Iida always liked to show up early to class, he was usually one of the first ones there, and punctuality had been instilled in him, since he was a young child. So it was that he made his way to his English class, however the loudest snoring stopped him he'd ever heard in his life. He poked his head into the door and stared at Hizashi was folded over his desk, a stack of student papers from the assigned worksheets were scattered on his desk, the voice hero was face down and Iida wondered for a moment about the integrity of his assignment, before he became concerned for his teacher.
He knew the sort of stress and pressure hero work put people under, he'd seen it time and time again growing up. It was a job that had to be done, but it took a toll on those that did it. Usually heroes could choose their hours, but he'd seen Hizashi on the news last night, battling some villain with super sensitive hearing who was trying to rob a bank, then Hazashi had his radio show to go to. The show usually started at twelve and ended at four, but then there were the worksheets as well, Iida doubted that the hero had gotten much sleep, if any the night before. Yet he had been determined to teach the English the next day, despite people having sick days for reasons just like this. No one would have minded if they had gotten another teacher and none of the teachers would have minded helping a fellow hero that needed it, but apparently Hizashi had been way too stubborn for his own good and now was lying face down on top of their work sheets.
Iida sighed fiddling with his glasses slightly, he knew that Hazashi shouldn't be woken, not unless someone knew how to wake him properly. Even of the kindest of heroes responded poorly to being woken in certain ways and Iida had no desire to have his hearing damaged or his body injured before Hazashi knew what was happening and reacted to being woken. He stood outside the door for a moment, until he saw his classmates start to head down the hall, he put a hand up and pointed to the left side of the hall, counting heads until everyone was there. He couldn't hear them over the sound of the snoring, quirks were supposed to cancel out when people slept weren't they, otherwise Todoroki's house would have burnt down multiple times as a child and he could have easily broken many objects as a kid himself, with his super speed, once he got to a fast enough speed, no chair or desk or bed would have survived the resulting impact. Not to mention the injuries that it would have done to his body. Hazashi must also be naturally loud, in addition to having the quirk that he had, otherwise his snoring wouldn't be so loud.
"Our teacher has overexerted himself, we should go to the teacher's lounge and get someone to aide us in our studies."
"Why don't we just wake him up?" Katsuki demanded.
"He must be really tired Kacchan, he would not have fallen asleep otherwise."
"That and heroes often don't respond well to being woken suddenly." Momo said. "Or in certain ways, if I tried to wake my parents in a way that he felt threatening, it would not work out well for me. I learned from a young age that it was best to let my parents sleep, even if they looked uncomfortable. You have to listen to your body but that's easier said then done sometimes. Life gets in the way of maintaining balance, as my Dad says 'sometimes you have to sit down, before you fall down.' Heroes are the type of people that often push themselves past their limits, that's great in a fight, not so great in their personal lives, or lives outside of hero work. My parents told me from a young age to tell them if I thought they were working too hard and they would do the same for me. Sometimes after a particularly bad month, we'd all go to an amusement park together, one time my Dad got me this great big teddy bear, I still have it. It was really great."
"I have twice monthly board game days with my family, Grandfather insists on us taking off at least two days a month to act like a civilian family. Sometimes we go to conventions as well, though finding costumes that hide our engines is difficult it is also very amusing at times."
"Endeavor isn't like that, he's not warm, or cuddly. Honestly my Father should never have had kids." Todoroki said. "He works until he passes out and expects the same from me. If I fail to perform at the best of my abilities, until I am no longer capable of doing so, he used to punish me. Every time I see him now, I know I'm in for a beating, because I won't use my left side. I won't be like him."
"Can't child protective services take you away from him?"
"He's a powerful man, everyone in my family were too afraid to say anything against him. Hearing your stories about hero families who at least attempted to make your lives somewhat normal, made me decide to tell you fully about how he treats me." Shouto said. "It was a decision I have been considering for some time, because I know that he would disown me if it ever got out to the media what my home life is truly like. However I would like to think I have friends now, that I can depend upon enough to get away from my abusive asshole of a father."
"You may stay with my family, they do not approve of such tactics in raising children with the capabilities of becoming heroes."
"My Mom wouldn't mind if you came over some nights, our place is a lot smaller than your used to, but I'm sure she won't mind sharing what she has with you." Midoria offered.
"You can stay at my place too, my parents always thought people that hurt their children were the greatest villains of all. Its one thing when it's in training, but to deliberately hurt you is unacceptable and you are right in coming forward. We could most likely avoid getting the media involved, there have been other cases like yours where young heroes in training sought emancipation for a variety of reasons. That way the media will speculate, but no one would truly have to know what went on. You can simply give your story to a truth teller and they will most likely deem you a fit candidate for emancipation." She said.
"I hadn't considered that, I thought I'd have to become a ward of the state or something." Shouto said and smiled, looking back most of the class realized that it was the first genuine smile they'd ever seen Shouto have. "I think I will attempt to emancipate myself, thank you everyone. However if I am to live with someone, it has to be someone that can handle my father's wrath."
"My family has been dealing with Endeavor for years, you have to if you get above top ten. They won't mind helping you." Iiida stated. "In fact it would be their duty to help you, no one is a fit hero, if they let child abusers continue to abuse children."
"I'm not a child."
"Legally we are all still children and will remain children, until our eighteenth birthday Shouto. We may have experienced more than other children our age, but that does not mean that we can yet be considered adults. It is a trying time, but Grandfather says to enjoy life to the fullest, particularly these formative years." Iida said and smiled at Shouto. "Now we should go and get someone, I would hate to fall behind in English class, missing even one day would be detrimental to our education."
"Man Iida, if anyone needs to chill out its you. Would it truly be such a bad thing, if we just skipped English today and we all took a break?" Eijiro asked.
"You should not have such a lackadaisical approach towards your studies, while free time is important we must embrace the opportunity we have been given to the fullest."
"Man you always sound like a robot, or a dictionary, its super manly but also fucking annoying." Eijiro said and everyone laughed, including Iida.
"I am sorry I picked up my manner of speech from my family, my Grandfather assures me that it is calming to know that someone knows what they are doing in any given situation. Are you intimidated by my intelligence however? If that is the case I could attempt to tone down my manner of speech to be more in line with your level of intelligence." Iida said.
"Oh smack, was that a burn? Did you just burn Eijiro?" Denki asked and everyone laughed, as Denki held up his fist to a puzzled Iida. "Don't you know what a fist bump is man?" He asked and Iida laughed, before bumping fists with Denki. "Right on man, now lets go get a teacher, I think your right, they should know about Hizashi at least, someone should check him out and make sure he's okay."
"Its just exhaustion, its common enough." Iida said with a smile. "I am glad that you have seen the merit to my plan to inform one of our teachers."
"My quirk might make me a moron if I overuse it, but that doesn't mean I'm one usually. Just to get into 1A you have to have great grades, if I was a moron I wouldn't be in class with you." Denki stated.
"I wasn't stating that I thought you to be stupid, however I am of genius level intelligence as are all my family. We attempt to make our words easier to understand for those who are less intelligent than we are. That is in fact, most of the population, my IQ is 244 so you do not need to feel bad about being less intelligent than I am. Most people in the world are less intelligent than I am, it does not bother me to attempt to speak in terms that you might better understand. To that end I choose words that most people would know, instead of the more obscure words that my family is fond of. I speak differently around my family, then I do at school and I will most likely speak differently when I become a hero. It is important to relate to others, while maintaining ones personal identity." Iida said and smiled. "I would enjoy playing a game of hero trivia with you Midoria." He said. "Trivia games are taken very seriously by my family, though fun, we get more into it then is strictly healthy."
"I'd like that Iida, no one has thought my knowledge of heroes was an asset before, I was teased in elementary and middle school for liking heroes too much." Midoria said.
"Primary education was not easy for me either, it rarely is for people who are intelligent. Others are intimidated by that intelligence, though I do not know why. Everyone has their own talents, even Katsuki."
"What you say, you want to go glasses?" Katsuki said and Iida smiled.
"He does not back down from a fight and he is never afraid to engage in battle, even though he might be outmatched." Iida stated.
"It is on!" Katsuki said and Iida held up a hand.
"We are not to participate in unregulated matches, we may however ask a teacher for permission to have a match, or fight to settle an disagreement. While I would not be averse to fighting you, it must be in the appropriate setting. I refuse to dishonor this institution by breaking rules without a good reason to do so." Iida stated.
"Wait so we can fight each other, as long as a teacher gives permission?" Midoria asked.
"Of course, this is a hero school, is it not? Should we not be attempting to be the very best heroes that we can be?" Iida asked with a smile. "Therefore such matches while not encouraged, are allowed, as is sparing with your peers. I would like to spar with you at some point Shouto, if you would be amenable to it."
"Sure what fighting styles do you prefer, I was taught several martial arts and I have a black belt in Krav Maga, jujitsu and Kung Fu."
"Ah the most dangerous ones are not always the most useful, I was taught ninjitsu, aikido and jujitsu, with an emphasis on rendering my opponent unconscious. I would not might fighting you in a match with rules in accordance with the mixed martial arts style of competitive sport."
"I would enjoy that, but I definitely agree that a teacher should be present. Aikido is the one with the bamboo sticks, isn't it?"
"It is, though there are also body movements, mostly to get back to your feet quickly and to drop your opponent to the ground." Iida replied and Shouto nodded.
"Engeron is fond of using staffs, isn't he?"
"Indeed my second oldest brother's favorite form of fighting is with staffs, he is also proficient in the other forms, but he prefers to work with a staff." Iida stated and Shouto smiled.
"That's cool, I always thought it was cool the way he doesn't rely so much on his quirk, in his fighting style." Shouto said. "I think a lot of heroes are too dependent upon their quirks, just as villains are. That's why someone like Aizawa is so dangerous, if he can surprise you with stealth methods it would be hard to mount a defense against him. The only way to win against him is to attack before he can use his quirk, or have better offensive skills than he does. Which is nearly impossible considering the skill he has with his capture weapon." Shouto said and several of the other students nodded. "We should start walking." He added and they started walking together.
"What about Midnight, I lost so quickly to her." Sero said and sighed.
