#shigarakibirthdayweek

“Shut up.”

“But I don’t wanna! You shut up!”

“It hurts..make it stop…”

“No, it’s fine! Completely fine, what are you talking about?”

“No!”

“Yes!” 

Jin pulled the hoodie down tighter, screaming as he managed to calm himself down. Okay, the hoodie clearly wasn’t helping as much as it did before. Was this getting worse? That wasn’t good. None of this was good. But then. What was good? Did good even exist? He groaned, knowing that he made no sense. 

“Um…”

Jin turned around immediately, eyes widening at the sight of a small child. He looked around 5, with dull red eyes and dirty gray  hair. The boy shivered.

“I didn’t know you were here lil guy.” He said, bending down a little. “Sorry ‘bout that, I talk to myself ofte-” He cut himself off seeing blood on the boy’s face.

“Kid? What happened to you?” 

The boy only blinked. His face was pale, like a ghost. It was dry and covered in scratches, not to mention both dried and fresh blood.He looked like one of those creepy children from a horror movie, but Jin didn’t care at the moment. He’d seen enough horror in his life not to be scared of this. Plus, he was too concerned about the boy.

“Kid?”

“...know…”

“Know? Sorry, I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

“...I dunno.” The boy mumbled, most likely answering Jin’s question of what happened to him. Did he not remember? 

“Okay...do you know where your family is?”

“...no.”

“So you’re alone?”

“...yes.” The quiet, raspy voice whispered. Jin was concerned about how a child’s voice could be so raspy. It was unusual. Then again, finding  a creepy looking little boy with an unknown background might be unusual as well.

“How old are you?” The boy held up five fingers. Five, okay he was right. 

What was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t just leave him, of course not. If Jin were to walk away, who else would help? A hero? Would a hero even find him? He didn’t want to take any chances. He could go to the police, but then they’d want to know about him  too. Jin wasn’t exactly the most...legal person. Let’s put it at that. Would it be possible to drop the kid off and go? The heroes...they’d take care of him, right? Make sure he was okay and all?

“The heroes are bullshit, they’ll fail him like they failed us.”  He thought aloud. For once, his other side seemed to agree, The heroes didn’t do anything before, what would make this one kid so special to them? 

“Bullshit.” The kid said. Jin’s eyes widened in a panic.

“Fuck, did I say that out loud?” Not helping Jin, not helping.

“Fuck?” The kid spoke, tilting his head confused. Jin made an x with his arms, rapidly shaking his head no.

“Wait no! Those are bad words, you shouldn’t say them!” Great, he had only a few minutes with this kid and already taught him two curse words. Nice going. 

“Bad words?” The kid tilted his head.

“Yes, very bad words! I shouldn’t have said them, that’s my fault. I’m a bad example, please don’t take after me.” He exclaimed.  The boy giggled.

“You’re funny.” He said, through soft laughter. Jin smiled at him, heart warming up at the little giggles. It looked almost scary, coming from the mouth of what looked like an enlarged haunted doll, but he found it endearing.

 “I’ll take that as a compliment. How dare you? I’m not funny at all!” Jin groaned, as the boy tilted his head. 

“Sorry kiddo, that happens a lot. What’s your name? ” The kid furrowed his eyebrows as if he was thinking really hard. Like he couldn’t remember his own name.

“...Tenko.” He finally said. “It’s Tenko.” Tenko, huh? That was an unusual name. 

“Tenko? Okay, I’m Jin. Nice to meet you, lil buddy.” He held out a hand towards him. Tenko tilted his head, tapping the middle of Jin’s palm with his pinky. Jin laughed. 

“It’s supposed to be a handshake, but I’ll take that.” The boy giggled as Jin reached down to ruffle his hair. It was greasy, as to be expected.

“How long have you been out here?” Tenko shook his head slightly. 

“Don’t know. More than a day.” Jin suspected that, seeing how he looked. 

“Well, let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” He could figure out what to do about this later. Right now he needed a bath. He picked Tenko up, noticing how the boy clenched his fist and pressed them against his chest. Jin sighed, walking to the shitty apartment he called home. 

-----------------------------

“You really like bubbles, huh?” Jin chuckled, as he washed the other’s hair. Tenko nodded, making a bubble beard.

