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0. Midoriya Izuku
- - - - -
It starts like this:
Midoriya Izuku had never wanted to be anything other than a hero, not really. It had never really been an option to not be one, not even when everyone said that he’d never make it. Not in his lowest moments, when his dream seemed like such a distant concept and the weight of being quirkless weighed down on him, choking and screaming and overwhelming and being a hero was the only thing that he clung on to- And definitely not at his highest ones - why would he, when his dream is so close to being achieved?
Emphasis, on the fact that he had never wanted to be anything other than a hero.
It’s the little things, as most things often are. He still wants to be a hero, of course, but there are a lot more complicated emotions tied up in that that Izuku really doesn’t want to deal with too soon.
Perhaps the first “little thing”, the one that’s the first piece of the domino stack, is the sludge villain incident, because it shouldn’t have taken the appearance of All Might to save Kacchan from the sludge villain, not when there were so many other Pro Heroes around. It shouldn’t haven taken Izuku, a quirkless junior high student with no physical training, to do that-
A pretty significant “little thing” would most definitely be the Hosu incident and the Stain-related things woven into it, because Todoroki-kun is right. If Iida hadn’t arrived to face Stain, Native would have died. If Izuku hadn’t showed up, Iida and Native would have died. If Todoroki-kun hadn’t showed up, all three of them would have died. Is that really all worth it in the name of the law? To just… leave people to their deaths?
The “little thing” that was a pretty significant addition to the domino stack - despite really seeming otherwise - would be a simple lesson taught by Aizawa-sensei. Because, as a hero fan and someone with basic access to the internet and social media platforms attached to it, Izuku definitely knew about the many laws attached to quirk use, and the corresponding ones related to heroes. Objectively, he knows all of that. To understand and process that all these laws would now apply to him, as a no-longer quirkless heroics student, is a complete issue altogether, and only really sunk in after that lesson.
The final pieces fall into place a little after the first term’s final exam, when Izuku’s simple grocery trip is interrupted. (He’s decidedly not thinking about the Mall Incident. No. That doesn’t count.) Not exactly. His trip isn’t interrupted, per se, but he’s never been able to turn a blind eye when he notices someone in need. It’s barely even a fight as he easily subdues the mugger - no obvious indicators, a little strange that they’re not using their quirk, but it might not be very useful for mugging or have unfulfilled activation requirements - without even using his quirk. He restrains the mugger, makes sure the victim gets their belongings back, then heads home.
The next day, Izuku’s out looking for a suit that he can wear to the I-Expo, since All Might invited him. The store gets held up by villains. They’re not very good ones, of course, nothing all too scary or significant compared to the League of Villains. He would have been happy waiting for a Pro to arrive, but the villains start threatening civilians. Izuku makes sure to obscure his features by shrugging on a hooded jacket, then takes down one villain and sends the other running. He runs too, because the other civilians called for the police, he can hear the sirens in the distance and he really doesn’t want to be arrested. He definitely won’t be able to get away with it like in Hosu if he did.
The day after that, is the I-Island incident. He doesn’t get to buy a suit, but he’s lucky that his mom has spares! (Even if said spare suit has an admittedly terrible colour combination and is all but wrecked by the end of the night.)
And the day after that? Back is Musutafu, Izuku reflects. Over his years of watching hero fights, there’s been a bunch of chaos and destruction. The number of little incidents that he’s had a hand in during the time period leading up to the final exams is… a lot, even if he hadn’t exactly registered that, in his studying haze. According to Aizawa-sensei’s lesson, those little things he’s been doing can technically be counted as vigilantism if he had had a quirk while doing that.
…Izuku decides that if he’s going to end up in these situations and do borderline/slightly illegal things anyway, he might as well do it semi-professionally.
-
He doesn’t mean to drag his friends into it! Really! What sort of friend would he be if he took away his friends’ plausible deniability by telling them about his extra-curricular activities?
The issue, really, is that Izuku’s schedule hasn’t been this full in a while, between general studies and heroics training in school, his vigilante activities, some extra training with All Might, and having enough time left over to spend with his mother. It’s shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that he starts slipping up.
(Of course, there’s another issue. His friends are just as loyal and chaotic as he is.)
- - - - -
1. Iida Tenya
- - - - -
(Ten-chan is the first to figure it out, and Izuku really should have expected that.
Of course, Ten-chan is probably the only other person in class who knows what “I’m planning to do something illegal, could end my career and is borderline vigilantism, but I think that I’m right and so I’m doing it anyway” looks like. That probably gives him an advantage, which is why he thinks he’s the first to figure it out.)
“Midoriya-kun,” Tenya says, watching as his classmate and close friend startles awake, blearily blinking up at him. Midoriya looks exhausted, even excusing the fact that he just slept through homeroom, which Tenya would normally comment on, if Midoriya didn’t look like he was about to keel over.
“Yes, Iida-kun?” His friend asks, voice rough with sleep.
“Are you alright?” Tenya asks, not attempting to hide his concern. “Have you been getting enough sleep? Is the school workload too overwhelming? I’m sure you can talk to our sensei and they’ll agree on something-“
“Oh,” Midoriya blinks up at him, then shakes his head rapidly, waving his hands. “I’m fine! I just stayed up a little too late keeping up with the latest heroics news, since I haven’t had much time since school started. I’ll work on that in future.”
