Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. That's what the lawyers tell me to say.
Shinsou took a moment to catch his breath.
Okay. He had a supervillain under his control. Somehow.
(Really, he hadn't expected the villain to actually respond. It had been a desperate use of his Quirk, hoping to God that the villain would take the bait.)
He could feel the twisting feeling of guilt in his stomach - after all, the villain had only talked to him after saving him from getting hurt - but he squashed it down. He wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if Mastermind hadn't tried to rob a store. And he thought he'd caught a glimpse of another Hero, one more familiar, reaching out to try and catch the falling Hero in the first place.
So instead, he managed to get a command out. "W-walk over to the heroes. With... with your hands up!"
His heart was thundering in his ears and he was aware that he was hyperventilating. He was pretty sure that he was covered in enough sweat to fill a pool. But he couldn't help but grin ear to ear.
He'd done it. He'd used his 'Villainous Quirk' to take out an actual villain! And sure, he was going to catch hell for it from both Pros and parents, but at least he could hold his head high and say that he'd actually acted something like a hero. Maybe that'd get people to shut up about his Quirk only being good for villainy.
Slowly, the villain turned around, raising his hands in the air with stiff, robotic movements. Then, he started walking towards the Heroes. The Pros looked at each other, still unsure of what to do, carefully starting towards the villain in case it was a trick.
Murmurs broke out around in the crowd.
"Wow... seriously?"
"This has to be a trick of some kind!"
"Sure the guy's a moron, but he can't be that dumb!"
"Wait, did that kid use his Quirk or something?"
Shinsou let out a breath. This was okay. The heroes were going to get the Villain.
Nothing could go wrong.
A few minutes earlier...
La Brava had pulled off most of her Villain gear when she heard the commotion out in the crowd. With a small groan, she watched the crowd shift, trying to squeeze through without being trodden on. Idly she slipped her mask back on, checking the feeds again.
Mastermind had left a few things in the 'prototype' stage due to working on five sets of Support gear at once. She'd been really hoping that he could get the drones equipped with cameras so that she could get better shots of Gentle and her friends-!
La Brava stopped, near the edge of the crowd. Around her, people weren't paying attention, their eyes on the action in front of them. She was beneath their notice, literally. Her head was spinning, thinking it over.
Friends... that was something new.
Back when she'd been plain old Manami Aiba, she'd never had friends. Nobody had really wanted to talk to the short girl with a Love Quirk. People thought she was freaky or weird. And, well, she was woman enough to admit that she could get a bit... stalkerish regarding her love interests. She'd tracked down Gentle Criminal, had covertly snuck video of him sleeping, had even dressed like him -!
But then they'd met Mastermind, and things had changed a bit. Meeting with the other villains had been different as well. There'd been something resembling a kinship there. Mr. Compress' own classy attitude, Golden Grin's thorough knowledge of dating sims, Inkblot's antics, even Stitch's standoffish yet caring attitude - she remembered him thanking her for helping organise his laptop with a smile in his eyes. She'd never really thought that any of them could be her friends.
She watched as Mastermind and the rest of them went out. Her heart leapt into her chest as she saw her partner in crime, her friend, suddenly dash off to save somebody in the crowd. While there were still Heroes around! They hadn't made their escapes yet! If they stayed here, then it'd all be over!
Intellectually, Manami had wanted to cut her losses there. Meet up with Gentle, get into the car and leave. And then, maybe, they could see if Mastermind could pull off a miraculous escape.
But then she saw him, just as he was running away, suddenly halt, like a marionette that had had its strings cut. La Brava's felt her heart stop at the sight. That - that was nothing like the villain she knew!
La Brava checked over the improved gear that he'd given her. "This is... wow."
Mastermind just nodded. "Well, it's nothing, La Brava! It's not complete yet, but I was hoping to do something like Sombra from Overwatch with your gear. You know, a virtual keyboard thing?"
La Brava sniffled. There were slight tears in the corners of her eyes, and Mastermind noticed. "AH! Are-are you okay? Is-is it not good enough? Did I get the measurements wrong?"
La Brava shook her head. "I-I'm fine. It's just... this is one of the nicest things that anybody's done for me."
Mastermind paused in his fussing to tilt his head slightly. La Brava continued. "I mean, it's nice, but... is this only if we work with you?"
Mastermind looked at her strangely. "What made you think that? This is all for you guys!"
La Brava looked up at him, sniffling stopped. He just patted her on the shoulder. "I mean, you guys are pretty cool for going along with my crazy ideas as partners. So all of this stuff, even if we only do one job, is yours."
