CHAPTER 7: The Chapter Where Izuku Has No Situational Awareness

Giran had left to gather information in preparation for the meeting, leaving Izuku to clean and cook dinner.

Izuku protested a bit to keep up appearances, but allowed Giran to leave without too much of a fight. He received a bemused look in response and he forced himself to look more exhausted than he actually felt.

In the end, Giran simply ruffled his hair and left the house.

Half an hour later - when Izuku was certain the man hadn't made a U-turn - he left the house and looked around for any sign of the underground hero.

The street appeared to be quiet and peaceful, as usual, with the occasional bike passing and some pedestrians.

Dejected, Izuku went back into the house. He grabbed the broom and the dust collector from their place by the door and walked into the living room.

"Do you want roasted chicken or chicken salad?"

Izuku entered battle mode, throwing the dust collector at the intruder then ducked behind the couch, using the broom as an impromptu staff. He peeked from his hiding spot and jumped back when the scraggly man landed on the couch backrest. Izuku stared at the man from his place behind the second couch, broom prepared to slash.

The two exchanged looks before Izuku relaxed and sat on the couch, rubbing his face. "Why? Just why did you feel the need to give me a heart attack?"

Eraserhead smiled, although it seemed more like an evil grin. "Not realizing I was inside before you heard me means that you need to work on your situational awareness."

"Thank you. I feel blessed," Izuku deadpanned.

Eraserhead huffed then hopped back to the floor. He headed to the kitchen, the atmosphere surrounding him serious. "We need to talk."

"So why are you going to the kitchen?"

Black eyes met his. "I'm making dinner."

Izuku blinked slowly at him. The underground hero raised a brow then opened some drawers, acting as if he owned the place. Izuku quickly realized that the man wasn't going to answer him, so he picked up his broom and searched for the dustpan.

After finding it by the kitchen entrance, he started to sweep the floor silently.

The two of them fell into a strangely amicable silence and soon the chicken was put into the oven. Eraserhead grabbed a sponge and cleaned the dishes. Izuku finished with the floor and went to wipe down the table and change the table cloth.

"You seem to care about your kidnapper," A deep voice pierced the comfortable silence.

Izuku stiffened, hand stilling above the wooden surface. "I hate him."

"Could have fooled me. Try again."

Izuku's hand dropped onto the table. "I do hate him! I don't care about him at all! I… don't want to care about him..."

"Meaning?"

Izuku gritted his teeth, crumpling the table cloth. "He kidnapped me. He took me away from momma and Kacchan. I hate him so much it makes me want to puke at times. And yet... and yet for some reason when he got hurt and nearly died, I panicked. I tried to save him and nearly died myself."

And now he was rambling, but the dam had broke - he inhaled sharply.

Acknowledging his feelings probably destroyed all remaining restraint Izuku had.

His voice shook. "He kidnapped me but he took care of me like he was my father. He trained me. He nursed me back to health when I got sick. He fed me. Hell, once I had a terrible nightmare and lashed at him, but he stayed with me until I fell asleep. I can't remember my own dad but sometimes I think that if he had been Giran… I… I wouldn't have objected too much."

Izuku exhaled a bitter laugh. "I must be a lunatic. Who the hell thinks of their kidnapper as their father? I should have left him for dead when Bull Teeth attacked us, but my body moved before I could think. I want to get away from him but I don't want him dead ."

Izuku clenched his fists, body trembling as he pressed his forehead to the table. "I hate him so much but I… I…"

"He made it difficult for you to hate him," The man approached Izuku, his presence intimidating yet… soft. "You were manipulated into caring for him."

Izuku's eyes snapped wide and he gaped at Eraserhead. "Wh-what? I-I wasn't subjected to any manipulation! Besides, that's not the point!"

Izuku stood up, eyes flaming, and pointed at the man. "You came here so I could give you a way to arrest Giran and get me back home! There was no reason to ask me about my feelings!"

The hero stared at him with something akin to a man facing a wounded animal. "That's true. But I had to make sure you wouldn't back out at the last minute."

Izuku bristled. "I won't. Stop assuming shit about me. You know nothing!"

