Jul 10, 2017
The Boy
seen from Germany
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The Boy
exclusive outline content from my current fic
Chapter Nine: Death Grip
Fic Title: Secondhand Hero Author: @starsfadingbutilingeron Summary: What if All Might had been able to save Shimura Tenko? Read this free fic to find out the results!! Rating: General Audiences Read On AO3: x ----
Aizawa’s words hung heavy in the air, like an expensive perfume you were wishing you hadn’t taken a sample of at the department store after your ninth consecutive hour of smelling like an elderly woman’s handbag. The office door was shut again, keeping the four men’s hallowed expressions contained where the rest of the precinct wouldn’t wonder after the reason behind them.
At the drop of Aizawa’s news, Toshinori’s jaw had unhinged to leave it gaping wide open; and he couldn’t seem to force anything other than the vaguest whine of bewilderment out. Gran Torino looked like he wanted to be triumphant, but the fact that he’d been right over something he’d wished were false overtook those feelings and replaced them with a resigned grimace.
Naomasa was the first to move after the initial shock. He’d taken the news in stride, his face an unbreachable mask of calculated professionalism. After allowing the reality of their present situation to settle in for a moment, he began milling about the room; Aizawa followed him and the two took up a tactical banter of what their best modes of handling the situation would be.
“And you’re sure you saw Tenko assist with the abduction?” Naomasa was asking, one hand dialing on the keypad of the nearest phone in the office.
“He was involved with the people who actually did the kidnapping, that’s for sure. He had one of them on the phone, but…” Aizawa trailed off, rubbing his eyes as he stifled a yawn.
“But?” Naomasa raised an eyebrow.
“But he seemed like he didn’t want it to happen,” Aizawa said, moving his hand to push back his mangled hair. “He tried to get my attention before the warp gate opened. At least, I thought he did.”
Naomasa spoke a coded message into the receiver, then hung up the office phone. “There was a warp gate?”
“Yeah, that’s how they pulled it off,” Aizawa put his hands on his hips, meeting Naomasa with a level gaze.
“What did it look like?” Toshinori asked, the first words he’d spoken since Aizawa had reported Izuku’s kidnapping. “The warping quirk, I mean.”
Aizawa regarded him with a side-eyed glance. “Total void. Like a lack of matter wherever it touched,” he said.
“Ah,” Toshinori relaxed a little bit, as much as he could be expected to relax given the circumstances.
“But then…” Aizawa spoke up again.
“Yeah?” Toshinori moved to stand closer to AIzawa.
“When Tenko vanished, someone warped him as well,” Aizawa said, tapping his foot against the floor. “But it was different. Instead of spreading and opening like a gate, it was this sort of...black liquid that swallowed him up, and then he was gone. Not a trace of either of them.”
“Oh my God,” Toshinori murmured, pressing his hands to his face as he turned to Gran Torino. “You know what the sounds like.”
Gran Torino gave a grim nod, stepping up to join the others. “What’s our first move?” he asked, looking up to Naomasa.
“First move?” Naomasa raised an eyebrow as he looked between Gran Torino and Toshinori. “The first move is for you two to go home. You’re not working on this case.”
“Wha-” Toshinori spluttered. “Like hell I’m not-”
“You’re too close,” Naomasa cut him off. “You are too close to nearly everyone involved. You too, Gran Torino. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you two work on this case. You’re incapable of seeing Tenko as a villain and too emotionally attached to Midoriya to think clearly.”
“Well, what about him?” Toshinori pointed to Aizawa. “He’s just as close to Tenko as we are, and he’s Midoriya’s teacher. What about you , for that matter?”
Naomasa held a hand up. “While I agree, Aizawa is emotionally involved; he’s also our only eye witness. That’s a resource we can’t risk to withhold from this case. As for myself, I am trained to approach these cases unemotionally and from a law enforcement perspective only. Unlike pro heroes, the police department doesn’t get to incorporate as much personal flair into our heroics as you,” he paused, giving a tired sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Now, you two just go on home and I’ll call you with any new developments.”
It took a lot of grumbling and prodding, but Gran Torino and Toshinori finally left the police station. After they’d gone, Naomasa and Aizawa got back to work; Naomasa calling in backup as the two set up shop in one of the back offices.
“So, the first thing we’re going to do is track both of their cell phone signals,” Naomasa said, typing madly at his computer keyboard while maintaining perfect eye contact with Aizawa. “That’ll tell us where the nearest cell tower is from where they are. It’s not a perfect location determinant, but it will have to do for now. You have the address of the scene of the kidnapping, I presume?”
“Yeah,” Aizawa nodded, taking out his own phone and handing it to the police officer.
“Great, we’ll go from there,” Naomasa said. “After we get a rough location, we’ll send you out to do surveillance since that’s your specialty. I’ll be on standby with a squad of officers and pros; we’ll have you wired up, and you signal me if you spot anything.”
“Right,” Aizawa nodded, looking exhausted already at the prospect of doing surveillance all night. Letting go of a sigh that shook the frame of his shoulders, his expression changed from professional to earnest as he looked up at Naomasa. “You don’t think there’s any chance this is all a big misunderstanding and Tenko’s not with the League, do you?”
Naomasa took a deep breath, his own expression flickering a bit and becoming more genuine. “I think right now we need to approach it like there is no chance of it being a misunderstanding,” he said, turning to look at his computer screen.
“Yeah, of course,” Aizawa nodded, leaning back in his seat with a sudden gruff laugh. Shaking his head, he blinked a few times and averted his gaze to the nearest wall. “Guess I am emotionally involved in this case after all.”
----
The last time Tenko’s neck had been scratched so raw had been back when Toshinori was in the hospital after losing part of his stomach. It had been in those few days, after he had yelled at his guardian and was home by himself, that Tenko had felt his deepest panic. He hadn’t regretted yelling at Toshinori; but, every time he’d let a phone call or text go unanswered, he couldn’t help but fear the last words he’d spoken to his guardian would have been out of anger if Toshinori didn’t pull through his treatments.
Now, Tenko’s neck had been under constant bombardment from his fingernails since the instant he’d been transmitted to...wherever he was. If he were being completely honest, Tenko had to admit that he hadn’t the slightest indication of where All for One had brought him. There were walls and lights and plug outlets, but a stunning lack of windows so Tenko couldn’t even get his bearings if he’d had the energy to try.
Even though Tenko was sure he was in the same place as All for One, since that was how Transmission worked, he hadn’t seen him since he’d been plunked down on the tile floor and watched the villain’s suited back disappear behind the only door in the room. Except for Kurogiri, who was grumbling something about ‘forced quirk activation’, Tenko was alone in the room; with nothing but guilt and a broken phone to keep him company.
Running a thumb over the cracked screen, Tenko marveled that the phone even still worked. Little stray bits of glass slotted in his fingers and the cracks in the screen were so deep it obscured any chances of ever being able to read a text ever again; but, in a technical sense, the phone still worked enough to send messages and take calls. But that hardly mattered, Tenko couldn’t hope for the privacy of a phone call going unlistened to in a place like wherever he even was.
There were chairs and tables available, but Tenko had seated himself in the corner of the room on the plain floor; pressed into a corner like a decorative plant. Shoving his phone back in the pocket of his hoodie, Tenko sighed heavily and leaned his head against the wall. Closing his eyes, he jammed the palms of his hands against his face and tried to ward off the insurmountable guilt racking his every heartbeat. He had no right to sit there and feel sorry for himself; this had been the plan he’d shaken hands on, it was his fault this was even transpiring.
But agreeing to an abstract concept and making that plan a reality were two different things; and Tenko found himself wishing he could go back and do it all over. Thinking of Izuku trapped somewhere in the near distance, frightened half to death as his quirk was stolen from him, Tenko realized how much he’d royally fucked up and how it was too late to change that fact. The only thing left to do was figure out where to go from that point forward, and how he could ever begin to make things right.
Just as he had started brainstorming possible ways to turn the situation around, the only door in the room burst open and All for One stormed in. He was dressed formally in a more expensive suit than Tenko had ever worn, and donned a daunting black gas mask that churned and oozed as if it had a mind of its own. But even through the mask, Tenko could tell that All for One was angry; and, to Tenko’s shock, the villain seemed a touch distressed as well.
“Go watch the boy, Kurogiri,” All for One ordered, and Kurogiri vanished in an instant with a flicker of his own shadowy form.
Tenko stood up with his shoulder blades still pressed back against the wall, feeling sweat slick his palms as he was left alone in the room with All for One. While he stood there, waiting for All for One to say something first; Tenko thought of his father and how he couldn’t always gauge when he was about to snap, only to suddenly be caught up in the backlash of an outburst when he thought it had been safe to speak up.
“I can’t take One for All,” All for One said at last, fixing his sights on Tenko. “I’ve been trying for nearly an hour and that boy is not affected in the slightest. It’s as if he’s quirkless and I’m grasping at nothing.”
Tenko let out a shaky breath, looking down to his fingers as they curled anxiously around each other. He thought back to all those years ago, settled in his bed while Toshinori told him the story of One for All, and almost laughed in relief as a thought occurred to him. Instead though, he just blinked and whispered softly, “Of course.”
“Come again?” All for One asked, clearly annoyed at the mumbled words.
“You can’t take One for All,” Tenko looked up, smirk more confident than he felt. “It has to be willingly given. It would seem you’re no exception to that rule.”
All for One, instead of getting angry, brought a hand up to his mask and tapped thoughtfully at where his chin would be if unobscured by the mess of pipes and filters around it. “Is that so?”
Tenko struggled to maintain his composer, confidence buckling as he saw how unfazed All for One was by the revelation of this information. But, keeping up his carefree smirk, he just laughed a little bit and crossed his arms. “Yeah. Did you not know that? Thought it was your quirk to begin with.”
“The stockpiling part of the quirk, yes,” All for One said, beginning to stride about the room. “But, as you know, the part of One for All that allows it to be passed on belonged to the original bearer.”
“Your brother,” Tenko said, kicking one foot back to rest against the wall as he crossed his arms.
“Yes, my brother,” All for One said, his voice denoting a hint of something that had gone untouched for a long time. Something All for One hadn’t wanted touched. “But that is of no importance. What to do about Midoriya, that is the problem at hand. Any suggestions?”
“Well, I suppose we can’t just let him go…” Tenko rubbed his chin, walking forward to stand closer to All for One. “Not sure how we could convince him to give up One for All though. He seems pretty attached to it, if you ask me.”
“Yes, hm,” All for One nodded, pausing for a moment before placed a hand on Tenko’s injured shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. A silent threat. An unspoken expression of power. “Perhaps, if someone he trusted were to speak with him.”
If Tenko was afraid, he did an excellent job of concealing it; simply lifted his chin and gazed at All for One from under hooded eyelids. “You want me to get Midoriya to give up his quirk to you?”
“For you, of course,” All for One said, turning so he could brace both hands on either of Tenko’s shoulders. “All of this has been for your sake after all, hasn’t it?”
Tenko felt a slippery smile creep onto his face, the tug of his scar tightening as his lips pulled up at the corners.
“Right,” he agreed, looking directly into the eye sockets of All for One’s mask. “I’ll get him to give up that quirk, no problem. Just give me a few minutes alone with him, and he’ll be whistling a different tune next time you see him.”
“That’s the spirit,” All for One laughed, guiding Tenko towards the door by the shoulders. Opening the door, he led Tenko out into a long hall that seemed to have no end; tapering off into shadow and giving way to a black void on either side. Steering Tenko to the right, the two came to a lone door in the middle of the wall; it was solid with no windows, and Tenko was sure that had he been on the other side of it, there wouldn’t be a door handle to speak of on the inside.
“Come on out, Kurogiri,” All for One called as he pulled the door open, as if that were an obstacle for the villain with a warping quirk. “Tenko’s decided to take over babysitting duty for a while.”
With that, Kurogiri came flashing out and Tenko felt a slight pressure on his back as he was pushed forward into the room.
“Oh, and Tenko,” All for One called as the young man stepped fully into the room. Tenko turned to look over his shoulder, suddenly apprehensive in his own choices. “If you can’t get that boy to give up his quirk in the next ten minutes, I’m afraid we’ll have to switch to Plan B.”
Tenko didn’t have to do a lot of guessing to figure out what ‘Plan B’ was, and knitted his eyebrows together in a sudden panic. “But you…” Tenko’s eyes flashed into the room and back to All for One. “You said you wouldn’t hurt him.”
All for One’s mask chugged apathetically in the wanton silence he let fall before speaking again.
“We all say things we don’t mean,” All for One said, letting the door fall shut and leaving Tenko to face Izuku on his own.
Taking a deep breath, Tenko turned back around and looked forward. There, in the only chair in the tiny cell of a room, Izuku sat; his eyes were downcast and Tenko twinged as he noticed the boy’s frame shaking with poorly contained sobs. His hands were chained and locked to the chair between his knees, and his ankles were locked around the legs of the chair. Tenko stepped forward slowly, hands in his pockets as he bit sharply into his bottom lip before opening his mouth to speak.
“Hey, kid,” Tenko began, kneeling down and placing his ungloved hand to the shackles around Izuku’s ankles and wrists. “For starters, let’s get these off.”
Izuku remained immobile, letting Tenko take away his bonds without a word.
“Now, then,” Tenko stood back as soon as Izuku’s arms and legs were free. “Let’s talk this through-”
Tenko broke off as Izuku jumped up and aimed a savage punch to his jaw. But the punch never found purchase, Tenko smoothly swerved out of the young boy’s line of target. Taking Izuku’s arm in his hand that still had a glove, Tenko twisted it behind Izuku’s back and let his ungloved hand clamp to the boy’s neck. Four fingers pressed forebodingly against Izuku’s hammering heartbeat as it thumped away in his throat, and Izuku halted any further attempts at movement as his breathing quickened.
“Smile for the camera,” Tenko whispered into Izuku’s ear as he released the boy’s arm and delved his hand into the pocket of his hoodie. “Now, keep on nodding like you’re listening to everything I’m saying,” he ordered, and Izuku began to nod jerkily. He nodded not because he understood a damn thing of what was going on, but because there were four of the the disintegration hero’s fingers pressed to his neck; and he wasn’t in the mood to run the risk of getting his jugular smoldered in half.
While Izuku nodded, Tenko took his ruined phone out of his pocket and pressed it in the sliver of space between him and Izuku. Maneuvering the broken glass with an already scabby thumb, Tenko sent a single message to all of his contacts; a trick he’d picked up during the Hosu Incident. Then, shoving the phone away once more, Tenko pressed his mouth right up next to Izuku’s ear.
“I know this all must be very confusing for you,” Tenko whispered, unsure if the room was bugged for audio as well. “But just trust me on this one.”
Tenko let go of Izuku’s neck and the kid yanked away, spinning around to face Tenko as his chest heaved in an attempt to catch his breath.
“Trust you!?” Izuku panted, holding his throat where Tenko’s fingers had just been. “Why should I trust you?”
“Do you really have a choice?” Tenko raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the four solid walls around them that were punctuated only by a single door with no handle on the inside.
“What do you-” Izuku shook his head, even more perplexed than before. “I don’t understand. Are you with the League of Villains or not!?”
“Before I answer that, let me ask you something,” Tenko said, crossing to the far wall and pressing his ungloved hand to it. As the wall gave way to a burst of cool night air, Tenko flashed a grin over his shoulder at Izuku. “Are you ready to run for it?”
----
Toshinori sat begrudgingly still at his living room table, and couldn’t stand the sight of the empty chair across from him. He hadn’t realized it but, for thirteen years, he’d been taking Tenko’s presence in his home for granted. Being alone before adopting Tenko had been easy, it had been his default mode and he’d thought it was better that way for the Number One Hero to be alone; Shimura Nana’s philosophy of solitary heroism had taught him that getting close to someone was opening them up to be targets, and that the selfless thing to do was isolate your loved ones to keep them safe.
But Toshinori had ignored that in taking Tenko into his home. Now, after years of coming home to the sound of another person greeting him and talking to him about his day and vice versa; Toshinori was starting to wonder if Nana’s isolation hadn’t been motivated a bit by self-preservation as well. Being alone was so much more difficult after having known what it’s like to share a life, to share a home with someone else. Toshinori had taken it for granted that, no matter the turbulent changes the world threw at him, Tenko would always be there to welcome him home. And now that he didn’t have that, Toshinori found himself feeling like a stranger in his home.
Giving Mii a soft pat where she lay curled in his lap, Toshinori held his phone at arm's length and groaned; being on the other end of the rescue mission where he was the one waiting for news instead of doing the saving was proving to be just as unsatisfactory as he’d imagined.
Then, as if feeling his impatience and deciding to throw him a bone, Toshinori’s phone pinged and the screen lit up with a message notification. Lurching forward in his seat, Toshinori gave a quick apology to Mii as she was jostled from her slumber and then leaned in to examine the message closer.
Puzzling the message over and over once it was opened, Toshinori went to call Naomasa for a personal explanation; only to pause and realize he hadn’t even read who the message was from. Toshinori could’ve smacked himself in the head with his own phone, especially after he’d gone to so much trouble to get Izuku to help him craft the string of heart and hand emojis around the singular most important contact in his phone; the person he’d been waiting for weeks to hear from had finally texted, and Toshinori hadn’t even noticed.
Taking the message in a new light, Toshinori stood up in a rush and, offering another apology to Mii for knocking her straight to the ground, bolted immediately for the door with no heed for what Naomasa had told him earlier. His son needed him and Toshinori would be there if it was the last thing he did.
----
“Where the fuck are we!?” Tenko panted, pausing to catch his breath as he braced a hand against a nearby building. It had been a gamble disintegrating a random wall when he didn’t know the building’s layout; but once talks of killing Izuku were in the air, Tenko knew he couldn’t let the kid stay there any longer. Still, it would have been enormously helpful if the surrounding area resembled anything Tenko recognized.
“It looks…” Izuku wheezed, having been dragged at a faster speed and pace than he was used to. “It looks like some sort of...abandoned city...like the Ruins Zone at USJ.”
“So, the middle of fucking nowhere,” Tenko ran a frustrated hand through his hair and jolted in surprise when a few overgrown locks shredded off; he kept forgetting that he didn’t have a glove on one of his hands anymore. Looking over his shoulder to Izuku, Tenko let go of a deep sigh. “You wouldn’t happen to have your cell phone, would you?”
“No, All for One kind of took it when he kidnapped me,” Izuku said, an edge of bitterness cutting into his voice.
“Dammit,” Tenko snapped his fingers, taking his own phone out. “Mine’s busted, but it still works on a basic level. See if you can pull the GPS up.”
“Okay,” Izuku nodded.
“In the meantime,” Tenko tugged Izuku along down the street. “Let’s keep moving before that masked fucker shows up.”
“You know the old saying, I presume,” a familiar-enough voice spoke out, half-lost under the mess of cogs and whirring pipes that made up his mask. “‘Speak of the devil and he doth appear’?”
Tenko whipped around and faced All for One, shoving Izuku behind him while keeping a firm grip on the boy’s arm.
“Yeah, I always hated when pretentious bullshit like that actually applied to my life,” Tenko sneered.
“And so the truth comes out,” All for One said, stepping closer. Tenko tried to back up but could tell from the way Izuku let out a small uncertain whine, that Kurogiri had appeared behind them; and Tenko froze in his tracks.
“I can hardly say I’m surprised you were pulling the wool over my eyes. In fact, I was almost counting on it,” All for One continued, letting the moment drag on without making any move to attack; luxuriating in his own control. “You are a crafty nuisance though, aren’t you? Just like she was.”
“What can I say?” Tenko snarled, pulling Izuku closer to his side. “It runs in the family.”
All for One actually laughed out loud at that, and Tenko could almost see the smarmy grin permeating through the villain’s hulking mask. It made Tenko’s lungs feel full of smoke to see All for One so smug, and he wanted nothing more than to drag him back to hell like the devil he’d proclaimed himself to be.
“You’ve been using me just like every other mediocre villain uses me,” Tenko curled his lip. “You think because I’m All Might’s kid, that makes me a perfect pawn to use against him. Well, you assholes always forget one crucial detail,” he drew in a deep breath, setting All for One with a spiteful glare. “I’m a hero too.”
All for One took a breath to speak but, before he could the sound of fabric rustling through the night air, followed by a shout of surprise from Kurogiri, proactively shut down All for One’s monologue. Tenko and Izuku jumped apart as Kurogiri’s body came slamming armor-first between them; spinning around, Tenko and Izuku each felt relief flood their veins as they caught sight of Aizawa’s bright yellow goggles piercing through the darkness.
“Pro hero Eraserhead,” All for One said. “You hardly ever show your face in public. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“This is hardly public,” Aizawa said as he kept his quirk trained on Kurogiri beneath him. “Midoriya, get out of here. Leave these villains to a real pro.”
“I don’t think so,” All for One said, striding forward at a leisurely if not somewhat speedy pace.
Aizawa flashed his gaze up to focus his quirk on All for One, and then it was all over. Kurogiri fazed out from beneath Aizawa and reappeared to tackle the pro to the ground. The two vanished from sight in a mess of void and swirling fabric, leaving Tenko and Izuku standing alone against All for One.
Tenko moved to grab Izuku, but before he could, All for One’s arms were grabbing Tenko roughly around his waist and hauling him back against his chest. One of the villain’s meticulously manicured hands came up to brace over the better half of Tenko’s face; his hold was sloppy, rushed, and inexperienced-looking, but it was absolute in its strength and Tenko could hardly move a centimeter away from the villain gripping onto him. Tenko thought back to the first time he saw All for One, how frail and sickly he’d looked; it didn’t feel right for a person so physically ill to still be so strong, but it was befitting of the overpowered villain to have as much power over others as he wanted and still be unable to save himself from his own ailments.
“Now, then,” All for One spoke to Izuku, who stood trembling looking up at the villain as he loomed in front of him. “I understand that One for All can only be willingly given, is that right?”
“Y-Y-Yes,” Izuku stuttered, hands shaking as he tried to figure any way to rescue Tenko when All for One was so unpredictable in what power he possessed.
“Choosing a successor can be a difficult decision,” All for One said, his voice a sickeningly sweet imitation of sympathy. “So, let me make this easy on you. Give me your quirk,” he said, tightening his grip on Tenko, his fingers digging into the young hero’s face. “Or I’ll take his.”
Tenko laughed. A strangled noise that startled not only Izuku, but even gave All for One a jump of surprise. Shifting as much as he could in order to give All for One a side-eyed glare, Tenko curled his lips back to reveal a set of blood streaked teeth. Running around had caused his stitches to burst open, and being grabbing so roughly hadn’t helped his injury any either; but Tenko wasn’t focused on that, the only thought on his mind was how much he wanted to take down All for One.
“You fucking kidding me? You’re gonna take my shitty quirk, so he should give you One for All!?” Tenko scoffed, more blood spurting between his teeth as he choked out another laugh. “Don’t do me any favors,” he said, shifting his gaze to look at Izuku. “Kid, if you give him One for All, I will kick your ass myself. Do you understand me?”
Izuku’s eyes swam with tears, shaking his head as he looked up at Tenko caught in All for One’s stranglehold. “But you-”
“Dammit, Midoriya!” Tenko exclaimed. “If anyone deserves to come out of this a hero, it’s you. Don’t give this asshole what he wants.”
