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They had been arguing for the past twenty minutes. Hitoshi knew this as a fact, having kept a close eye on the clock the entire time, and Hitoshi also knew that neither of the men would give up anytime soon.
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“C’moooooooon, Shoooo! Don’t be chicken about it.”
Halloween had arrived, and apparently, Yamada had ordered matching costumes for the two adults without telling Aizawa - who had been less than enthusiastic at the prospect of dressing up and going out. Hitoshi had never once during these last few months seen such a pained expression on the older man’s face - Hitoshi would pity the man if he weren’t very satisfied with knowing that Hitoshi himself had been spared from partaking in Yamada’s most current whim. But this did not stop Yamada, who happily went all out whenever he could.
This meant buying plastic skeletons, fake spiderwebs, importing pumpkins, and ordering matching chicken costumes for himself and the currently unhappy pro-hero, who was staring at the yellow costume with a mixture of horror and disgust firmly plastered on his face.
Not that Hitoshi could blame him, because that yellow thing that Yamada was currently wearing was absolutely grotesque. The mere sight of the thing sent shivers down Hitoshi's spine, and there was little to nothing in this world that could make Hitoshi put that thing on willingly. The costume, the man-made horror, consisted of a bright yellow romper with red tail feathers made out of felt, which then had been stuffed with pillow stuffing or something akin to that, which had been sewn on.
Underneath the costume he sported a pair of brightly orange leggings, and placed on his nose he had a kind of triangular face mask that was made to look like a beak - made in the same color as the tail feathers.
The only part of the costume missing was the shoes, which were a pair of orange swim fins with added rubber soles (something Yamada had DIY’d after noticing how impossible it was to walk in non-modified swim fins.)
So Hitoshi got why Aizawa didn’t want to wear that thing. He understood wholly and fully. Too bad the man had to.
“Tell him, ‘Toshi!” Yamada’s head snapped towards the purple-haired teenager sitting by the couch, gently scratching Niji’s head as she purred in his lap. Hitoshi’s entire body froze as the attention of both adults turned to him, but he soon relaxed. He had been living with the couple for some time now, but the feeling of being the center of attention was still disturbing.
Attention in the past was never a good thing.
The sooner Aizawa gave in the sooner they could move on. (Hitoshi did, in fact, want to spend his Halloween eating candy and watching dumb pre-quirk era movies with the cats and the two adults’ bickering made it difficult for him to do so.)
Yamada reached out towards Aizawa with the spare costume in hand, wiggling it slightly as if that would be enough to coax his partner into grabbing it. ‘That’s not happening, man’ Hitoshi thought as Yamada’s pout grew larger.
Swallowing and clearing his throat he looked at the dark-haired pro-hero, who turned to the teenager with wary eyes.
“Uh. Please?” Hitoshi tried, looking at Aizawa with what Hitoshi hoped would have somewhat semblance of ‘puppy dog eyes’. Aizawa was no pushover and Hitoshi sincerely doubted that this little trick would work, but it was worth a shot. Silence fell, and Aizawa stared at Hitoshi. Hitoshi stared right back. Yamada remained on the sidelines - holding his breath, and stayed as quiet as a mouse. He was almost too scared to make a single noise in fear that it would somehow impact Aizawa’s decision.
Hitoshi had begun to believe that the two of them had reached a stalemate, and he again doubted that he would be the one who walked out as the winner.
But then!
Then Aizawa sighed. In the corner of his eye, Hitoshi saw Yamada perk up with hope, but didn't say anything.
The teenager watched as the dark-haired man seemingly went through all the stages of grief within the span of a few seconds;
His right eye twitched, and his jaw visibly clenched in annoyance at the infantile request coming from both his charge and his partner. His gaze traveled from the chicken costume (not even attempting to hide his disdain) to Yamada, before going back to the horrifically bright fabric. He inhaled sharply at the sight of that thing, and right now Hitoshi would have loved to know what was going on inside of Aizawa's head. The man seemed to get more and more aggravated the longer the silence dragged out.
Finally, he clenched his eyes shut and tilted his head until he was facing the ceiling as if he were waiting for heavenly intervention or anything that would stop this event from taking place. Silence.
Nothing happened. No sudden call echoed through the apartment, and none of the phones began blaring with alarm, and no neighbors were knocking on the door in panic.
The man was admitting defeat.
Aizawa let out a long-winded sigh, and closed his eyes as he roughly rubbed the bridge of his nose as he exhaled. He let his gaze fall upon Hitoshi one last time, eyes begging - 'really?' The man pleaded, but Hitoshi showed no mercy. Aizawa bit back the desire to scream - “Fine.” he said - And with that simple sentence, all hell broke loose. Yamada’s excitement broke the thin shackles he had them confined within and he skipped across the room and enveloped the other pro hero in a tight hug, squealing as he did so.
