The pro heroes ask Eraserhead about the vigilantes. Izuku and Ochako have a short conversation with Katsuki's classmates and upperclassmen. And Shouta realizes he is very much not caffeinated enough for this.
"Eraser…explain," Ryukyu ordered, her voice soft but full of steel. Shouta sighed internally. After managing to convince the two vigilantes to take a break in one of the side rooms while he dealt with finalizing the paperwork, he was cornered by four of the other heroes: Ryukyu, Fat Gum, Rock Lock, and Nighteye himself.
"Yeah, please please tell me those kids are older than they look," Fat Gum said pleadingly, but his face fell at Shouta's perfectly blank expression.
Rock worked his jaw for a moment, speaking in a tightly controlled voice. "We've been hearing about Zero and Specter for over four years. How old are they?"
"Right now? Fifteen, sixteen-ish." All four of them stared at him, and he could practically see the questions so he decided to cut them off with a loud sigh. "Look, I can only tell you so much, because if I betray their trust we will never be able to help them. So don't get angry with me for being vague. They don't want their story bandied about and I'm trying to get them to trust me so I can help them but I can't do that if I go around telling all their secrets behind their backs."
Ryukyu pursed her lips, before letting out an exhausted breath. "Very well. What can you tell us?"
"What's in the official record. Their families were killed by Yakuza, at different times. They aren't sure which syndicates though, so they don't know if it's the same one or different. In both of their cases they barely managed to escape, and they had to live on the streets out of fear. Eventually, well…they started down the path they are on."
"...how old were they when it happened?" Nighteye asked quietly.
"Nine."
"...are you freaking kidding me?" Rock replied, his eye twitching, anger in his voice.
Eraser gave him a quelling look. "Obviously not." He paused, before continuing in a soft tone. "They are two hurting, scared, angry teenagers with very powerful Quirks that are far stronger in conjunction with one another. They are obsessively in love with one another because each other is all they've had for years. They have an understandable vendetta against organized crime and they have few stipulations about doing what it takes to take them down. And while I cannot be sure, I…suspect they both are aware this is a path with only one outcome, and they have accepted it."
There was silence between the five heroes for a long minute, before Ryukyu asked "How can we help them?"
Shouta ran one hand through his messy hair. "Right now? You can't. The only reason they are staying with me right now is they have no choice in the matter."
"Wait, they're staying with you?" Fat Gum asked, blinking in confusion.
Shouta nodded. "You heard about the warehouse bombing?"
"Of course?" Nighteye said, arching an eyebrow in question. "What does that have to do with this?"
Shouta gestured behind him, vaguely in the direction of the vigilantes. "They were the targets. It was their home base. It nearly got them killed, and we barely got to them in time. The police are chasing down leads, and since we knew if we tried to put them in protective custody they'd fight tooth and nail to escape, I offered to have them stay with me since I had a rapport with them."
Nighteye blinked at him. "You? You, Eraserhead, are currently watching two teenaged vigilantes and the experimented on child from the Shie Hassaikai?"
"With my husband's help, yes."
Nighteye stared blankly at him for a moment, before letting out a tiny snort of amusement. "I almost feel bad for you."
Shouta rolled his eyes, letting the smallest smirk cross his face in return. "They aren't making it easy, that's for sure. But it's been fine. They're good kids, deep down. You should see them with Eri, it's actually kind of cute. And Specter relaxes a lot more when Bakugo is around."
"Bakugo? That's the one Togata took under his wing, isn't it?" Ryukyu asked, looking at Nighteye.
Nighteye nodded, confusion evident on his face. "Yes…why is he special?"
Shouta shrugged. "Turns out Specter is Bakugo's childhood best friend. That was a hell of a surprise, let me tell you. Bakugo chased him out the window and nearly punched his head off for being gone so long."
"And Specter is…okay, with that?" Fat Gum asked uneasily.
"There's…a whole lot between the two of them," Shouta sighed. He ran his hand through his hair, considering what he could say, but with it being in the official record…"Bakugo is the one who found Specter's mother's body. He went over to see why his friend wasn't in school that day and, well…"
"When he was nine?" Rock asked incredulously. Shouta nodded silently in response.
