Chapter Text
It isn't anywhere near the worst they've ever come out of a random villain attack, and he’d certainly count that as a win. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, and with the knowledge that everyone is relatively fine, Shouta takes a moment to just stand still and silently watch. The few students under his command are finishing up their duties and gathering near the center of the open air shopping mall to check each other for injuries and await further instruction.
They'd originally meant it to be a simple exercise in group patrolling. Each team consisted of a small handful of students who didn’t typically work together, or who’s quirks didn’t obviously mesh well, headed by a different pro to instruct and lead by example. It was a practical way to show the students that sometimes there were unorthodox ways they could apply their quirks in tandem with one another.
It was also supposed to be an easy day, as they’d just come off a stressful week of grueling exams, and the students were getting increasingly more stir-crazy as the days went by, trapped in the dorms as the weather warmed throughout the early spring.
Things had gone smoothly until they hadn't, and the worst part is that he's not even surprised. Not really. His hell class couldn't step ten feet off campus without attracting trouble—usually in the form of a psychopath or two—and he should consider himself lucky it was just a couple lowlife thugs that had the worst possible timing. Shouta almost feels bad for them.
Almost.
His group—consisting of Kirishima, Shinsou, Uraraka and the Poblem Child, had handled things quickly and efficiently, all things considered, but Midoriya had been the one most in his element. His ability to strategize and theorize about quirk dynamics and applications had given him an edge, and he'd even thought of a few outlandish combinations Shouta hadn’t considered himself—and certainly would not be letting them try any time soon because they were exceedingly dangerous, despite being impressively creative.
Shouta always finds it interesting to watch Midoriya when he actually exercises his brain over his brawn. Even now, well into his second year, the kid still regularly catches Shouta off guard, because typically students with such powerful, flashy, offence quirks tend to be single minded—focusing only on themselves or their raw power—but when Midoriya can be knocked off kilter and convinced to stop trying to imitate Atlas with the world on his shoulders, he excells. He's a natural leader, and people listen. Teamwork is such a good look for him, it's baffling how much of a continuous struggle it's been to beat that self-sacrificial nature out of him. He finally seems to be coming around though—coming to terms with the fact that All Might's singular symbol of peace ideal was never going to be sustainable. He's finally realizing that getting himself thrown into an early grave means he won't be able to save anyone.
It's been an agonizingly slow progress, but it is progress. Baby steps are still steps forward, and if that means Shouta might get away with a few less gray hairs in the future, he'll take it.
“Eraserhead sir, it looks like all of the villains have been apprehended and the police have started taking them away,” Uraraka’s confident, if not slightly excited tone breaks him from his thoughts, and he shifts his gaze down to focus on her.
Good. She's remembered to use his hero name without prompting this time. Now if he could just get her to drop the ‘sir’.
She smiles softly, quite a bit more subdued when she adds, “But Deku found a little girl that got separated from her mom in the commotion. She seems pretty shaken up about it.”
As if on cue, a sharp wail cuts its way through the air like a knife, and he jerks his gaze toward the origin of the sound. Midoriya is standing on the other end of the atrium, a crying, blue skinned child held carefully in his arms. She can’t be any older than five or six, he thinks.
Taking a few quick seconds to observe, he makes note of the small cut above Midoriya’s right eye that’s seeping slowly, but overall appears to be mostly superficial. A nasty bruise is forming down the side of his face, and while Shouta doesn’t think there’s a danger of concussion based off the way he's moving about as he sooths the little girl, it wouldn’t hurt to have it checked out once the dust settles and they have a moment to breathe.
Midoriya lets loose one of those warm, wide smiles of his, and quietly says something to the girl that seems to surprise her. Her tears slow considerably as she replies back, a shake of her head bouncing glossy black curls. As Midoriya talks—all the while bouncing her gently on his hip—she seems to calm further, and her skin tone is suddenly shifting like a gradient from a stormy blue to more of a teal green.
Interesting. Emotion based, maybe?
“Good work, Uravity. Get with the others and wait by the fountain. I’ll help get her turned over to the police, and we’ll go from there.”
“Right!” She's all eager determination when she gives her little fist pump, dashing off towards Kirishima and Shinsou without any hesitation.
Shouta watches her go for a few seconds longer, then turns toward Midoriya. He's careful to avoid the small bits of damage surrounding them as he moves forward, and it doesn't take long for him to start picking up on their quiet conversation.
“-it’s so cool! And really pretty! I wish mine did that!”
