Chapter Text
Yamada Hizashi loved being Present Mic. He loved his outrageous hair, loved the tight, flexible leather of his costume. He loved his fans, loved helping people, loved being a hero.
But today he was not Present Mic. Instead of his leathers, he wore a gray tshirt and jeans. His hair was soft and braided instead of his cockatoo plume. Today he was just a dad.
And he loved that more than anything.
Loved his son more than anything.
He treasured days like this, days he could be a normal dad and walk his son home from school. Shinsou was quietly chatting, telling his dad about his day. The twelve year old’s hands were holding onto his purple backpack and Yamada wanted so badly to hold one of them… but his baby boy had decided he was too big for that.
Yamada sighed and smiled, focusing back on what Shinsou was saying as they stepped into their home.
“And Higashi-sensei said um… that my math scores were the best in the class.” Shinsou said, toeing off his shoes.
“Yeah? Good! I’m proud of you Toto. You studied so hard!” Yamada grabbed the mail from the letter slot before he kicked his shoes off as well and shut the door. The pair walked into the kitchen where Shinsou hung up his backpack and squatted down to pet one of their cats as it came to welcome him home.
“Can I have ice cream for my scores?” Shinsou asked.
“After dinner.” Yamada chuckled and ruffled the pre-teen’s hair as he walked by. He stood by the table and started sorting through their mail, frowning at a plain envelope addressed to him from… social services.
He looked up at Shinsou and frowned. They hadn’t had to deal with social services since Shinsou’s adoption was finalized. And why would they address it to just him and not Shouta as well?
He set the rest of the mail on the table and tore the envelope open, unfolding a single piece of paper.
He read it, his eyes going wide. He fumbled backward in shock, trying to reach the kitchen chair behind him before his legs gave out. He failed and fell to his butt on the floor, still staring at the piece of paper.
“Dad? Dad!?” Shinsou looked up from the cat and scrambled over, kneeling beside him.
“I’m… I’m ok Toto-bug. Just… shocked.” Yamada tore his eyes from the paper to smile at his son.
Shinsou frowned at him and looked over his shoulder at the paper.
It was a death notice, but for a name Shinsou didn’t recognize.
“Who died Dad? Did you know them? Do I know them?” Shinsou sounded a little panicked.
“No, no baby. You don’t know him, don’t worry.”
Shinsou settled against him on the floor, head resting against his dad’s arm.
“Who is it then?”
“It’s… It’s my father.” Yamada said slowly.
“You don’t have a father though.” Shinsou looked up at him, confused. “You got Grandma and Mimi.”
“Hitoshi… Have I ever told you about MY adoption?”
“Um. I don’t think so.” Shinsou shook his head.
“Well… I was actually around the age you were when we got you...
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Yamada Aoi woke when the lights in her room started flashing, signalling her phone was ringing. It wasn’t her alarm, outside she could see that it was still far too dark to be anywhere near morning. She flipped on her table lamp and grabbed a single hearing aid off her bedside table, popping it in before flipping her phone open.
“Hello?” She asked, voice heavy with sleep.
“ I need your help.”
“Hoshi?” Aoi asked, sitting up in bed. In their line of work a middle of the night phone call meant something was up. Technically they worked together. They were both lawyers that worked with social services. Aoi worked with cases involving the elderly and disabled adults, but Takei Hoshi worked with children and rarely needed Aoi’s assistance with anything.
“ I got a kid, abuse situation, and I need a social worker that’s deaf. You are my only option in our district.”
“What? Deaf? Why?”
“ Kids got a quirk. A doozy of a quirk. I’ll explain when you get here. But Aoi… this kid needs you.”
Aoi took a deep breath and looked over at the clock. 3AM.
“What’s the address?” Aoi grabbed a notepad off her nightstand and scribbled down the address Hoshi gave her. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She raked a hand over her face when she hung up. She groaned and reached over to shake the body next to her. She smiled when the blanket her wife was buried under began to rapidly change colors, her wife unable to control her quirk first thing upon waking.
“Ntokozo,” Aoi prodded the woman. “I’m going out.”
“What time is it? Why?” The other woman finally stuck her head out and the blanket settled into a warm plum color.
“Hoshi has a kid she needs my help with.” Aoi gracefully got out of bed and walked into their walk-in closet. A tiny portion of it was hers, with well pressed pant suits and sensible shoes. The rest was overflowing with wild patterned and colored clothing and shoes of every kind.
She dressed quickly in black and gray clothes and grabbed a plain gray handbag before stepping back into her dark room.
“When will you be back?” Ntokozo mumbled, half muffled by the sheets, already falling back asleep.
