I sat by myself on the plain faded green bed I'd been assigned to. My knees curled close to my chest. My eyes were hazy, staring ahead. Buzzing filled my mind; I could no longer hear myself thinking. And because I had nothing to think about other than counting the dolphins painted on the wall ahead of me, my ears tuned to the conversation outside. Her voice was muffled behind the door. Next to the exit, a curtained window and large, cushioned chair sat in the corner. My dull, tired eyes wandered to the shadows standing in the window frame. They were in the hallway just beyond. My mom was holding her head, half sobbing. In front of her was a male doctor. "Do... Do you think she will ever talk again...?"

The doctor sighed. "It is too early to be sure. There have been many kids who went through a mute stage just like her. They eventually grew out of it and started talking again..." He was silent, breath catching, too telling for our own good. "However...in the chance that she does not overcome this, I... just want you to be prepared..." My eyes returned to staring at the opposite wall. The TV mounted on it was dark and lifeless. All the lights in my room were off. The whole place was so eerily silent. So void of life. Like a cage, its concrete walls prevented me from leaving. Like a prison, visitors, even my own mom, were only allowed in at certain times. How was this...? How was this better than before?

I wish I could talk. Just...didn't know why I couldn't...

"M-maybe there is a way we can help her!" My ears caught on to the new voice. A lady doctor, maybe. Turning my head just a little, I saw a third shadow standing in front of my mother holding a clipboard to her chest. She started flipping through a couple different papers on the board. "There's a chance she just needs to be with other children! It isn't very normal for kids to end up here, but by luck it seems a boy was admitted only a few days after her!"

"Really??" My mom gasped.

"Mhm! He's a few years older, but still the closest to her age in the facility!" The woman's voice sounded so enthusiastic, just listening to it gave me hope. But then, she sighed. "Hhh, unfortunately, there are a few complications... The boy, Tenko Shimura...doesn't speak either... On top of that, we believe his quirk activation is what led to the deaths of his entire family... We...have found ways to prevent him from using his quirk, but, it is still a risk..." This left Mom speechless. I watched her shadow silently as she thought it all over.

"I..." She began. "Will have to think about it some more."

"-Of course. You are welcome to take as long as you like. We can try other methods in the meantime." The lady doctor bowed. And that was the end of the conversation.

A month passed and still I only opened my mouth to eat and drink. They just... couldn't get me to speak, as much as they encouraged. The essentials were all my mouth could intake. ...I thought I had lost my voice. Simple as that.

It didn't matter if I spoke or not...no one would listen. No one would understand. It would change nothing. That was my mindset. That is what I had decided. Why even try?

Eventually, I brought my mom to desperation. She went at her own time to meet with this "Shimura" kid to see if it was worth a shot. Apparently, she decided that it was.

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

Creeeee...

The wooden door opened to a new room I had never seen before. Inside shined a faint light glowing from a smaller TV near the ground, where another light haired boy sat. I shrank away from the dark frame, only peeking my eyes through instead. The boy didn't even respond to the new light crawling his way. In his hands was a remote controller, and in front of him on the screen was what looked like a pretty boring farming game.

"Oh, Tenko~?" The lady doctor called. Like me, my mom was a tad nervous. But, if she of all people had deemed this kid safe...then...maybe..? "Zeya, the girl I talked to you about before is here~" The older lady tried her best to sound cheery, but the subject's unresponsiveness was a tad too unsettling, even for her. "Ahem.. Tenko!" She clapped her hands together. The boy's head finally turned. I slipped back immediately, quietly gasping at the other's face. It was so wrinkly and cracked, kinda like an old man but with the face of a child! There was silence. Then the boy just returned to playing his game again. The doctor sighed. "Tenko, come get your lunch at least, okay?"

Click!

The lady turned on the lights, which made the boy flinch, and walked over to a small, circular table where she set the two trays of food on; one for him and one for me. Mom brought her own lunch. Hm, now that the lights were on, I could see just how similar our rooms were! Almost identical if not for the differently painted walls! His was jungle themed with monkeys instead of dolphins like mine.

The doctor pulled out chairs for my mom and I and the two of us sat stiffly as we started to eat. The one empty seat already had a tray all set out and ready to be consumed. If he didn't come in time...maybe I would eat his ramen instead~

After a few minutes of painful silence, little Tenko stood at last, turned off his game, and walked toward us and the table. I still couldn't keep my eyes off his face. He looked so dry and sickly, it made me feel bad. I also noticed his hair, too. It was nearly white. However, since my hair was that way as well, I didn't think much else other than that he must have been visited by the same fairies as me when I was born... I thought differently when I was a kid, okay?

