Chapter Text
It was an old gas station in the older part of Musutafu. The windows were broken and the paint peeled shreds through sprayed on graffiti. Inside weeds peeked up out of the concrete, growing around dusty knocked over shelves.
It was abandoned, forgotten.
But behind the trash, tucked towards the back, voices whispered. “She’s getting worse.” A voice said, young and subdued. “She keeps tossing and turning and can barely get out of bed anymore for food or water.” The voice paused, “Maybe I can try to calm her down?”
“No Deku.” A new voice. It was older and more masculine, exhaustion could be heard in every syllable as if they were trying by willpower alone to stay awake.
“You’ve already been rewound too many years. It isn’t safe.”
The younger voice, Deku, cried, “But we can’t just do nothing! She needs help! She needs us!”
“That may be, but until we can get her to turn off her quirk there is nothing we can do.”
Deku mumbled to himself. He was quiet but the phrase, “turn off her quirk,” could be heard.
“Deku. Stop.” The older voice cut through the mumbles. It was angry. “Stop looking like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re about to do something incredibly stupid that’s going to get you killed.”
Deku pouted, hurt. “I don’t look like that.”
“Oh, my apologies. I forgot, that’s your default state of being,” the older voice snarked.
“That’s not very nice.”
A loud sigh. “Look we’ve already got one sick, hurt kid. We don’t need another.”
“But you said that we can’t do anything until she gets her quirk back under control!”
“Yes but we’ve tried everything. My quirk isn’t working on her and you don’t have one!”
Silence echoed. “That. I’m sorry. That was harsh... I just don’t want to see you-”
“I know someone,” Deku interrupted.
“What?”
“I know someone who could turn off her quirk.”
“Wai- Deku please, please don’t tell me you’re thinking what I am afraid you are thinking.”
“High schools start in about an hour. If we hurry we could catch him on his way to-”
“No.”
“But I-”
“No.”
“Toshi it’s-”
“No Deku. No! He’s a pro hero.”
“I don’t care! I’m not going to abandon her! She needs us! And I, I can’t think of any other solution. Please Toshi. Just. Just trust me on this!”
There was a long angry silence.
“Fine.”
Deku breathed, “Thank you. Thank you, Toshi!”
The sky was obnoxiously bright, forcing Aizawa to bury his head into his capture weapon. He had managed to get a solid three hours of sleep after his shift had ended last night, but even then it wasn’t enough to help him deal with the bright sun and earlyish mornings.
He slouched down further, trying to think of ways when of getting out of Nezu’s faculty meeting that morning when the child ran straight into him.
He stumbled slightly and reached for his capture weapon ready to defend against his attacker, but there was no villain, just a little kid, plopped on the ground.
The kid looked up with wide eyes, and bowed his head, murmuring a nervous apology. He seemed young. Maybe elementary school? Because who was he kidding, he worked with teenagers, not kids, he never could figure out their age. They were just small, dirty, and a little helpless. But if he had to hazard a guess he would say the kid was five, or six. It was odd, the kid was young but old enough to go to school, and yet he was wearing ripped jeans and a dirty, oversized shirt.
Aizawa looked at the kid, fingering his scarf. Something didn’t feel quite right.
The kid’s head was still bowed in apology, but Aizawa could see him trying to glance at him, waiting for his response to the apology.
“It’s fine,” he said. Maybe a little gruffer than he should have considering the kids flinch. But the kid just kept staring at him, and not leaving. He was about to ask if the kid needed something when the boy finally spoke up.
“Excuse me, sir, can you help me?”
Aizawa glanced at his watch. The faculty meeting started in 15 minutes, if he stayed and helped the kid, he might be late or worse yet, miss it.
But he was a hero, and who was he to ignore a child, especially one with such big green eyes.
They were like a kitten, round, pleading; begging for help.
It would be a shame, him missing Nedzu’s rambling lecture, but he could get the condensed version from Mic or Midnight.
“Alright kid,” he said, “what’s the problem?”
The boy's eyes welled up with tears and Aizawa felt his stone heart crack.
“It’s my sister, she needs help.”
The kid grabbed his hand, tugging, “please come.”
Giving in to the kid's large eyes Aizawa let himself be lead as the child, hurried down the side street, pulling him along as they turned down multiple different alleys.
