Chapter 10: Remember That One Scene From Spider-man?

Summary:

rip

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku was so stupid.

Somehow, he had managed to attract the attention of Eraserhead and even got him to train him a bit, which Izuku was very against at first but after he assured him over and over again that he wouldn't be a burden he finally agreed, and now he had tricked him into believing that he could be a Hero.

'Why not just get a proper license?' Like it was that easy. He said it as if Izuku wasn't useless and a bother to everyone around him. The only reason why he was even sticking to this whole vigilante thing was because he helped more people than he hurt.

And don't even get him started on the media writing multiple articles on him and naming him Serpentine. When he had learned of what happened he wanted to crawl into a dark cave and die there (as if he could). How did he get the attention of people and convince them that he was a proper vigilante?

Although technically that wasn't vigilantism because the textbook definition of vigilantism is the illegal use of a quirk against a villain and Izuku didn't have a quirk. Or at least a useful one. So, was he now lying to everyone and tricking them into thinking that he was a capable vigilante when he wasn't even a real vigilante?

Of course, it wasn't like he asked to be outed to the world, but he must've done something wrong. He always does.

Izuku climbed through his apartment window and changed out of his vigilante? gear. He had made some improvements in the past few months. He got a new black hoodie just for his vigilante work and some black joggers that he found? Was gifted? The only issue was that they were a bit tighter than he wanted. They weren't too terrible, just more of leggings than joggers, but Izuku would take what he could get. Legally dead beggars can't be choosers.

He had a black utility belt that held two pipes he was just learning how to use correctly with Eraserhead, a small knife that he found in one of the kitchen drawers, and some very basic first aid. Izuku didn't necessarily need it but bleeding out when he wasn't dying was pretty annoying and messy, so he decided it was probably best to have some bandages on hand just in case. He also had a few more things to help any injured civilians he might find.

And he still had the face mask covering his mouth and nose, but he found one that was a lot more breathable and ventilated so that he didn't feel like he was dying every time he decided to go for a bit of a roof hopping. You know, as you do. And of course, he still wore his red shoes, the only other shoes he had were dress shoes that pinched his feet.

Eraser had actually commented on his choice of footwear a few times, Izuku could tell he didn't really like them, that he probably thought that they were impractical and distracting, but he just couldn't bring himself to let them go.

When he was little, he and mom didn't have all that much money, but she would sometimes take him to the mall and let him pick out one or two things that he wanted to buy. He distinctly remembered this one time that he couldn't find anything that he really wanted until they passed this shoe store and saw these bright red sneakers in the window.

Izuku was captivated and practically bounced as they stood in the checkout line of the store. He didn't know why he liked them so much, but his mother found it adorable and made sure to match him anytime she could by wearing something red. Sometimes she would end up looking like Christmas decided to come early, but he just loved that she was happy.

The kids at school didn't like his shoes nearly as much as she did, but Izuku didn't care. Even though he felt guilty every time they had to buy a new pair because his classmates decided it would be funny to destroy or ruin his shoes, he just couldn't let them go. He kept wearing them and eventually his classmates got bored and moved on to teasing him for something else.

And the only other change he made to his costume? was giving up on covering his hair and instead tying it back. His hoodies were always too big to keep the hood up and it was annoying having to keep track of it during fights and stuff. But his hair was just as annoying, it kept on getting into his face and would frizz sometimes due to the humidity in the air, so Izuku just started to carry around hair ties and it has done wonders, especially since his hair has been getting pretty long.

Izuku decided that he would go out and shower in the morning after he got some sleep. You would think that after so much you'd stop being so tired, but unfortunately tiredness has simply become a part of Izuku. He had a theory that it had something to do with him 'dying' or whatever, but he couldn't really prove it until he managed to die again.

Actually…that's not that bad of an idea

It had been a while since everything happened and Izuku had thrown himself into saving those around him to distract from the whole still wanting to die thing. But maybe it had been long enough. Couldn't hurt to try right?

So, the next night when he went out, he had a set goal, unlike most nights. He still ended up getting mixed up in a few fights, but things like that just tended to drift to him, He didn't even seek it out, it was like he was a trouble magnet. And honestly, that probably wasn't too far off.

It had been hours since he had left the apartment and Izuku finally felt that he had some time to himself. After double and triple checking that no one needed help in the area around him, Izuku found himself on the edge of the tallest building in the neighborhood.

He knows that the last time he tried jumping it didn't exactly work out, but it was a lot less messy than trying to find someone who would be willing to kill him, and who's to say that they wouldn't kill other people too?

Better to not get anyone else involved. Izuku didn't trust himself with a gun, so that was out, a knife was too messy, pills were expensive, and he'd rather steal as little as possible, he didn't feel like finding any rope, and drowning just honestly didn't sound like a good time. Same thing with fire.

Who knew that dying would be so much work?

The night felt good. The air wasn't too cold or hot, the sky was clear, and this area didn't have too much light pollution so Izuku could see some of the stars above him. He realized that he did this thing just before he jumped, he just looked out and took in everything around him one last time. It was like this last time as well.

As crappy as the world was to him, it was pretty beautiful.

Then came that feeling again, the feeling of freefalling, no regrets, no hesitation, no worries, just release. And hope.

The ground came quickly and before he knew it, Izuku was plunged into darkness once again.

Shouta knew that he was brooding as he patrolled, but he couldn't help it! Once again, he had upset the kid with something that he said and now it was all he could think about.

Who says no to being a hero??

The kid is so excited about every hero he meets, I would've thought that he'd jump at the opportunity to become one.

