CRACK.
A rush of wind trails over Izuku, whipping his face with the slight breeze.
Am I still alive?
Auditory chaos surrounds Izuku, the cacophonous melody of a street brawl: clattering trashcans, solid and meaty whumps of fists against flesh, the occasional snap of wind caused by a missed attack or thrown object, matched with grunting vocals and pained snarls.
Still in shock from his prior predicament, Izuku remains as stiff as a board, believing a lack of movement will protect him from another assault.
A villain turf war?
Another meaty whump, a fist meeting its mark. Balaclava's distinctive growl alerts Izuku of the villain's continued presence.
Lord help whoever picked a fight with him.
Opening his remaining good eye, Izuku peeks at the action before him. A few feet right of Izuku, towards the mouth of the alleyway, Balaclava blocks an attempted spin kick by a shadowy assailant.
Thin and exceptionally limber, Balaclava's enemy uses their weight disparity to his advantage, keeping out of Balaclava's reach whenever possible and using his agile movements to close the gap between them.
Throwing a heavy punch, Balaclava's attempted blow is dodged by the lithe individual. Sidestepping the attack, they throw a punch of their own, connecting with Balaclava's abdomen. Keeling from the impact, Balaclava's reaction opens the door for the shadow man to plant an onslaught of furious punches straight into his gut.
Moving with exceptional speed, almost too fast for Izuku to keep track of, the assailant aims each of his attacks with unmatched precision. Their hair billows unnaturally, writhing to and fro as if possessed with a mind of its own.
With a weighty snap, a lengthy piece of durable cloth recoils around the back of Balaclava's head. Clutching to the cloth like a whip, the street-brawler tugs on the restraint, pulling the thug headfirst into his knee.
Smashing Balaclava's nose against his kneecap, the titan crashes into the asphalt. Standing above the now prone villain, the figure snaps the cloth back into his grip.
Reaching a gloved fist out and punching the ground, cracking the concrete below, Balaclava slowly rises with his fist as support. Turning his head, Balaclava's inhuman snarls indicate that this fight is far from over.
Izuku, still maintaining his motionless state, watches this brutal combat. With each attack, his stomach twists itself further into knots. The blood that had previously been dripping down his face has dried now, his right eye now swollen shut.
Growing increasingly fearful by the brawls intensity, Izuku slowly attempts to crawl away.
At the mouth of the alley, the figure snaps the restraining bond around Balaclava's forehead and upper chest, holding the cloth with two hands. Pulling the titan towards him and crouching during the moment of impact, the shadow-man drops to his back and thrusts his legs into the air, planting his feet against the villain's back and sending him careening through the air.
Turned into a living projectile, Balaclava is sent flying over Izuku, deeper into the alleyway.
WHUMP.
The mountain of muscle is lost to the darkness, the sound of his impact echoing throughout the thin alley.
CA-RASH.
Turning to inspect his savior, Izuku's stomach drops.
With inky black hair slowly drifting down towards his face, the slender man is adorned in an outfit of pure black, the only shine of color being a pair of golden, slotted goggles. Standing directly over Izuku, his shadow blocks the light of the street. In his hands, with the extra length being wrapped around his neck, the surprisingly durable cloth he had used to restrain Balaclava.
Eraserhead.
Of all heroes, it had to be Eraserhead.
Izuku averts his gaze, afraid that the hero would recognize him.
Oh man, what would he even say?
"Are you hurt? Do you need assistance?" Eraserhead asks Izuku, the same hoarse voice slicing through the air. Failing to recognize the bloodied and battered boy, Izuku sits in place, too embarrassed to react.
Now is really not a good time for this!
Stepping forward, Eraserhead approaches the inside of the alleyway, snapping a greater amount of the bond into his hands in order to prepare for a possible counterattack.
"If you can move, you need to get out of here. Call the police and seek medical assistance," Eraserhead keeps his eyes focused on the alleyway, "it's the rational thing to do." Looking up at Eraserhead, Izuku attempts to stand up in order to flee.
His knees waver, his legs feel like mush.
I have to get out of here!
Pulling himself up with the walls behind him, Izuku stumbles to his feet in an attempt to turn and leave the alley.
His right leg wobbles and both knees shake.
His balance fails him.
As he crumples to the ground, Izuku cries out in pain.
I must have broken my leg during the fight!
With eyes remaining locked on the shadows of the alley, Eraserhead is jolted out of his focus by Izuku's cries. Looking behind him, he finds the teenager on the ground, crumpled into a sniffling ball. Turning to assist Izuku, he crouches down to the boys level, studying his now shattered leg.
Bending backwards, the strange angle his foot now rests at sends a sickening chill across Izuku's back.
"I can help you get out of here, I can swing up to the roof using this restrictive bond," without looking at Izuku, he gestures to the cloth wrapped around his neck, "and from there you can seek refu-".
Eraserhead pauses mid-sentence.
Pushing the goggles off of his face and onto his forehead, he looks at Izuku.
His crimson, tired eyes are teeming with bulging veins and arteries.
Bloodshot.
"Kid?"
Oh shit.
Recognizing Izuku, Eraserhead looks at the boy with a shocked and confused expression.
"What are you doing here?' Eraserhead asks, trapped in a daze. For a moment, Izuku witnesses the same vulnerable expression the hero revealed at the funeral.
Suddenly, the ground shakes below Izuku.
Thunderous stomps echo from further within the darkness of the alleyway. Charging from the shadows, the sounds of metallic scraping reveal Balaclava's return.