“How admirable,” All for One spoke up before Izuku could respond. “However, the decision really isn’t up to you two. So, how about we make things even simpler?” he looked to Izuku. “Give me One for All, or I’ll kill Shimura Tenko right in front of your eyes.”
Izuku opened his mouth to reply, his face a tangled mess of conflicting emotions; but before he could even get one word out, a thunderous boom shook the earth and sent the three of them sprawling to the ground.
Tenko hit the pavement face first, and groaned in frustration as he felt the frame of his glasses snap clean through and one lense shatter completely. He moved to stand up, but found he was already being hauled to his feet again by All for One; who had all but fallen directly on top of him. As he was locked again in the villain’s impossibly tight grasp, Tenko squinted through his one good lense at the figure that had caused the ground to shake so cataclysmically. To Tenko’s immense relief, he could just make out the ridiculous silhouette of two bunny ear stalks of hair that told him All Might had finally arrived.
“What the hell are you doing to my boys, you scum?” Toshinori glowered from where he stood aways up the abandoned road.
“Toshinori, how good of you to join us,” All for One turned towards the pro hero, yanking Tenko along with him. Tenko gasped as his already aggravated injuries were jarred even more by the gruff movements of All for One. Toshinori jerked forward as if to move to help his injured son, but forced himself to stay rooted to the spot.
“I was just telling your successor here that it’d be in Tenko’s best interest for him to hand over his quirk,” All for One said, giving Izuku a sneer from where he remained half-crouched on the ground. “What do you think?”
“You make me sick,” Toshinori snarled, beginning to walk forward. “Using people as your toys...Willfully deceiving them so they’ll do what you want...It’s despicable.”
“Despicable, you say?” All for One asked. “Funny you should say that. Considering your son did the same thing to you,” he paused, tilting Tenko’s chin up so he was forced to look into the villain’s eyes at an ungodly angle. “Isn’t that right, Tenko? Go on and tell Toshinori all about your little scheme.”
Toshinori’s tilted his head to the side, his voice falling soft as he spoke to his son. “Tenko?”
“Toshinori…” Tenko said, reaching up and pressing a hand to his forehead to hide his expression. He paused like that for a moment, trying to take in a decent breath through his worn out lungs before speaking again. Looking up at his guardian with a shine of tears in his eyes, Tenko gave Toshinori his biggest smile and spoke out in a wavering voice.
“I’m sorry about all this,” Tenko gave a soft laugh, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. “You’d better win.”
Slamming the ungloved hand which had been resting against his forehead back, Tenko gouged all five of his fingers into the inner mechanisms of All for One’s mask. Immediately, there was a cacophony of pops and hisses as the mouthpiece of the mask began to disintegrate under Tenko’s touch.
All for One let out an inhuman growl, pressing his own hand against Tenko’s face and holding tight. Toshinori charged forward then, unable to stay still any longer; bringing his arm back, he struck a punch to All for One’s exposed face just as Tenko’s hand fell limply to his side.
With a noise of disgust, All for One tossed Tenko away over his shoulder the way someone who was too cool to walk to a trash can would chuck a piece of litter on the ground. Izuku ran after Tenko, leaving All for One and Toshinori alone to fight each other one-on-one.
Tenko’s body tumbled across the pavement and slammed against the nearest building like a ragdoll, unresponsive and limp. Izuku dropped down beside Tenko and carefully rolled the pro onto his back, trying not to worsen his injuries any more than they already had been.
“Mister Shimura,” Izuku said, pushing the hero’s gray hair back off his forehead to get a better look at his face. Tenko’s eyes were vacant and glazed over, like he could barely register his own consciousness. “Mister Shimura, please...Please, be okay, please.”
As the battle between All for One and Toshinori raged on in the middle of the road, Izuku heard a chorus of sirens and the incoherency of people shouting out orders all at the same time grow in the distance. Soon, pros and police officers alike were swarming the scene; focusing on the villain facing down with All Might and leaving Tenko and Izuku unattended to the side.
Izuku tried his best to block Tenko’s body from the thickening carnage of the battle scene, but could feel himself growing frantic the worse the backlash of so many pros and police officers attempting to take down one villain became. He weighed his options, considering how well he was qualified to carry an injured person from a battle zone without worsening the situation and cursing the fact that he’d never gotten any First Aid training.
Just as he was about to flag down the nearest pro for help, Izuku felt a thick band of fabric wind around his waist and haul him backwards. He landed with a thud on the pavement about twenty or so feet back from the battle, and spotted Aizawa standing over him; his homeroom teacher wasn’t looking at him though, he was busy pulling Tenko carefully from the crosshairs of the battlefield.
As Tenko’s limp body drew nearer, Aizawa crouched down to sit on the ground and deposited his former student across his lap. Keeping Tenko’s head elevated with one hand, Aizawa pressed the other to the bleeding stab wound that was soaking through the black material of Tenko’s sweatshirt.
“What happened to him? Why isn’t he moving!?” Aizawa snapped at Izuku.
“He…” Izuku faltered, eyes darting back and forth between All for One and Tenko. “He used his quirk on All for One’s mask and then All for One threw him against that wall, and I...I think he…” Izuku bit his lip, tears spilling down his face as he looked again at Tenko’s vacant expression. “I think All for One took his quirk.”
“Took his quirk?” Aizawa stared at Izuku in shock, instinctively holding Tenko a little closer to his chest. “But he...Wait, you said he used his quirk on that guy in the mask? Why would he do that?”
“He was faking it the whole time,” Izuku sniffled, wiping his sleeve across his tear-soaked face. “He never was a villain, he was tricking us all.”
“He what !?” Aizawa’s eye widened with outrage, his fingers digging tighter into Tenko’s side in reaction to his anger.
At the increase of pressure on his injury, Tenko gave a sudden gasp as the pain shocked him out of the daze he’d fallen into. Shooting upwards with his arms flailing out in all directions, Tenko grabbed blindly at Aizawa’s shoulders to steady himself. Aizawa kept his arms securely around the younger hero in case Tenko suddenly fell immobile again.
Tenko breathed heavily through his mouth, blinking his eyes rapidly to try and recollect what had happened; his forehead pressed against Aizawa’s chest. Pulling away slowly with his shaking arms, Tenko squinted to make out who exactly was holding him; even with his glasses completely gone from his face, Tenko could see Aizawa’s expression - a cross between scorn and relief - as clear as day.
Chest surging with panic, Tenko noticed for the first time that his bare hand was clasped completely around Aizawa’s shoulder. With a sudden jerk, he pulled his hand away; but was so shocked to find that not even a thread of Aizawa’s shirt had been disintegrated, that he reached out and lightly tapped his five fingertips to Aizawa’s shoulder again. He let them linger for a millisecond before recoiling and then, when nothing happened still; Tenko let his fingers rest against Aizawa’s shoulder for longer and longer increments until he finally realized that nothing was going to happen. Slumping his hand against the curve of Aizawa’s collarbone, Tenko sighed in bewilderment at the sight of something remaining intact under the press of all five of his fingertips.
And then, Tenko felt another emotion take over entirely. Relief. For the first time in his life, he was touching someone with his bare hands and nothing was happening other than he was awkwardly running his fingers across his old tutor’s shoulder. Pulling his bare hand away, Tenko pressed it to his face and stifled a laugh. Aizawa and Izuku looked down at him like he had maybe hit his head a little too hard against that building, but Tenko couldn’t stop himself as he became overwhelmed with the urge to laugh. Even when his injuries panged in protest, Tenko could only wrestle his laughter down to small burbling chuckles.
“Okay, okay, cut it out,” Aizawa rolled his eyes, settling Tenko back to lay still in his arms. Tenko nodded, laughter cutting out and his expression growing somber.
After that initial flood of relief, Tenko seemed to realize how grave his circumstances were; and let go of a heavy breath as he settled into Aizawa’s hold and looked up at his former teacher.
“When did you get back here?” Tenko asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“Right around the time that black mist villain threw his hands up in the air, muttered something about needing a raise, and vanished,” Aizawa said. Sighing, Aizawa tilted his downwards and stared at Tenko in disbelief. “You...You were faking it the whole time?”
Tenko nodded slowly, a hint of his characteristic smug grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. “It was a logical ruse,” he murmured.
Aizawa laughed in spite of himself, bowing his head so his long hair covered his expression. It wasn’t until Aizawa’s frame began to shake ever so slightly and he took in a ragged breath that Tenko and Izuku noticed how emotional their teacher had become.
“Mister Aizawa, are you crying ?” Izuku asked, expression caught between amazement and horror.
“Yeah, I am,” Aizawa’s head snapped back up, and he shot Izuku a warning glare. “And if you tell any of your classmates about it, you’ll be looking for a new school. Got that, Midoriya!?”
“Y-Yes, sir!” Izuku gave a nervous whine.
“Good,” Aizawa nodded, turning back to Tenko. “And you! Next time, let someone else in on the secret before you go galavanting off to your doom like that, huh!?”
“Yes, sir,” Tenko nodded, letting his eyes fall shut as he turned his face against Aizawa’s chest.
“Now, you two sit back and let me handle this,” Aizawa muttered, pressing the intercom in his ear and giving Naomasa his approximate coordinates. “Clear me a path to this villain in the mask, pronto. We’re ending this now.”
Naomasa, wherever he was working amidst the mob of authorities, got Aizawa’s message across in impressive time. The scores of police and scattering of pros shifted around Aizawa, giving him a clear line of vision to All for One. Hair shooting up on all ends, Aizawa’s eyes burned red through the night and landed directly on All for One’s turned back.
The villain noticed the loss of his quirks immediately, whipping around and fixing his sights on Aizawa. That instant where All for One’s attention was divided from the target of his fight was all it took. Coming up from behind, All Might channeled all of his strength into one finishing blow and struck down All for One.
The kickback from All Might’s smash knocked nearly everyone off their feet; it was the most powerful punch any of them had seen the Number One Hero deliver. When the dust from the attack cleared however, shocked gasps filtered through the crowd of heroes that had gathered; in the release of such an immense power, Toshinori had timed out on his hero form and stood, staggering and skeletal, amidst his peers.
But that hardly mattered to Toshinori. Once the other pros and police had gotten over their initial shock and resumed their work, charging to take hold of All for One’s demolished form; Toshinori pushed away from the crowd without a second glance back and made his way to the outskirts of the battle scene.
“Tenko,” Toshinori rasped, falling to his knees next to where his son lay distressingly still in Aizawa’s arms. Tenko had been resting with his eyes shut against Aizawa’s shoulder; but when he heard Toshinori’s voice, he turned his face up to his guardian and gave as much of a smile as he could manage through the blood drying on his face.
Toshinori fought against his own fatigue and pain of his injuries, suppressing it all to reach out and cup Tenko’s face with both of his hands; turning his kid’s face gently from side to side to check the severity of his injuries.
“Toshinori...” Tenko said, his voice a small whine of pain as he lay curled into Aizawa’s chest.
“Yes, I’m here. I’m here. What do you need?” Toshinori asked, leaning in closer.
“I gotta tell you something,” Tenko murmured.
“What is it?” Toshinori knitted his eyebrows in concern as he inched closer to his injured son.
Tenko raised his eyes to meet Toshinori’s, squinting them dramatically as he looked up.
“I broke my glasses again,” he said at last, a weak laugh bubbling up from his chest.
Toshinori blinked, uncomprehending for a moment, before his face softened and he gave a light chuckle of his own. “What am I going to do with you?” he shook his head, tears threatening to spill over the rim of his eyelids.
“Too late to go back on that whole adoption thing,” Tenko shrugged, a smile settled on his lips. “Guess you’re stuck with me.”
“You…” Toshinori’s voice faltered, cracking on a sob of relief he was determined to keep in. “Are you alright?”
Tenko’s smile widened as Toshinori’s face flashed with embarrassment at the seemingly stupid question.
“Better than alright,” Tenko said. Toshinori wrinkled his brow in confusion, figuring it must have been Tenko’s snark coming out to cover up how distinctly not-alright he was. But at the sight of Toshinori’s confusion, Tenko only lifted a shaking hand from where it had been settled in a small pool of his own blood, and reached towards Toshinori. “Check this out.”
“No, wait! Don’t-” Toshinori panicked, reaching out and clasping Tenko’s hand in both of his to stop the reach of his fingers. It took Toshinori a moment to realize that, in his attempt to prevent getting disintegrated, he’d taken a hold of all five of Tenko’s fingers. Giving a sharp yelp, Toshinori tried to pull away; but Tenko tightened his own grip, letting all five of the fingertips on his right hand press into the back of Toshinori’s palm.
“What the hell are you doing, Tenko!?” Toshinori demanded. “Are you still mad at me or something? Because trying to take off my hand isn’t the way to vent your anger-”
“Would you shut up and look at your hand for more than five seconds already!?” Aizawa cut in, not looking up from where Tenko’s blood seeped through his fingers.
Toshinori’s eyes dragged away from Aizawa and back to the hand Tenko held with his own. It was bony and frail, smudged with ash and rubble; but the actual hand, to Toshinori’s astonishment, remained completely intact under Tenko’s touch. Toshinori felt his heart drop, eyes widening as he reached up his free hand to press over Tenko’s bloodstained fingers.
“Your quirk...” Toshinori whispered, feeling as if all of the air had been suckerpunched out of his lungs.
“All for One took it,” Izuku said, confirming the fear that already had its hooks in Toshinori’s heart. “After Tenko destroyed part of his mask, right before All for One threw him against that building.”
“Oh, my boy,” Toshinori murmured, pressing his hands against either side of Tenko’s face and smoothing his shaggy hair away. “I am so sorry.”
“Don’t feel too bad,” Tenko tried to laugh, only to end up wincing. “At least now I can wash the dishes like a normal person.”
Toshinori laughed, but it was mingled with the sobs he could barely struggle to keep a lid on any longer. Taking a deep breath, Toshinori closed his eyes and pressed his forehead solemnly against Tenko’s.
“And are we still alive over here!?” a familiar voice called out; and everyone’s gazes snapped up to see Naomasa crossing to where they were all huddled, proud grin on his face as he laid eyes on Tenko.
“Barely,” Tenko laughed, leaning heavily into Aizawa’s hold.
“Don’t worry, paramedics are on their way,” Naomasa said, hands on his hips as he glanced over his shoulder at All for One being locked away in an armored car. “Well, Tenko,” Naomasa turned a smile to the young hero. “Looks like this mission was a success from where I’m standing. Good work.”
“Wait, what!?” Toshinori’s eyes bulged out of his head as he turned his stare back to Tenko. “You were faking being part of the League of Villains the whole time!?” Tenko offered an innocent smile as Toshinori whipped around to point an accusatory finger at Naomasa. “And you knew!?”
“I…” Naomasa held up his hands and tried to suppress the amused smile on his face. “I may have coordinated with Tenko after his initial confrontation from the League of Villains.”
“He was the first person I called,” Tenko said quietly, giving Naomasa a sarcastic glare. “Got his voicemail, of course.”
“You...You little...I-I thought you were…” Toshinori’s words sputtered to a stop as he reached up and rubbed at the tears of relief that had started falling down his hollow face. “I...I thought…” “I know,” Tenko nodded, feeling his own lip begin to quiver. “I’m sorry.”
Then, Toshinori’s frail arms were going around Tenko’s shoulders; despite protests from Aizawa about aggravating Tenko’s injuries, Toshinori held on as tightly as he dared. Pressing his face into his son’s silver hair, Toshinori tried to hide just how much he was beginning to cry.
Tenko was still at first, unsure how to react. But when he felt the sobs racking Toshinori’s rail of a body, he stopped caring how he was supposed to react and raised his own tired arms to go around his guardian. Closing his eyes as he tucked himself against Toshinori’s chest, Tenko stayed like that until the paramedics came; all ten of his fingers digging into the loose pooling fabric of Toshinori’s hero suit.
Chapter Seven: Out of Hand
Fic Title: Secondhand Hero Author: @starsfadingbutilingeron Summary: What if All Might had been able to save Shimura Tenko? Read this free fic to find out the results!! Rating: General Audiences Read On AO3: x —-
It was easy for Tenko to lure Izuku into doing whatever he said. Too easy. Easy to the degree that Tenko was considering calling Izuku’s mother and telling her that she’d raised her son to be too trusting of pro heroes. Once he’d finally gotten ahold of Izuku, Tenko only had to give the vaguest information about ‘needing Izuku’s input on a new project’ and the young hero-in-training had jumped at the opportunity.
As they strode down the city sidewalks, Izuku was babbling away about the upcoming Sports Festival; completely carefree and oblivious to the potential danger he was walking into.
“Are you alright, Mister Shimura?” Izuku asked, blinking his round green eyes up at the pro hero in concern. “You haven’t said much.”
“Ah, I-I’ve just been listening to you, kid,” Tenko stammered unsmoothly, shifting his hands uncomfortably in the pocket of his hoodie. He’d retrieved his gloves and hero gear from home and felt a little more secure now that he didn’t have to worry about his quirk accidentally hurting someone; but he still felt a keen thrum of anxiety as he carried out his first act of villainy, and Izuku’s concerned earnest gaze wasn’t making anything easier.
“Hmm,” Izuku looked away from Tenko’s face then, but his concerned expression remained in place. “So, uh, did you ever compete in the Sports Festival?”
“Oh yeah,” Tenko nodded, a touch of a smile returned to his mouth. “All three years. I only placed my third time competing though, I got-”
“Second place,” Izuku finished without thinking, then blushed when Tenko raised his eyebrows and started to smile knowingly down at him. “I, uh…” Izuku rubbed at his messy hair. “I already knew the answer to my own question…”
“Eh, can’t say I’m surprised,” Tenko shrugged. “I was actually more surprised that you seemed to not know the answer.”
“Haha, yeah…” Izuku’s blush deepened, rubbing the back of his neck. The look of embarrassment faded from Izuku face and was quickly replaced with a look of confusion as he took in the unfamiliar change in his surroundings. “Uh...Where did you say we were going?”
Tenko bit his lip hard enough he was sure he was going to tear through and give himself another scar. “It’s a, uh- It’s in kind of a rough neighborhood,” he dodged the question, avoiding eye contact with Izuku. “Don’t worry though, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“O-Okay,” Izuku nodded, letting the topic drop. But the further they went from the familiar layout of the city, the more anxious Izuku seemed to become. By the time twilight was creeping into the sky and any hope of spying a landmark had been lost, Izuku could feel his heart hammering in his chest; reaching out without looking, Izuku wrapped his own arm around Tenko’s and squeezed tightly to the pro hero’s side.
Tenko felt his footsteps grow leaden in his sneakers at the frightened press of the child on his arm. They’d gone far enough off the grid that even if Izuku did have second thoughts, Tenko could easily drag him the rest of the way and no one would so much as raise an eyebrow.
Pondering that reality, Tenko continued forward; letting one hand rest atop Izuku’s that was clutching to the sleeve of his hoodie. The skin of Tenko’s lip could have been a new urban legend for as much of it was left to see after a straight half hour of him gnawing on it; and as he drew closer to where All for One was expecting him to arrive with Izuku, Tenko suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and pulled Izuku to a halt with the motion.
In a lightning strike of winding arms and reaching hands, Tenko had spun around to face Izuku with his hands on the young boy’s shoulders. He had to crouch to speak face-to-face with Izuku and as he did, Tenko realized just how young the boy in his care was.
“Is...something wrong, Mister Shimura?” Izuku looked around nervously.
“Yes - I mean, no - I mean,” Tenko squeezed his eyes shut and let out a careful sigh before opening his eyes again to meet Izuku’s gaze. “You need to turn around and go home.”
“Huh!?” Izuku’s eyebrows furrowed in hurt outrage. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, kid, you didn’t do anything,” Tenko retracted one hand from Izuku’s shoulders to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Just...Please, go home, alright?”
Izuku shook his head. “But why? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine!” Tenko said a little too quickly, flashing a smile he knew probably looked closer to tears than anything else. “I just, um, I kind of jumped the gun on this one. It’s too soon for you to be working on this project with me. So, just go home.”
“But…” Izuku looked around again, drawing his jacket up around his face. “Aren’t you at least gonna come with me?”
“No, I can’t,” Tenko shook his head, standing to his full height and yanking his hood up so it shaded his eyes. He tried another smile, and this one looked a bit more genuine since Izuku couldn’t really see his eyes. “I’ve got people expecting me so I’m afraid I can’t escort you home. But, uh, I’ll call a cab for you if you want? If you’ll feel safer, it’s not a problem.”
“No, I’ll be fine on my own. I just…” Izuku shuffled his feet against the craggy sidewalk before looking back up to Tenko. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Aw, c’mon,” Tenko laughed a little, clapping an arm around Izuku’s shoulders and spinning him in the opposite direction. “It’s real sweet you’re worried about me, kid; but I’m a pro, remember? Even if something were wrong - which it’s not - I can take care of myself, ya dig?”
“Yeah, I...I dig,” Izuku huffed a single laugh, sticking his hands in his coat pockets.
“Great,” Tenko smiled, feeling the raw peeling skin of his lips crack with the motion. “Now, run along home, Midoriya,” he gave Izuku’s back a little shove so the kid stumbled forward on the sidewalk. “And text me when you get home safe. You still have my number?”
“Yeah,” Izuku nodded, glancing back over his shoulder. “See you later, Tenko.”
“See ya, kid,” Tenko waved, keeping the breezy smile plastered on his face until Izuku’s back was turned and he started down the sidewalk. Tenko stood watching Izuku’s back recede into the horizon until he was no longer visible amidst the orange glow of the setting sun. Once the kid was no longer visible, Tenko spun on his heel and made his way to the League of Villains alone.
Further back on the sidewalk, Izuku followed the turns he’d made mental notes of on his walk with Tenko. Once back in familiar territory, Izuku ducked into the nearest empty restroom and took his phone out. Making sure the door was locked, Izuku dialed Toshinori’s number and held the receiver to his ear.
The Number One Hero picked up after the second ring, voice ragged from a recent coughing fit as he greeted the unexpected call from his successor.
“Hi, All Might,” Izuku said, his voice low and fingernails picking anxiously at his earlobe. “I really really need to talk to you,” he took a deep breath, looking around as if there might be someone hidden listening in on him. “It’s about Mister Shimura. I think he’s in trouble.”
----
“I still don’t understand how you’ve come back empty handed,” All for One’s voice dripped with treacherous calm from the other side of the computer screen. “You said the boy trusts you, I fail to see what caused him to turn and run away.”
“He’s not a moron,” Tenko said in a bored voice; eyes downcast to look at his phone where it sat in his lap, a message from Izuku that he’d gotten home safe glowing on the screen before Tenko clicked the device off. “You don’t take a fifteen year old kid for a nice stroll in the shadiest part of town at dusk. That’s just not normal. Honestly, I’d be more concerned if he had fallen for it.”
All for One’s audio hummed quietly for a moment as the villain thought over what the next move should be. “.....I suppose we’ll have to be more covert to pull this off then.”
“I suppose so,” Tenko nodded, standing to leave the call.
“Assuming the boy hasn’t told anyone of his suspicions,” All for One added, almost as an afterthought.
“I doubt it,” Tenko scoffed, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “He’s the type to keep information to himself in the interest of getting a leg up on saving the day.”
“Is that so?” All for One asked coolly.
“At least as I’ve known him,” Tenko shrugged, raising an eyebrow to the camera. “Was there anything else?”
