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8,000 yen wasn’t a whole lot of money, basically nothing to someone exceedingly wealthy like All For One-who’s account that was coming out of- but it was enough to bribe a teenage babysitter to leave a four year old alone with a pair of strangers.
Pitiful, but unsurprising.
People had stopped surprising Kurogiri a long time ago.
The child was sleeping; as he should have been at this late hour. His father was working a late shift. The two of them had some time until he would get home, so while All For One had walked into the boy’s bedroom, Kurogiri strolled around the house, noting the decor-if it could be called that- was...minimalistic. They’d been keeping tabs on the man to know he and his son had lived in this tiny apartment since the child was one or so, there should have been...more.
Anything.
The sparsity was worrying. Even more worrying, there were no traces of toys or playthings; did this child get any brain stimulation at all? No photographs or anything sentimental, either. The mother was out of the picture, it seemed. Whether that was via death or abandonment, Kurogiri didn't know.
The fridge was empty save for a few beers.
“It’s done.” All For One said.
“Was it painless?”
“He didn’t even wake up.” His boss chuckled. “Concerned?”
“This hardly looks like a house that a child lives in.”
“He won’t be living here too much longer.” All For One reminded him.
That’s right. They were here for what was basically going to boil down to kidnapping.
“We aren’t taking him now..?”
“Not just yet. There’s a little preparation work to be done before that time. Come now.”
“...” Leaving the child here was a bad idea.
This whole house made him feel uneasy.
More than that, his boss’s lackadaisical attitude about this most of all made him the most unsettled.
The following week, All For One made the decision that Kurogiri would be posted at the bar the elder Shimura worked at; just to monitor him a little closer. Kurogiri suspected there were motives beyond that, but there always were, weren’t there? He’d learned to stop questioning and work quietly on whatever he’d been tasked with.
There was a pack of women celebrating a bachelorette party- without calling ahead. They had gotten irritable at the lack of tables available for their party. Their party of twenty five women in a bar that was already packed on a Friday had all gotten roaringly drunk.
He had resigned himself to being a private transporter for Japan’s oldest and most dangerous villains; he had enjoyed the job, because it was more often than not, quiet. He idly wondered if he was being punished for something by All For One.
However. The drunk women begging him to do drink tricks with his portals were infinitely less irritating that Mr. Shimura.
“Banshees,” The other man hissed under his breath, glancing at Kurogiri. “You’d be better to quit while you can, new guy.”
“If you think so, why are you here?” He pried. He had a feeling the man would tell him regardless of how gently he asked. He’d been drinking on the job, completely unabashedly. His cheeks were flushed and his words slurred.
“Same reason anyone needs a job.”
The tips were good; the base pay itself was good, too. The money earned wasn’t going on much food or things for his son from what he observed, so Kurogiri wondered where the money was going for Shimura.
It couldn’t have all been on alcohol and bills, right?
“Come on, Mister, do the thing again!” One of the girls hollered from the other side of the bar. He sighed, pouring a glass out for her and then dropping it in front of her through a small portal. Her and her friends went wild. One of them threw a tip through the still-open portal.
Through the corner of his eye, Kurogiri saw and felt Shimura glaring.
“Leave some for the rest of us, would you?”
“...If you need it that badly.” He offered the money. That seemed to make the man even angrier; he didn’t take it, and stomped out, muttering about needing a smoke break.
If he got a small bit of satisfaction from that, he wouldn’t let on.
A week passed; Seven days of mentally numbing bartending nights- Shimura strolled into the employee break room in the back at the start of their shift. He was dragging his son behind him by the upper arm.
“Sitter canceled. He’ll be fine here. Don’t mention it to the boss or anything.”
He...he planned to leave the child in the room alone?
The whole eight hour shift?
All night? With no beds? No blankets or pillows, or at the very least, some sort of mat…?
The audacity was shocking. Did Shimura think the normal person would agree, then ignore the child?
