Chapter 23: Spain Without The S

"Pftt-oh my god, you look so cute!" Present Mic stood in the doorway trying his best to hold in a laugh as he looked at Izuku standing in front of him in clothes that were very clearly not his size and wet hair that curled around his face and neck.

"It was all I had, not my fault you're so small Midoriya." Eraser said from the kitchen as he finished making himself a cup of coffee.

"Hey! I'm not that small! And are you just going to start calling me by my name now?"

"Oh! Can I call you by your name too?"

Izuku groaned and turned to sit on the couch as Present Mic broke into laughter again as he closed the door behind him.

"You should probably start calling Shouta by his name too. His students call him Aizawa, so you could call him that. And you can just call me Hizashi."

Hizashi. Izuku threw the name back and forth in his head, but he couldn't shake off how close it was to Hisashi, and he wanted to stay as far away from the mere concept of his father as possible. "Is there anything else I can call you? I could just stick with Mic."

Mic frowned at Izuku as he accepted a mug from Eraser and the two of them made their way to the living room. "That's no fun, we're friends now. How about Yamada then?"

Izuku grimaced, that didn't sound right either. Not that there was anything wrong with his name, it just didn't feel right to call him that. "We'll see."

The hero scoffed and fell dramatically against the back of the couch beside Izuku causing him and Eraser to let out a laugh as the cats jumped up to join them.

Mic was dressed casually, like almost every other time he had seen him. He was in grey sweatpants and an old black band t-shirt with his blond hair pulled into a messy bun and glasses. He honestly looked exactly like Izuku would expect from his personality.

Just like how Eraser looked just like he expected him to. Black long-sleeve t-shirt, black sweatpants, black slippers, and he also sported a messy bun, although his was definitely messier than Mic's was.

Izuku's was the only one who had his hair down and it was so it could air dry properly. Actually, now that he thought about it, his hair was pretty long. Maybe it was time to get it cut.

The three of them ended up ordering take out and watching a movie together. It was one Izuku hadn't ever seen, but to be fair he had never been one to watch a lot of tv. He enjoyed it, even if he didn't understand it at some parts, but it was good, nonetheless.

Mic and Eraser certainly seemed to be having fun. The two of them meshed to well together it was actually jarring. Looking at them, you'd never expect them to be so close with how opposite they are, but Izuku could tell just in the way they interacted that they truly were close.

Izuku would chuckle every time Mic burst out with whatever commentary he had about what was happening on the screen and Eraser trying to shush him before giving up and joining him in yelling at the characters on the tv.

It was nice. Izuku had only ever been around his mother like this, so it was different, but…it was nice. He would never admit it, but he thought that he would enjoy whatever time he had here with Eraserhead.

The movie ended and Mic stood up to stretch, checking his watch and groaning. "Ugh, I really don't want to get up tomorrow to teach. What if I took a sick day, do you think Nezu would believe me?"

"Probably not."

Mic rubbed his eyes with his hand and sighed, "Yeah, you're probably right. I should get going then, and you better get to bed yourself Shouta."

"Don't tell me what to do." Eraser deadpanned as he stood up to walk his friend to the door.

Izuku waved bye and stood up to stretch himself as the front door closed and Eraser turned back to him.

"He's right though, we should be heading to bed. Tomorrow is my first official day back teaching and so I won't be around the apartment."

The kid sighed. He had been thinking about his apartment and all the things there that he knew he couldn't just leave. He would have to go back there eventually and get his stuff, might as well rip the band-aid off, right? "That's fine. I have some stuff I have to do tomorrow anyway."

The hero raised an eyebrow and Izuku gaped at him in response.

"I have a life you know!"

"I thought that you were dead," Was all he said as he began to walk down the hallway to his room.

"You're not as funny as you think you are!"

"Oh no, I'm pretty sure I'm hilarious. Goodnight."

Izuku rolled his eyes even though Eraser was already out of sight and made his way to his own room.

He had hoped that his nightmares would spare him one night in favor of him being in a new place with someone else that he wasn't used to living with, but of course, why would anything he want to happen oblige?

His subconscious must've been extra pissed at him because he dreamt of his mother. Nights that he spent dreaming of her always ended with him screaming and crying for her to come back and not leave him. Tonight was no exception.

Izuku saw memories of her flash in his dream until he went back through her death and seeing her the first time he died. But tonight was a little different, usually the dreams stopped there, but it kept going. Once he was sent back, he saw her again but this time she didn't glow like an angel, she looked tired and hurt and sad.

She looked at him with bloodshot, tearstained eyes and bruised cheeks. His mother called out to him and stretched out a hand that he tried to grab but couldn't quite reach. This caused her to cry some more, but this time blood streamed down her cheeks rather than tears and Izuku was forced to watch as his mother sobbed and blamed him for not being good enough to save her.

That's when he woke up screaming.

It took two seconds for the door to the room to burst open with a wide-eyed Eraser searching around for any type of threat. Once he assessed that there was no immediate danger, he went to Izuku who was still sobbing and thrashing in the bed.

