Chapter Text
Shouta knew it was just a question of time before more villains got to know his eyes are what make him dangerous. He’s been underground for that very reason, among others like: sneak attacks, no journalists, protect his family, no journalists, avoid the communication and advertisement work, and again: no, journalists.
Recovery Girl has been telling him to slow down for years. His health never was the best, he’s always tired and hungry, his throat and eyes feel dry and painful most of the time. Keeping up with two jobs has been an issue since day one, that he tried to solve with more caffeine and sleeping between two classes. It feels like running a marathon while the finish line keeps moving forward.
Now it appears that multiple villains from Overhaul’s team and the League of Villains tried to target his eyes first, or avoid his glare, giving them heavy chances of success. If they really understood how erasure works, a coordinated attack from 2 villains or more would be enough. For the next few missions, the UA team decided to put Eraser Head in scouting missions and back support. They’ve worked with Power Loader and Mei to design a daytime-friendly camo gear and clothes.
Now comes the real issues: when and where will they strike? What is their real goal? Who is the spy in UA? Ouch… headache. Calm down… high blood pressure won’t make your eyes go better. Why is there a woodpecker in my skull?
Luckily, Mic chose this moment to go back home from the park with Eri. It was his first real day off for ages. They will need to slow down and seriously rethink their professional path if they want the adoption to happen. Two jobs for Shouta, three jobs for Hizashi. What kind of parents do that? Plus, Aizawa being here was a condition from the Hero Commission to let Eri out of UA for a few days.
Eri runs straight to Shouta, grasping a bunch of daisies in her little fist. Out of breath, she put them on Shouta’s lap, mumbling “I picked ‘em for you!”.
Shouta grins, feeling the pressure leave his skull gradually. Here is your finish line: protect Eri, raise her, make her happy. Anything else is a mean or a distraction. His own parents always chose career first, what did they get? A bunch of professional injuries and lifelong resentment.
It does not mean that his hero-career is not important anymore to him, but that his goals shifted. He’s not a teen anymore. He knows wanting to “protect everybody” is the best way to lose everyone. Mic, Eri, Shinsou, Mirio, class-1A. He already has so much. And then, from who? The Commission, Shigaraki, AFO, League, Liberation Front, that creepy Dabi guy… More than enough. Who could pretend to save the world? We know who… and what happened to him. The Symbol of Peace was very convenient for politics, until his humanity blew back in their faces.
His train of thought is interrupted by Mic putting a small glass of water on the coffee table. He delicately displays the flowers in their tiny vase. Eri already went back to playing alone with a puzzle. Any kid her age would be running around the house, trying to get attention from the adults. But she is so used to playing alone that it doesn’t cross her mind to do anything else.
No tantrums either, she is so obliging they have to check that she really has everything she needs. She learned to fear her guardians, to ask as little as possible so not to get attention, because attention would surely be bad. Overhaul seemed to give her a lot of fancy toys and dolls, they found in a creepy room in the basement. But without playmates, most of it was dull and useless. So she focused on puzzles, drawing and books. Can a kid be too quiet?
Fortunately, for the past two weeks, she started to show more confidence. A big breakthrough happened when Midnight gave her a fairy outfit, complete with shiny hat and wand.
With a very involved Mirio, she learned to “play pretend” and act silly. Soon after, they had a good laugh while she tried to imitate every new person she met. Her Bakugo impression really is something. Mic has been binging the Montessori side of TikTok and went a little crazy with the creative supplies.
But their education journey would need a pause as a new confrontation with the League is imminent. The only word they got out of Kurogiri: “the hospital”, seemed to ring a bell to the detectives working with Hawks. This confrontation left Shouta more exhausted than any fight ever did.
Eri’s quirk, Oboro’s body, the Nomus, the regeneration, the anti-quirk bullets, is there a connection to make? What are they missing?
Dinner is interrupted by a phone call from Nezu. Everything is set up, the raid will happen in 2 days. As Mic and Shouta discuss details with Nezu, Eri opens a coloring book. Instead of filling in the lines, she gets closer to the paper, and draws spirals on the whole page, as focused as always.