Aizawa muttered something under his breath as he snatched the Halloween costume right out of Yamada’s hands, and began to stalk off towards their bedroom in order to dress up in peace. Without the other man to put all of his love and affection on Yamada turned to Hitoshi, and it was at that moment the teenager realized that he was not going to be spared from the excited overgrown puppy that Yamada had transformed into.
As soon as he let go of Aizawa he rushed towards the seated teenager and squeezed him as well - blatantly ignoring both Niji’s meows of protest as well as Hitoshi’s own grunt of discontent. Yamada was pressing his head tightly against Hitoshi’s own, cheek to cheek.
“You’re the best little listener ever!”
Niji jumped down from Hitoshi’s lap and ran towards the safety of one of her many hideouts. Hitoshi wished for the millionth time since he got to live with Aizawa and Yamada that he could do the same thing.
A very long, and excruciating ten minutes later Aizawa reappeared, dressed in the same kind of costume as Yamada.
Boy, did he look unhappy.
Did Hitoshi care?
Not really.
The most selfish part of him was content because now he was finally going to be able to sit down on the couch with some sweet treats and enjoy his evening without any fuss from either of the two men. While they enjoyed their evening drinking with Midnight he was just going to relax, and damn if he wasn’t looking forward to it.
He hoped that Yamada had bought some Kit Kats.
And he hoped even more that the man hadn’t eaten all of them already.
“Hey little listener, surely you didn’t think we forgot about you, eh?”
What? He heard a rustling sound behind him. Dread began pooling in his stomach, and he began praying to a God he didn’t quite believe him - please don’t be what he thinks it is.
The noises that came from Hitoshi as he turned around weren’t quite human. It was animalistic, caused by his primal survival instincts kicking in. He watched wide-eyed as Aizawa smugly settled next to Yamada, who now held up another costume.
It wasn’t a yellow costume like Aizawa and Yamada’s though.
It was somehow worse.
It was another romper-style costume but this one was white, and covered fully in downy feathers, and Hitoshi could spot some orange leggings underneath the fluffy mess of a costume. On top laid another cap, this one white as well, with the same triangular beak glued on.
Oh God.
“No.” Hitoshi spat out, frozen in place as he struggled to comprehend just what he was seeing. “Absolutely not.” He was not doing this. He was alright with embarrassing Aizawa, because the man deserved it. But Hitoshi? What had he done to deserve this kind of torment?
“No.” Hitoshi felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as he stared at the monstrosity of a Halloween costume. If he were able to then he’d be spitting and hissing like a feral cat - he wondered if he could bribe either of the cats to pee on it for him before it was too late.
“Please?” Yamada cooed, taking one step after another toward the teenager, who inched away from the perceived threat.
“No,” Hitoshi said with finality, crossing his arms and glowering at the two adults. He had already plans for the night, and he was not going to let the two of them ruin it for him. Aizawa, the bastard he was, walked closer to the couch with a smug smile still on his lips.
“Please, Hitoshi?” he purred, some odd caricature of what Hitoshi had said just moments earlier. Hitoshi's eyes narrowed.
“Aren’t you two going out?” he asked, trying to make them rethink - his plans failed miserably.
“Uhuh, you’re coming with us!” Yamada said happily, wiggling the costume once more much like he'd done with Niji in the past, when he'd been trying to coax her with a toy.
“... I thought you were going drinking with Midnight?” Hitoshi asked, squinting accusingly at the two of them - surely they weren’t going to bring him along to drink? That would be stupid. Besides, Hitoshi really didn’t want to be around drunk people if he could avoid it. No thanks.
Both Yamada and Aizawa looked somewhat confused at the question, and the two adults looked at each other and seemed to have one of their wordless conversations. Slowly, slowly fell realization over Yamada's face, and he vigorously shook his head at the question. Halloween in Japan was very different from Halloween in the West - it was not a children's holiday, and things like trick-or-treating weren't really a thing. Instead, it was targeted towards adults, a way for them to dress up and go drinking slash partying with their friends - which was why Hitoshi was expecting to stay home.
He was wrong, apparently.
“Absolutely not! We’re meeting Midnight yeah, but we’re not drinking! We’re going out to the shopping district to look at everyone dressing up, maybe get some sweets, and then we’re gonna go get some food before heading home!" Yamada assured him, arms flailing wildly around him as he reassured the frowning teenager.
Oh.