After five minutes of hurrying, he spoke up. “Where are we going?”
The green-eyed child looked back with a nervous smile. “We’re almost there.”
Didn’t answer my question, Aizawa thought.
The kid skidded to a stop and let go of his hand. Aizawa looked around, it was just another side alley tucked away from the noise and bustle of the street. No girl, no sister, insight.
“Are you Eraserhead?” a voice said.
Aizawa spun around, quirk activating before settling back down. It was just another kid.
This one was maybe old enough to pass as one of his students, or at least he had the height too. His lavender hair stood straight up, defying gravity, as he stood arms crossed, glaring at Aizawa.
“Are you, or are you not Eraserhead?” he said again.
Aizawa’s hair stood up on end. He was an underground hero, people didn’t know who he was, especially not kids. How did this kid know who he was?
Warily Aizawa straightened, turning towards the new kid while surreptitiously examining the side street for enemies. There was an overflowing dumpster, a rickety fire escape and a ton of graffiti; but the road was quiet, there was no one around. Aizawa couldn’t see or hear any hostiles.
Still, something felt wrong.
To his side the green-haired kid bounced nervously, eyes locked on him, pleading.
The eyes did him in.
Looking back at the purple-haired kid he let out a breath, “How do y-”
He froze, and the world snapped away from him, all sensation bleeding out of his body. He tried to speak but his mouth felt disconnected. He was floating, floating above it all.
“Gotcha,” the purple-haired brat smirked.
Aizawa tried to retort but his body was unresponsive. He was drifting, attached to his body and aware, but all control had seemingly vanished.
He was tricked. That brat had tricked him.
He couldn’t move. He reached for his quirk and tried to activate it, but it slipped out of his grasp. This was a problem. He was helpless, incapable of defending himself or breaking out of this quirk.
Unable to even turn his head to look around, Aizawa could only hear the nervous muttering of the green-haired kid who had led him here.
“Do you have him?”
Purple brat’s eyes narrowed, “Eraserhead, kneel.”
Growling internally Aizawa kneeled on the filthy street, arms hanging limp at his sides. He mentally tugged against his limbs but there was no movement, no sensation, nothing. He felt like a puppet, yanking futilely at his strings only for another to pull them. The kid's quirk wasn’t paralyzation, it was some sort of mind control. His mouth went ashen, the situation had just gotten a lot more serious.
The green head traitor let out a happy sigh. “Thank goodness.”
Purple brat smirked, “Doubting me there were you Deku?”
“No never!” Came the fervent reply.
The green-haired traitor, Deku, turned back towards him, biting his lip. “Are we really kidnapping a pro hero?”
Aizawa's lungs stopped working, air catching in his throat. They were doing what?!
The purple brat raked a hand through his hair. “It was your idea, Deku. You were the one that said this was the only way to help Eri.”
“I know, I know.”
“Then stop worrying. Not going to help now.”
“Ok Toshi.”
Aizawa’s heart stopped. That baby-faced green-haired brat had intentionally led him here to kidnap him, Eraserhead, a pro hero, fully knowing who he was. And he had fallen for it!
It wasn’t like this was the first time Aizawa had gotten captured, in his line of work it happened sometimes. But it was usually ticked off mob bosses, or villains with a vendetta- not a six-year-old kid and his friend.
If Mic or Midnight ever got wind of this, they would never let him live it down.
That was if he managed to get out of this.
He should have just gone to that stupid meeting.
Deku walked over, avoiding his eyes. Tiny hands ran over his body, gently patting him down. He unclipped his utility belt and tucked in the corner along with his capture weapon. But the boy paused at his yellow goggles, breathing in sharply.
Hands shaking he pulled it up and over Aizawa’s head, careful to not let it catch in his hair.
He held them in his hands as if they were a trophy.
“Toshi,” he said, voice alight with awe, “these are Eraserhead's goggles!”
“Yes Deku, I’m aware, he’s kneeling right there.”
Aizawa glared inwardly, but the kid beamed, sliding the goggles over his head to let them rest on his chest.
“What do you think!”
“Very nice. Now can you hurry up.”
Aizawa strained again against whatever was holding him still. He flexed his fingers, kicked his legs, shouted profanities, but nothing.
