this, and seriously, go thank Knightlychika for the new chapter - knowing each other in real life means that they got to screech and holler at me and inspire a mad rush of writing to get through where I've been stuck! Yay!
Hopefully the next one will be ready by next weekend, but I make no promises; my workplace has been pretty swamped thanks to lots more people staying home and making online purchases, which means I'm loading an average of a hundred extra packages per day across three delivery trucks. Plus, since I can't risk going to my mom's house and exposing my grandmother to anything, I've been doing extra chores at the farm to help make up for it before crashing at my dad's place. 'm tired. Tired does not make for good writing. Sorry.
Hope everybody's staying safe out there,
-Tri
Chapter 13: Eruption
Notes:
WELL THEN. Apparently reading a couple dozen enthusiastic and/or panicked comments was enough fuel for me to bang out this new chapter in the couple of hours since I got home from work! x'D
I make no promises that the same thing will happen again today - but hell, who knows? Maybe I'll post another update after dinner tonight or tomorrow.
Love you guys,
-TriP.S. Would you believe me if I said Aizawa was *not* supposed to enter this story for another couple of plot arcs? But he weaseled his way into the last chapter and here we are... If you know who Shirakumo is/was, prepare for more pain. >:)
Chapter Text
(He doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know what’s happening, but everyone’s fallen down and he can’t he can’t stop he’s crying and no one’s answering, he trips and lands against the wall and it’s all coming down-)
“Stop it!” A shout drags Tenko back to himself, just in time to see one of Izuku’s bright red shoes smack All for One right in the nose.
For a moment, everything remained still.
And then All for One stood up.
“That,” he said slowly, “Was not very nice, Izuku.”
Tenko stared in horror at his baby cousin, who still stood where he’d thrown the shoe from, hands balled into shaking fists and tears filling up his eyes. “You’re not nice!” The little boy yelled back. “Leave Tenko alone!”
“I am simply trying to help him find a purpose in life,” All for One answered. “But I think it would be best to continue those efforts without you interfering.” In less than a second, he’d somehow crossed the room and plucked Izuku up off the ground, tucking him under one arm like a couple of books.
(Without him, without him WITHOUT HIM)
Gasping, as his heart rate suddenly went from stalled to racing, Tenko lunged towards them. “NO! Don’t take him away! IZU!”
The younger boy cried out, kicking his legs wildly as All for One turned away. “Tenko! TENKO!”
(“Tenko, what’s happening? Make it stop, please make it stop!”)
All for One approached the far wall, pausing when a portal didn’t immediately open up. “Kurogiri.”
Slowly, as if reluctant, an inky pool of blackness spiralled open. Tenko ran forward, grabbing at the man’s jacket only to be knocked away. “Don’t! Please don’t-!!”
“Tenko!” Izuku wailed again, as he vanished through the portal. Tenko tried to go through as well, but was pushed back again, hard enough to knock him over. By the time the boy got back to his feet, the portal, All for One, and Izuku were gone.
(Gone)
(Gone)
(They’re all GONE, and it’s YOUR FAULT)
“No,” he whispered, slumping to his knees at the base of the wall. “Please. Please stop.”
(Can’t stop, can’t stop, can’t ever stop, all it’s good for is breaking and breaking and breaking, you were born a monster, you ruin everything, why should you deserve a family)
Pressing a hand against his mouth, Tenko tried to stifle his sobs, but he couldn’t do anything about the tears pouring from his eyes. He couldn’t do anything to stop All for One from taking his baby cousin, he was useless, why couldn’t he do anything right-
(Just listen to All for One, just go along with what he says and orders, you’re already a monster anyway, a villain in the making, with an evil Quirk-)
(“Your Quirk is amazing!”)
Unconsciously, Tenko shifted to stare at the piles of pictures Izuku had drawn.
(“You could get rid of broken buildings and things! To rescue people!”)
He took a deep breath, and got to his feet.
(“You can be a Hero, Tenko! I KNOW it!”)
The boy slammed both hands flat against the wall.
-Double-
“We found them.”
Toshinori dropped the dishes he was holding.
Uncaring of the loud crashes or the new mess of ceramic shards around his feet, the man stared at Nighteye with every fiber of his being.
“A young Underground Hero got a lead through some purchases of children’s clothes and toys, and spotted the warp villain in the building he tracked them too. We’ve already started calling reinforcements-”
“Where,” Toshinori rasped.
Nighteye visibly hesitated. “Southern edge of the warehouse district-”
“An address, Mirai!”
“...I don’t want to give it to you until we have a plan in place.”
Aware of his promise to Rei-san, who was still asleep down the hall with her children, Toshinori fought very hard not to yell at his sidekick. “We have finally found my family, but you won’t tell me where they are.”
“If I do, I’m certain you’ll race off, and possibly get any of them or yourself killed,” Nighteye retorted.
An image flashed through Toshinori’s mind, of sightless green eyes and still little bodies, and he shuddered before slumping in place. “Alright. Alright, have it your way. Do we have building schematics, a layout? Do we know where Inko and the boys are inside?”
“I’ve called in a favor to get the blueprints,” Nighteye said, visibly relieved. “No word as of yet where inside they all are, but as I said before, reinforcements are on their way, and we’ll get some proper scouting done.”
“Alright.” But even as he moved to start sweeping up the broken dishes, still talking with Nighteye, Toshinori knew in his heart that at the first sign of trouble, no amount of planning would stop him from running straight in to find his family.
-Double-
Shouta couldn’t help but watch everything going on around him from behind the safety of his goggles. Despite only having two years of official Pro experience under his belt, he knew the value of appearing calm in an emergency - hence the effort to keep anyone from seeing his wide-eyed staring.
Combat Heroes, Rescue Specialists, and others from the Underground all prepared to invade the building he’d scouted himself not four hours beforehand. There were at minimum half a dozen villains inside, possibly more, with their leader being someone even All Might himself would be hard-pressed to beat in a fight.
Not something Shouta liked the sound of, but he hopefully wouldn’t be involved in that side of the operation anyway.
Above all else, the primary goal was to safely retrieve and evacuate the three captives, which meant figuring out where they were, determining the fastest routes in and out, and then actually pulling it off.
Lists were swiftly drawn up to sort who would serve what role, and Shouta shuffled a little closer in order to squint for his own name.
“Eraserhead?”
Straightening up, the young man turned to meet the gaze of Sir Nighteye himself. “Yes.”
“Do you have any experience with rescuing young children?” The taller Pro asked without preamble. A brief memory flashed through Shouta’s mind, of preschoolers and clouds, but he merely swallowed and nodded. “Good. The older of the two boys, Shimura Tenko, has an involuntary disintegration Quirk that activates when all five of his fingers touch an object. I’m assigning you to locate him specifically, and be prepared to stop any accidents from taking place during the rescue operation.”
Shoua raised an eyebrow. “Is that likely? That he’ll accidentally destroy something?”
“It’s a possibility I’m not ignoring. He has a high amount of self-awareness as well as gloves that cover half his fingers, but there’s no telling what his current mental state is, or if he’s been allowed to keep the gloves.” Nighteye tilted his head forward, in order to pin Shouta with an intense gaze over the rim of his glasses. “Are you capable of keeping him safe?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Go report to Gran Torino, he’s assembling the retrieval teams.”
-Double-
Kansatsu woke up early on Saturday, got Hitoshi dressed while he was still half asleep, and then led him out of the Hadaare house without waking anyone else. They stopped at the corner store for a cheap breakfast before hurrying on to the train station.
“D’you think Toshi-san will be there today?” Hitoshi asked through a yawn.
“I dunno,” Kansatsu answered, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to tug the boy into leaning against her. “But last weekend Touya said their mom was going to be released from the hospital, so we should be able to meet her at least.”
“M’kay.”
The rest of their train trip passed in silence, other commuters sometimes shooting the pair an odd look, but no one voicing their questions out loud. Once they pulled into the correct stop, Kansatsu shook Hitoshi back awake. They hurried along the familiar route to All Might Tower, sometimes racing each other down the city blocks, but always hand in hand to cross the streets themselves.
Right when they entered the main lobby of the tower, though, Kansatsu came to a sudden halt.
Hitoshi frowned up at her, then followed the girl’s stunned gaze, and gasped. “Whoa.”
A whole bunch of Pro Heroes were coming out of the elevators, some heading for the rear exit into the parking garage, others moving towards where the pair stood. They shuffled out of the way, watching with wide eyes. Some of the heroes noticed them, and smiled or waved on their way past. Once the group was gone, Kansatsu looked back towards the elevators, and spotted a (sort of) friendly face.
“Gran Torino!” She called, darting towards the old man. Hitoshi, hand still curled around her own, was nearly pulled off his feet at the unexpected movement.
As for Gran, he turned at the call, frowning sharply when his gaze landed on the pair. “What’re you brats doing here?”
“We’ve been coming every weekend,” Kansatsu said. “To see the Todoroki kids, and check on Toshi-san.”
“Hmph. Well, go on up I guess, but Toshinori won’t be there-”
“I know,” the girl interrupted. “You’re going to rescue Tenko and the others.”
Gran harrumphed again, as Hitoshi’s head whipped up in shock. “We’re going to try. With all the back-up Nighteye’s arranged for us, we might just pull it off without anyone getting hurt.”
“I hope so,” Kansatsu murmured. Hitoshi glanced back and forth between her and Gran, before a movement behind the old man caught his eye. A tall, lanky figure in a black jumpsuit waited by the exit, dirty white scarf wrapped around his shoulders, face obscured by a combination of long hair and yellow goggles.
Hitoshi gasped.
The figure noticed, and a single eyebrow was raised in his direction. Overwhelmed, Hitoshi ducked behind his startled sister. “Kansa, Kansa look! It’s Eraserhead!” He whisper-yelled.
Apparently he was loud enough to draw the Underground Pro a few steps closer, and when Kansatsu looked over, she saw the baffled bemusement in the front of his mind. Beyond, however, were darker thoughts and grim plans, and an objective that would be carried out.
She trembled. “Eraserhead?” Yellow goggles turned in her direction. “Please take care of Tenko when you find him. He- he’s my best friend.”
Empathy and old pain swallowed his thoughts, but the man showed no outward sign of them. Instead he just nodded, and said “I’ll bring him back to you.”
-Double-
With all ten fingers placed against the wall, it only took moments for plaster and wood to crumble away, giving Tenko a gaping hole to step through. He quickly did so, anxiously aware of the decay still spreading, still eating down and out and upwards, consuming the wall that had blocked his room from the hallway beyond.
The empty hallway.
Sucking in a bracing breath, Tenko glanced both ways, turned right, and started running.
Chapter 14: Done Waiting
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Tenko raced down the hall as fast as he could, as the sounds of falling plaster and groaning support beams chased after him. At the first available intersection, he skidded through a turn, hoping to spot some sign of All for One or Izuku.
Unfortunately, there were only closed doors. Tenko nearly kept going, but doubled back after realizing that his cousin could be behind any of them. He tried to twist the first doorknob open with his pinky extended - and bit back a sob when it wouldn’t go, locked.
The pinky came back down.
-Double-
Toshinori took a deep breath, hands repeatedly flexing and clenching. Beside him, other heroes waiting for the signal glanced over, poorly hiding their concern. One woman, apparently braver than the rest, approached. “All Might?”
Forcing on a smile, Toshinori glanced down at her. “Yes, young Precipitate! What can I do for you?” He blinked when she gently laid a hand on his clenched fist.
“I know you’re the one always saying it’s going to be alright,” the young woman said, looking up to meet his gaze. “But I promise, we’re going to do everything we can to bring your family home.”
He worked his jaw for a moment, before offering a smaller, but much more genuine, smile. “...thank you.”