The humming of the air conditioning unit behind the wall was louder than the boy's small nervous clearing of his throat as he sat at the table with us two. His hands shook a little as he pulled apart his chopsticks. My mom noticed the cue right away and ceased her silent scrutinizing. I didn't notice the same social cues and instead stared at his hands. He had on some special gloves...if you could call it that. Basically just some wrist bands and bungies working together to restrain his pinkey fingers. Wonder if that hurt his pinkies, and why they were all tied up like that! Like before, the boy was silent as he started to eat. He ate a little faster than us despite the shaking in his arms. Other than a few glances, he didn't give us all too much attention. That sort of upset my mother, but then again what was she expecting??

After Tenko had scorfed down the last of his veggies and noodles, he stood again from his chair and made his way back to the TV. After turning it on and booting up the same game as before, the silent boy began playing the game again. The doctor, who had been standing in the doorframe the whole time, sighed in disappointment. "Hhh, I'm sorry, ma'am-- huh?"

I dropped from my chair and waddled over to the bright haired child. Both women watched in astonishment as I sat down beside the boy, about a foot away, and started curiously watching him play the game. I was awfully curious. As someone who had only seen videogames a couple times before, I wanted to know how they worked, what they were like, and why this boy enjoyed playing them so much. My mom held her breath as I scooted in a little closer. Tenko finally paid me some attention when my little, greedy hands grabbed his controller. He growled at me, but I ignored it, a little too set on ensuring that toy was mine.

He thrust his hand towards me with malicious intent.

"Tenko, no!-" The doctor freaked out, stumbling a step forward.

The older boy's hand shoved me away with a grunt. I fell clumsily onto my side. The falling over was more of my fault, since I hadn't expected any kind of push back. The adults both gasped, for a moment too startled to move. It was then my mother realized just how nervous the female doctor secretly was under the facade. Despite their moment of genuine fear, both sighed in relief when I simply sat back up again and watched the older one play his game with contentment.

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

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G..." We were sat at a short, rectangular table for us kids. A specialized therapist was sitting with us. The older man spoke kindly, letting me and Tenko play with toy cars as he recited the alphabet (alphabet because I no know Japanese :P). Ten whispered along, but hardly spoke up. I was in my own little world, smashing toy cars into each other. "Hay, Zeya, can you say 'A'?..." My head rose to greet his smiling face. "...A..?" I mimicked his lip movement, but nothing more. Tenko was putting in a lot more effort than I was. The speech therapist turned his attention on to the boy instead by encouraging him to talk a little louder.

It had been almost a whole year since I stopped talking and everyone was starting to worry. But, at the same time, they knew rushing or forcing it would just make things worse. On the bright side, Tenko and I had managed to become good friends despite the little verbal communication. We found our own ways to communicate using special hand signs we made up ourselves and small verbal cues. Our bonding experiences consisted primarily of gaming together. That, and being known as the two creepy mute kids who wandered around at night without adult supervision just to spy on people for fun.

My mother was standing at the door watching when the speech therapist at last stood, stretched his back, and strode towards the exit. He left nothing but a piece of paper with the alphabet written on it at the table for us to see. My mom huffed in defeat as the older man approached. "Don't be so down on the girl, ma'am." He spoke softly. "She is learning a lot. A fast learner, too... She already knows the alphabet and even can read a few words, that I can tell. She...just needs to break whatever barrier that is keeping her from speaking them."

"I know, I just-..." Mom rubbed her head, jaw clenching. "...I just hoped she would be over this by now is all. She's been so stubborn- I don't-...I don't even know what I did wrong..." My head snapped her way when I heard the breaking sobs. Ten turned her way as well. The older man placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and whispered a calming assurance of some kind. My heart started to ache on the inside. I didn't want my mommy to think this was her fault... Suddenly, I lost interest in playing with the cars...

The speech therapist left the room, followed by my mom wiping tears away with her long sleeved, vanilla colored shirt. Everyone was right... I was five now...and still not even trying to talk. ...What was wrong with me..?

In the silence of the room, I decided to try.

