Chapter Text
People had always told Hizashi that he was good with children. Countless times throughout his life he had heard those words being spoken to him, whether they were from somebody close to him or not, they all seemed to share the same opinion.
He could recall the first instance in which he heard those words. As one of the oldest kids in a children's home that he had been placed into just after he turned seven years old, it went without saying that he had faced some serious competition with the number of babies and toddlers outnumbering kids like him 2:1. He was fully aware in comparison to the younger kids with their innocent eyes and completely oblivious nature, he would always draw the short straw when it came to standing even half a chance of being adopted.
The children's home he spent over a year of his life in had been poorly funded, but compared to the treatment he had endured from the many foster families he had lived under beforehand, this run down shithole was like a five star resort.
Well....that may be pushing it a little.
The nurses and carers stationed around the institution were constantly losing or quitting their jobs simply because the home couldn't afford to keep paying them. Several of them didn't even try and hide their severe dislike of children, so when times grew hard there was no reason for them to stick around. Hizashi doubted any of them were missed. There was certainly no love lost for them on his end.
Within months the staff had been narrowed down to three women: one teacher, one nurse, one carer all left in the charge of a small number of twenty-four children. Neither of them seemed to particularly care much in the ways of what happened to them, but of course they were happy to reap in the benefits they received for staying. They did their jobs with minimal effort, barely paying any attention or showing any will to step up when the children adopted the same attitude.
Day by day Hizashi could see they were losing hope. Weeks would go by with no potential parents coming to look at the kids while they were simultaneously neglected and ignored by the people who were supposed to keep that hope alive for them. People like this really gave villains a run for their money.
It angered him. But what power did he have? Everyday the children were forced into a routine which included them taking a special form of medication after their first meal of the day. These would come in the form of quirk suppressants that firstly: kept the toddlers who had only just developed their quirks in check, and secondly: prevented the older kids like him from fighting back. The smarter ones would try hiding their pills under their tongues. But the nurse had a truth quirk. Therefore all she would have to do was ask them if they had taken their medication without needing to see for herself.
It was a new kind of torture entirely. There was a brief moment where Hizashi started to question whether or not he missed being muzzled if this was all it had lead to. That thought was quickly abandoned. His quirk may be silenced but at least he still had the freedom to speak. It was the younger kids who's quirks had only just developed that he felt truly sorry for. Then again, that institution probably wasn't designed to inhabit the rare cases of children born with especially powerful mutation quirks. Children like him, who's power was triggered from the very first moment he opened his mouth.
But he wasn't going to dwell on that. From the moment he was told the story of how his quirk had come in resulting in his parents subsequently abandoning him, he had seen his quirk as nothing more than a curse. He didn't need to be reminded of that right now.
What the staff lacked in terms of nurturing, they made up for in discipline. Punishments in that damned place were not something to sneeze at. Their teacher's quirk allowed her to physically manifest whips on the ends of her fingertips, while their carer had a telekinesis quirk that from what he had discovered was just about powerful enough to lift an eight year old boy off the ground.
All he could do was his best to comfort the children. They were all in the same boat after all. If a little one was forced to go without dinner, he didn't hesitate to give them his. If he heard one of them having a bad dream, he let them clutch onto him until they went back to sleep. On the nights where none of them could sleep, Hizashi would read stories to them, or make them up as he went. He had always been an excellent storyteller. He learned how to hold the babies the right way so he could rock them to sleep. It was as easy as breathing for him, so why was it so difficult for the people who were payed to do it?
The straw that broke the camel's back came when he heard their cries at night, when he heard them questioning whether or not they were worth the love of a parent....and the most heartbreaking question of all, if they would ever leave this place alive.
Those kids were his brothers and sisters. They were all so young, not that he was much older but experience made him feel as such. Their lives had barely even begun yet they were all so sure they wouldn't even make it to the moment someone came for them. Hizashi could remember how his heart had filled with hatred for those women, and every single person who had only contributed to his misery and now theirs.
How dare they......
As if their question had been asked like a prayer, an angel was bound to answer. This angel came in the form of a beautiful woman with porcelain skin and long blonde hair that reached her lower back. Flowers bloomed on whatever she touched in every colour, shape and size. Her name was Ayaka Yamada, a perfectly fitting name for such a beautiful power.
