"Woah, that sure is a big villain!" A voice cheers among a crowd.
A teenage boy of average stature pokes his head up, jumping a little to get a view. His green hair flops a little as he does so, and occasionally the sun gets into his similarly green eyes, but he doesn't mind. His smile stays as wide as ever as he grins from freckle covered cheek to cheek.
"Sure is, but unfortunately, I can't assist." A man comments, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. His messy black hair is the first thing in the boy's vision, followed by his tired onyx eyes. "I know you'd like to stick around and watch, but we are in this part of town for a reason, kid."
"I know, Shouta." The boy smiles at the man, who gives a nod in response. Just then, the crowd of civilians lets out a gasp, the two turning to see a man covered in wood appearing from the city's skyline, as his arm extends in many branches, attacking the large hulking man attacking the train line. "Woah! It's up and comer, Kamui Woods! I've always wanted to see him up close!" The boy cheers, pulling out a small notebook from behind his back.
Shouta rolls his eyes, aware he won't be able to move on until the kid has written down at least a few facts in his book. Well, at least it's a hobby he can encourage. Hero or villain, it's always good to know your Quirks.
"So, are you two hero fans?" A middle aged man speaks, looking at the two with a smile.
"Ah, you could say that." Shouta responds, the boy in green giving a nod in response. "Izuku here more so than me, but I dabble in the field myself."
"Heh, well it's always nice to see people encouraging those who work hard to keep us all safe! I bet that the kid here is looking to be a hero too! I'll be rooting for you pal!"
Izuku looks up, a smile on his face. "Oh, thank you!"
"Time to finish this up!" The hero, Kamui Woods, yells, as he lifts his arms up. "Finishing move!"
Izuku looks at the scene in excitement, the middle aged man and Shouta watching as well. "Oh man, this is it! The Preemptive…"
"...Binding Lacquer Chain Prison!" Kamui Woods yells, his arms extending and folding out at rapid pace, as he goes to entrap the villain.
"CANYON CANNON!" Another voice shouts, as out of nowhere a giant woman drop kicks the villain, knocking him off of the trainline… And inadvertently crushing part of the track as she lands. "Hey everyone! I'm Mt. Lady, and this is my official debut as a hero!" She announces as she turns around in a pose that makes many of the men go wild.
"Eugh." Izuku, Shouta, and the middle aged man all speak at the same time.
"That's just a downright shame. The fight was already over, no need to make a huge mess for a debut!" The man shouts, angrily raising a fist.
"Not to mention her glory hog pose. Spotlight heroes…" Shouta says, before looking over at Izuku.
The boy's eyes are focused solely on the collapsed trainline, unmoving from the spot. His notebook is closed, and held in a tight grip. For a moment, his green eyes flash orange, as he takes in a breath.
"Izuku." Shouta speaks, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, snapping him from his tense state. "They evacuated the area earlier. Everyone is fine." He says, the boy nodding as he lets out a few shaky breaths.
"R-right." Izuku nods, putting his book away. "We should head out now, right? Errands to run and such."
"Yeah." Shouta responds, before turning his head to the other man. "Have a good day."
"You too! I hope to see you again someday kid, when you're a hero!" The man cheers, getting a curt nod from Izuku, the two walking off.
They approach a tall building, a diamond crest on the side of it, Shouta letting out a sigh. "This is my least favorite part of having any kind of license."
"The renewal part, the fact we have to come here specifically, or the fact they're having you wear a suit and tie?" Izuku asks, an honest question from the boy.
"If I said the word yes by itself, would you leave it at that?" Shouta asks back in response, getting a nod from the greenette. "Then my answer is yes." The two walk inside, Izuku stepping just a tad closer to the man he walks alongside.
The building is filled with people in suits, each doing a respective task that seemed fitting of what appeared to be a normal office building. Of course, the two who just entered knew otherwise. The papers they filed affected the lives of many across the country, and possibly the world depending on if any crisis were to erupt.
This was the Japan Hero Commission Headquarters, after all.
