Papa

by gayprince.exe

(Corssposted from AO3) She was placed under his care and watchful eyes but soon, he sees more than a child. He sees a flourishing girl and not only would he protect her, he wanted to make her smile.

Teaching teenagers had its rough patches but taking care of a small child was a completely different experience altogether. Shouta lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and immediately noticed the little girl next to him flinch. He put his hand down and shoved it into his pocket. He didn't know the full extent of abuse Eri had gone through but he didn't want to remind the little girl of what she had experienced whilst she was imprisoned. All of the doctors who had treated her all came to the conclusion that she would have post traumatic stress disorder for the rest of her life.

He glanced over at the girl, who was also sneaking glances at the him. She was a little afraid of the man but the way everyone had been treating her ever since she was free made Eri want to stay. Shouta was kind to her and so was everyone she had met after her liberation. The man thought to himself for a moment then turned the corner, holding the small child's hand so he wouldn't lose her. He knew that she liked apples and remembered how she nibbled at the candied apple that Midoriya had made for her, trying to make it last for as long as possible. She savored the treat and this prompted Nemuri to buy her all sorts of candied apples ranging from caramel to chocolate dipped apples.

The girl was suprised when she was handed a warm pastry; she didn't know what it was but it smelled good. She looked up at her temporary guardian, her eyes asking what it was.

"That's a crepe," he explained. "It's a rolled up pancake with fruit inside. There's apple in yours,"

Eri remembered what pancakes were; Hizashi or as he insisted she call her, Uncle Mic, had made them for her just the week before. Even when she was with her parents, which was years ago, she didn't get much of an actual meal because they were poor. Remembering how good the pancakes tasted, she lifted the treat up to her mouth and took a bite. This was better than pancakes.

"It's so good!" she looked up in excitement. "Thank you mister!"

"I'm glad you like it but you can just call me Shouta," the man looked back at the girl.

"Isn't that rude?"

She vaguely remembered the manners her own mother had taught her. She was a very kind woman but had turned bitter once her husband was gone.

"It's not rude if I give you permission," Shouta said. "Here's some apple juice,"

Thanking her guardian again, she took the juice box and sipped on it joyously. Yagi, or Mister Toshi had brought her many snacks, claiming that no child should be denied treats. Among them were some boxes of juice. She had had apple juice before but that was a long time ago. Eri didn't even know that juices were distributed in boxes until recently. She enjoyed her snack as she walked alongside Shouta.

When they arrived at his apartment, she let out a yawn. Shouta suggested that she take a nap and the girl sleepily nodded. She climbed onto his bed and fell asleep almost instantly. The man had given her the bed whilst he slept on the pull out couch. However, he always found her sleeping next to him every morning; Eri was still a child after all.

"She's so cute! You're like a dad and I can be the mom!"

"Get out,"

"Aww but I wanted to see Eri,"

"She's sleeping,"

"I'll wait here until she wakes up,"

"You will do no such thing,"

The little girl poked her head into the kitchen, wary of the stranger. Well rested, Eri had woken up to hear the exchange as she looked for her guardian. The stranger was a fit woman who had green hair with an orange bandana wrapped around her head. As soon as she saw Eri, the strange woman squealed.

"Hi Eri, I'm Emi!" she crouched in front of the girl. "We have similar sounding names so we should get along!"

"Are you mister's girlfriend?" Emi looked at the woman then at Shouta. "I mean, Shouta's girlfriend?"

"Yes!"

"Absolutely not!"

The girl was confused; which one was it? In the end, she decided to believe Shouta over the stranger.

"Why did you say you were his girlfriend if you're not?" Eri asked earnestly.

"Because I am his girlfriend!" Emi grinned.

"No, you're not,"

Shouta almost spit out his beverage at the girl's response. Emi had been a plague to him outside of hero work but no one, aside from him, ever said anything about it even though their faces showed what they were thinking. They had gingerly accepted that this was the way she was. However, this was the first time someone had both caught the woman off guard and called her out at the same time.

"Mister, I mean, Shouta wouldn't lie to me," Eri continued.

"Well, I guess you caught me!" Emi laughed, not knowing how else to react to a child in reference to the situation. "I need to go teach a class soon but I'll see you again, Eri! Bye Shouta!"

"Good riddance,"

The girl silently waved good bye and climbed up onto a chair next to her guardian.

"Do you want to watch TV?" he offered. "Or are you hungry?"

Eri shook her head but looked at the book in his hands. She could make out only one word on the front of the book and she silently mouthed it to herself: 'life'. The teacher took notice and put his book down.

"This book is more for adults," he said. "How about we get you some books more appropriate for you?"

Eri shook her head again but she continued to stare at the book. He followed her line of sight and then it hit him. This girl had never been in school before and she certainly wasn't going to be taught by villains because they were too busy scheming and plotting. She was obviously embarrassed that she was illiterate so he tried to think of a way to teach her without making her feel bad. Regular school wasn't an option for her because she needed to be closely monitored at all times. Maybe starting by simply putting her in a learning enviroment would help.

"Eri, would you like to attend one of my classes?" he asked. "Midoriya will be there. Asui, Uraraka and Kirishima too,"

The girl's face lit up and she nodded vigorously. Up until now, he would take her to the teacher's lounge where his fellow teachers took turns watching over her. He would return at every free time he had but he still had to teach a class. He would have to keep the lesson extremely simple but he thought that this would also help his students become more sensitive to children. Many of his students were already very sensitive to kids and displayed great care for them in order to keep them calm in bad situations. However, he wanted to do it more for Eri's sake.

The next morning, Shouta led Eri to his classroom. He slid the door open and more than half of his students jumped up, doting over the girl. She jumped up to hug Midoriya, Asui, Uraraka and Kirishima in turn. The teacher let this go on for about twenty minutes before instructing the class to sit down. He had Eri sit at his own desk and saw her eyes light up in wonder. A warm environment was what she especially needed and she seemed to open up more to the teenagers. He supposed it was because her imprisoners were adults and she felt safer with the younger students who had rescued her.