But he didn't just say no, he ran away. Why would he do that?

Eraser could feel a headache coming on, which was no surprise at all considering who he delt with on a nightly basis.

Speaking of which…he hadn't actually seen the kid at all tonight. It was weird, ever since he knew him, the kid hadn't taken a single night off from beating up thugs and criminals, and he always somehow found himself around Eraser, so what was going on?

He took to looking a bit more closely as he ran across the rooftops, the area he was in was a bit different than his usual patrol. It wasn't too far away, but the buildings were a lot different, everyone was unique and that meant that roof hopping was a lot more challenging. Not that it was any issue for Eraser, but it might be to Serpentine who was still fairly inexperienced.

Shouta's eyes had become pretty attune to that green hair, it blended in pretty well with the night, but it stood out just enough to Eraser. The kid looked like he was scanning the area around him, he was stood on the tallest building around and it must have an amazing vantage point, he might want to check it out himself.

He was about to call out to the kid when his heart stopped as he fell off of the edge.

"Kid! KID!" Shouta raced towards the falling child. He must've slipped or missed his footing or something, and he wasn't coordinated enough yet to correct himself.

Oh no, no, no, no, no.

Eraser pushed himself to move faster but he knew, he knew that he wouldn't be fast enough, so he tried to use his capture weapon, but it hit the edge of another building and missed causing Shouta to choke on his breath.

By the time he reached the kid, it was too late.

His small body laid at his feet, crumpled and unmoving.

I wasn't fast enough.

What was Shouta going to do? He had known this kid for a few months and now he was dead right in front of him. He had been worried that this would happen, he just thought it would be in a different way. That's why he insisted on seeing him every night and training him when he could, but all of that was in vain now.

Damn it!

Tsukauchi agreed to meet him when Shouta called him. It was clear that his tone had set off alarms in his friend's head, but he couldn't bring himself to put up a front. He couldn't really bring himself to feel anything either. He was just…numb.

Stuff like this came with the job, you would think that Eraser would be used to it by now, but every time he found someone dead, he couldn't help but blame himself. If only he had been just a bit faster, stronger, better. If he hadn't been a second too late, then they might still be alive.

He knew thinking like that was illogical; he was human, and he can't expect himself to be perfect, but that doesn't stop him from trying. You can't save everyone. He learned that at a young age, before he even graduated.

It was a lesson he knew he'd never forget, and he didn't want to. It drove him to be better, to try harder. He still missed him every day though. The pain had dulled over the years, but it never truly goes away. Shouta had begun to be known for his uncaring attitude and coldness after that. It wasn't his fault, that was just how he coped, he shut himself down and refused to dwell on anything that wasn't hero work.

Was it unhealthy? Yes. But that was how it was. He wasn't as closed off as people usually thought, but he refused to let himself get attached…or at least, that what he told himself.

"Hey," Footsteps sounded behind Eraser and he knew exactly who it was before they ever spoke up. The footsteps stopped just behind him, and he felt a firm hand on his shoulder as he sat by the body, blank. "Oh."

"Yeah, I found him seconds before…I-I was too slow."

Tsukauchi knelt beside Shouta, never moving his hand on his shoulder that had become somewhat of an anchor for him and examined the scene. "I'm sorry."

"He was just a kid."

"I know."

The two of them sat in silence for a few more minutes before Shouta's head finally cleared and they both decided that they needed to get his body to the morgue and figure out who he was.

The trip was easy, and when they dropped the kid off Eraser refused to leave. He just wanted to be with him a little bit longer and seeing his face would help them figure out who he was quicker and easier. Tsukauchi had no objection and sat beside Shouta as the two put in some discerning factors and began going through lists upon lists of names.

It was harder than they both had initially thought. Sure, the kid looked rather plain, but surely there weren't that many green hair and green eyed teenagers in Japan. Knowing some more things would have been a lot easier, but Eraser had never figured out the kid's quirk or even asked. He never saw him use it, so he suspected that it was probably a non-physical quirk.

Hours passed and the two of them had come up with absolutely nothing. Shouta was getting frustrated and Tsuki kept on reminding him that the kid's body would need to be taken care of soon, which just put him in an even worse mood.

Shouta had just agreed to leave and continue looking tomorrow after he got some sleep and Tsukauchi was on the phone with the examiner telling her that she could come down when slight movement caught his eye.

His head whipped to where he had seen it, but it was just the kid's body. Nothing was around that it could've been. But that didn't make sense, Eraser's senses were spot on and he knew that he's seen something, so what could it have-

One moment the room was quiet and still and then next the seemingly dead body shot up with a gasp and ended up falling onto the floor.

What the f*?

Notes:

In regards to the title, when I was proof reading this I got major flashbacks of the clock tower scene from The Amazing Spider-man 2 with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Sorry to all of you who got that...

So, I was going to put this whole thing about how classes start next week and I probably won't be updating as often, but then life just up and decided to shove me into a ditch and leave me to die because I just tested positive for Covid lol. Don't worry, I'm fine, just kinda bummed about missing the first week of classes, but what can you do? Anyway, so don't be surprised if you get a few more updates while I'm quarantined, because I'm bored and I write when I'm bored.

Also, sorry about this chapter, I forgot that there was so much angst in this one and so when I went back a proof read it I was like, 'Oop, well they're not going to like that hehe.' So, I apologize for your hearts, but um, just don't get too comfortable *nervous laugh*

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a comment letting me know what your thoughts on it and the story so far!

Thanks for reading