Chapter Text
Green Haze never left the forefront of Shouta's mind.
He couldn't help it, after that night...he was just a kid.
A kid.
Shouta often didn't get distracted by things like this. He encountered many kids that had wanted to make a change, many kids who had found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Hell, he was a teacher. He usually expelled kids like Green Haze.
They usually didn't cut it out in a world like their own, so focused on quirks and flashiness. They never stopped to consider--
He scowled from underneath his capture scarf, rubbing at his sore temple.
Green Haze hadn't been spotted since that incident with the three villains, which occurred a month ago, give or take a few days.
It left something heavy weighing in Shouta's stomach, unsettling the man more and more as he went through his daily routine. As the days passed. As the weather grew colder and colder, moving into winter.
From the split-second view he'd gotten, the flash of lightning crackling overheard and providing that slither of light...the kid hadn't looked so good.
Where were his parents?
Maybe he finally decided to go home, maybe he thought vigilante work wasn't for him.
As Shouta's tired eyes scanned the night-shrouded streets, not a flicker of other life in sight, he could only hold back the dreary, awful feeling that something was wrong. He'd contacted Tsukauchi back when they'd taken out the villains - he'd said the kid had ran off, and he couldn't follow because of his injuries.
Detective Tsukauchi had said he'd look into it, but...
Shouta was almost tempted to get Hizashi in on the whole thing...despite how loud and annoying his friend could be (although a welcome distraction, sometimes), he knew the voice hero had a way with kids. Hell, Green Haze might even be excited to meet someone like that. Hizashi knew his way around people in general, much the opposite of Shouta himself.
He didn't know how the detective would take to that, considering that his friend wasn't as much of an underground hero as he was...but it wouldn't hurt to have someone who could talk to kids. Who knew who exactly was hidden under the disguise of Green Haze...Shouta surely wasn't qualified for such possibilities, right?
He knew the Hero Commission would say otherwise - not that he appreciated their words on any given day.
Ugh, just the mere thought of them made his skin crawl.
Shouta passed under a flickering street light, only now just aware of the soft ringtone coming from his phone, placed in his belt so he didn't get too distracted. He almost wanted to groan at the sound.
3 am already? Patrol's over...and still no sign of the kid.
The erasure hero scanned the empty streets once more, feeling as if he hadn't really accomplished anything in his search.
Still nothing. This had been his schedule for the past month, since he had recovered, and still nothing.
He paused in the middle of the street, his heavy-lidded gaze slowly drifting upwards to stare at the dark sky, the half-moon covered by shadowy foreboding clouds. The winter chill bit at his skin, and finally with a huff, he set his sights forward, flicking his capture scarf out and wrapping it around the nearest lamppost.
The kid will be fine. If he's a vigilante, he has some sort of survival skill, the man assured himself, hauling himself up to begin his journey home.
That still didn't stop the secondary thoughts in his head, and the voice that told him oh just how wrong he was.
But the man shook his head as he moved through the sky, using his scarf to maneuver himself. His shift was over - Green Haze could be a problem for, yet again, future Shouta. For now? He just wanted to go home and rest, hopefully willing the bad feelings about this all away in the process.
The journey home provided nothing, the early morning falling silent with the dreariness catching up to Shouta. Exhausted and sore, despite not having taken down more then a small-time robber, he couldn't wait to get into bed and have a few hours of rest - better yet, it was Sunday. The one day where there was no teaching.
Stepping quietly, he watched the lights flickering above his apartment building, and as he began to ascend the stairs he could only think of the uninterrupted sleep lingering just behind closed doors. He'd obviously have to get some food in him before he inevitably passed out on his bed, but he was sure he still had a juice pack or two around somewhere. He'd have to go shopping when he next had the chance, lest Hizashi found out he forwent cooking for himself and forced the other hero to sit down for a meal.
Hizashi couldn't cook, and it would be much too soon if he had to suffer through something like that again.
A soft cricket tune filled the still air as Shouta got to his floor, covering his mouth as he yawned and felt his phone buzz. Whoever was contacting him at this god-awful time could wait. He was at his tethers end, and he wasn't sure what emotions would fly if someone tried to call him out on some sort of errand.
He finally makes it up the first and only set of stairs he needs to take, turning down the hall as the warm-coloured lights flicker overhead, lighting his path towards his freedom. Towards another successful night done. Towards finally being able to forget about Green Haze for a few hours--
He stops short.
Shouta's dry eyes honed in on the form hunched besides his doorway, thin arms wrapped around shaking legs as a head slowly rose. That same frayed hoodie.
Those big green eyes--
Shouta couldn't move, watching as the boy paused, his body obviously tensed as he prepared to speak. The hero could hear how the child trembled as he spoke, not having come here without reason.
"I...I didn't know where else to go."
The black-clad hero stepped forward, the vigilante's name ready to pour out of his mouth before he caught the smell of something awful and wrong. The smell of dried blood, the smell of infection, the smell of something as if it had died--
Shit.
Any strong sense of rationality left the man as he closed the distance between him and the boy, crouching down once he was close enough to reach over and touch the smaller of the two. Shouta could see how he shivered under his hoodie, flinching back from the hero's touch.
