Chapter Text
“Tenko! Time to do the dishes!” Tenko huffed as he pulled the headphones off his ears. The black headphones rested on his neck.
They always call him down to do his chores when he is playing his games. Tenko hadn’t even been on it for thirty minutes. He couldn’t leave without losing all his progress. And he had made a good amount of progress.
“I’ll be down in a minute! I can’t pause my game just yet!” Tenko yelled back as he quickly started getting to a save spot. All he needed to do was find a way to jump into the vent. The man was following him and he needed to quickly get into the vent.
“I said now Tenko! Don’t make me turn that game off!” Tenko didn’t understand why Kira where getting so mad at him. She’s never gotten mad before. Tenko was always allowed to get to a savespot before coming down and doing his chores.
Tenko grabbed the box in front of him and quickly put it under the vent, allowing him to jump into the vent. The little character animation popped up and he quickly paused it.
Kira threw open Tenko’s door as he was getting out of his chair. “When I call you down, you must come down at that moment!” Tenko shrunk back as her quirk started going off. “You’re grounded! No games for a week!” Tenko nodded silently as he marched over to his gaming set and unplugged them. He watched as the screens turned off, leaving his room in darkness.
“Now go do the dishes!”
---
“Boy’s! Anyone want to go to the park and get ice cream?!” Kira yelled through their hallway.
Tenko popped out of his room. He wanted to go but he had been grounded. He couldn't go out and do anything fun. But he really wanted to go to the park. He could play with Dabi and Keigo. Izuku could stitch his legs out, and burn off a bunch of his energy.
“I want to go to the park!” Shoto yelled as he ran out of his room. Izuku and Hitoshi hot on his heels.
“Me too!” Izuku and Hitoshi screamed.
“Can I stretch out my wings?” Keigo asked as he left Dabi’s room. Dabi trailed out behind the bird. Tenko was a bit jealous that Dabi got to hang out with Keigo, while he was stuck in his room with nothing to do.
“Of course, just don’t fly too far.” Keigo grinned as his wings fluttered behind him.
“Can I go?” Tenko asked as he walked out of his room. Kanako tilted her head like she was confused on why he couldn’t go. Why would she do this? Kanako was the one who grounded him… Tenko didn’t understand, was he… was he just making up that memory?
“Of course! Why wouldn’t you be able to go?” She asked and Tenko just stared at her. He… he must have made up that memory. Kanako was too nice to ground him.
“I don’t know.” Tenko shrugged, brushing her off. Keigo smiled at Tenko as he grabbed his hand. Tenko allowed himself to be pulled over to his two soulmates. They made him feel better. Dabi knew him and Tenko knew Dabi.
“That’s ok. You all are kids, you don’t need to know everything.” Tenko didn’t believe that one bit. He had to teach Izuku how to survive in this world. If he didn’t then he’d lose the last family member that he cared about. Tenko didn’t want that. He wanted to watch as Izuku grew up and went to school. Tenko wanted to stay with his soulmates and live.
Tenko wanted to live.
“Lets go!” Izuku screeched as he started jumping up and down.
---
“Izuku! No quirk usage outside of a quirk gym!” Izuku stared up at Yamato. The snow leopard just flicked its tall before going back to playing. He didn’t care about not being able to use his quirk unless in a gym. He was at home. That was good enough for him.
“Don’t make me start counting.” Izuku stopped again. Large green eyes glared up at the man. “One.” Izuku didn’t understand the whole counting thing. Why did they start counting when he needed to drop something? They never explained it to him. “Two.” A bird landed on the window, causing Izuku to hyperfocus on it. It was blue. The bird was pretty, and Izuku wanted to get closer to it. “Three.”
Yamato grabbed Izuku by the scruff of his neck. “If you want to act like an animal, you’re going to stay outside like an animal.” Izuku growled and whined as he was thrown outside. “You can come back inside for dinner.”
Izuku didn’t understand why this was happening. He was just using his quirk like he always did. They never punished him for it before, so why now? What has changed? Izuku didn’t want to be outside. It was too cold for him to shift back to his human form. If he did he’d freeze to death.
Izuku jumped into the tallest tree and hunkered down. He wanted Tenko, he didn’t want to be outside. And he was really hungry. Izuku had skipped lunch to play with Hitoshi and Shoto. Tenko had said it was ok, as long as he ate a snack before dinner. But now he couldn’t eat a snack! He was stuck outside!
Izuku whined to himself as he settled his head on his paws.
---
“Boy’s time to go shopping!” Izuku whined as he buried himself in his blankets. He wanted to go shopping and get new clothes and plushies. But his bed was comfy and warm, he didn’t want to leave it so soon. He liked his new bed, it was covered and made it look like a cave! And napping on the tree was nice as well! Plus all the snacks! He liked the raw chicken legs the best, even though the steak was good.