"Today's class is sensitivity training," Shouta announced. "We've already done this before but there is still room for improvement,"

At the word 'improvement', all attention from the students were directed towards Bakugo. This prompted him to yell at his classmates to shut up. He was collectively shushed and when the blonde saw Eri's terrified expression, he just crossed his arms and looked away. The teacher did not execute his signature glare with his binding cloth and hair floating. Shouta didn't want to scare Eri because he was sure that she had seen many faces like it before so he just made a mental note to give his fiery student detention.

He had the students change into their hero costumes and when they met up at USJ, Eri's eyes widened. She smiled at seeing the various costumes but she loved Midoriya's costume the most. He grinned and waved at her. Thirteen was already there even though the new lesson plan was sudden. Like everyone else, they wanted to make Eri happy.

"Eri and I will put ourselves in a scenario in which we will play the victims," Shouta explained. "We'll be putting you in groups of four and each group will take turns 'rescuing' us. Remember, this is sensitivity training so think about how you would calm down a panicking citizen caught in the midst of danger,"

Purposely, he divided the students who had aided in Eri's rescue into different groups. He wanted for the little girl to remember the feeling of being rescued again and if he could do it four different times, then he would do it. He put Iida in the fifth remaining group because he knew that the class representative would show the same compassion.

It was a relief to see his students act accordingly and even Bakugo stayed silent for the most part. Shouta made sure that Eri stayed close to him at all times as they switched locations and made the scenarios fairly simple. Midoriya cleared the terrain area by getting a boost from Todoroki and made his way up the cliff where he gently but swiftly took Eri for a piggyback ride. She giggled with delight before she was made to return to the next mock disaster site.

Asui had the rest of her team stop the boat in the water terrain from sinking. She also put Eri on her back and hopped around, her tongue holding onto the girl, just in case. Uraraka was able to block her teacher and Eri with a slab of stone from the stormy terrain. She used her quirk to make Eri float but not too high off the ground so that the child wouldn't get hurt. Iida zoomed swiftly across the falling city terrain and took the girl's hand, inviting her to a race. He slowed down considerably and let her win. Kirishima simply roared and charged through the earthquake terrain, grabbing the small child then ran around with her clinging onto his hair as she sat on his shoulders, screaming with delight.

Each time she was rescued, Eri would bounce up and down, giddy with glee. Shouta took notice of how his students let each of Eri's heroes take the lead in rescue work and did damage reduction instead. They seemed to have caught onto his plan and Thirteen kept watch as they taught the students and walked through the lessons. Afterwards, Shouta took Eri to the teacher's lounge where she usually spent her day in when Shouta had to teach. The girl was exhausted after all the excitement and Principal Nezu entertained her when she woke up from her nap.

She latched onto the principal and to Nemuri when Shouta wasn't around. They theorized that maybe it was because she spent her time around grown men when she was being held captive. All of the teachers were very kind to her but the principal being an animal and Nemuri being a woman, Eri sought them out the most when her male guardian wasn't around. It was true that she was entrusted to Shouta so he could stop her quirk if neccessary but he also had to work. He resolved this by carrying a beeper around so he could be called upon in the event of Eri's quirk activating again.

"Eri! Look at these adorable clothes that I found!"

The child gasped at the amount of clothes piled in front of her. Nemuri had gone on a shopping spree, buying every fashionable children's clothing in sight. The two went to the teacher's female restroom as Eri tried on various clothes. She couldn't decide which was best so Shouta ended up taking all of them home. He didn't complain; he had given Eri a few articles of clothing but his fellow teacher was the one who knew what to buy for Eri.

He had read in a report that Eri had many toys but they were meant to bribe her so she never really touched them. She seemed much happier with the clothes and took her time neatly folding them all by herself before putting them away. Afterwards, she sat close to Shouta as he sliced an apple for her. She gnawed at the slices as they watched a kids' movie. They had done this every night since she came to stay with him. Later, when the movie was over and the apple slices eaten, Eri asked why Shouta didn't sleep on the bed with her.

"It's only proper," he answered.

"Only proper?" Eri looked up at her guardian.

"Yes,"

"Would it be proper if I asked you to sleep next to me?"

The man froze, not knowing what to say. She always ended up sleeping next to him but he knew that's not what she meant. Wandering through the dark apartment whilst looking for him must be scary for her.

"I suppose it'll be alright," he finally said.

Eri didn't say anything but she smiled widely. She was sent off to wash up; Nemuri had taught her how to properly bathe herself. Shouta brushed the girl's hair before letting her brush his hair. When asked why he kept his hair long, he just grunted and said that it saved him money from going to the barber.

After the little girl had fallen asleep, Shouta lay next to her, thinking to himself. He couldn't even begin to imagine the horror Eri had gone through. What was impressive was how quickly she was getting used to her new life. He liked watching her discover new things and didn't mind explaining things to her. Even if he was chosen to be her temporary guardian due to his quirk, he didn't feel burdened by it. He wondered if this was how proud fathers felt.

Marriage and starting a home life wasn't a primary interest for pro heroes and they only began thinking of them when they were much older so it hadn't crossed Shouta's mind often. However, he wasgetting older and the thought washed over him again. He didn't have his sights set on anyone in a romantic way but he supposed that being a father wasn't so bad.

...

The girl's favorite out of almost all the adults around her was Nemuri with Principal Nezu as a close second, competing with Hizashi. She knew they all had hero names but to make her more comfortable, they told her to call them by their own names. Yagi scared Eri because of his appearance. However, he was kind to her and the little girl was soon able to overcome her fear. Sometimes, they would take her out somewhere on weekends to go sight seeing, to go to the mall or just go to a nice bakery and relax.

However, the girl seemed attached to Shouta the most. He was quiet but to her, it wasn't an eerie silence. The doctors and the teachers of U.A. weren't as quiet but they weren't mean at all. She couldn't count how many times the people around her were quiet but gave off a menacing look when she was imprisoned. He was different and they spent a lot of time in comfortable silence. She liked him.

