Chapter Text
Shouta's been a Pro Hero for a bit over a decade now. An Underground Pro, at that. He's seen shit, from trafficking rings to Trigger deals, and can confidently say not much fazes him anymore.
But Midoriya Izuku?
That Problem Child was an enigma wrapped in about thirty layers of misdirection. Quirkless, but stronger than some enhancers he's seen. Angelic face, absolutely feral in combat. Mouth like a sailor too, and some sort of animosity towards Bakugou Katsuki, if he was seeing that right. (Bakugou himself seemed to regard Midoriya with a look that oscillated between 'general wariness', 'apoplectic rage', and 'soul-crushing remorse', but that wasn't the point.)
A tickle of recognition had sparked when he shared his hero name, something about 'baseline' and 'Grizz' just so familiar that Shouta couldn't help but latch onto it. The knowledge evaded him for months, until he eventually forgot about it with the Kamino fiasco.
He should've known it was important.
Now he was in an underground yakuza base staring down a bloodied lump that used to be the boss, an unknown mountain of a man, and a vigilante(?) that seemed like a grimdark alternate universe rip-off of Problem Child (if about 20 centimeters taller). To make matters even more headache inducing, apparently they both independently chose the same goddamn name to use as an alias. He clicks his tongue, not letting up his quirk as he points to Midoriya. "You. Green Grizz. Get medical down here. With Mimic out of commission the tunnels should be straightforward again," he orders. "Tell the containment team we're gonna need a black bag."
Midoriya snaps to attention, barking a quick affirmative before racing off, despite protests from Nighteye about protocol and detainment. In Shouta's opinion, if Nighteye has a problem he can get up and deal with it his damn self. "Now you, Purple Grizz," he starts, watching with a raised eyebrow as the vigilante's brows furrow for the briefest of moments. Confusion? "Will you come quietly to the station so we can get this cleared up, or will I need to add resisting arrest to the assault, battery, and vigilante charges?" he asks. Grizz snorts quietly before they can stop themself, shaking their head.
"Honestly? As long as you don't drag my family into it I don't give a shit what you do, Eraser. It's bound to be fuckin' hilarious either way, and I'm honestly just here as a favor," they say casually. The man behind them scoffs, seemingly disappointed.
"Aw, what? C'mon Grizz, you just gonna give up without a fight like that?" he complains.
Grizz scoffs incredulously, gesturing to Shouta with one glove-covered hand. "Are you kidding? That's Eraserhead, he could rock my shit easy!" they protested. "Mi-Usagi rambled about him often enough that I ain't about to tussle with the fucker unless I got a long range sniper between me n' him, no thanks," they huff, crossing their arms petulantly. The big guy (Rappa?) rolls his eyes, but doesn't argue again.
Shouta raises an eyebrow, blinking for just a moment while they're distracted before resetting his quirk. "I'm flattered," he says dryly, one hand on his capture scarf. "And you.....Rappa, was it? Are you going to cause problems for me?" he asks.
Rappa seems to consider it for a moment, before heaving an explosive sigh. "Ach. You seem like the fragile ambush type, no thanks. I just wanted to see Grizz kick Chisaki's shit in, honestly," he grumbles, clicking his tongue. Grizz rolls their eyes, somehow making the consoling pat to the arm condescending.
"Don't worry Big Guy, I'll kick your ass about it later, aight?" they say, and Shouta legitimately can't tell if that was a mocking offer or not, but it seems to cheer Rappa up just fine. It also helps jog his memory as to where the hell he's heard of this kid before, faint recollections of an underground fighting ring he'd helped break up coming to mind. There'd been whispers there of an unbeatable fighter who never seemed to use a Quirk, who had the strength of a bear and didn't care about fighting dirty. It's how he got the name 'The Grizzly', or 'Grizz' for short. Had Midoriya chosen his hero name based on this fighter? If so.....they needed to discuss that, but not now.
