Oshiro and Anzai both had brown hair. They both had brown eyes as well.
Oshiro had the soft, tired eyes. His frame was wide, packed with muscle and stability.
Anzai's eyes were sharp but unfocused. Like she was looking far off into the future. Just like Oshiro she packed her frame with muscle, though it did not show as much.
The schools that they went to, their general living areas, Tenjo didn't know such things.
The days that they did come in for practice were always more form focused days.
Much like Tenjo they didn't talk much. In fact, until Himiko was taken under Sifu's wing they were on a 5 year silence streak. Company they decided, was most important.
Even with Himiko's enthusiasm they still kept to their short answers.
"Oshiro! Anzai! It's good to see you two!"
Like one of many days, Himiko's greeting ended the sacred silence.
The twins, both seated in horse stance, gave a simple nod to Himiko.
Oshiro, taking the role of speaking today, offered their agreed words. "You too, Himiko, Tenjo."
Tenjo got into a horse stance beside them, Himiko following half a step behind.
"Joint practice this time?" Tenjo asked the twins.
They shook their heads simultaneously. "Busy, maybe the one after the next."
They glanced at the equipment around the room, dummies and pillars that aren't always there.
"Bajichuan?"
"Could be shaolin today."
While they waited for Sifu to arrive Himiko started chattering with the twins.
"What were your quirks again? How'd you guys come to be sifu's students? What's your blood types?"
Wry smiles manifested on the twins' faces as Himiko lay siege to their silence.
Oshiro rushed in short answers between each question. He was after all being asked questions with trivial answers.
"Mountain, avalanche, family, O-, AB+"
It was amusing to watch. Both Anzai and Tenjo watched the spectacle from the corner of their eyes.
Tenjo reflected on Himiko's exuberant personality. 'Given how Oshiro is matching Himiko's questions with answers I would believe him to be good at rapping. Given the speed at which Himiko is asking her questions she too would be good at rapping. I wonder if these skills work in karaoke too.'
He smiled, or at least he felt a smile form.
Just like that, joint practice was upon them.
The venue was the same as it's always been. A large sports center based at the edges of Musutafu. Its upkeep maintained entirely because the local sports, martial arts, and arts congregations within 70 km pooled their funds.
Now for social events and some competitive events the stadium is rented to the local groups at a great discount. On account of a highschool festival being seen as more prestigious than the olympics.
Why is that? Why is the blood sweat and tears of children taught to fight the most anticipated show?
"Alright everyone! Free sparring is over in that corner, if you saw something you liked and wanted to learn we have coaches over on this side! Have fun everyone!"
And so they were deemed sufficiently warmed up. Tenjo looked at the small crowd of martial artists dispersing. Some found spots to socialize in, others found teachers to learn from. Others approached his corner to spar in.
"Hey! Tenjo!" A familiar face approached. A common partner with whom he shared his art with.
"Ojiro!" Tenjo smiled. "It's good to see you man."
They clasped hands, generating a well above standard popping noise.
"You ready to spar today Tenjo? Where's your gear?" Ojiro carried a duffel bag with him. It contained clothes to change into and standard protective equipment.
Tenjo shook his head and looked around. "Not today man, I've been wanting to learn tai chi, and sifu han doesn't know it. Don't worry though, you'll still find a partner."
Ojiro raised a brow in surprise. Tenjo usually acted extroverted at joint practice. "I could join you."
Tenjo saw a dash of messy blonde hair and waved. "Nah I'm good, besides, I just found a friend for you."
Himiko, removing herself from the sea of combatants, arrived quickly. "Tenjo! I've been looking everywhere for you! You've gotta come meet the Muay Thai guys. They're so nice!"
Ojiro paused. "There's Muay Thai guys?"
Himiko turned to him and nodded."Mhm! They're over there!" She grabbed Tenjo's shoulder and pointed in a direction.
Ojiro looked over, not knowing what uniform to expect. "Those shorts look, short. Shorter than they should be."
Tenjo shook his head and mumbled to Himiko. "But I wanted to learn Taichi."
Himiko giggled at him and grabbed his hand. "We're just saying hi to them! We can do taichi after!"
