Paths Of A Hero
Summary: Hero or Vigilante? What is the difference? It used to be black and white, a boundary so sharp cut that many have found themselves in pieces just for approaching it. So why is it blurring now, as Eraserhead tries to keep his head low while unwittingly gaining 20+ kids, at least three Pro Hero friends and seems to have caught the eye of All Might himself, all the while his past is persistently trying to catch up to him?
"Hey, Teach. How was the first day of school?"
The familiar voice startled All Might right into a fighting stance where he had been overlooking Musutafu from the top of Might Tower, whirling around to face the owner and almost attacking had he not found himself seemingly alone on the roof. However, as an experienced Hero of several decades, he knew not to rely on his eyes alone, especially considering who the voice belonged to. This was only the third time he was interacting with the ever elusive Eraserhead, but by now he's learned that the Vigilante was right at home in the night and among shadows. Sure enough, as much as he looked around, he couldn't find any clue as to where the younger man could be hiding until Eraser finally decided to show himself, almost literally walking right out of a shadow and into the lights created by the ever-awake city around them.
He didn't know quite why, but he relaxed upon seeing the Vigilante.
Well, that would be a lie, actually. Yagi Toshinori knew perfectly well why he relaxed - it was because, inexplicably, he found himself trusting Eraserhead, at least enough to know that the younger man won't try to kill him. It could be because one of his very first encounters with the Vigilante allowed him to see a sweet, kind side of the supposedly rough and gruff man, whereas most other Heroes who've ever managed to get a decent interaction with him had needed months if not years to work up to that single moment of partial vulnerability.
Yagi has been in the game long enough to be a pretty decent judge of character, especially where people who could be classified as criminals or villains were concerned. It was almost a sixth sense at this point and Eraserhead didn't trigger it. Yagi was convinced that this young man was indeed a good person, though he wished they have had more experience with each other so he could actually ask the other why someone as talented as him hadn't gone down a heroic path if he was so adamant in following the rules as it was. Naomasa has told Toshinori that the night he'd first met Eraserhead was the first ever time the Vigilante hadn't left a report for the police to find about why the criminal needed to be arrested. No other Vigilante did that.
Eraserhead acted with more responsibility than an embarrassing number of Heroes All Might knew.
He had honestly thought it won't be quite some time until he sees the man again, but it seems Eraserhead likes to surprise people. It's actually quite cold of him to scale the Might Tower, one of the biggest Hero agencies on the entire continent. Heroes went in and out at all hours of day and night, not to mention that All Might himself was stationed there. Eraser could easily be caught if they were all to go after him at once.
Yet here he was, keeping a distance, sticking close to the shadows, ready to bolt at any second no doubt, but here nonetheless. How very bold of him indeed. Toshinori could see why this single man intrigued so many Heroes as to create personal connections with him, or, alternatively, infuriated them to no end as he did not fear them. Eraseread carried himself with an easy confidence that bespoke of skill and experience, years of it. The man didn't do things rashly, was said to be lead by logic and rationality, but this right here was neither rational nor logical. It made the Number One Hero curious as to why the black haired man had come and what he could possibly want. Surely not just to chat!
"It was great! A bit overwhelming, I will admit, hahahaha!" He said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. In truth, he had been so completely out of his depth that he was surprised none of his classes had ended in a catastrophe. Well, excluding Midoriya-shounen breaking bones again. Though that wasn't during his class. Class 1-A's new homeroom teacher seemed as overwhelmed by their students as All Might was. He didn't envy Mister Blaster one bit, but he was also of the opinion that the man approached his job all wrong. Especially when he tried to outclass Bakugo-shounen's explosive Quirk with his own.
Sensoji-kun wasn't even an active Hero anymore, not since his Hero team broke off and they all went solo. Mister Blaster seemed okay in a group but by himself, he soon turned out to be inefficient as a Hero. Probably why he jumped at the opportunity to become a UA teacher. The same recognition and publicity as a mid ranking Hero with half the work. All Might wasn't all too sure why Nezu had picked the man, though, as most of his former students all dropped out of Hero work within a few years of graduating, either by choice or by necessity due to injuries. Three of his former students even ended up KIA! All Might knew he wasn't meant to be a teacher - he was too much of a natural at being a Hero in order to properly pass on his knowledge and experience, though he did his best - but Sensoji-kun didn't even try harder than the absolute minimum he needed.
He assigned homework, he could be late to class three out of five times, he handed out pre-made pamphlets to explain just about anything from the usual class schedule to actual lesson plans. One time, while preparing a lesson plan for his first ever class with 1-A, Toshinori had made the mistake of asking for assistance from the man and while he seemed super pleased to show off to the new teacher, who also happened to be the Number One Hero completely clueless as to how he should go about being an educator, he only ended up making him more confused and Yagi had to bother Nezu for three hours after school just to straighten out what he should do. His first official lesson with 1-A is set to be tomorrow. He is still not confident enough that the exercise he prepared will be good enough.
