He ends up getting a few hours of sleep, waking up and showering just before Eri and Hitoshi's alarms go off. Eri is reluctant, for the first time, to head to school, but Shouta promises that Deku will still be right here when she returns home.
Deku doesn't wake for another few hours, his body definitely catching up on all the sleep he's likely been forfeiting. It's good, as it means that Deku is at least feeling safer here than he did back in captivity, but Shouta's also concerned about how low the bar for that is.
Eventually, closer to midday, Deku actually has some movement. Shouta waits out on the couch, half his attention on reading through some news and half of it on Deku.
Deku takes a while to get up and out of bed, but eventually manages to make his way out to the main room. He's looking right at Shouta, hovering in the doorway.
He makes a clicking noise, and then clears his throat and shakes his head and tries again. "Shouta," he says, pointing to him. Shouta nods in confirmation. "Good...night?"
His voice is settling into something like his own natural tone, now, no longer quite copying Eri or Shouta's own voices.
Shouta has to bite down on a smile. "Good morning," he gently corrects, and Deku huffs, but his shoulders remain up. He's frustrated, but he's determined.
"Good morning," Deku repeats, and Shouta echoes the greeting back to him.
Shouta stands up and heads to the kitchen, and hums as he looks over his food. They don't really
have lots of options, not for lunch, as Eri and Hitoshi usually just get it at school and Shouta tends to stick to jelly pouches.
So he pulls out cereal, figuring the sugar will at least help get Deku's levels up. Deku is following him, staring right at the box in question.
Shouta pours two bowls and fills them with milk, because he figures it's just going to be easier to show rather than explain. When he passes over the spoon, Deku seems to figure it out.
He taps at the spoon in question, and Shouta tells him the word for it. Then he points to the cereal, and Shouta goes for the broad spectrum of just calling it 'food'. Deku nods, and gets to eating.
His eyebrows pull down and his lips smack together after the first bite, clearly not familiar with the taste on his tongue. Shouta lets him quietly work through his feelings on his own, methodically eating through his own cereal.
There's clearly a lot that Deku is eager to learn, but Shouta knows that the amount of information and communication is going to be a long process to work through. Deku is picking it up remarkably quickly though, already repeating words and doing so correctly just by going from his memory.
Besides, as they wait for any progress on Naomasa's end, it's not really like Shouta has much else to focus on. His entire job right now consists of looking after Eri and Hitoshi and monitoring Deku.
There's a knock at the door, which startles Deku. Shouta soothes him, but remains silent as he treads to the door and peeks through the peep-hole. It's just the delivery for his bulk order yesterday, and he opens up the door and signs off on it, thanking the delivery man before hauling his packages inside.
Deku has taken to standing, having watched the interaction from the hallway. He's looking at the packages with curiousity, and Shouta manages to get them all inside and lays them out on the floor.
He cuts them open and pulls out clothes from the first couple of packages. Deku has taken a seat down on the floor as well, though it takes him a moment to figure out how to fold his legs to allow him to do so. Deku is watching curiously, inspecting the clothes from a careful distance.
Shouta unfolds some of them and holds them up. He thinks he's got the right sizing, but he was guessing for a lot of it. He unfolds a pair of loose sweatpants, and he notices Deku starting to pick at the fabric of the ones he's currently wearing. When Deku realises he's got his attention, he points to the fabric with a question.
"Pants," Shouta explains, and Deku's mouth twists. It's clear he's not a big fan of the fabric on his legs, but when Shouta unfolds a dark green pair of sweatpants, he seems a little more interested.
He points to himself in question, and Shouta nods. For you.
Deku holds out his hands, and Shouta passes the pants over. Deku feels out the fabric, twisting and tugging at it. Shouta puts a couple more items near him, shirts and a jacket and jumper, and Deku takes those too and inspects them. He attempts to put the jumper on, but puts it on backwards, and Shouta has to try and explain how tags go at the back.
It seems to get through, as Deku inspects all the clothes and then slides them on, this time all the right way. It looks a little ridiculous, all the different styles layered in such a way, but he figures that no one's around except Shouta to judge anyway. He seems to overheat soon enough anyway and strips them all off.
He attempts to re-fold them, and honestly, doesn't do a terrible job at it. Meanwhile, Shouta is unpacking the rest of the boxes, pulling out books and study materials. When he places down a notebook, Deku immediately takes interest in it and reaches for it, swiping it before Shouta can even really push it over to him.
He looks around for something, and Shouta pushes over the pack of pencils that have also been included. Deku takes those with a hum, and then immediately flips open a page and starts to scribble.
He grips the pencils easier than the spoon — not exactly properly, but with enough indication that shows he's worked with similar objects before to draw with.
Oh, I should've done this earlier, Shouta thinks, watching as Deku colours over the page. From what Shouta can see, he's not attempting to write anything — he's sketching out images on different pages, flicking through them. Then, he passes the notebook over to Shouta.
He's sketched out different objects around the house, things that he knows the name of. Shouta tilts his head, and Deku passes him the pen.
"Door," Deku says, pointing down at the page where he's drawn a depiction of one. Shouta tilts his head, staring down at it, and then it clicks.
He rifles through one of the packages, pulling out a spelling book that's aimed towards pre-school children. He flips to a page with the phonetic lettering laid out, and he writes down the words for each object that Deku has drawn. Deku compares each word to the lettering in the book, and then points to each one and gets Shouta to sound them out.
He's taking notes, though they're not exactly making sense to Shouta. He's not too sure if mermaids have a language for writing, and he's still not sure after watching Deku try and study the new language.
Deku flips to a new page, and starts to write some familiar letters. Shouta watches as he mouths out the words, sounding them out as he writes. He scribbles them out a few times, but eventually seems to settle on his final words, and then flips the book over for Shouta to read.
There, almost perfectly, are the spellings for Shouta, Eri, and Hitoshi.
Shouta makes a symbol to represent close, and then takes a new coloured pencil and marks the corrections. Deku takes the pages back and studies over it, and he's taken to chittering and talking to himself as he works on the new words and figuring out where he went wrong.
Then, he flips the page back to Shouta, with the word Deku written. Shouta nods, and Deku grins at him.
He's taken to studying more of the letters again, sounding them out, and then ropes Shouta into getting to pronounce the combinations of letters. He nods to himself, filling up the notebook with rapid progression.
He flips the page back to Shouta, where Deku is once again spelled. But underneath, there is a new spelling.
"Izuku?" Shouta asks, and Deku nods, pointing to himself before making the same close gesture that Shouta had just made.
"Your name?" Shouta asks, and then grimaces as he realises it's not really a question he'll be able to
understand. He spends the next couple of moments trying to explain the meaning, and it seems to work.
"Yes. Izuku," he says, pointing again to himself. "Your name Shouta."
Jesus, Shouta thinks, impressed. It's starting to feel like it'll be very little time before Izuku manages to grasp the fluency of the language, considering his progress in a mere day.
He thinks Izuku's natural curiousity has something to do with it, as it's clearly a big aspect of his personality. And not to mention his stubborn determination and passion.
It makes for a combination that keeps them on the floor for basically the whole day. Shouta is only able to get up to get a jelly pouch, passing one over to Deku, and some glasses of water for them. Izuku continues to write and draw, flipping through the pages of the book and getting Shouta to try and explain anything he doesn't understand.