“Please do,” Tenya tells his friend. “Take care of yourself.”
“Of course!” Midoriya grins, and that is that.
(For now.)
-
It’s not too noticeable, but Tenya likes to think that he notices when his friends are injured and this doesn’t line up with any cause in particular. The wound is small, a line between the neck and the right shoulder, thin and likely caused by some kind of blade.
“Are you alright, Midoriya-kun?” Tenya asks, concerned. Midoriya looks at him and he cocks his head to the side, the perfect picture of confusion. “Your wound,” he elaborates at that, gesturing to the mirroring position on himself.
Midoriya’s hand instantly goes to the wound, still red and just a little bit raw. “Oh,” he says, a little pale and Tenya takes note of that. “Funny story, actually! I was reading a book on my bed, and it slipped through my fingers as I tried to turn a page and it fell down and the edges of the paper cut there.”
Tenya nods. Midoriya’s lie wouldn’t have been caught if he hadn’t been able to see the other. But then again, if Tenya hadn’t been able to see Midoriya, the question wouldn’t have had to been asked either. Regardless, Midoriya must have a good reason for lying.
“Please take better care of yourself! Lying down while reading can’t be good for your spine or your eyes!”
Again, Midoriya grins and agrees, and again, that is that.
(Again, for now.)
-
Then, Tensei-nii talks about the new vigilante Lightning Strike, who ironically doesn’t seem to show any sort of electric quirk, but is named for their efficiency and ruthlessness in doing the job of heroes.
As Tensei-nii continues talking about how some other Pro had asked if he could help identify the vigilante, Tenya takes a couple of moments to think about it.
It falls into place then.
(It seemed that the look in his friend’s eyes was familiar for a reason after all; it was the same one that Tenya had worn for a while.)
-
“Midoriya-kun,” Tenya says, face frowning ever-so-slightly. He watches as Midoriya turns in his chair and offers him a wide, albeit slightly confused and questioning, grin. “May we talk?”
“Of course, Iida-kun!” Midoriya answers cheerfully.
There’s a pause, as Tenya waits for Midoriya to get up, before he realises that Midoriya is probably waiting for Tenya to start. “Not here,” Tenya says. “I doubt this is a conversation you wish to be held here and overheard.”
Midoriya pales at that (and Tenya thinks that maybe they’re thinking of different things), but nods and stands, leading Tenya to an unused room.
“All Might-sensei and I come here sometimes; no one will disturb or overhear us here,” he says, as he approaches several corners and fiddles with some things there, probably security cameras or other recording devices. Tenya raises an eyebrow, impressed. He hadn’t noticed the devices at all.
“So what did you want to talk about, Iida-kun?” Midoriya asks, grin wide but clearly strained.
Tenya should feel bad about this, he really should. But he doesn’t.
He punches Midoriya in the face.
(And yells at him for making the same mistakes Tenya had, despite stopping him previously, but that’s far less satisfying than the punch.)
-
Tenya takes another day to process.
“I don’t regret punching you,” Tenya tells his friend, frankly. “It was very satisfying.”
“I think you need to punch things more often,” Midoriya tells him, just as frankly. “You seem less stressed now.”
There’s a little period of silence.
“Lightning Strike?” Tenya asks, incredulous. The question has been nagging at him for a while. “Really?”
“I didn’t choose it!” Midoriya protests. “There’s a Reddit thread of people I helped; they chose it and the Pro Heroes must have picked up on it.”
“And vigilantism?”
“It’s not vigilantism if you don’t use your quirk! I’ve done my research, Iida-kun,” Midoriya answers, sounding slightly offended. “My biggest broken law is probably trespassing.”
“My apologies for doubting you!” Tenya exclaims, and that is that for the day.
-
…Only it’s not.
It’s awkward like it is on the first day back at school aftermath of the Stain Incident for a while. Visibly awkward. Tenya clearly sees Todoroki shooting strangely confused looks at them, because he knows what happened the last time this sort of tension existed. He must be wondering what’s going on. Tenya regrets not being able to tell him, but he figures that Midoriya probably wouldn’t want this secret getting out.
Still, the awkwardness is tangible, so Tenya offers a compromise. “I still think that you should be leaving this to the Pros, but since we cannot come to an agreement, I will accompany you!”
“…Accompany me?” Midoriya frowns. “You do know that means that you’d get into trouble as much as I will if we’re caught, right?”
“Through an earpiece!” Tenya adds, immediately. “With surveillance! If I see that you’re putting yourself into far too dangerous positions, I’ll make you return to safety.”
“Surveillance such as?”
“There are security cameras around in public, ah-“ Tenya hesitates, a little sheepishly and slightly doubtful of what he’s going to say next. “My family probably has access to them via our agency. I can help you and supervise you without actively implicating myself!”
And so Bluescreen becomes Lightning Strike’s sidekick of sorts.
(It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Izuku that Ten-chan is the first one to figure it out. After all, Ten-chan does have the experience of almost committing vigilante actions, in much more public ways. It’s no surprise that he’s the first to see the signs.
Izuku also decidedly does not mention to Ten-chan that what he’s doing can probably be classified as hacking.)
- - - - -
2. Uraraka Ochako
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(Chako-chan is the next to find out.
