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Who?

[He's being rude, he knows, but he also doesn't care. There's something off about all this, and he can't pinpoint what yet. But also, so he isn't totally rude:]

I can help you find them.

[Boy... this is rude. Toshinori blinks, a little surprised, but then smiles broadly -- because of course he does.]

Spoken like a true hero! [HA HA HA-- he's stalling, he needs a name!! Uh-] --Endeavor! He just became a sidekick recently...

["My friend Endeavor," a statement no one has ever said and meant it. It's fine, this is foolproof.]

[THAT SOUNDS FAKE AS SHIT but . . .]

If you need him, he's not at the school right now.

[But he takes a few steps forward, going to peer at the cabinet Toshinori was a few moments ago. Because clearly, that's the next step to solving this mystery.]

[Please, don't call him out... He's done dozens of interviews and somehow talking to this mouthy student is very stressful comparatively?!]

Well— [He takes a few long strides forward, meeting Aizawa at the pass and slinging an arm around his shoulders. Let's go, tiny, it's time to not look at this display case.] Help me find somewhere to wait!

[Come with him! Down the hall!]

[He goes stiff as a board beneath that friendly arm, a look of very real distress crossing his expression. No, not just because he hates overly familiar gestures but because he does not need Toshinori Yagi touching him.]

Hang on--

[He digs his heels in, intending to stop in front of that display case. Imagine his surprise when he just keeps going, pulled along by this enormous man and his strength.]

Hang on--

[It takes only a moment to duck down, taking a few steps back.]

Ah— what?

[Toshinori only stops when he's suddenly holding onto nothing but air, looking over his shoulder at his new tiny boy. Why, little guy? Why?]

Something wrong?

Why are you trying to get me away from here?

[Because that's what's happening: he's being ushered away from this photocase. He doesn't know why such a thing is so incriminating, but now he's determined to find out.

So he turns, glancing it over. There's nothing much in there, just a bunch of old class photos and action shots. Chiyo Shuzenji grinning in her first uniform, beaming in her office; Gran Torino grinning arrogantly as his first villain was led away by the police . . . and Toshinori, sweating and delighted, posing in a familiar sort of way.

It takes him a minute. He knows that pose, though, and that triumphant grin is awfully familiar. The costume is all wrong, but imagine if it wasn't, if it was blue and white and red--

--and then his head snaps over, his eyes wide, as he really takes a good, proper look at Toshinori. Or-- no. Not at Toshinori.

At All Might.]

Oh.

No, wait—

[Pause!! Pause this investigation! Toshinori holds out a hand but what is he going to do, slap it over the kid's eyes and haul him away? It's already too late, and maybe this is a little dramatic, but he was so very close to getting rid of that picture--!

So it's all he can do to let his hand fall to his side and then lift it again to rub at his temples, while this boy figures him out completely. The whole secret identity thing is a lot easier around people who aren't so... so clever and determined to figure him out for whatever reason.

How much bribery will it take to do damage control here, he wonders, as the boy turns to give him that look, the one that says plainly that he knows. He sighs and holds his hands out at his sides, not very energetically for a change but most certainly All Might-esque.]

I'm here! [ha ha.... ha]

[He has a crush on All Might. That shouldn't be the thought that sticks in his head right now, bouncing around like a firework, but it is. He has a crush on the wonder boy who never stops with the relentless positivity, who laughs and acts as though this is all a fun game.

All Might!

Toshinori, or All Might, and Aizawa can't decide what he wants to call him, is still standing there, and belatedly he makes an irritated noise.]

Don't do that.

[A lot more people are going to figure it out if he makes it obvious.]

[He has a crush on All Might!! Not that said All Might is privy to this exciting knowledge, but there it is-- there he is, the wonder boy, standing here in the hallway long after everyone else has gone home. He holds up his hands in front of him instead, placating.]

Alright, alright! You figured me out.

[So he had to do that stupid thing. Well. Since they're already here, he comes back to the display case and taps the glass idly, considering. It's locked...]

