To say that Eri was popular with the female students of UA would be a bit of an understatement. Doubly so when it comes to the six heroines of class 1-A.
It was practically love at first sight. From the moment Mirio had brought her over to visit while the school was still preparing for the culture festival the girls just couldn’t help but want to be around her and keep her safe.
Granted that was true of the entire class, no matter how vehemently Bakugou may deny it, but the girls in particular made a point of hanging around her and making sure she was having a good time.
And Mina Ashido especially took a shine to the child, pretty much attaching herself to Eri and constantly staying as close to her as she could without causing her any discomfort.
(The increasingly clear fact that Ochako was her favorite only stung for about a month or so, which was around the time she started calling Ochako “Mama” and a very certain green haired hero-in-training “Papa.”)
In the months following the culture festival, with Aizawa being declared Eri’s de facto care taker (though in practice that position was filled in equal measures by Ochako and Deku, Mirio, and Aizawa himself), Eri had started hanging around the 1-A dorms, and that required a none too short adjustment period.
An adjustment period where the girls of 1-A took it upon themselves to make sure their newest resident would feel as welcomed as possible. And part of that included what Mina had affectionately titled: “Strategic Meet Ups.”
(In truth, it was simply all the girls having a private tea party in her dorm room every two weeks or so, to catch Eri up on what was going on in school, ask her how she’s doing, and answer any question she might have that she didn’t feel comfortable asking any of her male caretakers.
But Mina wanted to make sure that Eri knew that everyone took this completely seriously, so she didn’t feel like she was wasting anyone’s time.
Mina was going to build up that poor girl’s self esteem and confidence levels to what they should be even if it kills her.)
While a bit hesitant at first, as time went on Eri started to really get into it, asking the girls all sorts of questions, from polite inquiries about their studies, to more personal questions that actually made each of them think carefully before they answered.
Questions about love, family, parents, and a bunch of other things that made Mina pause in thought whenever she remembered the look Eri would give them when she asked.
(A half empty, half hopeful kind of look, the type that could keep you up at night.)
And sometimes they would just talk, just talk and laugh and drink tea, wonderful, fragrant, and expensive bordering on the nightmarish tea.
(Courtesy of the Yaoyorozu family of course. They all nearly choked on it when Momo first told them how much it cost. A single cup’s worth was enough to make Mina’s eyes water. And the less said about Ochako’s reaction the better.)
Today was such, the group laughing at some joke Toru cracked about something that happened on the news a while back. Mina would have payed more attention to her invisible friend, but unfortunately something much more interesting was happening in the direction of Eri and her “Mama.”
The two of them were laughing especially hard at the joke, Ochako holding a hand over her mouth to try and get her giggles under control, while the younger girl simply held her stomach while she damn near cackled out loud.
And while they were doing this, Mina noticed something awfully intriguing happening on their faces, namely that they were both blushing. Now granted, that by itself was not exactly note worthy, for Ochako especially since the girl’s cheeks appeared flushed most of the time anyway, but rather something about the blush marks on the younger girl themselves that caught Mina’s eye.
It took about two seconds for a fiendish idea to form in her head from that sight. A new record.
Grinning lightly, Mina turned to Kyouka, “Hey Kyouka-chan! You and Kaminari have been giving Eri music lessons right?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah!” The guitarist glanced at the pink heroine out the corner of her eye, setting down the soda she was drinking as she smiled, “Yeah, though I guess it’d be better to call them singing lessons,” She grinned at the girl in question with a proud gleam in her eye, “And she’s been doing great so far!”
Eri smiled shyly and looked down, her blush from before growing a bit brighter as she fiddling with her thumbs at the compliment.
Things were taking shape, but still not enough for Mina’s liking. “Really? You sing Eri-chan?” She rounded on the small child with a bright grin. “I wanna hear you! I bet you sound really pretty!” She clasped her hands together as she plead, “please?”
“Oh! Well…” She looked around at the other occupants with a timid look through the hair that fell in front of her face, “if it’s okay with everyone…?”
“Of course!” Toru was the first to jump up with her agreement, her shirt and skirt flapping wildly as she fidgeted in her seat in excitement, “Hearing Eri-chan sing would be the highlight of my day!” She flopped non-too-elegantly on Mina with her shirt sleeves lightly flailing, “please sing Eri-chan!”
(The invisible girl leaned into Mina with a whisper, “planning something, Mina-chan?”
Mina’s smile turned a bit sharp at the edges as she answered with her own whisper, “aren’t I always?”
If she could see Toru’s face, Mina would wager she would see a grin just as razor edged as hers.)
“I’m sure your voice is lovely.” Momo agreed with a warm, motherly smile, “considering Kyouka-chan is your teacher, there’s no way it wouldn’t be.”
Kyouka hid her face with her hands as it glowed, though one could see the edge of a pleased smile emerging near her thumbs, “n-nah, Eri’s just a good student is all…”
(Mina should honestly stop being surprised at how badly Kyouka hides her crushes, no matter who she was crushing on. She was also starting to doubt how oblivious Momo was to the effect her words can have on people…)
“Only if you want to Eri-chan.” Tsuyu added calmly, Mina having to bite her tongue to stop herself from cursing the frog hero out on trying to foil her brilliant plan, “…but I am a bit curious, been a while since I heard anyone sing live, not since the festival.” Mina could kiss this frog right now. “But, again, only if you want to, no pressure, kero.”