Izuku isn’t quite sure how close she was to actually figuring it out on her own, but he assumes that she’s pretty close, especially with all the time she spends around him and Ten-chan. It’s not like either of them are very good at subtlety, after all. Might as well admit it before she finds out and feels betrayed or something like that.)
Ochako has absolutely no clue what’s going on.
Deku-kun had met up with her as agreed, hair even more of a mess than it usually is, shoved a stack of papers into her hands and told her to talk to Iida-kun about it, running rapidly in another direction, citing some kind of commitment that Ochako really hadn’t been able to catch.
She looks down at the papers.
The first sheet seems to a blueprint of sorts. It looks like Deku-kun’s mouth guard, but - if she’s reading notes right - more high-tech? She flips it over. “Voice Modulator” is written on the back. Ochako looks at the next one. It seems to be some form of thermal-resistant protective clothing. Turning it over, she reads the title. “Protective Gear”. She’s right. The next sheet looks like some kind of small balloon, and Ochako doesn’t even attempt to take a guess at what it is, simply flipping it over to find “Smoke Bomb” written on it.
She stops, then looks at the stack again, this time from the side. There’s plenty more of these blueprints.
…Ochako really has to ask Iida-kun about this.
-
“Ah-“ Iida-kun hesitates, as Ochako asks him a question, though probably a little too fast and a little too long and complicated to be understood as it is. “Slow down a bit, please?”
Ochako takes a second to catch her breath, mentally noting that it seems like she’s picked up some of Deku-kun’s habits, then restarts. “Why did Deku-kun give me this stack of papers,” she asks, raising said stack of papers in her hands. “And tell me to talk to you about it before running away?”
Iida-kun looks at her, pushing up his glasses. “Do you want to put down the papers and take a seat first?”
Confused, Ochako puts down the papers and takes a seat.
“Izuku-kun is a vigilante.”
Ochako is very glad that she’s put down the papers and taken a seat.
-
“A vigilante,” she echoes, weakly, deciding to file away the fact that Iida-kun is apparently calling Deku-kun “Izuku-kun” for now. That’s something for future Ochako to handle. Present Ochako’s plate already has mysterious blueprints and vigilantism to handle.
Iida-kun nods, then gestures to the pile of papers. “These are blueprints that he thought you might be interested in helping to make.”
“But why me?” Ochako asks. It’s not quite desperation, but it’s most definitely not calm.
“I think he thought it would be better that we told you, before you figured it out,” Iida-kun says. “And apparently he said something about how you’ve been looking to pick up a little bit of engineering so you can modify your helmet…?”
She pauses for a second. She did say that. Huh. She’d be surprised that Deku-kun remembered, but it is Deku-kun after all. “Fair enough!” Gathering the blueprints, she hesitates. “Is there any particular item I should start on first?”
-
It’s only eventually that she realises that she still doesn’t know much about anything, so she figures that she has to ask Deku-kun himself.
-
“Oh!” Ochako gasps. “Iida-kun is a vigilante as well?”
“Not technically!” Deku-kun hurries to correct her. “A more appropriate term would be hacker, but I’d really rather you not tell him that.” Sheepishly, he rubs the back of his neck. “I don’t think he would take the news very well.”
“That’s true,” she concedes. “Does… anyone else know?”
“Other than you and Ten-chan? No one in particular.” (That’s another piece of name information to file away for another day, but besides that-!)
“So,” Ochako says, finally, after a moment of awkward silence settles between them. “How are you feeling about the Training Camp that’s starting in a week?”
- - - - -
3. Todoroki Shouto
- - - - -
(Izuku did not expect this not at all. Neither did Ten-chan or Chako-chan, honestly. But, really, Shou-chan? How were they supposed to anticipate something like this?)
Joukidan has been a vigilante for… a while. Completely intentional, of course, because Shouto has seen how his father focuses on the glamorous fights, the ones that give him more press, more reputation. He sees that, and he doesn’t like that. Shouto likes to think that if he were a hero, he wouldn’t just chase the glory, he’d want to the little people that his father and other Limelight Heroes tend to overlook.
So Shouto searched through their storage, found enough suitable clothing articles to make a vigilante outfit, and started leaving in the middle of the night.
Joukidan isn’t exactly a publicly popular vigilante, not like Knuckleduster or The Crawler or Pop☆Step or their entire gang (the Naruhata Vigilantes) and the likes of them, but she’s kind of well known amongst the Underground community. Of course, that makes it slightly awkward when he enters UA and Eraserhead (who used to be one of the biggest forces on capturing Joukidan and still is for any other vigilante) becomes Aizawa-sensei becomes Shouto’s homeroom teacher, but that’s alright. Joukidan has been Shouto’s secret for four years, and will be for much longer.
…Shouto was wrong; the secret doesn’t even reach the second school term.
-
Joukidan is separate from Todoroki Shouto in a number of ways.
Firstly, Joukidan is decidedly female-presenting. Kind of? It wasn’t Shouto’s original intention, especially not when he was just starting out! It’s just that his red-and-white hair is very distinctive - and so he went and searched for a wig. It just so happened that the only wig he could find was one of Touya’s old ones, from when, according to Natsuo, he used to cosplay. It’s a vibrant, shocking blue, with hair up to his eleven-year-old waist. Even now, without being tied up, it reaches halfway down his back. It started with the wig and so Shouto had thought, might as well embrace it! And so he did. Joukidan wears a skirt over a pair of pants and a pair of heeled boots (that Shouto spent a significant time searching for, honestly).