“Yes…” All for One spoke slowly, and Tenko could almost hear him narrow his eyes in judgement. “Where on earth did you get that atrocious hairclip?”
Tenko felt his face screw up into a tight-lipped scowl before turning and exiting the room, heading up the stairs to the main bar.
----
Toshinori was at his wit’s end. Tenko hadn’t been home in at least a week; or at least, not that Toshinori knew anyways. Some days when they were both busy with hero work they’d go long periods of time without seeing each other, but this time was different. Everything in the house remained exactly how Toshinori left it whenever he’d go off somewhere. Usually, Tenko would straighten everything up just so whenever Toshinori was out, never hiding his blatant disgust at how Toshinori organized his life.
And if that weren’t enough, Toshinori had the added stress of Izuku having been nominated for Field Training by non other than Gran Torino himself. While Gran Torino had been good company for a young traumatized boy who’d needed someone to relax around, Toshinori shuddered to think what kind of perverse training exercises Izuku was being put through at that very moment.
“Are you sure you’ve sent patrols out everywhere?” Toshinori spoke into his cell phone. He was on call with Naomasa; after about three hours of Tenko not coming home that first night he’d stormed out of the house, Toshinori had been in near constant contact with Naomasa about any possible sign or sighting of his son.
“Yes, Toshinori, I’m sure,” Naomasa said, the sound of a pen scribbling on paper a quiet interlude between spoken word. “We just- We can’t seem to find him.”
“What do you mean you can’t find him? You found him when he was eight, what’s the difference now!?” Toshinori could hear his own voice crack and fought against the worried sobs he could feel climbing his throat. Taking a shuddering breath, Toshinori closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
When he spoke next, Toshinori made an extra effort not to let his voice break tone again. “I am about to lose my mind,” he said, taking another deep breath. “And you’re telling me he just up and disappeared?”
“He may not want to be found,” Naomasa said quietly. “He may have just left without a word because he didn’t want to see you again.”
Toshinori felt the blood draw from his face and his heart stutter a beat. Pressing a hand to his chest, Toshinori struggled to maintain his calm. “How could you say that to me?”
Naomasa was silent for a moment on the other end, mulling over what he’d said. Letting go of a deep sigh, he found that he did in fact regret what he’d suggested to his old friend.
“You’re right,” Naomasa said. “Th-That was awful of me to say, I’m sorry.”
“I just…” Toshinori sighed, pressing a hand to the throbbing pain in his forehead. “I just can’t hear things like that. I don’t want to even entertain that possibility.”
“I know, I didn’t think,” Naomasa said, then tried to lighten the mood with a breathy laugh. “Hey, I mean, it’s Tenko, right? He’ll probably come wandering back sooner or later. And if not, we’ll- I promise I’ll find him, Toshinori. Nothing bad’s gonna happen to your boy, alright?”
“Yeah,” Toshinori nodded. “Thanks, Naomasa.”
“No problem.”
Hanging up with Naomasa, Toshinori turned back to the empty house behind him. Well, almost empty. When he turned around he saw Mii rubbing her soft black cheek up against the doorframe; locking her yellow eyes on Toshinori, she trotted over to where he sat at the living room table and hopped up on his lap. Giving a yowl of disapproval, she ultimately settled for curling up on Toshinori’s bony joints instead of Tenko’s decidedly more comfortable lap. Looking up at Toshinori, the cat gave a soft meow as she stared up at the hero.
“I know,” Toshinori replied, stroking the cat behind the ears. “I miss him too.”
----
Even though it had only been about two weeks he’d been with the League of Villains, Tenko felt the piercing difference of being on the other side of the law. No one cared if he slept or washed his hair; there was no one pestering him to brush his teeth or eat a decent meal. Tenko had always complained about feeling smothered by Toshinori near-obsessive concern over his well-being but, being with the League, Tenko was beginning to miss being harangued about the importance of taking care of himself.
There was something else being with the League made him feel that he couldn’t quite pin down, like an itch on his back he couldn’t reach. Being a hero had never been safe work, Toshinori’s current state was proof enough of that; but it wasn’t until Tenko had spent the past couple of days just existing in the same mindset as the villains he’d always fought that he’d actually started to fear for his life.
Those feelings of unease and insecurity stuck with Tenko, especially when he opened the door to the bar and found Kurogiri leaned against the counter in a posture too casual to be a choice of his own volition. More than that, Tenko could see that there was a gaping hole in one of Kurogiri’s sleeves, which would have been suspicious enough on its own; the fact that Kurogiri would never let himself appear that unkept only added to Tenko’s skepticism of the unusual scene unfolding before him.
He was hardly surprised then when, as soon as the door closed behind him fully, a hulking tangle of wiry limbs dropped down from the ceiling and pinned Tenko on his back in one swift movement. The impact of his head colliding against the hardwood floors had knocked his glasses askew, and his vision was cut between blurry and clear as he stared up at who had pinned him.
Reaching a hand up in an attempt to straighten his glasses, his attacker whipped out a glinting dagger and thrust it through Tenko’s shoulder near his collarbone. Tenko slammed his hand back to the ground, suppressing his pain as he’d done in countless villain attacks. The trick was to never let on how much you were hurt, even if you felt a breath away from death.
Tenko could only lay in petrified anticipation, wishing he had a way to discreetly remove his gloves without chancing another blade to the shoulder. As if reading his thoughts, the masked villain drew out another dagger, holding this one close to Tenko’s throat; so close that Tenko could feel his own pulse thrumming against the metal in traitorous honesty of how scared he actually was.
“A pro hero turned villain at the drop of a hat,” the villain rasped from where he sat atop Tenko’s chest. “What kind of creed do you live by that allows you such a quick change of mind?”
Drawing in a deep breath through his nose, Tenko began to place a name to the half-blurred face looming above him. The daggers, the old shaggy bandages, the lack of a nasal appendage...all pointed to one villain.
“Hero Killer,” Tenko bit out, trying to wrestle down the pain in his shoulder. “Stain, I recognize you from your criminal profile.”
“Hero Killer,” Stain repeated, his voice almost mocking. “As if the people I cut down even deserved the title ‘hero’ at all. The word ‘hero’ has lost all meaning in this society overrun by fakes. You being the perfect example. ‘Pro hero’ Shimura Tenko…” Stain grinned, wide and dry like a shattered bone left in the hot sun. “Even being raised by All Might you couldn’t seem to shake that selfish single-mindedness that plagues all others of your kind who would forsake their ideals in a quest for revenge.”
“You sure do like to preach, don’t ya?” Tenko smiled. While Stain had been talking, he’d curled his four bare fingers against the fabric of the glove on his right hand so all five fingertips were touching and the black material furled away. Reaching up his now bare hand, Tenko gripped the blade held to his throat; the sharp blade sliced his palm where the thumb met the forefinger, but Tenko couldn’t deny the satisfaction he felt when Stain’s face went from triumphant to shocked as his dagger disintegrated before his eyes.
Stain jumped away from Tenko, yanking out the blade that had been implanted in Tenko’s shoulder with him. Giving a sharp cry of pain, Tenko staggered to his feet and pressed two fingers to either side of the wound. He was irritated at being out one glove, but figured he should just start wearing his gauntlets full time while with the League anyways.
“You want to change what society values; want to protect what it means to actually be a hero,” Tenko regarded stain with a critical eye. “A just world, is that it?” Tenko raised his eyebrows, smug grin playing on his face. “Well, I think you and I might have more in common than you think.”
That bone dry grin slowly curled back up onto Stain’s face as he holstered his dagger. “So that’s what you’re about,” he rattled, addressing something unspoken between them. “Those at death’s door always show their true colors,” he continued, regarding Tenko with a smirk of his own. “It seems you’ve got a crooked creed of your own growing inside of you. I’m interested to see what kind of twisted fruits those sprouts will bear. There’s value in keeping you alive, ha, if for nothing else than my own amusement.”
Tenko sneered at Stain, confused by what he meant. Looking to Kurogiri, Tenko found the black mist villain able to move again and regarded him with a quickly deepening sense of camaraderie. “Not so sure I want someone who seems so interested in killing me as a party member…”
“If we add him to our ranks, our battle power will magnify. Which is entirely the reason I recruited him,” Kurogiri said. “The negotiations have come through!”
“Yes, yes, that order of business is settled,” Stain nodded, eyes flashing darkly out at Kurogiri. “Now, return me to Hosu. I still have work to do there.”
----
Tenko didn’t care for the noumus. Or rather, he didn’t care for how he was expected to use the noumus like weapons. Going along with Stain on his quest to shank more pros was bad enough; but before leaving for Hosu, All for One had all but insisted Tenko take three noumu with him and wreak some havoc. All for One had said he hoped it would be ‘a learning experience’ for Tenko, whatever that was supposed to mean. Tenko only knew that having three gigantic body-modded superhumans bent to his will wasn’t exactly what he’d signed up for when he’d shaken All for One’s hand, but that sensation was becoming more and more commonplace the further he fell into the League of Villains.
It was strange for Tenko to be in his hero gear in any context other than hero work, but going into a situation like this without gear was just plain stupid. Even though for the time being Tenko was just sitting on top of a reservoir with his goggles zoomed in on where he’d reluctantly delegated his noumus, he knew from experience that even the dullest patrol could turn deadly at the tick of a clock.
“They don’t seem to be causing many casualties,” Kurogiri’s voice drifted over from a few feet back. He was speaking in reference to the noumus who were, at Tenko’s command, basically just trashing the train station without actually hurting anyone.
“I didn’t realize you could see that far,” Tenko said, an edge of annoyed snark in his tone. Standing up, he stretched his arms out in front of his chest and let go of a bored sigh as he dropped his hands to his sides. “You don’t need to kill to be an intimidating villain. Just need to show that you have the power within you to kill if you wanted.”
Kurogiri didn’t have an argument for that statement, just stood quietly in his place while Tenko kept a trained eye on the noumus. Tenko wondered vaguely how long it would take the police and pros to take down these overpowered mindless creatures. His mind was drifting off into the logistics of what all went into creating one of the noumus, when a light buzz in his pocket snapped him from his reverie.
Flipping the GPS screen in his goggles off, Tenko opened the message and squinted down at the screen as it was obscured by the glare of sunlight. When he finally made the message out, he saw that it was from Izuku and that it was nothing but a coordinate in Hosu.
Furrowing his brow, Tenko switched the GPS in his goggles back on and entered the coordinates on the control pad that was attached to his belt. Following the the directional arrows on the screen, Tenko found the coordinates in no time.
Tenko had to look closely at the location to understand why Izuku had sent it in the first place, but once he figured it out he almost stopped and smacked himself upside the head for being so oblivious. Granted, the location was nothing but a back alley wedged between two buildings and Tenko hadn’t been able to see too well what was going on. But when he noticed the shadows on the wall of the one building that halved the alley, he immediately recognized the silhouette of Izuku’s mess of hair and - even more bone-chillingly - recognized the slash and curve of Stain’s blades.
Flipping his goggles back to their normal setting, Tenko spun around to face Kurogiri.
“Warp me down to that alley, now!” Tenko shouted, panic rising in his chest as he thought of a fifteen year old fighting someone like Stain.
Kurogiri didn’t ask any questions, simply nodded and opened up a warp gate at Tenko’s feet. Tenko dropped through and, in an instant, was coming up at the mouth of dim alley.
Tenko had only an instant to process what was going on before leaping into action. He saw Izuku struggling to pull himself to his feet, saw pro hero Native slumped uselessly against a wall, and saw the one UA student Iida Tenya, who’d been in his group at the USJ, lying prone and immobile on the ground. More than anything though, Tenko had been unfortunate enough to come in right in the middle of one of Stain’s seemingly endless pontifications.
“Folks who are all talk are a dime a dozen...” Stain was saying to Izuku, who only remained crouched on the ground as the villain stalked towards Iida. “...but with you...” he paused to throw a glance at Izuku before turning around again, his back to Tenko. “...There is worth in keeping you alive.”
Tenko began to creep forward, his skin crawling as he watched Stain draw his blade slowly, almost tenderly across Iida’s cheek. He wasn’t sure when would be a good time to make his move, he didn’t want to risk the kids or the other pro getting hurt.
“As for these two?” Stain tsked, shaking his head as Iida whimpered at the touch of the blade against his cheek. “Not so much.”
That was enough for Tenko. Throwing all principles of subtlety out the window, he swiped his thumbs across his palms and charged forward with his fingers bare.
“Hey, Hero Killer!” Tenko shouted.
“Huh!?” Stain looked up, confused expression smoothing into amused intrigue when he saw Tenko rushing towards him. “Isn’t this interesting?” he said, pressing his blade hard enough into Iida’s cheek to leave a cut before turning towards Tenko.
“Why not kill an actual hero!?” Tenko snarled, reaching out and grabbing the blade of Stain’s katana with both hands.
As the blade crumbled beneath Tenko’s fingertips, Stain reached out and clutched Tenko by the neck. Slamming him up against the wall, Stain fixed Tenko with a wild grin that looked almost hungry as his gaze bored down on Tenko’s
“What’s this? Another change of heart?” Stain asked, his voice wasn’t mocking or sarcastic; but it wasn’t sincere or touched either.
Tenko shoved Stain off of him with four fingers of each hand and fixed the Hero Killer with a vicious snarl. “These are fifteen year olds and you didn’t hold back!? What the fuck kind of creed is that, Stain?”
“Sometimes, if the situation demands it, even children are fair targets,” Stain said, all hint of a smile wiped off his face.
“No they fucking aren’t! They’re children!!” Tenko yelled, thinking back on all the times villains had targeted him to get to Toshinori and feeling a venomous hatred for Stain roiling his gut.
“Mister Shimura…” Izuku’s voice called from where he was still crouched in the position Stain had frozen him in. “You...I didn’t expect to see you here…”
“Well, I guess I’m full of surprises,” Tenko shrugged, looking away from Stain to glance at Izuku. He only took his eyes off Stain for an instant. It was enough.
Before Tenko’s head was fully turned back towards Stain, the Hero Killer had struck out and grabbed Tenko by the shoulder he’d cut open earlier. Slamming Tenko back up against the wall, Stain ripped the collar of Tenko’s costume back to reveal the still bleeding cut. With a smile, Stain pressed the edge of one of his smaller daggers against the cut and wet it with Tenko’s blood.
“Guess you just can’t fight what you truly are inside,” Stain blinked down at Tenko as he raised the blade to his lips. “Looks like there’s more worth in keeping you alive than I thought.”
Just as Stain was about to lick the blood clean off the blade, a sudden crackling snap burst out from the other end of the alley. Stain sprang off of Tenko and dodged the incoming attack. Tenko shrank in on himself, feeling heat but also cold rush past him. As the attack cleared away, a voice Tenko remembered from the USJ spoke up.
“For something like this, you should’ve texted more information, Midoriya,” Shouto said, eyes still on his phone screen as he stepped into the alley. Looking up, Shouto pocketed his phone and took in the dire scene unfolding before him. “Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s just one right after the other today,” Stain shook his head; seeming to have lost all interest in Tenko after Shouto had appeared on the scene, he shoved Tenko aside and made his way towards the latest kid to enter the desolate stretch of alleyway.
“Hold up, don’t fight him!” Tenko waved his hands, rushing forward and cutting Stain off from going any further.
“Todoroki, why are you here!?” Iida shouted, frustrated tears streaming down his face.
“‘Why?’” Shouto raised an eyebrow, stepping forward with his heat side brandished. “That’s my line.”
Stain grew impatient as the banter between the three boys ran on. Tenko still had his covered palms braced against the Hero Killer’s chest in an attempt to hold him off from attacking the kids. Striking out suddenly, Stain knocked Tenko to the ground and out of his way. While Tenko struggled to push himself back up, Stain raised the blood-covered blade to his tongue again.
Just as Stain was about to use his quirk on Tenko’s blood, a flash of green bolted in front of Stain and knocked the blade out of the villain’s hand.
“Midoriya!” Shouto called out as Izuku sped around the sides of the buildings.
“I don’t know why, but I can move again!” Izuku said.
“There must be a time limit,” Shouto guessed.
“It’s your blood type!” Tenko shouted, shoving himself off the ground and pushing his goggles up on his forehead to straighten his glasses. “Depending on your blood type, the strength of his quirk varies.”
“That’s right,” Stain grinned back at Tenko. “Although, it’s a shame you ruined the surprise.”
“Fuck you,” Tenko spat at Stain, lowering his goggles again and starting towards the Hero Killer.
But Shouto was quicker on the uptake, shooting out another round of frozen flames that knocked everyone back a few feet. Tenko skidded to a halt in a crouched position, revving to launch back into the fight.
“Shimura Tenko...” a tearful, frustrated voice spoke out from behind him. Tenko spun around and saw Iida looking up at him, still immobile.
“Hey kid,” Tenko said, turning his back to Stain to lean over the fallen hero-in-training. Pressing a hand to the top of Iida’s head, Tenko pushed the kid’s hair back and gave him a reassuring smile. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”
“No, I...I couldn’t…” Iida’s face screwed up as his tears began to flow heavier down his face. “I couldn’t be like my brother. I’m not a real hero.”
“No shit you’re not,” Tenko said. Iida looked up at him in shock, having expected a different response. But Tenko just offered another small smile. “You’re fifteen, Iida. No one should be holding you to pro hero standards just yet, not even yourself. You still have time to learn.”
Iida’s mouth twitched into the beginnings of a grateful smile. For a moment, the two remained there on the dirty ground, finding an odd sense of peace amidst the turmoil around them.
But the truth of that moment was that it was taking place in the middle of a great turmoil, and moments only lasted so long. That reality became all the more clear when Tenko’s smile was wiped away by a bolt of shock taking over his expression. Looking slowly down, Tenko’s gaze fell to his stomach just in time to see the blade stuck through his ribcage rip out again. With a gasp, Tenko felt himself topple on his side to the ground; his gaze level with Iida’s horrified stare.
Izuku was quick to fire another punch at Stain as he left Tenko on the ground, but not before Stain had time to finally reach his bloodied blade to his mouth and lick up Tenko’s blood.
The effect was instant, Tenko couldn’t move from where he lay huddled on his side. Not that he was sure he would’ve been able to move even if Stain hadn’t used his quirk on him; Tenko was familiar enough with shock to know he was in the midst of it right then after having been stabbed. All he could do was watch helplessly as his blood pooled around him and the UA students continued to battle a villain who was out of their league.
“Please stop…” Iida called to his friends as they continued to battle the Hero Killer. “...I-I won’t…”
“If you want us to stop, then stand up!” Shouto yelled, sweeping away the kickback from another one of his attacks. “Set your eyes on the man you want to be!”
That statement seemed to do it for Iida. Tenko watched, unable to move, as the pro hero Ingenium’s brother finally overcame the effects of Stain’s quirk and rose to join his classmates. Native tried to discourage Shouto and Izuku from fighting any further, but Shouto shot him down with the observation that Stain had broadened his intended targets from before.
Iida used his Recipro Burst but overheated the engine. Tenko remembered watching the kid’s engines get jammed with ice in the Sports Festival when he’d faced Shouto; and was about to call out the suggestion to use Shouto’s ice side to cool down Iida’s leg, when Iida reached the conclusion on his own. Just as Iida had told Shouto his plan though, Stain threw a dagger in the direction of Shouto’s face. Iida stopped the knife landing on Shouto, but got it implanted in the crook of his elbow in the effort. Another blade slammed down in Iida’s forearm and then another in his hand, but Iida just bounced right back and pushed Shouto to cool his legs down.
“Dammit Stain, leave the kids alone!” Tenko shouted with what little strength he could muster.
“I don’t think that’s what they want,” Stain grinned, charging forward without so much as a glance in Tenko’s direction.
As Stain moved to strike out at the children again, Iida and Izuku coordinated a last minute double attack. Izuku channeled one-hundred percent of his One for All power into his arm and Iida followed through with a supercharged kick from his leg; leaving the Hero Killer knocked flat on his back, unconscious.
The effect of Stain’s quirk wore off as soon as he fell unconscious, but Tenko still could hardly move to stand. He ended up gathered in Native’s arms while Izuku rode on the pro hero’s back; Shouto had found some rope in an always trusty trash heap and was dragging Stain along with them as they strode out of the narrow lane.
“I’m sorry,” Native was saying as he struggled to carry the weight of both Izuku and Tenko. “I’m a pro and yet I was just a burden on you.”
“No…” Izuku said. “In a one-on-one fight with the Hero Killer’s quirk, I don’t think there’s anything you could have done. He’s just too strong.”
Tenko tuned out the conversation as it delved into the analysis of Stain’s battle techniques; instead, he focused on the injury on the right side of his ribcage. He could stick with the hero’s until he got it treated...but if Toshinori showed up at the hospital Tenko knew there would be no possibility of his guardian letting him out of his sights again until he was fully recovered. Groaning at Native’s unskilled, jostling hold, Tenko closed his eyes and tried to figure a way out of the heroes’ clutches.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, BOY!?!?”
Tenko jerked to attention, eyes flying wide at the all too familiar sound of Gran Torino’s enraged voice. Thinking the Golden Ager was yelling at him, Tenko braced to get his ear chewed off; but as Gran Torino propelled forward, his kick soared straight over Tenko and landed in Izuku’s face instead.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay put!?” Gran Torino shouted, bouncing back onto the ground with an infuriated scowl. He hadn’t even noticed Tenko yet.
Tenko froze in Native’s arms, trying to go unnoticed for as long as possible. His goggles were pushed up on top of his head, and Tenko wondered if pulling them back down would make him more or less recognizable to the senile pro.
“Well, I don’t know what happened,” Gran Torino continued, eyes averted to the narrow lane. “But for the time being I’m glad you’re alr-”
Gran Torino froze as he turned back to look at Izuku; but this time he noticed Tenko, cradled and injured a few feet above him, and his face fell.
“Tenko…” Gran Torino murmured. His face was concerned for a split second, but quickly gave way to rage. “And where the hell have you been!? Toshinori and I don’t hear from you for weeks and you show up here all bloody and battered? What the hell are you doing, boy!?”
“Would you believe me if I told you?” Tenko raised an eyebrow, cautiously lowering himself to stand on his own two feet.
“You know what!? I don’t even want to know,” Gran Torino said, jumping up and yanking Tenko’s ear so the younger hero was forced to bow to his level. “We’re going straight to the hospital, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
Releasing Tenko’s ear, Gran Torino straightened himself out as he waited for the other pros and police to show up with proper medical care. But as he stood in silence, barely listening to the UA students fall over themselves with emotions, something on the horizon caught Gran Torino’s eye.
“DUCK!” Gran Torino shouted as, almost out of nowhere, a winged noumu swooped down low over the gathering of heroes.
Tenko wasn’t present enough in his own mind to register what had been said to him, and just as he turned to look at where Gran Torino had pointed, a colossal pressure clenched around his ribcage and he was hauled into the air.
As he was swept off his feet, Tenko recognized a second shout or surprise sound out next to him. Moving his head around despite the wind resistance fighting his motions, Tenko saw Izuku was clutched in the noumu’s other foot. Tenko puzzled over what had caused this noumu to act, to grab out at Izuku and him when he hadn’t ordered anything of the sort. Unless, he thought. I’m not the only one ordering these guys around.
