Chapter Text
[Thursday, July 25th, 2271 - 02;15 A.M.]
The night is warm, as is common for a night during the middle of July. The city below is quiet, subdued even, yet Eraserhead still patrols all the same. It's often the quietest of nights that hide the most dangerous of foes, in Eraser's experience. It's a feeling, more than anything else, that has Eraser patrolling by the now defunct Aldera Junior High School this night. A feeling of something being off that has him swiftly leaping between rooftops around the abandoned school and the surrounding area. If anyone were to ask Eraserhead to describe the feeling, he'd be utterly unable to do so. He'd learned a long time ago to not ignore feelings like this one, because the last time he did... He had to watch his best friend's body be pulled out from under a collapsed building. From that day onwards, he'd sworn to never ignore his instincts again. Not when it could mean the difference between life and death for himself or those around him. He didn't claw his way to the unofficial #1 Underground Hero position by being ignorant, after all. So when he hears the sound of a woman's scream from a few alleyways over, Eraserhead is quick to launch into action.
"People like you... they've always made me sick."
The voice Eraser hears as he approaches the alleyway sends a momentary jolt of dread down his spine. It's hard for him to make out many details about the voice, but the tone alone is enough for him to be instantly set on edge. He's reached the alleyway now, and he can make out a trio of individuals down on street level within the alley. There's a man on the ground, a wound across his chest from what Eraser assumes is some sort of bladed weapon, but it looks just shallow enough to only leave a minor scar. A woman, the one who screamed, has pressed herself against a dumpster within the alleyway. Her eyes are blown wide in what seems to be a mix of terror and awe as she stares at the only one standing in the alleyway, and that's when Eraserhead finds the source of that uneasy feeling he had been experiencing all night. Standing tall in the alleyway is an individual in what looks to be a full set of European plate armor, though the material is a dark color as opposed to the pristinely polished sets that are commonly found in museums these days. A long red cloak with ornate golden trim is wrapped around them, clipped to the chest plate of the armor most likely, and Eraserhead's attention is drawn to the massive spear the individual is holding in their right hand. The shaft of the spear is a striking crimson in color, though the material it's made from is hard to discern without a closer look at the thing, but the most striking part of the spear is the blade itself. The blade itself almost like someone had taken a flame and frozen it before attaching it to the end of the shaft, and Eraserhead can faintly see that the end of the blade is lightly coated in blood. Eraser doesn't like this, not one bit. From what he can see, he has no way of knowing what the quirk of the armored assailant is. He's really hoping it's not a mental quirk that gives it's user enhanced skills with a blade, he'd really prefer to not have to get stitched back together tonight.
Dropping from the rooftop he was observing from Eraserhead hurls his capture scarf towards the assailant, intending to disarm them before they can swing that spear towards anyone else. So imagine his surprise when the assailant effortlessly sidesteps the scarf, batting it away with their spear before turning to face him. Now that he has a closer look at the person, he's noticing new things about their armor. Atop their helm rests a small sculpture of a coiled serpent with wings, and Eraser swears he sees the flash of a golden colored eye from behind the slits on the helm for a brief moment. The individual makes no move to retaliate, so Eraserhead takes that moment to at least attempt a de-escalation before a fight breaks out. "Stand down, Villain. Drop the spear and step away from those civilians." The way the person tilts their head in confusion feels so unsettling, and their voice makes Eraser's blood run cold because now that he can hear it more clearly? Fuck, they sound like a kid.
"You seem to be mistaken, Eraserhead. I am no villain, but him on the other hand..." Eraserhead tenses as the kid(?) gestures to the man on the ground behind him with their spear with visible disgust in their movements. "He was attempting to assault that woman before I arrived. So I stopped him." And, fuck, if that didn't make so much more sense now that Eraser can see the situation more closely. The woman's clothes are ruffled and dirty, like she had been shoved against the ground by someone, and with the way she seems to be subconsciously remaining close to the kid with the spear? She's identified them as someone who kept her safe. For fucks sake, this is why Eraserhead hates dealing with would be vigilantes. They do good work most of the time, but their actions are far more often than not needlessly violent. Eraser grits his teeth for a moment before speaking again. "Right. Still vigilantism is a crime, and despite what the creep did to her, you don't have the authority to execute someone. I'll only say it once more, drop the spear and stand down." He knows it's too much to hope for a resolution to this without a fight, but the way the vigilante tenses just screams that a fight is coming. So, as they raise their left hand, Eraserhead activates his quirk on them only to have to reel back from the sudden wave of dark crimson flames that erupt from the vigilante's hand. What the hell? Erasure was active so how the hell were they able to use their quirk still? Eraserhead cursed under his breath when he heard a yell from the man on the ground followed by a heavy thunk from a body falling to the ground.
Slinging his capture scarf towards the vigilante, Eraser is suddenly grateful to whatever deities might be out there, because there's no attempt to struggle from them as he tightens the scarf around them before throwing them against one of the alley walls. Eraser whips his head towards the man, only to find him on the ground... unconscious thank the gods. The woman rushes past Eraser and out of the alleyway, good for her. That lets Eraser focus solely on the vigilante, who is now sitting on the ground, thankfully making no moves to reach for the spear that they had dropped. Now that he isn't preoccupied with preventing a potential murder, Eraserhead takes a second to properly assess the vigilante, and what he finds is even more unsettling. They're definitely just a kid, probably mid-teens, and now that Eraser's looking more closely at them, they're worryingly small. Gods he hopes that this kid isn't taking to the streets to escape an abusive home. With slow, telegraphed movements, he removes the kid's helm and immediately drops in in shock. That face... he's seen it countless times when he's been in Tsukauchi's office. Pinned to a board below the words "Missing Child". Yet... the only thing that is similar to that picture is the kid's facial features. His hair in the photo wasn't this charred black color, and both of his eyes were a vibrant green in the photo instead of one being black with a golden iris. There was no scar around the kid's left eye, and he looked so much more youthful. There was no way that this kid was the same one that had been missing for the past year...
"Midoriya Izuku...?" Mismatched eyes snap to make direct contact with Eraser's, even though his goggles are still on, and the kid tilts his head in confusion for a moment before responding. "Yes?"