Aizawa was frowning as well, body tensing as he listened to the two's conversation; "We're not going get drunk with you anywhere nearby, kid." Aizawa said softly. He got silent for a moment "Not that I can ever recall getting drunk while drinking with Hizashi or Nemuri." he mused, deep in his thoughts as he went through all of his memories of past Halloweens or other events that he had celebrated with his friends.
Yamada's face got pinched at the claim and his green eyes got cloudy as if he recalled a particularly horrifying event from their past - he shuddered, which Aizawa noticed. The dark-haired man glanced at Yamada, who gave him a wobbly smile and awkwardly patted him on the back with a small 'sure, man'.
The blonde quickly looked away from Aizawa and focused on the teenager, his smile becoming genuine once more "Aaaaanyway! Get dressed, kiddo!" he threw the costume towards Hitoshi, and it landed in a heap next to him on the couch. Hitoshi glanced at the mess as if it was going to turn sentient at any moment and attack him, and showed no inclination to grab the feathery mess. He glanced at Yamada, and instantly regretted it when he saw the eager grin on the blonde man's face as he waited for the teenager to put on his costume.
"...Do I have to wear it?"
"If I have to then you have to." "Yes!" Aizawa and Yamada answered at the same time, one with significantly more energy than the other. Defeated Hitoshi lowered his shoulders and sighed, mentally saying goodbye to his relaxing night in front of the television as he grabbed the downy chicken costume and ventured into his bedroom to put it on.
In the privacy of his room, he allowed himself to properly look at the blasted thing, and he fought back a shiver; a chicken, seriously, Yamada?
It was Halloween. The man could have chosen any costume, and Hitoshi had sort of expected something more flamboyant or extravagant based on Yamada's general personality - not this. He looked closer at the costume, and frowned as he saw the odd color of the tread used; it didn't match the rest of the costume at all, and that's when it hit him: Yamada had tailored it himself.
Hitoshi let a small smile fall upon his face as he looked down on the red tread, poorly sewn and looking ready to fall apart at any moment, but to Hitoshi that was the best-done costume he'd ever seen; it was going to be a bit embarrassing to be poultry for Halloween, but at the very least he wasn't going to be cold, which was nice - the entire costume was lined with a thick thermal fabric, making it a lot thicker than either Aizawa's or Yamada's own costumes.
Warmth blossomed in his chest as he stroked the warm fabric and looked at the crappy seams, knowing that this was something Yamada had done to ensure that Hitoshi, with his sensitivity, wouldn't get cold.
Fine. He could suffer as a chicken if it meant appreciating Yamada's hard work. If Yamada had put down so much effort for his sake then he sure as hell would appreciate it, damn it.
With no hesitation, he put on the leggings and feather-covered romper, before pushing the cap onto his messy purple hair - not without some struggle, mind you. His gravity-defying hair seemed to have other plans, but with some brushing and some water from the glass he kept on his bedside table, he was able to tame the fluff enough to keep the cap on.
He looked himself in the mirror; He wasn't a chicken, but a chick.
Reemerging from his bedroom he was sure that Yamada would implode by the mere sight of Hitoshi. The man jumped excitedly in place, skipping like an excited child, and only calmed down some when Aizawa chided him with a stern reminder of the poor old couple living next to them. Yamada pouted a bit and gave Aizawa a pointed glare that screamed 'Don't you get it?!?'
Yamada gestured frantically at Hitoshi as he answered his husband. "But look at him! He's adorable!" Hitoshi grimaced; he was fifteen, not five. He wasn't 'adorable'. At the very least he wasn't cooing, which would have made Hitoshi run back into the safety of his bedroom. Small mercies.
"Yes yes, can we get over with it already?" Hitoshi grunted, swatting at the hands waving right in front of him.
Yamada nodded enthusiastically and hurried towards the genkan, holding up a pair of the DIY shoes he had made and handing them to Hitoshi before repeating the process and giving another pair to Aizawa, before finally putting on his own pair. They were uncomfortable, and still a bit rough to walk with, but were fully manageable. Thankfully being around people dressed as enlarged baby poultry wasn't as embarrassing as Hitoshi first imagined it to be, considering that there were a lot of youth living in the area and they all had the same idea; going to the nearby shopping district.
The train was full of young adults and teenagers going to various Halloween parties, some wearing sillier outfits and some going for the spookier route (some woman in her mid-twenties managed to dress up as a sexy M&M). Being loud on public transit was typically something that was incredibly frowned upon, but tonight most if not all occupants seemed to ignore this unwritten rule - laughter filled the train, and chatter about every possible subject filled Hitoshi's brain at once. One particular college student close to Hitoshi was extra loud, his laughter sounding a lot like a broken hacksaw.
Hitoshi was ready to cry from overstimulation by the time they reached their station. Why couldn't he have stayed home?
