A/N: Hey everyone! I'm very excited to start posting chapters for my new fic, centered around my favorite sleepy pro-hero! For a long time, I've wondered what it was that made someone as grumpy as Aizawa want to become a hero in the first place, and that's how this story was born.

If there are ANY sort of inaccuracies, cut me some slack. I'm caught up on the manga, but have barely read any of Vigilantes/Illegals, so I'm not sure too much on what's already been set up for Eraser's backstory there. There will be slight spoilers for the original manga in here. Then again, this isn't supposed to be canon to the anime or manga soooo whatever.

I have read a couple of these stories where it focuses on Aizawa's potential backstory, but I wanted this to be more like the "origin" episodes from the anime, by focusing on one new story arc, while also including some made-up stuff from his past.

To help ease any confusion, I'll be using Aizawa or Eraser/head referring to present-day. Flashbacks, or the younger versions, will be referred to as Shouta. Not that it would really confuse anyone, but just to keep things consistent. Also, flashbacks will be italicized. Ikou!

CHAPTER ONE: OLD FRIEND OR NEW FOE?

The twenty members of UA High School's Class 1-A sit at their desks, talking amongst themselves. As the bell rings to begin homeroom, Shouta Aizawa takes to his podium to start his lecture. "All right, settle down," Aizawa begins in his monotone, yet somehow, authoritative voice. "For today's lesson, we're going to be discussing tactical maneuvers when facing villains with a gigantification Quirk". Before he gets the chance to begin the lesson for the day, the door to the classroom bursts open. A boisterous Present Mic stands in the doorway, with a relaxed Cementoss in tow.

"Yo! Yo! Yoooo! Class 1-A! What's goooooood?!"

"Need something, Mic?" Aizawa asks, unamused by his friend's energetic personality, as always.

"I just wanted to wax philosophical with these young folks here, ya dig?" Mic hoots, strutting up to the podium. Once he's close enough, he leans forward and whispers in Aizawa's ear, "Nezu wants to meet with us. Says it's urgent".

Aizawa sighs. "Fine," he grumbles to his friend before addressing the class directly. "Okay, students. Seems I'm needed elsewhere right now. Cementoss will be overseeing class for the time being." As Aizawa and Present Mic make their way out of the classroom, the students once again begin mumbling to one another.

Midoriya watches the pair of heroes leave and sees that something about this situation is unusual. He leans forward in his seat to talk to Bakugo.

"Hmm, that was weird. What do you think's going on, Kacchan?"

"Shut up, nerd! How would I know?!" Bakugo shouts back.

"I hope he's not in trouble," Uraraka remarks.

"Who, Mr. Aizawa? Of course not!" Iida replies. "Sure, some of his teaching methods are a little unconventional, but I'd argue that's helped to build the foundation of our class. He pushes us to be the best that we can be, and as future heroes, we have to strive to become—"

Other students pipe up to get Iida to stop talking, while others worry about what might be going on.

"He's totally fired," Mineta mutters to himself, among the commotion of other voices.

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Outside of the classroom, Aizawa calmly makes his way into the conference room, while Mic is seen peeking his head in the doorway behind him, nervous as can be. He doesn't let it show, but Aizawa's a bit surprised to find other pros and faculty members already waiting there: Midnight, Snipe, Power Loader, even All Might. Tsukauchi is also there, standing by Nezu's side, facing the two heroes that were just summoned.

"You wanted to see us, Principal?" Aizawa asks.

"Ah, Eraserhead! Yes, please have a seat," Nezu responds, a furry hand raised in the air to greet him. Two seats are positioned together, facing the table full of pros. Mic is quick to take a seat there, but Aizawa takes note of the fact that the other heroes are already seated at the tables with serious looks on their faces; all eyes are on him and Mic. It's the solemn expression on All Might's face in particular that tells him… something's up.

"I think I'll stand," Aizawa contests.

"Very well. I do apologize for taking you from your class, but I'm afraid this is a rather urgent matter. I know you're not one to waste time, so we'll cut right to the chase". Nezu looks to Tsukauchi to lead the discussion.

"It's recently been brought to our attention that an organization of villains known as The Paradox Council have been involved in a string of kidnapping cases in the last few weeks." Tsukauchi leans down and begins displaying photos on the desk. "There have been seven kidnappings in the last two weeks alone. The first took place in Edogawa, the second in Kōtō, just a few miles from the first kidnapping. The villains got brave after that and kidnapped three more in Shinjuku, and another two in Minato." Tsukauchi stands back straight. "To put it plainly, we believe that if the villains' continue on their path, it's likely their next stop will be UA".

"Hmm? What makes you say that?" Mic asks.

"One of the victims from Shinjuku managed to escape and came forward to the police. And from what we can tell, it seems that these villains are targeting individuals with powerful Quirks and kidnapping them in order to gain control of their power in some way. The victim who came forward reported that their Quirk Factor has been severely diminished since encountering these villains, so it's safe to assume the same is true for the other victims as well. We're unsure of what their ultimate goal is for all of this, but it can't be good."

