Chapter Text
When Aizawa was heading out for his patrol that night he really didn't expect to end up in a place like the red light district. Going to the red light district really isn't customary in his line of work, considering that most heroes these days don't even step foot within at least a half mile radius because when you have a place like the red light, brimming with villains of all quirks, sizes and age. At some point heroes just started to deem the red light as ‘irredeemable’. which in retrospect, is most definitely nearer the truth than he would like to believe. Aizawa can't help but pity the people confined there. See, because of the overflowing amount of villains, a few years back the commission took it upon themselves to disconnect the red light from the rest of the world.
Well, not entirely, as there is social media, so really they aren't that cut off from the world when you think about it. But when you start coming near the red light. You know.
It starts to get darker, even on the days where you can't even fathom the cold, when you think there is no escaping the heat and sweat that summer brings. Even then, the red light stays, dank, polluted and grey. The alleyways the red light is filled with always seem to harbour an unmistakable depression that seeps into your person. Alleyways filled with women exhibited like cattle, needles and cigarette butts littered on the ground, and the undeniable stench of weed and bodily fluids, the putrid smell of piss and sewage every corner you take can make you feel light headed.
So why did Aizawa find himself smack dot in the middle of the red light, in the middle of the night, or well he should say morning at this point. But really! Come on, what was he doing here? He had a class to teach in a couple hours and quite honestly he would much rather be in a room full of noisy maddening children than here…
So why the fuck is every instinct in his body nagging at him to be here. He doesn't even know what he's looking for, or what he's supposed to be looking out for. Because at this point he's already passed two robberies and has had a handful of women feel him up while blindly speed walking through the abundance of streets just glaring at the floor and going wherever he felt needed. And now he had no idea where the fuck he was and the need to be somewhere had finally diminished into skittish and jumpy eyes just looking for anything that could possibly warrant his coming out here. And he swears if this was just a fluke and his legs had led him here on a whim.. He was going to lose his shit.
Currently, standing in the most concealed position he could be on a rooftop with enough of a satisfactory viewpoint, Aizawa just stands and waits and observes. Most things happening in his viewpoint right now would warrant his attention but since he's in the red light right now with no other backup and no-one knowing where he is, he leaves it, because if his instincts are right then there are bigger fish to fry.
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Aizawa had to have been standing there for about 40 minutes at this point, and he was just giving himself 10 more minutes until he was going to call it quits and head back home, as he's sure his husband has probably noticed he's not home yet.
When he spots something out of the corner of his eye, in one of the three little alleys that are in his line of sight. Swiftly reprimanding himself for not noticing the lump before he immediately realises this must have been what his instincts have been nagging him about for the last 2 hours, and makes quick work of scaling down the building and down the damp alley across the street from where he was perched.
Walking closer Aizawa could now definitely confirm this was what he was here for. Or rather who.
There curled up in a heap of cardboard and newspapers, lying a child. Couldn't be older than 7 and all Aizawa had to say to himself was that it wasn't a fluke and this child would probably have died here tonight if he hadn't listened to his instincts.
Crouching down to the shaking body, he slowly reached a hand out into their vision to not startle them, keeping his hands presented facing upwards, as he made his presence known.
"Kid?"
The child violently whacks his head back, flinching. Aizawa can see his pupils dilate, the boy in front of him looks so out of it that aizawa doesn't even think that he can find his eyes to make contact, as the boy seems to just be darting his droopy eyes about, trying to discern any kind of facial feature aizawa guesses.
“Hey kid, Can you hear me? Can you see me?” Aizawa pronounced slowly. Slowly holding his hand up to the left of his face to see if the kid would follow it. And surprisingly he did. But his eyes still seemed to be distant, he was blinking his eyes concerningly slow. He had finally pulled his face fully out from under the cardboard diy hurt he had tried to create but failed. The kid was shockingly pale, with dark misty grey eyes and messy black hair. He had several colourful bruises in his line of vision he could see now that the card the boy was using had slipped down.
“What's your name?” he tries again. And this time he seems to get a better response whatever trance the boy was in, seems to start to wash over his eyes clearing and widening. But all he gets in response is a gargled, high pitched, “Eh?”. Almost as if he's expecting something else other than a question, which isn't too far strung considering his condition and where they are. This is probably the first time he's even seen a hero. The first time an adult has spoken to him without expecting something to get out of him. The boy just looks astounded that he's even looking at him right now, with his eyes now focused now its the first time Aizawa has made full fledged eye contact with him. Which is promising.
“Can you walk?” Aizawa asks. And when the kid just starts to attempt to stumble up with shaky arms, damn near falling right back on his ass, Aizawa has to catch the boy's shoulder to stop him from hurdling his head back into the wall again. “Woah, Woah, Easy now. You don't look like a good kid.” Aizawa says, searching the boy's face closely. Only to be met with confusion yet again.
The boy tries to stand up again but this time Aizawa is gently holding his shoulder again which halts any attempts which is also quite concerning but if it stops the kid from bolting off then he's just going to have to take it for granted for now.
“W… Wa…” The boy's lips part for the second time, stumbling over his words before suddenly toppling forward into Aizawa's arms and to say that Aizawa is concerned is the understatement of the year. One second he was alertly looking around and the next minute he lurched forward practically in his lap. And Aizawa doesn't even think about it before he's picking the boy up from under the armpits and wrapping his coat around the boy as he speed walks out of the alley holding the boy on his chest close with one arm as he pulls out his phone to call the first person who comes to his mind.
“Hello?”