Chapter Text
A pitch-black sky covered the night. Not even the moon was out to light the dark port warehouses. With less light, it made it easier for smugglers to sneak around their illegal trade. At the same time, it made it easier for heroes to hide in the shadows and wait for their chances to catch their targets. That was the case currently for Aizawa Shouta, better known as Eraserhead.
Aizawa snuck through the shadows silently and out of sight. He was on his own for the moment with backup a distance away, waiting for his cue. How he wished it was someone else in charge of keeping watch and locating the illegal substances. Just because he was a more stealthy and agile hero, he was stuck on top of giant cargo crates reeking of fish. Though, it was to find an elusive and highly wanted drug cartel.
During the briefing prior to heading out on his mission, Aizawa learned that their target was the head of an illegal drug smuggling and trade organization on par with the yakuza. Heroes and the police had been busting their operations for years, though only the minor ones. They had never managed to get their hands on the drug lord.
However, that night was going to be different.
After keeping watch for who knew how long, Aizawa spotted a cargo ship pulling in. It could’ve easily passed as some regular ship transporting imports from elsewhere, but Aizawa noticed the few crates left aside.
Two suspicious men appeared, heading for the crates as well as another man who came from the ship. They shared some words with each other before the importer cracked open one of the crates. The other two looked inside before nodding their heads. One of the two passed a suitcase to the importer as the other made a signal. The importer was then on his way as more men came, hauling the crates away.
Aizawa alerted the others on what he had just witnessed. He advised that a smaller group should go after the importer as the rest continue to wait until he located the hideout. His advice was heeded. Now he was on the move again, following the men to where they were taking the crates.
Aizawa followed the group deep into the maze of cargo crates. They made many odd turns as they went on their way, probably taking caution of being followed. They were right to be cautious, but that didn’t make them safe from Eraserhead.
Aizawa spotted the group finally heading into something, but it was just as odd as their random turns. They had just entered one of the large cargo crates, closing the door behind them. Aizawa made a face, confused. The confusion didn’t stop him from continuing on.
Once again, Aizawa alerted the group on standby. He gave them the coordinates of the crate their targets just entered before heading in himself. On guard, Aizawa attempted to open the doors.
Locked. Of course.
Aizawa grumpily grumbled to himself, bitter about the extra work. Well, this was when the gadgets those support people made came in handy.
After playing around with the gadgets he was given on the door, it opened. Aizawa peeked in. It was empty. He grew even more confused, swinging the door open wider as he muttered, “What…?”
Aizawa walked into the empty crate, looking all around. There was nothing there at all. Then where did they go? Now Aizawa understood why the organization remained untouched for so many years.
“This is a load of bull—”
Clu-clunk!
Aizawa paused mid curse at the sudden sound. He prepared himself in case there was an ambush waiting for him, but there was nothing. He repositioned himself to just casually standing again when he heard the sound again.
Clu-clunk!
Following where the noise came from, Aizawa looked down. It was from right under his feet. He crouched down, taking a closer look at what he was standing on. That part of the floor seemed off. After fidgeting around with it, a secret door opened. Bingo.
“Hey, there’s a tunnel underneath this crate,” Aizawa said into his intercom. “I don’t know where it leads, but I’m going in. Be prepared to move.”
Stealthily, Aizawa went down the hole that was previously hidden by the door. After hopping down, he noticed that the hole lead into the sewers. So, they were getting around through those means. Disgusting, but the sewer system did travel all around the city and no doubt to the many secret locations of the organization.
Aizawa looked around the tunnel, but the men were out of sight. Too much time had passed between the men jumping down the hole and Aizawa discovering the secret door. Luckily, the group were talking amongst themselves. Aizawa followed the voices. He was back on their trail in no time.
Aizawa dreaded how far the men could be going. If their meet up place with the boss was someplace across town, then it was going to be a long night. Again, that was if they were headed across town. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.
The men stopped at a ladder leading up to the surface. Aizawa watched as one man climbed up. Light from the surface shined down like a spotlight. The crates were passed up. Aizawa took that as a cue to find his own exit. Who knew what exactly was above them. Best be safe.
