Author's Note: So many viewers have read this story! I will do a bonus short fluff story after I get 5,000 views. I'm at 2,000 right now and counting! So this chapter is the Sunday after Azumi collapsed and some awareness things. Next up Keigo's first day at the Commission program which will be the next chapter!. Don't forget I will take suggestions!
Disclaimer: Same as nornal. I don't own MHA. Story contains adult themes and content that may trigger some people including and not limited to rape, asault, child abuse and more. Rated for content and insinuated content.
Chapter 17 - Recovery and Bonding
Soji Nakamura was not a stranger to sleeping on a couch. He had gone through college. He had dealt with being kicked out of his sublease when he was an undergraduate. He had overworked himself until he could only stumble to the short couch in his brother's office before passing out. Out of all of the couches he had slept on, Azumi's was by far one of the most comfortable. There was also something refreshing about waking up with the warmth of the sun on your face but not the bright glow of direct sunlight. When Soji blinked his blue eyes open to see why he felt warm but didn't see bright lights, he saw a shade pulled down over the back windows and door in the living room.
He sat up from where he lay on the long end of the L shaped couch and yawned rubbing the side of his face. Replaying everything from last night was as instant to him as recalling something he had seen. Azumi had called. Then Keigo had called in a panic. Azumi had fallen and was unresponsive. He'd left his office and sped over there to help wake her up and take care of her. He remembered helping her to bed. Tucking her and Keigo in. Cleaning up the broken teacup and locking the door. Looking around the living room, he realized he must have sat down for a breather. His jacket was rolled up as a pillow and he fell asleep on the couch.
Such a comfy couch.
Standing up he stretched, shuffling over to peek out the back windows and see the view. The city was beautiful and covered in reds, purples and yellows. He looked down and saw the dead looking trees and shrubs of what was probably a small park of some kind with a light snow still covering the ground. These buildings had been built behind convenience stores and small shops the next street over. The types of places where the chain link fences surrounded parking lots where drugs were often sold. It certainly had that vibe as he peered around thinking to himself.
A ruffling sound took over his attention and he slowly turned to see Keigo standing next to the kitchen counter in his red and black pajama bottoms and black sleeveless shirt. His wings ruffled as the feathers tried to situate themselves. He was holding an Endeavor doll. His golden eyes locked on Soji as Keigo blinked curiously. Soji was in awe at the bright crimson and ruby luster of his wings, unable to stop staring. Keigo curled his wings around himself some more and bit his lip.
"Morning Keigo. How's your mom?" Soji had to say something to break the staring that he knew was impolite, and probably making the kid nervous. Keigo glanced at the bedroom before looking back at him. "She's still sleeping. My wings were aching and I'm hungry." Soji nodded and smiled as he took a few steps forward. "Well, I can help with both of those if you want. Maybe we can make breakfast in bed for Azumi." Keigo's eyes brightened and he nodded quickly, wings fluttering behind him. "Yes please!" Soji smiled and moved to the kitchen to peek into each cabinet and drawer as he put things on the counter. The small fridge under a counter sort of threw him because the contents were not what he was expecting. Lots of fresh ingredients and chicken with some eggs and small containers of soups.
He glanced at Keigo, the boy sitting at the counter like a waiting customer at a restaurant, and then back to the fridge. "What does your mom usually like for breakfast?" Keigo seemed to flap his wings before pointing at a cabinet. "She bakes things like French Toast and pancakes." More rifling and there were baking ingredients on the counter with a large pot that Soji was filling with frying oil. Keigo looked confused and narrowed his eyes as the Endeavor doll was set down and he walked around to look at what Soji was making. The lawyer was mixing some flour and sugar and eggs in a bowl. Adding baking soda and placing a half cover on the pot, a low flame going.
"What are you making?" Keigo was confused because he had never seen Azumi make anything the way Soji was doing it right now. "Your batter is too thick for pancakes or French Toast." Soji grinned and watched the oil as he slowly stirred the batter. "That's because it's donut batter." His wings fluttered in unconscious excitement as Keigo's eyes lit up. "You can make donuts!?" Soji nodded and tasted some of the batter before he kept stirring. "Yeah, when I was in college all we had was a pot to make things. A bag full of donuts could be my meals all day if I was in a rush." Keigo tried to dip a finger into the batter and had a taste as Soji watched him. "It doesn't taste like a donut." Soji laughed and scooped a dollop of batter and dropped it in the bubbling oil. He dropped a few more in and then offered Keigo a hand towel to wipe his finger off.
