Capítulo 2007: 26
Chapter 26: Projection Summary:
Shinso's quirk is just so fun to think about!
Notes:
Art!
Micheal.with.a.bee
Memes!
X X X X
Have a happy and safe Thanskgiving to everyone in the US!
Chapter Text
Hitoshi restlessly curled his toes inside his shoes as he tried not to move his head, "Are you guys actually sure this is safe?"
"Of course it is, Extra-Credit-Kun!"
He couldn't see Hatsume and it was honestly kinda freaking him out. He knew his kidnappers wouldn't hurt him on purpose...on accident though was another thing entirely. And wasn't that a comforting thought to have while strapped to a brain scanner.
"Don't worry dearie." Recovery Girl's voice came from the same general area as Hatsume's. "My machines actually work without blowing up."
"Hey, it's part of my creative process!"
"I'll accept that when you and your classmates stop coming to me with burns!"
"Most of them give those burns to themselves." Hatsume insisted sullenly. "Their inventions blow up too."
"Not as much as yours, dearie."
None of this was actually comforting. Recovery Girl may be kind and grandmotherly, but she was honestly just as intimidating as Hatume and Midoriya were in her own way. She'd taken one look at the bags under Hitoshi's eyes and immediately threatened to physically knock him out if he didn't take better care of himself, all while muttering something about almost worse than Aizawa under her breath. It was scary.
"Don't pay any attention to them." Midoriya at least could understand his predicament, considering that he was lying in a machine right next to him. "It's gonna be fine! Recovery Girl, are we ready to start?"
"Yes, dearie, let me just…" there was a concerning pause, "and there! You may begin!"
"Alright, Shinso! Just ask me a question!"
"Why are you all like this?" Hitoshi deadpanned.
"Like wh...?"
Midoriya's voice sounded genuinely confused before Hitoshi took control of him and mentally ran through the commands they had discussed beforehand, "Alright. Blink twice."
He couldn't see Midoriya obeying the command, but he must have because Hatsume made a very interested noise, "Oooh! Which is which?"
"This one is Shinso's and this one here is Midoriya's." Recovery Girl responded. "This is fascinating…"
"Am I good to keep going?" Hitoshi asked.
"Yes!" Hatume yelled. "Do it!"
"Ok…" Hitoshi said hesitantly. "Um...what's your name?"
Midoriya stayed silent.
"Next!" Hatume ordered.
Hitoshi rolled his eyes. He didn't know why both these questions had been on the list, considering that they were the same question, "Tell me your name."
"Izuku Midoriya."
Hitoshi startled, sitting up and staring at Midoriya in shock, half expecting him to have somehow broken free of his control, but no. Midoriya's eyes were still glazed over and empty.
"Bink twice." Hitoshi ordered.
Midoriya blinked.
"What the fuck…" Hitoshi whispered. "I...I can't control upper brain functions! I...he shouldn't be able to answer that! I didn't tell him to say Izuku Midoriya, so he should have stayed silent!"
"You ruined it!" Mei complained as she went and pinched Midoriya's arm. "You weren't supposed to move!"
Hitoshi was too shocked to respond, but Midoriya couldn't shut up as soon as he had control over his mouth again, "I was right! Recovery Girl! Did you get the pictures from that last question?"
"Yes, of course I did, dearie," Recovery Girl sighed and looked sternly at Hitoshi, "Though we're lucky that you didn't move before those were processed. What if they'd blurred? That's why you don't move during brain scans!"
Hitoshi was still just trying to process everything as Midoriya went to go look at the scans, and he may as well have been the one brainwashed judging by how numbly he obeyed when Midoriya waved him over to come look as well.
"Alright, so here's the pictures from our conversation before you activated your quirk." Midoriya pointed to the screens. "When you were talking, your brain lit up like this, and when I was talking, my brain lit up."
Midoriya nodded to Recovery Girl, who pulled up another set of brain pictures, "Now these are the ones from that last experiment. In these two, you're giving the order, but in these, I'm responding. What do you see?"
Hitoshi looked at the pictures and frowned, "You saw that these two are when you were responding?"
Midoriya nodded.
