Chapter 9 The boy who lived
Chapter Summary: No one is exempt when tragedy strikes.
Shimura Aiko had been a teacher at the Youth Hero Program for almost five years now. She had seen students grow and mature and had her fair share of tear-jerking farewells with some memorable students, but never had she ever seen a boy like Midoriya Izuku who went after troubled individuals like a beast. He was a fairly normal boy when she first met him, but recently he had changed.
The moment they got off the bus for their usual lunch activity, his bright green eyes would sharpen and dart around frantically searching for even the tiniest signs of distress. When a cry of help split the air, he would rush there so fast it was almost as if he had a speed quirk. He could always come up with the fastest and most efficient way to help others, and immediately after the individuals said thanks, he would run off for the next one. It confused her to no end how Izuku was able to locate all those people in need without actually searching for them. It was like he had a GPS in his head tracking down all their locations so he knew them beforehand and exactly where to go to find them.
Aiko was the type of person who couldn't let go of something once it took root in her mind. Izuku's situation had been stressing her day and night. How could a quirkless boy possibly track down people so fast? What pushed him to this extent? What was his motivations? Aiko thought about it when she taught, when she ate, even when she was with her family. It bothered her so much that she couldn't help but eavesdrop on Izuku one day during lunch when their activity was canceled due to the rain.
"Watch this!"
Midoriya Izuku and Aoyama Yuuga were sitting together next to Namamono Henshin, who crouched slightly with his eyes shut and teeth bared. Placing his fingers into a cross symbol in an imitation of a certain fictional character whom Aiko swore she had seen somewhere, he inhaled and growled, "Henge!"
His body twisted and pulled like it was been sucked into a vortex. Colors blended together forming patches of orange and stripes of black. His form cowered and shrank, his limbs shortening and a tail emerging at the base of his spine.
"TA-DA!" The cat exclaimed, but no one seemed to share his excitement.
Yuuga smiled, "That's a cat."
"It's nyat! It's a tiger!"
Izuku smiled, "No, I'm fairly sure that's a cat."
"It's nyat!"
"Mamo," Yuuga lifted the cat off of the ground, ignoring his frantic scrambling, and brought him to the edge of the lake by the clearing they were gathering at. "Look, you're a cat."
Henshin stared into the water for a long, reflective moment before hanging his head in disappointment and morphing back to his human form.
"Maybe a tiger's too much for you. Why not try something smaller?" Izuku unwrapped his bento and Aiko stifled a giggle at how cute it was. It was an All-Might printed lunch box containing riceballs, squid sausages, rabbit apples, and broccoli monsters, definitely the type of bentos his mother would prepare. Aiko had met Midoriya Inko about a dozen time in the past two years. The woman seemed like the quick-to-worry and happy-go-lucky kind of mother. She was the kind of mother who would join her son in video game tournament and throw huge birthday parties for her child, the exact type that Aiko wished to be but could never be.
That thought brought a frown to her face. Aiko was married and had a son named Tenko. She wouldn't consider herself a bad mother, per se. She did everything she could to teach her son the clear line between right and wrong. But when her husband was the type of cool dad who would let his son ride around the yard on the lawnmower or trash the house when she wasn't around or maybe both, right after they had spring-cleaned the house the day prior, the child more often than not would prefer the dad over the mom.
Aiko had pondered every time Tenko looked down guiltily when she scolded him. Was she being too strict on him? Did she need to be more of a mother than a teacher? Was she doing her job properly?
Aiko snapped out of her thoughts when someone shouted.
"Smaller animals aren't intimidating enough. I need something like a tiger or a lion that's strong and fierce and scary! Big is power! Small is cowardice!" Henshin took a big angry bite out of his apple and chewed with gusto.
"Where you get that from..."
"Anyhow! I'm going to the zoo with my parents next week. Hopefully after seeing a tiger for the first time, I'll be more familiar with its form and can get a better grasp of it."
