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The decision to give Kotaro up had not been one Nana had made easily. It pained her heart to abandon him, but the danger All For One presented was simply too much for her to risk raising the boy herself.
She had severed any and all ties relating him to her, making sure he would be as removed from All For one’s sphere of influence as physically possible.
Nana had long since accepted the fact she wouldn’t get to watch him grow, she wouldn’t attend any of his milestone events, she wouldn’t see him get married or get to hold his children.
After giving him up for adoption, she had’t deserved the honor of those. His new adoptive parents would make him much happier than she ever could, she was certain of it.
The last thing she had expected, then, was to receive a phone call from an unknown -- but government-related, she knew how to recognize those -- number, with an opening line that brought her back by decades.
“Are you Shimura Nana, the mother of Shimura Kotaro?”
Nana took a deep breath, suspicion flooding her brain. If All For One had gotten his hands on her son, he wouldn’t call her like this, would he? Or, more accurately, have one of her minions call her.
“Why do you ask?” She settled for, getting off of her sofa to pace around the room.
Toshi raised his head to glance up at her, visiting her briefly during his university break. He spent so much time in America these days, he felt it was only fair he spent what little free time he had with his mentor, and Nana was happy to agree with that.
“We’re looking for the closest living relatives for Shimura Tenko and Hana,” the person on the other end of the line spoke, brutally ripping Nana away from her idle thoughts. “There had been… An accident.”
No, she thought. God, please no.
“Where are they now?” She asked, already moving towards the doors, grabbing her car keys. Flying would have been faster, yes, but she couldn’t transport two children like that.
The worker rattled off an address, and Nana committed it to memory. It wasn’t far off; just about half an hour by car. She could get there faster with her quirk, but…
She hung up.
“I’ll drive,” Toshi said, having followed her at some point. “You’ll get there quicker with Float.”
…That’s her boy, always so considerate.
“You don’t even know what I’m doing,” Nana said, but it wasn’t an argument.
“You’re picking someone up, I could figure out that much,” Toshi shrugged, struggling to push his overly muscular arms into the jacket. At this point, Nana had no idea when he was in his normal form and when he was using OFA, he looked the same in both forms. “So I’ll drive, just tell me where. You’ll be able to talk with them first, and by the time the situation is settled, I’ll be there with the car.”
Nana nodded, relaying the address quickly. After leaving her apartment, they split at the staircase; Toshi going downwards, towards the garages, and Nana moving upwards instead. As a hero, she had direct access to the roof in case of an emergency.
Having to pick up her grandkids after an accident, or whatever happened that made her son unavailable -- oh, god, what had happened to Kotaro? -- was absolutely an emergency, in her opinion.
Within seconds, she was airborne, heading off towards the edge of the city. The address she was given was in that peculiar stretch of land. It wasn’t exactly in the city anymore, but it wasn't in the countryside, either. Rather, a sort of a hybrid, weird mix of both.
With no speed limits in the air, she made it there in under ten minutes flat.
She couldn’t follow the streets from the air, but she was guessing she was meant to arrive at the patch of land that looked as if a house had stood there until very recently.
The presence of several emergency service cars, including two ambulances, was also a clue.
She landed nearby, jogging towards the first important-looking person she could find.
“I’m Shimura Nana,” she said as soon as she had the Police Captain’s attention. “I was called here regarding Tenko and Hana?”
She still wasn’t sure how someone got her number straight on the scene of the crime after she spent so much effort into severing her ties, but she wasn’t going to question it. Not when her grandchildren were on the line.
“Here,” the Captain said, motioning at her to follow. “The kids are in the ambulance over here. Better… to avoid the other one.”
That meant “dead bodies”.
“I’m a hero,” she reminded the Captain, despite the fact there was no doubt she recognized Nana’s costume. “I’ve seen my fair share of carnage.”
“This is something different entirely,” the Captain assured, only succeeding in sparking Nana’s curiosity. Her grandchildren first, her son’s -- oh god, her son’s -- body later.
