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Tenya couldn't move. His brother was struggling to keep Stain's sword away from himself and he couldn't move.
And he hadn't been hit by his Quirk, he couldn't be. There wasn't a single cut on his whole body. No, it was his own cowardice freezing him to the spot and making him watch as Stain overwhelmed Tensei and pushed the sword into his stomach. He pulled it out again - Tensei too shocked to stop him - and licked the blood off of it. Immediately, he collapsed and Tenya tried and tried to get to him, but his body kept ignoring his frantic commands.
Stain squatted down, staring into Tensei's face as he started talking, words only coming out as static too garbled to be understood. He grabbed a fistful of Tensei's hair and lifted him up until both of them were standing again. Blood kept gushing out of his stomach, pooling on the ground and slowly filling the alley. Even as it reached his boots, Tenya still remained where he was.
Now Tensei was shouting something, but his voice couldn't reach Tenya either. Stain laughed and the sound echoed in Tenya's head, clear as day. Then, he grabbed another sword and drove it into Tensei's chest again and again, causing even more blood to flow until the thin sheen covering the alley turned into a big puddle and finally into a flood rising higher and higher. Tenya could feel it crawling up his skin as the stench dulled his senses before they were dulled by blood covering his head.
He woke up choking on nothing.
At least he could move again now. He needed to stop Sta-
He needed to take a deep breath.
Tenya was in his bed, the new room still unfamiliar around him, but it very much wasn't the alley he'd been in moments prior. Fumbling around in the dark, Tenya felt his glasses beneath his hand and attempted to put them on. It took a few tries because for some reason his hands were shaking.
At last, he succeeded. His new bedroom didn't give him the same sense of familiar safety like his actual room back home would, but he was at UA. He was safe here. Stain had been dealt with. Tensei was safe too.
But the dream still wouldn't leave his mind. It had caught him completely off guard. This was the first nightmare about Stain in a while.
And that's all it was. A nightmare. So he could just go back to sleep now and he'd get enough rest to do the tasks he'd wanted to do tomorrow. He pulled his (new, unfamiliar) blanket tighter around him, drawing it up until nothing besides his hair peeked out.
Still, he couldn't sleep again, no matter how long he tried.
Resigned to having to reorganize tomorrow (today?) and probably also the days after that, Tenya extended an arm out of his safe zone to feel for his phone and pull it back under the blanket.
He knew it was childish, the blanket couldn't actually protect him, but at least it hid his surroundings so Tenya could pretend he was at home, if only for a few moments.
It was silly. He knew it was. Tenya was training to be a Hero, to be the new Ingenium, and hiding beneath a blanket was certainly not heroic. But losing Tensei had been his worst nightmare for as long as he could think and now it had almost become reality.
Except it didn't. Tensei was safe. He was at home, sleeping, not dead in some alley. Tensei was safe.
Despite knowing it would only confuse his body more and make falling asleep again even harder, Tenya turned on his phone.
Fantastic, it was past three am. This was one of the worst times to wake up. No matter how he would twist and turn, he couldn't get two full sleep cycles in before his alarm at six, which meant he would feel groggy all day and not be at his best when he was supposed to write his essay for Aizawa.
But worse than that, he knew he was going to be thinking about Tensei and Stain all day now, so even if he were to get enough sleep, he still wouldn't be able to focus as well as he wanted to.
He sighed.
Tensei.
Things have been weird between them since everything. Tenya had tried his best to visit him at the hospital, but it was rather far away and Tenya had a lot to do for UA. He'd even admitted to his brother that he was considering leaving his homework unfinished, so he could spend more time with him. But Tensei had just told him to keep working for his future, he'd still be there when Tenya had more time again.
And then Tenya had wanted to yell at him - yell at his brother, yell at Ingenium - because it almost wouldn't have been the case. He almost would've been gone forever. But he kept his mouth shut. It wouldn't have been fair to burden Tensei with his thoughts.
He finally got home while Tenya was away on that horrible training camp and after that the dorms were built.
Tenya missed him. He was also glad he wasn't here because at least then he wouldn't have to look him in the eyes, knowing he'd been fully prepared to murder the man who had hurt him, possibly the most un-Ingenium thing he could do.
And yet that only made him miss his brother even more. It wasn't fair. He shouldn't demand comfort from him, not when Tensei had his own, much worse, troubles to deal with.
