Chapter Text
“We can now confirm that nearly all government employees harmed in the incident are in stable conditions and are on the mend. Unfortunately, Pro Heroes Bubble Girl and Centipeder are still in critical condition. All perpetrators of this incident have been caught and arrested, and will be tried separately sometime this coming week.
“Three civilians remain unaccounted for after the attacks on the Nighteye Hero Agency this past Monday. However, rescue teams confirmed a second casualty this morning with the discovery of two large beetle wings under the rubble. The wings belonged to a 16 year old girl with a beetle quirk, Konzu Chyba. A body has not yet been found, but authorities have confirmed it is unlikely Konzu could have survived under the weight of the rubble.
“Konzu was the daughter of a visiting politician Sheru Chyba, who will be with us in just a few moments to...”
Suddenly the view of the television was obscured as a pair of hands covered your vision. “Guess who?? IT’S DEFINITELY NOT TWICE!”
"Well... It certainly sounds like Twice." You laughed and brought your hands up to the ones blocking your vision.
When the hands were removed, you could see Twice looking upside down at you, as he leaned over the back of the couch. You noted he wasn’t wearing his mask.
“Man, I can never get that right, can I?” He grinned sheepishly. “Anyway, I pickpocketed this dude earlier, and I was thinking about hittin’ up a 7/11 and restockin’ my secret snack stash and seeing how much I can get out of his credit card before he realizes it’s missing. I was wonderin’ if maybe you wanted to come with and help me pick out some snacks?”
"Sure!" You agreed eagerly.
Toga suddenly bounded over, whipping out her fresh burner phone and squishing her face next to yours, pulling up the camera app.
“Smile!” She plastered a pointy grin on her own face. “My other phone got bugged on my last mission so I need a wallpaper for this new one!”
“HEY LEMME GET IN THERE!” Twice blurted before promptly apologizing.
“Silly Jin.” Toga patted his cheek. “You’re already on my lock screen, so y/n gets to be on my home screen. Plus you get to hog them for the rest of the night, so I need to take my picture now before you steal them away.”
You grinned and struck a pose for the picture.
The screen flashed, and Toga clicked on their selfie. “It’s perfect!” She exclaimed as she immediately added the photo to her favorites. She quickly squeezed you in a hug, demanding that they bring her bag one of those family sized bags of Takis, before bidding them good bye and fleeing back up to her room, nails tapping away at her phone screen.
Dabi must’ve heard Toga’s request because then his voice came from the kitchen ask them to get him a bag of Doritos as well.
After promising to get the bag of Doritos, Twice turned to the only person left in the room.
“Well, I guess I’m running errands now, so do you want me to get anything for you as well?”
“Yeah. We’re running low on bandages in the first aid kit.” Tomura responded without looking up from his switch.
Twice grabbed his denim jacket off the coat rack and shoved one hand in his pocket, pulling out the fated credit card.
He turned to you with a lopsided grin. “C’mon, let’s go see just how loaded this baby is.”
You started chanting for your choice of snack, "Pocky! Pocky! Pocky!"
Twice whistled as he shoved the door open. The cool night air wafted in, which caused Tomura to complain loudly in the background. Twice ignored him however, waiting until you had stepped out side to shut the door behind him. “Man this 7/11 is gonna be pocky-broke by the time you’re through with it, huh?”
He seemed to be in a better mood than usual today, his second personality uncharacteristically passive for now.
The cool wind blows through your hair as you breathe in the cool night air. "It might indeed be!" You answered Twice, smiling.
Twice simply chuckled at the response. They had to be approaching some sort of record for “longest time Twice has smiled without his mask on”.
They traveled through a labyrinth of back alleys and dim streets that would send shivers down any normal civilian’s spine, but these streets held a sense of home to you both, your familial banter filling the usual eerie silence.
It was when you turned a corner to finally emerge onto the Main Street, just two blocks away from the 7/11, that Twice’s grin faltered.
“Aw shit. I forgot how close that agency was to the gas station. We might need to take a detour, I don’t wanna get caught. HEY THERES THE NEWS VAN! I WANNA BE ON TV!”
Twice always wore his mask when committing crimes or carrying out missions, so his face wasn’t known to the public. Much like Toga however, the government did know what he looked like, but had decided to keep his identity under wraps.
Either way, walking this close to a swarm of police was a no-go for any villain.
You quickly grasped Twice's arm and pulled him back. "Twice no! You can't do that!" you told him.
Twice grasped at his head with both hands, his eyes shut tight. He cursed as he forced himself to stumble back into the alleyway, his back hitting the brick wall. “Y/n,” His voice grated, as if he was suddenly struggling to stay stable. “DONT FREAKING TOUCH ME!! My mask. Should be in my jacket. LET GO OF ME!! I DONT NEED NO DAMN MASK!! Left. Left pocket.”
You flinched at his tone but immediately reached for his jacket pocket and pulled out the mask. "Here!"
Twice quickly snatched the mask from your grasp, yanking it over his head. He sat there for a minute or two, still gripping at his head and breathing harshly.
