"What seems to be the problem?" the mask-wearing man asked as Izuku stood, angling the little girl away from him as he stood strong, "I told you-"
"-yeah, I heard,"Izuku interrupted him, "and while I'd normally chalk this up to an accident and let you go on your way; these bandages and her lack of shoes is really putting a chip on my shoulder."
"She's a clumsy child." he said coldly, any attempt at geniality gone, "and I can't make her wear shoes when she keeps kicking them off-"
"-she's not 3." Izuku cut in, eyes narrowing dangerously, "and I doubt you got them for her to begin with, how about let's take a trip down to the nearest police station-"
"-that won't be necessary." the man said sharply, "Eri, let's go. Now."
Eri trembled at his voice, and tried to pull away from Izuku, but his arm kept her firmly in place, "don't worry kid, do me a favor and pull that little pen out of my inner pocket." he flashed her a quick smile, not taking his eyes off of the man, Eri hesitantly reached in and pulled out the panic button.
"Now," Izuku began, his entire body tensing as smoke began to waft from his clenched fist, embers flaking into the sky with each exhale, he could see the way the other man tensed, his hands straining against the white gloves as his eyes seemed to glare hateful daggers at him, 'hit that red button."
They moved at the same moment, a burst of fire torching the nearby trash as the villain jumped back, gloves tearing away as he ran his now freed hands across the pavement; rocky spikes firing out towards Izuku, who dove to the side, cradling the girl to his chest as he skidded across the concrete.
"You should have let her go when you had the chance, brat." the villain spat out as he stepped around the corner, only to step back as another intense gout of flames engulfed the entryway. When they died down he stepped out again, freezing as icy cold hands seemed to clamp down on his arms and legs.
"Almost lost you a third time." a dark voice rumbled, Izuku had gotten to his knee, still shielding the girl as he watched shadowy tendrils wrap around the plague mask wearer, a familiar, wolfish boy peeking out from his spot amongst the darkness.
"Kayaba." Izuku said in surprise.
"Been tailing you all day, Akuma." Kayaba sneered, "orders from Pakku, that way you weren't fully alone, did the girl hit the panic button?"
"Yeah," Izuku said glancing at the now glowing red button, the little girl was now hiding her face in his neck, clinging to him for dear life, "I was told to head for the trains-"
"-go." kayaba ordered, "i'll hold him here until-ARGH!" he screamed as the shadows binding the villains right hand suddenly exploded in a spray of shadowy blood.
"You filthy mongrel-" the mask-wearing man snarled, hand plunging towards the shocked Kayaba. The boy falling back into the shadows before he could touch him and instead, the side of the building seemed to explosively crumble, forcing Izuku to blast off with a burst of flame from his feet, he tumbled to his feet as he kept running, glancing back to watch the building collapse, hiding the villain from sight, 'what the fuck." Izuku muttered as he reached the train station almost exactly as the train came rumbling into the station, X-Less and Native sliding into the train from the other side, "kid! You good?"
Izuku slid to a stop as X-Less watched the street, his eyes narrowing at the now empty corner. The train began moving as the shadows coalesced once more in the seat beside Izuku, Kayaba landed with a writhing groan, clutching at where his left arm used to be, now a shadowy stump was all that was left.
"Oh shit, hey X! We need a hospital-" Native began as he rushed towards the injured teen.
"We need to tourniquet that." Izuku agreed, only for Kayaba to wave both off.
"My quirk is shadow control." he muttered, motioning to the stump as bits and pieces of the destroyed limb slowly began to piece back together, "i'm lucky I was half-way in the shadow realm, had he done that when my quirk wasn't active-" he shuddered a bit, looking at the girl, who was still clinging to Izuku, "-all of that for her?"
"Yeah," Izuku sighed, patting her back reassuringly as he looked out the window, "you think he'll follow?"
"Doubtful." X-Less grumbled, crossing his arms, "whoever you two had been fighting was gone by the time I could get eyes on that corner; let's get you two back to UA, before I get proven wrong."
When they arrived, Aizawa and recovery Girl were waiting at the gates, Recovery Girl tutting at the half formed arm that Kayaba presented him, "you were lucky, as is your quirk will be able to heal it in a few days," she reassured him, then looked over to Eri, "and who is this?"