“They’re pretty and they feel nice. They smell nice too.” He murmured, splashing in the bath. Jin nodded with a soft smile. That was the longest he’d heard him speak, consecutively.

“Yeah, I think so too! No, bubbles are the worst!” 

“Don’t listen to the deeper voice, kay? He’s wrong. No, I’m not, take that back! Shut up!” Tenko giggled at the little exchange.

Jin wondered how long he had actually been out there, his hair was so dirty. It looked dark gray before, but after rinsing it out Jin could see it was white, with a light bluish tint. And he had multiple wounds that he treated earlier. Poor child. Something about the kid reminded Jin of himself, he was so alone. No one reached out to help him.

He eventually finished washing his hair, drying it with a towel and helping Tenko into clean clothes. He was lucky he kept all of his old stuff from when he was younger. It was still big on the boy, since he was so small. Now, to think about what to do.

 He couldn’t possibly raise a kid on his own, what was he thinking? Hell yeah, he could! Tenko was free to stay as long as he liked. But would he be able to take good care of him? He was only 16, and a dropout at that.  Of course he would, he was good with kids. No he wasn’t! He barely had any interactions with them. And he was already broke, how could he afford for a tiny human? Not to mention he wasn’t the best example with his not so legal activity. What? He never did anything illegal in his life! Yes he did! Jin took on a lot of odd jobs. Jobs he didn’t want Tenko to know of. But what else could he do? Take him to the police? Yeah, actually. No way, they’d treat him like garbage! An unidentified kid with what seemed like amnesia, what could they do for him? Put him in foster care? The foster care system is trash! Did he really want Tenko going from home to home like that? He’s a sweet kid, there’s no way he wouldn’t get adopted at some point. He was adorable. He looks like a horror movie character. I mean, he couldn’t deny that entirely, but the kid was still cute! Like an opossum. Opossums are cute. They’re nasty. No they aren’t! How dare-

His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the back of his hand. Tenko was giving him a concerned look.

“...ling…kay?”

“What was that, kiddo? Sorry, I couldn’t hear ya.”

“...You were mumbling, are you okay?” He asked, quietly. Jin blinked.

“Ah sorry, I didn’t realize. M’ alright, don’t worry about me.” He replied, ruffling the other’s hair. Tenko let out a small giggle. Maybe this would be okay. He still wasn’t sure what to do, maybe he’d take him to the police tomorrow? Yeah, that sounded good. He could at least get the kid a proper meal and some rest before taking him there. This would be okay.

It’s strange how the second you think that, the situation flips.

Jin didn’t take the kid’s quirk into account, he was too worried about the kid himself. He realized that was a big mistake as Tenko grabbed the towel to dry his hair more. Within seconds, it decayed.  Decayed. Just crumbled into gray dust, laying beside his feet. Jin watched, too shocked to say anything, as Tenko’s smile morphed into a horrified expression. He only snapped back to reality when the other let out a bloodcurdling  shriek. 

“Tenko-” He cut himself off, seeing cracks begin to form in the ground. What? Destruction...it had to do with his quirk for sure.

Tears started to fall down Tenko’s face as his breathing increased. The poor kid was shaking so much it looked like he would fall over.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...Hana…Mon…” He murmured in between sobs. Tenko scratched his neck. It itched. It itched so much.  The cracks spread, as Jin snapped back to his sentences. 

“Tenko, hey, it’s okay.” He muttered, trying to get closer to the boy without getting hurt himself. He winced, seeing the bleeding scars forming on the kid’s neck.

“Mom…” The boy mumbled, tearing at the skin on his neck. 

“Hey, Tenko! It’s okay, just breathe. It’ll be okay.” Jin said, gently taking his wrists away from his neck. He crouched down, to be at level with him. The boy continued to sob.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright. Breathe, okay? In and out. Deep breaths.” Jin took deep breaths as well, to demonstrate. Tenko nodded lighty, copying him as he calmed down. The cracks in the ground seemed to slowly come to a stop.

How did that happen? Was it touch based, since he touched the towel? He touched Jin’s hand earlier, even if it was one finger...was a certain amount of fingers needed? And if that was the case, why did the floor start to crack? Maybe it gets worse depending on his emotional state? Did that even make sense? Of course it did! Jin decided to go with that then. So a certain number of fingers? Hm…

He looked down to see Tenko sniffling. The violent sobbing had ended, but he looked so scared it pained Jin’s heart.