"Hhhh...hhhh...âaa..." Mom's eyes widened, pulling her face from her sleeves. Too afraid to peek around the corner, she stood plank-like beside it. My face was turning red as I gave pronouncing a few small sounds everything I got. Hanging on a coat wrack in my room not too far away from me was a big, pink, feather decorated hat I personally picked out from the store one day just because I thought it looked really fancy. I pointed at it from my seat at the table, staring the object down with a death glare as I struggled with all my might just to call out its name. "Hhhaaaaaa~ ack-aaa!" Anxiety got to me. My eyes blurred with tears as sobs replaced what was supposed to be a word. The overwhelming, unrelenting thoughts of how pathetic I was for not being able to speak mixed with the fear of never being able to speak normally again melded into a terrible paste of bleh.

"You're doing a good job, Zeya!" Tenko whispered from behind. Then, he stood up and bound over so that he was standing between me and the hat stand. "Hat? Is that what you're trying to say?" Wiping away the tears in my eyes, I nodded. "Well- well don't give up!" He started to encourage me a little louder, in turn stretching himself as well. His encouraging worked wonders. I stopped thinking about how bad I was and instead focused on pronouncing the once easy to say word out loud.

"Hh-hhh-hhhaa-a-aa-t."

"You did it!! You can talk, Zeya!!" The once mute boy exclaimed. My eyes began to tear up for a different reason. I felt like I had just conquered the world! Ten ran up to me and squeezed me tightly. In the time we were friends, he had mostly overcome his fear of touching people. Now, he was just extra cautious to not touch anyone with all five fingers. His voice was a little scratchy and raw still... As was mine.

My mother had to sit down in a bench outside my room, hardly able to contain herself. My little voice was so angelic to her. It was like a blessing from God to her weary ears. I couldn't contain my excitement. I just began to laugh. Such a cute, bubbly little laugh.

"Can you say 'hat' again??" Ten asked as he let go of me. He too could hardly contain his excitement. It was a miracle to witness.

"Hat!!" I blurted, relieved to feel no barriers around the word as before.

"Yess! Now way my name!"

"T-ten..Ten... Tenko!"

"You got it! Ha-haa!"

"M-Maa! M-AAMA!" I called toward the door. A couple passerbys stopped for a brief moment, a little bit confused by the rising commotion. My mom shot up from her bench and whirled round the wall with a massive smile on her face. I leapt from my seat and ran her way. She, with a massive set of tears in her eyes, ran my way as well. She fell to her knees and I into her grasp. Both of us cried somewhat, relieved beyond all else that the two of us finally had a chance to talk together again. "Hh-hu-hug!" I called over my shoulder to my friend. The boy was just standing there awkwardly, watching us. I opened one arm to him, inviting Ten into a group hug. My mom gladly followed my lead.

Ten's feet slowly scooched closer, hands fidgeting with one another. When he was close enough, the boy fell into the embrace as well, being extra careful this time not to touch either of us with his hands. Instead, they just clasped each other tightly in front of his chest. My mom and I both wrapped an arm around him regardless. Quietly, my mom whispered through tears, "Thank you so much for helping my little girl..." Ending with a brief kiss to the top of his head.

That was the moment I was certain it would only get better from there.

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

"...T- Tenko..?" I stretched out my hand by just a little bit. The young man didn't respond. He just stared down at me blankly as fake rain fell onto our shoulders. I was soaking, cold water dripping down my face.

Yet my tears came through.

"Ten!!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around the guy excitedly. I was so shaken. So much good mixed in with the bad. I had just witnessed my childhood friend kill a man, after all. But the positive emotions beat the negative ones in the end. I squeezed him tightly, cheek pressing against his chest. He was so much taller now. "I missed you.."

Tenko gave in as well, wrapping his hands gently over my back. His pinkies by this point didn't even need to be restrained. They had grown to curl inward naturally, which made it a pain for him to move them but also easier not to use his quirk accidentally. He rubbed my back and chuckled..in a mournful kind of way. "It's good to see you... But, it's Tomura now." (Season 6 voice)

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

"Hey, Ten, try using your quirk to take the birds out!" I said, pointing up at the birds on the powerlines visible from my backyard. Since Tenko had nowhere to go but the foster care system, he quite frequently slept over at my new house and hang out with us. We were eight and twelve by this point. Thanks to my quirk, Ten felt a lot more comfortable practicing with his quirk around me, since, if he did anything wrong, I could always reverse time and tell him not to.

"Huh?" The boy curiously peered up at what I was talking about. "What are you talking about? I can only destroy things I touch!"