Deku turned back to him, giving him an apologetic look, before reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a long fabric.
A blindfold, he realized.
“Sorry, Mr. Eraserhead.”
Deku reached his arms around Aizawa, carefully settling the cloth over his eyes and tying it firmly in the back.
He was restrained and blindfolded. Great.
“Ok Toshi, it's all good now.”
Toshi, the purple-haired brat hummed in agreement. “Stand.” The order came and Aizawa obeyed, getting to his feet.
“Take his hand and follow.”
A little hand slipped into his and tugged him along. Legs still and robotic he began moving.
He was being kidnapped, he realized. Kidnapped by kids.
If the kids were part of a larger organization using kids to do their dirty work of luring him in... then he was in trouble. And the kids were probably in trouble too.
But this sounded like the kids were doing it of their own free will. But why? They knew who he was, and had targeted him in particular. The purple brat, Toshi, he thought, that was the kid controlling him with his quirk. It left his body completely unresponsive but at least his mind was clear. The other one, Deku, was just the bait, and the mastermind, even though he didn’t look old enough to even be in middle school.
He’d just have to see what happened, he thought still numbly following after.
It wasn’t like he had much of a choice.
The kids were smarter than he originally thought. He had been keeping careful track of the turns they were making, charting their route in his head when the order came.
“Spin around in a circle six times.”
Aizawa spun, and off they went again. But every couple of minutes they would stop and he would be ordered to spin before moving on.
They didn’t want him knowing where they were going. And after stopping six different stops to spin, Aizawa wasn’t quite sure where they were going anymore or if he could throw up while under the quirks control.
He never stopped pulling and pushing on his limbs, trying to get a response out of them, but nothing worked. He was helpless against the quirk unless he could think of a way out. All quirks had weaknesses, he just had to find this one.
“Watch your step,” piped up Deku as he helped Aizawa up and over a step.
“You know he can’t see.”
“I know that. I’m just trying to help.”
The voices echoed slightly and the light seeping through the blindfold had gotten dimmer. They were in a building now.
Deku continued to lead the way, his feet quiet against the tile, as he led Aizawa further into the building.
Finally, they stopped, Deku’s hand slipping out of Aizawa’s to leave him standing there, limp like a doll.
There was a third person there now, a girl, whispering to Deku and Toshi. Aizawa strained to hear but only managed to catch pieces of the conversation.
“How's she doing?”
“Not… hasn’t broken... horn still glowing.”
“We got…”
“Are you sure?”
“… much of a choice.”
There was a murmured agreement, and steps padding back towards him.
Deku’s small fingers slipped into his hand and tugged him along.
A door creaked open and Aizawa was pulled through.
“Eri?” Deku whispered.
Aizawa could hear the muffled sobs of yet another child. How many of these kids were there running around?!
The girl, Eri, whimpered, “Go away, it’s not safe. I’m not safe.” Her voice cracked at the end, and Aizawa strained yet again against the control forcing him to just stand there. What was going on? What was wrong with the girl?
“It's okay,” Deku said. “No! I don’t want to hurt you again! Just go away!”
“Eri, it's okay,” the other girl said from behind Aizawa. “Deku and Toshi brought someone to help.”
Deku spoke up, “His name is Eraserhead. He’s a hero! He can erase quirks! He can turn off yours!”
Wait… that was why the kids grabbed him? To erase her quirk? It sounded like she lacked control and that her quirk was dangerous enough that they couldn’t get close. So they needed someone who could turn it off from a distance.
“Eri, will you please let us just try?” said Toshi.
The girl sniffled, “Ok.”
There was a little jump, the sound of reaching. “I’m not,” another grunt of effort, “Toshi, I’m not tall enough.”
There was a hint of amusement in Toshi’s voice as he gave the command, “Eraserhead, kneel.”
Aizawa kneeled and Deku quickly untied the blindfold, pulling it off.
Blinking, Aizawa tried his best to look around the room despite still being under the quirk’s control.
They were in a small, dark room, weakly illuminated by a desk lamp. Shoved against the wall was a dirty mattress where the girl sat.
She didn’t look well. She huddled in a blanket, her thin arms wrapped tightly around her legs as she shivered. Her face was white and covered in a sheen of sweat.