Almost on autopilot, Tenya opened his contacts and selected Tensei, letting his finger hover over the green call button. It's something he found himself doing more and more. Not even calling, just knowing that the possibility to talk to Tensei still existed.
If he wanted someone to listen to him, he could just find Midoriya or Ochako and they'd be happy to lend him an ear. But it still wasn't the same as talking to his brother.
Sure, his friends didn't make fun of his rigid schedule (Uraraka even said she admired his self-discipline that let him follow it each day), but Tensei had been the one who helped him come up with the very system for it. And it was like that with everything. His friends could listen to him work through his problems, but Tensei was the only one who'd understand.
His phone started ringing. Mortified, Tenya smashed 'end call' with enough velocity that he was honestly surprised the screen didn't crack.
Tenya prayed he'd been fast enough to stop Tensei's phone from ringing because he knew for a fact that he kept its sound on for calls from his sidekicks or family, just in case. And even though Tenya despised himself for it (because what if something happened to Tensei again?), he couldn't sleep if his own phone wasn't muted or off entirely.
It was bad enough that he was awake at this time, there was no need to drag his brother out of sleep as well.
Ugh.
Even if he wasn't going to get his scheduled amount of sleep, Tenya should still try. That's another thing Tensei helped him with: realizing that even if he didn't do something perfectly, that was still better than nothing.
So, he put his phone away again, took off his glasses and rolled over onto his other side, head now poking out of the blanket again. As comforting as it was to think he was in his room, just a few steps away from Tensei, he couldn't fall asleep with the blanket threatening to suffocate him.
That's the only reason he saw his room light up a few moments later. Confused, he stared at his window before he realized the light wasn't coming from there. Instead, it was his phone.
He turned and fumbled for it, but it turned dark again before he could bring it up to his face. Putting his glasses on once again, Tenya saw he now had a missed call.
From Tensei.
Should he call back? Pretend he was asleep?
Sure, Tenya wanted to talk to his brother more than anything right now, but he had no idea what to say. He'd call him back in the-
His phone received another call, again from Tensei and Tenya picked up without thinking.
After a moment of silence, Tensei spoke.
"Hey, what's up?"
It was three am and he'd just woken up his brother. Tenya wanted to sink into the ground and never emerge again.
"I apologize for calling at such an hour. I…" hadn't meant to? He couldn't say that to him.
"Don't worry about it."
"But I woke you up!" Tenya tried his best to keep his voice in check. Waking up even more people because he couldn't handle a silly nightmare wasn't something he wanted to happen.
"I was already awake. It's really no problem."
"If you say so." He didn't know if the idea of waking his brother or of Tensei - who loved his sleep more than anything else - being awake in the middle of the night without his help was worse.
"So, what made you turn on your phone and call me?"
That was the question, wasn't it? He was going to UA now, but he'd still called his brother after a nightmare like he was six again.
Even though he didn't reply, Tensei kept quiet to let him sort his thoughts.
"Are you still there?" He knew logically there was no reason for Tensei to suddenly be gone, but he just wanted to make sure.
"Yep. It's cool, take your time."
They fell into silence again.
That's not how most conversations between them went. Usually, it was much easier to find the right words with Tensei, but right now it felt impossible.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" Tensei sounded confused, as if he couldn't feel how much their relationship had changed.
"For being so distant. It's just- I…" can't look at you anymore without knowing I will never be as much of a Hero as you are. Not after I wanted to kill someone to revenge you.
Tensei let out a small laugh, but it wasn't cruel.
"I get it. I don't blame you. Seeing the person you used to admire like this has to be-"
"No!"
He knew it was rude to interrupt like that, but Tenya couldn't bear to listen to his brother talk like that. He couldn't.
"I still admire you! You're the most heroic person I know and I'm honored to be your brother!"
Tensei didn't reply, but he could hear his breathing through the phone.
There was no way he could keep this secret. Not when Tensei sought the blame for these changes by himself and not by Tenya.
"It's something else. But you have to promise not to tell a single soul. Not even mom and dad." He paused for a moment, then corrected himself. "Especially not mom and dad."
"Alright, I promise I won't say anything. So, what happened? Did you murder someone?"
From his tone, Tenya could tell Tensei was joking, but he still hit the bullseye. The reason it hadn't turned into a murder was certainly not the lack of trying on his part.
"Oh Tenya, what did you do?"
Worry laced his words and now Tenya felt even worse about everything. For wanting revenge. For almost dying in the process. For keeping it a secret so long. And now also for being too weak to let it stay buried.
