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6 months
August was hot and moist. Sweat was constantly pouring, cicadas were constantly screaming, the fan in their small apartment constantly running. Hizashi waved Shouta off at the door, Saya trying to clumsily copy his motion. Shouta smiled, pressing a kiss to his husband’s lips and one to Saya’s forehead before leaving for patrol. They stood for a bit, watching his black silhouette disappear around the next corner.
Hizashi looked down at Saya, who was playing with a lose strand of his hair. “Let’s do some chores, shall we, lil’ listener?”
He awkwardly moved their couch table to the wall with his leg, spreading Saya’s blanket on the newly found space on the floor. Putting the baby down, Hizashi quickly grabbed their laundry basket and a few of her toys, before joining her on the floor. She squealed at the sight of her stuffed kitten, turning on her stomach to grab and suck on it.
“Having fun?” He laughed, watching her for a long moment, before setting to work and folding the laundry. After a while, Hizashi started humming a new song he had picked up at the radio station. Saya quietened down quickly, like she always did when he sang to her.
It took the better part of half an hour for Hizashi to finish the giant pile of laundry that had accumulated over the last week. Who would have guessed that a baby could produce so much dirty clothing? Finally, he looked up and… nothing?
“Huh?!” The blanket was empty; kitty and Saya gone. “What the…?”
Saya could role. Saya could babble. She could even belly-crawl a little by now. But no way could she have come far enough to be out of sight?
Hizashi stood in a frenzy, looking a round slightly panicked. Nothing next to him… or behind the giant pile of laundry, or under the coffee table or behind the couch.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”
Panic was rising. He thought of all the things she could possibly swallow and choke on. Their furniture was heavy. What if there was an earthquake? She could be crushed!
“Shouta is going to KILL ME!”
How could he lose a baby? The bathroom as empty, so was the bedroom. The kitchen too. “Shit!” How far could a baby go? Their apartment was not even that big.
“Saya-chan!” Hizashi robbed around on the floor now. “C’mon lil’ listener, where are you?”
Finally, a small, pink sock caught his eye. Hizashi crawled closer.
“There you are!”
She was squished between their couch and the wall, completely filling the small space, disappearing into it. Kitty was with her, pressed closely to her chubby little cheek as Saya slept peacefully. Hizashi was crying laughing. He pulled out his phone, snapped a picture from behind (only her bottom and socks could be seen), from above, from the other side… He send them all to Shouta and Nemuri, talking about how he almost had a heart attack.
Then, he carefully wiggled his hands between Saya and the couch and wall, gently lifting her out of the small slot. She stirred, grumbling sleepily as if she was going to cry.
“Naw…don’t cry.” Hizashi lifted her up, cradling her against his chest. She slapped kitty in his face in the process, effectively smearing baby spit all over his cheek. Hizashi laughed. “I think it’s time for bed…”
1 year
“DA!”
Shouta almost dropped his coffee cup when Saya screamed at him from her highchair. Hizashi turned around in pure shock.
“What… did she just?!”
“DADA!”
She squealed when he came closer, flapping her hands in delight.
“Naw, Shou! She called you dad!” Hizashi’s eyes were moist. Shouta tried to hide the smile that spread across his face, he really tried to… but failed miserably. Scooping her up, he held her close. Saya kept babbling. “Dada! Dada!”
“That’s right… I’m your dad.”
4 years
Shouta was ripped from his nap by a scream and the shattering of a window. Within seconds he was on his feet, sprinting down the hallway.
“SAYA! ‘ZASHI!!!”
He ripped the door to the living room open.
“PA!”
Shouta stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide, mouth ajar. What… what was happening? It took him along moment to process the scene playing out in front of him. Hizashi was standing, yes standing, on their kitchen table, shaking like a leave. Down on the floor, barely tall enough o reach further than the tabletop, was Saya. She circled the furniture like a shark, squealing up at Hizashi with pure joy, holding something out to him.
Upon seeing him, Saya turned, walking towards Shouta with one hand outstretched.
“Da!” She opened her palm. “Roachie!”
More screaming followed. Shouta stared at the tiny cockroach in her hand, then at Hizashi, then at the insect again. He barely stifled a laugh.
“… did you make a friend?”
“HM HM!!” She grinned at him broadly. Shouta stroked her head.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Hizashi was still cowering on the kitchen table. Shouta could see the goose bumps from across the room.
“Okay… let’s take your friend outside, shall we?”
6 years
They bought a house. They bought a fucking house. Shouta had never imagined his life to become so incredibly settled and domestic; yet here he was, training in their backyard while Saya sat in her kid’s swimming pool right next to the little vegetable patch Hizashi had planted.
He did not notice at first, being too involved in executing the correct movements towards his punching bag, but suddenly, a shadow next to him caught his attention. Shouta halted. Saya stood next to him in her little swimsuit. Was she… copying his movements? She stumbled, her stance to narrow and unsteady. Shouta smiled.
