Komh 28

 Hizashi was anxious as he boarded his flight. For the hundredth time that day he wished his old friend was on their side, so that he could simply teleport where Elly was. Then he grimaced and struggled to push the dark thoughts out of his mind that came with thinking of Shirakumo. It was difficult since there was the parallel of Hatter being Elly's best friend. He hoped the man wasn't as badly injured as he feared.

Halfway through his trip his phone vibrated and he grabbed eagerly at it with shaking fingers.

<b>Cheshire</b>: <i>Just landed, parents aren't here tho</i>

<b>Mic</b>: <i>I heard the news about the others</i>

<b>Cheshire</b>: <i>It's pretty grim ...but I'm okay for now, Zashi</i>

Hizashi grinned as he typed his reply.

<b>Mic</b>: <i>I'm on my way</i>

<b>Cheshire</b>: <i>What? Really?!</i>

<b>Mic</b>: <i>I don't trust anyone else to look out for your safety. I'm worried. But, hey, semi vacay?? Right? You can show me all the places we talked about!</i>

<b>Cheshire</b>: <i>Oh my god, sweetie, I love you! How long until your arrival?</i>

They established how many hours he was behind her, and that she would come to pick him up when he texted her again. Hizashi lay back on the tiny pillow the stewardess offered him with a smile, determined to nap most of the flight.

Although he only managed to sleep for a few hours, he kept himself busy with sidewalk he'd brought along. Hizashi was terribly impatient but eventually the plane landed and he got off as quickly as he could.

She was waiting for him at the baggage claim, her ears flicking at the cacophony of sounds in the terminal and her hands clutching her luggage. Although he was wearing a cap as part of a half-hearted attempt at a disguise she recognized him right away.

"Zashi!"

"Ches!" A lot of people swirled between them, but the crowd seemed to fall away when he spotted her waving cheerfully. He brightened, though he remembered the reason they were here was a sober one. "I missed you, baby," he said warmly as they embraced.

She giggled. "We were only apart a few hours."

"Yeah, but still." He turned and snagged a bag off the rail as it passed and his long ponytail whipped about, almost smacking her in the shoulder.

"Eek! Your hair!"

"Oops!" He chuckled a little as he hefted the bag over one shoulder. "Yeah, sorry babe. TSA's gotta check under and in my hair 'cause it's so long. I hafta put it down so much I leave it simple when I fly."

"Oohh. I wouldn't know anything about that." She grinned and poked at her short hair, free of gel for once but still flipping out at the sides in a smaller, less controlled style reminiscent of her hero persona.

"An' yer lucky," he told her in a mock serious tone. Then he laughed, but seemed to realize something. "Hey, wait a minute! Did you wait here the whole time? I thought you said you were gonna go home and then come back for me."

She made a face. "I didn't want to go without you."

"Wh - they didn't come to pick you up?"

"Well, no, not exactly." She wrinkled her nose. "I called to ask and they seemed surprised I'd need a ride."

What had actually happened was that when she called, her mother insisted she should have known to get her own car and not depend on them to drive "all the way" out to the airport. Hizashi stared thoughtfully at her for a minute, seeing how embarrassed she was and knowing it would only get worse as the day went on.

"That's okay!" He injected an extra amount of cheer into his voice to help her along. "C'mon, let's see what cars they've got to rent here!"

She perked up and laughed a little. "Nothing so great as your own, I bet."

"Yeah, but we don't <i>want</i> anything that sticks out like my mustang."

"I know. We're laying low."

"I'll just be glad if it fits our gear an' stuff. Oh, and do you mind driving? I gotta orient myself, it's so different here!" His eyes sparkled a little too brightly, and he weaved to the side.

"Uh huh." Elly grabbed him to keep him from falling. "How many energy drinks?" She asked with a tone of resignation.

"Uh... five."

"<i>Five</i>! You're going to destroy your liver!"

"But it's a whole different time zone."

"For me now, too, remember? I've been living in Japan for a couple years."

"Oh, yeah." He blinked owlishly at her. "Well, what say we stop for coffee after we get a car, then?"

Half an hour later they were driving along in a small yet sturdy car with the cupholders filled with steaming to-go cups. They were taking back roads and being careful just in case the villians were tracking them, but so far it seemed to be smooth sailing... if not for the growing amount of tension. Elly grew more nervous as they got closer to her childhood home, talking less and gripping the wheel a lot tighter until her knuckles started to turn white. Hizashi laid a gentle hand on her leg when she stopped at a light on a residential street.

"I'll be there with you, Ches. We don't hafta stay long if you don't want to."

She smiled weakly and nodded. "Well... it's right down this street." They pulled in to a medium sized ranch house on the small road. It was brown with white trim and unassuming, no fence though the backyard looked big. A few trees dotted the front yard and some neatly trimmed bushes sat in front of all the windows. She took a deep breath and stepped out onto the driveway.

As she did, the front door opened and Hizashi saw her parents for the first time. The man and woman were older, of course, but the woman's voice was robust as she called her daughter's name. They hugged, and the blond-haired man steeled himself in the background.