"I- after you were injured, our internships started. I chose the first agency on my list that was located in Hosu."
He heard Tensei sharply inhale.
"Then I went after Stain. I wanted to make him pay for what he's done. Not for all the Heroes he's killed, but just for hurting you." His voice grew quiet, almost inaudible at that last part.
"I'm sorry. I know what I did was unheroic. I get it if you don't want me to call myself Ingenium anymore."
That would be the best outcome. He couldn't be Ingenium. He lacked everything that made Tensei the Hero he is.
"Iida Tenya, you're the biggest, most reckless idiot I've ever met." His voice was unsteady and Tenya had known his brother long enough to know he was barely holding back tears. He sat in silence, too shocked to reply.
"Don't ever, ever do something like that again. It's bad enough he almost took me from you, I could never forgive myself if you'd- if you died because of me."
"You're not… furious with me? Or disappointed?"
There was some shuffling on the other end before Tensei replied.
"I think you're doing a good enough job of beating yourself up over that without my help."
"But what I did was inexcusable!"
"Tenya, you're my baby brother. I don't think there's anything you could do that I would find inexcusable."
In the brief pause that followed Tenya didn't need to see Tensei to know he was running a hand through his hair, like he always did when he tried to find a way to get his point across.
"Look, I think this is something we need to talk face to face about."
Tenya nodded, then realized there was no way for Tensei to see that.
"And when it's not the middle of the night."
His brother laughed lightly at that and Tenya felt something in his chest unfurl.
"That too. We'll talk tomorrow? Today. You know what I mean."
"I'd like that."
The days where they talked - actually talked, not just sent texts back and forth - were few and they certainly hadn't happened back to back. Having a lot of schoolwork certainly was a convenient excuse.
"Good night, then. I love you."
He'd missed this. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed Tensei until they were suddenly talking again, revealing their deepest worries to one another like they used to do when Tenya was younger.
"I love you too."
With that, they hung up.
Tenya had so many new things to think about, to consider, to structure, but as soon as he turned his phone off, he could feel himself drifting off.
Tensei sat on his bed and stared at the phone in his hand, the epitome of calmness on the outside, while his emotions wreaked havoc on the inside, threatening to drown him.
His baby brother, his Tenya had been carrying that around with him for ages and he'd never noticed.
He wanted to get up, to pace around his room, clearing his thoughts, but he couldn't. He couldn't go outside and sprint through their garden until the exhaustion calmed the storm inside him. The only thing he could do was sit here with the knowledge that Tenya suffered because of him.
Actually, that wasn't true. He could also sit in Tenya's room at UA and talk to him. Like he'd said he would.
Mind now made up, Tensei hefted himself into his wheelchair and started his day at barely four in the morning. It's not like he could've slept, even if he wanted to. The bit of insomnia he sometimes experienced had gotten worse and worse since he no longer had his Hero work to exhaust him.
As he was eating breakfast (bread with jam instead of his much preferred muesli because dad was usually the one to clean the table and he always put everything onto the highest shelf since he'd been unfairly tall even before Tensei's height had been reduced), Tensei looked at the train schedule online. Sure, he could go and wake mom and ask her to drive him, but he also could do literally anything but that.
He loved his parents and how they tried to make everything as easy for him as possible, but sometimes (a lot of the time) it just felt overbearing. He was disabled (and wow, that certainly was a thought he still wasn't quite used to), not a toddler who couldn't take care of himself. No matter what they thought, he wouldn't break apart just because he did something on his own.
So, after he was finished, he left them a note saying he went to the city for a while and made his escape.
Even though he still had his pipes in his arms, nobody recognized him. Tensei wasn't sure if he was happy about that or not.
In the end, everything went smoothly (well, aside from the fact that he almost missed his train because the elevator was just so slow) and he was standing (sitting? he still didn't know what words to use in situations like this) in front of the UA gates.
Right.
The gates. The gates that only opened for students and teachers. The gates specifically designed to keep anyone outside who wasn't a student or teacher. Those gates.
He sent a quick text to Hizashi, asking to be let in. At least he was more likely to be awake than Shouta.
And sure enough, after a minute or so, he got a string of emojis as reply, which - if interpreted correctly - were an affirmative.
A few moments later, the gates opened and Tensei quickly made his way inside. The campus was still as huge as it had been the last time he'd visited UA.
