Eraser hadn't wanted him to leave, Izuku could tell. It was only logical, so he didn't want to blame him, but it was still kinda annoying to have to focus on being stealthy and losing a tail when all he wanted to do was fall into bed and never wake up. Finally, after using every bit of stealth he'd picked up from spending nights around heroes, Izuku managed to get rid of that weird tingle in his spine that said he was being watched and was able to go home.

Inko(freezing): Someone was following him?

Midnight: I don't think that was Shou...

All Might: You don't think it's...

Gran Torino: Queen Bee?

Hawks: I sure hope not.

He crawled in his window and barely had the energy to shed his weapons and switch his jeans out with pjs before he collapsed onto the bed. Izuku distantly realized that he should probably take off the stupid hoodie that Amplifier had given him, but he was tired and it was comfy! It wasn't his usual hoodie, so it wasn't like he actually had to worry about anyone seeing it and realizing he was Viridian, right?

Mic: Do you think it could lead to his identity being found out?

Aizawa: I hope so because I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever catch him and make him a real hero.

There was another part of him, buried deep at the moment, that was screaming as loud as it could that those were all just excuses and that the real reason he didn't want to take off the hoodie was because it was a physical reminder that there were people that would miss him if he died. Izuku didn't let himself listen to that part. If he did, he knew he'd just feel guilty, because he didn't deserve to be wrapped in a hoodie-hug from one of his favorite heroes, so he chose not to overthink it, instead giving into the bone deep exhaustion and pretending that everything would be better in the morning.

Shouta really needed a drink, but the sun was barely even up, so having alcohol in his system right now would be the height of irrationality. Still didn't mean that he wanted to deal with any of the paperwork from last night.

(a lot of people snorted)

At least they were almost done. It was one of the only positives of the whole situation. It had killed him to let Viridian leave like that, but he trusted the kid. He knew he wasn't going to break his promise, which meant that they had at least another day where the kid would be safe and then they could deal with everything. Add that to the fact that Shouta was the one who first discovered the body and needed to be on site when the police arrived, and it basically led to the perfect storm leading to him, a licensed hero, letting a suicidal kid known to be relapsing, walk away alone.

He hated it.

Hound Dog: We all would in that situation.

Shouta sighed in exhaustion as he signed the final page. Maybe he should get Nezu to help him track the kid down. It seemed like a betrayal of trust, but if it would keep the kid safe, then...

Nezu: Yes do have me track him down.

Mitsuki: He needs therapy!

His thoughts were interrupted by a kid in a middle school uniform pushing open the front doors of the police station with a tad more force than was strictly necessary. The kid slouched up to the front desk where Sansa was sitting, hands deep in his pockets, and Shouta would almost be tempted to think the kid was worried about something if he wasn't acting like such an obvious delinquent.

Sero: Hey it's Bakugo.

Bakugo: I can see that soy sauce face.

"Yo, fur ball." The kid grumbled. "Amplifier anywhere around here?"

Tsukauchi: Did he just-

Mirko: Yup.

Shouta's eyes almost widened with surprise, but he was dealing with a teenager, so it was only logical to expect the unexpected. Still, a kid with enough delinquent tendencies to call a cop 'furball' walking straight into a police station and asking for a specific hero? Maybe he was just eager for a distraction, but it made him curious, which is how he found himself approaching the desk.

"She had to run to the restroom real quick." Shouta volunteered. "She should be back in a minute."

The kid looked him up and down, looking unimpressed, "What are you supposed to be? A hobo?"

Midoriya: An underground hero and your future homeroom teacher.

Shouta scoffed, "Try a hero, kid."

The kid raised an eyebrow at him, "Seriously? How do you ever expect to get popular if you dress like that?!"

Midnight: Ah but he doesn't want to be popular.

"Not every hero has to be popular, kid." Shouta huffed. "Some of us don't like dealing with the vultures."

"... Oh."

(a lot of people snorted. The rest were marvelling at how quiet Bakugo was being)

Shouta almost rolled his eyes. Apparently no one had ever told the kid that before. It was one of his least favorite things about the hero industry, that push toward popularity. It led to kids like this who just didn't know that underground heroics were an option. It was frustrating, but if Shouta had the power to change it, he would have already done so.

Hawks: Unfortunately heroes who only showboat and be popular are a necessary evil.

Spinner: I don't see how those fakes are necessary.

Mirko: He means hero merch. All the collateral from fights have to be fixed and the Hero Commission has to get the funding from somewhere.

They waited in somewhat awkward silence for a moment before the kid spoke up again, "So if you're a hero, what's your name."

"Eraserhead."

Shouta said his hero name like it was a challenge because in a lot of ways it was. It was rare that even the students in his class had even heard his name, much less random punk kids who walked in off the streets, but he supposed there was always a first for everything.

