Chapter 3
Katsuki Bakugou
Aizawa had tasked him to accompany his night patrols for four nights. He doesn't like it because now his sleeping schedule is all messed up, but this is a Heroic opportunity that he cannot skip. And besides, he'll be with Aizawa and his teacher is a very capable Hero. That is already enough to make up for the lost sleep.
He looks around the street, keeping vigilant of his surroundings, just like his teacher told him to. He keeps aware of anything that is slightly to the left and takes in the details, analyzes them and makes decisions on the spot.
Because nighttime like this is when the smallest thing can change the whole situation, where it walks the absolute boundary of blaring red alarms and completely nothing.
He learned that mistake during his first nighttime patrol. It was fucking frustrating, and infuriating. Every time he thought it was nothing, it was a Villain activity. Every time he thought it was something, it was a false alarm. They were indistinguishable from each other and it made him fucking angry.
Thankfully, Aizawa was there. He's been a helpful mentor, teaching to differentiate what is good and what is bad from the smallest caliber. It was thanks to him that he has a better grasp to scrutinize the very limited details he is given and makes judgement from them.
It ain't easy, he'll admit. But that makes him want to learn harder.
Nothing is flashy, the complete opposite of what he wants. He needs to learn the art of subtly, the absolute complete opposite of what he really wants. He wants to show the world what kind of a Hero he is, taking down major Villains and basking in the glory after.
Underground Hero works do not involve giant battles and the glories are almost nonexistent. There are no flashes of cameras and formations of adoring crowds. Initially, he was starting to regret his decision to join Aizawa. He thought that it would be boring like breaking up fights and rescuing lost kids.
The very first night, he witnessed the worst kind of humanity.
He then realizes that… Underground Heroes have their own enemies, their own kind of Villains… one that All Might wouldn't face. And that, he began to take this patrol more seriously.
His respect for Aizawa only grows.
"Can I ask somethin'?" he says while not relent in his observation. He hears Aizawa hums in reply, his way of telling him to go on. "Why'd you go Underground? Not only that, an independent Underground Hero?"
That has been a burning question in his mind since he started school at UA. Aizawa's Quirk is very powerful, he has to admit. It's essentially an Anti-Quirk, one he had never heard before (though, somehow fucking Deku knew about him). With his strength, he is confused why Aizawa is not a Limelight Hero.
…Although, ever since they moved into the dorms, he began to understand his homeroom teacher a little bit more. Aizawa does not like attention and is a reclusive antisocial. He also realized that his Quirk works a lot better the less people know about it.
So maybe it actually was logical for Aizawa to be an Underground Hero.
He sneers at himself.
He's been hanging around Aizawa for too long.
He quickly snaps his eyes to his teacher beside him.
Aizawa is taking too long to answer. He looks normal like his everyday self, but he could tell that his head is hanging just slightly more. It's enough to let his hair block his eyes from view.
"A broken promise," Aizawa finally answers, short and curt. It's his way of saying to get out of his business.
He understandably keeps his mouth shut. He turns his eyes to his surroundings, his attention back to full. It's back to being a Hero-in-training.
His eyes suddenly catch a movement. He stops moving and concentrates down the alleyway, where he saw the movement earlier. It didn't make a sound, something to be expected when patrolling at night.
Then, he hears a distinct scuffle, one that speaks a brawl. He instantly rushes in, assisted by his Quirk. The dark alleyway is illuminated by his explosions and they give him enough light to just see a fight coming to an end. A guy in a trench coat falls to the ground while another in a dark blue jumpsuit looms over him.
"DIE!"
"Bakugou!"
His body freezes at the commanding tone. It gives enough time for the person in the jumpsuit to tie up the fallen man before pressing himself against the wall and quickly fades away. He curses, because judging from how the person bound the fallen man and disappeared, that was a Vigilante.
Mr. Aizawa then casually walks past him, towards the bound man who seems to have passed out.
"Why'd you fucking stopped me?" he demands from his teacher, who crouches down and inspect the man. "Why aren't we chasing after him?"
"Just let him go, Bakugou," Mr. Aizawa answers curtly.
"The fuck you mean letting that guy go?! He's a Vigilante!"
"He's an acquaintance of mine."
"Acq… You know that fucker? And you didn't arrest him?!"
"No, we work with each other."
"You're working with a criminal? What kind of a shitty Hero are you?!"
Aizawa suddenly stands up and turns towards him. The hard look his teacher gives renders him to utter silence.
"This is the kind of works of Underground Heroes, Bakugou. We complete missions not even Limelight Heroes could ever think of. What you have been experiencing the past two days barely scratches the surface of our works, and you will never dwell any deeper since your aim is the brightest of spotlights. Some would call it questionable. Others call it borderline illegal. There are times where you just have to work with the Vigilantes, instead of arresting them on the spot. Who knows; maybe you will get eyes in places you could only dream of."
They hold eye contact, even after Aizawa finished talking. It's Aizawa's way of telling him to process his words and let them sink in, to stick to his mind for the future to come. When Aizawa finally looks away, he releases his breath he unknowingly held.
Underground Heroes. He admits he is fucking pissed that he knows jackshit about them, with his limited knowledge only stops at his homeroom teacher. After that is just blank because he knows nothing (though, he suspects fucking Deku might have a little bit more knowledge). Sure, this little "oddjob" he's doing shed some light to their works but Aizawa had confirmed that is fuck all.
