I walked through the aisles of endless men's clothing, trying to find something suitable for my brother to wear. His birthday was coming up and I wanted to get him something nice. He already had a bunch of clothes, however, so I moved on to a video game store. My brother, Kaito, loved video games, and he was always trying to buy the latest one. "Excuse me," I waved down an employee, "what's the newest video game that's out right now? I'm trying to find something my brother would like."
"Oh, that would be-" BOOM! An earth-rattling explosion caused me to fall to the floor, as well as everyone else in the store. Without moving my body, I lifted my head to see that a villain was holding various bombs in his hands. Bombs were also strapped to his back and to the front of his body. I almost laughed at how ridiculous he looked with a bomb for a head. It wasn't a regular bomb either, it was like one of those bombs you see in a video game.
He suddenly maniacally laughed and set off one of his explosives, causing all of the windows to shatter. I covered my head with my arms and hands, hissing in pain when the glass cut them. Okay, forget how funny he looked, this was a dangerous situation that I needed to get out of! I quickly crawled through the aisles and towards the exit, trying to ignore the lifeless eyes of a couple of people I passed. With the exit in my sights, I almost cheered for joy, until something wrapped around my throat in a chokehold. I froze and grabbed whatever it was that was holding me hostage.
"Where do you think you're going, little lady?" the villain hissed in my ear. Despite the situation, I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. His bomb head had cartoonish eyes and no mouth. No wonder he chose to be a villain, he was probably bullied for his looks.
"Let me go, I didn't do anything to you!"
"Oh, but you were trying to get away, and I never leave my victims alive," he sneered. I began to panic and tried to struggle, but he just tightened his hold on me and led me to the entrance of the store. The police prepared to shoot, but as soon as they saw me, they slowly stood down. "That's right! If you shoot, I'll blow her to bits!" he laughed again. In a rush, he quickly sprinted away from the crime scene, with me in his clutches. He used his quirk to propel himself into the air, jumping from building to building.
Out of everyone in Japan, he chose me to capture. Why me? I'm a good person. I never broke the law once. Maybe he chose me because I was born quirkless. There was no way he knew that, though. Maybe the universe just decided to pick on me today. "Let me go!" I shouted, even though I knew he wouldn't do what I demanded.
"Shut up! If you keep talking, I'll blow your head off!" Suddenly, he jerked to a stop, dropping me in the process. Unfortunately, I fell over the side of a building. Well, this is it. I was going to die by the hand of an unthreatening villain. I suppose there were worse ways to go, but this is not how I imagined it playing out. A scream ripped out of my throat, which undoubtedly got the attention of some passers-by. I closed my eyes as the ground rushed towards me, but before I hit the ground, something wrapped around my waist, pulling me up at the last second. An arm pulled me into a body, and I decided to take a look at my savior. It was none other than Eraserhead. Relief spread throughout my body, and I began to tear up.
"Are you okay, miss?" he looked down at me as he set me on the ground. I looked around at the various police cars and ambulances. I saw a few people with more serious injuries than me being led away to the hospital. Everything suddenly hit me at once. I had almost died. I survived a near death experience. I choked on a sob and clung to the hero's chest. In any other situation, it would be embarrassing, but he had just saved my life. I had to thank him somehow.
"T-thank you so much," I managed to squeak out.
"You're welcome," he awkwardly patted me on the back. I pulled away and tried to keep the tears at bay, but to no avail. With no warning, I was rushed into an ambulance by the EMT's. I watched Eraserhead walk over to the police before I was driven away to the hospital. They must've given me anesthesia, because the next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed with my family beside me.
"Izumi, you're awake!" my brother exclaimed before carefully hugging me. "When we got a call from the police, we feared the worst."
"Are you okay, honey?" my mom asked, tears falling down her cheeks.
"I'm okay, I just have some cuts on my arms and hands. You know, Eraserhead is the one that saved my life," I smiled.
"Well if we ever get to meet him, remind me to thank him," my dad said, patting my hand in comfort.
"What happened, anyway? The police didn't give us any details about the attack," Kaito crossed his arms.
"Well, there I was shopping for a birthday present for you when all of a sudden, a funny-looking villain pops up out of nowhere! He took me hostage when he found me trying to escape. In the end, he dropped me off a building and I found myself being saved by Eraserhead."