One weekend, Togata managed to get permission to take Eri to the zoo along with a few other students or specifically, the ones who had helped rescue her. Shouta found this a bit annoying but let it happen to make Eri happy. It was a spectacular sight for the girl and the students were just as excited as her. If it weren't for his fitness, he would've never been able to keep after the group. So far, the girl's horn hadn't grown much but he was still needed in case the quirk decided to take over again.

When they had looked at all the animals, none of the kids were out of energy just yet so Shouta ended up at a restuarant with them. He ate quietly as his students had Eri sample all of the dishes that were ordered. After that, the teacher prayed that the kids were tired out but he had no such luck. They ended up at the shopping district with Uraraka and Asui picking out hair accessories for the small child. Shouta decided to buy some cotton candy for her but at the most inconvenient time, he was caught in the middle of a robbery.

"All of you, get Eri out of here!" he yelled to his students as he charged at the criminals, slipping his goggles on.

Midoriya picked up the little girl and as they made their escape, Eri could see her guardian. She called out his name, fearing that he would be hurt or worse, die. When she finally took a second look after squeezing her eyes shut to pray for her guardian's safety, she saw that Shouta had tied up the villains. Due to the fact that her quirk was unstable, the students returned the girl to Shouta as soon as the police detained the offenders. Luckily, he had cancelled their quirks and had secured them quickly with little collateral damage. Still, Eri rushed forward, crying into his shirt.

"Hey, it's alright," he picked up the sobbing child, hugging her close to him. "I took care of the bad guys so they can't hurt anyone else,"

"What if you got hurt?!" the girl continued to cry. "What if you died?!"

Cameras shuttering and flashes were aimed at the hero. They had caught the elusive underground hero, Eraserhead; surely the papers would pay a high fee for pictures of him holding a small girl as if she was his daughter. The man didn't like being in the spotlight but at that moment, he didn't care. Shouta hugged the girl close, reassuring her with soothing words.

When he returned to U.A. on Monday, every single student, well almost all of them, in his class were talking about their teacher's name being in the media. Shouta had brought Eri over again and cleared his throat, turning their attention to the little girl. Again, he let it happen for about twenty minutes before explaining that day's lesson. This time, he had the students fight one another in teams of two.

Eri sat in his lap as the teacher watched his students on the screen. She watched along with him as well as the other observing students and was curious about their quirks. They were all using their quirks so that they could one day save people like she was saved. She had only been introduced to people who used their quirks for good after being freed. Before, everyone used their quirks to hurt people, including herself.

She knew she had a quirk but she didn't quite know what it was. The tiny horn on her head signified one and Chisashi told her she had one but gave no real explanation of its abilities. She hadn't wanted to know then because she knew it was what made people hurt her.

"Shouta, what's my quirk?" the girl looked up.

The students who were observing their classmates turned their attention to the girl, breaths held. Only four of the students knew what it was and two of them were engaged in battle. The remaining two, Midoriya and Uraraka, broke out into a cold sweat whilst the rest of the students were simply curious. The students avoided talking to Eri about quirks, seeing that she seemed sensitive to the topic. Even if the news of the girl were covered up, it would still be obvious to everyone that she had a quirk due to the horn on the girl's forehead but she seemed apprehensive about it.

"I honestly don't know myself," Shouta answered. "But we'll figure it out,"

Although he wasn't allowed just yet to talk to Eri about her quirk, he was telling the truth. He knew what the quirk did but at the same time, he didn't. Her abilites hadn't fully revealed themselves yet, making it complicated to really study so he just didn't really know what it was in the end. Eri accepted the answer, believing him immediately; Shouta would never lie to her. However, this didn't stop her curiousity.

She had been asked what it did but she couldn't provide a sufficient explanation so the doctors had yet to fully figure it out. The girl had thought of her quirk as a curse because it made people hurt her but seeing the people around her now, she had realised that no one wanted to hurt her. In addition, she was surrounded by heroes, people who didn't misuse their quirks and used them to save people. She wanted to help them now and use her quirk to save people in need, like her.

"I want to be a pro hero," she announced.

The girls collectively let out a huge 'awwwww' and the boys, excluding Bakugo, took turns giving her high-fives. Eri loved high-fives; the satisfaction of having exchanged them with people who wouldn't hurt her was what she loved about it. She especially liked exchanging them with Shouji due to him having more than two arms so she could high-five him multiple times at once.

"Mr. Aizawa is smiling!" Kaminari shouted.

The students rushed over to the teacher to take a look but it had been wiped off his face and replaced with a scowl. He ordered them away and told them to let him watch the students who were fighting one another so he could grade them. Eri was silent for the remainder of the exercise but she broke it when being escorted to the teachers' lounge afterwards.

"Shouta, is it bad that I don't know how to read?" she looked down at her feet.

"No," the man replied. "It just means you haven't learned yet and it's never too late to learn,"

Principal Nezu took it into his own hands, or paws, and began teaching Eri how to read. He assigned her homework and she dutifully completed them. The girl's stamina had also increased meaning that she no longer needed to nap during the day. It was due to Shouta that her diets wasn't just the treats everyone else gave her. He would feed her vegetables and fruits. At least it was easy to get her to eat almost anything and she never complained.

Her eyes grew brighter by the day and she was very energetic, with Shouta having to sprint after her sometimes. He took her to a fall festival and she would jump around, collecting leaves and pressing them in a photo album that her guardian bought her for that very purpose. She was a curious little girl and very intellectual. Eri didn't know what certain things were and if she found that to be the situation, she seeked answers immediately which were usually provided by Shouta.

The class of 1-A students were a large part of Eri's intergration into a normal life. They really did go to the ends of the earth just for her. Yaoyorozu produced a silk yukata for the little girl and the teacher watched, amazed. Silk was extremely hard for his student to make using her quirk. He was even more amazed when he learned that it was really bought from an extremely famous fashion designer. Kirishima bought her a tablet to play on, Uraraka gave her a pink pencil case, Midoriya gave her a teddy bear and Asui gave her a friendship bracelet. Even Todoroki gave her something; a picture dictionary. At least that gift was extremely practical and would aid her in learning how to read.

