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Shit, shit, shit, shit.
He has to.
But he can't.
It's for her.
His freedom would be the cost.
It would be more than worth it if it means she's safe.
But where would she go from there? Probably to pro heroes who would care for her, what with the Shie Hassaikai after her making it too dangerous for any ordinary family to take her in, that and she was never taught how to control her, wild, untamed, powerful, dangerous, beautiful quirk.
No, instead of being taught how to control it, she was just told that it was a curse. The very thought of how scared Eri gets of him offering to hug or hold her, terrified that her quirk will rewind him to nothing, that it will make him disappear, is almost physically painful for Izuku. But she's gotten better, with hundreds of reassurances from Izuku, especially the promise that if she wants, he'll use his quirk to protect them both from her quirk if needed.
That was the promise he thinks helped the most. Explaining his quirk - with no name, he never named it, never got it registered because it came in late, after the apartment collapsed and separated him from his mom and killed his dad, and he was living on the streets at the point it came in, after the 'quirkless' kid had already been presumed dead.
So, he just did his best to survive, just him on his own.
It worked, he certainly survived, lived, wasn't quite thriving but he made it past childhood and into his teenage years, which he counts as a win every day.
And one day when he was fifteen, he ran into Eri, a small, terrified child in an empty alleyway, and it only took a single look at the bandages on her arms and legs, her bare feet and threadbare, simple dress, to decide that wherever she just came from, whoever has left her this broken and scared, does not deserve her back. She does not deserve to go back there.
She went with him, still clearly scared but clearly picking the lesser of the two evils she's facing - someone, a stranger she doesn't know whose intentions she doesn't know, or someone or something she does know, and does know the intentions of. That thought alone makes Izuku want to bundle her in blankets and hide her from the world, from the people who want to hurt her, or as he later learns after she has a nightmare that very night, the people who were using her.
Absolutely not. He will take on an entire mafia group to protect Eri, even if it kills him.
Which he knows it would. And if he's dead, who will protect Eri?
As much as it pains him to admit it, he can't do it alone. Not with everything she - and now him too - is entangled up in.
The only solution he can think of keeps cycling back to his mind, even though it scares him.
He has to go to the pro heroes. He found Eri barely forty-eight hours ago, and every second that goes by, the closer the Yakuza are probably getting closer to getting Eri back - she's important to their plans, but like hell are they getting their hands on her again.
He'd found her in the evening two nights ago, ran with her through the night to get a hopefully far enough head start against Overhaul's inevitable pursuit, let her sleep through the morning as he kept watch, before finding her food in the afternoon, and then taking her and travelling through the night again, desperate to keep ahead of the mafia he doesn't doubt is following their trail.
He hasn't slept since finding her. He can't, because he can't sleep while anyone could come and take her away while his eyes are shut and his back is turned. He's stressed and sleep-deprived, and finally, on the morning after the second night, he cracks.
"...Eri?" He says quietly, watching her drink from the water bottle he'd purchased from a vending machine they'd passed on their travelling last night. She stops drinking for a moment to look at him, worried and curious and trusting, and he hopes he's not making a mistake.
"We can't keep running forever." He's too tired to sugarcoat it, even though he wishes he could. "If it's just us..."
"You're so tired, Deku." She murmurs, and Izuku sighs and almost buries his face in his arms, but he has to keep his head up, keep vigilant for her. She knows his real name, but he'd initially introduced himself as Deku, his go-to alias if someone asks his name, so he doesn't get found out and caught and put into the system: he'd looked it up and his mother hadn't lasted long after he'd been separated from her, she'd had a lot of injuries and had been DOA to the hospital she'd been rushed to.
He shakes his head to get his brain back on track. He's so exhausted and Eri can see it, she's worried.
"I... there are people who might help us... but I'm scared they might separate us..." He admits finally, and Eri makes a frightened noise, and he reacts immediately, holding out his hand, which she immediately latches on to, waterbottle set aside on the floor of the secluded alley that Izuku is crouched against the wall of. "I'll do everything I can to keep by you, but adults... there are some things they don't allow kids to make decisions on." He knows she knows that, even though it hurts that she learned that so young.
"But they'll be able to keep you safe from them. Overhaul won't be able to get to you. You'll be safe."
