Chapter Text
Sitting atop his apartment building, Izuku was alone, hoping to find the smallest bit of joy in watching the stars. He lived on the quieter side of the city, which was as peaceful as it was lonely. He was settled on the edge of the building -scarily close to the edge in fact- but he couldn't really bring it in himself to be bothered about it considering how long he's been doing it. It's a dark night, one holding a new moon and a sky that's littered with stars. Oh how much izuku wishes he could be a part of it.
He checks his watch for the umpteenth time this night; it's currently 11:59 pm, July 14th, or in other words it's one minute before Izuku's 15th birthday. He grabs the lighter -that was haphazardly stashed in his pockets earlier today- and lights the candle that sat upon his little birthday cake. Checking the time once again, it finally hit 12.
Izuku starts to recite the infamous customary birthday song, though having to change all the "you"s to "me"s. It's honestly downright pitiful, but he doesn't give it much thought. It's not like he could do much about it anyways.
The song ended as quickly as it began, and Izuku blew out his candle -if he wishes for anything nobody would know, for it's not like anyone was there to ask. Finally, he digs in. It's a strawberry shortcake with vanilla frosting and fresh fruit, izuku's favorite and something he wouldn't typically spend money on even if it's his birthday, but the world just seemed to be thoroughly against him this particular day; so cake it is.
Time no longer holds any worth to him, consequently, losing track of it as he continues to indulge himself with the sweet dessert. Additionally, Izuku loses track of his thoughts; a dangerous game to be played when sitting this high up; you just never know where your mind is going to take you. It could lead you to prosperity and happiness just as much as it could to despair and grief -the second possibility was, unfortunately, the more probable choice for Izuku.
He ends up thinking and thinking for what feels like hours when in reality not even one has passed. Similarly, the sky was still just as dark -if not darker- and the streets still just as quiet -if not quieter, which he felt was pretty odd due to the increase of crime rate in the area. However, due to Izuku's terrible luck, the latter of the two didn't seem to last for much longer as Izuku heard the somber hue of the wind rustle behind him.
He froze for a moment -as he was forcibly brought back to reality- until he regained better judgment and turned around, creating a small gap between him and the edge of the building. Izulu was faced with a mysterious shadow, one that seemed to be lurking in the dark, analyzing the situation just as much as he was. He took notice of the figures' silhouette but it wasn't an easy tell of who it could be, fortunately for him, that was when the shadowy figure stepped forward; Izuku was quick to put a name to the face.
It was the Erasure hero: Eraserhead. That was easy enough to figure that out due to his distinct capture scarf -which izuku had a bunch of questions on- and his bright yellow goggles. What Izuku also noticed immediately was the intense aura that surrounded the man, one that screamed he hadn't slept for days and wasn't about to deal with anything above his pay grade.
Alas, Izuku wasn't the only one with a quick eye. Aizawa swiftly took notice of how young izuku seemed to be and the half eaten cake that sat alongside him -he also notes in his head the lone candle sitting atop it. Finally, although deeming izuku as non-threatening, he still takes caution as he steps towards him. By all means he could be a murderer in disuise.
In all honesty, Aizawa hadn't meant to end up on this side of town, he was just going after some lousy criminal that had hijacked a stranger's car, and in result ended up here. Disregarding all that however, Aizawa was quite curious as to why a child -maybe around the age of 12 or 13- was sitting on the edge of a roof this late at night. He wouldn't ever admit it outloud but Aizawa did have a soft spot for kids, especially for the ones he has the misfortune of relating too
As he inches closer, izuku stays in place; he isn't all that worried. In fact, Izuku was actually quite interested in his predicaments. He doesn't know much about Eraserhead but he does know about his work ethics and passion for teaching the new generation of heroes -which could be questioned at times but it was there nonetheless- both of which are things he finds himself admiring in a pro-hero.
Izuku doesn't realize he's spaced out until Eraserhead is suddenly crouched in front of him, snapping his fingers in an attempt to get his attention without startling him too much. His eyes calmly darted up, initiating eye contact with the man for the first time, both of them staying quiet for another indefinite moment, neither too sure of what to do or say.
