Chapter Text
Eijirou was pretty excited. Taking the train in his hero costume, with all his friends. They figured out pretty early on that they were all going to the same place.
“You think we’re going to collaborate?” Uraraka asked excitedly, looking at all of them.
“It would be so manly!” He grinned back, fistbumping her. Togata-senpai had the same smile he always did, but for some reason it looked different. “Amajiki-senpai, what do you think?” He turned to his mentor, with a grin on his face. Amajiki-senpai was really cool, and he genuinely appreciated his opinion. The older student folded into himself a little.
“You guys are really cool…” he pulled his hood over his head, and Togata-senpai rubbed his back with a smile still on his face.
“Thank you Amajiki-senpai, keru.” Tsu smiled. The two of them became really close friends through their time training together. They were a great team, and he was honestly pretty excited for a chance to work with her.
“Togata-senpai, I don’t think you ever told us who you’re interning with. Are they a secret or anything?” Uraraka asked with an excited grin, and Eijirou was honestly curious too. Togata-senpai’s grin widened.
“I intern with Sir Nighteye!” He said proudly, and Eijirou… honestly had no idea who that was. His confusion was apparently evident enough, because Togata-senpai laughed a little. “He tends to stay out of the public eye, so I’m not too surprised you don’t know him. He used to be All Might’s sidekick, until a few years ago.” He explained.
“Really? That’s so cool! How come we never heard of him?” Uraraka asked, confused and excited.
“He works best when people don’t know about him.” He explained. “He makes a pretty big effort to be unknown. The fact that you don’t know him means he did his job well.” Togata-senpai seemed to be really proud of his mentor, and of working with him. Eijirou didn’t really think about it much before, despite his homeroom teacher being an underground hero. Heroes who actively avoid the public eye. Underground heroes were a different thing though. Aizawa-sensei could barely even be identified as a hero, in or out of his hero costume. Considering Togata-senpai’s costume, he didn’t really expect Sir Nighteye to be that type of underground hero. It was… interesting. Gave him a lot to think about.
They got off the train, chatting excitedly as Togata-senpai led the way. It seemed they were all going to the Nighteye agency. They were all… very surprised to see Aizawa-sensei there.
“What are you doing here sensei-keru?” Tsu asked, looking at their teacher.
“Over here, I’m not your teacher. I’m here as a hero, and so are you. You will refer to me as Eraserhead.” His voice was stern and serious, just slightly different from his teacher voice.
“Yes sir!” They nodded immediately. This was… very different. They weren’t students in this space. They were heroes in training. It filled Eijirou with pent up anxiety that he was quick to hide as excitement. He could see his friends were doing about the same. There were many heroes there, some (like Fatgum and Ryukyu) they recognised, but some were completely unfamiliar to him.
And there was one obscured face that he recognised very well.
“Yo, is that-” he started, before Aizawa - no, Eraserhead - stopped him.
“This is my informant, Mist. He will be involved in this case as well. You will all behave professionally, is that clear?” He asked, and Eijirou was struck with the understanding that in fact, this was his teacher in his element. Not an exhausted teacher to a group of chaotic teenagers, but a commanding, confident hero. They’ve all only seen him as a hero very briefly, during the USJ incident and during the attack on the training camp. “There is a few minutes before the meeting starts. You are all expected to sit with your mentors.” He talked to all four of them, and they all nodded.
“... how did it go, after we left?” Eijirou asked Mist very quietly after Eraserhead left.
“Oh, it was okay, you know. Eraserhead was kinda mad, but we didn’t get into too much trouble. All in all, he was mostly just worried. Dabi did get a bit injured.” Mist explained quietly.
“... do you two know each other, keru?” Tsu asked, tilting her head.
“Oh, not much, and not in a professional setting. I’m a bit of a fan, actually. Froppy, Uravity and Red Riot, right? I watched you in the sports festival, followed you on the news too.” He seemed to be smiling widely under his mask. “You’re pretty impressive.” Eijirou couldn’t help but feel flattered.
“Thanks man!” He grinned. He saw this guy fight briefly, and Iida also said he’s a good fighter. Besides, he had a feeling that Eraserhead wouldn’t take someone who wasn’t good as an intern. “You’re pretty impressive yourself!”