He wasn’t supposed to know the child’s name was Tenko; after shoving a few things in his locker, it didn’t seem like Shimura was going to tell him as much or even bother explaining further. He turned to his son, squatting down. The look in his eye was the same cold glare he’d given Kurogiri all week, not even a hint of warmth.
“You stay here, understand? Don’t go anywhere and don’t -” He grabbed the child’s wrist, making Tenko flinch back, “Use that quirk or take these off, got it?”
He nodded, staring at the floor.
“What?”
“Yes, Father.” It was so quiet Kurogiri could have missed it. He’d been trying to look like he hadn’t been paying attention, back turned to his own locker.
Tenko's hands had been wrapped up in what looked like duct tape.
Shimura left the room. Tenko wouldn’t even look up at him, he’d sat himself on the floor in the corner and started to stare at the wall.
Shimura’s sharp ‘don’t tell the boss’ rang in his ears. He’d met the owner of the bar one time, very briefly, for an interview- he seemed like a nicer person than Shimura. Not like that was hard.
In a fit of quiet fury, he walked straight to the other man’s office- labeled ‘Sako’.
“Kurogiri, good evening. What can I do for you?”
“We have a guest with us. In the employee room.”
A minute later, they stared at the child together.
“Shimura never even mentioned he had a son. What’s on his hands?”
“Tape?”
“Tape, really?”
He was pretty pleased his temporary boss’s tone mirrored his own thoughts about it.
"Quirk suppression?" He suggested, as if he didn't know it for a fact.
“...Well, I’d like you to go start your shift, now.”
“Sir?”
“I’ll take care of this. Do me a favor and don’t mention to Shimura that you got me. We wouldn’t want things to..escalate.”
“Right. Thank you.”
While he was leaving, he could hear the boss gently coaxing Tenko to follow him to the bathroom.
“Hello, I’m Sako Atsuhiro. May I have your name?”
“...Shimura Tenko.”
“A pleasure, Shimura. It looks like you have something uncomfortable there. We need soapy water to get that off without pain, okay? Will you follow me?”
“Father said not to leave the room…”
“I promise I won’t tell. Come on, I’ll even show you a card trick. Do you like playing cards?”
Kurogiri decided that he liked the boss here; even if it was temporary, maybe they could meet again, sometime.
He...would have liked to.
At their second break, Shimura stunned Kurogiri by actually going to check on Tenko. He followed, saying he needed to grab his phone, but in all honesty, he just wanted to make sure the man wouldn’t do anything to his child.
Sako had put Tenko to sleep on the floor, and had brought him a blanket and pillow. His hands were balled up and swollen, a bright red. There were a few playing cards scattered around the floor around him.
“What the hell-”
“Shh, don’t wake him.” Sako said from behind them. “You should have told me you were bringing him, I would have prepared something a little cozier for him.”
“I-We need to bind his hands. Ever since his quirk manifested, he’s…”
“He told me all about it. It sounds like he hates it very much, which I find odd for a child who just got it. I’m sure there are less...abrasive ways? To keep him from causing any harm during the learning period for his quirk. There are child quirk counselling services available for more..destructive quirks.”
“Well, uh,” Shimura was sweating a little. Good, Kurogiri thought. A more common-sense part of him hoped Sako might stop egging him on, though, in case it made the man angry, because he knew they wouldn’t be the one’s he’d take it out on. “I did have him gloves ordered, they just aren’t in yet.”
“Of course. Do feel free to bring him by anytime, okay? I enjoy entertaining children, they love the simplest tricks. I know it might be stressful to leave him with any sitters that are practically strangers, so while you look for a new one I’d be happy to let him stay here during your shifts.”
“...Uh, yeah. Sure.”
Kurogiri and Sako watched the man leave the room in a hurry.
“Poor boy. I do wish I could do something more, but I’m leaving next week.”
“Leaving?”