“Gone…”

“What was that, buddy?” Tenko shook a little.

“Grandma, Grandpa...Father...Gone.” His arms struggled a little against Jin’s hands, as if he was trying to break free to scratch his neck again.

“Turned to dust.”

Dust? Dust, just like the towel?

Wait that means he…

Jin gulped, trying not to think of it. It couldn’t have been the kid’s fault, after all. It was probably an accident, poor thing. It definitely explained why he was in an alley alone. He was glad he at least knew the other’s quirk, he had to be careful. 

Wait, what would happen if he took him to the police now? Sure, he was five, but he killed his entire family...they wouldn’t hurt him, right? Of course they wouldn't! He's five for god’s sake, they have to have at least a lil bit of decency! The system is messed up. True, but to do anything to such a small child… It was inhumane. Of course it is! So maybe they wouldn’t. They aren’t going to do anything big obviously, but they might hold him somewhat responsible. They can’t! They don’t care. They should! But they don’t. Maybe they will? Don’t try to justify those jerks! 

“I’m not justifying them!” He yelled. He blinked, seeing Tenko flinch from the sudden noise.

“Wait, Tenko, I didn’t mean to...I’m sorry.” He said, sighing. He looked at the kid who only nodded. 

“Here, let me bandage your neck. It’s bleeding, those could get infected.” Tenko nodded slightly, watching the other take out the bandages and medicine again.

As he treated his wounds, Jin had an idea. “Hey hold your hand out for a second.” Tenko tilted his head but did as he said. Jin wrapped his pinky and index finger with bandages, smiling as he tied it. 

“Ta da! You can now touch things without your quirk being effective.” Tenko blinked, reaching slowly to touch a bar of soap on the counter. Nothing happened. Jin chuckled at the sudden sparkle in his eyes.

“Gimme your other hand, I need to do it on both.” Tenko happily obliged, humming a tune he could barely recall as Jin finished with his hands. It was weird how his mood changed so quickly, but Jin chose to ignore it. At least he was feeling better.

“Okay buddy, look, I...I’m going to have to take you to the police station. They’ll...they’ll help you okay?” Jin didn't mind getting a few years in juvie if he had to, the kid needed to be okay. He was  attached already dammit.

Tenko’s eyes widened. “Y-you’re leaving?” His voice quivered in a way that made Jin just want to hug him.

“No no no, I mean technically yes, but I’m taking you where they’ll help you-” He cut himself off seeing Tenko’s eyes start to water again. How dare he make him cry! How dare anyone make him cry!  Well what was he supposed to do? Comfort him, duh! Fucking dipshit. Jin gulped, slowly putting an arm around him.

“Don’t leave…stay...please...” He whimpered. Jin never knew how weak he was to puppy dog eyes until that moment.

Goshdarnit.

“Okay, okay, I won’t leave. I’ll stay.” He said, smoothing his fluffy hair. “I’m here.” Tenko pouted a little.

“You won’t leave me?”

“Of course I won’t!” Jin said, hugging him. That caused the little one to smile.

“Thank you…”

“You’re welcome kiddo.” Jin picked him up, sighing as he took him out of the bathroom.

“Everyone watched.” The boy began. Jin raised an eyebrow at him. “No one...no one helped me. They all said a hero would come help. You helped. Thank you. Thank you for not leaving.” He mumbled, wrapping his arms around Jin’s neck. Jin felt anger creep up his neck, how could anyone just ignore a small child covered in blood? 

“...I wanted to be a hero.” He spoke, in such a quiet voice Jin might’ve not heard it.

“Hm?”

“I wanted to be a hero. But I can’t. I’m too weak, and I look like a villain.”

“Who said that?” Jin asked.

“Kids at school. They picked on me all the time. Said my scars made me look like a villain.” He huffed, pouting. Jin thought it was adorable, although he was mad at the kids for picking on him. How could anyone be mean to this little angel?

“No one just looks like a villain. Look here.” Jin pointed to his own scar, running down the middle of his forehead.

“See? I have scars too! It’s okay to have scars, it doesn’t make you any less heroic. And for the record, I don’t think you’re weak. You’re actually super strong to be able to handle so much!” Tenko’s eyes went wide, sparkling like rubies.

“Really?” There was so much excitement in his voice. So much hope.

