Shinso knew how much of an asshole he could be, but he always took pride over the fact that he was generally respectful towards people with authority. He was good at tempering his comebacks, schooling his expression, and giving just a bit of sass that it couldn't technically be labeled as delinquency.

But as the night went on, he was so close to telling the two female pro heroes sitting right across from him to just shut the fuck up. They've been laughing straight for the past ten minutes, and they weren't showing any signs of stopping.

It was the first time he's met Miss Joke in person, only ever hearing about her through Mic-sensei and Aizawa-sensei's conversations. He didn't know why his mentor always seemed irritated whenever her name would be mentioned, but after just a few minutes of interacting with her, he understood.

"I… I seriously can't believe it! He's like a clone!"

"Didn't I tell you, Emi? Hey Shinso, do that neck rubbing thing again!"

"The eyes! The stoic aura! The weary old man vibes! This is insane!"

"You haven't even seen the kid in his hero costume! He's a mini version I tell you!"

Shinso looked away, feeling a wave of embarrassment course through his veins like poison. He wasn't trying to look like Eraserhead. It was just because of the cloth binds! The fact that half of his face was covered as well didn't really match up because he wasn't wearing goggles.

Okay, maybe the all black attire, in a way, kind of, sort of, made them look more similar. But he was gunning for a career as an underground hero, so a flashy costume wouldn't do him any good. Black was the practical choice.

It certainly wasn't because he used his mentor's look as a guide. And it definitely wasn't because he wanted people to instinctively connect them in some kind of way.

Shinso shifted his gaze towards Aizawa-sensei, seeing the older man's eye twitch, no doubt nearing the end of his patience. When Present Mic called him down to join them, he had every intention of declining. But against a guy that someone like Eraserhead couldn't even shake off, he didn't stand a chance.

The sound of a shutter going off snapped him out of his thoughts, blinking at the two women huddled around a phone, already in tears from laughing too much. Did they just take a picture of him and Aizawa-sensei?

"My god I have to show this to everyone in the agency! They're gonna go nuts!" Emi immediately created a backup copy just in case Eraserhead decided to break her phone. It definitely wouldn't be the first time. It wasn't her fault the underground hero always ended up looking absolutely hilarious in her shots! "Bet your old colleagues would love see this too, Aizawa!"

"Send me that! Our class is having a reunion after Christmas." Nemuri paused in between giggles. "I'm dying to see everyone's reactions!"

Shinso turned his gaze back towards his mentor, seeing what looked like a vein threatening to pop right against his temple. He swallowed. Never before had he seen the older man get so livid in such a sort amount of time. He glanced at the clock. It was barely fifteen minutes since their arrival.

"Hey, Shinso! Wanna hear stories about Eraser back when he was in UA?" Nemuri wagged her eyebrows, leaning in towards the wide-eyed teenager sitting right across her. She grinned at the poorly veiled interest on his face, no doubt curious about his mentor's past.

"Sempai." Came Aizawa's warning tone. His arms were crossed against his chest; the beginning signs of erasure noticeable with the slight shifting of the ends of his hair.

"Oh! How about stories about him back when he still worked at the agency across from mine?" Emi chimed in, bumping shoulders with Nemuri as she leaned in towards Shinso as well.

"Fukukado."

Shinso shifted his gaze towards Eraserhead, noticing the drop in the tone of his voice, making him sound more menacing and cold. He swallowed, feeling a steady build of apprehension growing in his chest. He could tell that the older man was trying to censor details about himself that he didn't want him to know. As for why, he had no clue.

Aizawa-sensei rarely ever talked to him about his past. He wasn't really the type to open up. In the few instances that he did, they were always curt and in relation to whatever topic he was trying to discuss or get across during training.

Whenever they would meet, everything was always about him – his quirk, his current combat performance, his grades, his strategic skills. He would be lying if he said he never thought of asking the older man about his life story, but a part of him felt like it was something that should be given to him freely – not something he could ask for or demand.