Next, Joukidan does not have a scar over her left eye. Even eleven-year-old Shouto had figured that that would have been a huge giveaway to his identity, and so even though he wears a mask, he also puts on a layer of concealer - stolen from his mother’s old makeup kits and in future, bought and stocked up on whenever he can - over said scar. To complete it, Shouto has asked Fuyumi on some makeup tips, specifically to put eyeshadow and blush. He later learns contour, but it takes a while more to get the hang of it. It’s precaution after precaution, to best disguise his identity. He also, as of recently, has been able to purchase and put on contact lenses, both a light grey.
Lastly, Joukidan has a water and steam quirk, compared to Shouto’s fire and ice one. It’s really just a crude combination of using fire and ice at the same time, different amounts of sudden heat causing either water or steam. The first use was a panicked accident, but Joukidan has had years to perfect this technique. It is, despite its usefulness, something that Shouto has to keep distinct between his hero and vigilante personas, which is a bit of a pity.
The point is, Shouto has done as much as he can to separate Todoroki Shouto, a fire-and-ice quirked male heroics student, and Joukidan, a longtime steam-and-water quirked female vigilante. So, really? This shouldn’t be happening.
The newly-debuted, fairly effective vigilante Lightning Strike (one thing Joukidan has that Shouto does not are useful information contacts) stands in front of Joukidan.
“...Todoroki-kun?” Lightning Strike asks hesitantly.
“Not here,” Joukidan hisses, tilting her head towards the thugs on the street below theirs. Even so, as she and the new vigilante watch the action below them, she’s busy thinking about them. There’s a certain way his name rolls off of Lightning Strike’s tongue, familiar-sounding, even if the voice itself isn’t. Of course, the mask has enough tech attached to it to be a voice modifier, and the digital display goggles and dark hoodie is probably not just tech and style, but also disguising other prominent features.
It’s Midoriya’s.
That’s probably the only thing that makes sense. The way familiar her alter ego’s name is said, the general build of the vigilante, the way Lightning Strike helps... it’s all quite reminiscent of his green-haired classmate.
“Blue-kun,” Lightning Strike hisses into what’s probably an intercom. “Call our partner to meet after this. For now, anything else about the situation?”
Joukidan can’t help but wonder who’s on the other end of the line, who the mysterious Bluescreen is, because they’re someone only heard of and never seen in the scene. Maybe it’s someone Shouto knows as well...? She almost scoffs at that, then remembers that nothing is impossible with Midoriya.
“Uh...” Lightning Strike looks at him. “You are...?”
“Joukidan.”
“Joukidan-san,” Lightning Strike says. Definitely a very Midoriya-style formality. “Bluescreen-kun says that these thugs aren’t anyone important.”
Joukidan nods, and they both jump down, knocking two of the thugs out. She cups her hands together to create and melt ice in the same moment, pivoting and throwing steam into the nearest thug’s face. Next to her, Lightning Strike proves his efficiency, not even using his very recognisable quirk as he punches one of the thugs, and swipes the other’s legs from other them in a single movement. Joukidan pulls out some zip-ties and passes some over to her temporary partner. They tie up the thugs quickly and efficiently, as Lightning Strike murmurs out instructions for Bluescreen to call the police.
“Might you come with me, Joukidan-san?” Lightning Strike asks, arm outstretched. “I think there are a couple of people you would like to meet.”
And Joukidan? Like with all things Midoriya, she accepts, taking the other’s hand.
-
“Joukidan-san, this is Bluescreen-kun, who you may know as Ten-chan, and our support provider, Chako-chan. Guys, this is Joukidan-san, or Todoroki-kun.”
“I’d say this was unexpected. Todoroki-kun, I never thought you were the type to be a vigilante, especially not for as long as Joukidan has been active!”
“I’d say the same for you, Bluescreen.”
“Guys, don’t you think we should talk about this again later? Deku-kun, I know this is important, but tomorrow’s Summer Camp and we can deal with it then.”
-
They do not have Summer Camp to deal with it.
However, they do have enough time to get the basics out, before everything goes to hell and Bakugou is kidnapped.
When Kirishima tells them about his plan to get Bakugou back, Shouto can’t help but glance at the rest of the Dekusquad. They all exchange hesitant looks, glancing at each other. They already planned to go help save Bakugou anyway, but other people coming just means they can’t go as just vigilantes.
Shouto says he’ll agree if Zuku does. Zuku agrees. Chako keeps quiet to fall under the radar. Tenya punches Zuku for show. (It’s a little funny, because they’d told him how the vigilante reveal went and this just screams how much Tenya’s drawing inspiration from this.)
Tenya shows up again, rambling some stuff that references the Stain Incident enough for it to seem like a reasonable reason and also confuse the others, as Zuku and Shouto nod along and play the part. Everything goes perfectly, and they get Bakugou back.
Then they move into dorms and that makes things a little more difficult.
