AN: Thanks for the reviews and interest everyone! Ended up taking a week off to recover from the holidays but now we're back!
Shota opened the door and helped Eri out of the car. As she looked, she saw the apartment complex sitting next to the parking lot, looking large and imposing.
"This where I live now?"
"Yeah," Shota answered softly. "Emi and I live here together, and now you'll get to live with us."
Eri simply nodded and held out her hand. Shota held it with his own. He led her toward the building. They walked along the outside until they stopped in front of a door. He knocked on it.
"Come in!" Even through the doorway, Eri could pick out the Emi anywhere.
Wait, not Emi. She'd told her to call her mom, Eri corrected herself.
She was so busy trying to mentally correct herself that she missed Shot- her dad opening the door to the apartment until she felt his hand on her shoulder, urging her inside.
"Welcome home Eri!" three voices called out.
She heard them before she realized what was happening. Standing there in the living room were Izuku, Ochako, Himiko, and four other teenagers she hadn't met before. But that's not where she was looking. She saw the open floor plan leading to the kitchen with an island dividing it from the main living room. There was a single open door that led to a bathroom and a hallway on one side of the apartment, but she couldn't tell where it led.
"Hey there," said a girl with lazy eyes, purple hair, and what appeared to be cords hanging from her earlobes. "We're friends of Midos and Raka."
"Ohmygosh she's adorable!" the brown-haired girl squealed as she rushed forward holding out her hand. "I'm Aika!"
Eri's eyes went wide, a mix of fear and confusion in her eyes as she saw the other girl rushed toward her. She took a hesitant step backward, only to run into a leg. If it wasn't for Shota's hand resting on her shoulder, she would have panicked more.
"Don't scare her like that." Another boy came over and slapped away Aika's hand. "They warned us she needs space!" His expression changed as he looked at Eri. "Sorry about her. She can be a bit much. I'm Hikari, and the girl over there is Kyoka."
"Hi," Eri murmured, hugging Shota's leg while viewing the crowd.
"S-sorry!" Aika apologized; she bowed deeply to Eri. "I let myself get carried away!"
"It's ok." Eri looked at the girl curiously. Even though her first instinct was to flinch away, she knew these people cared about her. Her guardians and older siblings wouldn't let them anywhere near her otherwise, they promised!
As her nerves abated she was filled with warmth, seeing so many people who were there for her.
"Why don't we all go sit down," Shota suggested as he glared at Emi.
Emi responded with an unrepentant smile. "Of course! Let's go sit down and you all can introduce yourselves properly!"
As Eri watched the students walk toward the couch and arrange themselves on the floor around it, she noticed several other things. Several streamers hung from the ceiling, and balloons were tied off around the apartment.
"What are those?" she asked cautiously.
"Those are decorations!" Emi replied happily.
"What are those?"
"Oh Eri," Emi said, her voice sounding heartbroken. "When we celebrate something happy, we use those to brighten up the place. It makes things cheery and colorful!"
"Like you?" Eri asked.
"Yes! Just like me!" Emi placed her hands on her hips as a look of pride washed over her.
"Don't encourage her," Shota deadpanned.
Emi pulled down one of her eyelids and stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend, while Shota simply glared at her before guiding Eri to the couch. Eri didn't understand the relationship between the two heroes. Sometimes they looked like they cared for each other, other times Shota appeared to barely tolerate Emi.
All she knew for certain is that they both promised to protect her and make sure she doesn't go back to that lab ever again.
After Eri nestled herself between her two guardians-turned-parents, the four teenagers introduced themselves.
"So they'll help watch over me?" Eri asked her guar- parents.
"Yep!" Himiko assured. "We know your mom and dad are gonna be busy with teaching and being heroes, so we convinced them to let us help out!"
"After we heard what happened to you, we couldn't say no," Kyoka said. "You deserve better than what happened to you."
"You know?" Eri looked wide-eyed in horror.
"Of course we do!" Aika said.
"Nobody deserves to go through that," Hikari said.
"I'm sad I wasn't in Japan at the time, otherwise I would have helped destroy those Yakuza myself!" Emily yelled from her position behind Himiko.
"You and me both," Himiko agreed, giving a hard stare toward Izuku. "If I had known I would have loved to practice my training on those guys!"
Tears leaked from Eri's eyes. Emi wrapped a concerned arm around her shoulder. "You ok, kiddo?"
Eri nodded. "I think these are happy tears?"
Emi smiled down at the girl. "Then it's ok to cry. It's like we keep telling you: everyone is angry at that meanie for what he did to you."
"I like hearing that."
For hours, Eri sat on the couch while the seven teenagers talked, regaling her with tales from their childhood and their decisions to be aspiring heroes. As she listened to their stories, her nerves slowly faded. She became more comfortable around them.
They weren't quite at the same level as Izuku, Ochako, and Himiko, but they were nice, and given time, she hoped she would be just as comfortable around them.
Eventually, the emotions from the day began to overcome Eri. Exhaustion set in, announcing itself with a loud yawn.