La Brava had stared up at him for a few seconds, then suddenly leaped forwards to give him a hug. "Thank you... thank you so much!"
La Brava had... had never had somebody other than Gentle Criminal who she wanted to keep safe with everything she had. Seeing Mastermind, somebody so full of vigour and life just... stop like this was horrifying. In a panic, she looked all over the crowd, hoping that the other villains were going to do something-
Mr. Compress was yelling out for Mastermind to get in the car, but he wasn't responding. Golden Grin had already leapt out of the car, trying to catch his attention. The police started to respond, forcing the other villain to back up and make space by threatening to use his Mouth Laser.
A voice rang out over the confusion. "W-walk over to the heroes. With... with your hands up!"
La Brava's head snapped over to where that voice, louder than the others had come from. The guy there -really tall and skinny. Purple hair and eyes and with a huge grin on his face.
La Brava's eyes narrowed.
Eraserhead watched the villain suddenly turn and start walking over to the Heroes, hands in the air. His eyes narrowed, turning around to where the teenager was. He must have been at the end of middle school. Tall, with purple hair that stuck up like a cotton brush and with a shaky yet present grin on his face.
A mental Quirk? Those were pretty powerful, but they had problems with their use. But it was the kind of Quirk that could resolve situations effortlessly.
Looking over the kid, Eraserhead wasn't impressed with what he saw. The kid had practically no muscle tone in spite of his height. He probably thought he'd only needed to develop his Quirk to get through anything.
The most common problem U. A. had was kids who thought that a powerful Quirk was everything. It did count for a lot in the test, but U. A. had failed students with Quirks more powerful than the students who made it in. To get in, you needed a decently strong body as well as a brain.
Eraserhead watched Mastermind, ready to intervene with the villain if needed. Technically, the kid had broken the law pretty badly, but it could be chalked up to an accidental Quirk activation-
"LEAVE MASTERMIND ALONE!"
Eraserhead's attention snapped back to where the kid was. A short woman with long red hair and a miniature version of Gentle Criminal's outfit - was this the camerawoman? - had suddenly leapt at the teenager, knocking him to the ground.
"Clear the area!" he yelled, ready to get his capture tape wrapped around this newest villain. Forget Mastermind, a potential hostage situation took priority.
The crowd, rather than act rationally and move in a single direction, instead started milling around, trying to get out of the way but failing. With a sigh, Eraserhead leaped up and over the crowd, trying to get to a better vantage point.
At this point, the teenager was fighting a woman who was only slightly taller than a toddler. And was losing.
He was trying to hold her off with his outstretched arms, but a kick from her to his elbow was enough to disrupt his grip on her. She fell on his chest with a roar, forcing him to put his hands in front of his face to try and shield himself as she furiously whaled on him with both fists, not doing much damage but preventing him from getting up. From what Eraserhead could see, his expression was a mixture of incredulous and stressed.
The woman wore a mask that was made of what looked like pink plastic, hiding her features. The teenager tried to throw a punch only for the smaller woman to slap it away to continue to try and punch him. "LET HIM GO! HE'S... HE'S MY FIRST FRIEND!"
Eraserhead wasn't sure what her Quirk was, but he had to be careful. Erasure in effect, being careful to not look at the teenager, he quickly wrapped the smaller woman in a cocoon of his Capture Weapon. "Stand down, villain. If you surrender-"
Mr. Compress was a lot of things. A magician. A thief. The great great grandson to one of the greatest villains of all history.
But watching his erstwhile partner in crime just staggering off like a zombie, the thing that mattered most of all was that he was fast.
So when he saw La Brava pick a fight with the teenager that Mastermind had inexplicably saved and all eyes turned there, he took an opportunity.
The greatest acts of magic didn't happen when everybody could just see what happened. A moment of distraction, making all eyes on the scene shift if only briefly, And there you had it.
Magic.
So he dashed over to Mastermind, watching as Golden Grin kept the heroes at bay with another blast of Mouth Laser. He grabbed Mastermind roughly by the arm to do his signature trick, smoke machine activating with a press of the button-
Mastermind hissed in pain, and suddenly he stopped walking, arms dropping down.
Mastermind felt like he'd just woken up from a deep sleep. Where...?
He focused on Mr. Compress, who was gripping him by the arm. "Hey, what... AH!" He hissed, That impact redirection had really done a number on his arms. If not for his fingers moving, he would have thought they'd been broken.
Mr. Compress looked at him. "You're... you're back."
Mastermind looked at him with a tilt of his head. "What do you mean, back? I was just telling the guy I saved that I was a Supervillain when-"
"That's not important right now. It looked..." Mr. Compress swallowed. "You were moving like a zombie or something."
