Oh my god guys thank you so much for the positive response I really started crying when I saw it.

Unfortunately, I've been having some trouble with the third chapter so I'm not sure when it'll be posted but I'll get it out as soon as possible

chapter 2: comfort and adjustments

Tenko stared around the lady's house cautiously. It had been a few days since he was last warm, and he was thankful she stopped to help him.

Familiar rage boiled inside him as he remembered the people that passed him on the streets, of how most merely spared fleeting glances before continuing on their way. He was less than mud to them. No...at least people were disgusted by mud. They couldn't even be bothered to show pity.

An old lady that reminded him painful of his grandmother had approached him on the street the day before the other lady did; asking if he was alright and where his parents were. But when he went to ask for help, she turned away and didn't look back.

Nobody ever looked back.

Every single one, he remembered, had just muttered or made a passing comment—"The Heroes will sort him out, there's no need to worry."

"Don't bother, darling, the Heroes will be here soon to collect him."

"That poor boy… Someone ought to contact the Heroes."

"I wonder where his parents are? Ah, no matter, I'm late and I'm sure the Heroes will arrive shortly."

Heroes Heroes Heroes

Heroes

It's all their fault, Tenko thought darkly with his eyes downcast to study his trembling, scraped hands. The debris from the yard had pierced his skin and left him bleeding, but he couldn't be bothered to care because his panicked thoughts pushed through the stinging and all he could think was how the Heroes were to blame. Father was right to hate them.

"Kid, are you...okay?" the lady asked. Tenko whipped his head up on instinct at the sudden voice, and was surprised to see how concerned she looked. Worry pinched her brow and made her frown, and in her hand she held a fluffy pale mint-green towel that matched her eyes. Tenko had thought how odd her eyes were when he first saw her—why were her pupils white?—but it didn't last long as all he could think was that she would just walk away like everyone else and tell him how the Heroes would help them like they always would-

"...Yes," Tenko said, but it was stilted and sounded more like a question.

The lady crouched down in front of him much like she did when she found him, and she wrapped the towel she had around his shoulders, rubbing it against his forearms to try and get him warm and dry.

"You've been out there for days, haven't you?" she muttered, but it was more to herself than him. "It's gonna take some good scrubbing to get this dirt and blood off…"

Tenko stiffened. Even at the tender age of six, he knew blood was frowned upon.

His thoughts went back to that day in preschool, where he arrived with some blood on the collar of his shirt.

Dad was drunk that morning, and Mama hadn't been happy about that. She had tried to take the bottle from him when he got louder, but he threw it at the wall and it shattered. Mama still couldn't get the stains out. Some glass came flying and cut the skin on his neck enough to bleed, but only sting. His parents and sister and grandparents didn't notice when he was dropped off at school, but his teacher panicked and called the principal.

When he got home Dad was furious.

Nothing was done about it.

But...this lady—she didn't seem fazed at the sight of it, and only tried to rub off some of the dirt lingering on his exposed and sodden skin.

Tenko felt a shiver wrack him when she pulled away, and longed for body heat. Hands on her hips and a considering frown on her face, she studied Tenko closely like she was trying to decide what to do with him.

"Tell you what, Tenko," she started after a moment of silence, "You obviously don't have anywhere to go and I sure as heck am not going to just throw you back on the street. I don't think anyone would take you either, the way you are now… You can stay with me, if you're up for it." She smiled at him, but it lacked happiness or mirth.

Eyes wide and mouth gaping, Tenko couldn't help but ask, "Bu- but, why?" He recoiled at the sound of his own voice; when was the last time he ate? He can't remember, and he had been wandering the streets for days with nothing but the clothes on his back. His eyes darkened at the reminder of the people passing him without a care.

"It was obvious no one else was going to help, seeing as you've been out there so long and you're so thin," she murmured. A scowl formed and she looked away to the far wall, muttering something he couldn't understand but it sounded angry. Shaking her head, she looked back down at him and said, "Anyways, let's get you cleaned up and then we'll eat, 'kay?" She grinned and ruffled his hair, then set her hand back on his shoulder again to lead him to what he assumed was the bathroom.

"You're old enough to bathe on your own, I assume, but leave the door unlocked and give a knock if something happens," she said gently, then closed the door behind him.

..

Julie was worried about the kid.

How could she not be, after what he looked like? Covered in blood days old, skin an ashen color not even someone with Quirk would be healthy, and so malnourished he could hardly walk in a straight line. But she wasn't just worried—she was pissed too.

In the years she's been living in Japan, she's noticed how different people are to Quirks and society. People were so dependent upon Heroes to solve all their problems, and she reckoned the police were too. Granted, All Might, the world-renowned Pro-Hero originated from Japan and is the most well-known person other than Jesus, but she saw how everyone reacted to the man's name.

She had, of course, figured laws and opinions would change on the other side of the world, but it was sick how ballant it was. Julie's passed by some of the schools in the area enough to see bullying, and from the taunting it was clear the victims weren't always powerful Quirk-wise. She always tried to stop it whenever she could or notify a teacher, but it was horrible how often she was brushed off or asked what her own Quirk was. Julie was no fool—she knew her Quirk was only good for the dark, but those kids were human, and it shouldn't matter what Quirk they have or if the Heroes will drop by just to stop something as mundane as a kid getting pushed in the mud or a lost child.

She had been to protests about it with a few of her friends, but the rallies were always cut short when word got to the Heroes and they felt insulting enough to send the police to handle them. Weak-Quirked individuals weren't even worth their time, much less their reassurance. People like her were always brushed aside, and she knew this for fact because of the students who get into the Hero Course at U.A. High. It pissed her off to no end.

