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?

While her official Hero name might be Youthful Heroine: Recovery Girl, Shuzenji Chiyo is far from young. She's seen so much that, after a while, she'd thought she'd seen it all.

She's seen Yagi Toshinori walk away from a fight with the world's worst villain in the history of mankind and Quirks with a hole in his side. She'd seen that same Yagi Toshinori live to tell the tale, live to suffer having only one lung and no true stomach to speak of. She'd seen him push through it all, push past it, Plus fucking Ultra, and continue being All Might, continue fighting daily even as the time in which he could hold his 'hero form' slowly dwindled over the years.

She'd seen many friends retire or fall in battle.

She'd seen the most unlikely students graduate and become fine Pros and she'd seen the most promising ones bulk under the pressure and either give up their dream or, unfortunately, end it prematurely in the worst way possible.

She'd seen UA take hits the likes of which no one would think the school's reputation could survive.

She'd seen a miracle happen, once: a General Education student winning the Sports Festival, not using his Quirk until the very last match in the final round.

She'd seen a friend break, finally, over the loss of that student. Over his inability to protect him.

She'd even seen a traitor in UA's own staff.

She'd seen many things, but Eraserhead was something the likes of which she'd never seen and never thought she'd see.

Chiyo didn't know whether she should pinch herself to check if this is real or if she should cry.

She'd seen his face when she'd cleaned off all the blood.

She'd recognize it anywhere, even after all these years.

She's never once forgotten a former UA student, but this one is truly one she's sure she'd recognize blind.

Because this is the student that broke the Time Hero: Kronos. Chiyo's best friend, the man she'd once loved and thought they could maybe have a life together. They'd given up on that hope long before this particular student had walked into their lives, but Kronos, or as only a few know him, Tsukihino Shikaku, had made a special bond with the boy. A bond over their shared intellect and ideas. Shikaku had received the challenge of a lifetime from the boy that cannot be repeated.

And if Chiyo had ever had doubts about Eraserhead's identity, the presence of his scarf-like weapon was proof enough.

That, too, she'd recognize even if she were to go blind.

What she heard had happened as USJ is a gruesome and almost unbelievable story. She wishes it were only a tale, but she's seen the physical marks on twenty students and four adults, one of whom should not even be here at all. Thirteen will probably need a few weeks before she recovers fully. Toshinori's time as All Might has decreased to about an hour, maybe even less. Sensoji was lucky to have survived those gunshot wounds. He probably won't be able to do Hero work anymore, not that he has in a while. Question was, will he be able to teach? Also probably not. Not in the Hero department, that is. Not practicals.

The fourth was Eraserhead, a Vigilante that had, single handedly, saved two Pros and twenty kids. He hadn't been able to fight off the 'League of Villains' all on his own - that one that had injured Toshinori and pushed him past his limit had nearly killed him. That one had been his limit.

But Shuzenji had heard from the students that Eraserhead had fought for as long as he could.

Midoriya, Asui and Mineta wouldn't be here today if it hadn't been for this man's tenacity. His persistence. His strength of will.

Now, she watched as the man was surrounded by the kids he'd nearly died for, the kids that had seen their teacher that had never connected with them almost die foolishly and had seen this Vigilante come to their rescue when it was neither his obligation nor his job. And he looked confused by their gratefulness, by the fact that they seemed to like him. Him. Not a Hero.

He let them ask questions and even answered some. He bopped Midoriya-kun and Asui-chan on the head when they tried to thank him or apologize for not doing more, for getting in the way, and Chiyo made a disapproving noise, threatening them all with her cane if he breaks those casts.

Gods, he'd been in awful shape when Shoji had brought him over to Chiyo. For a moment, she had honestly thought they had handed over a corpse. But he had been breathing and he was still breathing.

Breathing and berating the children like he was born to deal with them. Like a teacher.

And these 1-A brats listened.

He'd earned their respect, after all.

"Eraserhead-sensei," Toshinori's little successor finally spoke up, a certain spark in his eyes that Recover Girl had seen a few times, usually when Quirks were being discussed. "I don't mean to be rude but it's really been bothering me since we saw you fight and I've heard of some of your other fights, though of course it's really hard to get information on them and even harder to find any visuals-"

"Breathe, Midoriya-chan," Asui-chan instructed and the freckled boy flushed, looking away from the raised eyebrow of the bandaged up Vigilante.

"Sorry!"

