In a cocoon of blankets and pillows, a trashy romance drama humming quietly from her old school TV and warmed by the fires of a truly decadent hot chocolate, Uraraka sighed in cozy contentment. It had been a fortnight or so since her last day off and having just gotten in from a late shift, she intended to take full advantage of the fact that tomorrow, she could happily hit snooze on her alarm as many times as she so desired.
As far as heroics went, it had been a pretty uneventful two weeks. A bank robbery here, a quirk brawl there…sprinkled liberally with muggings, high speed chases and helping old ladies cross the street, of course. All in all, just another day in the office.
Between her quiet shifts, she'd made semi-regular visits to the hospital that housed the six girls she had rescued, leaving in a better mood each time at the progress of their recovery. The oldest amongst them, a willful and willowy girl of 14 by the name of Shizuka had proven herself the exact opposite of her namesake and was the de facto leader of the small group, protecting the younger girls with a ferociousness that set Urarakas heart on fire. Every visit, the gravity hero watched on as the little tyrant grew happier and healthier alongside her charges. Uraraka snickered to herself, remembering how three nights prior, Shizuka had torn one unfortunate doctor apart with words alone when he'd suggested moving the girls to separate rooms now that they were all getting better.
Therein that matter however, a small seed of doubt had burrowed deep in Urarakas mind and it was growing day by day. What next? The hospital staff had been more than understanding and had offered to look after the girls for as long as it took to get them all back to full health but after that, the future for the six of them was uncertain. As minors, after being discharged, they'd be scattered to the winds of Japan's orphanage system and would almost certainly be split up. But what could Uraraka do, adopt them all? She barely made enough money to support herself and her parents so adding six young kids to the mix was beyond the pale.
But she was nothing if not stubborn, she hadn't given up on them yet. One way or another, she'd keep them together: she would keep them safe.
The economics of looking after six orphans at the tender age of 'waaaay too early to have kids', was not the only thought that passed through her mind however. Something else, or rather 'someone' else was never too far from the forefront and, as she watched the male lead of her truly terrible movie help carry the main characters bags with a wide and friendly smile, she was almost forcibly reminded of Izuku.
She smiled fondly at the thought of the man, unable to stop herself if she was being honest. Whenever she wasn't on patrol or out responding to an emergency distress signal, Uraraka spent every spare minute she could find at work, talking to Izuku. The sidekick's office was a mere two doors away from where Izuku's support desk was and yet, the other sidekicks often made tittering remarks about how she might as well move her stuff over to where he was, since it would save her all that walking time. She ignored the playful comments with a firm blush, but would never forget the time when Solar, a fellow sidekick she'd often patrol with, had called a greeting to Izuku while Uraraka had had her nose buried in paperwork. Uraraka's head had shot up with a broad smile at the sound of the man's name, only to find Solar standing there holding in tears of laughter and no one else around.
"Oh man that was… that was too easy!" Solar had said between bouts of suppressed laughter. With a dignity she wasn't entirely sure was convincing and a threat to put Solar on the ceiling and leave her up there, Uraraka had gone back to work.
Lunches were her favorite though. They ate together most days, just talking about this and that. Uraraka was almost as fascinated about Izukus stories from his days on the general course as he was about her ones of heroics. She'd come to discover that there was a whole new side to UA that she had simply not had the chance to discover. The way Izuku told it, the support, general and business courses got up to just as much mischief as they did on the hero course, only with a lot less bodily harm involved. He spoke fondly of all the non-heroics students and how he maintained contact with a lot of them to this day. It wasn't exactly her fault given the immense amount of time and effort she'd put into honing her skills as a hero, but Uraraka was saddened at the missed opportunities of getting to know the other students a little better. While she certainly wouldn't take any of it back given what she'd aimed to be, she did regret not having known Izuku properly back then, and so she made a promise to herself that she would do her best to make up for lost time with him.
Far from the exciting but nerve wracking developments of her personal life, Uraraka had another man on her mind, this one a lot less pleasant than the kindly Izuku.
Her biggest headache had yet to pop up again since the night they had fought with Razor and Uraraka was starting to get worried. She knew it wasn't smart to let the vigilante leave with the only way to keep tabs on Razor but she'd been so preoccupied with her charges, she'd barely given it any thought. Jackrabbit hadn't said anything about contacting her again and Uraraka was starting to worry he'd made a move on the traffickers all by his lonesome. It was unlikely, given that no more victims had turned up in the past few days, nor had any seriously injured gang members with outstanding warrants. Still, Uraraka couldn't shake the feeling that Jackrabbit was planning something and it was making her nervous.
The whole messed up situation did have one silver lining, however, and it was the fact that she couldn't do anything about it right in that very moment.
Whatever else she had to think about, whatever she had to deal with the next day or week or month, all of it fell blessedly into the category of 'Future Ochakos Problems'. She settled into the silky embrace of her blanket haven rattling off a short, sympathetic prayer for 'Future Ochako', the poor thing, and promptly put everything except for the overly dramatic, corny drama on her screen, well out of her mind.
Or so she thought.
"Ohhh, I love this one!"
In the morning to come, the kind elderly couple that lived below Uraraka would knock worriedly on her door claiming to have heard an 'otherworldly shriek' the night before and would ask if she was alright. Uraraka would have to allay their fears, stating that it was simply a case of her having spotted a mouse and that they needn't worry.
Back in the present, Uraraka clung to her ceiling, entrapped in the same fortress of blankets that had offered her comfort not moments before. It took a few seconds longer than she would have liked to release herself from the hold of the cocoon and from her vantage point, she was greeted with the sight of a man in a dark outfit of forest green and an abyssal helmet, sitting relaxed as an honored guest atop her window sill.
"Y'know though, I pictured you more of an action comedy kinda girl," he stated with a hum of amusement. He kicked his legs as they dangled from the old white wooden frame and he leaned against the faded brickwork that made up the windows outside foundation with crossed arms.
The intruding vigilante almost, almost, fell backwards out into a cruel freefall when Uraraka grabbed a fistful of his collar with an iron grip, and drove a rage-filled fist directly into his solar plexus, but luckily for him, she decided to use her quirk. So instead, he dangled a few inches off the ground in her grasp while he fought for breath.
"Okay," he wheezed. "Totally…* gasp *...fair, that one's on… ow… me," he hacked up a cough and Uraraka took a savage joy in his pained, labored breaths. "Damn, woman, I'm wearing body armor. How did you do that?"
"Practice," she spat. With a harsh yank, she pulled the weightless body into her living room, caring little for the way that he landed in an awkward pile of limbs and shadowy clothing when she released her quirk. His arms and legs scrambled for purchase on her carpeted floor but she was already upon him again, wielding the zip ties she kept spare as makeshift cuffs like an unholy blade. Before Jackrabbit could scramble to right himself she had her knee pressing down on his spine and both of his wrists clamped tight together by several sets of black unyielding plastic. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet, his face would have been mushed into the carpet, something that Uraraka was sour to not see.
