"God damn it."

       The rolling chair creaked as Eraserhead slouched his back further in fatigue, a migraine threatening to hinder him further from his work along with his drowsiness. Groaning, he ran a hand through his raven tresses, his bloodshot eyes scanning over security feeds and some documents regarding a petty thief that may have potential to be a major one.

       The fucker just had to be active today of all days.

       His office's lights were off, with his lamp and computer monitor being the only source of light within the dark and minimalistic room. He was just a plug away to shut everything off and succumb to his desire of much needed sleep.

       Aizawa was too physically, mentally, and emotionally tired for this.

       Today was supposed to be his day off, but his agency called him somewhere at noon (it's now midnight), insisting that his quirk was the most efficient to deal with the wanted criminal. He had the chance to decline if he tried hard enough, but he figured that this case was delayed enough as it is, if they were really desperate to have him on the scene. Besides...

       It's part of his duty as a hero, isn't it?

       ... That's what he thinks you'd say if you were here.

       The man closed his eyes, shutting out the light of the computer screen from his sight, the same way he's trying to shut you out of his head. He may have sworn to himself to never forget, however, he also promised to himself to move on.

       What happened already happened.

       Your missing status for over seven years was recently revoked. You're now part of The Cyclone's death count; hence, the funeral just this morning. Aizawa was the one who authorized to stop your search yesterday; as he was the same person who first ordered it since day one. And he was the one who arranged your memorial.

       He needed to do this not just for you, but for himself too. It just wasn't healthy. He finally decided that it's been too long.

       He should accept things as they are.

       You're gone and he's still here.

       But what if you're still out there?

       What if you're still alive?

       What if you're trapped? Scared? Injured?

       What if you needed help?

       What if he denied you that help you sought just this morning when he stopped the search?

       What if you needed his help?

       What if he failed you to give you his help?

       What if he let you die?

       What if he let you die? What if he let yOU DIE? WHAT IF HE LET YOU DIE?

       LETYOUDIELETYOUDIELETYOUDIE—

       Knock. Knock. Knock.

       "Eraserhead," The mentioned man snapped out of his thoughts when the chief of the operations knocked on his office's mahogany door before opening it—half of his body peaking out. "Our patrol will start at one. Better get ready." Ah, right. It's a group patrol.

       Aizawa was so used to solo missions that he almost forgot that his agency assigned a group to apprehend the villain he's currently studying about. It was just a precaution, given the criminal's quirk.

       "Right. I'll be out fifteen minutes before arriving at the rendezvous." He responded almost robotically, hiding his displeasure through a monotone drawl. He seriously doesn't want to work in teams, as much as possible, but much to his chagrin, this was required.

       The group leader just nodded idly before leaving the Erasing Hero back to his thoughts. For a short moment there, Aizawa wanted him to stay and converse longer, just so the intrusive thoughts conjured by his toxic mind won't haunt him for the rest of the silence. The only factor stopping him was the fact that he and his leader (just for tonight) were not close friends. Hell, they don't even know each other's real names. Just Eraserhead and Chloro. Acquaintances.

       And knowing Aizawa Shouta, he isn't one to make small talks with acquaintances.

       The troubled hero inhaled a deep breath to give clarity and rationality to what clouded his head earlier before the interruption.

       You're dead; that's really all there is to it.
Search teams with heat signature and life detecting quirks can not find you because you're dead. The Cyclone Area is empty—all corpses were found, despite assuming that you died there.

       You must have ultimately destroyed your own body. Obliterated by your own power. If All For One took you during his escape, something should have happened by now; surely seven years is enough to unleash chaos. However, with All For One's weakened grasp, you could've easily overpowered him and escaped.

       You would've returned to him like you've always done.

       But...

       It was a fatal hit.

       A rebar to your chest with all his fifteen year old self's strength was unsurvivable without a healing quirk.

       He killed you.

       You're dead because of him.

       And as your power's last retaliation, the shockwave that knocked him out cold that day was your self-destruction.

