It was a week since the attack at the apartment. Asuna still refused to leave the safety of her new residence. She hated abrupt change like this, the way that there was no time to even just get a feel for the new room she resided in. Now moved into a dorm on campus, Asuna remembered why she opted for staying at the apartment. Co-living in a space with one other person was one thing. Living with multiple other people was a completely different story. Sure, she had her privacy in her room, but to not be able to wear whatever she wanted or do whatever she wanted in the living space was hard.
It was when she passed through the common room area that she saw the little girl they had rescued. She sat there at a table, kicking her legs as she seemed so focused on coloring a page in front of her. Asuna paused a moment before walking over to the small child.
"Hi Eri," Asuna smiled softly, giving the girl a little wave.
The way the little girl quickly looked at her and seemed so unsure of her that it made Asuna's heart sink some. This child was so young and had been through so much already.
"H-Hi," Eri so quietly breathed, giving such a hesitant wave.
"I think your picture is very pretty," Asuna complimented her color choices, still a small smile on her lips. But she was careful to not frighten the girl more, keeping her distance. Maybe this was something she could work on. A relationship with this little girl. There was no telling how long she was going to be staying there, but if she could help her feel safe Asuna would feel like she could still accomplish something.
Eri looked at her coloring page a moment, her eyes analyzing her work before she gave a very small smile looking back at Asuna. "Thank you," she said softly, placing her crayon down.
"I'm going to grab a snack from the kitchen. Would you like one," Asuna asked.
It was a moment of silence before she pushed her chair out and crawled out of it. Asuna watched curiously as Eri walked over to her and circled her a moment. Maybe she was just being sure Asuna wasn't carrying anything with her.
"You were at the raid," Eri told her, stopping in her tracks in front of Asuna.
Asuna nodded, confirming that she was in fact there. Kneeling in front of the little girl, Asuna continued to smile at her.
"I was. You were very brave, Eri. And it looks like you're starting to feel better," Asuna started. "I'm so glad!"
It was then that Eri smiled more and hid behind her hand when she started to giggle. Which only made Asuna giggle quietly before standing back up.
"How about that snack," Asuna smiled, offering her hand to Eri.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Asuna," a feminine voice called out through the common room, footsteps echoing off he walks.
Quickly a little girl held her hands up and rushed toward the woman who was calling out for the redhead.
"Shhh," Eri demanded, her eyes wide and her hands waving frantically.
Kim looked down at Eri, confusion clear on her face.
"Do you know where Asuna is, Eri," she asked quietly, almost a whisper.
Eri nodded and turned, pointing at the back of a couch. It was when Kim walked around to the front of it that she saw her best friend curled up with a dinosaur plushie asleep on the couch. Smirking, Kim tried to keep herself from laughing.
"Well, I guess she was tired," Kim said softly.
Eri nodded and looked at Kim a moment before looking back at Asuna.
"She's nice. I wish she had her quirk..." Eri hung her head, looking at her shoes, "she helped me..." she mumbled, Kim wasn't sure if she heard everything Eri had said. But it made her frown a moment before she looked around.
"Eri, if you're around when she wakes up will you tell her to talk to Aizawa? He needs to speak with her," Kim explained.
Eri just nodded and watched as Kim walked off to the elevator.
It was a few hours later that Aizawa came into the common room area and saw Eri laying against Asuna's hip, reading a children's book. When Eri finally saw him she went rushing to his side.
"Why is Asuna asleep," he asked quietly as if not to wake the slumbering woman.
"She's been sleeping. Miss Kim said she must be tired," Eri explained.
Aizawa nodded a moment but remembered when Kim left for the day and his eyebrows furrowed together.
"Eri, she's been asleep since Kim left," Aizawa asked her.
Eri slowly nodded and looked over at Asuna. Immediately she started to fidget with her fingers. It caught Aizawa's attention and he watched as Eri continued to start to pace.
"Eri... I'm not mad but did you try to use your quirk," he asked.
It was then that Eri completely stopped moving, hanging her head. It was the sniffling that made Aizawa's heart hurt.