"We're so glad you're safe, Izumi," my mom cried. She hugged me, which prompted a group hug from my whole family. After that whole escapade, I had to take time off from my job at the art museum so that I could heal. The doctor told me to apply a cream and bandages to my arms and hands for two weeks, which also meant I couldn't hold a paintbrush properly until I was completely healed. My brother had to stay with me to help me do things like pick up a mug, which was humiliating.
By the second week, however, I could do things mostly normally. I still couldn't work, but I could resume painting, which kept me sane. I was a shop associate by day, and an artist by night. I had always dreamed of selling my own paintings, but I never had the opportunity to do so. Instead, I took the job of a shop associate at my favorite art museum, so I could at least be around paintings for part of the day.
I couldn't paint as well with my stupid bandages on, however. On my third failed attempt, I gave up and went to the café next door to my apartment. The smell of coffee wafted up my nose and instantly calmed me. I ordered my drink and walked away to wait by the tables. On my journey to the tables, however, I almost bumped right into someone. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention," I looked up and froze at the person standing in front of me. The man had raven black hair, black eyes, and scruffy-looking stubble. As soon as he spoke, I knew who he was right away.
"It's alright."
"Wait, you're Eraserhead aren't you?" I asked in a hushed tone. He probably didn't want any attention drawn to himself, and I wasn't about to ruin his day.
"Yes, I am," he sighed, reaching into his pocket for, what I assumed, to be a pen. Oh, he thought I wanted his autograph. Before I embarrassed myself more, I interrupted him.
"I'm sorry, I don't know if you remember me, but you saved my life about a week ago. I was the girl that fell off of a building," I chuckled. His eyes sparkled in recognition, and he gave a small smile.
"Oh yeah, I remember you. I assume you're doing alright?"
"I'm fine, just a few minor cuts. Seriously, if you hadn't been there, I wouldn't be standing here today."
"I was just doing my job, miss..." he trailed off.
"Okazaki Izumi," I shook his hand, "but you can just call me Izumi."
"Aizawa Shota, but you can call me Shota if you're allowing me to call you by your first name."
"Well, it's nice to properly meet you, Shota," I smiled.
"Likewise." We stood there in awkward silence for a minute before I did something incredibly stupid.
"Hey, I know we just officially met, but I feel like I need to repay you somehow," I laughed nervously.
"Izumi, you don't have to-"
"I'm being serious. If you want, you could walk with me around the park nearby."
"You don't have to repay me," he smiled in amusement, "but I would like to join you."
"Great, just let me grab my coffee." Once we arrived at the park, we started talking about our personal lives. I learned that he had a soft spot for cats, he can never get enough sleep, and he was a teacher at UA. When he asked about my hobby, I couldn't stop talking about how I loved to paint. I told him that I had always wanted to be an artist ever since my parents gave me my first paintbrushes and paint, which was when I was five. I told him about my job as a shop associate at my favorite art museum and how I had a small art studio at my apartment.
I didn't even notice I was rambling until I saw him smirking at me. "Oh, I was rambling wasn't I? I'm sorry, I tend to do that when someone asks me about painting," I felt my face grow hot.
"It's okay, I liked hearing about it. I didn't know you were so interested in painting."
"Oh, well thank you," I jumped when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. My brother had texted me that he was coming over for dinner, as well as helping me apply the cream to my cuts. "I'm sorry, but I have to get home. It was really nice talking to you, though."
"I enjoyed it, too," he paused as if contemplating something. "This may seem weird, but do you want to exchange numbers?"
"I would love to!" I said as I took his phone to put my number in there. "Cool, I guess I have a pro hero in my contact list," I laughed.
"And I have a future famous painter in mine," he smiled at me. I blushed once more, his comment catching me off guard.
"Aw, that was really sweet, thank you. I guess I'll see you around, Shota?"
"Of course, hopefully not when you're in imminent danger."
"Let's hope not," I giggled, "anyway, see you later!" I waved goodbye before heading back to my apartment. I may have not gotten to paint today, but I made a new friend, who was a pro hero at that. My brother was gonna flip.