Ignited Spark

by 3PeopleInACoat

When Midoriya Izuku was four years old, his quirk finally manifested - not a combination of his parents' quirks, but an entirely different mutation of its own. With the ability to blast lightning out of his body, a horrible accident convinces Izuku to give up his dreams of becoming a hero. But with the help of two girls, Izuku finds the inspiration to fight and become a true hero!

23. Eri

"I … might have … looked at your butt a - a little bit. I'm sorry."

"Okay ... that's good, Midoriya. That's really good! Thank you for letting me know!"

… what does that mean.

What does that mean, what does that mean, what does that mean, what does that mean, what does that mean, what does that mean, what does that mean, what does that mean, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!

Izuku felt his eyes begin to ache from how hard he was staring down at the hardwood table, feeling his arms tense slightly at his sides. He had been fortunate that Nejire had been taking up a lot of his attention in the last hour or so, sitting together on opposite sides of the table they were having their dinner on and chatting aimlessly with him. Nejire forcing him to concentrate on talking to her had thankfully made him take his mind off of what it had been desperately pleading with him to think about - but now that she was away from the table, leaving him alone, what she had said before they had parted into their separate changing rooms was all he could think about, and he felt like he was about to combust.

As she had promised, Nejire had been more than happy with taking over preparing their dinner at the monja restaurant she had ended up taking him to, Izuku watching as she had happily prepared their food on the small oven top beneath their table as she happily told him about the various adventures she had as a kid (which had been surprisingly varied - apparently Nejire lived quite the adventurous childhood). He found himself having a good time when she took his mind off of what she had said, laughing with her and talking to her about what he and Ochako got up to over the years as well, but … well, whenever they lapsed into silence, either waiting for a waiter to come over with drinks or eating their admittedly delicious food, Izuku's mind kept going back to what she had said on the beach and making his heart begin hammering in his chest.

And now, since Nejire had excused herself to head to the bathroom very quickly, he was currently busy having a nervous breakdown while waiting for her to get back.

It was … apparently a good thing that he checked her out. She flat out asked him if he looked at her butt, looked him in the eye when he told her that he did, and she made it clear that she was … happy about it.

She was happy that he checked her out.

This, of course, was making Izuku's brain pretty much completely crash, like a car that had sped head first into a brick wall and making him feel like he just smashed straight out of the windshield. He continued to stare down at the table with widened eyes and a slightly dropped jaw, unaware of the couple at the table beside him giving him a concerned look and glancing at each other as he had his breakdown over the fact that a girl found out he perved on her and was … very much okay with it.

Now, Izuku would be the first to admit that he had … very little experience when it came to the mere concept of girls. Hell, he had to work himself out of several panic attacks this very morning just thinking of Nejire. And sure, he might have 'experience' with girls - he spent most of his life hanging out with Ochako every day, and spent every day last year hanging out with both her and Itsuka - but it wasn't like just hanging out with his friends gave him any insights into romantic gestures. Seeing as neither Ochako or Itsuka were interested in him in that way, he had about the same level of knowledge about girls as he did back when he was a four year old.

So … yeah. He was pretty dense when it came to the opposite sex.

But … but even he had limits to how dense he could be. He knew when there was something obviously poking him in the face, and what was poking him in the face right now was making his heart feel like it was about to explode out of his chest, his hands shaking and feeling his leg muscles tense.

It was good that he checked her out.

He … he had a feeling he knew what that meant, but …

… but there was no way. There was no freaking way.

"I'm baaaaaaaack!"

Izuku jumped slightly at the sudden sing-songy voice above him, quickly looking around his shoulder with his face turning red once again. Nejire had just skipped back to the table, giggling a bit as she reached over for her blazer, which she had taken off and hung around her chair so she didn't get it dirty while eating, and let out a small sigh as she tied it around her waist, her bag still strapped over her shoulder (which Izuku had found a bit weird that she brought her bag to the bathroom).

"So! Sorry about taking so long!" She quickly gave him a salute, giggling a bit as Izuku continued to stare nervously up at her, "Yuuyu actually texted me while I was in the bathroom asking where I was, so I had to take a little bit to respond! She was kinda jealous that you and me went to get monjayaki, so I was assuring her that her and me would go another time! Mmmmmm, it was so good, wasn't it, Midoriya? Dinner, I mean. Not the bathroom. The bathroom wasn't good. That would be … a really weird thing to think about a restroom. Wait, what was I talking about?"

"Uh … you were … back from the bathroom?"

"I was … oh, right! Well, we're good to go now," She confirmed, smiling down at him, "I brought my purse to the bathroom with me so that when I passed by the front, I could pay! So we can leave now."

"I - huh?" Izuku blinked, straightening up in his seat in surprise. "Wait, what? Y-you paid already?"

"Yep! I paid, so we can go! So - time for the big question! Where should we go next? I gotta get home in like - two hours, but we've got time to visit a bookstore, maybe? Or an arcade! Or - oooh," She suddenly gasped, eyes widening in delight, "or we can go take a walk in a park! That'd be pretty cool, right?"

"I … I guess so," Izuku slowly nodded, letting out a small sigh as he stood up, and grabbed his backpack from beside his feet, "I mean, if your curfew is -"

Wait.

Izuku felt himself stop suddenly, feeling his brow scrunch as something flickered in his brain - and then a memory from this morning came back to him, something that his father had been sure to emphasize as his eyes widened.

"So just be yourself, pay attention to her, make sure that she's having a fun time, and Izuku, for the love of god, if you go out for something to eat, do not let her handle the bill by herself."

Uh oh.

That's a … that's a very big uh oh.

"O-oh, I'm - I'm so sorry, Hadou!" Izuku quickly whipped his gaze back up to Nejire in his panic, the blue-haired girl blinking in surprise at the sudden look of terror on his face, "I - I should've - I should've helped you pay for our dinner! P-please, let me - I can pay you back for what I ate, do - do you have a receipt that I can -"

"Hey, whoa, whoa!" Nejire let out another giggle, reaching out and patting his shoulders with both her hands, which managed to successfully stop his flailing, "Don't you remember what I said back on Tuesday? I said that I'd cover dinner! And I kept my promise, so it's all good!"

"I - but -"

"So c'mon!" She suddenly reached down to grab his hand again - she'd done it so many times that day he should've been expecting it, but it still made him freeze up with his face turning hot. "We've still got two hours to hang out together! We've got places to go and things to talk about!"

With that, she pulled him along away from their table, Izuku scrambling to make sure he didn't trip over himself as she moved out of the restaurant, moving carefully around the other tables and waving to one of the waitresses. Izuku, for his part, was still unsure if Nejire was really cool with paying for both of them, or was waiting for privacy so she could …

… he didn't know, what do girls do to make the guy pay them back? Punch them? Mug them?

"I'm - I really am sorry, though, Hadou, I - I should've helped you pay."

Nejire, for her part, only giggled as she finally led them both back onto the street, looking up at the sky. By now, it was completely dark out, the city's lights illuminating them as they began walking together down the street, Nejire finally letting go of his hand so that she could adjust her bag on her shoulder.

"It's all good, Midoriya!" She assured him, smiling up at him as he walked beside her, "I saved up on all of my allowance, you know, so I had more than enough money to pay for us! Plus, my mom and dad heard that I was taking someone out to eat, and they were like, 'oh, no, Nejire's gonna make him pay!'" She imitated an older, gruffer man, "'We can't allow that!' So they gave me a little extra money too, just to be safe!"

"I - uh -"

"Midoriya," She smiled sweetly, "seriously, it's all good! I wanted to pay for you."

Izuku wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to respond to that, merely pouting a bit as he adjusted his backpack on his shoulders. For a few seconds they walked down the street in silence, Nejire suddenly turning away to play with a bit of her hair, and Izuku staring glumly down at his feet for his failure - and then she subtly cleared her throat, getting his attention again.

"I mean …" She said, her voice sounding a bit quiet suddenly, "… if you're really sad about it, Midoriya … you could always cover us … if we do this again."

At that quiet … invitation, Izuku slowly realized, he found himself pausing in his step, staring blankly ahead while Nejire also took a moment to slow her step, as though waiting for a response to that offer as she slowly walked ahead of him. Slowly, Izuku felt his face turn red for the umpteenth time that day as his mouth, which had been hanging open slightly, slowly closed, and he suddenly found his hands beginning to shake.

Should … should I ask her if …

NO! Another part of his mind screamed. BAD IDEA! NO, NO, NO! DON'T BRING IT UP!

Why not, though?

YOU'RE JUST GONNA ASK HER IF SHE LIKES YOU?! ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!

But - but she literally said that it was good that I checked her out!

YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY MISSING SOMETHING HERE! THERE'S NO WAY! NO FREAKING WAY!

But - but what if I'm not missing something here?

YOU ARE! YOU'RE OVERTHINKING THIS! WE MUST'VE INTERPRETED WHAT SHE SAID WRONG! THERE'S NO WAY THAT SHE -

"H-hey, Hadou?"

The two voices loudly arguing in Izuku's head suddenly went silent as he said her name in that same shaking voice. Nejire herself paused as she had turned around ahead of him, blinking and looking around at him. Izuku felt his heart continue to hammer faster and faster by the second, putting his hands in his pockets to prevent her from seeing how much they were now shaking, one hand wrapping around his phone.

For a moment, Nejire kept quiet as she tilted her head curiously, and Izuku stared blankly ahead - and then he let out a small sigh.

"Can … can I … can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" Nejire poked her cheek. "Er - yeah, sure, Midoriya! I always ask you questions, don't I? So it's only fair if you wanna ask me something."

"Uh … right," He slowly nodded, feeling his face burn hotter and hotter and his breath leave in shakes, and, in a small voice, said, "I was just … back at the - the b-beach."

"Mm-hm?"

"What … what did you mean w-when you said -"

VRRMM VRRMM

The question on Izuku's lips, however, was interrupted by the feeling of his phone suddenly vibrating in his hand. Feeling himself falter slightly at the interruption, he shook his head and tried to ignore it for now - it was probably one of their group chats sending something, he knew Melissa liked to send some of her sketches for Momo to look at - and tried to continue with his question -

VRRMM VRRMM

VRRMM VRRMM

Now Izuku felt like his head was about to explode, his eye twitching slightly. Unfortunately for him, Nejire also blinked as she looked down at her pocket, and reached in to pull out her own phone.

"Hm? Wonder what's …?" She started to ask out loud, and then found herself fading into silence, blinking in surprise. Letting out a small, disappointed sigh (and just when he had summoned the courage to ask!), Izuku put a brief pause on his question, reaching into his own pocket for his phone and pulled it out.

Putting in his password, Izuku tapped on the messages app and clicked on the latest message from the group chat that the Kendousquad (as Setsuna had dubbed their group) shared, expecting Melissa to be texting them a picture or Tenya reminding them of homework -

- but then he felt his eyes widen slightly as he read the message.

ITSUKA

GUYS I NEED HELP

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND

THIS IS SERIOUS

GUYS?

Feeling his eyebrows raise slightly, Izuku forgot about his disappointment and quickly began typing out a message while Nejire hummed in curiosity.

YOU

er

kendou?

are you okay?

ITSUKA

OH THANK GOD

okay, yeah, i'm okay, just

things are

i kinda need help

OCHAKO

huh?

is everything okay?

are you okay?!

ITSUKA

i mean

yes, i'm fine

it's

i mean, not really? kinda?

okay, starting over

so i may have

kidnapped a child?

For a moment, Izuku stared blankly down at the message Itsuka had just sent, feeling his mind slow to a stop as he stared incomprehensively at the last three words she had sent. Slowly blinking, he glanced back up at Nejire, who was likewise looking at her phone in surprise as she apparently read the message that was just sent, and glanced up to give him a confused look.

"Uh …" Izuku paused, and then weakly pointed behind his shoulder with a small, shaky smile, "… please excuse me for a second. I - I have to give Kendou a quick call."

Turning right on his heel, Izuku quickly jogged down the street a little distance away, aware of Nejire looking between him and the message in the chat again while he felt himself go a bit red. Still though, he was quick to dial Itsuka's number, pressing the green button and raising it to his ear.

Luckily for him, it only rang once before Itsuka picked up.

"Izuku! Oh, thank god."

"K-Kendou," Izuku quickly nodded as well, still feeling a bit nervous for some reason as he straightened up. "Hey. Uh - so - w-what's this about you … uh … kidnapping a kid?"

"I - okay, I didn't kidnap her, but -" She suddenly stopped talking, letting out a sigh, and then muttered, "- just hold on for one sec, okay?"

"I - sure."

He heard her make a noise of gratitude, and he heard her move the phone away from her ear. He waited for a moment, hearing the sound of shuffling on the other end, and then he heard her say, in a suddenly soft voice that was hard to pick up since she moved the phone away from her mouth, "Hey, sweetie - I'm just gonna go over here for a second, okay? I'll be right where you can see me."

After another few moments of silence, Itsuka's voice filled his ear again.

"Okay. Sorry about that, she's - she's really nervous."

"I - it's okay, just - what - what exactly happened? Or - or what's going on?"

"I don't - honestly, I don't really know. One second I'm walking down the street, and the next, she's bumping into me out of nowhere! I - I thought something bad was gonna happen, so I just - picked her up and ran away."

"H-huh …"

"She's - she's really scared, Izuku," She muttered, and Izuku felt his eyes widen slightly in worry, "I talked to her about going to the police station, or the hospital, and - and she looked like she was about to freaking bolt. I - I don't know what to do now, I've been panic texting All Might and Midnight-sensei but - but neither of them are picking up right now. And - and I know I said I was fine, but I'm really freaking sore right now, so - so shit, I've got no idea where to go."

"I …" Izuku trailed off, not entirely sure how to respond to that, and understanding Itsuka's dilemma at once.

Very quickly, he went over what Itsuka had told him. There was a kid, who was clearly frightened, but who didn't want to go to the hospital or the police, and Itsuka was currently tired and had no idea where to take her. Her options were … certainly limited at the moment. Izuku briefly thought about UA, but then felt himself shake his head - even if someone was there this late, what could they do? They'd probably do the same thing Itsuka wanted and take the little girl to the police, but … but wouldn't that just be Itsuka hoisting this scared little girl off on them?

There was … certainly not a lot they could do. But … well, maybe Itsuka didn't have to face this sudden dilemma alone. No, she definitely didn't have to do this alone.

"… okay. W-where are you right now, Kendou? I'm - I'm gonna come by."

"Okay. I … okay. We're at … hold on, let me find a sign … okay. We're at Ochitsuite Park. And, uh … listen," She continued to speak in a quiet, embarrassed voice, "if … if it's not any trouble, can you stop by some fast food place for takeout?"

"I - huh?"

"It's for her," She clarified, "she's so thin, and … and honestly, I'm getting some pretty bad vibes right now. I swear, I'll pay you back."

"Bad vibes?"

"Not from her, but … but this whole thing. Something's going on, and it's got me … you know."

"I … I think I do," Izuku slowly nodded, feeling himself begin to grow concerned as well - just what was going on with this little girl? - and he gulped. "A-anyway, yeah, of - of course, Kendou, I'll bring her something to eat. You don't have to pay me back, it's - I'll be there soon."

"I'll … still probably try to pay you back."

"I guess that's something we'll argue about later."

That thankfully got Itsuka to giggle, the sound of her pleasant voice in her ear making him go a bit red (even a year later, and he still wasn't used to talking on a phone with a girl who wasn't Ochako), and soon, both of them exchanged goodbyes, with Izuku putting his phone in his pocket and letting out another sigh.

Slowly, he ran through the facts again - Itsuka found a little kid, who was scared of the hospital and the police, she was getting bad vibes, she was at Ochitsuite Park, and she wanted Izuku to get the little girl something to eat. He couldn't help but feel a little worried for whoever Itsuka had stumbled upon, and straightened up.

Granted, this was going to be awkward to explain to Nejire, seeing as he had to dip from their hangout to go -

"So we're going to a park after all?"

