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Throwing Stones
Chapter Seven: Admiration
Touya peered down at the recipe book in utter confusion.
He had no idea what he was doing.
He'd be the first to admit that the only time he'd ever been in a kitchen, he'd nearly burned it down. The idea that he could actually cook a decent meal was something of a fantasy. It just simply wasn't going to happen. At least nothing edible anyways.
Touya glanced at his assigned partner for this task.
Tonight it was his and Tenko's turn to make dinner for the group. By the time he'd showered, changed and come downstairs Tenko had already cracked open the recipe book and was knee deep in cutting up the vegetables.
He had no idea how far Tenko was in the preparation stage or what he even could do next.
"What are you just staring for?" The other man growled at him, "Wash your hands and start peeling the onions at least."
Touya shot him a look.
Strong words coming from the idiot that had no idea how to work on a yard without being given directions. Still, he kept his mouth shut and simply did as the other male instructed. Touya washed his hands within the sink before making his way towards the remaining vegetables.
When he reached the stack of onions waiting to be peeled, he pulled off the thin top layer all the way around.
Tenko glanced at him, his dark eyes narrowing at him in displeasure.
"Take it down further," He directed. "You want to remove any layers that are thin, dry and leathery. They don't cook very well."
Touya shrugged his shoulders.
Clearly he knew more about this whole cooking thing, so he'd let him take the lead. Just so long as Himiko and Jin didn't come anywhere near close to the kitchen, he'd be satisfied with whatever they had.
Once he was finished, he plucked a knife from its assigned stand. Kagome only permitted the use of knives during dinner duties. Even then they were closely monitored. The knives would only be brought out for when they needed them to prepare food. Any other time they were completely removed from the building. He wasn't sure where exactly their coordinator stored them but he had a sneaky suspicion that it was the house next door.
"Have you never cut anything in your life?" Tenko's snarky tone brought him out of his reverie.
Touya blinked, "You do realize that I prefer to barbecue people, right? How the fuck would I know what to do with a damn knife?"
He could feel Kagome watching them from afar, judging their actions and conversations as if trying to determine if she should get involved. She seemed to be much healthier today than before, but he'd prefer to ensure that she wasn't sent back on bedrest. They wouldn't be able to stay if she were to be out of commission for any reason whatsoever.
He breathed a sigh through his nose and lowered his voice, "I only learned the outdoor chores. All the indoor ones my mom and sister took care of."
Tenko's brows furrowed, "What a shitty set up. Haven't you heard that women prefer men that can carry their weight around the house?"
Touya gestured towards his own face, "You're assuming I can pull any women with this ugly mug?"
Tenko stopped.
He looked at him. His eyes taking a moment to fully process his appearance.
Hold on, had the guy not even noticed his burns until now? Just how introverted was he? He'd seen Tenko hunkering down in the computer lab periodically with Shuichi and also curling up into one of the couches in the far corner of the library with some manga in his hands. Never once did he think that the other guy had been that absorbed in his hobbies that he wouldn't have noticed them at all.
Tenko's lips curled up into a small smirk, "I suppose not."
Touya swiftly rolled up his sleeves, "I don't know jack shit about this kind of thing. So just direct me on what you need me to do."
He watched as Kagome gave a visible sigh of relief. Her shoulders relaxed some as she settled back into her seat upon the couch in the living room. Himiko was leaning against her shoulder while Jin argued with himself over the show that was playing on the television. Kenji and Atsuhiro just seemed satisfied that they could watch anything at all. Shuichi wasn't present, likely hiding out in the computer lab again. A large chunk of the treats the Saito couple had given them had already been devoured, with the leftovers being packed up and stored away for later. He'd managed to snag two of each before he'd showered and he had to admit that they were damn good. The old couple really knew how to make their food.
Touya glanced up at the group huddled around each other in the living room.
It was a weirdly peaceful atmosphere considering that they were all convicted killers.
Tenko turned his back as he continued to finish all of the prep work for dinner.
"You're pretty good at this sort of thing," Touya commented, leaning over his shoulder curiously.
He had to admit that the man really knew his way around the knife. He could cut up vegetables in a matter of seconds. Plus unlike his attempts at cutting the onions earlier, all of Tenko's cuts were precise and even. How was it that he made it look so damn easy?
Tenko hardly spared him a glance, "I used to help my mother out a lot in the kitchen. My father always felt that it was the woman's duty to cook."
Now that sounded familiar.
Although he never bothered trying to help his own mother. He was too wrapped up in his own problems to even consider lending a hand to anyone else.
"Sounds like you had a shitty dad." Touya handed him some of the pre-cut ingredients as the man started dumping them into a heated sauce pan.
Tenko's lips curled up into a faint smirk, "Sounds like you did too."
For just a moment, the dark-haired male glanced over his shoulder at Kagome.
From the first day he was always looking at her with an expression mixed between abject want and utter admiration.
"You recognize her or somethin'?" Touya asked curiously.
He knew that Kagome had to be a pro hero in some capacity if the Safety Commission approved her little pet project. She couldn't be a top ten contender as he'd never heard of her before he'd been brought here. So how was it that Tenko knew her?
"That's Higurashi Kagome," The other male started. "She's what you'd call a controversial hero."
Now that got his attention.
"Go on." Touya pressed him.