“Of course! I think you’ll make an awesome hero, Tenko.” Jin replied. Suddenly, he got an idea.

“Hey, want to go to the store with me? I want to show you something.” Tenko’s eyes burned with curiosity but he nodded. 

------------------------------------------------------------

“Tenko, it’s winter. If you get ice cream, you’ll be even colder.” The small boy pouted.

“It looks so good...”

“No.”

Jin winced as Tenko gave him those goshdarn puppy eyes. 

“Tenko...okay, maybe not ice cream, but I’ll get you a cinnamon roll.”  That’s cannibalism! Shut up. “That’s good, right?” 

Tenko’s eyes lit up as he nodded.

“Alright, alright, I’ll get you one on the way back. We’re going somewhere after all.” He said, chuckling as he pulled the boy along, past the ice cream shop. Tenko was wary of holding his hand at first, but the bandages were taking effect. Jin hadn’t decayed yet.

He walked into the store, as Tenko gaped at everything in it. The scarlet eyes boy looked up, everything was so big around him. He tried to peek over the counter as Jin talked to the clerk. She was filling a balloon. A balloon? Was that why they were here? Tenko looked at Jin, pouting slightly. Why were they getting a balloon?

The store clerk giggled. “Aw, is that your little brother? He’s so cute!” Jin blinked, before smiling sheepishly.

“Y-yeah. He is.” Jin wasn’t sure if he agreed that Tenko was his brother, or that he was cute. He decided on both.

They walked out of the store, Jin holding a plain white balloon and a sharpie. They walked until they reached a small area of flat land, not too far from the store.

“When I was little, m’ mum said if you wrote your wish on a balloon and sent it into the sky it’d come true.” he whispered. 

“You want to be a hero right? Let’s write it on this balloon, and you can send it into the sky. That way it’ll come true for sure!” Tenko nodded eagerly, magma eyes glowing.

Jin steadied the other’s hand, helping him trace out the letters. Tenko didn’t know how to write entirely, but that was okay. Jin could help him.

He put the string in Tenko’s grasp, after the words “I want to be a hero” were written. 

“Now, just say it mentally and let go. It’ll fly to the heavens, and the angels will grant your wish.” Tenko nodded, bowing his head as if he were praying. Then, he gently let go of the balloon, letting it fly into the vast blue sky. They stared after it, until it was out of sight.

“Don't worry, you’ll get your wish, I’m sure of it.” Jin said, picking Tenko up.

“Are you a hero?” That question snapped him out of his thoughts.

“...what?”

“Are you a hero?” Tenko repeated, eyes lighting up a little. “They said a hero would help. You helped.” Jin sighed.

“No, I’m not a hero. Not even close to it. Sorry to disappoint you, kid.” He said.

“You’re a hero to me.” Jin raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“Heroes...heroes help people. You helped me. That makes you a hero!” Tenko said, eyes shining with childish innocence. It made Jin laugh.

“You think so?”

“Mhm! You’re  a hero, like All Might! You’re the best hero!” Jin laughed again, ruffling his hair.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks, kiddo.” Jin smiled softly, holding the boy as he looked out the window.

“Hey, Tenko?”

“Mm?”

“By that logic, you’re a hero too.” Ruby eyes sparked in confusion.

“Huh???”

“You are!”

“How???”

“You helped me.”

“How???”

“Hm, you just did.” Jin laughed again. How long had it been since he’d laughed this much?

“C’mon let’s go get your cinnamon roll. There’s a bakery nearby.”

They weren’t so different, were they? Two boys, abandoned by society. Two boys everyone ignored. Two boys that everyone said the heroes would help. 

Two boys that were going to help each other, despite their scars. Despite it all.

Bonus because I want more fluff:

“Nii-chan! Nii-chan, nii-chan!” A scratchy voice squeaked. Jin looked up from the floor, only to be tackled by a ball of pure energy.

“Tenko, that was dangerous! I could’ve dropped my coffee! Tenko, there’s my little boy!” he reprimanded, yet cheered. But he couldn't stay mad as the teen let out a lighthearted laugh.

“I only do it because I know you’ll always catch me. Anyways, guess what?” Jin could tell exactly what it was from the smug look on his brother’s face, but he chose to play along.

“Hm, what is it?” Tenko broke out into a large grin.

“I got into UA!”

