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Present Mic was well known for one thing, his loudness. Said loudness is exactly what Hitoshi had to deal with on a daily basis. Today, however, Mic was abnormally silent.
Aizawa and Hitoshi exchanged glances at the blonde than at each other.
"So any new podcasts?" Hitoshi asked while sipping the eggplant miso soup. Kakashi thought it was ironic as he peered down at the dinner, not that he was complaining or anything.
"Hmm, oh uh… no." That was the only reply from the blonde. Which was abnormal not only for him, but for any blonde Kakashi has ever met, Tsunade, Deidara, and of course Naruto to name a few. In fact, the only blonde that broke that rule was Minato. Then again, Minato could be loud when he was talking about his experimental jutsus and whatnot.
"Something bothering you?" Shouta asked Hizashi, and he was quick to respond.
"My cousin is having problems with her son's quirk and was wondering if he could stay with us because of your quirk and we, you know, work with kid's quirks for a living." Aizawa gave him a blank look,
"I already deal with a lot of children who have problems."
Hitoshi kept sipping the soup and tried to ignore the fact he was one of those problem children.
"C'mon, it'll only be for a week, I think," he muttered the last part.
"What's his quirk, name, and when is he coming?" Aizawa groaned and then gave a dramatic sigh.
"His quirk is called Rundown, it exhausts everyone around him when he speaks too much, his name is Urusa Oto, and in the morning." Shota blinked slowly and sighed again. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Mic gave a sheepish laugh, "Well, tomorrow is our day off."
Hitoshi did not want to socialize with anyone anytime soon, or you know, never would be perfect.
"Besides, Shinsou needs to socialize with kids around his age." And there was his worst fear spoken aloud.
"Social life is overrated." Kakashi stated.
Hizashi gave him an annoyed look, "Social interactions are needed to have a fulfilling life."
"I am with Shinsou on this."
"As you would know, you are the last person to give social advice! I swear Shinsou is just like you!"
"Mah, if anything he's like me." Kakashi smiled. They both turned to give him odd looks.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but Shouta is older than you."
"That's what you think." Kakashi blandly stated. They ignored him, rude.
"I am patrolling tomorrow, so you're going to have to watch them." Said the underground hero.
"Hey, I can watch myself!" He protested.
"Sure thing, Shouta!" Ignored again, he thought.
“You’re going to have so much fun, Shinsou!” Hizashi yelled.
Hitoshi finished off his soup with a slurp, gave the blonde a bland look, and smirked “Hmm, did you say something.” He asked mischievously.
“Cheeky kid.” Hizashi snarked back. Hitoshi knew he saw Aizawa also smirking before he turned around to clean up.
One word Victory, Shinsou thought triumphant.
As he exited his room and entered the living room all he could see was a blonde head bouncing back and forth. Looking closer it was obviously Yamada with a light pink duster with a matching apron. Funny enough Minato and Kushina almost had the same color apron, theirs was a bit darker.
“Ah, you’re finally up!” Hizashi yelled, pointing the duster at him, causing dust to fly in the sunlight.
Shinsou gave him a tired look, “Mah, why are you dusting? I have never seen anyone dust around here before.”
Yamada raised his eyebrows, “Go help clean, Oto will be here in a couple of hours.”
“Mah, I’ll feed the cats.” He walked off to the kitchen.
Shouta was wiping down the counters with the least enthusiasm he has ever seen. Looking down, the little green bowls were already filled with cat food and water. He shrugged and grabbed a quick breakfast from the pantry cabinet.
“Get some real food for breakfast, not those gross granola bars Yamada buys.” His voice was as tired as he looked. Gaara’s bags had nothing on this man.
“Too much work.” He groaned thinking about cooking and having to clean up. At least his diet wasn’t sodium on top of sodium. “Also, why is he wearing an apron while dusting?” He just had to ask.
Shouta turned to him with an exasperated look, “He calls it his lucky apron.” He rolled his eyes and went back to cleaning. That didn’t answer his question.
“I’ll have you know this apron is indeed lucky!” Hizashi yelled and it honestly sounded like he was yelling in the room. “Ooh, Shouta, we should get Shinsou an apron!” Aizawa just sighed.