“Come on Zuku.” Izuku glared at Tenko as the older boy picked up the snow leopard. He huffed before curling in Tenko’s arms, letting his eyes close. Falling asleep was never hard to come by for Izuku.
“Up.” Izuku opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a car, but it was parked. “Come on, we’re at the mall sleepy cat.” Izuku growled at Tenko, who just rolled his eyes. Getting out of the car, he grabbed Tenko’s hand.
The mall was huge! So many people were entering the place. Izuku wondered how many people the building could hold.
“Alright, I don’t care what you get, go wild.” Izuku looked up at Kanako with wide eyes. He was able to get anything he wanted? He’d never been able to get anything he wanted.
“Really?” Izuku asked. Kanako looked down at Izuku and nodded.
“Tenko can go with Haruka and I’ll stay with you Izuku. We’ll meet back up for lunch.” Kanako held out his hand for Izuku to grab. The younger boy smiled brightly before grabbing her hand. Pulling her into the closest kid’s clothing store.
Izuku didn’t know where to start. There were clothes everywhere! Some bright and others darker, there were short sleeves and long sleeves.
Izuku looked around before spotting a shirt that said ‘shirt’. He wanted that shirt and the other around it in the same style. He quickly grabbed those as he looked around for more.
Once done at that store Izuku was holding Hanako’s hand once more. Walking around the mall, going into stores that Izuku was interested in.
Izuku had gotten another blanket, with many different cats on it, and three more pillows. He had eight new outfits and Hanako was encouraging him to get more.
“Can we go there?!” Izuku pointed to the hero merch store, while bouncing. His eyes were wide with joy, causing his ears to stand at a point. Izuku loved seeing all the hero stuff, and he wanted a Loud Cloud plushie.
“Sure.” Izuku grinned up to Kanako-san as he skipped next to the woman. His excitement bubbling over caused his quirk to activate. His canines extended and his eyes became slits like cat eyes. Izuku didn’t even mind as the world dulled and got blurry. It had been years since he was inside of a hero store. “Go wild kid.” Kanako-san let go of Izuku's hand and watched as the 6-year-old ran over to some plushies.
Izuku quickly grabbed a Loud Cloud pushie, it was a light blue cloud with goggles. Next to it was a Fatgum plushie, that was soft and very round. It looked like the hero, which Izuku thought was amazing. Izuku couldn’t believe all the hero merch that the store had. He felt like he was in heaven.
“Zuzu!?” Izuku’s head snapped to the left. A tuft of blond hair could be seen before the boy rammed into him.
“Kacchan!” Izuku smiled as he hugged his childhood friend. It had been so long since he’d seen him! Kacchan was his best friend in the whole wide world. They were going to become heroes together.
“What happened? Where’d you go?!” Kacchan yelled in Izuku’s ears, causing him to wince. He’d forgotten how loud his friend was.
“Mama and dad kicked me out! They didn’t like my quirk.” Kacchan pulled away and looked at Izuku with wide eyes. Izuku felt panic as he stared at his best friend.
“Do you want me to kill them for you?” Izuku stared at Kacchan before bursting out laughing. He really did miss his friend.
“No thank you Kacchan.”
“Ok, ‘Zuku. But tell me the moment you do.” Kacchan nodded to himself. “And I’ll kill them for you.” Izuku laughed as he grabbed Kacchans hand. He wanted to spend more time with his best friend. They were soulmates! His ring finger told all with Kacchans mark.
Kacchan was also his platonic soulmate. The orange explosion seemed to shine in the light of the store.
“Katsuki! You brat, I told you not to run off.” Izuku’s whole face brightened up as Mitsuki walked over to the two. Izuku loved his Auntie and missed her. She looked exactly the same from the last time he’d seen her.
“Auntie!” Izuku dropped Katsuki’s hand and launched himself at the blonde woman. Startled Mitsuki froze for a second before wrapping her arms around the green haired-boy.
“Izuku, it’s good to see you again!” Izuku smiled as he hugged her back. Katsuki stood next to them, as Kanako- san walked over. Katsuki glared at the woman. Izuku was put down as Kanako-san walked over, her arms full of Izuku’s bags.
“Hello.”
“Who are you?” Mitsuki asked as she ruffled Izuku's hair, before pushing him towards Katsuki. Izuku got the message, taking Katsuki’s hand, Izuku pulled him over to the posters.
“Look at this All Might poster!”
“Here's a Fatgum poster!” Izuku put he All Might poster down as he saw the poster behind it.
The Ferocious hero: Dragon.
Izuku’s father was in his hero costume. The black and red mixed together. Bright red scales crawled up his arms and up his neck. Smoke curled around his mouth as he smirked. His black hair looked tousled from the wind.