And then he has to review all the information he gets from how everyone does and grade them. How is he supposed to grade them!? It's not a simple test! It was a practical exercise! How does one count points!?
"You don't sound so confident about that. Are they a bunch of problem children?" That had Toshinori focusing back on his companion, only to find Eraser now perched at the edge of the rooftop, a jelly pouch seemingly having appeared from nowhere raising to his mouth for a single, long, powerful sip that drained the whole pack in one go. Okay, that was impressive lung power right there.
"Uh, no? I mean, they can be a bit rowdy-" And understatement with 1-A, that's for sure, especially in kids like Bakugo-shounen or Mineta-shounen. Though for completely different reasons. "But they're respectful and all very talented! They'll become good Heroes one day, I am certain!" Why was he telling all of this to a complete stranger, though?
"Then it's the teaching staff."
"Wow, way to hit the nail on the head," he mumbled to himself but didn't reveal anything about the teachers at UA. It felt disrespectful, especially as it was only one person that wasn't as helpful as the others. All Might had heard rumors Midnight was supposed to be 1-A's homeroom teacher but that Nezu had changed his mind at the last second. Supposedly to try and drag something out of Sensoji-kun that would qualify him to keep his current job.
"Sensoji? As in, Mister Blaster?"
"... Did I say that last part out loud?" Eraser, he thinks, shot him a look. It was hard to say with the goggles he always wore. "Shit."
"I can understand why you're having trouble if you're having to contend with him," the black clad man said with a derisive snort.
Toshinori frowned. "Do you have something against Mister Blaster?"
"Not personally, no. Though he is a Quirkist idiot who believes only people with flashy Quirks should be Heroes. I pity the kids in his class. His skills are mediocre, his Quirk itself is more flash than strength so it's not like he has room to judge and he makes dangerous, irrational calls out in the field. I've had to save more than a few civilians from the debris he himself created while 'saving' them. I think, personally, that he's enacting Endeavor too much. One city fire hazard is bad enough, thank you."
'I didn't know Sensoji-kun has Quirk-based prejudices,' he thought within the confines of his own mind. What Eraserhead said really made sense. It was, dare he say, illogical of Sensoji-kun to have such an opinion. His quirk was really about 45% power and the rest was all flash. "How would you know all of this, Eraserhead?" He asked with his usual unassuming bright All Might smile.
Eraserhead didn't seem impressed nor fooled. "Rumors get around. Information travels. Then you meet a guy and get the chance to judge just how right or wrong the rumors are. Take you, for instance. All of this," he waved a hand at Toshinori's whole self and he couldn't help but stiffen. "Is a front. Yes, you are a kind person. Yes, you would probably die for a kitten. Yes, you are probably the strongest man currently alive on this godforsaken Earth. But that smile? That's fake. Your invincibility is fake. Everyone bleeds, All Might-san. You are no less human than a Quirkless person. Behind the symbol is a man who had his own life, his own opinions and his own dreams and feelings. Can you really express them, though, with the media always hounding your every step? No, not without causing an uproar. So you keep everything hush hush. I really doubt that your birth certificate, wherever it may be, says All Might, and I doubt you haven't aged a day past your silver age appearance. You're human. Not even All Might is forever."
"But the idea behind the Symbol of Peace can be," he said a bit hesitatingly, but at least he relaxed. He ... didn't actually know what to do with what he'd just heard. Did Present Mic and Midnight discuss such things with Eraserhead? Did anyone? Did anyone ever ask his view on today's society? His dreams? The reason why he chose vigilantism over heroism? People usually had some reason and their reason usually differed the good Heroes from the great ones. Take the newly debuted Heroes as an example: Kamui Woods wanted to help people above all else while Mt Lady wanted to do that while looking good, drawing attention to herself. From what rumors he himself has heard, she wants to take Midnight's place as the sexiest female Hero, a title Midnight unofficially held since her own debut, meaning a little over a decade now. It caused a huge difference in how people perceived them and how they did their jobs.
They both did good work, but Kamui Woods could be seen getting down and dirty and not caring when the press inevitably surrounded him afterwards, while Mt Lady tried to keep her hands clean and fixed up her appearance before going to the reporters. Kamui spent more time with the victims, too. People instantly felt at ease when he arrived at the scene.
Kamui also happened to pay less for property damage caused by his fights with villains. Public perception also depended heavily on that.