“I have a performance, I am an entertainer, after all. This is only a hobby, honestly.” He laughed. Kurogiri wondered what kind of people owned bars for hobbies . “Will you keep an eye on the situation and let me know if it escalates?”
What was the morally and legally correct answer? He was already keeping an eye on the situation, but he couldn’t say that.
“If it does I’ll be sure to..make a call to child services.”
“...There were already bruises.” Sako said under his breath. His face had fallen a little.
“What?”
“Along his arms, covered by his sleeves. When I asked where they came from, he insisted he ‘fell’...Like I said, I was supposed to leave next week. I have a cruise to catch. But..he’s quite small for his age, isn’t he?”
Kurogiri looked at the boy again.
“He’s practically starving him.” He blurted out before he could stop himself. He wasn’t supposed to know that-the clothes were baggy enough it shouldn’t have been noticeable.
Sako stared at him for a moment, eyes glittering with curiosity. Kurogiri stared at the floor, at the wall, practically everywhere else to avoid those brown eyes. He shouldn’t have even been talking about the child to anyone else- it was dangerous. All For One’s plan hinged on no one looking for him should he go missing.
“That may be the case, his arms are very thin.” Sako agreed after a brief pause. “Well, you should be getting back to your shift, hm?”
“Yes, of course. Excuse me.”
Shimura did bring Tenko again. Kurogiri wondered if he would; on one hand, he was at risk for being judged, but on the other hand, the temptation of not needing to pay a sitter probably had appealed to him.
“Sir-”
“Please, call me Sako.”
“...Sako,” Kurogiri started. “Of course I’d prefer the child here as well, but, in a bar…”
“It should be fine so long as he stays in the back room. I do have a business to run, so I can’t watch him all the time…”
Tenko, after a few days, had started opening up to them. He looked up from the bench he had been trying to stack cards on- a trick Sako had showed him, and frowned.
“You don’t need to watch me, Mr. Sako. I’m used to it.”
Used to being alone.
“Children aren’t supposed to be…” Kurogiri sighed. “I wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on him, but...”
“If it’s just Shimura out there he can’t work alone on busy nights. His attitude will drive away all of my customers.” Sako said, quietly enough that Tenko wouldn’t hear. “Luckily, I’ve found an alternative. Killing two birds with one stone, in a way. I found a sitter, one that agreed to stay here. She’ll be here soon enough. If you don’t mind, I’d like for you to screen her first.”
“Me?” Kurogiri blinked. “I’m not sure I’m qualified to do interviews.”
“It doesn’t have to be a formal interview. To be honest, the girl isn’t even of age to be in a bar, but she’s snuck in more than a few times with friends. I suspect she might be homeless, so...if she’s good with children, I’d like to…you know.”
“Ah.” That’s what he meant when he’d said he wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He saw an abused child, a runaway teen and…
“Do you have children of your own, Sako?”
“I don’t, and I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to. It just doesn’t suit my lifestyle, I’m afraid.”
“I see.”
Tenko was watching the conversation curiously.
“Father said he didn’t want kids, too.”
Kurogiri squatted down in front of him.
“There are people who do want you and care about you.”
Tenko ducked his head down, letting his bangs cover his eyes, but something Kurogiri had never seen before happened: Tenko smiled.
Hikiishi Kenji was, like Sako had mentioned, a teen runaway. She had short, choppy hair dyed red and was playing with it while sipping on a virgin fruity drink Kurogiri had made for her. She didn’t seem nervous at all- Kurogiri noted her confident attitude- he was sure something like that would be a good influence on Tenko, who was so withdrawn.
“Do you have any previous experience with children?”
“I have six younger siblings. Before the old man threw me out I was the sole babysitter. So yeah, I can handle one kid.”
“This child requires a certain level of..sensitivity.”
“Abused?”
“To..be frank, yes.”
“I can handle a kid like that. Lemme be blunt here, I’m not a stranger to that type of thing. Kids just need acceptance, y’know? I’ll make sure he feels that and if I catch any shitbags trying anything,” She pounded her fist into her hand, “Don’t worry about it.”
