Chapter 1: Scatter the Ashes…
A/N: Alright, so this fic's… weird. There's a number of fics that make Shigaraki related to Deku in some way, and hell that may well be the way the main manga is going, but I've done something different. See, Shigaraki has a contact-based Quirk. Five-finger contact, specifically. Just like Ochaco. And Quirks are genetic, particularly their activation methods in the case of Emitters. Not only that, but Nana Shimura, Shigaraki's grandmother, can float. Just like Ochaco can. That's quite a few coincidences present that may be just that. But if they aren't? Well, that's what I'm exploring.
It had been a few days after Tenko's fifth birthday, and Nao Shimura had just taken him to the doctor's office to see whether or not he had a Quirk. Unfortunately, it seemed he did not, so on the drive back she'd been quietly consoling him, telling him everything would be alright. At least his father will be happier about this…
That night at dinner, Kotaro Shimura sprang the question on all their minds. "So, Tenko, what did the doctor say?"
"I-I don't have a Quirk, D-daddy…" Tenko said, holding back tears. "D-does that still mean I can be a h-hero?" he asked innocently, not noticing his father's suddenly darkened expression.
"Hero this, and hero that! I swear, every time it's always heroes with you, you BRAT!" Kotaro shouted, glaring at his son. "But luckily, there will be no more talk of heroics in this house. Without any Quirk at all, there's no hope for you."
"B-but why, Daddy!? I want to be a hero! L-like grandma! W-wasn't she a hero!?" Tenko blurted out.
"And look where that got her! She's dead now, couldn't face the strain of raising her own son!" Kotaro retorted. "No more!"
"B-but…" Tenko mumbled.
"NO! MORE! If I hear the word 'hero' ever again out of you, you are out of this house. Do. You. Understand?" Kotaro stared even harder.
"Y-yes, d-daddy…" With that, Tenko slumped back in his chair, not hungry at all anymore.
For the next month, Tenko made good on his promise, but his mother could see just how much it was hurting him to have his dream cast aside like a broken toy. And so, one night, she decided to try talking to her son. "Tenko? Can I come in?"
"O-OK, mommy…" he said quietly.
"Look, I know you want to be a hero," Nao said. "And daddy definitely doesn't like that. But between you and me, I think you can be a hero. Just remember to stay safe when you do, OK?"
"O-OK… Th-thanks, mommy…" he mumbled.
"Anytime, sweetie. Now be a good boy and go to sleep early, OK?" she said, tucking him in. Tenko nodded, but reached his hands out from under the blanket. "Alright, one last hug. Come here." Nao wrapped her arms around her son, and held him tight, but as she did so, she swore she felt an itch crawling up her back. It's probably nothing, she thought.
Unfortunately, over the next week, Tenko started scratching himself over and over, on his neck, his legs, his arms… if he could reach it, he would scratch it. When Hana brought it up to their parents, Nao was quick to administer some lotion, and told her son to put some on every day. Kotaro, meanwhile, didn't even acknowledge it. He did, however, call the doctor's office to ask whether their diagnosis had been wrong regarding Tenko's Quirk.
As it turned out, they had been wrong about Tenko's Quirk much to their, and Kotaro's, chagrin. But when they explained just what Tenko's Quirk was…
"Decay!?" Kotaro shouted. "Our son can… decay things!? What does it work on? And how!?"
The nurse ordered to break the news explained, "Well, our preliminary analysis indicates that anything, and we mean absolutely anything, can be turned to dust if your son places all five fingers on it."
"Does that include living beings?" Kotaro asked.
"We are not sure, but it would appear so," the nurse replied. "We have put in an order for special gloves that will allow your son to grab objects normally, but those will take time. In the meantime, I'd suggest telling your son to always leave off his pinky when grabbing objects."
"I see…" Kotaro said. "Thank you for telling me."
"Thank you for informing us of our mishap, Mr. Shimura." The nurse said. "It will not happen again."
"I sincerely hope it doesn't," Kotaro said, hanging up. Nao looked at him.
