~Author's Note~

Hey all! (If there is an all to say hey to.) Welcome to the second chapter of 'The Warrior'. Sorry it's a day late. I know its a lot of dialogue but, oh well. Its important, so there. There was gonna be a second part to the chapter but ultimately I ran out of time and motivation. Maybe the new meds my psych prescribed will change that but we'll burn that bridge when we get there. Anyways, enjoy my coffee shop AU-, I mean. . .

-I. N.

The next morning I was so sore.

Not only from the physical activity I was forced to engage in, but from the emotional toll too. Just thinking about those guys made me salty.

My bike still wasn't repaired to I had to drag my self along the near 40 minute walk to work at 5 AM

Stupid bike.

Fricken hate my life

Going through the day was weird too. Like, I was almost assaulted and killed the night before but hey, there I was, tappin' shots, steamin' milk like any other day. I felt like telling someone but, that would be awkward too.

Oh, how was my night last night? Pretty wild I'd say. Got paralyzed by some dudes loogie and attacked by two others. Did I go to the hospital? Nope. Because I'm kinda here illegally and hiding from a criminal organization, but I digress.

How was your night?

And who was I gonna tell? My useless coworker Bo who had the audacity to ask me what a blueberry was? My joke of a manager who schedules me on days I say I can't work?!

Pfft. Right.

The next couple of days went by in that weird vibe. I was on edge, especially walking alone at night. Of course I was always cautious, but i'm sure my neighbors thought I was psychotic, checking over my shoulder and erratically looking around every 2 seconds.

The following week, I finally broke down and went to the store to buy a good knife to protect myself with, which I had contemplated for a while but never did. I used to watch my Papa practice with one, and I used one while I was on the streets, but in my attempt at normalcy, I abandoned weapons.

We all saw how well that went. I also downloaded an app that would alert the police or nearby hero if I ever felt in danger.

Which was hopefully NEVER AGAIN.

I didn't think my Listerine strip of mental stability could handle that type of encounter again.

The days moved on and things settled back into place. Villain attacks here and there, some scolding from my manager, neighborhood cats trying to kill me by snuggling next to me whilst walking. (It's like they sensed I was allergic.)

And then I saw him again.

At first I didn't notice him walk into the cafe. I was busy making drinks when I heard a woman's obnoxious laughter but wrote it off as just another annoying customer. Hari, one of the only competent people I worked with, asked me to take the register really quick while she took the phone.

Without looking up I walked over and said the usual.

'Hi, thanks for coming in, what can I get for you?'

And when I did look up, our eyes met immediately.

Eraserhead. That scruffy hero who saved my life.

He was dressed exactly the same, which I guess was his costume, but it just looked like normal clothes. He started to say something but was cut off by his companion.

"Hi! Can I get the largest mocha you have with 10 pumps of caramel and made with half n' half? And I'll have a slice of coffee cake. Actually make that two!" Now this chick, she was definitely a hero. Gloves, bandanna, muscular form. Her peppy attitude was too much.

Maybe because it was 7 in the morning. Maybe because mornings are stupid and no sane person should be that happy at SEVEN IN THE MORNING.

I could tell Eraserhead felt very similar. "I don't need a slice of coffee cake", he sighed with a drained look.

"It's for me not for you silly! But what would you like to drink? Ooo! Wait let me guess. A black coffee! Like your soul huh!" She burst out into laughter.

I truly thought I saw his soul leave his body. We cringed in pained solidarity.

"Sure. Do you want that first drink hot or iced," i asked through a strained smile.

"Hmmm, iced!"

As I was ringing them up, Eraserhead finally spoke to me.

"How are you doing?" He face still looked drained and his voice was monotone but the sentiment was there. Somewhere.

I looked up and smiled. "I'm good! No weird side effects from that stuff. Just terrified of walking at night, but that's hardly new. And you? Are you both starting your day?"

"We are on a little date," the other hero interrupted, in a crooning kinda way. "Only hes forcing me to buy."

"This is not a date and you don't have to buy me a drink," he said firmly. I pressed my lips together to hide my smile.

Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I am. But she's been working since 12 AM. I'm glad you are doing okay though."

My eyes widened, expressing my concern with how energetic this person was despite being awake since 12 AM. Eraserhead gave me a knowing look. It made me laugh a bit.

"Thank you. It means a lot." I spoke as I poured his coffee. "Your the only person who really knows what happened so that means you are the only one who has checked up on me. So thanks for coincidentally stopping by."

His eyebrows furrowed, but he said nothing. His companion was chatting with another hero by the bar as she waited for her drink.

I handed him the coffee and smiled. "Stay safe Eraserhead. And I hope your date goes well!"

His eye twitched. "Thanks."

I wanted to talk to him more. To get more background on his hero-ing career. His name. How his erasure quirk worked. But I had to make a stupid iced mocha supercharged with enough sugar to put the average person in a diabetic coma.

But hey. Who am I to judge?

. . .

Jk. I judge a lot.

They hung around for 15 or so minutes. I'd try to steal glances at them or listen to their conversation but the sound of steaming milk and grinding coffee made sure I heard nothing.

As they were leaving I shouted goodbye. The girl hero waved back enthusiastically before walking through the door. Eraserhead gestured my way, but nothing too personal.

Maybe he'll stop in more, I thought, telling myself I was just interested because he was the first hero I had interacted with since I was a kid.

My coworker, Hari, noticed I was distracted and grinned at me.

"He was pretty hot, huh?"

She was one of the only people I would call a friend. The only person I kinda felt close to. She knew I had an encounter with a villain, but not to what extent.

I smiled coyly and shrugged. "In a disheveled way, yes. But actually, that was dude who helped me that night."

"Oh really?! Lucky you," she teased. "I'd run into a villain to meet that guy in the night."

"….Miss girl you need to calm down".

We bantered back and forth the rest of the day as we served the public over priced coffee.

Life went on.

Two weeks later and I rarely thought of that night, the part I had to order for my bike would be arriving any day and I was anxious to finally fix this stupid thing already. Leaving early for everything was getting old real quick.

After my regular shift at the cafe I moseyed on over to the boba tea shop near the city center and met with a regular student of mine. She was a graduate med student who was trying to improve her English pronunciation.

Teaching felt fulfilling. Better than coffee. Better than anything I'd been doing over the past 4 years. If my mother could hear me say that, I wouldn't know if she would be over the moon or fuming.

Thinking about how that poor woman put me through so much education just for me to tell her I wanted to be a hero, like my father.

As I walked, I saw the scene before me. My fathers silent cackling. My mothers tired expression.

I hid the memory away as quickly as I could.

It couldn't make me sad if it was hidden.

My credentials were impressive enough and tutoring usually meant they wanted to be there. Chemistry, literature, engineering, language, especially linguistics, it was all there, tucked away in my brain. It also helped that my prices were lower compared to other tutors, so I was able to get more students.

And the more students I gained meant I didn't have to work at that godforsaken coffee shop so much. Even 3 days a week was too much.

After ordering my boba, I went to my usual table and set up. That day I was booked until 10pm with varied students. Some group lessons and even a couple middle-schoolers. It was always weird to see just how little they were.

How little I was when…

After my last session, I laid my head on the table with my headphones in, zoning out, trying to recoup after hours of using my quirk.

'Suck It' had been my workspace for a year or so and I was so grateful to them for allowing me to teach there. The surge in customers probably sweetened the deal too since it was a newer business.

After 20 minutes, I took a deep breath and began to gather my things to make the trek back home.

One of the girls who worked there, Yuko, would regularly refill my boba on the house before I left. Helping the daughter of the owner survive her first year of med school may have also earned me cheap drinks for life too.

"When are you getting your bike fixed Percy-san," she asked with concern, handing my cup back to me. "Walking home this late can be dangerous!"

I looked at the invisible camera behind her with a sigh and shrugged. "I'm hoping by Friday, but it just depends on when the part I need gets here?"

"Well, please be careful," she pleaded in her adorable little voice. "Text me when you get home!"

