Chapter 18: Help and Healing
Wanted to try a little different formatting, author notes at the end!
Izuku waited on his bed for Momo to come out of his bathroom, it was actually the first time someone had been in his room for a while, at least that he knew of, and he'd thought he'd be more embarrassed of someone seeing all of his hero merch, considering he was a massive hero otaku, but he honestly didn't seem to care at all which was really surprising to him.
The sound of feet pattering told Izuku they were done and the done soon opened, a smiling Momo holding a clean Eri, though the girl still wasn't smiling.
Izuku stood, making his way over to the two, "Hey Eri-chan, do you feel better?" The girl nodded before looking at Momo then back to Izuku, holding her arms out. The elemental chuckled before taking Eri into his arms, "Thanks Momo, for helping, it means a lot." He said.
Momo nodded with a smile before it fell slightly, "...I'd do anything you need, I'll help whenever you need, ok..?" She asked in a quiet voice with a blush that matched her hero costume.
Izuku nodded, "I know.. but I don't want to take advantage of your kindness, you've already done so much for me by just being there for me, it'd be selfish of me to ask for any mor-" Izuku stopped speaking when he was pulled into a hug. Momo tried to be mindful of Eri and not squish her between the two of them.
Momo sighed into Izuku's ear due to the closeness and then giggled, "I don't think there's even a way for you to be selfish Izuku." He couldn't see her face, but he could just imagine her smiling, a beautiful tapestry with her face at the center. He felt heat spread throughout his body, making him nervous. "So I'll say it again, I'd do anything you need, alright I-zu-ku~" She sang his name and separated, allowing Izuku to see her billion dollar smile.
He couldn't tell if he was blushing, he probably was, but he nodded and smiled nonetheless, "O-Ok Momo, t-thank you for everything, it means a lot." His smile widened just a bit.
A light tap on his face reminded him he was still holding Eri. "Ah Eri-chan! I'm sorry, what's wrong?"
The girl looked down and messed with her fingers, hiding her arms in the long sleeve shirt that Momo had made for her. "...I-I um, I was um…" The girl muttered off.
Izuku felt his chest tighten up, the girl was so nervous about even talking about what she wanted. He moved to his bed and sat down, setting Eri down right beside him.
The girl instantly felt lighter, the bed was super soft, and really comfy. Better than her room before..
She felt like she could spend hours in this bed, snoozing and sleeping, it would be the best thing ever! She heard giggling and turned to Izuku, "You like it?" He asked and she quickly nodded, her hair becoming a mess.
"Well guess what?" Izuku asked and Eri tilted her head. Momo herself was having to squint, the scene was too bright.
"..w-what…?" They both heard Eri whisper
Izuku smiled and leaned into Eri to whisper into her ear, "Momo's bed is wayyy softer. It's like a cloud!" He pulled back and saw that Eri's eyes had been filled with wonder and excitement, she wasn't smiling but that was alright for now, they could build up to that.
"..r-really!"
Izuku nodded, "Yup!"
Eri's full attention switched from Izuku to Momo as she hopped off the bed and walked up to the ravenette. "..um Ya-Yao-Yao-"
"Eri-chan, please you can call me Momo." The Yaoyorozu heir interrupted.
The little girl nodded, not meeting eye contact and staring at the ground, she was nervous, it was clear. "... um M-Momo.. c-can I um…" The girl gulped, speaking was hard, she always got cut off or hurt when she spoke, she wasn't allowed to. But it was different here, they wanted to know what she wanted to say, but it was so different! It was so strange. "..i-is your b-bed soft?"
Momo giggled at the innocent question before kneeling down, "I'd say so, would you like to try it later?" She smiled at Eri nodding vigorously, the light of wonder still in her beautiful ruby eyes.
Izuku squatted next to Eri, ruffling his hand through her hair, "So Eri-chan, what did you want to ask earlier?" He smiled as the girl began messing with her own hair as well, trying to come up with the words to say.
"..um, I-I'm.. h-hungry…" She got out.
Izuku smiled and picked her up, "Well, let's go eat, I'm sure the class has already made some food for dinner."
The trio of Izuku, Momo, and Eri made their way down to the commons. Many were still down there. Some missing were Bakugo and Eiko, the redhead had taken to the blonde's routine of sleeping early as they hung out more. Koda and Shoji were nowhere to be seen, along with Tokoyami. The majority of the girl's were down, even Shoko, which was surprising.
"I'm going to feed Eri, I'll see you." Izuku said with a smile and Momo nodded.