Ojiro suddenly realized that he would not be sparring today. He took a moment away from the strange girl's chattering to think. 'I do already spar at the home dojo, I guess I don't need to spar today. That and Tenjo's different today, I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn alongside them.'
Tenjo's eyes lit up as if he remembered something. "Oh yeah." He turned to Ojiro. "Himiko, this is Ojiro, my friend, Ojiro, this is Himiko, also my friend and sifu's daughter."
Himiko bounced over and grabbed his wrist. "Nice to meet you Ojiro! A friend of Tenjo's is a friend of mine! Now we can all go over there together!"
Ojiro glanced at Tenjo. "Nice to meet you too."
Just like every other day Tenjo came home to see his mother waiting at the door. She sat at the step between the designated shoe area and the rest of the house.
"Welcome home Tenjo." She smiled, her words practiced and filled with intent.
The effort still confuses Tenjo, though he certainly enjoyed its thoughtfulness.
"Hi mom, how was your day?" If she was trying so hard, it wouldn't be so much of a bother to reciprocate.
Tenjo's mom beamed. Her expressions were clumsy, unpracticed. Or so it looked unpracticed.
"It was great! Thank you for asking. Now tell me about your day while we eat ok?"
Tenjo shook his head. "Mom, I need to shower."
She was still in the hallway, though standing and fussing over him with her hands.
"Then momma will prepare dinner while you shower. And when we're eating dinner I want to hear all about your day ok?"
Tenjo smiled back at her. "Yes, mom, can I go now?"
"Yes yes, oh the water is cold just the way you like it! I had a few things moved around the house just for that. I'll go make your food now." She pulled him in for a hug and scurried off to the kitchen.
On Tenjo's way to the restroom he spotted a cookbook and parenting book in the kitchen.
He also saw a notebook and pencils. 'When should I ask her about dad?'
He didn't know if that fuse was or wasn't attached to an explosive.
Tsss!
For now, a shockingly cold shower.
He took the initial spurt of water straight on.
As with every night, Tenjo used three pages to capture the skyline. He didn't count the many sketchbooks he went through, he only cared that the day's sky was preserved.
A knock sounded from his door. "Tenjo, try not to stay up too late, ok? You need plenty of sleep as a growing boy."
He finished his drawing and replied. "Yes mom!"
From the hallway his mom smiled. "Good night Tenjo, I love you."
Then she left. Tenjo was confused by her parting words and stayed awake a little longer.
'What is love?' He pondered, before he sunk into dream. 'How can I express it back, if I don't know what it is?'
He dreamt of coloring books.
Tenjo breezed through his middle school classes. Frankly, he just took notes leisurely and read the textbooks. The concepts and word choices were strange at times. However for the most part the underlying concepts were simple and easy to understand.
Unlike people.
He looked at the colossal portion size Himiko was eating.
Today he was eating cold soba, using cold water from the cafeteria as his sauce. He liked strong flavors, but only on occasion. The cold smooth noodles treated his digestive system very nicely.
slurp*
In the meantime Himiko had a mountain of rice, cabbage, and beef slices precariously grasped by her chopsticks. Tenjo watched as all of it disappeared into Himiko's mouth.
Her teeth were very clean. The fangs were just as pronounced.
Tenjo started sketching her. Referencing the moment just before the food disappeared, Tenjo moved his pencil.
Himiko, with some rice around her mouth, noticed Tenjo's new sketch. "What're you drawing?"
Tenjo turned the sketchbook around to show a rough outline of shapes. "You."
Himiko stuffed another mound of food into her face. "I don't see it."
Tenjo used his pencils to point at the shapes. "Your hair buns, the food, the chopsticks, your eyes, hands, nose, mouth, canine teeth, and choptsticks." He turned the book back around to continue his work.
Himiko continued eating. Her eyes glancing at the lines Tenjo made. She watched as the rough sketch was refined further, the shapes quickly gaining detail.
Himiko kept crushing her lunch. Bite after bite she chewed enough protein for 10 men. Her jaws and teeth chiseled by the greeks themselves.
Someone rushed by the table, disturbing Tenjo's focus a little.
Himiko saw only the effects on the paper. "Hey my jaw isn't chiseled like that!"
