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Eri opened her eyes, then squinted as a glaring light entered her vision. Where was this? She thought she was in her bedroom in the teachers’ dorms in the middle of the night. And yet, it was as bright as day. Before she had a chance to recognize her surroundings, she felt a familiar pain shoot from the top of her head to the tips of her fingers. Her breath hitched, and she clenched her eyes shut and tightened her grip on Deku’s back.
. . .Deku’s back?
Eri opened one eye, pain still travelling down her spine. As she thought, she had green fabric from Deku’s hero costume caught in a vice grip between her fingers. Her eyes widened and her breathing sped up as she also noticed a yellowish light engulfing the two of them.
No. No, no, no. Not this. Not again.
Deku was on his knees, hunched over and trying to speak calming words to Eri, but nothing he said and none of Eri’s desperate efforts were enough to stop her raging quirk. Worst of all, Mr. Aizawa was nowhere in sight. She screamed his name and begged him to stop her power, but her pain only increased in response. Overhaul was right all along—Eri couldn’t control her quirk without him, and now the one who came to save her was going to die because of her, just like every other time. She could do nothing but watch and sob apologies as Deku, the boy who’d done so much for her, was reduced to a pile of clothes on the ground.
“No!”
Darkness met Eri’s watery eyes as she shot upright. She could only make out shapes and outlines with the moonlight casting a dim glow on the room, but she soon became aware of where she was. She was still in bed. She had been saved a long time ago. Mr. Deku survived.
Right?
Yes, Mr. Deku survived because Mr. Aizawa was there to stop her quirk.
Right?
Noticing a cramp in her fingers, Eri looked down, almost expecting to see that her nightmare had become real. Instead, she found the torn piece of Lemillion’s cape clenched in her fists. It had given her so much comfort when she was being saved from Overhaul.
It had also kept her anchored to Deku’s back, unable to let go, allowing her to. . .
Eri was having trouble distinguishing dream from reality, and she knew her only assurance would be to see Deku alive and well or at least get confirmation from someone. So, as silent as a lamb, she emerged from the warmth of the covers, put on her slippers, and left her room, Lemillion’s cape still in hand.
As Eri tiptoed down the hall, she heard a soft snore from a room beside her. Noticing artificial light seeping onto the floor from inside, she gave in to her curiosity and took a peek. A computer was on, producing the only light in the room, and a figure was hunched over the desk, certainly asleep. Black hair spilled off the edge of the desk and a gray scarf was draped around the back of the chair the figure was sitting in, revealing it to be Aizawa.
If Aizawa was here, then Deku must have survived. That’s the rationale Eri wished to have. Nevertheless, her doubts continued to gnaw at her. She had to be sure. She wouldn’t dare disturb Aizawa while he was resting, though, so she decided to head to Deku’s dorm and check on him herself. Before she left, she pushed up on the tips of her toes to drape Lemillion’s cape over the sleeping teacher’s shoulders. She wasn’t sure how much good it would do from the room’s slight chill, but she hoped it would comfort him if he had any nightmares like she did.
Eri was much more confident when she left the teacher dorms than she was outside. Her feet became heavier with every step she took. The 1-A dorms weren’t far, only a few minutes’ walk. However, the night air sent chills down her spine, occasional unidentifiable sounds came from the darkness, and she missed the reassurance of Lemillion’s cape more than she thought she would. What if the bad part of UA that Lemillion warned her about was lurking around? The memory of his maniacal cackling quickened her pace.
Now that she thought about it, she forgot to check the time before she started on her way. Deku was probably asleep by now, and it’s not like she could just walk up to his dorm. She didn’t know which one he was in, and she could possibly disturb him and/or his sleeping classmates. She felt guilty at the thought of their education struggling just because of a little nightmare. Before she could get herself out of the notion, though, she was in front of the double doors that led into Class 1-A’s dorms.
It wouldn’t be that difficult to turn around and go back. After all, it was only a few minutes’ walk. However, the thought of going back to sleep and possibly watching Deku die before her eyes again seemed impossible. Plus, that was a few more minutes she had to spend walking in the cold. Finally making up her mind, Eri went inside.