"Come on," Aizawa suddenly says as he stands up. The bound man is now balanced on his shoulder, limp and held with an arm around him. "Let's drop him off at the police station and then we head home."
He merely clicks his tongue but Aizawa ignores him, like usual. They get out from the alleyway and head for the nearest police station.
Another work of Underground Heroes is their close relationship with the police force, constantly working side by side. He realized this the first time he took down a Villain on the first day, how the street was empty and no cops showed up.
He was fucking upset that he had to physically carry the Villain to a police station, and the smug bastard of his teacher refused to carry the load.
Underground Heroes work in a completely different environment than those Heroes he always knew of.
But still, Vigilantes out of all extras…
.
"Are they reliable?" he suddenly asks.
"Very," his teacher answers, already knowing what he is talking about.
They continue their walk home, having already just deposited the Villain to the police station. It's a casual light-mood stroll; he doesn't need to keep extra vigilant of his surroundings anymore as their shift is over, but Aizawa keeps his up just in case.
"Ingenium also worked with a few Vigilantes back in the heyday," Aizawa suddenly adds, causing him to look up at him. That piques his interest a little bit more.
"Glasses' bro?" he asks, just wanting to make sure that they are talking about the same person here and not some wannabe extra.
"Hm," his teacher hums in affirmation.
He looks back down at his feet. He mulls over his thoughts, his opinion on Vigilantes slowly grows less hostile.
"…Best Jeanist had worked with one as well."
…He really had to drop that bomb, didn't he?
"Fine…" he finally admits.
"Hm." His hum sounds more amused than affirmation.
"…Sorry… for making assumptions without knowing anything."
That word still feels foreign to his tongue. He's not used to it just yet, but he knows Aizawa is secretly proud of him for trying his best.
He hears Aizawa huffs. Then, he notices his hand raises up and towards him. He braces himself, waiting expectantly for the hand to land-
"Eraserhead!"
Aizawa returns his hand back to his side. He silently curses at the missed opportunity. He looks up to glare at the intruder, who seemingly drops from the sky and lands right in front of them.
"Hey, kid," Aizawa casually says as the person straightens up, almost with a bounce in their feet. They're not taller than him, wearing a black jumpsuit complete with a mask attached. It screams secrecy, much like Aizawa's. The only noticeable feature is their completely white eyes, lacking any iris and pupils. Are they blind?
He watches mutely as she reaches out with one hand towards Aizawa and steps closer to him. Her palm lands on his chest and a wide happy smile blooms on her face.
"Hi, Eraserhead!" a young, feminine voice comes out from the figure. A female then. "I haven't seen you in a very long while!"
"I've been busy, kid," Aizawa replies. "It's not easy having two jobs."
"I sense you are not alone," she comments, turning her head towards his general direction but not directly. So she has a Quirk that allows her to 'see' or something. "Are you with anyone?"
"Yes, a student of mine," Aizawa answers. "Bakugou."
"Yeah, I'm here," he answers reluctantly. The girl smiles kindly.
"It is nice to meet you. I hope you will not arrest me in the future," she jokes as her smile widens into a tease.
Of fucking course she is a fucking Vigilante.
"Have you been doing well?" Aizawa asks the Vigilante.
"Better than ever before!" She turns back to his teacher and her smile seems to have some brilliance in it.
" I'm glad to hear that."
His eyes constantly shift from Aizawa to the girl. Aizawa seems to know her really well, seeing how they are chatting with carefree attitude. The girl doesn't even let up the smile on her lips.
He glares at her hand is still on his chest.
"You should be going then," Aizawa says with an air of conclusion. Then, he raises a hand and...
His eye twitches hard. His lips curl down into an ugly scowl.
The motherfucker is giggling to herself as Aizawa pets her hair.
"Thank you, Eraserhead."
"You already thank me enough."
"Not enough, actually."
The Vigilante finally steps back, finally removing her hand from Aizawa's chest as Aizawa finally retracts his hand back to his pocket. She bows to him before jumping to the rooftop and finally disappears.
"Who the fuck was that?" he asks, caring very little of his harsh tone.
"Someone who had lost hope. That's all you need to know," Aizawa answers somberly. "Come on then. Let's go home. It's already late enough."
He clicks his tongue in response but follows his teacher anyway.
Hearing Aizawa explaining about the Vigilante dampens his mood a little bit but he is still pissed. He is still scowling, still fuming in unhappiness.
That fucker had the audacity to get a pet on the head while interrupting his own.
He is taken by surprise when he feels Aizawa's hand on his hair.
"Don't think I didn't notice the dirty look you were giving."
He could hear the teasing in Aizawa's monotonous tone. He bows his head, looking further away from Aizawa's eyes. But he feels his scowl easing up and the flame in his chest disappeared, replaced with a different kind of heat.
"…Don't make a habit out of this," he mutters out as he leans into his hand.
A pet on the head is Aizawa's usual way of showing that he actually cares. Very few have the privilege (he can count to at least twenty excluding that motherfucker of Vigilante) and even fewer times he ever shows it.
If he is standing a little closer to Aizawa since then, no one is commenting about it.