Eraserhead is wrenched from the ground next to Izuku, clutched by Balaclava's gargantuan hands.
Throwing the pro-hero into the concrete, Balaclava backs up before rushing forward, driving a boot directly into Eraserhead's face.
Izuku screams in shock at the violent display of force.
Twisting his neck in response to Izuku, Balaclava's face shimmers, the slot revealing his eyes now illustrating the brutes quirk: his skin has morphed into steel, explaining the new sounds of metallic scraping with his every movement and the overwhelming force behind his already brutal attacks.
Eraserhead's raggedy hair falls in front of his face, his goggles kicked off. Dazed and barely conscious, blood slips out of Eraserhead's mouth.
While stunned by the sudden and ferocious attack, Eraserhead is thrown against the wall by the villain.
Holding the limber hero against the brick wall with one of his meaty arms, Balaclava keeps his back turned away from the broken teenager.
"I've heard about you. You've caused us issues," the steel goliath growls out, his voice screeching with a metallic quality.
"I'll make sure to bring your head back to the Boss," he quips.
Cocking his elbow back, Balaclava prepares an absolutely devastating punch.
TANG!
A plastic phone bounces off of the thug's head. Clattering down to the ground, the phone's screen cracks.
As Balaclava turns to look at the phone, something leaps onto the titans back.
"Hey! You never finished dealing with me!" Izuku screams, pounding his hands against Balaclava's head in an effort to break the villain's concentration.
Releasing Eraserhead from his grip, Balaclava reaches his behind his head in a vain attempt to grab the teenager.
Tossing and turning, bucking and charging, the bull of a man rushes to get the nuisance off of his back. From under his coat, syringes, coins, and collected debts are jostled free from his pockets. Scattering across the ground, the glass casings of the syringes shatter and smash under the goliath's feet.
Casting a heavy hand across Izuku's back, the giant throws Izuku onto the ground. Bouncing off the concrete below, Izuku's vision blurs matched with a sensation of indescribable pain. As the back of his head rebounds from the first impact, smashing against the asphalt a second time, his eyes roll into the back of his head.
Izuku has been knocked unconscious.
Inspecting the boys motionless body, Balaclava gently kicks his foot, waiting for a reaction. Finding a desirable result, he turns to regain his focus against the professional in his midst.
Craning his neck over his shoulder, the thug finds Eraserhead missing. As if he had completely vanished, the agile hero had practically disappeared from the alleyway altogether.
Turning his gaze upwards, Balaclava searches for his enemy, inspecting every corner high and low for where the professional could have gone.
Confused, the giant looks back down, turning to inspect the area behind him.
WHUMP.
Planting a bony fist firmly in Balaclava's cheek, the Goliath staggers backwards, holding a hand against his bruised face.
"What? But... My quirk!" He exclaims, snarling behind gritted teeth.
Focusing on Eraserhead's shadowy figure, Balaclava finds the man standing before him, his hair levitating inches above his head, writhing like inky tendrils. Crimson eyes peer at the thug, slicing through the cold air of the alleyway.
Looking at his hands, Balaclava touches his cheek again.
The hard, metallic sheen that had been there previously has evaporated, his skin having returned to its weak, fleshy state.
Startled at the sudden development, Balclava impulsively throws a weak punch.
Shifting his head to avoid Balaclava's unprepared strike, Eraserhead sends the restraining bond slithering up the villain's arm.
Pulling on the strand, Eraserhead forces the villain's fist into his own face.
Dashing forward, Eraserhead plants a foot into his enemy's side, kicking the villain directly in his abdomen.
As Balaclava reels from the sudden assault, Eraserhead's next few strikes land.
Stumbling deeper into the alley, Balaclava stops, clutching his now broken nose.
CRACK.
Snapping it back into place, Balaclava shakes his head, jostling from the pain.
Eraserhead stands, hair raised, eyes locked on the thug.
"You're durable, I'll give you that," the hero compliments the goliath.
"I can say the same for you."
The two stand for a second, sizing each other up.
Both are wounded.
Both are tired.
Both will not give up.
Charging forward, Balaclava rushes at Eraserhead, prepared to end the hero's life.
Using his restraining bond, Eraserhead wraps the cloth around Balaclava's neck to pull himself onto the brutes back, changing the villains original course. Tugging on the cloth, he forces the villain to ram himself into the wall…
Only for Balaclava to smash Eraserhead between the mass of his body and the brick of the building.
Gasping, Eraserhead retains control of the charging beast. Blood trickles from the hero's mouth.
Tugging onto the cloth and forcing Balaclava's gaze upwards, Eraserhead directs the charging goliath out of the mouth of the alley...
And into the streetlight at the end of the sidewalk.
CRASH!
Colliding with the steel pole, the metal rod is pushed backwards, a screw away from being yanked out of its post.
Unconscious, Balaclava falls onto the ground with a heavy thump.
Eraserhead collects himself, taking a moment to breathe.
It's been a long, long time since he's fought like this.
Touching his lip, he inspects his finger.
Blood.
Will have to pay a visit to Chiyo, he considers.
Slowly standing up from the unconscious villain's body, Eraserhead limps back into the alley.
"Kid?"
Stepping further into the shadows, Eraserhead finds the unconscious Izuku.
Soaking in the syringe's mysterious fluid, needles poke into the teens body. Having landed on the prickly patch, Izuku was unknowingly pricked by dozens of needles from the impact of Balaclava's throw.
Frothing at the mouth, Izuku's body begins to shake and convulse.
Eraserhead's eyes widen.
Oh god.