Tenko the Hero... six, I believe.
~0~
After the bath, came the food, and while it was delicious, Izuku had been so exhausted that he would not even be able to tell what it had been, save that it had been hearty, warm and delicious.
And, of course, being filled with delicious food had lulled Izuku to sleep... despite the day feeling more like early morning.
But... considering that his body was still healing, sleep was what the doctor had ordered.
Seriously, Doctor Daruma even went as far as to write Izuku a prescription for long bouts of sleep, to be taken until all stamina was back, that, and food.
And thus, drained from everything, Izuku slept on, and time passed.
Most of his days pass by either resting, reading on a tablet (Of course, Daruma-san would gladly share his notes and research about quirks.), eating Tenko's improving cooking, and shamelessly falling in love with him. (No, he was not that dense.) and getting to know Spinner and… probably getting his mind back into shape in Green Vale.
Oh, and working his arms, they may need to be kept in place for another week, but the moment the bandages had come off, Daruma-san had given the teen the green light to start doing some light exercise.
It was… hard at first, but with Spinner's help. (of course, the buffed saurian would know how to get back into shape, hell, he was a better trainer then All Might, for crying out loud!) and now, he could move his fingers without pain and hold a handheld and tablets with little to no problem.
Eventually, his strength returned, and doc Daruma thought it safe to remove his printed cast, and Izuku, along with Tenko, celebrated in a way our green-haired hero had never imagined.
Tenko took him in his arms and began to dance with him, singing to izuku… along with music generated by an array of quirk.
Needless to say, Izuku's heart had swelled up with soft feelings… and then his brain had happily overclocked over the impressive quirk display.
Needless to say, it had been fun to dissect and analyze all the musical quirks his Tenko had used.
But alas, sleep came once more, and Tenko had practically forced him under with Midnight's quirk (used with her consent, of course.), telling his friend that, as much as he loved the sound of Izuku's voice, he needed all of his precious hours of sleep since tomorrow, Daruma would free izuku of his plastic confine, and the greenette would start proper physio with spinner and another mutant who once had a physiotherapy clinic before the CRC had burned it down and dragged his good name through all sorts of mud over his appearance.
but, the following day… His fateful release had to be cancelled.
Apparently, something had come up with Re-destro. Apparently, he had managed to escape and was now turning whatever was left of the para-liberation army onto Tenko again.
And Tenko was also trying to get some humanitarian help in Japan since it made no sense that the one bunker was a high school...
Seriously, the entirety of Musutafu could not possibly be held in this one place!
And Izuku had to agree, especially when he realized that Fukuoka, Dagobah and Hosu were also affected by the war.
Actually, rumour has it that the whole world was ready to bow to Tenko... and Izuku was quick to call Quirk Shenanigans on that, but before he could work out what type of quirk would make Tenko-, well, Shigaraki seem like the best option for a world ruler; fatigue had dragged Izuku down once more after a nice protein and bok choy rich meal with expertly steamed rice.
He slept a bit more... or, a whole lot more. And while he felt bad for being such a lazy ass, he could practically hear Nana scold him for that thought.
He was a teenager, a growing boy. He needed to eat when he was hungry (without overdoing it.) and sleep when he needed it. (Also, without overdoing it.)
And drinking water, something that Tenko had provided through a water bladder with its mouthpiece clipped to Izuku's scrubs, right on his shoulder. And no, not drinking out of fear that he would wet the bed was unacceptable. He had a Catheter installed for that.
He had been dozing off, a bit too wound up to truly sleep knowing that Tenko was fighting again. Oh, what Izuku wouldn't give to be back in action. Unfortunately, Tenko had given Daruma more to have Izuku be as far away from the horrible fights, and thus; there was the boy, dozing off after having written a hundred or so pages about quirk theories and analyses.
Sometimes, Izuku would run his cheek on the fur trimming of Tenko's warm and heavy cape.
The God-like young man had draped the youngest with it and left a note that he would be back as soon as possible.
It was already midday, and Tenko was still gone…
And the only reason why Izuku had not devolved into an anxiety-riddled mess of a human being was because of the cape.
It was... warm and soft, and it was a pleasure to wiggle his fingertips under its folds.
Izuku gave a soft smile. He had thought himself to be aromantic, cursed to die a lonely old and crotchety man, forgotten by all...
Or... not that old, but still dying alone, with only a bottle by its side... or just alone in the middle of a battlefield.
Basically... alone in every sad, pathetic scenario.
But here he was, in a bed made for All For One, now used for Useless, Quirkless Deku. Enjoying a Hotel grade set of bedding and pillows, having been fed heartily, delicious meals and stew cooked by Shigaraki Tomura... Shimura Tenko, now freed from the vile influence of this roach of a man. This handsome and... quite honestly dreamy man had left Izuku, but he had left a note for him, and went as far as to cover his body with 'the cape.'
Taking in the moment to absorb the feeling of warmth and fuzziness that now flooded this dark, empty corner of his heart. Izuku felt a genuine smile stretch his lips. A smile that transformed into a full blown grin as he remembered what Tenko had told him.
Tenko cared for Izuku... maybe even loved him.
No matter how Izuku tried to work it, there was still a part of him that didn't trust the white-haired man. And now… Izuku wasn't sure he wanted to realize how much Tenko loved him… now that he was missing in action.
Now, how this love expressed itself, Izuku didn't know. But he wouldn't mind if it was more on the romantic side.
