Chapter Text
It was a muffled clatter and hushed voices that pulled Izuku from the warm, comforting embrace of slumber. The five year old blinked with heavy lids. The blurry, soft lit stars that scattered across his bedroom walls, gradually coming into focus. A deep rumbling sound that took him a moment to recognise, made that hazy gaze shift to his door.
It was a deep voice. One that he’s not heard before.
More hushed voices danced through apartment walls, different in timbre.
His mother and father… and someone… were talking quietly in the living room. That alone wouldn’t be too far fetched except he heard his father leave some time ago and his mother crept in to check on him not long after, before going to bed herself.
The young boy frowned, rubbing his face roughly. There was something so tempting, a desire curling in his mind, a thought… that he was missing out on something. Izuku was a poor sleeper at the best of times but heaven forbid he think that everyone was having fun without him.
That was absolutely not fair.
Another frown… ‘Daddy said that’s shellfish…’
He didn’t quite understand what that meant but when Tsubasa had cried at Katsuki’s fifth birthday, because the blond had received a “fancy, pro-cool, explosion, mega bike” and he didn’t, the boy threw a small fit, crying out that it wasn’t fair- Izuku’s father said that “the kid’s a shellfish”… or something.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, kicking sluggishly when the bedding wound around his torso.
Another sound.
The tap turned on in the kitchen… a clatter… a hiss?
Izuku tiptoed to his door, twisting the handle soundlessly as he had done so many times. Holding his breath, he pulled back slowly, just enough to peek through into the hallway. He could hear a little clearer, the voices coming from the open plan living room-kitchen at the other end.
He recognised his mother’s voice, she sounded a little tired as she softly spoke. “There, lay down flat-“
There was a strange crinkling noise and a pained grunt, followed by two weary sighs.
Sensing an opportunity, Izuku pulled open the door wide enough to slip through and hop to the other side, crouching down and crawling close to the wall like he’d seen heroes do on stealth missions in his cartoons.
“Honestly Hisashi, why-“
That unknown voice butted in, the deep hiss between words matching the noises he’d heard. Obviously, whoever this man was, he was injured.
“It was my request, ughhh- I’m sorry for intruding. I- owww-”
"-Sorry sorry, let me just pull the fabric away”
The young boy felt a little torn… on one hand he was proud of his mother. Inko was a famous nurse, his father had said so. But on the other hand, someone was hurt. A confused swirl of emotions prompted the him to speed up his crawl, stopping just behind the side table at the precipice of the room, his gaze now fixed on the man laying on a plastic sheet on the couch.
“Za- umm… my partner, I don’t want him getting a call from the hospital at 3am. Its not a fatal wound and I know Cinder works closely with Case-“
‘Cinder is daddy’s hero name!’
“Wait wait-“ Inko placed the scissors she was using into one of two bowls on the floor beside where she knelt, then lifted a piece of black fabric from near the man’s stomach and placed it in a bin bag. “Who is Case?”
“Ah-“
Izuku leant to his right, peeking around the table leg to see his father, in his hero costume, standing at the top end of the couch near the wounded man’s head. “-Case is short for Case Closed, he’s one of my team, his quirk closes or seals any things he places his two hands on, so two lengths of rope for example” Hisashi beamed, holding his fists out in front “-perfect for capturing crooks!” To demonstrate, he slapped his closed fists together.
Izuku’s eyes sparkled.
Amazing.
Inko didn’t seem to agree. She simply sighed and pulled a soaked, white cloth from a bowl, ringing it out before leaning forward to do something to the injured man’s stomach “That’s a ridiculous name.”
Izuku’s father snorted, muttering “Don’t ask what his name-“
“So-“ Injured man interjected “I figure I could have the famous Shizuoka nurse clean me up and Case seal the wound. I’m healed. My partner is none the wiser. Everyone is happy.”
“I’m not happy, its 3am, I have work tomorrow. My couch is cream. Cream upholstery! You two are menaces-“ Inko turned her glare away from Hisashi to look at the couch-ridden man as his father sheepishly placed his hands in his pockets and stared at the cornices. “-and why do you know who I am Mr Hero?”
Izuku’s eyes grew wider. It was just as he thought, the mystery man was a hero.
He wasn’t sure why his mother didn’t think the hero would know who she was… his dad must’ve talked about her while they worked on some super cool hero mission. Maybe he talked about Izuku too… The idea of being known by a hero was exciting.
But who was he?
The boy took a moment to take in his appearance, hoping to spark recognition.
He had shoulder length, messy black hair, a very dark grey jump suit and a strange pale grey rope? Scarf? Something, looped around his neck. Izuku came up blank. ‘Maybe he’s new?'
“Drunken quirk, last- ack-“
The hero bucked forward in pain, prompting a now panicked Izuku to shuffle forwards a little to see better.
Blood.
And… duct tape?
The boy frowned as he watched his mother tenderly used the soaked cloth to try and pry away the tape from the sluggishly bleeding wound.
“Honestly Hisashi” she hissed “-you can’t butterfly stitch with duct tape!”
The wounded hero winced but continued “He was blabbering after a petty thief hit him with the quirk. Saying his wife was a renowned nurse, working for a world class sur- ughhhh- surgeon.”
