AN: I don't own My hero academia

Try to keep up

"For the last time. Forget about it!" The man yelled at him the hundredth time. He always said that never letting him have any form of say. Or any form of freedom. His future has already been planned to a degree. It just wasn't a future he wanted. Not like he had much of a choice given the current circumstances. "You're already 10 and don't even have a quirk. So just give it up already."

"You wouldn't let me even if I did!" The young boy yelled back in rage. He knew it to be true. Even if his quirk did appear on time this man. His father would give him every excuse in the book not to become a hero. When that fails, he had forced him. No matter what.

"Why do you hate heroes so much?"

The man then loomed over the small boy stating his dominance. His finger aggressively wagged at the boy's face threatening to poke his eye out. "Because there's nothing but selfless and self-sacrificing that would throw their family away just to save some stranger. They're heartless."

Foolishly the child bit back referencing a fact he swore he'd never say. "You're only saying that because of grandma." Years ago, he found a picture of his grandmother with his sister. It was hidden in their father's office. A place they were forbidden to go, but it was worth it. All to see the smiling face of his grandmother in full hero costume. She was beautiful, and she didn't seem like she was the type of person to abandon their child without reason. The latter they found from her was proof enough. Someone was after her, and she wanted to protect her child like a hero. That meant nothing to his father

His eyes grow dark. "How did you know that?" He hissed bitterly trying and failing to contain his rage. It was at that moment Tenko knew he made a mistake, and he was going to pay for it. "You went inside my office didn't you. You little brat." Without mercy, the man violently gripped the child's dark locks.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The child begged as they tried to pull the hand off their hair. It only worsened the pain. "Stop it. It hurts. It hurts." His cries meant nothing to the man. The rest of the family watched in horror as the boy was dragged away.

Alone in the garden, he held his only source of comfort. A little dog that licked away his tears and pain. He loved that dog. But then the dog disappeared. Nothing left but blood and ash on his small hands

There's a villain

His sister soon came to see how he was doing. Her face twisted to horror once she saw the bloody remains of their dog. She ran away. He tried to reach for her. She disappeared.

It had to have been a villain

His mother came next crying his name. She held him tight. She didn't last a second. Neither did his grandparents. All faded to ash. Even his father who he willingly grabbed. Laughing happily as he crumbled to nothing. His hair turned to a light shade of blue.

Everyone was disappeared.

It was all a villain's fault

No

I was the villain.

Everyone disappeared because of me. By my own hands. That's why after no one ever came to save me. Because I was a villain that could make them all disappear.

"Tenko!"

"AH!" Young Tenko shot up like a cat drenched in water. His head crashed with the smaller boy on top of him. They both groaned from the pain. "Izuku? What are you doing?" He asked while rubbing his forehead.

Rubbing his forehead, Izuku let out a whipper, "You were crying. Did you have a nightmare?" He then pounced on the other child holding him close to his chest with a cuddle. "It's ok. The nightmare is gone now."

Before Tenko could wrap his arms around the boy, he stopped the second he saw his bare hands. He froze for a second before pushing the boy carefully in reflection. "You shouldn't touch me without my gloves," he scolded while searching for said gloves. He got a new pair of dark blue almost fingerless gloves from Arata with a hollowed-out palm. There was a couple of black details that made it looked cool in the child's eyes. Kind of a punk style. It was a happy surprise. He didn't think the man was serious when he said he would get him a new pair of gloves. Yet there they were. A perfect fit of his pale hands.

Izuku frown at the refection and tried to crawl a little closer despite it. "it's ok I'll be really careful," he promised but Tenko didn't budge. Even with his new gloves on the child continued to push the distance further, not allowing the other to come closer. Izuku's frown deepened. He just wanted to make the other boy feel better. Then he got an idea. "You want to come up with me to the mountains. I made sandwiches for big brother and Arata sensei," he asked pushing forward a basket filled with neatly done sandwiches. Perfectly cut in half showing off a colourful cross-section with fruits, vegetables and some even a whole half an egg. They were something simple his father taught him using leftovers, but it was a little hard to make them look this pretty with a plastic knife. So, he used a very small real one…don't tell his father that. He would go ballistic. Luckily, any evidence of the crime was easily cleaned up and he didn't get hurt.

Tenko arched an eyebrow while stealing one of the sandwiches. He just woke up and he was hungry ok. It wasn't like Izuku would stop in any way. "Why are they up in the mountains," he mumbled with each chew. It was surprisingly good. The boy didn't know if this 7-year-old was just that good or the high-quality ingredients helped. Maybe both. Still better than any convenience store stuff he either had to steal to survive or some kind soul gave to him out of pity. Either way, he was stealing another one.