Izuku closed his eyes as he leaned back on the bed, shamelessly daydreaming about his saviour in a way that would make all lovelorn teenagers share a knowing look and sigh with him.
Just the thought of Tenko gently touching his face, calling him with a love-filled name, his smile soft and inviting...
His lips...
Sure, they were looking dry but... it was clear he didn't have the chance to get some chapstick.
Since, you know, no stores were open in the apocalypse.
But... Well... Izuku wouldn't mind the dry lips, not if they were attached to a man who had been so nice and soft, who had seen him at his worst, yet still stood close.
Izuku had no illusions about himself. He was broken, had no more use, and was only good to be thrown to the street.
He had no more legs, and while his arms were mending... well, what could he do with a pair of too-weak arms?
Japan was facing the worst crisis they had in History, only comparable to the wars happening at the dawn of quirks.
Who would have time for a burden? Like old people and the sick?
One time, Izuku found a cabinet with a dead body inside. His mama had explained that this must've been an old person who went and died there to not burden his family anymore.
Many, many times, Izuku had imagined entering one of those cabinets and turning into a husk... as not to burden anyone anymore...
'... Why was I fighting so hard? We're all going to die one day, anyway.' And whatever knew Izuku had seen death so often...
Would he wake up the next day? How about the next hour?
Would Shigaraki Tomura return? How about All For One? There was no way he didn't plan for every single piece of Bullshit life could and would throw at him; there was just no way.
He was willingly spiralling down some very scary thought when the door opened a crack, and a green snout peeked through.
"Spinner!" Izuku chirped. He had only known the man in passing, but from what he had heard from Tenko, he was good. Despite some fanaticism here and there about Stain (of course) and...
Deku.
The door slid open wider, and the lizard-like mutant stared at Izuku, his mouth half open.
He wore... military duds, a far cry from his usual get-up.
Gone was the TMNT: Grandrevivial anniversary edition covering his forehead. He was wearing the most nondescript casual cloth ever.
A simple t-shirt and sweatpants... and a pair of All Might-themed flip-flops.
He was carrying a bag with him, a heavy military backpack.
Izuku stared hard... What was he supposed to do? Was Spinner here to end him? Did he... did he want him to...
He was a stain Fanatic, and Stain had called Deku what amounted to the next All Might, and boy did do a number to his already fragile ego to be called the next symbol of peace when he'd always seen himself as the new symbol of hopeful change, something that would make life better for the unseen ones, for the quirkless.
(At that time, Izuku had been unaware of the same plight heavily mutated people would face. If you were not something cute and/or attractive to a specific demographic, then your options were the same for the quirkless... except that no quirkless ever made it to villainy since, you know... easy prey and all that.)
"Oh, Ah... You're awake?" Spinner asked, still halfway in the room.
"Am now." Izuku croaked, his throat parched despite the IV drip still stuck to his arms.
His arms felt way better now, and he could not wait to get those casts off, swearing to whatever holy thing was left in this world that he would never break anything unless it were an accident. Heck, his fingers looked better too, but he so needed a trip to the nail salon...
If there was any nail salon left anyway.
"So... what do you want from me, Spinner? And where's Tenko." Izuku asked before biting his lips.
Right, Tenko had given him a note...And then he realized that the date of the note wasn't the same as the one on Izuku's automatic calendar (A gift from Tenko, made by the good doctor.)
'Wait... hold on. This one's two days old." Izuku blinked owlishly. "How long did I sleep for?"
"Just over two days... nothing's wrong with you, just... you have a whole lot of sleep to catch up, but you ain't looking like hot shit now." The Gecko man assured the healing teen but...
"Spinner-san... where's Tenko?" Izuku asked, greatly concerned for his Friend.
(He was a friend, just a friend, could not go further than that, and it was fine, like... totally fine.)
Spinner looked away, and Izuku's heart sank.
"No..." he whispered in pure Horror.
Tenko couldn't... he couldn't die! Not like that, not that easily... for fuck sake, he had survived what amounted to a death ray right in the face and God knows what else, there was no way... just no way.
"He's alive." Spinner quickly assured the panicking young man. "Shimura's still alive, Midoriya, like... he really can't die."
"So why..."
"There's a glitch in his system, a major one," Spinner informed Izuku as he quickly went to the side of the bed, opening the wheelchair stored there. "The doctor's with him, but he requested you to come and give your opinion about what could be wrong with Shimura."
"But why? I'm not a quirk specialist." Izuku mumbled as Spinner wrapped him in a bathrobe, mindful of his diaper.
...
Yes, Izuku wanted to die right now. But the knowledge that something was wrong with Tenko was enough to rethink his decision to find a set of stairs and perform his final tumble.
"Dude... you know you're like a super motor mouth when you mumble... and that you love to dissect quirks when you're bored... like, I tried playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land and you came up with... well, basically you called Kirby the source of all quirks, and now, I can't unsee it."
"I'm so sorry. I can't stop being a creep about that." The greenette could not help but be a coward now that his major flaw was exposed.
Remembering all the times Katsuki had made him pay for just being himself...
Did he mention how he strongly disliked Bakugou now? Even his mother grated on his nerves, same as his worthless, deadbeat of a father who allegedly worked in fashion.
'Alright, this is making you mad, you can talk to Tenko about it later, I'm sure venting about the Bakugou will do you a world of good but not now...'