"Alright, if you need help-"
"-To ask you, I will and thanks again Momo." Izuku's smile widened as he and Eri went to the kitchen. Momo herself went to the commons to enjoy some time with her friends.
She plopped down on one of the couches and let out a sigh, sinking into the cushions. It had been a long day, worrying about Izuku as he had been out a lot later than most of the class thought he was going to be and then he came back with a child wrapped in bandages wearing a rag.
Though she had to admit, Eri was very precious. But she was saddened by the fact that the girl seemed nervous around her, and didn't smile. Her eyes did feel with wonder when bathing and when feeling the comfort of Izuku's bed, so that was something.
She had many questions, but Izuku's priority right now was feeding Izuku, she could ask later.
Even then, would she like the answers she got? When she removed the bandages the girl was covered in cuts, all looking old and healed over. They were old, and that made her question even more, how did little Eri get those cuts, was she abused, were Izuku and her related, if so was it his mother, why did the girl look so starved, why was she so quiet? There were so many questions and she was afraid of the answers.
"Yaomomo!" A sudden squeal made the ravenette sigh.
"What is it Ashido-san?" She asked the pinkette.
The girl pouted, "First off, call me Mina-chan, it's wayyy cuter, second who was that little cutie that was with Midori! I need answers!" She semi-slammed her hands on the table in the middle of the couches, being dramatic as always.
Momo heard Toru giggle at Mina's side, and Tsu let out a sigh next to Ochako. Shoko, who was sitting next to her, remained impassive, reading a book that she had with her.
The ravenette decided to entertain her less mature friend, "Well I don't know much, but her name is Eri, Izuku has taken to calling her Eri-chan and-"
Another squeal from both Toru and Mina made her ears ring.
"Eri-chan!"
"That's so cute!"
"I want to hug her!"
Momo cleared her throat and the two stopped, but were still smiling and very giddy. "Sadly, that's all I know, I'll ask Izuku more about her later if you two want." Mina rapidly nodded, almost like a blur, and Momo imagined that Toru was doing the same.
"Alright."
"Thanks Yaomomo!" They said in unison.
Izuku heard the thanks and wondered what it was about as he gave Eri a plate of curry. It was all the students had made apparently. He didn't give her too much, because if she ate it all there was a high chance that she would throw up, so he kept the portion low but not enough to where she wouldn't feel full. Just a good amount for her growing body.
"Here you go Eri-chan!" He smiled as the girl dug in, giving her a cup of water so she wouldn't choke on anything. Patting her back when something got stuck in her throat and handing her the cup happened more than a few times.
"Is it good?" Izuku asked and she nodded, food still in her mouth. "Alright!"
The sound of footsteps and then, "Hey Midoriya-kun!" Izuku turned and saw Kaminari with Sero and Sato with him. "What's up maannn… is that a kid?" He pointed a finger at Eri.
Izuku rubbed his neck, "Uh yeah."
"Cool." He said and plopped down in a seat in front of the two, Sero and Sato moving to have their own conversation. "So what's your name?" He asked.
Eri flinched and looked up from her food to see Kaminari smiling. Izuku's hand landed on her shoulder and she turned him, then her face got smothered with a napkin.
"Sorry Eri-chan, you had a bunch of food all over." Izuku said when he was done. "Anyways, Kaminari-kun this is Eri-chan, Eri-chan this is my friend Kaminari."
Eri looked at the blonde with eyes full of wonder, he had a smile not as wide as Izuku's but his hair looked really funny. It was bright yellow! She'd never seen anyone with hair so bright before, and there was a black line going right through it. It took her awhile to realize that the boy in front of her was talking to Izuku.
"-it really helped, I need to work on how to fight with how fast I am, but Ojiro's been helping me out with that." Kaminari said cheerfully.
"That's good, I know you'll do great during the Sports Festival!"
"Thanks-"
BAAA
Both of the boy's looked at Eri who was covering her mouth, Izuku laughed, "Did you burp Eri-chan?"
The girl nodded.
"Well I'm glad you liked the food." Kaminari looked on as Izuku ruffled her hair slightly, "Are you ready for bed? Or did you want to go look at Momo-chan's bed and see how soft it was?"
The wonder returned to the girl's eyes as she nodded, "Alright, alright, let's go."
The rest of the night went by quickly, Eri enjoying the softness of the ravenette's bed, twisting and turning in the big sheets, the soft mattress allowing her to sink in comfort. Holding the giant pillows like a teddy bear and then squeezing the stuffing out of an actual teddy bear that Momo made for her.
Mina and Toru were outside the room, begging to be let in and to be able to see the little munchkin. But Izuku and Momo both knew that that would most likely overwhelm Eri right now, so they didn't let the duo in.