All Might and Endeavor were also one of the best examples as how motivation made for different Heroes. Todoroki Enji, whether he had other motives besides, always portrayed that he cared about his status and reputation the most. He made for flashy fights in an effort to gather as much attention from the public so he can, supposedly, surpass All Might in their minds. Yagi Toshinori, though, had decided to become a Hero to put people at ease, and build a pillar of belief in their society so they, as a whole, can fight back against villainy. That's why he always wore a smile and always said 'I am here!' in an effort to reassure the poor victims of any crime. He didn't care how big or small some deed was. He didn't care about flair, though that happened all on its own with a Quirk as powerful as One For All and the mastery of it.
But Eraserhead wasn't wrong when he said a good deal of All Might was a front, now more than ever. He had just a little over three hours left and he was weakening fast, ever since he passed his Quirk on to Midoriya-shounen as the Ninth holder of One For All. He would have to retire soon. After all, not even All Might is forever. But will the pillar he'd so painstakingly built hold? And if it crumbles, is Midoriya-shounen really ready to build it back up by his own hands? Will he know how? His protege is so smart and cunning, but also so jittery and awkward. He had his heart in the right place, but not his mind. The only times he displayed qualities of the next Symbol of Peace was when he looked ready to jump in and help someone, regardless of what that might do to himself.
"Are you sure?" Eraserhead asked, looking away from the blond who now gazed at him questioningly. "Nothing hurts more than when an idea, an ideal crumbles. Whole countries have disappeared for it, both good and bad. Not to mention how unfair it would be to put such expectations on any single person. I don't know how you've managed to carry all those expectations all on your own, but I can assure you people like you are once in a lifetime kind of characters. Anyone else in your position, isolated at the top, surrounded by nothing but the vultures that call themselves the press and enemies or rivals that want to take you down one way or the other, they wouldn't be able to take it, All Might-san. You may have built an ideal, but no one else can live up to it. They will look at that person, compare them to you, and they will find them lacking. How can society rely on that person if they always find them lacking?"
"I ... guess I can see your point, my friend," he mumbled, sitting down on his own ledge overlooking the city. "What would you do, though? If you were in my position? If you've served your country and the world for so long that you know they rely on you to carry all that weight on your shoulders, know you can't let them down. What would you do when you found that, as much as you want to continue fighting, it is simply your time to put down the cape and retire?"
"Well, first, I would never make the mistake to put myself into such a position in the first place," quickly retorts the Vigilante and Toshinori winces, wondering why he was even asking or why he was expecting a different response. He knew Eraserhead liked his secrecy. Whether it was to protect his identity so he doesn't get arrested or simply because he doesn't like attention at all is a different matter, a topic he should probably ask the younger man one day, if he gets the chance. He shouldn't have expected any other answer, really-
"However, if I were in a situation like that, I would do what you are currently doing." When Yagi almost had a heart attack at the thought of someone knowing about passing along One For All, the Vigilante continued. "I would become a teacher at a Hero school and train the next generation of Heroes so they, together, can carry that weight I knew existed and was slowly crushing me now that I am no longer able to bear it on my own. I'd teach them my ideals, teach them to keep themselves and others alive, teach them to work together and not only to rebuild a pillar that may or may not be crumbling, but to also reinforce it. The original ideal may die, All Might-san, but its legacy can live on. I wouldn't want to pass on my ideal; I'd want to pass on my legacy."
All Might couldn't help himself; he laughed like he hadn't laughed in six years, free and light and genuine and relieved. Amazed, too. "Why aren't you a Hero?" He blurted out without thinking and found himself stiffening, ready to see Eraserhead gone in the next second for his thoughtless question.
Eraserhead hadn't moved a muscle beyond turning around to look at him. The goggles, messy hair and ridiculously long scarf weapon thing were unfairly and unbelievably successful in hiding the younger man's identity. All Might could only tell he had pale, smooth skin and possibly high cheekbones.
Everything else was somehow hidden.
As had been the case for fifteen years, it would seem.
"I wanted to be," the smaller man replied after a long bout of silence. "But then life got in the way and I realized this was better. That this was where I belonged. Heroes don't usually patrol at night, not at the times I usually do. That's when the people are actually at their most vulnerable. The police can't handle it all and Underground and nighttime Heroes are so few and far in between that people are mostly left to fend for themselves. I don't care about fame or recognition. If I had been a Hero, I would have gone underground. There's so much to do and yet not enough people to do it ... How can Heroes claim to protect society when most overlook the most important parts just because there's no press there to take pictures?"