Iida: Well if he's listened to Midoriya he would.

Midoriya: Except Kacchan hasn't so...

The kid apparently heard the challenge in his voice, because he glared at Shouta for a long moment as he tried to place him, then scoffed, "That's a stupid name."

Mic: Hey!

"Yep."

Mic: Hey!

His blunt answer made the kid laugh and Shouta's eyes nearly widened in surprise. With... well everything, he'd been expecting the kid's laugh to sound cruel like a bully's, but it just sounded tired. In fact, it was more similar to one of Shouta's rare chuckles than what he'd expect based on how the kid presented himself.

Hagakure: I never expected there to be a world where Bakugo would be compared to Aizawa-sensei of all people...

"My..." The kid hesitated. "This kid I used to know, he probably would have known about you. Probably could rattle off a dozen facts about you, too."

Uraraka: Yeah he definitely could.

Shouta was about to deny this, because he was underground for a reason, but they were interrupted.

"Wait, was that a laugh from the great Katsuki Bakugo?!" Amplifier's voice called from behind them in exaggerated shock and Shouta turned, rolling his eyes when he realized she was clutching her chest dramatically. "Did you break him, Eraser?"

Bakugo: Oh shut up you!

"Shut up, Loud @$#*(." The kid, Bakugo apparently, said good-naturedly.

That just made Amplifier laugh, which even though it was annoyingly loud, Shouta was oddly grateful for. After everything that had happened that morning, they could all use a little distraction. He looked more carefully at the kid. Amplifier seemed to take his rudeness and swearing in stride, and there didn't seem to be any malice behind it, so maybe the kid wasn't as much of a delinquent as he seemed? Either way, he was still a punk.

Mitsuki: Yeah definitely.

"Ah, Eraserhead! How rude of me not to introduce you two!" Amplifier grinned. "This is Bakugo. I think I told you about him. That kid who volunteers with my villain redemption group?"

Shouta did remember. So this was the kid who was self aware enough to realize he needed to make changes before he could be a hero and was willing to take steps to make that happen. It made his behavior make a lot more sense. He was a delinquent or, at least, he had been, and now probably didn't know any other way to act. He could probably use a little more work, especially if he wanted to be a popular hero, but the base was there.

Kaminari: Yeah Bakugo probably won't be too popular with his temper.

Dabi: Now if only I could say that about a certain horrible parent.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Amplifier asked. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Doesn't start for another twenty minutes." Bakugo grumbled. "And I... I needed to talk to you about something."

Inko: Since when does Katsuki do that?

"Alright." Amplifier shrugged, clearly conveying that it wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened all day. "Shoot."

Bakugo shot a look at Shouta, probably wanting a little bit of privacy and Shouta was about to honor the kid's wishes and walk away when he bit the bullet and just started talking, "You ever heard of some guy who calls himself Stain?"

Mitsuki(shrieking): Hold on a second you haven't told them about that yet?!

Shouta and Amplifier shared a look. Was Bakugo really asking about the hero killer? How had he even heard that name? They'd been working to keep it out of the media as much as possible!

Toga: He heard about it from being stabbed!

"Big guy?" Bakugo prompted. "Katana? Way too many knives? Stupid paralyzation quirk when he cuts you? Manic obsession with heroes being worthy?"

How did he know so much? Shouta knew Stain's quirk had been written about before, but his motivations were still largely unknown, even to those investigating him, so how...?

Endeavor: Because he had a direct encounter with him.

"Well, if you don't know about him, you should." Bakugo ran his hand through his hair and huffed in frustration and... embarrassment? "He's insane."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Shouta said slowly.

Vlad: Yeah because Stain tried to kill him.

Bakugo looked at him like he was an idiot, "No, I just saw him on a billboard. Of course I'm speaking from experience! He tried to kill me!"

Shigaraki(snorting): That's blunt.

Shouta and Amplifier both froze. Even back when he'd been Stendal, Stain had been known to go after anyone he had an issue with and while it was rare for him to go after kids, it wasn't unheard of, which brought up the question of how this kid survived the encounter.

Midoriya: He managed to impress him... or at least be interesting enough to keep an eye on.

"But... Bakugo...." Amplifier hesitated. "Stain usually goes after heroes or villains. You're not either, so..."

"So he thought he'd nip me in the bud before I could become a hero." Bakugo snarled. "I'm not an idiot, I know how I act. And before you ask, he changed his mind and decided to spare me. Let me grow or some $&*@#."

Kirishima: Yeah thank goodness for that...

Shouta raised an eyebrow curiously, "Do you know why?"

Now he was sure that the kid was embarrassed. Bakugo looked at the floor, "Guy's insane, nothing he does makes sense."

Spinner(insulted): Hey!

Shouta looked at Amplifier and they silently agreed not to press him for answers. Yet.