“When can you start?”
Hikiishi, as promised, was good with kids- despite her tendency to take the occasional bottle of liquor without asking or paying, she never drank on the job. Kurogiri passed the break room and heard laughing.
He walked in. Tenko barely noticed him, looking up to confirm it wasn't his father, then looking back down. Instead he was focused on a set of cards- the one Sako had given him, and was hiding his face behind them.
“C’mon, tell me, where’d you learn that trick? You had me fooled!”
“Mr. Sako showed me. He knows a lot of magic. But it’s not really magic.” Tenko clarified. “It’s ‘sight of hand’.” He said proudly. Neither of them had the heart to correct him. “Kurogiri, let me show you! Come here.”
He was getting a little bossy, but it was better than flinching at everything, and staring at walls blankly. Kurogiri noted he almost always minded his manners when it came to honorifics, putting ‘Mr. , Ms., or general formalities- but he’d dropped it with Kurogiri immediately. He wondered if it was meant as a compliment; he hoped so. If Tenko would do it with him, he figured it was only polite to do the same, as odd as it felt.
"Have you eaten today, Tenko?"
“Pick a card.” Tenko insisted, ignoring the question.
"I fed him some Nattō and chips earlier, he's all good."
"Chips at this hour..?"
Tenko made a noise that sounded like a cross between a whine and a groan.
"Alright, let me pick one."
He held out the deck, holding it between eight fingers with the utmost care.
“Um, not that card. Pick another card.”
He studied the cards, and picked one that looked like a very small sharpie mark had been left on it.
Tenko beamed.
He could see that he was holding a card under his hand, but pretended not to when Tenko reached behind Kenji and pretended to pull it out of her ear.
“This is your card, right?”
“Oh, yes, it is. I didn’t know you also had a portal quirk.” He teased. Tenko pouted.
“No, I don’t! It was magic!”
He grinned, going to grab the cards, but his smile slipped into a panicked expression when the cards started to crumble away.
“I’m sorry- I’m sorry, don’t tell Father-”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay! It was an accident lil buddy!” Kenji tried to soothe. “Right, Kurogiri?”
“Yes. We can get you more. No one will be telling your father.”
Tenko paused and tilted his head.
“But I...I messed them up. Why would you get me more?”
“It was an accident. It happens, we all have accidents.” Kenji continued. “I bet Kurogiri here had a ton of accidents as a kid, right?”
She shot him a look that said ‘please tell him a story to distract him, like, right now.’
“Yes...I was born with mine, it would have been much easier for my parents if I had developed it at your age. Anytime I was a baby and would grab anything I would teleport it. Things went missing so often that I..” He trailed off.
To tell the truth, he didn’t remember that; that had been what All For One had told him. His memories of childhood or his parents were hazy. He had been found by All For One as a teen and taken in because of his quirk, being praised for being well-mannered and useful. He wondered if he had been a trial test to prepare All For One for keeping Tenko, or just one in a long line of children he had used. He wasn't a child anymore himself- but he was starting to feel responsible for one that needed him.
His time with All For One hadn't always been bad per say, but there had always been a sense of dread. That had been with him being obedient. Tenko, who was already scarred...
“Most people struggle with their quirks. Some people have to work harder than others, but it’s a lot like magic. You just have to keep practicing it.” He concluded, softening his own voice. "We'll help you with it."
Tenko nodded his head, staring to calming down.
“Can we clean it..? I don’t want Father to see.”
“‘Course we can. Let’s go find a dustpan, ‘kay?”
“Okay, Miss Hikiishi.”
“I told you buddy, you can call me big sis!”
Kenji shot him a grateful look. Kurogiri nodded. It was an unspoken truth that himself, Sako and the teen had agreed on: they were going to protect Tenko.
The following day, Shimura brought Tenko to the bar with a black eye that had a bad split, a split, bruised lip, and his hands duct taped again. The man was hung over, and muttered about Tenko ‘falling’, saying that he had wrapped his own hands up, somehow.