"But will Deku be safe?" She asks, wide-eyed and teary, and Izuku tries to muster a shaky smile. "I was on my own for a long time before I met you, Eri. I'll be safe even if we do get separated, but sometimes when you love someone, you have to do hard things to keep them safe. I want you to be safe, more than anything, but I will also do everything my power to try and stay safe with you."
"Deku-nii, I don't want to go away from you..." Eri whispers, and Izuku feels his eyes fill with tears. Brother. He's her brother.
And he'll stick by her side to hell and back. He will fight the Shie Hassaikai, Overhaul, the police, and any pro heroes that stand between him and Eri.
"I promise, I will not let them separate us. And if they do, I will find you again, no matter what it takes."
She takes a hesitant step forward, and then in an instant, Izuku has is arms full of small child-- his sister.
Biting his lip, he frees one hand to pick up the water bottle, and shifts his grip on her to stand up. This is the first time she initiated the contact without prompting from Izuku, and he hugs her tightly back, whispering assurances and promises he fully intends to keep as he walks down the sidewalk with Eri in his arms, the waterbottle having been slipped into his ratty yellow backpack after he passed it up to her; she can reach the zipper and pouches from her place in his hold.
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He doesn't know where the nearest police station is, is not familiar with this area, but there might be someone who can direct him, or a pro hero he can approach.
Izuku knows a lot about heroes, did a lot of analysis alongside his self-unhome-schooling via libraries and the books and public computers there. He thinks he has a pretty good grasp on which popular heroes he can possibly trust more than others to approach.
It's surprisingly not long before he sees a figure who is actually probably one of the top faces on the list of 'approachable.'
Leather jacket, speaker-device around his neck, headphones, and most notably the updo of long blonde hair that must take ages to gel up straight, and yet Izuku suddenly feels unsure.
So he just tails the hero for a while, waiting for the moment to approach or run, depending on how this goes. With one hand, he tugs the hood of the hoodie Eri's wearing over her hair and horn - his hoodie, he gave it to the first night so she could be warm, he's fine without the extra layer for now, but all she had was a dress, for fuck's sake, she gets the hoodie that goes down almost to her knees on top of it. He can't give her much in material things, but he was able to give her his hoodie, and so he did.
Finally, the game of follow-the-hero comes to a head when Izuku forgets to hang back in his following, drifting in his mind out of sheer exhaustion, that it's not until he hears Eri's soft gasp that he snaps out of it, to see the hero has paused in their patrol route, looking back at them as Izuku walks unsteadily - his arms are shaking, Eri is getting heavy, but he can run faster than her so if he has to run he'll carry her still - forward until he realises what he was doing and stops dead, watching the hero uncertainly. Noticed, now, but now what?
Can he really do this?
It's for Eri.
And his sister is looking at him with her wide, worried red eyes, and before he can stop her she's slipping out of his unresisting arms to get down to the ground despite his weak protest, taking his hand gently and trying to guide him forward.
Towards the hero, still watching them with worried eyes. Letting them be the ones to approach.
Izuku swallows his fear, his pride, and lets Eri gently lead him in closing the distance between them and the hero.
But he still steels himself and stops several feet away from Present Mic, carefully putting himself between the hero and Eri, trying to ignore how the voice hero's eyes track the movement worriedly.
"Can I help you, Listeners?" His voice is gentle, and it makes Izuku's worries waver. It's now or never, it feels like, but he can't bring himself to speak.
He does manage a single, shaky nod when Eri tugs his hand again.
"What do you need help with?" Present Mic asks softly, which is so odd to hear a quiet voice come from one of the loudest heroes Izuku's ever heard of (pun not entirely intended).
Thankfully the street is mostly empty apart from some people walking along the sidewalk on the other side of the street, and many of those few people wave excitedly at Present Mic, whose focus is on Izuku and Eri.
Right. He needs to talk now. "We..." He closes his mouth, hesitating, before feeling a sudden wave of frustration at himself. Just do it! Keep her safe!
"Weneedhelp" At Eri's light tug at his hand, he realises Present Mic didn't quite catch that by the expression on the hero's face, so he takes a deep breath and tries again. "Please. We need help. Er- she- she needs protection I can't give her."