You slowly walked over to Twice, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
A shaking hand moved to grip your shoulder instead, as if it were looking for something to anchor him. His grip was so tight it was almost painful, but it quickly began to ease up, as his breathing pattern returned to normal.
You winced at his grip but held steady, "Do you need to sit for a moment?" Your eyes danced with worry. You glanced back out of the dark alleyway to see the news van gone.
“Yeah... yeah gimme a sec... no I wanna go!! Shut up.” Strangely enough, the second personality heeded his request and went silent. He sounded tired, but not as crazed as he had a few moments ago. A few more minutes passed in silence that progressively became less tense and more comfortable.
Eventually, he stood back up, brushing himself off before offering a hand to you without breaking the silence.
You took his hand and pulled yourself up. Listening to the distant chatters of people and birds. The wind traveled through the trees and you looked up at the moon, stars glinting off of your eyes. You looked back at Twice, "So, can we get the snacks still?" Your voice was as soft as a whisper so you wouldn't disturb the comfortable silence.
Twice gave you a soft smile from under the mask. “Of course we're still getting snacks.” He replied just as quiet. “We’ll just have to take the long way around.”
Then, with out warning, he tugged you forward by your hand, suddenly lifting you into the air. He was strong, managing to plop you onto his shoulders with ease, even after an episode.
“Let’s go buy a shit ton of junk food and pocky.” He declared.
"Yes!" You cheered. You hummed a familiar tune to yourself while Twice walked the route to the store, watching the way the moonlit puddles rippled when Twice stepped in them.
Twice had his mask tucked over his nose so that he could assist in your quest to consume every pocky stick in the 30+ boxes you had bought. He hadn’t been kidding when promised to buy every box of pocky in the store. (It had earned them quite a few strange looks from the cashier.)
Lucky for them, the dude Twice had pick pocketed had apparently been loaded with cash, and they wouldn’t have to worry about running that credit card dry anytime soon.
Currently he had two pocky sticks sticking out of his mouth like seal tusks, and three bags of ‘groceries’ (read: junk food w/ a side of first aid supplies) in his hands.
You stuck two pocky sticks to you forehead, jumping in front of Twice, "look! I'm a demon!" You could never get full on pocky, nor get tired of it.
Twice plucked out his ‘tusks’, chomping down on one as he laughed at your antics. “What kinda demon does that make you? A FUCKIN’ SCARY ONE!! The demon of strawberry pockies? Doesn’t sound that terrifying if you ask me. I’M GETTIN’ GOOSE BUMPS OVER HERE!”
His second side had made a reappearance soon after they had left the 7/11, but didn’t seem to be causing him much trouble. That was the magic of his mask. Without it, it felt like every time the second voice spoke up was a game of Russian roulette. Either he’d be perfectly fine and go about dealing with his condition like normal, or he’d get the round with the bullet in the barrel.
With his mask on, not much changed, but the gun had the the safety catch on. No matter how many times the second personality tried to fire at him, the most he’d receive from Jin would be a wince.
You let out a laugh, "I am the strawberry pocky demon! Fear me!" The dim light of the moon shone on your skin, as the night was getting higher.
“NOOOO!” Twice jumped back, cowering under his arms as his second personality took hold of his movements. “OH POWERFUL POCKY DEMON, PLEASE DON’T SENTENCE ME TO A LIFETIME OF SUGARY SWEET DAMNATION!” And like flip of a coin, normal Jin was back, stepping back into stride next to you.
Pointing at the near empty pocky box, he said. “Hey, let’s try to leave at least two boxes of those strawberry ones for the team when we get back. I know Tomura didn’t exactly ask for food like the rest of ‘em, but I’d feel bad if I didn’t bring him back some kinda snack, and something’ tells me he’ll like those.” Twice chuckled.
You laughed at Twice's second personality, and ate the two pocky sticks you’d used for your little skit. "Alrighty," you grabbed the last two boxes and began to walk alongside your companion.
Your walk back was down a different route than your walk to the store, so as to stay a good distance from the scene of the recent villain attack. The news van had left the scene, but police were still crawling all over the block like a colony of ants. The whole half of that block had been sanctioned off by caution tape, blocking the main road. Even with their larger detour, the disaster zone was big, and they still passed a handful of alleys that had rubble spilling into them, blocked off by the caution tape.
Thankfully, the police seemed less than concerned about these smaller areas and remained on the complete other side of the destruction, all their attention focused on the main road. It was also a good sign that Twice’s second personality had started to quiet down again as they grew closer to the disaster zone.
“Man, I thought goin’ this way would be farther away from all those flashing lights. Guess not.” He noted a bit sheepishly. “Man, I can’t believe this was all done by just some small time street gang with a knack for explosives and a grudge against Nighteye. I think Shig’s a lil jealous of all the publicity they’re gettin’ for this.” He chuckled quietly.
You looked at the area of the disaster, blue and red lights igniting your features. "Tomu would be jealous of any attention some other people get." You jumped into the moonlit puddles, splashing your companion.
Twice gave you a sideways smile when the water hit him, soaking his pant leg. “Can’t argue with that,” he kicked at the puddle, splashing the water back at you. “Though they did catch their whole crew, so I don’t think he’s that jealous.” He laughed.
