Chapter Text
He felt the unrelenting itch.
Hana, his mom, Mon, they were gone they crumbled to pieces at his touch.
“I’m sorry!” He could feel the tears tracking down his face.
He looked up and saw the blurry shape of his dad. Dad, I’m sorry! He tried to yell but his throat was clogged. It itched, he reached up to scratch his neck, he could feel his nails breaking skin but the itch just continued to fester and spread, burrowing itself deep beneath his skin where he couldn’t reach it, no matter how much he scratched, no matter how deep his nails dug into his raw skin, it was unrelenting.
he reached out to his father. He didn't know why, his father couldn't help, all he did was hurt. Tenko brought his hand down to the dirt. His eyes widened as cracks started forming, reaching towards his father like webs, through the yard, and up the walls of the house. A sob wrenched itself out of his throat. He didn't want to destroy everything he just wanted the itching to go away.
His father rushed at him, avoiding the cracks spanning the yard, pausing for a moment when his eyes lock on something to the side. “Dad! Dad!” He reaches over grabbing a tire iron and slammed it into Tenko’s face. “Stop Tenko!” his father reached his hand out towards the bloodied and trembling boy. No Stop, please don’t hurt me! Tenko tried to speak but his jaw was locked and all sound trapped inside his throat. Tenko was overwhelmed, his head hurt, his dad had hurt him, Again. All at once the memories of his father hurting him, locking him outside, destroying their family, all the memories flew to the forefront of his mind. It was all he could think about, and it made his blood boil. Rage flowed through his veins as his vision went red as he jumped at his father. This time he wasn’t the one cowering and scared, he grabbed onto any sense of control he could, he was not the one about to be hurt, this time it was his father.
“Die!” He screamed as his small pale hand made contact with his father’s head. He could feel the grin growing on his face as the back of his dad's head slammed into the ground. He could feel the skin of the man beneath him harden then crack. The man who tormented him, hurt him, starved him, and broke him was losing control as he crumbled beneath Tenko. Only once the cracking body of his father had dissolved into a puddle of flesh and blood did he remove his hand.
His dad had left him, just like his mom and Hana but unlike before he didn’t feel Anything. he felt cold, he felt numb.
He didn’t know how long he sat there, his tears had long dried, leaving him with streaks of blood and dirt on his cheeks and red puffy eyes. It felt like he was floating above his body, looking in on a stranger, like the characters he played in video games when he could sneak past his father to go to the arcade. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Everything but the itch. The world had blurred, and his senses had dimmed. He could feel each beat of his heart, He could feel the breath pushing through his lungs, He could feel the itch resting deep in his bones.
Eventually the peace ended and the world flowed back into color. He was no longer just an observer, he gained back control each of his movements, he could hear the birds chirping, feel the wind on his dry cracked skin, and the metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils, making the minimal contents in his stomach churn.
But with his senses back so we’re his feelings. The guilt was overwhelming, along with the crushing loneliness. He could feel the burn of tears threatening to resurface at the thought of what he had done. NO, I don’t want to cry. he stood up on shaky legs, wiped his eyes raw, making sure no tears strayed from their ducts, and started walking.
He walked through the house he grew up in, keeping his eyes locked on the floor, he didn’t want his eyes to wander to the family photos he knew were on the wall. Picture after picture of him and his family with fake smiles plastered on their faces. A heavy arm wrapped around their shoulders Friendly enough to outsiders, but Tenko knew what it really was, a threat. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away and focused on the front door.
He Placed his pale bloody hand on the cold door nob and froze, bracing himself for a punishment he knew wouldn't come, like the last time he tried to open the big door. When nothing happened. Tenko smiled and opened the door, letting the fresh air assault his face. He didn't know where he was going, just that he was leaving this big cold house that never felt like a home. Hana flashed through his mind, and tears welled in his eyes again, but Tenko wiped them away before they could fall. He would be strong until he could find someone to help him.
Tenko was covered in blood and bile as he walked past house after house, until houses turned into stores, and the streets became more crowded. He didn’t know what to do, didn’t know if he was in trouble, or if a hero would come to save him, or capture him for what he had done.
He continued walking aimlessly, keeping his eyes downcast, watching his feet skip over the cracks in the ground. He could hear the people around him. Their gasps of horror. How they would rush past him as quickly as they could. He didn't know how long he had been walking, his feet ached, and his empty stomach was twisting painfully. He just wanted someone, anyone to help him.