“No.” He crouched down, correcting her feet. “You have to stand like this, it’s more stable, see?”
She nodded, a concentrate expression on her face.
“Okay, now punch.”
Saya did what he told her. The punching bag shook a little and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Shouta smiled, feeling his heart swell with pride. He ruffled her hair affectionatelyy.
“I did it, Dad!”
“Yes… very good.”
They enrolled her in mixed martial arts the following week.
8 years
Saya sat up, rubbing her eyes. It was still dark outside; only her yellow string of lights illuminating the room. The hallway was pitch black, she could tell because her door was ajar, the darkness behind it swallowing the small amount of light in her room. It scared her. Darkness scared her.
She wanted to see Papa and Dad.
Cautiously, Saya slid out of bed, clutching her kitty toy close. She opened the door, squirming in the dark. Papa and dad’s room was at the other and of the hallway; she would have to run all the way to their room as fast as she could, so the darkness was not going to swallow her. Saya prepared herself as she peered down the hallway. Light caught her eye – light from the door next to her room.
“’toshi?”
She silently tiptoed over to his room, knocking quietly. There was rustling, a long pause, then a cautious “Yeah?”
“’toshi…” She opened the door with scared wide eyes. He was sitting on his bed, phone in hand and brightly glowing cat-headphones around his neck. “… I’m scared…”
There was an awkward pause. He shuffled, trying to hide the headphones she had long since noticed. “Um…”
“Can I sleep here?”
“…” He seemed to consider it for a long moment. “…s-sure…. if you want to.”
Saya smiled broadly, walking over and climbing onto his bed. It was a little crammed – Papa and Dad’s bed was much larger – but comfortable none the less. She quickly cuddled up to Hitoshi, listening to his heartbeat. Her eyes became droopy within minutes.
“Night night.”
Hitoshi said nothing, stroking her hair gently instead.
“Sleep well.”
“You too, ‘toshi-nii.”
Saya would have seen her brother flush crimson at the title, had she not been asleep already.
9 years
The sound of shattering glass and screaming rips her from her sleep. Saya shoots upright, heart thumbing heavily, her hands shaking against her blanket. Dad is on patrol tonight and ‘toshi is staying in the dorms during the week, leaving only her, Hizashi and Haruki in the house. She recognizes the voices downstairs; Haru is crying, Papa cursing. Saya is on her feet within seconds, sprinting down the hallway and stairs.
It has been weeks since Haruki has lost control of his quirk. It is the reason Dad has left them alone; because there has not been an incident in so long. The scene that presents itself to Saya makes her knees buckle.
Haruki is on all fours on the floor, screaming. The two living room windows are in pieces on the floor next to him. A movement catches her eyes. Saya is at her papa’s side in an instant, clutching his arm to bring his attention to her. He looks at her in shock, his hand coming away bloody from his ear. Saya’s eyes widen at this sight.
Go, call Papa. He signs to her. Saya’s sign language is not great, but she understands what he is saying.
It takes too long. Her hands shake as she forms the gestures.
She stands, uncertainly, and approaches her brother.
“Haru-chan!”
The baby turns, looking at her with big, moist eyes. He is still crying loudly, his quirk still activated. It makes Saya’s ears ring, but it is not activated fully.
She only ever used erasure wave once; when it manifested. After that, she practiced activating it, but never attempted to use it on another person. The image of Papa choking is still fresh on her mind when she reaches out to Haru.
“Erasure: Activated.”
She talks quietly, hoping desperately to control her quirk enough to not choke her brother. It seems to work; the cries quieten down enough to not hurt her ears anymore. Controlling her quirk is hard. Saya can feel a strange pull within her, telling her to give it her all. She does not. Instead, she tries to exert the same small amount of erasure for as long as possible. She barely lasts a minute, but it is enough time for her to calm Haru-chan down enough to deactivate his quirk.
As soon as erasure wears off, Saya is on her feet again, calling Dad. Papa watches her the whole time, leaning against the couch heavily. His left ear is bleeding – Saya wants to cry at the sight. She does not; the tears come only after Dad and Aunt Nemuri have come to help.
It is years later that Saya finally understands that Papa lost the last of his hearing in his left ear that night. She swears to never tell Haru-chan, instead relying on the stories Papa tells them from his own childhood.
11 years
‘toshi has a girlfriend. Saya is sure of it. Every Saturday afternoon, without fail, he goes out. He never tells her where to or with whom, but she just knows. ‘toshi comes home all red faced and smiling and in a really good mood – one time he even carried one of the plush toys you can win at the arcade.
Why does it make her so sad?
Saya sits at her window, pouting. ‘toshi had promised to train with her that evening, but it is getting late and he still is not back. It makes her angry. It makes her angry that she has to wait for him and even angrier when she thinks about him spending time with a girl from UA instead of her.