Precipitate nodded firmly, giving his hand another reassuring squeeze, before returning to her partner Aquifer. The Water Horse duo had been a last minute addition to the mission, when Nighteye learned about a sewer hub located directly beneath All for One’s hideout - such a large supply of water could make the pair highly formidable to face. They, along with four other agile heroes, were to be Toshinori’s back-up in dealing with whatever villains attempted to face them. Additional combat-oriented Pros were set up around the perimeter to catch any runners, and three small squads mainly made up of rescue specialists were also waiting for the signal to move in.
If there was anything that could truly unite the world of Pro Heroics, it was the family of one of their own being placed in danger.
Someone’s radio crackled to life on the otherwise silent rooftop, delivering a message from one of the scouts who’d already infiltrated the warehouse. *C-Thru to all units, I have eyes on the Biggest Bad and Mini Might.*
Toshinori tensed. All for One and Izuku.
“Copy that, C-Thru,” a voice replied, though Toshinori didn’t turn to see who. He kept his eyes locked on the building two streets away. “Situation?”
*Unknown - Big Bad’s on the move, Mini under one arm and bawling his eyes out- oh, hell.*
“C-Thru?”
*They just entered the center storage bay, seven- eight other villains present. Big Bad is still moving... fuck’s sake, he just dropped Mini into a dog crate in the back of the room.*
Toshinori barely managed to hold back the growl building inside him.
“Understood. Does anyone else have eyes on Bright Green or Junior Blue?”
*Negative,* a new voice piped up. *But I think Junior’s on the move - I just found a room on the second floor full of kid stuff, with half the front wall missing. The briefing said he has a disintegration Quirk, right?*
Relief and fresh terror warred within Toshinori’s chest. Tenko got out... probably to go after Izuku.
Another scout spoke up before he could decide on laughing or cursing. *Not eyes, but I just picked up Bright Green’s scent. Third floor, room twenty-three. Door’s locked, but I can break it down-*
“Negative, Hound Dog, we don’t want to alert the villains we’re here until everyone moves in.”
*Underst- aw shit-* The radio spat out static over the sound of Hound Dog’s barked expletive, a moment before a swirling black portal burst into being at least a hundred feet above the target warehouse. It only took a glimpse of the brown and blonde figure tumbling out to get Toshinori moving.
In the span of heartbeats, he’d leapt over streets and rooftops, caught the young Hunting Dog hero, and landed on the next building over. “I’m sorry,” Hound Dog huffed as Toshinori set him down. “Never smelled that warp villain coming-”
“It’s alright,” he reassured the younger Pro, already turning to jump again. “I find myself done waiting anyway.” And with that, he leapt forward.
-Double-
“All Might’s moving, everyone go!”
-Double-
Izuku sniffled, wiping away the tears on his face, though they were immediately replaced by more. With one hand he gripped the wire bars that formed the door of the box he’d been locked in, desperately wishing for a Quirk like Tenko’s, or Kacchan’s, or D-
Across the room, Kurogiri suddenly appeared next to All for One. Izuku couldn’t hear the exact words, but he thought they sounded worried, and all the other villains started moving quickly. All for One turned in his direction, and the five year old shuddered. He didn’t want that awful man to take him away again - he wanted Tenko, and Mama, and Da-
The wall exploded.
Shouts and dust filled the air, and new sunlight pouring in lit up the figure who slowly stood where he’d landed in a crouch.
Izuku gasped.
“All Might,” All for One said - and then he jumped forward, his right arm expanding and ripping his sleeve. All Might met the punch with one of his own, and the blast whipped through the room, knocking a bunch of stuff over, including the box Izuku sat in. He yelped as everything spun around, and again when they suddenly jerked to a stop, the box’s door springing open on impact.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Izuku scrambled out.
-Double-
Tenko panted, running from one locked door to the next, disintegrating each in order to see the rooms beyond. So far he’d found four with filing cabinets, two full of storage boxes, one that held a bunch of medical equipment, and six that were empty.
None with Izuku or Aunt Inko inside.
A nearby rumble shook the floor beneath his feet, causing Tenko to trip and fall. He barely managed to curl his hands into fists in time. Memories of explosions and waking up underneath a collapsed building drove him into a panic, the boy remaining frozen in his prone position. Only the sound of shattering glass and sudden footsteps drove him to stagger upright once more. He started to run down the remainder of the hall to get away - only for a voice to drag him to a halt.
“Tenko!”
Whipping around and nearly tripping for a second time, Tenko let out a sob. “Gran!” The old Pro looked relieved to see him, hurrying from the opposite end of the hall with two other people behind him. Tenko took a step towards them - only to cry out when someone grabbed the back of his shirt and pressed a sharp edge against his throat.
“Nobody move,” the villain holding him snarled. “Or the brat gets it!”
Gran Torino growled, but nonetheless stopped in his tracks, along with the others. Tenko glanced between them, trembling as the villain began to back up, dragging him along. And then, he carefully lifted his hands.
“Arrogant bastards, th’lot of ya,” the villain hissed, “Thinking all ya had t’do was burst in here and- hey!” The knife crumbled into dust, along with Tenko’s shirt. He dropped to the floor and darted away, keeping his head low as Gran Torino flew overhead, smashing both feet into the stunned villain’s face.
Bands of white cloth suddenly wrapped around Tenko’s body, and an instant later he found himself pulled into a firm hold. Still shaking, he looked up. “...Eraserhead...?”
The man holding him huffed. “You’re the third kid today who’s recognized me.”
“Sorry?”
“Nevermind. Time for us to get out of here.”
“We’ll cover you,” the other hero beside them said, glowing rings of light appearing around her arms as another couple of villains ran into sight. “Go.” Tenko craned his neck as Eraserhead turned, watching the bouncing blur that was Gran for as long as he could.
“Wait,” he suddenly gasped as they turned a corner, approaching a broken set of windows. “Izuku! All for One took Izuku! We have to find him-!”
“Other teams are on it,” Eraserhead grunted, another end of his scarf unwinding. “My job is to keep you safe and out of harm’s way.”
“But-”
The building rumbled again, and the corridor in front of them blew away in a blast of concussive force. Dust and debris flew against them, causing Tenko to squeeze his eyes shut. Something else blew past, delivering a second wave of wind - which ripped the boy right out of Eraserhead’s hold.
He didn’t have a chance to scream. The bands of the scarf tightened around him, and next that Tenko knew, he was dangling midair. Above him, Eraserhead made a pained noise. When the kid looked up, his eyes widened.
The Pro had both legs wedged against broken edges of concrete and rebar, one arm bleeding and held to his side, the other gripping the end of the scarf that held Tenko. “I’ve got you,” he called down. “Just hold still.”
Further booming sounds drew Tenko’s attention outward, across the newly made field of rubble where - presumably - a couple of other buildings had recently stood. Two large figures strained against one another in the center crater: one dark and dripping with black power, the other bright with light shining off of him.
All for One and All Might.
“Uncle Toshi,” Tenko breathed. He couldn’t leave, not when this was happening. Once again, he lifted a hand, and pressed all five fingers against the scarf - and
nothing
happened.
“What-?”
“Don’t,” a strained voice bit out. Jerking his gaze back upwards, Tenko stared at Eraserhead. Just behind the slats of his yellow goggles, a faint red glow was visible. “I can’t get us out of here if I need to keep your Quirk erased at the same time.”
The sudden epiphany regarding Eraserhead’s name and Quirk barely weighed against Tenko sudden, all-encompassing fury. All the times he’d desperately wished for his Quirk to go away, all the years he’d spent hating it, and this was when it didn’t work? When he finally needed it to?
“Let GO!” Tenko screamed.
Eraserhead didn’t bother to reply as he carefully started to ease Tenko to the ground.
Outright crying, the boy clawed at the folds of the scarf, twisting to try and slip free. Even once he’d been set down, though, the cloth didn’t ease its grip or crumble away, keeping him there as the Pro began to rappel down the shattered wall himself.
“Please,” Tenko finally sobbed, “We can’t leave, he needs help!”
“He’s All Might, he can handle himself-”
“Not against All for One! He murdered my grandmother, and all the others! He’ll kill Uncle Toshi, please, I have to help him!”
Wincing as he landed on the ground as well, Eraserhead shook his head. “You’re a child, Shimura, you can’t-”
“You could! You could erase his power! You have to, please!”
“I have to get you to safety,” the man muttered, crouching to pull Tenko closer and wrap his good arm around the sobbing boy. When he stood back up, though, Eraserhead stiffened, and let out a quiet but heartfelt “Fuck.”
Tenko twisted his head around - and felt his heart freeze when he saw a little flash of green in the battlefield beside All Might and All for One.
-Double-
Toshinori snarled as he barely managed to twist out of the path of a bladed fist, his own return hit effortlessly dodged. All for One let the momentum carry him a few steps away, where he stopped and laughed. “What’s the matter, All Might? You seem, distracted.”
Not bothering to reply, Toshinori charged again, delivering a flurry of blows that were subsequently evaded or blocked. Then a sucker punch caught him in the gut, tossing the hero back to crash into one of the rubble hills caused by their violent landing.
“You know, I’d planned on honing those boys into weapons to use against you,” All for One mentioned in an almost offhand manner. “But I think I like this better - you, dying by my hand, knowing as you fade that Shimura Nana’s grandsons will be forged into villains purely for my own amusement.”
Growling, Toshinori forced himself back onto his feet. “They will never obey you.”
“They might,” the villain replied. “With enough time and, persuasion. Or if not, I’ll just kill them.”
A howl of pure denial ripped out of Toshinori’s throat, and he finally managed to land some proper hits on All for One, driving the other man back to the opposite end of their makeshift battlefield. At the last moment, however, the villain caught his wrist, pivoted, and used Toshinori’s own speed to catapult him headfirst into a pile of broken concrete. The rubble further broke down at his impact, the dust blinding Toshinori for a moment. A heavy foot landed in the space between his shoulder blades, driving him against the ground and forcing the air from his lungs.
“New names will be called for, of course,” All for One mused above him. “What would you think of Shigaraki and Kanashimi?”
Toshinori tried to spit out a vehement retort, but horror clogged his throat, and it was all he could do to twist and roll to a safe distance. All for One clearly took his silence as a sign of nearing victory, and grinned mockingly as he remained in place, arms spread to either side. Staring at him, Toshinori tried to figure out his next move, some plan, any kind of attack that would take the monster down before he could go after the boys again.
And then he heard something.
“Daddy!”
Toshinori knew that voice.
He would know that voice anywhere.
Both he and All for One snapped to look in the same direction, where a little boy with matted green curls stood atop a piece of rubble.
“You can beat him!” Izuku screamed, desperate, tear-filled eyes locked onto Toshinori. “Because I am here!”
Toshinori couldn’t help but smile. And when All for One sneered, and lifted a hand that oozed red light to point at his son, Toshinori leapt forward with the deepest roar he’d ever released, One for All surging to fill his limbs and body with the strength to WIN.
-Double-
Despite remaining silent as he ran, Shouta mentally recited every foul curse word he knew while simultaneously praying he could catch Midoriya Izuku before the worst happened. He’d reluctantly released Shimura Tenko from his capture scarf, so the boy could race alongside him, eyes desperately scanning for his younger cousin.
Another BOOM ripped through the air ahead of them, warning of the continuing fight between two titans. Shouta grit his teeth, steered Shimura to run at a new angle, and kept going.
“There!” The boy suddenly pointed. “Izu!”
Either the smaller child hadn’t heard his cousin, or he was too focused on watching the battle before him to answer. As soon as they got close enough, Shouta flung an end of his capture scarf forward.