"Yes but you defended your team mate which was admirable." Shouto said. "You might have lasted longer if it wasn't for Mineta panicking, hopefully he will eventually see that he is not suited for hero work."
"I can be a hero!"
"Your a coward Mineta, all you would ever do is interfere with other heroes doing their jobs. Some cowards grow past their fear, others don't. You are also a pervert and in my opinion should have already left this institution. I'm surprised that the teachers haven't kicked you out yet, but I suppose that they think that you might be worthy of redemption. However you will need to be at least less open about your desire for the fairer sex and you will need to find your courage, otherwise I doubt that you will last past next year, if not this one." Iida stated and Mineta stared at him in shock.
"Wow Iida way to tell a guy how you really feel." Eijiro said. "Mineta might be a creep, but at least he's our creep."
"That isn't good enough." Mashirao stated quietly. "He needs to move beyond his natural inclinations if he wishes to be a hero, as for me I know that I am shy and that too can be detrimental to hero work. I also sometimes inaccurately assess my own abilities, I am working towards overcoming these failings but it takes time."
Kouda looked towards Mashirao and started signing. "Kouda says that he can't even talk otherwise his quirk will activate, he too is working on it after class, in a sound canceling room on campus. Hizashi has been most helpful in helping him to find his voice." Mashirao said and everyone stared at him.
"Dude you know sign language?"
"Of course, such languages are very useful in communicating when stealth is important, as well as communicating with deaf or selectively mute citizens and villains. Koji can control any animal including humans as well as being to understand all animals, he doesn't wish to inadvertently command someone to do something without meaning to. Together we have been working on him understanding how to communicate with others. He has to learn how to communicate without making anything even seems like a command, which can be difficult. In addition to which, he was not well treated in middle school and that has lead to him being very shy. I saw that he was like me, in that he was reluctant to speak around others and decided that I wanted to become friends with him. Mostly we play video games or read manga at each other's houses, his parents are very nice as well, though they are only slightly more outgoing than he is." Mashirao said and smiled at Koji. "He is a very nice person once you get to know him. Though you were incorrect with your original assessment its not just Mineta who is at risk from being dropped from our class. Every one of us has something they could be working on. Katsuki is too reactionary, nearly a third of the class is either shy or simply naturally inclined towards silence. Denki, Aoyama and Ochaco need to work on improving the amount of time they can use their quirks for and their reactions to their backlash. About a third of the class is too reactionary and two members struggle to master their quirks. Other than that many have personality flaws that could be improved upon."
"Its always the silent ones." Eijiro joked breaking the somber mood. "Well I know I should be more serious I suppose, but to me in this line of work serious shit could go down at any moment and I might as well shoot the shit and enjoy myself in the meantime. Otherwise it's hard to hold your shit together, when everything goes pear shaped. Laughter is the best medicine regardless of if your in a shitty situation or not and I don't care if people are laughing at me or with me, as long as we're all having fun. You can't take yourself too seriously man, or else your gonna give yourself an ulcer or wind up like Aizawa who seems to have a permeate stick up his ass." He added and everyone laughed except for Iida.
"Eijiro, that comment was inappropriate and disrespectful to our teacher."
"Your one of the ones that needs to get that sticks out of your ass. Doesn't mean you aren't a good person, but seriously man that can't be healthy."
"I shall attempt to have a more laid back attitude towards life, though I cannot do such with my hero work or studies."
"Shit no man, you gotta take that shit seriously, doing otherwise isn't manly man." Eijiro said and several people laughed.
"What's your obsession with being manly about anyway?" Midoria asked suddenly. "While we're asking each other questions and being brutally honest to one another, I'd like to know that."
"To me being manly is being the best you can be, when I say something is manly I mean that I respect it. I know that there are many ways of being manly and the way that I am manly is not the way that someone else would be manly. It is manly to respect your teachers and your elders, as well as your fellow classmates. It's manly to be honest and kind. It's manly to respect the bodies of others and control your desires. It's also the straightforward things, like strength of will, strength of character and so on. I also happen to think being honest about your feelings is manly, though others would disagree." Eijiro said.
"That makes sense, you use it a lot and I was curious." Midoria said and Eijiro nodded.
"You are very interested in us, and in our capabilities, though helpful it can be unnerving at times." Iida admitted.
"Oh sorry I don't mean to freak anyone out, it's just that I'm really into this sort of stuff. I've been analyzing heroes and villains since I was young and I've always been sort of perceptive about others. I know it can intimidate some people, but I can't help it really." Midoria admitted and shrugged. "To me, analyzing those around me is about as natural as breathing now."
"It could be a secondary quirk then, secondary quirks are rare but not unheard of. As are the more subtitle quirks, I didn't understand how to use mine right for the longest time." Mezo said and smiled. "It was hard not to instinctively change forms or add limbs as a child. It took me a long time to realize how to get rid of a limb when it was no longer needed. I had to spend several years in bed, before I gained control of my quirk."
"I still struggle with control, Dark Shadow has a tendency to want to fight against my wishes, it feels somewhat separate from me and yet a part of me and sometimes I'm uncertain as to whether or not it has its own personality. I do try to understand it better, but it has at least some intelligence that I know for certain. Perhaps once I better understand myself, I will better understand Dark Shadow as well." Fumikage said and smiled at his classmates. "We should all work hard together and become the best heroes we can be."
"Plus Ultra." The class said together and then burst out laughing.
"Why aren't you in class?" An irritable and sleepy looking Aizawa demanded emerging from the teacher's lounge.
"Hizashi is asleep and I explained to the class that we shouldn't wake him and that we should go seek out one of our teachers. I think that it is simply exhaustion brought on by his fight against that bank robber, however I thought it better to go to a teacher."
"You were right to do that." Aizawa said and yawned. "Well if he's falling asleep while he's grading he must be tired, unfortunately I'm the only one that is free and I have never been very good at languages." He said and shrugged. "Do you think that you would be capable of independent study?"
"I understand the material for today's lesson but I have never attempted to teach such things to others before, I would not wish to confuse them." Iida said and Aizawa smiled.
"Alright then, well you've all been training hard, why don't you just take the rest of the day off?" He asked and the students nodded.
"Could I speak with you Aizawa?" Shouto asked and Aizawa nodded, as his other classmates left. "I am going to report my father for child abuse and become emancipated." He said and Aizawa's eyes widened a moment, before he nodded again. "He beats me when he is upset with me and the beatings have only gotten more intense since I started training formally to become a hero. I need to leave his house and I wish to do so tonight. I know it is an imposition, but might I stay with you?"
"Of course, we have a guest bedroom that you could use as long as you need it, I don't mind providing food for you, though neither I or my partner are particularly good cooks. We never had the time to learn how to cook properly, we've always been so busy."
"I wouldn't mind making you dinner in exchange, though I would not feel comfortable taking charity, I would need to pay you back for your aid."
"Your not being an imposition, its alright, neither my partner or I had the best home life and we promised ourselves and each other that if a student ever came forward, we'd do whatever we could for them." Aizawa said. "That being said I understand why you would feel that way, so I'll agree to allow you to pay me back, once you can work as a hero. However I don't want you to try to get another job while your studying to be a hero. You have a strong work ethic and you should be able to, but like Hizashi you'll most likely stretch yourself too thin ultimately. Hizashi and I both keep odd hours, we'd need you to be quiet after school and until around ten or so, usually Hizashi and I sleep then, before going out on patrol."
"Oh I didn't realize you were together."
"We don't broadcast it, is that a problem?"
"No I have no problem with that, it will be nice to be around people that love each other for once. I didn't really get any experience with healthy relationships at home."
"Alright then, lets go wake sleeping beauty and we can all get out of here." Aizawa said and Shouto nodded, they walked back to the classroom together, where Aizawa slowly wrapped Hizashi head to foot in his capture tape, before shaking his shoulder gently. Hazashi tried to scream, as he struggled against the tape for a moment, before he saw Aizawa and Shouto and blushed. "You need to take better care of yourself, your students were concerned. We're taking Shouto home with us tonight, he'll be staying with us for a while."
"Okay, I didn't realize how tired I was." Hazashi admitted.
"Its important to know your limits." Aizawa chided gently removing the capture tape. "Did you eat lunch?"
"No I had a lot of grading to do, I meant to eat, but I must have fallen asleep. What time is it?"
"Its just after two." Aizawa said. "Come on now, you big lug, let's go home, I'm sure the students will appreciate it if you stop drooling on their papers." He added and Hizashi laughed.
"Alright, alright, let me just pack up and we can leave." He said and yawned, stretching slightly. He then gathered up his paperwork and put it into a suitcase.
"Don't feel bad, some people don't know when to quit, I'm like that, my father trained me to be like that." Shouto said and his teachers stared at him. "If I didn't train until I passed out, he'd beat me for it, so I've gotten in the habit of working way too hard. Is it something similar with you, or is it that your naturally like that, like he is."
"I've always had to work hard, first to help my parents and little sister, then later it became habit. Usually I'm better at knowing when I have to stop, before well this sort of thing happens."
"You need reminding most of the time Yamada."
"True though we can't all be like you, my kitten." Yamada teased Shouta gently.
"Well come on then bird boy, I'm hungry! I want soba noodles." Shouta said and Yamada laughed.
"You always want soba noodles, yet you can't be bothered to go to the cafeteria for them."
"Its not worth the bother of dealing with the students outside of class, in the cafeteria they are his responsibility and not my headache." Shouta said and Yamada laughed.
"Oh come on now, you love our kids just as much as I do." Yamada said. "Admit it, you just don't like people seeing you for the softy that you are, if we're going to be roomies you can't hide from Shouto at least." He added with a grin.
"Humph."
"He's like a cat, he acts all aloof and indifferent one moment, but if you scratch him just right he'll purr wonderfully." Yamada said and both Shouto and Shouta blushed.
"Yamada!" Shouta protested. "That's inappropriate."
"But true, that's why you like cats so much, they remind you of yourself."
"I suppose that's why we get to listen to Music and Rhythm's squawking."
"Hey don't knock my fine feathered friends. They are the very best listeners." Yamada said and Shouta smiled.
