Izuku's P.O.V.
By the time I first met Eraserhead, I was only at the age of 11. How did I meet him? One word. Patrol. I was jumping across rooftops since it was a tad safer than alleys and it was actually faster than being on the low ground. (What? Those places are as dark as pitch black and I didn't have my night goggles! I used to hit a ton of walls while running down there!) Plus, when I get to a scene being on higher ground, I have the advantage of surprise and height! Anyway, I was a normal night and I'd already gone through ten small crimes (muggings mostly) and I was getting tired so I took a short break on top of a very tall building. I had Wayne watching through cameras and ever since I found out that the government had upgraded from visual only to photo and sound, I had Wayne listen to the city through the security grid. Of course, at day hours Wayne gets overloaded so I only have him as eyes under the sun but at night, when the city sleeps and the night is louder, Wayne picks up cries for help and I quickly make my way to the scenes. I've had brief encounters with other heroes before but they always tried chasing after me after I assisted them in detaining a criminal. (Endeavor tries to kill me though.)
But the night I met him, it was quieter than usual around my "hunting grounds" as other vigilantes and heroes called my territory. I was a little worried since there were usually more criminal activity and I knew (from past experiences) that when underground activity drops by way too much to be a raid, then its definitely because the villains are plotting something together. I really hated when they drop the activity. It always did send my nerves through the roof and I didn't like not knowing what their plan is either. After all, when villains plan in secret, you can be sure that it was going to be big and depending on how long they take to plan it, it could be a chain of events or simply a very, very large attack. Neither would be preferred because in my honest opinion, villain attacks that cause a ton of damage (property and casualties) are very big nuisances and hassles.
I was watching the stars when I suddenly got an alert from Wayne through my phone. Running towards the source- being guided by Wayne of course- I dropped in. Literally. I took notice and did a quick criminal headcount in a single minute while dodging attacks. From what I figured out of the situation, the villains had ganged up on a hero. An underground hero to be precise and he was actually one of my more favored ones too. Right up my list of top three! I growled in anger at his state which was pretty bad for him but if it was me, I would probably only be cut down in half and not entirely become as defenseless as he had been. By the telltale signs of his groaning and muttering, Eraserhead was still awake. He probably couldn't see too clearly but awake nonetheless and that was better than being unconscious. Anyway, I dropped in, analyzed the villains in a minute while dodging and taking stock of the situation and my surroundings, then proceeded to knock down villains like nails into a wall.
It took me three minutes flat to fight, tie, and leave a note for the police before I finally let my guard down a little (like, 30% down) and started tending Eraserhead's wounds. "Hey, Eraser-san? Are you still awake?" I asked him, gently shaking him. "Stay awake Eraser-san. And please, don't move too much. I'm going to patch your wounds as much as I can but I need you to trust me, okay?" He blinked, eyes hazy but I knew that he was clear enough to think, see, and talk straight. I put away my metal eskrima sticks and showed him my hands. Eraserhead nodded, glaring at me but he didn't seem to be glaring hard at me. "I'll introduce myself so you know me. It's fair since I know you even though you're not supposed to be known, so yeah. Hello Eraser-san, I'm who they call the paradox: Zero. But a little secret of mine is that I am Zero, Robin, a face in the past and another face of the present. Do with that information as you please."
I chatted with him with small, vague facts in an attempt to keep him awake and I also made sure that I would drop false hints and occasional honest opinions to keep his interest and not annoy him as I bandaged him. Eraserhead grunted in pain every few moments or when I wrap him too tightly. "Hey, Eraser-san? I just want you to know that if the police pull you into their investigation dedicated to me, I work quirkless. I have a pretty weak quirk and it kinda doesn't help with anything at all so I never use it really. No, it isn't because I'm bending rules and threading myself through holes in the law. It just hurts when I use it. Pain is bad and I'm not a masochist so I don't ever use my quirk. Heck, people even tease me and call me quirkless because of the fact that it doesn't really do me any good, and I'm fine with that. They don't know my side-job and I don't plan on letting them call me useless because I know that I'm helping heroes keep people safe even if it's through slightly illegal means."