"Hey Keigo, want to play a game while I cook?" The little boy eyes him with curiosity in his golden fierce looking eyes. "I like games." Soji nodded and poked at the floating frying donuts. "You ask me a question about something in the apartment. If I answer incorrectly, you can have a donut with chocolate on it. If I answer correctly, you have to tell me something your mom likes. Does that sound like an idea?" Keigo narrowed his eyes as his feathers looked much sharper to Soji, but it might have been the morning light. "Why do you want to know what Azumi likes?" Soji grabbed a spoon with holes and scooped one of the donuts out to break it open and check the inside. "Well, I want to get to know her better and it seems like a good way to do that."
Keigo finally shrugged. "Ok!" Soji smiled and dropped a few more scoops into the oil as he fished others out. Keigo only waited a moment before asking. "How many books are in the living room?" Soji blinked twice before glancing at Keigo. "Does that include the kitchen here?" Keigo shook his head no, expecting Soji to take his time. He was very shocked when Soji answered almost immediately. "38 books on the shelves, 3 on the coffee table and 2 under sofa cushions. Not including magazines." Keigo went running to count and double check what Soji said and came back with his eyes wide.
"Your quirk is so cool!" Soji laughed as Keigo pointed to a cabinet. "That's her favorite tea." He took a moment to look in the cabinet and smiled. "Thanks." Keigo looked around the room thinking and waited until he had fished out more donuts to ask the next one. "How many flower petals are on all the flowers of her windows?" Soji sprinkled sugar on the donuts as he spoke. "71. Because one of them has 8 and tulips have 3." Keigo knew he was correct because he and Azumi had counted them together one day when it was storming outside, as a way to calm him when the lightning and thunder scared him. Yet again, he pointed to a cabinet. "That has all of our snacks in it. Mama likes the icing animal cookies in there because she says they're performing a circus in the snow."
Soji nodded and started working on the melted chocolate for some of the donuts. "Before we keep going, you do understand what's wrong with your mother's headaches right? Has she told you?" Keigo shook his head watching him. "She said she gets headaches because she's tired so I try not to tire her out. Last night was the first time she fell and wouldn't wake up." Soji nodded and watched the oil bubbling. "I think you should sit her down one day and ask her to tell you for real. You're a good boy, Keigo. As your lawyer and your friend, I want to see the best for you."
The small blonde tilted his head, just like a bird as he watched Soji dipping donuts in chocolate sauce. "You're my friend?" Soji blinked at him and nodded as he started putting together a tray and making a cup of tea. "Of course! You are allowed to have adult friends, Keigo. Especially if you're going to become a hero." He offered Keigo a chocolate frosted donut and the young hero took it, eyes on Soji. "That's good. Because I think you're a great lawyer. Not just because you didn't charge us lots of money." Soji laughed and kept working as Keigo kept talking. "Why do you take cases and then not charge? Mama said Dr. Seeks says you don't charge people if they can't pay."
Soji paused for a moment before he turned to look at Keigo. "Do you like stories?" Keigo nodded enthusiastically as Soji continued, turning off the oil since there were two huge plates piled with donuts that needed sugar and chocolate. "When I finished law school, my father said I could take whatever cases I wanted to. I didn't have to check with him first or get my Uncle's permission. I chose one where a man asked us to represent him because he was accused of hurting a woman and she was trying to sue him. He supposedly hurt her so badly she needed corrective surgeries on her face to even open her eyes. Of course he paid well, and claimed no amount was too small to have him be declared not guilty. The woman couldn't afford a good lawyer, she barely had any legal council and we had been told she mortgaged her house and sold almost everything she owned to afford the lawyer she did have."
Soji looked at Keigo and pointed to himself. "A lawyer like me can charge an hourly rate just to talk to a client, and to give you an idea of how much, your mom would have to give up all her money for a full week of work to cover my firm's hourly rate for one of my brothers." Keigo's eyes widened as Soji continued. "I worked hard to convince the judge that my client was innocent and that she had the wrong person. She eventually ran out of money and was unable to pay for someone to clean up a video that had recorded the assault. Her lawyer convinced her to end the case or settle since she couldn't afford the last piece of evidence. The judge believed me because I wasn't limited on how much time I could spend on the case, even paging to clean up the video with my own money to help prove my client was innocent. My client won in the end before the video results came back because she didn't have enough to keep paying her own lawyer. " Keigo listened and licked his fingers clean before responding. "That's good right?" Soji frowned and cleaned up while he spoke.