"Training," Izuku answered simply. He wondered what his sensei and brother are doing right now.

"Gah!" Touya screamed as he just barely missed the tree branch that was about to slap in his face. He couldn't even see it coming. Not when it was half bent over, and it was out of his line of view. Ready to tip him. But he's getting used to his so-called teacher's teachings. While his father was strict, firm and by the book. Arata, once the basics were down, was a lot trickier. If the dodging lesson by the lake turned swimming lesson was anything to go by. The boy thought the man was crazy before, and he wasn't wrong. There was always this sense of unpredictability that forced Touya to be always on his toes. Just in case the man decided to through a curve ball at him. Both figuratively and literally. The branch was one such curveball. "Ha! Missed me." The second he said that a shower of pinecones suddenly rained down on him. The sock made the boy lose his footing forcing him off the branch he was standing on.

On top of a higher branch on another tree, Arata sat smugly while seated down cross-legged. "Spoke too soon."

No. It was him that spoke too soon. Before Touya completely fell, he attempted to claw his nails in place. With a little upper body strength, he unceremoniously hoisted himself back to where he was. The boy was hugging the branch for dear life, but he was still up. He wasn't going to fall and have himself humiliated. Again. For the not even going to say a number because it was too embarrassing for him.

It started harmless enough. 'Hey, Touya. Your sword skills are doing well, so how about we do some manoeuvre exercises. Without your quirk of course. Some good old fashion parkour. I'll show you some moves then you'll chaste me.' The boy thought that sounded so cool. He seen stuns like those through video clips and thought it was easy. It was not. Especially in a forest where birds could fly out of nowhere. The branch you're no can't support your weight. And all other wondrously annoying surprises hidden in the leaves. Like that spider that said hello to his face. What was even worst? He can't use his quirk for any of it. The boy could easily move from branch to breach and keep up with the other with the simple propulsion trick his father had been teaching him. However, if he did, he would be punished. Arata enforced the no quirk rule by forcing the boy to do back-breaking exercises. Like so swings times 100 or a lap around the forest. The whole forest. At least he was getting a full-body workout.

Steadily, Touya climbed back onto the branch. In no time at all, he confidently stood his ground ready to begin the chase again.

It made Arata grin from ear to ear. "you're getting better at this. And to think you could barely climb a tree last month."

"This isn't that hard." Touya lied through his teeth. In reality, his muscles were screaming to stop. With sores on sores. A splitter here and there. Not to mention his burns acting up with irritation. It will all be worth it in the end he told himself. He just needed to catch this second-rate hero. "I can do this all day."

"Is that so? Well, I suppose it's time to up the ante." That did not bode well. Any semblance of a smile instantly dropped from Touya's face. He knew what came next and it was al was a nightmare to deal with. Arata's eyes grew a mischievous gleam. They scanned around the area, contemplating what to do. Soon they homed in on the perfect pair to help him out with these little training exercises. "With a plot twist," he announced all too happy with a clap.

The second the teacher said that he leaned backwards from his sitting branch and dived into the darkness below. Touya carefully lean out to see where the man left but couldn't see much. They were too high and deep into the green canopy to see the bottom. He wondered what it would be this time and hoped it wasn't a snake. Then there was a sudden breeze as something weight was forced into his arms. On instinct, he grabbed hold of it, curling his arm's tightly around the thing. He then glared up at the teacher now back on his high branch.

The man had his back turn to him, but the boy could already see that smug smile he always wore. Dramatically, he twirled around. "It would seem the little hero as ran into some trouble as the villain he was chasing as kidnapped his adorable baby brother," Arata bellowed in a theatrical villain tone.

"Hi, Touya" Izuku greeted happily while holding up a small basket. "I brought sandwiches."

Arata then continued his villainous plot. "The hero must do his best to catch up to the villain and save his little brother. But it won't be easy." His grin grew more as he eyed the little hero's other problem. "After all he has another civilian, he needs to take care of."

Confused, Tenko shook his head frantically. He was being held bridal style in Touya's arms. How he got there was a mystery to him. One second, he was talking to Izuku. The next he was up here.

"Try and keep up won't you, little hero," the teacher taunted. He bent his knees swivelled forward and leapt to the next branch. All the while Izuku was laughing his arms completely oblivious or more so uncaring of the whole situation. Quite the opposite. He was having so much fun feeling the wind his curls while his teacher jumped from branch to branch. It was like an amusement ride. At least he liked to imagine it as such. His father never took him to one. He said he was too small, and the rides would be too scary for him.

