The Most Familiar Sound
"Oh, your voice, it was the most familiar sound,
But it sounds so dangerous to me now."
- I Have Questions (Camilla Cabello)
He was only in hospital for another day, and most of it was spent giving his own side of the story to the authorities. Apparently, there were a few rumours floating about suggesting Present Mic was somehow involved in the villain attack. He laughed bitterly when he heard that: he'd been smeared into the dirt and yet some idiots were always caught on his past. He'd be lying if he said he didn't care, but he was used to it.
Everyone who mattered knew the truth.
Thankfully his legs hadn't been injured so he was up and about quickly, but his face and neck were covered in bandages, and his arms were tied while the bones repaired. That wouldn't've been so bad, except his final visitor was…
"I see you've got energy to spare," said a weathered voice he recognised instantly. If he'd been resting, he would've pretended to be asleep, but he'd been halfway through fighting a bowl of soup with a flimsy paper straw. He stared at her dumbly, the cylinder frayed beneath his teeth, but he quickly spat it out in a futile attempt to look dignified.
"Course I do," Hizashi said with a forced grin, "you're not the one healing me."
Recovery Girl (unfortunately) entered the room and checked over the chart at the foot of his hospital bed. "You'll have some scars, but you're in good hands here. You're lucky the metal in your throat didn't cut more centrally."
He snorted. "Come on, yo! Me? Lucky? Ain't no such thing. Built my speaker myself; I designed it to crush outwards rather than inwards. [Give me the credit; not luck.]"
She looked at him carefully with her shrew eyes, and something seemed to settle about her. "I was the bearer of bad news last time we spoke, but it seems you haven't changed much after all this time."
Hizashi grinned ironically. "Can't really blame a guy. You did kinda put a pin in my dreams… Kicked a poor kid when he was already down…"
Recovery Girl hummed. "You're a pro-hero, Present Mic; you proved us all wrong. If you'd stayed working in Support, you wouldn't be beaten in this room right now, but if you hadn't become a hero then there's no telling what might've happened to those students. You don't need to aim your animosity at me: you won."
He honestly didn't know how to respond to that, but for once he wasn't given the chance.
"I know it might be hard for you, but you need to tell me about Aizawa. What condition was he in?"
Hizashi leaned back in the hospital bed and closed his eyes. He'd played back the memories of the USJ constantly since the attack, but he now tried to detach himself from the emotion each moment had welled and focused solely on what he had seen, as opposed to what he'd noticed.
"He's physically stronger," he confirmed, his voice lacking his typical flare. "Skin was totally covered, but his hair was longer and messy… Erasure was constantly active in his left eye, but only his fringe floated - usually all his hair floated when he used it. The right eye… I never saw the lens light up, so…" What'd happened to his right eye? Had… Had All For One-...
"We can't rule out that he might've lost an eye," she said, her voice softer. "A constantly active Erasure… The effects of that would certainly be grievous on Aizawa."
Hizashi swallowed. He'd been avoiding thinking about it, but… He tried to imagine what it would be like if he constantly used his own Voice Quirk and the inevitable toll it would have on his body. "I bit him on the hand, but he never reacted, no matter how hard I bit. He had the capture weapon I made for him, but it'd been updated: it had spikes lining the material… Dunno if it functions the same, but it originally required manoeuvring. Either his gloves are thick enough to stop the spikes from cutting his hands, or…"
"All For One isn't the type to take away the ability to feel pain," she said, voicing his thoughts. "Back in the day, they used to hire young children to clean the insides of chimneys. To make it easier to remove the soot, the people would have the fire burning only moments before the chimney sweep arrived. Children would have to clean the inside while it was hot, and their hands became so burned they unintentionally stopped feeling pain in their palms…"
Hizashi shivered and curled his lip. "...Sho…"
"I read your report. Did he say anything else?"
He shook his head and glanced out the window. The sky was so blue outside, and yet he was stuck in here, talking of bitter things that made his stomach twist. Could Shouta see this sky? "Only 'Survive'. Been thinking it over, and… I think I know why he said it." Hizashi closed his fists tightly, a wave of grief washing through him. "Must've been his motto… I don't know what that monster put him through, but it must've been hell. How many times did he order himself to 'survive'...?" His emotional separation finally caved, and he thought he was going to be sick.
Recovery Girl easily noticed the shift. "You've both suffered at the hands of All For One."
"What I've gone through isn't even comparable to-" She pulled a wooden spoon from inside her sleeve pocket and whacked him over the head. Hizashi almost fell out of bed. "Hey! I'm already in hospital, yo!"
