Chapter Text
When one considered the fact that every single faculty member in high schools that offered a heroics track were Pro Heroes and their civilian names and photos weren't locked behind a government registry paywall on the faculty page, it shouldn't really be a surprise that a situation like the following would occur.
Shouta hadn't even been on patrol. He hadn't been able to sleep on his day off, either. His eyes were burning and half of it wasn't even his usual dry eye.
The convenience store's music was irritating, especially what they played at this hour, but he needed to restock on some stuff.
He crouched down, grabbing a few jelly pouches from the lowest shelf. On his way to checkout, Shouta picked up a new bottle of eye-drops. He had been running low on both.
Once he paid, he took his small haul and started walking back to his apartment.
A meow made him stop in his tracks. High and repeating endlessly. A kitten?
Shouta turned and focused in on where it was coming from.
There.
His boots thumped on the ground, sometimes colliding with small puddles. He slowed down when he got within a reasonable distance.
The kitten was out of sight, but didn't he have some treats to lure it out? Shouta kept them in his right pocket. Oboro started it back in–
Irrelevant.
He stepped into the alley, speaking softly. Aimless words that must've been the story he kept telling to any stray that'll listen to the voice and not the words.
If it was actually a kitten, then he had to act a bit differently compared to when he encountered more grown stray cats.
The kitten crept out. It quieted down, looking up at him with wide eyes. It slowly got closer.
Shouta smiled and squatted down. He held out his hand. The kitten batted playfully at him, light and no claws.
"Hey, buddy." He murmured.
There was something about the cat's eyes, something too smart. Too human. It was intriguing. Maybe the kitten was quirked?
The small animal let out a small noise, inching back and gesturing with its head to deeper within the alley.
"You want me to follow you?" He guessed. The kitten made another noise. "What a smart baby." Shouta cooed as he got up and started following the cat.
The kitten meowed in reply before sprinting.
Shouta barked out a surprised laugh before giving chase. The cat probably thought it was a game, and who was he not to play?
They weaved between buildings and through alleyways. The cat always waited up sometimes to see if Shouta was still following.
Shouta found himself sitting down on the grimy ground in front of some boxes that the kitten had ran into.
"What did you want to show me, baby?" He asked, squinting to see if he could spot where the kitten had disappeared to.
The warmth of a hand about to grab him appeared over his shoulder and he twisted, kicking out at the dumbass who tried to take him by surprise. The man with the same exact eyes as the cat he was just playing with glared at him.
"Seriously?" Shouta narrowed Erasure-red eyes at him, restraining him with practiced motions. "What the hell was your goal here? You could have gotten an 'assaulting a Pro Hero' charge if I wasn't faster."
The guy glanced over Shouta's shoulder, up towards roof-level and grinned.
A prick. Upper arm, where his short sleeve stopped and bare skin began. He hadn't registered when it got in him.
A dart?
Shouta's eyelids got heavy, even as he kept his grip on the man and looked around at where the dart could have came from. Someone was up on the rooftop. Someone he didn't see.
Sedative dart, then.
Fuck.
His boots became harder to move, his grip on the man loosened. The man just stepped back out of his hold and laughed. The edges of his vision blurred and he must have blinked, because his eyes weren't aching as much, but when did he blink?
When did he deactivate Erasure?
The last thing he heard was the sound of a car coming closer.
Then nothing.
–
Izuku's eyes widened as a little girl darted out of an alley-way and collided with his legs. Lemillion's lips twitched into a frown for a split second as he looked over her, Izuku doing the same.
She was tiny, skinny. There were scars over visible stretches of skin. Barefoot.
A very familiar voice yelled out to her.
"Eri!"
Izuku's head jerked up and he came face to face with his homeroom teacher, Aizawa-sensei.
He was more tired, more obviously scarred. His hair was tied back in a low bun. His stubble wasn't the way it used to be. His capture scarf wasn't around his shoulders.
He hadn't seen the man since before internships. It's been months since then.
Aizawa was also barefoot, like Eri.
Izuku's breath rushed out of him.
Aizawa's usually dark eyes were gold.
The girl, Eri, smiled up at his old teacher.
"Come on! We can go with the heroes and we won't have to worry anymore! The green haired hero is Deku, right?"
Aizawa's face pinched minutely, particularly when he locked eyes with Izuku.
"I can't go with you, honey." He patted Eri's head. "I was supposed to be the one to bring you back. I can't leave K–Overhaul. Go, I'll figure it out."
"Mr. Aizawa? What– Overhaul?"
So many questions rushed through Izuku's head, but there was likely no time to ask any of them.
Lemillion dug into his utility belt before he held out a small circle of metal, something that can easily fit into the holes of the sweatpants that Aizawa was wearing and be unnoticable.
"Eraserhead, this is one of Sir's trackers. Hide it on you."
Aizawa just nodded and took it, tucking it inside his sweatpants. Once he tore his gaze away from Izuku, he wouldn't meet either of their eyes.
Instead, he crouched down and hugged Eri. Aizawa murmured something in her ear and she got a determined look on her face.
"You will." She replied back. "You will, and we'll be out together."
Aizawa shook his head with a sigh. He pushed her into Izuku's arms.
"Run. Protect her. Don't let me or Overhaul find her."
"Understood." Izuku picked her up, pushing aside how light she was. He started running, One for All pulsing slightly in his legs. "Come on, Eri. Lemillion!"
Lemillion was close behind him, having latched onto Izuku's suit in order to keep up.
"Calling Nighteye! If we have to worry about Eraserhead tailing us, then she needs to get out of the prefecture entirely!"
Izuku wracked his mind for the protocol that Mr. Yamada drilled into them as they weaved through alleyways and got away from the main city.
"No chance at getting to the agency?"
Lemillion gestured for them to slow down. Izuku obeyed. They stopped when it would have taken Eraserhead an hour to get to them.
"None for you. Can't risk getting cut off. Turn back, buy some clothes to change into for you and Eri at the train station, then take the first train to UA." Lemillion ordered. "I'm going to the agency after I finish doing the patrol route. I've been doing this route for two years, it's going to be weird if I'm not doing it now."
Izuku nodded.
"I'll see you later, then." He sighed. "No pressure."
Lemillion grinned wryly.
"No pressure at all!"
Hours later, when Eri was in UA's custody and Izuku was in his dorm, he stared up at the ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark stars mocked him.
What happened to Aizawa-sensei?