12 years
“’toshi, have you seen my cat eraser?”
Saya opens the door while she is talking, looking up and- she freezes. ‘toshi and his classmate were studying. They said they were studying. Saya drops the magazine she was holding.
Both Hitoshi and Kaminari stare at her from the bed. The position is clear; ‘toshi’s lying on his back, the blonde between his legs. His shirt revealing part of his torso, cheeks flushed, his lips swollen from kissing. Kaminari-kun is not looking any better. Saya turns and runs off, slamming the door shut behind her. Maybe she cries a little, knowing that Hitoshi would never kiss her.
He comes to talk to her that night, after Papa and Dad are asleep. Saya knows he is coming, so she stays up for him, hugging her knees and kitty close when he finally enters. ‘toshi sits on her bed, fidgeting nervously. It is awkward.
“I… I’m sorry.”
Saya cannot look at him.
“I…”
“You don’t have to say anything.” Suddenly, ‘toshi seems very composed. “I should have told you that I have a boyfriend… or at least that I am gay.” He chuckles awkwardly, drawing a tiny smile from her.
15 years
“I won’t get in, will I?”
Dad looks at her with wide eyes. They have been training in the backyard until sunset today, sharing a cold glass of iced tea Papa has prepared up until that moment.
“What do you mean?”
“The hero course.” Saya pauses, looking at her father with the same stoic expression he has sometimes. “I won’t get in.” She tries to hide how much exactly it is bothering her. Dad wants to say something encouraging, she can tell, but instead he just puts a hand on her shoulder.
“We’ll see.”
Saya knows what that means. “I’ve seen the entrance exams, dad. I can’t win against robots. You didn’t… ‘toshi didn’t. It’s illogical that I would make it.”
Dad says nothing after that.
-
She had been prepared, had known from the start. Still, the news that she did not get in are crushing for Saya. For a day, she is inconsolable, lying in her bed and crying. Dad comes and tries to comfort her. She buries her face deep into his capture weapon, sobbing. Hitoshi comes home late after patrol, but he still comes to cuddle her for a bit.
The next day, Papa makes her hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows and pancakes for breakfast. He even takes it to her room for her to eat in bed.
It is hard, but Saya manages. She gets into the general education class instead, training harder and harder. It takes her months and many throwbacks, but by the end of her first year she can finally transfer into the hero course. She pretends not to see Dad cry when Cementoss-Sensei tells her.
16 years
“Happy Birthday Saya-chan!”
Aunt Nemuri hugs her tightly against her chest before holding out a package. It is medium sized, wrapped in black paper, with a yellow bow. It is a colour combination she keeps implementing to annoy her fathers, Saya know that much by now.
“Thank you!” She takes the package. “C-can I…?”
She looks at her aunt questioningly, to which Nemuri nods eagerly. “You absolutely have to!”
The yellow bow comes off and so does the black lid of the box. Saya halts, marvelling. “It’s a whip!”
Dad freezes, looking at Aunt Nemuri in pure shock while Papa almost drops the cake he had been bringing from the kitchen. It is black, with yellow accents on the handle. Saya reaches for it, carefully lifting it up.
“You said you needed a support item.” Aunt Nemuri cackles when Dad grips his coffee cup so hard it shatters. “It’s made from the same material as Shouta’s binding cloth – so you can attack as well as immobilize with it. I hop-“
She does not have time to finish, Saya slamming into her suddenly. “Thank you Auntie!” Saya pretends not to cry.
17 years
Dad and Papa are on a big mission outside of town, so they leave Haruki to her for the weekend. For the most part, Saya does not mind. She loves Haruki, obviously, but she is still a little salty that she cannot go out with her friends on the weekend. Talking to her brother is hard too; he rarely ever uses his voice, mostly relying on sign language. Saya can sign, she learned it from Papa from a young age, but she is slow in understanding and it takes her a lot of effort to formulate responses. It is a drag, which is why she finds Haruki annoying sometimes. Then again, Haruki is only seven, so he might grow out of it. Saya really hopes so.
She is in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for dinner. Haruki has silently joined her, reading one of his many books at the kitchen table. It is a comfortable silence – the radio playing quietly in the background. Saya hums along.
“Nee-chan?” His voice is tiny and rough. Haruki always sounds like he has a sore throat, a side effect of his quirk. Saya turns in surprise, not expecting him to actually talk.
“Uh…. yeah?”
His fingers freeze in the middle of turning a page when he looks at her.
“I don’t want to be a hero.”
There are tears in his eyes. Saya almost drops the knife she had been holding. “Huh?”
“P-papa and… and… Dad… they will be mad!” Tears start falling freely and Haruki rubs at his eyes. Saya is across the room in a heartbeat, putting her hands on his shoulders and turning him to look at her.