Mastermind's mind ran a million miles a minute. "A Brainwashing Quirk? But none of the heroes here have a-"
They were cut off when a Hero came through the smoke with a flying kick, yelling a battle cry. Mastermind had to duck and let Mr. Compress hit the intruder with his cane. "Right, right. Think about this later, escape now!"
As the smoke cleared, he turned around to the rest of the heroes and assembled police. "Well, Heroes! It seems that your trick to get us... has been thwarted by MASTERMIND!" KRAKATHOOM!
He wanted to talk more, but then he heard La Brava's muffled voice in his ears. Mastermind's eyes narrowed. He scanned the crowd, watching - there!
La Brava had been grabbed by Eraserhead! He knew he'd seen the strands of capture weapon over his head! He hadn't been thinking about it, the other teenager had been basically the only thing he'd thought about. Speaking of the teenager...
"Is... is he alright?" He asked Mr. Compress. The teenager looked like he'd been hit in the face with a fish - his eyes were wide and his expression was dull. Like somebody had shown him irrevocable proof that the sky was actually green and 2 + 2 = 5.
Still! There was a comrade in trouble, and Mastermind was not one to shirk a friend of his. He glanced over at Mr. Compress, turning on the private communicator in his mouthpiece. "Let's go."
Mr. Compress tilted his head. "We're in severe danger-"
"Nobody gets left behind, Mr. Compress! Not if Mastermind-" KRAKATHOOM "- has anything to say about it!"
Eraserhead watched the villains in front of him. Whatever the other villain had done, it had worked. Mastermind had been snapped out of the brainwashing Quirk, and now the pair of them were looking at the Hero, obviously aiming to get their comrade free.
The villains looked at each other, with a brief exchange of words. Then, apparently on some unseen signal, they moved. The Warping villain was the faster of the pair, Mastermind suddenly flying forwards with a mighty TOING - the villain must have added mobility support gear to his boots after their last encounter.
The Warping villain reached out a hand. "Apologies, Eraserhead! That's our comrade in your hands there!"
Eraserhead ducked under his arm, more strands of the Capture weapon ready to try and intercept them. Mastermind was coming up, hand encircled around something in his grasp-!
Eraserhead sent a kick into the torso of the Warping Villain, keeping his Erasure up on him. Mastermind was a less difficult opponent - for all that the Villain's movements had refined, he was still nowhere near the level of skill that would threaten him. Trying to keep a hostage like this was going to be difficult, but preventing Mastermind's warp villain escaping was more important. After all, without a warping villain like this, Mastermind's ability to escape would be severely limited.
The Warping villain had to suck in a breath as Mastermind swung his hand down, clicking something in his palm. Eraserhead bit off a curse when he saw a red beam of light shoot out, hitting the Capture tape strand that had looped around the shorter villain. The tape glowed red, then smouldered, loosening around the shorter villain.
A couple of things then happened rapidly. First, Mastermind raised his other hand, almost posing as he did so. "LET'S BRIGHTEN UP YOUR DAY, ERASERHEAD! MWA-HAHAHA!"
A bright white, searing light emitted from the villain's hand, brighter than even his goggles' tinted glass could handle, forcing him to close his eyes. A sharp impact from a boot caught him in the chest, staggering him. He heard the distinctive whoosh of smoke that meant the Warp villain was starting his Quirk, instinctively throwing out his capture tape to try and catch one of the villains-!
But it was too late.
As his vision returned and the last of the warp villain's smoke receded, he saw that Mastermind and the shorter villain had vanished from sight, the warping villain already out of range of his capture weapon. The other heroes were trying to respond, but the beam villain had been holding off the rest of them. The car sped away, springing over the barricades and speeding away, police cars in hot pursuit.
Eraserhead shook the last of the light from his eyes. This marked the second time that Mastermind had escaped from him. The villain was starting to shape up to be a problem.
A slight groan alerted him to where the teenager had been sitting, obviously trying to process what had happened to him. Eraserhead hesitated.
He wanted to go out, to continue the chase and capture these villains. That would be the logical, rational decision.
But it was also the right decision for a hero to stay and help somebody in need. And the teenager who'd impulsively used his Quirk certainly needed a hand.
Shinsou Hitoshi was currently having a bit of a crisis. Ever since Eraserhead (and hadn't that been a surprise) had pulled that weird short villain off of him, he'd been about to try again when it had hit him.
He'd been beaten up by a villain the size of a toddler.
Hell. He'd been physically overpowered by a toddler-sized villain. He was almost twice as tall as her and he'd still been overwhelmed! Hell, he hadn't been able to even try and use his Quirk! She'd just put way too much pressure on him!