A bubbling silence engulfed the pair, the only sounds coming from Urarakas furious panting and the low warble of family friendly cheesiness from the TV. Even the vigilante was quiet, which was odd as he usually would have said something infuriating by now.
Jackrabbit wiggled his bound hands. "What, you just keep these lying around the house? Kinky," he snickered.
Annnd there it was.
A vein pulsed dangerously on Uraraka's forehead. "What the HELL are you doing here?" She seethed through a clenched jaw.
This was too far. The fact that the lunatic knew where she lived was not something Uraraka had forgotten, he'd left a note on her bedroom window after all, but him being there, in her apartment, on her living room floor? It was pushing her over the edge.
She removed her weight from his back but didn't go so far that she didn't still keep a hand on the cable ties binding his wrists. She had to get to her phone, then she could Ryukyu or something, tell her this whole stupid idea of using Jackrabbit to get to Razor was off, tell her it was her fault for even remotely trusting him. The only issue was, her phone was on the other side of the room, on her kitchen counter where she always left. She knew her best option was to float him and make a break for it while he struggled to correct his orientation. She also knew she'd have to be quick as in the cramped apartment, he was likely to find purchase on something and right himself, even without his hands. But there was nothing for it. With a quick slap of her fingers against his arm, Uraraka propelled herself forward.
The second she turned away, she heard a succession of distinct *snaps* that turned her blood to ice. She wheeled around throwing her hands up in a practiced stance, ready to subdue him once again but buckled when she felt her legs be scythed out from under her. She landed on her backside, the impact thankfully lessened by the fluffy carpet, but she could only watch in fury as her concentration over her quirk broke, dropping the man like a stone. Immediately, he launched himself from the ground to a standing position, before scampering away, putting the coffee table between them and throwing his hands up in a gesture of appeasement. The useless remains of the zipties fell from his raised wrists and scattered at his feet.
"I'm not here to fight," he said with careful calm. "I want to show you something."
Debating whether or not it was worth throwing the couch at him, Uraraka didn't move. He'd been smart in his maneuvering, the open window was no more than two strides away and she knew better than most how fast he was. With the table in the way, there was no chance she could get to him before he had ample time to escape and crawl back into the shadows.
She snorted derisively. "Oh sure, lemme just grab my coat. You BROKE into my HOUSE, I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU," she yelled before peppering him with every insult she'd learned from Bakugo and Mina, all the while he tried to placate her.
"Shhhhh keep it down! You'll get me arrested! I'm sorry okay?, I didn't know how else to contact you," he pleaded with pacifying hand gestures. Uraraka gave him a gesture of her own. "Oh real mature…" he deadpanned.
"What? Leaving stupid notes not good enough for you anymore? You damn perverted creep," Urakaka raged. She knew keeping him on guard would lead nowhere and that the best thing to do in order to cuff him again would be to play along but dammit, he was pissing her off and she felt like being the one with all the clever words for once.
In the bright yellow lights of her living room he looked…odd. His subdued costume, perfectly suited to hiding in the night, looked less threatening when not draped in shadow and the pointed ears of his hood were pulled back and hung loose behind him looking more like pigtails than anything else . His respirator was missing, leaving behind only his black helmet and it gave him a more civilian look, as if he were trying to blend in. Or maybe it was his attempt at looking less intimidating. Honestly, she was just surprised that stupid smiling mouthguard of his was detachable.
Still, he looked on edge, but that was probably because she felt like throwing him out the window and it was likely showing quite clearly on her face.
"I tried the note thing okay? But you didn't see it," he said, hushed but hysteric, clearly worried that she was going to start shouting again. He sighed and rubbed his wrists where he had been bound. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I should have…knocked on the window or something. Can you please just calm down? I really need to show you something," he pleaded.
Uraraka growled and advanced, fully intending to simply kick the table at him full force to shut him up.
With a dramatic groan, Jackrabbit's shoulders slumped and he dropped his pleading hands. Then with a showy pat down of his various pockets that seemed entirely unnecessary to Uraraka, he pulled out a pad of hot pink sticky notes and a novelty Miruko pen, the kind that was strangely popular with highschool boys…for some reason. "I was gonna do this anyway, I suppose I'll just bribe you with it now," he mumbled, jotting down something Uraraka couldn't make out with quick and practiced strokes before chucking the pad down onto her coffee table with a flick of his wrist.
Despite herself, Uraraka glanced down. She couldn't fully make out the rapid stalks and crosses but at a quick glance, it looked like a string of numbers. "What's that?" she asked.
"My phone number," he replied, without a breath of deception.
Uraraka's rage faltered and she found herself staring at him disbelieving, wondering if her hearing had failed her. "Come again?"
"Alright it's not my phone number, but you can use it contact me. It's my apology. And…" he plowed on, interrupting her soundlessly opening and closing her mouth. She hadn't had anything to say exactly, but she couldn't just stand there gaping at him like a fish without a word. "I'll owe you one favor. Anytime, anyplace, even if you call me down to your agency, I'll be there. Though I'd really appreciate it if you didn't do that," he said, chuckling quietly at his own joke.
With nothing else to say coming to mind, Uraraka reached down to her coffee table and picked up the bright pink notepad, studying the ink skeptically. It really was a phone number, pre-paid probably, he wasn't as stupid as he looked, but it really was one. She glared at him through squinted eyes while tearing the top slice of paper from the pad and throwing the rest at him. "Let's say I believe you," she began. "What did you want to show me? Something to do with Razor?" The possibility of rescuing more of the blade armed thugs' victims was the only real reason she was entertaining him, at least, that was what she told herself.
Jackrabbit shook his head. "No he hasn't moved since the night that someone , who shall remain nameless but her name rhymes with Shmavity, broke his arm. I reckon he's lying low, healing his wounds without having to go to a hospital. He's probably got some shady doctor on speed dial…" he said. He sounded like he was about to motor on talking about Razor for the next half hour, but he caught himself and cut off his words. "Anyway. No, this is something different, something I can't really explain too well in words."
Uraraka didn't reply, she just stood there and gestured with her arms as if demanding a follow up to his cryptic request. The vigilante sighed and spoke again, this time with a grave importance that had strangely managed to capture Uraraka's full attention.
"There's someone I want you to meet."
"Bastard owes me four cable ties."
Grumbling to herself, Uraraka stepped off the platform and stood amongst the bustling crowd, seriously beginning to wonder if the years of fighting had rattled her brain loose.
When the masked man had handed the scrap of paper back in her apartment with another address on it, her first instinct had been to childishly throw it out the window in sheer spite of him and his home invasion. But curiosity had gotten the better of her when she'd spied the city name. Two hours on the bullet train later and she was back in the home town of her alma mata.