Upon her arrival she claimed she had been employed here as a house mother. Within only a few days of her living among them, it was like the fog around then had been lifted with striking sunbeams breaking through the murky vapour. The children adored her and she adored them in kind. She charmed the girls with her beautiful quirk, taking their hands in hers before letting go to reveal a brightly coloured flower blooming in the centre of their palms making them squeal in delight.
Hizashi remained suspicious of her at first, politely refusing her desire to dote on him as she did with the others. He couldn't afford to trust her so easily. He didn't step down from his own self sworn duty to make sure that these children knew they were cared for. He still read to them at night and played with them during recess. All the while Ayaka was merely content to watch from the sidelines and offer a smile of encouragement before asking if she could join in the fun. He never objected to it but he interacted with her as little as possible, keeping a weary eye on her as she played with the other kids.
One day during recess he challenged them all to a game of tag. The institution was surrounded by a forest that stretched on for several miles before they would reach the gate that kept them trapped here. But with that in mind, it meant there were alot of places to hide. Hizashi would count up to a minute to give them all a head start before chasing after them. Ayaka was sitting under the big willow tree where he had stayed behind to count, reading quietly.
She seemed too good to be true. Which from what he'd learned, meant she probably was. She would drop the act eventually once she had earned their trust. But she wouldn't earn his. He would wait for her to break like all the others when she would inevitably see them to be more trouble than they were worth. She would give up on them, so what was the point in trying?
Hizashi was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a thud and then a scream. He spun around immediately to find the cause and saw that one of the little ones had fallen down after tripping over a rock hiding in the grass. It was Hinata, a little boy who he had recently discovered had a telepathy quirk. The child was clutching his knee close to his chest where Hizashi could see the small graze had begun to bleed.
He dashed over to the crying child without a second thought.
"Hinata, come here let me see." He spoke gently.
Trusting him completely, the boy lifted his head to reveal his bright red face and tear tracked cheeks while keeping his eyes on his grazed knee. Hizashi inspected the small wound before he produced a tissue from his pocket to lightly dab at the dots of blood that formed over the skin. Hinata whimpered at the contact but didn't back away. Hizashi gave him an encouraging smile.
"There, it's okay. I think you'll live. It's just a little cut, even the best heroes get hurt sometimes!" He said enthusiastically, hoping the toddler would take the bait.
At the mention of heroes, the boy stopped crying. Hizashi reached forward to wipe his tears away.
"Even All Might?" Hinata asked shyly. Hizashi's grin grew even wider at the mention of the recently announced number one hero.
"Of course! Like I said, all the best heroes get hurt sometimes, and you don't get any better than All Might!" The older boy pumped his fist to emphasise his point, knowing he had succeeded in his goal when Hinata's growing smile quickly rivalled his own.
"Yeah! All Might is the best!" Hizashi sat back on his knees, satisfied that the little one had been distracted from his injury, just in time to see Ayaka running over to them.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" She asked in a worried voice, she kneeled down beside them before reaching for Hinata.
Hizashi saw red the moment he watched her hand move. He grabbed Hinata instantly, pulling him tightly to his chest.
"Don't touch him!" He exclaimed.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment as he saw her hand flinch and her expression turn to one of surprise. Hizashi tried to send her a warning glare but he knew he was doing a poor job of hiding his fear. In that moment, all he had seen was the face of their teacher, their former carer, every other adult who had ever raised a hand to him or any of his brothers and sisters. He wouldn't let her hurt him. She could do what she wanted with him but he was damned if he was going to let her touch the child in his arms.
But rather than the anger that he was expecting from her, Ayaka let her hand fall to her side while raising the other in a way that showed she meant no harm.
She....actually backed off.
Hizashi was aware he was breathing erratically but the image of his former foster parents standing over him wasn't fading. And he knew it was irrational. He knew it wasn't really them standing in front of them. But it was all his mind was allowing him to see.
"Please! Do what you want with me but just don't touch him! He didn't mean to fall! It was my fault for making them play!" He pleaded with the image of his former foster father who was glaring down at him with fire in his eyes. He flinched and turned, hiding his face in Hinata's dark hair when the image took a small step closer.
"You can't!" He continued to yell, unable to stop the frightened tears building up behind his eyes. "Please! He's only six!" Just as old as he had been when he was placed under the care of that godforsaken family.
He hears the grass rustling as the figure stepped closer to them, bracing himself for what was to come.
He felt hands cupping his cheeks, causing his eyes to snap open. The tears spilled over once he was able to see again though they didn't have time to run down his face before the person gently brushed their thumbs under his eyes to wipe them away. He blinked several times to clear his vision as the contact almost made him stop breathing from the shock.