He let out a yelp at the voice in his ear suddenly speaking, and quickly whipped around. Nejire let out a small giggle as she held out her phone with one hand, giving him a small, apologetic look.

"Sorry, I was kinda eavesdropping in," She apologized sheepishly, "but there's a little girl? Who's hungry? In that case, we should hurry, right?"

"I - we?"

"Yeah! I wanna come too!" Nejire nodded in confirmation, balling her fist. "Sounds like Kendou needs our help! Besides, I was reading the chat and Uraraka's gonna come, too! But we're just wasting time now, that little girl needs food, and I know where to go!"

With that, she grabbed his wrist again, Izuku too flustered by what she was saying to really register it, and she began tugging him down the street, the green-haired boy letting out a small sputter of surprise.

"But - but what about -?"

"About our hangout? It's okay, Midoriya! There's always next time!" She strolled down the street in determination. "Now c'mon! There's a few fast food places around Ochitsuite Park, so we can get her some burgers! But wait, if it's a little kid, maybe they want chicken nuggets? And french fries! And maybe some soda or juice! Don't worry, I know where to go!"

Izuku nodded along to Nejire's blabbering, straightening himself up slightly as he tried to match her quick pace as they began jogging down the street.

He was aware, of course, that the question he had wanted to ask her would have to go unanswered for now. And that he would probably have to wait for a better time to ask what Nejire meant when she said looking at her butt was apparently good.

But at the moment, Izuku felt himself frown, he probably had bigger things to worry about.

---

A kid?

Ochako felt her brow furrow as she carefully hurried down the street as fast as she could - which wasn't quite too fast, seeing as her body was so stiff and tired from all the training she had done in the last few hours. Still, she tried to ignore how sore she felt as she continued texting with Itsuka, nodding when she confirmed that Izuku would be swinging as well, and quickly tapped over to her dad's phone number to text him that she would be late coming home tonight since Itsuka needed her.

She wished she could move a bit faster, but alas, she had apparently chosen the absolute worst day she could've talked to Himiko. It had only been about three hours of doing exercises with Himiko in Gym Gamma, but as it turned out, the sweet, flirty persona her senpai put on was an absolute lie. The truth was that the girl was an absolute slave-driver, Ochako winced as she rubbed the large bruise on her shoulder from Himiko throwing a blunt knife at her, and knew that she would probably be walking awkwardly for the rest of the weekend due to the small limp she now had.

But she couldn't really complain - it was what she had signed up for, after all. And right now, there were more important things that she had to worry about. Most of all, this little girl that Itsuka had apparently found.

Wincing slightly as she tried to hurry along on her sore leg, Ochako finished texting her dad her apologies and explanations about where she was, and put her phone down as she hurried down the now emptying streets towards downtown Musutafu. Itsuka had said that they were at Ochitsuite Park, which wasn't … too far away, with Ochako being sure to follow the street names so she didn't end up getting lost. She didn't see many people out, other than two heteromorph types who were arguing near an alley (which she knew to avoid) and one girl who looked her age, moving down the street while playing with her phone and adjusting the cap on her head as she a turned a corner and vanished from sight.

Finally, she slowed her step as she finally found the sign to Ochitsuite Park, glancing up at the multiple sakura trees slowly blooming, and let out a sputter as one pedal fell directly into her mouth, spitting it out. Once she got control of her coughing, she quickly moved into the park, eyes scanning around for wherever her friend was.

Trying to make sure her limp wasn't too obvious, she followed the path around a few trees, looking around carefully - the park was dark, so she had no idea who could be in the park right now, a fact that made her gulp nervously. Still, at least there was enough light out that she could see in front of her, and she knew that there were a few buildings around that she could run to if things got dangerous.

Moving around another tree, her gaze flickered over to a bench underneath a streetlamp, and she let out a relieved sigh at the sight of a familiar bunch of orange hair. Sure enough, Itsuka was sitting on the bench underneath the light, turned away from Ochako as though she were speaking to someone on her left that the brown-haired girl couldn't see, her hand slowly rubbing up and down her leg as though it was irritating her.

Quickly, Ochako stepped forward - and then, as she moved properly around the corner, her gaze fell to the person Itsuka was speaking to when she came into view.

The mere sight of the little girl sitting beside Itsuka made Ochako falter in her step, her eyes widening slightly. She had already been trying to prepare herself for whoever Itsuka had found, but she hadn't expected to see a little girl who looked so … miserable. Long white messy hair that fell down to her back, a raggedy short-sleeved dress that looked filthy, and equally dirty bandages wrapped securely around her arms and legs, stopping at her wrists and ankles. Her bare feet looked scratched, dirty and bloody from presumably running around the city. So … well, she was obviously a mess.

But what had made Ochako stop and stare in shock was the look on the little girl's face. She saw how scared she looked, as though she were on the verge of tears, and something stirred within Ochako, forcing her to move forward at once and raise her hand.

"Itsuka!"

Her friend on the bench jumped a bit and seemed to immediately regret it, wincing in pain and cringing slightly, but that was nothing compared to the little girl's reaction. With a small gasp, she immediately moved to hide behind Itsuka, pulling her feet up so she could press herself firmly behind the older girl and hide her face.

Wincing at her dumb mistake, Ochako stepped out of the darkness, giving both of them an apologetic look.

"Er - s-sorry about that, Itsuka, I - I should've -"

"I know," Itsuka nodded, smiling at her while still looking like she was in a bit of pain, "and it's cool. You just surprised me, is all."

"I - are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh," Itsuka blinked, realizing that she was still rubbing her shoulder, and grimaced slightly, "it's, uh - a long story, I'll tell you later. Just … may have overexerted myself just now. Uh - anyway, what's - what's with the black eye? Are you okay?"

"Er -" Ochako realized what she was talking about and blushed, reaching up to tenderly pat the bruise near her eye with a similar wince, "- y-yeah, I'm good. Was just … doing some training after school. Uh - anyway -"

"Yeah," Itsuka quickly nodded, realizing that they were getting a bit distracted from the reason they were at the park in the first place, and turned back to the little girl who was still hiding behind her, speaking in a much softer tone, "hey, uh … sweetie? It's okay, this is my friend. She's super nice - do you wanna say hi to her?"

The little girl definitely didn't seem to be assured by that fact, but she still slightly leaned out from where she was hiding to peek at Ochako from behind Itsuka, one red, teary eye flickering up to her. At the frightened look on her face, Ochako tried to smile as kindly as she could, carefully moving down with a small grunt of pain to kneel beside the bench, and looked back up at the little girl.

"Hi, honey," She gently said, "I'm Ochako. What's your name?"

The little girl didn't answer her at all, but still, after a moment of hesitation, slowly slid out from behind Itsuka, sitting down very closely to the other girl. It was then that Ochako's gaze flicked up, seeing the odd bump up there, but the little girl seemed to still be nervous around her, letting out a small whimper as she continued to cling onto Itsuka's school blazer, looking as though she were five seconds from hiding behind her again.

Both girls gave her a worried look, and Itsuka turned in her seat, still wincing slightly in pain, so she could talk directly to the little girl.

"Listen, sweetie," She said in that same gentle tone, "like I was saying, I've got another friend who's gonna swing by too, okay? He'll have some food for you to eat, and then we can … well, if you want … I know you said you didn't want to, but if you're hurt under those bandages, we can always go to the hospital -"

"No."

Ochako felt herself blink at the first word out of the little girl's mouth since she arrived. Her voice was quiet, broken, and sounding suddenly terrified.

"No … no hospitals," She muttered, her eyes tearing up again as she avoided both their gazes, "they'll … they're friends with the doctors. They'll look for me there."

Both Itsuka and Ochako felt themselves pause at that, and turned to share a small look. Now the alarm bells were ringing in both of their heads, Itsuka feeling her lips thin and Ochako glancing back over at the little girl with obvious worry, before slowly moving over to her. Gently reaching out, Ochako paused, debating whether or not to touch the little girl's shoulder - realizing that she may panic if Ochako did something she didn't want - and then lowered it to put on the bench beside her.

"Okay," She slowly nodded, making sure that she met the little girl's eyes when she said this, "we won't, honey. We won't take you to the hospital. But … well, we kinda need to know your name, right? It's good manners!"

"…"

"Like I said, I'm Ochako," She introduced herself again, trying to smile as warmly as she could, "it's really nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"…"

Ochako felt her smile turn shaky at the utter lack of a response from the little girl. Itsuka grimaced slightly, meeting Ochako's unsure glance when she turned to look at her and shrugged - and then the little girl spoke again.

"Eri."

Both girls blinked, and looked back around at the little girl as she stared down at her bandaged knees. Her hold on Itsuka's jacket tightened slightly, and she was quick to bow her head.

"My name …" She muttered, "… is Eri."

"Eri?" Itsuka repeated, turning to stare down at her properly - and then she smiled, "That's a beautiful name, honey. Like Ochako said, she's … well … Ochako, and my name is Itsuka."

"Och … Ocha …"

Ochako tilted her head as Eri, as she was apparently named, tried to pronounce her name - and then she giggled, drawing the little girl's attention again.

"How about … you just call me 'Occhan'?" She suggested, smiling when Eri blinked, "That's what my best friend calls me - Occhan. Is that cool?"

"Occhan …" Eri said her nickname, mulling it over.

"And I guess if you want, hon, you can call me … Ken." Itsuka confirmed, giggling as well. "That's what my friends call me too."

"Ken …?" Eri looked confused, looking around at her, "But … you said your name was I-Its… Itsu…"

"Well, my first name is Itsuka," The orange-haired girl explained, "but my last name is 'Kendou'. My friends call me 'Ken' for short, and … well, if you wanna call me that too, it's okay."

"Ken." Eri slowly nodded. "Okay. Occhan and … and Ken."

The two girl nodded at that, smiling down at the little girl as she continued to glance between them with uncertainty, although the hold she had on Itsuka's jacket lessened slightly -

- only for them to hear the sound of footsteps approaching, and Eri's eyes widened again in terror as she quickly moved to hide behind Itsuka again, the orange-haired girl jumping a bit in surprise again and wincing from it. Thankfully, though, both girls recognized the voice that was suddenly speaking, although they both blinked that it wasn't Izuku's voice they were hearing.

"… and then, me and Yuuyu went fishing over at the local pond in Ichigaya, but we were having problems catching anything because I kept talking and kept scaring away all the fish, so she ended up putting a bucket over my head! That got us banned from fishing there ever again, by the way, so she ended up regretting it and bought me some food afterwards! Anyway, that's kind of why I hate going to WcDonald's now, since whenever I eat there I get the taste of fish in my mouth, and that's kinda … blegh. Which is funny, because I still like sushi, but you know, you don't wanna have a weird fish aftertaste when you eat a burger, right?"

"H-huh. That's … interesting."

"Mm-hm! Oh, and after that -"

"Uh - Hadou?" Itsuka called out uncertainly, and Nejire's voice suddenly paused as she let out a small 'eep'. It took about two more seconds for both her and Izuku to round the corner behind a bush, Izuku blinking in surprise at the two girls by the bench, while he held a bag of fast food in his hand. Eri, once she saw the two strangers, let out a small whimper of fear that made the girls' hearts pang, and quickly moved to hide behind Itsuka again.

"Oh - oh, it's okay, Eri," She quickly soothed her, "they're our friends, too. They brought you some food, okay?"

Ochako was very quick to hop up from where she had been kneeling, wincing as she moved a bit too fast and sending a shot of aching pain through her, but she turned to Nejire and quickly brought her hand up to her lips, shushing them. It was a bit mean, Ochako winced, but at least Nejire seemed to understand, pretending to zip her lips shut and winking at her, as she and Izuku walked quietly over, Izuku's eyes zipping to the little girl hiding behind Itsuka's back, and Ochako saw as his eyes began taking in her appearance.

As it had with Ochako, she could tell that Izuku was going through several different emotions as his gaze flickered from the dress she was wearing to the dirty bandages wrapped around her arms and legs. Izuku's face fell, the curiosity in his eyes fading as worry replaced them, and complete and utter shock and horror as the ramifications seemingly hit him. Ochako couldn't really blame him for his shock - staring at how dirty and clearly frightened this little girl was was making her own heart clench.

Nejire, for her part, stayed quiet, although the small smile that had been on her lips had disappeared almost immediately once she laid eyes on the girl hiding behind Itsuka.

"Uh … h-hey," Izuku muttered to her as he reached her, his gaze flickering between Ochako and Itsuka and the little girl hiding from him, "is … I guess this is … uh …"

"Eri," Itsuka nodded, which drew Ochako's attention subconsciously to her - and she blinked when she saw Itsuka's face looking a bit red in the light from the post above her as she looked up at their training partner, although she was quick to shake her head and try to refocus, "this is Eri, Izuku. Eri, honey, this is Izuku - or, uh, I guess if we're doing nicknames …"

"He's Deku," Ochako was quick to introduce him, Izuku blinking a bit in surprise and Nejire tilting her head slightly, but thankfully neither of them protested as Ochako put her hand on her best friend's shoulder and smiled at the little girl, "he's my best friend. I've known him since we were both your age, Eri - er, however old you are right now. But he's probably one of the nicest guys I've ever known - like, don't make fun of him for this," She leaned in to whisper, as though she were sharing a deadly secret, "but he cries whenever he has to kill spiders for me."

"The only one who's crying when I kill bugs for you is you." Izuku mumbled defiantly, pouting at Ochako while she giggled nefariously back, but he still smiled at her antics as he turned back to Eri. With a small grunt, Izuku moved down to crouch beside the bench, Nejire likewise quick to follow him to the ground. For her part, Nejire was trying to make herself look as unintimidating as she could - she knew that she was a lot, and this little girl, Eri, was obviously very afraid right now, so the less noise she made the better.

Thankfully, Eri finally mustered the courage to poke an eye out, seeing Izuku crouching there with a gentle smile as he moved to put the bag of food on the bench beside her and Itsuka.

"Hi, uh … Eri," Izuku gave her a small wave, trying to sound as gentle and soft as he could, "like Occhan said, my name is - it's Izuku, but you can call me Deku, if you want. It's really nice to meet you."

"Mmmm," Eri let out a small hum, pressing her face a bit firmer into Itsuka's back while Izuku grimaced slightly - well, that reaction was probably to be expected since he did kind of come out of nowhere. But then Eri's gaze flickered from Izuku to Nejire kneeling beside him, and he realized that may be part of why she was so uncomfortable - there was still one more person they hadn't introduced to her.

"And - and this is - this is Hadou," Izuku turned towards his blue-haired friend, seeing her smile nicely at the little girl, "she's - uh -"

"You can call me Nej," Nejire took over for him, giggling slightly as she leaned forward, "it's really nice to meet you, Eri! Are you hungry? We brought you some food! We weren't sure what you liked, so we got you some chicken nuggets and french fries! I eat those whenever I feel sad, and they always make me feel better. Oh! And we also got you a drink in case you were thirsty!"

From out of nowhere, she pulled out a small cup, putting it down on the bench and making Izuku, Ochako and Itsuka blink in question at where she was hiding it.

"I thought about getting you some soda," Nejire explained, "but then I thought, hey, maybe it would keep you awake? And you probably wanna go to bed soon! So I got you some apple juice instead. Do you like apple juice?"

There was a small pause in the group as the girl hid behind Itsuka - and then, slowly, she peeked back out. Both Izuku and Nejire felt their hearts pang at how hard she was trembling, but then her gaze flickered down to the cup put on the bench. For a moment, she stared down at it, and then glanced back up at Nejire, who blinked and smiled.

"Oh? Are you asking me if you can have it? Well, of course you can! I brought it for you, y'know."

Eri glanced between the excited girl and the cup for a moment, and then, hesitantly, reached out to take it, looking more than a little timid, as though she thought Nejire was about to change her mind halfway through and snatch it back. Thankfully, Nejire only smiled and nodded in encouragement, and they all watched as Eri brought the cup towards her, sitting back a bit so she wasn't behind Itsuka anymore, and took a small sip through the straw.

