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Fifteen Years Ago
The Shimura household was a harsh environment for a boy like Tenko. A family that was supposed to be functional and happy was soured due to the father's hang ups over his own mother. A father that never knew his mother and resented her for the neglect he experienced. Tenko would be punished often for even having games with his school friends that were just them playing superheroes.
Things like this made the father think he needed to punish his son by locking him outdoors or with physical violence. It was his intention to push his son away from something that he thought would hurt his family; all it did was make the boy resent the man who delivered all this unfair hatred of his grandmother his father had on the boy.
His other family members were rather normal. His mother was a kind woman, but was powerless against the patriarch of the household. She knew the child was kind and even did her best to mend her son's broken spirit.
The sister was always considerate of her younger brother, yet was still a child herself. A child that wanted to help her brother feel better.
One day, while their father was at work, the siblings found themselves in their father's study. The sister knew of a photo their father had of their grandmother. She worked the drawer open and revealed their father as a child next to a woman who was smiling while she was hugging the cheerful boy. It was an inspiring thing to see that his grandma was a hero. His sister saw the misery melt away from her brother for a little bit at the sight of their family history.
A short lived moment that led into a great tragedy. A tragedy born out of a set of unfortunate circumstances and parental failure.
When the father looked at his study later that day, he saw that his desk was tampered with. Inside of the drawer he kept locked was clear evidence that things were moved around. A rage built up at the idea his son thought the woman who hurt him was a good person. He stormed through the house and sought out his son playing in the backyard with the family dog. Towering over the scared child he demanded to know if his son tampered with the photo. Looking to the rest of his family for help, all he heard was his sister deflecting the fault onto her brother. A deep feeling of betrayal was all he could feel before the worst beating his father ever delivered took place.
A stupid mistake born out of personal grievance.
Later that evening, the drawer that possessed the photo was further investigated to reveal a letter his mother wrote to him before she died. Her final wishes were those of wanting to mend the resentment she knew her son possessed of the woman for how she left him out of the blue when he was just a little boy. She accepted her son's hatred and only wished for him to live happily.
Guilt over his misunderstanding was making him sick. It would have been easier had she just hated him, like he thought she did. The rest of the family was clearly upset over the incident and were not going to stand for the abuse anymore. He had nothing to say against their judgment. Too little, too late; he now realized he was even worse than the person he thought his mother was. This was all his fault and he was powerless in the face of all the damage he's done that he wanted to fix.
Outside in the corner of the backyard that Tenko curled up in everytime he was kicked out, the boy was sobbing while hugging the family dog while cursing everyone who just stood by to watch him be punished. He wanted everyone to just disappear.
A poor choice of words.
The dog suddenly felt like it was melting in his arms. It took a moment for him to realize that the dog was now just lying in a puddle of its blood. He didn't know what to say or do. He loved the dog and it was such a confusing set of circumstances. With all the bad timing of the world, his sister was coming out to apologize for her terrible lie. She too saw the bloodied remains of the family pet and panicked as her brother was terrified beyond belief. He wanted her to help him, but seeing her run made him panic as well.
Lunging for the girl, his recently manifested powers were now out of control. Even just touching her clothes caused the cracks to travel up the dress and dissolve his sister into a pile of liquid flesh. Another tragedy the boy regretted and failed to understand. He heard her apology as she approached. It was enough to make him vomit.
All the others were now wondering what the noise was. What they heard was the final screams of the daughter crying for help before she died. Seeing the mother and grandparents come out made him scared. He wanted help, but his powers cracked the earth and traveled to the family who did nothing but love him. His mother dove for her son as she was falling into pieces with nothing but Tenko's safety in her mind. She died before she could hold her son for one last time. Tenko broke as a human being then and there. This was his personal hell.
Now the father was on his way out to see where his son was. There had been a ruckus and it made him curious about the source of the noise. In the backyard was his son, weeping and scared over what was happening. Puddles of blood surrounded him as he begged his father for forgiveness.