When the girl fell asleep on the bed both of the teens agreed to let her stay there and let her enjoy some rest. There was enough space for Eri to stay there and for Momo to sleep as well. So with that Izuku bid his deputy class rep a goodnight as he went back to his room.
Toru and Mina lurked outside the girl's room, begging Izuku to let them see Eri.
"No, I know how excited you can get Ashido-chan, you'll scare the life out of her and I won't let you do that." Was his response, "Hagakure-chan, I know you can control yourself a little better compared to Ashido but I want Eri-chan to be a bit better before more social butterflies like you two have a one on one with her, maybe in a group but not right now. She's asleep anyways, and it's getting late, goodnight to you both." Izuku left soon after and the girls skulked back to their own rooms.
Izuku opened up his door, and moved to his bed, falling onto it and enjoying its warmth.
Today had been a long day, so he was tired, and now he got to sleep.
"Hey kid." Izuku opened his eyes and to his surprise he didn't wake up in the void.
No this place was different, it was like an oasis, a pond in the center with a tree and beyond it was nothing…
Nothing at all…
All that existed was this pond and tree, rocks littered around with grass as well.
Sitting on one of the rocks was Kokoro, her face smiling. "Took you long enough, so how's training going?"
Izuku approached, sitting on a rock next to her, "The training? It's going well I think, I'm focusing on light right now so I haven't started anything to do with darkness, sorry."
She waved a hand, "Don't worry about it kid, but want me to give you a tip about it?" She asked with a smirk.
Izuku nodded, "Sure, that would help a lot when I start learning."
Kokoro smiled and crossed her arms, straightening her back and nodding. "You see kid, the darkness element is a LOT like fire, it's connected to emotion. So it's essentially the opposite of light, instead of being overly calm and erasing all emotion you must let all of your emotions run with restraint, got it?"
Izuku nodded, it made sense. Zandaka had told him to let go when he was fighting Nomu, and just get angry and think about his loved ones which fueled his emotions even more because they were in a life or death scenario.
And that's what he did, he let himself vent in his mind and he felt himself get stronger, maybe he had used darkness then? He didn't know but it was a possibility. "Yes ma'am."
"Ma'am! ALRIGHT LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SH-SQUIRT, I AM A MISS, GOT THAT, GOT THAT!" She stood over Izuku, a ball of fire in her hand while another was pointing at his eyes, sparks dancing across her fingers.
"YES MA- I MEAN MISS!"
"Good!" She sat down again and assumed her teacher pose again. "So here's what you got to do, you have to scream about the strongest emotion you feel!"
"S-Scream?"
Kokoro nodded, "Yeah! Screaming is the best, it lets you vent, why do you think that stupid blonde friend of yours screams all the time, especial now that he's friend with the little red head?"
"-because…?" Izuku didn't entirely know.
Kokoro sighed and dragged a hand across her face, "Because she makes him feel certain emotions, kid, the strongest emotion! Besides like rage, but yeah!"
"And what's that?" Izuku asked with a tilted head.
Kokoro giggled and wrapped an arm around him, "It's love kid!"
Izuku tried to back out, his face now red, "L-L-LOVE!"
"Yup! All you gotta do is scream your love and boom darkness comes out just like that!" She cheered as Izuku's face got brighter.
"I-I can't do that!" He said, trying to get out of the side hug but failing.
Kokoro pulled him closer with a frown on her face, "Eh? And why not?" She asked.
Izuku felt the air leave his lungs and stared at her blankly, "I-I" He couldn't get any words out and just stared at his friend's frowning face. She sighed and let him go, "Eh?"
"Kid, the longer you wait the more stress you'll get about it." She said, her smile gone and her frown ever growing. "Do you want that?"
Izuku shook his head, a frown on his own face now. "No…"
"Then when are you going to tell them?"
"After the Sports Festival." He responded quickly, too quickly. But that's what he had already decided. He would stall out as long as he could, no matter what.
"Why wait that long?" Kokoro asked.
Izuku didn't respond, instead just looking at the calming and still water of the pond in front of them. He didn't know how to respond, he didn't have an answer. He just didn't want to tell them and would stall for as long as he could. That was it really, maybe he was afraid. That was probably it.
He was scared, he'd never loved before, he'd never really been acknowledged by anyone. He always got comments about how plain-looking he was and how he was weak. That was what he was used to, every girl would always gun for Bakugo because of his reputation and quirk.
He was never like Bakugo, he didn't have the confidence the boy did, and he never had the battle prowess and strength either, now maybe he did, but he still lacked confidence.