"So long as you don't use your quirk, you're not really illegal kid." Eraserhead snorted.
"True that Eraser-san." I chuckled. "But the police and the public brand me a liar and calls out quirks that I never have. It's funny and very much amusing to me. Don't tell the cops or detectives this but you're my number two hero. My mentor stands in the first place." I winked at him. "Your boyfriend Present Mic is my number three hero."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Eraserhead sputtered, face burning into a shade of red. I laughed.
"Sure he isn't." I wiggled a finger at him.
"Zero! Present Mic is not my boyfriend!" He yelled. "And what about All Might?! What's his ranking on your list?!"
"I can see you changing the topic but to satiate your curiosity, All Might is merely a number nine hero. Endeavor can go rot in hell. Bastard can't even treat his kids and wife right!" I muttered angrily. Eraserhead raised a brow at me and made a "continue" gesture. "He abuses his first son and calls it training! The kid's got a body for an ice quirk but he got a fire-based one. Blue flames if I'm correct. It hurts him whenever he uses it and the kid's covered in bandages. I plan on taking him in when he runs away."
"Oh really? You don't seem to be any older than the first Todoroki son." Eraserhead noted.
"So what?! He's suffering and I intend to save him from being a villain! Anyway, Endeavor ignores the rest of his 'family' and also abuses his youngest son the same way he does to his first child. Showcases him around and calls him his greatest creation because he got a perfect mix of his mother's quirk and Endeavor's. I'm sure that he'll be in your class in the future through the recommendations of his bastard of a 'father'. Think you can move to keep patrolling or do you just wanna call it quits for the night?" I sighed, finishing up the last bandage.
"I intend to keep going," Eraserhead stated firmly. There was a familiar glint in his eyes. Determination and curiosity. "And you're patrolling with me tonight Zero since you're so worried about me." I nodded and helped him up. "Let's go."
"According to a special source and friend of mine, there's a deal coming in tonight and it's big. I was kind of looking for your help in dismantling it and maybe some cover for my sassy ass 'cause knowing myself, I'm gonna be pissing off a lot of 'em. Plus, kicking villain and criminal butt is always more fun with a partner- not to mention safer." I snickered. We started moving.
Eraserhead rolled his eyes and breathily groaned. "Oh boy. Is this going to be a long night for me?" He asked. I clicked my tongue and gave him an amused look. "I'm going to take that as a yes." I passed him a thermos. It was labeled "coffee" and he took a sip before his face lit up in happiness and relief. "Thanks. Where'd you get this coffee? It's probably the best I've tasted in forever."
I pulled down my mask to show a grin. "Nowhere. I made it myself. And I actually drink it with my breakfast." Eraserhead gawked at me in surprise. "And I know showing you my face might be a bad idea but I trust you not to tell all my details if I start tagging along with you on quiet or huge criminal events. You can even bring some trusty UA coworkers! Oh, and do you have a pocket? I've got to leak you some things." He stared at me disbelievingly.
"Why do you trust me so much?" He inquired.
I shook my head and gave him a pained smile. "You saw me before. You came. You never told. I trust you because if you weren't there, I probably would've become someone bent on revenge. I would've lost myself. I would've vanished and another would've possessed me. If you do realize my current identity, don't update the status. I need to stay dead in case I have something or someone important to hide. No one looks for the living among the dead y'know." I looked to the floor sadly. "And my intuition tells me that there is someone I'm going to be protecting in the future. Their power would be uncontrolled by the wielder and they'll be young and afraid. Afraid because they were being used for evil. Afraid because they knew not to trust. Afraid for anyone who keeps her hidden from her tormentor." I looked the underground hero in the eyes. "And when the time comes, you'll know. I know you'll know because I gave you all you need to become interested if you so wish to be. You have a better intuition than others but mine is better. Remember everything tonight but don't memorize anything. They are unimportant as of right now. All you need to know is that I am Zero, a vigilante, a boy, and a warrior guardian." I looked at my watch and quickly pulled up my mask.