"A creep?" Spinner repeated, flabbergasted at the statement. "Excuse me, princess. But there's nothing crazy about loving quirks, hell. I love dissecting quirks too!"
Izuku gasped. "No way! I thought I was the only one who did that?"
"Nah, man. I used to be a mod in this awesome Discord server. It was all about quirks and their use... and the last time I checked, it was still rolling with activity.
Izuku perked up with interest. "Wait... those Discords exist!?"
"Of course they do, I'm also a semi-lurker in the Global Quirkless Discord, became an administrator when I managed to dissolve a whole ass hate group from taking over the thing and gave counselling to... you know, the Japanese statistic, right?"
"Japanese statistic?"
"You know, the whole twenty percent shit? Well, guess what?" Spinner asked as he pushed the now presentable (more or less, he purposely left Izuku's bed head intact since, you know, he was freaking adorable and He wanted his Lord to see something nice after... well... whatever was happening to him."
"Let me guess; it only applies to Japan." Izuku deadpanned.
"Yep!"
"I hate Japan."
"Me too. Turns out, there's like this whole clan of Lizard people living in South America, where it's more or less the norm to be scaly, the same thing in India and Australia. Ooh, and Eurasia's almost fifty-fifty splits, some places are cooler with the normals like England, Germany, and Ukraine; while others are just a bit better than Japan... but not by much."
Izuku nodded, his mind returning to Aoyama.
Was he living in those places where being normal (let him ditch the Quirkless label and let him be Normal... he liked normal.) was, well… accepted,
Probably not, if his parents went to the Boogeyman for a quirk.
"Alright... but... how about Tenko? What's happening to him?" Izuku asked fretfully, his fingers wiggling like crazy as he tried to dispel the anxious energy building up.
Spinner sighed as he pushed the shorter teen along. "He's... Basically, acting like Dabi and burning his own body... and I'm not talking about the old Dabi who was like... Medium sane. Oh no, I'm talking post Twice death sorta unhinged."
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright, buddy. You didn't order Hawks to kill him." Spinner said with melancholy. "... he and Dabi... they were... close," he revealed. "Like... Hawks would shamelessly flirt with him, calling him beautiful and dear. At first, Dabi was rightfully distrustful, but then.. you know, He never got people after him, you know, had some shitty upbringnig, was never caleld beautiful, never praised. Hawk did all that and it… worked, and the two became and item, and we all tough Hawk would chose us over the paragon option and everything would be okie-dokie, you know…. then that feathered bastard…" he spat. "he betrayed us... He killed Twice because his boss told him so. Did you know that All for One also asked Dabi and Tomura to kill the headless chicken numerous times? And every time, they told him no, of that he would have to get his own hands dirty this time-"
"... All For One has quirks that can control others, right?"
Spinner paused... and then got pushing Izuku on. "You're right, but... Hawks was a spy for the HPSC; Dabi should know more, but... Bet he was tasked to murder Twice because, you know. My Homey had this amazing, war-ending quirk. We would've won... but."
"But?"
"Me, Dabi and Himi-chan... we were ready to blow this place and just, you know... leave AfO and Tomura to play Villains with the Heroes. I was getting sick of the old bastard too... the creep." The Heteromorph spat. "Said he wanted to make me the messiah for all mutant-kind and... yeah, he definitely used his mind control on me since, you know... I was about to go with it, get the upgrade and more power."
"I'm glad you didn't," Izuku said gently.
"yeah... yeah..." Spinner said, clearly processing the fact that he had dodged one hell of a bullet.
After some time, they arrived in front of the Medical bay's door... and by that point, Izuku had concluded that this was an underground base since no windows were to be seen...
And Izuku missed windows, the ultimate emergency exit...
Not that he could use them anymore.
"Alright, just so you know, Shimura-san's acting like Dabi; it's like the creep took over his body... but-"
"Dabi's alive, right?" Izuku asked Spinner. He hadn't seen the scarred man for... well, some time, to be honest.
"Yeah, Shimura-san let him live.'' The disgust in his voice was as clear as the fact that the Gecko-mutated man had given Izuku one of Tenko's fluffy bathrobe.
Maybe this was why Izuku felt himself to be more confident than usual. Hell, he felt as if he could walk up to Aizawa-sensei, slap him hard, and call him a bloody fool for coming up with such half-baked, grudge matches instead of actually planning how to efficiently dispatch the League of Villains.
The only reason why Izuku had not given his own plans was because he wasn't an adult, and he had acted like an idiot for an entire year... Hell, his whole life; and there was no way his plan was good. Since, you know: Aizawa-sensei and Nedzu-sensei had so much time on their hands to completely destroy the League of Villains and AfO with as little casualties as possible...
Maybe... but from the conversation he had heard and the 'pair ups' the two 'smartest persons in the school had come up with...
Spinner opened the door, showing the confrontation that happened behind the piece of super reinforced anti-quirk material.
Tenko was there... or, his body was then, standing upright, a demented grin splitting his face.
And for a moment, Izuku thought that his Tenko... that Shigaraki Tomura was back.
'I should have told him... oh, Izuku, you should have told him how you felt... he's gone now.' tears began to pour from his eyes.
Shigaraki turned a pair of maddened rubies in the direction of Izuku, his grin splitting his face even wider.
