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Chapter Text

"Reach out your hands hairy princess! Eri will make you pretty!" the little girl squeaked up to Aizawa as the two stood together in study hall. The four boys watched. Each having forgone their homework to witness the sight. That being their strict, no nonsense homeroom teacher allowing a small child to brush all the colors of the rainbow onto his fingers.

Of course, he'd never do it knowing people were around. So, creatively, Ejiro stood at the bottom of a tower of boys holding Sero on his shoulders who in turn held Denki on his who also in turn held Mineta. They were stood behind a bookcase and Mineta whispered, "No freaking way..."

"I never thought in my life that I'd see him acting like that," Sero said looking very astonished.

"True, and he doesn't yell whenever she's around..." Denki started thinking.

"You got an idea?" Mineta said looking at his friend.

Denki slowly nodded, then smiled. Eijiro raised an eyebrow at him, "Bro...what're you thinking?" like going from small to large Mineta jumped down to the floor along with Kaminari and Sero next. Kirishima rubbed his shoulders.

"Chill, it's just...she's had such a big effect on him...what if...okay so..." Denki turned to the three of them as if he were pitching a sale. "When those other schools came and visited. There was one of the teachers, right? Ketsubutsu?"

"Oh...oh! that lady...uh...the funny one, Ms. Joke?" Sero slowly nodded along.

"Her?...she kept asking him to get married I think," Mineta said. "Holy...dude is you pulling an Ashido-Sensei here?"

"Ashido?..." Eijiro looked puzzled down at the boy.

"Putting two people together. Remember when she thought All Might and Midnight were playing hide the sausage because they were walking together? did the same thing with Uraraka and Midoriya. Though...I guess in their case she was right. Hey Hanta maybe you have a chance since Midnight-Sensei said she's not into older guys-OW!" he cried as Sero wacked him in the grapes.

"I'm shipping them for our own gain gentlemen," Denki put his hand to his chest. "If patterns are anything to go by, he taps Ms. Joke and stops being so dang strict."

"Having a little girl to take care of is a bit different though..." Kirishima reasoned. "Didn't he reject Joke-Sensei like twenty times too?"

"He also denied being Eri's dad a year ago and signed the adoption papers like...a week ago. So, not exactly truthful with his feelings," Denki raised a finger.

"Well..." Mineta rubbed his head, "he was kinda the only guy who could stop her from going haywire."

"Ah shit that's true..." they all thought amongst themselves for a moment.

"Wait!" Eijiro slammed his fist into his palm, "Asui-San saw them talking right about the time schools were leaving. She said he was getting real flustered cause Joke-Sensei was talkin about a 'night they had in Eusha,' so they were dating once..." he rubbed his face.

"...When did you hear that?"

"Tea time with the girls. I'm invited every week and we gossip."

They all stared at him weirdly. "What?"

"Anyways..." Sero scratched the back of his hand, "how do we get them together?"

"Uhh...anybody here know a second year in Ketsubutsu?" Mineta asked hopefully.

To no one's surprise Eijiro snapped his fingers, "Me!"

"How the f-"

"Yo Shindo n' me are in a group chat together with some other fellas from Shiketsu. We all post physiques after hittin the gym and give tips. I'll dm him. But uh...what should I say?" He looked at the three of them as he pulled up his phone.

"Uh..." Denki paused, "tell him...to tell Ms. Joke that Aizawa is legally a single father as of a week ago."

"You think it'll work?" Sero looked strangely at Denki.

"I mean...Sensei was calling her a spinster so..."

"And...send," Eijiro said. "Alright I guess we wait now."

The six sat in a circle around each other at the table. Each with casual clothes on and holding cards. Drinks lay scattered across the table and gentle music played in the background.

Emi watched the duo of Rumi and Moe argue like banshee's, the latter sticking her finger out at the rabbit woman, "You trifling ass cheating ass no good rabbits luck foot having ass!-"

Mirko placed a hand over her ear, "Eh! what's that?! the sound of a loser?! oh it's you Burnin, who knew?!" Rumi threw her head back in laughter, "read! and! weep!"