Aizawa hurried back to another ladder he passed when following his targets. This one was one that was supposed to be there, not an organization made one.
Once Aizawa reached the surface, he noticed he was still near the port. At least that meant the standby group didn’t have to travel far.
Aizawa went back to approximately where the men he was following resurfaced. He reached the above ground spot of where he was below and found a large warehouse. Lights were on inside the building. Quickly, he made his way to one of the higher windows. He peeked in, seeing a large group of people all surveying the crates brought in. It was hard to say how many there were. But in the middle, a well-dressed man. Aizawa could just tell he was the one leading the group. Their guy.
“Hey, it’s me,” Aizawa said into his intercom. “I’m at some warehouse south of where the exchange happened. I’m sending you my coordinates right now. Get here quick.” He didn’t bother waiting for a response, already pulling out his earpiece. God how he hated those things.
Aizawa continued watching from the window. Sure, he was confident in his combat abilities, but there were just way too many people in the warehouse. Best wait for the others. At least, that’s what he thought until he spotted one of the lackeys grab a bag of the drug. It looked like he was going to be testing out the drug. Aizawa wasn’t sure what the effects of the drug were, but if it was bad enough to make the organization this wanted, he had a feeling he shouldn’t just sit back.
Aizawa couldn’t do anything about the guy ingesting the drug, but what he could do was cancel whatever Quirk they had.
The guy looked to be about to test out his Quirk and Aizawa instantly activated Erasure. He put two and two together. The drug had to be some Quirk enhancer. However, with Erasure canceling out the Quirk, it made it seem the drug was counterproductive. While the crowd got riled up by the confusion, Aizawa impatiently waited for backup to come.
Though, it looked like Aizawa couldn’t wait for backup any longer.
It seemed as though a few more men were ordered the test out the drug when three more guys stepped up to the crates. Aizawa cursed. He couldn’t let more bad guys enhance their quirks. He had to prevent them from ingesting the drugs and fast.
After a quick deep breath, Aizawa jumped in. He forced his way through the window, the shattering of glass distracting everyone from the drugs. All eyes were on him. That gave him a few seconds to get in between the drugs and three who were about to take them.
“The heroes! They found us!”
“Were we followed!?”
“It’s Eraserhead!”
Aizawa went after the three first, using his scarves to grab hold of two and throw them into the crowd. It took them out as well as those they crashed into, but the numbers were still stacked against him.
“Save the goods! Get him!” a loud voice commanded.
In a matter of seconds, everyone was jumping for Aizawa.
Aizawa stayed calm and thought quickly. He first located the villain who had already taken the drug. Best to take him out before he used his enhanced Quirk. He did so by once again using his scarves, grabbing ahold of the guy and sending him flying. Took out a few more, but still many to go.
Aizawa went to use his scarves once again, but his current target was one step ahead. The villain grabbed hold of the scarf, yanking Aizawa forward. Though, it didn’t do much for him. Aizawa used the sudden force to power up his kick. With the added speed, the kick knocked out his target.
Regaining his footing, Aizawa readied himself for two more men coming on either side of him. He wrapped his scarves around them, crashing the two together.
So far, many of the villains who were coming after him were those with Mutant or Transformation Quirks. That left a number of Emitter Quirks firing their Quirks from afar. Aizawa had kept them in the corner of his eye. He watched for the more damaging Quirks, using Erasure on them first. He could only use his Quirk on one target at a time, not to mention his need to recharge now.
Quirks were flying, bodies were flung about, and Aizawa could feel himself slowly growing tired. Another curse. There were just so many. At least he managed to keep them away from the drugs, but still.
“Damn it, where the hell is everyone,” Aizawa grumbled to himself, knocking out another villain. And as the villain fell before him, Aizawa spotted the leader trying to escape with a few of the men guarding him. Aizawa cursed again, prepared to go after him. No way in hell was he going to let such a dangerous man get away.
Though, it seemed Aizawa wasn’t going to need to leap into action.