       Eraserhead, All Might, and All For One—the three of them are the only individuals who are aware that you caused The Cyclone. Maybe they're not the only ones anymore; who knows who All For One or All Might told to. Aizawa just knows that he didn't tell anyone to preserve your untainted name to the public. To have people not associate you to The Cyclone is the least he could do.

       Refocusing on his task, Shouta then went over the villain's file one last time before deploying with the other heroes to meet up.

Name: Shinsou Osore

Quirk: Fear Hallucination (A-class)

Weapons: Silent weapons; usually knife

Quirk Drawback: 10 seconds delay before illusion disappears as soon as he moves. Can see his victim's fears. Cannot create an illusion other than his target's fears. How many people can be affected by his quirk is currently unknown. Target can be awakened with a forceful hit or touch.

Quirk Effects: Would make the target's fear come to life through a realistic hallucination. Reports state that the victim can feel, see, and smell the illusion—the quirk seemingly capable of tricking the human senses. Can result in shock, temporary paralysis, trauma, and fainting.

       That's all he needed to know.

       And with that, Eraserhead left for his patrol.

~*~*~

       "Pfft, Miss Joke at Point D."

       "Miss Joke, I know you just graduated and all, but please take this seriously." Chloro sighed tiredly, despite his visor being blank from any human expression. He wonders how the girl remains active for humor despite the ungodly hour.

       "S-sorry! Habit from my quirk!"

       Ah, right. Laughing quirk. Quite unusual for fighting, but it's practical enough to get the job done; hence, she helps with scouting for the enemy. She's placed near the area's bank.

       "Owl at Point B."

       Owl is on the lookout in case the villain doesn't work alone, with the help of his 360 degrees sight and night vision quirk. He can alert his teammates through his earpiece if he spots any potential threats. He's located at a building's rooftop; in the middle of his team's vicinity.

       "Chloro at Point C."

       Chloro serves to incapacitate the main target, with his quirk: Chloroform. The criminal can't use his quirk if he's unconscious. He's located near the jewelry store.

       "Eraserhead at Point A."

       And lastly, Eraserhead can face the villain head-on with his quirk erasing ability. He's placed near a pawnshop.

       They were all placed around the city, constantly moving around.

       "Alright, everyone is in place. Stay sharp and good luck. Chloro: out."

       Aizawa sighed for the nth time today, as he patrolled around his area, looking out from the shadows, and occasionally spying from the rooftops. He spotted and passed by civilians from time to time, checking just in case that the target would blend himself with them and hide in plain sight. He would recognize him even in civilian clothing.

       Pale face, messy purple hair and tired gray eyes. If he changed his hair or eye color, Aizawa can identify his face shape.

       He stored the criminal's identifiable facial features in his head with his exceptional memory—almost photographic. You always did compliment about him having good memory—stop.

       There he goes again.

       A curse from having good memory is consequentially having difficulty to forget.

       Memories would automatically play within his mind; always occupying his thoughts; rolling like a projector in repeat. His memories with you are, unfortunately, very memorable. Significant. Important. Meaningful to him.

       And yet he took you for granted.

       If he were his old self, he wouldn't tell you that. But now that he grew up; now that he changed, he'll let you know how much impact you've made in his life. He wanted to apologize for everything.

      But you're not here to hear that from him, are you?

       Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut tight as he tried to refocus in his mission. God, it was a bad idea to be back on duty after coming from a funeral—the burial for you and his bad memories.

       And then a blur passed by his peripheral vision, snapping him out of his thoughts; mind now alert.

       Eraserhead followed in pursuit.

       Blood pumping, adrenaline running,  Aizawa was glad that something finally distracted him from his thoughts. He was internally relieved despite the situation.

       After what seemed like chasing after nothing, he stopped by an alleyway, feeling a presence within the shadows, as he was familiar with the same darkness that he used advantage of.