"What's wrong?" Eraserhead noticed my panic. Of course, he did, I was being obvious! "Zero, tell me what's wrong."
"We're going to be late!" I screeched, checking my equipment as I made it for the roofs. "The deal's in seven minutes! And from research and my intuition, it's related to quirks in one way or another!" He spits out some coffee in surprise and scrambled after me with my thermos in his hands. "Also, keep the thermos safe. It's got your coffee. With the feature it has- not telling you how it works- that thermos has a month's worth of coffee (for regular people who only drink coffee once a day) and since you drink it like water, that a full week or less. Don't lose it." Eraserhead and I raced across rooftops with yours truly in the lead because the underground hero didn't know where the deal was scheduled to be.
When we got to the warehouse, there was a makeshift stage in the middle. I nearly snickered at it but swallowed it down instead. Doing a headcount on the inhabitants other than myself and Eraserhead, there were easily roughly fifty to seventy-five (50-75) villains gathered. It also looked like the dealer hadn't appeared yet and the hairs on the back of my neck rose in anticipation. Tonight was going to be rough not only for me but for the pro underground hero as well. He called the cops and told them to start coming over on his next call. I gave him a nod in agreement and kept my eyes on the gathering.
After five minutes, Eraserhead hung up but still had the contact on speed dial. The villains were getting antsy because there were so many of them but the stronger ones didn't seem concerned at all. Roughly fourteen minutes later, the "Dj" arrived and so did the goods. In a single minute, the newcomers set up shop and started showing off their items. Weapons were bought, money was passed around and drugs flew from hand to hand. I stopped Eraserhead from jumping in and non-verbally told him to wait so he did and we continued to watch. He did watch me as well while paying attention to the interactions below us. Two more minutes later, the "main event" came out. Quirk canceling bullets was the first and the second? Well, it was the illegal quirk boosters that the police have been calling "triggers". My eyes widened and I pounced on Aizawa's phone, calling the speed dial before tossing it back to the man and diving down in the middle of the villain meeting.
"He~llo villains of Musutafu!" I greeted them in an announcer's voice like I was a host of a show instead of being in the middle of a villain grouping. Taking advantage of the shock, I swiped the bullets and the drugs. "I'll take those, thank you." After I slipped the dangerous goods into an empty pouch, the villains finally got back to their senses and I quickly pulled out my eskrima sticks and started bashing villains left and right with the intention of knocking them all out. "Eraserhead! A little help?!" I called, dodging a knife. At my call, the man dropped down behind me and drop kicked a villain who'd been trying to stab me. We stood back to back as the villains eased up due to a moment of surprise and they'd started nervously eyeing Eraserhead.
"You should've pulled me down with you when you jumped down," Eraserhead grumbled.
"You should've known when to jump and when to call." I scoffed, knocking out another villain who'd charged at us. "You should've speed-dialed your friends when they brought out the so-called 'main event' of the night. Let's wrap this night up and we can get a few hours of sleep before the day begins once again. Three, maybe five if we're lucky enough to collapse in our houses instead of somewhere random." He chuckled at the mention of sleep and I joined him. Together, we slaughtered (knock out- not kill) the party and started tying criminals up after.
I did a quick headcount and noticed that there were a few missing. I reported it to the hero and he sighed. "There isn't much we can do about them now. Who knows how far they could've gotten? Anyway, see you tomorrow night kid?" I smirked and held up a fist. With a small, almost unnoticeable smile, Eraserhead bumped fists with me and we held it for a few seconds.
"Of course. Just get to a crime under a camera on the police grid and I'll find you. You might notice a style and weapon change though if I decide to be my other self." The sound of sirens reached my ears and Wayne warned me that I only had a couple of minutes left. "I'll try to stay safe for you not to worry so much. It was nice working with you tonight hero. The job became a little easier to handle." I flashed him a grin before slapping a sticker onto the closest villain forehead and hauling my ass out of the warehouse while staying close to the shadows and left the same way we came in. As I ran from the building, I spotted Eraserhead watching me sprint across rooftops and I gave him a wave.