Meanwhile, Touya wasn't having nearly as much of a good time. He gritted his teeth in anger and hissed, "damn he's been holding back this whole time." It was very noticeable that the teacher was a lot faster than he was in previous sessions. It annoyed him to no end knowing the man held himself back just so he had a minuscule chance to keep up. In a suit no less. Moving around like this in that type of outfit can't be easy. Why did they wear suits so often? They looked completely out of place jumping like a jungle man in the trees. "Well, guess I don't have a choice."

Tenko flinched, still a little confused about what was going on. The sudden shift of movement didn't help either. Not when he was forced into the bigger boy's chest. Something about this closeness made him feel a little hot under the collar. It made his pale skin easily turn red.

Not that Touya noticed as he bent his knees. "Hold on tight to me, Tenko." Not like the other boy had a choice.

And so, the chase began.

Arata was up ahead with a giddily little Izuku. Every time the child saw his older brother catch slowly catch up to them, he'd happily waved hello. This was a detriment since it was a good indication for Arata to go faster. His leaps almost looked superhuman but it was all about direction. Find the closest branch that looks stable and go for it. Hesitation at this speed and this height may be your downfall. Skill alone won't be enough. Instincts play a key role in these types of pursues.

Touya was slowly sharpening them. He may not be as fast as Arata yet, but he was getting the hang of these quick-change movements. When they first started, he was always hesitant and so always falling. It was embarrassing. Salt was further added when Arata would sit on an upper branch mocking him. His pride didn't let his fear take over. The thought of falling was nothing compared to the desire to wipe that smug face off his insane teacher's face. It didn't take him long to drop the fear altogether. Instinctively leaping from branch to branch. It was almost like flying. It was a little harder with his hand being compromised. His balance was a little off due to the extra weight. But like hell, he was going to allow that to slow him down.

All the while, Tenko held Touya closely. It was a little nervous seeing how high up they were, but Touya's tight grip calmed him. Every so often the taller boy would look down on him smiling. Silently, saying I promise I won't let you get hurt. He believed that. He didn't let that happen when they were running away from that creepy man from the alley. Even faced off against his very terrifying father told them they couldn't keep him. He trusted this boy. Soon his fears drowned as waves of excitement washed over. With the wind in his brittle hair. The quick-shifting of moments. Once the fear was gone the child couldn't help but laugh. He started to get bolder. Starching his arms out slightly to feel the leaves brush over his exposed skin. It tickled in a rough sense. They were their edges would poke at his skin.

Then it happened. The unthinkable. He lost one of his gloves. Caught on a branch too far away to see as the distance grew.

The child instantly panicked seeing his bare hand. "My glove. We have to turn back."

"No can do." Touya snapped back. Instead of going slower, he went faster. His eyes heated up with his target so close in his range. "I am so close to catching up to that smug asshole. We'll get you new gloves."

That didn't ease Tenko one bit. His naked hand itched at the wind. It felt so wrong. After having it clothed. Safely contained. It was so wrong not having anything to cover it. His panicked state in his mind started to glitch his vision. His hands flashed with red stains. They were dark and cold. "No please," He whispered. His lips quivered while his eyes bugged out. Scream drummed in his ears so hard it could pierce them. The smell of dusk in the air. It was suffocating. The stains. They grew bigger. Making his shin itch unbearably. "Let go!" He screamed with all his might while twisting his body.

The sudden opposing force shocked Touya as well. He wasn't prepared for the sudden change in direction. He missed placed his footing and dragged his back to the tree's trunk. This was a bad move. Tenko's hand was out wide ready. His five bare fingers were stretched out. What they touched was the bark of that tree. The second they met the tree turned to ash. Everything, the leaves, the twigs, even the branch they were standing on instantly turned to dusk.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" The two boys screamed as gravity took them hard.

Tenko was flapped around like a fish out of water. He didn't know what to do or where to hold. He just didn't want to touch anything with his bare hand. The fall to your death part was also a concern but not something he completely grasp yet.

Instincts, kicked in for Touya however was he swam his way to Tenko. Even when the other boy tried to push him away, but it was pointless. He held the other tightly and swivelled him in front of him. His back faced the ever so growing close ground. If anything would have collided first to the ground it would be him. Be closed his eyes and brace for impact.

Course the impact never came. A force warped around them. Hugging them like a feather's touch. Gently the two were brought safely to solid ground. Both could breathe a little easier now.