I'm trying to get that picture.

[A smart idea. Most people aren't nearly as observant and logical as him, but surely even ordinary people could put two and two together if they saw that photo.

Still.]

Just stealing it isn't going to work. You're going to get in trouble.

[Hmm.]

Why not ask for it? Pretend you want to frame it at home or something.

Well, everyone's gone home already.

[A beat. Wait.] I wasn't planning on stealing anything! I would never!

[He's goddamn All Might, little sassy boy!! He won't fall into a life of crime, starting with the petty theft of an old picture!!!]

[SETTLE DOWN, his expression says, unimpressed and with one eyebrow raised.]

So what was your plan?

[No!!! Boy!!]

I— was working on that at my own pace! And then you turned up. [Which isn't some kind of backwards accusation, just, he was in the process before he was interrupted and then had his secret identity smashed.]

By the way, we should... talk.

[About smashing his secret identity!!]

So you had no idea what you were going to do.

[JUST SAYING, that's about the long and short of it. But that last question . . . he hates his stupid, pathetic, emotional mind for immediately jumping to the wrong conclusion.

We should talk, Toshinori says, and for a split-second, nothing more, he thinks all the ways he'd want that to go. We should talk, because I've secretly liked you since I saw you too, now do you want to go make out in some abandoned classroom?

Stupid. Stupid and illogical, and he dismisses it the instant it forms. he wants to talk about his identity, but there's really nothing to talk about. He's not going to blab.]

. . . sure.

Haha! I don't dislike that honesty, but you don't have to drive it home.

[He knows, he knows. Now, as for having a talk with him, it's so lucky Toshinori came back to the display case, making him close enough to put his arm around Aizawa's shoulders again. Not that he's particularly suspicious of the boy-- but he's already darted away once, and this time it's actually important. He isn't trying to be menacing, but his hold around Aizawa is, hm, tighter this time. More firm.

Not quite "make out in an abandoned classroom" firm, but "taking this sassy boy to an abandoned classroom" firm, sure. Now let's go.]

Now then, there really is something familiar about you! Are you sure we haven't met before? What's your hero name?

. . . Eraserhead.

[The name still sounds foreign. Not bad, necessarily, but like it belongs to some other person. He'd used it in his internship, and it had taken him a solid day to realize that people were trying to get his attention when they called for Eraserhead to do this and that.

That isn't how they know each other, but far be it for Aizawa to admit that. Let him think they met on the field somewhere.

The classroom Toshinori leads them to is just that: a classroom, unused and empty. There's chalkmarks still on the board, and a stack of things on the teacher's desk. They've got a fair bit of time to themselves, given classes have already ended, but nor are they totally secure.

Not that it matters.]

I'm not going to tell anyone.

Of course, [Toshinori says, and he says like he does believe him, but he also knows that taking the kid at his word when he's a total stranger would be completely naive of him. So! They're going to have to not be strangers.

He shifts a stack of papers out of the way on the desk and leans back against it, looking over at Aizawa. Eraserhead... Eraserhead... He's heard the name before; probably on the hero circuit, when internships were the big thing and none of the other pros could stop bragging about their interns to him, specifically, because he pointedly did not have any-- but there's something else.

Ah-- he snaps his fingers.] You know Present Mic, don't you? I did that interview for that little show of his, and everyone told me it was a waste of time to do anything at a local student radio station... [He's waving his hands like these details are the ones that will jog Aizawa's memory, despite the fact that he most definitely was not on the radio with All Might. Oh well.] When I asked him about his name, he said he picked yours, too. Unless there's another Eraserhead out there.

[Tell him about your only friend, The Loud Boy.]

No, that's me.

[Of course he remembers that interview. Hizashi had been screaming about it for weeks-- less because it was All Might (although that, too, had been a factor; he's just as dazzled by the newest, brightest star as anyone) and more because someone so big had actually agreed to come on his show. It had been an incredible boost in both ratings and credibility, and Hizashi had already gotten several more offers than he would have otherwise.