       Although, Shouta was disappointed with himself that the villain knew that heroes were around to apprehend him, hence why the criminal didn't pursue his scheduled theft. Eraserhead must have somehow slipped his cover, being in sight from a certain angle, while he was busy tending to his thoughts about you.

       From the security feeds he watched, Aizawa can tell that the man wasn't used to a criminal life. Shinsou may have his face covered, but his quirk became his identification, as he wasn't subtle with its recognizable feats. He may have only stolen at night, but there was a pattern within a month. Although, Aizawa also observed that he only steals from places of small security, which means he's not a dreamer, and is aware of what he can and what he can't handle.

       Hence, why the villain is around the pawnshop area, instead of his other team members' location.

       "Come out, and I won't have to hurt you." The ravenette knew he couldn't enter the shadows just yet, risking a potential sneak attack.

       Nothing.

       "I know you're there," Eraserhead subtly pressed on his earpiece, hidden behind his unkempt tresses, hoping that his team could pick up what he was trying to do—that it was enough to have them run to his position. "Trust me, having me trying to find you would be more heart-racking than having you surrender yourself."

       After what felt like hours, but only seconds, the criminal finally revealed himself, convinced that Eraserhead wouldn't leave until he did. He looked nervous; afraid that he was caught.

       "Okay, just please raise your hands up and get down, and I won't have to atta—" When black eyes met gray ones, Aizawa's surroundings suddenly changed. What once was a grimy, dark alleyway became a place he was all too familiar with.

       Debris everywhere.

       Cracked streets, uprooted grasses, fallen buildings, rebar sticking out of wrecked concretes. Everyone in Japan can recognize it as The Cyclone's Heart; the place that started it all.

       He can feel the heat of stray fire scattered about from destroyed structures and electricity poles; he can smell the suffocating smoke that darkened the skies.

       An illusion, he immediately thought, but that thought was quickly forgotten when he heard his name being called with a such familiar voice that plagued his sleep with nightmares.

       "Shou...ta..?"

       Shitshitshitshit—

       "I-I don't... want... t-to die... Shou...ta..." The voice croaked out in deep desperation—something he doesn't remember it saying, but knew the eyes were wordlessly telling him from his memories.

       Don'tlookdon'tlookdon'tlook—

       Aizawa tightly closed his eyes and turned his head to the other way.

       Then, something weak touched his hand—his hands that were suddenly gripping a material he didn't realize he was holding. He was grasping a metal pole—a rebar, and something was holding his hand; something wet; something cold. He recognized the touch to be another hand that belonged to the one person he wishes to see and simultaneously doesn't want to see.

      Don't look at her!

       "Tai...da-kun..?" When he heard that nickname leave your lips, all rationality left his being.

       He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the hand holding his. It was pale, cold, and covered in blood.

       Hesitantly, he trailed his sight from the rebar to the chest it was protruding from; the bloody sight making him gag; not from the grotesque sight but from the guilt that welled in his stomach.

       His blood ran cold; hands got sweaty, when he finally decided to face the eyes he dreaded to see. It wasn't the blood nor the destruction that became his nightmare's focus—it was your face; your expression; your eyes.

       The emotions of shock, hurt, sadness, hopelessness, and betrayal.

       But when his eyes met empty ones, he finally realized that you weren't real. None of this was.

       Instead of seeing the emotions he remembered so vividly, he was greeted by nothing but a pair of abyss that served as your eyes. Two black holes that held no emotion.

       It would seem that illusions cannot recreate the soul, as the eyes serve as the windows for it.

       The overwhelming fear Aizawa felt suddenly turned into one of unadulterated anger.

      How dare this guy use his memory of you against him?

       Disregarding the illusion, Aizawa faced the shocked criminal who was silently still in the background of the fake chaos. It would seem that his quirk cannot hide him from plain sight; it can only distract the target from him.

       The hallucination dropped, and they were back to where they actually were.

