Chapter 5: Shota Aizawa
As he dropped from the rooftop ledge, he focused on his first target, the canon armed villain. Since the three villains had mutant-class quirks, Aizawa would not be able to erase their quirks with Erasure. Luckily he had other skill sets and he and Timeswapper came up with a plan. Halfway down he flicked a couple of feet of his binding cloth around the metal bar of an apartment patio on the third floor of the building. This caused him to swing several feet above the head of his target and break his fall. As he swung downward and his taut cloth started to send him back up like a pendulum, he released his cloth with a flick from the metal bar. He now grabbed both ends of his cloth with each hand and sent both ends flying towards the arms of the canon villain. They wrapped around the canon-like arms. Suddenly Timeswapper appeared crouched under Aizawa and he dropped on the pro-heroes back, both of them in midair. Using him like a spring board, Aizawa leapt off his back sending him up into the air and jerking the villain's arms upward. Now Timeswapper warped back in front of the villain who was trying to fight his way out of the confining cloths. In a swift and powerful movement, Timeswapper uppercut punched the villain in the face. Aizawa had grabbed the metal bars of the patio on the second floor with one hand and held on to his cloths with the other trying to keep the villain's canon-arms pointing up and away from civilians and Timeswapper. Like he expected, the villain deployed both canons, but the projectiles shot up into the air avoiding any civilians and the pro-hero fighting below. Timeswapper warped away to avoid being kicked by the villain and then warped back and administered another uppercut. This knocked the villain out cold.
One down, two to go. Luckily the other two villains had not seen them. They were too involved with their mission of destruction. The next plan of attack was to try to take out the villain with the gigantification quirk before the bull villain could intervene. Aizawa ran at full speed, his cloth in his right hand at the ready. When he was within ten feet of the giant villain he shot the end of his cloth around the base of a sturdy looking street light. Timeswapper warped to the other side of the villain and Aizawa grabbed the other end of his binding cloths and sent it with lightning speed towards Timeswapper. Timeswapper now ran towards the building sized villain with the intent to wrap the villain's legs with Aizawa's cloth. Aizawa ran towards the villain's opposite side to retrieve the cloth from Timeswapper and aid the wrapping. The villain, luckily slow to react, saw them both and decided to smash them with his huge fists. Before a giant hand had a chance to swat him away, Aizawa grabbed the cloth Timeswapper had tossed his way and he shot it around a bike rack on the other side of the villain's leg. Timeswapper warped by Aizawa in enough time to push him away from the heavy hand that was inches away from crushing him. Timeswapper now warped back under the giant and grabbed a piece of cloth pulling as hard as he could to cause more tension. Aizawa now saw the bull villain charging towards him from across the plaza. He looked above him and saw the giant was beginning to teeter now; the binding cloths had worked and he was losing his balance. From Aizawa's perspective he deduced the giant would fall towards him and crush him. He knew he had time to get out of the way, but he saw an opportunity. He looked towards the bull villain that was charging him. He was running with reckless abandon, puffs of heavy breath billowing out of the large nostrils of his snout. His head was lowered, ready to skewer Aizawa with his sharp horns.
"Timeswapper! The Bull!" Aizawa bellowed. Timeswapper, who was about thirty feet away glanced over at the bull and then his eyes met back with Aizawa's. There was an understanding between the two heroes. Aizawa stood his ground, not moving from his precarious spot. He kept his eyes mainly on the bull who was moments away from ramming into him. He shot his eyes up to glance at the giant who was now beginning to fall towards him, seconds away from crushing him with his giant body. "3,2,1…." Aizawa thought silently to himself. Suddenly Timeswapper appeared next to him and shoved him with as must force as he could muster and then warped out a quarter second before the giant's body hit the ground with a deafening thud. Dust, rock, and smoke shot out in all directions from the impact. Aizawa slowly sat up from his prone position a couple of feet from the giant's body looking wide-eyed at the downed giant. The bull villain was nowhere in sight so he assumed he was trapped under the giant's immense body. A purple gloved hand hovered over Aizawa, offering to help him off the ground. Aizawa took it.
"Quick thinking there!" Timeswapper beamed. "Now let's make sure this giant is down for the count and doesn't just have the wind knocked out of 'em!"
Tending to the aftermath of the villain attack was a huge effort put forth by several hero agencies from nearby cities, area police and firefighters, paramedics, and citizens themselves. There had been two casualties unfortunately but considering the amount of destruction and the huge area affected it was something to be thankful for. Ren Kimura, Nezu, Ito, and Yamada eventually made their way to the area Aizawa and Timeswapper had fought in. This area had the most damage to nearby buildings and it took a few hours to make sure no one was trapped in the debris. All eleven villains were taken into custody. The Bull Villain was hurt the worst by being crushed by his comrade, but he would make a full recovery.