The two approached a welcome desk, where a tired looking man with grey haired sat. His slouch looked like he could pass out at any second. Izuku thought that he and Shouta looked a little similar.
"Hero Name, License, and Reason for visit." The man speaks, his voice just as tired as his looks.
Shouta pulls out a small plastic card, handing it to the man. "Eraserhead. License renewal." He says, the tired man looking at the card with drooping eyes.
"Alright, I'll need you to come with me so we can start the renewal process." The man says, letting out a sigh as he walks out from behind the desk. "I guess this is your first time with company, so I need to let you know that guests aren't allowed past the welcome area here."
Shouta clicks his tongue in a, "Tch." Before turning to Izuku. "Well, it's your choice, you can stay here or go out and look around."
Izuku looks around the office, before turning focus back to Shouta. "I'm gonna go look around. I used to live in this area, so I'm probably gonna go to the convenience store if it's still open."
"You got your wallet?" Izuku nods. "Phone?" Another nod. "Pepper spray?" A look of contempt. "I'm just messing with you. I'll text you when I'm done. Just send me your location in response and I'll meet you there."
"Okay. I'll see you later, Shouta." Izuku responds, sprinting out of the office.
"Cute kid, but why doesn't he call you dad?" The tired man asks, shocking Shouta a little.
"He uh, isn't mine. Not by blood at least. I'm just his guardian until we can find a way to contact his parents." Shouta says, scratching the back of his head. "I only met him a few months ago, and using my first name only started a couple weeks ago after a lot of reminding."
"Ah. Well, everyone goes at their own pace. I just hope you're willing to accept responsibility if you can find his folks." The tired man speaks, before moving onwards.
Shouta nods and follows, but keeps what the man said in mind.
Izuku grips onto a plastic bag as he crosses the street, a smile on his face. It's been years, but it seems his little part of the city has managed to stay the same. From the people he sees, to the buildings, and even…
The forest park. Izuku looks at it blankly, the leaves on the trees rustling ever so slightly behind the large chain link fence surrounding it. There's more locks on it than there used to be, not like that ever stopped kids from jumping over it.
Or adults intent on kidnapping.
A vibration from his pocket interrupts his thoughts. He quickly pulls it out, seeing if it was a text from Shouta. On inspection though, it was just an alert from HeroTube about a new upload from one of the people he watches. Izuku shakes his head, locking the phone and putting it back in his pocket. He can watch the video when he gets home later.
He turns away from the park, and starts walking, intent on getting as far away from the place as possible.
It's not long before he comes across a small tunnel on the walking path, where from the inside he can hear coughing. Cautiously, the boy enters, whereupon he sees… A lanky skeletal man, coughing out blood onto his fist.
"Ah!" Izuku cries, before rushing over. He pulls out a set of tissues from his back pocket, opening them up. "Are you okay, sir? Do I need to call an ambulance?" He asks, holding the tissues out to the man.
"N-no. This is something I just have to deal with." The man says, taking a tissue and wiping his hand and mouth with it. "I appreciate the help though." The man looks at Izuku, a smile on his face, and lets the boy get a good look at his features of blonde messy hair that flops down at the sides of his face, and blue eyes that are sunken into his face.
For a second though, Izuku's eyes deceive him, and he sees someone else.
The hair and body shape stay the same, but the color of his hair becomes a faded black, as grey stripes of hair line the sides. His eyes are a dull grey, and a pair of black glasses cover over them.
Izuku looks at the man stunned, confused by his appearance. "Young man?" The man asks, Izuku blinking out of stupor to face the blonde once more. "Ironically, now I'm the one who's asking if you're okay."
"Ah, y-yeah. I just… You reminded me of someone I knew was all." Izuku responds, a little somberly.
"Ah, I can see how that could confuse you. But, I am only me. Thank you for your help, I'm sorry to have interrupted your shopping." The man says, bowing his head a little.
Izuku looks at the bag in his hand. "Oh, no, you didn't interrupt anything." He waves his free hand, fanning away the notion. "I was just getting some snacks while I wait for my guardian to get out of a meeting."