They watched as she blinked a bit, as though surprised by the taste - and then her stomach suddenly growled, making her squeak and go red as Nejire, Itsuka and Ochako giggled together.

"You, uh - you can eat, if you want, Eri," Izuku tried to stay on track for the group of giggling girls, although he was unable to fight down a smile as the little girl glanced at him, "we brought the food for you in case you were hungry, and … well … it looks like you are."

Eri slowly nodded, her face falling slightly - and then, albeit reluctantly, she scooted away from Itsuka so that she could sit beside her on the bench rather than behind her, and with Nejire's prompting smile, looked inside the takeout bag.

Looking a bit confused, Eri slowly reached in and took out one of the fries, staring at it uncertainly for a moment, before bringing it to her lips and taking an experimental bite -

- and she immediately made a face, grimacing slightly as her face scrunched and she moved the fry away from her mouth.

"Huh?" Nejire blinked in surprise, "What's up, Eri? Is something wrong?"

"It … it takes weird."

"Huh? The fry does?" Izuku also looked surprised, moving to take a look inside the bag. Unsure of what was wrong, he took out one of the fries as well, with Itsuka and Ochako looking confused as well, and he tossed the fry into his mouth, chewing for a moment before he blinked.

"Oh - oh, it's salty. That's just salt on the fries, Eri."

"Salt …?"

"Y-yeah," Itsuka slowly nodded, feeling her brow furrow, "salt. Y'know, what people put on food. Have you … have you never had salty food before?"

"Mm-mm," She shook her head, looking sad.

"Then … well, what have you eaten before?"

"Onions," She said simply, "and beets and tomatoes. Sometimes fish with - with fatty."

"A-and … and that's it?"

"Apples if … if I do something good."

The four teenagers paused at what she had just said, staring at her blankly before turning to look at each other.

Now, they were all just fifteen years old, of course, but major, major alarm bells were now being run inside all four of their minds as Eri took another small bite of the french fry, wincing at the bitter taste. For once, Nejire didn't have a smile on at all, staring at the little girl in shock and concern, while Izuku straightened up slightly, his expression turning dark.

"… Eri, sweetie," Itsuka suddenly spoke again, catching her attention as she weakly scooted along the bench, "me, Occhan and Deku here are … we're just gonna have a little talk by ourselves, okay? Just over there. We won't go far, okay? And Nejire will be here with you."

Eri faltered slightly at that, but still nodded as Itsuka stiffly got up, letting out a small groan as she bit her lip, and both Izuku and Ochako were quick to help her move away from the bench, Izuku with a slightly red face as he held her shoulder (and unaware of Itsuka likewise blushing, glancing over at his own face and looking away quickly) as they moved slightly into the darkness. Fortunately, Nejire was quick to sit down beside Eri, giggling as she took a fry herself and chewed on it, making a similar grimacing face that at least kept Eri's attention on her.

In the dark, Itsuka sighed as she leaned against the tree they had chosen to stand under, Izuku and Ochako giving her twin worried looks as she rubbed her legs.

"Are you sure you're okay, Itsuka?" Ochako asked in a quiet voice, reaching out for her, "You seriously look like you're about to collapse."

"I mean … I might have understated it a little bit before," Itsuka shrugged, grimacing slightly at Ochako beginning to give her the Danger Pout, "but … okay, the truth is that I might have … overdone it a little, getting Eri out of there."

"Er … and how did you do that?" Izuku asked, feeling his eyebrows scrunch a bit.

"I … think I might have used One for All," Itsuka muttered, keeping quiet so they weren't overheard by the other two, and watching as Izuku and Ochako blinked in surprise. "I - I don't exactly remember how, I was running off some serious adrenaline, but I think that I - I think the only reason I got away with her so quickly was because I tapped into it. I was - god, I was freaking exhausted when we got here, I drank my entire water bottle in one freaking go and I'm still feeling thirsty."

"I … I see," Izuku slowly nodded, feeling his mind begin to work as he began taking invisible notes, which made the two girls raise their eyebrows at him as his hands wrote down what he was thinking without a pen and paper, "so somehow you used One for All throughout your entire body subconsciously? Is - is that why you keep rubbing your legs?"

"I … think so. Fuck, I want a bubble bath right now."

"Maybe later," Ochako giggled a bit while Itsuka pouted up at her, but her smile disappeared as she turned to look at Eri again, "we … kinda have to deal with what we're going to do with her."

The three of them watched as she took another sip of apple juice, nodding along as Nejire chatted idly with her about nothing much - or at least, Nejire was talking, and Eri nodded along.

"Right," Itsuka nodded, frowning, "forget my sore legs right now."

"So …" Izuku let out a small sigh, "… so you said that she doesn't want to -"

"- go to the hospital or the police," Itsuka finished for him, biting her lip slightly, "yeah. We tried bringing it up to her again before you and Hadou got here, but … well, she turned us down immediately. And … and I meant what I said to her - if she doesn't wanna go to the hospital, she doesn't have to. We won't force her."

"But …" Ochako shook her head, clearly frustrated, "… but that means we don't exactly have a lot of places we can take her, right?"

"No," Itsuka slowly shook her head, biting her lip, "no, we don't."

"Then - then what can we do? If we can't bring her to the hospital, or the police … then where can we take her? It's not like we can just … let her go after this."

Both Izuku and Itsuka slowly nodded at that, glancing down at their feet - and then Itsuka let out another long sigh, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"I guess we don't have a choice, then," She shook her head, already dreading what was going to happen, "I guess … since I have the room …"

"Er … Kendou?"

"… Ochako, I hate to make you do this, but I need you to float me home," Itsuka raised her head to look at her best friend, grimacing, "I don't think I can walk that distance with how bad my legs are shaking, and … well … I think I'll need the energy to convince my parents to let Eri stay the night."

---

Thankfully, the time it took for their group to walk all the way back to her house, roughly half an hour to forty minutes, was enough that when Itsuka's feet touched the solid ground again, she had regained enough of her energy to, at the very least, walk up the stairs. She was sure to close the door securely behind them, not locking it since Ochako, Nejire and Izuku would probably have to leave soon, and led their small group up the stairs, taking Eri's hand when the little girl immediately moved to her, and watched as she opened the door to the upstairs floor.

"Okay," She said in a quiet voice, looking around at the small group of girls and Izuku standing behind her on the stairs, awaiting her instructions, "Ochako, you go find Gūdo and keep him calm - he hasn't met Eri or Hadou before, and we don't need him getting super hyper. Hadou, Izuku, you two come with me to the kitchen - we aren't gonna try and hide anyone, that might just make things more complicated when I have to explain everything."

"Oooooooh, this is really cool!" Nejire squealed in a stage whisper, watching as Itsuka moved properly inside while keeping Eri's hand in hers, "Your house is over a dojo! Can I come by sometime to watch some kung-fu fighting? Or, y'know, whatever martial arts they teach here?"

"Er … maybe another time, Hadou. Sure."

"Awesome!"

Indeed, this was probably the best plan they could've come up with, Itsuka grimaced as she turned around towards the kitchen, seeing the light on at the end of the hall. Inko and the Urarakas might have been alright with letting Eri stay with Izuku or Ochako, but they definitely didn't have the room to keep her, what with Hisashi on the couch, and while Ochako could theoretically have Eri stay in her room, they still knew that since Itsuka had been the one to find Eri, if anyone needed an explanation as to how their group stumbled across a little girl, it would be better for Itsuka to be the one to give it.

Of course, Itsuka knew that she couldn't exactly sneak Eri into her house under her parents' noses (that would just spell disaster, and there was no way Gūdo wouldn't eventually sniff her out), so she would just … have to bite the bullet and explain what happened.

And risk potential grounding.

No, screw that, she was probably a hundred percent getting grounded.

To her relief (or not, it might just be anxiety), Itsuka heard the sound of her parents and her grandpa talking in the kitchen, meaning that everyone was currently home for her to walk in and … introduce her to the little girl she had scooped off the street and brought to their house. So … yeah, this was probably going to be a disaster.

"Where are we?" Eri asked in a timid, yet curious voice, and Itsuka did her best to shake down her anxiousness as she smiled down at her, although there was an obvious nervous twitch in her eye.

"This is my house," She explained to her in a quiet voice as Izuku and Nejire began following them down the hall towards the kitchen, Nejire looking interestingly around at the photos on the wall and Izuku taking a nervous breath, watching as Ochako moved ahead of them and into the house, "it's where I live with my mommy and my daddy, and my grandpa. We just need to introduce you to them, okay? And don't worry - my parents are the nicest people in the world."

It's just my grandpa we need to worry about, Itsuka thought to herself while gulping anxiously.

"Oh!" The trio in the hallway suddenly heard Itsuka's mother make a noise of surprise and delight, accompanied by the sound of a plate being put down on the counter. "Ochako! I didn't hear you come in - I wasn't aware you were swinging by tonight."

"Er - y-yeah, I was just … yeah," Ochako said nervously, "uh - where's Gūdo?"

"Ah, there it is," Hakushu chuckled, "you've been here two seconds and you're already looking for the dog, as per usual. He's in the living room."

"G-great! I'll just - y-yeah. Good - good evening, Kendou-sensei."

"Mm." Itsuka's grandpa grunted. "Good evening, Uraraka."

At the sound of Ochako moving into the living room, Itsuka paused in her step near the end of the hall, seeing the light on around the corner and freezing briefly, with Izuku and Nejire watching her curiously - and then she let out a small sigh, trying to hype herself up by lightly hopping (and making Eri blink as the person who was holding her hand jumped up and down, and she hesitantly hopped with her too) and then straightened up.

"Yeah, I'm - I'm here too," She announced as she poked her head around the corner, Eri lagging back slightly and somewhat dragging Itsuka back from fully entering the kitchen, "and - and I brought some friends with me."

"Hello!" Nejire popped her head into the kitchen as well, quickly entering as she looked around with her hands folded behind her back. Izuku was quick to follow behind her, watching as Itsuka turned slightly around to speak quietly to a suddenly anxious Eri, and took a sigh of his own as he looked around the kitchen, feeling suddenly nervous as well.

As expected, Hakushu and Teko were still sitting at the kitchen table, blinking at the girl they hadn't met before in surprise, while Tenohira stood at the counter washing the dishes from dinner and also giving Nejire a surprised but still welcoming look. As Izuku entered the kitchen with an awkward smile, however, Tenohira's smile vanished from her face at once, transforming into a scowl as she gave him a small glare which took him aback, and then returned to scrubbing the dishes with a little more force than necessary.

"Ah," She said, dryly and sourly, "hello, Izuku."

"Er … h-hi, T-Tenohira," Izuku felt himself stutter a bit, feeling confused by the utterly icy chill coming towards him from Itsuka's mother, and glanced at Nejire as she continued to curiously look around the kitchen, "uh - t-this is Hadou. She's one of our classmates."

"So this is Hadou, huh?" Hakushu put down the newspaper he had been reading, trying not to grimace as Tenohira let out a small, growling hum and practically slammed one of the plates down onto the drying rack, "W-well, it's, uh - it's nice to meet you. I'm Hakushu, Itsuka's father, and this is Tenohira."

"Oh! You're Kendou's dad! I mean, I thought that was the case, since you've got orange hair." Nejire happily noted, her gaze flickering around to Tenohira as the mother gave her a once-over and returned to pouting at Izuku, "Oh, and that must mean you're Kendou's mom! Ooooh, you're really pretty! I know where Kendou gets her looks from now - she's also really pretty! Oh, but wait, should I call her 'Itsuka' since you're all technically 'Kendou'? Wait, then should I call you Mr. Kendou, and Mrs. Kendou? Or can I call you by your first names? Is that okay? Or would that be informal?"

Both Kendou parents blinked at the utter stream of questions that came from Nejire's lips, while Teko slowly put down his book, a scowl on his face, as he took off his reading glasses and turned his tired and narrowed gaze to Izuku, who was looking quite awkward as Nejire babbled on.

"I take it that this is what she's like all the time, Midoriya?"

"Er … yes, sir." Izuku lowly admitted, while Nejire nodded in agreement, pointing at him as though to confirm his point.

"A-anyway," Itsuka finally poked her head back into the kitchen from around the corner, feeling herself wince already in anticipation to this awkward conversation, "Mom, Dad, Grandpa. Hadou and Izuku are with me because … well, uh … actually, it just might be better to - to introduce you."

With that, Itsuka finally moved fully into the kitchen, and Eri came with her - albeit hiding behind Itsuka's leg and holding her hand tightly with both of hers. Eri was back into 'shy mode', hiding her face behind Itsuka and making sure Itsuka was between her and the new people, and feeling herself tremble as the three adults automatically looked down at her.

At once, Izuku and Nejire quickly moved to the side so that Itsuka could be clearly seen standing with the little girl.

"Oh," Tenohira quietly gasped, straightening up from her spot at the sink as her eyes widened. Hakushu's own gaze went to what the little girl was wearing, his eyes trailing to the bandages, and he sat up in his seat. Teko, for his part, felt the small scowl on his face from Nejire's relentless stream of questions vanish, slowly standing and staring down at the little girl while his mouth closed.

"This … this is Eri," Itsuka introduced her softly to her parents, feeling more than a little nervous as her parents quickly flicked their gazes up to her, "I ran into her while I was walking home from meeting up with Set and Yui. She's … I thought she needed help."

"I … oh," Tenohira quietly said again, staring blankly at her daughter for a moment, before she shook her head and quickly withdrew her hands from the soapy water, drying them with the cloth beside her. After a moment, she put down the cloth and made her way over to Itsuka, her gaze returning to the little girl hiding behind her daughter, and slowly got down onto her knees, glancing down at the bandages and scratched feet and immediately feeling her maternal instincts kick in.

"Eri, was it?" Hakushu likewise moved to kneel down beside his wife, trying to make himself appear as small as possible (which was a hard task, considering his size) as he tried to make himself look approachable for the little girl. "Hey there, sweetheart … it's okay, you don't have to hide behind Itsuka. We're not gonna hurt you - it's okay."

There were a few seconds of silence - and then Eri moved slightly around Itsuka's leg, her red eye peeking nervously at the two adults, before it settled on Tenohira. Seeing her, Eri blinked, moving slightly around Itsuka's leg to have a good look at her, and Itsuka smiled, glancing down at her mother -

- and seeing Tenohira suddenly falter, her smile dropping slightly as she blinked and straightened up. However, before Itsuka could register that, feeling herself blink, Eri suddenly pulled on her hand, getting her attention.

"She looks like you," She pointed out in a small voice.

"H-huh?" Itsuka faltered, glancing between the little girl and her mom, but Tenohira's face had morphed back into a patient smile, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, and Itsuka briefly wondered if she had imagined that.

"That's right," Tenohira smiled, "she looks like me because I'm her mom."

"You're … her mama?"

"That's right. I'm her mama."

"And …" She glanced over at Hakushu, her gaze flickering up to his orange beard and hair, "… you're … you're her papa?"

"You got that right, little miss."

Eri slowly nodded at that, glancing between them both. On the side, Izuku and Nejire watched as the little girl took a cautious step forward, while the two parents smiled and gently encouraged her to come out of hiding - but before they could see Eri reach out to them, a voice cleared, catching their attention as they both looked around.

"Midoriya, Hadou" Teko slowly stood up, speaking in a gruff voice as he beckoned to them, "come with me, into the living room. Explain what happened."

Izuku quickly nodded, understanding - of course Teko wanted to know why they had brought a dirty little girl into his home. With one more glance at Eri as she flickered her gaze up to him and Nejire, Izuku let out a small sigh, and smiled down at her.

"Uh … me and Hadou are just gonna go into the living room," He told her, getting the Kendous' attention on him as he and Nejire stepped around their small group to follow the Kendou patriarch into the other room, "we'll still be here, Eri."

"... okay."

Smiling awkwardly, Izuku turned to lead Nejire into the living room, the blue-haired girl taking a second to wave at Eri again and smile at her before they both moved into the living room where Teko was waiting.