Another wave of dissolving earth caused the both of them to stumble on the uneven footing. As Tenko reached for his father, the man reacted out of fear an struck his boy with a tree trimmer. Tenko was reminded of the abuse and how his father was essentially responsible for all his pain. Even as the man begged, Tenko leapt out and grasped the man by his face to destroy both him and the home he provided his family with until now. All of it was gone. A sense of relief that was nothing more than a child confused about his misfortune washed over the boy. Nothing mattered to him anymore.
Days Later
The boy was wandering the streets with no destination in mind. He ran from the crime scene and was now walking around the city aimlessly. His feet were bruised and cut for walking nonstop. Without proper food and drinking water left an emaciated face with hollowed eyes. His hands were still stained with dried blood from when he…
He was struggling to ask for help. Not a single person spared the boy any help after what they saw in the child. Eyes that were now twisted with misery and guilt that no person should have to endure. An elderly woman even turned the boy away and just thought a hero would save the boy. A city full of people, and the expectations of the responsibility good people took upon themselves was absent. Nobody helped him as he was drowning in his own body.
All he wanted was one person to help him.
Passing a back street, Tenko was wandering across the part of the sidewalk that ramped up into the alleyway when a large vehicle suddenly screeched to a halt as it almost hit Tenko in the face. The boy didn't react to the near death experience with how dazed he was without proper care for days on end. Only the thought of how strange the vehicle looked for Japanese cars was all that went through the boy's head.
Someone exited the large van and rounded the driver side door on the left side of the vehicle to check to see who it was they almost hit. A man with white hair and a beard leapt down from his driver's seat to see what was wrong.
"Kid? Kid, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
A Few Minutes Earlier
Haru was loading several bags of high quality rice into his new food truck that was renovated from an old Volkswagen bus he had built to his specification. There was another man helping him load in the last of the bags before Nakamura was going to take off. The lower compartments were locked shut with a handshake completing the transaction.
"Thanks again for the business. I'm still setting up suppliers and it's been a bit of a nightmare. Thank you for being willing to do business with me. I don't know what I would have done without your help."
"Ha! Don't mention it! Just look forward to future business if you'll have me."
They bowed and said their goodbyes. Nakamura got into the driver's seat and started up the engine to make his way to the next spot he planned to be for his business later in the evening. He was exiting the back roads he drove through to get to the loading area for the grains distributor while pulling up his phone to check for time and location.
He was just looking back up when someone cut his exit off without looking to their right. From their height and body mass, it was a child. Haru hit the brakes and just barely stopped short of hitting the child in the face with his front end bumper.
Without a second thought, he got out of his van and rushed to check on the child. Approaching them he asked them if they were okay.
"Kid? Kid, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
There was no response for a few moments. Kneeling down to the boy's eye level, Haru asked the boy again to get their attention. Already, he could tell that this kid had been wandering around aimlessly for some time and was probably out of it.
"Are you okay?"
Turning to the man, Tenko was still too fearful of what this adult would do if he asked for help. Looking into their eyes would surely make him want to leave him alone for some hero who would never come to save the child. Days of the same bullshit was enough evidence for Tenko to not expect any better.
Rather than the hesitation and reluctance Tenko saw when people passed him by, there was genuine concern and heartbreak for the boy's condition. It threw him off a little as the man didn't pull away or brush him off.
"Hey, it's okay. My name is Haru and I can help you. Can I help you?"
Hearing the man's question wasn't like he was asking out of politeness. He was asking the boy if he would allow the man to help him. A kindness that was far more than what he was expecting after wandering for days. Trying to get a sound out of his voice was difficult with how sore and dry it was. Struggling with all his might, Tenko finally spoke for the first time in days.
"P… Ple-"
Right then, he passed out from malnutrition and exhaustion. Catching the boy before they hurt themself, Haru tried to check if the child was responsive. No reaction. He was still breathing, so it was likely he just passed out.