Eri opened and shut the door as quietly as she could with her back to the room. She thought she heard movement behind her for a second, but dismissed it as her nerves. The common room was dark, meaning everyone was in their separate dorms. It was much warmer in here, and yet the hair on her arms still stood on end. She walked further in, unsure of where to go from here. Should she find Deku and risk waking him up? Should she wait for him? Maybe he’d come down for a glass of water or something. However, what if she fell asleep and the class got up before she did? She’d be bombarded with questions, and the last thing she wanted was to concern everyone.
“Eri?”
At the sound of her name, her rushing thoughts came to a screeching halt. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly who it belonged to. She slowly turned her head, and her breath caught in her throat as her peripheral vision caught sight of the outline of a beak.
Or a beak-like mask.
Run! Run, before he gets you again!
Eri’s brain screamed at her, but she remained frozen in place. There was no way he could be there. He’d been arrested, locked away where he couldn’t reach her. And the voice was nothing like his. There was no malice, no fake sympathy. In fact, the voice sounded truly concerned.
Eri gasped as a light was flipped on. She whirled around fully and felt an overwhelming pressure leave her chest. Not Overhaul. Not the Shie Hassaikai. She did have the beak right, though. She couldn’t remember his name, but she knew he was one of Deku’s classmates and one of the guitarists in the class’s performance. Right now, he was looking at her with. . .confusion? Worry? His expression was difficult to read.
“Eri, what are you doing up?” the boy spoke again. “What are you doing here at this hour? Wait. . .did you walk all the way here?”
That was definitely worry. “Um. . .it’s not that long of a walk. Just a few minutes.”
The boy paused before speaking again. “Still, it’s quite cold out. We wouldn’t want you getting sick.”
Eri rubbed her bare arms at the mention of the chilly outside air. She hadn’t thought to bring any warm clothes with her.
She hadn’t really thought any of this through, had she?
A sigh from the boy brought Eri out of her thoughts. “Go sit in the common room, okay? I’ll be there in a little bit. Then we can talk, if that’s alright with you.”
Eri nodded, doing as she was told as the boy went into the kitchen. She hoped she wasn’t bothering him. He didn’t come from the direction of the rooms, as far as she knew, meaning he must’ve already been down in the common area. Why, though, and why in the dark? She wondered if she might have interrupted him while he was having some private time. Before she had long enough to feel guilty about it, though, he came to the couch, holding two steaming mugs with a bendy straw sticking out of each one. He handed one to Eri as he sat down. She inspected the drink for a while—it almost looked like juice, but the smell was different. Plus, hot juice didn’t sound appealing.
“It’s apple cider,” the boy answered Eri’s unasked question. “Have you ever had it before?” Eri shook her head—she’d never had it, but the mention of apples had her intrigued. “It’s a common beverage for this season. I figured you’d like it, and it’ll warm you up. It’s hot, though, so be careful.”
Eri nodded and, cautiously, took a sip of her drink. She delightedly shuddered as the warmth of the beverage began to spread through her body. The taste was like nothing she’d had before. There was a flavor of apple, as expected, but there was also a slight spice to it. She took another sip, letting out a contented sigh as the chill started to leave her body.
For a while, the boy sat silently beside her, supposedly drinking his own cider. A little later, he said, “My name is Tokoyami, by the way. Tokoyami Fumikage. I wasn’t sure if you knew that already.” Eri nodded and continued drinking her cider. The name sounded familiar, although she knew she would’ve never guessed it. Deku had probably mentioned him at some point.
It wasn’t until after the two of them finished their apple cider and their mugs were placed on the table in front of them that Tokoyami spoke again. “You don’t have to answer if you’d prefer not to, but. . .what are you doing up at this hour? And in a different dorm building, no less.”
Until then, Eri had almost forgotten about her nightmare. Her tension from before returned with the memories, and she nervously tapped her fingers against each other. What should she say? She didn’t want to bother him with the details, but he seemed so concerned. Besides, he wouldn’t have asked—not to mention for the second time that night—if he didn’t want to know, right? Mustering up her courage, she told him the truth.
