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?
"You seem broody," Aizawa greets when he sees green haired Problem Child - one Midoriya Izuku - muttering up a storm under his breath in one of the alleys in a more rural, beat up part of town. The 1-A student jerks in surprise at hearing his voice before the kid all but beams at him, though he quickly seems to revert back to his default-setting: fanboying embarrassment. It was cuter than it should be and Shouta wondered just when the hell he'd gone soft on a bunch of kids he'd literally met only once.
But he'd come to Bakugo, he was meeting Midoriya now even though he could have continued on his merry way and he was going to visit the Iida brothers, to make sure Tenya doesn't do anything stupid. Ingenium himself had asked him to keep an eye on the kid - after thanking him to high heavens and back for protecting his younger brother at the risk of himself at USJ a couple of weeks back.
For some reason, he couldn't ignore these children, more so than any other child he'd ever saved.
This one in particular, though, was a real Problem Child among his newly acquired Problem Children. Shouta had been there for the entirety of the Sports Festival and wouldn't have done or said anything besides be one of the audience members, observing how well the kids were coping after USJ, up until that stunt with Bakugo, which had made him lose his cool. Since he always had his gear on him, usually in a backpack or something, he'd quickly scuttled off to a bathroom, changed and made an appearance. He hadn't expected the reaction he got from that little appearance, but that wasn't the point right now.
Right now, the point was that he'd seen this kid recklessly break his fingers with his own Quirk.
Or rather, should he say All Might's Quirk?
Shouta wasn't like others. His Quirk - if Erasure can even be called that - was specifically designed by nature in such a way that it can do its job perfectly. Part of that 'perfect package' was the ability to see other people's Quirks when he was using his own. At USJ and generally until the kid used his Quirk, Aizawa couldn't exactly connect it with the pulsing, living, blinding light that was All Might's Quirk. That was her Quirk, even if he had only seen it in embers in her, like how it is now in All Might. Midoriya, in comparison, didn't seem to be as compatible with One For All - that's what she'd called it, if he remembered correctly - as the previous two users. Could be because he was still young. Can't be because he'd been born Quirkless. All Might had been, too, and yet One For All had embraced him like a halo would a saint.
So what was tripping Midoriya up?
That's what the kid seemed to be trying to figure out, so Shouta might as well play up to the title the kids had given him and play 'Sensei'.
"Aizawa-sensei! It's really good to see you, sir, but what are you doing here?"
"Headed out for Hosu," the Vigilante replied as he jumped down from the building to land in front of the teenager. He took in the kid's costume and couldn't help but grunt approvingly. It seemed to be made well. Could use some protectors on his forearms and shins if he's gonna be a close range combatant. Maybe even a weapon until he figures out how to settle with One For All. "Internship?"
"Uh, yeah. With Gran Torino. Not sure if you've heard of him. I kind of never have-"
"I have," Aizawa cuts in before the kid could start rambling.
And boy has he ever. Gran Torino had been there with her and had been one of the three people that had saved him from that nightmare, but Gran Torino had also been the one to carelessly give over a child with the ability to erase Quirks off to a government agent. Shouta, despite it all, has some mixed feelings about the now no doubt elderly Hero.
He guessed it made sense Midoriya would end up at his doorstep. Gran Torino had taught All Might. Surely he could train the man's successor, too. Though, judging by the scraps and forming bruises and the mess in the alley, perhaps he wasn't doing as good of a job.
"Seems like you're having trouble. Training?"
"Uh, yeah. I, um, can't seem to get a good feeling of my Quirk. I can use only a certain amount without hurting myself but I can't seem to maintain it at that level." The green haired boy seemed really awkward as he explained, even almost ashamed. Shouta repressed a sigh as best as he could. Midoriya seemed like a great kid, but he obviously had self-worth issues, not to mention confidence issues and the fact that he seemed to be overdoing the overthinking, seeing as he was trying to logically figure out feeling something.
Now, Shouta had no ground to stand on where either overthinking things or rationalizing them is concerned, but even he knows you can't rationalize using a Quirk. Or Quirks in general. Hell, if Quirks followed logic to the letter, Shouta probably wouldn't exist as he is today.
