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It'd been a tough few years for Eri. Being tortured, held against her will and in constant fear as a child had been the worst of it all, but growing older plagued with the memories of her abusers and flash-backs to when she was seven was just as tough. As she blossomed into a teenager, those thoughts got worse and worse, as she realised just how awful her past had been. As much as she wanted to completely rip Kai Chisaki to pieces, she'd been taught by her saviours to never do such thing. Violence wasn't the answer, and she knew this first hand.
It was only natural for Eri to want to be a pro-hero. She'd grown up from the age of seven in U.A High School AND the home of Pro-hero Eraserhead (her new adoptive father), and after admiring her two favourite people, Izuku Midoriya and Mirio Togata, ever since they met, it just blossomed her desire so much more.
But even after eight, difficult years, she still hadn't fully mastered her quirk, and it got out of hand so easily that she rarely used it any more, only using it in dire situations when her friends and family needed her. She was always prepared to protect those she loved, even getting in an incident at aged 13 just to protect her two best friends when they were being threatened by a dangerous, knife-wielding criminal. Unfortunately, she'd gone a little bit too far, reversing his ageing process to the point where he was a child, and despite her best efforts of protecting herself, she'd landed herself in quite a bit of trouble with both the law and Eraserhead.
Ever since then, she'd been banned from using her quirk at ALL in public, even in dire situations, until they could get it under control.
"It's okay, though!" Deku had said, comforting the younger girl as she complained loudly to him in the comfort of the U.A staff-room. "At least you helped your friends, right? Who knows what could've happened if you hadn't done what you did?"
"I know, I know," she sighed, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly and pouting. "I just feel guilty though. I didn't mean to... do that!"
"We all make mistakes," Deku assured her, ruffling her long, blue hair as he stood up, glancing up at the clock hung up on the wall. It ticked 1:34am, almost time for him to get going again. "Trust me, I've made plenty!"
"Heh, I remember that one time you punched Mr Bakugo in the face instead of that nasty villain," she giggled, standing up with him and glancing out of the window. It was something Deku liked to do, watching over the new U.A students and how they used their quirks. Despite him being in his twenties now, he was still fascinated by different, unique quirks and how people used them, even using a technique in his recent villain attack that a first-year had shown him! "I'm surprised he didn't blast a hole in your stomach."
"Yeah, me too," Deku grinned, laughing awkwardly as he recounted the experience. "See! Even pro-heroes make mistakes. If you want to be a pro-hero, you go for it! I'm sure you'll make it someday."
Two years later and she still wasn't ready to even begin applying for U.A. At aged fifteen, she really needed to apply for SOMEWHERE, but with her quirk still not under control, it was highly unlikely Eraserhead would allow her to apply anywhere. Also, she'd been advised by so many therapists and higher-ups that a pro-hero life would not be suitable for someone as emotionally fragile and vulnerable as she was - which was true, but she refused to admit it.
Even Kota, Eri's current best friend, was planning on joining U.A now, and he was becoming a master of his own quirk. HE was just as emotionally fragile as she was, losing his parents as a young child and being traumatised by the same monster who murdered them, but because he could control himself, he was allowed to. Although she felt it unfair, she somewhat understood and eventually began to give up on her dreams of becoming a pro-hero.
However, things changed one day, and things started to look up for her.
It was a regular old Saturday; Eri lived with Eraserhead when he wasn't at work - she'd live with Recovery Girl in the nurse's office when he was - and Present Mic had come to visit (someone Eri liked to call Uncle Hizashi, despite not being related in any way) just to annoy the hell out of Eraserhead for no apparent reason. It was clear she was down in the dumps, lying across the sofa gloomily as she doodled in a notebook and occasionally took a bite from the breadstick in her other hand. It was clear as day she wasn't in the best of moods, and although Eraserhead had known straight away, he hadn't done anything about it. He wasn't the best at raising a person's spirits or giving advice, which was maybe why he'd gotten Mic to talk to her instead.
"Hey, Little Listener," Mic said, wandering into the living room and closing the door behind him. Eri hummed in response, her eyes glued to her drawings as she finished shading in the girl's dress. Mic sighed, before squatting down in front of her. The two of them made eye contact, and Eri quickly looked away. "You don't look too happy today. What's on your mind?"
"Nothing," she muttered, sitting up and brushing her hair out of her eyes as she closed her notebook, deciding to finish it off later. "I'm fine."