Midoriya shrieked when it wrapped around him, and Shouta twisted the return yank so the little one could see them before he made any further noise. Shimura kept moving forward, arms outstretched, and caught the smaller boy with an oomph. “Izuku!”
“Tenko!” Crying, Midoriya grasped on as best he could. “Daddy, he’s-!”
“I know-” Twisting in place, Shimura sent a desperate look up at Shouta. “You’re gonna help him, right? Eraserhead, please!”
Before Shouta could reply with a firm no, that he needed to get the cousins to safety, the world around them shook with another massive impact. Fresh debris flew through the air, and Shouta ignored the stinging pain in his left arm as he flung himself over the boys to shield them.
When everything fell still, he cautiously looked back up. A dark form, face unrecognizable with the blood and mangled features, laid in a new crater just before them. And closer, breathing heavily, stood All Might.
The Number One Hero looked awful.
Numerous bloodstained tears across his uniform revealed ripped and reddened flesh. One puncture in his abdomen looked particularly bad, blood spilling down across his hip and leg. The man’s hands were shaking, and his characteristic bangs had fallen limp.
The boys didn’t seem to care.
“Uncle Toshi!” “Daddy!”
All Might turned, falling to one knee as he braced himself with an arm, the other reaching out. Shimura and Midoriya both crashed into him, bawling. The man quickly curled around them, not speaking, simply making tired noises of reassurance.
Shouta slowly stood, just in time to watch half a dozen other heroes arrive from the direction of the villain’s warehouse. Gran Torino led the way, with the Water Horse partners riding a jetstream of water right behind him. As those behind them slowed or stopped to stare at the ravaged area and defeated villain, the three in front didn’t stop until they reached All Might’s side.
“You idiot,” Torino said gruffly, one hand grasping gently at the blonde man’s shoulder, the other resting lightly on Shimura’s head. “You know better than to just charge in like that.”
All Might didn’t reply, just pressed his face a little more firmly against Midoriya’s grimy curls.
“Sir,” Aquifer said quietly, “We need to get you medical help, and the children should be looked over as soon as possible too.” After a moment, the Number One Pro nodded, reluctantly releasing his hold on the boys in order to press both hands against the ground and leverage himself up.
And then his arms gave out, and he crumbled to the ground with a pained groan. Gran Torino started cursing, and Shimura began shaking as Midoriya cried out. The Water Horse partners swooped in to each scoop up a child and get them out of the way, while Torino yanked off his cape to press it firmly against All Might’s worst injury, the one losing too much blood. Without a second thought, Shouta took off his capture scarf completely to send it wrapping around the man’s torso, pinning the makeshift pad in place and pulling it tighter than hands alone could manage. Gran Torino nodded his thanks, and then started yelling at the other nearby heroes to get a damn gurney and send word to the medics waiting on standby.
All Might muttered something. Shouta knelt closer to hear. “The... boys...”
“They’ll be safe,” he said. “I promise.” He pushed his goggles up so exhausted blue eyes could meet his own, and All Might nodded, before he shuddered and passed out.
-Double-
“Mrs. Midoriya? Can you hear me?”
“I don’t think she can even see you, buddy, look at how spaced out her eyes are.”
Inko frowned faintly. The voices were different.
“Maybe she isn’t processing, but she’s clearly reacting. Okay, Mrs. Midoriya, we’re gonna get you out of here and back to your family, alright?”
Family. Which family? Vague impressions of dark hair and red eyes, and green hair like hers... then two forms that were different, they didn’t match, but they loved her and she loved them... Inky black turning to pale blue, faint green growing brighter and curlier, bright yellow that stood upright to attract attention or dangled low to hide... what were the voices saying again?
“Bright Green secured, we’re headed for the second extraction point now. What’s going on with the fight outside?”
*Biggest Bad is down for the count; All Might’s in bad shape and headed for med evac.*
“And Junior Blue and Mini Might? The sooner we get them back with Bright Green the better.”
*It’ll have to be at the hospital, this site’s too wrecked to risk a reunion.*
“Copy that.”
Everything went fuzzy again for a while, as voices came and went, and hands helped Inko up and down steps. She had the faint impression of not being where she was before, but trying to follow that line of thought hurt, so she let herself go blank again instead.
And then came something which forced her to focus.
“Mama?”
The haze she’d been staring at cleared, just slightly, just enough for her to see a little face in front of her own. Her heart fell and flew at the same time.
“Mama? Are you awake?”
Yes. No. Maybe?
“M-mama, please...”
A faint noise escaped her lips at the sight of tears, and Inko managed to lift a hand to stroke one freckled cheek. The little face sobbed, and disappeared from sight at the same time she felt a weight settled against her chest. Her hand pulled closer, to settle against it, and gently rub up and down.
How long they stayed like that, she couldn’t say. But it felt right.
Notes:
Sorry about the long wait guys, I've had some unfortunate upheavals in real life to deal with along with the stress of isolation we're all going through right now.
But, there has been one bright spot! GUESS WHO IS OFFICIALLY A SELF PUBLISHED AUTHOR NOW!!!
Granted, it's just a dinky little prequel short story to my actual novels, and only available electronically on amazon, BUT IT COUNTS. IT SHOWS UP IN SEARCH RESULTS AND EVERYTHING!! TAKE THAT DAD!!!
Anywho. That and the comments I look forward to getting on this chapter are about all I've got going for me at the moment, which means I'm going to enjoy them all the more. Stay safe out there, folks!
-Tri
Chapter 15: Numbers and Emotions
Summary:
From a purely logistical point of view, the mission had been an all-around success, with the three hostages recovered alive, and uninjured. Over fourteen villains were captured and turned over to police custody, their leader pronounced dead upon his arrival to the hospital. Only six injured parties on the side of the heroes, with five being minor wounds and easily healed.
Numbers called it a good day.
Emotion insisted otherwise.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Mirai sighed as he sank into a stiff hospital chair.
From a purely logistical point of view, the mission had been an all-around success, with the three hostages recovered alive, and uninjured. Over fourteen villains were captured and turned over to police custody, their leader pronounced dead upon his arrival to the hospital. Only six injured parties on the side of the heroes, with five being minor wounds and easily healed.
Numbers called it a good day.
Emotion insisted otherwise.
-Double-
“Do you need anything else, Tamachi-kun?”
Kansatsu forced a smile as she looked up. “No thank you, Shimo-san. I’m not very hungry right now.”
The white-haired woman nodded, her surface thoughts full of concern and the need to provide comfort. She reminded Kansatsu a lot of Inko-san - just, a little more fragile, with a barely-present wall holding back darker things from consuming her completely. “Well, if you change your mind...”
“I’ll speak up, thank you.” Dropping her head back down, the girl absently kept on eye on where Hitoshi was excitedly telling Shouto and Natsuo everything he could think of about Eraserhead, and the other on the television, tuned into a local news station.
“Oi, Tamachi.” Touya frowned at her from the other end of the sofa. He wore a ball cap pulled low over his face, hiding most of his hair, and behind his surface worry over Kansatsu’s subdued attitude swirled a tense cloud of anxiety for his mom’s mental state.
“You could dye it,” Kansatsu said, causing surprise to completely overtake the question Touya had been about to ask her.
“Huh?”
“Your hair. You could dye it a different color, so it doesn’t look like his.”
The boy blinked, eyebrows lifting as he considered the idea, and approved of it. “...I just might. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget about asking what’s eating you, though.”
Kansatsu huffed. “Was worth a shot.”
“Not against big brother instincts, it wasn’t.” A single sock-clad foot stretched down to poke her arm. “So, spill.”
“Just...” she sighed. “Waiting. Wondering if we’ll hear what happened right away, or if we’ll see it on the news, or if Hitoshi and I will have to leave before anybody comes to tell us and it’ll be next weekend before we can come back and find out.”
Touya’s face twisted unhappily. “That- yeah. Okay. But even if you two need to go, I could still call you as soon as we hear something-”
Kansatsu started shaking her head before he’d even finished. “We aren’t allowed to use the phone. Mrs. Haadare always answers, and I don’t want her knowing about any of this.”
The older boy frowned. “Why not?”
“I just- don’t.” She pulled her feet up onto the couch and curled into a ball. Despite being able to see and understand other people’s thoughts, this particular knot of fear and frustration in her own mind proved annoyingly impossible to put into words. Touya, thankfully, seemed to get it, and didn’t question her again.
-Double-
“Well, the good news is that I fully believe Midoriya Inko’s mind isn’t gone - merely suppressed, likely in an effort to keep her subdued and easy to handle.” The doctor’s headfeathers flared in a show of distaste, before she settled them again. “I’m going to reach out to a few specialists I know with mental Quirks, and in the meantime we’ll see if being around her son and nephew keeps increasing her external awareness levels.”
“Thank you,” Mirai said quietly. “And All Might?”
Another flare of feathers, but this time they didn’t settle quite so neatly. “Still in surgery. The initial physical damage was bad enough, but some sort of Quirk effect has continued eating away at his muscle tissue... My colleagues think we have a decent chance at getting him through alive, maybe even without removing the damaged organs, but nothing short of a miracle will let that man continue hero work after this.”
Mirai thanked her again, and waited until the doctor departed before allowing himself to collapse into a chair.
All Might... finished? No. Unacceptable. The Symbol of Peace, the Pillar of Japan... not like this. If- when he pulled through, Toshinori would surely find a way to keep going - to step down from being a Hero, from being the Number One Pro, went contrary to everything about the man.
(“An ADDRESS, Mirai!”)
...then again, there was a time Mirai would’ve scoffed at the idea anything could derail All Might from fully dedicating himself to hero work in the first place.
-Double-
After getting his arm splinted and looked over by a nurse with a pain relief Quirk, Shouta found himself stalling. He texted Hizashi, briefly, and checked a couple of news sites on his phone, glad for the moment to not see any signs of headlines concerning the morning’s mission and it’s... abrupt conclusion. His feet, entirely of their own accord, went past the hall leading to the hospital’s exit, and into the cautionary care ward.
Intensive care was for patients with debilitating illnesses or injuries; cautionary held those with less life-threatening issues, but who still needed close monitoring in case of new issues.
(And then there was critical care, for patients on death’s doorstep-)
Shouta found the door marked “Midoriya/Shimura”. And hesitated. Before he could force himself to turn and walk away, however, the knob turned, and quite suddenly a pair of exhausted red eyes blinked up at him.
“...do you know where they keep the food around here?” Shimura Tenko asked.
“Mm.” Shouta briefly glanced inside the dim room, where he could just make out a figure sitting beside the curtained window, a second child curled up in her lap. Both of them seemed to be asleep. “Didn’t they give you a call button or something?”
Shimura’s face scrunched up. “Yeah, but... I bet the nurses have more important stuff to do, and I just... I’m tired of staying in one place.”
(“Interior room, no doors or windows - looks like they relied on that guy with the warp Quirk to get food in and out for the kids.”)
“Well. Come on, then.”
-Double-
“Anything, Nighteye?”
“No. No change.” Glasses pushed up in order to rub at his eyes, Mirai sighed. “We need to determine new living arrangements for them.”
Gran made a rough noise in the back of his throat, entering the room fully in order to throw himself into a chair opposite the younger man. “The Tower’s secure enough. Can look into private tutors for the boys.”
“Sealing them away from the world, tempting though that would be, likely isn’t going to go over well,” Mirai said dryly. The old Pro grimaced in reply. “But I’m sure, for their recovery period at least, there won’t be any objection. And speaking of Recovery...”
“Already called her,” Gran grunted. “But Shuzenji’s Quirk won’t be able to really help until the doctor’s have finished their work.”
“She will be here, though, when they bring him out of surgery?”
“Yes, she’ll be here - complained to me about putting too much time and effort into that boy to be willing to turn her back on him down...”
