𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 - ʙɴʜᴀ

Chapter 65

Amane Suzuya

I'm reluctant to leave her, I really am. But I know that my absence around Overhaul's base is going to become increasingly suspicious as the hours pass. I can't afford to fuck up Tomura's plan for a little girl. There's too much counting on this...

Too much depending on me.

"Eri... You know I'll be back tomorrow. As soon as I come back, I'll come straight to you. Promise." I mutter as the girl desperately clings her bandaged arms around my waist.

About an hour ago, I'd told the poor girl that I should get going. Since then, she hasn't released me from her grip.

"... But you have to stay-" She cries into my t-shirt. I gaze down to her, an exhaustion present within me. I don't want to hurt her feelings, or make her feel alone. I just don't know what to do. There's really only one thing I can think of- so I act on it.

"Listen to me." I command down to the girl using my quirk, I notice her sniffling silence as I do so. She glances up to me, her eyes puffy and sore from sobbing. I swallow down the guilt I hold about the situation, knowing that I can't let Tomura down.

"I don't wanna leave you. I promise, I'd take you home if I could. But I can't... not yet." I attempt to explain to her, her lip quivers as she has no choice but to listen.

"Why...?" She whimpers. I glance to my lap in shame before hardening my eyes.

"Eri. There's someone really important to me, and they're relying on me to keep everything around here normal, for a couple days at most. But I promise you, I'll come back." I sigh, closing my eyes in shame.

The girl's brows furrow, there's a familiar feeling in her chest. I'm letting her down, and that's all she'd ever known. She scolds herself for allowing her hopes to get high. As the girl's about to turn from me and mope, I open my mouth again.

"You see this?" I ask her, bringing my hand up to her face, displaying the sapphire gem on my ring finger to her. Eri's expression remains blank for a short second before she reluctantly nods.

"My person gave me this. And after... he left me... for a really long time. I thought he'd never come back..." I mutter, trying not to grimace at the thought.

She stares at the ring, peering to her reflection on the jewel. "But every time I looked down at my ring... he was there. He was always right with me, I've never taken it off and I never will." I continue, the girl's eyes hesitantly glance away from the ring and into my magenta ones.

"So... I'm gonna give you a ring of your own, and it's a promise. I'll come back. And we'll leave." I tell her hopefully. I hear her breath hitch as she snaps her now clouding eyes up to me, scanning my expression for any hint that I'm trying to deceive her.

I offer her a small smile before activating my quirk, peering down to my palms with a slightly furrowed brow.

Do me a favor...

Hm?

Don't let anyone hurt her.

My brows furrow as I strain myself to shove a small piece of my quirk into a silver banded right. I don't know if it'll work, I've never done this before, I usually don't care to protect people unless I love them, and once it's at that point, I'm practically useless. But this... I can try to do this, for her. I promised that no one will hurt her, and I don't intend to break that promise.

I raise a brow down to the ring before glancing up to Eri momentarily. I breathe out a content sigh, conjuring up a small ruby and melding it into the sliver band. It matches her eyes. They're pretty, her eyes, she should have something pretty to look down at when she's scared, at the very least.