And once the words start, it's just like that that the dam is broken and it all comes rushing out.
"Please- we've been running for two days, I don't know how much longer I can go on, they have to be following us, it's far too unlikely that they'd just let her go just like that, she can't go back, I won't let her, but I won't be able to keep her safe if they catch up and-"
He's hyperventilating, he realises, when suddenly Present Mic's concerned face fills his vision, there's a grounding hand on his shoulder and a tight grip on his hand, Eri is there too, she's still here, still safe, but for how long, that's why they need the heroes-
Present Mic is talking to him, and it takes too long for Izuku to realise they're trying to guide him through a breathing exercise and even longer to follow it and calm down, but finally, he can breathe without falling apart, and Eri is still here, hand in his, and hugging him with her other arm. Carefully, shakily, he brings down his free hand and gently brushes his fingers through her hair, and she melts into the touch ever so slightly.
He knows by now, had figured out from the (kind of obvious, awful) clues that she has never really experienced kind, gentle touch, and he wants to throttle everyone in the Shie Hassaikai, Overhaul most of all.
"Okay, Listener, are you feeling calmer now?" Present Mic asks gently, and Izuku manages a faint nod. "Please," he whispers hoarsely. "She needs to be safe. Overhaul-" He breaks off when a sudden, chilling look comes over the voice hero's face: blanching realisation.
"Right." Present Mic says abruptly, straightening up. "Listeners, would you be willing to come to the station with me? We'll get you little Listeners protection - both of you."
This is what his plan was.
So why does it feel like everything is suddenly too far out of his grasp to feel safe?
It's for Eri. It's to keep her safe, to get her to where Overhaul can never get her. Nothing else matters so long as she's safe.
She still doesn't have shoes, so Izuku picks her up again, and numbly looks to follow Present Mic, who... hasn't actually moved, instead having taken out his phone. "I'm calling a police car to come pick us up, if you're okay with that. The station is a bit of a walk from here still and you look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet."
Izuku feels like he's about to fall asleep where he stands and he must have mumbled that out loud because Eri reaches up from his arms and pushes the unkempt curls out of his face to look at him worriedly. He manages to smile at her and quietly assures her he won't, he can stay awake a little longer until she's safe. She doesn't look convinced, but doesn't press. Present Mic watches the whole interaction with worry and something almost like sadness in their eyes.
"Okay." Izuku murmurs in response to the police car question, and a second later the voice hero is on a call, at the same time as he's guiding Izuku over to sit on a nearby chair, at one of the tables outside of the cafe they'd all stopped by. The cafe looks closed at the moment, the lights are out and no one's inside, no one else out at the tables but Izuku, Eri, and Present Mic.
It's so odd... Izuku's gone longer without sleeping from time to time, and he's never been this tired after only two days, sure it could be the stress but-
And it hits him with the force of a bullet train, the realisation.
His quirk. He hasn't turned it off since meeting Eri, since promising he could weaken her quirk so they could both be safe as they run.
Is that why Present Mic is being so quiet? Is he affecting the hero too? Shit, quirk use is illegal and he's using his on a pro hero, even unintentionally and passively, it's still a crime and he's about to get into a police car to be taken to the station--
Shifting Eri in his lap, he decides he can't deactivate his quirk yet, can't stop dispersing the errant energy of Eri's quirk and probably Present Mic's (far less errant) energy too, because Eri feels safer when he's weakening her quirk, feels safer when she feels like she can't hurt anyone.
He's getting her to safety from Overhaul, but he'll fight tooth and nail to stay by her side, to help her feel safe with herself.
The police car pulls up among his storm of - thankfully not mumbled - thoughts, mercifully with the lights off and siren silent. Present Mic opens the back door and looks back at Izuku and Eri. "If you don't want to be in the back alone, I can ride with you instead of the passenger seat." The voice hero offers, and Izuku glances down at Eri, letting her make the choice.
After a moment, she hesitantly nods, and Izuku mimics the gesture at Present Mic, who nods right back and holds the door open for Izuku to climb in, putting Eri on the other end of the seats so he can be between her and the hero - he knows he's here to get her to safety, but this way he can soothe his fears a little more this way until he truly knows he can trust the voice hero. Eri seems to understand as she's buckled in, and Present Mic doesn't say anything about it.
