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So far, he had kept Aizawa's contact with other people to the absolute minimum. No one save for Eri and himself had had contact with him. All part of the plan to break him of course, but Chisaki had other reasons for shrinking his world. He needed his baby to be ready before he showed him off, and they were just about to that point. Nearly three months in and Aizawa was already doing exactly what he wanted him to do. Playing, fussing, the total loss of independence...with each passing day he was acting more and more like a real baby.
He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy having the hero rely on him. It wasn't like with Eri; she wasn't his. He had been given Eri, but he had chosen Aizawa. He was perfect for their plan with that quirk of his. The payoff of eventually having a guard with unwavering loyalty that could nullify quirks would be invaluable too. But that was for the future, when he was allowed to be a big boy again. Right now and for awhile yet to come, he was still just a baby.
Chisaki's baby.
Tomorrow, he would show him off tomorrow. He had some business with a mutual party of theirs, a broker under Aika Nakamura’s employ—and wouldn't they be surprised to see the thorn that had been in the entire underground's side for years finally brought to his knees?
Though that was tomorrow, and tonight he needed to finish his baby's nighttime routine. He had already given him a bath and gotten him dressed, had gently brushed out his damp curls. Which left his bedtime story and bottle.
"What should we read tonight, Shouta-chan?" he asked. For as long as he had been implementing this routine they had gone through quite a few children's books. Chisaki had only started recently asking which he would like to have read to him, curious if any of the books had caught his baby's interest, but he only ever shook his head. Maybe it was too big of a decision for him to make.
Except tonight it would seem his baby was full of surprises, and he actually answered.
"The...the rabbit?" Shouta whispered, voice unsure.
Interesting. Certainly not the story Chisaki would have guessed would be the one he wanted repeated. But who was he to deny him? He was supposed to be his kind and doting caregiver, after all. So he retrieved The Velveteen Rabbit from the bookshelf and returned to the bed, leaning against the headboard.
The way Shouta immediately curled up to his side and settled in was only too good.
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you.
A lot had certainly happened to Shouta. In a short amount of time he had gone from an independent pro hero to Chisaki's special side project. And now he was just like a real baby.
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
Hurt was a relative term.
He had only had to take his eyes, cut into his body more times than he cared to count, and wear him down through the childish treatment.
What did it mean to hurt?
"Sometimes."
By the end of it Shouta was twisting his kitten in his hands and had tensed slightly. Something else was going on in his head, but Chisaki knew how to pull him back from whatever big, scary thoughts he was having. He needed a little guidance was all. Soon though he wouldn't have these little anxious spells and would trust him implicitly with none of his grown-up thoughts getting in the way.
"Do you think Tama is Real, Shouta-chan? I know you love her," he prompted.
As predicted, Shouta latched onto the distraction. It was easier, softer, than his other thoughts. "Uh huh. Tama is very Real."
The lack of hesitance and the sureness in his voice were both good signs. Chisaki simply hummed in response and set the book aside on the nightstand, swapping it out for the waiting bottle of milk. He instructed the baby to open and nudged the nipple against his lips, his mouth falling open to take it.
As Shouta adjusted to the pull of the bottle he kicked his feet. From his understanding it was to expel nervous energy, so Chisaki didn't try to correct the behavior. After a few moments the baby settled down and melted into his chest.
"Such a good boy," he crooned, smoothing back his hair with his free hand. There was a slight snuffle from behind the bottle. "Tomorrow you've got a big day. Papa is going to bring you to work with him."
Fingers flexed, open and closed, as they clung to his shirt, a tired yet curious hum coming from the baby as he drifted off.
Mostly Shouta got to listen in on some phone calls from his spot on his play mat. Chisaki delegating orders about the antiquirk bullets they were producing, discussing what channels they should flood with the drug first, things like that. And while before he might have had to worry about the boy connecting the dots, it was obvious that his mind firmly believed the idea that his papa and Overhaul were two different people. The quiet sounds of his blocks were the only noise interrupting the monotony.