"Oh hey! If it isn't Shig's favourite fuck toy!" Not Shigaraki greeted. "Man, how hard did the boss fucked you, Piman, if you must be pushed around in a wheelchair." he cackled. "Yo, Lizard."
"It's Spinner," The Gecko quirked man groused through clenched teeth.
"Bah, same difference... or whatever. Anyway, how come you're pushing him around? No, wait, dumb question, he's Stain's Chosen true hero-"
"You know you're dead, right?"
Dabi, now possessing Tenko like the ghost he is, looked at Izuku as if he had grown five different heads without the help of a quirk.
"Wait... no, you're shitting me. I can't be dead; I'm still here!"
'Man, he looks so ugly wearing Tenko's face... I never want to see him like this.' Izuku thought he registered Doctor Daruma opening his tablet... and what was left of his brows reached the top of his nonexistent hairline.
Also...
"No... that's... not your body," Izuku informed Dabi as he silently glanced at Daruma, hoping he would get his message. "You're in Tenko's body."
A look of surprise passed on Dabi's (Tenko's stolen) face, only to be eclipsed by his roaring laughter.
"Oh, this is rich." the blazing madman howled after his initial gales subsided. "I'm in that scum's body."
"Yep," Izuku confirmed as Doctor Daruma worked to remove his printed cast, noting in wonder how little his arms pained him.
Hell, despite having a brand new pair of... arm bones inside his flesh, his chronic pain was now, but a slight throbbing on his nerves, like one would feel when waking up sleeping limbs.
The creepy-looking doctor then helped him work his stiff joints. It was a bit more painful but still manageable. "Basically, if All For One gets your quirk, your... you follow it." Izuku finished lamely.
Actually, the more he thought about All for One and One for All, the less they made sense.
"... I don't remember that." Dabi deadpanned.
"Yeah, well... you're just a vestige of Dabi." Izuku informed the new vestige of this fact as he began flexing his fingers, noting how, despite the painful stiffness, they felt a load better than his usual clawed-shaped consequences.
No, Eri had not rewound Izuku before his initial break. Actually... he'd calculated that, with the size of Eri's horn and how far she could rewind something, she was incapable of rewinding something out of his stage of existence...
Anyway, if he and Todoroki were still friends, he would love to fuel his conspiracy-loving friend's addiction.
But... this was neither here nor there. And once again, he had to focus on his least favorite quirks and their mechanics.
"Hey, fuck you. I'm not a shred of Dabi; I'm the full thing." Dabi scowled. "You're no better than half a man, though. Now I know why Tenko keeps you around." He said with a nasty sneer.
Izuku paused as he idly flexed his hands, thinking deeply about what Dabi had just told him.
A vestige... a vestige meant that it was... less than the whole—old and decrepit, not the full thing.
A vestige in One For All didn't feel like that. None of them looked incomplete or faded. No, they seemed vibrant once Izuku had reached singularity.
"The fuck?"
"Yes, I had like seven ghosts living in my head all the time." Izuku readily admitted as he began to calculate his next move.
He needed to reach Tenko, somehow. And he knows his... crush (yes, Izuku knew what it was, no use playing dumb about it, he was quirkless, not emotionally inept.) must be in Green Vale.
Question was, what was the state of Green Vale, and how did Dabi manage to take over Tenko when Star and Stripes protected the place as All Might once protect Japan?
Was she still there, or did Dabi... delete her?
Izuku pursed his lips... No, this... felt wrong.
"So you're admitting you're a schizo." Dabi grinned.
"I dunno, never got my head checked. Not that it mattered since, you know, who cared about the nulls, am I right." Izuku sarcastically chirped as he managed to pull himself as close as possible to the bed and linked his arms behind Tenko's neck and, despite a week (more or less.) of no movement.
His arms felt weak, and his joints painfully tight. But they were moving, and they were doing exactly what he wanted, without the spasms and the weird crunching sounds.
The greenette could not help the grin stretching his lips. He got his arms back, he wasn't that useless anymore.
"Ok, not to sound like a fucking virgin, but… you're really starting to creep me out there, pimen."
This caused Izuku to grin wider, knowing that he'd managed to outcreep Dabi, the ghoul man of Musutafu.
"Nah, don't worry about it. I just need to get in Tenko's body since I feel you made enough of a mess that Aunty Cathleen got her hands too full with whatever crap you pulled." Izuku informed the ghost of the scarred man as he managed to hoist himself on Tenko's lap, snuggling to his chest as he made himself comfortable.
"Ah… Pimen… Midoriya?" Well, Izuku didn't know he needed to know how a clearly uncomfortable and freaked-out Dabi sounded like. But now he did, and he had no regret at all.
"Hush now, Todoroki. I need to see whatever you did to take over Tenko's body. I swear, Villains only know how to break things. You broke yourself, then you broke our toxic culture, then don't even try to give us something better. Bunch of idiots." Izuku grumbled.
Yes, Stain and Tomura had a point; Izuku could readily concede that. Their current society had been shit, and whatever was left would undoubtedly still be shit since no one saw anything wrong with quirkism. The problem was that Tomura had managed to embarrass a bunch of fanatics and that his only goal had been complete destruction of basically everything, and not what to do later to rebuild a better society.
A society built of respect and tolerance for a start.
Then Izuku realized that this new society needed a common goal, and after founding none, realized that whatever happened would suck. He was doomed to live in a world of ruins or rebuild their dystopia with no way out.