-
Apparently, Tenya has gotten really good at hacking, despite his constant denial that what he’s doing is not hacking. Denial aside, he’s good enough that there’s enough of a blind spot every day for Joukidan and Lightning Strike to sneak in and out for their vigilante activities.
“If there’s one bonus to this,” Joukidan finds herself saying drily, as she and Lightning Strike take down a mugger. “It’s that we don’t have to worry about the paperwork that Pro Heroes have to do.”
(At this point, Izuku really thinks that the Dekusquad - of which he has never actually agreed with the name of - should really be renamed to Vigicrew or something like that.)
- - - - -
+1. Aizawa Shouta
- - - - -
It is Shouta, not Eraserhead, who first hears about Lightning Strike from, surprisingly enough, the internet.
More accurately, Hizashi sends him in a link, with a text under it saying “Thought you might be interested (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧“ and another saying “Looks like one of ur vigi-kid found another. Better get the adoption papers ready!!!! (╯✧▽✧)╯” Shouta, being the wonderful husband that he is, amuses his spouse (at the expense of his own dignity) and clicks on the link. It’s a link to a video, in which Joukidan, the vigilante whom Shouta has watched grow up, partners up with another person. The video quality is poor, but it’s good enough, especially for such a newly debuted vigilante that Eraserhead hasn’t heard of them.
The new vigilante wears a... Metal mask? Mouth guard? One of them. If Shouta’s seeing it right, there are wires sticking out it. Probably a voice modulator of some sort - smart. Their goggles glow with some form of digital eyes. Shota can hazard a guess at what it does, but he wonders what will happen if the goggles are damaged. A dark coloured hood is pulled up to cover their hair, but their height next to Joukidan’s makes him wonder how tall they actually are. (And with his knowledge of a rough estimate of Joukidan’s age, how old they actually are - why are kids so young going into vigilantism anyway?)
Joukidan had previously been slowing down activity, but it seems like she’s been picking up again now that she has an apprentice.
So it seems Eraserhead will need to make an appearance.
-
Shouta is scrolling through his phone, doing some quick research on Lightning Strike (as the comments section of the video referred to them as) when some of the class starts trickling in. He’s still in his sleeping bag, and he thinks the class can tell since they quiet down as they enter the classroom, but their conversation doesn’t stop.
Curiously enough, it’s the self-proclaimed Bakusquad, and they’re talking about Joukidan and Lightning Strike. The fact that Joukidan has gotten this popular is news to him - she’s never been a topic of conversation much before. In fact, vigilantes haven’t quite been a topic of conversation before.
…Maybe, Shouta muses. It’s time for a curriculum update.
-
Shouta does not spend the night outside as Eraserhead looking for the vigilante duo (or quartet, if his sources are correct, even if Bluescreen and Seizou never show their faces and are even more of an enigma than the other two). Instead, he spends the night modifying a lesson plan for Class 1-A and seeking approval from Nedzu to go forward with the plan as soon as possible, without waiting for the usual lesson held in their second year.
He completes the plan and gets the necessary approval.
-
Slipping out of his sleeping bag in front of the class, Shouta mentally counts the seconds it takes for hiss students to quiet down.
“Six seconds,” he says blandly. “Definitely an improvement, but far from ideal. On to the lesson.”
“Today,” he continues. “We’ll be covering a topic that we normally leave until your second year to handle, but given current events and your class’s affinity for trouble, we’ll be covering it a little early. How many of you have heard of Knuckleduster?” Hesitantly, Midoriya raises his hand. Significantly less so, Iida, Todoroki and Kirishima follow suit. “Pop☆Step?” Again, Iida, Todoroki and Midoriya raise their hands. This time, however, Uraraka does as well, as do Yaoyorozu and Jirou. “The Crawler?” Still the same three, but with Uraraka, Bakugou and Sero. “How about the Naruhata Vigilantes as a whole?” About half the class, if not slightly more.
Shouta takes a deep breath, before turning to more current affairs. “Alright, who has heard of Joukidan then?” So many hands go up that Shouta doesn’t even bother counting, taking it as the entire class. “Lightning Strike?” Nothing changes. “Alright, how about Bluescreen or Seizou?” The same three keep their hands up, even as everyone else puts their hands down. He raises an eyebrow at them, because he’s fairly certain neither of them is common knowledge.
“Tensei-nii hears and talks about them sometimes,” Iida says. “He tends to ask me if I’ve encountered them.”
“Endeavour hasn’t stopped complaining about any one of them, even though we’re in the dorms and I don’t have to hear him,” Todoroki grumbles.
“I do research,” Problem Child admits sheepishly. “…A lot of research.”
Shouta nods in what must look like acceptance, but somehow, he doubts what Midoriya is saying.
“As you’ve probably guessed,” Shouta continues. “Today’s lesson will be about vigilantes. Let’s start.”
-
The lesson passes quickly, and with much enthusiasm from most of his students. They must clearly think that it’s a fun, relaxing topic.
Shouta wonders how they’ll react to the surprise test next heroics theory lesson.
Anyway, now that his duty as a teacher is completed, Shouta is free to become Eraserhead and chase after his, as Hizashi calls her, “vigi-kid” and said vigi-kid’s partners-in-crime. He presses a kiss to his husband’s cheek, untangles himself from the pile of limbs, and jumps out of the window and into the night.
