Lightning Serenade

Chapter 10: Fields VIII

When the testing was to be started, Hitoshi and Neito shared a glance with each other and a subtle nod before volunteering their new friend, hoping they weren't overstepping or misjudging the situation, hoping that they could rely on Denki for this task, but still unsure if they should put him in the predicament in the first place. They both shared the same thoughts, though: Better Denki who can break out of it and who seems unphased rather than someone who doesn't know what it's like and might freak out, especially when they wouldn't be able to just break out of it like Denki can.

"Denki would be a good choice," Hitoshi said, turning back to the examiner.

"Denki who?" the examiner asked.

Neito scoffed. "They don't let us share our family names in here, so we don't know!"

"Oh. He's a patient here..." the examiner realized, pausing in thought. "I don't know if that's allowed. I was hoping for someone at school, or a sibling at home, or something," he pressed.

"Denki is the only one," Hitoshi insisted with a firm nod.

If he wasn't feeling so anxious, Hitoshi would have laughed at the idea of a classmate willing to participate, like they would place themselves in the position to allow him to use his quirk on him willingly when they had literally screamed in fear and bolted from the classroom when he indirectly threatened to do so a few days prior.

And did no one give this guy his files? He should know that he is in foster care. He doesn't have any siblings. No foster siblings either, out of fear of his quirk. The workers always explained that it was a liability issue, but Hitoshi knew it was a fear issue, especially because when in a bind, they would overlook the 'liability issue' and place him somewhere with foster siblings.

"Touya, too!" Neito impulsively added, glancing between the examiner and his soulmate to see if they would bite at his suggestion.

"Touya who?" the examiner asked, showing no sign of being agitated with having to demand more details with every suggestion.

He was accustomed to this, and patience was a virtue. When dealing with scared kids who didn't know why their quirk was interfering with their soulmate bond, it was entirely understandable that they might be a little hesitant with information or even a little scatterbrained as they tried to find the best participants to help them out with their testing trials.

"Todoroki. He's a patient here, too," Neito supplied before turning to console his soulmate, who looked a little unsure.

The soulmates ignored the thoughts flashing on the examiner's face as he realized they were talking about Endeavor's son, who also happened to be a patient here at the mental hospital. Did these kids not have anyone else besides the other patients here on the unit? The examiner started to plan out the day, knowing that he'll have to get consent from the parents, especially considering that the participants are minors for one, and also members of a vulnerable population due to being in a mental health facility setting for another. He would need to explain that they have every right to refuse and that he would take the fall or blame their parents for the refusal to keep the peace with the soulmates, if needed. And that is if he could get permission from the parents in the first place. Would Endeavor allow his eldest son to participate in something like this? Would Denki's parents allow it when their son was supposed to be here for mental health help of his own, not to be a convenient test subject for a powerful quirk to mess with his mind and see what happens?

While the examiner contacted his supervisors to start getting permission from a top hero, along with finding out who Denki was and contacting his parents as well for permission, the soulmates had a second to check in with each other before they got started.