It had been a good few months since she'd been back in Musutafu but somehow every revisit felt like seeing it for the first time. Being so close to the biggest hero school in the country had its perks and the city was almost constantly in a state of expansion or renovation. New buildings 30 stories high that Uraraka swore she'd never seen before were around every corner and, with the sheer number of heroes and villains the city housed, destruction was never far off. As she walked past a row of shops bursting at the seams with high tech appliances courtesy of Detnerat's successor, Uraraka double checked her own support items.
She hadn't come in costume, choosing to take Jackrabbit at his word when he'd said she wouldn't need it, but she wasn't stupid enough to come empty handed. A set of emergency wrist stabilizers and her more lightweight helmet designed to be compact and easy to equip sat tucked away at the bottom of her bag amongst her purse and cell phone.
The pink plastic of the phone cover caught her eye several times as she looked over her gear but she tried to ignore it. The lingering thought of Jackrabbit's number, now stored within the blocky thing, was bothering her more than she would have liked to admit. Was it really his? Surely it couldn't be. She'd been itching to try it the instant she'd entered his number into her contacts filed neatly under 'annoying bastard' while on the train and the siren call to give it a try was getting harder to block out. Inwardly, she cursed her curious nature.
30 seconds later, her phone was in her hand, fingers flying over the navigation keys as she scowled and swore. She hovered over his contact information, hesitated with her thumb on the call button, then slammed it down before she could stop herself.
Phone at her ear, it was after the second ring she decided that this was stupid and after the third when she went to hang up but, before she could, a flirty and infuriating voice assaulted her ears.
"Well hey there, star girl. Miss me already?" Jackrabbit allowed his stupid nickname for her roll of his tongue and Uraraka wanted to shove her hand through the receiver and throttle him.
"With every bullet so far," she growled, before reigning in her anger just a tad. "Didn't think it'd actually be you on the other side of this line."
He chuckled. "What? Did you think it was gonna be a host club that answered?"
"Something like that."
He laughed again and Uraraka decided it was her least favorite sound, the exact opposite of Izuku's. It was entirely empty, sounding so fake it made her want to hit something. "Well, that would be pretty funny but nah, I wanted to give you a way to contact me. Plus now I've got yours~," he said in a singsong.
Uraraka's face went pale and she almost pitched her phone into the river along whose banks she walked. "Dammit," she sighed. Once again Jackrabbit cackled his amusement, forcing Uraraka to pull the phone away from her head, lest she lose hearing in her right ear. "I'm glad you find this so funny. Call me about anything other than work and I'll personally get Lemillion to kick your ass."
"Uravity, baby, no need to be so cruel! I promise not to call you unless it's absolutely vital…or if I'm bored." She growled her frustrations and he quickly added. "Joking! Joking! Only work I swear." Through the phone, Uraraka could hear the sounds of city life rattling on around Jackrabbit and a thought struck her.
"You're not in costume are you." It was more a statement than a question. Jackrabbit was pretty famous as far as vigilantes went, and Musutafu was home to even more heroes than Tokyo, with a higher average ranking to boot. There was no way he was walking about the street in his green jumpsuit, he'd be dragged away in cuffs the moment he stepped foot on any thoroughfare.
"Nope! I'm all civied up," he chirped.
Uraraka hummed in concession all the while her eyes darted to and fro at any man on the busy street with a phone at his ear. There were hundreds of people about and she spotted two or three possible targets in a handful of seconds. Maybe if she got a good vantage point and kept him talking…
"Stop looking around like that, you look shifty as hell."
She was rooted to the spot, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and every pair of eyes in her vicinity felt as if they were on her, making her hands itch.
"Nahhh I'm just messing with ya, just sounds like something you'd do," he said, pleased with himself. Uraraka felt her eye convulse but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction so she merely snorted a rough huff of air and did her best to keep her irritation at a manageable level. It was a trying task.
"So, you almost there?" Jackrabbit asked suddenly and Uraraka felt herself being pulled back to reality. She took out the little piece of paper he had given her and checked it against the low poly online map that her archaic phone could just about handle. The little text in the corner told her she'd get there in an estimated 40 minutes. The long walk probably would have worsened her already sour mood if she couldn't literally fly.
"I'll be there in 5," she said, kicking off from the pavement. She gave a soft smile and a genial wave to the members of the public who'd recognized her.
"Good, good," Jackrabbit hummed. "I got here just now, so get your fine butt moving. I'll dress up nice and fancy for ya."
Uraraka sighed, giving up entirely. "This better be worth it or I'm punching you again."
"It will be, I promise. You're gonna love her!" Jackrabbit said, childlike.
Touching down on the nearest rooftop, Uraraka couldn't help but wonder who 'she' was going to be. The first thing she'd suspected when Jackrabbit had mentioned they were going to see a person was that he was bringing her to meet the eccentric and enigmatic 'friend' that he'd mentioned a few weeks back. The more that she thought about it though, the less sense it made. Why would he sell out the identity of one of his only allies to a hero? Especially if this ally of his also knew his real identity in turn.
Hopping from roof to roof, Uraraka imagined, dissected and discarded a dozen or so identities of the person she was about to meet and, when she could make out the shaded outline of the building she was looking for, she found herself no closer to an answer than she was at the start. The only fact she'd been able to nail down was, whoever this person was, they were important to Jackrabbit. Or maybe, they were important to whoever was under the mask. Either way, it promised to be an interesting night.
Landing atop an office block across the road from her target address, Uraraka was almost immediately given whiplash. Instead of the seedy den of lawlessness and immorality that she'd been expecting, she was presented with a cheerful explosion of modern artistry.
A tall and narrow building stood towering over her. It was mostly made of glass like its neighbors but the front entrance was made up in cheerful and inviting yellows that stood out amongst the gray, gray and even more gray of the jungle of glass and steel that surrounded it. The streets outside were clean and quiet but Uraraka knew that this was one of the lesser patrolled areas around the city as it was so far from the main streets and yet it seemed peaceful, as if the tower itself was standing guard.
"Pretty nice ain't it?" A voice chimed in, pulling Uraraka away from her awe and confusion.
To her left, Jackrabbit extracted himself from a patch of murk and pulled up next to her. He was back in costume but he seemed less bulky somehow, as if he'd lost a couple dozen pounds in weight around his midsection. It was only belatedly that Uraraka realized he'd taken off his armor. Obviously wasn't expecting a fight then. Atop his usually green overalls, the black straps of a fairly hefty looking backpack peeked over his shoulders.
"This should be easier now that you're here. Normally I have to climb down from the roof. Don't ask how I get up there," he said.
Uraraka quirked an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look.
He raised a hand in response, and pointed vaguely to the left hand side of the building. Without a word, he gestured for her to follow and began to walk leisurely towards the thin but well lit alleyway nestled at the side he'd indicated. The building was perched atop a foundation of solid brickwork, making it so the glass windows began nearly 20 feet up.