Tenko focused is attention on their meal as he continued, "She graduated at the top of her class in U.A. just like Hawks. She's got a pretty powerful healing quirk too. All she has to do is touch someone and she can heal even fatal wounds." Dark eyes turned towards him, "She could probably heal your burns in a snap if she wanted to."
Touya subconsciously traced the tips of his fingers along the ragged lines of his jaw.
She could heal him?
Tenko continued, "Problem is that she earned a bit of a reputation for herself. She turned down all requests to work out of hospitals or even government facilities. She even rejected the Safety Commission's offer for her to work under them directly." The vegetables sizzled as the food was getting closer to being finished.
"So what'd she do? She had to do some kind of work." Touya leaned against the counter.
Tenko glanced at him, "She worked out of clinics in prisons across all of Japan. She could've gone on to heal sick children, the dying or the elderly. Instead she chose to go from one high security prison to the next and healed criminals. She even healed death row inmates as well." Tenko plated the food as he started work on putting the dishes away that they'd used to prepare the meal. "She took a hell of a lot of flack for it. People were pissed that she was healing lowlife scum like us. She was hounded a lot by the media and I know that she didn't make many public appearances. Her approval rating was so low that she would barely hit the three hundreds in her hero rank."
By now most of the group had noticed that the meal was ready and were beginning to make their way towards the dining area.
Tenko lowered his voice, "Around a year ago she stopped doing hero work altogether. Some people suggested that she was taking an early retirement, but I think she was just getting ready to start this program. A facility like this costs a lot of money so she must've dumped every last bit of her savings into this. She couldn't have made a whole lot working for the prisons. Especially with the Safety Commission still being pissed at her for shooting down their offer. It must've taken a hell of a lot of work to get them to agree to this. Either that or they've put so many restrictions onto it that she'll be bound by them." His dark gaze narrowed at him, "Say what you will about her project, I know for a fact that her feelings are genuine. That's why I'm not going to screw this up. So what about you? Why are you playing nice?"
Touya fell silent for a moment.
Why?
It was simple really.
"Because I'm bored." He answered matter-of-factly.
Grey walls, one hour a day in a concrete courtyard and communal showers were not his idea of a good time. At least here he could have some privacy, fresh air and enjoy the view.
His gaze shifted towards Kagome once more.
She laughed as she and Himiko joked about the show that'd been playing on the television.
"You really know a lot about her, huh?" Touya smirked at the other man, "Were you one of those hero nerds before you got busted?"
Tenko's face turned a deep shade of red with the embarrassment he felt
His smirk widened.
It looked like he was right on the money with that one.
"It's not heroes that I'm crazy about," Tenko's voice was small as he spoke, as if he were confessing something he really didn't want to. "I just heard about her because she'd visited the prison I was at. All the guys I was bunked with were going nuts. Not just the horny kind of nuts either." He added for clarification.
Touya snorted with laughter at that.
"They were… genuinely happy that she was there. Apparently she'd come to that prison when no other medical practitioner would. She'd filled the position of the doctor there for several months and she'd really gotten to know a lot of the guys imprisoned there." Tenko lowered his head as his face turned several shades darker, "She even healed me when I'd come down with a severe respiratory illness that'd been ravaging the prison. She'd saved so many of us from death that year that I honestly lost count. I remember how kind she was. She'd treated all of us like we were human. It didn't matter if we had regular quirks or were heteromorphic. All of us were equals in her eyes."
Tenko shifted to meet his gaze directly, "I'd have died in that cell if she hadn't saved me. So I want to try my best here. I want to repay her kindness."
Touya glanced between Tenko's flushed cheeks and Kagome's bright smile as she helped the others into their assigned seats.
A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips.
"Then you're doing a damn good job at it," He lowered his palm atop the other man's head and gave it a playful ruffle. "Just keep the snark level to a minimum. That's how you catch some fire, if you get my drift."
Tenko roughly shoved his hand off of him, "I'm not a kid and I'm not snarky. I'm just honest."
Touya's smirk widened, "Whatever you say, kid."
It was evident that Kagome had won Tenko's respect prior to this program even starting. It was curious to him though that she would choose to throw her lot in with people like them in the first place. With a power that could heal all injuries and illnesses with a single touch, what was to stop her from becoming the number one hero? She could even overthrow All Might from his golden throne if she so wished. Yet here she was, actively trying to help them turn their lives around.
He tucked his hands into the pockets as he stared upon the jovial scene before him.
Just how many of their group had been visited by her before? How many more criminals had she crossed paths with and offered them a hand to help?
"Touya!" The woman called to him, "Dinner's getting cold! Come have a seat!"
He blinked as she waved to him, encouraging him to take a spot at the head of the table.
If anyone were to peer into their building right now, they would mistake them for some sort of strange yet happy family.
He strolled forward and slid into the spot that was meant specifically for him.
Kagome smiled as she offered him some of the sides to fill his plate with. He took it without question, glancing from face to face over the table.
A scene like this would've never been possible back in the prison where he'd been sent to. Meals were just as cold, grey and lifeless as their futures. Yet now he was here in a warm building with people who were struggling to find their footing just like he was.
Although it was for a moment, a stray thought crossed his mind.
If anyone could make this a success, it'd be her.
His gaze lowered to her happy smile as she beamed up at him.
Maybe this rehabilitation project wouldn't be a failure after all.