"Dang, kid. That's … pretty grimdark."
"Says the dead man." Izuku quipped as he, on a whim, planted a chaste kiss on Tenko's Cheek, promising himself that he would… talk about his feelings with the older (?) man when he managed to get him out of trouble.
If he could get Tenko out of.. whatever AFOFA he'd gotten himself into in the short span of time he was away from Izuku.
And, for once, Dabi got very very silent.
Good.
Izuku grunted as he closed his eyes. Focusing on his breathing, he easily entered a secondary state, the one he could easily enter into One For All.
He may not have it anymore, but the amount of time he'd done it accidentally as he fell asleep on Tenko told him that, for some reason, he could still visit the relics and all who were in Green Vale.
And indeed, after feeling his vestige body drop into Tenko, he was once again back in the unsettling void that was One For All.
It was the same piece of land that floated in nothing, with eight chairs (no, those weren't thrones.) that were set in a circle, the ninth one a stark reminder of what would happen upon his death.
No, there was surprisingly no rest for quirkless, useless Deku.
"At least, Tenko made Green Vale."
"Hmph, a nice bribe." The second user sneered as he and the third surrounded the First. "Wonder what he got out of the whole deal. Oh Right, us!"
Izuku was well past the point of reacting to those bitter old men. Sure, he felt bad for them, but the green-haired boy didn't have to answer them; he didn't have to give them his triggers and attention if they would be about to rip into him for some decisions he made.
Besides, it's not like those last users were stuck here. They could go to Green Vale at any time they wanted.
Banjou, Nana (Of course.), En, and Shinomori-san were already living there. Quite happily, he may add. And Shinomori-san finally started living with people… not all the time, but he had friends this time and suffered less from his stress.
The only ones who were reluctant and rather hostile about the prospect of moving in a place that looked asclosed as the real world.
But hey! It wasn't Izuku's Problem. not anymore.
And thus, Izuku walked (dang, he already missed walking.) away from what was left of One For All, and back to All For One…
"Tenko needs to change its name, it really should be One for All." The greenette spoke to himself as he shamelessly ran, jumped, and skipped along the fragment of ground that floated in the void. cheering and whooping without care.
Darn, he missed his legs and his mobility. What wouldn't he do to have it back… save killing people and destroying Green Vale, of course.
Still, for now, as he ran back to Tenko's home, Izuku would enjoy those limbs again and again…
But as he came closer, he stopped his blissful stroll as he once again remembered that, for some reason, Dabi had taken control of his Tenko's body, essentially doing what All For One had planned to do.
What had happened? How did it happen in the first place? And more importantly…
Will he be able to get Tenko back? Maybe he was… what was the word, codependent with the man, but at the same time, it felt so long since he got to be with someone so nice and sweet and patient, understanding, wholesome yet with enough spite to make him interesting. Strong and humble, yet with enough pride that he wasn't a fucking carpet.
Unlike Izuku.
But, in Izuku's defence, a decade's of conditioning from abuse was hard to break through. But not impossible, and with Tenko and the inhabitants of Green Vale, the greenette was slowly rebuilding himself, getting a bit more confidence, a bit more bite… no, he would never be wonderful, but he was definitely better.
And better… well, better was something ill-defined, but always meant what it was.
It was always positive.
And Izuku was better because of that, even if his mind would make him suffer and that little nagging voice in his head would keep yelling about how useless he was and about how Tenko only took him as a pity case.
'Maybe… but… I'd rather have his pity than nothing.' Not that Tenko's care was anything close to pity.
Tenko cared. As in, Tenko cared enough about Izuku that he would have a notebook nearby to take note of Izuku's mutters and would bring the subject up in their next conversation.
Did Izuku mention he now knew what love was? No, not a silly, juvenile crush fueled by teenage hormones triggering the sexual function in his body. But real love.
As in deep appreciation of the beloved. Gratitude for anything he did without expectation. Seriously, Tenko didn't look like someone who would dangle a bargain. He took care of Izuku because he wanted to and because he… he loved Izuku.
And Izuku wanted… he wanted the God among men to give more of those genuine smiles and the ugly laughter that would pop out of nowhere when playing video games or hearing him humming under his breath as he prepared Izuku's meal.
Izuku wanted to see him happy.
He wanted to see him again… he wanted to feel him again, the only other person that had hugged him and… kissed him other than his mother.
He wanted his Tenko back.
And thus he jumped and began to fly to where he could feel the All For One aspect of Tenko's quirk pulsing.
There was no visual cue for the massive stockpile of quirks. It just… appeared the moment you entered it.
It was jarring, for sure. And it gave Izuku no time to prepare himself for whatever horror he was about to face there.
He made himself no Illusions, if Dabi Managed to take over Tenko's body, it meant that this… evil spirit managed to do something that Cathy should Have been able to prevent!
But… instead of a hell of blue fire or worse… Green Vale looked… excellent!
Alright, some trees looked a bit out of place, and the visual illusion looked… less define, blurry and pixelated, even. and other things were missing but beyond that.
There was no torture scene, no dark carnival. No Dabi shamelessly molesting his Tenko while he danced on Catty and Nana's corps.
no… not at all.
Instead… Green Vale had undergone a remodelling. And Dabi was tied to a tree with black whip, Banjo pulling his rank as the dark Hero Lariat.
Izuku let out a sigh of relief as his tears fell from his cheeks.
