Viridian: The Green Guide

Chapter 118: Found

Izuku tried desperately to come up with something to say as Mom looked between the two of them, "I'm sorry, Mr. Eraserhead, Izuku's probably a little bit shocked at the moment, you're his favorite hero. Um...would you like some tea?"

Eraserhead nodded politely, "Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya."

Izuku waited until Mom was back in the kitchen and Eraserhead was sitting down in one of the armchairs before he finally said anything, "Are you here to arrest me?"

"In a way." Eraserhead shrugged. "I see you've been watching the news. Congratulations."

Izuku picked at his sleeve, "I can't be a hero, Eraserhead. I'm quirkless. I can't even technically be a vigilante, much less participate in the rehabilitation program. Even if I were good enough to be a hero, I...I don't meet the requirements. The hero commission...."

"Isn't going to want a quirkless hero." Eraserhead rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Hence why I made them announce your acceptance before I told them about your quirk status. They can't back out now without publicly acknowledging their reasoning, which could potentially bring them under fire for quirkism. They won't risk that, problem child, so yeah, it may not technically be allowed, but you're not technically a vigilante either and yet you've saved more people than some pros. Let's face it kid, you deserve that license."

"No, I don't." Izuku said softly. "I just killed someone, Eraserhead. The commision won't even have to say anything about me not having a quirk to disqualify me from the program."

"It was self defense, problem child." Eraserhead said firmly. "All for One was too powerful to beat any other way. You were placed in an impossible situation where you had to kill him before he killed us, so it's not like you were given a choice."

"I still..." Izuku swallowed. "Vigilantes can't be in the rehabilitation program if they use excessive force."

"It's not excessive if it's necessary, kid." Eraser argued. "And, legally, I authorized it, considering that you wouldn't have been able to actually damage All for One if I hadn't been canceling his quirks. It also doesn't hurt that All Might himself tried to kill the same villain years ago and failed. From a legal standpoint, the use of lethal force was completely justified."

"That doesn't make it right." Izuku's hands started trembling again as he remembered how they'd looked covered in blood the night before. "I forced you to watch..."

"I chose to help you." Eraser corrected. "Kid, quirkless or not, you just took down one of the most dangerous villains in history. You can be a hero."

"No!" Izuku yelled as he jumped up from the couch. "No! This isn't right! You should be arresting me for murder, not telling me I can be a hero!"

"What in the world is going on here?!"

Izuku and Eraserhead both froze and slowly turned to look at his mom, who was standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Izuku stuttered, completely unable to even think and Eraserhead seemed equally at a loss. Mom looked between the two of them briefly, a worried expression on her face, "Izuku, baby, what are you talking about? Why would Eraserhead be arresting you for murder?"

"Uh..." Izuku opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Um...well..."

He didn't know to be relieved or mortified that Eraser recovered more quickly than he did, standing and gesturing toward the couch, "Mrs. Midoriya, perhaps you should sit down for this."

Mom's expression hardened, "Perhaps you should explain a bit more about why you're here."

Eraserhead sighed, "Have you ever heard of a vigilante that goes by the name of Viridian?"