"If you don't tease me for liking cats, I won't tease you for liking birds."
"I love Ezio and Desmond, I wouldn't let them sleep with us, if I didn't." Yamada said and sighed. "I'm sorry about my snoring, I usually remember to turn my amplifier to silent when I'm sleeping."
"Is never taking that thing off uncomfortable?" Shouto asked and Yamada laughed.
"I have several different ones, even Shouta wears clean clothes at least, though I wish he'd wear more color and more than just the same thing day in and day out."
"You are colorful enough for both of us, now come on, I'm tired and hungry."
"Alright, I think I'm done here." Yamada said and looked around his classroom and he nodded. "Yeah I'm not forgetting anything I don't think, come on, soba noodles await us."
"I had a big lunch, I'm not that hungry." Shouto said and both teachers looked towards one another a moment.
"Well then if you don't eat your bowl I'll have it, I can eat a lot of soba!" Yamada said and Shouta laughed.
"Careful, you wouldn't want to eat too much and wind up passing out at the restaurant."
"That was one time Shouta! One time! And you never let me forget it." Yamada said.
"He got noodles in his hair and green onions, I had to help pick them out." Shouta said laughing at the memory.
"If you're tired, wouldn't it be better to get an order to go than to eat at the restaurant?"
"The place we like to go to, doesn't like to do to go orders." Shouta said. "They will if we really need it, but we don't like to impose on them. They gave me my first job when I was in high school and Yamada was working there, it was a surprise for both of us when I started. They employ several of the students and they have several private booths set aside for students and faculty of UA. After all most of their customers come from the school, not everyone enjoys Lunch Rush's distinctive style."
"You mean his obsession with making everything as nutritious as possible, it's a good thing he's a good cook. Though Shouta is so picky that he refuses to eat in the cafeteria." Yamada teased gently. "You can call us by our first names, outside of class if you want."
"Alright Yamada." Shouto said. "Maybe if you could tell me what you do like, I could make you dinner sometime."
"I'd like that, though you won't see us in the mornings, till you get to school. We both work at night, I usually head out for the radio station around one and stop my show around four in the morning, afterward I crash for a couple of hours, then wake up around six or so, we have to be to school earlier than the students to get set up. I know how teenagers like to sleep in."
"It wouldn't be a problem to make you breakfast before going over to the school's gym, I'm used to waking up at 5:30 and I doubt I could easily change my sleep schedule, I hear its pretty hard to do and if I'm going to try something like that, it will be during summer. I don't mind being quiet, I can always go to my friend's house or something during the afternoons and evenings. I usually go to bed around midnight or so."
"That can't be healthy, you need more sleep than that Shouto." Shouta chides gently.
"If we're doing this, you aren't going to treat me like a child, I'm not a child even though I might be one legally until my emancipation goes through."
"I'm not treating you like a child, I'm treating you like my student. I'd say the same to anyone, you should try to sleep for at least seven hours a night, particularly considering the endurance and stamina hero work requires. If you don't get enough sleep you can make mistakes, mistakes that can lead to you getting injured or worse."
"I'll try to know my limits if you do, I feel awkward asking, but could you maybe give me some money for grocery shopping? Oh and tell me what foods you don't like."
"If you feel you need to cook for us, in order to pay us back for letting you stay with us, I want to assure you that you don't need to do so."
"I like cooking anyway and I cook a lot, I'm used to cooking and I enjoy making new recipes." Shouto said and smiled. "The saying that those with food and fire related quirks are better in the kitchen is true in my case at least. I have a pretty good understanding of the food I'm cooking."
"Well if you're certain."
"I am, I wouldn't feel right taking advantage of your hospitality and not doing anything in return, I need to do this."
"Alright then, if you need to do it, feel free, but nothing too elaborate."
"I can do that, do you like curry?"
"I like Japanese curry, as long as it isn't spicy, I can't stand spicy curry, but savory is okay. Just don't put any egg in it, or carrots, or mushrooms, or bell peppers."
"Then just potatoes and the sauce then, I can do that." Shouto said with a smile. "So what do you like to do, outside of work?"
"I love listening to music and playing guitar. Other than that I like action movies, neither one of us gets out all that often we prefer to do stuff at home. Shouta is a bit of a book worm, though his favorite thing to do is sleep."
"Mainly because I never get enough of it, after all criminals never have the decency of keeping decent hours." Shouta grumbled.
"He also likes to complain a lot and he's always been a bit like an old man."
"Am not!" Shouta said and to Shouto's surprise stuck his tongue out at Yamada who laughed. "See I can be childish, I'm just not childish all the time like some people."
"The rooms throughout the house all have pretty good sound proofing, so you shouldn't worry too much about waking us, though we like to keep our door open, for our cats, so please be quiet in the common areas."
"I can do that."
"There's a TV in your room that you can use if you like and a gaming system as well, Yamada insisted that our guests should be able to play and I quote 'his awesome collection'."
"You play video games?" Shouto asked surprised.
"Well yes, I like all kinds of games, but my favorites are cooperative ones, particularly the old school ones and I also enjoy classic Nintendo games."
"He actually cosplayed as Princess Peach when we went to Hero con last year, I was Bayonetta. We always dress up as female characters because people don't recognize us as easily."
"Do you get makeup?" Shouto asked uncomfortably. "My sister doesn't really do makeup."
"Midnight would be more then one to ask about makeup."
"I wouldn't feel comfortable approaching her, not like I do with you." Shouto admitted. "She's always sort of freaked me out."
"She's intense, but she's a good person, she just feels that sex shouldn't be a big secret like most people make it out to be." Yamada said and shrugged. "She actually tones it down a bit around the students and she is a dominatrix and alpha bitch as she puts it. We're good friends so she might be hanging out around the house on weekends sometimes."
"I don't have a problem with her, maybe it's just that I don't like very strong personalities, I can't help but be reminded of my father." Shouto said.
"Understandable, she takes some getting used to, don't worry we don't do orgies or anything."
"Yamada!" Shouta protested.
"What he should know, we just get together and play video games." Yamada said and smiled at Shouto. "You can join us anytime you like."
"Thanks, though I would prefer to be able to use the gym on Saturdays and Sundays if I could be given permission."
"Your body actually needs you to not work out every day, it's a common mistake a lot of people make. Its better to take at least a couple days off a week to recover from working out and training, otherwise you will be more likely to injure yourself." Shouta said. "Heroes have a lot of different approaches towards this, but both I and Yamada don't work weekends, if we can possibly avoid it. We're busy enough during the weekdays and on Friday nights, that we decided long ago to take some time off on the weekend."
"Alright, maybe I will join you then, I haven't really played video games all that often, been too busy with other things." Shouto said.
"Oh we will definitely teach you the joys of the joystick, the control of the controller, the moves of the mouse." Yamada said.
"Yamada is a not so closeted geek."
"Your just jealous cause I'm so fabulous darling." Yamada said and Shouta laughed.
"A fabulous fashion disaster, that jacket is so last season!" Shouta said and Yamada doubled over laughing. "We like to make fun of the stereotypes about gay men, Yamada fits the stereotype much better than I do, but I always say that gay, straight in between, it doesn't matter and it doesn't matter what's in your pants or your perception of what's in your pants, your a person and an individual. If more people understood that, the world would be a better place. Despite having people who look different than most of the population and all manner of mutated humans, people still find ways of discriminating sometimes and being nasty. We're both open about our sexuality, but not about our relationship, because that would endanger us both, we mostly pretend to be good friends in public and drop the act in private. If you aren't comfortable with us kissing or snuggling in the common areas say something."
"I don't mind it if your snuggling or whatever, though I might be a bit uncomfortable with you kissing, I don't really know how to handle public displays of affection. My Father isn't the demonstrative sort and he saw such actions as weakness." He said and a moment later he was enveloped in a hug, it felt warm and curiously safe to him, he liked it, he liked it so much he started crying. They simply held him as he cried and got snot all over Shouta's capture tape. "I'm sa sorry, I'm sa sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Shouta looked furious and Yamada looked like he was holding back tears of his own. "You won't ever be judged for showing emotion around us, we're both emotional people." He added. "Neither one of us has ever seen the point in hiding our feelings."
"Though he's mostly grumpy and I'm mostly enthusiastic I enjoy everything in life."
"The misanthrope and a man that embodies joy de vivre, how did we get together?" Shouta teased.
"I won you over with my personality and amazing sex." Yamada said and both Shouta and Shouto blushed.
"Yamada!" Shouta said. "I thought we agreed to not discuss our sex life in front of the students."
"He already knows about us and its not like they don't discuss their sex lives in front of us." Yamada shuddered. "I did not need to know why Asui was capable of with her tongue, thanks all the same Jiro." Both Shouta and Shouto laughed.
"Well Momo has always been like that, open and honest about everything, she's my best friend." Shouto said with laugh. "Though I didn't need to know so much about her sex life, or in such detail. I think she was trying to drive Mineta off and it seemed to work, because he's stopped touching her at least."
"He touched her?" Yamada asked.
"Yeah Mineta can get a bit too hands with the girls, it makes us all uncomfortable, you mean you haven't noticed?"
"We mainly focus on training you, while you're training, he must be doing it when we're not around which is even more troubling. I thought he made a few too many sexual comments but I had no idea he was actually touching female students."
"And trying to look at them while they are changing, we've had words with him about it multiple times. Maybe what was said today will get through to him." Shouto said and shrugged. "Its not my responsibility to babysit a pervert and ensure he's not injured by the female members of our class. Enough of the guys make sure he respects boundaries and I have no desire to get involved with someone like him. I don't like those sorts of people at all and I don't think they should become heroes."
"I agree with you, very firmly, what has been going on is not okay. The further this year progresses, the more I feel that I should have kicked him out in the first week. He's also a coward, which a hero can't be." Shouta stated.
"Everyone was surprised that he was still around, but maybe what was said today got through to him. It did to me, it made me realize that protecting my father and my name wasn't worth the abuse and harsh punishments my father hands out. Hopefully the others made realizations about the heroes they want to become and what they need to do to get there."