The shopping district was buzzing with people, most dressed in some kind of costume - some more detailed than others. Hitoshi had been there for ten minutes and he had already lost count of how many All Might cosplayers he had seen, but he could appreciate their dedication to both their nerdiness and their craft.
"Shooooouta, 'Zashi! - oh, Toooshi-chan!" cried a feminine voice behind them, and if it weren't for the fact that the person behind it had used their names specifically then Hitoshi would have ignored it - it was just another loud noise in a sea of loudness. He turned around, and from the masses he saw Midnight emerging. She was dressed in a white - almost grey- dress that was torn here and there. It was sleeveless, and showed off her cleavage in a way that was pretty standard for Midnight.
Her face was painted white, with dark rings painted around her eyes which made her vaguely look like a panda. The same dark paint was also added on her cheeks and nose, used as contouring. Over her shoulders she wore a cape in the same color as her dress, most likely used in lieu of a jacket. Her dark purple hair was backcombed to the point where it had turned into a large matted lump on top of her head, and in it he could spot white spray on hair dye, or at least that's what Hitoshi assumed it was. He didn't want to think about the other possibility.
She hurried up to the little group and gasped as soon as she got close enough to get a proper look at Hitoshi. He was 100% sure that she was aware of Yamada's little plan regarding the costume, she may or may not have been the one who proposed the idea in the first place (that woman loved to embarrass Aizawa, after all.)
His beliefs were supported by the smug smile that appeared on Midnight's face when she saw the uncomfortable stance of Aizawa. It shifted from smug to adoring when she allowed her focus to end up on the youngest member of their little group;
"Awww, look at you!" Midnight cooed as she took in the sight of the now downy Hitoshi. She gripped Hitoshi's cheeks in a vice grip, albeit with a bit less force than she tended to use. Her fingernails were extra long and dark thanks to press-on nails (easy enough to peel off if needed, she argued.), but thankfully Midnight remained conscious of the length so Hitoshi didn't end up with any red marks or indents on either of his cheeks.
He allowed her to coo over him for as long as she felt necessary - He had learned that it was better just to let her dote than to struggle. She would tire herself out eventually, and the more he struggled the more entertaining it was for her. So if he shut up, stood still, and let her be annoying then she would grow tired of it quickly and back off.
So he did just that - even though he hated it just as much as he did the first time they met. His patience was rewarded when she soon enough let go of his cheeks and stepped back, in order to address her friends instead. Aizawa looked her up and down, curiously frowning at her white-painted face as if it was the first time he'd ever seen the woman. He seemed genuinely baffled at the sight of her.
"What are you supposed to be?" Aizawa asked - and come on, even Hitoshi could tell that she was dressed as a ghost or a ghoul of some kind. Midnight shared Hitoshi's sentiment and gasped as if offended. Her hand flew up and rested on her chest, right by her heart. Frustrated, she tapped her foot on the ground and gestured towards the face paint.
"You're joking?! I'm a sexy ghost!!!" she huffed. Aizawa didn't look particularly convinced, but decided to let it go for the sake of peace. Hitoshi decided that the older man's decision was crap. If Hitoshi had to throw his own plans out of the window for the sake of spending time with his (hopefully soon-to-be teacher) aunt and foster dads then he sure as hell was going to make the most of it, even if that meant creating some chaos.
And hey, if it meant that Aizawa suffered then that'd be a bonus.
Turning to Midnight he shook his head. "Don't worry, he's being intentionally obtuse - he's just a bit grumpy about being dressed as a giant chicken. I'm sure he's grieving the missed opportunity of being dressed as a sexy cat, or something." Hitoshi quipped, the tiniest of smiles gracing his lips at the jab at his foster father. "I swear to you, if I went through his wardrobe I would find some kind of cat ears lying around in there. He's just waiting to use them, Halloween or not."
"Maybe it's a good thing Yamada picked a chicken costume instead. What if we let poor Shouta wear those cat ears? It might have acted as a gateway drug into dressing like a feline 24/7." Midnight's entire face lit up, her voice growing a bit louder as she addressed the dark-haired man "Shouta! If you do lose all your inhibitions and decide to dress like a furry creature then please join the Wild Wild Pussycats! It's the closest to pussy you're going to get, anyway!" she cried, completely unbothered by the flushed look on Hitoshi's face or the way Yamada's voice pitched as he scolded her ("Nemuri, there is children present!")
Midnight snickered and turned to the teenager, leaning over to whisper none too quietly in his ear - still loud enough for the two other men to overhear.