Thankfully, he found the dorms easily enough. Opening the doors proved to be a bit of a struggle, but they weren't all that heavy, so he managed.
"Shut the fuck up, you useless pile of garbage!"
Ah. What a pleasant welcome.
He followed the voices (someone had to tell him which room was Tenya's, after all, because he'd forgotten about that) and soon enough found 1A's kitchen.
Watching the Sports Festival probably a few too many times to be healthy proved useful right now because he could easily identify the two students as Bakugou and… Shinsou?
Hadn't he been in a different course? Oh, actually if he wasn't mistaken Tenya had once mentioned something about a new student. That had to be him, then.
Bakugou was standing in front of the stove, aggressively stirring something in a wok, while Shinsou sat on the counter and nursed a giant cup of something else - at least Tensei hoped it was something else - in his hands.
"I didn't even say anything."
Even with his back turned to him, it wasn't hard to imagine the snarl on Bakugou's face at that.
"Also, we have a guest."
So Shinsou had noticed him.
Bakugou spun around, pointing the plastic spoon thing at him.
"I told you fucks to stay out of- Oh. You're not one of the fucking useless kitchen-wreckers. Aren't you Exit Sign's brother or something? What do you want?"
…Exit Sign? There was a story there, Tensei just knew it. And he also knew that his brother had sadly neglected to tell him about it.
"Hm, why is one of his relatives in his dorm building? Truly a mystery worthy of the great detective yell-a-lot."
Now it was Shinsou's turn to be threatened with a kitchen appliance.
"You shut your damned mouth! I'm not done with you yet!"
Ignoring Bakugou, Shinsou stared at Tensei. It wasn't the look of pity some civilians gave him and it also wasn't the grief his parents regarded him with, but a secret third thing.
"You look like shit."
Wow. Was this his life now? Getting insulted by random fifteen-year-olds? And Shinsou was one to talk! He had eye bags bigger than his actual eyes.
"You don't look much better, you know?"
The kid snorted.
"Do you want a coffee?"
Oh, being offered coffee was certainly a new one.
"Sure."
With that, Shinsou slid down the counter until he was standing again and grabbed something out of the cupboard above him.
"You're not serious."
Bakugou was apparently so shocked at his hospitality that he forgot to insert 'fuck' into his sentence.
"Look at him. That guy hasn't slept in a week. He needs some coffee."
"It's been only two days, actually."
If they were going to talk about him like he wasn't there, the least they could do was get the facts right.
"I don't give a fuck about that. But you're not going to fucking offer coffee to someone and then give them the cheapest brand we have!"
"But it still tastes great!"
"No it doesn't! Did you burn off your tastebuds or some shit? I don't drink coffee and even I know that stuff's disgusting."
"I offered it to him, not you, so stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."
Bakugou looked seconds away from throwing the whole wok at Shinsou.
"Keep that up and I'll ban you from the fucking kitchen too."
Tensei was so glad Tenya wasn't swearing like that. If he'd have to hear his little brother say 'fuck' that many times, Tensei was pretty sure he'd combust.
"Try me. You know I'm Aizawa's favorite."
Yeah, Tensei could definitely see why his old friend would take a liking to the sleep deprived kid with the paw prints pyjama pants.
"Aizawa also knows I'm the only one who can cook and keep these idiots fed."
Bakugou forcefully removed the package of what was apparently the cheap and shitty coffee from Shinsou's hands and replaced it with one that looked much more expensive.
"And what about what's-his-name? The guy who looks like the host of my favorite baking show?"
"You mean Satou? He's fucking baking, not cooking. There's a difference."
Shinsou threw his hands up in the air, thankfully now empty of coffee and coffee-adjacent things.
"Excuse me for getting it wrong, you snob."
"I'm not a snob! I just know more than you!"
Shinsou didn't bother looking at him as he filled the steaming coffee into a mug.
"Whatever you say, sparky sparky boom man."
"I'll kill you, you caffeine addicted, depressed bag of insomnia!"
Tensei couldn't help but snort at that, even if now Bakugou's fury was directed his way.
"I have to remember that one for later."
Now both of them stared at him.
"Huh, I didn't know Iida's brother wasn't also a total stick in the mud."
"You don't really think he's like that, do you?"
Shinsou's expression switched from mild shock to doubt.
"He memorized the fucking rulebook."
"I'm pretty sure he also quoted some actual law at me at some point."
Tensei shook his head.
