Tenko watched as Hisashi froze, squinting slightly, blinking a time or two as he seemed to struggle with processing the words. Then after a second his face contorted with a mixture of a dozen different emotions before settling him with a look of utter disbelief.
"What?" Was all he said.
As the ground shook again, Tenko did his best to gather his thoughts to explain as fast as he could. "You need my quirk, to defeat All Might. You need something powerful that will do a lot of damage at once and catch him off guard, then you could easily gain the upper hand. You just have to take your hand away fast enough to not kill him so you can still take One For All. It's simple!"
Hisashi was still gaping at him, like he was crazy for just the suggestion. "Garaki really did get to you, didn't he?"
Tenko pressed his lips together, could hear All Might's booming voice getting gradually closer. "That doesn't matter, it was my choice. Just hurry up and take the quirk before All Might defeats those things!"
"What- no!" He shook his head. "Tenko, I'm not just going to take your quirk."
"Why not?"
"I- I can't do that to you, it's your quirk!"
Tenko felt his frustration growing. He didn't understand why Hisashi wouldn't just take the quirk. They were running out of time, didn't Hisashi see this was his only option?
He took a deep breath and looked at his father, fists clenched on his knees and expression set firm. "I already told you, it was my choice. I know what's at stake here as well as anyone, and I know what I'm doing. I'm doing what I can to help you. So let me, please." With the last word, his stern look melted into something softer, more pleading.
Hisashi sucked in a breath, held Tenko's gaze. He looked pained, and still very hesitant. He looked away.
Tenko could hear, now, All Might calling for All For One. For Hisashi. He bit his lip as he heard a grunt and thud, though. They weren't out of time yet.
He silently made a note to thank Dr. Garaki for the Nomu's later, they were a lifesaver right now.
"You do know the risks, right?" Tenko's eyes snapped back to Hisashi's who was also now looking back at him, expression unreadable. "What it means for you if I still lose after this?"
Tenko's eyes went darker. He knew, oh he knew. He'd been trying his hardest not to think about it.
But his brain was being forced to confront the fact now. If this didn't work, if Hisashi was lost, his quirk would be too. He'd never get it back.
He'd be quirkless.
He swallowed hard.
But he'd already gone over this with himself a dozen times and his mind hadn't changed. It was worth the risks.
He'd choose Hisashi over his quirk any day.
He nodded. "I know."
Hisashi's gaze remained unreadable, but his voice did crack, a slight hitch, hardly noticeable. "And you're sure about this?"
Tenko nodded, his gaze firm, then gave a small, reassuring smile.
Hisashi stared at him for a long second, then closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. Finally, he gave an incredulous, tired smile back. "Alright then. Let's get this done."
Tenko gave one more stiff nod and shifted in his spot. "How do we do it?"
Hisashi shifted as well until his knees were under him, then raised his hand. "All you have to do is try to relax, and do your best not to pull back." He paused, then added on, "Maybe cover your mouth too, so you don't make any noise. It might hurt a little."
Tenko felt a pang in his chest, and his courage wavered slightly. And not because of the insinuation that this might be painful.
No, it was because it was finally sinking in that this was really happening. There was no more putting it off. This was going to happen, right here, right now. He'd have his quirk taken away, and there was a chance he'd never get it back.
A sudden wave of anxiety hit him, nauseating and dizzying.
Hisashi paused from where he'd been lifting his hand to Tenko's face. His own face suddenly full of concern. "Are you ok? You just went really pale."
Calm down, Tenko tried to tell himself, closing his eyes and taking deep breath after deep breath. Breathe, it's ok, you're ok. You need to relax.
It took a moment, but eventually a lot of the intense sick feeling had resided, and all that was left was a more normal anxiety. This he could handle.
He opened his eyes and looked at Hisashi again, who was watching him with slight worry. "Sorry, I'm good now."
Hisashi pressed his lips together hesitantly, but after the ground shook again and a yell echoed out, closer then ever, he nodded.
"You're going to feel a pull, try not to pull back on it. The more you fight it, the worse it'll hurt and the harder this'll be for both of us. Understood?"
Tenko just nodded.
Then, with one final deep breath, Tenko closed his eyes just as Hisashi pressed all five of his large fingers against the edges of his face.
He was so focused on staying calm, relaxing, that it took him a few seconds to realize nothing was happening. He waited a few more, but still he felt nothing. He was about to speak up when he finally did feel it.
