Chapter Text
Izuku learned at the age of five that the world is a cruel place. The world showed no mercy towards the quirkless. He also learned that not everyone is cruel. He learned there was beauty and kindness in spots you may not think to look. Since he had no quirk, he had to look much harder than most.
"Thief!"
"Wait! No-"
"Ungrateful brat!"
"Burden to society!"
"Quirkless Deku!"
———
Eraserhead had a job to do. There was a homeless kid with green hair. That was the only description he got, but he'd make do. He was tasked with the job of finding the kid and making sure he was given a home. Whether it be the kid's home or a foster home.
Eraserhead didn't understand how that was a hero's job much less an underground hero's, but he'd do it. It wasn't too far for him. A small town by musutufu. That's how he was in his full hero costume at the crack of dawn. He would ask the citizens if they knew anyone by that description. Almost everyone did, but they denied it. Eraser was getting pissed. He's been searching for two hours, yet no one wants to tell him where the kid is. What do they have against the poor kid?
It wasn't until he found the one person that would speak, he found the kid. He had asked, and the guy denied it, but Eraser saw the guilt on his face. He knew that civilian knew exactly where the kid is.
"What's his name?" Erasure narrowed his eyes.
"Wh-who?"
"The kid. You obviously know where he is."
"I- I don't."
"Tell me."
After looking around the area and deciding they were alone, he spoke, "Izuku Midoriya. His name is Izuku Midoriya. I don't know where, exactly, but he should be somewhere by the bakery.
"You shouldn't get your hopes up, though. I doubt he's still alive."
Eraser made it to the bakery in record time. He searched the hardest and fastest for Izuku than he ever had for anyone before. Five minutes later he came across a body.
The body was small. Couldn't be older than five or six. He had green hair and freckles. This was Izuku. It had to be, but he was so injured. His breathing was poor and there were bruises forming all over him. He was also pretty sure his arm was broken. Who could do this to a kid?
Eraser gently picked Izuku up and ran to the nearest hospital as gently as he could. All while speaking comfort words to Izuku.
"Hello, Midoriya. I'm Eraserhead. You'll be ok, Midoriya. These doctors will make you feel better in no time. Once you're all better, I'll make sure you're in a safe home. No one will ever be able to touch you again." Eraser was really good with children. He adored them, but only few people knew that about him.
Izuku opened his eyes a little to reveal big green ones. He looked at Eraser and smiled, showing off bloody teeth. He closed his eyes again and nuzzled into Erasure's hoodie.
"Midoriya, don't go back to sleep, ok? Can you do that for me?" Eraser didn't know if Izuku would wake up again if he fell back asleep.
"You're one of my favorite heroes, Mr. Eraserhead. You're not on the tv a lot, so I don't get to see you very often." Izuku yawned. "You don't like attention, do you?"
"No, I don't." Eraser never knew what to do with a fan. He didn't have a lot. Especially not children.
"I saw you helping a kid. The lady said he was quirkless. You were the only one who helped him. You're nice."
Eraser remembered that day. He was so pissed at the other heroes who didn't care about the child. He was targeted specifically because he didn't have a quirk, yet no one cared. They saved a kid so they could gain popularity. None of them lingered to help the child. None of them except for Eraser.
"Do you like heroes, Midoriya?"
"I love them, but you and All Might are my favorite!"
"What do you love about them?"
"They save people, but..."
"Is there something wrong, Midoriya?"
"I don't think all of them would save someone who was quirkless. We're just a burden to society. Do you think All Might would save someone who is quirkless?"
"Of course. All Might is the number one hero. He wouldn't be number one if he became picky about who he saves." Eraser wished he could say the same about the rest of the heroes, but, to be honest, he didn't know how many of them would choose to save a quirkless kid.
"Yeah!" Erasure noticed how difficult it was getting for Izuku to keep his eyes open. Still, he managed to keep Izuku talking all the way to the hospital.
Upon entering the hospital, Izuku was surrounded by doctors. It seemed like Izuku was a regular there and had a team of nurses and doctors who adored him. Eraser wasn't sure if he was relieved or far more worried.
Izuku didn't have to go through surgery, but Eraser was kicked out of the room while they worked. Izuku was promptly bandaged and had his bones corrected. Technically he could be released in a day or two, but...
"Since he is still so young, we will need to keep him here for another six weeks to keep an eye on his broken ribs." The nurse told Eraser.
"I know he's quirkless, homeless and it's safest to keep him here, but will you actually be able to do that for six weeks?" Eraser asked. The nurse slumped her shoulders and sighed.
"Maybe not, but I'll try for as long as I can. Most of the staff here love Izuku, but there are still those who can't see past the fact that he's quirkless."
"Have you talked about this with the police or local heroes?"
"Multiple times. This is one of the most quirkist towns in Japan, so no one cared enough to actually do anything for him."
"Call this number if anything happens to him." Eraser handed her a card that had his hero name and number on it. Hizashi jokingly gave it to him, but Eraser carried it on him just in case something happened, which it never did until then. "If anyone tries to kick him out, tell them that the pro hero Eraserhead ordered Izuku Midoriya to stay at this hospital and you weren't given the details.