The hero grabbed both of the boy's arms and held him against his chest in a tight hug whispering calming words in his ear until he calmed down. It took a second, but Izuku finally stopped sobbing and fighting Eraser's tight grip. He fell slack in the hero's embrace and tried to get his breathing under control as one hand left his wrist and began to run through his hair.

After a couple more minutes Izuku was finally calmed down enough to be coherent. He sniffled and curled into himself, "S-sorry."

"Don't apologize." Came Eraser's immediate response, his hand still running through his hair in a calming motion. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Izuku shook his head and the hero just continued to sit with the boy, hugging and keeping him grounded. It was nice, to have somebody there to help bring you back after a bad dream. He hadn't had that in so long, he forgot how much it sucked being alone.

"Are you feeling any better?"

This time Izuku nodded, taking careful, deep breaths. "Yeah…" He sniffled, "Um, thanks."

"No problem kid."

"You um-you can go back to sleep now. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"What did I just say?"

"Sorry-"

The hero groaned which made Izuku let out a small chuckle that he joined in on. "Look, I get it, but don't ever think that you're being a burden to me, because you're not. I took you in because I wanted to. Understand?"

Izuku nodded but said nothing. If he did, he knew that he'd probably start crying again and he was already pissed enough that Eraser had seen him crying because of his dream.

"Do you think you're okay now? Are you going to try to go back to sleep?"

Eraser sighed when Izuku shook his head, but it wasn't a sigh of annoyance.

"Yeah, I figured. Why don't we get out and blow off some steam? I know how much you love to roof jump."

That was exactly what Izuku needed. To get some fresh air and forget about everything for a while. He nodded and the hero told him that he was going to go change and grab him some clothes that he could go out in.

He came back in and Izuku hadn't moved from his spot on the bed, just staring at the wall. He thanked him and changed silently before meeting him in the living room and the two of them left.

It felt great. Running across the rooftops and letting everything in his life go for just a minute, it was bliss. Izuku had let his hair remain down, so it was flowing behind him as he jumped, and he actually laughed. It was just like it had been at the start.

Somehow Eraser had known exactly what he had needed. Had they become that close? Was Izuku okay with that?

He had always tried to steer clear of father figures because it always brought back rotten memories of the pain his dad left behind, but he liked Eraser. He felt safe with him. And the hero seemed to like him as well, even though that part still confused Izuku, it was made clear when he had offered to let him live with him.

All of the times before Izuku could write off as him just being a hero that was trying to protect him, but someone didn't let you sleep in their hospital room and stay with them if they didn't like you.

But why was the question. Izuku had asked a few times and had never gotten a clear answer. It was incredibly frustrating. Although the same could be asked about why he liked Eraser. Izuku didn't actually know why, he just knew that these past few months, despite how crappy they've been with him not being able to die and everything, have actually made him the happiest he's ever been.

It's weird having someone who willingly talks to you everyday and actually cares about how you're doing. And it was even weirder for him to realize that Eraser and Tsuki cared about him living, that took some time to get through his thick skull. He still didn't understand, but that might just be his problem.

The two of them ran side by side in silence, just enjoying the fresh air and adrenaline flowing through their systems until they suddenly skirted to a stop when they heard someone scream.

Ah, just like old times.

Without saying a word, the two of them went into patrol mode and went to check out what was going on. Eraser disappeared into the shadows and Izuku scoped it out from above only to have his blood run cold when he saw who was in the alley below.

Of course. Of course, Izuku would run into him again, because why would anything ever go his way? Tsuki said that he would take care of Conductor, but maybe he hadn't been able to yet. He had been pretty busy with Eraser in the hospital and everything.

Down below Conductor was fighting some guy who must've been bothering the woman who was crying beside the dumpster. The pro quickly took the guy out and went to comfort the victim and Izuku found himself scowling at the scene.

He was happy that the woman was safe and that the perpetrator had been stopped, but why did it have to be him? It wasn't even his patrol, so what was he doing?

Izuku must've been deeper in his thoughts than he realized because he hadn't even noticed Eraser showing back up at his side and when he finally did, he flinched.

"That's him, isn't it." It wasn't a question. Eraser's face wasn't in his usual scowl or unreadable expression, no, when Izuku looked at the hero he was terrified at what he saw. If he ever came across Eraser looking how he did then, he probably would've peed his pants.

All he saw was pure anger on the hero's face. Tsuki must've told him what happened, that was the only explanation.

"M-maybe we should call Tsuki."

Eraser sighed beside him after a second more of glaring below and pulled out his phone. "He's here." Was all he said when the other end of the line picked up. Eraser told the detective exactly where they were, which Izuku had no idea about, and was about to hang up when Tsuki's voice sounded from the phone.

"Do not do anything stupid. I want him caught as much as you do, but nothing good will come from you acting on your emotions right now. I'm on my way. We'll get him, I promise."

The hero hung up and seemed to pout as he continued to watch the scene below.