“No!” She pauses before saying it again. “No!” Haruki looks so scared and sad, so tiny, she cannot help but hug him tightly. “Don’t think that! Papa and Dad would never…” She can hardly say it. “They’d never force something like this on you!”
She feels a wet patch form on her shirt where he is crying into her shoulder.
“R-really…?” His voice is wobbly.
“Yes! They want us to choose our own way! Even if it’s not heroics!”
Saya holds on for a little longer, before letting go and taking a good look at him. She rubs at his cheeks until the tears are gone.
“Better?”
He nods, looking down. Haruki goes back to his book after that and Saya continues cooking. The comfortable silence returns. They eat dinner in silence and watch one of Haruki’s favourite series together. She lets him stay up a little longer than he is usually allowed too, but sends him off to bed before midnight.
Haruki turns around before disappearing upstairs.
Thank you, Nee-chan. He signs.
Saya smiles.
She never tells Dad or Papa, figuring Haruki will come out with his plans in his own time. It is what he has always done; doing things in his own pace and way.
18 years
It is the first time she gets very, very seriously injured. Saya is in her third year of UA and after years of hard work, she finally managed to secure an internship with Ground Zero, a.k.a. Bakugou Katsuki. She is over the moon, patrolling the street with him, when suddenly, all hell breaks loose.
A group of villains attacks. It is four or five of them, Saya is not exactly sure, but she quickly gets a hold on the three strongest ones. All is well, she provides support while dodging the attacks from the weaker ones, immobilizing one with her whip. Then suddenly, a shadow to her right catches her eye.
One of the villains managed to get past Bakugou, approaching a group of civilians fast. He has a mutant type of quirk, long and sharp claws replacing his fingernails. He is rushing straight towards a little girl. She small, no older when six and stands frozen in fear. Saya lets go of the other villains without a second thought - Ground Zero can handle himself fine – and throws herself between the little girl and the claws.
She knows she does not stand a chance. She knows she will not be quick enough to get both of them out of the way in time. She knows she will be impaled by those claws the very moment her feet start moving. She knows this to be the only logical outcome.
“Yamada!” Bakugou-san.
Hearing her own blood splatter to the ground is… disconcerting. Saya briefly wonders if Dad or Papa ever were in a similar situation. They must have been.
She manages to push the villain back, manages to get him to withdraw his claws. She opens his stance with a kick, a punch to the liver, closely followed by an elbow to the head. The villain stumbles as Saya pants.
-
“Yamada! Yamada!” She is lying in Bakugou-Sensei’s arms when she manages to get some grasp on reality again. Strangely, there is very little pain, it is just very, very cold. Saya shivers, her vision swimming. “Yamada, stay with me!” She feels him shake her a little as her eyes drift shut.
-
There is much more pain when she comes to again. So is a familiar beeping noise, and the scent of people she knows well. Saya opens her eyes, groaning. It is Papa who is sitting at her bedside. His hair is a mess, most of it has been tucked out of his half-bun, as if he has run his hands through it repeatedly. His beard is overgrown; the perfectly groomed moustache barely recognizable. Saya wonders how long she has been unconscious for if his beard is this long.
“Hey…” His voice is soft. It reminds her of her childhood, when he would sing her to sleep after a nightmare. “You’re okay… my lil’ listener.” Papa never clutched her hand so tightly before.
Up to this point, she has never seen dad cry. Even in the most difficult situations, his face has always kept the same stoic expression. However, when Saya wakes that night, it is Dad who is sitting at her bedside. His eyes are red and moist and puffy when he runs a gentle thumb over the back of her hand. Saya is confused. Maybe she is a little scared too.
-
It takes her more than a month to make a full recovery. By then, the only reminder of the incident are the two red, angry scars on the right side of her stomach. Their kind of ugly, Saya thinks, but at the same time she cannot stop smiling at them. She matches with Dad and Papa and ‘toshi now, the scars a permanent reminder that she has saved a life.
19 years
“I did it, Dad!”
She hugs her father tightly, squishing diploma a little in the process.
“Yeah, you did!” Dad’s eyes are tired yet filled with pride. Saya grins broadly at him.
She has done it: She graduated UA… with honours.
-
They have a party at their house that night. Everyone is there: Papa and Dad are grilling meat, Aunt Nemuri sipping her glass of wine, ‘toshi, Haru-chan, who is sitting in the corner with his newest book on dinosaurs.
“Saya-chan! Where will you be going now?” Right, she has not told anyone about her future plans just yet.
Saya stands abruptly, catching everyone’s attention. “I have an announcement to make!” They stare at her in anticipation. “Starting next week, I will be a sidekick at Ground zero’s agency!” She does not miss the shocked expression dad gives her. Grinning, she continues: “But don’t worry. I will be in the top 10 within the next two years!”