#arkawrites

If anyone could see All Might, the rising star of the heroic industry, at the state he was in right now, they wouldn’t believe their eyes. Rumpled shirt and stained jeans in lieu to his dazzling hero suit, a bird nest of a hair that no comb ever touched in the past week. He had a crick that permanently lodged to his back, a result from thirteen hours plane ride from Toronto to Tokyo. He was pretty sure he still smelled like crude oil too.

He literally just got back from an international mission, helping with a massive oil spill near the arctic waters, when Gran Torino called him.

“They found Nana’s grandson”, was all that Torino said, tiredly as if Toshi’s mentor just aged two decades since he last met him. Toshi had to hold back urges to jump straight to where Torino told him he would be waiting, and instead suffered through a taxi ride that seemed to take forever.

So here they were, sitting on some police precinct chair that could barely hold Toshi’s bulk. What they were waiting for, he didn’t know. As his anxieties peaked up no thanks to the coffee, he decided for a more interesting thing to do--picking black crusts off from under his nails.

He swore he already cleaned them off when he hit the shower back at the hotel. That seriously was fourteen--fifteen?--hours ago.

He was too jetlagged for this.

“Cut that off”, Torino scolded and Toshi felt like he was back in high school, with his lanky limbs that seemed too tall and too awkward. Toshi scrunched his nose, but obeyed.

He wished he was All Might at the moment. All Might was handsome, charming, and confident. Toshinori was simply an anxious mess with too dark bags under his eyes and unkempt appearance. But All Might had no connection whatsoever to Shimura Nana as far as the public knew, so that was that.

A detective walked into the room. He was older than Naomasa, with his greying hair and crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes. After a brief introduction, Detective Shiba dropped a stack of files on the table, pulling a picture of what appeared to be a bloody crime scene and a photo of a scraggly looking man.

“Last month, a child welfare worker found a male baby covered in blood at her doorstep”, the detective began. “The blood belonged to someone related to the baby. We ran it through our database and found a match.”

“The late Shimura Nana…”, Torino whispered, eyes glued to the photos on the table. Toshi swore Torino’s eyes were watery behind his mask.

“You told us Ms. Shimura had a son she gave up to the institution, right?” Detective Shiba asked.

“Yes. His name was… Hisui, I think?” Torino’s eyes turned wary. “What happened to him?”

“Assumed dead. We found his blood in his apartment and--”

“And what?” Torino pursued.

“And a hand that belonged to him. A disembodied hand. We couldn’t find a body”, Detective Shiba said, pulling another picture of said hand. Toshi found himself unable to look away, mind blank.

“His neighbors said his wife disappeared the day before the child worker found the baby, so we suspected she’s involved”, the detective continued.

“She killed him?” Toshi blurted out before he could stop himself.

“No”, Detective Shiba answered. “Her body was found two days later in the river, along with a suicide note that explained everything. She said, it was the baby’s Quirk that did it.”

More pictures. A dead body of a woman. The photo from civil registry, of a small white-haired woman with downcast eyes. Then, another picture of the suicide note, written in scribbly handwriting.

“The child worker noticed that the kid’s Quirk is already manifested, so she took him to a Quirk specialist. It’s some kind of Quirk that disintegrates things he touches with his hand”, the detective explained. “From Mrs. Shimura’s note, we know that it was the Quirk manifestation that killed her husband. It scared her, so she decided to get rid of her son--although she did write that she couldn’t kill him. In the end, losing her husband was too much for her, that she ended her life.”

“T-then the baby? Hisui’s son? How is he--” Gran Torino choked. If Toshi didn’t know any better, he expected his old teacher would begin to cry any moment now.

“Ah, well… That’s one reason why I called you. Both of you, I guess”, Detective Shiba clasped his hands. “Gran Torino, I remember you as Shimura Nana’s sidekick and friend. And Mr. Yagi, you’re Ms. Shimura’s protege, you said? You see, Mr. and Mrs. Shimura both grew up in the same orphanage, so they don’t have any relative. You’re the closest thing to a relative to this small family.”

“You want to ask us if we want to adopt him or give him up to the institution”, Toshinori furrowed his brows. He would do it--he would adopt and take care of this child, his teacher’s grandson, no matter what. He would protect his teacher’s legacy.

“That’s not… really what I’m gonna say”, the detective rubbed the back of his neck. “The child welfare worker who found the kid. She, well… She said she wants to adopt him.”

Toshi exchanged look with Torino, their eyebrows raised.

--

On the way to the orphanage, at the backseat of a taxi, Toshi went through the seven stages of grief all at once. Okay, maybe the acceptance part was more like grudging defeat. He knew that as a hero, he couldn’t always save everyone. Theoretically, he knew this. He couldn’t always be there for everyone.