Aizawa wonders if Toshinori realizes what effect he'd had. He wonders if he even thinks about stuff like that, or if he just wanders around in a blinding daze, rescuing others, unaware of what he leaves in his trail, both good and bad.]

He's good at that kind of thing. That . . . playing to the public and all. Not that it matters-- I don't exactly want to be in the spotlight.

[Unlike you goes unspoken.]

But you do. And you don't want people to know who you were before-- why?

[Toshinori thinks about it-- to a point. He's doing all this for a very specific reason, and it isn't as if he hasn't dealt with the negative ripple effects of his actions already; pros who have been at it longer, angry about the new wonder boy stealing their spotlight; villains doing things they might not have done just to test him, all kinds of great things.

But has he thought about Present Mic's little radio show between then and now? Not really, no. He looks toward the window, considering how much actual honesty Eraserhead needs about his long term goals.

Well, why not.]

The country wants me in the spotlight, if we're being specific. They need someone to look toward for safety and comfort, and... that's me. Or it's going to be!

[Any day now! He's getting there.]

And that can't happen if you're too human. You'll slip up . . . or at least, Toshinori will. Someone will take some remark wrong or twist your words, or you'll just have an off night.

But if you keep your identity a secret, you only have to be perfect for a certain amount of time.

[It makes sense, and he nods.]

You don't think you're setting yourself up as a target?

[Oh--he gets it. That's a nice change! Even those who agree with him, like Gran Torino, caution him often about being too extreme. Someone actually confirming that he's not totally crazy is a nice change.]

As All Might? Of course I am. Who's going to rely on All Might if he's too afraid to take any risks?

That's not what I mean. I mean . . .

[What does he mean? He takes a moment to organize his thoughts, a small frown on his face. Finally:]

If you become a symbol, famous, you can't do a lot of hero work. You can't go underground or in disguise. You can't infiltrate crime rings. All you can do is fight those who attack in public, and the more you do, the more people are going to want to see you fall. Villains are going to see you as a challenge to be conquered-- an easy way to gain notoriety and fame.

What makes you think that's the most efficient way to solve the problems of this world?

[Hm. That's... astute. Toshinori looks away from the window, brow furrowed. He's thought about these things, sure--]

I know I can't save everyone. But people need somewhere to look when the going gets tough— someone who represents all the work heroes do for the world.

[And, look--] I know how it sounds. Plenty of pros have made it clear they aren't interested in humoring me, but they aren't the ones I'm trying to convince. If I save as many people as possible in front of as many people as possible, sooner or later it's going to work!

[He's solemn when he says this, then he perks up again. Is he going to-- yes, he's posing, fists in the air.]

Besides, I'm undefeated so far!

[It sounds like an idealistic and wildly unrealistic dream, but Aizawa can't say he doesn't see where Toshinori is coming from. People do need symbols. Regular heroes have wins and losses, but more than that: they have families, press interviews, trivia facts, blood types and favorite foods and dislikes . . . they're human, and thus people know they can and will fail. It's just a matter of effort, and so there's always a tiny bit of doubt in the back of people's minds.

But a symbol is different. A symbol is something to look at even when things are at their darkest, because they represent the glimmer of hope that things will inevitably improve. A symbol is unfailing and unflappable, roughed up but never beaten, always confident things will turn out the way he wants them to.

Always smiling, because things will be okay now that he's here.

It's admirable, and he feels his cheeks heat up as he stares at him. Ridiculous, he thinks, this boy is utterly ridiculous, but the same spark of heroism that had inspired Aizawa to come here stands up and cheers. No wonder everyone's in love with him, he thinks, and then, with the most absurd flare of jealousy, wonders how many people the miraculous All Might has flirted with.

Not slept with, at least. A symbol can't have something so human and filthy as sex.]

You've only been out of school a few years. Can you really say you'll never suffer a loss?

[Of course not. No quirk, however incredible, is undefeatable. A moment, and he adds waspishly:]

Stop posing.

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