Suspicious, but mostly curious, Uraraka hurried to catch up. "I'm not helping you break into this place," she stated bluntly. He waved a hand dismissively but didn't say more than that.
Crossing the road at a stroll, the pair squeezed themselves into the claustrophobic space between the two buildings, stepping over the regular forgotten detritus of an urban area and giving a wide berth to ferocious looking tabby guarding a pack of store bought tuna. At a seemingly random spot, about halfway between either entrance, Jackrabbit stopped, glancing upwards in a hum of contemplation. He took two large steps to the right, one more after than and several quick hops backwards to get a better view of the mountainous glass monolith above him.
"Hmm, should be good enough," he announced before turning to look at her. "Take us nine stories up, to the window with all the flower stickers on the inside but be quick. Someone else might be awake."
Uraraka shook her head. "Not before you explain what this place is, and what we're doing here," Uraraka demanded. She still wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't about to be complicit in a burglary so she needed to put her foot down.
With a dramatic sigh and slumping arms and shoulders, Jackrabbit relented. "Fine fine, I suppose you deserve to know since I dragged you all the way here. This…" he gestured to the building with a flourish, "is an orphanage. I wanted to introduce you, or more specifically, Uravity, to one of the kids here." Uraraka felt her jaw make heavy contact with the grimy concrete below but she wasn't given time to process his words before he was talking again. "I know I can trust you with this after the Razor stuff," he finished.
"You're just messing with me right?" She asked, incredulously. There was no way he was telling the truth here, it wasn't possible. Him? Introducing her to an orphan? What the hell?
"Float us up and you can see for yourself," he replied. In any other situation, Uraraka might have snidely asked if he was going to jump away from her quirk like a little baby again, but she was simply too off kilter. An orphanage? Really?
"But why?" Uraraka asked.
Jackrabbit was silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating his answer. He looked up, keeping a close watch on the tower while adjusting the material of his gloves. "She needs a better influence," was his cryptic reply.
Uraraka waited for him to elaborate but he was clearly done talking. She sighed and stomped her way over to the man, questioning whether or not she was really about to break into a building just on the off chance he wasn't making it all up as part of some elaborate ploy. Whatever the case, it was too late to back out now. It had been too late the moment she'd stepped foot on that train.
She grabbed his wrist roughly and touched all five of her digits to his costume before doing the same to her upper arm and, as one, they floated. Higher and higher they went, passing darkened rooms that were too hard to make out and the occasional hallway lined with door after drab gray door, but each decorated in unique styles and color pallets, assumedly by the occupant, if Jackrabbit had been telling the truth about the place. It didn't take long for them to reach the target window and Jackrabbit was right, it was remarkably easy to spot with the plethora of flowers sprouting from the glass.
Inside, a small but vibrant room burst at the edges of the window, doing its best to escape in an explosion of greens and blues and yellow. Flowers of every shape and species were splattered along the walls in great arcing strokes, dotted periodically with cutesy cartoon rabbits and disembodied heads that carried the charming visage of the hero Lemillion. As far as hardware, the room was pretty sparse. A desk, topped with a ropey looking computer and drowned in reams of what looked like school work, sat in one corner, while a single sized bed occupied the space touching the far wall, flanked either side by low tables. There was no wardrobe, but a floor to ceiling door hugged the wall opposite to what looked like an en-suite bathroom and Uraraka could see several items of clothing, hastily shoved in, in much the same way she did as a teen. On the bed, a young girl, maybe 13 or so lay on her stomach, fiddling with the remote that evidently controlled a bulky TV that sat next to the desk on a stand.
The girl had striking white hair and what looked like a small horn protruding from one side of her forehead. She looked bored.
Anchoring himself on the outside ledge of the window, Jackrabbit wasted no time in wrapping his gloved knuckle smartly against the glass in three rapid knocks.
The girl's head whipped around fast enough to make Uraraka wince and Jackrabbit gave a lazy salute to get her attention. At the sight of him, an ear to ear smile split the girl's face and her eyes sparkled like the stars. Leaping off of her bed and crossing the room in great acrobatic bounds, she fiddled with the window latch and threw it open before launching herself bodily at the vigilantes mid section. "Bunny!"
Apparently expecting this, Jackrabbit had already braced himself with one arm and with the other, he gently ensconced the girl with a tender hug. "Hey kid. Miss me?" He greeted.
The girl pulled her head away from where she'd buried it in the man's chest and grinned brightly up at him, the twinkle in her eyes not losing an ounce of its charm. She nodded energetically and tackled him once again, forcing him to readjust his teetering balance. "Easy kiddo or you'll send us both over," he laughed. "Uravity'll have to work overtime!"
At his words, the girl jolted and with great care, she pulled away from the man while sending furtive and shy glances towards Uraraka, as if just noticing her for the first time. She took a few inching steps back, lowering herself from where she'd evidently been standing on her tiptoes. Her face was now a violent shade of red and she gave a small self conscious bow towards Uraraka, who was still suspended in the air at Jackrabbits right shoulder. "Nice to meet you, flying Miss," the girl said with formality. Uraraka almost cooed at how cute it was.
Jackrabbit snickered.
"H-Hello young lady. What's your name?" Uraraka smiled. It took some time for the initial shock at the girl's sheer existence to wear off but she couldn't help but find her adorable.
"E-Eri…" the girl mumbled, playing with the frayed edges of her sweater. Uraraka couldn't help notice it was selfmade, knitted from a swathy green, an exact match to Jackrabbits jumpsuit.
"It's nice to meet ya too, Eri," Uraraka said, holding out her hand. Eri took it shyly, giving nervous glances in Jackrabbits direction who gave her a nod of encouragement.
"Uravity is an up and coming pro. Said she wanted to come meet you," he said.
Eri gave the gravity hero a look just tinted at the edges with wonder and seemed to relax, allowing some of the tension to leak from her shoulders. Then, a sudden look of shock overcame her features, like she'd just remembered something important, and she rounded on Jackrabbit with narrowed eyes. "And just where have you been? You haven't been around for weeks! Did you get arrested? Is that why Miss Uravity is here?" She grumbled.
Jackrabbit held up his hands in an appeasing motion. "No no, I'm still at large," he snickered. "Sorry, Eri. Me and Uravity have been working on a case together. It's important I promise. As for why she's here, well… you need a better role model than me and she's real nice so I thought you might get along."
Eri folded her arms and pouted. "I still wanna be like you, you know…" she mumbled. She was obviously trying to keep her voice too low for the hero to hear but, while Uraraka pretended otherwise, her words were crystal in the sleeping building.
Jackrabbit sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "And that's what bothers me. I'm not someone you should be following in the footsteps of," he said.