"Have fun," Yuuga said as he cut his cheesecake into three slices, offering one to each of his two closest friend. Aiko was still amazed at how fast children made friends. All her years of experience showed her that children weren't good at holding grudges. Take Aoyama Yuuga for example. She had witnessed the brutal verbal abuse other children put him through that day two years ago when he had puked. But immediately a week later, he was getting along just fine with the rest of the class. Yuuga even became best friends with Henshin who—she later found out—contributed the most to his breakdown.
Children... Aiko shook her head. She could never understand these adorable little creatures.
"You know, I still can't believe you sold your soul for a box of cheesecake." Izuku stuffed the entire slice into his mouth.
"Hey that's mean!" Henshin pouted. "What do you mean sell his soul? I didn't bribe him or anything!"
"Well, the main reason I became your friend is due to that cake." Yuuga hummed in relish.
Henshin sighed. "I was trying to make up for making you puke, and I saw you staring at the Cheesecake Factory so I thought you might like it. I wasn't trying to bribe you and force you to be my friend. I'm not that despicable."
"I know, I know. I'm just joking, mon ami."
As Yuuga and Henshin began another round of bickering, Aiko simply made herself comfortable in the bushes and enjoyed the show. Ever since the incident two years ago, Yuuga and Henshin had gotten closer, so close that they went everywhere together. No one ever found out what happened between them in that restroom. But the week after that, Henshin surprised Yuuga with a box of cheesecake and immediately they became attached at the hips. Yuuga even started calling him by his nickname, Mamo, which was only used by his former best friend, Ogami Gin.
On the other side of the clearing under the shades of the trees, a roar of laughter exploded from a friend circle. Aiba Manami was lying on her back laughing so hard she was crying, while her other friends were staring bewildered at her strangeness.
Two years ago Manami was still a shy and reserved girl. But ever since she became friend with Izuku, she had opened up more and was no longer afraid to openly express herself. She was accepted for who she was, allowing her to do what she wanted to without letting others' opinions stop her.
Many children who interacted with Izuku ended up becoming more confident at socializing. Izuku was like a beacon, prominent amongst others of the same age and drawing them towards him almost magnetically. Even without a quirk, he would definitely have a bright future. Aiko could see it. The boy had it in him to do something great in the future. If he keep it up, he might even become an icon, a symbol, someone who would be marked in history. All the great people in history had been either praised for their talent or ostracized for being different. But one thing they had in common was that they naturally stood out in a crowd.
A few minutes later, Manami's laughter finally died down. She sat up, clenching her stomach, traces of laughter still visible on her face as she turned around and happened to meet Izuku's eyes. Then she blushed.
...
...Huh?
What was that?
Before Aiko could dwell more on the sight, Manami whipped around, her twin pigtails swinging and almost slapping one of her friend on the cheek.
Was that what she thought it was!?
"And see this?" Yuuga lifted the hem of his dress shirt and pointed at a circular pad on his stomach, a gel-like sticker on his skin that didn't seem to hurt him or cause him any discomfort. "A mysterious sender gifted it to me on my birthday this year. He said it's called PSS, Portable Sticker Set. It helps me control how much laser I push out and now I can use my quirk without hurting-"
"Hey, hey guys..." Izuku whispered, cutting him off. "What... What does it mean when a girl blushes when she looks at you?"
"She likes you." Both replied simutaneously.
"Huh..."
"Did our dear Izubaby get an admirer?" Henshin snickered.
"Wha- No! I... I don't think so?"
"Ohhhh?"
Both Henshin and Yuuga were grinning gleefully at him. Izuku swallowed thickly and looked away.
"Okay then, I won't ask. But tell us if you ever get a girlfriend!"
"Or a boyfriend." Both stared incredulously at Yuuga, and Aiko spluttered, ducking further into the bush to hide her presence. "What? The power of love is strong enough to break through than any gender barriers. There's nothing wrong with being gay. My uncle at France was married to a man and his life couldn't be any happier."
