"What are you-?"
Eraserhead grumbled in a hospital hallway. Two students had been approved to come and meet a certain little girl today, but a third had come along as well. That third was none other than Senji, who aimed a pouty glare at him from the back of the group while Present Mic offered an apology.
"She's more pushy than you'd think," the blonde pro whined while the other two students prepared to enter the young girl's room. Eraser waved the first concern away, for now. He waited by the cracked door with Senji. Mic, fully aware of the tension in the air between teacher and their unruly student, excused himself to look for a vending machine.
"What's that look for," the disheveled man finally broke the silence. He had noticed a shift in Senji's demeanor lately, but he didn't expect her to be upset at this particular moment.
"Glad you're okay," she muttered. Eraser had to strain to hear her. He couldn't stop his face from showing his shock, though.
"What? Is it really that weird?," Senji raised her voice when she saw his face, and he had to quickly shift gears.
"So that's what it's about. My injury's already healed up, it wasn't anything major. I've been here for…other reasons," he blurted out an explanation, then paused. Why am I explaining myself and giving in to a student? Well.
With a heavy sigh, he accepted that the girl really was worried about him. More than he expected, but he was also the closest thing to family she had. She may have blamed herself for his injuries in the USJ incident, as well. He was almost irritated that he had failed to consider that. He reached out and ruffled her hair, like he'd done only a few times over the past few years.
"Sorry. I'll be better about it next time," he apologized softly. Senji's expression softened, and she nodded her acceptance of his apology. They returned to their standing positions, leaning against the wall just outside the room. Eraser felt something brush against his sleeve, and looked down to see a crystalline blue tail had loosely wrapped itself around his arm. He'd have to talk to her about that lack of control later, but for now he just smiled lightly to himself and closed his eyes.
Senji had gotten curious about what was going on in the room. Izuku, and a third year student named Mirio, were talking excitedly with someone. She peeked through a crack in the door and spotted a small child. Long, wavy curtains of bright white hair framed a cute round face. Pinkish red eyes looked between the two boys, and a tiny horn protruded from the child's forehead on one side.
"There's all kinds of fun stuff at a culture festival. Like food stalls, and events," Izuku babbled away at the girl. Her curiosity was obviously piqued, and she had a ton of questions. Senji, too, was extremely interested in the conversation playing out. She had heard of culture festivals, and other school events, but never had a chance to participate in any.
While Senji was focused on the other room, Mic had found his way back. He noticed the student's tail but Eraser held a finger to his lips, silencing the other. Senji didn't even notice his presence, and her tail started flicking with excitement. It stopped, and fell limply down at the scene before her. This girl had used her hands to try and pull up the corners of her mouth, shocking the two boys in the room.
"What was that?"
"Ah, what was it. How do you smile again?," the girl looked down with a depressed expression. Mirio and Izuku exchanged glances, unsure what to do next. Senji pushed the door open and rushed in, before Eraser could stop her. She knelt down to eye level with the child, and tried to force an awkward smile of her own.
"I'm bad at it, too. See?," Senji pushed at the corners of her mouth with her fingers, like the girl had done. The girl's eyes widened with understanding. Understanding, and a little bit of confusion too. Izuku and Mirio were stunned by her sudden entrance and softer side.
"Sorry, I kinda busted in here. My name's Senji, I go to school with these two," with the moment calming down, Senji realized her error and offered an introduction. She stood up and dusted off her pants, while the other two students recovered from their initial shock.
"Ah, Senji! Um, this is Eri," Izuku stuttered out an introduction for the younger girl. She blinked up at all three of them, her gaze settling again on Senji.
"Wow! What an entrance, and at the perfect timing," Mirio offered some sort of praise for her efforts. At least, that's how she chose to interpret it.
Eraser gently pulled the door back to its slightly opened state, failing to hide his soft smile from his long-time friend Present Mic. He quickly adjusted, hoping that the latter would let it slide this time. He was not so lucky.
"You're like a proud dad or somethin'. It's crazy weird," Mic offered his opinion, as he had done so many times before.
Eraser sighed in exasperation, but couldn't deny that it must have been confusing for Mic. For a long time, despite intense pressure from both Midnight and Mic, Eraser had flat out refused to teach at UA. Excuse after excuse, which all fell flat once he had taken in Senji. Mic's reaction was the worst, coupled with a largely unwarranted level of concern. There was much more to the situation and events leading up to that, but Eraser was coerced into keeping that a secret from his friend.
"I'm her legal guardian and teacher. Nothing more," Eraser tried to brush him off again, failing miserably.
"Right. I've heard about the other girl's situation, too. And the talks about her future," Mic spoke quietly about the last part. There were debates about the girl being kept at UA, with Eraser basically raising her on top of his teaching work.
"Could have just been a crazy cat person, y'know. Instead of collecting stray kids with whacked up histories."