Seeing this as an emergency, Haru got to work to stabilize the child immediately. Whoever this boy was, he needed his help.
Later
Nothing but black was visible all around Tenko. Floating in this space was oddly comforting. He couldn't even remember why he was here in the first place, but he didn't care for that sort of information. All that mattered was he was finally able to relax.
Gravity then took effect again on the boy with white hair where there was black previously. Lying on his back on some sort of bedding, Tenko slowly opened his sore eyes to see something that looked like the roof of a bus. Daylight was probably around early noontime when he awoke from his slumber. Trying to sit up was a bit of a chore with how weak he felt from head to toe. Taking in the surroundings, he was in some sort of cot that was folded out in the middle of what looked to be a kitchen built into the bus. Attached to his arm was a clear tube with something going to a clear plastic bag hanging off to the side of his bedding.
After getting his bearings, he stood up shakily on the bed and looked outside of the window. From what he could tell, there was a lot of ocean to the right of the vehicle with trees to the left that stretched onwards to more mountain forests. Near the cliff was someone Tenko didn't recognize. It was a man with hair like his, except that the stranger's hair was more of a clean white in comparison.
They were on the phone. It was faint, but some words could be heard through the opened back door of the bus. Whatever he was talking about or who he was talking to, it sounded serious.
"Mhm… I got it… Put the warrant on ice. I don't want a manhunt for a five year old kid wasting money… Did I fucking stutter?... Then shut the fuck up and do it, you dumb fuck."
He hung up with some frustration. The man then started smoking and looking out to the ocean. For some reason, Tenko could only look at the back of the man's head as he tried to get his bearings on who this was. After sleeping for however long he did, the boy felt much better. It was likely due to this man saving him from the streets. Watching the man smoke, Tenko felt something about the man that was leaving the child for a loss of words. For a moment, he forgot about the tragedy that made him wander the streets of Japan in the first place.
When the cigarette was snuffed out and the man returned, Tenko was a little on guard with the stranger. Approaching the back, Haru smiled to see the boy had indeed woken up from his slumber and seemed to be responsive as well. That look in his eyes was still prevalent, but that didn't bother the food truck owner in the slightest.
"Welcome back. You've been out for two days. I was almost worried I needed to operate on you."
A small startled look made Haru chuckle a little to help the boy understand that he was just joking. Still being defensive, Tenko scuttled out of the cot and hid in the passenger side seat while glaring at the stranger. Thankfully, the IV tube was made long for the boy to be able to move around more freely. Being on guard was a natural reaction that he already predicted would be the first thing the boy would do when they woke up.
This wasn't an excuse for him to be combative with a child that was in the beginning stages of PTSD. Patience and trust were key if he wanted to help the child recover from the tragedy that he went through.
Without arguing, Haru just began to fold the bed into the floor yet again while Tenko was still acting like a wounded animal. Once he finished putting away the foldable cot, both hands were clapped together and rubbed in anticipation of something the man knew the boy would likely enjoy.
"Okay, who's hungry?"
A Little While Later
Even if Tenko didn't trust this man completely, watching the man cook was something else. The way he never let anything in the kitchen go unnoticed with every task being done in perfect spacing of each other. Dexterity that made it clear this man was a professional in the culinary arts with the technique to back up his skill. Finally, after a few minutes, the smell of decadent food started to come together on the stove in pots and pans all laid out with some sort of ingredient being prepared.
By the time Haru finished, the dishes were taken care of as the two bowls of rice with broth along with a topping of fried salmon with mackerel gave Tenko an appetite he thought he lost. Haru checked the temperature of the bowls with the back of his hands and felt them to be the right temperature for a starving child like Tenko.
Both bowls were given spoons before he brought them up to the front with one being presented to the boy. He was still too scared of the stranger, but was too hungry to reject the meal. The bowl was snatched out of his grip as the boy started to wolf down the food.
