Chapter Text
Yamada Hizashi was in kindergarten. He was five—a mature five, like his mom and grandma said—and very able to walk himself home, let himself in, and take care of himself, thank you very much. So, he was very disappointed to have been picked up by his uncle, Kyoutoku, no matter how cool he was.
Hizashi’s teachers gave Kyoutoku the side eye. He had on a leather jacket over his high school uniform and his blond hair was done straight up into the air with spikes. It didn’t matter how polite he was, they only saw a rock-and-roll hoodlum; just like when they looked at Hizashi and only saw a little boy too loud and too curious to just sit still and obey.
“Why’s your hair spiky?”
“Because I can.”
“Why’s your uniform wrong?”
“Because I want it to be.”
“Why aren’t we going home?”
“Because your mom is at work and my mom has a doctor appointment so she can’t watch you today, little dude.”
“What’s a dude?”
Kyoutoku not only tolerated, but encouraged Hizashi’s curiosity. “It’s a guy who’s cool.”
Hizashi gasped. He was a dude ? He knew someone else who was a dude too. “You’re a dude! ” He cheered, letting his quirk kick in so everyone could hear how awesome his uncle was.
“No, you’re a dude, little dude!” Kyoutoku did finger guns and laughed when Hizashi tried to mimic him.
Hizashi followed along behind Kyoutoku as they walked down the crowded street full of salarymen and other kids on their way home from school. “Can I spike my hair like yours?”
Kyoutoku nearly tripped over his own two feet. “My sis—your mom would kill me.”
“Oh.” Hizashi pondered the matter seriously. He wanted to look as cool as his uncle, but he didn’t want his uncle to die . He stuck out his lip in a pout. “I guess I won’t spike it then.”
Just when he was getting curious and about to ask where they were going again, he saw the fence and hedges that surrounded the park. He knew this place! There was a rainbow painted merry-go-round, and a train rocking horse, and a slide that was a tongue coming out of a giant cat head, and—this playground was his favorite! Hizashi quickly ignored his uncle and ran into the park to play.
It was crowded, but he was loud and made friends easily. He played and ran until he was exhausted. Hizashi limped over to uncle Kyoutoku, like a hero severely injured in a villain fight.
“They got me! I’m gonna die!” He rasped out dramatically and fell across the bench.
“Don’t worry, I got a health potion,” Kyoutoku chuckled and tapped an apple juice against Hizashi’s head until he took it.
Hizashi shrugged off offers of help and fiddled with the wrapping for the straw until he got it out. He pierced the little foil spot on top of the juice box and looked out at the playground while sipping his drink and thinking.
Running around the playground were dozens of kids just like him. Unlike him, they all went running to one of the adults sitting on a bench. All the older kids in school uniforms seemed to be hanging out with each other. None of them were at the park with their nieces or nephews. Hizashi was the only one here without a parent. A parent, because he didn’t have two; he only had his mom. Worst of all, his mom wasn’t even here. She was away, working, again, like always.
He slurped the last of his juice up; the straw made gurgling, sucking noises against the bottom corners of the box. Other kids were running to their moms and dads for snacks, or having both hands held as they went home for dinner.
“Why don’t I have a family?” Hizashi asked, kicking his feet and resisting the urge to throw his juice box on the ground and stomp on it.
“Eh?” Kyoutoku cocked his head, the tips of his hair spikes flipping in the spring breeze.
“A mom and a dad. Why am I different? Why don’t I have a family like everyone else.”
Kyotoku scuffed his feet against the dirt and turned to face him, “Whoa, whoa. First of all, rude, I’m family too. Second of all, there’s more to a family than just a mom and a dad. There’s all sorts of families. You’ve got a mom who tries so darn hard for you, and a grandma who knows you’re the best, and a super cool rock-and-roll uncle.” Kyoutoku finished his declaration with a thumb pointed to his own chest.
Hizashi rolled his eyes. “Do uncles count? Sensouji says real families are married parents and their kids only. He says I’m weird cuz I only have one mom and an uncle.”
“Do you think you’re weird?”
Hizashi sat upright from his slouch and thought. “No!” Then he slumped back down again. “Not until Sensouji said I was.”
“What does Sensouji know? He’s five!”
“Five and a half,” Hizashi corrected reflexively.