"My goodness, must you two always fight?" Ryuko placed a can down upon the green carpeted table. They played for coins within a woman of the week's apartment, but the game was taken as seriously as any high roller stakes, "We aren't even two drinks in."

"Exactly," Nemuri began reshuffling the cards, "they're young, it's to be expected I suppose."

"Speaking of..." Mount Lady smirked, "brief reminder that you're the only one here over thirty Midnight."

"You little!-" she moved to strangle the woman, but Emi stopped her.

She smiled, "C'mon! we gotta show these youngins the wisdom that comes with age!" Her pocket buzzed. Looking to her dress, Emi pulled her phone out. "Oh cool, my student texted!"

Midnight looked funnily at her, "Texting your students? isn't that a bit odd?"

"Nah, nah, we do it for assignments and stuff. Is UA really that behind on the times?" she laughed.

"Ask Nezu, not me."

Looking at her phone, all the other women stopped and stared at her as Emi's smile slowly disappeared. "Aizawa...adopted...Eri...last week!?"

"Oh yes little Eri...took him long enough-urgh!" Midnight grunted as Emi grabbed her by her shirt collar.

Emi's eyes were wild "Why didn't you tell me?! why didn't he tell me?!"

"I-I...uh..."

Letting go, Emi looked like a madwoman, even Rumi looked slightly taken aback by her new unhinged and raw demeanor. "Uhh...you okay Joke?..." Moe scooted back in her chair.

"EXCUSE ME!" Emi threw down her cards and sprinted past the table, nearly running over Chiyo who was walking through the door with two pizzas. She stepped to the side watching her flee down the street.

"...Aizawa?" Chiyo said softly looking back to all of them.

The table all reflected at the same time with, "Aizawa," giving her the confirmation she needed.

They were in the common room gaming on the switch. The others were doing their own thing. Perched by the door, Tokoyami was the first to hear it knocking. Rapidly. He hopped down and opened it, the rest of the students gathering. What they didn't expect to see was an out of breath Ms. Joke standing there sweating bullets as if she'd just ran a marathon.

"Uh..." Tokoyami grunted, "yes ma'am? wait why didn't we hear about you coming in from the principal?..." he said suspiciously.

"He...I...we both wanted it to be a surprise...now...kids help your Sensei out and tell me where Shota is please..."

"Teachers...lounge?..." Momo said weirdly and told her the directions.

"Thanks!" and before any of them could ask questions Ms. Joke had already run off.

"...Is...is that a...booty call?" Bakugo murmured quizzically.

Mina was in awe. She made a small squeal and jumped high into the air over and over, "Oh my gawd! oh my gawd! she's come to claim her man! we have to see!"

"Nowedon't." Mineta had let it slip. He and the three other boys had placed their switches down. The boy was the most nervous looking among them. There was an instant suspicion from both Mina and Tsuyu, the latter of whom slinked like a frog next to him. Ashido tried mimic'ing the movement, following close behind.

"Motherfucker..." Sero hissed as Eijiro and Denki made the straightest poker faces. "Don't break..."

"What did you do...ribbit?" Tsuyu whispered into Mineta's ear.

"Personally, I prefer fries with cheeseburgers!" Mineta tried throwing her off, but Tsuyu knew better than to think of his ramblings as anything other than distraction.

"Every Thursday you and I go over our favorite ships of the week! what's gotten into you Minoru..." Ashido slowly turned her head to the other three boys. "Eijiro, you disappoint me."

"Sorry Mina..." he slinked forward.

Sero looked at him, shaking his head, "How whipped are you?"

"Shut up!..."

Mineta shrugged, "Well I ate some yogurt today but honestly that's about it-YEOW!" he cried as Tsuyu wacked him with her tongue. "What was that for...?"

"For what we're about to find out," Tsuyu shook her head with a small pout. "You know what you did."

"Denki just tell em," Jiro said absentmindedly as she sat on a booth, "you four obviously know something. You're making those big ass bug eyes and you're all stoned up," she mimed her movements, almost like a zombie.