Red and blue lights flashed through the windows from outside. Sirens roared. The next thing Aizawa knew, more heroes were running in, Quirks blazing. With the numbers on the good side growing, the fight was shifting to their favor. It didn’t take much longer for the fray to end in their victory.
“Took you guys long enough,” Aizawa said to his fellow hero, Present Mic, as the police began arresting the villains.
“Hey, we got here right in time to catch the boss, didn’t we?” Present Mic responded with a shrug and his usual giant grin. Without waiting for a response, he went on his way to help round up the villains.
Aizawa rolled his eyes. He was about to head out, with the crowd shallowing and the warehouse practically empty, but something caught his eye once more. He turned, spotting a stack of wooden crates. It looked to be just regular old crates, but his uncertainty didn’t falter.
On guard once more, Aizawa headed over to the crates. He suspected a villain who got loose and was trying to get away. He neared closer and closer to the crates, ready to activate his Quirk. Just as he reached the wooden boxes, he rounded the corner to find…
A child.
Aizawa’s brows furrowed in disbelief, breathing out a quiet, “What…?”
The kid, a little boy, couldn’t have been older than five years old. He was a little thing, even with his spikey ash blonde hair adding a few inches. Granted, he was on the ground, making him look smaller, but still. His red eyes were wide, probably shocked to see Aizawa as well.
The two of them stared each other in the eye in silence. Aizawa was the first to turn away to look around the warehouse. It was still very empty despite there being just a big fight moments before. He turned back to the kid. Yep, still there.
“Hey, uh, kid,” Aizawa started, “you alri—”
Aizawa didn’t even get to finish his question. The kid kicked his shin, and hard, before scrambling away.
Aizawa hissed in pain, holding his shin. The kid packed quite the kick, but now wasn’t the time to think about it. Aizawa grew pissed. “Get back here, you little brat.”
Aizawa chased after the kid, but the boy was pretty fast. And loud. And had quite the mouth on him.
“Get the hell away from me, you old fart!”
Now that pissed Aizawa off more than it should’ve. It also made him that much more determined to catch the little monster.
The two ran around in circles. Aizawa irritably told the kid to stop running around to no avail while the kid threw constant insults. It didn’t take long for Aizawa to have had enough and used his scarves. He jumped and landed in front of the kid, easily wrapping the kid up with his capturing weapon. The kid fell back onto his bum with a quiet, ‘oof!’
Aizawa sighed, finally able to relax again. He stepped up to the kid. “Alright, I’m gonna ask you again. You alri—”
Once again, he couldn’t get out his question.
“Let go of me!” the kid roared, struggling helplessly against the restraints.
“It’s useless trying to break fr—”
This time Aizawa cut himself off, raising a brow. The kid was actually biting the restraints to try and free himself, wriggling around the ground as he yanked. The kid had spunk, he’d give him that.
“You’ll break your teeth doing that,” Aizawa said, taking a seat beside the kid. The boy only glared daggers at him, though did halt his yanking.
Even though the kid no longer used his teeth, he continued trying to break free again. He struggled and struggled, roaring in frustration. Aizawa only silently watched, resting his head on his hand. It was still just the two of them in the warehouse. Aizawa had signaled the others to stay away for the time being when they noticed the kid and tried to come forward. Best not overwhelm the little brat for the moment.
After some time, the boy finally calmed down. He was lying still on the cold ground, breathing heavily from exhaustion. Aizawa took it that he calmed down.
“You alright now, kid?” Aizawa finally managed to ask.
The boy only continued glaring at him. However, there were little tears built up in the corners of his eyes. He really was still a kid, unable to control his emotions.
Aizawa waited for an answer from the boy. There was none. So, he helped the kid sit upright, unbounding him. The kid looked confused by the action, but didn’t do much after being freed.
“Mind telling me your name?”
No answer. More glares.
“Alright then. I’ll call you Tama.”
This time, Aizawa did get a reaction from the kid.
“What!?”
Aizawa stood. “Let’s go, Tama.”
The kid jumped onto his feet, clearly angry again. “I’m not a cat, old fart!”