"When he was a sophomore, he caused quite a stir at the sports festival!" Nemuri began, completely ignoring the waves of disdain being thrown towards her direction. Sure her quirk never worked on Eraser, but in hand to hand combat, he's never beaten her once. She grinned. His main weakness was that he never used dirty tactics during a spar.

"Oh look, he's trying so hard not to look too interested!" Emi called out, pointing a finger right at Shinso's face.

He looked away, feeling his face grow hot at being called out. Here he thought he had the perfect poker face on damn it!

"Stop." Aizawa called out this time, fixing Midnight with a glare that would have made anyone else cave, but the threat only made the smirk on her face grow.

"It was lunch time then, and I was on my way to the cafeteria." She went on, ignoring the groan of annoyance from her junior. "Someone from another class made fun of his quirk you see, saying something about it not being hero material. That there was no way he could possibly make it on his own. That it wasn't good for combat, wasn't useful for rescue, and that all he could do in a fight was to stand back and not get in everyone's way."

Shinso blinked. He couldn't, for the life of him, imagine anyone stupid enough to say those words to someone like Eraserhead. He could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears; the adrenaline in his blood heightening his senses as he waited for the rest of the story.

"And? And?!" Emi bounced in her seat. She's heard this story a few times from Nemuri and Yamada before, but it just never gets old.

"He didn't say a word. Didn't even budge when the guy got all up in his face." Nemuri chuckled, recalling how she'd been so close to punching the idiot on the face if only Hizashi and Oboro hadn't stepped in. "Fast forward to the sports festival, this dude is standing on top of the podium, holding the first place medal in his hand." She jutted a thumb towards Eraserhead; her eyes not leaving the face of the enraptured student no longer capable of hiding his excitement.

"The moment the awarding ceremony ended, he stepped off the stage, jumped up towards the bleachers, and stood right in front of the guy who messed with him." Nemuri paused, throwing Shinso and Emi a look to hype up the moment. "The whole stadium quieted down, eying the champion standing on top of the cement divider, looking down one particular guy who didn't even make it past the first round."

Emi fisted her hands, bracing herself for what was to come. "Here's my favorite part…" She mumbled through gritted teeth, trying not to get in the way of Midnight's storytelling.

Nemuri swept a dramatic arm in the air, eyes tracing the movement of her hand, finally allowing her gaze to return to the speechless, awestruck kid looking at her with wide unblinking eyes. "When the murmurs and whispers from the crowd finally quieted down… He asked, 'How far did you get?'."

Shinso held his breath, feeling his mind explode at the sheer fucking awesomeness of it all. The scene began playing in his head; a sudden burst of pride and admiration engulfing his entire being, making him feel weak and high both at the same time.

How on earth was Eraserhead so fucking cool?!

"Then he walked away! Didn't even wait for an answer, the little shit!" Nemuri laughed out loud. For someone so quiet, so bent on not standing out from the crowd, Eraserhead sure hated losing.

Emi cheered, drumming her hands against the table to rile up everyone's excitement even further. She scooted off the edge of her chair to move towards Aizawa, leaning one side of her face against her palm.

Shinso was barely even over Midnight-sensei's mind-blowing anecdote, when Miss Joke suddenly sent him reeling into yet another dimension.

"Aizawa, let's get married!"

"I decline."

Shinso blinked. Once. Twice.

What on earth did he just witness?!

"You'll say yes eventually!" Emi roared out a laugh, not the slightest bit affected by the rejection. She's lost count of all the times her proposal had been denied, but a part of her just couldn't help it!

Aizawa was the only person her quirk never worked on. He was so uptight, so stoic, and just so annoyingly straight-laced that she's made it a lifelong mission to get him to laugh. Hell, she hasn't even gotten the guy to smile! Aizawa Shouta was such a hard nut to crack, but damn if he wasn't a worthwhile challenge.

Nemuri chuckled to herself, watching the all too familiar scene play out. The addition of the young, bug-eyed, gaping Eraserhead wannabe made things even more hilarious!

"Snacks are here!"

Present Mic came in from the kitchen with Eri alongside him holding onto a few utensils.

"Eri-chan!"