“Hm.” Mirai stared pensively at the floor for a long moment. “The doctor I spoke to said it would be a miracle if he ever returned to Hero work.”
Gran snorted at that. “It’s a damn miracle he’s still alive, Nighteye. No other bearer has made it out of their final showdown against All for One, let alone truly defeated him.”
That... made for a fair point. But Mirai still didn’t like the implications.
-Double-
“Hello?”
“Pardon me, is this the Bakugou residence?”
“Yes, this is Bakugou Masaru speaking - how can I help you?”
“I hope you will keep this information limited to your family, Bakugou-san, but I was asked to inform you that Midoriya Inko, her son and her nephew were retrieved alive and well this morning-”
The phone clattered to the kitchen counter, and it took Masaru a minute to blink the tears from his eyes. Mitsuki, just coming through the doorway, raised an eyebrow at him. When she heard a voice still coming out of the handset, she swooped in to scoop it up and commandeer the situation. Masaru didn’t protest - as soon as his wife’s expression lit up with relief, the man staggered off to locate their son.
Katsuki, as had become his hobby in recent days, stood in the middle of their backyard, kicking small pebbles and sticks up into the air in order to take aim at them with his Quirk. Barely pausing to wait for a gap between explosions, Masaru hurried over to the five year old’s side.
“Hey-!” Katsuki squawked at the arms that suddenly encircled his small frame. “What gives?!”
“They’re alright, Katsuki,” Masaru said, face pressed against soft blond hair. “Inko, Tenko, Izuku - they’re okay, they’ve been rescued.”
His son stiffened, before all traces of tension fled, and he bonelessly slumped against Masaru’s chest. “S’about time.”
“Yeah,” Masaru choked out a laugh. “It really is.”
“Oi!” They both shifted to glance at Mitsuki, leaning halfway out the backdoor. “They’re at the General Hospital, are you two coming with me or not?”
-Double-
After Gran Torino left to chase down someone who could tell him the status of All for One’s body, Mirai decided he needed to move. His feet unconsciously carried him deeper into the cautionary care ward, towards one door in particular - just to check, to stand in for his mentor while All Might himself remained... indisposed. Two quiet knocks, and when no one answered, he silently eased open the door to poke his head inside.
Inko remained in the window seat where he’d left her earlier, eyes closed rather than staring blankly ahead. One hand sat limply on the armrest, but the other curled protectively around Izuku, who clung to her even in his sleep. Mirai watched them for a few moments, but didn’t see anything amiss. His gaze then swept the room, pausing on a stack of items he didn’t recognize.
“Nighteye?”
Turning, he frowned at Tenko, coming up the hallway with a tray of food carefully held in a four-fingered grip. Eraserhead trailed a step behind him, also bearing a tray with the arm not held by a sling.
“Shimura-kun,” he murmured, nudging the door open a tad wider. “Did someone bring those for you?”
The ten year old looked past him curiously, only to stiffen with an abrupt gasp. Instantly alarmed, Mirai shifted his stance, ready to leap forward at the slightest indication of danger. Tenko, however, didn’t show any other reactions. He merely remained in place, trembling as he stared at the stack of slightly crumpled crayon drawings, alongside a green rabbit plushie and a stuffed corgi pup.
-Double-
Kurogiri kept a tiny slip of a portal open in the shadows beneath the hospital bed, just until Tenko returned to the room to find the returned drawings and toys. Once assured the boy saw them, he closed the portal, and focused completely on setting up the life support machinery according to the Doctor’s instructions.
Notes:
Heeey, what's up guys? Surprised to see an update? Yeah, me too.
So, six months ago, I included a note cackling over publishing my first short story - WELL. I have officially upgraded, because a few weeks ago, I self-published my very first novel, too! First part of a trilogy I've been developing and working on for over a decade at this point, so three cheers for that >:D
Now then, I make no promises as to when the next chapter will come, because this past month has had plenty of rough spots, including the passing of my 87 year old grandmother and the cutting back of my work hours. Money's gonna be tight for a while, and at this point, it's a coin toss whether I'm gonna lean towards more writing or reading to cope with the stress. In other words, please don't leave any "hope you update soon" comments, they really don't help. That said, please DO leave lots of screams in your comments, because the sight of all caps feeds the Muse, as should come as no surprise to my longtime readers x)
A'ight folks, hang in there, stay calm, and keep reading fan fic,
-Tri
Chapter 16: Tired Eyes
Summary:
But then tired red eyes lifted to meet hers, and everything drowned under the sudden downpour of pure relief. Kansatsu let go of Hitoshi to take two steps forward and lift her arms, just in time for her best friend to crash headlong into her, crying harder than she’d ever seen before. His clenched fists pressed hard against her shoulder blades, and Kansatsu clung just as tightly, gripping the hospital shirt with one hand and rubbing circles around Tenko’s back the way Inko-san would do it.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Detective Tsukauchi’s phone call prompted a mad scramble in the penthouse apartment of All Might Tower. Kansatsu and Hitoshi insisted they needed to go, and Shouto wanted to follow, but Rei-san looked visibly scared at the though of leaving the safety of the agency, and Touya insisted they shouldn’t risk going out when All Might wasn’t in a position to chuck Endeavor around again should the bastard make an untimely appearance.
“I’ll go with them,” Fuyumi suddenly piped up. “I can take messages, and ask when they’ll be coming back here, and- and Father probably won’t care, if it’s just me.”
Kansatsu didn’t need to look inside her head to understand the pained acceptance carried by the other girl’s words.
-Double-
“What do you mean we can’t see them?” Mitsuki slammed both palms flat against the countertop, glare locked onto an utterly indifferent hospital clerk.
“Only those approved by All Might’s agency are being allowed in, ma’am,” the blobbish being replied. “We can’t risk any security breaches by granting access to unvetted civilians.”
“I’ll show you who’s unvetted, you gelatinous under-cooked pudding! We’ve been friends with Midoriya Inko for years, we’ve babysat both her boys, and you have the nerve-!”
“Mrs. Bakugou, please.” A new voice drew the woman’s attention to her left, where the very exhausted looking Detective Tsukauchi had just emerged from a hallway. “There’s no need to shout.”
She huffed, straightening up and folding her arms. “There is, actually, considering they won’t let us in to check on Inko and the kids.”
“And they aren’t going to,” the detective replied, sighing. “The officer who contacted you should have said no one who isn’t a member of the police or attached to All Might agency would be able to visit-”
“Oh he did,” Mitsuki snarled, “But given that it was such a stupid ass thing to say I elected to ignore it.”
Somewhere behind her, Masaru groaned. “Honey, why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because it doesn’t matter! We’re here, and we are not leaving until I’ve seen that family with my own two eyes and promised them we’ll always be around to help!” The detective’s resolve faltered in the face of her insistent rage, but then his gaze shifted to something low to the ground, and he frowned.
“...I might be able to swing an exception for you with Sir Nighteye,” the man eventually said. “But not your son.”
Mitsuki blinked, sparing a brief glance at Katsuki and his suddenly apprehensive expression. “What? Why not? He has just as much of a right to see Izuku-chan too-”
“Mrs. Bakugou. Are you aware of the multiple occasions when your son has burned Midoriya Izuku?”
Something unpleasant stirred in Mitsuki’s gut, but she did her damnedest to ignore it. “He’s had some accidents, I know, but I’ve been making sure he practices with his Quirk control-”
“Not accidents, ma’am.”
And just like that, the unpleasant feeling stretched and grew.
-Double-
“Nighteye, I don’t like-”
“There’s been a breach-” Both men paused, before Gran gestured for Mirai to continue. “Tenko believes the warp villain, Kurogiri, managed to get inside Inko-san’s room. We need to run a full security check of the hospital.”
The old Pro cursed, immediately spinning on his heel to hurry out of the intersection where he’d nearly walked headlong into Nighteye. “Damn. I’d hoped the villains we didn’t catch would be content to disappear. Did he do anything to Inko or the boys?”
“No. She and Izuku were asleep, and Tenko had stepped out with an escort to fetch some cafeteria food. The only indication we have of his presence at all are the drawings and toys he left on their table.”
Gran Torino nearly tripped over his own feet. “I beg your pardon?”
“Apparently, the boys made an, impression on him, during their imprisonment. As Tenko briefly explained to me, he brought them extra items when possible, and at one point they in turn gifted him with a pair of drawings and a stuffed animal. Now, a retrieved stack of the other drawings Izuku made and the two plushies he and Tenko liked best have apparently been returned.”
Turning a corner towards the hospital’s security office, Gran looked torn between continued concern and sudden bemusement. “S’pose I shouldn’t be surprised by those two, making nice with one of their kidnappers.”
“The lesser of two evils, when the only other villain they actually spoke to was All for One-” Abruptly reminded of Gran’s concern when they spoke over one another, Mirai held out at hand to wait just as they reached the security office door. “What were you going to say you didn’t like, earlier?”
The old man’s expression darkened. “Someone had the bright idea to go ahead and dump All for One’s body in the morgue’s cremator. I wanted a proper chance to glare at that bastard’s corpse with my own two eyes, but he’s already more ash than flesh at this point.”
Well. That certainly didn’t sit well. “Who approved it?”
“Chief Medical Examiner. Apologized, claimed he didn’t want to have the remains of a villain that powerful sitting around his morgue any longer than necessary, not when some of his minions might come calling.”
“Which, considering the warp villain who did make his way inside, might not have been entirely the wrong call,” Mirai mused.
“Hrmph. C’mon, let’s get someone to check the security footage.”
-Double-
Kansatsu nearly did a double take when she hurried into the hospital lobby, Hitoshi and Fuyumi right behind her. Over by a long row of hard plastic chairs, fury, disappointment, and crushing confusion filled Bakugou Mitsuki’s thoughts, as she stood over Katsuki and hissed a never-ending stream of profanities and threats. Bakugou Masaru looked even more miserable than his son, sitting in one of the chairs with his head in his hands.
“Who are they?” Fuyumi asked, followed Kansatsu’s gaze when the younger girl paused. In the few moments she hesitated over answering, Detective Tsukauchi appeared by the reception desk, and Kansatsu skipped past debating whether to check on the Bakugou family. Right as she started moving forward again, though, Katsuki shifted, eyes darting in her direction. She caught the barest glimpse of tangled concern and anger, along with a flash of Izuku’s face.
“Tamachi-kun,” the detective smiled when she led the others up to him. “I thought you might be arriving soon. Some on, their room is this way.”
“Are you going to let Katsuki and his parents in?” Kansatsu asked, taking Hitoshi’s hand to gently tug him out of the way of a passing nurse and wheelchair.
“That’s, still a matter of debate. One I’m leaving to Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino, honestly, because I’d rather not be responsible for the fallout either way.”
“...you might at least escort Izuku out here to say hello to them. I don’t need to look inside his head to know he’d be happy to see Katsuki, and it might be enough to calm Mitsuki-san down.”
Tsukauchi gave her a smile over his shoulder as they turned the next corner. “I’ll pass that along, thank you.”
“We get to see them though, right?” Hitoshi asked, half-hiding behind Kansatsu even as he asked the question.
“Of course you are. We’ve got a couple of Pro Heroes keeping an eye on things, but I’ll make sure you’re able to stay as long as you want- or. Until you need to go home, I suppose.”
Kansatsu winced at that, but didn’t say anything. She gave Hitoshi’s hand a squeeze, ignored Fuyumi’s enquiring glance, and kept silent as they followed the detective to a door further down the hall. When it opened, her gaze went straight to Tenko.
