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“It wasn’t supposed to be you, but unfortunately, circumstances have left me with no other choice than to trust you with this.”
Aizawa-sensei, somehow, wasn’t undercut by Eri-chan looking as adorable as always as she clutched his pant’s leg. His tired glare, if anything, felt more terrifying, and Denki could feel his shudder of fear spread through the room.
He couldn’t believe Midoriya wasn’t even here today — he was Eri-chan’s favorite person, and she’d definitely be more at ease with him there. The last time Denki had tried to keep her company, Eri-chan had just stared back at him blankly before edging away.
“I will be back tonight,” Aizawa-sensei continued, glaring at everyone here one by one. “I expect everything to be in perfect order.”
And then he smiled — if that monstrosity could even be called a smile.
Eri-chan looked up at him and smiled back in a mimicry of that not-smile that was somehow adorably terrifying. Denki wept internally as she turned to them and bowed.
“I’m in your care,” she said, and her voice was so much steadier than it had been before.
Momo, bless her, took over and grabbed the bag of things Aizawa-sensei had brought over for the day, extending her other hand to Eri-chan, who grabbed it with that quieter smile that just made her eyes shine.
(Really, it wasn’t even lunch time yet, but Denki’s heart was already melting — this wasn’t how he’d planned to spend his Sunday.)
Aizawa-sensei watched them go with narrowed eyes, but after one last warning glare, he turned on his heels and left.
Denki exhaled in relief, and laughed when Eijirou slapped his shoulder. “Cheer up, bro! We’ve got this!”
Denki blinked, allowing himself to shift with the slap. “We do, yes!” He felt bolstered by his friend’s enthusiasm, and without Aizawa-sensei’s glare on his shoulders, it felt much easier to be confident about things.
They absolutely could handle babysitting Aizawa-sensei’s favorite traumatized child for a day.
Definitely.
It wasn't as if Denki hadn't expected this to happen, it was more so that he was surprised at how quickly it occurred.
Eri-chan sat behind him, giggling quietly while Mina caught his eyes in the mirror sitting in front of him. He tried his best to pout in annoyance but it was hard when every tinkling laugh Eri-chan let out was right beside his ear. It filled his heart with a soft feeling, remembering himself when he was that young and small.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a sharp tug on his hair and he couldn't contain his wince.
This wasn't the first idea they had tried in order to keep Aizawa-sensei's child occupied. They first played with a few action figures she brought, cooing over the small Midoriya one she had shyly shown them. She refused to let anyone else touch that specific one, claiming it was 'one of a kind' and 'too special'.
Since the whole class knew no action figures had ever been made of them — imagine the chaos if they had merchandise already... 1-B would never have shut up — they laughed at the knowledge that Aizawa had most likely paid someone to create one for her. It was utterly adorable.
Once the novelty of that had worn off, though, the little girl had receded into her shell. Mina had then, of course, gotten the bright idea that giving Denki's hair a makeover would help.
So here he was, subjected to the torture of Eri-chan pulling his hair into a ponytail — or as much of one as she could manage.
"Turn around please, Denki-kun!" Eri said happily, tapping him on the shoulder. Doing as she said, Denki couldn't help but wonder what on earth Midoriya and that third year, Mirio, had done to get the once shy, terrified kid so… lively again.
There was a light in her eyes that he hadn't seen before and his heart melted at the sight.
She picked up a sparkly pink butterfly clip and gently pushed it into his hair on one side, clipping it in place on his head. Then, taking a small yellow bumblebee clip, she did the same for another part of his hair.
"Denki is so pretty, isn't he, Mina?" She clapped her hands together delightedly, proudly observing the final product.
Denki allowed a small smile to slip past as Mina agreed with the little girl and he made a show of turning back to look in the mirror.
He let out a gasp, whirling back to the girl with a bright smile. "Eri-chan, you're amazing! I knew I could trust you with my precious hair."
An oomph escaped him when Eri took this moment as an opportunity to grab him in a hug and squeeze, before leaning back. He sat, frozen, as she plonked herself in his lap and grinned at him.
"What's your quirk again?" she asked curiously, tipping her head to the side.