There's pictures and drawings in the books, and more than once Izuku stops on the image of a creature like a dog or cat and has to try and figure out what they are, exactly. Shouta eventually just starts showing him videos of these things, which seems to work well enough.
When Izuku gets through the book and learns all the new names, he turns back to his notebook and starts to draw again.
Shouta's stomach sinks as he realises what Izuku has taken to depicting. There, on the page, are sketches of bars and cages and small figures sitting inside of them.
Izuku points at them and makes Shouta sound them out for him.
Cage. Bars. Lock. Chains. Muzzle. Fire. Blood.
And then Izuku draws himself, in the tank, and Shouta goes through all the different words involved there. Water. Tail. Mermaid. Legs.
"Legs," Izuku repeats to himself, poking at the new body parts of himself. Shouta tries to dissect the kind of tone that Izuku uses, and it sounds like fascination more than any type of resentment, but Shouta isn't too hopeful that those emotions will stay around.
Hitoshi and Eri walk through the door, and Shouta's back aches as he's suddenly reminded of just how long he's been sitting on the floor for. He groans, stretching, and Hitoshi and Eri both take off their shoes and wander over curiously at all the pages and drawings strewn around the room.
Izuku lets them, even flipping back to the page where he wrote out their name and shows it to them. Eri beams, and Izuku smiles back too.
He also shows them the closer spelling of his name, and both of them nod and accept it easily.
"We weren't the only ones at school, huh?" Hitoshi asks, amused, as he looks over all the papers. "Jeez, I think he did more work than me."
"I think he's done more work today than a pre-school child does in a month," Shouta replies, getting up from the floor. He's been sitting for way too long, and he's aching and stiff. His back can't do this for long periods anymore.
"You..." Izuku says, but he trails off, and Shouta catches a glimpse of the frustration that tends to cross his face when he can't find the vocabulary to communicate properly.
He's talking to Eri and Hitoshi, and he points to the front apartment door, head tilting in question.
"Oh. School," Hitoshi answers, and then realises that the word means nothing to a mermaid who's just started learning the language within the day. "Ah, shi- um."
He bites his tongue because Eri's right beside him, though she doesn't seem to be listening. She gestures for the notebook, and Izuku passes it over easily, and Eri flips to a new page and draws a rendition of a classroom.
Again, it doesn't really mean much to Izuku. Eri ends up engaging in a long game of charades, trying to explain that what Izuku is doing now is what they both did, just in another room with many other students.
There must be a similar concept for mermaids, as it doesn't seem to take all that long for Izuku to understand. He nods along, scribbling down notes in his notebook. Once Eri and Izuku seem to come to an agreement about the concept, Izuku ends up flipping through the notebook to show Eri his progress.
"Oh wow," she says, managing to get it entirely out of Izuku's hands so that she can flip through it at her own pace and under his watch. "These are really nice drawings! You must be an artist."
Izuku blinks blankly at her, and she presses her lips together and reaches for a blank piece of paper, starting to draw her best rendition of an artist drawing on canvas. Izuku flusters, head ducking down in embarrassment, and it just seems so entirely human.
He's seen glimpses of Izuku's personality throughout the day, but a lot of it is lost under their lack of communication and the fact that Izuku still is not entirely trusting, and neither is Shouta. It's easier to see it now, though, more moments slipping when he talks to Eri.
Hitoshi is watching them with interest, though he's trying to look like he isn't by fiddling with his phone. Izuku's eyes flicker to him with interest every few minutes, but neither of them really engage each other in conversation.
Shouta thinks that'll change soon enough, once Izuku is a little more confident in speaking. There's things he clearly wants to say but is unable to, and it seems like he's bursting to the brim with questions and curiousity. Shouta is sure that once he finds the words, he won't be able to stop them.
He decides they're done for the day — though it seems like Izuku has the energy and the curiousity to keep him sustained for a long while, Shouta thinks that he's learned enough for today. Any more, and he'd likely be pushing the limits of his memory. And besides, Shouta's back is currently very stiff, and he definitely needs to work that out.
He starts to pack up the materials, and Izuku bites down on a noise that's likely a protest.
"We'll pick it up tomorrow," Shouta promises, and though he knows his words are definitely lost on Izuku, it's clear that Shouta's tone is working now to get across his meaning. Izuku settles slightly, still carefully watching.
Shouta tidies up the materials, but does not reach or touch Izuku's notebook. He just neatly packs most of it up so that it's no longer spread all over the room, and makes sure to keep it within reach and within eyesight, so that Izuku knows it's still there and not being taken away from him permanently.
Hitoshi and Eri stay out in the main room, pulling out their homework to work on it. Usually Hitoshi goes to his room, but he sets up on the dining table beside Eri and gets to work quietly.
Izuku sits down with them, curiously looking over their papers. Eri passes him her sheets once she's done with them.
Though Shouta has said they're done for the day, Izuku seems to appreciate the sheets of paper he's being given, and Shouta isn't going to take that away from him. Eri enjoys sharing her work, smiling with excitement whenever Izuku smiles or builds up the confidence to speak.
Shouta figures they'll be fine on their own, so he goes into his bathroom and goes for a shower. Then he remembers that they'll have to work out how to wash Izuku, and he considers his options of either a shower or the bathtub in the other bathroom.
He splurged on an apartment big enough to have one, having moved when he acquired Eri, because she was a little funny sometimes with showers. She's fine with them now, but she'll still occasionally ask for one — and honestly, Shouta's become a fan of them too.
That'll probably be easier for Izuku to wash in as well, but Shouta is also a little worried about how Izuku will cope with being surrounded by water.
He sighs, tilting his head up and letting the warm water run through his face and down his face. Maybe he'll ask Hizashi for some tips about communicating, because the thought of trying to explain the purpose of a bath to a mermaid seems... well. Ridiculous, he would have said, two days ago. Now that he's faced with it being a reality, it's more like it's just another obstacle he'll have to face.
Considering how fast Izuku is picking up on their language, Shouta knows that at least these obstacles are nowhere near as large as he first considered them. Now he knows they're manageable, and if they're not now, then the speed at which Izuku learns guarantees they'll be able to pass them easily enough in time.
He keeps the hot water pounding down on his back for perhaps a little longer than he first planned, but eventually he steps out and starts to dry off, thoughts still racing with all the things he needs to sort out. He needs to figure out dinner, and then call Naomasa to debrief him on everything he's learned today and also find out if there's any updates.
After he gets changed and is back in the lounge room, he walks out to find the three of them have moved. They're sitting around in front of the television, once again letting Izuku pick the channel and watch the contents with interest. Satisfied, he goes back into his room and calls up Naomasa.
There's no updates on figuring out the chemicals in the water — they're still waiting on lab results, and it's a tedious process that they can't speed up because he wants this to go through as few people as possible. Shouta tells him about the terrifying speed Izuku seems to be learning, and Naomasa is relieved to hear it.
The sooner they're able to communicate, the easier it will be to help Izuku out.
"We managed to get a couple of the kids back home," Naomasa says. "You know Enji Todoroki?"
"Yeah," Shouta hums. He's well known in the community, as the connection to his heritage is rather impressive, and he works in the public eye. It's hard not to know him.