You pouted when your socks got wet. "That's true," you laughed. You saw a bigger puddle ahead and waited until you got closer. When you did you jumped and splashed Twice again.
Twice held his hands up to shield himself from the water. “Hey!” He laughed, “look at us. Now we’re both soaking wet.” He shook out his sleeves.
He seemed to complain, but his tone and the lopsided smile still on his face were dead give-aways that he didn’t actually mind, and was rather quite enjoying your little water fight.
In fact, his eyes seemed to go wide as if he was struck by a sudden idea, and suddenly he came bounding up, leaping into the same puddle as you, effectively dousing you both from head-to-toe.
Before you even had a chance to object, he scooped you off the ground, squeezing you in a hug which he then dubbed “Puddle Cuddle!”
You squawked as you were splashed, before leaning into the 'Puddle Cuddle' and smiled.
Twice spun you around once in the puddle before setting you back down, flinging more water droplets into the air in the process. They shone red and blue in the lights from the police cars, and if it weren’t for the mask now pulled completely over Jin’s face, or the fact you were in the middle of a scummy alley right next to a disaster zone, any random civilian could’ve mistaken the scene for that of an older brother and younger sibling simply out for a heartwarming midnight stroll in the city.
The moment came to an abrupt end, however, when suddenly the painful sound of concrete grinding on concrete echoed through the alley.
Instinctively, Twice tugged you closer, his grip on your shoulders tightening as his head whipped towards the direction the sound had come from.
A line of caution tape sectioned off the alley that branched off to their right. At first it was silent, and the source of the sound remained unseen, until a slab of concrete began to slide slowly down the pile of rubble. It caught on the caution tape as it slid, and with a small Snap!, the tape broke, and the slab toppled into the alley. The strain seemed to have disturbed the poles that held up the tape, as a few seconds later they too fell to ground, their rattling clangs echoing on the buildings’ walls.
You glanced at the caution tape and the pile of rubble, "How about, we get back before everyone starts to get worried?" You didn't really want to be in the area at the moment.
Twice chuckled nervously. The pile didn’t look like it’d move again anytime soon, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “Yeah, yeah that’s probably a good id-“
He was cut off by a sudden rattling wheeze from the direction of the rubble. It was followed by several hacking coughs, and the groan of pain that proceeded them sent uncomfortable shivers down Twice’s spine.
Your head snapped back to the pile of rubble, eyes full of fear, worry, and concern. You took a small step out of the alley but stopped yourself. "Should- should we," you paused, unsure, "..help?"
“Yes. No! I- I don’t...” Twice rubbed at his face, taking a slightly shaky breath.
He started over. “We can’t just leave them there. Yeah we can! But- I... I can’t do it. There’s no way I’m getting any closer to that hoard of police with my mask on. And I... I wouldn’t trust myself near that pile. I’d probably end up toppling the whole thing.” He shook his head.
“But you’re a hero in training, helping people’s literally your profession, yeah? I mean, there’s no way we can get the police over here to help without getting myself arrested but... we should at least get them out from under there.” He seemed to finally decide, after struggling a bit to get his thoughts out.
You nodded and ran over to the pile of rubble. You tried to lift the heavy slab, but failed at first, then succeeding on the second try, though scrapping your hands in the process. You kneeled down to the victim and shook them, trying to get a reaction.
You didn’t receive much of a response, aside from a few pained noises and another half-hearted cough. The ends of their long dark hair were matted with dried blood, and a pair of something poked out from the strands on top of their head, one shorter than the other. They looked a bit like... antenna? Now that they was no longer stuck under the rubble, You could see something glint on the person's back, from beneath all the dried blood. Bug wings. They must’ve had a mutant quirk, like Spinner.
You picked up the person and propped them up at your side, "C'mon! We're gonna get you out of here!"
Twice jumped when suddenly you started clambering over the rubble with the rescued civilian in tow. He watched you rushing towards the ambulance, waving your free arm and shouting to get one of the officer’s attention.
Confused and startled, he took a few quick steps forward, reaching out as if to try and pull you back. “Y-y/n! Wait! That could be dangerous– THAT’S RIGHT KID! RUN! RUN AWAY AND DON’T COME BACK!” Twice gripped at his head, watching as you seemed to stumble, kicking a slab loose and sending a cloud of debris into the air. Twice couldn’t see you anymore, and if he wasn’t panicking before, he certainly was now.
“Y/n!! HA! WE DIDN’T NEED YOU ANYWAY! A HERO KID’S GOT NO BUSINESS HANGIN OUT WITH A BUNCHA VILLAINS! Won’t you just shut up?!” Twice grit his teeth, pulling harshly at his mask. He glanced back up at the dust cloud before quickly averting his gaze. There wasn’t much he could do now, there was no way he could go after you in this state.
He stumbled down the alleyway, away from the rubble. He made it a few blocks before finally collapsing against a wall, his migraine too much to handle. He fumbled in his pocket, before pulling out his phone. He gave up trying to type in a specific phone number, his hands shaking too much to hit the right buttons, and instead went to his contacts, hitting a random person and hoping it was Giran or someone from the league.