"What did you talk about?" Yamada asked and Shouto blushed.
"Knowing your limits, as well as your weaknesses, we didn't talk about each other's strengths though, I think that the conversation was draining enough for everyone. I just sort of thought that every hero family was like mine, but I started to suspect that my dad was actually abusive to me, since I started at UA and hearing Momo and Iida talk about their families made me realize that my Dad is the abusive asshole I thought he might be."
"Beating your children isn't normal, whatever other people say and he was way too hard on you while you were training. The training we do in school should be enough to keep your progress steady, without risking injury." Shouta said. "Did you ever wonder why, he was so aliment that you not tell anyone? Its because any true hero worthy of that name, would put a stop to it. Endeavor might have great hair and fire powers, but he relies too much on them, his looks alone are intimidating and although he knows martial arts, I've rarely seen him actually use them in a fight."
"He's an asshole, he's not worthy of our time, and we have better things to talk about than Endeavor." Yamada said. "I hear you like Blackhole's Eternity they just released a new album I bought a copy if you want to listen to it with me, when we get home."
"You got the new album? Momo and Kyoka haven't gotten it yet and it was sold out when Kyoka tried to get it." Shouta said.
"You three would like dark edgy nightmare fuel music, you shouldn't be listening to that sort of thing Hazashi, and you're exhausted. You can let Shouto borrow your CD if you like, but we're going to bed after we eat."
"Yes Sir. He's bossy with everyone, mainly when you don't take good care of yourself, particularly. He doesn't like it when people injure themselves unnecessarily, or work themselves to the point where they might." Yamada said. "I learned long ago to ignore him, except when it came to my health and personal safety, he nags but its never malicious in nature."
"I do not nag."
"But you do order everyone around you around, because you think you know what's best for them." Yamada said and Shouta glared at him, before hitting playfully at his hair. "Not the hair Shouta." He said and Shouta laughed.
"Then you shouldn't make it such an easy target." Shouta said and Yamada laughed.
"The cats love playing with my hair, it's a good thing that it's hard to wake me up, once I'm asleep." Yamada said and Shouta laughed.
"Keep your door closed at night, if you don't want them to come in and start eating your hair, we're used to it, but I can understand why someone would find it annoying." Shouta added.
"I wouldn't mind all that much, though do you have quirk bracers?" Shouto asked.
"You sleep with quirk bracers?" Shouta asked.
"Ever since my mother burnt my face, my powers will still work if I'm sleeping, unless I wear quirk bracers." Shouto said.
"I keep a lot of them for work, you can use some of my more comfortable ones."
"Thank you."
"Would you like to see a therapist, I understand if you don't want to talk to us."
"I trust you more than some stranger and maybe I do need to talk about it, but it will take time."
"That's okay we're always here for you, even when you graduate if you need us, you can call us any time. We're now close friends with several of our old students and you aren't the first we've helped like this. Though for obvious reasons, I won't tell you who they were."
"I can respect that and you for doing this for me and for them." Shouto said. "I knew the way I was raised was fucked up, but I don't think I'm ready for how fucked up it was, if you know what I mean."
"I get it, my Dad left when I was four and my Mom was an abusive alcoholic, who had trouble holding down a job. I started working as soon as I could, to avoid going home and my little sister and I both spent the night at our friends houses more often than at home. The Aizawas were wonderful people and gave me a home and some sense of normalcy, the nature of our relationship changed when I started living with them full time. Though they were surprised when they found out the nature of that relationship, they weren't ever anything but supportive of both me and Shouta."
"They were my foster parents though, before I was adopted by them I was in the foster system for five years and went through some foster parents that should have never been foster parents. I was labeled a problem child, mostly because of my quirk and it was the Aizawas that truly looked beyond that for the first time in my life. My seed donor of a dad and egg layer of a mom bailed on me, the week after I got my quirk. Now that we're done talking about our crappy childhoods, how about them noodles?" He asked suddenly as they made their way to ramen shop.
"Hello! Your booth is right this way Sirs."
"Thanks, Takaguri." Yamada said cheerfully as they made their way to a curtained off booth. They were given menus and water, Yamada promptly ordered Sake.
"Just don't get drunk, I'm not carrying your ass home again."
"You love my ass." Yamada said and Shouto coughed on his water. "Whoa there kid are you okay?" Yamada asked and patted Shouto on the back. "I'm sorry did I make you uncomfortable?"
"I am unused to people being so forward, I have experienced similar problems in the past with Momo." Shouto admitted and both men laughed.
"It can be a confusing time for anyone, especially those that are body shy, so tell me is there anyone in your class that you like?" Yamada asked and Shouto's face turned as red as his quirk, he hastily looked away.
"Such things are inappropriate, they are my classmates."
"Well classmates can be girlfriends, or boyfriends too." Yamada said.
"Yamada don't push." Shouta said. "Remember how I was at his age?"
"How could I forget?" Yamada said and laughed. "Man you were so awkward when you approached me with your feelings, I of course also had a massive crush on you."
"We were both so oblivious."
"I like Izuku and Ochaco." Shouto blurted out and blushed.
"Understandable, both are very kind people that can take care of themselves in a fight." Shouta said with a smile. "They are also not bad on the eyes, but that's true of most of your class."
"Yes but I don't see myself ever getting together with Iida, I could see myself with either of them."
"Why not both?" Yamada asked
"Both?"
"Ochaco likes Izuku and Izuku is completely oblivious to just about anything sexual, he prefers to talk about heroes and their capabilities all day, every day. That gets so tiring for me, particularly when I'm trying to teach, but to each their own. People never seem to realize that they can have more than one relationship at a time, with more than one person. Sometimes that works well, other times not so much. It's all about what you and they are comfortable with. The way I see it, is that one of two things happen, even you admit to them that you like them one or both of them wants to just be friends, or you don't say anything at all and never know what might have been if you had spoken up."
"I'll think about it." Shouto said and glanced down at the menu, opting for some simple soba. "Its just so hard to get the courage to tell them. Courage when I'm fighting is one thing, that's easy for me, but emotions not so much."
"I get it, it's difficult to share what you're feeling and difficult to express it sometimes, but once you do you'll be happier for it." Shouta said and smiled at Shouto. "I didn't know how to express my feelings or my moodiness at your age either, over time I have become accustomed to who I am as a person and sharing my emotions more with others. However it is never easy particularly with matters of the heart."
"Eijiro would call what you just said manly." Shouto said and both men laughed.
"I wish he'd stop saying that and so enthusiastically, it makes my eyes twitch." Shouta said and Yamada laughed.
"Shouta is uncomfortable with compliments, I make sure to give him as many as I can." Yamada said with a grin and Shouta's left eye twitched. "It makes him all flustered and it's adorable."
"Are you ready to order?" The waiter came back and asked, they ordered and Yamada drank more of the Sake, Shouta swiped the bottle after he had finished off half of it.
"Shouta!" Yamada whined.
"You can drink more at home, but first we have to get there." Shouta said, before knocking back a shot himself. "How you like this brand is beyond me, it burns so bad."
"It burns so good."
"Burns are never good, there's a reason I don't use my fire quirk." Shouto said paling.
"Sorry Shouto, here try a little." Shouta said and Shouto frowned.
"I'm not of age."
"I'm your teacher and I know I'm not supposed to say thing, but when I was your age I drank. A lot of heroes do actually, its when you can't live without it that you need to switch up your coping mechanisms for the bad things that can happen while your working as a hero. You can only take pain killers so often without them getting to be addictive, the same thing with alcohol and regular pain killers never work on the sorts of aches and pains heroes get." Shouta said and shrugged. "After a long day, we both like to drink sometimes."
"It wasn't your drinking I had a problem with, I sometimes react badly to certain words, or things." Shouto said.
"That's okay, so do I, porcelain dolls creep Shouta out. I don't like snakes, it's understandable that you would react badly to that word." Yamada said. "And why you want makeup, I actually think I can help you with that, I might not know much, but I know how to conceal bruises and scrapes so that scar shouldn't be too different. Most heroes do after all, a banged up face hardly inspires confidence and villains always go for the face. Most of the time they miss but sometimes they get lucky, no ones managed to knock me out for a while, but there's a reason heroes work in teams." Yamada said and Shouta smiled at him.
"Really you can cover it up?"
"I think so, though there would be the raised marks on your skin still."
"Its better then the full on scarring." Shouta said and both men nodded.
"I'll show you how to do it tomorrow then, I can't be trusted around make up right now, particularly close to your eye." Yamada said and Shouta laughed. Their food came and they ate and left the restaurant.
Shouto stared at the beautiful house he was lead to, there was a flower garden in the front yard and a rope swing on an old tree. Shouta opened the door to the house and lead him in. The inside was decorated in bright colors and had a lot of mismatched furniture. There didn't seem to be any reasoning behind the décor choices, to Shouto who had only ever been in carefully decorated and appropriate appointed houses before, it was overwhelming.
"There's so much color!" He said and both his teachers looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"My Father likes mainly black or red furniture and furnishings and the homes of the houses I visited were similarly appointed I much prefer this." Shouto said.
"This is how most people live, some have more order to it, but not everyone likes everything to be dark black, or red. I've never gotten why some heroes like to have their homes seem more like museums than houses, I've always thought that a home should be lived in and you should be surrounded by things you enjoy. Like this, have you ever heard a gramophone, I think the tones are deeper and more clear, not to mention that scratchy sound old records sometimes get, I love it." Yamada said and put on a record, he sang along with it.
"I can't stand to fly I'm not that naive I'm just out to find The better part of me I'm more than a bird...I'm more than a plane I'm more than some pretty face beside a train It's not easy to be me. I wish that I could cry Fall upon my knees Find a way to lie About a home I'll never see It may sound absurd...but don't be naive Even heroes have the right to bleed I may be disturbed...but won't you concede Even heroes have the right to dream And it's not easy to be me. Up, up and away...away from me Well it's all right...You can all sleep sound tonight I'm not crazy...or anything... I can't stand to fly I'm not that naive Men weren't meant to ride With clouds between their knees I'm only a man in a silly red sheet Digging for kryptonite on this one way street Only a man in a funny red sheet Looking for special things inside of me inside of me ... inside of me ...ya inside of me... inside..of me I'm only a man in a funny red sheet I'm only a man looking for a dream I'm only a man in a funny red sheet It's not easy ... wu.. hoo.. hoo.. It's not easy to be.. me..."