"You've both suffered!" she repeated. "Don't compare your own suffering with Aizawa's. Just because someone has hurt differently to you, doesn't make your own pain any less. I know all about your struggle, and how hard you worked to become a hero. I know you drive yourself into the ground, and I know you aren't coping in a healthy way. Exacerbating your own suffering won't make you 'repent', because you have nothing to repent for, and Aizawa would agree."
Hizashi stared at her in surprise. He went to justify something, but she interrupted.
"If your student was going through the same thing, what would you tell them?"
That silenced him. He turned back to the window, where he could sometimes make out his reflection in the glass. So many bandages… So many wounds. "Think I need to change my medication," he said instead, his voice oddly quiet. "I've been … hallucinating lately…"
When Recovery Girl spoke again, her voice was soft. "I'm sorry, Yamada, for everything we put you both through. For what it's worth, I believe you've become a great hero, and a great teacher. When you save Aizawa, I promise to do everything I can to make things right."
Hizashi didn't face her, but his shoulders slumped. He was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. "You able to answer that for me? My arms are a little tied up!" She nodded and pressed the button, before leaving him alone to take the call. The voice bluetoothed directly to his hearing-aids, so he had no trouble with hearing it. "[Hey, hey, hey,] how can I help you?"
At first there was silence, but then…
"'Wisely and slow,'" breathed a rough voice he hadn't heard in far too long, "'they stumble that run fast.'"
-x-
There was a lot of risk involved in what he was going to do, but if he refused then he might regret it forever.
The alleyway was dark and Hizashi's arms were still bandaged tightly, so he'd be practically useless in a fight. Even so, he wasn't stupid enough to go alone. He'd ensured a capable hero was nearby, keeping a constant watch on him, although they wouldn't interfere unless Hizashi gave the appropriate signal.
The first tell-tale sign of his contact was the scent of cigarette smoke, closely followed by the even pace of approaching footsteps. "'Wisely and slow," they said gruffly, "they stumble that run fast.'"
Hizashi stood as tall as he could, and returned the quote with his own learned phrase: "'These violent delights have violent ends.'"
Giran stepped into the one spot of light that'd managed to fight its way into the alley. "Hey kid." The information broker grinned, revealing his stained teeth, although one of his incisors was noticeably missing. "Let's walk," he said as he waved his right wrist, "Boss man will get curious if I stay in one place for too long."
A tracker. That made sense…
Hizashi wanted to race forward and embrace him, despite his bandaged arms, but he settled for glancing him over instead. Giran looked … okay. Besides the missing tooth and some additional wrinkles, he appeared altogether the same as when he'd sacrificed himself at the bar. With this moment, Hizashi had expected to feel a rush of emotions, but after the landslide that'd come with fighting Kurogiri and failing Shouta, he felt … relieved. Giran was fine and he sounded normal.
The blond opened his mouth, but Giran cut him off. "If I hear the word 'sorry' from ya, even once, then I'm ending this. The only thing you should be sorry for is for not answering your damn phone. And I know you've got a hero tailing us, by the way, and I don't blame ya - means I trained ya well - but I ain't the one ya wanna capture."
Giran didn't stop walking, and Hizashi didn't hesitate to follow. "You look well," he managed to say, voice feeling oddly distant. There was so much he wanted to say, but there was definitely a conflict of interests here. How much could he trust Giran, considering everything? As a hero, he should take him in straight away and…
The broker snorted. "Eight years is a long time, kiddo. I've had time to go from looking like shit to looking well again, although I suppose I'm exaggerating. Let's skip the small stuff. You don't wanna talk 'bout just lil ol' me."
"Sho and Kurogiri were at the USJ," he said firmly, "but they… What's happened to them?"
"Kuro? Nothin'. Eraser? Too much." His voice was gruff as he took the cigarette from the gap in his teeth. "Kurogiri and I 'ave been fine and dandy, considering everythin'. Boss man never hurts us, but only 'cause he has more… persuasive methods. Anytime we messed up - said the wrong thing, refused to do somethin', showed even a hint of rebellion - then Eraser got the punishment. Won't go into any details, but… Well, wasn't pretty."
They continued through several more alleyways, always keeping to a route that would lead to another alley rather than an open street. Hizashi felt sick, but he was already emotionally separating himself from the conversation. "Whose side are you on?"