Not only did they buy things for her, they were very attentive to the little girl except for Bakugo. Shouta knew that his explosive student wouldn't pay her special attention but he was relieved that he didn't antagonize Eri by telling her off. She noticed this and asked the boy why he didn't play with her. The blonde awkwardly said that he was busy and walked away.

On the first day of winter break, Eri found out what hot chocolate was. Hizashi, or Uncle Mic, had arrived with a tray of them along with materials to make s'mores. Nemuri swept in to make baked apples whilst Yagi, or Mister Toshi, somehow managed to tow a pine tree inside. This all happened before it was past ten in the morning. Of course, it was Hizashi who had entered first, using his spare key, calling for Eri. She immediately jumped out of bed and dragged Shouta to go greet him.

This annoyed the dark haired man but he couldn't tell Eri to stop having fun, so he just went to brew some coffee but cursed himself for giving the blonde hero a spare key. They spent the afternoon decorating the tree and then set out for the winter carnival that was to be held in a nearby outdoor venue. Bright lights and wonderful displays filled the little girl's eyes with excitement. She would tug on her guardian's sleeve to make sure he too saw the different colors that shined brightly. She had been pulling on Shouta's sleeve a lot lately whenever she found something fascinating and pointed it out to share it with him. Shouta didn't mind and obliged.

When the little girl stomped her feet, he initially thought that she did this due to the cold but he was wrong. She had spotted Midoriya and was excited. Eri ran to him, calling his name and he turned to see the pleasant surprise. Shouta remembered the woman beside him as his student's mother, Midoriya Inko. They began to explore the carnival together and Eri began pulling on the green haired boy's sleeve. He was just as excited as her and went along with it, even pointing things out to her as well then both of them would report their sightings to Shouta.

"Kacchan!"

"Mitsuki!"

The blonde mother and son were spotted and Inko went to give her friend, Bakugo Mitsuki, a hug. The blonde boy had been forced to go to the carnival with his mom and his scowl gave away his opinion of it. Eri found herself squeezed into a hug provided by the blonde woman and she gladly welcomed it. The teacher glanced at his fiery student who was holding in a rather huge ball of anger. It was no secret in Class 1-A that he hated Midoriya but releasing that anger in front of the little girl was a bad idea and he knew it. There were no 'deku's or 'nerd' and he didn't curse.

"Do you like taiyaki?" Midoryia asked his small friend.

"Taiyaki?" Eri blinked, trying to remember if she had eaten it before.

"They have some at a stall over there, let's go get some!"

The group was joined by Mitsuki and her son, who walked alongside them miserably. She and Inko seemed to know each other well but that didn't surprise Shouta. He knew that his two students were childhood friends so it made sense that their mothers would have crossed paths, striking up a friendship. Eri came back, skipping next to Mirdoriya, who had a bunch of small paper bags in his arms.

Eri had Midoriya stay still as she insisted on personally delivering out the warm treats to everyone one by one. She saved the last one for the younger Bakugo. Looking up at the boy, she held out the paper bag and he gingerly took it, mumbling a thanks as he took a bite. She excitedly turned to look at Shouta as if to ask him 'did you see that?'. He nodded as he bit into his own treat and watched as his green haired student began singing a children's song about fish. Eri soon caught on and they merrily skipped, singing and looking at the lights.

When the fireworks were set off at the end of the winter carnival, Eri was startled by the loud noises. Shouta took her hand and everyone smiled at her, pointing out the pretty colors and how much fun everyone was having. After a few mintues, her tense body relaxed as she watched the exploding lights. Suddenly, she yelped as someone bumped into her, causing her to fall over. Shouta tried to catch her but somehow, his blonde student was quicker than three pro heroes/teachers, two mothers and Midoriya.

"Hey! Apologise!" he shouted as he pulled the girl up to her feet.

"Katsuki!" his mother exclaimed with a face that pleaded 'please not here, not right now'.

The person who had accidentally pushed Eri turned around and apologised profusely. The blonde boy just gave a scowl and a quick 'watch yourself' before picking the child up.

"You can see better this way," he said with a strained voice, placing the girl onto his shoulders. "Plus, you won't get bumped into again,"

Everyone smiled and they all recieved a look that dared them to say anything. He was silent but Eri couldn't see his scary expression from her position. Midoriya laughed and stood next to him, pointing out the various colors to Eri. Shouta saw his blonde student's face turn red, wanting to bark at his rival to shut up and get away from him but he didn't.

When everyone dispersed and Shouta began walking Eri home, she talked about how pretty the colors were, how tasty the snacks were and how warm she felt when she was on Bakugo's shoulders. The teacher didn't know if it was because he was warming his body up for Eri or if he was just so angry that his body temperature flared up. Either way, she had had fun and that gave Shouta a smile of satisfaction.

...

Eri's eagerness allowed the little girl to be a fast learner, soaking up her reading and writing skills like a sponge. She now insisted on reading signs out loud whenever she could to Shouta, not that he minded. The more he watched her learn new things, the bigger the impact she had on him. As much as she was becoming attached to him, he was starting to attach himself to her too.

Along with learning how to read and write, Eri amazed everyone by expanding her social skills. She was so comfortable with the teachers and their students that she began braiding their hair. Uraraka had taught her how to and now, Shouta often found himself finding a braid that he thought he had unfurled from the night before. They braided each other's hair before bed; both felt better sleeping with their hair out of the way but were unwilling to cut their hair short.

She braided Nemuri's hair, Toshinori's hair, Asui's hair and basically anyone with long hair that she could get her hands on. Principal Nezu was seen with a string of bows on his tail and Hizashi's facial hair had barettes lodged into them. She carried her hair accessories around in case someone hadn't had their hair done.

The other classes laughed at 1-A when several of the boys were found to be wearing matching ribbons in their hair. However, this didn't deter them from wearing the ribbons and Shouta found it quite humorous, though he would never admit it out loud.

One day, Shouta had to take Eri over to where his students dormed so that they could give one another makeovers. He really did not want to be there but the girls had gotten permission and Eri was excited by it, having never recieved or given a makeover or even attend a slumber party. Thankfully, the conversation didn't involve boys or anything too uncomfortable for their teacher; just casual conversations. He was reading the paper when Eri tugged on his sleeve.

