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He had been tracking this villain for a few months by now. He knew what to look for, who the leader was, and where to go for the next drug deal. It was simple, concise, clear. His plans for taking down villains always were. It worked well, his plan, because he slowly worked through the group, starting low in the chain of command and slowly getting closer to who the leader of this drug ring was. More and more people got taken into custody and he was so close to breaking through to the very top.
So why is this happening? Why is he looking at Hizashi collapsed on the ground, a knife to his throat and his breath coming out with a rattle as if something was broken?
They had just gone out for coffee. Shouta had been working overtime for this case as it was a bigger one than usual. Hizashi had pulled him outside for just an hour. Just for a break. Almost immediately, something was wrong. They were being tailed and no matter where they walked, the same sulking figure was behind them.
Shouta and Hizashi steered away to a less packed area the minute. They got to a wide alley before the tail caught up and 10 other people popped up, closing ranks around the two.
Hizashi didn’t have his directional speaker so it was almost better this way because his quirk wasn’t as controlled and would hurt more if he so much as whistled too close to their head. Shouta and him were back to back and picked everybody off one by one. Both were able to hold their own and they were fine. Until they found another person in hiding.
She springs out from behind a dumpster that’s nearby. Hizashi was closest to her and so she grabs his hair he hadn’t bothered tying up. In the moment of shock, Hizashi let himself get pulled until he reacted. He grabbed her arm, flipping her over his shoulder. The impact on the ground was enough for her hand to loosen in his hair. But one of the people that had been unconscious earlier used what little strength he had left and managed to brutally slam Hizashi, head first, against a brick wall.
“No!” Shouta can’t help but yell. Hizashi goes limp and is like a ragdoll and so, so quiet.
Shouta is instantly jumping in but she recovers, pulling out a switch knife and hurriedly pushing it and her other hand to Hizashi’s throat. There’s a strangled, wheezing hack from Hizashi, and the girl is smiling so wide.
“You should’ve seen this coming, Eraser!” She yells with a sick glee. “You picked off all my people! There were good lackies that are now in jail because of you. I knew you would come snooping around eventually but you got too far. Way too far! So let’s call this a little warning, hm?”
The girl digs the knife against Hizashi’s collar. He tries to fight but Hizashi is still dazed from the hit to his head and the knife is digging too deep into his neck.
Hizashi’s eyes manage to open enough and catch Shouta’s gaze. He gives a weak twitch downwards of his chin.
That’s all Shouta needs. He threw his capture weapon first and it gives Hizashi enough time to get his hand in front of his neck. That momentary distraction lets Shouta bring a knee down against the girl’s nose and her grip on Hizashi’s throat loosens enough for him to roll out of the way.
“Hey, hey Eraser”, the girl says. Her voice is thick and slurred from her broken nose but she’s still grinning. “Wanna know my quirk?”
He activates his Erasure immediately, wary as he says, “What,” in a bored tone.
“When I touch a spot on the human body, I can snap, break, or pull anything I want. Your boyfriend just experienced that. The voice hero has no voice.”
Shouta pulls his capture weapon over her mouth and tightens it around her wrists a little more than what might’ve been necessary. He drags her harshly along the pavement so he can still see her as he collapses next to Hizashi.
He’s shaking and reaches out a hand to grip Shouta’s sleeve, trying to have something grounding him. He pulls Hizashi up against him, checking his vitals as he pulls at his phone. His eyes won’t focus and Shouta’s even more reminded of a ragdoll now as Hizashi slumps against his shoulder and won’t respond aside from a weak nod or shake of his head.
The ambulance is fast to get there and the police are soon there too. Everybody in that alley is taken into custody and the ringleader herself is with them. Shouta might’ve been more satisfied if it hadn’t happened how it did.
Hizashi’s state was unclear to Shouta and he’s forced away from Hizashi the minute the ambulance got to the hospital. They weren’t married so whatever he tried wouldn’t get him to see Hizashi. He finds himself wandering outside after the nurse tells him to call for Hizashi’s family and turns him away. He just needs to not think about what happened now. He needs to let things happen.
The first thing he does is go home. He collects CDs he knows Hizashi will want and gets him clothes, a toothbrush and paste, a brush, and hair ties into a bag. He can’t think of anything else to bring so he sits in their shared apartment. He doesn’t like when it’s quiet in their apartment. Hizashi always has the radio playing or is humming gently next to Shouta as he grades or researches upcoming cases. Shouta turns the radio on before he sits down and stares at the wall for a bit. Their cat, Sassy, moseys over eventually and jumps into his lap, climbing over his chest before settling on the top of the couch. He scratches her cheeks idly before getting up, showering, and changing his clothes.
He feeds their cat, scratching her ears before he lays down in their room. He tries Hizashi’s mother but she doesn’t pick up. They live three hours away in the first place. He doesn’t try Hizashi’s dad and shoves his phone back into his pocket.
He goes to the police station, instead, and files the report and all the paperwork needed for the case. He obliges to questioning and is let go and two and a half hours later.
He’s directed to the room Hizashi is in when he gets back. The staff changed while he was gone thankfully they don’t try to fight him to not go through anymore. The staff on now know the two from the USJ incident. They know to not let them see each other. So he walks through and rattles the door open.
Hizashi smiles, looking exhausted but still as animated as ever. His hearing aid is on the table and he fits it in, turning it on with a snap. He scrunches up his face at the influx of noise on his pounding head but tries to ignore it.
Shouta doesn’t say a word though and just dumps the CDs out into Hizashi’s lap. He smiles gleefully, picking through what he’s been given. Shouta slumps back in his chair, watching Hizashi sign energetically about how Shoua knew him so well.
“Your voice…” Shouta asks after a minute. He sounds uninterested and bored but Hizashi isn’t bothered.
“I need [a lot of] therapy [to] get my voice back.” Hizashi signed. He gives a sad smile. “It might not come back. I need [to] talk [with] my radio show producers [and] Nedzu about teaching. Can[‘t] exactly do much without [a] voice.”
Shouta nods, leaning forwards. His hair falls around him and he’s shaking. He can’t stop shaking because Hizashi is the voice hero and now there’s a chance he won’t even be able to do that. His eyes are like a dessert from using his quirk earlier but his sobs are real as he clamps a hand over his mouth to push it back.
Hizashi reaches with his good and hand runs his hand through Shouta’s hair, pushing it behind his ear. It was true he was the voice hero without a voice now but he was going to stay optimistic that the therapy treatment and surgery he would undergo would work.
He tapped Shouta’s head to get his attention and he looked up through his hair.
“It[‘s] okay, Shouta. We’ll get through this.”