Ayaka was kneeling in front of him, a deeply concerned frown on her face. Her soft hands carefully framing his face, brushing the tears away as they continued to fall. She shushed him consolingly as he continued to stare at her in frozen shock.
Her frown softened as her eyes grew sad.
"Sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you."
Hizashi broke eye contact with her, keeping his focus on Hinata.
"That's what they always say." He growled.
He didn't feel the need to elaborate on that. If she had seen his file when she was employed here as a carer, she would know the kind of things he had been subjected too. He reached up to touch the small scars around and under his jaw that the muzzle had left behind. They were barely even visible at this point unless you knew where to look. Hizashi would never forget.
"I promise, I would never lay a hand on you to hurt you, or any other child. I just want to make sure that you are going to be okay. If you are uncomfortable with it then I won't touch you at all, " as if to emphasise her point, she released her already feather light hold on his face, "Just tell me what you would like me to do to help you."
Hizashi's mind was full of white noise rendering all coherent thought effectively impossible. With how laboured his breathing had become, he wasn't sure he would be able to speak even if he wanted to.
"Listen to me, dear, I need you to breathe with me, okay? Is it alright if I come closer?" Ayaka asked him. Hizashi could manage no more than a shaky nod.
Slowly reaching her hand out to him, she closed her fingers around his and brought his hand up to rest over her heart. He watched her every movement, startling slightly when he could feel her heartbeat under his hand. She mirrored the action so that her hand was resting over his heart in kind.
"Alright, what I need you to do, is I need you to breathe in for four seconds. Can you do that for me? I'll count with you." She said.
Focusing entirely on the feel of her heart beating under his hand, Hizashi sucked in a deep breath through his nose as she counted to four out loud.
"Now I need you to hold that breath in for seven seconds." Her voice sounded a little more calm as he followed her request, once again counting the numbers out loud for him to hear.
"And finally, breathe out for eight seconds."
Hizashi listened to her softly counting as he breathed out through his mouth. He didn't question her as she asked him to repeat the breathing over again. Before he realised it, his breathing was returning to normal as he calmed under her care. Once his mind was clear enough for him to think, he realised that at some point Hinata had escaped from his hold and was now standing behind Ayaka, looking at him with wide eyes that were full to the brim with fear.
"Hiza?" The little one whimpered looking on the verge of tears again. It wasn't because he was scared of him, it was that he had been scared for him.
Hizashi continued taking deep breaths through his nose before he locked eyes with their house mother once again.
She gave him a small smile, "Are you okay?" She asked.
Her voice was so quiet that he almost missed the question completely. It was only because she was this close to him that he had been able to hear her at all thus far.
Even now that he was able to breathe again, words still remained stuck in his throat. He nodded once and she sighed with what sounded like relief, telling him she was happy with his answer. Then her expression suddenly turned unsure.
"Is it alright if I hug you?"
Hizashi's eyes widened at the question, the topic of hugging was entirely foreign to him. Aside from the other kids, no one had ever hugged Hizashi. Yet, here was this woman, this seemingly effortlessly kind woman, who was actually asking his permission.
Exhaustion was quickly setting in after what had just happened and while he may be kicking himself on the inside for allowing himself to look so vulnerable in front this woman who was no more than a stranger, Hizashi found himself nodding his head.
Again, she approached him cautiously carefully running her hands across his shoulders before slowly taking him into her arms. He leaned into the touch and closed his eyes, mentally worn out.
He felt her running her fingers through his messy blonde hair in a soothing gesture that made him want to fall asleep then and there.
"There, child. You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you."
Seemingly jealous over the attention, Hinata waddled over and crawled into Hizashi's lap, wrapping his pudgy arms around his slim waist.
"Don't cry, Hiza. I'm fine, see! It doesn't even hurt anymore!" The boy exclaimed with a determined look in his eye that Hizashi couldn't help but laugh at. Ayaka joined in with her light chuckling as she pet the little one's head.
Hinata hummed in confusion at her laughter before a wide, bright grin appeared on his face like All Might had just arrived.
He beamed up at Hizashi. "Miss Ayaka thinks you were good for coming to help me when I fell down!"
Their house mother looked startled for a moment, Hizashi's expression turned sheepish when he realised what had happened.