"That's snow, right?" she asked, pointing at the window.

Looking beyond the glass, Shouta saw the white dots of frost floating down. Some of the boys had seen it too and were getting excited as well.

"Yeah, that's snow alright," he nodded.

"Mr. Aizawa! Can we take Eri to make a snowman?" the students pleaded.

"A snowman?" the girl asked curiously.

"She doesn't have any gloves or mittens," their teacher frowned.

"Gloves!"

Yaoyorozu lightly smacked herself on the forehead in realization and produced a pair of gloves for the little girl's small hands. Shouta nodded and followed them outside. He sat on the steps, which were clear of the snow due to the pillars holding up slabs of concrete, catching the white powder before it fell onto the steps. Some of the boys followed and the students began teaching Eri how to make a snowman.

"Look!"

Eri shouted to her guardian who looked up from his newspaper to see a ridiculously tall snowman. It had countless piles of balled up snow, mounting the head up as tall as about ten feet. He stood up, confused at the sight of the icy structure before him. His students had jumped overboard and did something ridiculous.

"Aren't snowmen usually about this tall?" the teacher asked, bring his hand up to his shoulders, indicating the usual height of a snowman.

"It's a super snowman!" Uraraka pumped her fists into the air. "Come on Eri, let's decorate it!"

Todoroki raised a platform made of ice for the girls to reach the face so they could decorate it. They donned it with a wig, a hat, a scarf, a headband, a necklace, some barettes and... Wait, wasn't that a bit too much for a snowman? Shouta watched, flabbergasted at the extremely ridiculous yet fashionable snowman. He had to step back quite a long way to fully capture it on film when a camera was shoved into his hands so that everyone could take a picture with it.

Afterwards, they went back inside to take refuge from the cold and Iida prepared hot chocolate but not before asking his teacher if it was alright for Eri to consume sugar. He went on to state that there were a variety of factors that could hurt her. Overthinking as usual, Shouta thought to himself as he nodded to his student, giving permission. But at least it shows that he really cares for Eri.

Although it was supposed to be an all girl's night, they let the boys in on the makeover party, who were willing to get their hair done by who they called the 'salon madam'. Kirishima had coined the term after having his hair done for the first time by Eri. She delighted in this title and one by one, she did their hair as the other girls painted each other's nails.

"Todo, your hair looks nice with the colors mixed together," Eri commented to her client.

Looking into a mirror that had been handed over to him, he saw a few small braids with a mix of red and white hair. A few barettes had been lodged in there as well and that made Todoroki chuckle. He didn't have a very good childhood either so he went along with his class to please Eri. He knew what a damaged childhood could do and it wasn't too late for the young girl to begin leading a normal life; not if he could help it.

"It looks great," he smiled. "Thank you, salon madam, you're the best,"

"Me next!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"Wait your turn in line!" Eri scolded.

"Sorry!"

Midoriya giggled as he went back to his position in a line of his fellow male classmates, next to Iida, who was in the process of recieving a manicure from Uraraka. He seemed to be the only one who took the nail care routine seriously. The other boys didn't mind having some color simply and messily splashed onto their nails but the round faced girl took great care and effort to the class representative's satisfaction.

When everyone was all made up, they put on a movie that was deemed appropriate enough for Eri by their teacher. She insisted on sitting on his lap and he wrapped a small blanket over the little girl and his legs. When the movie ended, she had already fallen asleep and the students were tired, ready to follow Eri's lead and go to bed. It was way past the little girl's bedtime and Shouta decided it was time for them to go home. He gently prodded her awake and he helped a sleepy Eri put on her coat and shoes.

"Shouta, can I call you papa?" the girl yawned as she pulled on Shouta's sleeve.

All of the students in the common room held their breaths, looking at their teacher and waiting for his reply. The man looked down at the girl then crouched down in front of her. He sighed and patted her on the head. He knew that children needed someone to lead them through life so he had anticipated this but when he had thought about it at first, he dismissed it, deeming it unlikey. It didn't seem like she would become attached to someone after the horrible ordeal she had gone through but against all odds, she had been flourishing.

"Yes, you can call me papa," Shouta kissed the girl on the forehead and pulled her in close for a hug.

As soon as Eri buried her head into the warm embrace, the teacher was reminded that his students were right behind him. He had lost himself to the child before him that he had forgotten about it. They burst into an 'aaawwwwwww' and went on cooing at how cute it was that the girl wanted to call their teacher 'papa'.

"All of you, go to bed," he instructed curtly before picking Eri up and heading home.

Still, as he walked down the snowy streets to his apartment, he smiled to himself. He really liked the idea of being called 'papa'.

...

"I see you've filed adoption papers,"

Shouta didn't look up from the test he was grading as he nodded to confirm the statement. Ever since Eri had started calling her 'papa', he realised more and more how much he had come to love her like a daughter. Finally, he decided to fill out forms for adoption services.

"Well, she doesn't have any family willing to take her," Hizashi continued. "But I'm surprised at you Shouta! I never thought that you, of all people, would ever adopt a child!"

"It's as you said," Shouta replied. "She doesn't have any family willing to raise her but I am,"

"What's this I hear? Adoption?"

Nemuri and Toshinori stuck their heads into the room. Scowling, Shouta turned back to grading his tests. He ignored his colleagues as they talked about how they never expected for him to be the first of them to become a father. He told them to shut up and shooed them away but on the inside, he was smlining.

Eri had indeed made a very special impact on him. Upon hearing about her captivity, before he even met her, all he could think of was how to rescue her. He had been put in charge of her because his quirk could prevent her unstable power to leak out of control. But now, he just saw a blossoming girl that needed real love and care from a supporting figure in her life and he wanted to be that figure.

Later that afternoon, relieved of his teaching duties for the day, Shouta took Eri to the supermarket. She had been wanting to make an apple pie so he printed out a recipe. When they reached the cashier, he handed the money over to the girl so she could 'pay for herself'. He had also picked up some hot chocolate and bought a green mug just for her. Her favorite color was green now and he suspected that it was because of Midoriya.