“No thanks, not my style!” He yelled back.
“Why? It can be Present Mic themed!” he whined-yelled.
“No way I-”
He was cut off by Aizawa shushing him and saying, “If you want to talk, go in the same room, it is way too early for this.” He lectured rubbing his temples.
Hitoshi put his hands in his pockets and walked to the living room. Aizawa was crankier in the morning.
Hizashi smiled brightly when he entered and threw the worn pink apron over his head. The apron hit the floor on him, great. The great Copy-nin reduced to this he thought with mock disdain.
“It looks lovely on you! Ooo, I’ll buy you a matching one!” Shinsou took it off and tossed it at the blonde, hitting him in the face with it.
“Grouchy are ya, well at least organize the shelf.” He pointed to the shelf that had a cat figure on it that was toppled, there were also Present Mic figures. Apparently, the cat jumped up there as there was black fur. He did what he was asked and looked to see Mic and Aizawa finished cleaning.
“When is your cousin dropping off the kid?” He was still annoyed is seemed.
“Ah, in about an hour or so.” The cheerful response came.
“Hm, Shinsou we are going shopping.” Eraserhead grabbed his coat and was already leaving the house. Hitoshi blinked and quickly grabbed his coat and gave Mic a small wave. For being tired the man was kind of quick, he was already on the sidewalk.
“Don’t forget the Jell-O!” A loud voice came from the doorway, and Aizawa moved faster.
“Why are we going now!” Hitoshi complained.
“We need better stuff for our guests.” Came the response from the hunched figure.
“Granola bars are good enough.” Shinsou huffed.
“ Doesn’t mean everyone has to eat like a deserted hiker.”
They entered the store and nobody hounded them, which was nice. Whenever he goes somewhere with Hizashi there is always a group of fans appearing. Nobody knows or cares to know about an underground hero like Eraserhead, something Shinsou would like if he became a hero.
The basket he held was filled with boring items like vegetables, tea, and broth. Although, he smiled under his mask when he saw red Jell-O join the goods.
The return home was silent besides the sounds of cars hustling by. When they returned Hizashi informed them that Oto would be here in ten minutes. As soon as the groceries were put away there was a knock at the door.
Hizashi ran to the door practically tripping over himself, kind of like an over-excited golden retriever.
He opened the door to show a mom and son standing there, the lady looked normal, had honey brown hair and green eyes. The son however was giving a blinding smile and was supporting a bright yellow bowl cut. He was also posing in an odd way that made Kakashi’s head hurt.
“Hello! I am Urusa Oto, nice to meet you!” The boy yelled and bowed. Shinsou was already feeling tired.
The mom gave a small chuckle of embarrassment as they entered. She quietly entered and her son raced ahead and stopped, unfortunately, right in front of Hitoshi.
“Yosh! What is your name!” The kid yelled and Kakashi’s mind screamed further.
“Mah, Hitoshi Shinsou.” He said lazily.
Part of him was yelling it’s Gai, and the other was telling him it was wishful thinking.
The lady bowed and gave a smile to the other two adults, “Thank you so much for helping, Oto. I hope he doesn’t cause too much trouble, he can be over the top sometimes.” She pushed back a strand of hair.
“Not at all, Cuz!” Present Mic told her.
“Oh, where is my manners? My name is Urusa Yui.” She addressed Eraser and Shinsou.
“Aizawa Shouta.” He greeted in return.
“I’ve heard so much about you.” She told him, “All good I assure you, Hizashi talks a lot about you two.”
Hitoshi blocked out the rest of the conversation and stared at the boy in front of him. Bright smile, check. Weird haircut, check. Bright clothes that scream lack of fashion and stealth, check. That ‘nice guy’ pose, check. The blinding smile, loud voice, and bushy eyebrows, all checked.
Either this is Maito Gai or the universe hates him.
“What’s your favorite animal!”
Odd question but, “Dogs.”
The kid gazed intensely for a second and then went back to his cheerful self.