“Sorry I don’t have any lidocaine…” she dumped some tape in the rubbish bag “-Hisashi, how long until Case comes?” Izuku watched his dad walk over to the front door, shifting the blind to the side and peer out into the darkness. Inko continued “-And I’m not renowned. I’m a normal nurse, just as good as all the others on my team. I’m only favoured because I happened to be nearby when Dr Senmonka was in a car crash and I tended to him on the scene.”
Hisashi walked back over, muttering into his phone as he slumped against the wall beside the couch. “He’s on his way… 15 mins tops.” After a moment, his father scratched his head, looking over towards the kitchen “I’ll get the proper steri-strips so you can hold his guts in while we wait.”
The shocking and somewhat revolting revelation had Izuku let out an involuntary gasp… finally revealing his stealthy location.
Inko, Hizashi and mystery man, quickly turned their heads.
‘Uh oh’
“Izuku, sweetheart-“ She twisted her body towards him, while still keeping her hands pressed against the hero’s stomach. She then whispered harshly “Hisashi!” Before continuing in her usual, sweet as honey voice “-what are you doing out of bed lovely?”
Izuku took this as a sign to approach his mother, who would usually wrap him in a soothing cuddle before returning him to bed. As he took slightly anxious steps, his gaze flicked between Inko’s slightly wide eyes and the grizzly stomach wound to her left.
“Izuku”
His field of view was suddenly blocked as his father stepped in front and bent forward to cuddle him. “Lets get you ba-“
“What’s his name?” He mumbled into his father’s hip.
There was another sigh, although he wasn’t sure who breathed it out. After a second of waiting, warm hands reached down, gripping him under his armpits to lift him up. After that, he sat firmly in his father’s arms, hands clasped under his legs, holding him up, chest to chest.
He quickly peeked over Hisashi’s shoulder at the mystery man.
“Eraserhead.”
Inko’s head whipped around to her husband, an incredulous look on her face.
The young boy on the other hand was perplexed. His small fingers fiddled with the lines of subtle orange stitching on the seams of his father’s black hero costume. “What does that mean? Eraser… is it like when I do my numbers wrong and rub out the pencil?”
Hisashi pulled back, looking him in the eye with a proud smile “Yep! You sure are smart huh.”
Izuku smiled sweetly but a twitch flickered his brow. After staring intensely at the floor for a few seconds, seriously considering the implications, Izuku resumed looking at the hero, who seemed to be glaring at the ceiling.
“You… so you eraser heads? Like when I drew mamma’s head too big.”
He felt the grip around him tighten a touch, for just a moment, so he glanced back at his father. The man had his lips firmly pressed together, eyes looking straight upwards. His cheeks puffed and deflated in quick succession as a warm flush lit his skin.
How weird.
“Uh- no-“ Hisashi made a strange noise, almost like a strangled hack, then cleared his throat awkwardly “-no sweetheart. So we gotta keep it a secret because like me, he’s not lime light, plus he’s fairly fresh on the scene… but its quirks, he can erase quirks.”
“…By using his head?”
Hisashi wheezed.
On the couch, Eraserhead groaned.
Not wanting the conversation to end, Izuku plucked up the courage to ask a hero (his desired future profession) an important question. “Mr Eraserhead, I got my quirk six years ago-“
“-Months love”
“-Six months ago! Do you think I can be a hero like you and my dad?”
The injured man’s eyes crept slowly to meet his. They were dark and extremely tired, like the time his mother worked extra long days, after the villain attack in the market.
“… if you study hard and train to be the best you can be at saving people, then sure, why not.”
“There you go!” Hisashi bounced him in his arms and took a step in the direction of Izuku’s bedroom.
That was unacceptable.
“But- but what about my quirk-“ Izuku blurted out, calling over his dad’s shoulder as he clenched his small fists “-you didn’t ask what my quirk was!”
Eraserhead opened his mouth to answer but flinched as Inko pulled the third strip of duct tape from his wound. After a moment, the man finally replied “You belch up small objects, right?”
His father spun around, making a sound akin to a choking cat “Th- that terminology is a bit- its-“
“’s how you described it to me-“
Hisashi pushed his son around, more onto one hip and raised a hand, to start gently stroking the back of Izuku’s head in a pleasant, soothing manner. “Well-“ he cleared his throat “I-I was clearly under the influence-“
“Pretty sure it wasn’t when that quirk was involved-“
“Raser!!” His father hissed, shielding the child like the man was spitting poison.
“How about-“ Izuku’s mother raised her voice, something she rarely did, “-we stop this delightful conversation and focus on this gaping wound.”
“What’s gaping mean?”
Inko turned, her eyes looked similar to the hero’s. “Izuku. Bed. Now.”
“B-but-“ Izuku’s protests fell on deaf ears as his father began walking back to his room, arms firmly holding him in place, despite his slight wriggling. “Uh drink, I need a drink-“
“Nice try Zu, there’s still one in your room.”
“I’m sweaty!”
“Well stop pulling your All Might blanket up to your chin then.”
Izuku whined, fighting the inevitable until they crossed the bedroom threshold, where he called out loudly “Nice to meet you Mr Eraserhead!! Get well soon!!!”