"Wow." Shouto said and Yamada smiled.
"That's my favorite song of all time, I've always liked music from a time before there was heroes. I play a lot of eighties music on my radio show, but songs like that are so powerful."
"Yeah what song is it."
"Superman by Five For Fighting, whenever I have a bad day I play this song and it helps keeps me level headed. Do you know about comic book heroes?"
"Not really."
"I have a bunch of classic superhero movies, they are really funny, you can watch some of them if you like, or any of the disks, just return them afterwards."
"Alright."
"If you want I could burn you a cod of super hero songs you could listen to."
"I'd love that thank you."
"This is another of my favorites, I'd like to think of it as our song, but Shouta disagrees."
"Its way to schmaltzy to be our song Yamada."
"No its not, its about the enduring power of love. Dance with me, my love."
"I can't you deny you anything." Shouta said and sighed. "Alright." He said and Yamada played another song, Shouto was surprised by how well his teachers could dance, but then again dancing and fighting were pretty similar. He knew Yamada was a good dancer, but Shouta was a surprise. As they danced they took singing each verse in turn.
I took a walk around the world to
Ease my troubled mind
I left my body lying somewhere
In the sands of time
I watched the world float to the dark
Side of the moon
I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah
I watched the world float to the
Dark side of the moon
After all I knew it had to be something
To do with you
I really don't mind what happens now and then
As long as you'll be my friend at the end
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
You called me strong, you called me weak
But still your secrets I will keep
You took for granted all the times I
Never let you down
You stumbled in and bumped your head, if
Not for me then you'd be dead
I picked you up and put you back
On solid ground
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
Oh whoa whoa
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite?" They finished and both smiled at each other, it was the most schmaltzy song he'd ever heard and the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He didn't know how to take people who really truly genuinely loved one another, not when his parents had been the way they had. He loved his siblings, but that was a different kind of love then the kind he'd seen in movies, he didn't know how to handle real people having these sorts of emotions.
"Shouto are you alright?" Yamada asked lying a hand on Shouto gently, before the boy started crying again. Yamada looked uncertain of how to handle the crying teen for a moment. "Listener its alright, can you tell me what's wrong?" He asked and Shouto shook his head, he was exhausted and everything seemed to be too much, all at once. It was so overwhelming and his life was about to change and these men had offered to give him shelter. He had asked, but it was because of his trust for his teacher that he was here in the first place. Not everyone would let a student share their home with them, or be so open about how they felt and who they were.
"I'll go put on some tea, that always helps me to calm my nerves. Its understandable your upset, change is hard sometimes." Yamada said. "Its worth it though, once you come out on the other side, you'll see that you were right to do what your doing. That you were right to get away from that situation." He added and was surprised when Shouto clutched at his robes, Shouto had always been the least demonstrative of his students.
"Da don't go, da don't leave me."
"Its alright Listener, I'll be right here, Shouta could you make us some tea?" Yamada asked with an easy smile. "Right here, now would you like to listen to some more music? I have a special cod player set up?" He asked and Shouto just cried. "Maybe we could watch something then, I like watching comedic detective shows and anime about music. There's this one I'm watching now called Forest of Piano, its old but very beautiful. It starts out with this man as a boy and tells a story about him and another child he met as a boy, its very moving. We can sit and cry together and watch a story about some talented people who try their best to play their piano." He said and then he turned on the TV putting on the anime. Shouto slowly unburied himself from Yamada's robes blushing at his outburst, he felt drained and upset still, but mostly embarrassed.
"Here, this is my favorite, not this again Yamada." Shouta said and Yamada grinned. "By the way money is on the counter if we fall asleep." He added and Shouto half listened to what he was saying.
"Yes this again, hush, it's getting to the good part."
"That teacher looks like Shouta." Shouto said with a laugh, as he took a sip of the tea, it was lavender and chamomile with a hint of honey in it. He watched the show with rapt attention, it was wonderful. However halfway through both his teachers started to snore and Shouto realized he'd been keeping them up. He left the show playing, not wanting to turn it off and disturb them. He suddenly felt even worse than he had before, he slowly got up from the couch and covered them both with a blanket that hung off another chair. He wasn't sure about Yamada but he knew that Shouta was likely to wake at a moment's notice, the man was constantly vigilant. He then remembered what Shouta had said and took the money and a small key, going out and using his phone to find the market. He then bought ingredients for curry, it wasn't too hard to make two separate pots, one for Shouta and one that he and Yamada would be eating, that was if the man wasn't as picky as his partner when it came to food. Shouto chuckled, just chicken and potato in curry would make for a very bland dish. Then again he supposed that it sort of held true to Shouta's personality in a way. He supposed he was the sort of person that would prefer bland food at times. He went back to the house, glad to find that they did have a rice maker and several large pots and pans. He was careful to be quiet, as he listened to the anime and piano music in the background as he cooked. He finished cooking, leaving both pots on the stove and covering them for easy cooking, before taking a bowl of the curry and some rice. He didn't make curry often, his father preferred that they have a high carb, low fat diet at all times. Still it was very good and comforting in a way he enjoyed. He also enjoyed the way it settled in his stomach and he felt content for the first time in a long time.
He finished eating, washed his bowl and dried it out, before putting it back in the cupboard. Like the furniture it seemed everything in this house was mismatched, there were bowls in a variety of different colors and cups with different sayings and graphics of cats on them.
"Meow." Two cats were staring expectantly at him, he frowned realizing he'd seen cat food when he'd rifled through the cupboards. He opened two cans and put several handfuls of kibble in the bowls, hoping it was enough. He'd never owned pets as a child and so he didn't really know how to care for them properly. The cats seemed pleased with their dinner and so he got out his schoolwork and started doing his math homework. However he didn't realize how tired he truly was and the feeling of safety he had found for the first time in his life wasn't helping matters. He forced himself to keep paying attention to his assignment, but it was hard, his head jerked up twice and the words blurred slightly. He shook his head and went back to the assignment, he needed to finish, if he didn't there would be hell to pay. He continued working trying to shake off the lethargy, but he failed. Soon he was bent over his desk snoring as well.
Shouta came awake his senses screaming at him that there was danger. He bolted upright and stared at the ice that filled his house and the boy moaning in his sleep, that it was so quiet despite Shouto's nightmare and his turning their home into an ice palace didn't state anything good about the boy's upbringing. Usually with such nightmares most people did more than simply moan. He'd had a few himself and both Yamada and he woke up screaming, if they didn't wake the other up first. He crossed the room quickly careful of the icy ground and woke the boy quickly. He'd let him sleep if Shouto hadn't incased himself and the rest of the room in ice. He heard meowing from the kitchen as well and cursed, he hoped the cats were alright, luckily the cockatiels were kept in their bedroom. The boy came up trying to swing his arms, but the ice prevented that, he stared wide-eyed at the room around him. "Your alright, it was just a bad dream, can you melt the ice?" Shouta asked him as the boy shivered and nodded. Slowly the ice melted out from him, a look of intense concentration on Shouto's face, as he finished removing the ice from the room. Shouta was surprised at the boy's control it was obvious that he'd been practicing.
"I should have left bracers on the table, if you get tired you should rest. We won't punish you for getting the sleep you body needs."
"I'm sa sorry, I'm sa sorry." Shouto started crying again. "Ya you are sa so nice and ah I, ah I."
"Shush you, its alright it was an accident, you were asleep. We're just lucky that Yamada didn't have a nightmare as well. Nothing in this house can't be replaced, you learn to buy things cheaply when your husband has a habit of breaking them with his quirk." Shouto said and Shouto laughed somewhat hysterically wiping at his eyes, before the laughter returned to sobs. "Its alright, its not healthy to hold in your emotions, do you need me to stay here?" Shouto asked looking at the clock and seeing it was nearly ten thirty.
"Na no, I'll be okay." Shouto said. "I'm not a baby."
"You don't have to be a baby to show your feelings, its good to do so, not bad. It took both Yamada and I a while to show how we felt, after leaving the bad situations we were in. It's perfectly natural, I cried when I got adopted and Yamada cried when our parents let him live with us. You are processing the fact that you are in the process of getting away from your abuser, its only natural for your body and mind to be in turmoil." He said gently and Shouto nodded continuing to cry.
"I ruined my ma math homework and ah I iced over half your home, wha why are you sa so nice?" Shouto asked.
"Most decent people are nice, as for your math homework, I can talk to Ectoplasm tomorrow, you shouldn't be trying to do school work right now. I don't think you should be alone either, unless that's what you want."
"Ah I da don't wa want ta to be a ba burden." Shouto sobbed. "Ya you aren't ma my pa parents an and ya you ha have a job you need to get to."
"Someone can take over for me, sometimes being a hero is knowing when someone needs you the most." Shouta said gently. "Right now you need me and this big lug, your having a nervous break down Shouto, do you know what that is?" He asked and Shouto shook his head curling into himself. "Your body is responding to the stress it's been under, now that stress has stopped, your feeling what you went through. You shouldn't be trying to do homework assignments or make food now, you should just be processing your feelings, its not healthy otherwise. You could have a panic attack, already I've felt your powers fight my eraser ability several times. You aren't in control of yourself and you aren't thinking rationally, that's okay, you just need to breathe and calm yourself. Deep breath in and out, in and out." He said gently, patting Shouto awkwardly on the shoulder. "Yamada would handle this better than me, can you hold yourself together long enough for me to wake him?" Shouta asked.
Everything seemed so out of control, his emotions were in turmoil and that determination that he always felt was missing somehow. He didn't know what was going on with him and that freaked him out, then he got freaked out about freaking out. Shouta used his capture tape at once. "Cover your ears, I can't cancel out yours and Yamada's quirk at the same time." He said and Shouto did as he commanded, covering his ears and rocking back and forth, it was too much, it was all too much. Shouta's capture tape jerked the couch forcefully and Yamada tumbled off it and to the ground. Surprisingly he didn't scream, but woke with a snort flailing about. "A little help here Yamada, I don't do warm and cuddly as well as you do."