“I. . .came to check on Mr. Deku. I had a bad dream about him, so I wanted to make sure he’s. . .”
Okay? Alive? Which one would get the point across? Apparently, Tokoyami got the gist. “I see. Well, I assure you, Midoriya is alive and well. In fact, earlier today—yesterday, more like—he was talking about checking in on you this weekend.”
Eri felt a burden lifted off her shoulders. Deku was alive—she hadn’t killed him. She was sure now.
So why was there still a pit in her stomach?
Tokoyami watched Eri patiently, waiting for her to speak again. He could tell there was something more preying on her mind, but he wouldn’t dare force it out of her. All of a sudden, her shoulders trembled, and she let out a soft sob. “Eri?”
“It was all my fault!” Eri’s head was bowed, and tears dripped onto her lap. “He died saving me! It was my quirk that killed him! That’s all my quirk is good for! Overhaul was right. My power is a curse. . .”
At Eri’s cries and harsh words, Tokoyami felt like a knife had been thrusted and twisted in his gut. From the accounts of the ones who had gone on the Shie Hassaikai raid—mostly Midoriya—he knew that Eri had a very traumatic past. Still, he wasn’t prepared for such self-degrading words from her. He was shaken by how much he could relate to this little girl. Just moments before her arrival, he’d had a nightmare very similar to hers. The events of the summer camp happened once again, except Midoriya and Shoji were unable to escape Dark Shadow’s rampage.
The blood he spilled from his friends, imagined or not, would haunt him for a long time. . .
Tokoyami pushed those thoughts aside. Right now, he needed to focus on Eri. He could worry about his issues later. He decided to wait to speak until she’d calmed down and use that time to think about what he’d say. He was aware that he was known for giving advice too complex for children to understand, so he would try to keep his words simple. In the meantime, he risked scooting closer and wrapping an arm around her. He wouldn’t consider himself the touchiest person—that was more Dark Shadow’s field—and he wasn’t even sure if she would feel comfortable with this gesture, but he concluded that she could accept or reject physical contact with him as she wished. To his surprise, she leaned into his touch almost immediately, turning towards him and clutching his hoodie. With one arm around her shoulders, he used his other hand to stroke the back of her head.
After a few minutes, Eri’s crying reduced to merely sniffles and hiccups. She didn’t make a move to let go of Tokoyami, so he didn’t let go of her, either. He decided that now would be a good time to speak.
“Eri, I know people have probably told you this already, but I’m going to tell you again anyway. Nothing that Overhaul said to you is true. He’s a wicked man who was willing to do anything to you to meet his goal. As for your quirk. . .it’s difficult to control, but that doesn’t make it cursed. No power is inherently evil. You never meant any intentional harm to anyone. In fact, if it weren’t for your power, Midoriya wouldn’t have survived that fight. Your quirk didn’t kill him; it saved him.”
As Eri recounted the true events of that day in her mind, she realized that Tokoyami was right. As Deku told her before, her quirk allowed him to use his quirk fully without the drawback of breaking his bones and becoming helpless.
Her quirk saved him.
Relieved, Eri smiled up at Tokoyami, still a bit teary-eyed. “Thank you.”
Tokoyami seemed taken aback, but eventually returned the smile. “You’re welcome.”
Eri yawned and stretched her arms upward. Now that her excitement for the night had passed, she was exhausted. “You need to get back to bed,” Tokoyami said. He stood from the couch as Eri followed suit. “Come on, I’ll walk you back.”
Eri took Tokoyami’s hand as they walked out of the 1-A dorms together. Tokoyami didn’t protest and even tightened his hold on her hand. As they made their way, Dark Shadow emerged from Tokoyami’s back and curled around to Eri’s other side. She eyed him curiously, then rubbed the top of his head with her free hand. Dark Shadow leaned into her touch and. . .vibrated? It almost seemed like a purr, but that wasn’t quite how Eri would describe it. He wasn’t a cat, after all. Once he was satisfied with her attention, he returned from whence he came. The occurrence left Eri slightly confused. Was that Tokoyami’s quirk? Oh, well; she’d ask him about it another time.