He looked... not great, but not awful. Blue shorts with a red stripe she didn’t recognize, hospital shirt and grey socks a size too large. Hair flat and tangled, washed but not brushed, a frown creasing his entire face into one miserable wrinkle. Swirling clouds of anxious fear consumed his mindscape, shot through with beams of we’re here, we’re safe, it’s okay it’s okay it HAS to be okay.
But then tired red eyes lifted to meet hers, and everything drowned under the sudden downpour of pure relief. Kansatsu let go of Hitoshi to take two steps forward and lift her arms, just in time for her best friend to crash headlong into her, crying harder than she’d ever seen before. His clenched fists pressed hard against her shoulder blades, and Kansatsu clung just as tightly, gripping the hospital shirt with one hand and rubbing circles around Tenko’s back the way Inko-san would do it.
“It’s okay,” she whispered in his ear. “You’re here, you’re safe, and it’s going to be okay.”
Sudden babbling drew her attention to one side, where Izuku and Hitoshi were likewise hugging, the green-haired boy talking a mile a minute about what happened. A subtle shift in the shadows behind them caused Kansatsu to look further up, to where Eraserhead stood, watching the boys with a strange sort of detached contentment. His yellow goggles were pulled down, so she couldn’t see his eyes, but the girl still knew the moment he switched to looking back at her. She dipped her head in a shallow nod, which he returned after a moment’s hesitation. In the background, Kansatsu could hear Detective Tsukauchi explaining something to Fuyumi in a low voice, and at the back of the room, Inko sat with a faint smile on her face.
-Double-
Shouto refused to move from his spot sitting in front of the elevator doors. For three hours, he didn’t move, sitting and staring in the intense way he’d only picked up after, well. After their family fell apart. Natsuo tried to tempt him away with a game of Ice Monster versus All Might, but Shouto just shook his head. Touya offered to fix a treat if the five year old joined him in the kitchen, but the younger boy ignored him outright. Rei, aware of the need to simply sit, didn’t try to do anything to distract her baby. Instead, after double-checking her other boys didn’t need anything, she went and sat beside Shouto in front of the elevator.
For the first ten minutes, they both remained silent and still. Then, in the first gesture initiated on his part, Shouto scooted sideways, close enough for his shoulder to press against her side. Rei smiled, reined in her sudden desire to cry, and oh so cautiously moved her hand to stroke his hair. Neither of them spoke, or looked at each other, and Shouto didn’t clamber into her lap as he might have done only six months prior. But the connection felt more genuine than all of Rei’s shaky attempts at reconnecting with the child she’d hurt so horribly.
And finally, their waiting paid off.
Opening with a soft chime, the elevator doors parted to reveal Fuyumi, escorted by a frankly exhausted looking Detective Tsukauchi. He smiled at Rei, before blinking with alarm as Shouto practically launched himself at his sister.
“Well?!” The little boy demanded.
“They’re going to be okay,” Fuyumi replied, not the least bit fazed by her baby brother’s energy. “Izu-chan wanted me to tell you he’s fine, and he missed you, and he drew lots of pictures he wants to show you when they come home.”
Like a balloon losing air, Shouto sagged in place, with such a profound look of relief on his face that Rei once again swore to herself to give the biggest hug possible to the boy who’d made friends with her baby. She fussed over Fuyumi for a few minutes, before Touya and Natsuo emerged, and all four of her children retreated to the kitchen. Then Rei turned to the detective, still waiting beside the elevator.
He sighed, and gestured towards the sofa. “You may want to sit, Shimo-san. The rest of the news isn’t nearly so good.”
Notes:
Y'all better thank GayinaPastLife for the fantastically long comment I read this morning, because there wouldn't be a new chapter today without it :)
Chapter 17: Interrogations
Summary:
Silently, Kansatsu and Tenko moved to clamber up onto the short bench beneath the room’s lone window, where they had a better vantage point to stare at the Underground Pro. Which they continued to do, still without making any noise.
Eraserhead’s second eyebrow lifted to join the first.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“So?”
“Gimme a second,” Kansatsu grumbled, squinting as she peered up at Inko-san’s blank face and into her mind. The usual bright flurry of joys and concerns was gone, blanketed deep beneath a fog of obedience. Typical abstract and concrete thoughts, flashes of emotion, all were trapped under the cloud, pinned in place behind heavy, oppressive shadows. In the furthest, darkest corner, though, the girl could just barely make out a flicker of sharp green, a fierce desire that refused to be cowed into submission.
Tenko hovered anxiously at her shoulder, gaze jumping back and forth between Kansatsu and his aunt. He did remain quiet, however, letting her concentrate as requested.
“...I can see a little of her,” Kansatsu finally said, blinking as she looked away from Inko-san’s dampened mindscape. “And, I think the problem can be fixed, but you’ll need someone who can actually go in, instead of just looking.”
“Yeah,” her friend sighed. “That’s what the doctor was saying. But thanks, Kansa. I trust you better.”
She smiled and bumped his shoulder with her own. Both ten year olds took a quick moment to check on their green and purple haired charges, cuddled up and conked out together on the room’s bed. Satisfied with Izuku and Hitoshi’s arrangements, the pair then shifted their attention to the other adult in the room.
Eraserhead simply raised an eyebrow at them.
Silently, Kansatsu and Tenko moved to clamber up onto the short bench beneath the room’s lone window, where they had a better vantage point to stare at the Underground Pro. Which they continued to do, still without making any noise.
Eraserhead’s second eyebrow lifted to join the first.
After several long moments, the man broke first. “...what.”
“Nothing,” Tenko answered, a smidge too innocently.
“Now why don’t I believe that,” Eraserhead muttered, sagging a little further against the wall.
“How old are you?” Kansatsu asked.
The Pro gave her a slow blink before answering. “Twenty.”
“Oh, wow,” Tenko said in surprise. “You’re like, a really new Hero. Is that why there isn’t a lot about you on the Underground forums yet?”
Tired red eyes narrowed. “How do you know about those.”
“‘Cause of those two,” the boy answered briefly nodding towards his baby cousin and Kansatsu’s little brother. “They both want to be Heroes, and the only ones we ever see on the news are the big names with flashy Quirks, so we gotta research to find other role models.”
“Hitoshi got super excited when we found a piece of footage of one of your fights,” Kansatsu added. “He has a really long scarf to use when we play Heroes versus Villains, so he can pretend to be you.”
Eraserhead didn’t reply to that, but they saw his cheeks start to turn red before he hunched his shoulders, hiding behind the piled folds of his capture weapon. And Kansatsu knew it was hiding, because she could still see the layer of embarrassment in his mind clear as day.
“Did you go to one of the Heroics high schools?” Tenko asked next. “Or did you train independently?”
After a moment spent grumbling to himself, Eraserhead re-emerged from the scarf. “I graduated from UA two years ago.” When both kids shared a grin, he frowned. “Why?”
“Because that means there must be footage of you in their Sports Festivals!”
He huffed at them. “Only my first year. Didn’t bother, second and third.”
“Why not?”
“Going into Underground work means putting effort into not getting noticed. If I kept winning, I’d have been setting myself up at a disadvantage right away.”
Tenko straightened up a bit. “Wait, does that mean you won your first year Festival?”
“...yes.”
“That’s so cool.”
Apparently unable to deal with further praise, Eraserhead retreated back behind his capture weapon.
-Double-
From: Shoutaaa!!
Hizashi
From: You
SHOUTAAAAA
Are you still at the hospital??It’s been hours!
From: Shoutaaa!!
I’m in trouble, Hizashi
They keep saying I’m cool
From: You
???????
You are cool!
Who’s saying it? Why are you in trouble??
From: Shoutaaa!!
One of the rescued hostages and his friend
They’ve been on the Underground forum sites
They want to look up our first year sports festival now
From: You
!!!!!!
You have FANS
From: Shoutaaa!!
I’m not used to this
They’re 10 Hizashi
From: You
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have YOUNG fans!!
That’s even better!
Are they adorable? I demand a picture. Photographic evidence!
From: Shoutaaa!!
Like I would make this up
Hizashi tapped the file sent via text message, and nearly screamed his apartment wall down. Two kids, one with pale blue hair, the other a sort of shimmery blue-green, were sharing a phone between them, focused intently on the screen. Despite red and solid black eyes not looking in the direction of the camera, though, both children were holding up peace signs in Shouta’s direction.
A second image followed a few seconds later, of two other, even smaller kids, curled up together on what looked like a hospital bed in the same room.
From: Shoutaaa!!
The little brothers know me too
Apparently the purple one has a scarf he uses to be me when they play
From: You
!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT’S EVEN B E T T E R
From: Shoutaaa!!
I’m not used to being recognized, Hizashi
Especially not by 5 year olds
Snickering to himself, Hizashi scrolled back up a bit to admire the photos again. Just as he took a sip of morning coffee, however, the man set his phone down on top of an old newspaper sitting innocently on the kitchen counter... which just happened to include a still shot from the footage that rocked all of Japan almost a month before.
He just barely managed not to choke.
From: You
SHOUTA
From: Shoutaaa!!
?
From: You
ARE THOSE ALL MIGHT’S KIDS?!?!
From: Shoutaaa!!
...shit.
I admit nothing
From: You
WHAT
SHOUTA
SHOUTAAAAAA
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU CAN’T JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND THEN IGNORE MEEE
-Double-
In the end, Gran Torino went out himself to speak to the Bakugou family.
He introduced himself briefly to the parents, before setting both hands on his hips as he stared down the brat. To the kid’s credit, he met the challenging look head on, shoulders only slightly hunched with fists pressed against his thighs.
“When I first met Izuku,” Gran began, “There was a bad burn on his arm, and I asked if he’d been fighting villains already.”
The Bakugou kid’s nostrils flared, but his expression flickered, dropping a few shades of belligerence.
“I’ve been working to try and knock a lesson into his head I think you’d benefit from too: the reminder that Heroes only hit villains, and only hard enough to stop them from hurting others.” He leaned a touch further into the kid’s space. “You want to be a Pro Hero, don’t you boy?”
“Yes,” came the grumbled reply.
“Then act like it,” Gran snarled. It made the kid flinch, and finally drop his gaze. Nodding, Gran backed up a step - and pulled a folded piece of paper from his glove. “Here. Apparently Izuku got to draw a lot while he was gone, and Tenko asked me to pass this along to you.”
Clearly suspicious, the Bakugou kid accepted his offering, unfolding it with jerky motions. When he could see the full portrait, however, his whole body froze, wide red eyes locked onto the crayon scribbles. The boy’s parents both looked over his shoulders to see it too, and their concerned expressions immediately softened.
Gran didn’t need to look. He’d glanced at the portrait once, when Tenko handed it over, before folding it up.
Izuku and Tenko took center stage, of course, with Toshinori and Inko standing equally tall on either side. Tamachi and Shinsou were added off to the left, while blonde spikes and red hands clearly identified the Bakugou kid on the right.
Gran met the mother’s gaze as she sighed. “You swear they’ll be alright?” He nodded, prompting another sigh. “Alright. Alright, we’ll go.”
“Mitsuki-”
“Yeah, I know.” Both parents grasped each other’s hands, before the father started to reach for the drawing in his son’s hands. The kid immediately clutched it to his chest, which made the man back off.
“Take care of them, Torino-san, please,” the father said with a small bow, as his family started to head for the door.
“S’what I’m here for,” Gran replied gruffly, watching them go. He waited until the trio were outside and headed for the parking garage before he turned - only to pause as a blur of motion caught his attention.
A moment later, a young man with long banana-yellow hair and skewed glasses nearly tripped coming through the sliding glass doors, frantic pace at odds with his overly wide smile.
“Sorry, sorry, s’cuse me, hi!” He tumbled to a stop at the reception desk. “I’m looking for Aizawa Shouta, he was involved in the, erm, the thing this morning?”
