After finishing his four-hour shift, he trudged through the rain-soaked streets, heading back to the small apartment he shared with his mother. When he opened the door, he was greeted with Memories flooded back of a time when their apartment was filled with laughter and love. His father used to pick him up from daycare and take him to the park, buying him the latest All Might merchandise. He would surprise his mother during work and take her out for lunch and bringing her flowers. Unfortunately, everything changed after he was diagnosed as Quirkless. As time passed, the trips to the US grew longer and more frequent, until eventually he was spending most of his time overseas, returning only when strictly necessary.
When his father returned from his trip to America, the once tranquil and harmonious ambiance of the house was replaced with a palpable tension. The air was filled with awkward silences that were occasionally interrupted by the sound of their late-night arguments.
Despite his mother's effort to shield him from the harsh realities of their relationship, it was hard to ignore the distinct sound of his mother's quiet sobs after his father had fled the apartment amidst angry shouts. Not long afterwards, he had informed his mom that he would be relocating to Los Angeles permanently.
Izuku could still recall the argument that ensued, Inko's desperate attempts to salvage their disintegrating relationship for the sake of her son, but it had been clear to everyone around that the man she had married was gone, if he had ever truly existed. The following weeks saw an abundance of tears, hugs, and reassurances, his mother never once allowed Izuku to blame himself for his father's failings.
Deep down in his young heart, Izuku had always known that his father would never return, but that did not stop him from wishing for that impossible dream. He was just shy of seven years old when he finally had come to accept that his father was not coming back, and that all he could do was move on.
Throughout this difficult time, his mother had been his unwavering source of strength. She held him close during his nightmares, fostered his interests, and did her utmost to provide for them both. He recognized that this was what good mothers do, but he also knew that it was not uncommon for parents to give up their children for adoption after they had been diagnosed as Quirkless or were shown to have a dangerous quirk or mutation. Izuku loved his mother deeply and knew firsthand how difficult it was for her to keep their family together despite the cruel judgment of others. He secretly resented the sadness that would creep into her eyes when he talked about his future and about heroes, but despite it all, Izuku loved his mother and appreciated everything she sacrificed to provide for him.
This is why Izuku never divulged the full extent of his bullying at school, although his mother was aware that he was an outsider who was sometimes verbally insulted by his classmates, he never breathed a word about the extent of his mistreatment or the deteriorating relationship between himself and Kachan. His Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Massaru had been a lifeline for his mother after his father left, and he knew that if he were to tell her the truth, she would confront Mitsuki, and their long-standing friendship would most likely shatter. He refused to lay that burden at his mother's feet, not after everything that had already occurred with his father. He had once talked to his Aunt Mitsuki, who had given Kachan a piece of her mind, but their relationship had only further frayed since then. If he were to tell her the whole truth, Mitsuki would either kill Kachan or Kachan would kill him. It was simpler to just distance himself from the explosive blonde then to cause further grief to his family.
He quickly reheated his dinner and made himself another cup of coffee, silently thanking the kami for the existence of coffee, he would never survive his nightly excursions otherwise. He was just glad his mother wasn't here to give him yet another lecture on his caffeine intake, which, in his humble opinion, wasn't too excessive at three cups a day. Rumors had it that Hawks drank more than twice the amount on a daily basis and anyway he only drank coffee like this during stakeouts, so while he appreciated his mother's concern, he felt it was rather unnecessary.
Once in his safe haven, he powered up his computer. The dossier he'd been compiling on the All Might Case was coming along nicely. To ensure that none of the confidential information could be leaked, he had made sure to encrypt all of his files as well as storing his data on a specially designed flash drive which he kept in a custom-made safety deposit box along with the photographs he had already taken of All Might.
He sipped on his coffee while pulling up All Might's patrol route file. As far as Izuku could determine, everything was very routine, but with All Might one could never be entirely sure. All Might was known to abandon his normal patrol routes to assist other heroes or random citizens. But Izuku was confident that with today's data, he would be able to keep up with the number one hero. He just needed to ensure he wouldn't be detected. The last time he had been on an intel-gathering mission, he had been caught by the Vigilante Knuckleduster. Knuckleduster had been less than pleased when he realized that Izuku had only been thirteen at the time.
Thankfully, instead of handing him over to the police, Knuckleduster had taken him home and patiently answered all of Izuku's many questions.
Izuku had been fascinated by Knuckleduster, who continued his fight against villains as a vigilante after losing his powers in a previous fight. Izuku was still unsure how that was possible, but he found Knuckleduster's determination and heroism to be amazing.