Miss Joke was on her in the next second, enveloping her in a bone-crushing hug, making Yamada panic when the porcelain plates wobbled dangerously in the little girl's hands.

Shinso watched as Aizawa-sensei pulled the older woman off of Eri, not the least bit gentle. He grabbed her by the back of her collar – the same way he would grab misbehaving cats – depositing her unceremoniously on the floor, before chastising her for being a careless idiot.

"Oh it's fine. I'll be her mom in the future anyway."

Shinso felt his lips part at the suggestive whisper he overheard, trying his best to focus on helping the sound hero with the food.

"Over my dead body."

Shinso watched the underground hero step away from the beaming woman to help set up the table as well.

The rest of the night went by quickly, ending with Aizawa having to forcefully kick his guests out because it was way past Eri's bedtime.

"You've become such a good dad, Eraser!"

"Great practice for when we have kids of our own!"

"Damn it, I'm so proud… Look at how far you've come!"

"Marry me, Ai-"

The loud slam of the door cut both women off; their loud, uncontrollable laughter reverberating through the door.

"The next time you bring them along, I swear I'll ban you from my house too."

Hizashi raised his hands up in the air. A sheepish but unapologetic grin was on his face. "Come on, Shota. It's Christmas!"

Shinso watched the underground hero stalk after the blonde; complaints still at large but seemed to be falling on deaf ears. They began tidying up the kitchen, still arguing over the two women who'd just been evicted. He watched the scene before him in silence, amazed at how much the tables seemed to have turned.

Present Mic was always the one hounding Eraserhead about anything and everything. He was used to seeing the sound hero run after his mentor, forcing him to join in on all kinds of things, asking him to spend time with him. So it was so unusual to see it happening the other way around.

"Shota, they care about you. With that personality of yours, it's hard to find people who actually stick around." Hizashi chuckled, pausing from washing the dishes to eye him by the refrigerator, packing away the left overs. "People need other people."

"I'm fine the way I am."

"But fine isn't great. Fine isn't happy."

Aizawa straightened up to throw him a glare over the door of the fridge. "Stop it with the philosophical crap."

"You agreed remember? Or do I need to bring out the contract you signed." Hizashi went back to washing the dishes, ignoring the feeling of daggers at the back of his head.

Aizawa grumbled, annoyed at himself for signing that ridiculous piece of paper. The submission of the end of term grades was due the next day then, and he was definitely cutting it close to the deadline. Hizashi had been hounding him about that annoying treaty for a whole month already. He just wanted the annoying blonde to go away.

"I won't annoy the hell out of you to go to reunions, parties, and get-togethers, but I have a say on one holiday every year." Hizashi started rinsing off the plates, still not bothering to spare the underground hero a glance. "I chose Christmas two years ago! It's not my fault Nemuri and Emi enjoy your company so much that they decided to make this a tradition." He turned around tentatively to grin at the incensed expression on his best friend's face.

"Well I don't enjoy theirs." Aizawa closed the door of the refrigerator, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Tough luck."

Aizawa felt his eye twitch at the nonchalant shrug he got as a reply. What was it with Hizashi and his incessant need to meddle in his social life? Why couldn't the blonde understand that he was perfectly fine just staying at home with his cat, away from the noise of other people?

"But you know, ever since you've taken in Eri, and started training Hitoshi…" Hizashi paused, depositing the last of the plates back into the cabinet. "You seem… happier."

Aizawa blinked at the unexpected statement. Was he? Was he actually happier? He looked away, not quite sure what to say about that.

Shinso held his breath when dark eyes landed on him; the look on the older man's face almost accusatory. He saw Present Mic shift his gaze towards him as well, eyes widening momentarily before throwing him a tight smile.

"O-Oh hey, kiddo! Uh, Shota and I can handle the rest of the clean-up, yeah? Why don't you get some sleep?"

He nodded awkwardly, unable to meet either of them in the eye, ashamed at having been caught eavesdropping. He walked away, feeling guilty for listening in on a conversation that wasn't meant for his ears. He just…

He couldn't help it.