"Yeah, well, they got one of his kids. The youngest, the one with nekomata heritage," Naomasa explains with a sigh. "Enji coming to us was actually the reason we got any leads on the ring to begin with. But it still took us a while to find him."
But the fact they managed to get a hand on any of the Todoroki family shows that they were
indeed going for high-profile targets. Perhaps the kid was too much of a high risk to take and they underestimated that, but it's still a worrying sign that they had the means to get their hands on so many powerful heritage children.
And a fucking mermaid.
One that's now in Shouta's apartment. Christ.
"And the rest of the kids?" Shouta prods, because he can't quite stop thinking about the rows of cages in that building.
"I'd say it's the usual procedure, but... it's not. A lot of these kids were sold by their family, and considering their heritages... well, the commission wants to keep a closer eye on them," Naomasa explains, and Shouta nods to himself. He'd expected that much. He's sure he's being watched by the commission right now as well.
"Aizawa..." Naomasa trails off, leaving words left unsaid. Eventually, he just says: "Thanks for taking him."
Naomasa, no doubt, has had to fight for Shouta to take him — even though, logically, it is their best option right now regardless.
Naomasa cares about the kids, while the commission tends to forget they're just children that deserve to go home. The commission would rather keep them in reach and under their watch, and Shouta has no doubt that if the make-up of the water chemicals wasn't such an issue, Naomasa would have had a much, much harder time trying to get Shouta to take him.
At the end of the day, Naomasa and Shouta will fight to get them home. If Izuku was directly in the commission's hands, then 'going home' would have been a mere fantasy.
"Yeah," Shouta replies. "No problem."
Naomasa almost laughs, because they both know this whole situation has quite a number of problems, but he manages to hold it back. They end the conversation, nothing left to be said today, and Shouta hangs up the phone and walks out of his bedroom.
There's a bit more chatter coming from the three on the couch, and Shouta is glad to hear that Izuku is one of the voices as well. He keeps pointing at things on the screen, and Eri and Hitoshi jump in to give him an explanation as best as they can.
Shouta gets to making dinner, grimacing as he goes over the contents in his fridge. He'll have to get his grocery shop delivered, and at least he'll be able to charge all the excess costs to the commission.
He'll have to make do with all the ingredients he has, throwing together what he can. Hitoshi comes in at one point to taste-test and make some rice. The cooking has also piqued Izuku's curiousity, as he wanders over and watches from a careful distance, head tilting as he stares at the food cooking in the pans on the electric stovetop.
Hitoshi turns to Shouta, with a sly grin on his lips. "I'm going to show him fire." "Hitoshi," Shouta sighs in warning.
"Just with a match! You have them, right?" Hitoshi questions, though he's already moving straight to the cabinet that Shouta keeps them in.
"Hitoshi."
"I'll be nice about it! I just want to see his reaction!" Hitoshi tells him, digging through the drawer
until he triumphantly pulls out a box of matches.
"Izuku," Hitoshi says, even though Izuku has been watching his frantic movements closely this whole time anyway.
It takes Hitoshi a couple of tries to strike the match, but he manages to get a flame going. Izuku's eyes widen in wonder, and he reaches out for the flame immediately.
"No, no!" Hitoshi hurries to warn, making sure to keep it out of his reach. The fire flickers dangerously, but manages to stay ignited.
Izuku flinches, and shrinks into himself, and Hitoshi immediately has a guilty look on his face.
"Look, Izuku," Hitoshi says, voice a whole lot kinder now. He mimics touching the flame, not letting his finger actually touch it, and then hisses and acts out like he's been burned.
Izuku's wariness melts away in confusion, now baffled at the sight of Hitoshi pressing his finger on his lips.
Hitoshi has to shake out the flame, and Izuku's eyes track the match. He reaches out for it again, tentatively, and Hitoshi hands it over.
Izuku's hand hovers over the blackened charr of the matchstick, not quite touching, but he can likely still feel a bit of the heat radiating from it.
"Alright, let's not encourage Izuku to burn himself," Shouta says, and Hitoshi sheepishly puts the matches away.
Izuku's attention is on the match for a while, but eventually focuses back on the food.
Eri points out all the different ingredients and names them, and it's starting to seem like despite Izuku's endless curiousity, he's now starting to hit that limit of information he can absorb. His eyes are basically spinning along with his thoughts, and Shouta manages to distract Eri just enough to give Izuku a little bit of breathing space.
When they sit around the table, Izuku stares down at his spoon and then looks at Hitoshi's chopsticks. He points to them, and Izuku isn't pleased enough with just knowing their name, as he shakes his head after Hitoshi says it.
Izuku points to himself, and then back to the chopsticks.
Hitoshi blinks. "Ah. Um."
He looks to Shouta for guidance, and Shouta takes a moment to consider before he gives a small shrug and gets up to go back in the kitchen and pick out another set of chopsticks. If Izuku wants the challenge, then Shouta does not want to deny him of something he wants if he can have it.
He gets out a wooden set, leftover from a time he'd gotten take-away, and he splits them before he passes them over to Izuku. Izuku gives him a nod, and then carefully studies Hitoshi and Eri holding the chopsticks before attempting to grip them himself.
His grip is clumsy and awkward, too close to trying to hold the chopsticks like a pen. Hitoshi takes
it upon himself to slowly show Izuku how to grip the chopsticks, placing down each finger and watching Izuku try and copy the movements.
It's difficult trying to get him to make small adjustments, as Hitoshi can't explain and Izuku can't understand. But he seems to pick up enough, finally gripping the chopsticks a little easier.
Hitoshi reaches down into his dish and shows him how to use them, and Izuku air-mimes the movements, so intent on copying the moves that his mouth opens at the same time as Hitoshi's despite the fact he has no food.
Hitoshi gestures for him to go ahead, and Izuku does his best. His chopsticks slip, and the food usually falls off the chopsticks before he can properly grip it. When he does manage to grab some, he loosens his hold too much and it falls back down into the bowl before Izuku can get it in his mouth.
Izuku groans, but he doesn't give up. He's clearly taking this as a challenge, and he seems intent on completing it tonight. They all usually finish their meals rather quickly, but they're all in silent agreement to eat slower and give Izuku more of a chance and less pressure to finish his own.
He manages to eventually, his grip naturally adjusting and getting better as he gets used to it. He's still much slower and clumsier in comparison, and they do finish their meals before him despite how slow they've been eating, but it's considerable progress.
After the last mouthful, he grins and places down the chopsticks, chittering with a smile. Realising quickly that he's not making much sense to them, his hand comes up to slap against his mouth, ears going red.
"Good," Shouta says with a nod, giving Izuku a small smile when it takes Izuku a moment to remember what good means.
"Yes?" Izuku asks, and Shouta nods again. "Yes."
Izuku's hand lowers, but thankfully the smile remains on his face. He's staring down at his food, apparently embarrassed by the compliment and the attention.
Eri and Hitoshi clean up the dishes, and Izuku isn't too sure of what's really going on, but he still follows them into the kitchen to watch them as they put them in the sink.
Eri then goes to wash up while Hitoshi and Shouta do the dishes together. Izuku watches them, still at that careful distance, but close enough to see what they're doing. Hitoshi picks up a towel, drying the dishes that Shouta washes, making quiet conversation about Hitoshi's day at school.
They finish up, and Hitoshi glances back at Izuku, hesitating.