A scuff of tiny feet from over by Lemillion caught his attention, a small waif of a girl peeking out from behind a stone pillar. He winced as her wide red eyes caught on the mutilated form of Chisaki, still staring as she resisted Lemillion's attempts to pull her away. "H-Hey Eri, you don't need to look at that, alright?" he said, his usually boisterous voice slightly thready. Not enough for the kid to notice, but more than apparent to a vet like him.
"............saki.......sama?" she croaked, her voice hoarse from both crying and disuse. Grizz's eyes snapped her way and Shouta made an aborted motion towards his capture weapon, ready to restrain him (cooperation be damned), until his entire being seemed to soften.
"Hey, cub. Remember me?" he said, his originally harsh voice mellowed out to a low rumble. She looked over to him, eyes watering as she nodded slowly. "I said I'd take care of him, right? Make sure he couldn't hurt you again?" he asked. Eri nodded again, faster this time. "I kept my promise, see?" And gods he shouldn't sound so comforting while showing a child something so fucked up, right? In what universe was that fair?
But Eri just sniffled, hands fisted in her little nightgown as she stared. "Is.....he dead?" she whispered. Grizz actually had to consider that for a moment, leaning down to check. It took a moment, a harsh poke, and the edge of a knife held under Chisaki's busted nose, but eventually he had an answer.
"He's alive, cub. Beat to hell and back, but he's alive," he said softly. Eri flinched at that, fat tears spilling down her cheeks as Grizz tilted his head.
"H-How do you know he won't come back, then?" she asked fearfully. Grizz, though nearly his entire face was hidden behind his sharp-toothed face mask and deep hood, seemed to don a feral grin.
"Well......" He gives a harsh stomp to one of Chisaki's hands, getting a pained wheeze. "First off, because I broke every single one of his fingers, and then his hands, and then his wrists, so badly that even the best healing in the world can't save them. And then I made sure he couldn't heal himself by taking both his shoulders out of the sockets, so he can't move his arms without a lot of pain. That way, he'd stay nice and still for the heroes to come get him. Once the heroes have him, they'll keep him locked up with something that makes sure he won't be able to use his Quirk to get out, even if he did somehow get his arms back," he explains, like he's walking her through a kindergarten lesson. It's a bit horrifying to hear it laid out in such simple terms, and even more horrifying the way it actually seems to calm the kid down.
"You.....mean it? He won't come back?" she asks, taking a tiny step away from Lemillion towards Grizz. His aura softens into one Shouta would call 'brotherly' if it weren't attached to an unhinged vigilante that just finished describing how he brutally and systematically maimed a man and permanently disabled his Quirk.
"I promise. If he does, I'll kill him myself," he promises. It's quiet for a moment, before she hiccups out a loud sob and sprints across the rubble-strewn floor, barreling into his knees. Grizz sways for a moment before he catches her, hands hovering for a moment like he doesn't want to stain her before giving up and resting them on her tiny back. "It's okay, cub. You're safe now," he soothes, gently repositioning himself so he's more on her level and can hug her properly. She sobs into his neck for a long while as he comforts her, Shouta keeping an eye on the two just in case.
Just as the kid is finally calming down, Midoriya returns with an EMT, some stretchers, and a body bag. "S-Sorry! Things got a bit hectic!" he pants, eyes widening when he notices Grizz and the girl. "Eri....." he breathes, tension Shouta hadn't even noticed draining out of him at the sight of her.
"Turns out, Overhaul is alive. Barely. He's gonna need one hell of a hospital stay though," Shouta tells the EMT, nodding to the bloodied lump on the ground. It's only their training that catches the wince before it happens, though they do still go a little green around the (literal) gills.
"And your students?" they ask.
Shouta blinks. "Students?"
They nod between Midoriya and Grizz, one scaly eyebrow raised. "I figured they were both yours, considering the matching thing they've got going on. Can't always tell with you Underground types," they said. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Nothing life-threatening. For now, we need to do a debrief. I'd recommend getting Nighteye and Overhaul to a hospital ASAP."