The silence was uncomfortable. Izuku was usually good with silence, but this…this was not it. He took a second to gather whatever courage he could muster, but he ended up squeaking out a question, "So, I guess that Tsuki told you."

Eraser nodded stiffly and silence fell again. This was so not what Izuku was used to. He was used to seeing the cold and non-caring hero's warm side and this was definitely not that. Izuku was glad that he was not his enemy because just one look like that from him and Izuku thought he might cry.

Another few seconds passed before the hero turned his head to him stiffly, "Are you okay?"

Izuku stared at the hero. Whatever he had expected him to say, that was not it. "Um, yes?"

"No, like with what happened. I can't imagine what-" He cut himself off and seemed to backtrack, "I just want to make sure that you're okay."

"Yeah, I came back, didn't I?"

"That's not-" Eraser stopped and took a deep breath. "No one should be as comfortable as you are with dying. You treat it like it's just something that you do and it's not. Dying is serious."

"Look, it's really okay-"

"No. No, it is never okay. No one should ever have to go through dying over and over again, stuff like that breaks people Midoriya. Don't you understand that?"

Izuku looked the hero in the eye. They were pleading, begging him to get it. This must be something that Eraser had been wanting to talk to him about with how serious he was being, but he didn't understand. No one did, and Izuku knew that. He had accepted it a while ago.

He continued to stare at the hero, and without breaking eye contact he said it. "What if I'm already broken?"

Something flashed across Eraser's eyes and his entire face fell as he looked at Izuku's blank expression.

Before he could say anything else, something happened down below and the two tore their attention from each other to see what was going on. Tsuki had arrived and had handcuffed Conductor with a pair of quirk-suppressing cuffs.

The daylight hero protested and yelled at the detective as he dragged him into the cop car that was waiting at the entrance of the alleyway, but Tsuki stayed silent. He was probably doing it to protect himself, because he knew if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to hold back.

Two other officers came into the alley. One took care of detaining the criminal that Conductor took down and the other handled the still shaken up victim. Once Tsuki had placed the daylight hero in his police car he poked his head back into the alley and called out, "I know you're here Eraser. Meet me at the station and we'll question him together." Then he got in the car and drove away with the two officers not far behind.

Eraser sighed beside Izuku and stood from where they had been crouched. "I should go. Do you remember how to get back to the house?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay, I'll meet you back there when I'm finished. Please try to get some more sleep while I'm gone."

"Sure." And then the two of them separated and Izuku found himself on autopilot as he headed back to the apartment. He made sure to take a few of the roundabouts just in case and then before he knew it, he was standing in front of the apartment door holding the key Eraser had given him that he found a chain for and hung around his neck in his hand.

A quick turn of the key and the door handle, and Izuku was back with Loki and Milo circling his feet and rubbing their bodies against his legs.

"Hey guys, miss me?"

He knelt down to pet the two cats for a second and then he went to change out of the clothes Eraser gave him and back into the sleep clothes he had been given. He really needed to get his own clothes back.

Izuku laid down in the guest room bed and stared at the ceiling trying to will himself to sleep with no success. The two cats joined him, taking their places on his chest and against his left leg respectively.

The extra weight and presences helped any negative thoughts from getting to far, which Izuku appreciated. About two hours after Izuku had laid back down he heard the front door open and Eraser sigh as he walked through the apartment.

He carefully opened the guest bedroom door, probably hoping that Izuku had been asleep and made a face when he saw that he had not been.

"How did it go?"

"We revoked his license and are detaining him for the time being."

"That's good."

"Yeah," Eraser sighed, "He tried to lie and say that he had never encountered you, but of course Tsuki's quirk proved him wrong and everything kind of snowballed after that. We found out a lot more questionable things about him and so it's a good thing that he was stopped when he was. Things could've gotten a lot worse if he continued on as he was."

Izuku just nodded at the hero's words as he petted Milo who was stretched out across his chest.

"Do you think you'll be able to get back to sleep?"

A shake of the head and Eraser sighed.

"Alright, just don't strain yourself too much please. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

Well…Stain thought as he watched the police take Conductor away from where he had tracked him and shoved him into a car. That's going to make things a bit more difficult.

It had already been enough of a pain to finally find the hero again. After that night he kept to day patrols and Stain didn't want to risk trying to take him down in broad daylight. He had finally gone back to a night patrol, why he still had no idea, and Stain was determined to cull him.

He had to pay for his actions.

That's when he caught sight of something that made him stumble.

It was…the kid. The vigilante who was killed. He was there, perched on a roof beside Eraserhead, a hero that Stain was on the fence about. He was no All Might, but he was good in his own way. The underground hero cared nothing of publicity or fame or even the money from what he could tell. And therefore, Stain could not justify culling him…yet.

But how was this possible? How was the kid still alive? Did the hero know that he was not dead? And why was he here with Eraserhead?

So many questions, and unfortunately, he was unable to ask any of them.

The hero being taken into custody was going to be a setback, but Stain wasn't one to be easily deterred.