Talking to a Bat
Jade Makura shifted uncomfortably as Jun Yamasaki, HN Doraku, sat across from her. Doraku was a well-known and respected professional hero. He certainly played that part well on TV. Deep dark brown eyes stared intensely into cameras. Scars that told the story of a thousand battles seemed to make him glow with confidence. Whenever he was interviewed, one had the impression that he’d seen and done everything under the sun. That there was no one else, outside of the top 10, that you’d want to come to your rescue.
Jun Yamasaki gave a very different impression in person than the heroic persona Doraku gave on screen. His shoulders were slumped, and dark purple bags hung under his eyes. Those scars that made him seem so self-sacrificing and confident on TV were grotesque in person. Jade didn’t feel she was sitting across from a hero, just a weary middle-aged man living a life he hated.
Jade pushed down her misgivings and smiled at the man across from her. “Thank you for coming Yamasaki-san.”
Jun nodded like a rusty hinge, creaking and jerky. “How’s my son doing?”
“Yuudai is doing very well academically… but…”
Jun straightened. “But?”
“I’m a little concerned about his social life. He’s been a little… standoffish, especially with his female peers. He keeps his interactions polite enough but inevitably makes some excuse to terminate a conversation before it really begins. It’s to the point I fear that it’s… noticed by his classmates.”
“Ah.” Jun relaxed.
Jade frowned at Jun’s nonchalant response. “I’m getting the impression you don’t see this as a problem.”
“He’s always been aloof with women,” Jun responded with a lazy shrug. “I don’t mean to say I’m indifferent to his social life, quite the opposite, it worries me too, but I’m not surprised by that behavior.”
“I see.” Jade nodded mollified. “Is there some reason? How’s his relationship with his mother?” It was usually maternal alienation with a kid Yuudai’s age.
“He’s very close to his mother.” Jun sighed bitterly like his words were acid. “It’s my fault.”
“Oh?”
Jun paused for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. “Since he was young I’ve arranged several marriage meetings for him–”
“Excuse me?!” Jade blurted. The boy had just turned sixteen and he was having marriage meetings?!
“He’s the heir to one of the foremost clans in Japan. It’s normal for our social class.”
‘Shut up peasant.’ Jade mentally translated. “I see,” She took a second to reclaim her professional mien, “but you think these meetings have caused him to resent women?”
“… more likely he just sees them as a source of stress. I probably should’ve given him less tense exposures to the opposite sex, but I had assumed his school life allowed that.”
“I see…” Jade hadn’t been prepared for… THAT reason. At first, she’d dismissed Yuudai’s disinterest in the opposite sex as simple homosexuality; but, she didn’t usually catch gay young men staring at her ass. That particular incident made her concerned that Yuudai’s attitude towards women might be due to insecurity or even trauma. Perhaps his mother was overly demanding? Maybe his father had botched ‘the talk’ so horribly he was now scared of women? Possibly he just hadn’t had exposure to the fairer sex? She’d come into this ready to discuss a dozen different possibilities. That Yuudai might feel pressured to marry someone he got along with was NOT on her bingo card.
“…well,” Jade continued. “like I said it’s to the point it’s affecting his social life. I’d appreciate any insight you may provide.”
“He’s a goal-oriented young man,” Jun said with a distressing lack of pride. “If you give him the assignment to make friends, he’ll do it.”
“Erm,” That suggestion didn’t feel right to Jade. Just tell him to do something and he’ll fix it? No thought to addressing the underlying issue? “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”
“…”
Jade hesitated. There was one big thing. Yuudai’s stress level was off the charts. Even when he meditated, Yuudai’s heart rate was through the roof; she should discuss that with his father. However, she now thought his father was the source of Yuudai’s stress. Maybe it’d be better to leave Jun out of his son’s care entirely; yet, one DID go to the viper for antivenom. Perhaps he just needed to be made aware of what he was doing to his son.
“I’m afraid there is. Yuudai seems to be extremely stressed.”
“Oh?”
Jade nodded. “His resting heart rate is off the charts and–”
“Ah, that’s a side effect of his quirk.”
Jade’s ears perked up. That sounded like a lie. She’d have been told if there was such a complication on Yuudai’s record, but Jun’s heart rate was steady. If he was lying, he was very good at it. “It is?”
“My son’s quirk, peak human, elevates all his physical levels to low superhuman,” Jun explained. Jade tilted her head at the term ‘superhuman;’ but Jun moved on before she could process it. “That includes oxygen production and distribution. He breathes heavier and his heart beats harder than baseline.”
‘Baseline?’ There’s another term Jade hadn’t heard since she was a little girl. It wasn’t quite a slur against people without quirks, but it didn’t have kind connotations. “So you don’t think it’s stress but his quirk”
Jun shrugged. “It might be a little bit of stress. He’s in a new environment after all, but his quirk’s going to make his symptoms look a lot worse than they are. Most superhumans have a similar affliction extreme metabolism or–”
Jade bristled at Jun's repeated use of the archaic term. ‘Superhuman’ was a label to separate human-presenting mutants from the undesirable, anthropomorphically challenged, mutants. It was like saying, ‘I’m not one of THOSE mutants.’
“–any number of things honestly.” Jun continued. He shifted uncomfortably as if he noticed his faux pas but didn’t have the courage to correct it. “My wife, as an example would register as a corpse on an infrared camera. A side effect of her invulnerability is she retains heat like a polar bear, summer’s not exactly fun for her.” Jun smiled like he was trying to relate to her by sharing his wife’s struggles.