Nighteye pinched his brow. "Well…that explains what Mirio was saying. He asked Bakugo why he wanted to be a hero, and he said because he couldn't help someone when he was young, and he never wanted anyone else to have to feel that way. I suppose it also explains why Bakugo's been in a much better mood than I've ever seen him before."
There was a pause, Ryukyu breaking it after a few moments. "Is it normal that they won't let go of one another?"
Shouta blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Since they entered the building, they never stopped touching one another. Either their hands were clasped or even when they let go, they had their legs pressed together. It was very deliberate," she said.
Shouta took a moment to think about it. He knew they panicked when they'd been apart in the hospital room, and while they were staying with him…had they separated? They had before, he knew that; a few times they'd been apart from one another in their first stay when they found Eri. But since the bombing, he just now realized he was pretty sure that every time he saw them, they were touching in some way. But wait, he knew they split up when they were just with Eri, Eri had mentioned Izuku making food while Ochako was talking to her. So…ah. Anytime an adult was around they wouldn't let go of one another. Fuck.
He got it now. Not only had they nearly lost one another from the bombing, but the threat of being taken into custody and separated still loomed over them. Shit shit shit. But lying to them about it would have been worse, he was sure of that too. They didn't care about being separated around Eri. She wasn't a threat to them. But he and Hizashi were…at least in their minds. Damn it! He had no idea how to work around that, but he knew he'd have to in order to gain their trust somehow.
He shook his head, knowing the others were waiting for a response. "It's…a process. They nearly died during the bombing. Zero…Zero had to drag Specter blocks away while he was bleeding out and she had a broken leg. She didn't take it well."
He didn't have to hear their words to know the thoughts his fellow heroes had. Children shouldn't be carrying bleeding children in their arms, and that was something any good hero would believe. But also like any hero…they knew when to let something go.
"Very well. I understand now. Thank you for explaining it, Eraser. I know you said we can't help right now, but I feel I speak for us all when I say if you need any assistance, feel free to reach out," Ryukyu said quietly, the other heroes quickly adding their own affirmations.
"Thanks. If I think of anything, I'll let you know," he replied.
Fat Gum scratched the back of his head. "You know…they are pretty darn strong. After they heal up and the bombing thing is all resolved, are you…?"
"Going to try to convince them to join the Hero Course?" Shouta replied bluntly. Fat Gum smiled sheepishly but nodded. Shouta shrugged. "I've had discussions with Nezu about it. I know that both Specter and Zero were fans of certain heroes as children. Hell, I think Specter's as big of an All Might fan as Bakugo is, and that's saying something." Nighteye's lip twitched, whether it was a frown or a smirk Shouta wasn't quite sure of yet. "There's no denying they are skilled. They have the talent and the drive. But they lack the ability to follow the rules. They've made a lot of scathing comments about police corruption and bureaucratic red tape. And that all requires I even can convince them to stop chasing their revenge."
"Revenge? Not justice?" Rock Lock asked, arching an eyebrow.
Shouta nodded. "Too much anger to be justice. Far too much. And if you ask them…well, they don't really hide their goals. They want all organized crime wiped off the map."
"That's impossible," Nighteye scoffed. "A child's idea of the future."
"They are children," Ryukyu gently rebuked.
"Oh trust me, they are aware they won't succeed. That's the problem. Their 'ideal' is destroying every syndicate they can while fully aware that they can't win and will eventually get stopped. And they know exactly what it means to be stopped," Shouta said quietly.
"You genuinely think they are prepared to die for their mission?" Nighteye asked.
Shouta nodded solemnly. "Yes. I do."
"...I'm gonna preface what I'm about to say with the fact that I'm not pissed at you or the kids, because I can see how they got to that point. But fuck that," Rock Lock seethed. "That's fucking bullshit! And you're telling me we can't do shit about it?"