A sliver of anger pierced through Shouta, but he didn't let it slip through his calm facade as his hand retreated. The boy sniffled, and Shouta resisted the urge to flip the boy's hoodie off and see how bad the damage really was. He'd lose any trust he could possibly gain.
"Do you want me to call the EMT's kid? Take you to a hospital?"
Haze shook his head with a watery whine, and Shouta, in the back of his mind, thanked Recovery Girl for her first-aid training during his second year at Yuuei. It was one of the only things stopping him from picking the kid up and dragging him to the emergency room. "Alright, okay. That's fine," Shouta reached out again, his hand resting lightly upon the kid's shoulder. He didn't wince. "I can take you inside and help you, kid. Are you going to let me?"
He mustered the best soothing tone he could, watching the kid in case he attempted to flee instead of accepting the lending hand. Green Haze's shoulders drew up as he gave a shaky nod, and Shouta felt a bit of relief settle in. By no means was this perfect - the kid was still in danger.
But it was enough. It was enough for now.
The erasure hero drew himself back a bit, reaching into his pocket for his keys. He knew the vigilante's eyes were watching his every move. He knew that if something looked fishy, the kid would try to bold. He probably wouldn't get very far if Shouta had anything to say about it...but he needed to know the kid's condition. He couldn't let him run around committing vigilante acts in this sort of condition, screw protocol.
Once his keys were secured in one hand, Shouta shuffled closer, carefully sliding the arm with his apartment keys under the boys legs, "I'm going to pick you up now, alright?" Now closer to the vigilante, the sour smell of infection was strong, and Shouta sure hoped he had some antibiotics strong enough to fight against whatever it had already done to the kids body.
It's probably been there for a while...just how long has he been dealing with this?
When the vigilante seemed to prepare himself for the hero lifting him up, the tired man pulled the small body to his own, feeling another wave of anger pulse through as small, trembling hands grasped tightly onto his clothing. He lifted the boy up with minimal effort, surprised and a little shocked at how much the kid seemed to weigh.
He was light. Too light, too small, too fragile in his arms. He shuffles to move in front of his door, ignoring how the child clings as he carefully juts his hand out, slotting the key into the keyhole.
It takes a few turns, but after he hears the slight click of his lock, the hero quickly and carefully pushes his door open with his foot whilst keeping his hold on the injured kid. His door creaks open, the shadows of his apartment shrouding the pair. Shouta treads carefully, not even taking his shoes off as he shuffles down the hallway, reaching what he assumes the end and knocking where he thinks his light switch is with his elbow, taking a few tries before he finally flicks it on.
Eyes stinging at the bright light that washes over their heads, the hero moves the vigilante to his couch, setting the kid down and telling him to stay put before going to look for his first-aid kit - rather glad he kept the thing pretty stocked.
Hizashi was always sick of him not treating his own scraps and bruises he deemed insignificant, so he'd gotten better at getting his own supplies for it. Usually he'd just sleep it off and deal with it tomorrow if anything still ached, but that wasn't something Green Haze could do.
Trudging to his bathroom, it only takes a few moments of dragging the small white box out from under his sink before he's entering the main apartment room again, first-aid kit in hand, and the vigilante thankfully not having moved. He steps around the couch, setting the small box on the arm of the furniture and opening it before turning to the other occupant. Now inside, he can hear how wheezy his breathing sounds.
"Where do you hurt, kiddo?"
The hooded vigilante, stiff as a board, stared at the small first-aid kit within reach, before slowly turning his gaze, Shouta assumed, to the hero. "I....everywhere," the boy murmured, voice coarse and rough, uncertain and vulnerable. "But...mostly my midsection."
"Your parents couldn't patch you up?" Shouta decided to take the calculated risk, asking a question which could be too sensitive. He flinched.
"I-- she...no, they can't."
The kid sounded utterly miserable and hurt. Shouta grunted, trying to brush off the implications for now.
What kind of parent--
He had to stay calm.
"Alright, you son't have to tell me, I won't make you." Shouta told the kid, wanting to make sure he knew it wasn't something the hero was going to force. His tired eyes then surveyed the scuffed, worn, dirty hoodie the vigilante wore, his mouth feeling dry.
"If you want me to check you over...you need to take that off."
Green Haze froze for a moment, before a whine escaped his throat, and he began to shake his head.
"Come on, kid."
"I can't!"
"I need to help you-"
"Then I-I can just-"
Shouta saw the small, trembling hand reach for his arm, and his quirk flared up, eyes flashing red as Erasure went into affect.
Green Haze's palm touched the back of his hand, and Shouta knew - the kid had just tried to use his quirk.
"Green Haze, I can help you, but not when you're like this," Shouta took the chance, gently grabbing the kids hand with both his own. It felt small and cold in his own palms, and he stared at the faint outline he could see of the kids face beyond his hoodie. "You don't need to tell me anything about yourself - but your name, your identity - I won't tell anyone." Shouta knew it was risky. If Tsukauchi, or anyone really, found out he had been harboring the vigilante... "You don't need to be scared. I'm not going to raise my hand at you. You don't even need to stay - you can leave tomorrow morning, if you really wanted to, I'll even leave the door unlocked."
