Chapter Text
Shimizu Mamiko never thought that she would have children.
Don’t get her wrong, she loved kids. Children were the next generation after all. They needed to be protected, loved and raised correctly in order to succeed in whatever they chose. In her many years spent as an underground hero, she had seen first-hand what the system could turn them into. She would go to every rally, every charity event, all the things she could to spread awareness about the suffering children in and outside of the country of Japan. She was even already licensed as an emergency foster parent if the need would ever arise.
No, it’s not that she didn’t want children. Quite the opposite, in fact. It was that her schedule was so inconsistent as an underground hero that she never thought that she would be able to take care of a child on her own. That and…well, kids never seemed to like her all that much. Most were too off put by the way her quirk worked to get to know her. Which was okay, but it made it hard for her to properly communicate with any that she tried to get to know.
Mamiko let out a puff of air from her nose, her version of a sigh. She had just finished lunch with her younger brother, Hibiki. He was a businessman who had just learned that he and his wife would be expecting twins rather than just one child. While Mamiko had smiled and congratulated her brother, she couldn’t help but feel saddened. She knew that she would do everything in order to be a good aunt to the new children, but a part of her was jealous. The memory of Hibiki’s wide grin quickly chased away any resentment. She was ultimately excited for her brother and his wife to welcome their children into the world. Would they have quirks like the Shizumi family or would they take after the other side? What about a blend?
Mamiko ducked through the alleyways purely on autopilot, her mind racing while thinking about the possible quirk combinations that the twins could have. Her mind was ricocheting so much with each possibility that she almost missed the sobbing. Almost.
Frozen in place, Mamiko glanced around at the filth smeared, garbage-lined walls to try to find the source of the cries. She closed her eyes and listened; the crying was definitely human and it appeared to be coming from the right hand side, approximately ten meters ahead. Sending out her quirk, she let out a soft, “Hello?”
There was a gasp and the sobbing stifled, but Mamiko could see the bags of garbage shifting ahead like there was something underneath them. Treading lightly so not to spook whoever was crying, she reached out again, “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you.” Mamiko was nearly a meter away now, and crouched down so that she would be able to peer into the piles of trash. In the dim lighting of the alleyway, she could make out a small figure huddled amongst the filth. She couldn’t make out many details, but the stature helped her pinpoint that they were in fact a child.
Mamiko suppressed her rage at whomever caused this child so much distress they needed to hide amongst the garbage. She could rage later, she told herself, right now she needed to be a hero. “Hello there.” she called softly. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” Purple eyes peered out of the darkness and locked onto her smoke-colored ones. Keeping her arms by her sides to make herself look as non-threatening as possible, Mamiko had an idea. “Do you like heroes?” She made out a hesitant nod in the darkness and her smile grew. “I do too. Do you have a favorite one?”
“E-Eraserhead.” Mamiko tried not to wince at the raspy, aching sound of the child’s voice. Though she still couldn’t make them completely, she could tell by the voice they were most likely male and younger than she’d anticipated. Much younger.
Carefully, so as not to spook the young boy, Mamiko moved so that she was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. “I like Eraserhead too. He’s really cool isn’t he?” Another nod. “Well, I’m a hero too, just like Eraserhead. My name is Siren, what’s yours?” The child looked up at her and looked as if he were about to say something, but quickly closed his mouth with an audible click. His whole body visibly trembled and his eyes began to dart around like he was about to run. Mamiko kept her voice as soothing as possible, “Hey… It’s alright… I’m going to help you, ok?” Suddenly, there was a glint of light near where the child’s mouth should be, almost as if… “Kid? Is there something on your face?”
The young boy kept trembling and covered his face with his arms, obscuring whatever had been shining just a moment earlier. Using this opportunity to scoot closer, Mamiko was able to see him in a better light as her eyes fully adjusted. Purple hair was matted to his head and his skin was pale, almost sullen. His clothes were tattered and thin, like he’d been wearing them for a long time. He wasn’t even wearing any shoes! Makiko’s eyes drunk in his sorry state as she debated the next course of action until she noticed a leather strap running from the boy’s covered face.
“Kid…” She called out softly. “Is that a muzzle on your face?” The boy began to sob again and Mamiko slowly reached out her hands. Delicately, she lowered his hands away from his face and she was shocked to see that yes, he was wearing a muzzle. Rage once more bubbled up in her throat, but Mamiko did what she could to swallow it back down. The boy’s lavender eyes welled with tears, each one making another hot track down his face.
“Shhhh… I got you…” she gingerly wiped the tears from his cheeks as they continued to fall. “I’m going to take this off, ok?” The boy’s eyes went wide and he started to struggle a bit. “Whoa, hold on there, kid! I need to get this off so that it doesn’t hurt you…” Mamiko soothed him until he at least stopped thrashing. Mamiko’s fingers flew over the buckles and straps keeping that accursed thing in place, doing her best to get it off without hurting the boy. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally had the muzzle off.
“There we go… Isn’t that better?” Mamiko was confused when the boy’s hands flew up to cover his mouth. It was almost as if he was afraid to speak. “Kid? You alright?” Still covering his mouth, the boy shook his head. But at least he didn’t look like he was on the verge of running away now. Alright, she could still work with this.
Standing off and brushing off some of the dirt from her jeans, she held out a hand to the boy. “I need to take you to the police station, ok? Can you walk?” The boy looked down at his feet and shook his head. Mamiko could’ve smacked herself: right, he wasn’t wearing shoes. Continuing to smile, she knelt by him again. “That’s alright, I can carry you.” She held out her arms and waited. After a few moments of silence, the boy mirrored her gesture, a sign that she could proceed.
Scooping him up and holding him to her chest, Mamiko began walking back the way she had come. She used her quirk to make it sound as if she was humming and soon the young child in her arms drifted off into dreamland. Smiling softly, Mamiko made her way to the nearest police station.