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Yamada Hizashi, known as the hero Present Mic, strolled down the river walk, sipping his coffee. He tapped a finger on the second to-go cup. Moonlight shimmered on the water’s surface. The tree line acted as a natural barrier from the towering buildings, but the sounds of the city hummed in the background, reminding all of its sleepless presence. Sadly, the light pollution kept any stars from making an appearance, but the view was still pleasant enough. He loved these quiet moments, which was why he always chose to walk home after signing off on his radio show. Seconds before midnight, he was alone.
And, vulnerable.
From the shadows, a predator stalked the Voice Hero. Stain’s lips curled into a sneer at the sight of the blond man, an attention whore that was more interested in the undeserved fame than being an actual hero. From his position in the tree, he unsheathed his blade as he snapped a nearby branch. Present Mic jolted out of his thoughts at the sudden sound, immediately scanning the area.
“Hello? Shota?” Present Mic called out, setting the coffee on the ground before making his approach. In response, there was more rustling amongst the lower branches. His guard was up. His green eyes scanned the tree line for someone either in need or preparing for an ambush. He didn’t want to waste his Quirk if it turned out to be a raccoon. Shota would never let him live it down. Although, there had been word of some muggers in these parts. So, it would be more than justi—
He never saw the aerial attack coming until Stain’s blade was inches from his head. The Pro Hero spun out of the way, but not before the sharp edge slashed deep into his shoulder. Yamada gripped his injured shoulder, trying to staunch the blood that was running down his black jacket. Recognizing his opponent, Present Mic cursed himself for letting the famed Hero Killer to get the drop on him.
Stain grinned, raising his katana to his lips. His tongue flicked over the droplets of blood dripping from it. Present Mic tried for one of his epic shouts to throw the murderer off balance, but Stain’s Quirk, Bloodcurdle, already immobilized the Pro-Hero.
“Type B, right? That usually holds the longest. Not that this will take long.” Stain stated, drawing closer to his victim. “This city, this society is already diseased with this superficiality. These citizens’ devotion and blind trust in heroes are nothing more than mere sheep, only symptoms to a rotten core. Putting others on ridiculous pedestals while you yourself flaunt in the limelight. You are the source of this infliction! I am the one to purge you from society!”
Present Mic didn’t really catch the rest of Stain’s deranged speech. He knew the gist of the lunatic’s ideology to have an educated guess of what Stain was ranting about and decided that these were not going to be the last words he heard before died. Instead, Yamada put all his focus on unlocking his jaw. He knew he needed to stall. Stain mentioned that he could hold his blood type in place the longest, which meant this was a temporary state. Yamada needed to run out the clock before he gets skewered.
“But now, I will cleanse your filth from these streets and allow the true hero to rise unhindered by your sins.” Stain finished as he prepared his final thrust. From behind the executioner, a cloth whipped out and wrapped around Stain’s arm, preventing him from inflicting the deadly blow. To the villain’s surprise, Present Mic jumped out of range of the katana the second motion was returned to his body.
He shouldn’t be able to move yet!
“Of all the nights for you to usually stand me up, I’m so glad tonight wasn’t one of them.” Present Mic greeted his close friend, jogging over to his side and out of the Underground Hero's immediate view.
“Save it. Let’s get this done quickly.” The scruffy man grunted, pulling hard on the capturing tool. Yellow goggles covered his eyes, but Stain could feel the hard glare coming from them. This was not supposed to happen. Where did that other hero come from?
Growling, Stain slashed himself free with the knife he kept up his wristbands. An amplified yell from the Voice Hero knocked him back to the ground before the murderer could strike once more. Blood was already dripping from the villain’s ears as the volume poured on its assault. His speed and knife barely managed to keep the snaking cloth from entangling him once more. He needed to take out this new challenger if he was going to succeed in purifying the world of Present Mic.
With a burst of speed charge towards the heroes, Stain dodged two more shout attacks. The ninja already took to the air, sending more of the strange fabric shot towards the hero killer.
As anticipated.
The villain allowed it to entwine itself around his katana and arm, but grabbed it with the other before it tightened, catching it wielder off guard. With his opponent off balance, Stain pulled harder and tried to swing the ninja back into his ally, but the hero would not be taken down that easily. Instead, the unknown hero relinquished his weapon from around his neck and caught himself on a street light.
A scream from his blond companion almost brought the assassin to his knees. He knew his hearing could not take much more of this, but Present Mic was pale from the blood loss. Stain’s original target would not be lasting much longer. His voice was growing hoarse. His ally was unarmed and stuck on the street light for a few minutes. More than enough time to finish this.
Stain surged forward. With each step forward, he raised his blade. One strike. Present Mic would barely have the chance to yelp before Death descended upon him.
Then, Stain was yanked off his feet as the capturing weapon wrapped around his torso. The breath was knocked out of him as his back meet the sidewalk. His katana abandoned him as it bounced out of reach. Shocked, the panting killer rolled onto his knees to see the ninja also lying on the ground. The capture weapon wound around his hands as he pulled tight. He had to have thrown himself from the street light to reach his weapon, risking great harm to himself to save the victim’s life. Just like All Might. To Stain’s frustration, he still could not place this hero.
More voices grew louder. By the sound of it, more false heroes were on their way. Someone called for help. Stain grimaced. Normally, this would prove to be nothing but a chance to complete his mission, but… tonight was different.
It was time to cut losses.
The Hero Killer slashed himself free before diving into the shadows of the trees. He had long disappeared into the night by the time the first of the unworthy arrived.
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To his disappointment, the news reported that Present Mic didn’t die from blood loss. No, he made a full recovery after being rescued by Fourth Kind, the so-called Chivalrous Hero. Chivalry must be dead if it was suddenly okay to take credit for another's work. There was not one word from any media on that strange ninja from last night, despite him still being on the scene after Stain left. After his stunt on the street light, he had to have some broken bones. Yet, nothing…
Stain had to know more about this hero.
He spent hours searching. There were fragments from the underbelly. There were whispers from countless villain. A blurred picture here and there; those were rare and far between. It wasn't until Stain finally found a name to go with this Underground Hero that the floodgate finally opened.
Eraser Head, the Erasure Hero…
His Quirk erased any other Quirk in his line of sight, which explained how Present Mic escaped his Bloodcurdle ability that night.
He was the man who crippled the Villain Factory, a criminal organization responsible for drug trafficking known as Trigger.
He was a teacher at U.A. High School, the top Hero Academy in all of Japan.
He was the single Pro Hero who took on hordes of villains during the League of Villains’ attack of the USJ and nearly died saving his students.
Shrouded in shadows, he was not limited by the media as All Might was.
Yes, this man… This Aizawa Shota was a true hero. And, now Eraser Head has a fan.