"Okay, it's maybe our fault, but only slightly this time," Denki reasoned to the others. "This isn't like the other times. It's not like us breaking Bakugo's radio and trying to find him a new one before he killed us all, or...that time we replaced Uraraka's mochi with jelly donuts."

"I wasn't complaining," Ochako shrugged.

"Point is, we may've texted one of her students that Sensei adopted Eri-San and now she's out there trying to get busy with Aizawa so Eri can have a sister or brother within the year."

Some of the others laughed at this, some looked awkward. However, all went silent when the door burst open and in walked Aizawa himself, his hair frizzier than usual and he had lipstick marks all over his face. Ms. Joke was behind him, smirking.

"You four idiots, now!"

"Us...or..." Mineta pointed over his shoulder.

"NOW!" he grabbed the four of them with his binds and wrenched each out as they kicked and screamed.

"Ah! help us!"

"Nah," Tsuyu waved goodbye.

When they were outside, he set them all down. He looked to Emi who raised her eyes and waved dreamily. "I'll deal with you in a moment." Turning back to his students he growled, "explain...because whenever something like this happens it's always you four! always!"

"Getting you kissed by a pretty woman?" Sero tilted his head.

"Aw, your kids are so sweet Shota," Joke said cheerfully.

"Be quiet!" he snarled, "you four...you four I will put you under the school."

"For...for this? really?" Denki gave him an odd look, "she didn't do whatever she did to you in front of Eri right?"

"Of course not, but that's not the point! why is it always you four whenever something outrageous happens?!"

"I think a coupla guys called Midoriya and Bakugo fit that description more," Sero said.

"Dude! not right now!" Eijiro shook his head.

Mineta was struggling against the binds and failing miserably to break free, "Eeee! don't kill me, Sensei! Joke-Sensei save us from your husband!"

Emi looked slightly surprised for a moment but was still smiling, "Husband? I do kinda like the sound of that-"

"NO!" Aizawa yelled.

"Shota says no?" Joke laughed, "wasn't saying no a few minutes ago...oops, said too much," she covered her mouth. "C'mon, stop threatening these guys. We got a date."

Aizawa glanced over at her, "We...we...do? who says-"

"I says..." her eyes narrowed, but she was still smiling. "Tonight, I know a great place."

"H-Hang on!" he shook his head, "Eri can't be left alone by-"

"What if these four watched her?"

"...Them?" he glanced at the four, then back to her, "no."

"Hey...have some faith in your students. Make it their punishment for whatever perceived crime they've committed under your dilf rule."

"Dilf?..." Mineta looked about, "what's that mean?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," Denki murmured.

Aizawa stared at Emi, then he stared at the four of them, then Emi again, "Fine. You know what? fine. Let's go on a damned date. I've had enough of the constant damned marriage proposals to last a lifetime."

"Does that mean you're finally giving in!?" Joke perked up.

"No."

"You know Sensei, I know I'm your student and all, but you seriously should consider her offer," Sero said.

"Let Ashido-San teach you in the ways of romance so that you may treat Joke-Sensei like a proper woman, a true man cannot deny his feelings," Eijiro added.

"...I really don't appreciate your fours prescence right now..." Aizawa murmured as Emi started laughing so hard her face was turning red.

"Look...look I'd better get going Shota, get prepped and all of that...see you at seven, okay?"

"...Urgh..." was what he grunted back in response. He let the four go finally and each stood dusting themselves off.

"Soo," Denki said. He looked at Aizawa, his hands in his pocket. "She like likes ya Sensei."

"What?" Aizawa murmured as he watched Emi wave bye at him with a big smile and walk off. He had bags under his eyes, heavier than usual.

Sero spoke once more, "Sensei, I mean this in the nicest way possible as your student, you have to tap that if you haven't already."

"What!?"

"Ain't manly to deny your true feelings," Eijiro said again.

"I have to tell Ashido-Sensei about this new development!" Mineta tried pulling out his phone, but he was yanked by the collar by Aizawa.