Aizawa stared down at the boy. The way he was hissing and tense really reminded him of a cat. “You sure, Tama?”
“It’s Katsuki!” the boy yelled childishly. He enunciated each syllable. “Ka-tsu-ki!”
“That’s more like it,” Aizawa said, now that he finally got a name. “What’re you doing in a place like this?”
The kid, Katsuki, went quiet once again. He turned to the ground, shoulders tense.
Aizawa waited once more, staring down at the boy. He noticed something then. How Katsuki looked. His red eyes—they seemed familiar. And then it hit him.
“You’re the drug lord’s kid.”
Katsuki tensed up more.
“Damn…” Aizawa said under his breath. “And you just witnessed your old man get arrested.”
“So what?” Katsuki grumbled. “Better he die in some ditch.”
‘Wow…’ Aizawa mouthed silently. That was some high-level resentment for a kid Katsuki’s age. The hero cleared his throat. “Well, he’ll be locked up for who knows how long now. You’ll be alright, kid.”
Aizawa ruffled Katsuki’s spikey hair. The boy turned up to him, seeing a barely-there smile.
Aizawa finally managed to guide a calmed-down Katsuki out of the warehouse. He led him to one of the few remaining police cars, having the boy hop in. Katsuki was hesitant, but kept his mouth shut. He was also dead tired from his prior struggling, and the fact that it was half-past two in the morning. Way past a kid his age’s bedtime.
After closing the door, Aizawa went over to the remaining cops. He let them know the circumstances with Katsuki. Judging by their reactions, Aizawa could safely assume they didn’t know about the drug lord having a son either. Guess it was going to be news for everyone.
The mission was complete. Aizawa was finally allowed to go home. He and Katsuki went their separate ways with the police heading back to the station. The kid would probably be going to an orphanage now. Aizawa didn’t think too much of it, just wanting to go to bed.
By the time Aizawa returned home, the clock struck 3 A.M. He opened the door to his literally empty apartment, deciding to take a quick bath before heading to his desired sleep. He wanted to get the smell of fish and seawater off him before his apartment started smelling like so for weeks. Plus, it was nice to soak in a warm bath after rigorous hero work.
Only, Aizawa couldn’t even have that in peace.
Not long after getting himself clean and soaking in the hot water, Aizawa’s phone went off. He groaned, cursing whoever thought calling him at three in the morning was a good idea. It was probably Present Mic since he was on the same mission as him just earlier. Instead of getting out the bath to pick up his phone, Aizawa decided to ignore it. Feign being asleep, alright. However, his phone would not shut up. The moment the ringing ended, it would start up again with another call. And another. And another. Until finally Aizawa had enough and begrudgingly picked up the phone.
The second Aizawa picked up his phone, he was going to jam his thumb on the talk button and give the caller a piece of his mind. However, when he saw the call was coming from the police station, he held down the desire. He finally answered the call. “What?”
“Hello, Eraserhead?” a timid voice spoke through the phone. “We’re sorry to bother you so late at night—er, early in the morning—especially after everything you just did—”
“What is it?” Aizawa interrupted, wanting to get straight to the point. He then heard crashes in the background of the call.
“Can you please come to the station. Now. It’s the boy.”
More crashes, and this time with added yelling. Aizawa did not want to get involved with that again.
“He’s under your custo—”
“Sir! Please!” the cop begged. He was on the brink of tears.
Aizawa groaned. Right when he was finally going to go to sleep. “Fine. Be there in 10.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you!”
Crash!
“...5?”
Aizawa hung up.
As requested, Aizawa managed to make to the station in 5 minutes. The faster he got there, the faster whatever was going on would end, and the faster he got to go home to get some goddamn sleep.
Upon opening the door, Aizawa was met with the same cop who called him.
The policeman stood from the front desk. He was suspiciously covered in scratches and bite marks. “Eraserhead!”
“Where’s the kid?” Aizawa bluntly asked.
“Y-yes. This way.”