"So, um. Washing up, with him..." Hitoshi hedges, and Shouta exhales a deep breath.
It's the mundane things, he thinks, that are going to be some of the hardest.
"Yeah, I was just about to try and figure that out," Shouta answers, and Hitoshi glances between Shouta and Izuku for a moment.
"I'll, uh, help," Hitoshi offers, and Shouta is grateful.
Explaining to Izuku exactly what washing up is turns out to be quite the task. Hitoshi impressively mimes washing himself up, but it means little to someone that's probably never used a soap product before and has never had reason to.
Izuku stares at both the shower and the bath, eyes widening as Hitoshi turns on the shower just to demonstrate.
"Water?" Izuku asks, just to confirm, and Shouta nods. "Yes," he replies. Izuku stares at the shower, head tilting.
He walks out of the bathroom, and they both follow him. He heads to the kitchen and over to the sink, pointing at the detergent that Shouta had used and then points to the drying rack.
Izuku then turns around and points to himself in question. Shouta decides to just nod, because he thinks that Izuku is trying to compare the shower with himself to the dishes and the detergent. He thinks.
It seems to satisfy Izuku, even though he still seems a little confused as he heads back into the bathroom. He looks around it again, and his gaze remains on the bath.
He points to it. "Water?"
After confirming it does relatively the same thing as the shower, he seems a lot more interested in it. Shouta decides to plug it and turns on the taps, then makes sure that there's all the things they need beside the bathtub. Izuku and Hitoshi stand together and watch the water fill up, and eventually Hitoshi rolls up his pants, but gets Izuku to take his off.
"I'm just going to help him in," Hitoshi explains, checking the temperature of the water before he steps into the bath. He holds out his hand for Izuku, and Izuku takes it after a moment of consideration.
Hitoshi gets him to sit down in the water, and Izuku does so. There's not enough room for Hitoshi to do the same, but now that Izuku is safely down in the water and hasn't slipped, he sits down on the edge instead.
Izuku's hands skim through the water, a furrow between his brows and he begins to bite down on his lower lip. It's clear that he's lost in thought, and it's obvious to make the connection why.
Izuku is covered in water, but his legs do not change. He stares at them like he's waiting for them to, but Shouta still has that grip over his form, and he's not going to test if Izuku can breathe under regular tap water. Izuku sinks down in the bath, shoulders hunched, clearly feeling lost now that he's so different in such a familiar element.
Hitoshi looks at Shouta. "It's okay. I got it."
Shouta stops his question of you're sure? before it slips from his lips. Hitoshi is clearly certain of himself here, and Shouta trusts him to know that. "Alright, I'll get him some clothes."
Hitoshi nods, and Shouta goes to pick up an outfit for the night to place on the bathroom counter, and then leaves them be. Just as he exits, Eri peeks her head out of her room, giving Shouta a sheepish, shy smile. He immediately walks over to her, and she presses her lips together as she gathers her courage.
Eventually she holds out her hairbrush. "Will you, um, do my hair?"
He usually does, after she washes it, but she's still always a little nervous to ask despite the fact he's glad to do it. He gives her a smile, and gestures for her to follow him out onto the couch. She grabs a pillow off the couch and places it down on the floor, sitting cross-legged on it as she switches on the television.
She passes him back the brush, and he works on untangling her hair. She's not the most gentle with it after washing it, likely a habit picked up from Shouta in all honesty, and he probably needs to curb it. Still, her hair untangles, and he starts to braid her hair back now that it's mostly dry.
Hizashi has taught him how to do it, and Oboro usually tends to practise on Shouta's hair because Hizashi's always has so much product in it. They're both trying to teach Eri to do it as well, as Shouta manages to mess up whenever he does it on his own hair — but he's definitely getting better with Eri's.
When he finishes, she hums happily and presses her fingers over the bumps and ridges in her hair before she grins. "Okay, now you!"
He nods obediently and they swap places. Eri has to get on her knees even though she's on the couch, because Shouta is still just a little too tall for her to properly get the pieces. He closes his eyes and is contempt as he feels Eri brush through his hair.
She's halfway through attempting a braid of her own when the bathroom door opens up. Hitoshi walks through the door first, and Izuku follows, shuffling ever-so-slightly as he passes through the doorway. He's still got that clouded gaze that he adopted once he stepped into the bathtub, his fingers clenching at the fabric of his pants with his eyes cast down.
He looks up though, likely feeling Shouta's eyes on him as he meets them immediately. Izuku has a second to take in the scene before him — Eri kneeling on the couch, strands of Shouta's hair between her fingers as she crosses them over, with her own new hairstyle.
Izuku's head tilts slightly before he ducks it again, the moment lost. Shouta doesn't move because he doesn't want to disrupt Eri's work, but thankfully Hitoshi is beside Izuku and encourages him to walk down the hall and into the guestroom.
Eri finishes up on his hair, and she's undoubtedly getting better at it now. She's carefully kept all the strands away from his face, and has tied it back so the top half comes into a small bun. He thanks her, and they both sit around on the couch for a little while longer just to watch some television together.
Hitoshi wanders out and heads back to the bathroom, properly washing up now that he's not focused on helping Izuku. Izuku takes a while to wander out of his room, holding the empty cup that had been beside his bedside.
Shouta stands up and heads to the kitchen, and Izuku takes it as a gesture to follow him. Shouta passes him a new cup first, and then takes the old one to put in the sink to wash up tomorrow.
Izuku fills up the cup on his own, holding it with both hands as he takes a sip. He looks a little more refreshed now, that melancholic ache no longer so visible on his expression and dragging his shoulders down. Shouta heads back over to the couch, leaving it open if Izuku wants to come sit down as well.
He doesn't — he chooses to stay in the kitchen, sipping his water until most of it is gone, and then fills it up again. Once he has, he walks over to the couch, but does not sit by or on it.
"Goodnight," he says instead, and they both return it. Eri gets up as well, even though Shouta hasn't prompted her that it's time for her to head to bed. She says goodnight to Shouta, giving him a small hug, before she heads down the hall and knocks on Hitoshi's door to bid goodnight to him as well. Izuku hovers behind a little awkwardly, a little too far for Hitoshi to likely see him, unsure of if he should say goodnight as well.
Evidently he doesn't, and eventually heads into his room as Eri heads into hers. Neither of them shut the door, and Izuku does not turn off the light at his bedside.
Hitoshi wanders out eventually, not sleeping as early as the other two. They both sit quietly with the television on as background noise, both scrolling through their phones.
It becomes clear, after just a little too much time, that Hitoshi is going to have trouble sleeping tonight. Shouta gets up and decides to brew some tea, setting out two cups for the both of them. It seems like it'll be a difficult night for them both.
Shouta usually struggles after a night where he's slept well, like his body just can't get used to two- days worth of sleeping decently. It'll take him a while to wind down, and it's clear something has managed to wind up Hitoshi as well.
He passes over the mug of tea to Hitoshi as he sits back down on the couch.
"Anything you want to talk about?" Shouta asks, and Hitoshi knows that it's not something he has to answer if he doesn't want to.
He hums though, hands wrapped around the mug and keeping it close to his face, which means he's thinking about what to say.
"Just got a lot of memories popping up," Hitoshi sighs out eventually, taking a small sip of his tea. "Things I haven't thought about in a while."