Kenji swore under her breath, muttering that she’d kill the man. Kurogiri didn’t doubt she would have. But she’d have to get in line behind himself and Sako first.
“Sir, perhaps we should act soon. Tenko is being abused. I think it might have started before you..gave him that quirk, but it’s worsened. He brought him to the bar, he had bruises and his hands were bound-”
“I had an idea of that, yes. It won’t be much longer. The problem will take care of itself, you see.”
All For One was smiling. He had said ‘it won’t be much longer’ before too, but Kurogiri wondered about the meaning of that now.
“...What do you mean?”
“I didn’t give him that quirk on accident. It would be better to take him when he’s more malleable..more vulnerable. We do have to take Mr. Shimura out of the picture. He would probably look for his child, if only for appearances sake. So, put two and two together!”
“Can’t we just kill Shimura if that’s the case?”
Murder for adults was one thing; they usually knew what they were doing. Kurogiri had gotten severely desensitized to it. To say his own hand were clean would be an enormous lie, but...having a child murder their own father? For what?
“We have to show him how awful this hero society is. Think ahead a little, won’t you? When he’s left alone for weeks, crying out for heroes, he’ll have plenty of time to grow to resent them, and praise the one who saves him.”
‘He’s already starving!’ Kurogiri wanted to scream. He might not last weeks. They needed to do something now, not traumatize him further. Wouldn’t that also be fine to instill a sense of loyalty?
His voice was caught in his throat, though. All For One...was power. Anyone with half a brain could feel it. It was just..his aura. The way he held himself.
He was evil.
But he was strong, stronger than anyone.
A child was going to end up murdering his own father, and Kurogiri had already decided the man deserved death, he had also decided: Tenko did not deserve for it to be on his hands.
Kurogiri excused himself to the job at the bar.
He walked into Sako’s office.
But promptly lost all his nerves when Sako was the first one to open his mouth.
“Let’s go out for drinks, Kurogiri.”
“We’re at a bar.”
“Yes, but all the alcohol is mine, so I wouldn’t have to pay for it. That’s not proper for a date.”
“…A date?”
“Not into men?”
“That’s not the problem...you’re my boss.”
“Oh? Well, if it makes you feel better, I won’t be anymore. My bar will probably be raided in a week or so…”
“It’ll be what?”
“Come on, let me tell you over a glass of wine and dinner. It’s a funny story, I promise you’ll be entertained.”
Entertained, maybe. Surprised? Definitely.
Atsuhiro Sako was a professional, high ranking thief who used bars along with various businesses to launder the money he got from selling jewels and other rare items. He worked quickly, and specialized in deception, tricks, and illusions. He admitted that the reason his bar was caught this time was because he had a hard time not bragging.
The most surprising thing is that he seemed to be totally sober while admitting all of this. The two of them were tucked into a corner of a five-star restaurant, and between the two of them, it was being paid for in blood money.
“I see.” Kurogiri said. He sipped his own wine, and tried his hardest to look less nonplussed about the whole thing.
“You don’t seem too surprised. I wanted to see what sort of reaction you’d have!”
“I was surprised that you’d tell me all of that.”
“I could keep going. It all started when I was nine when I joined the circus-”
“No..don’t go that far back.” Sako laughed at that response. “Let me rephrase: why did you tell me all of that?”
“I would love to say it was professional courtesy to let you know to job hunt, but that’d be a lie. I want you to keep working for me even when the bar shuts down. We’d make a great team, and I don’t believe you coming to the bar was an accident at all.”
“A team?”
“I don’t mean to brag, but I’m very good at escape artist tricks, I pride myself on how quickly I can run away; but having you with me would certainly make things easier if I get stuck. Thinking of all the sort of things we could do, with our quirks together? Is there anything you want? Because I believe we could get anything.”