“I agree, dogs are amazing creatures! Why don’t we enjoy the springtime of our youth and run twenty- NO, fifty laps around the neighborhood!” He yelled out and that’s all the confirmation Kakashi needed. Hm, the real question is should he mess with Gai. Also, talking to him really does make him feel rundown. It probably has to do with his lack of ability to suppress his quirk.
“Hm, did you say something?” He fell into the old posture and lazy gaze. The reaction was hilarious, well to him anyways. Oto blinked a couple of times and then just stared like he just said something unbelievable. And he stayed staring awkwardly at him for a couple of minutes until his mom realized he was silent for probably the first time in his life.
“Is everything okay, Oto?” All three of the adults turned to look at the kids.
“Oh, yeah! Of course, Mom!” He went back to himself. She raised her eyebrows and continued her conversation.
“Mah, do I have something on my face?” He grinned under his mask.
“Just a mask.” Oto responded, cheeky he thought, that's new.
“Why don’t you two play outside or something?” Hizashi asked. Hitoshi felt offended at that, he wasn’t five. Oto however loved the idea and grabbed him and ran out the front door. Hitoshi was too lazy to fight back at the lack of a threat.
“Are you my eternal rival?” Gai asked with a serious expression. Kakashi is definitely going to mess with him.
“Eternal sounds like a long time.” He grimaced.
“Do you know anyone by the name of Uzumaki Naruto?” He almost feels bad for messing with Gai, almost.
“Like the topping?” He asked disinterestedly.
“No, it’s a name! What around Haruno Sakura?”
“Like the tree?” Man, he was getting drained from talking to him.
“No, not like the tree! Haruno, it’s a name!” Ooo, he looks annoyed. Then again, Gai should know how he acted when he was Kakashi.
“Okay, what about Uchiha Sasuke?”
“Do you mean Uchiwa?”
“No, not a paper fan, come on I am being serious!” He yelled out to the sky. “Fine, I know that eye is the Sharingan. So, you must be Hatake Kakashi.” He huffed out.
“I’m not a scarecrow, or in a field.” He protested, plus that was narrow minded to automatically think he was Kakashi because of the mask, hair, and eye. Then again, isn't he doing the same thing?
He was interrupted from his thoughts by a kick that was most certainly taijutsu. He must for sure believe he was Kakashi if he did that. Hitoshi just clumsily jumped back like a normal person.
“Mah, are you angry because I don’t know any scarecrows?” He questioned.
Gai looked devastated and Kakashi felt kind of guilty.
“I see.” The kid went back into the house so he yelled, “I do know a Maito Gai.” He smirked.
He quickly turned back around with wide eyes filled with happiness.
“Rival!” He went to tackle him but he sidestepped, letting Gai faceplant.
“You are still so hip!” His eyes were watering.
“I challenge you to rock, paper, scissors.” Hitoshi held his hand out to help him up.
“I accept your challenge, if I lose I have to climb that tree!” He pointed to a tall, mostly dead tree
Hitoshi shrugged and shook his hand three times and-
Rock.
Gai had scissors.
“Rival you always beat me at this game, it’s so inspiring.” He cried full-on now. Plus, he is pretty sure Gai knows he uses the Sharingan to cheat.
“I shall climb to the top of the tree!” He ran towards it and started to climb faster than Hitoshi thought possible. He watched as sticks fell to the ground and the limbs shook.
Hitoshi’s first thought was that Aizawa was going to kill him.
Hitoshi would climb the tree, but that seemed like way too much effort that he did not have. He was pretty sure instead of draining people’s energy he was taking it. Gai looked as if he was hyped on caffeine and sugar.
He heard the door open and the three stepped out onto the lawn. The lady had her keys in her hand indicating she was leaving.
“Oh, Hitoshi-Kun. Where is Oto?” She asked him.
“Mah, around.” He vaguely stated.
“Shinsou.” Aizawa gave him a warning.
Suddenly, there was a cracking noise and the branches started to fall and with them, Gai. He fell straight on Hitoshi as he lay there sprawled in the dirt. Gai immediately jumped up and asked if he was alright. Aizawa looked a mix of concerned and annoyed, Hizashi was startled, and Yui seemed fretful.
“Mah, it’s comfier laying here.”