Shouta knew how to cook but he had never baked something before; all of the meals he cooked were made with the help of a stove top. He read the recipe over and over again, praying that he wouldn't mess up and disappoint Eri. He was, however, pleasantly surprised when she pointed out an error.

"No, it says to preheat the oven to three hundred and fifty not four hundred," Eri held up the paper the recipe was printed on, pointing at the correct instruction. "See?"

"Good thing you're smart or I wouldn't have caught that," Shouta smiled as he lowered the oven temperature to the accurate degree, proud that Eri was no longer illiterate.

They drank hot chocolate and watched a movie as they waited for the pie to bake in the oven. Having nice moments like these were a godsend for a pro hero. Shouta mostly had been teaching for the past several years but he still had his hero license and was called in for a tough situation time to time. His busy life paused here and he enjoyed it.

When the timer in the kitchen rang, indicating that the pie was done, Eri forgot about the movie completely as she bounced up and down in excitement as her guardian pulled out the freshly baked pie. She was a little disappointed that they had to wait a while for it to cool down enough for them to eat. Shouta reassured her that it would be worth the wait and they sat down to finish watching the movie.

"Now can we eat it?" Eri jumped up as soon as the credits started rolling.

"Yes, we can," the man nodded and followed her into the kitchen.

The pie was still warm but cool enough for them to eat. Eri loved it and to Shouta's surprise, it was actually good. He was originally going to eat some anyways if it tasted bad to indulge the little girl but he genuinely enjoyed the snack.

"Papa, I love you," Eri yawned as she settled into bed later that night.

"I love you too, Eri," Shouta murmured as he turn off the lights.

...

Shouta would bring Eri to his classes once a week whilst the rest of it was spent in the teacher's lounge until it was time to go home. The teacher picked Fridays to bring her in because if she was there, the lessons had to be more simple and he knew students loved when they were assigned something easy right before the weekend. An assignment was an assignment but the class took it as a blessing since it could be done in under half an hour.

In the teacher's lounge, Eri practiced her reading and writing with the principal. Afterwards, she would fill in a coloring book or she would find someone whose hair she could braid. There was always someone there as the teachers went in and out so Eri was never alone.

She had met more of the teachers and was disappointed when she realized that Cementoss had no hair for her to braid. Eri pouted when she found that she couldn't stick barettes on him either. There was a teacher whose name had the number eight in it but she was too terrified to remember his name. However, she would soon learn to trust him. He was helping her by making sure to keep the bad guys away. The child hardly ever spoke around him but she didn't actively avoid him either.

The teacher's lounge was also where she began to 'make' tea and serve the imaginary beverages. Although it was nothing but warm water, everyone drank it, claiming that it was good and that she should be a chef. Eri took a liking to this idea especially since the time she made an apple pie with Shouta. This led to the small girl and her guardian to start baking a lot more. She had seemed to have forgotten about becoming a pro hero in favor of cooking.

Shouta bought a recipe book with all of the contents being for baking in general. The pages with the sweet pastries were a little more worn out than the others due to Eri flipping through them frequently. On one particular evening, Shouta introduced Eri to apple cider. He heated the beverage and they drank it whilst the cake that they had just put in the oven was baking.

"I never knew that there were so many yummy foods you can make with apples!" Eri exclaimed after the first sip of cider washed over her tongue.

She was especially fond of green apples which again, Shouta suspected it was because of Midoriya. However, as she was introduced to more foods, she also found that she really liked peaches and oranges too. She wasn't a fussy eater so she never complained about what was for dinner. Her guardian was relieved to see this; he had seen children throw tantrums simply because they didn't like what was for dinner.

He never had a reason to yell at the little girl; nobody did. Eri was very well behaved and as curious as she was, she knew when to stop and listen to her authority figure. She wasn't self-entitled either and never demanded gifts even though almost everyone around her spoiled her. Instead, she would ask in an extremely polite manner for something she wanted though that didn't happen very often. Shouta didn't believe in spoiling children but no matter how many toys, clothes and hair accessories she recieved from everyone else, Eri stayed humble.

What she usually asked for were small things like new crayons when the ones that she already had had been reduced to stubs or a new sketchbook if she ran out of paper to draw on. Her most frequent request was to ask if she and Shouta could bake something. The man found that he couldn't refuse her of that and didn't mind at all. He began to teach her the value of money by letting her 'pay' for herself every time they went to the store to pick up ingredients. She caught on quickly and counted aloud every time as she laid out the money on the counter.

One time, they baked apple cinnamon cookies and the girl handed them out to the class of 1-A and to the teachers. She was praised for the delicious treats, which everyone genuinely enjoyed. They all giggled or let out a huge 'aww' when it was found out that Shouta had helped her. The repeated 'awwww's and coos were starting to disrupt his homeroom so the teacher eventually banned them unless Eri was around.

"You're so cool, Eri!" Kirishima grinned, giving the girl a high-five. "And the cookies were so delicious!"

"Yeah!" Midoriya chimed in with another high-five for Eri. "You're really awesome!"

The little girl always blushed at comments like these and she would always give a small shy thanks. She felt the warmth behind these compliments instead of the cold and empty words that she had recieved whilst in captivity. Shouta's 'good night' was much more comforting than Chisashi's.

"We're going to be deciding on hero names," the teacher said one day. "I know we've done this before but quite some time has passed since then. I know some of you were unsure of what to use for hero names. For those who are happy with their current hero names, help your classmates,"

Right on cue, Nemuri entered the classroom and immediately embraced Eri, doting over her. Shouta cleared his throat, reminding his fellow teacher that there was still a class to teach.

"Why are you called 'Eraserhead'?" Eri asked whilst the students worked amongst themselves. "I get the 'eraser' part but the 'head' thing?"

"Uncle Mic just gave that name to me when we were younger," Shouta answered. "I didn't feel like coming up with one so I just used that,"

"I think Midnight is a pretty name but I don't understand what a 'present mic' is,"

"I don't either and I'm not going to pretend that I do. It's probably something to do with his ego and such,"

"What would your hero name be?" Nemuri asked affectionately.