Neither of his parents had Erasure or even Quirks that Erasure could have derived from. No, Erasure had come out of the left field, to him, his parents and the Quirk specialist who went mad after his session with Shouta and almost killed him. Shouta could still remember it like it was only yesterday. People with Quirks never did deal well when their Quirk goes bye-bye. Especially not people with powerful Quirks that allowed them to temporarily or permanently cut off genomes in the DNA chain.
Shouta had, back then, reacted on pure instinct. Or, well, Erasure had. It simply didn't want to be, well, erased, no matter how dangerous it was to a Quirk-based society. And Shouta hadn't wanted it to go, either. It was his.
Doctor What's-his-face - who became the notorious Quirk-experimenting villain Dr Quirk, if anyone is interested - didn't stand a chance. He shouldn't have even tried. Shouta had been a child, not even five yet! The worst part of that part of his life was that his mother and father had given him away to that man when he'd offered them money. Not even that much, not even the salary of a part-time job! They'd just wanted to get rid of the 'abomination' that was not their son. They didn't care what a mad doctor slash scientist would do to him. Five year old Shouta had spent nearly an entire year with that monster and it had left his Quirk in a state of constant activation in an attempt at self-perseverance and defense.
Eventually, Dr Quirk had slipped up and someone found out about Shouta. Though that didn't mean he was saved, even if Dr Quirk had been taken care of once and for all. Far from it. Shouta simply had a new jailer for another month or so, though this one had turned out ... considerably kinder to him, overall. Until their last night together, where Shouta could have been killed because that bastard wanted to use him as a pawn against his arch nemesis.
Shouta had been barely saved by the efforts of three people and even that was extremely close.
In the end, the reason he had been saved at all was himself. After everything that had happened to him, Erasure was always active. Shouta had just had to look and their chances of a victory or clean escape would grow.
Too bad that bastard's Quirk was buried so deep inside that Erasure hadn't had the time to reach it before he was handed off to Gran Torino and taken away from the raging battlefield.
Aizawa forcefully snapped himself back to the present before he dwelled too long and too deep on his ruined childhood. He really needed to get better at Not Thinking About It, especially when he's out and about as Eraserhead. It could get him hurt, captured or killed, if he wasn't being careful enough. Instead, he focused on the kid in front of him, who had taken this chance to mutter up a storm again. Shouta stopped him by bumping a fist against Midoriya's forehead, light and meant to grab attention, nothing else. Midoriya stopped and looked up at him apologetically.
Shouta, though, wasn't interested in apologies. "Use your quirk to your current upper limit without breaking yourself. Now, Problem Child," he added sternly when the boy just blinked at him.
This caused Midoriya to react like a soldier, back straightening, shoulders drawn back, arms tight to his sides. All followed by a crisp "Yes, sir!" This kid, honestly. (Well, these kids would be more correct, as every single student from Class 1-A reacted that way to him giving them something even loosely resembling an order. Their teachers must hate him.) Then the kid up took a shaky 'fighting stance' or whatever that stance was supposed to be and green lightning started sparking all over his body while red energy raced over parts of his skin before sinking in. Shouta felt the hairs on his neck stand up as the power settled, so he activated Erasure and One For All fled. Midoriya blinked in confusion, looking down at himself. "Huh?"
"Again."
"But-"
Shouta sent him a look.
"Yes, sir!" Squeaked the boy before making another attempt.
Shouta let the power build - noting it happened a second faster than last time - before he activated Erasure again. One For All fizzled out again and Midoriya now looked really confused as to Shouta's intentions. The man ignored it. "Again."
"Yes, sir!"
Power up.
Erasure activates.
Bye bye, One For All.
"Again."
"Yes, sir!"
Power up. Faster and faster, the Quirk coming easier.
Erasure activates.
One For All deactivates.
"Again."
"Yes, sensei!"
Over and over until One For All came almost as naturally as breathing to the kid. Then again and again, for as long as Midoriya was willing to train.
"Again."
"Hai!"
The power came in two seconds. Aizawa couldn't help but feel proud. "Now hold it."
"Huh?"
"Hold it for a minute," he repeated, taking out his phone and starting a timer. "When this goes off, you drop it. You get a five second refractory period, then another minute. Keep it up for as long as you can."