News crew and cameras now surrounded Timeswapper and the other heroes like moths to a flame. A few reporters wanted to interview the students. Aizawa had turned his back and walked away on one flustered reporter mid-question leaving her embarrassed and shocked on live camera. Luckily, Yamada jumped in to answer the question and smooth over the situation. He walked over and stood in the shadows of one of the news trucks doing his best to hide. He saw Timeswapper and Tortura being interviewed several feet away. They both looked the part of what most would expect pro-heroes to be: Attractive, smiling, exuding strength and confidence.
"We are honored to be able to get a few statements from #4 ranked Pro-hero Timeswapper and his lovely wife #13 ranked hero Tortura! Both of Golden Time Agency! You were some of the first heroes on the scene!" the reported said enthusiastically.
The reporter who was standing next to Timeswapper brought the handheld microphone up to his grinning face. "We are honored to be able to help the citizens of Musutafu. So many law enforcement, paramedics, firefighters, and citizens have gone above and beyond to help those in need. It is an inspiring thing to see!" Timeswapper said.
"Such kind, humble words Timeswapper!" Aizawa couldn't help but roll his eyes from the shadows. This was pointless and was a waste of time.
"I received some reports about some of your heroics even en route to the scene! I heard you helped some citizens involved in a four car pileup in Naka Ward!" Naka Ward was a neighborhood on the way to the Medical school from UA. Aizawa realized that during their "race" to the park, Timeswapper had stopped to help these citizens. Aizawa was so focused on reaching the villains quickly and also wanting to win the race, he had not really paid much attention to his surroundings on the way to the park. He felt ashamed. "We also have some cell phone footage of you rescuing a cat from a tree for an elderly lady in Naka Ward as well!" The interviewer now paused a bit and smiled at Timeswapper and Tortura and they stood awkwardly in silence for several seconds. Aizawa imagined the news stations was now running the cat rescue footage. Aizawa knew he would be looking for this video on his phone the first second he was in private. Timeswapper was….a hero. Sure he was a celebrity and peddled his brand so to speak for the masses. But he was also the real deal. A cat in a tree was so cliched but Aizawa could only feel admiration. Being extremely partial to cats definitely helped.
"Every life has value, no matter how small the creature," Timeswapper's face had changed. Instead of donning an excessive and ingratiating smile, his face was now earnest and open. "I hope everyone can see that and help out when it is needed. No matter how small or weak you think you are, you can still make a difference in the world. Even helping a small cat out of a tree can put a smile on someone's face. And I'm sure the cat will be thrilled, too!" Now the giant grin returned.
He was good. Even Aizawa almost believed the sentiment. But he had seen what happens when you are the weaker one. When you try too hard to help out everyone even at the cost of your own life. Although this was the type of hero he wanted to be, to help others in need no matter the cost, there was nothing pretty or sentimental about sacrifice. It wasn't something that evoked warm feelings to Aizawa and something he felt one shouldn't wax on poetically about. "Hey man! You ditched the interview! Guess I'm not surprised." Yamada said as he threw his arm around him in a rough side hug. "You won't believe what happened to us!"
Yamada talked Aizawa's ear off over the next several minutes. He would nod every now and then to his best friend, so he knew he was listening, but Aizawa was waiting for a chance to talk to Timeswapper. After the interview, Aizawa interupted Yamada, "Wait a minute, I'll be back." He turned and saw Timeswapper was already gone. "Damn," Aizawa said under his breath. He was fast, Aizawa thought. Nezu was calling for both of them so they could return to the school. He saw Officer Fujita in a police car a block away. As they walked away, Timeswapper suddenly warped into the space right next to him. He couldn't help his body involuntarily jerking in surprise. "Aizawa!"
Aizawa turned to him and said immediately, "You would have won that race if you hadn't stopped to help those people."
Timeswapper grinned his billboard grin and nodded. Aizawa continued, "Why didn't you say anything about it at the park?"
"Because at that point I didn't think it would have mattered as far as getting you to come up to Golden Time. Am I right?" Timeswapper asked.
Aizawa nodded.
"Thought so. Your mind is made up and I'll respect that and quit pestering. But I want you to know that if you ever have any down time during your patrols or your case load is low, we could always use your help. Kosai is one of the most crime-ridden cities in Japan. And we are sandwiched between Musutafu and Toyohashi so we cover those areas most the time as well. Have you decided where you will set up your agency?"
Aizawa shook his head.
"Well if you stay close by, don't forget about us. Our doors are always open. That offer will never expire as far as joining our ranks. And even freelancing to help us out, that will always be welcome as well.
"I promise to keep that in mind, Timeswapper-sensei," Aizawa replied sincerely.
Timeswapper noticed the subtle shift in Aizawa's countenance and smiled.