For a few terrifying seconds, the noumu dragged Izuku and Tenko higher into the air; Tenko wondered how far up the two of them would be carried, and where their final destination would be.
The answer came almost immediately, when a familiar bundle of old bandages fluttered into Tenko’s eyes. The noumu let out a dying wail and released its grip on both Tenko and Izuku. As the two young men fell from the skies, Stain caught them both in one arm during the free fall and landed with a thud next to the dead noumu.
Setting Izuku and Tenko down, Stain started to unwind one of the long bandages from his arm and reach towards Tenko again.
“Wait,” Izuku called, voice shaking in fear but audible amongst the murmuring pros nonetheless. He held his unbroken arm out to stop Stain. “D-Don’t touch him.”
“You want him to bleed out then?” Stain asked Izuku quietly. The green-haired boy blinked, uncomprehending. Stain pushed past Izuku and lifted Tenko’s torso enough that he could wrap the long cloth bandage around the semiconscious young man.
“Thought you-” Tenko winced as the bandages were wound tightly around his ribcage. “Thought you wanted me dead. Isn’t that...the whole reason you stabbed me?”
Stain shook his head, eyes ravenous and crazed as he finished wrapping Tenko’s wound. “I just needed you out of the way and was in a pinch,” he panted, chest heaving with desperate breaths. “The phonies that have overrun society, and the criminals who aimlessly throw around their ‘power’...Those are the targets of my purge,” he said as he settled Tenko back down, letting Izuku rush forward to hold his head protectively in his lap.
“All of this…” Stain rasped as he straightened out. “...is for the sake of a just world!”
“Why are you all just standing around!?” A sudden harsh, arrogant voice cut through the uncertain quiet that had fallen over the pros. “He must have fled over there by now!”
Stain’s eyes glinted with murderous intent as he saw the Flame Hero step into view. “Endeavor...” he growled, low and feral as if he were a lion spotting his prey.
“The Hero Killer!” Endeavor growled, match-for-match in ferocity as he stormed forward.
“Another phony…” Stain snarled, the bandage that served as his mask falling away to reveal the distorted face beneath. “The fake must be rectified,” he spoke out in a hollow, haunting voice; taking a daring step towards Endeavor. “Someone- Someone must stain himself in his blood!” he called, eyes half filmed over with malicious intent. “The word ‘hero’ must be restored!”
The other pros, the students, even Endeavor took pause as the Hero Killer’s manic eyes pulled into better view. But Stain only seemed to relish in the apprehension, letting a challenging cackle fall from his lips.
“Come on!” Stain urged. “Just try it, you pretenders!!”
Tenko stared wide-eyed at Stain’s hunched form; Izuku still had a grip around the back of his neck, supporting his head so it wouldn’t knock against the ground.
“The only one who’s allowed to do me in…” Stain shouted, voice ragged from the expelling of his own charisma. “...is All Might!!”
The heroes and students waited for Stain’s next move, but the Hero Killer had fallen still. Endeavor was the first to move forward, flaming eyebrows knitting together in confusion as he stepped towards Stain’s unmoving form.
“He…” Endeavor started. “He’s lost consciousness.”
While the heroes milled about the now stagnant crime scene, Tenko took his phone from his pocket and sent a text to Kurogiri to open a gate for him. Forcing himself out of Izuku’s hold and onto his feet, Tenko staggered towards the ripple of black mist opening a few feet away from him.
“Mister Shimura, wait!” Izuku called, doing a double take as he saw the warp gate open. Shooting his uninjured arm out, he caught Tenko by the wrist and forced him to meet his gaze. “Please, don’t go! I-I don’t know what you’re doing or who you’re with now but...please, just come with us…”
Tenko ripped his arm from Izuku’s grasp and staggered back towards the gate. “I can’t,” he shook his head. “You’ll understand soon, Midoriya. But I can’t be with you heroes anymore.”
“No!” Izuku shouted, clambering to his feet and taking a step towards Tenko. “I’m not letting you run away. If you’re gonna leave...I’m-I’m...I’ll...I’m coming with you!”
A surge of panic jumped through Tenko’s spine and, setting his jaw in a hard snarl, turned a glare towards Izuku.
“You don’t know how out of your depth you are,” Tenko warned the young hero-in-training in front of him. Raising a bloodied hand to point at Izuku, Tenko made his voice as tough and as stern as possible. “Don’t you dare try and follow me, Midoriya,” he said, voice edging dangerously close to threatening. “I mean it, you stay here.”
Something in Tenko’s voice, it had gotten close to threatening, but Izuku knew that wasn’t what he’d heard that made him pause. Mingled beneath the anger and stern caution, Izuku could hear another emotion. If he were hard pressed to put a name to what he’d heard, Izuku would have said that Tenko was...afraid. But it wasn’t fear for himself that Tenko had expressed, it was fear for Izuku. He didn’t understand but, hearing that fear intermittent in Tenko’s voice, Izuku let the injured body of one of his mentors vanish away into the black mist.
And just like that, the pro hero Shimura Tenko was gone; off to an unknown location for a reason that not even the scores of pros surrounding Izuku could discern.
Chapter Six: But At Last Came A Knock
Fic Title: Secondhand Hero Author: @starsfadingbutilingeron Summary: What if All Might had been able to save Shimura Tenko? Read this free fic to find out the results!! Rating: General Audiences Read On AO3: x ----
Tenko should not have been worrying about Toshinori. He was still mad at him for God’s sake, he should not have felt the urge to check his phone every millisecond for a text update. But when his guardian hadn’t arrived at the USJ with just fifteen minutes before the 1-A students were set to arrive, Tenko couldn’t halt the wrenching concern he felt twisting in his gut. Usually, Toshinori’s being late signified that he’d gotten himself into something dangerous or reckless or just plain stupid; and knowing his own luck, Tenko figured it was some infuriating amalgamation of all three of those things.
Ten minutes before the students’ and Aizawa’s arrival, Tenko’s phone began to buzz in his pocket. He never turned the sound setting higher than vibrate; sudden sharp jangly tunes assailing his ears only ever served as an incentive to just send calls straight to voicemail. But a soft vibration in his pocket was usually alerting enough that he didn’t miss when he did get a call; and since he was already on edge with nerves, the light buzzing in the pocket of his hero costume sent him jolting to attention and whipping his phone out to answer in an instant.
“Hello?” he asked, trying to suppress the relief audible in his voice at getting the call from his guardian.
“Tenko, uh...uhm...Well, how do I say this?” Toshinori began the call. Tenko could tell from the sound of his voice that Toshinori wasn’t in his hero form; and could tell further from the apprehensive way he was skirting around the topic of his call, that he’d done something incredibly stupid.
“Typically, a good way to say something difficult is to just spit it out,” Tenko sighed, rolling his eyes behind his goggles. “But take your time, I know it’s not your strong suit.”
“I, uh…” Toshinori hesitated and Tenko could hear him take in a deep breath before speaking again. “I kind of used up all of my hero form stamina on the way to work.”
Tenko froze, lips tightening into a thin line as he nodded his head at the intake of this news.
“Are you...going to say something?” Toshinori asked after a beat of silence.
“Just that…” Tenko tried to gear himself up to chew his guardian out for being careless again, but just ended up sighing in exhaustion. “Whatever, Toshinori, I guess we’ll just have to get along without you.”
“I’m sorry,” Toshinori mumbled miserably from the other end. “I’ll try and make the tail end of the exercises.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tenko pinched the bridge of his nose around his goggles, hanging up before Toshinori had the chance to say anything in response.
As Tenko shoved his phone back into his pocket, the doors to the USJ pushed open and class 1-A filed in headed by Aizawa and Thirteen. While the students all gushed at the expansive stretch of room before them, Aizawa and Thirteen fixed their gazes on Tenko. Leaving the students to ogle the USJ for a few minutes, the other two pros made their way over to Tenko in search of an explanation.
“Shouldn’t All Might be here by now?” Aizawa asked. “Or did he book another interview instead?”
“I wish,” Tenko scoffed, motioning for the two pros to lean in closer as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “He used up all his power on the morning commute. He just called me from the teacher’s lounge.”
“That man is the epitome of irresponsibility,” Aizawa rolled his eyes.
“Put that on my gravestone,” Tenko laughed a little bit in agreement. “We should be fine with just us three.”
Aizawa nodded, turning to Thirteen. “The clock’s ticking. We should get started.”
“Excellent!” Thirteen exclaimed, turning towards the students. “Before we begin, I have one thing to discuss with you all...or two...or three…”
While Thirteen gave his opening spiel to the students, Aizawa turned back to Tenko and furrowed his brow in what he would never let his class know was concern.
“Are you and All Might still fighting?” he asked in a low voice.
“Kind of,” Tenko shrugged, crossing his arms defensively. “Not like we’re having shouting matches over scores of smashed plates, but it’s not like I’m particularly happy with him either.”
“Well, it’s hard to give advice with so little context as to why you two are even fighting in the first place,” Aizawa said. “But if it’s serious enough for you to have held a grudge this long, I can only imagine what kind of bullshit All Might must’ve pulled to make you so angry.”
“Yeah, I bet you can’t even imagine,” Tenko muttered, more than a little bitter that he couldn’t even talk to anyone about why he was upset without exposing the secret of One for All.
“...could easily be used to kill people,” Thirteen was still going, talking about the potential dangers of his quirk. “In that way, it’s no different than a lot of your quirks. But more specifically, it’s almost identical to pro hero Shimura Tenko’s quirk ‘Disintegration’ which I’m sure he’d be happy to give a few words on!”
Tenko blushed as all of the students’ eyes turned to him. “Thanks Thirteen,” he said through gritted teeth as he imagined the shit-eating grin Thirteen must have been channeling through his helmet.
Clearing his throat, Tenko turned to 1-A and gave them a quick once over. Most of them seemed excited to see him - in fact, almost all of the students seemed excited about him being there. With that in mind, Tenko felt his confidence surge and he relaxed enough to speak to the class.
“Alright, well, as Thirteen already said, he and I do have similar quirks,” Tenko began, raising his hands up and swiping his thumbs across the sensors in his palms to bare his fingers. “I’m sure you don’t need me telling you what my quirk does. And, given that my personal life isn’t exactly private, I’m sure that all of you are aware that I have hurt people with my quirk. Now, I was young and not in control of my powers, but this brings up the excellent point that Thirteen was hinting at. Your quirks, as much as they have the capacity to help, also have the capacity to hurt. We’re here today to learn how to keep the more dangerous elements of your powers in check so they can be utilized in more than just battle scenarios,” Tenko said, giving a shrug as he swiped his thumbs back over his palms. “And you might just learn today that sometimes having a powerful quirk isn’t enough to get the job done. That’s all.”
“Wonderful job, Tenko!” Thirteen clasped the younger hero’s hand and yanked him into a bow while the students clapped and cheered.
“Right,” Aizawa shoved off the railing he’d been leaning against. “Let’s get started. There are three pros, six zones, and twenty of you. So, let’s split you up into two groups of seven and one group of six. Thirteen and Tenko specialize in disaster rescue and cleanup, so they’ll take the groups of seven. Since we have limited time in this space, we’ll try and keep it to about 30 minutes in each zone for the different groups, that way we’ll have enough time for everyone to try every area while still accounting for breaks and transitions and the possibility of a group running overtime on an exercise.”
Giving a tired sigh, Aizawa extended his arm and pointed to his class with a haphazard swing of his wrist.
“Aoyama, Fumikage, Asui, Rikidou, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari,” Aizawa pointed out. “You’ll be the group of six. Which means you’re coming with me, so line up.”
As the six students shuffled to line up behind their teacher, Aizawa raised his hand again towards his remaining class.
“Todoroki, Hagakure, Kirishima, Jirou, Uraraka, Iida, and…” Aizawa narrowed his eyes a bit at the remaining students before making his decision of who to call next. “....hm, Bakugou. You seven are gonna go with Tenko.”
Tenko looked up from where he’d been picking at his nails with his thumbs when he heard Bakugou’s name get called. He remembered the name from when he’d heard tell of Toshinori’s first official class at UA; remembered how enraged he’d become at Toshinori for letting Izuku use his quirk so recklessly. The kid Bakugou had a belligerent set to his jaw that matched so closely to what Tenko had been expecting, it would have been comical if it weren’t so damn unsettling.
“Midoriya, Sero, Shouji, Kouda, Ojiro, Ashido, and Mineta,” Aizawa listed the remaining students. “You seven go with Thirteen.”
Once the groups were all gathered with their respective pros, they split off to separate corners of the USJ. Aizawa took his group to the Shipwreck Zone first, Thirteen took theirs to the Mountain Zone, and Tenko took his to the Landslide Zone.
“Alright,” Tenko said, swinging his arms as he turned to address his group. “The objective today is figuring out what to do when faced with natural disasters. I know you all probably think being a hero is just about punching bad guys in the face, wearing a flashy costume, and posing for the cameras; but the fact of the matter is that the type of hero work you see on television and in comics is really overblown. A lot of young heroes can be disappointed when they find out just how much of their work is going to be service-based in lieu of focusing primarily on targeting villains. If that’s your attitude, you should probably start looking into alternative career choices.”
Tenko noted the way Bakugou’s lip twitched into a snarl at the suggestion, but just sighed and put his hands on his hips as he continued.
“So, let’s get started,” Tenko said, turning back to the expansive Landslide Zone. “Imaginary scenario,” Tenko snapped his fingers and pointed to a large boulder embedded in the dry ground. “There’s a civilian with their leg trapped under that boulder. How do you move the boulder without inflicting more damage onto the victim?”
“Easy,” Bakugou scoffed, immediately stepping forward.
“You wanna give it a go?” Tenko raised his eyebrows behind his goggles, angling his shoulders towards Bakugou as the belligerent teen walked towards the boulder in question. Bakugou gave a gruff nod, flexing his fingers around his open palm and setting off a flurry of sparks.
“Alright then,” Tenko nodded, motioning for the other students to move out of the way. “Let’s see what he does.”
Thrusting one hand out against the boulder’s surface, Bakugou easily blasted the rock to pieces. Shards and chunks of the stone flew everywhere; Tenko hardly flinched when one shard cut him across the cheek, and stuck a lazy hand out as a larger piece soared through the air. As the rock disintegrated in Tenko’s hand, Bakugou turned a triumphant smirk back around to his peers.
“Well, you got the boulder out of the way,” Tenko said. “But you forgot the part where you weren’t supposed to injure the victim further,” he pointed to his bleeding cheek. “That happened from all the way over here. From the range the victim would have been in, you could have seriously injured or even killed them. Not to mention the vibrations from the explosion could trigger another landslide.”
Bakugou’s cheeks burned a dark red under the black material of his mask, a dumbfounded expression on his face. As he tried to sputter a counterargument, Tenko turned to address the rest of the class.
“The important thing about natural disaster rescue and cleanup is that while you do want to work quickly as possible, you also don’t want to accidentally worsen the situation in a quest for instant gratification,” Tenko said, motioning for Bakugou to rejoin his classmates. “This does bring up an excellent point though. If there were another landslide during rescue, how would you take action to protect the civilians and yourselves?”
“I was born to take that on!!” Kirishima grinned from where he stood, pounding his fists together as his quirk activated.
“Another good point,” Tenko smiled, gesturing to Kirishima. “Some of you have quirks that will work really really well in specific scenarios while the rest of you might have to think a little outside the box to get the job done,” reaching into his pocket, Tenko brandished a small remote. “This controls the simulation; with the press of a button, the Landslide Zone will activate. Your job right now is to show me your current best strategy to protect both yourself and others from falling debris. While all of you are training to be heroes, I want you to view your classmates as civilians who need protecting. If one of them looks to be in danger, it’s your job to intervene. I’ll judge the success of this simulation by the number of injuries sustained.”
Without further ado, Tenko pressed the button to activate the simulation. The ground rumbled underneath the students’ feet, and soon enormous cuts of rock were hurdling down the steep incline towards them.
Bakugou seemed to fall immediately back into the habit of exploding before stopping to think and blew every boulder that came within a ten foot radius of him to smithereens. Luckily, Kirishima’s quirk worked as a shield against the fragments of rocks that collided into him; and Jirou kept any hurdling debris out of her vicinity with a few charges of her heartbeat.
Iida and Uraraka had teamed up in an effort to protect the other students as well as they could; Uraraka floating the boulders into the air while Iida sped around sweeping their classmates -usually Hagakure - to safety.
Shout stuck mainly to dodging for the beginning of the simulation until he’d managed to position himself at a vantage point far enough away from his classmates yet close enough to the incumbent rockslide heading his way. With a grand sweep of his arm, a mountain of ice rushed up to collide with the landslide, seemingly putting an end to the disaster.
Tenko pressed the button to end the simulation and walked forward to stand next to Shouto.
“Huh,” Tenko put one hand on his hip and stared up at the wall of ice and stone before him. “Pretty impressive. You’re Endeavor’s kid, right?”
“Mm,” Shouto grumbled in reluctant confirmation.
“Can’t say I envy you,” Tenko shrugged, which put a surprised look on Shouto’s face to hear someone not congratulate him on his lineage. “But I will say that’s one spectacular quirk you’ve got here. Ice side must come from your mother, huh?”
“Yeah,” Shouto nodded.
“Your better half, I assume?” Tenko grinned down at Shouto and the serious-faced student actually split a half-grin up at the pro. Turning back to the wall of ice, Tenko gave it a twice-over with a critical eye. “While you succeeded in stopping the landslide, your method of halting the rockfall is potentially unstable.”
“How so?” Shouto asked.
“Ice melts, doesn’t it?” Tenko raised an eyebrow and turned back towards the other students. “And what if there were civilians beyond where you built your barricade? And what about a civilian like Hagakure?” he asked, pointing to the floating pair of gloves near Jirou. “She could have easily gotten caught in the crossfires and you wouldn’t have even known. That goes for any of you, not just Todoroki. Are you taking into account that the victims may have quirks that will make it harder for you to do your job?”
“Well, I mean, it’s not like Tooru’d be naked in a real-world scenario,” Kirishima shrugged. “When she has clothes on it’s easier to gauge where she is.”
“What about people like pro hero Poltergeist?” Tenko asked. “Not only is their physical form invisible, but so is anything that comes into contact with them for the duration of when they’re touching it. Or the camouflage villain I fought a few weeks ago. If a civilian with less control over their quirk could disappear from your immediate sight, how do you address that?”
“Oh! Ooh!” Hagakure waved a hand in the air. “My parents used to cover me in flour when I was little and would try to sneak around without them seeing me.”
Tenko had to stop and laugh at that, pressing a hand to his forehead as he pushed his goggles up to reveal the glasses underneath. “Well, apart from that,” he smiled. “You guys are gonna have to face the fact that people will get injured on your watch, especially when natural disasters are involved. Which brings us back to my initial challenge. What’s the best way to remove fallen debris from an injured person without inflicting further damage to them or the surrounding area?”
“Excuse me, Mister Shimura,” Uraraka raised her hand. “I think I’ve got it!”
“Alright, show me what you’ve got,” Tenko gestured to a nearby boulder for her to demonstrate on.
Taking a deep breath and letting it puff out her cheeks, Uraraka pressed her fingertips to the huge rock. Tenko smiled as the young girl lifted the now weightless boulder over her head and moved it a few feet away before setting it down gently, releasing her quirk once it was settled on the ground.
“And then I could use my quirk to float an injured person to medical attention so their injuries wouldn’t get too jostled,” Uraraka said, smiling anxiously up at Tenko.
“That’s pretty good,” Tenko nodded, turning to the other students. “Now, the rest of you don’t have a quirk like Uraraka’s; but you can still take something valuable away from that. The aim of rescue is to do as little harm as possible to the victims and to the environment as well. Something that’s not required at UA but I’ve found endlessly valuable is getting some professional First Aid training. You can do a lot of damage without meaning to if you go to help an injured person but you don’t know the first thing about treating injuries.”
The students nodded in understanding, each one making a mental note to get First Aid training.
“Alright then, let’s move right along,” Tenko said, moving to leave the Landslide Zone. The seven students followed closely behind, eyeing their temporary teacher with curiosity.
“Hey, man, I’ve got a question,” Kirishima piped up, picking up his pace to walk next to Tenko. “How come you and Iida wear glasses? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just wear contacts instead?”
“Hmm, well, I can’t speak for Iida,” Tenko threw a backwards glance at Ingenium’s younger brother. “But as for myself, I don’t use contacts because one slip up when I’m not wearing my gloves and I’d be out an eyeball. Glasses break but they can be replaced.”
“Exactly my position,” Iida spoke up. “With how fast I can run, contacts tend to fly right out of my eyes. It’s easier to keep a back-up pair of glasses handy rather than worry about replacing my contacts every time I shift into third gear.”
“Oh, I see!” Kirishima grinned, pointing to the scar on his right eyelid. “Is that how you got your scar then? I got mine when my quirk activated, is that what happened to you?”
“Sort of,” Tenko smiled, but fell silent as he turned his gaze straight forward and continued towards the next simulation zone.
The rest of the zones went fairly well. Bakugou seemed pleased when Tenko showed him how he could use his explosions to propel himself upwards to otherwise unreachable heights in the Mountain Zone; but imparted on him a mission to learn to control the throttle of his own explosions to prevent further disruption. In the Ruins Zone, Tenko dispersed the other six students throughout a destroyed building and challenged Jirou to pinpoint each of their locations. Even Hagakure had her time to shine in the Squall Zone by letting the outline of her body serve as a signal of which way to follow her while the others’ gear got drenched in rain and incapacitated by gusting winds.
Shouto had expected the Fire Zone to be his easiest success, expelling ice against the simulated flames and freezing the entire area in an instant; but Tenko seemed a bit apprehensive to offer a congratulations.
“Th-The flames are out, I’ll give y-you that,” Tenko shivered violently in the now frozen simulation zone. “B-But remember that you’re also trying to save people who are trapped in these scenarios. The citizens in these b-burning buildings would m-most likely already have burns and smoke damage in their lungs. Putting them immediately into a f-f-frozen block of ice might not be the best strategy.”
Shouto gave a solemn nod, pressing a hand against the frozen building and letting his heat side turn it to steam. Once the temperature in the zone turned a slightly humid but normal temperature, Tenko wiped his fogged up glasses and regarded Shouto as he stood before him.
“You don’t like to use the heat side of your quirk very much, do you?” Tenko observed. Shouto didn’t reply, just shrugged his shoulders while averting his eyes to the ground. “Well, do what you want, but I gotta say - If you had just used both sides in tandem from the start to steam the flames out, it would have been a damn near perfect rescue.”
Shouto didn’t respond, and Tenko didn’t say anything more; just continued to the Shipwreck Zone.
The students seemed at a loss for what to do other than swim for it in the Shipwreck Zone, until Uraraka suggested Iida run across the water at top speed.
“I can’t get up to the gear necessary for that type of speed from this starting point,” Iida gestured to the short length of deck they were all crowded around.
“What if I float you?” Uraraka suggested. “Then you can launch yourself across no problem.”
“Yeah, and then we can watch him go spiraling up and out into the stratosphere while our asses drown to death?” Bakugou growled, voice dripping with criticism. “Real smart plan.”
“Couldn’t you just freeze the lake?” Jirou suggested, giving Shouto a nudge with her elbow.
“Yeah, but where does that leave the victims?” Shouto raised an eyebrow. “Ice-skating to safety?”