Uraraka was a little shocked at Eri's words, especially given that she, a pro her, was not two meters away. She was starting to understand what Jackrabbit meant about 'better role models', the girl wanted to become a vigilante of all things.
Eager to change the subject, Jackrabbit spoke again. "Mind if we come in, kid? It's getting a little cold out here," he said. He wasn't wrong, being nine stories up out in the elements at night was starting to take its toll.
Eri's cute face morphed slowly from a sulk to a mischievous tilt and she grinned slyly. "Depends," she said, unfolding her arms and inspecting her nails, airily. "What's in the backpack?" All the shyness she'd displayed upon greeting Uraraka melted away leaving behind a little scamp with the face of an angel.
Jackrabbit snorted in amusement, not buying the 'butter wouldn't melt' schtick. He allowed the strap of the heavy looking bag to drop from his shoulders and down his arms, catching it in one hand. With the other he fumbled amongst the forest of the fabric for the zipper while muttering something about "teaching her too much…" under his breath.
Looking over Jackrabbits shoulder, Uraraka caught a glimpse of the contents. In its depths, she could make out what looked like a truly sinful amount of junk food, the posing form of an action figure of Lemillion, and the plastic wrapped edges of a video game. Eri's eyes shined in the low light and Uraraka could have sworn she saw Yen signs floating above the girls head. She made a dive for the food but was stopped short when Jackrabbit placed a palm on her forehead and held her at arm's length. Eri narrowed her eyes and swiped at the bag but she was miles too short to even graze it with her fingertips. "Bunnnnnyyyy!" She whined.
Astoundingly, Jackrabbit was unmoved. "Nice try you little brat but I want payment upfront. And what did I say about that nickname?" He growled, but it was in obvious jest.
Eri snickered, giving up on the cutesy ploy and putting her full energy into grabbing the bag. "Have you tried not dressing up like a bunny rabbit?" She asked, innocently.
"Yeah yeah, everyones a comedian. Now go get me my bribe already."
Giving up the quest for the backpack as a lost cause, Eri laughed and skipped over to her desk drawer wherein she retrieved what looked like a standard school notebook. She made her way back to the window, flipping to a page about halfway through the stack of papers. She ripped out the page slowly, taking care to keep the tear even, before hanging the loose paper to Jackrabbit, who was rubbing his hands together with anticipation. Uraraka stared at the paper in befuddlement and saw that it was marked by a single flowing signature that filled up the center. It belonged to Manual, a hero who had just signed on as UA's newest member of staff, if she was remembering right.
So Jackrabbit's a hero nerd just like Izuku? Hobbies take all kinds I guess, she thought in surprised amusement.
Taking the autograph with a hissed yesss, Jackrabbit deposited the bulging backpack into Eri's eagerly awaiting hands. Gleefully, the teen pulled out a pack of fruit mochi and ripped it open, shaking out a handful of the apple flavored ones. She inhaled one or two of them, coating the edges of her mouth in the fluffy white rice flour with reckless abandon, while grinning ear to ear. After savoring the flavor with avid delight, the girl offered one of her treats to Jackrabbit, who was still sitting there, admiring his bounty.
Glancing at the proffered treat, he waved his hand before knocking on the side of his blacked out helmet. "No thanks kid. Gotta keep this on tonight. Haven't shown her yet," he said, gesturing to Uraraka with a nod of his head.
Eri looked a little disappointed but was quickly taken over by the joy of mochi once more. After a few more bites, she turned to Uraraka and offered the same prize. "Do you want one, Miss Uravity?" She asked.
Uraraka was about to turn the sweets down but froze when she locked eyes with the bright pink packaging that normally signified one of her favorite things in the world. Strawberry mochi. Her eyes widened, and her mouth watered just a little.
At the sight of this, Eri giggled sweetly and extracted the strawberry mochi from the bag, handing it Uraraka. The gravity hero blinked in surprise but gratefully accepted the gift with a bright smile and small thank you.
As she chewed, a thought came to her. Jackrabbit had said '"Gotta keep this on tonight,"' meaning that he'd shown Eri his face at least once. Curious for a man as careful and as wanted as he was. He must have really cared for the girl.
Hoarding her stash like a dragon, Eri allowed the two of them gracious entry into her lair, to which she was rewarded with a hair tousle from Jackrabbit that she stamped and grumbled about. The two adults didn't stray too far from the window but Jackrabbit did close it, leading Uraraka to notice the chill night air from its absences. Then, Jackrabbit wound his way to the desk, admiring the ostentatious artwork, and dragged the comfy looking roller chair back over to where Uraraka stood slightly awkwardly. The vigilante shoved the chair gently in her direction before claiming the wide window sill for himself.
Uraraka muttered her thanks and sank timidly into the seat while she watched Eri dig her way through the bag's goodies on her bed. The excited girl pulled out the figurine and beamed at Jackrabbit when she had discerned its quality. "Woooah thanks Bunny! I didn't even think this model was available to buy yet!" She cheered.
Jackrabbit laughed, a pleasant and warm sound that bubbled up deep from his belly, one that had Uraraka jumping in surprise. For a second there, she could have sworn Izuku himself had just walked into the room. What the hell was that? She asked herself. That was not the grating noise she'd heard him make in the past, that one was real. She'd heard a hint of it back in the warehouse when he'd been trying to calm the victims but this one was far beyond even that. It occurred to her for the first time that the voice he used when he donned that helmet was a fabrication, a further layer or protection for his identity. He'd let it slip though, in that laugh, whoever he really was.
"Thats coz it's not. Had to work my magic on the internet. And by that I mean stand in a virtual queue for 6 hours just for a lottery ticket," he sighed.
Placing her hoard down on the bed, Eri once again jumped up and ran to Jackrabbit. In a flying leap she wrapped her tiny self around him and squeezed the life out of him, spouting a hushed stream of 'thank yous' with every breath.
"Gaahhhh watch it kid, you're ruining my bad boy image here!" The man grumbled, trying his best to extricate himself from the limpet attached to his side. After many failed attempts, he gave it up as a bad job and slumped in defeat. "Fine, make me look like a dork, why don't you," he said exasperated.
"You do that well enough on your own," Uraraka said with a smirk. She was surprised to hear herself join in on the strangely domestic banter but something about Eri and the way Jackrabbit acted around her had Uraraka less on edge. It reminded her of how he'd interacted with the girls back in the warehouse and part of her was glad to see the softer side of him again, the side of him that justified her confliction over his allegiances. His stunt back at her apartment wasn't doing him any favors, of course but he'd redeemed himself somewhat. Or rather Eri had redeemed him: he hadn't really done much of anything.
The vigilante flipped her off out of Eri's view and Uraraka couldn't suppress the snicker that escaped her.
"So how's UA treating ya Eri? For that matter, how about this place?" Jackrabbit asked, trying to change the subject.