"I'm thinking she's a kidnapped kid, she was running from the villain that did that to Kayaba." Izuku explained, moving to put Eri down, only for her to tighten her grip on him, shaking her head frantically, "It's okay kid, no one here's gonna hurt ya, I promise."
She peaked out from his collarbone, red eye looking over everyone in fright, her eyes widening at the giant needle in Recovery Girl's hand, she cried as she hid her face again.
Everyone looked at the old lady pointedly, who sighed and gave her cane to Aizawa so he could hide it behind his back, "It's okay dearie, that's just a cane, I'm sorry if it scared you." she said gently, walking over as Izuku knelt down for her to get a good look at the girl, "you don't have to leave Midoriya's arms, but I have to see if there's any injuries that need healing okay?"
Eri peaked again, silent tears running down her cheeks, she glanced at Izuku, who gave her an encouraging smile, 'okay."she whispered warily, slowly, turning around in Izuku's arms to face Recovery Girl, shaking like a leaf the entire time the old lady checked her over.
"My, my, you're probably hungry," Recovery girl mused, giving the girl a smile while internally worrying, "and all these cuts, no, no, this won't do." With a gentle kiss to the little girl's head the scrapes and cuts she had almost immediately healed as Eri flinched away, "don't worry now, how about lets get you to the cafeteria for some food while we decide what to do next."
"Lunch rush makes a great Katsudon." Izuku said to her as she turned back around in his arms, mumbling a quick 'thank you' to REcovery girl.
"Okay…" she mumbled, still not letting go of Izuku as he stood up.
"I'll go with you,' Aizawa said, the three heading out as X-Less, Kayaba and Native followed recovery girl.
"How bad?" Native asked Recovery Girl softly.
"Minor malnutrition, signs of multiple surgeries and needle marks, Vitamin D deficiency, I wouldn't be surprised if she was hiding her face from the sun as much as from me." she sighed, "poor thing's been abused, what did you see when you arrived?"
"Nothing," Native sighed while X-Less grumbled.
"By the time we got to the station the fight was over," he said grimly, "Izuku had the girl, and Kayaba was missing an arm," He looked at the boy, "wanna fill in the blanks?"
"The girl ran into Izuku while he was on his way to the station," Kayaba began, rolling his shoulder uncomfortably as his arm slowly healed, "he was about to call local officers when that villain showed up, got real dodgy when Izuku tried to follow protocol, I intervened immediately after the man had tried to attack. Caught him in my shadows…I didn't know i could still be attacked while still semi-permeable, and his quirk wasn't a rock altering quirk like I thought; he took my arm and I barely got out of there before he killed me." he huffed, glaring at his arm, "whoever he was, he wasn't going to leave witnesses."
Recovery Girl shook her head, "whatever he wanted the girl for, it wasn't good. I'll be sure Nezu is alerted and we get child services and an investigator here, until then; would you two please keep an eye on her and Midoriya? Just in case these villains decide attacking UA is worth the risk."
"Of course," X nodded, "keep us posted on how things are going." with that the two left.
"And you should go get some rest." Recovery Girl said to Kayaba as the young man leant against the wall, out of breath, "I'm sure Pakku will be wanting to debrief you as soon as you're all healed up, and you can regain some energy."
"You're probably right." he muttered, "permission to use my quirk to reach my room, I don't think I can walk all the way there."
"Granted." she said with a nod and the boy seemed to fall back through the wall, "I'll have to give Pakku a piece of my mind." she huffed darkly as she continued on towards Nezu's office, "not even a week with their licenses and they have them doing such dangerous tasks!"
WVWVW
Aizawa watched as Izuku slowly coaxed Eri out of his arms, they were sitting at a table closest to the lunch line, Lunch Rush was already at work making food for the two children.
'It's alright Eri," Izuku said kindly as he finally got the girl to the seat beside her, though her hand was still tightly grasped in Izuku's own, "we're safe here, I promise. Lunch Rush is a Pro Hero, so is Pops over there."
"Pops?" she questioned, glancing at Aizawa worriedly.
"Yeah, he's my guardian." Izuku said,eyes darting over to Aizawa, "he helped me become a student here."
Eri seemed to relax just a bit at Izuku's words, turning a little more to Aizawa, "h-hello." She greeted him quietly.
"Hi," Aizawa greeted back softly, "Izuku's right, we won't let anything happen to you."