"Electrification," he replied, on auto-pilot. He shot a frantic look over to Mina who was hiding a grin behind her palm. She waved a hand, gesturing to Hanta who sat on her bed. He whipped out his phone, leaning in to capture a few pictures.
Denki glared at them before returning his attention to the child looking up at him expectantly. He realized she was waiting for an answer to something and tried desperately to remember what had been said.
"C-Could you repeat that, Eri-chan, sorry, I didn't hear you."
The girl's red eyes widened and she nodded, before repeating herself. "I said, could you show me how your quirk works? Pretty please Denki!"
Darn those puppy dog eyes! “Sure Eri-chan. Just not in here, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Mina snorted. “What are we, dead meat?” She met Hanta’s amused gaze.
Denki sighed. “Yes. Now, it’ll be safe outside. Shall we?”
He extended a hand dramatically to Eri, which she took with a giggle. Mina and Hanta followed them down the hallway and down the stairs. Passing through the common area, a few smiles were thrown their way.
“Woah, Kamibro, nice hair. Eri-chan, did you do that?” Eijirou grinned at her.
She hid behind Denki’s legs, nodding shyly. Eijirou held out his hand for a high five. “You did a great job! He looks very pretty.”
Eri beamed, and carefully gave Eijirou the high five he was waiting for. He gave Hanta a fist bump in passing as the group exited the building into the courtyard. Momo was sitting outside with Kyouka on a blanket, and they appeared to be discussing something over tea.
Momo waved when she noticed them, smiling warmly. “Hello! Eri-chan, you did very well on Denki’s hair! He looks so cute!”
Denki blushed a bit at her words, and Eri’s smile widened. Momo gestured to the plate of cookies. “Would you like one? Satou-kun made them!”
Mina flounced over to the pair, plucking one off the plate for herself. “These are really good!” She said, munching on a bite of chocolate chip cookie.
Eri selected a sugar cookie for herself, nibbling on the side. “It’s good! I like candy apples better, though.”
Denki laughed. “Are candy apples your favorite, Eri-chan?”
She nodded resolutely. “Yes. Deku-kun gives me one every time he stays with me. Where is Deku-kun today, anyway?”
Denki scratched the back of his head. “Uh, maybe visiting home? None of us are really sure. He’ll be back later on though, Uraraka texted him to ask!”
Eri smiled. “Okay! Can you show me your quirk now, Denki?”
He laughed, ruffling her hair. “Sure, Eri-chan. Go and sit with Yaomomo, okay?”
She skipped over to where Kyouka and Momo were sitting once more, Mina and Hanta settling nearby. Denki crossed the courtyard until he was certain that he was a safe distance from them, smiling at Eri from his new position.
He pointed at one of the training targets someone had set up — probably Midoriya, in all honesty, that boy didn’t know how to take breaks — and released his quirk. Not enough to cause any damage, just enough to show off.
Eri clapped from her seat on the blanket. “That was so cool, Denki!”
Denki bowed with swagger. “Why thank you, I think I’m pretty cool myself.”
She laughed again. “You’re silly.”
He made it back to them, smiling cheekily. “My one and only talent.”
Eri looked perplexed. “No. You’re good at English, too. And you have pretty hair.”
Denki ruffled her hair again. “Thanks, Eri-chan. Not sure I’d count having good genes as a talent though.”
She pouted. “Best Jeanist would! He loves good jeans!”
Hanta choked on his cookie, and Kyouka snorted. Denki himself let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” He smiled and patted Eri on the head, his smile turning into a grin when she leaned into his touch.
After a few moments of watching Eri-chan nibble on the sugar cookie in her hands, Denki decides it would be best to head back inside. It wasn’t a particularly cold day, but there was still a lingering chill in the air as it was early spring.
“Hey, Eri-chan, why don’t we go back inside and leave Yaomomo and Kyouka to their tea, yeah?” He asked, glancing down at Eri. She pouted slightly, looking reluctant to leave, so he quickly added, “We can go inside, maybe drink some nice hot chocolate and we can do whatever you want to do!”
He lowered his voice, as if he was going to tell her a secret, “And maybe we can go see if there are any apple-flavored lollipops left in the candy stash.” The candy stash was a pile of candy that the whole class had contributed to and kept in a jar in the pantry mainly for Satou, and for anyone who just wanted to eat something sweet. Denki was sure that they had apple lollipops in there somewhere, and he was sure Satou and the rest of his classmates wouldn’t mind him giving a lollipop to Eri.