Shouta nods — it's been the same for him. He can't help but remember how Eri and Hitoshi were when they first came to him, trying to draw on that experience to help him navigate this current one. He knows it's what they've been thinking of, remembering, too.
"I just..." Hitoshi breathes out. "I really can't imagine going from that to... this, when you can't... when you don't know the language and you have a whole new body. It must be terrifying, yet he seems to be holding up... well, a lot better than I did, I think."
"You held up exactly how you needed to," Shouta answers with a small shake of his head, not wanting Hitoshi to dismiss his own reactions to the situation. "Everyone's different. And you and Eri reacted in different ways once you knew you were safe as well. The difference is, right now, he doesn't know that he's safe yet. He's just doing whatever he can now to survive."
Hitoshi sits quietly, letting Shouta's words sink in and reflect on them. His mouth twists, and he looks to the door of the room Izuku is staying in, eyes half-lidded as he contemplates over his thoughts.
Eventually, he sinks back, curling tighter around the mug of tea. "I guess so."
Shouta doesn't enforce Hitoshi with a bed-time, but he does gently remind him that he does need to get up early for school. Hitoshi lingers around for a little longer, but soon picks up their mugs and puts them in the sink.
"Goodnight, dad," Hitoshi says with a wave, and Shouta raises his hand lazily in acknowledgment
despite the fact he always gets a burst of warmth and energy whenever Eri or Hitoshi call him as such.
He's still restless, so he does a little grocery shop online to be delivered tomorrow. Until they can introduce Izuku properly to the outside world, Shouta won't be getting out of this apartment much, and he resigns himself to the fact a lot of things will now be getting delivered.
He might be able to send Eri and Hitoshi out together if they want anything extra, and he'll make sure to slip some extra money to Hitoshi to do so. It's with this thought that he falls asleep on the couch, dreaming of a grocery store with rows and rows of tanks of water.
The next few days pass by in a similar fashion.
Eri and Hitoshi head to school, and Shouta spends the day with Izuku, teaching him materials that he's basically burning through, a month's worth of content learned in mere hours. He makes lunch for both of them, and it seems that Izuku has taken a particular liking to chicken.
There's a lot of pointing in the household now, a lot of questioning noises and frustrated grunts. Izuku is still learning how to piece together his words — and every new word he learns just brings forth many, many more questions, once he figures out how to ask them.
Four days in, Izuku follows him into the kitchen — properly now, no longer with that distance he so carefully keeps, and picks up the hand-towel and starts to dry dishes that Shouta washes. He remembers where most of the dishes belong, and he'll ask "where?" if he doesn't.
Chiyo also comes by, just to check on his health, and gives Shouta an approving nod once she finishes checking him over.
"He's looking much better," she says with relief. "He's going to be lacking in vitamins, especially D. But his heart-rate is much better now, as is his overall health."
She gives Shouta a couple of different medicines, like a mix of vitamins and immunity boosters, but she says he's taken the shift well and there seems to be no further issues.
She does, however, state that Shouta also definitely needs to go outside, and orders him to take daily walks, and to bring Izuku along with him if he's worried about the time-limit or leaving him alone.
Shouta thinks it over — Izuku is quite confident with walking now, and though he's still building up his muscles to get used to it, the time he can stay standing is increasing every day.
So the next day, after doing his best to explain to Izuku the plan, they head together out of the apartment and out of the building. Shouta doesn't plan on walking for long — just down a street or two, just to get Izuku more exposed to the outside world, as well as see how he holds up doing so.
Izuku is still suspicious of the world around him, but he is also in awe of it. His gaze is constantly wandering, mouth open as he takes in all the different sights. Thankfully he doesn't seem too overwhelmed, more excited than anything, as he walks beside Shouta.
He doesn't ever move away from Shouta, even though Shouta would probably let him go a few
steps ahead of him. But Izuku stays stuck to his side, shying noticeable from other people walking by them. Shouta keeps Izuku closer to the walls for that reason, acting as a barrier between him and other people.
If something gets his attention, Izuku still doesn't stop to admire it. Once Shouta realises Izuku is staying beside him, he's the one to stop and let Izuku admire whatever it is that's caught his attention, letting him have a moment to regard it without worrying that Shouta is going to leave him alone.
He's extremely fascinated by trees, reaching up to touch one that's planted on the sidewalk. They've been in all his study books, plenty of diagrams and pictures about trees and other types of nature, and Izuku has always regarded them with fascination. Now, right in front of him, he's incredibly excited to properly touch the leaves and bark and feel the texture under his fingers.
"Wow..." Izuku says softly, a word he's learnt from Eri.
They don't stay out much longer, because Izuku's excitement is beginning to shift into feeling overwhelmed and Shouta can see it happening. So he walks them back home, and Izuku is basically buzzing in his skin once he's back through the apartment door, going straight to his notebook to start drawing things.
Izuku is suspicious of the world, and clearly of other people, but he's also doing his best to learn all about it — and right now, he trusts Shouta enough to teach him.
Shouta finds little moments, glimpses where he catches Izuku smiling and talking to himself, unaware of those around him. Or — not unaware, because Izuku always seems overly aware of every presence around him, but more like he just doesn't mind. He's letting them glimpse at his real moments, the true moments of wonder and awe.
His notebook fills quickly — by the end of the school week, he's needing another one. Shouta orders in a couple more, and also manages to find some old study books and schooling content from Eri's previous years. Izuku is happy to study and learn more about the world around him, though he seems bashful as Shouta hands everything to him.
Every day, Naomasa messages him with an update, which is usually a grand total of a whole lot of nothing. Sometimes another kid finds a home. Sometimes they manage to get results back from the lab, but they're still breaking down the components, because there's certain elements they can't identify properly. Or, rather, they just don't quite exist above the sea.
This continues on for a few days, and into the next week. Near the end of the week, just before Eri and Hitoshi come home from school, Shouta takes the moment of privacy while he has it to approach a topic he hasn't in a few days.
Now that Izuku can communicate to an extent, Shouta decides to show him an image of the ocean and underwater on his phone. Izuku takes it and scrolls through the images, mouth twisting.
"My home," he says with a nod, but passes the phone back with a troubled look on his face.
"Yeah. Do you want to go back there?" Shouta asks him, and though he went into this conversation suspecting an answer, Izuku's reaction has made him pause.
Izuku shakes his head. "No."
"No?" Shouta prompts, and Izuku huffs.
"Not..." Izuku's eyes scan over the room. "Not... safe?"
Shouta nods, to show that Izuku has used the word correctly. But it brings forth a worrying slew of other questions, and he probably needs to record them for Naomasa to note down and put on record, but he'll deal with that later.
"Why not?" Shouta asks, and Izuku seems to shrink in on himself.
"Mermaids..." Izuku sighs, head tilting back as he looks up at the ceiling. "I wasn't fast enough. Strong enough. I was too..."
Shouta waits patiently for Izuku to find his words.
"Wanted to be... different. I wanted to be human," Izuku finally continues, and his gaze drops down to look at Shouta seriously. "So the mermaids... left me to humans."
"To... those humans? The ones that had you in a cage?" Shouta asks, fury twisting his stomach and tightening his throat.
Izuku's eyes dart away from his own, and he nods slowly. "Yes. They... found me."