The taste was nothing like he ever experienced. Light and easy to swallow, he scarfed down the meal quickly with the spoon that was provided to him. Broth that had no bitterness or excessive salt with the fish creating a savory bite with the seasoning used to cook them adding complexity. THere was a genuine look of sadness as he watched the boy eat too quickly. Something like this was not the behavior of someone who went through a tragedy as an isolated incident. This child was clearly abused before he experienced his trauma.
When the bowl was finished, Tenko was suddenly overcome with illness. As Nakamura predicted, the child ate too quickly after not eating for several days. Failing to keep it in, the boy threw up all over the passenger dash and onto the floor. He finally stopped when there was nothing left.
What happened right after left the boy speechless. He was expecting anger or disbelief that the boy wasted food or that he made a mess in the van. Instead, Haru just presented his uneaten bowl with a gentle smile.
"Nobody's gonna take it away from you. You're safe to eat at your own pace."
It made something flicker in the boy's chest. Here he was after making a mess and wasting food, and this kind man wasn't even angry. In fact, he was even offering his share of the meal. Being more careful was something the child focused on being as he now took the second bowl without rushing himself. Nakamura just let the boy process his situation as he got up to get a mop and some cleaning supplies.
Tenko was taking one spoonful at a time while Haru finished cleaning up after the boy. Haru even returned with a water bottle and left it in the cupholder next to the child. Detecting that he was still on guard, Haru told the boy he would be right outside to smoke and drink something while the boy ate peacefully.
As they said, the man was right in eyeshot and was doing what he promised he would be doing. Looking down at the partially empty bowl, there were drips falling into the bowl as the dish was getting fuzzier in the boy's vision.
Being treated so well by a stranger made Tenko cry. The food was delicious, the person was considerate, and he felt safer than he did at home just by sitting in their van. While wiping his snot with his sleeve while hiccuping as he ate, Tenko savored the meal. It was a little more salty with his tears, though that hardly ruined his renewed appetite.
Months Later
For months, Haru just traveled around the country with the boy and introduced the child as his son. There were times when the boy wanted to be left alone, so he honored the request by driving in the more remote parts of the country. Being taken to all sorts of places, Tenko was starting to regain small bits and pieces of himself here and there. Tenko had no reason to rush when he was with this rather free spirited man.
For the most part, the child was still withdrawn and rarely spoke to others or Haru; for that matter. Whatever he did say was short and succinct to reduce the time he needed to interact with people. Clearly, the boy had major trust issues.
That was hardly a point of contention for Nakamura. He allowed the boy his space and helped Tenko learn to trust by always following through with what he promised the child. If the boy wanted to go somewhere, he made damn sure they would make it in time to enjoy the activity. When Haru shared a vocation that they were going to, these two would be there while Haru made good on what else he would do for the boy while there. As time went along, the child was even somewhat becoming attached to this new parental figure.
One incident that had the boy trust Haru as a good person was when Haru and Tenko were at a nature trail pitstop with Tenko just coloring on a blank spiral drawing page with the crayons Haru got for the boy. He told Tenko that he needed to use the restroom and would be right back. As the young boy was minding his own business, some middle school kids came over to start giving the still withdrawn child a hard time.
It was an incredibly uncomfortable affair with the parents being unaware of what their children were doing. Only a few moments passed before a voice Tenko recognized interrupted the teenagers' fun.
"Excuse me, what the hell do you think you're doing with my son?"
In the past, his actual father never stood up for the child and was even the cause of the trauma that plagued him at the time. Hearing such a protective declaration of support for Tenko made him feel odd as to what the feeling was. The children went to get their parents to confront Nakamura with blatant lies to have the men try and gang up on Haru.
That plan was a massive failure as Haru was not in the mood to deal with incompitent parents who spoil their children into thinking the world was their backyard. All the men were flat on their backs with the others calling the police. He just told them off that the people all around them knew better with what actually happened. Even a young couple saw what the boys were doing and told off the families involved. They fled and left Tenko speechless as to what just happened.