"Come on!" he huffed, "if you're going to be her caretakers, then you'll do it my way!"

When they reached the small dorm Eri had been staying in, each boy stepped silently in and saw the inside. It was what you'd expect of a little girl's room, bright colors on the walls, toys scattered everywhere, and in the center of it playing with trains and smacking them together, they saw Eri with Nejire.

"Explode Thomas! explode!" Eri cheered. She looked to them, "Yay! Papa's back!"

"Boom!" Nejire giggled and looked up, her colorful eyes curious and saw the five of them there. "Oh, you brought...these...boys?" an awkward silence perpetrated through the room. In their misadventures, Three-A had proven to be quite the opponent against their schemes. Whether it be Nejire herself or the other top three.

Aizawa shook his head, "I have no choice. You can go now Hado. Have a nice day."

"A-Alright, good seeing you boys," she then turned to Eri and smiled sweetly, "and you of course." That made each boy blush, and they weren't even the recipients. Then she stood and walked to the door and exited.

Eri tilted her head up at the four boys, "Lightning!" she pointed at Denki.

"Don't point, be polite," Aizawa walked to and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Nah it's cool, my hair is just that awesome..." Denki flicked back his golden locks.

"Who are they?" Eri said looking to Aizawa.

Before he could answer, however, Mineta got onto his knees, right at her level. "We're the most awesome babysitters in the universes!"

Chapter Text

Why do I have to be tied up?!" Mineta cried, his small face looking weary at the rubber wood sword Eri was pointing up at him. Around the play place, Sero's eyes were bugging as he desperately tried to clean the glitter off his hands with a handkerchief. Denki was staring deadpan in a pink encrusted mirror wearing lipstick and eyeshadow. Eijiro was contemplating something as he looked at his freshly painted red fingernails.

"Captain Kidd! my gweatest foe caught at last!" Eri squeaked, holding the sword over her head. She was wearing a black and red tri-folded hat with a skull and bones painted on the top like the jolly roger was stripped straight from it. From one game to another, first knights, then it turned to princesses, and now they were right in the middle of a pirate game. The girl certainly had a lot of energy.

These were four boys who'd come up against city and country levelers. The best of the best of the best among hero hopefuls. Yet, as they were scattered about the dorm freshly built for the little girl's comfort, none could defeat the simple wishes of the strongest. The one above all. Eri.

"W-Who...who are you again?! yar!" Mineta strained against the surprisingly strong ropes and played along. Doing an awful Blackbeard impression. He'd also been speaking in higher pitches, something he'd picked up from Tsuyu for when he saw her dealing with her own baby sister.

"Don't tell me you liked playing pretty princess over this," Denki said as Eri wacked her sword against Mineta's knee. It wasn't doing much given its rubbery material. Still, she was quite the little duelist.

"We both know it's not the first time or probably the last time that I've done crossdressing..." Mineta's head lurched away as Eri swung wildly. "Hey! we said no face hits!"

"Anne Bowin will take your plunder!" Eri almost tripped over herself as she leaned forward with the sword, but Sero taped her back and hoisted her up. She was still swinging, even as Mineta scooted the chair back and out of her range.

Mineta seemed to be fearing her as much as he did Aizawa, "Ahh! guys help!" he scooted back, "she's turned vicious!"

"Get him!" Eijiro joined her side. Having grabbed an eyepatch, "my pirate queen!"

"Eri, I think we should play something else, you're kinda scaring Minoru and while that is hilarious..." Sero gently took her sword from her and went to one of many toy boxes and placed it back in. "He might get hurt."

"Trying to appear all fatherly for an older single mother?" Denki smacked Sero on the back as he walked to untie Mineta.

"Fuc-" Sero froze up as he saw Eri looking curiously. "Bro, don't say that around her."

"It's not like she understands man, c'mon," Denki unfastened the ropes and Eijiro helped Mineta stand. It'd been two hours, and the girl had shown no signs of wanting to stop any kind of play.

