Chapter Text
~~• 10 •~~
‘’Ruriko…’’ Hitoshi started but the greenette cut him off. ‘’I know you don’t like it, trusting adults isn’t something any of us want to do, but I’m willing to at least try trusting Eraserhead. He hasn’t turned his back on us yet, which is already more than anyone’s done for us. Until he gives me a reason to doubt him, I’m willing to consider his words.’’ The room falls silent under the tense thoughts of both Mikan and Hitoshi. Atsuko and Hina were both watching them wide eyed while Junpei shyly focused on his meal and Kokoro was stubbornly pretending like she didn’t care.
The silence was broken when Mikan got up to clear the table and usher the kids to go get the education notebooks Ruriko made. The greenette was already learning several college level things and had made notebooks for the rest of them to learn from. Using this, Mikan and Hitoshi were already well beyond their age group in education. Hitoshi was almost done with third year high school material and Mikan was only two years behind him, finishing up first year high school material. Soon enough, the other four weren’t going to be far behind.
‘’I want to test him before I make a final opinion, but for now I will trust in Ruriko’s judgment.’’ She states as she returns to the coffee table where her brothers still sit. After a minute, the kids return with small stacks of notebooks. "Alright!" She addressed the kids. "First let's start with Japanese. Did you all finish your worksheets Ruri gave you yesterday?"
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Aizawa had not been expecting the Trickster Spirits to open up to him last night. Even if it wasn't too much to go on, it was still a wealth of information for such secretive and elusive vigilantes. Victims of human trafficking? A significant item of wealth? What the hell would have led up to that? Kidnapping probably. Does that mean they could be one of the many missing child cases? What about Midori? He wanted to ask Tsukauchi to look into it but he would need something to narrow it down a bit first.
The page in his hand crumpled in his fist and his quirk flared as he tried to contain his anger. "Hey, woah there Shouta." Hizashi's voice refocused him and he glanced down to see the form he was filling out was ruined. He let his hair fall down and his eyes fade back to their normal slate gray. "What's up with you today? You've been a bit spacey and tense all morning. Did you not get your coffee?" They were in the teachers lounge, both Kayama and Snipe were there too, waiting for the tired man's reply. Aizawa took a deep breath and sighed, sinking his head into his hands with elbows on the desk. "I finally made progress on a case but… what I learned implies a lot of disturbing things." He mutters. His friends are silent until Kayama asks, "What kind of things?"
"Human trafficking for one… or at least trauma pertaining to it. Animal captivity and possibly abuse ranging at least three years. Also they're kids and probably don't have a stable home or resources." By the time he finished talking, Aizawa's forehead rested on the desk and his arms hung loosely. The others didn't know how to respond to their friend's defeated form. "Who are the kids?" Hizashi inquired for the group. Aizawa tilted his head sideways to look at his husband. "The Trickster Spirits." Dead silence.
"Who?" Snipe and Kayama say in unison. "You mean you got info on Tanuki and Kitsune?!" Hizashi sputtered in disbelief. He'd been there through his husband's three year long struggle since he got that case. Aizawa nodded. "How'd you pull that off?" Hizashi almost yelled.
"Quiet down Zashi."
"Wait. I'm confused. Who are Tanuki and Kitsune?" Kayama asked.
"They're a vigilante duo that appeared over three years ago. I got the case a few months later and have been working on it ever since." Aizawa explained.
"So why is Mic freaking out?" Snipe asked this time.
"Because, in three years their profiles are still pathetically thin. Last night," The tired pro turns to his husband now. "Tanuki was acting a little weird. More playful like Kitsune tends to be. I asked why blah, blah, blah… Long story short, I asked him how he met Midori-"
"Who's Midori?" Kayama interrupts. "The little green dragon that hangs with 'em." Hizashi supplies and gestures for Aizawa to continue.
"Anyway, he ended up telling me that they escaped human traffickers together… and that before that, Midori spent three years being circulated through the underground high class. Then I asked if they were being hunted because of the rumors I heard…"
"What did they say?" Hizashi prompted when his husband fell silent.
"They said yes."
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The wait for the Yuuei letters finally came to an end. Hitoshi and his brother both gripped the heavier than usual envelopes as they roof hopped back from their fake address. All their siblings were eagerly awaiting them in the common space, three of them on the couch and Michan and Junpei kneeling at the coffee table. With bated breath, seven pairs of eyes carefully watched as Hitoshi opened his slightly bulky letter first.
A thin metal hologram disk rolls briefly on the surface of the table before settling and projecting a large muscular blond with a loud, "I AM HERE! AS A PROJECTION!" A soft hiss pulled his attention to the greenette beside him. Said greenette was staring lasers at the hologram, one of his fangs digging into his lower lip and drawing blood.
Before the purplette could say anything, the projection of All Might continued. "To start, you young man, passed the written exam with a spectacular 94%, earning you first place! Well done! As for the practical, you only managed to score 33 villain points." A pit opens in Hitoshi's stomach, feeling like it was swallowing him up from the inside. Did… Did he really fail? After everything? "That alone is not enough to pass." He could taste the bile in his throat. He fucked up. He failed, ruined his only chance. He would never achieve his dream. Never be a hero.
He couldn’t help but grip his hair as his breath shortened and his thoughts spiraled.