Actually Do You Think Kurogiri's Bar Has A "It's Been [ ] Days Since Tomura Decayed Something On Accident"

actually do you think kurogiri's bar has a "It's been [ ] days since Tomura decayed something on accident" sign? this would be a nice fic prompt actually. probably worth a coffee or two. ;) ;)

the blatant bribery of this... and the fact that it’s working... (also this is just way cute and i just got home from being around my nephew so i’m very in the mood for baby Tomura shenanigans)

It comes from one of the parenting books Kurogiri was forced to pick up. He never criticizes All for One out loud, but dumping a child on him and making said child’s wellbeing his sole responsibility when Kurogiri barely knows how to take care of himself and his own needs was... not a choice expected from a man who claims to be the greatest villain mastermind in history.

Tomura’s quirk is an additional problem. He’s not allowed to wear gloves that would keep him from touching things with all five fingers, because All for One says he shouldn’t have to ‘shackle’ his quirk. Kurogiri doesn’t agree, but keeps silent as always. Accidents happen a lot. Tomura gets upset in the beginning, and Kurogiri distracts him with sugary snacks and video games - a stroke of luck, discovering video games as a sure way to capture Tomura’s attention and make him forget about the world for a while. They’re useful in keeping him busy when Kurogiri has to run other errands, and he barely ever has to pause to scratch at his neck and face when he’s playing.

Then, eventually, as he grows older and less terrified and more demanding, he stops getting upset. He knows Kurogiri will just replace what he destroys and clean up the dust every time with no fail. Game controllers, books, playing cards, chess pieces, glasses, utensils, plates, shoes, clothes in general - once, he decays his toothbrush fully on purpose because he hates brushing his teeth before bed.

So Kurogiri comes up with a strategy. 

Tomura blinks up at the board hanging up on the wall beside the bar, right next to the screen All for One uses to speak to them. “What’s this?” Kurogiri doesn’t bother answering that question. Tomura can read. He’s made sure the writing is very easily legible. ‘It has been [ ] days since Tomura decayed something on accident’ is what it says. The blank in the middle leaves more than enough room for what Kurogiri has planned. He reaches into his pocket and calmly places a single, sparkly star sticker into the empty field. “This stands for one day,” he explains. He’s fully aware that not that much of Tomura’s destruction is accidental anymore, otherwise this strategy probably wouldn’t work and only stress him out more, but if a reward system can be used to counter his growing carelessness, then that will only benefit him in the future.

Tomura cocks his head. Attentive. Kurogiri feels something like smug satisfaction, though muted as most of his emotions are. It’s easiest to get through to Tomura with praise. Kurogiri refuses to be just the mindless servant who cleans up after him and feeds him. No, he’ll have a part in raising the boy, too.

“What happens when I break something again?” he asks.

Kurogiri shrugs. “The sticker goes away. And you have to start over.”

Tomura rounds on him, glaring. It would be intimidating if he wasn’t so small. “That’s not fair!”

“If you can make it to ten stars,” Kurogiri continues, undeterred, “There is going to be a surprise for you.”

That makes Tomura reconsider. Children really are all the same, even if they are in unique situations. “... what kind of surprise?”

Kurogiri puts a juice box on the counter. “A good one. Something fun. Perhaps a new game you’ve been wanting. Or a night without a bedtime. Or a trip to someplace fun.” He has a list of ideas already, and Tomura’s eyes light up a little.

He still says: “I could make you do all that anyway.”

Kurogiri turns away, acting nonchalant. “You could, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore, would it?”

Tomura is silent for a long moment. “... fine.”

He makes it fourteen days on the first try.

___

The board comes out again under the worst circumstances, Tomura thinks. Because he’s twenty years old and doesn’t need stickers anymore, thank you very much. Not that he doesn’t still decay things when he doesn’t mean to, sometimes. Mainly in the mornings or too late at night, or when he’s aggravated.

He still balks at the sight of it hanging in its old spot on the wall where it was taken down from when he was twelve or so.

Kurogiri raises his hands in an attempt to signal his innocence, though he seems far too amused.

“Look what we found, Tomura!” Toga grins and bounces on her heels, pointing at the board. “It’s so cute, with the stickers and all! Sparkly!”

“Yeah, it’s adorable,” Dabi drawls, for once present in the back of the bar, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Tomura wants to hide. Or kill all of them. “... why do we even still have that thing?”

Kurogiri makes a noncommittal noise, and Tomura scoffs.

“We’re making more of them!” Toga says, gesturing over to where Twice is sitting on the floor, working on a cardboard sign that says ‘It has been [ ] days since Dabi set someone on fire.’ Next to that one ‘It has been [ ] days since Spinner talked about Stain.’ and ‘It has been [ ] days since Mr. Compress called himself ‘old’.’

Tomura glances at Dabi. He’s entirely sure that particular sign will end up burned to ash within a night.

It doesn’t.

But it also never ends up collecting more than two stickers at most, and when he peels them off, Dabi always flicks them at Tomura over the bar.

It’s long after the bar is lost, and the signs with them that they all manage to reach ten days in their individual categories, and that’s only because Dabi’s been sick for a while and hasn’t left the quarry safehouse for two weeks.

So they get pizza, and they eat it in Dabi’s room, and he pretends to be grumpy about it, and Tomura pretends to be grumpy about having to spend time with them, but when they end up passing out all around the room and Tomura is still awake, he leans his back against the bed and thinks about Kurogiri. He’ll tell him about their progress when they see each other again.