Chapter Text
Unknown were the parents that Hitoshi was born to.
At least, to him anyway. For the most part into his later life, Hitoshi would block out any childhood memories of the couple that were never deserving of a child like him. Or well, a child full stop. They weren’t good people, and maybe one could suppose that it would take two villains to create a child with what would be considered a... “villains quirk”.
The father, dark lilac haired and shaggy as could be. Quirk? Hypnotica. Voice sweet like the songs that the birds sing on a summer's morning. It didn’t go with his look, no, but his quirk could work wonders. His father had the ability to influence others by just the sound of his voice, and more often than not led to his victims in a hypnotic slumber for however long he needed.
His mother? A small and frail looking young woman, but with malice and aggression hidden in her eyes. Persuasion. That was her quirk. The ability to persuade others easily, getting what she wanted nearly every time.
Now, put those two together, and they make Shinsou Hitoshi. Or they made brainwashing, anyway. But they wouldn’t know that. They wouldn’t know the quirk of the child they produced, because far too quickly was another stepping in.
See, Hitoshi was five with his parents met their demise, if you wanted to call it that. A life of stealing and conning finally catching up to them as their home soon found itself being invaded one cool night. Police stormed the property with barely a hint of a word to announce themselves, and as if it were already clear that his presence would be needed, a dark-haired hero with a far too tired look on his face accompanied them in their efforts. Already knowing about the quirks the two villains held, the police knew that the Erasure heroes help would be greatly appreciated.
Honestly, it was over in a matter of minutes, and with muzzles in place the police were quick to escort the two out of the door. But it was in that moment that the small figure known as Hitoshi peaked out from the basement door. The lock had shaken loose in the commotion, and that was enough for small hands to reach up and weakly force the handle to turn with clumsy fingers. He wasn’t supposed to come out until he was told, and he knew that, but the sounds from the outside were too much, even for the little boy.
Lilac eyes met red that quickly faded to black. Hitoshi didn’t move from his half way appearance behind the door, but the hero was still gentle in his approach, all attention now focused solely on the child in front of him. The child’s head tilted gently too, watching and scanning his appearance. Taking him in in his own way.
Maybe it was the kindness in his eyes, or the seemingly understanding and nurturing nature in his actions, but it was only a minute after a hand was offered out to the child that Hitoshi was stumbling away from the door and far too gently over to him. Seconds later, arms were gently wrapped around the small child and carefully picking him up, and Hitoshi would never forget the first time he was shown affection and care. Love, maybe. Even if the hero knew it or not too, it was already settled in him that he would protect this child. He’d care for him and take him in. He’d look after him.
It was true, too.
Aizawa Shouta, formerly known as Eraserhead, the “erasure” hero, gained guardianship of the child, fully intent on taking him under his wing as his own son.
Was there a full thought made under that action? Maybe not. But what Shouta knew was that he saw a child in need, one brave enough to trust him without words, and he’d be damned if he let him go. If he left him to a system that could be less than kind at times, and especially to children found to be of villains. And it was still some kind of legal gymnastic bullshit before Shouta could really take the kid in, but he did it eventually through determination.
That’s how Hitoshi got his first parent, anyway. His dad. A man that had before been unsettled and unwilling to settle either. Plagued still by tired sadness that came in the loss of a lover. Two lovers, really. It wasn’t something that Hitoshi would find out for some years to come, but the man that would soon become his papa, and his dad, they had a third—but as was said, that was a tale for another time.
So, his papa. Well, Hitoshi didn’t have much long to wait after Shouta took him in before the other man came into his life. It would be foolish to think that Aizawa Shouta, a man of pure privacy, could easily evade the man that knew him so well despite having not seen each other in some time now, not really since the years following high school anyway. They were both busy, it’s what they said anyway. But the words unsaid were the sad truths that they both hadn’t been prepared to face before then.
Yamada Hizashi is a loud man though. Completely different to Shouta in every way, and even a child of five could tell from the first moment they met.
Instead of a quiet and calm presence, Hizashi was loud and proud. Bright and wonderful and despite Hitoshi’s instinct to cover his ears for the first minute or two upon meeting him, it didn’t take much before the child found himself intrigued. It was probably how animated and open he was, but it was hard not to get entranced almost by the stories he told, even if Hitoshi himself didn’t fully understand a lot of it.
He was a nice man though, something that the child knew. From the way he sat him in his lap and spoke in a much gentler tone, to how he excitedly asked if he’d eaten or if he wanted to try and see if they could make ice cream without his kitchen falling apart. Hizashi exudes care and love in the more obvious ways.
Now, Hitoshi didn’t know the ins and outs of the two male's relationship with each other and how it formed back together and mended itself – he as a child, what did you expect? - but he did know that from as far back as he could remember, Shouta had always had Hizashi by his side, and vice versa.
He had two dads, and that was a fact that couldn’t be disputed. They lived together, ate together, put him to bed together. Bickered like an old married couple, whilst caring for each other in the sweetest of ways. They didn’t hesitate in letting Hitoshi crawl in between them into the middle of the bed when he had a nightmare, or even forcing their way into his instead to calm him down. He had two dads, two of the best.
But how that relationship formed? Well, that was another story for another day, just like the third dad that tied his way into that as well. It wasn’t a story for a five-year-old, and definitely not how this one begins.
This one? It simple begins with a child in need of a good home, a single father not looking for but more than ready to accept a child, and that single father would soon become two. That was the story of today.
The story of Shinsou Hitoshi. Of his family.