"Right now? No. Not until I can get them to open up. To consider other paths. But I promise you, I'm trying my damndest."
Rock Lock waved him off. "'Course you are, never doubted that for a second."
"Alright. There isn't much point in us constantly going over this. You say you have this in hand, and I trust you. I just…hope you succeed. Children should get to be children," Ryukyu said quietly.
The others agreed, before breaking off. They'd said what they needed to, and understood the scenario better. Now, Shouta had to go check in on his charges and pray no one had set them off.
"Would you two fucking quit twitching?!" Katsuki growled, glaring at Izuku and Ochako.
"Mind yer own business, Kacchan," Ochako shot back, glaring back.
"It is my business when you're already pushing yourselves like idiots," he retorted, making the two glaring teenagers start to grind their teeth at one another.
Izuku sighed, pulling Ochako back to his side as he sent a quelling look at Katsuki. "Okay you two, c'mon, chill out."
"Hmph! Yer lucky I'm injured," Ochako muttered, letting herself be pulled into Izuku's side, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Hah! Oh, you wanna go there Cheeks? Okay, second you're cleared by the old lady, you and me, one v one!"
"Oh you are fuckin' on!"
"...I regret ever letting you two meet."
Eijiro offered a very hesitant smile as he interjected into the brewing argument. "Um…you sure Sensei'll let you, Kats?"
"What, Eraser? He better! I ain't lettin' him tell me I can't punch Kacchan in the face!" Ochako said, waving her hand in Katsuki's general direction.
"Oh I cannot fucking wait to see how good you really are" Katsuki growled, leaning back on the office couch he was sprawled on.
"She's amazing, Kacchan. You won't be disappointed," Izuku replied with a beaming grin.
Tsuyu put her finger up against her lip, tilting her head to the side. "You seem as excited about them fighting as they are, ribbit."
"Kacchan just wants to see how good Mochi is, and she just wants to show off. I'm just happy they are getting along!"
"...this is getting along?" Tamaki murmured quietly, resolutely staring at the table before him.
Ochako waved in his general direction. "It's easy, Suneater. Kacchan was Deku's best friend growin' up. I trust him. I just wanna show him how good I am, and make sure he knows I can protect Deku."
"Oh, you actually were paying attention to our hero names?" Nejire asked, floating off her seat slightly as she beamed at the cuddling vigilantes.
"We already knew them before we came in here. You're the Big Three, of course we know who you are," Izuku said, giving a one-shouldered shrug.
"You pay attention to what happens at UA?" Mirio asked.
"We gotta know as much as possible to do our jobs," Ochako replied.
"What exactly do you guys do? Like, I know you're vigilantes but like, what's that mean?" Nejire asked.
"...you don't know what that is, ribbit?" Tsuyu asked, looking at her senior in confusion.
"I mean I know the textbook definition, but like, the details! Like what they do, how they work, how they live, how-"
"We'd rather not go into detail," Izuku interjected smoothly. "Besides, you saw our handiwork in the meeting."
The room fell silent at that, most of the hero students looking a bit awkward considering how they recalled what the duo had said.
Eijiro bit his lip, a bit too curious not to ask, and considering how worried Katsuki was about them… "So uh…you really don't care that people mighta died?" Katsuki sat upright, eyes going wide, about to try and cut Eijiro off, but he wasn't able to say anything before Izuku's low, cold voice spoke out.
"Yakuza aren't people. They are a blight. They have no excuse for what they do. Some villains are just desperate, or abused and hurt and lashing out. Some bad guys get in too deep on accident. Some of them get addicted to drugs or other stuff. They all have reasons. Things aren't black and white and we know it. But Yakuza? Organized crime is by its very definition planned, premeditated, plotted out in backroom dealings and alleys. They know exactly what they are doing and they do it solely to enrich themselves by hurting others. We don't give two shits about if they die, and the world would be a better place if more of them did!"