“Izuku!”
“Katsuki!”
The two boy’s ran back over to their respected adults. They had apparently swapped numbers to set up playdates. Which Izuku was excited about, he got to spend more time with Kacchan.
Izuku skipped next to Hanako as they walked to the food court, meeting back up with the other two.
“Ten-nii!” Izuku giggled as he tackled his brother into a hug. Both hit the ground with a thud.
“Izu, ow!” Izuku immediately felt bad and quickly got off of the older boy. He didn’t mean to send the two to the ground, he was just so excited to show off his new plushies.
“Sorry.” Tenko huffed as he ruffled Izuku’s hair. Watching as Izuku melted and started purring. Izuku grabbed onto Tenko’s hand as the adults caught up with them.
“Alright, what do you two want for lunch?” Tenko and Izuku looked around. They never really had an option when it came to food, so it was a bit overwhelming. There were so many options that it made Izuku’s head spin.
Then the smell hit his nose. He looked around before finding the stall. It was meant for animal quirks, having raw meat dishes right out front. “Meat.” Izuku nodded to himself.
“Izuku, you’re not an animal, why don’t you pick something else.” Haruka-san looked down at Izuku, not liking his lunch choice. Izuku’s eyes widened as his ears went back. Kanako-san had told Izuku he could get anything he wanted. So why couldn’t he get meat? His favorite food in the whole world?
“But I want it.” He whined as tears started filling his eyes. He wanted raw steak, that's all he wanted. Izuku didn’t want anything else to eat! He wanted steak and that was it!
“What about some Grilled Miso Chicken?”
No! He wanted steak and that was it!
“No! I want steak!” Izuku’s bottom lip trembled. He was on the verge of a full on meltdown. He couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t let him get raw meat. It was the best food in the world.
“Hey Izu, look what I got.” In his hands was an All Might doll. Izuku sniffled before walking over to Tenko. Izuku liked the doll, it was soft and squishy. Izuku sniffled again before nuzzling his head into Tenko’s chest.
“’m tired, Tenko.” Izuku mumbled into Tenko’s chest softly. Izuku wanted to eat and take a nap. He’d been awake all morning and now he was tired.
“Let’s get some lunch, it’s definitely past nap time.” Tenko stared at the gawking adults. Children Izuku’s age had designated nap times for this exact reason. And just because Izuku was mature for his age, did not mean he didn’t need a nap time. Tenko knew how to deal with a meltdown and next time it happened, he’d let the adults take care of it. They needed to learn how anyway.
---
Izuku looked pale and afraid. The white haired man that had attacked him, was standing in front of them. Dustin and Katlyn were standing next to him, wearing the same uniform.
“You have all failed to be re-educated.” The white haired man started. “Which means that you can not live in our society. Your views of the world are too radical and we have not been able to change that. We will be putting you back where you came from.”
“I don’t understand.” Tenko said. He could wrap his head around what the man was saying. Why were they trying to re-educate them? Why couldn’t they live in society? Tenko was not a radical thinker. That would get you killed on the streets.
He didn’t want to go back to the streets. Tenko knew he could survive, he was an asshole and a brat. He fit in with the other homeless kids who turned to gang and yakuza groups. Izuku didn’t.
Izuku was a child who wanted a good life. Tenko did too, but he had a violating quirk. He was never going to be a hero or a regular civilian. Izuku could do whatever he wanted. He could go to college or become a hero. Tenko really didn’t have a choice, but that was ok. Tenko was going to do everything in his power to make sure his little brother got a good life. A life that he deserved.
“We are not here to discuss everything. You have failed all the tests given to you.” Tenko didn’t know what to do. The two people who were supposed to help them, stabbed them instead.
“I don’t understand! There were no tests given!” Dabi yelled as Shoto started crying.
“Boy’s I said go pack, and that also means Keigo.”
Tenko let Izuku play in his room, not wanting him to worry. He didn’t want Izuku to leave this place, even if that meant that Tenko had to leave Izuku. Tenko would do it in a heartbeat.
Two large duffle bags hung from Tenko’s shoulders as they were loaded up into a van. Keigo looked around with wide eyes. This was the first time he was moved.
“Where are we going?” Fuyumi asked as she looked out of the window. They were in some forest, huge tree’s loomed over them.
The driver didn’t answer, all he did was stop the car and open the doors. “Out.”
This was worse than the streets. Tenko had no idea where they were and they had driven a good hour into the forest.
“I said out.” Tenko scrambled out of the van, grabbing the duffle bags. Once they were all out, the van turned around and left them alone.
The sky was quickly darkening and they had no shelter. Crickets and cicadas could be heard. A frog crooked from a stream off to the left.
“What do we do now?”