He could see Nana talking to the asshole along with Star and Stripes. The arsonist looked… shell-shocked, for some reason, and duly chastised.
Also, he had a rather nice glowing hand print on his cheek, courtesy of the slapping hero God Hand.
But… where was Tenko? Izuku started frantically looking around the central plaza where his new statue stood… But no, the handsome young man, the thief of his heart was nowhere to be found.
In his panic, Izuku forgot to breathe, and he forgot that he could call him.
Until… a pair of rough hands covered his eyes, and he was crushed on a hard, yet plush chest.
"Who is it?"
"Tenko! Tenko, you're ok!" Izuku exclaimed as he turned around and hugged his crush, relishing that he was still there…
Alright, so he did survive Star's most potent attack and a slew of other wounds and quirk effects… but…
When you love someone, you forget his greatness and powers. and you want to do everything in your power to take away his pain, to make him happy…
Yes, those last five minutes had felt like an eternity for Izuku. And for all he knew, in Green Vale, an eternity could have possibly passed.
"Of course I am, you saved me again." Tenko revealed as he planted his nose in Izuku's curls.
Izuku tried to raise his head to stare at the ridiculously cuddly man… a handsome man that had won the young boy's heart in Green Vale and who was steadily winning it again in the waking world.
"I saved you? How?" Izuku managed to ask as Tenko wrapped an arm around the shorter boy's waist and began to lead him around the seemingly rebuilt valley in the heart of AfO.
"You kissed me…"
Izuku chose this moment to imitate the strawberry, causing the God among men to chuckle warmly.
"No one knows what happened; one moment, I'm dealing with more NPCs complaining I don't do the quest they wanted. Then the next, I'm dragged behind my eyes, and there's the asshole controlling all my movements, and Green Vale's up in flames."
"I'm sorry."
"Why, I'm the one who did the thing with Dabi; no way I could've known he was possessing another man," Tenko spoke as he dragged Izuku closer to his side.
"So… Dabi… Todoroki Touya's really dead , then." The greenette spoke sorrowfully, feeling the start of his tears pricking the corners of his eyes.
On one side, he couldn't believe that Dabi was… dead. But from what he had heard from the report, he wasn't all that surprised, really.
Logically, the only bones that could have been left after Touya's impromptu incineration should've been his femurs and pelvis since those were the thikest. Maybe even some of his spine.
The fact that all that had been found of the eldest Todoroki sibling had been his jawbone should have been the biggest clue of it all.
Flames, by nature, would always rise, and from what Izuku had learned from other fire quirk immolation, the only part left should Have been Touya's lower body, not his jawbone.
Glancing at Dabi… Dabi looked liek the inhabitent of All For One.
All of the dead residents 'living' in green vale had corpse eyes, veiled and unmoving.
It was… about as pleasant to look at as one would expect.
And Dabi… Dabi had those eyes.
"We… fought a Zombi… a Nomu." Sadness filled Izuku's heart.
The young man was familiar with death. First was his grandma, then his grandpa followed. then it was his babysitter who passed away due to cancer…
And then there was Sir Nighteye.
And then there was the whole year he'd lived as a vigilante surviving in the crumbling city of Musutafu, where the crime rate skyrocketed… and bodies began to fill the streets.
No one was spared… not even the newborns.
It was… chaos.
"Hey, everything's gonna get better, alright?" Tenko said as he squeezed the smaller youth to his side, his whole body radiating this living warmth. "I've sent a few teams to re-establish the water purification plant and the fusion reactor; for all I know, they should be done right now."
"Yeah… that's great but…" Izuku trailed off as he nibbled on his lip.
"But?"
"... Nothing, it's stupid."
Tenko stopped Izuku, a frown marring his face. "No, it's not stupid. If you have something on your mind, just let it out… then we can decide if it was worth it or not."
Izuku huffed. "I'm… " Izuku huffed as he tiredly rubbed his hands across his face, feeling ten times his age. "Why… just… Why did we have to go through so much? What did we do to get there?" he could feel his frustration building up. "Everything was… well, not perfect but…" He dug his nails in his scalp… only to have Tenko remove his hands from their destructive activities. tears were already filling his eyes as he could not help but remember a time when one only needed to go to the corner store for the essentials.
When Heroes were still seen as a force of good.
When Villains would always lose and the day was saved.
And yet, his cynical side would remind him it was still stupidly flawed, how the weak were either eaten or forgotten… and how, no matter you looked at it; he, without All Might's intervention, would've not survived to see his eighteenth birthday.
And then…
He realized … he realized that the good old days were the reasons why everything went to hell… or, was reminded of this fact.
Izuku wrapped his arms around the taller man and buried his face in his chest. Once again, feeling despair filling his heart.
Tenko held him as he cried again, his lips once again touching the green crown of hair as he rubbed izuku's back.
Like his mom used to do.
"I… Tenko, you need to…you need to get rid of the Hero Commission." Izuku spoke coldly. "If they manage to get back into power, and they will; then nothing will change in society."
"I know, Izuku. I know." Tenko spoke, his voice rumbling in his chest. "Believe me, I know where to strike next. And no, I won't aim at the civilians. Only cowards do that."
"All for One's a freaking coward," Izuku mumbled in Tenko's ample bosoms, letting his usual tension leave him as he thoroughly enjoyed the faded feeling of his crush's nails on his tight scalp.
it felt so good, and the younger boy wondered how those nimble fingers would feel on the rest of his body… for all he knew, those would be a great distraction when his mind got the better of him and wouldn't shut up.