"He has always been a bit jealous of me, and now he's taking it out on my gloriously sensual Halloween costume! You know, one of their friends used to have a crush on me and I swear poor Shouta wanted to murder me for taking the attention away from him." She clicked her tongue and stood up straight once more, facing the two adults as she put both of her hands on her hips, channeling every ounce of her 'dominatrix' persona as she slid over to the not-so-impressed adults (who both struggled to ignore the attention from passing men who ogled at their friend.)
She pushed herself between Aizawa and Yamada, and threw her arms around the two men's shoulders. "Don't worry Shouta, I won't take Hizashi away from you!" she cooed and nuzzled the dark-haired man's neck. Aizawa tensed considerably the second Midnight approached him, and when she spoke he more or less pushed the woman away from him. She pouted and leaned on Yamada, who stayed put - he was fully aware that Midnight was jesting and was a lot more comfortable with the physical affection she tended to dish out.
She put her head on the blonde man's shoulder, who rested his own on top of his friend's messy dark hair.
"Oooh, I remember that! Yeah, Sho was pretty sulky, wasn't he?" Yamada asked, eyes glimmering with mirth as he observed the embarrassed flush grow high up on Aizawa's cheeks, visible even in the relative dark. The poor man didn't even have his capture weapon to hide his face behind. Wonderful, Hitoshi thought.
"Awwww, don't get all shy! It was cute! It was really hard enough to get you out of your shell so it was just suuuuuper sweet to see real evidence of you being attached, ya know?" Yamada soothed, his voice syrupy sweet, but soon enough his mouth shut with an audible snap. His eyes widened almost comically, and soon enough giggles bubbled up his throat.
“Hahahaha, shell. Get it? Pun totally not intended.”
Hitoshi mentally facepalmed. How many more chicken puns did he have to endure before the night was over?
Ugh. It was going to be a long night.
The evening had gone without much fuss so far, and Hitoshi had actually been relaxing some - he had even gotten sweets from some old U.A. students who had recognized Yamada-sensei. Hitoshi thought Aizawa would die then and there when Yamada and Midnight had shepherded the old students over to the grumpy teacher, the man was in a puddle of embarrassment at not only being recognized but being recognized wearing a chicken costume. The man could just kiss his reputation as a badass and coldhearted pro-hero and teacher goodbye If any of the current students at U.A. found out that their most ferocious teacher had dressed up as a giant bird for Halloween.
But hey, candy.
(They had been looking at some intricate-looking jack-o-lanterns outside one of the many stores when Midnight had called out Aizawa's name.
"Oi, Sho! Look who we found!" Yamada chirped and rushed towards his partner, dragging two young adults with him at such a speed that left the two youths stumbling. Both of them seemed to be in their early twenties and were dressed in matching clown costumes. It was two young women, one with bright pink hair and the other with light brown hair, cut short, barely a few centimeters long.
Both appeared to be delighted to be face to face with Aizawa, which was an oddity based on everything Hitoshi knew about the man's relationship to his students (past, present, and future.)
"Oh Aizawa-sensei! You're here as well! How are you?" the girl with the bright pink hair asked, her voice loud in a way that rivaled Yamada's. She was glowing, happiness sparkling in her eyes as addressed her old sensei. Aizawa murmured a small greeting, gaze averting from his old students - he was apparently finding the ground a lot more interesting. His cheeks were blotchy and red. " Awwww, I love your costume!" she continued, much to Aizawa's dismay. She then turned to Hitoshi, still just as energetic "And hi there! Sorry I didn't introduce myself, I'm Yuri and this is Riko-chan! Nice to meet you!"
"That's Shinsou-kun! He's Aizawa's foster son!" Yamada chirped. Was Yamada merely going by technicalities since he introduced Hitoshi as only Aizawa's foster son, or did he not want to tell the two girls about his own relationship with Aizawa?
Hitoshi didn't let himself think about the matter too long, it wasn't any of his business after all, and let out a small 'yo' as a greeting. Both of the girls seemed genuinely shocked, which was fair based on everything Hitoshi knew about Aizawa; he wasn't exactly the kind of man to settle down and start a family, so him getting a foster kid was pretty out of character for them. Thankfully, their years at U.A. had taught them some tact, so they quickly recovered from the news and gave their old teacher a broad smile.
"Oh wow! That's great!" Yuri-chan said to Aizawa before turning to the teenager "I'm happy that he has gotten somewhat domesticated with old age." she winked at Hitoshi, causing Midnight who stood behind them to whither slightly at the 'old' comment.
She cleared her throat before speaking "May I remind you ladies that I am a year older than these two?" she asked, the warning clear in her voice. Riko-chan turned to face Midnight, and waved off the older woman's concerns.
"Ah, do not worry sensei! You are only as old as you feel, and Aizawa-sensei has been eighty years old since he was like, what, twenty? You are not old!" She assured her old sensei, giving a nervous laugh as she faced the mildly grumpy woman.