They did that for another hour, Midoriya so focused on maintaining the power for a given amount of time that he didn't even notice how Aizawa increased the time he needed to hold and decreased his rest time. The kid was a quick learner, but needed to learn to focus on more things than one. Aizawa figured that can wait. The kid needed to learn to control his power first.
"Okay, that's enough of that. Now, I want you to use 1% less of the power you can manage at this point when you hear this sound." A beep came from his phone. "You hold it at that level for as long as the sound continues, then, when it stops, you go back to the maximum you can manage."
"Um, sensei, not to question you, but, uh, what's that going to do?" The UA student asks and Aizawa tsks.
"I'm trying to help you get a feel for your Quirk," he explained. "First, I made you feel what it's like when your Quirk stops immediately and without your control, to make you feel that contrast. It also helped you call on that power faster. Then, I made you create that contrast yourself while also making you build your stamina. Now, we're working on finer control. You may not be able to go bigger than you are now, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have 100% control of the power you're using now. Now, are you done questioning me, or are you going to trust my method and do it?"
"Yes, sensei!"
Shouta nodded as Midoriya activated his quirk - 1,5 seconds, probably the best he can push the kid in speed activation in a single night - and waited for about a minute before pressing a button. The beep filled the night air and Aizawa closed his eyes while activating it. He could see the Quirk in his young companion fluctuate as Midoriya tried his best to bring it from 5% down to 4%. He took a moment, but Shouta let the beep sound for a long moment until Midoriya got it. Then he held it for a moment longer before he let the beep fade away. Midoriya took a moment to build the power back up to 5%, but it was easier than lessening it. Well, reaching a limit is easier than controlling it where Quirks were concerned. Shouta himself had needed a year and a half to bring all to selectively limited.
It took the Problem Child half an hour to master this exercise, so Shouta moved on to the next one. Using it. Midoriya already had an idea what he wanted to do, but Shouta wanted him to take it easy and stayed to monitor him.
Midoriya cheered when he finally managed to zig zag to the top of the buildings making up the alley three times in a row without slipping or slamming into the wall and then somehow zipped down to draw Shouta in a hug that lifted him off the fucking ground like he was a fucking weightless doll. The kid heard his displeased grumble and let go with a string of apologies and bows. Eraserhead just waved him off. "Now, before we call it a night," he started and Midoriya immediately focused on what he was saying. "Let's try pushing it, in safe conditions with my supervision, to one percent above your current limit."
The boy was reasonably hesitant. "Is that really a good idea? I mean, I just got a handle of this-"
"Are you questioning me?"
"No, sensei!"
Shouta sighed. "Look. I'll tell you something I've never told anyone before. Erasure allows me to see Quirks, active or not, and how they behave. That's how I'll know when to cut you off before you hurt yourself." Midoriya looked conflicted and Shouta sighed again. "Look, I know this requires a lot of trust for a guy you don't even know-"
"That's not it, Aizawa-sensei," Midoriya is quick to interrupt and reassure, waving his hands in front of himself as if to utterly dismiss the mere notion of it. Shouta is of the opinion that this kid - these kids - trust him too much given they'd had only one real interaction with him. "It's just ... Are you okay? To use your Quirk, I mean? I mean, weren't your eyes hurt? We were all really worried ... "
The man tried not to feel the "warm fuzzies" Hizashi sometimes talked about at that. These kids ... He took off his yellow goggles and heard Midoriya gasp. He leaned down and let fretting, painstakingly careful fingers touch his new scar under his right eye. The only damage left from the Nomu smashing his head in hard enough to shatter his cheek bone and eye socket. "Don't worry about my Quirk, kid," he told the freckled boy gently. "It's a survivor. Any damage I received was gone before I left Recovery Girl."
"But Recovery Girl's Quirk can only heal what the body can heal by itself but does faster!"
"It's not Recovery Girl that's healed it," he replied, making Midoriya go wide-eyed. "Erasure preserves itself. And that's also something I've never told to another person - or living being in general - before. The point is, if anything ever happens to my eyes - don't sweat it. It's gonna be fine as soon as I use my Quirk again. Now," he straightened up and wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape his ... student's eyes. "Why don't we try it? And, by the way, why did you object only now? Like, we spent like an hour or so with me constantly erasing your Quirk at the beginning of this little training session."
