19

Chapter 19: Muddy Water

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As Izuku prepares for the UA entrance exam, he gets less and less sleep. It's not his idea per se, he usually stays out for the same amount of time every night, but...it suddenly seems like there's more crime happening. Izuku can't prove it, he can only rely on his intuition. The fact remains though, Izuku runs into more and more incidents every night. The sleep might be affecting his head too, because he could swear some of these people are ones he's caught before. Strange.

The injuries he sustains are minor, but his mom sees them anyway. Or at least, she sees them after Izuku has bandaged them. But Izuku has a good excuse this time, one that doesn't feel too much like a lie. He tells her that he just got hurt while training and it isn't a big deal. And really, in the grand scheme of things, compared to other injuries, it isn't.

Overall, he thinks he's doing pretty good for himself. The USJ villains are practically all behind bars, and besides the slight uptick in crime lately, Izuku bets he's prevented a lot of incidents since he's become a vigilante. There have been a few close calls with heroes and police, but he's managed to fly under the radar. Once he gets into UA, he can stop this not-so-legal heroism and fade into oblivion.

Or, that was the plan, until he sees the news.

It's him. On the news. It's him. And wow, maybe he should've chosen a different mask, he feels a little embarrassed.

The segment isn't that long, mostly giving a description of him as "a new and potentially dangerous vigilante" and to report any sightings of him. They mention his involvement in the people he's taken down, and then they move on.

But the next bit isn't too reassuring. Someone has been breaking criminals out of their holding cells. Just a couple, here and there. Some, Izuku recognizes, and some, he doesn't. What really catches his attention are that they are all villains Izuku has taken down recently .

As the newscaster reads off a statement from the police, Izuku's mind swirls. Who would be setting the villains free? His immediate thought goes to the League, but the criminals that were freed were only a handful, how would that make a difference? Still, this isn't something he can overlook. There aren't a lot of people with the capability to break in and out of a police station.

Izuku writes down the list of villains. There are only two that are confirmed related to the USJ. The others are ones he caught as a vigilante or ones he might've caught but can't remember. He reads through their quirks. None of them strike him as particularly desirable. It would make sense if they were broken out to fulfill a specific purpose, but Izuku doesn't think that's the case. Their quirks are also completely unrelated to each other. There isn't a pattern he can see.

Wait a minute...the villains being released, his suspicion that he's been fighting some of the same people...could it be? Has Izuku encountered the villains that were released? But he caught them again right after, so wouldn't the police say that? Maybe he's overthinking it? There are people out there with similar quirks…

The feeling in his gut doesn't go away though. He might not know what's going on, but he doesn't like it. If only he had more information. Izuku might be able to find out something when he goes out tonight if he asks around. But he'll have to be twice as careful.

"Izuku! Dinner's ready!" His mother calls from the kitchen.

"Coming!" He answers, closing the notebook in front of him with a sigh. Izuku stands and makes his way to the kitchen.

He takes a seat at the table, where his plate is.

There are two more days, only a single weekend before the entrance exam. Unfortunately, Izuku is just as nervous this time around as he was the first time. He knows he's more capable now, that he's sure not to fail , but there's more things he has to account for now. Like the zero pointer. He doesn't know the exact time it is released. At the time, he was panicked and didn't pay too much attention to finer details. All that he knows is that it came out towards the end. So he'll have to keep an eye out for that while he accrues points.

And that's the other thing. In his future, he didn't get any points, besides from rescue, and he still made it in. Which means that if he tries to increase his points this time around, he may be taking away points that will go to his hero course classmates. But, he doesn't want to fail if he accidentally misses his chance at the zero pointer and saving Uraraka, or even do anything that's less than his best. It would feel like he's lying, and Izuku's already lying too much in his life right now to want to lie where it's not needed. He's going to have to think of a compromise.

"Izuku?" His mother asks, pulling him from his train of thought. "Is everything alright?"

Izuku looks up at her and blinks. "Huh?"

"You were muttering, dear." She explains and then motions with her spoon to his plate. "And you haven't touched your food."

Izuku glances at his plate. Curry over rice. Indeed, it is untouched. He picks up his spoon and takes a bite. It's delicious.

"Is good." Izuku tells her, mouth full.

His mother studies him, wrinkles between her brow. "Thanks sweetie, but are you sure you're alright?"

Izuku pauses. He swallows the food in his mouth and looks at his mom. Is he alright? Sure, there's a lot on his mind, but he's dealt with worse. He smiles.

"Yeah mom, I'm fine. I was just thinking about the entrance exam."