"Just ask me directly and concisely. It's illogical to beat around the bush."

Midoriya flushed again but nodded his head decisively. "Is it true that you can erase people's Quirks?"

"Midoriya-kun!" Iida admonished, chopping through the air with his usual robotic gestures. "You can't just ask that!"

"Yeah, it is a bit rude," commented dear, sweet Jirou. The only one from this class that hasn't been hurt since the beginning of the school year from this class until today.

"But you gotta admit that it's what we all want to know, right?" There goes Kaminari. No one can refute his claim and they all kind of nervously glance at the man they have declared 'sensei' despite knowing, surely, that he is no such thing.

Eraserhead sighs, long and loud, and slumps even more against his pillows. Yaoyorozu seems to instinctively move to fluffen them up for his comfort, only to blush and edge away when he sends her a questioning look. Chiyo's heart squeezes painfully. Does this man know no kindness? Then again, if he really is who she's pretty sure he is ... Maybe he doesn't, truly. Or maybe he'd forgotten.

(Shikaku's heart might break all over again, if that's the case. Gods, she hopes it's not the case. It's hard to watch one's friend and dearest person suffer all over again.)

"Yes, I can erase Quirks. It's only for as long as I can keep my eyes open and maybe a bit afterwards and it works on most Quirk types- What are you doing?"

Midoriya looks up from his notebook - that seems to have come out of absolutely nowhere - confusion and sheepishness warring on his face. "Uh, taking notes for my Hero Analysis For The Future? It's kind of my hobby? I, uh, don't show it to anyone, don't worry!"

"Let me see," Eraserhead says, beckoning him over. Chiyo watches as the whole group of students observe nervously as though he's testing them or something instead of just reading one of their classmate's notebooks. She admits, the things he writes in them can be either criticized or praised, even though she's never read it, but surely there's no need to act like they were taking a test! "Not bad, kid. Though, this is very dangerous."

"I-"

"You need to write it in code. What if a villain got their hands on this? You've analysed a lot of Heroes here, displaying both their strengths and weaknesses, the strategies they usually use and the flaws in their costume design. Information like that could get many Pros killed." Midoriya went pale. The rest looked curiously and worriedly at the simple-looking notebook. "Here, give me a pen. I'll give you a cypher that not even a computer can crack. Though I can't guarantee your Principal overlord would be unable to do it. Nezu is scary like that."

Spoken like an experienced UA student.

Yes, there was no doubt who this Vigilante was.

She wonders, though, if she should tell Kronos.

"Wow, that looks so pretty!" Ashido exclaims and wait, is that man using his hands to write!?

"You! You're supposed to be resting!"

"You're the one that let the children in, Recover Girl-san."

"Don't give me that sass," she huffed, wobbling over to his bedside to whack him over the leg with her cane. "I was barely able to begin repairing the damage done to your arms and your face! Don't make me undo my own work by whacking you over the head! Or worse!"

"What could possibly be worse for a head trauma victim?"

"I'll kick the kids out."

"No!" Class 1-A protested immediately and Bakugo's hands started cracking with explosions.

"Like hell you are, hag!"

"Kacchan! Don't be rude!"

"Silence." It was no louder than anything else he'd said this whole time, but the kids immediately shut up. It could be the way his hair started levitating, it could be the flash of red from his eyes - was that idiot using his Quirk already when just a few hours ago there'd been the possibility that he'd go blond!? Unbelievable! - or it could be the presence he carried, authoritative and 'no-nonsense' like. But the important part is that the kids listened. Even Bakugo didn't look nearly as angry as one would usually see him. A natural, it would seem, when dealing with children. "I'm fine, Shuzenji-san, I promise. I've done more with much worse injuries and much less sufficient medical assistance."

She could guess. She'd seen some of his scars. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't be resting."

"That doesn't mean I should be here to begin with."

"Of course you should be here!" Cried Kirishima, aghast. "It doesn't matter if you're a Vigilante or a Hero! You needed help and deserve the best medical attention available!"

"Yes, I am, indeed, a Vigilante," Eraserhead said pointedly. "Which means, as soon as I am even remotely well enough, the police or Heroes will come in to arrest me."

"They can fucking try," Bakugo declared, hands cracking again.

"Yeah!" Ashido cheered. "They'll have to get through us, first!"