More noticeable was the large white horn protruding out of her temple. Light poured from the top of it, shimmering as it pooled around her. It was obviously her quirk, but it was hard to tell what it did.
To Aizawa’s side, Deku stood, bouncing from foot to foot. He looked dying to run over to her, but all of the children were giving her a wide berth.
Her quirk must be far more dangerous than it looked. And he’d had to guess she lacked any sort of control if they required his help.
They must have been desperate to turn off her quirk if they had been willing to kidnap a pro.
Purple brat spoke up behind him, “Use your quirk on her.”
Aizawa didn’t fight against the command and freely allowed the mind control to activate his quirk. His eyes flashed red and his hair stood up, twisting as he willed the girl’s quirk to turn off. Immediately the glow stopped. The girl’s eyes fluttered and she slumped down on the mattress.
“ERI!” Deku screamed, and rushed to her side, ignoring the worried cries of his friends.
Aizawa’s eyes burned as he watched Deku frantically check her over. Arms shaking, he brushed the hair out of her face and lowered his head to her chest. A moment passed and he looked up tearful.
“She’s okay.” The two kids behind him let out a sigh of relief, and Aizawa felt himself do the same.
Deku hugged the limp girl, cradling her against him. He pressed his forehead to hers, and they rocked on the filthy mattress.
“Eri,” he murmured, whispering her name like it was a prayer. “Eri. Eri it's going to be okay.”
The girl stirred, eyes creaking open, “Deku?”
“Yes,” Deku said, his eyes still leaking. “I’m here Eri. It’s okay.”
The girl hummed and closed her eyes again, content to rest in Deku’s arms.
Deku continued to rock her, murmuring reassurances.
These kids, Aizawa thought. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to scoop them up or strangle them. They were just so...
“They are so cute.”
Aizawa’s attention snapped back to the two other kids standing behind him. The other girl had spoken up and he could hear coo.
Toshi snorted, “Of course you’re a sucker for it.”
“And you’re not? Admit it, they’re adorable.”
“Never.”
Aizawa wanted to snort, they were worse than his students. But he was glad he had been able to help, although his burning eyes were begging for him to blink.
“Aren’t you going to have him turn his quirk off?”
“Oh, duh. Eraserhead, blink.”
Aizawa blinked. Thank goodness.
“I’ll go take him back,” said Toshi.
Deku looked up from the mattress where he sat still cuddling. “I can come-”
“No Deku. I can handle one pro.”
Brat, thought Aizawa. That kid was just begging for a smack down.
Toshi continued, ignorant of Aizawa’s growing desire to smack him.
“You and Ocha stay with Eri.”
Deku nodded, lips trembling.
Aizawa was once again blindfolded and ordered to stand up.
With a brief goodbye, they left with Toshi pulling him along. They walked for several minutes, pausing to spin Aizawa, and then carrying on.
Finally, the order came to stop. The blindfold was removed and Toshi flashed him a grin and a mock salute. “Thanks for your assistance Eraserhead.”
The purple-haired boy took off, leaving Aizawa standing there, still frozen under the control of the quirk. It took three minutes of Aizawa waiting, worrying if the quirk was going to ever wear off when the feeling in his body snapped back.
He jolted, and let out a loud swear, looking around to see if the purple-haired brat was hiding somewhere. When he wasn’t spotted Aizawa sighed, running a hand down his face before checking the time. It had only been 40 minutes.
He looked around again, glaring.
Those kids.
Those stupid, suicidal kids. Who kidnapped a pro hero!? He wanted to be furious, but he could tell how scared they had been for that girl Eri. Aizawa might have been their only hope. But still. That could have ended so badly for them.
He scowled. He needed to go and find his equipment and get to UA before Mic freaked out too much. As much as he wanted to stay and hunt these kids down, he knew he needed to leave. Those kids might not have school, but he did, and Aizawa didn’t trust his students to not burn down the building in his absence.
But after that?
A grin crept across his face. He’d leave now, but this wasn’t over. Far from it.
He’d find those kids. They were on their own and needing help. Blame his bleeding heart, but was going to make sure they got the help they needed. And if they complained?
His smile just grew larger.
Well, then they had picked the wrong hero to kidnap.