A/N: EDIT: Flames will be flames I suppose T_T
SURPRISE!
Happy Holidays! Here we are, expanded by popular demand!
Sure, this is a little short, but hey, its far longer than the last chapter, no?
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story, POOF! Away it goes. Gone forever. With two jobs and rent to pay, my free time is...at an all time low. I can't afford to write stories that no one enjoys. So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
Updating some miscellaneous things for the holidays, but I have to be choosy with my free time...
Now for your questions, comments, and concerns from the reviewers and the rest:
Q: How much do you know about BnHA?
A: I am...still learning. There's an awful lot to go through, here. HALP.
Q: Curious idea, with Naruto being the one who helps Tenko, has potential for a lot, perhaps with Naruto looking for the boy's family and finding Nana, giving her an attitude adjustment, about the pros and cons of leaving family to protect them.
And that he is a Shinobi opened a world of possibilities for both of them, furthermore, would they remain in BnHa or would they return to the Elemental Nations? Tenko would train to be a Shinobi, and as a ninja, make a difference in his own way at BnHA
About what else you could do in BnHA, maybe how he saved Tenko, maybe with him helping Nagant, Toga or Twice, having a duel with Stain, sparring with Edgeshot, meet Miruko, saving Nana, the classic and cliche of training Izuku to be a hero but without a quirk, there's plenty to cut and do.
Good luck and keep it up.
A: Hmm. Hadn't considered that angle...
Q: OH my, you writing MHA would be VERY interesting! I like where this is going so far! I can just see Naruto spamming clones to keep AFO busy while he taunts the idiot... then drops Gamabunta/Gamakichi on him.
Given all of Naruto's abilities I can see him driving people crazy as they try to figure out his quirk and possibly befriending Izuku early on and starting him physically training to be a hero way earlier than in canon.
A: Now that's tempting. I had my own idea for AFO, but that's...oh, I can just imagine the madness of it
Q: I've always wondered how Shimura could play video games if his hands destroyed "anything" they touched. I supposed he could have played with his pinkies out _
but this is more fun!
"going to play games dad" "just remember to put your gloves on first!" "it's like 100C!" "gloves or no games" "...fiiiiiine!"
xD
A: Sure, I can do that bit. Why not?
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes!
Full credit to Ranma Hibiki for giving me a line to use at the end there.
"What's that? Give him up? Hell no!
I've got no idea how to be a dad, but I'm gonna try, damnit!"
This kid...he deserves a chance. I'm gonna give him that chance...whatever it takes."
~Naruto
Just a Father
His eyes were getting itchy again.
There was a part of Tenko - a very loud part!- that longed to scratch that itch. To take off the half-gloves he'd been given and scratch until he couldn't scratch anymore. But he couldn't. He didn't dare. Why, you ask? Well, it was simple. Elementary, really.
You see, dad had asked him not to.
He didn't dare disappoint Dad. Not after all he'd done for them these last three months. He'd taken him off the streets, put a roof over his head, provided him three meals a day, given him all these toys. Love. Affection. Pride. All he asked was for him to keep these strange gloves on and train with him from time to time. Nothing more. Nothing less. And so he grit his teeth, choosing to focus on the game he'd been given instead. He tried. He really did. Even if he wanted to rip the gloves off and scratch until he was raw.
The controller creaked in his grasp as he grit his teeth. No. He mustn't. Had to resist.
Dad was always around in some form other, be it in person, or in the form of a clone. Sometimes when he was feeling particularly clever, he let Uncle Kurama watch him. Those were good days. Uncle Kurama always got him the best games. Mario Kart was a great one, even if he wasn't very good at it.
Maybe he was a bit biased in that regard.
Some small part of him knew all this was ill-gotten gains, but so what? Dad stole from criminals for a living. He wasn't a hero. Wasn't a villain, either. He did what he had to do; because it kept them safe. Maybe that made him an enemy of everyone. Maybe not. Tenko wasn't sure. Naruto was Naruto. Dad was Dad. Just a shinobi. Just a father.
As if summoned by that thought, he heard the faint chime of an opening door below his bedroom.
"Hey, kiddo!" a low voice intoned. "I'm back! Hope you like pizza!"
Tenko shot to his feet.
(.0.0.0.)
Naruto had no idea how to raise a child.
There it was; the unspoken truth that had hobbled him for the last three months now. Life as an orphan may have helped him to empathize with poor Tenko's plight -it certainly encouraged him to take the little lad under his wing!- but that was as far as his understanding of the matter went. He didn't know how the first thing about parenthood, much less how take care of a kid. Why would he? He had next to no experience in the matter. In that regard, he was very much playing it by ear, making it up as he went.
.
..
...and in other matters as well.
"You did what you had to. Its not your fault."
"Easy for you to say, Kurama." His jaw clenched a little as he fiddled with a ring of keys. "But this still makes me feel dirty. Aargh!" a hiss tore out of him when he failed to find the right one. "Blasted thing!"
A long day had left his right arm weak again. His knuckles were raw from all the work he'd done.
Was it not work well done then, if for a good cause?