A person who was essentially a stranger saved him. This may not have been a hero, but it was still an act of protection Tengo thought was more aligned with heroes. Trusting Haru was an indirectly good thing to the boy's sense of trust as a whole. With that sort of progress, another form of negative thought process grew in the boy as well.
If this is what someone who wasn't a hero did for those who needed help, then what was the point of heroes? Questions like these were attached to the neglect that he experienced as a boy being passed by strangers. All they had to say to him was to let a hero save him while they just left him for dead. The reasoning in his mind was that it wasn't people who were the problem. Because of the existence of heroes, people were worse off and were blind to the issues of the world. Issues that were as simple as giving a child some help and a hot meal to aid his broken soul.
Had Nakamura had more time with the child, he would have addressed this misunderstanding as well. Such things are sometimes too good to be true for a cruel bitch like fate to allow.
Summer
It had been several months of being with Haru as his travel companion. Both of them were returning from a quick trip from the convenience store to get some cold drinks and snacks for the road ahead while they also made use of the facilities. Haru was in blue chino shorts with a white shirt and sunglasses with leather sandals, while Tenko had basketball shorts, running shoes, and a red tank top with sunglasses as well.
Haru was carrying their haul towards the van while the boy held onto the plastic loop that had all their goods. Each had some sort of ice cream and were leisurely enjoying them as they returned to the van.
Things were progressing nicely for the boy's mental recovery. Tenko didn't hold as much disdain for people while coming to be rather fond of Nakamura. There was still the issue that the boy still had a strong distaste of heroes, though that sort of thing was something he was willing to work with as time went along. As long as they were together, things were looking brighter for the child's future. He may never be able to forget the horrible events of how his family died due to an accident he was the center of, but there was hope for the boy to be a better person who was strong enough to work through their issues.
Coming around the corner, the sight of some city gang taking a good look at the van Haru drove made the man sigh in exasperation. Not wanting to be a negative influence, he set Tenko off around the corner of a building and told him that he would be back in less than three minutes for the child. Nakamura approached the group of young men while the boy kept enjoying his frozen treat.
Situations like this only made the child more bitter about heroes. Whenever they weren't around, problems started to happen. These thugs were aware of a lack of costumed heroes in the area and were just acting belligerent with their temporary freedom. Nobody did anything except call for a hero who would never come. If only they had the sensibility to find a different solution themselves. It was that exact complacency that made people ignore him. Again, there was another reason to hate heroes and what they did to society.
"It's terrible, isn't it?"
A whisper coming to the boy's left caught his attention. From the alley that was right around the corner.
"While everyone looks away and hopes for the better, that man is forced to protect his property all by himself. Does that seem fair to you, Tenko?"
They even knew his name. Entering the alley, he came face to face with a strange man in a suit. Meeting him for the first time, Tenko listened to the man as they spoke about the exact thing that the child hated the most. How society was a problem that would never fix itself if heroes kept existing. The stranger told the boy something he knew the child wouldn't say no to. A chance at redemption.
If he came with him, he would offer the boy a chance to fix society. To change the broken people who ignored all of the problems around them while the heroes who they put their faith in made people into lazy shells of themselves.
Most of all, a world where men like Haru would be able to live without having to constantly pick up the slack that heroes create for people similar to him. Good people.
Right as Haru finished dealing with the neighborhood hooligans, he rejoined with Tenko to be on their way.
"Sorry, kiddo. Just gotta show em who-"
Only the plastic bag was left where he was certain he asked Tenko to wait for at least three minutes. Checking his watch, it was barely a minute and a half.
"Tenko?! Tenko!"
Panic set in as he felt like an idiot for leaving a child behind so that they wouldn't see a simple fist fight. He should have just taken the boy by the hand and kept them where he could see them. He saw the plastic container of the ice cream he bought for the boy next to the alley to his right.
