"Class dismissed."

As soon as the words left the teacher's mouth, Izuku threw his notebook into his bag and sprinted out the door. If I can make it out the side door before Kacchan sees me, I should be able to sneak home without confronting him.

Izuku weaved through the crowd of students as fast as he could. It was a little slower than he would have liked, as he had to go against the tide for a hallway or two, but Izuku still reached the side door rather quickly. He cracked open the door and peaked out. No one. He breathed a sigh of relief before walking outside. Then, he ducked into the bushes. Hopefully, Bakugo would give up looking for him and just head home soon, but he'd have to wait it out until then.

Izuku had already decided to take the long way home to avoid passing Bakugo's house. Plus, he got nervous walking home the normal way these days. It had been a few weeks since the sludge villain incident, but wisps of memories still haunted him whenever he passed under the bridge where he was attacked. It was hard to forget nearly dying, meeting then getting his dreams crushed by his childhood hero, and watching his ex-friend nearly die the same way, all in one day. Even the slight reasoning in his head about routes drew up memories of that awful day, but Izuku refused to retreat into his brain until he was safe at home, and alone.

He waited until the crowd of students had essentially dispersed, then peaked out. He didn't see any threats and started the long walk home. He had nearly reached the turn when the school would finally be out of sight, when he heard something. He couldn't identify it immediately, but it made his gut clench. Trusting his instincts, Izuku ducked down just in time to miss an explosion fired from Bakugo's palm.

"There you are, nerd! We're not done yet!" He yelled.

"Bakugo!" Izuku cried, dodging another punch.

"Mr. Watanabe isn't here to save you anymore, Deku," Bakugo growled before sending an explosion boosted elbow directly into Izuku's nose. It hit hard, and Izuku stumbled a bit from the blow. "How can you expect to become a hero when you can't even defend yourself?" A punch to the gut. "Just give it up!" An explosion at his face. He chose to dodge that one. "Quirklesses like you never amount to anything!" Izuku flinched, but he expected this sort of behavior at this point. He used to run, used to fight back, but no matter what he did, Bakugo always found a way to beat him. The easiest, most painless way was just to sit through it until he was through.

"Just get it through your thick skull: your only hope of being useful is to take a swan dive off the roof of a building! Then no one will have to look at that ugly mug of yours. Maybe you'll even be reborn with a quirk in your next life and actually be worth something." With that, Bakugo walked off, leaving Izuku alone.

What to do when I get home? Izuku thought, staring at the ground. I think I still have that paper to write for Mr. Watanabe. He pinched the bridge of his no-longer-bleeding nose, instantly regretting it after it sent a shock of pain through his face. He was avoiding thinking about the incident, and he knew it. He had still decided to walk home the long way; no way was he risking accidentally catching up to Bakugo. They had lived in the same neighborhood since they were kids, and it wasn't uncommon for them to bump into each other on the way home from school, as much as Izuku tried to avoid it. Usually, Bakugo only beat him up once, maybe twice a day, but he seemed angrier than norm-

"Take a swan dive off the roof of a building!" Izuku flinched as the words rang through his ears. He tried to just brush it off, but...

"Quirkless?! How useless could you possibly be?!" "Those without quirks function at a natural disadvantage." "A quirkless hero? Ridiculous!" "Not without a quirk." "You'll die the instant you step outside!" "Wuss!" "Deku!" "Idiot!" "Worthless!" "Take a swan dive-!" "Take a swan dive-!" "Take a swan dive-!" "Take a swan dive-!"

Izuku gripped his head, trying to squish the unwanted thoughts out of his brain. Maybe... He shook his head. Hard. No, there was no way he could leave his mom alone like that. He looked up from the ground. If he could just make it home, then he could distract himself with his homework. With that, he pushed the unwanted thoughts to the back of his mind and started walking faster.

He was so focused on not thinking that he didn't notice someone sneaking up behind him. He did notice when that someone grabbed him by the arm and harshly dragged him into an alleyway. He yelped as he was thrown into the wall.

"It's nothing personal, kid." Izuku looked up to see a man made of shadows. He wore a jaunty fedora and a few bits of leather armor on his arms and torso. He had no legs to speak of, just a pillar of shadow that melded with the gloom of the alley. "I just need a bit of cash. Now hand over all you have."

Crap. Izuku's head was throbbing. He's pretty strong. What do I do? His outline is pretty wispy; it looks like his mutation quirk renders him incorporeal. He grabbed me earlier, so he can at least make himself physical. Though he is wearing armor, so maybe his arms and torso are always solid. If I can run out of the alley, maybe the sunlight will help deter him, since he's made of shadows. But if it doesn't deter him, I don't think there was anyone around who could help me. Then again, I didn't think he was there either.

"Hurry it up, kid. I'm on a tight schedule." The man growled. "Wallet, now!"

Izuku flinched. He suddenly saw a black blur rush along the rooftop. He instantly recognized the garb of an underground hero, though which one, he wasn't sure. Regardless, it looked like they had spotted him. His mind raced too fast for words and came up with a plan. His face shifted into the familiar mask of scared compliance as he slowly took off his backpack. He rummaged around in it, pretending to look for his wallet, but never took his eyes off the shadow man. He just had to wait until... there! The man lowered his guard slightly, and Izuku sprang into action. He leapt up and kicked the man as hard as he could in the stomach. He reeled, and Izuku took off, sprinting for the alleyway exit. In his hand was clutched a pair of scissors, ready to be used as a weapon if need be. He heard a thump behind him, but didn't look until he was out of the alleyway and in the sun. He turned around to see the shadow man restrained in the hero's gray scarf. No, not scarf, his capture weapon Izuku realized, recognizing the hero's floating hair, yellow goggles, and glowing red eyes. That's Eraserhead, the Erasure Hero! Oh my goodness! I can't believe it's really him! But I didn't realize he was in the area; his patrol's normally a bit more south than here.

Izuku's thoughts were bouncing all over the place. Eraserhead looked up, seeming to hear Izuku's thoughts. His face was unreadable. Stupid muttering habit.

"Uhh... Thank you." Izuku managed to squeak out. The underground hero simply nodded, then used his capture weapon to pull himself back onto the roof, villain in tow. In a second, he'd disappeared as quietly as he appeared.

Author's Note:

Holy crap, I was not expecting to have this many follows & favorites already. Only 4 & 2 respectively, but still. Thanks y'all!