“Little dude, take it from a man a decade your senior: we are family.”
Hizashi snorted and rolled off the bench to laugh on the ground. His uncle was hilarious.
“What’d I say?”
“You’re old! Like a” Hizashi cackled at his own as-yet-unspoken joke, “ senior citizen!”
“I am not that old!”
Hizashi stood up and crossed his arms, “You called yourself a man.”
Kyoutoku sputtered. Ha! Hizashi was right! His uncle didn’t have a comeback for that. Eventually Kyoutoku got himself under control and they left for home.
“We’re ho~me!” They called out together and put down their school bags.
“Welcome back,” Mom replied from somewhere in the kitchen. “Dinner will be a while. You boys get started on your homework.”
Ugh. Homework. Hizashi opened his mouth to whine when Kyoutoku elbowed him into silence.
“Sure thing big sis!” He called out sweetly. Then he whispered, “Think we can sneak in one episode of Kamen Rider before we get started?”
“ Yeah! ” Hizashi shouted.
Kyoutoku tried to shush him, but Mom leaned out of the kitchen to call, “Glad you’re excited for your education, but mind your volume sweetie!”
“Yes, mom,” Hizashi said in an inside voice.
“Phew!” Kyoutoku sight and made the ‘safe’ gesture from baseball.
Hizashi giggled at him until Mom leaned out into the hallway to look at them again. “Kyou~to~ku, no Kamen Rider until after dinner.”
“How did you know!” They both wailed. Hizashi even fell to his knees dramatically.
Mom pulled a face. “Seriously? I’m your sister. I let you watch Kamen Rider before dinner when you were Hizashi’s age.”
Kyoutoku stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned forward like a delinquent. “So what changed?”
“You’re my brother, he’s my son.” She pointed between the two of them with a bamboo spatula. “Now, be good boys. Dinner will be ready in a half-hour.”
They did their homework. Kyoutoku helped him with the tougher parts and complimented his coloring. Hizashi was very good at drawing triangles. He needed to be because triangles made megaphones, and those were loud, just like him.
Grandma came back shortly after they’d finished their homework. Hizashi and Kyoutoku ran over to hug her and welcome her home. Dinner was nice, with everyone talking about their day. Afterwards, they all watched Kamen Rider together while pleating dumplings for tomorrow’s dinner. Hizashi was in charge of scooping the gelled soup into the wrappers Mom cut out, while Kyoutoku added the minced meat and vegetables, and Grandma sealed the tops of the delicious dough buns.
“My children are so good,” Grandma praised, “There’s something so peaceful about doing something so simple surrounded by the ones you love.”
Mom nodded in agreement. “Remember this, Hizashi. I made dumplings with my mom, now you’re making dumplings with your mom. Family is about enjoying the little moments with the people you care about.”
“Okay, Mom!” Hizashi chirped. He was listening. He swore he was. But he was also watching Kamen Rider and it was time for everyone to sing along to the opening.
That night he looked up at the glowing stars stuck to his ceiling. Sure, he didn’t have a dad. Well, he did but he was who knew who, who knew where, doing who knew what. But he did have people who cared about him. A lot of people. A lot of family. He knew what he could do for show and tell tomorrow.
In class Sensouji bragged about how he had the same quirk as his dad and was totally going to use it to be the best hero ever. “What about you Yamada? Did you get your quirk from your mom?” Sensouji asked with false sincerity.
“ Nope! ” Hizashi said, but used his quirk to project. “My family day show and tell isn’t about my quirk, or anything I got from my family. My show and tell is my family! ” He raised a photo of his family to show everyone. “I’ve got the world’s best mom! She makes music that lots of people listen to and she travels all around Japan because there’s not many people who play the harp as good as her! My grandma is the best too. She’s called a grand -ma because she’s a lot of peoples’ mom. She’s my mom’s mom and my uncle’s mom. And I’ve got my uncle too. He’s super cool and he’s gonna be a rockstar!”
The teacher winced and uncovered her ears when he was done because Hizashi had been getting progressively louder the more he boasted. “Very good Yamada. And are you going into music as well?”
“Nah. I’m gonna be a hero!!! ” Hizashi used his quirk and jumped in place.
“Stop copying me!” Sensouji complained.
The rest of their class laughed. Everyone wanted to be a hero.