The officer driving the car makes eye contact with the hero in the backseat for a moment before starting up the car again and driving off.
The drive can't be more than fifteen minutes, but during that time Izuku's anxiety rears higher and higher until he feels ready to bolt with Eri the second the car door opens. Eventually, Eri's hand slips into his and gives a light squeeze, which he returns. The contact calms him, lets him know why he's doing this, that it keeps her safe and that's all that matters.
He'll go into the system if it means he got Eri to people who can actually protect her from Overhaul.
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When they pull up in front of the police station, there's two people waiting outside of the doors; a man in a trench coat and hat and a man dressed in a black jumpsuit and a thin grey scarf, dark-haired and looking as tired as Izuku feels (and probably looks as well.) The man in the jumpsuit - Izuku guesses he's a pro hero too - opens the door for Present Mic once the car is stopped, and continues holding the door open for Izuku and Eri as he makes prolonged eye contact with the voice hero, seemingly having a wordless conversation as Izuku musters up the courage to leave the car and the will not to run.
As he steps out of the car with Eri, the hero(?) in the dark jumpsuit looks down at him and dips his head in a serious nod. Present Mic introduces him as pro hero Eraserhead - so Izuku was right about the hero thing - and ushers them all inside the station.
From there, as much as he tries to fight the fogginess in his head, it all becomes a blur for who knows how long for Izuku, until he finds himself seated at a table in what's apparently an interrogation room. Present Mic, Eraserhead, and the man with the hat sitting across from him, and beside him is an empty chair that must have been for Eri, but she's firmly in his lap, and it had been her climbing up to his lap that had snapped him out of his daze again.
The man Izuku doesn't know the name of yet speaks. "My name is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, and my quirk allows me to tell if someone is lying or telling the truth. This conversation will be recorded, but only so you only have to answer these questions once, is that okay?"
"Neither of you are in trouble, we want to help you." Present Mic adds. "You said you were looking for protection, but let's start with a simple question. What are your names, or some things we can call you by?"
Izuku's throat closes up again, and a long silence stretches out across the room. The heroes and detective wait patiently.
"E- Eri." A small voice says finally, and all eyes fall on Eri. "And he's Deku-nii."
Izuku wraps his arms gently around her - giving her enough time to indicate if she doesn't want a hug right now before he actually hugs her - and bows his head, not looking anyone in the eye, but bobbing his head faintly to show that he is Deku.
"How old are both of you?" Tsukauchi asks, and Eri hesitates. Izuku knows she doesn't know her exact age, so he forces himself past his fear and speaks up. "Fifteen. I think she's six. She doesn't know."
"Mic said you mentioned Overhaul." Eraserhead says suddenly, and Eri flinches at the name.
Izuku reacts without thinking, curling around her as much as possible and before he can even register what he's doing, he's glaring at the heroes and detective, "Don't you fucking dare let her go back to him." He growls out, and Present Mic immediately lifts his hands in a supposedly soothing way. "Never. We'd never allow that, we just need to know what your connection is to him so we can better keep you safe."
"I don't know much." Izuku says firmly. "I found Eri when she ran away from him two days ago, we've been running ever since, I won't let them take her back."
"They were hurting me." Eri whispers softly, fisting her hands into the fabric of Izuku's hoodie that she wears, looking down at Izuku's lap. "Overh- he would- his quirk-"
Hearing the tears threatening to spill in her voice, and knowing her quirk gets volatile when she's more upset - and his own is still on it's probably affecting Tsukauchi's and Eraserhead's now as well - Izuku gently turns her in his lap so her face is buried in his shoulder, and she grasps the front of his shirt with shaking hands.
The adults are all glancing at each other with horrified looks. Tsukauchi glances between the recording device on the table and Izuku before motioning for him to cover Eri's ears, and he does, understanding why a second later when the detective explains Overhaul's quirk in a low voice for the sake of the recording, and kami does Izuku feel ill.
The ability to completely destroy something, completely unravel it and put it back together, and so if he was using his quirk on Eri, then that means-
What kind of fucked up monster is he?!