“Really? Congrats, I’m so proud of you! Hell yeah! What place did you get? If it’s in the top five then Giran owes me 5k yen!” He exclaimed, putting his coffee down as he lifted the boy up and spun him around. Tenko was extremely light, despite his age. 

“Hey hey, put me down!” He squawked, flailing like a magikarp as Jin spun him a few times. He finally put the boy down, chuckling at the grumpy expression on his face.

“Alright, alright. Still, I’m proud of you Ten. Good job.” He let a face splitting grin cross his face, one that many people saw as creepy. But to Jin, it was just the smile of his amazing lil bro.

“Hah, just wait until I show Touya, Shu, and Himi! And Touya’s dad. He said, I couldn’t do it, huh? Think again, bitch!” He shouted, giggling.

“Now, what did I say about swearing?” Tenko rolled his eyes.

“But you do it all the time!”

“That’s my other personality, so technically it doesn’t count. Yeah, what he fucking said!” 

Tenko sighed, laughing a little. “Whatever. Anyways, wanna celebrate? We can invite the others too!”

“Of course! I don’t know, did you finish your chores? Don’t mind me, I’m letting you take a day off today. What!?! Shut up, he deserves it. I hate that you’re right, or rather that I’m right…”

“Good, because I completely forgot to do them.” He laughed. “Looks like the balloon wish did come true though! I’m going to be the best hero someday, and when I do, I’ll help people just like you helped me. I’ll also make a lot of money, so you can take it easy!” Jin took several part time jobs in order to make enough money for both of them. But Tenko was determined to do his best, so his big brother could sit back and relax. 

“Alright, alright. C’mon, I made ohagi. We can figure out how we’re going to celebrate after we eat.” Tenko nodded, pausing before running to the table.

“Last one there is a rotten egg!”

“Hey that’s not fair, you got a head start! Get back here you little shit!”

Yeah, they would be okay.

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———–      ———–      ———–      ———–

Sensei takes the gloves away in stages.  

“Let’s try for an hour today,” he says as he gently pulls the bulky fabric off of Tenko’s hands.  “I’ve brought you some toys to practice with.”

Tenko reflexively curls his fingers into fists and jams them up under his armpits when he feels the air pricking at his bared skin.  Sensei chuckles, running one hand through his hair—it’s going pale now, black fading to white, like the longer he stays with Sensei the more he starts to look like him, a lizard changing its skin to take the color of its surroundings.  

“You may be a bit old for these, but they’re a good size for your hands right now.”  Setting the gloves to the side, Sensei next holds up a pail and tips it out onto the floor. Brightly colored blocks tumble into a loose pile, big clunky wooden things.  “Come.  We’ll try and build something.”  

Tenko ends up decaying as many of the blocks as he’s able to stack on each other, his itch getting worse every time, until, weeping in frustration, he kicks over the rudimentary tower and destroys every block left within reach.  

Sensei smiles through the whole thing.  

———–      

“Let’s try to do lunch with no gloves today.  I brought finger food!”

It’s all Western-style things.  Chicken nuggets are easy; so are french fries.  The hamburger is messy, but it’s enough layers that, to his surprise, it doesn’t decay even when he accidentally touches it with all five fingers.  As long as he keeps his thumb on the bottom bun and his fingers on the top, the whole thing stays together.  Sensei hums thoughtfully at the discovery.  

Tenko manages to keep his cup intact until almost the end, but the hamburger made him lazy, and they end up with soda all over the table.  

———–      

The first time Sensei has him try to sleep through the night with no gloves, he tries everything he can think of when he gets into bed.  He curls his hands into fists, tucks them under his nightshirt, curls into as tight a ball under the blankets as he can.  

He wakes up shivering—nightshirt gone, pillow gone, blankets gone.  The bed is full of ash, and then throw-up, and Sensei finds him in the morning curled up in one corner of the room, wide awake and too tired to even tremble.  

He doesn’t get new bed things until the end of the week, and he’s starting to figure out the pattern.

———–  

The blocks turn into action figures; the finger food gives way to chopstick lessons; the blankets—well, Tomura just has to figure out about the blankets.  He has nightmares, is the problem, and he tosses and turns in his sleep so much that it doesn’t matter what position he arranges himself in to start, somehow he always wakes up with less than he went to bed with.  

