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Shouta Aizawa sat down with frustration, the stinging pain in his leg proving to be too frustrating for him to continue on. The thought was endlessly frustrating. Especially considering the fact that he was supposed to be on a walk with his girlfriend and…ward? He really wasn’t sure what the correct term for the situation between him and Eri was.
He certainly felt…parental towards her. He had never thought of himself as rhe father type and never planned to get married, but life thrown him a loop. He couldn’t help but think of Eri as his daughter, despite how much others had made it obvious that she was just under his care…she wasn’t his.
“Mr. Aizawa?”, the young child asked, her eyes filled with concern.
Shouta grimaced, “I’m fine Eri. Just need a second to regain my strength. That mission last night took a lot out of me.”
Eri bit her lip, clearly not satisfied with his answer. Shouta sighed. Eri was an observant young girl and knew that what was really bothering him was the issues with him leg from wearing the prosthetic for too long.
“But, I…I can he-“
“Say Eri, you ever had Sherbert Ice Cream?”, Emi said from behind the two.
Shouta watched as Eri’s eyes lit up. “Sher-Sherbert?”
“Yep! It’s the absolute best. Has good ole Mister Grumpy Pants not taken you for Sherbert Ice Cream, yet?”
“Don’t call me that.”
Emi smiles at Eri, “What did I tell you? He’s being grumpy and he’s wearing pants. Just like I said!”
Eri giggled, which was a sound Shouta loved perhaps more than anything else. The young girl had meant so much to him in the relatively short time he had been taking care of her and for a child who has been through as much as Eri, giggling like a child was pretty much a miracle. Thankfully, Emi seemed to be able to draw that sound out of her constantly.
“How about just the two of us go, Eri? I’m sure Grumpy over there will be in a better mood by the time we come back.”
Eri looked back at him, a nervous expression on her features. “Can I?”
Shouta feigned exasperation, just to further expand upon the joke of he and Emi’s dynamic. “Just don’t be too long. I’ll catch up with you two later on.”
Eri seemed excited, but Emi gave him a sympathetic look as she left. Shouta felt the pain return to his leg as he grimaced, feelings of anger and self-doubt beginning to hit him, as he glared at the ground.
“I think she’s asleep”, Emi said, from his left.
Shouta nodded, holding the white-haired young girl in his arms, after the movie had finished back in the UA dorms. After going for ice cream, the three came back to the dorms and watched “Beauty And The Beast”, which Emi had kept going on about how she absolutely needed to show Eri. Shouta didn’t understand where all the hype came from. The film was very so-so as far as he was concerned.
He felt Emi’s small hand on his shoulder. “Want me to take her to bed?”
Shouta frowned and shook his head. “No. I like holding her”, he said, feeling a bit embarrassed by that admission.
Emi beamed at him, “You really are such a softie, Shouta.”
Shouta rolled his eyes. It really wasn’t a big deal or anything. He just enjoyed holding Eri as she fell asleep, but mostly because of the fact that she felt safe enough with him to fall asleep in his arms. It was a reminder of how far she had come, how far they had come over a short period of time.
Suddenly, Aizawa felt Emi nudge his shoulder gently. “Hey, we need to talk before I have to head back, okay?”
Shouta gave her an odd look. “What’s on your mind?”
She raised her eyebrow and pointed at his leg. “I think you know what’s on my mind.”
The black-haired man sighed. “I can handle it.”
She frowned. “You couldn’t today. Not even a little bit.”
Shouta’s expression turned to one of annoyance. “Emi. I’m not having this-“
“You’re going to die if you don’t at least admit there need to be some changes. The past few years have been rough on you physically, Sho. You know that. If you don’t start thinking about what this next chapter of Eraserhead, then you won’t last long. And there are people who need you to live, Shouta.”
Shouta closed his eyes in frustration. He was angry with her. He knew she was right and that things had to change. He just didn’t want them to. He was the night-patrol hero. The one person who dedicated his time as a hero to stopping the kind of villains no one else would notice. How could he abandon that mission?
“You told me before that you were weighing your options, remember? Well, why don’t we talk about them.”
“The kind of work I do, is not the kind of work that other pro’s want to do or are willing to do. If I stop, then that entire side of the criminality gets to keep going. I can’t do that.”
She scrunched her face in annoyance, which Shouta thought was a cute look for her. Still, the green-haired woman took a moment to think before she smiled at him like she had when he had first met her, a grin full of excitement and an almost mischievous glint in her eyes.
“Your students would do it. You know they would. Think about it…you do all the research and planning to tee them up, but then they carry out your plans. That way you could still focus on the work that you are passionate about, while keeping your body well-enough that you’re still available when you’re really needed and you’re still here for the ones who love you.”
Shouta stared at her for a moment. “That’s not a bad idea, Joke. It’s honestly a pretty great idea, which is rare for you.”
She beamed at him and kissed his cheek. “See? You should listen to me more often. I have tons of great ideas. Always have. You used to listen to them back when we would patrol together, remember?”
Shouta rolled his eyes. “I don’t remember any of those ideas being great.”
She mock-pouted. “Oh c’mon. Don’t tell me you didn’t love all my alternate hero names for you…I know you did.”
“I don’t even remember them”, he deadpanned.
She giggled, “Want me to tell you again? Ya know, just in case you really do want to totally re-invent your hero persona.”
“Whatever.”
Emi smiled and rested her head on his shoulder as she spouted of several horrible names, as Shouta fought a grin from reaching his face.