Sure, Shinsou knew that he wasn't exactly the strongest guy around. He liked reading - it was one of the few things that people didn't get on his case about. So he'd spent a lot of time in the library, and not a lot of time in the yard or gym. However, he knew that he had to be good at running to crime scenes if he wanted to be a hero.
So a couple of months ago he'd started jogging around the area where he grew up. He didn't exactly have access to weights and stuff to lift, but he'd thought that he'd built up a decent amount of muscle.
Yeah, he really hadn't.
Eraserhead went over to him. "Are you alright?" It was quiet, but gruff. He didn't seem all that used to saying stuff like that.
Shinsou nodded, a bit shakily. "I-I'm fine."
Eraserhead pulled his goggles off, giving him a sceptical look. "Really?"
Shinsou looked away. "Well, I guess... I guess I'm embarrassed." He stared down at his arms. "I mean - I mean, I couldn't get her off of me! She just - and I..." he trailed off, staring at the ground.
"You used your Quirk on Mastermind," it wasn't a question, just a statement.
Shinsou swallowed the lump in his throat. "I-yeah."
Eraserhead started reeling his scarf back in. "Did you mean to use it, or was it an accident?" At Shinsou's stare, Eraserhead sighed. "Look, Quirk law isn't completely draconian, especially since you're a minor. If it was an accident, your Quirk activating without your conscious choice? If this was your first offence, you'd receive a warning, especially since you're a minor. Maybe some community service if it was damaging."
He looked Shinsou dead in the eye. "Intentional Quirk usage in this situation... you would be lucky to get away with a permanent black mark on your record. It wasn't a case of clear self-defence, and there were Pros on the scene who were ready to deal with the villain. If somebody had gotten injured, you would have been legally responsible for damages if you weren't a minor."
Shinsou swallowed. He... he knew that Quirk laws were restrictive, but being held accountable like that?
...That made sense.
Thinking about the statement, at Eraserhead's serious face, Shinsou weighed it up. He could just... lie. Say that it wasn't intentional, that it was an accident that he'd tried to capitalise on. Get off with a slap on the wrist.
Shinsou swallowed again, clearing his throat. "I..."
Looking at Eraserhead, Shinsou weighed it up. He could lie about it. But to Eraserhead? To any of these actual heroes? Or to the police who were actually trying to keep people safe?
No.
Shinsou closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. "I used my Quirk on purpose. It wasn't an accident. I... I just wanted to help."
When he opened his eyes, he could see the Heroes' expression lighten. "I thought so. But I'm glad to hear you admit it."
Shinsou let his breath out as the Hero looked him in the eye. "What's your name, kid?"
"Shinsou... Shinsou Hitoshi," he managed to get out in a pained squeak. The Pro nodded.
Shinsou looked down at his feet. "I've thrown away my chance of getting into a hero school, haven't I?"
Eraserhead knelt down to look him in the eye. "You want to be a Hero?"
Shinsou swallowed, nodding. "It's... I guess it's a dream of mine. Getting to help people... that'd be pretty cool."
Eraserhead shrugged. "You weren't able to fight the girl off, though."
Shinsou bit his lip. He'd been... pretty pathetic, hadn't he? "If I'd been just a bit stronger..."
"You could have won?"
Eraserhead cut him off, Shinsou looked at the Hero with wide eyes as he continued. "Maybe if you'd been more skilled and could handle yourself in a fight better, things might have turned out differently. But they didn't."
He poked Shinsou in the arm. "If you want to be a Hero, you're going to need to work out more. It's not enough to have a strong Quirk if just anybody can beat you in a fight."
Shinsou actually pushed himself up at that. "I know that!" He then clapped his hands to his mouth. He'd just yelled at Eraserhead!
He shook himself - there was time to worry about that later. Because it really hurt to know that his Quirk hadn't been enough. Had he really been trying to get in U.A. if he couldn't fight without it?
Eraserhead looked at him levelly. "So. You couldn't fight her off. And you say you want to be a hero?" He stood up, looking down at Shinsou. "You lost today. What are you going to do?"
Shinsou glared up at him, purple eyes meeting black. "What am I going to do? I'm..."
It almost hurt to say. But he knew what he needed. "I'm going to get stronger!" He pushed himself up, getting closer to the underground hero, pointing a finger at him. "I'll go to a gym, or I'll get some weights, or sign up for martial arts or something! But I'm gonna get better!"
The Erasure hero's face split into a menacing grin. "Good answer."
