Hitoshi had been having a pretty weird day. Having to rescue his former foster care caseworker and having Neito and two villains come to assist when he was just starting to convince said caseworker that he wasn't, in fact, a villain was just the start of it, apparently.
After Razor had called Dabi to request Kurogiri's assistance so that Wakakuro didn't run through the streets, ruining any credibility that Hitoshi and Neito might still have after Denki escaped Tartarus. Wakakuro, reasonably, freaked out, yelling that he knew it all along. But then he said something about how Hitoshi could end up with the League of Villains and that he thought that he was better than that. Hitoshi wasn't sure if it was some lackluster, underhanded way to try to not get completely on Hitoshi's bad side, or if he actually meant it. Toga did a fantastic job of getting him to shut the hell up, either way, but that didn't solve the issue about what they were going to do with Wakakuro. They couldn't keep him indefinitely; the villains would go stir crazy. And allowing any harm to come to the man would just be proving him right about Hitoshi all along.
Finally, Kurogiri was able to warp Hitoshi and Neito to the closest spot he could without exact coordinates so that they could finally make their way up the mountain to Denki. After that near-heart attack experience thinking that Denki had died just before they had gotten to him, with some quick coordinates texted to Kurogiri, they were able to get a warp gate conveniently opened up right on the mountaintop, just for them.
Oh, was it so nice to have the League of Villains on their side. All heroes should consider it if Hitoshi had anything to say about it. It sure made his life a hell of a lot easier, at least thus far, all things considered.
But the strangest thing yet was when he heard Wakakuro's voice, but it wasn't directed at him, or even at any of the League members. It didn't sound frightened or pleading like it had been. It sounded hopeful, and it was a name that he had just learned recently, first heard from Denki's lips on the mountaintop not an hour before.
When Hitoshi looked over and saw the villain embracing the social worker, and the social worker embracing the villain right back, Hitoshi rubbed at his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.
With one last kiss to Denki's temple, careful not to agitate the yellowish healing bruises around Denki's eye from his mistreatment at Tartarus, Denki's eyelashes fluttering against Hitoshi's cheek in pure adoration and bliss. Hitoshi regretfully pulled away and stormed over.
"And what the fuck is this?" Hitoshi seethed.
"Mindjack—" Isozan started, startled at the hostility that was suddenly there when it hadn't even made an appearance on the mountaintop before Denki cleared everything up.
Even in those first moments, before they knew that Denki and Isozan were on friendly terms, the man had been nothing but cordial with him, only using the barest amount of force to ensure Isozan's compliance and yielding easily when he saw that Isozan was cooperating without resisting.
Isozan was interrupted by Wakakuro grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking him in, only to whisper harshly in his ear, "don't answer him."
Isozan pulled back to regard Wakakuro questionably before turning his gaze to Hitoshi, ignoring the crowd of villains, heroes, and past heroes (though he did do a double take. It's hard to ignore Hawks) that was gathering.
"So, you'll run into the arms of an actual villain with a touch-based quirk, but you won't talk to me?" Hitoshi spat at Wakakuro who flinched at both the tone and the question and refused to even look in Hitoshi's direction.
"What's going on?" Isozan asked, looking from Wakakuro to Hitoshi and back again.
"How do you know each other?" Hitoshi asked instead, seeming to quickly reel in his wrath to just below simmering to talk to Isozan, saving his anger purely for Wakakuro.
Ignoring Wakakuro's advice, Isozan answered, "he was my caseworker when my sister and I were in foster care."
Hitoshi seemed to deflate at that, losing all of the energy that was fueling his righteous anger. Denki came up from behind, reaching out to interlock his fingers with Hitoshi's, and Hitoshi's squeezed his hand back without having to turn around to look to see who it was. There was always a faint buzzing of electricity under Denki's skin; besides, Neito was quick to follow on Hitoshi's other side, quickly slotting himself under his arm to wrap his arms around his waist and rest his chin on his shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" Wakakuro asked, looking around anxiously, the unspoken question of 'are we both hostages right now?' lingering between them.
"I used my quirk on Chargebolt, and we both just escaped Tartarus. I think the League is just kind of the hub, the central meeting point until we figure out what to do from here," Isozan explained quickly with a laissez-faire shrug.
Hitoshi snorted because if that wasn't the briefest summary of what had happened, he didn't know what was.
"You used your quirk on Chargebolt?!" Wakakuro hissed, ducking in closer for some semblance of privacy, eyes wide and darting, looking for the moment when the heroes or villains or whatever they decided they were going to be in the moment decided to retaliate.
"Well, it worked out well enough for him the first time," Isozan said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest as if to protect himself from Wakakuro's judgment. "And Denki said he'd be fine. He's very convincing!"
