Today was off to a great start, if Hizashi did say so himself.
He woke up in his comfy bed next to his husband, the two of them surrounded by cats and warmth. Breakfast was a simple yet filling meal of eggs over rice, with a little miso soup on the side. He'd even managed to get Shouta to eat more than usual! His husband had looked annoyed about something—probably a problematic student in his new class—but he'd still smiled fondly when presented with his cat-themed bento for today's lunch.
So, Hizashi's got a good feeling about today!
Classes are officially beginning, after all. So many fresh new faces this year... hopefully Shou won't go and expel too many of them. It's kinda hard to teach English to an empty classroom.
Normally the two of them would carpool to school, but Hizashi is practically buzzing with energy right now.
He knows Shouta's gonna want to stay home until the last minute, sipping at his coffee and going over lesson plants until his alarm to leave goes off. And Hizashi knows his husband is a good teacher, for all that he tried to deny it. He simply cares too much.
But caring doesn't mean he's gonna give up his peaceful morning just to get to the classroom a couple minutes early.
The spring weather outside's just too good for Hizashi to pass up though, so he decides to get some walking in and happily sets out while the sky is still dusky. He smacks a kiss right on Shouta's cheek before he leaves.
It's a little misty out, leaving behind a pleasant chill that thankfully doesn't bite too much past his leather jacket. Besides, his signature hairstyle and low-roofed cars don't mix well, and most people are still asleep at such an early hour, so no one's around to spot and recognize him as being Present Mic.
All in all, Hizashi is expecting a peaceful, if slightly boring, journey to UA.
That's not at all what ends up happening.
He's only made it a few blocks away from their apartment building when Hizashi spots something, someone. Someone oddly familiar standing in the alley he's just passed by.
Hizashi doubles back as soon as his brain has processed what he saw.
Even then, he has to blink and blink again, even gives a light shake of his head before looking again just to make sure he's seeing right.
It's... Shouta?
Yeah, that's definitely Shouta, but what on Earth is he doing here?
And... is he eating something?
"I, wh—Shou?" he manages to get out, still not fully understanding what he's walked in on.
His words make Shouta startle, makes him look up at Hizashi with—holy shit, are his eyes glowing?!
Concern instantly replaces Hizashi's confusion when Shouta starts to hyperventilate, backing away with... fear? Something clatters to the ground, but neither of them pay it much attention.
"Wait-!"
Hizashi's body moves without conscious thought, his arms coming up to gently take his husband's face between his palms once he's within reach.
He's surprised by just how cold Shouta's skin feels, but at least he's stopped trying to run away. Instead, now he's just staring at Hizashi with wide, fearful eyes.
The expression is so foreign on his face that it breaks Hizashi's heart.
Now that he's able to look closer, he can see multiple bruises and a smeared trail of dried blood marring Shouta's face. Did he get attacked by someone?
"How'd you get so hurt already... I just saw you before leaving the apartment," Hizashi hears himself say, though he's more focused on the painful looking scar just under Shouta's right eye.
It looks too old to be fresh...
"What are you even doing out here, Shou?" Carefully, he brushes his thumb across the old wound, wondering what could have left such a mark. And how had it already healed to the point of being white?
Whoever thought they could hurt his Shou and get away with it was gonna be in for a world of hurt once Hizashi got his hands on them.
For a moment, Shouta looks like he's about to collapse forward into his arms just like that. Hizashi watches with concern as his shoulders shake, uneven breaths puffing against Hizashi's wrists as he leans into his touch. Idly, Hizashi brushes away some of the dried blood near Shouta's temple.
Then, it's like a switch gets flipped, and something flickers in those familiar dark eyes.
Something like... panic?
Hizashi isn't expecting the sharp nails that swing at him, catching on the worn leather of his hero costume and causing him to startle away from the blow.
"Oh, shit—" he hisses, quick to regain his balance.
And then his husband fucking snarls at him and throws Hizashi off balance all over again. Bared teeth and all, like some sort of rabid animal.
"Woah—calm down, Shouta, it's just me!" Hizashi tries to placate, but it's obvious that Shouta isn't listening anymore. He can only watch as the man he's known for damn near fifteen years back himself into the wall, looking about half a second away from bolting.
Hizashi doesn't understand. What could have caused such a violent reaction from the normally stoic Shouta? He's seen the man fight villains that would have most heroes screaming in terror, all with that familiar neutral frown and the occasional sarcastic quip. But there's no one else in the alleyway other than the two of them.
What is he so afraid of?
Maybe Shouta has a concussion? It does look like he's got a head wound, after all. So maybe that's why he's acting so strange and unlike himself?