“Ok!” Eri said excitedly, lips turning upward quickly. She grabbed his hand and started tugging him back to the dorms. Denki couldn’t help but grin at her enthusiasm. They walked back to the dorms with Hanta and Mina.
When they arrived back at the dorms, Denki made all four of them the promised hot chocolate while Mina and Hanta searched the candy jar for an apple lollipop.
Eri-chan sat on the couch, bouncing in place repeatedly while she waited. Denki remembered reading something about kids and too much sugar and made a note to peel her an orange if she wanted another snack after this. Better safe than sorry after all.
Satou passed through the kitchen just as Denki was loading the four mugs onto a tray and held up a hand. He pulled a spray can of whip from the fridge and quickly and efficiently topped off the mug in a neat and spiraling column. He snagged some cinnamon sticks from his baking supplies and grated some shavings over them like cinnamon sprinkles. Only then did he step aside and let Denki pass.
“Whoa! Thanks, man! I owe you one!”
“Snap some whip mustache pictures and we’ll call it even.” Satou laughed.
“Will do!”
Denki made his way carefully to the couch and watched in delight as Eri-chan’s eyes lit up.
“Wow!” She beamed. “Is that for me?”
“Only one of them,” he teased. “Satou-kun made it all fancy for you so be sure to tell him thank you before you leave.”
Eri nodded seriously before eyeing the mugs with sparkling eyes. Denki carefully handed her one.
They both went for the cream first and Denki took the promised whip mustache selfie. Then they drank in silence as Mina and Hanta joined them.
All was quiet.
“When we finish drinking can we watch the Deku clip?”
Denki blinked and set his mug down. “The what?”
“The Deku clip. Deku told me that when he was little he used to watch a clip of All Might because he wanted to be just like him. He even showed it to me. So after he left I put in Deku and found a clip. Can we watch it?”
“Ohhhh” Hanta huffed out a laugh. You mean from the sports festival?”
Eri-chan shook her head. “That only comes up when you search Midoriya. The Deku clip is very old but I like it because he runs in and even though he’s crying he still says ‘I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!’ and that’s why Deku is my hero too so that’s the kind of hero I want to be.” She meets their stunned gazes with wide eyes. “So can we watch it?”
Denki exchanged a panicked look with Momo, but Eri-chan’s pleading eyes were really too hard to resist.
Also, Denki was now very curious about this Deku video.
“Is Aizawa-sensei… aware of this video?” Momo asked gently in what was clearly a last-ditch effort to avoid showing a video of Deku crying to a six-year-old.
Eri-chan nodded eagerly. “Huh-uh. He always says Deku-kun is a problem child when he sees it and his eyes start twitching, you know, like —” her left eyelid twitched in what was terrifying similitude to Aizawa-sensei’s ‘I’m done with your shenanigans’ expression “— but he said he wasn’t mad, just worried when I asked.”
She took another sip of her drink and stared up at them. Someone must have taught her how to do puppy dog eyes, because them getting this wide couldn’t be natural.
“So, can we?” she asked.
“I… guess?” Denki replied, throwing another panicked look to Momo, who merely shrugged back.
Well, at least it probably wasn’t the worst thing the little girl had seen, and if Midoriya really was her hero, who would they be to keep her favorite video away from her?
“Yeah, we can watch it.” He winked. “After we’re done with our hot chocolates.”
Eri-chan nodded very solemnly, and took a huge, sudden gulp of her drink. Her cheeks bulged out adorably, and Denki had to avert his eyes to avoid a snicker, focusing on his phone instead, trying to pull up the video.
It was actually surprisingly easy to find. Honestly, Denki was kind of ashamed of himself for never having thought to look up Midoriya online like this. Clearly, he’d missed out on some things.
The clip was short, but well-shot. Probably filmed by some reporters, though the footage apparently hadn’t been used for anything more than this.
It quickly became clear why.
“What the f—” At the last moment, Denki remembered Eri-chan and cut himself off, voice dying with a squeak as Mina unnecessarily kicked him.
Not that he had long to consider it.
“Is that Bakugou??”