“I don’t know. I’ll call you.” Aoi walked over and kissed her cheek. “Ngiyakuthanda”
“Mmmm.” Ntokozo hummed, reaching for Aoi’s hand. She took it and signed the words ‘I love you too’ slowly so that even in the darkness Aoi would be able to feel her words. Aoi smiled and kissed her again, tucking one of her braids back into the silk wrap her wife wore to protect her hair.
And then she headed out into the middle of the night, not knowing their lives were about to change forever.
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The address Hoshi gave her took her to a specialty quirk clinic. The shorter woman was already standing outside when she arrived, lit only by a parking lot light.
They didn’t bother with greetings.
“What do you got?” Aoi asked.
“The sweetest looking kid I’ve ever seen. He’s three.” Hoshi handed her an envelope and motioned for her to follow. “Mom died when he was a baby. Dad took care of him until the kid got his quirk and blew out his eardrums. Then the dad went from… taking care of him to muzzling him and barely keeping him alive.”
“Muzzle?”
“The boy can raise the volume of his voice, to near sonic levels.”
“And he muzzled him. How?” Aoi looked horrified.
“This thing with leather straps and a padlock. He only took it off to feed him. And from what the neighbor told us, if the boy made a peep while it was off he’d hit him. This went on for at least 6 months.”
“Dear lord. You said he’s three?”
“Trust me, I know. He’s already been arrested. But that leaves us with the kid.” Hoshi stopped in front of a thick black door. Instead of a knob, it had a keypad.
Aoi frowned at it.
“We had to put him in here. The minute we took off the muzzle he started screaming and wailing. The two original case workers might have permanent ear damage. But I also think HE might have some hearing damage. He doesn’t respond to much noise and the one time he did calm down… I think he signed something.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
“I need the doctors to actually check him out, and it’s dangerous for them to go near him unless we can get him to calm down. They want to knock him out and pump him full of drugs. I… you know I can’t do that Aoi.”
“So you want me to calm him down.” Aoi nodded her understanding.
“I can’t place him in a home or facility until I know what exactly his needs are.” Hoshi sighed. “He’s terrified Aoi. And I think you’re the only one that can help him safely.”
“What’s his name?”
“Hizashi.”
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Aoi could feel it, even if she couldn’t hear it.
She’d taken out her hearing aids and even put in earplugs.
But she could feel the vibrations in her chest as she entered the soundproof room. It felt like a little like when you sat in a car with the bass too loud, but faster and irregular, rattling her heart around in her rib cage.
It was uncomfortable, but her heart didn’t start to hurt until she actually saw him.
He was huddled on a tiny bed, clutching a rubber ducky print blanket around himself. He was way too skinny, dangerously skinny. Aoi was positive he was at least partly American or European. He had floaty blonde hair that burst from the top of his head like a wheat field, big green eyes, and pale pink skin.
Though his pale skin was littered with bruises in various stages of healing. And the minute he saw Aoi, his eyes wrenched up. He opened his mouth and Aoi felt the vibrations triple in size in her chest. His little form was shaking uncontrollably.
She gasped and stumbled forward, collapsing to sit on the bed next to him.
“It’s ok. Please don’t cry. I’m a friend.” Aoi said, reaching out to him.
Hizashi recoiled from her, his piercing green eyes looking every which way in panic.
‘ It’s ok. I’m a friend. You are ok.’ She repeated herself, though this time she signed her words at the same time she spoke.
The vibrations stopped immediately and Aoi looked up to see the little boy staring at her hands. His face was frozen, mouth hanging open. He blinked his big eyes and then looked up at her face, raising his own little hands.
‘ Thirsty. Thirsty.’ He signed.
‘ You’re thirsty?’
‘ Thirsty.’
Ok. Aoi could work with that. She ducked quickly out of the room and grabbed a water bottle from a cart in the hall.
Hizashi flinched when she came back, but he didn’t cry. Instead he looked… hopeful when he spotted the bottle in her hands. She sat down slowly and cracked it open, handing it to him with a smile.
He took it and drank greedily, downing nearly half the bottle before lowering it.
She handed him the cap and he awkwardly tried to screw it on, failing. Aoi reached over and put her hands over his, helping him screw it back.
He looked up at her, head cocked to the side. With his poofy hair, Aoi couldn’t help but think he looked a little like a cockatoo, eyes filled with curiosity.
She smiled at him.
“You were just thirsty huh?” She moved her head from his hands to cup his cheek, thumb running over one of the scarlet welts from where the muzzle had cut into him. When he didn’t move, she drew her hand back.
‘ My name is Aoi. ’ She signed.
He frowned at her hands, blonde eyebrows wrinkling up in confusion before looking back up at her face.
Ok, she thought to herself. Maybe he only knows a few signs.
She could work with that too, choosing instead a simple… universal gesture.
She waved at him.
“Hello.” She said, unsure of the volume of her own voice, hoping he understood.
After a moment, and with a timid smile,
He waved back.