(Confound that frog!)
“You heard them Eri-chan!” Ochako added finally, leaning her shoulder on the little girl’s, smile wide on her cheeks, “come on! You’ll be great!” Her smile went a bit soft around the edges as she hugged Eri’s shoulder. “Just give it your best, it’ll be great so long as you do that.”
Eri was looking back and forth between the girls before finally settling back on her Mama’s encouraging face, her own features filling with determination, “auntie Kyouka?”
“Yeah kiddo?”
“You brought your guitar right?”
(Mina had to fight herself to stop her grin from turning evil in triumph, mission accomplished.)
Kyouka grinned warmly, “you bet kiddo.” She reached behind her to grab the acoustic guitar she brought from her room so she could noodle a few tunes during their tea breaks, placing it in her hands and on her folded legs with much ceremony. “So, what’ll it be?”
Eri scratched her chin and pulled at her lower lip in a display so adorable Mina had to strangle the squeal of joy that was building up in her throat to stop herself from wrapping the girl in a big hug, the mission must succeed, before she nodded her head resolutely and got up from her seat to stand on the northern wall of the room, where the rest turned to face her, “um…that song from the cartoon you showed me last week? You know, the one with the dog?”
Kyouka’s brow pinched for a minute as she searched for the memory, her face lighting up as she recalled, “oh yeah, the one we were just practicing, got it Eri-chan.” She plucked a few notes on her guitar, adjusting her strings for a moment, “here we go…”
After a few more gentle, solemn chords, Eri took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and, well. Sang.
“Let’s go in the garden, you’ll find something waiting,”
Really sang. No wavering voice, no sour notes, just a simple, gently tune carried on the conditioned air of the room.
“Right there where you left it, laying upside down.”
It was a simple song, a little sad, a little hopeful, with an easy melody that you could listen to for ages. Mina found herself thinking it suited the precious girl perfectly.
“When you finally find it, you’ll see how it’s faded,”
Eri really did have a good voice for singing though, and that wasn’t Mina’s bias talking either. It was melodic and carried clearly, even if her young age made it a bit more high pitched then most. Mina really did love this girl, she hoped she would never find a reason to stop singing.
“The underside is lighter, when you turn it around.”
An angry thought slipped in between the verses as Eri sang, reminding Mina of how Eri sounded for the first few weeks that she knew her. Voice halting, quiet, every word placed with so much care and attention you think she was laying them on land mines. Like she was one word away from something, or someone, exploding on her.
“Everything stays, right where you left it,”
A far cry from how she sounded now. Still quiet, still a bit careful. But confident, with no hint of fear hiding in her throat.
“Everything stays, but it still changes,”
She wondered if Eri ever heard a song before she came to the festival, ever heard anything that wasn’t a threat with veil of kindness or an insult covered in false reassurance. She had to bite her tongue again, force herself to focus on the song and remember that anger had no place tonight. Some shadows don’t deserve voices.
“Ever so slightly, daily and nightly, in little ways…”
Eri took another breath, pausing slightly and twiddling her thumbs, some hint of apprehension on her features as she opened her eyes to look at her audience.
Each one was wide eyed and looking at her with rapt attention (also Toru, probably), all with the exception of Kyouka who had stopped playing for a moment to look at Eri with concern before smiling in encouragement and giving a thumbs up.
(Mina belatedly realized that Kyouka was hogging Eri’s singing voice to herself and Kaminari this whole time. She decided there would be retribution once the song was over, such selfishness will no go without rebuke.)
Confidence returned, Eri face lit up with a quiet, careful smile, she closed her eyes, and then…
“In little ways, when everything stays.”
She let out a breath, opened her eyes while her smile grew brighter, “well? What do you think?”
She barely had a moment after she finished speaking before the whole room erupted in rigorous clapping and cheering, the girls quickly walking up to envelop Eri in a crushing group hug.
“You were so cool! Eri-chan!”
“Yeah! So! So! So pretty!”
“Marvelous Eri-chan, just like I thought you would.”
“Told ya you’d be great kiddo!”
“You really were Eri-chan, kero. My little sister sings too, you should have a duet when she next visits.”
“You were beautiful Eri-chan.” Eri turned in the hug to look at Ochako, whose smile was so warm and kind it actually made Mina pause for a moment as her eyes watered and her face flushed with happiness, “never doubt that about yourself, okay?”
Eri eyes turned a bit wet at the edges before she returned the smile, “thank you Mama!” She wrapped her arms around the gravity hero tightly, her own face matching Ochako’s blush shade for shade.
And shape for shape.
Bingo.
“Eri-chan!” She shouted of a sudden, walking towards the hugging pair while turning her head to look at their faces from differing angles, “oh my God!”
“What?” The girl pawed at her face a few times in confusion, squishing her face as she did, “there something on my face auntie Mina?”