<i>These are the people that told my beautiful princess she was ugly and broke her heart as a child</i>, he thought, but he kept his composure as he shook their hands and said hello.

"This my mom, Karen, and my stepfather Bill." Elly nodded to them. Her mother didn't seem to have feline features at all, which seemed strange. The man was taller than the woman and blond-haired with a mustache, completely the opposite of the ladies. Hizashi ran a hand over his pointed hair on his upper lip with a small frown. Both appeared to have no mutations and he wondered vaguely what their quirks were.

"Mom, dad, this is Hizashi Yamada  - Present Mic."

"Hello! It's great to finally meet you!"

"So good to see you made it! Come in, sit down." Everyone made their way into the living room while her mother looked out the door in confusion. "Why are your bags still in the car? You should bring them in!"

"We're not staying here, mom," Elly said quietly. "Zashi got us a hotel room nearby. It's too dangerous and we don't want to put you guys out."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that dangerous!"

"Yes, mom. It is. I shouldn't have even come to see you until after this was taken care of." She sighed, knowing that she'd done so to avoid them jumping through hoops to find her in an even more dangerous fashion. "Hey, I'll go make us some coffee, okay?"

"Thanks, baby," Hizashi cooed.

His mother looked amused. "You two <i>should</i> stay here," she began anew, turning her attention to him. "You know what she's like, right?" Her mother shrugged. "She blows things ridiculously out of proportion all the time."

Hizashi was frozen in amazement. He'd heard stories but never thought they would be so bold as to say that out loud while their daughter wasn't even out of the room! He glanced back and saw Elly's shoulders drooping, her ears folded backwards into her hair. She walked slowly out the rest of the way.

He turned back, his expression carefully neutral. "There really <i>is</i> a problem here, Mrs. Sketchit. Your daughter isn't hyping this up at all; if anything, she's downplayed things. I'm here because I was worried."

Once Elly was out of the room the older couple seemed to scrutinize him much more.

"You really look like Present Mic," Karen said with an air of someone who knew a secret.

Hizashi blinked. "Ah... I am? Not always, sure, but it's my job."

She smiled knowingly, her eyes piercing into his. "I know you have to pretend. It's okay when she's not around, though. How much are you charging her to impersonate him?" Her husband looked interested but remained silent for now. The two sat staring at the bewildered Voice Hero as he struggled to make sense out of what was happening.

"Impersonate?!"

She sighed deeply. "There's no way a celebrity hero is dating my daughter. She doesn't have what it takes to attract someone like that."

"Of <i>course</i> she does!" The rattling of furniture from his quirk slipping was all it took to convince them that he was, in fact, Mic.

This brought a different set of issues, however.

"It's really you?! That must have cost a fortune! Or, wait - were you sent along with her to make sure everything goes okay?"

Hizashi straightened on the couch, adjusting his glasses before he spoke to give him time to try and calm himself. "I'm here because she's my <i>girlfriend</i> an' I'm <i>worried about her</i>." He kept his quirk in check with a great deal of effort. His eyes were dark and his lips thin with anger, however. He clutched the arm of the couch in a tight fist, his rage made worse by the fact that she was only in the next room over - she definitely heard all of this. "I <i>love</i> her, yo. I wanna be with her <i>forever</i>."

The older woman waved her hand as if brushing this aside and was about to say more when Elly appeared again with a tray of coffee and fixings. Hizashi swallowed back another retort, instead choosing to smile beautifully up at his girlfriend as she sat the tray on the table.

"Thanks, princess." He kissed her cheek softly as she sat down beside him.

Her parents exchanged a quick, amused look. Her mother was the one to speak up about the nickname. "She's a little old to be a princess, isn't she?"

"Age has nothing to do with the title," he replied promptly. Hizashi smiled his very biggest, <i>toothiest</i> smile at them then, one that specifically did not reach his eyes. "And I always treat her <i>like she deserves</i>."

"You do," she agreed softly as she cuddled close to him for comfort.

"Yeah, but it suits her personality," Bill finally spoke up. "Everything is all about her, all the time." He laughed, and Karen joined in as if this was a well-worn joke.

"That's true! I spoiled her so much as a child."

Elly stiffened beside him and he could sense how close she was to tears. Acting quickly, Hizashi curled a gentle arm around her shoulders. "So! That said, we're <i>definitely</i> gonna stay at a hotel. Plus, I mean, this is kind of like a vacay for us, even if it's dangerous. You don't want us disturbing you at night."

Elly covered her mouth with both hands to try and hold back a tremendous attack of giggles. His delivery was straightforward, but she knew he would bring out his special tag-line if pressed further. It was one of his favorite jokes, and, in this case, he would be fighting back against their assumption that he couldn't possibly want her.

"You couldn't possibly disturb us."

"Oh, no. We totes would." He paused, sipping his coffee while staring demurely over the rim of the cup with lidded eyes at her parents. "I'm a screamer."