"That's why you want protection." Eraserhead states, not really a question, after Izuku removes his hands from Eri's ears again. He nods mutely at the adults, and they glance at each other again, an unspoken agreement passing between them before Tsukauchi speaks. "Of course, your protection is pretty much guaranteed at this point, we just need to figure out how to go about this."
In the meantime," Present Mic adds, "You both look exhausted, Listeners, how about we get some food in you and show you a place you can rest for now?"
Izuku knows he won't be sleeping just yet, because if he crashes he'll be crashed for a while, and he wants to make sure Eri's safety is totally guaranteed before he lets his guard down enough to rest.
But food sounds great at this point. The growling that comes from both his and Eri's stomachs at the thought makes the voice hero's eyes crinkle in an odd mix if slight amusement and sadness.
"Before you go, I have just one more question." Tsukauchi says suddenly, expression apologetic but professional. "I should have asked this earlier. What are your quirks?"
Izuku winces and Eri lets out a whimper, burying her face further into Izuku's shirt, so he takes it upon himself to explain what little he knows. "I don't know what exactly hers is, but she's scared of it, please don't ask her that question."
Eraserhead's face is doing an odd, pained thing, Tsukauchi is looking hesitant and concern is written all over Present Mic's face. "And... what about yours?"
"Oh my kami it's still on-" Izuku realises for a third time, how does he keep forgetting - "No please don't make me turn it off I can't, Eri feels safer if I keep it on, I'm so sorry it has to be affecting you too though I'm so sorry-"
"Calm down." Eraserhead says firmly, and Izuku snaps his mouth shut with an audible click. "What does your quirk do?"
"Well right now what it's doing is taking the energy of quirks around me and dispersing them slightly, which weakens them, it's why Eri's okay with me holding her because I explained my quirk to her when I met her and promised her quirk wouldn't be able to hurt me like she's scared it might. I'm so sorry but it probably has been affecting you guys too-" He bows his head hurriedly, apologetically.
"So that's why it was harder to tell that what you were telling was the truth." Tsukauchi muses, reaching over to turn off the recorder. "Okay, we're done here for the moment, if you want Mic to take you to go get food now."
Izuku nods tiredly, and stands with Eri in his arms to follow Present Mic out the door of the room, down a few halls, and into a small kitchen area, presumably for the officers. Izuku stands by the door, arms heavy and barely able to hold Eri up as the voice hero unashamedly raids the fridge for containers of leftovers, asking what they want to eat. An officer passes the door, looks in at the scene, and for a moment Izuku's sure she's about to get mad, but she just raises an eyebrow, shakes her head, and continues on her way with the papers in her arms.
In the end, Izuku settles on katsudon - it's been ages since he had any - and immediately after he chooses, Eri picks the exact same thing. Mic only nods and starts warming up the food in the microwave.
"You're gonna be okay now." The hero says quietly, as the microwave hums in the background. Those words have the tension bleeding slightly out of Izuku's shoulders, because Eri will be safe.
"You're safe now. You don't have to run anymore. We won't let them get to either of you." Present Mic assures him, and he feels the tears of all sorts of emotions welling up, Eri looks up with hope in her also tear-filled eyes, because they're safe.
They did it. Izuku got her to the heroes who can keep her safe, who have promised to do so.
The katsudon tastes so much better than he ever remembers, seasoned with the flavour of relief.
He did it. She's safe.
Even though they'll probably be separated, he'll go into the system without a fight, because she's safe and that's all that matters.
After they've eaten, Mic leads them to a breakroom(? lounge?) by the kitchen, where he shoos out the few disgruntled officers in the room so Izuku and Eri can have the couch, and several blankets are pulled out of a cabinet.
Izuku settles Eri on the couch, and sits down on the floor, leaning against the couch with one of the blankets draped over his shoulders, one hand up so Eri can hold it. Present Mic watches them get settled with an odd expression at Izuku's choice of spot, but he doesn't say anything about it, just offers Izuku a pillow, which he does accept, laying it over his knees so he can fold his arms over it and rest his head on his arms.
He doesn't sleep. But he does drift against his will.
And drifting in and out of his dozing comes conversation. Present Mic, Eraserhead, and Tsukauchi.
