Hizashi stared up at the illuminated billboard, wondering what the hell he was even doing here. Beside him he knew Shouta was wondering the same thing. Neither of them had quirks particularly suited to rescue scenarios, and certainly wouldn't do any good to the ten or so people currently shuffling about dazedly on the catwalk that ran just beneath the bottom of the billboard. All attempts to call them down had been fruitless, clearly they were still under the effects of whatever quirk had possessed them to climb up there in the first place, and it was obvious they would need to be gotten down all at once or some of them might fall in the confusion. Hizashi knew he couldn't be of any help in that department, but as a hero it was his duty to help in any way he could.
A few dozen yards away, behind the police line, a news crew was setting up, and Shouta was eyeing them with distaste. They had missed the better part of the attack, including the long chase down the dark but still moderately busy street in which the villain's quirk-activation power had caused several people to lose control of their quirks, creating a great deal of chaos for the heroes to deal with before they could catch the perpetrator. The ten victims still under the effect of one of those haywire quirks was the best spectacle they could hope for, and they weren't about to miss what was left of the story. Hizashi knew the hero Eraserhead would stay as long as it took to get the victims to safety, but he also knew his friend Shouta wouldn't like being on camera.
"I could just scoop them up in my arms," argued Mount Lady, currently at her smaller size as she talked strategy with the five other heroes present, including Eraserhead and Present Mic.
"Too risky," countered Kamui Woods, shaking his head, "you'd be lucky if you didn't knock any of them off, they're not exactly going to be working with you."
He offered no alternative solution, and Hizashi privately thought he might have been stalling until the cameras were set up.
"Maybe we should just get the police to set up an air pad," Shouta said, sounding rather convincingly bored and disaffected. It would have taken someone who knew him well to see how anxious he was to have this over with.
Hizashi opened his mouth to second that idea, despite how long it would take, when suddenly a flash of movement at the police line drew his eye. He turned, just in time to see a young boy straightening from where he'd ducked under the police tape. He was short, with a mop of messy, curly green hair, and he wore a UA uniform and a look of intense determination.
"Hey kid!" called one of the cops, lunging for him, but the boy dodged nimbly between the policeman's arms and continued on toward the base of the billboard.
All of the assembled heroes were busy arguing with one another, so none of them besides Hizashi noticed the kid march quickly up to the large electrical box at the base of the billboard, beside the covered ladder that gave access to the catwalk, and pull the enormous switch that controlled the main power supply. Abruptly the bright lights that illuminated the billboard from below shut down with a loud noise of deep finality, leaving the catwalk in darkness. The attention of the rest of the heroes was caught at once, and one of them actually swore when he saw who had turned out the lights, but before any of them could move the kid pulled out a flashlight, clicked it on, and shone the beam up the covered ladder.
Hizashi looked up, following the beam of light, to see that it had become a bright spot in the midst
of the crowd on the catwalk. The victims all crowded around it, looking down the hole, and then one of them knelt and began climbing down the ladder. The covering was only a wire cage, meant to prevent accidental falls, but it kept the victim soundly in place as he calmly climbed toward the ground. As soon as there was room a woman knelt down and began climbing down as well, the clustered crowd seeming to patiently wait their turn to climb to safety.
"Kid!" called Shouta, beginning to move toward the boy, but Hizashi flung out a hand. When Shouta looked at him, Hizashi pointed up at the catwalk.
"Well . . ." said one of the others in surprise, possibly Kamui Woods.
"Never would have thought of that," said someone else, but Hizashi wasn't paying much attention.
The billboard was rooted in an alleyway between two shops along the commercial street, the base shrowded in shadow, so the kid's flashlight was the brightest point in the dark. As the victims began to get off the ladder they clustered around the kid, bumping him as they jockeyed for position, trying to get close to the light. Once there were three of them down the kid started having trouble keeping steady, as all of them were bigger than him, and he was obviously trying to make sure the light stayed in place.
"Don't just stand there!" Shouta suddenly barked, forcing his way past Hizashi's hand and making purposefully for the kid. "Help the boy!"
The rest of the heroes immediately leaped into action, each of them taking a victim by the arm and leading them gently to the small cluster of ambulances that had gathered at the edge of the police line. There were six heroes and ten victims, so four of them had to go back for more, but Hizashi and Shouta let the other heroes have the limelight as they melted into the background, eyes on the kid with the flashlight. As soon as all the victims were all safe the kid clicked off his flashlight and looked around nervously, but could see no one looking at him. Quickly he began to creep back toward the police line, obviously intent on slipping away into the crowd, and he jumped and cried out when Shouta's hand came down on his shoulder.
"Come with me," Shouta ordered sternly, and the kid gulped.
Shouta and Hizashi towed the kid behind one of the ambulances, out of sight of the cameras and most of the onlooking crowd. The kid's eyes were darting left and right as though looking for an escape, but when Shouta let go of his arm he turned to face the two heroes with a sheepish expression.