"Sorry, excuse him. His quirk let's him hear people's thoughts." He paused to shoot the smaller boy an unimpressed look, "Though I thought we had agreed it was polite to ask people's permission first, Hinata." He lightly scolded the boy, not having the energy to be truly annoyed with him.
Hinata pouted, "Sorry."
Ayaka's startled expression softened into a warm smile, "It's quite alright, it's much harder for children to prevent incidents like this from happening. I'm not upset. After all, you said exactly what I was thinking, Hinata."
The child smiled at the praise while Hizashi blinked at the woman like he was sure he had heard her wrong.
"You were very quick to run to Hinata's side when he hurt himself, faster than me and I'm supposed to be the one looking after you children." Ayaka continued petting his hair while smiling down at him.
"Then I heard what you said, how even the best heroes get hurt sometimes. Would you boys like to know a secret?"
The two of them nodded enthusiastically.
"It may he true that heroes, even the greatest heroes manage to get hurt sometimes. But part of what makes a true hero, is that they never hesitate to help someone who needs them, no matter the cost. Heroes, like All Might, have an instinct to protect people, even if it means they get hurt along the way."
Hinata jumped up, looking at the two of them in surprise.
"So if Hiza helped me when I was hurt, does that make him a hero?!" The boy's eyes shined with childish glee and wonderment.
Hizashi shook his head in amusement.
"Nah, little bro. Just doin my job, ya know?" He shrugged.
"Spoken like a true protector."
Her words startled him causing him to look up at her with wide eyes.
"You heard Hinata crying and didn't hesitate to run to his side. You reassured him that everything would be alright. You provided him with a helpful distraction from the pain he was in. That sounds pretty heroic to me." She said, though her lighthearted tone almost convinced him she was just teasing him.
He searched her face for any trace of a lie. If her tone wouldn't reveal anything then her eyes might.
"She means it! Miss Ayaka thinks you'll make a great hero!" Hinata shouted in excitement waving his tiny fists into the air.
"What about me? Can I be a hero too?"
The boy's excitement appeared to be contagious as Hizashi was unable to hold back his smile, even despite the fact Hinata had just used his quirk again.
Ayaka laughed softly, "Of course you can. You children all have the potential to become amazing heroes one day." She reached over to ruffle his dark hair.
Hinata continued yelling in excitement as he ran away, presumably to find the other children and tell them what he'd heard.
There was a brief silence between them as they watched the boy disappear into the woods until a moment later Ayaka put her hands on Hizashi's shoulders to get his attention. He looked up at her questionably.
"I want you to know, I meant every word I said. But keep in mind, you are still a child yourself. It's admirable you want to protect these children, but the responsibility shouldn't be on your shoulders. Especially not at your age. In times like this, you should be over there playing with the rest of them rather that sitting here by yourself."
Hizashi merely stared at her as it was clear she wasn't done yet.
"You're good with them. I noticed on my first day here how protective you are of them. They look up to you. You've done a good job."
Ayaka smiled down at him like he was something precious.
"But its important that you take some time to be a kid with the rest of them. Let me take over for now. I swear on everything I hold dear, no harm will come to any of them on my watch. I know I'm asking alot from you. But... do you think you can trust me enough to do that?"
Hizashi could do no more than stare at her in awe. He wasn't even aware he had begun to cry again until she pulled him into her arms for the second time. Until that moment, he had never understood what it was like to feel a mother's love. But if the embrace of one person was all it took to make him understand, Hizashi knew he would cling onto her for as long as she would let him.
"It will all be over soon, child. I promise."
For several days Hizashi found himself wondering what those final words had meant until one day the institution was swarmed with police.
Both their teacher and their nurse were arrested for issuing illegal drugs to minors, as well as several cases of quirk abuse. The higher ups who ran the place probably faced alot of trouble too. But that was the least of Hizashi's concerns.
The institution was condemned after being claimed as unfit to provide welfare to twenty-four minors with little to no control over their quirks.
With no place to put them, each child was placed back into the system.
They had been split up. Just like that. They were taken away with no regard for their cries and pleads to stay with the others. All they had ever had was eachother. Hizashi had screamed. Oh boy, had he screamed. Everytime someone made a move to remove a child from behind him, he released a threatening sound that he knew would make their ears ring. If they were stupid enough to come any closer after that, then he wouldn't be held responsible for his actions. He didn't care. This was his family. The closest he had ever had to one. He wouldn't let anyone take his brothers and sisters away from him.