The clerk looked at him indifferently, as Gran sighed.
Notes:
I HAVE COME TO A DECISION
So, rather than turning this story into a massive rambling thing that might not ever get finished, I think I'm going to end it in a few more chapters, and the further misadventures of broccoli boy and his exasperated cousin will come as individual stories a la Did You See Him and Alternates. That way I'll get to claim Double Act as complete, and won't have to deal with the existential dread that comes of having "?" chapters in total!
Also, everyone say hi to Present Mic, who was NOT supposed to show up this early but weaseled his way in anyhow x'D
Chapter 18: Forward Progress
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The young warrior, moving slower due to his injuries, nonetheless took three steps to put himself in-between his companion and their fearsome opponent. Sneering, the elf warlock lifted a hand, dark energies swirling over her palm as an unknown spell began to form.
“So, you can brace for impact for whatever’s coming,” Yamada explained, leaning over the table to prod at Tenko’s character sheet. “Or you could try to dodge, but that kinda defeats the purpose of getting in-between the warlock and Tamachi-kun. And attacking’s out, since you’re too far to reach the baddie in one turn.”
Tenko frowned, glancing at the list of abilities his character still retained. “...I’ve got a Divine Call left. I can use that, right?”
“Sure! Which of the wolfen gods do you want to appeal to?”
“Uh...” Another check of his character’s racial attributes led Tenko to squinting at the two options. “Calu’s the warrior, but Wol is the weaver - he made the world's first armor, so I should get a better Defense Bonus from calling on him, right?”
“Yep! Alright, Divine Call means we need a d4; that’s the pyramid-shaped one, Izuku-chan.”
“Here it is!” Tenko accepted the offered die from his beaming baby cousin, who went back to doodling on his own papers. One roll later presented him with the number 3.
“Aaalrighty, let’s see here! Lord Wol has heard your call for assistance, and decided to offer his favor! A beam of light descends from the blue moon overhead, expanding to cover you and your companion both in a shimmering orb that extends for two steps in all directions. Your turn, Tamachi-kun!”
“Well, it’s not like I can do much from behind Tenko,” Kansatsu muttered dryly, slowly dragging a finger down her character sheet. She’d used up more spell slots than Tenko, whose warrior character had the good old fashioned fallback of ‘whack the bad guy with a sword’. They’d started out facing two warlocks and three dark orcs, four of whom were down for the count, but her human wizard was low on health, with Tenko’s wolfen not much better. “Wait. I’ve still got that gift from that trickster we helped. Can I use it?”
“Sure! One boon from the Mysterious Trickster reeequires a d6!”
“Ooh, bigger die,” Tenko commented, as Hitoshi scrambled to find the right game piece for his sister. When it rolled and landed, Kansatsu got the highest point value, and Yamada cackled.
“You untie the drawstring pouch and toss it into the air, sending a cloud of glittering silver sparks across the forest clearing,” he announced. “After hovering for a few seconds, the cloud gathers and condenses, and high-pitched laughter rings out from the center mass.”
“Uh-oh,” both ten year olds muttered. Slumped in a seat at the end of their table, Aizawa snorted.
“No no no, this is a good thing!” Yamada protested, before switching back to his Story Master voice. “Out of the glittering cloud steps a tall figure - another elf, but this one’s skin is darker, her hair shorter, and she’s wearing leather ruffian’s armor instead of robes. This, little listeners, is none other than Jenet, the Patron of Pranksters, the Goddess of Trickery, the Immosi Pantheon’s greatest agent of sheer chaos-”
“Is she gonna do anything?” Kansatsu deadpanned, causing Tenko to crack up.
Yamada huffed at them, but got on with things. “Jenet snaps her fingers, and the elegant robes and cape the warlock is wearing suddenly spring up, taking on lives of their own! The loose folds wrap around her arms and legs, snuffing out the spell she was gathering energy to cast and binding her in place.”
“Oh. That’s helpful.”
“With the warlock secured, Jenet also blows a handful of glitter in her face, and in moments the mortal elf tips over to land face-first on the ground, sound asleep! And with that, little listeners, you’ve won your first combat encounter! Congrats!!”
“Yay!” Tenko accepted a side-hug from Izuku, while Hitoshi solemnly offered Kansatsu a fist-bump. Emerging from his half-asleep state, Aizawa stretched, the joints of his shoulders letting off quiet pops.
“Alright, if that’s done it’s time to clean up. Nighteye’s going to be here soon to collect the four of you, and we need to head out.”
The kids quickly helped gather up papers and guidebooks and the fake-parchment map Yamada had used to set up their adventure. Hitoshi and Izuku likewise scooped together their various art supplies, though not before the latter presented Yamada with his rendition of the man’s Story Master persona. Predictably, there were tears and profuse thanks, which gave Tenko a moment to wander over to Aizawa’s side.
“Thanks for coming again,” he mumbled, briefly meeting the young man’s eyes before glancing away. “It’s good for Izuku to have something to look forward to every day.”
“Sure, kid.” A large hand tentatively ruffled his hair, which Tenko couldn’t help but lean into, just a bit. They’d been staying at the hospital for a straight week, as various doctors tried to help Aunt Inko, and Uncle Toshi continued to recover from his injuries.
(It’s been seven days, and he still hasn’t woken up, she hasn’t said a word-)
“We’ll see you tomorrow, little listeners!” Yamada was a little more free with shoulder pats and half-hugs, one of his arms pinning the pile of books and game folders to his side. “Be good! Or at least, don’t get caught!”
Aizawa huffed, reaching to slip half the unwieldy pile out of his friend’s awkward grip. “You should not be giving advice to impressionable children.”
“Hey!”
The kids all laughed, though, causing Yamada’s pout to turn into a grin, as Aizawa hid a small smile in his scarf.
-Double-
“I think we’ve finally found the problem,” the horned doctor informed them, with a cautious smile. “From what our latest specialist has found, it seems an extremely sophisticated Quirk was used to disconnect portions of Midoriya’s mind from one another - she can still see, and hear, and feel, but the part of her brain that actually processes stimuli isn’t receiving the information. Basically, numbers are being entered into the calculator, but the Enter button to run the equation can’t be used.”
Mirai frowned. “Is there a way to fix it?”
“Theoretically, yes. Now that we know what the problem is, I’ve taken the liberty of reaching out to a retired teacher of mine - her Quirk is a form of mental projection that allows her to metaphysically influence the brain. Normally, she specializes in assisting traumatized victims recover memories and cognitive function, but with any luck she’ll be able to help Midoriya as well.”
Slowly, Mirai nodded, glancing once more at the printed images of Inko’s EEG and other brain scans. “When will this woman arrive?”
“Ah, she’s out of the country at the moment, so it will take a few days, at the least. I’ll inform you when I have a better estimation.”
“Mm. I’ll also need her name and some basic information, to run a background check.”
“Oh - of course, Nighteye-san. Here, let me write this down...”
-Double-
“His vitals have stabilized, and it seems the latest round of grafting is holding steady. I see no reason why we can’t ease off the barbiturates and let him wake up.”
Sorahiko let out a slow breath, fighting very hard to keep from sagging in place. “Good. When?”
The feathered doctor checked her clipboard, standing over the extra-large hospital bed and its too-still occupant. “I’ll give the order tonight, and he’ll probably start to stir by mid-morning tomorrow. It will be best not to overwhelm him with too many visitors, however, and I expect he’ll be falling in and out of sleep quite frequently for the next several days.”
Jerking his head in a stiff nod, Sorahiko waited until she’d left the room before he shuffled forward, reaching up to pat a hand as big as his face. “You hear that, boy? You better wake up tomorrow. Don’t want to disappoint the brats - they’ve been missing you something awful.”
We all have.
-Double-
“Alright,” Rei murmured, wiping off her hands. “That’s the last bedroom tidied. What’s left on our list, Shouto?”
As her youngest baby studied his sheet of paper with a serious expression, the woman tried to subtly stretch her fingers, which twinged from the unfamiliar work. While most of All Might Tower was serviced by a trusted janitorial company, the personal floor remained off limits, maintained by the hero himself and his family. Part of Rei rather admired the man’s commitment to a no-frills lifestyle, enough to decide she and her children would attempt to keep the rooms clean by themselves during their stay.
The rest of her... regretted.
“Mooom!” Natsuo called from down the hall. “Fuyumi says I used the wrong cleaner on the windows and now they’re all sticky!”
“Oh dear.”
-Double-
Bakugou Katsuki didn’t do nerd stuff. He took notes in school, because writing shit down let him remember it better, and he studied what he needed to and researched what was cool, but he didn’t do enthusiastic geeking out or whatever like some people.
But.
When he needed to plan something important, writing helped him get his thoughts in order, better than talking out loud or just thinking in his head. So, after a week of stewing over what the old Pro at the hospital said, and staring for long stretches of time at the drawing Deku had supposedly made, Katsuki went and got an empty notebook from his parents’ home office. In the privacy of his own room, he flipped it open to the first page, and picked up a bright red pen.
Hero Preparation for the Future
Step One - stop blowing up Stupid Deku
Step Two - don’t blow up the Purple Freak either
Step Three - practice patrolling after school so no one else can blow them up instead
Notes:
Blatant, BLATANT showcasing of my original stuff in that top section up there. Someday, Warlocks and Wolfen will become a fully-fleshed out tabletop RPG based off of my books, but for now it's still just a nebulous idea in my head x'D
I've made some art based off of the last chapter, if a) anyone is interested seeing what kiddo Kansa and Tenko look like, and b) any of y'all can tell me how to stick an image into the text - I know it can be done, I just don't have the slightest clue how.
AND, in case it escaped your notice, we officially have an end goal! 20 chapters total, which means just a couple more updates before I start up the one-shots and smaller stories. I'm also accepting votes on what should be up first: a three-shot fic about Tenko's early days as a UA student, another Alternates chapter that fills in some other points of view for Did You See Him, or the slightly dark story concerning how Kansatsu and Hitoshi end up in Aizawa's care a few years further on from this particular chapter.
As always, thanks for reading! Can't wait to see your comments >:3
-Tri
Chapter 19: All Good Things
Summary:
Pain.
Pain in his back, in his arms, in his side... Why did it hurt, why so much-
“You can beat him! Because I am here!”
-IZUKU!
Chapter Text
Pain.
Pain in his back, in his arms, in his side... Why did it hurt, why so much-
“You can beat him! Because I am here!”
-IZUKU!
Forcing his eyes open, Toshinori tried to sit up, gasping as lightning shot up and down his body. Before he could get any further, leather-gloved hands seized his shoulder and shoved him back against a pillowed surface, a familiar voice growling in his ear:
“Don’t you dare try to move yet, you sorry stew-headed lummox! I will wrap my cane around your neck, Toshinori, so help me-”
“Gran,” he wheezed, blinking rapidly when the bright lights refused to resolve into a clear image. “Boys-”
“They’re fine, Izuku’s with his mother, Tenko’s just outside - I am not letting him in here to see you until you’ve gotten yourself under control, boy, so calm the hell down already.” With a final, admittedly more gentle thump to his collarbone, Gran backed off a bit. Toshinori continued to blink, shifting enough to stare at his mentor until the man actually came into focus.
“...All for One,” he finally whispered. “Is he-”
“Gone,” Gran said curtly, expression easing. “You got the bastard. Without either of the boys getting hurt in the backlash, I might add.”
“They were there,” Toshinori realized. “They saw- shit, I probably terrified them-”
“By collapsing, yes. Not by ripping half the bastard’s face off. More importantly, boy, you’ve been out cold for a week now, and they’ve been more worried about you not waking up than anything else.” Freshly alarmed, Toshinori once again reached to try and push himself upright. Gran pointed a warning finger straight at his nose. “Don’t. Just stay put, idiot, I’ll get that hare-brained nephew of yours in here, maybe then you’ll take his example and sit still for a while...”