Once the two teenagers were inside the living room, Teko slid the door shut behind them to give the rest of his family a little privacy. With a short sigh, he moved around to his chair, sitting down as Nejire looked around the living room and spotted Ochako sitting on the floor with Gūdo, the dog sitting up at attention at the new person gasping in delight at him, and barked before Ochako shushed him and stroked his head, trying to keep him quiet as Nejire hurried over and quickly sank to her knees, smiling happily at the large dog panting up at her with obvious excitement.

Izuku, for his part, knew he couldn't exactly slink out of this by going to pet the dog, and let out a small sigh as he sat down on the couch, glancing at Teko as the older man leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together.

"Now then," He gruffly said, "explain."

Quickly nodding, Izuku took a deep breath and began to explain to the older man what had happened when Itsuka had reached out to their group chat, and what she had told them had happened while heading back to the house. For Teko's part, he kept quiet, listening and nodding slowly as Izuku explained how they met Eri at the park, what she had told them, and her refusal to head to the hospital, while Nejire and Ochako kept quiet and Gūdo calm, petting the dog while he wagged his tail and stared happily up at Nejire as she giggled quietly and kissed the top of his head.

When Izuku told him what Itsuka had said happened when she had found Eri, Teko's face grew slightly darker - his frown becoming more and more apparent as he nodded along, his fingers tapping against each other as he breathed through his nose. Finally, Izuku finished up the story, and the living room was silent.

After about a minute, they heard the sound of feet approaching through the kitchen, and looked around as the sliding door was pulled open. With a sigh, Itsuka moved into the living room, her hair let out of her ponytail and her blazer, tie and socks missing so she looked a bit more comfortable, and looked far more tired and sore than anyone had ever seen her - although Izuku and Ochako weren't that surprised, seeing as the last time she used One for All she had shattered every bone in her arm, so perhaps they should just consider themselves lucky that she was simply aching.

"Mom's taking care of Eri right now," She explained to the occupants of the living room as she slid the door closed behind her, moving around Gūdo and patting his head before she settled into the spot next to Izuku, massaging the back of her neck, "she's gonna help her take a bath so she can get cleaned up, and maybe change those bandages. And Dad's gonna get the guest room ready for her for the night, and look through some of my old stuff for something for her to wear."

"Hm." Teko slowly nodded, leaning back in his chair and turning to give a small, narrowed eyed look at his granddaughter. Itsuka, for her part, felt herself gulp as she came under his glare, knowing the last time he had given her this look hadn't … been for anything good.

"Uh … grandpa?"

"Midoriya here filled me in with what happened." Teko informed her, Itsuka glancing at Izuku and seeing him give her an apologetic look. "It seems that you haven't learned your lesson from what happened the last time you wanted to be a hero."

"I - what?" Itsuka blinked, not entirely sure what he was talking about as he moved his hands down to the arms of his chair, one finger tapping against it.

"The fire. Last year."

"The fire …?" Itsuka glanced away, trying to comprehend what he was talking about - honestly her mind had been going a mile a minute for the last hour or so, so now that she had some time to finally calm down it was difficult to think. While Nejire gave her a curious look and Izuku and Ochako shared an unsure glance, Itsuka felt herself blink again - and then it suddenly came to her what her grandpa was talking about.

"Wait - what?" She straightened up, looking around at her grandpa in exasperation. "That - that was different, but - no, Grandpa, this -"

"I am not discouraging you for helping out this little girl," Teko made clear before Itsuka could find her words, but the frown on his face remained, "I am merely pointing out that like last year, you did not think your actions through."

"I - Grandpa -"

"From what Midoriya told me, you came across a little girl, thought she was in trouble, and ran away with her," He summed up neatly, not looking at all impressed by his granddaughter's actions, "Itsuka, you must think things through before you act. I understand you must've thought she was in trouble, but in the end, what you really did was abduct a little girl."

"'Abduct a little' -?!" Itsuka's mouth opened in outrage, leaning forward to stare at her grandpa indubiously, and Izuku suddenly found himself wishing he were anywhere but in between these two obviously angry people as he leaned back nervously in his seat, "Grandpa, there was someone coming down that alley, and - and she was terrified -"

"And how do you know that wasn't her parents?" Teko challenged, "What if they are out looking for her right now, in panic? The first thing tomorrow, we should be bringing her to the police so they can begin conducting a search."

"She didn't want to go to the police," Itsuka explained through gritted teeth, frustration beginning to overcome her, "I asked her if she wanted to go to them or the hospital, and she was terrified. And - and she's got bandages all over her! She was terrified! I couldn't just -"

"Itsuka." Teko suddenly snapped, stopping his granddaughter in her tracks, "Stop arguing with me."

The living room felt silent once again. Izuku and Ochako exchanged another nervous glance - they had heard Teko yell and growl at them while they had trained down in the dojo last year, but never had they heard this level of tranquil anger in his voice, and especially aimed at his beloved granddaughter. Nejire, for once, kept herself very quiet as she patted Gūdo's head, the dog letting out a small whine as the two Kendous glared at each other - but Itsuka, for her part, closed her mouth.

With another sigh, Teko closed his eyes, and then turned to get up, raising a hand to scratch his jaw.

"In any case," He informed the teenagers around him, glancing over at Izuku, Ochako and Nejire, "I will speak to Tenohira about what I talked to you about. I am going to go to bed. The three of you should think about going home soon - your parents must be worried. Worry not, I will not be throwing Eri out onto the street - but you have to remember this, Itsuka."

He turned to look back at his granddaughter, seeing her glaring up at him while crossing her arms.

"I will not say you're not good at acting in the moment, but you need to think about the consequences of your actions." He gruffly told her. "Perhaps you were right to get Eri away from that alley. But what will happen if Eri does have parents out there looking for her? What if they find her, and accuse you of kidnapping her, and try to have charges filed against us? While helping Eri might have been the right thing to do, what if her parents had been coming down that alley and saw you running off with her? Do you know what would be running through their minds right now?"

Itsuka, for her part, merely turned her glare down to her knees.

"Keep that in mind," Teko turned away, "the next you want to try to be a hero."

With that last remark, the Kendou patriarch moved out of the living room, opening the doors, stepping through them, and then closed them behind him. For a few moments, an awkward silence filled the living room, no one exactly sure what to say after that reprimand, Izuku, Nejire and Ochako glancing nervously at Itsuka as she stared down at her knees.

And then she let out a small sigh, and slowly nodded, raising a hand to wipe her face as she took her phone out of her pocket.

"I … guess my grandpa's right," She said to no one really, looking away from everyone while looking obviously dejected, "it's getting pretty late, you guys should think about heading home."

"Itsuka …" Ochako started to say, reaching out to her as she got up, but the orange-haired girl shook her head.

"I know," She muttered, biting her lip slightly, "just … let's just forget about it for now, okay? I need … I just need time to think."

The other three paused at that, glancing at each other again - and then Izuku bit his lip slightly, nodding and standing up.

"Okay, Kendou," He quietly said to her, "if … if you don't wanna talk about it, we won't push you."

"Thanks," She at least managed to smile at him, and then glanced back down at her feet, "anyway, we should probably - well, I'll bring you guys downstairs."

"Mm-hm," Nejire slowly nodded, and then turned to look back down at Gūdo, the dog looking back up at her as well as she scratched his ears to get his attention again, "oooooh, I'll be back to play with you again. I can't say that I love you more than I love my cat -"

"Woof!"

"- but I love you almost as much!"

"Woof."

With that, the four teenagers began moving out of the living room, Nejire and Ochako getting up from their spots on the floor while Nejire gave another kiss to Gūdo's head one more time, and together, they all began making their way out of the living room. They heard muttering coming from the hall, and Itsuka tried to square her shoulders and continue onwards as they moved out of the kitchen to the door downstairs, seeing Teko speaking to Tenohira as her mom poked her head out of the bathroom, hearing the sound of water splashing in the background, and Tenohira glanced at her daughter in worry as she wordlessly began heading downstairs with the rest of her friends.

Once everyone was out on the porch in the warm spring night, they stood there for a moment, Nejire glancing back over at the other three dejected teenagers - and then she straightened up, trying to smile.

"Okay! Well, I didn't expect my night to go this way!" She informed them, seeing Ochako and Itsuka grimace weakly but still smile a bit, which was a relief to see, "But still, I'm super happy to have helped out! Just let me know if she needs anything, okay? Like clothes! Or toys! Or heck, even if she just needs someone to hug her! I'll hug her! Although I'm pretty sure if she was asking for a hug, you'd help her out, Kendou, but - well, you know what I mean!"

"I think I do," Itsuka slowly nodded, trying to smile over at their friend, "thank you so much for coming to help us out, Hadou."

"You're welcome! Anyway, see you guys - wait," Nejire suddenly paused, having turned so that she could walk away, and then looked back at the trio at the door, "I just had a thought - what if Eri asks about where I went? Should I leave without saying bye? I don't think I should, should I?"

Itsuka opened her mouth to refute that, or at least assure Nejire that it's okay for her to take off - and then she paused. Feeling her brow furrow, Itsuka thought of what would happen if Nejire suddenly disappeared, and Eri - someone who had pretty much clung to the blue-haired girl's hand all the way to the house - found out that she left without saying bye. Feeling her brow scrunch, she let out a small sigh.

"That … I didn't think of that," She admitted, scratching the side of her head while the others looked around at her. "I … I don't know how Eri'd react if you just suddenly vanished, Hadou."

There was another pause - and then Ochako let out a small whine as she looked down at her feet, drawing everyone's attention to her as she shook her head and pouted a bit.

"I … honestly, guys, I'm not sure if I can go home," She admitted to them, making Izuku blink in surprise and Itsuka furrow her brow a bit, "not while Eri is - I mean, like you said, what are we supposed to do if she asks where we went? What if she panics? I - I've gotta at least say goodbye, but - ugh!"

"I didn't … oh, crap you guys are right," Izuku realized, feeling himself straighten up as his eyes widened a bit, "she'll be scared if we just disappeared and - y-yeah, no - we - we can't just leave without saying goodbye, or - or something like that."

"Okay - but you guys are still out late," Itsuka pointed out, leaning against the wall, "your parents have gotta be wondering where you are, and the last train is gonna probably leave soon. You guys are awesome, but there's no way that you can walk all the way home from here."

The quartet paused while they tried to figure out how to get around this sudden problem of needing to go soon and still wanting to say goodbye to Eri - and then Nejire let out a small gasp.

"Wait …" A smile began to spread across her face, "… sleepover?"

"Huh?" Itsuka blinked. "Sleepover?"

"Yeah! We can have a slumber party!" She excitedly gushed, reaching out to grab Ochako's shoulder and giving her a small shake, the brown-haired girl yelping a bit as she was jolted around but relieved that Nejire hadn't grabbed the shoulder she had a blunt knife thrown into. "I bet I can convince my parents to let me stay over if I just explain what's going on! It'd be better than just trying to come up with an excuse - like, here's what I'm thinking! 'Hey, Mom, I know I'm breaking curfew, but I ended up running into a little girl! Who was in trouble! And needed help! So I'm gonna stay over at one of my friends' houses to make sure that she's okay!"

There was another pause, as Izuku, Ochako and Itsuka glanced between each other - and then Nejire pouted.

"That still sounds like I'm making up an excuse, doesn't it?"

"K-kinda?" Ochako was unable to suppress a small giggle as Nejire let out a dramatic sigh, "But - but I think you've got the right idea, Hadou - I don't feel comfortable with just leaving Eri behind tonight. It'd be better for her to spend some more time with us before we have to go."

"Yeah, I get that," Itsuka nodded, turning to look at Izuku with a small smirk, "so I hope you don't mind having to sleep on the couch tonight, Izuku."

"I - well, I guess I don't," Izuku chuckled at least, raising his hand to scratch the back of his head as he glanced between the three girls with a slight blush, "but still - we should probably call home."

"Right, right," Itsuka nodded, letting out a small sigh as she got off the wall, "you guys go do that now. And I'll just … sit down here and - and wait for you."

The three of them nodded, with Nejire looking curious as to why Itsuka was still walking so stiffly (but thankfully holding off on the questions) as they moved away so that they could call home, Ochako moving away from them on the porch, Izuku moving into the yard, and Nejire hopping over towards the swing in the backyard, sitting down and pulling out her phone. As they all dialed their parents' numbers, Itsuka moved slowly towards the edge of her porch, and let out a small, painfilled groan as she sat down, biting her lip slightly as she rubbed her back.

Yep, the pain from using One for All earlier was catching up to her quickly again, filling her body with a dull, throbbing pain, but at least nothing felt broken - just a bit strained. It just looked like she wasn't going to be having a comfortable time tonight either way - if Ochako and Nejire were staying over, and Eri would have the guest room to herself, that meant that one of the girls would have to use the futon, and the other would be in bed with her. Part of her prayed that it wouldn't be Ochako, Itsuka gulped as she felt her face grow a bit red, or she might wake up cuddling with her, and after what she had talked about with Setsuna and Yui tonight, she didn't need that on her mind if she was sharing a bed with the girl she was trying to pretend she didn't totally make out with.

But … as her mind turned back to what she had discussed with her two best friends … Itsuka felt her gaze trail over to Izuku, standing a bit of a ways away from her and shrouded in darkness, light illuminating his face both from the porch and from his phone that he was holding up to his ear.

And Itsuka felt her face heat up even more as her thoughts from earlier suddenly returned, seeing the small smile on his face as he started talking to his mom.

The thoughts about how Izuku Midoriya has apparently been hot this entire time, and she hadn't noticed at all.

Gulping audibly, Itsuka quickly averted her gaze as Izuku turned her way, to prevent him from seeing her staring at him, and she closed her eyes tightly. Between meeting Eri and the panic from getting her away from the alley, getting her food, and getting her home, she had almost forgotten what she had been thinking about her training partner - but now that she had a moment to calm down, the thoughts began to poke at her again, as though reminding her that she had dared to think about how attractive Izuku was.

And … and now that he was in front of her, she couldn't help but glance over at him, blushing as she took him in a bit more.

He had his shirt off and his sleeves rolled up, exposing his arms and ... and fuck, it was a good look. His tie was also off, stuffed into his blazer's pocket, and his top button was undone to show a bit of his collar, and it was making Itsuka feel more than a little hot under the collar of her own shirt as her face felt hotter and hotter by the second, and she tugged at her own shirt.

Fuck … fuck, why did he have to wear such baggy clothing all the time? She knew he was fucking packing underneath there, so why -

- wait! No! Stop! Shut the fuck up!

Resisting the urge to slap herself, Itsuka groaned lowly, moving her hand over her eyes and tapping her foot against the stone garden beneath her as she tried to remind herself that Izuku didn't look hot, that Yui and Setsuna were completely full of it, and there was no way that she wanted to go over to Izuku and unbutton a few more buttons of his shirt -

- and then, in her pocket, her phone suddenly dinged.

Blinking quickly, Itsuka looked around in surprise, lowering her hand to look around at her skirt's pocket when she saw her phone lighting up within. Wondering who was texting her right now, she reached in to bring it out, flipping it around and looking at the messages that were being displayed - and then let out a small gasp, eyes widening.

MIDNIGHT

Kendou? Are you still there?

I am so sorry, I was in a meeting that had our phones off so I just saw your messages now

You found a little girl? Is she alright? Are you alright?

Please answer me as soon as you can

Cursing slightly under her breath, realizing that she had forgotten that she had messaged her teacher and All Might, she quickly put in the password for her phone, moving to the message app to respond.

YOU

Sensei?

I'm really sorry about texting you out of the blue

MIDNIGHT

Oh, thank goodness

So are you alright? What about the girl?

YOU

Yes, she's okay

I have her at my place right now

MIDNIGHT

Ok, good, you're back home with her

In these kinds of situations, though, I would normally advise you to take her to the police

or all else fails, you should take her back to UA - Principal Nezu and Recovery Girl could have assisted you, and we do have a few teachers who stay a bit later to patrol if you couldn't find them

YOU

er

Well, I did ask her if she wanted to go to the police, or the hospital

But she refused

MIDNIGHT

I'm … sorry?