“Iida could run people back and forth over the ice,” Hagakure suggested. “And Uraraka could make the ship weightless so it wouldn’t sink.”
“She pukes whenever she lifts something heavier than a refrigerator,” Bakugou scoffed.
“Then what’s your plan, smart guy?” Jirou turned an annoyed grimace Bakugou’s way.
“What the hell was that, you damn bitch!?” Bakugou shouted. “I’ll throw you fucking overboard!!”
“While you waste your time on petty arguments,” Tenko said from where he sat on top of the sinking boat. “We all just get closer and closer to sleeping with the fishes.”
“Right,” Uraraka nodded, a determined set to her jaw as she pressed her hands to the ship. “Shouto, Iida, it’s up to you guys now!”
Shouto set to work on freezing the body of water; it took a little while since it was so wide and deep, but after about a minute it was frozen solid. Iida picked up Bakugou first, much to his classmate’s protest, and sped him across the lake; depositing him with a careless toss onto dry land. Then, going back and forth, he brought all of his classmates and Tenko to safety until only Uraraka remained on the ship. Carrying her to shore, Iida set Uraraka down and she quickly released her hold on the ship. Using his heat side, Shouto melted the frozen lake; and the students cheered as the ship sank below the surface, excited at the success of their plan.
“Alright, alright,” Tenko patted the air to settle the students down, but couldn’t fight a small proud grin as it spread across his face. “You guys did a good job on this one. You touched on one of the most important things a hero has to know, and that’s that you gotta work with others sometimes to achieve your goals. Collaboration and a well thought-out plan go a long way in disastrous situations. Now, let’s g-”
“I AM HEEEERE!!” a loud voice from the top of the stairs announced; and Tenko didn’t even need to turn to know it was Toshinori in full hero form.
Class 1-A all regathered at the front of the USJ, breaking off from their separate group leaders as All Might descended among them. Thirteen, Aizawa, and Tenko all joined together a little ways back as All Might spoke to the students.
“Late as usual,” Aizawa regarded All Might with an irritated snort.
“Interrupting as usual,” Tenko nodded in agreement.
“He can hardly help it,” Thirteen said in a carefree voice, trying to lighten up the mood. “When you’re as big as he is, it’s hard not to overshadow a few people.”
Tenko gave Thirteen’s attempt at a joke a pity laugh; but as he watched the students with their eyes glued to All Might, he couldn’t help but feel the unintentional resonance of Thirteen’s statement. Shrugging and departing from the other teachers, Tenko made his way out of the USJ.
----
Later that evening, Toshinori was doing his usual careful dance around Tenko’s poorly-contained rage. Tenko had never been much for sharing every emotion every minute he felt it; he had the bad habit of holding everything in until he finally exploded. On the flipside, Toshinori had the bad habit of pestering Tenko with questions after his emotional state when the young hero was sending obvious signals that he didn’t want to be spoken to right then.
“Are you mad at me?” Toshinori asked, peeking around Tenko’s turned back as his son stood and washed the dishes.
Tenko made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. “No,” he bit out, trying to keep his attention on the dishes in the sink; washing the dishes was one of the few tasks he took his gloves off to do, so he always tried to be extra careful not to slip up when he did it.
“Are you sure?” Toshinori wrinkled his brows as he noted the irritated set of Tenko’s jaw. “You seem mad.”
“Well, I’m not,” Tenko said, setting a bowl in the drying rack with a passive aggressive clat.
“Is it about being late to the USJ? I apologized about that,” Toshinori said, twiddling his fingers anxiously around one another.
“I don’t care if you’re late,” Tenko shrugged, shoulders tensing as Toshinori continued to hover around him. “Would appreciate it if you were a bit more careful with how much hero work you’re doing, but that’s never gonna happen is it?” Tenko muttered, setting a plate on the drying rack.
“I’m sorry,” Toshinori’s frame slumped as he reached up to scratch behind one ear. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you’re mad about?”
“No,” Tenko said, putting as much aggression into the one syllable as he could as he picked up another plate to wash. “How many times do I have to say it?”
“Until you sound like you mean it,” Toshinori murmured miserably. “Just if you were mad, I’d want you to let me kn-”
“I’m not mad!” Tenko snapped, whipping around with the plate brandished in one hand.
In the heat of the moment, Tenko’s focus had slipped and he noticed all five of the fingers on his left hand holding onto the plate a second too late. The dish disintegrated in a flash, and Tenko closed his fist in frustration.
Tenko took a deep breath, closing his eyes only to open them a second later; glare fixed on the exit. “I’m going out.”
“Where are you going?” Toshinori asked, turning to keep his eyes on Tenko as he stormed towards the front door.
“Don’t know,” Tenko said curtly, yanking his jacket on. “Don’t wait up.”
Toshinori started saying something, but it was lost on Tenko’s ears as he slammed the door behind him. His face was met with the brisk night air, and he realized for the first time that he’d forgotten his gloves back in the house. Figuring he didn’t want to chance another confrontation with Toshinori that evening, Tenko tucked his pinkies to the palms of his hands and started forwards.
He strode in a frustrated surge forward, taking nothing of his changing scenery in except for the slight nuances in the surfaces of the sidewalks under his sneakers. Tenko no longer had a pinpoint on his emotions; he was angry, yeah, but there was a whole mess of other feelings underneath that. Sadness and aggravation and resignation all mingled together in a heavy stew of anxiety that roiled his insides and made Tenko feel ready to puke up a fountain of repressed emotions at any turn.
The longer he walked in solitary silence, the deeper a hole he dug for himself. His thoughts had started out simple enough; turning recent events over and over in his mind like an infuriating pinwheel of bullshit he’d rather not deal with. But as the minutes ticked away, his thoughts veered further down memory lane than Tenko ever cared to go. Soon, the wind was hitting the hairs on his neck in a way that sent him spiraling straight back to memories of being in his birth parent’s house. As vague feelings of remembrance turned to specific flashbacks of hands grabbing at him, small objects being thrown at his face, and shouts of degradation assailing his ears, Tenko felt tension knitting itself into his forehead as he grimaced against the unwarranted slew of memories. Digging his nails into his palms, Tenko tried to force the thoughts away; but only ended up snapping other more painful memories into their places.
It wasn’t until Tenko forced himself to full-on stop and look at his surroundings that he remembered an entire world existed around him; and that he had absolutely no fucking clue where he was.
There were still buildings around him, so he knew he wasn’t out of the city; but the windows of them were either void of light, boarded up, or had blackout curtains drawn over them. A single working streetlamp buzzed and flickered overhead, threatening with each thrum of its illumination to cut all light from that stretch of pavement.
Tenko was hardly frightened of dark city streets; being a pro hero put him in all sorts of terrifying and unpleasant environments, it would take a little more than some darkness and a hint of illicit ambiance to send him crying home. Behind him, a shaded figures was talking into his cellphone in a hushed tone under a building’s awning; his arms were tucked tightly into himself, free hand clutched around his collar to obscure his face even further. Screwing his nose up in suspicion, Tenko turned full around and started towards the figure, forcing himself to appear nonchalant.
“Hey, buddy, don’t mean to disturb ya but I seem to have lost my way,” Tenko called with a wave of his hand while he was still a ways off. The shrouded figure shifted to look at Tenko’s approaching form, but made no move to respond.
Tenko continued forwards, pretty confident that he had the upperhand in this situation if things turned sour; and as he drew up to the raised platform the other man stood on, Tenko turned a smug grin up towards the man. “Think you could tell me where I am?”
The other man moved forwards a bit, face pulling into the faint wash of light as it flickered from the single street lamp. Tenko first noticed that the man’s jacket wasn’t black but a deep purple; second, Tenko noticed the man’s grin was just as smug as the one on his own face.
“I’d say you’re right where we want you,” the man replied, cigarette bobbing between the gap in his front teeth as he pressed his phone back against his ear. “Open up the gate, Kurogiri.”
Before Tenko could register what any of those words meant combined in that sentence, the ground quite literally fell out beneath him. Black swathing void enveloped every outlet of his senses, velvet darkness pulsing around him as if it had a heartbeat; for an instant, everything was a buzzing cloud of black mist, and then Tenko felt his spine slamming tailbone first onto hardwood floors.
Warm muted light burned Tenko’s eyelids from where they hung from the ceiling, momentarily blinding him as he shoved himself up on his elbows. Glancing around, Tenko felt his face pull into a confused scowl. He was in a bar. Just a normal, if somewhat seedy, bar.
Next to his face, Tenko saw another ripple of black mist pull into view. The man in the purple blazer stepped easily out onto the dark wooden floorboards and smirked down at Tenko’s dumbfounded expression.
“I see All Might’s son has finally ceased his tantrum,” a hauntingly cool voice spoke out from the shadows, sounding like a cross between the shiver up Tenko’s spine and the harsh cut of the man in the purple coat’s jaw.
Tenko blinked a few times before he saw that the cluster of shadow behind the bar’s counter was in fact the owner of the voice that had just spoken. The man’s body was made entirely of the black mist that had enveloped Tenko just a moment ago, with nothing but two glowing spots peering out at the young hero to indicate anything humanoid about him. As Tenko continued to stare at him, the black mist villain moved forward, warping out of sight for an instant before appearing again on the other side of the counter.
“Pardon the abruptness of the invitation,” the black mist said down to Tenko, voice even and calm to an unnerving extent. “But you understand the delicacy of the situation at hand, I’m sure.”
“And which situation might that be?” Tenko asked, feeling more annoyed than afraid at that point.
“Ah, come on, think about it,” the man in the purple suit spoke out, coming up suddenly behind Tenko and hauling him to his feet by grabbing the hero under the armpits. “Two villains seeking a private audience with the Number One Hero’s kid? Imagine the headlines,” he gave a shudder, puffing out a cloud of smoke with each breath he took to speak. “What’s a guy to do?”
“Well, I appreciate the interest,” Tenko brushed his sleeve off where the man in purple had touched him. “But I don’t do impromptu interviews. I’m not that much like All Might.”
Tenko started to make his way for the only visible exit in the room. But as soon as Tenko took a few steps forward, a warp gate opened in front of him and deposited him back where he’d started.
“I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong foot,” the black mist villain said. “Introductions are in order. I’m Kurogiri and this is my associate, Giran,” he motioned to the man in the purple suit.
Tenko raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two villains, growing increasingly irritated the longer he spent standing there amidst the dull burning stench of alcohol.
“And I’m Shimura Tenko,” he said at last when neither of his captors added anything more to the conversation. “But I’m sure you two knew that. What I’m a little fuzzy on is why you brought me here in the first place.”
“We have a little...business proposition for you,” Giran said, giving a wheezing cough as smoke filled his lungs.
Tenko regarded Giran the way someone might regard an insect’s innards smeared across their windshield. “I don’t cut deals with villains,” Tenko sneered, turning once again for the exit. “I’m out of here.”
Giran gave an amused laugh that set Tenko’s teeth on edge. “Don’t be so hasty,” he said, reaching out a brazen hand and taking hold of Tenko’s arm.
Tenko’s reaction was instantaneous, whipping his arm back and shoving Giran’s hold on him away with sheer momentum.
“Hey, fuck off, alright!? I said I don’t want to talk to you clowns,” Tenko snapped, moving forward again. This time, when Kurogiri opened a warp gate in front of him, Tenko swerved smoothly to avoid it and made it to the door in a grand flourish of exasperation.
“Lucky for you two, I’m not exactly equipped to take you down to the precinct myself. But if I were you, I’d start looking for a decent lawyer. Preferably one without a criminal record. Either way, I’m out of here,” Tenko said as he ripped the door open, sticking one leg out into the bare-bulb lighting of a dubiously steep set of stairs.
“What if I told you there was a way to get you the One for All quirk?” a new voice spoke out, making Tenko pause with his hand on the doorknob.
Turning around slowly, Tenko stared between Giran and Kurogiri; his eyes roved over the otherwise empty bar, face a mask of apprehensive terror.
“Who the hell was that?” Tenko asked, taking one step back into the room.
Kurogiri and Giran didn’t say anything, each one silently gesturing to a small television screen in the corner of the bar. The visuals were cut out, so Tenko found himself just staring at a black screen while a video camera recorded his movements back to whoever was on the other end.
“I suppose there’s no point in pretending you don’t know who I am,” the voice said, tone giving way to an amused lilt that made Tenko want to put his foot through the screen. “After all, you and I are practically family members, depending on how you look at it.”
Tenko suppressed the urge to grimace, keeping his face straight and looking into the camera with a suspicious squint. “You said you could get me One for All.”
“That’s right,” the voice continued. “You know how my quirk works, don’t you?”
“All for One,” Tenko said, feeling the words settle like a weight in his chest. “I know how you work.”
“Excellent,” All for One’s voice said. “So then, are you interested?”
“I’m not interested in talking to a screen,” Tenko said, quirking his eyebrows up in a silent challenge.
The scene crackled in electronic silence for a while as the man on the other end contemplated his next move. Tenko glanced to Giran and Kurogiri, both of whom were in turn glancing nervously at each other as the silence persisted.
It was after two painstaking minutes of silence that the mic finally picked up All for One’s labored speech again.
“Very well.”
Tenko barely had time to process what had been said to him before he gasped in shock at the sudden rush of black liquid consuming his lower half. In an instant, the black liquid which looked and smelled like an exploded ink cartridge had splashed over his eyes and knocked his senses askew as he felt himself pulled out of any tangible reality for a terrifying moment. It was over as soon as it began; and Tenko was blinking black liquid out of his eyes in an attempt to get a look at his new surroundings.
Truthfully, there wasn’t much to see. The room he’d been transported to was small to begin with, and most of the space was occupied by a cluster of screens and microphones. What was on the screens was a different story though; Tenko looked at the different monitors and felt his mouth pulling into a gaping expression of shock. He recognized the bar he’d just been in of course; but he also recognized the entryway of his home, the view of his room from his closet, the setup of the small table by the living room window. Tearing his gaze away from the screens, Tenko forced himself to look at the man sitting before him.
All for One was hardly as intimidating as Tenko had expected. The man’s face was a mask of burned flesh, with nothing but a mouth discernible from the mounds of burns across his face. He wore a fine suit, but Tenko could see he was overcompensating for the frail state of his physical health. Whatever space wasn’t occupied by the villain’s assortment of surveillance feeds was occupied by heavily churning machinery hooked up to the withering man in front of Tenko’s eyes.
“Transmission,” All for One spoke at last, clicking his mic off so only Tenko would be able to hear him. “A quirk much like Kurogiri’s warp gate. I can transport anyone to and from my location. But there’s a hitch,” he held up a finger, marred lips pulling into a grin. “I need to have a strong relationship with whomever I transport, or else it won’t work. So, what does it say to you that I was able to transport you here even though this is the first we’re speaking?”
“That you’re a stalker?” Tenko raised an eyebrow, nodding his head towards the video feeds of his house.
All for One laughed at that. Or at least, Tenko assumed it was laughter that came from the villain’s mouth. It sounded more like a deflating balloon that had gotten caught in a propellor blade. Tenko found it strange but as he stood there listening to All for One’s laugh veer just left of a death rattle, he thought of Toshinori back at home; laughing through one of his coughing fits.
“I guess you saw right through me,” All for One smiled again, and his teeth were white. White and straight and perfect. More perfect than you’d expect a villain’s teeth to be; but Tenko had stopped taking stock in superficial character indicants like that a long time ago. Thinking back to a tooth knocked loose in his bloody palm, Tenko turned a defiant sneer towards All for One.
“What exactly is your goal?” Tenko asked, not willing to engage in conversation with the deceptively endearing villain before him.
“Well, Tenko, I’ll tell you,” All for One pressed a finger to his temple and leaned his head casually to the side, two barely-there eyes peeking out from the mass of scar tissue on his face. Tenko shuddered, not at the sight of shifting scar tissue, but at the sound of his name in the All for One’s throat.
Tenko’s reaction only seemed to please All for One more, and his smile spread wider as he continued to speak.
“All I want is for you to take your place as the true pillar of this society,” he said, simple as anything.
Tenko would have laughed out loud had the statement not been so unnerving. “What the hell does that mean!?” he demanded.
All for One kept up his smile, plastered and porcelain and perfect and completely pissing Tenko off. “I assume you know by now, you have to know, the origin of All Might’s quirk One for All?”
“Yeah, I know,” Tenko nodded, reaching up to scratch at his neck as he thought back to being eight years old, mesmerized by Toshinori’s narration of the tale of One for All.
“Then, you being a far more sensible hero than Toshinori, you can see my position where I believe I should have the say so as to who bears my brother’s quirk next,” All for One said.
“Why me though?” Tenko asked, deflecting his reply to the previous statement.
“Isn’t it obvious?” All for One asked.
“Not really,” Tenko shrugged.
All for One gave another deflating lung laugh. “You grew up with the One for All bearer as your guardian,” he explained. “You know, better than anyone, what it means to take on the responsibility of that quirk. And you could make a transformative mark on One for All that some snivelling high school brat who worships All Might could never even dream of.”
Tenko bit the inside of his cheek to keep his comments to himself. “So, what’s the plan then?”
“Simple,” All for One smiled like a fisherman reeling in a prize marlin. “That...Midoriya Izuku trusts you. All you have to do is lure him to the League of Villains, I’ll take One for All from him, and deposit it to you,” he extended his hand as if holding the quirk out to Tenko already. “And then we go from there. Do we have a deal?”
Tenko peered down at the hand held out towards him, breath settling heavy in his chest. He’d been sure that being the One for All bearer wasn’t what he wanted; sure up until the point that All for One had told him he deserved. Now that seed of doubt was planted in his heart and Tenko had to stop and wonder if maybe he really had wanted to inherit One for All.
All for One was right on the account of Tenko being more familiar with and therefore better suited for One for All, and he hadn’t been an All Might fanboy since he was eight years old. If Tenko had One for All, he could make it his own; he could become a new pillar for society, one that upheld his own values instead of the derivatives of a hasbeen.
On the other hand, was he really willing to put Izuku in jeopardy just to get his quirk? That didn’t seem to be very heroic to Tenko at all. But then again, no one had ever really expected much more of him than to become a villain.
Still, as he mulled the proposition over, he found himself apprehensive to take All for One’s hand.
“You won’t…” Tenko paused, cautious of the impressive villain sitting before him. “You won’t hurt Midoriya, will you?”
“Of course not!” All for One said instantaneously. “Nothing outside of the typical side effects of my quirk, I assure you. He’ll go home just as quirkless and ordinary as the day he was born. No harm done, on my honor.”
“Well then,” Tenko lifted his eyebrows above the rim of his glasses, sticking his own hand out to clasp All for One’s with a careful four-fingered grip. “I guess we have a deal.”
“Excellent,” All for One’s grin widened to stretch the scar tissue on his face. “You should do it fast as possible,” he said, a sudden sense of urgency beneath the mounds of bravado in his voice. “Bring the boy in before people catch on to what you’re doing.”
“Heh, no worries,” Tenko scoffed. “I’ll call him as soon as I get out of here tonight, have him meet up with me as soon as possible. Tell him it’s ‘urgent hero business.’”
All for One laughed once, nodding his head. “Good, good,” he said, his head lolling tiredly to the side. “Well then, I guess this is where I leave you, Shimura Tenko. Or rather, where you leave me. Until next time.”
“Until next time,” Tenko gave a single nod, letting the black liquid of the Transmission quirk envelope him and deposit his body back into the midst of the dimly lit bar.
“So, what’d he say to you?” Giran smirked from a table in the corner, sparking a fresh cigarette with his lighter shaped like a pistol.
“Just that you should offer me a proper welcoming committee,” Tenko grinned, throwing a look over to Kurogiri behind the counter. “You’re looking at the newest member of the League of Villains.”
Giran laughed, coarse and mocking but in a way that sounded like his poor excuse for lighthearted and cordial. “A pro hero in the League of Villains!?” he raised an eyebrow over the round frames of his glasses. “Been a long time since we had a double agent,” he said, taking a long drag on his cigarette and blowing out a puff of smoke that obscured his entire face. “Sounds like a glutton for trouble.”
“Not really,” Tenko shrugged, headed for the door without a second glance at the two villains. “So long as I get what I want, I don’t think we’ll have any trouble at all.”
Before another word could be spoken, Tenko had slammed the door behind him and he was rushing down the stairs and out onto the street. Even though he’d shaken All for One’s hand, it still felt wrong for him to be mingled amongst a gathering of villains. But there was something else along with that wrong feeling; a feeling of almost excitement that Tenko couldn’t shake no matter how much the hero part of him tried to rationalize it away.
Pushing both his wrong and right feelings down to the bottom of his stomach, Tenko focused on the task at hand. All for One had been right in that Tenko needed to move quickly in his actions, it wouldn’t be long before suspicions would arise about his new secret project. Taking his phone out of his pocket, Tenko quickly dialed his call and pressed the receiver to his ear as the other line rang.
He waited for seven seemingly endless rings before the call cut off. An automated voicemail message began speaking out and Tenko rolled his eyes. Typical, he thought. Although, looking up at the dark skies devoid of stars due to the city lights, he figured it was pretty late for him to be calling. Heaving a sigh, Tenko leaned against a nearby wall and prepared to place his message.
“Hey, it’s Shimura Tenko,” he said into the receiver, scratching anxiously at his neck as he struggled to keep his nerves out of his voice. “Just calling to see if we could meet up sometime? I’ve got some urgent hero business I’d like to discuss with you. Okay, call me back when you get this. Talk to you later.”
Hanging up his phone, Tenko jammed the device back in his pocket and headed down the street. His chest was a mix of all sorts of conflicting emotions. In an instant, he’d chosen to become the person society had always expected to be; the person his father had expected him to become. But he had to admit, it also felt good to no longer be performing in Toshinori’s shadow. And, as he walked down the unlit streets, Tenko couldn’t fight his lips pulling into a smug grin that fit almost too naturally onto his young face.
“Well,” he muttered under his breath. “Guess I’m finally living up to my full potential.”
Chapter Four: A Handshake and An Open Palm
Fic Title: Secondhand Hero Author: @starsfadingbutilingeron Summary: What if All Might had been able to save Shimura Tenko? Read this free fic to find out the results!! Rating: General Audiences Read On AO3: x ----
“All Might...Symbol of Peace...I will destroy you…” twenty-one-year-old Shimura Tenko snarled, his lip curling as he steepled his hands in front of him.
“Heh,” Toshinori gave an unconcerned laugh, positioning his next move with a flex of his arm. “I would love to see you try .”
Toshinori made his move, and the tower of wooden bricks tumbled to the tabletop with a cacophonous clatter which most closely resembled the audible form of failure.
“JENGA!!!” Tenko shouted, throwing his head back laughing while Toshinori chucked the losing block still clutched in his hand at the fallen pile.
“You bumped the table!!” Toshinori stood up, bracing his long-since-turned bony hands against either side of the tabletop.
Tenko rolled his eyes. “You are the sorest loser, I swear to God.”
“Because you always cheat!”
“Nope, not once,” Tenko shook his head, smiling as another chuckle crept its way up his throat. “Man, I guess it’s true...All Might has gotten weaker.”
“Get over here I’ll show you h-” Toshinori was cut off by an all-too-familiar beeping breaking through his and Tenko’s pockets.