       The underground hero then charged at the panicked man with the goal to capture him with his customized weapon. And with little to no fight, Shinsou Osore was caught by Eraserhead.

       "I don't..." Osore trailed off—still in shock, wondering if what he witnessed was the erasing hero's biggest fear...

       Or worst memory.

       Nevertheless, he found it unnerving on how that phenomenon became the majority's biggest fear; even a hero, it would seem.

       Aizawa suddenly realizing that the criminal can see his own illusions, only became more agitated.

       With the criminal lying tied on the ground, Shouta pressed a foot on his back—warning him.

       "I know you aren't actually a criminal at heart, but do that again and I will not hesitate to hurt you. You should've just obeyed." He growled, to which Osore didn't respond to.

       And then, his team finally arrived.

       "What took you guys so long?" Asked an irritated Aizawa, still holding onto his capture weapon.

       "What are you talking about? We got here within a few minutes. Not fast enough for ya, Eraserhead?" Chloro lightly humored, making Aizawa realize that the hallucination that only lasted a few minutes felt like hours. Nevertheless, the ravenette was not amused.

       God, he was just so tired.

       "No." Shouta deadpanned before taking a knife from his pocket and swiftly cutting his capture weapon to separate the criminal from him.

       After making sure that Osore couldn't escape, Eraserhead handed him to his teammates, planning to walk away afterwards.

       "He's all yours. I'm leaving."

       Just when Aizawa walked past his now ex-team, a hand landed on his shoulder, making him flinch from the unexpected contact—just like when your hand landed on his within the illusion.

       "I didn't see you use your quirk when you escaped the illusion." Owl stated as a matter of fact, before Miss Joke remarked.

       "Yeah! You must've been brave if you managed to ignore it just like that! I wish I'm that courageous towards spiders haha!"

       That's not it, Owl thought deeply of when before Aizawa's trance broke, the black-clothed man looked genuinely afraid that he was visibly shaking. Looking away from something.

       His owl-like sight can see that within a mile. When Eraserhead became mad was when they arrived in a distance that they could help.

       But it would seem that the erasing hero was fine on his own.

       "Are you okay?" The Sight Hero asked worriedly, as Aizawa only shrugged his hand off.

       "Fine." Was Eraserhead's only answer before leaving. He's a lot grumpier than his team last remembered. More... angry.

       "Wah! He's so cool! I want to date him someday haha!" The greenette laughed to herself, as her remaining teammates only looked at her in concern for her taste in men.

~*~*~

       Walking back home had never felt so taxing, when all Aizawa has as his company was the silence, darkness and his thoughts. God, his never-ending, disturbing thoughts.

       Seeing you in that state again dampened his mood more than it usually is.

       Your blood—the sight of it unnerved the core of his very being. That fucking villain just had to have him relive his nightmare, like he hasn't already experienced it enough in his sleep.

       You were the reason why he specializes in capture. To detain; not damage. No weapons. Just specialized cuffs. But damn, he wanted to make that asshole bleed—his immense self-control saving the criminal from a serious beating.

       The man looked up at the starry night-- only a few hours away before the sun would come up.

       Taida-kun.

       It's been a long time since he last heard that nickname. He used to hate it, as it was a call-out to his lazy behavior. But now? He thinks of it as a name of endearment; special only from you.

       His best friend...

       He should've been a better friend.

       Damn, he needed a drink or two.

~*~*~

Oboro (manga character) is not part of Aizawa's life. He died in The Cyclone. Aizawa's past will be altered since you are now part of the universe, which means that his motivations of being a hero and teacher will change. Other canon characters are affected by The Cyclone too and I will elaborate on that in future chapters. But in this chapter, you can tell that the butterfly effect is starting to take effect.

If you guys can't already tell, this is an Aizawa-centric fic because he literally started this all; the match to a ginormous bonfire. Don't worry, this is still a various love interest fic, it's just more focused on Aizawa because the other characters have yet to be introduced. Also i cant wait to show yall's past relationship with him.