"Oh honey, are you nervous? Don't worry, you'll do great." She smiles at him reassuringly.

Warmth floods him. He really doesn't deserve his mother. She's the best. "Thanks mom.

Izuku ties up the last of the criminals he caught this time. It was only a minor drug deal, consisting of two guys, and Izuku handled it quickly. He's already sent the location to the police, now all he needs is to ask his questions.

"Do you know who I am?" He demands, purposely lowering his voice for all the good it would do.

The man, sporting a minor chameleon mutation quirk, glares at him in silence.

Izuku sighs. He's a terrible investigator. He can't interrogate anybody, or even properly threaten them. If they don't give him an answer, he doesn't get one. And unfortunately, none of the criminals he's caught are giving him any answers. If they know of him, they say it's from the news. If he asks anything else, they stay silent or tell him to go fuck himself. Even if they did give him an answer, Izuku would have no way of knowing if they were lying or not. He has no choice but to give up.

When he hears the police sirens in the distance, Izuku determines it's time to leave.

As he leaps over the rooftops back home, he suppresses a yawn. He might not want to go out tomorrow night, just so he'll be well rested for the entrance exam.

Izuku is about to jump over the next gap when he perceives something coming at him. Quickly, he attempts to dodge, but it's too late. The unknown object strikes him, wraps around him, and causes him to fall on the rooftop with a heavy "oof".

He squirms, trying to gather what just happened while his face is pressed into his mask. Did the Eight Precepts finally catch him? Or was this something else. Now that he thinks about it, this capture method is very similar to-

"I suppose you aren't a group of underground heroes." A familiar voice says. Izuku hears footsteps and his heart beats harder. "What are you and your friends doing, jumping around at night?"

Izuku pales. Aizawa-sensei! It's his teacher! He got caught by his teacher! It's over. He's through. He's going to be arrested and he won't get into UA and he won't fix anything and everyone will get hurt and he's so-

"Are you listening to me?" The capture weapon drags him closer, which is- ow, but it serves to wake Izuku up. He stares up at the shadow of his teacher through his mask and focuses on calming his breathing. It's not over yet. He could get out of this...maybe.

A light is shined into his face and Izuku closes his eyes against the brightness.

"What the hell am I looking at?" Aizawa-sensei deadpans and it takes Izuku a second to place what he could mean, but oh, yeah, his mask. The heat rushes to his cheeks. Damn this is so embarrassing.

"Well it's not my business what you wear." Aizawa-sensei says with a sigh. "Now, call out your lackeys. Let's get this over with."

The hero removes the light from his eyes and Izuku blinks in the near darkness. He doesn't know what Aizawa-sensei is talking about, but it's not like he can say anything right now. He's already spoken to his teacher as "Deku" and his voice might be recognized. But at this rate, if he can't explain himself, he'll be caught for good.

"I don't have all night." The hero warns, and the bonds around Izuku squeeze a little tighter. He grunts.

" I don't know what you're talking about." Izuku whispers. If he can't speak, then this is his only option. It's incredibly hard to differentiate voices from whispers.

"What was that?"

Izuku grits his teeth. " I don't know what you're talking about. I'm alone."

His teacher scoffs. "If you're going to lie, at least make it more believable. You've got at least ten people following you, being just as sneaky as you."

The breath escapes his lungs. He's got people tailing him? He didn't even notice. And Aizawa-sensei wouldn't lie. Who is it? The Eight Precepts? Did they finally track him down? Can Izuku handle them? Why were they following him? What would have happened if he'd led them to his home? To his mom ?

" They aren't with me. " Izuku urges. He starts to struggle in his bindings for the first time since he was caught. " We have to get out of here. Now."

A thump catches their attention, followed by many more. On all sides, figures appear in the darkness. They're surrounded. From in front, one steps forward.

"Hey hey hey. What are you two whisperin' about?" Someone says, and if Izuku could see their face, he'd bet they were grinning.

"I'm going to assume you all aren't here to chat." Aizawa-sensei tells them. He shifts his stance.

The speaker from earlier chuckles. "We ain't lookin for a fight. We simply need you to do us a favor." The man pauses, taking a step closer.

"Hand over the vigilante."

There is silence on the rooftop. Izuku's heart beats loud in his ears. Maybe this vigilante thing was a bad idea. Nevermind, he knew it was a bad idea when he started, but damn. He feels a little bad for vigilantes now. Well, maybe not Stain, but anyone who has both heroes and villains after them must have it rough.