"I'm sorry," he said immediately, his voice high and anxious, "I just, I couldn't let those people get hurt, and none of the heroes were doing anything, and I just had to make sure-"
"You're not in trouble," said Shouta firmly.
The kid stopped rambling and blinked up at him, nonplussed. Hizashi didn't have to look at Shouta to see how hard his expression was. He was probably frighting the kid.
"Hey!" Hizashi struck a pose, turning on all his Present Mic charm. "That was some rockin' quick thinking you displayed just now! How'd you know that would work?"
Hizashi felt Shouta's shoulders tense almost imperceptibly at the appearance of his more flamboyant persona, but it had the desired effect. The kid relaxed, exhaling shakily, and smiled weakly up at the two heroes.
"I, uh, was there when those people got hit," he explained. "They thought they were moths, so they
were drawn to the biggest source of light. That was the billboard, so I just shut off that light and gave them something else to be drawn to."
Hizashi glanced at Shouta, who was giving the kid a contemplative look. "You go to UA," he said. It wasn't a question.
The kid gulped again. "Yes sir," he said, answering him anyway.
"I know every kid in class 1A and 1B," Shouta informed him. This was true; he and Hizashi always made it a point to know all the hero students by sight, even though it was only the end of the first week of school. "You're not in the hero course. The support course maybe?"
"No sir," the kid shook his head, "I'm in 1C, the Gen Ed course. I just like to study quirks, it's a bit of a hobby."
The kid slid his bright yellow backpack off his shoulders and opened it, tucking away the flashlight and pulling out a notebook. It was battered, and it looked almost burned in places, with what looked like water damage in others. On the cover was written 'Hero Analysis For The Future, Vol. 13' in black ink.
Shouta took the notebook and began to flip through it. His expression didn't change, but Hizashi could tell he was quite interested. He also seemed content to leave the kid and Hizashi waiting while he read, so Hizashi cast around for something to say to keep the kid from panicking. His eyes were again drawn to the cover and back cover of the notebook. He was sure those were burn marks.
"Seems like that notebook's seen better days," Hizashi said carefully. "You get into a lot of scrapes with this hobby of yours?"
"Oh no!" the kid shook his head vehemently, his dark green hair flopping back and forth. "I always stay behind the police line when I watch hero fights, I never get in the way. Well, except for that one time . . . but that's not how my notebook got messed up!"
"What happened then?" Hizashi asked, his smile firmly in place, trying to let the kid know he wasn't going to press the issue of 'that one time' any further than the kid was willing to volunteer.
The kid, however, cast his eyes down. "My friend Kacchan kinda, uh, used his quirk on it," he explained, sounding dejected. "I don't think he wanted to destroy it. He just, um, wanted to show off."
"Property damage doesn't exactly top the charts as the best way to show off your quirk," Hizashi pressed, keeping his tone light and upbeat, keeping his voice gentle.
"Yeah, well," the kid shrugged, looking more defeated than before, "that was the same day he told me to jump off the roof, so I don't think he was really worried about property damage."
Anger welled up inside Hizashi so fast he went breathless with it. He could feel his eyes narrowing, his lip curling in disgust, but the kid was still looking at the ground and didn't notice right away. He couldn't afford to let the kid see his expression, it would only frighten him more, but the mention of suicide baiting struck a chord with Hizashi in the way only true villainy tended to.
"Mic," said Shouta, pulling Hizashi's attention abruptly onto him. "There's an entry for you in here."
Hizashi blinked. "What?"
Shouta turned the notebook around, displaying the page he'd been looking at. At the top of the page was written 'Present Mic,' and halfway down the opposite page was a surprisingly detailed sketch of his speaker. His eyes flicked over the clean lines of kanji, and before he knew what he was doing he had taken the book from Shouta the better to read the analysis within. It was an incredibly sophisticated breakdown of his quirk and fighting style, noting both his strengths and his limitations. Scattered throughout the entry as well were questions, musing about the potential uses and applications of Hizashi's quirk, and whether or not he had ever considered incorporating specific moves into his fighting style. Hizashi was surprised to realize there were questions that not even he had considered. Could his quirk, potentially, do that?
"I have another entry in an earlier notebook," the kid assured him as he read. "It's from a while ago though, so I decided to update it recently. I think the original Present Mic entry is way back in journal six."
Hizashi opened his mouth to inquire how long the kid had been doing this, and how many heroes he'd practiced his analysis on, when a loud cry from the police line drew the kid's attention. Hizashi turned to look as well, to find another boy in a UA uniform, this one with purple hair sticking straight up and prominent bags under his eyes, bursting through a knot of policemen trying to hold him back. He stumbled a little, nearly falling over as his forward momentum carried him out of reach of their grasping fingers, but he quickly righted himself and sprinted the few yards to where Hizashi and Shouta stood talking to his schoolmate.
"What-" Shouta began, looking at the newcomer, but was immediately silenced as the purple haired kid bent stiffly at the waist, bowing in earnest respect to the two heroes.