Shouta exhales, pressing his fingers into the corner of his eyes. Quietly, whispering it so that Izuku
doesn't hear it, he says: "Shit."
"Don't want to go home," Izuku says quietly. And then, sadder and softer: "I can't."
"Okay," Shouta replies decisively with a nod. "Okay, we won't make you."
"Really?" Izuku says, eyes wide and he slowly turns back to look at Shouta. "But you want to... take... children home?"
"Only if they want to go home," Shouta responds, realising Izuku has probably been listening in to his conversations with Naomasa and picking up on his words much more than he thought. "If it's not safe for them to go back, then we find them a new home."
"New home..." Izuku repeats slowly, like he's dissecting every angle of the words. "If that's what you want," Shouta says, and Izuku presses his lips together and thinks. "Yes," Izuku says, giving Shouta a small, shy smile. "It is what I want."
It is the first time that Izuku has told Shouta of something he wants.
"Alright then. We'll do our best," Shouta says, and that's that for now.
He texts Naomasa with the new information. Naomasa will still be looking for the water components, just in case anything goes wrong and Izuku ends up as a mermaid again, but now they're no longer entirely focused on finding Izuku's actual home to return him to it. Naomasa will come by to visit within the next couple of days, because there's things they need to discuss.
Just as he finishes texting Naomasa, Hitoshi and Eri return from school. With them, they've brought back small treats and candies with different flavours. They seem to be intent on laying them out in front of Izuku, and getting him to rank his favourites now that he understands numbers.
Izuku seems to be enjoying it as well at least, closely studying all the packaging and trying to figure out the different tastes. Shouta's probably in for a scolding from Chiyo when she comes to
check up on him about keeping him on healthy, sustainable foods, but it's worth it to see the three of them smiling together.
A new home, Shouta thinks back on. Currently, he's the best option for Izuku as he's controlling his shift, but it's not a good permanent solution. It's not even a promise, and Shouta had basically foolishly given it regardless, because he'd wanted to reassure Izuku.
But the fact is, Shouta won't be able to hold onto Izuku's shift forever. There'll be a time when they're separated, when Shouta is gone for more than an hour, and Izuku will need the water. Izuku doesn't want to return to the ocean, but it also might be the only place he can go.
Keeping him in a tank is inhumane, and there's no conceivable way they could create one big enough not to be. Izuku wants his legs, but he might not be able to keep them forever.
Shouta will do his best to try and think of something, though, because Izuku had seemed so hopeful, finally stating something he wants. And Shouta is going to do his damned best to uphold that.
Thankfully, Izuku has learned what the word guest means, as they've used it before with Chiyo. But it is a little more difficult explaining to him who the visitors are going to be, if they're not Chiyo.
He does manage to communicate that one of their visitors is going to be Naomasa, as Izuku has a sketch of him in one of his notebooks, so Shouta points him out and relays his name.
But it turns out Naomasa is bringing over Yagi Toshinori of all goddamn people, because apparently Shouta is probably going to be interested in what he has to offer to the case. That's certainly intriguing, as Shouta can't quite imagine what he's going to be doing with the man most well-known in their field, and well-known and beloved by the public.
Honestly, he didn't even think that Toshinori dealt with these kinds of cases at all. He has no idea what the hell ties Toshinori into everything, and why Naomasa is bringing him into his home.
Still, Izuku doesn't seem too nervous as Shouta explains that they're going to have visitors come to see him. Hitoshi and Eri are at school, and though Shouta would've preferred them to be here to help ease Izuku's anxieties around different people, it also seems like Naomasa intends for this visit to be private.
Naomasa knocks on the door around the time Shouta expects him to, and he stands up from his chair at the dining table.
"Good?" Shouta asks Izuku, just to make sure, and Izuku gives him a nod. "Yes," Izuku confirms, making no move to get up from the table.
Shouta opens up the door just partially, and Naomasa raises his hand in greeting. A man stands behind him, and Shouta almost asks who the hell Naomasa has brought with him, when he realises that this man — this skinny, hollow man, has the same glint in his eyes that he's seen in Toshinori's.
"Well," he says. "You look different in photos."
Toshinori laughs, though it sounds a little like he's choking on his spit. He seems sheepish, which is strange considering his usual stature and demeanour that he portrays in the media. And Shouta has heard plenty of stories about Yagi Toshinori, and there are very few men that Shouta would dare challenge to a fight, and Yagi Toshinori is probably one of them. He's heard more than enough about him.
"Hello, Aizawa. Thank you for letting me come by," Toshinori says, and he's definitely got the same voice that Shouta knows him to have, but the projection of his voice isn't booming like it usually is. "You'll have to forgive my change in appearance, it's... ah, complicated."
Fuck, isn't everything in Shouta's life?
Shouta glances behind him to make sure that Izuku is still calm enough before he cracks open the door in invitation.
Naomasa and Toshinori barely open the door further as they slip inside, and Toshinori shuts the door gently behind him. They slide off their shoes, keeping them neatly at the side, as they enter Shouta's home.
Shouta keeps careful watch of Izuku, tracking his expressions and movements, making sure he isn't too anxious with the visitors. But Izuku's head has snapped up in interest, and though Shouta expected him to regard Toshinori with suspicion, now he's just staring him wide-eyed in wonder.
Huh, Shouta thinks to himself. Maybe even Yagi Toshinori makes the news underwater.
Toshinori is looking right back at him, and they're both just silently regarding each other. Shouta's really not too sure what's happening. He looks over to Naomasa, who's looking right back at Shouta, giving him a gesture to just wait.
Izuku tilts his head and clicks his tongue. Shouta actually hasn't heard it in a couple days, and for a second he almost thinks Izuku has suddenly forgotten how to speak Japanese.
And then Yagi Toshinori, a hero amongst humans, clicks right back, and then continues.
He's not just mimicking Izuku. He's actually speaking, his tongue managing to make the sounds that Shouta, Hitoshi, and Eri have struggled to try and copy for days now as they try and learn basic sounds from Izuku.
"Fuck me," Shouta mutters. He looks over to Naomasa again. "I thought you couldn't get a translator?"
Naomasa gives him a smile and walks over to stand by him, both of them watching as Toshinori and Izuku talk excitedly to each other in a language that no one else can understand — not above land, at least.
"I didn't exactly know Yagi could speak it until a couple days ago," Naomasa responds. "Turns out, Takami found out about the case. Honestly, thinking about it, I believe he's likely the reason I could even fight to get Izuku in your care."
Shouta nods, thinking over the words. Keigo is a well-known case of the commission keeping hold of one of the rescued children, using and building him for their own whims rather than focusing on reuniting or giving him a loving home to go back to.
Shouta's run into him a couple times, and though Keigo seems well-adjusted and surprisingly optimistic in his approach to cases, Shouta has also caught glimpses of his sharper edges. Keigo works under the commission quite loyally, but he is also sceptical of them, and will always do the best he can for the children rather than the commission.
"Anyway, he reached out to Yagi, because somehow he knew that he spoke the language of mermaids," Naomasa explains, gesturing to the man in question. He's taken a seat at the table with Izuku, and they're both talking deeply to each other.
"And is Yagi..."
A mermaid?
"He just knows the language," Naomasa replies, cutting in slightly. "He says he picked up the language from his mentor, but he's a little more secretive about that."