"Well, I hope you enjoy the snacks. I've been told the pork buns are quite good in this part of town." The man says, keeping his smile up. "Now, I must be off. I have somewhere to be myself. Thank you for your help once more."
"You're welcome, sir." Izuku bows, waving the man off as he walks away, before turning around walking in the opposite direction.
The man lets out a sigh, before reaching into his pocket… Only for his hand to go all the way through. His eyes shrink, as he looks back in the tunnel.
Izuku spots an empty bottle on the ground, which he picks up and places in a nearby recycling can. "It's not good to litter." He says to himself, before continuing on.
It's at this point Izuku realizes that the renewal of Shouta's license is taking a very long time, as he's already been wandering around this part of Musutafu for hours. Of course, it's less wandering and more seeing old sights, since this is where he used to live, but that's besides the point.
Finally, he gets a text on his phone, Shouta letting him know he was finally done. Izuku lets out a sigh of relief before texting back his location, which he sends, before a loud explosion snaps him from his thoughts. A blast of warm air hits his face, as he turns towards the alley that sourced these events.
A small crowd was beginning to form, as fires began to erupt, heroes who had been patrolling nearby arrived at the scene.
Death Arms, Backdraft, even the newcomers Kamui Woods, and Mt. Lady had arrived.
"We need you all to back up! This is now an active hostage situation!" Death Arms announces, waving his hands to direct the crowd backwards.
"I'll see if I can manage the flames!" Backdraft yells, starting up his quirk to extinguish the fire.
"The flames are too uncontrolled for me to use my Quirk. I'd more likely burn than help…" Kamui Woods laments, moving back from the fire.
"I can't get in there to help with my Quirk either. Damnit, are we useless here?!" Mt. Lady asks, as she crosses her arms.
"You two could run crowd control with me while we wait for another hero to arrive." Death Arms says, looking at the two with dissatisfaction. "I'd only injure the hostage, but this is something we can all do."
Izuku, all this time, has slowly approached the crowd, squeezing between the people watching, until he reaches the front. There, he sees the full scale of the attack.
Flames spread through the small shopping alley, shattered glass and rubble scattering around. In the center of it all, a large blob of sludge pulsates, its eyes focusing down towards its center, wherein lies… A blonde haired boy with red eyes.
Izuku's own eyes shrink for a moment, as he looks at the boy trapped inside. It couldn't be… Could it?
The blonde boy stretches out a hand, as a small blast of an explosion puffs out of it, and more flames seem to spawn.
It was. It was the same boy from all those years ago. The boy he called friend. The boy who hurt him. Left him.
And most likely forgot all about him.
Izuku watches the scene with intense focus, as he watches the boy struggle. The heroes continue to try to push everyone back, and Izuku can only watch as the blonde boy panics further as he watches the heroes move away.
He wants to leave, make the boy experience the same sorrow he felt for years… But he can't. He won't. No one deserves this. Not even him.
Izuku moves back in the crowd, running out of it and into another alley. He looks for anyone that could be around or looking into the alley, and finds no one there. He lets out a focused breath, before a red light flashes at his waist. He closes his eyes, as wind begins to ruffle around him.
He opens his eyes, now orange, as green marks begin to run out from underneath his eyes, an electricity filling the air.
'Damn it, this is all my fault…!' One Toshinori Yagi thinks as he watches a young man struggle for his life. 'If I had just conserved my energy and made sure I held onto the bottle, this boy wouldn't be fighting to survive!' He looks to the heroes. 'They aren't even trying to save him. Why?! It doesn't matter if you can't use your quirk! Do something, anything!'
'Like I have any room to say that though.'
Suddenly, a burst of wind interrupts his thoughts, as a streak of green and red stars over the clouds, before landing in the alleyway before the heroes, the crowd, the villain, and the young man taken hostage.
