"The past two days we've worked on getting your body accustomed to physical and quirk training. Today, we're going to see how agile and clever you are," explained Eraserhead.

The gym doors were mysteriously locked and Shinso was confused until Eraserhead came and explained what they were going to do. Shinso sat down his backpack. His hands had healed, but he still grimaced with pain anytime he had to use them.

"Your hands still hurt," noted Eraser, adjusting his scarf that had fallen off one shoulder.

Shinso nodded, "Dad is a doctor, so he rewrapped them."

Eraserhead didn't respond. There was something else. He squinted at Shinso.

Shinso sighed, "He wanted me to get stitches and rest, but I told him I had to be here. He said to just avoid using my hands and it might heal in time. He was really against it but I was persistent enough."

"I knew that was the case," Eraserhead walked over towards Shinso, "Today, we are going to Recovery Girl to get your hands healed. We can't train with battered up fists. Today's lesson is one you'll need to know."

Shinso sighed, "That's so relieving. They honestly hurt so m-"

He's not going to like this. Eraserhead held out his hand, causing Shinso to stop talking. It seemed as if he was asking Shinso to show him his hands. Shinso place both of them in front of Eraser, who proceeded to unwrap them. The results were not nice. Shinso's hands were blood red and the top few layers of skin around the knuckles were definitely gone. Aizawa realized that if he had gone any further, he would have gotten down to bone. Aizawa had definitely had his knuckles bloodied before and he knew firsthand how painful this was, but from the looks of it, it seemed worse than he had anticipated.

"With this sort of injury, I'm surprised you slept at all."

Shinso shrugged, "Painkillers are a wonderful invention."

"They indeed are, but this only further proves how important today is. We are going to Recovery Girl now."

Shinso nodded and began walking towards the main UA building where the infirmary was, a few floors up. He looked at it and noticed a window is open. He stopped, wondering why it was open, which then proceeded to the connection that the gym doors were locked. There's no way….

"Eraserhead, when you say we are going to Recovery Girl…. How are we getting there?"

Nice observation. "You have seen through my logical ruse. We are going to run and climb there."

"Can you even climb the building? Is there anything to grab on?"

Eraserhead, as always, creepily smiled at Shinso with a simple, "no, figure out how to get up there yourself."

Shinso should've expected this. He stood for a few moments thinking on how to do this.

"And I'm guessing you want me to do this with my uncovered knuckles."

"Yep."

He wants me to be able to do this in pain. That's the lesson. Shinso looked at the buildings around the main UA building. There wasn't anything for him to jump on, until he noticed something as he looked around the infirmary window.

There are hooks all around U.A.'s buildings to hang banners.

Shinso reacted immediately. He looked around and pointed behind Eraser.

"Can I use that?"

"Huh?" Eraser turned, giving Shinso the perfect opportunity. He swept Eraser's legs while grabbing his scarf. The moment Shinso had all of Eraserhead's iconic scarf in his hands, he bolted.

I'm sorry, but this is the only way I know how.

Shinso could almost imagine Eraserhead's rage, chasing him quickly, which caused his sprint to be faster. While running towards the main building, he began to knot the scarf – a skill his father taught him – and prepared for his plan.

He threw the scarf as high as he could. He managed to get the scarf, which was surprisingly denser than he imagined, on a hook right below the open window. He tugged on the scarf once to make sure it would stay and began to climb it as fast as he could, pulling on the scarf and walking on the side of the building.

The pain in his knuckles hit him, and he dropped a few feet initially, but did his best to fight through the pain. Holding onto the scarf and climbing caused enough pain for tears to start to develop in his eyes. He wiped his eyes on his shoulder every step he took. He found himself grunting, no, nearly screaming, every time he grabbed onto the rope. He motivated himself with the thought of being slammed on his back at the Sports Festival, a feeling he never wants to feel again. Thank you, Midoriya.

Aizawa gave Shinso a few seconds to run after the attack that he had done. He stood up and walked towards the building. When he reached the clearing, he could see Shinso smiling down at him from the window, his scarf hanging on a hook below the infirmary window.

Aizawa continued walking towards the entrance of the building, opened the door, and walked inside. Shinso immediately was stunned. Only the gym doors were closed!

A few moments later, the door opened and Eraserhead walked in with Recovery Girl, who looked irritated.

"Eraserhead, at this rate, poor Shinso here is going to be a frequent guest just like Midoriya!"

"Nonsense, Midoriya breaks a bone every other hour. Shinso only went too far once. It's not going to happen again, so please heal him. He's a pain in the ass if he can't grab onto a scarf without screaming."

Shinso sat down in a chair in embarrassment, both from the mention of Midoriya and Eraserhead's comment. Recovery Girl walked over and began to examine his hands.

"Eraserhead, why didn't you bring him to me earlier! I can tell this is an old wound."

Eraserhead huffed, "It's not lethal. He needed to get used to the pain. And he did."

"Not really," responded Shinso, "I was so engulfed in the pain, I didn't realize you had left the front door open. It should've been obvious."

Maybe I should tell him that part was just a joke to see his reaction.

Shinso sniffed.

Okay, nope. I can't do that.

Eraserhead walked over towards Shinso as Recovery Girl walked away to record the injury for the records. He placed a hand on the young boy's head, causing him to flinch slightly.

"You could've easily controlled me to take my scarf, or even to let you into the school. But you used your wits to take the scarf with your physical abilities and was even able to pull yourself up here with bloodied knuckles. You didn't rely on your quirk when it could've been so easy to do. Your training is starting to show."

He let go of the boy and walked out of the room, leaving behind a "when you're done, meet me outside."

Shinso didn't know what to feel initially, until it hit him, and he simply smiled.