Aizawa sticks his hands in his pockets. "Got it. So, how exactly does this pertain to the two of us directly?"

"During our investigation, we've uncovered some information regarding the group's tactics, as well as the names and Quirks of some of the members involved. Most of them are low-level thugs; petty criminals with rather short records. But it's the leader of this group that has us concerned". Tsukauchi holds a photo up of a man with short, yet shaggy white hair and grey eyes. The majority of his face is concealed by a black face mask.

A cold chill runs down Aizawa's spine. A brief look of terror fills his face, but he's quick to suppress it. All Might is the only person that takes note of his quick expression.

"Yukio Adachi. As it turns out, he was a former student here at UA. He was here for less than a year before he was kicked out of the school, though there doesn't appear to be information as to why in his file." Tsukauchi holds up another photo of a younger Yukio in a UA uniform. Instead of the face mask, Yukio can be seen smiling in this photo. "Additionally, his power is listed as 'unknown' in the Quirk Registry, so it's unclear how exactly he uses his Quirk and what his full capabilities are. But, based on the victim's statement, it appears his Quirk is somehow responsible for the victims' loss of power." Tsukauchi looks to Aizawa. "It's my understanding that both you and Present Mic attended UA with him at the same time, is that correct?"

Mic shifts in his seat, placing his hand to his chin, trying to recollect. "Hmm, the name sounds familiar, but I'm not sure. Eraser and I must've been in a different class than him".

Nezu looks concerned and turns to Aizawa. "And you, Eraserhead? Do you know this man?"

There's a brief pause from Aizawa as he looks to the photo, but he simply responds with, "No, I don't".

"Well… given the circumstances, I thought it would be best if you heard it from us first, before the public gets wind of this. Even though he didn't end up becoming a pro hero, the reputation of UA would be severely tarnished if word got out that one of its heroes in training turned to villainy".

Tsukauchi nods, in agreement with Nezu. "We're still following leads on where to apprehend Adachi and his crew, but we've recently hit a dead end. We'll keep you updated if anything comes up. And, of course, we'll be relying on the power of you heroes when the time comes".

"In the meantime, if there's a chance the villains could be targeting UA, we'll need to implement a security measure to keep the students safe. Until the police or heroes can apprehend these criminals, we'll need to temporarily suspend school activities and put the students under lockdown in the dorms, effective immediately".

"Understood. Is that all then?" Aizawa asks, politely.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Thank you both for your time".

As they head out the door, a concerned Mic looks to Aizawa who continues walking forward. "Adachi, huh? It's been so many years, I can't really remember what kind of person he was like. You think any of our other old classmates remember him, Eraser?"

"How should I know?"

"Hey man, what's with the hostility?" Mic screeches in his 'I'm-so -offended-but-don't-really-care-that-much' tone.

All Might comes rushing out the door they just exited from, trying to catch up to the pair. "Aizawa! Hey, you got a sec?" Aizawa and Mic both stop in their place as they see All Might coming toward them.

"Uh, guess we'll pick up this discussion later, Eraser! Ciao-man!" Mic turns the corner, leaving the two teachers alone together.

"What is it?" Aizawa asks.

"About this Adachi guy…" The very mention of Yukio causes Aizawa to continue walking down the hall, away from All Might, and he has no choice but to follow after him. "You seemed pretty caught off guard when you saw his photo".

"You must be seeing things". Aizawa shrugs off the comment.

"Come on Aizawa, level with me," All Might pleads, trying to keep up with Aizawa's pace, even though he isn't walking all that fast (All Might's just that weak in his normal form). "You know who this guy is, don't you?" Aizawa continues walking without a response. "If you know something that could help the police with their investigation, then—"

"It's like I said, I barely knew the kid. Whatever happened to him after he left UA has nothing to do with me". The way Aizawa says that comes across colder than usual. His comment isn't out of anger, but rather… resentment?

The tone in Aizawa's voice leaves All Might frozen in place. He doesn't know what else to say, so he simply watches as Aizawa continues to walk away from him.

As he walks away, a look of antipathy rests on Aizawa's face. He's lost in an old memory:

A young Shouta Aizawa is on his hands and knees, coughing.

"C'mon, man, get up. I didn't hit you that hard." A young boy commands.

Shouta pants heavily, desperately trying to catch his breath. "I… can't."

"Don't say that! It's a hero's job to keep fighting, even when they think they can't. And when the bad guys think they're out of strength, that's always when the hero gets back on his feet. That's what it means to be a hero!"

"Yukio…" Aizawa whispers to himself as he walks down the hall alone. "What happened to you…?"

A/N: Eeek! No going back now, yeah? I've been hesitant to post this first chapter because I don't want people to be anticipating new chapters if I don't have time to write. But I'm just gonna go for it, because if I don't, I never will. So, here it is. I'll try to have chapter two up soon, but let me know what you think.