"I thought so, and he gave our firm a huge bonus for getting him off free of that charge. But a week later, the woman was found dead in her house. Beaten the same way as before and her house had been robbed. My client was arrested again because he was caught on the scene. He bragged that he would get off on the charge and called us immediately. The video I had paid to have cleaned up had come in though. And it showed my client that I helped get off free beating the poor woman in an alley while she begged and pleaded with him to stop." Soji stared at the cooling oil. "My quirk doesn't allow me to be a hero that can save lives like All Might or Endeavor. It won't ever make me the kind of hero you could be. But I know that woman needed help that only someone like me could have given her. I owe it to people like her to help them. Money shouldn't be the deciding factor. As a hero, people have reasons for doing things, even the bad guys you are going to face. No side is right or wrong when you come to that, it should be about finding the truth and going from there."
Keigo nodded slowly and walked over hugging Soji's leg. "I still think you are a great lawyer and the best for helping us. If I can't be a pro hero I want to be a lawyer like you." Soji smiled down at him and rested a hand on his head gently. "You're going to be a great hero, Keigo. I believe that whole heartedly. Want to help me take this tray of breakfast to your mom?" Keigo nodded looking at the tray and suddenly pointed at it. "Don't give that to mom yet!" He ran to the door and put his coat on, then ran to the balcony door and slipped outside, hopping up onto the railing and taking off up into the air. Soji could only stare in awe at how fast and agile Keigo was as he disappeared. His feet had been covered in socks but had gripped the railing like a bird's. Soji was curious if Keigo's feet were like a hawk's or not. It didn't take long for Keigo to come back with a small sprig of blossoms. It looked like someone had been keeping a balcony flower garden that Keigo raided. He shook out his feathers and wings before slipping back inside and going to hang up his coat. The sprig of yellow and brown blossoms carried to Soji by some of his feathers.
Blinking, Soji took the blossoms and set them in a small cup of water on the tray. "I didn't know your feathers could move on their own like this. That explains a lot more to me now." Looking confused, Keigo walked over and offered to grab the two plates for himself and Soji so they could all eat in the bedroom. "I thought you knew that already?" Soji shook his head. "I know how you saved all those people, I was never privy to the specifics." Shrugging, Keigo walked to the bedroom doorway and peeked in to see Azumi sitting up with a hand on her head. "Morning Mama!"
Azumi looked over and smiled at Keigo, her eyes widening when Soji walked in with a large tray. "Good morning beautiful." Keigo waited until Soji had set up the tray and handed him a plate before talking. "Mama! Mr. Soji can make donuts! And he's my friend now too!" Azumi looked at the tray of donuts, toppings and tea and then Keigo before looking at Soji. "What are you doing here?" Soji offered Keigo a cup of juice as he moved his own plate to his lap after sitting on the other side of the bed. "I'm making sure you rest and eat breakfast. You gave us both a scare last night, remember?" She looked at her plate and bit her lip, eyes darting around thinking. "I do. I'm sorry." Keigo crawled over with a donut stuffed in his mouth and gave her a hug, his wings wrapping around her partially to hug her as well. Laughing, she hugged him back and planted a kiss on top of his head. "Thank you my handsome birdy." Keigo chirped and went back to his donuts as Soji watched.
"I think you should stay home and rest today. Go see a doctor tomorrow that specializes in head trauma." Azumi looked like she was about to argue, but she saw Keigo watching her with concern on his face. Soji continued. Speaking softly as he fixed his tea. "I didn't call paramedics last night because of the medication you had from Seeks. He's a great clinical physician, but he isn't a specialist, and he is your boss. I don't doubt the Commission is going to look for every instance they can get to prove you shouldn't keep Keigo at home. This very situation could have been the nail in that lid. As your lawyer, I will do everything I can to help you with what you want, but please listen when I say getting pain medication from your boss to help with this isn't a good idea." She sighed and nodded her agreement as Keigo looked between them.
"Does that mean you're going to live here too?" Soji choked on his tea and Azumi almost spilt her milk she was adding to hers. The rest of breakfast was filled with alternate conversations, plans for Keigo to go spend time with Jin and Soji getting a list of things Azumi needed for financing the new 2 bedroom apartment that they were due to move into. While it wasn't the Sunday any of them had planned, they enjoyed it all the same.