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"Momma please! Please lemme watch it on the computer please! I'll do all my chores and I'll be good and I won't play heroes at all! Please please please-"
"Tenko…" His mother got a worried look. "I'm not going to encourage this obsession with heroes. You know how your father feels about it."
Tenko whined. "But Momma…" He just wanted to watch All Might's debut video again. Just one more time. It was the middle of the day, it's not like Dad was going to come home soon right?
She gave a long sigh and finally gave in. "Fine, but this is the last time. And afterwards you're gonna do all of your chores alright?"
Tenko nodded enthusiastically.
His mom got him set up at the computer, finding the video and playing it for him.
"Aaahaha!" Tenko laughed along with All Might, his little fists in the air. His mom smiled and watched him.
Once he got all his chores done his mother took him to the park near Hana's school. Tenko was currently pretending he could fly while on the swings, laughing like All Might again. While he was playing he managed to spot an older kid sitting on a swing nearby, in a school uniform and with multiple bandages around his neck and arms. He looked around ten years old with bright red hair and green eyes with a sad and sulking look in them as he stared down at the ground. He kicked at the mulch, seeming lost in some depressing thought.
To Tenko this just equalled someone he needed to save (aka cheer up and maybe play heroes with) so he launched himself off of the swing (once it reached a safe speed and height) and landed on his feet, knees bending. He then ran over to the boy.
"Aaahaha! There's no need to fear! Why?" He paused, waiting for the kid to notice him. After a moment the kid finally looked up, scowling.
Tenko inhaled a breath and yelled. "BECAUSE I AM HERE! AAAHAHA!" He grinned wildly at him, taking a heroic pose.
The boy frowned. "What the fuck is your problem?"
Tenko blinked. "Hm? Whattaya mean? You just looked sad and I thought you might wanna play heroes."
He rolled his eyes. "And why would I wanna do that?"
Tenko grinned. "Cuz heroes are awesome! They're nice and they save people and-and help them and they look really cool and like they're super strong and-"
"Not my father."
Tenko gasped. "YOU MEAN YOUR DAD IS A HERO? THAT'S SO COOL!" His red eyes lit up. "My dad doesn't let me play heroes, he gets really mad." He looked down, suddenly sad. "You're lucky…"
The boy tilted his head. "I'm really not. How mad does your dad get?"
Tenko shrugged slumpily. "He...he makes me sit outside and doesn't let me in until I say sorry, even if I need to pee or I'm hungry...and he hits me if he gets really mad…" He rubbed his arm, not looking up at the boy.
The boy blinked, then held out his hand. "I'm Touya. My dad hits me too sometimes. When we're training. He also makes me train my quirk and it hurts. I get burned."
Tenko looked up. "Really? That's awful. Is that what those bandages are?"
Touya nodded. "Mmhmm. I walked over here instead of home after school cuz I didn't wanna do more training."
Tenko sniffled and hugged him. "You want me to get you some Band-Aids?"
Touya snorted. "Band-Aids aren't gonna solve the problem."
Tenko pulled back and looked at Touya. "I dunno what to do."
Touya shrugged. "Me neither."
Tenko looked down. "How could a hero do that? How could he hurt people? He's not doing his job right…"
Touya sighed. "I don't know. He's not happy and I guess he takes it out on everyone else." He shrugged.
Tenko hugged him again, and this time Touya slowly hugged back. "Thanks lil buddy."
Tenko smiled wide. "No problem! This is how a hero should be! Like All Might!"
Touya smiled. "Yeah, like All Might. I bet you'll be just like All Might someday."
Tenko's eyes went wide as he gasped. "REALLY?"
Touya laughed. "Really. You're nice to people when everybody else is ignoring them. It's better than my dad any day."
Tenko grinned wide. "Wow...just like All Might…" He said dreamily. He then looked at Touya curiously. "Also, what does fuck mean?"
Touya grinned. "You can say it in a sentence to sound cooler."
Tenko nodded, mouth in a little o. "So like, is this what the fuck you mean?"
Touya laughed. "Yeah, like fucking that."
Tenko nodded sagely. "I fucking see."
Touya snorted. "You're a fast learner little guy." He stood up. "I have to go home now." He pat his head. "Stay strong."
Tenko nodded, eyes wide. "I fucking will."
Touya grinned. "Great."
The two boys eventually met each other again, years later but they were both extremely different now. Tenko was now Tomura, and Touya was now Dabi. And both didn't recognize the other as the children they had once been in the park that day. They didn't realize how similar they really were, and yet so different.