The chatter continued for a while, the girls giving their old teachers some updates about their lives and the teachers doing the same. Aizawa remained mostly quiet throughout the little reunion, giving his input on matters now and then. After approximately thirty minutes the shorter girl, Riko, looked down at her wristwatch and poked Yuri-chan in the sternum until she got her undivided attention.
"Ahh, we got to go! Meeting some friends from school, you see! It was nice to see you all again, and it was really nice meeting you Shinsou-kun...wait, here!" Yuri-chan chirped and opened her bag, taking out a small bag of candy and tossing it to the teenager. He spluttered and tried to give it back, but both of the twenty-somethings stopped him with a loud 'nuhuh!'
"It's yours! I got it from my neighbor before I left, but neither Riko-chan nor I like salty candy" ("It makes my tongue hurt" muttered Riko-chan with a pout) Yuri-chan explained "Keep it, you'd do me a favor." Neither of the girls accepted his attempts to say 'no thanks', and for the sake of everyone involved, he held the small plastic bag of sweets close to his chest.
"Thank you," he whispered sincerely.)
The shopping district was growing more and more crowded the more time that passed. People who were making their way towards the pub of their choosing used the area to meet up with their friends, and Hitoshi soon came to realize that there were a lot of inebriated people, some of them clearly below the age of 20.
Most of them hadn’t bothered him or his foster parents in the slightest, however, so he didn’t pay them any mind (Midnight was silently encouraging them, saying something about the beauty of youth) Besides, there were more interesting stuff to focus on - there were a lot of cool cosplayers who had taken the golden opportunity to go all out with their costume-making skills, which was pretty cool.
However.
Some decided to be a bit more.. hands-on.
Especially some foreigners that had decided to roam the streets in search of some Halloween celebrations, most likely some party that involved plenty of alcohol.
They were wobbling around, staying close to Hitoshi and his foster parents, but not too close to be suspicious. They were drunk as skunks, and Hitoshi could pretty much smell the alcohol on them several meters away. Hitoshi and Aizawa were currently looking at a performer who was making somersaults in the air using his quirk (which was illegal. Yamada and Midnight decided to not be part of the audience, just for the sake of plausible deniability. Chickens.) when they finally fully approached the pro hero and his ward.
Seeing the drunk strangers approach both Yamada and Midnight returned to be with Aizawa and Hitoshi - not that they saw any signs of them being aggressive, but those things could change very quickly, and none of them wanted to take any unnecessary risks, especially with Hitoshi close by.
Hitoshi heard some of the drunk men giggle, and soon enough the little group was right in front of Hitoshi and Aizawa. They weren't angry, or upset in any way: rather, they appeared to be happy drunks.
“Happy Halloween!” one of the men cried happily in English “I’m soooooooorry-" he shifted to broken Japanese "I'm sorry man but are we there yet? I dunno if you guys have noticed but uuuuuh, we’re nowhere near KFC. We’re looooooost .” the man slurredly bemoaned, in English once more. His bottom lip puffed out in a pout until he noticed Midnight. “you gon’ get some food too?” he asked, sounding excited at the prospect of hanging out with the woman.
Hitoshi frowned for a moment as he tried to make sense of what the man was saying - Hitoshi prided himself on being good at English. More than good, he was pretty great all things considered - but he still had trouble making sense of the man’s accent, and the alcohol-induced slurring did not help the matter any.
“What?” Aizawa asked in Japanese, deadpanned as always. Hitoshi knew that Aizawa spoke good English, but it seemed like the man had just as much trouble as Hitoshi at understanding the man's accent. Midnight looked just as lost. Yamada quickly shushed him and turned back to the small group, being the only one who properly understood the man:
“Ah, sorry?” He spoke slowly to let their muddled brains keep up.
“where is the food ” the drunken man asked, frowning as if Yamada was the one who wasn't making any sense. “you’re taking us to kfc yeah? You're...You’re chickens!”
Yamada’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ in realization, and he turned to the members of his little group once more. “They think we’re mascots or something like that. Absolutely wasted, poor dears.” he tutted, speaking hushed Japanese which confused the foreign men considerably.
The blonde hero turned back to the strangers and gave the men a warm smile “Sorry, just Halloween costumes! I actually don’t know where the nearest KFC is, sorry man!”
Hitoshi was pretty sure he could drown in the heavy disappointment that emitted like a thick cloud from the men, and he found himself pitying the men; Yamada seemed to do the same - he had probably been in that situation in the past. Being out partying and then getting super hungry; shit probably sucked. Not that Hitoshi knew anything about that.