Eri nodded slowly, jumping a bit when Lunch Rush placed a tray in front of them; having walked up while the girl was worried, "and a bowl of fruit," Lunch Rush proclaimed happily, placing the ceramic bowl down between the trays of steaming Katsudon, "fruit are an essential part of the diet after all! Enjoy!"
"Thank you Lunch Rush," Izuku bowed slightly to the man, Eri mimicking his movement before her eye caught sight of an Apple in the bowl, her eyes seem to widen a bit as she looked at it.
"Do you want the apple?" Izuku asked, plucking the red apple from the bowl and holding out to her, "go ahead, I can always reheat your Katsudon when you're ready."
"T-thank you!" she stuttered as she took the apple, staring at it in wonder before taking a small bite, "mmmmm." she hummed happily as she munched along, letting go of Izuku's hand as she finally seemed to relax.
Izuku smiled as he watched her for a bit, absentmindedly taking a few bites of his own food.
Eri glanced at Izuku, her eyes running over the scars on his arms, "did someone hurt you too?" she asked, making Izuku jump a bit, "s-sorry." she said quickly, eyes darting away.
"It's alright kid," Izuku reassured her gently, looking at his scars, then at the slightly dirt smudged bandages around her arms, "someone did hurt me," Izuku admitted quietly, "but I survived, and they were caught." he smiled at her, hand hesitantly reaching out to ruffle her hair, Eri stared at him in awe as warmth filled her, "we're the same eh? Survivors."
Eri slowly nodded, eyes shimmering a bit.
Izuku grinned.
"Izuku," Aizawa called, making Izuku and Eri look over to the dark clad hero, now standing by the door, his cellphone in his hands, "something's come up, stay here with Lunch Rush and I'll be back as soon as I can." he said.
"Alright pops." Izuku agreed as the man rushed out.
"Are we in trouble?" Eri asked worriedly.
"No, no, I'm sure it's something boring like paperwork." izuku said with an easy smile, "Now, let's get to eating, you look like you could do with a good meal."
Eri nodded, "it smells yummy." she mumbled, looking at the bowl, and then down at the last few bites of the apple.
"Not as good as you thought?" Izuku asked sympathetically.
She shook her head, "I don't remember ever seeing one so red before."
Izuku felt a spike of anger run through him, though he kept his face neutral, "were they green?" he asked.
She shook her head, "brown." she said, oblivious to the anger now simmering in Izuku's gut, "and mushy."
"Well, no more mushy brown apples from here on out," Izuku proclaimed seriously, "nothing but the best for you kid."
Eri stared at him, and while she didn't smile, Izuku could see how she seemed to fully relax for a moment, before she seemed to tense once more as she looked away.
"What happens now?" she questioned before taking another bite of the apple.
"Well, Recovery Girl is gonna talk to Principal Nezu," Izuku began, turning back to his Katsudon, "they have my recorder so they know what happened for the most part; they'll contact investigators and see if they can't find that bad guy."
"Overhaul."
Izuku looked at her. She was almost shivering in fear, but she seemed to steel herself, refusing to look at him as she quietly said, "His name is Overhaul."
Izuku slowly nodded, "well, whatever he calls himself, he won't be a problem for long if we have anything to say about it." He reassured her, putting a comforting arm around her thin shoulders, "after that, Child Services will try and place you, find you a home."
"I can't stay here?" she asked, tears coming to her eyes as she once again looked at Izuku in worry.
"I'm not sure kid, sorry." he sighed, "but don't worry, I'll visit you whenever I can, check in on you regularly;us survivors gotta stick together whenever we can, right?"
Eri nodded, looking a little relieved as she finally bit into the Katsudon, her eyes widening at the flavor before digging in.
Izuku laughed a bit, "glad you like the food." he said, leaning back a bit since he'd already finished his food, looking towards the door with a worried frown.
WVWVW
Erasurehead felt a headache coming on.
The talks with the representatives of CPS and the local Police had taken the better part of two hours, both in reassuring the police that everything the two UA HIT students had done were above board; and explaining in excruciatingly painful detail what they could glean from Recovery Girl's report about the girl.
"From what we can tell, this girl has been horribly abused." the CPS representative, Mrs. Asumi Takagame said, running a hand through her short rainbow colored hair as she stared furiously at the reports in front of her, "malnutrition, vitamin D deficiency, scars that are surgical in nature, and general fear of anything and everything outside of the boy who saved him."