"Oh, is it time for bed already?"
Eri looked awkwardly at Emi before she nodded.
"Well, time for the last surprise then!" Emi jumped off the couch and looked at the teens. "You want to do the honors?"
"Sure!" Ochako said as she stood up with Izuku hopping up just as quickly.
"Come with us," Izuku said, offering Eri his hand.
Eri gently took it and let herself be led down the short hallway to a bedroom, a simple door with a nameplate that read 'Eri' hanging from it. She had flashbacks to her room in the underground labyrinth but shook her head.
There's no way these kind people would put her in a place like that!
"Now close your eyes," Ochako directed.
Eri looked at the girl with a reassuring smile on her face and nodded, screwing her eyes shut. She heard the door open. While she would normally be scared, the warmth of Izuku's hand did a lot to quell her nerves. With his guidance, she let herself be led into the room.
"Ok, you can open them!"
Eri opened her eyes and gasped. At the same time, she heard Shota groan.
"Seriously, did you have to use those?"
"Sho!" Emi slapped her boyfriend's arm. "This is for Eri, not you!"
Eri ignored the antics of her guardians as she looked around the room. On the wall were a couple of posters, including one of All Might! The man who helped save her! But two people were notably missing.
"Where're posters for mom and dad?" Eri asked curiously.
Emi laughed. "Sadly, your mom isn't popular enough to have her own posters. And your dad works in secret, so if he got a poster that means people could recognize him!"
"That's not fair!" Eri insisted. "You two should have posters too!"
"We could make posters for you!" Aika exclaimed.
"You're right!" Hikari added. "We've made enough posters for the events at school, it wouldn't be hard to make some for her if we had the right photos."
"Really?"
"Sure," Kyoka said. "We just need some good photos of those two in their hero costumes."
"I've got you covered!" Emi exclaimed.
"Emi- no."
"Sho! It's for Eri!"
Shota looked at the little girl's face, fighting a battle of wills he knew he was going to lose. Eventually, he conceded with a sigh. "Alright, but only one poster."
Eri seemed happy by his answer, walking over to him and hugging him before she explored the rest of the room. She had a simple desk, a number of All Might-themed notebooks, as well as a small stereo with portable speakers.
"We don't know what kind of music you like, but we have lots that we can share with you," Kyoka explained.
"Yeah! We'll find something good for you!"
Finally, she moved to the bed where she saw her collection of stuffed animals and characters had been carefully arranged at the foot.
"I didn't bring any new ones," Himiko said. "But now that you're out of the hospital, I can take you to the store to buy new ones!"
"Mmm." Eri nodded at the green-haired girl. "I need animals to represent everyone new, right?"
"Yep!"
"So what do you think?" Shota asked as Eri finished examining the room.
"It feels different than my old room," Eri said as she placed her hands on her chest. "It makes me feel warm."
"That's because this is your home, kiddo. Not some stuffy cage!"
Home.
Eri liked the sound of that.
With the room tour completed, the teenagers said their goodbyes and hurried along as Eri let out another huge yawn. The little girl tried to fight against sleep until everyone left, but today had been a long one.
Once everyone was gone, Shota began cleaning up the decorations in the living room while Emi led Eri back to her room. Emi showed Eri where her clothes were and let the girl pick out a pair of pajamas, which she helped her change into. She then pulled the covers back and let Eri crawl under them.
"Who do you want tonight?" Emi asked as she moved toward the collection of stuffed animals.
"I want you and dad," Eri said.
With a smile, Emi retrieved the two and handed them to Eri, who curled her arms around them before worming her way deeper under the blankets until just her head poked out.
Gently, Emi brushed the little girl's hair with her hand. "Goodnight kiddo. And remember, if you need anything, we're right behind that wall." She gestured toward the wall separating her room from theirs.
"Mmm. Goodnight."
Emi stood up and walked to the door where Shota waited. The two gave her one last look before turning off the light and closing the door.
The room was darker than what she was used to at the hospital, but it felt different than her room in the labyrinth. It felt warm. It felt good.
As Eri closed her eyes and began to fall asleep, her lips curled upward.
Once safely away from the apartment, Emily grabbed Himiko's arm.
"Why didn't you tell me we were visiting Eraserhead's home!?" she demanded of the girl.
"I don't see what the big deal is," Himiko replied.
"He's my homeroom teacher next semester!" Emily practically shouted. "And his first impression of me is going to be - this!" She flailed her hands indicating her T-shirt and jean shorts.
Himiko couldn't help but laugh at the girl's plight. "He's probably going to be our homeroom teacher next year too, and you don't see us worried about it."
"You can't know that!"
Himiko's eyes darted to Izuku and Ochako before she looked back at the blonde girl. Even though she is going to be a future hero, they don't know enough about her to entrust her with the full knowledge of their activities. "There's only two classes; there's a good chance it can happen!"
The American girl groaned. "Fine! But you could have warned me!"
"Is she always this high-strung?" Aika asked.
"Aika!" Hikari exclaimed.