Technically speaking, he had no known identity in this world. Which meant no ID, which meant an inability to attain a job, which also meant no income...and no place to live. Merely taking Tenko out to eat on that first day all but exhausted what meager funds the boy had. From there, they'd been out of money.
But not out of options.
Anyone else might've fallen into despair. Anyone who didn't possess the unique set of skills he did. He'd tried to uphold his moral code as long as he could. And he had. Because you see, the remedy to their plight had been a simple one. If he wasn't willing to rob good people, and still wary of this world's "Hero System" then who could he possibly target? Answer! Villains. More aptly, their ill-gotten gains. He could run faster than light, disguise himself as anyone he pleased, so long as he knew their face. Really It wasn't fair. For them.
At last the lock gave, and he swung it back with a triumphant smile.
Maybe he'd gone a bit overboard on the whole triple-lock thing. Still, better safe than sorry.
"Tenko!" his voice boomed in the open parlor. "I'm back! Hope you like pizza!"
"Dad!"
He heard the door crash open; a blur shot out it, slid down the stair railing and nearly took out his legs. He swayed in place, balancing the pizza boxes with one hand, and steadying him with the other. His ward looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear. Urk. Right in the heartstrings.
"You're back!"
A frown writ his face. "Of course I am. I said I'd be late tonight, remember?"
"Well, yeah," his ward warbled, "But I didn't think you were coming back 'till tomorrow...
Tenko trailed off and buried his head against his knees. Naruto couldn't help but wince at that. He was...not cured per se, but better these days. A far cry from the gaunt, emaciated boy he'd blundered into by chance. So long as he didn't bring up the boy's trauma -and he never would!- he was certain he could help him adapt. He was getting better. He would be better. He swore it. Speaking of swearing...!
"Did you train today, like I asked?"
The boy winced. "A little? Didn't make much progress."
Was this what pride felt like? Pride in someone else? Such a strange feeling.
"Don't worry about it." Naruto scratched his cheek. "Maybe it would be better if I just showed you that trick tomorrow...and really, your bloodine's pretty harmless so long as you wear gloves."
Quirks, they called them. He disagreed! They weren't any different from bloodlines, really. Tenko's was dangerous in the wrong hands, but so long as he used it carefully, he'd be fine. It was merely a matter of control
"Pops?"
Blast, he'd been spacing out.
"I'll have dinner read in a few minutes." he tousled the boy's hair. "Go wash up."
A small hand tugged at his sleeve. "Alright, can we play some Mario Kart after?"
"Sure, sure-ah, wait!" Naruto caught himself nodding, then paused as Tenko raced up the stairs. "Just remember to keep your gloves on!"
The boy shot him a baleful look over his shoulder. "C'mon, it's like 100C!"
"Tough." A blond brow rose. "Gloves or no games, mister."
Tenko rolled his eyse and flung up his hands. "...fiiiine!"
Naruto watched him stomp upstairs.
"Heh. Guess this is my life now...
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
A/N: Be merciful, I'm learning as I go here, and I've gotten a LOT of requests for plot points in this tale.
Well? Whaddya think? Should this be a story? I await your feedback.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
Here, have some juicy previews.
Well, future ones at least.
(Preview)
"For all your strength...you have a weakness."
It was a good punch, a terrified part of Tenko thought. Powerful, full of promise and pain. Decay or not, he had no way of stopping that. It never landed. He creaked an eye open. Naruto lowered his arm, fingers curled around their fist.
...that's my son." His voice was a low growl.
"Is he now? How adorable-
Naruto's fist blurred.
"That's!
Their head snapped to the side. A tooth whistled through the air.
"MY SON!
His victim's face twisted against the fist, skin warping, obliterating an eye.
"YOU GODAMN BASTARD!"
A golden fist flashed upward. The sound barrier shattered. His foe rocketed into the clouds.
An impossible force struck him from the sky, hammering him all the way down.
And the street ruptured as they struck, spraying debris everywhere.
In the distance, Miruko whistled. "Daaaamn. What was that?"
"WHAT KIND OF MOTHER ARE YOU!? You're alive! Take responsibility, damnit!"
"I'm sorry...I messed up...!"
"Listen to me!" He took them by the shoulders. "There's nothing wrong you. Either of you!" Keen blue eyes drilled into them. "You were born with these powers, bloodlines, whatever you want to call them. They don't own you. Its the other way around."
He drew them into a fierce embrace.
"We're gonna find a way to make 'em work for you...
"I AM HERE!"
Naruto tilted his head. "That's...good?"
"I saw your feat! You would make an excellent hero!"
...not really interested in that sorta thing. The kid's my priority at the moment...
There's just something attractive about a single father...still, how many are you willing to take in? They'll be the death of you."
"Piss on that! I'll help as many as I can!"
"Who're you?"
The battered boy blinked up at him. Naruto finally noticed his appearance, then. Shaggy autumn hair and stark golden eyes.
...Chisaki." the youth rasped.
Naruto's head struck his palm. "Not another one!"
"Toga, I know you're happy, but please. Stop biting me."
"Awww...
R&R~!