As the two of them entered the teachers’ dorms and went towards Eri’s room, Eri noticed that Aizawa was no longer sleeping at his desk and the computer was turned off. Upon reaching her room and seeing that the light was on, she realized that he was aware of her absence and probably worried sick. Her assumption ended up proving true as she and Tokoyami went in and found the teacher sitting at the edge of her bed, holding Lemillion’s cape in one hand and his cellphone to his ear with the other.
“I already told you, Mic, I put her to bed over five hours ago. No, I don’t know how long she’s been gone. Have you even been listening to me? I don’t care if it’s almost three in the morning! Eri is missing, don’t you realize that?!” Before Aizawa could shout into the phone again, he looked up and quickly stood from his spot. “Eri! Where have you been? How long have you been up?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Aizawa,” Eri said, shuffling from foot to foot. “I had a bad dream, so I went to see if Mr. Deku was okay. I didn’t want to bother you while you were sleeping.”
Aizawa was silent for a few seconds. Meanwhile, it sounded like Present Mic was frantic on the other end. “I’ll call you back, Mic,” he finally said before hanging up the phone. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, but he didn’t seem as exasperated as he would be if it were Midoriya or Bakugou standing before him. “Did you find out what you wanted to know?”
Eri looked up at Tokoyami and smiled, a gesture he once again returned. “Yes, sir.”
“So, you’re ready to go back to bed now?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Eri went over to her bed, and Aizawa lifted her up and tucked her in. He returned Lemillion’s cape to her, and she embraced it as if it was a stuffed animal. “Good night, Eri. Again.”
“Good night, Mr. Aizawa. Good night, Mr. Toko!”
Tokoyami felt his heart squeeze, but he managed to reply, “Good night, Eri.” With that, the two older males left the room, Aizawa flicking the light off before taking his leave. Seconds later, Eri slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Outside the room, Tokoyami started down the hallway towards the exit. “Tokoyami, wait.”
Tokoyami stopped in his tracks at the sound of his teacher’s voice. He turned to face him and felt a twinge of guilt from his exhausted expression. It was a miracle that he didn’t have a head full of gray hair yet. “Yes, Mr. Aizawa?”
Aizawa stepped forward so that he was closer to his student. “I got Eri’s reason for being awake, so what’s yours? I doubt she woke you up.”
Tokoyami tried to keep his usual composure as he answered the question, although he could tell his body was fidgeting against his will. “No, she didn’t. I was having trouble sleeping, so I was down in the common room when Eri came in. She told me what happened, I reassured her, then I brought her back here.”
Aizawa eyed Tokoyami up and down, the latter practically wilting under his gaze. He sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that night; they were both tired, and it wasn’t like Tokoyami went off campus or left his dorms except to bring Eri back. He saw no need to punish him. “Alright. Get to bed. You have remedial classes tomorrow on top of your regular classes, and I expect you to stay awake for them.”
“Yes, sir.” Tokoyami gave his teacher a respectful bow before turning to leave again.
“Oh, and Tokoyami?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Whatever you might’ve needed to tell Eri about her quirk. . .that applies to you too, alright?”
Tokoyami froze, then spun around to look at his teacher as he went in the opposite direction towards his own room. How could he have possibly known about what details might have come up in his and Eri’s conversation? Eri didn’t share that detail about her nightmare, and Tokoyami told him nothing about his. Dismissing the idea that Aizawa might have a mind-reading quirk he doesn’t know about, he started on his way back to his dorm room and pondered his words to Eri and Aizawa’s words to him.
As Tokoyami pulled off his hoodie and slipped into bed, he realized that his teacher was right. Neither he nor Dark Shadow wanted to hurt their classmates that night. Midoriya and Shoji hadn’t been killed, as his nightmare tempted him to believe. Plus, if not for Dark Shadow going berserk, Moonfish might’ve never been taken down. With time and training, the two of them would soon be able to keep from losing control. With that in mind, Tokoyami was able to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.