But even as he was being rescued, his efforts to keep them together were just as pathetic as his attempts to protect them. As a mere child of eight, he was greatly outnumbered by the cops and social workers.
They sedated him in the end. One of them managed to grab him before he had the chance to burst their eardrums.
He woke up in a unit coming face to face with the person behind the raid on the home. Ayaka had stayed by his side from the moment he was taken here. She stayed while he unleashed his rage towards her after admitting what she had done.
It turned out she was a Pro. She was sent here on an undercover job by the commission to expose what was happening in that shithole after receiving a tip from a parent of one of the children who had been adopted from there a few months ago.
Hizashi listened to her explanation begrudgingly. She explained how much the children would have suffered in the long haul had they stayed there. The ones who had developed powerful quirks would become an unintentional risk to the others if they didn't learn how to control it. There was no way to guarantee the children's safety while they were still in that place.
She said she was sorry over and over again, that she meant what she had said that day under the willow tree. He needed to trust that she would protect them all. The only way to do that was to get them all out of there.
He knew she was right. But it did nothing to quell the betrayal he felt from the first person he had chosen to trust since he was first placed into the fostering system.
He didn't even get to say goodbye. To any of them.
Would he ever even see them again?
Hizashi had nothing more to say to her that day. She told him she would return the next day before leaving him alone.
Ayaka returned the next day with a present for him. He opened it to reveal a new pair of glasses before remembering he lost his other only pair the night he had been taken from the institution. He said nothing as he put them on, sighing with quiet relief as his vision became clear. The strain on his eyes since he was placed in this brightly lit room for so long had given him a serious headache.
He let her talk though unlike yesterday, he found himself asking her to repeat herself constantly. At first he thought she was muffling her voice on purpose. She was only right next to him, but he could barely hear her.
Everyday for the following week, Ayaka would return. She kept at a distance he was comfortable with, indulging him immediately the first moment he opened his arms in a silent plea for a hug. Exhaustion won over his anger completley by the fifth day. All irrational thought left his mind when it became clear to him that Ayaka hadn't meant to hurt him.
She let him call the shots. If he wanted comfort, all he had to do was ask. If he needed space, she backed off without question. By the seventh day, they settled into an easy routine. She would arrive in the late morning, bring him some food, then spend a few hours in the afternoon talking, reading or sometimes doing puzzles together. Learning how to read longer novels was surprisingly easy.
Just after the first week on her scheduled visit, Ayaka arrived on time as usual and told him she had someone who wanted to meet him.
Hizashi's curiosity won over his apprehension as Ayaka gestured for the person standing behind her to enter the room.
The woman who followed her looked like a polar opposite of Ayaka. She was just as young with braided ebony hair and lightly tanned skin in comparison to her companion. Her eyes were brown where Ayaka's were green. In terms of her height, the top of her head stood in line with Ayaka's neck. She was beautiful too. The outfit she wore was a mixture of bright colours that didn't match with eachother but screamed confidence.
Hizashi didn't take his eyes off her, his anxiety telling him to hide or turn away from the stranger. But when he saw Ayaka place her arms around her shoulders and kiss the woman's cheek, his initial fear began to settle down.
The smaller woman gave Hizashi a smile and an anxious wave. When he waved back after a pause, she took that as an encouraging sign to come closer. The sight of the stranger unnerved him at first, but the way Ayaka had interacted with her told him she could be trusted.
The dark haired woman came to kneel in front of him so they were on the same eye level rather than her standing over him.
"Hello, little one." She greeted him in an accent he had never heard before. He offered her a shy smile in return.
Ayaka approached the two of them, sitting on her knees beside the other woman.
"Hizashi, this is Lily, my wife."
The following afternoon was spent with the three of them together as Hizashi was fully introduced to the wonder that was Lily Yamada. Ever since her first day working at the institution Ayaka had been telling her wife about an extraordinary boy who had caught her eye. Lily had been waiting to meet him evee since. She indulged him on every question he had for her. Her strange accent was because she was American, which only brought up more questions. Hizashi asked about the strange devices she kept in her ears. It turned out that Lily was almost completley deaf. That day was the very first time he was introduced to sign language.
The first time he laughed since he had been here was when Lily reached forward and touched his plain white shirt, barely concealing his awe when it turned a light shade of blue. Her quirk was named Rainbow, giving her the ability to change the colour of anything she touched. Which is how she turned the white walls of the room a different colour on every side.