"Please don't get arrested on my account," groaned the man but the kids all just started planning their attack should anyone try to storm the infirmary. They hadn't known this man for longer than half an hour and they were already ready to throw hands for him. Sensoji could have been with them for the whole year and he would have never gained their trust like this.

Bless the man, he had tried to help them, but he had not given them the confidence to fight back like Eraserhead's fearless actions have.

And in this one half an hour, this man has listened to them more than Sensoji would ever bother.

Senosji was simply not meant to be a teacher.

He could try, but that was simply not in his nature. He didn't give off the air of calm and control and confidence. And trying to earn respect through intimidation won't work with Hero-hopefuls.

Eraserhead, though, could be intimidating with a simple single gesture and these kids fall over themselves to do as he says. As though he's going to expel them at any moment. How very peculiar. If this man were a Pro Hero or even just an ordinary civilian, she'd immediately recommend him to Nezu as a teacher.

"Problem children," said perfect-teacher-candidate called, gaining their attention with ease once again. "I am glad you are all alright. And I wish to sincerely apologize for not protecting you better." The kids immediately cried in outrage, protesting this statement, but Eraser just shook his head. "I should have done better. I could have done better. I had the means. Instead, some of you have gotten hurt." He looks down at his bandaged arms and hands. "I had enough information that there might be an attack on UA, even if I had no solid proof or confirmed facts. I should have risked raising a panic over letting this happen. It's my fault you kids had to go through all of this."

"You shouldn't blame yourself for things you couldn't control," young Todoroki, of all people, speaks up. "You should be proud of what you've accomplished."

"If it hadn't been for you, we'd all be a lot worse off than just with a few scraps and bruises," Ojiro assures.

"We're really grateful you were there!" Hagakure insisted. "And you were so cool!"

"Yeah! So manly! I wish I knew how to fight like that!"

"Probably not in a million years, Kirishima," Sero teased.

Eraserhead just watched them all, still seemingly unable to believe what was happening. Then again, he's a Vigilante. Due to how most Heroes generally view them and how they preach that belief over various media channels, a good portion of the population views Vigilantes as no better than criminals or even outright villains. Even when Vigilantes do their best to keep people safe, they're immediately reported by the very people they've just risked their own safety to save.

And Eraserhead has had fifteen or so years of that treatment. It must be unusual to him that he's being thanked so genuinely for something he's been doing thanklessly for all this time.

"Shuzenji-san," Eraserhead suddenly calls out to her, bringing all the attention in the room to himself yet again. Chiyo ignores the stares of the students as she focuses on the former student. "May I have a moment with the problem children?"

"Problem children? Is that going to be a thing now?" Yaoyorozu asks to the other students in a conspiratorial whisper that's still more than loud to be heard by the two adults, who choose to pretend otherwise.

"Gods, I hope so!" Kaminari, of course, seems to be all but vibrating out of his skin at the prospect.

Chiyo wants to huff a laugh. Eraserhead still seems confused, but also embarrassed? If she's reading what she can make out of his expression under all those bandages, that is. "I'm coming back in five minutes. I'll make sure no one comes in if they come to check up on you."

She walks out and never leaves the door, even though it's closed. She knows Eraserhead is well aware that she's there. She's aware he must have realized she'd know who he was, so he wasn't bothered by her overhearing this. After all, there was simply no way Chiyo wouldn't know. Even if she didn't remember all the faces of the students she's treated for three years in this school, even if she didn't remember and immediately recognize the boy Kronos was to this day mourning, she'd treated him. She'd taken blood samples, to make sure no infection had seeped in, that he didn't get syphilis or any other disease or infection after cleaning up his wounds. With the shape that he's been brought to her in, it was inevitable.

And by running blood tests, she'd get a DNA match.

She hasn't checked it yet, of course. She doesn't need to.

She'd recognize Aizawa Shouta with amnesia and no eyes.

Chiyo just couldn't believe he was alive at all. It was a miracle.

The old school nurse still remembered the Sports Festival of fifteen years ago. The incredibly talented young man who couldn't make it into the Hero Course because the entrance exams consisted of fighting robots. That was practically their trail run, the first time Nezu and the school board approved and implemented them. They had been inspired by All Might and his ability to seemingly win in any situation, so the board and all of the school's sponsors wanted more powerhouses like him to come through these halls. They wanted big, flashy Quirks, completely forgetting just how essential other Quirks could be. How essential the so-called 'support' Heroes could be in any given situation.