Gradually, his sense of smell returned, and the aroma of the medical bay made itself present to Izuku.
he was waking up… He was a bit sad that he wouldn't be able to talk to Nana and Cathy, but he also understood that they would be busy with Dabi.
Despite Green vale being a calm and quiet place, All for One had also stolen quirks from criminals, many of them unrepentant.
The Heroes had a system in place: fairer than Tartarus but still horrible enough to be an effective deterrent.
And… Cathy had also told him that Green Vale was a place for those who had died to AfO, and not for the living.
Once he was completely back, the musky scents of Tenko filled Izuku's nose, chasing away the familiar smell of the infirmary. Izuku took in a deep breath, letting Tenko's smell pervade him.
After spending a whole year on his own, Deku had learned the value of a warm, living body with no desire to hurt him.
He felt Tenko's breath stutter as his chuckle made his chest rumble like a pleasant cloud. "Izu! You can't tell me I smell good, I haven't showered yet."
This caused the youth to grumble and bury himself deeper in the God-like man's bosom, his arms and presence a balm on his soul. And to be honest, he wouldn't mind if the true king of the Para Liberation Army would drag him in the shower.
… Thank God for his lack of feeling in his lower extremities. Otherwise, the whole situation would be even worse.
Suddenly, he felt his rumbling laughter, and everything was right in his world.
(But for how long?)
~0~
After sending the two love birds away. (They were so oblivious… and yes, Daruma gave another thorough check-up on Izuku's arms and hands, so far, so good. he could feel everything in the tip of his finger, he would have to run a dex test and formulate some exercise and get working of reducing those nasty scar tissues… so much to do, so little time.) Daruma was finally alone with his Latest Patient…
Well, the latest. 'Dabi' wasn't exactly his 'latest' patient by any means.
Oh no, and AfO had followed his slow descent into madness… such a shame for his body, though.
At the time, All for One reached the young man in time to take his Quirk and not much else.
There had not even enough to make a rudimentary Nomu; how could he, where everything of Todoroki Touya had essentially baked to death?
Once anything organic was cooked, it was over; there was nothing he could do about it.
Thankfully (Maybe not the right word to say here, now that Daruma thought about it.) Some of AFO's goons from overseas got their hands on the body of a young boy about the same age, blood type, height and hair colour as the deceased. He had apparently half-drown in a river in winter, and from the look of it, his brain was as good as dead.
Too bad for his parents; perfect for Sensei's plan. And Daruma had to admit, out of all of his usual Nomu, this one… this one would've been his ticket to the Nobel Prize of Medicine if not for its highly illegal and morally bankrupt nature.
Oh well, perhaps, with Shimura-kun's crusade for true peace, Daruma would return to his old passion, the betterment of medicine…
This time, without falling into misinformation and the usual trappings of a mad scientist.
Better he is half-mad, like his teacher, mister Savage and the Hinaman.
Nevertheless, the body was back in his possession, Dabi having been assimilated in the now-perfect copy of All For One.
"This quirk need's a new name, don't you think? Batiste-san?"
Suddenly, there was a polite knock at the doctor's door.
Meaning that it had nothing to do with any sort of a medical emergency, since who, in their right mind, would stop to knock politely when someone was potentially dying?
"It's not locked." Doctor Daruma called out as he inspected his Chimera closer, Dabi's quirk, and the man himself has done a number on him.
Quite ironic, since Daruma had made the body as fireproof as he could, able to withstand Endeavour's hottest flames and Dabi's incineration.
Of course, Dabi had a planned obsolescence time, a time when his body would fail.
Batist's old quirk had once allowed him to make fireworks from his hands and shoot them out of his mouth, meaning he was fireproof enough to survive sparklers and rockets exploding in his face.
Dabi's blue flames were not a problem for Batiste… but Batiste would've been a problem for Sensei's plans.
Sensei needed the deceased Touya to destroy his father, Hero society, Shouto (another quirk he had been eying like a pice of cake.) and finally, himself. the Doctor remembered a conversation he once had with All For One about how easy it was to manipulate Todoroki Enji into hating All Might hard enough to commit so many atrocities; it was a miracle the man was still considered useful to society.
But considering that nothing had been left to chance in AFO's plan…
Daruma's train of thoughts were interrupted with a knock. "Come in, I didn't lock it, Shimura-san." he spoke louder, miffed that the God among man would be so… unsure about some things.
And indeed, the white haired God walked in silently and awfully respectfully for someone who started out as an enabled brat of a monster… and a damn good leader eventually.
But… apparently, his old Boss got scared of his own death and basically made another plan on the fly… it went unexpectedly bad, to be honest.
Despite his God-like Nature, Shigaraki had the same fear of death as every damn mortal on this lowly earth.
And speaking of God-like man, here was the failed vessel entering Daruma's domain like a deer in a church. Shimura-san'e eyes lingered on Batiste. (Batiste Jean… Jean Batiste, oh, to hell with the fancy naming convention, westerners were weirdos anyway.)
"How is he?" He asked, not bothering to use the dozen or so diagnostic quirk he's shoved into him as per his old boss's request.
(All the best to maintain my dear brother.) he had said…
Creep.