Ayaka joined in on his laughter before brushing her fingers through her wife's dark hair, leaving a small trail of red roses blossoming in her wake across her head. Lily rolled her eyes at her wife fondly, smiling even wider when Hizashi asked her to do it to him as well. Ayaka reached forward without a second thought, weaving her fingers through his blonde hair. He looked in the mirror to see several white daisies had appeared scattered across the top of his head. Hizashi couldn't stop himself from touching them. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Ayaka brushed her hands through her long golden locks before an entire bouquet of brightly coloured flowers weaved and twisted through the strands
Hizashi found himself hoping to one day have hair as long as hers.
The next day was the day they asked if he wanted to come home with them. The choice was an easy one to make.
It was strange settling in to a new home as an only child again. He still missed his brothers and sisters. But after several months of living in the Yamada household, that cold empty feeling would dissipate more and more with every passing day. It didn't stop him from asking questions about where they were and if any of them were as lucky as him to have found a family. Because that's how he saw them now.
They never raised their hands to him or locked him in a dark room for days if he ever lost control over his quirk. They didn't forcibly silence him with a muzzle or scream at him until he cried or starve him. They didn't treat his quirk like a curse the way he had all his life. They understood him. They liked to hear him talking, laughing, and later, singing. Hizashi had discovered a deep love for music upon moving in with the Yamada's. It was his first step to learning another language as all of Lily's CD's were English.
They comforted him when he wanted them too and kept their distance when he asked them too. He never needed to ask more than once. They told him they loved him. And after months of only accepting the words, Hizashi found himself starting to believe them.
By the time summer came around the following year, Hizashi celebrated his first birthday at nine years old with the two women he had lived with for almost almost year. He received three packages from them. One was his own pair of headphones. The second, was a pair of devices like the ones Lily wore in her ears. After several doctor's appointments, they had more or less come to the conclusion that what he was experiencing was what the doctor had called progressive hearing loss due to his quirk. He remembered Lily telling him that the hearing aids wouldn't stop the process, but they would help him to hear those around him without needing to stand right next to them. The third package contained two books on learning ASL, and JSL.
Hizashi could remember how long he had just sat there staring at the gifts. A mixture of warmth, emotion and shock all stirring inside him. He remembered the tears in their eyes when he finally turned to them and smiled like the sun he was named for.
"Thanks...Mom."
He remembered how happy he had felt that day, the feeling being such a novelty to him. But the longer he spent living with them, the easier it became to smile like the act was a second nature to him.
If somebody had asked Hizashi what the happiest day of his life was at seven years old, he would have answered there were no happy days to look back on. If Hizashi was asked that same question today, he wouldn't be able to give a straightforward answer now either. The day Hizashi was officially adopted under the name Yamada stood out as a strong contender for that spot.
When Hinata joined the family after Ayaka was able to track him down by chance, Hizashi's world began to expand as his heart made room for his new little brother. Much like him, it took time before Hinata opened up to them with his mind reading quirk eventually confirming to him that these new people could be trusted. But, no matter what happened, Hizashi promised himself that day that he wouldn't fail again. He would protect his brother this time. Nothing would ever take him away.
He made the same promise when he met his new sisters Hanako and Himari for the first time before he started middle school. Hanako was a five year old girl with the ability to enhance the growth of any plant rapidly just by touching it. Just like her name, Hizashi gave her quirk the name 'Blossom'.
Himari on the other hand was the youngest by a year, joining their family at only four with a newly developed quirk that gave her the ability to sing people to sleep. This was a power he affectionately named 'Lullaby'. He would never tell his other siblings about the special spot he kept in his heart for his youngest sister. Nemuri had claimed upon first meeting her years later that she was like a perfect mixture of them both, a voice quirk that put people to sleep. The thought had made him blush at the time but it wasn't hard to figure out which of his siblings was her favourite, including him.
"You're still so good with them." He heard the words from behind him as he tucked Hanako into bed. When he turned off her nightlight, he turned to see Ayaka, Mom and Lily, Momma, standing in the doorway smiling at him.
Hizashi brushed his sister's bangs out of her eyes before looking across the room to where Himari was sleeping soundly. He'd found it. Something he could protect. Something worth fighting for and keeping away from danger. He had a family, people worth holding on to. He could use the power he had once considered to be a curse for good. He could save more people and protect them from harm.