As she arrived towards the back of an open ambulance, the first thing she saw was a crying boy, maybe five years old or so. There were thick, patchwork gloves covering his palms -- that meant a five-finger touch quirk, Nana was familiar with those -- and an oxygen mask connected to his face.
Considering how hard he was sobbing, she supposed the mask was a very good call.
The other child must have been in the other ambulance then, she decided, after not seeing her anywhere inside the first.
Nana glanced back towards the police captain, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Like I said,” the police captain averted her gaze. “Best not to go over there just yet.”
Just as the captain finished speaking, the other ambulance turned its sirens on, driving away, the tires crunching loudly on the gravel.
“I expect to be informed which hospital she was taken to,” Nana said, her tone serious, before turning to enter the ambulance with Tenko inside.
The medics were in there, also, fiddling with their equipment, but not really appearing to be doing much.
Nana grabbed a shock blanket on her way, moving towards Tenko. Her attention moved across his body - his skin was really dry, and the welts -- seemed to have been scratched with his own fingers -- were still fresh, appearing untreated.
He was covered in more blood than he would have produced from his scratches, and there was dust covering him and the surface around. What were those medics even paid for?
Nana shook his head slightly. She couldn’t really afford to get distracted. Her grandson needed her.
Kneeling in his field of vision, she offered a slight smile.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m your grandmother, Nana.”
The boy scrambled backwards, nearly kicking her in the face.
“Don’t touch me!” he screeched, the voice slightly muffled because of the mask. “Don’t touch me, get away from me!”
“It’s alright, Tenko,” she said, raising her hands in surrender. “I’m not moving any closer, don’t worry. But you wouldn’t hurt me; You’ve got the gloves on.”
The boy’s attention turned towards his hands, as if he hadn’t even noticed the thick material covering his hands.
Those were impossible to forget the feel off, Nana knew that personally. She never had to wear them, but her mentor had been of the opinion that you couldn’t use containment methods you hadn’t experienced yourself, so she spent a while in them before.
You couldn’t forget you were wearing them. Not unless there was something much, much more important occupying your brain.
“Hana,” Tenko blurted out. “Is she-?”
“I don’t know,” Nana admitted honestly. “I only just got here. But her ambulance was driven away, so she’s probably gonna be okay.”
Tenko clutched at his hair, smearing the dirt and blood over his already dirty face, letting it mix with his hair. “I killed her,” he whispered. “I killed them all.”
“Don’t be silly, Tenko,” Nana fought to keep the smile on. “They drove her with the siren on, they wouldn't’ have done that if she wasn’t alive.”
Tenko swallowed, looking up at her. His eyes were a little clearer, as if he only just now really noticed her.
He had brilliantly red eyes.
“But the rest of them…” He trailed off. “Mom… Granny… Grandpa… Oh, god, Monchan…”
He didn’t name Kotaro. It seemed unintentional, but to her, it was a very obvious sign. Sign that something had been wrong.
And she hadn’t been here to support her family through whatever issue arose.
But she was here now.
The best time to help would have been years ago, probably as soon as she had decided to give Kotaro up. Nana should have kept him, should have kept an eye on him.
Past was in the past. The second best time to help was now.
“It’ll be alright, Tenko,” she cooed, but didn’t dare move closer yet. “I promise, I’ll keep you safe-”
“No,” the boy shook his head frantically, scooting a little closer. “Not me- Hana! You need to keep Hana safe! I’m… I’m dangerous.”
Nana stilled, her smile freezing in place. “Who told you that?”
Tenko looked at her like she was the stupidest person on Earth, the bafflement distracting him slightly from panicking. Nana was alright with being the butt of the joke if it meant Tenko could breathe a little more easily.
One of the medics finally turned towards her. “We’ve managed to get the basic tests done. His quirk will seek out to break the molecular bonds within items - the first few times will be rather chunky , but with enough practice, he should be able to get it down to a fine powder-”
The other medic elbowed the first one in the ribs.