Did he sometimes think Tenya was a stick in the mud too? Absolutely. Was he just going to let anyone call his brother that? Absolutely not.
"You have no idea what he's like if he doesn't feel the need to keep everyone else in check."
Bakugou snorted, but Shinsou looked intrigued.
"Really? How does he change?"
"Well, if you haven't seen it yourselves yet, I'm not gonna spoil anything."
That got an eyeroll out of Shinsou. But he still got his coffee. And also directions to Tenya's room. Which is the thing he'd been after, though the caffeine was a nice bonus. (Especially since it really did taste good.)
So Tensei left, leaving the two to puzzle over what dark secrets Tenya could be hiding. Did he actually mean anything by this? Nope. But at least it gave them something to think over. (Besides, Tenya hunted down Stain too and Tensei hadn't known until he'd literally been told, so who was he to say that Tenya didn't have another secret side to him?)
The elevator ride was both too short and too long and then he was in front of Tenya's door and feeling vaguely shitty about it. Sure, he'd come here to comfort his brother, but he wanted comfort from him too.
Especially after Tenya so vehemently disproved what Tensei had thought he thought. Yes, he'd learned very early on that he couldn't make his self-esteem depend on others, not when he wanted to be a good Hero, but having heard that maybe, just maybe, his brother wasn't grieving and missing the old Tensei (that he still was! He was still the same person!) like he knew their parents did, still made his insides twist with anticipation and dread.
He knocked before he could think twice about it.
The door stayed closed.
Tensei knocked again, a bit more forceful this time. Even though it was still pretty early, he knew his brother was usually already awake at this time.
And yet nobody opened the door.
Maybe he actually was still asleep after all? He'd woken up during the night, so maybe he'd been too exhausted to hear his alarm? Tensei decided to take a quick look inside his room. If he really was still out, he'd just go back down and annoy Tenya's classmates some more.
He opened the door.
Tenya was awake and sitting on his bed, back facing Tensei. Some papers were scattered across his blanket, while he appeared to be writing on one of them. And oh, he was wearing headphones, so it really was no wonder he hadn't heard Tensei.
Just as he thought Tenya really wasn't going to notice him there, he turned around. Watching the intense focus on his face be replaced with shocked (and maybe also a bit delighted) surprise was kind of funny, but now Tensei also felt bad for showing up unannounced. He knew how much his brother valued being able to plan everything in advance.
"Tensei!" He removed his headphones and stood up fast enough that Tensei was briefly worried he'd fall over.
"That's me." The hand that wasn't holding his precious coffee did a little wave.
"What are you doing here? Are you okay? Are mom and dad okay? What's going on?"
It was good to know he could still speak almost as fast as he could run.
"Tenya, relax, it's fine. Nothing happened." Well, aside from the fact that he tried to kill Stain for him. "We wanted to talk to each other, right? So I just figured I'd drop by."
He visibly relaxed at that, tension leaving his shoulders and posture slumping a little again. Tensei still felt guilty.
"I'm sorry for showing up without telling you first. I'm not sure what I was thinking, I know how much you hate having your structure interrupted."
"Don't worry about that! I was in the process of revising my schedule anyway!"
"Because of last night?"
"Yeah." His brother was a lot more subdued now all of a sudden. Looked like whatever had led to him calling took a bigger toll on him than he'd wanted it to.
Tensei felt his insides turning upside down at seeing Tenya like that.
"Can I sit on your bed?" He knew Tenya wasn't going to say no, but it was still polite to at least ask beforehand.
"Of course!" Tenya quickly grabbed the papers currently occupying most of the space and moved them to his drawer.
As Tensei rolled next to the bed, he realized a teeny-tiny problem he had. The coffee mug.
While he'd gotten really good at getting in and out of his wheelchair (it was one of the first things he'd learned after not being high on painkillers anymore, after all), he seriously doubted he could do it one-handed. Hm, maybe if he used his Quirk, he could propel himself onto the bed? But that would still most likely spill the coffee.
"Do you want me to hold your mug?"
Tensei handed it over, briefly thanking him. Then, he moved himself onto the bed and shuffled backwards, until he was leaning against the wall. Tenya joined him and gave him the mug back.
And then he leaned against Tensei's side and he could feel his heart melt.
They were complete opposites when it came to physical affection, Tensei liked nothing more than to drown people in hugs, while Tenya valued his personal space more than anything else since he'd been little. So, as a compromise, leaning against the other was their form of giving - or, in this case, asking for - comfort.
