Chapter Text
Of course it was him. Of course.
Shouta groaned, letting go of the information pamphlet that had been handed to him only hours before, and ignoring the dull little thud it made when it landed atop his coffee table. The man could already feel a headache coming on.
Green Haze. That damned--
Shouta didn't get his hero license to deal with this, surely.
"He's a tricky guy to deal with," Tsukauchi had told him earlier that day, scanning through some paperwork on a new case that included the elusive character in question. "We've got possible case involvements spanning to a year and a half ago...but not all that much info on him. Not even the name is his - it's just something we've named him and all his vigilante cases until we catch him."
Shouta had to stop the groan escaping his lips once he saw the list of case involvements. "You've got no personal information? Not even from witnesses?"
"All the witnesses state they feel very hazy during these particular incidents...I think it's safe to say this vigilante might have a memory altering quirk," the detective tells the hero, no edge in his tone as he stares down at the paper, as if hoping the cause of all their problems would just magically appear. "All we know is that it's a male, age unknown but he's pretty average height. We comb through any security footage we can, but he's either careful enough not to be caught or he always keeps his face away from the camera. Make's it difficult to get anything beyond the bare bones..."
"Even when I've run into him...he always keeps his head down. I honestly thought he had no quirk," the underground hero admits, tirelessly moving his gaze to meet the detective's. "It might be touch based, I've never been affected by it..."
"No hero has...I think he only does for civilians and villains. Still, it is against quirk regulation laws," Tsukauchi stands from his chair, swiping a hand down his face. "that, or maybe he's aware of you and your quirk. A few heroes have told me how he seems to be able to evade their quirks and attacks for the most part., all while keeping his appearance hidden...I wouldn't be very surprised if he's able to blend in seamlessly with the crowds."
"And you think I'll be able to get him to turn in?" Shouta can't stop the snort that makes its way through thin lips. "I can barely deal with the U.A students on a good day."
Tsukauchi lets a tired smile slip through, "I think you're not giving yourself enough credit, Aizawa..."
Shouta now could roll his eyes at the words that followed, that he was supposedly 'good with vigilantes'...he hadn't dealt with any on a personal level for a few years now, not after he'd moved on from the Crawler and his little gang.
The erasure hero in all honesty didn't really mind vigilantes...he could see why they would act, even at the worst of times. The man had to admit, he'd never been a fan of how the Hero Commission tried to keep everything tightly controlled.
It was probably worse for a hero who wasn't underground.
The hero laws could drastically limit the heroes...and vigilantes had no such constraints, but Shouta could also see where the detective was coming from. To be spotted this many times and to be connected to so many cases...
He's sloppy with his work. Shouta assumed the vigilante maybe depended on his quirk too much...unfortunately, it seemed to be a trait not just confined to heroes. Heroics prided on how strong or flashy a quirk was...it would be strange that a vigilante would depend on their quirk to get them out of being spotted. But he seemed to evade hero quirks well enough...
He might be young.
Shouta didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't want to - truth be told, Shouta didn't really have any strong opinions on teenagers, or even children. Sure...he taught them, but he expelled many, many more than he'd teach. He couldn't bare to see them not take their potential future seriously, doing so was costly. Life-wrenching.
It left an ugly feeling crawling up his spine.
It still, however, didn't solve Shouta's current troubles of having to actually catch the vigilante. The files Tsukauchi handed him didn't really shed any light on what kind of person he was dealing with...he never went on the record of hurting civilians, and usually the small-time villains taken down sported no life-threatening injuries. It seemed he always went for the classic knock-out punch when he had an opening...
But for all Shouta knew, the guy could be completely different behind his vigilante mask...
He'd never heard the vigilante speak, and knew nothing beyond how the other usually acted due to how well he hid his actual identity. He'd barely even seen the guy apart from a few interactions here and there, when Shouta had been too late to capture him.
Shouta might be in over his head.
But that didn't stop the bedraggled man from striding across his small living room, snatching his capture scarf off his lounging chair with a huff, Green Haze's vigilante name burning through the headache beginning to pound through.
I guess I might as well start sooner then later, the hero decides, wrapping the grey cloth comfortably around his neck. If I'm lucky enough, he might decide to lay low. Or he'll turn himself in.
But Shouta did not like his odds.
A knife whizzed past Shouta's face, missing his temple by a few mere inches, and he scowled internally at himself, the walls of the dark, empty alleyway shrouding the newfound battle.
He had to jinx it. He just had to!
Shouta's arm curled around damaged, bruised ribs as the pair of villains before him lunged for his form, eyes hungry for violence rather than the desire to escape. Shouta usually didn't have much of a problem, but the smaller green-haired form just a few arm-lengths out of reach...
The hooded vigilante ducked under the oncoming fist of the largest villain, more than triple his size, a flash of silver contained in the dark depths of his clothing as he lashed out at the mans leg. The villain managed to just escape anything more than a scratch, roaring something that didn't reach Shouta's ears despite the loudness.