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Shota/Eraserhead's P.O.V.
After the kid left, the police came a minute after I lost sight of the boy. Detective Tsukauchi was the first out of his car. "Hey, got your orders and I brought vans. Are you okay?" I nodded and brought them in. "Woah, what happened here?" He asked, staring at the scene. I stiffened, remembering the drugs that had been called the "main event" by the criminals, and searched for it. "What are you looking for?"
"Oh, these bastards were called here for a black market night. Their main event was quirk canceling bullets and triggers. I found out about this through a vigilante who's promised to only go on patrols with me. He was good, most likely trained by someone but he told me that he knew you cops. Said his name was Zero." The detective groaned and I smirked behind my capture weapon. "He claims to never have used his quirk. Said that it was more harmful to him than useful and even inferred that he was getting bullied because of it. Also, Robin and Zero work together. They know each other even out of costume and it's why they don't patrol at the same time. Told me so too. Zero said that I was one of their favorite heroes. Number two, behind their mentor who has first place." Tsukauchi gaped at me in surprise.
"How do you know that? Why did he tell you? And wow, what did he say their opinion on All Might was?" He asked, changing the ropes for quirk suppressing cuffs.
I suppressed a laugh and Tsukauchi noticed. "Zero said All Might was number nine and that Endeavor could go burn in hell. He also said some interesting things and even showed me his face." The detective stumbled and his eyes widened even more. I hesitated to describe his face. I glanced to the side and shuffled uncomfortably. "He's young. Too young to be running around fighting villains at night." The boy was right. I couldn't bring myself to tell the detective anything more. "Zero and Robin trust me. He said that one of the reasons he trusted me was because I was there when he lost almost everything. Zero added that he knew I wouldn't tell anyone what he looked like and honestly, he's right about that. I've seen him before. After Endeavor set a building on fire chasing after a villain." Tsukauchi came closer and we locked eyes. To me, It looked like his eyes was begging me to tell him who Zero was. I let out a shaky breath and hugged myself. "He told me that if someone else ever figured it out, to tell them not to update his status. We can't update his status Naomasa. He warned me. Zero said that in the near future before I see him in public in another skin, he was going to be hiding someone from another dangerous person. The hidden was going to be young. Younger than the vigilante himself. And he joked about it a little but it was still a warning. Zero said, and I quote, 'No one looks for the living among the dead y'know.' Naomasa, Zero and Robin are going to be hiding a child who can't control their quirk and is afraid of many things."
Naomasa's breath hitched. "They're going to be doing what?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Promise me, Naomasa Tsukauchi. When you find Zero and Robin, never change their status. The two are right about it. No one really looks through the files of the dead when looking for someone alive. If what I think is right, then the child those two will be hiding was experimented on by someone powerful." He nodded in agreement. I continued. "According to Zero, I can bring coworkers with me on our patrols together so long as they wouldn't tell anyone. Both boys will probably keep their masks up around someone they don't trust. We've got a schedule for tomorrow, are you gonna be coming to meet half of the duo?"
Naomasa's eye lit up a little. "Yes! Don't expect me to be able to keep up with your running though. Where are we meeting up with him?" He asked excitedly. I shrugged. The detective's eyebrow rose and a questioning look plastered itself to his face.
"Zero said that he's going to be the one finding us. Just fight a villain, lure him out into the open or in front of a camera and either Zero or Robin is going to come to us." Remembering the legends of the past, I bent over and slapped a hand to my mouth to stop giggles from coming out of my mouth. "I just realized that that sounds very much like how the police used to call the Dark Knight: Batman in Gotham. The commissioner shines a light on the sky, Batman sees it, Batman goes to the commissioner. In our case, we fight a villain under a camera, Robin and Zero see us fighting, one of them comes." I snickered, turning away from the detective.