"So, what did the doctor say?" she asked.
"Our son can turn anything he touches with all five fingers to dust," he noted gravely. "This may or may not include people."
"Th-that's…" she trailed off, horrified.
"Indeed. Make sure he does not use his Quirk at all unless heavily supervised," he ordered, face stern. "I will not let our son destroy us, even if he doesn't intend to."
However, Tenko himself hadn't really been paying attention when he'd found out he'd had a Quirk. "I-I can be a hero!" he exclaimed. "Mommy! Mommy! I can be a hero!" he ran up to his mother, attempting to reach for a hug, but Nao, still shaken at what his Quirk could do, stepped back. "Mommy?"
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but please be very careful," she said slowly. "Mommy might go away if you hug her," she added, leaving her son very confused.
"W-why, mommy?" Tenko asked. "Is it why I'm itchy all the time?"
She nodded. "If all five of your fingers touch something… it'll go poof and disappear."
"B-but I don't want you to go poof!" Tenko shouted. "But I want to hug you too!"
"A-and you can!" Nao said quickly. "Just, remember to leave your pinkies out."
"L-like a pinky promise?" Tenko asked.
"Just like a pinky promise," Nao replied. "Come here." With that, she kneeled down, and brought her son in for a hug. Tenko wrapped his arms around his mother carefully, making sure to leave his pinkies out. When he realized she wasn't disappearing, he beamed.
"Y-you're not going away!" he said.
"It's just like I said, sweetie," she smiled, then put out her pinky. "Make a pinkie promise, and everything will be OK."
"So can I be a hero with this?" he asked.
"Of course, you can! But be careful, OK?" she said.
Tenko nodded. "I will, mommy! I'll be the best hero I can be!"
"I'm sure you will," she laughed. With that, Tenko ran outside, and Nao relaxed. He might prove his father wrong yet…
However, Nao was to be very wrong that day, as not even 10 minutes later, she heard shouting from the living room. Racing out from Tenko's bedroom, she couldn't believe what she saw: her husband standing above her son, eyes burning with rage, and a belt in hand.
She watched in horror as her husband prepared to strike their son. And for what? All because he wanted to be a hero? And so, she did the only thing she saw was right: Protect. Because Nao Shimura, nee Uraraka, was done letting others walk over her. And if her son wanted to be a hero? Well, she'd be damned if she didn't let him. Bringing her hands together, she roared, "GET AWAY FROM MY SON!"
Suddenly an unseen force burst forth from Nao's hands, knocking her husband flat on his feet. The belt flew into the wall and dropped to the ground with a clunk. But Nao Shimura wasn't done. "I have had ENOUGH of you trampling all over your family with some ill begotten grudge against heroes. You dare attempt to strike your son? All because he wanted to be something you never were?" she stared directly at Kotaro, eyes boring straight through his soul. "You're no father. And certainly not a husband. You're barely even a man. But I'm giving you one chance to be a hero. But to do that, you'll need to LEAVE."
Kotaro gulped. "I-I'm sorry! I-I wasn't thinking, and I let my grudge get the better of me… I'll… I'll do anything! J-just let my son be a hero!"
"Oh, he will." Nao said. "But he'll be doing it far away from you. Tenko, Hana, grab your things. We're not coming back."
The two children raced to pack up everything, before running out the door and into their mother's somewhat beat-up old sedan. Nao took one last look at the broken, lonely man who was her husband. And then she slammed the door on his face.
A/N: Well, that's one way to start a fic. But as a kid with divorced parents, I can say that sometimes, it happens like that. It's certainly how my parents separated, and I imagine how several others' parents did too when they got divorced. However, we're off to meet the Urarakas now. So that'll be a lot more upbeat (probably) than, well, this.
Also, Quirk Profile time! (Read in Present Mic's voice if you want, I know I do)
Nao Shimura, Quirk: Repulsion!
When she brings the tips of her fingers together, whatever she's looking at is thrown backwards up to 5 meters! The distance traveled depends on the weight of whatever she's pushing and how long she holds her fingers together.