"It would be safest for them to stay with us, we both have emergency foster licences but not only that, Sho's quirk could probably help with Eri, Deku said that she's scared of her quirk and that he was only able to touch her because his quirk weakened hers, so she may feel safe if there was someone who could completely erase it, however temporarily, if she's scared of it." Present Mic's voice filters in, hushed and a little fuzzy in Izuku's head. Another voice makes a hum of agreement - Eraserhead maybe?
"If I were to hazard a guess I would say she's about six, and if Overhaul was doing... all that, then I think it's safe to say that she was never taught to actually control her quirk, which probably plays a large part in her fear of it. It would be best to help her control it if I'm there to erase her quirk should it get out of control, too. 'Zashi's right."
"And what about Deku?" The third voice - by logic it must be Tsukauchi - asks. Yes, Izuku wonders distantly, what about Deku?
"From what it seems they're quite close, and after only two days since having met, according to Deku. I don't think it would be a good idea to separate them." Eraserhead points out.
"Eri called him her brother, I think we should keep them together." Mic agrees.
"Not to doubt your abilities on this, but are you two sure you can handle this?" Tsukauchi questions. "There are also other options to keep them safe; safehouses, for one, guarded by pro heroes and capable officers, and you both have five jobs between you two, you're both pros heroes and teachers, and Yamada, you have your radio station."
"Need I remind you we're teachers at UA?" Eraserhead rumbles. "What safer place than there? I can talk to Nezu, I'm sure he will hardly object to this, if at all."
"You make a good point." Tsukauchi sighs, sounding tired. "Sorry that I doubted you, I think we're all shaken up by this."
"You can say that again... poor Listeners must have been so scared."
"They made it to us, though. They're safe. We'll make sure of it, and I know the rat will ensure it too."
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Izuku knows he needs to stay awake. He can't quite manage that, but he does manage to keep just on the conscious side of the verge of sleep, somehow, just enough to keep his quirk going - he has to stop at some point, he's long past the point of quirk exhaustion as he tunes out the conversation around him just to focus on his quirk, eyes closed and face buried in the pillow and his arms.
It takes a monumental effort to drag himself out of that drifting state, but he manages it when Eri asks "Deku-nii?" in a quiet, concerned voice. He opens his eyes blearily to see her standing in front of him, and he manages an exhausted smile.
"Mr. Mic's making us food again, Deku-nii." She tells him quietly, and Izuku wonders why he's surprised that the voice hero is doing that. Sure enough, a few moments later Present Mic comes into the room, holding two containers of food - this time fried rice. Izuku accepts his with a groggy "thank you" and is surprised to find that the food had been warmed.
He didn't have to do that for them.
Izuku eats at the coffee table in silence with Eri, until his eyes land on the clock on the wall.
It's midafternoon now, and he encountered Present Mic... mid-morning, he estimates? So he wasn't resting (if it can even be called that) for very long, maybe a few hours, but it's more than he'd felt safe doing the last two days before now.
"Hey, Listener, how are ya feeling?" Mic asks, coming back into the room with a container of food for himself and a travel mug of, from what Izuku can tell from the smell, is coffee.
Izuku shrugs, because he really isn't sure. He's feeling tired, and relieved and worried, he guesses.
The coffee gets set on the table as Mic eats his food with them, and it later becomes apparent who the coffee is for when Eraserhead steps through the doorway and beelines for the mug.
"So, Eraser, Tsukauchi and I talked earlier while you two Listeners were resting, and we've decided on what would be the safest place for you to be, but we wanted to make sure you're okay with this." Mic starts, and Eri leans into Izuku's side. He drapes an arm around her and hugs her slightly.
"You would come to UA with us." Eraserhead continues. "Mic and I are both teachers there, and it's probably the safest place you could possibly be. Nezu would make sure no Yakuza members could ever get close to UA without being caught. Lots of pro heroes teach at UA."
"'Sho and I both have fostering licenses, so we could foster you both just to make it official you belong at UA and no one could make you leave if you didn't want to, but ultimately the choice is up to you two Listeners to make."
Both of them. They want him too.
He gets to stay with Eri.
He gets to stay with his sister!
"...Sho?" Izuku echoes, still processing the rest of the words. Present Mic blinks, before nodding and clearing his throat. "Oh, right! Eraserhead is Aizawa Shouta, I call him Sho, and I'm Yamada Hizashi." They explain, and Eraserhead - Aizawa - grunts noncommittally at his own introduction, dipping his head once.