-
Finding Joukidan now is harder than it used to be. Which is good, in a way, because that means that the kid is getting better at her job. It’s less good in another way, because if she’s in trouble, Eraserhead’s not too sure that he can get to her or get her to help fast enough.
Still, harder doesn’t mean impossible, and Eraserhead is nothing but determined to make sure the (not his, unfortunately) kids are alright.
-
It takes a couple more nights than it used to.
In that time frame, Class 1-A does not appreciate the surprise vigilantism-based test. Several things in the dorms have been set on fire, and far too little of them (pretty much none of them) are from Todoroki and/or Bakugou. The dorms have been flooded, the classroom has lost a wall and Shouta desperately needs a drink, a nap, or something of the sort. Joukidan and his previous classes never caused these much problems.
Speaking of Joukidan, Eraserhead manages to find her new partner before he finds her.
With actual use of his eyes instead of through a poorly recorded video, Lightning Strike’s outfit is actually a dark cyan. Their digital goggles make a gasping “(^o^)” face as he jumps next to them.
“Eraserhead-san!” They say cheerfully, and looks like he was right about something. There’s a little quality to the voice that shows, albeit faintly, that it’s modified. Still, it doesn’t look quite like any other voice modifier that he’s come across. Maybe it’s homemade? “Did you need something?”
“Lightning Strike,” he greets curtly. “Is Joukidan around?”
“One second!” Lightning Strike chirps, as their hand goes up to somewhere behind their ear, probably adjusting their comms. “Guys? Eraserhead-san is looking for Jou-chan- …Okay, can do!” Their hand goes down and they look back at Eraserhead. “Jou-chan’s coming back soon.”
“Wonderful,” Eraserhead, and settles himself down on the rooftop. “Want some hot chocolate? I think it’s still hot.”
Lightning Strike’s goggles blink at him.
“Wait, no,” he continues. “It’s just warm now. But better than nothing, I suppose. Have you been hydrating enough?”
“What?”
“Is that a no? You really should hydrate properly; running around like this can be kind of strenuous.”
“You’re freaking Strike out,” another voice says. It’s not familiar, but the tone is, and Eraserhead turns around to see Joukidan. She now has a similar voice modifying mask, which must be the reason for the difference in her voice. “Eraserhead has a parental side that comes out when he sees tiny children in need of help,” she explains.
“Jou-chan! I’m not tiny!” Lightning Strike protests. “Or a child!”
“I do not have a parental side,” Eraserhead finds himself insisting.
“Of course,” Joukidan says, placatingly, as if talking to two small children. “Drink the drink, Strike. It’s not poisoned.”
Lightning Strike drinks the drink.
-
It’s only until later that Shouta realises that he still doesn’t know anything about Lightning Strike.
-
The nighttime meetups continue. The duo is very good at redirecting conversations, almost scarily so. They still get their drinks though, because Eraserhead has never seen either of them carry a bottle of water or something to hydrate.
-
Lightning Strike and Joukidan stare at him.
“We can explain,” Lightning Strike rushes out.
“No we can’t,” Joukidan says.
“Jou-chan!” The smaller responds, distraught.
“I’m not sure how you want to explain this, Strike.”
Eraserhead sighs, and tightens his capture weapon around them. “I don’t care. Just give me one good reason why I shouldn’t drag you to Nedzu or call the police on you for breaking into UA.”
“We didn’t break into UA!”
Joukidan has clearly been infected by Lightning Strike’s personality, nodding along. Eraserhead all but groans. What happened to the Joukidan that he taught how to fight in hand-to-hand combat? The tiny one who was so eager to learn and latched on to all and any human interaction like she was starved for it? The one that knew when she couldn’t take on all the bad guys by herself and simply ran to get help? “Then I suppose you have a reason for being inside UA grounds?”
The vigilante duo hesitates and they tilt their heads, clearly listening to something from their intercom units. Eraserhead lets them.
“Eraserhead-san,” Lightning Strike says, eventually. “We can explain, but we’d rather not get caught by the cameras right now. There’s only so long that Blue-kun can hold them. Do you have somewhere else we can go?”
Eraserhead stares at them. They stare back.
-
Against his better judgement, Eraserhead lugs the duo to his apartment on UA grounds. Hizashi is, thankfully, asleep.
“So?” He demands. “Explain.”
“Uh,” Lightning Strike says.
Joukidan sighs. “Blue and Seizou are coming. Explanations can wait for them.”
“You pulled me away to let more people break into UA?!”
Lightning Strike waves their hands desperately in a “no” action. “No! No one’s breaking into UA.”
“We were breaking out,” Joukidan explains helpfully, but before Eraserhead can process the implications of that, there’s a knock on the front door. “That should be them,” she says mildly. “Do you happen to have makeup remover? That’ll help our explanation.”
“It’s okay,” Lightning Strike says. “I think Sei-chan brought hers.”
Eraserhead stares at the two, then goes to open the front door.
“Good morning Aizawa-sensei!” Uraraka Ochako grins at him, carrying a duffel bag full of… something.
“We apologise for disrupting your patrol!” Iida Tenya bows sharply, carrying his own backpack. This one clearly has a couple of electronics inside of it.
Uraraka and Iida. Seizou and Bluescreen.