“I think I should go talk about that,” Nana moved to stand. “Tenko, are you going to be alright here for a minute? I promise I’ll be right back.”
Tenko seemed to be considering that. He also seemed to very much not want to be left alone. Nana could understand that.
“Come on then,” she motioned at him, extending a hand. Glancing at the second medic, who seemed slightly more appropriate to ask, she continued, “Anything I should keep in mind?”
“He’s uninjured,” the second medic said quickly. “Beyond the dry skin, there’s no issue. He could benefit from a good clean, of course, and I would recommend finding a therapist-”
“He’s right here,” Tenko bristled, jumping off of a cot. “And he can hear you.”
“Thank you,” Nana said, smiling thinly at the medic. She reached a hand out to Tenko and, after a brief hesitation, her grandson took her up on it.
They left the ambulance together.
“There’s no shame in attending therapy,” she said. “I’m seeing a very lovely woman every couple of weeks.”
Tenko’s head whipped around to look at her. “But… Aren’t you a hero?” He asked gingerly, his eyes trailing over her costume.
“I am,” Nana nodded. “That’s exactly why I’m attending therapy. Oh, I probably would have had if I hadn’t become a hero, too, but… well.”
Tenko looked thoughtful. Nana left him to that, glancing around. There was a car, seeding in the distance, which she could recognize.
Toshi took less than half an hour. Impressive.
“Come on, let’s go towards the gate,” Nana said, tugging on Tenko’s hand gently. “I’ve got someone bringing a car over, and I always keep some extra clothes in there. I’m sure you’d like to change, even if we can’t get you a proper shower just yet.”
“The hose is still working,” Tenko pointed out. As if it was a completely normal suggestion to make.
“Anyone hosed you down before?” Sha asked, her voice the exact shade of pleasant she used when she didn’t want anyone to know someone was getting their ass kicked.
“Dad,” the kid nodded. “When I was playing with Mon-chan outside, we got too muddy. I wasn’t allowed to get the floors dirty, so hose-down it was.”
…Unfortunately, Nana couldn’t kick the ass of someone who was likely dead.
Thankfully, Toshi took that moment to pass through the front gates, the car crawling slowly for the past few meters.
Tenko froze slightly at the sight of Toshi climbing out of the driver’s side, clinging to Nana’s hand. Somehow, he managed to cling harder and harder with each step Toshi took towards them, his signature smile firmly on his face.
“Hello!” Toshi said once he got in range, his normal booming voice dampened a little.
“you’re All Might” Tenko whispered reverently. Nana glanced down and, oh. It wasn’t fear that got him gripping her hand. It was fanboyism.
“That I am,” Toshi said, crouching down to get closer to eye level with the kid. “But you can just call me Toshi!”
“Alright, Tenko, you stay with Toshi for now, alright?” Nana said, gesturing towards her mentee with the hand her grandson was still clutching. “I’ll go talk about the boring adult stuff we still need to do, and you can use that time to change, yes?”
Tenko nodded excitedly, happily trading her hand for All Might’s. As Toshi led him back towards the car, Nana turned around. One more thing she had to do,
She found the police captain again.
“I want to see my son,” Nana said straight off the bat, interrupting something the captain was saying into her walkie-talkie.
The captain glanced at Nana, her expression inscrutable.
“Alright,” she sighed eventually, and motioned for Nana to follow her.
The field she had let Nana to was drenched in blood. There were a number of body covers laying on the ground, but…. They were much flatter than they should be.
“Do you want to see his wife and her parents, too, or-?”
“Just my son for now, please.”
The captain moved towards the flattest pile, uncovering the blanket.
Nana could not describe it if she tried.
“Thank you,” she said, just to have something to say. “Which hospital was Hana taken to?”
After receiving those directions, and giving out her agency’s number to forward the funeral arrangements towards, Nana returned to the car.
Tenko was now wearing clean, if slightly oversized clothes, and seemed to be absolutely enamored with an All Might teddy. Nana knew it was a good idea to keep those in the car.