It appealed to the caretaker within Yamada, and his mind was already made when the drunk stranger whined once more;
“Awww man!”
Yamada gave Aizawa a pleading look.
Aizawa sighed. Another detour, it seemed.
And that’s how Hitoshi currently found himself sitting inside one of the many KFCs in Japan. The strangers had practically started sobbing at the sight of the fast food restaurant and gleefully thanked Yamada for helping them in their time of need (really, all Yamada had to do was google the address of the nearest KFC.).
The restaurant, much like Yamada, had gone all out for Halloween. The entire store was covered in Halloween paraphernalia, pumpkins, and bats covering more or less every single available surface in the store. The building was surprisingly void of people, but Hitoshi didn't mind - he knew how stupid he was looking, a giant chicken inside a restaurant that sold exclusively fried chicken. The poorly hidden giggles coming from various employees were enough - Yamada and Midnight seemed to appreciate the humor in it though (Hitoshi and Aizawa are less so, however.) He didn't need even more people throwing odd looks his direction.
No, thank you.
Still, the food was alright. He wasn't a big fan of fried chicken, but it was edible with enough dressing.
"Excuse me?" came a timid voice from the same worker who had taken their order in the first place. He was holding his phone awkwardly and had a sheepish but hopeful look in his eyes. He leaned back onto the balls of his feet as he approached the little group; "I'm so sorry for bothering you, but I was wondering if I could take a photo of you? I found your costumes amusing, considering the food we sell, you see..." he trailed off, nervously scratching at the nape of his neck - he were clearly ready to hear a clear and forceful 'No'
Yamada being Yamada, though, that didn't happen.
"Of course!" Yamada chirped before either Aizawa or Hitoshi had a chance to decline. Hitoshi sent the older man a wounded look, but still allowed Yamada to tug him along to stand by one of the less distracting walls. Midnight remained next to the worker and gave Aizawa a smug smile as she saw the tortured look on the man's face. She grabbed her own phone, and snapped a picture before anybody could tell her not to - "It is the baby's first Halloween with you fellas! Need to be commemorated after all!"
Her smug smile disappeared when the worker kindly asked her to stand next to Aizawa; she smiled uncomfortably as she stood next to the man she just had taunted, just waiting for retaliation of some sort. Was she really going to walk straight into the lion enclosure after taunting the lion? He couldn't determine whether it was brave, or moronic.
"Can you snap one on my phone as well, sweetheart?" she purred, holding out her phone for the man to grab. The guy froze up, and slowly but surely a shy smile began to spread over his lips. He blushed a bright red, and it was clear that the poor guy wasn't used to female attention. He shakily grabbed Midnight's phone, barely daring to look her in the eyes, and did what she requested.
He snapped a few pictures of the group, some ended up being ridiculously shaky. Poor guy. He returned to phone to Midnight, who gave him another flirtatious smile and went to grab her phone once more, making sure to let her fingers linger for longer than strictly necessary. "Thank you," she purred.
The poor guy looked ready to explode. In more than one way.
"Let him go back to work, Nemuri." Aizawa muttered as he went back to his seat, nibbling on some of the leftover chicken with as much enthusiasm as a sloth. Yamada soon followed, and he sat down next to his partner.
"The poor kid needed a break. He's not a chicken, you know?" Yamada clicked his tongue. Aizawa looked at his partner incredulously, silently questioning the blonde. Aizawa visibly regretted it when he realized what would come out of Yamada's mouth next. Yamada's grin was wide and mischievous, eyes twinkling. "You know, they can't work around the cluck."
Hitoshi groaned.
"What, you don't appreciate quality puns? Hey, Toshi?"
"What?"
"What do hens say on Halloween? Chick or treat!" Yamada cackled as Hitoshi let his head fall onto the table with a loud 'thump'
After that, there were no more sudden or unexpected reunions, no more lost and confused foreigners, nothing out of the ordinary. They had been strolling around the district for the past hour or so, and were currently waiting for their train to arrive. Despite the extra fabric inside of his costume he still felt the biting cold that had slowly begun to creep up on him. He involuntarily shivered and inched closer to Aizawa in the hope of using some of the older man's body heat.
Aizawa glanced down at Hitoshi, and wordlessly put one of his arms around the teenager. It didn't do much to keep the shivers at bay, but it was better than nothing. Yamada and Midnight inched closer as well, and soon enough Hitoshi found himself cocooned between the adults.
"Here you go, Toshi-chan!" Midnight cooed and draped her cape around Hitoshi's shoulders, and Hitoshi was amazed about how heavy that thing actually was - how the hell did Midnight walk around with this thing?
