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The incident was ongoing when he arrived.
The chatter over the heronet was awash with sympathy and awe. Someone – a civilian – was performing an extreme act of heroism within the good samaritan laws apparently, and they were struggling under the weight of something even the heroes on the scene couldn't carry. Everyone in the vicinity was called in, converging on the downtown district of tall apartments and even taller offices.
Including the All Might Agency building that had just been attacked.
Shouta had no idea what he'd be able to contribute to the area, especially during the day, but he was still a hero, and as such, obligated to at least try.
The comms got frantic as he closed in.
"Shit, he's shaking!"
"I don't know if he can keep it up much longer!"
"What's the ETA on Cementoss?"
"We need anyone who can help stabilize a falling building, fast!"
"Kamui, could you–"
"Not a building that size, I'd snap under half that weight and I'm still twenty minutes away."
"Evacuations are going as well as possible but we need more time!"
"Where's All Might!?"
Eraserhead swung around the block and briefly stumbled in shock.
The dust cloud had mostly dissipated revealing a scene that would stick in his mind forever. All Might Agency, the tallest building in Musutafu, with its whole side tilted in such a way that the windows, which were still mostly intact, perfectly reflected the beautiful blue sky all the way to the ground, and beneath it was a lone figure. Their head was ducked low, arms bent to press their palms up against the slowly splintering building above them. They were on one knee, and surrounded by dust, broken concrete, and the sullen greys of the city. The perfect framing of the apartments on either side of the street led straight up to them, creating a focal point, and it gave the immense feeling and appearance of someone holding up a crumbling sky.
Eraserhead rushed forward. There wasn't anything he could really do except join evac efforts, except... The closer he got, the more he realized that the figure was small. Too small. Maybe even smaller than the first years that came through Yuuei.
His tiny frame was trembling, arms and legs far too slim for the strength he was showing, and crackling green energy snapped and shimmered around him.
Eraserhead paused at the perimeter, noticing Detective Tsukauchi and his team were there too.
"That's a child," Eraserhead said.
Tsukauchi looked at him, eyes exhausted and helpless. "Probably, yeah. And we have no way to help him."
Sansa shook his fur out in frustration, "he's overexerting himself, he's starting to shake. I don't know how much longer he can hold it."
Eraserhead was still watching though, and he recognized that shaking. He dealt with kids all fucking day who shook with exertion, dealt far less with this, but at least it was something he understood – something he could do.
"He's not overexerted," he said and slipped his goggles into place, "he's crying."
He barely had a second to acknowledge the alarmed looks sent his way from everyone within earshot before he was racing forward again.
He heard Tsukauchi behind him shout, something about stability and danger, blah blah, Eraser knew. He knew exactly what dangers followed an unstable building. Felt the loss firsthand. But here was someone, possibly a child, who was holding an impossible weight, maybe in pain, definitely in distress, and Eraserhead wasn't the kind of hero who could stand back and do nothing.
Kids didn't deserve to die alone buried beneath falling buildings.
He slid to a stop in front of the child and lowered his goggles, "hey," he said quietly. Somehow with however the distance and acoustics worked out, the sounds of emergency personnel, shouting heroes, and wailing civilians were muffled to almost nothing.
Damp green curls hung in a short curtain, covering the boy's eyes.
Eraser slowly and gently reached out and pushed them up to reveal enormously wide and terrified green eyes. Tear tracks were etched into the dust caked into the sweat on his face.
"You're doing great, kiddo, hang on. We're doing our best to get Cementoss on the scene, okay? Just a little longer."
The boy's eyes closed briefly in what appeared to be gratitude, unshed tears slipping down his cheeks. When they opened they held a new spark of determination.
"Th-hhh–" the boy attempted to speak but it came out in a dry rasp.
Eraser winced, "you've been down here breathing dust this whole time, haven't you? Can you hang on for a minute? I can grab you some water and a mask, that should help."
The boy's head moved slightly in a nod and Eraser nodded back.
"Okay, I'll be right back, kid."
Eraser ran faster than he felt like he'd ever run in his life. He hit the perimeter at a sprint and vaulted over it gesturing to Tsukauchi's team since they were the ones he knew and would most likely take him seriously without arguing.
"Water, straw, mask," he demanded snappily.
Sansa scrabbled to release a water bottle clipped to his hip and tossed it over.
"That has a straw built in!" The cat quirked officer explained.
Tsukauchi wrestled a plain medical mask from his back pocket and quickly handed it over as well.
"Is he okay?" The detective asked.
Eraserhead glared, "I'm going to make sure he will be."
He sprinted back into the danger zone.
He kicked up some gravel as he slid back in front of the kid and immediately popped open the water bottle. It had a spring loaded straw that popped out and he carefully maneuvered it between the boy's lips.
"Try to drink slowly so it doesn't shock your system," he said, watching the kid's eyes flutter closed, relief etched into his soft features.
After a couple seconds the kid released the straw to pant harshly.
"Y-you're... Pro hero Eraserhead," he grunted. "This situation isn't ideal for you."
Despite his surprise at being recognized, Eraserhead nodded, "everyone was called in to help you, kid. Even me."
"Just p-promise you'll leave if I lose my strength? I-I don't know how much I have. I thou-thought I was quirkless."