"What happened to make you call me?"
Tenya sighed.
"It's silly."
"But it still affected you."
They were both quiet for a moment as Tenya figured out how to best express his thoughts.
"I had a nightmare."
Oh.
"About…?"
"I watched you die. I- I couldn't do anything. And then there was blood everywhere and Stain was laughing and I was drowning and you were dead."
Tensei suspected his brother would have nightmares about the whole thing, even if he never told him. But still, hearing about it now there was nothing he wouldn't do to stop them.
"I'm so sorry you have to go through that."
He didn't get a reply.
"Have you thought about if it could be PTSD?"
Most Heroes ended up with it at some point, and going after the person who maimed your brother sounded like the perfect material for trauma.
"I doubt it. There's nothing else usually, just the nightmares."
"Usually?"
Tenya shrugged.
"I've gotten jumpy at sudden sounds or movements. But all of us have."
Oh, now he certainly had no time to unpack all of that right now, but he still made a mental note to check up on his brother and his class more often.
"I still think it might be good if you see someone. Even just a few times. I could give you the number of my therapist, if you want? They're very understanding."
"We have Hound Dog. I will request an appointment as soon as possible."
Tensei exhaled in relief.
"Thank you."
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable, letting both of them follow their own thoughts.
"You don't have to tell me anything if you're not ready, but did Stain use his Quirk on you?"
He could deal with being disabled (or at least he was learning to) and he could even deal with dying in the line of duty, it's essentially what he signed up for, after all, but just the thought of being frozen to a spot, completely unable to move made him panic. Tensei prayed his brother had been fast enough to avoid that, even though he knew how unlikely it was.
"He did. Right at the beginning." Tenya closed his eyes. "I thought I was going to die. I knew I was going to die. If Midoriya hadn't- If he hadn't showed up, I'd be dead now."
Tensei never wanted to hug his brother as much as he did in that moment before, but he knew it wouldn't have the intended effect, so he just sat there.
"Sounds like I owe Midoriya a big thanks for saving you."
"I'm sorry, Tensei. You already have so much to deal with and I just keep adding to it."
There were few things that Tenya could've said that would hurt more than that.
"You and your problems aren't something I have to 'deal with'. You're my brother, of course I want to listen to you and help you. You're not burdening me. Never. No matter what."
When Tenya nodded, he continued.
"Do you know what the worst part about all of this is? That people suddenly treat me like a precious glass sculpture. One wrong move and I'd shatter to a billion pieces. But I'm not! I'm still me. And- and I can't stand how everybody keeps treating me differently now. My life isn't over just because I'm in a wheelchair now. You know how much I hate feeling useless, but everybody seems determined to make me feel like nothing but."
"...Do I make you feel like that too?"
His voice wasn't accusatory, Tenya genuinely just wanted an answer.
"Not exactly. But you've been distant. I mean, we still talked and I knew you still care for me, but we haven't done this," he gestured at them both, "in a while. Or just did anything else together for fun."
Tenya shrunk in on himself.
"I apologize. I hadn't meant to make you feel that way. I'm just- whenever I look at you I can't help but feel guilty."
He slowly exhaled, keeping precise control his his body.
"You don't have to feel bad just because I'm in a wheelchair!"
"No! You misunderstood! That is not what I meant."
Even as he gestured wildly, Tensei relaxed again. Logically, he knew his brother wouldn't actually think like that, but it was still too easy to forget.
"I've looked up to you all my life. You're the greatest Hero there is to me and I've always wanted to be just like you. And now I went after Stain out of selfish revenge and you've got to be so disappointed in me and I know I can't be Ingenium anymore - which I understand! But it still hurts."
Tensei turned around to face his brother, but Tenya wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Hey, look at me."
Slowly, Tenya faced him and Tensei could see the tears glittering in his eyes.
"I'm not disappointed. What you did was foolish and could've gotten you killed and I'm furious you were so reckless, but do you really think I wouldn't have done the same if our roles had been reversed? If he'd injured you instead of me, I would've stopped at nothing until that fucker was either dead or rotting in the last cell in Tartarus."
Tenya raised his arm, clearly intending to wipe at his tears with his sleeve, but Tensei gently stopped him and used his own sleeve instead. He knew Tenya always hated it when he got his clothes dirty.
"You'll do my name justice. Hell, you're going to be a better Hero than I was. And if you can't see that right now, I'll just have to believe in you for both of us."