Back after years of hellish health and family being awful... I hope you all enjoy this update (and the updates for my other stories)!
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A Day In Your Life
Chapter 15
"How are you feeling, Eri?" Aizawa questioned softly, brushing some of the hair out of his daughter's face.
The child was still very clearly wiped out. Not only was using her quirk exhausting but trying to control it seemed even more so. She would flutter her eyelids every so often like she was close to falling back into blissful, post-success sleep.
"Mmm… Tired, dad," She hummed in response, yawning weakly. "Did I do good? Is Shoto okay now?"
"Yes, Eri. You did so well, and I'm so proud of you," Aizawa explained lovingly. He took her small hand in his own and pet it as she continued to smack her lips and tried to rouse herself. She was still so young in his opinion, so fragile and small…
"Just rest, alright?" he urged, kissing her head. "You'll need your strength and to be totally focused when you work on Red Riot next."
The girl smiled despite how her drooping lids fell back closed, nodding. "Mmmkay…" she agreed. "Tell big brother Mirio he's on my list too…"
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"She's a tough little cookie." Recovery Girl chuckled as she walked out of her branch office at the hospital with Aizawa. "You're going to have your hands full when she starts at UA."
The younger of the old Pros widened his eyes at the thought, blowing out an anxious breath. Having his hands full was the biggest understatement of the century… Not only did Eri have an incredibly powerful quirk but growing up around wild cards like Midoriya and Mirio had heavily influenced her in ways he hadn't really noticed until now.
"She's certainly going to give us teachers a run for our money." He mused aloud. "But it seems to me that the unruliest students often become the most successful and beloved heroes."
Recovery Girl had seen her fair share of heroes in her long life and knew his words to be true. She couldn't help but wish that All Might was still there to see what his influence had allowed to happen. If it hadn't been for him seeing the error of his ways and circling back to find young Midoriya, Eri may very well not have been saved all those years ago.
What could have been a tragic series of events could be undone now and it was all because one generation could put their faith in the next. Perhaps one day Eri could become the next bearer of One for All… She wasn't too much younger than Midoriya, but a quirk like hers added into the power stocking would be almost unimaginable, especially since she might eventually be able to use her quirk on her own body, rewinding any damage or advanced aging the multiple quirks caused.
"So, she wants to tackle Mirio's quirklessness too, then, hm?" she hummed, thinking about Lemillion and how happy he'd be to be able to permeate again. "My, my… such determination in these young folk today."
"Heh, one step at a time, Recovery Girl. Todoroki was by far the easiest case she could work on in terms of reversing damage; that's why we had her use her powers on him first. Even Kirishima will be more difficult since she can't see exactly what she's doing with all of his internal injuries."
"Perhaps the hospital could aid her with this particular matter… We've come a long way with imaging technology after all. With the right set of equipment, Eri would be able to see what she was doing regardless of tissue depth." Recovery Girl explained thoughtfully, already putting together a proposal in her head.
"But you can't show her individual cells, can you?" Aizawa clarified, thinking ahead to Midoriya. "At least not in real-time on the scale she needs to see them."
The older pro shook her head sadly. The medical field had indeed made great strides, but it had seen its fair share of setbacks first with the discovery of quirks and then with the application of them. For a great many years, advancements in technology had taken a back seat since healing quirks were far more effective and would likely always be more cost-efficient to use.
"I'm afraid all we can do is show Eri the difference between healthy cells and damaged ones, as well as what Midoriya's training enhanced muscle fibers look like as opposed to how they would have looked years ago when his journey began… After that, we'll have to trust that Eri will be able to sense what she's doing." Recovery girl stated, thinking about how daunting the task would be.
"The rational thing to do would be to give her more time to hone her quirk." Aizawa sighed, wishing he could go with what made him comfortable. "But it seems my former students are rubbing off on me even though it should have been the other way around."
Recovery Girl could only laugh at Aizawa's plight, finding it humorous and endearing. For as long as she'd known him, he'd always been stoic and hyperrational, yet Midoriya had slowly worn him down with his incessant hero babbling and now Eri was working her learned magic on him too.
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Bakugo felt his still limited patience begin to wear thin as the woman continued to stare at them without answering. All Swap had to do was say if she was going to do the right thing and switch them back or not, but she was just sitting there.
"Damn it, say something already!" he finally snapped, getting out of his seat with frustration. "I get that I was a bastard and pissed you off when you were being arrested, but this helps Deku as much as it does me so do it for him!"
"Sure, I'll return you to your original bodies. No strings attached either…" Swap finally agreed though the devilish grin on her face made it clear she wasn't being entirely earnest.
"Don't play me, Swap." Bakugo nearly growled. He'd have already started crackling his palms ominously if he'd been in his own body, but as it stood all he could do was give his best threatening face—which he doubted looked all that terrifying since it was Deku's face trying to make it.
The woman waved off his irritation, shrugging as she explained. "I'm serious! I'll undo my quirk for you both and I won't ask for anything in return… I'm not one of those fanatics like the League of Villains that ruined Japan a few years ago; I don't want senseless violence that actually hurts people."
Bakugo raised his hand to stop Midoriya from gushing out a thank you, still sensing a catch. "You said you wanted to hear what Deku and I got out of you reversing your quirk, but you also brought up what you'd get out of it too."