She refused?

YOU

yeah

pretty uh

adamantly so

she said something like

'they'll look for me there'

MIDNIGHT

...

YOU

er

sensei?

MIDNIGHT

I'm still here

Kendou, sorry, but please excuse me for a moment

At the request to wait, Itsuka slowly nodded, sitting back on the porch and wincing at moving a little bit too fast, rubbing her back as she put the phone down on her lap. She glanced back around, seeing Nejire having an animated talk on the phone while giggling and swinging on Itsuka's old playset, while Izuku was hurriedly explaining what was going on to his own mom (Itsuka could hear the sound of Inko crying even from over here) and Ochako paced back and forth on the porch while talking to her own dad - probably running by him what happened and where she'd be for the rest of the night -

- and then her phone suddenly began ringing.

Feeling herself jump (and regretting it at once, whining in pain - why is everything insisting on making her jump tonight when she felt so sore?!), Itsuka looked back down at her phone, and blinked when she saw Midnight's name flashing on the screen. Raising an eyebrow, Itsuka picked back up her phone and answered it, hesitantly bringing it to her ear.

"Er - hello? Midnight-sensei?"

"Guess again, Kendou."

At the emotionless voice on the other line, both of Itsuka's eyebrows shot up.

"Aizawa-sensei?" She asked in confusion, remembering the mummy-like state her teacher was in and feeling confused. "I - how did you get Midnight-sensei's phone? And - uh - how are you holding it?"

"She's holding it up to my ear." Itsuka then became aware of the sound of background noise on the other end of the phone, and Midnight sighing. "I was reading her messages over her shoulder. Now, what's going on?"

Feeling herself become a bit nervous talking to her strict teacher, Itsuka nodded (even though Aizawa couldn't see it) and decided to give him a quick version of what happened, relaying the important parts of finding Eri and making sure she was safe at her home. Aizawa, for his part, listened attentively, letting out a few hums as she explained the situation, and then, as Itsuka finished up, he let out a small, tired sigh.

"So just so I understand," He reiterated, "she's scared of going to the hospital, and the police."

"Y-yes, sir."

"She specifically said that people would look for her there - people she doesn't want looking for her?"

"That's - yeah, that's right. She - she didn't say that she didn't want them to find her, but she was - she was scared when she brought them up."

"Hm. Alright then - in that case, bringing her home might've been the smarter thing to do. She'll still need someone to have a look at her, though," Aizawa exhaled, "if she was running around in dirty bandages, it's possible that she might be hiding injuries. So, Kendou, I'll be stopping by your home tomorrow with Recovery Girl. She knows her way around cagey children, so this Eri will be comfortable with her. I'll also ask a police officer to accompany us to ask her questions - he won't wear a uniform, of course, just so she won't be uncomfortable around him."

"I - I see," Itsuka slowly nodded, frowning a bit, "so - so a police officer is coming with you."

"Yes. Unless that's a problem?"

"I …" Itsuka found herself hesitating, frowning slightly - why would she be resistant about a cop coming to question Eri? Isn't that what she wanted to do by bringing her to a police station?

But then she remembered how cagey and frightened Eri had acted when Itsuka had asked her about going to a police officer. Maybe it was just a gut feeling, but …

"I … I don't know if it's a good idea," She admitted, grimacing slightly as she realized that she was refusing the instruction of her very strict teacher, but still went on, "she looked like she was going to run away from me when I asked her if she wanted to go to the police, or go to the hospital. I - I understand that they probably want to question her, but … well … I think it'll just upset her, sensei."

There was another pause on the other end of the line, while Itsuka waited nervously for her teacher to respond - and then Aizawa sighed again.

"Maybe," He gave her, which made Itsuka blink in surprise - wait, he wasn't going to call her an idiot? - and she heard him shift on the other side on the other end of the line, "so in that case, Midnight will accompany Recovery Girl and myself in lieu of a police officer. She or I can ask her any questions we may need, and send what we get to the police to begin an investigation."

"I … I guess so. But - uh - Midnight-sensei?"

"If the girl is as skittish as you're suggesting, having Midnight there with her quirk will be imperative to make sure she doesn't bolt the moment she sees us." Aizawa explained, and then added, in a dry voice, "I'll make sure she'll be wearing something appropriate."

Itsuka gulped, blushing at Aizawa answering her unasked question, and heard Midnight sighing dramatically in the background.

"For now, just make sure she stays at your house until we get there, Kendou," Aizawa continued to instruct her, "she might be a runaway - if you take your eyes off her for even a second, she might try and slip out. Just make sure that she's still there when Recovery Girl gets there to check up on her, and then we'll decide what additional actions we may have to take."

"I … okay, sensei, I understand," She nodded, sitting up, "I'll let my parents know."

"Good."

There was another pause, in which Itsuka sat there for about ten seconds of silence - and then glanced at her phone, wondering if something was wrong with the other end, until she heard Aizawa let out a tired sigh.

"Midnight," She heard him grumble, "I was done talking. Take the phone away from my ear and hang up now."

"But don't you wanna say goodnight to your student?"

"Midnight, now."

With that, the phone call finally ended, and Itsuka let out a small sigh as she put the phone back down on her lap, slowly nodding to herself. Taking another second to glance around, seeing Nejire, Izuku and Ochako still talking to their parents, Itsuka let out a small grunt as she got back up to her feet, carefully walking back up onto the porch and sliding the door open. Meeting Ochako's eye, she pointed inside and mouthed to her to lock the door behind her, which Ochako nodded and gave her a thumbs up as Itsuka returned inside.

After all, Itsuka now needed to tell her mom that they were going to have a few guests over tonight and tomorrow - and she needed to grab both Izuku and Ochako's spare clothes that they had left in her house last year just in case to sleep in tonight, and then find some of her own pajamas for Nejire to sleep in.

Upon finally reaching upstairs, Itsuka took a deep breath as she tried to fight down the pain her entire body was in, having climbed up the stairs and realizing that with as sore as her body is she wouldn't be doing that again. However, before she could call out to her parents, the sound of the bathroom door sliding open caught her attention, making her look around in surprise.

"I'll just be out here, okay, sweetie?" Tenohira kindly said as she exited the bathroom back first, presumably talking to Eri as she stared down at something, "Just to give you a little privacy. Don't worry, Itsuka won't mind you wearing her old pajamas. If you need something, just let me know."

With that, Tenohira slowly slid the door shut - and then, after a moment, the kind smile slipped off her face. Itsuka felt her mouth open in surprise as her mom let out a shuddering breath, and leaned against the door, closing her eyes as tears suddenly began to well.

"M-Mom?"

Itsuka didn't mean to speak up, but alas, it was a little too late to pretend she wasn't there, and hadn't just seen that. Tenohira jumped a bit, her eyes snapping open as she quickly looked around, and Itsuka saw her face automatically morph into a more easy-going expression - as though her daughter hadn't just caught her about to cry.

"O-oh! Hi, sweetie, I - I didn't see you standing there," She tried to laugh awkwardly, glancing away, and Itsuka felt herself begin to worry as she quietly walked over to her mom, "is - did everyone else go home?"

"Uh - n-no, but - is - are you okay, Mom? What's wrong?"

"I …" Tenohira hesitated then, her obviously fake smile fading somewhat as she met her daughter's eyes - and then she let out another shuddering breath, and raised her hand to cover her eyes as she gestured for Itsuka. Her daughter, feeling more than a little concerned, walked over to the bathroom door, and blinked as Tenohira immediately enveloped her in a hug, Itsuka glancing at her mom uncertainly as she ran a hand through her orange hair.

"Mom? Seriously, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, baby," Tenohira muttered, although Itsuka heard how much her voice was shaking with emotion, and that broke her heart a little bit as she hugged her mom back, "it's just … that poor little girl."

"H-huh? What - what do you mean?"

"Those bandages. I took them off, and … and god, she's covered in scars."

Itsuka felt herself go still at that revelation, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping slightly. She had her suspicions, of course, and had been very afraid of what they'd find if they took off those bandages. But to hear her mother confirm it, it … it made her suddenly feel squeamish, as though her veins were filling with ice.

But before she could vocalize her horror, Tenohira let out another shuddering sigh, and moved back so she wasn't clinging to her daughter, being sure to kiss her cheek first. Itsuka grimaced slightly at the affection, but didn't push her mother off as she cupped Itsuka's face, the teenager looking up at her mother as she smiled even with tears in her eyes.

"Honey, I know your grandfather called you out on doing something rash," She gently said, her thumb brushing against Itsuka's cheek, "but you did the right thing, saving Eri. Always remember that, okay? Your grandpa might think you're dumb for being a hero, but … but I'm always, always gonna be on your side."

Itsuka faltered at that, blinking up at her mother for a moment - and then she quickly nodded, feeling tears of her own sting her eyes, and moved to give her mom another hug, Tenohira letting out a small giggle as she hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. There was the sound of paws on the hardwood floor, and Itsuka moved one hand that she had wrapped around her mom to pet her dog's head as he moved to sit beside them.

"I was talking to my teachers," Itsuka mumbled into her mom's shoulder, "they wanna come by tomorrow to meet Eri."

"Teachers, huh? You mean heroes?"

"Yeah. Heroes."

"Good." Tenohira nodded, "They should. That little girl … she's really been through it. We have to be gentle with her, okay? And … and don't stare at her scars, I could tell that she was uncomfortable with me looking."

"I … okay, Mom."

They only had another moment of embracing before the sound of feet moving up the stairs alerted them that someone was coming, and both women moved out of their hug to see Izuku, Ochako and Nejire coming back up the stairs into the upstairs house, letting out sighs of relief as Nejire looked at the dog just as Gūdo saw her return, letting out an excited bark as he quickly hurried back to her.

"That's right! I'm back!" Nejire giggled, immediately dropping to her knees to let Gūdo lick her face, although she sputtered a bit as Gūdo licked at her mouth. "Gah! Doggy kisses! Bleh! You need to brush your teeth, boy! Or eat one of those - uh - one of those treats that helps with your breath!"

"He does," Itsuka giggled a bit, shaking her head, "he just doesn't like eating them compared to his usual food. I guess things are okay?"

"Yeah," Izuku nodded, smiling in relief, "I explained everything to my mom, and … well, she's worried, but she's okay with me staying over for the night, and for tomorrow too."

"Same here," Ochako giggled, bending over to scratch Gūdo's ears, "my parents are pretty much in the same boat - concerned about Eri, and okay with me staying over!"

"I'm good too!" Nejire cheered, unable to stop her laughter as Gūdo nuzzled into her. "My parents were cool! So we're doing a sleepover!"

"Oh?" Tenohira raised an eyebrow, smirking and cocking her hip at the four teenagers. "All three of you are staying over, huh? I don't recall giving you all permission to do that."

Izuku, Ochako and Nejire froze a bit, their eyes widening.

"I'm just kidding, guys," The Kendou matriarch shook her head, giggling as they all sagged their shoulders, "you're more than welcome to stay over. I guess this means … well, either way, Izuku, you're on the couch, and I'll grab the futon for one of you girls to sleep in."

"Oh, of - of course, Tenohira," Izuku smiled at her, straightening up, "I can go grab -"

"H-Hira?"

All five of them in the hall blinked at the quiet voice coming from the bathroom, and turned just as it slid open slowly. Standing in the doorway, Eri let out a small hum as she glanced down at the clothes they had prepared for her, looking a bit unsure as she stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing a gray t-shirt with a large dolphin on the front, and a pair of red pajama pants with a dolphin pattern on it as well, and (thankfully) a fresh, clean set of bandages wrapped around her arms.

Blinking down at her clothes, and realizing that these could only be Itsuka's old clothes from when she was a kid, Ochako and Nejire looked around at the orange-haired girl, raising their eyebrows, and Itsuka crossed her arms defiantly, going a bit red.

"I was really into dolphins when I was a kid, okay?" She grumbled defensively, pouting when Nejire giggled.

"Oh, you look so cute, Eri!" Tenohira gushed, quickly moving to kneel down on the floor so they were at eye level. "Are they comfortable?"

"Mm-hm." Eri nodded, still a bit shy, and she looked around at Izuku, Itsuka, Ochako and Nejire as they likewise beamed at her, blinking at them in surprise. "Hi."

"Hi, Eri," Ochako giggled, waving to her, "Tenohira's right, you look really cute!"

"Mm." Eri glanced along them for a brief moment, and then her gaze fell onto Gūdo as the dog looked around at her. She blinked at the animal roughly the size of her sitting down, seeing him sitting there getting his ears scratched, but the sight of someone he didn't know had him letting out an inquisitive huff, his large black eyes staring at the little girl as she let out a small noise and took a cautious step back.

"Oh," Itsuka let out a small gasp, and giggled as she moved to kneel down beside Eri, lightly touching her shoulder to get her attention and looking back to her dog, "you don't have to be afraid of him, Eri - Gūdo is the nicest doggy in the world."

"Gūdo …?" Eri repeated, raising her hand to hold Itsuka's sleeve and keeping her eyes on the dog as he yawned.

"Mm-hm. This is Gūdo - he's my doggy. Do you wanna pet him?"

Eri blinked at that offer, glancing back at Itsuka as she slowly got up, and let out a small gasp as Itsuka moved over to the dog, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around her dog, Gūdo immediately leaning into her to sniff her hair and make her giggle as he licked her ear. Thankfully, Gūdo's attention seemed entirely focused on Eri, only greeting his master briefly before turning back to look at the little girl, panting happily with his tongue out.

"It's okay, Eri," Itsuka reached out for her, smiling encouragingly while Izuku, Nejire and Ochako stepped back, and Tenohira likewise got up, giving her an encouraging smile, "he won't hurt you."

Eri hesitated - and then, after gulping a bit, took a hesitant step forward, keeping her eyes on the dog's face in case he suddenly changed his mind. The group watched as Eri stepped forward, walking slowly over to the dog, and then, after a moment of hesitation, reached out carefully, as though afraid of being bitten if she moved too fast.

Gently, her hand touched the dog's chest, palm up, and Eri blinked at the soft fur underneath her hand as she experimentally rubbed up and down. Itsuka smiled, and moved her hands away from her dog so that he could get up, Eri letting out a surprised gasp as he stood up - due to her smaller height, and the size of the dog, he was almost as tall as her, with her being only about a few centimeters taller - but Gūdo only let out another yawn as he moved around Eri, giving her an experimental sniff, much to her surprise as his nose grazed her wet hair, and then sat back down again, resting his chin on her shoulder as she stared blankly at him.

"There, you see?" Itsuka giggled while both Ochako and Nejire clutched their hearts from the cuteness, "He's just a big baby. I'm sure that he'll -"

She was interrupted, however, by the sound of Eri sniffling. The four teenagers and Tenohira, who had been standing above the two and watching, felt their eyes widen as tears suddenly spilled from Eri's eyes, and before any of them could panic, she gently raised her arms to wrap around the dog's neck, and buried her face into the dog, the sound of muffled crying filling the hallway.

Izuku, standing above them, couldn't help but feel his heart break for the little girl, tears welling in his own eyes, and before he could think, he was moving down to his knees. Hesitating for only a moment, he reached out with his hand to gently hold her shoulder, Eri flinching a bit at the touch but not moving away as she hugged Gūdo a bit tighter, the dog letting out a few pants as he turned to continue sniffing her hair. Ochako, Nejire and Itsuka likewise crowded around them, with Itsuka mimicking Izuku and gently brushing Eri's hair, Ochako rubbing her back, and Nejire patting her head.

Tenohira, for her part, merely took a step back and let the four teenagers comfort the little girl. There was the sound of footsteps approaching them from behind, and Tenohira turned to see Hakushu exiting the guest room, blinking in concern at the scene, but thankfully remained quiet as his wife shushed him.

It took a little while, but Eri eventually became calm enough to stop trying to strangle Gūdo with her thin arms, and the Kendou parents guided her down the hall to show her the guest room - a large room with a big window on the side, and a nice, large bed.