“That’s what m-mommy says too. She says daddy's used to change colors t-too, but mine are brighter. She misses him a lot, but I don’t remember him t-too good. I try to make her feel better, but sometimes I accidently make her m-more sadder…” The girl's cheeks are blotchy and she's sniffling, eyes crinkling in discomfort as she tries and fails to clear her nose, “She doesn’t get mad at me though… she’s really nice. I-I want my mommy…”
“That’s really sweet of you to try and help her, and I'm sure she’s really worried about you and looking all over! I bet she’s gonna show up really soon.” Midoriya spares Shouta a hasty glance and strained smile once he notices his arrival, “It’s going to be ok.”
The little girl is obviously still distraught, but nods anyway as she wraps her arms around Midoriya’s neck as tight as she’s able, hiding her face against his shoulder. He shifts a bit to keep her from pressing against the sharp metal of his face mask, and also to make himself more comfortable, which is how Shouta notices that the kid is carefully favoring his right arm. It doesn’t seem to be hindering his ability to hold the girl, and he’s good at hiding it, but Shouta is trained and experienced in both heroics and stubborn teenagers, so he spots it without too much trouble.
Another thing to check over when we have a minute.
“Deku,” Shouta isn’t always the best with little kids, but he’s had enough experience with Eri at this point to know how to handle himself. He’s sure to keep his voice down to avoid startling the little girl, who tilts her head just enough to stare blearily up in his direction before hiding her tear streaked face away again. Her skin color is slowly shifting to more of a yellow green as she does, and that supports his theory about her colors being emotion based.
He knows he can be intimidating, he’s tall and lanky and dressed messily in dark colors. Kneeling to make himself less imposing, he’s now looking up at her instead of down, “Who’s is this?”
“Hey Eraserhead! This is Ai-chan. She got a little lost.”
“Surname?”
“I’m not sure. Ai-chan, can you tell us what your last name is?”
The little girl tightens her grip against Midoriya’s neck, and she mumbles something into his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.” Midoriya is ever patient.
“Who is he?” She asks in lieu answering, shifting to stare at Shouta cautiously, tiny fists tightening in Midoriya’s hood.
“This is Eraserhead. He’s a pro hero.”
“Like you?”
“Oh, I’m not a pro yet!” Midoriya is grinning cheerfully, turning so that she’s got a better view of Shouta, “He’s teaching me how to be one though.”
She narrows her eyes and huffs, “He doesn’t look very strong. Not like you. You held up the whole wall and stopped the bad guy at the same time! You’re better than him.”
Cheeky.
Shouta almost smirks, despite himself. His problem student always seems to win over the admiration of the little kids. If he ever hits the top ten charts—and honestly, there isn’t much doubt that he will as long as he survives that long—Deku is going to sell a ton of toys to eager children. Merchandisers are going to flock to him, and he swears he's heard some of the business management students threatening each other over representation already.
Before Shouta can say anything to the little girl in his own defense, Midoriya chuckles, “Oh, but Eraserhead’s one of the strongest.”
Midoriya's testimony does little to stop her from gaping incredulously, “But-“
“It’s just a different kind of strength.” Midoriya is still smiling, but it's a smaller smile. Gentle and soothing and soft at the edges, “You saw me fighting the bad guy today... and me being strong enough to do that makes you feel safe, right?”
She only takes a few seconds of consideration before she's agreeing, “Yes.”
“Well, Eraserhead makes me feel safe.”
And isn’t that just a sudden kick in chest.
Shit.
Shouta can’t stop himself from staring, but luckily Midoriya isn’t paying him any attention. Instead, he has his eyes squarely on the girl in his arms.
“He does?”
“Yes.” Midoriya answers so freely without an ounce of hesitation, “He’s one of the best.”
Her skin tone is shifting once again, the yellow fading and changing back to a deep green. Midoriya’s smile once again grows into more of a blinding grin, “Now, Ai-chan, can you-“
It’s this moment that one of the police officers chooses to interrupt, and Shouta recognizes him from a few different incidents he’s had in the past. He’s a large man, broad shouldered with the head of a shaggy brown wolf, and honestly, he’s got a reputation for being an inconsiderate asshole even amongst his fellow officers.
Shouta has to bite his tongue to stop from cursing as he quickly stands and turns on his heel in an attempt to head the man off. The kid is obviously still scared over the villain incident, and it won’t do her any good to have to deal with a brash cop with zero tact, “Officer Sallo-“
“Eraserhead.” The man is shoving his way forward, hand already outstretched toward Midoriya expectantly, “The mother hasn’t shown up yet. You can just give her to me. We’ll take the kid to the station and-“
The little girl’s eyes are growing wider by the second, and she simultaneously pulls away from the officer and tugs at Midoriya tighter, skin darkening at an almost alarming rate to a bright shade of red, “No! Mr. Deku!”