Inspired by him, Izuku had taken up vigilantism himself, although his costume left much to be desired and his first attempt at vigilantism, trying to stop a purse thief, had left him bloody and bruised. Sadly, the thief, who had an agility quirk and had gotten away with the old lady's purse. After that most heroic action had been locating lost cats and cleaning up the local park. But still, Izuku believed that every effort counted.
Tonight, he would officially begin Operation Peace, he just had to make sure to be home before his mom came back, he looked at his watch, which should leave him about four hours. Carefully removing the stick he made sure to put it into the box before grabbing his backpack and his camera, heading back out into the cold rainy night.
Two hours later, Izuku sat huddled on a rooftop, watching the fight below him. All Might had successfully taken down the gang members and was now in the process of tying them up for the police. He had managed to get some nice pictures, but no new information, it was frustrating. Maybe he could just secretly follow the hero and get some information that way,but there was always the chance of getting caught and Izuku did not fancy having to explain his presence to his favorite hero. He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not hear the arrival of someone else on this roof.
"What are you doing here at this hour of the night?"
He was so startled that he took two steps forwards, nearly falling off the roof. He felt two strong hands grab him by his hoodie, pulling him back to safety.
The figure had long strangely black hair and was dressed all in black apart from the white scarf around his neck. If this was a hero, it was not one he recognized. His eyes flashed red and Izuku shrank under his steady gaze.
"Kid, what the hell do you think you're doing? How did you even get up here? You know that you are not allowed to use your Quirk outside of designated training, right?"
"I don't have a Quirk," Izuku blurted out. He had no idea why he had said that, hist head was spinning. The man's eyebrows raised, and he thought he saw the familiar pity in the man's eyes, but he couldn't be sure.
He looked Izuku up and down and when he spoke his voice was a lot softer, tinged with a pity Izuku hated. "I know things are not always easy for...people like you, but that is not an option you want to take, believe me. I have lost friends before, not to suicide, but believe me there is always someone who will miss you. your life should not be thrown away carelessly" Izuku blushed scarlet.
"I didn't... I wasn't," Izuku stammered.
He was all too aware of the statistics on suicide among Quirkless individuals. The facts had been drilled into him by teachers, classmates, and even potential employers. Sometimes, in the dark solitude of his room after a day of being mistreated, the thought would creep in—of going for a swim from which he'd never return. These thoughts came easily to him in those moments. But then, he would think about his mother, Aunt Mitsuki, Uncle Massaru, and even Kachan. Each time, he'd decide it wasn't worth it and that he'd keep fighting to show them his capabilities.
The stranger raised the other eyebrow, "Then what in the world are you doing on a rooftop at 10pm on a weekday night, you can't be older than fifteen."
Izuku blushed again "I was watching the fight between All Might and the Yakuza" he pointed at the camera he was wearing around his neck "I was taking pictures for the All Might Picture Contest. See?", he showed him one of the non-risky pictures he had taken of All Might during his fight. It showed him in in the middle of delivering one of his famous California Smashes"
The stranger rubbed his nose with his free hand and Izuku could hear him mutter "Of course, the idiot would put kids in danger for his own ego."
A sudden anger rose in his chest like nausea. He was about to tell the stranger to fuck off, but decided against it, he would only get into more trouble just in case this was a hero.
"It's not like it was his idea", he muttered under his breath, though he was sure the man could hear him, "the contest was created by Sir Nighteye, I don't think he is personally involved."
He thought about escaping, but again the thought of getting into trouble with a potential hero held him back.
"I was safe before you showed up" that statement received only a short from the man behind him.
"Yes, your situational awareness leaves much to be desired" Izuku was not about to disagree, but in his defense, he had not thought that this roof would be used by anyone but him tonight.
"I was about to go home", it was a weak lie and Izuku was sure the man could see right through it.
"Right... and I'm secretly Midnight". The tight grip he held Izuku in did not waver, as if not quite believing that he was not about to throw himself off the edge. Panic gripped Izuku, if he lost All Might's trail now it would take considerable effort to find him again. He had to get the man to let him go, but how? He was sure the man was not a villain, or he would not have tried to save him. Perhaps he was a vigilante like Knuckleduster? He wrecked his brain, he was sure he had seen him before, he just couldn't put his finger on it, it was so frustrating.
He tried again, making his voice small and desperate.
"Please Sir I promise, if you let me go, I'll go straight home."
All he got in return was a snort.
"Pull the other one. You will be going home, if I must drag you there myself. You will not be camping out on any more rooftops for a silly picture, do you understand?"