One of the older heroes, a man with green hair and a white suit, called the meeting to order, and Mist immediately turned serious and rushed to Eraserhead’s side. He seemed completely different, no longer an excited kid but a stern hero-type. He acted a lot like Eraserhead, honestly. Some small part of him wondered whether Aizawa-sensei had a secret son or something. These thoughts quickly left his mind as the meeting started.
***
Sir Nighteye was the one who ran the meeting, understandably. His agency was the one responsible for the case, after all, and his request for help was answered swiftly.
“We have tracked the remnants of the old crime organisation known as the Yakuza for quite some time. They’ve been losing power steadily for a century, but with the focus going more toward traditional villainy as we now know it, our resources to deal with them as a society dwindled. They haven’t been a problem for quite some time, but recently a branch of the Yakuza called the Shie Hassaikai has been getting quite… restless. They’ve been gathering weapons, allies and supplies, and thanks to Fatgum and Ryukyu we now know they also deal with the Trigger drug, though we are fairly certain it’s not the modified kind we dealt with before.” The room was full of uncomfortable tension. No one liked dealing with Trigger junkies.
“We also managed to discover a different drug they use, one that has the opposite effects: this drug nullifies the quirks of those who are hit by it. Fatgum?” Nighteye invited Fatgum to the front, to give the information he had. He explained briefly how his interns encountered a Trigger enhanced villain, who shot them both with these quirk nullifying drugs, and how Red Riot’s resourcefulness and quick thinking resulted in them being able to collect a bullet full of the serum. Izuku couldn’t help but be very impressed, and also happy the intern got the credit he deserved. Fatgum seemed like a nice enough person, who was good to those who worked with him.
Eraserhead was the next to go up, explaining to everyone present how the serum actually worked, as they learned from the analysis of the serum. Most of the people present didn’t know that this same group sought Eraserhead out many times, by persuasion and by force, wanting to use his quirk to produce similar effects.
This serum was different though. Instead of blocking the ability of the person to access and use their quirk like Erasure did, this serum reversed it. It seemed to completely rewrite the genetic factor that caused the quirk in the first place. The serum was temporary, lasting no more than a few hours, but it was very possible that with more time and development it could cause permanent effects.
“The current head of this group is Chisaki Kai, known by the villain name Overhaul. We planned to take things slower, investigate them deeper before rushing into action so we can make sure to cut them at the root, but… certain new discoveries require going faster with the process.” Izuku and Lemillion both tensed up, and Nighteye started explaining the situation.
“We can’t rush into action without thinking. This is a dangerous situation. We don’t know anything about their hideout, or their forces, or anything.” RockLock insisted on caution
“We have some information, sir.” Izuku stood up. “I charted one of the entrances, as well as hiding spots, the layout of the streets around their hideout, strategic vantage points and at least some people we know for a fact work for them.” He pulled out the case notebook, full to the brim with charts and maps and quirk analysis. “We can’t risk waiting, every moment we wait is a moment they can kill her. What kind of heroes leave a little kid at the hands of villains?” He asked, looking at the man.
“I don’t like this any more than anyone in this room, but we can’t risk all the other people around for a mission we don’t know will succeed, including this little kid! Besides, there’s another issue. Kids shouldn’t be a part of this mission.” He said sternly, glaring at the interns around the table. Most of them rose in protest, but were quickly hushed by their mentors.
“They are more than capable of holding their own, RockLock. They have proven it many times before. They’re no ordinary first years, they’ve handled their fair share of danger and I believe them capable to be part of this mission.” Ryukyu stood up for her interns.
“This isn’t some training exercise, dammit! This isn’t even the League of Villains we’re talking about! This is organised crime, an organisation with hundreds of members who are more united than anything these guys ever had to face. It’s no place for any kid.” He insisted.
“The fact of the matter is, the interns are already way too involved with the mission and the case to back away now. Their agencies are involved and so are they, if their mentors see fit.” Nighteye looked to Fatgum, Ryukyu and Eraserhead. “But you are right that we can’t rush in. Rushing into their hideout without knowing the inner layout of the place can be disastrous. I will figure out a way to find that information, and then we can proceed. Caution is key .” He emphasised, seeing Izuku start to object. “We are going to get her out, Mist. This is a given. But we are not getting in without knowing what to expect. Unless anyone else has anything to add, the meeting is over.” Nighteye closed the meeting, and everyone separated. Izuku was seething, head spinning with ideas on how to figure everything out as fast as possible.