I smiled and bowed tiredly at her genuine concern. "I will. Ja. Mata ne!"

A chilly breeze engulfed me as soon as opened the door and it made me question my cold drink. I took a sip for strength and I was wrong. The sweet nectar of taro was worth it.

After deciding to put on some gloves, I started towards my house but stopped abruptly when I saw someone familiar walking towards me.

His eyes darted back and forth through the people on the street and into the shops. He didn't see me, but seeing that emo pro again brought a smile to my face.

"Eraserhead," I shouted, waving like an idiot.

His eyes locked on mine and after taking a moment to recognize me, his face softened and I saw a hint of a smile.

Act normal for the love of God.

He walked up to me, hands in his pockets and gave a little bow.

"Percy, it's good to see you. How are you doing?"

"Good, good," I responded, nodding excessively. "Just got finished up with work and headin' home. You doing patrols right now?"

He looked to the side and scratched his head. "Yeah. I'll be done in a few hours. It's been quiet so far." Eraserhead paused and looked at my boba. "So you work at this boba tea shop too?"

His mannerisms were strange. Like, he had no concept of how to act...normally? Or maybe he did, but he didn't care? Either way, it was quite interesting. Especially the dead pan expression and even voice. I didn't meet many Japanese people quite like him.

I gestured in an unsure way. "Kinda? I'm a tutor, so I meet my students here throughout the week."

"So coffee shop and a tutor. Sounds like a busy schedule. Are you a student as well?"

"Nah. Just working right now. trying to….figure things out I guess." My response was vague, but he didn't seem so particularly care. "Anyways, you must be tired from a long day. I wanna get you a drink! It's my thanks for your help that day and for checking up on me. "

He put up his hand and shook his head. "That's okay. I'm fine actually," he said, trying to be nonchalant.

"No no. I insist."

I grabbed the door and ushered him in.

"Dozo, Eraserhead! Don't reject my hospitality. You never know. This could be my only chance to treat you."

His blank look said it all as he begrudgingly walked into the little shop. I grinned, too pleased with my successful persuasion.

"Hey Yuko-chan," I said, definitely smiling too much. "Back again. Whatever he wants, I'll take care of it."

She gave me a look. "Of course! Heroes also get 15% off."

"Aww sick." I turned to Eraserhead. "What would you like?"

"Um, I'll have," he started, trailing off as the menu overwhelmed him. "I'm not sure. What do you recommend?"

"Hmmm. Well. Are you wanting caffeine or something sweet to drink?"

"Well. I've already had 13 shots of espresso so I don't think I should have caffeine..."

My eye twitched.

Dude how are you alive right now?

"Yeah, imma have to agree with you there," I said slightly concerned. "I also really like Taro or honeydew. No risk of heart attacks and pure joy.

He nodded. "I'll try the taro one."

After getting his drink and being waved off with a sly wink from Yuko, we left the shop.

"So, how ya like it?"

He nodded and hummed with approval. "It's good. I haven't had boba in years."

"Well, when you aren't in danger of cardiac arrest, you should try the coffee taro one. 10 out of 10, would do again," I said confidently.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a slight smirk appear. We sipped our drinks in awkward silence, walking besides each other for about a block.

He spoke up first. "I assume you are heading home then? I haven't walked that area yet so I'll walk with you for a bit if that's okay with you. I also remember you said you get anxious walking at night."

I nodded and tried not to read too much into what he just said. "You don't have to, but I do appreciate not being alone. I also don't really have friends so this is pretty nice."

"Uh, friends," he asked hesitantly.

"Sure! You can call me Percy if you want. Some people call me Shi-chan, so that's okay too." Words we're coming out faster than I could review and censor them.

I'll deal with the embarrassment later, I thought anxiously.

"Should I just stick to calling you Eraserhead?"

He looked a bit overwhelmed, not quite sure how to deal with my unmedicated ADHD. "You sure are forward Percy," he remarked cooly. "Easerhead is fine. But my name is Aizawa Shouta."

Calm down before you embarrass yourself more you idiot.

"Ahh. Aizawa. That's a nice name," I responded a bit more calmly. "So, how long have you been heroing?"

