I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


When Mineta, Midoriya, and Mirio had entered Eri's hospital room and saw her sitting upon the bed, the three of them just wanted to cry. The little girl they had sacrificed a lot for was okay, she was still here with them.

"Sorry if we couldn't visit sooner, we were really busy." Midoriya apologized. He didn't, however, allow the smile to leave his face.

"I've even bought a fruit basket! Which is your favorite? Could it be peaches since you're as cute as one?" Mirio asked, holding the basket above his head.

"It's apples." Eri replied bluntly.

"I knew it!"

It was still strange to see their senior look like a 10 year old, though Mineta's glad not much about his behavior had changed. Still, for his body to return to normal…

Mineta carefully looked at Eri's horn as Midoriya and Mirio fussed over Eri. It was practically a stub now, just barely poking out from her head. According to the doctors, that horn serves as her Quirk's power source. So at its current size, there was very little chance of it activating out of nowhere. This also meant that Eri couldn't train it yet and fix their senior.

If she even could…

"Mr. Deku… Mr. Grape Shot… Mr. Lemillion… Those people who went to catch that masked man and O-Overhaul… They looked really hurt when we left that place… Are they okay now? When I thought about you three, I couldn't help but think about them too… You all went through so much for me… You all got hurt because of me…" Eri said, sadness filling her voice.

When Mineta heard his Hero name, he turned his focus back to Eri's face. And as if hearing her sorrow wasn't enough, the small girl was starting to cry now. Tears were starting to build as Eri's small hands tightly gripped her patient's gown. It honestly broke Mineta's heart how this girl, who did nothing wrong, was putting all the blame upon herself. A self-doubt that the shorter boy was all too familiar with…

So with a hand bearing the weight of his emotions, Mineta reached out and gently placed his hand on Eri's hand. The small girl went stiff; those tear filled red eyes snapping towards the shorter boy. And through her eyes, Mineta really saw the depth of her pain. Eyes were windows to the soul, after all.

"I promise you, none of this is your fault. All the pain we felt… The things we went through… All of it was because we wanted to be there. We all wanted to help a little girl who had no real choice over anything." Mineta said.

"That's right Eri-chan! None of us are hurting or blaming you. In fact, we're all just glad that you're safe now! So don't worry about it and just smile!" Mirio added with a hearty nod. Eri tilted her head, looking at Mirio as though he was speaking another language.

"Smile?"

That… That's not a good sign. And it was only proven several moments later as Eri was forcing her mouth to move. But anyone could tell she couldn't pull it into the shape she wanted. This became even more apparent when the small girl began tugging at her cheeks with her hands. In the end though, Eri gave up and sadly looked down at her lap.

"I'm sorry… But I don't know how to smile…"

Mineta wasn't even sure how to respond to that. But he did feel a familiar pain in his heart as he continued to stare at Eri. Even if she was physically out of danger, this little girl has yet to be saved. She was cursed by Overhaul and lost too much of herself to him. All the things that make a little girl live a wonderful life…

Why did kids like her and Kouta have to suffer like this? Why was their innocence, their childhood being robbed from them?

Silence pervaded the room as both Mineta and Mirio struggled to find something to say to that. Luckily for them, before they could stew anymore, Midoriya asked something peculiar. And by how he sounded, it looks like he has a pretty good idea brewing.

"Aizawa-sensei, is it possible for Eri-chan to leave the hospital for a day?"

"… It wouldn't be impossible to arrange. That reminds me, I need to–" Aizawa answered. But before he could go any further with his second statement, Midoriya interrupted him.

"Then could Eri-chan come to our Culture Festival?"

The gears in Mineta and Mirio's head began to turn at that question. And it didn't take long for the two of them to be completely on board with the suggestion. For one, the main UA building was the safest place in all of Japan, so nothing bad would happen to Eri there. And two, she will be able to experience all the joy and fun someone her age should be having.

It was, by all accounts, the perfect plan.

"What's a Culture Festival?" Eri asked, looking up at Midoriya and tilting her head.

"It's a magical time we have at our school! We make lots of food, hold fun events, and laugh a whole lot! They might even have candied apples! Applies that are somehow even sweeter than normal!" Mirio explained, his hands making vague gestures of what he was explaining. Yet despite the abstract nature of it all, the gestures made everything he did say sound amazing.

"Sweeter than normal?" Eri asked as her imagination of candied apples caused her to drool.

"Hmmm… I'll talk to the principal about it. There are no guarantees, but I'm certain he'll allow it." Aizawa said, contemplatively rubbing his shadow of a beard.

"If he doesn't, I'll usurp him as King of the Rats." Mineta commented as he glared at his teacher. Aizawa simply smirked at that as he took out his phone, no doubt planning to make the call now. But before he left the room to make his call, the Erasure Hero simply responded with this.

"You aren't the first to try."

And with that, he was out of the room.

"Anyway… What do you think? Would you like to go to our Culture Festival?" Mineta asked as he look back at Eri. All eyes went back to the small girl as she looked back down at her lap, her mind no doubt flooded with questions. However, the moment she looked back up to the three, a spark of determination could be seen within her once empty red eyes.

"I-I've spent so long thinking… That I think I want to learn more about you all. I want Mr. Lemillion and everyone else to show me things I've never seen before. So please, let me go to this Festival." Eri said.

