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“Luck” - after the confrontation with the Hero Killer, the word haunts Tenya like an unwelcome ghost.
The police chief: “You kids got off lucky, what with the lack of witnesses. This better not happen again.”
Midoriya: “After everything that happened back there, it feels like a stroke of luck that we’re even alive.”
The inpatient occupational therapist: “You’re lucky that none of the major nerves were severed. The numbness and tingling might take longer to resolve, but your arms should regain full mobility once the lacerations have healed.”
It’s remarkable how much he can despise something he doesn’t even believe in.
Certainly, Tenya believes in coincidences- the probability of both Midoriya and Todoroki coming to his rescue must have been incalculably low. And he’s also well aware of the privilege he’s inherited as part of an established, wealthy family of heroes. The heroics industry has never been a level playing field. But luck- or, even worse, something like fortune or fate? Tenya has no reason to believe in that.
A turbulent mixture of guilt and resentment sloshes in his stomach, exacerbated by questionable hospital food. Maybe he was lucky to escape Stain’s clutches mostly unscathed, with nothing but some nerve damage and a heavy conscience. But every reminder of his so-called “luck” is a reminder of how much he doesn’t deserve. He doesn’t deserve these friends who fought and bled for him. He doesn’t deserve to call himself a hero.
However, he does deserve whatever punishment his parents dole out for his recklessness.
His parents shower him with words of concern, but there’s no outright punishment. In fact, they practically give him a hero’s welcome. Tenya plays along with the police chief’s cover story, nodding in response to his father’s comments about Endeavor.
Mother opens the refrigerator, in search of ingredients for dinner. From over her shoulder, she asks, “Could you check on Tensei? He’s resting in the guest room at the end of the hall.”
A cold rush of nerves washes down his back. “Nii-san’s home already? He already left the hospital?”
“He got discharged the day before you did. His apartment doesn’t have elevator access, so he’s staying here for the time being.” His brother’s old bedroom remains undisturbed, but it’s on the second floor- it wouldn’t make sense for Tensei to stay there, either.
Tenya walks down the corridor, palms tingling and tinged with sweat. He’s not sure how far Tensei is along his recovery, but the image of his brother’s body in the ICU still burns through his nightmares. When he gets to the door, his hands shake too much to knock or try the handle. From the other side, he can hear a muffled version of Tensei’s voice, punctuated with the occasional high-pitched gasp. It doesn’t sound like he’s laughing.
He lingers at the end of the hallway, just long enough to realize he’s been eavesdropping for several minutes. He finally raps his knuckles on the door. “Nii-san?”
The muffled noises stop. His brother calls out, “Tenya- don’t come in yet, I-” Something heavy falls with a sickening thud.
Tenya barges into the room. Tensei lies sprawled on the floor, halfway between the bed and a brand new wheelchair. His legs are bent under him at a useless, awkward angle. Without thinking, Tenya immediately rushes over and loops one arm under Tensei’s elbow. “Nii-san, please be careful-”
“Let go.” He drops his grip in shock and takes a step back. Tensei sighs into the carpet, then tilts his head back to look at him. His face is strained and noticeably pale, but his mouth curls up in an apologetic smile. “Sorry- I have to learn how to do this myself. And part of learning is making mistakes.”
Tensei grips the lip of the bedframe, then uses small, controlled bursts from his elbows to help pull himself up. One at a time, he lifts his legs out from under him, until he’s stably seated on the edge of the bed. His right arm reaches out for the wheelchair, dragging it closer to himself. Once it’s in position, Tensei grips the frame of the chair with one hand, then lifts his body and pivots into the seat.
The process is excruciatingly slow. By the end of it, Tensei is short of breath. But now that he’s sitting upright, and dressed in his casual daywear, he looks much closer to the older brother that Tenya remembers. Tensei pats him casually on the elbow. “Welcome home.”
“You as well.”
All of the things that he wanted to tell Tensei have left his mind; nothing remains but a vague haze of remorse. The awkward silence sinks into the walls like cigarette smoke.
Tensei’s eyes flit to the bandages around his arms. Then he turns his head to the window. “The weather’s pretty good today. Do you want to go on a w- on an outing?”
Tenya follows his brother outside. They begin a familiar lap of the eastern courtyard. He remembers how it felt to run around the perimeter, chasing Tensei’s heels after finally getting his quirk. Those childhood races blur together with even fainter memories of fast-paced piggyback rides, zipping through lap after lap.
Now, the pace is sluggish at best, as Tensei struggles to maneuver his chair over bumps and divots in the cobblestone. Tenya keeps his strides short and slow, making sure that he doesn’t stray ahead. They chat about inane things- the curriculum at U.A., his performance at the Sports Festival. Two weeks ago, so much was riding on his academic performance, and now it all feels completely meaningless.
Halfway through the second corner, dark gray clouds have smothered out the sun. By the third straight-away, fat and heavy raindrops have started to fall. Tensei looks up and blithely comments, “Oh. That’s unlucky.”
The return of that word sets Tenya off. “There’s no such thing!” He stops in his tracks, until now Tensei is the one waiting for him. “I’m sick of people telling me that I got lucky, and that’s why I escaped with my life. Midoriya and Todoroki were the ones who saved me, not this thing called luck.” He tilts his head back and lets the rainwater fall into his eyes. Tenya laments to the clouds, “But if luck really does exist… then why did you have to be the one to get unlucky?”
Tensei wheels himself around, so that they’re facing each other. His brother looks up at him- he hates how his brother looks up at him.
Tensei’s answer is uncharacteristically quiet, barely audible over the sound of the rain. “Sometimes, bad things happen to decent people. You could call it luck, or tragedy, or misfortune. The label doesn’t really matter, so much as what happens after.” He taps the side of his chin, a telltale sign that a new thought has entered his head. “But weren’t you three saved by Endeavor? Wasn’t he the one who fought off the Hero Killer?”
Tenya bites his tongue, too late to retract his words. Tensei raises an eyebrow and waits for an explanation. The truth comes out piece by piece- what really happened that night, and how Endeavor’s rescue was nothing but a coverup. His brother’s face twists in horror when he confesses his foolish attempt at revenge. “We’re not supposed to tell anyone-”
“I know. Don’t worry, I can keep a secret.”
And with that, they set off again. By the final corner, Tensei’s arms are shaking with exertion. Maybe this lap around the courtyard had been too much, too soon. This whole time, he hasn’t tried using his quirk to propel himself forward- whether out of stubbornness, a lack of stamina, or to prevent falling out of the chair, it’s hard to say. With his brother’s consent, Tenya wheels him under the cover of an old maple tree.
The house is only a hundred meters away, but neither of them mentions the option of going back inside. They wordlessly decide to wait out the rain.
After a while, his brother breaks the silence. “Tenya.” Tensei motions for him to come out from behind the wheelchair. “I’m proud of you, but I’m also worried about you. You have a long life ahead. You’re too young to dedicate that time to vengeance. Or to atonement.” Tensei grabs his left hand, then squeezes until he can really start to feel it. “You’re still learning how to be a hero. And part of learning is making mistakes.”
Tenya falls to his knees, uncaring of the mud that gets onto his slacks. He leans forward into his brother’s arms- carefully, painfully cognizant of both of their injuries. Tensei's hold around him is steady, steadying. The air is still muggy and warm, even with the rain, but he can feel his whole body start to shake.
He can’t tell where the tears end and where the rain begins.