"I just wanted to help her... she helped me... she even lost her pretty hair," Eri sniffled. "Mr. Aizawa she helped me! I just wanted her to feel better! I just wanted her to smile," she cried, trying desperately to keep her tears from falling.
It was the sound of the wailing that stirred Asuna awake and she quickly looked for Eri. It was when she finally spotted her when she also saw Aizawa, picking her up and holding her against him. Asuna was able to relax a little but her heart was pained seeing the little girl cry.
"What happened," Asuna asked quickly, getting off the couch and walking over to the two.
When Eri remained silent, Aizawa spoke up, "Eri seemed to want to try her quirk but it didn't go as planned. But it's okay. We are going to keep working on it and it will get better." Aizawa looked at the little girl who was now calming herself even more. "That is why you were asleep for so long."
Asuna looked at him confused a moment before looking at the clock on the wall. Her eyes widened seeing how much time had passed and looked at Eri.
"Oh, sweet girl. I'm okay I promise. I'm sorry I didn't wake up. Are you hungry," Asuna asked quickly. She had gotten attached to the little girl so quickly in such a short amount of time.
Eri didn't answer her a moment but looked at Aizawa. When he nodded, she turned her attention to Asuna again.
"Yes. Can we have noodles," she asked so carefully.
Without thought Asuna nodded and headed toward the kitchen in the shared space. Aizawa watched as Asuna threw herself into helping, anything to be sure the little girl was safe and taken care of. He had seen her do it countless times at the school. Running errands for other teachers, entertaining Hizashi with his music playlists, gossiping with Kayama in the halls. However, she always kept herself so closed off. But when there was need for extra support for the raid she didn't hesitate to volunteer. Her quirk was fast and she had managed to be quick in her thinking. He remembered when she was shot.
FLASHBACK
Asuna ran down the corridor with Aizawa toward the explosion. It was the fight that made Asuna lose her breath. Panic filled her eyes when she saw the turmoil unfolding. But she never stopped. She kept bouncing around from hero to hero, healing what she could to keep everyone going. She had lost sight of Aizawa but kept her mind on the job.
"ASUNA," she heard her name being screamed when she turned around to see a gun aimed at her. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly dodged the bullet and continued to run toward the man brandishing the weapon.
She ducked and slid to the ground, pulling the villain's leg out from underneath him. Grabbing a set of cuffs from her belt she doubled back as quick as she could. However it was the force of her head being shoved forward that made her lose her balance, her face hitting the concrete beneath her. The immediate ache in her head made her lose her thoughts for a moment. It was the grasp of her hair and the yank to make her stand to her feet that made her release on the cuffs release.
She yelped as she felt the villain yanked her hair again, fearing that was just going to rip her hair out. Without a second thought she blindly grabbed at her knife from her belt, her free hand reaching behind her head, trying her hardest to pry his fingers from her locks. She felt his grip tighten and shove her forward again. Taking a quick breath, she bucked her body backwards, swinging her knife with as much force and direction as she could, cutting her hair to get herself away from the attack.
She was only on the ground for a moment before she was back on her feet again, running as fast as she could. It was turning the corner that she finally spotted Aizawa with a little girl, holding her as close to him as he could. She felt relieved seeing him for the most part unharmed.
It was the echo of static that overtook her ears as she looked around confused. Everything seemed so deafening, everything seemed so slow for a moment. Her shoulder suddenly felt overly warm when she saw the red seeping through hero suit. She couldn't remember when she stopped feeling her heart beat. She couldn't remember seeing the look of horror on Aizawa's face as he had no choice but to get the child to safety. She remembered it felt like she was floating when she felt another bullet-like projectile pierce her closer to her collarbone, causing her body to fall backwards.
The impact of the ground was nothing compared to how she was going to feel later. She remembered wondering why her body wasn't desperately trying to repair itself like it usually did. She wondered why she kept bleeding like she was.
But at least Aizawa and the child were safe.
FLASHBACK END
