Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

11: PATROL

Between school, training, and patrolling, Izuku was feeling strained. He'd almost forgotten how stressful it was to be a Pro Hero, but it was also exhilarating to be back in the saddle, able to beat up villains in his downtime, even if they were mostly petty criminals since Aizawa didn't trust him to not die just yet. Apparently, he was going to stick with his teacher until he was older or more experienced, which is when he'd join All Might fighting a higher calibre of villain.

"Eraserhead, duck!" Izuku – as Oni – called through his helmet, flinging a large chunk of concrete towards the tiny villain.

They were currently fighting a man barely a foot tall, dressed like a literal garden gnome and aptly named Gnomen. From what they'd experienced so far, it seemed as if his Quirk was some kind of sixth sense that allowed him to pre-empt attacks, which meant he was proving to be a massive annoyance to the pair as they attempted to take him down. He kept darting behind things to avoid Eraserhead's gaze, catching enough time to be able to predict what they would try next. It felt stupid to be bumbling around in a rundown part of town, unable to beat a toddler-sized human wearing a bright crimson pointed hat.

"Nice job," Eraserhead responded exasperatedly as the villain slipped away once more.

"Thanks," Oni shot back sarcastically, jumping up onto a wall and rapidly turning a corner as he tailed his target.

He dropped down in front of Gnomen – he hated how the name simultaneously made him want to keel over laughing and want to punch something – and swiped out to try and catch him, only for the villain to step on his hands, stomp down on his helmet, then jump down over his back. Oni whipped around, practically throwing himself forwards with a boost from One for All, leaning forwards to press his palms into the ground and do a backflip over Gnomen, who skidded to a halt when the hero landed in a crouch in front of him. Aizawa twisted around the corner into the alley, a whirl of light grey capture gear and black hair with eyes that undoubtedly glinted red behind his yellow goggles.

"Time's up," Oni said lowly, his modulated voice dark and intimidating.

The villain nervously backed up a step, glancing over his shoulder at the underground Pro Hero. He looked back at Oni, who was glaring at him with slitted eyes. Gnomen suddenly pitched forwards, lowering his head and stabbing his pointed hat towards Oni, who just about managed to angle his torso to the side so it brushed past his suit. Ribbons lashed out and snapped around the tiny body, locking his arms to his sides and keeping him in one place despite his frantically wiggling legs.

"What took you so long to capture him?" Oni growled, raising a hand to tentatively rub at his side as he thought about how humiliating it would be to die from being impaled on a garden gnome hat.

"I was too busy feeling embarrassed for you – time's up, really, Oni?" Aizawa countered with his lips curved into a disappointed frown.

"You're telling me that's not a cool catchphrase?!" He cried indignantly, crossing his arms over the hourglass insignia on his chest and glowering at his partner.