Little Angel

Problem Child

Aizawa wanted nothing more than to be in his bed with his cats. But no. He had to go on patrol. Screw priorities. Most of the time he liked patrolling, but tonight he was dead tired. One can only handle a class of 20 hellions for so long. Aizawa rubbed a hand down his face and yawned. What he wouldn't give for a nice cup of coffee right now. 

Up on the rooftop, Aizawa carefully looked over the many buildings and alleys searching for suspicious activity. It had been a very quiet night. So far he had only stopped two muggings, and one attempted assault. It really didn't help his urge to close his eyes and take a nap right here. But wait, there was something.

Aizawa's attention was suddenly drawn to the alley below him where he heard what sounded like a child crying. He carefully and quietly made his way down to see if he was right. 

Once on the ground he glanced around searching for the source. After walking further into the alley he saw movement. As he got closer he saw a small boy, head in his hands, crying his little heart out. The pitiful sight tugged at Aizawa's heart strings. He hated seeing kids cry. 

"Hey kid. Are you okay?"

The boy's head whipped up nearly fast enough to snap his neck, and looked at him with wide emerald eyes. 

"Hey, it's okay. I'm a pro hero. I'm not here to hurt you." Aizawa put his hands up as a sign of surrender and took a small step closer.

The little boy quickly stood up and brushed dirt of his pants. He stared at the ground, shuffling his feet on the concrete. "I-I'm f-fine."

"You don't look fine to me." Aizawa stepped a little closer. "Could you tell me what's wrong?"

The kid shook his head, still staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Hmm..." Aizawa crouched down to the boy's level. "You know, sometimes when I get upset or sad it helps to talk to someone about it."

The boy hummed in agreement, and lifted his head slightly. "My m-mom used t-tell me that."

Aizawa gave him a soft smile. "She sounds very smart."

The boy's eyes darkened. "Yeah, she is."

As Aizawa was trying to think of something else to say to get the kid to open up, the greenette spoke again.

"You s-said that you...you are a-a pro here?" The boy asked softly, but Aizawa could see the glint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Yeah. My hero name is Eraserhead."

This really caught the kid's attention. "Eraserhead!? For real?"

"Yeah. The one and only."

"Wow! I've heard of you! You're so cool!" The kid's mood seemed to take a 180 as he rambled on about him. "I hear that you have this super cool scarf and that your eyes glow red and wow! I can't believe I'm actually meeting you! Can I have an autograph, Please! Pretty please!"

Aizawa's head spun from the sheer amount of enthusiasm that this kid was all of a sudden showing. And because of HIM of all people.

"Woah. Slow down there, kid."

The kid gave a sheepish grin and lowered his head apologetically. "S-sorry."

"There's no need to apologize." Aizawa buried his face inside his scarf to hide a smile. This kid was something else. "Can I ask you a question?"

The kid hesitated for a second before nodding.

"What's your name?"

The kid backed away a little bit. "I shouldn't tell you. You're a stranger." 

Aizawa let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm a hero kid."

"That still doesn't make you not a stranger." 

Aizawa resisted the urge bang his head into the concrete and then asked a different question. "Okay, okay. How old are you?" 

"I'm seven years old!" The boy stated puffing out his chest. 

"Isn't that a bit young to be out on the streets all by yourself? Where are you're parents?" 

The boy looked down at his feet and his voice got very quiet. "They're around."

"Where? You shouldn't be out by yourself. I can take you home, or is home not safe?"

The kid glanced to the side, not meeting Aizawa's eyes. "Umm...h-home is...is fine. You can t-take me there. I guess."

Aizawa frowned at his response. He didn't sound too excited to go back home. "Are you sure home is safe?"

"Mhm." The greenette nodded. 

Aizawa let out a long exhausted sigh. "Let's get you home then." He gestured for the boy to go ahead of him to lead him to his house. The kid shuffled along, quietly directing Aizawa to his home. 

"We're here." The kid stated, standing next to a small light blue house. 

"I'll wait here until I've seen that you've gotten inside safely."

The kid glared at this statement. "It's only a few feet away. I'll be fine."

Aizawa rolled his eyes. This kid. "Go on now."

He watched as the kid walked to the door, and then looked back at him before opening it. Aizawa kept watching as the boy grabbed a key from underneath the flower pot next to the door and then unlocked the door and slipped inside. Aizawa stood there for a few more moments before walking away. For some reason part of him felt like it was a very bad idea to send the boy home. Maybe he should have spoken to his parents. It was too late now. Maybe he'd go by tomorrow. Just to make sure everything was okay.

He was probably worrying for nothing. The kid was fine.

But something deep down told him otherwise.