All Might wasn't the type of Hero that would be versatile for every situation. No, that was all Toshinori and his brilliant mind and his natural talent to be that type of Hero. Endeavor, just one generation of graduates later, proved as such. Anyone else with a Quirk even remotely similar to Toshinori's would be a safety hazard in 67% of the situations All Might can deal with. Toshinori already leaves a lot of property damage if his fights extend for longer than a minute.

No, All Might wasn't the, ironically, one-for-all solution. His Quirk wasn't meant to be like that. It's meant to be powerful and it's meant to fight the most powerful kingpin of villains in the world. The most powerful Quirk in the world.

Aizawa Shouta, on the other hand, had the ability, the capacity, the potential and the skill to be that. With his Quirk, he could easily make things even. He levels the playing field and when people rely only on their own bodies, in this age of Quirks, they get tripped up. They're at a disadvantage.

Though Aizawa has proven he can be that even without taking Quirks away left and right. Aizawa had won the sports festival based on his own physical readiness, quick wits and by being an opportunist. He hadn't registered a support item, but Chiyo knew he'd ordered one. From Kronos himself, the legendary head of UA's Support Course. Kronos never forgave himself that he hadn't given Aizawa the capture weapon the teenager had carefully constructed in his mind and explained to the man. Kronos had taken weeks, for the first time in decades, to construct a single support item and he refused anyone's help. He'd been excited to see Aizawa utilize the final results for his first week in the Hero Course.

Instead, one of the biggest tragedies of UA struck the literal night before Aizawa was supposed to be officially transferred. They had all thought the boy gone to them for good.

Kronos had never stopped mourning.

Chiyo just wondered how Aizawa had the capture weapon today.

She sighed and returned to the room, figuring she'd given the kids enough time to bother the Vigilante.

She wasn't expecting to walk in on a group hug with a very awkward Eraserhead in the middle.

She'd have snapped a picture if he wasn't covered from head to toe in bandages. She wasn't even sure whom she would show the picture to.

But, as sweet as the sight was, she knows she has to shoo the students away if she wants to get a chance to chat with their lost Sports Festival Champion before she makes him go back to sleep. If he's asleep, then no one will bother him, never mind arresting or questioning the Vigilante.

"Okay, kids! You've had your time, now git! He needs a lot more rest before he'll be back on his feet and he needs that as soon as possible. And you rugrats also need to go home and rest, recuperate after everything you've just been through. Don't worry about Eraserhead. I'm sure he'll be out on the streets annoying Endeavor in no time."

Young Todoroki's eyes widened and he gazed at Aizawa like he saw him in a whole new light.

Eraserhead, she thought, was smirking under the bandages. Little shit, she thought fondly, recalling the confident young man claiming the golden medal. He'd taunted the entire Hero Course and the whole staff and school board by winning. As if to say, 'You didn't want me here, so here I am'. As if to prove just how faulty their new entrance exam was. She's glad that part of him hasn't changed, though it does seem to appear more sparsely now. She hopes that's just the result of growing up and not more trauma added to the boy's already overly full plate.

The kids complained a bit more about leaving but eventually did so. Not without a hearty "Goodbye, Aizawa-sensei! Thank you!"

"They're never going to drop that, are they." It wasn't even a question but Shuzenji still confirmed his fears, making him groan. "I thought dealing with the 'Big Three' was bad enough."

"You've met them, too?"

"Fat Gum's a friend and Ryukyu doesn't try to arrest me unless there's Heroes who'll tattle on her if she doesn't make an attempt."

"And young Lemillion?" She asks in amusement as she approaches his bed, jumping up onto her stool so she can examine him again now that he's awake and can actually give her feedback on what does or doesn't hurt or feels funny.

"He keeps following Suneater around, from time to time, so I met him through him. Now he tried to arrest me, because Sir Nighteye, apparently, doesn't share All Might's op-" He shuts his mouth and Chiyo laughs. Of course Eraserhead would grow on All Might! Isn't that how it always goes, between cats and dogs?

"Don't worry, he told me about your little rooftop chat, Shouta-kun."

"... So you do remember me." He said after a pause, looking away from her, pointedly not looking at where his, now tattered but still whole and usable capture weapon lay on the bed by his feet.

It wasn't a question. A statement of fact. A confirmation of what had already been suspected and known. Yet Recovery Girl answered anyway.

"Who could forget the only student who's ever gone missing from UA's own grounds."