"You got no clue what those bastards did to Eri. We saw the tapes. The records. All the notes. We burned every last piece of their research down, 'cause it was fuckin' awful," Ochako added, her face fallen to a flat, cold glare. "And after what they did to my fuckin' parents-" she cut herself off as her voice rose to a growl, her fists clenching in her lap before she turned away from everyone, burying her face in Izuku's shoulder and refusing to look up.
He wrapped his arms around her, his narrowed eyes frosted over as he stared down the other students in the room, almost daring them to condemn them further. Katsuki looked on the edge of his seat, unsure what to say, when Eijiro held his hands up in a placating way, a nervous grin on his face.
"Sorry, sorry! Sore subject. I wasn't trying to accuse you or anything. I just…I guess I just don't really get it, is all. Was curious. I'm sorry."
Izuku stared him down for a moment, before his shoulders relaxed slightly as he let out a soft puff of air. "...yeah. I get it. You're hero students. It's different for you. We're not stupid, we know our views are antithetical to how you guys see things. It's fine."
"But you know, if you ever became heroes, you'd have to follow those same rules, ribbit," Tsuyu said, tapping at her lip.
Ochako snorted, lifting her head slightly to look back at Tsuyu. "An' that's why we ain't never gonna be heroes. Hero work ain't for us, and we ain't good for that. We're basically villains to the world anyways. Y'all can do it just fine, and if Kacchan likes ye we know ye'll be good heroes anyways. Don't you worry about us none."
"You put a lot of faith in Bakugo's opinion," Mirio remarked, looking back and forth between the silent blond and the cuddling vigilantes.
"Kacchan is Deku's best friend, besides me. Deku trusts him, so I do."
Katsuki scoffed. "I'm the number one best friend, get it right."
"I'm the girlfriend, I get priority!"
"Bullshit, that means you're in a different category!"
"Nuh-uh, that doesn't take me outta the runnin' for that spot!"
"Stop being fucking greedy!"
"Make me you bomberanian!"
"Oh you are so fucking on!"
Izuku snickered, tension slowly bleeding out of the room as everyone watched Ochako and Katsuki bicker and snip at one another. Further conversation was interrupted by Shouta's arrival, opening the door to the small office and looking like he'd aged ten years since they last saw him. He arched an eyebrow at Ochako and Katsuki, the two of them currently glaring at one another while Izuku chuckled at Ochako's side.
"Do I want to know?" he asked with an exhausted sigh.
"Probably not," Izuku replied. He rolled his neck side to side and gently patted Ochako on the shoulder. "So, we heading out?"
"Yeah, in a minute. If you want to head down to the car you can, I need to make sure everyone's with their mentors before I can leave," Shouta replied.
Izuku nodded, and with great effort, the two vigilantes managed to get to their feet, swaying as they stood upright. Eijiro and Mirio both made an aborted attempt to reach out and help, but Katsuki blocked them from doing so and shook his head no. Ochako shot the blond a thankful look, before the two shuffled out of the room, the door closing behind them as the sounds of their footsteps faded down the hallway.
Shouta was already prepared, holding a hand up to stop any questions as soon as the duo was out of earshot. He sighed. "I imagine you have many questions, but I can't really answer any of them. If Zero and Specter want to share their stories, they will. And don't pester Bakugo for the stories either."
"Wait, you know?" Eijiro asked, looking at his friend.
Katsuki rolled his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. "Of course I know. Deku told me at the same time he told Sensei. But I won't fucking betray his trust. Look, I get that it's weird, to be around them knowing what they said and shit. But just…they got their reasons for being so angry, okay?"
"I'm not judging!" Eijiro quickly replied, holding his hands up. "I'm just worried, that's all."
"Hmph. Join the club," Katsuki muttered, looking down at the ground.
Shouta sighed once more. "We'll discuss more about vigilantes and such in class. For now, you all need to get back to your mentors and continue your work studies. With the Hassaikai case closed, hopefully you can get a normal work study for once."
"I feel like you just cursed us, Sensei," Tsuyu replied with a deadpan croak.
"...I need more coffee," was Shouta's only response, rubbing his forehead. "Alright problem children, back to your mentors. I'll see you back at the dorms."