Shota Aizawa a.k.a. Eraser Head stood atop a five-story building. His black eyes went everywhere as he tried to locate signs of villainous activities under the starry sky. Most heroes preferred working in daylight, as it gave them the necessary popularity points for the hero rankings.
But Aizawa was not like most people. He preferred the night, when there were fewer prying eyes, a time when villains thought that they could do whatever they wanted without any consequences.
But that was not his main objective today. Today, he was on duty because of a personal request from a police friend. She had told him that for the last couple of days, someone had been taking down low-level villains and two mid-level ones. These villains were not of much threat, but were still annoying to deal with during the night when on-duty heroes were less than usual.
Aizawa appreciated someone making his job easier, but this was a different issue this time. The person who was taking down these villains was not an official hero.
The boy was young, in his teenage years. He had fair skin, dark red eyes, and burgundy hair that faded into red at the tips. A large scar marred his forehead and an earring that depicted the rising sun. If the appearance wasn't distinctive enough, the report also contained details regarding his clothing. A checkered black and green haori and a katana at his side.
Reviewing the details of the report, Aizawa found himself amused. In this day and age, most people try to make their costumes resemble those of comic book characters, rather than those of a samurai. And carrying a sword was just over the top in Aizawa's opinion.
Kids these days…were weird. He knew enough about that from his day job.
But what's even weirder is that this kid actually used his sword in combat, quite skillfully so. One of the villains, just a 19-year-old boy, became a fan of his sword with just a single encounter. He described the samurai's quirk as creating water from his sword and body. Even the movements seemed like the flow of water.
The boy must have excellent control over both his quirk. He had taken down almost ten villains within only two days. And on top of that, none of the villains had taken a single serious damage. All were knocked out with one swift slash from the back of a sword.
Now, it was correct that none of the villains possessed any powerful quirks. Most were weak enough even to be taken down by someone with a gun. But the control of his quirk was another matter altogether.
That is something that had impressed his police friend. She suggested that Aizawa take a proper look at the kid and evaluate whether or not this kid has what it takes to become a Pro Hero. If he had what it takes, then Aizawa would suggest that the kid attend U.A. If not, then that was that.
Even though his interest had been piqued, he did not expect much. His standards for being a Pro Hero were higher than others. Those without the necessary talent would only die in the field if they kept being stubborn. It was better to take a step back before they became seriously hurt.
As if just on cue, he heard the scream of a child. Without even wasting a single bit, his feet moved as he traveled through the rooftops.
By the time he reached the alleyway where the criminal activity was taking place, it seemed as if someone had already beaten him to it. The victims were a family of four. The father stood in front of his wife and their two kids; one was only five or six, while the other was just a simple newborn.
His eyes darted around the alley and found the perpetrator. Just a simple look at him told him enough about who he was. One of the rising villains in this area has been quite active for the last few months. Ferros, the villain who could control iron.
It was an extremely bothersome quirk, especially in any metropolitan area where almost everything was made with iron. And that was not the only interesting person in this alley. Standing in front of Ferros was a young teenager who matched the police reports to the letter.
His clothes fluttered in the light breeze, and one of his hands was already on his unsheathed sword. He stood between the scared family and the villain in a calm demeanor that wasn't at all typical for his age.
He opened his mouth and spoke for the first time. His voice was calm and composed.
"Please leave this alley. I do not know what power this man holds, and I cannot guarantee your safety while fighting."
Taking his words to heart, the family of four quickly started to get out of the alleyway. Ferros stood with an ugly grin on his face as he shouted,
"As if I'd let you do that!"
Ferros flicked his right arm in a quick motion. An iron spike hidden inside his sleeve traveled through almost at the speed of a bullet. But before it could hit its target or Aizawa could nullify the quirk, a clang sound echoed through the air.
The iron spike was reflected to the side, and the unsheathed blade of the young boy was in full view. A sleek black katana that reflected the moonlight in a strange yet beautiful way.
Aizawa was instantly impressed. Even while being in such close distance, the samurai boy had reflected the iron spike with extreme precision and reflex that bordered on a superhuman level. It seemed to him as if he was watching a film where a swordsman can reflect bullets by using only his sword. Aizawa did not see the boy activate his quirk. His keen eyes could easily tell that the iron spike was reflected using sheer skill, and nothing else.
Ferros's grin widened seeing that. His eyes gleamed with a murderous intent towards the boy,
"You reflected that, eh? Some sort of physical enhancement quirk?"
The boy did not indulge in the villain's rambling. He simply gripped the sword with both his hands and took a combat stance. This time when he spoke, the warmth in his voice was gone, replaced with a subtle sense of anger,
"Why did you attack that family? As far as I can tell, they haven't done anything to hurt you, nor do they seem like people worth stealing from."
"Eh! Haven't you learned from your teachers what I am, boy? I'm a villain. I don't need a reason to terrorize others."
"Yes, you might be a villain. But you are human. Hurting innocent people just for the sake of terrorizing them is simply wrong."
Ferros was taken aback by the young man's speech. He weirdly looked at the boy.
"Are you right in the head? Didn't I just tell you that I'm a villain?"
Hearing the reply, the young man simply sighed,
"Yes, of course. You are right. I haven't familiarized myself with the rules of this world yet. Humans hurting other humans with such malice is unusual for me to see."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I was in a good mood. But your weird talking style is making me nauseous. I thought about tormenting you for a bit, but now I just want to kill you outright."
He touched the telephone pole beside him as the pole started to take shape into an enormous harpoon. Aizawa knew that he should erase his quirk before he could do any more damage. And yet as he watched from above, his interest was also piqued about the swordsman. He wanted to see him in action.
Besides, both of them were in line of sight. So there was little to no chance that anybody would get hurt. And yet, even before Ferros could throw the giant harpoon towards the swordsman, he moved. His feet left the ground as he moved swiftly towards his opponent, closing the distance quickly.
Ferros was surprised to see the swordsman react so quickly. His enormous harpoon wasn't fully formed yet. But with the urgency of the situation rising by the moment, he saw it fit to throw his attack right then and there.
The harpoon was now far less impressive than its original size, but an impressive size nonetheless. It was at least 4 feet tall. With a simple hand motion, he threw it towards the swordsman.
But his attack met nothing but air. The swordsman had long since expected the attack, and he had already jumped high up in the air. The sword in his hand shone blue with the color of water. Aizawa watched this mesmerizing display of the swordsman as he performed a front flip right before where Ferros was. His sword moved and a vertical slash was performed.
Water Breathing. Second Form: Water Wheel
The water wheel struck Ferros at his right shoulder, incapacitating him instantly. He had some metal inside his clothes to somehow lessen the impact. Otherwise, Aizawa could not see any possibility that the attack wouldn't dismember Ferros's arm.
The swordsman simply sheathed his weapon as he stood beside an unconscious Ferros. There were no water splashes, nor were there any signs that a sword coated with water had been used.
Was it an illusion?
Aizawa did not know at that moment. And yet, without wasting a single moment, he dropped down to the alley. It seemed that this boy was a potential hero after all.