He adopted a thoughtful look and came to the same realization. "Oh... Oh... Oh. Oh! Yeah, it does sound similar to the legend! That's funny. It's actually kinda cute." Tsukauchi smiled and we both noticed that the villains were all in the vans. "Well, I think that's the end of this. You said you were looking for bullets and drugs right?" I nodded in confirmation. "Look behind you. It seems like Zero left it behind for us. With a note."
We looked at the pills and the bullets. As Tsukauchi had said, Zero had left the goods behind with a note for us. I picked it up as it was addressed to me and read it aloud. "'Nearly forgot to give these to you Eraser. There should be half a dozen bullets in the case and thirteen bottles of those drug pills the cops have been calling "triggers". I know that you'll be talking to Detective Tsukauchi as he is your favorite cop and one of your friends so, say hi to him for me. I'm going to guess that you're going to be bringing someone with you tomorrow night and that's fine. See you and your plus one tomorrow night!'" I paused and turned the note around to look at the back. "'P.S. I think it's either going to be your boyfriend Present Mic-' Damn it, kid! He isn't my boyfriend!" I cut myself off to yell at a kid who wasn't anywhere near me. Tsukauchi cough but I knew that it was his attempt to cover up his laughter and amusement. "Don't say another word about it Tsukauchi! Okay, back to this. 'Or it's going to be your other most trusted friend, Detective Tsukauchi. Also, if it is Detective Tsukauchi, you can tell him what you know about me just not my appearance and that he shouldn't change my status. Have a decent night because I know that you're probably not going to have a good night other than when you're bang-'" I was cut off not by myself, but by Tsukauchi instead and he burst into laughter. "I am going to kill that boy the next time I see him!" I roared, throwing the note at Tsukauchi.
I stormed out of the empty warehouse with a dying Tsukauchi behind me. Why was the detective dying you ask? Well, it's because Robin or Zero or Izuku Midoriya had said that my nights were never "good" unless I was banging Mic. Suddenly, my phone rang. I picked it up without a second thought and didn't bother to look at the contact thinking it was someone I already had on my contacts. "He~y." It was the kid. "Like my little note?" His voice was playful. The kid was teasing me!
"Zero, when I see you tomorrow, I am going to strangle you to death!" I yelled into the phone's receiver. I only got a laugh in return. "I am serious kid! I'm going to kill you tomorrow! Forget fighting villains, I'm gonna hunt you down and turn you in to the police!" I heard Tsukauchi's laughter double. "It isn't funny Tsukauchi! You better get this straight Zero. Present Mic is-"
"What do you mean 'straight'? You're a hundred percent gay!"
"Kid, no. Listen to me. Present Mic is NOT my BOYFRIEND. I'm a HUNDRED PERCENT STRAIGHT." I glared at the moon, imagining Zero's face on it.
"No. Listen to ME. Present Mic is your boyfriend and you are definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent GAY. Understand? Good. I start at 7 pm. Just wanted you to know and at the same time give you my number. See you tomorrow Eraserhead!" And then the line was cut.
I saved the number under a label. I was annoyed but I labeled his number nonetheless. What was the label? Well, it was "Problem-Source". Why did I put it down like that? It's because he was now one of my contacts in the underground meaning that he was now a source of information too. The kid was also a problem child who looks for trouble. I groaned and smacked Tsukauchi, successfully bringing him out of his laughing fit. "C'mon, this night is over. I'm going home," I announced, getting into the car. "And not another word out of you unless it's business or it's important. I already had to deal with a problem child tonight. I don't want to deal with a headache like you." One last snicker slipped past his lips but other than that, the rest of the ride to my false apartment was pretty quiet. I traveled on foot to my real apartment and pulled out my sleeping bag, deciding to sleep on the floor instead of going to my bed. Then I slept. For a few hours only since I had a fucking class to teach. (Man that sounds wrong. "A fucking class to teach." XD I am so weird. Lmao!)