And fuck, that was fucked up. Eraser's eyebrows shot up in horror, "this is your quirk manifestation?"
The kid closed his eyes and nodded, "yeah. Got the extra toe joint and everything, so this is pretty unexpected. I've never heard of anyone developing a quirk at fourteen."
Eraser placed his hand gently on the kid's sweaty forehead, "well fuck, kid. That's not fair."
The kid let out a sound that was half laugh half sob, "there's a rock between my back and the building–you've got no idea. I think it's gonna dig a hole in my shoulder blade."
Eraserhead hung his head briefly, something like grief rolling through him. He opened his heronet comm channel and tilted his head to make sure he would be heard loud and clear.
"Please tell me Cementoss is almost here, this kid is having the worst possible quirk manifestation and there's a rock between him and the building that is grinding into his bones with every breath," he hissed into the device.
For a second the heronet chatter went completely silent. Then it started back up twice as loud and frantic, voices from all over the area pitching in to work harder and faster to get this kid relief.
Eraser tucked the medical mask around the kids ears carefully, "here, this should help with the dust, you need some more water first?"
"Yes please."
As he held the water up for the kid to drink again and tucked the mask behind his ears, a much appreciated voice came over the comms.
"Cementoss here, ETA three minutes, traffic is halted, moving on foot, approaching rapidly."
Eraser nearly slumped in relief, "hey, Cementoss is only three minutes out, kid, you're almost done."
The boy nodded and managed a tight smile, "thank you."
It was a long, sweaty three minutes during which Eraserhead murmured quiet praise, wiping ineffectively at the boy's silent tears. The kid didn't break eye contact even once.
Eventually cement walls shot up around them and the instant Cementoss gave the okay, Eraserhead erased the kid's newly manifested quirk and caught him as he fell forward, green energy flickering out of existence, completely exhausted.
"That was amazing, kiddo. You can be done now, I've got you okay? You're done now," Eraser whispered, cradling the boy carefully against his chest, making sure not to touch the part of his back that had been in contact with the building. He could barely see it with the way the kid was slumped into him, but what he could see was rubbed absolutely raw. When he glanced up, there was a bright splotch of blood on the bottom of the building as well. "Let's go get you fixed up."
He carried the small form, much lighter than expected, toward the paramedics. When he emerged from the cement aisle created by Cementoss's quirk a loud cheer went up from the surrounding people. A crowd of civilians, police, and pro heroes alike all calling out gratefully for the boy who had saved so many lives.
The random cheering eventually turned into a chant of–
"Atlas! Atlas! Atlas!"
Eraserhead realized he was not the only one to make that connection.
"It's a bit uncomfortable to have an audience, huh?" He said to the newly named Atlas who was still recovering his breath from the whole ordeal. "But then again, after all that, you probably deserve some recognition."
They made it safely to the nearby ambulance and Eraser stayed to hold Atlas up gently while they checked him over.
The rock that had been grinding into his shoulder blade was only a pebble, less than a square centimeter, but it had ground a 5 millimeter deep divot into the bone that there was no real recourse to fix. So mostly the entire wound was simply washed, coated in ointment, and carefully wrapped.
Atlas nonsensically asked to keep the rock which was carefully washed and dropped into a specimen container for the boy.
"Alright kid, let's get your pet rock home," Eraser hummed, still carrying Atlas after the paramedics released them. The small glass jar containing his bone grinding pebble rattled in the kid’s hand.
Atlas wriggled, "wait, I need to register... Register this quirk..."
"Your quirk," Eraser emphasized, "can wait until you've recovered from it."
But Atlas shook his head, tremulously moving to push himself up and away, "no, no I have to– so I know it's not a dream, I need to register...m-my quirk." Atlas trembled before whispering again, "my quirk."
Eraser couldn't pretend to understand what kind of traumatic life experiences led the kid to need it so bad, but if it was going to stress him out enough to keep him from relaxing, keep him from healing... "Fine, then I'm gonna take you over to Detective Tsukauchi. He'll call your guardian and help get you set up legally."
Atlas froze and one green eye peeked up at Eraserhead.
"Police?" The kid whispered fearfully.
Eraser held Atlas just a little tighter, trying not to think about all the times Tsukauchi complained about bigoted officers straight up ignoring quirkless abuse in the past. "I promise this one is gonna help you. Best detective in Musutafu."
Atlas relaxed. "Oh right, I have a quirk now," the kid said with an air of disbelief and awe.
"Tsukauchi would have helped if you were quirkless, homeless, and disabled, Atlas. This one is a good one." Eraser defended.
Atlas looked up at him in flat disbelief. Eraser sighed. He understood why the kid couldn't take him at him word, but he hoped Tsukauchi would be able to prove himself.
"Also, what's Atlas? Why are they cheering that?" The kid asked curiously.
"You're Atlas," Eraser answered simply. He turned so they could both look at the building that was held up by Cementoss now, but still tilted to reflect the clouds, "See? You held up the sky."
Atlas made a little 'oh,' sound and mouthed the name to himself, eyes wide. "That would be a pretty cool hero name," he murmured.
Eraserhead huffed, amused. "A cool hero name for a cool hero like you, maybe?"
He pretended his heart didn't stutter from the starry-eyed look the kid sent him. Maybe he would enjoy seeing Atlas in his class very very soon
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