"Then we'll talk so much, you'll get sick of hearing us! It'll be a date!" Mirio said with a smile.

"What's a date?" Eri asked, tilting her head again. Mineta felt like this conversation was starting to go into a strange territory. I mean, was this really the time to educate this little girl about the finer aspects of growing up? So before Mirio could respond to Eri's question, Mineta quickly covered his young senior's mouth and answered for him.

"It's a small fruit, kind of like grapes."

"Like the things on your head?" Eri asked, gesturing to the balls on the shorter boy's head.

"That's Mineta-kun's hair; his Quirk changed it to make it look like that. Just don't pluck them without gloves, removing them activates the adhesives." Midoriya explained as he carefully patted the spheres of follicles on Mineta's head.

"Your Quirk…" Eri murmured, her hand rubbing the stub that is her horn. The atmosphere went cold as Mineta, Midoriya, and Mirio looked to one another. Somehow, things came back around to Eri and the Quirk that caused her so much pain. It was practically an unavoidable subject, since this world of theirs revolves around them. Mineta could already imagine the weight such power could carry, since Midoriya has One for All.

But a little girl like her shouldn't have to worry about it…

"Is it hard? Controlling a Quirk?" Eri asked after a moment of silence. Mineta could detect a hint of hope within her tone. Was she asking in hopes that she'll get better at commanding her own?

"It depends on the Quirk. Some people have an easier time than others controlling their Quirks… But with some time and practice, even the most powerful Quirks can be used safely." Midoriya replied as he looked towards his right hand. Mirio nodded to that and passed his hand through Mineta's face. Naturally, Mineta couldn't help but flinch at that.

"Why did you do that!?"

"To prove a point! Eri-chan, when I became like this, I could only stop myself from falling through the floor. But with lots of practice, my body has started to remember how my Quirk works. So don't worry about your Quirk being crazy, you'll get it under control and help so many people. Just like Midoriya said!" Mirio replied before pointing to the green haired boy. Eri put her hands back into her lap, going into deep thought once more.

But once she was ready, she was able to look at Mirio in his eyes.

"… Then I'll be able to help you too? Make you not look like that?"

"I'm sure of it! The doctors even said so!" Mirio said with a smile, reaching over to pat Eri's head. Mineta couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to that. There was a way for their young senior to return back to normal? If so, then little Eri will stop blaming herself for matters that were beyond her control.

"Really Togata-senpai!? How?" Midoriya asked.

"It apparently has something to do with her Quirk factor doing something to my biological memory? It's really complicated and I honestly don't understand even a tenth of it… But what I do know is that Eri-chan should be able to undo the effects of her own Quirk if she trains hard enough to do so." Mirio explained as he pressed one of his fingers against his head in thought.

Both Midoriya and Mineta hummed to that as they nodded. That actually makes a lot of sense. Quirks can sometimes have interesting effects when interacting with its self. Mineta's hairballs could still stick to each other despite being repelled by his other body parts. Then there's Todoroki who could only use one half of his Quirk at a time. Sure, he was undergoing training to activate both simultaneously…

But the fact that he has to do so in the first place means that Todoroki's Quirk isn't supposed to behave like that.

Still…

"Man... Why do Quirks have to be so weird?" Mineta replied, almost automatically, as he scratched his head. A sad hum quickly caused the shorter boy to look over to the source, Eri. The little girl was touching her horn again as this sad look in her red eyes came back. This was where Mineta wanted to kick himself straight out the window. Now Eri will think she's weird!

Luckily, Midoriya was able to quickly correct that thought.

"Eri-chan, it's okay, every Quirk is weird. That's why they're called Quirks."

"But I'm sure mine isn't normal…"

"That's not true. There isn't a Quirk out there that is considered normal. I once had a classmate who could sweat anytime she wanted to. I've seen someone with a Quirk that turned her head into a knife. I've even seen another who could throw potatoes really far. Quirks are just naturally strange, so there's nothing you should feel bad about." Midoriya replied. Eri pondered upon those words. Then she turned to Mirio and Mineta.

"Do you know any others?"

"We have classmates that shoot lasers out of his belly button and can make things from her body." Mineta replied, gesturing to himself and Midoriya.

"And I know people who can control tiles and spit seeds like bullets!" Mirio added excitedly.

"You see? There isn't a normal Quirk in the world. So please… Stop worrying so much about your own so much. Whatever you need, we'll teach you." Midoriya said, holding out his hand to the little girl. Eri looked at the green haired boy, then to his outstretched hand. And, with a bit of hesitation, she took it and squeezed a few of his fingers.

"I want to know more… About other Quirks… About how to control mine… About what the world is like… I want you to teach me everything..."

"We'll do just that. I promise." Mineta answered as he too put his hand on Eri's hand.

"Again, we'll talk so much that you'll get tired of hearing us." Mirio repeated as he put his hand on the pile too. Eri nodded to that, her eyes glimmering a little more again. It was going to be hard, but the shorter boy knew they would be able get this girl out of her shell again. In fact, he was certain they've already made some progress towards that goal.

As there upon Eri's face, past all the uncertainty, was the smallest fragment of her real smile.


And that has been Chapter 112!

Still busy, but still chugging along.

So with all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.