"The bed's nice and soft for you," Hakushu explained to the little girl as she held Itsuka's hand, "and you get it all to yourself! Isn't that nice?"

Eri let out a small hum, and then turned to look up at Itsuka.

"Are … are you gonna stay with me?"

"Huh?" Itsuka blinked, and then turned to look back at her open door. "Oh, uh … well, actually, Eri, that's my room right there. I'm just gonna be in there with Ochako and -"

Before she could finish that sentence, Eri turned and began gently tugging on her hand, Itsuka letting out a small noise of surprise but still letting her pull her into her room, only having a bit of time to flash her parents a look before she was pulled inside, and both Ochako and Nejire shared a small, uncertain glance.

"I … guess she's with us tonight." Ochako shrugged.

"I guess so," Hakushu shrugged, letting out a small chuckle as he looked back over at the surprised Izuku, "I guess that means the guest room's for you, Midoriya."

"I - oh," Izuku blinked, "I … I guess so? If that's - if it's okay. I - I wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch if -"

"Midoriya. Take the room."

"Y-yes sir!"

With chuckles, Hakushu and Tenohira stepped back, watching as Izuku moved towards the room with his change of clothes under his arm (Hakushu had ended up bringing him and Ochako their pajamas, and Nejire was going to get changed in Itsuka's room), and the two girls moved to enter Itsuka's room for the night. As she was the last one to enter, Nejire paused while closing the door, and then turned to look back at Izuku as he likewise paused in the doorway to the guest room, noticing her look at him.

With a small giggle, Nejire gave him a wave as she closed the door slowly behind her, and Izuku felt himself go still as she kept her eye on him until the door completely closed, his cheeks going red again as he gulped a bit, leaning slightly against the frame of the guest room's door as -

"Ahem."

Feeling himself freeze, and his face slowly growing redder by the moment, Izuku slowly turned to look at the two adults still standing in the hall and having witnessed … whatever the hell that was, with Hakushu having an amused look on his face and Tenohira pouting at Izuku with a noticeably distainful look in her eye.

"Uh …" Izuku gulped nervously, having no idea why Tenohira was glaring at him but knowing that he should probably excuse himself from her gaze immediately, and quickly stepped in and closed the door, hurriedly saying goodnight to both of them as the door snapped closed.

After a moment of silence, Tenohira pouted a little bit harder at the door, letting out a small whine as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"The cheek of that boy, Hakushu …"

"I know, HIra."

"… the fucking cheek!"

"Yeah, yeah," Hakushu chuckled, wrapping his arm around his wife as he began guiding them towards their own room, Tenohira growing quiet as she leaned against him, "that's something we'll deal with tomorrow, sweetie. This was a … interesting way to spend the rest of our night, and I'm pooped. I'm probably not even gonna be able to open the shop tomorrow since we're gonna have guests."

"Mm-hm."

"Well, for now, let's just go to bed, alright? Sounds like we're going to have a busy day -"

"Hakushu."

He faltered in his step at how suddenly quiet his wife was, pausing in their doorway as he looked down at Tenohira. She was quiet for a moment, staring forward for a moment, and then closed her eyes as she let out another sigh.

"Eri."

"Uh … yeah?" Hakushu raised an eyebrow. "What about her? Is everything -"

"She looks like her, doesn't she?"

Hakushu's words died in his mouth when she asked that quiet question, feeling his mouth slowly close. Tenohira continued to stare ahead, her face falling as she stared down at the floor, and waited for her husband to answer.

"…"

"…"

"… you noticed it too, huh?" Hakushu quietly asked, and Tenohira nodded, prompting him to let out a small sigh. "I … yeah, honey, I - I see it. She looks like …"

He didn't finish that sentence - and quite honestly, he didn't have to. Tenohira continued staring down at the floor for a moment - and then she closed her eyes, letting Hakushu guide her the rest of the way towards their room and inside, as he let out another small sigh at his wife slowly walking towards the bed, and closed their door behind him.

On the other side of the house, however, there was one person who wasn't trying to sleep at the moment, despite saying that he would be going to bed a half hour ago. Leaning back in his chair, Teko let out a small sigh as he stared out the window, seeing the moon shining in the distance as he leaned back in his chair. With a frown, he turned to look over at his phone, scooping it up and putting in the password.

The message that came up made him scowl a bit as he read it over again.

UNKNOWN CALLER

Something happened tonight, something that we'll need to put all our resources in.

We have to put a pause on the Villain Consortium.

Please understand.

Putting the phone down on his leg, Teko let out another sigh.

---

The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, making Izuku squint as he stepped out of the changing room. With a grumble, he raised a hand over his eyes to block out the sun, he walked forward, feeling the hot concrete beneath his bare feet turn into sand as he strolled forward, and then, through his squinted eyes, he made out a shape starting to come towards him.

Lowering his hand in confusion, he managed to blink some of the bright spots out of his vision, becoming less blurry and allowing him to lower his hand - which was immediately snatched by another, which made him snap his eyes open and look around in surprise.

"Well, what are you waiting for, slow poke? Come on!" Nejire giggled, squeezing his hand a bit tighter as she began to pull him along the beach, Izuku finding himself stumbling a bit as she pulled him along. "What are you waiting for, Midoriya? We have so many other things we gotta do! Like another game of tag! Or running along the water! That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Maybe we can go swimming too!"

"I … I guess so?" Izuku tried to smile, although it came across as shaky as he tried to keep his eyes on the back of her head as she guided him along. He tried as hard as he could not to look down - she was wearing her nice swimsuit, so he had to consciously try to keep his eyes on her head. But still … he couldn't help but feel a little confused in his fluster, glancing around the beach and feeling his smile fall.

Hadn't they already left the beach? And had gone to see … Itsuka? Hadn't this already happened? So - so why were they back here?

"You're still asking yourself questions, aren't you?"

Izuku blinked at Nejire suddenly speaking up, looking around at her as she glanced behind her shoulder, and she let out a cute giggle as they both slowed down, standing near a blanket laid out in the sand - when did that get there?

"Well, I can't exactly judge, can I?" She pointed out, laughing as she spun around to face him properly. "Like I said, I'm the one always asking questions, right? So I can't exactly go 'hey, stop questioning everything!' But hey, maybe … well, maybe we don't have to ask each other questions for a little bit. I think there's something else we can do that's a lot more fun."

"Uh …" Izuku felt himself falter, staring down at her innocent face, "and … w-what would that beeeeeeeeeOFH!"

Without warning, Nejire suddenly pulled on his hand - or, more accurately, she yanked on it to throw him completely off balance, flailing slightly before she turned him to fall to the ground. With a yelp, Izuku tripped over his own feet and quickly toppled over while Nejire giggled, and he let out a comical 'oof!' as he hit the blanket back first, although thanks to the surprisingly soft sand beneath it it didn't hurt very much - he was more surprised by Nejire suddenly throwing him around.

"I - what's -?"

Before he could get that question out, however, he became aware of her moving, Izuku closing his eyes briefly - and then he felt something rest itself on his stomach and lower body as he laid down, feeling like there was some kind of … weight on top of him. Feeling his brow furrow, Izuku opened his eyes and looked up - and then he promptly froze in horror, his face exploding in a blush.

"Ah … that's so much better!" Nejire threw her hands up in victory as she sat down on top of him, reaching up to undo her ponytail and letting her long, blue hair fall over her shoulders, before looking back down at Izuku with a smile - but one that he had never seen before, and made him begin shaking nervously. It was confident, of course, but her eyes were narrowed slightly, glancing down at where his shirt had ridden up slightly - and then she reached down, and grabbed it.

Izuku could only stare in horror as she began working his shirt off, staring up at her as she licked her lips at the sight of his stomach and making him blush so hard he felt like passing out - and yet, his arms moved automatically, sitting up slightly so she could work the shirt over his head, and once it was off, she aimlessly tossed it behind her shoulder, licking her lips and making him shake beneath her.

"There we go … that wasn't so hard, right? And you look so much more comfortable now!"

"I - H-H-Hadou?!" He finally managed to find his words, escaping his mouth in a squeak. "W-what are you - what -?!"

"Shhhhh," She suddenly shushed him, and Izuku found his words dying in his throat as her finger gently pressed against his lips, "like I said, Izuku … we don't have to question anything anymore."

He felt himself shiver at Nejire saying his name in that tone of voice, sounding quiet, amused and more than a little pleased, and could only watch as she began to lower herself down. Her hands trailed down to rub against his shoulders, the feeling of her nails digging into his skin slightly making him bite his lip, and watched as her pretty face came closer and closer to his as her hands slipped down to his wrists.

As she got closer, Izuku, for his part, didn't fight her at all, watching in shock and a bit of intimidation as Nejire laid down on top of him, allowing him to feel her soft skin press against his and making him shake - god, she smelled really good - and watched as her long blue hair pooled around his head. Her hands, which held his wrists, lifted his hands up, and he didn't resist at all as she laid his hands down on her hips.

Izuku did nothing to dissuade her as she finally finished laying down on top of him, their faces close by and her blue hair covering his entire head so there was nowhere he could look but her.

"C'mon," She giggled again, "isn't this what you wanted?"

"I … I'm …"

"You wanted to ask me why it's okay for you to look at me, right?" Nejire mused. Izuku felt himself go red as his hands clenched slightly on her hips, feeling her soft skin as her own hands rested on his chest, rubbing up and down and making her purr.

"But it's okay, Izuku … it's okay for you to look at me. It's okay for you to touch me. It's okay for you to …"

"N-Nej - I - N-"

"It's okay," She whispered as her face came closer and closer, their noses brushing against each other lightly as she tilted her head, and Izuku found himself gulping, "for you … to …"

Izuku found himself shuddering as he realized what she was asking him to do. His hands on her hips clenched slightly, and her body pressed firmer against his. Izuku only stared up into her beautiful eyes for another moment - and then he felt his eyes begin to slowly close. His hands on her hips rubbed hesitantly up and down, and he began to lift his head up as Nejire likewise closed her eyes, and he felt his lips begin to pucker as -

"Well, isn't this nice."

With their lips just a little bit apart, Izuku found himself stopping at the sound of a low, angry voice above him, his eyes snapping open. Nejire likewise looked confused, and looked up quickly. Izuku found himself straining to look up from where Nejire was laying on top of him, and felt himself freeze at the sight of two familiar pairs of shoes standing in front of them, and quickly looked up.

"Would you have a look at that, Ochako," Itsuka scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest as Ochako stared down at Izuku with a betrayed, heartbroken expression, "the moment someone else gives him attention, he's off nipping at her heels."

"Deku," Ochako said quietly, slowly shaking her head as though she were in denial, and Izuku felt his own heart clench slightly, "are … are you kidding? After everything we've been through together - the second Nejire comes into the picture, you're just going to push me to the side? After everything we've dealt with in middle school, you'll just forget about me?"

"I - Occhan -"

"Well," Itsuka scoffed, shaking her head and glaring down at him, "I'm sorry, Midoriya, but we're not gonna just let you yank us around like that. So I guess this is it. You wanna go off and flirt with someone else? Fine, you do that. Me and Ochako, we don't need you."

"I'm …" Ochako shook her head again, tearing up, and then quickly turned to hug Itsuka, the orange-haired girl quickly hugging her back while shooting a glare down at Izuku.

"I - h-hold on -" He tried to protest, moving to get up and comfort his best friend, and protest their hurtful words - but Nejire was quick to grab his shoulders and shove him back down onto the ground, making Izuku whip his shocked gaze back to her as she pouted down at him, looking shocked and angry.

"Are you kidding?" She asked, sounding insulted and hurt. "I thought we had something good going on, Izuku! You said that you wanted to get closer to me too! After I opened my heart to you about what I've been through! Did you think that was easy for me?! And then the moment they start looking sad, suddenly I'm the fourth wheel?!"

"Don't blame us, Hadou, blame him," Itsuka spat, moving to kneel down beside Izuku's head, and he was quick to look back up at her - seeing the cold anger there, but also how hurt she looked, "he didn't even trust you with what happened on that playground all those years ago. But don't feel too bad about it - apparently it was just him trying to score sympathy points with me. Bakugou was right, Izuku - he's right about you being our third wheel."

"W-what?" Izuku managed to croak out, tears beginning to spill from his eyes.

"Do you know how many times Ochako and I have tried to hang out by ourselves, only for you to shove your way in between us? Sure, maybe hanging out with you at first was okay, but that was just because I was trying to appease All Might when he was pushing us together. Once Ochako joined, how didn't you pick up on how we wanted to be left alone together? How we were having so much more fun when you weren't there?! Me and her do everything together, from the battle trial to hanging out to eating to even getting our lives threatened, and you always find a way to butt in!"

"Why?" Ochako asked in a broken voice, "Why can't I do anything without you looming over my shoulder, Deku? Why do you always insist on being involved every time I wanna spend time with someone who isn't you?!"

"I …" Izuku managed to croak out, staring at her in remorse, "… I'm …"

"Forget it, Ochako," Itsuka shook her head, shooting Izuku one more glare as she stood back up and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, "we should've told him this the moment we enrolled at UA. We put up with you because we're nice, but if you wanna string us along so you can spend time with Hadou, then forget it. You can't have it every way - you can't string me and Ochako along while you hang out with Hadou, and you can't keep her hanging to spend time with us."

"I - but -"

"So we don't need you. We've never needed you. If you're gonna juggle me and Ochako and Hadou all at once, just throw me and Ochako away so you can have Hadou all to yourself. At least she'll take you off our backs. So from now on …"

She finally turned herself and Ochako away, and Izuku heard her voice crack.

"… leave us alone."

"W-wait -!" Izuku desperately pleaded, hsi hand shooting out towards them -

- and then his eyes snapped open, Izuku staring up wide-eyed at the ceiling of the Kendous' guest room while he panted slightly.

For about a minute, Izuku tried desperately to calm down his breathing, feeling something wet on his cheeks that he quickly raised his other hand to wipe away. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to remember where he actually was, and what Itsuka and Ochako had said on the beach, no matter how vividly he had remembered their biting words in his head, was … that didn't happen.

It didn't happen. It was - it was just a dream. He had only dreamed of what they had said.

With a small sigh, he flopped down the hand he had been aiming up at the ceiling with onto the bed, and lowered the hand he had been rubbing his teary eyes with, staring up at the ceiling in defeat. He kept telling himself that Ochako and Itsuka didn't actually say those things to him, that there was no way that they would.

And yet, Katsuki's words from Tuesday began echoing around in his head.

"It's obvious, nerd. Those two do everything together now, and the best part is that they do it all without you. They eat together, go home together, all that stupid stuff. Isn't it obvious? You're the third wheel. You can keep trying to get their attention and make them dote on you, but eventually they're gonna forget about you and tell you to fuck off. Just like everyone else did back in middle school."

"They eat together, go home together, all that stupid stuff."

"She just didn't have any better options than you before we started high school."

At the time, Izuku had just pushed Katsuki's words to the side, but now … well, it was becoming more than a little obvious that his accusations had hit a little closer to home than Izuku wanted to admit, he scowled as he gingerly sat up in the bed, wincing at how sore his body felt from all the training he and Nejire had done yesterday.

Katsuki's accusations that Izuku was nothing more than a third wheel for Itsuka and Ochako kept bouncing around in his mind, making him scowl as he let out another shaky sigh and scratched the side of his head. The thought of him being a third wheel was - deep down, he knew it was stupid. There was no way that Ochako and Itsuka thought that of him - he remembered the nights they would spend here after training down in the dojo, hanging out in Itsuka's room or the living room, just laughing and hanging out. He remembered the times they would go out to eat together, or study in a café, or sit down on the beach and just eat their lunches during their breaks. He remembered how they clung to him after his fight with the hooded man.

There was - he knew his mind was just messing with him.

And yet … and yet …

As much as Izuku wanted to brush Katsuki's insults off as just that, or think that he was full of it … there was one part that Izuku couldn't help but think about.

"Those two do everything together now, and the best part is that they do it all without you."