But the news about the death of his mentor’s son and the ruins of his family hurt Toshi more than he expected. After all, the whole reason she gave up her son up to the institutions was that so he could live long and happy. And yet, he died all because of his own son’s Quirk manifested. It seemed too… unfair? Tragic?

Something hit the back of Toshi’s head, hard , and it took him a moment to pull himself off the internal freakout he’d been doing and realize that Torino had smacked him. He mustered enough energy to glare at his old mentor.

“Stop hitting me!”

“I’ll stop hitting you when I damn please, you stupid meathead”, Torino sighed, sounded more tired than ever. It was only then Toshi realized how old his old mentor had become. Sure, Gran Torino still could pack a mean punch, but his figure had withered from age; his hair turned completely white and his movements stiff.

How old was Torino again? Fifties? Sixties?

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I shoulda keep an eye on that boy when she--” Torino paused and looked away, shoulders hunched as if the weight on his shoulders were too much to bear.

A decade passed and Nana’s death still hurt both of them, this was a fact. Toshi mourned for the loss of the closest thing he could get as a mother figure, while Torino mourned for his dear friend and lifelong partner. Toshi knew they had a thing, romantically speaking, that went way before Nana married some nameless, faceless guy who ultimately died at the hands of her nemesis, but their partnership was way more than that.

It was complicated. Toshi knew best not to prod.

--

They finally arrived at an orphanage.

It was one of those Christian orphanages, with its own school and church. The place was surprisingly nice, with green field surrounding the building. The brick walls were covered with vines. It kinda gave off a homey feeling that made Toshi feel at ease.

A handful of younger children were playing in groups, under the watchful eyes of the nuns. They turned their heads curiously as Toshi and Torino crossed the yard. They waved cheerfully at Gran Torino, who was wearing his hero suit. Toshi chuckled as his old teacher gave them a thumbs-up.

If only he was wearing his hero suit now.

The headmaster, Father Ishi, was already waiting for them at the entrance to the building. He was a large man with big jaws and gem-like growths peppering his face and skin. Despite his scary appearance, he smiled and laughed jovially when he shook Toshi’s hand. Toshinori was by no means small, what with his gigantism and muscled build, but he swore he still could feel the handshake rattling his bones.

Father Ishi took Toshi and Torino to a baby room, green hills painted on the walls and the windows tall to let sunlight bathing the whole room in warm, golden radiance. Ms. Midoriya already waited for them inside, sitting cross legged on the carpeted floor with a baby bouncing happily on her lap.

Toshi took a double take when he got in. Ms. Midoriya looked an awful lot like his mentor. No, not physically; Shimura Nana was built like a brick house, tall and muscular, and could bring down an entire building with a single punch. Ms. Midoriya was smaller, looked more frail, but there was that aura emanating from her, that made people around her feel more at ease. Her dark hair and ever-present smile only made her look more like Nana.

Next to him, Gran Torino let out a pained whine, almost inaudible to everyone in the room except Toshi. It seemed that his old teacher got the same impression too.

When Toshi finally tore his eyes away from Ms. Midoriya, it was only then he realized fully who the baby on her lap was.

Nana’s grandson.

The boy had pale hair that looked light-golden under the sunlight and his smile was just as bright. He held Ms. Midoriya’s bangs in a death grip, making Toshinori wince in sympathy.

“Good afternoon”, Ms. Midoriya greeted the three of them, looking as if there wasn’t a baby in her lap trying to rip the hair off her scalp. Right. Child Welfare Worker; this was probably normal for her.

Torino and Toshi echoed her greetings, and joined her and Father Ishi on the floor.

She was younger than Toshinori expected she would be. And unmarried, if the lack of ring on her finger was any indication. Sure, at this day and age, it wasn’t uncommon for women to marry older. But adopting a child before marrying? That was pretty unheard of, not in Japan at least.

Oh well, that was none of his business.

Toshi let Gran Torino take control of the conversation, seeing that, well… his mentor was the closest to a relative to Shimura Nana. Meanwhile, he used his time to observe the baby, Shimura Tenko. It was hard to see Nana in the boy. He just… looked so different to her, with light hair and red eyes. Toshi thought if he squinted hard enough, he could see that famous smile of hers, but he just couldn’t see it.

“He has her nose”, Torino commented all of a sudden, his voice solemn. Toshi stared, tried to make sense of his old teacher’s words.

Nope. Still couldn’t see it.