Black eyes flashed red for a moment. "Then tell me."

Izuku held his ground; he wouldn't be intimidated by this man. He had been through too much to be intimidated by a quirk display.

"Why should I?"

"You want my help?"

Izuku bit his lip. He was still upset but he didn't want to ruin his only chance. The hero was turning out to be more trouble than he was probably worth.

After a tense moment, the man sighed. "How about a information exchange?"

That got Izuku's attention. "Wait, if I tell you stuff about myself, you will too?"

"Yes."

Izuku mulled over it then his shoulders sagged. He gestured to the dining chairs in invitation. Eraserhead nodded and they both sat down.

Izuku fidgeted in place with a scowl. "So… you know my name, but Giran calls me Ya'rok. I'm turning thirteen in July. I got kidnapped exactly four years, three months and twenty days ago by Giran. I'm… quirkless so he trained me in hand-to-hand combat and analysis. He wants me to become a broker as well since i'm his little project. I've got nothing more, so your turn, Eraserhead."

The man nodded. "My real name is Aizawa Shouta. Age twenty-seven. My quirk can temporarily erase other quirks. I teach at Yuuei High School. I came here to take you home."

Izuku felt awe fill him. He had always known that Eraserhead essentially fought quirkless, but to have such an amazing quirk that put them on equal terms? His enemies are forced to fight quirkless, which meant that Eraserhead had the advantage since he wasn't overly reliant on his quirk. And he was a teacher at Yuuei, the school Izuku had always dreamt of attending.

"Close your mouth, problem child."

Izuku snapped his jaw shut and shook his head, returning to earth. "So you'll help me?"

Aizawa hummed, folding his arms. "The police would want Giran behind bars, anyways. Killing two birds with one stone or something. So you got a plan?"

Izuku smiled in relief and began to relay all that he knew about the league - both in location and the villains who made up the group - and then told Aizawa about the meeting next week. He couldn't tell the hero where exactly the gathering would take place but it was most likely at the bar in Tokyo.

Aizawa listened and at the end of the information spillage, he presented Izuku with what appeared to be a charger and a cable. Eraserhead explained to him that the cable was not actually able to charge anything, but when it was connected to the charger, it could be used as a GPS. Another feature was its ability to act as a recorder which would broadcast directly to his computer.

Izuku took the items gingerly, afraid of ruining them. He released a soft sob and smiled with wet eyes at Aizawa. "Thank you, Eraserhead. Thank you so much."

"You're doing most of the work here, problem child," Aizawa said stoically. But a warm hand ruffled Izuku's hair then squeezed his shoulder. "Hang in there just a bit more."

Izuku nodded and wiped his eyes. "You should probably head out now. I don't know how long it'll be before Giran returns."

Aizawa nodded and stood up, returning the chair to its place. He then took a cursory glance around the room before slipping out of the open window and closing it behind him. Izuku watched the hero disappear and relaxed in his seat, laughing deliriously.

His plan worked.

Take that, Giran!

When Giran returned an hour later, he found Ya'rok dozing off on the couch. The house smelled of seasoned chicken and looked to be in the same condition. Giran scrutinized the place, feeling that something was off despite the welcoming scene.

Giran examined the window and narrowed his eyes. Why was the curtain pulled back despite the window being closed? He glanced at the sleeping preteen then at the oven, not smelling anything burning.

Giran was probably reading too much into it, but Ya'rok knew he hated having the curtains pulled back. The two of them have never liked the idea of people being able to look inside and watch them.

Maybe he had been cleaning the window and forgot?

Ya'rok released a snore and Giran was yanked out from his thoughts. He carded fingers through gray hair and stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

He was growing paranoid. The information he found wasn't helping; the news was bad enough to merit some caution.

Bull Teeth was gathering a team to start a turf war and the League rejected her offer so now she was on a rampage. She had already torn through Giran and Ya'rok's previous base, leaving it a pile of rubble. He shuddered whenever he thought of how close they had come to death. If they had left the house a day later they probably wouldn't be here right now.

He needed to request protection from the League.

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OC's list I own:

Child Killer, Kintsuki Yama, bringer and Minotaur