🖤💙𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕💙🖤

Morning

"Hey Eri," Mirio greeted, a bittersweet smile on his face. "Are you all packed?"

Eri nodded solemnly, a sick taste in her mouth. Nobody told her what happened at UA, or why her Papa Mikey was gone, or why Toshi and Dadzawa looked like zombies, more so than usual. The only thing she knew was that Lemillion and Suneater and Ms Nejire were going to take care of her for a week.

Eri was used to change. She was used to being shipped around, making due with what she was given. She was trained to release her emotional connections, focus solely on fear (and guilt, if she misbehaved) but now... things were different. She felt sorry for Aizawa and Hitoshi– and for herself, because she lost a part of her family, too.

She was sad. Everyone was so sad.

"You'll be back before you know it," Nejire said as brightly as she could. "C'mon, let's get going. The 3A students made some candy apples for you."

Eri glanced back over her shoulder at Hitoshi, her big brother, who gently waved her away. He smiled at her, rare and reassuring and sweet; she blew him a kiss, a gesture she couldn't stop doing after Mina taught her how.

And then she was off. Hitoshi slumped against the doorframe, watching her skip away. It was better for her to be somewhere else right now. Aizawa was in no condition to take care of a little girl, let alone explain why one of her fathers disappeared.

Hitoshi needed a little bit of a breather, too. He loved Eri beyond compare, but it was hard keeping up a happy front for her when all he wanted to do was smoke and sleep.

Hitoshi turned back around, long after Eri left with the big three, and headed to the kitchen. He started boiling some water on the stove to make ramen, thanking God for cheap, processed food. He didn't have any problem with taking care of his dad, especially in times like this. Hitoshi knew loss. He knew pain and grief and guilt. He knew fear, more than he knew anything else, and he knew how much it can ruin a person.

Especially if it's not the first time.

So he cooked and he cleaned. He did his homework, and he warded off Aizawa's supervisors every time they called to give him a mission. "He needs time," Hitoshi snapped. "He's a human, too, jackass. Give him space or I'll feed you your own teeth with the heel of my boot."  

Aizawa laid, empty, staring at the ceiling. His mind was jumbled with information, with memories, and he'd do anything to clear it up. He closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to pull him under, but he ended up snapping them back open.

Hizashi and Oboro. Gone. Corpses. Rotting. He'll never see either of them ever again. No more human alarm clocks, morons to copy his homework, blue-haired idiots dropping annoying pick-up lines or platonic blonde husbands failing to cook breakfast in the morning.

Aizawa was all alone. Again.

"Dad?" Hitoshi whispered, peeking his head into Aizawa's room.

Aizawa rubbed his eyes, raking his hair out of his face. "Yeah, kid?"

Hitoshi frowned. "I made ramen and rolled a few blunts. Come out here."

Aizawa shook his head. "Can't smoke around Eri."

"I had Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki take her to the 3A dorms for a little while," Hitoshi said, feeling a bit guilting for going behind his dad's back. "I thought you could use the time and space."

Aizawa's mouth went dry. "Hitoshi," he growled, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. He didn't get up (because he's malnourished, dehydrated, sleep deprived, and iron deficient) but he thought about it, which was pretty bold at a time like this. "She needs to be in a stable environment. She's not even fully adjusted to living with us. And not to mention she could hurt them. You know that. It's my job to–"