"Um. Almost 7 years now."

"Wow. That's cool! Your quirk is really interesting too. I was sad I couldn't get a better view of it in action that night but it's definitely an elite one."

He raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

The nerd and lack of social interaction was spilling out. "Um, shyeah! Erasing quirks?! I obviously don't want to bother you about specifics but, taking away your opponents main defense? Catching them off guard like that. Pretty sick. I wouldn't know what I'd do as a backup if my quirk failed, that's for sure," I said excitedly.

"Thanks I guess. I never thought of it that way growing up but. . . I've trained hard. To hone it."

"That's really awesome," I sighed. "When I was younger, I really wanted to become a hero, like my Dad. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way."

"Was your quirk the issue," he asked flatly.

Even as smiled, the sadness was seeping through. "No. . . just life. Life got in the way. It seemed like the universe was pretty dead set on me not becoming a pro. But I guess that's okay," I conceded with a shrug. "I'm alive. And healthy. Most people can't say the same."

I felt his eyes on me again, but I couldn't look. Talking about my past, genuinely,. . . it hurt. I normally avoided it at all costs. Happy memories, traumatic ones, they were all the same, leaving me with a pain in my chest and an empty heart.

"Well," I smiled awkwardly, trying to lighten the dark mood I created, "I guess if i really wanted to I could become a pro, but at this point I would need a teacher or a mentor I think. Hey! Who knows? Maybe I could-"

Boom!

In a second, Eraserhead pushed me towards the ground.

The store front we were walking past was shattering in a million pieces, bursting open towards street.

What the heck is going on?!

He landed on top of me, like a human shield against the debris from the explosion. My hands and arms scraped against the pavement as I protected my head.

After a few seconds, he was up. "Percy-san are you okay?!," he asked worriedly, his hand on my shoulder.

Uncovering my head and quickly assessing the burning sensation on my arms, I was about to say yes.

But behind him. A fire was growing. Smoke plumed out of the building.

I froze in terror.

No no no no. Please stop. You have to move!

My breathing intensified. Fight or flight kicked in and my body chose freeze. A ringing persisted in my ears. Memories were flooding back. I was stuck. I was 14 again, watching my life billow in black smoke towards the sky.

"Percy san!"

I shuddered and blinked a few times. Eraserhead had his goggles on but I could feel the intense concern.

"I'm sorry," I stuttered out. "I'm fine! I'm okay."

He helped me to my feet and looked over me one final time. The chaos was growing. Some ran out of building to get a closer look. Others scrambled to get as far as they could from a potential villain attack.

"Good. You need to clear the area," he said sternly. "Before something else happens. If you aren't going to go to the hospital, go home as fast as you can."

"I will," I responded firmly. "Please be safe Eraserhead."

He nodded and made for the building.

I turned and ran like he said, only slowing down after about 5 blocks.

Taking deep breaths I tried to calm down, pushing the flashback I just had while encountering the burning building as far away from my stream of consciousness as possible.

Of all the things that could have happened, it had to be that, I thought bitterly.

When I got home, I finally saw the state I was in and it wasn't pretty. My braids were messy and coming undone, taro, dirt and soot encrusted in my white hair.

That was gonna be a pain in the bootyhole to clean.

My face was fine, and I could only find scrapes on my arms and hands. The only considerable injury I had was some bruising forming on my hip and thigh from landing so hard on the concrete. It definitely made it difficult to sleep later that night.

In the morning, I decided to check the local news site to see what happened. Normally, even for smaller incidents, there were reports on what took place and the hero that responded. When I eventually found an article talking about the explosion, apparently a robbery gone wrong, there was no mention of Eraserhead, even though he must have helped in some way. Just that local authorities responded and apprehended 2 criminals and that everyone had minor injuries.

I was intrigued. Perplexed even.

I wanted to know more.

~Author's Note~

Futamata Hatori

Quirk: None

About: An art student in her senior year. Apprenticing at a famous kimono maker's studio.

Age:21

Likes: Natto

Dislikes: Sunny days

(See you all next Friday!)