“Let me rephrase my earlier question once again: why did you think you could trust me enough to tell me all of that?” Kurogiri leaned across the table.
“Someone like you, with a quirk like that, working at a bar? With no experience? My idea is that we might already have some things in common. Besides, you’re a fantastic bartender.”
He was tempted to let Sako know he'd worked two bars before, but he wasn't the bragging type. Putting that aside: he knew walking away, neither confirming or denying his idea of them having something in common with a criminal background, but shooting down the idea of some sort of team would be wisest.
But the man was handsome and his monologuing wasn’t the creepy kind like All For One’s. It was kind of endearing.
“I already work for someone.”
“Quit.”
His bluntness was admirable. Even so:
“That’s too dangerous. You don’t know him. And what he has planned...for Tenko.”
“Shimura’s child?” Sako frowned. “Why?”
“To spite a hero. It’s a long story. But I can’t leave the child, not with Shimura, not with…”
“I wasn’t kidding about that cruise. There’s a necklace on it I’ve had my eye after for a while. Let’s take him.”
“...Take him? And leave?”
“Well, why not?”
“Because it wouldn’t work.” Kurogiri exasperatedly explained. “You don’t understand who we’d be going against.”
“No, but I know my own skill set. I’ve got a rough idea of yours, and little Tenko’s, too. Kenji has no where else to go, so she also expressed interest in tagging along. She mentioned another teen she met at a shelter-”
“All For One- my boss, he also has a teleportation quirk. We wouldn't be able to run, even if we wanted to.”
He was certainly starting to want to.
“Do you know how it works?” Sako asked calmly. “It can’t be as strong as yours if he keeps you around.”
“He can warp people he’s familiar with on a personal level. To or from himself.”
‘Me, in other words’ was the unspoken word there.
“Not coordinate based, huh? How familiar does he have to be? What about little Tenko?”
“...I don’t suppose he’s familiar enough with him for it to work.”
“Let’s say you’re compressed, would it continue to work on you? Do you know the range?”
“I..I’m not sure. You don’t understand, though. This might be fun to you, but you have no idea how strong he is. He is effectively immortal. He has a dozen quirks that I know about and I know there’s more I’ve never seen. He will not stop looking if we do this. He’ll probably find us. Quickly. Then kill us after ripping out our quirks, and take Tenko.”
Sako looked thoughtful about that, but he didn’t look like he had the same nervous energy Kurogiri felt. Just discussing this was giving him spikes of anxiety.
“Give me a day or two to get back to you.” Sako finally said, sounding far more serious than he usually did. “I specialize in getting around things, and I won’t disappoint you if you say yes. But I’d like a yes first. If it was possible, would you come with me?”
“Yes.” Kurogiri said. The strength in his own voice surprised even him. Maybe he’d been quietly accepting everything too easily, too passively. All For One had always made him uneasy, but he had always accepted this was where he’d always be.
As for Tenko:
"Taking him...I don't know anything about raising a child. If we were able..the foster system-"
"Isn't the greatest. Kenji and I were discussing it today. She went in and out of foster homes for a year after being kicked out of her home. The things she told me..she talked about them so nonchalantly. We'd be sending an already traumatized child into the arms of a stranger, it'd be a gamble. Call me a selfish villain, but I'd rather not do that."
Kurogiri didn't want to either, but he felt a little out of his depth. Sako's eyes softened and he reached out, holding the mist where Kurogiri's hand would have been.
"It's not like you'll be doing it alone."
This was the first time he’d seriously thought about escape routes.
And Sako Atsuhiro was a very convincing man.
Shimura didn’t come to work on Monday.
Kurogiri had realized as much and had panicked. There were other bartenders to tend the bar for the night, but he would have left regardless; he warped out without a second thought, right into the apartment.
He saw Shimura the moment he was in. The man was passed out on the couch. Kurogiri would have thought he was dead, but the empty beer bottles balanced on his stomach kept rising and falling steadily. Even when he slept, he had a mean expression.