"I don't know..." Eri tried to think of something but she came up empty.

"That's ok, you have plenty of time to think about that,"

When the students were finished, they would show the names they had to Eri who would dutifully write them on the board by herself. Indeed, many of his students were content with their current hero names but to the little girl, it was all new. Asui began by discreetly whispering to the girl what her title was and Eri eagerly wrote out 'Froppy' onto the board. She continued this with Uravity, Deku, Red Riot and those who had already decided their hero names months ago.

Eri moved onto the students who had been struggling to come up with names. She pouted when she heard Iida's uncertain choice; his first name. Instead, of her own volition, she wrote out 'Mister Speedy' and when it came to Todoroki, she also gave a look of dissatisfaction. He was scolded by the little girl; she insisted that he have a proper hero name.

"Like 'Mister Mixed' or 'IcyHot' or 'Half and Half'!" she continued.

Bakugo burst out with laughter at the last suggestion. It was what he called his fellow student and it amused him greatly that the girl had come up with the same thing. He was immediately shushed by Eri and he shut his mouth. Nemuri openly laughed at this whilst Shouta kept his amusement to himself. The little girl simply continued her way around the classroom after sending Todoroki back to his seat.

Shouta later found Iida and Todoroki speaking to one another about what had happened earlier that day. They both seemed to agree that a good hero name was important; a hero's name simply being mentioned was enough to restore morale to ordinary citizens. Though neither of them actually decided on their names, Shouta was proud that they were taking this seriously. He later treated his 'assistant', as the classmates had begun calling her, to some of her favorite snacks.

Eri only seemed extremely uncomfortable when Emi was around. She knew that Shouta didn't have any affections towards her but she was confused as to why the woman was so persistent. Being too young to fully understand the situation, she just kept quiet and close to Shouta when the strange woman was around. Nemuri and Recovery Girl certainly didn't act like this nor did any other woman she knew.

"I heard you started calling him papa!" Emi exclaimed one day. "You can call me mama! We're getting married after all,"

"No thank you," the girl said in a small voice as she hid behind Shouta. "I just want papa,"

"Your lack of humor has started to rub off on her! That's no good!"

"Eri is fine," Shouta snapped at her. "It's just that you make her uncomfortable with all those weird proposals and whatnot,"

For once, the woman was quiet instead of answering him with a goofy reply just as she usually did.

"Fine," she finally said. "I have a class to teach. Both of you have a nice day!"

"Was it something I said?" Eri looked up at Shouta.

"No, you're fine," the man reassured her. "She just needs to knock it down a few pegs,"

Or knock it down completely, Shouta thought to himself but not out loud for the girl to hear. Eri just took Shouta's word; she trusted him more than anyone in the world.

...

Eri was curious as to what ice skating was. She and Shouta had passed by a skating rink that was set up every winter at a park in the nearby area but they didn't stop because it was getting close to her bedtime. Instead, he decided to take her to the rink on the upcoming weekend. He was decent at ice skating and taught Eri the basics. To his pleasure, she picked it up very quickly.

Some of the students had also decided to go ice skating and Shouta sat on the sidelines as Eri was led around the rink. Amongst them was Todoroki; Shouta noticed that the boy had been making more of an effort to socialize with his classmates lately. As expected, he flawlessly glided on the ice, holding onto Eri's hands. He seemed quite taken with her and Shouta wondered if that was due to his own past. The boy seemed to be more receptive and warmer towards her, determined that she wouldn't go through long years of pain like him.

Whenever Eri stumbled, he caught her in his arms every time, helping her upright. Of course, the other classmates joined in and they made some sort of a line, skating after Eri as if she were leading a parade. After a while, she glided towards Shouta with his students still behind her.

"Papa, I'm hungry," she said.

"It's a little past lunch time," Shouta looked at his phone for the time. "We can go get something to eat then you can come back and skate some more. How does that sound?"

"Awesome!" Eri smiled wide as she nodded her head vigorously.

"I'm hungry too!" Kirishima yelled.

"Me too!" Kaminari whined.

His fellow students said the same and Shouta raised an eyebrow.

"It's the weekend so your hunger is not my problem," he said as he helped Eri take off her skates. "Solve it yourselves; my only concern right now is Eri,"

Still, the students followed them into a nearby cafe that served hot apple cider for the winter months. The little girl happily munched on her sandwich as she sipped on her favorite beverage. Shouta ate quietly, watching the teenagers chat happily with Eri. He liked seeing her get along with his students but he would never admit that out loud. In fact, it was on the list of many things that he would never say out loud.

After they were full, Shouta wouldn't allow Eri back on the rink for about half an hour. When asked why, he told her that it was a bad idea to do any physical activity like ice skating so soon after eating since it might upset her stomach. She nodded in understanding and they wandered around the nearby shops to pass the time. The girls were looking at an array of hair accessories to buy for Eri as the child looked upon them, her eyes glittering.

"This is what girls like, right?"

Shouta turned his head to see Todoroki holding out two barettes in the shape of hearts. The teacher nodded and he watched the boy return to the kiosk where he had picked up the accessories and paid for them. He knelt down in front of the girl and when he revealed his gift, Eri's eyes shone. Carefully, he tucked them into her hair, one on each side of her head and then unexpectedly, he hugged her.

His classmates were in hysterics, not expecting Todoroki to do such an affectionate thing. Quickly, Eri found herself in the middle of a large group hug and she laughed with delight. The dual user then took her hand and pointed at the various Christmas trees with blinking lights for her to see. Neon signs blinked back at them and as Eri read them out loud, she was praised for her literacy.

"Can you make snow with your quirk?" Eri asked.

"I can try,"

Todoroki let go of the little girl and raised his hands high above her. Small glittery pieces of ice floated down and the child danced around in it. They weren't sharp pieces so it didn't hurt for her to catch them in her hands though they melted away quickly. Uraraka placed a hand on her classmate's shoulder and a confused Todoroki slowly floated up into the air. He then realized what her plan was and kept producing 'snow' for Eri and his classmates to play around in.