“I’m glad that the police can find his relative, even if it’s not by blood”, Ms. Midoriya said with a smile, even though her eyes looked sad. Her hands were gentle, holding to the little boy’s body; but Toshi sensed that she would fight tooth and nail to keep Tenko with her, if necessary.

Toshinori knew, in that moment, that he couldn’t keep the baby.

He was a Pro-Hero. That alone warranted that he couldn’t always be there to take care of a baby. He spent most of his time on the street; fighting villains, doing community works to keep the society safe and functioning, helping solve crimes, or just simply patrolling.

And then there was that constant danger that came with his job. A few weeks ago, he accidentally found out that one of his old teammates at International Heroics was a parent, simply because a villain unknowingly took over their daughter’s school as hostage. Toshi didn’t think he was ready for that nightmare-turned-reality.

So he kept quiet and watched as Torino interacted with Tenko, who abandoned Ms. Midoriya’s hair for Torino’s cape. Without preamble, the baby stuffed the fabric into his mouth before any of the adults could stop him, and refused to spit it out no matter what.

Tenko was very quiet. Ms. Midoriya said, it was due to various reasons; the trauma of losing his parents, possible child neglect. She said, Tenko was a little bit underweight when she found him and he missed some of his developmental milestones, like walking or saying his first word.

As she talked, she made it even clearer that there was no way Toshinori would be able to give the time, care, and attention that Tenko severely needed. There’d be times when he would be away for days, even weeks at a time, mostly to solve difficult case overseas. Eventually, he’d have to choose between his duty as a Pro-Hero and as a parent, and he didn’t think he was ready for that yet .

Tenko deserved a loving home and a loving parent, someone who understood what he needed to grow to his full potential. Someone like Ms. Midoriya, who was already professionally trained for this and was willing to adopt. And she clearly adored Tenko, if judging by the way she was holding him like he was the most precious thing she’d ever seen in her life.

Who was he to come between them?

--

The next morning, Toshinori woke up to Naomasa already making breakfast. It smelled like miso soup. Nothing really beat Japanese-style breakfast, he mused.

Despite having slept for ten hours straight, Toshi still could feel exhaustion settling deep in his bones. He made his way to the kitchen slash dining room and circled his arms around Masa’s waist, resting his head at the crook of Masa’s neck. His boyfriend already showered and Toshi couldn’t help but bask in the fruity scent of the soap.

It was a rare occasion that both of them had an off-day at the same time. Toshi was almost always out doing his hero duty, so between the two of them, Masa was probably the one with more flexible schedule. Whenever Toshi had an off-day, usually after finishing an international hero work, Masa would try to switch his shift so they could spend time doing nothing together.

Sometimes, Toshi felt like Masa was putting more effort into their relationship; but if he was, Masa never said a peep about it.

“If I bribe you with coffee, will you let me go?” Toshi heard Masa chuckling. He mustered enough energy to reply ‘yes’, but it came out as a garbled mess, with his face smushed to Masa’s shoulder.

It took a bit of maneuvering, but somehow Masa was able to finish making the breakfast and grab the coffee with Toshi still hanging off him like a limpet. And with only a minor incident too.

“I wanna say ‘this is why you don’t hug the cook’, but you look so awful I don’t think I’m cruel enough for that”, Masa joined Toshi on the table. The full course of the breakfast was already laid between them; miso soup, white rice with raw egg on top, and fried tofu.

Toshi’s mouth watered. He picked up the soup bowl and drank it in five big gulps.

“Now, you wanna tell me what’s bothering you?” Masa asked, almost nonchalant. Toshi was glad he already swallowed the last gulp.

He still hadn’t tell Masa about Tenko when he got home the day before. He didn’t know how to bring up the topic. They never discussed anything about children. He didn’t think he could just go ‘Hey, I love you so do you wanna help me raise my dead mentor’s grandson?’

Yeah, that totally, definitely couldn’t go wrong at all.

It was all still too sudden for him. It wasn’t uncommon that Toshi felt personally responsible to help everyone he could, but Tenko wasn’t just anyone . He was Nana’s grandson, and Toshi still didn’t know how to feel about that. He really wanted to be personally involved in the poor boy’s life, wanted to raise him so maybe one day he could carry Nana’s legacy.

Fuck, he wasn’t awake enough for this.

Toshi nibbled his chopstick, eyes downcast as he searched for words, before opening his mouth. “It’s just--”

“Ok, I’m gonna cut you right there. You know I can tell when you lie, right?” There was no heat in Masa’s tone, but still it made Toshi wince.

Toshi released a deep sigh.

“I know. It’s just-- I, I mean. It’s still too new for me to process”, he gave Masa a pleading look. “Give me time?”