It was good to be so open-minded, Aiko thought, still recovering from the shock, but she wouldn't deny that Yuuga did have a talent at surprising people with surprising information at the surprising moment-
"Chirp~ chirp~"
And at this exact moment, her phone buzzed with a new message alert.
"Dammit!" Aiko hissed, shoving her hand into her pocket and ripping out her phone. She unlocked it with a swipe of her thumb, effectively shutting it up, then dared a peak through the cracks of the bushes and was relieved to find the boys still chatting. Thank god her notification ringtone was the sound of birds chirping.
Aiko jabbed the message app so hard the screen protector nearly cracked. The few seconds it took for the app to load felt forever long as she lay there flat on the grass, her other hand tapping the ground impatiently as she silently cursed the asshole who sent her a message at a critical moment like this.
When the chat finished loading, the newest message stared blatantly at her.
YHP Group Chat
ERASED: mic n ill b starting the writing exam now n no comm devices r allowed if theres anything urgent plz contact Ectoplasm
MIC: WISH US LUCK!
Aiko could never get herself to dislike the scruffy man, despite how lazy and disorderly and unprofessional he could be at work, she had to admit that he was a good teacher. He was strict like her and almost never showed affection towards the students, but there was something about him that made him a likable person.
If it was anyone else who sent the message, Aiko would probably be sending them death threat emoticons right now. But since it was Aizawa, she just couldn't gather herself to do it. And so she settled with:
Ai❤︎CoCo: Good luck and hope both of you make it into UA! You're both great teachers here so I have no doubt that you'll do well on the exam!
MIC: THANKS!
ERASED: thx
It was just like him to send a one word reply to a long, two-sentence text. Aiko could only smile softly as she put her phone away and picked herself up.
Lunch was about to end.
The rain was still pouring down mercilessly when YHP ended that afternoon. Children were told to stay inside the classroom while Aiko and Genji shared funny stories with them as they waited for their parents to arrive. One by one, the children began to leave. If there was any children whose parents didn't come, Aiko and Genji would take them home themselves.
When a fancy car pulled up near the entrance, all the remaining children pressed their cute, chubby faces against the window trying to see whose parents were this rich. Aiko didn't recognize the car. And from Genji's facial expression, it appeared that he didn't either.
"That's my parents."
Everyone turned around to the source of the voice.
Shinsou Hitoshi.
The least person they expected to secretly be a rich boy.
"They agreed to drive Izuku and Manami home. Is that okay?"
"Of course. Stay dry, okay? See you guys next week!"
The three adorable children smiled and waved at Aiko before bringing out their umbrellas and stepping out into the rain.
By the time all the children had left, the rain had died down to a drizzle. An umbrella wasn't even necessary, but Aiko used it anyway because why not? It was like what Aizawa loved to say, "If you can sit, then don't stand. If you can lie down, then don't sit." If she could stay dry, then why should she get wet? Even slightly so?
"No karaoke today?"
Genji shook his head as he locked up the classroom. "Nah. I have a high school reunion dinner at six. I'd rather not attend looking like I'd just been assaulted over and over again by a giant ten feet monster. Plus, the class president is paying so I'd rather spare my appetite and take good advantage of that. My wallet is borderline underweight now and it needs immediate medical attention." He chuckled dryly.
Aiko snickered. "Wanna be my sugar baby then?"
"Only if you don't tell your sugar daddy," Genji winked.
Aiko faked a disgusted face and hit him lightly. "You wish."
Genji broke out into laughter, and Aiko also cracked a smile.
They parted ways at entrance, each going their separate ways.
The way back home always felt a little lonely, even during the days when the sun was shining casting a warm glow over her. The rain didn't make the loneliness go away, but instead made it a lot worse. With the umbrella tilted down to cover her face, Aiko trained her gaze at the ground to make sure she didn't accidentally step into any puddles or slip and embarrass herself.