Eraserhead turns back to the vigilante duo in his house. Lightning Strike and Joukidan. Midoriya and Todoroki. Probably. He isn’t completely sold on the Todoroki part- Oh look, turns out that blue hair is a wig and- Yup, that’s Todoroki’s red and white hair.
“Sorry Aizawa-sensei,” Midoriya’s familiar voice comes from Lightning Strike, having removed the mouth guard.
“Not really,” Joukidan says, and Eraserhead can hear the similarities to Todoroki now, even if it’s still distorted by the voice modifier.
…Why.
Neither Eraserhead nor Aizawa Shouta is paid enough for this.
- - - - -
++1. Class 1-A
- - - - -
Momo wakes up, but she doesn’t open her eyes, taking a moment to breathe in and get used to the onslaught of sensation. Her wrists are numb and cold, everything feels heavy and there’s a buzzing feeling under her skin. It’s a little overwhelming, if she’s being honest. She’s not entirely sure what’s going on, but it can’t be anything good. Shifting, she opens her eyes.
“You’re awake,” Kyouka’s familiar voice breathes. “Finally.”
“What happened?” Momo asks, fighting her way back to the world of the waking. The floor is cold and damp and definitely helpful in that endeavour.
“There was an ambush,” Midoriya says, but it quickly devolves into a series of murmurs. It normally wouldn’t have been heard, but in this room, in near silence and no one else willing to speak too much? “It was clearly premeditated, especially since no normal kidnapping would have this quality of restraints. Quirk-suppressing cuffs of this quality are rare and expensive. To have this many of them, just enough for this kidnapped group? Highly unlikely. The fact that we were taken down this quickly despite the fact that most of us already have our provisional licenses means that they’ve probably analysed our quirks and prepared appropriate counters. There must be a specific reason-”
“Izuku-kun,” Iida hisses, and Midoriya snaps out of it. “Sorry!”
Quirk-suppressing cuffs would definitely explain the buzzing under her skin, her quirk fighting to get out.
“So… Does anyone have any clue what they might want?” Ochako asks hesitantly.
None of the six of them has a clue.
-
“Eraserhead’s students,” Villain #1 states smugly.
They all exchange looks at each other, and Momo thinks she gets what they’re saying. Thinks. She refrains, just in case she got it wrong.
“…Yes?” Iida asks, interrupting the villain before he can say anything else.
“Who’s Eraserhead?” And isn’t that a trip to hear Midoriya saying, especially since he was the first to actually figure out who Aizawa-sensei was.
“We’re students?” Surprisingly, it’s Todoroki who says this, completely deadpan.
“What are students?” Uraraka chirps cheerfully.
Villain #2 and Villain #3 stare at them incredulously.
…Momo does not think that any of them really understood each other.
-
“I feel obligated to tell you how stupid this idea is,” Midoriya says. “Why would you let us call Eraserhead? He’s a Pro Hero, and he’ll probably have a team of professionals, along with a class of very pissed off students. This call will be perfectly trackable and you’ll have way more trouble on your hands.”
“Izuku-kun, please,” Iida all but begs. “Please stop provoking our kidnappers.” Momo can’t help but agree.
“A better question would be why they want to call Eraserhead in the first place,” Todoroki says mildly, and Iida sighs loudly in response to that. Uraraka suppresses laughter. “I mean, if this is some convoluted revenge plot on Eraserhead, it’s going to fail epically. Maybe money?”
“Shouto-kun!”
“It would have been better to target a limelight hero instead if they were looking for money,” Midoriya points out helpfully.
Todoroki nods in agreement. “You’re right. Glory? Notoriety? Fame? Eraserhead is a rather secretive hero.”
“That’s far more likely,” Midoriya agrees. “But I still think the revenge plot thing makes more sense. Or maybe they just want to piss off a very protective, Pro Hero, teacher. And UA. For no particular reason.”
The villains look just as confused as Momo feels, and how Kyouka seems to feel. Thank Kami she’s not the only one who finds this increasingly confusing.
“Shut up,” Villain #1 hisses at them. “You will call Eraserhead.”
“We heard you the first time,” Uraraka calls out, voice light. Kyouka elbows her sharply. “Ow…”
“You will call Eraserhead,” the villain repeats, frustrated. “And you will tell him to bring us members of Ghost.”
There’s a moment of very confused silence.
“The members of… what?” Momo can’t help but ask.
“Ghost!”
“…Who?” Uraraka asks.
“Joukidan? Lightning Strike? Bluescreen? Seizou?”
The students make a general noise of comprehension.
“Quick question,” Midoriya raises. “Did you come up with the group name by yourself or are people actually calling them that…?” He gets a noise of anger and frustration from the villain.
“Shut UP!”
“…Right, I’ll just… assume it’s the first.”
-
“Just so you know,” Uraraka says, not too quietly. “Seizou isn’t technically a vigilante. They’re just a support engineer who associates a bunch with vigilantes.”
Villain #1 takes a deep breath and heads outside of the room. Villains #2 and #3 look vaguely uncomfortable, even as everyone hears the ringleader scream.
-
The phone rings. Loudly. On speaker. With an actual speaker. Momo can’t help but wonder if Aizawa-sensei will even pick up the phone. Then she wonders if there would be an echo.