"I'll be back. I just have to take care of a few things." Eraser looked at Izuku who was sleeping away the trauma. He left faster than the nurse's shock could wear off and tell him thank you.
———
"Izuku Midoriya. Anywhere from four to six years old. Most likely quirkless. Curly, green hair, green eyes, and freckles. Give me as much information about him as you can." Eraser showed up at his close friend's office in Musutufu.
"Always so polite, Eraser." The officer rolled his eyes. "Is this about a case? I can't imagine why you need information on a kid."
"I'll fill you in when I come back." Eraser left. His friend could feel how angry this case was getting him. He would have asked more questions, but since Eraser was so angry, he let him go. Eraser owed him one, though.
———
"I need access to this towns footage." Eraser was back in that little town. The city and town were connected by a small forest so it didn't take long going from place to place.
"Why's that?" The chief officer asked.
"I'm the underground hero Eraserhead investigating an attempted homicide case." Eraser hated the media, but if he were more popular, working with idiots in other towns wouldn't be so tedious.
The guy did the dance of I'm talking to a pro hero. Oh my gosh! Gotta impress them! which would do absolutely nothing for him. Eraser just groaned internally and waited for the guy to give him access to every camera in the town.
Eraserhead skimmed through the cameras until he found the ones near the bakery. He watched Izuku pick up a piece of bread from the ground by the bread stand the guy had set up. The guy noticed the piece of bread in Izuku's hand. He yelled at Izuku who promptly ran away. The guy gave chase, followed by three other people. They cornered Izuku into an alley that had no cameras. A little later and they left with no Izuku.
Eraser paused the video. He looked at all four criminals, memorizing their faces, before leaving. Eraser had never felt so angry and he'd been plenty angry. If Eraser weren't a hero, he might've killed those four. As it stands, he committed no murder, and turned them into the police in Musutufu so they could get properly punished by an unbiased judge. Whilst there, he picked up the file on Izuku.
"Midoriya is five and quirkless. He was reported missing by his teacher, who couldn't get ahold of the mother, a year ago. Said woman was contacted by the police. Once questioned... well, it's all there, in the file."
"Inko Midoriya, are you the mother of Izuku Midoriya?"
"Not anymore. He's been nothing but a burden. My husband left me when we found out Izuku's quirkless. I can't blame him. My son, quirkless, how pathetic. So, I did what anyone would do. I got rid of him."
"Midoriya, where is Izuku?"
"Hell if I know. We got in the car and I just drove. I don't know where, but I stopped the car, forced him out, and drove off. Since then, my life has been complete bliss. Except for Mitsuki barging in asking where Izuku is. I didn't tell her since she can be so hard to deal with."
"She abandoned her own son because he's quirkless." Eraser wished he were surprised, but, being an underground hero, he had come across too many cases like these. He had never actually been involved in one, but he heard of them.
"So why did you need this information? Did you find him?"
"Yeah." Erasure didn't give anymore details before leaving.
He had a long day and it was late. He ended up buying a hotel room for the night in Musutufu. He looked in the file to find out everything he could about Izuku. His grades were really good. Second in his class. He was smart, but he was a year behind everyone his age. Eraser would need to tell that to whoever took Izuku in. Wait a minute! Eraser's an adult! He can take in Izuku. Sure, he'd have to explain to Hizashi that this was a thought out plan because no, Eraser wasn't that irresponsible. Now, he just had to go over every aspect of his life to decide what would need to change to take care of Izuku. Not a lot apparently. Turns out he's just an overgrown kid.
———
"Mr. Eraserhead! You're back!" The nurse from before smiled.
"Just Eraserhead please." Eraser could barely get past Mr. Aizawa, he couldn't handle it with his hero name too. It was so weird.
"Right! Do you want to see Izuku?" The nurse asked. It was obvious she was excited to see someone who cared for Midoriya.
"Yes. You should know the people responsible for his injuries are paying for their crimes in Musutufu."
"Thank you for taking care of this. Even if you can't completely help Izuku, I'm happy to hear this town is a little safer for him." The nurse began to lead Eraser to Izuku's room.
"Midoriya will be taken care of. I know a safe place for him. A city that should be safer for him." They both knew that no city would be safe for Izuku. Almost everyone despised quirkless people.
"How do you know it will be safe for him?" The nurse had to know Izuku would be safe.
"There's a home for him there. He won't be treated poorly for his quirklessness. I can guarantee his safety in that home."
"Do you know these people personally?"
"He's going to my house. I'll be taking care of him if he's ok with it, that is." The nurse lit up at that.
"Oh, he'll be more than happy! Ever since he woke up he was asking where you were and when you'll be back. He really admires you."
Eraser tried to hide his excitement. Kids really brought out his soft side. That's part of the reason he was hired to teach at UA. He would be a strict teacher, but wouldn't he a total ass to them. Maybe 90% of an ass, but that just stemmed from constantly being tired. Oh well, he'd be a good dad. Hizashi told him that a few times and even if he wasn't a great dad at first, he'd become one. He was a quick learner.