"I see," Shouta says, because it doesn't seem like Naomasa is going to have any of the answers to Shouta's questions.
Eventually, Izuku and Toshinori turn to look at Shouta and Naomasa, and then Toshinori turns back to Izuku and asks something. Izuku raises his hand in a so-so gesture, and Toshinori nods contemplatively before he turns back around and gestures for Naomasa and Shouta to join them on the table.
"I explained to young Izuku here about the commission, as well as our roles involving these kinds of cases," Toshinori explains, and his voice naturally flows easily over Izuku's name, giving it the proper pronunciation that Eri is still working on. "But it seems he's picked up on most of it, anyway."
"Yes, I have learned a lot," Izuku chimes in, and Toshinori's eyes widen in surprise for just a single second before he calms his expression.
"Well, my boy, it seems you were understating your ability to understand the language," Toshinori laughs.
"I have to learn more," Izuku replies, though his cheeks are reddening under the praise.
"He's picked it up very quickly," Shouta says, directing it towards Toshinori. "Much faster than I can learn his own."
Toshinori's tongue clicks, more just in thought rather than actually speaking in the language of mermaids. "It is a difficult language to learn. I had... well, the benefits of knowing similar languages, let's say. Without that foundation, it is definitely a struggle."
Shouta looks to Izuku, who is smiling as widely as he does when Eri gives him a particularly nice candy. He looks relaxed, happy now that he has someone that can understand him if he gets stuck with his Japanese.
"I'm just sorry I did not hear about this case sooner," Toshinori says, shaking his head slightly. "It must have been quite difficult, between all of you."
Izuku looks uncertainly to Shouta, and then lowers his eyes and does not respond. It is up to Shouta to speak, then.
"It was definitely a learning curve," Shouta admits, tapping his fingers against his arms as he folds
them. "But the speed at which Izuku learned to communicate definitely helped."
Toshinori nods. "I hardly think I'll be needed to translate, but that's not quite the reason I came here to begin with."
Shouta tilts his head, a gesture for Toshinori to elaborate.
Naomasa steps in to speak. "Yagi has some more insights into the components of the water, as well as the shifting."
Shouta supposes this must be very private information — Naomasa is treading carefully, and he hasn't told Shouta about any of this over the phone. This is not information that Naomasa wants to hand over to the commission, but he is readily giving it to Shouta.
"Mermaids do not, exactly, live in the ocean," Toshinori says, his fingers tracing circles on the table like he's drawing a diagram. "Rather, mermaids live in a world beyond just the ocean floor."
Shouta suppresses a shiver. He's always disliked the ocean.
"It's almost like there are certain portals they can control and swim through," Toshinori continues, and now his fingers tap down on the table. "Typically, they don't go between the worlds, as they can't quite breathe our regular seawater. They can, for a couple of minutes at a time, but it would be like standing on top of a mountain with no oxygen. It's simply not viable for those mermaids, and this is why we do not find them in our waters."
Those mermaids, Shouta takes note of.
It seems Toshinori picks up on him noticing, as he gives Shouta a wry smile at the corner of his
lips.
"You see, those mermaids can't shift into humans. It's not possible for them — their bodies are not made to breathe the same oxygen," Toshinori explains, and Shouta is pretty sure his brain goes entirely blanked, wiped entirely of thoughts except for one word.
Toshinori pauses, and Shouta thinks it must be for dramatic effect, because what is he meant to say to that revelation?
"What?" Shouta asks, aloud, because it's all he can offer.
"It's a very rare, and very old gift, for a mermaid to be born with the ability to shift between worlds," Toshinori replies. Definitely for dramatic effect, goddamnit. "If there'd have been any other mermaid caught, the broken tank indeed would have been a problem for their oxygen intake."
"So... he's fine in normal seawater?" Shouta hedges, and Toshinroi nods.
"In more danger because of the humans, but yes, he would be physically fine," Toshinori answers. Naomasa does not seem surprised by this information, and Shouta wonders just how long he's known about it.
"And he can potentially shift on his own?" Shouta asks, and looks over at Izuku, who's looking down at his legs contemplatively. He doesn't seem to know the answer, either, and Shouta is just glad that at least someone at this table doesn't seem to already know the answer.
"Potentially," Toshinori answers. "This I know less about, but I know it can be done. I believe you are the reason he is currently shifted, correct?"
Shouta nods. "Yeah."
"I think it is something one must learn, so if you were to loosen your control, he would likely be unable to shift back on his own right away," Toshinori replies.
"So I can practice with... the seawater?" Izuku pipes up in question, and Toshinori nods at him.
"Indeed, my boy," Toshinori says. "It just might be difficult getting the privacy to do so."
"There are private strips of beaches..." Naomasa says in thought, his fingers resting on his chin. "It might be difficult with the commission watching us, I'm sure that I could find something, if you're interested in doing this, Izuku."
Izuku looks over to Shouta, and he slowly nods. "Yes. Shouta cannot... leave, because of me, correct? I will learn."
"Well, you are a fast learner it seems, my boy! You will have no trouble at all," Toshinori tells him with a big smile, clapping his hands together once in encouragement.
"I can probably get Takami to pull some strings," Naomasa adds, mostly speaking to himself.
"Just keep us updated," Shouta says, pulling Naomasa out of his whirlwind of thoughts before he can get lost in them. "If it's too dangerous, we'll consider other options."
"What, like bringing buckets of seawater into your bath?" Naomasa laughs, shaking his head.
"Actually," Toshinori jumps in. "Regular water should be okay, too."
"A bathtub is too small for a mermaid," Naomasa sighs, pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose. "Aizawa, you are not putting a mermaid in your bath."
Shouta raises his hands. "I literally never said anything about using my bath. You're the one talking about it."
"Yes, because I know you were thinking about it," Naomasa responds.
Guilty.
"I was not," Shouta lies, though he folds his arms and looks away.
"Bath is okay," Izuku says quietly. "It's... I like it. Nicer than the tank."
"Oh jesus," Naomasa groans. "See, this is why you're not going in the bath, Izuku. Your standards are shockingly low."
"We're going to the beach," Shouta says, to both Izuku and Naomasa to calm him down.
Izuku taps at Toshinori's arm, getting his attention. He seems embarrassed, and his voice slips into his first language as he talks to Toshinori.
Toshinori laughs well-naturedly after a sentence, and says his name. Izuku repeats it, then nods to himself, and then continues to speak. The next couple of sentences make Toshinori appear more serious, humming as he thinks of a reply.
They go back and forth for a bit, and Naomasa looks over to Shouta and speaks quietly.
"He really has picked up the language fast, huh?" Naomasa mutters, and Shouta nods.
"Unbelievably fast," Shouta admits. His writing skills are lacking slightly, as he's more focused on learning how to speak and string his sentences together, picking things up from how he hears them. But still, his writing ability is nothing to scoff at — days of progress look like any child's many, many years.
"And how are Eri and Shinsou? How's he with them?" Naomasa asks.
Shouta knows he's smiling, and he ducks his head slightly to hide it. "They're good with each other. Hitoshi's siren heritage went a long way when they first met, and Eri... well. Easy to say they adore each other."
Naomasa nods, and settles back into his chair. "That's good. Have you heard at all from Shirakumo or Yamada?"