“Let’s go,” Nana said, cutting off whatever Toshi was going to say. “I know where they took Hana. Let’s find out what they’ve done to her so far.”
Toshi simply nodded, motioning at Tenko to scoot deeper into the back seat.
Nana took the front seat. After Toshi climbed into the driver’s seat once more, the car started rolling, the GPS shouting instructions already.
The next few minutes passed in silence.
“I’m sorry,” Tenko eventually spoke. When Nana glanced back towards him, his head was hung low, the gloved fingers awkwardly playing with the teddy.
She scrunched her eyebrows. “What for?”
Tenko didn’t answer.
“Was this your first time using your quirk?” Nana tried again. Toshi didn’t flinch at the question; he must have figured out already that’s what happened. He wasn’t the number one hero for nothing.
“...Yes,” Tenko admitted.
“Then it’s not your fault,” Nana nodded decisively. “You couldn’t have known. I know this kind of a quirk doesn;t run in my family line, and if it ran in your mother’s, she would have warned you, wouldn’t she? None of you could have known.”
“But…” Tenko trailed off. “I saw what happened to Mon-chan.”
Oh, dear god, of course the destructive quirk manifested on a pet. “You’re just a boy, Tenko. It’s only natural you would panic.”
Her grandson went quiet, refusing to say anything else.
“Nobody is blaming you, Tenko,” Toshi assured him gently.
The rest of the short drive was once again entrenched in heavy silence.
Tenko didn’t even wait for her to say anything once they parked. He simply opened the doors -- she would need to turn on the child locks in the future, probably -- and started power walking towards the hospital’s entrance, forcing Nana to jog after him.
For such a small child, he was rather speedy.
Toshi stayed behind to lock up the car, catching up to them by the receptionist’s desk.
“She’s in surgery, right now,” the lady informed them, staring at the computer screen. “Should be done in a couple of hours or so. The predictions are good, she should make a full recovery.”
Nana nodded, glancing down at Tenko’s relieved face. “Can I give you my number to call for any updates?”
“We already got her parents’ numbers on the file.”
Nana took a deep breath. “Her parents, unfortunately, won’t be able to pick up.”
The receptionist simply shrugged, motioning at Nana to go on.
Tenko stared at her with wide eyes, growing even wider as she thanked the receptionist and moved back towards the exit.
“We’re not going to stay?” He asked, not movin an inch from his position.
“It’ll be hours until we could see Hana,” Nana said. “And we have you to consider, too. You need a shower and a meal; Maybe a nap if we can manage.”
Tenko swallowed loudly before nodding, the motion ending with him hanging his head down.
“We’ll see her as soon as we can, alright?” Nana promised. “But she would get scared if she saw you covered in blood, wouldn’t she? So better let’s get washed up first.”
Tenko seemed to accept that logic.
The ride back to the apartment was a bit of a blur. She knew Toshi carried Tenko up the stairs, the boy having nodded off at some point in the car, but she couldn't really remember anything else.
Nana moved on autopilot, gathering the necessary items, messaging her PA to grab some more children-sized clothes, changing the sheets as Toshi walked Tenko through using a shower-
She could have sworn she heard him say “oh, so it’s just like a hose, just warm?” at some point.
It broke her heart.
She sent Kotaro away to keep her son safe. What had happened to him, to result in such an outcome?
One thing she could tell for certain though. Nana would not be letting Hana nor Tenko out of her sight at any point. Even if it meant she would have to retire from hero work, she would make sure she was there for them.
***
Hana joined them a week later.
The injuries she had received were essentially superficial, once it was ensured that nothing inside of her was damaged. The hospital she was taken to had an expert on board, with a quirk capable of reattaching limbs, so she was expected to make a full recovery.
Tenko, as eager as he was to spend every possible moment next to Hana’s bed as she slept off the stress of the surgery, refused to actually meet her eyes when she was awake.
For now, Nana would let him do that. He’d need to speak with Hana eventually, but it could wait. Just a little bit, for the both of them to settle into the situation a little more firmly.