"What's it?" Yamada asked popping up and staring at Shouta and Shouto in shock for a moment, before he noticed the boy's mental state, the blown pupils, the way he was rocking back and forth, the crying sobs. All were achingly familiar, he stared at the boy a moment, before he called the radio station and scheduled to have his broadcast be from home that night, hopefully the boy would calm down enough by then, or be asleep. Still he needed to inform them that he might have to cancel entirely, they were understanding, considering how hard Yamada worked at everything and how much of a draw he was to the station. He strode over and wrapped his arms around Shouto, the boy stiffened as Yamada drew him close. "What you are experiencing is normal, I've had to knock people unconscious in the past that suffered nervous break downs, as hard as it is, its better to get your emotions out all at once. You'll feel off for the next several days, that's alright, its alright to feel the way your feeling. If you need to take off of school or go to recovery girl's exam room that's alright too. What you are going through isn't weakness, its strength. Your so much stronger than other people Shouto, what you've been through and the person you are clearly show that. I don't know what happened between you and your father, but from what details you have told me, I know it was nothing good. To go through that and still have goodness in you is remarkable, you didn't let it bring you down, you didn't let it make you small, or let it harden your heart. You try to hide it, but I see you have a good heart, a heart that still is capable of love and emotion.
Shouto continued to cry, but he uncurled from his ball, flinging himself at Yamada who caught him, pulling the boy into his arms and carrying him over to the nearest bedroom. "Its alright Listener, your safe, feel the warmth of the blankets and my body?" He asked and Shouto nodded clutching onto him, as Shouta followed him into the room.
"Can you manage not to release your quirk?" Shouta asked and Shouto shook his head.
"Bracers." He said managing to say the one word sentence was a challenge, for him as his entire body shook. Shouta got out a set of bracers, not breaking eye contact for a moment, before he clasped them snugly around the boy's wrist, blinking his eyes several times as the boy continued to shake in and tremble and cry in Yamada's arms. Yamada stroked his hair gently, with one free hand.
"Your okay, Shouto, everything is going to be okay." He repeated over and over again, until the shaking stopped and Shouto started snoring instead. "I think he exhausted himself."
"Yes, what did that bastard do to him."
"I don't know, but I wish I could make him pay for it."
"Shouto doesn't want that, I think that's why he wants to be emancipated and why he feels he has a strong case for it."
"I know I should get going, its nearly time for my radio show, do you think you can stay with him?"
"Of course." Shouta said and Yamada nodded. He left for his recording studio and got in contact with his radio station, he preferred to do the shows at the radio station.
"Good Morning Listeners, Its now O'clock and that means its time for my show to begin. Today was a hard day for me, I stretched myself too thin and one of my classes had to wake me up, when I fell asleep grading papers again. Its important to remember to know your limits listeners and know when you are pushing yourself too thin. I'll now play Titanium, this is for all you out there struggling with the challenges that life sometimes throws our way. Its a classic by David Guetta and was released in the year 2011. I feel like music from a time before heroes captures the human spirit more, than the times we now live in. Not that there aren't some great artists now, but people were more honest back then, when you have the head of a shark, or the body of a cat, its hard sometimes to see yourself as human, but you are just as human as the rest of us. Its important to remember that we're all human, despite our abilities and we all have struggles. That doesn't mean I'll let anyone hurt my Listeners, but even villains have feelings. You need to care about others and keep close ties, that more than anything else makes you human Listeners. I don't care what you look like, never doubt your humanity, now here's Titanium by David Guetta." He said and the radio played the song, he smiled as the red light went off and he simply listened to the song.
After the song ended he started speaking again. "I had a bad day today, one of my students came forward about being abused, you should always tell someone if you think something someone is doing to you isn't right. Abuse is not okay and if your being hit or beaten, or made to do things you don't want to do and harshly punished for them, if you don't then its abuse. This is Because of You by Kelly Clarkson, if you find yourself identifying with this song, there are numbers you can call to get the help you need. Its important to get that help and move forward with your life, allowing your abuser to continue to abuse you isn't the answer. If you suspect something is happening to someone you know, you shouldn't remain silent, even if they ask you to. Its never alright to remain silent in the face of someone abusing another person, even if its bullying or school yard pranks as some people call it, you should never let something stand if you think its wrong. Again this is Because of You by Kelly Clarkson." He saw the red light go off as the song played in his studio
"Now this next one is for those that escape their abusers and heal and become stronger than those that hurt them. Some heroes have been abused in the past, just because your a hero, because your quirk is strong, doesn't mean that you weren't ever abused. This is Warrior by Demi Lovato. Being a hero doesn't mean that that you never felt any pain, I was abused as a child and its made me into the man I am today. My little sister and I were the kids you hear about, that were afraid to go home, that stayed with different families over the course of our childhood. I met my husband when I was in high school and we've been together ever since. His family was the first to show me what love truly was." He said and saw Shouta standing at the door, which nodded towards his partner. "His biological scumbag parents took one look at his quirk and decided that it wasn't worth the hassle of raising him. He got adopted when he was seven and his new parents are loving and wonderful people, we still see them sometimes on the weekends but childhood trauma lasts a lifetime. This is Warrior by Demi Lovato." He said and looks towards Shouta who smiles back at him, as he walks into the room.
"I don't think he's going to wake up until morning, he's sleeping soundly." Shouta said and Yamada nodded.
"Do you need a hug?" Yamada asked.
"Definitely." Shouta said and Yamada smiled, wrapping his arms around Shouta as Shouta sits in his chair with him. The song ends and Yamada takes a deep breath.
"If you see abuse, particularly if your in a position of power, you need to do all you can to make sure that the person that is being abused gets out of that situation. If you suspect something, its important to be certain before doing something, but its also important to make sure that person is safe. This next song is Concrete Angel by Martina McBride and it reminds me that I wouldn't be a hero, if I don't report the abuse I see. In it no one realizes what is happening to a little girl, until its too late and her abusers wind up killing her. I know this show might be to heavy for some people and for that I apologize, but I need to say this and it needs to be said. I'm human too after all, even though some don't see us this way, we're just as mortal as you. Once again this is Concrete Angel by Martina McBride." He said and played the song, this wasn't how his shows usually went, but he didn't feel upbeat or happy for once, he couldn't find it in himself to be enthusiastic after what had happened.
"Its important to remember that people are people, regardless if they are heroes, villains or civilians. Even heroes in training, or fighting out on the streets are people just like you. They just happen to have certain abilities, as well as the desire to help their fellow citizens. This is Superman by Five for Fighting. Its my favorite song, whenever I feel low I play it, or whenever I need to be reminded of why I fight. Why I fight for what is right, even though sometimes fighting isn't easy. Once again this is Superman by Five for Fighting." He said and played the song.
"Its that time Listeners, so get your cell phones out and dial 1 555 Preset M, that's 1 555 773 7386. I'm now taking requests, so if you want to hear a song, or just talk for a minute, I'll be waiting."
"Hello Hizashi Sensei is you okay?" Midoria's voice came over the radio concerned. "I wanted to be sure you were alright."
"I'm fine Midoria, we can talk tomorrow in school, though why are you staying up so late."
"I can't sleep, you said I should report something, if I see it right?" He asked. "I didn't with Shouto and I feel bad about it."
"You were being a good friend, we can talk about this at school." Hazashi repeated.
"I'd feel bad if I didn't say something, I was bullied in elementary and middle school, my powers were too strong for me when I was little. People thought I was weak and so they picked on me, but I always knew I wanted to be a hero. I saw the heroes around me, helping people who's quirks didn't work right like mine, trying to do what they could to make the world a better place. Yet its upon us to do so as well, as citizens, you helped me realize that Hazashi Sensei and I won't be quiet if I see someone being hurt by someone else, ever again, I promise. You don't have to have a license to be someone's hero and if you see someone being hurt by someone you should say something. Can you play Ordinary Hero by the Foo Fighters?" He adds. "I want to listen to it Sensei."
"Alright Midoria, I'll play the song, I need to take the next caller after that though. There are people on the line that don't get to speak with me every day, like you do."
"Alright Sensei, I wouldn't have called in, if I didn't feel motivated by what you said." Midoria said and the call ended, before the song began, he'd heard this song before but never really got before what it could mean to someone who was a civilian. He'd been in training to be hero, or a hero himself for a very long time.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded strangely familiar, he'd heard it somewhere before. "I just wanted to thank you, despite everything that's happened, if I suspect the student that inspired this is who I think they are. Thank you, thank you for saying what I couldn't, I'm weak, too weak Father knew that. Father chose them and not me and I tried to be a hero, I learned that day that I am no hero, that there are some heroes that aren't worthy of the name. However you are one of them, thank you for protecting that student. Neither one of us wishes to come forward, for very different reasons. I learned long ago that I am no hero, but maybe I'm not a villain either. I just can't let abusive assholes like my father get away with what they've done because they are in positions of power. Yet your show tonight, the raw emotion you showed, showed me that not all heroes are just villains by another name. It could be possible that I was wrong about you and about the world we live in.