Though even that small amount of noise halted when Chisaki's guest arrived. The baby had tensed at the unfamiliar footsteps and unfamiliar voice, a slight whimper crawling out of his throat. How adorable.
They exchanged the standard niceties before sitting down to discuss things. With the Hassaikai having suffered a significant loss of numbers during the raid, Chisaki was hoping to get the other group to help with distribution until they had recovered. Of course that would mean they would want a cut, but whatever agreement their negotiations resulted in surely wouldn’t be permanent, and the Hassaikai would still have a corner on the market. They could handle a small loss of profits at the beginning.
There was a small lull. Nakamura’s representative (and honestly, he hadn’t bothered remembering their name) hesitated and glanced over at Shouta. "I'm not talking business if you've got someone listening in."
What kind of stunt did they think he was trying to pull?
"I think you'll find you can make an exception," Chisaki said, giving them a warning look. "Shouta, come here, please."
The baby's head swiveled in the direction of his voice, and he followed the sound as he crawled over towards him. When Shouta bumped into the sofa he sat back and reached up. The request was quickly heeded, and he found himself in his papa's lap.
“He’s not going to give away any secrets, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Chisaki told them, his attention focused on the boy as he brushed his bangs out of his face. To Shouta the action was soothing, but it served another purpose beyond that. “As you can see, he isn’t a threat.”
There was some satisfaction to be found in the disgusted look the broker gave when they realized Shouta had no eyes. And as with any good information broker worth their salt, they began to piece together who they were looking at. Ignoring the fact that this grown man was dressed like a toddler, a few important things stood out. Namely the hair and eyes, or lack thereof in the case of the latter. Knowing that Overhaul ran an organization that wasn’t above torture, this was also some sort of precaution, so the eyes must have been related to his quirk. And with a certain pro hero being missing...
"Is that...Eraserhead? All the news outlets say he's dead!"
The baby shifted and hid his face in Chisaki's chest, despite not being able to see whoever was talking about him. No one had called him Eraserhead in a long while. The reminder of who he had once been appeared to upset him. Shouta barely registered that his papa had carefully adjusted his hold on him, bouncing his knee slightly and patting his back.
"I can assure you he isn't. He's been under my care."
They snorted. "'Care', huh? Is that right?" He would ignore their laughter for the time being. It was unusual after all, for Overhaul to dirty his hands with anyone. They shouldn't be punished because his reputation precedes him. An almost nervous sort of laughter bubbled out of their throat, an incredulous tone in their voice. "Do they take care of you here, Erasey?"
The tone was nothing like what Papa used with him. It was mocking, overtly so. Sort of like how Overhaul spoke to him. Shouta didn't say anything, didn't do anything for a moment, but hesitantly nodded when prodded again.
"Funny, I didn’t think pros were supposed to be so timid… How pathetic. No wonder everyone thinks he's dead. Seems he was all bark and no bite. Probably glad to be rid of him too."
Another whimper. Shouta clung tighter to his chest, and it didn't go unnoticed.
"Don't upset him," Chisaki warned, voice taking on a darker edge. Only he was allowed to say things like that to Shouta, and he only did it with a goal in mind when he was filling his role as Overhaul. "If you upset him, then we'll find someone else to work with."
"Fine, fine, I won't insult your little doll any more! But you gotta admit, it's funny as hell. Big bad Eraserhead acting like a defenseless baby. There's a lot of people that would kill for a chance to have a swing at him now, or even to see him like this..." they trailed off, a thoughtful look on their face. Like they were figuring out how much they could get for him.
"That's too bad, considering he's mine now."
The subject was dropped, and the conversation drifted back to business, but Chisaki was only half paying attention to the offer being made. While he intended to show him off, show everyone what he was capable of doing to a person that crossed him, Chisaki had no intentions to sell him. Let Nakamura’s broker go back and tell her what they had seen. It wouldn’t change anything; Shouta would still be his.