Tenjo adjusted the paper and mended the mistake. "Sorry."
He finished the sketch halfway through lunch. Ten minutes before Himiko's lunch disappeared.
"Are you going to color it?" Himiko drank from a juice box and tilted her head.
Tenjo nodded his head. "I will, but I left the pencils at home."
"How come?"
She imbibed some apple juice.
"I forgot it on the desk, I wanted breakfast so I rushed."
He took another glance at Himiko.
"I'll use my quirk, show you how it should turn out."
The paper started taking on color, first with Himiko's face then spreading out in a wave across the paper.
Himiko squeezed the juice in her hand. 'It's always so interesting to see him use his quirk like this.'
Like ripples on still water, color claimed the page. Himiko's face approaching a comically large pile of food with her mouth open. The fangs were prominent and well highlighted.
Himiko inspected the image, trying to gauge how awesome it was on a scale of 10/10 to 1000/10.
"Why is there so much focus on my teeth?"
She looked around for a trash can. Her juice dry of its respected contents. Spotting one, she threw the little box in a perfect arc. It sailed through the air and entered the bin. Not a single instance of contact with the rim.
"Because I think the teeth are cute."
Himiko turned around with a blush.
"You think they're cute?"
Her hands were positioned to hide her smile. The raised shoulders covered the red on her cheeks.
Not enough to hide it from Tenjo though.
'What's she doing?'
"Yeah, I like the way your teeth look."
"~ii! Really?"
Tenjo watched as Himiko twitched in her seat. Her face was a deluge of fascinating pinks and peach coloring. The mocassin, pale blonde of her hair standing out atop her now red face.
He stared at her, attempting to hold eye contact. Though it was a hero thing done to manage one's image, it was also an important social action. Or so Tenjo was informed.
When he finally caught eye contact he responded.
"Yes, they contrast nicely with your simple features. They pop out like flowers in a bush."
'Like bright colored flowers contrasted by dark green leaves.'
Himiko continued squirming.
"I-i, thank you for the compliments."
'Weeping skies! I lost eye contact again.'[1]
Tenjo's predicament was as follows. If a person does not wish to come into contact with another, they will not hold eye contact. If a person were to face their body towards another and stay within close proximity, they are likely to desire contact. If said person did the prior intentionally, the chances of contact are increased. If a person were to not desire contact, they would leave.
For Tenjo, he could not tell if Himiko's fidgeting escape with her mind and eyes indicated contact closure. Her body language suggested to him that she wanted interaction. The brief moments of eye contact meant conversation, verbal or not, was desired.
The prolonged end of eye contact interspersed with near instantaneous moments of eye contact confused him.
'People are weird.'
Ojiro was simpler. Having known Ojiro for a long time, Tenjo didn't have to consider such physical cues. He simply said what he felt, when he felt.
Himiko had a good lunch that day.
"E-excuse me!"
A lunch like every other.
Tenjo glanced at Midoriya. The poor green haired shonen seemed to have mustered up all of his accumulated courage.
'Is that a quirk? Courage accumulation? No, it's too unusable, quirks usually have a use.'
The green haired boy bowed towards Himiko.
"Please allow me to introduce myself! I'm sorry for how my actions may have given you the impression that I believed your quirk villainous! But! I don't find quirks inherently villainous! My name is Izuku Midoriya and I'd like to ask you questions about your quirk!"
Tenjo glanced at his face which was now parallel to the floor.
'rose-gold, pink, salmon. Opposite color compared to his hair, reminds me of red-bellied frogs.'
Himiko tilted her head to the side in amusement. Smugness colored her face as she looked down upon Izuku. Her narrowing eyes showed great mirth.
'So the green kitten worked up its courage?'
"So, you finally learned how to talk to girls, congratulations. As promised, ask your questions Midoriya."
Tenjo observed Himiko in her moment of smug superiority. Even when the moment passed he still could not get an image out of his mind. Thus he drew, while Midoriya interviewed Himiko, he inscribed the absurdity of his own mind.
"First! What should I address you as?"
The red-bellied frog's notebook was already open.