Amplifier placed a hand on Bakugo's arm and spoke softly, "When was this?"

"A couple nights ago." Bakugo grumbled.

Hound Dog: And you really should have told someone about that sooner.

Shouta crossed his arms, "And you didn't tell us then because...?"

"Because I thought I could handle it!" Bakugo snapped. "I'm gonna be a hero! I need to be strong and..."

"And rely on others." Amplifier said firmly. "I know we've talked about this in group, but you don't have to do everything alone, Bakugo. And you shouldn't!"

Sero: Yeah Bakugo.

Kaminari: You've got to rely on your friends too.

"Whatever." Bakugo adjusted his backpack and kept glaring at the floor. "I've gotta get to class, just... don't let that guy Stain corner you."

He looked them in the eye before he turned to leave, "He's terrifying."

(everyone who met Stain shivered. That was an accurate description of the hero killer. The others were mulling over the fact that Bakugo had actually admitting to something being terrifying)

Inko knew that Izuku's sleep schedule was messed up.

Shinso(snorting): You think?

Ever since switching to online school, he mostly slept at odd hours and she had a sneaking suspicion that he had several hours in the early morning that he did homework instead of sleeping, but there were days like today when she wondered if there was something else going on. Izuku hadn't left his room all day, which was odd, especially because it was her day off and he usually at least came to eat dinner with her. His light wasn't even on and she couldn't see the light from his laptop, so she knew he wasn't just getting distracted with his classes, which meant he was still in bed.

She knocked a few times before pushing his door open hesitantly, "Izuku, baby? Are you okay?"

Midoriya: No...

Izuku was curled up in his bed facing the wall, but he hadn't been asleep. When she came in, he looked back at her and sat up quickly, giving her a bright smile that was obviously fake considering that she could still see the puffy eyes and tear tracks that meant he'd been crying.

Her heart clenched slightly. She knew the rates of depression in teens and how those risks were increased in the quirkless, and she'd hoped that things would get better for Izuku after transferring out of Aldera, but apparently she'd been wrong. Or maybe it was just a bad day.

She hoped to god it was just a bad day.

Hound Dog: Well that specific instance is from a bad day but...

"Um..." She smiled awkwardly, hesitant to address the elephant in the room. Izuku would tell her if something was wrong, right? "I've never seen that hoodie before, um, is it new? Eraserhead's one of the heroes you like, right? I remember you mentioning him when you were a bit younger."

"Oh!" Izuku looked down to see what he was wearing and turned bright red. "Um, yeah! It's, uh... custom merch? Yeah, custom merch! I just, uh, really like him?"

Setsuna: Technically true.

Inko didn't really know how to respond to that. Izuku liked a lot of heroes, but this Eraserhead must really be something special if he was willing to spend his money on custom merch of the hero. Still, talking about the hoodie had given her an idea.

Izuku was probably afraid of worrying her. He had always been a considerate child, quick to wipe away his tears if it meant he could comfort someone else who was crying. If he was in pain, he probably wouldn't tell anyone. He would just keep it to himself so he'd be the only one suffering. But that brief moment talking about the hoodie, it had distracted him, so even if Inko couldn't force him to tell her what was wrong, the least she could go was distract him from whatever was bothering him until he felt a little better.

Toga: Yeah that's good.

The first step would be getting him out of this dark room.

"I was just about to make a batch of cookies." Inko smiled. "I thought I'd take them to my coworker. You know, the one who was injured during the New Year's Disaster?"

(a few people winced)

Momo: That's going to make him feel even guiltier about the people he couldn't save isn't it?

An unreadable expression crossed Izuku's face, but it was quickly replaced with a smile, "That sounds like a great idea, Mom!"

"She actually has a daughter around your age." Inko said carefully. "I thought maybe you'd like to come help me deliver them?"

Ojiro: Well whoever she is I hope she'll socialize with Midoriya.

Shoji: Yeah Midoriya needs more friends.

Again, that same expression passed over his face and Izuku looked briefly torn before he took a look at Inko's puppy-dog eyes and crumpled, "Alright."

Uraraka(giggling): You really do get that from your mom, Deku.

Inko smiled and pulled Izuku out of bed, "Good. Now I was thinking chocolate chip, but maybe with their family's quirks, we might want to add some extra ingredients..."

Kendo: Oh that's going to be fun for him.

Cementoss: Hopefully anyway.

Thirteen: It should help distract him at any rate.

Recovery Girl: I hope it'll be enough to stop him from doing anything stupid.

Midoriya: Custom cookies will be fun to think about... mutation quirks typically have very intensive diet changes compared to emitter and transformation quirks...

Sato: Hm Midoriya would you mind baking with me sometime? I could make custom treats for everyone in class.

Hagakure: Oh yeah that's a great idea!

Bakugo: Can you all just shut up already?

Kurogiri: The next chapter is loading.