"If I had a brain cell for the number of times I've heard that excuse, I'd be a genius," he said, making her giggle a little bit at his comment. "C'mon, you can tell me, Eri. Has someone at school said something to you?"
"No," she said hesitantly, trying to figure out how to say what she was feeling without being laughed at. She knew for a fact Mic would never ever judge her, but she'd still got the worst trust issues ever and a bundle of nerves in the pit of her stomach whenever she was going to admit something. "It's just... I... I dunno how to say it."
"It's okay, I've got time," he said, standing back up and sitting on the couch beside her, putting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "I've put up with your dad for years and he can't even begin to explain his feelings, so I'm sure I'll understand however you put it."
"Heh, true," Eri grinned, tucking her hair behind her ears as she gulped. "It's just... I know you've heard this so many times, but I absolutely hate my quirk. I just wanna be a pro-hero, like you, dad, Deku, LeMillion, Ground Zero, Red Riot, Uravity and All Might, but... I can't. It's impossible. I can't control it and no matter how many times I'm told I will eventually, I... won't. It's been nearly ten years and I'm STILL in the same position. I can't become a hero. I just... can't! And it's so... unfair! Why can't I be like everyone else, Uncle Hizashi?"
Mic was silent for a few seconds, trying to take everything in and form a coherent sentence that would make sense and comfort her instead of belittling and upsetting her more. Eri was a difficult person; while she was humble and the sweetest girl he'd ever met, she was also troubled and sensitive with the worst childhood he'd ever seen. So he wanted to make sure he got it right.
"Well," he began, taking a deep sigh. "I agree, your situation is so unfair, and if I could remove your quirk for a better one, you know I'd do that in a heartbeat. But although we're born the way we are for a reason, our quirks do NOT define us. You are not defined by Rewind, and remember, you don't need to be out on the front lines to be a hero. Look at Recovery Girl! She's U.A's pride and joy and never fought anybody in her life. Say, you could be our next Recovery Girl if you wanted to, and I'm sure she'd gladly teach you the ways of being U.A's nurse. Don't... stress about it, my Little Listener. Not everyone has a quirk fit for fighting, but then again, not every pro-hero fights, do they?"
Eri shook her head, and her mouth turned into a small 'O'. She'd never thought about being a nurse or a doctor before; when she thought about it, her quirk was surprisingly fit for being one, proven multiple times when she'd not only restored LeMillion's quirk but also reversed Deku, Eraserhead and Shinso's many, many injuries in the fighting world. It was... a surprisingly good suggestion, and while all she'd ever wanted to do in life was protect those who needed it most, being a nurse was the next best thing.
"I know you admire people helping those who were in your situation, Eri," Mic continued, a small smile forming on his lips as he noticed the light in her eyes appear again. "But there's always becoming a nurse and helping everyone!"
"That's a really good idea," she said, a smile appearing on her lips as she clapped her hands together. "That's... a brilliant idea! Do you think dad will let me do that?"
"He better," Mic said, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked towards the door. "If he doesn't, I'll make sure to beat him up for you."
"Yeah right," Eraserhead's voice from the other side of the door said, making Eri laugh. The black-haired man entered the room, his usual gloomy expression plastered across his face but much softer this time. Unbeknownst to Eri and Mic, he'd listened to the whole conversation, coffee in hand as he leaned against the wall. He was very protective of Eri, and if someone had hurt her, he wouldn't be afraid to zoom out on his day off and face them one-on-one. Even if that person WAS a child. "You've never ever beaten me up, Mic."
"You never give me the chance to," Mic pouted, counting the number of times his quirk had been erased in his head. Eraserhead wandered over, sitting on the other side of the sofa, making Eri sit between the two men comfortably. "Anyway, what do you think of our Little Listener working with Recovery Girl? I mean, she wants to be a pro-hero, and that's the next best thing, right?"
"Whatever, as long as you don't end up getting punched in the face," Eraserhead said dryly, thankful she was used to his humour by now. A wide smile appeared on her face, and she clapped her hands together. "But don't think we're done working with your quirk, young lady."
"I know, I know," she sighed, tucking her sketchpad underneath her arm before looking up at the clock. It was coming up 3pm, and her eyes widened. "Sugar! Miss Nejire Hado's youtube video comes out soon! I can't miss it!"
With that, the young girl ran out of the room, feeling happier than ever at her new goal.
To become U.A's next Recovery Girl.