He didn't hear what the vigilante snapped in return, quickly turning back to his own fight so he didn't get killed while trying to figure it out.
He flung his capture scarf out, maneuvering the material to wrap tightly around one of the villains, who yelped out indignantly as he tugged their full weight forward, the body crashing to the ground. The other villain Shouta jumped over their comrades fallen form, eyes set on the erasure hero.
Erasure built up behind tired, dry eyes, but the activation too slow as the villain's claw-like nails slashed across an arm, causing him to falter in the grip of his capture weapon. Blood dripped down his arm like ribbons as the first quickly rose to his feet.
Shouta's quirk flashed, eyes flashing red as the two villains stumbled at the loss of their quirks. Yanking his scarf back, it quickly wrapped around the two villains in a much more tighter grip.
A crunch of bone and a soft cry sounded behind him, where he was sure the last villain and the vigilante - Green Haze - were trading blows. He had no time to look, instead quickly putting an end to the two villains consciousness, their bodies smacking onto the closest wall. Dust and debris fell onto their prone bodies, and Shouta felt some sense of relief, his eyes itching.
His head and back ached.
"Eraserhead!"
The yell, an all too childish voice, called out the heroes name and caused the man's head to whip around in alarm, eyes widening. A big form, razor sharp claws and piercing amber eyes bore down onto the erasure hero.
A mutation quirk-- shit!
He ducked under the oncoming blow as a roar erupted from the villains lips, the claws brushing his hair slightly as he attempted to take down the pro-hero. Shouta gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain flaring from previous injuries.
He was quick to duck once more, weaving through the villains legs as the man attempted to smash Shouta into the group, his deadly claws and overall body build leaving a large, cracking indent in the concrete beneath them.
Shouta's vision spun, nearly tripping over his own feet as a feeling of vertigo washed over him.
He had to finish this. Now.
Red eyes met glowing golden as Shouta pulled his scarf to himself, ready to throw it out as the villain readied himself for another blow.
Everything seemed to slow down, and the hero didn't notice the movement in the corner of his eyes.
"Duck!"
Shouta's body dropped to the ground. The villain's lethal claws slashed at midair, and everything seemed quiet. Calm.
Until the villain started howling in pain, body jerking as he fell lifelessly to the scuffed ground. His claws went to his throat, grasping it as more shrieks and cries of pain escaped, and Shouta saw bits of electricity zipping up and down the mans arms.
A taser?
A flurry of feet, and another form entered his field of vision, much smaller as it scrambled to the still crying villain. He took a small black object, and smacked it into the villains temple, finally allowing his body to go limp.
The smaller form exhaled, and Shouta could see the green-coloured hair peeking out from under the dark hoodie, gasps of air coming from the smaller form.
So this...this was Green Haze, huh? He was...small...
"He, uh-- he should be knocked out for a few hours."
Shoua's eyes widened at the quiet voice that spoke up, looking at the vigilante who's hands played with the hem of his hoodie. His head was down, so the hero couldn't see anything - but his body seemed tense, as if he was ready to bolt. He sounded...young, like Shouta had feared.
"...you're Green Haze."
"...that's my name?"
The disbelief and surprise in the kids tone was almost laughable, if Shouta's adrenaline wasn't running out and the ache of new bruises was starting to settle in. He let out a breathless snort. "What, you got something better?"
"N-no!" Shouta watches as the figure edges closer to the large villain, quickly tapping the mans forehead with his palm, "I just...I didn't think I'd have a name. I...it's like a hero's name...but I'm not really one."
"Do you want to be a hero?"
If Shouta could see his eyes - Shouta could feel the fear radiate off the smaller person.
"I...I can't."
The erasure hero cursed himself mentally as the vigilante stepped back, tense and looking ready to flee. "I have to go."
"Wait, Haze--"
Police sirens wailed in the distance, and the sky thrummed with energy as raindrops began to fall, spelling the beginning of an oncoming storm. Shouta shook his hair to get it out of his eyes, the vigilante turning to the two smaller villains and carefully touched a palm to both their foreheads.
Thunder rumbled in the darkened sky, and Shouta struggled to find his voice.
"Let the EMT's see you before you go running off," Shouta didn't know how desperate he sounded, but seeing the small form - a child - turn their back to him, ready to leave--
"We can help. I can help-"
"You can't."
Green eyes peered at Shouta, rendering him speechless as the boy tried to choke out something else, before shaking his head. Rain dripped down the boys hair as lightning flashed in the background. The brief flash of light allowed Shouta to catch a glimpse of pale skin and freckles hidden underneath the hoodie, how gaunt he looked. How small, how vulnerable, how miserable.
"I'm sorry."
The boy turned and ran, and Shouta attempted to follow, his bruising ribs protesting against the movement as the police sirens grew ever louder. "Green Haze-- oi, kid!"
Lightning flashed a second time, the ground almost shaking with the boom of thunder that followed - and the brief light provided nothing, no kid in sight.
Green Haze was gone, seemingly disappearing out of thin air as it left Shouta alone, with only the thoughts of how a child too young was roaming the streets.