"A vigilante…?" His teacher asks. Izuku continues to fight his bonds but there's really only one way he's getting out of this.

" Please don't hand me over to them." He whispers furiously. " I know you have no reason to trust me, but I promise I'm not going to harm you. I'm not with those guys."

The man who was speaking earlier overhears them. "C'mon boss , he already caught on. Don't worry, we'll rescue you." He laughs then, and the others surrounding them join in.

Izuku glares at the man, but in the darkness, he knows it won't be seen. What is he going to do? This situation is terrible. He's surrounded by enemies presumably working with or for the Eight Precepts. He's caught by his teacher, one of the people on the top of his "Can Never Know I'm a Vigilante" list. And he doesn't know if he can escape either of them.

Aizawa-sensei is in a tight spot as well. As far as he's aware, everyone here is an enemy. Despite Izuku's pleading, it would be a risk to release him from the capture weapon without knocking him unconscious first. Izuku doesn't see a way out of this.

As if to make matters worse, one of the surrounding enemies with some sort of light in their hands, hurls it at Izuku. There is no time to dodge, and even if there is, Izuku can't move. He squeezes his eyes shut and braces for impact.

But instead of pain, or anything else the quirk could possibly do to him, he's being yanked back and then released on his feet.

"I'm letting you go this time, vigilante. I don't have the luxury of carrying around dead weight." Aizawa-sensei informs him as he readies his capture weapon for battle.

Izuku can't push down the overwhelming sense of appreciation he has for his teacher. It seems he isn't going to die today. They may still be surrounded by villains, but Aizawa-sensei could've taken them alone. If they work together? Those guys don't stand a chance.

"I guess it's you two who are itching for a fight." The man sighs dramatically. The others inch closer, signs of quirks being brought to the surface. Izuku covers his teacher's back as he tries to take them all in. "You should've handed him over when you had the chance."

Then, they charge.

Izuku doesn't use One For All. It's too dark where they are, and would only serve as a distraction or a target. There's a part of him too, that doesn't want to use it in front of Aizawa-sensei in order to keep his secrets.

While it weighs him with guilt, Izuku finds he doesn't need it. Him and his teacher have wordlessly divided up the rooftop and are to take care of the enemies on their respective sides. Izuku has five people.

Three of them rush at him immediately. He dodges the first person's swipes of what could be claws- or maybe blades- and jabs them in their face with his elbow. The person cries out- with a feminine scream- and staggers, but she doesn't go down. Izuku frowns.

Another comes at him with a baseball bat and swings, preventing him from finishing off the first. He jumps back a bit and then is thrown onto his butt by the concrete heaving underneath him. Some sort of stone manipulation quirk? Izuku finds the one responsible and rushes them, only to jump back once again to avoid another light ball thrown his way. Damn, this is annoying.

Izuku keeps after the concrete guy, because having his balance removed is the biggest threat here. He gets in close and socks the man in the gut. There is no resistance as the man expels all the air in his lungs. Izuku follows up with an uppercut and then roundhouse kicks him away. The man skids across the roof and does not get up.

In that time, both baseball bat guy and claw girl are on him again. They fight together, succeeding in pushing him back as he dodges their blows. One of the claws grazes his arm, but Izuku manages to kick her away before she can do anymore damage.

When the baseball bat swings for him again, Izuku catches it with a wince and wrenches it out of the villain's grasp. He kicks the man in the chin and that's two down.

Claw girl slashes at him more and he uses the baseball bat to block. The sound of metal on metal grates his ears and he grimaces. With her claws blocked though, Izuku uses the bat to shove her back and then he punches her square in the face. She staggers again, but thankfully this time, she falls.

A light ball is sent at him again and Izuku flips back to dodge it. He can't quite see what it's effect is on the ground, but he can hear sizzling, so he reckons it isn't good. The person with the quirk stays at a distance, but there has to be some sort of recharge time between shots. Izuku just needs to close the gap in that time.

He rushes the figure, nearing the edge of the rooftop when he realizes: he has to take care of five enemies. He's only focused on the four. Aizawa-sensei's back is wide open.

Izuku whips around, dashing back the way he came to see the man who was talking earlier with a gun- a gun! - aimed at his teacher's back.

"AIZAWA-SENSEI!" Izuku screams, One For All crackling over his skin in an instant. His teacher turns, but he won't make it and Izuku shoots out Black Whip, and he's gotta make it, he's gotta make it- he's gotta make it.

The gun is knocked from the man's hand and clatters on the concrete. Izuku's momentum brings him crashing into the villain and Izuku wastes no time in slamming his fist into the bastard's face.

