What Could Have Been (vigilante deku)

10

His patrol was the same as always. He sat on a roof and listened to the sounds of nighttime Japan.

He was exhausted emotionally and his whole body hurts, from the inside out.

His cancer was worsening and he knew it was partially because of his work. He should be resting and focusing only on his treatment, but he just couldn't.

He would rather die happily than to spend the rest of his days at the hospital.

That's how it was supposed to be, though.

He was in the hospital for awhile before they sent him home. There was nothing they could do. His body wasn't fighting it as it should and the vaccines did little to help.

He was just holding up a hospital room and so they sent him home.

He sighed into the night. It felt unusual with his new gear but it wasn't a bad feeling. He decided he wasn't going to wear contacts or colored hair spray. To keep his identity more secret, he was just gonna keep his hoodie on.

And if it fell, that wouldn't matter because he only came out at night and the darkness would hide the color.

Hopefully.

He was bored.

The night was quiet except for the breeze that flew by.

"New gear?" He heard the familiar voice of his favorite hero ask.

When he was younger, All Might was always his favorite. He was everyone's favorite. He was a genuine hero and was kind hearted. Plus, it's hard not to like someone when they're always being shoved into your face and praised everywhere around you.

It made him cringe to remember how he used to fanboy like a girl with a pop band. The walls in his bedroom used to be covered in All Might posters and action figures.

He idolized All Might like a God.

But as he grew older and began training to be a Vigilante, his viewpoint changed.

The underground hero, Eraserhead, became his number one hero. He didn't like fame and didn't save people for the money. He did it because he wanted to.

You can see it on his face. The black bags that hung low below his eyes and the scruff he always had from not shaving. He saved people even when he was tired and exhausted. He put himself on the line even when he felt weak.

That's a true hero.

"Yup." Izuku responded, popping the p.

To his surprise, Eraser sat beside him and together they looked around the streets.

"You're pretty short for a vigilante." Aizawa said.

Izuku rolled his eyes. "I'm not short Eraserprick, I'm fun size."

Eraserhead chuckled, at both, his lame joke and his dumb nick name.

"Can I ask you a question, Night Watch?"

Izuku looked over at him and Aizawa took the chance to look into his green eyes. They held so much emotion, yet were so cold. The dark black bags under his eyes rivaled his own. He looked...dead.

"Whatever, you're going to ask even if I don't want you to."

Eraserhead felt a smile tug on his lips but he suppressed it and kept his face apathetic.

"Okay, I wanted to know how you felt about me?"

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Aizawa with a flabbergasted expression. "What do you mean?"