The light of the fires reflected off of a dull metal, green in color, black accent marks on the side, scratches scattered about, with beige pads on the shoulders seemingly bolted in with gold markings. A shining red belt broke up the uniform, as a spinning fan held in the middle absorbed some of the smoke billowing from the flames. From the middle of the thigh down, stretched extra armoring in black, thinning put around the shin, before leading into black combat shoes, bits of red poking out here and there, as the faint clicking of gears whirred beneath the figures feet. In contrast, the arms were covered in a similar beige as the shoulder pads, blue lines accenting them at the ends above the elbows.
The smoke moved past their face, and from where Toshinori stood, he could see the side of the figure's face, or rather, the mask hiding it.
The same dull green as the suit, it was broken up with a lighter shade around the mouth, taking on an appearance almost like fangs. Instead of a single visor, it seemed this figure had their eyes housed behind two glowing orange orbs in an oval shape, the villain and hostage reflected in them. At the sides, a pair of protrusions in the same green jutted out, almost in resemblance of rabbit ears, a pair of blue rings circling both.
Finally, a red scarf wrapped around the figure's neck fluttered out, rips and tears at the end, telling of at least some experience.
"The hell… WHO ARE YOU?!" The villain shouts, as he points at the arrival.
The masked individual does not answer, merely taking a step forward. Another, then another, before he breaks into a full on sprint, becoming much of a blur, as wind seems to blow in his wake.
'So fast…!' Toshinori thinks, as he observes the figure run in close.
"Damn it… GUESS YOU AND THE KID BOTH DIE!" The villain screams, sending tendrils after the figure. The crowd and observing heroes gasp, as the figure runs straight for the attacks.
He side steps one of the tendrils, passing his hand alongside it. Another tendril, and this time the figure manages to start skimming the gelatinous appendage. One more, and his hand completely passes through.
Finally, the masked fighter is right in front of the hostage. He rears back a hand, and plunges it inside of the villain, grabbing hold of the boy's shirt, and dragging him out in a single tug.
"HOW THE HELL?!" The villain shouts, as he sends out another wave of whipping attacks, but the Masked individual simply jumps back, becoming a blur in a single leap. "WHAT?!"
Footsteps and heaving breathing nearby follow, and Toshinori wonders of the source, before, "Damn it kid…" A voice speaks from next to Toshinori, the man turning his head to find a man he had become acquainted with due to his recent meetings at UA.
"Eraserhead…" Toshinori mutters, said man looking at him for a moment.
"At ease. He's got this." Is all the man says, before they return to witnessing the fight.
The masked individual lands at the feet of the heroes, landing a skid, leaving burn marks on the concrete. He turns, handing the hostage to Death Arms, before quickly turning back to the villain. He jumps forwards, moving quickly before meeting the villain face to face. The fighter clocks back an arm, launching it forwards, attempting to strike at the foe. A gust of wind follows the attack, blowing through the alley, being strong enough to actually extinguish a few of the flames.
However, it was not fast enough to hit the villain, who's amorphous body was able to dodge the blow. "Nice try punk, but you're dead meat now!" The villain cries, sending a large centered spike at the fighter.
Toshinori goes to move, sick of being stuck on the sidelines, but Eraserhead stops him, holding a hand on his shoulder. Why would he…?
The whirring of gears halts his thoughts.
Focus returns to the masked fighter, who tucks in his legs, before kicking them downwards, the soles of his shoes slamming out of place for a moment, before he is suddenly launched skyward, managing to dodge the strike.
"WHAT?!" The villain cries, looking up to try and see his opponent.
A shadow blocks part of the sun, and casts down on the villain, a pair of orange glows interrupting the darkness. The crowd follows the mixture of light and shadow, seeing the masked fighter in the sky, arms and legs outstretched, as his scarf flaps in the wind. He tucks himself in before rolling down in a front flip, before he kicks out his right leg, a green wind enveloping his foot.
The fighter makes contact with the villain, and in a single strike, a gust of extremely powerful wind blasts through the street, knocking the crowd back. Mt. Lady grows in size, covering the crowd, as green goop scatters everywhere, and a large cracking noise is heard amidst the gusting wind.
The gusts die down, and people are free to gaze at the alley once more.