"The first time?" Wakakuro repeated, paling. "You've used your quirk on a popular Pro Hero more than once?"
"Yeah. Mindjack wasn't lying," Isozan said, leaning back, his voice remaining at a neutral speaking volume to keep everyone gathered clued in, despite Wakakuro's whispering and flinching at his indiscreetness as he broadcasted his sins to their executioners. "They're the heroes, here. I am a villain."
"Full Throttle," Wakakuro said more as a statement than a question, deflating, like if he had refused to acknowledge it out loud, then it would never have to be true. "I've been trying to follow the news, hoping that it wasn't you."
Isozan shrugged, allowing his arms to drop. "If Phantasm had made an appearance, then you would have known for sure. Our duo is unlikely to be replicated."
"Uretori is with you, then," Wakakuro stated, his voice wavering, like he wasn't sure whether he should be relieved that the siblings were still together or if he should be disappointed that at least one of the siblings didn't escape villain life. "What happened, Isozan?"
"The Omotos weren't what they seemed," Isozan said, rage simmering in his eyes and tone even as he kept his body relaxed. "As soon as the papers were signed, they whisked us underground and started training us to fulfill some holes in their own little criminal organization. They had their sights set more on Uretori than me, and they got really mad when even combined with my quirk, she couldn't control whether someone had a good or bad trip."
Wakakuro wasn't the only one to inhale a stressed, empathic breath through his teeth as others silently listened, looking for any indication that this conversation was too private, too personal, and that they should all vacate immediately, but Isozan didn't seem bothered.
"I swear I vouched hard for them," Wakakuro said, shaking his head, not quite in denial that Isozan was telling the truth, but in distress that he could have allowed anything to happen to one of the kids he served: One of his kids. "I did so many background checks, going back years. I do that for every kid, especially when they have the potential to end up in the hands of villains looking to fill in some missing holes in their ranks," he stressed, glancing over at Hitoshi. "I didn't—"
"I know," Isozan said, reaching out a hand to grasp at Wakakuro's shoulder in reassurance. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known. They're a big, spread-out organization who used a couple who had never been legally associated with the group before. They had plenty of options, actually. There was nothing you could have done, no way you could have seen it coming, and nothing you can do about it now."
"They're still after you," Wakakuro said as he realized, eyes widening. "That's why you've been targeting people with vibration quirks; to warn your adoptive mother to leave you alone."
"All the good that's done me," Isozan grunted, crossing his arm and for the first time, visibly looking upset. "She just doubled down," he continued, narrowing his eyes as he muttered, "that's why I went after Denki, too. They recently added an electric type to their ranks, and I thought I could get them to give us up as a lost cause if I could show them how much damage I could cause if they keep coming after us." Isozan looked up to make eye contact with Denki and winced. "Sorry."
"No harm, no foul!" Denki blared, stepping forward to throw an arm around Isozan, pulling a smile and an eyeroll out of him easily.
"So, what is the situation, here, then?" Wakakuro asked, gesturing at Denki, Isozan, and well, everyone else.
"Chargebolt, Mindjack, and Phantom Thief are Pro Heroes," Isozan said. "They're supported, in full, by the League of Villains, but they are still heroes completely and thoroughly."
"Wha—seriously?" Wakakuro asked, astonished, stunned eyes pulling away from Isozan to glance around at said heroes.
Wakakuro had watched as the villain, Full Throttle, Isozan, relaxed under the arm of a Pro Hero. It wasn't even a forced kind of fake relaxed that he had seen so many times before, every time that he had to gather him and his sister up to change to a new foster home to try to keep his sister calm with his own fake calm as her guide. The easy banter and how Isozan didn't flinch away and apologize after rolling his eyes at a Pro Hero, surrounded by other heroes and villains who might very well him out if one of these heroes asked them to, showed that Isozan truly did feel comfortable. And well, wasn't that just a relief all by itself, no matter how he managed to get to that point, and no matter who he surrounded himself with to finally feel safe? The request for clarification was useless because Wakakuro knew before Isozan confirmed it that he was telling the truth.
Wakakuro tore his eyes away from Isozan to look straight at Hitoshi, and without hesitation or anything to hold him back, said, "I'm sorry."
Hitoshi was a little taken aback by how easy it was for Wakakuro to make a complete change in attitude toward him, to go from flinching at his questions and cowering away to looking him straight in the eye with a rightfully deserved apology.
