Chapter Text
Aizawa Shouta has been a pro hero for 9 years since he graduated from UA. Immediately deciding to be an independent underground hero, he was quick to establish his status as Eraserhead. The commission and agencies often approach him for team-ups and support missions when they needed his quirk. Apart from the occasional arrangements, Shouta patrols the streets of lesser-known areas where he knows darker deeds are happening. Things that pros thriving in the spotlight would be too busy to notice. That was why; he was swinging from buildings and running over rooftops in the shady area of Musutafu.
The government has long since abandoned this place after a villain terrorist attack that turned the area into a mass graveyard. The damage was simply too big from the bombs that they opted to move the meagre survivors of the attack to other towns than to waste money on the sure to be expensive rebuilding of the area. Compensations handed out, the media quieted down, and the former towns Yokkon and Ritori of Musutafu, Japan are simply wastelands of an unfortunate attack. The area is now full with squatters and low-life villains. The destroyed towns become home to the poorest families in Japan and hotspot for crimes and villainous activities.
This was why Shouta patrolled the area often. To protect the resident civilians from being involved or tangled up with the gangs and thugs in the area. After all, it is easier for people to disappear and sold to the black market without the constant surveillance of the government. Shouta has busted several drug rings, illegal brothels, and rescued children and adults alike before they ended up in the black market for their quirks. Yet somehow, as he takes one down, another appears to take its place. It has now been a never-ending nightmare for the underground pro heroes and vigilantes that worked with him.
A beep interrupted his thoughts as he perched on the edge of a rundown apartment building’s dilapidated roof. He fished his phone from a pouch on his utility belt and read the notification. A few months into his heroic career, Shouta realized a very startling truth. The hero system favored the heroes who entered the public rankings and neglected most of the underground heroes who avoided the spotlight. So much so that underground heroes mostly go independent to keep their notoriety than join a pro hero agency where they risk the exposure of their identity. In addition, even though many are fine with being independent, having an agency poses more benefits.
Having a well-established agency encourages partnerships with other agencies. This in turn makes it easier for the commission to keep track of their heroes and makes information sharing easier. Most pro heroes do not have enough resources to gather intel for their cases and missions. In rare cases, underground pro heroes team up with vigilantes in passing intel. However, since vigilantism is still illegal, many vigilantes are wary of pros. With these in mind, Shouta and a few fellow hackers and coders began a private system where underground pro heroes enter to share intel, ask for team-ups, and get updated on crimes near their location.
The system is to be open only to underground pros since they are more lenient on vigilantes who post anonymously. It wasn’t until four years ago that the hero commission finally recognized their identity as an underground hero agency that the legalization of their organization was known to other pro hero agencies, which further opened more bridges for the newly dubbed agency. Since then, the underground pro hero agency Shouta started has gained more members and encouraged more underground agencies to form. One of the most well known features of the system alerted heroes within the nearby area of a fight or crime.
There is a fight happening in Ritori, Musutafu. Shouta seemed to be the only one near the area. He might be the only underground hero that may respond to the distress alert. After pocketing his phone and fixing his goggles, the omega launched into the sky as he headed towards the origin of the signal. It took minutes of manoeuvring on his capture weapon before he heard the tell tale sounds of crumbling buildings and explosions. The pro hero frowned in thought. A fight that sounded this big can possibly be a matter between rival gangs or yakuzas. Yet as Eraserhead slowly approached the location, he was stunned to see the level of damaged inflicted from the fight along with its culprits.
The red cape and colorful costume undoubtedly belonged to the number one pro hero, All Might, who seemed to be in a fight with a villain with several quirks? Buildings crumbled and debris kept on flying everywhere as the two continued to exchange blows. The fight seemed to have been going on for sometime seeing as they have already turned several blocks of buildings into a valley of concrete. From his perch on an untouched building, it was easy to track their movements. Shouta watched as visible fatigue made the blonde pro hero miss his target and a few narrow escapes. It wasn’t until an attack almost hit the alpha head on that Shouta was snapped from his shock.
He quickly swings from building to building while avoiding the attention of the two. Luckily, for him, the two seemed to be preoccupied with each other. He immediately reached a building opposite the blonde which gives him the perfect vantage point of the fight and his target. He awaits the perfect timing as he observes the fight. Both of them were worse for wear, All Might more so. Both their clothes have tears and rips. Whereas All Might have visible wounds on his body, the villain have no injuries whatsoever. A healing or regeneration quirk then? Shouta hopes his quirk would be enough to stop or distract the villain for a few seconds to give All Might the opening he needs to finish the fight. He has the element of surprise with the two unaware of his presence. He only has one shot and he needs to make it count.
He continues to track the fight from his perch until he finally saw it. There was a falter in the villain’s attack as All Might delivered an unexpected jab. The alpha saw this as well as he gave a series of punches following the initial attack. The final blow sent the villain closer to Shouta as he landed on a crater from the impact. He waited anxiously as the dust slowly cleared. All Might was panting from exhaustion as the villain slowly stood from the rubble as his wounds slowly closed. He was too far to hear their conversation. However, he saw the scowl that replaced the blonde’s usual sunny expression.
Shouta felt a shiver run down his spine, as he never saw the number one pro hero look like this. Whatever they said must have been personal as they both poised to deliver what looks like their final attacks. It was finally the deciding factor of the fight. The attack that lands the most damage will determine the victor. Shouta waits as he readied erasure to activate. He counted down as the two powered up their attacks. Finally, with a furious shout from the alpha hero, they both rushed at each other as their attacks waited to collide.
Shouta exhales as he focused on the villain’s back. Just as they were a meter apart from each other, Shouta activated his quirk as his eyes ignited red. He could see the startled faces of the two as the villain’s quirks deactivated. He saw the fear replace the villain’s surprise and All Might’s startled face turned into one of determination. Shouta kept his gaze on the villain’s back as All Might delivered his ultimate move and ploughed the villain into the ground. He could still see a part of the villain’s body that lied prone on the ground from the force of the attack. He kept his eyes trained on the exposed body part even after the blonde finished his attack. He needed to make sure the villain doesn’t regenerate or heal himself.
A few seconds passed as the surroundings came to a standstill. When he was sure the villain no longer moved either because of unconsciousness or death, Shouta finally closed his eyes. He watched as the blonde started to wobble on his feet and immediately swung down. He landed a few feet before the number one pro who finally noticed his presence. He ran the remaining distance just in time for him to catch the alpha by the waist. He grunted as the weight of the alpha made him stagger before gaining his balance. The blonde weighed a hundred more pounds than him and was basically using him as a crutch. Thankfully, the alpha hasn’t fallen unconscious as of yet and seemed to be recovering from the battle.
“All Might-san, are you all right?” he questioned in a low voice. Shouta watched as the blonde slowly cracked an eye open and watched him with something akin to wonder. “Th-thank you...” he whispered before slumping forward. Shouta huffed as he tried to carry more of his weight before slowly lowering him to the ground. As soon as he laid him on the uncomfortable ground, he turned towards the villain who seemed to be unconscious. Shouta hurriedly wrapped his capture weapon around the villain before he fished out his phone. He quickly scrolled through his contacts before firing off an alert for his location to the Musutafu Police, 119, and Sir Nighteye’s agency. The police can deal with the villain that will go straight to Tartarus while All Might’s sidekick can deal with him.
Shouta lowered his phone and looked at the unconscious hero and villain before his feet. He needs to wait for a few minutes before any of the three parties arrive at the location. He looks from the villain’s bleeding and battered form to the blonde hero’s tired but peaceful face. He sighs before looking up at the sunny sky that seemed to be mocking him.
“Well shit”.