"I don't know…" Izuku responded instead.
"Kid listen-"
AHHHH
A yell brought Izuku out of his slumber, sweat running down his body as he quickly checked his clock, '2:47!' Either someone broke into the dorms or one of his classmates was having a nightmare about the USJ, the latter was more likely and he bounded out of bed, throwing the door open and running up the staircase, it was faster than the elevator.
Going up to the top floor he saw Shoko and Asui standing outside Momo's room, both looking nervous.
"What's going on?" Izuku asked, slightly groggy as he had just woken up.
"We don't know kero, we just woke up to the sound of yelling." Asui said and Izuku nodded, approaching the door.
He set his hand on the handle, "Shoko if it's a person I want you to be ready to freeze them in place, but don't do it unless I say so, ok?"
"Y-Yeah…" He heard quietly and readied himself.
"One For All: Full Cowling 8%" His body glowed as he thrusted the door open, "What's going on?!" And he was scared.
Eri was crying and glowing, her horn releasing a yellow energy, the bed around her evaporating into thin air until it was gone.
Momo was in the corner, thankfully nothing seemed to be happening to her, she tried to approach Eri only for the little girl to scream, "DON'T TOUCH ME! I'M A CURSE!" It was sad that that was the most emotion Izuku had heard the girl put into her voice.
Izuku entered, taking small and cautious steps towards Eri, the girl not noticing, instead folding in on herself while crying. "Momo, what happened?"
The ravenette turned, her hair was down and some stuck to her tear filled face, "I-I don't know, Eri-chan woke up with a scream and then the glow happened and the bed disappeared. I think in the reverse order that I made it with my quirk, I don't know if that's useful or n-not.." She got quieter as the area around her began essentially erasing.
Carpet giving way to wood and the wood becoming bark…
Izuku felt a click, the bed disappeared in the reverse way that Momo had created it and the wood of the flooring had become bark, Eri's quirk didn't erase things, no they made them turn back. The ability to reverse, rewind something. To be able to turn back the hands of time on an object, and judging by Eri's reaction to Momo approaching, person as well.
'But we can't just let her stay here then more damage will happen, Aizawa-sensei! But he's probably asleep right now at the teacher's dorms. I need to get Eri over there! But how?' He cursed himself right now as he couldn't do anything.
The ability to rewind anything..
Surely he could think of a plan, right?
Plans were one of his whole things. 'If I touch her I'll be wound back, no matter what happens if she touches me I'm gone, unless there's a way to be immune to it? Like having major changes happen to my body at the same rate she rewinds? But the only thing I can think of if constantly covering my body in earth while holding her, but I have no idea how fast I would need to match her quirk's speed, and I'm not at my top right now, what about-'
Do you not have a power that's too great for you to handle?
Zandaka spoke and everything around him seemed to freeze, his mind instantly thinking about her words, what did she mean-
"One For All." Izuku whispered so quietly that only Momo, who was right next to him, heard. "Momo, get out of here, move down to the lower floors, get everyone off this floor and I'm sorry about your room in advance!" Izuku said quickly but the girl seemed to hesitate, "I'm sorry but there's no time!" He turned and squeezed her shoulder, his face impassive but serious. "Please, trust me.."
Her look turned from hesitant to serious as she nodded, "Good luck." She spoke, leaving the room and taking Shoko and Asui with her.
Izuku turned towards Eri, approaching and kneeling beside her, "Hey Eri-cha-"
"p-please go away! I-I d-don't want to hurt anyone…" Her voice, she sounded so broken, so desperate. "I don't want to be a c-curse…"
Izuku tensed and settled himself as he picked the girl up, she instantly tensed and tried to get away, but Izuku just hugged her tighter and closer, "You are NOT a curse, Eri-chan, I'm sure many people would think your quirk as a blessing." He spoke.
So many doctors or people that had lost body parts, heck even All Might and Ectoplasm would beg for Eri to use her quirk on them.
The girl began crying more, leaning into his shoulder and that's when Izuku decided to test his luck.
He closed his eyes and focused on the wellspring of power within him, One For All. He felt the warmth course through his veins, he felt infinite strength course through him. He felt strangely light and when he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by an aura of energy.
'This is the peak, this is 100%.' He thought. "Hey Eri-chan?" He spoke softly and quietly as he took steps towards the balcony that everyone's dorm room had.
"..y-yes?" He heard her croak.
Now even without his wind powers, Izuku believed he had more than enough power right now to do something he always wanted to do ever since he learned of his quirk. He smiled and whispered, "Do you want to fly?"