Izuku should...
"My name's not actually Deku."
"Thought so." Eras- Aizawa says easily, and Present Mic- Yamada elbows him in the side, patiently motioning for Izuku to go on.
"It's Izuku. I'm Izuku. Eri calls me Deku-nii because I introduced myself as Deku to her at first, like I do with most people I interact with."
"It's nice to meet you, Izuku." Present M- Yamada smiles gently at him.
"You know... you really fit the description of a vigilante that started popping up in the last two or three years." Aizawa hums simply, and Izuku freezes. "Uh, I-"
"Sho!" Pre- Yamada squawks, reaching over and plucking the mug of coffee out of Aizawa's hands. "Why!"
"You're fine, kid." Aizawa says directly to Izuku, albeit glaring at Yamada for confiscating his coffee. "As far as the reports went, you never made the first hit, and from what it seemed you weren't actively seeking anything out, either."
"I wasn't." Izuku confirms nervously. "It just kind of... started when I was almost thirteen, and then it just kind of turned into me helping whenever I came across something I could help with. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry!" Yamada insists, finally relenting and allowing Aizawa to take the coffee back. "Due to the circumstances you're in even less trouble than you probably would have been in, Listener!"
Calming down, Izuku looks at Eri, who looks back up at him. "What do you think, Eri? UA?"
After a long moment, she whispers. "Kai won't find me?"
"He won't. He'll never hurt you again, we promise." Aizawa says firmly, with a deep sort of insistence, a vow. Eri looks between him and Yamada and Izuku, before turning fully to Izuku and nodding solemnly, but that doesn't hide the hope shining in her eyes.
Izuku hugs her into his side and turns to Aizawa and Yamada. "If you'll have us, yes please."
At the confirming, encouraging nods and assurances from the adults, Izuku finally knows he's done it, he's got Eri to safety. Aizawa can erase quirks, which is better than Izuku's weakening aspect of his own quirk can do for Eri.
He can turn off his quirk now.
He can rest.
His eyes slip shut into sleep at last, and he slumps backwards against the couch with a relieved breath.
When he wakes up, it'll be when he's led blearily to a car with Eri, and Yamada sits in the back with them again as Aizawa drives them to UA.
Izuku falls asleep in the car within minutes, leaning against the window with Eri between him and Yamada.
The next time he wakes is a full fourteen hours later, in the next morning, on the couch in Aizawa and Yamada's apartment on UA grounds, Eri waiting right beside him for him to wake up.
She's calm. She's safe.
They're both safe.
They did it.
Overhaul can't reach them here, and a raid is already being planned on the base Eri told Aizawa about.
Soon Overhaul won't be able to reach anyone.
💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫
Bonus ending:
Izuku is with Eri and Aizawa at 'Gym Gamma' - a large yet enclosed space with no extra obstacles, since Cementoss isn't here at the moment, for her quirk to accidentally rewind, for the eleventh day of trying to help Eri feel comfortable in using her quirk, for her to learn to control it. She's doing... she does better when Izuku's there too, even if Aizawa's the one who can completely stop her quirk if it starts to get out of control.
Currently, Eri has a small lump of hardened, air-dried clay in her hands trying to focus on rewinding it back to a softer form. She's getting frustrated, it's clear.
And then Aizawa's phone buzzes, and he glances down for a half-second at it because he has it on some setting that only allows urgent messages from specific contacts to be alerted, and at the same time as he looks away, Eri loses control.
"Eri!" Izuku is rushing forward without thinking, and just before the power of Eri's quirk can hit him Aizawa's gaze has snapped back up in reflex, quirk activating in an instant, erasing Eri's rampant quirk. The second the flare of Erasure fades, Izuku activates the weakening aspect of his own quirk as he pulls Eri into a hug and she cries in fear and frustration, he keeps murmuring assurances until she calms down.
When she pulls away, Aizawa is there too, crouched next to them and asking Eri if she's okay, that they can stop for today.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry- my curse-"
"Don't be." Izuku says softly. "Neither you or your quirk is a curse, Eri. I think your power is beautiful."