At least it was warm. He melted into Aizawa's half-embrace, and rested his head on the older man's side, content with the warmth around him. He hadn't been super positive to the outing at first, but he could hesitantly admit that he had enjoyed himself - he had gotten treats, seen some cool costumes, and eaten some dry-as-hell chicken. Not the worst thing in the world, all things considered.
Midnight was joining them to their apartment, not that Hitoshi minded. She was an alright company, even if she liked to make lewd jokes and make innuendos that made even Aizawa blush. Hitoshi was excited to get rid of this stupid chicken costume and get dressed in some loungewear.
When they finally reached the door to their apartment Hitoshi had to physically stop himself from barrelling through the door and leave a Hitoshi-shaped hole in the wall - Aizawa seemed to share the sentiment based on the way he stared longingly at the doorknob. As soon as the door got unlocked Hitoshi rushed inside, and said a quick 'hello' to the cats (who gave out one confused 'mreow' each at the sudden intrusion) and pulled his wardrobe open, eager to get changed.
He tugged off the chicken costume, and put on a pair of sweatpants and tugged one of his warmest sweaters over his head. He even grabbed a pair of fluffy socks to keep his feet warm, before he grabbed the candy he had received from the previous U.A. students. He opened the bag and popped one of the pieces into his mouth - and yeah, wow, that was salty.
When he finally ventured back to the living room he found that both Aizawa and Yamada had changed out of their costumes as well - both of them were currently wearing cozy civilian clothing instead. Yamada was cuddling Niji, who appeared to not be as lucky. She was purring loudly in Yamada's arms despite the little vest one of the adults had forced her to wear - it was a regular thin, red vest, with black dots covering the back. It was supposed to look like a ladybug, one of the few insects that Yamada wasn't horrifyingly afraid of.
Hitoshi snorted at the sight, which made him gain the adults' attention. Yamada's head snapped up, and he began aggressively patting the seat next to him on the couch.
"Toshi! Come, sit!"
Aizawa was already sitting on the other side of the couch, while Midnight had taken a seat on the floor, trying to get Niji's attention with one of her toys. Niji stayed put on her favorite human's lap, much to Midnight's dismay.
Hitoshi slumped onto the empty spot on the couch, tucking his feet underneath him. He gave Niji a quick scratch under her chin, which earned him a quick kiss on the hand.
Apparently the adults' had made themselves busy while Hitoshi got dressed. The jack-o-lantern that Yamada, Hitoshi, and Aizawa had carved a few days earlier had been lit (using a LED-lights, just to make sure Niji didn't accidentally light herself aflame), and on the coffee table was a bunch of sweets - the very kind that Hitoshi had been craving earlier that day. Midnight grabbed the TV remote in her hand and turned on the television, and turned on one of the many streaming services that the four of them used the most, scrolling through the large selection of horror flicks available until she found one that everyone agreed on.
His eyes lit up at the sight, and he picked up another piece of candy before silently offering some to the adults in his company, who all declined except Aizawa.
Midway through the movie Hitoshi realized something, and shot up from the couch; he hurried to his bedroom once more and grabbed the cape which lay discarded next to the white chick costume on the floor. He dusted it off, making sure that it was in good condition before making his way to the living room. Midnight had paused the movie, and all three of them looked at Hitoshi with a mixture of concern and curiosity as he reemerged.
"Everything okay?" Aizawa muttered as soon as Hitoshi got close enough. Hitoshi didn't answer; He stopped in front of Midnight, holding out the cape for her to grab.
"I forgot to return it, sorry. Thanks for letting me borrow it." He said, scratching the nape of his neck as if he had done something he should be ashamed of. Midnight tilted her head but gave her nephew a tender smile, fully easing his irrational worries.
"Don't worry about it - you can borrow my cape anytime." silence "Only if you dress as a chick though," Midnight said as an afterthought, "You should dress like that every day. You were super cute as a little chick." she winked, blowing him an innocent enough kiss. She put the cape in her lap, using it as a makeshift blanket to cover her legs.
Yamada nodded solemnly. "I know right? Especially with the cape, a little ghost chick...oh my god." Yamada's eyes shone once more. He looked at Aizawa, who looked like he was in actual pain - no, not another one Hitoshi thought with dread as he sat down next to his foster father once more. "What do you get when you cross a ghost with a chicken? A poultrygeist"
Hitoshi closed his eyes. He could ignore the crappy puns from Yamada, he would run out at some point.
"Ya get it? Poultry. Bird." he cackled "Eh, let us continue watching the movie. Maybe we could watch a chick flick afterward! Hey, What kind of eggs does an evil chicken lay? Deviled eggs!"
Or maybe not.
At least he got to watch crappy movies with some sweets in hand, just as he had planned all along.