Eri untucked from his shoulder and looked at him with questioned teary eyes before seeing his smile. It held warmth and love and then she found herself nodding at the question. "Hold on tight." He said and squatted.
And then he soared, most likely breaking some of the dorm building. He didn't even put that much pressure or energy into his jump but he found himself soaring through the sky. It wasn't really flying just jumping with style and soon enough Izuku found himself near the teacher's dorms.
Outside, the person who he needed. The fact that he was ready left Izuku relieved and scared as shit. He landed, creating a miniature crater but he continued on, seeing Aizawa-sensei tired as ever but now in pink cat pajama pants with his hair in a bun.
"Aizawa-sensei please use your quirk!" Izuku yelled as he approached. The man questioned why but did so. Both Eri's rewind and One For All cease working. "Oh thank god, thank you Aizawa-sensei-"
He stopped as he felt killing waves radiate off of the man, his tired eyes giving off a red glow without him using his quirk anymore. "Problem child it is three in the morning, why did an alarm go off notifying me of damage at the dorm building?" He asked, struggling to keep his annoyance out of his voice.
Eri tucked herself into Izuku's shoulder again, the man's tone sounded too similar to the bad man for her liking. Izuku caressed her hair and hugged her tighter before speaking.
"Sensei, it was her quirk, I heard a scream and found her quirk going haywire, I'm assuming she can't control it, it seems to rewind whatever it touches, that's why I used the energy of my quirk to its fullest, since I can't control it and how it becomes to much, the pain I received was counteracted by her quirk, allowing me to bring her here so you could use your quirk." Izuku said quickly, trying not to enter a muttering spree.
Aizawa nodded and yawned, "Right, I keep on forgetting that your quirk relies on energy within you, not many element type quirks do that, Todoroki can just summon ice and presumably fire, but yours is so different, so illogical.." He whispered the last part just loud enough for Izuku to hear.
"I-I'm sorry sensei!"
"Don't apologize Midoriya, just get back to bed." He sighed. "Would you want me to look after Eri? I'll bring her to class tomorrow so you can see her."
Izuku glanced at Eri who was still awake in his chest. "Eri-chan, do you want to stay with Aizawa-sensei? He can erase your quirk if it acts up again."
The girl perked up at the last part, staring at Izuku with wide eyes, "...h-he can erase my c-curse?"
Izuku felt himself grimace, he didn't know the man's name but he cursed the bastard that had done this to Eri. "Well his quirk allows him to stop quirks in his line of vision, he can stop yours if it starts back up, he can't erase it but he can stop it, do you understand?" He knew it was a little much for someone of Eri's age but the girl nodded, albeit slowly.
"Alright, and let me tell you a secret Eri-chan."
"a secret?" She tilted her head and Izuku nodded.
"Aizawa-sensei might look really mean but he's really nice when you get to know him, I promise." He spoke with certainty and a smile.
The girl took in the information and nodded.
And then Izuku left, his teacher and Eri going into the teacher's dorms as he made his way back to his.
There was so much to think about and so much to do, tomorrow he'd have sparring with some of class B and he also had to take care of Eri too. He hoped he'd be able to manage it all, but he honestly didn't know.
The future is a mystery after all, my champion
And he still needed answers about this crazy bi-
END
OKAY! THAT'S IT, chapter done boom.
Uh I speedran this in one night so yeah…
Anyways, I hope it's not too short, if it is I'm sorry but I knew that if I put this off it wouldn't be put up for another day or two, and so yeah next chapter will get back to the original with a spar against 1-B but there will be more participants.
Anyways, other fics are coming up real slow since I had an idea for ANOTHER one and started writing that. But yeah, how are you all doing?
I get Monday off from school so I'm feeling pretty hype right now.
Anyways, Reviews now!
Kirisuma: I give more Eri content because I love her, best regards to you as well!
Guest: I will ease in to that role, not yet but later down the line Eri will start to see Eri as a father like figure since I plan on him being more connected to her since Mirio didn't have anything to do with her rescue.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you!
WellLifeJustAintFair: I'll be sure to include a line about it down the line, I think I could've done it in this chapter but didn't read the review until after I finished everything and at that point we were past the point of no return.
dovah117: Eri is precious! And yes he will.
Undernet-broker: Correct, can never go wrong with early Eri.
acostaperezjoseramiro: I will do my best and yes, I'd say in this story Izuku is even more of a problem child then in canon but that is debatable.
Anyways! I thank you all for reading and if you liked it, thanks! That's all, that's it- oh shit FAVORITE AND FOLLOW. knew i was forgetting something and-
Jay out!
