Tempo Rubato

Chapter 3: Triplet

The next day, Hizashi receives a sudden influx of money from his aunt, as an apology for the mess Miki had created for him. The first thing he does is take Shouta out to dinner at that expensive buffet he's been wanting to visit for ages. It's like killing two birds with one stone!

Miki is brought along for the ride and has the time of her life trying out the various foods that catch her attention. She's a lot quieter now, while her ears are still healing, though every once in a while, sounds around her will fluctuate between loud and quiet. It's a minor setback, but it's nothing that Shouta and Hizashi can't handle.

Life goes on as usual, though Shouta and Hizashi's classmates are extremely wary about Miki and her potentially devastating Quirk. Thankfully, Yuuei Academy's Department of Support manages to make a breakthrough in creating an even better headset for Miki. It goes beyond her usual headset's capabilities, even going so far as balancing out her sounds that would otherwise surpass her previous threshold. The downside is that it's limited by its short longevity, which is estimated to be a couple of months at best. At worst, it shouldn't last longer than a few weeks...

"This is the best I can do on such a short notice." Hizashi isn't at all surprised to find that it's Class 1-H's class representative, Izumi Mao, who had created the product. It makes the most amount of sense, considering that Mao also has sensitive ears as a result of their Echolocation Quirk. "It's a short-term solution, but it should do in the meantime until I can make an even better product."

Izumi Mao is not much older than Hizashi and is only shorter than he is by at least a centimeter, with tan skin that's a few shades darker than his is. Their hair is mostly black in coloration, with splashes of teal here and there that are completely natural. Like Hizashi, they also wear a pair of tinted sunglasses, though Mao wears theirs for reasons that go beyond aesthetic.

"So what's the catch?" Hizashi knows that Mao doesn't do anything without expecting something in return.

"I just want you to drop by every few days or so with your cousin." Mao adjusts their tinted sunglasses, their lenses gleaming eerily in the light. "You know—for data collection. How else am I going to make improvements?"

"Just don't take too long—Miki gets bored easily." Hizashi isn't sure if it's too early to tell, though he does suspect that Miki could have ADHD. After all, Wakana has it and so does he—at this point, Hizashi's pretty sure it just runs in the family.

"I'll get you something to keep you busy." Mao smiles at that moment, exposing their bat-like fangs. "You like games, yes?"

"Uh...I guess." Hizashi isn't sure what Mao means by that, but it shouldn't be that bad.

...

It's bad.

It's really, really bad.

Because Mao manages to push him into a game of Monopoly with the rest of their classmates from 1-H. It goes exactly as one would expect, in ways that friendships were ruined before they even began. By the end of the day, Hizashi had made an enemy out of those whose suffering he prolonged during that game of Monopoly...

"What did you do?" Shouta asks him on the way back to their apartment.

"I bought all the railroads and it all just went downhill from there..." Hizashi's eyes dart to the side when he feels Miki's hand patting him on the cheek. "You're to blame for this."

"You know she can't hear you." Miki still has another two weeks before her hearing returns.

"Yeah, but I also know that I'm not wrong!" Because had it not been for Miki's Quirk, Hizashi wouldn't have gotten into that mess in the first place. Not that he actually blames her, he's just venting at the moment.