Reluctantly, Toshinori let himself slump back against his pillows, and finally took in the full scope of the hospital room, the numerous wires and tubes connected to his body, particularly-
The sucker punch caught him in the gut, tossed him back and through a pile of rubble
-particularly a spot on his side, which Toshinori didn’t dare try to prod, seeing as that seemed to be the main source of aching pain. Instead, he bit his lip, folded both hands into fists, and dug them into the bed on either side of his waist. Then the door opened, Gran mumbling something before stepping aside, and Toshinori found his attention riveted on the slight figure that slipped through.
“Uncle Toshi,” Tenko breathed. Wordlessly, the man reached, and in seconds his nephew was up and clambering over the bedside chair to curl against his chest. Vaguely, Toshinori could recall hugging him after All for One went down, him and Izuku both, but if what Gran said was true, that he’d been unconscious for a full week...
“I love you, kiddo,” he murmured, pressing his nose into Tenko’s downy blue hair. “I love you so, so much, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there sooner, that I didn’t do better-”
“Did just fine,” the kid huffed, squirming in closer. “You won. And you lived, and we lived and you’re not ever gonna get hurt like this again, okay? You’re not.”
Toshinori couldn’t help but chuckle, even if it made his ribs sting unpleasantly. “I promise to do my best, kiddo. There’s no one else quite like All for One out there, anyway.”
“Good.” That said, Tenko finally pulled back, not completely out of the hug but far enough he could look the man up and down. “They said we can’t tire you out too much. You better say when you need to sleep, okay? I’ll be quiet, even if I don’t leave.”
“Okay,” he agreed, despite internally rejecting the idea of ever telling his kid to quiet down for his sake. “How are Izuku and Inko?”
Tenko’s face fell, and Toshinori felt his heart skip a beat. All for One hadn’t mentioned Inko while taunting him, but that didn’t mean- “Izu’s fine. Better than me, I think, especially when Kansa and Hitoshi visit. But, but Auntie... she hasn’t woken up yet, not like you. The doctors are waiting for a specialist to come try and fix her mind.”
“Fix? Fix how?”
“The villains did something, she listens and she eats, and sometimes she’ll rub Izuku’s back when he gets in her lap to hug her, but she isn’t there. Kansa looked for me, and she said Auntie’s still inside, but there’s a fog that won’t let her talk or really think or do anything!” Tears gathered at the corners of Tenko’s eyes, but he stubbornly ignored them, at least until Toshinori reached up to brush them away with his thumb.
“Hey,” he soothed. “It’s gonna be okay, kiddo. I’m here. I’m back. And we’ll make sure to fix Inko too, alright? I promise it’ll be okay.”
Tenko sniffled, and plastered himself against Toshinori as best he could around the wires. Neither of them moved for a good long while.
-Double-
“Are you sure about this?”
Rei took a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, a few ice crystals materializing with her exhale. “Yes, sweetheart. It’s easier to hide short hair, and I’m not letting Shouto go by himself.”
Touya nodded, his face a mask of determination. Fuyumi hovered beside them, like a nurse beside the surgeon, tools at the ready. She offered a comb to her brother to start with, and he swiftly teased out the few tangles remaining in Rei’s still-damp hair. Once the white strands were laying perfectly flat, Touya accepted the scissors, and began to cut. “I still think dying would’ve been easier,” he muttered.
Rei’s lips twitched into a smile. “And you are still welcome to do so. But I’d like something a little more permanent for the moment.”
“You do know it’ll grow back, right?”
“I’m aware. And we’ll trim it down again when the time comes. Besides - I quite like the idea of matching Shouto.” Across the room, her baby looked up at the sound of his name, and the two of them shared a smile.
Fuyumi hummed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Could- could we cut my hair too? Not a lot, but, but enough?”
“Sure,” Touya grunted, never taking his eyes off his work. “We’ll wash it after this.” Rei reached behind herself to gently pat his arm, and the boy paused just long enough to squeeze her shoulder.
“I wanna dye my hair, like Touya!” Natsuo piped up, abandoning the puzzle he’d been working on with Shouto in order to come bounce in front of them.
“Yeah? You wanna go full black, pipsqueak?”
“Nnnnno, but, you’re changing yours so it isn’t red anymore, right? I could just change the red spots in mine, couldn’t I?”
Touya made a noise of consideration. “Yeah, probably. We’ll just have to be careful about it. What color?”
“Blue! Like Tenko!”
“Alright, I’ll add some to my online order.”
Natsuo cheered, and everyone else smiled.
-Double-
Work never ceased, and once the immediate crisis was labelled over and done with, Mirai couldn’t justify spending the entirety of his days at the hospital. Instead, he went through each morning catching up on neglected paperwork, dedicated afternoons to dealing with the current caseload, and would pick up dinner on his way to visit in the evening. Official visiting hours ended long before his arrival, of course, but as All Might’s sidekick and the primary hero still standing after their mission, the staff were willing to turn a blind eye.
Besides, the nurses who took turns escorting him inside only needed one look at Izuku and Tenko perking up at his entrance to put any doubts at ease.
“I heard you were able to visit your uncle today,” he murmured after setting out various cartons. Izuku preferred to eat sitting as close to his mother as possible, giving the man a little leeway to speak quietly with Tenko.
“Yeah. He fell asleep kinda quick, but, it was good.” The sheer relief in his eyes indicated the interaction went beyond merely ‘good’, but Mirai didn’t press. “He’s gonna be sad he missed this - hospital food is yucky.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know,” Mirai replied in his blandest tone. “Some of us manage to avoid hospitalization.”
Tenko snorted, waving off Izuku’s attention when the younger boy glanced over. “That’s mean.”
“It’s accurate.”
“Still.” Picking at his noodles and chicken, the ten year old considered his next words. “Did they say when that specialist is gonna get here for Aunt Inko?”
“Tomorrow, I believe. Though she may take some time to recover from her flight, and not come here until the day after.”
“Oh.”
Moving carefully to avoid spilling any sauce on his suit, Mirai nudged Tenko’s shoulder, and offered a small smile when the boy looked up. “We’ll get there. Slow but steady.” After a beat, Tenko smiled back.
-Double-
Toshinori was awake for a while before his next visit, stewing over timetables in his head for recovering and getting back to normal, getting back to work. The sudden appearance of a small mess of green hair unceremoniously banished all such thoughts from his head, and the man offered his widest grin possible.
Izuku promptly burst into tears.
Tenko sighed with a smile, and gently herded his cousin up and onto the bed, where shaking arms curled around the little boy to hug him close. It took a lot of hushing and reassuring before the sobbing ceased, but Izuku still refused to release the chokehold he’d gotten around Toshinori’s neck.
“Yeah, he’s not moving any time soon,” Tenko told the nurse when she hesitantly brought up the need for a short visit. And, completely unsurprisingly, both man and boy fell asleep together. Tenko managed to tug a thin blanket up and over them, before settling into the visitor’s chair to glare at anyone who so much as twitched towards his baby cousin.
-Double-
An elegant scarf neatly hid Rei’s newly cropped hair, and large sunglasses obscured enough of her face to ease some of the woman’s nerves. She kept a tight grip on Shouto, wearing his own glasses and a slightly too large baseball hat, as they were escorted by Detective Tsukauchi into the hospital’s cautionary care ward. Touya dogged her steps, proudly displaying his recently dyed charcoal black hair and forgoing glasses in favor of a large medical facemask.
Nonetheless, when they arrived at their destination, the two boys waiting anxiously inside seemed to recognize Rei’s sons without trouble.
“Shou-chan!”
“Izu!” Rei set her suddenly squirming baby down, just in time for him to be tackle-hugged by an equally small child with the most vibrant green curls she’d ever seen. The other one, with a slightly tamer mop of pale blue, approached more slowly to offer Touya a fistbump. He responded in kind, but also ruffled said mop, disturbing the strands and eliciting an annoyed squawk.
“Mom,” Touya nudged her, “This is Shimura Tenko, and his cousin Midoriya Izuku.”
She pulled away her glasses, offering a soft smile. “Hello, young Shimura. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you and your cousin in person.”
“Nice to meet you too, ma’am.” The boy hesitated for half a moment, before offering her a fistbump just like Touya. Bemused, Rei carefully knocked her knuckles against his own, receiving a grin in return. “And thank you, for coming - I know it’s kind of dangerous, but- we appreciate it. A lot.”
His gaze drifted towards his cousin, so busy happily chattering away to Shouto he’d yet to even acknowledge either of the other arrivals. Considering how pleased her baby looked, Rei couldn’t say she minded.
“Your family has done much for my own, young Shimura,” she murmured. “I decided the risk would be worth it, for Shouto to see his friend, and for me to finally meet Yagi-san’s loved ones.” He ducked his head to hide a blush, which was ridiculously endearing.
Not even two minutes into their visit, and Rei could already say she saw why her children so liked these boys.
They stayed for half an hour, until Midoriya Inko was brought back from her first visit with some sort of medical specialist - her eyes held a glazed quality when she first entered the room, guided by a nurse, but a spark kindled to life when Tenko nervously stepped up. Midoriya lifted a hand, to gently touch his face and stroke her thumb across the boy’s cheek, which he leaned into, sniffling. Izuku then bounced up, and Midoriya did the same with him, bending over a little to reach.
Tsukauchi’s description of Midoriya Inko’s mental harms had worried Rei, initially, but after watching that scene, she felt a great deal more hopeful things would turn out just fine for their family.
Chapter 20: Must Come to an End... Right?
Summary:
(“Bright Green secured, we’re headed for the second extraction point now. What’s going on with the fight outside?”
*Biggest Bad is down for the count; All Might’s in bad shape and headed for medevac.*)
“I need to see him,” Inko suddenly gasped, jerking as her eyes snapped open. “I need to see Toshinori.”
“I don’t think-”
“NOW.”
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“...which brings us to the last set of questions, Midoriya-san, alright? Just a few more and we’ll be done for today.”
Humming her acknowledgement, Inko took a deep breath, and let it out as the now-familiar palm gently pressed against her forehead. Immediately, it felt as if a light turned on within her mind, too bright to see everything clearly, but worlds better than the fog she’d been living in for far too long.
“There we are,” her doctor murmured. “Alright. What can you tell me about Yagi Toshinori?”
Vibrant primary colors swirled, as Inko struggled to catch the right words, to pause the detached memories and sort them where they belonged. “I care about him. I think- I think he cares about me the same way. I know he loves my boys, and he loved my birth mother - she taught him, before she died. Looked after him in a way that I- I doubt anyone else has managed since.”
“That’s good, very good. Anything else?”
“...he’s a Pro Hero. One of the best. I can’t- we aren’t supposed to say-”
“I know Yagi-san is All Might, Midoriya, you don’t need to avoid saying it. Focus now, find everything you can - the whole point of this exercise is to help strengthen your connection between memories, to make access and recall easier in future. What else can you remember?”
She breathed in, exhaled, and spoke. “He’s more than All Might, though. He cares so, so much, and he tries, every day, every minute- it scares me sometimes, how much he feels his own worth is tied to what he can do, who he can help. I want him to be able to- to-”
“To what?”
“-I don’t know,” Inko huffed. “And I can’t- I can’t tell if I just can’t find it, or if it isn’t there, if I didn’t know even before-”
Darkness started to slip in around the edges of the light in her mind. A mocking voice, telling her what All Might had been seen doing that day, what people he’d saved, none of whom were her and her boys-
“Easy, Midoriya-san, easy. That’s not what we’re thinking about right now. We’re thinking about Yagi, and what you can remember-”
(“Bright Green secured, we’re headed for the second extraction point now. What’s going on with the fight outside?”