My earliest memories are of my father nearly beating my mother to death, I can still hear her screams at night sometimes when I close my eyes. My older sister, my brother to endure his fists when he noticed us, which was luckily enough for us rarely. To others he was a mighty hero, but to us, he was a monster. When I was ten my youngest brother was born, with the hair my father craved, over the course of the next four-year I saw my little brother grow from a baby to a toddler and then he got his quirk. I couldn't let my Father focus on training him and by that time I was enrolled for my first semester at UA. I thought that if I took some villains down in a glorious battle then I could shift my father's attention off my brother and onto me. I knew that it was too late for me, that his darkness had already become my darkness. However I hoped that it wasn't too late for my littlest brother. I planned and plotted choosing a different agency other than my father and the most inexperienced hero I could find. I was certain of my ability to defeat the villain and make my father notice me instead of my little brother, instead my quirk hit the villain's quirk and the resulting explosion resulted not only in the deaths of five people including my supposed mentor. As for me I nearly died, receiving burns down the entire front of my body, its a wonder that I survived and that my body still functions. I was in a coma for the next five years, before I started to wake up, I managed to fool my doctors, until I found one that would be willing to accept a bribe to state I was still there. None of my family had visited me in hospital, its clear that they, the oldest son, a failed experiment forgot me. I gave the man the money I had saved from the allowance my father gave me, in order to make sure I wouldn't tell anyone the truth about what happened in our household. It was clear that when I was given more money than he'd ever given me in my life, once I entered the UA training program that this money was in exchange for my silence. I couldn't fight against him back then and I don't know if I could fight against him now, but if my little brother is standing up to him, I'll stand along with him. The only reason I joined the League of Villains, was to take my father and heroes like them down, but they aren't rational, or sane. Sometimes I wonder if I am, or if I'm like my mother. I've done some pretty bad things in order to survive on the streets, but I've never killed anyone except that night. The night that I had a provisional license and cannot be tried for those deaths." He said and Yamada realized that he'd completely frozen up. "If you will stop Endeavor from abusing my brother, I'll turn myself in and tell you everything I know about the League's plans for your school and the world afterward."
"Shouto didn't want this in the papers, why are you doing this?"
"Because if you do it any other way, it won't work, choose now, will you fight for Shouto? Will you be willing to risk your career, you lives and livelihood for him? Because that's what fighting against Endeavor would require, he's the sort of man that takes everything from his enemies, who likes not only to leave them defeated but broken beyond repair. I will fight with you to get him away from Shouto, but I need to know before risking everything myself, if it is for nothing or not. Shouto needs to be unwavering, you need to be unwavering because even though everyone might know the allegations are true, not many would actually be willing to risk their lives to save my little brother from my Father's tender mercies."
"I won't let an abuser get away with it, I can't do that and call myself a hero and the way your brother's been I believe that he was abused and I'll be dammed if I'm just going to stand by and let it happen." Yamada said and Shouta nodded. "My husband also agrees with me, though we can't promise you clemency."
"I know the laws, I was until recently a civilian with a job in dispatch. There are few jobs where its not required for others to see your face and I'm more nightmare fuel than a reassuring presence." The voice on the other end of the phone said. "I only became a villain because I saw other heroes not worthy of the name and I wished to do something about that. My ideals and the Leagues no longer align. If my brother is safe, then there is no reason to fight for them anymore. I wasn't told much however, mostly because villains never trust each other, but I do know who the moles are. Its a boy named Minoru Mineta and a hero named Snipe. There are other heroes not worthy of the name hero. Those include rapists like Rockshot, Glammerang, Molt Point and Green Glass, Spousal abusers like my dear old man, Riftriser, Cloudigger, Moon Shot and Bolting Blue. Child abusers again like my Father, Bolting Blue, Riftriser, Moltencore and Downdraft. Then there are those who simply are in it for the fame and the power, those are too many to name. I stand by what I said earlier, very few heroes are worthy of the name." He said and Yamada looked shocked. "Would you be willing to take down those heroes that abuse their power in order to take what they want, even if they aren't deserving of it?"
"That's different, I would need proof, I can't just take you at your word."
"Trust me I have proof, I copied all the League's files and I'll send them to the police station. The League was going to target these heroes after defeating All Might, but they are taking too long." The voice at the other end of the phone said. "I'm in a safe location and the League doesn't know where I am, but that can change at any time. I hope that you are as prompt as I am in delivering you this information. Perhaps after all this I'll be able to stand beside my little brother, once again Touya Todoroki, but until I can be certain of my safety I will remain what the fires of immolation and cremation made me, Dabi." He said and hung up the phone, they stared at each other.
"If you have proof of allegations you should come forward and face what you have done. If you are abused, or have seen others are abused, you can call the confidential hotline number for people that are equipped to handle such cases. However my radio show is possibly not the best platform for these sorts of allegations. I'll be taking calls for music requests only, during the next hour. If you have something to report it is important to go through the proper channels. I doubt many would wish for this sort of thing to be widely known. I reacted in anger, because his father abused a student of mine and I felt that was wrong. No one should be above the law and if you are not reporting something that happened to you, because it was someone that was in a position of power, you should report it." He said and sighed deeply. "Now I'll be taking requests from you Listeners." He said and for the next hour had to deal with either assholes, or people supporting him for his speaking out, as well as wishing to help Shouto with legal fees. He set up an account for Shouto wishing that Dabi hadn't aired his family's dirty laundry on his radio show. Shouto's plan would have worked, now they would most likely have to adopt Shouto, his big mouth had got him into trouble yet again. However the most offensive call he had came from Bolting Blue.
"How dare you accuse me of spousal and wife abuse on national radio!" He demanded. "You will hear from my lawyer about this."
"I didn't accuse anyone of anything, Touya Todoroki was the one making accusations, not me. I just stated that one of my students had been abused, that I'd been abused as a child and so had my partner. First off if your innocent of the claims leveled against you, you can simply go to a truth teller and tell them the truth of what is happening in your household. If however these claims are legitimate, no one is above the law, not even you sir."
"How dare you, are you threatening me."
"Sir I suggest that you stop addressing me in this manner on national radio, it will not be good for optics and it makes you look like an idiot. The allegations and what proof Touya Todoroki has will be given to the police and then released to the public as is policy in such matters. After that you will be required to go with your family before a truth teller and if your found innocent and the proof that is presented is baseless, you will not be harmed by these allegations."
"MY REPUTATION WILL SUFFER!" The hero on the other end of the line roared.
"Sir your doing a good enough job of tanking you reputation yourself. I did not mean to start this fight, I simply could not hold in my own feelings about what happened to my student and me. If these allegations are found to be true then you will have a lot more to worry about, than just your reputation. Threatening me, yelling on national TV, won't accomplish anything that you desire."
"HOW DARE YOU, I RISK MY LIFE DAILY, SO WHAT IF I FEEL I DESERVE A LITTLE RESPECT WHEN I COME HOME? SO WHAT IF MY LAZY BITCH OF A WIFE AND INGRATEFUL BRAT OF A SON NEED TO BE TAUGHT TO RESPECT ME, EVERY ONCE AND A WHILE."
"YOUR FORM OF RESPECT ISN'T RESPECT ITS FEAR, YOUR GETTING WHAT YOU WANT THOUGH, SO WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE. IS THAT IT, ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO WILL TAKE WHAT HE WANTS BY ANY MEANS NESSASARY, BECAUSE THOSE AREN'T THE ACTIONS OF A HERO YOU SON OF A BITCH BASTARD THOSE ARE THE ACTIONS OF A VILLAIN. THEY TOO TAKE WHAT THEY WANT WITHOUT CARING ABOUT WHO THEY WANT, MAYBE YOUR IN THE WRONG DAM LINE OF WORK IF YOU THINK THAT THIS IS THE ANSWER TO HOW TO GAIN RESPECT. RESPECT IS EARNED, NOT GIVEN. YOU EARN RESPECT BY HELPING YOUR FELLOW MAN, NOT LETTING ABUSIVE ASSHOLES GET AWAY WITH THEIR CRIMES AND BEING A GOOD PERSON DAM IT. WHAT YOU ARE GETTING ISN'T RESPECT, ITS FEAR, WHEN YOU TELL YOUR CHILD "YOU WILL REPECT ME BOY, OR I'LL MAKE YOU RESPECT ME!" YOUR NOT MAKING HIM RESPECT YOU, YOUR MAKING HIM FEAR AND HATE YOU! MY MOTHER DEMANDED YOUR VERSION OF RESPECT AND I HAVEN'T TALKED TO HER IN FIFTEEN YEARS. YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF RESPECT, NO ONE WHO HURTS OTHER PEOPLE TO GET WHAT THEY WANT IS!" He shouted and he heard silence on the other end of the phone. "WELL WHERE ARE YOU KNOW, ARE YOU GOING TO RESPOND TO ME, OR IS IT THAT YOU CAN'T. THREATEN ME WITH LAWYERS ALL YOU LIKE, THEY WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING I'M TELLING YOU NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE A CASE AGAINST ME. ABUSIVE ASSHOLES THAT KNOCK AROUND THEIR KIDS AND WIVES AREN'T WORTHY OF THE NAME HERO YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!" The line went dead and Yamada took several deep breaths in and out, Shouta putting a hand on his shoulder, as there was a cry from inside the house. Shouta left at once, as Yamada continued to try to calm himself.
"Sorry about that listeners, I am only human and I have my faults like everyone else. I lost my temper, perhaps it would be better if I spent the rest of the night playing some great music and kicking it with my Listeners! There's only so much of that sort of anger and vitriol I can take." He added and sighed. "I wish we could live in a world, where things like abuse and fighting didn't happen, but as long as there exist those that wish to take things from others that don't belong to them. Regardless if its theft, liberties or lives, I will be there stopping them. Otherwise what sort of hero would I be? What sort of hero lets abusers walk free and what sort of hero abuses others? These are not questions that are easy for anyone to answer, but they are the sort of questions I ask myself on a daily bases. I'm not a hero for fame or fortune, but because heroes are supposed to be the best of us and I have the ability to be one. I have the ability to help others and so how can I just stand by and watch as others suffer? I try to be the best man I can be, but I'm only human and this night has been draining for me. You can be angry with me all you like, you can feel I was wrong to talk about what I talked about tonight. I feel strongly that if you see something wrong with this world, or with the actions of another you should say something. Otherwise your own guilt, anger and misery will come to bite you in the ass. Your worst enemy, your worst villain is yourself, the one that wants to make others suffer, the one that wants others to pay for what they have done to you. The one that wants to acquire wealth, or luxury goods, or respect that is not earned. Your best ally is also yourself the one that wants to help others, that wants to love other people, that wants to be generous with your family and friends and even strangers. The one who will stand up and fight for a better world. Everyone has these two selves in them, both evil and good, its just a matter of deciding of which self you will allow yourself to be. Will you be good and help others, or will you be evil and harm them. That choice is yours and yours alone, but all of us are more than just pure good, or pure evil. No one not even All Might is completely one thing or the other. Still I feel that we should try to embrace our better selves and I lost sight of that for a moment and for that I truly am sorry. Now for the rest of my time I'll be exploring the dichotomy between good and evil with some awesome tunes. I've wanted to do this for a while, but I've hadn't had the courage. If I don't have the courage to step forward to step forward and speak my truth, how can I expect my Listeners to?"