When he applied to UA high school three years later, he already knew what he wanted to be. He would become a hero, someone who had the ability to protect everyone no matter the cost. He made sure his voice was heard throughout his time in Middle school, whether people wanted to hear it or not. There were setbacks on his journey, with alot of the other kids discouraging him because of his hearing impairment and dangerous quirk. Some of his classmates had even shown to be downright terrified of him because of the unnatural way his eyes looked and because of how loud he was. The eye situation while not something he could really help physically, proved to be an easy fix, meaning he replaced his original glasses with tinted lenses to keep his irises from sight. It was a little disheartening, but what can you do? But the loud situation? Yeah, that wasn't about to change. He was supposed to be embracing this part of himself now, right?
By the time he reached his goal of getting into the hero course, he noticed more people were starting to listen. The first time he truly noticed being when a tall tanned boy with cloudy blue hair came to greet him on the first day, taking the seat beside him without hesitation and holding his hand out to him.
"Hizashi Yamada, huh? I'm Oboro Shirakumo! Great to meet ya, man!"
As he continued to grow, making several new friends and building a name for himself as the voice hero Present Mic, more people wanted to listen to his voice. They listened to him when he told them not to be afraid, that everything would be okay, that he wouldn't let anything happen to them.
Because his listeners, each and every one of them, was a person worth fighting for.
...........
"Mic."
Shouta called out to his partner only to receive no response. Hizashi had been unusually quiet all morning, including their drive to work from his apartment. He didn't have another class till the afternoon, which is why he had been in the teacher's lounge since late this morning. But even while sitting at his computer, he didn't actually appear to be doing anything. He was just sitting there, his back straight, hands hanging limply by his sides, staring straight ahead out the window.
There was nothing doing on outside from what he could see. The weather was slightly breezy but there wasn't anybody out there currently. What was going on out there that was so interesting that Hizashi had been staring at it for the last thirty minutes?
He hadn't responded to the sound of his name though Shouta knew for a fact that he had seen Hizashi put his hearing aids in this morning before they left. There was no music coming from his headphones that he could hear.
Moving to stand by the other man's side, Aizawa caught a glimpse of his glazed over eyes that were otherwise invisible behind the orange lenses. Hizashi wasn't frowning, but he wasn't smiling either. Despite knowing there was no external factor preventing Hizashi from hearing him, it was pretty clear his call had fallen on deaf ears. Hizashi looked like he was in a world of his own.
Aizawa sighed more with relief than frustration when he realised Hizashi had simply zoned out. It was far from the first time he had seen this happen. He knew it wouldn't be the last either. Hizashi had stated to him a while back that this was something that just happened sometimes and that he couldn't really control it. With how quiet he had been this morning to how he was acting now, it was becoming more possible that Hizashi was having a bad day.
"Mic?" He called again a little louder shaking his shoulders carefully.
Still no response.
"Hizashi." Shouta placed his hand on the back of the other's bare neck, surprised to see the speaker had been removed at some point and was left forgotten beside him.
Still nothing.
Shouta slowly spun the man's chair around to face him before looking around to make sure no one was in the room. Once he saw they were alone, he brought his hands up touch Hizashi's face and leaned down so they were eye level with eachother.
"Zashi?" He tried again, lightly brushing his thumbs across the blonde's cheeks.
Hizashi blinked once, twice, three times. He looked around the room for a moment before seeming to acknowledge the warm hands resting on the sides of his face. His eyes slowly wandered up to Shouta. He was frowning at him. But there was something worried about his expression.
"Shou?" He asked slowly coming back to the present.
Aizawa's brow furrowed in response.
"Are you okay?" He asked. "You seemed pretty out of it for a second."
Hizashi blinked at the other man before looking away, removing his glasses to rub at his tired eyes.
"I'm alright. I was just thinkin is all."
Aizawa looked unconvinced but decided to let it slide. Now wasn't the time or place to discuss this amd he knew Hizashi wouldn't appreciate while they were still working so he was happy to wait until they got home.
"Good thoughts or bad thoughts?" He decided to ask, if anything for a little peace of mind.
The corners of Hizashi's mouth curled upwards slightly though Shouta could see the warmth in his eyes.
"Mostly good. Just...reliving some old memories." He shrugged.
While initially relieved at the first part, he couldn't help but be concerned by the second. That last part was a whole loaded statement right there. Shouta knew that as one of the only people Hizashi ever talked about his childhood to. And even then, he was certain that there was more to the story that Hizashi hadn't told him yet. But he wouldn't force him. It was clear that his past was a hard subject for him to open up about.