Eri didn't remove herself but she did answer. "It's good so far. I made friends with some of the girls in my class a few weeks ago and they took me to the mall with them. And you know this place is treating me just fine, Bunny. You ask every visit," she laughed.
"Just checking…" Jackrabbit said mildly. He was almost vibrating at Eri's words and Uraraka had a suspicion that hearing Eri had found some friends made him immensely happy.
"You go to UA Eri? That's so cool! That's where I went," Uraraka chimed in.
Eri smiled just a little shyly and pulled away from Jackrabbit while nodding to Uraraka. "Just the general course though," she said, before adding, "Still, it is pretty cool," her grin widened.
Jackrabbit rustled her silky hair again. "Aww come on, don't sell yourself short! They let you in a year early! Plus you're still taking those supplementary lessons with Eraser, right?" He added.
Urarakas recoiled a little in surprise. When she'd been there, the class had a rough time forcing their beloved homeroom teacher to teach them let alone a kid from the general course on the side. She huffed a laugh. "Really? How did you coerce him out of the sleeping bag?"
Eri giggled. "He's not that bad…most of the time, and he's really kind even when I lose control a little," tentatively, she brushed the horn on her head with the tips of her fingers.
Uraraka quirked an eyebrow at Jackrabbit who offered some explanation. "Eri's quirk is a little dangerous so UA offered to give her some extra lessons in order to control it. It's why she's in this place, as well. With the power she has, UA can't afford to have her out there with no guidance. They fund the place," he said. He spoke with no humor in his voice and, from Eri's saddened look, Uraraka understood that it was because it made the girl uncomfortable.
"So what is your power Eri? Sounds like it must be pretty amazing," Uraraka offered, trying to diffuse some of the awkward air that had inadvertently caused with her questioning.
"Why didn't you give us a little demonstration, kid? I wanna see what they're teaching you up there," Jackrabbit added.
Eri's eyes brightened as she pulled back towards the center of the room with a growing smile: one that Uraraka couldn't help but mirror. While it was clear that talk of how dangerous her quirk could be upset the girl, Uraraka was glad that, at least, Eri wasn't afraid to use her power.
"Watch this, it's gonna blow you away!" The younger girl snickered.
A grinning Eri danced and spun her way towards the small table that sat next to her bed and which played host to a glass vase, teeming with a colorful explosion of flowers. Her crown of alabaster hair flowed like a storm as she twirled. Daintly, and with great consideration, she plucked a bright yellow daffodil, stem and all before skipping her way back to the window, where Jackrabbit was waiting patiently.
With a deep breath, Eri screwed up her face in total concentration and a light bright enough to make Uraraka shield her eyes burst from the horn on the girl's head. Slowly, inexplicably, the flowering plant folded in on itself and the long stem shortened. The vibrant yellows of the leaves retracted until only hints of color peaked out behind a green shell and the stem was mostly gone, leaving behind only a bud sitting unassuming in Eri's palm. The girl stared up at them, eyes brighter and smile wider than ever.
Uraraka blinked several times and rubbed her eyes, unsure if she'd been hallucinating.
Then Jackrabbit broke the stunned silence. "Is that it?" He sounded unimpressed, as if he hadn't just seen the girl rewind time.
In a split second, Eri was upon him, beating her tiny fists into his chest and calling him the worst, all the while maintaining the huge smile she seemed to wear whenever she was near the vigilante.
"Ow! Alright I'm sorry! It was the best thing I've ever seen, just stop hitting me!" he cried, and turned to Uraraka hoping for support.
"You deserve it," the cruel hero said. Eri ceased her assault just long enough to grin at Uraraka, who shot a not so subtle wink back at the girl.
"See? At least someone else thinks you suck!" Eri cackled.
"Alright that's it you little brat," the vigilante growled and palmed her forehead at arms length again, truly his only defense against the whirling dervish of sunshine and rainbows. But it wasn't long before he was once more tousling her hair in endearment. "Really though kid, jokes aside? That was good stuff. You've gotten alot better at controlling it," he said.
Uraraka was so certain he was smiling a real, honest-to-god smile under the helmet, she would have bet her life on it. Once again, the man, the real one, who lurked under the thin veneer of sarcasm and flirting, was on display and Uraraka had the insane urge to, ugh, actually like him. Izuku's optimism was clearly starting to rub off on her.
Eri beamed up at him in joy and only fought the hair tousling a little bit as a way of showing her affection.
"So whaddya think, Uravity? Pro hero stuff right?" Jackrabbit said, looking at his companion.
Uraraka was still trying to process what she had just seen. "Eri…" she breathed. "Wow, that was amazing!" She grinned down at the blushing girl. "What kind of power is that? It's like you turned back time or something."
Eri sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck but was still smiling. "Sorta. I can rewind organic things back to how they used to be," she said, fiddling with the budding bulb between her fingers.
Uraraka couldn't believe it. No wonder UA was keeping tabs on the girl and giving her the support of extra lessons. A power like that, used by the wrong person could tear down society to the bedrock. She tried not to let the pang of fear show on her face too much, behind the wonder. "That's a wonderful quirk Eri," she declared, truthfully. "Keep working hard, yeah?"
Eri nodded with a pleased smile and turned back to Jackrabbit. She began gushing to the vigilante about her lessons with Eraser. She described with such a tenacity and accuracy, citing them to be hard but fun and rewarding, that Uraraka began to reminisce about her own time at the exalted school. It made her happy to know that, as much as life for her had changed, there were still kids out there getting to experience the wonders of UA on the daily, especially a girl as sweet as Eri. If her power and her living situation were anything to go by, the girl had a complicated life ahead of her but Uraraka truly believed there was no better place for her than UA. What threw her for a loop however, was the fact that Jackrabbit, a man of questionable morality, apparently believed the same.
Uraraka was more curious than ever to know Eri's story, especially how the gray existence of the vigilante fit into it. But right now, it was clear that Eri was happy and Uraraka didn't want to ruin it with probing questions. For now, she would have to settle with the knowledge that Eri was very important to Jackrabbit and, if the way the girl's eyes glimmered with happiness was anything to go by, the reverse was true too.
In the lamp lit haven of Eri's room, the three of them talked for an hour that seemed to only last 5 minutes.
Eri spoke endlessly of what she'd been up to at school and Uraraka loved hearing the untamed passion in the girl's voice. From what she could gather, Eri had only recently been able to operate with any sense of autonomy outside the hospital and the way she spoke of the small joys of the everyday made Uraraka want to cry. The little things, like spotting a cat on her walk to school or getting to try a new type of snack inspired wonder in the girl's heart and it made Uraraka worry about the life she must have lived, to incite such awe from mundanity.