Plop... Plop...
Small drops of water hit the puddles. Swishing... swashing... and then, as if her body had just sunk into a tub of ice water in the middle of a blizzard—
Aiko froze.
Goosebumps danced across every inch of her exposed skin and she couldn't hold back a violent shook that rocked her body.
She cranked her neck, the movement strangely sluggish and difficult.
Fear gripped her chest as her body turned with the motion.
Her eyes dilated, afraid of what she was about to witness.
Would it be a serial killer raising a knife high in the air ready to stab her a thousand times? Or maybe the gaping mouth of a monstrous villain ready to swallow her whole?
Slack jawed and ready to scream any moment now, Aiko took in the scene.
No one was there.
Was it just my imagination…?
Nothing revealed signs of another presence in the street with her, but as she walked, the horrible feeling followed her all the way to the train station. It wasn't until she got on the train when the feeling disappeared.
Even when she was pressing tightly against the other passengers around her as the train sped through the underground tunnel, Aiko continued shivering to the lingering sensation of being watched. Cold sweat clinging to her back, she whispered quietly to herself.
"It's okay, nothing will go wrong. Everything's going to be fine…"
Eventually she was lucky enough to find an empty seat. After sitting down and relaxing for a few stops, the chill gradually dissipated. Nothing was out of the ordinary as she approached her house.
"I'm back!" She announced as she entered. A movie's opening sequence was playing in the living room when she passed, with three cans of unopened soda sitting on the table. "Tenki? Tenko?"
"O-over here…honey…" came her husband's strained voice. Fear twisting her guts, Aiko rushed towards the source.
"Are you ok— oh."
The scene was a nightmare. Her husband, Tenki, and her son, Tenko, were sprawled out across the kitchen tiles holding their heads down in fear. Charred popcorn filled every inch of every square tiles on the floor as if her husband's quirk had gone haywire again, just with popcorns instead of rain. The microwave was busted open with charred hinges and the smell of something burned reached her nose.
Aiko saw red and raw anger burned inside her chest. Her husband cringed, readying himself for the storm to appear.
"TENKI! TENKO!" Tenki stood up lightning fast and gave an army stance, hands flat against his trouser seams while Tenko hid behind his father, eyeing Aiko fearfully.
"Y-yes ma'am!"
"EXPLAIN. RIGHT NOW!"
"It's not papa's fault," Tenko whispered, refusing to meet Aiko's eyes. "I'm the one who caused that."
Tenko's soft, sugary voice immediately melted her heart. All her anger vanished and Aiko crossed her arms, sighing. "Tenko, you should know better to be careful with popcorn. This isn't the first time this happened. Do you how long it'll take me to clean up this mess?"
"Sorry..."
Aiko just couldn't stay mad when faced with those adorable puppy eyes.
Children.
They truly were the spawn of Satan.
Wait—
Wouldn't that make her the...
"And Tenki, I told you to look after him. Why didn't you do your job properly?"
She ignored Tenki's "ehhh b-but I tried!" and walked over to Tenko, crouching down and patting him on the head, running her fingers through his soft, light blue locks. Tenko stared up at her cautiously, the avoidance in his gestures gave her heart a squeeze. It pained her to see him so distanced with her. She had never raised her voice at him, not even when she got mad at him. Never once did she lay her hands on him. When she scolded him, she always did so when her anger had gone away so she could have a clear and focused mind and wouldn't accidentally say things she didn't mean.
So what was the cause? Was it because the way she acted towards Tenki scared him? And he feared she would one day do the same to him? If only he could tell her, she would fix herself. She hated seeing her family like this, a perfect image with cracks forming in the background.
"Tenko. Is everything alright?" Tenko nodded. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Tenko nodded once more. "I'm fine, mom," he managed a small smile.