Giran rolled his shoulders. "My side, as always. Y'know, Kurogiri and I are cut out for this line of work. Been doin' it so long we don't know any different. I'm glad you got out, kid. Was wrong to 've ever recruited ya. It was me, by the way - I was the one who saw you lose at the festival an' figured you'd be a great asset. Don't mean much anymore, but I've always wanted to tell ya."
Honestly, the confirmation meant nothing to him. It was the tone in which he talked that sent alarms ringing. Hizashi stared at him oddly. "We won't be talkin' again after this, will we, [dear listener]?"
"Na - this is already risky enough. Really, you're the enemy now, and I couldn't be happier 'bout that. Glad you survived Nomu too. Kuro raved about it for hours." Giran took a long drag from his cigarette, and there was a minor tremble in his shoulders. "I know more than they do, kid, but you know bringin' me in would be pointless. I'd never betray details 'bout my comrades. Really, I'm only talkin' to you now 'cause I wanna favour."
"What makes you so sure I'd follow through?" Hizashi asked with a forced grin. "We're enemies, after all. I could bring you in, and keep you safe, even if you don't plan to sing."
"The only place that might be safe from Boss man is Tartarus itself," he said, as if it held some significance. "Besides, you'll only be able to nab one of us three. Whatever you do won't work a second time."
"What's the favour?"
The duo finally stopped as they reached the end of the labyrinth. A busy street awaited ahead of them, although the two were obscured behind a string of old vending machines.
"Capture Eraserhead." He didn't look at Hizashi when he said it, but he took the cigarette from his mouth and stared into the distance. "Kurogiri and I can manage, but… There ain't much Aizawa left to save. Not really sure exactly how much, but whatever is is centred on you. You gotta be careful though, 'cause he's dangerous. You'll have to be willin' to do things you don't wanna to protect him. He'll wanna go back to his 'Father', and even I ain't sure which of you two holds more sway in 'im. Eraser might end up hurtin' you if it'd clear a route to the Boss."
"Can he really be saved?"
Giran snorted, although it was a humourless sound. "Doesn't matter. If I said no, you'd try anyway, and that's what I'm countin' on. As far as I'm concerned, if you get him outta this job, you'll be savin' him. You'll have to be quick with removing the tracker from his wrist; if something's noticed, Boss'll have Kuro teleport Eraser in using the tracker's location. Remove the tracker, ditch it, and hide him someplace safe."
"...All For One won't be happy."
"I'm fine with that," he said with a shrug. "He's trainin' a successor - he ain't the sort to do that unless he really needed to. He's got better things to worry 'bout than one lost pawn."
"...What've they done to his eyes…?"
Giran 'tsked' and dropped the cigarette to the floor, crushing it beneath his heel. The scent was blown away by a sickly breeze. "Don't have time for all the nitty gritty. When you get 'im, make sure his left eye is covered at all times, unless you're sure your location can't be discovered by sight. I'll leave it to you techies to deal with. Oh, and stay away from cameras – even phone cameras."
Hizashi swallowed as his emotional disconnection slipped. "I've missed you."
"Missed you too, kid." Giran turned to him at last, and managed a genuine grin. "Whether you're a villain or a hero, I'm proud of ya, and Kuro is too. So, was that a deal on the favour? No matter what he does or says, you've gotta keep him away."
Present Mic nodded, and turned his attention to the crowded streets beyond the dark alley. "It's a deal. We'll save him, and we'll protect him."
"Then there's nothin' to worry 'bout, kiddo… Take care of yourself, 'kay? I'll secretly be rooting for ya." Hizashi nodded and Giran walked calmly into the crowd, without a single stumble in his step.
The blond watched him go, but had to lean against the wall to keep himself standing. For a moment, he thought he felt eyes watching him, and when he turned he saw red, but… It was only Vlad King, coming to meet him from where he'd been following. "You didn't give the signal," the Blood Hero said, a stark frown on his face.
Hizashi nodded and pulled himself from the wall. "We'll only have one chance to rescue Sho, and we've gotta do it while their guard is down…" Vlad stared into the crowd, but Giran was gone. Present Mic caught his attention by nudging his ankle with his foot. "Don't look so glum, [dear listener]! I know you're looking forward to your re-re-match with Sho, but if we take this guy in then he would've been outta our hands again."
"If Hero HQ finds out you just met up with a villain tied to the group that attacked you…"
Mic shook his head. "You can trust me, even if it's for the simple reason that I wouldn't've asked for your help if I was trying to be evil. [Gimmie some credit]." He shivered and glanced around again, but no one was there. Were they being watched? "Come on Vlad, let's go. We've got a Sports Festival to prepare for!"