"No but the other day you were able to destroy a bug on the stick you were holding! So what if it works for other things too?! Here!" I handed him a rock and he stared down at it in utter confusion. "You're good at throwing, right?!"

"Uhh, yeah?"

"Then try that one!" I pointed to a bird sitting passively on the privacy fence. By this point, I was desensitized to the amount of bugs and other small critters he liked to kill on a daily basis as well.

"Um... Okay..." Ten was certain this wouldn't work, but he tried anyway. Reeling his arm back, the boy stretched out his pinkie to touch the rock. And with all his might, he threw it at the bird while it was disintegrating.

The helpless bird shrieked as the rock pelted it on the head. It tumbled over the fence with a dying cry. "Let's see it!" I ran over to the fence, climbing on the boards to peer over. Ten joined me. We both stared down at the sight. It was slow, but the corpse of the bird was indeed being eaten away by the boy's quirk. "I TOLD you it would work!" Tenko's eyes widened.

"Woah.." he pulled out his right hand over the fence to examine closely. So it was possible, hm..?

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

I pulled out of the hug, chuckling, "What are you talking about, Ten? Still in your rebellious stage? Where did you get the name 'Tomura' anyway?" He didn't laugh with me though. No, he didn't even chuckle.

"..What do you mean..? Rebellious? You telling me you're not a criminal too?"

"Huh?" What was he even getting at here?

"Only villains could possibly know about this event... Unless..." He snatched my arm all of a sudden. "You're one of those UA kids now, aren't you?" His voice held so much malice, like he took my new status as an insult.

I guess... It wasn't hard to understand why.

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

"What do you MEAN I can't go to UA!?" Sixteen now, Tenko stood in our living room, glaring across it to my step dad. On the ground were ashy remains of the 'not acceptance' letter.

Aizawa stood with a tall, strict posture and set, lowered brows. I hung back in the doorway of my room, peeping only my head through. The boys, who were only four and one this point, were already asleep, my mother hanging out in their room with them.

"I trained just as hard as anybody else, so I don't get it!! You're a teacher there, so why don't you tell me?!" It wasn't often that Tenko got angry like this, so I was a little nervous, but also too invested in the conversation to slip away either. Tenko really DID train a lot for UA. The two of us always brainstormed how he could improve and how best he could use his powers to catch villains instead of kill them. His quirk would be hard to use heroically, but with how much the two of us plotted and work-shopped, we were certain to figure something out in time!

But this rejection had completely smashed both our dreams.

"You're a delinquent." My dad was forward as always. "I've been telling you to shape up all year. UA doesn't only care about your quirk and skill, but your attendance records as well. And yours is one of the lowest in your school."

"That's no fair!! I only skipped school because they had nothing to offer! You gotta tell 'em I won't skip out of UA, please!!"

"That is...not my decision to make."

Tenko slid his foot over the rug to face away from Aizawa and scratched at his neck aggressively, a sign that he was REALLY agitated now.

"GAH, THIS LIFE SUCKS! I HATE YOU!! Everybody hates me no matter what I do! Even you and Ms. Dessie hate me!"

"That's not true."

"DON'T LIE TO ME! Two years ago, I heard you talking about why you really didn't want to adopt me! Are you really that scared of me ruining your family?? Seeing me as nothing but a bad influence on Zeya??" I gasped a little when he spoke. The pain in his voice was so raw. Fear, anger, regret, all of it! I knew how much Tenko had wanted to be adopted, but I thought the only reason he wasn't was because he was too old now or something. A bad influence..? No, he wasn't a bad influence! He was my best friend!

But I was too afraid to speak up; too scared to risk getting caught in the middle of this heated debate. So I just let my emotions simmer.

My dad had nothing to say. At least no quick comeback or word of retort.

Tenko's body slouched, arms scratching each other as they dangled before him. "...So... It is true then... You guys still see me as nothing but a failure."

"That wasn't what the silence was about- where are you going? Ten-!" The teen rounded the couch and Aizawa, escaping toward the front door. He stopped in the entryway branching from the kitchen.

"You don't get to call me that; only Zeya gets to call me that!! F### you, you b######!!"

"Tenko--!"

SLAM!

The front door said it all. The family I once thought so perfect was now breaking apart.

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

I ripped my arm away from Ten with both hands and slid back over the wet concrete. Though I didn't want to fight him, I was prepared to if that was my only option. My glasses fogged up even more with the mix of rain water and heated face. Ten stood a little straighter and cracked his neck. He didn't appear all too excited to fight me either.