Eri-chan nodded. Her eyes were riveted to the screen, and Denki only belatedly realized he’d started the video before she finished her drink.
Whoops? At least she didn’t look like she minded.
She’d been right too. Midoriya — who looked even smaller in the video, it was kind of adorable — rushes in out of nowhere and starts clawing Bakugou free.
Bakugou, who’d been trapped into some kind of slime-thing while the heroes around them pretty much failed at their jobs. Denki couldn’t help it, he gaped a little.
Beside him, he caught Momo doing the same, though her version of it looked more dignified somehow.
Between them, Eri-chan’s eyes just sparkled as she mouthed along with the words the camera had picked up. Clearly, she’d watched this video a lot.
The video came to an end as All Might came to the scene and made it rain with a single punch (seriously, All Might was so cool, Denki still couldn’t believe he was teaching them), but the camera stayed zoomed in on Midoriya’s face.
It was easy to see why this was Eri-chan’s favorite video now. Midoriya was doing The Face. An earlier version of it, sure, tinged with more desperation and tears than Denki was used to, but it was still indubitably The Face.
The one he made when he had to face a villain and refused to back off. The one that made people standing beside him think, ‘I can do this’.
Eri-chan’s pleading eyes had them watching the video two more times, by which point Denki was considering the best way to run away. As inspiring as Midoriya’s determination to save everyone could be, it was also… fairly distressing to watch two of their classmates almost die before they even met them.
As such, he almost cried for joy when he heard Aizawa-sensei clear his throat behind them.
(Well, no — first Denki almost had a heart attack, because Aizawa-sensei was sneakier than Hagakure, and Hagakure was invisible.)
“S-Sensei!” Denki shouted, scrambling off the sofa and almost sending his phone crashing to the ground. “You’re back!”
Aizawa-sensei eyed the room dubiously, but seemed satisfied to see it in one piece and not on fire.
(Denki would say he lacked faith in them, but considering the dorms had ended up on fire more than once, it was sadly not an unfounded fear.)
“Eri.” It was absolutely heartwarming to see the way Eri-chan suddenly stood to attention the moment Aizawa-sensei said her name, like a flower tilting toward the sun. It was so cute Denki wanted to coo, or perhaps cry a little.
“Did they behave?”
Denki spluttered while Momo hid a chuckle behind her sleeve, but Eri gave them a considering look that, once again, looked far too much like one of the looks they’d seen on Aizawa-sensei’s face before, before nodding.
“Mmh,” she said, and Aizawa-sensei nodded back.
“Good.” He stared at them again, and Denki hastily sat on his hands to hide how they were shaking.
(Give him villains any day over Aizawa-sensei trying to determine if they’d done well or not.)
Of course, he had to drag them back out again two minutes later to wave Eri-chan off while she left with Aizawa-sensei, but it was the thought that counted. Probably.
It was easier to breathe without Aizawa-sensei’s presence filling the room, but without Eri-chan, the room also felt… quieter. Smaller, somehow.
Denki fingered one of the clips still in his hair — shit, had those been there when Aizawa-sensei was there?? — and pouted.
“Say, Momo, do you think Aizawa-sensei will let us babysit again?”
She laughed as she picked up their empty mugs. “Do you mean if he’ll let her babysit you again?”
Momo had really grown into her own person since they’d joined UA. She was very different from the discreet girl they’d met back then, and Denki liked it.
Even if she mocked him like this.
“Momo!” he gasped, feigning a deadly wound and slumping off the sofa. “How could you! My friend, I trusted you!” He wiped a fake tear off his face, barely holding back the laughter bubbling in his chest.
That resolve failed him entirely when he caught Momo’s lips twitching.
“Okay, but seriously, do you think he would?” Denki asked again once their mirth had mostly passed.
Momo arched a pointed eyebrow back. “In case you hadn’t noticed, he leaves her with the class all the time.” And the Big Three, and the other teachers, she didn’t add, but Denki heard it nonetheless.
“Huh. He does, doesn’t he?” Denki stretched, making his back pop. A sudden thought hit him, and he grinned. “Hey, do you think Midoriya knows about the video?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. Midoriya probably didn’t, which meant that Denki got to tell him. Midoriya was going to get so flustered, it would be glorious.
Denki couldn’t wait.