It took longer than Izuku thought for Eraserhead to catch onto him. He was going out more now, investigating the area where Eri's parents lived, trying to find the approach to this. He was ten now, almost eleven, and running out of time. Aizawa had caught onto that pattern, lurking around in the same area in order to catch him off guard. Izuku had been able to avoid him up until now, but it seemed like his luck ran out today.
"I wonder what piqued your interest about this place," Eraser said, startling Izuku. He hadn't heard him approach at all! "The crime rate is low around here, barely anything interesting happens."
"Shouldn't a hero be happy about that?" Izuku asked in return, putting down his goggles and turning around to face the pro. They were sitting on a rooftop not that far from Eri's apartment building and Izuku was trying to figure out her parents' schedule. Aizawa noticed that, too, snatching away the notebook before Izuku could even blink.
"What do we have here?"
"Give that back!" Izuku hissed, immediately using Blackwhip to enstrangle him, putting force on his wrist so he had no choice but to let go.
"You know stalking someone is against the law, don't you Midoriya?"
Izuku's eyes widened for a second, and he hoped desperately that his mask covered him enough for it not to show. How did he get that name..?
"You know, there really aren't many quirkless children around these days," Aizawa continued, making him realize his mistake. "Definitely not in the neighborhood you're usually active in. There's only one that fits the description."
"Why not arrest me if you think you know who I am?" Izuku asked, still not letting go of the pro hero in his grasp. "Why not go to the police? My school? My parents?"
"I've tried to intercept you, to question you, but it seems someone else is trying very hard to cover for you," Aizawa grunted, the restraints getting somewhat uncomfortable. "Every time I get close to you, something seems to get in the way."
"There's no one helping me," Izuku told him. No one else knew about his secret identity or what he was up to at night. Unless someone was keeping an eye on him... One of the villainous groups that were interested in his powerset, the ones Aizawa himself warned him about when they only just met. But that would mean they knew his identity too, and hadn't made a move yet, which was unlikely and somewhat concerning. Izuku was sure he covered up his tracks well enough.
"Sure," Eraserhead said, clearly not believing him. "Look, Midoriya, you're breaking a lot of laws doing this, okay? To use your quirk in public against other civilians without a permit, underaged with no adult supervision. To hide the fact you have a quirk from the state- Which, I honestly do not understand. You seem to have a normal upbringing from what I can tell. No ties to criminal organizations, no reason to hide the fact you have a strong quirk-"
"My reasons are none of your business," Izuku snapped. "If you want to arrest me then go ahead! See if you're able to keep me contained."
"I want to know what you're hoping to achieve by doing all of this," Aizawa hissed, his eyes flaring red. Blackwhip wasn't dissipating though. No, Izuku had anticipated this and was using Float as well, even though he was barely hovering over the ground. He'd learned a long time ago that Eraserhead can only erase one of his quirks at the time. "How-"
"Nice try, Eraser," Izuku told him as he watched the panic and confusion set in. "But like I said, I'm not so easily detained. And luckily for you, I don't want to hurt you. I just want to help people. So let's keep this information between us, okay?"
"Why are you stalking that family?" he asked. "At least tell me that much."
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," Izuku said. "Besides, it's none of your business anyway. The only thing I ask for is that you leave me alone. I can handle myself and I don't want to cause mom any pain or sorrow by having the police come and tell her her son is running rampant around the streets at night planning on kidnapping a child."
"Kidnap a child?" Aizawa repeated while Izuku mentally cursed himself. He really needs to learn how to shut up! He couldn't keep letting these things slip out like that!
"You wouldn't understand," Izuku sighed. Not without your memories, anyway.
"Try to explain it to me anyway," Eraser demanded. "I'm not letting you continue whatever this is if you're bringing an innocent child in danger."
"I'm keeping her from danger, actually," Izuku pointed out. "Her parents would thank me if they knew how much pain I'd save them from. At least, I know her mother would. And Eri will be happier, too."
"You really think separating a child from her parents is going to make them happier?" Aizawa asked in disbelief. He must be thinking he's dealing with a psycho by now... Izuku didn't know how he was ever going to talk his way out of this. Eraserhead would never let him go knowing what he knows now.
"I know so," he insisted, trying to come up with a plan to spin this around in his favor. "I've seen it."
"You've...seen it?"
"Are you familiar with Foresight, Eraserhead?" Izuku asked, hoping this idea was gonna do the trick. "Getting visions, seeing glimpses of the future? Well, I have something like that, too. And I know that if my quirk gets registered, the Hero Commission is going to come and try to brainwash me into being a good little soldier. I know villains will be after me because I could be a great asset. I've seen the different paths before, and I don't want to walk any of them. I just... I just want to help people. I want to keep a little girl from falling into the wrong hands. I want to keep bad people from using her for her quirk, using her to hurt others. Is that really so bad?"