If that's the case, getting him some medical attention sooner rather than later is important.
Hizashi tries to keep his voice steady for Shouta, even despite the apprehension swirling around in his gut. "C'mon, baby... you know me. How 'bout we get outta this gross alley and get you to Recovery Girl, yeah?"
Keeping his movements slow to as not startle his jumpy husband, Hizashi continues murmuring nonsensically, half trying to keep himself calm as well as Shouta.
"Shut up," Shouta growls.
Hizashi can't help but flinch at the words—spit with such venom. He's not used to hearing such a tone directed at him.
Actually, well... plenty of villains have said much worse, but this is his husband. This is Shouta. Kind, quiet Shouta, with his heart of gold that was so much bigger than he ever let show. Shouta, who cried tears of joy at the altar on their wedding day. The man who would never intentionally harm Hizashi were he in his right mind.
The man who, just half an hour ago, had been baby talking at their cats while dressed in his favorite hot pink pajama pants.
Aizawa-Yamada Shouta, the hero.
Shouta, who says, "You're not Mic, so just drop the fucking act already."
...What?
More confused than anything now, Hizashi's head tilts to the side while he goes over the past few minutes in his head, trying to figure the puzzle out. It feels like he's missing some key pieces here...
Something just isn't adding up.
When Hizashi clenches his hands, he can feel the warm metal of his wedding band sat snugly on his ring finger; a comforting weight that helps him clear his thoughts and focus on the situation at hand. He takes a steadying breath in, and asks, "What're you talking abou—"
"Was that the plan all along?" Shouta cuts him off, voice dipping so deep that Hizashi can nearly feel the rumble of it from here. There's a wild look in Shouta's eyes, his whole body visibly trembling with emotion.
"—Split us up then pretend to be someone else to gain our trust?"
Us...? Who's Shouta talking about?
"...Well?!"
Something occurs to Hizashi at that exact moment that he probably should have realized much sooner. The signs are all right in front of him, making the answer oh-so obvious in hindsight. A new puzzle piece clicks into place, connecting the other pieces together.
Right! Shouta must've been hit by a quirk, and a nasty one, at that.
Judging by the hostility and confusion, it was likely some sort of mental quirk. It's even possible that it'd been a transformation quirk, and the villain had made themself look like Present Mic in order to get the drop on Eraserhead.
It could even be a combination of all that, with an addition of other kinds of nasty things with how messed up Shouta looks
So it's a good thing they have a place in place for this exact sort of scenario!
Before Shouta's got a chance to sneak off like he's trying to do, Hizashi calmed says the first part to their secret code; "Even storm clouds..."
"...Have their silver lining," Shouta replies quietly, then immediately freezes. Hizashi can tell he hadn't intended to respond, and that the word's meaning was only just starting to sink in.
Relief floods Hizashi's chest, and he feels an easy smile fall into place.
Shouta's still in there, under all that panic and pain. His husband is right here. Now all he has to do is get him to Recovery Girl and everything will be okay.
"See?" Hizashi says. "See, I'm real. It's me, Shou—"
But Shouta reacts violently, his panicked breathing picking back up once more. "No, no nO NO! Hizashi is dead, he's DEAD—"
It feels like everything slows to a stop, and Hizashi's only able to watch, wide-eyed, as tears pool in his husband's eyes. Shouta's voice cracks with emotion, so full of grief and heartache like Hizashi hasn't heard since the death of—
He can't move, can only stare helplessly as his husband falls apart a few feet away.
"...You're dead," Shouta whispers hoarsely.
What the hell did Shouta go through in the short time between leaving their apartment and being found here for him to think Hizashi is dead?
Before Hizashi can get a chance to even begin trying to figure out how to fix this mess, Shouta pushes away from the wall and sprints full speed away from the street—away from Hizashi—and deeper into the maze of alleys.
Jolted out of his thoughts, it takes Hizashi another second before he's running too, desperately trying to keep Shouta in his sight despite the still low light of dawn.
"Shouta, come back!" he cries out, panic gripping his heart when he sees Shouta rip himself away from the decrepit looking wooden fence he'd scaled, only bits of black fabric being left behind to flutter in the breeze.
By the time Hizashi's managed to climb over as well, he can only just make out the sound of footsteps retreating in the distance.
Cursing his luck, he takes off once more, fiddling with his hearing aids and straining to keep up. Yet even as the barely audible sounds fade into nothing, he doesn't stop. Hizashi is left to run aimlessly from alley to alley in the hopes of finding something, anything. Hoping to pick up on Shouta's trail.
But after what feels like hours, Hizashi has to admit defeat.