"Well, as you must've noticed, he's, at first glance, brain dead… but I'm sure you could tell me more, Shimura-san."
To be honest, Daruma wanted to see his best creation's work. And he was lazy and, after Tenko's last tantrum, had yet to recalibrate his medical imaging machine.
Shimura-san turned back to the sleeping form of Batiste.
"What's his name?"
"Batiste Jean, his quirk is ah… well, I supposed Hanabi would be our local equivalent. on his file, he called it… Saint-Jean-Baptiste… a rather egotistical quirk name, if you want my opinion." the last of the truly old man babbled on, happy to speak about a subject that hadn't failed to give him joy.
Tenko grunted as he touched the severely burnt man's forehead and closed his eyes.
Daruma stared at the two intensely, itching to get his hand on a notebook…
Or exchanging notes with Izuku. What a shame Daruma had been so cruel to him. If the mad scientist would've known better, he would've taken the analyst under his wing…
"His skin can resist flames going up to 3,000 degrees. We… All For One had another one of my colleagues mess with his genes so that it was lowered. We wanted a frustrated abused kid willing to burn the world down."
"That's… so messed up."
"... I… I'm fixing them up… we need to find out if Batiste had any living relative who could take care of him; not too sure about whether or not he'll wake up, but…." Daruma let out a heavy sigh.
What a mess. It had been a blast to play God but, since he was not this nebulous concept behind intelligent design, the cleanup was…
Yeah, this particular cleanup would suck ass and take names.
"Is there anyone like him and me?" Tenko asked, his red eyes boring deep in the repentful scientist's heart.
"There was another one, subject Nine. His quirk was weather manipulation but…"
"But?"
Daruma closed his eyes, another young man whose life had been cut short for science.
"But we… under Shigaraki's order and our own curiosity, overclocked his quirk under different means in a way that it would destroy his cells. We… The drawback of his quirk was… manageable, but this boy just kept pushing himself more and more… needing more and more of the drug, letting it destroy his mind and morality and letting his rage and hatred burn higher and higher… Shigaraki wanted the perfect rage puppet, a backup if… if Tomura, your old self, would not survive all the torturous procedures to… turn you into an earth-walking God."
"But I survived… Tomura survived out of sheer spite."
"That he did, and All For One discarded him and Touya, like his father did. And then Hawks… murdered a good man, Twice."
Shimura clicks his tongue in disgust. "Hawk's a Hero brainwashed by the Hero Commission to be their attack dog, I don't even think he could be considered a thinking person by anyone."
"And they called us Villains…"
"..."
"..."
"So… Before I became Tenko again, the whole situation was hopeless." Tenko summarized. "No matter whom you turned to… the Hero commissions are villains with good publicity, and All For one's even worse. Nobody wants to help Japan anymore due to how their population gets treated, and nobody thinks it odd that it's perfectly acceptable to kill those that are different because… fuck… I hate this place, I hate Japan and its narrow mentality." Shimura groaned as he let himself fall in a convenient chair, looking like a tired parent after having to deal with their hellion…
Or an all-conquering king realizing the absolute can of rotted worms he's opened and regretting it.
Another moment passed, only filled by the sound of Batiste Jean's breathing.
"Say… doc?"
"Yes, Tenko-kun?"
"What… What will happen to Izuku after… he dies?" He asked, his eyes older than his current age.
"Well… since the vestige of the old One For All Users are in your quirk, then I'd gathered that this will be where part of him will end up. you won't be… completely without him.
Shimura-san pulled his lips tightly. Obviously, this was not something he wanted to hear.
"Is it… is it possible that… Vestiges are not just the part but… the whole persons, like… their ghosts?"
Doctor Daruma paused as he mulled over this theory. "Well…"
"I know, I know, ghosts are just imagination. They are not scientific."
"That's not what I was to say, and only Neophytes think things as too silly to do an experiment to prove it right!" He scoffed.
Science had fallen to where you had to be a sheep. Well, Daruma had always thought of himself as a flying mountain. And he had crushed those sheep.
"The late Albert Einstein, with his law of energetic conservation, has actually proven the existence of ghosts for, if energy cannot be destroyed, only changed, and that consciousness is beyond the body and also an energy, a vibration, then it means that we… whomever we are, souls, consciousness, whatever." he waved his hands aggressively, he didn't care what one would call what they were, He just knew he existed and that he was a sort of energy moving a body. " and as energy, we can't be destroyed or fragmented, we just change…"
"But how about… the ghosts in me? What will happen to them once I die?" Tenko asked, clearly shaken by what had happened.
Daruma… chose not to speak on this matter.
…
"I… can't die, can't I?"
Fuck, the mad doctor could hear the wobble in his voice. He never wanted to hear his new master sound so weak and vulnerable.
"Chin up, Master. See it this way, when Izuku's body expires, his consciousness will return to you, for he was a holder of One For All. Thus, not even death will be able to part you." He reminded the powerful young man. "Besides, weren't you telling me how nice Green Vale was and how everybody loved Izuku over there?"
Shimura made a bitter face. "Yeah, but… it's not… it's static… it's just a copy, like… like a videogame…" he got up as he left, his shoulders stiff and his gait holding frustration.
He stormed out of the hospital ward, leaving Daruma with Batiste-san.
Daruma sighed, Shimura-san was still a young boy. one day, he would have to realize that it was better to accept half-ideal situations as good enough. It was easier like that.