She was also surprised to hear about how much Eri apparently knew about Jackrabbit. The girl talked at such length about the vigilante and his apparent idiosyncrasies that slowly, a picture of a thousand pieces was beginning to form behind the mask, one that was nothing like the person she knew him as. Just about the only thing that Eri didn't even hint at was what he looked like. The girl did, however, say something that piqued Uraraka's interest in particular.
"He's a big softie, really. He just likes to act cool when he's wearing the helmet, putting on that dumb voice," she tittered, ignoring the shouts of protest and the poking in her side from Jackrabbit.
Mentally, Uraraka thanked Eri for checking off one of her suspicions, though she did feel a little bad about it when hearing the fondness in Eri's voice. So Jackrabbit acted differently when he wore the helmet to when he didn't? It explained why he flip flopped between annoying and sincere at the drop of a hat: he was acting. More information to file away for later.
Who the real person was, the man or the mask, Uraraka had no idea, but she was beginning to build a profile.
At some point though, during the animated chat Eri and Jackrabbit were having about who would win in a fight between a half powered All Might and Lemillion with one arm tied behind his back, Uraraka decided that, at least for the moment, she didn't care. She didn't want to steal this from Eri, not when the girl so obviously cared for the man. Maybe tomorrow, when the sun was out and Uraraka had to be a hero again, she'd reanalyze her findings but, for now, she would let it go. She would at least give them this, they deserved that much
After some more chatting about how Eri's time at school was going, the three of them moved over to the large CRT by Eri's desk while the girl set up an outdated looking console. Eri and Jackrabbit battled for dominance over the fully functioning controller while the loser (Jackrabbit in the end) was left with the scraps that was the one with frayed wires and sticky buttons. Uraraka had been worried at first, about the escalating volume of their skirmishes but the vigilante explained that the room was soundproof to make allowances for those with soundbased quirks.
The gravity hero had been a little bemused at first, and she was sure that if she thought too much about it, playing video games with a vigilante she should have arrested alongside a UA student she had met barely an hour before would probably be enough to short circuit her brain. Eventually though, she settled into an easy calm, even managing to have fun beating the hell out of Jackrabbit in a fighting game with Eri's cries of 'kick his butt!' as her motivation. It was probably around the time that she was parading a cheering Eri on her shoulders after they had both beaten the vigilante in a racing game, that Uraraka stopped caring about what she ought to be doing.
However, all too quickly as it always did, time slipped away from them.
Jackrabbit glanced subtly at the clock hanging above the television and Uraraka almost missed the disappointed slump that tugged at his shoulders. Regardless, he stood up with a sigh and stretched his arms above his head. "Alright Eri, you might not have school tomorrow but you should still get some sleep," he said, ignoring the protesting girl.
"Aww come on bunny it's not even midnight yet. Can't you stay for a bit more?" She pleaded, laying on the puppy dog eyes.
"Sorry kid, I've gotta get going anyway. Now, don't give me that look, that hasn't worked since you were 10," Jackrabbit chuckled at Eri's pouting face.
The young girl heaved a sigh. "Fiiiine," she huffed, before turning to Uraraka and shooting her a big smile. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Uravity. Will you come back another time?" She asked. The hope and sweetness in her tone was so strong, that Uraraka couldn't have said no if she'd wanted to, which she definitely did not.
"'Course, Eri! Though don't expect to bring you so many sweets. If I ate like that all the time, I doubt I'd fit in my costume," Uraraka laughed, joined by Eri shortly. The gravity hero froze when the young girl wrapped her arms around her waist in a bracing hug, but it wasn't long before she gave one back.
Detaching herself, Eri turned to Jackrabbit who held out his fist. She wrapped her knuckles against his and, when the vigilante lowered his arm, she jumped at him again, forcing him to catch her. "Don't stay away too long this time," she whispered.
To Urarakas eyes, Jackrabbit seemed to melt as he cradled the girl gently. "I won't. Stay out of trouble," he said, softly.
Exiting the way they had entered, the two adults floated softly on the breeze and descended to the ground below slowly, waving their goodbyes to the beaming young girl who hung halfway out the window in her exuberance. Back at street level the pair touched down amongst lengthening shadows and building winds signifying the approaching apex of the night. In silence, they exited the alleyway and filed down the street side by side, both listening to symphony of city life that filled in the gaps in the dark.
Uraraka was bursting with questions but she refrained from speaking, to give Jackrabbit a chance to broach the subject how he wanted. Let it be said, Uraraka was a patient woman, even for idiots like him.
"You can ask, you know," the vigilante said mildly, without turning his masked head.
Uraraka snorted in amusement. "I don't even know where to start," she said. Jackrabbit didn't reply so she used the time to organize her thoughts enough that she could actually ask some useful questions. "Who is she?" She started with.
Jackrabbit shrugged one shoulder. "The granddaughter of the head of the Eight Precepts. Remenents of some old Yakuza family," he said
Uraraka had heard the name before. Yakuza groups were rare, even more so now then when she had been at school, but everyone in the hero world knew of Overhaul. One of All Might's last major villain takedowns before his retirement, helped along nicely by his old sidekick Sir Nighteye and the up and coming Lemillion. The details had never been released but it was widely known that Kai Chisaki was a very dangerous man. So Eri was involved in that mess? It must have been tough.
The gravity hero hummed in thought. "So how do you two know each other?"
"Back when I was starting out, I didn't really know what I was doing. I kept skulking in the bad parts of town looking for trouble," Jackrabbit laughed. "One night, Eri came running out at me from the darkness. Almost jumped outta my skin. She wouldn't let go of me, kept talking about 'The Crow' coming after her or something like that. I was gonna just drop her off at the police but then I saw her arms. They were covered in bandages and it looked like someone had been cutting her up. Made me sick," he half growled but pulled himself in. "I didn't ask her any questions, even now I don't want her to remember. Anyway after that, I was at a loss. What am I supposed to do with a child? I was basically a kid myself. So I took her to UA: I took her to All Might. Where else in the country would she be safer than in the hands of the world's greatest hero?" Uraraka couldn't help but notice the admiration in his voice.
"So you just found her on the street? I find it hard to believe," Uraraka said, skeptically. It wasn't that she didn't believe him exactly, more that she knew there was more to the story and she wanted to get as much information as possible.
Jackrabbit was silent and, for a moment, Uraraka thought she'd pushed too hard but in a quiet voice simmering with rage, he spoke again. "She ran away. That bird bastard was making weapons from her body, an 8 year old child!" He seethed. "Cutting her up and drawing blood day in, day out. It's a miracle she's not insane. I knew I couldn't take him down on my own, so after I tracked the bastards down, I led All Might right to them. They made it easy. Chisaki had all of his hounds out hunting Eri, I just had to pick one of them up and get a confession out of him. By the time I dropped him off at UA, he was damn well ready to spill Chisaki's social security number," the vigilante chuckled darkly.