Izuku slowly released him from Blackwhip's grip, turning around to look at Eri's apartment again.
"You must think I'm crazy, which is fine," Izuku shrugged. "So arrest me. Try to keep me from helping her. I know you're just doing your job."
"Is that how you see this conversation ending?" Aizawa asked, rubbing his wrists as he allowed his own quirk to fall, his eyes dulling out and his hair falling down.
"There are a lot of ways this conversation can end, but some outcomes are more likely than others," Izuku said. "Not all things are set in stone."
"Me arresting you is the most likely option right now then, is it?" Aizawa asked, standing next to him, watching the same window in the distance. Was he trying to figure out how Izuku's fake foresight quirk worked? Or was he actually... Huh, how about that. Maybe Izuku's desperate last attempt at swinging things around actually worked.
"No, not anymore," he said, a smile rising to his lips, although he doubted Aizawa would be able to notice with his mask on. "But I'm sure you want more information before you let me go home, don't you?"
"There are certain things I need to know if we want to help this girl," Aizawa nodded, basically making Izuku beam. If Aizawa was helping him, there was no way this plan could go wrong!
//\\
\\//
"What's gotten you in such a good mood today, Deku?" Katsuki asked, slamming a hand down on his desk, his eyes widening for a second. Izuku made sure none of the vestiges were out when Kacchan was near. He didn't want to have a repeat of what happened last time. "Finally realized your quirkless butt isn't cut out to be a hero?"
It was an act and they both knew it. Izuku knew Kacchan had only ever acted this way to protect him from himself. To keep Izuku safe. And maybe a little because he was jealous, because he couldn't take a quirkless brat being better than him. To shove him in a box he didn't want to fit in. Katsuki, on the other hand, was just putting up with it for show at this point. All the vestiges knew it was fake, yet they didn't blab to Deku about it. No, if they did, Katsuki would find a way to kill them all a second time around. He hadn't expected to find out Izuku made a deal with Aizawa, not after all the trouble he went through to keep that man from bothering him.
"You can be a hero in more ways than one, Kacchan," Izuku pointed out, frowning at him. "Being quirkless isn't going to stop me."
"Tch, suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when you get killed like a weakling," he scoffed, glaring at him before backing off. The only reason he stepped in close was to check in on One For All anyway. There was no reason to drive the message home more than he just did. And so he grumbled as he made his way to his own desk "You better fucking save her..."
"He will," he heard his own voice talk back to him, a shimmer of a ghost occupying the corner of his eye. As if this whole One For All bullshit wasn't confusing enough, he had a second self. A part of him, an extension of his mind, but at the same time a completely different person. "I'll make sure of it."
"As if he's taking any advice from you. Is he even talking to you yet?" Katsuki mumbled, making sure to be quiet enough so no one else would hear or understand. Deku had completely shut his essence out. He was unable to manifest in the world around Izuku, only sometimes around Katsuki if they were close enough. Izuku wasn't using Explosion either. He wasn't giving him the time of day.
"...He needs time," the older version of himself sighed. "He's heartbroken."
Serves him right... He was the one who broke Katsuki's heart first, after all. Kept him in the dark, stringing him on and placing him on the board of life like a pawn to be played, toying with his feelings, messing with him across his various lives.
"You're being too harsh on him."
"And you're too fucking lenient," Katsuki cursed under his breath. His essence may be bound to that idiot, as was his heart, but his mind was still clear, still his own. He didn't need some extras meddling with his decision making. With that, the ghost vanished, leaving him alone once more. He could still hear their murmurs in the back of his mind, voices and whispers coming off Izuku in waves. It could get annoying at times, but it was manageable as long as they fucked off when Katsuki told them to fuck off.
He just hoped that whatever plan he was cooking up to save Eri would work. If Aizawa was in on it, the chances of succeeding were at least a bit higher than before, even if their former teacher didn't have all of his memories. He sighed, flipping open his workbook and staring at the theory they'd be going over today. Another day full of boring shit he already knew, great. Guess that was one of the big downsides of being back this early on... It made him wonder how Deku endured this bullshit so many times during their various lives without having someone else to talk to.
"May I remind you that he's on the brink of madness," one of the vestiges whispered in his mind, making Katsuki snap and turn to glare at Deku. Get out of my fucking mind. The green head yelped at the sudden attention, quickly turning his gaze down towards his notebook, but at least the vestiges seemed to get the message. Yeah, this was going to be another long day.