Seeing him reluctant to say more, Aiko merely smiled and gave him a comforting squeeze on his shoulders before standing up. She knew what pressuring children to spill their real thoughts could lead to, so the best course of action in this situation was to stop pushing and wait for them take the step themselves.
"Now, you two clean up this mess while I go take a shower. Tenki? The kitchen better be immaculate by the time I'm done. And Tenko? Please don't eat the popcorn off of the floor."
Tenko stopped with a charred popcorn midway to his opened mouth. He frowned, and pushed it a bit further into his mouth, testing the limits.
"No, Tenko. A no is a no."
The popcorn dropped onto the ground as Tenko pouted, his big red eyes expressing the complaints he refused to put into words.
Aiko had to force herself to look away from those adorable eyes and walk upstairs. As she walked, she heard Tenki whisper, "Hey… hey Tenko. You can eat it now I won't tell mom." And then came the sound of chewing and a gleeful humming.
Sighing, Aiko pushed open the door to the master bedroom she shared with her husband. She dropped her backpack on the drawer and took out her phone. There was a dozen more text in the groupchat from Aizawa and Hizashi. Apparently, they'd passed the written exam with flying colors and were now waiting for the practical portion. Aiko sent a quick thumbs up before placing the phone on her bed.
Gathering a change of clothes, Aiko stepped into the bathroom. She laid down the clothes then turned on the water. Hot, steaming liquid flowed into the tub. The water was crystal clear, translucent enough for Aiko to see the bottom of the tub. After removing her makeup and wedding ring, she started undressing, humming a song to herself as she did so. The sound of the stream of water roaring out of the faucet and slapping against the water bank continued resonating in the small enclosed space.
Aiko washed her body as she waited then turned off the faucet when the tub was full. She then felt the water, testing its temperature, before stepping in and immersing herself into the heavenly sensation.
"Ahhh!" She let out a content sigh and leaned back. Her head hit the soft cushion she placed on the back of the tub. It was so relaxing she could even fall asleep right here, right now.
The water was no longer transparent and now had a green tint to it. Had it always been like that? Aiko couldn't remember. That didn't matter right now.
But somehow it caught her attention. She kept staring into the water. Had it just gotten greener or was it just her imagination? She was pretty sure it was just a light green a while ago, but now it was forest green.
Then she felt a slimy substance entangling her legs, and what appeared to be an eyeball swimming around in the substance.
And she screamed.
She jumped out of the tub and threw a towel around her body as she kicked the door open and ran right into Tenki's broad chest.
"Aiko!? Aiko what's wrong!?"
Aiko had never heard him sound so concerned.
"T-t-there was s-someone… inside… t-the w-w-water!" She cried, broken words trickling out of her trembling lips. Her wide eyes darted around frantically and caught sight of a frightened Tenko hiding behind the staircase.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Tenki's voice was strong and steady, as if nothing could break through its walls. He patted her on the back before telling her to stay outside the bathroom, then he stepped inside, a kitchen knife in his hand as he approached the tub.
Aiko watched with dread as Tenki placed a hand in the water and splashed it around. Every motion he made had her imagining hundreds of possible danger lurking in the corners.
After a minute, Tenki turned around, the hand holding the knife dropping to his side. "I don't see anything. Are you sure—"
The water rose into a wall of green slime behind Tenki. Two large eyeballs swam around and a wide, open-mouthed grin split across underneath the eyes.
"—you saw something?"
Everything happened so fast. Aiko and Tenko could only let out a terrified wail before the slime smothered Tenki.
The knife clattered onto the ground. Aiko and Tenko stood scarily still as the slime completely submerged a struggling Tenki and tried to stuff itself into his mouth and nostrils. Aiko was the first to recover from the shock.
"Tenki!"
"Gugh!" Tenki clawed at the slime in vain. His fingers sank into the substance not being able to grab ahold of it. His face was starting to turn purple from the lack of oxygen and his eyes, wide and fearful, glanced at Aiko.