"We knew the Yakuza in the area were becoming increasingly active," detective Otsura muttered, tapping the side of his stone-like head in thought, "so much so that the Nighteye agency has begun keeping tabs on them. With this new evidence of child abuse we may be able to get a warrant to move in." he looked to Takagame, "she'll have to be placed into some kind of protective custody."
"Which UA is more than happy to offer." Nezu said, nodding to Erasurehead, "Mr. Aizawa is already the guardian of the young man who saved Young Eri, he would have no problem taking guardianship over the young lady."
"UA's security is some of the best in the world," Takagame admitted, nodding slowly, "and Erasureheads quirk would be a boon if the girl's quirk proves to be temperamental."
"Her quirk is still an unknown," Otsura agreed, "and with the surgical scars we can only assume it's something dangerous."
"You think they were performing surgery on her for her quirk?" Aizawa asked.
Otsura hesitated, before sighing, "that's the leading theory right now." he said, "i'm not in a position to say much on the subject though, not until the Nighteye Agency okays it."
"That serious?" Aizawa asked, humming when Otsura shrugged helplessly. "I'l make sure the staff is suitably warned, and I'm sure Izuku will be keeping an eye on her when he can."
"Now, the last thing I'll need to do before leaving is talk with the girl." Takagame said, standing up, "nothing serious, I just need to make sure she understands what the next steps are.
"I'd like to ask her questions in regards to the case, but I understand if she'll need a few days." Otsura added.
"Let's set that up in a few days." Nezu said, "give her some time to settle."
"I'll take you to her." Aizawa said, leading the woman through the halls in silence, soon they reached the cafeteria, where Izuku was entertaining Eri with bursts of embers and flames, some of them vaguely resembling animals.
"Look, look, i can do a dog." he nudged Eri good naturedly as she ooh'd and ah'd at the fire show, with a flare of his hand an ethereal dog made of fire and sparks puffed into existence for a few moments before disappearing a in a cloud of smoke, much to Eri's muted delight.
"Izuku," Shouta greeted his ward, both kids looked up, though Eri had a noticeable look of worry at the unknown woman.
"Sup pops, everything good?" the teen asked easily, placing a comforting hand on Eri's shoulder.
"Yes, we were just finalizing things for young Eri here," Aizawa said, stepping to the side "this is Takagami, she's been assigned to your case."
"Hello," the woman greeted quietly but warmly as she crouched down to eye level with Eri, "i'm here to tell you what's to come next, can you come sit with me at the table? Don't worry, Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Midoriya won't have to leave.
Eri shared a look with Izuku, who nodded encouragingly, "okay." she mumbled, standing up and following the woman to the table while Izuku went to stand with his dad.
"What's been decided?" he asked. Crossing his arms as he watched the two converse.
"She'll be a ward under my care," he said, "and with the Dorm system implemented I'm sure that means she'll be getting a room with me in the teachers quarters. "
"That's good." izuku nodded, his shoulders untensing ever so slightly, "was worried who they'd place her with."
"With her quirk still being an unknown we'd rather I be nearby to stop any accidental usage." he glanced at Izuku, who was still staring at the girl worriedly, "that villain still worrying you?"
Izuku grunted, "he was ready to kill me and Kayaba, no hesitation…and I got the feeling he wouldn't have cared if Eri got hurt."
Aizawa placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, making him look up.
"Don't worry about what that villain was thinking." he reassured, "the Nighteye Agency already has eyes on the group he belongs to. He won't be a problem for long."
"Nighteye huh?" Izuku asked, running an idea through his head, "doesn't that third year do a work study with him?"
Aizawa leveled him a single, unimpressed, look. "No." he said in no uncertain terms.
"But-"
"-even if he agreed, i'm not signing off on an op i know you have personal feelings in."
Izuku rolled his eyes, "all i'd need is a single good shot-"
"Izuku." Aizawa said warningly.
"Oh come on, I'm kidding." izuku laughed, "you now, mostly." he grinned as the man was robbed of his chance at a response as Eri ran up.
"Izuku! Mrs. Asumi said I can stay with you! Isn't that great!"
"It's wonderful." izuku cheered, lifting her onto his shoulder, "how about i give you a tour of the place, that alright?" He asked, looking at Aizawa.
"Steer clear of the gate, past that go nuts."
Izuku grinned, "Come on kid, I'll introduce you to the gang."