Shouta almost choked as he tried to hide his laughter. He hardly ever saw his students' quirks outside of combat situations and now that he was seeing it for himself, he was quite proud. Since they were not fighting anyone, they were allowed to use their quirks in their playful manners.

When they returned to the rink, Eri laughed as she held Todoroki's hand who led her around, making sure that she didn't fall. She remarked how warm his hand was and immediately, everyone knew that the boy was using his quirk to keep her warm.

It really did amaze Shouta how resilient the little girl was. She had gone through so much but here she was, laughing and enjoying life. There was a smile on Todoroki's face as he saw the girl have fun. He was still smiling when it was time to go home. Eri hugged him the dual user, thanking him for the barettes he had bought for her. After another group hug that lasted for a full ten minutes, Shouta carried a sleepy Eri home, not only proud of her but his students as well.

...

Eri vaguely remembered being told about Santa Claus. She knew he delivered toys every year on Christmas for all the good children in the world. But she debated if she really was a good child. Why else would those bad men hurt her?

"Papa, am I a good girl?" Eri asked.

"Couldn't ask for better one," Shouta replied.

"But wouldn't I be a bad girl because of what happened...?"

This was the first time that she had referred to the incident she had previously been involved with after she had come under Shouta's care. Quickly, he did his best to make the small child feel better.

"They're the ones that are bad," he reassured her. "You're a good girl despite what has happened to you; none of it was your fault,"

"So they won't get presents?"

"Not a chance,"

A small smile of satisfaction formed on the little girl's lips. Bad guys didn't get presents but she would because she was a good girl; Shouta wouldn't lie to her.

Christmas was a bewildering occasion for Eri. Nemuri braided the girl's hair with a red ribbon and bought her a new dress. Hizashi brought over a huge box from Midoriya and Togata, meant for the girl. They would've delivered it themselves but it was highly inappropriate for a student to know where their teachers lived. The adults, with the exception of Yagi due to an invitation to spend the holiday at the Midoriya household, watched the girl open the box.

She struggled a little, the box being bigger than her. Still, she insisted on opening it herself and wouldn't allow the adults to help her. When the wrapping paper, a shimmering purple, was carefully removed so she could save it, she moved onto opening the box itself. Shouta handed her a pair of scissors and supervised the girl as she carefully cut off the tape that was keeping the box closed.

A play kitchen set was revealed and it included kid friendly features of an ordinary kitchen. Everyone helped put it together and moved it to one side of the living room for her to play with. Eri happily hummed to herself as she acquainted herself with her new toy. Nemuri was in the real kitchen, having insisted on cooking a christmas meal for everyone all by herself. Shouta and Hizashi drank some eggnog as they watched Eri and chatted with one another.

The best part for everyone was the next morning. After Eri had finally fallen asleep the night before, the adults slipped multiple presents under the tree. Nemuri slept on the pull out couch with Hizashi passed out on the floor and both were the first ones to witness the joyous moment. Eri had sleepily walked into the living room and screamed when she saw that presents had appeared under the tree. She left the room, returning with a very groggy Shouta.

There were a pile of gifts, all from the U.A. staff and students. Many of the girls had sent more hair accessories whilst the boys sent her scarves and cute sweaters. From Nemuri, Hizashi and Toshinori were a pair of pretty shoes, a doll and art supplies, respectively. Her eyes shone at Shouta's present; a silver necklace with a star dangling from it. She had taken a liking to stars as of late.

"See? You are a good girl," Shouta smiled. "Look at all the presents you've got,"

"Thank you, papa," Eri sniffled as she hugged her guardian tightly.

"Awww!" Hizashi and Nemuri sighed.

Later, after breakfast, Eri set herself on painting with the supplies given to her by Yagi. Hizashi handed a large envelope to his fellow teacher and friend.

"Merry Christmas," he grinned.

"This doesn't have glitter in it, does it?" Shouta glared; it had taken him ages to get the glitter out of his hair the last time.

"Just open it,"

Carefully, he opened the envelope and was relieved at the lack of glitter. He pulled out some papers and upon reading them, his face lit up.

"I was asked to deliver this to you about a week ago," Hizashi looked over at Eri. "Thought it'd be a nice christmas surprise,"

"Idiot, you should have give this to me sooner! And don't go snooping around other people's mail!" Shouta reprimanded the blonde but he couldn't help but smile.

In his hands was an official approvement for the adoption of Eri. The joyful man scooped the child up and swung her around. She squealed in delight at the sudden burst of affection.

"I've adopted you and now I'm officially your papa," he showed her the paper.

The little girl started to sob with joy and Shouta let a few tears of happiness spill onto his cheeks as they embraced.

"You gave him the notice?" Nezumi walked into the living room.

"Yep," Hizashi confirmed.

The two smiled at the display before them and after letting Shouta and Eri enjoy the news together for a few moments, joined in on their celebration.

...

Having officially adopted Eri, Shouta decided that it was time to move so they could have a bigger space. It was in a building across the street that situated their new apartment. There were two separate bedrooms, one for each member of the household.

"Careful with that box!" Shouta reprimanded his friend.

"Ok, ok," Hizashi frowned and then added something under his breath. "Mr. Stick Up Your Ass,"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

When Shouta had told her about moving, Eri was afraid that he was leaving her. He explained to his daughter that they were both moving out together. He reassured the crying girl, promising to never let her go.

"Besides, you're a big girl now! You need your own room that you can put all your toys and stuff in,"

"Thank you papa! I love you so much!" the girl answered happily.

Having a daughter didn't change Shouta's attitude much towards everyone else. He only seemed to soften up when the little girl was around. The man was still legally obliged to watch Eri at all times due to his quirk, cancelling out the unstable power the girl held if things were to go wrong. It was decided that he was the most fitting person to adopt her and the adoption was approved of almost immediately. None of that mattered though; Eri was Shouta's little girl and he was her papa. He adopted her soley because he loved her.

"Papa, you'll take care of me forever, right?"

"I'd do anything to make my daughter happy,"

Shouta held onto Eri's hand as they sat down in their new apartment, taking a rest before unpacking their belongings. Aizawa Shouta was happy and to everyone's delight, Aizawa Eri was happy too.