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The little girl wanted to say something - that was clear to Aizawa. Since parting from Mirio, Eri had been sending small looks towards his direction from the corner of her eyes. Aizawa knew he had to be patient and wait for her to gain enough confidence to speak out loud. He couldn’t be impatient.
The had already reached the doors of the teacher’s dorm, when the girl let go his hand abruptly and stepped in front of him. At first, she averted her gaze to the ground, then looked up to his eyes. Shouta stood there, waiting in anticipation, but without saying a word. Eri took a deep breath before speaking up.
”Thank you so much, Ereaserhead-san!” Eri said while bowing.
”Thank me for what?” The man asked, cocking his head to the side.
”For saving me! For letting me come to the festival and… for taking me in.” The little girl whispered the few last words, but the man heard them nonetheless.
Aizawa walked up to her and raised his hand to give her a head pat. Eri flinched away and turned her gaze towards the ground, but then looked up at him once again with trust in her eyes. Aizawa lowered his hand onto her head and ruffled her hair. Eri’s eyes widened.
”This is called a head pat,” Aizawa said with a soft smile on his lips. ”And only really good little girls can earn to have one.”
”This means I am a good girl?” Eri asked with shining eyes and a beaming smile.
”One of the best kind,” Aizawa said, then reached his hand towards her. ”Come on, we are almost there,” he said, then a thought popped up in his mind, ”and you can call me on my normal name.”
”All right, Shou-san!” Eri said with a smile, grabbing the outstretched hand.
A few minutes later, Aizawa pushed the doors of the teacher’s dorm open. As soon as the doors were closed behind them, they heard a high pitched squeal. Eri let out a yelp and hid behind the man on instinct.
”Cut it out, Nemuri,” Aizawa sighed, rolling his eyes. ”You scared her.”
”But Shouta, she is so adorable!” Nemuri said, then walked up to them. She knelt down and smiled at the little girl hiding behind the raven haired man. ”Hello, Eri-chan! My name is Kayama Nemuri, but you can call me Nemuri.”
”N-nice to meet you!” Eri whispered, then took a better look at her new acquaintance. ”Pretty…”
”Awe, you are so cute!” Nemuri cooed, then looked up at her long time friend. ”Can I hug her?”
”Why asking me?” Shouta asked with a nonchalant expression, so Nemuri turned her attention back to Eri.
At first, Eri didn’t know what to do. Usually, she didn’t like being touched because all the abuse she had to endure, but it seemed like Shou-san trusted the woman in front of them, so she couldn’t be bad.
She stepped forward and the older wrapped her arms around her smaller frame. Eri leaned her head on the blue eyed woman’s chest and closed her eyes.
”Smells good…” she mumbled before falling asleep.
”Did you make her fall asleep?” Aizawa asked as he took the little girl in his arms.
”No, she had fallen asleep on her own. She must be really tired,” Nemuri said, standing up from the ground. She followed Aizawa as the man walked towards his room. ”I can’t understand how anyone can do such horrible things to a little angel like her…”
”We saved her. That’s what counts,” Aizawa growled, pulling the little girl closer to his chest.
He still had murderous intentions bubbling up in his chest whenever he was reminded what that poor girl had to go through during the first six years of her life. When Eri let him hold her in his arms for the first time, he swore he would never let anything bad happen to her ever again.
They reached his door and the woman pushed it open. Aizawa walked to his bed and tried to put the child down – which was in vain. Eri had grabbed a fistful of his scarf and didn’t plan to let it go anytime soon.
”What should I do with you, problem child?” Aizawa asked as he sat down on his bed. Eri hid her face in his scarf and sighed contentedly.
”It looks like she really likes you,” Nemuri said, giggling.
”Yes, yes,” Shouto mumbled under his breath, then lay down on the bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Nemuri watched as Eri curled in on herself on the man’s chest and Shouta wrapped his arms around her tighter. She pulled the comforter over them with a small smile on her lips.
”Good night, you two,” she whispered, then left the room.