"But I hurt people," she sniffles, and Izuku reaches out and takes her hands, kneeling in front of her. "Can I show you something with my quirk?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Aizawa's gaze sharpen slightly, which is fair. He hasn't really talked or demonstrated his quirk much, apart from how he can strengthen or weaken quirks within a certain radius of himself.
But there's another aspect to it, he thinks the affecting other quirks' power is just a side effect or secondary ability of his quirk's main power, that he somehow knows about innately despite having rarely used it.
"If you want, I can show you something amazing and beautiful about your quirk using mine." Izuku explains to Eri, who looks at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to explain it, but I promise it won't hurt you, or me, or Aizawa. This won't hurt anyone. Do you trust me, Eri?"
She nods, curious and nervous and trusting. "I trust you, Zuku-nii."
Izuku smiles, and gets down on his knees fully in front of her, not letting go of her hands. "Aizawa... I have a feeling you might want to step back a little. This won't hurt you, but still."
"Izuku, what are you doing?"
"Trust me, Eraserhead. I'm showing Eri just what her quirk can be capable of. In truth... I'm excited to see this too."
So he closes his eyes, and focuses on the still-restless energy he can feel thrumming in Eri's hands in his. He focuses on it, and digs deep into it, through the layers of potential, all the possibilities of what she may do, until he finds the heart of it, the greatest potential it could possibly reach, that Eri, with the right training, would be able to reach and unlock.
He tugs the slightest hint of that power to the surface, feels it flow through Eri into him, and then out of both of them, flooding Gym Gamma with golden light.
Aizawa inhales sharply, followed by Eri's gasp of wonder, which prompts Izuku to open his eyes again.
The building is filled with light, lining every surface with a shining golden glow. As the three of them watch, Izuku focusing on the potential he's releasing, just slightly, figures begin to flicker to life around the gym.
The figures take shape and start to move, playing out events that have already come to pass.
Thick pillars of gold light rise around them, and figures perch on top, echoes of all the time that the first-year hero classes spent in here working on their ultimate moves,
Mirio of the big three defeating 1A easily, putting to use his long-practiced skill with his quirk and years of training to the current 'full' potential he has,
Different echoes of sparring matches, quirk training sessions, echoes of Aizawa are there a lot, and then it seems like time is flickering from event to event, barely leaving a second where the gym is empty of echoes.
Different sessions of Eri and Aizawa and Izuku for Eri to work on her quirk.
Multiple times where Aizawa comes in with a teen with a head of gravity-defying hair to apparently train to use a capture weapon - cool - until the jumbled flashes of echoes of events fade away, when Izuku slowly lets the sliver of what could be return to it's buried lair.
Eri's eyes are filled with awe. Aizawa looks a mix of surprised, impressed, confused, and also a hint of wonder shining in his eyes.
"One day you'll be able to do that on your own, Eri." Izuku says quietly, not entirely wanting to break the awed silence but also wanting to explain. "Rewind not a physical place, but the memories stored in a place - or even an object if it's sentimental enough I bet - and see things that have already happened. My quirk's main ability is to bring out a hint of another's quirk's greatest potential for a moment, just to show what someone can be truly capable of. Eri, your quirk is a beautiful thing. You are amazing, and you will be amazing. Even if you don't want to use your quirk anymore after you learn how to control it, know that you are not a curse. You are beautiful, I promise."
Aizawa is staring at Izuku in open surprise and... impressed? But that takes a backseat in Izuku's attention because tears well up in Eri's eyes, and she squeezes his hands tight, eyes sparkling. "I can't hurt the echoes, right? They're already come and gone?"
"Yeah," Izuku confirms. "You can't hurt them, but you can bring them to light if you want to train and unlock all the potential of your power."
"I wanna, 'Zuku-nii, I wanna learn my quirk. I wanna make people smile by giving people back memories of happy things!" She exclaims, and Izuku's heart melts as a smile is growing across her face, setting the sun to dim shame in its brightness.
He doesn't realise he's smiling too, and crying, until Aizawa later shows him the picture he'd snapped, of the moment when Eri smiles at her brother for the first time since having forgotten how to do so who knows how long ago.
"We've still got to put in a name for your quirk, kid." He reminds Izuku gently.
Izuku smiles then, too, and knows then exactly what he wants to call it.
"It's called Promise. For her."