Tenko woke up one night to his mouth dry and throat sore. He'd been snoring again, huh?
He slowly sat up in bed and pulled his covers off him, careful not to wake up the small, broccoli headed bean beside him. He froze as Izuku shifted slightly, but eventually settled back down and Tenko continued up.
Once on his feet, he blinked sleep away to see the bright red numbers on the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was almost midnight. Then he turned to glanced around the dark bedroom.
When Tenko turned eight and Izuku was starting to get too big for the crib, Inko and Hisashi realized just how small their one bedroom one bathroom apartment would be for the four of them. So they moved. It was still an apartment, but now it was two bedroom two bathroom. They had enough money to be pretty comfortable, but not enough to buy a full on house quite yet.
Now Tenko and Izuku we're sharing their own room and bathroom. Their were two beds, one meant for Izuku to sleep on by himself. But he liked sleeping with Tenko next to him. And Tenko wasn't about to complain, because he wasn't exactly a fan of sleeping alone either.
Tenko was ten now, and Izuku just turned five. Izuku was going to have to start school soon, but Inko didn't think she could homeschool two kids. So she was planning on sending Izuku to public school, and had given Tenko the option to either continue homeschooling, or try out public school with Izuku this year.
Tenko really didn't know about public school. And the idea still made him nervous.
But that was a problem for future Tenko. Right now, present and sleepy Tenko needed water.
Tenko opened the door as quietly as possible, and closed it back just the same once he was outside. Then he walked out and into the kitchen.
He flipped on the light-switch and blinked at the sudden flood of light in his eyes. Once his eyes were adjusted though, he walked over to the cabinet, pulled out a glass, and filled it with water from the sink.
He was about to flip the light switch off, holding the glass, when he heard hushed voices from Inko and Hisashi's bedroom. He glanced down and noticed their light was on under their door.
Hm, what could this late night conversation be about?
Curious, he stepped forward and leaned in close to the door to hear.
"Their allowed to like and be whatever they want," he heard Inko's voice mutter, quiet but stern, reprimanding, maybe.
"I know, I know," Hisashi reassured. "I know that, and I don't plan on doing anything to stop them or make them think I don't approve. Especially not after how Kotaro treated Tenko for liking heroes."
Tenko felt his muscles tense at the mention of his father's name.
Hisashi continued, quieter. "Doesn't mean I like it though."
Inko sighed from behind the door, and there was sound of movement before she spoke again. "I know, dear. But your opinions on heroes do not decide their's."
"They're not opinions, they're facts," Hisashi almost growled back. "Heroes are untrustworthy, and most of them are corrupt anyways. I hate those heroes. Especially All Might. But they- no, Izuku, idolizes that idiot!"
Tenko's eyebrows raised. This was new.
He'd overheard conversations between them that he wasn't supposed to before. Conversations where they talked about Hisashi's work using words like missions and multiple quirks like they were normal, even though Hisashi supposedly was just a business man. He'd seen things he knew he shouldn't have, like how Hisashi sometimes came home with blood stains he tried to hide, or how he would sometimes do or see things he definitely shouldn't have with just a fire breathing quirk.
Tenko knew something was up. But it meant that weird occurrences and conversations that opened up more questions then they answered were nothing new, if the last five years had anything to say about it.
But Hisashi hating heroes? This was new.
"But it's not like I can just tell them any of that, now is it?" Hisashi grumbled.
Another sigh from Inko. "You can't control them."
"I'm not controlling them, I'm trying to protect them!"
Tenko guessed Inko made a face, cause no words were exchanged for a long moment.
Then Hisashi sighed.
"What are we gonna do when they find out?"
"What?" Hisashi sounded surprised.
"I said," Inko repeated, "what are we gonna do when they found out? The boys?"
. . .
. . .
. . .
"What makes you think they'll find out?" Hisashi eventually asked.
"Well, you'll have to fight All Might eventually, won't you?" Inko said. "And then his successor? That'll most likely be in their lives. Especially All Might. Probably in the next few years, being how old he's getting."
Tenko found himself frozen against the door.
Fight? All Might!? What!?
"So," Inko continued, "What do we do when they find out? How will we explain? Do you have some excuse?"
Find out what!?
Tenko had never before so badly wanted an explanation to one of these mysteries.
Hisashi sighed again. "I'd like to say that I do, or that we could come up with one. But with how powerful All Might is, and with how much older I'm getting . . . My quirks don't make me invincible. All Might is different from any of the past successors, I don't know if I'll be able to win against him when the time does come."
. . .
. . .
. . .
What?
Inko echoed Tenko's thought out loud, but barely audible. "What?"
"I think . . ." Hisashi continued quietly. "I hope that Garaki will be able to sustain any injuries I receive, that I won't get killed or arrested. But at this point, All Might's a wild card. I don't know what to expect with him, what quirks I'll need. For the first time, I'm not certain All For One will be enough."
. . .
. . .
. . .
Tenko didn't hear anything else after that. He numbly stepped away from the door, flipped the light off, and walked back to his bedroom, crawling into bed and burying himself in the covers.
He wished more then anything that he hadn't heard that conversation.
It was about a week of observing, contemplating, and repeating all the information he'd overheard before and during that conversation, before Tenko finally built up the courage to say something.
He had to say something.
For one, Hisashi had been talking about fighting the number one hero. About possibly dying or getting arrested from fighting the number one hero!
He was talking about past fights like he'd done this dozens of times before. He was again talking about multiple quirks like he had hundreds at his disposal.
What were they talking about, trying to explain if Tenko and Izuku ever found out? Why did Hisashi hate heroes so much? Why was he about to fight one? How many had he fought before? What was All For One?