"Is it just me, or are you a little paler than before?" He made a somewhat offensive comment.

"Thf, same goes for you.. Looks like we both took to hiding in the shadows after you left.." I growled, noticing his subtle studying of my posture. His blood red eyes watched my stance for any weaknesses.

Then he smirked. "Oh, but I've been doing much more than just hiding~ You always wanted to know how powerful I could get. Well here's your chance! I won't hold back just because I know you! .. I'm here to kill All Might, you hear me?! And I'll do whatever it takes to achieve that!! So step out of the way or be incinerated!"

I lifted my fists over my chin, standing on my toes in preparation for a fight. Tenko quickly stretched his shoulders and did much the same, intensely glaring me down as he too prepared for a fight.

This.. was terrifying.

And yet I knew I deserved it.

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

Tenko stopped visiting after that fateful day. Instead, I had to hunt him down in order to hang out.

Our dreams shifted a little. I decided not to go to UA either. Instead, we would become vigilantes together! You know, the old fashioned way!

Ten dropped out of highschool at age seventeen to chase after this dream. I helped him remain undercover from my dad. Though I was too young to join him on the field, I helped however I could by supplying him with whatever tools and food he needed. He was essentially living on his own now, no heroes or villains to turn to for help, so it really did feel like it was just us against the world. I was excited, though. My bubbly optimism looked at this like a great start to an amazing adventure! Once I was old enough, the two of us would save so many lives!--

Blood dripped from his fingers in the dark alleyway we met in. Tenko's right eye was basked in, his nose bleeding. But...the blood on his hands obviously wasn't his..

"Good," The eighteen years old chuckled softly as he sloppily pushed himself off the brick wall. "I really need the medical supplies this time.." I stared, face pale, as though I was watching a ghost snatch the basket of food and medicine from my hand. He was...in terrible shape. But.. blood dripped from his hands onto the pavement, staining the dry, dirty ground even more than it already was.

After a while, I regained the strength to open my mouth. "Ten.... What happened?"

His head jerked up, catching the pang of horror in my vocal cords. The teen sighed and lowered his head. "...He was going to kill someone... I tried to stop him normally, but..in the end had to use my quirk... You can keep the food, by the way. I got my own." He pointed to a slightly bloodied grocery bag chilling on the ground. A lot of plastic wrap. He...couldn't afford that much on his own...

"You're stealing, too?! Tenko- you're not supposed to kill the villains!"

Ten stopped from cleaning off his hands and arms for a moment. "Well maybe I am!! They're not going to bother anyone else if they're dead! Just imaging how much money our government would save; how much food could be reused, if only our prisons were empty! Maybe killing murders and criminals is the best way to solve ALL our problems!"

"What are you, A VILLAIN?!" The words slipped out. Didn't even realize what I had said until it was out.

Tenko was both quiet and still, finally staring directly at me, hurt. "...Why so quick to put me in a box like that?.. You know I wouldn't actually hurt anyone-"

"Stealing?!? Killing?!! Only villains do that!"

"...Hmf... And here I thought you were smarter than this... You know the world isn't so black and white, right?? There are shades of gray no one wants to acknowledge for whatever reason, but there is such a thing as doing the wrong things for the right reasons."

"You're just making excuses." I growled. "If you really care about justice, you should go to prison now! It would be better to be in prison, or dead, than be a villain hurting others!" I could feel a part of me pulling me back, pleading for me to take that back and apologize...but I was too heated at the time. Didn't want my friend to become a criminal.

...Clap. clap. Clap. Clap.

"Wooow," Ten clapped slowly, sarcasm dripping from his smirking mouth. "You sound just like your dad... And to think you were different. No, you're just like the rest of society. You and your beliefs are the only thing holding these fragile walls up; remove one pillar and ALL of hero society will fall, along with the rest of the world with it!.. Heh-hehahahaha... It's actually kind of funny to think about. One little person like me could cause the end just like that."

"Now you're really starting to sound like a villain, Tenko." Growling, I slid a foot back as if I was preparing to fight him or something.

"Oh so I'm the villain, for simply voicing my thoughts?... That guy was right... The only real difference between heroes and villains.. is that villains get to do whatever they want!" Straightening his back, my friend's crazed smile slipped into view from underneath his messy hair. I gasped. He was much closer to the edge than I thought! I had hoped I could snap him out of it, but, looks like I had only made it worse. "Oh, and the name's Tomura, by the way. Tomura Shigaraki."