“Yosh, I have completed the challenge!”
“Problem children.” Came the mutter.
Later that night Hitoshi and Oto were in the living room playing a video game Yamada bought him a while ago. It was a fighting game where you could choose what pro you wanted to use. Gai chose Miruko and of course, he chose Edge Shot, that man had style.
"Feel the power of my youth!" Oto yelled, Shinsou wished he would stop saying that. Eraserhead left to patrol about an hour prior, so no lectures about being too loud, shame.
"Yo, Kiddos! Wanna practice your quirks when you're done playing?" Yamada asked. Gai immediately brightened up and the distraction allowed shinsou to win.
Gai looked over at the sound of defeat, "Yosh, I shall complete 400 sit-ups!" He then proceeded to do said sit-ups at a fast pace.
"Uh, sure. After that is done with whatever it's doing." Hitoshi waved in the direction of the former green beast of Konoha.
"Shinsou, don't call Oto an it or a that." Hizashi gave him a look of disappointment.
Once Oto was finished they followed Mic to the backyard.
"Oto, can you explain further about your quirk? Your mother told me about it, but I would like to hear from you."
"Yosh, as you know my quirk is called Rundown, it takes energy away from people I talk to and gives it to me. Uh, I can't control it really well because of my focus." He finished.
"How come Shinsou is still, well standing?" Present Mic asked, his hand rubbing his chin.
"Uh, honestly I don't know. Usually, people pass out from exhaustion after two hours of constant talking."
"Mah, it's a secret." He said.
Oto looked at him and started to tear up, "How hip!"
He doesn't think Gai knows that saying the word hip immediately makes one not look, well hip. Not in their past world or this one.
"Alrighty, Little listeners, I want to help with your control. So, that will be our focus, to focus on our focus!" He then laughed at his own sentence.
He missed Shouta.
He blankly watched the two morons scream at each other, for like, an eternity or something. He wondered where exactly Aizawa put his books, maybe he should go look for them. It’s not like they would notice, he thought as Yamada and Oto spewed out more nonsense.
“Yosh! So to keep my quirk at bay I must practice my inside voice!” Oto screamed not understanding what he just said, sorry shreaked.
“Perfecto, Little listener!” The response was also quite loud. Seriously, why the hell did Shouta leave him with these two? Was it because he told him dogs were better? If that was the reason, he still stands by what he said. Cats were literal monsters that would claw your eyes out in a second. And he did not want to lose another eye this time around, thank you very much.
“What am I supposed to do?” He asked and surprisingly they shut up.
Yamada gave him a scrutinizing stare, “Practise meditation. Shouta told me that helped him a lot with his quirk, and your quirk is someone similar being it is a mental one.”
“Great.” He said, but how was he supposed to meditate with them? He shrugged to himself and sat criss-cross underneath a tree.
Instead of meditation, Shinsou decided to listen to the two idiots.
“Focus, Oto!” Was yelled followed by a “Yosh!” And that was the only thing yelled for the next five minutes.
“Let’s try to talk slower now.” Hizashi said. Oto talked as fast as Naruto did about ramen, or Sakura about Sasuke, or Sasuke about killing his brother. Take your pick.
After another fifteen minutes Oto actually made some progress, kind of surprising.
Shinsou had enough and decided to help him out.
“Yo, Oto. Maybe it’ll be better if you don’t put so much intensity in your words, it'll lessen the power.” He yawned at the end.
Present Mic seemed to brighten up, “Yes exactly, Shinsou! That is a great way of putting it. Oto, what you need to do is focus on talking softer and with less intensity as he said. The louder, faster, and more excited you are, the more your quirk will work.” Towards the end, he talked normally meaning Oto’s quirk was taking a toll on him.
“Yosh, that makes sense!” Oto gave a thumbs up and a bright smile.
After that, Oto made significant progress that night.
The next morning when Shinsou saw Shouta drinking coffee and reading the paper, like an old man, at the dining room table
"How could you leave me with them two? Was it my comment about cats?”
Aizawa merely looked up with a raised eyebrow, “What do you think?”
The nerve of Eraser, he partially believes it to be true though.