"Please!" he shouted, probably louder than he'd mean to. "Please don't blame Mido for what I did!"
Hizashi and Shouta looked at each other, then back at the purple haired kid. The kid whose notebook Hizashi was holding, 'Mido' if he had to hazard a guess, looked stricken, but said nothing.
"What did you do?" Shouta asked, after a moment of silence.
The purple haired kid stiffened, but didn't rise from his bow. "It was my quirk who convinced those people they were moths," he admitted shakily. "I got hit by that villain's quirk and lost control. Thinking they were moths was the most harmless thing I could think of, and then I got separated in the crowd so they couldn't hear my voice, and-"
"Please," said Mido, interrupting his classmate to bow equally low, "don't blame Shinchan. It was my idea that we should be out here so late, and then when the fight started I wanted to get closer and see. I dragged him into the path of that villain, so if anyone's to blame it was me."
"Mido was only cleaning up my mess," Shinchan insisted. "Please don't be mad at him." "Shinchan's only here because of me," Mido countered. "Please-"
"That's enough!" said Shouta harshly, his quirk causing his eyes to go red and his hair to stand on end. The two boys' heads snapped up, both of them obviously terrified, but almost immediately Shouta dropped his quirk. "Neither of you is in trouble."
Both boys straightened, looking at each other in confusion. "Really?" asked Shinchan shakily.
"You're not going to get us in trouble?"
Hizashi struck a pose again. "Being caught in a villain attack isn't a crime!" he said, as loudly and enthusiastically as he could without drawing attention to their conversation. "No one got hurt, so it's good vibes only!"
Both boys exhaled audible, their shoulders slumping in obvious relief. Shouta gave him a look, but didn't comment on his antics. Instead he looked back at Mido.
"I just have one question," he said, making Mido tense again, and Shinchan look at him nervously. "If you two were both in the thick of it during the attack, why didn't your quirk go haywire too?"
Mido suddenly looked ashamed, eyes on his shoes and mouth twisted into a wibbling line, his cheeks growing red under their scrutiny. Hizashi wanted to say something to put the boy at ease again, but he knew Shouta wouldn't appreciate it if he didn't get his answer first.
"I, um, don't have a quirk," Mido said quietly.
Hizashi barely caught himself before letting his mouth drop open. This boy studied quirks like a professional analyst, diffused what amounted to a hostage situation with a flashlight, ran toward danger rather than away from it if it meant he might learn something . . . and he did it with no quirk at all?
Shouta took the notebook from Hizashi's slack fingers and handed it back to Mido. "Be more careful next time," he instructed both boys, and when they nodded furiously he gestured back toward the police line. "You're not in trouble so get going, I'm sure your parents are worried about you."
Neither boy needed telling twice, they turned and ran back toward the police tape, ducking under and immediately disappearing into the crowd. Shouta and Hizashi watched them go, Hizashi still in shock, Shouta with a contemplative expression.
"What's on your mind?" asked Hizashi, recovering himself after a few moments of silence.
Shouta turned, his face reverting to its usual bored expression. "Nothing," he said dismissively. "C'mon, those vultures should be clearing off soon and I don't want to get asked for an interview."
"I can't believe that happened!" Izuku exclaimed, once they were clear of the crowd and headed back towards the train station.
"I can't believe we didn't get arrested," moaned Shinsou, passing a hand over his eyes in exhaustion.
"Not that," Izuku waved him off, "I mean I can't believe we just met Present Mic and Eraserhead! I know they teach at the school, but we met them!"
"Trust you to be more interested in the heroes than the danger," Shinsou said without heat. "You could probably get attacked by a villain yourself and you'd still be more interested in who came to save you."
"C'mon," Izuku wheedled. "You're telling me you don't care at all that you met the Eraserhead? That you spoke to him, even?"
Suddenly Shinsou stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "That was my first conversation with Eraserhead," he said, staring into space in horror.
"Yep!" said Izuku brightly.
"I spoke to him, for the first time ever," Shinsou continued. "You sure did!" Izuku confirmed.
"And I was a colossal tool!" Shinsou said, slapping a hand over his face in mortification. "I was apologizing for putting people in danger! I was so nervous I barely even remember what he said to me!"
Izuku's enthusiasm faded a bit, knowing what Shinsou had to be feeling right now. He had admired Eraserhead since elementary school, and been determined to get into the UA hero course after finding out that he taught there. With his plans to get into the hero course via the sports festival, Izuku knew that he had planned out his first conversation with his would-be teacher carefully. To know that his first impression had been unfavorable had to be devastating.
However, Izuku also knew what would cheer him up.
"Well I remember what he didn't say," he said, less brightly but with a gentle nudge to Shinsou's shoulder with his own.
"What?" Shinsou asked glumly.
"He didn't say you had a villains' quirk," Izuku reminded him.
Shinsou looked up, his eyes full of realization, surprise and just a touch of wonder. "No," he said slowly, "he didn't, did he?"
Izuku gave a little snort of laughter, then took off again towards home, his best friend trailing behind him.