Shinsou stood there, panting. Hearing that from an inspiration of his - it was a dream come true. He winced. Fat lot of good it would do him though.
"Eraserhead!"
One of the police officers came over to them, the Hero looking him over. The police officer looked at Shinsou with a sympathetic eye. "Regarding this young man's Quirk use-"
Shinsou closed his eyes. Well, his Heroics dream had been nice while it lasted. This whole incident - it would probably go on his permanent record or something. Would be about par for the course for somebody with a Villainous Quirk like him.
Eraserhead nodded, minutely. "I've interviewed him. Regarding Shinsou-kun's Quirk usage..."
Shinsou screwed his eyes up tighter. This was it.
"...it was an accidental usage."
Shinsou's eyes shot open.
The police officer looked at Eraserhead. "Are you sure?"
Eraserhead nodded. "Positive." Shinsou looked between them, head whipping back and forth. No fucking way...
"Shinsou-kun was startled by a known villain coming at him. His control of his Quirk slipped, and when he'd caught himself, he saw a chance to help the heroes."
The police officer looked between them. Shinsou, somehow, found it in him to just give a shaky nod. The officer sighed, making a note of it. "Well, if that's the case, young man, we'll leave it at a warning. If this happens again, then there will be more serious consequences." He tipped his hat. "Take care."
Shinsou watched the police officer go. When Eraserhead turned away, he gasped, letting out a breath he hadn't realised that he'd been holding. "How...what...but...you..." he tried to speak, the words tumbling over themselves as he tried to put his thoughts in order.
Eraserhead just looked him in the eye. "You don't have zero potential to be a hero." His dark eyes bored into Shinsou's eyes, narrow to Shionsou's wide. "Don't waste it."
As Eraserhead turned to go, all of the nervous thoughts and energy in Shinsou's head collected. Bounced off of each other, creating mental sparks.
Eraserhead lied to a police officer.
Eraserhead thinks that I've got a chance to be a hero.
I technically lied to a police officer.
Mom is going to kill me.
I have no real idea of how I'm going to get stronger.
All of these collided in his head. The Pro Hero had just taken a step when Shinsou, mind racing and bystanders already leaving, found that he was moving forwards, grabbing the underground hero.
Eraserhead stopped and turned around. "What?"
Shinsou sucked in a breath. "Could-Could you train me?"
Eraserhead slapped his hand off. "Absolutely not. I have students to deal with already."
"Please."
Eraserhead stilled. Shinsou kept talking. "I... It's selfish of me to ask, I know. You-you already helped me so much! But... but you're the first... you're the first person outside of my dad, and my cat, who actually listened to me! Who really thinks that I have a chance!"
Shinsou felt his eyes pricking with tears. He'd been about to cry before, so there they were, about ready to cause a flood. "Please. I'm begging you, train me! I-I can't justify it!" He shook and sniffed, tears pouring down his face like a miniature waterfall. "I'll- it's a half-baked hero dream, but... please, help me make it real!"
Eraserhead stood there, still as a statue as Shinsou slumped like somebody just out of his Quirk. He was spent, drained dry. For a few moments, there was no sound of sirens or the murmurs of pedestrians going back to their routine. Then, the underground Hero sighed. "Show me."
Shinsou looked up, tears poring down his face. "What?"
Eraserhead's eyes flashed red. "Show me your cat. Now."
With shaking hands, Shinsou pulled out his old battered phone case, its cover with a stylised cat on it. He tapped in the passcode. Scrolled to his photos, before pulling up the entire gallery of Huro, the tortoise shell cat that had shown up. He handed his phone over to his favourite Hero.
Eraserhead scanned through the photos, expression unreadable. Then, he pulled out a piece of paper, wrote something on it. He handed the paper and phone over to Shinsou, then sighed.
"Meet me at this address tomorrow. If you're late, no second chances."
AN: Whoo! I bashed this one out! Found it easier than the other chapter to be honest.
So here we have a Training Arc! Shinsou has learned that he needs actual skills to handle himself in a fight! In canon, when his Quirk wore off against Midoriya, he kind of didn't really do anything. In fact, his whole combat strategy was to stand with his hands in his pockets and rely on his Quirk. It's a bit silly, but I hope it's reasonable that he lost like this.
Quirk Law is interesting. I think I might have messed it up a bit. But I do genuinely think that Quirk law is more lenient towards minors and accidents than anything else. Don't forget that Gentle at that point was 18 years old legally an adult, and had interfered with a hero directly and consciously.
Next time, we'll catch up with all of our villains, and Shinsou will start his training! I didn't forget about the other villain as well. What did he do?
Please leave likes and comments! I need those to live.