Orphan Nanny

small blessings

Okay so here's the deal: I recently began the bnha manga, and Jesus Christ it was like someone clonked me over the head with a baseball bat then had me choking on soap. Anyways- I picked up where the anime left off, so now I'm caught up with what's happening. I'm kinda ruined now

I'll be needing to make some edits here and change around a thing or two, but otherwise nothing major. At least not big enough to rewrite any big events I got planned for the future. And I won't be making the edits for awhile, so until then I hope you enjoy
(P.S. I'm more up to date regarding their backgrounds, so... ouch)

Btw- if anything appears not to match up with previous chapters, it's because of the minor rewrite. Don't worry 'cause I'll go back and make those edits when I get to it

..........

His footsteps were always so quiet, Julie noticed. Touya walked like there was something to fear, like there was something around every corner to be wary of. She knew Tenko sensed it too, but he never commented on it, just staring at the older boy with an unreadable look. It was strange seeing him so unresponsive after all the time they've been together. Only three years and she's grown so used to her kid smiling and laughing without a care in the world, but she could see that weight on his chest, the one he pretended wasn't there.

When the reports of what happened to Tenko's family came on the news, they showed just how extensive the damage was. It was hard to believe such a small child could do something like that, but she had seen the aftermath herself when he wrecked her bathroom.

(She still saw the guilt in his eyes whenever he passed the door.)

Julie wasn't sure what exactly happened to the kids—her kids, now—but she'd be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to give them happy lives after all the shit they've been through.

Touya's burns that wouldn't go away and the angry glint in his eyes when he looked in the mirror. Julie could sense it just bubbling beneath the surface of his skin, and she didn't know how to curb it. It was a burning rage about his father, that much she knew, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who was responsible for his charred flesh, but she couldn't allow him to keep living his life the way he was.

Resent glowed in his eyes whenever Julie paid any attention to Tenko, and it was almost surreal about how disparate he was for any kind of approval.

She had thanked him one night after he put his dishes away and offered to clean them, and there had been an immediate shift in demeanor. All the hostility seemed to float away, leaving him light, as his eyes leaked blood. It had taken hours to get him to calm down after he broke the bowl he was holding, and he disappeared to his and Tenko's room the rest of the night and she didn't see him until much later the next day.

Julie hated seeing the tremble in his hands whenever he held something just over a few pounds, how he sometimes strained to keep himself up and about. Despite his need for recognition and approval, the slightest hint of it sent him spiraling. The kid was a disaster.

Luckily, she had an idea that might help them both.

—————

"...a what?"

"I got a dog!"

"...why?"

Julie pouted at Touya, cuddling the little cream-colored puffball closer to herself. "'Cause I wanted one, and I thought it would help you guys out," she said firmly, her mock-offense fading into uncertainty at the reception. She shuffled her grip a little, repositioning her arms to hold the dog better. "...do- do you guys like him?" she asked timidly, the freckles on her face dimming in brightness a little.