Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After he got released from the hospital, Shouta walked home in silence. It was normal for there to be silence, he was not much of a social man after all. The problem was that the silence wasn’t the usual empty one that he was so used to. It was different, almost eerily so, that wasn’t what made him stop in his tracks though. It was the sound of boots clacking on the roof above him that provoked his reaction senses. He gripped his capture scarf in his left hand and focused on the terrain and everything around him. His heart rate spiked in a way that spoke ‘danger danger danger’ but he made sure to not make any unnecessary movements. With his right hand, he put his hand into his pocket and took out his phone and turned it on. 

To any other bystander, Shouta looked like an ordinary man who fixed up his scarf while scrolling on the net. That looked normal to others, but if it was another underground pro hero nearby, they would recognize that this was not an ordinary thing. They would notice the slight tensing on the man’s shoulders and the grip on the scarf that looked tighter than normal. 

The footsteps above stilled and silence took over again. The underground hero turned around slowly and walked in the opposite direction, he walked to a nearby alley and slipped his phone in the same pocket he took it out of. He looked up on the building in front of him and focused on the roof that he heard walking noises from. The sun had almost set and it was a little difficult for him to see what was going on up there. He was able to spot a shadow on top of the building. Shouta had a feeling that if he wanted answers and the person there to stop following him then he had to talk to them and get it over with.

Shouta sighed and started climbing the building in parkour style. He jumped from trash cans to stairs and to the top of the establishment with practiced ease and stealth that could only be achieved by a lot of years of service in the underground hero industry and experience. He looked at the person who had their back on him. The anonymous individual wore an all black attire specifically for nighttime wandering. They wore a black trench coat that was reaching the person’s legs. They wore black denim jeans and a utility belt that housed different tools in each slot. Shouta had no doubt that behind that coat the individual wore a bulletproof vest, they would be pretty stupid if they didn’t have one. 

Shouta got his tight grip on the capture scarf and stood on guard. This person could be dangerous and he didn’t want to underestimate them. It was important as a hero to never underestimate a villain or a suspicious individual that they had to deal with. That was a survival rule in the industry as a whole

. 

The anonymous person turned around to observe the underground hero, his battle stance ready and scarf gripped like a lasso that threatened to restrain whoever was deemed as a threat. The person in the trenchcoat slowly pulled down their hood and mask and looked at the man that was also known in the underground as Eraserhead, the quirk erasure hero. 

Shouta watched them turn around and pull off their hood and mask slowly and that’s when he saw those eerily familiar eyes that belonged to the person who bandaged him up back in that minor villain fight. He relaxed a little when he saw them, although his grip on the scarf never lessened. It was time to ask questions and get answers.

“Alright, now I want you to answer my questions.”

Chapter Text

“Who are you?”

The figure in front of him didn’t provide an answer, they only shook their head in a ‘no’ gesture. They looked troubled and desperate, desperate for what? Shouta had a suspicion that the person in front of him didn’t want to divulge personal information, he understood that feeling, of course he did. He didn’t like to share details about his personal life either. Although, a simple name or alias would suffice as well. The pro hero did not press further though, he knew that this would bite him in the butt later but he would deal with it when the time came. Shouta looked at the vigilante’s eyes (at least he thought they were a vigilante) and watched for anything that he could have missed. When he sensed that it was just silent, he decided to ask another question with the hopes that there would be an answer this time. It was strange that the person in front of him decided to follow an underground pro hero, especially since most of the people just avoided the trouble of tailing one.

“Why are you following me?”

That question was what made the person act out. Shouta threw his capture scarf at them but the weapon was a second too late. The stranger threw a smoke bomb on the ground and it exploded with white gas and a bang.The man shielded his face with his right hand and was vaguely aware of the footsteps that ran away from the rooftop. After the smoke somewhat cleared, he let his hand fall down and he looked ahead only to see that the figure was gone. He turned his head to the left and saw the retreating frame of their coat. For a moment, he saw them turn around and those bright eyes stared at him for one second. The person immediately looked away and ran as far as their legs could take them. 

Shouta saw that and he immediately went after them, his capture scarf was used as a grappling hook. He attached his scarf on lamp posts, roofs and everything that could be used as a vantage point. The man had to know more, his questions were not answered and he could not let that stop him. He could not let them get away for the second time. Parkour and jumps were natural to him, as natural as breathing. He knew he had an advantage and so he used it, he was faster than people gave him credit for, years of experience and villain chases trained him in the best ways possible. He saw the silhouette of the figure and he propelled himself and ran faster. He chased after them and ran through streets, rooftops and nearby parks that were still populated.Shouta eventually caught them running across the street that was not so populated. He had his eyes on the figure in front of him and gripped his capture weapon. He shot out his scarves at the vigilante’s ankles and they tripped and fell on the asphalt with a grunt. The pro hero activated his quirk and came closer to wrap the vigilante securely in his capture scarf. 

He looked down at them as they struggled desperately to get out of the weapon. Eraserhead knew that their efforts were futile as the scarf was made of a very durable and special material, not everyone could escape easily. He came closer, his hair was floating up and his eyes were glowing red from his erasure quirk. The man took off the person’s utility belt and hid it inside his shirt, then he crouched and scooped the vigilante up.

“You will answer my questions sincerely this time. Since you did not attack me directly, I will not turn you over to the police yet. If you prove to be uncooperative then I will have no choice.”  

Shouta ran to the nearest alley with the person in his arms, he jumped on the lowest roof and sprinted over buildings and trees. Hopefully the vigilante would actually cooperate this time, otherwise he would have to call Tsukauchi and put them under police interrogation. He let out a sigh and focused ahead. The person struggled in his arms but he held them firmly. Shota would not lose his chance to interrogate them again.