“Emergency back-up request,” Tenko read off the alert as he stood up from his seat. “Tandem villain raid downtown...long range bomb detonation threat…”
“Alright, let’s get going then!” Toshinori sprang into action, all but leaping over the table in a rush to get to the front door first.
“Hold on, hold on, I gotta gear up!” Tenko called, bolting for the stairs.
“There’s no time !” Toshinori groaned, one hand on the doorknob.
“And you just keep wasting more of what we don’t have by complaining!!” Tenko called over his shoulder as he sped up the staircase. “Might as well suit up yourself. Uh, unless you really wanted to go in your pajamas?”
Toshinori looked down at his bright red pajama set and gave a groan of defeat, turning and bolting up the stairs as well to get suited up.
Quick changes into costumes were all a part of being a hero. Tenko, whose performance relied on him being able to wear his gear, had mastered getting into his full costume in a matter of seconds; while Toshinori, on the other hand, didn’t have to worry about the dangers of his quirk accidentally activating without regulating gear and therefore wasn’t as fast as Tenko at getting suited up. So, Tenko was dressed and ready, waiting by the front door, a good full minute before Toshinori came tumbling down the stairs in his suit.
The loss of his stomach had taken its toll on Toshinori over the past few years. The change had been gradual; a slackening grip on his usually constant hero form followed by the hollowing out under his cheek bones and eventual complete lack of any natural muscle mass. In the current moment, Toshinori resembled a living skeleton draped in an oversized spandex suit.
“What?” Toshinori narrowed his eyes when he caught Tenko staring at him.
“Nothing, nothing,” Tenko shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I was just wondering where the circus’ tent had gone to but now I see they leant it to you to wear.”
“Okay, you asked for it,” Toshinori drew himself up, reaching into the living room and grasping at something on the shelf near the doorway. Pulling his arm back into the main hallway, Toshinori brandished a huge photo album between his bony fingers. “I’m bringing the childhood pictures to show the other heroes.”
Tenko’s eyes widened behind his goggles and, in an instant, his thumbs were swiping against the print scanners in the palms of his gauntlets; the paneling over his other four fingers shifting away to bare all five of his fingertips.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” he snarled, making a lunge for the photo album.
“Keep your mitts off these precious memories,” Toshinori commanded, holding the album away with one hand and holding Tenko off by pressing his other hand against his forehead.
“Ugh, whatever,” Tenko pinwheeled back off of Toshinori’s hand, swiping his thumbs back over his palms to cover his fingers once again. “Who’s wasting time now?”
“You’re right!” Toshinori said, setting the album down and flashing into his hero form with a surge of power. “Guess that means, to make up for lost time…”
“No,” Tenko held out his hands to ward off Toshinori’s approaching form. “No. No, no. Don’t you dare. You know I hate it when you-”
“We’re gonna have to take a shortcut!!” Toshinori’s voice boomed out, cutting Tenko off as he swept his kid up into his arms and burst out the front door.
“Toshinori, put me down this instant, I mean it!” Tenko shouted, struggling to get himself down. “Hey- And wipe that stupid grin off your face! You know I can’t stand your ju-”
The rest of the word “jumps” trailed off with the vowel as Toshinori launched into the sky, Tenko clutching to his chest for dear life.
Toshinori landed with a hard jolt atop a city building and Tenko turned a murderous glare up to him.
“I hate when you do that,” Tenko grumbled.
“Well then, you’re really gonna hate me now,” Toshinori said, lifting off for another jump as Tenko let out a groan of exasperation that quickly turned into a scream of terror at the feeling of freefalling.
The next time Toshinori landed, the two heroes could hear the sounds of villainous turmoil disrupting the flow of the downtown area. Setting Tenko down, they both surveyed the area to see which spots could use their immediate attention. Tenko caught the backs of the bomb defusal squad and followed up at their heels, while Toshinori directed his attention towards a villain hefting a car full of civilians over her head.
The bomb defusal squad troubled themselves over the bomb that had been planted into the side of one of the buildings surrounding the area. It hadn’t been immediately noticed since it was attached to the side of the building that made up half of an alleyway; but when police had chased the villains wreaking current havoc, they’d stumbled upon an explosive yet to detonate. There wasn’t a timer counting down the seconds, which meant there was a remote detonator at an unknown location; a fact that always seemed significantly more frightening than if there had been a visible countdown.
“Need a hand there?” Tenko asked, stepping up to the members of the bomb defusal squad.
There was a sigh of relief that went through the string of technicians. Although they were good at their jobs, it was always easier to have Tenko around in the face of weapons of mass destruction. Pressing five of his fingertips to the bomb, Tenko gave an unconcerned shrug as the explosive crumbled away under his touch until there was nothing left of it. Flashing the grateful bomb defusal team a heroic smile, Tenko gave a little salute and backed away to the main scene of the attack.
As far as Tenko could tell, there were two villains working not quite in tandem, but more of having formed a temporary alliance due to convenience of circumstance. To put it plainly, they were both being chased by the cops at the same time. The one, a gargantuan rhino-headed villain with clobbering hooves where her hands should have been, was tumbling around in an even-slated wrestling match with All Might; while the other, whose quirk seemed to give them the ability to camouflage to their surroundings, was spotted shifting around from backdrop to backdrop. The gaping black burn of their eyes whenever they opened them to see was the only giveaway to their location. Luckily, Tenko had caught onto that when he noticed a broken street lamp lift up and swing its way towards a police officer whose back was turned.
Bolting over to where the police officer stood, Tenko slid in; effectively knocking the cop face first into the pavement and grabbing hold of the street lamp as it swung full throttle into his grasp. The heavy light fixture disintegrated away and Tenko ducked as the villain ran to charge him; sticking his leg out, Tenko felt the stony cement of the villain’s camouflaged legs trip over the one he’d put out, soon hearing a heavy body slam to the ground.
Regaining his composure, Tenko stood to face the villain who was regaining theirs as well. As the villain stood, Tenko noted their fists were wrapped in the same black iron as the streetlamp they’d been holding.
“Shimura Tenko,” the villains bared a dazzling white smile, their black eyes zeroing in one Tenko’s bare fingertips. “All Might’s kid,” flashing their gaze to All Might, who was finishing wrestling the rhino-headed villain into submission and letting the cops take over the arrest. Flexing their iron-clad fingers out in a manner that was meant to be threatening, the villain sneered down at Tenko. “Whaddya say you and I get out of here?”
Tenko scoffed, this wasn’t the first time a villain had threatened to take him hostage. “I’d love to see you try it!”
“Good,” the villain laughed, making another lunge at Tenko; this time, they were able to catch him around the waist and hoist him up into midair. Swiping his thumb over his palm so his fingers were covered, Tenko made a fist and clocked the villain straight in the face. While the villain tried to recombobulate their vision, Tenko took the opportunity to kick off against their chest and launch backwards out of their grip.
Slamming shoulders first onto the sunbaked sidewalk, Tenko quickly bounced back onto his feet. The villain geared up for another charge, rushing forward and grabbing Tenko by the wrists. Tenko could feel his joints contort unnaturally under the crush of villain’s literal iron grip; but instead of letting his pain take over the functionality of his hands, Tenko forced his thumbs across his palms to bare his fingertips. Before he could move to do anything with them though, the villain’s grip was swept away in a rush of momentum.
Tenko barely had time to register what had happened before he was dropping into an all too familiar crook of an elbow. Giving an annoyed groan, Tenko looked up to Toshinori’s grinning face as he stood his free hand still poised outward in the punch he’d delivered to the villain. The force from the punch had knocked the villain unconscious, revealing a normal human body underneath all of the layers of material camouflage.
Satisfied that both villains were incapacitated, Toshinori turned his attention to Tenko. Shifting his hold so Tenko was held up in front of him with both of his hands, Toshinori searched for any sign of injury.
“Are you alright?” he asked, an edge of parental concern breaking through his characteristic carefree grin. “Did they hurt you?”
“No, no, I’m fine ! Just-” Tenko broke off with a groan as Toshinori lifted Tenko up to settle him up on his shoulders. “Look, I’m fine. You can put me d-”
“Why are you so skinny, are you eating three healthy meals a day?” Toshinori asked, his one hand feeling around Tenko’s rib cage.
“Stop smothering me, oh my God!!” Tenko swatted the hand away like one would a mosquito on their arm. “And who are you to talk to me about skinny!?”
“Mister All Might, sir! Mister Shimura!!” An excited voice called out behind them. Turning around, the two heroes saw a reporter panting heavily in front of them as she clutched a camera in her hands. “Picture for the papers?”
“Of course!” Toshinori beamed, throwing up a peace sign with one hand and holding onto Tenko proudly with the other.
“No problem,” Tenko smiled, waving to the camera as the flash went off. The reporter thanked them and then scurried off to meet her deadline. Tenko sighed heavily, leaning one elbow against Toshinori’s head.
“I wonder if I can get a copy of that picture...” Toshinori said.
“Oh my gosh, you are so embarrassing!!” Tenko half-laughed, hopping down from Toshinori’s shoulders and wobbling around on his own feet. “Don’t you think you have enough pictures of you mortifying me in public?”
“Hmm,” Toshinori tapped his chin. “Nope, I don’t think so! Hey!” he called to a gathering crowd of reporters. “Get a shot of this!!” he said, reaching out and benchpressing Tenko above his head.
Tenko groaned, throwing his head back in defeat as the sound of camera shutters went off below him.
“I am so getting you back for this,” he muttered.
----
Later that afternoon, as Toshinori was seized by one of his coughing fits, Tenko watched from a distance and picked anxiously at his neck.
“You’re overdoing it,” Tenko said simply from where he stood leaning in the living room doorway.
“Huh?” Toshinori looked up, wiping the blood from his mouth, having not realized Tenko was standing there. When he saw the concerned expression on Tenko’s face, the same one he’d worn for as long as Toshinori had been taking care of him, Toshinori leaped to his feet and waved two placating hands out at Tenko. “Nah, I’m fine. Honest. You know I get these coughing fits pretty regular. This is normal.”
“Toshinori?” Tenko lifted his eyebrows
“Yeah?”
“You really are the worst liar,” Tenko said. Shifting uncomfortably against the doorway, Tenko let his gaze drop to the floor. “You know...you still haven’t found a successor.”
Toshinori sighed, letting his nonchalant facade drop with the set of his shoulders. “I know,” he said, flopping to sit on the couch.
“Is there a reason for the delay or…” Tenko trailed off, picking at his fingernails.
“I just haven’t found the right person yet,” Toshinori said, drumming his fingers against his chin.
“Oh,” Tenko flumped down on the couch next to him, staring quietly ahead.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find someone,” Toshinori reached over to pat Tenko’s knee, completely misreading the young hero’s reaction. “I’ve been asking around at UA.”
“At UA?” Tenko raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, well, I figure that’s as good a place as any to look,” Toshinori shrugged, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Reaching a hand up to cup the back of his neck, Toshinori gave a distinctly non medically related cough and glanced over to Tenko nervously. “Which, uh, brings up something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now…”
“Yeah?” Tenko tilted his head towards Toshinori.
“Urr…” Toshinori scratched awkwardly at his ear. “Now, don’t freak out, okay? Keep an open mind.”
“Toshinori, what’s going on?”
“I’m…” Toshinori let his eyes fall closed and took a deep breath, then let it go. “I’m going to be a teacher at UA, starting with the new school year.”
Toshinori peeked one eye open and glanced over to Tenko. The young hero sat frozen in his seat, blank expression of shock plastered across his face. As the two made eye contact, Tenko took a slow breath in and began to nod his head more as an expression of his own mental processing rather than a show of acceptance.
Taking one final sharp inhalation through his nostrils, Tenko pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes before lurching forward with a sudden jerk of disbelief. “You’re going to be a teacher!?”
Toshinori jumped a little bit at the quick break of silence. “Yes.”
“At UA!??”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to be a teacher at UA!??”
“Yes,” Toshinori sighed, rolling his head back and staring at the ceiling in exhaustion. He had expected Tenko to have an incredulous response to the idea, which was precisely why he’d put off telling him for so long.
“I’m sorry,” Tenko waved his hands, standing up so he could face Toshinori square-on. “It’s just. You’re going to be a teacher !?”
“Why is this so surprising?” Toshinori asked. “I am the Number One Hero, after all.”
“The Number One Hero who had to read a ‘Parenting for Dummies’ book,” Tenko reminded his guardian. “Do you think you can handle a classroom full of kids? I mean, you could barely handle me on your own sometimes.”
“Well, it’ll only be for a few hours on weekdays. How hard could it be?” Toshinori shrugged, resolving not to let Tenko know about the ‘Teaching for Dummies’ book he’d already purchased. “Besides, it will be a good way to keep me from using up all three hours of my One for All usage before noon.”
“That’s true,” Tenko agreed, leaning back and scratching at his chin as he thought it over. Then, a smile tugged at the corner of his lip as a realization dawned at him. “What does Aizawa think about you becoming a teacher?”
“Heh,” Toshinori gave a nervous laugh then averted his gaze to out the window. “I’m too afraid to let him know myself.”
“That’s alright, Tosh, I’ll tell him for you,” Tenko offered, standing up as if going to make a phone call.
“Don’t you dare,” Toshinori shot up and made a lunge for Tenko, fingertips grazing the edge of the laughing young adult’s shirt.
“I’m just kidding,” Tenko waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder as he ambled towards the kitchen. “Do you want any tea? I could make you...ah...hmm…” Tenko swung the empty cupboard he’d opened shut. “We’re out of tea,” he narrowed his eyes and turned to take a quick inventory of the rest of the kitchen, opening up the fridge and cupboards. “We’re pretty much out of everything, actually.”
“Been a busy week,” Toshinori shrugged as he leaned in the kitchen doorway. “Villains think that since I haven’t been spotted as much that I’m out of the city so they’re sprouting up more frequently.”
“Welp, guess I’m going grocery shopping,” Tenko said, straightening his glasses and heading for the front door.
“No, wait, I can go,” Toshinori insisted.
Tenko threw a look over his shoulder as he took the car keys off the peg on the wall. “You sure? Maybe it’s better if you stay home and rest?”
“Tenko, I’m not dying yet,” Toshinori rolled his eyes. “Please, let me do just one Parent Thing?”
Tenko pursed his lips, letting a slow breath out through his nostrils as he looked Toshinori up and down. Both of them knew that Tenko had taken up a lot of personal responsibility to take care of Toshinori as his health got worse. No one had asked him to and Tenko never complained about doing it, but Toshinori still felt guilty that his kid wouldn’t even live on his own for fear of something happening to his guardian.
“Alright,” Tenko relented, turning full around and tossing the keys to Toshinori. “But be sure to fill your prescriptions and don’t forget Mii’s cat food.”
“Don’t worry, you can count on me,” Toshinori smiled, giving Tenko a pat on the back as he passed. “I used to do this all the time when you were little, you know!”
“Uh-huh,” Tenko nodded, rolling his eyes and giving a small smile as he walked away. “Just give me a call if you anything goes wrong, okay?”
“It’s a trip to the grocery store,” Toshinori called out as Tenko headed upstairs. “What could possibly go wrong?”
----
Everything possible had gone wrong. Toshinori had made it to the store and gotten his shopping done just fine; but as he was loading everything into the car and bracing himself for another round of driving - a skill he’d only really cultivated after he’d adopted Tenko - a slippery sludge villain had appeared right in front of his eyes.
After a chase through the city’s sewer system, Toshinori had been able to track the villain to a highway underpass where he was trying to take over the body of a middle school kid. He’d been able to procure a smash and trap the sludge villain in two of the soda bottles he’d been carrying out to his car when the villain had first appeared. After that, Toshinori had thought he was done for the day and could deliver the villain to the station. But the kid who’d been attacked had latched onto him just as Toshinori has lifted off into the air.
Now, Toshinori was not in the habit of spilling his entire life story to totally random kids he’d just met. As far as he was concerned, the only kid who needed to know about the condition or lack thereof of his stomach was Tenko; and even then Toshinori wished there had been some way to keep that information from his kid. But this persistent middle schooler had stuck around long enough for Toshinori to time out on his One for All usage for the day, and he couldn’t very well just leave a theorizing fanboy to his own devices with something like that. So, he’d told the kid just enough about his injury so the kid would know why the Number One Hero was turning into a wax-dipped skeleton before his very eyes.
The kid had also asked Toshinori if he could be a hero without a quirk. Toshinori could have bared his soul and told him right then that he used to be quirkless as well, but figured he’d probably spilled too many secrets on this kid already and had told him to try for being a cop instead. It was after that, when Toshinori was heading downstairs, that he realized the bottles that contained the sludge villain had fallen out of his pockets.
Following the explosions that had followed soon after the realization of his own blunderous mishap, Toshinori found the sludge villain had taken hold of another young kid. The difference this time was that the kid had a super powerful explosion-based quirk that, in conjunction with the villain’s fluid form, made it impossible for even the combined strength of almost all of the heroes in the city to save the day.
Just as people were beginning to clamor about where the hell All Might could even be and what could have happened to make him lose sight of a villain he’d been targeting, a slight figure went whooshing through the gathered crowd and headed straight towards the villain. Toshinori almost passed out right then and there when he realized it was that same kid who’d grabbed onto him just to ask if he could be a hero without a quirk; and then almost passed out again as he realized the kid planned to take down the villain on his own.
Toshinori struggled to muster up whatever access he could of his quirk he had left for the day, even though he knew he was already more than spent. As he struggled to get One for All up and working again, another figure dropped into the scene.
“Hey, you villain! Grab a hold of this!!” Tenko’s voice cried out, and Toshinori lifted his gaze to see his kid lunging hands-first into the sludge villain’s body.
The crowd cheered as Tenko’s quirk seemed to do the trick, diminishing the amount of sludge the villain had access to without actually doing any harm to him. Turning to the kid who’d run up to try and help the victim, Tenko targeted his hands around where the kid with the explosion quirk was being held and cleared enough sludge away for the other kid to grab a hold of him and pull him out.
“Get out of here, you guys,” Tenko ordered, pushing back against the sludge villain as he tried to grab a hold of Tenko next.
“Sh-Shimura Tenko…” the kid with green hair eyes glowed with awe. “I’m such a big fan of y-”
“Did you not hear me!?” Tenko shouted, trying to keep the amount of the villain’s body he was destroying in check while also making sure the kids were safe. “Take your friend and get out of here!”
The blonde kid with the explosion quirk grunted and slit one eye open. “Deku’s not...my friend…”
“Shut the hell up and scram!” Tenko gave the two boys a rough shove with his elbow before turning all his attention to the villain. “Now, where were we?”
“Haha…” the sludge villain cackled, spindling his form up around Tenko’s ankles. “Nice try, kid. But you just handed me the best meat suit you possibly could have. All Might wouldn’t dare throw a punch your way, now would he?”
“Keep your villainous sludge off my boy!” All Might yelled, bursting forward and slamming a burly forearm between Tenko and the villain.
Ushering Tenko back, Toshinori brought down a Detroit Smash on the sludge villain. The rush of wind resulting from the punch not only scattered the form of the the villain, but also moved the clouds above into a sudden rainstorm. Once the villain was defeated, the crowd erupted into cheers for both All Might and Tenko. Picking his kid up from where he’d been blown to his feet during the smash, Toshinori popped Tenko onto his shoulders and the two posed for another round of pictures.
While the reporters and police officers swarmed the area, Toshinori turned his attention back to the young boy he’d spoken with earlier. He was currently being chewed out by a couple of the other pros who were on the scene, but Toshinori couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of awe at how the kid had just ran headfirst against a powerful villain like that even without a quirk. It stirred something inside of him, reminding Toshinori of his early days of wanting to be a hero even before he’d met Nana.
“Hey, are you ready to go?” Tenko’s voice broke through Toshinori’s reverie and the Number One Hero turned to see the exhausted form of his kid trying to fend off the band of reporters clamoring for an interview with All Might and Shimura Tenko.
“Yes, yes, quite ready,” Toshinori clapped Tenko and the shoulder and turned with him to leave. “We have to go pick up the car, I’m afraid I left it abandoned.”
“Why am I not surprised? Just hope no one’s stolen it-” Tenko broke off, narrowing his eyes and looking up to Toshinori with skepticism. “What’s got you all smiley?”
“I’m always smiling, Tenko, you know that!” Toshinori laughed, pulling Tenko closer to his side and speeding him faster down the road away from the crime scene.
“Hmm,” Tenko pursed his lips, not saying another word on the matter.
Throwing another glance back over his shoulder at the green-haired boy, Toshinori found himself yet again remembering how it had felt for him to get that first call to action as a hero. And he wondered if maybe, just maybe, he’d found his One for All successor after all.
Chapter Five: Passing the Torch
Fic Title: Secondhand Hero Author: @starsfadingbutilingeron Summary: What if All Might had been able to save Shimura Tenko? Read this free fic to find out the results!! Rating: General Audiences Read On AO3: x ----
A few weeks after the sludge villain attack, Tenko thought the vein in his forehead was going to burst from the headache Toshinori was giving him. Every other day at the crack of dawn, he’d wake up to hear his guardian attempting unsuccessfully to sneak out of the house unnoticed. When Toshinori came home, Tenko would ask him where he’d been; only to have his question laughed off as if he were one of the late night talk show hosts trying to ask what All Might’s quirk was.
Tenko figured that all of the clues could only point to one conclusion; one night, while helping clean up the blood spatter from one of Toshinori’s worse coughing fits, Tenko had finally had enough and turned an accusatory glare towards Toshinori.
“Alright, I can’t take it anymore!” Tenko exclaimed, slamming the rag he’d been using down on the kitchen counter.
Toshinori didn’t jump, only stood with a confused grimace on his face and met Tenko’s gaze with his own sunken eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re sneaking off to do extra hero work,” Tenko pointed a finger up at Toshinori’s towering form.
Toshinori furrowed his brow and looked around as if to find the rest of the conversation he’d obviously missed. “Huh!?”
“Oh, don’t even lie to me,” Tenko threw his hands up in exasperation. “The-The sneaking off in the early hours...Not coming home until late? Not telling me where you’re going or where you’ve been!??”
Toshinori held up his hands and patted the air as if that would be implemental in calming Tenko down from one of his rants. “Tenko, listen, I-”
“You’re pushing yourself too hard as it is with three hours of hero work a day and you wanna tempt fate by going even further past your limit!?” Tenko cut Toshinori off, hands on his hips as he glared defiantly up into his guardian’s eyes. “Tell me this, Toshinori. Tell me this, please. Please, because I’m dying to know...What on earth are you thinking!?”
“I’m thinking...” Toshinori said when he could finally get a word in edgewise. “I’m thinking that you’ve jumped so far to your own conclusions, we’re on separate continents now.”
“Oh, I have!?” Tenko let out a flabbergasted scoff. “Are you or are you not sneaking out to do hero work?”
“Well…” Toshinori winced. “It depends on what you mean by ‘hero work’...”
“Are you using One for All more than you should be?” Tenko asked through clenched teeth.
“Oh, then no I’m not doing extra hero work,” Toshinori said easily. “There. Feel better now?”
“No!” Tenko shouted. “What the hell are you doing sneaking out at four in the morning if you’re not doing extra hero work!?”