Shouta is long gone.
"Shit!" he swears, slamming a fist into the nearest wall as he pants harshly. He skins to his knees, staring up at the quickly brightening sky while he tries to regain control of his breathing.
Knowing Shouta, he could be anywhere by now.
A loud buzz from his pocket startles Hizashi badly, making him jump and let out a little 'eep!' that's thankfully quirk-free. While he reaches into his pocket to grab his phone, he uses his free hand to dial his hearing aids back down to a normal level.
His screen is lit up with a text from Nemuri.
SleepyTime (7:12 a.m.): Where the hell are you, Yamada? It's only the first day of class, how are you late?
LOUDandPROUD (7:13 a.m.): Shit, sorry!
LOUDandPROUD (7:13 a.m.): Ran into Shou on the way there. He's hurt and I lost him, so not sure when I'll be there
SleepyTime (7:14 a.m.): ?
SleepyTime (7:15 a.m.): The duck are you talking about? Shouta's right here?
Hizashi stares at his phone screen in mounting confusion, brows furrowing.
What the fuck?
Did Shouta run all the way to UA without him?
LOUDandPROUD (7:16 a.m.): Right where?
SleepyTime (7:17 a.m.): In the staff room at UA, where you should also be!
SleepyTime (7:17 a.m.): You feeling okay? Need me to cover?
Texting back a reluctant affirmative, Hizashi sighs and drags a hand down his face.
He's already dreading having to explain to Nedzu why he was late for the first day of class. Seriously, what the fuck?
Grumbling to himself, Hizashi pulls up the map app to figure out exactly where his wild goose chase led him... Geez, he's way off course. It's gonna take him a while to get to UA at this rate.
With a huff and another curse, Hizashi stuffs his phone back into his pocket and takes off at a jog towards the nearest train station.
Thankfully, he able to find a seat and doesn't get bothered by too many fans.
By the time Hizashi's rushing through the gates of UA, he's already missed first period. But that doesn't matter right now—not to him.
He slides open the door to the staff room with probably a little too much force, and is quick to seek out the black haired man sitting at his desk. There.
There's Shouta, shooting him a look and mouth already opening, probably to scold him for being so damn late.
Without a word, Hizashi darts forward to gently but firmly hold his husband's face, just like he did before in the alleyway.
Whatever Shouta was about to say, he doesn't. He leans into the unexpected touch easily, staring back at Hizashi with a questioning gaze. His annoyance is apparently forgotten in the face of Hizashi's odd behavior.
Brows furrowed, Hizashi runs his thumb over the smooth skin under his husband's right eye.
No scar.
"You're not hurt..." he says under his breath.
The mumbled comment makes Shouta frown, turning in his office chair to fully face him. He rests a hand on Hizashi's arm. "Why would I be injured?" he asks.
Hizashi doesn't respond, too focused on absentmindedly rubbing the unmarked skin over and over. He's stopped by Shouta's other hand grasping his own. They lock eyes.
"Hizashi, why would I be hurt?" Shouta repeats, genuine concern creeping into his tone.
"I don't know!" Hizashi throws his hands in the air, careful not to accidentally hit Shouta when he does so. Then he begins pacing around the room. "I... I don't know. I ran into you on the way here, and—"
He takes a moment to collect himself, heart still aching at the memory of seeing Shouta in such a bad state. "And you were just... hurt. You looked so scared, Shou."
The room is silent for a long, tense minute.
Hizashi risks sneaking a glance, and sees a similar concern reflected back in Shouta's eyes.
"That... wasn't me, Hizashi," Shouta says finally, standing from his chair to walk over and place a comforting hand on Hizashi's shoulder. "I'm not sure what you saw, but it wasn't me."
"I know what I saw," Hizashi insists.
He flops down into his own officer chair and crosses his arms, then adds, "He knew our secret code, Shou."
"Which one?"
"Even storm clouds," he answers easily, though there's an odd feeling stirring in his chest at having said that phrase twice in the same day.
"Have their silver lining? ...Huh." Shouta looks thoughtful, likely thinking the same thing Hizashi is.
Something's going on, and it probably isn't good.
Shouta sighs deeply, scratching at the nape of his neck while he sits back down at his desk. "I believe you," he grunts. "We'll have to be careful if there's a doppelganger of me running around."
Then he tilts his head at Hizashi. "Have you spoken to Nedzu about this yet?"
Hizashi's grimace is all the response he gives.
"...That's a no, then. We can go together once classes are over," Shouta says simply, as though he weren't writing out Hizashi's obituary.
Slamming his head down onto his desk, Hizashi groans.
Today's gonna be a long day.