Jade forced a smile in return. She tried not to let it show, but she’d already given up on Jun helping Yuudai. If anything, she felt that enlisting his aid would only make her student's problems worse. Perhaps it was a blessing Yuudai was in the dorms, away from his father.
“Well, I think that answers all my concerns.” Jade kept her smile; it felt like plaster on her face. “I’ll be in touch if anything else comes up.” She lied.
Jun, taking that as an invitation to leave, stood. “Might I know where Yuudai is right now?”
“I’m not sure.” Jade lied again. “You might have luck in the athletic field. He’s often there in his free time.”
Jun shook his head at that declaration. He seemed conflicted, torn between pride and guilt; then he shook his head, muttered a terse “Of course he is,” and left.
The Other Side
Jun slumped in his chair with a sigh as he regarded the bat mutant sitting across from him. She was the art teacher and vice principal at his son’s school. Funny.
“Thank you for coming Yamasaki-san.”
Jun skipped the pleasantries; he needed to get back to work. “How’s my son doing?”
“Yuudai is doing very well academically… but…”
Jun’s heart clenched. “But?” Had Yuudai been found out? Would he be forced to leave the clan?
“I’m a little concerned about his social life.” Jun restrained a sigh of relief as the bat continued. “He’s been a little… standoffish, especially with his female peers. He keeps his interactions polite enough but inevitably makes some excuse to terminate a conversation before it really begins. It’s to the point I fear that it’s… noticed by his classmates.”
“Ah.” Jun deflated. That.
The bat frowned. “I’m getting the impression you don’t see this as a problem.”
Jun shrugged bitterly. “He’s always been aloof with women.” Even to the point, he won’t just marry some girl with a good quirk already. “I don’t mean to say I’m indifferent to his social life, quite the opposite, it worries me too, but I’m not surprised by that behavior.”
“I see. Is there some reason? How’s his relationship with his mother?”
Jun sighed, his wife, Tea. Yuudai was cordial and polite with her, just like he was with everyone. There was no difference between how he treated his own mother and a complete stranger. “He’s very close with his mother.” Jun lied. It was his fault they were so distant. “It’s my fault.”
“Oh?”
Jun blinked, he hadn’t realized he’d said that out loud. Thinking quickly he thought to explain why Yuudai might be so aloof with women his age. “Since he was young I’ve arranged several marriage meetings for him–”
“Excuse me?!”
Jun flinched, was it really so weird? “He’s the heir to one of the foremost clans in Japan. It’s normal for our social class.”
“I see, but you think these meetings have caused him to resent women?”
“… more likely he just sees them as a source of stress.” Yuudai always hated Omiai. He always acted like he was going to throw up just before them. … Jun had just wanted his son to have something in his life that wasn’t work. “I probably should’ve given him less stressful exposures to the opposite sex, but I had assumed his school life allowed that.”
“I see… well, like I said it’s to the point it’s affecting his social life. I’d appreciate any insight you may provide.”
“He’s a very goal-oriented young man,” Jun said, ashamed. He was the reason you had to tell Yuudai to do something. He’d been so focused on making a worthy Yamasaki heir he forgot to raise a man. It was too late to change that now. You can’t fix what you broke. “If you give him the assignment to make friends, he’ll do it.”
“Erm, I’ll take that under advisement.”
Jun nodded. He wished he could do more, but he’d done too much already. “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”
“I’m afraid there is. Yuudai seems to be extremely stressed.”
You would be too if you were a quirkless young man forced to be a hero. “Oh?”
“His resting heart rate is off the charts and–”
“Ah,” The drugs. The doctors had warned Jun that Yuudai’s heart rate and blood pressure would be significantly affected by the drugs. Fortunately, he’d also rehearsed a lie if anyone noticed. “that’s a side effect of his quirk.”
“It is?”
“My son’s quirk, peak human, elevates all his physical attributes to low superhuman.” Jun rehearsed in the same tone he used when he gave testimony in court. “That includes oxygen production and distribution. He breathes heavier and his heart beats harder than baseline.”
“So you don’t think it’s stress but his quirk?”
Jun shrugged. It was probably stress. “It might be a little bit of stress. He’s in a new environment after all, but his quirk’s going to make his symptoms look a lot worse than they are. Most superhumans have a similar affliction like extreme metabolism or – ”
The look on Jade’s face as the word ‘superhuman’ left his lips made bile rise in Jun’s throat. Shit. That was an anti-mutant term, wasn’t it? Fuck. He hadn’t meant it like that! It’d just been what his father called human-presenting mutants and… Jun didn’t have it in him to acknowledge his faux pas so he just pressed through his explanation.
“ – any number of things honestly. My wife, for example, would register as a corpse on an infrared camera. A side effect of her invulnerability is she retains heat like a polar bear, summer’s not exactly fun for her.” Jun added the last as a limp apology. He hoped that by sharing his wife’s own struggles with her mutation he made it clear he didn’t really see anthropomorphic mutants as superior to those with challenged appearances.
“Well, I think that answers all my concerns.” Jade’s face was smiling but her voice was anything but warm. Jun frowned. She hadn’t really accepted his unspoken apology. He hoped she wouldn’t take his faux pas out on Yuudai. Mutants could be sensitive.
“I’ll be in touch if anything else comes up,” The bat concluded.
Jun stood, grateful to be out of there, but… he probably should at least TRY to see his son one last time before he left.
“Might I know where Yuudai is right now?”
“I’m not sure. You might have luck in the athletic field. He’s often there in his free time.”
Jun’s heart clenched. Of course, he was. Yuudai was such a good boy. Why couldn’t he have–Jun shook his head. “Of course he is.” He left.