His arm was covered in bandages. Blood had seeped through.
He walked down the hall, stopping in front of Tenko’s door.
He paused, taking a deep breath. He had to force himself to pry the door open.
Tenko was on the floor. There was a pool of dust beside him, but Kurogiri ignored it. The second deck of playing cards Sako had given him were also there, coated in blood. His father’s, it seemed, because Tenko had no visible cuts or slashes with blood on him, but…
His body really did look too tiny, laying on the ground, an unnatural shade of purple and blue and green, bruises looking more like a kaleidoscope than skin.
“Tenko?” He asked. The child didn’t stir. His breathing was shallow, but still there.
The alcohol- there had been so many bottles, Shimura would have been beyond drunk, the bandage on Shimura and the dust on the floor, the fact the child couldn’t control the quirk that had been forced on him in his sleep, and Tenko’s body, beaten horribly for it.
He could piece together what had happened. It wasn’t a nice picture at all.
In a panic, he had called All For One. In a last ditch attempt to convince him that yes, it was that bad, and they needed to get him out now. Maybe the villain wasn’t as heartless as he had sounded earlier. Maybe he’d jumped the gun with Sako...
“Warp me there.” He had said, and he had sounded far too calm. Kurogiri, in his panic, hoped the calm was because he had a healing quirk. He had to have one that could be used on others.
When you had the capacity to hold quirks, they couldn’t all be things just to selfishly benefit yourself, right?
Kurogiri stood in the corner, resisting the urge to pace, and All For One flipped the child over, lifting his shirt and putting a hand on his bruised rib cage.
“How unfortunate.”
“What is?”
“With these injuries...he’s too weak. His whole body is. He’s going to have severe internal bleeding, and I believe one of his ribs pierced his lung. He feels much much too weak. He’ll die. He’s almost there.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Kurogiri hated how desperate his own voice sounded. “Do you have.. is there’s some quirk-”
“No, he’s too far gone, he’s been critical for a while. The child would have been easier for this. But I suppose his father is alive, even if he’s an adult and will be more difficult, he’s also related to her, hm…”
Tenko was dying and unconscious and three people in the world would mourn. All For One wasn’t one of them.
All For One noticed Kurogiri and frowned.
“It really is a shame. And you don’t look so well...I know this must be shocking for you. Forgive me, I always forget no one has seen quite as many unfortunate deaths as I have. Take some time off, won’t you?”
“Yes sir.” He said robotically. “I will, but please let me...do something about this.” He glanced at the body and felt like he was going to throw up.
“If you insist. I’ll start making plans for Mr. Shimura, then. I’ll contact you later.”
‘No, you won’t.’ Kurogiri thought.
He was going with Sako.
All For One had left him alone with the body. Maybe it wasn’t fair to call him that; he was still breathing shallowly, but he felt so cold already...
He warped himself and Tenko into Sako’s office. Sako recoiled at the sight. Yet, the first thing out of his mouth was:
“Are you okay?”
“Me?” He held out the boy. “He’s going to die.” It was hard to keep his voice from breaking. He wondered just when he had gotten so sentimental.
“Yeah, the clone won’t hold much longer, it looks bad. Who the hell beats on kids? Sickos.”
“...” Kurogiri paused, noticing the third person in the room for the first time. It was a blonde teen, maybe fifteen or so, maybe Kenji’s age, also much to young to be in a bar- sitting backwards on a chair.
“I’m sorry. We needed your reaction to be genuine.” Sako apologized and swallowed. “Jin, please get that thing out of here.” ‘Jin’ pulled out a knife. Kurogiri reflexively put himself between Tenko and the boy with the knife.
“Let him,” Sako insisted. “Just watch. It’s not Tenko.”
Kurogiri registered the words and met Sako’s eye. ‘Clone’ had been a word dropped by the teen earlier…
Jin slid the knife across the child’s forehead swiftly, looking away. Kurogiri gagged, expecting blood. But the body turned into goop- an ugly brown mess everywhere.