“I’m…” Toshinori paused, pondering over whether or not he should tell Tenko the entire truth of what he was actually doing. If things didn’t work out with training Midoriya Izuku to be his successor, Toshinori knew Tenko’s worrying over him would only increase. And if things did work out, Tenko probably wouldn’t take that well either. Toshinori decided that, for the time being at least, the less Tenko knew about his plans for passing on One for All the better. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Toshinori picked back up where he’d left off, trying to cover up how long his interlude of contemplation had gone on for. “I’m helping a kid train to get into UA.”
Tenko froze like every synapse in his brain had shut down. Then, he jerked his head forward as if maybe he’d misheard. “Come again?”
“I’m helping a quirkless kid train to get into UA,” Toshinori repeated, pressing his fingertips together nervously as he waited for Tenko to see right through him.
But Tenko simply shook his head quickly and jerked backwards as if he’d just seen something offensive. “What the hell are you doing that for?” he squinted at Toshinori.
“Well, I...You know, I used to be quirkless and…” Toshinori ran a hand through his scraggly blonde hair and averted eye contact. “I see a lot of myself...in him and I wanted to help…?”
Tenko’s defensive stance drooped to exhausted as he listened to Toshinori try to scramble up an excuse. “Okay,” he said once his guardian had stopped talking. “Now, why don’t you tell me the real reason?”
“I’m serious!” Toshinori insisted. “I can’t do a lot of the physical hero stuff anymore, but I can still do the moral support thing, right? I’ve got the free time, haven’t I?”
“I guess,” Tenko pursed his lips, looking Toshinori up and down before shrugging his shoulders and turning to pick his cleaning rag back up. “Alright, I believe you.”
Toshinori breathed a sigh of relief.
“Can I come with you next time you go to help this kid?” Tenko asked.
Toshinori took a sharp breath in, launching himself into another fit of coughing.
“Why-” Toshinori spoke between coughs. “Wh-Why would you want to do that?”
“You said this kid’s training to get into UA?” Tenko raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think he might benefit from the insight of someone who was at UA just a few years ago instead of...however long it’s been since you were there?”
“Oho! You callin’ me old?” Toshinori laughed.
“Well, if the shoe fits…” Tenko turned the sink on to rinse out his rag.
“Alright, alright,” Toshinori shook his head, leaning against the counter.
“So is that a ‘yes’?” Tenko prompted when he didn’t receive an answer to his question.
Toshinori scratched his ear. “Urr…”
“Unless, there’s a reason you don’t want me to meet him?” Tenko raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge.
Toshinori exhaled, fixing Tenko with a stubborn stare of his own. After all, he was the parent in the situation; and the Number One Hero would not be coerced into doing something he didn’t want to do by so much as his own kid, right?
----
“Hey, fanboy! I’ve got a surprise for you!” Toshinori called out the next morning as he trudged through the litter strewn sand of the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park, Tenko close behind.
“You’re training at the Trash Beach?” Tenko pulled the strings of his hoodie tight as he stepped over a rusted bicycle. “Maybe you need a ‘Teaching for Dummies’ book as well, huh?”
“Haha...” Toshinori laughed nervously, keeping his eyes forward on the lookout for Izuku. “Where could that boy be-”
“Hi, All Might!” a burst of fluffy green hair emerged from a heap of trash.
Toshinori jumped a bit, hands waving out as if to make a grab at the boy. “Careful with the name dropping!”
“Sorry,” the kid blushed, worrying his fingers over each other. “You said you had a surprise for me?”
“Hm? Oh yeah,” Toshinori nodded, swaggering to the side to reveal Tenko standing a little ways back. “Midoriya Izuku, I presume you already know of my s-”
“Shimura Tenko,” Izuku’s eyes lit up like a car’s high beams as he bowed to the pro hero in front of him. “It’s so cool to see you up close and personal...again…”
“Again?” Tenko narrowed his eyes before his memory clicked together. “You’re the kid who charged that sludge villain!?!?” Tenko turned his astonished stare to Toshinori. “This is the kid you’re helping get into UA?”
“Yeah, well, I did say it was a work-in-progress,” Toshinori said, leaning on a busted up refrigerator.
“Uh-huh,” Tenko clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, then turned his attention to the young teenager still bowing in front of him. “Midoriya Izuku, was it?”
“Y-Yes,” Izuku stood upright.
“So, you want to be a hero, huh?” Tenko raised an eyebrow.
“More than anything,” Izuku said, voice quieting to a near murmur.
“And you don’t have a quirk?” Tenko pursed his lips and glanced briefly over to Toshinori who had a calculated uninterested expression plastered to his face that only made Tenko even more suspicious.
“No…” Izuku flicked a glance to Toshinori as well, deciding it was safest not to let on that he knew anything about One for All. “No, I don’t.”
“It’s gonna be tough getting into UA’s Heroics Program without one, I’ll tell ya that much,” Tenko gripped the back of his neck with one hand and sighed. “But I’m not gonna tell you it’s impossible.”
“You’re not?” Izuku wrinkled his eyebrows.
“Nah,” Tenko shrugged, looking around at the garbage surrounding the three of them. “So, uh, what’s my old man got you doing? Picking up all the trash off this coastline?”
“Uh, yes, actually,” Izuku smiled nervously.
Tenko threw his head back and laughed a little bit before turning his gaze back to Izuku. “Well, his methods might be strange but…” Tenko threw a reluctantly fond glance Toshinori’s way. “You really are in the best possible hands if you wanna learn what it means to be a hero.”
Izuku smiled up at Tenko, giving a nod of agreement. Then, as he glanced to Toshinori, his face dropped and he made a small noise of shock. “Are you crying, All Might!?”
“What!? No way!” Toshinori shouted defensively, quickly rubbing his hand over his eyes to dry his face. “It’s just the sea spray. Now, go get to work, fanboy! You’re falling behind schedule.”
Izuku sped off to the nearest heap of garbage and, as Tenko and Toshinori watched him work, a silence of different interpretations fell between the two. For Tenko, the quiet was serene. He could see a glimpse of the ocean and the early morning air was cool and just a little breezy. His mind was drifting to a placid blank place; even as he was surrounded by mountains of discarded clutter, he was able to find a sense of peace with the scenery around him.
But for Toshinori, the silence was tense and too open to potentially dangerous shifts in conversation topics. Clearing his throat, Toshinori turned to look at Tenko; he smiled, among the swathes of long tangled silver hair he could still spy the hand-shaped hairclip he’d given Tenko a few years ago when he’d started UA. After a moment of being stared at, Tenko turned and gave Toshinori a smile back.
“What?” Tenko shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket.
“Did you really mean what you said?” Toshinori asked, trying to keep his smile small.
“Of course I did,” Tenko said, turning to look at the waves crash against the shore. Then, after a brief silence, he turned back and smirked at Toshinori. “You really do have strange teaching methods.”
“Alright, that’s it!” Toshinori flashed into his hero form, reaching out and hefting Tenko over his shoulders. “Time for you to go for a swim, Tenko!”
“Aah ha ha, put me down!!” Tenko laughed, kicking his legs out to be set free.
From where Izuku was moving trash, he paused to look up and watch All Might and Tenko’s interaction. The Number One Hero had set Tenko down and returned to his scrawny form, but the two were still laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Most people, not just obsessed fanboys, knew Shimura Tenko’s origin story of how he came to be All Might’s son; a history like that would have been enough to turn anyone to villainy, but Tenko had grown up to become a hero instead. Izuku thought back to what Tenko had said about him being in the best hands possible to learn what it means to be a hero; seeing how comfortable and safe Tenko felt around All Might, despite everything the disintegration hero had gone through, made Izuku smile in confidence that he was in fact under the best tutelage possible to become a hero.
----
“Come on, Midoriya!! Put your back into it!” All Might called from where he sat, hulking in his hero form a few mornings later, lounging in the back of the dilapidated pickup truck he was having Izuku move across the beach.
“I’ve told you before,” Izuku panted. “Moving all of these heavy objects is one thing...It’s another with your added weight on top of them.”
“Excuses, excuses,” All Might waved his hand dismissively, leaning back to gaze at the lingering stars in the early morning sky. “If you want to be a hero you have t-”
Toshinori’s voice broke off when the truck bed disappeared from beneath him and he fell to the ground in a flurry of sand. Izuku gave a cry of surprise and flung forward into the sand as well. Both Toshinori and Izuku were wondering what on earth had happened to the truck when a laugh that Toshinori knew all too well sounded out from behind the two One for All bearers.
Turning himself over with his elbows, Toshinori gave Tenko a scolding stare. His son stood where the front of the truck would have been, right hand ungloved and fingers waggling teasingly down at the stunned faces of Izuku and Toshinori.
“Must you interfere with my teaching methods?” Toshinori stood up, still in his hero form.
“Only when absolutely necessary,” Tenko shrugged, tugging his glove back on and fixing Toshinori with a scolding stare of his own. “Like when a certain Number One Hero is wasting his limited time in his hero form to terrorize a fourteen-year-old kid instead of saving it for, I don’t know, actual hero work.”
Toshinori deflated from his hero form and spat a glob of blood into the sand, giving a sigh and looking back up to the sky. “You have a point.”
“Don’t you just hate that?” Tenko smirked.
“Still,” Toshinori held up a bony finger. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t give Midoriya the easy way out.”
“Absolutely, of course,” Tenko nodded. “Why don’t you, uh, let me take over for the rest of the morning? See if you can go scrounge up something that would actually require your hero form, since you seem to be itching to show it off today?”
“Hmm…” Toshinori narrowed his eyes, then gave an unconcerned shrug. It wasn’t often that Tenko wanted him to run off and do hero work, and he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Alright. But no going easy on him, you hear me?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tenko scoffed, giving Izuku a wink.
Toshinori flashed into his hero form and gave Tenko a stern look. “Young man-”
“Yes sir, no going easy on the fourteen-year-old, sir!” Tenko straightened up and gave a mock salute.
“Alright then, good,” Toshinori nodded, looking over his shoulder at Izuku. “I’m leaving you in Tenko’s hands for the rest of this session, young Midoriya.”
“That could get dangerous,” Tenko joked, waggling his fingers again to accentuate the statement.
“Not likely though,” Toshinori smiled, reaching out to ruffle Tenko’s hair before jumping off into the lightening skies.
Once Toshinori was out of eyeshot, Tenko turned back to Izuku and started taking his gloves off again.
“Okay, let’s get rid of as much trash as we can before he gets back,” Tenko said, reaching for a stack of discarded tires.
“Wait!” Izuku called out, waving his hands and rushing up next to Tenko. “I- You don’t have to - Th-Thank you for offering to help, Mister Shimura, but I want to clean this beach up on my own. If I’m going to be a hero, then I need to complete this task honestly and without shortcuts.”
Tenko tugged his gloves back into place and turned to face Izuku straight on, lifting his eyebrows as he considered the young boy in front of him. After a moment of silence, Tenko nodded and gave a shrug. “Alright then, if you’re sure.”
“I am,” Izuku nodded, hefting one of the tires into his arms with a wheezing breath.
“While you work then,” Tenko said, strolling alongside Izuku as the boy rolled the tire up the length of the beach. “Is there anything you’ve been dying to ask me? Toshinori says you’re quite the fanboy. Mainly of him, but I-”
“Oh no!!” Izuku whipped around, blushing and waving his hands out in a manner that was intended to placate Tenko but really just ended up putting him a step closer to his next anxiety attack. “I don’t just care about All Might! I mean - yes, he’s my favorite - but I care about every superhero. There are so many quirks and they’re all unique to their vessels; I find it fascinating the different abilities that different pros can utilize.”
“Yeah?” Tenko smiled, picking his walking pace back up and continuing along the sandy coastline.
“Yeah,” Izuku said, huffing as he attempted to keep up with Tenko’s long strides. “E-Especially you. I mean, so many people think you have a natural villain’s quirk.”
“Oh, they do?” Tenko raised an eyebrow.
“Ah!” Izuku yelped. “I didn’t mean to insult you I-”
“Relax kid,” Tenko clapped Izuku gently on the shoulder. “I know how people think of me. Hell, I know how I used to think of myself. It’s not surprising that people expect me to be a villain.”
“But that’s why it’s so amazing that you’re a hero,” Izuku lit up with a fresh wave of excitement. “You took all of that negativity and turned it into motivation for yourself to reach your goals. I don’t know about other quirkless kids but, for me, that’s pretty inspiring.”
“Huh,” Tenko smiled down at his feet, kicking up a cloud of sand.
“But I mean,” Izuku picked up the conversation after Tenko’s lack of a response. “At the end of the day, you have a quirk.”
“Having a quirk doesn’t equate to being a hero,” Tenko said immediately. “A wise hero once told me that you ‘don’t need a quirk to punch a villain in the face,’” Tenko paused to let the quote settle before laughing and turning his gaze skyward. “But even then, it helps to know how to throw a punch.”
Izuku laughed at that, his face lighting up with a smile. “Thanks, Mister Shimura.”
“Ah, don’t mention it,” Tenko said. Then, rubbing his hands together, he reached out and hefted an old piece of railway track across his shoulders. “Now then, if you’re not going to let me use my quirk on this rubbish, let me at least help out with the lifting while I’m here.”
“But if you help me, I might not get all of the muscle building I need to-” Izuku caught himself, still not sure if it was alright for him to mention Toshinori’s plan to make him the One for All successor even to Tenko. “-t-to be strong enough to pass the UA entrance exam.”
Tenko lifted his eyebrows at the way Izuku stammered over the sentence, but didn’t say anything to let on that he saw right through Izuku and Toshinori’s duo of bumbling over almost revealing secret information. Instead, he took one look at the dark circles already forming under Izuku’s eyes and smiled, laughing a little through his nose.
“You ever notice how whenever there’s a villain attack, it usually takes a bunch of pros to get the job done?” Tenko asked.
“Yeah,” Izuku nodded, thinking back to all of the heroes it took to keep the sludge villain attack in check.
“Well, that’s because the best hero knows when to accept a little help,” Tenko smiled down at Izuku. “Besides, something tells me you’re already doing plenty of work towards preparing to inherit the exam,” Tenko said, then shook his head and laughed as if he’d accidentally misspoken instead of purposefully slipped up for shock value. “Oops, I’m sorry - I mean, take the exam.”
Izuku stopped dead in his tracks, letting the tire swing down to rest in the sand. Tenko kept walking for a few more seconds after Izuku’s footsteps had ceased before stopping and turning a calm smile over his shoulder at the boy’s bewildered expression.
“Y-You know?” Izuku asked, face growing pale.
Tenko nodded, turning around and walking back to where Izuku stood. “Yep, it wasn’t a hard one to figure out. You and Toshinori aren’t exactly the most subtle guys in the world.”
“Yeah, I guess not,” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, a bright red blush burning into his cheeks.
“Do me a favor though?” Tenko asked. Izuku nodded, eager to please. Tenko flashed a mischievous smile. “Don’t let Toshinori know that I know.”
“Why not?” Izuku furrowed his brow.
“Because he should tell me on his own,” Tenko shrugged, turning back around and picking up his scrap of railroad track. “Now, come on, this trash isn’t gonna move itself.”
“Right,” Izuku nodded, picking his tire back up and speeding to meet Tenko’s walking pace.
----
Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Izuku’s muscle build slowly but surely increased, as well as his confidence in his ability to become a hero. He still struggled with a lot of the tasks Toshinori put him up to, but when he put his mind to it - and accepted Tenko’s admittedly more-specific-than-Toshinori’s advice - he was able to pull through even the more difficult training exercises.
But in spite of that, Izuku still felt a twinge of dissatisfaction with his progress. Convincing himself he needed to work even harder than the plan All Might had provided him with entailed, Izuku had snuck in extra hours of working out. The added training hadn’t seemed to affect Izuku that much at first, and he was able to keep up the facade of sticking to the specially formulated training regiment he’d been given for the most part. It wasn’t until three months before the UA entrance exam, when he was running alongside Toshinori on his segway, that all of the extra workouts caught up with him.
“Come on, Midoriya!” Toshinori called over his shoulder as Izuku huffed and puffed to keep up with him. “Tenko’s got you beat just by walking.”
“H- It’s not fair-” Izuku wheezed. “His legs...are longer...than mine…”
“Sounds like quitter talk to me, kid, I don’t know,” Toshinori rubbed his chin.
“Give him a break, Toshinori, come on,” Tenko called, turning to walk backwards so he could make eye contact with both Izuku and Toshinori.
“What, you think we should just give up after all these months and let him take it easy!?” Toshinori challenged.
“I think-” Tenko started, but was cut off by the sudden thud as Izuku collapsed face first into the leaf strewn pavement. “Dammit,” he muttered, kneeling down by Izuku’s side and taking his pulse. “You okay, kid?”
“He’s overworked,” Toshinori said, stepping down off his segway to peer down at Izuku’s shiftless form. “The plan I gave you was created with your body in mind. It was fine-tuned to ensure your progress was swift but manageable,” Toshinori’s eyes narrowed. “Which means, you haven’t been sticking to it. You’re overdoing things. That’s gonna have the opposite effect of what we want!”
“Hey, back off, alright!?” Tenko stood up, stance protective over Izuku’s exhausted body. Toshinori startled backwards some, surprised to hear Tenko rise to Izuku’s defense. “No shit he’s overworked with all the pressure you’ve been putting on him to succeed.”
Toshinori furrowed his brow at Tenko. “Did you know he was sneaking in extra work?”
“There’s a lot of stuff I know,” Tenko curled his lip, crouching back down to try and help Izuku up.
“I have to work harder or I won’t stand a chance against the other applicants,” Izuku struggled to force the words out, the sudden presence of his voice making Tenko and Toshinori pause and look to him. “I don’t just want into UA...I want to excel . I want...to be like you,” Waving Tenko’s offered hand away, Izuku pushed himself up and looked directly into Toshinori’s eyes. “I want to be the greatest hero in the world. So, I’ll keep trying until I’ve got what it takes to do that!”
Toshinori’s eyes widened in shock, impressed at Izuku’s earnest resolution and show of thought to the future. Growing into his hero form, Toshinori flashed a proud smile down at Izuku and picked him up by the back of his collar.
“That fighting spirit’s what I like about you, fanboy!” Toshinori announced loudly. “It serves you well!!”
Tenko, still crouched on the ground, wrinkled his brows in confusion. “Are you encouraging this!? Don’t you think-”
“Now, now, Tenko, don’t you worry!” Toshinori said, reaching forward with his free hand and hauling Tenko up to perch on his shoulder. “I do understand your concerns, both of you. But Tenko, we can’t ignore the fact that time is not on our side. That said, Midoriya, this is still no time to rush progress! Fear not though! I can get you back on track!! Leave it to this old man to adjust your schedule!!”
“You’re not old...A-All Might…” Izuku said.
Tenko and Toshinori shared a look before they both burst into laughter, Toshinori turning and carrying his two boys off for a brainstorming session on how to restructure Izuku’s training plan.
----
Before any of them could believe it, the morning of the UA entrance exam rolled around. It was early, as so many mornings insisted on being, and Toshinori had all but dragged Tenko by the ankles and shoved him in the car to come along.
“Hmmnnn, don’t see why I had to come,” Tenko yawned, pressing his forehead against the car window and pulling his scarf up around his mouth and nose. “I just went to bed like two hours ago, can’t I just send the kid a fruit basket?”
“You shouldn’t be out so late,” Toshinori shook his head disapprovingly.
“Okay,” Tenko muttered, curling his knees against his chest and huddling close together for warmth. “Next time there’s an oil spill, I’ll just let it destroy our environment so I can get a full eight hours. How’s that sound?”
“Alright, alright,” Toshinori parked the car and undid his seatbelt. “You can go back to bed as soon as we see Midoriya off to his exam, okay?”
“Mmmmnnnnmmgh,” Tenko groaned, pushing the car door open and tumbling out into the frosty February air. “It’s cold as hell out here,” Tenko whined, eyes squinted shut against the rising sun.
Toshinori came up beside him and, unbuttoning his coat, draped the thick material over Tenko’s shoulders and started leading him towards the beach.
“So, where is the kid anyways?” Tenko asked, stifling another yawn. “Maybe he’s not here and we got up for n-”
Tenko got cut off by a sudden loud, shrill scream piercing through the placid early morning quiet. Wincing and moving to cover his ears, Tenko squinted up in the direction of the yelling. It was difficult to make out without his glasses on, but he could decipher the shape of Midoriya Izuku stationed at the top of a heap of garbage - just yelling to the sky.
“Welp, that’s enough for me,” Tenko shrugged out from under Toshinori’s arm and turned the other way. “I’m gonna walk home and go to bed.”
“But wait-” Toshinori called to Tenko’s back.
“Yeah?” Tenko turned around and looked at Toshinori’s blurred form. He’d been hoping for months that his guardian would just tell him that Izuku was going to be the One for All successor; and while the morning of the UA exam was cutting it kind of close, Tenko was willing to write it off as a ‘better late than never’ scenario.
“Eh, ur…” Toshinori twiddled his fingers. He’d been planning on telling Tenko about making Izuku his successor for a while and had figured the moment he gave the kid some of his DNA was as good as any; but now, with that very moment encroaching ever nearer to him, Toshinori couldn’t deny that he was a little bit relieved that he might not have to. “Just, uh, why don’t you take the car? I’ll walk home.”
Tenko’s face dropped into a numb frown of disappointment; giving a heavy sigh, he turned back around and waved a dismissive hand. “Nah. I’d rather walk. See you later.”
“Oh! Mister Shimura!” Izuku’s excited voice called out from atop his garbage heap. “Are you leaving!?”
“Yeah, kid, I’m going home!” Tenko called back, turning and waving to Izuku from where he stood at the edge of the parking lot. “Good luck today,” he shouted, flashing Toshinori one last disappointed look. “You’re gonna need it.”
With that, Tenko turned on his heel and stalked out of the parking lot. Toshinori watched him go, the silvery sheen of his hair blending in his the fog, and sighed; he was almost positive Tenko knew about Izuku being the One for All Successor. He could kick himself for putting off telling Tenko for as long as he had; but whenever he opened his mouth to say something, the persistent fear that Tenko would react badly clammed him right back up. After this morning, it would be too late for Toshinori to tell Tenko before he’d passed his quirk on; but the hero made a silent resolution that he would tell Tenko as soon as he got home that night. Absolutely no more putting it off.
Letting go of another sigh, Toshinori turned back to the beach and started walking towards the coast. The closer he got, the better he could see the extent of Izuku’s work; the young boy had restored the entire coastline, even areas outside of the parameters he’d been given. Shaking himself out of his own awestruck stupor, Toshinori turned his gaze upwards to the boy shouting on top of the last linger pile of garbage on the now pristine beach. Looking up at Izuku, Toshinori could tell - he was looking at the next bearer of One for All.
----
By the time Izuku was accepted into UA, Toshinori still hadn’t told Tenko that Izuku now had the One for All quirk. Toshinori was sure Tenko knew; he’d always been smart enough to figure out when Toshinori was lying and, if that weren’t enough reason to suspect that he knew, Tenko’s attitude had turned increasingly sour the more Izuku progressed without Toshinori having told Tenko about passing on One for All.
Toshinori was secretly hoping Tenko would blow up and shout about how he’d known all along before Toshinori had to tell him himself, but his kid was determined to wait for Toshinori to say it. But the longer Toshinori put off telling Tenko, the easier it became to just let the topic slip away from the forefront of his mind. Sometimes he would forget that Tenko didn’t know and would make a comment that vaguely referenced Izuku having the power of One for All; when that would happen, Tenko would just sit and blink vacantly as if he had no idea that anything in regards to the One for All quirk had been mentioned.