The ringing stops, and Aizawa-sensei’s voice echoes throughout the room. “Who is this and how did you get this number?” Momo isn’t sure if she should be relieved or upset that he picked up. There’s a moment of silence. “Well? I’m waiting.”
“You brats were so talkative just now, and now you’re not saying a thing?” Villain #1 demands.
“Who are you calling brats?” Aizawa-sensei shoots back, and Momo can hear the understanding slowly seeping into his voice. “One of you? Report.”
“We’ve been kidnapped, everyone is mostly uninjured, quirk-suppre-“ Iida starts listing off the facts dutifully, but is cut off as Villain #2 whacks him on the head with a hard object.
“They want the vigilantes that you were talking about in class, Eraserhead-sensei,” Momo rushes out immediately, as Iida blinks rapidly.
“…Which ones? We covered a lot of vigilantes in class.” More quietly but still audibly, “Problem children.”
“The one with Joukidan and Lightning Strike,” Kyouka says.
“Don’t forget Seizou and Bluescreen!” Uraraka adds.
“…And who has been kidnapped?” Aizawa-sensei asks. “Iida, Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Uraraka…?”
“Me and Zuku,” Todoroki says and whoa- When did they get this familiar with one another?
“And you, kidnappers,” Aizawa-sensei says, but he sounds more amused than concerned. “You kidnapped these students to get to the Vigi-kids?”
“Vigi-kids,” Midoriya echoes, softly and incredulously.
“Yes,” Villain #1 says confidently.
“…Hilarious,” Aizawa-sensei says flatly. “Stay safe kids.” Then he hangs up.
-
“So…” Uraraka says slowly. “What do you want with the vigilantes?”
“Revenge,” Villain #2 says simply.
“Shut up,” Villain #1 says. It’s not particularly clear who that’s directed at.
“Who hurt you?” Midoriya mumbles, but stays silent afterwards.
-
Aizawa-sensei and a good proportion of the class burst into… wherever they are. The rescue goes far quicker and smoother than Momo would have expected. Aside from Iida’s concussion and a stab wound that Midoriya received in the process of escaping, they’re otherwise largely unharmed.
The whole experience has been both confusing and enlightening. Momo definitely didn’t know that Aizawa-sensei was so close to the vigilante group!
- - -
“Alright class,” Aizawa-sensei says. “To end off our series of lessons on vigilantes, we’ve got a couple of them to come and teach your lesson today.”
“Aizawa-sensei?” Tooru asks. “Iida, Uraraka, Todoroki and Midoriya aren’t here yet.”
Aizawa-sensei stares her dead in the eyes. “Don’t worry about it.”
She frowns, even if no one can see it. “But-“
“Don’t worry about it,” he repeats, with emphasis. Then he clears his throat. “Anyway, we’ll have Joukidan, Lightning Strike, Bluescreen and Seizou. Treat them like you would with any other guest teacher or be expelled. Are we clear?”
The class nods in agreement.
“Okay,” he directs these words at the classroom door. “Problem children, get in here.”
Joukidan and Lightning Strike walk in.
“…Aizawa-sensei?” Sero asks. “I thought you said there were four of them?”
Aizawa glares at the vigilante duo. “I said what I said.”
“Blue-kun and Sei-chan are going to come in later!” Lightning Strike says cheerfully, familiar like someone else Tooru can’t quite place her finger on. “But they’ll join us online for now, is that okay, Eraserhead-san?”
Aizawa-sensei sighs and rubs his nose bridge. “Fine. Just remember that you’ll have to do it eventually. Hold up your end of the deal and all. Hurry up and set up.” And as he steps into his sleeping bag, Tooru can hear him mutter, “Problem children.”
-
The presentation goes smoothly, even if slightly awkward on the vigilante’s end for some strange reason. There’s a little cartoon ghost on the screen, in place of a video showing Bluescreen and Seizou. Tooru has never had a more interesting theoretical heroics lesson, before. Yes, this includes the lesson spent on choosing hero names.
It continues, until a question and answer session at the end, and Joukidan leaves, quoting something that no one else can hear as a reason.
“Lightning Strike-sensei,” Tsu says, even as said vigilante winces almost imperceptibly at the address. “Aizawa-sensei said something about holding up on your end of the deal. Could you explain that?”
Lightning Strike glances at the clock, and at the screen. “Uh… Blue-kun? Sei-chan?”
“You can do it now,” Bluescreen says. “Joukidan-chan should be back soon.”
“Go, Strike-kun!” Seizou cheers.
“Ah, we were… caught by Eraserhead-san,” Lightning Strike admits. “He thought we were breaking into UA, and he found out our civilian identities and we made a deal. We would get proper licenses to do this legally, tell him when we do it, and tell you guys our identities, and we’d get off without getting incriminated.”
“But why us?” Jirou asks.
Lightning Strike shrinks into themselves. “Well…”
“I’m back.” Joukidan enters the door. Only… Not quite? It’s Todoroki who speaks, walking into the room in Joukidan’s outfit, a wig and a mask in his hands.
Instantly, Tooru snaps back to face Lightning Strike, who has removed their hood, mouth guard and goggles, revealing Midoriya staring back sheepishly at them. The screen’s little ghost logo disappears, and Iida and Uraraka on the other side.
“Surprise?” Midoriya/Lightning Strike offers, and the room bursts into unrestrained chaos.