Midoriya flushed in embarrassment, which meant the kid had probably forgotten altogether.
Aizawa sighed and just told the kid to get down to it.
00000
"Thank you for your help, Sensei! I'll see you later!" Gran Torino heard early the next morning and quickly made it to his bedroom window. He didn't dare open it, but he did peer out between the curtains.
And there he was, just how Toshinori had described him.
Eraserhead.
Did that awkward green bean seriously just call that man Sensei? He'd thought his old pupil was kidding, but apparently not. Did that mean Toshinori also wasn't joking when he said he admired the Vigilante? Were all One For All users dumb-dumbs? It's like Nana took the last of the sanity-preservatives out of the Quirk, damn.
Then again, Gran Torino isn't sure if he didn't believe the most recent musings about Eraserhead being an Underground Hero. There's no way someone with that kid of skill wasn't formally trained. The man's been evading arrest for fifteen years without a single concrete piece of information ever being found out about him. And that's not mentioning the kind of dedication one would have to have to go out and face the worst of humanity every single damned night. Vigilantes simply don't do that.
The old man watches Eraserhead ruffle his new intern's hair before that strange scarf-like weapon shoots out to grab into a street lamp or something out of his line of sight and the man whisks himself away like some Spiderman-wannabe. Midoriya stays outside looking out after the black-clad figure until Eraserhead is finally out of view. Gran Torino watches the boy then look down at his battered fist before giving a firm nod and going back inside.
Gran Torino figures this might be the first that boy will see of sleeping since yesterday and it's still too damn early to be doing anything. Gran Torino figured they can have a bit of a late start today, at the very least. He can't exactly take the boy out when he's too tired to think straight.
Besides, he still has to evaluate the boy and get him to finally start using One For All in such a manner that he doesn't break anything, since Toshinori was useless as a teacher in that regard. That's what you get when you're a natural genius.
A few hours later, Sorahiko isn't sure if he's impressed, ashamed, pissed or just relieved when Midoriya nearly manages to seriously take him out in a single blow. And, as he learns, all thanks to Eraserhead. Apparently, the Vigilante had spotted the kid training outside in the middle of the night while he was out on patrol and decided he needed to intervene. Don't get him wrong, he's grateful Midoriya won't be breaking anything anymore, but he's still pissed that an outsider had managed to teach the next successor of One For All better than Sorahiko could have. In a single night, no less! Even Toshinori had needed some time to let the crystallization of power that is One For All settle.
It hasn't been settled within Midoriya when he'd come in yesterday.
It's more than settled in now. It comes readily, Midoriya can control how much of the power he can use and he can even go 1% above what they'd thought was his limit yesterday! How did a single night of training, with absolutely no knowledge of One For All - its history and mechanics - on the tutor's part, result in this big of a difference!? 'Deku' could move almost fast enough to keep up with Gran Torino! Toshinori had needed weeks to be able to even come close to grazing him! And while Midoriya has had One For All for about three months now, it's only as of this past week or so that the kid has shown even an ounce of a hint of gaining control of all that power!
Toshinori could use One For All from the beginning, but finer control came a bit slower. Midoriya Izuku had needed longer to adjust to the power and let it settle, but finer control seems to be coming more easily to him.
Or was that Eraserhead's influence? Could a single man truly be that good at teaching that he'd be able to get a kid to control a power like One For All after only a single night of exercises? (Though, judging from Midoriya's little rant about all the things he'd done the precious night, they were exactly the kind of exercises he needed. Which implies that Eraserhead is far more dangerous than they had previously thought him to be. That way of thinking, the logic applied, the reasoning behind each exercise ... It sounded like Quirk Theory. Very rare few could apply for Quick Theory courses, let alone finish them. Was it a hint at Eraserhead's identity? Sorahiko will have to check up on this new potential lead. They can't ignore a Vigilante with the knowledge to dissect the workings of Quirks to run around unsupervised. Perhaps those rumors really are true that Eraserhead has some device or chemical that disrupts the work of a Quirk. If he understands them ... Then he could easily have even made such things by himself.)
Either way, Gran Torino couldn't argue that this was a good thing, as it cut down on the things he needed to teach the kid.
As it was, after a few test runs with Deku, it was finally time to show him what real Hero work looks like.