"And this is my brain," Hitoshi pointed at the screen as he talked, "and this one's yours?"
"Yep!" Midoriya smiled knowingly.
"...But why is my brain lit up when you're talking?" Hitoshi was so confused. "Are you sure you're not getting them mixed up? Shouldn't your brain be lighting up like it did when we were talking before?"
"Exactly." Midoriya grinned. "I think the reason why it takes so much effort to maintain your quirk's connection without taking control is because your brain is actually connecting to their body. Rather than simple brainwashing, it's almost as though you literally put yourself in the driver's seat, almost like a projection of your own consciousness. I wonder if you could learn to see through their...no, not right now, we can explore that later. The big thing is that even though you didn't tell me exactly what to say, I was still able to respond because you know my name!"
Hitoshi's mind was whirling, "But...that still means that my quirk is useless for information gathering. They can only tell me things I already know."
"For now, yes." Midoriya said. "But we've already been practicing having a partial connection when you wait to activate your quirk, so now we just need to see if you can give that partial control back to the person you're brainwashing. You'll still be in control of their mouth, but they'll be able to access their own memories."
"In which case, both your brains will light up!" Hatsume added. "I wonder if there's a baby that would make that easier."
"I am not having any of your babies near my brain." Hitoshi said quickly. "No. not happening."
"Oh, you're no fun." Hatsume pouted. "But you're gonna need a lot of practice."
Hitoshi nodded in determination. He'd never thought being a hero was going to take anything less.
"So...I hear you've taken an interest in my problem child." Hizashi said over dinner, looking like he wanted nothing more than to have a wide smile as he said it.
"He's not a problem child." Shouta said stubbornly, glaring at his husband. "And if he was, he'd be Majima's, not yours."
"Just because the two students that keep kidnapping him are support course students doesn't erase the fact that he's in my homeroom." Hizashi paused and grinned at him. "For now…"
"Shinso has to prove himself at the sports festival before he can join my class." Shouta said. "If he keeps up with the determination I saw the other day, he might just have a chance, but only if he doesn't think his quirk is an ace in the hole. My students aren't stupid. They'll figure out his quirk sooner rather than later, so relying on that alone won't be good enough."
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport." Hizashi threw a pea at him, which Shouta dodged. "Give the kid a chance, maybe he'll surprise you. He does have two of the top support students in their year on his side."
Shouta sighed, "That's what I'm worried about. Shinso may not be a problem child, but those two definitely are. What kind of first year helps with a villain attack and makes himself a target when he doesn't have to?"
"A mini-nedzu?" Hizashi suggested helpfully.
Shouta snorted, "No. He's still nicer than the rat."
"I'm glad you like them." Hizashi smiled. "It's been a while since you've actually taken a liking to a student."
"My job is to keep them alive." Shouta pointed out. "Not to like them."
"Still, I'm glad you're starting to take Shinso under your wing." Hizashi said, turning back to his food.
"I'm not taking…"
"You are." Hizashi cut him off. "And that's not a bad thing, Shou. You know that right?"
"He has potential." Shouta tried to defend himself, but his husband knew him better than that and simply gave him a mischievous smile. Oh no, he didn't like where this was going.
"You know, I know you said that our students keep us busy enough that we don't need kids of our own, but…" Hizashi said suggestively.
"We are not adopting Shinso." Shouta said firmly. "Even if we had time to adopt a child, which we don't, Shinso has parents of his own."
"Actually, he doesn't."
That made Shouta do a double take, "What?"
"I said he doesn't have parents of his own." Hizashi frowned. "I didn't ask the details, but his file says he's currently in a foster home. So if you wanted to…"
"We're not adopting him." Shouta insisted. "He's probably very happy where he is and there's absolutely no reason to uproot him from a good situation to move in with two of his teachers, which would be weird enough, but then those two teachers also work two jobs each. Three, in your case."
"Aww, Shou…" Hizashi whined playfully. "You do care about him!"
Shouta glared at him, "Nevermind. Shinso has been officially upgraded to problem child and it's entirely your fault."
"Aw, don't be like that!" Hizashi laughed. "I mean, we could be a very happy…"
"Still not adopting him."
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