ATOMIC STRUGGLE

5「twice」3

(Welcome back everyone! Happy Valentine's Day~ comment goal is 15, so good luck and happy reading!)

After another night of patrol and another morality class the afternoon after, Izak received a call on his way home. "This is Izak."

"Hey, it's Giran," The person over the phone replied. "Just letting you know that I can bring my friend around tonight around six, would that be alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Izak confirmed. "You gonna stay for dinner too?"

"As much as I'd love to, business is starting to pick up again, and when duty calls, I gotta answer," The guy chuckled, so the maroonette hummed in turn.

"Good for you. Then I'll be expecting you and your friend around six," With that, the call was cut, and the teen checked the time. It was almost five, so he had about an hour to set up everything. Mihoko was more than likely already home since her school day only went until 3pm. This thought was found to be true when Izak opened the door to the apartment.

Not only were Mihoko's shoes in the entryway, but the girl herself was just stepping out of her room. "Izzy! Giran just called, he's gonna be by at six with his friend!" She beamed. "I'm so excited to meet him! I wonder what he's like?"

"We'll see when they get here," Izak hummed. "So how was your day Mihoko?"

"It was good! Nothing much happened, but one of my classmates used their quirk and got in trouble," the seven year old grimaced.

"Is that so?" Her guardian raised an eyebrow. "What was their quirk?"

"If he sneezes at someone, they sneeze too," Mihoko giggled. "Luckily it was the teacher that got sneezed on, so it was over pretty quickly."

"Hm," Izak's eyes narrowed slightly with a bit of a hum, but decided not to comment further as he went into his room to do a bit of mediation while he waited for Giran to show. Right as he was getting comfortable, the door cracked open and Mihoko poked her head in.

"Izzy?"

"What's up?" He asked, not opening his eyes or turning to face her. He could practically hear the frown appear, though.

"I want a hug," Or maybe instead of a frown, it sounded more like a pout if her tone was anything to go by.

"Then come over here," Izak said, resulting in some scurrying noises before a body dove and snuggled into his lap, then wrapped her arms around him with a happy sigh. "Did something happen?"

"No," Mihoko murmured. "I just like hugs."

"Fair enough," Izak didn't pry, just let her stay like that as he breathed and felt the molecules around him, listened to them, and her breathing. Finally, six rolled around, and the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Mihoko popped off of her guardian and dashed out of his room and pulled the front door open, revealing exactly who they were expecting.

"Hello Miho, how are you today?" Giran smiled down at the little girl. Beside him stood a person with a bag over their head, which made the girl do a double take.

"Uh, I'm good. Is that your friend?" She asked unsurely.

"Yes, that's right. Ah, Izak," The older man inclined his head to the household head, who returned the gesture. "This is the friend I told you about."

"Name's Jin, but call me Twice, nice to meet you," The person with the bag over their head greeted before their octave went up. "Wassup homie?!"

"Hey," Izak responded. "I'm Izak, come on in."

"Thanks! Aw man," The two guests took off their shoes before allowing the maroonette to show them to the living room. Mihoko, surprisingly, had retreated to her room with a suspicious look on her face.

"I can't thank you enough for this, Izak," Giran told the teen as they all sat down, but the boy just shook his head.

"It's fine, but I have a few questions. Twice," He addressed. "How long do you need a place to crash at?"

"Just a few days," He answered. "That jackass kicked me out!"

"Alright. Although I don't have much experience in dealing with mental problems, I could probably help with the, uh," He gestured to the bag over his head. "Bag."

"What do you mean mental problems?! Actually that would be a great help," This time the octave went down the second sentence. Giran watched his client with an intrigued gaze, finding it interesting how he was reacting to the teenager.

"Then excuse me for a second," Izak stood up and moved so that he was in front of the guest, lifting his hand which started glowing. Just then, Giran blinked, and he could suddenly see Twice without the bag on. "Done."

"What? Did you even move?" Twice asked.

"I just made the bag transparent to everyone except you," The maroonette explained, and almost instantly, Giran's face lit up. I knew this was a good idea, he mentally patted himself on the back as Twice gawked at their host.

"Seriously?" He looked at his broker. "He's totally pulling my leg, right?"

"No," Giran denied. "I don't see a bag over your head anymore."

"Wha--Aw man that's awesome dude! What's your quirk?!" The dude asked excitedly, but Izak shook his head.

"We can talk about that later. Miho, stop watching us from the bathroom, it's creepy."

"DON'T CALL ME OUT LIKE THAT IZZY OHMYGAWD!" She gasped at him before slowly trudging out with a pout. "Sorry."

"Come here," Izak gestured for her to come over, so she went to stand next to him, holding his hand. "This is my kid, her name is Miho. She'll probably be around more than I am this week, so if you need anything, tell her and she'll get in contact with me. Also," He patted the little girl's head but directed his words at their guest. "You aren't a clone, Twice."

"Wha--" Twice's eyes widened.

"How did you know?" Giran leaned forward, now extremely interested and hoping that Izak would explain his quirk rather than just letting them try to figure it out. Sadly, the boy just shook his head.

"With how your quirk works, if the original died, the clones would disappear. Thus, since you're the only you left," He supplied briefly. "You're not a clone."

"I.. I see," The man put his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking. "I'm real.. I'm not a clone..Seriously.. I... I'm really.."

"We'll take care of things from here," Izak directed his words to Giran, who frowned slightly but nodded and stood up.

"Alright then. I'll see you all again some other time," He bowed slightly before leaving the three to their own devices. "Take care of him for me."

[Like this story? Consider tipping me on Ko-Fi! You might get a surprise~ Link is on my profile. Thank you for reading my story!]