"Is Sero a Papa?" Eri asked. Her head tilted slightly with the question. Small chuckles aroused from the other guys.

"No. Denki's just being a little silly is all," Sero smiled at her gently. Then he darkly looked to Kaminari, knowing his friend had something else prepared to say without missing a beat. He was right.

Smirking cockily, Denki spoke, "Like you tried getting silly with Todoroki's sister-"

"Ey, stop!" Mineta tugged at Denki's shirt.

"Alright, alright," Denki nodded his head. "Sorry dude, he just kept setting me up. You all know how it is."

"You're lucky a little girl is in the room with us right now," Sero looked nearly on the verge of attack. Almost like Bakugo.

"Can we play hide n' seek next!?" Eri ran to Mineta, "you're it!"

"I'm it!?"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"No!"

"Y...ah dangit!"

When he started counting in the corner of the room, Eri came up with the idea of where they could all go. She led them out into the hall, her dorm being built right into the teachers wing as for Aizawa's easier access to her. The only rule was that they had to remain on the first floor.

Sero stayed with the child, and the other two split. Denki found himself going into the teacher's lounge. Eijiro found himself regretting his decision to hide in a broom closet given his rather dense size not meshing well with the confinement. "Let's hide under here..." Hanta whispered to Eri as they went to a flight of stairs leading to the second floor. He then stopped.

Eri had been holding his index finger with her small hand and stopped when he said that. He turned back and he saw her standing next to him. She was staring with eyes wide at the structure, a sense of wrongness precipitated right then. "What's wrong?"

"E-Eri doesn't...l-like dark."

"What?" he looked back to the door, the staircase, then her. "Oh...okay we'll find somewhere else."

Crossing back into the hall, they stopped short upon seeing him. Mineta was crawling along the top of the roof, his grapes like sticky climbers. Like a spider or a bug, he extended his arms and legs out.

Eri hiding behind him, Sero grunted out after the initial surprise, "'Mineta...what're you doing?"

Quickly wrapping his legs around a small pipe, Mineta dropped his head and torso down at them all with a crazed look in his eye, "You're not dealing with Grape Juice...or Princess Grape...or Captain Kidd! now you're dealing with DARK CITRUS! Denker and Eiji are already planted within my vineyard of justice!" he pointed back down the hall to the two rather uncouth youths who were standing against the wall with one of his grapes attaching their hands to it.

"Ah! he's a monster!" Eri cheeped, "Citwus monster! citwus monster!"

"...Grapes aren't even a citrus fruit dude..." Sero shook his head as he picked up Eri. She wasn't truly scared, instead she was holding back from giggling at the sight. However, ever the lover of games she played the role of helpless victim due to the overwhelming might of the Grape of wrath.

"DARK CITRUS!" for no reason, Mineta got on all fours and started running like an animal at the two of them. "Floor is lava! so saeth the CITRUS!"

"EEE!" Eri shrieked and looked at the clearly not magma filled floor. Sero shook his head and had to hold in laughter as he taped up to the ceiling. He held her with him in one very secure arm. If he was acting the parent, Mineta was certainly the childish older brother. Though he wondered if Eijiro or Denki would be the mom.

Mineta stopped short and looked up at them. "What'll you do now Citrus? you're on lava," Sero said heroically.

"I can jump high too you dummy," Mineta grabbed a grape off his head and threw it down, then he bounced off it and grabbed a hold of the pipe once more.

"He too powerful!" Eri buried her face in Sero's chest.

"It's just Mineta, don't worry," Sero said softly as the boy nearly slipped from the pole, "what's wrong? gonna fall?"

"A momentary lapse, you shall pay." Mineta regained his hold and started moving to them. "Bakugo was not wrong when he called me a monkey. I'm the purple dragon ape!"

"...Dude what?" he spun some more tape and swooped across the hall.

"I jump if I want!" Mineta threw down more grapes, following after him.

"Do your grapes not burn in lava?" Sero said as he hung with Eri from the tape idly, "also we'd better wrap this up. Hado-San is supposed to check on us dude."