All Might thought back to six years ago, to his fight against All For One. He thought back to twenty four years ago, when Nana fought that same great evil just to give him a chance to escape and live and fight another day. Neither fight was ever covered by the media. The world couldn't find out about All For One. The most dangerous and important fights of their generation were thankless and so hush hush that anyone would ever find out, no matter the amount of digging they did. The only people in the entire world that even knew about the fights were All Might himself, his one time teacher Gran Torino, his former sidekick Sir Nighteye, Tsukauchi as of the last few years and-
He frowned, barely recalling messy, black hair, dirty round cheeks and wide tired eyes with no trace of fear in them, just weariness and wariness, both deeply seeded in the child's eyes and for good reason. The boy had been, what? Five? Six? Nana had just handed him over and made Toshinori rush the kid out of there just as the fight was starting. Toshinori had pushed the kid onto Gran Torino and rushed back to help his master. By the time he'd gotten back, the fight was already in full swing and it was all too obvious that All For One would emerge victorious. Gran Torino had been faster than him back then, when he was still discovering all of his limits and all the ways he could use One For All. It is hard to get used to a Quirk after being Quirkless your whole life, no matter how well suited you may be for it. Nana had told Gran Torino to take him away, to train and raise him until he was ready to stand on his own feet by himself. She had passed on the torch to him and trusted him to be the best Hero he possibly can.
That was the last time he saw her. He was sure even her corpse had been destroyed in the ensuing fight, when the last embers of One For All finally faded from her.
Too consumed in his grief and rage, Toshinori had not thought back to the boy they had rescued until the next day, but all traces of the kid were already gone. The police officers Gran Torino left the kid with claimed government-approved social workers had come to pick the kid up and place him into a safe orphanage where, hopefully, the villain that had had him wouldn't be able to find him. Gran Torino had demanded they see the boy themselves, because Toshinori had been so out of sorts he couldn't calm down until he made sure the fruits of Nana's last deed as a Hero were secure, that the boy was indeed alright and safe, but the government officials had deemed it too big of a security risk.
Something about the way they had acted, the way they had said the boy's Quirk was too dangerous to be left unattended until he learned to control it never sat well with Toshinori, but he had been young and stupid and grieving.
Eventually, he had let it go, figuring he'd get the chance to pursue the case more once he became a Pro.
Only, by the time he graduated from UA, he found out the kid had run away. Gran Torino had known for months and had never told him, knowing he would try to find the boy and waste away his time and the many chances he needed if he was to fulfill his dream of becoming the Symbol of Peace.
Just one of many things Toshinori never quite forgave his teacher for.
Just another thing he regrets and will regret until the day he dies. Or at least he finds the boy with the golden stare once again and is sure he's alright.
He can see Eraser's point. Hell, he's mostly guilty of much the same himself. Though, for his part, he literally has to fight only fights in which he can be seen, now that his time was slowly running out. He needs to give the people their Symbol for as long as he can, as often as he can, because soon enough, there won't be any of All Might left to give. If there's even any Toshinori left at all. This means he's working a lot less at the riskier times and that's been the truth for the past six years. It's a wonder if he'll have any time for heroism now that he's a teacher, which is a full-time job even when one isn't teaching fledgling Heroes.
"It would have suited you," he says instead of commenting Eraserhead's observation of society. "You would have had your place among Hero ranks, even if it's not actually among the, you know, rankings." He wasn't sure why he fumbled with his words there. Did Eraserhead make him nervous? Impossible, surely! He didn't even know the man!
"Hm, possibly. But I like it how it is now."
"Oh."
"Sorry."
"It's, um, it's okay? I wasn't trying to recruit your or anything!" All Might reassured, once again finding himself flustered and making a fool of himself. There was just something about the way the Vigilante held himself that made him feel like he was in his true form and even that didn't make any sense. 'Small' Might, as some teachers at UA teasingly called him, would still tower over Eraserhead, even hunched over as he may stand.
"I know." That had Toshinori stopping. Eraser stood up all of a sudden, that strange scarf suddenly dancing around his shoulders. All Might didn't even have the time to feel uneasy at the possibility that Eraserhead might attack him when the younger man half turned his face towards him. "I have to go. Just spotted my target."
"Target?"
"I've been searching all night. See ya, All Might-san." And with that, the Vigilante fearlessly jumped over the edge, his scarf-like weapon shooting out and catching onto signs, windows, buildings, lampposts and anything and everything else as Eraserhead pursued whoever it is that he's been waiting for. Toshinori didn't bother to go chase after him. In fact, in order not to feel tempted, he turned back into his true form and sighed tiredly.
Eraserhead had been bold and confident enough to use Might Tower for stakeout, uncaring of all the Heroes within the building and All Might's presence, which was most logical, as well. He'd come to the building because it was one of the tallest in town and offered the best villain-spotting view.
The Number One Hero couldn't help but be both impressed and amused by the gutsy move.
Eraserhead sure was intriguing.