"Here and there," Shouta replies, hand coming up in a so-so motion. "I haven't introduced them yet to Izuku. Other than Chiyo, you've been our only guests."
"And will you? Introduce them?"
It seems like Naomasa is digging for something a little deeper, and Shouta's head tilts as he regards the words.
"Most likely," he responds, because it's the truth. If Izuku desires to stay with him, then in due time, they will meet each other. As long as Izuku's mind does not change, then Shouta's answer has no reason to either.
Naomasa nods to himself, and the topic ends. But Shouta picks up another one.
"How's the commission? With him?" Shouta asks, head bobbing forward to gesture to Izuku.
"I think Takami did a hell of a job getting them to look away," Naomasa mutters. "They don't know about the history of mermaids, nor the fact that Izuku might be one of the only mermaids who can shift, and we're hoping to keep it that way. If they find out he's able to do it on his own... well."
Shouta nods. He doesn't like the chances of being able to keep Izuku out of the commissions personal playpen if they were to find out.
"To them, it looks like we're still trying to figure out the components of the water," Naomasa continues. "It's going to be a problem if they see him shifting on his own. It helps with Takami looking over this, at least, and now Yagi."
"Yeah," Shouta mumbles. "Kid's got some good people looking out for him." Naomasa pats his shoulder. "He sure does."
Izuku and Toshinori seem to finish their conversation just around the same time, and Izuku has that same, stubborn determination set into his features that he tends to get when he's focused on finishing a goal.
"What were you two discussing, hm?" He asks, curious, though his tone is light-hearted enough that he knows Izuku won't feel pressured to actually answer.
"Shifting!" Izuku replies excitedly, but he immediately settles, muttering to himself, switching
between languages. Shouta manages to catch grasps of different words, but they don't mean much on their own.
Toshinori laughs in amusement. "We were discussing how to help Young Izuku shift. Unfortunately, I don't know much about it myself, and I don't think my advice will be of much help."
"No, no!" Izuku immediately jumps in to refuse, head shaking. "It helps!"
He thinks that if Izuku wasn't still whirring so clearly with so many different thoughts, apparently enlightened by the conversation, he'd probably be stringing a lot more words together in a rush. But it's all Izuku can say before he clicks his tongue, and then groans, shaking his head.
Toshinori leans over and ruffles his hair, and then speaks to him in the language Izuku is more familiar with.
The assurances seem to work, but Izuku's cheeks are still a little puffed like he's worked up. But he doesn't seem as annoyed by his slip-ups in his speech, so Toshinori's words have helped him.
"Alright, we have to wrap up here," Naomasa says, standing up from the chair. "Thanks for having us, Aizawa."
They all follow, standing up from the table. Izuku seems to be stuck, deciding on if he should hover beside Shouta or Toshinori.
Toshinori takes notice, and he crouches down to speak to Izuku, slipping back into their language together. Izuku seems reassured at least, and he doesn't seem so torn to watch Toshinori and Naomasa leave.
"I'll keep you updated, of course," Naomasa says in parting. "Say hello to Eri and Shinsou for me." "Next time, you're welcome to visit when they're home," Shouta says, and Naomasa nods.
You can trust them with these secrets.
"Noted. Take care," Naomasa says understandingly, and heads towards the door.
Toshinori stays behind for a moment, walking over to Shouta.
Shouta speaks up first. "Thank you for coming. Being able to translate will mean a lot."
"Honestly, I'm a little rusty on the language," Toshinori replies, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. But there's a hint of sadness in his tone that Shouta picks out. "There's not really many places to practise it, so this was good for me, too. It's nice to speak the language again. Anyway, in case you or Young Izuku need anything, I'll give you my details."
Shouta passes Toshinori his phone, and he can pick out that Toshinori isn't all that good with technology as it takes him a while to work out exactly how to add a new contact. Shouta is patient though, and eventually Toshinori passes back the phone with the new contact.
"I will most likely see both of you soon," Toshinori says, and then follows Naomasa towards the door with a wave.
The door shuts behind them, leaving both Izuku and Shouta alone once more.
Izuku is basically bouncing on his feet, and Shouta huffs in amusement. He is overwhelmingly
glad for Toshinori's presence, though — they haven't been stuck trying to communicate anything too drastic as of late, but having the chance to properly translate likely means a lot for Izuku. It definitely brings a sense of relief for Shouta, knowing that Izuku can share his familiar language with someone else.
And the fact that Izuku has a chance to shift on his own — that's promising. It is a little worrying to think of the fact that if they'd caught any other mermaid, they really would have struggled as Shouta's ability would have been useless, and Shouta's not glad that they caught Izuku, but... he is relieved that he was able to help Izuku, in the end.
And it'll be good for Izuku to be able to shift on his own. It'll mean he isn't just relying on Shouta, and he'll be able to shift on his own at will. It also means that Shouta will be able to get back to work, eventually, able to help in future missions if he isn't just holding back Izuku's usual form.
"He's very kind," Izuku says suddenly, slightly surprising Shouta.
"Hm?"
"The man with black hair," Izuku explains.
"Tsukauchi," Shouta reminds, and Izuku nods and repeats it to himself determinedly. "Yes," Izuku says. "He is nice. Even the night I was in the tank."
Shouta's pretty sure that Naomasa had likely looked more stressed, than anything, in the midst of such an intense case and dealing with a mermaid in a cracked water tank. Today, Naomasa had been a lot calmer, his usual friendly demeanour properly on display without all the stress.
Still, Shouta supposes Izuku's usual definition of kindness is likely not the same as most, well- properly treated people.
"He is nice," Shouta replies in agreement. He's certainly surprisingly optimistic for their line of work, and though some days it grates on Shouta's nerves, it's also sometimes exactly what he needs. What everyone needs, really.
While Shouta's thoughts continue on the trail of Naomasa, Izuku's seem to lead elsewhere, as he speaks up on a new topic.
"We're going to the beach?" Izuku asks him, hopefully.
Shouta gives him a small nod. "When we get approval from Tsukauchi, yes."
"Approval..." Izuku repeats, thinking.
"A 'yes'. We have to make sure it's safe," Shouta explains, and Izuku nods in understanding. "Okay!" Izuku says excitedly, looking down at his legs.
"Izuku," Shouta says, because there's a thought at the back of his mind now that he can't quite let go of. Naomasa said that Toshinori has learned the language from his mentor, but it doesn't quite explain Izuku's first reaction upon seeing Toshinori. "How did you know Yagi would understand you?"
"Ah," Izuku says, settling down. "Like Shinsou, he has... um. Like a feeling. Here." Izuku splays his hand over his chest.
"Like he's a siren?" Shouta questions, and Izuku shakes his head.
"No, not quite. It's... like when mermaids are around each other. But his was... different. I don't know," Izuku huffs, fingers digging in slightly to the fabric of his shirt. He can't explain the feeling in Japanese, but Shouta isn't quite sure if he'd be able to quite explain it in his first language either.
"Okay," Shouta says, not wanting Izuku to work himself up about explaining it to him. Toshinori is certainly a mystery, and Shouta isn't a fan of those — but if he's helping Izuku, then Shouta is prepared to let some of his reservations go for now.
Whatever secrets Toshinori has, it's clear that they are deeply personal. And right now, they're not important for Shouta to know, or to dig into.