There, standing in the center, is the masked fighter, holding a small bit of goo with a pair of eyeballs, of which the pupils were spinning in a daze. The fires had been extinguished, and the clouds… Had begun to rain.
The masked fighter walks over to a nearby trashcan and pulls out an empty bottle, pouring the goop inside and locking the lid. He moves over to the heroes, and hands the bottle to Kamui Woods, silent the whole time.
Toshinori merely watches as Eraserhead rushes in, moving between the fighter and the heroes, he motions to the cameras, and Death Arms nods, the crowd being told to forget today's events. Standard protocol for Underground Heroes with any witnesses.
But why would he do it for a Vigilante?
Wait… Didn't he say…
Kid?
"You understand we'll need an official statement from you when the commission finds out about this, right?" Death Arms speaks, Shouta giving a nod in response.
"I'll be sure you get it. They already know I'm looking after him, so I'm sure they'll be willing to overlook this." He responds, getting a nod in response from the spotlight hero.
A tug of his sleeve alerts him to the guy in the mask, who simply looks down as he continues to hold the man's sleeve. Shouta looks at him, before placing a hand on his helmet. "You're not in trouble, kid. I'm just… Worried, about what anyone might do if they see you like this."
The masked boy nods, but continues his grip on the sleeve.
"I TOLD YOU I DON'T NEED A DOCTOR!" A loud voice shouts, as Shouta's attention turns to the teen who was the villain's hostage just a moment earlier. "I HAD THAT SITUATION HANDLED JUST FINE!"
"We know, we just want to make sure you don't have any of his goop inside of you." Kamui Woods speaks, his eyes a little nervous. Probably deals with brats like this way too often.
"AND IF THERE IS I'LL JUST SWALLOW HIM!" The kid yells back, and Shouta now had half a mind to walk over there and teach this brat a lesson…
But the masked kid simply tugs on his sleeve again.
Shouta looks back at him, and notices his arms shaking. He looks back at the teen, who looks back at him and the kid, anger flaring in his eyes. Shouta nods, and turns back.
"Let's head home." He says, the kid nodding.
Home is a nice apartment, a comfy couch, a TV, and all that lies in the bedrooms beyond.
Shouta lets out a tired breath, as the mask wearing kid enters behind him, a gust of wind clearing away his armor.
Izuku steps forwards, a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry, Shouta." He apologizes, as he rubs his arm.
"You don't have anything to apologize for, kid. You saw a situation and helped the only way you thought how. That said, I don't think we can risk another stunt like that until you get into UA. My level of sway only goes so far." Shouta says, moving over to the couch, flopping down on it with a soft thud. "You're not in trouble. Not with me."
"Okay…" Izuku says, moving towards the rooms in the back.
"I'm gonna order dinner. I heard it's supposed to rain tonight, so text me what you want, okay?" Shouta asks, looking over at Izuku, who gives a short nod.
The boy continues onwards, and Shouta watches as he goes.
A small rumble of thunder follows, and Shouta can't help but think about a similar night to this.
4 Months Earlier…
The rain pours down from the sky, as Shouta stares down at a sight that he wishes he wasn't seeing.
A teenage boy, who looks like he could fit in with his students, stands against the wall in a dark alleyway. He wears no shoes, his feet covered in cuts and bruises. His white pants and shirt are littered with cuts, and dirt stains them, alongside red spots and burn marks. His face is in no better shape, marked to hell and back.
His eyes flicker between green and orange, black lines under his eyes, like large surgical scars, and his hair seems to spark and smoke. His breathing is heavy, and the look in his eyes tells Shouta that he's willing to fight to survive.
All in all, the kid looks like he's seen hell.
Shouta approaches him slowly, taking off his capture weapon, and in a moment, wraps it around the boy like a blanket. The boy tenses, but soon relaxes, moving over to the man cautiously.
Shouta takes hold of the boy, and pulls out his phone. He taps away, hoping to reach someone for assistance.
But right now, he'll comfort the kid, because it's his job as a Hero.