“Yes there is!” Mina exclaimed, drama pouring out of her, “just-hold on!” She rushed to her desk to pull out a pocket mirror, bringing it to show Eri’s face, “look! Do you see!?”
“What?” She asked again, turning her face this way and that in the mirror to catch what Mina was trying to point out, “what’s-”
“Your blush!” Mina said finally, poking the girl’s cheek softly, “it’s shaped like little hearts! See?”
Eri squinted at where Mina was poking her, her eyes widening when her eyes settled the shape in her head, “oh! Wow it is!” Her eyebrows pinched suddenly, turning to Mina, “is that bad?”
“Of course not honey!” Mina threw an arm over her shoulder with a grin, “it’s adorable, it means you’re so happy and full of love that you can’t fit it in your little body anymore,” Mina tickled her sides a bit to illustrate her point, “so you’re showing it on the outside!”
Eri’s eyes widened in wonder as Mina explained the “reason” her blush was shaped like that, the way all little kids should look when someone tells them something about love and joy. A look she should have every day, Mina decided, tightening her half hug on the girl.
Mina heard Ochako mumble over her shoulder, “Mina…” Looking behind her she saw her classmate smiling at her, her face blushing almost as brightly as her “daughter”…and not just that.
“In fact, you blush the same way as your Mama!” She quickly turned with Eri to look at Ochako, who flinched back as she saw Mina’s eyes, no doubt gleaming in glee as her plan came fully to fruition, “look! See!?”
Eri’s eyes widened again, “yeah! Mama look!” She rushed to Ochako, grabbing her hand to pull her over to the pocket mirror a very smug Mina was holding so they could both look at it, “we blush the same! That’s so neat!”
Ochako was taken a bit aback, looking up at Mina, who was blinking innocently at her even as her face was stretched in a toothy self-satisfied grin. Ochako sighed at Mina before smiling at Eri again, hugging her from behind as she squished her blushing cheek to the little girl’s, “yeah Eri.” She said warmly, honestly, “it is so neat.”
Mina winked above Ochako head, “you can thank me later.” She pointed a finger gun at her as she walked away from the gravity hero, who eyed her wearily for a moment before returning to hug her little girl.
Mina turned to her next and final target of the evening, this one for a significantly more underhanded and vindictive motive. “Kyouka-chan!” She rushed up to the guitar player and swung an arm over her shoulder to walk her to the corner of the room, motioning for Toru to follow her, “you’ve been holding out on us…”
“Ashido…” Kyouka eyed her suspiciously, “what are you on about?”
“What, are you deaf Kyouka-chan?” Toru asked of a sudden, appearing at Jirou’s other shoulder, “you’ve been teaching Eri-chan how to sing for a month now and we only now hear her!” Her face, or rather the hole of her shirt collar, came closer to Jirou, “you’ve been keeping her all to yourself…”
Jirou loudly swallowed, “she...” Jirou gulped again, “she had confidence issues! I couldn’t just toss in front of a crowd like that!”
“Maybe so, maybe so…” Mina nodded gravely, “but regardless, the fact remains that you were the only one in this whole school who got to hear Eri-chan sing to wonderfully…” Mina narrowed her onyx rimmed eyes at her fellow student, who started to sweat under the attention, “such indulgence cannot go…ignored.”
“Guys,” Jirou started again, leaning away from Mina, “you’re seriously freaking me out here…”
“Oh no!” Toru said of a sudden, jumping away from Kyouka’s personal space without missing a step, “don’t waste your fear on us now.”
“That’s right!” Mina patted her friends back a couple of times before she herself leaned away, “don’t get freaked out tonight, you’ll need your strength.”
Kyouka eyed Mina quietly for a moment, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead, “need it for…what?”
Mina gave her the most innocent smile she could muster, delighting in the shiver it earned her, “you’ll need it for tomorrow for when you, Yaomomo, and Kaminari team up for the triple exercises.”
The shock-wave hero went as pale as a sheet of paper, eyes widening and pupils shrinking into little dots.
“Unless,” Mina continued, a look of hopeful desperation filling Kyouka’s face, “unless of course…you make up for it.” She nodded her head towards the still hugging and giggling duo of mother and daughter in the middle of the room. “…right now.”
A second passed in quiet tension before Jirou turned on her heel and started marching towards the child, “Eri-chan! You want to sing another song?”
“Really auntie Kyouka? How many songs can I sing?”
“As much as you want kiddo…”
Mina leaned on the wall, satisfied with another plan well executed as their precious little girl started up another song. Her heart was warm as she sighed in triumph.
Even if she didn’t get that blush, she would have still heard her sing, so no matter how tonight would have went, she’d go to sleep feeling like a winner.
Toru leaned on a spot next to her, quietly watching Eri sing for a minute before she turned to Ashido while she pointed with her sleeves to Jirou, “so…are we still gonna-”
“Obviously.” Mina replied simply, “we’ve been planning that bit for months.”
(Eri sang for the boys the day after once school was out. The cheers she got from them were so loud and deafening that Aizawa got a noise complaint from the nearby 1-B dorm.
The complaints were retracted shortly once they bring Eri over for a performance.)