Aizawa was led deeper into the station. Upon nearing wherever Katsuki was, crashing and yelling like in the background of the phone call got louder and louder. They were the loudest behind the door the two of them reached. It was to a room with a one-way mirror. They could see Katsuki inside with three other policemen.
“H-he’s in there,” the policeman stated the obvious. He then began explaining what happened. “He was asleep in the cruiser on the way here, so we carried him inside. He started waking up when we got inside the building. I guess he got scared being in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar adults so he started going crazy. We tried reasoning with him and telling him everything was going to be alright, but he wouldn’t listen. I’ve never seen a kid his age so hostile, and I’m an uncle of five!”
Aizawa brushed off the warning and went straight in. He swung the door open. Katsuki was being held, restrained, by one of the cops and flailing his limps as he screamed only to have noticeably calmed down when meeting eye to eye with Aizawa again. The cops were shocked by the sudden lack of hostility.
“Let him go,” Aizawa instructed. “I have this.”
The cop released Katsuki. Katsuki kept still, now glaring up at Aizawa. Even so, all four cops left the room to just the two of them. But not without whispering amongst themselves.
“I think he actually broke skin through my sleeve.”
“We’re all gonna wake up with bruises.”
“I guess that’s to be expected from a kid like him.”
The door closed behind them.
Aizawa wasted no time and pulled a chair over to where Katsuki was standing. He sat down, slouching forward and becoming more eye-to-eye with the kid. “Okay, what the hell? Why’re you being a brat again?”
Katsuki clenched his fists. “Why are you asking? It’s not like you care.”
“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here,” Aizawa said flat out.
Katsuki only grew more angered and upset for some reason. “Nu-uh.”
“Oh yeah? How would you know that?”
No answer.
Aizawa watched Katsuki fiddle with the hem of his shirt in silence. It looked like Katsuki wanted to say something, but his jaw was clenched shut. Too much pride in one little kid.
Aizawa only waited a little longer before standing again. “Fine, I’ll leave then.” This got a reaction out of Katsuki.
At Aizawa’s words, Katsuki flinched. His eyes widened, but it still didn’t look like he was going to let himself say anything. Aizawa now understood what was going through the kid’s head.
Aizawa kneeled down a bit to Katsuki’s height. “I’ll be right back, alright? Let me talk to those police guys for a sec.”
The way Katsuki’s body shifted indicated more of his distraught feelings. “That’s what you did earlier,” he angrily grumbled. Aizawa left to talk to the police and then Katsuki woke up feeling by himself.
Aizawa sighed. This damn kid…
The hero began messing around with his scarf, Katsuki watching confused. He tied one end around his wrist before handing him the other end. “There. Now I can’t go anywhere anymore.”
Katsuki stared down at the scarf. He then turned back to Aizawa, who was standing upright again.
“I’ll be right back,” Aizawa repeated.
Katsuki believed him this time.
Once seeing Katsuki was alright with him walking out for a moment, Aizawa headed out the door. He closed it behind him. The scarf was held up by the closed door. It would’ve been enough for the door to hold up the scarf and for Aizawa to walk further away for the time being, but after looking in through the one-way mirror, he couldn’t bring himself to. Katsuki was holding onto his end like a lifeline, staring intensely at the door for Aizawa’s return. He sighed. He really wasn’t going anywhere.
“Oi, coppers,” Aizawa called. He didn’t know any of their names.
Soon after he called for them, the four policemen came over. They noticed the scarf, but didn’t get a chance to question it.
“So, what’s gonna happen with the kid?”
The one Aizawa spoke with on the phone stepped up. “Well, he’ll probably be sent to an orphanage.”
“You’re gonna put him in the system? A kid with his temperament and background? Do you realize what that’s gonna do with his mental state?”
“I know it’s bad, but it’s not like we can reach any family members.”
Aizawa turned back to Katsuki. They all did. He was still holding tightly onto the scarf.
Something stirred up in Aizawa (along with irritability). He groaned, prepared to open the door. This was why he should never be deprived from sleep.
The door opened. Katsuki looked up with his round, innocent eyes.
“You’re coming with me, kid.”