Himiko with her elbows on the table waved the question. "Whatever you want, if you need my last name is Han."
scribble-scribble
"Ok, Han-san." He muttered to himself. "The name of your quirk was transform, right? and you drink human blood to turn into other people right?"
Tenjo looked up at Himiko again for reference.
"That is correct, green cat." For some reason she glanced at Tenjo.
scribble-scribble
"Ok! And it allows you to transform for an amount of time that is related to the amount you drank right?" Midoriya asked.
"Yes." Himiko nodded her head.
Tenjo tilted his sketchbook.
"Then, do you know the ratio of blood to time?" Midoriya's pencil exuded focus.
"Two hundred and forty milliliters for 18 hours." Himiko fixed her posture and began answering with professionalism. Or at least, her best attempt at it.
"Is that a direct relation? As in, is it linear?" Math began crossing his eyes.
"Yes." A short and direct answer. Just right for an interview. This will be great experience for job searching.
"Does your transformation include clothing?" Himiko tried her best to stay in character.
"Yes, but if I'm already wearing clothes then they will be on top of the transformed appearance." In her mind she pondered an update to Midoriya's nickname. 'Pervy green kitten?'
"Do you need to drink your own blood to return back to normal?" His face was still buried in his notes.
"No."
scribble
"If you turn into a stronger or weaker person does your strength increase and decrease?"
Tenjo was confused by the complete lack of eye contact.
'I need to reevaluate social cues.'
"I don't know, never tried it."
"What about quirks? If you were to transform into a mutant quirked person would you have their quirks?"
"Technically yes, but actually no."
"What if the size difference is huge?"
"Can't do it, not enough mass."
"Does it work with animals?"
"No."
"Do you suck the blood through your teeth or do you drink it?"
"Both."
"Are certain kinds of transformations easier than others?"
"Huh?"
"Like is it easier to transform if the subject is your height? If they're the same gender? Or is it the same across all people within reasonable size?"
"I don't know."
"Can you transform just parts of your body?"
"I never tried."
When Midoriya's interview came to an end he stopped writing and looked at Himiko. His anxiety started to creep in but while he was still focused he had one last question.
"Himiko," He looked to Tenjo next. "Tenjo, do you guys want to be heroes?"
Tenjo, having finished his sketch and his lunch was puzzled by the sudden question. Himiko seemed to be waiting on him to answer too.
Of all the questions he ever heard, this one was the one he was least prepared for.
Tenjo thought back on his whole life. His upbringing, his hobbies, his passions, and all of his hard work.
"I'm not sure but-"
He thought of now, his mother suddenly changing, his father, his grandparents disappearing. The sciences, the world, the people.
Even if his mother didn't want it anymore, even if he wasn't so passionate about heroism. Even if he wasn't in it to just be a hero.
"I think yes, I want to be a hero."
'If not for the good I do, then simply to paint on this grand canvas.'
He looked at Izuku, who in turn read the atmosphere and regained his focus.
Izuku looked at Himiko for an answer.
She looked first to Tenjo, studying his face for any cues to explain his reasoning. Her mouth opened. "I want to create support gear."
Izuku nodded, flipped pages in his notebook and added new lines.
Himiko took this opportunity to ask a question of her own. "How about you kitty? What do you want to be?"
Izuku's focused cracked just a little bit. The atmosphere gave him no way out, not that he would back down from stating his dream.
His mouth opened. "Even though I'm weak, even though I obsess over quirks, and even though I don't have a quirk. I want to become a hero. Like All Might."
Tenjo and Himiko glanced at each other while Izuku realized what he just said.
Like snow Midoriya's seriousness melted away into embarrassment, though resolutely he silenced himself and waited for the ridicule that would inevitably follow.
Tenjo looked back to Izuku, "If you want to be a hero, you're gonna need to get strong."
Izuku's head popped up. "Huh?"
Himiko spoke this time. "I think dad can take in another student, just tell your mom you're hanging out with friends after school today."
"Huh?"
Together Himiko and Tenjo adopted they stray that sat with them. ""We can't give you a quirk, but we can make sure you don't stay weak.""
"Huuuuh?"
"Himiko didn't you hate physics? What did you mean support gear?"
"I just feel like it."
[1] Anyone get the reference? I'll post it in the next chapter.