But first Touya has some words to say. "The hell man. Seriously you could have gotten us both killed," he yelled at Tenko curled in his arms. He couldn't be madder. Just when he was about to touch him this kid has a freaked out. All for some stupid glove. He was this close to pushing him in the face the only thing stopping him was the boy picked face. His eyes were buzzing out while his lids twitched. There was nothing but fear in those red orbs. Despite the fact, they were already safely on solid ground. "Hey. Are you ok?" Confused, Touya tried to reach out to the panicked child. "Tenko."

"Don't touch me!" He shrieked knocking the hand way with the back of his own. He then scurried backwards until his back hit the rough stump of a tree. He tried to push back but it was impossible. His little body was nothing compared to the strength of a rooted tree. All he managed to do was ding his heels deeper into the dirt the more he tried to push back. He wanted to escape. Be far away. The last thing he wanted was to hurt anyone else. "you'll disappear. Everything I touch. My whole family." His voice trembled and dripped with fear and regret. It was almost like he was begging. Pleasing his case to some sort of higher power. "I didn't want to I swear. It was an accident. I didn't mean to." He swore over and over. "I didn't know anything. I was supposed to be quirkless. I didn't."

Then Arata floated in with a worried Izuku in his arms. The second he dropped the child down he was ready to rush to his distressed friend. Arata stopped him before he did. In the background, Touya made some steps back. He stared up at the trees wondering what steps he took last. The trees were high and thick. He could barely see where he was. The only indicator was the hole in the canopy made by one of the many trees reduced to ash. He then glanced back at the panicked child. The way they shivered and gripped his own body. Touya bit his lip and disappeared into the woods.

Eventually, Arata took stepped forward. Izuku tried to follow, but Arata stopped the child once again. Quietly, telling the boy with his eyes that he will be handling this. Stay back for now. Reluctantly, Izuku obeyed and waited quietly on the side-lines. Step by step, Arata's steps crunched with the leaves.

Those steps getting closer and louder was all Tenko could hear. It was easy to tell. With each step, he tenses more. Once he saw the man's shoes in front of him the child had no choice but to look up. He was greeted by the man's smiling face. In a blink, the man bent down and embraced eh child tightly. Almost suffocating.

In packing the child smacked the man across the face with his gloved hand. The force was enough to make his head turn. It wasn't enough to make him stop smiling. Nor spotting him from coming closer. Without hesitation, the man held the child tightly. Letting his little head lean on the crook of his neck.

"No stop. Please. Not any closer." The child begged. He wanted to push the man away but was too scared to. A part of him didn't want to. He felt so warm. So comforting. He made him want to cry. He didn't want it to disappear. "Let go" he cried while weakly pulling back. "I don't want to."

Arata did the opposite and held the crying child tighter. "You won't," he assured, gently stroking the back of his neck in a calming fashion. "It will be fine. I would disappear." He pulled back to a moment. Never truly letting his arms fall from the boy. He gave them a reason to smile. "I see I'm still right here."

After that Tenko just cried. Eyes bursting with tear after tear while socking the man's fine suit. It didn't matter. All Arata wanted to do was hold him.

Izuku didn't like the sounds of his friend crying. His face scrunched up in determination as he hastily fished something in his pockets. Bandages he always carried around just in case. He trotted up to the other two. "Hand please." Tenko hesitated, but Arata forced his hand out with the force of his quirk. Then Izuku hurried wrapped up the hand to the similar style of the gloves. With a couple of more layers, Izuku smiled with satisfaction. "There is a makeshift glove. Now Tenko doesn't have to worry anymore. So please don't cry." Izuku asked politely while hugging the hand. He made extra sure it touched his face fully just so Tenko could see it wouldn't hurt him. It was ok now. He didn't need to be sacred. He hoped he would stop crying.

It only did the opposite effect. "Why are you all nice to me?" Tenko couldn't understand it. No one was ever this nice to him. Even his own family. While they cared none of them ever stopped his father. No one was there to stand up to him whenever his sharpened words slashed at him. Or the children that used to make fun of him for being 'quirkless'. Even on the streets he never met people so kind. They all turned in disgust because they knew just how much of a monster he was. Even some who gave him pity hand those eyes. None of them. These people only showed him genuine concern. It warmed him as well as stung him. It all because a little much. "I've done really bad things… why…" he whimpered. "Wahhhhhh!"

Arata, Held the crying child tighter. Gently, rocking him like a dressed baby. "It's ok little one."

"No. No it's not."

Arata's voice grew deeper. Softer. "Shhhh. Listen to my voice. It will be fine."