*Biggest Bad is down for the count; All Might’s in bad shape and headed for medevac.*)
“I need to see him,” Inko suddenly gasped, jerking as her eyes snapped open. She stared at the woman seated before her, who pulled her hand away from Inko’s forehead, taking the light with it. Immediately, everything became dim and muddled once more, but a single burning thread of thought remained. Inko seized onto it with both metaphorical hands, and put as much power into her words as she could force: “I need to see Toshinori.”
“I don’t think-”
“NOW.”
-Double-
“-so there’s Amkyn, who are these animal people with all different kinds of nature magic, and then there’s the Arriv races, like elves and orcs and goblins, who have their own gods called the Immosi, with power over concepts like knowledge and protection and trickery-”
Tenko broke off his rambling as the door to Uncle Toshi’s private room opened, and a really frazzled looking doctor with only one eye in the middle of her forehead peered inside. “I’m sorry to bother you boys, Yagi-san; we weren’t quite done yet, but she started insisting-”
A shorter figure ducked underneath the doctor’s arm, and Tenko’s uncle made a pained noise, gently nudging Izuku further over so he could try to sit up. Inko paused, squinting at them, both hands clenched around the bunched up fabric of her shirt. “I need- I need to-” She stopped, frowning. Closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Auntie?” Tenko tried.
Inko’s eyes opened again, and this time when she looked, she actually managed to see, because her entire face and upper body sagged with pure relief. “-Toshinori.”
“Inko,” Uncle Toshi said softly. “Are you alright?”
Her face scrunched up, exactly like Izuku’s when he was trying not to cry. “No,” she choked out.
Tenko promptly scrambled down to the floor, and moved to grab her hand. “C’mon, Auntie,” he insisted, tugging her closer to the chair and the bed. “You sit here, come on.” As soon as Inko slumped into the seat, Uncle Toshi shifted to get a long arm over and as far around her shoulders as he could manage. She leaned in closer, and settled her head against the crook of his elbow. Izuku clambered over to settle himself in his mother’s lap, and Tenko went around to claim his cousin’s abandoned spot tucked against Uncle Toshi.
The doctor waited until they were all settled before shaking her head and quietly closing the door on her way out.
-Double-
“Oi, Stupidhead!”
Hitoshi finished his yawn before looking over and frowning at Katsuki. “What do you want?”
“When’s Stupid Deku coming back?” The other boy demanded. Immediately, Hitoshi’s shoulders hunched, and he turned his eyes back towards the ground.
“I dunno,” he muttered. “Not until they leave the hospital.”
Katsuki’s scowl deepened. “They’re still there? Why?”
“‘Cause Toshi-san can’t get out of bed yet, and Inko-san didn’t start really talking again until this week, and she’s still not all the way fixed in her head yet. And Izu and Tenko don’t want to leave without them, so they haven’t left yet either.” Hitoshi’s shoulders crept higher and higher as he talked, until he was practically bent double with unhappiness. No one else in school wanted anything to do with him, besides Kansa and Tenko and Izuku. Which had been normal, before he changed foster families, but- but he’d gotten used to having a best friend around constantly, and it was lonely to go back to being by himself in class and on the playground.
He heard the sound of a foot stomping on the ground, and figured Katsuki probably had a big pout on his face. What Hitoshi didn’t figure on was a half-crumpled envelope getting shoved towards him. “Well, you and your stupid sister get to go in,” the other boy grumbled. “So give this to Deku when you see him.”
Extremely wary, Hitoshi pinched the edge of the envelope, pulling it closer when Katsuki let go. “Oh-kay.”
Nodding decisively, the blonde turned and darted back off across the playground, hollering to the other kids that he was going to start a new game. Hitoshi watched for a minute, before scooting himself deeper into the shelter of the bushes. He turned the envelope over a couple of times, studying it, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary besides a faint scorch mark on the back, and the painstakingly scrawled kanji for Deku on the front.
It went into his pocket, and later his backpack for safekeeping.
-Double-
Normally, Toshinori wouldn’t have let any injury keep him down for so long, in bed and away from the people he needed to protect. Normally, he’d have forced himself to stand and walk far sooner, to build back up his strength and return to work.
But under normal circumstances, his family wouldn’t have been in the hospital with him.
Even so, when the day finally came that the doctors approved of him attempting to get out of bed, Toshinori eagerly threw himself into the task. Izuku cheered with every small step; Tenko cautioned him against going too far too soon; Inko kissed him on the cheek when he decided to stop and sank back down onto the edge of the bed. And even the ache in his side didn’t stop Toshinori from leaning closer to kiss her right back.
-Double-
Getting ready for All Might and his family to return to their home mainly involved Rei getting her own children collected up and shifted elsewhere. Not out of the building entirely, not yet, but- onto a different floor, a different apartment, where they could still live under the aegis of All Might’s protection without directly interfering with his home life.
What had previously been a set of unconnected suites meant for visiting heroes or other guests underwent quick renovation, with Rei’s children allowed to help somewhat in designing and decorating their individual bedrooms. The contractors quietly hired by the agency seemed rather bemused by the assistance, and not once did anyone ever frown at Rei and insist she extend better control over them.
Not once had anyone yelled at her, or loomed, or- well. A myriad of other things. And slowly, her moments of frozen panic faded, her Quirk control improved, and her eldest and youngest sons eased closer and closer on the couch every time they all settled in for a movie night.
Progress.
Eventually, Rei thought she’d like to move somewhere else, somewhere independent, but- later. After further progress. After the family who rightfully belonged in the apartment upstairs returned home and felt safe themselves once more.
-Double-
“Shimo-san’s looking into a school for her children.”
“Who?”
Tsukauchi didn’t actually roll his eyes at Gran Torino, but it was a near thing. “Todoroki Rei. She’s gone back to her old family name, and legally changed the children’s as well.”
“Nn. Good for her. What about it?”
“School, Torino. She mentioned a small semi-private institution to me for a background check, and I thought we should mention it to Yagi and Midoriya-san.”
The old Pro pulled a face as he stumped down the hospital corridor. “The brats will pitch a fit.”
They would, but- “There’s no way we can send them back to their old school in Musutafu. And at least if they went to this place, Izuku would still have a friend in his own class.”
“...I’ll bring it up with them, then.”
-Double-
“You’ve done well these past few weeks, Kurogiri,” the doctor hummed, adjusting another set of dials, pneumatic hissing from the tubes above shifting accordingly. “We may be able to bring Sensei out of his coma in a few more days. Go on now, I won’t need your services anymore tonight.”
Dipping his head in acknowledgement, Kurogiri swiftly warped out of the room, delivering himself to the main room of the bar recently purchased to be a front as the League rebuilt itself. He quite liked the setting, in all honesty, even beyond the practical point of having a place for multiple people to naturally come and go from throughout the night and day. One hand drifted along the scuffed surface of the bar itself, and he idly wondered if there were any polish and rags to be found in the storage rooms.
If the battered wood had been more polished at that moment, Kurogiri might have seen the brief flicker of blue-white in the mist around his head.
-Double-
Kansatsu sat pressed side to side with Tenko on a bench seat, both of them watching Izuku exclaim over the picture he’d been given, the one delivered by Hitoshi from Katsuki of all people. “We’ll still visit.”
“Yeah, I know.” Tenko’s voice sounded tired, and she didn’t need to bother looking to know the misery of changing schools sat heavily on his mind. “Every weekend, right?”
“Mm-hm. And more, during breaks.”
“Your foster parents ever make any more fuss over getting invited along?”
Kansatsu snorted. “Nope. Not after I told them you got kidnapped, and it was sheer luck Hitoshi and I hadn’t also been in the car at the time.” Her best friend snickered, leaning a bit closer to tip his head onto her shoulder. She in turn rested her cheek against his hair, and they continued sitting in comfortable silence.
So what if new security measures needed to be put in place for Tenko’s family, taking them away from the apartment Kansatsu had spent half her childhood in? She and he and their doofus little brothers were a double act, and nobody could ever change that.
(After all, her best friend would, quite literally, obliterate any obstacle in their path. His Quirk was good for that sort of thing.)
-Double-
They ended up waiting until after the summer to start at the new school, figuring it wasn’t worth trying to adjust to the new setting for only a couple weeks before break. Not that Tenko got to genuinely enjoy that time, unfortunately - too much classwork to catch up on, subjects to study, tests to suffer through. Evidently he and Izuku both managed well enough not to get held back, but still.
Tenko couldn’t manage to pull off acting excited about the new place, though he succeeded in at least not scowling distastefully during the drive over. Izuku, on the other hand, didn’t stop pouting until they pulled up to the curb, and Shouto carefully grabbed the other boy’s hand. “We’re going to stick together, right?”
The kid sounded genuinely nervous for the first time since Tenko had met him, and Izuku instantly put on a hero-worthy smile. “Of course we are!”
Tsukauchi came around to open their car door, causing Tenko’s cousin to take a deep breath and puff out his tiny chest before scooting outside, pulling Shouto along with him. A split second before vanishing from view, the scarred boy shot a grin over his shoulder, smaller than but eerily reminiscent of Touya’s you can thank me later expression.
“That little sneak,” Tenko muttered, impressed in spite of himself at the distraction tactic.
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Inko asked, even as she twisted to look out the back window, in the direction of the second car dropping off the rest of the Shimo kids. A few other children could already be seen on the sidewalk headed into the small gated courtyard, most escorted by adults who looked way too serious and watchful to be ordinary parents.
“It’s gonna be fine, Auntie,” Tenko insisted. “Nighteye already used his Quirk on Shouto to make sure, and if anything happens, I’ll find Izu and keep him safe, okay?”
That made his aunt soften, and she caught Tenko in a hug before he could slip out the door himself, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Okay, sweetheart. I believe you. Just- take care of yourself, too.”
“I will.” Tenko hugged her back, and then turned to face whatever lay ahead.
Notes:
That is IT, I'm calling this DONE.
I have an unfortunate tendency to lose interest in projects when they drag out for too long (/sheepishly glances at a long list of HP stories) BUT I DO NOT ABANDON THEM, NO SIREE. This bad boy's over two years old now and already has sequel fics posted, but that don't matter 'cause we are OFFICIALLY FINISHED, look at that, TWENTY OUT OF TWENTY CHAPTERS, HA!
Some updates were written September of two years ago when my grandmother was in the hospital for a few weeks, me and Mom taking turns spending days and nights there to make damn sure nothing stupid happened (like one idiot doctor giving the order to wean her off of oxygen in preparation for departure, which was Extremely Dumb because she'd BEEN on constant oxygen at home for ages - Mom really chewed him and the hospital admin out for that one).
Then all of my writing took a pause last September, when age and poor health and growing depression caught up to my gran after all. It was a loss, and there were tears, but mostly there was the relief of her not being in pain any longer and constantly taking it out on my mom, whose own health was getting worse from the constant stress and sleep deprivation. We couldn't do the big memorial service she wanted because of Covid, nor did we ever get around to a book launch party for my novel, but the world didn't come crashing down and we've kept moving forward. Whatever lays ahead, right?
So, this September, I'm thanking each and every one of you who's made it this far, from the long term readers I adore getting comments from, to the new folks who, like me, make good use of the Completed Works Only filter and are only just now poking their heads in through the door. Welcome, I hope you like the rest of the fics in this series too! x)
As a final, fitting word, I'm reminding all of you to take care of yourselves, and when the going gets rough, listen to those who love you, share some breaks and snacks and a good movie, and remember that even All Might can't do everything in a day.
-Tri
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