He's angry . So unbelievably angry that his teacher was almost shot. This is his fault. He should've been the only one in danger. He shouldn't have been so careless and gotten himself followed. He should've been able to detect it.

"You…" Aizawa-sensei says lowly and Izuku turns towards his teacher. Lumpy silhouettes of the people he fought are scattered around him. "You called me 'Aizawa-sensei'."

Izuku freezes. His eyes bulge and he involuntarily takes a step back. Nonononononono. He messed up again. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"You...Who are you?"

Shouta asks the question, his mind racing. Very few people know he is a hero. Even those who know him as Eraserhead do not know his real name. The only people who call him Aizawa-sensei...are his students.

The vigilante was whispering earlier, but that scream- there was no mistaking it. The vigilante is young.

A student. His mind tells him.

But that's not quite right, is it. Yes, the vigilante called him sensei, but he could just be an alumni, not necessarily a student now.

Except he can hear it, ringing in his ears.

" AIZAWA-SENSEI!"

A young voice. A goddamn child.

The vigilante doesn't answer him. He's gone back to being a mute, most likely. It even looks as if he's going to bolt. Oh no, not on his watch.

He readies his capture weapon and sees how the vigilante tenses. Shouta will have to be quick and-

A light ball whizzes by and lands on the ground between them, causing him and the vigilante to jump apart. Shouta turns quickly, activating his quirk and cancelling the villain's. He keeps his eyes on them as he runs forward, grabbing them in his capture weapon and then slamming them into the roof.

The fight, if you can even call it that, is over in an instant. And yet, when Shouta whips back around, the vigilante is gone.

He rubs his eyes and gathers his weapon back around his neck. This is troubling.

There's a vigilante running around. One that knows him, that he likely knows as well. A student. A child. He groans.

He's taught a lot of kids in his time as a teacher. But even kids outside of his own class called him Aizawa-sensei too. That's a large search pool.

If the vigilante were a prior student that he taught personally, then Shouta should be able to recognize their quirk. The fact is- he doesn't. He didn't really see the sign of a quirk used at all. But if they know him as a teacher, then they have to be a student. He needs more information.

While they aren't his first choice, no one else in UA has access to student records. Shouta pulls out his phone and calls.

It picks up on the first ring.

"Aizawa-san. It's a little early, isn't it?"

Shouta sighs. "Too early. Listen, I need a favor."

There is a pause on the other end. "I must say I'm surprised. May I ask the favor?"

"I need access to student records. I'm looking for someone. It's…important."

"While I do not doubt your intentions Aizawa-san, we'll have to discuss this in person. I hope you understand."

Shouta sighs again. That's about what he expected. He runs a hand through his hair. "I'll be heading back soon. We can talk when I get there."

"Excellent! I'm sure you'd like to know that Eri-chan is well. She's still sleeping fitfully, but I'm sure it'll get better with time."

"Thanks Nedzu." Shouta responds. UA has been a good place to care for Eri when he is occupied with other things. His co-workers are all eager to help as well. Perhaps a little too eager.

The principal hums. "Of course. She is a delight! Now I must be going, we'll talk later." And with that, the call is dropped.

Shouta calls the police next and then tucks the phone back into his pocket. He surveys the silhouettes of the villains lying on the rooftop. Perhaps he could get some information out of them about the vigilante as well. There had to be some reason they were after him. That info could be the lead he needs.

Unfortunately, he can't devote too much time to this vigilante once the school year starts. Actually, even sooner. The entrance exams will start...in two days. From there, he'll have to help evaluate and then he's got lesson planning…He almost would rather drop it.

But there's something about knowing someone he taught is out there being a vigilante that bothers him. He thought he drilled proper protocol and hero laws into all of his students. Why would any of them become a vigilante ? Although he wasn't assigned the case, it almost feels like his personal responsibility to bring them in.

No matter how it happened, no matter the reason, there is one thing that remains clear to him:

Shouta failed them.

Notes:

Hi! Kinda a longer chapter this time. You don't know how tempted I was to end it before Aizawa's POV. :)

So I still don't have an update schedule, just kinda post when I write. In other news, I'm going to work on creating a discord server because I think it'd be awesome to talk to y'all easier (and not through the comment section). Look forward to it!

In the meantime-in-between-time, I have a tumblr I don't really post on, but if anybody wants to ask questions or just chat, I would love that. It is all-five-pieces-of-exodia like my name here. Anywho entrance exam is coming up, if not the next chapter, so be prepared! >;)