“Yes.” He answered with a sharp nod and unamused eyes.
“Hmm.” He muttered as he was taking a sip of the bold coffee.
“Just for making me go through that I would like a cup of coffee.” He demanded the homeless looking man.
Aizawa was unamused, “I would never allow that. I hide this coffee for many reasons.”
“What are those reasons?” Shinsou asked, glaring at the light yellow mug plastered with a grumpy looking cat. No doubt a gift from Hizashi.
“One, you. Two, Hizashi, and three, coffee with this much caffeine is not recommended for anyone.
“And how much is that and why are you drinking it?” He wondered out loud.
The man put down the mug and rubbed his eyes, “I’m not telling you how much because Hizashi will have a heart attack, and I am drinking it because I have to deal with so many problems.
“If you have your coffee does that mean I can have my books back?” He asked hopefully.
“No!” Shouta raised his voice at that.
“Worth a shot.” He sighed.
Later in the week, Eraserhead and Present Mic had to go to UA to teach and Shinsou had school, so guess who had to come with them to UA for the day.
“Nice to meet you, I am Urusa Oto!” He shouted at Midnight who idiotically agreed to watch Oto for the next couple hours until lunch.
“Nemuri Kayama, but call me my hero name, Midnight.” She smiled. Shinsou wanted to warn her about his hyperness, but Eraser gave him a look. Instead, he left the room guilty as he could hear Gai yelled about youth to poor Midnight.
“Shouldn't you explain his quirk more to her?” He questioned the pro hero.
“I tried to warn her, she just went on about a little Present Mic so it's her fault for ignoring me. "Besides, she owes me after what she did all those years ago."
“Ominous.” Hitoshi rolled his eyes as they entered the classroom, class was going well until a frazzled Midnight entered the room, Oto in her grasp.
“Being around this kid is sucking the life out of me! My looks are fading, look! I have bags like yours now!” She pointed to dark purple rings under her eyes.
“Ah, I see you found my secret to looking this way, problem children,” Aizawa said and rolled his eyes.
“Sensei! Isn’t that what being a teacher is about, helping children?” Iida stood from his desk with his hand raised.
“Shut up, Nerd!” Bakugo raged, hands sparking causing Midoriya to fret.
“My statement showed.” Shouta yawned.
“Rival! I have found you at last!” Oto shouted to the high heavens and tackled Shinsou out of his seat.
“Mah, I’ve always wondered how you could track me down.” He said looking at the white ceiling tile.
“He’s been yelling about finding his rival the whole time. Yet, when I asked who he would give no name besides Rival.” Midnight yawned uncharacteristically.
“Urusa let go of Hitoshi.” Eraserhead looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
“Yosh! I challenge you to a game of-” He was cut off by Eraser who yelled no games during school.
“Wait, you know Hitoshi?” Kaminari asked with excitement, what is it with this kid and wanting to be his best friend so bad? Kaminari was already kind of a friend of his, he didn’t understand.
“Yes, he is my eternal rival!” He gave his signature pose.
“What’s his quirk?” Kaminari asked.
“Being hip and cool!” What a Gai answer that was, he thought amused.
The class just gave him weird looks, well besides Kaminari who looked excited.
“Really? That makes so much sense!” Denki smiled brightly.
Jiro smacked the back of his head lightly, “That’s not his quirk, Idiot.”
“No, It is! Isn’t it?” He looked like a lost puppy when he turned to him.
“Mah, sure.” He shrugged.
The blonde turned happy again, “See!”
“Kaminari, no.” Jiro put her head in her hands.
The week ended fast, well not fast enough for Shinsou. Oto gave him a crushing hug and his mom thanked them profusely. Also, Gai promised to challenge him to a game next time they meet. And the Urusa’s said they would come and visit when they could.
Great.
As Gai left, Kakashi felt saddened at first, but then happy he had an eternal friend to remember and share his experiences with.
Later as they ate dinner, Hizashi asked a question that made Aizawa and him pause mid-bite.
“Hey, Shouta, can my other cousin come and stay? After the progress with Oto, they want to come too!”
“No!” they yelled simultaneously.