"But I hurt people." Images of his family flash in his mind. Their final moments would forever be a nightmare.

"And you can never undo that. It will be something you'll forever carry," Arata said truthfully. He already knew what the child had done. It was easy to piece together with the child's thoughts, quirk, and police reports. Accident or not many would label him a villain for his action. Despite the fact, it's not just villains that have blood on their hands. He knew that fact all too well. He was also not saying the child should forget about it. They may never forget. They were at least better than him in that regard. Forever remembering those he had wronged. "It must be hard little one but it's ok. While you can't go back you can move forward. I'm sure that's what some of them would have wanted."

Tenko clawed the man's shoulder. Move forward. How could he move forward with the cards life dealt him? The quirk he wished and waited for years to have only ended in disaster. He couldn't even say sorry for what he has done. He doesn't even know if he'll be forgiven. He could understand if he wasn't. If he was in their shoes he wouldn't either. Now with a second chance just his grasp he didn't want to ruin it. Then again has he even earned it? "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I hate my quirk."

"Shhhh you don't have to hurt anyone. You can use your quirk in other ways," Arata assured.

"Like what?"

That was when Izuku jumped into the conversation with his ideas. "You can help people escape by making your doors. Or you can get stuff out of the way. Demolition would be easy." The child excitedly listed all his ideas a mile a minute. The others could barely keep up with it let alone understand. Eventually, the child slowed down with his last very important point. "And if aliens come with evil robots, they won't stand a chance." The two looked at the child questionably. He has been washing too much science fiction. He frowned at their expressions and judgmental eyes. "It could happen." If quirks could be a thing, why not aliens.

At that point, Touya jumped down from the trees. He had a pout on his lips while he nervously sidestepped closer to the others. All while hiding something behind his back. Shyly he turned away and presented the item. "Here."

Tenko awed at the sight. It was his missing glove that caught on a breach. He carefully took the gloved back in disbelief. Feeling its leather-like texture in his bare skin, making sure it was real. He thought he'd lost it. Even he didn't know where he lost it and think of how to get it back. Then he looked back up at the taller boy. Eyes still filled with awe.

The look made Touya blush. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd freak out without it."

"Thank you," Tenko said politely while bringing the glove to his chest with a small smile before putting them on. He rather liked his gloves. They were some of the nicest gifts he ever received and made him feel safe. He then looked at the gift giver and his soft eyes cracked in shock. "You face," he said fearfully. A shaking head reach up but was too afraid to touch. "Did I do that?"

Throughout all the mayhem of the two boys falling. One of them having a breakdown. Arata didn't notice a piece of his mask cracked. It most likely happened when Tenko smacked his face but some of the foundation he used to cover his scars rubbed off. Revealing the horrid gash on his nose. In shock, Arata rubbed the edge of the scar. "It would appear you smeared some of my make-up. So don't worry about it," he assured by rubbing the rest of the makeup to reveal its full length. The child gasped but it was hard to tell if it was a good or bad type. Insanely, he grew embarrassed hiding under a cupped hand. "It's a little unsightly, I know. I hope it doesn't frighten you, kids, too much."

"You are kidding me. Have you seen my face?" Touya pointed to his scars. Mainly his purple under lids. "I have permanent black eyes. Like I haven't slept in days. Totally lame."

While the others took on a giggling response, Tenko widdled with his fingers. His cheeks lit pink. "I think it's cool." He whispered again the attention of the two scared face males. His pink cheeks grew red under their curious gaze. "You both do."

"Yeah, really cool," Izuku happily agreed and flung his own scarred arms up in the air.

"Thanks, I guess." Touya repaired sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Arata smothered the red-eyed child. "Ohh goody. I don't scare you." Affectionately, he rubbed their cheeks together.

Tenko went even redder at the affection. That was until he heard something in his head: I'm glad. I have many more. The sudden voice surprised him. A gentle touch nudged his head down. Soon he spotted the man's arms. His sleeves were partly scrunched up showing off more gashes under his wrist. Usually hidden away with long sleeves. He stared up at the man who smiled at him kindly.

"It will be ok I promise." He swore to the child while stroking back their hair. "So, smile for me. Won't you."

AN: Well…this was interesting. Anyway, while this can never match up to how the original did it, Tenko's backstory is more or less the same. Only difference is timing. Instead of the quirk activate when he was five it activated later at 10. Reasoning for why other than plot convince will be another event. So Tenko has spend 4 ish years on the street surviving on garbage, random acts of kindness and the occasional stealing.

And that's all for this week. Next time just more fun times in the Todoroki family. More minus this one little thing.