"Get away from him!" Aiko charged towards the villain and threw a power punch into Tenki's gut, punching the air out of his lungs. Some of the slime was coughed out but they immediately went back inside.
"You little bitch… you get the fuck away!" The villain hollered as a slimy appendage shot out slamming into Aiko, sending her flying into the door of her room headfirst.
"Mom!"
Aiko barely registered Tenko's voice on her position on the ground. The towel had flown off of her naked body but that was none of her concerns at the moment. The safety of her family came first.
She forced herself onto her knees as the sound of tiny footsteps ran towards her. Tenko dropped down next to her and he placed a small, soft, warm chubby hand on her bleeding forehead. There were tears in his eyes as he pleaded, "Mom, please don't die. Mom!"
Aiko forced a smile onto her face. "Don't worry, Tenko dear. Mom is fine." She wiped off the blood with the back of her hand and stood up shakily, using the wall as support. The door had broken off the hinges from the force and the object on her bed was in full display. Her head spun and her vision wavered from the injury. She couldn't walk straight and the blood flowing into her eyes really wasn't helping. She wiped it again.
"Now… what's this? Let's see let's see…"
Came the villain's voice.
Aiko barely made out Tenki's slumped form when she stepped out of her room. The villain had almost completely overtaken her husband's body. His body was enclosed in the substance with only his head showing. The lower half of his face was now a grotesquely oversized mouth, the carbon copy of its original on the villain's body.
"Interesting… interesting indeeed. Let's try it out shall we?"
The fusion form raised their hand and a lightning bolt came striking down the roof and shooting through the floor. The lightning bolt almost hit her if not for her legs giving up on her. Casting a shaky glance down the hole, Aiko could see another hole in the carpet in front of the tv in the first floor living room.
"Weather… is it? Very powerful… amazing quirk. This is the perfect host!"
The monster made her husband raise his hand again, and this time, hailstones, lightning, thunderstorm rained down from the sky like meteors, hitting their house with perfect precision. Screams filled the house along with the maniacal jeering of the monster. A piece of the flooring crumbled as each stone and bolts hit the ground. They were running out of space to dodge.
Aiko lost track of Tenko during the devastation. When she saw him again, her heart leapt to her throat.
"Tenko, NO!"
Her boy, her precious little boy, was rushing towards the gigantic creature blocking the bathroom with a battlecry while he barely held onto the fallen kitchen knife.
"You think that can harm me? ME? YOU THINK YOU CAN CAUSE ME INJURY!?"
Aiko moved to drag her boy back, but she was too late. The same slimy appendage that sent her flying crashed into Tenko's small, frail body, wrapping around his mid-section and flinging him out of the bathroom window.
On the second fucking floor.
"TENKO!"
A raw, bloodcurdling scream cracked the air like a whip.
For a split second, Tenki cracked an eye open, just in time to see Tenko's body shattering the window. Somehow, he managed to move his body despite the slime coating his form. He shot forward and grabbed onto Tenko, who was hanging outside the window.
"Hold onto me!" He shouted. Aiko couldn't see what was going on, but as soon as he said that, he fell backward clutching onto his bleeding… missing hand.
Then there was a sickening crack outside.
Aiko paled.
"Is that… Tenko…"
The thought brought bile to her mouth.
"What a pity… I gave you control momentarily but you still couldn't save your kid… what a pity…" The slime uttered, each word was like an invisible hand grabbing and twisting her guts in the most painful way possible.
Tenki slumped over. This time, he didn't move. The villain controlled his body to pick up the fallen knife. It looked at the weapon, then a twisted smile ghosted over its lips.
"I don't need you. So die."
The villain began striking her continuously with the knife. Aiko had taken some martial art classes but still could barely keep up with the speed. Her headache was getting worse and her vision kept swimming, knocking her sideways. It only took one foot misplacement for the villain to cower over her with the knife raising high above her.