"Will you be alright to teach 1-A this afternoon?" Shouta asked.
Hizashi looked confused for a moment before shooting him an encouraging smile.
"Course I will. Don't you worry about me, Eraser. It's all good up here." He replied in full Present Mic mode pointing at his temple. An amateur mistake to put your mask on in front of someone who had already seen the face underneath. Eraserhead shot him an unimpressed look.
Hizashi quickly changed the subject hoping to get the attention off him, even though he ways enjoyed having Shouta's attention.
"You got training with Shinsou today?" He asked.
The look he recieved in response told him that Aizawa knew exactly what he was doing, but he seemed to take the hint and show a little mercy by answering the question.
"Yes. It might run later than usual though, he said one of his other teachers wanted to see him after school. I think he may be struggling in a few of his other classes. Are you fine with going home by yourself today?"
Hizashi nodded, "Yep. Don't worry about it. I'm supposed to be on patrol tonight so I won't be able to stay long. You'll probably already be asleep by the time I get back."
His reply was nonchalant, but what Aizawa just told him didn't just go in one ear and out the other. Ever since the sports festival, Shouta had taken a particular interest in Hitoshi Shinsou. One that Hizashi, despite acting indifferent, completley understood. If Shouta was showing concern over a student, it wouldn't just be a case of something or nothing. He would keep that little bit of information stored in his head for the time being.
Aizawa hummed, "Probably."
Hizashi glanced up at the clock to see that the lunch hour was almost up, meaning he would need to start heading down to the classroom soon. But as he took a look around the teacher's lounge for himself, he noticed something else.
"Hey, Shou?"
"Hmm?"
"There's nobody here." Hizashi observed, bringing his hands up to rest on the other man's hips.
Aizawa raised a brow at the hands on his hips before looking back at Hizashi's poorly concealed smirk.
"There are cameras in this room, you know." Shouta grumbled, though Hizashi only grew more confident as he saw the smallest traces of a smile begin to show on his face and pulled him slightly closer.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, man, Nezu probably saw this...recent development of ours coming long before we did. I highly doubt any of this is news to him." Hizashi remarked causing Shouta to chuckle lightly at the term of phrase.
"Well if I'm recalling correctly, it was your idea to keep this 'recent development' as you put it, between us for now."
Hizashi barked an incredulous laugh "This coming from the guy currently sitting on my lap?"
Shouta looked down to see that without even realising it, he was now practically straddling the other man in his chair.
"Touche."
Placing his arms around the other's neck, Shouta brought Hizashi in for a kiss that the blonde reciprocated with a sigh. They kept it chaste, not wanting to get hot and bothered while they were both supposed to be teaching in a few minutes.
The two of them pulled away seconds later, albeit a tad reluctantly, as the bell rang marking the end of the lunch period. Shouta rose to his feet before anyone walked past the doorway and saw them.
"I'll see you at home." Shouta gave his shoulder a light squeeze as he staryed to make his way out of the room, the small smile still not fully disappearing from his face.
"See ya."
Hizashi turned in his chair to watch him leave, walking through the maze of students that flooded the corridors in a rush to get to their next classes.
Even once Shouta had disappeared, Hizashi was about to start gathering his stuff as well until his attention was caught by something, or rather someone else standing in the corridor.
It was hard to mistake the purple haired kid for anyone else other than Shouta's prodigy. Shinsou was leaning against the wall to avoid the students that swarmed past him.
Hizashi kept his eye on the boy as he continued to linger in the hallway even after the rush had passed. There was a deep frown etched onto his face as he looked towards the far end of the hall like he was preparing himself to move.
He didn't want to move. That much was clear.
Hizashi watched as Shinsou breathed a deep sigh through his nose before walking forward until he was out of sight. Quickly grabbing his speaker and his bag, Hizashi all but ran out of the room and into the hallway where the boy continued walking as if he hadn't heard him.
His head was down, his shoulders slumped, his bag dragging across the floor from where it was hanging off his arm.
He knew Aizawa said Shinsou may be having trouble in some of his classes. Had he also seen how damn miserable this kid looked right now? It probably wasn't his place to step in or interfere, but if the kid wasn't willing to talk about what was going on, then he would merely have to find out on his own. There was definitely more to this than either of them knew.
And Hizashi was damned if he was just gonna sit back and observe.