"No! you have to beat CITRUS first!" Eri grabbed his collar and shook with all her little might. "He's the most evillest and awfulest of all times!"

"DARK CITRUS will never be defeated by you Blossom! kneel before my fruitiness...uh...yeah!"

"We hafta beat him!" Eri looked utterly determined. Dead set to defeat the agent of Vitis. "Bwossom and Cella...Cello...Cwewo..."

"Cellophane..." he whispered.

"Cewophane and Bwossom will defeat DWARK CITWUS!"

"Guys!" Eijiro called pulling at Mineta's grape, "Hado-Senpai is coming! she just passed the window!"

"I knew I felt a disturbance in the force!" Denki grunted as he placed his foot on the wall and kept pulling.

"...DARK CITRUS will leave just this once!" Mineta yelled as he and Sero dropped to the floor.

"Aw...but Nejire would like to play..." Eri's lip quivered.

"Eri, you may not understand now but if she finds out that we're doing all this she'll set those rings on us, so be very quiet..." he held his finger to his lip.

"Okay..." she seemed a little sad as the four boys began to quickly clean the grapes and tape strewn about. Luckily for them, they were fast.

When Nejire arrived to find them sitting in Eri's dorm, she saw a strange sight. Eri was resting on the couch in between the four as they silently gamed with each other having pulled out the game of life. Her head tilted, her bright blue eyes with a gentle sheen, "Wow...it's only eight and you've already gotten her to sleep?" she walked in, her curls bouncing gently and she was whispering as to not wake the child.

"No...we sedated her," Denki whispered back. Eijiro flicked his head.

Sero threw down the dice and when he saw he had a five he started moving his character. "Yeah, carried her back in and she was out like a light as soon as she hit the couch."

"Back in?" Nejire raised an eyebrow, "where'd you take her?"

"I wanted to go get ice cream, but Serie said nada to that one," Mineta poked his head out from where Sero was covering him.

"She wanted to watch the uh...sun set, so we took her out for a little bit," Eijiro held his thumb up. "Nothing happened, we'da called ya or Sensei if something did..."

"Hm...well...good job you four." Nejire held her hands together, bowed, and smiled beautifully at them. "Perhaps I shouldn't have doubted you."

"AUGH!" Sero covered his nose as he and the four blushed heavily. Eri stirred.

"...Or maybe I should have."

When he woke, he saw her naked pale back and hair wildly draped across her pillow. Aizawa's brow narrowed, he blinked, then he glanced about Emi's apartment and looked about to the floor. He rolled out of bed and started dressing himself.

"Something on your mind?..." she whispered sleepily from the bed. He didn't turn to face her, instead he stared at the wooden floor.

"Yeah..." he looped his belt around his pants, slipping them through the notches of his pants.

"Well duh, everyone 'has' something they're always thinking about," she laughed. "But what specifically?"

"...You, alright?"

"Alright, is a good thought or a bad one?"

"Define good and bad."

"Define your thoughts about me."

"...They were never terrible you know..."

"Yeah, yeah, buttt...I probably annoyed you a coupla time's, right?"

"Reasonably. You did make passes at me in front of our students."

"They're almost grown, they know what flirting is, Shota. That day at the license exam, it was just like the first time we met. Me the weird girl with nobody to talk to, and you the quiet loner save Yamada just magically paired together."

"We fought."

"Eh, there've been weirder love stories." Aizawa had to hide his smile at that. "Got you looking pretty funny in front of your students, didn't I?"

"Uh huh. It's just...I don't like them seeing too far into..." he turned back to her. She'd already gotten out of bed, and he almost turned away before realizing what they'd just done. "My personal life like those four idiots did today. I'm not out here to be a friend to them. I'm here to train and teach them."

"Hey, if you didn't expel any that means you're doing something right? me personally I try and teach them to be creative and imaginative. Like...I love them y'know? wanna see em succeed. Guess we both care in our own ways."

"Hm..."

"Well," she turned to look at him, her smiling face dazzling from the moonlight, "maybe I'm just a little nicer. How's my baby been doing by the way? haven't actually talked in like...months. Keeping me away from her, are you?" she laughed.