On Toshinori’s first day teaching at UA, he’d been genuinely surprised that Tenko had taken him up on his request to go with him just for that initial day. On regular terms, Tenko’s idea of fun didn’t include hanging around his old high school and, circumstances being what they were, Toshinori had expected a vehement refusal at the mere mention of such a proposition. But even when he was angry with Toshinori, Tenko was still sensitive to when his guardian was worried or stressed; so, he’d agreed to accompany Toshinori to UA with minimal complaining on the drive in.
The two hadn’t seen Izuku, or any of the students for that matter, yet that day. Just the first years were there that day for orientation, so the campus was pretty desolate. As it was, the first years of the different departments had all been delegated to their separate orientation assemblies and there wasn’t much for Toshinori and Tenko to do other than sit around and stare at each other.
Toshinori seemed agitated for most of the morning, constantly fidgeting and glancing around him as if on surveillance. Principal Nedzu and a number of the teachers at UA were privy to Toshinori’s health complications that had led him to take the teaching position in the first place, but it was still nerve wracking for Toshinori to be in such a public setting in just his normal form.
More than that though, Toshinori couldn’t stop thinking about how Izuku was faring on his first day at UA; it was a kind of nervous curiosity he hadn’t felt since Tenko had first started going to school with other kids. Tenko must’ve picked up on this, because forty-five minutes into watching Toshinori bounce his leg up and down, Tenko got up and left the room. When he returned, he had the teacher directory in one hand and held it out to Toshinori.
“I don’t want to say ‘clingy’ but Izuku does have his own mom, you know,” Tenko crossed his arms and leaned against the sundrenched wall, trying to soak up some of the warmth coming in through the window for himself.
“Hm,” Toshinori tapped his fingers against his chin as he read over the directory, searching for which homeroom teacher Izuku’d been stuck with. “You remember how it works here. Depending on which teacher you get as your homeroom teacher, your three years at UA could be real hell.”
“It’s gonna be hell for Izuku either way,” Tenko said, sitting down opposite Toshinori. When his guardian looked up in confusion, Tenko raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge. “I mean, he’s the only kid in the heroics course who doesn’t have a quirk, right?”
Toshinori sweated silently under Tenko’s stare for one intense minute before directed his gaze back down to the teacher directory. Flipping a few more pages, Toshinori paused and gave a start when he finally found which homeroom Izuku had been stuck in.
“Aw crap,” Toshinori seethed, pressing a hand to his forehead. “He got Aizawa.”
“Aizawa’s a great teacher, what are you talking about?” Tenko scoffed.
“He’s the toughest teacher at UA,” Toshinori said. “He eats kids alive at the first sign of weakness.”
“Oh, I see,” Tenko nodded, sitting forward and folding his hands on the table as if he were a cop interrogating a suspect. “So, he was good enough for me when I was eight years old but not Midoriya, is that it?”
“It’s different,” Toshinori explained, closing the teacher directory. “Aizawa was the only teacher available whom I trusted to be around you. He’s always kept away from the media and the last thing I wanted was for some tutor off the street to go blabbing about you to the nearest tabloid. But when Aizawa’s teaching a group of kids, well, he-”
“Can tend to go a little overboard on the discipline?” Tenko asked, remembering how intimidating he’d thought Aizawa was the first time he’d seen him teach at UA. Nothing like how he was one-on-one.
“Yeah,” Toshinori ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Midoriya’s gonna be singled out from the start with Aizawa as his teacher. I wouldn’t be surprised if…”
Tenko squinted at Toshinori as his guardian’s face pulled into a blank panic. “Surprised if what?”
“We’ve gotta go, now!” Toshinori stood up, flashing into his hero form and yanking Tenko up by his wrist.
“Don’t pull me - Ah!” Tenko lurched onto his feet and was instantly running behind Toshinori as he sped down the empty halls.
Toshinori dragged Tenko along for a couple turns before screeching to a halt and ducking behind a row of lockers. A set of doors had opened and rows of students were processing out into the hallways, swarming in different directions on the way to their separate classrooms.
Toshinori and Tenko tensed for a moment, afraid of getting swamped with a bunch of All Might fans begging for autographs; but the students seemed to be purposefully averting their gazes elsewhere. Figuring the students had just come out of orientation and been warned about the consequences of pestering the pro hero teachers with fanbase demands, Toshinori breathed a sigh of relief and began to pull Tenko through the crowds again.
They’d almost reached the end of the hallway, when one rogue student who’d elected to ignore the warnings of asking pros for autographs called out to their turned backs.
“Hey! Hey, wait up!” the young voice called out. Toshinori and Tenko slowly turned towards the voice calling out to them and found a taller than average boy with a shock of blue hair moving quickly towards them. When the kid broke from the crowd, he scrambled to pull a pen and paper from his inner pocket and held them out in front of him, giving a low bow. “Please, sir, could I please have your autograph?”
“Why certainly, young man!” Toshinori beamed, reaching for the notepad. “And what might your name b-”
“Not you,” the boy yanked the notepad away from Toshinori’s reach, giving the Number One Hero a disdainful scowl. Instead, he turned to Tenko and held the paper out to him. “Please, Mister Shimura? You’re my favorite hero.”
“S-Sure,” Tenko blinked in surprise, trying to suppress the blush he felt crawling into his cheeks as he took the pen and paper into his hands. “Who should I make this out to?”
“Mister Shinsou!” a stern voice boomed out. Tenko looked up and saw another UA teacher, one from the General Education department, storming towards the young student. “You seem to forget this is a high school, not a meet-and-greet! Leave these pros to their jobs and return to your class at once.”
“It’s fine, please,” Tenko held up a hand to placate the fuming teacher. “I’m not technically a teacher here so it’s fine if he wants an autograph,” then, turning his attention back to the student who’d approached him, Tenko gave the boy an easy smile. “So, Shinsou was it?’
“Yes, sir,” Shinsou nodded. “Shinsou Hitoshi, General Education.”
“General Education?” Tenko nodded, scrawling his autograph into the notebook before extending it back towards Shinsou. “You’ve got that hero look about you though. Striving for a transfer in departments?”
“Yeah right,” Shinsou rolled his eyes, pocketing the notebook carefully inside his jacket. “Heroics department here is kind of biased against quirks like mine.”
“What quirk is that?” Tenko asked.
“I can, uh,” Shinsou reached up to rub the back of his neck. “I can mind control people if they talk to me. Not exactly a, uh, ‘hero’s quirk’ is it?”
“Hmm,” Tenko frowned. “Neither, I suppose, is mine?” he asked with a wave of his fingers.
“Nah, not really,” Shinsou smiled, looking down at his shoes. “That’s why you’re my favorite.”
“Well, thanks for that,” Tenko grinned right back, clapping Shinsou on the shoulder. “And don’t let people tell you you’ve got a ‘villain’s quirk’ alright? There’s no such thing. If I believed that every time someone told me disintegration could only be used for evil, I’d be lurking with the League of Villains right now instead of getting dragged through UA by All Might over here. You can be a hero too, Shinsou. Don’t forget that.”
“Thanks,” Shinsou smiled, letting his hand fall away from his neck.
“And that’s where I gotta leave you, I’m afraid,” Tenko said, pulling away from Toshinori as his guardian tugged at his sleeve with increasing antsiness. “Good luck, Shinsou, I’ll keep an eye out for you at the Sports Festival.”
“Okay, thanks again,” Shinsou smiled, waving as Tenko let himself be dragged outside by Toshinori.
“Now, what exactly are we - Oh, wipe that stupid grin off your face!” Tenko whispered harshly at Toshinori, who was turning a smug but proud smile Tenko’s way.
“You’re his favorite hero,” Toshinori sinsonged.
“Shut up,” Tenko blushed. “Now, what are we looking for?”
“Here, shh,” Toshinori pushed Tenko in front of him, the two of them crouching behind a wall and looking out into the courtyard. “I thought Aizawa might pull something like this.”
“Something like what?” Tenko straightened his glasses and peered out to where he could see his former teacher’s scarf swung wildly out about him, his quirk fully activated.
“-nothing more than a liability in battle,” Aizawa’s harsh voice carried over to where Tenko and Toshinori stood.
The gaggle of other students shifted around so Tenko could see that it was Izuku getting ripped to verbal shreds by Aizawa, the erasure hero’s scarf wound tightly around the back of the boy’s shoulders and pulling him close.
“You have the same reckless passion as another overzealous hero I know. One who saved a thousand people by himself and became a legend,” Aizawa continued. Tenko felt Toshinori’s fingers flex around where they rested on his shoulders. “But even with that drive, you’re worthless if you can only throw a single punch before breaking down. Sorry Midoriya, with your power, there’s no way you can become a hero.”
Those words would’ve stung for Tenko to hear coming from one of his mentors, if he didn’t know Aizawa well enough to know when he was challenging a student to prove him wrong. Aizawa was a fan of what he called ‘logical ruses’ and often used them to bring out the best performances in his students; if the student still failed to succeed after being opposed that way, Aizawa wrote it off as an inability to learn around the perceived shortcomings others projected onto you. Plus, when it came to being reminded of All Might’s recklessness, Tenko could hardly blame Aizawa for shooting up mental red flags; anything that reminded Tenko of his guardian’s thoughtless behavior was enough to make the young hero want to talk some sense into a bunch of kids as well.
Toshinori watched anxiously from where he crouched with his hands on Tenko’s shoulders, nervous to see how Izuku would figure a way around Aizawa’s harsh methods. He’d forgotten in the moment that he’d neglected to tell Tenko about Izuku’s possession of One for All, as he was overrun with concern for Izuku’s performance in the arbitrary aptitude test.
Izuku paused for a long moment, just staring at the ball in his hand. Rolling his shoulders back, he thought of everyone who was so proud of him for making it to this point. He thought of all the people he didn’t want to disappoint; and, thinking of Bakugou and Aizawa specifically, he thought of all the people he wanted to prove wrong. Bringing his arm back, Izuku channeled all one-hundred percent of his power into his index finger and chucked the ball into the stratosphere.
The kickback from the throw blew Tenko’s overgrown hair right off his forehead. The other students gaped in awe as the ball flew through the air and landed with an unceremonious thud on the other side of the courtyard. Toshinori’s grip tightened on Tenko’s shoulders in excitement, and Tenko could see Aizawa’s shocked and impressed smile from all the way back where he stood crouched behind the wall.
When Izuku brought his hand down to rest at his side, the index finger was bruised and broken. But he turned to Aizawa with a self-satisfied grin and declared proudly that he was still standing.
Tenko wanted to be proud of Izuku. He was proud of Izuku. But that throw was also the past due marking on Toshinori’s deadline to tell Tenko about Izuku inheriting One for All. As he thought back on the past months and all of the opportunities Toshinori had passed up to tell Tenko he’d chosen a successor, Tenko felt his face grow hot with rage and anger and he found that he didn’t really want to calmly pretend things were fine any longer.
“Well, well, well,” Tenko spoke up, shrugging out from under Toshinori’s touch and keeping his back turned away from his guardian. Toshinori felt his heartbeat lurch forward like a revved up car engine; he knew exactly what was coming next and started mentally preparing how he was going to explain himself. “Looks like the kid had a quirk after all. Who would’ve thought?”
Toshinori winced at the numb, scornful tone Tenko was using, knowing the boiling rage that was churning just underneath the detached facade. “You don’t…” Toshinori held his hands up as if surrendering to the police. “You don’t sound surprised.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Tenko whispered, shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket and scowling down at the dirt.
“You knew all along,” Toshinori muttered miserably, feeling his palms grow sweaty.
Tenko turned a glare over his shoulder and curled his lip at Toshinori. “Yeah, no thanks to you,” he snarled, turning full around and heading to go back inside.
Toshinori reached for his son’s arm. “Tenko, I-”
“Save it,” Tenko smacked Toshinori’s hand away with the back of his and kept walking. “I’ll see you at home.”
Toshinori knew Tenko well enough to know not to follow after him right away; but even with that knowledge, Toshinori had to fight the urge to run after Tenko’s diminishing form and immediately start spewing apologies. Forcing his feet to stay rooted to the spot, Toshinori let Tenko storm off without following him.
The rest of the day dredged on in an endless cycle of embarrassment and guilt. It was difficult enough for Toshinori to get acclimated to teaching, but now he had to do it with the added stress of knowing Tenko was angry with him. All he wanted was to get home and have it out with Tenko; he was willing to let Tenko scream and shout at him for as long as he needed to feel better, and Toshinori would have been lying if he’d said he didn’t think he deserved to be yelled at. He just hoped he would get a chance to explain himself as well after Tenko had aired out all of his grievances.
When Toshinori did finally get home, he found Tenko sitting on the sofa in the living room watching the television. He hadn’t even turned to acknowledge Toshinori’s entering their home; just stayed facing forward, one hand stroking his cat curled up next to him in an attempt to stay calm.
Toshinori stood awkwardly at the edge of the room, rubbing the back of his head and feeling rotten the longer he went ignored. “Can we not do this, please?” he asked quietly after a few minutes.
Tenko let a long, irritated breath huff out through his nostrils before reaching up and turning the television off with a click of the remote. “Do what?” he asked, still not turning to look at Toshinori.
“You not talking to me, could we not do that?” Toshinori said, crossing to the table near the window and sitting down. His first day of teaching had really taken it out of him.
Tenko let go of a deep sigh, scratching Mii behind her ears. “You’ve got some nerve asking me that after freezing me out for almost a year.”
“I-” Toshinori faltered. “I was going to tell you, I swear.”
“Oh please,” Tenko rolled his eyes, standing up suddenly; careful not to jostle his cat too much.
“What?” Toshinori wrinkled his brow in concern as he watched Tenko fidget with deciding on a stance.
“Don’t start your apology like that, okay?” Tenko said, posing with one hand on his hip and the other splayed out towards Toshinori as if putting him in check with the motion. “I don’t care if you were going to tell me. You didn’t. So start there.”
“You...You already knew,” Toshinori shrugged.
“Yeah, I did know,” Tenko gave a scoffing laugh, crossing his arms and looking to the ceiling in exasperation. “I knew from almost the first time I met Izuku and had to go for months pretending I didn’t know because I was waiting for you to tell me.”
“Why didn’t you ever confront me about it?” Toshinori asked.
“Hello!?” Tenko furrowed his brow and cupped one ear as if he were hard of hearing. “I must be getting my wires crossed or something because I could’ve sworn I just heard you try and spin the blame around on me.”
“No, of course not, I didn’t mean-”
“Because excuse me for giving you time and space to get yourself ready to tell me you’d found a successor,” Tenko gave another harsh laugh, this time thick with frustrated tears he was determined to keep down. “Did you think you could just get away with not telling me? That we would just coast to a silent understanding that we both knew Izuku has One for All and that I would be okay with that!? Yeah, Toshinori, I knew all along but it would have been nice to have my fath- my, uhm, my...to...to have heard it from you.”
“I’m sorry, Tenko,” Toshinori sighed. “I should have told you months ago. But I was just…”
“Just-Just what?” Tenko wrinkled his brow, cheeks flushed with anger.
“Afraid to tell you,” Toshinori said.
“Afraid?” Tenko raised his eyebrows. “Why on earth would you be afraid to tell me!? I’ve been worried sick over you finding a successor, why would you think I’d be anything but overjoyed to hear you’d found one!?”
“You’re not exactly overjoyed right now.”
“Oh! Oh, don’t even give me that,” Tenko held up a finger to halt Toshinori in his tracks. “You know very well that my being pissed right now has nothing to do with Izuku being your successor. So, why don’t you tell me the real reason why you were afraid to tell me?”
Toshinori shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I thought you might be...jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“I thought maybe you had wanted to be the one to inherit One for All,” Toshinori said, picking nervously at his earlobe.
“Okay, even if I had - which I did not ,” Tenko said. “You really thought I would be so petty as to react in jealousy of a fourteen-year-old!?”
Toshinori bit his lip and averted his gaze, following patterns in the tabletop with his eyes so he wouldn’t have to meet Tenko’s.
“You did, didn’t you?” Tenko asked, voice dangerously calm. “Unbelievable,” he muttered, shaking his head and storming from the living room.
“Wh-” Toshinori stood up and followed Tenko to the main entryway where he was wrestling to get his coat off the peg on the wall. “Where are you going?”
“I’m taking a walk,” Tenko said. “I can’t be around you right now.”
The front door opened and closed with a loud slam, and Tenko was gone. Toshinori sighed, rubbing the heels of his hands into the hollows of his eye sockets and turning back towards the living room. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Mii sitting in the doorway staring up at him.
“I supposed you’re mad at me too, huh?” Toshinori asked the little black cat.
In response, Mii stood and walked to the staircase; the bell on her collar jingling as she trotted up to wait in Tenko’s room for him to come home.
----
The Dagobah coastline really was beautiful with all of the trash cleared away. Tenko had done a lot of blind rage stomping through the city streets before finally ending up at the beach he’d helped Izuku train on.
It was nearing dusk and the air was starting to chill, so Tenko was pretty much the only person there; he sat plain in the sand, knees drawn up to his chest so he could rest his chin on top of them as he watched the waves rush to the shore. Maybe after a little while he would feel calmed down enough to head home, but for the moment he was just enjoying the silence by himself.
At least, he was, until the sound of hesitant footsteps coming up behind him disrupted the calm spell he’d managed to pull himself into. Whoever it was behind him paused a few feet away, and Tenko could hear them making all manner of uncertain mutterings under their breath.
Closing his eyes, Tenko gave an annoyed sigh and leaned his head back. “Just come up here,” he said. “If that’s what you’re gonna do, no use standing there muttering about it.”
The footsteps resumed, coming up until the person was standing next to Tenko. Looking up, Tenko was surprised to see Izuku standing above him. And then, remembering the muttering, Tenko decided he wasn’t that surprised after all.
“Hey, kid,” Tenko said up to Izuku’s nervous expression. Reaching a hand out, Tenko patted the sand next to him. “Have a seat.”
Izuku sat down carefully, not wanting to get sand all over Tenko. Relaxing back on his hands, Izuku stared out at the waves as well.
“So, you come here often?” Tenko asked, a smirk playing on his mouth.
“Um, sometimes, yeah. Today was my first day at UA and I just um...W-Well, I sort of just wanted to come here and think,” Izuku said. “It’s where All Might and I usually meet up when he has something to tell me.”
“Hmm,” Tenko nodded, closing his eyes. “That must be nice.”
Izuku’s expression turned concerned and he felt an anxious blush burn into his cheeks. “I guess...I guess All Might still hasn’t told you about me. A-About me having One for All, that is.”
“He sort of lost his chance,” Tenko slit his eyes open, peering out at the horizon. “I was there to see you use your quirk in Aizawa’s test and well...Toshinori was right there next to me.”
Izuku gave an embarrassed yelp. “All Might saw all of those embarrassing test results!?”
“He’s a teacher at UA, he would’ve seen them eventually,” Tenko said, smiling at how flustered Izuku’d gotten over the thought of Toshinori seeing him bomb a couple of exercises. “Besides, it wasn’t embarrassing the way you channeled One for All to your finger like that. Smart move. If you hadn’t done that, Aizawa would’ve sent you home for sure.”
“Yeah, he’s a little intense,” Izuku rubbed the back of his head, remembering how scary he’d thought his homeroom teacher was when he’d been wrapped up in Aizawa’s scarf.
“Eh, he’s not so bad,” Tenko shrugged. “He’s honest and strict but he really does care about his students. I might be biased though since he taught me pretty much everything I know.”
“Oh, that’s right, he was your private tutor,” Izuku said. “When you were eight years old, you were really far behind in school because your father-”
“I don’t need the crash course in my own little tragic backstory,” Tenko held up a hand to stop Izuku. “So, you made it to UA. You have a quirk. You must be feeling pretty good.”
“Yeah, I am!” Izuku beamed. “I mean...I’m kind of at the bottom of my class rankings right now, but I’m gonna make it to the top! I’ll be just like All Might in no time.”
“Kid, I think it’s great that you’ve got that drive in you,” Tenko said, running a hand through his hair to push it off his face and secretly wishing he had his hairclip with him. “But look. One for All isn’t just Toshinori’s quirk, you know. I mean, it’s not called One for All for nothing, it’s okay to make it your own. You don’t have to be just like him to be a great hero.”
“But I’m not sure if I know how to do that,” Izuku slumped his shoulders forward, letting go of a heavy sigh.
“You’ll figure it out, you’ve got time,” Tenko said, gazing out at the setting sun as it caught on the rippling ocean. “Tell me, fanboy, what do you know about my name?”
“Your...name?” Izuku wrinkled his brow. “Um, it’s just...Your hero name is the same as your full name. Shimura Tenko. Not a lot of heroes do it but it’s not unheard of either.”
“Do you know why Toshinori adopted me?” Tenko asked, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Be-Because you didn’t have any other family?” Izuku guessed.
Tenko laughed once, sitting forward with his hands in his lap and bumping Izuku’s shoulder with his own. “Guess you don’t know as much as you think you do, Midoriya.”
“How do you mean?” Izuku asked.
“My grandmother, Shimura Nana, was the One for All bearer before Toshinori,” Tenko said, pausing briefly to let his statement sink in. “Maybe Toshinori doesn’t want you knowing that yet, but you know what? I don’t really care.”
Izuku turned this new information over in his head a few times before raising a quiet voice to speak. “Did you…” he hesitated. “Did you want to be the One for All successor?”
“Pfft! Hell no,” Tenko laughed, lifting one knee and resting his arm on in. “Ah, well, maybe for like a hot second when I was eight years old I did. What kid doesn’t want to be like All Might, especially when he’s your legal guardian? And then I had the added incentive of my grandmother being the One for All bearer as well. But, as I got older, I realized that I didn’t have to be like either of them to be a hero. I could get by fine just being myself.”
Izuku smiled, looking down at his bandaged finger and letting his face fall concerned for a moment. “But I need One for All to be a hero, I’m useless on my own,” he said. “Doesn’t that make me a sort of fake hero?”
“Hm,” Tenko thought for a second before reaching out and rubbing a handful of sand into Izuku’s hair, pressing all five fingers to his scalp before recoiling his touch.
“Hey!” Izuku shook his hair out, flinging sand everywhere while Tenko laughed. “What’d you do that for!?”
“You see, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without my gloves on,” Tenko waved his fingers under Izuku’s nose. “Doesn’t that make it sort of fake annoying?”
“No!” Izuku laughed, rubbing the last of the sand out of his hair before letting go a sigh of relief. “So, you think I can be a hero? Like, on my own?”
“The truth?” Tenko asked. Izuku nodded, face serious. “I think you’ll make a fantastic hero one day.”
Izuku smiled, his eyes glistening with tears that caught on the last glimmering rays of the sunset. Tenko smiled back, not really sure what to do with a crying kid sitting next to him. Turns out, not saying anything did the trick just as well as any words could sometimes. So, the two sat together in silence, watching the waves crash against the sand as another day came to a close.
oOKAY PPL Wh o are reading my fic “secondhand hero” idk if you’re out there but!! the new chapter is finished and it is twenty-four pages of me yelling at my laptop to get this shit written so keep an eye out in the coming hour for an update!!