If he didn't get answers, if he didn't figure out what was going on sooner rather then later, he was going to explode.
So yes, late one night, after Izuku had gone to bed and while the rest of them were cleaning up from dinner, Tenko decided now was when he needed to speak up.
"Mom? Dad?"
Tenko still, wasn't entirely comfortable using the titles. They still reminded him of the first people he'd called those names too much. So it was rare for him to call them that.
And that's why he used them. It snapped both adults to attention immediately, they both stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
He looked back at them and cleared his throat. "A few nights ago, I came in here to get water. And . . ."
They were probably going to be mad at him for eavesdropping.
" . . . I overheard your guys' conversation."
Inko seemed to realize what conversation he meant first, and she flinched and straitened, eyes wide and worried, nervous. Fearful. She clutched the wet paper-towel she was using to wipe down the counter tight in her hands.
It was barely a second later when Hisashi realized as well, and spun to completely face him from where he'd been putting up clean dishes. His eyes were also wide, mouth agape, expression flashing between fear and anger and shock.
Tenko watched in silence as their expressions shifted through emotions and realizations while they gathered their bearings and let the news sink in.
Their faces proved it. This was something big, and Tenko wasn't supposed to know.
"How much did you hear?" Tenko jumped slightly as Hisashi spoke, quiet and stern, but his expression locked in shock and disbelief.
"Um, that you don't like heroes, and that you were planning on fighting All Might. Also that you apparently have multiplied quirks, though I sorta already knew that, and that you might die or get arrested."
"How!?" Hisashi yelled. "How would you have already known that!?"
Tenko flinched at the yell, and Inko put a hand on Hisashi's shoulder. "Dear, calm down."
Hisashi must've seen something on Tenko's face, because his expression almost immediately softened and he slumped, sighing. "Sorry. But really, how did you know?"
Tenko looked down and started fidgeting with the glove covering his ring finger and pinkie. "Um, this- well, it wasn't the first time I overheard you guys talking or saw something I wasn't supposed to."
. . .
Hisashi sighed heavily and turned towards the living room, he sounded tired when he spoke. "Come on, your gonna explain to us what all you already know."
It took about an hour and a half for everything to get cleared up.
At least half of that was spent answering Tenko's many questions the best way they could without flat out telling him.
But Tenko still got enough out of them to understand.
And Hisashi was panicking.
"Your a villain?" Tenko whispered, as if the topic was too fragile for him to speak any louder.
Hisashi didnt meet his eyes. He wasn't ashamed of his choice to become a villain. He didn't think it was wrong, he believed firmly in his reasonings and goals.
But he was worried of what Tenko thought. This could easily break their relationship entirely. Besides, why would Tenko be ok with a villain as his father? But still, he admitted, "I am."
Inko was glancing between the two nervously, her hands fidgeting in her lap. Tenko just stared at Hisashi in shock, unmoving.
Hisashi scanned the boys eyes, desperate for something that would show what Tenko was thinking. But there was no telling what was going on behind those wide red pupils.
Hisashi bit his lip nervously and looked away. He'd done everything he could think of during the last five years to prove to Tenko that he was a better father then Kotaro, to prove that he could be trusted. That he was good.
Now Tenko knew he was a villain. A murderer.
He knew how villains were thought of by other people, especially heroes. And Tenko wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be like his grandmother, who Hisashi had killed.
Tenko always felt bad about killing the only family Inko had. But neither him or Inko had known that Hisashi had killed some of Inko's family too, and on purpose.
What would Tenko think of him now?
Would Tenko still want him?
It was a few long minutes of anxious silence before Tenko blinked. Finally seeming to have processed everything, he met Hisashi's eyes again. Now he looked less shocked and more just... disbelieving. Confused. Curious maybe.
"Then what are you really?"
The question caught the silent room off guard, and both Hisashi and Inko's eyes landed on him.
"What?" Inko breathed when Hisashi stayed silent.
"What are villains?" Tenko reiterated. "Or, what kind of villain are you? Cause your obviously not anything like heroes make you out to be. Your too kind to be evil."
Hisashi blinked.
That was not what he was expecting.
He glanced at Inko and hesitated a moment, trying to find his words. "Well, um..."
He met Tenko's curious eyes again, and breathed out. "No, I'm not evil. A lot of times, villains aren't. Villains are, more often then not, just people. People who have seen first hand just how bad society can treat someone. People who have experienced having nothing, and we're desperate for something. People who just want- no, need, something to fight for.
"Me personally? Well, I've seen how the world treats those who are different. I watched, I experienced, how people reacted when the first quirks appeared. People who had no control over the way they were born were treated like monsters. And even now, people with weak or mutation quirks, or even mental quirks, are discriminated against and hated. I've gathered so many quirks because so many people are desperate to be rid of good quirks, back when they were new and now, because of 5e way people treat them over something so futile.
"What I want is a new world. A new society where none of that matters. Where people will be treated equally. In my own way, I want to help, I just have a different way of going about it then others. That's the kind of villain I am."
Tenko was quiet. His eyes were still wide, but more thoughtful then shocked now. "Why do you have to fight All Might?"
"Because he is the only one who can defeat me. And he has something that I need back."
Tenko nodded in acceptance of the vague answer, then turned to look out the window.
It was a long few minutes before anyone spoke again. Inko eventually got up, claiming she was going to get ready for bed. Tenko sat in silent thought and Hisashi's anxiety festered in his stomach.
Hisashi was about to say something else when Tenko best him to it.
Those red eyes whipped around to stare at him, rimming with determination.
"I want to help."