But no matter- maybe this kid could help her out in that department. It seemed he shared many of her opinions in that department, and he could do with a good home.

..

Julie finished setting out the teriyaki salmon and fried vegetables just as a clatter came from the bathroom. A thump followed, then a muffled scream.

Panic washed over her, and she immediately abandoned the dinner she was cooking to check on Tenko, barging through the door and ignoring how it banged loudly into the wall as the hinges screeched. She didn't know what she expected, but it wasn't this.

Tenko stood in the middle of the bathroom sobbing with the palms of his eyes pressed hard to his eyes wrapped in the towel she gave him earlier, and dust coating the floor around him. The counter housing the sink was half-destroyed with some debris scattered around it, markings on the wall from what looked like an explosion, and water from the busted sink pipe spraying into the air to rain down on Tenko.

"Fucking shit-" Julie cursed in English, and rushed over to the boy. It was a habit she picked up, but at least he didn't know what she was saying. "What the hell happened?" she called over the sound of Tenko's crying, and at the sound of her voice he whipped his head around to look at her in frantic panic.

"I- I'm sorry—I did- didn't mean- I didn't mean to!" he managed to croak out in that same hoarse voice, before breaking into more sobs. Tenko pulled his hands away from his face only to wrap them around himself tightly and curl up on himself. Unfortunately, whatever was happening happened to the towel still wrapped around him, and now Julie was left with a destroyed bathroom, a crying traumatized starving child that could apparently dust things, and a cold dinner.

What a fucking day.

..

Hours later, Tenko sat curled up in the living room with an oversized neon-orange hoodie and a pair of oven mitts on his hands. Amidst the chaos from after he cleaned up, the lady figured out his Quirk caused destruction to whatever he touched, and tried putting gloves on him to see if that would work.

Miraculously, they did, and now she was making something else in the rather small kitchen.

The smell of rice wafted towards him, and Tenko's stomach rumbled with hunger that was more of an ache than anything, but he didn't dare hope that any of it was for him. His parents and grandparents always ate first back home, while he and his sister were served last. And after what happened… Well, he didn't expect the lady to keep him around for long. Minutes later, the lady emerged from the kitchen, padding towards him across the carpet. The carpet muffled her steps, so the only warning he got was the smell of rice before she was sitting cross-legged before him, holding a bowl of rice with chopsticks and a glass of water.

Tenko's eyes were drawn to the bowl, but he didn't dare move. His mouth wasn't as dry as it was before - he drank some of the shower water—he had no idea when he'd next get any fluids - but he still didn't have enough saliva in his mouth to salivate.

The lady studied him closely just as he studied her, but he couldn't make out the look on her face.

Her skin was a dark chocolate color, and a splattering of golden freckles rested on her nose and face. What was odd was that the freckles seemed to be glowing just like her eyes in the dim lighting. Her eyes matched the color of the towel, but her pupils were completely white. Tenko would've been more unsettled by her eyes if his grandpa's didn't look the same, though his eyes had been a darker shade of green. His gaze was drawn to her bright blue hair.

It contrasted with the yellow shirt she was wearing, but she somehow managed to pull it off. She certainly was colorful—a lot more than himself.

"What's your Quirk called?" The noise was so sudden in the quiet it jolted Tenko, and he blinked slowly at her as she set the glass and bowl in front of her.

"W- what?" Tenko asked, unsure of himself.

Her head tilted, and his eyes were drawn back to her hair. "Your Quirk. What's it called?" she asked again, but he noticed it was quieter.

"I- I haven't ruh- really thought of a name," Tenko stuttered out eventually, and, how could he? His Quirk manifested three days ago at a much later stage than everyone else in his class. His only thoughts regarding his Quirk was what he had done...who he had killed.

The focused look of her eyes was almost unsettling. He paused, and thought about what his Quirk exactly does. It was one of those five-point Quirks he had read about in one of the Hero magazines, and everything he's touched so far has been turned to dust and ash. He remembers the look on his family's faces as they died; how they rotted away before his eyes, and were gone in only a moment. His backyard had been reduced to nothing in the short time it takes to walk the width of his yard. The look on Dad's face as he saw what his son had done… There had been so much fear in his eyes, and Tenko had relished the feeling as he jumped at his tormentor, feeling Dad crumple beneath his hands as a shriek ripped from him. He had killed his own father, and he didn't regret it.

Tenko shuddered violently, feeling tears prick at his eyes, but he didn't bother brushing them away.

He was a monster.

"Discord," he finally whispered. He looked up, eyes meeting hers, and he saw the sorrow in them.

The lady hummed deep in her chest, then shook her head and pushed the bowl of rice over to him.

"Eat," was all she said at the incredulous look he gave her. A little smile tugged at the corner of her lips as he slowly took the bowl and chopsticks. "You need your strength, but remember to eat slow. You'll throw it back up on an empty stomach."

Tenko, despite the great desire to inhale it, did as he was told and ate the rice as slow as he could manage without shoving his face into the bowl. He took a sip of the water she handed him, and he was glad to be wearing oven mitts with finger grooves, and the lady only sat back when everything was finished and Tenko was feeling a little less hollow.

"Well now it's settled," she said as he set the empty dishes down. "You're staying, kid!" He didn't even have the time to gape as she smiled warmly at him, like he wasn't a freak of nature; wasn't a monster. "Welcome home, Tenko."