Fake smile

Chapter Eight

Aizawa's POV

"I'm sorry to inform you, but they are both dead."
That was what the officer said. They were both dead. Not out of the country or missing. Dead.
"H-how did they die?" I asked.
"It's not very clear, but they seemed to have burned to death, but the coroner report states that the fire they were burned in may not have been what killed them."
I took a moment before asking the next question. "When did they die?" I had the feeling I wasn't going to like the answer.
"A little over  three years ago." 
Three years.
Three years?! And no-one knew or thought to mention it?! How did Midoriya keep it so well hidden? For three years?!
"Eraserhead?" The officer was still on the other line.
I let out a breath before exchanging farewells with the officer. 
I let out a sigh before turning to Midoriya who was still sitting on the sofa, unaware of me losing my mind over how something so big was hidden from every staff member in the school!
I rubbed my temples, trying to ease the oncoming headache. I walked over to Midoriya and knelt in front of him.
"You feeling up to coming to the hospital with me? I need to pick someone up." I explained before he freaked out.
"Oh, sure!" he got up with a smile and walked towards the door, already slipping on his shoes.
"Uh, don't you want to change?" I asked.
"Oh, uh this is kind of embarrassing, but I don't have any clothes aside from a t-shirt and a pair of shorts in my bag, but they're kind of ripped. I don't even know whose clothes I'm wearing right now, but I assume it's Shinso's." He looked down to the purple t-shirt that had a sleeping cat on the front and the black shorts he was wearing. He was correct in when he said they were Hitoshi's, but that reminded me that we needed to shop for clothes for both Eri and Midoriya. I'm not sure where he was staying before, but I'm sure as hell not going to let him go back there.
"We need to stop by the shopping center after going to the hospital then." I said with a sigh.
"O-oh there's no need for that. I can just fix up the clothes I have." he said, while his hands were flailing in front of him.
"This is non-negotiable. Besides, I need to go there as well for some things." I sternly replied. I gave him a glare to stop him from arguing back which I could see he was about to do. "The clothes you have on now are fine for the outing, so don't worry too much about that. Just don't ruin that shirt. It's Hitoshi's favourite." I informed him as I walked past him and towards the car.
We both got in at the front and made our way to the hospital. There was silence between us, but it was by no means uncomfortable. It was just the morning and we were both still really tired. Midoriya managed to fall asleep and I was tempted to do the same, however I didn't want to die today so I stayed awake.
We got to he hospital and the greenette woke up once the car stopped moving. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, reminding me slightly of a cat waking up from a nap. Hitoshi tends to do the same thing whenever he wakes up from the naps he manages to take which weren't many.
We walked up to the reception desk, "I'm here to pick up Eri Chisaki." I stated.
"One moment please." the receptionist said. After a few clicks and a bit of typing she looked back up at me. "She is in room 208. There will be a doctor right outside to explain her condition."
I nodded before making my way towards the room. It was only then I noticed that Midoriya wasn't next to me. I looked around for a bit before concluding that he probably went back to the car.
I walked to the lift and pushed the button that would take me to the correct floor. The doors opened and the hallway was pretty empty for a hospital, making me on edge. Heading towards room 208, I noticed a green fluff ball talking to the doctor outside of the room. How on Earth did he get here before me?
Something he was holding caught my eye. It looked to be a white toy rabbit. That explains where he went, but how he got here before me was still a question I wanted an answer to. Not now though.
"What's the situation?" I asked the doctor.
"She's completely fine aside from the fact that her quirk is going haywire. We have no way of getting close to her without her getting scared and activating her quirk. She has also shown a certain discomfort towards all the male staff. Mentally, she needs a lot of attention, but she is physically ok and is able to leave the hospital." she explained. 
I let out a sigh. Things just got quite a bit more complicated.
"If it's ok," Midoriya started to ask, "can I try to talk to her first?"
I was slightly taken aback by his question before turning to the doctor. She gave a nod before opening the door.
Not wasting a second, Midoriya walked right into the room.