It started off small, barely noticeable, but so strange it was impossible to miss.
It was exactly as Hisashi had described. A pulling feeling, a light tug on his insides, like someone pulling on a string tied to something so deeply connected to him he hadn't realized it was there until now.
It started in the tips of his fingers, tingling. Then suddenly it grew, spreading and growing until it was pulling on every inch of his body, centering mainly on his hands and arms. It felt like a huge giant was on the other end of the string now, pulling with all his might, ready to rip Tenko in half.
Tenko let out an involuntary gasp and immediately tensed, and right after pain flared up his arms, which at the same time were tingling so badly they felt numb. His body instinctively pulled back on the imaginary string, desperately trying to keep a hold on whatever was trying to be ripped out of him. The attempt only hurt worse.
He heard a grunt, and it wasn't his own. "I told you, relax. It'll hurt less."
That snapped him out of his own brain. He was hunched over himself, still in the dark dead of night on the grass next to Hisashi.
He sucked in gasp for air, his body aching and his arms and hands shaking as they wrapped around his waist. Then he let it out, and he did his best to ignore the pain and focus on taking deep breaths.
Don't pull back.
He imagined the string, since that's what he'd originally seen it as. Imagined him and Hisashi on both sides, playing a desperate game of tug-of-war. Then he imagined himself slowly letting the string go slack on his end, slowly loosening his grip.
He couldn't let it go all at once, not like this. It hurt too bad. He had to let it go slowly.
As he did, he was surprised to feel it working. He could slowly feel the pull gaining strength and the piece of him slipping away. It hurt less and less, but the pain was being replaced by a sickening sensation that something was wrong.
His whole body knew something vital was being taken away. It was leaving behind a hole, an emptiness that shouldn't be there. His body didn't want it to leave, it wanted to fight to keep it, but Tenko felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead as he fought to hold that instinct back.
His body was telling him this was wrong.
But his mind was telling another story, and he knew he had to listen to it.
It felt like forever before finally, finally, the end of the string slipped away. The pull won and disappeared, vanished, along with that now missing piece of himself. The piece that he had never even realized was there before.
But now that it was gone, every instinct wanted nothing more than it back.
He slowly opened his eyes, feeling slightly shaky despite the pain now being completely gone, and blinked a few times before looking up at Hisashi.
The man was staring at his own hand, closing his fist a time or two, then he glanced around before his eyes settled on a large rock beside him. Tenko watched as he lowered his hand to it, hesitated for just a moment with his fingers hovering, then rested all five on the rough surface.
It had been a while since Tenko had seen his own quirk at work, much less on a rock. But at the hands of another person? He found himself staring wide-eyed, mouth slightly open as the thing disintegrated into dust before his eyes underneath his father's fingers. It was what he'd been expecting, but it made it know less mind-boggling to see.
For some reason, it also sent chills running up his spine.
Tenko and Hisashi's eyes met again, both of them wide eyed, awestruck, maybe even a bit nervous. But then the ground shook again. And this time, afterwards, all went silent.
The sounds of battle ceased.
A moment later All Might's booming voice yelled out.
"All For One! Your 'things' were no match for me, come out and finish this!"
Both of their eyes darkened. They raced glances one last time before Hisashi climbed to his feet, and Tenko did the same. Tenko noticed that the man no longer wobbled or struggled.
Tenko reached into his pocket and pressed the button on the device that the doctor had given him to contact base when they were finished. Almost immediately after, a purple swirling warp gate appeared beside him, contrasting the dark night surrounding.
He gave one last glance at Hisashi, who was already a few feet away and looking to the top of the crater, likely preparing to use a quirk to get back up. Then he sighed through his nose and turned back, taking a step toward the portal.
"Tenko?"
After just a couple steps he paused and looked back, meeting eyes with his father. The man gave him a small smile. "Thank you. And I'm sorry."
Tenko stared at him for a long moment, but then gave a half smile back after hearing another distant yell. "Just come back alright, old man."
Hisashi's smile widened a bit. Then he turned, shot out those red tendrils of his and used hem to propel himself up and out of the crater.
Tenko watched as he disappeared over the edge of the cliff, then closed his eyes and listened to the yells and sounds of attacks for a moment. Finally, he turned on his heels and walked back through the portal.