Sensei tells him about lucid dreaming and brings him a journal.  He writes about the bloody fragments of his dreams, and the longer he does it, the more he can remember of them, random strangers reaching out to him, buildings collapsing, animal sounds hounding him in dark alleys.  

He’s standing in the middle of a supermarket, lights so bright he can’t see anyone above the waist. He spots Sensei’s shoes, polished black with short, neat laces, and follows them through the store, shading his eyes.  After walking for a long time, turning down aisles and dodging shopping carts and the odd large dog, one of Sensei’s hands touches his back, the other gesturing him forward.  He looks up and finds himself standing in front of a mirror.  A scared little boy, hands still tucked at his sides, looks back at him.  

“Go on,” Sensei urges. “Pick one.”  

There’s a whole row of mirrors, he realizes, and he takes a few faltering steps, looking into them like windows.  His reflections all look the same to him, though.

The realization comes quiet, simple words that arrive in his mind like snowflakes falling on the sidewalk and melting.  

I’m dreaming.  

The boys in the mirrors all swing around to look at him, but it’s too late; he wakes up with his hands still tucked at his sides, his breathing fallen still, a cold nausea sitting in his stomach.  

Lucid dreaming works, but he doesn’t like remembering his dreams—and sometimes even knowing they are dreams, he doesn’t wake up, and the dreams turn ugly, violent and full of pain as he curls in on himself, thinking, Don’t reach out, don’t reach out, don’t reach out.  It’s easier to just stay awake until he passes out.  

Sensei says, “You’re your own master, Tomura, or you will be one day.  It’s your choice to make.”  

He keeps Tomura’s dream journal, though.

———–      

Changing clothes is a pain, especially anything with buttons.  He gravitates to simple black pullovers because they’re easier to get into and stains don’t show up.  Wearing the same black shirt for days leaves him grimy and annoyed, but less grimy and annoyed than wearing a white shirt with a food stain on it or decaying a fresh shirt when he tries to pull it over his head.  

He decays the clothes he doesn’t like.  Sensei will buy him more.  Eventually.

———–      

“There’s going to be a typhoon coming in tomorrow,” Sensei announces casually, setting a huge stack of books and magazines down on the table.  “It won’t be safe to go outside for a few days, so I’ve brought you some reading material.”

It’s a lot of stuff—a big dictionary, thin school workbooks, storybooks, manga, hardcover textbooks, glossy news magazines.

“Are you going to stay?” Tomura asks, fitfully pushing the gifts around the table.

“Why, are you afraid of thunder?”  Sensei laughs at the look Tomura gives him and sits down on the couch.  “No, I have some things to take care of.  I’ll come back if they put out an evacuation order.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Evacuation means to remove all people from an area.  Like if there’s a villain attack.”

Tomura absorbs that as he pulls a book out of the pile and climbs up onto the couch with it.  

“Science, today?” Sensei shifts around, letting Tomura squirm over into his lap.  “When I was your age, I liked the comic books.”

“I don’t like them,” Tomura says bluntly.  “The heroes always win.”  

Sensei chuckles, propping one arm up on the back of the couch and resting his cheek in his hand. “I’ll see if I can find you some stories for older people, then.  Or you could start reading history books—in history, strong people win.”  

Tomura makes a sound of vague agreement, flipping the science book open.  It’s got a lot of pictures and big colorful text, but it’s about space and planets, things that feel so big he doesn’t have to worry about them one way or the other.  Sensei reads over his shoulder, still smiling.  

“…Do people have to evacuate for you?” Tomura asks eventually.  

“I try not to be so showy, usually,” Sensei answers without hesitation.  “But it’s happened before.”

Tomura curls up a little tighter.  “…Will they have to evacuate for me?”

“Would that bother you?”

Tomura shakes his head. He squeezes his lips together tight; the old scar there throbs and he reaches up to rub at it with the back of his hand.  He thinks about it, walking into a town and all the people in it running out the other side, police lights flashing and heroes waving them along.  An empty city left behind, all his to explore and he can go anywhere he wants, with no one to shove him around and yell, or walk towards him and then back away as soon as they get too close. 

“No,” he says at last. “I wish they’d do it now.”  

Sensei hums fondly in his throat, ruffling Tomura’s hair.  

“Keep working at it, Tomura, and one day they will.”

———–      ———–      ———–      ———–