Izuku's POV

After hearing the room that the little girl Mr Aizawa was picking up was in, I rushed to the gift shop as quickly as possible to get her something. I saw a few teddy bears. I would've gotten a green one, but they had run out of them. Sad, but we move.
Once that was bought, I took the stairs three at a time not intentionally trying to get their before Mr. Aizawa, but oh well.
The doctor explained everything after Mr. Aizawa reached the door outside her room. I looked in through the window and saw a little girl aged about six or seven, holding her legs to her chest and looking out the window, bandages covering her arms and legs and also her neck. Her white hair was long and silky, the sun's light bouncing off of it making it look even brighter than it already was. She looked much too small for her age, but I was in no place to say that either. 
I offered to go in first. I didn't know what she had been through before she was saved, but I knew it was bad. Having my fair share of shit thrown at me, I hoped I could get through to her on some level so she doesn't lose control too much when she was moved to live with Mr. Aizawa.
Once the door closed behind me, her head whipped around so fast I was surprised I didn't hear any of her bones click from the action. Her ruby red eyes stare into mine, hers full of fear and confusion.
"W-w-who are y-you?" she asked, shakily.
I gave her my biggest smile and replied, "My name is Izuku Midoriya. I came with Eraserhead to see if you were ok. I hope I didn't scare you." I took a step forward, causing her to flinch.
"D-don't come a-any closer!" she exclaimed. "Please. I can't control my quirk and I don't want to hurt you." She held onto her legs tighter, her back against the wall the hospital bed was up against. 
I crouched down, "Can you explain your quirk?" My smile still on my face.
"It's c-called Rewind. I-I-I can rewind anything. I've h-hurt t-t-too many p-people with my quirk." She started crying, light emitting from her horn.
"Eri." I said gently. 
She lifted her head slightly, tears streaming down her face. She was scared, that much was clear, but there was also guilt and regret. She was having a panic attack and wasn't able to calm herself down. 
I used one for all to break a few bones before running up to her and held her in my arms. I could feel my bones healing themselves slowly. It was a strange sensation, but I paid it no mind. I used one hand to stroke Eri's hair in a calming manner, rocking her from side to side, similarly to what Present Mic did for me last night. 
"Eri. Breathe. Don't focus on anything else. Just breathe." I whispered in her ear.
I could feel her take in a shaky breath before letting it out on my chest.
"Good. Again."
She repeated the action.
"Again."
She took a deeper breath this time, the shakiness no longer evident. Her horn stopped glowing and her breathing was back to normal.
"That was really good, Eri. You managed to regain control quickly." I smiled down at her.
She shook her head, "I didn't want to hurt you." Her voice was barely above a whisper, however I heard what she said.
"What are you talking about?" I showed her my now healed fingers. "You managed to fix my broken bones. How was that hurting me?"
Her eyes widened in shock. She slowly reached for my hand, her small fingers brushing against my calloused skin, examining the fingers that were broken just moments ago. I took her hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know that you're still trying to get your quirk under control. So am I. I can't use it without breaking my bones so I need to train hard to be able to get stronger a be a hero. If you want, we can do that together. What do you say?"
Her eyes were shining with excitement and joy. Her lips tugged upwards ever so slightly before she through her arms around my neck, holding me in a tight hug. I held her almost as tightly, making sure not to injure her. I looked down and remembered the gift I gave her. 
"Oh right! I got you this." Her arms went slack around my neck but I still held her close, not entirely wanting to let go. Aside from Present Mic and Mr. Aizawa, I couldn't remember the last time I was hugged. I kind of enjoyed it.
She looked and saw the little white rabbit, hesitant to take it. Once she got ahold of it, she didn't let go. So cute!
She gave me another hug before I placed her back onto the bed carefully.
Now, moment of truth.
"Do you want to come with me and Mr. Aizawa to your new home?"
She was quiet for a second before nodding her head. With another smile, I helped her off the bed and held her hand, making our way to the door and starting our journey together.

Ok, so yeah. That happened. I hope you liked this chapter. I'm trying to get each chapter to be somewhere between 1000-2000 words and so far that's been going well, but we'll see how long that lasts (*nervous laughter*). 
Ahem, anyway, see you in the next chapter!

Byee xxx