"Ah, yes…" Swap hummed, acting as if she'd forgotten. "I'll 'do the right thing' when it comes to you two… but all those innocent civilians that are still stuck in the wrong bodies? Well… those exchanges do come with a price."
"Tsk. I fucking knew it." Bakugo huffed angrily, thumping down in his seat with disapproval.
Midoriya looked heartbroken as his mouth gaped slightly. "W-what? You won't—"
"Look kid, I just told you that I'm not some crazy villain who wants others to be maimed or killed. I was just having a little fun that day and would have undone my quirk in an hour or two. Now though, I'm in a tough spot and since I can admit you two being out of commission is causing way more violence than I'm comfortable with, those rando's I used my quirk on are my only bargaining chip. So, tell that annoying detective his nightmare with you two is over, but I expect my sentence to be dropped to probation if he wants those other 'victims' of mine to be fixed."
Midoriya continued to flounder, swiveling his head back and forth between Bakugo and Swap with disbelief. "But we can't—Kacchan it would be wrong if we—Ms. Swap, please reconsider!"
"That's my final offer. Take it or leave it." Swap concluded, moving to stand. "Guard! The heroes and I are through here."
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Midoriya was quiet as he walked through the corridors of the hospital toward Shoto's room. So far, he knew where Bakugo stood on the matter, but if it were up to him alone, he wasn't sure what he'd do. He couldn't imagine agreeing to such a thing when to him it felt as though he was betraying the rest of Swaps' victims... But by refusing, he'd only prolong the fear and suffering of citizens who were being terrorized by the villains taking advantage of his medical leave.
"Look, I get that Icy-Hot is your go-to guy for everything, but it all comes down to what Detective Tsukauchi and the lawyers decide, isn't it?" Bakugo grumbled behind him, clearly still having an inherent dislike for the young man they were on their way to see. "And why exactly do I have to come?"
Midoriya puffed out his cheeks as he knocked on Shoto's door and rolled his eyes, already priming himself for apologizing to his best friend about bringing Bakugo along even though it was necessary. "Hey, Shoto!" he called once he'd gotten permission to enter. "Are you up for a quick visit?"
Despite being completely healed by Eri, Todoroki still looked like he'd had the life beaten out of him, especially when he locked eyes with Bakugo. Electricity immediately flew between the two, though to Todoroki's surprise, Bakugo simply looked away after a moment and headed off to a corner of the room. "Of course, Izuku. Is something bothering you?"
"Kacchan and I... Well, we have news about our 'Swapped' situation. She said she'll change us back, no questions asked! And that's amazing since that was one of Mr. Aizawa's requirements for allowing Eri to work on me, you know? But, uh, well..."
"The witch is still going to use the other people affected by her quirk as leverage to get her sentence reduced or scrapped completely and this bleeding-hearted idiot over here is all bent out of shape about it." Bakugo impatiently finished.
Midoriya pouted his lip even further, peering at Todoroki with sadness and query. Those feelings were short-lived though, as the dual user immediately graced him with that calming, knowing expression he'd become so adept at during their friendship.
"It's alright, Izuku," Todoroki assured, smiling gently. "I know this doesn't feel right to you and it's certainly not how justice is supposed to work, but ultimately, it's not your decision, it's the justice system. Besides, Swap must know that this will be her only pass if it's given to her... If she tries something again, you'll stop her, and she'll pay more severely for her crimes."
"Mmmnng... I guess you're right..." Midoriya groaned.
Bakugo 'tsked' in the corner, jealous about how easily Todoroki changed Midoriya's mind when he'd basically said the same thing and gotten absolutely nowhere. "Are you serious, Deku?" he grunted, gaining the other two's attention. "Didn't I say the same thing to you in the car?"
"No!" Midoriya responded with his nose high. "You said—and I'm quoting here, 'who gives a fuck, we'll just beat her ass the next time she steps out of line'."
Bakugo nodded as though Midoriya had just confirmed that he and Todoroki had said the same words verbatim. He stared at the two fellow Pros while they stared back, eventually feeling a bead of sweat starting at his temple. "What? What're those looks for?" His confusion was only added to when Midoriya's bewildered expression turned to one of endeared amusement.
"Nothing, Kacchan..." Midoriya laughed, the rest of his anxiety dissipating. "You're right, that was pretty close!"
"Ah? Don't patronize me, Deku!" Bakugo grumbled, his face reddening even more from how Todoroki smirked at him. "You too, Icy-Hot! Wipe those damn smirks off your faces and tell me what I did that was so funny!"
Midoriya couldn't help but chuckle even harder, though he raised his hands in appeasement. "Alright, alright! I'm sorry Kacchan... It's just, you're the only person I know that wouldn't see the difference in what you and Shoto said! Anyway, come on; We should let Shoto rest."
Bakugo huffed but conceded, grumbling with minimal annoyance. Although he hated not knowing what was going on, getting to see Midoriya laugh after how upset he'd been from visiting Swap was worth it... mostly. He'd pester the young hero more later.
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As always, thank you for reading and for your patience with my health problems! I'm updating most of my stories, so, check them out if you're interested!