He's learned more about his mentor's life in the last two hours than in the past year he's known him. He's witnessed sides of the older man he's never seen before, making him want to figure out more.

How was he as a student? Did he excel? Did he ever fail? Shinso shook his head. He couldn't imagine Eraserhead failing at anything. Did he ever get in fights? Argue with any of his classmates? Be at odds with his professors? Based on Nemuri's story, it seemed like there was a chance he could have. Did he win during his last sport's festival too? How about his freshman year? Did he ever get to fight that stupid bully? Shinso wished he did. He wished Aizawa-sensei beat him down so bad he would have to eat his words. Twice.

Shinso lay down on the unfamiliar bed, thoughts still stuck on piecing together his mentor's UA life. He blinked. How about his experiences as a pro hero? Did Aizawa-sensei struggle? Did he know he would choose the underground path from the get go? Did he have a mentor back then too?

I was self- taught. I had to learn this from scratch, and it took me five years. But now I have the knowledge to teach others how to learn it.

Shinso's hand went to his neck, imagining the feel of the cloth binds he's gotten so used to in the past year. Aizawa-sensei figured out how to use it… all by himself. He fought against the hero stereotype… all by himself. He beat everyone who's ever doubted him, berated him, and discouraged him… all by himself.

Ah.

Damn it.

Eraserhead was so damn cool. He was such a damn fucking badass!

And that badass… picked him.

Just practice the way I told you. I'm not the kind of guy who spends his time on something fruitless.

Aizawa-sensei chose him… out of everyone else.

Him.

Someone who wasn't even in the hero course.

Him.

A person everyone's already labeled as a villain.

Him.

A scrawny, lanky kid who had no real knowledge of his quirk's limitations, close to zero combat skills, and with a barely passing physical education grade.

Him.

A weakling who lost against another kid much smaller than he was… in a fucking pushing match.

Shinso clicked his tongue. That was a memory he would never forget. He was out of bounds before he even realized. The shame and regret of that day would stay with him for the rest of his life.

So never again.

Never again will he allow himself to feel that helpless. That… pathetic.

He raised a hand up towards the ceiling, trying his best to make sense of the outline of his fingers even amidst the darkness of the room. He fisted them in the air, feeling his resolve take root much deeper into his being – grounding itself into the very core of his existence.

His initial motivation for being a hero had been selfish. He just wanted to prove everyone wrong – to do exactly what they said he couldn't… until it morphed into something more.

It was the little things, really, that pushed him to yearn for it from the bottom of his heart.

Helping an old lady cross the road, pulling a kid's balloon out of a tree, repackaging someone else's fallen groceries, pulling a person away from a swerving car…

It was all those little bits of gratitude – the small thank yous, the looks of admiration, the complete and utter relief on other people's faces.

Thank you so much for your help.

He was so used to getting suspicious glances, weary responses, and outright dismissals that those small, seemingly trivial exchanges lit a fire in him – one that wouldn't seem to go out no matter what he did.

No matter how hard he tried.

It was then that he decided he would be a hero… because he wanted to help. Because it made him happy to.

But now, it seemed that was no longer the only reason.

Shinso brought his fisted hand down, pressing it against his chest in a silent pledge. No one else was here to see it, and he would probably keep it to himself for the rest of his life; but from this day forward, he would swear…

He would make Aizawa-sensei proud.

He would make him tell people, 'See that kid? That's my protégé right there. Taught him everything he knows.'

Shinso pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, grinning like a massive idiot, imagining the look on his mentor's face when he finally sees just how amazing he was going to grow up to be. Just how great of a hero he was going to become!

No matter what happens, no matter how hard things would get… He would never give up. He would make it.

He will make it.

And he would make Aizawa-sensei so proud.


End of chapter 7!

So... The supposed last chapter ended up being too long, so I decided to cut it into three parts. I suck at estimating outlines T.T I thought I could fit everything in the last update, but it felt more organic to post this part as one whole chapter. I haven't finished writing everything yet, and I don't know if I can before the year ends, but I'll try my best!

Merry Christmas everyone :) Stay safe and take good care of yourselves!

A review would be highly appreciated ^^