Chapter Text
It all started when his quirk came in. Shimura Tenko got up from bed because he couldn’t sleep when he was thirsty, so he went to the kitchen for a cup of water. Momma had always put his plastic cups where he could reach them on the counter so he dragged his little step stool over to the counter.
Once he got his cup, he put his whole hand around the cup so that he could grip it better like his Momma had taught him, but was instead met with the front of his pajamas becoming drenched in water. When he looked down at himself he saw the ashes floating lazily down to the floor. Panic rose in him. He didn't know what was going on. What happened to his cup? Was it him?
"Momma!" He screamed and fell backwards off the stool. Thankfully it wasn't that high but it still startled him. He scurried back and bumped into his frantic mother.
"What is it, Tenko dear?" She knelt down next to him and tried to assess if he had any damage. He whipped his head around and tears blurred his vision.
He started to tell his mom what had happened and that's when he made a mistake. He hugged her with both hands (like he had done a million times before) and to his horror, she too had the same fate as his cup. Instead of water drenching his pajamas it was now the blood of his own mother.
“Momma? Momma?! Where are you?” his crying was met with horrifying silence.
Gone!
But he didn’t mean to! He didn't know what was happening or how to make it stop! But now his mother is gone!
Gone! Gone! Gone!
His breathing picked up and he raced towards the door to try and find another hero. They would be able to help! His momma always said that if something scary happened to go find a hero. She was one too, a hero, so hopefully her friends would help him and bring her back.
In his panic he got lost and turned around. He was just 4 and had never tried to navigate the city by himself and he wasn't even sure of where he was. Still panicking and with a defeated feeling, he collapsed down onto the unforgiving ground of a random alleyway. He didn't care that it was probably dirty. His thoughts were circling the drain of self deprecating thoughts and questions.
Was this his quirk?
Was he bad because of that? What did he do to get one so horrifying?
Where would he even start learning to control it?
Blood
Ash
Murder
Momma is gone
Guilt
Shame
Why doesn't it work on himself...?
What is his quirk?!
How is he going to survive?
Will a hero come help him?
...would they even be willing to?
He's so scared...
He just wants his momma back. He didn't mean to!
Tenko wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there crying, blood rushing in his ears, but the sound of soft footsteps brought him back to semi awareness.
A tall man with white hair and kind green eyes smiled down in front of him. The suit that he was wearing was made of a black material and had a blood red tie. Tenko tore his eyes away from the color of the tie. It just reminded him of what happened to his momma. The voice that he used to talk to Tenko was that of how his mother had talked to him when he was like this. It was soft and warm and full of understanding. It hurt his heart to hear it coming from somebody else. He didn't deserve it.
"Seems like you're a little scared, kiddo."
The words caught in Tenko's throat when he tried to respond to the man. He must have been screaming when he ran out of his house cause even if the words would come out, his throat was raw. So instead he just nodded his head.
"I see. Well, do you need some help?" His tear filled vision snapped up to the man's eyes. He knew from what his momma had told him that only heroes helped people. Villains didn't help people. They only hurt people. Momma said so. So was this man a hero, right? Could it be possible that he had stumbled across a random hero that would be able to help him? If that is the case, then Tenko knew he could trust the nicely dressed man. Not thinking anything more of it, he nodded his head again.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do to help. Is it okay if I touch you so that I can get you off of the cold ground?" The man had his hands facing up and waited for a response. Tenko looked down at the man's hands and then to his own. Violently shaking his head, he clenched his fists and tucked them underneath his armpits. He didn't want to make the mistake of grabbing the man.
The man must have noticed this and was quick to add,
"If you don't want me to touch your hands I don't have to. We can get some gloves or something to help you feel more comfortable if you’d like? I might also have some band-aids that we can put on your fingertips in the meantime." The last part was whispered like the man was telling him a secret. That...didn't actually seem like a bad idea. It could provide something between his hands and whatever he was touching. Maybe nothing would happen? And if this man really is a hero he will be able to help Tenko control his quirk! It made Tenko smile for the first time in what felt like ages, even though it’s only been a couple hours. So Tenko just nodded his head and slowly placed his hands out where the man could help him. The hero was careful not to touch him as he applied the band-aids to Tenko’s fingers. When he was done, Tenko looked at his hands. They felt weird but not bad. The band-aids that were now on his hands had the same man that was standing in front of him! There was no doubt now! He really was a hero! He still didn’t want to touch the man though. Just in case this wasn’t enough.
His hero had his hand held out in front of him waiting for Tenko to take his hand again. Feeling more confident now, he placed his arm into the upturned hand. Tenko didn't even notice when the space in between his shoulder blades started to itch and burn. He was too focused on the fact that the man in front of him was willing to help.
But All for One on the other hand? He did notice. He knew that it was a soul mark coming in. He of course knew the rumors around soul marks. That they didn't appear until they needed to and only when you made first contact. It caused a lot of people to go crazy to try and find their soulmate, but without any sort of indicator as to who it could be, it was soon nothing more than a rumor. But sure enough, he felt that stinging pain in the back of his left calf and knew it couldn't be anything else. This child was his soul child. A smile stole itself on his lips, slightly maniac. Now that he knew that, he would protect and raise this child as his own. Nothing would take his child away. And he would mold it to be his second in command, his right hand man and maybe even his successor. And there wasn’t anybody or anything that could stop him.
The hero gripped his arm softly to help him up from his spot on the ground. When Tenko was standing he held his arms up in the universal sign that he wanted to be picked up. Making sure that his fingers were curled into his palm so he didn't accidentally touch the man. The man smiled down at him and picked up little Tenko without hesitation.
Once settled into his arms Tenko leaned his head against the man's shoulder and asked,
"Mister, you really are a great hero aren’t you?" The man chuckled at the question.
"Sure, you could say that." They started walking and Tenko let out a small sigh in relief. He settled in further and let his eyes slip closed, letting his hero take him to wherever they needed to go.
That was the last night that Shimura Tenko was seen. Many said that he died at the same time as his mom. But due to the lack of his blood on the scene, others started to speculate that since his mother Shimura Nana was a hero, he was kidnapped. They didn't have any evidence to prove this though, so the case went cold. Maybe if they had looked a little harder, dug a little deeper, they would have seen the man that had taken the boy. They would have seen that it was none other than All for One that had taken Tenko. Maybe this whole thing could have been stopped.
Needless to say, Shimura Tenko's file was closed and stored in a room with countless other files that were similar to his. Not to be thought of or seen again for a long, long time.