Entering the alley showed Nakamura the last time he would see the boy for a very long time. A black portal was closing with a man holding the child by the hand as they were walking away. They disappeared and left Nakamura behind in the dark alley. His arm was outstretched as he tried to keep the portal from closing. All he could do was hope that Tenko could hear him through the mysterious doorway.
"TENKO!"
It was far too late. His hand went through the wall behind the portal. Shock set in as he realized the child was gone. Breaking down the wall only revealed the back room of a business. Running out through the store front revealed nothing but traffic. He couldn't believe it, the boy was gone.
Years Later
All for One was exhausted with his arms screaming in pain. He was certain they were both snapped at the elbows with fractures running up the forearms. Who this guy was that just barged into his hideout and started likking his people was a complete mystery to him. There was no warning or intel regarding this maniac who had already cleared the immediate area of all others while leaving blood stains all over the room on top of himself.
Everything he tried to throw at the man was cut short with an attack of their own. What was supposed to be a destructive wave of energy turned into this gas mask wearing freak striking the villains arm with the butt of their gun and breaking something he couldn't identify.
One blow after another, the masked man started questioning All for One about the boy he stole about seven years ago. KNowing the stakes, All for One remained silent while continuing the fight.
"You want the kid? You have no idea what you'r-"
His opponent lost his patience and just shot the man in his kneecap. Being bulletproof should have stopped such a puny firearm like nothing, yet the round buried itself into the joint and blew out some meat in front of it. Blood was gushing from his wound as he fell to the floor while being unable to grasp at his injury due to his flesh manipulation being interrupted. Approaching the now screaming villain, A knife was produced with a curve to it along with a ring that he used to spin the knife in his index finger to then clasp the blade in an icepick grip. Patience was not a strong suit for the man, and he already wasted years to get this far.
"Where is he?"
Another jab at the bloodied man's expense got All for One a kick in the head and another bullet in the opposite leg.
"Where is he?"
Still nothing useful. The fingers were crushed under his heel one at a time. The thumb went on the left hand before the torturer asked again.
"Where is he?"
Again and again, something beyond the realms of tolerable pain was exercised on the villain being torn apart like cheap toilet paper. Eventually, things progressed far enough for the worst thing to happen to All for One in his entire life. Something that he would obsess over as a motivating factor to kill this man for the rest of his life.
From his jaw, the curved knife was hooked on the jaw while the blade was deeply buried through the bottom of his mouth. The major arteries were skipped, so he could essentially hang for an hour with no real threat to his life as he was.
"... Where… Is… He?"
No response. This was close to the breaking point of just killing the villain. Doing so would more than surely guarantee that Tomura would forever disappear with how narcissistic and greedy the man he was torturing for information was. A sort of policy that 'if he couldn't have it, nobody could' governed All for One's decision making.
Seeing the bodies lying in the hallway behind the villain, the idea of what he was about to do next came to him. He wouldn't walk out of here with a complete loss. This rotting shitbag was going to know what he did.
With a quick yank, the knife cracked the bone and sliced through the jaw and lower lips. All for One screamed in agony as the masked killer dragged the limp body of the still living villain to one of his men's corpses. One final warning was given as a fistful of flesh was ripped out of the dead body's abdomen. Dripping red meat hung threateningly over All for One in the tormentor's fist.
"Last chance…"
Not realizing the gravity of what was about to happen, silence was his response. Burying their thumb into the gaping wound in their jaw, he wrenched All for One's mouth open to shove the flesh into and down their throat. The contents were forcefully pushed down the throat to prevent any sort of resistance. All for One screamed bloody murderer as there was no more questions after that. He lost his patience.
Fistful after fistful, the villain was dragged to multiple bodies to be force fed different parts of his men's corpses. Vomiting only encouraged the man to keep at it for several hours. By the time backup arrived, it was too late.
All for one was a broken mess. Years of therapy and medication only helped the symptoms of his trauma. The damage was already done.
He would never forget the night Bloodsoaked entered his life and ruined it.