Hitoshi also remembered how he was in a foster home for one night, quickly adding up the signs that it was not going to be a good time for him. Instead of having him wear the muzzle or forbidding him to talk, his foster father kept asking him to use his quirk on him, on his foster siblings, on anyone. Wakakuro had come back the next day, even though he wasn't due to check in for another month, because Hitoshi had left his coat at his previous foster homes and the season was changing—it wasn't something that could wait. Hitoshi didn't even have to say anything. It was probably out of fear of his quirk, but Wakakuro was so tuned in to Hitoshi's feelings that he must have picked up on Hitoshi's discomfort and anxiety about being in the home because a few hours later, he was back yet again, telling Hitoshi to pack his bags and that he was taking him and the rest of the foster children in that home somewhere else.
So, Hitoshi said, "I forgive you," just as easily as Wakakuro's apology happened.
Neito was not pleased.
"What the fuck," Neito sneered, stepping forward, about to knock some sense into somebody. "No, that—"
Denki draped himself over Neito's shoulders and gave him his full weight, looking up at him through his eyelashes.
"Oh, I'm just so tired, Nei," Denki droned dramatically, really trying to act like dead weight to slow Neito down. "After literally creating history by breaking out of Tartarus and surviving Full Throttle for the second time. Six hours, Neito. Six hours," Denki continued, hissing through his teeth. "If only I had a soulmate to carry me to a bed and have his wicked way with me—"
"Say less," Hitoshi said suggestively, stepping forward with arms outstretched, forcing his face to remain passive as to not give them away, even though they all knew what they were doing, Neito included.
It didn't make Neito any less susceptible to their devious planning, however.
"No! Mine," Neito practically hissed, scooping Denki up and rushing off down the hallway with him.
Neito still grumbled, even as he fussed over Denki, scouring the League's base for a change of clothes. Neito gently washed the scent of ozone from Denki's hair and patted gently over the healing bruises on his face and body as Denki took his time scrubbing shampoo into Neito's hair, watching the dust and soot from his earlier underground excursions swirl down the drain. Neito scowled at Hitoshi when he joined them, but didn't hesitate to make room for him, quick to slide over for Hitoshi to join them under the steady stream from the showerhead. Denki and Neito both reaching out to tangle their hands in wet, purple locks. Each one of them found themselves wishing how it might always be this way and knowing that it might not be very soon.
And so, they did what they were good at: They schemed, and they planned. Lying in bed in one of the spacious spare rooms, clean, bruised, and thoroughly exhausted, they planned for different scenarios and prepared themselves to be separated.
"There's nothing I can do to talk you out of this?" Neito asked, already knowing the answer, but just wanting to be sure.
"What kind of hero would I be if I let Isozan take the fall when he really was helping me? Especially when it was my idea…" Denki said, fingers combing through platinum blonde hair as it dried, getting lighter as the water evaporated.
Neito grabbed the hand in his hair, pulling it to his mouth to plant little kisses along the knuckles. There wasn't a single abrasion on his hands, and that made Neito even angrier, seeing as how he had so many bruises along his body and face, and they did that to him without even having the excuse that he was fighting back or even resisting.
He sighed. "You're right. Give them hell, yeah?"
"Of course," Denki said.
"I confirmed your interview for tomorrow," Hitoshi said.
"Channel six?" Denki asked hopefully.
"Who else?" Hitoshi answered with a smirk, getting two knowing smirks in return.
"Thanks for coming to my rescue today," Denki said, looking back and forth between his two soulmates on either side of him.
"Thanks for waiting for us to come along to rescue you," Neito said sulkily in return. "It took us a lot longer than we would have liked."
"Ah, but that's the life of a hero," Hitoshi said, smiling up at the ceiling.
"Sucks," Neito deadpanned.
Hitoshi and Denki hummed their agreement.
"What?" Hitoshi asked when he saw the huge, dopey smile spreading across Denki's face.
"Sorry, I can't help it! I can't stop thinking about how I have two soulmates, and how they are you guys. I'm so lucky."
Neito snorted, rolling up onto his elbow to tower over the smiling Denki. "You're the only one who would call himself lucky after having to escape Tartarus because they were trying to kill you, only to end up electrifying yourself on a mountain for six hours because your soulmates got pulled into hero shit on their way to you."
"I'm also the only one to have both Mindjack and Phantom Thief as my two soulmates, so…" Denki sassed, rolling his eyes.
Neito kissed the sass right out of him, followed by Hitoshi for good measure.
A/N: Okay! Now we know a little more about Isozan and why he went down the villainous path, Wakakuro and how he is a dick, but could have been worse, and at least he cared about where children in his care ended up, and Hitoshi's previous close call with ending up in a similar situation to Isozan. Next up is Denki's interview with Channel Six, and I am SO excited. Any guesses for how that's going to go?