Was … was that true? Izuku found himself frowning as he stared down into his lap, putting his scarred hands down on his knees. He tried to think of a time when Ochako and Itsuka didn't do something together - sitting next to each other during lunch, or going home together, doing exercises in class. Anything that they didn't do together.

And … he couldn't. For some reason, there wasn't a single instance lately that those two weren't attached at the hip for. And the fact that they had held hands when they had gone back to the USJ …

Izuku groaned at that, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. That had been because they had gone back to the place they had nearly died in, but … but at the same time …

… neither of them had checked up on him. Neither of them had asked if he was doing okay. He knew that it was immature of him to think so, shaking his head at how childish he was being - he had been fine at the USJ, so he shouldn't be upset that they didn't ask.

But … but he couldn't deny one thing Katsuki was right about. Ochako and Itsuka were growing closer. And … and …

"She just didn't have any better options than you before we started high school."

Was … could that possibly be true? That the only reason Ochako stayed by him for so long … was because she didn't have any other options that were better than him?

… no. Izuku shook his head and scowled. No, don't go down that path. Katsuki had just been trying to get to him. Trying to make him doubt his friendship with Ochako and Itsuka. Trying to point out that they did everything together, and trying to paint it as a bad thing.

No. It wasn't bad if Itsuka and Ochako were close. Closer than … then he was with either of them. He couldn't let his old friend get to him.

With a sigh, he swung his legs out from the bed, wincing as his bare feet met the cold floor, Izuku took a deep breath, and rubbed his eyes again. He couldn't think about that right now - he wasn't going to sit here and doubt his friendship with his training partners, just because of a bad dream. That started with …

At that, Izuku paused, feeling himself stare blankly at nothing for a second as he remembered how the dream started - and felt his face grow hot again as he raised a hand to his mouth, staring forward as he let out another groan.

Well … at least the dream … had started out relatively nice. Dreaming of Nejire taking him back out on the beach, throwing him to the ground and getting … on top … of him … and trying to … to …

… oh, god.

Izuku let out a small whine as he covered his now glowing face with both hands, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He had a dream where he was about to kiss Nejire. And … and she was still here, he realized in mounting horror. The events of last night were coming back to him - finding Eri, bringing her here to Itsuka's house, and … and Nejire was … she was probably sleeping in the room across the hall from him. And he'd have to see her after having a - a dream where he tried to kiss her, and had her on top of him, and -

- and already made a complete fool of himself yesterday.

Pouting, Izuku lowered his hands away from his mouth to frown down at the floor. That was right - yesterday, he'd made an idiot out of himself whenever Nejire so much as touched him. Anytime she grabbed his wrist or his hand, he would freeze up, go red as a beet, and shut down. Playing tag with her had been okay, since he had been too caught up in the fun to think about it, but - but god, what must Nejire think about him now that she knew that every time she touched him he would devolve into a blushing mess?

That … needed to change.

Izuku sighed as he leaned back on the bed, staring out the window as the sun began to appear over the horizon. He wasn't exactly sure if yesterday answered his question about how he felt towards Nejire, but he had a feeling that it was venturing towards … a very positive answer, and he couldn't just - what, freeze up every time she touched him? No, that was just … pathetic. So he needed to - he needed to find a way not to do that anymore. So that when someone of the opposite sex touched him he wouldn't mentally shut down.

But … how would he do that? Practice? Izuku scoffed to himself at the thought - and then he paused.

… actually … that … seemed like it wasn't a bad idea, Izuku slowly realized as he tilted his head in thought. Practice being touched by a girl so he didn't shut down if Nejire touched him again? And let's be real, she was going to eventually touch him again, so maybe … maybe if he got some practice, the next time he went out to hang out with Nejire, he wouldn't mentally shut down.

But who would he practice with? Ochako? No, not her, Izuku sighed, Ochako was already a pretty touchy-feely person, so he was more than used to getting physical affection from her.

So in that case … the only person that would be able to help him out …

Izuku felt himself grow still, eyes widening and his face turning red. The only person who would be able to help him out … the only girl he knew that might let him hug her if he asked … that would be -

His thoughts were interrupted, however, by the sound of the doorknob suddenly jiggling.

Blinking, Izuku looked around at the door across from the bed, sitting up and tensing slightly at the doorknob began to turn down, and felt himself slowly begin to stand. He wasn't sure what was going on, or what time it was, but Izuku felt himself gulp nervously as the door began to slowly push open -

- but then, as the door opened wide enough for whoever was opening it to poke their head in, Izuku felt his eyes widen in surprise as a familiar head poked in, and then, as her gaze trailed around the room and finally landed on Izuku standing beside the bed, she let a squeak as she tried to hide.

"Eri?" Izuku called to her, feeling himself relax and sighing in relief as the little girl peaked back inside, looking guilty at being caught. "I - g-good morning. What - what are you doing?"

"I'm …" She began to answer in that same, quiet voice, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable as she stood in the doorway, "… I was …"

Izuku stared at her as the little girl obviously tried to find her words, glancing down at the floor as she bit her lip - and then, with another sigh, Izuku moved to sit down on the bed again, drawing her attention as he tried to take a steady breath and smiled at her.

His experience with little kids was … pretty much non-existent, he knew that better than anyone, but … well, there was clearly something bothering Eri, and he couldn't just let her dwell in those thoughts, could he?

"Do you, uh … do you wanna sit down with me?" He offered, trying to smile assuredly at her but knowing he was coming across as awkward, "I don't think I'm gonna get anymore sleep - er, is - is Kendou, Occhan and Hadou awake already?"

"Mm-mm." Eri shook her head, staring down at the floor as tears suddenly began to well in her eyes again, "I … I had a nightmare."

Izuku felt himself falter at that, staring at Eri in surprise as she stared down at her socked feet - and then he let out a soft sigh as he leaned forward. Eri flickered her gaze back up to him as he made himself comfortable on the bed, and then turned to smile at her as he patted the spot next to him, nonverbally offering her to come sit beside him.

Thankfully, Eri seemed to want that, coming into the guest room and closing the door quietly behind her, and the sound of her tiny feet against the hardwood floor filled the room as she approached the bed. Since the bed was a bit bigger than what she was used to, she had to climb carefully up, Izuku having to resist helping her in case she didn't want him to touch her, and watched as she flopped into the bed, grunting slightly, and then she sat up so that she was sitting beside him.

As Izuku suppressed a small yawn, Eri continued to stare down at her feet, leaving them in silence for a few moments as they sat together.

"So you … had a bad dream?" He asked her quietly, and she nodded, tearing up slightly. "Do … do you wanna talk to me about it?"

"Mm-mm."

"I … I see. Okay, that's fine - you don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to. Anyway, I'm sorry, Eri - I know nightmares suck. I was … I actually had a bad dream too, so I … I understand."

"You did?"

"Mm-hm."

Eri stared down at her knees for another moment, and then glanced back up at him.

"What was it about?"

"H-huh?" Izuku blinked, taken off guard.

"Your nightmare. Was it scary?"

"I - well -" Izuku stuttered a bit, glancing away as he was unsure how to even answer that - sure, he wasn't he didn't think Eri would really understand the concept of 'do my friends like each other more than they like me' - but Eri was looking a little curious, so maybe …

"Well, uh … it … it wasn't really scary," He explained in a small voice, seeing Eri tilt her head in confusion, "so it wasn't really a nightmare. More of a … a bad dream that … well … made me feel a little sad."

"Sad?"

"Mm-hm. But -" He was quick to give her a small smile, "- but I know that no matter how sad I feel about my dream, I know that when I see Occhan and - and Kendou later, I'm gonna feel a lot better. Sure, my dream was pretty sad, but that doesn't mean I have to be right now, right?"

"…"

"… uh … yeah," Izuku nodded awkwardly, some of his steam taken away by that complete lack of a response, but before he could try and figure out how to continue the conversation, Eri spoke up again.

"Are you gonna leave?"

"I - huh?" Izuku blinked, looking around at Eri in surprise, and she glanced up at him, small tears in her eyes.

"Last night," She explained in a small voice, "Hira said that you, Nej and Occhan could stay the night. But … but you live here, right? You aren't gonna leave soon, are you?"

"I - oh -"

"I didn't know where you were when I woke up," She told him, tears in her eyes, "I - I was scared that you were gone. I looked everywhere for you, but - but I didn't find you. But you were in here, so it's okay now. Is - are you going to living in here from now on?"

Izuku couldn't help but feel like his heart was breaking as Eri stared up at him, as though pleading for him to confirm that he really did live at Itsuka's house.

"Oh, uh - I - I'm sorry, Eri, but - but this is Kendou's house," He explained in a quiet voice, "not mine. Occhan, Hadou and I - we - we don't live here. We wanted to stay for last night, so we didn't just disappear on you, but … but later tonight, we're gonna have to go home."

"You're not staying?" Eri sat up, and Izuku felt himself begin to panic at the tears immediately forming in her eyes. Before he could explain, however, Eri quickly reached out to grab his arm, as though trying to prevent him from getting up and walking away.

He stared down at her as tears threatened to leak from her eyes again - and then he let out a soft sigh, closing his own eyes for a second. Gently, he stood up from the bed, Eri clinging onto him a bit tighter, but he remedied that by moving to kneel down in front of Eri, slipping his arm out of her grasp as the positioning got awkward, but he remedied that by, gently, taking her hands in his. Eri stared down at him teary-eyed as Izuku smiled up at her.

"Eri," He gently said, "I … well, I will need to go home eventually. My mom and my dad know where I am, but … but they'll need to see me soon. And - and it's the same with Occhan and Hadou - all three of us have our own homes, with our own parents waiting for us to come back. But … but I'm not gonna leave until after today, okay? Not until - not until after dinnertime. We have all day to spend together."

"But … but why?" Eri quietly asked, sniffling. "Can't your mommy and daddy come live here too?"

"I … I don't think that's how it works," Izuku couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "but Eri … just because I'm going home tonight doesn't mean that I won't see you ever again. I swear, I'll … I'll come back tomorrow, okay? Just for a visit."

"Tomorrow …? But then - then what about after that?"

"After that? Well, then that'll be Monday, and - and I'll have school."

"School?"

"Y-yeah." Izuku nodded, feeling herself gulp - did Eri not know what school was? "Like, I'm - I'm gonna go to school so I can learn - uh - things. I'm gonna have to do that for a few days - but I'll tell you what, okay? If it's okay with Tenohira and Hakushu, I'll - after school on Monday, I'll come here with Kendou to say hi to you. I might not be able to stay very long, but - but that'll be okay, wouldn't it? If me and Occhan came and said hi to you."

Eri was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking it over and looking conflicted - and then her red eyes flickered back to his.

"Do … do you promise?"

"Of course," Izuku said immediately, nodding, "I promise."

The little girl stared into his eyes for a second, as though trying to find a lie in there - and then she suddenly surged forward. Izuku let out a small squeak as she wrapped her thin arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, hopping off the bed so she stand there and cling to him.

Izuku felt himself hesitate for a moment - and then let out a soft sigh, and gently wrapped his arms around her back, returning her embrace while he rubbed her back.

"Okay," She sniffled, "if … even if you just come to say hi."

"Yeah," He smiled, gently moving back so that they could look at each other again, and he automatically took the bottom of his shirt to start wiping at her teary face, a move that somewhat surprised him but chose not to question it, "and … and like I said, Occhan will be with me too. And - and who knows? Maybe, when it's the weekend, you can come to see where she and I live too."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

Eri thought about that for a moment - and then she nodded.

"Okay," She mumbled, "if … if we can see each other, then … then I wanna see where you and Occhan live."

"Of course, Eri."

"And - and we can see where Nej lives too, right?"

"Y-yeah, of course."

There was a few seconds of silence in which Eri stared at Izuku and he smiled comfortingly back at her - and then she abruptly said, "I'm hungry."

Izuku felt himself sputter at that abrupt change of topic for a few seconds, and then let out a small laugh - well, maybe he shouldn't be that surprised that was where her mind went, seeing as Eri only had a few fries and chicken nuggets last night. Of course she'd be hungry.

"Okay, Eri, I'll - okay. If no one else is up yet, and if we can keep quiet - I'll make you something to eat. Do you want some toast?"

"Toast?"

"Like - uh - it's toasted bread," Izuku winced at the weak explanation, "or more like - well, how about this? I'll make you some toast, with some butter spread on top, and - and you can tell me if you like it. I think you will."

"Okay." Eri nodded, and Izuku smiled as he moved to get up, letting out a grunt as his knees popped - he had been kneeling on the floor for a little bit, of course - and began to walk with her towards the door to head out to the hall. As they walked together, Eri reached out to take his hand in her tiny one, making him smile down at her as he began leading her out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

---

"Alright, dearie ... now stick your tongue out and say 'ah'."

"Aaaaaah ..."

Eri stuck her tongue out unsurely, and Recovery Girl let out a small hum as she inspected it. Sitting around the living room, everyone watched, from the three Kendous sitting together on the couch to Izuku, Nejire and Ochako sitting on seats from the kitchen, as the elderly nurse inspected the little girl's mouth, looking in carefully with a small flashlight as Eri looked around a bit timidly, but Midnight kneeling beside her and patting her shoulder comfortingly helped her out as Recovery Girl nodded, and turned off the flashlight, smiling at her.

"That's good, Eri, you can close your mouth now." She advised her, turning back to her notepad to write down a few more notes. "Her teeth are fine, and her tongue is healthy, so we don't have to worry about problems there … well, you will need to brush your teeth, dearie," She turned to smile at Eri, "I see that you had a big breakfast."

"Mm-hm." She nodded, "we had toast and pancakes."

"Oh, that sounds delicious!" Midnight giggled.

"Kendou," Aizawa suddenly sharply spoke from where he was sitting on the comfy seat, causing everyone to look over and immediately wince as Gūdo sat up and began licking his bandaged face again, "get control your dog."

"Oh, my god," Itsuka continued to look completely terrified of what Gūdo insisted on doing, fearing divine retribution from her teacher over her lack of control over the excited dog, "Gūdo, come here! Now!"

"Don't mind Aizawa, Eri," Midnight shook her head, smiling down at the look of concern on the little girl's face, "he's just more of a cat person than a dog person."

"But Gūdo … he's the nicest doggy in the world."

"Oh, that he is."

As one might guess, it didn't take very long for the three teachers to arrive that morning, having come upstairs after they were done with breakfast and Itsuka, Ochako and Nejire had gotten control over their messy hair. As he had suggested, Izuku had gotten Eri started with breakfast, apologizing to Tenohira and Hakushu mentally as he rummaged through their bread boxes, and had made the little girl some toast to eat before the two Kendou parents had arrived, surprised that they were up so early, before Tenohira had offered to make them some pancakes while Hakushu ruffled Eri's hair. And thus, Eri was treated to a surprisingly delightful breakfast, the little girl scarfing down whatever Tenohira offered and Izuku trying in vain to get her to slow down and not get syrup down her shirt.

Eventually, after Teko had arrived to get a small breakfast and went downstairs to begin preparing for classes, Itsuka, Ochako and Nejire had arrived in the kitchen, scrambling around in panic for where Eri had apparently vanished to, and Izuku had been treated to their seriously bad cases of bed head - as in, Ochako being the one relatively fine with her shorter hair sticking up in certain places, Itsuka's hair being a frizzy mess, and Nejire being … well … an extreme mess, her long blue hair sticking out everywhere and covering her face. After Itsuka had punched him for being unable to resist snorting, the three girls tried to comb their hair, and sat down with Izuku and Eri to enjoy breakfast as well, Gūdo arriving and sitting underneath Eri's feet, sniffing and licking her feet. As Eri gasped and giggled at the sensation, the cute sound was nearly enough to give Izuku and Ochako heart attacks, Izuku leaning back and clutching his chest while Ochako tried her hardest not to keel over from the cuteness.