“Tenko is in the employee room. I didn’t want him to see his own visage so..horrifically beaten.” Sako informed him. “Kenji is with him, waiting for us.”
“Oh.”
He was alive.
“Jin here ran away from home, same as Kenji, and has been working odd jobs underground. I thought we could use his quirk; his clones are very realistic. They seem to have the total anatomy and bodily functions as a regular body. Well enough to fool your boss, I guess?”
“I'm glad the clone didn’t bust with that much damage! That would’ve been bad.” Jin hummed. “There’s not a job I can’t do with 50 of me! I’ll clone anyone!” Jin gave a thumbs up. “Especially if it’s to help rescue a kid from some jerks!”
This was a little overwhelming.
Had it really fooled All For One? Or had the man just said that because digging around for the truth would have been too much effort?
Either way, he was incredibly, immeasurably grateful.
“Thank you.” Kurogiri said, putting as much sincerity into his voice as possible and bowed his head.
“I was considering adding him to the team.”
“I’d love to, 'cause he already told me about it earlier, but it’s your call! I don’t wanna intrude on some couples thing if that’s what this is.”
“...It’s not, It’s...” He looked at the two of them and was overwhelmed. “Yes. Of course you can come.”
“Hell yeah, team villains!”
Villains... he supposed they were in the most technical sense. He’d never put that label on himself before now- he had known All For One was, but despite having dirtied his own hands more than a few times, he’d never put it on himself.
The difference between criminal and villain was notoriety, if you asked him. If Sako’s word was to be believed, they’d have that sort of reputation soon enough.
“We can work on that name.” Sako laughed.
The sound of cop sirens blared from outside.
“Ah, I suppose that’s the raid I expected. Let’s go get Tenko and get to that cruise, shall we?”
Kenji were in the employee break room, and it seemed like either Sako or Kenji had prepared Tenko a little backpack,along with a new pair of clothes. On his hands were gloves that looked soft. Tenko met his eye and looked back down at his shoes, fumbling with his gloves nervously.
"Will Father be mad?"
"We need to go now." Sako said from behind him, glancing at the door.
Warping would be instant; this was important, they needed to make time for this conversation.
"You won't have to see your father again, if you don't want to. He told you not to tell people about him hurting you, but that isn't right. That isn't how children should be treated."
"But Father said..he said sons had to respect their fathers." Tenko's voice shook uneasily. "No matter what."
"He was wrong! Screw him!" Jin hollered, and as ineloquent as it was, Kurogiri agreed.
"We're going to leave." Kurogiri said. "We'd like for you to come with us. Would you like that?"
"I like big sis Mag. She's nice."
"Uh, my code name, Magne." She explained when Kurogiri looked at her. "Might've let that slip in front of him." She looked a little embarrassed.
"We all have them, dear." Sako reassured.
"Mr. Sako showed me card tricks. Kurogiri is funny."
"Me?" He blinked. That might have been one thing he'd never been described as before.
"He's like a naggy mom." Tenko clarified. If Kurogiri had visible cheeks they would have burned.
"I wanna come." He said. "But, Father..."
"We won't let him find you, kid." Jin gave a thumbs up. "But uh, it sounds like they're bustin' the door down, so..." He made a hurrying motion with his hands.
Sako offered a hand, and Kurogiri took it, looking over everyone in the room.
They all looked ready to go. He offered his other hand to Tenko.
"I'll hurt you." Tenko warned, eyes flickering away and blinking quickly. Kurogiri realized he was trying not to cry.
"No, you won't. You can't disintegrate mist." He promised.
"...Okay."
Tenko set his lips into a determined line, an expression too serious for a child of four.
How long had he been waiting to be rescued? How long had he endured, tearlessly?
He wouldn't anymore, Kurogiri decided, reaching out.
He took his hand.
His little frown curved into a happy smile when nothing happened.
"Let's go."