"Eri's doing better. Her...grandfather died a few weeks ago but she was far too young to have even remembered him..." he stopped before saying something. As she buttoned up her shirt, she noticed this.

"But what?"

"...Is it...wrong to be happy about that? he wasn't even her true grandfather. Just a...guy who adopted her. It doesn't take away from the things he did. The guy had a rap sheet a mile long."

Her eyes raised. "Shota?"

"Look...Emi," he held his hands out and walked to her, "think about it. He was a crime lord, a man who turned Kai Chisaki into what he became. Under his watch, do you honestly think Eri would've grown up happy?"

She watched him and pondered his words for a moment. "You shouldn't...be happy when somebody dies, no matter what. But...I think I understand what you mean. You...really love that child, don't you?"

They sat at the dining table, and she handed him a bottle of water and took one for herself as they continued their talk, "I never thought I'd be a dad, ever. Career choice. But now...I think it's fate."

"Fate?"

"Something like that," he scratched his arm. Emi was seated on her knees on the chair, and she was leaning forward a little as she looked at him. Aizawa sort of liked that position. For some reason only known to him. "I always believed myself fated to a lonely life, or early death. But here I am, with a little girl I adopted."

"I think we all have free will. You chose to adopt that little girl didn't you? and you have Yamada, Nemuri, and...well me. You're not alone Shota."

"Maybe I think I am," he'd started to look at his water instead of her.

"Do you...not want anyone to get close?" she gave him a gentle expression.

"...Maybe I don't."

Emi placed a gentle hand on his face and kissed his cheek, "Too late."

Feeling at the mark left behind, he slowly looked back to her, "Maybe...maybe I think that...something might happen if we were to...really be together."

"Because you think..." she seemed a little unsure if she should keep talking but did so anyway, "you think that anyone who gets close will die?"

It was a question that made him freeze for a small moment. Eventually, he answered quietly, "Everyone I love goes away in the end. After..."

He almost didn't follow up with that, but he eventually weighed his options as she looked ready to press that. "Couple months ago, when you and Eri first met and...after a little while of caring for her...I dreamed of myself being trapped in a dark forest with Oboro...but he wasn't Oboro anymore."

Emi was not smiling then.

"Yamada guided me, and...he tried to help me get out and go to this field where you and...and Eri were picking flowers or...something...I would always reach the exit. But...either Oboro would try to hurt me, or...or..."

"Or...what?"

"I'd wake up."

Aizawa arrived back at nine sharp expecting a complete disaster. He'd gone through several methods of punishment depending on the level of dumb stuff done by his four students.

He opened the door and walked inside, looking about the halls and the rooms he did not see anything wrong. Yet. Finally, the moment of truth. Either his night would be extended, and he was expecting that, or he'd be able to go to bed at a slightly decent time.

Closing in on the door, he didn't hear anything from inside and that's when things were at their worst. Grabbing the knob, he wrenched open the door and saw his four students and Nejire playing on a board game in the middle of the room with a sleeping Eri on the couch.

"Sensei!" Mineta whisper yelled. They all welcomed him back with bows or greetings.

"How did it go?" Nejire asked as he surveyed the area. Toys were about the room, but that was par for the course. Had no mischief truly occurred? that'd be a rarity.

Finally, he looked to Nejire, "Fine."

"As you can see, nothing bad's happened here Sensei," Denki smiled. "So're we in the clear now?"

"I'll..." he glassed the area once more, "have my eye on you, but yes." He walked over to Eri. Slowly, gently, he lifted her from the couch, "I'll go put her in her bed. You four are good to go."

Then Eri stirred, and her soft voice said something that Aizawa's keen ears picked up on, "...Oh no...DARK CITRUS...swing away with Eri again Cellophane..."

Silence in the room, the only sound being Eri's small snores. The four had paused in the middle of whatever they were doing, their mouths hung open as they slowly turned their eyes to face the turned away Aizawa who made a very audible sigh.