Izuku nodded and the man held the door open, waiting for him to descend the stairs before joining him in the dark and musty stairway. Izuku briefly entertained the thought of escaping, but quickly dismissed it as an unrealistic option given the circumstances. Instead, he focused on the man's identity. So, the man was a hero after all. Izuku mentally scrolled through a list of all the heroes he knew, but he was unable to match the man to any of them.
Suddenly, a noise in the darkness jolted Izuku out of his reverie. Positioned at the bottom of the stairs was a man dressed in a tattered suit, a cruel smile adorning his lips as he stared up at Izuku.
Izuku stood paralyzed with terror. His only escape route had been blocked, leaving him with no way out. Although he knew his martial art skills may not save him, he refused to die here in the dark surrounded by strangers. His heart drummed in his chest, like the wings of a bird struggling to take flight. Desperately, he darted to the side to dodge the impending strike that was aimed at his head. Razor-sharp claws made from pure energy grazed against the wall, narrowly missing his face by a mere inch and leaving large scorch marks in the wall.
Izuku surveyed the battlefield, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how to take down the villain blocking his path. The ere light of their energy construct glinted menacingly and he could almost feel their power radiating outwards in a deadly aura. A direct attack was out of the question, but Izuku refused to give up. He could tire him out by staying just out of range, or maybe he could create a distraction to throw him off balance. The possibilities raced through his mind as he prepared for his next attack. Tiring him out would be next to impossible, Izuku surmised, since the small corridor did not leave a lot of space to maneuver. He looked around the room, finding nothing he could use. Ducking under an oncoming strike he feigned a retreat trying to get onto higher ground.
Before he could make another move the Hero from the roof stepped in front of him, shielding him from further attacks. His glowing red eyes were locked on the villain and the next attack. In a flurry of movements, he saw the man deliver a powerful kick to the villains that caught him straight in the chest. He let out a howl and prepared to lounge at him.
Despite his fear and adrenaline, Izuku couldn't help but feel in awe of the other man's abilities. His movements were precise and controlled, a sight to behold.
The villain snarled and charged them, but instead of the terrifying energy construct he had used before, there were merely ripples of energies around his body, almost as if someone had switched off his Quirk.
A realization hit him, "Eraserhead.", Izuku whispered under his breath. It all made sense why he had not been able to place him. Eraserhead was an underground hero who tended to stay out of the limelight, taking on small-time villains, gangs, and common criminals that often slipped under the radar of limelight heroes. They walked the fine line between heroes and vigilantes and often operated outside the traditional hero system, collaborating with both public heroes as well as vigilantes.
It explained why he had not been able to place him, since he, like most Underground Heroes, tended to stay out of the limelight as much as possible, taking on small-time villains, gangs and common criminals that often slipped under the radar of Limelight walked the fine line between Heroes and Vigilantes and often operated outside the traditional Hero system collaborating both with public Heroes as well as Vigilantes. Sadly, there was not much information on Eraserhead that could be found, not even his real name. All that was known was that his Quirk had the ability to cancel out.
It was evident that the villain was no longer a significant threat without his Quirk. Eraserhead, with some assistance from Izuku, soon took him down. Izuku felt a sense of relief. "It's over, I'm safe", he thought. He had fought alongside a hero and won. Though Eraserhead had done most of the work, Izuku felt pride in himself. Maybe his dream of becoming a hero wasn't so far-fetched after all.
Eraserhead turned to him, his expression unreadable behind the goggles.
"Are you alright?" His voice was gruff from the fight and his eyes were rimmed with red.
Izuku nodded, his voice still hoarse from fear.
"Let's get you home kid. What about him?" Izuku pointed at the unconscious man. "Shouldn't we inform All Might about..."
The Hero nodded. "The police have been notified and they will arrive shortly."
Izuku felt panic rise within him. Of because he would call the police to take care of the villains and what would they say if they saw Izuku.
He had to get away before the police arrived. Eraserhead wouldn't get him in trouble, but the police would definitely take him to the station to questions and then they would call his mother who would kill him if they knew what he had been up to.
He bolted out of the door before the astonished hero could grab him. He ran until he thought his legs would give way, and his stomach bubbled with nausea. He sincerely hoped that Eraserhead wouldn't be looking for him. He was already going to be in trouble as it was, and he didn't need to add to it. No, he had to get back to his task. It was time to get back to work after the distracting events on the rooftop.
Notes: Well, this chapter was a doozy, but at least I got it finished in time, well sort of. I'm halfway done with Chapter three so hopefully it should be out soonish. I hope you enjoyed it. Comments are always welcome. Have a day Byeee