She found therapists for both of the kids already, even if they hadn’t attended a single session yet. Tenko’s would also help him with the quirk management; as fond as the kid seemed to be of the gloves, this was in no way, shape or form a long-term arrangement.
Nana dreaded to even think about the potential skin conditions Tenko could get from that.
Unfortunately for the boy and his avoidance of Hana, Nana only had one guest room.
(Well, two, technically, but the other one was Toshi’s.)
Tenko and Hana would need to share, at least for now.
Hana didn’t seem to mind that at all.
“Where’s Tenko?” She would ask as Nana helped her get into the flat, helping her settle down on the bed, crutches leaning over the wall nearby.
“In the living room, I think,” Nana said. “He’s…”
“Avoiding me,” Hana nodded sagely, turning her head away.
“It’s not your fault,” Nana assured, putting a hand on her granddaughter’s shoulder. “He’s just trying to avoid thinking about his quirk, and feel guilty about his injury.”
She didn’t notice Hana started crying until the girl let out a loud sob. “It’s not his fault,” she choked out. “It’s mine. If I hadn’t lied to dad about the picture…”
…Good lord, what had Kotaro done to these children?
“The picture?” Nana repeated.
“There was- There was a picture of you holding dad, when he was a little boy,” Hana elaborated, sniffling softly. “I- I took it out of his study. I wasn’t supposed to , we weren’t supposed to get into his study at all, but I wanted to show it to Tenko… We were going to become heroes together!”
This sounded rather wholesome so far. Nana had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next.
“Dad found out,” Hana continued, her voice turning flat with that sentence. “He- I panicked. I said Tenko was the one who took the picture…”
Oh, god.
“Dad got angry,” Hana once more adopted the inflection of a dead cricket. Nana was starting to recognize a pattern there. Tenko was emotionally safe, Kotaro required mental distance. “Tenko- he hurt him. Threw him outside, to stay with Mon-chan.”
God, please, no.
“I wanted to apologize to him,” Hana hunched her shoulders, hands coming up to her face. “But when I got to him… Mon-chan, he was… He was…”
Nana leaned forwards, gently embracing Nana.
“It’ll be alright,” she said, letting the girl cry. “I’m here now. Nothing bad is going to happen.”
“You can’t promise that,” Tenko’s voice sounded from the direction of the entry. Nana turned to have a look at the boy, noticing his fists clenching at the sides, the gloves preventing his fingers from touching the palm of his hand. “As long as I’m here, you can’t promise Hana she’ll be safe.”
The girl flinched in Nana’s arms.
“Why not?” Nana asked Tenko. “Why can’t I?”
“Because I’m dangerous,” he answered, once again repeating those words.
“Any quirk can be dangerous,” Nana tilted her head. “Some a little more than others. But with enough practice, you’ll be able to control it, Tenko. You won’t hurt anyone by accident.”
So focused she was on answering that, Nana barely even noticed Hana slipping out of her arms until the girl was in front of her.
“You’re not… Mad at me?” She asked Tenko.
Tenko looked at her with that expression of his he had already served multiple paramedics and police officers, the one that said “I’m calling you stupid in my head but I’m too well-behaved to actually say that out loud”.
“Of course not!” He said.
“But… The picture-”
“Dad would have found a reason, anyways,” Tenko said, hunching his shoulders. The way his arms curled, Nana suspected he could really use a huggable pet. Something that wasn’t a dog, or looked like one.
Hana appeared determined. “I won’t let anyone do that again,” she declared, with all the self-confidence in the world, throwing herself at Tenko to engulf him in a cozy hug. “I won’t let them hurt you again.”
“I won’t let them hurt you, either.” Tenko mumbled back, content to melt into her.
She didn’t voice it, but Nana had also made a resolution at that moment. She wouldn’t let anything bad happen to either of those children, for as long as she lived.
And if they needed her after her death -- of natural causes, of course! -- she would come back to haunt the ass of whichever idiot decided to mess with her grandkids.