He didn't want to think of the kid being out in the cold, all alone, injured, with nowhere to go.
"But you need to let me help you - your injuries are going to get worse, and if you get caught up in any crime, with any villains, they'll go for you."
He didn't want to have Green Haze's blood on his hands, vigilante or not.
The vigilante's shoulders drew up, and Shouta was ready to try convincing him again before the boy spoke out. "Alright-" he coughed, shuddering at the dryness, "I...I can take it off." He then tilted his head, peering at Shouta. "You won't...take it?"
"I won't," but with a second look, Shouta frowned at the ruffled state of the red, white, blue and yellow clothing. It was a different hoodie to the one the vigilante had been wearing that same night, weeks ago, "but...it could probably use a wash."
The kids hands reached for the hem of the hoodie, pausing before the boy gave another slight nod, a quiet 'okay', before he slowly began to peel it off. Shouta realised how it stuck to the kids side with dried blood.
He held his tongue as the boy struggled for a few moments, finally being able to wriggle out of it, hissing as his wounds likely flared up and letting the piece of clothing drop to his lap.
Shouta finally got his first real glimpse at the vigilante - or rather, Green Haze's true identity.
Pale, ashen skin and matted, curled hair that was dark, shining with green highlights under the warm light was what first caught the hero's eyes. Tussled and scrawny, almost like a disheveled kitten he had spotted the other night that had stared at him with wide, wary eyes. The kid's eyes, that same shade of green, watched his every movement, an unspoken hostility that began to roll off his shoulders in unease. His clothes were baggy and torn underneath, too big for a kid his size and making him look so much smaller and fragile. Shouta wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew.
Shouta tried to memorize the kids key features, trying to think of any time he'd possibly seen a report that matched - a missing kid, which came up more likely than he'd like to admit, or possibly even an abuse case - but he turned up empty.
He then noticed the sight of the kids discomfort and probably his infection, several stab-like wounds that had pierced the kids side, tearing his shirt and leaving it stained in a deep red. the wounds themselves seemed to have scabbed over for the most part, and it did appear the kid had tried to treat them on his own - but, and Shouta shuddered, the fluid oozing out, a discoloured yellow and likely causing the sour smell, prevented the injuries from recovering too much.
The kid fidgeted under his gaze, hands scrunching into the hoodie now on his lap. "I...got it from that big villain I took down with the taser. Remember the three small-time crooks from a month ago?"
And Shouta did - he remembered being there as Tsukauchi questioned them, desperate to get any sort of answer out of them. "He stabbed you?"
"A few times..." The kid sniffled, rubbing his nose with the back of a hand. "I tried to lay low after but...that didn't work out."
That would make sense why Shouta hadn't seen him for the past month. He'd been trying to heal, only to realise he couldn't do it on his own, and had possibly been found out by villains who wouldn't mind taking out a kid...
"Well, I'll fix you up best I can," Shouta allowed a small amount of gruffness to lace his tone, already beginning to rummage through the first-aid kit. "I'll get a meal in you, give you some clean clothes...although it might not fit you the greatest, I'm not letting you leave in tatters if you decide to go tomorrow, kid." Shouta pulled out bandages, antiseptic wipes, and if he really needed it, a needle and some suture among other things. The kid seemed to tense up...but not ready to bold, and Shouta spared another look at him. "Some of this might sting, but it's going to make you feel better in the long run, alright?"
He seemed to nod, although hesitant, "I...I honestly expected you to kick me out."
"Vigilante or not...you're a child." Shouta murmured, thinking on his choice of words. "Any respectable hero wouldn't leave a kid to get infected and die. Even if this isn't the right way to go about things, I know you wouldn't have come here if you thought I was gonna take you in. You took a calculated risk."
"You seemed...safe." The child said, and Shouta could hear the dead tiredness creeping in, having forgotten just how late it was. Green Haze's head drooped slightly, before he shook his head, trying to keep himself away. "And I...I c-can't go back."
Go back? "You don't have to," Shouta allowed his tone to soften, resting a hand on the boys knee. "You're safe here. It's alright." He saw tears bud in the kids eyes at the reassurance, and the hero could only groan internally at being taken by a complete problem child. Just his luck.
"I won't let anyone harm you while you're here. Now, let me have a look at those wounds - you can have some food and go to sleep when we're done."
Shouta, setting to work, ignored how the kid began to softly cry at those few words he had needed to hear.
And it was only later, no longer hungry or hurt and settled down for the remainder of the night, curled up and falling asleep on his couch, that the kid told Shouta the one thing he'd keep privy to himself, Tsukauchi's orders be damned if it put the kid in danger.
Green Haze-- no, Midoriya Izuku, was now under his safe watch, the fears of the night bleeding away as it got closer and closer to the first light of the beginning day.
And Aizawa Shouta, who had not yet gone to sleep like he wanted, could only lay in his dark room, door open as he stared at his ceiling. With the house eerily quiet, the man could only sigh, head throbbing with an oncoming headache.
What had he gotten himself into?