"Prepare to die… beautiful." It stared down at her naked body with a wanton grin, the large, gaping slit it called mouth extremely disturbing in the form of a smile.
But before it could make its move, for a split moment, light returned to its eyes.
Tenki spat, "I… won't let you… touch my wife!"
And he slashed the knife across his throat.
Aiko froze, not yet registering what had just happened.
The slime's disgusting round eyes glanced down at Tenki's stilled body, then they glazed over, as if distracted by something, and it slowly began seeping out of his mouth and nostrils.
Leaving a quiet curse, it slid past a frozen Aiko and downed the stairs.
When the slimy squishy sound finally vanished, Aiko snapped out of her stupor and finally took in the scene.
"T-tenki…" She crawled towards his body, and placed a hand on his chest.
It wasn't rising.
She pressed two fingers against his neck.
It was faint, but there was still a pulse.
She stared into his eyes.
He stared back.
"You'll be fine, Tenki. I won't let you die."
She cradled his face with all five fingers and activated her quirk.
The spot where his hand was missing began sprouting bones and flesh; one of her hands cradling his face began disintegrating bits by bits. The wound on his neck slowly sewed together leaving no scar; on her neck a giant slash ripped open her skin, allowing blood to gush out.
Tenki gasped and his eyes snapped open while Aiko slumped over him. He rubbed his neck with his newly grown hand, dazed, then noticed her.
"Aiko! Aiko! Wake up!"
His frantic voice was growing faint.
"Did you— oh my god… why do you—!"
She felt her energy leaking out along with the blood. With a last bit of strength, she uttered, "S-Save… Tenko… Be a g-good dad…"
"No… Aiko…"
"Make s-sure… he eats properly… a-and…" She coughed out blood, darkness chewing away the edge of her vision. "D-don't let him… p-play games… too late… s-s-sleeeep… early…"
"Aiko…" Tears fell onto her face. Were they Tenki's?
"A-an'… don' eat… charred p-popcorns… off of the g-ground… don't m-make 'em… b-buy 'em…"
"No!" Tenki's voice was growing faint. They echoed in the space around her, as if she was submerged in water.
"I-I'm sorry… I couldn't keep o-our promise…"
Tenki's hand shook as he grabbed her hand, squeezing it as if he was trying to provide comfort.
"I… I love you two."
"AIKO!"
And she let out her last breath.
The house was deadly silent when he entered. He carefully closed the door behind him and stepped inside, his well-polished shoes clacking against the ground rhythmically like the requiem of death. As he approached the living room, his pawn slid down the stairs. The sludge caught sight of him, and quivered, causing a wave-like pattern to spread across its liquid surface.
"S-sir, y-you're early." The pathetic thing stuttered. "I only m-managed to kill two… but if you give me more time I promise—!"
"No need." The man raised a hand effectively shutting it up.
A scream came from upstairs.
"I'll take care of the last."
He began making his way up the stairs. The slimy thing got out of his way by rolling over the railing and landing soundlessly. The first thing he saw when he made it to the second floor was the slumped form of a man weeping over a dead, naked woman.
Pathetic.
He couldn't understand why anyone would bother crying over the death of someone. Death was inevitable. It was just another stage of life. It was common sense. They should have prepared themselves for separation when they fell in love.
Not to mention a dead body was no longer a human. It was just a stack of decaying flesh that served as food for the insects and animals. Why would humans cry over things like this remained a mystery to him.
The weeping man turned around when he heard the footsteps. His face was a disgusting mess of tears and snot. The weeping man was instantly on guard upon sight of his overwhelming stature, turning around fully and shielding the decaying corpse with his own body.
"W-who are you! What do you want from us!?"
"Us?" The word was chewed and savored slowly in his mouth. "I don't see a 'us'. You're the only alive human being I see here. It should be 'me', not 'us'."
"I don't fucking care!" The pathetic man scrambled to grab ahold of a kitchen knife and point it at him defensively, as if a mere knife could hurt him. "Did you cause this!? Tell me!"