"That's the first time I ever seen that man give a compliment. You must've been working really hard," noted Recovery Girl, as she began to heal his hands with her quirk, "I wonder if the USJ incident messed with his head a little. I might need to check on him."

"Yeah, it doesn't even seem like Eraserhead."

She finished the healing and Shinso flexed his hands and enjoyed their movement without pain.

"Alright, you should be good to go. If Eraserhead pushes you enough that you hurt yourself again, let me know so I can lecture him."

Shinso quickly responded, "Uh- actually it wasn't him. I pushed myself. I did more than what he asked."

"Hah! You sound like Midoriya."

Shinso frozed, "R-really?"

"That boy is in here more times than he should be. It's a shame really."

Shinso was confused, "Why? Why is he in here this much?"

Recovery Girl hesitated. Past events flew through her mind. She couldn't tell Shinso everything, but she knew of his struggles from what Eraserhead told her, and she knew he and Midoriya have struggled from similar unfairness in life.

"Midoriya may seem like your typical quirk user, but it destroys his body every time he uses it." How much should I say? "It's not uncommon but his is extreme. Plus… I think he understands people more than you think, if you give him the chance. He has an incredible character, filled with hope and innocence."

Shinso frowned slightly, "Perhaps it was foolish to have envy towards him. I might have to wait a while to improve myself before meeting him again but…"

Perhaps I could protect his shadow.

"Now, now, I'm sure Eraserhead is waiting on you. Go on before he beats you up back here."

"Yes ma'am!"

…

Aizawa pulled on his scarf from the hook and watched it fall to the ground. It was covered with Shinso's blood, meaning he would have to do a laundry run that night. He picked it up and held it under one arm.

"Hey, Deadhead!"

Shit!

Aizawa turned around and saw her. He couldn't run off or disappear. She had him cornered.

"Ms. Joke. I'm surprised you got in."

"Haha! I was given a special pass! How are you? Did you beat up some villains?"

"Quite the opposite really."

Joke became curious, twirling her teal hair with one finger, "Ooo, this is a story you should tell!"

Aizawa sighed. She really shouldn't know about Shinso.

Shinso. Shit. He's going to come out here.

"L-let's take a walk."

"Ooo! You're starting to relax a little bit there. How about I try to make you laugh with a joke?"

The two walked away from the main building and back to the gym. This hopefully would buy him time. Ms. Joke kept sprouting off jokes in an effort to get Eraserhead to laugh, but it didn't work. Anytime she tried to use her quirk, Eraserhead put a stop to it.

"Why are you here, Joke?"

"I needed to talk to you about that case."

"If this is Hero Killer business, I'm not interested."

"No, not that one. That has been in the minds of everyone. I'm talking about an underground case, the one that has not been gaining traction."

Aizawa stopped and looked back at her, "Lighthand." He said the name with distaste.

Joke nodded, "Hero Killer could theoretically be underground, but it's getting so big that it's starting not to. Lighthand is different. Murders across rural areas. Even stranger, all the victims have similar quirks. It's so bizarre. I was wondering if you were going to address it, since there is no class this week… actually, why are you still here?"

Aizawa disregarded the question, "I've been tracking Lighthand since the first murder and haven't been able to find where he attacks next. It's been a long process, but I'm working out a plan. This is my specialty."

Joke looked passed Aizawa and noticed a backpack placed down in front of the gym. It was spilled open, containing dark clothes. But Eraserhead doesn't carry a backpack, so it must be-

Joke's jaw dropped, "You're training a student."

Aizawa sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. He hated how observant she was.

"It has be the kid from the Sports Festival… no way, "Joke took a step back, "This is too weird. Are you sure you're actually Eraserhead?"

Aizawa responded, "Back then, a General Studies student being in the top 8 meant immediate transferal. Shinso is disadvantaged with villains being the most talked about subject in the staff," he paused for a second, wondering if more information was necessary. Aizawa trusted Joke with his life – as he has had to do before – but he wasn't one to talk about… feelings. He cringed hard at the thought.

"He shows potential. Just pushing him, that's all."

Joke took a few steps back. She felt chills through her body. She pointed at him.

"You're totally not Eraserhead!"

"If I wasn't Eraserhead, I wouldn't be able to make it into the school."

"Oh… I suppose."

"Look, is there any other business? Because I have to get the kid ready."

Ms. Joke's expression changed, "I see now. Alright, I'll let you handle this, but call me if you need me for backup," she giggled, "Not like you care about me anyways."

For some reason, that joke hit something.

"J-Joke."

She whipped her head around at the hesitation in his voice.

"I will let you know when we defeated Lighthand, not when we need backup."

"Okay, Eraser."

She left Aizawa, who gave out a long sigh. I have indeed gotten too soft for my own good.

…

When Shinso finally found Eraserhead, he asked, "So, why was Ms. Joke here?"

I can only say "shit" and sigh so many times in one day…

"I'm guessing you ran into her," he knew he should've walked back to the building to find Shinso the moment Ms. Joke left.

"Just being transparent here, but I controlled her to make sure she wasn't a villain…" Shinso hesitated, "Just a few questions to see her intent, that's all. Does she always show up to annoy you with jokes because that seems kind of pointless."

Perhaps she always joke around so quirks like Shinso's doesn't know her true intentions. She's smarter than I give credit for.

"Yes, she is annoying. We need to continue. It'll be quirk training for the rest of the day."

Shinso squinted for a second and smile, "Hey, Eraser…"

"Hm?"

"You're slightly pink in the cheeks."

"3 laps. Around the school. Right now."

Embarrassing Eraserhead for a split second was worth every step Shinso took.