“Sir, I can spy on them. They don’t know who I am, I’m not a public figure, I could-” He started, almost begging, but he was shut down almost immediately.
“Forget about it, Mist. It’s too dangerous. You are involved with this case, yes, but spying and infiltration missions are above even some professional heroes’ abilities. It’s a risk I’m not willing to let you take. The answer is no.” Eraserhead was stern and serious, shutting down any further discussion on the topic.
And Izuku tried to forget about it. He genuinely tried. He tried to focus on his work and doing what he can, but… Eri’s frightened eyes didn’t leave his mind, not letting him sleep. Her small hands holding onto him for dear life, her small, trembling body pressing to him and asking for protection… he couldn’t stop thinking, couldn’t stop needing to do more for this little kid. So he devised a plan. No one was going to like it, but…
A week later, when Touya was out at work, Izuku packed a small bag. He shaved his head, feeling vaguely ill as he saw his long green curls falling to the ground but knowing he had to change his appearance as much as he could, and get in the role. He shaved a slit in his eyebrow as well, and smeared some dust from his coal pencil around his eyes to make them appear more sunken and tired. There was no going back now, as he placed the note he wrote his brother on the table and put on a mask.
… he would do whatever it takes.
***
Himiko was bored . Tomura-kun basically traded her and Twice with the stupid Yakuza, and she wasn’t allowed to have any fun at all. Twice could be fun sometimes, he was a nice guy and it was easy to spin his head around and make him get all confused with himself, but she couldn’t do anything . At all. Just twirl her knives and sit bored with Overhaul, who she wanted so, so bad to just cut open. He kept talking about boring stuff, and when he wasn’t he was rude and his voice made her want to crawl out of her own skin, and she hated him so much. He killed her big sis. The first person who saw her as family, in a way not even her parents did (not that they hated her, not at first, they just loved that perfect little version of her that they created in their head a little too much). And he killed her, and mocked her, and called her a man, and she was so thirsty she wanted to cut him open and drink all his blood except the thought of something of him inside of her was so disgusting she’d rather just cut him up and watch him bleed, and maybe it would make him just a little less ugly.
… but a new face in the base was interesting. Overhaul may have had a lot of people, but Himiko never forgot a face. And she would definitely not forget this face. He was kind of plain, pale and freckled. There was a line cut in his eyebrow, and his green eyes darted around when he thought no one could see. He walked confidently most of the time, but good actress that she was she could smell his fear from across the building.
He was kind of cute though.
She sniffed around, learning about him. Akatani Fukuya, he claimed to be called. Not much of a villain, he was there just for a job, to send money to his sister on the outside. Babysat Overhaul’s kid, the rumour said, though she couldn’t imagine that man ever having kids, so maybe this was a cover story.
“Fukuya-kun, right? Nice to meetcha!” She grinned cheerfully, throwing her knife in the air and catching it. He seemed startled, and a bit afraid. He probably heard about her.
“O-oh, Toga-san!” His voice was higher than the one he usually used, exposing his stress, before he cleared his throat and managed to put back on his confident facade and lower voice. “It’s nice to meet you too.” She wasn’t sure, but he seemed to be smiling under that mask of his. Most of Overhaul’s people wore masks, but his mask looked different. Instead of a boring surgical mask, or Overhaul’s fancy plague doctor masks, his seemed to be almost like a sleeve fitted around his neck and face, over his nose. It was black and silky and nice. She liked pretty things.
“Man, it’s so boring over here! What do you do all day?” She asked, friendly and nice. She wanted to pass time, and he seemed nice enough. Like a small mouse that tried to be a cat.
“Mostly my job.” He shrugged. “I’m not supposed to talk about it, so how about we talk about you instead? You’re probably way more interesting than boring old me.” He tried to change the subject.
“But I wanna talk about you! How old are you?” She pouted playfully, poking him with her index finger and seeing him jump back.
“I’m eighteen.” He said quickly.
Closer to sixteen then. She knew lies pretty well, and this guy wasn’t eighteen. But he was well built enough to pass for one to someone who didn’t know better.
“I’m seventeen! We’re practically the same age! I’m pretty sure we’re the only ones our age over here. Everyone is all grown and boring.” She stuck out her tongue. His chuckle seemed genuine, which surprised them both.
“... I really have to go now. Work to do. See you around?” He asked, slightly hesitant, to which she grinned and gave him a thumbs up.
What an interesting little mouse.