But, Aizawa having dealt with occasions comparable to this, he begins, "hey kid, what are you doing out this late? On a rooftop nonetheless" izuku notices the tone in which he's talking; he's trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible so as to not falter or worry izuku.
He, however, doesn't really have much of an answer so he simply shrugs and briefly looks away. Izuku turns back to his original position -with his legs dangling off the building- and digs back into his cake. He takes a moment to think before deciding to offer some to Eraserhead, "cake?" He asked dutifully.
Aizawa isn't exactly sure of what to say, but what he is sure of, is that he's never been offered cake by a child on a rooftop at 1 am. Unfortunately for him, there's a first time for everything, and Aizawa is lucky to have a sweet tooth if not the social skills for this.
"Sure" he voiced quietly, neither of them wanting to disturb the ambience of the atmosphere any more. Aizawa sat down next to izuku, leaving a good few feet in between, then took the kids extra fork and dug in alongside him as the cake was placed in between them.
"So, what's got you up this late and on a rooftop at that?" He reiterates his question from earlier, curiosity getting the best of him.
"It's quiet up here.." izuku begins only to trail off, only answering half his question.
"It's also lonely out here" Aizawa decides to pick up only to be interrupted by a quiet murmur from the kid.
"you'd be surprised at how unlonely being alone could be"
Aizawa can see what he means and decides to leave it alone, not wanting to dive into that trench hole any deeper for now -for god's sake he hasn't even learnt the kids name yet, so he opts to do that next. "You've got a name, kid?" He asks, to which he gets the tentative reply of "Izuku"
Despite Izuku's adoration for Eraserhead, he isn't sure he wants the man looking into him any further, in turn only giving him his first name. "I'm Eras-" Aizawa chose to start up before he was interrupted once again -slightly irritated.
"You're Eraserhead, the Erasure hero, I know"
Aizawa would be lying if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit surprised, it wasn't that often he got recognized, let alone that person being a child; one that seems to be a limelight hero fan boy if his Allmight pajamas pants and Hawks hoodie where anything to go by -however, after a tentative look, he forms another note in his head, noticing how his clothes didn't seem to fit him as it probably should.
Izuku continues, eyeing the slight look of surprise on Aizawa's face, "I was really into heroes for a while, there was hardly anything I didn't know" a ghost of a smile on his face, one that of nostalgia, though lacking the typically fond feeling and rather projecting melancholy and grief. That only added to the set of questions he had for the boy, the leading one being 'what on earth happened?'
As time passed by (think 20-30 minutes), Aizawa didn't learn anything else about the kid. He seemed to prefer the enveloping silence of his town and Aizawa wasn't going to argue against that, deciding not to ask anymore questions for now.
Izuku took the last bit of cake and set the plate and forks aside. The temperature was starting to drop, not so much for him to go inside (it is July after all) but just enough to make him curl up into himself. The winds continued to howl on. He took a deep breath, leaving a shaky exhale as he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them closer.
Izuku wasn't too sure of what to do or say, in all honesty he just wanted to be left alone. While he does commend Eraserheads efforts, it's a little too late for a hero to show up now; not when he has already settled in and began to accept his circumstances.
He hated thinking in that way to be honest: that his situation could be accepted. It was overall a bad idea and always caused him to spiral and to be fair no one would appreciate looking nuts in front of someone they respected. However, had it been another hero, perhaps one he disliked (*cough* allmight *cough*), he would have fed into it in attempts to gain the upper hand in future interactions through guilt tripping. You know, act as that pathetic hero fanboy?
Izuku wasn't a bad person but when the world decided to go against him at the ripe age of 4 and then beat him to a pulp at the age of 7, he decided that he would retaliate. An eye for an eye and all that jazz, although Izuku wouldn't really consider it an act of vengeance but rather just simply returning the favor. After all, you are a product of your environment, and Izuku isn't any different.
Another quick snap in front of him brings him back to the world of the living.