Once everyone was well fed and Eri was brought to Itsuka's room to get changed into a fresh pair of pajamas (Nejire and Ochako giggling at the new dolphin shirt and Itsuka flipping them off behind Eri's back), there had come a knock on the door, and Itsuka had opened it to reveal Aizawa, Midnight and Recovery Girl standing there, Midnight dressed into a surprisingly formal violet blue business suit with her hair tied up into a bun - but then Gūdo had to announce himself to the new strangers by pretty much leaping onto Aizawa, barking directly in his face while Midnight made sure to hold his back with both hands to prevent him from toppling head over ass down the stairs.

So to say that her homeroom teacher wasn't exactly pleased with her at the moment would be an understatement.

After about ten minutes of introducing Eri to the teachers, the little girl quickly hiding behind Nejire's hair before she was coaxed out, Recovery Girl had started her inspection of Eri. Thankfully, the elderly nurse was extremely patient, waiting for Eri to come out from behind Nejire and introducing herself kindly to her, with the nurse offering Eri a lollypop for after the examination. Soon after, Tenohira, Hakushu, Itsuka, Izuku, Ochako and Nejire watched as Recovery Girl checked her pulse, unwrapped some of the bandages to look at the scars on her arm (an action that made Eri uncomfortable, so the nurse was very quick to wrap her back up after having a look), and then checked her temperature and heartbeat.

Finally, Recovery Girl let out a sigh as she lowered the stethoscope from around her ears, smiling at Eri as she handed her another piece of candy for her to eat.

"There we are, dearie, we're all done," She patted her hand, "you were very brave."

"Mm-hm."

"Now then," She turned to the adults in the room, "everything seems to be much better than I was fearing. Her blood pressure is a bit low, and there may be some early signs of anemia, but that's nothing a varied and balanced diet can't fix, or, if all else fails, a prescription."

"Oh, good," Tenohira sighed in relief, "that's - that's very good."

"Now, Midoriya," Recovery Girl turned to look at the young man, seeing him sitting between Ochako and Nejire with a slight blush as Nejire's arm brushed against his, "you said that she doesn't have much of a diet?"

"Y-yeah," He quickly nodded, "we asked her about it last night - she said her usual food is just - uh, what was it - oh, uh, onions and tomatoes and beef. And - and apples occasionally."

"Hm," Aizawa let out a hum, looking back over at the little girl as she experimentally chewed on the piece of candy the nurse had given her, and she glanced back around at the mummy man as he drew her attention, "Eri, was it?"

"Um …" Eri glanced down at her feet, still a bit intimidated by the guy wrapped up in bandages, but her attention returned to him as he stood up with a grunt, walking over and kneeling down beside her.

"You've been awfully brave," He commended her, speaking in a low, soft voice that made the four teenagers blink in surprise, "but I have a few questions that Midnight here and I have to ask you, okay? If you don't wanna answer, you don't have to."

"Uh - uh-huh."

"Can you tell us about your parents?" He gently prodded, noticing Eri tense slightly at that question and taking a mental note of it. "Or, if you don't want to, can you tell us why you were running around last night?"

Eri remained quiet for a moment - and then she looked down at her now socket feet, her long gray hair hanging around her head.

"I was … I was running …"

"Okay," Midnight patiently nodded, taking over and smiling encouragingly when Eri glanced at her, "were you running from something? Or someone?"

"I was … running from …"

She stopped for a moment, and then let out a shuddering breath, raising her hands towards her face. Itsuka stood up, ready to hurry over and comfort her, but she felt herself pause when, instead of moving her hands towards her eyes, the little girl moved them towards her mouth.

The adults and teenagers in the room watched as Eri raised her hands towards her lips, and then angled them down to cup around her mouth.

"He … he has a long pointy mouth," She explained, her voice muffled by her hands, "he never takes it off unless - unless he has to look into me. And - and then he wears a mask when he does that."

The room was then filled with complete and utter silence. Midnight blinked slowly, Izuku, Nejire, Itsuka and Ochako feeling their stomachs churn, and Hakushu and Tenohira snapped their mouths closed. Recovery Girl took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, Midnight slowly closed her eyes, and Aizawa stared at the little girl as she looked away, her hands dropping to her sides.

The words she had chosen to use echoed around in their minds, making even Nejire, who had been trying to limit the amount of questions she had due to the situation, fall deadly silent.

'Look into me.'

"This … long pointy-mouthed guy," Aizawa said in a quiet voice, "is he the one who takes care of you?"

"Mm-hm."

"I see." Aizawa slowly nodded, taking a moment to breathe through his nose - and then he looked back over at Izuku, Ochako and Nejire.

"Hadou, Midoriya, Uraraka, Kendou," He said, "please take Eri here and … go do something else. I want to discuss things with your parents, Kendou."

"Y-yes, sensei," Itsuka quickly nodded, walking over to Eri and taking her hand in hers to begin pulling her out of the living room, whistling for Gūdo to follow them, and Izuku, Ochako and Nejire were quick to follow her out of the room while Aizawa stiffly climbed to his feet and Midnight likewise turned to look at the two Kendou parents.

Downstairs, after hearing the sound of students in the dojo and knowing that Eri wouldn't be comfortable in there, Itsuka led them into the garage, Eri's eyes looking over to the bike in the corner and blinking. Soon enough, they tried to distract themselves from what they had heard upstairs as Itsuka knelt down beside her motorcycle, telling Eri more about her bike and how she'd been fixing it up.

While she took the little girl's mind off of what they had been talking about, Izuku and Ochako sat together on the couch, Nejire sitting on the stool and not talking at all for the next ten or so minutes, letting Itsuka take care of Eri for a bit while they tried to take their minds off what she had said. It was kind of eerie, seeing Nejire completely silent, but the blue-haired girl's face was completely crestfallen, glancing over at Eri occasionally and frowning, while Izuku and Ochako merely sat together and stared down at their knees.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, there came a soft knock on the door, and everyone looked around as it opened up.

"There you all are," Midnight smiled, stepping inside and letting the door close behind her, "I was just wondering where you were - I looked outside, but I didn't see anyone. I'd have thought you were out there on the swing."

"Er - hi, sensei," Itsuka quickly stood up, letting Eri continue to sit beside Gūdo on the floor as the dog came over to put his head in the little girl's lap, Eri slowly patting his head. "Is - is everything okay?"

"Yes, Kendou, it is. Aizawa and Recovery Girl are just … discussing things with you parents upstairs. I figured I'd come downstairs and let you know that we've been talking about what is going to be happening with Eri going forward from here."

The four teenagers sat up at that, seeing Midnight take her glasses off to wipe them with a cloth from her pocket.

"Normally," She explained to all of them, moving to sit down on the couch beside Ochako, "Eri would be given over to child services, and be placed into some kind of protective custody and medical care, supervised by the police. Or, possibly, she would be sent to a foster home to be looked after while the police launched an official investigation."

"But -" Ochako began to protest, looking around in worry at Eri.

"With that in mind, though," Midnight seemed to read her student's mind, smiling at her as she patted her hand, "we aren't positive that sending her off to live with strangers would be a good idea. From what you told me last night, Kendou, she isn't fond of hospitals or the police, and sending her to stay with either one may trigger anxiety attacks. That, and sending her to stay with people she doesn't know won't do her any good in the longrun. So if those aren't options, we believe that the next best choice is to have her stay here."

"Here?" Itsuka blinked. "So - so she'd start living here?"

"For now." Midnight nodded. "She's clearly comfortable here, and when we asked your parents, they're open to the idea of having her here full time, as your mother doesn't have to go out to work and can keep an eye on her for us - and, if possible, tutor and take care of her education. UA will, of course, help pay for any expenses that may come with taking care of her."

Ochako, Nejire and Itsuka let out sighs of relief at that, sagging over a bit. But then Izuku, for the first time since they had entered the garage, spoke up.

"Sensei," Izuku found himself frowning, "… what about this … uh … beaked mouth guy?"

Midnight paused at that question as the three girls looked over at him, seeing him hunched over and clenching his hands tightly together. Feeling worried, Ochako reached over and put her hand over his, giving them a small squeeze for comfort as Midnight let out a small sigh.

"Unfortunately, Eri's description doesn't quite give us anything to go on," She admitted, "we considered the possibility that her caretaker has a ... well, from her description, it sounds as though he has a beak, and ergo some kind of avian quirk, but - but we can't be certain. But we will be on the lookout for anyone claiming to be her guardian. We don't want to do anything until we get a proper investigation started, but … in the meantime, we want you four to keep your eyes open. Especially you, Kendou."

"Me?" Itsuka blinked in surprise.

"Yes," Midnight nodded, frowning, "we don't want to jump to any conclusions, but … from what Eri has told us, we're not going to rule out the possibility that her caretaker isn't someone who was taking proper care of her. And since you said you thought you saw someone coming out of that alleyway last night … we aren't going to rule out the possibility that he may have seen you. So please, Kendou - keep an eye out."

---

"Whoa! It's a hero!"

Walking down the street, Camie Utsushimi blinked at the sound of a young voice speaking up behind her, and glanced around curiously, her finger moving to her cheek as she tucked her phone back into her pocket. As she had suspected, it sounded like some kid had called out to her, and sure enough, there were two middle school students staring up at her in surprise, their gaze flickering to her hat on top of her head.

"A hero? Me?" She pointed to herself, letting out a small giggle as she turned and made a pose, "I guess I am, huh?"

"Wow, you look super cool!" One of the guys gushed, both of them jogging over to greet her. Of course, it didn't take them very long to glance back down at her costume, which made Camie giggle as they both went red, realizing that they had been caught looking, but luckily for them, Camie was a bit too busy striking a pose.

"Doesn't my costume look cool?" She asked them curiously, turned slightly to give them a look at her back, and smirking as they automatically glanced down and gulped nervously. "I put it together real quick, but a lot of people complimented me on it. Makes me look sleek, doesn't it?"

"Y-yeah," The other boy, a guy with feathers on his face, quickly nodded, his face going red as Camie adjusted the hat on top of her head and turned back to face them properly, "uh - a-anyway, what - are you on patrol right now? It's - it's really late, isn't it?"

"That it is," She nodded, putting a finger to her lip while looking around - the streets were emptying due to the sun setting, and the lights from the buildings around them were starting to flip on to illuminate them, "and I am! I'm just spending a little bit of time walking around before I wind down for the night - I'm actually heading over to confirm some things with the, uh … hero that I'm doing my internship with. He gave me an assignment."

"H-huh, that's - that's cool."

"But anyway, you two …" She leaned back on one leg, one hand moving to her cheek as she smirked down at both of them, "… you know my eyes are up here?"

They both squeaked as they quickly snapped their gaze away from her cleavage, but Camie merely laughed as she leaned forward and patted one boy's shoulder.

"Ah, it's okay if you wanted to have a little look. But anyway, I actually got a request for you two, if that's cool."

"Huh?" The other boy straightened up, his face going red as her beautiful brown eyes trailed over to him. "Y-yeah! Anything!"

"Anything, huh?" Camie smirked, and leaned forward a bit more. Her finger moved up to rest just under his chin, making him straighten up as she smiled smugly and leaned forward so their faces were close, and his friend looked envious as she popped a hip out and smiled, the guy she was staring at trembling a bit as his mouth dropped open.

"Do me a solid," Camie batted her eyelashes, "and let me know if you ever see any scary villains around, okay? I'm on the lookout for 'em. Just let me know if you ever see me, alright?"

"Y-yeah!"

"Kewlio," She giggled, and finally moved out of his personal space, the boy looking a tad bit disappointed as she spun on her heel, and tilted her head a bit as she stuck out her tongue to the other boy, seeing him staring up at her in wonder as she turned and began walking back down the street, aware of their eyes on her ass and letting out a mischievous giggle as she purposefully swayed her hips, eventually moving around the corner and out of sight.

As she walked away, she raised her hands to the cap on her head and tried to fix it - it was a bit tight around her head, but at least it did its purprose to show people that she was with Shiketsu High. Maybe she shouldn't be all that surprised, though, if people were noticing her for reasons other than the hat - she was still dressed in her leather suit, the one she had made back at home, and the cap on her head must've made them all think that she was a patrolling hero. Still, it saved her bacon when another hero had come across her, seeing the hat and asking to see her provisional license - which she had made with her quirk, showing him it and getting her off his back.

But, well, maybe she shouldn't complain, she smirked - if people in this corner of town thought she was just some hero strolling about, they wouldn't bother her all that much and try to look the other way. So she'd wear the hat until it served its purpose, and once she was done with it, she'd be more than glad to toss it.

With a sigh, she reached back into her pocket for her phone, shaking her head at the low battery, and quickly tapped on her photos. Scrolling through the ones she had taken in the last few days as she walked down the street, she began counting them down, humming as she confirmed each one.

The loud mouth blonde guy and the red-haired spiky boy walking down the street.

The pink girl, the frog girl, and the horned horse girl at a bus terminal.

One guy with a bandanna, one guy with a black lightning bolt in his blonde hair, a guy with weird elbows, and another guy with weird octopus arms outside their school gates.

The beautiful black-haired girl walking with a punk girl.

A guy with a raven head and a girl with silver hair stopping at some manga store.

A guy wearing glasses with weird metal poles in his calves running along the street, his image almost a blur.

A girl with orange hair, a girl with green hair, and a girl with normal black hair boarding a train.

A girl with brown hair jogging down some street, a bruise on her face and walking with a limp.

And finally … the one picture she had gotten tonight. A green-haired boy sitting on a beach with a blue-haired girl.

Camie tsked, and lowered her phone slightly she pouted to herself. Honestly, she hadn't planned on confronting those two tonight - her quirk was good enough to make an illusion camouflaging her, practically invisible to the naked eye in the dark, and she was smart enough to wipe her footprints on the sand away so they didn't notice she was there - but honestly, they'd both been so cute she couldn't help but say hello. They'd probably reprimand her for that, but she couldn't help it, raising her phone to look at the two of them again as she smirked.

They were cute - the girl was seriously sexy in that bikini, and the guy had some nice arms, Camie licked her lips. Maybe after they were done with him …

Well, that could wait, she supposed, looking up and letting out a small noise. She'd arrived at the building she knew that the 'hero' she was doing the assignment for was staying at.

With a sigh, she pushed open the door and walked in, fixing some of her hair as she stepped into the dark stairwell. Since it was dimly lit, she had to strain her eyes to see as she walked upstairs, the sound of her heels on the wooden steps filling the air as she huffed a bit - and soon enough, as she poked her head into the upstairs floor hallway, she saw the neon sign above the door, letting her know that she had arrived to where she needed to.

With a giggle, she skipped her way over to the door, and pushed it open.

"Hey!" She waved to the people inside, leaning against the doorframe as she lifted her phone up, "I got them all."

Her brown eyes trailed around, smirking confidently as she fixed the cap on her head with her other hand. The room she was standing just outside of was lit in an orange hue, giving it a very comforting appearance - or it would've looked comforting, if it hadn't been for the only two people occupying the room, one behind the bar and one sitting on the stool.

The bartender turned to look at her, pausing his attempt to wipe down a glass, and his yellow eyes narrowed slightly. Putting down the shot glass, he raised his hand covered in dark mist, taking a glass of whiskey from the shelf, and poured its contents into the glass. The one sitting at the bar, meanwhile, glanced at her, his own yellow eyes narrowing slightly, and he scooped up the shot glass to drain it in one gulp, letting out a satisfied grunt as he slammed it down onto the counter, and reached into his pocket for a cigar.

"Y'got 'em all?" Chimera grumbled, looking away from the teenage girl as he puffed out some of his fire to lit the cigar, and Kurogiri grumbled as he waved away some of the smoke. "Every single one of those brats?"

"Yes, I did," Camie smiled, "all their train routes, their houses, the works. And guess what? My last one was someone you've been gripping about. A certain green-haired hottie."

Chimera paused at that, and then a grin appeared on his face.

"Well then, girlie," He gestured to the seat beside him, "if you're sayin' you got all their routes and shit … I think you've gone above and beyond on our little assignment. C'mon in, and we can celebrate while I look over the photos."

"So this means I'm in?"

"Yeah, fuck it. You're in." Chimera huffed. "I'll let the boss know. Welcome to the Villain Consortium."