"And what if I did? What are you doing to do?"
The man's eyes widened almost comically, then rage burned in those eyes, his lips curling into a sneer. "I'm gonna kill your ass!"
He threw the knife towards him and raised his hand. Thunder clapped in the sky as lightning bolts began raining down the sky at an alarming speed.
"Well, I suppose this would be considered self-defense."
In the next instant, what remained of the house collapsed, crushing anyone who wasn't preparing the annihilation into a grisly death.
The front door that was barely rooted to the ground swung open and the suited man walked out with grace and poise unfitting of such a sight. After the sludge also squeezed out of the narrow doorway, he gently clicked the door shut.
"So… um… sir? About my pay…"
"Go ask my assistants."
When Tenko crashed through the window, he honestly thought he was about to die. And so he didn't stop to think when his papa grabbed his arm and shouted at him to grab back. The danger of this situation grabbed the logical side of his brain and completely threw it out of the window.
And so, he grabbed his papa's wrist with all five fingers. And so, his papa's wrist disintegrated, causing his hand, and Tenko, to drop from a two-story high window. Tenko remembered landing on his side, a loud crack telling him his arm, and most likely some of his fragile ribs, were broken. The pain that wrecked his body knocked the wind out of him. He opened his mouth wanting to scream but no sound came out.
Sitting against the wall in the alley behind his house, Tenko clutched his arm in pain as he pleaded someone, anyone, to save him. He was in so much pain, and his parents, oh god his mom's head was bleeding, so, so much blood, and his papa was overtaken by that monster and his hand…
Tenko saw the fallen hand next to him and snatched it, clutching it to his chest and reveling in its remaining heat.
Would papa be mad at him? He promised to never use his quirk ever again after he accidentally killed their pet parrot Tengu. Would he be disappointed? How was papa going to live on without a hand? Was he still alive? Was anyone going to help him?
Some people walking past the alley spared him a glance and gasped. No one approached him; they all stood at a safe distance and either walked away or called the ambulance. No one came up to help him.
"P…please… help me…" his voice cracked.
Some of the people stared at him sympathetically, some replied, "I'm sorry but I can't do anything. The heroes will come. Heroes will save you. So hang in there, okay?"
But no one helped him.
Tenko didn't understand. Why was no one helping him? Why were people just looking at him, staring at him with those pitiful eyes and snapping pictures of him and apologizing, but refusing to help him? It hurt. His body hurt so much, and he wanted to cry, to scream, to scream all his anguish and pain away.
Click... click...
Tenko looked up when he heard a rhythmic sound. The crowd began to disperse and a stranger, a tall, very tall man dressed in a fancy suit walked up to him. Each step he took seemed to echo in the space around them. Although there were still people around them... Although other people were walking, too... Strangely enough, Tenko only heard his footsteps echoing in his ears. They were confident, strong, and steady strides. Just hearing the beats made him feel safe, like nothing could ever touch him again.
The man stopped a few feet away, and said (and Tenko would never forget these words), "No one came to save you. You must be in a lot of pain, Shimura Tenko. 'Heroes will come. Heroes will save you.' Everyone says that and no one comes to help you. Whose fault is it that society ended up this way? You did nothing wrong. And you will be fine because I am here."
The man's words were strong yet soft. His presence was oppressive yet comforting. And Tenko allowed himself to be taken into the man's strong arms and towards a safe haven.
AN: I decided to post this early since I owed you guys that much. Sorry if the names are confusing. Tenko is Shigaraki, and Tenki is his father. Tenki also means Weather in japanese. Aiba Manami is La Brava, and Aiko is Shimura-sensei. Sorry, even I get confused sometimes lol. But no more confusion now that they're dead right? ...okay okay don't hit me. I'm just joking.
Thanks for reading! Leave a review/fav/follow if you've enjoyed the story so far. See you next chapter!