Emily meanwhile was glaring at the brown-haired girl. "Excuse you! Aizawa expelled 60% of his class last semester! That man is ruthless!"
"He didn't seem too bad to me," Hikari admitted.
"Plus he's letting us help take care of Eri!" Himiko grinned. "If you impress him enough maybe he'll go easy on you?"
"That's not how that works!" Emily protested.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Himiko tried to elbow the blonde girl's arm only to have her hand swatted away. "You're smart."
"It'll be ok!" Izuku tried to reassure her. "Aizawa's not that bad when you get to know him!"
"Yeah!" Ochako bobbed her head. "He's just scary on the outside!"
"I'll believe it when I see it," Emily grumbled.
"Just think of it as an excuse to spend more time with me," Himiko said as she leaned dangerously close to the other girl, causing Emily's face to heat up.
"That-" Emily sputtered. "Fine! I'll just have to show him that first impressions aren't everything!"
Izuku and Ochako just looked at each other curiously. If this American girl was at UA during their time, they almost certainly would have noticed her despite their limited interactions with upperclassmen. Meaning her entry into the school was almost certainly their fault.
While they had tried to minimize the butterfly effect up to this point, her presence, much like Himiko's, served as a reminder that as time went on, more and more would change.
"The hero Alakazam died last night suffering from a drug overdose in much the same way that Catalyst was last week. Due to the nature and method of their deaths, police suspect they are linked and local heroes are on high alert…"
Izuku and Ochako sat on his bed, laptop sitting across from them replaying the morning news. They had their suspicions after the first attack, but this second one confirmed it. Reaching out, Izuku pressed the pause button on the video before turning to Ochako.
"Stain?"
"Yep." Ochako nodded. "It sounds like he's operating closer to how he did for me. Although he is still killing them…" She put her hand to her chin as her brows furrowed, deep in thought.
"Almost like our timelines got jumbled up."
"Mhm, which means we don't know what will happen if we leave him alone."
Izuku turned to look at Ochako. One look at her face told her everything he needed to know. "Ocha- are you seriously saying we go after him?"
"The heroes aren't going to catch him!" Ochako pointed out. "We're the only ones who stand a chance."
"But he's dangerous!"
Ochako rolled her eyes. "Remember when you used yourself as live bait?"
Izuku gave a panicked look at the wall, knowing full well that his sister wasn't home, but still worried that she heard that. "That worked out in the end!"
"Exactly!" Ochako crossed her arms and gave him a pointed look. "I thought we were past this point."
Izuku winced. "You're right, old habits are hard to break."
Ochako softened instantly as she reached out and touched his arm. "I'm sorry."
"No." Izuku shook his head. "You're right." He gave her a soft smile. "We're the only ones who stand a chance of catching him. But we shouldn't do it alone."
Ochako looked like she was about to protest but backed down. "Should we ask Midnight again?"
"What about All Might?"
Ochako giggled. "Of course, you'd say that!"
"I'm serious," Izuku insisted. "Stain he- his whole ideology is built upon the foundation that All Might is the one true hero and that nobody can match him."
"But if All Might is the one to intervene," Ochako began, nodding thoughtfully, "it would force him to confront the flaws in his ideology!"
"Exactly! And if Stain tries to fight back, there's no way he can win against All Might!"
"There you go again," Ochako giggled. "Never change Izu."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks heated up. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be!" Ochako shook her head. "It's cute! Even after all this time, you're still this big of an All Might fanboy."
"Sir Nighteye was his sidekick for years and he may be just as big of a fan," Izuku said in an attempt to defend himself.
"That's not helping your case," Ochako playfully retorted.
Izuku desperately searched around his room looking for some way to defend himself. Even though his room had less All Might merchandise displayed than previously, it still had more than enough to prove Ochako's point correct. Finally, his eyes settled on his laptop, and he latched onto it like a lifeline.
"So we only have a week before Stain strikes again, don't we?"
"Yeah." Ochako looked at the calendar. "Six days, now. And we don't even know where to begin."
Izuku reached out and grabbed his laptop, pulling it onto his lap. A few strokes of his keyboard later and he brought up a map of the city. "There's a lot of ground to cover."
"I think we should talk to All Might sooner rather than later," Ochako suggested. "Unless we want someone else to die."
"Yeah." Izuku nodded his agreement.
While Izuku looked up information about the two attacks, Ochako reached out and grabbed her phone. Cycling through the numbers, she found Toshinori on her contact list and started dialing.
AN: Stain jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following the so-called hero Agent Ice. The third hero he has discovered with ties to Trigger.
It wasn't his time, not yet. Not so soon after his last blow against the corrupt system.
Now was the time to learn. To follow him, discover his routes and patterns. And collect evidence proving his guilt.
Stain was so focused on his task, however, that he failed to notice that he was also being watched.
"So that's the infamous hero killer," Kaina Tsutsumi mused to herself as she watched Stain leaping from rooftop to rooftop through a pair of binoculars. "Well then, let's see if you're worth my time."