Yamada sighed and took a deep breath. "This first song is dark but I actually enjoy it, its called Skullcrusher Mountain and its about an evil mastermind, who only wants love. Its important to remember that villains are humans too and most of them also feel emotion. I like the idea of a villain who hasn't given up on love, who holds onto positive emotions, despite deciding to cause others pain and suffering. Once again this is Skullcrusher Mountain." He sighed and leaned back in his chair as the song played.
"This next song is I'm Holding out for A Hero, its a song that reminds me that I'm needed. That I have to continue fighting, because there are those out there that are suffering. That I can't stand by and do nothing while others suffer. That when people need a hero I should try my best to be there for them. Once again this is I'm holding Out for A Hero." He said and stared down at his phone his record company texted him, asking if he could stay on for another two hours, he texted back that he could.
"Now this song reminds me of what I'm fighting against, the sorts of people I'm fighting against. Though most aren't truly this horrible, some villains are and its important to know that when you fight against the evil you see in this world. This is When Your Evil by Voltaire. Its very dark about a man, who simply does evil deeds for the sake of them, because he takes pleasure from doing so. That sort of person is the most despicable sort of person on Earth, most villains at least have motives, but those that hurt others and ruin lives just for the hell of it, those people truly are irredeemable. Once again this is When Your Evil by Voltaire." He sat back and listened as the music filled his recording studio.
He saw Shouta coming back with Shouto, the boy looked at him wild eyed. "Its alright, it will be alright, my station wants me to stay on the air for another two hours." He explained and Shouto nodded.
"I'll go make us all some tea." Shouta said and smiled at Yamada and Shouto. "See you next break?"
"Of course." Yamada said and smiled, as they both left. He heard the door to his recording studio close behind Shouta and he smiled. "The song I want to play is called Kryptonite, its one of my favorites and its the song that my husband and I danced to at our wedding. Heroes are people too and that song reminds us both of what is important to us. How that even after we have a terrible day, we have one another to lean on. Once again this song is called Kryptonite by 3 doors down." He said and played it as Shouta and Shouto walked back into the room, Shouta handed him a cup of tea and a jelly packet. He ripped off the top of the jelly packet with his teeth and sucked it down, he never liked the things, but they did hold enough nutrients and protein to keep someone in peak physical conditions, even if they had a terrible consistency and a strange aftertaste regardless of the flavor.
"When the light goes on, you need to be silent." Shouta said and Shouto nodded.
"I can do that." He said and a moment later the red light came on again.
"This is my husband's favorite villain song, its called I Can't Decide by the Scissor Sisters. Its about being dead inside and not being certain if you want to kill someone or not. Its the ultimate song for when you've had a bad day and you just can't take things anymore. That and well you have cats, it makes him laugh and cheers him up every time he sees it. He's told me if he were ever to become a villain, that's the sort of villain he'd be. That and well it has cats, my husband loves cats and we have two, I like birds myself. Once again this is I Can't Decide by the Scissor Sisters." He said and Shouta arched an eyebrow, as the red light went off and Yamada laughed.
"So will you tell your fans all my deepest darkest secrets tonight?" Shouta said and Yamada looked nervous. "Because two can play at that game."
"You wouldn't."
"Oh but I would." Shouta said and grabbed a voice altered that Yamada had in his control room, before erasing Yamada's quirk and wrapping him in his capture weapon, he then turned down the controller on his voice amplifier to zero. He then tested the voice controller and nodded, pleased with the result as Shouto stared at him, as the light turned red. "My husband shared something very personal with you, something that I would prefer remain private. I'm a very private person and that my dear husband has violated privacy, oh I'm sure he didn't mean to but still, he did it all the same. Therefore I'll share his actual favorite song, I know he tells everyone its Superman, but its not. Its Hero by Skillet. That song is a very dark, very depressing song about a man calling out into the void asking for someone to save him. He listened to it over and over again in high school, it made him realize what sort of hero he wanted to be. One that saved those that needed him, the way I was there for him when he needed me. We do everything together and what affects him affects me. He needs to calm down, as he's a bit tied up right now but he deserves it for saying such things about me. Once again this song is called Hero by Skillet." Shouta said and the song started to play, as Yamada glared at him.
"He looks really mad Shouta, maybe you should let him go." Shouto said.
"Oh and miss out on having my fun, I don't think so." Shouta said with a grin. "He brought this upon himself, naughty boy." He added and kissed the bridge of Yamada's nose, Yamada growled and strained against the capture tape. "You know resistance is futile, I'll let you go, after I've said my piece." Shouta said. "You can't drag yourself into a hell of your own making, without me following you all the way down. Whatever this is we'll face it together and if I lend my voice to yours, they might back off my man." He said and Yamada looked terrified. "Its time for us to come out of the shadows, I'm proud to be your husband and those that would target one of us, would most likely target the other for the same reason. Its time we stopped running from the world and stood tall instead." He said and smiled softly, looking into Yamada's eyes, before he saw Yamada blink twice giving his reply, Shouta smiled and settled onto Yamada's lap. It was time that they declared their relationship to the world, they couldn't hide in the shadows forever after all.
The red light came back on and Shouta took up the mike. "Welcome back listeners Preset Mic is still a little tied up, now for his villain song, we only admitted this to each other one night when we got super drunk and the conversation turned to who we'd be if we were villains. Then we went on to discuss our favorite villain songs, mine was I Can't Decide, by Scissor Sisters, Preset Mic's was Villain by Theory of a Deadman. It certainly fits with his personality, that sort of love of showmanship that he's always had and I've always lacked. As well as his love of great lyrics that we share, as well as rock released in the 20th and 21st century. If you knew him the way I did, it made sense that he chose that song, instead of another. Anyway here is Villain by Theory of a Deadman." He said and unwound his capture tape as Yamada glared at him, he laughed.
"Not funny Shouta." Yamada said and Shouta faked a pout.
"Come on you know you love me, don't you Yamada?"
"You annoying cat, I should have known better than to start shit, I'm sorry." Yamada said and Shouta laughed, ruffling Yamada's hair, which looked worse for wear, he put aside the microphone.
"Do you think we should reveal my identity?"
"I think I'm ready if you are, we've been together over half our lives, I'm tired of living in the shadows." Yamada said and Shouta nodded.
"I'd rather introduce myself, you'd draw it out too much."
"Hey now!"
"Its true and you know it." Shouta said and stuck his tongue out at Yamada who laughed.
"Alright, alright, you can be the one that tells them." Yamada said and Shouta grinned, kissing Yamada on the cheek, as the red light turned on.
"And we're back, hello Listeners, this is Eraserhead, Preset Mic's husband. We've been together for fifteen years, we started dating in High School at UA, we've been together ever since. Mic is my favorite person in the world and he's the one that keep my hope for it alive. I don't trust people by nature, but Mic likes to believe the best of everyone. Some would think we're an odd pair, but sometimes after a hard day, he's the only one who makes the world a bit more bearable. He's so goofy all the time and he always is trying to make me laugh and he even gets my sense of humor which is as dry as my eyes." He said and Preset Mic laughed. "My favorite song of all time is Dance with The Devil by Breaking Benjamin, its about fighting against your demons in my opinion, as well as fighting against your enemies. For most of my life I've struggled with depression, as well as being antisocial and I have to fight against that, just as much as the villains I face. The nature of my quirk is such that if I look at you, I can take your quirk for a time, so the line don't look him in the eyes appeals to me. Other than that its just a great song, once again the song is Dance with The Devil." He said and leaned back against Yamada.
"I explained to Shouto what he will be facing and what you've been doing tonight." Shouta said and smiled at Shouto, who was shaking slightly. Shouta stood up and wrapped his arms around the boy.
"Do you need to leave, we can go and sit down on the couch and listen to the rest of the show in the living room."
"I'm okay I think, its not as bad as last night."
"Your shaking Shouto, you should know your limits and know when your upset and know that its alright to feel scared." Shouta said gently. "Feeling fear, shows us that we're alive, I often feel fear, but I don't let the fear win." He added and saw the red light come on, holding a finger to his lips, as Yamada started talking.
"Shouta is rather fond of playing jokes, I'm sorry about that listeners, you tune in to hear me, not to hear my grumpy cat of a husband." Yamada joked.
"Oh be quiet you cocky Cockatiel."
"Well someone's catty today." Yamada said and Shouta laughed. "Anyway tonight's show has been one of ups and downs, now however its time to say goodbye. Remember study hard and do the best you can to be the best you can be, this is Preeeeset Mic signing off." He said and the light went dark. Yamada gulped down his tea and sighed feeling utterly spent, it was just before six in the morning and he felt exhausted, he rubbed at his eyes, as Shouta gently took the tea from him.
"No tea for you, you need to rest, I'll wake you at seven thirty and then we can go to school together." Shouta said gently and Yamada sighed.
"Alright I'll go, as long as you come with me, I know you haven't gotten any sleep either. Will you be alright by yourself for an hour and a half kid?"
"I'll be okay." Shouto said and smiled at his teachers. "Thank you." He added, before leaving the room. The next days and months would be chaotic as more people stepped forward, with their stories of abuse and neglect. The show only grew in popularity and Shouta became a guest often, surprised by how much he enjoyed being on the show with Yamada. The heroes that were taking advantage of their position were punished and Yamada and Shouta adopted Shouto. As the months passed, they grew to love him like a son and he had parents that cared about him for the first time in his life. Who would have known that it had all started with Yamada falling asleep in his classroom?
An so this is finished, man I struggle with writing one shots. I really did not expect this to become this long when I started writing it a few days ago. It also was supposed to be a lot less dark and a lot more fluffy, but sometimes things don't turn out the way you plan. If you want to have me do more one shots like this, or add to this universe, please write me a review. Thank you for reading.