Midoriya tightens his grip, ever careful of his own rediculous strength, and takes a single step back. His irises flash neon green for a split second, and Shouta is pretty sure it’s on instinct and not a conscious effort of his own as he glares at the officer. It doesn’t take a genius to see just how tense and agitated he's grown—Midoriya is always more on edge when a situation involves young children.
“It’s ok, Ai-chan we’ll stay here.“ Midoriya, usually so polite and friendly, practically sneers at the officer. Shouta should reprimand him for his tone, but he doesn’t. The guy’s a prick.
“Listen, her mother shouldn’t have lost her in the first place. She’ll be fine at the precinct-“
Just as Shouta moves to place himself bodily between the officer and the squirming little girl, she lets out a loud screech, flinging her arm out to swat at the offender herself. Midoriya is quick on the draw, and he’s pulling her back out of reach, but the way he has to twist seemed to jostle whatever injury he’s taken, and he lets out a small grunt as a brief flash of pain paints itself across his features.
This sets the little girl off.
“NO! I want mommy!” Her skin changes color in quick succession, blue-green-red-bright and messy, like a kaleidoscope, and with a haphazard flail she accidently strikes Midoriya right across the cut above his eye with her palm. Blood smears across his forehead in a small streak.
Midoriya stumbles, shoulders tensing, and he gasps out like he’s suddenly breathless. His eyes are near panicked, and Shouta feels warning bells ring out in his head at the unexpectedly intense reaction, just as he almost drops the little girl.
He doesn’t, but it’s a near enough thing. Midoriya falls to one knee heavily, and quickly but carefully sets her down so that she can stand on her own. She doesn’t seem to expect this at all, and the surprise of it knocks her out of her fit.
Her eyes widen slowly at the strained expression Midoriya wears, and she brings one hand up to her mouth. Her skin goes pink, “Oops.”
Shouta shoulders past the officer and kneels next to his student. When he isn’t immediately acknowledged, he places a gentle hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, “Are you alright, Deku?”
This seems to startle him from his daze, and Midoriya’s eyes snap to meet Shouta’s. A flurry of raw emotions flit across his features before he takes a deep breath and nods, “Uh… uh yeah. I don’t-that was weird. I’m… ok.”
“Are you sure?”
Midoriya shakes himself a bit, seemingly an attempt to ground himself. He steals a quick look toward the little girl before closing his eyes and exhaling, “Yeah, I’m alright Mr. Aiz… er, Eraserhead.”
Shouta feels his nerves light up even further as he frowns. Midoriya has been on more missions and exercises with him than a lot of the other students, and it's been a long while since he's almost slipped up using his civilian name in public. Whatever this is, it’s clearly got the kid rattled.
He brings his fingers up and gently prods around the wound above his student’s eye, “Concussion?”
Midorya hisses, but other than a small jump at the touch, he doesn’t pull away, “No, I don’t think so. I… I think it was-“
“Ai!” A sudden, high pitched shout interrupts the tense moment and everyone starts, including himself. He swings around to face whoever's interrupted them, hand instantly gripping his scarf-
“Mommy!” The little girl is off and running before anyone can stop her, and they all watch her jump into a young woman’s arms. The woman pulls her close and strokes her hair, burying her face against the girls shoulder.
The asshole officer gives a snort as he rolls his eyes, and without further addressing either one of them, turns to stalk over to the reunited family.
Shouta wants to strangle the man with his capture weapon, but manages to resist… barely. Instead, he’s got something more important to address, and turns back to his student.
Midoriya is still looking off, but at least there’s a small smile tugging at his lips, “I’m glad Ai-chan’s mom finally found her.”
While he does agree with the sentiment, Shouta is still far more concerned over the lingering stiffness in Midoriya’s frame, though it does seem to be dissipating slowly. With one last hum, he let’s go of the kid’s shoulder, and almost doesn’t notice the alarming way Midoriya seems to sway slightly when he does.
“We’re leaving. Can you stand?”
Midoriya hesitates. Shouta doesn’t like that at all.
“Deku?”
Giving his head one last shake and smiling up at him, Midoriya seems to regain his resolve ,“Yeah… Yeah, I’m ok! Really.”
Shouta really hates when Midoriya says it like that.
Because it’s always a lie.