“Hello. Are you alright?” He looked up at the old lady, she looked kind, her face scrunched with worry, accentuating her wrinkles. “what’s the matter with-” the lady stopped speaking when she saw his face, Tenko watched as the kindness in the lady's eyes faded into fear. Her shoulders tensed, her hand clutched her bag, her entire posture changed as she leaned away from the small boy. The hope that someone would save him washed away with the lady’s next words. “I-I’m sure a hero or a police officer will be here soon. I need to get to work, you know?” Tenko watched as she ran away. He reached his hand up to his neck and scratched. Why won’t it stop itching? he brought his hands down and held them in front of him and continued walking.
Tenko didn't understand, why did it have to be a hero, why couldn't a single person show him some kindness. Where heroes really that far above normal people? Was society so dependent on people in shiny costumes, that they had lost their ability to help anyone on the street? If that's what heroes had caused then Tenko decided he didn't want to contribute to the way they effect other people.
He doesn't know how many minutes passed by. People continued to skirt past him as he continued to wander the streets. He was about to turn into an alley when he heard small footsteps approaching. "um... ex-excuse me, y-you look s-sad, a-are you okay?" He turned around to see a boy around his age with freckles dusting his cheeks, messy green hair and sparkling green eyes. When he saw Tenko’s face the boys eyes widened, not with fear like the lady before, but with concern.
The short boy rushed up to Tenko, grabbed his wrist and started running the direction he had come. Tenko wobbled behind him on shaky legs trying not to fall. Suddenly he came to an abrupt stop, Tenko topple into him, losing his balance, he almost grabbed onto the kind boy’s shoulders before snapping them back when he realized what would happen, causing him to completely lose his balance and fall to the ground. He looked up when he heard a giggle and saw the boy with an out stretched hand. He shook his head, and pushed himself off the pavement. there was a lady with green hair that matched the boy’s, looking into a window that held a variety of All Might merch.
“Mom, look!” His mom looked over at the two boys startled by the urgency in her son’s voice. When her eyes shifted over to Tenko, they widened, and she let out a gasp. “Oh Sweetie! Are you alright? What happened? Where are your parents? ” she crouched down so that she was at eye level with him. He shuffled his feet and looked down at his bloodied hands.
“M-my f-family’s g-g-gone.” is all he could get past the lump in his throat. A look that he couldn’t Identify crossed over her face but only for a moment. She seemed to realize that the pale boy wasn’t going to say more so instead of pushing the subjects she said, “why don’t you come home with me and Izuku. Does that sound good?” Tenko’s eyes widened, and all he could do was nod. “Okay,” she looked over at Izuku. “Izu-baby you ready to go home?” The boy nodded with a determined look on his face. “We can play with my newest All Might toy! Do you like All Might? I love him! He’s my favorite hero. Usually kacchan plays with me but he gets mad when I wanna be All Might.” Izuku said. When Tenko thinks of the word hero he thinks of all the people that passed him on the street, he thinks of the lady who told him a hero would come save him, he thinks of the green haired boy and his mother who saved him. His favorite hero is Izuku.
Tenko saw a fond smile on the green haired woman’s lips before she turned back to him. “I’m Inko and that is Izuku. Wanna tell me your name sweetie?” She looked at him with such kind eyes. he felt safe, more so than he had in a long time. “T-Tenko.” Inko smiled and held out her hand, “Nice to meet you Tenko.” He looked down at her hand. “N-no, yo-you’ll d-disappear t-too.” Her eyes widened and she put her hand on my shoulder instead. “Is it your quirk sweety?” He nodded, not trusting his shaky voice. “Alright why don’t we get you some gloves before we head home?” Tenko nodded once again.
They were in the car, Izuku and Tenko in the back seat, Izuku playing with his All Might action figure and Tenko fidgeting with the gloves wrapped around his hands that Inko had gotten. “What would you like to eat for dinner Tenko?” He shrugged and looked over at Izuku, “w-what do y-you w-want?” The shorter boy looked over at him with a big, bright smile, and eyes that seemed to sparkle. In that moment Tenko promised himself he would protect that boy with his life. “katsudon! mamma , can we please have katsudon?” Inko sighed with a small smile on her lips, “what do you think Tenko, do you want katsudon?” I nodded, “ I-I li-like k-katsudon.” She nodded. “Good, then it’s settled. We’re almost home, how about we have bath time, then, Izuku you can show Tenko your All Might toys while I make dinner.” The two boys quickly agreed, and for the rest of the ride Izuku was telling Tenko about his favorite clip of All Might and how he watched it every night after dinner.
What Tenko hadn’t noticed was that for once, the itch was gone...