Uraraka didn't know what to say. The unbridled fury of his words was disturbing to say the least but, beyond that, hearing about what had happened to Eri had her almost agreeing with him and his methods, something that disturbed her far more. Not trusting her own words, she stayed silent, staring at her foot as they moved automatically while she was lost in her maelstrom of confliction.
"I've been coming back here every month or so, just to make sure she's okay. I'm not sure that was the right decision anymore," Jackrabbit continued.
"Why'd you say that?" Uraraka asked. His apparent dilemma over his visits was enough to break her out of herself.
The vigilante sighed and rechecked the straps where his arm bracers met his gauntlets, just for something to do. "I don't know if you heard her or not but Eri wants to be a vigilante. I can't let that happen." His voice was unyielding. "She's like a little sister to me but…even then I know it's selfish to keep visiting. The moment she turns 18 I'm not gonna be able to stop from traipsing off into the night after me. I should distance myself from her but I just can't bring myself to do it."
His self flagellating words were so unlike him, so opposed to the man she'd first met and even to the one she'd seen up in Eri's room, that Uraraka had a hard time believing it was even him speaking. She studied the man as they walked and, although he was covered head to toe in black and green, the way that he carried himself had changed. He looked small, as if the idea of Eri becoming like him was a crushing yoke that weighed on his conscience. His change from righteous fury to self hatred in the span of sentence was jarring to say the least, Uraraka could tell from that alone that she wasn't the only one oscillating on opinions on Jackrabbit. It seemed as if even he was uncertain of himself.
Dammit.
If she'd been told that, by the end of the night, she would be feeling a pang of sympathy for the man who broke into her apartment, she would have laughed hard enough to bust a rib. Now though…
Izuku's words rattled around her mind and, before she could stop herself, they were tumbling out of her mouth too. "Well I can't say I disagree about her needing a better role model, but you should at least remember that she gets to grow up and live her life now, because of you," She said, brushing some imaginary dirt from the sleeve of her coat. It was embarrassing enough to have to say those words to the man, she wasn't about to look at him at the same time, that would have been too much.
As always, Jackrabbit was unreadable but she knew something was up when he stopped walking. Uraraka was a few steps ahead of him before she noticed. A little confused, she turned to look at him. They were still a good 10 minutes of walking away from the main streets so it was unlikely the looming threat of a patrolling hero was the issue. "What?" She asked.
Still, he did little more than stare and clench his fists hard enough that Uraraka could see that they were shaking. A second later he shook his head like a dog, dislodging his stuck tongue. "N-Nothing. Just didn't expect a compliment," he chuckled.
"Don't expect any more," Uraraka mumbled.
"Did you mean what you told her by the way? About coming back?" He asked, his voice backed by a hint of desperation.
Uraraka was offended that he would even ask that. "Of course I did," she said, sharply.
A cool breeze whipped up a mini tornado of leaves and trash around him so she barely heard his whispered thank you over its clatter amplified by the sounds of the night. But it was definitely there. The sincerity of it made her falter.
Uraraka gave a barely perceptible nod, acknowledging his words.
"Then, at the very least, I know she's getting a good role model outside of UA. Next time though, it'd probably be better if you visit her officially. Get her used to doing this in the light of day instead of sneaking about," the vigilante continued, catching up to Uraraka.
The pro hero hummed in agreement, it wouldn't do well for someone like her to fly up to windows in the middle of the night. She'd have to use the front entrance. Question was, how did she come up with an excuse for how she knew Eri? She ran through a few fake meeting scenarios in her head, each more outlandish than the last, before finally deciding to worry about it later. But then Jackrabbit gave her an idea.
"I didn't just bring you to see her, I wanted to show you that place. I think the people there can be trusted with Razors victims. UA really does run it." He snorted. "Though sometimes I feel like it's some bizarre child soldier programme. The kids there always end up wanting to be heroes. If you recommend it, I'm sure they'll accept the girls. Can't be seen denying a nobel request from an alumnus. Bad for optics," he said.
Part of her didn't want to accept his advice, she felt responsible for the girls after all and didn't want to just dump them off at an orphanage and wash her hands of them, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Not only would it mean that Shizuka and the others would have somewhere to stay without having to split up, it would also give Uraraka a convenient excuse to see Eri. She could simply say that Eri had been kind enough to welcome the girls to the facility and that she had met Uraraka when the pro hero had come to visit the rescued victims.
"Huh," she said, stunned. "That's…actually not a bad idea."
Jackrabbit huffed with mock offense. "You sound so surprised there, star girl. Almost like you don't think I'm capable of coming up with good ideas," he said, indignant.
Uraraka was so relieved at having finally found a place that her six new charges to call home, she even let the stupid nickname slide.
Speaking of nicknames…
"Hey, you said it, not me…Bunny," She smirked which turned into a grin when Jackrabbit whined.
"Ughhh, not you too," he groaned.
Despite herself, Uraraka laughed. "I'm guessing that's where you got your name from?"
The vigilante grumbled. "Something like that. When I dropped Eri off at UA, and they asked her who brought her there, she just kept putting her fingers by her ears and saying 'it was the bunny rabbit'," he bemoaned, copying the motions with his own hands. "At least it ended up being Jackrabbit. Can you imagine if Bunny had stuck? I'd have quit right there."
Uraraka was about to snark that him quitting would probably be a good thing but Eri's grinning face invaded her mind. Would the young girl be able to smile like that, carefree and wondrous, if Jackrabbit didn't exist? Would the heroes have been able to save her in the face of Overhauls clandestine schemes? She wasn't so sure.
Once again, she was confronted with the fact that Jackrabbit wasn't the 'villain in waiting' she had so easily labeled him as just a few weeks prior. He was acting like a hero again, and it only served to confuse her further. Instead, she remained silent, watching the lights of the city off in the distance as a distraction.
Next to her, oblivious to her inner turmoil, Jackrabbit, whipped out a phone almost as retro and as battered as hers. With mumbling words, he read the little blocky text on his home screen before snapping shut the black plastic lid and once again stopping in his tracks. "I wasn't lying, I really do have to get going," he said. Uraraka narrowed her eyes in suspicion but he cut off the reasonable assumption she was about to make. "Relax, no vigilante stuff, I promise," he chuckled.
Reluctantly, Uraraka nodded. "Are you going back to Tokyo?" She asked, and he shook his covered head.
"Nah, gonna stick around here for a few days. Don't miss me too much~," he sang.
Uraraka rolled her eyes and snorted in disgust. This idiot would surely be the death of her.
He chuckled, once again back behind the mask of personality to go with his real one. "I'll see you 'round, Uravity." With a lazy salute he turned and began to march back into the folds of night, the inky shadows hugging him like an old friend.
"Jackrabbit," Uraraka called and he turned to look over his shoulder. The gravity hero gave a humorless smile. "Don't ever break into my house again."
He gave a firm nod, for once, with nothing clever to say.