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“Are you sure about this?”
Shouta eyed his adoptive son, concern peeking through the features on his usually impassive face. “You don’t have to use a design that’s this… that’s so…” He frowned, unable to find the proper words to describe what he felt seeing Hitoshi’s design plan for his support gear.
Hitoshi just shook his head. “I’m sure.”
The classroom is empty except for the two of them. Classes are out for the day, and Hitoshi had asked to get Shouta’s approval on his design before heading back to the dorms, so that he could drop it off with his own homeroom teacher before the end of the day. It wouldn’t be long until he got his chance to train with the hero course students to prove that he’d be a worthy transfer – and he’d need all the time he could get with the gear to practice. The sooner he had it in his hands, the sooner he could ask the support department for any tweaking that might be needed, too.
“I get that you’re emulating Zashi’s directional speaker, and I know the reason you’d want it to cover your mouth, but it looks-“
“Like a muzzle. I know.”
Ah. So the choice was intentional.
“Believe me,” Hitoshi’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, earning him a soft glare from Aizawa, “I would have made the thing bright yellow, but I’m already using your capture weapon. Then they’d really be onto us.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“What? But I- dad, I’ve spent so much time working on this design! It works well with the rest of my costume, the support course students thought it was brilliant-“
“I know, Toshi, but…” he paused. “Has Hizashi seen this yet?”
Hitoshi averted his gaze.
“No, not yet. I don’t see why it matters.”
“Yes you do.”
“Look, I just- I don’t want it to be a big deal.”
“You don’t think designing your support gear to look like a device that was used to torture you during your childhood is a big deal?”
“It’s not-!” Hitoshi dragged his hands down his face, exasperated. “No one’s forcing me to make it like this. I’m choosing it, because I like the way it looks and how it works. Shouldn’t it be my decision?”
“Of course, Toshi, and it will be your decision in the end, but I’m worried about you. Your hero costume should empower you, not dredge up your past traumas. If wearing that thing on your mouth feels too much like the muzzle they put on you as a kid, it’ll throw you off, and you won’t be able to focus while fighting. That’s not even mentioning what it might do to your mental state-“
“Dad. Look at me.”
Shouta looks, and is taken aback by the fierce determination in his son’s eyes.
“This isn’t me resigning myself to wearing a muzzle like when I was a kid. This is my choice. This is me saying that no one can ever hurt me with this again.”
There’s a long silence, and Hitoshi grows more nervous every moment. Just as he’s about to say something to break the silence, Shouta speaks.
“I’m so proud of you.”
“S-so… you’ll let me go with this design?”
“Truthfully, I still don’t like it. The thought of you wearing something like that again makes me uncomfortable. But when you put it that way, I can’t say no.”
Hitoshi practically leaps across the desk between them to hug Shouta close. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew you’d come around!”
Shouta smiles, chuckling softly, and wraps his arms around Hitoshi in return. “Don’t thank me. You did all the work, designing, and talking me into it.”
“You won’t regret it.” Hitoshi pulls away. “This is gonna be so awesome. I gotta go get this to my teacher so he can send it to the support company to get it made for real. Later, dad!” He practically sprints out of the classroom and down the hall towards the staff room.
Shouta can only smile.