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"Problem Child." Izuku barely moved, the only sign he had heard being the green eyes flicking to meet Shouta's own. "Aizawa-Sensei." The Hero sighed, tucking his hands in his pocket to protect them against the cold. His eyes moved to the small bumps on Izuku's arms, gut twisting. "I know you didn't side with the Villains. Mind telling me the truth?"
Izuku scoffed, leaning back on the railing. Whilst looking relaxed, Shouta knew the ex-Hero student was ready to bolt the second he needed to - he knew because it was a mimic of his own actions. "They found out my Quirk was passed to me. They didn't believe a Quirkless kid could manage it. They wanted me to give it up." Green eyes sparked. "I wasn't too willing."
Shouta hummed, looking up at the sky. Not a single star could be seen, before allowing himself to analyse his student once again.
The scars on his hands and arms were pulling against his skin, his muscles still there, but much smaller than they had been. Rounding from just below his eye to his chin was a scar, a few bruises littering his skin, and partially blooded bandages wrapping his arms, ankle and one over the torn material of his joggers on his thigh. He sounded as harsh as he looked, voice raspy - as Shouta took a closer look beneath the collar of his hoodie, he saw the thick bruises.
"There's a law suite against the Commission. We're going to take them down." His shoulders sagged a little, a shake in his injured leg, but he didn't let his guard down. He made no move to answer, and Shouta raised an eyebrow. "It's cold. Are you hiding somewhere safe?" He straightened then, green sparks fluttering around his ankles and eyes glowing. Shouta expected as much, and made sure not to respond to the threat.
The kid was scared; lost. He'd had to run from the ones he looked up to with no where to go and no one to turn back on. The Death of his Mother had left him alone, but the death of All Might had left him forgotten. Family-less and viewed as a Villain.
Looking at his ex-student now, he noticed only a small part of the naive boy he'd nearly expelled nearly a year and a half ago. He'd built a brick wall so thick and so tall he'd forgotten himself inside. "Yes." The word was short and clipped; and a lie. In the few months Shouta had been tracking the unsuspecting boy, he watched him sink into a basement. A basement below the destroyed building that had belonged to his own home - one the flat floor plans neglected. It wasn't safe; it wasn't warm; and it wasn't where a seventeen year old should be.
But, instead of saying all this, he nodded. "Good. I heard a rumour." The green vanished, and Shouta took it as a sign to continue. "Hawks is giving his statement against the Commission. He told us you rescued him, not long after you vanished. He was thankful."
A small smile pulled at the corner of Izuku's dry lips, only to quickly vanish as sadness flickered in his eyes. Shouta knew why without having to ask; the pair had spent limited time together. But limited was still hours. Izuku missed his life, the world he left behind. He missed his friends, his home, his dream. Shouta believed he even missed Bakugou's shouting (he had noticed, at times where he was sick, himself how the absence of his crazed influence left an unsettling silence).
"You can still be a Hero, Izuku." Izuku shook his head, grip tightening in their fists. He gave a laugh. "I couldn't be a Hero without this Quirk, and I can't one with it. You said it yourself, Aizawa-Sensei. 'Close to Zero potential'." Humming, Shouta nodded. "Yes, when you first joined UA. You were naive and stupid; but you had the heart of a Hero. You proved me wrong Izuku. Your classmates would be dead, if you hadn't joined UA."
Izuku's bottom lip wobbled, hands falling limp. "I- I'm tired ... Aizawa-Sensei." Nodding, Shouta yawned. "Yeah, me too kid. For one night, would you sleep in an actual home?" Izuku nodded, and Shouta pointed to the flat block only a street away.
And slowly, he saw the Wall begin to crumble.
=--=
A secret visit from Recovery Girl (and a good ol' telling off for his stupidness from the women) had him injury-free and tapped out. The kid slept - and looked - like he hadn't slept in a year. Shouta feared it was probably the truth. Deciding to leave him stretched across the sofa (a sticky note on his hand reminding him where he was and that he was safe) and smothered in the more vibrant blanket the man owned, he himself retreated to bed.
And for the first time in a while, he was able to sleep without fear crippling his heart. That was, however, he heard the slightest of whimpers. He was out his bed and in the hall before the next, eyes settling on Izuku.
Often, Shouta would have find Izuku in a sleep-dazed state, absently rambling about how living in the dorms wasn't the same, stories about him and his Mum. As they progressed, Izuku had found himself outside his Teacher's room often, needing clarification the Villains had not killed him. They clicked, like Uncle and Nephew, and Shouta could read the boy well. But this was different.
Izuku wasn't sat at the table because he had been plagued with ghost pains, or because he was getting ready for a run; he was desperately holding onto his sanity, trying to detach himself from his nightmares and rejoin the real world. Hunched over himself, a hand gripping the material over his chest and another scratching into the wood of the table, eyes closed and gasping for breathe.
Shouta recognised it in himself far to much.
Moving slowly, he poured a quick glass of water, putting out just out reach of Izuku before crouching in front of him tapping the back of the hand over his heart. Green eyes snapped open, the boy rearing back as green enveloped his body. Shouta rid of it quickly, the red of his eyes seemingly to have an effect. "Ka-Kacchan?" The breathe was full of agony, and Izuku snapped out his trance, shaking his head and taking a shaky breathe.
"That's it, deep breathes. In through the nose, out through the mouth." Once he was sure Izuku wasn't going to choke, he supplied the water, cautious eyes watching first. "Straight out the tap." Wobbly hands grasped the glass, the fluid gone within seconds. "Feeling better?" Izuku's guard was ever growing back, and he nodded. "Yes." Nodding, Shouta rummaged through his cupboards, pulling out a packet of instant noodles. "Hungry?" All he needed to hear was the stomach rumble and turned the kettle on. he sensed Izuku's nervousness.
"I was awake anyway."
=--=
"And you promise to be here next Friday?"
Smiling lightly, a small step to the blinding grin he used to give, Izuku nodded, pulling his utility belt on. Shouta stepped forward then, holding a bundled white scarf, still protected in the UA plastic packaging. "It'll take a while to get used to, but the mechanics are as you predicted and trained." Izuku furrowed his eyebrows, suddenly blowing bright red and hiding his face. "Aizawa-Sensei! I didn't - you saw that?!" With an amused smirk, Shouta nodded.
Before Izuku had fled, when he'd expressed his interest in Underground Heroes, Shouta had in fact caught sight of the poor boy in the gym in ungodly hours of the night. His face had been scrunched in concentration, narrowed eyes watching one of the few (horrendously filmed) grainy videos of him, before taking the sewn together scarfs and trying to mimic the actions. It had been funny ... but intriguing, Besides the flimsy material, he had all-but understood how. His technique just needed polishing.
"Fused with your DNA and waiting for your use. Just promise me you won't be any more stupid with it." Gingerly taking it, Izuku opened the bag, running his hand on the material. His eyes glossed over, but he had yet to release tears.
"I pr-promise." Taking it from his grasp, Shouta expertly wound it over his shoulders. "Remove it and put it on already wound. It'll be easier. Now, next Friday."
As Izuku left, Shouta brought up his phone, sighing and rubbing his eyes as he opened a particular app. A small red dot sped across the streets, the Capture Weapon he'd just handed the boy keeping a know on his position. As much as he wished to protect the boy, he had to separate Shouta and Eraserhead. And Eraserhead had a job to do; take all the Villains off the streets. And who knew ... most Villains began as Heroes with crushed dreams.
Izuku's turn was just waiting to happen.